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Thursday, December 27, 2001
Vol. 113 No. 52
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KM mourns death of Dr.
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Kings Mountain this week is mourning
the death of one of its most beloved
physicians.
Dr. Charles H. Adams, an associate
with McGill Clinic for 35 years, died last
week of lung cancer.
His memorial service was conducted
- by Dr. Donald Mitchell at 11 a.m.
Monday at First Presbyterian Church,
where Dr. Adams was a longtime mem-
ber, Ruling Elder and Sunday School
teacher.
Friends, co-workers, patients and
friends will miss him.
Doctor's
records
seized
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
Federal officials seized at
least 30 boxes of records from
Grover physician Dr. Joseph H.
Talley’s practice and pharmacy
last Wednesday.
The Federal Drug
Enforcement Administration,
the NC State Bureau of
Investigation, and the
Cleveland County Sheriff's
Office executed a search war-
rant around 6:40 a.m. according
to Sheriff Chief Deputy Paul
Cash.
Investigators seized more
than 30 boxes of records from
‘Talley’s practice and pharmacy,
and was present during a por-
tion of the seizure meeting with
patients, Cash said.
A majority of the records
came from the practice, accord-
ing to Cash.
Approximately 35-40 patients
arrived at Talley’s office on
Wednesday and were directed
away by the sheriff's office dur-
ing the all-day search.
No arrests were made.
Talley was scheduled to
appear before the North
Carolina Medical Board last
week on charges that included
prescribing painkillers without
’
_Jperforming exams to find out
causes of pain and hoarding
weight loss drugs.
He has also been accused of
diverting the weight loss drug
Fenfluramine, which is sold
under the name Pondimin, by
asking patients to return their
supplies of the drug to him.
Fenfluramine was part of the
See Records 5A
“How can you improve on good?”
asked Bob Maner, longtime church mem-
ber and fishing partner. “What a man!
What a man!
said.
“I spent more time having fun with
him than any person in my entire life.”
Maner and Adams went trout fishing
at least every other week for years, and
four years ago they took a trip to a dude
ranch in Wyoming, about 30 miles from
Yellowstone Park. They used the trip to
fish and visit Dr. Adams’ sister, Peg
Shreve, who lives in nearby Cody, WY.
“We just had a great time,” Maner
Dr. Adams grew up in a small town in
West Virginia and attended Glenville
State College and received a Master's
Degree in biology from West Virginia
University. He had every intention of
becoming a career teacher. But he was
drafted into the Army during the Korean
War and served in a MASH unit where
he worked in hospitals and labs. Upon
returning to the U.S., he did some more
course work at Glenville State and went
to medical school at the University of
Virginia.
During his youth he experienced a lot
of sadness, but was the type person that
never held bitterness inside. He lost his
parents within a year of each other, and
lost a brother to a drowning accident. He
was raised by his uncle, who was a doc-
tor, and Dr. Adams always called him
“Uncle Doc.”
Dr. Adams did his internship at Moses
Cone Hospital in Greensboro, and
became Grover’s first full-time physician
in 1959. He joined the staff of McGill
Clinic in June 1963 when Dr. Kenneth
McGill began making plans to go to the
mission field.
“He was a loyal, dependable, compas-
sionate and dedicated physician from the
cradle to the grave,” said Dr. John
McGill, who was senior partner in the
clinic until his retirement.
Dr. Frank Sincox came to work at
brother Tommy, left, look on.
Families that lost all in fires
treated to a Merry Christmas
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
In the span of a few minutes on a Tuesday
afternoon two Kings Mountain families lost
everything they owned.
But on Friday afternoon at Kings Mountain
City Hall, a party was held for them as city offi-
cials and community residents witnessed the two
families share moments usually reserved for
Christmas morning.
Last week a Christmas tree inside city hall had
presents for the two families such as scooters,
blankets, and clothing.
The tree could not hold everything though as
part of the council chambers was used to store a
mattress, household goods, and a television.
For the party, the Christmas tree was moved
inside council chambers along with the gifts,
which took up most of the area on the raised por-
tion of the floor where city council and commit-
tees usually sit.
See Families, 5A
va AA Gi AL 4 %. 7
BEN LEDBETTER / THE HERALD
Joshua Grindell unwraps a present as his parents Bob and Wendy, brother Andrew (in red shirt) and
Photography helps King
deal with his disability
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
Photography was something
Robin King could do to channel
his feelings.
After snapping pictures at
weddings, the Kings Mountain
resident now shoots photos for
newspapers, portfolios, and
anything else that may happen.
“I've been interested in pho-
tography since I was a kid,”
King said. “I absolutely love it.
It’s always been interesting to
me. It’s always been fun.” :
Looking at his photographs,
nobody could tell King is handi-
capped.
And that’s what he likes
about photography.
“I can lay my picture beside
someone else's and you can’t
tell if there’s something wrong
with me or not,” King said. “It’s
the ultimate way of expression
without knowledge of my dis-
ability.”
King lives with spina bifida,
and was confined to a wheel
chair until he was four years
old. The disease paralyzes
King’s right side and causes
him to walk with a limp. His
right hand is also paralyzed.
Shooting photographs with
children and Christmas themes
are some of King’s favorite
times with a camera. King’s also
been in front of the camera,
having played Santa Claus as
well as shooting him as a photo
subject.
“They're the most genuine
and theyre also our future,”
King said about children.
Taking photographs of the
Kings Mountain Christmas
Parede was how King met Jeff
See King, 5A
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Coeletrating 127 Years
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
BEN LEDBETTER / THE HERALD
Robin King, who was born with spina bifida, has been a photogra-
pher since his youth and has also raised millions of dollars for
charity.
Gastonia
529 New Hope Road
704-739-4782 704-865-1233
106 S. Lafayette St.
704-484-6200
Mountaineers
lose SWFH 3A
opener at FT. Foard
6A
See Dr. Adams, 2A
"DR. CHARLES ADAMS
John Harris is appointed
to EDC/Chamber committee
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
Two more members were
added to the Economic
Development Omission-
Chamber merger committee
study at the Cleveland County
Economic and Development
meeting Thursday in Shelby.
Harris Funeral Home
President John Harris and EDC
Board Chairman Ralph Dixon
were named to the committee
which includes members from
cities of Shelby and Kings
Mountain, town of Boiling
Springs, and the Cleveland
County Chamber.
Dixon said he has heard from
a variety of people, but has not
received a clear opinion on the
issue.
“Every person I've talked to
said they want us to what's best
for the county,” Dixon said.
“There is significant dollars
invested in this.”
While there are still a number
of questions to be asked about
the possibility of a merger,
board member Jim Allen said
an open mind should be
brought to the discussion.
Shelby City Manager Grant
Goings said economic develop-
ment should not be the sole
responsibility of the county.
“We can’t expect the county
to shoulder all of that burden,”
Goings said.
But Ken Ledford, who also
serves on the current Cleveland
County School Board, was
apprehensive about letting the
Chamber of Commerce take a
role in economic development.
“We know the chamber of
commerce is made up of busi-
ness,” Ledford said. “Then busi-
ness is going to decide when
new business comes in.”
Ledford cited 14 merged
chambers and EDC's in mostly
larger North Carolina cities.
To keep parts of the county
being left out from further
development, Ledford said he
wants to see industrial parks in
the four geographical parts of
the county.
While economic hardship has
certainly manifested itself in
Cleveland County, board mem-
bers wanted to know how an
EDC merged with the chamber
of commerce would work dur-
ing times when the jobless rate
was low.
The issue of merging the
EDC with the Cleveland
County Chamber of Commerce -
was raised earlier this month
when a memo from
Commissioner Charlie Harry
was sent to other commission-
ers and members of the press
from County Manager Lane
Alexander's office.
Harry's plans were approved
at the county board’s December
4 meeting.
Dixon said the issue may
have been raised by the cham-
ber if the commissioners had
not.
Although Harry's initial.
plans were approved, Dixon
said he did not favor an imme-
diate merger of the two entities.
“I support a study but not
necessarily a merger,” Dixon
said. “We don’t have enough
material on the table.”
Reading about the idea in a
newspaper first could have
harmed the idea, Harris said.
“This could be a very positive
relationship,” Harris said.
In other business, EDC
Director Steve Nye had pooled
the ideas from the county town
meetings for economic develop-
ment.
Some of the ideas included
unified government support of
municipalities and the county, a
convention center, and a lake
development in northern
Cleveland County,
CommScope to sell
Kings Mountain plant
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
After previously holding off
on further construction, Hickory
cable maker CommScope will
not open a plant in Kings
Mountain.
The building now sits empty
in the Potts Creek Industrial
Park off Countryside Drive.
Charlotte real estate broker
Binswanger is handling the
transaction with an asking price
of approximately $5 million.
Company Spokesperson
Betsy Lambert said there has
been a decline in demand for
cable products.
“We've had a severe down-
turn in our business, and we've
had to lay off 20 percent of our
employees,” Lambert said.
The company was expected
to bring about 150 jobs to
Shelby
Cleveland County.
CommScope had originally
planned to use the building for
expansion of its broadband
cable manufacturing
The building along with the
approximate 85 acres of land is
part of the inventory to be sold.
Including land improve-
ments, Cleveland County
Economic Development -
Commission Director Steve Nye
said the building is valued at
$8,598,794. ,
One of the recent land
improvements has been a 12-
inch, 3,400 feet water line which
was to supply both the
CommScope and NVR build-
ings.
But while CommScope will
not have an affect on Cleveland
See CommScope, 5A
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906
Member FDIC