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Thursday, January 24, 2002
. 114 No. 4 Since 1889
Hospital goals
to be discussed
at board meeting
Shelby was part of his quest to visit all 100 NC counties.
U.S. Senator Edwards visits Cleveland
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
During a stop at Cleveland Community
College, U.S. Senator John Edwards
addressed several questions concerning the
economy and the loss of jobs in Cleveland
County.
I'he rooms at the college used for the
town meeting were packed, and had a nu
ber of people standing.
BEN LEDBETTER / THE HERALD
U.S. Senator John Edwards answers a question Tuesday at Cleveland Community College during a town hall meeting. Edwards’ visit to
Edwards’ visit to all 100 counties is
the senator’s hard work.
m-
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
At the annual Kings
Mountain Hospital Board of
Directors meeting next
~ Wednesday, the medical facili-
ty's strategic plan will be pre-
sented. The meeting will be
from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the
hospital's boardroom.
‘But while the possibility of a
merger withits sister hospital,
Cleveland Regional Medical
Center in Shelby, has been dis-
cussed, there have been no fur-
ther moves planned, hospital
officials said. :
The strategic plan, which was
recently approved, outlines the
~ goals the hospital wants to
accomplish for the new year.
“We're still in the discussion
phase of what we can do to
move the hospital further,”
ber Stella Putnam said.
But if a merger of the two
hospitals did occur, it would
need approval of Cleveland
Regional, the Carolinas Health
Care System Board in Charlotte,
and the Cleveland County
Board of Commissioners, KM
proof of
Trustee Advisory Council mem-
The visit to Shelby was part of the
Senator's quest to visit-all 100 North
Carolina counties. His scheduled 2:15 p.m.
visit to West Montgomery High School in
Mt. Gilead marked the 100th county he vis-
ited.
Former Governor James B. Hunt said
“I'm so proud of Senator Edwards com-
mitment to'serving all the people of North
Carolina. His visits to all 100 counties are
evidence of his hard work for our state,”
Hunt said. »
Edwards had also made stops in
See Edwards, 5A
Hospital Board chairman J.C.
Bridges said.
“There’s nothing really to be
said other than it’s to be looked
at,” Bridges said.
Both hospitals are leased to
Carolina’s Health Care System
BEN LEDBETTER / THE HERALD
Lester Williams, the winner of the Martin Luther King
: Oratorical Contest, recites Dr. King’s “l Have a Dream” speech
First M.L.
“draws big
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
recited his “I Have a Dream
Speech” on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
To honor that moment in his-
tory the city of Kings Mountain
held the first Martin Luther
King Jr. Oratorical competition
at Barnes Auditorium at Kings
Mountain High School.
But renditions of Dr. King's
speech were not the only things
scheduled for the evening as
several church groups had
choirs, dance groups, and
soloists performing Monday.
Kings Mountain Special
Events Public Relations Director
Ellis Noell said the event was a
departure from events he was
used to organizing.
“For me, this a little bit of a
departure from concerts and
festivals, to actually do a the-
atrical performance,” Noell said.
“I had a lot of resources with
the talent here!”
But although this was one of
his first times, Noell said he had
little difficulty with the event.
“I was pleased with it, it
worked out well,” he said.
See King, 5A
response,
excited crowd
Phillip Hager, left, speaks with Dr. Forrest Toms Monday at
Bynum Chapel AME Church’s Family Life Center. Toms was the
speaker for a breakfast the church hosted on Martin Luther King
day. Hager was one of the organizers of the church’s event.
xy
gis,
in Charlotte, with the flagship
hospital Carolinas Medical
Center.
Hospital Board member Scott
Neisler said talks of merging
the two hospitals in Cleveland
County has received a.stigma
since it could be perceived as an
issue between Shelby and Kings
Mountain.
Neisler said the hospital is
looking for financial partners,
and the hospital is expected to
ask Charlotte for additional
funds before it would begin
negotiating with Cleveland
Regional.
The hospital had financial dif-
ficulties in 1996 when Carolinas
HealthCare System acquired the
medical facility. While hospital
profits have increased, Neisler
said the hospital does not have
enough to compete financially.
Other big issues facing the
hospital are a shortage in the
reserve budget and low rein-
vestment in the hospital, Neisler
said. ;
“We don’t have any pressure
to do this,” Neisler said. “It’s
advantageous for us to negoti-
ate and talk to Charlotte while
we're strong.”
Neisler said the additional
funds or merger would also
help Kings Mountain compete
against Gaston Memorial
Hospital, which is owned by
CaroMont.
See Hospital, 5A
Prayers
needed
for Pete
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
While a 50-year-old Kings
Mountain man fights for his life
in a Charlotte hospital his fami-
ly and church family in Kings
Mountain pray that he will -
prove doctors wrong and not
: Monday at Kings Mountain High School.
Bynum Chapel breaktast honors Dr. King
By BEN LEDBETTER
Staff Writer
Monday's weather may have been
rainy and cool, but inside the feeling was
warmer as people gathered to remember
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Bynum Chapel AME Zion Church
hosted a breakfast at its Family Life
Center with educational consultant Dr.
Forrest Toms as the speaker.
After recounting the days he had spent
in Cleveland County as a student at
Shelby High School, then later as an
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Celebrating 128 Years
employee of the Kings Mountain District
Schools, Toms went over biographical
facts about King.
Dr. King was born in Atlanta, his
father was a pastor and his mother was a
teacher.
When King was younger he encoun-
tered several instances of racism, Toms
said.
One of those was when he was 11
when a white woman struck him and
called him a racial epithet beginning
with “n.”
Despite the early brushes with racial
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
704-739-4782
injustice, King was admitted to
Morehouse College before completing
“high school.
At age 18, he was ordained as a minis-
ter in his father's church.
In 1955, King received his doctorate in
Theology from Boston University.
King was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1964.
Toms said his education would help
him later on in life.
“This was a man who was prepared in
a lot of ways,” he said.
Other people King was influenced by
Gastonia
529 New Hope Road
704-865-1233
included Henry David Thoreau and
Mahatma Ghandi.
King’s career could be separated into
two parts, Toms said, and they were
before and after Selma.
During the pre-Selma phase, Toms said
King fought for basic rights while he
sought goals related to economic devel-
opment in jobs after Selma.
Toms mentioned two protests that
defined each era, the Montgomery bus
boycott, and a demonstration in Chicago
for jobs.
See Dr. King, 5A
Shelby
106 S. Lafayette St.
704-484-6200
only live but
return to his
normal
lifestyle.
John Bernard
“Pete” Leach
was critically
injured
December 23
when he was
struck by a car
at his home on
Watterson
Street. He has been in Carolinas
Medical Center in a coma ever
since.
His mother, Margaret Leach,
has spent every day since at the
hospital. For several days fol-
lowing the accident, she was at
the hospital 24 hours a day and
most recently she has left home
early in the morning and
returned late at night. She’s
able to see him for a brief peri-
od of time during intensive care
visiting hours.
Although Pete hasn't moved
since the accident and the doc-
tors say he may not regain con-
sciousness, Mrs. Leach said he
has begun opening his eyes on
occasion. He suffered severe
injuries to his head and right
side of his body. :
“He's still in a semi-coma,”
Mrs. Leach said. “It’s been dev-
astating to me.”
See Pete, 5A
LEACH
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906
Member FDIC}
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