LS TE ) : FANN - : 00% ; ASN Me ox NX QIK pi ue Ae WO ON Ny WwW Fall NEO | RE iia | i 5. 5 A AQ NG? WW Thursday, February 14, 2002 Tr a TA A A Vol. 114 No. 7 wo Bh ni ii KINGS MOUNTAIN Since 1889 wi rps wr ol oto iri 0% as Cb? 3 Oh - : SRA CRP } FARRER ay Be Is] @ E I - tl t itle 6A 50 Cents Board to hear parents’ concerns behind closed doors By GARY STEWART Editor of The Herald Kings Mountain parents wishing to address the Board of Education Monday night about concerns with KMHS athletics and the KM Middle School dress code were told they could not talk about employees or students in open session. Several parents signed up to talk about concerns in the athletic depart- ment during the “Comments from the Community” segment of the agenda, but after Frank Smith was told he could not mention any student or employee declined to speak. The Board promised Smith it would schedule a closed session for him to voice his concerns.’ The Board also stopped a presenta- tion by Johnny Nations and his son, a student at KMMS, who wanted to talk about the school system's dress policy. The board met with Nations in closed session following conclusion of the reg- ular meeting. Chairman Shearra Miller and Vice- Chairman Stella Putnam told the par- ents that the Board is not allowed to discuss employees or students in open session. Putnam cited the “Buckley into closed session to discuss the Nations’ complaint that the student was not allowed to wear a Confederate flag shirt to school. Nations and his son had appeared at a previous board meeting and discussed the matter in open session. Amanda Martin, attorney for the NC Press Association, said there is nothing in either the Buckley Amendment or the NC Open Meetings Law that requires the School Board to discuss the above matters in closed session. She said the Buckley Amendment deals with family education and privacy rights in regards to things such as records. x She said the Buckley Amendment does not address employees. The NC Open Meetings Law is intended for all public business to be discussed in pub- lic but there are provisions where a board can go into closed session, and personnel is one of those. In the Nations case, Martin said it appears “there’s no basis for a closed session, even if there was a legitimate concern on part of the School Board. It would certainly be within the rights of the student himself or his parent if he is a minor, to waive those confidentiality rights,” 7 School Board was using the amend- ment “as a shield.” “This is not a blanket to shield the public view from discussion of school policy, dress codes, racial discrimina- tion or anything,” she said. “This is a bunch of hogwash. All of that should be in open session.” Although she said she did not have * the law in front of her, Putnam said “from what I understand if it’s about a student we're supposed to go into closed session.” Even if that’s not the case legally, she said it is ethically. some of the others who had signed up Plant closing could mean tight budget By BEN LEDBETTER Staff Writer It was going to be a different . night last Thursday at the first Kings Mountain City Council budget work session at the Patrick Senior Center. It was going to be different until the recent announcement that Anvil would be shutting down its plant in the city. After preparing one presenta- tion for the Thursday night ses- sion, City Manager Jimmy Maney said another one had to be done after Anvil announced it would shut down its plant. Another sign of what could be a tight budget year for Kings Mountain, was the presence of every department head at the work session. During a presentation Maney gave, he gave an analysis of the current water and sewer rates and said the Anvil announce- ment would have a large impact. “This is going to effect the whole city budget,” Maney said. One of those issues that Anvil’s closing will effect the city is with its contract with the city of Gastonia on the Crowders Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The city signed a 30-year contract in 1989 with Gastonia to send water to the creek, which flows to the Catawba River. Kings Mountain has to send a minimum amount of water or pay a penalty and in 2001 it paid an estimated $166,000 for water it did not send. Maney said 69 percent of Iwater flow to Crowders Creek was from Anvil. He said he See Budget, 5A Amendment” as the basis for going school systems releasing student Dr. Joseph Talley talks about the accusations facing him at his practice in Grover Tuesday. Dr. Talley says options running out for patients | By BEN LEDBETTER Staff Writer After Friday, patients of Dr. Joseph H. Talley will have no more options. That's when his remaining partner, Dr. Ron Delaney leaves the Grover pract Inside the Laurel Avenue Clin mood was somber, and the waiting room was full, as patients made what could be the office. Several pharmacies have also prescriptions from the Grover office. “We learned certain pharmaci prescriptions,)” Talley said. “Of course when the patient learned it would be very embarrassing for | them.” ; A sign on the door dated Dec. 20, 2001 near the receptionist’s office in the clinic said which phar- macies, mainly in South Carolina, would honor prescriptions from Talley or Delaney. Talley did not know of any pharmacies in Cleveland, Gaston, or Mecklenburg Counties that would no fill prescriptions from his office. While state and federal scrutiny has increased, so has media coverage of Talley’s case. ice. ic on Tuesday the their last visit to decided not to fill es would not (fill See Talley, 5A BEN LEDBETTER / THE HERALD She said it sounded to her like the vy OY rt TED, KM Relay for Life 2002 kickoff set for Monday By BEN LEDBETTER Staff Writer After surpassing its goal last year, organizers for the fifth annual Joseph R. Smith Relay for Life want to do the same this year. : And the relay will formally get started Monday at the Patrick Center at 6 p.m. when it will host its kickoff. Last year the Kings Mountain relay raised $71,665, which sur- passed its goal of $50,000. Organizer Joyce Roark said funds have increased since the relay’s first year when it raised $25,000. But money is not everything, according to Roark. “Of course we want the ‘money,” Roark said. “We are just trying to get everybody we can involved.” ; : She said last year 461 people FIRST NATIONAL BANK Celebrating 128 Years participated with 67 of those being survivors. Currently, the Kings Mountain Relay is seeking sur- vivors for its survivors’ walk, which is part of most relays. With money increasing, so are the number of teams participat- ing. The first year, the relay had 12 teams and last year it had 36, and the exception was in 2000 when it had 19 teams. Together with Shelby’s collec- tion of $273,000, Cleveland County raised approximately $340,000 last year, which should rank the county among the top- ten fund raisers in the U.S. on a per-capita basis. Making more people aware of the purpose of the Relay for Life is something Roark would like to do as well. “We want more people to See Relay, 5A 300 W. Mountain St. ——————— wakas GARY STEWART / THE HERALD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Larry Allen presents an award to Kings Mountain High junior Shonda Cole for being named the Gator Ade Volleyball Player of the Year for North Carolina at Monday night’s School Board meeting at Central School. Cole now will be considered for National Player of the Year. Gastonia 529 New Hope Road 704-865-1233 Kings Mountain 704-739-4782 mip 106 S. Lafayette St. 704-484-6200 oi nan BA bt | ARTE. st cs at) 5 7 fund raising effort By GARY STEWART Editor of The Herald The Kings Mountain Board of Education Monday night unani- mously approved the “concept” of a field house for the base- ball/spring sports teams at Kings Mountain High School. While you probably won't see the foundation poured soon, the vote means the parents group that proposed the facility can go ahead and begin making plans to raise the money to build it. David Brinkley, spokesman for the parents, and Dr. Larry Allen, Superintendent of Schools, said they are still work- ing with city and county offi- cials, as well as the school’s architect, Roger Holland, to determine the most efficient sewer system and the best loca- Shelby tion for the facility. Original plans were to con- nect the field house to the back of the home dugout at Lancaster Field. There was some talk that it would obstruct the view of the third base side of the field, but Brinkley said it - wouldn’t be much of a distrac- tion the architect still favors placing the facility there. He | said the biggest obstacle is whether to go with a septic tank or pump sewage to a nearby line. Brinkley said the parents group should get organized within 2-3 weeks. The School Board would officially approve or deny the construction after more information: is learned about the sewage system. See Funds, 5A Bessemer City 1225 Gastonia Hwy. 704-629-3906 Member FDIC | See Board, 5A : ee TET en ee plo a: Parents can begi RRR ATi
