Thursday, October 10, 2002
Vol. 114 No. 41
_ TE I I oA Om oR a i Ga 3 MR
f
MOUNTAIN
Since 1889
A AREA SR SEAS JR a
SEA Ra Ss dR
Battle of KM
remembered
A large group of participants and visitors attended the
222nd anniversary celebration of the Battle of Kings
Mountain Monday afternoon at Kings Mountain
National Military Park. The York High School ROTC (top
photo) leads a group of participants to the U.S. monu-
ment for a wreath laying celebration. A member of the
Overmountain Victory Trail Association (right), which
retraced the steps of the 1780 overmountain men from
__ Abingdon, VA listens to the keynote address by Dr.
Walter Edgar, author and director of the Institute for
Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina.
Photos by Gary Stewart
Purchase of generators
should mean no tax hike
BY ELIZABETH STEWART
Republic Newspapers
If Kings Mountain's financial standing
continues, as anticipated, Kings Mountain
citizens will not see a property tax increase
in next year's city budget.
Mayor Rick Murphrey and City Manager
Jimmy Maney said the city is moving
toward purchasing two used generators for
the peak generation plant on York Road
and revisit the city's proposed annexation
area for a report to council at a future meet-
ing. In a called meeting Monday night,
Council approved spending up to $499,000
for two used generators which would give
the City three generators at each of its two
peak shaving stations.
"These peak generators on line will avoid
a tax increase," said Murphrey.
Kings Mountain has two peak stations,
one on Gaston Street and the other York
Road. The purchase of the two additional
generators will save the city over a million
dollars a year in electricity costs," said
Maney. "These are the kinds of things we
continue to do to cut expenses and improve
See No Tax, 2A
City negotiating
with Duke Power
The City of Kings’
Mountain is negotiating a
new contract with Duke
Power that could guarantee
no increases in electric rates
for four years.
Speaking to City Council
in a special meeting
Monday night, City
Manager Jimmy Maney
said the city’s current con-
tract with Duke Power will
be up in December and that
the proposed four-year con-
tract being discussed now
“would guarantee our exist-
ing rate for four years.”
See City, 3A
KINGS MOUNTAIN PEOPLE
KM says CC
water decision
sets precedent
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Republic Newspapers
No county-wide tax will be
implemented for Shelby
and Cleveland County's
amended plan to build a $6
million, 36-inch water main
for emergency unlimited
water from the Big Broad
River to Shelby.
The original plan, which
evolved several weeks ago,
was objected to strongly by
Kings Mountain, and would
have cost, as originally pro-
posed, $14 million.
Mayor Rick Murphrey said
the county is setting a prece-
dent by funding capital
improvements with county
tax dollars for one city. He
said the county will not
receive revenue from the
investment and Shelby is
prepared to use the Big
Broad if the First Broad
dries up and they need
emergency water
Kings Mountain County
Commissioner Ronnie
Hawkins said that Shelby
needed a permanent solu-
tion to its water woes and
was following the advice of
engineers and the North
Carolina Department of
© ‘Environment Health and
Natural Resources
(NCDENR) suggestion to
quickly pursue the Broad
River option.
"Kings Mountain can
only supply maximum of 3
million gallons a day of
treated water and this
would not serve all of
Shelby's needs in event of a
drought next summer," he
said. Hawkins said no new
right-of-way would have to
be purchased by moving
ahead to the Broad and
engineers estimate the work
can be done in nine months.
He said Shelby has treat-
ment capacity .
County commissioners
last week unanimously gave
the green light to the project
but Hawkins said it was
after the county staff pre-
sented a board-requested
analysis of how much was
spent for infrastructure in
the Kings Mountain area
during a period from 1979-
2002. He said Kings
Mountain had more county-
funded infrastructure than °
any other entity in the coun-
But Councilman Gene
White, a longtime retired
Kings Mountain city
employee, said the memo
issued by the county is
"totally misleading." He
said Cleveland County run
water, sewer and gas lines
to various parts of the coun-
ty and all county tax dollars
go to the county. "Unless
Kings Mountain incorporat- :
ed one of these areas they
got nothing but a marginal
amount for water." White
said a majority of the hun-
dreds of employees who
worked at the plants in the
Kings Mountain area lived
in the county and paid
county taxes,
White said the memoran-
dum that came to Kings
Mountain officials under
date of October 2 - and
which the city responded to
during their Monday night
meeting - was "no more
sound than the memo sent
out on their water proposal
to Kings Mountain, the san-
itary district and Boiling
Springs." He called it “a
“poor, ill conceived docu-
ment" and said a true test
of this water proposal will
be determined when the
project is done and citizens
will see who pays for it.
According to the county
commission action, the
Shelby project will be
funded by the Cleveland
County Sanitary District,
$500,000, outside grants of
$2.4 million and the remain-
ing cost of $3.1 million will
be divided between Shelby
and the county. The current
plan does not include fund-
ing for a pumping station or
for money to Kings
Mountain to help pay for
expansion of the water treat-
ment plant. Commissioners
.unanimously denied Kings
Mountain's request for
$150,000 in engineering fees
to match the amount Shelby
received from the county.
Kings Mountain City
Council unanimously voted
to oppose the original plan
See Water, 3A i
Maney: County
Pastor spreads wings at First Presbyterian
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Republic Newspapers
hasn’t given
KM one dollar
after experiences
Lee had as associ-
experience for the group.
piano and organ
Lee and his youth group also
and formerly
sang with The ate pastor of went to Canada, Maryland,
The new pastor of First Celebration Cook’s Memorial Texas, Virginia, among other
Presbyterian Church, Rev. Singers of Presbyterian states, and on beach retreats. By GARY STEWART
Aaron Lee Thomas, 29, was Montreat College Church in In Thunder Bay near Lake Editor of The Herald
ready “to spread his wings” and toured with Charlotte. Superior they led an outreach
Thirteen young
people and five
adults built a
house of concrete
New Vibrations,
a 52-member
youth choir
organized at
program, knocking on doors in
the Canadian city to talk to
young people about the
gospel.
and put-the call to preach in
the hands of The Lord.
In the short time he has been
here, the newcomer to Kings
In a called meeting Monday night, Kings
Mountain City Council expressed unanimous dis-
agreement with a recent memo from Cleveland
County Manager Lane Alexander that explained
Mountain says he is impressed Idlewild ARP and stucco for a Lee felt the call to preach as why the county turned down a request from the
with the friendliness of the Church in family in Mexico. a junior at Montreat College. city to match a $150,000 gift to Shelby to help run a
people and looks forward to Charlotte. They also shared He changed his major a couple water line from the Big Broad River for emergen-
getting to know every member One of his l : their Christian of times before he accepted the (jes.
and in working in the commu- strong suits is his [§ iz witness. call to go into full time In his memo, Alexander explained that since ;
nity. : rapport and “I had been in ~~ Christian service as a minister 1979 about 62% of county funds for infrastructure
Currently commuting from work with young REV. LEE THOMAS very poor com- of the gospel. He said he felt have gone to the Kings Mountain utility systems.
his home in Union County, Lee people. : munities before the Holy Spirit working in him But, in City Manager Jimmy Maney’s response
but could not put off accepting
the call to preach any longer.
A native of Charlotte, he
but never like Mexico,” said
Lee, who said people were liv-
ing in houses made of card-
board boxes, an eye opening
adventure and an incredible
Lee and local youth director,
Friar Dixon, have big plans in
the works for young people,
including possible mission
trips, patterning the program
is building a new home at Hall
Crossing on Maner Road and
is looking forward to furnish-
ing it with some of his favorite
musical instruments. He plays
which was unanimously approved by Council, it
was pointed out that the funds were given to run
services to industries that are located outside the
city limits; thus, the county - not the city - received
See Thomas, 3A See County, 5A
Bessemer City
225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906
Gastonia Shelby
529 New Hope Road 106 S Lafayette St.
704-865-1233 704-484-6200
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
704-739-4782
| FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Ed
kod Celebrating 128 Years
hed
LL fo]
BANK