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Page 2A The Kings Mountain Herald November 14, 2002 GUARD From 1A Shelby, and since has been recuperating at his home on Catherine Street. Although he is still sore, Anderson said he expects to fully recover and return to the crossing guard job he has held for four years. Anderson has over 30 years experience as an umpire in the local youth leagues, so he’s well-known by most young people and adults in town. Many of them have kept the Anderson phone line hum- ming since the accident, and many others have stopped by with gifts and well-wish- es. Anderson talked about the incident Monday morning, and posed for a picture in the living room of his home. Although many people assisted him during his ordeal, Anderson, a devout Christian, gave the proper credit to his Lord. “I've done better, but I'm getting over it, praise God!,” he said. But the Lord had a lot of other people looking out for Pressley, too. A neighbor, Jean Jones, happened to be baby-sitting her grandchildren at the apartment at the Linwood- Church Street intersection. She saw the accident and immediately called 911. “Anytime I go outside I carry the phone with me,” Jones noted. “As soon as I came out the door I heard the thud and saw him on the hood.” It seemed no longer than a minute, she said, when Kings Mountain police offi- cers arrived on the scene, followed by EMS. Police officers treated Anderson until paramedics arrived. “I would just very much like to commend them for their quick response,” Jones said. Kings Mountain Ptl. Larry Ware, one of the first responders, said throughout the ordeal Anderson was “simply being Pressley.” He thanked officers over and over for their quick response and caring attention. “Amazingly, he was con- scious the whole time,” Ware said. Other first responders included Timmy Adams, Lisa Howell and Chief Melvin Proctor. Proctor and Ray Wilson went to the hospital and stayed all day with Anderson. Proctor brought him home from the hospital late that afternoon. Although conscious, Anderson admitted he was woozy for awhile and some of the inforination about the accident was told to him later. “I hit the windshield and burst it, and it knocked me down onto the street,” he recalled. “I was just sprawled out in the middle of the road. A lady (Mrs. Jones) who lives in the apartment there at the cor- ner was kneeling down in the road, holding my hand and saying ‘God will take care of you.” Even the driver of the car was bent over me weeping.” Anderson was thankful there were no children in the area, even though he said when the accident occurred some he had just let across the street came back to offer assistance but adults kept them away from the scene. “I was letting out the last bus,” he recalled. “The last group of children had come across just a few minutes before.” Ironically, the investigat- ing officer, First Sgt. Allen, is a Kings Mountain resident and has known Anderson for years through involve- ment with youth sports. “Pressley had been removed from the scene before I got there, but I went to the hospital and he con- firmed everything people at the scene told me,” Allen said. “They indicated the sun was low in the sky and the driver couldn’t see. There was no indication of. skid marks or that he tried to stop. He just didn’t see Pressley.” Like everyone else, Allen was thankful there were no children in the crosswalk. “A school zone is a bad situation,” he said. “That could have happened to a child. Kings Mountain Police Department and the Highway Patrol both take school zones very seriously. There's a potential to do great harm there.” According to Anderson, this isn’t the first time he’s had a close call at the cross- ing. But this is the first time he hasn't seen the vehicle. Previously, he’s been able to get out of the way. “Hopefully, this will make people drive more cautious- ly through school zones,” he said. While East students may have another guard helping them across the street this week, Anderson says don’t count him out for long. As soon as the doctors give him the okay, he plans to be right back out there every morn- ing and every afternoon. “I look forward to it,” he said. “I enjoy this job, and I enjoy kids. For 34 years I've umpired little league base- ball here in Kings Mountain. I'm in my fourth year as a crossing guard. I chat with the kids every day, and when they get a good grade on a test or report card I give them candy and little rewards. As soon as these wounds heal I want to get down there just as quickly as I can. I don't think there will be any permanent dam- age, thank God.” RAIN From 1A Proctor said that “less than a handful” of wrecks had were serious. Nick Hendricks, Kings Mountain electric depart- ment director, said that his department has not gotten any calls reporting prob- lems, even with the storm i 11 last weekend 70 LO AAA occurred, nonetof which! iw il “Ever sifice ther storm this! weekend, we've had not a call. We've been very fortu- Christian Freedom Baptist Church i ; ff. : ALA) 2 ’ 3 presents “From Bethlehem to Calvary” November 26 6pm at Christian Freedom Baptist Church 246 Range Road For more info call 704-739-4152 Mother Your love knew no measure, your love was such a treasure. You were a mother, a friend and a Wife. You have given us love, comfort and life. When we were sick you nursed us to health. When we were poor in Spirit, you love gave us Wealth. Joy and Love you have put in our hearts. You have kept us all from drifting apart. We are family in more than name. A love like yours is rarely, known. : Your family now is fully-grown. Deep within our hearts there is a very special place where we keep our special images of you. We picture your kind face and smile that’s been our strength our ; whole lives through. We imagine the advice you'd given or supportive words You'd shared. And almost magically, the world looks brighter. We remember ways you taught us, how to live and love and care and how to make life’s challenges seem lighter. In tears we saw you sinking, And watched you fade away. Our hearts were almost broken, we wanted you to stay. But when we saw you sleeping, So peaceful, free from pain. How could we wish you back with us, To suffer this again? It broke our hearts to lose you, but you did not go alone. For part of us went with you, The day God called you home. The Family of Ruth Burris (1906 —11-11-2001) nate,” he said. “It’s been very quiet.” According to Kenneth Kitzmiller, who has kept records of the weather in Kings Moufitain for thé last 21 srearsy/thisdityveceived i! over two inches of rain between Sunday and Tuesday, and it was still raining at that point. “We're doing pretty well for November already,” said Kitzmiller. “We did pretty well in October, too, and it’s normally a dry month.” Kings Mountain got five inches of rain in October, he said. Walt Ollis, Kings Mountain director of water resources, said that all the rain has helped raise the level of the lake by one foot, three inches. The lake is still down three feet, three inch- es, but the rain is helping, he said. : To further the good news, Ollis said that the lake is a vital part of the water table around it. “If the lake comes up an inch, then the groundwater table comes up an inch,” he said. : Since the lake has come up one foot, three inches, the water table has risen the same amount. The rain is helping to reverse the affects of the draught. VETERANS From 1A possess. Americans do not have to fear per- secution by the government, as some people in other nations do. They can freely wor- ship whatever god they choose, express opinions about the government and political officials, and vote in fair elections. Many people gave their lives for these freedoms and privileges. “Over one mil- lion have died defending our country,” said Icord. In his speech, Icord stressed the diversity of veter- ans. “American vet- Claude Pearson Vietnam veteran him until he dies. He said that even after the USS Arizona sank, he could hear the sol- diers who were still alive beating on the wall. “I could hear them beating against the wall, and they never got out,” he said. Many are acknowledged for the bravery they showed that day. Those that died are listed as heroes on the USS Arizona memori- wn, “If you've got a threat against the country you have to meet it. But | don’t think any veteran wants to see war.” Others, like this anony- mous World War II veter- an, show their bravery even now as they continue to cope with the erans represent all races and ethnic groups, men and women, beliefs and physical descriptions,” he said. Veterans do not all look alike or come from one type of background. What joins them is their willingness to sacrifice their lives and their comfort for the good of their country. “The flags that we see out at the Kings Mountain cemetery remind us that we are all equal under the eyes of God,” said Murphrey. Icord ended his speech with a poem enti- tled, “A Veteran Died Today,” which he said he clipped out of a newspaper. The poem emphasizes the lack of recognition given to the U.S. veterans who die each day, in com- parison to the long stories and honors given to the politicians who die. War was a difficult and brutal time for many, if not most veterans. Many saw their friends die, while others were scarred by the deaths of strangers. A World War II veteran who preferred to remain unnamed said that he was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed by the Japanese. “They made a movie out of it a couple years ago. My wife wouldn't let me see it,” he said. With tears in his eyes, he spoke of the hor- ror of seeing a mother and baby get mowed down by the gun fire. He said that he will probably carry memories of that day with horrors they saw in battle. “I hope I live a long time and don’t have to go back,” he said. “If I had to do it all over again, I would. I probably wouldn't volunteer.” With the U.S. once again on the brink of war with Iraq, veterans now must look to the younger generations to defend the nation. Hopefully the youth of today will value the freedoms that they possess and refuse to take them for granted. Many vet- erans are just as hopeful that those same youth will not have to face the horrors that they had to face as young people. Claude Pearson, a Vietnam veteran who has been in the American Legion for 33 years, led the prayer for the veterans at the end of the service. He said after the ceremo- ny that he was concerned about the situa- tion in the U.S. right now. “I hate to see war,” he said. “If you've got a threat against the country, you have to meet it, but I don’t think any veteran wants to see war.” Icord noted in his speech that 50 years have passed since the Korean War took place and 20 have passed since the construc- tion of the Vietnam Wall. The veterans of World War II are beginning to die. The physical wars have been over for many years; however, their memories need to sur- vive, so that others will not have to endure ANDERSON From 1A “It’s really a historic church for the area. It’s about 145 years old,” said Anderson of Boyce Memorial. “My position is a new position for the church. It was formerly the Director of Christian Education and the music minister did both positions,” said Anderson. Anderson started this job at the beginning : of September after spending the summer in <1 Wales. “I got off the plane [from Wales] and came to work,” he said. Actually, he went home for a week but immediately felt he had to work, he said. Anderson served in Wales as a missionary from the beginning of June to mid-August this past summer with a program called World Witness, which is the ARP mission agency. He said he worked with existing youth programs in various churches in Pontypridd, which is in the English-speak- ing part of Wales. “Christianity is dead there,” he said of Wales. “There’s only about a three percent churched population there. At one point it was one of the hubs of Christianity.” According to Anderson, at one point Wales was the coal-mining capital of the world. The owners of the coal mines were very tied to the church, and they forced their employees to attend the company churches. In fact, if the workers didn’t go to church, they wouldn't get paid. “This produced a lot of negativity in the workers toward Christianity. After the coal industry failed, people quit going to church,” said Anderson. Anderson said that one of his main rea- sons for going on the trip was to test how southern his Christianity was. He has always lived in what he considers to be the “buckle of the Bible belt,” and he wanted to see how others lived. He said the trip was successful and that the work of his group was well-received. “I would say it was well-received. Most of the kids were not Christians, so we had to" build relationships. We couldn't assume that they knew anything about Christianity or that they even wanted it,” he said. “This was my first mission trip of any length,” he said. “I'd served in week-long trips previously.” While he was in high school, he served in Mexico twice, building office buildings and delivering food to a tribe. The first time he was there, he said he had to hike five miles to where the tribe was, but by the second time, a “trail for automobiles” had been built. Anderson said he dreams of possibly tak- ‘ing his youth group’én mission trips some- "day! He'wWould like to'take then or’ a mis- sion trip in Appalachia to the place where the corners of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky meet, he said. And then maybe someday to Wales. “It’s something we'll work for,” he said. The youth group of approximately ten kids meets on Wednesday evenings at the church. The supper is at 6:00, followed by youth group at around 6:30. In addition to the youth in the church, Anderson said he has become friends with several of the pastors of other area churches. He even meets with a couple of them to pray each week. “It’s nice to build community with the pastors in the area,” he said. Anderson said that he has no plans to pur- sue the pulpit ministry and does not plan to go back to school to get his Master's of Divinity degree. “I got the education that I wanted [at Erskine], but maybe someday, I'll go back,” he said. “I enjoyed school while I was there.” ; After two-and-a-half months in Kings Mountain, Anderson seems to enjoy the area. When he is not working or going on mission trips, he said he likes “being in the mountains and doing outdoor activities.” Some weekends, he goes up to Bonn Clarken, an ARP retreat site, where he climbs the tower, does the ropes course and participates in the paintball wars. In fact, he also takes his youth group with him some- times for retreats. Currently Anderson resides in Antioch. His girlfriend, who also lives in Kings Mountain, shares Anderson’s interest in youth. She teaches sixth grade at one of the local schools. TRY OUR NEW BUFFALO TENDERS AND BUFFALO CHICKEN BREASTS! 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The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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