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5 i ; } January 2, 2003 TOP TEN From 1A of their financial losses. Other top stories of the year: - Dr. Talley Dr. Joseph Talley of Grover had his federal DEA (narcotics) license revoked and his medical license sus- pended for a year by the NC Medical Board after a hearing in Raleigh concern- ing his history of prescribing drugs including oxycontin. 4 - National defense. For the first time since World War II, members of the Kings Mountain National Guard were called into active duty because of the military’s involvement in Afghanistan. Most of the guardsmen and women were called up to fill duties of persons who were sent to the Middle East. Hundreds of people lined the streets as a National Guard convoy slowly moved down King Street on its way to Fort Bragg. 5 - Election. After being delayed because of redistricting, pri- mary and general elections finally occurred late in the year and many Kings Mountain people were involved. Tim Moore, a KM resident and Shelby Attorney, defeat- ed incumbent Andy Dedmon in the 111th NC House race. Debbie Clary also returned to Raleigh, but John Weatherly, a former House member who ran against incumbent Senator Walter Dalton, was defeated. In the County, Raymond Hamrick pulled off one of the most lop-sided victories ever over an incumbent in the Cleveland County Sheriff's race. In the September Democratic pri- mary, Hamrick out-dis- tanced incumbent Dan Crawford by a 2-to-1 mar- gin. In the November gener- al election, he won by more than 4-to-1 over Republican Richard Hill of Grover. Incumbents Willie McIntosh and Dr. Jerry Self retained their seats on the County Board of Commissioners. Self had been appointed earlier to fill the unexpired term of the late Charlie Harry. 6 - Highway 74 robbery. An attempted robbery at a business on Business 74 near Kings Mountain resulted in the death of one of the sus- pects. Two men allegedly tried to enter Blue Ridge Enterprises at 5123 East Dixon Blvd. One of the sus- pects, Kenneth Ray Gregory of South Carolina, was shot by Randy Wright, who was “house sitting” the business while the owner was away. Gregory later died at Cleveland Regional Medical Center. Because of the robbery and reports that there may be other suspects on the loose, The Sheriff's Department ordered a code red lockdown at nearby Bethware Elementary School, and Kings Mountain Police ordered a lockdown at West Elementary, Kings Mountain High School, Kings Mountain Middle School, and Kings Mountain Intermediate School 7 - Drug Bust. A drug bust conducted on the Thursday morning before Christmas resulted in 59 charges against 21 indi- viduals. Over 30 officers from KMPD and the Sheriff's Department conducted the bust. According to KM Chief Melvin Proctor, it was the biggest bust he could ever remember in Kings Mountain. Most of the charges involved cocaine. 8 - Hospital merger. While most prospective mergers of the past in Cleveland County drew a storm of protest, about the only persons protesting the possible merger of Kings Mountain and Shelby hospi- tals were a handful of doc- tors. Most of the trustees of both institutions threw their support behind the idea, and after several joint meet- ings the trustees finally approved the merger in the Fall. It officially took place January 1. Kings Mountain Hospital will receive approximately $5 million for renovations of the emergency room. 9 - New school. For the first time in 28 years, Kings Mountain stu- dents moved into a brand new school last August. Kings Mountain Intermediate School, which houses grades five and six, was constructed on Kings Mountain Blvd. at a cost of $11.5 million. Most of the money was saved from half-cent sales taxes earmarked for school construction, but Cleveland County Commissioners also kicked in approximately $1.5 million to finish off the financial package. 10 - Economy. For the second straight year Cleveland County had one of the highest unem- ployment rates in North Carolina. Numerous businesses closed or cut back their operations, especially in the area of textiles. In Kings Mountain, Anvil year ‘that it would phase out its Kings Mountain opera- tion by early 2003, and Wirtz announced it would close both of its plants in Grover. All news wasn’t bad, though. Sara Lee announced that it would expand its KM plants and hire and addi- tional 250 employees. Other news notes of 2002: Stores just across the State line in Grover went into the lottery business on Jan. 7... The City completed phase 3 of its 36-inch water line from Moss Lake to KM... Grover Police Chief Ed Pheagin retired and the city contracted with the CC Sheriff's Dept. for police protection... KM opened its second peak shaving operation at its substation on York Road... Grover’s Jackie Lavender was KMDS Principal of the Year... County Commissioners appointed a committee to study district representation. City Council and the State Legislature approved a local hotel tax for tourism... A mistrial was declared in the Scottie Wayne Crocker murder trial because of juror misconduct... Melvin Proctor was sworn in as the new KM Police Chief after Houston Corn retired... KM Relay for Life raised over $80,000 for cancer research... The State withheld $314,656 in inventory taxes and state collected local The Kings Mountain Herald money... A fund drive began for a $2 million life enrichment center on KM Blvd... KM was ranked in the top 100 sites for industry by Site Selection Magazine... CC Health Dept. expand- ed services to its KM office to include a full-time nurse... KM native Jeff Hedden was appointed by President Bush as a Federal Marshal for the eastern district in Tennessee.... Det. Billy Benton of KM and the CC Sheriff's Dept. retired after 30 years in law enforcement... KM YMCA announced a fund drive for a $4.5 million expansion... A proposed apartment building near KM Intermediate School drew protest from neighbors. The complex was eventually approved by City Council, but building has not gotten underway because the developer failed to receive a state tax credit... CrossWalk, an outdoor Easter drama, was held for the second year in down- town KM. An effort was begun to raise $150,000 for a liver transplant for KM resident Don Phifer... KM Woman's Club launched its centennial cele- bration, and also began a fund drive to buy a thermal imaging camera for the KM fire and police depart- ments... After several meetings to trim costs, KM approved a 2002-03 budget of over $24 million... KM successfully renegoti- ated a contract with Gastonia that would trim about $17 million off KM'’s 30-year contract for waste- water treatment chargers at Crowders Creek... A fire did approximately $400,000 damage to Ruppe Hosiery on E. Gold St... KM Schools took an option to buy the old Lambeth Rope property across from KMHS. It will be used for vocational pro- grams; The cost of the build- ing is lover $500,000 and «+4 total cost after renovations will be $1.6 million over a 3- year period... Cleveland County Red Cross opened a KM branch at the old Herald building on S. Piedmont Ave... A KM school bus burned but no one was injured... A second KM fire station on Business 74 was dedicat- ed in memory of the late Jacob Hord... KMHS career and techni- cal students ranked first in the State in end-of-course testing... KM opened a new office at Mountain Rest Cemetery... Jimmy Maney announced his retirement effective December 31; and City Council approved him as interim city manager effec- tive January 1... City Council approved leasing the old Depot to the Southern Arts Society... East School crossing guard Pressley Anderson was injured when hit by a car... The city received a $219,633 CDBG grant for second phase of the West Gold St. sewer project... Sarah Propst represented KM in the Carrousel Parade Thanksgiving Day in Charlotte... Numerous well-known citizens died, including County Commissioner Charlie Harry, former KM educator D.B. Blalock, for- mer NC State football and baseball standout Zeb Plonk, and former KMHS football coach Shu Carlton. BLANTON From 1A Blanton said she has seen a lot of changes. “We have more man- power and much better equipment because of dif- ferent grants that we were able to get. We have a new building that we're just very proud of,” she said of the changes she has seen in her time at the police department. The new police department building has been open for over three years. . The department has become computerized as well. When she first came to the police department, Blanton said she had to do everything by hand and by typewriter. Now she has the convenience of a com- puter to use at her job. She has also seen the city prosper in the last twenty-five years, she said. The area has grown and improved to keep up with the times. “The city has prospered. Even though we've lost some businesses, there have been new businesses to come in,” she said. Blanton has earned sev- eral awards during her time at the police department, including several “Administrative Assistant of the Year” awards from both Region C and the Kings Mountain police department. When she is not at work, Blanton enjoys spending time with her family. She will have been married to her husband, Jerry, who works for the Kings Mountain District Schools, for twenty years next October. Blanton has a daughter and son-in-law, Laura and Todd Scism, who live in Kings Mountain with her grandson, Justin, who is eleven. Her son, Steven, will enter Fruitland Baptist Bible College in January to study for some type of min- : Jstry. Blanton, daughter of Stokes and Louise Wright of the Oak Grove community, said she is a lifelong mem- ber of Oak Grove Baptist Church and has been the pianist there for many years. She began to take piano lessons when she was in elementary school. She began to play the organ on Sunday nights at her church when she was 13 years old, she said. Blanton said she was most influenced by her par- ents to become who she is today. She said she was raised in a strong Christian home. “There wasn’t a choice of whether you went to church or stayed home. We knew we were to be in church on Sunday,” she said. Blanton said her family has always been very close. Her brothers and sisters all live near or in Kings Mountain. Her oldest brother, Charles, lives in Greer, while her older brother, Bill, lives next door to her. Her older sister, Beth, lives in Gastonia. Her younger brother, Howard, died as a child. Blanton's hobbies include sewing, crafting, knitting, and going to the mountains every chance she gets, she said. In the last 25 years, Blanton said she has seen a lot of changes in Kings Mountain. But Kings Mountain has had one con- stant at the police depart- ment: Marty Blanton. ne bia 7 5. KM Relay for Life kick off January 13 The kick-off party for the 2003 Joseph R. Smith Relay for Life will be held Monday, January 13 at the Kings Mountain senior cen- ter. Registration is at 5:30 p.m. The program begins at 6. All persons interested in helping with the event are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served so anyone planning to attend is asked to RSVP 734- 4563 by January 8. Revival slated at Rain Bow Temple Revival services will be held at 7 p.m. January 3-4 at Rain Bow Temple, 1802 Shelby Road, Kings Mountain. Guest speaker will be Rev. Steve Jones of Healing Convention. Rev. Dean Webb is pastor. For more information call 734-1498. Revival Jan.S5-8 at Midview Baptist Revival will be held January 5-8 at Midview Baptist Church, 703 Margrace Road, Kings Mountain. Services are at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 5 and 7 p-m. Monday through Wednesday. Guest speaker is evangel- ist Rev. Bobby Bolin of Blacksburg, SC. There will be special singing nightly by church members and guests. For more information call Rev. Bob Hope at 739-1290. ESC continues to assist workers Approximately 50,000 unemployed North Carolinians lost their temaining weeks of extend- ing unemployment benefits December 28 when the fed- eral Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) pro- gram came to an end. The N.c. Employment Security Commission (ESC) is work- ing to inform those workers - many of whom have been unemployed for nearly a year - of ongoing assistance the agency can provide as they continue their job search. “The ESC has been lobby- ing Congress to consider additional extended benefits when it return sin January,” said ESC Chairman Harry E. Payne Jr. “Because we want people to be able to collect those benefits as soon as Zh. Tree Removal > Tree Trimming Lot Cleaning &5% Fully Insured Licensed Arborist Ay A TO Z TREE SERVICE CHARLES WILLIAMSON Over 20 Years Experience 794- S860- pags Page 3A they are approved, we are encouraging workers whose TEUC benefits expire December 28 to continue fil- ing weekly claims with the ESC. In the event that a third extension of benefits is granted, those workers who continue to file should be able to receive their benefits more quickly.” State law also allows workers whose benefits have expired to file a new claim for regular Unemployment Insurance benefits if 52 we ‘s have passed since a worker's ini- tial claim for benefits was filed. The “Benefits Estimator” program on the ESC web site, www.ncesc.com, may be used to check an individ- ual’s eligibility to file a new claim. For more information, workers should contact their nearest ESC office. ESC offices can also con- tinue to assist unemployed workers in finding training opportunities, connect workers with available job openings, and help cus- tomers find additional assis- tance from other state agen- cies. KM trash pickup schedule altered Because of the New Year's holiday, Wednesday's trash route will be rn today. Thursday's route will run Friday. Parent conference night set at KMMS Kings Mountain Middle School will have parent con- ference night Tuesday, January 14 from 3:30-7:30 am. Parents should call the school at 734-5667 to make an appointment to meet with their children’s teach- ers. Teams also have a team planning time each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Parent conferences ' may.also beheld during those times. STORAGE BUILDINGS 12X 16 including overhang Only $ Y 995 i. 12X20 including overhang [ITVS lus tax 4 | 295 ou this ad FREE DELIVERY OTHER SIZES AVAILABLE “Our Prices are Worth the Drive!” Building Depot Gaffney, SC 1-800-639-3024 Residential & Commercial Senior Citizen Discount g=: Stump Grinding References 2 KINGS MOUNTAIN The Horld Published every Thursday Periodicals postage at Kings Mountain, NC 28086 USPS 118-880 by Republic Newspapers, Inc. Postmaster, send address changes to: P. O. Box 769, Kings Mountain, NC 28086 Phone (704) 739-7496 ° Fax (704) 739-0611 I S——— rte tm Office: 824-1 East King Street ® Kings Mountain, NC 28086 E-mail: kmhnews@aol.com Come Hive Diner With Us. INURL] |: ne i Open Every Friday & Saturday Nite Gary Slewan Editor from 5pm-9pm starting January 3 If you have an account with us, you can use your Abigail Wolford Staff Writer Open for Lunch Tues. - Sat. 11am-2pm FAX machine to send us your ad! Remember to Stacy Godfrey Kale.........co.ovcsseriensnns Advertising Manager { include your name, address, and phone number LisalUpton....... iii Advertising Representative The vl ¥ Saucer Tea Soom: along with any special instructions to the attention Shelley Campbell.....ccvomerserserseenn Composition Manager of the paper you wish the ad to run in. IT’S FAST - Mail Subscription Rates Payable in Advance. 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The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Jan. 2, 2003, edition 1
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