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RA GC Ei i ¥ yl February 20, 2003 The Kings Mountain Herald Page 9A INDEX From 1A study, not a witch hunt.” She said the participants were not going over every inch of the city to look for all of the problem areas. Instead, they sat down ahead of time and chose a few random places in each ward to examine. They examined small areas that consisted only of five or six blocks at a time. They examined the areas by driving down the street and looking out the win- dow. Three of the people in the car would examine the area from the window, while a forth would time the effort and a fifth would drive. The three would then rank the area on a scale of 1-4. Level 1 means that one person could clean the area in a matter of minutes: Level 4 means that the area is likely used as an illegal dump and contains large items, like appliances and furniture. Many people, as well as machinery, would be needed to clean it up. : Litter is comprised of any items that are not disposed of properly. According to Keep America Beautiful, seven sources of litter exist: motorists, pedestrians, households, uncovered hauling loads, loading docks, dumpsters, and con- struction /demolition sites. Litter becomes lodged in fence lines, walls, curb, and other barriers after being moved by the wind, water, traffic, and animals. All cities wishing to become a part of the Keep America Beautiful organiza- tion have to conduct a litter index. Once a litter index is done initially, the city con- centrates on those areas for the year and then does the index again. Once those areas are clean, new areas are chosen. The initial areas are chosen simply as start- ing points for the organiza- tion. “You've got to have some examples to start with,” said Stultz. Currently, Kings Motintaif{'is Striving to form its own branch of Keep America Beautiful, which will be called, Keep Kings Mountain Beautiful. To become certified, the Kings Mountain branch needs to develop a board of directors, ' mission statement, adminis- trative structure (which - includes a budget, executive director, and an office), and conduct a litter /solid waste survey, which is currently in progress in the public works and codes department. Litter is a concern to the people who live in the area, said Ellis Noell, special events director for the city, as well as a member of Keep Kings Mountain Beautiful. To demonstrate the concern of litter in Cleveland County, Noell cited a recent poll that he said listed road- side liter fifth of the top 25 concerns for the county. Keep America Beautiful workers strive to promote clean up in a positive way, said Stultz. She encouraged the Kings Mountain group to recognize people, organi- zations, and neighborhoods when they do a good job on a project. She also told them DEWITT YoungBLOOD, JR. 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She said to make the board of directors those members of the com- munity who both have links to potential funding sources and are dedicated to the organization. One of the main causes for litter is a lack of ownership felt by members of the com- munity, said Stultz. If peo- ple become convinced that the litter is not their respon- sibility, they will do nothing to help clean it up, she said. The national mission state- ‘ ment for Keep America Beautiful is: “To empower individuals to take greater responsibility for enhancing the community.” Stultz stressed that a Kings Mountain branch of Keep America Beautiful would be unlike any other organization in the city. To form a branch of an organi- zation of the caliber of Keep America Beautiful requires work, she said. She told volunteers not to be discour- aged during the group for- mation process. “You look at it and think, “This is a lot to do,” she said. Once the Kings Mountain branch of Keep America Beautiful is formed, Stultz will sit down with the board i SEDONA LX CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY LX Yr a FA: WWW.ROGERSKIA.COM 2 9 O g . 0 i 17 5 9 x 3 3 3 WWW.ROGERSKIA.COM Chrysler Corp.Sale end date 2/26/03. of directors and on them form a one-year plan for the city. The board will break into committees, which will be made up of volunteers. Initially, some debate took place as to whether the group should have a board of directors or be an adviso- ry committee to the City Council. With a board of directors, the group would have a level of independ- ence. Members could raise money independently and not be required to act at the pleasure of City Council, said Stultz. The Kings Mountain branch will, of course, have a board of directors. The board should include members of citizen groups, local government, business- es, media, school representa- tives, Chamber of Commerce, law enforce- ment, and commercial waste haulers. The board should be made up of approximate- ly 12-15 people. “It’s imperative that one group doesn’t dominate the board. It needs to represent the entire community,” she said. With a board, the group will qualify for nonprofit status, so the members will be able to apply for grants from various agencies, she said. Plus the organization will qualify for some gov- ernment funding as well, she said. Once the organization gets going, the interest will grow and more people will be included as volunteers or members of committees, she said. In Gastonia, the organ- ization has grown to be so large in the last 25 years that they occasionally have to turn people away from the board of directors, she said. Members attend every meet- ing and take active roles in the organization. WWW.ROGERSKIA.COM Jim Belt recognized by CC commissioners BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD Staff Writer The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday evening to dis- cuss the findings of a United Way survey of the county and to honor a local man for his work with Alzheimer’s patients. Dr. Steve Thornburg, chairman of the board of directors for United Way of Cleveland County, present- ed the group’s findings in the Cleveland County Needs Assessment He encouraged the commission- ers to use the results in their future planning. Thornburg said the infor- mation provided a “snap- shot of the county at one point in time.” The commu- nity was extremely involved in the process, through tele- phone and written key informant surveys. The information obtained in the process is “usable data,” he said. While the results tended to focus on the areas that need improvement through- out the county, Thornburg stressed that the county has many assets, as well, that make people want to live here. Thornburg said the fact that the county is will- ing to look at areas that need improvement shows that the county is a “desir- able place to live.” The study pointed out the chal- lenges faced by the commu- nity, although coming up with solutions for the pre- sented problems will be another matter, he said. The survey was done last August and includes unedit- ed comments from many of the people questioned. The survey was done during the height of the water crisis, causing many of the responses to reflect attitudes toward that problem. “The information is there for interpretation, depend- ing on how it needs to be used,” said Thornburg. “The information reflects a snapshot in time, and you need to put it in that con- text.” The household survey showed that the top five concerns of those polled were: lack of jobs, unem- ployment, lack of affordable - medical care, underemploy- ment, and roadside litter. The key informants indicat- ed that their top five con- cerns were: unemployment, lack of jobs, illiteracy, pover- ty, and child abuse and neg- lect. Jim Belt was honored for his civic work. Belt has techniques of Styles, Cuts & Color HAIRCUTS PLUS Welcomes to Their Staff TAMMI POWELL Specializing in Biosilk Color & Products : Paul Mitchell Specializing in Wella - Biolage the very latest Scrupl es Tammi Powell Sebastian - Tigi NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY WALK-INS WELCOME * After Hours Appointments Available * spent many hours working with Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes. He is a musician and songwriter and has written a song, “Who's Forgotten,” which was adopted by the Alzheimer’s Association. Founder of James Belt Ministries, Belt also raised money for the construction of the Kings Mountain sen- ior center and for Hospice of Cleveland County. At Christmas time, Belt also helps with the luminaries at the Mountain Rest Cemetery. Belt said his ministry began in 1991. 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