Thursday, February 27, 2003
i»
‘ Vol. 115 'No. 9
Since 1889
50 Cents
iL
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
husband was working and their four
Woman attempting to burn spiders
accidentally sets her house on fire
Bethlehem’
GARY STEWART / HERALD
Firemen work the scene of a house fire Tuesday afternoon on Timms Street near Kings Mountain.
s district, Kings Mountain
Council hacks
off on US 74
annexation
BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD
about annexation.”
Staff Writer Councilman Gene White
? was the lone voice of oppo-
City Council Tuesday sition on Tuesday evening.
night took a major step
toward ending the annexa-
tion process for the City of
Kings Mountain.
The Council was sup-
posed to vote on whether to
hold a special meeting about
the 2000-H annexation on
May 29 at 6:30 p.m. The
special meeting was neces-
sary for the City Council to
develop an annexation ordi-
nance for the area. The
effective date of the annexa-
tion was to have been July 1,
2004.
However, Councilman
Dean Spears requested that
the item be moved from the
consent agenda to the regu-
lar agenda. When the time
came to discuss the issue,
Spears made a motion to
stop the annexation process
for the time being.
Councilman Jim Guyton
He said that Kings
Mountain needs to do some-
thing to replace the textile
industry that is leaving and
that the proposed annexa-
tion area businesses would
help the city. He noted that
the managers of the busi-
nesses had a responsibility
to oppose the annexation
but that, in the end, the
annexation would not hurt
them. He said that the
amount of property taxes
the businesses would have
to pay as a part of the city
would be offset by the bene-
fits of the city utilities.
“Don’t let the county dic-
tate our annexation policy,”
he said.
He said that he thought
the county had been harass-
ing the mayor to stop the
children in school, lit some paper and
was trying to kill the spiders.
“After it ignited she attempted to
put the fire out two times, but was
unsuccessful and had to get out of
the house,” Davis said.
was the first department on the
scene, arriving within minutes after
the call. ;
Fireman Chad Johnson said the fire
was too far advanced to save the
home. : j
seconded the motion. annexation process. Mayor
Rick Murphrey was absent
from the meeting and was,
therefore, unable to com-
ment on that charge,
A Kings Mountain woman trying
to smoke Black Widow Spiders out
from under a kitchen cabinet acciden-
tally set her house on fire Tuesday
Both Council members
said that the annexation
would hurt the businesses
STRODE The House was insured ) that would be annexed to although the other
The home of Johnny and Patricia “They were lucky on that end,” “The fire had suirted in the kitchen of he iy. Those Rustnomes Councilmen said that they
Martin at 122 Timms Street just south Davis said. and pretty much worked its way included Sara Lee Intimates." had heard no thing about |
of the city limits was completely The family was to stay with rela- throughout the house before we got They:said the business man- | ;problems with the county.
there,” Johnson said. “The initial agers in the proposed area White also said that
tives Tuesday night and the
American Red Cross is assisting
them.
Kings Mountain, Bethlehem and
Grover fire departments responded
to the blaze. Although the fire is in
destroyed. 7
Cleveland County Fire Marshal
Perry Davis said the house and its
contents were a total loss.
According to Davis, Mrs. Martin,
who was in the home alone while her
opposed the annexation.
Councilman Clavon Kelly
also voiced his opposition to
the annexation process, say-
ing, “We've got too much to
do in the city to worry
annexation is a major part of
economic and urban devel-
opment for cities. Without
annexation, the city really
has no way to move for-
ward.
knockdown just took a few minutes
but we didn’t get control for awhile.
There were a lot of hot spots and a
lot of kerosene heaters inside the
structure.”
City to pay for
depot renovation
Natural gas price going up
BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD natural gas prices capnot stay as high as BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD
Staff Writer they are. They will eventually have to come gi ff Writer
down, although they may rise a bit more The city recently leased
Concerned about the price of gas? How before they begin to fall again. the old depot to the
about the price of natural gas? If you are In the mean time, citizens and industries Southern Arts Society for $1
will be greatly impacted, he said. In fact,
they will probably be more affected by the
jump in the cost of natural gas than they
ever have been. Revenue will be lost, he
said. Many industries will cope with the
drastic cost increase by passing it along to
the customers, he said.
Many businesses will probably opt to
switch to fuel oil this week. In fact, he said
that any businesses that could possibly
switch to fuel oil will do so. He said he
expected to see the change in the businesses
by either Wednesday night or by Friday.
See Gas, 3A
not now, you may be soon.
On Monday, the price of natural gas
jumped 38%, more than it ever has in a sin-
gle day. Since the beginning of February,
the prices of natural gas has doubled.
On Tuesday evening, Councilman Gene
White brought the problems with the price
of natural gas to the attention of the other
Council members. He asked City Manager
Jimmy Maney to explain the situation and
comment on it.
“It’s unlike any market that we've seen,”
said Maney.
Maney said that history shows that the
per month. In a continuing
gesture of goodwill, the
City Council also voted
unanimously to pay for a
new roof and building
improvements for the
depot.
Mayor Rick Murphrey
said that similar improve-
ments were made on the
old post office when the
historical museum decided
to lease the building. The
See Depot, 3A
Mary Neisler receives Gateway Award
BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD
Staff Writer
Neisler. “Everything that was done
was done out of love for the communi-
ty.”
she said she normally expected those
who were honored to be humanitari-
ans.
“That's not been my forte,” she said.
“It’s harder to do that.”
Instead, her forte is preserving the
past so that future generations can
learn from their ancestors.
“I hope it helps Kings Mountain
become aware of how we fit into the
future,” she said.
She said the historical preservation
has been helped by the nearness of the
battlegrounds and the mountains. The
projects within Kings Mountain have
been inspired by her love of the com-
munity and have gradually grown, she
said.
“It’s been gradual. I've always been
interested in history,” she said, of how
See Neisler, 3A
Mary Neisler has always been inter-
ested in history and has infected many
other members of the community to
preserve Kings Mountain's history. On
Tuesday evening, she was honored for
her efforts with the Gateway Award,
which was given by the Kings
Mountain Business and Professional
Association.
Kathy Neely, president of the Kings
Mountain Business and Professional
Association, said that the Gateway
award was given to member of the
community who was actively trying to
make the community a better place to
live. As part of her award, in addition
to the roses and the plaque, Neisler
was made an honorary lifetime mem- .
ber of the Kings Mountain Business
and Professional Association.
“I'm just so overwhelmed,” said
ABIGAIL WOLFORD / HERALD
Josh Conrad, Bob Boles, and Johnny Putnam reroute some
circuits on the corner of Gold Street and Gaston Street on
Tuesday.
Mary Neisler received the Gateway
Award on Tuesday evening for her
efforts to preserve historical Kings
Mountain.
Kings Mountain Gastonia Shelby Bessemer City
FIRST NATIONAL BANK 300 W. Mountain St. 529 New Hope Road 106 S Lafayette St. 225 Gastonia Hwy.
Celebrating 129 Years 704-739-4782 704-865-1233 704-484-6200 704-629-3906