Newspapers / The Kings Mountain herald. / March 6, 2003, edition 1 / Page 1
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
—— Thursday, March 6, 2003 Vol. 115 No. 10 ) Since 1889 - 50 Cents «ay in Western Regionals Friday 8 _octional, 6A BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD Staff Writer Rev. Bill Jeffcoat, of St. MIRACLE KM pastor one of only two to survive heart machine £ thought the pain would go away. He laid down on the floor, and his dog began lick- Matthews Lutheran Church, is a walking miracle, his doctors say. When he first got sick, lit- tle could be done to help him. However, with the help of God and an unusual machine, he is finally on the road to recovery. When he first started experi- encing chest pains, Jeffcoat said he believed the problem was simply acid reflux, which many people experience. He ing his leg. His wife, Ginger Jeffcoat, tried to shoo the dog away, which caused it to turn and try to bite her. Jeffcoat said the dog gave his wife the insight to see that the problem was serious. She gave him an aspirin and took him to the hospital. At the hospital, the doctors decided that the problem was See Miracle, 3A Rev. Bill and Ginger Jeffcoat stand with Dr. Harold Howe, the cardiovascular surgeon who did Rev. Jeffcoat’s bypass surgery and hooked him up to the artificial heart machine. Kings Mountain Police Honor Guard Service with honor KMPD honor guard becoming visible in community By GARY STEWART Editor of The Herald Thirteen Kings Mountain police officers are gaining quite a reputation for their pro- fessionalism as members of an honor guard /color guard which serves the city and its citizens during special observances. Led by Sgt. Bob Myers, the honor guard serves members and families of the police department at funerals, and as a color guard serves the community at-large by displaying the colors at parades and special events. All of the officers volunteer their time. In addition to Myers, members of the group are Sgt. Shane Davis, Cpl. Tim Lail has seen many changes Adams, Cpl. Jimmy Buff, Cpl. Chad Burnette, Ptl. Brad Bumgardner, Ptl Thomas Bell, Ptl. Lee Farris, Ptl. Lance Hamrick, Ptl, Wes Ellis, Ptl. Philip King, Ptl. Ricky Putnam Jr., and Ptl. Tony Walker. Myers said the concept of an honor guard began in 1994 at the death of Sgt. Raymond Garris’ son, Shaun. Then, it was under the leadership of Captain Bob Hayes. Hayes, then Chief, later put Myers in charge of the honor guard. Although the honor guard took part in funerals occasionally since that time, Myers said it really became active last January when Chief Melvin Proctor gave him a free hand to equip the group with a suitable and presentable uniform that would com- pliment the police department and still be a product of independence of choice. The reorganized honor guard saw its first task in February of 2002 when Ptl. Joey Patrick’s mother died and the family requested the honor guard to take part in the service. A week later, Ptl. Jerry Shull’s father died and the honor guard participat- ed in his service and presented the American flag to his family. Recently, the honor guard served at the funeral home during visitation, and at the church during the service for former Chief of Police William Roper. As a color guard, the group has partici- pated in activities such as the September 11 See Honor, 3A ——— KINGS MOUNTAIN PEOPLE Grant will help with lake study BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD Staff Writer The City of Kings Mountain recently received a $40,000 Capacity Building Grant from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center. The grant is intended to help cities plan for critically needed water and wastewater projects and will be used to inves- tigate the creation of another lake in Kings Mountain. With the extreme draught conditions last summer, Kings Mountain citizens learned how precious the water at Moss Lake is to the city. A new lake would ensure that citizens always have enough water and that Moss Lake would have a backup, in case its water level dropped drastically. Water could be transferred from one lake to the other to keep the other full. “We've got to have water for our citizens,” said Mayor Rick Murphrey. “As the popula- tion increases, we'll need more water.” The city needs to plan for the future, he said. If the water goes, the industry will go as well. One of the major criteria for businesses wanting to relocate is water supply. Industries need an ample water supply to operate successfully. The new lake could also be a source of new economic development in the area, drawing new businesses into the city. Last summer, Shelby almost lost businesses due to the lack of water, said Ellis Noell, pub- lic relations director for Kings Mountain. Murphrey said that the city needs all the facts about building a new lake before any attempts are started. An environmental assessment needs to be done as well, he said. “Many more environmental requirements exist =} now than when John Moss built his lake, said Noell. Even with the amount of rain and snow the -area has received recently, the water table is still low, said Noell. Right after the draught, See Grant, 3A KM to host clerk class BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD Staff Writer The Kings Mountain senior center will host a North Carolina Association of Municipal Clerks class on Friday, said Marilyn Sellers, Kings Mountain City Clerk. The city was one of three cities in North Carolina to be chosen to host a class. Municipal clerks are required to take classes to keep their certification, said Sellers. The classes will be offered in three areas of the state to enable more clerks to attend. The Kings Mountain class will be the first. The others will take place on March 12 in Chapel Hill and March 14 at Kinston. The Kings Mountain class will be worth six credit hours and will be sponsored by the See Class, 3A Murphrey woman of year BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD Staff Writer Born in 1907, Grathel Lail, who spent most of her life in Grover, has seen a lot of changes. Airplanes and power had not been invent- ed yet, and buying a loaf of bread at the store was unheard of, she said. Bread always had to be baked at home. During World War I, Lail said she remembers having to eat cornbread three days a week because her family froze flour to send to the soldiers at Camp Croft. She said she also remembers the 9© CAS YOUR HOMETOWN BANK influenza that struck troops during the war for the first time. “Soldiers died like flies,” she said. She said she also remem- bers a time without aspirin tablets. People cured headaches by putting some kind of ointment on their heads and wrapping a band around their foreheads. Then they would simply lie down until they felt better. She said the only two cures most people used were Epsom salts and caster oil. Her family bought its first See Lail, 3A FIRST NATIONAL BANK Celebrating 129 Years GRATHEL LAIL Kings Mountain 300 W. Mountain St. : 704-739-4782 BY ABIGAIL WOLFORD Staff Writer Sandra Murphrey recently received the Kings Mountain Woman's Club Katharine Mauney Clubwoman of the Year award. Murphrey is a 20- year member of the club. Murphrey has been very active in the club and in the community for many years. She stressed the importance of becoming active in the community. “You've goT to have peo- ple active to have a good community,” she said. “You've got to get out there Gastonia 704-865-1233 and get the ball rolling.” For over ten years, she has served as the second vice president on the house com- mittee, where she takes care of all of the responsibilities related to the club house, including maintenance. She also served as the general chair of the Fall Festival in 2002. The Fall Festival is held on the third Wednesday in October each year. Each year, she serves as the co-chair of the deco- rating committee for the Festival with Johnsie Reavis. She serves as co-chair of See Murphrey, 5A Shelby 529 New Hope Road 106 S Lafayette St. 704-484-6200 SANDRA MURPHREY Bessemer City 225 Gastonia Hwy. 704-629-3906
March 6, 2003, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75