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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