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March 13, 2003
The Kings Mountain Herald
Page 3A
HRC A tp on
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ABIGAIL WOLFORD / HERALD
Johnsie Reavis, treasurer of the Southern Arts Society, accepts the check from Mary
Anne Hendricks, the first person to donate to the fund to renovate the depot. Pat
Childers, fundraising chair of the Southern Arts Society, looks on. The three women are
standing in front of the design for the new Kings Mountain Arts Center, which will be
located in the depot.
DEPOT
From 1A
floor will be hardwood,
although a couple of areas
will have to have tile. The
building will be painted
with Victorian-era colors.
“This is one of the best
things that could come to
Kings Mountain,” said
Reavis. “It is truly exciting.
I'm looking forward to what
we can do for the communi-
ty. It’s been a dream, and
it’s coming true. By bits and
pieces, it’s coming true.”
The depot will be open to
the public as an art center
once it is completed. People
will be able to come and
look at the galleries and
learn about art.
“A lot of people don’t like
art unless it looks like a pic-
ture, and some art doesn’t,”
throughout the year. The
workshops will be run by
volunteers from the art soci-
ety.
“We're all volunteers.
There's no one that is paid,”
said Childers. “Tt will
remain that way.”
The Southern Arts Society
members have explored all
types of art, said Childers.
Most of the members do
water media more than any
other type of painting,
although a few enjoy work-
ing with pastels, oil, and col-
lage, as well. Reavis and
Childers said they enjoy
water colors the most since
oil takes so long to dry, but
they have experimented in
all the different media.
Children tend to enjoy col-
lage more than any other
type of art, said Reavis.
Several of the members
also enjoy pottery, which is
said Childers. She said she ~~ why the group hopes to
hopes the center will help invest in a potter's wheel
foster an appreciation of art and a kiln for the pottery
in Kings Mountain citizens.
Reavis said she hopes the
depot will appeal to the rail-
road buffs in town, as well.
“We think we'll see them
down there. We encourage
them to come and see the
changes,” she said.
Many of the remnants of
the depot are still there. For
example, the old bay win-
dow, which was used to
watch for trains, is still’
there. :
“Everyone has some kind
of memory of the railroad
and depot,” said Reavis.
She said some people still
remember coming to the
depot to see soldiers off dur-
ing wars.
studio soon. The pottery
studio is already cleaned up
and available for the group
members to use for their
meetings. They began to
use the building in February.
The society is asking for
donations in order to help
fund the renovation project.
One hundred percent of the
money donated will go to
the project, said Childers.
“It’s going to be just won-
derful to kids. Uppermost
in our plans is the children,”
said Reavis. .
Both she and Childers
have grandchildren who
love to paint, she said. She
said that she has watched
many elementary age chil-
} - dren paint.
Southern Railway quit
using the depot in the late “They love to paint, but
1960s. In the mid-1970s, the they don't get to do it as
depot was converted into a
senior center under the
direction of John Henry
Moss, who was mayor at the
time. (>
“It has a lot of history,”
said Reavis.
The society will also host
art camps for children dur-
ing the summer and on
weekends. They also hope
to hold Saturday workshops
long as they would like,”
said Reavis. “Maybe we can
help in that area.”
She said she has seen the
work of the high school art
students, as well.
“They are good,” she said.
The Southern Arts Society
gives scholarships to stu-
dents from every school in
the county who want to go
to art school. In fact, the
" -
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society has never turned
down one child who has
asked for help to go to art
school, said Reavis. The
society has even put some
adults through art school.
One woman was a single
parent who wanted to
become/an art teacher but
could not afford the school.
The society was able to pro-
vide scholarships for her.
The society also tells the
scholarship recipients each
year that if they get to col-
lege and need financial help,
they can call the society.
The students usually write
letters and come back to
visit the society, said Reavis.
“We are paid back just by
their thankfulness,” she
said. “It’s worth everything.
It’s just great.”
She said she wishes that
more organizations would
give scholarships. She
acknowledged that several
civic groups in the area give
general scholarships, but
none of them focus on one
particular area of study; she
said.
“We would love to have it
open by September,” said
Reavis. However, the socie-
ty will only be able to work
with the money they have.
If donations come in quickly,
they will be able to work
much faster.
City reports
sewage spill
The City of Kings
Mountain had a sewer spill
Friday on Crocker Road
between Beason Creek and
El Bethel Road.
According to Dennis Wells
of the Kings Mountain
Water and Sewer
Department, roproxaiiely
5,100 gallons spilled into a
drainage ditch when a 10-
inch force main ruptured,
but did not make it into
Beason Creek.
City staff repaired the line
and the system is now flow-
ing properly, Wells said.
Diamond
Solitaire
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is ARNOLD"
WHITE
From 1A
In 1974, White took a political science
class at Cleveland Tech and met some offi-
cers, who encouraged him to get involved in
the reserves. Although he did not apply to
be in the reserves until 1976, he was
intrigued by the idea. He said he has now
worked under six police chiefs.
“I've enjoyed helping out the city,” he
said.
Usually one or two reserves work at a
time at the main police department, and
three are usually stationed at Moss Lake, he
said. Both Shelby and Cleveland County
have reserves, as well.
“They're something the city can’t do with- -
out,” he said.
White said he enjoys the people that he
works with at the police department more
than any other part of the job. He said he
also enjoys meeting the different people
who ¢ome through the police department.
“You meet a whole lot of different people.
Some you can help. Some you can’t,” he
said.
Now that he is retired, White enjoys
spending time with his two grandsons:
Dustin, age 2, and Christopher, age 8. Both
live in Kings Mountain and spend a lot of
time with him.
White met his wife, Shirley, in high
school. They were part of the first class to
graduate from the new Kings Mountain
High School in 1969. They got married in
1970. The couple has two kids: Scott White,
who lives in Polkville, and Sharon Parker,
who lives in town. White said he sees his
kids two or three times each week. He and
his wife have been married for 32 years.
“I don’t love nobody else,” he said. “My.
wife kept me going and all.”
He said he appreciates the support his
wife has shown him through the years. For
the last few years before he retired, he had
to drive to Greensboro each morning, mean-
ing that he spent four hours on the road
each day. His wife worked for the govern-
ment full time and still found time to do the
cooking and the cleaning when she got
home.
In 1971, White was drafted into the army
and spent 11 months in Vietnam. Although
he has been safely at home for over 30
years, he said he is still haunted by the
memories of his time in the war.
“I seen a lot of stuff over there,” he said.
“It was something you'll never forget.”
With the recent conflicts in the world,
White said that he feels for the people who
have been sent overseas to fight.
“I feel for the people over there,” he said.
“You really don’t know what you're getting
into.”
Although his time in Vietnam was diffi-
cult, White said that he would defend his
country again if he was needed.
“I went to serve my country, and if they
called me today and asked me to serve
again, I would go. I'm sure that’s why they
[soldiers overseas right now] are there, too.”
White is the son of Raeford, Sr. and
Frances White, who still live in Kings
Mountain. His wife’s parents still live in
Kings Mountain, as well. His sister, Lori
Henderson, lives here also. Henderson was
born while White was serving in Vietnam,
making them 20 years apart in age.
Mr. and Mrs. White attend Kings
Mountain Baptist Church. White serves as a
deacon and as a member of the building and
personnel committees at the church. He
said his parents always took him to church
as a child, but he stopped going for a while.
Six or seven years ago, he decided to come
back to church, he said.
“If people’d go to church, it'd be a whole
lot better world,” he said.
He said he has seen a lot of people who
could benefit from church during his time
on the reserves. He said the church has also
helped him deal with all that he experienced
during Vietnam.
White's hobbies include deer-hunting,
fishing, and playing in the church league
volleyball game.
MANAGER
From 1A
national trade publications and has had 69
people apply. Although no one already
employed by the city has applied, many
applicants with a wide range of skill levels
have shown interest in the job.
The applicants have been from all over the
United States and have anywhere from zero
to several years of experience. Whoever is
chose will need to have utility experience.
Kings Mountain is one in eight cities in
North Carolina that sells four utilities.
The Council has indicated that they
would like to have a North Carolina person,
preferably from this area, take the position,
said Murphrey. Good communication skills
are also a priority for the job since the city
manager deals with so many people in the
course of a day.
The applicant screening began on
February 4 and will continue for as long as
it takes to choose a person for the job.
In other business, the Council voted unan-
imously to approve a budget amendment in
the water and sewer fund in the amount of
$45,000 for the Compact School Road water
line extension. The city will be reimbursed
by the North Carolina Department of
Transportation for the project.
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