Since 1889
50 Cents
KEEPING COOL
ing a dip in the pool at the Kings Mountain County Club.
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Staying cool in the heat of summer is no problem forMeredith Van Dyke and Sarah Kate Fedyschyn, who were tak-
bents in Wards 2, 3 and 4 have filed for re-
John Oates Plonk Jr., 73, dies
Plonk founded
Foust Textiles in 1964
and continued to
work there until his
retirement earlier this
year.
By ANDIE BRYMER
Staff Writer
John Oates Plonk Jr., 73, Kings
Mountain business and church leader
died Tuesday at his 118 North
Piedmont Avenue residence.
Plonk is remembered for starting the
Lay Persons on Call ministry at Central
United Methodist Church where he
was a member. He was also involved
in starting the community kitchen and
annual preaching mission.
Family friend
Mary Neisler remem-
bers Plonk.
“He enjoyed
life so much. He was
a hard worker yet he
took time out to enjoy
KM escapes damage
from Sunday storm
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
The town did not lose electricity
during the storms. There were two
reports of tree limbs on electric
lines, according to Nick
Hendricks, electric director. The
limbs were removed after the
storm, he said.
Hendricks credits a tree trim-
ming program for there being no
electric outages.
“The tree trimming really
helped us tremendously,” he said.
Kings Mountain Police and
Cleveland County Sheriff's Office
reported no weather related inci-
dents in this area.
If the rain continues, this will be
While tornado sightings were
reported around Cleveland and
Gaston counties over the week-
end, Kings Mountain escaped
with only heavy rains. A Sunday
evening storm dumped 1 1/4
inches of rain on the town.
The precipitation brings this
month’s total rain fall to 6.63 inch-
es as of Sunday.
“If it keeps on, we're going to
have a wet month,” said Kenneth
Kitzmiller who keeps rain statis-
tics for the Kings Mountain
Herald.
life,” she said.
Neisler and her husband Charles
were members of a supper club with
Plonk and his wife Patricia. Over the
past 50 years, club members would
meet at one another's homes for
monthly meals. The families also trav-
eled together.
“It’s going to be such a void,” she
said.
She describes Plonk as deeply spiri-
tual.
See Plonk, 3A
GARY STEWART / HERALD
Art camp
held at KM
Middle School
8A
Incumbents,
Joy file for
City Council
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Kings Mountain City Council incum-
election. A bid is being made for an at-
large seat also.
Gary D. Joy, 63, has filed for an at-large
Kings Mountain City Council seat.
Joy said, if elected, he would work for
the elimination of unnecessary spending
and would work for industry recruitment.
He also is calling for greater council
involvement in capital projects costs.
He is opposed to what he calls “special
interest spending.” Joy declined to give an
example.
Joy supports two year terms for council
members.
Joy, now retired, spent his career in the
metal industry. Beginning in a shop, he
worked his way up to management. He
said this gave'him an understanding of
how finances work. He wants to use this
experience on the council.
Joy has lived in Kings Mountain since
childhood. He has made a previous
bid for mayor and for a council seat.
Incumbent Dean Spears, 69, has filed for §
the Ward 4 seat. He has served as a council £#
member for the past 10 years. :
“If elected I'll continue to do the best I
can for the benefit of Kings Mountain,” he
said.
Spears supports continued uptown
development, continuing water and sewer
expansion and upping the incentive for
new businesses.
“I would like to increase our incentives
as much as possible.”
See Council, 3A
Zoning authority
given to Grover
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER objections, the board of
GUYTON
KELLY
Staff Writer adjustments then got
involved.
GROVER - The Cleveland Approximately three
County Board of
Commissioners voted
Tuesday night to give back
to the Town of Grover
responsibility for zoning
variances.
In a unanimous vote,
commissioners approved
the measure which means
Grover will have to re-estab-
lish a board of adjustments.
In 1994, Grover estab-
lished zoning inside the
town limits. A volunteer
years ago, Grover handed
over to Cleveland County
the power to grant vari-
ances. The county and
Grover had the same zoning
codes in place.
“We didn’t have the peo-
~ ple to serve and couldn't
afford to hire an administra-
tor,” said Grover Mayor Bill
Favell.
Grover will have two
years to create a board of
—_
|
a record setting year, Kitzmiller
predicts. At the end of June, 47.81
inches had fallen. The record for
one year is 62 inches.
adjustments. Town council {
members cannot serve on 2
that board.
See Grover, 3A BC
Employees of Kennedy Concrete dig water
lines on Dixon School Road near I-85. The lines
will serve Kings Mountain Truck Plaza and pos-
sibly other future customers in the area.
KM man shot down over
Austria returns for visit
planning director heard
requests for variances. If a
neighboring landowner had
July has been exceptionally wet.
Eight days this month have had
some amount of rain.
High school
enrollment
increasing
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
! Kings Mountain District
Schools board held its July
meeting Thursday night.
During the public com-
ments period, parent Lillian
Butts asked why additional
mobile units are being put
in place at the high school.
Superintendent Dr. Larry
Allen said there was a total
increase of approximately
140 students at the high
school.
“Our classrooms are full.
We have plans to relieve
that. It may take a couple of
See School, 3A talks about his experiences during World War II.
ANDIE L. BRYMER/HERALD
Thomas Forbes has created a story board that he uses to illustrate
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Thomas Forbes was shot down
over Austria 59 years ago as an Army
Air Force flight engineer. Forbes sur-
vived the bail out and just last
autumn returned to visit the people
who helped him elude the Germans.
Forbes often visits school groups to
share his story. Last week, he shared
that same story with the Herald.
The plane Forbes, then 23, was rid-
ing in was shot by Germans. With a
wing on fire, the 10-member crew
used their parachutes at 22,000 feet.
Forbes watched as the plane's pilot
Clarence Southern was shot and
killed as he attempted the jump.
Forbes was lucky enough not to be
‘hit on the way down. Once on the
ground he hid underneath the para-
chute, using it as camouflage in the
deep snow drifts.
“My parachute saved my life
twice,” he said. “He (German gun-
ner) couldn’t find me in the snow.”
Forbes survived the jump with a
cut to the leg. He used the morphine
the army had supplied him to stop
the pain. Partisan forces, who were
under the leadership of Marshal Tito,
found him after the jump.
The Partisans, who were resisting
the German invaders, agreed to help
the wounded American. They took
him to two young Austrian women
for food and shelter. Forbes paid the
women with the 48 American one
dollar bills the Army had supplied in
emergency kits.
The women made Forbes a tempo-
rary home in a cavelike structure in
See Austria, 3A
FIRST NATIONAL BANK Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
704-739-4782
Celebrating 129 Years
Gastonia
529 New Hope Road
704-865-1233
Shelby
704-484-6200
106 S. Lafayette St.
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629- 3906
“Member FDIC