Thursday, September 4, 2003
KINGS
The He
Vol. 115 No. 36
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By ELIZABETH STEWART
Special to The Herald
Major leaguer Tony Cloninger, pitching
coach for the Boston Red Sox and resident
of Kings Mountain, started his baseball
career in Cherryville with American Legion
Post 100.
But Cloninger, 63, is not only a winner as
a team player and coach but also is a win-
ner as a cancer Survivor.
A seasoned veteran on the mound and in
the bullpen, Cloninger has been recuperat-
ing at his home after surgery and treatment
for bladder cancer.
"The doctors tell me I am cancer free and
Cancer free
Major leaguer Cloninger going back
to Boston with a clean bill of health
I'm getting ready to go back to work next
week," Cloninger said recently as he
relaxed in his home and talked of his
dream to help build a ball field and coach-
ing clinic at the back of Penley's Chapel
Church in Kings Mountain and "give
something back to the kids of the commu-
nity."
"Baseball has been good to me for 30
years," said Cloninger, who wants to con-
duct baseball clinics during off seasons to
get more area youth involved in baseball.
He can't say enough about his new
friends and supporters in the church,
including Pastor Doug Allen and Voyd
See Cloninger, 3A
TONY CLONINGER
BACK TO SCHOOL
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Students Christopher Gordon, Kristie Stone and April Holcomb work with instructor Marie Ballard.
Adult Basic Ed at East School
helps drop-outs earn diploma
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Kristie Stone had difficulty learning
in her high school’s large classrooms.
Frustrated, she left school before grad-
uating. Now, she wants to attend cos-
metology school and eventually work
as a model.
But before she can énroll in cosme-
tology school, Stone must have a high
school diploma. To achieve her goal,
she is attending adult basic education
classes three nights a week at East
Elementary School.
Her class is small and quiet. There is
more individual attention from teacher
Marie Ballard.
“I'm learning,” she says, obviously
pleased with her progress.
Stone and her classmates study math
and reading, in preparation for either
said.
adult high school or GED classes.
Classmate Christopher Gordon
moved to Kings Mountain from
Maryland to work for his grandfather's
janitorial service.
“I don’t want to do that forever,” he
Gordon hopes to either attend col-
lege or join the military. In the few
weeks he has been in class, Gordon is
See Adult, 3A
Shear uses job loss as stepping
stone to new career in teaching
Staff Writer
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
“I realized this is what I
should have been doing all
my life.”
DARNELL SHEAR
When Darnell Shear’s
banking job of 15 years fell
victim to corporate down
sizing, she looked at it as an
opportunity.
“This is the Lord’s way of
telling me I ought to go into
another profession,” she
said.
Shear took a job as a
teacher’s assistant. She
already had a degree in
business administration but
liked the classroom so much,
she earned an associate
degree in early childhood
education.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
Now she is returning to
school for a third degree.
This time a bachelors in
birth through kindergarten
education.
The new degree was creat-
ed in response to research
about the critical importance
of the first five years in a
child’s life.
“It’s a very critical age,”
Shear said.
Shear applied to UNC-
Charlotte for the program
but was not looking forward
to the commute. Then she
learned Appalachian State
Kings Mountain
300 W. Mountain St.
704-739-4782
University was offering a
satellite program at
Cleveland Community
College. Shear calls it a “gift
from God.”
That was over two years
ago. Shear was accepted into
the program and has com-
pleted most of the course-
work. Now she is awaiting
scores from an exam that
will determine if she can
take the last five courses.
After those five courses,
Shear will complete a 300
hour internship working
with infants and toddlers.
The hours must be complet-
ed at a five star daycare cen
See Shear, 3A
Gastonia
704-865-1233
merger case
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
The State Supreme Court late Tuesday
afternoon granted an injunction against
implementation of the Cleveland County
merger plan until the Supreme Court
decides whether or not it will hear the case.
Kings Mountain District Schools recently
lost its appeal to the State Court of Appeals.
That verdict was 3-0, meaning the Supreme
Court can decline to hear the case.
Supt. Dr. Larry Allen said he received
word from the Schools’ attorney, Bryan
Shaw of Raleigh, that he had filed the
request for an injunction and the merger is
_ “on hold” until the Supreme Court receives
official documentation for an appeal from
See Merger, 3A
a KM SAT
scores up
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Kings Mountain High
School students scored 16
points higher on the SAT
test in 2002 than they did in
12001.
The Scholastic Aptitude
Test measures students ver-
bal and math abilities and is
most often used as a factor
in college admissions deci-
sions. The test is adminis-
tered by the private, non-
profit College Board.
Kings Mountain Principal
John Yarbro is proud of the
students.
“We're tickled any time
students excel,” he said.
The scores jumped from
972 in 2001 to 988 in 2002.
The number of students tak-
ing the test also increased
from 54 percent to 61.6 per-
cent.
Yarbro credited students
for taking the most chal-
lenging courses.
“That helps you prepare
better,” he said.
Also, the school spon-
sored a preparation pro-
gram during the regular
school day and a two week
intensive just prior to test-
ng.
“The students have taken
advantage of that and work
hard,” Yarbro said.
Daily classroom instruc-
tion was another factor in
the higher scores.
Good SAT scores put stu-
dents in a more favorable
position when it comes time
to apply to college, Yarbro
said.
“It’s all about being pre-
pared,” the principal said.
Injunction
granted in
a
GARY STEWART / HERALD
Five-year-old Lauren Queen enjoyed the Labor Day holi-
day swinging on the monkey bars at the playground at
Jake Early Sports Complex.
Shelby
529 New Hope Road 106 S Lafayette St.
704-484-6200
Bessemer City
225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906