Thursday, October 16, 2003
KINGS
V1 Al
Vol. 115 No. 42
Since 1889
Mountaineers
win homecoming. | ce
game over R-S
50 Cents
2B |
Merger fight goes to Washington
If Justice Department rules against KM, it could appeal to U.S. District Court
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
While the fate of Kings
Mountain District Schools is now
in the hands of the Department of
Justice, even that decision can be
appealed.
The North Carolina Supreme
Court refused Friday to hear an
appeal by the state Court of
Appeals. Now the Department of
Justice has 60 days from the time it
is notified of the Supreme Court
decision to determine if the merger
violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
If that decision is in Kings
Mountain’s favor, the school sys-
tem will remain independent. If
the court rules against Kings
Mountain, the system could appeal
to the U.S. District Court in the
District of Columbia, according to
KMDS’s attorney Richard
Schwartz.
Schwartz said Tuesday he did
not know when the Justice
Department would be notified.
Schwartz refused to speculate on
what the Justice Department
would decide. The mood was
somber at Monday night's KMDS
board meeting.
“The North Carolina Supreme
Court has denied our request for
an appeal,” saicdt Superintendent
Dr. Larry Allen. “We do not know
any details at this point.”
Cleveland County
Commissioners voted to merge
Kings Mountain, Cleveland
County and Shelby City schools in
the spring of 2000. The North
Carolina Board of Education
approved the plan on June 1, 2000.
At that point, Kings Mountain
District Schools filed a lawsuit
against the state board of educa-
tion because the merger did not
include approximately 183 of its
students who lived in Gaston
County.
When Wake County Superior
Court upheld the merger, KMDS
took the case to the state Court of
Appeals where it was turned
down.
According to KMDS officials, the
three year fight has cost the school
system $410,720 in attorney fees.
Cleveland County :
Commissioners appointed two rep-
resentatives from all three school
boards and three at-large members
to an interim, planning board three
years ago. That nine-member
board has been on hold since the
legal challenge.
It appears those board members
will be reactivated if the merger
occurs. George Litton, a Cleveland
County Board of Education mem-
ber, was named chair of the
merged board in 2000. He was
advised by elections officials that
board members stay on that board
unless they are replaced during the
general election.
Those board member were origi-
nally acting in an advisory capaci-
ty. After KMDS filed a lawsuit to
stop the merger, the interim board
was put on hold. Members were
never sworn in.
If the merger does go through,
the board will be sworn. Their first
action will be to choose a superin-
tendent. Cleveland County Schools
Superintendent Gene Moore is the
most likely candidate for that posi-
tion.
Litton doubts administrators
GARY STEWART / HERALD
Dam at old City Lake
GARY STEWART / HERALD
A tree fell on a power line Monday morning at the corner of Henry Street and Rhodes Avenue, putting about 800 city
electrical customers in the dark. The City Electrical Department re-routed power to restore it to all but about 50 of
those customers within 45 minutes, but those 50 remained without power for several hours.
Dam to be repaired
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
City Lake will undergo an estimated
$70,000 in repairs after state inspectors
found some problems.
Kings Mountain Mayor Rick
Murphrey said the problems are not
structural.
“There are no major problems. Some
seams need to be filled in with grout,”
he said.
Cracks in some joints and surface
peeling of cement will be repaired also,
the mayor said.
The water level has been lowered by
around six feet so engineers from
Pinacle Engineering could look at the
dam. J.C. Bumgardner, an engineer
from the Asheville firm, described the
repairs as maintenance.
No time table has been established
for repairs yet, Murphrey said. The
lake is still open to fishing though the
level will be lowered even more while
repairs are made.
“It will be a while before we do
that,” Murphrey said.
The city used City Lake and nearby
Lake Davidson for its water supply
before Moss Lake was built in 1974.
Approximately $350,000 in repairs
were made to Lake Davidson 10 years
ago, according to Kings Mountain City
Councilman Jim Guyton.
The city is considering making
enhancements at City Lake and Lake
Davidson to support passive recreation
though no time frame has been estab-
lished.
Westover may attempt to de-annex
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Residents in the Westover communi-
ty say they may attempt to de-annex
themselves because the City of Kings
Mountain is not providing sewer serv-
ices.
The group plans to attend October's
city council meeting to learn more
about the reverse annexation proce-
dure.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK Kings Mountain
Celebrating 129 Years
Keith Bradley, a Churchill Street resi-
dent who has addressed city council
twice, says that officials told his neigh-
borhood when they were annexed five
years ago they would have sewer,
garbage pick up, police and fire protec-
tion.
“We're paying $400 a year for
garbage pickup,” he said. v
Bradley told the Herald city taxes on
his 1,900 square foot house have run
between $300 and $465 annually.
300 W. Mountain St.
704-739-4782
The city receives taxes from 32 fami-
lies living in Westover. This includes
Churchill Drive, Westover, Washington
and Ware streets
City manager Phil Ponder contends
that the residents are getting what they
pay for - garbage pick up, police, fire
and other services provided by the
general fund. The city’s water and
sewer department is self supporting,
operating off customer payments, not
from tax revenues which go in the gen-
Gastonia
529 New Hope Road
704-865-1233
from Kings Mountain and Shelby
will be without jobs.
“I think the merged board will
honor every contract,” he said.
“We'll take the good people we
have and mold them into a unit. I
would imagine there will be
enough work for everybody.”
Litton admitted that tensions
exists between the systems after
three years of legal battles.
“It’s going to be a new day.
We're going to have to deal with
that,” he said. :
Litton praised Kings Mountain
test scores.
“Kings Mountain has had great
success,” he said. “They're good
folks. We're going to have to work
together.” :
Prior to serving on the
Cleveland school board, Litton
worked as principal at Crest High.
je Schools may say
no to smoking
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Smokers may not be able
to puff away any longer at
Kings Mountain High
School football games. State
officials are encouraging
school systems to complete-
ly eliminate tobacco from
schools.
Kings Mountain District
Schools board members,
directed Superintendent Dr.
Larry Allen to gauge princi-
pals’ opinions and report
back to the board. That
request came during
Monday night’s board meet-
ing
the policy, there will no
longer be a smoking area at
football games. Visitors will
not be allowed to use tobac-
co products on any campus-
es system wide. The rule
also applies to teachers who
are currently allowed to use
tobacco in an area out of the
view of students.
Shelby
106 S. Lafayette St.
704-484-6200
If the board implements
HOMECOMING QUEEN
Across the state, 29 of the
117 school systems have
totally eliminated tobacco.
Gaston County is currently
considering such a measure.
In other business, Director
of Student Services Phil
Weathers briefed board
members on the school’s
critical incident plan.
Weathers and other admin-
istrators have been working
with Kings Mountain Police
Captain Jerry Tessneer on
what to do if a shooting or
other emergency happens
on campus.
Officials are determining
where to stage public safety
officials and the media,
place road blocks, establish
a command post, locations
of emergency resource kits,
helicopter coordinates and
safe areas for students.
Once a location for stu-
dents has been established,
parents will be notified.
Tessneer is coordinating
efforts with the Cleveland
County Sheriff's Office for a
GARY STEWART / HERALD
Tiffany Williams was crowned homecoming queen during
halftime festivities at Friday’s Kings Mountain High foot-
ball game. She is the daughter of Lester and LaSundra
Williams.
Bessemer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3906
Member FDIC ..
Sei