307 11. A
Thursday, December 18, 2003
KINGS MOUNTAIN vw SH
Vol. 115 No. 51
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
on the drawing board.
National and state park officials met
ernment and residents Thursday night
Cabin located behind the Kings Mount
tourism purposes.
center.
See Trails, 3A
"Taking a hike from downtown Kings. Mountain to
nearby Crowders or Kings Mountain parks may become
easier than it sounds. A trail system connecting all four is
Senior Center to talk about the proposed Gateway Trails.
The three proposed trails would begin at the Barber
Museum. The National Park Service has designated the
City of Kings Mountain a “Gateway community.” This
nationwide program links parks with nearby towns for
The eastern trail would go through Canterbury and
end up at the Crowders Mountain State Park visitor's
Since 1889
Bobby Hussey
getting involved
in basketball
again
7A
i
50 Cents
with local gov-
at the Patrick
ain Historical
JOSEPH BRYMER / HERALD
Michael Eldridge, right, and Dennis Cole look over the map of the proposed gateway trail at Thursday’s meeting at
the Patrick Center. Below, Chris Revels of the National Park Service listens to the presentation.
Trails would
hein : at cabin
Gaston would send students to 2 schools
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
If Kings Mountain District Schools
are forced to merge with Cleveland
County Schools, around 180 current
Kings Mountain students will be con-
sidered Gaston County Schools stu-
dents. However, those students may
get to remain in their current schools.
These students live in Gaston
County but also inside the Kings
Mountain city limits.
7th annual luminary display
Christmas Eve at cemetery
The Gaston school board voted
Monday night to assign the elementary
students, around 100 pupils, to its
Bessemer City and Chapel Grove dis-
tricts if merger does occur. The stu-
dents would be split with 50 going to
each school.
George Litton, a current Cleveland
County Board of Education member
who will chair an interim merged
board, said he believes those students
should be allowed to stay at their cur-
rent schools. Litton said he was not
speaking on behalf of the entire board.
“It’s my personal feeling if and when
merger occurs we welcome those stu-
dents to go to the schools they are
attending,” Litton said.
He said Cleveland County Schools
has always had a liberal transfer policy.
Before Cleveland could make any deci-
sions those students would first have
to be released by Gaston County
Schools.
When Cleveland approves an out of
See Gaston, 3A
Alcohol vote
taken off KM
Council agenda
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
A controversial vote on
allowing alcohol at city
owned properties was taken
off Kings Mountain City
Councils Tuesday agenda
apparently due to an outcry
from area churches.
Council member Carl
DeVane issued a press
release Monday which read,
“Due to the withdraw of a
commitment by an outgoing
council member and erro-
neous information distrib-
uted, I am requesting that
the mayor remove [tem 17
as stated above from the
Dec. 16, 2003 city council
agenda.”
DeVane would not say
who the outgoing council
member. The four outgoing
council members are Gene
White, Dean Spears, Jim
Guyton and Clavon Kelly.
Kelly, White and Guyton
have consistently spoken
out against alcohol. Kelly
went on record to say it was
not him. White was the first
council member to publicly
oppose the item.
Guyton declined to com-
ment citing issues with the
media.
See Alcotiol, 3A
KM board Approves
Testa poker permit i
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
:
Kings Mountain Board of .
Adjustment members
approved a conditional use
permit Monday afternoon
allowing Jim Testa to oper-
ate three video poker
machines, however, that
decision was criticized by
Don Johnson who also owns
video poker machines.
Johnson accused the
board of making a “special
exemption” for Testa
because he plans to develop
an industrial park and build
a motel on property along I-
85 and Dixon School Road.
Johnson called the adjust-
ment board “the most dis-
criminatory group of people
I have ever witnessed in my
life.”
City planner Steve Killian
spoke up defending the
board as “consistent and
New council
takes office,
DeVane named
mayor pro-tem
BY ANDIE 1. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Council member Carl
DeVane was narrowly elect-
ed mayor pro-tem during
Tuesday night's Kings
Mountain City Council
meeting, defeating Jerry
Mullinax by one vote.
Council members ~~
Howard Shipp, Rick Moore
and Houston Corn voted
for DeVane. Brenda Ross
and Kay Hambright - voted
tor Mullinax.
Before the new cotincil
members were sworn, the
outgoing council voted on
several matters. =~
They approved a $17, 000.
contract for architects
Stewart, Cooper and
Newell to draw plans for
improvements at Patriot's
Park. The vote was original-
ly bundled with other mat-
ters on the consent agenda i
council member Jim
uyton had it removed.
Fa
fair.”
Board chairman Bob
Myers said Johnson was
“entitled to his opinion but
we try to be unbiased in all
decisions we make.”
Board member Clavon
Kelly said if applicants meet
requirements they cannot be
turned down.
The board approved a
conditional use permit Nov.
13 allowing Johnson to con-
tinue operating video poker
machines at the Silver
Express shopping center.
However, the city has
sought civil penalties from
Johnson and permanent
injunctions against poker
machines at seven other
businesses he owns.
Johnson said legal fees
have put his company in a
financial bind.
City attorney Mickey
Corry updated city council
See Testa, 3A
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
help light jugs beginning at 2:30 p.m. and
stay during the night to keep them burning.
Persons wishing to place lights on their
loved one’s graves should go by the ceme-
tery and do it themselves. Belt said volun-
teers place the milk jugs on as many graves
as they can, but they cannot take the time to
look for specific grave markers.
“Everything will be furnished, such as
bags, candles and lighters,” he said. “But we
do need to stress that people take it upon
themselves to place jugs on their loved ones’
graves. We will be glad to light them.”
Approximately 10,000 people saw last
year’s display, and Belt hopes that number
will increase to 15,000 this year. For the first
time there will be a street counter to accu-
rately count the number of cars coming
through.
For the seventh straight year, luminaries
will light up Mountain Rest Cemetery from
6-12 p.m. Christmas Eve.
“It’s becoming quite a tradition,” says Jim
Belt, who along with his wife, Brenda,
began the event in 1997 to honor deceased
friends and relatives. ~
The event has grown from 40 luminaries
that year to over 6,000 the past several
years. Luminaries will light part of King
Street to the entrance of the cemetery, as
well as the route and approximately 5,000
graves.
There will also be several writings on the
hills of the cemetery, such as the Star of
David and “A Child is Born.”
Belt is looking for over 60 volunteers to
GARY STEWART / HERALD
See Luminary, 3A Jim Belt puts out milk jugs for Christmas Eve luminary display at Mountain Rest
Cemetery.
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