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December 18, 2003
The Kings Mountain Herald
COUNCIL
From 1A
“I will not vote for
Stewart and Cooper. That's
the reason I'm taking it off
the agenda,” he said.
Guyton cast the lone dis-
senting vote when the mat-
ter came up as an individual
agenda item.
The Rotary Club has
pledged that it will sponsor
those improvements as part
of the club’s centennial proj-
ect.
Johnnie Bynum asked
council to reopen Groves
Street because she wants to
sell property there for devel-
opment. Barricades were
placed there approximately
two years ago due to alleged
criminal activity.
The street was never offi-
cially closed, therefore,
reopening it would not
require a vote by council.
However council did vote to
have it reopened if the
police chief and city manag-
er would approve the matter
after an inspection.
Council members unani-
mously appointed Kathy
Anderson from the Kings
Mountain Comfort Inn to
the Tourism Development
Authority.
Council unanimously
approved an ordinance
which would allow new
employees to participate in
the retirement plan after one
month instead of six.
Unanimous approval was
given for an industrial
incentive grant to
Commonwealth Tube
Enterprises.
City Planner Steve Killian
asked council to approve a
$3,500 budget amendment
»
to pay a consultant to ana-
lyze providing sewer servic-
es to Westover residents.
The consultant would also
give an opinion on the com-
petitiveness of a CDBG
grant application for that
project.
Gene White questioned
what the economic impact
would be if Spectrum Dyed
Yarns moved a portion of its
operation to, Central :
America. Mayor Rick
Murphrey who is a vice-
president at that company
replied “I don’t think I
would down my largest cus-
tomer.”
The textile company is the
city’s largest water cus-
tomer.
The council recognized
librarian Rose Turner who is
retiring after 20 years.
During her tenure the
library gained 41,000 books.
Circulation went from
27,000 in 1983 to 79,000 this
year. Visits jumped from
16,000 in 1983 to 30,000 this
year and the children’s pro-
gram grew from 76 pro-
grams serving 687 children
to 833 programs this year
serving 5,901 children.
Out going council mem-
bers were given a chance to
make remarks.
Dean Spears apologized to
council members he may
have offended over the
years or recently. During last
month’s meeting Spears told
Gene White that his com-
ments on the Cleveland
County Economic
Development Commission
were stupid.
During White's comments
he said that the two had
“shaken hands. We're
friends.”
ALCOHOL
From 1A
Spears declined to com-
ment.
While the official agenda
for Tuesday night's meeting
was not released until after
press time last week, both
White and incoming coun-
cilman Jerry Mullinax made
it public early last week. The
item was placed on the
agenda before the swearing
in of the new board.
Mullinax spoke out
* against both changing the
ordinance and placing it on
the agenda before the new
board was sworn. He circu-
lated a letter to area church-
es informing them of the
upcoming vote.
During Tuesday night's
council meeting, Jane Martin
and Pastor Eddie Gray
spoke against changing the
ordinance to allow alcohol.
Gray told the council that
alcohol can ruin lives. He
also said that Kings
Mountain did not need to
try to be like Charlotte.
Serving alcohol in public
buildings first became an
issue during a Veteran's Day
reception at the Kings
Mountain Historical
Museum Nov. 11. The build-
ing is owned by the city and
leased to the museum.
Alcohol was served at the
reception which was co-
sponsored by the city and
the museum.
Guyton reported the serv-
ing of alcohol to Kings
Mountain Police who direct-
ed the matter to city attor-
ney Mickey Corry. Corry
told officials that the city
ordinance forbidding alco-
* hol consumption applied to
all leased buildings.
Museum officials said they
were not aware of the ordi-
nance.
The City of Shelby does
not allow alcohol to be
served on any of its proper-
ties. The City of Gastonia
only allows alcohol to be
served at Sims Park and the
Schiele Museum. While
Cleveland County does not
have a written policy, it is
understood that alcohol is
not permitted on its proper-
ties, according to the county
manager.
GASTON
From 1A
district transfer, that transfer
is valid for the length of
time a student is at his or
her school. Students must
reapply when they progress
to the next level of school.
Gaston County approves
transfers for one academic
year at a time.
Gaston County
Superintendent Ed Sadler
said his board has not dis-
cussed the issue yet.
“Our board would be
pleased to have dialogue
with Cleveland County peo-
ple when we get to that
point,” Sadler said.
The Department of Justice
could make that decision for
the local boards, Sadler said.
The Department of Justice
is currently reviewing the
merger proposal to decide if
it is in compliance with fed-
eral Voting Rights Act
requirements. Their decision
is expected by Jan. 11 or 12.
Kings Mountain District
Schools board member
Michael Smith said he
would endorse Gaston
County students continuing
to attend their current
schools regardless of what
the boards decide. He called
this a “sit in” and acknowl-
edged that it would be ille-
gal but looked to the Civil
Rights era as a precedent.
Smith said he would like
local leaders to take a more
vocal role opposing the
merger. If the merger does
take place, Smith said
Gaston County should
either move its county line
outside Kings Mountain city
limits or the portion of
Kings Mountain inside
Gaston's lines should be de-
annexed from the town.
Smith said the merger
would create complicated
funding issues regarding
what school services the city
now funds.
LUMINAR
From 1A 2
Although the luminary
project is spearheaded by
James Belt Ministries, Belt
said it is a “community proj-
ect that couldn’t be done
without the people of Kings
Mountain, and some from
out of town.”
Belt said one volunteer
comes all the way from
Myrtle Beach, SC each year
to help light luminaries.
. Methodist Church in
Approximately 20 boy
scouts from First United
Gastonia also volunteer as a
community project. A lot of
corporate sponsors have
joined the effort, also.
Although Belt, Tonya
Jackson and Andi Brown
were busy this week putting
out the first of the luminar-
ies, he said more milk jugs
are needed and urges citi-
zens to drop them off at con-
tainers at Harris Teeter and
Greenskeeper, both located
on East King Street.
Members of the volunteer
team invented a jug cutter
for this year so jugs don’t
have to be cut by hand. The
cutter is a motorized wheel
with razor blades and a jig
to guide the jug. It cuts
about 50 jugs in three min-
utes.
Motorists viewing the dis-
play will enter and leave the
cemetery at the King Street
gate beside the cemetery
business office. Kings
Mountain Police will be
directing traffic.
Admission is free but
donations will be accepted
to help defray expenses.
“We're trying to make it
bigger and better,” said Belt,
“but at the same time we
want to have time to do it
right. You're looking at
about four weeks of work to
make this a success.
“It’s inspirational,” he
said. “People have different
stories to tell every year
about what it means to
them, and that’s really what
it’s all about.”
TRAILS
From 1A
The central trail will run
near N.C. 161 leaving town
and then veering west
around City and Davidson
lakes. The western trail will
run a similar route. Both of
these trails would connect
with what is now called the
Ridgeline Trail.
The Ridgeline connects
Crowders Mountain to the
two Kings Mountain parks.
One mile of the seven-mile
trail has been completed.
Construction started in the
fall.
“We're real excited about
ya'll wanting to link up with
us,” said Joe Sox, superin-
tendent of Crowders
Mountain.
How to get trail users
across Interstate 85 was an
initial stumbling block
though it appears to be
resolved. The Foote Mineral
Bridge may be used. Also, a
pedestrian crossing is
planned for the proposed
NC 161 intersection.
The city owns some of the
land where the proposed
trail would run. Other major
parcels are owned by the
Boy Scouts, Foote Mineral
and the Martin Marietta
company.
There are a few private
land owners along the pro-
posed route as well. Early
indications are that land
owners are open to dis-
cussing granting trail ease-
ments, according to Tripp
Hord of the City of Kings
Mountain. If cooperation
cannot be secured, the trail
will be re-routed. No land
will be claimed by right of
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Ll
We Wish You a Safe and
Happy Holiday!
The Caveny Agency
306 E. King Street
Kings Mountain, NC ¢ 739-3953
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eminent domain, Hord said
Thursday night.
Trail easements could be
used to keep the land in the
owner's possession while
granting public access. This
could include property tax
and other incentives for land
holders.
Ron Altman, director of
the Catawba Lands
Conservancy, gave a presen-
tation on conservation ease-
ments which are similar to
trail easements. He recom-
mended trail planners try to
secure easement adjacent to
the trail to keep the view
scenic.
Bill Lane of the National
Park Service asked for pub-
110 S. Railroad Avenue
Kings Mountain, NC 28086
704-739-4731
Warm Holiday
Wishes From
Hometown
Hardware and
Garden Center
A sincere thanks
for your patronage!
lic input on whether the trail
should be paved or left nat-
ural and whether it should
accommodate cyclists in
addition to hikers.
“We want feedback from
the public,” Lane said.
The city opened a 1.1 mile
historical trail Thursday
afternoon. It begins at the
Barber Cabin and winds
through downtown and the
Central School district.
Organizers have applied to
the Kings Mountain Trail
and Tourism Authority for
grants to fund the signs.
This trail is considered the
beginning of the Gateway
Trail. Maps are available in
the city planning office.
ail
Page 3A
TESTA
From 1A
members on the cases
against Johnson and several
other video poker operators
in a closed session during
Tuesday night's council
meeting. All Corry would
say publicly is that the city
negotiated with Johnson
and other video poker oper-
ators that day and hoped to
reach an agreement
Wednesday morning. No
information was available at
press time.
During Monday night's
board of adjustment meet-
ing, two major issues threat-
ened to keep Testa from
obtaining a conditional use
permit for his Kings
Mountain Truck Plaza. A
portion of the parking lot is
less than 200 feet from a pri-
vate residence and a busi-
ness across the road, within
200 feet, allegedly operates
video poker machines.
Testa agreed to fence in
the offending portion of his
parking lot, using it exclu-
sively for trailer storage.
The board ordered Testa
not to operate his video
poker machines until the lot
was built.
The approval of Testa’s
permit will keep any busi-
ness within 200 feet from
obtaining a permit to legally
operate the machines.
In other business, video
poker operator Ken
Hamrick’s conditional use
permit was held over until
the January 20 meeting.
Hamrick was unable to
KM WEATHER REPORT
attend because he had been
in an automobile accident
earlier that day, said Don
Young who appeared on his
behalf.
Hamrick operated three
video poker machines legal-
ly at the Silver Villa until he
missed the annual reappli-
cation deadline for the con-
ditional use permit. Instead
of applying for a renewal,
board members required
him to go through the initial
application process again.
Board members told
Young that Hamrick is vio-
lating the law if he is cur-
rently operating the
machines. Young said this
would cause a financial
hardship for Hamrick.
“They're operating out-
side the ordinance. If he
can’t operate inside the ordi-
nance, I'm not sure we can
approve them. I'm speaking
for myself,” board member
Ron Humphries said.
“Tell him to unplug the
machines,” Kelly said.
Builder Tommy Hall's
request for a variance to
build within setbacks was
continued until the January
meeting so more informa-
tion could be obtained.
Clarence and Mary
Philbeck’s request for a vari-
ance allowing them to build
a carport was also contin-
ued.
Humphries was up for
reappointment to the board
of adjustment but did not
get the needed majority of
votes during Tuesday
night’s council meeting. Jim
Childers was appointed to
that board.
mn
(Compiled by Kenneth Kitzmiller
Dec. 10-16 Year Ago
Total precipitation 2.13 93
Maximum one day 1.00 (10th) .79 (10th)
Month to date 2.72 3.13
Year to date 84.38 44.31
Low temperature 28 (11th) 26 (14th)
High temperature 59 (10th) 65 (16th)
Average temperature 40.6 42.2
2347 Hoey Church Rd.
Shelby, NC 28152
704-471-2122
EY
Ya oa
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