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KINGS MOUNTAIN
The Hera
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Vol. 116 No. 3
Since 1889
play Hickory
here Friday
6A
50 Cents
Mike Smith makes motion to request
State School Board to redraw
Cleveland County attendance lines
KM board asks
State board to
redraw lines
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
At 6:35 p.m. Monday, the Kings
Mountain Board of Education
adjourned for the last time, but not
before unanimously approving sending
a letter to the State School Board
requesting that it redraw the lines of the
Cleveland County School System to
include the neighborhoods of Kings
Mountain that are located in Gaston
County.
Pre-clearance of the 2000 Cleveland
County merger plan by the Department
of Justice was granted on Friday, and
official notification was sent by letter to
RobercW. Yelton, attorney for the
Cleveland County Board of
Commissioners and received Monday
morning. By law, the merger went into
effect 24 hours after Yelton received the
notice, or Tuesday morning.
The Kings Mountain Board had
until this Monday.
At the Thursday meeting, the board
met with its merger attorneys and were
advised that, if the DOJ cleared the
merger, appealing it to U.S. District
Court would be too expensive and
probably impossible to win, according
to Supt. Larry Allen.
Board member Mike Smith, who lives
in the Gaston County portion of Kings
Mountain, made the motion to request
the State Board to redraw the lines. The
Cleveland County merger plan stated
that the attendance lines would follow
the Cleveland County line and the rea-
son for Kings Mountain's lawsuit was
that approximately 180 children living
in Gaston would not be included and
their residents’ voting rights would be
violated.
Smith said the letter would not ask
for “permission” for those children to
attend Kings Mountain schools, but
would make them a part of the newly-
created Cleveland County Schools.
“We would be doing the same thing
we've been doing all along,” he said.
Most of the students affected by the
merger attend East Elementary School,
where Smith retired as a teacher
“East is one of the Top 25 schools in
the State,” he told the board in making
See Lines, 3A
GARY STEWART / HERALD
scheduled its final meeting last Monday,
but recessed it until Thursday and again
KM Board says emotional
good-bye on Monday night
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Educators and supporters packed the Board Room at Central
School Monday night as the Kings Mountain Board of Education
held its final meeting prior to merging with the Shelby and
Cleveland County systems at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
The few business items on the agenda were minor - accepting
two resignations and approving a financial matter.
Then, sadly but with dignity and an assurance that their merger
fight was done on behalf of Kings Mountain children, Board mem-
bers said their good-byes.
Before board members spoke, Assistaiit Spe Ronnie
Wilson, read a brief e-mail from former superintendent Bob McRae,
who was the leader of the school
system when the merger fight
began, and commended the
board for their efforts.
“You fought the good fight,”
Wilson said. “You ran the race
and you kept the faith. I was
proud to be a part of it.”
As Board chair Shearra Miller
began to speak, she broke down,
prompting Administrative
Assistant Debbie Patterson to go
to her office for a box of tissues
which was passed to each board
member.
“I had hoped when we set the
meeting last week that we might
hear something (from the Justice
Department),” Mrs. Miller said. GARY STEWART / HERALD
“I knew it would be something to Board member Stella Putnam
celebrate or something to cry and Superintendent Larry Allen
about. hug at end of Monday's final KM
“I hoped we would be here to ‘School Board meeting.
celebrate. But we needed closure and to express to the community
how much our schools mean to us and how proud we are of them.”
Miller said she moved to Kings Mountain 13 years ago, and has
spent 12 of those years on the school board. “I don’t know life in
Kings Mountain without being on the Kings Mountain School
Board,” she said. “I have always believed in our school system.”
Miller was one of two Kings Mountain board members appointed .
to the interim Cleveland County board, which took the oath of
office last night in Shelby. The other'appointment from Kings
Mountain was Dr. Larry Allen, but at that time he was retired and
chairman of the KM Board. Now, as an employee of the new sys-
tem he is not eligible to serve on the board and the interim board
will appoint someone to fill his position.
“I enjoyed working with a small system,” Miller said. “I was so
proud to be a part of Kings Mountain District Schools and every-
where I've gone I've used every opportunity I've had to brag on
See Good-bye, 3A
Development Block Grant
Sewer line being
laid on West
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Sewer lines are being
installed along West Gold
Street Extension this week.
The project is funded by a
$215,000 Community
and a $10,000 match by the
City of Kings Mountain.
Eight inch, gravity fed
collector lines are being laid
this week along the area
The CDBG grant serves
moderate to low income
areas. For this project, 96
percent of the residents met
the requirement of being no
higher than 80 percent of
the area median income.
Most of the residents are
elderly, Killian said.
Kennedy Concrete and
Utilities, a Shelby firm, is
installing the lines.
This is the second phase
Gold
.’ Mountain District Schools put
GARY STEWART / HERALD
Kings Mountain Board of Education held its final meeting Monday evening at Central School. Left to right, Mike Smith, Jerry Blanton,
Terry McClain, Stella Putnam, Shearra Miller and Supt. Larry Allen.
Interim board takes oath
of office Tuesday in Shelby
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
The U.S. Justice Department cleared merger of Cleveland
County's three school systems Monday and a new, merged
Cleveland County Board of Education was sworn in Tuesday night.
This board was appointed by Cleveland County Commissioners
in 2000. It became inactive when Kings Mountain District Schools
mounted a legal challenge to the merger. Approval by the
Department of Justice essentially reactivated that board.
The new board elected George Litton as its chairman and Dr. Jack
Hamrick as vice-chairman. Hamrick served as chair of the pre-
merger Shelby City Schools board. le
Gene Moore was appointed superintendent. He was superin-
tendent of the pre-merger
Cleveland County Schools.
The board agreed to hire
Moore as superintendent before
the 30-month fight by Kings
that on hold.
“We gave our word to him and
he gave his word to us. We need
to be people of our word,” Litton
said in a telephone interview
Monday.
Additional board members
include Jo Boggs representing
Cleveland County; Dr. Steve
Curtis, at large; Mary Evans, at
large; Tommy Greene, chair of
the pre-merger Cleveland County
Board of Education; Richard
Hooker, Shelby representative;
Shearra Miller, chair of the pre-
merger Kings Mountain District
Schools.
After the swearing in, Litton addressed the board and the crowd
that gathered at the Cleveland County office building on South
Post Road.
“We are a diverse group with a wealth of experience. While we
may have some different thoughts, I urge my colleagues to have
their say in a kind, courteous manner,” he said.
Litton said there was “not a thing we can do about the past” and
urged the board to look to the future.
Each board member was given a few minutes to address the
crowd.
Former Kings Mountain District Schools board chairwoman
Shearra Miller said she was honored and proud to serve on the
new board but acknowledged that it was also a difficult time for
her.
Then she shifted her focus to her love of the public schools and
the children served. She encouraged everyone to have high expec
See Interim, 3A
King observance
‘Monday at KMHS
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Shearra Miller talks with her
daughter and Jo Boggs after
being sworn into office with the
new interim school board.
ciate pastor at New Life and
a city council member, will
give the invocation.
Local vocalist Shana
Adams will sing the Lord’s
Prayer and Amazing Grace.
The audience will sing
“We Shall Overcome” and
“Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Local broadcaster Donna
Huie-Brooks of Channel 33
will serve as mistress of cer-
emonies.
The City of Kings
Twelve area students will
participate in the Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. oratorical
contest Monday.
The students, in grades
four through 12, will speak
on “How I Carry the
Dream.”
Between speeches there
will be performances by the
International Gates of Dance
from CVS to the fire depart-
ment sub-station.
After the connector line is
laid and the work passes an
engineering inspection, indi-
vidual homes will be con-
nected, according to City
Planner Steve Killian.
of the project. The first
phase was done in 2002 and
supplied sewer to the west-
ern most portion of West
Gold Extension.
Both phases combined are
supplying sewer to 38
homes.
GARY STEWART / HERALD
Workers dig ditch for sewer line on West Gold Street
Extension.
directed by Brandy Tate, the
People’s Baptist Church
choir and lyrical dance team
directed by Connie Ashe
and the New Life Christian
Church choir directed by
Nellius Kee.
Rev. Howard Shipp, asso-
Mountain and the school
system are co-sponsoring
the event.
The contest was first held
in 2002. For the first two
years it focused on reciting
King’s speech. This year
See King, 3A