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| IP 11-11-08 ]
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KINGS MOUNTAIN NC 28086-2341
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NC 161 bridge replacement and
Dixon Rd. extension under way
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER :
Staff Writer | +
Motorists should not expect any major delays during a
bridge replacement project on N.C. 161, state Department of
Transportation officials say. |
The state has contracted with Taylorland Murphy, an
Asheville firm, to replace the bridge over Interstate 85 and
realign its ramps. The realignment will create a safer inter-
change, according to DOT engineer Larry Clinton.
The completion date for the $6.5 million project is Oct. 15,
2005.
“That's subject to change depending on the contractor’s
work progress,” Clinton said.
A portion of the bridge will be built then traffic will be
rerouted onto it while the old bridge is demolished, accord-
ing to Clinton.
The project will require a detour getting onto I-85 south-
bound. When that detour will be in place is not yet known.
Subcontractor Boyd Utility Boring is currently working
on a storm drain that will run beneath I-85 just north of the
_ current bridge. That will not affect traffic.
A $5.8 million project will extend Dixon School Road to
Phifer Road. Dixon will shift less than 100 feet at its inter-
section with N.C. 216. A bridge will take Dixon over the
Southern Railway tracks.
Contractor Geymont Construction has begun clearing
and grading. The completion date is November 2005,
according to state DOT engineer Lex Garey.
i
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Work has begun on a bridge replacement project at N.C.
161 and Interstate 85.
J TAKING A RIDE ..
KM woman's
sister killed
in Iraq
Jean Elliott,
husband were
on mission trip
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
A Cleveland County
native was following what
she believed God wanted
her to do - spreading the
love of Christ - when she
was killed in Iraq Monday.
Jean Dover Elliott, 58, her
husband Larry T. Elliott and
two other Southern Baptist
missionaries were killed in a
drive by shooting. A fifth
woman has apparently sur-
vived.
The group was in Iraq
with the Southern Baptist
International Missions
Board to develop a water
purification project, the
Associated Press reported.
Ronnie Wilson, a brother-
in-law to Jean Elliott, said
the family was taking com-
fort in their Christian faith.
“They (family) are doing
much better than you would
think. We know they (the
Elliotts) were doing what
they were called to do,”
Wilson said late Tuesday
afternoon. :
While the couple called
Cary home, they were well
known in Cleveland. Wilson
said people had called and
visited he and his wife Mary
Wilson's home today.
“We're overwhelmed with
people reaching out in
love,” he said.
While the couple were
members of First Baptist
Church in Cary, they had a
serious impact on First
Baptist in Kings Mountain
attack
where two of Jean Elliott's
sisters are members.
Pastor Dr. Chip Sloan said
the couple had inspired 40
members of the congrega-
tion to take mission trips to
Honduras. The couple
served as missionaries in
Honduras before going to
Iraq earlier this year.
“Their passion has
infused our membership,”
Sloan said. “They were com-
mitted to the Lord Jesus
Christ and determined to
share the gospel with as
many people as they could
in their lifetime.”
Sloan said the Elliotts
understood the dangers
they faced in Iraq but were
spurred on by the Holy
Spirit.
“They wanted people to
go to Heaven, escape Hell
and know the love that
comes from a personal rela-
tionship with Christ,” Sloan
said.
He said the congregation
was in shock and some
members were initially
angry. Sloan said the anger
quickly faded because mem-
bers knew the Elliotts “went
because they loved those
people (Iraqis).”
He said their deaths as
well as their lives were acts
of Christian witness.
Ronnie Wilson said the
family did not know when
the bodies would be
returned to the United
States. There had been some
indication autopsies would
be performed in Iraq.
Funerals will probably
take place at the couple’s
church in Cary with burial
in Oxford, North Carolina.
The Elliotts have three
children and nine grandchil-
dren.
KM Hospital breaks
ground for
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Kings Mountain Hospital
officially broke ground on an
$8 million addition Wednesday
morning.
Hospital officials, area lead-
ers and other local folks gath-
ered on the hospital's front
lawn for breakfast and a
groundbreaking ceremony
despite chilly temperatures.
expansion
FEE
Hospital CEO and President
NDIE BRYMER / HERALD
2 / John Young called it an “excit-
Cleveland County School Board members Mary Evans, left, and Jo Boggs joined other local leaders on a tour of a
neighborhood whose children may be forced to attend schools in two counties.
No Gaston representatives
attend East tour, bus ride
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
into Cleveland County before getting
onto a roadway which will take them
back into Gaston County to go to
school:
Hoyle and other school administra-
tors invited school board members and
commissioners from both Cleveland
and Gaston counties, local legislators
and Kings Mountain's city council on
the tour of East Elementary and a por-
tion of the community it serves.
“We ask each of you to do what you
would want done for your children
and grandchildren if they lived in this
community,” Hoyle said.
Before the bus tour, the group gath-
ered in the school’s library. PTO
President Lori Holland described East
Elementary from 10 years ago. Test
See Ride, 3A
As a school bus carrying local offi-
cials headed down Boyce Street Friday
afternoon, East Elementary Principal
Jerry Hoyle explained that students liv-|
ing on the left side of the roadway will |
attend Cleveland County Schools next
year. Those on the right will go to
schools in Gaston County.
The county line separating Gaston
and Cleveland runs down the middle
, of Boyce Street. Other nearby residen-
tial streets lead into Gaston County
though all are still within Kings
Mountain city limits and all dead end
in Gaston County.
Hoyle calls the neighborhood “land-
locked.” Students will have to travel
The line dividing Gaston and
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Cleveland counties runs down the
middle of Boyce Street. Residents on
the east side of the street may be
forced to attend school in Gaston
County.
ing moment” and paid homage
to past administrator Grady
Howard and former Kings
Mountain Mayor John Henry
Moss.
See Hospital, 3A
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
' Kings Mountain Hospital
Administrator Alex Bell,
right, helps break ground
on an $8 million expansion.
KM teens killed
in Tuesday wreck
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Two Kings Mountain
women were killed in a sin-
gle vehicle accident Tuesday.
Subrina Nellie Louise
Jones, 16, of 304 Fairview
Street was driving a 2002
Ford south on Rollingbrook
Road when she ran off the
right side of the road, came
back on the road and ran off
the left side going down an
embankment. The vehicle
landed on its top on a rock
in the creek.
Shannon Lorie Hamilton,
18, of East Grace Street was
a passenger in the vehicle.
According to the North
Carolina Highway Patrol,
Jones was driving approxi-
mately 65 miles per hour in.
a 45 mile per hour zone.
There was no indication
alcohol was involved.
Neither woman was wear-
ing a seat belt.
The accident happened at
8:03 p.m. 2 8/10th miles
north of Kings Mountain.
Both women were trans-
ported by Cleveland County :
EMS to Gaston Regional
Medical Center's emergency
department.
NE.
EE ER