IN
OUR .
OPINION
Withers
will be
missed
With the passing of Fred
Withers last week, the Kings
Mountain community lost
one of its
best base-
ball
minds.
Of all
the base-
ball
coaches
I've
Gary Stewart ciated
Editor
Withers,
along with his protege Barry
Gibson, were probably the
most knowledgeable of the
game.
When I was a kid I loved
to go to old City Stadium
and watch Withers’
American Legion teams
play. His 1959 team, which
played for the Area IV
championship, was proba-
bly the best legion team to
ever come out of Kings
Mountain.
Withers’ success on the
field couldn’t be measured
by wins and losses, though.
He had some teams that
weren't nearly as good as
that ‘59 outfit, but regard-
less of how skilled they
were athletically young men
who played under Withers
always knew what they
were supposed to do.
Withers was all business
on the baseball field. He
demanded that his players
give a hundred percent all
the time, and that they be
strong in the fundamentals
of the gamé. They spent
hour after hour practicing
’ game situations.
Withers came to Kings
Mountain in 1955 as assis-
tant football coach and head
baseball coach. The late Shu
Carlton, who was the very
successful head football
coach who won the school’s
first Western Conference
championship in 1955 and
first and only Western N.C.
Association title in 1956,
once told me that the best
thing he ever did for Kings
Mountain was to bring in
John Gamble and Fred
Withers.
Withers started his coach-
ing career in 1951 in Sumter,
SC where he coached New
York Yankee great Bobby
Richardson. His teams there
posted a two-year record of
54-3. Before landing in KM
in ‘55, Withers spent two
years as principal of
Bessemer City High School.
Withers took a very lean
program here and turned it
into a winner. He was on
the top of the game in 1963
when his team won the
school’s first conference
championship since 1941,
but he was having trouble
with varicose veins. He
intended to take some time
See Gary, 5A
known or
been asso-
with over
the years,
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The Kings Mountain Herald
Thursday, August 12, 2004
GARY STEWART / HERALD
New York Yankee great Bobby Richardson, left, inducted Fred Withers into the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame
in 1996.
Protesters stand
up for what they
think is right
Kings Mountain is seeing protests com- j
plete with yellow signs demanding all its A
children get to attend Cleveland County Andi e Brymer
Schools at no charge. The sight of par- gtaff Writer
ents, grandparents and community mem- ssmssssmmmsmmmm—m—m"
bers gathering outside city hall,
Cleveland County’s Harry Building and the Gaston
County Schools headquarters is making some people
uncomfortable.
Why? What is wrong with dissent. Especially in Kings
Mountain, a town which has named itself after a nearby
Revolutionary War battlefield. The United States owes its
very existence to protests against the British crown.
Regardless of how you feel about their cause, the cur-
rent protesters have to be admired. They have stood up
for what they feel is right. They/ve done it in an orderly
fashion, breaking nodavssBithplyi@xercising their consti-
tutional rights to free'speeth and ase
82 Bw 00
Monday morning I visited East School and was turned
away. Principal Jerry Hoyle told me he was instructed not
to allow the media on campus today. The central office
says that meant only if there was picketing.
The school’s spokeswoman says the superintendent was
afraid of a media circus disrupting the first day of school.
Indeed, the presence of protesters and the subsequent tele-
vision cameras, photographers and reporters could be dis-
tracting to students. However, the eyept could also be
used to teach civics. Students could itch dgmocracy
unfold in front of their eyes. rh
Some are faulting parents and grandparents for waiting
until late summer to protest the school boundary decision.
For many of the people showing up with bright yellow
picket signs, this is their first experience at trying to
change a law. Most have been busy raising children,
working and generally living their lives.
While public policy decisions affect everyone's life
every day, most of us don’t realize it. When parents
received letters saying they would have to pay $1,414 in
tuition bills, it was a startling example.
The letter put all the rumors, theories and talk into
black and white. Many of their kids really weren't getting
to go to the schools they had been attending. I think this
group did a good job organizing itself so fast. I hope this
experience will inspire them to continue to be part of the
: NS
EE
John Kerry
bends with
the breese
John Frank Kerry did take the bolts
out of his neck when he “reported for
duty” at the Democrat convention the
other night. It was useless, though, he
still looks like the Frankenstein monster.
Anyway, there he was standing in front of all those
cameras talking about how he was going to bring peace
and prosperity to this country.
For a while, I couldn’t understand why Kerry and his
bunch keep talking about his service in Viet Nam, but I
think I finally figured it out.
Voters 35 and under don’t remember that war. They
didn’t experience the divisiveness.
Kerry has been harping on his Viet Nam service ever
since he entered the race for the presidency. He made a
big show of floating down the Charles River in a boat,
along with some of his crew members from Viet Nam the
day before his convention appearance.
Just so you will know, he served four months in Viet
Nam. He got three purple hearts in four months. He
missed two days of duty from those three wounds, one of
which was a scratch on the arm.
I will give him credit, he did volunteer to go to Viet
Nam. When he returned, he went on TV and told the
world about how American soldiers over there were com-
mitting atrocities and how they were killing defenseless
children.
Lest we forget, Kerry attended meetings with Jane
Fonda. There's photographic evidence of those meetings.
He made a big show of throwing away his medals, which
magically reappeared on his office wall.
I don’t believe I could change anybody’s mind about
who they are going to vote for, and I wouldn't even try,
but I think everyone should consider this.
Kerry came back from the war and immediately
became an anti-war activist. Now he is trumpeting his
service in that conflict. Does anybody see the inconsisten-
?
It might be fun having him as president. I had a ball
poking fun at Bill Clinton for eight years. I always
thought Dan Quayle was too easy.
I usually give politicians a special name. Clinton was
President Fuzzy, Bob Dole was Bob Dull, Al Gore was Al
Bore and George Herbert Walker Bush became George
(RML) Bush. The RML, of course was “Read My Lips.”
I've never really thought of a good one for George W.
Bush. Others took the best, such as “Dubya” and “Shrub.”
If Kerry gets elected, I guess I'll stick with John Frank
See Heffner, 5A
Jim Heffner
Columnist
Our nation
should be on
Lord’s side
By CHIP SLOAN
It is Tuesday afternoon.
I just returned to my
office from my polling
place. A poll worker
informed me that they
were esti-
mating
less than a
10%
turnout of
registered
voters. I
left con-
cerned
about
America
and Christendom.
Question: Are you a
good American, if you are
registered to vote but
don’t exercise the vote?
My answer: If you are
registered to vote, then
you must be an American.
But you are not a good
American, a good citizen,
if you choose not to vote.
Now for the spiritual
implication: Not every
Christian is a good
Christian. Many citizens
of heaven enjoy the bene-
fits of Christ's mission.
They enjoy the status of
kingdom citizens without
shouldering the responsi-
bilities.
Question: Should I vote
my party affiliation or my
Lord affiliation?
Answer: My Lord affili-
ation. During the Civil
War, President Abraham
Lincoln overheard some-
one in the White House
express hope that God -
was on “our” side; that is,
the side of the North.
President Lincoln wisely
replied, “Sir, I am not at
all concerned about that,
for I know that the Lord is
always on the side of the
right. But it is my con-
‘stant anxiety and prayer
that I and this nation
should be on the Lord's
side.”
As for me, it is my con-
stant anxiety and prayer
that I and this nation
should be on the Lord’s
side. I vote pro-life
because I know God is
pro-life. I vote for the can-
didate who defines mar-
riage as a relationship
between one man and one
woman because I know
that is God's definition of
marriage.
Question: If only ten
percent of registered vot-
ers vote, then does that
ten percent rule the coun-
try?
Answer: Yes! And if the
ten percent vote Christian,
we can return America to
bedrock Christian values.
If the ten percent do not
See Chip, 6A
SIDEWALK
SURVEY
By ANDIE BRYMER
HERALD
Do you think
the
government
will reinstate
the military
soon?
draft any time
No. I don’t think it’s nec-
essary.
Steven Montgomery
Kings Mountain
I don’t think so. There are
too many guys who have
been in the service and are
anxious to get back.
Chad Arnold
Kings Mountain
Probably. The way the war
is going, they’ll probably
reinstate it which is a
shame. |
Probably. I believe they
probably will.
Debra Hawkins
Kings Mountain
Karen Hargett
Kings Mountain
We don’t need to.
Marvita Spann
Kings Mountain
WM