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Thursday, April 14, 2005 KINGS MOUNTAIN Vol. 117 No. 15 Since 1889 The Heral., ily 50 Cents “Sports... 1B Firehouse cook-off is this weekend BY ANDIE L. BRYMER ~ Staff Writer Got a taste for barbecue? Maybe just music or horse- shoes? Kings Mountain walking track is the place to be Friday and Saturday. The fire department will hold its ninth annual Firehouse Barbecue Cook- off. Teams will come from the Carolinas, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia and New Jersey. Sanctioned for the past two years by the Kansas City Barbecue Society as a state championship, the cook-off has drawn increas- ing numbers of contestants. Winners here can compete in national competition. As of Monday, 41 teams had signed up. Fire Chief Frank Burns expects more local teams to register closer to the weekend. Fifty certified judges are coming from as far away as Louisiana, Georgia, Wisconsin, Maryland and Florida. Barbecue will go on sale to the public at approxi- mately 5 p.m. Friday and again on Saturday. The event is more than food, though. The public is invited to bring guitars and banjos to a “porch pickin” Friday and perform on the Neisler stage. This lasts from from 7 to 10 p.m. A horseshoe tournament begins Saturday at 10 a.m. Harvest will perform Saturday at noon. Antique fire trucks will be on display at the Fire Museum adjacent to the track. Entry fees paid by contestants will go toward restoring a 1938 fire truck. Vendors will sell barbe- cue but the event itself is free. Festivities will wrap up at 3 p.m. Saturday. Pearson may run for KM Council BY ANDIE L. BRYMER Staff Writer Butch Pearson is consid- ering a run for Kings Mountain City Council. “I'm exploring, talking to people,” he said. If Pearson does decide to run he’ll be up against Councilman Jerry Mullinax for the Ward III seat. Pearson said if he runs one goal would be to bring more jobs so younger resi- dents will stay here. Pearson wants to see public-private partnerships to go after businesses that fit the community. Maintaining services will help attract jobs. * “That's what businesses look for,” he said. Kings Mountain has a lot to offer including parks, a YMCA, library and an air- port 20 minutes away, according to Pearson. He manages the Gastonia Municipal Airport and Golf Course. “1 feel like I can con- tribute,” the Kings Mountain native said. Candidates may file for election from July 1 to Aug. 5. ‘Hats off to the past, coats off to the future’ JOSEPH BRYMER / HERALD Linda Dixon, right, thanks speaker Laura Carpenter Bingham for bringing the keynote address. President Anne Gamble is pictured on the left. Woman's Club celebrates centennial BY ANDIE L. BRYMER Staff Writer The Kings Mountain Woman's Club celebrated its 100th birthday in grand style Saturday. “Hats off the the past, coats off to the future,” First Vice-President Betty Benton told the crowd gath- ered in the basement of the Mountain Street clubhouse. In her keynote address, Peace College President and Kings Mountain native Laura Carpenter Bingham told the group that she spent the first two years of her life living beside the club house. As a child she participated in the club’s * talent shows. “One does come full circle,” Bingham said. She called the club the “center- piece of civic life” in Kings Mountain and an inspiration to others to give back to the worid. In a speech titled “Celebrating the Charitable Instinct,” Bingham cited three dramatic examples of philanthropy. Osceola McCartney, an 87-year- old, Mississippi laundress, donat- ed $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi. She saved the money over a lifetime. A foun- dation was set up to distribute the money and 600 more people con- - tributed. Ted Turner credited McCartney's actions for inspiring him to donate $1 billion to the United Nations. Merck Pharmaceutical spent money researching a drug for river blindness, a disease which effects the poor living in rural Africa. The company then com- mitted to giving the drug away. Giraffes share habitats and col- lectively care for their young. They live peaceably, stick their necks out and have long range See Club, 6A High gas prices affect city BY ANDIE L. BRYMER Staff Writer Higher gas prices aren’t just affecting individual consumers. Cities and government agencies are feeling the pinch as well. Kings Mountain City Manager Greg McGinnis said he is con- cerned about rising prices for g Several departments have vehi- cles on the road. Department heads have already submitted budgets for next year, though those could have to be revamped to factor in higher fuel prices. McGinnis also is keeping an eye on how prices are affecting this year’s budget. “We really don’t know (yet) the impact that is going to have on those line items, McGinnis said. Public works Director Jackie Barnette said that since the city only picks up garbage once a week, that service could not be _ cut. Garbage trucks use diesel fuel which is currently more expensive than regular fuel. “We're just going to have to absorb. the price,” Barnette said. Highway Patrol First Sgt. David Allen said the rising prices have the potential to cut into the budg- et. Officers are riding together to training. So far Allen hasn't received word from Raleigh to cut back on fuel use. During past gas price hikes officers have continued to monitor traffic but have done more stationary patrols and license checks. They also have parked at stores, talking with the public and using the community policing model. The average gas price in North Carolina climbed from $2.17 last week to $2.24 this week, accord- ing to Sarah Davis of AAA Carolinas. The South Carolina average went from $2.10 last week to $2.17 this week. BY ANDIE L. BRYMER Staff Writer PEOPLE Wayne Kirk retiring after over 50 years in ministry Beer and wine drive to begin in Grover Calvin Huffman to circulate petition BY ANDIE L. BRYMER Staff Writer GROVER - After Grover Town Council failed earlier this month to approve a measure putting alcohol sales on the ballot, a local property owner is trying to get the issue moving with a petition. Calvin Huffman, a Blacksburg, S.C. man who owns property in Grover, hopes to get at least 144 signa- tures asking for on- and off-premise sales of beer and unfortified wine. He’s.got until July 6 to get the signa- tures. Huffman said he’ll begin after the Cleveland County Board of Election supplies him with a list of registered voters. “I want to make sure it’s done “1 want to make sure it’s done right.” Calvin Huffman right,” Huffman said Tuesday. Huffman believes council members are looking for reasons not to put the measure on the ballot: During the April meeting Commissioner Jackie Bennett made a motion that the council approve alcohol sales. No one would second it. During the April meeting Commissioner Bill Willis opposed on-premise alcohol sales saying it would create a nuisance. Commissioner Barry Toney said he feared alcohol sales would drive up law enforce- ment expenses. Grover Mayor Robert Sides disputes that alcohol sales would mean more drunk driving arrests. Sides, who worked as a police officer in Grover for three years, said the problem already exist. He hopes alco- hol sales would bring more businesses to the town. Municipalities can get alcohol sales three ways - by board vote, board approval of a referendum or 35 percent of the registered voters can petition for a referendum. Huffman owns property on Mulberry Street which is zoned for a restaurant. If the measure passes he hopes to sell the land to a restaurant developer. State alcohol officials told Huffman that towns with less than 500 residents cannot have an ABC store. Huffman said that appears to rule out liquor by the drink sales in the town of 441. Mike Heath, who owns the State Line Dollar Store in Grover, said he hopes to open a convenience store if the measure passes. aries: “If God calls you to the mission ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD Rev. Wayne Kirk will retire from Carson Memorial Baptist May 1. He helped start the church in the 1950s. Pastor, author and college instructor, Rev. Wayne Kirk will retire May 1. As a student at Bob Jones University, Kirk helped start Carson Memorial Baptist in Crowder’s Mountain. After gradu- ating he became the full time pas- tor. Kirk stayed there until 1954 when he entered the mission field. He returned from Africa in 1966, serving again as pastor. Kirk has written an autobiogra- phy, “Born Twice, Adopted Twice,” in addition to several books on missionary work. He taught missions part-time at Ambassador Bible College in Lattimore for 12 years. “I loved it, ” Kirk said. “It makes you young.” His advice to would-be mission- field he'll keep you there. It’s the same in the pastorate. He'll sustain. He'll provide,” Kirk said. Ambassador has awarded him an honorary doctorate. Kirk has preached at the chapel of his alma mater, Bob Jones University. Kirk has also seen his share of suffering. During a three-year peri- od his son and family were killed, his home burned and he under- went bypass surgery. Kirk says the experiences have helped him help others. “You really can’t sympathize unless you've been through the experiences yourself,” he said. “You can say a lot of words but...” Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Kirk was adopted by a farm family. “I'd never be where I am today had I not been adopted,” he said. See Kirk, 5A cv
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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April 14, 2005, edition 1
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