Summit Place
residents meet the
Mountaineers
50 Cents
Thursday, July 21, 2005 Vol. 117 No. 29 Since 1889
JOSEPH BRYMER / HERALD
Taylor Dawson got some finishing touches before the
teenie weenie bikini contest in last year’s Beach Blast.
Below, Haley Patterson plays under the sprinkler. This
year’s event is Saturday at the gazebo.
BEACH
BLAST
Day of fun, music
competition slated
Saturday at gazebo
The annual Beach Blast is Saturday, July 23 from 10
a.m. to 10 p.m. at the gazebo at Patriots.Park. Sponsored
by the city, The Herald, First National Bank, Summit
Place, Gateway Properties, Kings Mountain Business
and Professional Association, WOHS, GTRA and
Davidson Insurance Agency it offers a variety of fun,
music, shagging and competition for all ages.
The schedule is as follows:
- Kings Mountain
Hillfall at 10 a.m.
Gravity tub racers,
both exhibition and
competitive, will
stream down
Railroad Avenue in
this event which the
city hopes to make
an annual tradition.
- Teenie Weenie
Bikini Contest at
11:30 a.m.
Participants may reg-
ister from 10 to 11:15
a.m. Saturday.
Advance registration
is at First National
Bank, Kings
Mountain Branch. The entry fee is $5. There are several
categories: boys and girls, ages birth to three, four years,
five years and six years.
The winner and first two runners up will receive
small trophies. All children will receive something for
participating. For more information, call Cindy Wood at
704-739-4782, extension 234.
- Crimson Rose will perform at 12:15 p.m.
- Rick Hubbard and the Kazoobie Kazoo Show starts
at 1:15 p.m. All children in the audience get a free kazoo.
Hubbard has performed at Busch Gardens (Tampa),
Sea World, Tweetsie Railroad and Disney World.
Recently the American Academy of Children's
Entertainers nominated Hubbard as America's Best
Variety Entertainer.
Hubbard is from Laurinburg. While attending Wake
Forest University, he performed in the opening concert
and later played bass as part of the back-up band for the
See Blast, 3A
Summit Place sold,
expansion announced
An ownership group sponsored by Steven D. Bell &
Company of Greensboro has purchased Summit Place of
Kings Mountain for $4.7 million and will soon embark
on an expansion program at the assisted living and
Alzheimer’s care facility.
The purchase of the 48-unit Summit Place of Kings .
Mountain is part of a transaction involving three
Summit Place properties. The Bell-sponsored group also
bought Summit Place of Mooresville and Summit Place
of Myrtle Beach, S.C., the total sales price coming to
about $18 million.
All three of the Summit Place eldercare properties will
retain their names and will be managed by Senior
Living Services, Inc., a division of Steven D. Bell &
Company.
The new owners expect to complete a new addition
for Summit Place of Kings Mountain during the first
quarter of 2006. The addition will consist of nine private
See Summit, 3A
BY ALAN HODGE
Special to The Herald
Gaston County was the center of
national attention Friday when
President George W. Bush visited
R.L. Stowe Mills Helms textile plant
and Gaston College.
Bush used the tour to tout the
Central American Free Trade
Agreement. CAFTA is a pact that
would eliminate tariffs between the
U.S. and five Central American
nations in all areas of trade and man-
ufacturing. Some fear this could
mean more American jobs are lost to
Central America. The nations
involved are Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras and |
Nicaragua.
Bush was introduced by Gaston
College president Dr. Patricia
Skinner, Rep. Sue Myrick and U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Carlos
Gutierrez. Bush's opening remarks
touched on the subject of terrorists.
“Their aim is to remake the Middle
East in their own grim image,” Bush |
said. “They want to topple govern-
ments. They want to export terror.
They want to force free nations to
retreat.”
Bush also told the crowd that the
U.S. was taking the fight to the ter-
rorists and wouldn't back off until
See Bush, 3A
KM HOSPITAL EXPANSION
President Bush speaks Friday at Gaston
College. 2
ANDIE L. BRYMER/HERALD
Kings Mountain Hospital will unveil its new addition next Thursday. :
Renovations to be unveiled
during ribbon cutting July 28
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Kings Mountain Hospital will debut its
$12 million renovations and expansions
projects during a ribbon cutting celebra-
The 10,495 square foot surgical depart-
ment is on the second floor of the new
addition. The family waiting areq is
framed in large glass windows and
includes a children’s play area.
tion next Thursday. The event is from 2 to
7 p.m.
A two-story addition onto the east side
of the hospital will house an express care
emergency department, surgery depart-
ment and waiting area, community room,
cafe and main entrance.
The new space is characterized by large
windows and curving walls.
“We've taken today’s modern look and
meshed into the rest of the building and it
works,” said Greg Williams, communica-
tions and marketing director.
The hospital's new entrance will include
a fountain, circular drive and clear glass-
The nine pre- and post-operative wait-
ing rooms have windows near the ceilings.
“We're bringing the outdoors in,”
Williams said.
One of the two operating rooms uses
Striker communications equipment.
Equipped with cameras and computers, all
equipment is suspended from the ceiling
to make the room safer.
At the rear of the new addition, 6,282
square feet are being added to the emer-
gency department. This includes) a large,
new waiting area and six rooms which will
be used for express care. This is for minor
emergencies.
A private consultation room for doctors:
covered drop off point. A reception area
and lobby greets visitors.
Ecuador trip educational
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Second-grade teacher Judy Ford
came back from an educational trip
to Ecuador determined to help a
colleague raise funds to establish a
fish farm in his village.
Ford and 11 other educators from
across the state traveled to the
South American country through a
N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences
program.
While in Ecuador the group
toured a fish farm. Ford watched as
a local teacher who was also part of
the program learned about aqua
farming.
“His face lit up,” she said. “That’s
all he could talk about.”
This school year Ford will enlist
See Hospital, 2A
her students’ help. They'll collect
pledges for time spent reading
through Heifer International’s Read
to Feed program.
“We're teaching the children com-
passion,” she said.
After Ecuador she wants to do a
similar project in the North
Carolina mountains.
Ford describes the Ecuadorian
people she met as “hospitable” and
“warm.” Despite their own poverty,
they piled Ford's and her col-
leagues’ plates high with food
while waiting to serve themselves.
The Ecuadorian children were
her favorite. While visiting an adult
literacy project, Ford and a col-
league slipped outside to join a soc-
cer game.
See Ford, 3A
for Ford
Cityto
energy
savings |
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER %
Staff Writer \
The City of Kings
Mountain is hoping
Seimens, a multi-national
energy conservation compa-
ny, can help it save on ener-
gy cost.
Representatives from the
company are conducting a
no-cost feasibility study,
according to Mayor Rick
Murphrey. They are evalu-
ating the city’s lighting,
heating, traffic signals,
street lights and utility
meters looking for ways to =,
save money.
The feasibility study,
should take six to eight g-
weeks. Once it is.complete,
the city council will decide
if it wants. to put out a
request for proposals on
how to implement the rec-
ommendations. Seimens
and other similar compa-
nies would then make
offers to the city.
After a company is select-
ed, the city will secure
financing to pay for the rec-
ommended cost savings
strategies. North Carolina
law now allows municipali- .-
ties to borrow the money
outside of their normal
budgets and then pay the
loan back with money
saved. The law requires
Seimens and similar compa-
nies guarantee the savings.
“I commend the mayor
and city council for having
the foresight to go along
with this project,” said Greg
McGinnis, city manager. alpen
See City, 3A
u% %
¥
Teacher
Judy Ford
returned
from
Ecuador
with plans
to start a
Read to
Feed pro-
gram to
helpavil- .-:
lage start. _-1-.|-
a fish. ask
farm. : 4
CY FR NYVY
©
VEG EW EY OVER UREA RN
YN RN
Andie
Brymer/
Herald