ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Kings Mountain Police Captain Jerry
Tessneer talks with Kings Mountain High
administrators Dave Greene and Dianne
Dooley Friday after the school was evacu-
ated in the wake of a bomb threat.
Bomb threat
dismisses
school early
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
A bomb threat caused the instructional
day to end sooner than normal Friday at
Kings Mountain High School.
The threat was called in to the school
after lunch, according to Principal John:
Yarbro. The school followed its crisis plan.
Because most bus drivers work on cam-
pus, routes could be started when students
evacuated. Students who drive a vehicle to
campus also were allowed to leave when
the evacuation occurred. Car riders waited
to be picked up in a lower parking lot away
from the building.
Yarbro praised the students for their
behavior.
“The kids did outstanding,” he said.
The principal thanked parents also.
“I appreciate everybody's patience and
willingness to work with us,” Yarbro said.
Because a police investigation continues,
Yarbro could not release many details. Both
the Kings Mountain Police Department and
the Kings Mountain Fire Department
responded.
Yarbro said the school has a good work-
ing relationship with the departments.
School went smoothly Monday morning,
according to Yarbro.
This is the first bomb threat the school
has received in several years.
SAT scores
up 10S points
at KM High
Kings Mountain High School’s SAT scores
are up 105 points over the previous year.
School Superintendent Dr. Gene Moore
called it “quite a remarkable increase.”
The increase is probably the largest in the
state, Moore said.
At KMHS, combined average scores ,
jumped to 1035. That is higher than the state
and national average. Verbal scores
improved 52 points to 504, and math scores
rose 53 points to 531. Fifty percent of the
seniors took the SAT.
Across the system, SAT scores rose 30
points from the previous year.
At Crest High School, combined average
scores rose eight points to 1012. Verbal
scores improved one point to 491 while
math scores increased seven points to 521.
At Crest, 59 percent of the seniors took the
SAT.
At Shelby High School, combined average
scores rose seven points to 1007. Verbal
scores rose 5 points to 503 and math scores
rose two points to 504. Some 70 percent of
the senior class took the SAT.
At Burns High School, combined average
scores dropped seven points to 938. Verbal
scores dropped 16 points to 452 while math
improved 11 points to 486. Some 53 percent
of the seniors took the SAT.
Across the county, the combined average
mathematics and verbal scores for the Class
See SAT, 7A
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BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Local reaction to North
Carolina getting the lottery is
mixed. :
Lt. Gov. Beverly Purdue cast
the tie breaking vote Tuesday in
the Senate. The measure passed
the House April 6.
Lottery proponents had con-
sidered voting on the measure:
earlier this month but were
rumored not to have enough
votes. Tuesday's vote came with
two House members who
Since 1889
passes lottery
opposed the lottery absent. One
was hospitalized and another on
his honeymoon.
County Commission
Chairman Ronnie Hawkins, a
Republican, said North Carolina
. can do without a lottery.
Hawkins objected to calling the
lottery “educational” as well.
Profits from the lottery are slat-
ed to benefit North Carolina’s
public schools but many oppo-
nents dispute that.
Betsy Wells, chair of the coun-
‘ty Democrat Party and a retired
educator with 33 years in the
—HERE WE GO (UP) AGAIN—
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
ing customers away from the
pumps.
“They're complaining but
they're buying,” said Donna
Store.
The “biggest majority” are
per gallon than mid-grade.
tomer filling up a conversion
$98 for an SUV.
Rising gas prices aren't keep-
Short, manager of Mike's Food
buying regular grade gas, Short
said. It costs typically a dime less
Some of the store’s largest pur-
chases have been $107 to a cus-
van. Another customers bought
Customers who used to buy $3
or $5 at one time are purchasing
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Linda Roberts pumps $10 worth of regular grade gas on Tuesday
afternoon at the Shell Station.
Hurricane blamed for
latest round of gas hikes
more because the small purchas-
es aren’t getting them as far,
Short said.
At Wade Ford, customers are
trading in larger vehicles for
smaller ones. The new Focus
with its highway gas mileage in
the mid-30s is the top seller right
now, according to Ralph
Grindstaff, assistant sales man-
ager. The Ford 500 car is doing
relatively well. Buyers are also
trucks.
turers will change the types of
vehicles they make.
“I think the SUV market is so
weak. I would anticipate smaller
cars to come out,” he said.
See Gas, 2A
Ck pk RRL
4-07
OT Ave
classroom, was happy to hear
about the bill passing.
“I'm glad North Carolina is
getting the money which has
been going to South Carolina for
schools,” she said.
Wells, who lives minutes from
the state line, says she has
watched upstate South Carolina
construct new schools while
many in North Carolina are
“antiquated.”
While some opponents have
cast the lottery as a moral issue,
Wells disagreed.
“I don’t believe in legislating
request
for lack
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Rezoning requests by
property owners Calvin
Huffman and Clyde
Grover Town Council
asked to rezone 47 acres
located off Locust Street
from light industrial to
restricted residential.
Council member Jackie
did not receive a second
taken.
Willis said he opposed
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open season
with win over
Huskies
Huffman’s zoning ff
Huffman were rejected by
Monday night. Huffman to rezone a 15-
Calvin Huffman/Grover acre-tract divided by Maple
Land Development, LLC Avenue and Locust Street
Bennett made a motion to
approve the request but it
meaning no vote could be
Town Commissioner Bill
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morality,” she said.
Mary Accor, a county commis-
sioner and administrator with
Cleveland County Schools,
called for common sense among
people who play the lottery.
“We cannot dictate morality. I
can only hope they'll put their
priorities in line,” she said. 2
Representative Tim Moore, a :
Republican who voted against
the lottery when it was in the
House, said he hopes since the
lottery is now law, the money
will be used for education.
See Lottery, 7A
ANE RNAI
VERSE
dies again
of second
Commissioner Max
Rollins advocated that the
town write its own zoning
ordinances instead of rely-
ing on the county.
Commissioners voted
down a request by Clyde
from light industrial to resi-
dential. They say the request
is spot zoning.
In other business, the
council voted unanimously
to decrease its own pay and
take some money from
other funds to pay for
$3,700 in additional expens-
es associated with police
salaries and benefits. Some
$500 will be redirected from
Ee i -
interested in used small cars and
Grindstaff predicts manufac-
rezoning because he feared
the town would have to pay
for water and sewer lines
and a road. Huffman dis-
puted this, saying that the
county zoning ordinances
which Grover follows
require developers to install
their own roads and provide
water and sewer lines.
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Kings Mountain City
Council rezoned property,
tabled a vote on appointing
a new member to the
Tourism Development
Authority, voted to purchase
a new boat for the police
department, honored citi-
zens and heard remarks
from former council mem-
ber Gene White during
Tuesday night's meeting.
The council voted unani-
mously to rezone property
near the intersection of King
+ Street and Edgemont Road
from residential to office.
The request was made by
the office’equipment pur-
chase fund; $1,000 from
building maintenance and
repair; $500 from equipment
purchase and $500 from
town hall equipment main- |
tenance and repair.
Commissioners will make
$25 less each month with
See Huffman, 7A
Kings Mountain gives
approval to rezoning
Associates (Wanda Fuller).
Councilman Rick Moore
was not at the meeting.
Mayor Rick Murphrey said
he was out of town on busi-
ness.
In other business, council
agreed to appoint Martha
Withers and Don Pandya,
managers of local hotels, to
the Tourism Development
Authority. However, they
hit a snag on who should
replace Shirley Brutko. She
is a Chamber of Commerce
employee whose term on
the board has ended.
Councilman Rick Moore
has applied for the position
and Jon Brewer has been
recommended. The council
Burton Engineering
Bus director changes stop for safety
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer '
A Kings Mountain parent
believes Cleveland County
Schools’ bus stop policy places
children in danger. School offi-
cials say they are following state
recommendations.
Parent Casey Gallarini told
officials Friday that the Bennett
Street and Chestnut Avenue
intersection bus stop stop was
dangerous. Gallarini said her
two intermediate school-age
children wait’there along with
another KMIS student, two ele-
mentary-age students and a stu-
dent in either middle or high
school. There are no sidewalks
and yards are fenced leaving lit-
WW
tle room for students to stand.
Don Byrnes, director of trans-
portation for CCS, visited the
bus stop Friday and said
Gallarini has a “legitimate con-
cern.”
He recommended students
use a nearby location.
says that location is not safe
either.
Gallarini said ideally she
would like buses to pick stu-
- dents up in front of their own
homes. Officials say that is logis-
tically impossible.
“We couldn't get everybody to
school,” Byrnes said.
Gallarini says if that isn’t pos-
sible, she wants a safe bus stop
which is closer to students’
homes. According to Gallarini,
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Gallarini *
her neighborhood is used by
motorists as a cut-through.
There are no sidewalks, many
yards are fenced and cars often
park on the sides of streets mak-
ing it unsafe for children to
walk.
It is unsafe for children 14 and
under to walk any distance,
according to Gallarini. She fears
they are at risk of abduction
given the neighborhood's prox-
imity to U.S. 74 and Interstate
85.
Gallirini said she does not let
her children walk alone in the
same area they must wait for the
bus.
“T don’t think it is fair for the
school system to demand I do
that,” she said.
See Rezoning, 7A
For now, Gallarini is driving
her children to school. Her work
place was recently closed and {
she is job hunting. Gallarini fears
that she will not be able to drive
her children when she gets
another job.
The state recommends that
superintendents not plan bus ;
stops closer than 0.2 miles unless
safety factors require otherwise.
A route may not deviate from a
general path of direction for a
distance of less than one-half
mile and then return to the origi-
nal path except for groups of 10
or more pupils, unescorted ve
pupils in grades kindergarten
through third grade or special
education pupils.
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