~ Thursday, November 10, 2005
KINGS MOUNTAIN
Vol. 117 No. 45
Since 1889
| Vivre. - /
to make playoffs
after loss to Burns
1B
Murphrey reelected
Kings Mountain mayor
. abrymer@kingsmountainherald.com
Kings Mountain Mayor Rick Murphrey
kept his seat by eight percentage points.
Murphrey got 52 percent of the vote while
candidate Kyle Smith took 44 percent.
Gilbert “Pee Wee” Hamsick received four
percent.
Tuesday night Murphrey ponked his
family and other supporters. ;
“Families have to go through it too,” he
said.
Murphrey also had good words for the
council he'll be working with.
“I think we have an excellent council
Smith said he doesn’t plan to run again.
“I think this is about it,” he said. “I'm 77.”
Murphrey has served as mayor for six
years and as a councilman six years prior to
that.
In the historic first race for the merged
Cleveland County Schools board, Kings
Mountain resident Terry McClain kept his
seat in a challenge from Tammy Camp
Trammel.
McClain was appointed to that seat when
the county’s three boards merged filling a
spot left open by Larry Allen who accepted
a job with the former Kings Mountain
District Schools. McClain got 63 percent of
the vote and Trammel, 37 percent.
—ELECTION RESULTS-
Unofficial results of Tuesday's elec-
tions in Kings Mountain and Cleveland
County:
City of Kings Mountain
Mayor
¢ Rick Murphrey 974
Kyle Smith 820
Gilbert “Peewee” Hamrick 71
Ward 1 + :
v Howard Shipp AZ
Ward 2 poi Re
; Brenda Ross : 125
v’ Mike Butler : 168
Ward 3
v Jerry Mullinax 215
Tommy Hawkins 125
Ward 4 |
v Rodney Gordon 276
Kay Hambright 198
Ward 5
Clarence “Buddy” Smith 152
v Keith Miller 167
Lou Ballew (write-in) 118
At-Large
Roy “Butch” Pearson Jr. 572
v Dean Spears 781
Garland Wayne Edwards 99
v Houston Corn 921
Rick Moore 751
Lamar Fletcher © 149
/
Town of Grover
Council
Bill Willis 57
¢ Calvin Huffman Sr. 96
John Harry 68
¢ Adam Green 22 10h
Max Rollins 45
¢/ Brent White 104
Cleveland County Board of Education
4-year terms:
Bobby Steen 2,802
Joanne Holowecky ly
v Phillip Glover 3,933
v George Litton 3,747
v Mary Evans > 2,926
_ Barbara Minder 1,952
Wilburn Wellmon 1,253
2-year term:
Tammy Trammel 2234
v Terry McClain . 3,855
Cleveland County Sanitary District
4-year terms: .
- vDonMeltlon = 1902
| ¢ Alan Norman 2697
Timothy B. Brooks ~~ 1,218
Johnny Lawrence 778
Gene Graham 546
2-year unexpired term:
Vv CJ] “Pete” Pedersen . 1415
~ Vallery D. McCoy 991
D. Farrell Wease
a
JOSEPH BRYMER / HERALD
Houston Corn, left, top vote-getter in the At-Large race, and Rick Murphrey, who held off
a challenge from former mayor Kyle, Smith, congratulate each other Tuesday night at City
coming on,” he said. “I think we'll have a
good team.”
Smith said Wednesday morning that he
was glad the election was over.
“I worked harder this time than when I
won,” he said, referring to his past term as
mayor.
Smith attributed his loss to voter turn out.
“] expected people to turn out that didn’t.
I'm disappointed, not mad,” he said.
Incumbents George Litton and Mary
Ramseur Evans also kept their seats.
Newcomer Philip Glover won a seat. Litton
got 22 percent of the vote; Glover, 23 per-
cent; and Evans, 17 percent.
Other members of that board elude Jack
Hamrick, Tommy Greene, Jo Boggs, Shearra
Miller and Richard Hooker. Miller lives in
Kings Mountain.
See Mayor, 4A
3 new faces on KM Council
NDIE BRYMER
abrymer@kingsmountainherald.com
Three newcomers won seats to the Kings
Mountain City Council on Tuesday - Mike
Butler, Rodney Gordon and Keith Miller.
Veteran council member Dean Spears is back
after a two-year hiatus and incumbents
Houston Corn and Jerry Mullinax kept their
seats. Ward One representative Howard
Shipp faced no opposition. :
Ward Three Councilman and radio show
host Mullinax was beaming as he entered
city hall where crowds gathered to view
election results.
. “I'm back to work. I'm on my way to the
station,” he said.
Radio station WKMT temporarily sus-
pended Mullinax’s gospel music program
after opponent Tommy Hawkins asked
WKMT to give him equal air time.
Rodney Gordon, the Ward Four winner,
was surrounded by family and friends,
many wearing “vote for Gordon” tee shirts.
“I'm glad it's over,” he said. “We worked
hard, knocked on a lot of doors.”
As a new councilman, Gordon is putting
learning first on his agenda.
The newcomer said he has long wanted to
run but starting a business and a family ill-
ness put it on hold until now.
“I had a clear path [this time],” he said.
Gordon ran against Kay Hambright.
Ward Two winner Mike Butler was almost
speechless as friends and family congratulat-
JOSEPH BRYMER / HERALD
Teri Curry waves to passing motorists at First Baptist Church
Tuesday as she supports re-electing Rick Murphrey in the
Kings Mountain mayor’s race.
ed him.
‘He did manage to say he was “happy”
and thanked his wife, sisters and other sup-
porters.
He also praised his opponent Brenda Ross
for running a clean race.
Ward Five winner Keith Miller said he
was “humbled” to win in the very close
race.
“One hundred sixty-seven people put
their trust in me. Everyone in the ward is
counting on me to do a good job,” he said.
Miller said he plans to listen to what all
his constituents have to say and is looking
forward to getting to know fellow council
members. He complimented his opponents
for a clean race.
He faced a challenge from Clarence
“Buddy” Smith and write-in candidate Lou
Ballew. Smith said Tuesday night it had been
a clean race. Incumbent Carl DeVane with-
drew due to health issues.
At-large winner Dean Spears said he
worked harder in this race than any other.
Spears has served two two-year terms and a
four year term. In 2003 he lost his Ward Four
seat to Kay Hambright.
Spears said in the wake of rumors that
Rick Moore was not going to run again,
friends encouraged him to make a bid for an
at-large seat.
“I'm glad they did,” he said.
Moore made an unexpected bid for the
seat but lost it Tuesday. The other incumbent
See Council, 4A
NDIE BRYMER
Council on Tuesday.
were turned down.
ority.
whole town’s agenda.”
JOSEPH BRYMER / HERALD
Incumbent Rick Moore watches as
vote totals are posted in Kings
Mountain Council At-Large race.
Moore’s re-election bid fell just short
as fellow incumbent Houston Corn
and former Ward 4 Councilman Dean
Spears led the ticket.
Clean Sweep
Neweomers Green, White,
Huffman elected in Grover
abrymer@kingsmountainherald.com
GROVER - Voters chose three newcomers to Grover City
Christopher Brent White and Adam Green both garnered 22 per-
cent of the vote and Calvin Huffman took 20 percent defeating
incumbents John Harry, Max Rollins and Bill Willis.
Huffman was the most visible candidate due to recent fights
with city council over zoning. His request to put residential hous-
ing in an area around a lake which was zoned for industrial use
“I'm just happy as hell,” Huffman said Wednesday morning. gy
The newly elected man said his first priority was assessing :
Grover’s municipal wells. Opening these up would mean Grover
no longer has to buy its water from the City of Kings Mountain.
Bringing beer and wine sales to a vote is Huffman’s second pri-
“1 feel comfortable we'll have three votes,” he said.
Commissioner Jackie Bennett has supported it.
Huffman said he wanted to look at zoning.
“My first question is do we need zoning,” he said. “All that is
left is space for houses which can’t encroach on each other.”
Adam Green said the new council would be “interested in the
Green said he wanted to keep water and sewer rates from get-
ting any higher and expand the town’s police force. He wants to
see if Grover’s wells can supply the town’s water.
“It’s worth looking into,” he said.
On beer and wine sales Green said “in my heart I believe people
See Grover, 4A