KINGS MOUNTAIN
The Heral
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Vol. 118 No. 12
Since 1889
PRIMARY ELECTION 2006
Question and answer session
with Commissioner hopefuls
| GARY STEWART
\ gstewart@kingsmountainherald.co
The Herald recently mailed a ques-
tionnaire to all candidates for
Cleveland County Commissioner.
Their responses follow. Democrat
Freddie Ellis did not respond.
1 - What qualifies you to be a
county commissioner?
Boggs - I understand the concept
of teamwork and will be able to con-
tribute the knowledge and experi-
ence that Ihave gained serving on
the school board.
Holbrook - I have been a resident
of Cleveland County for 35 years and
have seen the good times and not so
ood in the county. have worked in
athletics, fund raising, small business
ownership and have led fundraising
campaigns for GWU, the YMCA and
the community college. I worked
with state and federal legislators
regarding economic issues and
grants for the county. As a result of
my varied experiences and desire to
see our county and citizens establish
and succeed in a new economy I feel
Iam qualified for this tremendous
challenge.
Hastings - I have a vision for our
county that includes the safety,
health and economic well-being of
THE CANDIDATES:
Democratic Primary - Jo
Boggs, Kenneth Ledford,
Mike Putnam, Eddie
Holbrook, Fast Freddie Ellis”
Republican Primary - Kelly
Hastings, Ron Schaeffer, Bill
Chambless
*Did not respond to ques-
tionnaire.
our citizens and the strength of our
immediate and extended families.
Schaeffer - Business
Administration ~~ degree from
Cleveland Community College; 18
years experience in customer service
and management in retail and manu-
facturing /distribution industries;
currently instruct classes on work:
place safety.
Putnam - With 34 years experience
as owner of Mike's Flowers and a
B.S. degree in Business
Administration from Limestone
College, I bring a working knowl-
edge of finances to the commissioner
board. I will use sound judgement on
all financial matters.
Mountaineer
Partnership
to show off
new office
Open house and ribbon-cut-
ting at the new offices of The
Mountaineer Partnership Inc.
will be held Thursday from 5-7
p-m. at 241 S. Battleground
Avenue.
Morgan Edwards, the execu-
tive director, said the new’loca-
tion is a perfect example of
what the organization is all
about - the hub of downtown.
“We are pushing downtown
revitalization and that’s where
we will be working - down-
town,” he said.
Edwards said Mountaineer
Partnership is designed to cre-
ate a culture of change but he
says volunteers are needed to
serve on four committees:
organization, promotion,
design and economic restruc-
turing.
Joni Smith, who has actively
pushed the program the past
three years of its founding, has
said that the goal is having a
prosperous, vibrant and
appealing downtown that will
provide a high quality of life in
a unique historic environment.
The public is invited.
Ledford - Over 20 years on the
Board of Education; knowing how to
work with a budget; especially in
times such as we're in now. My busi-
ness background qualifies me, and
having served on the Economic
Development Board.
Chambless - Resident of
Cleveland County for 18 years; busi-
ness owner in Cleveland County; a
sincere desire to help; a graduate of
the University of Louisiana with a
degree in Business Management.
2 - What are the main two issues -
you see facing Cleveland County in
the next four years?
Putnam - The first issue will be the
lack of employment in Cleveland
County. With the loss of many jobs
we must work diligently to attract
job opportunities for our great coun-
ty. The second issue would be educa-
tion. We must remember the school
children of today are our leaders of
tomorrow.
Chambless - Rising Medicaid
costs are taking a greater percentage
of the county’s revenue; Lack of
quality high-paying jobs.
‘Schaeffer - During the next four
years, I see water supplies and crime
as the two biggest obstacles to
recruiting new jobs to Cleveland
See Primary, 2A
SPRING TIME IN GROVER
rain, sleet and temperature in the 30s and 40s. ;
BOGGS
HASTINGS
Photos of
the other
candidates
were not
available.
vveor Juni LIL gruuers
write books for
kindergartners
7A
City pay plan
discussed in
budget meeting
ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald Correspondent
A new pay plan for the 200 Kings Mountain city employees that
was scrapped a few years ago was on the agenda Tuesday as budg-
et deliberations got underway by city officials.
Mayor Rick Murphrey said MAPS, Inc. presented a proposal to
council last week. The MAPS consultant gave survey results that
recommended entry-level workers be paid at market standards and
a program of merit pay. The mayor said the consultants offer plans
for cities to be competitive with other municipalities. fy
“We are not far off in our pay scale,” said the mayor. The benefit
package to all associates includes paid insurance. The city pays 100
percent of the cost. After 20 years of service, a city employee
receives this benefit for life.
Dr. Lyle J. Sumek, president of Lyle Sumek Associates, Inc. of
Heathrow, Fla., and City Manager Greg McGinnis led the first por-
tion of the city’s budget retreat, which began at 1 p.m. Monday
afternoon, by listening to staff recommendations. The mayor and
the seven members of city council on Tuesday started penciling the
requests and giving direction to the city manager for what
Murphrey hopes will be a “very conservative budget” for fiscal year
2006-2007. The retreat ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The city’s current budget is $30 million, and although Murphrey
sees costs rising, he is hopeful that the city will maintain its 36 cents
per $100 property tax valuation and there will be no increases in
utility fees. Recently the mayor said the city had to pass along part
of a fuel adjustment charge that will increase 4.5 percent to help off-
set a surcharge from Duke that has resulted in over $800,000
increase. Murphrey said the city negotiated a base rate with Duke
that will not increase until 2009; however, every contract has a fuel
See Budget, 2A
JOSEPH BRYMER / HERALD
Linda Greene, manager of Main Street Mini Mall in Grover, took advantage of last week’s warm tem-
. peratures to wave to passing motorists, but the first day of Spring Monday greeted area folks with
Adjustment board
“denies Hamrick’s
poker request
ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald Correspondent
Kings Mountain Board of Adjustment
Tuesday denied a request by’ Ken Hamrick for
replacement of video poker machines at
Mountain Associates, the Silver Villa, 606 E.
King Street.
Hamrick was not present for the meeting.
Basis of the denial included findings of fact
that the business owner was charged with vio-
lation of state laws in direct violation of prior
conditional use permit. Machine serial num-
bers 1011, 1997 and 12365 seized by the
Cleveland County Sheriff's Department were
included in the application. Apparently no
replacement machines were mentioned and
no amendments to the application came forth,
according to the findings of fact unanimously
approved by Bob Myers, chairman; Howard
Shipp, Clavon Kelly, vice-chairman, and Jim
Childers. Member Angie Richardson was
absent.
Two variances were approved by Myers,
‘Tommy Hawkins, Kelly, Herman Green and
Shipp.
Rebecca Falls Scism asked for a reduction of
minimum lot frontage on pre-1996 easement
on her property on the south side of Patterson
Road. The property is zoned R-10. and the
new lot for a single family residence would.
approximate 12 acres.
Also approved was a side yard setback vari-
See Poker, 2A
CH
oy
* ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald Correspondent
The Relay for Life banner at
the front driveway of Foust
Textiles, inc., wholesale dis-
tributor of fabrics on
Canterbury Road, is a symbol
of the support of the Kings
Mountain business for the
campaign for funds to fight
cancer which began with
eight teams in 1998 under the
leadership of the late Joe R.
Smith and Mike Neely.
Nine years later the Relay
has blossomed into one of the
big events in Cleveland
County and heralded among
the top 10 community efforts
in the nation.
Foust Office Manager Joyce
Childers Roark has shared in
worked in the background,
KINGS MOUNTAIN PEOPLE————
Relay for Life holds special
place in Joyce Roark’s heart
extensive chemotherapy and
radiation. Donna was 28 at
the time. Her disease is in
' remission.
“Donna had been bothered
A dream that began almost five years ago is
closer to becoming reality after Kings Mountain
Gateway Trails, Inc. signed a contract Thursday
with EMW Corporation to do
JOYCE ROARK
the excitement of Kings
Mountain's success from the chipped in, said Roark, who
beginning but since 2003 has HE the relay in 2001-
2002 and named the event the
serving as financial chairman
and volunteering with the
David Baptist Church relay
team. Foust continues as a
corporate sponsor.
Smith, who was employed
at Foust, got the relay ball
rolling and all 24 employees
Joseph R. Smith Relay for Life
in memory of Smith, who
died of cancer.
Roark’s life was touched by
cancer in her family.
Daughter, Donna Roark, was
diagnosed with Hodgkins dis- *
ease in 1998 and underwent
with strep throat and it was a
big surprise and a traumatic
.experience when cancer was
discovered,” said Joyce,
adding that her initial
involvement in the relay was
to honor her daughter and to
help Joe Smith and the Foust
team raise funds to help other
cancer patients.
“Joe (Smith) and Mike
(Neely) were co-chairs from
1998-2000 and saw the teams
row to 19 and donations top
35,000. Joe died of cancer
and Betty Mitchell and I
wanted to honor him and in
2000 there were 36 teams with
contributions of over $70,000.
In 2002 there were 33 teams
with contributions of over
$84,000.”
A second member of the
Foust family, John O Plonk
Jr., founder of the company
which he started in the second
floor of Plonk’s Department
Store and moved to the new
building July 4, 1990, died of
See Roark, 10A
i
g
5
a feasibility study to connect
the proposed trail to Kings
Mountain State and National
arks. :
President David Ozmore
and vice-president Shirley
Brutko, representing
Gateway Trails, and Ron
Morgan and Carl Elliott of
EMW Corporation, signed
the contracts at the local
Chamber office and received
an initial payment of $12,500
for their services. Another
$12,500 payment will be
made at the conclusion of
their study in about 60 days.
Elliott and Morgan said the
study would include a plan
to connect the city to the park
trails near City and Davidson
lakes with paved trails for
walking, hiking, running and biking; estimate the
resources that will be necessary to build the trail;
and give advice on ways to find funding through
land donors, easements, government bodies,
grants, etc.
“The idea is to connect directly to the state and
national parks so Kings Mountain can connect to
its heritage and attract tourists,” said Elliott, who
ft
Feasibility study underway
for KM Gateway to Parks
I" GARY STEWART
. gstewart@kingsmountainherald.co
has consulted on other projects in town such as
the Harris Children’s Wing at Mauney Memorial
Library.
“This is a very exciting day for Kings
Mountain,” noted Brutko. “Our group has been
working on this for four years and last fall it just
took off like a jet. We were incorporated, have
executive officers and a
board of directors, and repre-
sentatives from North
Carolina and the National
Parks Service in Atlanta
working with us on this.”
Park trails which are now
under construction will even-
tually connect Crowders
Mountain just over the
Gaston County line in Kings
Mountain to the South
Carolina State and Kings
Mountain National Military
parks just over the South
Carolina line in York County.
Brutko says the proposed
Kings Mountain trail, which
would begin somewhere in
the downtown area, will be
around “three to four” miles
to the area of City and
Davidson lakes, then branch
Carl Elliott, left, and David Ozmore
sign contract as Ron Morgan and
Shirley Brutko look on.
off either down Highway 161 to the park trails, or
back through the Kings Mountain range to the
proposed new visitor's center being built on Van
Dyke Road.
Ozmore, who is also director of the Kings
Mountain YMCA, sees a number of benefits for
the city, area residents and visitors.
See Study, 10A
O)
J