The fom
Thursday, May 25, 2006
HOMEFRONT
Girl reported
missing found
Six-year-old Mikala Wilson,
went missing Tuesday afternoon
around 4 pm. She was supposed
to ride her bike from her grand-
mother’s house a short way to
her house on 407 Cherry St. Her
friends last saw her after school
around 3 pm. Her parents called
911 when she had been missing
for about two hours.
Kings Mountain police and
firemen searched for the young
girl. Fire Chf. Frank Burns found
Wilson around 6:45 pm on
Guyton Loop, watching other
children jump on a trampoline.
She was located about a half mile
away from her residence.
Second primary
is next Tuesday
Mitzi McGraw Johnson and
Sharon Hamrick Jones will settle
the Democratic nomination for
Cleveland County Clerk of
Superior Court in a second pri-
mary Tuesday, May 30.
Johnson won the May 2 pri-
mary 3,192 to 3,139 votes, but
that was not enough to claim the
nomination without a run-off.
The winner of Tuesday's sec-
ond primary will advance to the
November general election
against Republican Claudia
Glenn.
Memorial Day
service at cemetery
The Kings Mountain Memorial
Day Observance will be held on
Monday, May 29th, at 10 am at
Mountain Rest Cemetery off of
Mountain St. The public is wel-
come and encouraged to attend
this event, honoring the lives of
heroes.
Opening remarks will be made
by Mayor Rick Murphrey. The
presentation of colors will be con-
ducted by the KMPD Color
Guard. Cleveland County Sheriff
Raymond Hamrick will lead the
pledge of allegiance and award-
winning Shana Adams will sing
the National Anthem. Adams,
native to Kings Mountain, sang
before the president in Charlotte
a few weeks ago.
Jeff Goode, a retired Green
Beret who knows the ins and outs
of being an American soldier, is
scheduled to be the keynote
speaker. He will present the
wreath memorializing fallen sol-
diers with the mayor. Trumpeter
Paul Fulton will play TAPS.
James R. VanDyke, 81
Nathaniel Green, 25
Zelma Greene, 77
Johnie Spencer, 47
Jon Campbell, 20
Page 4A
Classified 7B Lifestyles 8A
Obituaries 4A Opinion 3A
Police 4A Schools 1B
Sports 6A Worship 11A
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Reader questions what
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KINGS
Vol. 118 No. 21
No more political
stress for KM’s
Clavon Kelly 2A
MOUNTAIN
Since 1889
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High women’s
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6A
‘A band aid on the dilemma’
High Medicaid costs, other budget challenges discussed
at State of the Community Breakfast in Kings Mountain
© ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald Correspondent
Fourteen cents from your tax
dollar goes for Medicaid and
that represents $8.3 million, 11
percent of the proposed county
budget.
EMILY WEAVER
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
Students at KMHS had “A
date with Destiny” on
Thursday, May 18 in the
parking lot near the Science
classrooms. DESTINY, which
stands for Delivering Edge-
cutting Science, Technology,
and Internet across North
County commission chairman
Ronnie Hawkins said county
residents face a real dilemma
and challenged area communi-
ty residents attending the
“State of the Community”
breakfast sponsored by the
Cleveland
Commerce Tuesday at the H.
DATE WITH DESTINY
Carolina for Years, is a mobile this
science unit from the UNC-
Chapel Hill's
Science Learning Program.
This 40-foot, 33,000 pound
bus invited more than 20
KMHS science students, at a
time, on board for an hour-
long, up-to-date biological
lab experiment.
“There were two classes
this morning and two classes
Lawrence Patrick Center to
help stop the 110 percent
increase to the ‘county in
Medicaid costs by getting on
the bandwagon and lobbying
state legislators.
“Right now the state man-
dates this huge amount you
See State, 10A
Chamber of
KMHS Sophomore Jeff Robinson works on an experiment testing gene expression and
selection, on the Destiny bus Thursday afternoon. He and some of his other classmates
from AP Biology would learn a couple of days later, from their teacher Mercedes
Humphries, if their lab work was a glowing success. If completed correctly, the winning
results would produce a neon-like glow.
Science bus offers rare learning
experience for KMHS students
afternoon,” said
Mercedes Humphries, a sci-
ence teacher at the high
school. Her students were
allowed to get out of different
afternoon classes to partici-
pate in this rare learning
experiment. She and other
science teachers across the
state can request the mobile
lab to visit their schools dur-
See Destiny, 10A
Traveling
ELIZABETH STEWART / HERALD
Mayor Rick Murphrey, left, and County
Commissioner Jerry Self chat over coffee.
Rezoning
requests
on Council
agenda
ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald Correspondent
Four public hearings for property rezoning
are on the agenda for Tuesday’s 7 p.m. meet-
ing of City Council but no action will be
taken in at least one of the hearings, which
may be continued to the June 27 meeting,
according to Kings Mountain Mayor Rick
Murphrey.
“We had already set the public hearing on
James B. Payseur’s request to rezone his
property in the Crescent Hill neighborhood
before the planning and zoning board,
which met last month, continued action
until June 13,” said the mayor.
Planning Board Chairman Jim Childers
asked the developers to meet with adjoining
property owners to hear their concerns
before making a recommendation to city
council which has the final decision on zon-
ing questions and to give the board time to
review the petition with signatures of 178
people opposed to the rezoning. ‘
“I understand that meetings are ongoing
with developers and residents,” said the
mayor. The second public hearing would be
required on June 27 but residents who wish
to address the issue Tuesday night may do
SO.
Payseur wants to rezone his property
approximately 135 feet southeast from Joyce
and Meadowbrook intersection from Light
Industrial to Conditional Use R-6 (CUR-R6):
Developer Kevin M. Pedego of Huntersville
wants to build 18 multi-family two-story
See Council, 10A
3 never missed a day of school
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
It is hard to imagine a student
who has not missed one day in 13
years of school. But KMHS has
three graduating seniors with per-
fect attendance. No matter how
rough and tough the daily life of
teens can be, these three never
wavered.
“I was late sometimes but never
absent,” said Heather Wilson. She
walked to school every morning
and walked home every afternoon.
Her education began at West
Elementary, about a mile and a half
from her home. Her mother
walked with her until about 7th
grade at KMMS, which she said
was not as far away.
Leigh Ann Long remembered
Scholarship
which will pay
for $15,000 of
passing them on their daily treks.
“Sometimes it would be raining
and we would stop and ask them if
they wanted a ride. They'd say, her college edu-
‘Nope we're gonna walk’ or “We've cation at
got an umbrella we're all right’,” Gardner-Webb
she said. University. “I
When Wilson started 9th grade want to be a
at KMHS (the closest of all three H i s t ory
schools to her home) she said that teacher,” she
she would ride with someone until said, adding
WILSON
OBANDO
GAFENEY
she started driving. She is ranked
among the top of her class, with a
GPA around 4.3.
When asked if she regrets having
to walk so much, she said, “No, it
kept me healthy as a child.” Wilson
can’t remember a time of suffering
from great sickness in her younger
years and is thankful of the healthy
habits and lifestyle her mother
instilled in her.
She has received the Dover
that she will try not to miss any
days in college either. Wilson will
be going on a mission trip to
Honduras with her church, Kings
Mountain First Baptist, this sum-
mer. She will miss her friends and
family at KMHS.
Lauren Gaffney has also never
missed a day. She was ranked
among the top 10 in her class last
year. “I would get colds,” she said,
“but nothing that would bring me
down or keep me X
from school.” She attended West
Elementary and KMMS with
Wilson. Her mother is a 5th grade
teacher at KMIS and also made
sure that she was always present.
In high school, she played
Volleyball, Softball and was a
cheerleader. She has received the
Kings Mountain Sports Hall of
Fame Scholarship which grants her
See School, 10A