ann
Kings
Communications.
workers at the
‘emanate
‘Mountain, Shannon said.
{ Danny Fontana
_ itual perspective.
Bridges started the Kings
~ Mountain station years ago
and sold it to Geddings.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
to operate out
of Lincolnton
“i eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
The 53-year-old Kings
Mountain radio station,
- WDYT (formerly WKMT)
1220 AM, will make its last
personal broadcast from
Mountain . on
December 31, 2006. The pro-
grams Swap Shop and
gospel music will no longer
drift on the radio waves
produced by the station
house. DJs and personalities
that the town has come to
love, like Jerry Mullinax and
Tony Washam, will no
longer share the airwaves.
But of all of the changes set
to take efféct on January 1,
2007, the building on
Cleveland Road will
remain. :
“The location is not being
shut down in anticipation of
our new reformation,” said
Casey Shannon, VP of
Communications with CRN
Communications, Inc. He
said that as of January 1,
2007, they will not be broad-
casting on the same format.
A station in Lincolnton,
"WLON, will be picking up
the station’s format.
The Lincolnton station is
‘another ownership or hold-
mura ~of. ¥
Fontana
“We wanted to give a
clean separation at the
beginning of the year,”
Shannon said. So the com-
pany sent out letters to
radio personalities and
Mountain radio station to
inform them of their New
Year's resolutions, changes
‘that no longer require their
services.
~ Washam will continue to
supervise the station and
‘take care of the studio loca-
tion but no broadcasts will
from Kings
“Tony and Jerry’s broad-
casts will cease.” ;
Shannon encouraged
them to talk to Lanny Ford
at the Lincolnton station to
continue their broadcasts
there, but admitted that he
was not sure how interested
Ford would be about the
~ programs. Ford is picking
up some of the paid or syn-
dicated programs emanat-
ing from Charlotte like the
gospel talk show. “The paid
program ‘Real Country’ will
be emanating from Kings
Mountain as an original
hub,” Shannon said. “It
(WDYT) will act as a hub for
our broadcasts to come
through.”
Danny Fontana pur-
chased the station from pre-
vious owner Kevin
Geddings earlier this year,
finishing the last of the
paperwork on April 1, 2006.
The plans around the time
of purchase were to expand
the station’s limited signal
to 10,000 watts, which is
currently underway.
Fontana was reported last
October in The Herald as
planning to. make the sta-
tion home to his syndicated
faith-lifestyle talk show and
‘a lunchtime financial pro-
gram. He is the host of the
Show,
which looks at issues from a
political, economic and spir-
Jonas
BREAKING NEWS
WDYT Radio
KINGS
Vol. 118 No. 52
‘06 bi
' GARY STEWART
gstewart@kingsmountainherald.com
2006 was a banner year for Kings
Mountain and 2007 promises to be just as
bright.
The city landed several new businesses
and industries in 2006, had a perfect audit
for the sixth year in a row, and increased
its general fund balance from 16.2 to 20.2
percent.
“I feel like we've had a good year,” said
Mayor Rick Murphrey. “We're going to
see more industrial and residential
growth. We're just in a great location. The
MOUNTAIN
The Herald
Since 1889
50 Cents
year for Kings Mountain
city has worked for many years to posi-
tion itself with the utilities that have been
expanded and planned so that when
prospective customers come in we’ll be
© ready to serve them.”
The presence of two major highways (I-
85 and US 74 Bypass), and business utility
rates that are among the lowest of similar
-size cities in the state, an active down-
town and good school system combine to
make Kings Mountain very attractive to
business and industry and new residents.
“When you're marketing a city you
have to have competitive rates,”
Murphrey said. “When you look at the
overall package Kings Mountain has to
offer you will get a tremendous amount of
interest.”
The top economic news to come out of
‘Kings Mountain in years occurred in July
when Chris-Craft Boats and Indian
Motorcycle announced they would move
part of their operations from Sarasota, FL
to the Kings Mountain area. Although
both industries are located outside the
city - Chris-Craft on Countryside Road
and Indian Motorcycle on Battleground
Road tear Grover - they will be Kings
Mountain utility users.
Other industries coming to town in ‘06
were Lukjam Metals, Kitchen Ventilation
Services and STEAG.
Altogether, the new industries will
bring over 1,000 jobs and a $50 million
investment. In addition, Johnson
Development built a 500,000 square feet
spec building on I-85 and a spec building
for a call center was constructed in the
Cleveland County Industrial Park near
Kings Mountain. Murphrey hopes that
both will be occupied in ‘07.
. New businesses building on East King
Street - one of which is already open -
See Big Year, 5A
Kings |
OR
Day 9 grand
ELE CAT,
~ EMILY WEAVER
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
The beginning of a new year, full of excit-
ing possibilities and new beginnings, should
be celebrated. But beware. One night of par-
tying with alcohol can turn into a year of suf-
fering. A $6 six-pack of beer can turn into
thousands of dollars in fees and penalties
after being caught driving while impaired. In
North Carolina the costs of driving after con-
sumption for first-time offenders can be
detrimental with fines ranging from $100 to
$2,000, mandatory jail time ranging from 24
hours to mere than 24 months imprison-
ment, and a mandatory license revocation for
a period of one year. Court costs, legal fees,
insurance rates, and fines for a DWI total
more than $9,500 for a single, first offense.
According to the NC Department of Motor
Vehicles website, a first conviction can carry
Priceless Pearl
Dr. Brown, first professional African-American employee of
Gaston College, retiring January 1 with 42 years of service
EMILY WEAVER
a minimum punishment that includes a fine
of up to $100 and not less than 24 hours
imprisonment, 24 hours of community serv-
ice, 30 days without driving privileges, or
any combination of these. Maximum punish-
ments can include fines up to $2,000 and 14
days-over 2 years imprisonment.
Once arrested for a DWI, the offender is
taken to the police station or holding center
for a night behind bars and his or her license
is revoked for a mandatory minimum of 30
days. According to the website of the
Raleigh-based counseling firm First Step
Services, LLC, the offender can get a limited
driving privilege from a judge 10 days after
the arrest if the person gets a DWI
Assessment. If the driver gets no assessment,
he or she can pick up his or her driver's
license at the clerk of courts office after 30
days has passed and by paying a $50 restora-
tionfee. . .
Refusing to participate in field sobriety
tests: and chemical tests, including those
given by a breathalyzer or blood test, is a cit-
izen’s right and prerogative. But resistance
will result in the immediate loss of a license
for 13 months if the person is found not guilty
of DWI and a possible two years or more if
the person is found guilty. According to
ncdot.org, “A conviction of DWI with a
B.A.C. of 0.16 or more, or another conviction
within the past seven years, will require an
ignition interlock device to be installed on
the vehicle.” The device is usually attached
to the steering wheel or front console of the
vehicle and requires the driver to perform a
breathalyzer before the vehicle will start and
at regular intervals while driving. The vehi-
cle will not start or the engine will lock up if
the device detects a specified B.A.C.
DWI Assessments, at a cost of $50, are
required of all that are convicted of DWI in
NC. The assessment is a structured interview
See 9 Grand, 5A
SHRINK
DOWN
Kick off for weight
loss promotion to
begin in January
ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald Correspondent
Since New Years Day is the typ-
ical time to make resolutions
local citizens are being encour-
aged by promoters of Cleveland
County Shrink Down toattend a
kickoff for the campaign on Jan.
8 from 12:30-7 p.m. at Cleveland
Community College.
The program is free to the pub-
lic and offers citizens a chance
to get on the “shrink down”
bandwagon without a fad diet
program.
David Ozmore, YMCA director
in Kings Mountain, presented
an update of the program at the
recent meeting of City Council.
Citizens who start the program
will be asked to watch their
weight for 10 weeks and weigh
in each Friday and privately at
sites to be located in town.
Progress will be charted without
using names of individuals par-
ticipating in the program.
The program is sponsored by
the YMCA, Gardner-Webb
University, the Cleveland
County Health Department and
local hospitals.
Ozmore said that 62 percent of
Cleveland County citizens are
overweight or obese, a drastic
hike in statistics over recent
years, and 10 percent of ' that
group fight heart disease and
stroke. He suggested that those
with computer access to click on
www.clevelandcoun-
tyshrinkdown.com to find some
educational materials.
Dr. Pearlie
Brown, of
Kings
Mountain,
stands next
to the circula-
tion desk
counter at
Gaston
College’s
Morris
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
Gaston College will lose a “pearl of
great price” when Kings Mountain's own,
Dr. Pearlie Brown, retires from Morris
Library on January 1, 2007.
She is retiring after 42 years of library
service at the college. She will leave the
Dallas campus with the distinction of
being the first professional African
American hired at Gaston, the first full-
time employee outside of the head librar-
ian, and the longest serving professional
and administrator at the college and with-
in the NC Community College System.
Although goodbyes are sometimes sad,
she looks ahead with a smile.
“I'm calling it quits,” she laughed.
Brown has toyed with the idea of retiring
for some time now, but somehow she
always found herself still working.
- “I think I'm ready for it now.,” she said.
“I'm going to have to adjust because I've
worked all of my life. I've been in educa-
tion 45 years and you get up and you
come to school or you get up and you
come to work and that’s what I've been
used to doing. So I'm going to have to
adjust and I don’t think that's going to be
too hard.”
See Pearl, 2A
wi
Library,
where she is
the Public
Services
Librarian. She
is retiring
from the col-
lege after 42
years of serv-
ice.
; Photo by
Emily Weaver
ss 3
aE