KINGS MOUNTAIN
The Herald
Thursday, March 8, 2007 Vol. 119 No. 10
Since 1889
50 Cents
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Jimmy
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| Gardner
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_SPRING IN HER STEP
in the 60s today before dropping into the ge Sarai pe Wate int
Commission hopes
to bring big-time
sports and events
to Cleveland County
GARY STEWART
gstewart@kingsmountainherald.com
After officially organizing and
holding its inaugural meeting
Friday at Cleveland Regional
Medical Center, the Cleveland
County Sports Commission hit
the ground running.
The group is already a member
of the National Association of
Sports Commissions. Tuesday,
president John Henry Moss of
Kings Mountain was in Cabarrus
County at a meeting of the North
Carolina Sports Commission to
register to become a member of
that association.
Moss, who has promoted pro-
fessional baseball for over 50
«| would think
years, reviewed the group’s plans we’ll be
at last week’s meeting. :u
The group plans to successfully announcing
bid for major sports and enter-
tainment events to be held in some events
Cleveland County, which would 73
greatly impact the economy. soon.
The concept of a sports com-
ions ~~ John H.: Moss
with Moss, former county. com-
See Commission; 5A Commission President
BIG BATTLE
Friday night wrestling card for
Grover teen fighting rare disease
ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald Correspondent
GROVER - Beating the odds after battling a rare illness called
Treacher Collins, 14-year-old Robert Blanton is a typical teenager
who loves video games, NASCAR, the school teachers who come
to his home four days a week, and his dog, Brownie.
Add to the loves of his young life is wrestling and Friday night
seems bikers and wrestlers from a wide area will join
in a big benefit for him at 7:30 p.m. at Grover
Elementary School.
“He’s excited,” says his grandmother, Mary
Lamb.
Bikers and wrestlers promoting the event say
they plan to get Robert in the ring at the end of
the show and play his special song appropri-
ately titled “Robert Is A Champion.” The song
was produced by “Songs of Love” and recounts
the loves in his life and his dream to go to a
NASCAR race and meet his idol, Mark Martin.
“It's a wonderful song,” according to his parents, Donald and
Ellie Blanton. Susan Moore, Sherry Lybrand and Ronnie Blanton,
the middle school teachers who are also his good friends, are
included in the song as well as other friends in the community.
Treacher Collins is an illness which damages the immune system.
At birth Robert had no facial structure and doctors gave him one
year to live. Robert has had multiple surgeries and faces more
major surgery in June to take skull bone to build up his jaws.
“This kid is amazing,” says his neighbor Howard Stroupe, one
of the sponsors. His grandmother describes him as “upbeat and
with a good attitude.”
Doors open at Grover gymnasium at 6: 30 p.m. Advance tickets
at $6 for adults and $3 for children are available from members of
the Wings of Eagles, Carolina Wrestling Alliance, Driven by Grace
Biker Ministry, Windjammers Motorcycle Club and Cleveland
County Independent Bikers.
The event decides the Southern States Heavyweight
Championship between George South and The Barbarian and the
heavyweight title between Handsome D. L. Cool and Buckshot
Carter Wrestling stars will be on hand for an autograph signing
session Friday from 3-5:30 p.m. at Cleveland Mall. The evening
event will offer hot dogs and beverages, a 50/50 drawing for door
prizes and intermission entertainment by Movements of Praise
from Boiling Springs.
“God calls us in the biker ministry to help others,” said Stroupe,
who along with wife, Penny, Britt Fender, Jeff Hunsinger, and
Abundant Life Church of God Pastor Bobby Callahan belong to
the Wings of Eagles Biker Club which takes its name from the
Biblical scripture from Isaiah 40:31.
“All of us bikers just got young Robert on our minds and decid-
ed to help him by joining wrestlers in a wrestling match,” said
Stroupe.
BLANTON
bi
Jesus (Richard Prow) prays in the Garden of Gethsemane in a previous production of CrossWalk,
which will run for two weekends this year in downtown Kings Mountain.
.
Heavy rain,
wind cause
KM problems
ANDIE BRYMER-
44% Special to The Herald
A rain storm followed by high
winds hit Kings Mountain last
week causing an eight-vehicle
pile-up, a brief electric outage
and a retaining wall to collapse.
Rain was a factor in the acci-
dent which happened at 4:25
p.m. Thursday just south of mile
marker six on Interstate 85. No
one was transported to the hos-
pital, according to “Kings
Mountain Police who investi-
gated the accident.
High winds early Friday
morning toppled a tree which
fell on a power line serving
Kings Mountain Intermediate |;
School and Crocker Ridge and
Country Creek subdivisions.
Nick Hendricks, director of elec-
tric utilities, said that rain satu-
rated the ground Thursday
making the tree vulnerable to
wind. City crews were called
out at 2 a.m. Friday to repair the
GARY STEWART / HERALD FILE
Two-weekend Easter drama | =...........
begins March
ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald Correspondent
The passion of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross
will come alive for crowds expected to attend the
7th annual Easter season presentation of
CrossWalk two weekends - Friday, March 23 and
Saturday, March 24, and Thursday, Friday and
Saturday, March 29 -31 at 7 p.m. and at 8:15 p.m.
in downtown Kings Mountain.
Regal Ventures Creative Ministries, the event
planning organization directed by Reg
Alexander, combines the dramatic events during
Holy Week in a passion play that has been hailed
as “the South’s Most Unusual Passion Play.”
“For a decade we had been seeing dramas in
other areas of the country and a group of us got
together and got the idea of “CrossWalk” in our
own back yard and hundreds of people spend
worked hard,” Hendricks said.
They also repaired a pad-
mounted transformer which
See Rain, 8A
SPRING AHEAD
23 downtown
hours putting this show together every year,”
said Alexander.
A pre-show by the musical family, “Cross
Reference” will open the show each
evening.Tickets at $5 are available at Regal
Ventures.
This year’s shiv will feature basically the
same cast with increased staging and technical
elements. Volunteers come from all over the area
with their families to help out. Many make their
own costumes for various scenes and many work
behind the scene. More volunteers are needed.
“CrossWalk” has a double meaning - The walk
of Jesus Christ to the Cross and at a cross walk i in
downtown Kings Mountain.
Over the years a solid group of ied vol-
Devi Savings Time begins
Sunday, March 11 at 2 am. Turn
your clock forward one hour before
unteers have become what Reg calls the “Make it going to bed Saturday night.
happen team.” These people are the hands and Replaced the batteries | in your smoke
etector.
See CrossWalk, 5A