Thursday, May 3, 2007
A RY
!. | National Day of
Prayer services today
at FWC and City Hall
Two National Day of
Prayer services will be held
in Kings Mountain on
Thursday, May 3.
3 Family Worship Center,
3 1818 Shelby Road, will host
Veil the fifth annual Kings
Mountain Mayor's Prayer
Breakfast Thursday, May 3
at 8 a.m. in the FWC Youth
Center. Featured speaker
will be Gary Newell, a
political consultant from
Westville, FL. Musical guest
is Danny Wolfe, master
trumpeter.
For more information call
739-4520.
The annual community
prayer service is scheduled
for 12:15 p.m. at the water
fountain outside of City
Hall on East Gold Street.
Special prayer will be
offered for the city, state,
nation and world.
For more information call
Rev. Eddie Gray at 739-
4266.
Photos, information
needed for Honor,
Glory & Pride section
The Herald and other
Republic Newspapers in the
area will publish a special
section on the men and
women who are serving or
have served us in the mili-
tary.
“Honor, Glory & Pride”
will publish on June 21.
Deadline for stories and
advertising is June 11.
The Herald is soliciting
pictures and information
§ from the public on anyone
who is currently serving in
the military; and also on
3 persons who have served in
4 the military in the past.
There is no charge.
Send your photos and sto-
ries to The Herald, P.O. Box
769, Kings Mountain, NC
a 28086 or bring them to the
sh editor’s office at 821 East
rey King Street, Kings
Mountain. You may also
Email them to
gstewart@kingsmountain-
herald.com.
Photos will be returned
after the publication date.
~ For more information call
1 The Herald at 704-739-7496.
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PAE
Romney to speak at
GOP meeting May 14
The Cleveland County
1 Republican Party
announced today that Tagg
Romney, Senior advisor to
and son of Mitt Romney,
Republican Presidential
Candidate, will be the
keynote speaker at the
Cleveland County
Republican Party monthly
meeting Monday, May 14,
at 7 p.m. at the Cleveland
County Administrative
Building County
Commission Chambers 311
E. Marion Street in Shelby.
For more information call
Wayne King at 704-689-
2000.
RADAR WATCH
Sun., May 6 - Cleveland
Ave.
Mon., May 7 - Margrace
Rd.
Tues., May 8 - Shelby Rd.
Wed., May 9 - Fulton Dr.
Thurs., May 10 - York Rd.
Fri., May 11 - Waco Rd.
Sat., May 12 - Kings
Mountain Blvd.
re AAT SA SIE
__ HOMEFRONT—
Vol. 119 No. 18
EMILY WEAVER
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
A heated public hearing
ensued at the Cleveland County
Commissioners meeting
Tuesday night over a parcel of
land at the intersection of Oak
Grove and Stoney Point roads. It
ended with a stalemate.
The Denton family, owners of
the disputed land, had requested
that their property, bordering
Oak Grove Baptist Church be
rezoned from residential to gen-
Since 1889
eral business. Planning Director
Bill McCarter presented the
amendment to the board. The
Isothermal planning board
requested, by a vote of 9-2, the
land be rezoned.
But the Tuesday night crowd
stood in stout opposition. Seven
people spoke against the zoning
amendment, citing various rea-
sons. One opposer brought with
her a petition bearing 160 signa-
tures from members of Oak
Grove Baptist, who also are
CRUISING MIDPINES
50 Cents
against the amendment. Thomas
Brooks, owner of adjoining prop-
erty, said, “I've lived there 10
years and I never thought there
would be an opportunity for a
business to get between me and
the church.”
Gene Lovelace “of = the
Isothermal planning board
approached the microphone and
before he was shooed away from
speaking at the hearing, he putin
his say, “I'm against it.”
“We the people don’t want,
don’t need a dance hall, a video
store, a pool room or any other
business in the area,” said anoth-
er opposer Wayne Butler.
“Special interest groups can go
elsewhere.”
Fred Lovelace agreed, continu-
ing the argument that the com-
munity does not need a pool hall
that would “bring out the
drunks.”
But his son, Mike Lovelace,
jumped to his feet in opposition.
He was the only one who spoke
The Ginn blimp, possibly enjoying the sites of Kings Mountain while on Its way to Charlotte for this week's Wachovia golf tour-
nament, was flying Just over the tree tops on Margrace Road near Midpines early Monday evening.
GARY STEWART / HERALD
Nel Las
SHARIF BURRIS
for the amendment, citing that a
business should be allowed on
the property if for no other rea-
son than to diminish the monop-
oly of Brooks’ mini-marts.
The public hearing resulted in
a standstill. Some of the commis-
sioners were on the fence about
how to vote. Commissioner
Ronnie Hawkins said that the
2005 estimate of the intersection
having about 30 percent traffic
should be recalculated. “It is one
See Oak Grove, 2A
Truck flips,
spilling fuel
and blocking
Interstate 85
EMILY WEAVER
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
A tanker truck caused
motorists traveling northbound
on I-85 to be re-routed Friday
night, after it jackknifed and
spilled about 125 gallons of
diesel fuel onto the interstate.
Michael Davis was driving his
Colt Petroleum Inc. tanker truck
Friday around 7 p.m. when the
accident happened. State
Highway Patrol Trooper D. P.
Howell said that Davis was talk-
ing on his cell phone when fic
veered off onto the right shoul-
der near the 4 mile marker. He
tried to correct his steering, hit a
guard rail and overturned,
stretching out across both lanes.
His load of diesel fuel started to
flow out onto the road.
The Grover Rural Volunteer
Fire Department, Bethlehem
VED, Cleveland County Haz-
Mat team and Emergency
Management rushed to the
See Truck, 2A
Help score one for the team
Burris overcomes open heart surgery to excel in sports
EMILY WEAVER
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
Sharif Burris has the chance to
represent his home town of
Kings Mountain, KMHS,
Cleveland County and state of
North Carolina in the USA
Junior Nationals Basketball com-
petition in July. But he needs
Students SAVE
school courtyard
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
Students in S.A.V.E. (Students Against Violence Everywhere) at
Kings Mountain Middle School are using their talents to save their
courtyard.
With spades, brooms, soil, and flowers they are transforming this
once glum, forgotten enclosure into an inviting sanctuary. “We
thought this place was becoming an eyesore so we wanted to clean
it up,” said eighth-grader Lauren Miller.
“We have to walk by it every day and we were tired of seeing it
look so run-down,” added S.A.V.E. president Abbie Lynch, 8th
grade.
Club members got down to the nitty gritty a couple of weeks ago
pulling up weeds, sweeping up the patios and cleaning the area
thoroughly. When they returned last Thursday to start planting the
pretty flowers and plants, they found that the pesky weeds they
pulled had returned. “We're going to try to get some weed killer to
; ~ See SAVE, 2A
your help to get there.
He is no stranger to overcom-
ing obstacles. At the age of 18, he
has had open heart surgery. He
went under the knife last year in
February, two months before his
17th birthday.
“We didn’t know he had it
(this condition). He was actually
born with it and all this time it
never showed up,” said his
mother Yolanda Burris. “With
him playing sports as long as he
has, it never showed up until one
day we went to the Y. He was
practicing for a (basketball)
game that he was going to have
Friday and he just collapsed. We
took him to the hospital from the
Y to Cleveland Regional Medical
Center and when we got there
the doctors ran a lot of tests but
they couldn't tell what was
wrong with him.”
The doctors contacted his
pediatrician who sent him to a
pediatric heart specialist at
Carolinas Medical Center in
Charlotte. They went straight
from CRMC to CMC and she
said, “Dr. (Donald) Riopel had
run a bunch of tests on him and
came back and told us he had a
heart defect.”
He was born with only one
coronary artery instead of the
normal two. The defect is so rare
that it hasn't even been given a
See Burris, 12A
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
The S.A.V.E. team at KMMS Is saving the school’s secret garden, infusing It with life and beauty.
Left to right: the club’s mentor KMPD Officer Angela Moore, Tia Duncan, Lauren Miller, club
President Abble Lynch, Tianna Wilson, Emily Smith, Laura Bowles, and Michelle Lynch.
A Nomi