i
Romanians visit
Kings Mountain
EMILY WEAVER
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
The visiting Romanian dele-
gates captured the heart of Kings
Mountain as they enjoyed a
series of historical firsts this
week.
The mayor, the police chief, a
police officer and a minister
from Stei, Romania, flew over on
a chance of a lifetime to learn
about their new sister city, Kings
Mountain. But perhaps what
they did not anticipate was the
love and the lessons that awaited
them.
Around 100 people attended a
Community Breakfast at the
Patrick Senior Center on
Tuesday morning just to wel-
come them in fellowship.
At the breakfast Mayor Rick
Murphrey presented them with
gifts, such as a signed plaque of
his proclamation marking the
historical sisterhood or brother-
hood relationship of Stei,
Romania and Kings Mountain
and a crystal trophy from the cit-
izens of KM to the citizens of
Stei.
Although the gifts from KM
were profound, perhaps the
most precious treasures came
from the simple compassion of
the Romanian people. Mayor
Ioan Lucaciu gave Murphrey a
very special rug that was woven
by his own mother, who is in
poor health, along with various
other items to remind him and
enlighten him on their commu-
nity’s 500-year-old history. He
also gave KMPD Chief Melvin
Proctor and Det. Lisa Proctor
official Romanian police hats.
The Proctors hope to visit Stei,
Romania this summer if oppor-
tunities permit.
Based on the smiles and the
moisture in Mayor Lucaciu’s
eyes, their cups ranneth over. as
did Kings Mountains: Thé door
was opened for this opportunity
last year during the Mayor's
Prayer Breakfast when Senator
Radu Tirle and the mayor pro-
tem of Stei, Romania visited
Kings Mountain.
“We began discussing the dif-
ferent cultures and exchanging
of ideas and at that time the sen-
ator said that he had a group of
Romanian police officers that
were going to tour the United
States,” Murphrey said, adding
that they asked for the group to
come by Kings Mountain. The
group of police officers came last
November. Now it was their
turn.
The delegates were introduced
to Relay for Life at the Walking
Track on Friday night. They got
to see part of the Over the
Mountain Triathlon and were
amazed at how both men and
women competed together. They
took a boat tour of Moss Lake on
an illustrious Chris*Craft vessel
and enjoyed, for the first time, a
southern BBQ dinner at the
home of Mayor Murphrey and
first lady Sandra. The hosts had
decorated their house and pool-
side patio to the hilt with flags
representing both countries, but
unfortunately the rain prevented
them from spending too much
time outdoors on Saturday
evening.
On Sunday, they worshiped
with the congregation of First
Baptist Church and visited the
national military park, from
which KM took its name. They
experienced “Feel the Thrill” at
Lowe’s Motor Speedway in
Charlotte on Monday. “We took
the tour and we got in the van.
They do that 1, 2, 3, A, B, C, and
as we got around the turn on
that van, the little guy that was
driving kept talking and looking
back. I looked at the speedome-
ter and he got up to 80 mph and
he’s reaching the third turn and
I'm thinking ‘I know he’s done
this before.” He just rode us
around about 85 or 90 mph on
that van. They said they were
not concerned at all, but I was,”
Murphrey said. “I thought ‘this
is where it’s going to end right
here on Lowe's Motor
Speedway.”
On Monday night the dele-
gates witnessed a favorite
American pasttime for the first
time - baseball. They also ate
their very first hot dog watching
the Greenville Drive take on the
Kannapolis Intimidators at the
West End Field Stadium in
Greenville, SC. After the break-
fast on Tuesday, they toured city
facilities, including the Patrick
Senior Center, City Hall, Fire
Department, Police Department,
Public Works, KM Historical
Museum, KM Art Center,
Southeastern Container,
Chris*Craft, Life Enrichment
Center and KM Hospital.
On Tuesday, their last night,
they enjoyed their first Barrel
Racing competition at the HH
Ranch in Kings Mountain.
They said) goodbye on
Wednesday = morning, taking
with them a host of memories
and histories destined to be cher-
ished for a lifetime.
Bethware School to
hold parade Thursday
Bethware Elementary School
will have its traditional end of
year parade Thursday, June 7 at
8:30 a.m. Afterward, the fourth
nine weeks awards program
will be held in the gym.
End of year awards will be
Friday, June 8 starting at 8:30 for
K-2 grades and at 9:45 for third
and fourth grades in the gymna-
sium.
Parents are invited.
Danielle Gill makes
Presbyterian dean’s list
Danielle Gladneice Gill of
Kings Montain was among the
302 students named to the
Dean's List for the spring semes-
ter at Presbyterian College in
Clinton, SC.
The Kings Mountain Herald
June 7, 2007
-
KMIS principal apologizes for
miscommunication at field day
¢ eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
A miscommunication led to
parental distress Friday at Kings
Mountain Intermediate School as
relatives were denied access to
seeing their children compete in
Field Day.
“I am so sorry that this hap-
pened and I sincerely apologize
to anyone who was turned away
from seeing their children,” said
Principal Henry Gilmore. “I am a
parent myself. I love children.”
He said that a committee
helped put together the plans
and activities and that although
the intentions of student safety
was noble, the execution may
have been extreme. With all of
the dangers in schools today, he
said, “sometimes we can be
hypersensitive and we have to be
careful not to be too hypersensi-
tive to that because we don’t
want to go beyond what is need-
ed.”
This was KMIS' very first Field
Day and Gilmore said it provid-
ed them with a great lesson. “It
will definitely be different next
year, even though we look at
safety we plan on parent partici-
pation next time,” he added.
Williams eams scholarshi
Jo's hua
Aasr on
Williams
recently
received the
Bessemer City
Lions Club
Scholarship
for Excellence
in Academics
WILLIAMS
Scholarship
Bereavement groups
to meet at Hospice
“Reflections,” a six-week grief
support group, will meet June
19, 26 and July 3, 10, 17 and 24
from 10-11:30 a.m. at Hospice of
Cleveland County, 951
Wendover Heights Dr., Shelby.
Participants are encouraged to
attend all six sessions.
Hospice also has a bereaved
parent support group meeting
the first Thursday of every
month at 5:30 pm.
Bell family reunion
will be held July 7-8
The children and grandchil-
dren of the late Roy Bell St. and
the late Marvetta Leach Bell will
have a family reunion July 7-8.
Each family is asked to pay $25.
For more information call
Ivory Bell at 704-937-9504,
Gloria K. Camp at 704-937-3536
or Wanda Bell Goode at 704-730-
1061.
address:
First Wesleyan Church
500 N. Piedmont Avenue
Kings Mountain, NC 28086
Each day we will become part of history as we see, hear, ay and even taste wat it
Catch Jesus in Action!
First Wesleyan invites children age + thru 6th grade to Galilee By-the-Sea. You'll travel
back into Bible times. This fun, hands-on Bible-times village will be set up at this
was like to live in Bible times! We'll explore authentic marketplace shops, visit the
Synagogue, take part in games, dance to lively Bible songs as we discover more about
life when Jesus walked the earth. These experiences make God’s Word come alive with
new meaning for all who participate!
So mark these dates on your calendar: June 18th-22nd. The adventure starts at 6:15pm
and will end at 8:50pm each evening, To pre-regjster for this awesome Bible adventure,
call this number: 704-739-4266.
and the Kevin ; :
Mill wield
“There was some miscommu-
nication on our parts and possi-
bly some misunderstandings on
the parents part,” said
Superintendent Dr. Bruce Boyles.
“But they'll learn and improve
the process for next year.”
Jessica Cuthbertson said that
she received an unfriendly
reception from a receptionist at
KMIS when she went to see “her
girl” compete.
“The school sent home a letter
asking for parents to volunteer at
stations. It didn’t exclude any
parents from coming to watch
the kids participate,” she said. “I
‘just wanted to see my niece do
her field day.”
When she got to KMIS, she
went straight to the front office
to sign in as a visitor, as the
school requests that each visitor
do. She said that the office was
filled with about 10 other parents
wanting to see their children and
that the receptionist was not let-
ting anyone in.
“The warmth of the reception
there was just horrible,” she said.
Cuthbertson is a 25-year-old
2000 graduate of Kings
Mountain High School and said
that although she is too young to
be the mother of her 12-year-old
for Excellence in Academics and
for Outstanding Athletics at
Bessemer City High School.
Williams, who will graduate
with High Honors and carries a
3.7 GPA, is the son of Joe and
Suzanne Williams and grandson
of Joe and Joy Crump, the late
Bobby Etters, Lena Jo Williams
and the late Garland Williams.
«Josh is a member of the
National Beta Club, Honor
niece, her relation to the student
was not an issue. “They didn’t
even ask me who I was,” she
said. “If they would have told
me that I couldn’t see her
because I wasn’t a parent, I
would have understood. But that
wasn’t the case. I do look at my
nieces as my girls because I don’t
have any children yet.”
. She knew that one of the Field
Day activities was a Kings
Mountain Idol contest and so she
went to the school bearing flow-
ers for her niece. But not even the
flowers would make it past the
front desk. She said that the
receptionist told her that she was
not allowed to give them to her
niece because she was a bus rider
instead of a car rider.
Cuthbertson said that she was
told the only way that she could
get into Field Day was to volun-
teer at one of the stations. So she
finally said that she wanted to
volunteer, but was told that she
had to wear a T-shirt and not the
shirt she had on. “I said, ‘Ok I'll
buy a school shirt.” But she said
that they don’t sell school shirts
at the front desk. So I told her
that I would run to the store buy
a shirt and come right back. But
then she couldn’t guarantee that
Society, National Honor Roll,
Who's Who Among American
High School Students, Student
Body Government, and is active
in the Police Explorers for the
Kings Mountain Police
Department. He is a member of
First Wesleyan Church in Kings
Mountain.
During; hisshigh scheol career
Josh played baseball for two!
years, where he played first base.
SAFE SITTER®
I would be in a station that my
niece would come through.”
One of the most exasperating
things to Cuthbertson now, is
knowing that some parents were
allowed to watch and not volun-
teer, while she and many others
were kept out.
“Administrators and staff were
all out at Field Day so they were
not readily available to the par-
ents. But they will do better next
time,” Boyles said. “This was a
learning experience.”
“It’s been a hard year for my
niece and I just wanted her to
know that I'm there to support
her,” she said, adding that when
she had Field Day growing up
her parents and others were
always on the sidelines cheering,
a gift she wanted to give to her
niece. “These are our kids. This is
our future. I know you need to
protect the children in the
schools but don’t shut out thie
parents in the process.”
Gilmore agrees. “When 1
became principal here one desite
I had was to pull community antl
parents together to help make
things successful. One thing that
is key to a student's success in
school is their parent’s involve-
ment and support,” he said. =
-
He also pave football for four
years as a fullback and an offen-
sive and defensive lineman. He
has been awarded the Most
Valuable Player and Best
Defensive Lineman awards. =:
After graduation Josh plans to
attend Gaston College and later
transfer to UNC-Charlotte where
he will major in Criminal Justice
and. -Forensic : Science. cHe. will
also join his f ther with his bug
ness.
crREATEA SAFER WORLD rorTHE
NEXT GENERATION
Training Adolescents for Safer Child Care
SAFE SITTER is a medically-accurate instruction series that teaches
boys and girls ages 11 to 13 how to handle emergencies when caring
for young children. Join the fun — participate in Safe Sitter classes this
summer.
SAFE SITTERS learn:
* Basic life-saving techniques
» Safety precautions to prevent injuries
* How and when to summon help
* Tips on basic child care
» The Business of Babysitting
SAFE SITTER classes are available through Cleveland Regional
Medical Center and Kings Mountain Hospital. A fee of $35.00 covers
the two-day program.
June 11 & 12 Shelby
June 18 & 19 Kings Mountain =
July 16 & 17 = Shelby :
July 30 & 31 Shelby
August 7 & 8 Shelby
For more information have your parent or guardian call: £:
487-3182 or 487-3199
Class size is limited. Pre-registration is required. 2
Cleveland Regional Medical Center
Carolinas HealthCare System
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