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The-Kings Mountain Herald
August 21, 2008
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A grave
concem
Letter to the editor:
First off, let me say that I real-
ize how difficult it is to maintain
the grounds at Mountain Rest
Cemetery, being that I own and
operate a landscaping business
myself, and for the most part I
feel like the city employees do a
great job, considering how large
the grounds are.
But, having said that, it is
almost impossible to trim around
every ‘grave marker over there so
on occasion, when we are doing
a job in that area, we stop to trim
and clean around my dad’s and
my father-in-law’s grave mark-
ers. The last two times we
stopped to do this, much to my
surprise, a very aggressive city
employee approached me and
suggested we get our equipment
and leave the grounds immedi-
ately or he would be forced to
call law enforcement.
In return, I calmly told him to
do what he needed to do, but I
would finish cleaning around
these two particular graves and
that I would continue coming by
to do this for my loved ones who
were buried there.
He continued the conversation
by stating that he was told by
city management to escort us off
the grounds if and when we
returned. Just so city manage-
ment knows, I will be back and
after contacting the Kings
Mountain law enforcement,
there is not one thing they can do
about it. So anyone who wants to
stop by and take care of your
loved ones’ graves, feel free to do
SO.
By the way, why wasn't this
city employee standing guard on
Father's Day weekend when a
lady was spotted stealing fresh
flower arrangements off the
graves? I seriously think he
needs to pick his battles more
carefully!
Fran C. Patterson
Kings Mountain
Citizens deserve
the right to vote on
liquor-by-the-drink
Letter to the Editor:
First, I would like to applaud
the Herald for addressing the
issue of Liquor By The Drink,
which has been the “elephant in
the room” for too long.
It is time for LBTD to be
addressed by the citizens of
Kings Mountain. The Herald did
a good job of explaining the three
ways of doing that. I do not
believe that the City Council will
vote to allow LBTD in Kings
Mountain. That approach is too
politically charged for our elect-
ed council. They would be on
record voting yes or no and
would be subjected to too much
criticism, no matter which way
their individual vote went.
That is exactly why a petition
for a referendum will not work
either. We have seén, recently,
what can happen to citizens who
put their names on petitions that
become public. The only appro-
priate forum for the LBTD issue
is a referendum where the citi-
zens of Kings Mountain can cast
their votes by secret ballot.
This is an important issue for
Kings Mountain and one that
needs to be decided - yes or no.
But it is a decision that our citi-
zens need to feel comfortable
and secure making.
Voting to hold a referendum is
not the same as voting for LBTD.
If our citizens and our council do
not understand that the council
would not be voting for LBTD,
but would be voting to let the cit-
izens decide, then we have a big-
ger problem than whether LBTD
will bring economic develop-
ment to Kings Mountain.
To deny the citizens their right
to decide is to deny democracy
and the very principles upon
which this country was founded.
Joni Smith
Kings Mountain
i's time to let
the voters decide
on LBTD
Letter to the Editor:
Each election year for city offi-
cials, it seems that the first ques-
tion asked of them is “Where do
you stand on liquor by the
drink?” Every candidate that I
can remember has answered that
“it’s a citizen's issue” or “it’s an
issue for the people to decide.”
I believe that it’s time that the
people are given the opportunity
to decide this issue. As men-
tioned last week in The Herald,
there are two ways to allow
mixed beverages to be sold in
Kings Mountain restaurants.
City Council can vote to allow
mixed beverage sales or a citi-
zen’s referendum (vote) can be
held to determine whether or not
to allow mixed beverage sales. A
referendum can be called two
ways - through a city council
vote or city council could be by-
passed by the presentation to the
county Board of Elections of a
petition signed by 35% of the
registered voters.
I don’t believe that city council
should vote to decide the issue,
but I do believe that city council
should vote to allow the voters to
decide the issue. While a petition
would be the easiest route for
city council, it would be more
difficult on the voters. Many peo-
ple would be uncomfortable
signing a public document
where their support of a vote
could be construed by their
friends and neighbors as support
‘of mixed beverage sales. The
threat of scorn and ridicule,
whether real or perceived, would
make some voters hesitant to
sign a petition even if they
favored a referendum. Gathering
and verifying the 2,000 signa-
tures required would require a
great deal of time and effort.
Could mixed beverage sales
provide a boost to the local econ-
omy and job market or could it
contribute to an increase in alco-
holism and traffic accidents?
Why should we even debate
these questions when the voter’s
voice won't be heard?
Iicall on city council to allow
the true will of the voters of
Kings Mountain to be heard by
allowing us to vote on this issue.
I ask the council to have confi-
dence that we will thoughtfully
and prayerfully consider the
issue and we will cast our vote in
a way that we feel is best for our
city.
By allowing a vote on mixed
beverage sales, the council is not
supporting mixed beverage
sales, but showing their confi-
dence in the collective decision-
making wisdom of the 6,000-
plus voters in Kings Mountain.
City council, it’s time to say to
the voters of Kings Mountain
“we trust you with this deci-
sion.” It’s time to call for a refer-
endum.
Greg Johnson
Kings Mountain
Citizens have
eamed right to
vote on LBTD
Letter to the Editor:
The City Council of Kings
Mountain will soon be chal-
lenged as to what its role is in
our community, with the ques-
tion of allowing mixed bever-
ages to be sold in Kings
Mountain.
While elected to assist in the
administration of the public
entity, the Council also is
responsible for bringing the
voices of the towns’ citizens
into the equation. Not just the
voices of a few, or sometimes
small vocal minority, but of all
the town residents.
Allowing mixed beverages
sales in the community will fos-
ter economic development,
enhance the quality of life for all
residents through growth in the
tax base, and put personal deci-
sion making in the hands of the
individual citizen. While each
citizen will elect of their own
free will to participate in mixed
beverage sales themselves, at
least they will have the choice to
be heard directly through a ref-
erendum on the issue placed on
the ballot.
Beer and wine sales are
already allowed in the commu-
nity, and there is an ABC store.
Alcohol sales are heavily regu-
lated by the state, and enforced
by a multitude of local, state
and federal agencies. The con-
trolling infrastructure is in
place, but this community has
neglected to trust its citizens to
make its own choice as to
whether to partake in mixed
beverage sales in the area.
If the City Council declines to
allow the citizens to vote on this
issue themselves, they are
imposing their personal beliefs
on others, in direct violation of
“the basis of democracy. The
clear choice for our City Council
in this instance is to allow a bal-
lot referendum to decide the
fate of mixed beverage sales in
Kings Mountain.
This choice allows the
Council to promote and foster
future growth through econom-
ic development, add to the tax
base through new restaurants,
developments and their related
employment, and allow the citi-
zens of Kings Mountain the
ability to be heard directly
through the ballot box.
As citizens who have been
educated and raised by our
public schools, allowed to serve
our country through the mili-
tary and other venues, have we
not earned the right to vote on
this issue ourselves?
Phil Dee
Kings Mountain, NC
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