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Volume 120 © Issue 47 © Wednesday, November 19, 2008
| Missionary
| Golden Jubilee Birthday celebration. All
| 80 years of age and older, front row, left to |
right, Eloise Jackson, Martha Taylor, | §
| Catherine Wade and Lucille McSwain;
tured are senior members of Mount Zion
Baptist Church honored at a
back row, from left, Virginia Wiggins, Is-
abelle Wade, Hazel Brown, Pearl Pressley,
| Margie Cole, Otis Cole, Eva Burris and
| Symantha Williams,
Story on Page AS
= MOUNT ZION SENIORS HONORED - Pic- [TH
Tree lighting
Monday night
ELIZABETH STEWART
staff writer
Annual Christmas Tree Light-
ing Monday night at 7 p.m. at
Mauney Memorial Library will
kickoff the traditional “Home for
Christmas” holiday celebration
in the city. :
City of Kings Mountain
Events Coordinator Ellis Noell
said the tree on the library lawn
will be festive with lights and
Santa Claus will arrive on a city
fire truck to turn the lights on
and to hear Christmas wishes
from children in the Ollie Harris
Children‘s Wing Auditorium
after the program.
The program will include
Christmas carols by students at
Bethware, North and Grover
Schools and a performance by
the praise and worship team at
Patterson Grove Baptist Church,
under the direction of Jennifer
Stacey.
Mayor Rick Murphrey will
read the Christmas Story from St.
Luke 2:7-14 and “The Night Be-
fore Christmas.” Dr. Jeff
Mauney, chairman of the board
of Jacob S. Mauney Memorial
Library, will report on the ‘state
of the library’. Refreshments will
be served at the reception to
which the public is is invited.
Other events on tap for the
holidays:
+Jingle Bell Run on Sat.,Dec
6, 9 a.m.- noon in downtown
Kings Mountain sponsored by
Kings Mountain Family YMCA.
Registration information at
www.clevecoymca.org.
+Kings Mountain Christmas
Parade Sat Dec. 6, 3 p.m. down-
town Kings Mountain. Log onto
www.cityofkingsmountain.com
and click on special events for a
parade application form, print
and fax or take to city offices.
+Santa’s Fire Truck Express
Friday, Dec. 12, 9 d.m. to various
day care centers where Santa will
visit the children.
+Mountaineer Christmas Fri-
day, Dec. 12, 4-9 p.m., big'cel-
ebration in downtown Kings
Mountain sponsored by the
Mountaineer Partnership. Log
onto www.mtnpartnership.com
for more details.
Scooter Shed Toy
Run Saturday
The 14th annual Murphy’s
Scooter Shed Toy Run will be
held Saturday, Nov. 22, begin-
ning at 11 a.m., a 40 mile run
from 114 Camelot Court in 82
minutes, for benefit of needy
children this Christmas.
Crimson Rose Band and bar-
becue with all the trimmings will
kick off the event, to which all
bikers are invited. Kings Moun-
tain Police, Cleveland County
Sheriff’s Department and Shelby
Police will escort the bikers over
a large area of the community
and all toys and donations will
be distributed to Shriners Hospi-
tal, the Masonic Home for Chil-
dren in Oxford, and Christmas
for children at the Kings Moun-
tain Police Department.
Proceeding from 114 Camelot
Court, the toy run turns left on
Phifer Road, then right onto
Kings Mountain Boulevard,
See TOY RUN on page A2
More grim news...
AGI to close; 120 will
join jobless lines
By EMILY WEAVER
EDITOR
In the receeding economy’s most recent blow
to local industries, MeadWestvaco Corporation
announced on Monday that it will be closing its
- AGI packaging plant on Grover Road.
At least 120 hourly and salaried employees
will soon join the growing number of laid-off
factory workers in Kings Mountain - bringing
the total number of “pink slips” to a whopping
805. In a press release, Mead Westvaco, the par-
ent company of AGI, announced that they will
be discontinuing operations at the plant “in an
effort to streamline costs and improve opera-
tional efficiencies.”
But after it was announced that EDC had
been sold to Sony and would be closing its op-
erating plant on Grover Road, rumors suggested
that the 419 workers to be let go may not be the
only ones feeling the sting of this blow.
The AGI facility produced packaging for the
‘media and entertainment industry. One of those
industries was reported to be EDC (Entertain-
ment Distribution Company). With the phased
shutdown of the EDC plant scheduled to be
complete by April 30, 2009, rumors spread like
wild fire about the impact this would have on
AGI, which is expected to close “by early
2009.”
According to information released by Mead-
Westvaco (MWYV), “Some production at this fa-
cility will transfer to other MWV Packaging
See AGI on page A2
But some good news, too;
new businesses eye KM
ELIZABETH STEWART
staff writer
Two new businesses are looking at locations
in the Southwestern section of the community
contingent on zoning changes.
Kings Mountain Planning & Zoning Board
will hold public hearings on the three requests
Dec. 9 at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at City
Hall, which if finally approved by City Coun-
cil on Dec. 16, could mean a new funeral home,
a convenience store and a used car Jot.
Spokesmen for Clay-Barnette Funeral Home
said at last Thursday’s P&Z meeting that Eric
Bester is applying for a zoning change from
Residential to Conditional Use Office to open
the former Trinity Episcopal Church building at
the intersection of Phifer Road and Landing
Street for use as a funeral home. The property is
owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Western
North Carolina.
“Mr. Bester has a contract pending the re-
zoning of the property,” said attorney Keith
Bloomer. “We will continue to use the beautiful
stain glass windows and any changes to the
building will be cosmetic only,” he said refer-
ring to some concerns expressed about the use
of the windows. Bloomer said the window re-
strictions will appear in the deed.
Bob Smith, architect, said the main entrance
to the facility would be off Phifer Road and no
additions are planned to the existing building.
“Clay Barnette in Shelby abuts a residential
neighborhood, has been there for many years
and the grounds are immaculate,”’ he said,
adding that the parking lot and driveway would
be paved and'additional shrubbery would en-
hance the landscape. Previously, the Diocese
had come before the board for rezoning of the
property to Neighborhood Business but Jim
Childers, chairman of the P&Z board, said the
board did not recommend that type of rezoning.
“In NB anything could go there,” said Childers.
City Council at that time also agtecd with the
‘Planning Board Jul NB would not be ie best
ASE.
Herman (Dub) and Carolyn Blalock are ask-
ing for rezoning of their property at the inter-
section of Margrace Road and Bethlehem Road
from Residential to NB for a convenience/re-
tail store.
Alton and Pam Harper are requesting con-
ventional rezoning of their property at the in-
tersection of Shelby Road and Cash Road from
Neighborhood Business to General Business.
In other business at last week’s Planning
meeting, Childers announced that the Planning
Board will hold a work session soon to discuss
term limits of a chairman, other officers and
members of the board. Currently, the board has
no term limits. In addition to Childers, other
members of the Planning/Zoning Board are
John Houze, Bob Scoggins, Curtis Pressley,
Steve Marlowe, David Allen, Doug Lawing,
Hugh Logan, Phil Hager, Preston Todd and
Tommy Hawkins. City staffer/ planner is Steve
Killian.
Community
Pre-Thanksgiving
Service Now. 25
The Kings Mountain Ministerial Association
will sponsor the annual community-wide pre-
Thanksgiving service Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 7
p.m. at David Baptist Church, across the street
from Bethware Elementary School.
Rev. Greg Neely will deliver the sermon and
a special offering will bie received for the Kings
Mountain Crisis Ministry. Spirit-filled songs
and praise worship will feature the service to
which the public is invited.
Rev. Eddie Gray is President of the Ministe-
rial Association.
Walgreens
pulls plug
on plans
ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
Walgreens shelved its plans Thursday
for a proposed drug store at the corner of
W. Mountain Street and Phifer Road,
pulling the plug on a project in the works
for over a year.
It took about 10 minutes for the Kings
Mountain Planning & Zoning Board to vote
unanimously on Walgreen’s request for
withdrawal of its zoning petition and to
recommend to Kings Mountain City Coun-
cil to agree at its Nov. 25 meeting at re-
quest of the applicant.
“To put this much work into it and to
have a company that is a Fortune 500 all of
a sudden withdraw an application, it’s just a
sign of the economy, a sign of the times,”
said Planning Director Steve Killian who
made the announcement as the first item of
the agenda.
Killian also said that Walgreens had
* pulled the plug on a similar project in Boil-
ing Springs.
“It was a surprise,” said Killian, who
said that typically when projects like Wal-
greens get to this point they’re going to be
completed.”
Some 40-50 people were in the audience
in City Council Chambers at City Hall, in-
cluding residents of the West Mountain
Street Neighborhood who have opposed the
proposed location of the store because they
said it would block plans for possible in-
clusion of that area on a National Register
of Historic Places. Several property owners
eager for the project to go ahead were also
present but no one spoke.
The withdrawal of the petition for re-
zoning does not mean that the landowners
can’t make the request again. Walgreens
has been looking at the property at 814 W.
Mountain, 811 W. King, 809 W. King, 812
W . Mountain and 810 W. Mountain Streets
for some time. The property owners seek-
ing the rezoning were Faunce Properties
Inc., Kings Mountain Properties, LLC, Ann
Bolin and G. W. and Charlene L. Ellis.
“They will have to start the process all
‘over again and start with the application”
said Board Chairman Jim Childers. He reit-
erated,”The application is for Walgreens
only.”
“We thank Walgreens, developers and
all others for all their hard work, it is the ap-
plicant’s right to ask for withdrawal and we
thank the residents for their input at our
zoning meetings,” said Killian.
In other action, the Planning Board
voted unanimously to recommend to City
Council the rezoning of five acres owned
by Cameron and Wayne L. Ware south of
Phifer Road and Kings Mountain Boule-
vard for use by Cleveland County Hospice.
Council will take action on that request
after a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 25, at
7 p.m at Kings Mountain City Hall.
City applies for transportation grants
ELIZABETH STEWART
staff writer
City officials are looking at
grants to add more sidewalks, re-
duce truck pollution and mark
bike routes for safety of cyclists.
Kings Mountain City Council
is expected to accept a state De-
partment of Transportation En-
hancement Sidewalk grant for
$88,443 to extend sidewalks on
Alliance
Bank&Trust
Building Communities
King Street and Phifer Road to the
high school at Tuesday night’s 7
p.m. regular meeting in Council
Chambers at City Hall. ~~
Also on the agenda is an appli-
cation for a truck stop electrifica-
tion grant from the Department of
Transportation at no cost to the
city, an appeal throughout the
Charlotte Region to cut pollution.
Mayor Rick Murphrey said
that Jim Testa I-85 Truck Stop
will be the first site in this area
where truckers can pull into a bay,
hook up to the apparatus, save
fuel and cut air pollution.
The city is also expected to
apply for a bicycle planning grant
from DOT for $30,000 to mark
bike routes and put up signage.
“Bikers can ride almost year
round in our weather, so this is a
safety measure,” said Murphrey.
City Council will also conduct
two public hearings: from Wal-
greens, withdrawing its zoning re-
quest and shelving its plans to put
up a new store in Kings Mountain,
and from Wayne and Cameron
Ware for rezoning of property at
the corner of Phifer Rd. and KM
Boulevard where Cleveland
County Hospice plans a satellite
facility.
We put the “Hometown” in Hometown Banking
Visit us today at 309 S. Battleground Avenue, Kings Mountain
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