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Volume 121 ¢ Issue 15 ¢ Wednesday, April 15, 2009
FATAL WRECK
Loved ones
remember
‘our Jennie’
BY ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
The pretty blonde curly-haired
24-year-old who loved life was
“our Jennie,” says her mother who
remembers their last words April 7
when Jennie Huffstetler left in her
car to buy Diet Sundrop and went
to Heaven.
“Roy and I
told her to be
careful, we
love you,”
said Melva
Huffstetler.
“Mama,”
replied Jennie, JENNIE
“whatever HUFFSTETLER
doesn’t kill
me makes me stronger.”
As her family and high school
and college friends mourned her
untimely death in a car crash, they
shared memories of a young
woman who her friends say had a
grasp of understanding far beyond
her years and lived her strong be-
lief of listening to both sides of a
story and keeping friendships for
life. That attitude extended to her
classes at Gaston College, where
she often came home and told her
parents that she couldn’t write an
opinionated essay because she had
to see both sides of a story.
“We will never know what hap-
pened on the highway but we
‘know that Jennie is at this moment
with her two brothers, Tripp, who
died at the age of 8, and Christo-
pher, who died at three months,
and she’s probably telling them
what to do,” said her Dad.
The parents recalled that when
Tripp Huffstetler died, the then-
five-year-old Jennie told him,
“May God’s peace go with you”
and made a “peace sign.”
Even at that age her parents saw
her grasp of understanding death.
Celebrating her life, the two
songs used at her funeral service
were “For the Beauty of the Earth”
and “Joyful, Joyful We Adore
Thee.
Friends of Jennie’s brother,
Craig, who played football with
him in high school, were pallbear-
ers. Former classmates of Jennie’s
Brian McGinnis, Buddy Black,
Shane Davis and Raeford White,
Jr., all city policemen, led the fu-
neral procession to Resurrection
Lutheran Church. “Meek” and a
“peacemaker” by her friends’ def-
inition, The Beatitudes and I
Corinthians 13, the love chapter of
the Bible, were read at the funeral
service.
_ Students who graduated with
Jenny in the KMHS Class of 2003
talked of her dry sense of humor
and Miles Hovis, now of Brown
University, was one of the return-
ing graduates who came to the
Huffstetler home and talked of
Jennie’s influence on him.
“Jennie made ys laugh and we
needed it.”
Jennie added laughter to the
Huffstetler household too, encour-
aging her mother to add a ladybug
to her paintings of cake plates. It
soon became her trademark on all
her artwork because it was Jen-
nie’s wish for good luck.
After school, Jennie added sand
to palm trees, grass to fences,
See WRECK, Page 4A
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Alliance
- Bank& Trust
Building Communities
Landmark’s new beginning
Plonk
landmark
sold to
developers
LIB STEWART #0i5
120-year- -old downtown landmark set to get a new face.
DOWNTOWN
REVITALIZATION
BY ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
The 120-year-old landmark
building that once housed
Plonk Brothers Department
Store on Railroad Avenue and
the adjoining corner building
once the fabric shop for one of
the most popular mercantile
shops in town for a century has
been sold to Scott Campbell,
his partner Robert Campbell of
Wilmington, Delaware and
local building contractor Bobly
Horne.
See LANDMARK, Page 4A
ZONING CONTROVERSY
P&Z board will
recommend zoning
option to council
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
By 6-1, the Kings Mountain
Planning & Zoning Board voted
Tuesday night to recommend to
City Council that they approve on
April 28 a zoning option to allow
two property owners with immedi-
ate needs — Johnny Hutchins and
Gary Kiser - to add on to existing
mobile homes in the currently
zoned R-10 area of Phifer
Road/Phifer Circle where the city
has Extra Territorial Jurisdiction.
The board also said it would revisit
the request from two additional
property owners who may in the fu-
ture want to add on to present resi-
dences to accommodate aging
family members.
Property owners of 14 lots in the
area had signed a petition asking
for a change in zoning from R-10
to R-20 but a valid protest petition
was presented by 24 families, 12 of
whom have land within the 100 feet
area of the petitioner for rezoning,
Gary Kiser, 1500 Phifer Road.
City Planner Steve Killian pre-
sented five options to the board for
consideration, noting that three of
the options would constitute spot
zoning.
The vote came after 90 minutes
of discussion as members heard
comments by six residents of the
area who had mixed feelings about
the zoning. Board members looked
at maps of the area supplied by Kil-
lian and had questions themselves.
“If we vote against these folks
we are saying that we don’t care
about this area two miles away,”
said Bob Scoggins, who made the
motion that the board recommend
rezoning of the area fiom R-10 to
R-20.
Lamar Fletcher ide a substi-
tute motion that carried 6-1. Also
voting with Fletcher were David
Allen, John Houze, Bob Scoggins,
Hugh Logan, and Doug Lawing. “I
am very comfortable with these in-
" dividual applicants making re-
quests,” said Keith Miller, who
cast the ‘no’ vote. “We are con-
cerned about conflicting property
rights and I am not denying prop-
erty rights but also protecting rights
of others.” Tommy Hawkins was
excused from voting and Ric Fran-
cis and Curtis Pressley were absent.
Chairman Jim Childers presided.
Visit us today at
FIRE GUTS HOME
Woman escapes
from house fire
Easter morning
Dorcus (Mrs. John B.) Plonk woke up Sunday morning to fire
in her all-wood two story home on St. Luke’s Church Road.
Firemen said Plonk ran from the burning building at 3:45 a.m.
but received a burn on her hand. She refused transport to the hos-
pital and is staying with family.
Firefighters fought the blaze for more than seven hours and used
10,000 gallons of water before it was extinguished at 11 a.m. Easter
Sunday, according to Perry Davis, Cleveland County Emergency
Management Assistant Director and Chief of the Oak Grove Vol-
unteer Fire Department.
Oak Grove, Waco, and Cleveland Volunteer Fire Departments
responded. Only the front porch and chimney were left standing at
219 St. Luke’s Church Road, firemen said.
13th Firehouse
BBQ Cook-off
begins Friday
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
The third weekend in April every year, the City of Kings Moun-
tain is bathed in the mouth-watering aroma of freshly cooked bar-
becue.
It wafts through the town from a crowded field at the Jake Early
Sports Center’s walking track on Cleveland Avenue. Smoke from
grills and pits, many of which are handmade, billows into the sky,
mixing with the sounds of laughter and music that escape from the
track below.
For many the event is like coming home again to see old friends
and to make new ones. But for all of the teams that assemble there,
it’s about firing up the competition.
Kings Mountain’s 13th annual Firehouse Barbecue Cook-off
will begin around noon on Friday and will run until 4 p.m. Satur-
day. KM Fire Chief Frank Burns said that some teams will be set-
ting up and selling barbecue by lunch time on Friday.
The awards ceremony will begin around 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Jazz artist Robin Rogers will perform 6-9 p.m. Friday and Dance
Magic will be putting on a show 11-12 p.m. on Saturday. The event
is free and open to the public.
As of Friday, Burns said that they had four vendors lined up to
sell barbecue during the Cook-off and one to sell barbecue sauce.
Dixie Home Crafters is scheduled to have a booth set up. Fun time
inflatables will provide excitement for the children at the event.
See COOK-OFF, Page 4A
Father, son-in-law
open Oak Grove
Grill, pay tribute to
‘Mounties, doo-wop
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor :
o
| Mark Blots, who has toured fie world performing} inthe
band "Mink" and opened for musical groups such as Bob
J Seger, has opened a new restaurant in the Oak Grove com-
ne ~ munity. oi
~The Oak Grove Grill, at 731 Stony. Point Road, beside
: Tom's Ss Mini Mart, quietly opened its doors on Monday, April
61 opened without a ribbon cutting or grand party, but still
the restaurant has welcomed a steady stream of content cus-
~ tomers. ;
"We wanted to ease into this,” said Blanton, who wanted to
5 finish a substitute teaching interim at Kings Mountain Mid-
: dle before firing up the grill.
He finished on March 24. Within two Wks he was back
towork. See RESTAURANT, Page 4A
209 S. Battleground Avenue
Kings Mountain
A ine Th Bo Be a A Bn 0 A 0 Me A Te i Ai i Tn I Pn BB TI Bo NIT A A A I Br Po nh Ae ah Ae A a a he A P
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