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-up in the Miss Gastonia and
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Kings Mountain Herald
Page 3A
Creating magic on stage therapy for Lanford
by ELIZABETH STEWART
Herald staff writer
GROVER - Music is the best therapy for Olin Lanford,
70. He knows the gospel songs he sings by heart.
Lanford, who is legally blind, is getting ready to release
his second CD, "Precious Memories of Mom and Dad" in
September. :
The Long Branch Community man actually doesn't re-
member his parents. He lost his parents and two siblings in
a car/train wreck in 1941 when he was 22 months old.
"They thought all eight of us were dead and then they
heard me whimper," said Lanford who was reared by his
grandfather. He started singing in church as a little boy and
never quit. !
"I'm a survivor," said Lanford, as he gave a preview bf
his DVD and soon-to-be released second CD to a group
of friends at Patriot's Park in Kings Mountain on a recent
Wednesday morning. Richard Price, 84, his severely deaf
roommate and father figure for 34 years, their friend pro-
fessional caregiver Jim Gregory who spends every day with
them, his pastor Kenny Bell, who makes the introduction
on the new tape, and professional musician Ray Michaels
working the sound equipment for his DVD, were among
those in attendance. ol
"I have practiced and practiced day and night for this
day," said Lanford. With the help of his friends he had se-
cured copies of the music and it didn't take long for him to
commit the songs he didn't know to memory.
Lanford's favorite song in the group of 10 is "I Can't
Even Walk." Other gospel numbers include "First Day In
Heaven, I Claim the Blood, Master of the Sea, I Know Who
Holds Tomorrow, Thank You Lord, What A Day That Will
Be, Who Am I, Canaan Land is Just In Sight, and Look For
Me At Jesus' Feet."
Lanford's voice is a strong baritone and the presenta-
tion developed by Michaels includes background accom-
paniment The CD is available by calling 704-482-5819
after Sept. 1.
Michaels, who hosts karaoke shows in the area, said he
had seen many performers on stage in the 39 years he had
been in the entertainment business but none quite as en-
thusiastic as Lanford.
As his friends set up the microphone, Lanford stood to
sing the music he loves.
A former resident of Woodruff, SC and Kings Moun-
tain, Lanford has sung and preached at the Patrick Senior
Center and has been invited to sing at Life Enrichment Cen-
ter.
"The Lord knew when to send Richard (Price) and Jim
my way," said Lanford, as Jim Gregory assisted Lanford
in rising from a chair to stand in the center of the down-
town gazebo to share his music with friends. Gregory
helped Lanford dress especially for the occasion with a
brand new outfit and hairstyle.
"Senior citizens need love and attention and we appre-
ciate the people in Kings Mountain and Grover and the
good things about our communities," said Lanford. He
added his appreciation to his pastor and the congregation of
Mount Sinai Baptist Church of Smyrna, SC. Richard Price,
who was in a wheelchair, smiled, and those who came for
the special concert got close to his ear to speak with him,
chatted with Lanford and applauded his talent.
KM girls named
pageant runners-up
Hl BRIEFS
Class of 79
reunion set
Kings Mountain High
School class of 1979 is
Two Kings Mountain
girls were named runners-
Miss Gastonia’s Outstand-
ing Teen Pageants held Au-
gust 1 at Gaston College.
Montreal Barnette, 18,
the daughter of Trace and
Myra Barnette, was named
third runner-up to Miss
Gastonia. She won a $200
scholarship. A graduate of
Bessemer City High
School, Barnette plans to at-
tend UNC-Pembroke this
fall to major in radio and
television broadcasting. For
MONTREAL BARNETTE
holding its 30th reunion
_ Sept. 25-26. Visit
kmhs1979.com for more in-
formation.
KMHS Chorus
to host BBQ
fundraiser
The Kings Mountain
High School Choral depart-
ment is hostng a BBQ plate
fundraiser from 10-6 p.m.
September 18, 2009.
The plate includes pulled
HAILEY ROTENBERRY
the talent competition, Bar-
nette presented a crowd-
pleasing vocal rendition of
“At Last.”
Hailey Rotenberry, 14,
the daughter of Michael and
Lisa. Rotenberry, was the
second runner-up in the
Outstanding Teen division.
She won a $150 savings
bond. Rotenberry is a ninth
grade student at Kings
Mountain High School. For
the talent competition, she
sang “The Climb” made
popular by Miley Cyrus.
The Miss + Gastonia
Scholarship ~~ Association
sponsored the pageants,
which featured 19 contest-
ants. The winners were
Miss Gastonia Mikhaila
Leinbach, Miss ‘Gaston
County Shaina Anderson,
Miss Gastonia’s Outstand-
ing Teen Hannah Baldwin,
and Miss Gaston County’s
Outstanding Teen Lauren
Hossfeld.
pork, two buns, slaw, chips
and a snack cake, catered by
Buddy's BBQ. The cost of
each plate is $7.
An order of 10 or more
plates from one location
may be delivered.
For more information or
to buy tickets, call Lori
Sutherland at 704-739-
2292.
QUIET
From Page 1
Lt. Durwin Briscoe, of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s vice
squad, said that he could not confirm whether or not a spe-
cial agent with the FBI visited the businesses.
“We just went down (there) to see how the operation
was run and talked to store owners,” Briscoe said.
No arrests were made. No machines were confiscated.
But the businesses are closed. A sleepy silence has fallen on
the town under a veil of mystery.
- “All of the shop windows say that they’re having a zon-
ing hearing,” Briscoe said.
He added that all four of the shops down on Main Street
are “legal”, “based on how the laws are written”.
Payouts are still illegal, he added.
But without catching the businesses in “the act” of re-
deeming winnings, there was little officers could do.
Earlier this year, a superior court judge in Guilford
County put a “restraining order” on law enforcement after
several of these types ‘of facilities had been raided. Ac-
cording to court affidavits, officers are prohibited from ha-
rassing or raiding these establishments until a “declaratory”
ruling is officially decided by the courts on whether or not
these types of machines are in violation of the state’s video
gaming laws.
But the judge said nothing about zoning or federal laws.
County planning and zoning officials have looked at the
businesses and found that owners may be in violation of
zoning laws.
Main Street is zoned for general business, but Planning
Officer Chris Martin said that the businesses need condi-
tional use permits to continue to operate their “video gam-
ing” equipment.
But some have questioned whether asking for a condi-
tional use permit is not the same as admitting they are
“gambling”. Gamblers can be arrested after all.
“I went down there today,” Briscoe said. “All four shops
had signs in the windows (that said) pending zoning hear-
ings. Each one of them says temporarily closed down.”
It was not confirmed, as of press time, exactly what the
FBI's role in Grover’s sudden silence was last week.
They were not told to close up and leave town by the
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department, according to
Briscoe.
Martin said that he did not tell them to close their doors
until the pending zoning hearing. .
So what made the store owners want to leave?
LIVING HISTORY DAY
SEPTEMBER 19TH!
www.theinnofthepatriots.com
TOG ++v-Q37 ~o=2040
The Inn of the
a Patriots
ed & Breakfast
Home of the Presidential
Culinary Museum
OeRNmEEe
www.revwarexperience.com
The Cozy One Stop, which was set to be a convenience-
type store that featured some of the video gaming ma-
chines, apparently never made it to opening day.
Store clerks at KC’s Discount and Variety Store say that
their business has been relatively dead since the other shops
closed down last week.
The traffic brought in by the other establishments on
Main Street helped them stay busy since they opened in
April. Now, they sit and gaze at the traffic that pauses to
read the closed signs on the other doors before driving off.
Grover’s Board of Adjustments will meet Sept. 9 to han-
dle the appeals of the two gaming businesses left on Main
Street.
Start spreading the news
After the story of Grover’s Internet cafés first appeared
in The Herald on Aug. 12, it was picked up by the Enter-
tainment Group of North Carolina. The advocacy group cir- *
culated a press release citing The Herald’s coverage and an
electronic copy of the article throughout the state.
Entertainment Group has cited the story in two press re-
leases since Aug. 12. The group is fighting for the video
gaming industry to be taxed and regulated.
“We made great progress in the General Assembly this
year, but we didn’t get our legislation passed so we are
planning a major campaign to get oversight and regulation
of the video gaming industry in next year’s short session,”
said William Thevaos, president of the Entertainment
Group of North Carolina. :
Thevaos said his group plans to reach out to the gover-
nor and state lawmakers this fall and next winter to build a
broader base of support for regulating and taxing video lot-
tery terminals, according to the release.
“If the state fails to act, they are leaving millions of dol-
lars on the table that could be used to help fund education,
health care and infrastructure projects across the state,” said
Thevaos. “Video gaming is here and growing. We believe
it’s time to have accountability and transparency in this in-
dustry.” :
The county is rumored to have at least 17 video gam-
ing-type facilities operating in its borders.
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OLIN LANFORD
Obviously Lanford was creating magic on stage.
ZONING
From Page 1
the previous calendar year, the municipality took remedial
action at least three times under any of their public nui-
sance ordinance.”
The final part of the revised code reads, “A written no-
tice will be delivered or sent by certified mail to the owner
and/or his agents in the event he or she violates this code.
It shall be unlawful for any person, upon receipt of the no-
tice (to) fail to comply within three days. Should an owner
or owner’s agent be deemed a chronic violator as defined
by this code, then only initial annual notice within the cal-
endar year is required to be served by registered or certified
mail.”
The council also unanimously voted to amend a city or-
dinance that deals with junked cars, which places a higher
vehicle value limit on cars defined as “ju: \
The city currently exercises the right to remove and dis-
pose motor vehicles deemed to be “abandoned”, “junked”
or a “nuisance.” ]
The revised ordinance, which will take effect Oct. 1,
reads “the term junked motor vehicle means a vehicle that -
does not display a current license plate lawfully upon that
vehicle and that:
* 18 partially dismantled or wrecked; or
* cannot be self-propelled or moved in the manner in
which it originally was intended to move; or
* is more than five years old and appears to be worth
less than $500 and does not display a current license plate.”
The current ordinance states that the vehicle must ap-
pear to be worth less than $100. With today’s prices on
scrap parts, Black told the council it might be more fair to
place a value of at least $500 on cars not defined as
“junked”.
LAKE
From Page 1
phrey.
Officials with the US Corps of Engineers in a letter to
project manager Henry Wicker noted Cleveland County
Water's proposed $113 million 1,200 acre reservoir could
produce a 26 million gallon safe yield, more than three
times what the organization will need for a dependable sup-
ply by 2060. Based on information, it continued, that it ap-
pears that purchasing additional water supply capacity from
adjacent towns may satisfy the need and purpose of the pro-
posed project.”
The reservoir project, in the works for years and headed
by Cleveland County Water General Manager Butch Smith,
would honor the late John Cline. Both have maintained for
years that a reservoir is the answer to Upper Cleveland's
water problems.
KingsMountamm Herald
Bojangles Mac’s Grocery
Carolina Crossroad Mike’s
Circle P Moore's Grill
Dennis #3 Mountain Market
Falls Superette Mountainview Restaurant
Food Lion Mountain Street Pharmacy
Fred Kiser Restaurant My Little Store
+ Grandpa's Store One Stop
Griffin Drug Petro Express
KB's Community Mart , Quick Pick
Kings Mountain Herald Rick’s Ole Country Store
Kings Mountain Post Office Shell Gas Station
Kings Mountain Truck Stop Shergill’s Exxon
Kings Store Silver Express
Linwood Produce Tom’s Food Mart
Little Dan’s Waffle House
Love's Fish Box Woodbridge Store
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