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MEMORIAL
160 S PIEDMONT AVE TARY
KINGS MOUNTAIN NC 28086-3450
Volume 121 e Issue 38 © Wednesday September 30, 2009
SPORTS
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Green cash for
ELECTION 2009
speak out at
open forum
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
The redrawing of school district
lines and the student drop out rate were
major concerns of school board chal-
lengers at Monday night's Woman's
Club-sponsored political forum in:
which nine of 14 candidates in the
Nov.3 city municipal and board of edu-
cation election spoke out.
"Why are students being bused by
Shelby High in their neighborhood to
attend Crest High?" asked Eddie Ben-
ton of Lawndale. He also called for
more discipline in the schools and said
the drop out rate should be addressed
immediately.
Kathy Falls, a parent of three sons in
the school system, sees her service as a
liaison between parents, teachers and
staff. "I will not be a yes man," the
Grover homemaker added, "I will ques-
tion every decision. The new math pro-
gram was an unnecessary expense. We
cut teacher positions and to hire teach-
ers we should have postponed the math
program, a waste of funds," she added.
"I love Kings Mountain," said Yvette
D. Grant, who moved with her family
from New York four years ago. She and
her husband have four children in four
different schools. A former Middle
School teacher and retired nuclear med-
ical technologist, she said she would be
a "voice for your child from a parent,
teacher and business owner perspec-
tive. Grant called school drop outs the
See CANDIDATES, 3A
‘green’ project
NEW KILO LAB - Chemist Jeff McCall,
Ronald A. France are pictured in the
Foote operation. Chemetall Foote has received a $28.4 million grant to
build a lithium hydroxide plant in Kings Mountain to produce next gener-
ation transportation batteries.
Chemetall gets
$28.4M federal grant
Plant to be built to manufacture ‘smart’ batteries
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer |
Chemetall Foote Corp, of Kings Moun-
tain has been awarded stimulus funds of
$28.4 million from the US Department of
Energy, almost 50% of which will be used
to build a lithium hydroxide plant to pro-
duce very high purity lithium materials for
photo by LIB STEWART
left, and Chemetall Foote President
new kilo‘lab at the Kings Mountain
next generation transportation: batteries.
Phesident Ronald A. France said constrie-
tion will he completed over the next two
years at the Kings Mountain site.
The total grant is $28.4 million, a 50/50
matching grant which also ‘includes $13
million to expand and upgrade the produc-
tion of lithium carbonate at the Company's
See GRANT, 3A
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
The number one killer of firefighters
is not fire or even smoke. It is heart at-
tacks.
In fact, coronary heart disease is con-
sidered to be the number one killer
among all Americans. Firefighters are
equipped to handle fires. They have
water to battle flames, breathing appara-
tus to stand the smoke, and turnout gear
to shield them from the heat. But one
thing the Kings Mountain Fire Depart-
ment did not have was an automatic ex-
ternal defibrillator in case of emergency.
Now they do.
Back in April, when the city was
planning the budget for this year and
teams were setting up for the annual
Firehouse Cook-off, a heart attack on the
walking track got everyone's attention.
Cookers came to the rescue with an AED
and CPR. Gary Lowery, who had come
to the track for his regular exercise, was
brought back to life.
"I think he kind of struck all of our
interest a little bit that it would be wise
to look into some of these AEDs," said
Mayer Pro-tem Rodney Gordon. "So I
got to thinking, I checked with the chief and
I asked, 'do you have it in the budget' and he
said, 'no. We're planning on putting it in and
applying for some grants and stuff like that
to be able to get some of these on our
trucks."
Gordon, who was a fireman for 14 years, .
felt like something had to be done.
"Rodney started off at age about 14 as a
junior fireman with us," said Fire Chief
Frank Burns, who led the junior firemen
when Gordon joined.
LIFE SAVING TOOLS
Fire department gets AEDs
Pad,
i : Ew i
"I know that heart attack is the number
one killer of a fireman. It's not getting killed
in fires, it's not getting hurt so if nothing
else we need them to be on the trucks to be
on the fire scenes for the firefighters," Gor-
don said.
"Number one, it's going to protect our
firefighters that are out there protecting us.
Number two, if they're on a fire scene or
something and they need to use it for a cit-
izen or a victim of a fire or a car accident or
any type of an emergency that they're re-
sponding to, that they've got it and they're
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
KM Fire Chief Frank Burns demonstrates how an AED works as Mayor Pro-tem
Rodney Gordon looks on.
able to use it. The third thing is, this puts
one here at the city hall" in case of emer-
gency.
The stress level of a firefighter can shoot
through the roof, straining the heart.
See AED, 5A
INSIDE
City thanks customers
over breakfast 4A
GROVER
Sweeps
permit
denied
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
Mike Heath’s request for a conditional
use permit, which would allow him to op-
erate four sweepstakes machines inside his
business, was denied by default by the
Grover Board of Adjustments at a public
hearing Wednesday night inside of town
hall.
According to his application, Heath
sought a conditional use permit to operate
four "phone time sweepstakes machines"
inside his business at 110 M.H.. Camp
Hwy./Hwy. 29.
* Tt was how he worded that application
that seemed to bother chairman of the board
Lee Willis. During the hearing, Heath testi-
fied that the sweepstakes machines compli-
ment his primary business, which he said is
to sell minutes for prepaid cellular phones.
With the purchase of minutes, customers
have the option of redeeming sweepstakes
entries on the machines.
See GROVER, 7A
ANSWERED PRAYERS
Miller has
new lease
on life with
3rd Kidney
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
Julie Miller is unique, not just because
she now has three kidneys or because a rare
antibody mired the search for the third, but
because she is another example of answered
prayers.
She was born with polycystic kidney dis-
ease - an affliction passed down through
generations in which cysts form and clog
the kidneys, decreasing their function. Her
mother had it and three of her eight siblings
also share in the disorder. Her brother was
on dialysis for nearly two-and-a-half years
before he got a transplant.
Julie was on the transplant list for almost
three years. She started her dialysis in May
at a clinic in Kings Mountain.
Four hours a day, three days a week she
was hooked up to a machine that did what
See KIDNEY, 3A
No visitors
under 18
By ELIZABETH STEWART
‘ Staff writer
Until the flu incidence rate has signifi-
cantly decreased, visitors under the age of
18 are restricted from visiting patients at
Kings Mountain Hospital and Cleveland
Regional Medical Center effective Thurs-
day, Oct. 1.
"We're asking for the public's support not
only for the health of our patients but for the
health of their children," said Dotty
See VISITORS, 3A
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