Wl 76-year-old Kern’s Trucking
a " plans move, to stay i in KM
‘Students ride to 229th Battle
anniversary in limousine oA
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sa | SPORTS |
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Volume 121 Issue 40 « Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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7 4 :
Southern
Power breaks
ground for new
KM plant
By ELIZABETH STEWART
» Staff writer
GROVER - Southern Power, the subsidiary of Southern
Company that acquires, builds, manages and owns gener-
ation assets that have been constructed for the wholesale
market, broke ground for the Cleveland County Generating
Facility, a two-phase power generation project and a $400
million investment for the community Tuesday.
This week the City of Kings Mountain will connect a
12-inch line to the water main at US Highway 29 to guar-
antee 640,000 gallons of treated water per day in the first
phase of the project. At peak production, the plant is guar-
anteed 12 million gallons of raw water per day from Kings
Mountain to serve the facility expected to begin commer-
cial operation in early 2012.
The contract signed in December 2008 by Southern
Power, the City of Kings Mountain, and Cleveland County
is the largest public, private contract in the history of Cleve-
land County.
The second phase of the project would bring another
$800 million investment which, according to County Man-
ager David Dear, would make them the second largest tax-
payer in Cleveland County behind Duke Energy. |
The plant will consist of four combustion turbine units,
| See POWER, 3A
$80000000000s000s00s0000ns00s000000
Small step ois :
Giant climb for mayor
Mayor makes it to top of power pole in
contest, tops feat with American flag
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
On Saturday af-
ternoon at the Gate- §
way Festival it was
one small step for a |
lineman and one 98
giant climb for the M8
mayor.
At 1 p.m. Mayor
Rick Murphrey
kicked his staked heels into a power
pole at Patriot's Park for his first step
in what would be a high climb. Con-
test entries for how high he
would make it up the pole
had filtered into the city's
public power tent by the
dozens.
In what seemed like an overwhelming sense of public
faith in the mayor, many guessed that he would make it to
the top - a 40-ft. ascension. They were right.
Equipped with gear used by the city electric depart-
ment's linemen he scaled the pole as a crowd of on-lookers
cheered. Once the top was in reach, Murphrey capped the
* feat with an American flag, which he slid into a stand that
had been pre-placed by the department at the top of the
pole. He climbed back to earth safe and sound.
Since so many had guessed his ascension correctly, the
mayor, breathing heavy from the long climb, reached into
a bucket of entries to draw out the winner.
"Lea Chrisawn," he read, exhaling as he scanned the
crowd.
One of the women, who had cheered him on, shot up a
hand and cheered "that's me!"
As the winner, Chrisawn will receive a $100 VISA gift
See CLIMB, 4A
Mayor Rick Murphrey
makes it to the top.
photo by ELLIS NOELL
_ Darvin Chastain, of Kings Mountain, bought
© the property near the beginning of the year.
DEMOLITION
City burns
home
not up to codes
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
"City councilman Mike Butler had heard
complaints’ from residents off of Cansler
Street for four years about a vacant home that
became an "eyesore".
He was glad Friday morning to see that
home destroyed.
The property, he said, had been falling
apart for about six years. "I've been trying my
best as city councilman to get something
done about it," he added. _
The property had switched hands of own-
ership over the years, but still no progress had
been made, according to Butler.
"The house was falling apart," he said.
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
si ry hoe gi Sow The remnants of a house on the corner of N. Cansler St. and
& P p PIOPEITY. waco Rd. smolder after a city-issued demolition on Friday.
But before the change. of ownership was
official; the‘then-current property owner and
the now-current owners met with the city ina
See DEMO, 3A
“If you don't take care of your property and keep it
up that could be your house next.’
- Mike Butler,
city councilman
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor A
The Kings Mountain Rotary Club is send-
ing five more WWII veterans on a flight of
honor Tuesday to Washington, DC, where, at
least for one, this will be his first time to the
capitol of the nation he fought to serve.
Samuel Adams was drafted into the Army
after the Pearl Harbor attack. He served
under U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArther. He
fought on the front line in the Pacific Theatre
and continued fighting even after troops
stormed the beaches of Normandy, a world
away.
"D-Day was over about two weeks before
we knew about it," he said.
This will be Adams first flight and first
time visiting Washington, DC.
"I've never been on a plane before," he
said on Tuesday.
Adams fought on nine different islands in
the Pacific before he was able to come home.
He never slept in a barracks and never got a
furlough to visit the wife he wed before he
went overseas.
"I had to dig my own foxholes," he said.
"(You would) go in your hole like a squirrel
when you were on the front line." .
In the ground he fought, slept when he
could and waited for letters from home.
"I was getting letters from my wife.
Naas
More WWII veterans to fly
to see monument in DC
The Rotary Club of Kings Mountain will be sending six
more World War Il veterans to Washington, DC to view
the WWII memorial. Those veterans are, from the left,
Bill Alexander, Sam Adams, G.L. McDaniel and Paul
Ham. In addition to these four present at the Rotary
Club's Thursday meeting are Dr. George Plonk and Jim
Singleton.
Sometimes it would be six weeks before you'd get a letter. Somer
times you'd have 25 letters at one time," he said.
Photo by Ron Isbell
See FLIGHT, 3A
Time travel by candlelight
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
Adventurers in groups of 15 or more stepped off from
the visitor's center at Kings Mountain National Military
Park Saturday night on a candlelit trip back through time.
Destination: the night of October 7, 1780.
A bloody battle had been waged earlier this day on this
very mountain top. The engagement between the over-
. mountain men and British troops would be recorded in his-
tory books as the turning point of America's revolution. But
on that day it was just war.
The infamous British Major Patrick Ferguson, revered
as the best shot in the King's army (until his shooting arm
was wounded in a recent skirmish), had threatened the re-
gional settlers’ very livelihood. He challenged the Patriots
to lay down their weapons or he would "lay waste to their
country with fire and sword". In his letter to Patriot leaders,
seen by many as over-the-top offensive and blasphemy, he
said "not even God himself can take me off of this moun-
tain".
And so they fought, many to the death. The aftermath of
that bloody battle was relived by reenactors and tourists
Saturday night.
"Have you seen my father?" asked one young boy in
Colonial garb.
The somber procession filed through a Colonial en-
campment on the mountain. Soldiers weren't alone. Many
See TRAVEL, 4A
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