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i 2 i i ‘Yes, Virginia...’ Editor Emily Weaver's touching reply to a little girl’s question Volume 121 ¢ Issue 50 » Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Kings Mountain ‘wrestlers win it all! Page 1B Premier Dealer LENNOX) Home Comfort Systems innovation never felt so poo : di Your fo a 8 Whatever the Season. By ELIZABETH STEWART Staff writer With few exceptions Kings Mountain citizens are getting ready for Christmas this week. The first wintry mix of the year on Fri- day put a little damper on Friday evening Christmas shopping but by Saturday the stores were crowded with last-minute shop- pers. And with only two days remaining until Christmas, shoppers were scurrying around to make gift selections. Weather forecasters had at first called for some white stuff on Christmas Eve but now are saying there may be rain. City officials are crossing their fingers that the weather will be perfect for the tra- ditional lighting of candles at Mountain Rest Cemetery Thursday night from 6-11 p.m. City crews and some volunteers have already placed 6,000 milk jugs ‘around the OMEFRONT Getting ready for Christmas Eve. cemetery grounds and on graves and are preparing to light the luminaries Christmas Jim Belt of Belt Ministries started the lu- minary project 15 years ago. "My back just, won't let me work this project any more that I love," said Belt. He said he is overjoyed that the City of Kings Mountain will con- tinue what has become a community tradi- tion. "They (city crews) always worked in See READY, 7A Making Christmas EI By EMILY WEAVER Editor Several people have been hard at work lately to make this Christ- mas more merry for others. Grace Christian Academy initi- ated a canned food and dry goods drive to help stock the shelves at Kings Mountain Crisis Ministry. After making it a contest between the classes, children collected 1,232 items in the "Sharing Grace" Christmas project. The sixth grade class, with only a handful of students, netted over 400 items during the week-long drive. The staff at GCA used the goods to create five small trees, which were set up in the gym. Principal Rita Toney said that she was proud of all of her students and their exemplified spirit of "grace." Children’ and teachers from pre-kindergarten through ninth grade participated. The Kings Mountain Police De- partment was able to make Christ- mas brighter for at least 50 local families this year thanks to contri- butions from the community. After a rough start with only a table full of toys, Police Det. Todd McDougal said that they were able to fill the station's training room twice with donations that flowed in before Santa's big day. The Grover Police Department has been collecting goods to help bring Christmas to families with a total of eight children this year. And inside the Grover Rescue Squad stands a tree, once decked with angels, that now shines with hope. Folks in the community, includ- ing civic clubs like the Grover. Woman's Club, and at town hall EMILY WEAVER/HERALD Staff and students at Grace Christian Academy amassed over 1,200 items for the Crisis Ministry in the school's "Sharing Grace" Christmas project. have been checking off shopping lists, supporting the Christmas drives at the departments. Town Clerk Tricia Willis was busy wrapping some of those gifts on Monday. 1 really felt the Christmas spirit this year," said Grover Mayor Pro-tem Jackie Bennett. "It's hard to pass up all of these good sales." Along with many others, she hasn't been able to ignore the quiet calling of those angels on the tree. Bennett said See MERRY, 7A Main Street staff meets with Partnership Main Street Dir. Liz Parham talks to members of MPI board. State officials with the North Carolina Main Street Program discussed the future of downtown over lunch with members of Mountaineer Partner- ship Inc. last Wednes- day in Mauney Library's community room. It was the first offi- cial meeting the board has collectively had with the Main Street team since being ac- cepted into the presti- EMILY WEAVER/HERALD gious state program a City gets an A-plus on annual audit By ELIZABETH STEWART Staff writer The City of Kings Mountain got an A+ on the audit of its 2009 financial statements, auditor Shane Fox of Martin-Starns & As- sociates told City Council last Tuesday. Fox said auditors found no findings or questioned costs, no significant defi- ciencies or material internal control weaknesses identi- fied and theirs was an "un- qualified opinion." "This is a perfect audit," Fox said to a standing- room-only crowd at the De- cember council meeting. Fox congratulated the city for a "very healthy fund bal- ance," H saying that the city's fund balance is 18 percent and the N.C. Local Govern- ment Commission only re- quires 8 percent of the last year expenditures by mu- nicipalities. "In these tough economic times I have seen few cities that did this," he said. City manager: Marilyn Sellers said the city and all citizens "are faced with tough times in the present Bankes Trust few months ago. "This is a momen- tous day," said MPI Di- rector Adam Hines, who welcomed the Main Street staff to Kings Mountain. Main Street Director Liz Parham, who works out of the Office of Urban Development in Raleigh, discussed what the program is about, what MPI can expect from them and what they expect from MPI. Inclu- sion in the Main Street Program will provide the down- Alliance economy" and she took the occasion to thank staff for their diligence and hard work. The general fund sum- mary showed that revenues were up from $7,237,744 in 2008 to $7,381,266 in 2009 and expenditures were up from $9,375,837 in 2008 to $9,621,364 in 2000. The in- creased fund balance (from 15 percent in 2008 to 18 APY* percent in 2009) was based on unreserved undesignated funds of $1,693,691 in 2009. and $1,294,505 in 2008. In the general operating fund revenues, ad valorem taxes account for 39 percent, other taxes and licenses 29 percent, sales and services 16 percent and other rev- enues 16 percent. Property tax revenue accounted for See AUDIT, 3A town community with an investment of about $150,000 over the next three years. The investment will be used in the forms of technical assistance, training, program guid- ance, networking, ad- vocacy and leadership. Main Street De- signer Lauren Malinoff, See MPI, 7A HERBERT G. MOORE Suspect nabbed in attempted post office . robbery Police say man threatened to blow the place up if he didn’t get his money Give me your money or I'll blow the place up. That's what a customer at the Kings Mountain Post Of- fice, 115 E. Gold St. told a clerk at the window Saturday morning at 10:45 am. Herbert George Moore, 63, who gave his address as Gaffney, SC, but whom po- lice suspect is homeless and was living in his car, further stated, according to Kings Mountain police, that if his demand wasn’t met that he would detonate the device he planted on the post office property. “I need money and I'll do this again,” the suspect reportedly told officers. Everything happened fast, according to Det. Cpl. J.T. McDougal. A postal em- ployee called police and in See SUSPECT, 3A Mayor Pro-tem Gordon reelected as mayor pro-tem Ward IV councilman Rodney Gordon was unanimously re-elected mayor pro tem by his fel- low council members last Tuesday as city council organized for the IER TyTN Gordon, who will serve a second two-year term, said he is honored. adding, "The mayor (Rick Murphrey) and 1 have a good working re- lationship." Gordon com- SUPER SAVINGS AGCOUNT!!! 0 * 1.50 o $2,500.00 minimum to open $2,500 minimum to earn advertised rate 209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ® 704.739.5411 www .alliancebankandtrust.com ® MEMBER FDIC N KRate effective 8/01/09. Rates subject to change. Offer valid for a limited t | Rodney ( Gordon | mended the mayor for "always being prepared See PRO-TEM, 3A ER nn ET
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Dec. 23, 2009, edition 1
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