Easter
Egg Hunt
Lee and Mason Kistler
.
°
°
°
.
°
°
.
°
.
°
.
°
°
.
.
.
°
°
°
.
.
°
°
G. Deal Interiors
of Kings Mountain
73 EPR. (EN
Classic Gifts & & Interior Design $ Services
146 West Mountain St, Kings Mountain
Ph. 704-730-8409 Fax 704-730-8410
aera >
Volume 122 * Issue 14 Wednesday, April 7, 2010
City officials
crunching
numbers for
next budget
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
. Preparing for budget work sessions ahead, city council
heard presentations by department heads from both the elec-
tric and water/sewer departments Thursday evening at the
Public Works Department and mulled over some good news
and some bad news.
. The good news was that revenue from the sale of divs
tricity is "on target" despite a sluggish economy helped by
more fuel use during a colder than usual winter season.
The bad news is that water sales are down with a big drop
in water/sewer usage since the departure of textile plants that
once were big water/sewer customers. With the downturn in
the economy residential and commercial customers are also
conserving more water.
~~ "We are hoping that the economy will turn around to make
up for losses in revenue," said Mayor Rick Murphrey. He
said the city has "cut expenses to the bare bones."
Budget preparers will be looking, over the next several
weeks, at different scenarios particularly in water/sewer, pen-
ciling in anticipated funds for engineering design of d pro-
: posed new water line from Moss Lake to town, upgrading of
KM Hospice House
The Kings Mountain Hospice House is
set to open April 15th. Three years of
planning and fundraising have led to this
upcoming grand opening, but a few
more "wishes" need to be granted to
make it complete.
Hospice Cleveland County has
posted on its website a Kings Mountain
Hospice House Wish List of items they
will need before the grand opening.
HCC has also registered for items at
Belk and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Pam Isaacs, director of marketing
and public relations at Hospice Cleve-
land County, said that they received their
"Certificate of Occupancy" for the Kings
Mountain Hospice House on Friday.
Now "we wait to be licensed by the
Department of Health out of Raleigh,"
. she added.
That is set to happen on Thursday, ac-
cording to Hospice Executive Dir. Myra
McGinnis.
State officials "will be here Thursday
and if everything meets their expectation
we will be licensed as of Thursday,"
McGinnis said. y
set to open next week
Let the official countdown begin! ,
After becoming licensed, there is one
more step - the Kings Mountain Hospice
House will have to undergo a life safety
inspection, which is scheduled to happen
within a week.
"We are really thrilled that we will be
able to serve patients as of a week from
Thursday," McGinnis said.
The new Hospice house will not just
benefit Kings Mountain, she adds, "it
will increase access to this type of care
throughout Cleveland County."
View the wish list online at:
www.hospicecares.cc/
NC DOT: Thursday's wreck
not fault of intersection,
fault of driver
| By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
intersection this year.
The wreck-wasn't the case of poor visi-
bility, although blurred vision may have
been a factor The driver of the moped was
charged with! driving while intoxicated and
the North Carolina Departmerit of Trans-
portation, the state's highway patrol reports
that this is the first accident to happen at the
See BUDGET, 3A
MW EMPLOYMENT Hi
New ness, new
jobs on the way?
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
Three new businesses—a
commercial brokerage firm,
a travel agency and a restau-
rant featuring Irish American
cuisine—are looking at the
old Roses 5&10 building
downtown for new develop-
ment and 24 full-time jobs
for Kings Mountain people.
Kings . Mountain City
Council last Tuesday author-
ized Mayor Rick Murphrey
to file a North Carolina Main
Street Solutions Fund appli-
cation which, if approved,
could mean $300,000 to
jump start the project.
Planning Director Steve
Killian said that Gina Collias
Company is looking at reha-
bilitating the old Roses
building and creating space
for her business and two oth-
ers, the project looking at
bringing new jobs to a com-
munity with a high rate of
unemployment.
Killian said that Kings
Mountain is eligible for con-
sideration for the grant be-
cause the city is a Main
Street City in Tier I (dis-
tressed county due to high
unemployment). He said that
the city should learn by May
1 if the grant application is
successful. The North Car-
olina Main Street program is
part of the Division of Com-
munity Assistance in the De-
partment of Commerce.
, Killian told council at the
recent meeting that there are
no matching funds required-
from the city. The deadline
for filing the application is
April 15.
CAVE walkers get
ready to spread word
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
C.A.VE. (Citizens
Against Violence Every-
vhere)-walkers will be step-
ping out to spread the word
of an important upcoming
event for local youth - a cru-
sade of redemption, featur-
ing former gang leader
Nicky Cruz. A prayer walk,
meant to honor families who
have lost loved ones to vio-
lent crime, will begin at
noon Saturday, April 17, at
the courthouse square in
Shelby.
After the walk, C.A.V.E.
volunteers will disperse to
areas all around the county
and go into the neighbor-
hoods to promote the up-
coming outreach, said Jeff
Renn, worship pastor at Put-
nam Baptist Church.
Renn and other local pas-
tors, who meet weekly for
prayers, have spent years
praying over the community,
watching today's youth cave
under the pressures of drugs,
alcohol, violence and crime.
For many it begins with a
sense of loneliness, an over-
whelming feeling of being
lost, for Nicky Cruz it was
that plus survival that led
him, a troubled teen, into a
world of violence and gangs.
After reading Cruz' book
about his life, "Run Baby
Run", local pastors and lay
ministers hoped to bring him
here to share his story with
others. He's on his way.
The former warlord of the
notorious Mau-Mau gang in
+ Brooklyn, Cruz will be com-
See CAVE, 5A
ea by resi ents say that this wasn't the first
ie that has happened at the two-way-
top intersection. .
"This has got to be like the fifth or sixth
ne at that spot,” said one woman, who
alled The Herald. 1
Bu, acéording to Ofc. Sam Nichols with
L Otfices say he ran the stop sign.
Last Thursday's wreck was also not con
sidered to be the blame of the wide inte
section itself. Although there are a few lane
to cross for those stopped on Margrace R
and the speed limit for Kings M
Could commuter train be down the line?
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
All aboard a commuter train to shop downtown? Could
this be in our future 25 years from now?
Kings Mountain City Council heard a presentation by
Linda Dosse of the North Carolina Department of Trans-
portation last Tuesday night in which she took a regional look
at a comprehensive transportation plan she will be pitching to
municipalities in the county over the next several months.
This will be a collaborative effort between the cities of Kings
Mountain and Shelby, Town of Boiling Springs, Cleveland
County commissioners, and Lake Norman RPO.
KM Planning Director Steve Killian said that local and
area planning departments are coordinating present land use
and transportation plans with the state mix.
The state DOT is asking for input on roads, bikeways, rail
~ and public transportation. The draft plan was also presented
to county commissioners Tuesday night and all municipali-
ties in the county will be taking action in May and early June.
The highway map points out the proposed new Boiling
Springs Western and Eastern Bypass, US 74 Bypass and
widening projects, including the relocation of US 74 on the
north side of Shelby. The cross section is a four lane divided
freeway with interchanges at US 74, Dixon Blvd West, Wash-
burn Switch Rd, NC 226, Polkville Rd, NC 18, Fallston Rd,
NC 150 Cherryville Rd, and US 74, Dixon Blvd. East. The
bypass project would relieve traffic volume and congestion
on existing US 74, Dixon Blvd.
The state.draft transportation plan focuses on these areas
in and around Kings Mountain:
See TRAIN, 3A
POLICE COMMENDED - Chief of Police Melvin Proctor accepts a plaque on behalf of officers and
staff, above, from KM Mayor Rick Murphrey. The mayor recognized the police department for a sig-
nificant drop in the crime rate. "This award recognizes the combined help of police and citizens,"
said Proctor.
; v ’ Happy Customers
PHOTO BY ELLIS NOELL
sre Sur Business! A fiance
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ® 704.739.5411
www.alliancébankandtrust.com ® MEMBER FDIC
Banka Trust
Building Communities
SR