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Volume 122 e |ssue 20 * Wednesd:
OVER THE MOUNTAIN
Triathlon
kicks off
Saturday
morning
By EMILY WEAVER
_ Motorists who plan to be traveling
in Kings Mountain on Saturday morn-
ing may want to look out for triathletes,
as over 400 competitors are expected to
migrate into town this weekend to par-
ticipate in what has become the quali-
fying match for the USA Triathlon
Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship.
The 11th annual Over the Mountain
Triathlon will begin at 8 a.m. as con-
testants gather on the shores of Moss
Lake for a 1,500 meter swim. Athletes
will emerge from the water, race up an
incline to a transition station and will
_ then take off on bicycles for a 45K (al- -
most 28 miles) ride through two state
parks, one national park, and two states
from the lake to Patriot's Park.
Along Railroad Avenue athletes will
trade their bikes for running shoes and
take off on a 10K (about 6.2 miles)
two-lap race from Patriot's Park, down
TRIATHLON, 3A
A Southern bloom :
The Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) is in full bloom out-
side in Kings Mountain and its sweet scent fills the air. The flowers, |
which can spread out up to 12 in. across, bloom on evergreen trees |
that can grow 20 ft. tall photo by EMILY WEAVER |
mA LONG AWAITED REUNION
Smith reunites with brother after 51 years
By ELIZABETH STEWART
staff writer
A soldier's bride, Marlene Smith moved to Kings Moun-
tain from Cuba in the 1950s and raised a son and daughter.
Luis Cabrera, 76, who had not seen his sister in 51 years,
gave all the family plenty of hugs ata family reunion last
weekend. Cabrera and his son, José, visited the Smith fam-
ily for several days before flying to Miami to see other rela-
tives.
Mrs. Smith's last visit to family i in Cuba was in 1959 after
the birth of her daughter, Mercedes Humphries.
Cabrera, a retired accountant from Isle De Dinos, Cuba,
received a 30-day visa to come to the United States.
"Things are really different here," he told his sister as they
enjoyed walking around the neighborhood, enjoying a fam-
ily outing at J Oliver's where 17-year-old John Humphries,
son of Mercedes and Ronnie Humphries, played with the
band, "Sea Breeze."
Cabrera was impressed with spacious housing in Kings
Mountain, the green trees, the downtown area, and loved the
food. They had breakfast Saturday morning at Fred Kiser's
Restaurant where they saw a number of friends and during
the weekend they enjoyed Mexican and traditional Southern
cooking as well. Sunday at lunch time the family dined at
Mountain View Restaurant.
"In Cuba today it would be very hot and very humid,"
Cabrera said during his short visit . He loved the weather and
said he couldn't believe the changes in town in over a half-
century.
Marlene also has a son, Tony of Gastonia and a grand-
daughter, Deanna Humphries, 20, a student at Gardner-Webb
University.
Marlene isn't sure she'll make a trip back to Cuba. Her
brother tells her that Cuba's loss is Kings Mountain, North
Carolina's gain.
Diesel fuel
hearing to
be June 15
By ELIZABETH STEWART
staff writer
Kings Mountain City
Council is expected Tuesday
to set public hearing for June
15 for input from the public
for a community develop-
ment block grant/economic
development project for a
diesel fuel industry looking
at the Kings Mountain area.
"This hearing is really a
generic public hearing for
anyone interested in obtain-
ing water or sewer improve-
ments," said Economic
Development Director Steve
Killian. He said the state re-
quires a public hearing,
called a generic hearing, and
also one for a specific proj-
ect.
Council is also expected
to consider a text amend-
ment to the zoning ordinance
to require mobile ice cream
vendors to pay a privilege li-
cense fee and comply with
the number of hours of oper-
ation and where these ice
cream trucks may be located
for business in the city.
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EYES ON THE COMMUNITY
ZT
m) out
Js for a
member of
the potato pro-
bh ject's steer-
Qi noe
, commit-
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
Doug Sharp of the Woodbridge community
said he never imagined it would be like this.
Back in January when he and others announced
that they planned to plant Irish (white) and sweet
potatoes throughout the county to feed the hungry,
they sought the public's help and expected to raise
maybe a few acres.
Members of the Cleveland County Potato Proj-
ect and volunteers planted the first seed less than
two months ago. Now, 8,000 Ibs. of white pota-
toes have taken root in over eight acres of land in
11 different plots around the county. Dozens have
volunteered labor and support for the project. photos by EMILY WEAVER
The Charlotte Diocesan Advisory Committee
Lappy Customers
are Our Business! Al
New budget
for Grover
Slight rise in water, sewer, trash rates
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
GROVER - Town coun-
cil adopted a $620,820
budget Monday night that
includes slight increases in
water and sewer rates and
trash collection charges, but
no raises for city employees,
beginning July 1st.
The budget includes a
five percent increase in
water rates inside city limits
and a 10 percent increase in
water outside of the city. It
also includes a five percent
increase for inside city-lim-
its sewer rates and a 10 per-
cent increase for outside-city
sewer rates. An extra $1 will
be tacked on to trash collec-
tion fees for citizens. And
late penalties for water and
sewer bills may be raised
from 10 percent to 15 per-
cent, beginning in July.
Mayor Robert Sides said
that they have to trim the
cemetery’s electricity bill to
cover the cost of two lights,
instead of the eight that are
currently in operation to bal-
ance the cemetery fund.
When the council met last
Monday to sift through their
options, Mayor Sides said
that it was the “hardest
budget I've ever balanced in
my life.”
In the light of a rather
“skimpy” general fund, the
mayor said that the town is
taking a hit on all of its in-
terest-bearing accounts
while fees for other services
have increased.
Trash collection fees for
the town increased 3.5 per-
cent in March. The annual
fee for animal control serv-
BUDGET, 3A
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ® 704.739.5411
www .alliancebankandtrust.com e MEMBER FDIC
Businesses
join forces
with town
for new look
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
GROVER - Town
Council Monday night
agreed to up the annual priv-
ilege license fees for the op-
eration of Internet cafes and
sweepstakes businesses to
$4,000 per establishment — a
fee the Main Street business-
men have agreed to pay, ac-
cording to Mayor Robert
Sides.
The downtown propri-
etors and town officials
came to a consensus last
week. The mayor said he
met with business owners to
talk about the situation that
‘has led to somewhat nega-
tive publicity for both the es-
tablishments and the town.
The meeting, which Sides
added was “positive and pro-
ductive”, led to a truce of
sorts.
Downtown building own-
ers said that they may work
‘with the town on beautifica-
tion efforts, upgrading fa-
cades with new paint and
awnings.
The Main Street busi-
nessmen- have agreed to
comply with Board of Ad-
justment requirements. They
will take the tint off of their
windows and remove the
flashing lights in their 5
nage.
DOWNTOWN, 3A
County potato project
continues to grow
«+ for the Catholic Campaign for Human tee.
Development has awarded the Cleveland
County Potato Project a $2,000 grant.
"This will keep us
of debtor's
prison and in
our potato
On Saturday, volunteers will begin planting the
sweet potato crops on a plot of land off of Jason
Drive in the Country Club area of Kings Moun-
tain. Planting will start at 8 am. Any person or
group that would like to volunteer can call Doug
Sharp at 704-480-1608 or just show up. Signs
along Jason Drive will lead to the site.
"Since planting sweet potatoes requires water,
we're asking all volunteers to bring two to four
gallons of water with them," Sharp said. "We only
plan to plant a little over an acre
of sweet potatoes total."
Lloyd- Lewis, who runs
is, Lewis Farms with his fam-
ily in Fallston, told The
Herald in January that one
harvestable acre of land can
produce 400-500 bushels of
sweet potatoes. The thou-
sands of Irish potatoes that
have been planted will be
harvested beginning in July.
A growing success
Left to right, Bill Horn, Ernst Borchert and Pat Bonino work in Rows upon rows of po-
the potato patches on Borchert's land.
tato plants have sprouted on
POTATOES, 4A