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So —
Update on fatality
DA says
‘Accident
not a Crime’
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
"The event was clearly a tragic accident, not
a crime," says Cleveland County District Attor-
ney Rick Shaffer of the 1:55 a.m. fatality on Bar-
nette Drive May 21 in which Larry Bernard
Smith Jr, 30, of 204-B West King St., died when,
according to a completed State Highway Patrol
probe, fell from the open bed of a moving pickup
truck and was struck by a KMPD patrol car
driven by Ptl. Thomas Bell, a part- time officer.
Shaffer said that the State of North Carolina
will not be seeking criminal charges against ei-
ther the driver of the truck, Julius Keith Pagan,
. 40, of 209 Waco Rd., or the Kings Mountain po-
lice officer who hit Mr. Smith after he fell from
the vehicle.
"From the report it appears that Mr. Smith
was riding on the back of a truck and fell off onto
the roadway as the truck was turning on to an-
‘other road at an intersection. The truck was being
followed by the police officer for investigative
purposes at the time Mr. Smith fell from the
truck," said Shaffer.
Other passengers in the truck, two of whom
were riding in the bed of the truck with Smith,
Editor
Great schools, an active art scene,
recreational opportunities, city events,
historical ties, and "location, location,
location" made several lists for "eco-
nomic drivers" at last week's Economic
Visioning forum hosted by Mountaineer
Partnership and the North Carolina Main
Street staff at The Woods End.
More than 50 people attended the
forum that will, ultimately help shape
the future of downtown Kings Moun-
tain. Parceled off in seven groups of
about six, community members of all
ages and backgrounds went to work, jot-
ting down the key elements that attract
people to the city.
Whether it was industry or tourism or 3
an active theatre or hometown banks, the city seemed to make the list
with a lot to offer.
After noting economic drivers, participants were asked to males a
list of downtown Kings Mountain's strengths: the markers that pay
tribute to history, the available buildings/architecture, Patriot's Park,
downtown events, murals, lighting and safety, museum, library, arts
center, Joy theatre, central location in city, the railroad, the pedestrian-
Community forum looks at
strengths, weaknesses,
economic drivers to form
rallying cry for future
By EMILY WEAVER
Mark Latham
defensive
coordinator |
at KMHS
friendly nature of downtown, etc.
were Sterling Bess, 33, of 204 W King St., Apt.
B, Steve Bernard Hamrick, 20, of 1006 N.
Cansler St., and Gerald Anthonys Smith, 30, of
523 Cleveland Avenue.
See ACCIDENT, 3A
But some of those plusses were
echoed on the weaknesses list for. down-
See FORUM, 7A E. WEAVER/HERALD
to return as Bi
Teams work on lists’
KM football
great
Calvin
Stephens
Sports
1B
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‘Mountaineer Partnership President Mitch Johnson discusses some of the
ideas his group came up with at the forum.
at the forum.
KMHS seniors get big awards...5A Splash into Summer Reading...8B
Stowe death marks
second pedestrian
fatality in a week
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
Richard Clark Stowe Jr., 31, of 161 Range Road,
walking home after a Saturday evening shooting pool,
became the second
straight weekend fatality
on the US 74 bypass Sun-
day, the third Kings
Mountain man to die on
the major highway during
the past year and the sec-
ond victim at the Oak
Grove exit.
The accident remains
under investigation by
Kings Mountain Police.
Kings Mountain Police
responded around 3:20
a.m. Sunday to a 'pedes-
CLARK STOWE
trian struck call' on Highway 74 West near the Oak
Grove exit. Upon officers arrival they found a man
" See TRAGEDY, 3A
A costly lesson
Five Kings Mountain
youths learned a hard lesson
this week - that crime doesn't
pay. They will be spending
time behind bars.
In Cleveland County Su-
perior Court this week Judge
Forrest Bridges sentenced
Drayshawn Raymond Ban-
ner and Samuel Aleko Jenk-
ins, both 16, to prison for the
October 2009 robbery of
Scott's Jewelry on N. Pied-
mont Avenue and the assault
on the 77-year-old jewelry
store owner. The judge also
tat i» ¥
» us on Face-
book (KM Herald)
and Twitter (kmherald)
sentenced Brandon Mills,
22, Kylie Ann Dorman, 22,
and Stephen Edward Mills,
24, for the February 2010
robbery of Movie Gallery on
E. King Street.
Brandon Scott Mills will
serve six to eight years in
prison, Dorman an active
five month split sentence, and
Stephen Mills, who pled
guilty to conspiracy to com-
mit robbery with a danger-
ous weapon, will also serve
time in prison for his role in
See LESSON, 3A
Rotarian Suzanne Amos shakes the hand of WWII veteran Con-
nie Allison, while veteran Dave Saunders, right, looks on.
A Day of Honor
Rotary Club honors WWII heroes,
man behind F lights of Honor
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
Last week's meeting of the Kings
Mountain Rotary Club was all about
honor. The club honored veterans of
World War II with a special ceremony.
They honored the man, who inspired
them to send those veterans on Flights
of Honor to see their memorial in
Washington, D.C. And the Rotarians
were honored to have a new special
flag to pledge allegiance to each week.
Special guests of the meeting were,
WWII veterans Connie Allison, Glee
Bridges, George Plonk, Sidney Dixon,
Wilson Griffin, Dave Saunders, Paul
Ham, Jr, Ed Campbell, G.L. Mc-
Daniel, Sam Adams, Thea Engle, Billy
Benton, Bill Alexander; and, Honor
Flight Network's Jeff Miller and wife
Tamara Miller.
In 2005, Jeff Miller, of Miller's Dry
Cleaners in Hendersonville, said that
his wife brought him an article in a
newspaper that talked about a guy
named Earl Morse of Ohio, who
started the Honor Flight Network. Earl
See HONOR, 5A
Lappy Customers
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ® 704.739.5411
www.alliancebankandtrust.com e MEMBER FDIC
Jeff Miller of Honor ——
City seeks
more grants
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
Editor’s Note: The application for the
229 Battleground Ave. project was with-
drawn late Tuesday. The Herald learned of
this late development at press time and
could not obtain further information.
Kings Mountain City Council took steps
Tuesday night to aid economic development,
by formally filing applications for Rural
Center grants totaling $406,000 to help three
new business enterprises and after a second
public hearing also applied for a Commu-
nity Development Block Grant from the
state for $276,945, a water and sewer infra-
structure project to help a new industry look-
ing at the Grover area.
The CDBG grant, if approved; conkt
help land Boca Biofuels Inc.
The three building reuse and restoration
grants would assist Bells Line, LLC, Nick
LaVecchia, and SG6 Enterprises, LLC in
their economic development plans.
Steve Killian, the city's director of plan-
ning and economic development, outlined
"the three grant project applications at Tues-
day's meeting and the board approved reso-
lutions authorizing Mayor Rick Murphrey
to submit the applications by June 28.
The grant to Bells Line would assist in
the rehabilitating of a vacant building, the
old Carolina Western facility on Charles
Street and limited to one half of the cost or
$12,000 for each of the 10 jobs projected in
the vacant building within a 24 month pe-
riod. The city would have a 3% match.
However the in-kind services would be pro-
vided by the city's planning department
and/or the use of planner Steve Austin for
administrative services and would count to-
wards the projected $3,600 match. Over the
course of time, it is projected the number of
permanent full time jobs would exceed 50.
An amended building reuse and restora-
tion grant application will be submitted by
the city for Nick LaVecchia for $154,000
See GRANTS, 3A
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No 0 |
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