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City approves budget
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g Kings Mountain
Classic Gifts & Interior Design Services
146 West Mountain St., Kimgs Mountain
3A
Ph. 704-730-8409 © Fax 104-730-8410
Volume 122 o [ssue 25 © Wan OTR June 23, 2010
ANNIVERSARIES
Big E looks
back on
first year
From death of friend and
business manager to strug-
gles in slow economy to tak-
ing top honors in cookoff -
what a year
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
"A heck of a year" is how Eric Pardo,
41, describes his first year as proprietor
and "Eric of all
trades" at Big
E's Barbeque at
717 York.
"I thought
about quitting a
couple times
when the going FHS
got so rough but §
Kings Mountain
is my home and
anywhere," he ERIC "Big E" PARDO
_ © said this week.
Eric struggled to run the new business
after the sudden death of his partner four
months after Big E's opened last year, in
the midst of other challenges for a restau-
rant in a slow economy. Last weekend,
this father of five, celebrated Big E's first
anniversary with a special 2-1/2 day treat
for Dads on Fathers Day - symbolizing a
sort of triumph over tribulations. Barbe-
cue sandwiches were advertised for 99
cents apiece and before the weekend was
over, on Sunday, a total of 2,000 sand-
wiches were sold. For the first time ‘since
opening Eric got to go home early Satur-
day.
"We sold out of ribs and everything
Saturday and closed at 8:30 p.m.," he
said.
To say the restaurant has kept him
busy this past yéar would be an under-
statement. But he enjoys his work.
Pardo's transition from a backyard bar-
becue man began when the late Mark
See BIG E, page 3A
C0 0OCOOD0OOOGOINOOOINODOEGROEOSOOSTEES®
Firestone
celebrates
73 years
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
Anniversary celebrations usually
mean presents. But this time the gifts
came from the host, Firestone Fibers and
Textiles Co., LLC.
The company donated more than
$44,000 to 14 charitable organizations
Friday as company and community lead-
ers celebrated its diamond anniversary in
Gaston County with a tree planting, plant
tour, and picnic at the Kings Mountain
plant.
"This is a great day for our company,"
said Tim Dunn, President, FSFT. "From
achieving one million safe hours worked
to donating tens of thousands of dollars
to charitable organizations through the
Bridgestone Americas Trust Fund, I am
proud of all that our teammates have ac-
Follow us on Face-
book (KM Herald)
and Twitter (kmherald)
Read story Page 5A.
___ How does your garden grow? —
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD they should be "heav-
DelLoris Heppeard spends a lot of time in her “secret gar- ily" taxed and regu-
den”. She has transformed the plot of land behind her house lated.
into an enchanting world of beautiful and fragrant flowers.
The House always gets a cut
Senate okays
ban, fate of
sweepstakes
up to House
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
The Senate said "no". Now it's up to the House to de-
cide.
Monday night the Senate resoundingly rejected the ar-
tor for the state, voting by 47-1 to ban the industry.
Senator Debbie Clary (R-Cleveland County) said from
her office in Raleigh, Tuesday that she voted for the ban
"in keeping with the spirit of the video poker law passed
in 2006."
The senator said she is for private business, but against
gambling. If video sweepstakes should remain, Clary said
"It will be up next
week to the House but
I think they will vote to
A bit of TTS rr
Young. actors licht.up Je oy
stage at KMLT summer camp
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
Kings Mountain Little Fheatre's
Summer Drama Camp kicked off last
week inside of the Joy Performing Arts
Center. The group of nearly 40 partic-
ipants enjoyed a week's worth of
games, polishing theatrical techniques
and rehearsing for a big show they put
on Friday evening in front of nearly
200 family members and friends.
The show, written each year by
KMLT's own Wendy Walega, who
leads the camp with young adult coun-
selors, was full of thigh-slapping =
humor and playful interpretations of Dan Walega, right, and Anna Red-
nour "make a scene" during re-
"The Tale of the Tacky (Fairytale hearsal with the KMLT Drama
TV) Telethon", incorporated many Camp. More photos -4A
modern events with a fairy tale twist.
scenes from common shows, like the
Bachelorette Dating Game Show - a blend of the
Bachelorette and the Dating Game Show. The
Bachelorette Dating Game Show featured Jean-
nie (from "I Dream of Jeannie"), Wonder Woman
and Pippy Longstocking, who all vied for a date
with the night's most eligible bachelor - the F og
Prince. Rapunzel hosted.
Snow White faced off against the Wicked
. Stepmother in a court show during the telethon,
which was hosted by Mother Goose. Piggy Lee,
like the Jazz singer Peggy Lee, also had an ap-
pearance along with the 6 Angry Pigs, a play on
"Twelve Angry Men". Puss-N-Boots had his
own cooking show and commercials during the
telethon included an appearance from Beary
King Live.
And the show wouldn't have been complete
without a "whiff" of Stinky Balogna Man, who
has appeared in past drama camp presentations.
Dan Walega, who plays the "Stinky Balogna
Man", has been helping out with the drama camp
since his mother, camp director Wendy Walega,
started it about seven years ago.
Dan comes from a theatre-loving family. His
mother not only runs the KMLT summer camp
but has also directed and starred in several local
plays, along with his father Jeff Walega.
The camp is "always fun", Dan said, but he
laughs that it can be a challenge each year "try-
ing to match the energy level of every kid".
"It teaches you a lot about becoming an
adult," he said, including memorization, people
skills and confidence.
See DRAMA, page 3A
Happy Customers
are Our Business!
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ® 704.739.5411
www.allianecebankandtrust.com © MEMBER FDIC
ban electronic sweep-
stakes also," she said.
Clary added that she
thinks, from talking to EZ walls /
other legislators; that Jpg one of those unspo-
the North Carolina won jaws jn gambling: the
House will take up the
: house always gets a cut.
bill as presented rather ao it will b t
than amending it. up soon ft wi 2 up 10
"There is not a cau- the House to decide if the
vote, it's an individual the sweepstakes opera-
decision," she said. tions that have sprung
Sen. Julia Bose- up in the hundreds
man, a Wilmington across North Carolina
Democrat, ~~ voted _ or if they will ban it like
against the bill because yha Senate. :
she supports legalizing
the games and placing EE ————
them under the wing of the state lottery. In the House, the
Democrats control the chamber.
Many legislators have sounded off on the issue of elec-
tronic-and computer-based devices that have popped up
in various establishments, many of them "sweepstakes
cafes" or "business centers", across the state. For the pur-
Photo by LIB STEWART
TURNING IT ON — The CAD (computer-aided dispatch) system, up-
graded at the Kings Mountain Police Department and now fully opera-
tional, is among other services that narrows a location down for
quicker response time in emergencies. Above, Police Chief Melvin
Proctor and Mayor Rick Murphrey show off the equipment purchased
with $300,000 in federal money. Th 911 amount listed on your tele-
phone bill each month goes into a wireless fund that aids to the suc-
cess of this big project.
Alliance
Bankg&Trust
Building Communities
gument that sweepstakes parlors could be a cash genera--
fu ign
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