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July 21st
sd
EE ——
INSIDE
Real to Reel Film
Festival kicks off
Ethan Black cools
off on the splash pad at
Patriot's Park
4A
Couns ARWVAE eau
Volume 122 ° Issue 28 » Wednesday, July 14, 2010
a."
w Harris Funeral Home
3 . “Locally Owned
& Operated Since 1947
A Family Tradicion of Dignity,
Service & Undemanding
108 S. Piedmont Ave.
Kings Mountain, NC
[sor
Beach
property
up for
auction
Big E plans to
keep on cookin’
Mark Beach Properties, Inc., which in-
cludes the Big E property at 717 York
Road and property at 300 N. Cansler St.,
is facing foreclosure.
The "substitute trustee's sale" will be
conducted at the Cleveland County
Courthouse at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 20
and, as required by law, the sale will be
held open for 10 days for upset bid.
Beach, a Kings Mountain entrepre-
neur, died Sept. 20, 2009, four months
after Big E BBQ opened last year. Beach
was owner, president, and business man-
ager of the rgstaurant.
Big E BBQ recently celebrated its first
anniversary ‘and proprietor Eric "Big E"
Pardo said at the time that it has been "a
heck of a year" since the death of his busi-
ness partner and friend.
"I plan to stay in business," said Pardo,
adding, "I may try to lease the present
building or relocate downtown." His ep
utation as a conneisseur of fing meats and
good food for over 16 years gives him
plenty to do also as a caterer. His barbe-
cuing skills have won top awards for Big
E at numerous events.
Police looking into
- Sunday shooting
Police are looking for information
in reference to a shooting that took
place Sunday night on McGinnis
Street. ;
- At approximately 11:23 p.m. on
~ July 11 operators at the Kings Moun-
_ tain Police Department received a call
- from Kings Mountain Hospital.
- Twenty-year-old Andre LaShawn Lit-
- tlejohn, of 530 Baker St., had been
- shot and dropped off at the hospital.
Officers responded to the hospital
. and were able to briefly speak to Lit-
tlejohn before he was transported by
- ambulance to Carolinas Regional
- Medical Center in Charlotte for further
treatment.
The shooting took place on
McGinnis St. near Ramseur St. Any-
one with any information about the in-
cident is asked to call Det. Cpl. Todd
McDougal of the Kings Mountain Po- .
lice Department at 704-730-2119 or
704-734-0444.
Anonymous tips may also be made
by calling Crimestoppers at 704-481-
TIPS.
City seeks entries
for Teenie Weenie
Bikini Contest
Calling all babes!
City Special Events Director Ellis
Noell said that they are looking for con-
testants for this year's Teenie Weenie
Bikini Contest, which is slated to start at
Guard
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
monies planned by the city.
the Guard and their families,"
Community Covenant
0 Le .: i
An honor guard of the North Carolina National Guard pres-
ents the colors at Sunday’s ceremony.’
honored
Community leaders signed ‘a formal
covenant of support as a "grateful commu-
nity" for the service of Kings Mountain's
878th Engineering Company, North Carolina
National Guard, Sunday aflerneen in-cere-
"This means a lot to men and women in
said company
commander Capt. Scott Browne, as he and
other Guardsmen watched Mayor Rick Mur-
phrey, city council members, and representa-
tives of county and state government sign a
big display board with 22 signatures. On the
back lawn of the National Guard a city fire
photos by LIB STEWART
At Hage Arerican fiag
posted at a city fire
truck was the
backdrop for special
ceremonies honoring
National Guardsmen
Sunday.
See COVENANT, 3A
Biodiesel to get aid from county
Cleveland County Board of Com-
missioners okayed after public hearing
Tuesday night an incentive agreement
for Project Diesel which guarantees a
water and sewer line toserve Boca
Biofuels, Inc. should the firm locate
on US Highway 29 near Grover.
The City of Kings Mountain has
applied for a Community Block Grant
from the state for $276,945, a water
and sewer infrastructure project, to
help the industry looking at the Grover
The commissioner's public hearing
originally scheduled to discuss incen-
tives for Project IFox has been
rescheduled to August 3:
City and county officials are work-
ing hard to land new industry and jobs
for the county and at least three big
projects labeled Project Blue Ridge,
Project Diesel and Project IFox are
competitive projects but County Man-
ager David Dear says he expects a de-
PROJECT BLUE RIDGE
cents deals
inthe works to
attract industry
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
In a public hearing that lasted fewer than 10 minutes last
Wednesday morning, county commissioners approved an in-
centives deal that could bring a "big" unnamed data center
to the former Chris*Craft facility in Kings Mountain and
$600 million (in 10 years) to the county.
The approval came mere days before the state legislature
passed Senate Bill 1171, which provides the opportunity for
a tax break on the electricity that data centers consume and
expands a low rate on the privilege tax (one percent) for data
centers on equipment and machinery purchases.
County, state and city leaders have been tight-lipped about
exactly who they are hoping to attract. But several sources,
including the Alamance News and the Charlotte Business-
Journal, have reported that Microsoft, Wipro Technologies
Ltd. (an Indian technology firm), and Juniper Networks Inc.
may be among the top companies looking at setting up data
centers in the region.
INDUSTRY, 7A
GAME OVER
House outlaws
sweepstakes
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
After two and a half hours of debate Wednesday night, the
House decided 86-27 to ban video sweepstakes in the state of
North Carolina, ignoring industry supporters who said okay-
ing it would save thousands of jobs and provide nearly half-
a-million in tax revenue to the state.
The new ban, which tightens up a loophole on a 2006 ban
of video poker, goes into effect December 1, if signed by the
governor. But it may not be the end of the industry for all.
William Thevaos, presi-
dent of the Entertainment = Qfata’e long.
Group of North Carolina, State S long
_which represents the com- play on games
puter software designers and
operators in the video sweep-
stakes industry, hinted that
the fight may not ‘be over.
"We will look at all options
available to us including our
legal avenues and the ad-
4 House Bill 80: "An Act
to Ban, the Useof
* Electronic Machines
‘and Devices for
Sweepstakes Pur-
lH Th UL
cision in about 30 days.
What a splash!
area.
vances of technology...allow-
ing the industry to continue
to do business," he said in a
statement after the vote.
But several operators, lo-
cally, have decided to accept
the games will end December
i
Don Johnson, who oper-
ates a sweepstakes parlor on
York Rd. and who owns sev-
eral of the buildings now oc-
cupied by sweepstakes and
gaming parlors along Main
St. in Grover, said that he'll
probably just close come De-
cember 1st.
But with the economy the
way it is, he said, he isn't
making much money with
the sweepstakes right now
anyway. And it's expensive to
fight the state in a law suit.
poses", points out
* North Carolina's long.
history with games.
In 1791, the General
Assembly determined
that "all public gam-
ing-tables are de-
structive of the
morality of the inhabi-
tants of this State,
“and tend greatly to
the encouragement of
vice and dissipation”
(Law of 1791, Chap-
ter 5). The state has .
"continuously bro :
ited public gaming in
North Carolina since
tert! y yo
| STATE PLAY, 7A a a
noon Saturday, July 24th, during the city's
11th annual Beach Blast.
The contest is open to ages six and
under: There is no fee to enter and all par-
ticipants will be recognized, Noell said.
His business started as a produce stand in a multi-bay
garage facility on York Rd. But with the recent hot summers, it
he said, it's been too hard to keep the vegetables and fruits a
cool. Although he still has rocking chairs and birdhouses for
sale in the hot back room, the sign out front simply reads
photo by JANE TALBERT
Tyler Talbert, left, and Katie Davis cool off in the
First place trophies along with $25 gift | Rotary Splash Pad at Patriots Park. Photo at top of | SWEEPSTAKES" |
certificates to Toys R Us will be awarded page also by Jane Talbert He sees the games as a personal choice. tl
See CONTEST, 3A | SWEEPSTAKES, 7A of
* |
1a 1TH” 1D
Ce yu
S! SHC
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~
mess!
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ® 704.739.5411
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