LEE
Mountaineers beat
Hunter Huss 16-13
KM faces Ashbrook in
‘Homecoming game Friday
Volume 122 ¢ Issue 41 e Wodnsday October 13, 2010
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“He'll always my baby”
Remains found in quarry identified as young man
who went missing over a year ago from KM home
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
"I don't know yet how I feel...I feel
numb," said Betty Miller, sitting inside her
Chesterfield Apartment home Friday
evening, "I feel like half of me has been torn
out.of me...it just feels like something's miss-
ing."
Her son, 22-year-old Dustin Ray Miller
went missing from their home on August 12,
2009. On Thursday evening, it was con-
firmed that the remains found at an aban-
doned Kings Mountain lithium quarry on
Sept. 22 belonged to Dustin.
"There was no foul play, which I'm glad
to know on account of those guys," Miller
said.
On the day of his disappearance, Dustin
returned home out of breath and visibly
shaken after a walk to a nearby convenience:
store, where he picked up some groceries.
He told his mother that on his way home
he was stopped by a car filled with men. One
of the guys, he said, pulled a gun on him and
threatened to kill him and his mother. The
threat allegedly came courtesy of another
man, who on the day of the incident was still
serying time in prison for attempting to break
into the Millers’ home several months before.
When Dustin told his mother of his har-
rowing encounter Aug. 12, 2009, she said
that he was wanting to get some "protection"
and "go back out looking for them."
She tried to calm him and told him to lie
down while she finished cooking and that she
would call the police. But when she went to
rouse him for dinner, Dustin was gone.
His wallet and identification were still sit-
ting on the dresser where he left it next to a
See DUSTIN, 7A
An old abandoned lithium g Way in KM. Inset - Dust Miller
New route to the future
Cleveland County will be leader in fiber optics
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
A web is being spun tnderground. in
Kings Mountain and Cleyeland County =
a fiber optic spider web that will make the
area the envy of the state, and possibly na-
tion, ‘when it comes to broadband capabil- -
ities.
RST Communications started laying its
fiber optic network in February. First work-
ers energized the "brains" — the network
headend or central station which will re-
ceive and transmit all information —at a lo-
cation on Magnus Rd. in Shelby.
Then they laid the all-fiber lines, 10 feet
underground, and started a trail to Moss
Lake. From there, workers entrenched their
networks toward Kings Mountain.
Lines have already been set down
Stoney Point Road, inching ever closer to
main outlets at the Cleveland County In-
dustrial Park and, especially - the new:data
center. farm beingueultivated across the
street on Shelby Road.
Dan Limerick, owner of RST Commu-
nications, estimates that 16 miles of fiber
optics has been laid so far in the county.
"Hopefully, we should be at the indus-
trial park within the next 30-60 days," he
said.
But what will a fiber line do for the
county?
It will one day provide ultimate broad-
cast services for cable television and inter-
net with ultra high-speed connectivity. It
will offer telemedicine through which pa-
tients will be able to visit a remote doctor
without leaving their homes. With features
Sources confirmed recently that
Infocrossing - a part of Wipro Ltd.,
nicknamed the "Micrésoft of India,"
was planning to purchase the former
Chris* Craft building in KM. Atlanta-
based T5 Partners owns the nearly
260-acre property where a technology
farm may sprout five or six new data
centers in the near future.
like Voice Over the Internet Protocol
(VOIP), it will be able to convert the
human voice into a digital sound that can
travel over the Internet. But, first, this net-
work will help energize a 260-plus-acre
farm in Kings Mountain that may sprout
five or six data centers in the near future.
See FIBER OPTICS, 7A
Mauney KM distillery third in state
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
This ain't moonshine in
Mason jars. This Kings
Mountain "still" in the back
portion of the old Mauney
Hosiery Mills is "high-tech."
Twin brothers Charlie:
and Alex Mauney, 29, are
making and marketing small
batch Cardinal Gin, a new
generation product reviving,
they say, the lost art of craft
distillation at Southern Arti-
san Spirits.
The new business is all
legal and the ingredients are
all organic.
The young entrepreneurs
researched and experi-
mented with recipes for
nearly two years before their
product went on the market
this summer. The new busi-
ness is local and state li-
censed to sell wholesale and
is available in ABC stores.
Southern Artisans is cur-
rently in the development
LIB STEWART photo
Alex Mauney, left, and Charlie Mauney are twin brothers in
Trio charged
in drug bust
Three women - a mother and two daughters - were
jailed on felony drug charges i in a second drug bust i in the
Kings Mountain area in the last week.
Deputies with the Cleveland County Sheriff's Depart-
ment and Gaston County Police on Wednesday arrested
Peggy Strickland Jones, 71, Lisa Jones, 43, and Penny
Jones Perry, 49, at their home on Oak Grove Road. They
seized more than 300 pills of Xanax, as well as opium,
pill crushers and hand scales.
The investigation has been ongoing since last year,
authorities said. :
A drug bust at 213 Thornburg Drive in the Kings
Mountain city limits Oct. 1 resulted in arrest of three peo-
ple on multiple drug charges.
Peggy Strickland Jones, 1104 Oak Grove Rd., faces
two counts of trafficking opium or heroin, possession
with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a schedule IV
controlled substance/sell and deliver a schedule IV con-
trolled substance, two counts. She was jailed under
$100,000 bond.
Penny Jones Perry, 49, 1104 Oak Grove Rd., faces
charges of trafficking opium or heroin and was jailed
under $100,000 bond.
Lisa Jones, 43, 1104 Oak Grove Rd., faces charges of
possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a
schedule II controlled substance/sell and deliver a sched-
ule II controlled substance, simple possession of a sched-
ule II controlled substance; and possession of drug
paraphernalia. She was jailed under $10,000 bond.
a— e
ELECTION 2010
See MAUNEY, 7A
business at Southern Artisan Spirits.
Tim Moore in his office.
Moore running for
Sth term in House
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
Kings Mountain lawyer Tim Moore, 40, (R Cleveland) is
running on his record for a 5th term in the N.C. House of
Representatives 111th District.
He faces opposition from veteran Kings Mountain edu-
cator and longtime member of the county board of commis-
sioners Mary Accor (D) on Nov. 2. Both are mounting
aggressive campaigns with hedvy volunteer turnout.
Moore believes his accessibility to voters - his open door
policy at his office on E. King St. in Kings Mountain and at
his office in Raleigh via his website on the Internet and his
popular Facebook pages, lend personal touch with con-
See MOORE, 4A
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ® 704.739.5411
www.alliancebankandtrust.com e MEMBER FDIC
Early voting
starts Thursday
Voters don't have to wait
until Nov. 2 to make their
choices for local, state and
national offices. Early voting
starts Thursday and you can
also register and vote on the
same day at the Cleveland
County Board of Elections,
215 Patton Drive in Shelby.
In Kings Mountain, a
satellite office will open Oct.
25 and ends on the Saturday
before election day at Fam-
ily Worship Center, 1818
Shelby Road. The hours are
9-5 p.m. on weekdays and
on Oct..30 from 9-1 p.m.
A person must have a
valid ID to verify residence
in Cleveland County, be a
US citizen and 18 years old
by election day.
Interest locally is cen-
tered in the N. C. House 111
race between Tim Moore
and Mary Accor; the county
commission race where four
people are running for two
seats - Jason Falls and
Phillip Brafford Jr. (both Re-,
publicans) are challenging
the Democratic incumbents
Eddie Holbrook and Jo
Boggs; the Cleveland
See VOTE, 4A
Bus