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Volume 123» ° Issue 1e Wednesday, January 5, 2011...
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CITY GOALS 2011
KM first
in state
for fiber
optics?
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
Kings Mountain could be the first
city in the state in 2011 to test fiber
optics in a residential area.
Mayor Rick Murphrey said city
council is considering a contract with
RST Conmimunications to test one res-
idential area of the city eyeing such
benefits as smart meter, smart grid,
enhanced security systems and faster
internet service.
He made the remarks as he talked
about city goals for New Year 2011.
RST Communications is currently
installing miles of the state-of-the-art
fiber network underground through-
out Cleveland County, a move that
could make the county a high tech
hub, good for the economy in energy
savings and also benefit prospective
data centers looking at Southwest
Kings Mountain.
Dan Limerick, owner of RST
Communications, said that it could
make the area the envy of the state,
and possibly nation, when it comes to
broadband capabilities.
The fiber optics network could one
day provide ultimate broadcast serv-
ices for cable television and Internet
with ultra high-speed connectivity. It
could offer telemedicine through
which patients will be able to visit a
remote doctor without leaving their
homes. With features like Voice Over
the Internet Protocol (VOIP), it could
convert the human voice into a digital
sound that can travel over the Inter-
net. *
Looking ahead at New Year 2011,
the mayor said that the city will pay
off its electric bonds and continue in-
frastructure upgrades on a “pay we
we go” schedule. The electrical infra-
structure on Gold Street in one of the
oldest sections in town will be up-
graded with new poles, wiring and
other new equipment. Phenix Street is
also targeted for new infrastructure.
He said the city is completing negoti-
ations with Duke Energy to purchase
the electrical infrastructure at the
city’s booster pump station on US 74
Business saving energy costs and
serving the facility with its own elec-
trical distribution. He said the added
savings will be used to buy a genera-
tor.
A new 36-inch water line from
Moss Lake to Kings Mountain has
been high priority for several years
for Kings Mountain City Council and
a project that could top $25-$30 mil-
lion. The year 2011 will see a review
of the route, an environmental assess-
ment of the proposed route in accor-
dance with USDA Rural
Development Administration, prepa-
See CITY, 6A
98525700200"
Last stop for train shop
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
Shattered glass trailed inside Chuga-Chuga Choo-Choo Hobbies
shop Thursday morning after the fourth break-in at the place in less
than a year.
Rash of thefts
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
Rev. James Robinson was
met with a startling discovery
Thursday morning as he walked
up to his Chuga-Chuga Choo-
Choo Hobbies shop near his
home off of NC-216. A bay win-
dow on the front of the store
was busted in. The glass in the
front door: was shattered
through. Someone had broken
in..again.
For the past three Wednesday
nights, when the Robinsons
would normally be at church,
seals shop’s fate
vandals and thieves have struck
the place. There have been a
string of burglaries at the shop
since the Gaston County Codes
Department advised the electric
company to shut off the store’s
power after the property was
found to be in violation of zon-:
ing laws, according to Robin-
son.
After 33 years of business,
this last attack came as a decid-
ing factor. The Robinsons are
closing the store.
The first big break-in oc-
curred in September mere days
See HOBBY SHOP, 4A
Woman with Vimited
Schools face
GAPING HO\:
in ‘11 budget
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
With eyes and ears turned to Raleigh,
schools wait for the guillotine blade to fall
without knowing what part of them will be
placed on the chopping block. Whether they or
the state decide, this cut is going to hurt.
Cleveland County Schools is not just facing
a probable 10 percent ($8.5 million) cut in
funding from the state, but also a lack of $4
million in stimulus funds from the fed-
+ eral government and a possible. tight
squeeze from local funding through the
county.
Class sizes will grow. The nurhber
of teachers will shrink. But the exact
list of casualties will not be determined
until the budget battle ends.
With cuts just from the state, the
North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction predicts “teacher layoffs,
larger class sizes, fewer courses and
less help for struggling students”. A 10
percent reduction equates to a loss of
about $1.1 billion in education.
“That would be the equivalent of
(closing) seven Cleveland County
school districts across the state,” said
Supt. Dr. Bruce Boyles. “You can’t
work around those kinds of cuts.”
For Cleveland County, this budget
battle may cost the jobs of 45 to 76
teachers and may demolish up to 195
DR. BRUCE BOYLES
1 RG Tl
[1 Saving where we
can :
1 Capital projects
(3 Old buildings,
new uses
3 In the classroom
~ O You tell ME what
to cut
3 Tough times for
Old North State
(1 The signs were
there
(3 Budget breakdown
teacher assistants. — more than half of the 348 the district employs.
(Some teacher assistants may see a reduction in hours rather than a
loss of jobs.)
CCS may lose up to nine workers who provide instructional sup-
port; the equivalent of four assistant principals; and, 56 months of
Career Technical Education. The district could lose more than that if
its Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Funding goes away, which
would slice 20 percent or 200 teachers from its payroll.
But for now, these dire predictions of who goes, who stays is just
talk at the state level and school districts are listening with their ears
to the wall.
“We just have to wait and see what they do, but I can’t imagine
any scenario this year where we would not have some personnel
cuts,” Boyles said.
See SCHOOLS, 3A
vision seeks service dog
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
All June Smolick wanted for Christ-
mas was a service dog to call her own.
She has been hunting one for months.
With no peripheral vision, a guide dog
would help her stay independent and
cross’ streets safely in her motorized
wheelchair. She hasn’t found one yet,
but hope remains for the New Year.
This retired caregiver, who worked
many years helping handicapped and
elderly clients, must now look to others
for help. She gets assistance in daily
household chores through the Commu-
nity Alternative Program for Disabled
Adults offered at Cleveland Regional
" Medical Center’s Care Solutions.
If she can’t get somewhere in her
motorized wheelchair, she gets a lift
from the TACC (Transportation Author-
AN RYT
Banks Trust
ity of Cleveland County) van. With the
help of a caring public, Smolick is able
to stay active and remain independent.
But being independent can also be
lonely. Her eyesight just isn’t what it
used to be. Tunnel vision has seen to
that. And squatting down to pick things
up is easier for someone who isn’t using
a walker.
Smolick knows there is a asolntion A
service dog would not only brighten her
day and keep her company, it would
alert her to things she has trouble seeing
and fetch items she has trouble reach-
ing. She has been an animal lover her
entire life.
The smallest dog she has ever had
was a Cocker Spaniel. She’s had Shep-
herds, Boxers and what she lovingly
refers to as “Heinz 57 breeds” — a mix of
dogs that are just as sweet.
See SERVICE DOG, 4A
June Smolick looks to new year with hope of having a serv-
ice dog to call her own.
TR TD
Building Trust. Building Smiles,
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ¢ 704.739.5411
www.alliancebanknc.com - memper mic