Sides decides not to run for
Legion Post 155 plans
for birthday bash, 3A
“Grover mayor this year, 3A
Volume 123 « Issue 10 « Wednesday, March 9; 2071
*14l
AIONT
50¢
Classic Gifs @ Interior Dosis Services
146 West Mountain St., Kings Mountain
Ph. 704-730-8409 © Fax 704-730-8410
Gun, knife Pickle dealer to occupy spec
Heo 0 building, gets ‘deal’ on taxes
WE Mountain Police reported two
incidents of elementary students taking
“weapons other than firearms to school”
during the past two weeks. |
At East Elementary a child took a col-
lectible pocket knife allegedly no lager
than a :
large-
sized @&
paper
clip to
school.
. At West Elemen-
tary School a child took an
“air-soft” pistol which is
similar to a BB gun, accord-
ing to police.
The Cleveland County School’s Code
of Conduct provision on the “possession
of weapons other than firearms” reads:
“Students enrolled in Cleveland County
Schools should expect to attend school in
an environment free from all weapons.
Students shall not possess, handle, trans-
mit, or bring on to school property any
items including, but not limited to, knife,
BB gun, air rifle, air pistol, sling shot,
blackjack, dirk, dagger, bludgeon, bowie
knife, switchblade, leaded cane, stun gun,
or other electronic shock weapon, pepper
spray, razors and razor blades, or any
sharp-pointed or edged instrument, or
facsimile or other item that could be con-
sidered a weapon or dangerous instru-
ment. This policy should not apply to
instructional supplies, unaltered nail files,
clips, or tools used solely for preparation
of food, instruction or maintenance.”
For a first offense a student is sus-
pended for five days; second offense car-
See STUDENTS, 7A
Emergency
room wait
times online
How long is the wait going to be in the
emergency room? In the words of Apple,
“There’s an ‘app’ for that.”
Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS)
emergency departments in Cleveland,
Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and
Union counties have become the first in
the Charlotte area to publish average wait
times to help patients seeking emergency
care. The times are now available on the
facilities’ web sites, Internet-enabled
wireless devices and via telephone.
“The information can help patients de-
cide which facility will be able to serve
them most quickly, keeping in mind that
a critically-ill or injured patient will al-
ways be seen first,” said Brad Watling,
MD, an emergency physician at CMC-
Mercy. “This information is especially
helpful in a large healthcare system like
ours because patients have a number of
CHS facilities where they can receive
emergency care. All of these locations
provide outstanding care.”
The following eleven facilities are
now providing wait-time information on-
line:
Kings Mountain Hospital, Cleveland
Regional Medical Center, Carolinas Med-
ical Center, Levine Children’s Hospital,
CMC-Steele Creek, CMC-Union, CMC-
NorthEast, CMC-Lincoln, CMC-Metcy,
CMC-Pineville, and CMC-University.
Each facility’s web site displays the
current wait time for its emergency de-
partment, which is updated every 15 min-
utes. Clicking on the icon also reveals
See TIMING APP; 7A
98525"00200
ANI IRT ee
Banks Trust
.. have its first tenant.
Chris -Wilson’s mother,
Kathrine Green Wilson, 72, of
809 Monroe Ave., had been miss-
ing 10 days and the Kings Moun-
tain man was worried. But on
Tuesday night she returned home
simply saying “I’ve been in a
hospital.” :
Wilson filed a missing per-
son’s report March 4 at 1:34 p.m.
with the Kings Mountain Police
Department.
Mrs. Wilson suffers from a
paranoid delusional disorder, ac-
cording to her son. She stopped
Mom was missing
Now she’s home
day night. She dropped by the
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer !
‘A pickle distribution company with as
many as 75 new jobs may be coming to
what is familiarly called the Johnson De-
velopment spec building, built in late 2005
along I-85 South and Woodlake Parkway in
Kings Mountain. It has never been occu-
pied.
CB Richard Ellis Realty. Trust has
signed a long-term lease agreement with
KYRA ALEXANDER/HERALD
Activity was stirring at the Johnson Development spec huilding (next to Firestone) on Tues-
day. The building has been empty since it was constructed six years ago, but may soon
Mrs. Wilson left home about 7
p.m. on Feb. 25 and returned on
Feb. 26 at 2 a.m. and went to her
bedroom and worked on cross-
word puzzles.
He said about 7 a.m. he went
to check on her and found she
had left with her purse and car.
She took no clothes with her, he
said.’ ,
A worried Chris was glad to
see his mom return home Tues-
Kings Mountain Police Depart-
ment to let everyone know she
taking medication about a year
ago. She left home early morning
Feb. 26 driving a red 2006
Chrysler PT Cruiser.
Although Mrs. Wilson has
been away from home a couple
times before, Chris says she has
never stayed away as long and on
Monday evening he was growing
more concerned. He said that
was home safely.
debt.
Bay Valley Foods for the 542,000 square
foot warehouse property and announced
ll this week in a press release that Bay Valley
| Foods will occupy'the entire building be-
ginning May 2011.
County commissioners were still mum
about the project, code-named “Project
Deal”, because they said announcing its
identity could jeopardize the deal. :
Commissioners last “Tuesday night
okayed an incentive agreement, a 40 per-
See PROJECT DEAL, 7A
Denial
denied
State program offers health
insurance to the ‘uninsurable’
By EMILY WEAVER
Editor
You've lost your Tob You’ve lost your income. And
chances are, if it hasn’t happened yet, you’ll likely lose
your health insurance - that little bit of protection that
keeps any sudden health impairment from putting you in
It happened to one of Suzanne Amos’ clients. Amos,
who is an insurance broker and owner of The Amos
Agency, said that she recently met with a young man in
Rutherford County. The company he worked for decided
to outsource labor to Mexico. He lost his job and because
he has what the insurance industry calls an “uninsurable
condition”, he has been denied access to most individual
coverage policies.
. Amos was able to find him access to coverage through
See STATEWIDE, 6A
Unsung heroes to have their day. . . finally
By ELIZABETH STEWART
Staff writer
Nobody thanked Sgt. Major Abraham Ruff
for his service as a Green Beret for America in
Vietnam in 1967-68.
Setting up a military display in Gaston
County the Kings Mountain man was con-
fronted by angry students and a teacher who
poured red ketchup on his uniform and called
him a “baby killer.“ He was treated as the
enemy and shocked at the way Vietnam vets
were treated.
Ruff retired from the military after 20
years in 1980 but it was 2001 before he heard
the words, “I want to thank you. I hope it isn’t
too late.”
Ruff, who always signs his correspondence
and responds to greeters as “always fantastic,”
said his love of country and his keen sense of’
humor dispelled the treatment he, like other
‘Vietnam vets, found on their arrival home
»
from Vietnam. He was a survivor.
Abe’s Vietnam service included duties as
a Special Forces Heavy Weapons Sergeant at
a Special Forces “A” Team camp located at
Phuc Tuc II Corp, VN. The camp was staffed
with 12 US Special Forces'and a battalion of
the Vietnam Montagnard Tribe responsible for
area security. Ruff was responsible for camp
security and on his'watch no VC were able to
penetrate camp security. Halfway through his
tour he was transferred to the II Corp Mike
Force which ran long range patrols and acted
as a quick reaction force for any Special
Forces Camp that was attacked. It was during
one of those missions that the VC had almost
overrun a Special Forces camp and the Mike
Force was called to push them back. A mortar
round landed near Ruff and injured his head,
right arm and back.
The War exacted a huge human cost in
terms of fatalities, among the thousands dead:
58,200 American servicemen.
The Vietnam War - “No event in American
history was more misreported then, and it is
misremembered now.’
> «= Richard M. Nixon, 1 985
Senator Richard Burr (NC) wants to change
that with a special day of “welcome home”
March 30, 2011.
CL
SGT. MAJOR ABE RUFF
Abe broke his leg during a classified mis-
sion to Iran in 1971. He was operated on by
the chief Iranian surgeon and spent several
weeks in the Iranian hospital. The doctor and
one nurse were the only English speaking
people in the hospital. Abe said the sanitation
was much to be desired. He returned to Iran
in 1973 as the senior NCO in charge of an-
other classified mission to the country. It was
after that second secret mission that he hitch-
See VIETNAM, 7A
Building Trust. Building Smiles,
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ¢ 704.739.5411
www.alliancebanknc.com « memser mic