A tree is split in front of Miracle Tabernacle Ministry Church, 610 E. Gold
St., after a storm ripped through Kings Mountain Tuesday morning. The
fallen limbs missed the church and the neighboring house.
Citizens
wake up to
outages,
damages
Duke Energy reported over
200,000 power outages in North
Carolina Tuesday morning after a
powerful storm swept through hs
area in the wee hours.’ ;
Lightning, hail, rain and strong
winds ripped up landscapes, lev-
eled some outbuildings, uprooted
trees, snapped power lines and
- caused several other damages.
Tracy Stewart of Grover awoke
to find her bedroom window blown
See STORM, 6A
Academic Awards at KM High
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
KMHS Principal Ronny Funderburke awards a National Honor Society stole to
a senior during the recent Academic Awards Ceremony in Barnes Auditorium.
See more awards, page 4A.
City signs new water customer
ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Kings Mountain City Council
inked a 10-year contract with Besse-
mer City last Tuesday, an agreement
which will make the neighboring city
Kings Mountain's largest water cus-
tomer.
"It's a win-win for everybody,"
Mayor Rick Murphrey said.
City Attorney Mickey Corry said
the contract calls for a rate of $2.83
See BESSEMER CITY, 7A
KM to host county Democratic
Classic Oe 5 & Interior Design Services !
146 West Mountain St., Kings Mountain
Ph. 704-730-8409 * Fax 704-730-8410
— County tell state:
‘Hands off budget’
State looks at cutting counties to settle debts,
county looks to state reps to protect them
a EMILY WEAVER
Editor
While the state armors up to
battle a $2.4 billion budget deficit
in July, public entities throughout
North Carolina are eyeing each
other'to see which one is going to
feel the brunt of the:blow. But the
state is looking at them, too. No
one seems to want to hold this
hot potato (a.k.a. the 2011
budget) for too long. Counties
could be in the hot seat. "The
Governor's Office has presented
a chart of 2009-10 county fund
balances to House and Senate
Appropriations chairs to illustrate
that counties have sufficient re-
serves on hand to withstand on-
going financial shifts of state re-,
sponsibilities to counties," said
David Thompson, executive di-
rector of the North Carolina As-
sociation of County
Commissioners, in a letter to
Cleveland County Commissioner
Ronnie Hawkins.
”It seems like the state has
budgetary problems that they
don't want to handle in-house.
They want the counties to handle
it if they have a surplus,”
Hawkins said. "If we were able
to-use any surplus, I would pre-
fer to help our own employees in
our own county instead of giving
money to the state to balance its
own budget.”
Passing the buck—or lack
thereof—onto counties like Cleve-
land, would be a mighty blow,
according to some commission-
ers. “On the chart, the Gover-
nor’s Office indicates that an 8
percent fund balance level is the
statutory set-aside required for
county fund balances,” Thomp-
son writes. -
But county commissioners
across the state argue that 8 per-
cent is the tipping point—the -
minimum they must maintain to
run on. Counties like Cleveland,
See COUNTY, 7A
When you wish upon a star...
ote
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Ethan Jenkins is pictured here with The Hoppers, one of his favorite Gospel | groups. He’s been to over 100
of their shows. L-r, Claude Hopper, Michael Hopper, Connie Hopper, Ethan, Kim Hopper, Dean Hopper.
EMILY WEAVER
‘Editor
Two wishes were granted in
Kings Mountain on the night of
March 17. The Hoppers, a fa-
mous Gospel group, came to ser-
enade a crowd gathered inside
the Family Worship Center.
To one it was a familiar wish
that had been granted before
though not so close to home. To
another it was a wish on a career,
stoked by passion, coming into
bloom.
It was the first time Gabriel
Thomas, 21, was promoting a
concert of this magnitude for a
band nationally known. To bring
a “big name Gospel group” so
close to his hometown of Grover
was a big goal worthy of an even
ZZ
larger check mark.
He has been a fan of Gospel
music since the age of five. The
Hoppers were big on his fan list.
Their tour bus rolled up about 6
p.m. A crowd of spectators had
formed a line outside the church
by 7. The concert was on. The
stage was set. The crowd was
ready. A wish was coming true. |
“l was nervous at first, but:
things are working out,” Thomas
said, inside the church before the
concert started. “I’m just looking
for God to show up and show.
out.”
He was there. Ethan Jenkins
felt it just like he has so many
times in his blessed life — a life
. doctors never guaranteed he’d
have. Born with DiGeorge syn-
See WISH, 7A
Be a link in the Thread
convention for first time at J oy
The annual convention of
Cleveland County Democ-
rats will be held Saturday
morning at Joy Performance
Center, Railroad Avenue i in
Kings Mountain.
Chairman Bobby Rauf
said this'is the first time the
convention has been held in
Kings Mountain and he an-
ticipates a large crowd.
98525700200
PANT Tee
Banks Trust
Business of the meeting
will include election of exec-
utive committee officers,
members and alternates to
state committees and a vote
on resolutions proposed by
committees.
Registration begins at 9
a.m: and refreshments will
be served. The business
meeting gets underway at 10
a.m. and a feature of the con-
vention will be an auction of
baked goods,
items, potted plants, and va-
cation : packages, among
other things.
The Joy is readying for
the event with red, white and
blue decor on the stage area.
urday, April 16 at the walking track near the Kings
decorative
Firehouse Cookoff
Ideas for a new path that would connect Moss Lake to the
Gateway Trails, as part of the Carolina Thread Trail project,
are being carved out. City of Kings Mountain officials are
kicks off April 15
Get fired up for the 15th Annual Kings Mountain
Firehouse Cook-Off slated for Friday, April 15 and Sat-
finally paved.
Mountain Family YMCA on Cleveland Ave..
There are 51 teams signed up to compete in the
cook-off and about half of the teams are local (within
a 30-mile radius of Kings Mountain), according to
Kings Mountain Fire Chief Frank Burns. Teams are
coming from as far away as Florida, Ohio, Tennessee,
Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia for this year’s
competition.
Gates.
See BBQ COOKOFF, 7A
Ro
Building Trust. Building Smiles
hoping to hear from the public before this “ground work” is
Officials are urging citizens to “help shape the future of
greenways and trails in our community.”
A greenway master plan public open house will be held
from 4:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, in the lobby of
Kings Mountain City Hall, 101 W. Gold St.
“Citizens of Kings Mountain and Cleveland County are
invited to provide input on the draft route and implementa-
tion for the Kings Mountain Carolina Thread Trail,” accord-
ing to Carglina Thread Trail Community Coordinator Randi
“Participants will be able to view and note their sugges-
tions on the draft map of the proposed trails and provide feed-
See CITY, 6A
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ¢ 704.739.5411
www.alliancebanknc.com . memser mic