County
crunches
numbers for
2011 budget
CASAR - County ‘com-
missioners were taking their
first look at a proposed
county. budget Tuesday
night at Casar Volunteer
Fire Department.
The county tax rate of 72
cents per $100 valuation
was expected to remain the
same for fiscal year 2011-
2012. -
“In the 11 years I have
been on the board I have not
seen an increase in the tax
rate,” Vice Chairman Ron-
nie Hawkins said before the
meeting.
The proposed budget
presented by County Man-
ager David Dear will re-
main on the table for 30
days prior to final adoption
before June 30.
Kevin Lisska finishes 1st in last
year’s OTM.
New race to walk again after
course to bout with bacteria
highlight
triathlon
Saturday |
For the 12th year, the
City of Kings Mountain will
host the Over the Mountain
Triathlon on May 21. Part of
the North Carolina Triathlon
Series (NCTS), this award
winning triathlon will bring
in over 500 triathletes and
their families to Kings
Mountain. The race con-
sists of a one-mile swim,
point to point, at Moss
Lake; a 30-mile bike race
through four counties and
two states; and finishes
with a 6.2-mile foot race on
the downtown streets in
Kings Mountain.
The race has been
‘ranked #1 Olympic length
by the readers of En-
durance magazine and
rated #1 bike portion, #2
swim portion and #14 in the
run portion by NCTS mem-
bers.
“The run portion has
been. our weakest link and
we have redesigned that
portion to make this one of
the very best triathlons in
our region,” stated Ellis
See TRIATHLON, 7A
98525700200
ANTE:
PPT
Grayson
to retire,
of KMHS
athletics
EMILY WEAVER
Editor
In the 13 years Kings Mountain has hosted
an American Cancer Society Relay for Life,
Betty Cash hardly missed a day. She was
proud to take up arms in the fight against can-
cer — a monstrous disease that first attacked
her in 1995. She walked each survivor lap
with gusto and pride. . .until this year.
This year, her daughters and granddaugh-
ters walked for her. Cash no longer needs. to
walk. With her last breath on March 2nd, she
traded in her worn and battered walking shoes
for the trip of a lifetime — to Heaven, where
cancer hurts no one. :
But on earth, that isn’t the case. Cancer af-
fects about one in two men and one in three
women every year, slaughtering thousands
and bringing tears to the eyes and pains to the
~ hearts of millions.
Thirty-six teams have been raising money.
in Kings Mountain, this year, in the hope to
find a cure.
See RELAY, 7A
“ SPORTS 1B
Morehead
to take lead
ci ot re oo ts tt it Cn ot
Ny
MOREHEAD
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
Robin Cash Knight, Taylor Farris and Marlene Cash Reynolds, left to right, light a purple tiki
Bodybuilder learns
Dr. Donald Miller, left, and his patient, Steve
Freeman, during a physical therapy session.
Mysterious fire leads KMFD to call in SBI-
ELIZABETH STEWART
Hib. kmherald@gmail. com
GROVER - Steve Free-
man, 69, was diagnosed with
a “super bug” two years ago
that almost was a death sen-
tence.
Once the picture of a
healthy 260 pound athlete
lifting 1,000 pound weights,
he is beating the odds, after
a struggle with a life-threat-
ening infectious = disease
(MRSA) that debilitated his
body.
“By the grace of God I
learned to walk again,” said
Steve who reports regularly
for rehab to Dr. Donald
Miller in Shelby and to
Kings Mountain Family
YMCA, using a cane at
times for support. He now
drives his truck, something
he couldn’t do for many
months.
Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus
See BACTERIA, 6A
Firemen responded to a house
fire on Silver Street early Friday
morning. Chief Frank Burns said
the vacant house was fully engulfed
by flames when firemen arrived at
the scene. The fire is being investi-
gated as suspected arson.
ce
aureus
torch in honor of their mother and grandmother Betty Cash, who passed away in March from
cancer.
\
Parting is Sweet Sorrow
Health forces
White to retire
after 35 years
Raeford White has worn
a uniform, first that of an
Army soldier in Vietnam and
then that of a law enforce-
ment officer with the Kings
Mountain Police Depart-
ment, for 36 years. On Fri-
day afternoon (May 6) the
department threw him a re-
tirement party.
On April 22nd, he hung
up his uniform and turned in
his badge. He reluctantly
said “goodbye”.
“I appreciate these 35
years [’ve had at this depart-
ment. I’m gonna miss every
‘one of you,” he told officers
and well-wishers filling a
training room inside the po-
lice station May 6. “This is
the worst thing to happen,
but I realize it’s time to go.”
White suffers from
* Parkinson’s disease, an in-
fliction he has linked to his
time in Vietnam and the after
effects of Agent Orange. For
months, he’s calmed the in-
fliction’s sudden tremors
with medications, but the
pills aren’t working as well
as they used to. Doctors have
* urged him to retire. That’s a
hard prescription to follow
for a man, who has devoted
so much of his life to service,
not just to his city and coun-
try, but to his God.
Working with local mis-
sionaries, White has helped
smuggle over 600 New Tes-
tament Bibles into commu-
nist Vietnam in three trips
over the past 10 years. Chris-
stianity, more prevalent in un-
derground networks, has
crept into the country since
the Vietnam War. It’s crept in
- a little faster with the help of
missionaries like White.
Transporting Bibles into,
Vietnam is not allowed,
White said.
They’ve rolled the Good
Books in with their'clothing,
stuffed in Ziploc bags
marked “Jeans” or “Shirts”,
packed in suitcases. He’s
watched custom officials
take a closer look at their
clothing packages, but never
close. enough to see the
Bibles they were hiding.
See WHITE, 6A
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
KMPD Chief Melvin Proctor (in background) says a few words
honoring Raeford White, right, who sits with his wife Shirley
White and grandson Christopher White.
THR
Building Trust. Building Smiles.
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ¢ 704.739.5411
www.alliancebanknc.com o MEMBER FDIC