i
Kings
Four incumbents file, one decides to leave
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
Mayor Rick Murphrey goes over the new Kings Mountain voting wards (post-
redistricting) with Debra Blanton director of the Cleveland County Board of
Elections.
(3 RRRREIEIR AR RT LOT®XC 003
=] 2 QO24/00 af 35
tRARY
Volume 123 « Issue 30 ¢ » Wednesday, July 27, 2011
more years at city hall.
discretionary "time out".
Ward V - filed Monday for four
The fourth incumbent council-
man - At-large commissioner
Houston Corn, is "walking away,"
he said, adding that he's ready for
Corn, who is completing his
50¢
146 West Mountain St, Kings Mountain
Ph. 704-730-8409 » Fax 704-730-8410.
Mayor eighth year on
Rick Mur- council, re-
phrey and tired as Chief
three incum- of Police in
bent city 2002. He says
councilmen - he's enjoyed
Howard his service on
Shipp, Ward the board but
I, © Rodney he's ready to
Gordon, enjoy grand-
Ward IV, and children.
Rick Moore, GORDON Murphrey MoogE
pro tem.
is running for his sixth term in the
mayor's chair - a total of 18 years
in city government. He previously
served six years as a council mem-
ber, four of those years as mayor
the mayor. In
a filing state-
ment he said, [E
"One of my [i
primary goals
is and will
continue to
be to position
our city to at-
tract new in-
dustry and
jobs. Our lo-
cation, maintaining competitive
tax and utility rates, safe streets,
productive workforce and a qual-
ity family oriented lifestyle makes
Kings Mountain a wonderful place
to work and live."
~ SHIPP'
"I want to thank our citizens for
the pleasure of serving them," said
See FILING, 4A
Prospective City fights for water
dri ivers face one man’s vision leads to passionate debates
tuition hike
Although motorists are now paying two cents extra for
fuel taxes in North Carolina, a restricted highway fund in the
state has fueled legislators to pass on an extra cost to teens
wanting to learn how to drive. ¢
Beginning this year, Cleveland County teens will have to
pay $38 to enroll in driver's education classes.
David Pless, Cleveland County Schools' director of trans-
portation, told the Board of Education Monday night that
these changes are trickling down from the state legislature.
"In the past, all monies from driver training have come
from the (state) highway fund," he said. "In the 2011-2012
budget, driver training funds were cut drastically and for the
first time students will be required to pay a fee to take driver
education."
"The General Assembly decided this year to allow local
boards of education to charge $45 to offset the costs of pro-
viding this training," he told the board.
"They decided to drastically cut the funding. Last year,
each student was funded at $236.31. This year they'll be
funded at $198.66. That's a difference of approximately $38
(per student)," Pless said. "We've decided to - for the first
time - charge students who take driver's ed."
The charge, he added, will cover the difference in funding
- $38. Speaking to transportation officials from other school
districts, Pless said, "Many other LEA's aré planning to
charge the full $45. We decided if we made last year on that
amount of funding then we can make it on that amount of
See STUDENTS, 6A
Clock is ticking
on debt ceiling
Failure to act may cause pain to
those on federal aid in county
- KYRA A. TURNER, EMILY WEAVER
kyra.kmherald@gmail.com
The clock is ticking as the White House stares down an
August 2nd deadline to raise the debt limit or face national
default.
“It’s a dangerous game we’ve never played before and we
can’t afford to play it now,” said President Barack Obama in
a national televised address Monday night. :
If Congressional Party members fail to sheath their
swords and reach a peaceful consensus about how to handle .
the nation’s debt, political pundits and economists predict a
capital calamity.
The president warned that if the nation loses its AAA
credit rating, interest rates on car loans, mortgages and credit
cards could sky-rocket; the stock market could take a dan-
gerous dip. But the aftermath of this financial fiasco could
also be felt in the purses of more than a quarter of Cleveland
* County residents depending on government aid.
Not only will this have an impact on our country but also
on our county.
In talking with the Social Security office and the Cleve-
land County Department of Social Services, it will have an
impact on the Food and Nutritional Services, the Medicaid
services, and Social Security services.
See CITIZENS, 6A
PT hail)
TEV Iles
Contributed 3 REG ALEXANDER
In this 1960s photo, the late John Henry Moss looks out on the site of what was soon to be Moss Lake.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Herald
looks: at the histery, current status
"and future of our water supply in this
four-part series.
Part 2 of 4
m ELIZABETH STEWART
= lib.kmherald@gmail.com
A person trained in the craft, had he
the knowledge, could fabricate an in-
teresting, intriguing and exciting novel
on Kings Mountain and water, final
chapters yet to be written.
In the early 1920’s drought-plagued
Kings Mountain spent $100,000 abor-
tively digging wells. In 1927-28 a pro-
Quenching Our Thirst for
WATER
A crystal clear stream gave birth'to a gold rush in
Kings Mountain. Now the water itself is gold and
Moss Lake is the gold mine. Over the next four
weeks we'll look at this potent resource and how
it affects how we work, play and live. This week...
The fight to realize one man's vision. Next week...
A rich source, indeed.
gressive city administration built the
Deal Street Filter Plant and York Road
reservoir over strident opposition that
found families split over water. The
1928 project, it was thought, would as-
sure Kings Mountain a potable water
supply for generations.
But 15 years later Kings Mountain
was in water crisis again. The recom-
mendation by engineers and the State
Board of Health was to go to Buffalo
Creek.
Long-term the professionals were
right. Opponents questioned the cost.
The City of Kings Mountain’s budget
in 1954 was less than a half million dol-
lars.
See MOSS LAKE, 6A
MPI unveils design plans for downtown walkways
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this four-
part series, The Herald is looking at
the Mountaineer Partnership’s De-
sign Committee’s proposals to re-
vamp the pedestrian spaces and
pocket parks that line the backs of
businesses from Gold Street to Wa-
chovia bank. Designs and ideas are
the results of input from many down-
town property owners, city leaders
and other professionals volunteering
on the MPI board. No plans have
been certifiably “set in stone”.
pe EMILY WEAVER
Editor
Mountaineer Partnership’s Design
Committee recently outlined its three
focus projects for improvements to
downtown pedestrian corridors.
A group of six panelists representing
a diversity of professionals unveiled its
plans at a well-attended Design Summit
on April 28.
The three focus projects cover three
phases of improvements to back alleys
running from Gold to King Street.
Chairman of the committee, architect
Ken Pfleiger, described the plans,
which include improvements to side-
walks, the addition of trees and potted
pergolas, screening walls, a revamped
Senior Citizens. Park (with a possible
covered walkway) and an “Artists’
Row”.
Plans also call for pedestrian-level
lighting, decorative archways, and a :
possible water wall in the Senior Citi-
zens Park beside Griffin’s Drug.
The design committee has worked
RT
Building Trust, Building Smiles,
« closely with city officials and munici-
pal service district property owners to
craft their plans. They hope to move
forward with city support and begin
‘renovations by the end of the year.
Building on recommendations from
the state’s Main Street Center, which
the city joined nearly two years ago;
panelists looked at ways to make down-
town alleyways and pocket parks more
pedestrian-friendly. Both are currently
considered to be “underutilized” in
downtown.
1 98525°00200°™1
See MPI, 6A
209 S. Battleground Ave., Kings Mountain ¢ 704.739.5411
www.alliancebanknc.com - memser mic