Volume 123 Issue 38 » Wednesday, September 14, 2011
‘Undelivered cartoon maps lead man to prison
EMILY WEAVER
Editor
membered talking to Cook.
“He was a very clean-cut, well-spoken,
very nice young man,” she said.
He seemed trustworthy, she added.
Cook reportedly traveled to several Kings
Mountain merchants, promising to put them
“on the map”. It was unknown as of press .
time how much money he accepted from KM
businesses, which failed to see a return on
their investment.
See CARTOON MAPS, 6A
fold-out cartoon map to businesses in Kings
Mountain a few years ago. But the date the
maps were to be delivered came and went. A
year later, two years later, three years later —
still no maps. ;
Calls of inquiring businesses allegedly
reaped responses like the maps are in the
mail or will be delivered soon. But the City
of Kings Mountain, which purchased an ad-
vertisement for $500, never saw the map that
was promised.
Shirley Brutko, director of the Chamber
of Commerce office in Kings Mountain, re-
United We Stand
Cartoon maps, also known as
pictorial maps, have been around &
for centuries and depict cities and ny
sometimes even entire continents
with illustrations of buildings,
people and animals. Often found in
visitor information centers and in
travel brochures, these maps high-
light destinations with carica-
tures. :
Dremiel Byers
A salesman, who allegedly failed to keep
his promises to businesses in Kings Moun-
tain and across the state, is now behind bars.
Home & Town Design’s Charles “Chuck”
Cook of Greenville, SC, was sentenced in-
side a Wake County courtroom on Friday to
serve 16-20 months in prison. He was found
guilty of obtaining property by false pre-
tenses.
Cook allegedly sold advertisements for a
bythe rules
ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Be consistent in how you treat candi-
dates in the schools, Supt. Dr. Bruce
Boyles told 24 principals following con-
cerns raised Mon-
day night to the §
Board of Education
by Danny Blanton |
of
Springs, one of a
dozen people run- |
ning Nov. 8 for five
open seats on the
school board.
is that everyone be
21
Patterson
"All I am asking
Danny Blanton
treated alike," said i :
Blanton, who said he was turned away at
of 24 schools when he inquired about
placing campaign flyers in teacher mail-
boxes after he was given permission by
the superintendent.
Dr. Boyles said he wrote’ a letter to all
local candidates, not just for school board,
about the board's policies concerning
campaigning in schools. However, some
candidates had already been in schools
before receiving the letter. -
Blanton said he received a letter from
+ the superintendent under date of Aug. 25.
He said he called Dr. Boyles and related
to him that other candidates had been in
the schools and at school functions dis-
tributing campaign materials. Dr. Boyles
gave him approval for putting flyers in
teacher mailboxes but with no contact
with staff since policy prohibited politi-
cal activity during an employee's working
hours. "I placed no materials in teacher
mailboxes nor at meetings," said Blanton.
"What's right for one should be right
for another, I'm addressing the board
about fairness. We've got a set of rules
and we need to stick by them; if they are
changed we need to know about it."
Blanton also told the board that his
campaign signs had been pulled up.
"This is not the audience for that dis-
cussion," said Board Chairman Tommy
Greene, "I take offense at your insinua-
tion that one on this board tampered with
your signs." :
Blanton reiterated that he was not ac-
cusing anyone nor calling any names.
Member George Litton noted that
school board policy 2410 sets out policy
on
on
use of facilities and 5190 sets policy
employees. "We have to go by those
policies," Litton said.
Greene, who is not among the incum-
bents running for re-election in Novem-
ber, said that in his opinion mailboxes in
school work rooms should be secure en-
vironments and protected just like the
U.S. Post Office. He took issue that any-
one may interrupt school system opera-
tions by distributing information in work
rooms. He added, "I would not allow this
at my place of business (Cleveland Com-
munity College)."
See BLANTON, 6A
JIL
898525700200
= WS
Banks Trust
photo by ELLIS NOELL
More than 500 meet
to remember 9/11
= ELIZABETH STEWART
i. lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Over 500 people gathered at the
Kings Mountain National Guard
Armory Sunday afternoon to re-
member the fallen heroes of Sept.
11, 2001 and to honor the living
who keep us safe.
"We honor those today who
gave so much and there's no better
way than to spend time with the
family of the 878th Engineers of the
NC National Guard who protect
us," said Captain Scott Browne,
company commander.
See LARGE CROWD, 6A
. ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Carson Upton, 7, and her brother,
Nash Bachman, 6, have been taught
about the flag as the face of freedom
since they were born.
Their father, Ken Bachman,
serves in the 878th Engineer Com-
pany, North Carolina National
Guard. The whole family turned out
Sunday afternoon for the City of
Kings Mountain-sponsored Patriots
Day at the National Guard Armory.
Ken and Misty Bachman were
among more than 150 soldier fami-
lies who gathered for the Guard's
Family Day, a celebration which co-
LIB STEWART/HERALD
Carson Upton, 7, waves a flag on Pa-
triot’s Day. :
now
flag as ‘face of freedom’
incided with the community-wide
commemorative service on the 10th
anniversary of the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001.
There were many children in the
crowd who waved their small Amer-
ican flags and saluted with their
hands over their hearts as they
watched their fathers in ‘Guard uni-
form stand at attention. The parade
of uniformed firefighters, police,
first responders and law enforce-
ment agencies including the county
sheriff's department and highway
patrol ushered solemnly in a proces-
sion led by piper Jane Gulden.
See FAMILIES, 3A
J taxes.
wrestling
for World title
Kings Mountain’s Dremiel
“Bam” Byers was scheduled to | &
wrestle in the 2011 World Wresting
Championship late Tuesday in Is-
tanbul, Turkey.
Byers, who wrestles for the U.S.
Army team in Colorado Springs,
CO won the World championship in
2002. He was scheduled to face last
year’s World bronze medalist Nur-
makhan Tinaliyev of Kazakhstan in
the first round.
Byers, who won the NCHSAA :
state championship his senior year at Kings Mountain
Dremiel Byers
. High, has won three World Championships and numer-
ous U.S. titles, and competed in the 2008 Olympics.
Byers hopes to represent the U.S. again in the 2012
Olympics.
Wells windfall
a nasty scam
A check for $3,550'inther mailbox was too good to be
true for a Kings Mountain woman.
It was a scam, Kings Mountain Police told Peggy
Cline Wells. : ;
Mrs. Wells said the check came with an award claim
notification but required a check from her for $2400 for
"I took the letter about my windfall and the check to
the police department and Chief Melvin Proctor called
the telephone numbers on the letter and there was no an-
swer," said Mrs. Wells who wants to encourage others
who may receive similar letters to share that correspon-
dence with police.
Schools
Enrollment
down, but off
to good year
School enrollment is down slightly from last year but
overall students and staff are off to a good year. This was
the report of Supt. Dr. Bruce Boyles to the Cleveland
County Board of Education Monday night.
"One of the negatives is dealing with class size and
the loss of state funds but during my: visit to all the
schools in the past two weeks I have seen many good
things happening in education," said Boyles.
Boyles added the decline in birth rates since 2002 has
impacted the kindergarten enrollment.
"This has been a busy summer," said Boyles, noting
that three schools moved. The new Shelby Middle School
opened to students this fall and dedication ceremonies
will be held Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. 3
Board members Shearra Miller and Philip Glover re-
. ported glowing remarks from teachers and students about
new school locations and assignments. "Some of our
teachers were fearful of moving - teaching lower grades
and going to new locations, now they say they love the
opportunity," says Miller.
a
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