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‘Wednesday December 14, 2011
The Kings Mountain Herald
a |
CC Manager David Dear accepts a crystal obelisk from Mayor Rick Murphrey ditiig: a
city council meeting Monday night.
ciation for his
nomic development roles.
Myer Rick Dui made the pres-
Tuesday:
Cleveland County Manager David
Dear was honored by City Council Mon-
. day night with a crystal obelisk in appre-
: “great partnership with
Kings Mountain” in helping to rebuild the
economic life of the county over his seven
year tenure as manager and his long serv-
ice of 34 years as an employee of the
county in other management and eco--
and jobs.
entation, applauding Dear for being the
«center of improving infrastructure for all |
of Cleveland County as he worked with all
municipalities for economic development
Dear took the occasion to thank the
mayor and Rep. Tim Moore for their role
in positive working relationships here in |
the city and the county and Moore’s role in
state government in pushing for economic
devslopment and Joss for all of the Soni
Dec. 13, “Tim Moore Day”
. FROM Page 1A
* select committee on Univer-
sity Board of Governors
- nominations and vice-chair-
man of the judiciary com-
mittee. He is a member of
the elections, environment,
finance, redistricting, public
utilities and on the House se-
~ lect committee on agricul-
tural regulations plus a
dozen other Bop vein
)
Rep. Tim Moore accepts a plage from Mayor Rick Murphrey declaring December 13, “Tim
> Moore Day.”
committee appointments in
the General Assembly.
The mayor said Moore
has worked hard to get legis-
lation passed for the protec-
tion of children with the
passage of the Jessica
Lunsford Act, a law to en-
sure citizens are able to iden-
tify sex offenders, by
introducing House Bill 219
Sex Offender Registry
amendments and introducing
Farm: cashes in on golden sun
~ FROM Page 1A
planted its rows. Strata Solar
of Chapel Hill handled the
engineering, procurement
and construction of the site,
Bednar said.
“One of the beautiful
things about solar is it does-
= n’t require a lot of ongoing
maintenance. It’s clean and
- it’s elegant in its simplicity,”
. said Bednar, who operates
out of Charlotte.
This new industry, which
requires no permanent on-
site staff to operate, moved
in without the need for
water, sewer or other utili-
ties, but it was awarded in-
centives from the county — a
break in taxes over 10 years.
However, Bednar esti-
mates the project brought
with it a $25 million invest-
~ ment to the county.
Touring the farm
On the tour, Bednar ex-
plained that there are two
types of solar farms, ones
with a tracking system that
moves the panels to catch the
most.sun and ones like this
one whose panels are fixed
in a permanent tilt.
“We basically modeled
this with simulation software
to determine, overall, what
will produce the most power
at the optimal time. And then
we basically fix it that way.
You're losing a little bit, but
you’re not-having to worry
about maintaining the mech-
anisms and the costs associ-
+ ated with building a system
that tracks. It’s a constant
battle in what’s the most eco-
nomic answer,” Bednar said.
“We face it south so that it
gets the sun the bulk of the
year.”
0 W
Torry; Freie Wendy, Susan, and Olivia
and championing House Bill
49 Laura’s Law to ensure
drunk drivers are punished to
the full extent of the law. -
Moore is a Kings Moun-
tain native, son of city coun-
cilman Rick and Jean
Moore, and married to the
former Julie McRae. They
have two sons and reside in
Kings Mountain where he is
a practicing attorney.
Page 7A
Local artist Jewel
Elliott, right, donated a
chainsaw-carved
mountain man (inset)
to the Southern Arts
Society Inc. The three-
foot-tall statue guards
the entrance to the
Kings Mountain Art
Center. SASI president
Bernice Chappell, left,
accepted the gift with
enthusiasm. Chainsaw
artist Brian Ackmon-
ster of New Jersey, one
of the nation’s top
chainsaw sculptors,
who can often be
found carving at the
Cleveland = County
{ Fair, made the piece
§ which was purchased
{ and donated by Elliott.
EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
Gem: of a Christmas gift
FROM Page 1A
mining company Martin Marietta, which has
donated much of the gravel to the Trails.
Both companies are also helping with the
history.
Brutko said that one sign will share his-
tory of the Revolutionary War Battle of
Kings Mountain in a scenic setting that over-
looks: the mountain in the distance. Another
sign will include the history of Kings Moun-
tain with a view of the city from the card
trail.
“This is a gift that’s long overdue,”
Brutko said, already beaming from a truly
merry Christmas.
The grant was sought through support
from the Cleveland County Chamber of
asked to
Commerce, Tour Cleveland County and
Haden Stanziale.
Anyone with photos, stories or informa-
tion on the area’s gem and mineral history is
email
sbrutko@carolina.rr.com
Shirley Brutko at
Corn: retires from City Council
FROM Page 1A
“I’ve enjoyed my service and wish Miller
and all the council the very best,
“I am just tickled to really enjoy retirement.”
Corn’s retirement this week makes the
second retirement for him during 40 years of
service with the City of Kings Mountain.
Corn was promoted through the ranks to the
high office of police chief in 2000 and served
for two years, ending 32 years as a Kings
Mountain policeman. A US Army veteran of
> said Corn.
grandchild.
the Vietnam War, he was drafted by Uncle
Sam in 1970 and returned to Kings Moun-
tain after two yedts of military service to re-
sume his service with law enforcement.
.Corn is married to Kathy Gettys Corn and
their family includes two daughters and their
families of five grandchildren and one great-
Carroll: arrested after foot chase
FROM Page 1A
without manufactures num-
bers GS 20-108 (A), posses-
sion of a stolen motor
vehicle GS 20-106 and chop
shop activity GS GS 14-
72.7 (A)(4).
While attempting to ar-
rest Carroll, he fled on foot
leading the police in a chase
which led to his arrest in the
Food Lion parking lot on
Shelby Rd. Carroll was then
transported to Kings Moun-
tain Hospital for injuries
sustained to his knee during
the chase.
After being treated and
And although sunlight is
key, Bednar said that the
panels should still produce
some energy even on a
cloudy or rainy day.
“The government has col-
lected weather data for years
so over time with that really
good data on what weather
does, we can simulate what
it’s going to do,” Bednar
said, banking on predictabil-
ity.
Each solar panel pro-
duces DC (Direct Current)
electricity, which is collected
by racks in four quadrants of
the farm. The electricity
travels underground to the
sector’s hub, where DC is
converted to AC (Alternating
Current) before it flows into
Duke’s existing lines.
Smart equipment, com-
puters and sensors in the sys-
tem help Birdseye monitor
released within an hour,
Carroll was transported to
the Kings Mountain Police
Department for processing.
He was then transferred
to’ the Cleveland County
Law Enforcement Center.
Last April, Carroll was
arrested and charged with
eight other Kings Mountain
men, facing more than 25
charges, combined, after the
Cleveland County Sheriff’s
Department busted an auto
theft “chop shop.”
This chop shop ring tar--
geted 1994 — 2002 Honda
Civics and Acura Integras
from Mecklenburg, Ruther-
ford and Catawba counties,
which ~ were. allegedly
brought back to Cleveland
County where thé vehicles
were then stripped for parts.
“The “chopped” parts were
either sold on-line or were
used to build new cars law
enforcement officers
branded as “Frankensteins.”
Carroll was charged with
larceny of motor vehicle,
two counts of chop shop ac-
tivity, two counts of posses-
sion of stolen motor vehicle
‘and two counts of posses-
sion of stolen goods and
property.
and pinpoint any trouble,
check on production and the-
weather.
In solar panel costs “we
have seen dramatic declines
over the last three to four
years, 30-40 percent a year,”
Bednar said. “Our plan is
that we’re going to become
more and more cost conipet-
itive. The strategy and the
paradigm of how solar
works is changing as the cost
drops and as the utilities fig-
ure out how to best use it.”
Cashing in on the gold
sun seems to be a golden
venture in the Old North
State. After the General As-
sembly passed Senate Bill 3,
which encouraged utilities to
incorporate more renewable
energy in 2007, the spread of
solar farms grew. -
“The result has been that
North Carolina was one of
the first in the country to do
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that and we have really been
building a strong industry
here,” Bednar said.
“The industry as a whole
really started in the US. It re-
ally blossomed out of the
space industry. This is the
same technology that we had
in the old calculator we had
in school,” he said, adding
that the technology has just
been “ramped up”.
The Kings Mountain
solar farm is the first Birds-
eye farm in operation, but
Bednar says he has a “pretty
full pipeline of upcoming
projects.”
Last Tuesday, Bednar
gave two South Carolina
senators and a representative
a tour of the solar farm. And
one day, maybe next spring,
sheep will have a tour as
they graze the grass around
the solar panels. (It will cut
back on maintenance costs.)
Modern Service,
healthcare provider.
hometown service
Harold's Weekly
Health Tip...
Holiday Joy can be difficult
It's a disappointing truth: Holiday cheer can be
difficult to come by for some. Even at the best
of times, the holidays are stressful --
there's an additiohal emotional burden, they can be especially difficult.
Here are some tips on finding joy during the holidays. Open Your Heart:
You're entitled to find some joy. Accept the Sadness: People think they
should be happy all the time, but that is an unrealistic expectation for
life, you have to experience the sadness to get past it. Let Go of Perfec-
tionism. Transform Old Traditions: Come up with creative ways to
make a new tradition to fit your new situation. Find joy in doing things in
a different way. Say ‘No’ if You Need To: Don't feel you have to take on
more than you can handle. Honor Your Loved One: Light a special can-
dle to celebrate someone you love. Create ornaments with a photograph.
Discover Small Joys: As the holidays unfold, tune into small joyful mo-
ments. Give yourself permission to find things that make you laugh.
A cautionary note: If it feels impossible to imagine the holiday as anything
but unbearable, you might be severely depressed, seek advice from a
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