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January 18, 2012 The Kings Mountain Herald Page 7A RANGE: of monadnocks, a unique treasure in region and as old as Appalachians FROM Page 1 crustal collision between the European, African and North American continents "slammed a lot together", Cooke said, creating a range of mountains that were once more massive than the Hi- malayas. "It seems likely that rugged peaks rose to heights of as much as 30,000 feet. The tallest of those peaks were probably in the area of today's eastern Piedmont and Coastal Plain with lower mountains -and hills sloping away toward both east and - west," according to Fred Beyer in "North Carolina: The Years Before Man - A Geologic History". Centuries of erosion have worn them down to size. Today, the range of nearly a dozen peaks extends about three miles from southern Gaston and Cleveland coun- ties into York County, SC. Its highest peak, the Pinnacle at an elevation of 1,705 feet, marks the range's northern end. The mighty monadnocks once marked the boundary between the hunting lands of the Catawba and Cherokee Indians and a major trading route ‘of / the Cherokees crossed Crowders Mountain, according to the park. By 1775, the range and its surrounding area was home to thousands of settlers and in 1780, King's Moun- tain became a battlefield for American independence. The rich minerals found along the range have led to a miner's paradise throughout the years with a gold rush, pre-dating California's, and lithium-bearing spodumene, used today in transportation technology. , ""Geologically classified as kyanite-quartzite monad- nocks, only the strength of quartzite has allowed these pinnacles to withstand the wind, water and other forces that eroded less resistant peaks," according to the park. "Heat and pressure from the continental collision more than 300 million years ago changed the original - rocks of the Kings Mountain belt. The old sedimentary and volcanic rocks were metamorphosed into new rocks," according to an ex- hibit at Crowders Mountain State Park. Sandstone became a much sturdier quartzite. Shale morphed into phyllite or mica schist. Conglomer- ate sedimentary rocks (chemically cemented peb- ~ bles and sand) became meta- conglomerates. They are all Photo by ELLIS NOELL The peaks of the Kings Mountain Range appear in the distance of this photograph provided to The Herald by photographer Ellis Noell. unique creations of a series of geologic events that shaped the range we know today. Quartzite, one of the hardest rocks known to man, dominates the monadnock matter of the Pinnacle and Crowders Mountain in the Kings Mountain range. "Quartzite is composed almost entirely of quartz, making it extremely resistant to weathering and erosion," according to the park. It also seems to be resist- ant to the tools of man. Cooke remembers a time when excess rain was wash- ing out part of a trail at the park. To divert the flow, they decided to break off six inches of a quartzite rock. Not so easy. Using a jackhammer, Cooke said they "mush- roomed" about three carbide drill bits and got nowhere. They gali=d in a Bobcat ex- cavator, which finished the job, although its hydraulics were blown in the process. Another metamorphic rock in the range - kyanite - attracted the attention of miners in the 1960s. The story of Crowders Mountain State Park began with the threat of open-pit mining for kyanite. Local citizens outraged over the mining, urged the state to acquire the land and establish it as a state park, which officially opened to the public in 1974. The min- erals and metamorphic rocks and the story of their begin- nings are preserved at the park. Geologists suspect that millions of years of geologi- cal activity around the Pied- mont area with crusts fracturing, sediments melt- ing, magma erupting, land sliding and hot springs bub- bling all led to the formation of a complex region known as the "Kings Mountain Belt". "The belt is well-known for its variety of mineral re- sources including iron ore, lithium-bearing spodiimene, lead, gold, tin and lime in the form of marble," according to Beyer. And when you stand on the Pinnacle today, you're standing on the cross-section of layers of folded rock, once miles beneath the sur- face, that were thrust upward - remnants of that great col- lision. Cooke added that because of the collision of the three continental plates, rocks matching ones at the park: can be found as far off as Eu- rope and North Africa. Metamorphic rocks at Crowders Mountain State Park. SCHOOL: employees resign after audit highlights alleged FROM Page 1 external (outside) auditing firm. Finance Director = Dr. David Lee outlined, at the board's work session last Monday the Numerous pro-’ cedures in place for purchas- ing by cards, including the amount of expenditures in the school district that are made with their use. Lee said that last fiscal year total purchase orders, including warehouse orders issued, was approximately $17,000. Total expenditures by purchase order, excluding * capital outlay and child nu- trition, totaled $19,369,843, total expenditures by card was $986,193 and total ex- penditures by card, exclud- ing capital outlay and child nutrition, was $968,193. Lee said that just over 200 cards were in use at one time, the number is down to just over: 170. He justified the need for availability of a credit card when registering teachers for workshops so teachers won't have to pay out-of-pocket and wait for reimbursements. The school system has since revoked credit cards in the system's maintenance departments in Shelby: and Kings Mountain and indicated that the num- ber of credit cards available in the system will continue to decline. Analysis , of funding sources by. the state auditors for the school district deter- mined that the allegations were connected to local tax- payer funds, according to Wood in her letter to school officials. Wood said in her letter to Boyles that the investigation was the result of a complaint through the State Auditor's Hotline concerning inappro- priate activity by employees of Cleveland County Schools. It was alleged in the complaint that school district employees were using a school district procurement (credit) card to purchase items for personal use. It was also alleged that school dis- trict employees were misus- ing school district vehicles and equipment. To conduct the investiga- tion, the auditor said that the procedure was to review ap- plicable N.C. General statutes and school district policies and procedures; ex- amine relevant school dis- trict records and documents; and interview school district employees and management and individuals external to "the school district. The district has two Maintenance Plant Opera- tions Divisions; one located in Shelby and one'in Kings Mountain. Each division is managed by a director who reports to the assistant super- intendent for operations. The Shelby plant division has a staff of 21 employees while the Kings Mountain plant employs 18 with five em- ployees being shared by both offices. The report identified the Shelby division maintenance director as the person re- sponsible for authorizing personal purchases. State investigators sug- gested disciplinary action against the maintenance di- rector and a closer look at the way the school employ- ees spend money. The inves- tigative report said some maintenance department em- ployees used more than $2500 in local funds to buy food, clothes, flowers, a higher-end camera and car supplies for personal use and also deterntined that the school system utilizes over 200 credit cards. The investi- gators cautioned that while procurement card purchases require monthly approval by a department head, the wide- spread use and volume of transactions increases the risk that inappropriate trans- actions will be approved and paid. Every employee who received a credit card must sign an Employee Procure- ment Card User Agreement, which safeguards and pro- tects assets and taxpayers money, and further, the agreement requires that the user acknowledge that they cannot use the purchasing card for any illegal or per- sonal use, the investigators said. The agreement further denotes that improper use of this card may result in revo- cation of the card and disci- plinary action that may. include termination and legal action. The audit findings la- beled internal control defi- ciencies contributing to employee misuse of school district assets. Several school district officials and employ- ees told investigators that a prior unwritten practice al- lowed school district em- ployees to take school assets, such as tools and other equipment, home for per- sonal use as long as it was returned. A bucket truck and tractor were found on school prop- erty in late March or early April 2011. Neither vehicle was included on the school district's inventory listing, according to those inter- viewed by the auditors, pos- sibly due to an incomplete equipment inventory when the three school districts merged in 2004. ; An internal investigation . by school officials found that the bucket truck had been parked on land owned by Shelby maintenance me- chanic Hurdt for two years, who admitted he had trans- ported the bucket truck to his property to assist in clearing trees after an ice storm. However, he said the bucket truck had become in- operable and that he had been unable to repair the truck and return it to the school district. He returned the truck in April, according to the report. As a result of the internal investigation, the mainte- nance mechanic was placed on investigatory suspension, according to the report. He disputed the time the equip- ment was on his property. School district management could not determine where the tractor had been, who took it, or how it arrived on school district property. The report stated that the Shelby Plant Operations di- rector admitted authorizing the use of trailers to move an administrative assistant to a new residence and the pur- chase of a digital camera and providing it to others to use. The report emphasized that school district employ- ees did not comply with ex- isting policies and procedures regarding ade- quate documentation for payments, approval of ex- penditures, use of purchase orders, and submission of expense reports; including no receipts or invoices to support purchase of clothing in 2007. A review of the 39 "monthly transaction log" in the maintenance department for credit card forms submit- ted between July 2007 and March 2011 revealed that the employee "signature" line was either left blank or signed as "same." None were reviewed or approved by the Shelby Plant operations di- ly Healthy Weight Management via Cellular Body Nutrition Lose <> GA — Maintain N , Your Healthy Weight! y Call 704-730-1222 for defalls! Nutrition, Health & Wellness 130 W. Cold St, Kings Mountain www.my llifenutrition.com RTT SOSA TI (1 Complete Chiropractic ® 704-739. Dr . George Randall . 703 Wi King St, Kings Mountain, First Visit FREE* Includes consultation, examination & X-rays oy - Acupuncture - FREE* Consultation Offering needle and needleless Acupuncture! eorge Randall has been practicing Chiropractic in Kings Mountain since. ening his office in 1992. He has been practicing Acupuncture since 1996. 17776 NCE ys nd oe ve fulbacund. rector's supervisor, assistant superintendent for opera- tions, or any higher level of management. According to the state au- ditor's report, the unautho- rized purchases totaled $36,206.83. The audit report said that the Credit Card User Manual requires that the principal department head is responsi- ble for reviewing all charges and that the school district policy is that a purchase order is required for items costing more than $500. Without a corresponding purchase order, the report says that the Shelby Plant operations director pur- chased a truck bed cover ($895.53), tires for personal vehicle ($733.92 and $672.90) a video camera ($709.86), an Pad, ‘misuse’ of taxpayer dollars (8797.33) and a digital cam- era ($1,415.27). The auditor questions failure to submit expense re- ports or requests for ab- sences for professional leave and no receipts submitted for hotel and travel costs, which were paid for by the school system's credit card. The recommendations from the state auditor: » consider disciplinary ac- tion against individuals who misused school district as- sets; « develop policies that ex- plicitly prohibit the personal use of school district assets; * take a complete asset in- ventory to provide a baseline of school district assets; + periodically conduct unannounced physical in- spections and inventories of assets to improve accounta- bility. * seek repayment for any unauthorized or improper . purchases; initiate a training program to ensure compli- ance with administrative policies and procedures; ensure that all credit card purchases are supported by appropriate documenta- tion and approved by the em- ployee's supervisor. "While we take any fi- nancial irregularity seriously, we have in this case recov- ered all of the personal put- chases and equipment identified in this report, taken appropriate personnel action, put in place safe- guards and preventative measures, and will take fur- ther steps to guard against reoccurrence in the future," Dr. Boyles said. STANLEY - it all together. For more information check out PaceTax.com a GASTONIA Consultation for Small Businesses Corporate Tax Filing for S-Corps, C-Corps, LLC's and LLP's Partnership Preparation. ALEXANDER / PACE TAX AND ACCOUNTING KINGS MOUNTAIN - 104 East Gold Street - 704.739.7338 141 South Main Street + 704.263.8903 Even the best tax or accounting software can’t replace experienced human reasoning when you are trying to get Alexander / Pace serves individuals and small businesses with a wide variety of accounting needs: Expert Tax Preparation all year long; Full Service Accounting for churches and businesses; Payroll Processing « 2507 East Ozark Avenue * 704.861.1040
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Jan. 18, 2012, edition 1
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