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A visit with the President, 3A
188 run for their ‘lives’, 1B
612 new jobs, $1.6 billion investment
KM reaps the
benefit of industry
ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
A statistical survey by "Site Selec-
tion," a trade magazine, has raised eye-
brows from Kings Mountain city
officials with the omission of the
county's second largest city - Kings
Mountain - as a jobs powerhouse for eco-
nomic development in Cleveland
County.
The trade journal ranked the county
seat of Shelby as fifth in the nation in
economic development projects with a
dozen projects last year, counting the
Walt Disney data park in Kings Moun-
tain. The statistical area pinpoints the
largest city, not exceeding 50,000 popu-
lation, and is a national ranking of small
town regions by the magazine. :
The site-selection update from the
City. of Kings Mountain for 2010-2012
in Kings Mountain lists 7 new industries
and 4 new food establishments in 2011;
seven industries, two housing complexes
and one retail establishment in 2010; and
three new industries in 2012 with a total
creation 612 jobs and a total investment
of economic development projects at
$1.6 billion. For virtually all the indus-
tries incentive grants from the city and
county helped land the newcomers. The
N. C. Rural Center, Community Block
Grants, and downtown incentive grants
also attracted economic development to
the community.
AT&T's industrial announcement , just
weeks ago, of it coming to the Kings
Mountain T5 Data Center park on Coun-
tryside Road is the largest investment
ever announced for Cleveland County.
The "Cardinal," so coined by the city and
See INDUSTRY, 5A
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2010
Data Center
2011
RST
Communications
2010 < s
Duke Power
2011
Rhodesdale
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2011
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Area
Water Feature
2011
Southern Power
2010
AT&T
2012
: City. of-Kings Mountain
‘ Commercial Development Map
STEAG
2012
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Ro
& Vascular -
Ipstitute
2010
Sanger Heart o
| Kings Mountain
Embroidery
+2010).
Strata. Solar LLC
Battleground
‘Steakhouse
2011
Cherokee
_ Tavern
2011
Qualtech
2011
Chemetall Foote
2011
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M4 Solaris Industry |
\ Cleveland
. Ridge
Apartments
2010
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2010
CLEVE 4p, couny
GASTON Coury
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| Bay Valley
Foods
2011
Patriot Jack's
Outfitters
2010
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Patrick Yams
. 2010
Ultra J
Machine
Expansion
2010 |
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AND THIS YEAR'S CHAMPIONS ARE...
JOHNSON
FISHER
BELL
GRAYSON
Four to be inducted into KM Hall of Fame
GARY STEWART
Sports Editor
Grayson.
, Grayson retired from the
Three athletes who ex-
celled on the high school and
college level and a former
Kings Mountain coach who
led her teams to three state
championships will be in-
ducted into the Kings Moun-
tain Sports Hall of Fame at
its 25th anniversary induc-
tion ceremony Saturday,
May 12-at 6 p.m. at Central
United. Methodist Church
Christian Ministries Center.
The silver anniversary
class includes football and
baseball stars Chris Johnson
and Kendrick Bell, baseball
star Stephen Fisher and for-
mer : Mountaineer
softball/volleyball coach and
athletic director, Suzanne
school system after the
2010-11 school year. During
her tenure there she coached
the 2001 women’s volleyball
team and the 2005 and 2006
softball teams to state cham-
pionships. Her three state ti-
tles are the most ever. by a
KMHS coach.
Chris Johnson, who now
lives in Hickory and is the
father of current Moun-
taineer football ‘player
Xavier Johnson, was a two-
time MVP in football for
Bob Jones’ Mountaineers in
the mid-1970s. He went to
went on to Gardner-Webb
University where he was an
All-District and All-Ameri-
can defensive back. He still
owns the GWU pass inter-
ception record with 25.
Johnson was also a two-time
All-Conference outfielder
for the Mountaineers.
Bell was also a football
and baseball star for the
Mountaineers in the late
1990s and still holds the all-
time baseball record for
stolen bases (91). He is the
only KMHS baseball player
ever to make All-Conference
four years in a row and was
team MVP his junior and
senior years as well as
County MVP and Gaston
Player of the Year his senior
year. He was the first career
1,000-yard, receiver in
KMHS football and helped
lead the 1998 team to the
Western NC championship.
He played one year of foot-
ball and four years of base-
ball at North Carolina A&T
University where he was
baseball Rookie of the Year
his freshman year and com-
piled a career .303 batting -
average.
Fisher was the State
Baseball Player of the Year
in 1993 when he pitched the
Mountaineers to their second
state championship in a re-
markable five-year run in
which they won over 100
games. He went on to pitch
for Appalachian State Uni-
versity. He is now employed
by Cleveland County
Schools. :
Several other persons will
be honored at the induction
ceremony. Dale Hollifield
and Frankie Webster, both
See FOUR, 5A
Schools al
w= ELIZABETH STEWART
. libkmherald@gmail.com
A potential new draft of
system-wide policies in light
of a state probe into Cleve-
land County Schools’ main-
tenance department, the
expected hiring of a firm for
a "focused" audit and the
employment Monday of
Steven Boheler as the new
Division I maintenance di-
rector highlighted the work
session Monday night of the
county board of education.
. Dr. David Lee, CCS fi-
nance director, said the ad-
ministration sought interest
proposals from in-county au-
diting firms as well as re-
gional firms "who did not
think an audit of the entire
three year volume of transac-
tions is- feasible." He said
that a "focused audit of the
maintenance department p-
card transactions with sam-
pling of all p-card (credit
cards) for the period" is un-
derway.
He said that a firm uti-
lized by county government
has been engaged for the
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policy changes
after state probe
audit to report "on the scope
of work, not give an opin-
ion." Lee added, "It's a lot of
work to pull the data." The
audit is estimated to cost
$10,000-$15,000. A three-
year audit would run in the
thousands of dollars, he said.
In January, a state audi- .
tor's investigation revealed
that the school system main-
tenance department misspent
thousands of local dollars,
using county tax dollars to
buy food, clothing, electron-
ics and vehicle supplies for
personal.use and that school
system = employees used
more than 200 credit cards.
Lee said that to date there
are only 64 credit cards in
use by school employees.
"We are cooperating with
the SBI investigation," Supt.
Dr. Bruce Boyles told school -
See CCS, 5A
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