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Volume 125 © Issue 37 e Wednesday, September 11,2013 « 75¢
Application filed for casino and resort
= ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
The recruitment of a new regional eco-
nomic project kept under wraps for several
months by local and county leaders and
tagged “Project Schoolhouse” is identified
by the Cleveland Chamber on its website this
week as a proposed state-of-the-art world
class resort and entertainment venue being
eyed on Dixon School Road in Kings Moun-
tain by the Catawba Indian Nation. It has a
proposed start-up date of 2015.
Monday the Associated Press reported
that the Catawba Indian Nation is filing the
application with federal officials to buy the
land for the planned gambling casino and:
asking the agency to put 16 acres into trust
for the tribe. The application is in the very
early stages.
Cleveland Chamber also on Monday
posted pictures of the proposed project, an-
nouncing this full-scale venue would include
a 220,000 square foot gaming facility and
750 guest rooms split between two hotels,
restaurants, retail stores and
much more and would re-
portedly bring over 4,000
jobs to Cleveland County.
Several weeks ago the
property that the Catawba
Nation was looking at was
’
identified as a 44-acre site owned by the Jim
Testa family adjacent to the Testa Roadside
Truck Plaza on Dixon School Road. The
Governor’s senior advisor has visited the
site. Kings Mountain City Council rezoned
DAVE BLANTON
dave.kmherald@gmail.com
The Kings Mountain High School
is taking a fresh approach to the lunch
hour in a program that administrators
hope will let students squeeze in more
extracurricular and academic activi-
ties during the school day while still
providing a breather from classes.
The initiative, called Smart Lunch,
provides a 50-minute period from
roughly 11 a.m. to noon where stu-
dents have the opportunity to attend
tutorials, club meetings or simply
jump in a game of pick-up basketball
or volleyball to blow off steam.
Upper classmen with good discipli-
nary records and a high enough GPA
may leave campus to eat elsewhere or
- a workout at the gym, in up on Ors pampes! or take
. make- i tests in class while they eal, (aIong other op-
A new spin on lunch at KMHS
run errands. Still, students must seek
notarized approval from parents.
School officials say Smart Lunch
is a solution for many students who
because they required busing were
locked out of the ability to get, after-
school help from teachers or partici-
pate in clubs that have traditionally
met after school.
“I’ve had a lot of students tell me
they work to support their families,”
said Marcie McReady, an English
teacher at the high school who said
she think Smart Lunch is a good fit
for many students.
“We can’t help many of them after
school ... and now that we can that
can be key to their success.”
Smart Lunch is only in its third
of the school population off to lunch
roto oy. DAVE BLANTOf bi
week, but so far it has been a smooth
transition from the conventional
lunch periods, which shipped a third
in shifts and allowed time for little
other than eating.
“I think it will really pay off,” said
KMHS Assistant Principal Jeremy
Shields. “We’re working out the
kinks and we may have to tweak it a
little here and there, but I see a lot of
positives in it.”
In the new program, students are
tipped off by a bell at 10:57 that
Smart Lunch A has begun. For stu-
dents who have no meetings planned
or mandatory tutorials to attend, this
means they are free to head to the
See KMHS, 7A
Big Daddy Weave coming to CC Fair
Christian Freedom Baptist Church,
along with local businesses and indi-
vidual sponsors, will bring the Dove
Award-winning contemporary Chris-
tian band Big Daddy Weave to headline
“The Only Name Tour” community
concert at the Cleveland County fair-
grounds Oct. 26 at 6 p.m.
Tuesday night the steering commit-
tee for the big concert will host a spe-
cial praise and worship service for the
community at 7 p.m. at LeGrand Cen-
ter in Shelby. The purpose of this serv-
ice is to encourage individuals and
churches to pray throughout the fol-
lowing 40 days leading up to the con-
ge52s3 002
cert.
“The idea for this event was birthed
after spending much time in prayer and
reading God’s word, searching for di-
rection on how to be effective in reach-
ing our community with the gospel,”
concert chairman Mike Reynolds said.
We see this concert as a chance for our
community to come together in one ac-
cord with no denominational labels -
but just to celebrate the only name of
Jesus,” he added.
Mike Chambers has served as sen-
ior pastor at CFBC for more than 20
years. He says he hopes the concert
will help convey a deep love for those
who are hurting. “Cleveland County is
our mission field,” said Chambers. “It
is here that we have been called to
share the good news that God has a de-
sire to heal the brokenhearted.” Briefly
stated, he said the goal is to “present
Christ to our community.”
General admission tickets are $10
with Artist Circle seats available for
$20 each. Tickets can be purchased in
advance at www.christianfreedom-
church.com or by calling 704-739-
4152. Between 150-200 volunteers
from several area churches have com-
mitted to helping with the concert but
additional volunteers and sponsorship
opportunities are still available. To be-
come involved, contact Mike Reynolds
at 704-470-5551 or email mik-
ereynolds_tmr@live.com.
Big Daddy Weave will hit the road
to launch “The Only Name Tour” in 30
cities beginning Sept. 13 in Statesville
and featuring Chris August and “Un-
spoken.” The release of their current
Top 20 single, “The Only Name (Yours
Will Be)” also the namesake for the
tour, comes on the heels of the massive
success of their No. 1 hit song, “Re-
deemed” and marks the second single
from their 9th album “Love Comes to
Life.” In addition, the group and their
smash hit “Redeemed” just received
four Dove Award nominations.
Where do our
legislators stand?
Find out on page 9A
the tract several months ago
to general business on re-
quest of Trent Testa. Survey
crews were at the site for
about a week. The “for sale”
sign has been removed from
the property.
County officials have said that no invest-
ment or tax incentives are needed from the
county for the project. The Catawba Nation
is eyeing a portion of the Testa parcel for a
See CASINO, 9A
$10,000 raffle
this Saturday
Tickets still available!
Tickets are on sale for the
Kings Mountain Historical
Museum’s Annual Reverse
Raffle & Auctions on Satur-
day, Sept. 14. The new loca-
tion this year is the H.
Lawrence Patrick Senior
Life & Conference Center at
909 East King Street. Doors
open at 5:30 p.m.
Looking for a nice
evening out? Join your com-
munity for a fun night in
support of the museum. With
your $100 ticket purchase
you not only get dinner for
two, but a chance to win the
grand prize of $10,000. Tick-
ets will also be drawn for
many great door prizes. All
paid ticket holders are eligi-
ble and need not be present
to win. Whether you want to
start: your Christmas shop-
ping early or you are looking
for that one-of-a kind item
for yourself or a loved one,
be sure to check out both the
live and silent auctions.
There is something for
everyone this year, from
stunning diamond bracelets
to sports memorabilia signed
by your favorite players. An
array of delicious home-
baked cakes will also be up
for auction.
Kings Mountain Histori-
cal Museum’s mission is to
collect, preserve, and inter-
pret history through
exhibits, educational pro-
grams, tours and after
means in order to foster a
deeper understanding of the
history of our community
and the region.
Funds generated from
this event allow the Museum
to continue to fulfill its mis-
sion and to meet diverse
needs of the community
through a variety of quality
programs and services. To
find out more about the
event, please visit the Re-
verse Raffle & Auctions
page on the Museum’s web-
site www.kingsmountainmu-
seum.org and Facebook
page, or call (704) 739-1019.
Gateway Fest
set for Oct. 12
/ 3 :
Calling all crafters to the Gateway Festival Oct. 12 at Pa-
triot Park in Kings Mountain.
The Gateway Festival features a variety of activities to
draw guests from across the region and is a celebration of
Kings Mountain music,
art, history and culture.
In its 11th year, the |
Gateway Festival features
artisan and craftspeople
from across the region.
Crafts feature everything
from primitive wood
crafts to handmade jew-
elry, homemade soaps and
personalized children’s
books.
“This isn’t a juried
event,” says Loretta
Cozart, “but we bring in a
good representation of
crafts from our area. In
the past we’ve had won-
derful items offered in-
cluding
VER
re
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