Kings Mountain Herald
kmherald.net
Volume 125 eo Issue51 eo Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Luminaries
to light up
Christmas Eve |
Luminaries will glow on Christmas Eve from 5:30 p.m. until
midnight at Mountain Rest Cemetery.
Over 6,000 luminaries
will be lighted on Christmas
Eve at Mountain Rest
Cemetery, a tradition that
began over 10 years ago in
Kings Mountain.
Volunteers are needed to
set up the luminaries on the
graves beginning at 2:30
p.m.Tuesday. Candles are
set in holders and then lit as
dark falls over the city-
owned cemetery.
Mayor: pro tem Mike
Butler and Public Works Di-
rector Rickey Putnam are
organizers for this year's dis-
play. “Last year the lumi-
nary display attracted over
12,000 visitors to see this
special Christmas event,"
said Butler, Ward 2 city
| commissioner.
Traffic at the cemetery
Photo by Elilis Noell
will be monitored by the
Kings Mountain Police De-
partment to keep the vehicle
traffic moving. Traffic will
be routed on King Street
into the cemetery at the East
King Street entrance.
Groups or individuals
who wish to help set up
lights should contact Rickey -
Putnam at 704-734-0735 or
Mike Butler at 704-473-
1809. ;
The luminary display is a
feature of the “Home for
Christmas- Kings Moun-
tain” celebration that began
with the Children's Christ-
mas Tree Lighting in No-
vember and continues into
the New Year with the
downtown Christmas Fan-
tasy Light Show. Kings
‘See LUMINARIES, 7A
Storm water fee
approved 6-1
an ELIZABETH STEWART
. libkmherald@gmail.com
Your February bills from
the city will reflect the $2.50
storm water utility fee to in-
side-city residential cus-
tomers and $2.50/2000 feet
of impervious surface to in-
side-city commercial and in-
dustrial customers which
city council passed Tuesday
night by vote of 6-1.
Ward V councilman Rick
Moore pushed for commis-
sioners to take a look at the
fees again and vote next
month but his motion died
for lack of a second. Coun-
JIN
8525700200
cilman Keith Miller's mo-
tion not to delay passing the
ordinance because of state
and federal mandates
passed.
Moore said that paying a
$2.50 fee may not be hard
for some homeowners but
that businesses could be hit
for as much as $200 a
month. “That will put a
strain on them and also on
struggling churches," he
said, adding that waiting an-
other month to take action
would have time for input
from citizens and the city
time to look at other ways to
save money “instead of tax-
ing our citizens and busi-
nesses.”
“I have looked at all the
possibilities to avoid these
fees which we feel are fair
but we are mandated to es-
tablish a storm water utility
MAUNEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY ~~ 1
100 S PIEDMONT AVE al Home
KINGS MOUNTAIN NC 28086-3456 J
€
ce 1947
A Family Tradition of Dignity,
Service & Understanding
108 S. Piedmont Ave.
. Kings Mountain, NC
739-2591
15¢
Local police are Santa Helpers this week as they collect and box up toys for delivery to needy children for Christmas. From
fag Reged
fie
Ly SHOOTING GALLERY
Es Kn : » &F 5 % 4 a of ua, Wo
left, KMPD Chief Melvin Proctor, Santa, Pil. David Warlick, administrative secretary Marty Blanton and Det. Sgt. Lisa Proc-
tor.
Photo by ELLIS NOELL
Making Christmas merry
= ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Santa will get a helping hand from
the Kings Mountain Police Department
this Christmas week to make the holi-
days merrier for many Kings Mountain
area children with hundreds of toys do-
by caring citizens for school clothes for
needy children and by Christmas Eve
all the packages will be ready for kids
to open on Christmas morning.
A former KMPD D.A R.E officer;
Sgt. Proctor said she met former stu-
nated by the community piling up in
the KMPD training room.
“We are all Santa elves thanks to the
generosity of this community,” said
Sgt: Lisa Proctor, who has chaired the
event 12 years.
Police will be doing some last-
minute shopping with money donated
See SANTA ELVES, 7A
Butler elected mayor pro tem
we ELIZABETH STEWART |
; lib.kmherald @gmail.com
It was a night of kindij-
marks by and for all *&®ii-
cials, many of Whdyn
received standing ovations
from the packed house.
Kings Mountain City
Council swore in three
members Tuesday, and the
new face was At-large com-
missioner Curtis Pressley.
He took the oath from Judge
Ali B. Paksoy Jr. as mem-
bers of his family watched
and his wife held the Bible.
Ward 2 councilman
‘Tommy Hawkins and Ward
- 3 councilman Mike Butler,
both of whom voters re-
turned to city hall for an-
other term of four years,
took the oaths, their wives
holding the Bible and
friends of the Hawkins fam-
ily joining them for the cer-
emony.
Murphrey humbled by park designation
The Children’s Park at -
the Jake Early Sports Com-
plex was named in honor of
Mayor Rick Murphrey by
Kings Mountain City Coun-
cil last Tuesday night.
~~ “A lot of hard work and
planning by you and volun-
teers in 2001 went into com-
pleting this park and a
formal dedication will be
held in the Spring, and ap-
propriate signage will desig-
nate the park as the Mayor
Rick Murphrey Children’s
Park,” said mayor pro tem
Rodney Gordon presenting a -
framed resolution.
A tribute to the mayor in-
cluded a slideshow of pic-
tures accompanied by music
Butler was elected by his fellow councilmen as mayor pro tem.
J
City councilmen Curtis Pressley, Tommy Hawkins and Mike Butler, left to right, take the oath
of office from Judge Ali B. Paksoy Jr, in a swearing-in ceremony Tuesday night at city hall.
Photo by ELLIS NOELL
Mayor Rick Murphrey
presided at two meetings:
one was for unfinished busi-
ness by the prior ‘board
which included Dean Spears
See COUNCIL, 7A
Dr. Moses Neuman of-
fered prayer to open the tra-
‘ditional service.
H
The Children’s Park on Cleveland Avenue is now the Mayor Rick Murphrey Children’s Park.
Rodney Gordon, right, mayor pro tem, makes the presentation to Murphrey, left, as the coun-
cil at its last official business of the old administration also honored the mayor with an ap-
preciation plaque for over 20 years service to the city. Back row, Councilmen Tommy
Hawkins, Howard Shipp, Dean Spears, Mike Butler, Rick Moore and Keith Miller.
See FEE, 7A See MURPHREY, 7A Photo by ELLI S NOELL
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dents in the program when she visited