kmherald.net
ws ELIZABETH STEWART
{| libkmherald@gmail.com
Expansion announce-
ments by a half dozen indus-
tries and retail businesses
during the old year ending at
midnight Tuesday is good
news for job seekers in 2014
— a prospect for 450 plus fu-
ture industrial jobs, 95 retail
jobs coming later and five
new retail businesses up and
running.
Whether the sluggish
economy is improving de-
pends on who you ask. But
Kings Mountain City Man-
ager Marilyn Sellers and
Mayor Rick Murphrey say
that expansions in the indus-
trial community and in the
business community are
Volume 126 ¢ Issue l ¢ Wednesday, January 1, 2014
sure to boost the unemploy-
ment rate in 2014. Both say
the Number 1 goal for city
leaders in 2014 is jobs, jobs,
jobs.
“Kings Mountain will
aggressively seek new in-
dustry and business in 2014
working with county and
state economic development
leaders," says the mayor.
During 2013 expansions
and high dollar investments
were announced by Telerx,
Greenheck (Kitchen Ventila-
tion), STEAG, Badger Color
Concentrates, T5 Data Cen-
ter, Bali, TeXSource and in
recent months the retail
giant Walmart announced it
would construct a 41,000
square foot Walmart Neigh-
borhood Market, a small
Looking ahead:
Schools tackle
‘ambitious’ goals
Seventh and eight graders pour into the cafeteria during the
year’s first class change in August at the Kings Mountain
Middle School.
= DAVE BLANTON
| dave.kmherald@gmail.com
It was almost a year ago
that teachers, students, par-
ents, school administrators
and other members of the
community got together to
take a hard look at what di-
rection they wanted the local
public schools to take in the
future.
They spent months and-
held a number of meetings
to hash out what was good
about the educational expe-
rience in Cleveland County
and how it could become
better.
Ideas abounded about the
graduation rate, preparing
students for life after high
school, technology and
computers in the class-
rooms, and teacher pay,
among other topics.
In September, the Cleve-
land County Board of Edu-
cation met with the large
committee to hear its recom-
mendations. The school
board then acted to incorpo-
rate those ideas into'its own
long-term goals.
The result of that collab-
oration came to be called
The Mission, Vision and
2013-2018 Strategic Plan
for | Cleveland County
Schools. Ultimately, admin-
istrators developed a five-
I 1
Photo by DAVE BLANTON
part goals statement, with
categories that include
Globally Competitive Stu-
dents, Innovative Leader-
ship and 21st Century
Professionals.
One of the major objec-
tives within the goal set is to
raise the graduation rate to at
least 90 percent by 2018.
The system currently has an
83.3 percent graduation rate.
“It’s a pretty ambitious
goal,” said Cleveland
County Schools spokesper-
son Greg Shull. “We want to
be a top-ten school district in
the state. To do that, you
have to hit some big num-
bers and one of them is the
90 percent graduation rate.”
Administrators say one
way. they’re hoping to
achieve that goal is by fo-
cusing on. Turning Point
Academy, the system’s so-
called alternative school that
serves students with behav-
ioral problems or who are in
other special circumstances.
Another approach is to make
use of faith-based programs
that put: mentors in places
they’re needed the most.
Dovetailing = with that
graduation rate goal, admin-
istrators aim to provide a
pathway for the future for all
graduating - students by
2017-18, whether it be: to
college, technical school,
the military or the work-
force. ;
As’ computers increas-
ingly become a larger part of
our work, family and per-
sonal lives, educators are
eager to make them a more
integral part of the way stu-
dents learn.
See SCHOOLS, 8A
scale grocery and pharmacy,
in Kings Mountain Plaza
and employ 95 people. New
retail businesses are Flowers
by Falls, Martin's Electric,
Southern Chew, Stout Brew-
ing and Grapes In A Glass.
Kings Clinic & Urgent Care
started receiving patients in
its newly constructed clinic.
Main Street Director Jan
Harris said with the closing
in 2013 of the landmark
Fred Kiser's Restaurant after
33 years downtown and the
closing in 2012 of J. Oliver's
Coffee Shop, there are still
empty store fronts and work
* to be done which city lead-
ers will push aggressively in
the new year. Kings Moun-
tain Florist has been re-
placed by Flowers by the
*okokok
03 04-17-
WAONEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY
100 S PIEDMONT AVE
KINGS MOUNTAIN NC
Kings Ee rata
Be
Falls on Main Street.
Kings Mountain's second
largest employer, Telerx,
will hire 160 new, full-time
employees at its contact cen-
ter by the end of January
2014. Job hiring will vary
from position to position
- and all of that information is
on the company website.
“We hope this shows our
commitment to the people of
Kings Mountain by replac-
ing those 116 jobs that had
to be eliminated in October
2012," said Vice-President
Do Lapo Erinkitola.
STEAG Energy Serv-
ices, 304 Linwood Road,
(the former Anvil Knitwear
plant location) announced
an expansion that will add
See 2014, 8A
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14 0024A00 5P
28086-3450
— INSURANCE
704.739.3611
106 East Mountain Street
Kings Mountain, NC
www.K Minsure.c Com
{wee can n save) 3 you money | Fi
##
MRICK
New businesses, jobs good news for 2014
City Manager Marilyn Sellers and Mayor Rick Murphrey talk
about how expansions by industry and business have created
job prospects and say jobs will be the No. 1 goai of city lead-
ers in 2014.
= ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald @gmail.com
Politics is in her blood and it was nat-
ural that Debra Beaty Blanton worked in
a profession she loved for 27 years.
She retired Dec. 31 as the first Direc-
Blanton trades
ballots for vines
tor of Elections and only the third Super-
visor of Elections in the county's history.
- County commissioners, who honored
her recently with a resolution of appreci-
ation, said, “She knows the answers or
where to get them." Organized and pro-
fessional, the commissioners sata she
brings calm to what can be a stresstul en-
vironment during election seasons.
her mentor has “big footprints."
“I have truly loved my job and I will
miss the many folks I have worked with
over the years," said Blanton who has had
strong ties with local and state govern-
ments, precinct officials and the voting
public. She has led the county in ever-
changing laws as a certified state and na-
tional elections administrator.
Debra grew up on politics. Her father
served in the South Dakota legislature,
was Secretary of Finance under one gov-
ernor and ran for Lieutenant Governor.
Her sister was in the legislature for eight
Dayna Causby, Deputy Director, says °
Debra Blanton
one governor in an appointed position.
Blanton graduated from Vermillion
High School and majored in Zoology at
the University of South Dakota where she
graduated in 1965. A member of the Uni-
versity’s rodeo team, she competed in
barrel racing and goat tying and was
voted Miss Congeniality in the Miss
South Dakota Rodeo Contest in 1965. It
was at Oklahoma State University that
See BLANTON, 9A
terms in South Dakota and worked for
MLK Day phot contest January 20
The City of Kings Moun-
tain will host a Martin Luther
* King Day photography con-
test, January 20.
“This year’s competition
is taking its cue from the
Martin Luther King, Jr .
quote ‘Darkness cannot
drive out darkness; only light
‘can do that. Hate cannot
drive out hate; only love can
do that.’ ” said Ellis Noell,
Special Events Director for
the City. “We are encourag-
ing young and old to share
their vision of “Love” and
this subject matter will pro-
vide great latitude in artistic
interpretation, he added.
There will be cash prizes for
Ist, 2nd and 3rd place in
both adult and student divi-
sions.
Photographic prints will
be accepted or submissions
can be made digitally
through submission of a disk
mailed or dropped off at City
Hall or e-mailed to
ellisn@cityofkm.com. Dead-
line for submission is Friday,
5 p.m., Jan. 17. Applications /
are available at the City’s
website, www.cityofkm.com
or by calling Lynda Mattox
at 704-734-0333.
The exhibit and reception
with the entrants will open
Jan. 20 at the Southern Arts
Society at the Depot at 6
p.m.. This old Southern Rail-
way Station will serve as the
gallery for all the submitted
photographs with winners
announced at 7 p.m. The ex-
hibit will remain at the Art
Depot in January and move
to the Patrick Center in Feb-
ruary for Black History
month.
Photo by LIB STEWART
2013
saw
many
firsts
&= ELIZABETH STEWART
* libkmherald@gmail.com
As the strains of “Auld
Lang Syne" ring out Dec.
31, the traditional harbinger
of a new year, Kings Moun-
tain citizens can iook back
over a year that included a
number of firsts.
They included the intio-
duction of fiber optics and
smart meters and the first
time in his 14 years as
mayor Rick Murphrey
signed off on a $34 million
state revolving loan to pay
for major water and sewer
infrastructure.
Engineering and permit-
ting for the initial phase of
the project is complete and
rehabilitation of the water
line is underway at cost of
$5.2 million. Water line re-
habilitation covers West
Mountain to Gaston; Gold
Street from Phifer Road to
Battleground Avenue; West
King Street to Oriental Av-
enue. Expansion and reha-
bilitation of the water plant
is expected to cost $12 mil-
lion. All water/sewer im-
provements including
completion of a new 36-inch
water line from Moss Lake
to the city are targeted for
completion in 2014 and
2015.
The city will repay the no
interest loan within a 20-
year period. :
For the next three years
Kings Mountain citizens
will also help pay for the im-
provements. Council voted a
7 1/2% across the board
water and sewer increase in
* July. The typical customer
using 5,000 gallons of water
per month will pay $3.49 ad-
ditionally, or 12 cents a day.
City residents were hit with
a state and federally man-
dated storm water utility fee
recently. February utility
bills will reflect a separate
billing at a flat fee for resi-
dential customers of $2.50
per month. Bills for indus-
See 2013, 8A -
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Let’s grow your business in 2014!
Advertise on the Kings Mountain Herald’s second front page! Call Annie at 704-739-7496.
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