Kings Moun
Volume 126 ¢ Issue 8 ¢ Wednesday, February 19, 2014
kmherald.net
The grand opening of the Long
Term Acute Care Hospital
(LTACH) on the second floor of
Kings Mountain Hospital will be
held Thursday, Feb. 27, from 4-7
p.m. with ribbon cutting at 6 p.m.
The announcement was made
by Carolinas Healthcare System,
Cleveland County HealthCare Sys-
tem and Carolinas ContinueCARE
Hospital at Kings Mountain.
The Long Term Acute Care
Hospital is relocating from Craw-
ley Memorial Hospital in Boiling
Springs to provide service for the
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Continue CARE Hospital
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most complex patients needing
long-term care and inpatient reha-
bilitation. Locating the LTACH in-
side Kings Mountain Hospital
allows more efficient access to
services such as radiology and
pharmacy services.
A long-term acute care hospital,
or LTACH, serves the needs of pa-
at Kings Mountain
tients with medically complex con-
ditions, especially those suffering
from multisystem complications
and needing extended recovery. A
patient is usually admitted’ after a
short term, acute-care hospital stay.
After care in an LTACH, patients
may be able to transition to acute
rehab, skilled nursing home or
erald
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MAUNEY MEMORIAL LTBRARY °F
100 S PIEDMONT AVE
- KINGS MOUNTAIN NC 28086-3450
15¢
home. Hospice care is another op-
tion, depending on the individual.
Carolinas ContinueCARE at
Kings Mountain will have 28 beds,
and the care team will treat patients
who have conditions including
ventilator dependence, respiratory
failure, chronic pulmonary prob-
lems, complex and severe wounds,
and infections requiring long term
antibiotic therapy. LTACH patients
come from all over the region, in-
cluding Cleveland, Rutherford,
Gaston, Burke, and Lincoln coun-
ties and the upstate area of South
HOME COMFORT s737eMs
Innovation never felt so good.”
License Noi,09350
Hospital expanding care
is lovely
in KM!
= ELIZABETH STEWART
i lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Want to make the best of your golden
years?
Kings Mountain has been picked as the
_ Sth best place to retire in North Carolina by
Movoto Real Estate.
How did we win this distinctive spot
among 82 places ranked as the best places
to retire in the state? PR Associate Chad
Stiffney said the company looked at cities
with populations of at least 10,000 and
ranked them on cost of living, crime rate,
weather, ease of travel and amenities. They
used census data to find all places in the Tar
Heel State with a population of 10,000 and
this left them with 82 places and each was
ranked based on the number of criteria
from 1 to 82 with the lowest number ranked
as best.
Out of the five pieces used to judge
each place, Kings Mountain ranked well in
four, with the only criterion harming the lo-
cale's ascent up the listing being its cost of
living rank. For this criterion Kings Moun-
tain took the number 76 spot with the area's
cost of living on par with the national av-
erage.
With population of 10, 296, Kings
Mountain ranked 12 for weather, 12 for
cost of living, 36 for crime rank, 27 for
travel rank, 31 for amenities, and 22.08 for
big deal score.
The top 10 were: Morrisville, Mount
Holly, Apex, Holly Springs, Kings Moun-
tain, Mint Hill, Stallings, Sanford and
Matthews.
The company on its website also listed
pictures of 10 new homes constructed in
the city in recent months ranging from
$49,000 to $531,000.
Tremors felt in KM
Tremots from a 4.4 magnitude earth-
quake were felt by some Kings Mountain
residents Friday night about 10:30 p.m., ac-
cording to the Kings Mountain Police De-
partment.
KMPD dispatchers got calls from area
residents. No damages were reported.
Other Cleveland County residents, in-
cluding those in the Dixon Community,
said they felt the tremors.
The Associated Press reported that the
earthquake was centered seven miles west
of Edgefield, SC, southwest of Columbia,
SC.
Im
98525700200
= DAVE BLANTON
dave. kmherald@gmail. com
No one, at least, could claim
they weren’t warned.
As a sustained blast of wintry
weather swept over the South-
east last week, Kings Mountain-
area residents hunkered down in
warm homes as schools and
many businesses closed for most
of the week and road conditions
were at times treacherous and
unpredictable.
It was the biggest weather
calamity to smack into Cleve-
land County since a January
1999 ice storm that spread a dan-
gerous sheet of ice over roads,
power lines and homes. But out-
side of a few minor traffic acci-
dents — no more than average for
the same span of time during
mild weather, according to po-
lice — residents remained safe
and city services were main-.
tained.
“We had no major problems,”
said Kings Mountain Mayor
Rick Murphrey, who said city
officials established a command
center ahead of the storm. “No
outages from electric or gas,”
both of which are supplied by
the city.
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The community is invited to the
ribbon cutting at 6 p.m. and the
grand opening from 4-7 p.m.
which includes tours. The tour will
begin in the front lobby of the hos-
pital.
Alex Bell, Vice-President of
Cleveland County Health Care
System and administrator of Kings
Mountain Hospital, and Denise
Murray, CEO of Carolinas Contin-
ueCARE Hospital, will lead the
tour to include patient rooms and
treatment areas.
City shivers, skids in big Snow storm
Isabel and Phin Hines weren’t shivering after last weeks storm, they were too busy having fun sledding
with their dad, Adam (not pictured).
In preparing for the storm,
police officials consulted the Na-
tional Weather Service and allot-
ted manpower and scheduling
accordingly. The result of the
planning and citizens’ wariness
of the inclement weather was
fewer problems than officials
have seen in previous, lighter
winter storms.
“This is the first time we’ve
seen people adhere to the warn-
ings,” said Kings Mountain Po-
lice Chief Melvin Proctor.
“We’ve had very few issues. My
congratulations to the public.”
Cleveland County Govern-
ment offices, including the
Courthouse, were shuttered
Wednesday and Thursday after a
countywide state of emergency
was declared. Gov. Pat McCrory
declared a state of emergency for
the state of North Carolina on
Tuesday, as did Mayor. Mur-
phrey for Kings Mountain, as the
storm was just beginning to
dump heavy snow on the area.
Kings Mountain recorded about
See STORM, 3A
‘Hairspray’ coming to KMHS Feb. 26
The Kings Mountain ‘High School Per-
forming Arts Department will present its Dis-
ney’s Beauty and the Beast - “Hairspray”
Wednesday through Friday, February 26, 27,
28 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 1 at 2:30 p.m.
and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 2 at 2:30
p.m.
Tickets for the show at Barnes Auditorium
on the campus of KMHS will be $8 for adults
and $5 for senior citizens and Cleveland
County Renaissance Blue, Black and Silver
Card holders. Renaissance Gold Card holders
and children 5 and under get in for free. A raf-
fle for several items includes two tickets to
Rock of Ages, playing at the Belk Theater in
Charlotte later this year. You must purchase a
show ticket to be eligible for the raffle. Pro-
ceeds from the raffle will go to help the Per-
forming Arts Department raise fHoney for use
in the department.
‘Hairspray’ quickly became a fan favorite
when it appeared on Broadway in 2002, star-
ring Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad. Win-
ner of eight Tony Awards including Best
Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Origi-
nal Score, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Ac-
tress in a Musical, Best Featured Actor in a
Musical, Best Costume Design, Best Direction
of a Musical, it follows the never-to-be-
counted-out Tracy Turnblad as she attempts to
integrate Baltimore through her dancing on the
Corny Collins Show. A favorite among stu-
dents and adults alike, this show brings music
to the stage that is sure to have your feet tap-
ping.
Tor Paterson Austin Willis and Allen Williams, left to right, are among is cast of “Hair-
spray” which opens Wednesday, Feb. 26, put on by the Kings Mountain High School Per-
forming Arts Department at B. N. Barnes Auditorium on campus.
Fresh off one of its most successful sea-
sons, the Kings Mountain High School Per-
forming Arts Department continues its
tradition of excellence with this production of
‘Hairspray’. Starring award-winning actors
Jordyn Peterson as Tracy Turnblad, Jensen
Fleisher as Penny Pinkelton, and Jack Pierson
as Corny Collins, this cast also features the tal-
ents of stage veterans Allen Williams and Kel-
ton Stone as Seaweed J. Stubs and Amber von
Tussle. Stepping into lead roles for the first
time with energy and enthusiasm, Austin
Willis and Kat Carpenter ‘impress as Link
Larkin and Velma von Tussle. Playing Tracy’s
mother, Edna, is newcomer Derek England,
who is joined in stage matrimony by Nick
Lease as Wilbur Turnblad. This group of actors
creates a strong core ensemble that gives the
play a unique and catchy energy. The rest of
the cast matches their enthusiasm and works
to create one of the most energy-driven shows
in recent Kings Mountain High School history.
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