% 108 S: Piedmont Ave, Kings Mountain, NC ® ge 739-2591 ~ Harris Funeral Home Locally Oumed & Operated Since 1947 A Family Tradition of Dignity, ¥ Service & Linderstanding kmherald.net Issue 23 eo Wednesday, June 4, 2014 KMHS Graduates 282 Kings Moun Volume 126 eo oko kokrok kok kkk kk kkkETRM 2808 307 04-17-15 0024A00 5P ? MAUNEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY 100 S PIEDMONT AVE Ih KINGS MOUNTAIN NC 28086-3450 75¢ Casino talk continues Pritchard speaks out as businesswoman ELIZABETH STEWART lib.kmherald @gmail.com Connie Pritchard, whose residence at 506 Dixon School Road is a neighbor to the much talked about prospective casino project, spoke up for the project at last Tuesday's city council meet- ing and admitted she was “the odd ball out” after four men spoke against. “I am first a Christian, sec- ond the mother of four daugh- ters, and third a businesswoman," Pritchard said. Her perspective was different from other speakers during the public comment portion of the meeting. “Sin is a choice and adding a casino won't increase prostitution, it's already here," said Pritchard. She said she supports a casino because the community would benefit and one of the benefits would be more law enforcement. “I don't understand why people think that when you put sin in front of people they'll go to- ward it. Sin is a choice.” Pritchard, who has operated a business in Matthews for 22 years, said the town is similar to Kings Mountain. She said a railroad runs through the town with shops and a successful downtown. “That could hap- pen here and I think it will with jobs.” For several months mem- bers of the Kings Mountain See CASINO/PRITCHARD, 7A Miller issues public apology for comments ELIZABETH STEWART ] lib.kmherald @gmail.com At-Large city commis- sioner Keith Miller publicly apologized last Tuesday night to officials in the city and county for statements he made in a 75-page “white paper” opposing . the Catawba Indian Nation re- sort and casino eying Kings Mountain. Miller said some of the statements were “mislead- ing” and “poorly worded” and he is sorry for the ten- sion and strife that resulted. Miller was the only city councilman who refused to sign a letter to the US Bu- reau of Indian Affairs sup- porting a proposed economic development project that would be expected to bring jobs to the area. The “white paper” was circulated over the Internet and portions of its content were published in two daily newspapers as well as on the newspaper web sites. Miller made the apology at the beginning of the May 27 council meeting, saying part of his statement was “poorly worded and the paper only speaks for him and not for the city council. He also apologized to county officials for statements he made that “seemed to imply some offensive things.” In a letter to the editor in The Herald May 21, Miller said that he had prayed for wisdom concerning a casino and had posted an impact [1 98525700200 statement on https://sites.google.com/site/ kmwhite papers/. He wrote,“l fear the casino could gain coftirol of the city council in ways | that may lead to a 'darken- ing of ti