Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / Nov. 19, 2014, edition 1 / Page 4
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Ln —— ———-. rv rm ——— ——. — AY TTIW A TS St 1 CE A ny Te —— — r— ————— er ADT VS 22 J Page 4 Opinions... The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.com Quote of the week Wednesday, November 19, 2014 Yours, Ours, Others “Things may come to those who watt, but only the things left by those who hustle.” -Abraham Lincoln by many r. John will Compassionate. Kind. Caring. Soft spoken. One of a kind. That's how patients and friends describe Dr. John Charles McGill who died Nov. 11, 2014 at age 92. “Dr. John,” as he was affectionately called, retired in 1992 after 42 years as a Kings Mountain family physician at McGill Clinic, ending a colorful career in medicine, which included delivering 2500 babies and often making 16 house calls in one day before giving up the late hours of obstet- rics in the 1980s. During one long stint in the labor room of Kings Moun- tain Hospital, Dr. John received a phone call from son, John. Hearing the sounds of labor and delivery convinced young John to abandon any thoughts of following in his father’s footsteps. One memorable delivery took place in the patient's driveway near East School and produced a set of twins. While traveling from Atlanta, his car broke down and a passing truck driver picked up John and Mabel, hooked their car to his truck and drove them safely home to Kings Mountain. The next day Dr. John called him to thank him again and was informed “my wife said to tell you that you delivered one of our four children.” These were just a few of the stories Dr. McGill recalled in an interview in The Herald. Times changed but McGill said the practice of medicine was rewarding. He decried the over abundance of federal regulations. The patient comes first. It was only natural that McGill, who aspired to play ball, would be a doctor. Born and reared in a medical family in Clover, SC, his father practiced medicine 50 years, his mother and sister were both nurses, one brother was a dentist, one brother was a medical doctor, and three brothers-in-law were physicians. Dr. John and Mabel Hamilton McGill were married in 1950 and moved to Kings Mountain in September 1951, five months after Kings Mountain Hospital opened. Mar- riott Phifer called him one day and said the Jaycees were looking for another doctor. He had practiced one year in Williamston, SC, after serving two years in the Army Medical Corps in Osaka and Kobe, Japan. One of the thrilling experiences of his service in Japan as a health officer was meeting Helen Keller who came to his office for an injection. Area physicians were highly supportive of the new doctor and his bride who set up housekeeping in a house on King Street, later moving to Crescent Hill in a neighbor- hood full of children. The McGills added to the popula- tion themselves - Frances, Meredith, John, Elizabeth and Hamilton, and in later years they moved to their home on Hillside Drive and welcomed grandchildren. The first offices of McGill Clinic was the former store room over Kings Mountain Drug Store. The steps were so steep that any patient who made it to the top was told he already passed the first heart exam, a stress test. McGill was joined by his brother, Dr. Kenneth McGill at the Wat- terson Street clinic but in 1963 after Dr.Kenneth McGill's departure for the mission field Dr. Charles Adams and Dr. F. J. Sincox joined the practice in this location. Lib Stewart Managing Editor be remembered In his retirement years he often visited patients at Kings Mountain Hospital and White Oak Manor and anyone who knew Dr. John outside the clinic knows that one of his great pleasures was to visit the pastureland in South Carolina where he grew pine trees and and raised cattle. One afternoon some years ago my nephew, Jeff Grigg, who once was production manager of The Herald, and | were traveling down York Road and suddenly we felt a bump. Before | could get the drivers door open, Dr. John ap- peared very concerned we might be hurt. “I just bumped your car,” he said, “I was in a hurry to get down to check on my cows.” His contributions to this community — and not just as a medical doctor — but in church and civic organizations are well known. Kings Mountain should be grateful that Dr. John Charles McGill passed our way. HONORED FOR LONG SERVICE - ~— April 21, 2009 Dr. John C. McGill, far right, was honored on retirement after 53 years of service on the board of Kings Mountain Savings & Loan Association. Also pictured are C. A. Allison, stand- ing behind Leone Patterson, Glee E. Bridges and Dr. McGill with the plaque honoring his service as chairman and president of the board of directors. Former councilman has concerns about city’s plans to fix dam (Ed. note — Gene White, retired City of Kings Moun- tain Planning & Economic Development Director and a city councilman 1997- 2003, has concerns about how the city plans to make repairs to the Moss Lake dam. He writes the follow- ing open letter to Col. Kevin P. Landers, Wilmington Dis- trict Engineer, 69 Darlington Ave., Wilmington, NC, US Army Corps of Engineers.) “The US Army Corps of Engineers is correct in its evaluation/study of the Gene White Moss Lake Dam, namely, The East Embankment is saturated. There were four or five other conclusions based primarily on poor maintenance." | am not aware the Corps of Engineers has returned to the site to modify the findings. Other problems are evident. My immediate concern: The City of Kings Mountain (owners) are in the process of gaining approval from the Department of Nat- ural Resources to totally grout the entire 560 feet of 48 inch pipe located in the center of the core of the dam. The pipe is in excellent condition. This is a grievous, non-revers- ible act and will eliminate any possibility for a future low-level draw down. | am requesting interven- tion by the Corps, the N. C. Department of Natural Resources and the City of Kings Mountain to delay this project until a true evaluation of this dam is done. The present mayor is Edgar O. Murphrey Jr. His- toric Factors about Moss See CONCERNS, Page 6 Letters to the Editor To the editor: It doesn't take King Solomon. Last month, October 28th | sat in mild shock during a Kings Mountain City council meeting where | heard two councilmen say that the City had kicked a church out of city space that the church was paying rent on. | then hear one of the church members, a liaison be- tween the church and the city, say that the city removed them from the space by improper action. It turns out the Which holiday do you look forward to more - Thanksgiving or Christmas? Christmas. | get more in the | like Thanksgiving myself. spirit for that one. Thanksgiving Christmas is for kids. seems to be more about food. —Roger Pate —Bonnie Hale Christmas with snow. Lots of it. —Mary Allender More Thanksgiving. | get together with my little family. And we eat together and enjoy ourselves. —Gloria Johnson action has more far reaching consequences. In the next days after the meeting | saw newspaper accounts from the viewpoint of one of the councilmen, the city attorney, two more of the city councilmen, the city manager, the mayor and the church. I've had personal conversations or direct emails with two of the councilmen and the city manager. The stories are more mixed up than a plate of angel hair pasta and wriggles like a can of braided worms. These are the facts | know for sure: The church was told they had to give up the space. The city attorney said it was his opinion that usage of city buildings by a religious group had always posed a potential legal problem. On October 20th, just eight days prior to the council meeting the city attorney wrote a memo to the mayor and council stating in part that his opinion was that the use by a church of a government owned facility, as it has been occurring, is not lawful. The city attorney further stated in part the the legal theory which has application to the matter, is sometimes referred to and can be found in what is known as the “establishment clause”. He also said the continued usage by the group could be interpreted as an endorsement of a religion. Additionally, he said, it also is, which would be illegal, a direct or indirect support of that religious group. Supposedly there was an earlier memo from the city attorney on this subject but the city manager refused to release it to me on the basis that it wasn't public infor- mation, she said according to the city attorney. Everything I've said here is public knowledge if you've followed this story. | am not going to try and determine who is being truthful and who is not since I am no King Solomon. I'm just going to give you my concerns, especially since the church has found a new See Letters To Editor, Page 10 Published every Wednesday Periodicals postage at Kings Mountain, NC 28086 USPS 931-040 by CF Media Postmaster, send address changes to: P. O. Box 769, Kings Mountain, NC 28086 CrvNIY FIRST MEDIA... E-mail: kathy.kmherald @ gmail.com Phone (704) 739-7496 * Fax (704) 739-0611 Office: 700 East Gold Street » Kings Mountain, NC 28086 Published by Community First Media, Inc. Lib Stewart - Managing Editor lib.kmherald @gmail.com Advertising Representatives: Mark Blanton.- Annie Jenkins Stacy Kale - Scott Helms - Mike Marlow Business Manager: Wendy Isbell Circulation/Classified: Kathy Reynolds Sports Editor: Gary Stewart - Staff Writer: Dave Blanton Greg Ledford - Duane Heafner - Sam Brackett General Operations Manager: Duane Heafner Mail Subscription Rates Payable in Advance. All Prices include 6.75% NC State Sales Tax. 1 Year 6 Months Gaston & Cleveland County $30.00 $19.50 Other NC Counties $35.00 $22.50 Outside NC $50.00 $39.00 © 2014 CF Media. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement or news that we deem inappropriate or offensive to our readership. |
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Nov. 19, 2014, edition 1
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