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Obituaries ..usussssessssasassases 2
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KINGS MOUN
0024A00
MAUNEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY
MONT AVE
100 5 EIERTAIN NC 28086-3450
5P
##
HERALD
Volume 127 eo Issue ¢ Wednesday, March 4, 2015
15¢
Race Day Saturday City Council okays YMCA contract
at Gateway Trail
Pictured are some of the participants in last year's big
race at Gateway Trail headed for the finish line.This
year's race on Saturday starts at 9 a.m.
Gateway Trail is gear-
ing up for its big race day
Saturday. There’s fun for
all, including a 5k run/
walk, a 10 mile run, and a
kid's fun run.
Trophies for winners
this year will be unique
railroad spikes, a nod to
the fact that the first quar-
ter of a mile the Gateway
(file photo)
Trail is on the old rail bed
and since the trail is part
of Rails to Trails for North
Carolina.
Participants = can
pre-register at: www.
racesonline.com/"www.
racesonline.com for $25.
On race day the registra-
tion fee is $30. The event
See RACE DAY, Page 7
ELIZABETH STEWART
“= lib.kmherald @gmail.com
Fifteen people spoke
in support of the Kings
Mountain Family YMCA
lastTuesday night as city
council voted 6-1 to ap-
prove a 20-year contract
with the YMCA to operate
the city's recreation pro-
gram,
The city will pay the
YMCA $400,000 annually
with a two to four percent
increase each year. The Y
has been running the pro-
gram for 15 years at the
city-owned former com-
munity center on Cleveland
Avenue but the lease was
up.
Councilman Curtis
Pressley cast the no vote.
“Times have changed, we're
putting our money into one
basket and we owe it to our
citizens to operate our own
recreation. We're missing a
lot of kids in the program,"
he said, questioning the
cost.
Ward 4 councilman Rod-
ney Gordon said he thought
the price “is too good a deal
for the city to walk away
from.” It's a responsible de-
cision," he added. Gordon
noted that his dream for the
future is the building of a
sports complex in Kings
Mountain.
“This is a win/win sit-
uation for the city and
YMCA," said Mayor Rick
Murphrey.
City Manager Marilyn
Sellers explained why she
recommended the council
approve a 20- year contract.
She said for the city to run
the program the cost would
be approximately $900,000
per year.
With the new contract,
the city would receive $2
million approximately over
a 20-year period in util-
ity payments from the Y.
Sellers said the cost for the
city to run the recreation
program back in the late
1990s was $407,000. “To
run only ball programs the
first year it would cost the
city $743,000, add fitness
programs and that's another
$156,000," she added. Sell-
ers said that for the 2014
year just the salary item for
the YMCA was $352,628.
“If the city ran recre-
ation we would have to pay
the utilities, payl00% of
the upgrades to our buil-
dinig, we would not have
other organizations to pull
programs from at a low
cost and we would have to
take on 100% liability," said
Sellers,
Maurice Tate, founder
and President of Kings
Mountain Elite which
serves 200 youth in the area
after school and in other
programs, said KM Elite is
not in competition with the
YMCA. For the past five
years Elite has increased
its program offerings but
survives on donations from
the public. “We serve many
disadvantaged kids," said
Tate, who asked for the
city's endorsement of its
programs He agreed with
Pressley that times had
changed in the 15 years
since the YMCA began op-
erating the city's recreation
program. “We have a more
diverse population," he said.
For over an hour speaker
after speaker spoke in sup-
port of the YMCA.
Rev. Eddie Gray, a
charter member of the Y,
referee for basketball and
flag football and a baseball
umpire for the Y, set up a
baseball scenario where a
home team's biggest slug-
ger was up to the plate with
the bases loaded in the 9th
inning.”] believe that if you
vote no on this new contract
with the YMCA you'll be
left in the same position as
that home run batter stand-
ing at the plate with the bat
on his shoulders and not
doing a thing about it.”
See COUNCIL, Page 7
Bakers complete pro-bono Taking ‘Polar Plunge’
DAVE BLANTON
dave.kmherald @gmail.com
In the days before the
calendar flipped to 2015,
many took the opportunity
to take a quick vacation or
spent their time gearing up
for a big New Year’s Eve
party. Not so much for
Kings Mountain dentists
Bryan and Steve Baker.
Instead, the two packed
up their bags and their ex-
tensive professional experi-
ence to make a mission trip
to the Dominican Repub-
lic’s capital city of Santo
Domingo to perform dental
implant surgery on more
than 30 patients who other-
wise would not have been
able to afford the expensive
procedure.
The brothers headed to
the poor island nation as
part of a mission organized
by the International Dental
Implant Association. From
Drs. Steve (at left) and Bryan Baker work with a patient
during their December mission trip to the Dominican Repub-
lic. The two Kings Mountain dentists joined about 25 other
dental professionals from around the globe to help patients
in the impoverished island nation.
Dec. 27 through Dec. 31,
they teamed up with more
25 other dentists from
around the globe to com-
plete the first phase of tricky
implant procedures.
“We definitely didn’t
See BAKERS, Page 7
Police nab one suspect, looking for second man
It was quick work by
Kings Mountain Police.
A day after a reported
98525700200" 1
robbery at Sun Trust Bank
on Shelby Road, police had
warrants and the suspect in
custody on Feb. 27.
Police also have war-
rants for a second suspect
in the armed robbery of Lin-
wood Family Mart, also on
Tuesday, Feb. 24.
William Grant Sand-
ers, 28, of 806 Landing
St., faces felony counts of
larceny and possession of
stolen goods in connection
with the robbery of Sun
Trust Bank about 12:30
last Tuesday afternoon. His
$25,000 bond was secured
See POLICE, Page 7
DAVE BLANTON
dave.kmherald@gmail.com
There was no short-
age of ‘cold enough for ya
jokes’ at Moss Lake Satur-
day morning. 35 degrees in
late February isn’t exactly
shockingly frigid weather.
With warm clothes and a
- decent hat, most can get by.
But for nearly 100 folks
who took the “Polar Plunge”
into the lake’s near-freezing
waters, it was a different
kind of cold indeed. They
went in pink and shivering
and came out numb and
maybe even a little blue.
“It’s so cold that poli-
ticians have their hands in
their own pockets,” quipped
WBTYV co-anchor John Car-
work in Dominican Republic for good cause Saturday
This unidentified man was among 91 who took a cold dive in
Moss Lake for benefit of Special Olympics.
ter, who emceed the event,
which drew hundreds of
spectators and aimed at rais-
ing money for the Special
Olympics. “And hey, folks,
I’m just now hearing that
spectators are now required
See POLAR PLUNGE, Page 6
Partnership for children hosts
Rise and Shine breakfast
Downtown Kings Moun-
tain businesses are invited
to join fellow business and
building owners for the
Quarterly Rise & Shine
Breakfast.
Come for the networking
and information for you to
use while enjoying a light
breakfast courtesy of The
Partnership for Children lo-
cated in the Central School
building, 105 E. Ridge
Street, Kings Mountain.
Featured speaker will be
Andy Neisler, Attorney with
Cloninger and Neisler. Mr.
Neisler will talk about the
basics of business building
leases and the relationship
and responsibilities for ten-
ants and property owners.
Sponsored by the City
of Kings Mountain Main
Street Organization Com-
mittee, the Rise and Shine
will be held in the Central
School Building Partnership
for Children offices, Thurs-
day, March 5th from 7:45 to
9 a.m. This is a free event.
The Mauney Memorial
Library is a municipal li-
brary founded in 1936 and
funded by the citizens of
Kings Mountain, NC.
FOR DENTAL IMPLANTS
LocALLY HERE IN KINGS MOUNTAIN
Baker Dental Care
Preventative, Restorative
& Cosmetic Dentistry
Just a few henefits of Dental Implants:
* Improved appearance. Dental implants look and feel like your own teeth.
* Improved speech. Dental implants allow you to speak without the worry that your dentures might slip.
* Improved self-esteem. Smile again and feel better about yourself.
* Durable. Implants are very durable and with proper care, can last a lifetime.
ange
i SOR pane
ga TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS
AND SCHEDULE YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT
CALL US AT 704-739-4461
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% Th To
703 E. Kings St., Suite 9, Kings Mountain * www.BakerDentalCare.com
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