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WAONEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY
0 S PIE
KINGS MOUNTAIN NC 28086-3450
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kmherald.com
INSIDE...
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Lifestyles ..uusassusussusnsassnsaess 6
Liberty
Mountain
begins this week
See Page 3
RAL
Volume 127 eo Issue 21 ¢ Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Relay for Life
Friday at KMHS
Organizers are gearing
up for a big Relay for Life
fundraiser at John Gamble
Stadium Friday evening,
where survivor walks,
games and live music is
planned on the theme,
“Plant the town purple.”.
Opening ceremonies are
set for 6 p.m. Friday. Look
for a high-energy kick off to
celebrate the lives of those
who have battled cancer.
Not long after Relay
2015 gets under way, fans
will be delighted with a per-
formance by the band "True
Praise.” Later, the young
Kings Mountain singer
Jaiden Huffman will give a
solo performance.
As in years past, organiz-
ers have scheduled a num-
ber of themed laps, where
fun costume wear is encour-
aged. There’ll be a'Best of
the 80s lap, a favorite sports
team lap, a patriotic lap
and, finally, a Mardi-Gras
themed lap. Relay for Life
2015 is scheduled to wrap
up around the midnight
hour.
Ko “ «
Vv
RELAY
FOR LIFE
American
Cancer
Society
“We are very excited
with the amount of com-
munity involvement we are
getting this year and look
to have one of the biggest
Relay for Life Events in
Kings Mountain that we've
had in many years,” said
Colby Brown, a chief orga-
nizer for this year’s fund-
raiser.
The Luminaria Cere-
mony will take place at 9
p.m. There will be a silent
walk as the luminaries are
lit. Glow in the dark purple
balloon release is also being
planned during this time.
Relay for Life in KM
also promises an array of
delish and fun food for sale,
including frozen SunDrops,
chili, nachos, snowcones,
See RELAY FOR LIFE, Page 7
Back to school at 45,
Oates graduates CCC
Katy Biser and Caleb Sigmon give technical
notes to the production staff.
Mountain
15¢
Flags, Tears
Mark Solemn
Ceremony
ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald @gmail.com
Memorial Day was a
day to honor the fallen
Monday morning as Kings
Mountain citizens remem-
bered the area men and
all those men and women
who have died in the mil-
itary for the United States
at solemn services in Patri-
ots Park.
Flags were flying down
King Street and American
flags dotted the graves of
servicemen in Mountain
Rest Cemetery. Flow-
ers and flags decorated
Patriots Park and small
flags were handed out to
everyone attending and
they waved them in an
emotional service where
the sound of bagpipes per-
meated the warm morning
and people unashamedly
took the time to cry.
Traditionally seen as
See FLAGS, Page 14
Memorial Day Monday
A day to honor the fallen
Famed war correspondent a popular speaker
DAVE BLANTON
dave.kmherald@gmail.com
Kings Mountain was
host Monday to one of
the most credentialed war
correspondents in modern
times when Joe Galloway
appeared to make the key-
note address at the city’s
Memorial Day service.
Galloway, a 1991 Na-
tional Magazine Award
recipient for his writings
about the Ia Drang battles
in Vietnam and a 2002 re-
cipient of the Robert Denig
Award for Exceptional
Service of the U.S. Marine
Corps Combat Correspon-
dents, is also the winner of
the Bronze Star for Valor.
The medal was in rec-
ognition of his heroism at
the November, 1965, Battle
of Ia Drang, the first major
conflict fought by U.S.
troops during the Vietnam
A DAY TO HONOR - Pictured left to right on the stage at Patriots Park Monday morning were
speakers on the program for Memorial Day service. From left, Vietnam veteran Jim Medlin, Mrs.
Joe Galloway, Joe Galloway, American Legion Post 155 Commander Curtis Thrift, Mayor Rick
Murphrey, Chief of Police Melvin Proctor and Assistant Fire Chief Jamie Black.
War. Galloway was present
as a journalist, and during
the fighting he repeatedly
disregarded his own safety
to rescue wounded soldiers
under fire. His was the
only Bronze Star for Valor
awarded by the Army to a
civilian for actions in Viet-
nam.
Early in 2013, Galloway
was sworn into service as a
See FAMED, Page 14
Photo by DAVE BLANTON
Baccalaureate
Finals begin Sunday night
for 301 KMHS Seniors
Finals exer- | Stadium with
cises for 303 Kings presentation of
Mountain High | diplomas to the
School seniors
| Class of 2015.
BETTINA OATES will begin on Sun- {| The worship
day night at 7 p.m. service Sunday
ELIZABETH STEWART child's life," said the Kings with baccalaureate 1 is sponsored
Mountain woman who was
among more than 500 stu-
services in B.N.
Barnes Auditorium
lib.kmherald @ gmail.com by the Kings
Mountain Min-
Overcoming barriers
is challenging for Bettina
Oates, who returned to col-
lege at age 45, a single par-
ent of a teenager.
Now by faith she plans
to enroll for two more years
of college at Gardner-Webb
University and get her de-
gree to teach elementary
education.
“I want to be that teacher
that makes a difference in a
525 ll 1
dents graduating this month
from Cleveland Community
College.
“I was so happy when
I walked across that stage,"
said Oates, who was named
the Outstanding Graduate
in the Associate in Arts
program and also received
the Excellence in Service
to Students award from the
National Society of Leader-
ship.
“I once had dreams that I
did not think would be ful-
filled due to several barri-
ers," said Oates, concerned
about being an older student
in a class of 18-year-olds
See OATES, Page 7
and culminate on
Saturday, June 6,
at 9 am. in John Gamble
CARPENTER
ation.
Rev. Ron Caulder, Min-
isterial Associ-
isterial Association Pres-
ident, invites family and
friends of graduates to the
special service of worship
and inspiration.
Rev. Scott Carpenter, in-
terim pastor of Temple Bap-
tist Church, will deliver the
message, “The Completion
of the Matter” based on the
text from Ecclesiastes 12:9-
14. Carpenter is a graduate
of Kings Mountain High
School, Gardner-Webb Uni-
versity and Southwest Bap-
tist Theological Seminary.
He and his wife, Linda, have
one daughter, Erica, who is
president of the senior class
and will give the welcome.
The invocation will be
given by Johnna Scism and
the congregation will join in
See BACCALAUREATE, Page
Teen mom ala Wilson determined to finish school
ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald @ gmail.com
A teen mom, Eula Wil-
son, 17, was determined not
to drop out of school when
she became pregnant.
Her 10-month-old son,
Aimajee, in the arms of his
father Najee Gist, will be in
the audience at John Gam-
ble football stadium when
Eula dons her traditional
EULA WILSON
cap and gown and walks
across the stage to receive
her high school diploma
June 6 from Kings Moun-
tain High School.
“It's been a struggle to
get to this point but I have
had the loving support of
family and I won't stop here
with my education," said
Eula, an honor student. For
Eula it's more than a feeling
of accomplishment, it's also
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a feeling of accepting and
thriving on life's challenges.
Her goal is to earn an as-
sociate degree in mortuary
science and that's what she
wrote about for her senior
project.
Eula visited Harris Fu-
neral Home and spent time
with the staff, applied for an
internship and learned about
Gupton-Jones School of
See WILSON, See Page 7