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Carmen Scism
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KMHS softball
head coach
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Obitnanies.........cccnncriccnie 2’
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MAUNEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY
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KINGS MOUNTAIN NC 28086-3450
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Reading
Celebration
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Mountain
27: R11
Volume 127 eo Issue 30 © Wednesday, July 29, 2015
KM and NTE Energy
City’s huge development project breaks ground
a ELIZABETH STEWART
£0 lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Mayor Rick Murphrey
and county and state of-
ficials touted the Kings
Mountain Energy Center
as a major cornerstone in
economic development
Tuesday morning as city
officials and dozens of
NTE Energy officials broke
ground for the proposed
$450M facility on Gage
Road, off Dixon School
Road at I-85.
“Historical day for a
historical community" is
ow the mayor welcomed
NTE Chief Executive Seth
Shortlidge and NTE Vice
President of Development
Michael Green, and local,
county and state officials
to the site of the proposed
480MW natural gas electric
generating facility which
will be capable of powering
400,000 homes and touted
by city officials as the larg-
est development project in
the city's history.
Shortlidge said that
power lines are being lo-
cated and site clearing and
grading is underway and
a road leads to the site of
a project that was in the
talking state nearly three
years ago. In 30 months he
hopes the plant will be op-
erational.
N. C House Speaker Tim
Moore of Kings Mountain,
Jason Falls, chairman of
the county board of com-
missioners, N. C. Senator
Warren Daniel and John
E. Skvarla, Secretary of the
North Carolina Department
of Commerce, echoed the
mayor's remarks that “this
is a important day for Kings
Mountain and a signifi-
cant day for the county and
North Carolina.”
Speaker of the House
Tim Moore said “You've
made a wise choice in com-
ing to Kings Mountain.
There's a lot of excitement
about this project.”
Senator Daniel said “You
See KM/NTE ENERGY, Page 3
An African trip
they will
never forget
Dellinger gets in a group hug with students at a school for
the deaf in Kijabe, Kenya.
Barnes shares a moment with Junior, one of her Kenyan
charges.
DAVE BLANTON
dave.kmherald@gmail.com
Few summer adventures
could measure up to those
had by recent KMHS grad-
uates Lindsey Barnes and
Mary Catherine Dellinger.
Nor could many be more
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Photos by DAVE BLANTON
eye-opening.
On Independence Day
the pair hopped on a series
of jets en route to Kenya,
where they were provided
mission work for a school
for the deaf, an orphanage
and a hospital in and around
the poverty-stricken city of
Kijabe, which is about two
hours from the teeming cap-
ital city of Nairobi.
It was the first trip to
Africa for both of the 2015
grads, who both say the ex-
perience gave them a new
See AFRICAN TRIP, Page 12
Casino branding:
Catawba Indians in
talks with Hard Rock
ROCK HILL, S.C. --
The Native American tribe
aiming to build a gaming
and resort complex in Kings
Mountain has announced
it is in negotiations with
Hard Rock International to
provide the branding for'its
proposed casino.
Catawba Indian Nation
Chief Bill Harris said over
the weekend that partnering
with a strong casino brand
is an important element in
making any resort his tribe
would operate competitive.
Hard Rock-themed casi-
nos are already in place in
ten locations worldwide, in-
cluding Orlando, Fla., Hol-
lywood, Fla., Las Vegas,
Tulsa; Okla, Vancouver,
British Columbia, Man-
chester, England, and Punta
Cana, Dominican Republic.
Tribal officials discussed
the possibility of working
See CASINO BRANDING, Page 8
90th birthday
for Paul Ham
Paul Ham, 90, is always
in his pew at Boyce Memo-
rial ARP Church where he
is a 63-year member.
The well-known Kings
Mountain man joined the
church when he married
Dorothy McCarter. They
will soon celebrate their
64th wedding anniversary.
“You don't need to do so
much for me on my birth-
day," he told his wife who
planned a birthday party for
him Saturday at the ARP
church. Over 175 friends
and relatives called from
3-5 p.m. to wish Paul a
happy 90th birthday.
Paul enjoyed visiting
with guests and reminisc-
PAUL HAM
ing about the good times.
Although he uses a walker
and at times a wheelchair,
he attends church every
See 90 BIRTHDAY, Page 8
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GROUNDBREAKING - Pictured are officials and speakers
at Tuesday morning's groundbreaking at the Kings Moun-
tain Energy Center. From left, Jason Falls, Bill Griffin, Tim
Moore, John E. Skvarla, Seth Shortlidge, Warren Daniel,
and Mayor Rick Murphrey.
Photo by HALEY WILSON
Police invite public
to National Night Out
National Night Out ,
sponsored by the City of
Kings Mountain, will be
held Tuesday, August 4 at
Patriots Park from 6-9 p.m.
“It's like an old fash-
ioned block party, an oppor-
tunity for citizens to come
out, visit with each other
and meet the crime fighters
and first responders in our
community. We'll be giv-
ing away free hot dogs with
drinks and we'll have a few
surprises for the children,"
said Mayor Rick Murphrey.
Music will be provided
by Christian® Freedom
Church Choir beginning at
6:30 p.m. at the Gazebo.
The church will be giving
out back-to-school back-
packs.
See PUBLIC, Page 8
KM singer’s story
from rags to riches
DAVE BLANTON
dave.kmherald @gmail.com
James Wayne Barber
didn’t grow up in the most
comfortable of circum-
stances.
His family was poor
growing up in King Moun-
tain and by the time he was
old enough to know what a
father was, that man in his
life had long disappeared.
His mother for her part
clung to family connections
a few years longer, but by
the time Jimmy was in his
early teens, he found him-
self alone, out of school and
scratching out a life on the
streets in seedy Gaston and
JIMMY WAYNE
Photo by Alan Poizner
Cleveland County neighbor-
hoods populated by hustlers,
drug dealers and alcoholics.
See KM SINGER, Page 8
Leisurely walk for Smiths turns horrific for couple
Mike and Gail Smith
walk two miles every day
from their home at 311
Scotland Drive with their
pet Chihuahua on a leash.
It was a leisurely walk
and an ordinary day for
them July 18th until a Great
Dane suddenly came out the
front door of a home at 406
Scotland Drive and mauled
Gail before her husband
could pull him off and in
the process both sustained
injuries to their arms before
the dog backed off when
his owner, hearing screams,
came running.
“The dog has never
done this kind of thing
before," according to the
GENERAL Ra TICKETS
Sd Sabi NOW
117- A West Warren St. 704.466. 3103
owner who said her son was
skateboarding at the time
the couple walked by their
house. She speculates that
the dog was acting as a pro-
tector to her son. The rest
See LEISURELY WALK, Page 9
RIDE
br