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At Kings Mountain High
Optional School Program Is Working
By TOM McIntyre
Editor, The Mirror
What is an optional school?
According to J.C. Atkinson, Kings
Mountain high principal, “it's a school
for kids who have been turned off b;-'
regular sessions and routine.”
Atkinson said people may call it what
they like, but the new experimental
program is working. “We have thirty
kids in the program. We were asked to
handle the optional school project
because we have a state-wide recognized
occupational program at Kings Mountain
high.”
The program here is costing $48,000.
“That sounds like a lot of money,”
Atkinson t’.id, “but in New Hanover
where they h■^ve .ibeut 100 kids in op
tional school, they figured it out. From
the taxes these kids are paying from
their job salaries, they are paying for
their own education.”
The first requirement for a student in
the optional school is to have a job. If Ute
students do not have jobs, then the school
officials will try to find them one.
The regular school setup is not suitable
for all students according to Atkinson.
“There are students who cannot tolerate
the regular system.Theyare individuals.
It doesn't go down well just being one
member of a class of thirty students and
never being spoken to. The kid who fits
into this category generally raises hell to
get attention.
“This isn’t to say this kid doesn’t have
a good miixl,” the principal said “It
means his mind cannot expand under the
regular setup. The same thing with a kid
who cannot talk at all in front of a
classroom. I mean he just cannot get up
and open up in front of a large group of
people. To force this kid to do it is brutal.
“But in a class with five or six, if he
gets to know them well, it's highly
possible the tongue-tied student will get
up and talk, communicate.”
Atkinson said there is a so-called
English class in the optional school, but
the class is taught a Afferent way. The
student istaught to communicate. “What
is English but communication?”
Atkinson asked. “What the devil does
this student need with English gram-
mer? He needs to know how to write a
letter, how to communicate. That’s what
we try to teach him.”
The optional school concept is another
method of aiding a student in finding
himself. It’s easy to get lost today, ac
cording to Atkinson. "It’s easy at Kings
Mountain high,” he said. “We have 1,200
students in a school designed for 800-900
students. It’s crowded to say the least.
And the individual, or the misfit, finds it
easy to become lost.
“We have to do something for that
student as well as all the others,” he
continued. “Why put him through the
mental torture of regular classroom
sessions when he can be placed with
smaller groups of individuals where he
can learn. During the day, let this student
go to work. Let him go to class at night.”
Atkinson said education and teaching
is changing rapidly today. Now there are
yearly, semester and quarterly courses
offered students.
“A kid can take courses all year, or for
eighteen months or nine week,” Atkinson
said. "We work on the quarter system,
the percentage system. One credit for the
year. Half a credit for semesters and a
fourth of a credit for quarters, and we are
looking seriously to extending this into
the summer. 1 think we will eventually go
completely to the quarterly courses and
we’ll probably get down to a point where
a kid graduates with fifty-two quarter
hours.
“We’re hoping to inculcate into a
summer school enough to where if a kid
wants to graduate in two or three
years... let him do so,” he continued.
“We’ve been pernickety about that in
the past. We don’t like people to graduate
too early. We don’t think they are mature
enough.”
Atkinson said we would be surpised at
how mature some of the high school
students are today. “Some kids have had
more experiences in the ninth grade than
we (adults) will ever have. All kinds of
experiences.
“We talk about their maturity on one
hand and how immature they are on the
other,” he continued. “That makes them
a mixture. Just like you and me.
“But even in a mixture of ty pes there is
the individual,” he said, “and that’s
usually the student who drops out of
school, gets into trouble. And these are
the students educators had in mind when
the optional school method was devised.
And it works.”
“TKOvun
VOL. 3 NO. 27
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA 28086 THURSDAY, MARCH 14,1974
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Action on changing the ward
system in Kings Mountain was
deferred Monday night until
“the full board of com
missioners can be present to
discuss the matter”.
Ward Five commissioner
JamcsAmos made the motion
after hearing a letter sent to
tile board by the KM Chamber
of Commerce president Dr.
Frank Sincox.
In the letter to the board,
the Chamber said it “would
imrmally avoid any item of a
political nature, but feels that
in this case that more equal
representation and therefore
more equitable government is
a pioper function for support
by tlie Chamber.”
According to the letter the
matter of changing the
current ward system was
brought to the city board after
Chamber member Bob
Mailer issued a report on the
Inequities now existing.
Ill Mailer’s report, he stated
unequal growth in the city had
caused the wards to become
unequal. He cited one com
missioner now represents a
ward of less than '200
'•egistered voters and another
commissioixir represents a
ward of more than 1000 voters.
The letter said, “Although
our commissioners are now
elected at large, each one is
required to live within his
15 Cents Per 1,000 Cubic Feel
Gas Rates Are Going Up
Residential natural gas
users will be getting a higher
gas bill come the first of May
as a result of city board action
Monday night.
The residential users will
bear a 15 cent raise per
thousand cubic feet con
sumed.
W.D. Edwards, the city’s
gas consulting engineer told
the board an increase was
msiidatory because the city
had “reached the end of the
line absorbing the cost of gss
from Transco.”
Edwards said that Transco,
the city’s gas supplier, had
instituted 21 rate increases
since December 1969 and the
city had gone up on its rates
to customers only once in
February 1971. Since 1969
overall gas cost to the city has
gone from 37.06 cents to 60.66
cents.
Ill February, 1971, the city
hiked gas rates to customers
10 cents per thousand cubic-
feet but Edwards said “by the
time the rates took effect
Transco went up again.” The
city has been absorbing the
rate increases and Edwards
stated “you cannot do so any
longer.”
Ill his recommendations,
Edwards said the city should
raise residential and in
dustrial rates 10 cents per
thousand cubic feet plus an
extra five cents to cover “the
cost of doing business” which
includes maintenance of
vehicles, insurance, etc. Hie
interruptible customers rates
will go from 52 cents to 68
cents.
The new rates for
lesidential customers will be:
$1.25 minimum, $1.73 for the
first 2500-m-c-f, $1.28 for the
first 700 m-c-f, $1.18 for the
first 10,000, $1.13 for the first
80,000 m-c-f and $1.08 for the
first 100,000 m-c-f and over.
According to Edwards, the
increases will “bring the city
back to the same profit
margin it had In December
1969. ■'
Aside from recommending
the increases, the consulting
engineer said the city should
Lake Authority In Bind
Over Wooden Pier Okay
Plioio by Jay Ashley
“LIKE I TOLD THE JUDGE” - Jimmy Martin and the
-Sunny Mountain Boys clowned around Saturday night at the
Uiossroads Music Park Bluegrass FestivaL but levity gave
into seriousness when Marlin received the Crossroads’ award
fiH' “Outstanding Work in the Field of Bluegrass.” See details
and more photos on page 3B.
Ward Change
Talk Tabled
ByJAY ASHLEY
Mirror Staff Writer
Will wood pier pilings ap
pear or disappear?
One did and one won’t
The confusion above is just
as confusing as the city board
meeting Monday night when
the issue of pier pilings and
the KM Lake Authority report
was discussed.
Glee Bridges, secretary of
the Lake Authority brought to
the board a report from the
Authority outlining various
proposed rules for boathouses.
piers and other lake-related
matters.
Bridges scanned over the
rules for the benefit of the
coniniissioners and noted
most discussion from the
Authority came from a section
devoted to pier pilings. The
Lake Authority adopted
recommendations from
consulting engineer W. Tom
Cox in their meeting Thursday
night stating only concrete,
either formed or poured in
place or of pre-cast pre
stressed units should be used
in pier pilings. The Authority
later amended the rules to
(lermit the use of approved
galvanized steel.
The problems arose when
Lamar Young told the
Authority he had already
begun construction of a pier on
his land at the lake due to the
rising water and had used
wooden pilings. He asked the
Authority to allow him to
continue building his pier.
Secretary Bridges voted to
disallow Young’s request but
was overruled by members
Corbet Nicholson, Brooks Tate
and M.C. Pruette who voted to
let construction continue.
The argument against the
wooden pilings was that the
creosote pilings would allow
oil into the water. Bridges
noted the purpose of the lake
was “for pure drinking water”
and didn’t want the poles to
stay.
The report was then for
warded to the city board
Monday night for its approval.
Ward Five commissioner
James Amos spoke out
against the wooden pilings
agreeing with Bridges about
(See LAKE p.5A)
adopt a gas purchase cost
adjustment clause. The clause
would allow the city to pass
along any increase from
Transco to the city’s gas
customers immediately and
keep Kings Mountain from
“accumulating a deficit.”
Edwards said gas
customers should “be happy
the rates have stayed as low
as they havebeen for so long”.
He said the proposed rates
were 'in line” with com
parable sized cities in the
surrounding area.
The recomnieixlations were
adopted unanimously and will
go into effect with the May
billing.
In other business the board;
- voted to readvertise the
bids for cathodic protection
for the natural gas system.
- approved a petition for
curb and gutter and
preliminary assessments for
Katherine St. from Fairview
to Second St. Public hearing
set for April 8.
- approved a preliminary
assessment resolution for
Ashbrook Park. Public
hearing set for April 8.
- approved a petition for
paving and preliminary
assessment resolutions for
Biddix St. from York Rd. to
Dead End. Public hearing set
for April 8.
- approved a resolution
declaring cost exclusive of
costs incurred at street in-
(See GAS p.6AI
yVo Leaf Pickup
Unless....
Hal D. Hicks, assistant
superintendenL department of
public works, said today the
city will no longer pickup
leaves or grass clippings at
private residences unless
“they are placed in bags or
boxes and are placed at the
curb.”
Dean Westmoreland
KM Teacher Elected
President of NCAE
ward. This same restriction
will not allow a properly
elected commissioners to
change location of his
residence outside his ward, a
factor which may be of per
sonal inconvenience to him.”
The chamber offered three
recommendations for
lesolving the inequities in the
cunent ward system:
(1) elect commissioners at
large without sti|Xilation of
their residence, "rhey noted
this method would also save
some expense of city elections
as It would reduce the number
of polls.
(2) to reduce ttie number of
wards, enlarge each
remaining ward and elect
more than one commissioner
from each.
(3) to redraw the ward
deliniations and equalize the
encompassed voters, with a
pi'ovision for periodic review
of recun ent need for revision.
In closing the letter the
Chamber said they wished “to
make these discrepancies
known to the board of com-
n issionei-s but «ished to defer
the selection of the ap-
l*o, . iate method of correc
tive action to the d'seretion of
tl'c board of commissioners.
The Chamber also feels that
now. approximately tWoyears
(See WARD p.6A>
GROUNDBREAKING -Oak View Baptist Church is building
a new sanctuary and educational facility. Groundbreaking
services un the site were held recently to kickoff the $124,000
ciNislruction. The present site was built in 1939 when the
iiii-nihership was 46 and the Rev. E.O. Gore was pastor.
Mission gifts in 19.79 totaled $7. Today, Rev. David Kime’s
I'hoio by l.ti. .Alexander
congregation numbers 20t and mission gifts for '73 totaled
$3,795. Above are the Rev. E.O. Goreand the Rev. David Kime.
And on the front row (I. to r.) are Mrs. Gore, Mrs. John
Spearman, Earl Spearman and Robert Childers. Bark row:
Kriineth Metcalf. James GaulUiey, John Caldwell and Harold
Farris.
Dean B. Westmoreland,
teacher at Kings Mountain
High School recently won an
election as president-elect of
the North Carolina
Association of Educators
(NCAE).
Westmoreland, a native of
Grover, has been teaching at
the high school for the past six
years. He teaches social
studies, history, great
religions and environmental
education. Dean is a graduate
of Lees-McRae College and
Appalachian State University.
He is married to the former
Carolyn Lee of Myrtle Beach,
S.C. and they attend Trinity
Episcopal Church in Kings
Mountain.
Westmoreland’s victory
came Friday when the votes
were counted for the office of
president for 1975-76 for the
56,000-member NCAE.
Opposing the local educator
was Ernest V. Logemann, a
Winston-Salem high school
teacher.
Westmoreland will serve
one year as vice-president-
president elect of NCAE
before assuming the office of
president in April, 1975. His
term as president will be for
one year.
A former member of the
NCAE Board of Directors,
Dean has also been president
of NCAE on the local and
district levels. He is currently
state chairman of the Political
Action Committee for
Education (PACE).
Wosimoroland will lolinu
John Lucas, principal of
Hillside High School in
Durham, as NCAE president
Lucas, who has been serving
as vice-president-president-
elect this year, takes office as
president April 5 at the NCAE
state convention in Charlotte.
“I really appreciate the
votes and financial support I
received during the cam
paign”, Westmoreland said,
“and I am especially happy
over my support from our
District Two.”
In District Two, West
moreland received 2817 votes
to Logemann’s 262 votes.
Westmoreland stated he felt
being president would help
Kings Mountain because, “the
name Kings Mountain will be
carried all over the state.”
V
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