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ICIMGS^OUIITAIN
MIRROD-HEIALD
15
Cleveland County's M(tdern yeirsweekly"
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA 28086 THURSDAY, JULY 17,1975
Bicentennial Projects
For City Being Planned
KTENNIAL PLANNING — This large group of Kings
Bicentennial committee members met last Thurs-
litin the director’s room at First Union National Bank
alifications Questioned
ublic Works Director
nder Citizens Attack
STOW ART
MlVriter
Mountain public
Isferintendent Black
came under heavy
It Monday’s city board
numerous ciiizais
ly black — told com
ers they felt Leonard
lualified for the post,
s brought up the mat-
commissioners dis-
imendmentoftwosec-
[ the Employe Qassi-
and Pay Plan
NinaMitchem took the
id told commissioners
had been given to
lohnMossasking three
ffls about Leonard’s
ations. She said “we
'oinised an answer” by
for “but that’s the last
ird of it.”
said the petition which
i 177 names was pre-
to the commissioners
ly 9 personnel meeting
lis method a board
employes is the
peregative.”
said the board hires
‘Ployes, including the
Wei, city clerk, city a t-
city engineer and
itendent of public
*ierity of the com-
‘*fs, in answering a
“ as to why Leonard
7 instead of someone
'‘apartment being
proriioted, said Uiere were no
applications from department
employes and that the dty
needed a superintendent
immediately. Leonard was the
only applicant
Several citizens claimed
Leonard has been a “hind
rance” to bladk employes.
One woman said her son was
‘ is;-' fitf ” by Leonard because
Leonard daimed he was
“holding 15) the truck” on
trash collecitiais.
Citizens also expressed con
cern that blacks were not
being given jobs. “When a
black applies for a job, the
first thing you want to know is
‘what are your qualifications’
Other Increases Expected
Board Approves 9.6
Percent Gas Uppage
The city board of com-
missioiiers Monday night
voted an immediate 9.6 per-
cait increase to natural gas
customers and voted to pass
along further increases to the
consumer, inducing a certain
6.7 rise Oct. 1.
The9.6 percent increase will
become effective with the
August reading.
W. D. Edwards, dty gas
engineer and consultant,
recommended the rate in
creases. He said the city had
been absorbing increases and
must raise rates to keep its in-
come.
Edwards also told com
missioners that Kings Moun
tain can exped about the
same natural gas allocation as
last year. He said small indus
trial plants and residential
customers will not have much
cause to worry but large in-
Reward Offered For
Info In Bridges Case
Station Damages
Power Failure
all crews
“ll ni^t Friday and
afi. V to restore
lla! struck
Pors at the Allen Sub-
^ston St. and
“ J P-cent of the city
for 10 hours,
I time this
the city’s power
fTst thunder-
UoB,. ■ -—tyflood-
HarS hif
«raest-hit section
I was the nor-
j “"'‘t the city in the
Pallingwood
ft St, nd
,Supt. Black
sub-station
the rainfall was
estimated at three and one-
half inches during a 60-minute
period.
Light rain was still falling
late Tuesday.
Supt. Leonard said the
whole city was without power
for over an hour Wednesday
afternoon, and in some sec
tions the outage was longer.
Tree limbs had faDen across
lines in some parts of town and
city crews worked until after
midnight.
Mr. Leonard said catch
basins just couldn’t take the
heavy rain.
No accidents were reported
during the Wednesday storm
but a KM rescue squad
member, Ned Bridges, 26, was
seriously hurt Friday night
when he was struck ly a hit-
and-run driver as he directed
traffic after the power went
off.
'The city has offered a $500
reward “for information lead
ing to the arrest and convic
tion” of the hit-and-run driver
who struck and seriously in
jured a Kings Mountain
Rescue Squad member early
Saturday morning while he
was helping direct traffic
during a massive power
outage.
Meantime, Ned Bridges, 26,
remains hospitalized in Char
lotte Memorial Hospital.
According to police reports,
shortly after midnight,
Friday, a gold-colored car or
truck heading East on King St.
struck Bridges — knocking
him 40 feet from where he was
standing on Watterson St.
There were no witnesses, said
police, who said Bridges had
told his wife he has no
recollection of how the acci
dent happened.
Bridges was wearing reflec
tive ni^t clothing at the time
and was using a big battery-
type flashlight to direct traffic
in the streets blacked out by
lightning — damaged circuits
at 9:30 p. m.
Saturday night and most of
Sunday members of the KM
Rescue Squad kept a vigil
while Bridges was in Intensive
Care.
His teammates have also
launched a Ned Bridges Fund
to help defray cost of mount
ing bills. Checks should be
made payable to Ned Bridges
Fund and mailed to First
Union National Bank, Harris
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Electrical
Violations
Are Found
Electrical violations are the
major problems Codes Ad
ministrator Blade Leonard is
discovering while conducting
a uniform city codes inspec
tion in the downtown business
district.
Crawford Murphy, architect
for the KM Redevelopment
Commission, is working with
Leonard in compliance with a
request from the downtown
merchants group.
The inspection is expected
to be completed tomorrow
afternooa
He also dted violations in
volving egress, such as doors.
Leonard said he and Mur-
j^y are being well received.
Their inspection is covering
such areas, he said, as fire
hazards, wiring, structural
and general fix-iq).
Leonard said he feels down
town merchants will comply
with codes voluntarily.
Heritage music, a tour of homes, arts and crafts, restoration
of an historic homeplace, a baby contest, movies of
Revolutionary War events:
’These were some of the ideas discussed by members of the
Kings Mountain Bicentennial Committee last Thursday night.
“This meeting was basically to discuss projects, get ideas,
get some interest and participation started in planning our
local Bicentennial celebration,” said Howard Jackson, co-
chairman of the committee.
Jackson and his co-chairperson, Pat (Mrs. John 0.) Plonk,
told the gathering in First Union National Bank’s directors
room that the committee was formed to serve for at least five
years, until the actual celebration of the Battle of Kings Moun
tain (Oct. 7, 1980), but that whether the same members will
serve all five years is not known at this time.
“We have to begin working up some moneymaking projects
to finance these projects we decide on,” Jackson said. “And
our planning is not just for thisyear, but next year, too.”
One of the moneymaking projects discussed was one of
heritage music. This program would be about a two hour show
featuring professional musicians to be held in John Gamble
Stadium. The music would reach back two hundred years and
move forward to today. Jackson said it should be a program to
appeal to all tastes in music.
One project already scheduled is for Oct. 7, 1975, at Barnes
Auditorium and that is a production of the musical “1776”
featuring a traveling repertory company. The company will
come to Kings Mountain fi-om performance sin Hilton Head, S.
C.
Committee members wa^e asked to write proposals on
various projects to be discussed at a luncheon meeting at the
Royal Villa today.
Photo By Tom McIntyre
to discuss projects for the city during the coming bicentennial
celelH'ation. Howard Jackson and Pat Plonk, co-chairpersons,
presided over the meeting.
but you hire whites that aren’t
qualified,” one woman said.
Mrs. &rah Manning told
commissioners that at elec
tion time “you all come
around and t^ked nice to us
and we voted for you. Now,
you do something for us. We
(TurnToPage2A)
dustrial plants will have some
days next winter when they
will be without natural gas.
In other business Monday,
(Turn ToPage2A)
Photo By Tom McIntyre
STRUCTURE DEMOLITION — A wrecking crane on one
side and a bulldozer on the other soon made rubble of three
buildings between the Cox and old Imperial Theatre buildings
on W. Mountain St. last week. This was the first of 30 building
sites due to be demolished by Brad ley-Jenkins Enterprises
under a KM Redeveli^ment Commission contract
Demolition
Begun In City
MARK HUGHES
One Day He Could
Save Your Life,...
Mark Hughes, Kings Mountain native who joined the
KM Rescue Squad two and one-half years ago, said
“The only mistake I made was not joining earlier.”
Hughes said he likes helping people, and adds “It’s
nice to know you’re need^.”
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Hughes of the Dixon
Community and married to the former Patty Mc
Daniel, Grover native, he said he wishes he had more
time to give to the Rescue Squad. Two members of his
family have utilized the services of the KMRS the past
six months and they share with Mark the importance of
this work.
Said Mark, “I used to think everyone was crazy to
get involved in something like this without pay but that
opinion soon dianges after you become involved.
Mark’s wife is behind her husband 1(K) percent. They
live in the Dixon Community and are members of the
Antioch Baptist Church of Grover.
A licensedham radio operator, Mark sold most of his
equipment when he joined the team so that he could
devote 12-18 hours each week with the Squad, his main
interest.
Service Manager for Shiflet & Dickson of Gastonia,
he is a member of the KM National Guard and is a
graduate of KMHS and Gaston College.
By TOM McIntyre
E^tor, Mirror-Hera Id
Bradley-Jenkins’ crew
moved in on W. Mountain St.
late last Wednesday and by
the next afternoon three build
ings lay in rubble.
ITie first leg of a 30-struc-
ture demolition program was
underway under the Kings
Mountain Redevelopment
project. The old Sterchi’s
warehouse on Cherokee St.
was scheduled to fall at the
beginning of this week.
Under the demolition con
tract all- structures de
molished must be cleared
away before the next phase in
the plan is to be undertaken.
Gene White, executive
director of the redevelopment
commission said that costs
estimates are being compiled
pesently on construction of
the pedestrian walk slated for
the sites on W. Mountain St.
The buildings demolished
were the former DeDinger’s
Jewelry, Warlick and Ken’s
Snack Shop structures.
White said Bradley-Jenkins
has a deadline of July 31 to
have the first phases down and
cleared away, but said, “I
anticipate seeing the con
tractors already at work
demolishing the old Bonnie
mill and outbuildings on Gold
St., on or before the July 31
date.”
LastMonday Black Leonard
and C. Crawford Murphy
began on site inspections of
downtown business struc
tures, another part of the re
development of the downtown
area. Leonard, the city’s
public works director-codes
administrator, and Murphy,
an architect working for the
redevelopment commission,
were following up on a request
of downtown merchants for
guidelines in updating build
ings not slated for demolition.
“The next move will be to
have a general meeting with
the architect and the mer
chants to discuss grade levels
in the parking area off
Cherokee St.,” White said.
“The architect is also sup
posed to have several recom
mendations on the uniform
facade plan for the rear of
business structures to give the
merchants for consideration.”
Water
Safety
Offered
A 21-hour Red Cross ad
vanced water safety and
rescue course is scheduled for
August for Kings Mountians.
The course is open to per
sons 15 and older, accordingto
Lyn Cheshire, water safety in
structor. At this point the
locale is not decided as to the
city pool. Moss Lake or a com
bination of both.
Anyone interested in enroll
ing in this course is asked to
contact Cheshire (739-8572) no
later than Aug. 1.