Page 2A—MIRROR-HERALD—’Iliursday, October 16, 1975
The day The President didn’t come to town
On Sept.' 4 we announced President
Gerald Ford was coming to Kings Moun
tain to deliver the principal address at
the celebration of the 195th anniversary
of The.Battle of Kings Mountain.
. Little did we know what was in stc^e
for this little community.
Dear citizens, Kings Mountain has
been “rode hard and put away wet,”
“Shot at and missed, spit at and hit,” and
other well-worn cliches appropriate to
the situation.
Not only has the city been accused of
perpetrating a gigantic GOP political
rally, but now we are embroiled in a con
troversy with a high school band.
Not only that, but Connie Chung phoned
,her CBS-TV news boss from Kings Moun-
,tain on Oct. 7 to simply say “There is no
;news here.” And The Mirror-Herald now
owns almost 300 black and white photo
graphs of Nelson Rockefeller and various
and unsundry Secret Service agents and
other law enforcement officials clearly
visible in the foreground
Yes, friends and neighbors, the day
The President didn’t visit Kings Moun
tain will long be remembered and dis
cussed upon the numerous blank pages
called tomorrow and tomorrow.
On Sept. 4 when Congressman James
Broyhill’s aide, Don Wilson, called he
said the Congressman was delighted that
President Ford had accepted Kings
Mountain’s second invitation and would
accompany him here on Oct. 7.
With that encouragement [dans were
begun to make the Oct. 7 KM Battle cele
bration a rouser.
On Sept. 17 Jerry King, a local real
estate broker and accountant, accepted
the job of coordinator of The Presidential
fovrnaf
by tom m*intyro
visit. He was given a secretary, Sheila
Green, and a storage room in the base
ment at city hall was cleaned out and a
desk moved in for the coordinator’s
headquarters.
“When I accepted the job I hadn’t the
least idea what it entailed,” Jerry said.
“Now, in retrospect, I would be most
happy to see someone else have the op
portunity to handle the job. Once in a life
time is enough. If we could have planned
WROR'HERALD
ii.-'
the affair at the outset without changes it
wouldn’t have been difficult, but the way
it was handled almost drove me nuts.”
King’s life was not his own after the
phone was installed in the former storage
room. There were calls from everyone
imaginable, all wanting answers that
King said he didn’t have.
“Everything ran super for about a
week,” King said. “We were under the
impression we had enough committees
working on the various assignments,
then we found out different. At the last
minute a program was hastily prepared
for the pinters complete with letters
from the Governor, The President and
the mayor and pictures, too. Boom, that
project was off to the printers with an or
der for 10,000 copies.”
advise us on the various aspects of the
program,” King said. “And next Wed
nesday the advance crew will be in. They
will remain here in town until after Oct.
7. We are now in a position to where I’m
gonna have to pipeline phone calls to the
proper committee chairmen. The calls
are more than we can handle. Just keep
me informed.”
Zeb Plonk said there were “49 units in
the works for the parade. Ten have not
been confirmed. We really have a
problem in an oversupply of bands.”
The committee at large advised the
parade committee to begin chopping off
the bands, a move which we now know
was not to go unchallenged.
This is America at its hesU^^
That’s because certain estimates of the
crowd expected ranged up to 150,000.
The sanitary committee ordered 50
portajcims to be placed at key points
about the city to give the guests relief.
The parade committee sent out
countless liters to bands and arrange
ments were made to have seven floats
redecorated to be in the parade.
A deal was struck for expensive sound
equipment to be used inside and outside
Gamble Stadium.
Preparations were made for a speak
er’s platform and decorations for that
platform and the downtown parade route
buildings and all along the parade route.
An order was placed for 5,000 folding
chairs for the stadium to sipplement the
standing seats.
Another committee began booking
entertainment acts to play and sing from
9 a. m. until noon in the stadium for the
early arrivals on Oct. 7.
The Governors of five states were
invited as well as Great Britain’s Am
bassador to the United States. And there
were dozens of national and state select
men invited along with countless VIPS
from North and South Carolina.
'The bite was put on contributors for
funds to help pay for the Oct. 7 shindig.
Arrangements were made to feed the
VIPs and various other guests at both the
junior and senior high schools.
In other words, everything was speed
ing along like The Road,runner.
i On Sept. 24 there was another meeting
of committeemen at city hall. King pre
sided.
“Next Monday the pre-advance team
from The White House will be in town to
Col. Arthur Bouchard of Raleigh,
military support to civil authority, spoke.
“I think you ought to stick the press up in
the press box and forget about them...”
The Colonel also supplied a list for
protocol in recognizing the various
dignitaries according to their ranks and
titles.
Then a quiet, pipe-smoking gentleman
was called to the podium. His name was
Talmadge Bailey and he is in charge of
the Secret Service office in Charlotte. He
told us exactly how the press would be
handled. And it made me feel good be
cause the day before I had been shot
down for informing certain committee
members of the same things that Bailey
said.
It was during that meeting that one
member of the committee was very blunt
in his opinions of how certain of the VIPs
should be handled. Bailey made note of
this and later asked the mayor the name
of the person making the comments and
said he wanted to know all about that
committee member.
At the time the above meeting took
place there was already speculation in
the press that President Ford was not
coming to Kings Mountain. See, this lady
who claims the FBI used her to spy on the
radical element, then leaked the in
formation that she was a spy to the same
element, therefore placing her squarely
without a camp, had fired her pistol in
the presence of The President out in San
Francisco.
How to beat high cost of college
(EDITOR’S NOTE—This is the last of
four articles of great importance to high
school students concerning continuing
education especially geared toward
specific career fields. The informatiim
contained in the article was compiled by
the U. S. Department of Labor.)
Proving that what goes up doesn’t
necessarily come down, college costs are
expected to rise six - 12 percent to all-
time highs for the 1975-76 school year. A
: four-year private university now costs a
hefty $4,391 in tuition, board and room,
. and other fees, accor^ng to the College
Entrance Examination Board. A public
university carries a price tag of $2,679 for
one year of attendance.
: Tiie lotat cost 01 couege or university
training can be even more staggering.
One recent B.A. graduate estimated the
; four years he spent at a Midwesta:n
; university cost over $30,000 including
: tuition, living expenses, interest on
; educational loans, and foregone income
(salary he could have earned if he were
working). Graduate school might easily
■ have tacked on another $17,000 since by
: then foregone income would have in-
I creased through raises.
: iiiVen witn new government programs
' of assistance, many students are finding
; it difficult or impossible to finance
college. Along with the escalating costs,
a growing belief that college no longer is
the passport to a secure, good paying job
makes it a questionable investment for
many. As a result, students are sear
ching for alternatives to the traditional
college route. One increasingly popular
solution to the high cost of college is the
“no frills” vocational education offered
in a variety of public and private in
stitutions.
Vocational education offers the
benefits of postsecondary education
without the high costs d college. It
concentrates training in a specialized
career such as computer programming,
commercial piloting, fashion mer
chandising, advertising, commercial art,
even wastewater technology. There are
hundreds of careers requiring only
vocational training (and not a college de
gree). Shorn of “extras” such as expen
sive student centers, sports teams, and
liberal arts courses, vocational schools
are able to offer high quality education at
a lower cost.
For example, a studait interested in
commercial art may attend a college or
university for four ye^rs, taking a total of
96 credits. Less than half of those credits
will have been earned in commercial art
subjects, with the majority in such
courses as English lit, science, phys ed,
and other non-related, but required
courses. A career school studait only
pays for courses he or she needs to enter
the job market.
The savings can be substantial, in this
case two years of tuition. An average
year at a vocational schod costs $1,500 to
$2,000. But, not only does the commercial
art student at a vocational school pay a
lower cost, he is out in the job market
earlier and earning an extra two years of
salary.
Unlike college, vocational training is
unabashedly employment-oriented. In
addition to being taught only those skfils
needed for entry into the job market,
career students are given “hands rai”
training which places them in actual
work environments either with
cooperating employers or in the school’s
own shop. There, students learn by doing
andasa result get practical work experi
ence which often gives them the edge
over academically-trained students.
With-all the emphasis on employment,
placement is hi^ in accredited
vocational schools. According to the Na
tional Association of Trade and Techni
cal Schools, an organization of accredit
ed vocational schools, over 70 percent of
graduates find employment in their
fields shortly after graduation but the
figure is p-obably higher since many
grads leave the school area for jobs and
cannot be reached. By comparison the
Department of Labor estimates only 60
percent of college grads obtain employ
ment in their field.
enrolled in a vocational school, technical
school, collie or university, you may be
eligible for assistance under one or more
of the programs below.
In fact, the job market is increasingly
becoming glutted with teadiers, history
majors, psychologists and others. Recent
reports from the Labor Department indi
cate the number of grads threatens to ex
ceed demand by 800,000.
(1). Basic Educational Opportunity
Grant Program: This program offers
outright grants to eligible students at
tending an ^proved vocational school or
other postsecondary educational in
stitution.
grants ranging from $200 to $1,500 a year
to students. However, under SEOG, the
school must provide you with additional
financial assistance equal to the amount
of the grant.
While 15.3 million students will gradu
ate from a college or university between
1972 and 1965, the labor force need is
pegged at only 14.5 million. Less than a
quarter of the 61.2 million job openings
during that time will require collie, and
only a third of all white-collar job
openings will be filled with d^ree
holders.
Lastyear$135 million went begging be
cause students didn’t know about this
new program of student assistance. This
year over $783 million is available for
those wiping to pursue a degree or a
career at a vocational school.
Who is Eligible? This program is for
students of exceptional financial need
and who would have to discontinue their
education without added financial help.
They must be enrolled at least ona half
time basis.
How to Ap[dy — Forms may be ob
tained through the financial aid officer of
eligible vocational schools and colleges.
Who’s Eligible? If you are accepted by
or airolled in a postsecondary educa
tional institution on at least a half-time
basis and if you did not attend a post?
secondary school before Apr. 1, 1973, you
may be aititled to a grant amounting to
not less than $200 and not mwe than
$1,400.
According to Herbert Bienstock,
Assistant Regional Director for the U. S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, college
graduates will increasingly be forced
into fields not related to their training,
such as sales, clerical and service jobs.
The result will be underemployment and
job dissatisfaction ^ grads, out of
economic necessity, seek employment in
areas where their training is not fully
utilized.
How To Apply — To find out if you are
eligible, complete a form called “Ap
plication for Determination of Basic
Grant Eligibility” which is usually
available from high schools, accredited
vocatiaial schools, colleges, and your
public library. If you still cannot obtain
this form, write Basic Grants, P. 0. Box
84, Washington, D. C. 20044.
(4). College Work Study Program;
This ‘earn while you learn’ assistance
program provides students with jobs
while in school. The jobs are arranged
with participating non-profit employers,
often in positions relevant to training.
The salaries paid are equal to the current
minimum wage and may earn qualified
students as much as $3.50 a n hour.
Who’s eligiMe? Students airolled at
least half-time and whose financial need
is deta-mined by the school’s financial
aid officer.
How to Apply — Ap[dy for Work-Study
through the financial aid officers of
eligible school.
...
MIMOR'HERALD
TOMMcINTYHE
Editor
DARRELL AUSTIIV
Gen. Mgr.
GARLAND ATKINS
Publisher
GARY STEWART
Sports Editor
CLYDE HILL
ADV.DIR.
EI.I/.ABETH STEWART
Woman’s Editor
MEMBER OF NORTH CAROLINA PRE.SS \hhim IATION
Kmgs Mountain Mirror-Herald is published each Thui.cl«» hv (ieneral Publishing
Co., P. O. Box 6, Kings Mountain, N. C., 280H6. Offices wir l..• uled downtown at 204 S.
Piedmont Ave. Phone 739-7496. Single copy 15 ceiil* Viihsi iIpiion rates: In N. C.,
yearly, $5.20; Out-Of-State, yearly, $6.24. Second cliis» posiitKe paid at Kings Mountain,
Emjioyment growth through 1985 is
predicted to center on the service-
producing areas with a 55 percent in
crease in the need for craftsmen, rq)air-
men.auto medianics, technicians, para
medics, and offiers. ~
The major factors^contributing to this
demand are the growing population
accompanied by increasing urbanization
with its emphasis on the need for more
city services and, -finally, a rising
standard of living has accelerated the
demand fgr all types of services.^
For a listing of vocational schools,
craisult the U. S. Office of Education’s
“Directory of Postsecondary Sdiools
With Occupational Programs” which is
available from the Government Printing
Office, Washington, D. C. 20402 for $3.95
A free 104-page Directory of Ac
credited Trade and Technical Schools is
available from NATTS, 2021L St., N. W.,.
Washington, D. C. 20036.
(2) National Direct Student Loam
Program; This year a total of $321
million has been ^propriated for the
program, vdiich enables needy students
to borrow up to $10,000 depending on their
year of stucfy. There is a $2,500 ceiling for
the first two years of study, with an addi
tional $2,500 allowed for the second two
years.
Repaymait begins nine months after
you graduate or leave school. A three
percent interest rate is the only charge
and you have up to 10 years to repay the
loan.
(5) Guaranteed Student Loan
Program; This major loan program
enables students to borrow maiey for
schwl through banks, credit unions,
saving and loan associatims and other
participating institutions. If you ixie^ the
qualifications of the lender, you may
torrow up to $2,500 a year at 7 percent
interest. The loan is guaranteed by either
participating states or the federal
government. Repayment of the loan
begins nine to 12 months after you leave
school. Students are allowed to 10
years to repay.
that there was no pre-arivon
town Monday and “Ea ®“ Wr
no advance nartv
party i
no advance party.
“I did get a call from p„k'
he President’s Martin of!
party was not coming in” .
continued “H, ^ ” (“6 niaynn
continued. “He said cLo ’
hill’s nffin.. °'’8‘'®smanBroi
Mrs.„ce.o„,afe7Er
reportedly, was an^y
nails and spit bullets. rlie
The mayor had been on the ns.
Broyhill several times that da!!”!*'
no one was being giv® anv ir^
from ■fte White
from newsmen ended Without al '
new information. scrap,
■me tone of the Wednesday (nrinh
Oct. 7) meeting took a decidW i ,
Themayor continued, “Pressure sb
applied from different ca^
W^hington. Sen. Jesse Helmsisi
The ^emdent to come to Kings!
tain-We’ve even asked that an offe
made the Vice President to stand!
The President is not comii^ ”
Lyii Nofziger, campaign manager
Ronald Reagan, was contacted about
possibfiity of the former Calife
Governor coming in to speak.
Reagan was interested but
schedule would not permit it Hewa
Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 7 with a 1
afternoon trip to Houston, Texas
Jerry King said “We’re still 99 perc
sure we’ll have an answer by today
Howard Jackson said, “I thinkweh
reached a point where we have to •
being sweet little boys like we have bl
I think we ought to call a news confere
with newspapers and TV and tell
whole world the story. It’ll be
barrassing to The Presideit, I’m so
but he’s brought this on himself by let
his aides work this deal.”
Some other committee member s
“It looks as if The White House is
(Please Turn To Page3A)
Reader dkdogu
However, The President steadfastly
maintained that he would not cancel his
commitments. At the same time The
White House press corps had begun to be
very non-committal about things.
They wouldn’t say yes and they
wouldn’t say no.
That’s when the best laid plans, etc.
began going astray.
Howard Jackson said, “With the
rumors in the press that Ford is not
coming to Kings Mountain, the flow of
contributions have suddenly stopped. I’m
afraid to answer the pRone for Jedr the ji,
ones who have contributed will want it
back.”
At a merting the following Tuesday
Mayor John Moss told the committeemen
Apology Dm
AshbrookBmi
To The Editor,
This season you are celebrating
anniversary of a revolutionary
battle. Where wcxild this country be J
day if all those who fou^t in the revi
tionary war would have been require
we3r uniforms (to use your words) “ti
into the scheme of things!!”
You have denied the members
Ashbrook High School Band the ri^l
participate in the celebration of our
tional heritage. How unAmerican
you get!
Do you really believe the Vi
President of the United States wo
have been niset to see an un-unifort
band marching in his honor? Wedoub
“All men are created equal... soli
as they are in uniform.” That’s not
idea of Americanism. We’re wondei
what your idea of Americanism
We feel you owe not only the menib
of the Ashbrook High School bam
apology, but also those Americans
truly believe in the principles uponwh
our constitution was based.
PAUL R. SCHMIDT
2409 Central
Kansas City, KS
SONDRA S. ME'TCALF
8811 W. 101st Terr.
Overland Park, KS
VIRGINIA M. CLARK
6358 Orville
Kansas City, KS
Not At Expens
Of My Gty
To The Editor,
I just read the article, “No unifon
No March.” When I read the headiine
this article and saw the pictures oft
fivestudents, my heart went out to tb^
because I said here is five young la
that were done an injustice. But, w
read on down and found out that fou^
the five were boys, I changed my m
As far as Kin^ Mountain owmg
brook an apology, it should be m® “ .
way around. Here is a sdiool wanW
play on the sympathy of the people tog
new uniforms for its band at a c
$20,(X)0. The school knew weeks
vance that this parade was J
and had time to appeal , ,|||
uniforms. It should also lave
decaicy to have declined the m
because it had no uniforms. t
Who wants to see a band W
blue jeans, white shirts,
white sneakers. You can see ki .
Who* is Eligible? Any student who is
airolled at least half-time at an eligiUe
institution and who has financial need.
How to Apply — Applications may be
obtained at the financial aid office of
eligible colleges and vocational schools.
Who’s eligible? If you are enrolled at
least half-time in a vocational or trade
school or other hi^er educational in
stitution participating in the program,
and if you have financial need, you may
be eligible for the loan. The federal
government may, in some cases, pay the
interest for you while you are in school.
like this on every street corner i
every drug store. b®
The U. S. Office of Education offers
five major programs to help students
finance their education beyond high
school. If you have been accepted or are
3. Supplemental Educational Op
portunity Grant Program: Fcx- the 1975-
76 school year, $240 million has been
provided fcr SEOGs. Like the Basic
Grant Program, this offers outright
How to Apply — Information on the de
tails of the program and application
forms may be obtained from schools,
banks and other lenders, your State
Guarantee Agency, and regional offices
of the U. S. Office of Education.
People come to a parade to - j
not to hear a band. If they want o JejL
band, they go to a band cone® •
want to see the bright co
uniforms and watch the i
They are not really jnteres
song the band is playing or e j
are in tune. , Ash-
I don’t care how much ^ „„
brook gets because the
uniforms, but not at the eiq)
mayor or my city.
WILLIAM W. WORTHEN
Kings Mountain