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Roamin^ Around
Town
Cons
® Mch. 402^4
iuvittlay
With
Darrell Austin
(IniiTeclleiits: There will be
bitH of news, very little wisdom.
Home humor and comments.
Home vIewH from other editors.
Directions: Take weekly. If
possible, but please avoid an
overdose.)
This week’s comments come
from the Herald’s Publisher,
Garland Atkins.
Now that Thanksgiving Is
over, it is time for all of us to
start thinking about Christmas.
Christmas should be a
peaceful time of the year, but
I’m afraid for most of us it’s
more of a "Plop-Plop-Flzz
Fizz” time of the year.
There are more murders In
December. More rapes, more
robberies, more loneliness,
more couples break up, more
suicides, more tension, more
headaches, more bitterness.
I don’t think that Is what
"THE MAN" had In mind.
Christmas seems to start out all
right, but by the time It’s over,
the adults are worn out and the
children are Irritable.
I have thought about the
situation and I have decided that
It doesn't have to be that way.
And so I am offering some
suggestions as to how we can all
enjoy Christmas more and avoid
some of the miseries that seem
to go along with the season.
(1) Never order Christmas
gifts from a mall order
catalogue. If you do, there are
about five things that can
happen, and four of them are
bad. First of all, once you order
from these out-of-town con
cerns, you get on every mailing
list in the country, including
catalogues from the navajo
Indians, every cheese maker
from Switzerland, North Dakato
orange groves, and manufac
turers of $300 a pair bedroom
shoes.
If you are lucky enough to get
the article, it never looks like
what it did in the magazine. You
will be lucky If you ever
recognize it. Buy your gifts from
local people who run local
stores. They need the money
more than these out-of-town
people do.
(2) Don’t buy a live Christmas
tree if you have tiny Children,
cats or male dogs in the house.
By the time they get through
with the tree, it will wdsh It were
dead.
(3) If you have purchased toys
that have to be put together,
assemble them sometime before
midnight Christmas eve. There
is nothing more frustrating than
trying to fit part A to part B at 3
a.m.
(4) Forget to buy batteries.
Then half of what you get for the
kids won’t run and you have
bought a day or two of peace and
quiet.
(8) Lock up everything—your
house, your car, your office, and
your garage. Try locking up
your house even when you’re In
it. That helps to keep your
relatives away.
(8) Never drink before you
shop.Your will power is low and
you will buy things that you
never would had you been sober.
(7) Tell your teenagers that
beginning December 1, no music
will be played in the house but
Christmas music. That gives
you a whole month without any
rock ’n Toll.
(8) Don’t let Christmas run
you. Have Christmas the way
you want to. Don’t go to any
parties you don’t want to. Don’t
buy any presents you don’t won i
to, don't get caught up in the
hassle.
Leave a little time to be by
yourself. Save a moment just to
walk out in the backyard, look
up Into the heavens, and search
out that same star. It’s up there
somewhere.
(To comment in this column,
write Roamin’ Around Town,
P.O. Box 752, or give me a call at
73B-74»e.)
yOLLME 90 - !\LMHEH 95 - TLESUAY, UECEMHEH 4, 1979 - KllSt.S MtU .MAIS, yOHTH (:AKfHA.\A
City Has 30 Days To Respond
Corrective Actions Listed By HUD
By ELIZABETH STEWART
The city will file answers
within 80 days to 14 questions
raised In a recent audit of the
city’s community development
IK’ogram by the Department of
Housing and Urban Develop
ment.
What action HUD expects on
correcting the findings were
detailed In a four-page
memorandum from Betsy
Stafford, area manager of
Bridges
Services
Are Held
One thing six-year-old Tracy
Bridges had been looking for
ward to of late was seeing Santa
Claus ride in the Kings Mountain
Christmas Parade.
Although he wasn’t feeling
well, he was granted his wish
last Wednesday and sat
wrapped up in a wheelchair on
Battleground Avenue as the 90
units circled through downtown.
Thursday night, his condition
worsened and he was rushed to a
local hospital. Doctors said they
could do no more for him and he
returned to his home in Mid-
pines, where he died at 9:45 a.m.
Friday.
Death ended an almost life
long battle with cancer for the
handsome six-year-old. Cancer
was first discovered behind his
ear when he was 18 months old.
The last year his condition
continuously worsened as he
made constant trips to Duke
Hospital for treatment.
His battle was unknown to
most until several weeks ago
when It was brought to the
community’s attention through
a story In the Herald. Since that
time, Tracy and his family
made hundreds of new and
concerned friends.
Funeral services were con
ducted Sunday afternoon at
Westover Baptist Church by
Rev. Roger Webb, who was at
the family’s side during much of
the crisis and at Tracy’s side at
the time of death. Burisil was In
Mountain Rest Cemetery.
Tracy is survived by his
parents, Mr, and Mrs. David
Bridges, a twin brother, Stacy,
and his two-year-old sister,
Tammy. Also surviving are his
grandparents, Lester Summitt
and Mrs. Thelma Summitt, both
of Kings Mountain, and Mrs.
Dora Lee Bridges of Conover.
Greensboro’s HUD office and
received by Mayor John Henry
Moss Thursday.
’’We are currently working
with the clty’a auditors, the firm
of A.M. Pullen k Co. to provide
the documentation,” said
Thomasson. The Pullen firm
audits the city’s books annually
and has audited virtually all city
programs since the city began
receiving federal grants IB
years ago In the amount of more
than $22 million.
The list of suggested
corrective actions were dated
Nov. 27th and appear toned
down from the original 28 page
audit report which was Issued
Oct. 5th suid the six page
memorandum which followed a
routine saidlt by the federal
auditors of the city’s community
development block grant
program.
Since receiving the Initial
copy of the audit, the city has
been In process of collecting
evidence to suiqxirt each of the
projects In question, said
Thomasson.
Mr. Thomasson said that each
iiuestion will be answered and
that if the city disagrees with
HUD on how to correct the Items
in question he understands "we
will have an opportunity to
present our case further.”
The question, he ssdd, is not of
misuse of money but of
eligibility of project money. It is
the oplnlMi of the HUD auditors,
he said, that findings did not
mean that the costs were for
Improper purposes but there
was Insufficient documentary
evidence to allow a deter
mination of their eligibility.
Two big projects In question
are the use of the Community
(Center and the construction of
the York Road sewer project
which the audit says are in
conflict with program
requirements for low and
moderate Income families.
Mayor John Henry Moss says
the city can document eligibility
of project costs totaling over $1
million but former Community
Development Coordinator
Arnold Gordon-Wright
disagrees. Gordon-Wright, now
CD director for the City of
Forest City, told the Herald this
week that "It will be an Im
possible task to come up with all
the records for some of the
programs," recalling that he
was unable to provide the
auditors some of the documents
before he left the city’s em
ployment In mid-September.
Gordon-Wright, who worked for
the city two years, msintalns the
audit points up discrepancies In
the community development
program which he knew existed
all along. He confirmed that he,
as CD co-ordlnator for the city,
made HUD aware on several
occasions but "never In an
accusing manner."
Gordon-Wright guessed It will
take about a year for the city to
resolve the matter with HUD.
Attorney Thomasson and CD
interim director Alvin Moretz
did not estimate how long the
process would evolve but
acknowledged that the city will
make every effort to provide the
necessary documentation.
Enumerated are the out
standing findings, along with
suggested corrective actions
HUD says should be taken by the
city to resolve them:
- Finding No. 1 - Use of Neigh
borhood Facility in conflict with
program requlrements-The city
(Turn to page 9)
VIEW DISPLAV-Central School students look
over photographs and jewelry which were a part
of a display on the culture of Iran presented by an
Photo by Gary Stewart
Iranian college student on Friday. The student
also showed slides, and gave a brief talk and
answered questions during every class period.
Thursday At 4 p.m.
Grover Parade Slated
TTie annual Grover CSiristmas
Pawade is scheduled for Thur
sday at 4 p.m.
Tile parade, sponsored by the
Grover Lions Club, will form on
Highway 226 near Bethany
Baptist Church. It will proceed
to Main Street, then to Laurel
Avenue and disband at the
Grover Medical Clinic.
Tlie Grover School PTO will
sell doughnuts along the parade
route, and immediately
following the parade will
sponsor a hot dog supper at
the school cafeteria.
Units, in order of appearance,
include:
N.C. Highway Patrol, flag
horses, Grover Police, Ram
bling Rebels band. Grand
Marshall H.A. Thompson of
WBT Radio. Air National
Guard, skull and dragon team.
Kings Mountain National Park,
Grover Cub Scouts, Number
Three Fire Dept., Cleveland
County Sheriff Haywood Allen,
WXIK Radio, Shiloh Centennial
float, Grover Town officials.
Senator Ollle Harris, Cleveland
Tech float, Grover Fire Dept.;
Also. County Commissions.
Boling Springs units. Carousel
Princess Melany CTark, KMHS
Homecoming Queen Wendy
S t r i n g f e 11 ow , KMHS
cheerleaders, KMHS band.
Kings Mountain bankers and
savings and loans float, Grover
Rescue Squad, Grover Little
League, Grover Girl Scouts,
Grover tooth fairy, Shrlners
cars, Grover Fire Dept., CTover
Junior High band, Mlnette Mill
float. Kings Mountain School
Board;
(Turn to page 10)
Parade
Was One
Of Best
O <
best
THOUSANDS VIEW PARADE-Roth sides of Battleground giMtri
Avenue are thickly lined with citizens attending Wednesday’s units
annual Christmas Parade, sponsored by the Kings Mountain Fire ever.
Department. At time this photo was taken they were watching a
Photo hy Gary Stewart
show put on by the Piedmont Shrlners on go-carts. Over 90
were In the parade, which was termed as one of the best
"One of the city’s
Oirlstmas parades."
This Is the way the Kings
Mountain Fire Department-
sqionsored Christmas parade In
IQngs Mountain was described
by one spectator.
With the weather perfect,
crowds of Greater-Kings
Mountain area citizens crowded
the downtown streets last
Wednesday to watch a colorful
"Mountaineer" theme parade
which officially opened the 1979
CSiiistmas shopping season.
Approximately 85 units made
iq) the parade which required
about 50 minutes to pass through
the business district and
culminated with Santa Claus
and reindeer with Roy Pearson
assisting as Santa’s helper in
distributing candy to kids lining
the route.
The parade featured a bit of
almost everything. There were
pretty girls. Including the
reigning Miss North Carolina
. Mnnta MakI of Hickory. Trisha
(Turn to page 3)