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Volume 94, Number 31
Board Grants
T ransportation
For 9 Students
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By ELIZABETH STEWART
Co-Editor
The Kings Mountain Board of
Lducation voted 3-1 Thursday
to relax its recently adopted
school assignment plan and pro
vide school bus transportation
for the rest of this school year for
nine students who attend
Beihware School but reside in
the Grover District.
The action came after a
lengthy discussion and over the
objections of trustee Bill
McDaniel who pointed out that
the new pupil assignment plan
spells out that parents, not the
school system, are responsible
for providing transportation for
their children to attend schools
outside their attendance zone.
l.ee Perkins, a resident of the
new White Plains subdivision in
the Bethlehem Community,
complained that nine students
stand out on a busy Highway
congested with 75 Bypass con
struction to be picked up by a
Bethware bus. He charged that
schtxtl buses pick up six children
and take them to Grover, carry
three students to Central, and
two students to Kings Mountain
High School, all from that area,
and contended that a Bethware
bus should pick up the nine
Bethware students at their
residences. “That’s what we pay
taxes for”, he told the board.
McDaniel contended that
White Plains is in the Grover
schiKtl attendance zone and
Larry Allen presented tax maps
that pinpointed the area’s loca
tion in the Grover attendance
area. The board then voted
unanimously to reaffirm the
boundary lines established by
the 1968 school desegregation
plan but after much discussion
agreed with Mr. Perkins that the
board clarify where the lines
are.
McDaniel said he voted
against the matter because, in ef
fect, the board would be setting a
precedent. McDaniel, a resident
of the Bethlehem area, said the
White Plains subdivision was
constructed only a few years ago
and that only a couple of houses
which face Bethlehem Road are
actually in the Bethware school
attendance zone. “Y our kid was
not picked out to be transferred
from Bethware early in the
year”, he told Perkins, ex
plaining that a child of Mr. and
Mrs. Perkins had been transfer
red from Bethware because of
overcrowded conditions, and
along with many other out-of-
attendance zone students. The
new school assignment plan
stipulates that if overcrowding
occurs that the outside district
pupil will be reassigned to the
school in which he or she resides.
“If we have a policy we need
to stick to it”, McDaniel main
tained.
June Lee, Kyle Smith and
Harold Lineberger voted to pro
vide the bus transportation the
remainder of the year but Mrs.
Lee said she did so because she
was unsure of the boundary line
separating the school zones and
asked that information concern
ing the boundary line location be
EASTER CROSS—Th* congragatlon oi El B«th«l United
Methodist Church decorated a cross of Spring flowers and
placed it in front of the sanctuary early Easier Day. The cross
replaced the large paper mache replica oi Christ's tomb which
hod been set near the entrance on Good Friday.
Photo by Lib Stewort
presented at the May board
meeting.
“It looks like we got the cart
before the horse”, said
Lineberger. The board had
earlier approved the narrative
description of the elementary
school zones currently being
followed in pupil assignments to
East, West, North, Bethware
and Grover Schools. Larry
Allen, who presented the nar
rative, said he had not located
any written record describing the
internal zones. Mr. McDaniel
said the 1968 plan was devised
by HEW to determine proper
ratio of black and white
students.
Perkins charged the board
with “giving me the runaround”
“It’s unsafe for kids to be out on
that busy highway to catch a
bus. W'e’ve already had one acci
dent. Until this boundary line
business is settled, why can’t we
get a bus in there."
Perkins told the board he
would abide by its findings on
the location of school boundary
lines and that his children w ill at
tend the school in the zone they
reside next year.
In a related action the board
tabled 13 requests for transfers
of students.
“We can’t flat out turn them
down. Some have good excuses”,
said Smith. Lineberger said he
was in favor of approv ing all 13
requests as long as schools arc
uncrowded. Supt. Davis
estimated the board would
receive more requests which
represent appeals to the elemen
tary .school assignment policy
which calls for all pupils entering
Kings Mountain District Schtxils
for the first time next year
(81-82) to be assigned to the
school in the zone they reside
and includes an appeals process
to the board of education.
' Because of the lengthy
meeting, which included two ex
ecutive sessions, the board decid
ed to table the requests for more
individual attention next month.
After an executive session
with a parent, Mrs. Dessie Mor
row Loftin, Supt. William Davis
announced that Kings Mountain
High Principal Bob McRae will
examine the cheerleader selec
tion process at the schixil.
After an executive session the
board renewed four year con
tracts for assistant
superintendents Larry Allen and
Howard Bryant.
The board also approved,
upon recommendation of Larry
Allen, changes in the ESEA l i-
tle 1 program which will involve
moving five higher-salaried 1 itic
1 reading teachers into state-paid
positions and replacing them
with state-paid teachers.
Allen told the board that the
changes are necessary because of
proposed cuts in the Title 1 pro
gram which would have
elimiated three or four of the
teachers in the program. Under
the new plan, nine of the 10 posi
tions in the program will be
maintained. Allen said that
one teacher has resigned to take
another position and that her
position in the program here will
not be ftlled.
HORSE SEMINAR
A horse seminar, “What You
Always Wanted To Know
About Horses and Didn’t Know
Who To Ask”, will be held Sun
day from 2 until 6 p.m. at
Cleveland County Office-
Building. The public is invited
and will include free deror prizes.
POLICE REPORT
City police are investigating a
break in which occurred
sometime Friday night at Smith
Grocery on Waco Road.
I' ^
PEACEFUL SUNDAY - A good way to spend
a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon is to pack you
gear and head for the old fishing hole. This
lone fisherman surrounded by the waters oi
Photo by Gary Stewart
the Cotawba River makes for an interesting
summer scene, and with the fish biting as
they have of late, it also makes for an in
teresting afternoon.
Lightning Sparks Fire
Lightning striking the fusebox
on the porch may have caused
the Easter evening lire which
gutted and heavily damaged the
home of Mrs. Iona Guyton Mc
Clain at 513 West Mountain St.
Fire Chief Gene Tignor said
cause of the lire is still under in
vestigation.
Two units from the Kings
Mountain Fire Department
responded to the call at 8:05 p.m.
during an electrical storm and re
mained on the scene for nearly
three hours. The large frame
house, at the corner of West
Mountain and Goforth Sts., is in
a heavily populated residential
area five blocks from the
business district.
Tignor said that the house was
heavily damaged by smoke and
water and walls burned out in
some portions of the residence.
Mrs. McClain was visiting a
neighbor at the time of the fire.
Chamber Sponsoring Seminar
Kings Mountain Chamber of
Commerce and Merchants
.Association will sponsor a
seminar,‘Are You Getting Your
Money’s Worth With N. C.
Worker’s Compensation, at
Holiday Inn Monday morning
from 9 until noon.
The seminar is open to all area
employers or their represen
tatives and w ill be conducted by
Boyd Lane, Safety Represen
rative. Mr. Lane has 23 years of
experience in industrial safety-
programs ranging from manufac
turing to development and ad
ministration of loss control sub
jects.
A $3 registration fee for
Chamber members and a $5 fee
for non-members will be charg
ed.
Secretaries Luncheon Set
A luttcheon F riday at noon at
Holiday Inn will honor Kings
'Mountain area secretaries.
Employers should make reser
vations for luncheon with
Shirley Gossett at the Inn.
A mini fashion show will
highlight the event which is be
ing coordinated by
Mountain Chamber
merce.
In connection with
activities, Mrs. Gerry
Kings Mountain,
members of the
Chapter, Professional
the Kings International, who will be giving
of Com- Career Day talks to business
students. Mrs. Werner will speak
the week’s Bessemer City High School.
Werner, of Uert Fisher, also a member of
is among Spindlette Chapter, will give a
Spindlette Career Day Talk at Cherryville
Secretaries High School.
KIWANIANS MEET - Th* King* Mountain
Klwanls Club sponcorod a visit by th* District
Lt. Govsrnor Friday night at ths Holiday Inn.
Twolvo district Kiwanis Clubs woro
rsprossntod from as iar away os Boon*. Pic-
turod abovs discussing som* club pro|«cts or*
Lt. Govomor oi District 1-B Frank Vanstory, Lt
Govornor lim Storis.Dlstrict Socratary-
Trsasuror Waldio Buskow and Kings Moun
tain Prosidsnt lorry Lodiord.