STUDENTS TOUR FOOTE — Science Fair winners from Kings
Mountain Junior High toured Foote Mineral Company Friday
Photo by Lib Stewart
and Plant Mangager Walt Cooke, above with the students,
pointed out mining areas oi the large facility.
Science Students Tour Foote
Top winners in the Foote
Mineral Company-sponsored
Science Fair were honored Fri
day when the local plant rolled
out the red carpet to the young
people and treated them to a
tour of the facility and a lun
cheon.
It is the third year that Foote
has sponsored the program at
Kings Mountain Junior High.
Students participating in the
event were Wendy Kuykendall,
Tracy Bess. Christa Justice, Liza
Blanton, Vick Crowley, Jeff
Whisnant, Robert Appling, Tim
Biddix, Rocky Lutz, Gary Wyte,
and Jimmy Moretz, all eighth
graders, and Tony Horn, ninth
grader. Science teachers Greg
Payseur and David Heffner ac
companied the group.
Walt Cooke, Operations
Manager, Gene Dotson,
Chemical Plant Manager, Pete
Loncar, Manager of Mining,
Denny Moskal, Manager of
Milling, Robby Camper, Safety
Supervisor, Larry Wood, Person
nel Manager, and Dr. Ron At
wood, Chief Metallurgical
Engineer, led the tour and
presented souvenirs to the young
people.
■ Fried chicken with all the
trimmings were served at a lun
cheon at Holiday Inn.
Foote Mineral Company
Carmet Minetool Names
Carter Sales Engineer
Thomas L. Carter has been
named sales engineer for Carmet
Company’s Minetool division, a
member of Allegheny Interna
tional, Inc. (formerly Allegheny
Ludlum Indu.stries).
Carter was formerly affiliated
with Dust & Son as a sales
representative, and at one time
was employed by General Tire &
Rubber Co. where he con
tributed to the firm’s sales train
ing manual.
Carter, a lecturer with Elks
1-txlge of Mt. Vernon, IL, is mar
ried to the former Nancy Wilt of
Mt. Vernon, and resides in
Greenville, IL.
Carmet Minetool is a major
supplier of mining and construc
tion tools.
opened the present mine in
1951. Through the years, the
mine was expanded to an open
area of approximately 60 acres.
Students observed that the
Kings Mountain plant of Foote
Mineral Company represents a
rather complex series of opera
tions involving mining an ore,
milling the ore to recover various
minerals, and processing the
lithium-bearing spodumene in
the ore to a finished chemical-
lithium carbonate. During the
mining operation, the country
rock surrounding the ore is min
ed separately and transported to
a nearby Martin-Marietta
crushing plant that converts the
stone to various crushed stone
sizes for construction and road
work. During the millling opera
tion, the ore is crushed and
ground. In the chemical process
ing operation, lithium is ex-
tracteo from spodumene by
calcining the mineral and then
treating with sulfuric acid to
form a solution of lithium
sulfate. The lithium is then
precipitated as lithium carbonat
e with the addition of soda ash.
This solution is further processed
(O produce the finished chemical
sodium sulfate.
A major sales market for
lithium carbonate is the
aluminum indu.stry, where one
of its beneficial effects is the
reduction of energy costs. A
substantial quantity is also
transferred to other Foote plants
for processing into other lithium
chemicals and lithium metal.
Sales outlets for sodium sulphate
are the textile, paper, and soap
industries, the students were
told.
Elaborating on future plans,
Manager Cooke said that since
GIFT TO G-W - A $15,000 glit has bMn
^r«c«lv«d by Cardn«r-W«bb Coll*g« from
[ Eaton Corporation, a producor oi hoavy duty
{truck transmissions in Kings Mountain. Plant
^anogsr John Major, o currsnt collsgs ad-
Irisor. prsssntsd ths gilt, which hos bssn
dssignatsd for ths $3.7 million Luts-Yslton
Convocation Csntsr. Mojor. Isft. studios ths
construction plans for ths 64.000 squars foot
structurs with Dr. Cravsn E. Williams. Collsgs
prssidsnt. Plsdgss and gift rscsivsd for ths
csntsr now rsach S3.4S2.007.
the plant is located close to
Kings Mountain that protecting
its neighbors against mining and
plant activities is of critical con
cern.
Cooke said that plans for the
mine overburden stockpile call
for the 60 acre tract to be sym
metrically designed and terraced.
As each lift is completed, he said
it is immediately fertilized on the
slopes and planted with grass.
Trees are planted on stockpille
terraces. This past Fall, Cooke
said that 90 trees were planted,
30 dogwoods, 30 sugar maples
and 30 red maples. Cooke also
said that the State Forestry
Department has been contracted
to plant loblolly pines using a
seven foot by 10 foot pattern on
the slopes of the mine over
burden stockpile This planting
has been scheduled for late
winter- February or early
March.
Cooke also told the tour group
that consideration is being given
to establishing a floral garden
area on one of the slopes. He
said that plans are to enlist the
cooperation and expertise of the
local garden clubs to assist in the
design of the garden. Once the
trees on the stockpile schieve
stable growth, consideration is
also being given to some type of
holiday decoration during the
Christmas season, he added.
Cooke said that Foote plans to
convert the mine overburden
stockpile into a well planned
woodland slope that will be an
asset to the community.
KM Hospital
To Observe
Hospital Week
'“Looking Well into the
Future” will be the theme of
Kings Mountain Hospital’s
celebration of National Hospital
Week, May 10-16.
“We think that our 1981 Na
tional Hospital Week theme fit
tingly describes the commitment
of our hospital staff to improving
the future health of our com
munity,” said Grady Howard,
hospital administrator. “We
devote our fullest resources to
providing the best health care
possible today. But we know
that we have to look to the
future to find even better ways
to care as patients’ and the com
munity’s needs change,” he said.
Some of the ways Kings
Mountain Hospital is caring for
the community’s future are: pro
viding Prepared Childbirth
Classes, offering new services
such as pacemakers, stress
testing and endoscopy, updating
and enlarging the present
hospital to provide for more
space and greater patient com
fort, and has a physician in the
hospital’s Emergency Room
from 6 p.m. to6 a.m. each week
day and 24 hours on Saturday
and Sunday.
The Kings Mountain Board of
Commissioners, in a special noon
meeting Friday at the Govern
mental Services Facilities
Center, awarded the bid on 38
lots in the Cansler Street urban
renewal project to Fred Mills of
Shelby.
Mills high bid was $74,6(X).
Other bids were received from
Don Ware of Kings Mountain
and Dixon-Jenkins of Belmont.
.Mills proposes to build 39 new
single family houses for
moderate income families. Price
range will be from S36,0(X) to
$38,000.
Community Development
Coordinator, Gene White, after
a question by Commissioner
Norman King on whether the
sale of property was to be limited
to 10 lots, explained that a deci
sion had been made to sell the
property 10 lots at a time with
an option retained for a period of
time to be designated, and that
development should begin im-
mediatley Commissioner Nor
man King on whether the sale of
property was to be limited to 10
lots, explained that a decision
had been made to sell the proper
ty 10 lots at a time with an opt-
tion retained for a period of time
to be designated, and that
development should begin im
mediately.
White said if development
does not proceed to the commis
sion’s satisfaction within the
designated period of time, the
board would base to option of
whether to sell the next 10 lots
to that developer.
In other matters Friday, the
board:
‘Heard a report from Bill Tur-
pish of Heath and Associates of
Shelby on the renewal of the ci
ty’s gas transmission line into the
city. According to Heath, the
present line is too small and is 25
years old.
The board approved a date
schedule for plans, specifications
and bid acceptance on the pro
jects and approved advertise
ment of bids to begin on M ay 18.
Bids will be received on June 16
and will be awarded with 30
days after the June 22 commis
sioners meeting.
The board also approved an
engineering plan for the project,
but it does not include on-site in
spection of the city’s natural gas
system, Turpish said. A separate
contract must be negotiated for
inspection.
Sunday Fire
Damage $2400
To Apartment
Three-year-old Amy Childers
alerted her family to a fire in her
upstairs bedroom Sunday and
the five-member family escaped
without injury.
Two bedrooms of Apanment
34 at Chesterfield Court were
damaged approximately $2400,
according to Kings Mountain
Fire Chief Gene Tignor.
Tignor said the fire started in
some clothes on a couch in one
of the bedrooms where Amy was
playing with her dolls. The fire
occurred at 2:30 p.m. Other
members of the family. Dickie
and Jean Childers and fheir two
older children, were in the
downstairs area of the house.
According to Chief Tignor, the
fire destroyed all furnishings and
clothing in the upstairs area and
there was extensive water and
smoke damage.
Firemen also responded to a
grass fire at the Kings Mountain
Junior High Saturday afternoon
and put out a grass fire on Cher-
ryville highway on four acres of
land owned by Gene White.
/ %
' J
Photo by Lib Stewart
ART WINNER — Annie Burns, KMSHS student, is congratulated
by Supt. William Davis as winner of the annual Superinten
dent's Choice Art Award.
Annie Burns Winner
Of School Art Award
Annie Burns, 11th grader and
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ken
neth R. Burns of Yarbro Road,
is winner of the annual
Superintendent’s .Art Award at
Kings Mountain Senior High
School.
Miss Burns was notified this
week that her pen and ink draw
ing of a farmhouse w ill hang in
the Capitol at Raleigh during the
•Capitol Square Arts Festival’
May 4-22. In addition, the work
will be displayed at the North
Carolina Superintendent’s Sum
mer Conference w hich w ill allow
many visitors to enjoy the work
of students.
The Superintendent’s Art
Award is now in its seventh
year.
Miss Burns is a second year
art student of Mrs. Diane
Harper at Kings Mountain
Senior High School.