Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / Sept. 10, 1981, edition 1 / Page 2
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Pog* 2A-KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Thursday. S»pt«mb«r 10. 1981 Stewart’s Slants By Gary Stewart Personnel Policy One Of Employee’s Benefits Several years ago, three current memebers of the Kings Mountain Board of Commissioners—Humes Houston, Norman King and Jim Childers—were appointed as the city’s first personnel committee. They were charged with the responsibility of writing the city’s first official personnel policy, which was adopted by the full board April 11, 1977. The process was lengthy. It required many long nights of burning the midnight oil, and consultation with other city officials, department heads, attorneys and the N.C. League of Municipalities. But their hard work resulted in a savings of $12,000 to $15,000 which the city would have paid had the policy been written by a con sultant, and it also resulted in a personnel policy which is one of the ci ty employees’ greatest benefits. The mention of the “personnel committee’’ comes up often in reguards to city business, and is most often mentioned when an employee is hired, fired or suspended. Members of the personnel committee were interviewed recently, and this writer has spent a considerable amount of time researching the personnel policy. To be frank, the personnel committee and the personnel ftolicy are two of the best friends of city employees. The committee cannot—and does not—act independently from the full city board. Its only authority is to recruit and interview depart ment heads, hear personnel grievances, and make recommendations to the full board. The personnel policy guarantees the employee a grievance pro cedure which includes the following steps; (1) an informal discussion with his immediate supervisor; (2)an appeal to the department head; and (3)an appeal to the Mayor and Personnel Committee. Since the policy was adopted, the committee has heard seven grievances. Of those seven, two employees were re-instated and the five other rulings of department heads were upheld. The committee actively recruits department heads, interviews can didates for positions and recommends them to the full board. The only department head that is not interviewed by the committee is the Aging Director, which is interviewed by the Committee on Aging. Other jijmployMS are interviewed, hired and fired by the department heads. ^ Likewise, promotions, pay raises, etc., are recommended by the depanment heads. Promotions and pay raises for the department heads are handled by the full board of commissioners. Some of the main features of the policy are: •It gives terminated employees a procedure to be re-instated to work if they have been dismissed unjustly. Hertofore, a terminated employee had no recourse. The policy eliminates “politics” from hiring practices. It plainly states that close relatives (spouse, brother, sister, etc.) of current city employees are ineligible for city employment. •The policy also protects elected officials in that it plainly states that hiring is done by the department head. A Mayor or Commissioner can not give a friend a job. •It includes a system of evaluating personnel for the purpose of awarding pay increases, promotions and demotions. City employees have received pay increases every year since the policy was adopted. •It requires that job openings be made available to current employees first, and that, when qualified, a resident of the City of Kings Mountain be considered before someone living outside of the ci ty limits. The word “qualified” is important. •Department heads are required to live inside the city limits, however, in cases where the city approaches a department head for employment (which was the procedure in the case of two current department heads), they are not required to move into the city limits. •Employees are encouraged to engage in political activity, such as voting and supporting good government, but an employee may not engage in political activity while on duty or use any city-owned sup plies, equipment or facilities to display political slogans, posters, or stickers, and cannot be a candidate for or hold a political office. •An employee cannot accept gifts, cannot use city equipment for personal use, and cannot drive city vehicles home unles he is on call 24 hours a day. •The policy clarifies the amount of vacation time, sick leave, etc., that can be accumulated and provides for more holidays and extended sick leave than employees knew previously. The members of the committee agree that the toughest thing about sending on the personnel committee is that they sometimes must hear grievances and must deal with two parties who do not agree. They have to make an honest and unbiased judgement, and regardless of how they rule, they affect someone’s life. They also agree that the good part of serving is that they have taken part in writing and recommending to the city a fair, detailed personnel policy which benefits the city’s 126 employees. PUBLISHED EACH THURSDAY GARLAND ATKINS OARY STEWART DARRELL AUSTIN Publtahar Edlloi 0«ii«ral ManogM MEMBER or NORTH CAROLINA PRESS ASSOCIATION Th* Harold U publtshod by Hnold Publldtlag Houm. P.O. Box 7*2. King* Mouatola. N.C. 21082. Busloow and adltortol oHleoo ora locotad at Coalarbury Rood-Eoal King Siraal. Pbona 73I-74M. Sacond eloia poatoga paid at Kloga Mountain, N.C. Slngla copy 20 cants. Bubacrtptton rataai 18.32 yaorly ln«ata. 84.18 tlx months. 88.38 yaorly out oi stata. 84.88 tlx months. Sludant rataa for nlna months, 87.00. USPS 831440. €DI10RIN.9&0Plhiai5 KM Will Miss These In recent weeks, death has claimed a number of the Kings Mountain community’s outstanding citizens. Two men who spent most of their lives in Kings Mountain minister ing to the medical needs of our citizens-Doqtors Paul Hendricks and Philip Padgett-were among those who passed away. Others included a well-known downtown grocer and a member of Kings Mountain High’s first football team, Jake Hord; a dedicated lawman, Gus Huffstetler; the friendly manager of Rose’s Dime Store, Pete Wilson; a good friend and Christian woman, Christine Owens, and many others. The Herald joins the community in offering its sympathy to the families of these, and others, who have passed away. Support United Fund The Kings Mountain United Way Campaign will officially kickoff next week. A goal of $62,150 has already been announced by campaign workers, and over the next couple of months, volunteers will be calling on most Kings Mountain citizens to give of their money to support the project. Contributing to the United Fund is one way for citizens to make one gift work many wonders. It supports a number of causes on the local, county and state level. United Fund campaign workers are among our most dedicated citizens. For several years in a row, the UF has topped its goal. With the untiring efforts of the volunteers, and your financial assistance, the goal will be exceeded again. Whether you give a fair share of one hour’s pay per month, or a one time donation, support the United Fund. Heads Cancer Drive Actor Larry Hagman, best known for his role of J.R. in the ‘Dallas” television series, an nounced today that he will spon sor a contest for suggestions on how to quit smoking. This Man Could Save Your Life Once a heavy smoker, Hagman is now the American Cancer Society’s top volunteer spokesman on the subject of breaking the cigarette habit for the sake of one’s health. Radio Station WKMT, in cooperation with the local unit of the American Cancer Society, will sponsor the Quit Smoking Letter Writing Contest. Entries must be postmarked between September 14 and 27. They must be clearly written and no more than 100 words in length, telling how to permanently give up cigarettes. Entries should be sent to “Larry Hagman Letter Writing Contest” in care of sta- A I LARRY HAGMAN tion WKMT in Kings Mountain. The winning letter will be selected on the basis of originali ty, practicality and clarity, by a panel of judges whose decision is final. The prize is a three day/two night trip for two to Hollywood, California and dinner with Hagman. No substitution will be allowed nor can the prize be sold, traded or given away. “It’s really very simple,” Hagman explains with a sly grin. “What I want is an idea that’s feasible, useful, achievable, creative, unusual, original, im aginative, legible and in good taste!” DAVID HANNAH JR. First Sgt. David Hannah Jr. has been with the Kings Moun tain Rescue Squad for four years;' He is a certified EMT, CPR Technician, and is skilled in the use of the Jaws of Life. He has held offices as high as Second Lieutenant. Hannah and his wife, Mary Sue, have three children, Larry Dean, Karen and Kimberly. MAYOR'S PLEDGE - Kings Mountain Mayor John Moss, right, turns in his United Fund pledge card to Connie Putnam, chairman of the City oi Kings Mountain division oi the UF campaign. The United Fund will oiiicially launch a $62,150 drive next week. Your Mind Is Computer This is the second part of a two-part series on the subject of constructive imagination. Picture your mind as a com puter with information being sent into it. We receive informa tion by our senses but at the same time we are selective in what we want to receive. What we perceive and how we describe something is brought about by having our computer look back at old tapes of previous ex periences, then e relate this to present information coming in. I should jxtint out to the student or tmyone undergoing a new learning process, that we miss much of what we see and hear specifically if we don’t know how it relates to our personal ob jectives. A good experience or an interest in a subject at school is haf the task of performing well in a subject. A smoker who deep down in his heart wants to stop will even- tally reach the goal as a non- smoker. A person who is un- pahhy with his waistline and desires to do something in regard to weight reduction will even tually do something toward that objective. The key words in these examples are interest, want and desire. A term paper that is written without interest will show it. A person who smokes and enjoys smoking will con tinue to smoke and likewise, the person who enjoys eating without restriction, will continue to do the same. Have you ever made an affir mation? An affirmation is a positive statement that is goal- directed and has personal mean ing. To you businessmen and salespersons, you may relate this to management by objectives. In “Release Your Brakes" by James W. Newman, he describes to to make an affirmation. It is a positive statement about where you’re going or what you want Looking Up V By Tom Franks to happen. There are some rules to follow that help to prevent loss of time and energy. An affir mation should be personal and not shared. An example of this would be the use of the word “I” in; I am a non-smoker. By keep ing it personal you keep others from putting your affirmation down. It should be in the present tense. Don't use words like some day, will be or possibly, which makes your statement weak. The sttement should be positive, such as “I am pleased to be a non- smoker,” It should be measurable, such as “I will en thusiastically increase by sales by 30 percent by November 1”. Also important is that each affir mation be realistic. Being realistic is important for positive reinforcement. Sometimes it is better to break up your affirma tions into building steps in order to make yhour affirmation realistic. If you set your sights too high and know it, this may discourage your eHorts. The man who states in his affirma tion that he will sell 10 insurance policies by November 15 just so he would sell five policies will learn that the energy and effort will not be satisifed until 10 policies are reached. Another rule, don’t measure yourself up to other people. You can’t con trol other people. Their stan dards may be lower than yours, so don’t make statements like “I will get a higher grade than Bill.” Bill might get a D and you may get a C. We can’t control people’s minds. Choose your specific goals as related to your work, family, community and social involve ment and then list them. You then begin writing your personal affirmations and as you write them, spice them up with your own type of exciting or positive words. You may have 30 or more affirmations or perhaps you just want to do a few things such as quit smoking, lose weight or improve something special. Write these affirmations on in dex cards and keep them with you at all times. You won’t believe how much free time you actually have and with constant reminder of your goals, you will have no problem reaching them. Now that we covered affirma tions, how do we use them con structively in our imagination? You first state the affirmation to yourself and then visualize in your mind the outcome of your statement. Let’s look at this affir mation; As of December 1,1 will be a non-smoker and I’ll feel great. Visualize how it would feel being a non-smoker. A good way to practice this is to imagine yourself having quit smoking for five years and now you are look ing back at yourself and possibly thinking “I’m sure glad I quit when 1 did.” You would have an emotinal response because in your mind’s eye, it was real. You need to experience or feel a part of each affirmation. Don’t just project a picture-be part of it. It is advised that you go through your affirmations just prior to falling asleep at night and then again in the morning when you awake. It really doesn’t take much time-your mind is extremely fast. How come it works? The way I sec it, most people do not have written goals-they go through life without a plan. If you recall from the previous article, they just can’t picture themselves five years down the road. If you are constantly reminded of your goal-then you will notice the op portunities when they come your way. After awhile the com puter takes over due to ex perience and you begin to act and be the person you have been making your affirmations about. You then become reinforced as you get closer to your goal. The computer will not allow you to M back as long as the affirma tions continue and you reach your goal. Now it is up to you. If you want to use your imagination constructively, begin making your affirmations. Have ftin do ing it, but remember, don’t invite outside criticism. Keep it per sonal. vcl
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Sept. 10, 1981, edition 1
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