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VOLUME 94. NUMBER 68
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1981
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA
KM Won’t Participate In Merger Study
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By GARY STEWART
Editor
The Kings Mountain Board of Education voted
unanimously Monday night not to participate in a
merger feasibility study of the three school systems
in Cleveland County.
During its regular monthly meeting at Bethware
Elementary School, Board Chairperson Marion
Thomasson asked each board member individually
to give his views on the matter, and only Harold
Lineberger gave any indication that he would sup
port a study.
Lineberger said he would like to see a study “if it
could be done by the North Carolina Department of
Public Instruction and would not cost any money.”
The subject of a possible merger arose several
weeks ago following a series of articles in the Shelby
Daily Star. About three weeks ago, the three school
boards met informally at the County Law Enforce
ment Center in Shelby and discussed briefly
whether or not they would be interested in studying
a merger.
At that time, Cleveland County Board members,
in an individual r>oll, all said they favored a study.
Some Shelby board members said they favored it,
and others said they might. Of the four Kings
Mountain Board members present (Lineberger was
not present), Mrs. Thomasson and Kyle Smith said
they were not in favor of a study and Bill McDaniel
and June Lee said they were undecided.
Since then, both the Shelby and Cleveland Coun
ty boards have gone on record as favoring a study,
which if done by a professional group outside the
N.C. Department of Public Instruction, would pro
bably cost in excess of $50,000.
Mrs. Thomasson led off Monday night’s discus
sion by saying “I’m against a study. 1 have been
against it from the beginning. If we’re not interested
in merging, I don’t see any need to spend time and
money on studying it.”
.McDaniel said, “When it came up, I was in
terested in participating in a discussion. Since things
have evolved as they have, 1 haven’t found the first
person that’s in favor of it, so I’m against it.”
Mrs. Lee added, “I was one of those that in
dicated that 1 like to study an issue as much as possi
ble. But, 1 feel like Bill. I do not vote for a study.”
Smith said he was against it from the beginning
and still is. “I’ve talked to three or four hundred
people,” he said, "and I can’t find a soul who is in
favor of it.”
“It wouldn’t matter that much to me,” said
Linebeger, “but 1 w ouldn’t want to spend money for
a study. But if we could get it done for nothing from
the North Carolina Department of Public Instruc
tion, I would like to see it, I don’t think you can rule
out a study but I’m not in fas or of a merger.”
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Grade Changes Top
Priority Of Committee
By WILLIAM F. DAVIS
On March 9, the Kings Moun
tain School Board appointed a
Blue Ribbon Citizens’ Commit
tee to study the school facilities
of the School District. The pur
pose of the committee was to
identify both long range and im
mediate facility needs of the
school system and to establish
priorities. The School Board
made certain that all of the
schools were represented on the
committee. The following
residents of the Kings Mountain
School District were appointed
to the committee; James Adams,
Doyle Campbell, Roy Duncan,
Hazel Gill, Bill Grissom, Ftiin
Hambright, Paul Hord, Tommy
Keeter, Mrs. Lynn Mauney, Bob
Myers, William Orr, Mrs.
Shirley Roper, Mrs. Sara
Shawm, Cameron Ware, John
Warlick and Bob Webster. Mrs.
Marion Thomasson and Mrs.
June Lee, Chairman and Vice
Chairman of the School Board,
served as ex-officio members of
the committee.
The first meeting of the com
mittee was held April 6 at which
time the stage was set for what
needed to be done in terms of
identifying the facility needs of
the .school system. At the first
several meetings the committee
reviewed a school survey which
had been made in 1978 by the
Division of School Planning of
the State Department of Public
Instruction.
The committee met seven
limes in all. Four of the meetings
involved visitation of the schools
so that the members could see
for themselves the facility needs
of each school.
At the School Board meeting
on this past Monday night the
Blue Ribbon Committee
delivered its report to the Kings
Mountain Board of Education.
Following is the substance of the
recommendations which were
made to the Board. In reading
these recommendations it should
be remembered that the commit
tee is advisory and the recom
mendations are not binding on
the Board. The School Board
will give these recommendations
great weight in making decisions
regarding school facility im
provements.
Priority 1: The first priority
of the committee is to move
sixth and seventh graders which
are at Central School to more
adequate facilities.
Central School is a three .story
building of wood frame
-masonry construction, most of
which was constructed in the
1920’s. Because of its age and
the nature of its construction the
Central School building does not
fit into long range facility plans
for the school system.
The prevailing sentiment of
the committee is to move grade
seven to the Kings Mountain
Junior High School. Grade nine
would be moved to the Senior
High in order to make room for
grade seven at the Junior High.
If the School Board acts upon
this suggestion Central School
would no longer be a school site
but would be used for other pur
poses. If this plan is implemented
the grade organization will be:
K-6 - Bethware, East, Grover,
North and West; 7-8 - Kings
Mountain Junior High; 9-12
-Kings Mountain Senior.
Priority No. 2: The committee
observed during its school visita
tions that most of the elemen
tary schools are a mixture of old
construction and facilities of a
more recent vintage. The second
priority is to replace or improve
old facilities at the elementary
schools and provide sufficient
classroom space and ancillary
facilities at all the elementary
sites. There was some discussion
relative to phasing out East
Elementary and West Elemen
tary and constructing a new
South Elementary. However,
this issue is being left for con-
Turn To Page 6-A
■
m
RECEIVES AWARD - Sara Simpson, left, vice
president of the Kings Mountain Association
of Classroom Teachers, presents a plaque to
Marion A. Thomasson, chairman of the Kings
Mountain Board of Education, in appreciation
m-
Photo by Gary Stewart
of Mrs. Thomasson's services to education dur
ing her six-year term on the board. The
presentation was made at the Board of Educa
tion meeting Monday night at Bethware
School.
Paysour Gets Central Post
Greg Paysour, eighth grade
science teacher at Kings Moun
tain Junior High School, was
named Assistant Principal at
Central School Monday night by
the Kings Mountain District
Board of Education.
Paysour will assume his new
duties as soon as a replacement
for him at the junior high can be
found.
Central has been without an
a.ssistant principal since Richard
Greene’s resignation as Principal
on October 1. Mrs. Glenda
O’Shields, who had been assis
tant principal, was promoted to
the principal’s post at that time
and Donald Parker, a retired
Kings Mountain teacher, had
served part-time as an assistant
to Mrs. O’Shields.
Paysour has taught at the
junior high since his graduation
from Gardner-Webb College in
1974. He received his degree in
School Administration from
UNC-Charlotte in 1980.
Paysour is a Cherryville
native, and graduated from
Cherryville High School in 1967.
He served two years in the U.S.
Navy and served four years in
the Naval Reserves. He was
Honduras
Has Some
Mold Too
Dr. John Brooks, an allergist,
treated Tanya Bodden, a five-
year old girl from Honduras for
her allergies at his Kings Moun
tain office on Tuesday. Tanya
was with her parents, Thomas
and Mireya Bodden, as they
visited her aunt Mrs. Lizette
Lacomb at Shelby. Tanya’s
pediatrician at San Pedro Sula,
Honduras, had had difficulty in
treating her bronchospasm
[allergic breaking problem].
“When Mrs. Lacomb con
tacted my office, my staff and I
became very interested,” said Dr.
Brooks. “Before I could be sure 1
could help her 1 needed more in
formation about her illness and
about Honduras. If the problem
was purely allergic, then I was
pretty sure 1 could handle it.”
The first place information
was obtained from Mauney
Memorial Library in Kings
Mountain. Mrs. Margaret Mc
Carter gathered information
Turn To Pago 7-A
\
m
'r
TREATED HERE - Tanya Bodden of Hon
duras, pictured at left with her parents,
Mireya and Thomas Bodden, is treated for
allergies by Dr. John Brooks and his nurse.
Fran Rayfield. right, at Dr. Brooks' office in
Photo by Gary Stewart
Kings Mountain Tuesday. Dr. Brooks obtained
information from her parents, Mauney
Memorial Library, and the Honduras Embassy
in Washington to prescribe the right medica
tion.
discharged from the Reserves in
1977 as a Petty Officer Second
Class.
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs.
William B. Paysour of Cher
ryville and is married to the
former Jeannie Bowen of
Grover. He is the father of two
children, Jennifer, a first grader
at Bethware School, and Derek,
who will be one year old in
December.
In addition to his teaching
duties at the junior high, he has
also served as a football and
basketball coach.
“I am looking forward to go
ing to Central and working with
Mrs. O’Shields and the Central
teachers,” Paysour said.
In other action Monday night,
the board:
‘Heard statistics on the Food
Turn To Page 7-A
Paper Will
Publish One
Day Early
Because of the Thanksgiv
ing Holiday next Thursday,
the Herald will publish on
Wednesday next week.
The paper w ill go to press
early Tuesday afternoon, and
will carry a Wednesday
dateline.
Deadline* for advertising
will be 5 p.m. Monday.
Deadline for women’s and
feature news will be 5 p.m.
Friday, and deadline for news
and sports will be 5 p.m.
Monday.
Firemen
Need Toys
For Tots
The Kings Mountain Fire
Department is sponsoring its
Toys for Tots program for the
eighth straight year, and is in
need of toys which can be
given to needy children at
Christ mas.
The firemen are also in
need of funds with which to
purchase parts to repair used
toys.
Fire Chief Gene Tignor
said the project has had
tremendous success in the
past.
Any persons with toys or
funds to donate, may call
Chief Tignor at the Fire
Department, 739-2552.
Thanksgiving
Service Set
Rev. Clyde Bearden, pastor of
First Baptist Church of Kings
Mountain, will be the speaker
for this year’s Community
Thanksgiving Service Wednes
day at 7:30 p.m. at Macedonia
Baptist Church.
The ser\ ice is sponsored each
year by the Kings Mountain
Ministerial .Association.
Miss Delores White, music
director at Macedonia, will
direct the music and choir.
.Area ministers will serve as
ushers and the offering will go
Turn To Page 4-A
Kings Mountain Told
To Pay Contractor
The City of Kings Mountain
lost two law suits in Cleveland
County civil court la.si week.
A jury ruled Friday that the
city must pay $23,300 to Cecil’s
Inc., a Spartanburg construction
firm which built the Govern
mental Services Facilities Center
(new city hall).
Cecil’s filed the suit after the
City Board of Commissioners
withheld $23,300 from its final
payment. The amount
represented $100 a day withheld
because the construction period
exceeded a contract clause
which stipulated that construc
tion must be completed in 365
days.
But, Cecil’s claimed the 264
day overrun on the project was
due to bad weather and a fire
which occurred during the con
struction period. The city allow
ed 17 days for bad weather and
14 davs for the fire, for a total of
233 days.
A counter-suit of $65,000, fil
ed by the city against Cecil’s,
w,as dismissed by Judge John
Friday. The city claimed the
dalay in con.struction caused it
extra architectural fees and a
possible loss of additional federal
grants.
Mayor John Henry Moss .said
the city withheld the money on
the recommendation of its con
sulting engineers and architects.
Testimony in the trial began
last Monday and ended Thurs
day. The jury deliberated about
two hours Friday before
reaching its decision.
City Attorney George
Thomasson appealed the deci
sion.