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11
VOLUME 94, NUMBER 72
THURSDAY. DECEMBER 17.1981
KINGS MOUNTAIN. NORTH CAROLINA
Rate Hike 'Hardship’
For KM Senior Citizens
<L~i
SWORN IN-Newly-«l«ct*d Kings Mountain
commissioners took the oath oi office Monday
at the council chambers oi the new City Hall.
Administering the oath is Ruth Dedmon. right,
clerk of Cleveland County Superior Court. Left
to right, commissioners are Humes Houston,
lim Dickey ond Curt Gaffney.
Herald To Publish
Tuesday Next Week
Because of the Christmas holidays, the Herald
will publish on Tuesday of next week.
The paper will include the traditional Christmas
greeting advertisements from local merchants, as
well as late shopping specials.
Because of the early publication, it will be
necessary to move all deadlines for news and adver
tisement back two days.
Deadline for advertisements and social news will
be 5 p.m. Friday and the deadline for sports and
regular news will be 10 a.m. Monday.
The Kings Mountain Board of
Commissioners Monday night
approved a 12.1 percent elec
trical rate increase, effective
December 1.
The increase was necessary
because of a 15 percent increase
announced by Duke Power last
Friday.
The Duke increase is subject
to approval by the State Utilities
Commission. If the full 15 per
cent is not approved, the dif
ference will be refunded.
The city’s residential rates will
rise nine percent because of
Monday’s action and residential
all-electric rates will rise 12.3 per
cent. Commercial, Industrial and
Housing Authority rates will rise
15 percent.
The rates are in line with
Duke Power’s retail rates, Gor
don N. Drum of Southea.stern
Consulting Engineers of
Charlotte, told the board.
But the commissioners ex
pressed concern for consumers
and disappointment that utility
rates are increasing at such a
rapid pace. This was the second
utility increase in less than a
month.
“Is there anybody we can pro
test to?’’. Commissioner Jim
Childers asked.
“I agree,” added Commis
sioner Jim Dickey. “We were
notified last Friday that it was
effective December 1.1 think the
State Regulatory Commissioner
should give us some help.”
Mayor John Henry Moss said
he would ask City Attorney
George Thomasson to write a
letter to Duke Power and ask
that the city be notified "in ade
quate time” of any future in
creases.
Meanwhile, Moss has ap
pointed a special committee to
study a pay plan for senior
citizens and particularly those
senior citizens who are living on
a fixed income. The committee
members are Moss, commis
sioners Corbet Nicholson,
Humes Houston and Dickey,
and the committee will meet for
the first time Thursday.
“I’m concerned with the way
the increases are just dropping in
on us,” Moss said. “I look at this
as a terrible hardship for senior
citizens and we want to work to
develop a plan to relieve this
hardship.”
Moss said the committee w ill
try to develop a plan ‘1o even
out the payment” of utilities for
senior citizens.
Moss said Transco, the city’s
natural gas supplier, has an in
crease coming soon “but it ap-
What’s Happening
Sertoma Award
The Kings Mountain Sertoma
Club’s first annual Sertoma Ser
vice To Mankind Award ban
quet will be held Thurs., Dec. 17,
at 7 p.m. at Hank’s Steak and
Chicken Ranch.
Dr. Harris Blair, a club
member and retired minister,
will be the speaker for the even
ing. Dr. Blair is well-known for
his humorous but meaningful
sermons and speeches.
The climax of the evening will
be the presentation of the club’s
Service to Mankind Award for
1981.
Any persons interested in at
tending should contact Lynn
Welborn at 739-3325.
Church Of God
The Kings Mountain Church
of G(xl at 111 East Parker Street
will pre.iient the Christmas play
‘To All People” Sunday at 7
p.m.
The play is being directed by
Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Whetstine.
A children’s program will
begin at 6:45.
. Free Concert
Kings Mountain junior and
senior high bands will present a
free concert on Thurs., Dec. 17
at 8 p.m. in B.N. Barnes
Auditorium.
Participating will be the Kings
Mountain Junior High eighth
and ninth grade bands and the
Kings Mountain Senior High
Blazer Band.
The program will consist of
traditional band music and
music of the holiday season.
The bands will be under the
direction of Donald Deal and
Chris Cole.
The public is invited to attend.
Toys Needed
kings Mountain Fire Depart
ment is still in need of new and
used toys to distribute to needy
children at Christmas. Any per
sons interesting in donating toys,
or money to purchase parts to
repair used toys, are urged to call
Chief Gene Tignor at 739-2552.
V\
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FIREMAN OF YEAR - Willard Yarbrough,
left, a volunteer with the Kings Mountain Fire
Department, is awarded the Fireman oi the
Year Award from Chief Gene Tignor during
the annual Fireman-Police Christmas dinner
■ f
Photo by Ronnie Hawkins
Tuesday at the Kings Mountain Depot Center.
The dinner is sponsored each year by Senator
Ollie Harris, Billy Mauney, I.C. Bridges and
Glee Bridges.
Commissioners Attend Detroit Meeting
Three Kings Mountain city
commissioners recently attended
the National League of Cities
meeting in Detroit.
District One commissioner
Jim Childers, District Four com
missioner Norman King and
District Five commissioner Bill
Grissom, who completed his
term of office this week, attend
ed the event.
One of the main topics of
discussion was Community
Development and UDAG
grants, both of which face an
uncertain future.
‘There is still a lot of indeci
sion in Washington,” noted
Commissioner Childers. ‘The
block grants are going to shift to
the states and ultimately the
states will administer the
grants.”
However, a timetable has not
been established so it’s anyone’s
guess when the states will be
assigned that responsibility.
‘The federal government has
cut a lot of the regulations, and
there are very few restraints on
them as far as Washington is
concerned,” Childers pointed
, out. “As far as what restraints
the state will put on them and
what criteria the state will use to
award the grants, 1 don’t know.”
Childers said the larger cities
are concerned about the UDAG
grants, a program for industrial
development for which the
federal government allocates SI
for every $3 pul up by the cities.
“Larger cities are also concern
ed about mass transportation
funds, ahd I can understand
their feelings,” Childers said.
‘That is the only way they have
to get around.”
Childers said his main concern
is the uncertainty of the future
of revenue sharing funds. They
have been approved through
1983.
‘That’s something you can
use just about anywhere you
want to as long as it is a good
cause,” said Childers.
In the past. Kings Mountain
has used most of its revenue
sharing money in the police
department budget. Approx
imately $40,000 was received
this year and was used to pur
chase vehicles and in other
police capital expenditures.
Childers said he saw two
pieces of equipment on display at
an exhibition which he feels
would help Kings Mountain in
Mrs. Jack White’s Mother Dies
Mrs. Ruby Lattimore Cline,
82, of Fallston, mother of Mrs.
Jack (Dorcas) White of Kings
Mountain died as 12:15 a.m.
Wednesday after being struck by'
a car.
Funeral services will be con
ducted at 2 p.m. Thursday at
New Bethel Baptist Church by
Rev. Don Ledbetter. The family
received friends from 7-9 p.m.
Wednesday night at Stamey’s
Funeral Home.
The widow of the late Edward
Cline, Mrs, Cline was a member
of New Bethel Baptist Church,
the Women’s Missionary Union,
and Fallston Woman’s Club.
She was the daughter of the
late George and Dorcas Packard
Lattimore.
In addition to Mrs. White, she
is survived by one other
daughter, Mrs. Dwight
(Dorothy) Hord of Lawndale;
one brother, Boyd Lattimore of
Shelby; one sister, Mrs. Everettc
Spurling of Fallston; seven
grandchildren and four great
grandchildren.
the future.
One was a portable hydraulic
bucket, which he says could be
put to good use in public works.
It can be pulled behind a pickup
truck and be used for replacing
lights, trimming trees, and for
other projects in compact situa
tions.
“Right now, we have to run a
big bucket truck for those type
jobs,” Childers said. “It would
save us from moving a $50,000
piece of equipment to replace a
light bulb.”
The other piece of equipment
which impressed Childers was a
rapid rail garbage collector, a
truck which has an arm on the
side which picks up containers,
dumps the garbage and sits the
container back on the street.
Childers predicted it would
cost the city about $100,(X)0 to
get started in that program but it
would soon pay for itself in
lower labor costs and more effi
cient service
“It’s a one-man operation,” he
said, “and if the economy keeps
on the way it is going is
something we need to look at.”
Turn To Pago 3-A
pears it w ill be small enough for
the city to absorb it,” he said.
In other action Monday night,
the outgoing board:
•Authorized execution of a
contrct with A.,M. Pullen Co.,
Certified Public Accountants,
for an audit of the City’s Com
munity Development Block
Gram lund lor October 1, 1980
until September 30, 1981.
•Approved advertising for
pumps, controls and fittings for
water improvements in the nor-
iherri_end of the city.
•Authorized advertising for
flooring ol a basketball court at
the National Guard Armory,
which is used by city youth
basketball teams.
•Approved December 24 and
25 and January 1 as holidays for
all city employees.
•Approved a Christmas bonus
for city employees based on
tenure of service.
Following the tvath of office
for recently<‘lected commis
sioners Humes Houston, Jim
Dickey and Curt Gaffney, the
new board of commissioners:
•Appointed Commissioner
Houston as Mayor Pro Tern. He
was the leading vote-getter in the
October election.
•Set the second and fourth
Monday nights as board meeting
nights.
•Re-appointed Joe McDaniel
as city clerk and treasuer,
George Thomasson as city at
torney, W.K. Dickson Consul
tant Co. as city engineer, and re
appointed all department heads.
•Designated First Union Na
tional Bank, First Citizens Bank
and Trust, First Federal Savings
and Loan, Home Federal Sav
ings and Loan and Branch Bank
ing and Trust as fund deposit in
stitutions.
•Approved the appointment
of Roy Pearson Jr. as a city
fireman.
•Approved a resolution
authorizing application for water
system improvements under the
Clean V\ ater Act.
•Cancelled the December 28
meeting because of the holiday
season.
TO DECORATE TREES
The City of Kings Mountain
last week planted two 25-feet
high .American Holly trees on
Battleground Avenue as a part
of its on-going downtown
beautification program.
Mayor John Moss said the
Public Vk'orks Department will
decorate the trees with light
Christmas decorations today,
and they will be more heavily
decorated in future holiday
seasons.
JUNE LEE JERRY LEDFORD
June Lee Is Elected
Education Board Chairman
June Lee was elected chair
man of the Kings Mountain
Board of Education and Bill
McDaniel was elected vice-
chairman at the board’s
December meeting Wednesday
afternoon at the School Ad
ministration Office.
Mrs. Lee is beginning her se
cond six-year term and
McDaniel is in the midst of his
first term.
Mrs. Lee succeeds Marian
Thomasson, who was defeated
in the November election.
Jerry Ledford, who was
elected to his first term in
November, was sworn into of
fice.
in other business, the board:
•Approved Paul McDaniel as
interim teacher at East Elemen
tary School and John Howe as a
teacher at Kings Mountain
Junior High. Howe replaces
Greg Pay sour, who was elected
assistant principal of Central
School at the November
meeting.