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VOLUME 95. NUMBER 6
21 s I i r: i i
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1982
KINGS MOUNTAIN. NORT ^
KM Citizens Protest Rising Electric Bills
5)
By GARY STEWART
Editor
Over SO Kings Mountain
citizens angered by recent hikes
in utility rates attended
Monday’s regular meeting of the
City Board of Commissioners
and aired their feelings.
The citizens got little satisfac
tion except to be told that the
{ board shared their concern.
Most of the citizens, many of
whom live in the Northwoods
sub-division, said their bills for
the month of December, which
were received around the first of
February, were double their
previous bill.
The city has hiked electric
rates twice since October
because its rates have been in-
' creased by its supplier, Duke
Power Company. On October
18, Duke increased its rates by 9
percent and the city increased its
rates 6.3 percent. On December
1, Duke announced a 15.8 per
cent increase and the city in
creased rates 12.1 percent.
Bill Little of Southeastern
Consulting Engineers, which
serves as electric consultants to
Kings Mountain and 42 other
neighboring cities, attended the
meeting and attempted to ex
plain the increases and answer
the citizens’ questions.
Katie Swann of 403-A Waco
Road presented Mayor John
Moss a petition containing over
160 names which “demanded an
explanation for the drastic in
crease in utilities.”
Ms. Swann also listed a
number of names and compared
the bills they received in January
with the ones they received in
December. In almost all cases,
the January bills were double.
Little said the huge increase in
the amount of the bills could
have been for various reasons.
They were due partly, he said, to
the rate increases and piartly
because of unusually cold
weather during December, and
partly because the city did not
read the meters until January 6
because of holidays and snow.
Little examined the bill of
Willette Alexander and said her
bill doubled because she used
2,000 kilowatt hours one month
and 4,000 the next.
Many people said their bills in
creased drastically but they did
not use any more kilowatt hours.
One woman said she was out of
town two weeks during
December and her furnace was
turned off the entire month.
‘The only things running in my
house were the refrigerator, hot
water heater and two small
clocks, but my bill jumped from
less than $200 to over $400.
Ted Huffman, superintendent
of the Public Works Depart
ment, visited the woman’s home
Tuesday and said the meter was
running “very fast.” He said she
was not at home and that he
would like to go back at another
time and check some things on
the inside of her home to try to
locate the problem.
Others claimed their meters
are not functioning properly and
that low voltage in many areas
of town results in the meter run
ning too fast. Little said low
voltage does not affect the
meters and Huffman said his
staff checked SO meters last
month and “not a one was found
to be inaccurate.”
Both Little and Huffman said,
in most cases, when a meter is
found to be not operating pro
perly it is running too slow in
stead of too fast.
One resident of the
Southwoods sub-division said
the voltage in that area is
sometimes so low that “you can
turn on a hair dryer and the
television goes off.”
Another, who lives in Nor
thwoods, said often during wind
storms the power lines will begin
blowing in the wind, lights wiU
get considerably dimmer and the
electric heat will go off.
Still another said that either
the meters were not functioning
properly or the meter readers
were estimating the readings and
not actually reading them.
Little suggested that all per
sons experiencing those pro
)) o
« •
— ■*.
ng
PROTESTING RATE HIKES ■ On* woman spoaloi os around 50
olhor citissns look on at Monday night's mooting of tho Kings
Mountain Board of Commlssionors. City rosldonts oppoorod
Photo by Gary Stowart
boioro tho board to protost rocont utility rato hikos which thoy
clcdm doublod tho amounts of thoir bills.
Facilities Needs Okayed
The Kings Mountain District
Schools Board of Education at
its regular monthly meeting
Monday night adopted the
recommendations of the Blue
Ribbon Committee on School
Facilities.
Supa. Bill Davis told the board
it needed to act on the recom
mendations so school officials
will know exactly what to do in
the event money becomes
available in the future.
The citizens committee made
its report at the November
meeting.
Among the recommendations
is a plan to close Central School,
which would be converted into
an administration building. Cen
tral, a three-story structure, does
not meet requirements for serv
ing handicanxd students.
That move would make it
necessary to move the sbtth
grade b^k into the elementary
schools, which currently serve
grades kindergarten through
five. The junior high school
would then serve the seventh
and eighth grades, and the ninth
grade would be moved to the
high school.
Those changes would require
additional space at all the
elementary schools and the high
school and Davis estimated con
struction cost for that additional
space to be a half million dollars.
In another matter, Davis told
the board that equal funding for
Kings Mountain students who
live in Gaston County will be
‘less of a hassle than we thought
it would be.”
Davis reported at last month’s
meeting that the district had
been receiving only $100 per stu
dent for 200 Gaston County
students who attend school in
Kings Mountain, and that
Gaston County had often been
late in its payments.
But since then, Davis said, he
has talked with Superintendent
Zane Eargle of Gaston County,
who in turn has been discussing
the matter with Gaston County
commissioners, and has learned
that Gaston County intends to
pay Kings Mountain the same
amount ($325.91 per pupil) as it
gives the Gaston County School
I )
KMHS Tutoring Program
• Gets National Attention
A tutoring program at Kings
Mountain Senior High has been
recognized by the U.S. Depart
ment of Education in a publica
tion of exemplary projects. The
publication. An Almanac of
Tutorial Projocta, lists forty
outstanding tutorial projects in
the country.
The Peer Tutorial Program at
the high school is made up of
student tutors who help other
students improve their basic
reading, writing, and arithmetic
skills. Tutors are under the direct
supervision of classroom
teachers. They are selected for
their academic ability and their
desire to help other students
achieve. Each tutor works with
one or two students on lessons
based on the student’s individual
needs. Both students and tutors
build new friendships and prac
tice needed skills-students im
prove their basic skills while
tutors learn teaching skills. Both
earn one unit of credit toward
graduation. While students work
with their tutors, the classroom
teacher has time to work closely
with a few students. She can
concentrate on specific problems
without neglecting her other
students.
The tutoring program has
been in operation at the high
school for three years. It was
started by Susan Patterson in her
Fundamental English classes. A
year later Denise LaVene added
the tutorial concept to her Lear
ning Disabilities Resource
classes. This year 91 students
and 40 tutors are involved.
Teams of educational personnel
from Union and Macon counties
have visited the high school to
observe the program this year.
An important measure of the
success of the program is the
pride in their work expressed by
students, tutors, and teachers.
This positive attitude is expected
to have a positive effect on
grades and test scores, and it has
improved these students’ at
titudes toward the total school
program. The combination of
working together and caring for
each other has resulted in feel
ings of success for everyone in
volved.
blems contact the City Hall or
Public Works Department and
request that those problems be
corrected. He suggested that any
persons feeling that their meters
were misread to request a re
reading. “If it was read wrong, it
will reflect in the next month’s
billing because meters are never
reset,” he said.
Several persons expressed
disgust that Little, who lives in
Clover, was called in to answer
their questions. ‘The mayor and
the commissioners ought to be
willing to talk for themselves,”
one woman said.
“All of us are unhappy about
the high cost of utilities,” Mayor
Moss said. “We (the mayor and
board) want to be good public
servants and are concerned with
this problem. We have 4,000
meters and often deal with a lot
of situations that are very
touchy, such as people who are
spending almost their entire
social security checks for
utilities, and women who have
four and five abandoned
children and just cannot meet
their payments. We are very
sympathetic and try to be very
understanding. We are in a very
tight economic period, yet the ci
ty has its obligations.” .
The only commissioner to
speak was Jim Childers, who
said his bill rose from $72 to
$176. “I’m not happy about it,”
he said, “but I used it and I have
to pay it.”
One woman suggested that
the city adopt a policy to allow
citizens who are facing hardships
to pay one month’s bill in two
months. Another said the city
should allow all citizens-and not
just senior citizens and the blind
and handicapped-to estimate
their yearly bill and pay 11 equal
payments, and on their 12th pay
ment, pay the difference bet
ween the estimate and the actual
bill. That plan was adopted for
senior citizens, the blind and
handicapped at last month’s
meeting.
Turn To Pago 2-A
Commissioners Okay
Sale Of Property
system.
Davis said Scott Cloninger, at
torney for the KM system, has
written a letter to the Attorney
General’s office seeking his opi
nion on the matter. Davis said as
soon as that opinion is received,
he will make a request of funds
from Gaston County Commis
sioners.
In other action Monday, the
board:
Turn To Pag* 6-A
Teens
Injured
In Wreck
Two Kings Mountain
teenagers were injured in a
single-car wreck ^turday on
Road 2035 west of Kings Moun
tain.
Steven Neal Blanton, 15, of
Route 5, Kings Mountain, is
listed in critical condition in the
intensive care unit of Charlotte
Memorial Hospital, and Kevin
E. Galloway, 15, of Kings
Mountain, is in satisfactory con
dition at Cleveland Memorial
Hospital.
According to Highway Patrol
reports, Blanton was the driver
of the car, which went out of
control on a curve, ran off the
right side of the road and hit
bushes and a tree in the yard of
Patterson Grove Baptist
Church.
Trooper G.E. Mull estimated
damages at $2,000 to the car and
$200 to the trees and yard of the
church.
Charges are pending further
investigation.
City commissioners Monday
night approved the advertise
ment for sale of two parcels of
property at the corner of
Railroad Avenue and West Gold
Street in the Community
Development project.
Known as parcels three and
five, the property is located-
beside Plonk Brothers Depart
ment Store and includes a comer
building which must be brought
up to codes standards or
demolished by the pmrchaser.
Community Development
Director Gene White said it
would cost about $6,000 to
demolish the building and
recommended that the city not
demolish it, but to be sure all
prospective buyers know that
the building must be destroyed
or brought up to codes stan
dards.
The city will establish a
minimum fair market value 'and
will not accept bids below that
minimum amount.
In another matter, Alma Mit-
chem, a resident of Cherokee
Street, asked the commissioners
to do something about water
that runs all the way down the
street and stands in her yard.
She said she lives in the last
house on the street and water
“mns downhill and stops in my
yard.”
She said she also has problems
with tree limbs that are too close
to power lines and asked that
they be cut.
“One time my house almost
caught fire because a limb broke
and sfitick the wr? and Broke li
half ih two,” she said. “If it
would come a big wind storm
and break the wires, the house
would certainly catch fire.”
Mayor Moss assured Mrs.
Mitchem both problems would
be looked into.
In other action Monday, the
board;
♦Approved a bid of $14,000
from R. L. Dresser of Raleigh for
rubber based tile flooring for the
National Guard Armory. The
Armory will be used by the
youth basketball leagues.
♦Approved a contract with
A.M. Pullen Cmnpany, CPAs,
to audit accounts for the fiscal
year beginning July 1,1981, and
ending June 30, 1982.
Turn To Pag* 3-A
Paul Ham Jr. Gives
89th Pint Of Blood
Paul Ham Jr. of Kings Moun
tain was presented a certificate
of appreciation Friday by the
Cleveland County Chapter of
the American Red Cross for
donating more blood than any
other person in the city.
Ham gave his 89th pint of
blood during the Bloodmobile’s
visit to First Baptist Church.
At the visit, 187 persons came
to donate and six were deferred
for a total of 181 productive
pints. There were 14 first-time
donors. The goal was 150 pints.
Others donating, who have
given at least 25 pints of blood,
included Yates Harbisson 84,
BobManer 81, Charles Mauney
70, Russell Harris 70, Russell
Smith 70, Mearl Valentine 68,
George Mauney 65, Jacob
Houser 63, Joseph Sistare 62,
Charles Wilson 56, Juanita Stef-
fy 52, James K. Downey 48,
Martha Houser 48, Fred Bridges
44, Mitchell Pruitt 43, Jacob
Dixon 43, Samuel Adams 40,
Tommy Bridges 38, Arlene Bar
rett 36, Kenneth Metcalf 36,
Rev. William Bearden 30, James
Herndon 27, Sylvia Franldin 26,
Arthur Carroll 25 and Sandra
Young 25.
Lynne Mauney, volunteer
with the Red Cross, said the
response was tremendous “and
we’d like to thank all the donors
who responded to the shortages
that we have had. Due to the
publicity the bloodmobile has
received, the people realized
\
PAUL HAM
there is a great need in the
winter time and we appreciate
them coming.”
Mrs. Mauney said the great
response resulted in a longer
than usual processing time. “We
appreciate everyone’s patience
and understanding,” she said.
She said nurses for the blood-
mobile visits are sent from the
Blood Center in Charlotte and
the number of nurses are deter
mined by the goal of the visit.
The Kings Mountain goal was
150 pints.
“Since more people came,
there was more waiting than
normal,” Mrs. Mauney said.
“One solution to the problem
would be to make appointments
and that will be considered in the
future.”