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VOLUME 95, NUMBER 14
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THURSDAY. APRE 9, 1982
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KINGS MOUNTAIN. NORTH CAROL
Train Carrying Nuclear Equipment To Gaffney
Nuclear Equipment Comes Through KM
Kings Mountain residents who saw a strange-
looking, long, flat train carrying a huge piece of
equipment through town last week witnessed the
biggest railroad car to ever move on a track in the
United States...and possibly even the world.
Duke Power Company, which is building a new
nuclear plant near Gaffney, S.C., shipped a 790^on
steam generator on a new flat railroad car which
was purchased from Combustion Engineering of
Windsor, Conn.
The generator was transported from Memphis,
Tenn., where it was assembled, to Charleston, S.C.,
and then to Gaffney in a round-about way which
included trips down the Tennessee and Mississippi
rivers, and around the Gulf Coast and up the east
coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
Two steam generators and a reartor vessel left
Chattanooga by barge in February and were ship
ped down the Tennessee River to Ohio. From there,
they moved down the Mississippi to the Gulf Coiin,
around the gulf of Florida and up the Atlantic to
Charleston, S.C., where the first steam generator
was loaded onto the rail car.
The railroad car moved at a maximum of only 15
miles per hour, but for most of the journey its speed
was about eight miles per hour. It was parked over
night last Tuesday in Kings Mountain.
Ira Kaplan, Public Relations Officer with Duke
Power in Charlotte, said the reactor vessel is
scheduled to leave Charleston Friday and will pro
bably be coming through Kings Mountain
sometime next week. The second steam generator
will be transported later. The reactor vessel weighs
490 tons.
The indirect route from Charleston to Gaffney
was necessary, he said, because of condition of
tracks in some areas. The tracks going under the
overhead bridges in Kings Mountain were lowered
over a year ago to prepare for the three transports.
Kaplan said there is no target date for when the
equipment will be put in use, since the Gaffney
plant is being constructed in phases.
Grover Clerk Fired Again,
Commissioner Smith Resigns
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Photo by Glngor Hall
READY FOR EASTER - Two-yoar-old Jonhiior Fulton of 405
Plnovlow Drivo, is all drssaod up In hsr now Eastor outfit and
is rsady for Sunday. Shs U tho daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl
Fulton and granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glss Bridgss and
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Fulton.
Some KM Merchants
To Be Closed On Monday
Most downtown Kings Moun
tain merchants will be closed
Monday in observance of Easter
Monday.
Most clothing stores, jewelry
stores, furniture stores and oil
companies will be closed while
most grocery stores, doctor’s of
fices, and auto stores will be
open.
Among those stores to close
are Fulton’s, McGinnis Depart
ment Store, Plonk Brothers, Pat
terson Oil, Plonk Oil, Dellinger’s
Jewelry, Willie’s Jewelry, Timms
Furniture, Cooper Furniture
and McGinnis Furniture.
Among the stores to be open
are Sterchi Furniture, Clark
Tire, Western Auto, Carquest
and the Kings Mountain Farm
Center.
All banks in town will also be
closed, as well as the Chamber of
Commence.
Most grocery and variety
stores will be open.
By GARY STEWART
Editor
Grover Town Council Mon
day night terminated the
employment of Town Clerk
Gloria Horton, and the only
commissioner voting against
Mrs. Horton’s termination turn
ed in a letter of resignation Tues
day to Mayor Bill McCarter.
Vickie Smi^, who took office
in December, said, however, that
the Monday night action was
not the reason for her resigna
tion. She said she had been con
sidering it for sometime because,
since taking office, she has found
that “politics is just not in me.”
Commissiner Jim Howell
made the motion to dismiss Mrs.
Horton following a one hour ex
ecutive session. Ronald Queen
seconded and Dennis McDaniel
voted for the motion along with
Howell and Queen. Commis
sioner Bill Camp was not pre
sent.
This marks the second time in
less than three years that Mrs.
Horton has been fired. She was
dismissed by the council in early
1980, but was rehired shortly
afterward. She filed suit against
the town after her dismis.sal but
dropped the suit when she was
rehired.
Neither Mayor McCarter nor
any of the commissioners would
comment as to their reason for
firing Mrs. Horton. Mrs. Hor-
GLORIA HORTON
ton, who was in the executive
session briefly, said she was not
given a reason.
Mrs. Horton’s termination is
effective immediately. The board
voted to pay her for the re
mainder of the week and for any
vacation time she has ac
cumulated.
Mrs. Horton had requested a
personnel session with the board
to ask some questions concern
ing last month’s action which re
quires town employees to live in
Cleveland County. Mrs. Horton
resides near Blacksburg.
The board went into executive
session at 8 p.m. at the request of
VICKIE SMITH
Commissioner Queen, who did
not state a reason for the session.
Moments later. Commissioner
McDaniel returned to the
meeting room and said “the
reason for the meeting is person
nel.”
Police Chief Mike Brown was
called into the executive session
for about 15 minutes, and at 9
p.m. Mrs. Horton was called into
the room. The board returned to
the council meeting room at
905, at which time Howell made
his motion to dismiss Mrs. Hor
ton.
Mrs. Horton said the only
commissioner who would talk to
her was McDaniel, who saief she
was terminated “by the pleasure
of the board.”
“I feel like it was
pre-arranged,” she said. “I just
don’t know what to say except
that I’m real disappointed and I
don’t think “the pleasure of the
board’ is a good enough reason.”
Mrs. Horton said as soon as
she entered the executive session
McDaniel told her she was being
terminated by the pleasure of the
board.
“I said I wanted to know the
reason why, and none of them
would say anything,” she said.
“Mayor McCarter then turned
around and said the reason was
by the pleasure of the board.
That’s all anyone said.”
Mrs. Horton said she had ask
ed for a personnel meeting to
find out if last month’s new
policy requiring personnel to live
inside the county was intended
for current or future employees.
“I’m real shocked and very
concerned over the future of the
town,” she said. “If they 11 do me
this way, I’m sure other things
will receive the same kind of
treatment.
“I always thought honesty,
truthfulness and sincerity were
supposed to be invovled in
government,” she added. This
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Sunrise Service Sunday
Kindergarten Screening
Scheduled In Schools
A screening team of teachers,
school nurse, social worker,
speech teachers, psychologists,
and principal will be holding pre
school screening programs for all
children entering kindergarten in
1982-1983 and orientation for
their parents. To be eligible the
I child must be five years of age on
or before October 15, 1982 and
must be a resident of the school
district. Registration is now tak
ing place at each of the five
elementary schools.
The screening sessions are be
ing planned for IS children at
one time. The first 15 are to be
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tcM .
REV. WILLIAM H. TYSON
The Rev. William H. Tyson,
minister of the Boyce Memorial
A.R.P. Church, will deliver the
annual Easter sermon Sunday
morning at the community
sunrise service in the Veterans
Memorial Park of Mountain
Rest Cemetery. His topic will be
“Born Again Unto a Living
Hope.”
A special message in music,
entitled “He Gave His All”, is to
be shared earlier by members of
the choir of the First Wesleyan
Church where the Rev. Dwight
Edwards is pastor.
The sptrcial event, to which
everyone in the area is invited, is
sponsored by the Kings Moun
tain Ministerial Association.
Members of this group will be
assisted by Ken Jenkins,
superintendent of Mountai Rest
Cemetery, and Boy Scouts of the
community.
Others participating will be
the Rev. Allen Jolley, who will
give the welcome and lead in
congregational singing; the Rev.
Sidney Lanier of El Bethel
United Methodist Church will
offer the invocation, and the
Rev. Roger Webb, pastor of
Westover Baptist Church is to
lead in the responsive reading of
the Scriptures. The Rev. Oscar
Stalcup of the Foursquare
Gospel Church will lead in the
morning prayer, the Rev. Don
Kistler, director of Positive Peo
ple Worldwide, will read thee
Scripture lesson from I Peter
1:1-12, and the benediction is to
be offered by the Rev. L.K. Fan
nin, minister of the Church of
the Nazarene.
The special services commit
tee of the ministerial association,
which planned the program,
hopes to have at least 300 pre
sent for this service of celebra
tion which is to begin at 6 ajn.
Chairs will be provided for those
who may be unable to stand.