Volume 130 • Issue 17
April 25, 2018
kmherald.com • 704-739-7496
75¢
Rene Bost promoted
Philbeck heads Election Board CROWDS AT EARTH DAY SATURDAY – The crowds came to Earth Day Saturday at Gateway Trail. See more pictures by Christy Conner and Shirley Brutko in today’s Herald.
Pastor Emeritus
Second Baptist to honor Gene Land Second Baptist Church will honor retired and former Pastor Gene Land as Pastor Emeritus Sunday, April 29, at a 4 p.m. service at the church followed by a reception. Land served the church as Pastor for 27 years and is the longest-serving pastor of the Kings Mountain church. He has retired from a gospel ministry of 45 years. Locally, he was also pastor of Eastside Baptist Church for eight years.
PASTOR GENE LAND Guest speakers will be Rev. Wesley Smith, Associational Missionary to the
Greater Cleveland County Baptist Association of Shelby and Rev. John Houze, pastor of Peoples Baptist Church in Kings Mountain. Land served five years in the US Navy aboard the USS Missouri Battleship and served for 20 years as Chaplain of the Association of retired US Navy servicemen who served aboard the USS Missouri. The public is invited.
Ward I seat applications to be finalized soon City Council is readying the application process for filling the Ward I seat of the late Rev. Howard Shipp. Mayor Scott Neisler said the applications will soon be available on the City of Kings Mountain website at www.cityofkm. com and at City Hall,
101 West Gold St., Kings Mountain, NC 28086. He said the signed application must be hand delivered to the City Clerk at City Hall. The signed application will also grant permission to the City of Kings Mountain to conduct a police, court, and records investigation of the applicant.
Council will conduct the interviews and the vacant seat is expected to be filled after July 1 by vote of the six members of city council. As the Herald went to press Tuesday city council was voting on the procedures for the application process.
McWhirter improving Carl McWhirter, retired teacher from Kings Mountain High School, will be released from Carolinas Rehabilitation Hospital on Wednesday, according to the family. He is recovering from gunshot wounds sustained in late March. Family friend Loretta Cozart visited with Carl week ago and he is healing well. Physical, occu-
pational, and speech keep him busy during the day and his hard work is evidenced in his progress. They had good conversation and he was in good spirits and looking forward to going home. “Carl looks good but is still a little weak. The tracheotomy was removed after my visit and he is now able to eat solid foods. It was great to hear the doctor’s reports are optimistic and the prognosis is good for a full recovery,” said family friend Loretta Cozart.
WINS MEDALS – Katrena Winebarger brought home two medals from Special Olympics held in Shelby April 21, a gold in the 25-meter wheelchair race and bronze in the tennis throw. Katrena and her mother, Trevelen Winebarger live in Kings Mountain.
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Clifton W. Philbeck, Deputy Director of Elections in Cleveland County since FebPHILBECK ruary 2014, is the newDirector of Elections. He has been serving as Acting Director since the departure BOST of Dayna Causby on February 22 of this year. He was unanimously appointed by the four-member Board of Elections last Tuesday afternoon at a special meeting of the board. “This is a tremendous honor,” says Mr. Philbeck. “I look forward to providing the citizens of Cleveland County
every tool necessary to ensure their right to vote.” Clifton Philbeck, a lifelong resident of Cleveland County, graduated from Crest High School and Gardner-Webb University with a degree in History/Political Science. While serving as Deputy Director, he became a Certified North Carolina Elections Administrator through the North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. In addition, he completed all course work through Auburn University to become a Nationally Certified Elections/ Registration Administrator in 2017. “We were fortunate to have a large group of talented and diverse applicants,” says Board Chairman Douglas Sharp. “We decided on Clifton because he understands the complexities of Cleveland County Elections and he is in line with the Board’s commitment to seeing that all elec-
tions are fair and accurate.” Clifton Philbeck currently resides in Boiling Springs with his wife Amber and daughter Macy. By recommendation of Philbeck, the board unanimously voted to promote Renee Bost to fill the Deputy Director position. Mrs. Bost has served as Elections Specialist in Cleveland County since 2013. “Being a part of this team has been a rewarding experience,” says Mrs. Bost. Renee Bost graduated from Crest High School and Gardner Webb University with a degree in Management Information Systems. She currently resides in the Oak Grove community of Kings Mountain with her husband Patton Bost. Information on upcoming elections can be found online at elections.clevelandcounty. com or by calling the Board of Elections office at 704484-4858.
Numbers tell the story in Flowe interviews “The Reveal” is how F. Richard Flowe, President and CEO of N-Focus, headlined his presentation before about two dozen citizens April 17 at city hall. Flowe was hired by the City of Kings Mountain to research and provide a streetscape plan for downtown Kings Mountain, gaining input from downtown business owners in inter-
views and in public forums the last several months. He will present the plan concept in a public forum by June 12 and a resolution to adopt the plan will be presented to city council on June 26. The numbers tell the story. Sixty-nine businesses are located downtown, 54 are active, 13 businesses
vacant or closed, the most vacant businesses being on W. Mountain Street. Twenty-seven of the active properties are owned or managed by non-residents but Flowe said they are invested in the community as working citizens. Most downtown businesses don’t have a say in city government. An analysis of daytime See NUMBERS, Page 7A
School safety priority: Moore Speaker of the N. C. House Tim, Moore (R) told Burns High School students Thursday that change will take place to make classrooms safer. Moore, in response to student questions, said there will be possibly more money in the budget to hire more school resource officers and more social workers. “School safety is our highest priority in the House of Representatives,’’ he said.
VP AND KING – Noah King, 9-year-old North Elementary School student, had an opportunity to meet Vice-President of the United States Mike Pence on Friday at the Douglas International Airport in Charlotte before Pence visited the Queen City. Noah is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne King of Kings Mountain. Photo submitted
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