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Volume 132 • Issue 19
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
KM High School Seniors receive caps and gowns Kings Mountain High School distributed caps and gowns on Thursday, April 30. In addition, they gave every senior a yard sign and a poster with their senior class picture on it when they picked up their caps and gowns. Over 50 faculty, staff, and lined the bus lot driveway cheering on the seniors as 240 of them drove through during a 2.5-hour period. The school decorated the area with balloons and posters, and everyone wore KMHS shirts. Mountie pride was strong that day. The Kings Mountain Herald will publish our keepsake edition for seniors on June 5. Parents and the community can honor their 2020 KMHS graduate in that supplement, and local businesses
Leigh Ann Long greets students during the cap and gown distribution at the high school last week. The school provided each senior a KMHS sign for their yard and a special class photo. Photo by Gary Smart
can support this effort by advertising. For more information, contact Scott
Helms at 704-473-0080 or email: scott@cfmedia.info. See ad on page 7.
Signs of the times By Loretta Cozart As we approach the second month of North Carolina’s stay at home order, things in Kings Mountain have certainly changed. Restaurants are open for take-out or drive through service as dine in service is prohibited. Only essential businesses are allowed to operate and even those have restrictions on the number of people within their shops. Driving through town on May 1, the restaurants along Cleveland Avenue and York Road were busy at lunch time, with cars lined up into the roadway at Bojangles. Signs posted by business encourage customers to drive through or order via delivery services, like Doordash or Postmates. One of the most prominent signs as you drive South from Hwy. 74 toward King Street is one posted by the YMCA that reads, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” Psalms 56:3. Those are encouraging words during tough times. At the intersection of Cleveland Avenue and King Street, Hardee’s sign offers “Family Bundles, Drive Thru Open.” Further down Hwy. 161, Eastside Baptist Church in-
Kings Mountain YMCA sign provides encouraging words during this time. See more signs on page 7. Photo by Loretta Cozart vites congregants to “Join us for traditional worship” with Pastor Ron A. Caulder. The sign offers encouraging words to passers-by, “When fears arise, trust in God.” Just down the road, Taco Bell has a sign offering two drive through lanes with curbside service. That would certainly expedite wait time during peak business hours. Los Tarascos sign reads, “Now open all day. Daily special,” followed by their phone number encouraging call-in orders. It is obvious these restaurants are certainly hurting
and need the community’s support if they are to survive. The community often leans on these businesses to support sports teams, bands, and church groups. During COVID-19, these businesses now look to the community to support them. And even with all this uncertainty, both the new Starbucks and Burger King properties have made great strides toward completion of their facilities scheduled for later this year. On King Street, KFC has
See SIGNS, Page 7
Potato Project provides exercise opportunity Doug Sharp, co-founder of the Cleveland County Potato Project, announced they are opening the County’s largest exercise center since the onset of the Coronavirus. At 9 am on May 7 and May 8, the potato patch on Sul-
phur Springs Road will be open to provide the opportunity for outside exercise by pulling weeds. Doug Sharp The patch has plenty of room for social distancing and you can stay as long as you like. This is a 5-acre plot that can handle
up to 200 members. This opportunity is also open for families. There is a weed-pulling clinic at 9 am and work begins thereafter. If you prefer to stay away, a donation of $20.00 will pay for a professional weed puller to pull in your place for 2 hours. Donations to 107 Quail Hollow Dr, Kings Mountain, NC 28086.
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City to host National Day of Prayer virtual event T h e City of K i n g s Mountain will observe National Day of Prayer a little difDANYALE ferently PATTERSON this year. Due to current guidelines issued by the State of North Carolina, Department of Health and Human Services and Governor Roy Cooper regarding social distancing, all City of Kings Mountain Special Events in April and May, which would have encouraged public gatherings, had to be cancelled. National Day of Prayer was one of these events. Even though the public gathering had to be cancelled, National Day of
Prayer will be held virtually through the City of Kings Mountain’s Special Events Facebook Page. Scheduled May 7, at 12 pm, Evangelist Danyale Patterson of Engage Church will lead the observance followed by words from Mayor Scott Neisler. Minister Danyale Patterson is affiliated with the Kings Mountain Ministerial Association, Carolina Strategic Prayer Alliance, Moms in Prayer, and a board member of Child Evangelism Fellowship. "America is in a desperate and critical time,” said Minister Patterson. “As free citizens of this great nation, we can lift up our heartfelt prayers to the Sovereign Lord. Please join me
and others on the National Day of Prayer to pray for our country, communities, schools, and families." Music for the event will be provided by Dr. Jonathan Bundon, Worship Pastor of First Baptist Church of Kings Mountain. The Special Events Department’s new Facebook page can be found at https:// www.facebook.com/CityofKMSpecialEvents/. A special thank you to Ron Caudler, Pastor of Eastside Baptist Church and President of the Kings Mountain Ministerial Association, for his help in organizing this event. For more information, you may also call the City of Kings Mountain’s Special Events Department at 704-730-2101 or visit our website at www.KingsMountainEvents.Com.
Important Information from City of KM
Paying residential utility bills The City of Kings Mountain has important information for residential utility customers about paying their utility accounts. The City provides four utilities including electric, water, natural gas and sewer to citizens of Kings Mountain and utility customers in surrounding areas. As the COVID-19 crisis began impacting people, the City of Kings Mountain, and many other utility providers, suspended service disconnections and will continue to do so through May 31, 2020. The City of Kings Mountain reminds utility customers
that they are responsible for paying their utility bills incurred during this time. The City urges utility customers to continue making payments on their utility accounts to avoid accumulating large balances, even if they cannot pay their accounts in full. Utility account balances will not be forgiven – the payments are only being deferred at this time. Customers who are having trouble paying their utility bills in full should pay as much as they can each month. The City of Kings Mountain will work with residential utility customers, who have not been able to make payments, to develop payment
plans for their accounts. Utility customers will have six months – through November 30, 2020 – to pay their past due balances in full. The City will resume disconnecting service and charging processing and late fees on unpaid balances beginning June 1, 2020, unless a payment arrangement has been signed. Once a customer has signed a payment plan, their utility service will be subject to penalty and disconnection if the payment plan is not followed. To set up a payment plan or ask questions about your bill, please call the City of Kings Mountain’s billing department at 704-734-4616.
Pandemic relief legislation approved by North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly unanimously passed two Covid-19 response packages on Saturday, May 2, approving over $1.5 billion of funding relief for critical needs and extensive policy measures to help local communities address the crisis as the state safely reopens its economy. The compromise spending plan is a significant investment laying the groundwork for moving the state forward and responding to the economic and human impacts of this pandemic. This commitment goes above and beyond previous requests and includes funding for testing, tracing, immediate recovery needs, and increasing access to broadband and electronic devices to access remote learning opportunities. North Carolina leaders issued a joint bipartisan statement Saturday:
“This legislation puts North Carolina on the right path to recovery,” Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue (D-Wake), House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) and House Minority Leader Darren Jackson (D-Wake) said. “For weeks, our citizens have been anxious about their future because of this virus, and today we can assure them that action is being taken to allay their concerns.” The bill addresses both immediate needs, like purchasing personal protective equipment and expanding digital infrastructure needs, and long-term research and development to fight the virus. It supports testing for uninsured patients, rural and under-served communities, and behavioral health services. “This recovery and relief bill is the product of bipartisan collaboration to help North
Carolinians return to their daily lives,” Sens. Berger, Blue, Speaker Moore, and Rep. Jackson said. “Our citizens have stepped up to support each other during this unprecedented time, and now we must look ahead to getting everyone healthy and back to work safely.” House Bill 1043 Pandemic Response Act appropriates over $1.5 billion in relief funding for North Carolina’s medical providers, education communities, broadband connectivity. See below for a summary of select H.B. 1043 appropriations. Senate Bill 704 Covid-19 Recovery Act provides tax relief, streamlines unemployment access, and makes policy reforms in education, healthcare, and government operations to assist North Carolinians through the pandemic and
See RELIEF, Page 8
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