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Volume 132 • Issue 34
kmherald.com • 704-484-1047
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
75¢
“You can’t stop the music”
KM’s BeachBlast goes virtual on August 22 One of the City of Kings Mountain’s most exciting festivals, BeachBlast, has been modified this year because of COVID-19 group size restrictions. In place of the festival, the City is planning a virtual beach party on August 22. “Nothing is stopping us from having a party online,” said Special Events Director Christy Connor. “COVID can’t stop the music!” The City of Kings Mountain invites you to join them online on Saturday, August 22 on the city’s special event’s Facebook page for a virtual beach party. Celebrate the 21st anniversary of BeachBlast with DJ Johnny B and a concert by the 2019 Carolina Beach Music Association’s Group of the Year, “Too Much Sylvia”. “Tune into the City of Kings Mountain Special Events Facebook page to enjoy your favorite beach music, shag on your porch
JOHNNY B
and have a fun watch party with us,” said Connor. This beach party starts at 6 pm and will be packed with entertainment, music, games and fun until 9 pm. You can “Like” the City of Kings Mountain Special Events Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cityofkmspecialevents to view this exclusive event.
The Life God Gives You By Loretta Cozart Shaquia Jimson was born in 1979, the daughter of Kenneth Wayne Jimson and Grace Ann Watkins Jimson. Within 10 months, her mother would be dead at her father’s hand and the family broken apart. Grace Ann’s daughters were fathered by different men, so each daughter was sent to be raised by those families. Shaquia was 10-months old, her sister just two. The story of her mother’s murder made headlines in Cleveland County and the region in 1980, and Shaquia said, “That story has always loomed over me. As I got older, I decided to learn more about what happened that caused this tragedy. My father was a military man. My mother was only 18 and didn’t finish high school,” Jimson said. “My grandmother orchestrated my parent’s marriage, but they were so young they didn’t understand what marriage really meant.” Prior to the marriage, Shaquia’s grandmother would sell Grace Ann to men for money. “My mom was between 12 and 13-years old when that began. I’ve come to realize that what my mother
TOO MUCH SYLVIA, the 2019 Carolina Beach Music Association’s Group of the Year, will perform concert on August 22. The beach party starts at 6 p.m. Photos provided
COVID outbreak at White Oak Manor By Loretta Cozart
SHAQUIA JIMSON experienced was nothing less than sex-trafficking. And I suspect the same may have happened to my grandmother. I think it was multi-generational. After marriage, my mother experienced domestic violence from my father,” she said. “They had a very volatile relationship.” “When I was 10-months old, my father locked my sister and me in a shed out back of my grandmother’s home in the Compact Community and killed my mother. Then he set fire to the house.” He was charged with first-degree murder and arson. “What I try to do after learning all this is to bring awareness to single parenting. No matter whether the children are raised by their mother or their father, it isn’t fair to the children. There aren’t many helpful resources for single parents available. Single parents have to think See LIFE, Page 4
NC Department of Health and Human Services has listed White Oak Manor in both Kings Mountain and Shelby with outbreaks in its Ongoing COVID-19 Outbreaks in Congregate Living Settings report dated August 14, 2020. The report is updated twice weekly. According to the report, White Oak Manor in Kings Mountain has had 60 cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak began. 26 staff and 34 patients have been infected. One resident has died. At White Oak Manor in Shelby, 37 cases were reported. Twenty-two staff and fifteen patients with COVID-19 were reported. Four patients have died. In a congregate living setting, a COVID-19 outbreak is defined as two or more laboratory-confirmed cases. An outbreak is considered over if there is no evidence of continued transmission within the facility. The Herald reached out to White Oak Manor Kings Mountain for a statement but did not get a response.
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Mayor Scott Neisler, right, swears in Darren Graves as Codes Enforcement Officer.
City assigns Graves as new Codes Enforcement Officer By Janet Hart City of Kings Mountain The City of Kings Mountain has selected Darren Graves to fill a newly-created position as a Codes Enforcement Officer. Graves is transferring from his position as Equipment Operator in the City’s Public Works Department into this position. So, there is not an increase in total employees or total expenses. In this role, Graves will primarily focus on insuring compliance with three primary state laws: minimum housing standards, building codes for new construction
DARREN GRAVES and junk cars on residential properties. “The City of Kings Mountain is a beautiful city in which to live, work and play, but we do have pockets of the city that need cleaning up,” said Mayor Scott Neisler.
“The City Council has made it a top priority to address those areas.” Graves will be assessing dilapidated properties and enforcing citations for non-compliance. Property owners will be cited for violations and will have 30-90 days to comply with the citation, depending on what issues are being cited. Enforcement could include fines, condemning the property as uninhabitable and demolition of the property if it is unsafe and not brought into compliance. Property owners with junk cars could be subject to fines, or have the vehicles towed See GRAVES, Page 4
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703 E. Kings St., Suite 9, Kings Mountain • www.BakerDentalCare.com