INSIDE...
SPORTS - 1B
Obituaries ........................ 2A Police Log ........................ 2A Lifestyles ......................... 6A
Panther Pride
■ KMHS wins
SMAC tourney openers
See Page 3A
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Volume 128
Issue 7
kmherald.com
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
School bus driver appreciation week
75 CENTS
‘Dream come true’
Shooting range opening April 12 ELIZABETH STEWART lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Brandy Donaldson is pictured at the wheel of Bus 18 on a route to and from the Kings Mountain Intermediate School. Photo by ELIZABETH STEWART
Bus driver Donaldson ‘hero’ to her kids ELIZABETH STEWART lib.kmherald@gmail.com
School bus drivers are the first people to greet students in the morning and the last to say “see you tomorrow” in the afternoon. The men and women who drive school buses take on the responsibility of making sure that boys and girls get to school and return home safely. Brandy Donaldson, a busy wife and mother, has been driving the bus that transports students to and from the Kings Mountain Intermediate School for nine years and she is on a first name basis with each of them. The morning of Jan. 27 began as usual but when the bus got to Barrett Road where she picks up a 12-year-old boy the happy mood on Bus No. 18 took a drastic change. “I stopped and opened
my door and he usually comes right to my bus, but he didn't that morning,'' said Donaldson. “I looked at him and he was yelling and I couldn't hear him because the motor of my bus is right beside me. He gets halfway to the bus and he hollers, “Help me, My Mom and Dad have been shot.” The bus driver quickly got through to the terrified child that he needed to get on the bus, all the while hoping to keep calm on the bus filled with 40 other children who had heard his cry for help. “I didn't know where the shooter was so I drove down the road a little further and called 911,'' she said. People like Sheriff Alan Norman and Cleveland County Schools Director of Transportation David Pless call Donaldson a hero.'' “I was just doing my
Contractors have set a target date of April 12 for the grand opening of the new Foothills Public Shooting Complex. Johnny Hutchins, the county commissioner from Kings Mountain who has spearheaded the project for the past seven years, said “it's a dream come true.” The 55-acre complex on Fielding Road on Highway 150 between Shelby and Waco is an estimated $3 million dollar project with $2 million from the North Carolina Wildlife Association and monies coming from donors. Hutchins said the county had stood out among others for its drive to build a full-service range that would include a 3-D archery range with 20 stands for archery, a 250 yard rifle range and three pistol target shooting bays. The range will also feature two skeet trap facilities and two 50yard utility ranges. A house on the property will house the administration building and plenty of room for gun safety classes, concealed weapons classes, and beneficial for all county law
RIFLE RANGE – This is a drone shot of the 250 yard rifle range and 60 yard pistol bay at the new shooting range under construction on Highway 150 between Shelby and Waco. Contractors have set a target date of April 12 for grand opening of the facility. enforcement agencies and surrounding areas as well as Boy Scouts for training exercises. “We want to put on multiple safety courses for youth and adults and probably stage a pistol match in the fall,'' said Hutchins. Hutchins said North Carolina Wildlife “made this happen.''
Estimating that there are 80 million gun owners in the United States, an NRA official at the groundbreaking in the spring of 2015 said that many in that group lack access to an affordable range. Hutchins said the facility is the largest public shooting facility in North Carolina and probably in the
See DONALDSON, Page 4A
Ann Womack. Friends and family watched the show and billboard.com praised Jason for his “lovely harmonica solo” with Sellers at her New York Mercury Lounge debut show. A self-taught musician, Jason plays not only lap steel and harmonica but also pedal steel, guitar, and several other musical instruments. Saturday, February 20 he will again accompany Sellers at The Ryman in Nashville, TN where he now lives. He See GOFORTH, Page 4A
See SHOOTING RANGE, Page 3A
Drafting students may redesign parking lot
KM's Jason Goforth on late night TV If you watch late night television you may have noticed a familiar face recently. Jason Goforth of Kings Mountain was on The Late Show With Steven Colbert on January 28. He played lap steel accompanying rising country star Aubrie Sellers who is the daughter of Lee
Southeast. Hutchins said that invitations will go out soon to a number of dignitaries including Governor Pat McCrory and Speaker of the NC House Tim Moore, Tom Berry, Commissioner of the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, and many
NEW LOCKERS FOR SENIOR CENTER - Kings Mountain's Bank of the Ozarks gave their third and final payment of their pledge of $4500 to the building expansion project for new lockers at the H. Lawrence Patrick Senior Life & Conference Center. The $1500 check was presented last Wednesday by bank officials to city and Patrick Center officials. From left, front row, Banker Brenda Lovelace, city councilman Tommy Hawkins and Senior Center Director Sharon Eaker. Back row, from left, city councilman Jay Rhodes, banker Kent Teague and Mayor Scott Neisler holding check, councilman Keith Miller and mayor pro tem Mike Butler. Photo by HALEY WILSON
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Mayor Scott Neisler is challenging the drafting students at Kings Mountain High School to redesign the Cherokee Street parking lot to maximize the spaces and make it more efficient for parking. The mayor was “Principal of the Day” at the high school last Wednesday and toured the facilities. “I was impressed with the students, the teachers, and the technology particularly in drafting and throughout the Business and Industry Tech building,'' he said. Neisler said that a group of business leaders have targeted signage, lights and parking as three major projects for downtown revitalization which grant monies could be used totaling $96,107. “The drafting students seemed to be excited with helping in the redesign of the parking lot,'' said the mayor. See photo page 3A
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