INSIDE...
SPORTS - 1B
City Awards
■ KM Lady
Obituaries ........................ 2A Police Log ........................ 2A Lifestyles ......................... 6A
Patriots Tri-County Champs
See Page 6B
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Volume 128 • Issue 9
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
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Water Resources Moving day Thursday, March 3 director named for County Health Department ELIZABETH STEWART lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Ricky Duncan, at his desk in the Public Works Department, has been promoted to Director of Water Resources. He succeeds the retiring Dennis Wells. LIB STEWART photo Ricky Duncan , 47, loves his job and does what he loves so it was natural that City Manager Marilyn Sellers promoted the veteran employee to Director of Water Resources. Duncan first joined the City of Kings Mountain Water department in 1989 as a pump mechanic at age 20 and was lead mechanic before he left in 1998 to take a job as welder and then production manager at Alston Power, formerly Combustion Engineering. Returning to the City as supervisor of the pump department in 2004, he became superintendent of water/ sewer in 2012 and last week w as promoted to Director of Water Resources heading a staff of 26 people. Duncan says he looks forward to the expansion at the
water treatment plant from 8 million to 12 million gallons of water daily and the activation of the new 36 inch water line ( from a 24-inch line) from Moss Lake to town. He said the water plant expansion is targeted for a December 2016 completion. A native of Gaffney, SC, he graduated from Gaffney High School and studied industrial maintenance at Spartanburg Technical College. He and his wife, the former Brenda Carter, have been married 27 years and have three children: Jessica ( Mrs. Dustin) Vaughn of Grover; Stephen Vaughn of Shelby and Katey Vaughn of Kings Mountain. Grandson Emmett Vaughn is Grandpa's pride and joy. The Duncan family enjoys doing things together.
Morrow promoted to Commander The United States Navy promoted Thomas Keith Morrow, II to the rank of Commander at a ceremony at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. on February 5, 2016. Captain Brad Garber presided over the ceremony and administered the oath of office. Morrow received his new rank insignia from his wife, Liz, his two daughters, Lyla and Caroline, and his parents, Keith and Avis Morrow of Kings Mountain, NC. Morrow is a 1996 graduate of Kings Mountain High School and a 2000 Mechanical Aerospace Engineering degree graduate of the United
Thomas Keith Morrow, II States Military Academy at West Point. He also graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2008, with an Executive Masters in Business Administration, and the U.S. Naval War College in 2014, with a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. Morrow spent most of his naval career as a helicopter pilot in
The Cleveland County Health Department, which has been housed in its current building in Shelby since 1978, is moving Thursday, March 3, to 200 S. Post Road in Shelby where it will share a campus with the Department of Social Services and will be called the Cleveland County Public Health Center. Opening day at the new facility is March 7 at 12 noon. For public health emergencies call 704-4845100. The entire project cost was $19 million and was funded in part from the sale of the old building. Jason Falls, chairman of the county board of commissioners, said the new location will strategically
This is a photograph of the new home of the Cleveland County Public Health Center, formerly the Cleveland County Health Department, and moving day is Thursday for the 150 employees who will work in the $19 million dollar facility at 200 S. Post Road. place two of the county's most needed resources, the Health Department and the Department of Social Services, side by side. Falls said this will enable residents to experience easier access to services and a
more secure location and allow for enhanced communications between DSS, the Health Department and Partners. The new construction has incorporated new safety and security features to pro-
tect the staff and public. The parking lot is larger and well lit, and even has a walking track for employees around it. “That is important,'' said Falls, because now nearly See MOVING DAY, Page 7A
Early voting starts here Thursday ELIZABETH STEWART lib.kmherald@gmail.com
One-stop early voting in the March 15 primary begins Thursday at Mount Zion Baptist Church, 220 N. Watterson St., and the site will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 3, 4, and 5 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., March 5 through Friday, March 11 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, March 23, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Hiker lucky in fall Sunday from Buzzard's Roost in KM The quiet Dixon Community near Kings Mountain was a beehive of activity about 4:30 p.m. Sunday as law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency crews rushed to set up a helicopter landing and buffer zone on Bob Bridges field. A 23-year-old man making pictures fell 30 feet off Buzzard's Roost and was clinging to the rocks on the trail hike off Bethlehem Road. He had been hiking from Crowders Mountain State Park and had hiked to that stretch of mountain near Kings Mountain, a boulder access
See MORROW, Page 7A
See HIKER, Page 7A
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New voters can also register and vote at the one-stop site in Kings Mountain. Dayna Causby, Director of Elections for the Cleveland County Board of Elections, said that most voters will be asked to present acceptable photo identification when presenting to vote in person or at the polls with exceptions for voters unable to obtain a photo identification. Those voters may still vote a provisional
ballot if their inability is due to a lost or stolen ID, lack of transportation, illness, work schedule, a lack of proper documents by providing an alternate form of identification such as the last four digits of their social security number, date of birth, current utility bill, paycheck, bank statement, etc. Causby said that voters who use curbside voting may also present one of the alternative forms of identifi-
cation. No identification is required to vote an absentee ballot by mail. Absentee request forms are available at the one-stop early voting site and also at the Board of Elections in Shelby. Completed absentee ballots must be returned to the Cleveland County Board of Elections by 5 p.m. on March 15 or postmarked March 15. See EARLY VOTING, Page 7A
KMHS Musical Opens Thursday
CAST OF 'SPELLING BEE' – Pictured are KMHS Theatre Department students in the cast of 'Spelling Bee' which opens Thursday night at Barnes Auditorium. Front row, from left, Jensen Fleisher, Skylar Smith and Sophia Kellstrom. Back row, from left, Landon Ervin, Jesse Childers, Madison Green, Tobias Curry, and Jonah Williams. Kings Mountain High School Performing Arts Department presents “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, with music and lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Sheinkin, and conceived by Rebecca Feldman, March 4, 5, 11, 12
at 7 p.m. and March 6 and 13 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for Senior Citizens and Cleveland County Schools (CCS) Renaissance Silver, Blue, or Black Card Holders, and free for children 5 and under and CCS Renais-
sance Gold Card Holders. Tickets can be purchased at the Box Office prior to the show and in the front office of Kings Mountain High School beginning Wednesday, March 2. Showcasing the various personalities See KMHS MUSICAL, Page 7A
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