Second Baptist celebrates 100 years
75th Anniversary of Historic Post Office
INSIDE... Obituaries ..................2 & 14 Police Log .......................... 2 Lifestyles ........................... 6 Business ............................ 3
See page 3 & 7
See page 10
Over 20 years experience!
kmherald.com
Volume 127 • Issue 24 • Wednesday, June 17, 2015
75¢
Call for an appointment today!
704.473.4048
786 Bell Rd., Kings Mountain
State of community
Local leaders tout development DAVE BLANTON dave.kmherald@gmail.com
Silas Martin ( played by fight captain Pete DeGregory) enters into battle with his son, fighting for liberty in a scene from “Liberty Mountain,’’ which runs June 26 through midJuly at Joy Performance Center. Photo by TORRENCE PHOTOGRAPHY
Fighting on stage at ‘Liberty Mountain’ (Ed. note: Caleb Sigmon is the Artistic and Fight Director for the Revolutionar War drama “Liberty Mountain” by Bob Inman which opens June 26 and runs through mid-July at Joy Theatre. Caleb is an illusionist, speaker and theater artist from North Carolina.) by CALEB RYAN SIGMON Fighting to the death is hard to do safely! With our epic drama centering around the Battle of Kings Mountain, weaponry and stage violence play a major role in our show. We have an Indian ambush, a brutal home invasion, and even a glimpse at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Of course, the
biggest fight scene of all is the climactic crescendo of gunfire and blade slinging on top of Kings Mountain. Nestled backstage at the Joy Performance Center, we have an armory of real and replica firearms including muskets and long rifles, tomahawks, bayonets, swords, daggers, spears and even a cannon, a new feature to the 2015 production. A lot more goes into the process than just acquiring this arsenal of battle-ready equipment. The biggest challenge is ensuring safety onstage without any mishaps or injuries for 15 performances. A job I take very seriously. See LIBERTY, Page 7
KM Police tout diminishing crime rate DAVE BLANTON dave.kmherald@gmail.com
Many area residents walked through the Kings Mountain Police Department’s hallways, squad rooms and training room Thursday to catch a glimpse of the inside as part of the department’s open house. Guests feasted on grilled hot dogs, baked beans and chips while getting to know some officers who were on hand, as well as Police Chief Melvin Proctor. Proctor, in a large training room, took the day, which had been declared Kings Mountain Police Day, to thank members of the community for their
help in lowering crime significantly in the past 10 years. “This drop in crime could not be possible without community-based policing,” said Proctor, who rose to the ranks at city’s police department, eventually taking its top job in 2002. Visitors could see the results of community-policed and what Proctor called a “faith-based” approach in a large chart on an easel in the corner of the room. It showed the number of reported crime, not including traffic violations, spiking in 2001 at 1,176 incidents. The next year, it falls off considerably to 996. Following that, in 2003, one sees a small bump upward to 1,030. But 2004, the number of crimes reported by the police department to state authorities dips to 898.
City, county and education leaders came together last week to touch on progress made and the goals that still lay ahead. Speakers at the annual State of the Community Breakfast, hosted by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and held at the H. Patrick Senior Center, sounded a positive theme as they discussed budget outlines, economic development news and area student’s preparation for the future. “We’re going to see about $500,000 in savings a year through implementation of the Smart Meter program,” said Kings Mountain Mayor Rick Murphrey. “For electric and gas, it’s 100 percent in effect.
And we’re about 75 percent completing the Smart Meter program for our water services.” The city’s Smart Meter program utility employs radio technology to report customer usage for all residential and commercial customers. Murphrey also noted that the city, which is working off of $39 million budget in 2015-16, enjoys an A-1 credit rating, will implement no electric services or gas services base rate increase and has returned a perfect audit for the last 17 years. The city moved to enact a third year 7.5 water/ sewer rate increase in the last year to repay a $34 million dollar loan from the state to finance water/sewer improvements. See LEADERS, Page 10
Monty Thornburg, Patrick Senior Center director, was surprised Thursday at the State of the Community breakfast with the prestigious Governor’s award, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the top award given to a citizen for outstanding service. photo by DAVE BLANTON
High flying start to summer reading DAVE BLANTON dave.kmherald@gmail.com
If what happened Monday morning didn’t get local kids excited about exploring books, nature, magic and more this summer, probably nothing will. Mark Lippard juggled just about everything he could get his hands on before hoisting a teenage volunteer on his shoulders and riding around the stage freely on a unicycle. The wild stunts – on unicycles, 15-inch high bicycles and involving five kids in a plate-spinning trick – seem to never end at Mauney Memorial Library Summer Reading program kickoff. See READING, Page 3
Mark Lippard juggled about everything he could get his hands on and rode around freely on 15-inch high unicycles to kick-off Mauney Memorial Library’s summer reading program Monday morning. Photo by DAVE BLANTON
City employees to get 2% pay raise ELIZABETH STEWART lib.kmherald@gmail.com
The city’s 200 employees could find more change in their pockets as of July 1 with a projected 2% cost of living increase. City Manager Marilyn Sellers was recommending the increase as The Herald went to press Tuesday night and as the public hearing on the proposed $38,763,923 proposed budget was being presented
SEE KMPD, Page 7
For Dental Implants Locally Here In Kings Mountain
Baker Dental Care Preventative, Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry
by Sellers during a public hearing. The pay increase was expected to be the only change in the fiscal year budget which begins July 1. The only increase is the 7-½% increase in water/ sewer that customers have paid for the last two years to help pay back the $34 million the city borrowed from the state to finance See CITY, Page 7
BBQ bout Saturday at Good Hope Church part of the fun) gets started dave.kmherald@gmail.com at 11 a.m. at the church, which is located at 105 N. Good Hope Presbyte- Cansler St. Plates that offer rian Church will be site of a sample from both camps something of a food duel and include fixings can be had for $9. this Saturday. All the proceeds go to Two opposing sides will fire up the smokers and aid the general fund of the apply their talents to see church. On one side of the barwho is the people’s choice between two very different becue battle is Good Hope kinds of barbecue: Eastern pastor David Moore. OrigN.C.-style pork or Tex- inally from Chester, N.C., (near Wilson) Moore taught as-style brisket. The fun (well, the eating See BBQ, Page 7 DAVE BLANTON
Just a few benefits of Dental Implants: • Improved appearance. Dental implants look and feel like your own teeth. • Improved speech. Dental implants allow you to speak without the worry that your dentures might slip. • Improved self-esteem. Smile again and feel better about yourself. • Durable. Implants are very durable and with proper care, can last a lifetime. To find out more about Dental Implants and schedule your next appointment
call us at 704-739-4461
703 E. Kings St., Suite 9, Kings Mountain • www.BakerDentalCare.com