INSIDE...
SPORTS......... 1B
Obituaries ........................ 2A Police Log ........................ 2A Lifestyles ......................... 6A
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NC 3A playoffs Friday
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Volume 127 • Issue 45 • Wednesday, November 11, 2015
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3 retain seats
Mayor-Elect: I’m not so sure
2 new faces on school board
Could new mayor, council alter casino’s fate? DAVE BLANTON dave.kmherald@gmail.com
DAVE BLANTON dave.kmherald@gmail.com
Last weeks election sent three incumbents and a former member back to the Cleveland County Board of Education. It also saw a former teacher Jeff Jones Jo Boggs win his first bid to join the board. Incumbents Roger Harris, Shearra Miller and Richard Hooker Jr. secured enough votes to keep their seats on the board. Jerry Hoyle, with 2,791 votes, fell short and was the only incumbent not to be re- Roger Harris Richard Hooker elected. was elected Jo Boggs will be reto his first turning to the Board of Education after nearly a de- term on the cade-long absence. She pre- Board of viously served on the panel Education. Jones, with from 1996 to 2006. Jeff Jones, who retired 2,944 votes after teaching at Shelby (8.27 perHigh School for 29 years, cent of the Shearra Miller See SCHOOL BOARD, Page 7A
Entries invited for KM Yule parade Applications for the annual Kings Mountain Christmas Parade are now available at City Hall and via email. Contact Special Events Coordinator Haley Wilson at haley.wilson@ cityofkm.com. The parade will be held on Saturday, December 5th at 3 p.m. Your application must be received by
5 p.m.Friday, November 27, 2015. After November 27, entries received will be added to the parade in order of receipt. No entries will be accepted after 12 noon on Friday, December 4. The parade will be videotaped and will be shown on C-19, the Cleveland Community College Public Access channel.
Bill Willis Grover Mayor GROVER – Bill Willis, former mayor pro tem and councilman, was elected mayor last Tuesday as a light turnout of voters went to the polls. Willis, who received 76% Bill Willis of the votes cast, will be sworn-in along with four council members on Dec. 7 at the 6 p.m. meeting of the board. Mayor J. D. Ledford, who did not seek reelection, served the unexpired term of former mayor Robbie
Opponents of a proposed casino-hotel complex say last week’s local election results will breathe new life into their efforts to stop the Catawba Indian project. “It’s a whole new game now,” said Adam Forcade, who along with his wife Cynthia founded the grassroots Kings Mountain Awareness Group in 2013. “We want to lobby the council to pass a resolution reversing (its earlier support) of the casino project. We believe we have a majority right now (in city council).” Longtime Mayor Rick Murphrey and a vocal pro-
during his campaign had offered tacit support for the casino while also stating he was uncertain of the long term effects a casino would bring. Mayor-elect Neisler, though, said this week that he’s uncertain how much influence the city council will have on the casino decision. “I’m not so sure,” said Neisler, who has thrown his support behind the casino for what he called its economic incentives. “The majority of people in Kings Mountain understand that the casino project and its fate are in the hands of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” He also said that BIA has plans to send representatives to the Kings Mountain area
to conduct a public hearing about the proposed gaming complex. “That’s the more appropriate action, I think,” Neisler said, adding that he would be amenable to someone requesting casino-related items be put on the agenda for a vote. “But again I’m only one voice.” In the fall of 2013, city council members penned a letter of support for the project. It was signed by all members except At-large member Keith Miller, who has continued to speak out publicly against the casino. Earlier this year, Ward 3 council member Tommy Hawkins rescinded his support for the project, saying See Casino’s Fate, Page 7A
Warm reception for Neisler, Rhodes after win DAVE BLANTON dave.kmherald@gmail.com
Scott Neisler is returning to a familiar job after defeating Mayor Rick Murphrey in city elections last week by a vote tally of 810 to 620. For many observers, the outcome was about making a change at City Hall, where Murphrey has held the town’s top elected office since 2000. Longtime city council member Rick Moore also saw defeat – to political newcomer Jay Rhodes in a race that was far from close with Rhodes captur-
ing nearly 62 percent of the vote. Incumbents Howard Shipp (Ward 1), Rodney Gordon (Ward 4) Scott Neisler and Keith Miller (At-large) held on to their respective seats. “I feel a sense of real renewal,” the 60-year-old Neisler said this week. “What I would like to see is city government assisting in the ideas and projects that
can make things better.” The incoming mayor said one of the first things he wants to Jay Rhodes do is organize a retreat for members of the city council and city manager Marilyn Sellers. Neisler and Rhodes are set to be sworn in Dec. 15. “I think it’s a good idea to get together and break bread,” said Neisler who served as mayor from 1996
to 1999 after a turn as a city council member. “The idea is to find out what the expectations are for all of us – to really get on the same page.” And in the days after the votes in the election were counted, Neisler was quick to extend an olive leaf to the outgoing Murphrey. The mayor-elect said the city should be proud of Murphrey’s hard work and contributions in his last 15 years as mayor. He also said he’s eager to find a way for Murphrey to continue doing See RECEPTION, Page 7A
Prayer policy before Holiday season kicks off school board Nov. 23 with popular train exhibit DAVE BLANTON dave.kmherald@gmail.com
Sides, who moved out of the city limits, and then was reelected to a full term. Willis was opposed by Kristy Wyllys whose husband Todd Wyllys was elected to fill an unexpired term. Two write-in candidates received 42 percent of the vote. Patrick Shannon, with 53 votes, and Angelia Tuft Early, with 51 votes, were re-elected to four year terms on the board. There were 22 write-ins. Ledford chairs the committee planning a Christmas tree lighting and afternoon events following the Christmas parade on Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. There will be entertainment for children all afternoon with the tree-lighting at 5:30 p.m. followed by hot chocolate and cookies. The tree will be decorated in the lot adjacent to town hall where the bouncy house, photos with Santa, and other events will be scheduled.
ponent of the gaming complex was ousted at the polls last Tuesday. He Adam Forcade was defeated by Scott Neisler, whose support for the casino has been relatively much softer. Also losing in Tuesday’s vote was Ward 5 council member Rick Moore. Moore was a staunch supporter of the project, which proponents say would deliver much-needed jobs to the area, as well as enrich city coffers through its role of a large utilities customer. Moore lost to political newcomer Jay Rhodes, who
The Cleveland County Board of Education will vote on Nov. 23 whether to continue opening its meetings with a moment of silence or begin doing so with an invocation. The panel has heard vocal proponents of both options during a number of recent meetings. The public participation on the matter was expected to be so robust at the Oct. 26 meeting that officials moved the
venue to the Shelby Middle School gymnasium. There, more than a dozen speakers took the podium, the majority of which said they were in favor or having an invocation before the meetings. The board held a work session meeting Monday, and discussion of a new and tightly worded proposal that would allow for prayer before meetings was held, but no action was taken. At an early meeting in October, the board moved to keep the moment of silence by a See PRAYER POLICY, Page7A
Veterans Day service today Vietnam veteran Jim Medlin, who spearheaded a community drive to send a bus load of Kings Mountain Vietnam veterans to see the Vietnam Memorial Wall in the nation's capital, will be the guest speaker at the community-wide Veterans Day service Wednesday
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(today) at Patriots Park. The service will begin with a parade of veterans led by Mayor Rick Murphrey from the War Memorial on Railroad Avenue at 10:30 a.m. to Patriots Park where the service starts at 11 a.m. The public is invited.
Train conductor Bill Herndon runs the huge model train display, a holiday delight for visitors of all ages to the Kings Mountain Historical Museum. The train exhibit opens Saturday. Kings Mountain Historical Museum will kickoff the holiday season with the popular exhibit, “Toys, Games and Trains” Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free. The train exhibit will continue Tuesdays-Saturdays 10 a.m. 4 p.m. at the Museum through Jan. 2, 2016. The model train displays are assembled by the Piedmont “S” gaugers with Bill Herndon as the “conductor” who runs the train to
enchant visitors of all ages with trains and miniature snow-covered scenes that line the tracks and other interactive features such as a carousel, chocolate factory, hot air balloons and mailbag pickups. Parents and grandparents will enjoy reminiscing with the children about the toys and games of their childhood, such as cowboy memorabilia, doll houses and board games. The exhibit is sponsored See TRAIN EXHIBIT, Page 7A
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