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704-466-6008 Volume 134 • Issue 4
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
kmherald.com • 704-484-1047
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New group submits bid for Central School By Loretta Cozart Central School Renovation Partners, LLC reached out to the Herald on Friday, January 21 to share that they had submitted a bid for the Central School property at 105 Ridge Street in Kings Mountain. According to David Stone, representative for the group, “We have a twopronged approach regarding this property. First, we hope to preserve Central School as a valuable asset for Kings Mountain. Secondly, our group is made up of a team who can work with the community and are experienced in this field. We have experience in redevelopment for commercial and residential
construction, as well as new commercial and residential construction. And we have the confidence we will be successful restoring and protecting this property. Buying it is only one piece of the puzzle.” The group is working with Shelby Historic Foundation and Preservation North Carolina to ensure protective covenants will be placed on the property, to protect it into the future. “The property is important because it is walkable to downtown. It is also located in the heart of the Central School Historic District and several school buildings have anchored that community for more than a century,” Stone shared.
Museum prepares for new headwear exhibit By Loretta Cozart Kings Mountain Historical Museum is preparing for their new exhibit: Hats Off! A History of Headwear that opens on Tuesday, February 22. In the interim the museum’s lobby and gift shop will remain open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but the museum ex-
hibit area is currently closed for exhibit preparation. KMHM features changing exhibits and events throughout the year, and a treasured model train show during the holidays. The permanent collection ranges from 1860s vintage clothing, World War I & II memorabilia, textiles, and archival collections of documents and photographs. At this time, face masks are required to enter the museum.
Cleveland County Potato Project seeks new leadership By Doug Sharp Clevel a n d County Potato Project is a local charity that has produced DOUG SHARP over one million pounds of potatoes and given them away during the past eleven years. However, several of the founding group are showing signs of wear and tear. (We do not wish to think of this as age.) The following information is provided to give an idea of what it is like to run a 501c3 charity. Note, there is no compensation, just a good feeling of helping people in need. CCPP is faith based, volunteer driven, dependent
on donations of land usage, equipment usage, financial support, etc. Potatoes are distributed by groups such as the Salvation Army, the Baptist Association, Kings Mtn. Crisis Ministry and other providers of food to needy people. Financial support comes from individuals and grants. CCPP needs tractor help and someone to provide leadership. Someone with a large tractor and the ability to work at different locations would be worth his/her weight in potatoes. There are a lot of retired or semi-retired people in the county who match these requirements. We would like to have more than one volunteer for this need. In an average week we need tractor work for 6 to 12 hours per week from May to Nov. The oversight/leadership spot could be filled by someone who is recently retired, bored, tried of daytime TV, whatever. Maybe someone who is bothered by the fact that many county residents do See POTATO, Page 5A
Investors are integral to the success of this project because the property needs significant renovation, as well. When asked what plans the group has for the property should they be awarded the bid, Stone adds, “We are listening to the community for best uses of the property. We are considering commercial / residential mixed-use, with market rate and affordable housing or possibly small business / residential. We can learn from what others have done successfully and protect the property in the process. We are excited about this project and, if we win the bid, we are going to do it right.”
Government now providing free at-home COVID-19 tests Every home in the U.S. is now eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders usually ship in 7-12 days. You can order your tests now, so you have them when you need them. To order, visit https:// www.covidtests.gov/ According to the website, the tests available for order: • Are rapid antigen athome tests, not PCR • Can be taken anywhere • Give results within 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required) • Work whether or not you have COVID-19 symptoms • Work whether or not you are up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines • Are also referred to as self-tests or over the counter (OTC) tests You should take an athome test: • If you begin having COVID-19 symptoms like fever, sore throat, runny nose, or loss of taste or smell, or • At least 5 days after you come into close contact with someone with COVID-19, or • When you’re going to gather with a group of people, especially those who are at risk of severe disease or may not be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines. What if you test Positive? • A positive at-home test result means that the test found the virus, and you very likely have COVID19. See TESTS, Page 5A
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CENTRAL SCHOOL (Photo by Liz Harlow)
City declined purchase of Central School; current bid is $866,300 By Loretta Cozart Sources say City of Kings Mountain representatives declined to acquire Central School offered by Cleveland County School Board after being invited to tour the facility in March/April of 2021. Given that decision, the Herald asked city council their stance on the acquisition of the school property and their reason(s) behind their decision. The email was sent on January 19 to Mayor Scott Neisler and council members Keith Miller, David Allen, Mike Butler, Jay Rhodes, Annie Thombs, and Jimmy West. Councilman Tommy Hawkins name was inadver-
tently omitted from the email. No city council members replied to the query from the Herald, but several emails from the Mayor arrived mid-afternoon on Friday. Mayor Neisler wrote, “From time to time, we have looked at the gym for possibilities in recreation, but never considering the entire property. I had heard that Cleveland Community College had long-range plans to locate a satellite campus in Kings Mountain, which would have been a great tenant. Upon contacting Jason Hurst, he was not interested in the building, and with most of the tenants not paying that much in rent supporting the opera-
tions of the building, it was a bleak scenario.” “The utilities, maintenance, and renovation costs would be astronomical,” the mayor continued. “It was the consensus by a few council members that it wouldn’t be a good investment for the taxpayers in Kings Mountain.” “I believe that it was always our intention to facilitate finding someone that would develop the property taking its historical significance into account. But I don’t believe we ever investigated it to become owners of the building unless it was self-sustaining.” “We asked the school See CITY, Page 2A
Mauney Memorial Library
Upcoming 100th celebration
Library calls for Hord Mansion items By Loretta Cozart
The staff at Mauney Memorial Library are planning the 100th celebration of the Hord Mansion’s existence, to be celebrated in 2023. Library Services Man-
ager Christina Martin ask citizens, “If you have any pictures, memorabilia or ephemera of the Hord Mansion, we would appreciate being able to digitize (or keep) the item to use in our research and planning. Any Kings Moun-
tain newspapers from the 1920’s would especially be appreciated, as the library does not own any.” Mauney Memorial Library is located at 100 S. Piedmont Avenue in Kings Mountain.
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