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www.KMinsure.com Volume 129 • Issue 41
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
kmherald.com • 704-739-7496
Jason Falls Interim Manager
Election Day is November 7
Kings Mountain native Jason Falls has resigned as county commissioner and FALLS accepted the position as interim county manager effective Oct. 9. Commissioners at last Tuesday’s meeting unanimously voted to appoint Falls, who steps up to fill the shoes of Jeff Richardson as he leaves for a position as the county manager in Albemarle County, Virginia, effective Nov. 6. “I am honored that the commissioners have asked me to serve in this role,’’ said Falls, who will work with Richardson through the tran-
Early voting for the Nov. 7 election will begin Thursday, Oct. 19 at 8 a.m. and end on HAWKINS Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1 pm. at the Cleveland County Board of Elections, 215 Patton Drive, in Shelby. HAMRICK The office will be open for early voting on Thursday, Oct. 19 and Friday, Oct. 20 from 8 a.m.-5
sition. Falls was first elected as a county commissioner in 2010 and won reelection to a fouryear term in 2014. He served three years as commission chairman. “I have really enjoyed serving the people of Cleveland County and this is a way I could further represent the commissioners and our community,’’ said Falls. Commissioners will begin an internal selection process immediately to determine if an existing staff member would be a qualified candidate for the county manager position, according to a news release issued by the board. The Republican Party will appoint a new member of the board who will serve until Falls’ seat is up for re-election in 2018.
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Early voting starts Oct. 19 p.m., on Monday, Oct. 23 through Friday, Oct. 27 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., on Monday, Oct. 30 through Friday, Nov. 4 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Absentee ballots can be requested until Oct. 31 and completed ballots must be returned by 5 p.m. on Nov. 7 and/or postmarked Nov. 7. Voters go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7. In Kings Mountain, voters will elect council representatives in Ward 2, Ward 3, and At-large seat and will also help elect four members on the board of education from a field of nine candidates. In Grover, voters will elect two council members and also help elect four members on the board of ed-
ucation from a field of nine candidates. Grover voters cast ballots at Town Hall. Kings Mountain voters cast ballots at the H. Lawrence Patrick Senior Life & Conference Center and at Mauney Memorial Library Community Room. In Kings Mountain Ward 3 councilman Tommy Hawkins was running unopposed for reelection but a write-in candidate Gilbert (Pee Wee) Hamrick is asking voters to write his name on the ballot. Filing campaign paperwork with the county board of elections allows Hamrick to raise funds and make campaign signs. Because the city council race is non-partisan, voter signatures were not re-
quired for Hamrick to run as a write-in candidate. Ward 2 councilman Mike Butler is opposed by Patty Hall and At large councilman Curtis Pressley is opposed by David Allen. In Grover incumbent councilmen Roy Dyer and Tony Lee Wells are the candidates running for city council and are unopposed for reelection. Four seats are open on the school board. Six candidates challenge the three incumbents: chairman Phillip Glover, Kathy Falls and Danny Blanton. They are: Dena Green, Tommy Greene, Coleman Hunt, Rodney Fitch, Robert Queen and Kevin Whisnant.
Fall Festival next Wednesday, Oct. 18
A Howl-O-Ween pet contest will be held on Sat., Oct. 21 at Mountaineer Days Heritage Festival. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
Who will win Miss Spirit Cutest pet, Best cook? A Howl-O-Ween pet contest, a sweet potato recipe contest, and the crowning of Mister and Miss Mountie Spirit will feature Mountaineer Day activities on Saturday, Oct. 21, at Patriots Park. Registration for all three contests begins at 2 p.m. Judging and awards in the pet and baking contests are at 2:30 p.m. The Mountie Spirit contest is at 4 p.m. and male and female winners will be selected from Pre-K- 5th grade, 6th grade and high school senior. Participants will be judged on apparel, crowd reaction and use of
props. Judging in the pet contest will be based on cuteness and creativity and first, second, and third place prizes will be awarded. All sweet potato entries must be prepared in disposable containers and recipes must be submitted with the entry. The recipes must be homemade from an original or adapted recipe. Judging will be based on taste and most creative. All entries will be served to the public at the conclusion of judging. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded and prizes are being created by local artisan Jerry Blanton. For more information or questions about the contests call the City of Kings Mountain at 704-734-0333 or Events Director Christy Conner at 704-739-3373.
For more than 80 years the Kings Mountain Woman’s Club Fall Festival has been a community institution. Wednesday, Oct. 18, the Festival opens at 11:30 a.m. for lunch until 1:30 p.m., a popular treat that features the best of home cooking, and also at supper from 5:30-7 p.m. “We are preparing for a wonderful fall festival this year. I hope that the community will enjoy the food, fellowship, displays and visit the country store,’’ says club president Ann Bennett. Adult tickets for a meal are $10 and children12 and under $6. The floral display will include items from local professionals and a special café setting upstairs in the auditorium decorated by members. The country store will have homemade baked goods and crafts. Call Johann Sherrill at 704-739-0405, Betty Gamble, 704-739-3800 or Anne Gamble, 704-739-3561 for
tickets. Anne Gamble, club editor and fall festival chair, said the Fall Festival dates back to 1903 when some of the ladies in town, concerned because the cemetery received only an annual cleaning, formed a committee to rectify the situation. The nearby Town of York had
put on a flower show and the Kings Mountain ladies were favorably impressed with the idea. Subsequently an annual flower show was held with the help of Ladies Aid Societies of various churches which successfully created funds for the cemetery project. By 1905, these ladies re-
alized that other civic items needed similar funding and attention. The group, totaling 30 members, organized the Kings Mountain Civic League which in 1923 joined the Federation of Woman’s Clubs. With its inception in 1903, the flower show or See FESTIVAL, Page 7A
FALL FESTIVAL OCT. 18 - Woman’s Club members, pictured, are busy preparing for the annual Fall Festival. Seated, from left, Ann Bennett, Karen Bunch, Betty Sue Morris, Betty Gamble and Julienne Hambright. Standing, from left, Anne Gamble, Carol Brazzell, Johnsie Reavis, Valerie Boyd, Penny Larson, Tina Gist, Margaret McGinnis and Doris McGinnis.
100th birthday Friday
After a century of living, Bess Phifer has seen the best and worst of humanity by Loretta Husky Cozart Special to The Herald
Bess Alice Hambright Phifer will be 100 years old on Friday, Oct. 13. During the last century, she has seen the best and the worst of humanity. And, through it all, she has walked confidently in her faith. With this birthday brings a unique milestone, as if turning 100 weren’t enough. Three of the Hambright sisters have lived to celebrate their 100th birthdays: Louise Hambright Roberts, Aileen Hambright Cantrell, and Bess Hambright Phifer.
The three sisters were featured in ELYSIAN magazine in December 2016. “It is extremely rare to be a centenarian, let alone find three from one family,” said Gary Small, director of the UCLA Longevity Center in Los Angeles.” The sisters credited good genes, a balanced diet, and plenty of exercise as the secret to a long life. But, as I spoke with Bess, I realized there was another key factor in their equation. Early Life Growing up on the family farm near the Kings Mountain National Military Park, See CENTURY, Page 3A
The Hambright sisters, Alice Hambright Cantrell, left, Louise Hambright Roberts and Bess Hambright Phifer all lived to be 100 years old. Photo courtesy ELYSIAN MAGAZINE
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