HORD’S CONTAINER SERVICE (704) 466-6008 Volume 131 • Issue 52
kmherald.com • 704-739-7496
December 24, 2019
75¢
! KM City Manager gets raise, City Council Sworn By Loretta Cozart
L-R: Abimael and Leonor Pizarro of Shelby and their children Christian and Asher enjoyed a night out at Patriot Park in downtown Kings Mountain to celebrate the Christmas season. Leonor is a 4th grade teacher at Grover Elementary. Photo by Carolyn Henwood
School board race heats up The school board race in 2020 heated up this week with a total of nine Republicans and five Democrats seeking the five open seats. Shaun Murphy, Democrat, of Kings Mountain, became the 6th candidate to file for county commissioner, joining five Republicans who filed previously for the three open seats on the board. Filing for the March 3 Primary closed Friday at noon. Tim Moore of Kings Mountain, NC House Speaker, is running unopposed for his 10th term as District 111 Representative. Candidates for the board of county commissioners are Shaun Murphy, Dem-
ocrat; incumbents Johnny Hutchins, Kings Mountain, and Ronnie Whetstine, Shelby; Robbie Morgan, Fallston; Thomas McNeilly, Casar; and Dennis Davis, Lattimore, Republicans. Candidates for the board of education are incumbents Roger Harris, Richard Hooker, both of Shelby, Shearra Miller, Kings Mountain; Samantha Davis and Richard Tolbert Sr., both of Shelby, Democrats, and Dawn Bowland and Junie Newton Barrett, both of Casar, Matthew Canipe, Rodney Fitch, Robert Queen, Greg Taylor, Joel Shores, all of Shelby, and Ron Humphries and Leonard Wright, both of Kings Mountain.
Cleveland County Director of Elections Clifton Philbeck said to determine the nominee for certain elections there is a primary election on Tuesday, March 3. If there is no clear nominee following the partisan primary election, there may be a second primary for that contest either on April 21, 2020 or May 12, 2020 if one or more federal contests for federal office in the state requires a second primary. In Cleveland County there will be a primary election for the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners, Republican, and Cleveland County Board of Education, Republican.
During the citizen recognition portion of the City Council meeting, two citizens signed up to speak. Doug Lawing of 110 White Plains Road, Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Board, asked City Council to delay appointing two new slots on that board to allow them to complete the new comprehensive plan. He said it was a bad time to bring on two new people and would slow the process down. Council said they would take that into consideration. Dale Green, of 235 Landry Drive spoke in favor of term-limits for council and asked City Council not to give the proposed 2.5% pay increase to the City Manager, adding she had been given a pay increase last year. He
G. Scott Neisler is sworn in as Mayor of Kings Mountain by Superior Court Judge, Honorable Jesse Caldwell. Pictured with the mayor are his wife Dawn and mother, Mary Neisler. Photo by Loretta Cozart asked city council to represent the people and be transparent. City council discussed the Consent Agenda and amended the City Manager’s contract, approving a 2.5% pay increase due to perfor-
mance evaluation/market study analysis. The Consent Agenda vote passed with four voting for, and two voting against. Council members Hawkins and Allen voted against. See COUNCIL, Page 3A
Sheriff Alan Noman honored with AG Dogwood Award ( R a leigh) Attorney General Josh Stein today announced that Sheriff Alan ALAN NORMAN Norman received the Attorney General’s Dogwood Award. These awards are given annually to honor North Carolinians who are dedicated to keeping people safe, healthy, and happy in their communities. “Sheriff Alan Norman is doing important work to pro-
tect public safety in Cleveland County,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “From his commitment to keeping people safe from sex abuse to his tireless work to hold the dealers and traffickers who profit from people’s addiction accountable, I appreciate his leadership.” Sheriff Alan Norman is currently serving his third term as Cleveland County’s sheriff. A second-generation law enforcement officer, Sheriff Norman has worked in law enforcement for more than 35 years. “It is a shame that sex of-
fenders prey on our children and society,” said Sheriff Alan Norman. “Both are our future and it is my job to make sure that the public is informed of sex offenders within Cleveland County.” Sheriff Norman also added: “As long as I am Sheriff, we will continue to aggressively go after not only the street dealer, but all the way up the chain to the importer, in an attempt to make our community drug free, which lowers the crime rate. I humbly accept the Dogwood Award on behalf of the men and women I work with.”
City of Kings Mountain Code Enforcement notice Sheriff’s Deputies save Beginning January 1, 2020, the Code Enforcement Department will implement stricter enforcement of the Junked Motor Vehicle Ordinance. The City asks the citizens of Kings Mountain for their help in cleaning up the neighborhoods of junked motor vehicles. The Code Enforcement Department is asking the citizens of Kings Mountain for their participation in cleaning up our neighborhoods of
junked motor vehicles. What is a junked motor vehicle? By definition of the ordinance, any of the following vehicles that do not display a current license plate are considered junked: (1) partially dismantled or wrecked; (2) cannot be self-propelled or moved in the manner in which it originally was intended to move; or (3) is more than five years old and appears to be worth less than $500. What if I have a junked motor vehicle located on my private property? One junked motor vehicle can be stored in the rear yard if it is con-
cealed by an approved covering. Multiple junked vehicles can be stored in a garage or building that provides complete enclosure. Otherwise the vehicle shall be removed from the property. What is considered a motor vehicle? All machines designed or intended to travel over land by self-propulsion or while attached to any self-propelled vehicle including cars, trucks, campers, trailers, boats, etc. What if I fail to comply with this ordinance? The junked motor vehicle will be removed from the property by See CODE, Page 7A
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man from Buffalo Creek On Wednesday, December 18, at 6:30 pm, Cleveland County Sheriff Deputy Robert Taylor, Deputy Jimmy Ellis and Lt. Jody Seagle saved the life of a man who swerved to miss deer in the roadway and his car plunged 30 feet down into Buffalo Creek. The vehicle landed upright, but he was in the middle of deep water in total darkness. The man called his wife who called 911. He was not sure were he was because he See SAVE, Page 7A
Cleveland County Sheriff Deputy Robert Taylor, Deputy Jimmy Ellis and Lt. Jody Seagle acted quickly to save a man’s life. Photo provided
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