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Volume 130 • Issue 35
August 29, 2018
kmherald.com • 704-739-7496
75¢
Ribbon cutting formally opens Kings Mountain Energy Center By Loretta Cozart
Kings Mountain High students gather outside the school prior to the opening bell Monday morning. See more photos on page 8A. Photo by Gary Smart
Back to school for KM area students, staff
School students, teachers and staff were busy Monday morning as the 2018-19 school year got underway in the Kings Mountain area. Students at Kings Mountain High, Kings Mountain Middle, Kings Mountain Intermediate and Grover, Bethware, West, North and East elementary schools were up bright and early and eager to get an-
other year of learning underway. Teachers and office and support staff were on hand bright and early to greet and help new and returning students with any problems or concerns. A full week of learning and activities is scheduled for this week, but the students will get a long weekend as Labor Day falls next Monday.
Cleveland County officially became home to one of the cleanest and most efficient power plants in the nation Tuesday, as NTE Energy’s Kings Mountain Energy Center (KMEC) formally began operations. Officials from NTE Energy joined with city, county, and state leaders Tuesday to cut the ribbon on the $500 million facility. The 475 MW natural gas-fired plant is providing clean energy to more than 400,000 homes through long-term agreements with nine municipalities in the Carolinas. “We are extremely proud of this milestone and offer our thanks and congratulations to everyone who had a hand in bringing this state-of-the-art facility to completion,” NTE Energy CEO Seth Shortlidge said. “We have enjoyed building long-lasting relationships with the City of Kings Mountain and our customers as we work to bring significant power cost savings and economic development opportunities to the Carolinas.” Mayor Scott Neisler com-
NTE’s Kings Mountain Energy Center (KMEC) is located off Gage Road, at I-85 and Dixon School Road. This is how the plant appeared in January 2017. Officials from NTE Energy joined with city, county, and state leaders to cut the ribbon Tuesday morning and the plant formally began operations. The facility now employs 25 skilled positions to handle daily operations. Photo provided
mented, “What a great day for the citizens of Kings Mountain. We will look back on this day as the start of one of the best decisions Kings Mountain has ever made, since the decision to build
Moss Lake.” At the height of construction, Shortlidge noted, KMEC created more than 350 construction jobs. The facility now employs 25 skilled positions to handle
daily operations. Kings Mountain Energy Center (KMEC) is a 475 MW natural gas fired combined cycle electric generating See KMEC, Page 7A
SARC 62nd Hamfest at CC fairgrounds
Noah King, Michael Reagan, and Wayne Kings at the Reagan Library. Photo provided
Kings visit Reagan Library By Loretta Cozart Earlier this month, Noah King, his father Wayne, and grandfather Joe visited the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA as the guests of Michael Reagan. Noah’s father is Representative Mark Meadows’
Deputy Chief of Staff and he recently had opportunity to speak to Reagan. According to Wayne King, “During that conversation, Reagan invited Noah for a visit, so he could introduce him to President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan died in 2004, but Michael still loves to teach people about his father’s life. “The tour was unreal,” King said. “He took Noah See KINGS, Page 7A
Shelby Amateur Radio Club (SARC) will host its 62nd Annual Shelby Hamfest this Labor Day weekend, August 31 through September 2 at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds. Shelby Amateur Radio Club began hosting this event in 1957. Shelby Hamfest is an event where Amateur Radio vendors and manufacturers set up to show their latest products. There is also a flea market for folks to sell their used equipment, antique radios, crafts, etc. Campers begin arriving a week ahead of time to visit and fellowship with each other. The first Hamfest was held at Brackett’s Cedar Park in 1957 with about 300 in attendance and over the years it outgrew the park moving to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in
1979. In the mid 1990’s the attendance had grown into the 10,000s. In 2008, the Hamfest moved temporarily to Dallas Park in Dallas, NC and returned home to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in 2013. While attendance has dropped in recent years, the attendance is still considered one of the largest hamfest on the east coast and is the largest in the ARRL Roanoke Division (North & South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia). Some of the proceeds from the Hamfest go towards maintenance and upkeep of the club’s 6 repeaters. These repeaters are available for service to the Cleveland County Emergency Management and other served agencies See HAMFEST, Page 8A
Shelby Amateur Radio Club (SARC) will host its 62nd Annual Shelby Hamfest this weekend, Friday, Aug. 31-Sunday, September 2 at Cleveland County Fairgrounds in Shelby. Photo provided
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Austin Christopher Chowdhury
Remembering Austin By Loretta Cozart On June 9, 2017, Tammy and Nazural Chowdhury faced the unimaginable. Their son, Austin, had died of a drug overdose at their home during the night. Less than a month before, on Mother’s Day, Austin earned his master’s degree in public policy and urban planning from UNC Chapel Hill. Three days after his death, Austin’s diploma arrived. According to Austin’s father, they discovered through phone records that Austin had drugs delivered to their home the day he died. What Austin thought was heroin was nearly 100% fentanyl, a lethal dose. “When he took it, he was gone,” Nazural said.
But, Austin’s addiction didn’t start at the university, it began after a dental procedure when he was just 16 years-old. “The doctor prescribed hydrocodone for pain and he took it for a few days until he felt better,” Nazural said. “His mother put the pills in the medicine cabinet, but a few months later she discovered the bottle in Austin’s room. When confronted, he admitted he was ‘experimenting’ and that it was nothing more. They talked about it and she flushed the pills and thought the matter was settled. The Chowdhury’s have since learned that some brains are wired differently and can almost instantly become addicted to opioids. See AUSTIN, Page 7A
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