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Volume 134 • Issue 49
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
kmherald.com • 704-484-1047
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Palenick selected as KM’s new City Manager
Santa’s Workshop will open up for two more weekends: Friday and Saturday Dec. 9 -10 and Friday and Saturday December 16-17. (Photo provided)
Santa opens new workshop in KM Did you hear the news? Santa and his elves scoured the countryside high and low to find a location for his new workshop. After seeing Patriots Park through his magical snow globe, Santa and his elves decided to build his
workshop right here in Kings Mountain. After receiving many visitors last weekend, Santa will open his workshop back up for two more weekends: Friday and Saturday Dec. 9 - 10 and Friday and Saturday De-
cember 16 - 17. It will open each evening at 5:30 p.m. and close at 8:30 p.m. Bring your camera and your best smile. Santa is looking forward to seeing you!
City of Kings Mountain (COKM) is proud to announce that Jim Palenick has accepted an offer to lead the City of Kings Mountain as the new City Manager. Jim will be relocating to Kings Mountain after the New Year’s holiday. Marilyn Sellers is currently serving as City Manager where she has served for seventeen years. At the May 5 budget work session, Sellers informed City Council that she did not wish to renew her contract coming up in September. After 34 years of service to the City of Kings Mountain, Marilyn was ready for retirement. Her retirement announcement came at a time when there are over 100 vacancies in NC for City Managers. Due to the urgency to find a qualified candidate, City Council reached out to Developmental Associates to coordinate a nationwide search for the role. That in-depth search takes time. Sellers graciously agreed to work through January to assist with a smooth transi-
JIM PALENICK tion. COKM partnered with Developmental Associates for the City Manager search process. Developmental Associates is an organizational development company that partners with governmental, educational, and non-profit organizations for executive recruitment. Developmental Associates conducted a nationwide search for candidates for our City Manager position. Of the 31 initial applications received, 21 met the minimum qualifications. Fifteen applicants were selected for phone interviews.
Five completed an assessment center and three were selected for onsite interviews with city council. The Assessment center is a means of gathering relevant information, under standardized conditions, about an individual’s capabilities to perform in a highlevel managerial position. While City Council recognized the value of partnering with Developmental Associates, the team also wanted to have a Kings Mountain connection that truly understands what makes Kings Mountain unique. Shearra Miller, Executive Director for Cleveland County Arts Council and Kings Mountain resident, agreed to represent the citizens of the City of Kings Mountain on the Assessment board. Her insight and participation in the two-day process was instrumental in selecting the final candidate. Jim Palenick was born and raised in Allegan, a small town of 4,500 in See MANAGER, Page 8A
Armed robbery at Mountainside Market On Friday December 2, around 6:10 p.m., Kings Mountain Police responded to the Mountainside Market at 506 Waco Road in reference to an armed robbery. Officers on scene were told that the suspect entered the store, brandished a firearm, and demanded money from the register.
The suspect is described as a black male wearing a black hoodie, black ski mask, grey sweatpants, and light-colored crocs. The suspect left the store on foot direction of travel unknown. KMPD is requesting the community’s assistance in helping identify the suspect
involved in the crime. If anyone can identify the suspect or has any information regarding the incident please contact the Kings Mountain Police Department at (704)734-0444 or Cleveland County Crime Stoppers at (704) 48l-TIPS (8477).
Casino’s Share Change program benefits two local nonprofits The Catawba Two Kings Casino’s Share Change program raised $10,000 from July through September for two local charitable organizations: $5,000 each for the RideAbility Therapeutic Riding Center and Cleveland County YMCA. Share Change, the Catawba Nation’s charitable initiative through the casino, enables patrons to donate the remaining change on slot vouchers by dropping them in the Share Change ticket boxes located on the casino floor. With these donations, the program has provided close to $50,000 to organizations in local communities since
Kings Mountain held their annual Christmas parade this past Saturday. See more scenes on pages 7A-8A. Photo by Damien O’Brien
KM Parade rings in the Christmas season By Loretta Cozart
Wendy Schonfeld, Executive Director and certified riding instructor at the RideAbility Therapeutic Riding Center and Cameron Corder, CEO of Cleveland County YMCA, were recently presented with $5,000 for each of their organizations raised from donations collected through the Catawba Two Kings Casino’s Share Change program. Photo provided the start of the program. The casino launched the Share Change program several weeks after its July 2021 opening, and new charita-
ble recipients are designated every three months by the Catawba Nation Gaming Authority’s board of directors. See CASINO, Page 8A
Kings Mountain Christmas Parade stepped off right on time at 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 3, despite rain earlier in the day. Crowds gathered along the parade route, along Battleground Avenue from East Gold Street, and turning onto King Street at the Overhead Bridge, then continuing to Deal Steet. Kings Mountain High School’s football team was the Grand Marshal of the event this year, and supporters turned out in black and gold apparel to show their support and love for a team that worked so hard this season to earn a 13-1 record. It is a season that will be long remembered as one of the best for KMHS
and the community. One hundred -plus parade entrants helped make the event special, and included KMHS marching band, the Carolina Panther Top Cats with Sir Purr, the Gastonia Honey Hunters with their mascot BAM. The parade was filled with music from dance troops, Dance Magic, Dance Reflections, KM Elite, KM Optimist Club, and Fine Line Dance Company and the event lasted over an hour and a half. A Christmas parade wouldn’t be complete without a visit from Santa, and this year’s event did not disappoint. As anticipated, Santa arrived right on time to ring in the Christmas season in Kings Mountain! City of Kings Mountain
debuted Santa’s Workshop at the Gazebo in Patriots Park where children visited him to share their Christmas wishes. He’ll be back again on December 9-10 and Dec. 16-17 in case your child missed speaking with jolly Olde St. Nicholas in person. Special Christmas dates for Lines for Santa’s Workshop stretched far for this new attraction. There is no charge to visit Santa. The Christmas festivities continued downtown Saturday evening, as twinkling Christmas lights illuminated city streets with Mayor Scott Neisler’s signature Downtown Christmas Fantasy Light Show where a dazzling display of lights See PARADE, Page 7A
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