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Volume 136 • Issue 13
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
kmherald.com • 704-484-1047
75¢
FREE bulk item pickup available
Hippity Hop to Patriots Park for an EGG-tastic photo op. The leaves are green, and the sky is blue. Create a memory for you and your family. Happy Easter! Photo by Angela Padgett
Kings Mountain city-wide Clean Sweep Week in April By Loretta Cozart Kings Mountain’s citywide Clean Sweep Week is April 8 through 12, and the community is encouraged to participate in making the city clean for everyone. Teamwork is essential to the project’s success as Kings Mountain prepares for its 150th anniversary celebration on May 3 and 4, just three weeks later. During the week, the City of Kings Mountain will provide FREE pickup for bulk items, solid waste, and roadside collection. See SWEEP, Page 5A
City of KM employees gathered at Patriots Park last year before heading out for Clean Sweep 2023. (Photo by City of KM)
Registration is now open for KM’s Liberty Mountain hosts local 2024 Event Season auditions at the Joy Theatre Registration is open for Kings Mountain’s 2024 Event Season. Want to participate? Participants may register online by accessing Kings Mountain’s Marketing, Tourism, and Events website at www. kingsmountainevents.com.
Craft/Artisan vendors are needed for the NC BeachBlast Festival, Mountaineer Day Heritage Festival, and Christmas Kings Mountain Holiday Market. For more information or assistance with registration, please contact Special Events Coordinator Angela Padgett at 704-730-2101 or mte@cityofkm.com.
By Jeremy Trent Homesley Liberty Mountain: The Revolutionary Drama returns to Kings Mountain this fall for its 10th year celebrating the southern battle that turned the tide of the American Revolution back toward victory. This exciting, action-packed performance depends on professionals and locals alike to join together and recreate history. For four weekends leading up to the anniversary of the Battle of Kings Mountain, October 7th, the epic showdown between the American Patriot Militia and a larger force of British Loyalists under the fierce command of Major Patrick Ferguson explodes into life in downtown Kings Mountain at the Joy Theatre. Liberty Mountain depends
on local support and talent to build a company capable of portraying real history for modern audiences. With upcoming local auditions, which will take place on April 6th and 7th at the Joy Theatre from 3-5 pm both days, we asked Liberty Mountain alumni Daylen Jones how it felt to play a character based on a real historical figure. “In the production, I play Captain Abraham Depeyster, an affluent commissioned officer stemming from a family of military service. He served as second in command to Major Patrick Ferguson in the Battle of Kings Mountain. For some, it may be difficult to imagine someone like me playing such a character. Playing alongside ‘The Bad Guy’ comes with having to See LIBERTY, Page 5A
Picture L-R: Jeremy Homesley and Daylen Jones after a matinee performance of Liberty Mountain, 2023. Photo by Liberty Mountain
Pictured L-R: Firefighters Taylor Thrift and Sarah Lundy. Photo by Loretta Cozart
Blazing the way for aspiring female firefighters at KMFD By Loretta Cozart In honor of Women’s History Month, the Herald interviewed Taylor Thrift and Sarah Lundy, two firefighters at Kings Mountain Fire Department. Taylor graduated from Kings Mountain High School in 2011 and participated in the Junior Firefighter program at the age of 15. But her career path didn’t lead her directly into firefighting. Initially, she felt drawn to nurs-
ing. After high school, she attended Gardner-Webb University. But, after her second semester, and with her family’s support, she enrolled in Cleveland Community College’s Fire Academy. Upon completing the academy, she was hired at Kings Mountain Fire Department. Now, she works as a firefighter fulltime in Rock Hill and parttime at KMFD. Sarah Lundy grew up knowing she wanted to work in the public service field. She debated what career would be right for her: police, Military, or EMS. The decision was See KMFD, Page 5A
PROGRESS CONTINUES AT GASTON CHRISTIAN SCHOOL – East Cleveland Campus, formerly the Kings Mountain Central School. Due to leaks in the gymnasium’s roof, four feet of the outer perimeter of the gym floor is being replaced. Once that work is complete, the entire floor will be refinished and sealed. Crews have restored the bleachers, reinstalled them, and squared up the basketball goals. (Photo by Loretta Cozart)
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