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Volume 134 • Issue 18
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
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LIVE Music at KM’s Patriots Park
Concert Series kicks off this weekend Dr. George Plonk with his wife Esther Muench Plonk at his 100th celebration at the American Legion. Photo by Loretta Cozart
Dr. George Plonk dies at age 103 By Loretta Cozart Dr. George Plonk, 103, passed away on April 24 in the very hospital that he took care of so many Kings Mountain citizens since 1957. Dr. Plonk grew up with nine siblings on a farm between Kings Mountain and Cherryville. His education took him from the one-room Plonk schoolhouse to Kings Mountain High School, to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia, to the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his certificate from the American Board of Sur-
gery declaring that he was a Board-certified surgeon in 1952. He served two years in the US Army during World War II as a physician in Europe, then worked in general practice in Murphy, NC and Raleigh, NC until he returned to Kings Mountain in 1957 to become Kings Mountain Hospital’s first resident surgeon. He retired from his practice in 1984. Dr. Plonk was well-known for his ability to tell a good story and he continued that tradition throughout his lifetime. According to his family, “He told a story with passion, See PLONK, Page 7A
First Concert of the Year: Saturday, May 7 in Downtown Kings Mountain The City of Kings Mountain welcomes Who’s Bad, The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience LIVE at Patriots Park, Saturday, May 7, 2022. Covering the King of Pop’s catalog of hits, Who’s
WHO’S BAD? The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience Bad, The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience’s stage show celebrates the life of one of the greatest entertainers in music history. Named #7 tribute band
in the country, Who’s Bad is sure to be a show you will not forget. The Party Prophets with Gene Pharr and Cindy Floyd will open the show at 6:00 pm
followed by Who’s Bad at 8:30 pm. Look for DJs Tony Cutlass, Eric Bowman, and Johnny B too. Don’t forget our Cruise-In. See CONCERT, Page 5A
City of KM Special Events hosts Cruise-In Saturday Cruise-In coincides with Concert Series, set to kick off May 7 Get your motor running! Some very cool rides are heading to Downtown Kings Mountain as the City
of Kings Mountain kicks off its annual Live at Patriots
Park Cruise-In on Saturday, May 7. Local car enthusiasts will fill the streets in the Downtown with their favorite street or stock cars, trucks, and motorcycles too. The Cruise-In, will coincide with the 2022 Live Music at Patriots Park Concert Series scheduled to kick off the same day.
Both the Cruise-In and Concert Series are scheduled to run monthly May-October. The dates of the events include May 7, June 4, July 16, September 10, and October 1. Roads impacted during the events will be Railroad Avenue, West Gold Street and a portion of West Mountain, See CRUISE-IN, Page 5A
Page and Teague plead guilty for $4 Million Ponzi scheme The founders of a fake “hedge fund” appeared in court today and pleaded guilty to federal charges for orchestrating a $4 million Ponzi scheme, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District After the butterflies were of North Carolina. Austin released, packets of red sand were distributed to the crowd to support the Red Sand Project, an organization that sheds light on human trafficking. Kings Mountain High School Thursday nights in DownInteract Club has taken on the town Kings Mountain will project, and it was incorpo- sound much sweeter this rated into the event. To raise Summer as the City of Kings awareness, guests spread the Mountain and the Cleveland red sand between the cracks of the sidewalk as a reminder County Music Hall of Fame of how those being trafficked partner to host Pickin’ at the Park. are often overlooked. Pickin’ at the Park is an An estimated three thousand guests visited the Gate- acoustic jam session which way Trail trailhead, enjoying will run every Thursday night a variety of events until 3 at the Gazebo located in Pap.m. Activities included an triots Park. Kick-off to this appearance by survivalist, FREE series begins May 19th Spencer Bolejack of Dis- at 6:00 pm. covery Channel’s Hillbilly • Bring your lawn chair See EARTH DAY, Page 5A and join the fun.
The petting zoo is fun for all ages. (Photo by Loretta Cozart)
Earth Day celebration draws thousands By Loretta Cozart Kings Mountain’s Earth Day, sponsored by Gateway Trail, City of Kings Mountain Special Events, and Mauney Memorial Library, kicked off at 11 a.m. on April 30 at 807 South Battleground Avenue just south of downtown. At 12:15 p.m. Mayor Neisler, assisted by Councilmen Dave Allen and Mike Butler, released Painted Lady butterflies. Children participated with individual butterfly releases using packets handed out to as many as the supply would accommodate.
Delano Page, 26, of Grover, N.C., pleaded guilty to wire fraud, and Brandon Alexander Teague, 26, of Belmont, N.C., pleaded guilty to securities fraud. U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler accepted the defendants’ guilty pleas, according to a press
release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of NC. North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall, Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Char-
lotte Division, and Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), which oversees Charlotte, join U.S. Attorney King in making the announcement. See GUILTY, Page 5A
Pickin’ at the Park resumes May 19
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Bring your lawn chair and join the fun at Pickin’ at the Park on Thursday nights. • Want to participate? All pickers are welcome! • Patriots Park is located at 220 South Railroad Avenue,
Kings Mountain. For more information on Pickin’ at the Park, contact the City of Kings Mountain’s
Special Events Department at 704-730-2101, or the Cleveland County Music Hall of Fame at 704-860-4068.
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703 E. Kings St., Suite 9, Kings Mountain • www.BakerDentalCare.com