The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 53

M11110MINN 1 Stanley Legion Coatch Quits Darrell Van Dyke Coached Post 266 To 3 Championships In 6 Years Page 5 New Apartments In Cherryville Page Lincoln Team Small But Quick page5 (The I to (rtiserver 1 Wet Again A 60 chance of show ers and thundershowers today and tonight 40 Wednesday Highs In the mid-80s today Upper 80s Wednesday Overnight lows near 70 Page 2 Chefroine 1 sserne Mouni Holly tc Kings e5 Ga4tonia Mouniaini i bserver U3saston jtncointon Denver Checryvtile tars ang I 1 Ail de al Bk 0 An 10etcc 1 sserne Mouni Holly ICIYolnlf: I klub 1 oaston (2) Serving Gaston and Lincoln counties and Kings Mountain Tuesday August 15 1989 Asbestos Closes Gaston Police By JOSEPH MENN Staff Writer GASTONIA A downpour that brought chunks of asbestos falling from the Gaston County Police Station roof Monday may force the department to move for at least three weeks and cost the county as much as $400000 officials said County officials evacuated and sealed off most of the Highland Street building Monday night and called in a Charlotte company to contain the soggy insulation which is as much as half-full of asbestos Exposure to asbestos fibers has been linked to cancers of the lung esophagus stomach and colon The police station's roof has been under construction for more than a month This week the construction crew laid steel footings for the new roof and that caused the dramatic increase in leaking said police Capt Ken Beach County Engineer Don Bailey said he learned the roof contained asbestos last week Monday's rain caused leaks in five rooms "and has just broken (the fibers) loose and it's fallen through" said County Manager Phil Hinely Jeffrey Clement will be featured in the fall edition of Skate Magazine Skater Rolls Into Spotlight By KATHY NIXON Stitt Writer LOWELL At 2 pm Monday Jeffrey Clement was getting off a plane from Fort Worth Tex where he won first place this weekend in the junior national roller-skating championship By 4 pm the I7-year-old from Kannapolis had stored the first-place plaque in his car donned his skates and practice clothes and was gliding across the floor at Kate's Skating Rink The Texas win on Sunday qualified him to compete in the Olympic Sports Festival in Minneapolis next summer where he'll face the four best senior-division skaters and the second-best junior skater Clement said his goal in Minneapolis is to beat at least one of the senior-division skaters "I'm hoping for fourth place there" Clement said "That will be a big accomplishment for me" Clement is considered one of the nation's up-and-coming skaters said his coach Rob Schisler of Gastonia the skating pro at Kate's "He is on the ground floor now" Schisler said "He attracted a lot of attention in the skating world We have big plans for him" Clement will be featured in the fall edition of Skate Magazine the publication of the US Amateur Confederation of Roller Skaters CURTIS PARKERStatt Clement son of William and Melba Lee Clement of Kannapolis is a rising senior at AL Brown High School where he is an honor student and a drum major He started skating at age 3 At 8 he decided to skate in competition and started going to Lowell for better training Clement's long-range goals include skating at the 1992 Olympics where roller skating will be a demonstration sport He then hopes to retire from amateur skating in about eight years and become a skating professional at Kate's For now he's commuting from Kannapolis to Lowell for 45 to 50 hours of practice each week Coastal Meeting Reassures Doctors By MACON MOREHOUSE Seeded Cerrespondent GASTONIA After weeks of uncertainty about how Gaston Memorial Hospital's emergency room will be staffed the hospital's medical staff got some answers Monday night "We received assurances that the emergency room will be staffed with quality physicians" chief of staff Dr Charles Niemeyer said after the meeting The medical staff met with three officials from Coastal Emergency Services the doctors' firm expected to staff Champs Return Cherryville the NC state champ heads home after losing in the Little League regionals in Florida Page 5 INSIDE Business 4 Neighbors 7 Classified 9 Obituaries 8 Movies 7 Sports 6 Delivery Assistance Gaston County 864-9999 moriday Friday 8am 5pm Lincoln County 735-5005 Monday Friday 8 am 5prn Weekends 1-800-532-5350 Saturday -Sunday 4 am Noon Place Classified Ad 864-5552 Monlay Friday 8am 5 30pm StoryPhoto Idea 864-4319 Monday Saturday 10 a Midnight Sunday Noon Midnight Contents 1989 The Charlotte 4 GMH's emergency room starting in November The hospital's current staff of emergency room physicians quit over a contract dispute with the hospital A contract with Coastal has not been signed yet GMH doctors have said they heard Coastal might have problems staffing the emergency room with qualified doctors and ones who will work at the hospital full time "I think there will be a lot of unrest until we see the individual candidates" said Niemeyer "But I'm optimistic we will get a qualified emergency room staff" Niemeyer said the Coastal representatives signed off on a list of contract proposals apparently put together by Coastal officials and GM H's top doctors A document handed out at the meeting detailed the group's plans to staff GMH's emergency room Under the proposal Coastal would See MEETING Page 6 By JOE MARUSAK Staff Writer LINCOLNTON A 23-year-old Lincoln County woman pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the shooting of her live-in boyfriend Virginia Ruth Hubbard wept after Judge Charles Lamm sentenced her to 12 years in prison for shooting James Arthur Deaton Sr seven times with her semi-automatic rifle Jan 27 Deaton's family and friends also cried after the plea and sentencing She didn't get enough" said Deaton's sister Margie Thompson as she wept outside the courtroom Hubbard faced up to life imprisonment on the second-degree murder charge which prosecutors reduced from first-degree murder as part of a plea agreement At the end of Monday's sentencing hearing Lamm said Hubbard had no previous criminal record and had cooperated with authorities after the shooting Hubbard had confessed to authorities that she killed Deaton 36 in their secluded mobile home park on Buffalo Shoals Road She told authorities she shot Deaton after they argued on the way home from a party north of Conover and after he screamed at her from a bathroom in their home But Hubbard's court-appointed attorney Marty Shuford filed a motion March 29 See LINCOLN Page 6 All but one or two officers were moved downstairs for the night to the Office of Emergency Management but Beach said the switch would not seriously hamper communications or services Police dispatchers also are downstairs while detectives and most of the rest of the department's 91 employees work upstairs "It's going to be a minor disruption" Beach said "We'll still have 911 and the Rangers' Nen Shows Off Big-League Arm ew Coach Hopes To Help Abbey Success 1101 By JOHN GLENNSIAsf I-tC -Ab' Staff Wrtt Da er tegI TIRE lo il BELMONT A search ha :17) began with more than 75 appli- 471 ik: cants ended with one Monday as Rick Scruggs became Belmont Abbey College's athletic director and A men's basketball coach 1 Scruggs signed a one-year con' tract with the college Monday morning and was introduced at an afternoon press conference He leaves the jobs of head basketball el tY Co ---'-F coach and assistant athletic direc- torat North Greenville' (SC) Ju- 'UlaG-D nior College 4ii Scruggs 33 replaces Kevin Eastman Abbey's most successful i '''''1 11 men's basketball coach who re- I signed July 7 to become an assis- LI tant coach at Tulsa University vIto "I'm tremendously privileged 0 just to be mentioned when you 4 talk about people like (former Ab- 91q Ota' '''tt14 1876 bey coaches) Al McGwire Bobby a "e'fee4 Hussey Eddie Payne and Kevin 11 Scruggs said "I hope I can add to the tradition here and Rick Scruggs answers clues-keep things going tions at a news conference See SCRUGGS Next Page Monday By CHARLES HERNDON Staff Writer KINGS MOUNTAIN In a turnaround that surprised even some of its own members the Kings Mountain school board Monday night voted unanimously to leave open East Elementary School In doing so the board also chose not to change the systems attendance lines in an effort to reestablish racial balance in its five ele emergency communications and the public will be routed downstairs" Bailey said tests showed there was no asbestos in the air so that county employecs and the public were not in danger Bailey said he wanted the first floor sealed before the asbestos shaken up by the rain had a chance to dry and flake into the air Associated Press In three innings Monday night in Tulsa Okla Gastonia Rangers pitcher Robb Nen gave up no runs on one hit See ASBESTOS Page 6 mentaries The action came a week after a vocal public hearing on the issue Nearly all of those who spoke at last Monday's hearing favored keeping open the 60-year-old school The board's vote also apparently averted a planned protest march at East Elementary today After the meeting several parents of children at East said they would See KM'S Page 6 By JOHN GLENNON Staff Writer The eyes of Texas were upon Gastonia Rangers pitcher Robb Nen on Monday night He didn't disappoint Nen pitching for the major-league Texas Rangers in an exhibition against the Class AA Tulsa (Okla) Drillers pitched well In three innings he gave up no runs on one hit striking out four batters and walking three "I couldn't really believe I was there until about the second inning" said Nen 19 "But I had my fastball going I didn't have much of a change-up but my fastball was there" Nen's fastball was the main reason Marty Scott Texas Rangers director of player development asked him to start in the exhibition He has been clocked throwing a 99-mph pitch this year Nen pitched before a packed house in Tulsa Late Monday night the game still hadn't ended Nen said he was a little jittery before the opening pitch "I was real nervous" Nen said "There was a few more people there than I was used to It was nice" )5 1 SU 19 I Sc fl' )00 er ed MM 1 bi 4 Asbestos Closes Gaston Ponce St di uon JOSEPH MENN Off most of the Highland Street building footings for the new roof and that caused All but one or two officers were moved emergency communications and the pub- Staff Writer Monday night and called in a Charlotte the dramatic increase in leaking said downstairs for the night to the Office of lic will be routed downstairs" company to contain the soggy insulation police Capt Ken Beach Emergency Management but Beach said Bailey said tests showed there was no GASTONIA A downpour that County Engineer Don Bailey said he brought chunks of asbestos falling from which is as much as half-full of asbestos the switch would not seriously hamper asbestos in the air so that county employ- the Gaston County Police Station roof Exposure to asbestos fibers has been learned the roof contained asbestos last communications or services Police dis- ecs and the public were not in danger Monday may force the department to linked to cancers of the lung esophagus week patchers also are downstairs while detec- tives and most of the rest of the depart Bailey said he wanted the first floor i move for at least three weeks and cost the stomach and colon Monday's rain caused leaks five sealed before the asbestos shaken up by county as much as $400000 officials The police station's roof has been under rooms "and has just broken (the fibers) ment's 91 employees work upstairs the rain had a chance to dry and flake into 5 said construction for more than a month This he air "It's going to be a minor disruption loose and it's fallen through" said County County officials evacuated and sealed week the construction crew laid steel Manager Phil Hinely Beach said "We'll still have 911 and the See ASBESTOS Page 6 1 's ew coach 'f' '7r 0 i o-' nre'r' 1--44'' i-' ii '4 '1- 4Q' 4 0 Hopes To Help su a 4 IN 19 1 A 1 Abbey Success By JOHN GLENN 41ri Staff writer BELMONT A search ha ct (pi ot oN pate began with more than 75 appli- CI ik: UV to 'I 1 cants ended with one Monday as I men's basketball coach Rick Scruggs became Belmont Ab- 1 I bey College's athletic director and i Scruggs signed a one-year con- 1 tract with the college Monday it i I' 4 morning and was introduced at an afternoon press conference He leaves the jobs of head basketball Torowt os Co coach and assistant athletic direc- 4 t-- I 0- se'-' torat North Greenville' (SC) Ju- et if nior College ''i CI Scruggs 33 replaces Kevin i I i Eastman Abbey's most successful -1 '-'-') I YII-5--' men's basketball coach who re- l' i signed July 7 to become an assis-' k''' 1 tant coach at Tulsa University sit A I "I'm 0 'is 1----q-'vim '-r-'A4' jIm tremendously privileged Just to be mentioned when you 1876 130 A- sc talk about people like (former Ab- 94-1M0 NA N4444 see''v 1 bey coaches) Al McGwire Bobby "044e1- Hussey Eddie Payne and Kevin 11 1Y Scruggs said "I hope I CURTIS PARKERStaff can add to the tradition here and Rick Scruggs answers ques- To 1 Jeffrey Clement will be featured in the fall edition of Skate Magazine keep things going tons at a news conference 0 er See SCRUGGS Next Page Monday ed Skater Rolls Into Spotlight KM's East Elementary By KATHY NIXON second-best junior skater Clement son of William and Melba Lee Stay Staff Writer Clement said his goal in Minneapolis is to Clement of Kannapolis is a rising senior at Openg Board Says LOWELL 2 At pm Nond ay effrey beat at least one of the senior-division skaters Al Brown High School where he is an honor Clement was getting off a plane from Fort "I'm hoping for fourth place there" Clement student and a drum major By CHARLES HERNDON mentanes 71 Worth Tex where he won first place this said "That will be a big accomplishment for He started skating at age 3 At 8 he decided Staff Writer The action came a week after a weekend in the junior national roller-skating me to skate in competition and started going to KINGS MOUNTAIN In a vocal public hearing on the issue championship Clement is considered one of the nation's Lowell for better training turnaround that surprised even Nearly all of those who spoke at By 4 pm the 17-year-old from Kannapolis up-and-coming skaters said his coach Rob Clement's long-range goals include skating at some of its own members the last Monday's hearing favored had stored the first-place plaque in his car Schisler of Gastonia the skating pro at Kate's the 1992 Olympics where roller skating will be Kings Mountain school board 60 ld keeping open the -year-old donned his skates and practice clothes and was "He is on the ground floor now" Schisler a demonstration sport Monday night voted unanimously school gliding across the floor at Kate's Skating Rink said "He attracted a lot of attention in the He then hopes to retire from amateur skating to leave open East Elementary The board's vote also apparThe Texas win on Sunday qualified him to skating world We have big plans for him" in about eight years and become a skating School ently averted a planned protest compete in the Olympic Sports Festival in Clement will be featured in the fall edition of professional at Kate's For now he's commut- In doing so the board also chose march at East Elementary today Minneapolis next summer where he'll face the Skate Magazine the publication of the US ing from Kannapolis to Lowell for 45 to 50 not to change the system's atten- After the meeting several parents four best senior-division skaters and the Amateur Confederation of Roller Skaters hours of practice each week dance lines in an effort to reestab- of children at East said they would lish racial balance in its five ele- See KNI'S Page 6 Coastal Meeting Reassures Doctors octors Rangers' Nen Shows Off Big-League Arm GLENNON By MACON MOREHOUSE GMH's emergency room starting in No- until we see the individual candidates" 1 1 By JOHN Staff Writer Soodal Carrespondent vember said Niemeyer "But I'm optimistic we 0 011 Th eyes of Texas were 7- GASTONIA After weeks of uncer- The hospital's current staff of emer- will get a qualified emergency room C4- upon Gastonia Rangers tainty about how Gaston Memorial Hos- gency room physicians quit over a con- staff" Itr'''''" pitcher Robb Nen on Monday pitat's emergency room will be staffed tract dispute with the hospital A con- Niemeyer said the Coastal representa- V-' the hospital's medical staff got some tract with Coastal has not been signed --x' nigHhte didn't disappoint lives signed off on a list of contract answers Monday niht 'a -'4- 3 proposals put iok "We received ass together urances that the yet Nen pitching for the ma- Coastal officials and GM H's top doctors jor-league Texas Rangers in emergency room will be staffed with GMH doctors have said they heard A document handed out at the meet- I i ot 1- "i- an exhibition against the quality physicians" chief of staff Dr Coastal might have problems staffing the I- ing detailed the group's plans to staff "1 4 Class AA Tulsa (Okla) Drill- Charles Niemeyer said after the meeting emergency room with qualified doctors "to 4 GMH's emergency room ers pitched well In three in- The medical staff met with three offi- and ones who will work at the hospital Under the proposal Coastal would ----i---' '4 k' nings he gave up no runs on a cials from Coastal Emergency Services full time 0' 11 45 one hit striking out four bat- the doctors' firm expected to staff "I think there will be a lot of unrest See MEETING Page 6 s'? ters and walking three a -r 4 "I couldn't really believe I 4 Te -0-'''''' was there until about the sec- Champs Return Lincoln County Woman 23 ond inning" said Nen 19 "But I had my fastball going Cherryville the NC state 14- 2 I didn't have much of a champ heads home after los- Pleads Guilty To Murder k- but my -L- 1g 4 change-up fastball ing in the Little League region- was there" als in Florida Page 5 1 Nen's fastball was the main By JOE MARUSAK on the second-degree murder charge which reason Marty Scott Texas INSIDE Staff Writer prosecutors reduced from first-degree mur- Rangers director of player de- LINCOLNTON A 23-year-old Lin- der as part of a plea agreement velopment asked him to start Business 4 Neighbors 7 coln County woman pleaded guilty Monday At the end of Monday's sentencing hear- i --0rr in the exhibition He has been Classi fied 9 Obituaries 8 to second-degree murder in the shooting of ing Lamm said Hubbard had no previous clocked throwing a 99-mph Movies 7 Sports 6 her live-in boyfriend criminal record and had cooperated with -pitch this year Delivery Assistance Gaston County 864-9999 am -5pm Charles Lamm sentenced her to 12 years in Virginia Ruth Hubbard wept after Judge authorities after the shooting Nen pitched before a riday Hubbard had confessed to authorities s- packed house in Tulsa Late moppet Lincoln County 735-6008 prison for shooting James Arthur Deaton that she killed Deaton 36 in their secluded i Monday night the game still mono" Fraiat 8am spm Sr seven times with her semi-automatic mobile home park on Buffalo Shoals Road T'' ti hadn't ended Weekends 1-800-532-5350 rifle Jan 27 She told authorities she shot Deaton after Nen said he was a little Saturday -Sunday 4 a Noon jittery before the opening Place Classified Ad 864-5552 Deaton's family and friends also cried they argued on the way home from a party Monday Friday Sam -530Pm after the plea and sentencing north of Conover and after he screamed at Associated Press Pitch "I was real nervous" Nen StoryPhoto Idea 864-4319 her from a bathroom in their home In three innings Monday night in Tulsa Okla Monnay 10 a WINN "She didn't get enough" said Deaton's But Hubbard's court-appointed attorney Gastonia Rangers pitcher Robb Nen gave up no said "There was a few more sanday Nom Modreght sister Margie Thompson as she wept out- people there than! was used Sh fl -h 29 Marty or runs on one hit to It was nice" i a mo ion arc Cpteents 1989 The Charlotte side the courtroom 1 It Hubbard faced up to life imorisonment See LINCOLN Page 6 i 1 6 1 't wiptat ism.