Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / Jan. 10, 1980, edition 1 / Page 2
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Editor's Column A Bargain With Technology Last year, Madison County distinguished itself by suffering fewer highway deaths per mile of highway than any other county in the state. ?This year has begun differently. As of the beginning of this week, there had been only three highway fatalities in the entire state ? far lower than the more than two dozen by this time last year. But all three were in our area ? one in Bun combe County and two in Madison. First in our county came the tragic death of young Michael Ammons, when the car he was riding in left the road at high speed. Then, on Mon day of this week, we learned of the equally sad demise of McKinley Riddle, who stepped unac countably into the path of a pickup truck on the river highway between Hayes Run and Marshall. In addition, Betty Wood, of Mars Hill, was killed by an automobille in Tennessee. Nobody wanted these deaths; each was ac cidental; each was a waste of precious human life. A death by automobile seems the most shock ing kind of death, partly because of its violence and partly because no one "deserves" or expects to die that way. A soldier killed in battle, or a log ger killed by a falling tree, or a canoeist killed by rapids is a person whose death we can com prehend. But when a car ? our technological slave, our necessity, in some cases even our "best friend" ? turns on us, we are stunned and outrag ed. One reason for our outrage is that it is so hard to find anyone to blame. Ralph Nader's findings been. And I would venture to say modem drivers, who put in more miles from an earlier age, are more skillful behind the wheel than their parents or grandparents were. If we can't blame the people who make our cars, or the people who make our roads, or ourselves who drive, whom can we blame for the 50,000 or more deaths caused by automobiles every year in this country? It is true that every accident has a specific cause ? high speed, drunkenness, driver error, a blowout, ice. But isn't there a cause that is broader than any of these? Of course, if none of us drove cars, none of us would be killed by cars. Likewise, if none of us us ed electricity, no one would be electrocuted. But technology has come too far; we as a society can't live without it. We can't live without airplanes, trains, toxic pesticides, strong medicines, large power tools, carcinogenic food additives, fire, and many other things that kill us. There is some quality of human nature that makes us unable to refuse a new technological tool. If something is available, we'll make it and sell it and buy it. And it will be the biggest, fastest, most powerful model we can afford. Not the longest-lasting, safest, most economical model. This power frees us of many physical burdens, and makes our lives more materially comfor table. But it also can turn on us with the same power we ourselves long to have. When we make this Faustian bargain with technology, we must be willing to pay. Ramsey Will Record palachian studies curriculum, the Appalachian Room in the library, and the Baaeom Lamar Lunaford collection ot scrapbooks, lattera, song texts and recordh?i. We hope that eventually we will have a com parable collection of Ofaray's ...I, ,L II worK. ? Wayne Preesiey is an ad mirer of Ramsey's playing twhnkfw and notes its in novative quality. "It's a uni que style," he says. "Ofaray can play the old mountain techniques, with two- and three-finger picking, and he can play bluegrass, like Earl Scruggs. Rut beyond that he's sort of developed a style of his own. "He keeps going past what the other players are doing," Pressley went on. "When he's accompanying his own sing ing, he'll invent complex har monies ? almost the way a jazz musician does. It sur prises musicians who bear him. He is more than a fine technician; he's imaginative. He hasn't had any formal music training, but he still knows pretty well what he's doing in terms of theory." To an archivist, one of the astonishing qualities of Ramsey is bis archival memory. "He has a wealth of ballads and versions of ballads and hymns and folk songs in his bead," says Pressley. "The Library of Congress approached him Let Your Concerns Be Known White House Conference On Families North Carolina has ? statewide Task Fore* studying concerns of families in our stats This study is a part of the White House Conference on Families. Let the Task Force know what you think by completing the form below. Your information will be used by the Teak Fore* whan writing North Carolina'a report for the White House. Only this official form printed in commercial newapapera will be accepted. Unauthorized duplicated forma will not be counted. Please Circle The Number To The Right Of The Correct Information And FiN In the Blanks female 1 mate 2 My rfl be i?' white other 'J; I am: employed 1 retired 3 a homemeker 2 unemployed - 4 My femily income ?: 1 lees then $6,000 '1 ?*000 9.999 2 ?10.000-14.999 3 $15,000 - 19.999 4 ?20.000 ? 24.999 5 $25,000 or more 6 is tha county whara I Una. ?a my aga. ia tha numbar ol aduta (1 8 yi*. or oMa?t my household <a tha numbar of cfciMron (undar IB) in my houaahald ? * tha numfaar o f adults halping to aompUta thiapoH. Indicate how you faai each Ham affacts your family. Ptaasa circla 1 H you faal tha it am is of no concern. 2 if you faal it is of some concern, and 3 if you faal it is of serious concern. ?m 1 Cod of Energy 1 2 2. Availability and com of quality child care 1 2 3 . Femily violence . . . 1 2 4 Single parent households 1 2 5. Need for help in "parenting" . 1 2 6. Coat and availability of adequate housing 1 2 7 Coat of food 1 2 8 Divorce 1 2 9 Fixed incomes of elderly 1 2 10 Adolescent pregnancies 1 2 1 1 . Availability of public transportation 1 2 12 Aveilebility. coet and quality of health services 1 2 13. Family life education 1 ' 2 14. Family planning 1 2 15. Alcoholism ; 1 2 1 6. Adoption/foster care 1 2 17 Lack of family income 1 2 18 Availability of quality education 1 2 18 Employment for teenagers . . . 1 2 20 Home/school relations 1 2 21 Preventive health care education 1 2 22 Sales tax on food 1 2 23. Meed for more then one working person per family . 1 2 24 Availability of good iota 1 2 25. Drug abuse 1 2 26 Financial planning ektUs 1 2 27. Adult and continuing education 28 Mental illnesa 29 Public understanding and accountability of Social Services 30 Maternity end infant care . . . 31 Interest rates 32 Government responsiveness to femily needs 33 Marriage penalty in tax pokciee 34 Famtfy counseling 35 Home care eeaietance for elderly 36 Social Security benefits .... 37. Femily edfuatment to death and dying 38 Retirement adjustment 39 Equel Rights Amendment . . . 40 Mid-lite adjustment 41 Welfare programs 42. Child care tax deductions ... 43 Availability and coat of nursing facilities 44. Vocational education 45. Coet of education 46. Government support of child care 47. Tax exemptions for dependents 48 Education of pereone with speciel needs i! 3 3 3 3 3' 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 if If >j if if 50. Availability and ecceeaibilitY of Social Services 51. Overall government aupport of family 52. lack of on-the-job training . . . 53. Coet of clothing 54. Employment for persons with 55 56 57 58. 59 80. 61 62. 63 64. 65 66. 67. 70. 71. 72. 73. Management/labor relatione in employment ........... Accountability of government to familiea ............... Housing discrimination Food etamp programs Chronic iHneeaee Homoeexuelity Coat of transportation Need for new industry Government funding of Social Sarvicee Information about education Too much government inter ference in famikee ........ Disability of family member . Coet of Social Servicee Limited job promotion opportunitiee Other Other Other PIomo comment on whit you Miivt should bo dono (bout ?onto of thoconcamo you havochoaon. Writathanumbarof tha coocam on tha Mt wd eommom In tho apooo providad to tha Tlito official tofmnwat he iwaived by Januanr 22. 1M0. MaN North Carolina Fam*ee Raleigh/ North Carolina 27626 Would You Like To Be A Delegate? (or the post few' months has been rehearsing and thinking i bout technique. "Years ago," said Ramsey, "I was told by leading suthorities like Bascom Lunsford that there hadn't been any music written down for these old folk tunes because moat were sung in the old church chant, in minor or modal chords. I've found that I could write down the chords, but I couldn't account for all the sounds that were coming out of the banjo. "So over the years of fooling with the five-string I've picked up a finger motion that gives more the idea of the beat of our old tunes. In the process I say to my fingers, what is it that you're doing. I slow down my playing more and more until I can hear what it is they're each doing. I almost have to stop to isolate each one. Now I'm going to try to explain that to the tape during these recording sessions. I'm going to tell the tape, downstroke, upstroke, downstroke, pause, second finger, third finger, and so on." Ramsey stopped playing in public more than a year ago, moving into an indefinite "retirement." Part of his unhappiness with recording and performing in public stems from worries about copyrights and unsatisfactory relations with the big-money world of professional music making. "I got fed up with producers," says Obray, "so I quit writing songs and playing music and started bear hun ting." "Fortunately, about IS years ago I met a lady who taught me how to copyright songs the cheap way. You write the song, make two iden tical copies of the music and seal one of them in an envelope with sealing wax. You take that copy and mail it to yourself. The date on the postmark shows how old the song is, and something closed with sealing wax can't be tampered with. I have a whole box of songs like that." ? Much of Obray's distrust of producers stems from his work with Arthur Gorson, who produced Ramsey and Byard Ray under the name "White Ligbtnin'." Gorson used a backup band with a rock beat behind the two Madison Coun ty musicians; the subtitle of the album is "File Under Rock." Traditionalists can barely hear the traditional music through the heavy beat. Two years after the release of the first White Lightnin' album, Ramsey and Ray played in New York on a twin bill with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. Reviewer John S. Wilson wrote in The New York Times that he liked Ramsey and Ray ? despite their backup group. " .they were backed by a trio ? guitar, electric bass and drums ? that was ...not par ticularly in tune with Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Ray. It pro vided clumsy and heavy handed backing but, despite this, Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Ray got things going with so much basic vitality that they had the audience clapping and stomp ing along with them. "Mr. Stanley and his three associates... offered a glib sur face, studded with backwoods show biz mugging, that never got down to any of the musical reality that Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Ray achieved despite their sodden accompani ment." Fortunately, when Ramsey records at Mars Hill, there will be no backup, sodden or not. Conference On Families During January, North Carolina cittaens are invited to voice opinions about the con cam of their families and at the same time nominate thmeelTM to a national con House Conference la Baltimore. Md , in June Heard and Seen By POP Someone asked me last week if I watch ed any of the howl games on New Year's Day (and night) ? I thought they must be kidding asking me such a question ? anyway, I told them I watched all four games which included the Sugar Bowl, Cot ton Bowl (switched from one to the other since they were both televised at same time), Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl. In addi tion to the New Year's games, I also either watched or listened (by radio) to the Sun Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Tangerine Bowl, Blue Grey game, Fiesta Bowl, Gator Bowl, Hall of Fame Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Blue Bon net Bowl. In addition to these, I enjoyed watching the professional playoff games, too; and enjoyed several college basketball games. I'll admit my eyes became mighty tired at times but I thoroughly enjoyed the games. I'm mighty glad that Alabama was No. 1 ? the Crimson Tide deserved top rating in my opinion. I was also delighted ' that the Tar Heels of UNC defeated the Michigan Wolverines in the Gator Bowl. "Dube" and Mamie Deaver returned last Thursday from a trip to Florida and en joyed visiting several relatives and friends, including Mr. and Mrs. Abner Wild ? they had a fine trip and enjoyed it very much. However, Dube and Mamie said it was always nice to return home here. After 42 years as owner and operator of Teague Milling Co., at the upper end of Mar shall, Ernest is retiring this month. It will be hard to realize that Ernest will no longer be at the mill nor in Marshall ? he is a valuable and popular citizen here and in Mars Hill. Here's hoping that he and ' Virginia will enjoy "the new life." Mike and Rosemary Allen have purchased the Teague Milling Co., and the firm is now known as Allen Farm Supply ? here's wishing the young and popular couple every success. America was saddened last week when it was announced that Richard Rodgers, the composer who helped revolutionize the American musical theater, had died Dec. 30 at his Fifth Avenue apartment in New York City. He was 77. Among his more than 1000 successful scores, he composed the music "Oklahoma", "South Pacific" and "The Sound of Music." His death was felt keenly by music lovers of Madison County, especially for Susan Sherard, wife of Alan Anderson, of Mars Hill. Susan was a member of the cast in "Oklahoma" when it was presented in Vicksburg, Miss., in 1966. Rodgers commended the production and sent the following telegram following the Vicksburg presentation: "May I con gratulate Mr. Bittick and his company for the amazingly successful production of "Oklahoma" in Vicksburg. This astonishing achievement is a great tribute to our musical play and I would like everyone con cerned to know that I am very proud and deeply grateful. I send my kindest regards." The telegram was signed, Richard Rodgers. The new $58,000 fire truck is a great ad dition to the already adequate fire-fighting equipment in Marshall and the Smoky Mountain Fire District. With its all aluminum body, extra large engine, air brakes, and Hale pump capable of pumping 1,000 gallons of water per minute, it is one of the best fire trucks made. I congratulate the firemen, officials, and citizens of the SMFD for securing the new truck. As fire chief many years ago, I can remember well when we had only one pumper. It's thrilling to see the present equipment which affords so much more protection. The News -Record NON-PARTISAN IN POLITICS (USPS 38*440) ALAN H. ANDERSON, Editor JAMES I. STORY, Editorial Consultant And ColumnM Published Wookly By Madtoon County Puoushing Co. Inc. BOX 369 MARSHALL, N.C. 28753 PHONE: (704)649-274! 12 Mm. MjOO 6Mm IftjOO 3 Mm ? ?
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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