tlurp hy Carnegie Library 4-7'
Peachtree Street
Murphy, N.C., 28906
14 Pages
Two Sections
15* per copy
The Cherokee Scout
and Clay County Progress
i
Volume 79 - Number 19 - Murphy, North Carolina, 28906 - Second Class Postage Paid At Murphy, North Carolina - Thursday, December 10, 1970
NEWSPAPER
Counties Apply For Jail Grant
By Wally Avett afternoon after lengthy .re^M
Staff writer discussion agreed to apply for a reluetant about ^ idea and
County commissioners of federal grant to build a regional t0 ST^y
Clay -i. ' "" " * lurPh-v
Swearing Ceremonies
The rotunda of theCherokee
County Courthouse was crowded
Mem day morning, as the winners of
the November election were sworn in.
Jimmy Howse, left, new Clerk of
Court, is shown administering the
oath to the three commissioners, W.T.
Moore, Jack Lovingood and Jack
Simonds. (Staff Photo)
Golfers Launch Fund Drive
A fuml-raising drive was
started last week to get the
Cherokee County Golf Course
oat of debt.
Bud Brown of Murphy, a
member of the Rural Renewal
'Authority which built the
course, conducted the meeting
at the Power Board Building
launching the drive. About SO
golfers attended.
Brown said the course owes
about $5,000, which includes
$2,500 paid recently for five new
golf carts. He said it is desirable
for the course to be out of debt
andstart fresh in the Spring,
when golfing and fees from
golfers can be expected to
increase, as well as
maintenance costs.
Murphy attorney Herman
Edwards was selected to head
the drive, which is supposed to
be finished within 90 days.
Brown said a check for $500
fru:n <ui anonymous Uoiwi was
turned in before the meeting.
There was much discussion
during the meeting of the
problems of the course and it
was pointed out that the
relatively small number of
golfers using the couse is the
main factor. It was reported
that only 117 users have paid
their fees and another 57 on the
rolls are delinquent in payment
of fees.
There were also indications
at the meeting that Cherokee
County industries will be asked
to help subsidize the course.
"We'll have to go to industry for
help," one speaker said.
Horace Cannon and Frank
Atchison of Levi's in Murphy
were named to head the drive
for industry in Murphy and
Peachtree.
Dan Lamb and Bill
Brackettof American Thread at
Marble were named to lead the
drive among industries in
Marble and Andrews.
Dick Davis of Murphy and
Joe Khouri of Andrews were
picked to raise funds among the
county's civic and community
development clubs.
For merchants, motels and
banks, Lloyd Cash and Joe
Morrow were named to head the
drive in Andrews and Jack
Issacs and Gene Farmer in
Murphy.
Selected to contact citizens
in their respective areas were:
John Boring and Charles West
in Andrews and Marble' Roy
Weber and Wayne Holland in
Peachtree; Everett English,
Elmer Kilgore and Arthur
Jones in Murphy; Jerry
Kephart in Hanging Dog and
Unaka; Wayne Watson and
Larry McNabb for Suit and
Culberson.
Changing Of The Guard
Claude Anderson, left rear,
sheriff of Cherokee County for the
pest 16 years, went out of office and
handed die jail keys over to the new
Sheriff, Blain Stale up, Monday
morning. On the steps below them are
Stalcup's deputies, Willard Bates,
left, and Jess Mashburn. Mashburn, a
former Andrews policeman, will
serve as chief deputy. (Staff Photo)
on the basis that they have done
nothing binding and can back
out at any time.
The commissioners of both
counties took their oaths of
office Monday, along with other
winners from last month's
election, and disposed of other
matters Monday morning
before the joint meeting in
Murphy in the afternoon on the
regional jail.
Beginning four-year terms
in Clay are Howard Wimpey,
Max Payne and Wayne West, all
Republicans. Wimpey was
chosen as chairman.
In Cherokee the
commissioners are Jack
Simonds and Jack Lovingood,
Republicans, and W.T. Moore,
Democrat. Simonds was elected
chairman.
Charles Hipps of
Waynesville, director of the
Southwest Enforcement and
Rights Service, attended the
meeting and explained how the
federal money can be obtained.
It was agreed that he should
make application for a grant
only after the Clay delegation
was assured that this is "to keep
the door open" and told if the
application is not made soon,
the opportunity will be lost for
another year.
The Clay County group,
which included the
commissioners, County
Attorney Gene Carter and
Sheriff Hartsell Moore, said
Clay citizens will be solidly
against the regional jail if it
means everyone arrested in
Clay will be jailed in Cherokee.
However, the discussion
revealed that the large jail for
long-term prisoners can be built
at Murphy and a temporary
lock-up type of jail constructed
at Hayesville.
This, it was explained,
would mean that most people
areested in Clay could be kept in
the lock-up for a few hours until
they sobered up or were
released on bond and would
never have to be transported to
Murphy. Only the felony cases
or cases which required a many
staying several days in jail
would require transportation to
the regional jail in Murphy.
Hipps said the "chances are
excellent" for a 50-50 matching
grant through the Governor's
Committee on Law and Order
from federal Safe Streets Act
money. The regional jail "is a
crying need of this area," he
added, pointing out that both
counties are going to be forced
to do something about their
present jails.
But when the Clay
representatives started asking
about the maximum time a man
Republicans
Take Over
Republicans took control of
the Cherokee County Board of
Commissioners on Monday and
named a whole new slate of
county employes, from top to
bottom.
In the past the
commissioners numbered six ,
but Monday that figure was
reduced to three as W.T. Moore,
Democrat and former
chairman, took the oath with
Republicans Jack Simonds and
Jack Lovingood.
The three commissioners
began their meeting
immediately after being sworn
and the first order of business
was to name Simonds, who
represents District 3, as the new
chairman. Then Lonnie Hoover
was named county attorney, in
place of L.L. Mason, who had
served the Democratic
administration.
Ruth Sprung was named the
county accountant and tax
collector, replacing Democrat
Barbara Stalcup. Paul Nave
was appointed tax supervisor,
replacing Democrat Andrew
Barton, former commissioner.
Frances Clark was named
clerk to the tax collector and
Barbara Hampton was named
clerk to the tax supervisor.
Even the courthouse
janitor, Democrat Mack
Gibson, was relieved of his job
and replaced with C.S. Garland.
Gibson, however, didn't miss
a day's work as he turned up
Monday afternoon as Democrat
Sheriff Blain Stalcup's new
jailer.
Harry Ingram was named
the county electrical inspector,
provided the obtain the proper
license, and the county
chairman of the Republican
Party, Leonard Ramsey, was
named manager of the surplus
food commodity warehouse.
Then the commissioners
named the tax listers for the six
townships in Cherokee County.
The They are as follows:
Valleytown Township -
Fred Haney and Mrs. N.L.
Adams.
Murphy Township - Milt
English and Mrs. Carrie
Kephart.
Beaverdam Township ?
Robert Hartness and Mrs.
Shirley Chance.
Shoal Creek Township -
Roma Graham and Mrs. Austin
Morrow.
Notla Township - Arnold
Hughes end Mrs. W.M. Mull.
Hothouse Township - Mrs.
Ed Adams and Mrs. Randall
Mundy.
Capt. Frank Swan of
Andrews was reappointed to
serve as county Veterans
Service Officer fa- another four
year term. He says he has held
the post for 20-25 years and the
commissioners agreed that he
should keep it.
Carlyle Matheson of
Andrews, a former
commissioner, and Dude
Radford of Unaka, former
deputy sheriff, have been
appointed as magistrates by
Resident Superior Court Judge
Thad Bryson of Bryson City and
met briefly Monday morning
with commissioners.
Cherokee Clubs
Win Four Prizes
Cherokee County
community development dubs
were among the winners
recognised at the Western
North Carolina Community
Developments Awards
luncheon held last Saturday at
Asheville City Auditorium.
There are four divisions of
competition, three of them
based on size of population and
the fourth for youth activities.
Cherokee County communities
placed fourth in all four
divisions.
In Division A, for
communities of 75 families or
less, Tesana was fourth. In
Division B (75 ? 100 families)
Tomotla was fourth. Fourth
place in Division C (over 150
families) went to Marble. All
three communities won $100
apiece.
Tomotla alao placed fourth
in the youth activities
competition, winning an
additional $75.
The contest was open to the
10 westernmost North Carolina
counties, from Burke west No
other county placed in more
than two of the divisions.
Congressman Roy A.
Taylor provided a pleasant
surprise for those attending
from Cherokee County as he
stood to introduce the featured
speaker, Dr. Henry Ahlgren,
Deputy Undersecretary of
Agriculture.
Taylor departed from usual
introductory remarks and took
several minutes to commend
Cherokee County, singling out
this county as a "shining
example" of progress and
challenging the other counties
to follow her.
The Congressman was
specific in his praise,
mentioning the Cherokee
County Airport, new industries,
new and renovated hospital
facilities and the Cherokee
County Golf Course.
He further stated that
changes in attitudes and
optimism can be felt among the
dtixens of Cherokee as they
work together on medical
needs, roads, anti-pollution and
other problems.
could be held in a lock-up type of
jail, Hipps emphasized that
members of the governor's
committee will look at the
application and "If you want to
call two local jails a regional
jail just to get some of this good
federal money they won't go
along with it."
At the end of the meeting, it
was agreed that Hipps should go
ahead and make preliminary
application for a federal grant
in the amount of about $130,000
for construction of the jail, and
lock-up to be matched with the
$100,000 in bonds approved last
month by Cherokee voters and
the rest from the one cent sales
tax in Clay.
Hipps said by the middle of
April the grant would be
tentatively turned down or
approved and at that time a
more formal, detailed
application could be made
andthe counties could decide
how the costs of maintenance of
the jail and lock-up would be
shared.
Phone Cable
Severed
By Shotgunner
A Westco Telephone cable
was cut by shotgun blasts early
Monday afternoon, knocking
about 700 subscribers out of
service.
Bobby Joe Graves, outside
plant supervisor for Westco in
Murphy, said the shooting was
deliberate and the telephone
company is offering a $100
reward for information leading
to arrest and conviction of the
guilty person or persons.
"Anybody who saw a car
parked under the cable in the
straight beyond Scott Laney
Mountain may be of help to us,"
he said. It was in this area that
the cable was shot four times at
one place and three times at
another, about a quarter mile
from the site of the first
shooting.
Graves said telephones in
Brass town, Peachtree and the
Slow Creek section were out of
service until the cable was fully
repaired about 11 Tuesday
morning.
Clay Commissioners
Clay County Attorney Gene
Carter, right rear, posed Monday
with the new ly sworn Clay Board of
Commissioners. Howard Wimpey,
standing, was chosen chairman.
Seated are Max Payne, left, and
Wayne West. (Staff Photo)
TVA Groups Fighting
Rising Price Of Coal
Two TV A groups will go to
Washington next week to fight
the skyrocketing price of coal,
which has raised electrical
rates drastically.
John (Buster) Bayless,
general manager of the Murphy
Power Board, is one of the
original members of the
Emergency Committee for the
Valley. This group is composed
of representatives of each of the
seven TVA states, and was
recently expanded to include
the mayors of the four largest
cities in Tennessee.
Bayless is scheduled to go
to Washington with the
Emergency Committee and
also making the trip will be the
Tennessee Valley Public Power
Association delegates. They will
meet with the Federal Trade
Commission, the Interstate
Commerce Commission, the
Federal Power Commission and
the Attorney General's office.
Senators and Congressmen
of the seven TVA states have
also been invited to attend the
sessions between federal
officials and TVA groups, set
for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bayless says several points
will be discussed, foremost
being the possibility of a "power
monopoly", in that major oil
companies have purchased the
major suppliers of coal for TVA.
Coal has jumped in price
from $4 a ton to about $8 a ton,
Bayless said, and another price
hike is feared for next year.
Electrical rates in Murphy, as
well as all other places which
use TVA power, have increased
by about 23 percent as a result
of the coal price hike.
TVA power has always been
relatively cheap, Bayless said,
"But now with the increase
some of our rates are higher
than some private power
companies."
Deer Kill Affected By Weather
Bad weather during the
deer season cut down on the kill
figure, according to Harley
Martin, warden of the Fires
Creek Wildlife Management
Area.
He said Tuesday tnat M
deer were killed in the Fires
Creek area during the two-week
season for hunters with guns
which ended last Saturday.
Only one deer was killed during
the earlier season on Fires
Creek for bowhunters.
This is less than last year's
figure of 93 deer killed, Martin
said, and is largely due to the
two days of bad weather at the
beginning of the season.
Martin also said that
Wildlife Commissioner T.N.
Massey of Sylva sent a group of
wildlife protectors to Fires
Creek to help control poaching
on the refuge and about 14
arrests were made during the
deer season for trespassing on
the refuge with a gun and
without a proper permit.
"It looks like the public is
losing faith in the wildlife
management area," Margin
said. "If it wasn't for the
refuges, in three years there
wouldn't be anything left to hunt
? no deer, no bear, no nothing.
"We need the cooperation of
the sportsmen to help in
controlling those few who are
trying to destroy all the
wildlife," he continued.
"Sportsmen need to contact
their legislators and ask for
stronger game laws and more
wildlife protectors."
Chairman Honored
Noah Hembree, center,
chairman of the Cherokee County
Board of Education, retired from the
board Monday night after 27 years of
service. He was commended by the
board for his years of duty and
presented with the plaque he holds.
Dr. W.A. Hoover, left, and the Rev.
Robert Barker were sworn in Monday
as new members of the seven-man
board and the Rev. Mr. Barker was
elected the new chairman.
Hembree Steps Down
The Cherokee County Board
of Education officially saluted
Chaiman Noah Hembree for 27
years of service as he retired
from the board Monday night.
Robert Stiles read the
resolution commending
Hembree for "untiring
devotion to duty" over 27 years
and eight months as chairman
of the county school board.
Hembree was then presented
with a engraved plaque
marking the occasion.
Lloyd Hendrix, who served
as superintendent of county
schools for many years under
Hembree, attended the meeting
and spoke of Hembree's
calmnes under fire as the small
country schools were
consolidated in the '40's and
'50's.
Angry delegations from the
schoolsbeing consolidated often
attended the school board
meetings, Hendrix said, but
Hembree always remained cool
and calm and kept the meetings
under control. "He is a man of
good judgment and was always
interested foremost in the
children of this county,"
Henfrlx said.
The Rev. Robert Barker of
Peachtree and Dr. W.A.
Hoover, who were elected last
month to the seven-man board,
were welcomed in the meeting
at OdeU's Restaurant and the
Rev. Mr. Barker was elected as
the new chairman.
In other action the heart
accepted both the new high
school building at Ainhsws and
the Round
Til wli ft A ?? ?!
nlgn oCnOOl,
Building ~
It w
Conservation
Supervisor
To Be Chosen
An election will be held in
Cherokee County on Thursday
to pick one supervisor for the
Cherokee County Soil sod Water
Conservation District for a
three-year term beginning
January 4,1(71.
in the county will be <
vote in this election. I
for this ? office are L.L.
KissellHrg and L.F. Lochaby.
Polling places will be
located at:
Martin's Creek;