Black
Thursday, January 6, 1983 Volume 31, Number 1 Member of the NCPA 2>5
Sculptor Dr. John Mack Walker of Montreat stands next to his “Adoration
of the Magi," carved from a juniper tree. “It was like the three kings were in
the tree,” Dr. Walker said. To the left. “St. Paul" is on the road to Damascus
when Christ appears to him. Again, the wood suggested the subject to the
sculptor. In the crotch of a walnut tree. Dr. Walker found “the power of this
person in the wood.”
Tax 'fiasco'--whose fault?
by Cynthia Reimer
Nothing’s certain in this world but
death and taxes, and in Buncombe
County you can’t even count on the
taxes this year.
Those unfortunate thousands (10
12.000 by county estimates) whose only
crime is to have a last name beginning
with one of the last few letters of the
alphabet will be penalized through no
fault of tneir own.
County property tax notices for 1982
have been delayed to residents because
the county failed to compute and mail
them out in time for the Jan. 5 deadline.
Those who can’t pay their taxes before
the deadline will be forced to pay a
two-percent penalty set by North Caroli
na state law.
Who’s fault is it, is the question in the
minds of many who stood in line at the
courthouse for up to four hours to get
their estimates, as well as those who
Ordinary people, extraordinary art
by C>iithia Reimer
What have present day bear hunters
and hound dogs, women in sunbonnets
and men in bib overalls, dulcimers and
gizzard baskets to do with the 2,000
year old story of the life of Christ?
To Montreat sculptor Dr. John Mack
Walker, the answer is “everything.”
Dr. W alker uses mountain people and
mountain settings to depict scenes from
the New Testament. The West Virginia
mountain-bom retired minister believes
the ageless story is best told in modem
terms.
"To me the Gospel story is con
temporary,” he said. “I feel that trying
An early disciple of Jesus
mentioned only once in Acts 21:16
inspired “Mnason Remembers.”
^Ijuke and Paul spent a night with
the man on their way to Jeru
salem
to imagine what characters looked like
in long white robes 2.000 years ago is
not too helpful. It makes it very
remotp ”,
Carved in blocks of cherry, rosewood,
walnut and other beautiful hardwoods,
some of his scenes have dimensions of
only a few inches; others are several
feafcin height or width.
Dr. Walker uses mountain people
■ from West Virginia and North Carolina
as models for the characters of Jesus,
the Disciples and others. ‘‘Since I was
bom in the mountains of West Virginia,
the mountains have always been my
first love” Dr. Walker explained. “I.see
the iBiblicai) scenes in terms of the
people I know.”
In a large sculpture called “Christ
Teaching,” Christ appears in a boat
preaching to a group in contemporary
dress on the hillside. One man in the
crowd holds a dulcimer on his kne^s; a
woman in a sunbonnet carries a woven
basket.
In “Walk to Emmaus,’’ the figures
wear bib overalls. One carries a sack of
grain, another a basket of apples. At
their feet is a bear hound and a tiny
blooming trillium.
In “Christ in Winter,’’ Dr. Walker
draws from John 10:22, the only time
winter is mentioned in the Gospel. The
walnut figures wear overcoats and
heavy sweaters.
Dr. W alker works on each sculpture
four to six months. He carves from
sketches and a clay model with chisels,
gouges and knives. He uses no power
tools, roughing the chunks of wood out
with a chisel.
He has had no formal instruction. “I
was raised on a farm, most country boys
have a pocket knife, you know. I enjoyed
whittling things,’’ Dr. Walker said.
His early inspiration came from the
Confederate Memorial and statues of
famous southerners in Richmond. “I
was always impressed by the three
dimensional,” he said.
He is presently at work on a piece in
mountain cherry depicting Christ
calling the fishermen Peter and Andrew
from the book of Mark.
Dr. Walker’s sculpture is on display
from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at the Montreat
Historical Foundation through the
spring. He has recently had his works in
the North Caroliab Museum of Art’s
annual exhibit, at the Mint Museum in
Charlotte, St. John's Gallery in Wil
mington and at Duke University.
None of the 28 scenes from the life of
In “Invitation to Zaccheus,'' the
tax collector is called from the tree
he climbed to view a visit of Jesus.
Christ is for sale because Dr. Walker
wants to keep them together. He has
donated works to churches and semi
naries, recently completing a walnut
Celtic cross with runic figures for the
chapel at William Black I^odge in
Montreat. __
i-:
A maidservant wears a country
kerchief and a man warms himself
by a fire in “Peter’s Denial.” ‘‘I
think the Gospel story should be
very plain,” Dr. Walker said. “It
should combine matter-of-factness
with the mystery. ’ ’_
will pay the two percent penalty when
their bill arrives after the payment
deadline.
In statements to the press last week.
County Commissioner Jesse Iedbetter
called the situation a “fiasco" and
blamed it on the fact that no one is in
charge over the three departments
involved in the tax process: the Board of
Tax Supervision, the computer section
and the tax collector.
Commission Chairman R. Curtis Rat
City taxes delayed
by county backlog
The Black Mountain Town Board
called a meeting Monday night to pass a
resolution which will keep town taxpay
ers from paying penalty for a billing
delay that is not their fault.
The town depends on county informa
tion to compute Black Mountain taxes,
due Jan. 5. Because of the county
billing backlog, Black Mountain em
ployees have only billed out through last
names beginning with Hu.
“They have really put us in the
hole.” said Town Clerk A1 Richardson.
“We’re at the county’s mercy.”
The Black Mountain tax office re
mained open Friday, which was a town
holiday, to process taxes. According to
Suzanne Turner, all those who wanted
to pay before Jan. 1 were provided with
a tax estimate by Friday.
Black Mountain taxpayers will be
allowed 30 days after they receive their
tax bills to pay them. A two percent
penalty will be shown on the bill, but if
it is paid within 30 days, the penalty will
be removed.
About 1,350 Black Mountain taxpay
ers had been billed by the weekend,
with 2,000 still to receive their notices.
According to Richardson, fhat could
take another three weeks.
Town employees have
say in policy manual
by Cynthia Reimer
The biggest change to affect town
employees in a new policy manual
proposed by the Town Board is the
elimination of overtime pay.
Four aldermen and Mayor Tom Sobol
met with the employees during a public
hearing on Monday at City Hall.
In the first six months of the year, the
town has paid out $13,716 in overtime
wages alone to its employees.
The board proposed a system of
granting compensation time in lieu of
overtime pay for employees who work
over 40 hours, except in the depart
ments of public safety. Alderman Mike
Begley called the system where the
employee would receive an hour and a
half off for each hour overtime worked
“a way for us to keep the budget fairly
predictable.”
Mayor Sobol said the system was
used by state, federal and most other
municipal employers. “It’s fair for you
all. and it’s fair to those who are paying
us all, and that is the taxpayers,” he
told the group.
Sobol said the new policy manual,
which must be voted on by the board at
a regular meeting, was intended to
“clarify and simplify” the old one.
Other areas changed included legal
holidays raised to nine per year and
annual leave extended at 15 and 20
years of service.
Sobol opened the hearing by com
mending town employees for “the most
work and enthusiasm by town em
ployees in the 13 and 14 years I’ve been
involved with the town.''
cliff sees the problem this way:
Unlike all other 99 counties in the
state, the office of Tax Supervisor is not
under the auspices of the Board of
Commissioners: it is basically an auton
omous board much like the Supreme
Court. We had nothing to do with the
hiring of a New Jersey firm to conduct
our re-evaluation in 1982.
“The board’s only involvement in the
tax process is the county's data proces
sing department. We simply process
whatever the tax supervisor has comple
ted to prepare for the tax collector.
...Our computer section has kept up
with the workload the tax supervisor has
generated."
Tax officials fielded questions Mon
day night at a taxpayers meeting held at
Reynolds School. The taxpayers were
told that a motion to waive the penalty
for January would be introduced before
the Board of Commissioners Tuesday.
However, Tax Collector R.D. risk
ridge said he planned to abide by the
state law which fixes a two percent
penalty to delinquent bills despite any
action by the county commissioners
Eskridge said he does not plan to run
for re-election next year.
Taxpayers asked officials whv ;he
state penalty law must be enforced
when a state law requiring tax bills to be
mailed in September obviously was not
enforced.
N7V one had an answer.
Meanwhile, the county offered free
coffee and donuts to the crowds still
waiting at the courthouse in Asheville
this week for the privilege of “render
ing unto Caesar.”
Rre damages home
Fire broke out in the Church Street
home of Mrs. Joyce I/'Plant about 2:30
p in Tuesday. When Black Mountain
firemen arrived three rooms and the
attic of the home were in flames
Firemen said the fire started in the
kitchen when a frying pan containing
cooking grease was left on the stove
No damage estimate was available
Wednesday morning, hut firemen said
the damage was “extensive ' to three
rooms and the attic and the only
contents of the house not damaged was
that in the bedrooms
Family violence
Hurtinq the ones you love
by Cynthia Reimer
Her nose is bleeding, one eye is black
and a lump throbs on the side of her
head where she hit the stone mantle of
the fireplace. She huddles, crying,
against the wall until she hears her
husband’s footsteps leave the room.
Then she pulls herself to her feet,
wakens her three young children and
quietly they tiptoe from the house in
their night clothes. They drive around
and around in the family station wagon,
too ashamed to stop because they might
be seen.
At the house, he smashes the glass he
has been drinking from with the last of
his rage and sinks into a chair. He is,
already, sorry he hit her again.
★ ★★
This scene is replayed thousands of
times a year--7,500 times in 1978—in
Buncombe County.
‘‘It is learned behavior, and it can be
unlearned,” said Ann Von Brock,
director of the Helpmate Program for
Buncombe County. ‘‘Some women are
not actually aware it’s against the law to
be assaulted by their spouse.”
Men who hit their wives often learned
the behavior from their fathers. ‘‘Gen
erally, it’s the only way they know how
to deal with a situation. They might be
scared but it comes out as anger. It gets
to be a pattern. Children pick up that’s
the way you deal with being angry or
upset,” Von Brock said.
For the battered, Helpmate offers
shelter facilities, assistance with medi
cal help and support for whatever the
battered woman decides to do about her
situation. “We tell them what options
are available, community resources,
legal alternatives,” Von Brock said.
For the batterers. Helpmate has
started a new counseling program.
Many of the men are referred by the
courts but any man may ask to take part
in the group led by two male counselors.
Helpmate, located in Asheville, re
ceives an average of 30 calls per month,
handled by 10 volunteers. In the last
couple of months, the number has gone
up to 86 calls a month. Von Brock
blames the economy and the holidays.
“Families are under a great deal of
stress.' When those kind of extra
pressures come into it, you see the
incidence of violence going up. Christ
mas is a source of stress,” she said.
To handle the need for help in the
county, Helpmate needs at least 10
more volunteers advocates, some to
take weekday 9-5 calls, and others to
take weekend and night calls. They will
soon be offering five training sessions
covering legal aspects, counseling
skills, the dynamics of family violence
and other areas.
There are no requirements except
that, “we want people who are con
f
cemed about family violence in the
community,” she said.
The work usually involves one even
ing a week of answering calls. Most of
the work is over the telephone, and
when an advocate does meet a client it
is in a safe place such as a magistrate’s
office or police station.
Von Brock said strictist confidentiali
d 'A v
ty of information is respected and never
revealed by the volunteer advocates.
The daytime telephone number for
Helpmate is 254-0516. The night and
weekend number is 252-8102. Anyone
willing to volunteer should call for more
information about the program.
Helpmate volunteers are available to
talk to groups about family violence
Black Mountain firemen fought a house fire on Church Street early Puesdav
afternoon after yrease in a frving pan caught tire on the stove.