AWARD WINNER
In 1966 and 1967 the Democrat won
10 State Press Assn, awards for
General Excellence, Excellence in
Typography, Local News, Adver
tising, Columns and Photographs.
WATAUGA DEMOCRAT
An Independent Weekly Newspaper . . . Eightieth Year of Continuous Publication
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Oct 1 89 42
Oct 2 71 48
22 PAGES— 2 SECTIONS
VOL. LXXX—NO. 14
BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1967
10 CENTS PER COPY
883883811
*888886?
Henderson begins his address as program speakers look on:
(from left) the Rev. J. K. Parker Jr., Dr. J. B. Hagaman Jr.,
the Rev. E. F. Troutman, Alfred Adams, Wade E. Brown, Mrs.
Virginia A. Groce and Tom Jackson. (Staff photo)
Progressive Move Hailed
Hospital Dedicated Sunday
Sunday’s formal dedication of
the Watauga County Hospital was
occasion for recitation of fig
ures, recall of Watauga’s hos
pital history and words of appre
ciation from all quarters.
The dedicatory address and
presentation of the plaque were
made by William F. Hender
son, executive secretary of the
N. C. Medical Care Com
mission.
To Repave 421
Vilas To TeJtHL -
*•'; ' of $115,S37^5!Ws
received by the State-Highway
pommission last Thursday for
O. 908 miles of bituminous binder
and surfacing US 421 between
Vilas and the Tennessee line.
Taylor Construction Co.,
Elizabethton, Tenn. made the
bid which will be reviewed for
approval by the Commission
when it meets Saptember 30.
“It is doubtful that anyone
here would believe that the
financing of such a tremendous
and costly project could have
been accomplished through local
resources entirely,’* said the
executive. “We have witnessed
a happy blending of both
government, local, State and
Federal, interests of a few
affluent friends, the grants of
private foundation and smaller
but sacrificial contributions.
Henderson cited funds sour
ces for the near-$2 million hos
pital as Federal Government,
46 per cent; the State, 6
■ wvi govern*
7 pfcr cint; and private
—6 per cent.
The Commission represent
ative delivered a searching
^tirfetory on the growing involve
ment of government in com
munity social welfare pro
grams, noting that in 40 years,
private and charitable giving
this country has increased
“ ~ 900 per cent, whtfe health,
education and welfare expendi
tures by all levels of government
has grown 2,000 per cent.
Recalling a speech by a New
York financeer, Henderson
asked “Why do we need private
philanthropy when government
appears so willing to take on
all responsibilities by simply
levying taxes to meet the
cost?” Henry C. Alexander,
speaking about the 40th anni
versary of The Duke Endow
ment, had answered “We need
private institutions in the field
erf health, education and welfare
to provide leadership, en
-couragft mnovatktaaod toguard
the standards of qu&Uty in the
administration of humanitarian
measures,
“We need them also to keep
the human quality of charity
itself from succumbing to the
dead hand of government con
trol.”
Henderson added that in in
stances where costly services
require government help,
“There is indeed a place for
Shelby Man Killed
In Accident On 321
Charges are pending in an
accident which Eriday night
claimed the life of a 19-year
old Gardner-Webb student from
Shelby.
Patrolman Gary L. Morgan
said Steve Dixon Blanton was
killed when the car in which
he was riding left Highway 321
near the entrance to Mystery
Hill and plunged down an em
bankment into a stream.
Blanton’s body was found in
the creek several feet from the
car. Reports were that the de
ceased may have drowned while
in a state of unconsciousness.
Driver of the car was Donald
Gene Dedman, 19, of Route 5,
Shelby. Morgan said he was
treated for cuts and bruise*
at Watauga County Hospital and
has been released.
Morgan said Dedman was
driving north toward Boone
and apparently attempted to
pass a northbound car, but tried
to cut back into his lane to
avoid an oncoming vehicle. The
car went out of control, struck
down seven guard rails and hit
a bridge abutment and tele
phone pole before overturning
down a 25-foot embankment.
The patrolman said the acci
dent took place in a no-passing
zone.
Mr. Blanton is survived by
his parents, Mr.and Mrs. David
L. Blanton of Grover Street,
Shelby; and his grandparents,
Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Dixon of
Shelby.
The funeral was held at 4:30
p. m. Sunday at Central
Methodist Church. Burial was
in Sunset Cemetery.
both government and private
involvement. . .if we insist
upon the proper proportion. The
people of Watauga County have
seemed to insist upon a pro
per proportion which will most
assuredly produce at least two
important and vital by-pro
ducts; namely, local pride and
community response to com
munity needs.”
TRIAL AND ERROR
Henderson presented the
(Continued on page eight)
Blowing Rock
Theatre Holds
Casting Calls
The Blowing Rock Com
munity Theatre will hold cast
ing calls for seven women and
three men to appear in its
forthcoming production of Bill
Johnson’s “Dirty Work at the
Crossroads.’*
The tryouts are scheduled for
the Theatre, across from the
post office, immediately after
open house, which is to be held
at 8 p. m. Sunday, Oct. 8, and
again on Oct. 9.
Mrs. Jean Baker of the pub
licity committee says that
Michael T. Vetrie has been
named permanent director for
the group and will handle the
Johnson play, the third of the
season.
Vetrie holds an M. A. degree
in speech from Louisiana State
University and now teaches at
ASU. He has written several
plays, one of which was pro
duced at the university, and
has directed production both
at ISU and ASU.
Mrs. Baker adds that ham
biscuits and coffee will be
served during open house.
Steve Dixon Blanton, IB, of Shelby died when this car embed Friday between Boone and Blowing Bock. (Flowers photo)
Travel Council Convention
Interstate Traffic Jams
Expected To Be Terrific
Says Autos To
Flee Back To
Other Highways
”You can drive in an air
conditioned car all over North
Carolina and sleep in air-con
ditioned rooms and get only
fleeting sensations of the salt
breezes of the coast and the
pine fragrance of the moun
tains.”
Thus Ed Y. Chapin m opposed
standardization of the travel
industry when he addressed the
North Carolina Travel Council
Sunday night at Holiday Inn of
Boone.
Chapin remembered the days
when the state’s Travel Coun
cil pioneered in the field erf
state promotion. But “Now al
most every state has a travel
council and sizable budgets to
tell their stories.”
“Unto These Hills, The Lost
Colony and Horn in the West
were among the first and best
of the outdoor dramas. Now
they have imitators.”
But while Chapin, president
of Tennessee’s Rock City Gar
dens, found much to dishearten
Travel Council members, he
was to brainstorm new trends
on the “plus side of progress,”
as he helped launch the annual
fall meeting of the corporation.
Council PresidentMrs. Ddt*is
B. Potter presided as the three
day session got underway. Dig
nitaries on hand included Wayne
Corpening, director of the N. C.
Department of Administration;
Rep. James T. Broyhill; Sen.
C. V. Henkel; Joseph Hunt,
chairman of the N. C. High
way Commission; and T. Wade
Bruton, attorney general erf
North Carolina.
The Appalachian State Uni
versity Chorale was joined on
the entertainment slate by Doc
Watson, internationally ac
claimed folk singer-guitarist.
PREVIEW?
Chapin presented a “parallel
theory" that when the majority
of America’s autos converge
on just 40,000 miles of com
pleted interstate highways, “the
traffic jams will be stag
gering.”
“Average speeds of travel
will drop to 50 and below.
Accidents will cause jams
stretching for mile after mile,
since the Interstate System is
a closed tunnel.”
The speaker earlier had de
scribed the interstates as a
pressure toward standard
ization of the travel industry,
saying the Interstate System
cuts through the land, “making
every city appear the same,
erasing state boundaries and
isolating the tourist in a tunnel
of concrete and green grass.”
He said by 1975, well over
150 million vehicles will be
using interstates, ‘ and this
means 3,700 vehicles—three
deep on four lanes—will have
one mile of Interstate to portion
out among themselves.”
So “automobiles will flee
back to other highways . . .
(Continued on page eight)
As the N. C. Travel Council convened here Sunday, featured speaker Ed Chapin Deft) was greeted
by Council President Mrs. Doris Potter and Ninth District Congressman James T. Broyhill. (Staff
photo)
Mt. Airy Man Is Elected
To Head University Board
John P. Frank of Mt. Airy,
has been elected chairman of
the Board of Trustees of Appa
lachian State University.
A member of the board for
the past 10 years, Frank
succeeds William J. Conrad of
Winston-Salem, who served as
chairman of the institution’s
trustees from 1949 until July
1 of this year.
Elected vice-chairman at a
board meeting here Sept. 23
was E. G. “Red” Lackey of
Winston-Salem. Ned Trivette,
ASU Director erf Business
Affairs, was re-elected treas
urer. Dr. W. H. Plemmons,
Appalachian President, is
secretary of the board.
In other action, the trustees
authorized the university to
submit a request for a $2
million loan to construct housing
for faculty members and mar
ried students.
The board approved a pro
posal that the N. C. Board
of Higher Education be asked to
allow Appalachian to award the
master's degree in geography.
The trustees officially
changed the name of the univer
sity's new student center to the
W. H. Plemmons Student Center,
The structure was dedicated as
the W. H. Plemmons College
Center prior to the action by the
General Assembly which gave
Appalachian university status.
The board also approved the
selection of architects for two
future construction projects.
Architects for the $2 million
housing project will be Liles,
Bisset, Carlisle & Wolff of
Raleigh. Architects for the
construction of about six tennis
courts, a $40,000 project, will
be T. C. Cook Engineers of Dur
ham.
One new member of the board,
Dwight W. Quinn of Kannapolis,
took the oath of office. He was
recently appointed to the board
by Gov. Moore.
Historical Group
Slates Meeting
A round-table discussion will
be the program for the annual
membership meeting of the
Southern Appalachian Historical
Association Monday, Oct. 9.
Herman Wilcox, manager of
Horn in the West, whichdrama is
controlled by the SAHA, says
the dinner meeting will be held
at 6:30 p. m. at the Daniel Boone
Hotel, Members are encouraged
to bring along their spouses.
Members will be invired to make
suggestions and ask questions
during the program hour.
Ballots were counted Monday,
Sept. 25, in the election of 10
persons to serve three-years as
directors of the Association.
Dr. J. C. Yoder was named
in the mail voting to serve the
two-year, unexpired term of the
Rev. Richard Crowder, former
pastor of Boone Methodist
Church.
Three-year directors are Bob
Allen, the Rev. J. Boyce Brooks,
Carl Fidler, Clyde R. Greene,
Stanely Harris Jr., Dr. C. Ray
Lawrence, Dr. W. H. Plemmons,
Wayne Richardson, Miss Jane
Smith and Mrs. B. W.Stallings.
The executive committee will
call a meeting for the election
of officers for the coming year.
Ashe And Watauga Sheriffs
Are Named In Damage Suit
The sheriffs of Ashe and
Watauga counties, a deputy
sheriff and a highway patrol
man are named in a $200,000
suit filed Wednesday by an Ashe
County man who claims they
shot him in violation of his
rights.
Lyalls who contended he was
shot June 22, filed the suit in
Federal Court in Greensboro.
Named defendants were
Sheriff Billy Brown of Ashe,
Sheriff Ward G. Carroll of Wat
auga, Deputy Sheriff Carl Miller
of Ashe, and State Highway
Patrolman Lloyd Burchette.
Sheriff Carroll tells the Dem
ocrat that until he and the other
officers file their answer to
the suit in the time prescribed
by law, he will have no com
ments for publication.
Lyalls charged that the four
officers and about 13 others
“acting in concert and through
a prearranged plan and con
spiracy’* entered his residence,
shot him several times and then
announced they had a warrant
charging him with a misde
meanor.
Lyalls said he was shot “in
his legs and extremities several
times.”
Lyalls said he intends to in
clude in the suit all persons who
entered his home with the four
officers named in the suit.
He asserted he “was totally
incapable of defending himself
against one man, not to take
into co-is id e ration approx
imately 17 men armed with fire
arms and other weapons, in
cluding tear gas.*'
JOHN P. FRANK
Work On Local
Cable Antenna
System Started
United Antenna Service of
Boone announces that crews
from Ameco have begun work
on the television cable system
which will bring CATV to Boone.
Ameco’s men were preceded
by the New River Lights Power
Company and Southern Bell
Telephone, who made changes
so that the CATV cable could
be installed on their facilities.
The franchise for the com
munity business was granted
last year by the Town of Boone,
which contracted the franchise
per year for a percentage of
the profits or $1,000, which
ever is greater. At that time,
the income tentatively was ear
marked for application to the
programs of the Boone Parks
& Recreation Commission.
M. E. Thalheimer explains
that CATV is the abreviation
for cable television and means
that television signals are coo
(Continued on page eight)
Schools Given
Surplus Foods
Watauga County School cafe
terias are able to provide
cheaper and better meals be
cause of surplus foods received
from the North Carolina De
partment of Agriculture Food
Distribution Division.
Tbs total value of foods re
ceived during the 1966-67 school
year amounted u $se,43a. lias
is a decrease from tha pre
vious year due to Federal cot
backs in the purchase of agri
culture products,_ . >;