FOLK LIBRARY 11 r.ov 91 ;'a‘. , 204 WALX”:. ST. COLJLIBUS, 11 G 2Q722 2nd Clan Postage at Tryon. North Carolina 28782 and additional post offices Postmaster: send address changes to The Tryon Daily Bulletin, PO. Box 790, Tryon. N. C. 28782 THE WORLD’S SMALLEST DAILY NEWSPAPER Founded Jan. 31. 1928 by Seth M. Vining (Consolidated with the Polk County News 1955) Jeffrey A. Byrd, Editor and Publisher The Tryon Daily Bulletin (USPS ^3-360) is published daily except Sat. and Sun. for $35 per year by the Tryon Daily Bulletin, Inc. 106 N. Trade St.. P.O. Box 790, Tryon, N.C. 28782 The Tryon Daily Bulletin Phone 859-9151 Printed In the THERMAL BELT of Western North Carolina 36 Pages Today Vol. 65 - No. 221 The weather Wednesday, high 56, low 31, hum. 32 percent. "Where are the birds?" asks Lou Blair. The bird feeders at his home in Morgan Chapel Village have stood empty much of the time this year, he says, contrary to the crowd of feath ered friends he usually attracts. We'll soon know for sure if the bird count is down. FENCE'S annual Christmas bird count is being held tomorrow. Meet in the Tryon Plaza parking lot at 8 a.m. if you would like to go along. * * * Folks, if you think communi ties should not be torn apart it is time to write to the General Assembly members represent ing Polk County and let them know that most county residents don't feel "ripped off''by having South Carolina students in our schools. If you agree, you can tell them we would feel "ripped off if our legislators failed to take into account natural com munity associations. Write to the Asheville Citi zen-Times, The Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer while you're at it. State legislators probably read these more quickly than their (Continued On Back Page) TRYON. N. C 28782 Mountain Home Engineer Pleads To Church Burglary A Mountain Home civil engineer pled guilty Tuesday to 11 counts of breaking and entering in Polk County, along with 117 other theft-related crimes in three other counties. Prosecutors called Thomas Thurmond Dillard Jr., whose crimes involved churches, busi nesses and medical offices, a one-man crime wave. The Hendersonville Times- News reported that Dillard, 40, said he was sorry and wants to repay the $29,000 he owes the victims of his crimes when he went before the judge to plead guilty Tuesday in Henderson County Superior Court. "I am not going to stand here and attempt to make excuses for the magnitude of these crimes," a soft-spoken Dillard told Superior Judge Paul Wright of Goldsboro. "But 1 am sincerely regretful and ashamed for what has brought me before this court today." A father of seven who holds a bachelor's degree in civil engi neering from N.C. State Uni versity and was once named as a scholar, Dillard was described by detectives as "the most honest crook" they know. Of the felonies, Dillard pleaded guilty to 73 counts of breaking and entering, 53 counts of larceny and two counts of safecracking. Of the (Continued On Back Page) title Per 1 ops FRIDAY, DEC. 20,1991 Visitors From China Xiaoqin Liu is remembered in this area as the AFS exchange English teacher for the school year 1986-87. Now working in her hometown, Xian, Shaanxi, China, she manages the American and European Section of Xian Travel Service. She and the Deputy General Manager, Mr. Baoan Dang, are visiting Travel Service agencies in the United States. For their few days here they are guests of Rev. and Mrs. Richard Jackson. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lovelace hosted an afternoon tea for Liu's many acquaintances, and Mr. and Mrs. William Chaffee are hosts for seeing the sights and getting the plane for their last business stop, Tampa, Fla. Mrs. Jackson is pictured with her guests. —Community Reporter New Arrival Tim Tullock and Julie Edney Tullock are the proud parents of Elizabeth Darlene, 5 lbs. 15 oz., born December 18, 1991, at Catawba Hospital, Hickory, Maternal grandparents are Mr and Mrs. Carl Edney, Edney Road, Tryon. Paternal grand parents are Mr. and Mrs. Jim Tullock of Morristown, TN Office Closed The Polk County Board of Education office will be closed Christmas Week, Dec. 23 - 27. Purchase Home Richard and Vonda Krahn of Elgin, IL have purchased a new home from Andy Metcalf Con struction Co. on Blanton Street Ext., Columbus. Peggy Dedman of Coldwell Banker was listing agent and selling agent for the transaction.