Now A Door, Please
One would think that an
agency which is involved in
promoting safety, and em
phazing foresight on the part of
pedestrians and drivers would
be able to demonstrate a little
foresight on its own.
But apparently the N. C.
Department of Transportation is
lacking in such foresight.
A record of correspondence
between Superintendent of
Schools Harry C. Corbin and
DOT which we’ve seen dates
back 18 months—to around the
middle of 1973, in which Mr.
Corbin and the Board of
Education asked DOT for traffic
lights and left turn lanes at the
sight of the new schools.
Each new request brought the
answer from DOT that traffic
counts showed that the lights
and turn lanes were not
justified. Certainly they weren’t
justified with the traffic flow at
that time. But the DOT did
nothing about envisioning what
the traffic would be like after the
schools opened.
The new Brevard Elementary
School and the Brevard Middle
School are now open. And traffic
and congestion have school
officials and police tearing their
hair out, not to mention the
hundreds of parents who have
been hemmed in for long periods
trying to leave or pick up their
children.
Now the work by the DOT is
justified. But the mud and the
slush may slow it down for a
long period.
But we’d like to know why
DOT waited. Any second-grade
student, it seems to us, would
have been able to see what the
situation would be like when the
schools opened.
It reminds us of the ancient
architect who designed a
magnificent castle. When the
work was finally completed and
the last tile in place on the roof,
the architect came proudly to
view his handiwork.
But he couldn’t get in. He’d
forgotten to put in doors.
Good Job, Jimmy
Brevard was stunned on
Friday by the rapidly-scurrying
news that Police Chief James C.
Rowe had been relieved by the
Board of Aldermen on Thursday
night.
Mr. Rowe said that he had no
warning of any kind that his
resignation would be asked
when he arrived for work on
Friday morning.
It was, he said, a complete and
shocking surprise.
Unrest and dissension in the
17-member police department
was given as the reason. The
patrolmen threatened to resign
* unless Chief Rowe was fired. In
other words, Brevard would
have been left with a one-man
(Chief Rowe himself) police
department, as we understand
it.
What the reasons for the
unrest, we don’t know. We
haven’t learned the real facts of
the case. Perhaps Chief Rowe
was an excellent police officer,
but rated a lower mark in
handling his fine police force.
Whatever, it should be made
crystal clear that the board’s
action is no reflection on his
honesty or integrity.
What we want to say is
Thanks, (Jimmy.
While teaching law en
forcement classes in other
cities, he was a real credit to
Brevard. And his broad and
genuinely friendly smile and
quiCK neipiuiness iu cuizens anu
visitors on Brevard’s streets
stamped him as a fine public
relations man.
Mayor Charles Campbell says
he’s the best Brevard ever had.
The short time we have been
privileged to know him, Chief
Rowe has impressed us
tremendously with his abilities
and his personality.
We expect him to move up in
crime prevention and law en
forcement circles. For the sake
of the state’s citizenry we
certainly hope he stays in this
field, although he could
probably make a lot more
money as a salesman. He’s
certainly equipped with the
talents to make any firm a
topnotch salesman.
In Brevard he built up what is
certainly one of the finest small
town police departments in the
nation. The officers here are
respected and deserving of that
respect.
Acting Chief Neugene Stiles
has some big shoes to fill, and
we wish him every success in
carrying on the work of the
department Hopefully, morale
within the department will rise
now, and members of the police
force will concentrate all then
energies on law enforcement.
But Chief Rowe will be
missed. Brevard owes him a
sizeable debt of gratitude.
The Transylvania Times
100 Broad Street Brevard, N. C. 28712
The Transylvania Pioneer, established 1867; The French Broad Voice, established
1888; The Brevard Hustler, established 1891; The Sylvan Valley News (later
Brevard News), established 1896; The Times, established 1931; Consolidated 1932.
A STATE AND NATIONAL PRIZE-WINNING NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHED MONDAY, THURSDAY
ED M. ANDERSON—Publisher—1941-1958
JOHN I. ANDERSON—Editor-Gen. Mgr .-1941-1974
MRS. ED M. ANDERSON, Publisher
CLYDE K. OSBORNE—Editor
BILL NORRIS, Assoc. Ed. and Adv. Mgr.
MRS. MARTHA STAMEY Office Mgr.
DOROTHY W. OSBORNE, Women’s Ed.
ESTON PHILLIPS, Printing Dept. Head
GORDON BYRD, Prod. Foreman
D. C. WILSON, Printer
DAVID METCALF, Compositor
PAM OWEN, Teletype Setter
CINDY BYRD, Teletype Setter
JULIE LINDGREN, Clerk-Typist
SUBSCRIPTION RATES PER YEAR
Inside the County—$12 year Outside the County $15.00
$8 Six Months $9.00 Six Months
MEMBER OF
National Editorial Association
North Carolina Press Association
ET-up ■ ■' ii|i v
:0W ~fcansy)'/aoiaI
Dimes_ |
% «I
rffr/Tffr r '' f'r r' T
A )i++)<£. Country s1b n®., located
where. Straus School how is^
was the meeting place, in 1841
for three men who -founded
Transylvania coun'fy and.
created J3nsvard- as the
County Seat. ~t~h& -thr&e.
town -fathers were Ueander
Gash, Alexander Hn^/and
and ^^^Ton LanK-fond*.
The. state legislature,
oranT&d. the.nr petition
To slice, off parts of Hen
derson andUscKSon countfes
fb/Transy/vania, "The men
donated fifty acres and
hOain Street was /aid. out
for- The town 3^ is. Their
first ScT uuas ~to order
the. buildmo of a jai I.
Ifarfrarwhave. a tom//i,
Veer's bu'iU *J*'L “ "
-n v 6/^-'
Human Condition
Why Do Fetal Monitoring?
BY DR. MARTIN WINGATE
Professor of Obstetrics,
Gynecology and Pediatrics
Thomas Jefferson University
A reader writes, “Why am I
hearing so much about fetal
monitoring during childbirth?
Women used to deliver
healthy babies without all
these electronic hookups.”
Every year more thhan
60,000 babies are thought to be
born with severe and easily
recognizeable physical
handicaps or brain damage.
An even greater number of
children exhibit mental and
physical handicaps during
childhood and adolescence.
We know very little about
the many causes for these
handicaps, which show
themselves as learning
disabilities, hyper activity
and spasticity. Physicians are
investigating and learning
more and more about the
causes of these handicaps.
Some research, into fields
including genetic defects or
disorders caused by poor
nutrition, are supported by
private and government
research grants, and new
areas of research are being
opened up constantly.
Oxygen deprivation during
pregnancy and labor is now a
well-documented cause for
mental and physical defects in
experimental animals. It is
extremely likely that a
reduced oxygen supply to the
human fetus or newborn child
is also responsible for
resultant physical and mental
handicaps in a youngster.
child.
Monitoring allows doctors to
continuously watch the effects
of drugs, anesthetics, labor
and changes in the internal
environment, as well as man;
other conditions which ma;
have an effect on the well
being of the fetus and newbon
baby.
EDITORIAL PAGE
THE TRANSYLVANIA. TIMES
(Editor’s Note: Letters must be brief, signed typed or written
legibly on one side of paper. We reserve the right to reject, edit,
or condense. Letters should be received by The Times by
Monday mornings.) -
Dear Editor:
I would like to thank you for
the splendid coverage given
the County Child Development
Program in your Jan. 6 issue.
I have been meaning to write
to thank you for the items you
have been carrying con
cerning preschoolers and toys,
preschoolers and play, and
other related items. We deeply
appreciate your concern for
the very young in Tran
sylvania County.
I overlooked telling Mrs.
Osborne about our work with
the handicapped children in
the county. In October of ’73,
at the request of the Board of
the Jack and Jill Center, we
assumed responsibility for
serving the handicapped
child.
To our knowledge, we are
serving every such child who
is eight years or under, and
not in the public school, with
the exception of one being
served in a church center, and
one whose family does not
desire the service. This
special feature of service
might make a good story at
some future date.
Some folk who have read the
very excellent feature on child
care have misconstrued the
statement about “application
for services’’. This was in
tended to say that we are
receiving applications for
'children to be served. We
already have ample staff for
any new facility we can open
at this point.
Cordially yours,
Elizabeth Provence
County Child
Development Coor
dinator
To The Editor
Mr. Clyde Osborne
I read with interest the
comments made by the Board
of Elections on the voting
machines and the cause of
their malfunctions.
They say the cause was the
switchover from the primary
election. These machines
were not used in the Primary.
They could not supply the
county with the 25 machines
needed, so they borrowed the
machines ued in the primary.
These new ones were
brought in not long before the
general election.
Only one of the new ones
was used in the courthouse for
demonstration purposes. All
precinct officials and workers
were called to the courthouse
for the purpose of getting
familiar with its use. v
I am told the seals on the
front had not been broken until
the day of the election. I have
voted on and have worked
with these machiens in other
places and am acquainted
with their use.
The protective and public
counters on the outside of the
machines should talley — if
they’re started on 0000. Since
these machines had not been •
in use they should have tallied:
'i1'
I was told Eastatoe, Dunns
Rock, and No. 3 in Brevard
had several numbers on them
at the beginning, causing tijp;
counters not to be right. I hawk
done some checking and havp
come to the conclusion that
the voting process, as stated*
is not getting more and more
honest. I doubt that. Only time
will tell.
The Board of Elections
stated they would have the
Shoup Company (from whieh
the machines were pur
chased) to come and oversee
the election.
I believe the county is ahle
and capable of running its o«[n
elections without help from
outsiders. I have not been in
the county too long, but long
enough to be interested in its
welfare and honesty.
Thomas R. Richards
Dear Mr. Osborne:
Please place the following in
your paper:
I wish to express my sincere
gratitude to the Doctors and
nursing staff of the Tran
sylvania Hospital for the kind
and expert care given to F. J.
Almgren, Sr.
Ruth W. Rich
and Family
Prime Time
Exploring the Meaning of Dying
By Bernard E. Nash
Except for those dark mo
ments of an occasional sleepless
night when a restless mind pond
ers the limits of our mortality,
I frankly doubt that most of us
devote much thought to the in
evitable prospect of death. Yet,
many people are doing just that
—and their number appears to
be growing.
At one time or another, we
have all probably thought about
the possibility of
our own death,
and hopefully
taken steps to
protect our
k loved ones in
n
nmmm case tne unuxeiy
Bernard Nash should ocCur.
However, this current trend
goes a bit further, and the peo
ple involved in it are actually
attempting to explore the mean
ing of death and—perhaps of
even greater significance—the
process of dying.
While this may strike some as
being morbid, it could actually
be a very healthy sign. Death
and dying is, after a|l, an in
escapable experience with which
we wilt all be confronted some
day—and one which might in
time be made less terrifying as
a result of this current wave of
interest.
m
Between people who are dyir
and their families, maintains Dr.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss
psychiatrist practicing in Chi
cago, there is all-too-often a
wall of silence at a time when
human contact and comfort are
so desperately needed. Both
know the end is near, but are
unable to mention it
■
less openly discuss it with—each '
other.
Often, the patient—and who
has a greater right to know?—
isn’t told he or she is dying.
Frequently, the fact is recog
nized instinctively, but no one
says anything. Even on those
occasions when the patient re
veals his or her awareness, it is
usually contradicted.
The end result of this “con
spiracy of silence” is that the
patient dies without having had
an opportunity to say things pre
viously left unsaid and to other
wise put one’s personal house
in order. And die loved ones
are left burdened not only with
grief, but with the added frus
tration of never having been able
to say good-bye with all which
that implies.
In contrast, Dr. Kubler-Ross
—and those therapists following
in her footsteps—seek to ease
the agony by helping the dying
patient (and his family) to, in
her words, “come to grips with
his illness and his ultimate
death” so that “he will be able
to die with peace and in a stage
of acceptance.’
While this
( which
with
“death i
As might be expected, the
book's initial audience was com
posed mainly of her fellow psy
chiatrists and psychologists as
well as doctors, nurses and oth- ■
ers who deal with dying patients
and their families. Then, in the
early 1970's, a paperback edition
was released, and the public
discovered new life in the sub
ject of death.
This year, Dr. Kubler-Ross f‘
gave us another excellent book
— “Questions and Answers
About Death and Dying”—
which serves as an ideal intro- ,
duction not only to the subject
itself, but also to her original
longer work. It, too, is available
in both paperback and hard
cover.
As the initial trickle turned
into a flood of books—many «
specifically written for popular
consumption — and television
documentaries, a rapidly grow
ing number of colleges and even
some high schools began to
offer courses in the new subject
of thanatology, which literally
means “the study of death.”
Exactly why is not yet dear,
but there is little doubt that