Net Paid
CIRCULATION
Lait Week
2757
fftinklin
&>* JHatoman
The real crisis in the
American public school
is not a financial crisis
but a crisis involving
the quality of the edu
cation offered.
? Dr. Arthur Bestor.
71st Year ? No. 52
Franklin, N. C., Thursday, December 27, 1956
Price 10 Cents
Twelve Pages
Water Survey Airs
Different Methods
Engineers Favor
Surface Supply
Over Gravity Type
Gravity flow from a water
shed versus a surface supply Is
the central theme of a prellmi
ary water survey now being
pondered by Franklin Mayor W.
C. Burrell and his aldermen.
On the basis of the survey, a
surface supply from, a nearby
stream is considered preferable
by the firm of municipal engi
neers that conducted the study
on orders of the town.
Its recommendations:
Development of a surface
water supply <m Caj-tooge -
cheye Creek; construction of a
filtering plant and Clearwater
reservoir with a daily capacity
of one million gallons; instal
lation of a force main from
the plant to Harrison Avenue
at the storage tanks; and a
trained operator to operate
the plant.
Estimated cost: $335,580.
Financing: An expenditure
of this' size would require a
bond election. The engineer
ing firm suggests floating
bonds in the amount of $350,
000 in the event the project
should cost more than the
preliminary estimates.
Watershed Impractical
The firm, Harwood Beebe
Company, of Spantanburg, S. C.,
considers a gravity flow water
shed for the town impractical
on the grounds that "a good
quality of water could be secur
ed from any of these water
sheds (four possible Sites are
covered in the report), but they
are not sufficiently free of pol
lution to meet the requirements
of the State Board of Health
for an unfiltered water supply.
Those requirements are that a
watershed shall be owned by
the municipalities, fenced and
patrolled to prevent trespassing,
unless the water is to be filter
ed. Chlorination is required in
any case.
"Besides this, the limited
available water supply cannot
justify the large expenditure re
quired . .
o ,5uuit'c3 ruunu
In recommending the utiliza
tion ol a surface water system
to ease the town's water prob
lem, the municipal engineers re
ported they found three possible
sources of supply ? the Little
Tennessee River, Cullasaja Riv
er, and Cartoogechaye Creek.
Although It has a drainage
area of 150 square miles and an
abundant flow of water during
all seasons, the report elimi
nates the Little Tennessee on
two counts; wastes from some
small Industries and several
communities empty into It, and
there is always a possibility
that other industries will settle
within Its drainage area.
Might Object
Likewise, the Cullasaja River
is 'dropped from consideration
because the Town of Highlands
is situated in its watershed and
maintains a sewage disposal
plant on a tributary. While the
aihount of sewage effluent is
small and the stream is aerated
in its course of 16 miles down
the mountain to Franklin, the
engineers feel there still might
be some local objections to using
the water.
That leaves the third source,
Cartoogechaye Creek, as the
most desirable.
Located on the south side of
Franklin, the creek has a drain
age area of 55 square miles,
most of it within the Nantahala
National Forest, making it an
"exceptionally clean watershed
that is not open to industrial
development."
Although there are no runoff
records available for the stream,
the engineering firm notes "it
is logical to assume that it is
approximately the same per
square mile as that of the Cul
lasaja River. Taking the min
imum of 0.2 cubic feet per sec
ond. this gives a discharge of
7.2 million gallons per day as
minimum flow to be expected."
This amount, the report de
clares, "is adequate for any
foreseeable needs of Franklin."
3 Intake Locations
Three locations for an intake
on the creek were considered,
with the final decision going to
SEE NO. 1, PAGE 12
Tax Listers
Are Selected
For County
Tax list takers, appraiseors, and
farm census officials have been
appointed by Board of County
Commissioners for Macon County's
11 townships.
Lake V. Shope, tax supervisor,
has called a meeting of these offi
cials for Monday at 10 a. m. at
the courthouse.
The group will meet with the
Board of County Commissioners
and be told what percentage of
actual value to use In the revalua
tion of property.
Following is a list of officials
for each township. The list taker
is the first named, the next two
are appraisers, and the last is the
farm census taker.
Franklin Township: Frank I.
Murray; Lake R. Ledford and Gay
Sutton; J. R. Morrison.
Millshoal Township: Harold
Cabe; Woodrow Franklin and J.
M. Raby: Mrs. Jack Cabe.
Ellijay Township: Mrs. Leslie
Young; J. M. McCoy and George
Stanfield; John Bryson.
Sugarfork Township: Raymond
Wood; A. B. Potts and Brisco
Dills; Mr. Wood.
Highlands Township: Neville
Bryson ; Harry Holt and W. P.
Pierson; A. B. Potts (not the same
Mr. Potts as in Sugarfork >.
Flats Township: Earl Dryman:
Raymond Penland and Tolliver
Vinson; Mrs. Earl Dryman.
Smithbridge Township: C. S.
Sams; Tom McDowell and Lester
Norton; Bob Stewart.
Cartoogechaye Township: Mrs.
Bryan Setser; Oscar Lewis and
Bob Southard: one of Mr. Lewis's
daughters.
Nantahala Township: Newell
Baldwin; B. A. Baldwin and
Wymer Cochran; Sam Waters.
Burningtown Township: Bob
Parrish; Floyd Ramsey and Den
nis Ghormley; Fred Ledford.
Cowee Township: W. R. Gibson:
Carl Sorrells and Frank Brown
ing; Mrs. Carol Gibson.
Local Girls
Win Another
The Franklin High School girls'
basketball team came from behind
last Thursday night to beat Fines
Creek, 41-35, and lenghten their
?win record to seven. They are un
defeated this season.
In the boys' game, Franklin
whipped Fines Creek, 59 to 46.
Mavis Gibson was high scorer
for the grls with 20 points. Will
ard Smith led the boys with 20.
Halftime score in the girls' game
was 17-11, In favor of Fines Creek.
The Franklin boys led at the half,
27-17.
Friday. Jan. 4, there will be a
game with Hayesville here and
on the eighth, Franklin will go
to Clayton.
Prices Being Cut
To Test Attendance
As an experiment, admission
prices to the Jan. 4. basketball
Ptame here between Franklin and
Hayesville will be cut in half.
Instead of the regular $1 for
adults and 50 cents for students,
the game prices will be 50 and
25 cents, according to Principal
Harry C. Corbin.
If increased attendance justifies
it. he s?id the lower prices will
be used for the remainder of the
season.
*1 7
company wants
More Stock For
Phone Expansion
Western Carolina Telephone
Company- which provides tele
phone service to Macon County,
has applied to the State Utili
ties Commission for authority
to issue more stock in order to
get money to carry forward the
company's expansion program.
The company wants to issue
44.615 shares of its $5 par value
stock. It proposes to offer the
stock to its stockholders at a
price of $6 a share and at a
rate of one new share for each
five held.
? Prv&a Staff Layout
Six-Year-Old Alma Smith . . . 'I'll Give Him My Heart'
Tags Going On
Sale Wednesday
North Carolina's orange-and
black auto license tags go on sale
locally next Wednesday (Jan. 2).
They'll be available at the
branch office of Carolina Motor
Club, situated in the rear of the
Western Auto Associate Store in
Franklin.
With the exception of a noon
closing each Wednesday, the sale
hours will be 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.
daily.
License renewal cards already
are arriving in the mail, acord
ing to Verlon Swafford, C. M. C.
manager, and he urges mortorists
to buy their tags early and avoid
the last-minute rush at the Feb.
15 deadline.
The '57 color scheme is black
background and orange letters and
numerals.
RITE AT BETHEL
Bethel church will be host to
the "watch night" service on the
Franklin Methodist Circuit. It will
begin at 8 p. m. and an invitation
is extended to everyone by the
pastor, the Rev. R. L. Poindexter.
A Christmas Story
By J. P. BRADY
A bright-eyed six-year-old
girl, , who had every reason to
be drying, laughed from a wide
dimpled smile and recited:
"What shall I give Him, as
small as I am?
"If I were a shepherd, I'd
bring Him a lamb.
"If I were a wise man, i
I'd do my part,
"I know what I'll give Him,
I'll give Him my heart."
Heart, you see, has a lot to do
with this true Christmas story. \
The recitation was offered on :
Christmas Eve by little Alma i
Smith. She spoke from a small i
crib sitting in a corner of a i
bedroom ? a corner brightened 1
by the presence of her broad
smile, a small Christmas tree, :
and a big pile of packages sus
piciously resembling gifts.
The small crib in which she :
lay has been the center of her ]
world for nearly a year. i
Last December, the young !
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. C. i
("Radiator") Smith, of the Iotla i
section, contracted scarlet fever.
She spent 'Christmas in bed.
After recovering from this
disease, the child fought two
cases of measles, streptococcus
throat, tonsilitis, pneumonia,
and intestinal influenza. ?
This Christmas found the
youngster again in bed because
of rheumatic fever.
Breathlessly, little Alma talk
ed of Christmas and the things
she would like to have.
A newspaper reporter and one
of Santa's helpers, Paul Swaf
ford (who told of Alma's con
dition in a letter to The Press
last week i listened ? and profit
ed, too, from the courage shown
by the child.
"I'm sure he'll come," she
said.
And come he did.
With the assistance of some
anonymous helpers, Santa Claus
heaped toys, books, candy, and
slothing on six-year-old Alma
Smith ? a smiling child who
pledged her heart from a small
irlb.
Higdonville's Winning Christmas Scene
Clay County Man
Held In Slaying
Shotgun Blast
Kills Storekeeper
Christmas Eve
A 35-year-old Clay County
man has been charged with
murder In the 6 p. m. Christ
mas Eve shotgun slaying of a
Macon County country store
keeper, C. L. (Cecil) Ledford.
Sheriff J. Harry Thomas read
the murder warrant to James
Maney, of Shooting Creek, In a
local hospital several hours
after Maney and Ledford en
gaged in a gun fight at Led
ford's store In the Cartooge
chaye community.
While officers searched for
him and a companion in Clay
County, Maney turned up at
Angel Clinic In Franklin for
Franklin Yule
Winners Given
Winners were announced this
week for the Franklin Garden
Club's annual town Christmas
decorations contest.
They are: public building, St.
Francis Catholic Church; yard,
Dr. and Mrs. Frank M Killian,
with honorable mention to .Mr.
and Mrs. Wayne Proffitt; pret
tiest window, Mr. and Mrs. A.
J. Wilhide, with honorable men
tion to the sophomore home
room of Miss Adelaide Brewer,
Of Franklin High School; and
prettiest doorway, Franklin High
School, prepared by the senior
class.
The first place winners each
will receive a Nandina plant
from the garden- club. A secret
panel of three judges selected
the winners,
Want To 'Adopt'
A Refugee?
Want to "adopt" a Hungar
ian refugee?
Thousands of them have
fled to America, in quest of
freedom, and. a new ahance in
life.
The first thing they need is
a job. Have you an opening?
If so, write Refugees, care
The Press, stating what the
job is, what it will pay, and
if there is adequate housing
available.
For details, inquire at The
Press office.
Higdonville
Wins Rural
Yule Contest
Higdonville's scene of a Ma
donna and child won the 1956
rural community Christmas dec
oration contest last week, after
a secret panel of judges broke
a first-place tie between it and
Iotla.
Iotla was second; Cartooge
chaye, third; Clark's Chapel,
fourth; and Cowee, fifth. Prize
money is $30, $25, $20, $15, and
$10, donated by Nantahala Pow
er and Dight Company.
In breaking the first-place
tie, the judges said they chose
Higdonville because its scene
showed greater originality and'
simplicity. On attractiveness,
the third criterion in judging
the community scenes, they
scored Higdonville and Iotla
equally.
The Higdonville scene is lo
cated on Highway 64, east. The
Madonna and child are within
a white frame and are contrast
ed against a background of
aluminum foil. Several tall elec
trically-lighted candles are in
front of the frame, on the
ground.
The Iotla display is a scene
of the angel appearing to the
shepherds. In the background
can be seen the city of Bethle
hem. Christmas music is played
over a speaker.
Cartoogechaye's third place
winner is the Madonna and
child figure in a stained glass
window. The fourth and fifth
place winners, Clark's Chapel
and Cowee, respectively, both
had manger scenes.
Three of the other four en
tries had manger displays also.
These were Cullasaja, Otto, and
?Carson. The fourth, Patton,
showed a family attending
church.
treatment of a gunshot wound
in the abdomen, allegedly in
flicted by Ledford.
Is Under Guard
Maney, who Is kept under
special guard at night at the
hospital, admitted to Highway
Patrolman E. H. Hooper that he
blasted Ledford with a 12-gauge
shotgun after the storekeeper
shot him with a pistol.
R. C. Ledford, also of Shoot
ing Creek, Maney's companion,
backed up the wounded man's
story and also filled in some of
the links in the chain of events
leading to the gunfight between
the two men, according to the
sheriff. Ledford, who is no kin
to the slain man, has been
charged by Sheriff Thomas with
aiding and abetting the murder
of the storekeeper. He was ar
rested about 45 minutes after
he and Maney's brother drove
the wounded man to the hos
pital.
Trouble Brewing
Sheriff Thomas said trouble
began brewing between the
three men at the store a couple
of hours before the shooting.
The officer said it was his un
derstanding the storekeeper said
the two Clay County men had
taken some goods from his store
and this touched off the trouble.
Begs With Him
An eye-witness to the slaying,
Mrs. Nell Shope, Ledford's sister,
related that she saw Maney
pounding at the door of the
store and pointing a shotgun,
She said she begged him not to
shoot and that Maney replied:
' He shot me and I'm going
to shoot him."
Fired from the outside, the
blast from Maney's shotgun
went through the screen door
and glass of the main door.
Ledford's body was found
crumpled just inside the door
way of living quarters at the
rear of the store, some 30 feet
away from where Maney report
edly stood.
Pistol Under Body
A .32 calibre pistol from which
SEE NO. 3, PAGE 12
Not White,
Just Cold
It wasn't a white Christmas in
Macon County, but it was a cold
one.
After Florida-like temperatures
for several weeks, the weather
turned cold Christmas Eve and
by morning the thermometer had
dropped to 28 in Franklin and
Coweeta and 21 in Highlands.
The cold snap lingered and
Wednesday morning readings of
17 in Franklin. M8 at Coweeta,
and 20 in Highlands were record
ed.
Although Highlands is twice the
altitude of Franklin, often this
fall its low temperatures have
been several degrees higher than
the lows at Franklin and Coweeta.
This is caused by air drainage.
The heavy cold air at the higher
altitudes presses down on the
warm air in the lower elevations
and the air masses swap places,
causing a corresponding change
in temperatures, acording to wea
ther officials.
The Weather
The week's temperatures and rainfall below
r?>corde?| in Franklin by Manwon Stiles.
U. S. weather observer; in Highlands by
Tudor N. Hall and W. C. Newton. TV A
observers: and at the Coweta HVdroIogic
Laboratory' Head inns are for the 24-hour
period ending at H a.m. of the day listed.
FRANKLIN
Wed.. Dec. 19 58
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Wed.; Dec
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
60
69
65
63
58
42
COWEETA
19
58
63
69
58
63
53
41
Wed.
HIGHLANDS
Dec.. 19 55
Thursday 56
Friday 62
Saturday 56
Sunday 52
Monday 48
Tuesday 36
Wednesday
'Rainfall data not available (or
the week.
40
44
50
51
53
36
28
17
42
44
53
50
52
47
28
18
42
43
51
50
46
42
21
20
.00
.02
.08
.89
.87
.87
.00
.00
.00
.08
1.00
1.24
.97
.00
.00
.00