I Teacher, Artist Concludes 13 Years Of Foster Care tN.C. Linda Gail King graduated hool just a few days ago. She has child in the home of Mn. Thaida the past four years. With Linda's idulthood and the pursuit of a rung, foster mother Roberts also roll ? retirement. rts has served foster children for Children's Homes of N.C. for rs. When she and her husband, pun serving children they were i. She was a public school teacher berts was a music instructor for [lege Mr. Roberts' untimely death shortly after heir home was licensed for foster care has eft Mrs. Roberts alone with this challenge. "Mrs. Roberts has served children from all nsuts of North Carolina and she has done an lutstanding job," comments Hugh Stames, Western Area Administrator for the BCH. Since retirement from teaching, Mrs. Roberts has studied art and is a very uccessful artist now. Her works in pastels, ills, and chalk have been very well received in everal art shows in western North Carolina ind are selling well, according to Mr. Stames, [he artist has supplied paintings as door irises for the past two Christmas parties for,, vestern area foster families. . Anyone visiting Mrs. Roberts' home now will soon hear her speak of former children rhO send Mother's Day cards, flowers and etters to thank her for her investment in their ives. LINDA GAIL KING gowns up for high school | fhaida Roberts helps with pride. Mrs. Roberts has ackground are samples of Mrs. Roberts' newest graduation as retiring foster mother, Mrs. been a foster parent for 13 years. In the interest: painting. She has held several uccessful art shows already in Western North Carolina. "Mrs. Thaida Roberts will be missed as a foster mother but she will continue to be a treasured friend," Stames notes. Pick Vegetables Properly Growing your home garden vegetables properly is only h*lf the game. You've got to pick them right, too. Tfcke lima beans, for example. North Carolina State University extension hor ticulturists point out that limas that stay on the bush too long are likely to be less tasty and flavorful. They probably will have a starchy taste. Picking too early is wasteful, so look for a happy medium. A good way to tell when the bean is ready to pick is the change in color. Green seeded types of limas turn white as they become over-mature. Speckled seeded types develop specks or blotches as the green color fades. Picking snap beans at the right time is important, too. Pick these when pods are fully developed but when seeds are no more than 50 percent of their normal size. If you let them stay on the bush too long, you'll have beans with too much fiber. The real test of gardening know-how is picking sweet born at just the proper time. Experience is the only thing that will make you an expert. It's a shame to waste yield by picking the ears when they are grossly immature. On the other hand, corn left on the stalk far too long isn't good for much but feeding the livestock. On the other hand,if -it-is- only slightly beyond maturity, there is some reduction in quality but the volume is much greater. If you're inexperienced, there is only one solution: trial and error. But don't ppll back . the shuck on the tips of too many ears. Exposed kernels attract large numbers of in sects, and they can destroy the ear in short order. > < Pulling tomatoes isn't so < critical. You can pretty weU I see what you're getting whrnSl you take them from the vine. %? you're canning the tomatoes, pick them fully, red ripe but not mushy. Registration Deadline Is Mon., July 19 The Madison County board of elections reminds voters that the registration deadline for the Aug. 17 primary is July I9at4:30p.m. This deadline also applies to those who have changed their address or moved to another precinct. "Those voters residing in the north and south precincts who have moved since their initial registration should contact the board-vf elections to make sure they are registered in the proper precinct since the formal. Marshall precinct has been divided," officials said. MADISON COUNTY'S Bicentennial Com mittee has placed a historical marker in Walnut which proclaims the village was once ? known as Jewell Hill and was the county seat of government. Boating Checklist Available , Do buoys confuse you? you remember which ones to pass on the right, and which oir the left? If you're like most boat ' >wners, these things can be confusing. That's why tM liorth Carolina Wildlife teeources Commission is tffcring a free decal that you can mount on your boat (in the ...cockpit or anywhere you like) that will give you this boating ?-information at a glance. 1. For a free one, write DECAL, N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Division of Motor boats and _ Water Safety, 32S N. Salisbury Street. Raleigh, 27611. Tomato Varieties To Be Developed The North Carolina Ajp-icultural Experiment Station has employed a scientist to develop new and Improved tomato varieties for Western North Carolina. Dr. Kenneth R. Keller, acting station director, said the scientist is Dr. Randolph G. Gardner, a recent graduate of Cornell University. He will be stationed at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station at Fletcher. Dr. Gardner's primary job will be to develop and -test- ? General Fund Collections Up Nearly 20% May net N. C. General Fund collection* amounted to $118.9 miitfam compared to $187.8 million collected in May, 1979, an increase of $25.1 million, or 19.8 percent. For the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, net General Fund collections wore $1.4775 billion compared to $1.3779 billion for the first 11 months of the 1974-75 fiscal year, an increase of $99.8 million, or 7.23 percent. May net Highway Fund collections amounted to $26.7 million compared with $24.6 million collected in May, 1975, an increase of $2.1 million or 8.6 percent. Gasoline Tax receipts amounted to $23.2 million compared to $22 million collected in May, 1975, an increase of $1.2 million, or 5.47 percent. Net Highway Fund collec tions for the first 11 months of the current fiscal year were $356 million as compared to $330 million collected during the first 11 months of the 1974 75 fiscal year. ? ^ F ? Farm Tips ?y Or. J. W. Pou Agricultural tp?cl1irt Wachovia Bank A Truat Co, NJL FARM RECORDS PROGRAM SERVES MANY PURPOSES r, A milk producer in the Piedmont, through a ^ study of computer processed business records for o dairy farms throughout the state, learned that his o milk output was well below average and his costs T were substantially higher than for most other opar- -5 ations of similar size, according to Bill Humphries, >' agricultural information specialist at N. C. State University. The farmer realized immediately that he couldn't afford to stay in milk production unless he could improve the efficiency of his operation. He sought and obtained the assistance of a county extension agent in revamping his breeding and feeding practices. In just one year, his herd average in milk output was increased by 2,000 pounds per cow. "This farmer didn't realize how poorly he was doing until he saw a summary of the records of other dairymen with operations of similar size," said Stephen R. Sutter, extension farm records t specialist at North Carolina State University. N. C. State University has been conducting a~I computer farm records program since the mid,.. 1960s. It has been expanded gradually until it now includes 335 farmers producing commodities rang-.^ ing from milk, beef and hogs to poultry, tobacco, other field crops, and fruit and other horticultural-; crops. . The benefits of the program, however, are not;, limited to participating fanners. In fact, the major J purpose of the program is educational. The records " of producers of various commodities provide valu- ; able information that is used by extension agent$"= and specialists in seeking to improve farm produc- c tion and marketing efficiency throughout the state.c Sutter said farm business records help the fanner in several ways: ? ? They facilitate income tax filing. ? They aid in making such management deci-^; sions as which commodities to produce and on what.j scale, and what actions could increase productions efficiency, .' I"' Thomas ) ? f put on a little abow "Vriende' of the candidate roasted sutsgss&sst I I ?S n? UUU i "If, " he said, "the income tax is good enough for working people, it's good enough for the rich people. If we get the money the rich aren't paying, education will be better, mental health will be better, and we can clear the clogged creeks." Thomas said he appreciated the people coming from long distances "an these twisting mountain roads," and pledged that if he to elected to Oongnas, "111 be for you. keep the high priced ones home; said Bo." In remarks to the press before the 5 p.m. barbecue began, Thomas said * he has stumped the entire 11th district and has discovered that "the citizens of this district are convinced the failure to solve most of our problems in Washington is because the legislative processes for too long have been dominated by the legal profession." Thomas called himself the "har dworking mountain businessman who presents himself to you as an alter native." Several other candidates also at tended the barbacue, to shake hands and drum up support, but none spoke. \jr At Wachovia, your savings account can get you free checking ... and save you y $40-$50 a year. J You probably have a savings account of $100 or more, somewhere. At Wachovia, that same savings account would be earning not only daily interest, but free checking as wed. That's the Wachovia Free Way. ?i And it could save you from $40 to $50 a year in service charges. Along with free checking, Wachovia gives you free traveler's r# JHt ' . m OUM i checks and something no other I bank or savings institution can offer. t your own Personal Banker. I Add it up. . and you'll see why I Wachovia is opening more new 1 accounts these days than any other Why not meke ? t ie sw . n y hj.-snif ; |||