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The Cherokee ?jiil Scout
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Volume 76 - Number 28 Murphy, North Corolina February 3,1966 10 Pages This Week *Trlw*r^%?o*TU c**ouma
Ferebee Drops
i
Top Bank Post
ANDREWS - Percy B.Fere
>ee, president end chairman of
the board of directors of Cit
izens Bank and Trust Co. since
1926, resigned as president at
? meeting of the directors
Monday.
In accepting his resignation,
the board re-elected him
chairman and named W. Frank
Forsyth of Murphy as pres
ident.
Forsyth came to the bank in
1932 as assistant teller in the
Andrews office. In 1933, he was
transferred to the Murphy off
ice as teller, and had been
successively promoted until
he was executive vice presi
dent at the time of his ele
vation to the presidency.
Citizens Bank opened in
Andrews in 1924. It was or
ganized by R. T. Heaton and
D. F. Mchaffey with capital
stock of <15,000. Ferebee
bought the entire stock in
1926.
In 1930, all banks west of
Asheville with the exception
of Citizens Bank and one other,
had closed. In 1933, President
Roosevelt declared a bar*
holiday, closing all banks.
Banks were examined before
being permitted to reopen. The
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp., was formed, guarant
eeing deposits in banks per
mitted to reopen.
Citizens Bank'and Trust at
that time had $15,000 in co
mmon stock, the FDIC bought
5 per cent preferred stock.
There was $70,353 in undiv
ided profits and $5,100 in sur
plus.
At the request of the State
Banking Commission, Cit
izens Bank opened an office
in Murphy, where no other
bank had been permitted to
reopen. The first dividends of
the bank were paid on Dec.
20,1935, at $3 per share. The
Citizens Bank and Trust Co.,
had weathered the banking
crisis and was able to expand.
During 1939, the preferred
stock was paid off, capital was
increased to $60,000. surplus
to $20,000 , and undivided
profits to $15,333.
At the request of the State
Banking Commission, offices
were opened in Robbinsville
and Hayes ville, both of which
were without banks. In Nov
ember, 1962, the Citizens Bank
and Trust Co., opened an office
in Sylva and a short time
later another one in Cull
owhee.
At the close of business
Dec. 31,1965, the capital stock
was $500,000, surplus $700,
000, and undivided profits,
$95,779. Total resources were
$18,506,057.
Branch managers named at
Monday's meeting were W. D.
Whitaker, senior vice presi
dent and secretary, Andrews;
John T. Gill, vice president.
Murphy; J. s. HoweU, vice
president, Robbinsville; Th
omas C. Day, vice president,
Hayesville; and Jennings A.
Bryson, vice president, Sylva.
Ferebee said his principal
interest will still be in the
bank, although he expects to
have more time for the mun
icipal bond business and other
interests.
P*rcy Ferebee
W. Frank Forsyth
A native of Elizabeth City,
F erebee has lived in Andrews
for the past 45 years, and has
become a leading business
man and figure in the devel
opment of Western North Car
olina. He has been mayor for
some 20 years.
Forsyth, who was born in
Andrews, has been a member
of the N. C. State Senate for
four terms.
One Dead In Cabin Gunfire
Near Murphy,Suspect Held
MURPHY-A three-man af
fray in a remote Cherokee
County house Thursday morn
ing left one man dead, another
badly wounded, and the third
in jail on a murder charge.
Sheriff Claude Anderson
said WlUard Tilson,50, of the
Culberson community died of
two .32 caliber bullet wounds
in the chest. Pat Cearley,50,
^f the same section, is in Pro
vidence Hospital with a head
wound that left him barely able
to speak.
In jail without bond is Joe
C. Treadway, 53, another
neighbor. He is charged with
murder in Tilson's death and
assault with a deadly weapon
on Cearley. Sheriff Anderson
said the gun Involved has not
been found.
The gunplay took place about
9 a.m. in Tilson's house,where
he lived alone, and Treadway
was arrested about two hours
later at a store. The Sheriff
was accompanied by A i'lU
Agent Kolen Flack.
Aiding in the Investigation
is SB1 Agent J. T, Maxey of
Bryson City.
Sheriff Anderson said
Thursday night he had not
learned what preceded the
shootings, except that there
appeared to be drinking in
volved.
0E0 Approves
Medicare Grant
Tom Day, President of Four
Square Community Action,
Inc., announced today the
approval by the office of Ec
onomic Opportunity in Wash
ington, D. C., of a <10,921
Medicare Alert project for the
counties of Cherokee, Clay,
Graham and Swain, which will
provide temporary employ
ment for 15 older citizens of
the four - county area. Pre
ference will be given to per
sons 65 years and older.
Medicare Alert will operate
for a three-month period and
is designed to bring informa
tion of the new benefits of the
Social Security Act of 1965 to
all people 65 and older. The
project director will be paid
$125.00 a week for a period of
twelve weeks, 3 team captains
will be employed at $2.00 per
hour for ten weeks, 10 aides
at one-half time will be em
ployed at $1.50 per hour for
eight weeks, and a recording
secretary will be employed at
$75.00 per week for twelve
weeks. Transportation cost:
will be reimbursed to worker:
at 10# a mile.
Westco Telephone Company
Plans $950,000 Expansion
Westco Telephone Company
plans an expansion program
totaling more than $950,000
during 1966, Thomas H.
Sawyer, President announced
today. The amount will be in
vested in new construction and
plant additions, he said.
Westco Telephone Company
is a member of the North Car
olina Independent Telephone
Association. Robert Strouse,
president of the association,
said the 30 member firms plan
expansion programs totaling
more than $55 million.
The proposed amount ex
ceeds last year's Investments
by $10 million, he added. In
1966 the privately operated
firms invested $46 million for
plant additions and expan
sions.
Strouse said the expansion
programs "are in keeping
with the rapid lndustrilization
and business development of
the geographical areas served
by our members." Members
of the Independent Telephone
Association are companies
whose operations are confined
to North Carolina.
Strouse pointed out that the
independent companies now
serve the majority of North
Carolinians. He said 64.7 per
cent of the state's population
were served by independent
firms in 1966.
Independent telephone oper
ations in North Carolina
amount to a $322 million in
dustry, the association pres
ident said.
In summarizing 1965's de
velopments, Strouse said: In
dependent telephone com
panies covered 77.8 per cent
of the state's area; the 30
firms operated 45.3 per cent
of the telephones in North
Carolina. That amounted to
697,837 telephones; Operat -
ing revenues were more than
480 million; payrolls for the
5,708 persons employed were
nearly $28.7 million.
Woman Jailed
Aiding Trvancy
A Tomotla woman was lod
ged In Cherokee County Jail,
Friday, to begin serving a 30
day sentence for aiding in the
truancy of her 10-year-old
son.
Lola Welch, 47, was arrest
ed during September for aiding
truancy and put on probation
providing her son attended
classes regularly.
Her jail sentence Is for vio
lating the September probat
ion. School records show that
her son has attended only 10S
days of school since he began
school in Cherokee County.
Free Subscriptions To
Viet Nam Servicemen
To keep Cherokee and Clay County servicemen and
women in touch with home, we will send by regular
mail a free six month subscription to this news
paper upon request from a member of his or her
family. The SCOUT will renew these subscriptions
at the end of each six month period for as long as
these service personnel remain in Viet Nam.
Simply notify The Cherokee Scout office at 837
S122 and give us a complete address plus the name of
the person making the request. That's all there is to it.
Help keep our armed forces abreast of happenings
at home. They are doing a job for us!
First la The State
Public Hearing Set On
Highway Improvements
The North Carolina State
Highway Commission ann
ounced this week that a public
hearing will be heldon the pro
posed improvements to U, S.
64 from the Tennessee State
Line east to a point west of
Murphy, a distanced approxi
mately eighteen miles. This
is a portion of the Appalach
ian DevelopmentHighwaySys
tem.
The hearing will be held in
the Cherokee County Court
house in Murphy at 11:00 a.m.
on Thursday, February 17.
All interested parties will
be given an opportunity to be
heard at that time. A map
is posted in the Cherokee
County Courthouse showing
the limits of the project.
W. Curtis Russ, 14th Divi
sion Highway commissioner
told the Scout Tuesday that
this is the first link of the
Appalachian Road Program in
the state to go to a public
hearing and could very well be
the first project.
Russ stated that if public
sentiment agrees with present
plans and right-of-ways
are obtained, the engineers
will put on the finishing
touches and the project will
go to the contractors for bid
ding.
"The money is allocated and
availabe," Russ said, "we
want to get the ball rolling and
start building these roads in
Western North Carolina."
Graham Man
Succumbs
In House Fire
ROBBINSVILLE - Andy
Monroe Hyde, 50, of Robbins
ville, was burned to death Sat
urday night, January 29, when
his house caught fire about
9:30 p.m.
He was alone in the house
at the time.
One truck and eight fire
men from the Robbinsville
Fire Department answered
the alarm and found the
flames beyond control.
Hyde's body was found about
10 p.m. Saturday near the
front door of the one-story
frame-structure. He had app
arently thrown a piece of fur
niture into the front y, rd and
had gone back into the flaming
structure in an effort to save
more personal belongings,
when he was overcome by
smoke - and flames.
Heyward Crawford, Graham
County coroner, called an in
quest into Hyde's death at 10
a.m. Monday in the Graham
County Courthouse. The body
was returned to the Townson
Funeral Home in Robbinsville
at 4 p.m. Monday.
Mr. Hyde was a son of Mrs.
Artie Hyde of Charlotte and
the late Harvey Hyde.
Surviving in addition to the
mother are the widow, Mrs.
Shirley Cable Hyde; four dau
ghters, Mrs. Elnora Hyde of
Springfield, Va., Mrs. Alma
Jean Carringer of Stecoahand
Misses Amanda Lee and Bea
trice Hyde of the home; a son,
James Forrester Hyde of the
home; two sisters, Mrs.
Azalea Kennedy of Nashville,
Tenn. and Mrs. Leah Carr
inger of Stecoah; and three
brothers, Troy P., Ronny H.
and Lonnie L. Hyde, aU of
Charlotte.
Services were held at 2 p.m.
Tuesday in Stecoah Baptist
Church.
The Rev. Billy Smith offic
iated and burial was in Ste
coah Cemetery.
Bob Goforth, Executive Dir
ector of Four - Square
Community Action, Inc., urges
all people interested in such
employment to contact the
local Employment Security
Commission Office or write to
Four - Square Community
Action, Inc., Box K, Andrews,
N. C. immediately.
Photo by LoRuo Cook of Scout Studio
Not A Squirt
VOLUNTEER FIREMAN J. j. JEFFERIES talks to Elmer Collins of Rt. 4. Murphy while
a well house at the Collins residence Is destroyed fay flames. Murphy firemen were on the
scene Monday night but a look at the hose in Jefferies* hand shows that not a squirt comes
from the hose. The fire truck's water pipes were frozen.
Coldest Weather In 27 Years
Hits Area; Andrews Records -15
Photo by La Rue Cook of Scout Studio
4 Cold Sunset
A BRILLIANT SUN cast deep shadows over the Easley Manufacturing Company wood yard as
temperatures fell with the coming darkness. The TVA recorded temperatures of 9 below zero
both Saturday and Sunday nights, the lowest in Murphy since February 1939 when a 17 below
zero reading was recorded.
Senator Forsyth Airs Views
On Redistricting, Speaker Ban
In a speech given at East
Carolina College last Wednes
day night, North Carolina State
Senator Frank Forsyth aired
his views on the two recent
special sessions of the North
Carolina General Assembly.
The special sessions were
called by Governor Dan K.
Moore to deal with the highly
controversial Speaker Ban
Law and the even more con
troversial issue of re-aligning
the state and Congressional
districts in North Carolina.
Senator Forsyth, who consid
ered them "necessary assem
blies," expressed opinions
on the Speaker Ban Law which
drew pointed questions from
the audience at a later ques
tion and answer session. "It
(the Speaker Ban Law) was
a good law" remarked the
Senator. The law he said, did
not prevent the teaching of
Communism and did not carry
and enforcement of penalties.
Senator Forsyth claimed the
law was aimed prirr -. ily at
U.N.C. - Chapel Hill, and he
said it was a necessary piece
of legislation because it
brought the attention of the
various college university
boards of trustees to the dan
gers inherent in Communist
and subversive speakers.
When asked if he felt the
Speaker Ban Law was needed
at East Carolina College, Sen
ator Forsyth emphatically st
ated: "No 1 do not." But he
added that the law was a boom
to East Carolina since it ac
quainted the college trustees
of the menace to a wholesome
college environment pre
sented by subversive spe
akers.
In the special legislative
session concerned with the
Speaker Ban Law, Senator
Forsyth voted to return the
right to govern the choice of
guest speakers to the various
boards of trustees. The Sen
ator said he felt the law had
served its purpose and was
needed no longer. At the time
of the special assembly, he
added, the North Carolina in
stitutions of higher learning
were under the threat of loss
of accreditation becauseofthe
controversial legislation.
In November of 1965, three
Federal judges handed down a
decision ordering legislative
and Congressional redisr
icting in North Carolina acc
ording to the one man-one
vote ruling of the United
States Supreme Court. The
Federal Court directed the
deed to be done prior to Jan.
31, 1966, thus giving the North
Carolina General Assembly
sixty days to complete the
task. "It (the court) could
have made it mandatory or the
next General Assembly to do
their task," said Senator For
syth, "but it did not." The
Senator claimed it was clear
to him that the court wished
to do the job itself. "We
are faced with the edict of the
court and are offered no alter
native but to comply." North
Carolina is blessed with good
government, said the Senator
and is financially one of the
top - ranking states in the
Union. "Our present systerr
of government, while not per
feet, has worked well." Sen
ator Forsyth expressed diss
atisfaction with the new plat
drawn up by the General Asse
mbly in special session, but hi
said he felt it is as good ai
the General Assembly could di
and still comply with the cour
order.
Paralyzing snow and bitter
cold air poured into Western
North Carolina Saturday
morning leaving heavy accum
ulations of snow and bringing
temperatures to the lowest
recorded in Cherokee County
in the past 27 years.
The T. V. A. weather sta
tion in Murphy recorded tem
peratures of 9 degrees below
zero both Saturday and Sun
day nights. This was the low
est reading in Murphy since
February 1939 when the tem
perature dropped to 17 degrees
below zero.
The U. S. Weather Bureau
in Andrews reported a low of
IS degrees below zero Sunday
night.
Local merchants began
closing their places of busin
ess early Saturday afternoon
and by 7:30 Murphy appeared
to be a ghost town.
To the delight of the ele
mentary and high school stu
dents, Cherokee County Sch
ools have been closed since
January 29th. School officials
have announced that the sch
ools will remain closed until
rural roads clear up and
school buses are able to travel
safely.
Saturday's snowstorms wa
llopped Western North Car
olina, crippling traffic and
giving Cherokee County and
neighboring Counties their
worst taste of winter this year.
Although main roads have
been kept clear by the State
Highway Maintenance Crews,
prevailing sub-freezing tem
peratures have not allowed the
secondary roads to thaw out
and driving remains haz
ardous. The Highway crews
deserve a vote of thanks for
the wonderful job that they
do, being subjected to a call
to work at anytime the snow
begins to accumulate. They do
not get overtime for this extra
work nor do they get extra
pay. The only compensation
they get is extra time off.
At press time Wednesday,
the temperatures in Murphy
stood at 26 degrees and a
light snow was falling. Thurs
days forecast (today) calls
for partly cloudy skies and
continued cold with a high of
38.
Man Shot
Trespassing
A Texana man was shot when
he reportedly tried to force
his way into the home of Ira
Lee Herron, 30, also of Tex
ana around 2:30 p.m., Satur
day.
Treated at Providence Hos
pital for a .22 caliber wound
of the upper left leg was Wil
liam Hoover Pickens, 31. He
was arrested byStateTrooper
Don Reavts and Deputy Glenn
Holloway at his home after be
ing releasedfrom the hospital.
Pickens is charged with
forceable trespassing and is
being held in Cherokee County
J ail under $300 bond.
Mrs. Herron came to the
Sherriff's office, reported the
shooting and posted $300 bond
for herself. She is charged
with assault with a deadly wea
pon, not resulting in death.
Her trial is set for Feb
ruary 17.
FEBRUARY
S M T W T F S
.... 12 9 4 5
0 7 ? 9 10 11 12
13 14 19 10 17 10 19
20 21 22 23 24 29 20
27 28
>*r
Refresh your memory regard
ing the name of a firm or its
location in the Yellow Pogoo
?I your Wottco Telephone
Directory.
WESTCO
TELEPHONE
COMPANY
Murphy IuiImii Oilier
Dial 837-2101
MISS FEBRUARY
1.
Mitt Joyce McKeon, dowfkttr ef Mr. ond
Mrt. Peter J. McKeon, Rt. 1, Murphy