* ? SAMS ^ The Cherokee ?jiil Scout a.,ok.. Count,'. B.st Bo,' C'af C?""tC/ Pr?9'*> 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

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