The Cherokee Cm Scout
? O,.,ok.. Count,'s Best Be,' ^ C,Wt C?"nt1
Volume 76 -Number 29 Murphy, North Carolina February 10, 1966 10 Pages This Week ca?ou?i
Schools Get $118,383; Operation 'New Day' Begins
Murphy Mother's Daughter
Aboard III Fated Cruiser
EUZABETHTOWN, N. C. -
Mrs. Jack Allen, 22, her
husband, their three small
children and Jasper Hyatt of
Fayetteville were all pres
umed drowned when the 40
foot cruiser, "The Kork",
they were aboard wrecked
Sunday morning in the Cape
Fear River lock and capsized.
Mrs. Allen is the daughter
of Mrs. Dixie Stiles Clark of
Murphy.
Search crews using grap
ling hooks Monday failed to
locate the bodies of the six
persons.
Investigators theorized the
$45,000 craft had lost power
and was unable to give the
two long and two short blasts
of its horn, the signal asking
that lock No. 3 be opened.
Lock master Joseph P. Par
ker said he heard no signal.
Parker said he had walked
from his nearby house to the
lock at 11 a.m. and seen no
boat, but found the craft be
low the lock when he retur
ned at 11:30 a.m.
A sheriff s deputy said "The
Kork" evidently "hit the lock
sideways and was forced over,
landing upside down."
Water was flowing at that
time about four feet above the
lock, and the boat dropped ab
out seven feet into water below
the lock.
About 50 men, mostly she
riff's deputies and rescue
squad members,grappled thr
ough muddy waters of the 125
yard wide stream, which is
swollen by thaws of recent up
stream snows. The increased
depth had speeded up the cu
rrent.
Sources 20 miles upstream
at Favetteville, where "The
Kork had been docked two
months said the vessel depar
ted there Sunday morning, su
pposedly for Southport, at die
Cape Fear River's mouth,
where it was planned to follow
the lntracoastal Waterway to
Florida.
The Allen family have lived
aboard the cruiser while Allen
conducted business in and
about Fayetteville for Powers
Service Inc., of Chicago,
a bill collection agency.
In Chicago J. B. Mikes ell,
president of Powers Service,
said Allen had lived in North
Carolina five or six years
while representing the firm
and had bought the boat three
years ago.
Jasper Hyatt, who was
accompanying the Aliens, was
a Fayetteville welder and su
pposedly was accompanying
the family on the Florida trip.
Hyatt last week erected posts
on "The Kork" to support a
protective awning.
Cumberland County Deputy
Sheriff Bill Miller said a radio
on the capsized cruiser was
turned on, indicating that
someone was aboard and that
the craft had not merely bro
oked its moorings atBreece's
Landing at Fayetteville and
drifted downstream.
Miller said searchers might
find it necessary to dynamite
the river to raise the bodies
He said, "The river is full of
logs there and the force of the
water tosses them around like
toothpicks." Timber men use
the river to float the logs
downstream.
Stalcup Candidate For
Sheriff's Nomination
William C. (Pete) Sulcup,
announced this week that he
will seek the nomination for
Sheriff of Cherokee County,
in the May Democratic Con
vention.
Stalcup, 45, Assistant Chief
of the Murphy Police Depart
ment, is a veteran law en
forcement officer. In past
years he has served as Deputy
in the Sheriff's Department
with L. L. Mason, Sr., Frank
Crawford, M. G. Crawford,
and Luke Carver. While work
ing with the Sheriff's Depart
ment, he was employed part
time with the Murphy Police
Department. Later he became
employed as a regular Police
man and then promoted
Assistant Chief of Police.
A native of Cherokee County
Sulcup entered miliury ser
vice in 1942. He served with
the 91st Inf. Div., U. S. Army
as a Machine Gunner, in the
European Theatre. In 1944,
Sulcup was wounded and re
turned to the sutes, where
he remained in the hospiul
until his discharge in 1946.
At this time he entered Law
William (Pete) Stalcop
Enforcement and has contin
ued to follow this field.
Stalcup, a Mason, has been
an active member of the Dis
able Veterans, American Leg
ion, Am vets, and several
civic, political and law en
forcement organizations. Be
ing an active Democrat,hehas
also served as Chairman of
the Board of Election ii
Cherokee County.
Republican's Set Precinct
Meet; County Convention
The Cherokee County Re
publican Party has set two
days for their precinct meet
ings and county convention.
J. Doyle Burch, Chairman
of the Cherokee County Re
publican Party, announced
that precinct meetings will be
held in all precincts Saturday,
February 19, at 7:00 pun. and
that if possible will be held
in the same buildings where
the last election was held.
Burch stated that further in
formation could be obtained
from present precinct chair
men.
Each precinct will elect a
">recinct committee of five or
more voters, one to be elect
ed chairman and one as vice
chairman (one of whom shall
be a woman) and one as sec
retary.
Members of die precinct
committee shall hold their
place for two years or until
their successors are chosen.
Each precinct shall elect one
delegate and one alternate to
the county convention plus one
< additional delegate and al
i ternate for every fifty (SO)
\ votes, or major fraction
.thereof cast for the Republi
can Candidate for Governor
in the last general election.
f The County Convention will
be held at the Courthouse in
Murphy, Saturday, February
26 at 2KX) p.m. and elect
county organization con
sisting of the following peo
ple: County Chairman, and a
Vice-Chairman (one of whom
shall be a woman), a secre
tary and such other officers
as may be deemed necessary,
who shall serve for a term oi
two years or until their succ
essors are elected, and Coun
ty Executive Commission oi
five (5) or more voters who
will hold their office for the
same period as listed above.
The District Convention
will be held not late
than March 6, and the State
Convention will be held Marcf
11-12 at the Park Central Ho
tel, Charlotte, North Caro
lina.
Chain Letters
Are Unlawful
Chain letters are on the rise
again and Murphy Postmaster
Joe Ray pointed out that most
chain letters are unlawful acc
ording to U. S. Postal regul
ations.
Postmaster Ray stated that
the volume of chain letter
mail in the Murphy area is
reaching an all time high,
mostely in the 'prayer letter'
category.
Violation of the chain letter
laws carry a stiff penalty
and postal inspectors from
the Atlanta office are busy
investigating the sources of
such mail.
"I urgently request that pa
trons of the Murphy! ostOffice
not participate in the chain
letters," Ray said.
4 /More lathes
That was how close two tanker cars came to hitting a tower that supports the foot bridge
that crosses the Hiwassee River at the Appalacha I ower House. The train derailed about
7:25 Murphy time Friday morning. No one was injured. Fhoto was taken from the tower.
Other photos on the Andrews 1'age.
Appalacha Power House Has
Close Call As Train Derails
By: Red SchuyJer
When H. C. Brockcllmbed
aboard his engine in Copper
hill, Tennessee early Friday
morning, he thought that it
would be just a routine trip.
Little did he know that just
a few miles up the track
part of his cargo would de
rail.
As the train approached
Appalacha power house and
was rounding a slight curve, it
happened. The tracks run
within three feet of the power
house which is located deep in
the mountains of Tennessee
and North Carolina.
Eight cars of the 37-car
train left the tracks and plow
ed up, twisted, broke, and bent
about three hundred feet of
track and crossties. Of the
eight cars derailed, six were
tanker type cars loaded with
sulphuric acid and the other
two were hopper type cars
loaded with ore from the Cop
per Company mines in the
Copper Basin area. Nine cars
including the caboose behind
the derailed cars remained in
tact on the track.
The time of the accident was
placed at 7:25 a.m. according
to Marion Holt of Etowah,
Twin, and Jim Sliger of At
hens, Tenn. Holt and Sliger
were supposed to relieveCarl
A. Green and Hoyt J. Epper
son, both of Etowah, Tenn. at
7:30 a.m. Even with the
amount of noise present in the
power house, these men heard
the train when it derailed. Mr.
Holt remarked to the other op
erators that it sounded as if
one of the cars had a flat
wheel. One of the other op
erators said it sounded as if
the train had derailed. Upon
investigating the noise, they
discovered that it was a de
railment and saw the cars
stacked and crumpled tip along
about the tracks just beyond
the power house. Fortunately
no one was injured.
One of the tanker cars came
to rest about four inches from
the support tower of the foot
bridge across the Hiawassee
Ri*er. The other cars were
within inches of the power
house. The switchirw shack
was completely demolished.
Had the derailment occur
ed just a few seconds before
or a few feet earlier, it's just
a matter of speculation of what
would have taken place.
Appalacha Dam was start
ed in 1941 and completed in
1943 at a cost of almost 24
million dollars. The dam is
located about 1/8 mile up
stream and is in North Caro
lina.
The power house is in Tenn
essee, and is estimated to cost
near six million dollars.
Feeding the turbines that turn
the generators are two flumes
with almost a straight drop
that has a head of 438 feet
and capable of discharging
over 26 million gallons of
water per day. Had the de
railment ruptured these
flumes or crashed into the pow
er house, in all probability it
would have taken five or more
lives and destroyed over six
million dollars of government
property.
Tills is one train wreck
where there were no curious
spectators due to the fact that
it was so far back in the moun
tains and the only accessible
road was a narrow winding
road that was covered with
ice for about twelve miles.
Tommy Gentry (L) newly elected Vice Pre* dent of the 22nd
District Jaycees, receives congratulations from Bill Davis,
Jaycee National Director. John Smart, center, is the out going
22nd District Vice President.
Gentry First Mvrphy Jaycee
Elected To District Office
James T. Gentry was elect
ed Vice-President of the 22nd
District Jaycees at a meeting
held at the Lodge of Maggie
Valley, Friday night, Feb
ruary 4, making him the first
local Jaycee to be elected to
a district office.
The 22nd District is com
piled of the 10 Jaycee Clubs
of Western North Carolina
from Brevard to Murphy.
Each clti) is allowed a cer
tain number of votes depend
ing upon membership ranging
from 1 to 7. Asheville, the
largest club, has 10 votes while
Murphy has 2.
Gentry's opponent in the
vice-presidency campaign
was George Ponder of Ae
Hendersonvtlle Club.
Nine of the ten Jaycee Clubs
of the 22nd District were re
presented at the Maggie
Valley meeting. Only Frank
lin was not represented and
could not cast their vote.
Of the 22 votes cast in Fri
day's election, Gentry drew 18
and a landslide victory. He
will lake office at the State
Convention to be held at Ral
eigh in May.
Gentry is a charter member
of the Murphy Jaycees, has
served as secretary and is
presently president of the lo
cal club.
He is the son of Mr. and
Mrs. D. C. Gentry and is mar
ried to the former Miss Judy
Davis. They have one son.
Bob, age 3.
Another highlight of the
meeting was a member of each
club making a speech on "We
believe that government
should be of laws rather than
of men". This was an elimi
nation contest in the "Speak
Up Jaycee" program to see
John Jordan, Superintendent
>f Murphy City Schools, ann
>unced this week that the pro
posal for the Murphy School
District, under Title I,of Pub
ic Law 89-10, of the Elemen
tary and Secondary School Act
af 1965, has been approved.
The Murphy City Schools will
receive $118,393.68 of federal
money to help improve its ed
ucational program.
The Elementary and Sec
ondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA) was the first major
legislation of national signi
ficance to be enacted by the
89th Congress. Keyed to
"poverty", ESEA will virtual
ly double the amount of feder
al aid available for public
schools.
Title I provides for payment
on one half the average per
pupil expenditure for children
from families with incomes
below $2,000 per year. It
is projected that somewhat
more than $1.06 billion will
be distributed to local school
districts through state educat
ion agencies during next year.
The greatest benefits under
this Title will be derived by
those school districts which
serve areas with a concentrat
ion of low-income families.
It has been forecast that over
90% of the nation's schools
will qualify for some aid. Lo
cal taxes cannot be reduced.
The Act makes it very clear
that federal funds must be in
addition to planned local
spending.
Under Title 1, grants are
made to local educational ag
encies, such as the Murphy
Board of Education, for a wide
variety of programs, which
could include supplementary
and remedial instruction,
guidance and counseling ser
vices, and health and welfare
services needed to overcome
learning handicaps. Equip
ment may be acquired and
facilities may be improved in
order to carry out an approv
ed program.
Superintendent Jordan says
that the local board and school
staff came up with a program
and named it "Operation New
Day". Basically it is a lan
guage skills improvement
program that will include ef
forts to overcome the child's
emotional, physical and social
deficiencies.
"Operation New Day" will
begin February 28, and run
through August 5 of this year.
This money must be spent by
August 31. Jordan stated that
it is the hope of all concern
ed that this program will be
a new day for boys and girls
in the Murphy Schools.
Superintendent Jordan stat
ed that the program will con
sist of 13 specific objectives:
To raise the reading level of
educationally disadvantaged
children ingrades 1-12 in Mur
phy Elementary and Murphy
High School to more nearly
approximate each child's
potential; To improve basic
skills in English, grammar,
spelling and writing; To pro
vide through an adequate test
ing program an assessment of
the child's educational ability
and to close the gap between
ability and achievement; To
co-operate with "Head Start"
Programs for pre-school
children and to co-ordinate
staff and facilities where pos
sible; To prevent drop-outs;
To improve school attendance
records; To improve thelevel
of family life; To provide an
appreciation by the child for
his heritage and for the finer
things of life; To provide
through physical examina
tions, psychological evaluat
ions and food and clothing
needs where necessary; To
enable children of the minor
ity race to be better prepar
ed to take his rightful place
as a useful citizen; To pro
vide in-service training for
all classroom teachers; To
thoroughly evaluate the pro
gram by using methods and in
struments as guided by our
State Department of Public
Instruction; and to put into
practice ideas and methods
gained at the Western Caro
lina College Institute for
Teachers of Disadvantaged
Children in the summer of
1965 by the presently employ
ed Murphy Elementary Super
visor, a member of the pri
mary faculty, and the propos
ed college consultant, all of
whom attended said institute.
Other programs which the
Murphy School has at present
or will have are: The Com
prehensive School Improve
ment Program, now in its sec
ond year: Title II, under the
Elementary and Secondary
School Act of 1965 will bene
fit the school by $1396.00 for
library books; neighborhood
youth corps, to enroll high
school students in jobs around
the school for the remainder
of the school year: and a
"Head Start" type of program
again for this summer for
children who plan to enter the
first grade next year.
Charles Smith Wounded
In Viet Nam Battle
Word has been received by
Mrs. Violet Smith, mother of
Corporal Charles "Buck"
Smith, USMC that he has been
wounded in action in Viet Nam.
Two Marine officers from
Chattanooga visited Mrs.
Smith Tuesday afternoon and
informed her that her son had
been wounded and that she
would receive a telegram noti
fying her later in the after
noon.
The telegram dated Feb
ruary 8th, 3:31 EST, arrived
shortly after the Officers
talked with Mrs. Smith. The
following is the contents of the
telegram:
"This is to confirm that
your son, Corp. Chas. Smith,
USMC was injured, February
7th in the vicinity of Oanang,
Republic of Viet Nam. He
sustained fragmentation
wounds in the abdomen and
right thigh from an unknown
explosive device while parti
cipating in an operation
against hostile forces. He is
presently receiving treatment
at the Battalion Hospital Aid
Station. His condition ana
prognosis were good. Your
concern is realized and you
can be assured he is receiving
the best of care. His mail
ing address remains the same.
Signed: Wallace M. Greene,
Jr., General, USMC Com
mandant of the Marine Corps.
Corporal Charles Smith,
better known to his many
friends as "Buck" graduat
ed from Murphy High School
in 1963 and enlisted in the
U. S. Marines in August. He
along with John Snow were
considered the two best line
men in football ever to grad
uate from M.H.S. Both boys
were offered full scholarships
from most every college in
Charles Smith
the South and Southeast, John
is now a junior at Wake For
est and "Buck" decided to
serve his country as a Mar
ine in the USMC. Both boys
were also star basketball
players.
Mrs. Smith received a let
ter from her son Monday, Feb
ruary 7th postmarked Febru
ary 3rd,which was last Thurs
day. Mrs. Smith told the
Scout that in his letter Charles
had mentioned to her that he
only had three months to go
on his tour of duty in Viet
Nam. He has been in Viet
Nam since July 1965 and has
about a year remaining on his
enlistment period. His last
visit home was in January of
1965 when his father passed
away.
For the benefit of "Buck's"
many friends that would like to
write to him or send him a
get well card, his address is:
Corporal Charles Smith,
2058203, 1st. Bat. ,9th Mari
nes, "A" Co., WPN'S Plat
oon (1), 3rd Marine Division
MAR 24, FPO, San Francis
co, Calif. 96601.
Hoover Named Local Chairman
WINSTON SALEM - Dr. W.
A. Hoover of Murphy has been
named chairman for Cherokee
County in the coming drive to
raise $2 1/2 million for a new
football stadium for Wake
Forest College.
Coal for the county is $1,000.
Over-all chairman for the
fund drive is Bert Bennett,
Winston - Salem businessman
and former head of the State
Democratic Executive Comm
ittee. Joe Branch of Enfield,
legislative counsel for Gov.
Dan Moore, is co-chairman.
The drive for special gifts
will begin in late February.
Bennett said he hopes to wind
up the campaign in the state
and nation by April 5.
Plans call for a 30,000-seat
stadium on a 77-acre tract
near the Wake Forest campus.
T arget date for completion of
the project is Oct. 1, 1967.
The building committee hopes
to let a construction contract
around June 1.
Estimated cost will be $21/2
million. Most of the money is
expected to be raised in North
Carolina but the fund drive
will be carried into all 50
states.
Coffee, Bollooe
Days Are Set
The Heart Fund Drive Is
underway in Cherokee County
and Friday has been design
ated as "Coffee Day".
Four Murphy restaurants
will participate in the program
and donate coffee sale pro
ceeds to the Heart Fund.
Participating restaurants
are: Cherokee Restaurant,
Tar Heel Restaurant, O'Dell's
Cafeteria & Restaurant, and
Blzry-Burger Drive-In.
Then on Saturday, young
volunteers under the super
vlsiln of members of the
Cherokee County Rescue
Squad Auxiliary, will be giv
ing out balloons on a stick to
anyone contributing to the
Heart Fund.
who would represent the 22nd
District in the State competit
ion.
Curtis Hewlett, treasurer
of the local club, represented
Murphy and placed third in
the competition.
Ten members of the Murphy
Club attended the meeting.
Viet Bound Papers
To Travel Air Mail
Newspapers, generally handled as first class mail
to servicemen overseas, will begin traveling via air
mail effective immediately. Murphy Postmaster Joe
Ray, announced this week.
Postmaster Ray was notified by the Atlanta Regional
Office that all newspapers in the Atlanta District (Mur
phy is in the Atlanta Dlstric) will be flown to the
American Post Offices in New York and San Francis
co. In the past, newspapers went by land to these em
barkation offices.
Newspapers traveling air mail include those being
sent free by die Cherokee Scout to servicemen from
Cherokee and Clay Counties now serving in Viet Nam.
Telephones began ringing early at the Scout Office
last Thursday as subscribers called in die mailing ad
dresses of their loved ones in Viet Nam. To date,
seventeen Viet Nam servicemen are receiving free six
month subscriptions to the Cherokee Scout and Clay
County Progress.
Offer Still Good
Simply notify the Cherokee Scout Office at 831-5122
and give us a complete address plus the name of the
person making die request. That's all there is to it.
Those already receiving free Scout subscriptions
are: Lawrence E. Meier, Pfc Fred Swain, in, Sp/4
Walter Brown, Jr., S/Sgb James C. Nunnelley, How
ard R. Coffey, S/SgL Howard Lovingood, Sgt. Fred
N. Hall, Jr., Sp/5 Lee B. Solesbee, A/C Virgil L.
Decker, Jr., Sp/4 William E. Chastaln, 1st Lb Jerry
Pullium, A/3C Ralph W. Ledford, Sp/4 Kenneth H.
Minor, Phillip A. Ledford, T/Sgb E. D. Mosteller,
S/Sgt. Herbert T. Sherlin, and Cpi. Charles Smith.