The Cherokee
'Owekee CmmIt's Bm< Buy'
Volume 78 - Number 6
Mviphjr, North Carolina
August 31, 1967
Scout
and Clay County Progm
3 Poflt'TKlo Woolc
?envonntmnxnr
atmunmy. north Carolina
49th Cherokee County Fair Opens Monday
Power Rate Hike
Set For September
The rate increase
announced by die Tennessee
Valley Authority on March
16 begins in September and
the Town of Murphy Electric
Power Board will adjust the
bills its customers receive
in October.
According to JohnBayless,
Manager, die increases will
be relatively small, averaging
a small percent overall.
Residential Bills, he said, will
increase by a few cents a
month for small users to $1.23
a month for very large users.
The exact amount will depend
on monthly electrical use.
"No residential customer
will receive an increase of
more than $1.23 a month no
matter how much electricity
is used," Bayless explained.
The rate changes will start
with meter readings taken on,
or after, September IB. The
first bills reflecting this
change will be mailed on
October 1.
There will also be a similar
adjustment in commercial and
industrial rates. The monthly
rental charge for outdoor light
units was not changed.
TVA stated In March
that higher interest, fuel and
labor cost forced the In
crease in wholesale charge to
its distributors. Each of the
160 distributors of TVA power
is now in the process c i de
termining its new retail rates.
W. Frank Forsyth, Chair
man of the Board of Directors
for the local utility said, "This
rate change is necessary to
meet our increased power
costs. We are happy that the
rate change will be so small
for our customers.
"Since we operate this elec
tric system on a non-profit
basis, reuil rates must re
flect the cost of selling power.
We are pleased that our new
rates correspond so closely
to the present rates and create
small, uniform Increases
among all customer class
ifications.
Bulldogs Open
With Double 0
By Red Schuyler
In a game that was post
poned from Friday night to
Saturday night due to -rains
that had plagued the entire
area, Murphy nor Gilmer
County could keep up enough
steam to get In the scoring
column.
After 48 minutes of play the
score was the same as it was
before the Teams took the
field. Actually weather con
ditions were better Saturday
night than they were Fri
day night, but officials of
both schools thought perhaps
the weatherman would give
them a break and conditions
would have been better if post
poned for Twenty four hours.
Saturday afternoon was a
beautiful day and the rains
Wildcats Open
Season Friday
The Andrews Wildcats host
the Robbinsville Black Knights
Friday night in the Wildcat
football opener.
Robbinsville comes into
Andrews with a 1-0 record.
The Black Knights scored 20
points in the first period last
Friday and went on to down
the Cherokee Braves, 26-0.
Friday night's game will be
the first of three consecutive
home games. Andrews will
host Franklin on September 8
and Canton on September 15.
The Wildcats hit the road for
three weeks after that with
visits to Swain, Hayes ville and
Sylva on September 22 and
20 and October 6.
HayesvUle visits Andrews
on October 13.
The Wildcats go to
Robbinsville on October 20.
The traditional big game
with Murphy will be played
at Andrews on October 27.
The Wildcats play at
Cherokee in the final game on
November 3.
came about thirty minutes
before gametime and
continued throughout the night.
The entire game with the ex
ception of a few minutes was
played in a down pour of rain.
Under the conditions the
game was played, it would
be unfair to try to judge the
caliber of either team. The
Bulldogs threatened to score at
one time and Gilmer County
threatened twice, but fumbles
and the slippery turf prevented
either team from scoring.
G ilmer County attempted one
field goal that failed to go
off due to the snap from
center was too high to the
placement point.
There will be plenty ot foot
ball in the area this week
end. The Thursday night
Murphy-Franklin Jayvee
game has been cancelled, but
on Friday night the varsity
will host Union County from
Blairsville Ga. Union County
and Hayesville battled to a
12-12 tie Friday night in the
opener for both teams. On
Saturday night the Murphy
Midgets and Mites will host
Andrews, with the first game
starting at 7.-00 p.m. and the
second game starting im
mediately after.
If you are not a football
fan, you might enjoy stock
car racing at the Tri -County
Speedway Saturday night.
Then, if you are still hungry
for some sports action, the
Southern 500 late model stock
car race will get underway
at 11:00a.m. Monday (Labor
Day), if you can't make the
trip you might be interested
to know that Radio Satatlon
WKRK will carry the broad
cast from start to finish.
According to Paul Ridenhour,
president c f WKRK, pre-race
activity will get underway at
10:30 a^n. and the green flag
will drop promptly at 11:00
a.ro. This will mark the
eighteenth year that the race
has been run having suited
back In I960.
"Both our present and new
electric rates are extremely
low, and our customers will
still have the benefit at am
of the lowest rates in the
nation," Forsyth concluded.
TV A has told the Town
of Murphy Electric Power
Board that last year the
average residential electric
customer in the Tennessee
Valley paid nine-tenths of a
cent for each kilowatt-hour.
Under the new rates the aver
age customer will still pay
less than 1 cent. TVA es
timates that the new
residential average will be
.98 cent a kwh. The national
residential average electric
cost is 2.22 cents, more than
double the TVA average even
after the rate increase.
Meeting On Ft.
Butler Tonight
The Cherokee County His
torical Society will meet at the
Murphy Power Board Building
tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 to
decide upon a firm proposal
to develop an historical site at
Ft. Butler.
This proposal, which will be
presented to the Murphy Town
Board, will be the first
necessary step in a plan re
commended by the Department
of Archives andHistory.
Sen. Mary FayeBrumby will
attend the meeting.
Jack Frauson of the State
Department of Recreation and
Bob Conway of the State
Department of Archives and
History have been invited and
have indicated they will at
tend.
Members of the Murphy
T own Board and the Cherokee
County Board of Co
mmissioners have been in
vited.
The Historical Society has
urged anyone interested in the
restoration of Ft. Butler to be
present tonight.
Dr. George Size
Leaving Murphy
Or. George F. Size, M.D.,
Is concluding his practice In
Murphy Friday.
"Due to circumstances be
yond my control, I regret to
say that I will be moving
away from Murphy, " Dr.
Size said in a letter to his
patients. '1 will always have
fond memories of our associa
tion. To those of you who know
my son Tommy, he also ex
presses his regrets on moving
away," he continued.
Dr. Size said records ofhls
patients will be left at Murphy
General Hospital "for the
doctor of your choice so that
he may have your history."
Scout Office To
Be Closed Monday
The Scout office will be
closed Monday In observance
of the Labor Day Holiday*
Hit 'Em Hard
THE MURPHY MIDGET AMD MITt football taama haw bean world Qg out all waah la
pnetloa saaslon* to prapara far Saturday nttt's opanar with Aarirawa at tba Murphy Hltfi
atadUaa. Tba Mltaa htah-aff at 1 and tba M^ac fama la achadulad far ?.
Washed Out
THE DOWNEDPOWER POLE AND THE WASHED OUT GREEN of the Blairsville Golf
Course show the damage that was repeated throughout Union 'County, Ga. during last week's
heavy rains and flood. Butternut Creek (left) had returned to its banks by the time this
picture was taken.
High Water Mark Set;
Flood Damage Extensive
Heavy rains last week
caused extensive flood damage
and established a new stream -
flow record in the Upper Hi
wassee Basin, according
to figures compiled by TVA's
Hydraulic Date Branch office
in Murphy.
The most serious damage
reported was in Union and
F annin Counties in Georgia.
Pasture land and crops were
flooded, many bridges were
washed away and the golf
Wrecks Cause Serious
Injury, Power Failure
Three Cherokee County
traffic accidents resulted in
one serious injury and a power
failure Sunday afternoon.
Ray Chastain, 22, of Murphy
was seriously injured when the
car he was driving ran off the
right side of the road and hit
a tree in the Martins Creek
section four miles south of
Murphy. The accident oc
curred on old US 19 at about
5 p.m.
Highway Patrolman Patt
Miller, who Is continuing to
investigate the accident, said
Chastain was admitted to
Murphy General Hospital with
severe head injuries.
Three Ashevllle residents
were uninjured when their car
skidded out of control and
struck a power pole three
miles east of Murphy on US
64 at 12:15 p.m. in a heavy
rain. The car continued run
ning for 200 feet after hitting
the pole, according to Miller.
Power was off in the area
for about three hours and
traffic was held up for over an
hour while the downed power
lines were cleared from the
highway.
Miller identified the driver
as Henry I. Southard of
Asheville. Mrs. Burch
Victoria Lowe and her
daughter, Katie Jane, also of
Asheville, were passengers
in the car. No charges were
filed.
Reathel Lottie Allen, 21, of
Rt. 4, Murphy escaped injury
at 7:30 p.m. Sunday when she
lost control of her car on SR
1304 in the Cane Creek
section. She told Miller she
met another car in a left hand
curve and cut to the right,
ran off the shoulder and
skidded into the left hand ditch.
She did not strike the other
car. Damage was estimated
at (400. Miller said no
charges were filed.
Three members of a Rt. 2
Murphy family received i n
juries Monday night in a
car wreck on SR 1556 in Lne
Bell view section.
Miller said James Quinton
Martin, 40, lost control of
his car on a curve and the
vehicle overturned.
Martin, his wife, Leona, 45,
and the couple's nine-year
old son Eddie were treated
at Providence Hospital.
No charges were filed.
Postal Zip Kits
To Be Delivered
Cherokee County ?nd
surrounding county residents
will have an opportunity to
euily put ZIP Into their mail
in late September, Postmaster
Joe Ray reported today.
During the last half of Sept
ember, the post office will
deliver to every householder
a kit of eight postal cards
which can be mailed back to
the post office with addresses
needing ZIP Codes. Each
complete card will be sent
to the post office which ser
vices the "dpless" address
and the proper code will be
added before the form Is re
turned to the sender.
No postage will be needed
on these cards.
Each of the eight postal
cards In the kit will contain
? message sncouraglng the
f sural use of ZIP Code.
here will be a ninth card
of Instructions. All will be
folded together like a closed
accordian. There will be
perforations between each
form. In addition, another
separate card will be
delivered along with the kit
which is ? remainder of the
local ZIP Code.
Last year several thousand
addresses were ZIP Coded by
the Uwrjttj aa
using only mm eaH*wtth
Addresses, Postmaster Ray
said.
The unit coat of entering the
Code onto each card will be
less than the system used in
1964 because no look-up will
be necessary. Every card in
the final post office will need
the same code, so an inex
perienced clerk will be able
to simply stamp It on the card
and lend the form on Its re
turn Journey.
On an average day, between
176 and 260 million new pieces
of mall enter the postal
system. It is not expected
that more than 10 million of
the ZIP-A-LBT cards will
be In the system at any one
time during the peak period*
of mailing. Since they will
be handled essentially as or
dinary postal card*, there will
be no burden or dislocation of
service.
"The ultimate result will
be an improvement in
service," Postmaster Gen
eral Lawrence F. O'Brien
has said about the project.
"ZIP Code is t ha beae upon
which the modwrn poetal ser
vice la being built. But, It
won't worit sod the inudsrn
Isatlon and rfflrlewitee ZIP
course at Blairsville was
damaged extensively.
The streamflow record was
set on the Nottely River south
of Blairsville. Last Wednes
day, August 23, the river
crested at 21 feet around noon.
The previous high water level
was 16.8 feet 69 years ago.
The flooding at the stream
gauge where the record level
was recorded caused several
thousand dollars worth of da
mage to the radio which relays
the stream level to Murphy.
The Toccoa River c^me
within .2 feet c i a new record
at the stream gauge at
Dial, Ga.
Brasstown Creek had a near
record flow.
Eighteen inches cf rain were
recorded at the rain gauge at
N eel's Gap in Union County in
the 72-hour period of August
21 through 23.
A total of 12.8 inches were
recorded at Young Harris, Ga.
from Sunday, August 20,
through Monday, August 28.
Murphy reported 8.83
inches during the sane eight
day period with 2.28 inches
last Tuesday and 2.26 Inches
on Wednesday.
The heavy rains fell south
of Murphy. Only moderate
rainfall was recorded along
the Valley River in Cherokee
County.
TVA reported it was neces
sary to spill water from Ap
palachia, Blue Ridge, and the
three Ocoee Dams. There was
sufficient storage space avail
able In Nottely, Hiwassee and
Chatuge reservoirs. Spilling
is the act of dumping water
over the dam without using
It to generate electricity. It
Is TVA's policy to spill water
when necessary for flood
control purposes.
Figures released by TVA
show that from the start
of the heavy rains on Aug
ust 20 until the peak was
reached, the level of Nottely
Lake rose 14 1/2 feet. Blue
Ridge Lake Increased 13 feet
and rises of six and one-half
feet and six feet were reported
at Chatuge Lake and Hiwassee
Lak?.
Local Industries
Have New Exhibits
ihe 49th annual Cherokee
County Agricultural Fair
opens Monday at the Murphy
Fairgrounds.
The fair, sponsored for the
Cherokee County Mutual Fair
Association, will continue
through Saturday, September
9.
Lions President Kenneth
Godfrey said one of the high
lights of this year's fair will
be exhibits by industries in
the Murphy area. He said
most of the local industries
have indicated they will ex
hibits at the Fair.
"These exhibits will em
phasize the progress that has
been made in transforming
Cherokee County from a pri
marily agricultural area to
one in which there is a bal
ance between agriculture and
industry," Godfrey said.
Agriculture will continue to
be a dominant theme of the
fair. Displays from Cherokee,
Clay and Graham Counties in
North Carolina and Towns,
Union and Fannin Counties in
Georgia will be competing for
recognition in the exhibit hall.
The exhibits will be open to
the public on Tuesday at 6
p.m.
Godfrey pointed out that
there will be no charge for
parking at the fair this year.
"Honest Homer" Scott's
Georgia Amusement Co. will
return to provide the midway
entertainment.
Judging in the flower show
will be on Tuesday afternoon.
Dairy and beef cattle judging
is scheduled for Wednesday at
8 p.m.
School Day will be observed
on Thursday. All Cherokee
County students will be
admitted to the grounds free
that day.
The judging of sheep and
swine will begin at 2 p.m.
Thursday.
The horse show will get
underway at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Four classes of horses are
to be shown. They are walking
horses, pleasure horses,
ponies with carts, and quarter
horses..
Town Board Considers
Highway Bond Projects
The Murphy Town Board
is trying to determine the
best way to spend the Town's
share of money from the state
wide highway bond referendum
in November, 1965. Murphy
is entitled to $87,000.
Originally, the Town had
planned to spend the money
to widen the bridge over the
Valley River on Joe Brown
Highway and widen and re
pave Regal St. It appears
now that the Regal St. pro
ject will not be approved.
The State Highway Com
mission has established
specifications for the street,
and the Town Board feels it
can not meet the re
quirements. One specification
Is that there must be a 40
foot right-of-way.
The Town has investi
gated the possibility of
property owners donating the
necessary right-of-way to
widen the street and most of
the owners Indicated they
would not donate the land.
"The State won't buy right
of-way for secondary roads
and the Town can't afford
to," Mayor Cloe Moore said
at the Board meeting Mon
day night.
Town Clerk C. E. Johnson
said SHC officials have in
dicated to him they are anxious
to begin using Murphy's share
of the money.
The Board is expected to
make a decision on other ways
to propose spending the money
at the next meeting on Sept
ember 11.
Moore recommended that
the Board approve a bid by
Higdon Construction Co. to
pave the parking lot on Cen
tral St. Hot mix will be
applied at the rate of $1.25
per yard. The project is
estimated to cost $3,000.
Jerry Hatchett made a motion
to accept the bid and it carried
unanimously.
The Board accepted another
Higdon bid of $935.90 to pave
Oak St.
The bid of Oran Witt was
accepted to pave a stretch of
sidewalk on Valley River Ave.
Charles Hyatt requested the
Board to assist the Cherokee
County Rescue Squad in the
purchaseof aScott Air Pack.
He recommended that a pack
also be purchased for the
Murphy Fire Department.
Hyatt said the pack is used
for entering a burning
building. It consists of a
tank carried on a man's back
with oxygen and a face mask.
The Board passed Kenneth
Godfrey's motion to purchase
one pack now and another next
year.
Hatchett complimented the
Rescue Squad for its work and
said he hoped there would be
better cooperation with the
Squad on its traffic directing
at Murphy High School foot
ball games. He said a small
minority ignore the Squad ef
forts to create an orderly
traffic flow and their acts in
convenience everyone else.
Basin Horse
Show Monday
The Copper Basin laycees
and the Copper Basin Riding
Club will present a horse
show at the Copperhill-Mc
Cayesville Ball Park Monday
evening at 7:30.
A total of 12 classes of
horses will be shown.
September 16 has been set
as die rain date for the show.
Schools Closed
On Labor Day
The Murphy City Schools
and the Cherokee County
Schools will be closed Mon
day in observance of the Labor
Day holiday.
Receive Eagle Award
BRIAN AND MUCE COWARD, mm of Mr. and Mrs. Aldan Coward of Murphy, receired
tha Eagle Award In Scouting Sunday morning at te First Methodist Church. Tha presentation
wm made by Scoutroutar Tommta Gentry vlrft) and Soout Executive Dm AogeL. Brian
(oaotar) Md Brnoa (right) reoeOed tha God and Country Award la May UN. They balong
to Tha Order of 11m Arrow and attandad PhUmom Scout Ranch la New Mexico thu summer.
Gantry la Sooomaatar of Troop Ml which la sponsored by the Murphy Liana Club.
i. ' . - .?