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The Cherokee
i'
' Cherokee County's Best Seller'
Scout
and Clay County Progress
Volume 78 ? Number 33 Merely, Her* CmIIm
March 7. 1968 8 T1?U W-h
AT MUWPIir. MONTH CAMOUNA
' County Burley Income
1 Could Be Increased
r A bill pending in the House
1/ of Representatives would en
y able Cherokee County burley
f tobacco growers to increase
I | their income by an estimated
l $40,500 per year.
| It would permit growers to
lease allotments and transfer
them to be grown on any farm
| Small allotments could
be combined into one unit,
allowing the farmer to realize
a significant income from the
production of the combined
allotments.
A rental fee could be rea
lised by the allotment owners
Figures compiled by the
AshevQle Agricultural devel
opment Council show there
were 69 acres allotted for
Durley tobacco In Cherokee
County in 1967 but only 42
acres were harvested.
A total of 27 acres were
not produced, apparently due
to small Individual bases, ab
sentee landowners and incap
able landowners. At $1,500
per acre, this amounts to
a loss of $40,500 in potential
income.
The bill would allow allot
ments to be leased and trans
ferred for a maximum of five
years. Allotments could only
be transferred within counties
Not over 10 acres could be
transferred to any one farm.
Agriculture Secretary Or
ville Freeman has endorsed
the proposals.
> Tomato Growers Lose
| Half Million Dollars
I
Losses due to imported pl
ants cost tomato growers in
Western North Carolina over
1 one-half million dollars in
1967. This loss was pri
marily due to diseases on
these shipped- in plants.
According to Jack Earley,
County Extension Chairman.
, Cherokee County, farmers
can best reduce such tremen
dous losses by growing their
own plants.
The importation of tomato
transplants into Western Nor
th Carolina from more
, ' southern regions has
gradually increased over the
past several years. It is
estimated that over five mill
ion tomato plants were shipped
into the major trellised toma
to producing area of Western
North Carolina last year.
Growers who buy imported
tomato plants are taking a
( greater risk of having a crop
, failure than the growers who
use home-grown plants. Quite
) often imported tomato plants
i carry early blight, bacterial
' canker, root-knot nematodes
and other diseases. In add
V ition, they usually have
, a poorer root system. Also,
quite often they have been
' pulled tor such an extended
period of time that they have
begun to dry out. All of these
lectors create problems for
the entire season as well as
for following seasons and lead
to a general decline in yields,
Early said.
Early blight causes serious
losses in Western North
Carolina, particularly when it
is present on transplants.
When plants Infected with
early blight are set, it is very
difficult, if not impossible,
to control the disease.
The importation of nema
todes is a very serious pro
blem connected with shipped
in tomato plants. A 1967
survey definitely proved that
many of the tomato plants
imported in 1967 were in
fected with the root-knot nem
atode. Setting plants infected
with the root-knot nematode
can lead to a decrease in
yield during the current grow
ing season. However, the
greatest damage is probably
done in the following season,
because once nematodes are
established in a field, they
are able to survive indefin
itely. Therefore, the grower
must either rotate or treat
the field with a nematocide
before another crop of
tomatoes can be produced on
that particular field. Treating
for nematodes can be very
expensive and in some cases
the only practical thing a
grower can do is to avoid
growing tomatoes in the in
fested field.
Another very serious dis
ease, which can be introduced
into a community on imported
tomato plants is bacterial can
ker. This is probably the most
destructive tomato disease in
the area, but one which is not
present in all communities.
If a grower is not very care
ful about the source of seed,
or does not have the seed
properly treated, he is taking
a tremendous risk of intro
ducing bacterial canker. This
is probably the most destru
ctive tomato disease in the
area, but one which is not
present in all communities.
Election Board
Takes Oath
Members of the Cherokee
County Board of Elections,
appointed by the State Board
of Elections, took the oath of
office Saturday.
The members are Demo
crats Homer Davidson and
Cleve Almond and Republican
Charles White.
Davidson was elected chair
man and Almond was elected
vice-chairman and secretary.
The next scheduled meeting
of the board will be on March
16 when precinct registrars
and Judges are to be appointed.
Gardner To
Visit Area
Congressman Jim Gardner,
candidate for the Republican
gubernatorial nomination, will
visit the Cherokee, Clay and
Grahm County area on Fri
day , March IS.
Gardner is expected to ar
' rive at the Cherokee County
> Airport around 10 a.m.
Tenative plans call for vis
its throughout the three county
t area daring the day.
A rally will be held at the
y Cherokee County Courthouse
i In Murphy beginning at 7:30
|l p. HL,
Gardner supporters said a
I detailed plan for the day is
being worked out and a com
plet schedule will be announc
ed next week.
BEAUTY OR BEAST? - These pictures show that last
Thursday's storm was a combination of both. The winter
scene in the top photo shows the beauty of the snow, while
the bottom photo shows the clowned power lines along US 64
southeast of Murphy. Power company crews were kept busy
restoring service to many rural homes. (Photos by Weaver
Carringer)
Power And Phones Out In Six-Inch Snow
The first major snow of the
season struck the Murphy area
last Wednesday night, bringing
an accumulation of over six
inches and numerous power
and telephone failures caused
by downed lines.
The storm began as rain
Wednesday afternoon, turning
to snow during the night
TV A weather observers in
the Murphy area reported an
accumulation of six inches of
snow at 7 a. m. Thursday.
There was a small additional
accumulation later in the day.
Murphy Power Board crews
were called out at 2 a. m.
Thursday to begin work on
the power failures , mainly
in the rural areas.
Service had been restored
to all customers by dark
Thursday, but failures be
gan to occur again Thursday
night
Some downtown Murphy
customers were without elec
tricity for a short time on
Thursday.
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC of
Young Harris reported inter
ruptions of service continued
through Sunday in some
places.
A cooperative statement
said that about 75% of their
tire k.
co.
FlEBfcj#
MURPHY TIR1 AND APPLIANCE CO. feM ofWMd a m itort to Om Rtfal Hotel BaHd
teg e? ntoiim St The Ann's former qatrtert ta Km Townson Bufldtaf w*n d??t roytd
by fir* on Fsbnury f Phote by Wwwr Carrtapr)
system was affected in the
early hours of Thursday and
for short intervals, the system
was totally out
Six contractor crews from
as far away as Charlotte, Dou
glasville, Ga. and Marietta,
Ga. were brought In to assist
local crews in restoring ser
vice.
A total of 72 men and 27
pieces of equipment were
used.
All main lines were back
In operation by Saturday night
and all service was restored
except In isolated areas.
The fall extent of damage
to the cooperative lines was
rtot known at press time, but
the figure is expected to run
into several thousands of dol
lars.
A cooperative spokesman
expressed "appreciation to all
members for their excellent
cooperation in reporting the
many cases of trouble, where
the breaks were, where a line
was down, and for their won
derful patience."
Cleanup work and more per
Citizens Bank Applies
For Franklin Branch
Citizens Bank and Trust
Company has made application
to the North Carolina State
Banking Commission to open
a branch bank In Franklin,
according to Frank Forsyth,
president
It is expected that the app
lication will be reviewed at the
March meeting of the comm
ission, Forsyth said.
If permission is granted,
this will be the eighth bank
opened by this concern. Cit
izens Bank and Trust Company
is already operating banks in
Andrews, Cahslers, Cullo
whee, Hayesville, Murphy,
Robblnsville, and Sylva.
Starting in 1926, the firm
now has resources of more
than 26 million dollars.
Loans in force as of Dec
ember 31, 1967 were $12,
172,122.
Forsyth stated that the add
Iions To
Sell Brooms
The Murphy Lions Club will
conduct Us annual broom salt
Tuesday night.
Tommy Gantry, chairman of
the sale, said members of the
Lions dab Will sell the
brooau door-to-door.
The brooms are made by
blind persons and sell for
$1.50 each.
frooaods (ran Km sale will
be ?Md tor the dab's work
itlonal capital available for
lending would be a great asset
to growth and development of
the community of Franklin.
Ga. Hayride
Opens Friday
The first Georgia Hayride
will be presented from 8 to
12 midnight Friday at the
Blair Theater In Blalrsville.
Producer Charles Dover
said the show will be pre
sented at the theater every
Friday night.
Scheduled to appear on this
week's show are Shorty and
Bill and the Log Cabin Boys
from Canton, N.C.: Doyle Ro
uff and the Meldoy Boys from
Cartersville, Ga.; the Leeman
Sisters from Chattanooga;
Raymond Edwards at
Alabama; Bobby Thomas and
the PI ay rights from Calhoun,
Ga.; Willis Guice, EbClayton,
Julia Bowers, Don Thomas,
Floyd Scott, Linda Cook, con
median Cowls Roscoe and
Randy Lewis.
Lewis la an ex bass plajrer
for the Righteous Brothers and
plays the instrument with his
toes, teeth and noae, Dover
?all
Dower said (be program will
constat qf dean Mter
manent repairs must now be
made.
Westco Telephone Company
District Manager, George
Worley said the storm
"seriously disrupted com
munications."
Circuits from Hayesville to
Murphy and from Robbinsville
to Murphy had to be repair
ed by sending company
personnel from pole to pole.
Worley requested additional
men, and two rrews were dis
patched from Weaverville with
modern hydraulic trucks.
"The company regrets the
inconvenience caused its cus
tomers and appreciates their
cooperation and understanding
during this period," Worley
said.
Main highways were kept
in relatively good condition.
The most troublesome
problem with the roads came
from icy patches that formed
after the weather turned much
colder on Thursday.
Schools throughout the area
were closed by the storm.
Unpaid '67 Taxes
To Be Collected
The Cherokee County Board
of Commissioners voted
Monday to turn all unpaid 1967
personal property taxes over
to the County Attorney for col
lection.
The Board voted unan
imously to take the action on
a motion by Ray Sims.
Grlssette and Beach
Certified Public Accounts of
Lenoir will be employed to
audit the public records of Ch
erokee County for tbe fiscal
year that will end June 30.
The Board recommended
to the State Highway
Commission that the Rogers
Chapel Cemetery Road in Not
la Township be repaired.
It was requested that .9
mile be added to Old Taylor
Cemetery Road in Notla Town
ship. Property owners have a
greed to donate the necessary
right of way.
Murphy Red Cross
Sets $2200 Goal
The Murphy Chapter of The
American Red Cross has es
tablished a quota of $2,200 for
its fund raising drive which
will be conducted during
March.
Gene Farmer and Reuben
Moore are co-chairmen of
the drive.
Much of the money will be
used to continue local Red
Cross projects such as the
blood program, swimming cl
asses and first aid training.
Farmer added that at the
present time the Red Cross
is emphasizing work on be
half of servicemen in Viet
nam.
This includes, he said, lo
cating next-of-kin for
servicemen and handling tele
phone calls to members
of their families.
Farmer said the first stage
of the drive will be carried
out through local businesses
and industries.
A door-to-door drive will
be made during the last week
of the month.
District School
Boards To Meet
The annual meeting of the
District 18 School Boards
Association will be held at
Murphy Elementary School
next Thursday with registra
tion beginning at 4; 15 p.m.
The theme of this year's
gathering of school board
members, district comm
itteemen and school adminis
trators is "Education Today
for Tomorrow's Task". Sch
ool units included in the dis
trict area are: Clay County,
Cherokee County, Murphy City
Andrews City, Graham
County, Jackson County, Ma
con County and Swain County.
Following registration, the
afternoon program will con
sist of three Group Meetings
discussing Current School Is
sues. Prominent lay and
professional educators from
the district will lead these
discussions.
Dr. Lester B. Ball, Prof
essor, University of North
Carolina, will be the prin
cipal speaker for the evening
session. His address will
follow a banquet to be held
in tbe Murphy Elementary
Lunchroom.
These area conferences oi
the North Carolina State
School Boards Association
annually attract over 4,000
School board members, com
mitteemen, educators, and
other interested persons. An
attendance of about 150isanti
cipated for the District 18
meeting.
Lloyd Millsaps, a member
of the Graham County Board
of Education, is currently ser
ving as District President and
Kenneth S. Barker, Superin
tendent, is serving as Dis
trict Secretary.
The State Association was
organized in 1937 and through
its history has been dedicated
to seeking improvements in
North Carolina Public Edu
cation. From its offices in
Chapel Hill, the Association
works with school board mem
bers and school committee
men at the local level. Pro
fessor Guy B. Phillips, of
Greensboro, the principal or
ganizer of the Association,
currently serves as its Con
sultant. Dr. Raleigh E. Ding
man of Chapel Hill is the
Associations's ExecutiveSec
retary.
PersuadesMan
Not To Jump
Earl Watts, a former sec
urity guard at Hiwassee Dam,
persuaded a despondent man
out of jumping off Gunters
ville Dam In Alabama on his
first day on the job there last
Thursday.
He spent ahalf hour pleading
with the man as the man stood
leaning oat over the water,
his arms hooked over a rail
ing behind him and his feet
partially over the edge of a
narrow concrete ledge.
The man, identified as a
resident of Calhoun, Ga., An
ally climbed back onto the
main part of the walkway.
Watts had been at Hiwa
ssee Dam for 17 years.
He was honored with a
surprise birthday dinner at his
home on Rt 4 Murphy on
February 24, two days before
he left for his new assign
ment at Guntersville.
MARCH
i x
3 4 8 ? 7 ? t
1011 121314 1818
IT 1# 1# JO 21 a 23
24 28 28 27 28 2? 30
31
Scop looking and start driv
\ ine that car you've been
t dreaming about! It's as easy
as getting a low cost loan
from M. & J. Just drop by
and tell us how much money
you need. Then, let us tell
you about our low-cost aunt
loans. You'll see we really
n "low cost".
M 4 J Fiaaice
Corp.
KITCS *
Jeffrey Palmar, ton of Mr, and Mr*. Walter Palmar
and Jimmy McComba aonof Mr.andMra. Jim McComba