ilurp hy Carnegie Library 4-73
Peachtree Street
Kurphv, N.C., 28906
8
PAGES
15* Per Copy
The Cherokee Scout
and Clay County Progress
!
Volume 79 - Number 21 - Murphy, North Carolina, 28906 - Second Class Postage Paid At MuVphy, North Carolina ? Wednesday, December 30, 1970
t^phy, I
License Plate Time Again
Roger Kephart, left, and
arry Burgess at the Western Auto in
[urphy display the new green-on
hite 1971 North Carolina license
lates which go on sale Saturday,
ehicle owners have until Feb. 16 to
>tain the new plates. Application
irds were mailed Dec. 21 by the
ate Department of Motor Vehicles
and vehicle owners are urged to
complete the cards before presenting
them for new plates. Those who have
not received an application card by
Jan. 1 should contact the Department
of Motor Vehicles in Raleigh, since, it
will take about two weeks to be issued
a duplicate card. (Staff Photo)
yew Careers , Youth Corps
t-Square Projects Funded
Two projects of Four
uare Community Action, Inc.
ye received word this week
it they have been funded to
litinue their programs.
, New Careers, sponsored by
tur Square Community
tion, Inc., has received
tification that it will receive a
leral grant of $201,130 from
I loodmobile
tops Listed
The Red Cross Bloodmobile
lljJbe in Hayesville at the
>allh Center next Monday
leraoon, from 1 until S o'clock.
The Bloodmobile will also
cept blcod from donors at
pperfaill, Tenn. on Tuesday,
the Magnavox plant in
idrews on Wednesday and at
Mfauville on Thursday of
xt week.
the Department of Labor,
Manpower Administration, for
operation from February 1,
1971, to January 22, 1972.
This grant covers 47
trainees from the four-county
area of Cherokee, Clay,
Graham, and Swain counties to
trained in the human service
fields of Police Science, X-Ray
Technology, Practical Nurse
Education, Day Care,
Interviewer Aides, and
Recreation workers.
These trainees will attend
school on an average of two
days per week and work on the
job three days per week. This
grant also covers four staff
members.
A new staff me- nber will be
added to the present staff of
three, this positirn being for a
training coordinator. If
interested in applying for a
training position or for the staff
position, please contact New
Careers, P.O. Bo* K, Andrews,
North Carolina.
The Neighborhood Youth
Corps will receive a federal
grant of $36,310 beginning
January 1,1971. The grant will
provide 74 enrollees jobs for 24
weeks for the continuation of
the in-school program in the
four counties of Cherokee, Clay,
Graham and Swain.
The youths are between the
ages of 14 and 21 and come from
low income families. John
Summerous, director of NYC,
says effective February 1,1971,
the wage rate for in-school
enrollees will be $1.60 per hour.
The enrollees are paid a
$1.60 an hour from the federal
grant and limited to working
nine hours a week. The boys are
doing manual labor as
beautification aides and the
girls are working as
secretaries, office aides,
teacher's and cafeteria aides.
Wiring Certificates
John D. Marlin, general manager
? Blue Ridge Electric Membership
irporation, is shown presenting
itequate Wiring Certificates to
torn Day, chairman of the Clay
XHity Rural Development Authority
wnes in the Moorview Homesite
?oject at Hayesville. Left to right are
of the Farmers Home
financed the project, Max
Waldroup, vice president of Blue
Ridge EMC, Marlin, Day, and Bob
Anderson, secretary of Blue Ridge
EMC. The certificates show the new
homes' wiring meets national and
local specifications and can be
expanded with little expense . The
housing project is the first subdivision
in this area to be served by
underground electrical service.
CMMBikdkiiiliitfiliMfiriiittBifilMitflttiAei
Medicaid
Strains
Budget
Providing free medical
services for those who cannot
afford them is straining both
county and state budgets to the
breaking point.
The program, known as
Medicaid, "is running well over
what is budgeted," according to
V.O. Ayers, who heads the
Services department in
Cherokee County, formerly
called the Welfare Department.
But Ayers was quick to add
that Cherokee County may be in
a better financial position to
provide its part of the Medicaid
budget than the State of
North Carolina. The Medicaid
program is financed by county,
state and federal money, the
federal part being roughly 75
percent of the total, the county
and the state putting up 12 %
percent apiece.
Ayers pointed out that while
payments for medical service
for the indigent in Cherokee
County have run over what was
expected, the county has not
spent what was planned in the
other usual welfare divisions
to the aged, the blind, to
the disabled and to dependent
children.
"We anticipate that by
transferring funds from these
underspent budgets to the
Medicaid budget, well be able
to find enough money for the
rest of the fiscal year," Ayers
said. He added that he would not
know for sure whether it will
work out that well until the
Medicaid report for the first six
months of fiscal 1970-71 is made,
probably at the January
meeting of the Cherokee County
Commissioners.
He indicated that the State
of North Caroline may not be so
lucky. Many counties have had
spending go beyond what was
expected, he said, and the state
is finding itself in a financial
bind. Ayers added that the
Legislature will convene in
Raleigh in January and may
soon find itself with the problem
of coming up with more money
for Medicaid.
"Federal money is
available," he said, in quantity
enough to take care of the
situation, even if more
Medicaid money is required
than was first thought
necessary.
The total Medicaid budget,
divided among federal, state
and county, for Cherokee
County was >263,350, Ayers
said. This was for the fiscal
year, July 1970 through June
1971. The county's part was
$36,640.
Through December, which
represents six months of the
fiscal year completed, Ayers
said $29,290 of the county's part
has been spent, along with
corresponding amounts of the
state and federal money.
December saw a slight
downward trend in Medicaid
spending, he said, the local
part to probably last another
six weeks to two months. The
budget had allowed for the
county spending $3,053 a
month for Medicaid, Ayers
explained, but spending for the
first six months f the fiscal year
averaged just over $4,000 a
month.
Medicaid began Jan 1,1970,
providing for those who
qualified, dental work, glasses,
medicine, hospital services,
home nursing and paying a
variety of doctor's bills.
Any person is eligible,
Ayers said, who is presently on
welfare rolls; others who are
not on welfare but need help
with medical costs can also
qualify. The Social Services
office decides eligibility.
Ayers further pointed out a
critical rule in deciding who is
eligible. If one parent is absent,
through death, prison,
desertion, etc., then a family
could be eligible for both
welfare and or Medicaid.
If both parents are present
in the home and one of them is
disabled, the family would still
be eligible, he said. But if both
parents are there, and both are
able-bodied and capable of
working, that family is not
eligible.
"Unemployment is not a
factor," Ayers said. "And
that's one of the weaknesses of
the program in my opinion. If
there are two able-bodied
parents in the home, regardless
of unemployment or how sick
the child is , they cant be
qualified for Medicaid.
"There are many children
in marginal families who need
medical help," he added. "And
we just cant reach them."
The so-called "man in the
house" rule is said to force able
bodied but unemployed men to
desert their families in some
states so that the wife and
children would be eligible for
welfare. Ayers said this could
happen in Cherokee County but
he has seen no evidence of it.
Ruins At Oak Grove
C.W. Hamby and his two small sons are shown
viewing the ruins of Oak Grove Missionary
Baptist Church, which burned to the ground in a
high wind on Sunday afternoon. The Hambys are
members of the Oak Grove Congregation, now
looking for a place to hold worship services until a
new building can be constructed. (Staff Photo)
Church Is Destroyed By Fire
Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church was
completely destroyed by fire Saturday afternoon.
The Murphy Volunteer firemen were called out in
a sub-freezing temperature Saturday about 4:30 p.m.
to the community of Oak Grove, located on NC-294
about 15 miles west of Murphy.
Upon reaching the scene the firemen found the
flames reaching high in the air, fanned by a high,
gusty wind.
The Murphy firemen fought the blaze for about an
hour, but it was too far gone when they arrived and
the wooden building was doomed. However, they
contained it well enough to keep the flames from
spreading into the woods which border the
churchyard.
The church was of frame structure, built about 60
years ago. It was considered a community landmark,
constructed first as a schoolhouse, and named "Collis
School."
At this time it was used jointly as a school and
the community church house. Finally in 1922 when
the County Board of Education split the district it
was established strictly as a church the school.,
children going to other neighboring schools.
The cnurcn now has about 85 members. The
pastor is the Rev. Gary Parris of Ducktown. Tenn.
The origin of the fire has not yet been determined,
members theorize it started through an electrical
shortage.
Members are presently looking for a place to
assemble, with hopes of constructing a new building
in the future.
The First Six Months
Review Of The News Events Of 1970
Below are the news
highlights of the first six months
of 1970, as reported in this
newspaper.
Doe to space limitations,
the year-end roundup will be
in two sections, the highlights of
second half of 1970 to appear in
the Scout next week.
JANUARY
Cold weather was the biggest
news last January as the
thermometerdropped below zero
for two days in a row, 2 below
the zero mark the first day and
then down to a chilly 10 below on
the second day. Snow, lots of it,
came and with the bitter cold, it
stayed. Cherokee County
schools were closed several
days.
Citizens Bank merged with
Wachovia Bank & Trust and
First Union National began
making plans to put up a new
building on Peachtree Street in
Murphy.
FEBRUARY
The Cherokee County
commissioners in their regular
meeting brought up the problem
of county auto dealers filing a
large inventory figure with the
state tax people and a much
smaller figure with the local
office. They named names,
indicating that dealers were
paying less than their fair share
of taxes, and ordered dealers to
show up to explain their actions.
Cherokee and Clay
commissioners that month
discussed building a regional
jail, to be located at Murphy,
and serve both counties.
Later in the month the
county and the Town of Murphy
agreed to operate jointly a
sanitary landfill on the Murphy
town dump site.
The Cherokee County
Republicans held their
convention, picked party
officers and recessed until later
in the year, at which time
would be selected for county
offices. A number of
candidates, both Democrats
and Republicans, began
announcing for office.
A new county elections
board, headed by Glenn
Stalcup, was announced and
given the oath in readiness for
the elections.
MARCH
Frank Forsyth, banker,
civic leader and former state
senator, was buried, his funeral
attended by Gov. Bob Scott and
a host of other dignitaries.
A nurse driving to work at
District Memorial Hospital in
Andrews, Miss Rachel Shields,
was killed when her car collided
with a tractor-trailer rig near
Andrews.
The Cherokee
commissioners went into a
secret session with two
representatives of the auto
dealers on the tax listing
matter, ejecting Scout Editor
Wally Avett from the meeting.
At the end of the day no action
had been taken, dealers left to
confer among themselves as to
what adjustment should be
made.
In basketball tournament
action at Cullowhee, the
Murphy girls team beat
Hayesville by a scant two points
for the Smoky Mountain
Conference Championship.
A popular Murphy High
student, Debbie Dockery, was
found dead in her smashed auto
on the bank of the Hiwassee
River near Murphy. The fatal
wreck occurred in a rainstorm
the night before; she was alone
in the car at the time.
The fund-raising drive for
the renovation of Providence
Hospital continued, with the
Sisters of Providence
announcing they would
refurnish each room at the
hospital.
The First Baptist Church in
Murphy was sold to Wachovia
Bank, plans announced for a
new church in West Murphy and
a new bank on the site of the old
church.
William Ralph Graves, Jr.,
23, of Murphy, was killed in
action in the Vietnam war. A
few days later, Richard Herbert
Wilson, 21, of Peach tree, also
was killed in the Asian conflict.
Dr. Harry Miller of Murphy
died suddenly while visiting at
the home of a sister in
Asheville.
APRIL
Dr. Mario Seiglie of
Andrews moved his family tod
practice to Murphy.
Levi Strauss k Co. moved
into its spacious new plant east
of Murphy.
Both parties held nominating
conventions for the May 5 town
election, with more candidates
announcing all along for county
offices.
Neal R. Kitchens, former
sheriff of Clay County, died of a
rare disease. He had been
sheriff longer than anyone in
Clay history.
Arsonists started several
forest fires along the North
Carolina-Tennessee line In the
Unicoi Gap section of I
County, burning over 7W i
Continued On Page 7
Holiday
Schedule
we55*?lniw5Siw
No Arrests Made Yet
In Counterfeit Case
No arrests have been made
in the counterfeiting
investigation in Cherokee
County so far, according to
Sheriff Blain Stalcup.
Acting on an anonymous
tip, Stalcup and federal officers
of the Secret Service seized
more than $50,000 in bogus $10
bills in a Bealtown trailer last
week.
The sheriff Monday said the
investigation is continuing and
Secret Service agents in the
past few days have made
several arrests for
counterfeiting in Knoxville but
it was not known whether the
men in those cases were
connected with the bills found
Sheriff Stalcup said only
ooe of the bad l#"s was i
.
this county but atleast four
counterfeit 20's have been
reported and more may be in
circulation.
Wachovia Bank this week
began warning its tellers and
local merchants about
counterfeit bills, giving a
number of tips on how to spot a
fake bill.
Look first at the
portrait on the bill, the bank
advised, and especially the
eyes. A counterfeit bill usually
has a smudgy portrait with dull
eyes.
Serial numbers on fake bills
are also often badly spaced and
uneven in appearance, die bank
advises, and counterfeit money
generally has a different feel,
since only the genuine bill has
silk threads imbedded in the
?
Tellico Boar
L.B. Ledford, left, and a hardy
band of hog hunters bagged a boar
Christmas Day and another Monday
morning. Shown here with the
secondboar are, left to right, Charles
Battle, Harold Parker, Jack
Davenport, Arvil Cook, JJI.
Dale Earwood and Jotai
second, and final, eefmaat el