t llurp hy Carnegie Library 4-73 pfeachtree Street jrphy, N.C., 28906 JhgjL 12 The Cherokee Scout PAGES B ? and Clay County Progress 15' Per Copy * , Volume 79 ? Number 35 - Murphy, North Carolina, 28906 ? Second Class Postage Paid At Murphy, North Carolina ? Thursday, April 15, 1971 For Lack Of Water A two-story frame house on Andrews Highway was destroyed by fire las* Friday night. The Murphy volunteer firemen had the fire whipped at one point but ran out of water and the flames broke out again and consumed the house. The dwelling was owned by J.B. Hall, Sr., the man in the hat shown talking with firemen in the foreground. It was occupied by James Palmer and Paul Hedden. Cause of the fire was unknown. (Photo by Owens) Town Council Urges Sales Tax For County The Murphy Town Council in its meeting last Monday night approved a resolution urging that the county commissioners go ahead and impose the local one-cent sales tax without a vote on the issue. Mayor Cloe Moore and members of the council discussed the matter before passing the resolution and the general opinion was that the county needs the money from the tax and the county commissioners could save most of the cost of a special election (estimated at $5,000) by calling off the election now and putting the tax into effect. The council also expressed the desire that Andrews, as the only other incorporated town inside the county boundaries, approve a similar resolution. If the local sales tax becomes a Andrews ABC Store To Open The Andrews liquor store, approved by the town's voters back in February, will open for business Thursday morning at 9 o'clock. Grady Garrett, chairman of the three-man Alcoholic Beverage Control board in Andrews, said the ABC store will be open from 9 am. until 9 pm? six days a week. Located in the old Shell Diner building on the upper end of Main Street in Andrews, the store will employ four men and a woman as bookkeeper, Garrett said. The men will work in pairs, one pair to the morning shift and one to the evening shift. The store will sell liquor and some wines, he said, but will not handle beer. Customers must be 21 or older and will be required to show proof of age if there is any doubt, he said. Purchases will be limited to a gallon. reality in Cherokee County, according to state law the incorporated towns within a Firebugs Burn Woods Arsonists started a number of woodsfires Sunday night and early Monday morning in the Beaverdam-Shuler Creek area, keeping U.S. Forest Service crews busy. A Forest Service spokesman said an investigation by government agents is under way. He said the fires were apparently started with delay devices, fused perhaps with a slow burning cigarette. There were six attempts to set fires in the Beaverdam section, the firefighters said, which resulted in four fires. About 35 men and a bulldozer, including some state firefighters led by new Ranger Harold Coleman, were needed to control the Beaverdam fires. Four deliberate sets caused four fires in the Shuler Creek section and there were two fires set at Ogretta, the foresters said, but these were stopped quickly and burned a total of only six or seven acres. Three Beaverdam fires burned over a out 35-40 acres, the foresters said, and were not under control until about 10 o'clock Monday morning. Fire Permits Are Canceled Cherokee County Forest Ranger Harold Coleman announced today that all burning permits for the county have been canceled until further notice by the N.C. Forest Service, due to dry, windy weather and the danger of forest fires. county share in the revenues realized from the local tax, the county getting the major portion. In other business, the council approved moving of the police department to quarters in the town library building now occupied by the Chamber of Commerce office if arrangements can be worked out. Mayor Moore reported that the increase in Powell Bill funds okayed by the current Legislature, will mean that instead of $14,000 the Town of Murphy has been receiving annually, the town next year will g et about $25,000. He said this comes from one cent of the state gasoline tax, divided among the towns on a formula based both on the town's population and its street mileage. Town Clerk Charlie Johnson reported that the sanitary landfill jointly aperated by the Town and Cherokee County is rapidly running out of space and said another site will have to be found in the near future. Johnson said the Tennessee Valley Authority had offered its service in planning an expansion at the present site but added that even with expansion, the landfill will not be able to remain at the present location for more than a year. Councilmen approved Bud Brown's motion that the Murphy Planning Board be asked to help with a practical plan for the landfill and then the matter be discussed fully at a joint meeting of the council and county commissioners. The council aW discussed reorganization of the Murphy Volunteer Fire Department and Johnson read a set of proposed bylaws, which would include compulsory attendance at regular meetings for firemen. Councilman Joe Fowler was dired .4 to study the bylaws and the present roster of firemen to make recommendations to the council on the matter. Commissioners Call Meetings On Sales Tax The Cherokee County board of commissioners has scheduled two public meetings on the county one-cent sales tax issue for next week. Chairman Jack Simonds this week said meetings will be held next Tuesday night at Hiwassee Dam School and Thursday night at the Andrews Town Hall to discuss the pros and cons of the sales tax. Both meetings will start at 7:30 p.m. he said, and citizens of these areas are urged to attend and discuss the sales tax matter with the three commissioners, who have called for a countywide vote on the question on May 22. Simonds has also called a special meeting of the commissioners for the Courthouse on Saturday morning of this week, at which time more public meetings on the matter will probably be scheduled. Governor's Wife Coming Tuesday Mrs. Robert W. Scott, wife of North Carolina's governor, will visit the John C. Campbell Folk School next Tuesday to join residents of Cherokee, Graham and Clay counties in observance of North Carolina Heritage Week. Mrs. Scott is scheduled to arrive at the airport at Anikews about 10:30 Tuesday morning and depart from the airport at theend of her visit about 3 that afternoon. Folk School officials say she plans no formal speeches. Mrs. Scott is state chairman of Heritage Week, initiated by the Cultural Arts Division of the State Department of Public Instruction as a major new annual event to focus on the history and culture of the people of the Old North State. Residents of the three counties are invited to bring a covered dish to the Brasstown school at rioon Tuesday, to join Mrs. Scott in a traditional North Carolina luck dinner. A program of folk singing, dancing and clogging will be presented. An exhibit of western North Carolina handicrafts will also be on display. Area Heritage Weak observances will begin Sunday, with a shaped-note singing convention at the Folk School, commencing at 2:30 pjn. The public is invited to attend. All schools and colleges within the state are being encouraged to cooperate in the April 18-25 celebration by giving special emphasis to the study of North Carolina historyand culture. Businesses and industries throughout the state will offer special promotions of North Carolina products, display arts and crafts in shop windows, and sponsor cultural events. Town Clean-up Mrs. Holland McSwain of the Murphy Carder Club Monday surveyed the unsightly litter around the Rock Gym as the club made arrangements for e townwide clean-up on Thursday of next week Garbage should be tied in plastic bags, boxes or other containers and town trucks and vehicles supplied b) plants and individuals will be pressed into service foi a big collection day. Circus Coming I The Hoxie Bros. 3-ring circus will be at the Fairgrounds here in Murphy for two shows, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. next Tuesday, sponsored by the Murphy Jaycees. Shown above is the center ring elephant act. The circus also features a large wild animal collection and sideshow. Billed as the second largest tent circus in America, Hoxie Bros, opens in Miami in March and plays the eastern half of the country each season. Thieves Hit Jewelry Store I Thieves broke into a Murphy jewelry store last week and took more than $6,000 in diamond rings and watches. Moore Jewelers on Tennessee Street was entered Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, according to Mirphy Police Chief Pete Stalcup. Chief Stalcup said there were at least two thieves, perhaps more. They gained entry to the building by cutting a hole through an unused second-story window at the rear of the building which had been boarded up. Evidence found at the scene indicated that the hole cut through the covering at the window was a small one, Chief Stalcup said, and the burglar who went through it was either a very small person or maybe a child. The small burglar knocked out the supports for the boards covering the window and admitted the other person or persons, according to the Murphy officers. Once inside the building, the thieves took watches, rings and earrings. Officers said only the most expensive items were taken but added that they were taken from their individual boxes, which willreduce their value when the stolen goods are re-sold. Chief Stalcup theorized that the $6,000 worth of jewelery will bring the thieves less than $1,000. Steve Revis Assistant Farm Agent Appointed The North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service has announced the appointment of Steve Revis to serve as assistant agricultural extension agent in Cherokee, day, Graham and Swain Counties effective April 1. He has recently completed a short period of in-service training in Raleigh. Revis is a native of Henderson County and is a recent graduate of N.C. State University where he was on the Dean's List his last three semesters. He holds a B.S. Degree in Horticulture and has specialized in fruits and vegetables. His primary area of responsibility will be Horticulture. However, he will assist the Extension staff in each of the four counties to implement programs of income development in agricultural and agricultural resource development projects. Revis has served two years with the U.S. Army reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant. He and his wife Judy and infant son, James Matthew, have moved to Murphy and are residing on Valley River Avenue. Cherokee County politics surfaced in the Legislature in Raleigh last week as a bill was introduced by the Democrats to redistrict the county to their satisfaction. Two years ago Sen. Herman (Bull) West, Republican, was in the thick of the controversy which reduced the board of County commissioners in Cherokee from six members, with the chairman having two votes, to three men with just one vote apiece. In an address last year to the county Republican convention, West made no secret of the fact that the districts for election of county commissioners were drawn to favor the Republicans. And when the election was held last Fall, two GOP candidates were seated on the three-man board. West, however, was defeated in his bid for re-election. Rep. Erwin W. Patton of Franklin, Democrat, introduced the bill, which he said was given to him by the Cherokee County Democratic Party's executive committee. It should be on the floor of the House for a vote early next week, he said, and will then go to the Senate for ratification. I! approved, it would go into effecl for the 1974 county commissioners primary and election. He said so far he ha: heard of no opposition to tin redisricting. Patton's bill would retail the three-member board, ead elected for a term of four year by the voters in the district i which the candidate resides. Redistricting Bill Offered Hie three districts, under terms of Patton's bill, would be made up of the following precincts: District 1 - Topton Precinct, Andrews North Ward, Andrews South Ward and Marble Precinct. District 2 - Murphy South Ward, Peachtree Precinct, Brasstown Precinct, Burnt Meeting House Precinct, Walker School House Precinct, and Culberson Precinct. District 3 ? Murphy North Ward, Hanging Dog Precinct, Grape Creek Precinct, Qgreeta Precinct, Hot House Precinct, Shoal Creek Precinct and Unaka Precinct. Rimco Adding Line Peter McKeon, plant manager of Rimco, an Indian Head Company, has announced the installation of two new type warp knitting machines. These machines when in commercial production will be knitting fabrics primarily for use in the outerwear market. The installation of this equipment at Rimco is indicative of the company's interest in involving its plant facilities here in Murphy in this rapidly expanding market for Indian Head fabrics, McKeon said. Prior to the introduction of this new product line in the Rimco plant it had only manufactured levers laces primarily used for high quality lingerie. Callers In Andrews Must Use Full Number Customers of the Andrews telephone exchange will have to dial the complete 7-digit numbers when calling each other, beginning next Monday. Paul Wooten, district commercial manager of Westco Telephone, said Tuesday that Westco workmennext week will begin installing equipment to furnish Andrews with Direct Distance Dialing by May 16. Andrews subscribers whose numbers begin with the prefix 321 have grown accustomed to dialing only five digits, Wooten said, the 1 of the prefix and then the last four numbers. However, he warned, the 1 is the key to making a direct distance call and if Andrews subscribers dial it a< the beginning of a number nest week, they will tie up the new equipment being installed. To make local caDa, he urges that the Andrews subscribers dial the fall number, the 321 and then the last fourdigits. WCU To Dedicate Forsyth Building Bankers, legislators, and business educators will be at Cullowhee Friday, as Western Carolina University honors the late W. Frank Forsyth at dedication ceremonies for the university's new School of Business building. A full program is in store for all those attending. The building dedication will begin at 11 am., and will include the first annual W. Frank Forsyth Memorial Lecture, to be given by Dr. Arthur Warner, dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Warner will speak on the future of business education in the Southeast. The schedule includes tours of the new building following the lecture. All parts of the four story, $1.25 million structure will be open to visitors. Three forums of interest to businessmen and business educators will highlight the afternoon's activity. Beginning at 1:30 pin., Dr. Harold K. Charlesworth will discuss trends in financing for small business .and Dr. Mary Ellen OUverio will talk about trends in office and business education for the 70's. Dr. Charlesworth is president of the National Council for Small Business Management Development, and Dr. Oliverio is author and lecturer at Teachers College, Columbia University. At 2:49 pjn. Geroge R. Watts, director o! data processing for the State of Indiana, will conduct a forum on the place of computers in business education. The building which will bear the name of W. Frank Forsyth houses the WCU School of Business, the Computer Center, the Economic Development Center, and the business and Industrial Placement Office It provides K.OM square feet of including 19 general purpose and 13 special purpose classrooms, sad offices for the and 34 faculty WCU School of Forsyth was at om ttsse -?s--? _| ntu? ? urcsiutrni m vslun Trust Co. of Andrews, i state senator from the district He was a the Advisory " "m m