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HI RSDAY. APRIL ». 1*77. Vol. 11. No. 1® ^'■■■■^■
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Earth wall
on US 70
a first in NC
by Daa Ward
a ad Phyllis GeneMJ
The retaining wall being
nit and three others
heduled for construction on
S. 70 near Old Fort will be
e first of their kind in North
aroima, according to Stan
yatt. assistant engineer for
it project.
The process, known as
in/orced earth construction
id patented by the Rein
rced Earth Co., has been
ied extensively in Western
lates with a good deal of
uccess. Hyatt said. The
rocess was first developed in
ranee.
A retaining wall of in
rlocking cement slabs is
ssembled for the outside
dge of the wall The workers
n U S. 70 have the first three
vers of slabs assembled at
lis time.
A series of 42 foot, thin steel
trips are attached to the
labs, and are layered
alternately with 7W inches of
compacted sand, according to
Chief Inspector for the project
Herman (Hoss) Lafevers.
Almost 100 layers of strips and
sand will be necessary to build
the wall to the level of the
existing roadbed, he said.
The pressure of the sand on
the steel strips holds the slab
wall in and prevents land
slides.
Reinforced Earth claims
that their process costs up to
SO per cent less than other
methods of making retaining
walls, and is as solid as con
ventional methods.
Lafevers said that all four
walls scheduled for the Old
Fort area have a contractor
deadline of October 1. Hyatt
said traffic will be reduced to
three lanes at each site as
construction begins there,
with the two downhill lanes
remaining open to prevent
accidents from runaway
trucks.
Schoolvote
May 3
Dm* v -r! „.
■Buncombe County residents
Hli be asked to vote May 3 on
■ referendum to supplement
Hids for public schools in the
■ The question put before
■tiers is whether the schools
■ allowed to collect up to JO
Knts per S100 valuation on
■al and personal property.
■ Advisory councils at Black
fountain Grammar School,
lack Mountain Primary
chool. Carver Optional
chool and Swannanoa School
»ve all come out strongly in
ivor of the referendum.
The money, if the
sferendum passes, would be
sed to “supplement and
qualize educational ad
tntages and standards in
waity schools. The money
>U not be used for in
trscholastic athletics, em
loyee raises, or the pur-,
hase of land, buildings or
lotor vehicles
John Carroll, a member of
te Buncombe County Board
tflMwmtev-w*1 ’hat»«' of
the money collected would be
used W hire additional
teachers and teaching
“We need more attention
per student-eapecially in the
primary grades,” CatroH
said. He said the amoimt of
money allocated to schools
and what the money is used
for would vary from school to
school, based on the needs and
enrollment of the school.
Carroll predicted that the
first year's assessment, if the
referendum passes, will be
about 15 cents per $100.
Polling places are as
follows:
Black Mountain
Precinct One-Owen High
School; Precinct Two-Black
Mountain Primary School;
Precinct Three-Club House;
Precinct Four-Montreat Inn
lobby.
Swannanoa
Precinct One-Swannanoa
Vol Fire Dept.; Precinct Two
Swan nanoa School.
Meet the staff
Phyllis Genetti -
A WORKER packs sand down over one of the first layers of steel strips used
in the reinforced earth wall being built on US 70 near Old Fort. The strips are
attached to the cement wall in the foreground. (Dan Ward)
Older Americans to meet
Exciting plans are un- Black Mountain. The Com
derway for a regional mittee is planning for about
celebration of Older 2,500 older adults to share in
Americans Day, Friday, the entertainment and
May 6 at the Asheville Civic recognition of senior citizens.
Center. The activities are The program will include
scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local entertainment, a special
This year’s ct ebration is appearance by the Decatur,
being planned by a committee Georgia Civic Chorus, and a
representing local Councils on noonday luncheon.
Aging, church groups, and Anyone interested in
“lunch clubs' within the four exhibiting handmade arts and
county region and chaired by crafts should contact Starlett
Mrs. Irene Stephenson, Site Craig, Community Resources
Manager at the Lake Consultant at Regional
Tomahawk Nutrition Site in Council offices to make
- not just typist
by Dan Ward
Editor’* Note: The following
article is part of a series on
staff members here at the
Black Mountain News. We will
try to show the different steps
to producing a newspaper, as
well as give you an idea of how
dedicated and energetic a
person must be to help turn
out a good'newspaper.
“Don’t tell everyone I’m the
typist,” Phyllis Genetti said,
grimacing at the prospect of
making her duties at the News
public knowledge. “I get so
many complaints about
misspelled words as it is.”
Actually, Phyllis does an
exceptionally good job of
typesetting - our problem at
the News is proofreading the
hundred feet or so of copy in a
short period.
Our typesetting machines
print their results on com
puter tape, which is fed
through another computer,
which reproduces typed copy
photographically. There is no
such thing as erasing and
retyping a mistake Mistakes
must be cut out or pasted over
with other copy minutes after
Phyllis types them Then the
columns of copy are waxed on
the back and “pasted up” on
layout sheets - a pieced
together image of the finished
news page.
Phyllis is more than
typesetter at the News. She is
the comandant foi a brigade
of newsboys. They love her
and joke with her, but they
know they have to hop when
Phyllis tells them.
One of her most important
roles at the News is as an
information bank. She is in
trigued with people and seems
to know everybody and their
unique characteristics. Many
times Phyllis has been laison
or inspiration for interviews
printed by the News.
She is a unique lady in
herself. She has held a variety
of jobs, from occassional
television commercial actress
and set designer to carpenter
to telephone receptionist to
boutique owner. In the past,
..she has worked for Singer -
Kearfott, Beacon Manufac
turing and Valley Realty.
Originally from Asheville,
Phyllis left this area for “nine
or ten" years and lived in
Virginia Beach She returned
to Black Mountain because
“it's the best place to raise my
children," Tad and Lara.
reservations. Space is
available to individuals and
organizations at a cost of $10
per table.
Greenwood to seek OK
for vote. back taxes bill
by Dan Ward
State Rep. Gordon
Greenwood will seek approval
from the House Speaker, Lt.
Governor and chairmen of
both rules committees in
Raleigh to introduce a bill,
well after the local issues
deadline, to legitimize past
votes of two town board
members who were found to
have lived outside the Black
Mountain town limits. The bill
would also validate back taxes
charged to persons whose
property was improperly
annexed and is now in the
process of being annexed to
the town of Black Mountain.
Greenwood told the News
recently that he objected to
reports given the News that an
earlier version of the bill,
which would eliminate
petitions and public hearing to
annex property to the town,
was intended to cover up past
improper procedures by the
town board.
Greenwood said he obtained
the legal opinion of the At
torney General and the
League of Municipalities
before asking the town for
a listing of its meets and
bounds, needed for the bill.
"I’m not at all interested or
concerned with the bill,” he
said. “I had no intention of
introducing it without the full
support of the board. The
board and City Manager Jon
Creighton asked me to in;
traduce the bill, and I looked
into it.”
Creighton said earlier that
he first heard of the proposal
to annex the Spring Hill area
legislatively when Aid. Tom
Sobol informed him that Eep.
Greenwood wanted the meets
and bounds of the towh.
Ail board members, except
Sobol, when contacted by the
News, said they did not know
that legislative annexation
was being considered until
March 30 or after, well after
footwork on the bill began in
Raleigh.
Mayor Margaret Slagle and
Aid. Ruth Brandon said they
first heard of the bill March 30
at Mayor& Day in Raleigh
from Rep. Robert Swain, who
was assisting Greenwood with
the bill.
Aid. A. F. Tyson and Don
Hoefling said they first
learned of the bill in the April
21 edition of the News. Aid.
John Mundy could not be
contacted by press time.
Sobol, when contacted by
the News last Monday,
said he did not remember
whether he proposed
legislative annexation to
Greenwood, or Greenwood
proposed it to him, or when.
He acknowledged passing the
meets and bounds request on
to Creighton.
Sobol had said last week
that he had always favored the
petition and public hearing
method of annexation for
Spring Hill. He told the News
recently that he felt some
people, whom he did not
specify, were “Making a
mountain out of a molehill.”
Mayor Slagle said she
supports Greenwoodft effort
to legitimize past votes and
taxes assessed by the board.
No board members have
voiced an opposition to the bill
Greenwood is currently trying
to place before the legislature.
Board may be deadlocked
by residency requirement
by Dan Ward
Black Mountain Town At
torney William Eubanks said
April 26 that he will in
vestigate whether John
Mundy will be able to vote on
the Town Board until past
votes by Aid. Tom Sobol and
Don Hoefling are found legal.
Without Mundy’s vote, the
board would not be able to
¥- #tain a quorum-ahd
therefore could not transact
any business.
Sobol’s and Hoefling’s votes
were included in Mundy’s
appointment to the board,
<making the alderman’s ap
pointment one of many
questioned transactions that
may have to be legitimized by
state legislation.
Rep. Gordon Greenwood,
who is trying to originate
legislation to legitimize past
votes of Sobol and Hoefhng,
said that those two aldermen
may still have to conform to a
30-day precinct residency
requirement after their
property is annexed before
they may begin voting again
and their past votes become
valid. If that is the case, the
town board will not be able to
transact business before June.
Eubanks said he intends to
consult the League of
Municipalities to find out if
Mundy can vote before then.
Cherry St. seeks improvements
by Betty Tyson
At the May meeting of the
Town Improvement Com
mittee Thursday night, a
delegation of shop owners
from Cherry St. asked for help
in beautifying the street and
making it a more attractive
place to browse and shop. The
group asked that the town
remove the dead bushes from
the walkways and replace
them with sour wood trees.
They also want the State St.
Police Report
The Black Mountain Police
Dept, conducted 25 in
vestigations this past week.
They arrested one for DUI,
issued a citation for a loud
muffler, two for stop light
violations, five got speeding,
one warning citation and
arrested one for public
drunkenness.
They assisted nine
motorists, assisted BCSD,
assisted SHP, transported two
to detox and escorted one
funeral.
Swannanoa
fire dept.
The Swannanoa Fire
Department made two runs
last week.
On Thursday, April 24, four
men and one engine were
called to a brush fire on Bee
Tree Rd.
On Friday, April 22, 15 men
and one engine put out a brush
fire on Old US 70 near
Swannanoa School.
Black Mtn.
Fire Dept.
The Black Mountain Fire
Department made only one
call last week. Two trucks and
18 men responded to a fog
house fire April 19 at Drexel
Plant No. 10. About $3000
damage was reported
Buncombe County Ambulance
The ambulance service
made 18 routine runs, four
emergencies and two in which
they were not needed.
They had two civil distur
bances.
The following accidents
were recorded: Craigmont
Rd., with property damage of
1900. The driver fled scene of
accident in a one car accident.
entrance to Cherry St.
beautified. Harriet Styles
suggested that Cherry St. be
made into a one way street
with traffic flowing south from
State St. to Sutton Ave. and
that all parking be angle
parking on the east side of the
street only. After much
discussion, the group decided
to request the Cherry St.
improvements in a petition
which they will bring to Town
Council meeting May 9.
Town Manager Jon
Creighton reported that the
response to the junk pick-up
had been very good and that
the town employees are still
making pickups. The com
mittee reccommended that a
junk pickup be conducted
every three months. Mr.
Creighton also said that all of
the dead shrubbery will be cut
off and the holes filled.
Nothing will be replanted until
the interstate is finished and
some of the heavy traffic
aleveated.
Mrs. Styles reported that all
of the 500 sour wood trees were
sold, many of which are now
being planted around Lake
Tomahawk by the Black
Mountain Women’s Club. Mr.
Creighton said that the
walking path around the lake
will be started next week.
Mr. Paul Griffith reported
his progress in identifying
streets names in order to have
clairification made before the
new Black Mountain maps are
printed later this spring.
Lou Marett represented the
Black Mountain Junior
Women’s club. The Junior
Women are collecting
aluminum and clear glass for
recycling. A time and place
for receiving these collected
items was set for May 21 in the
rear parking lot of the Bank of
Asheville. The Town Im
provement Committee hopes
to have information on the
collection of newspapers and
cardboard very soon, TOs is a
project that would be a fine
service to the community and
a money-raising plan for some
organization.
Mrs. Tyson said,“Now that
our sidewalks and streets are
back in shape, it is time for all
of the downtown businesses
and shops to paint up, fix up,
or at least wash their win
dows!”
Members of the Town
Improvement Committee are:
Chairman Betty Tyson,
Secretary Kay Hyder, Hugo
Thompson, Albert Garland,
Harriett Styles, Chet Prentice
and Gay Fox.
Meet the board
“Board is dedicated” - A.F. Tyson
by Dan Ward
“We’ve been tom up with
water improvements,
telephone improvements, and
1-40 being built. It’s been hard
to do anything in a permanent
way I think we’re ready to
move now,’ said Aid. A.F.
Tyson, 14-year veteran of the
Black Mountain Town Board.
Tyson said he is satisfied
with the rate of improvements
in Black Mountain and
predicted that some new
programs will be im
plemented as soon as the
heavy interstate traffic is
diverted from town.
Tyson was "Bom and
raised’in Black Mountain and
has worked at the family
owned Tyson Furniture since
the business began in 1946. He
served on the board for 12
year in ‘the 50ft and 60k’
before dropping out of politics
until last election.
He said that he believes
there is no communication
gap between the board and the
citizens. “I think there is good
communication between the
town and board, as evi
denced by the turnout at
meetings,’he said. “I see no
problem on that account at all."
Tyson said the best way for
citizens to get action on an
issue is to demonstrate that
they are willing to work for a
goal. "The people themselves
have to be interested-they
cant depend on federal funds
or someone else to do it for
them.”
He also advised that a
person carries the greatest
clout when he speaks out at a
public meeting.
"1 believe in bringing
problems to the open meeting.
I don’t like going to the in
dividual board members,’he
said.
“There are more people
concerned about it (local
government) than ever
before,’ he noted. He cited
organized efforts to beautify
Cherry St. and renovate the
depot as examples.
He said he believes the
present board has been more
willing to invest a great deal of
time to public service than
any before, and is optimistic
that the town will go through
some great changes once the
interstate highway is com
pleted
“I tell you, when 1-40 is
completed, I think this town
will become the nicest little
town in Western North
Carolina."