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Thursday. June 23. 1977, Vol. 33, No. 36 «,?» ■>£<*■ * f-’ *
Local man
gets3to5
for break-in
Clarence Quinn, who was
charged with the breaking and
entering of a house in Black
Mountain on April 18, has been
sentenced in Superior Court to
serve not less than three years
and not more than five in the
North Carolina Department of
Corrections facility in
Raleigh, a police spokesman
reported.
While Quinn was on bond for
that arrest, he was again
arrested for breaking and
entering and larceny of
Carolina Jewelry in Black
Mountain on May 26. A trial
for that charge has not yet
been held.
Black Mountain police
arrested Lee McNamara of
Black Mountain June 15 for
manufacturing and possesion
of marijuana. Inspector Bill
Stafford was working with the
SBI and Interagency Nar
cotics Squad in making the
arrest.
The Black Mountain
Crammar School was broken
into twice last week, police
reported. Some property
damage was reported.
The police conducted 10
investigations.
The police issued two
parking violations, arrested
one for DUI, issued five
speeding citations, one for
improper muffler and one for
public drunkeness.
They assisted Sheriffs police
and assisted five motorists,
answered six civil distur
bances, and six domestic
disturbances.
Accidents were recorded at
Ridgeway St. and E. State St.
$800 property damage, and
Azalea Ave.-|450 property
damage and no injuries.
Town applies
for Tide III
by F.A. Foster
A bid for Title in funds was
submitted by City Manager
Jon Creighton at the Asheville
meeting of the Area Agency on
Aging. Creighton requested a
grant of $16,440 to hire a
director, asst, director and
counselor to operate the
Senior Citizen Center at Lake
Tomahawk full-time. Title III
grants are made under the
Older Americans Act to local
programs helping the senior
citizens. The Federal
government provides 90
percent of the support needed
for approved programs for a
three year period and local
municipalities must offer
matching funds. It will be
some time before it is known
whether Creightons bid is
successful as a review is
required by county, state and
federal agencies before the
final funding is approved.
Other Black Mountain of
ficials present at die meeting
were Mayor Margaret Slagle,
Paul Limbert and Irene
Stephenson. Limbert,
representing the Buncombe
County Council on Aging,
asked for $16,000 to provide
and office and staff for the
Council.
This wild lily was an irresistable model as it posed on a roadside near
Swannanoa. (Dan Ward)
Squirrly story
Sweet care saves Sugar
by Dan Ward
Some people would think
Carrie Wheeler of Black
Mountain was squirrly for
what she did, but Edith Raber
of the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals said “itfc a wonderful
person who did what she did.'
Carrie Wheeler has adopted
Sugar, a blind baby squirrel
that fell-or was pulled by
birds- from its nest at one
month old.
“When we found her, her
little nose was bleeding," Mrs.
Wheeler said of Sugar. “After
a while, she just laid out like
dead.'
Mrs. Wheeler said her first
thought was to have the
animal put to sleep, but her
daughter, Pat, wanted to try
,EEE3Se ji —
CARRIE WHEELER AND FRIEND Sugar
to nurse the squirrel back to
health. “My daughter is just
crazy about animals, you
know,'Mrs. Wheeler, who has
three dogs herself, said.
“Well, I took Sugar out of
the cage and started talking to
her until she came to,’ Mrs.
Wheeler said.
Mrs. Wheeler said she took
Sugar to Dr. A.E. Wagener of
Black Mountain. The
veterinarian didnt give Sugar
much chance of survival, she
said, but prescribed an
tibiotics for the animal.
“That biotic took her right
out of it,’ Mrs. Wheeler said.
The animal is now, at four
months, a bundle of energy.
She wants to eat all the time
now,’Mrs. Wheeler said. “She
likes grits.’ Sugar takes her
grits in a bottle with
evaporated milk. She also has
a habit of eating the tiny
nipples, a scarce comodity
that Mrs. Wheeler has to go to
Asheville to buy.
Mrs. Wheeler claims Sugars
eyesight is returning. At this
time, the squirrel falls off of
furniture, but seems to follow
Mrs WheelerS hand as she
moves it in front of the
animals eyes.
“If her eyesight comes
back, I want to take her
somewhere where they dont
hunt and let her go,’ Mrs.
Wheeler said.
In any case, Mrs. Wheeler is
getting good advice on
squirrel-raising from her
sister, Pearl Shelton. Ms.
Shelton is foster mother to 25
to 30 wild animals that have
been orphaned or injured.
Fire Chief
teaches class
at fire school
Black Mountain Fire Chief
Mack Kirkpatrick left June 20
for Wilson to teach a week
long course in pump
operations at the start Fire
College.
Kirkpatrick, who fireman
Steve King called “one of the
smartest men in North
Carolina on pumps,*was asked
by the Department of In
surance to teach the short
course. He will return to duty
June 27.
Black Mountain
Fire Department
The Black Mountain Fire
Department fought three fires
last week.
On June 15, two trucks and
18 men fought a fire at Tall
Oaks Cottage on Cherokee
Ave. Minor damage was
reported.
On June 17, $200 damage
was the result of a car fire on
US 70 east. One truck and 11
men were called to that fire.
Two trucks and 16 men put
out a fire in a clothes dryer at
Camp Ridgecrest for Boys on
June 17. Minor damage was
reported.
The department received a
false alarm, answered by one
truck and seven men, on June
14.
FIRE AMBULANCE
The Black Mountain Fire
Department ambulance made
one emergency run, one
routine and was not needed on
one.
AMBULANCE SERVICE
The ambulance service
made four emergency runs, 18
routine and was not needed on
six.
Medical
Center
The Swannanoa Valley
Medical Center saw 170
regular patients, 10
emergency and five injuries
last week.
Board votes to oppose
Swannanoa
fire district growth
by Dan Ward
A four-member committee
will study ways of combating
Black Mountain^ stray animal
problem and report to the
Town Board at its next regular
meeting in July.
The committee was chosen
by Mayor Margaret Slagle at
the Town Board meeting June
20. At that meeting, the board
also passed the 1977-78 budget,
passed a resolution opposing
expansion of the Swannanoa
fire district into an area now
serviced by Black Mountain,
and rejected an ordinance
prohibiting public display of
alcohol containers.
Anna Hall and Grace Austin
told the board of bad ex
periences they had with stray
animals and of receiving
threats and harrassment from
pet owners as a result of
trying to have the strays
picked up. Ms. Hall suggested
the town hire a part-time
animal warden to alleviate the
stray problem, j
Mayor Slagle Appointed Ms.
Hall and Ms. /Austin, along
with Belle Mor'dell and Naomi
Brigman to Study methods of
animal control and present
their recommendations to the
board at its next meeting.
BUDGET
The board also passed the
1977-78 town budget without
objections. The News will try
to analize that budget in a
coming issue.
FIRE DISTRICT
The board passed
unanimously a resolution
asking that the County Board
of Commissioners do not
expand the Swannanoa fire
district beyond the Excello
plant on U.S. 70 At this time,
the Black Mountain Fire
Department provides service
to areas east of the Excello
plant. (See guest editorial on
page 2)
ALCOHOL ORDINANCE
An ordinance to prohibit
public display of alcoholic
beverage containers-aimed
primarily at litterers on
Cherry Street-was defeated 3
to 2 as being unenforceable.
Mayor Slagle and Aid. A.F.
Tyson noted that a littering
law already exists and is
difficult to enforce. Mrs.
Slagle said that the police will
be particularly watchful of
littering in the Cherry Street
area in the future.
John Allison, owner of Wonki
Bar, said he will take extra
pains to keep the street clean
around his establishment and
will stress to patrons that
they may not take their beer
outside. He asked the board to
write to his beer distributor
urging that the distributor
supply returnable bottles to
discourage littering. Mrs.
Slagle said such a letter would
be written.
Aid. John Mundy and Ruth
Brandon voted against
rejecting the ordinance.
AUDITOR
The board voted 3 to 2 to
accept a bid of $2400 from
Crawley, Johnson, Price and
Sprinkle, CPAs, to audit the
townS 1976-77 accounts. The
bid, $200 higher than one
submitted by Don Williams,
CPA, was accepted on the
basis that Crawley has done
the Black Mountain audits a
number of times in the past
and is familiar with the books
Aid. Brandon, who joined
Aid. Mundy in voting against
award of the job to Crawley,
complained that Crawley was
responsible for "Messed up’
ledgers in the past. She also
said that Williams has a
specialist in small
municipalities auditing. She
questioned the legality of
rejecting the low bid.
ANNEXATION
A copy of the ratified bill to
annex property through the
legislature that was im
properly annexed by the town
was read. The bill also
validates past election and
actions as board members of
Aid. Don Hoefling and Tom
Sobol, who were found to live
in one of the areas.
The board also voted at the
meeting to annex property
near Spring Hill being
developed by Stepp-Nichols.
Aid. Tyson asked that persons
moving into the area be made
officially aware that the town
will be unable to supply water
to the area because of its
altitude. All three readings on
the annexation were held at
the meeting in order that it be
passed during the 1976-77
fiscal year.
STREET OPENING
AND CLOSING
The board voted to complete
and maintain a 125 ft. gravel
drive as a town street ending
at the Henry Burgin property
off Craigmont Rd. Two
families already use the drive.
The Town would be required
to extend the road 21 feet and
maintain it. Persons living on
the street have agreed to
provide a name for it.
Hie board also voted to
close Washington indefinitely
as a public thouroughfare.
Residents in the area
petitioned the town to close the
street because it had become a
favorite spot for drunks.
APPOINTMENTS
The board appointed Bob
Bougham to the Board of
Adjustments and William
Hamilton to the Planning
Board. It also reappointed
Naomi Brigiran, Aaron ^elt
and Jesse Cook to that board.
The board reappointed J.G.
Northcott to the ABC Board
and William Hutchins and
Florence Bulmer to the
Library Board.
Mayor Slagle cautioned
against reappointing board
members as a tradition,
saying that the boards may
oecome stale, and that it
deprives other citizens from
serving.
OTHER ACTION
The board chose to deny a
tax release to Joe Lytle
because his business does not
use town garbage collection. It
was noted by Town Counsel
William Eubanks that Lytle
receives other town services.
Town Manager Jon Creighton
said he is trying to arrange to
have Lytlek trash picked up.
The board also chose to
postpone paying a three-year
old water bill from the City of
Asheville pending
negotiations with that city.
Cherry Street fixup
now underway
by Dan Ward
A Black Mountain street
crew is now tearing up old
sidewalks on Cherry Street as
the first step in renovation of
that area.
The Town Board held a
special meeting recently to
approve a Planning Board
recommendation to support
efforts by Cherry Street
merchants to beautify the
street.
The board allocated $2500
toward repairing broken side
walks, building a stone planter
at the comer of Cherry and
State Streets, supplying
benches, and building a
wooden planter along the
fc« * '
chainlink fence near the
middle of the block.
Town Manager Jon
Creighton said he was not sure
all of the projects will be
completed by the July 4
deadline set by the merchants.
“The sidewalks will be done,
the planters will be done-but I
dont know about the benches,’
he said. He said that the town
will hold off on purchasing
benches until the cost of the
other projects is known. The
merchants requested “four or
five’benches, Creighton said.
In addition, the merchants
will pay the cost of erecting a
directory for all the
businesses on Cherry Street
over the sid.n<Jk at the
corner of State and Cherry.
Harriet Styles, who helped
anize plans for the
iirectory, said the sign will
consist of individual plaques
naming each business and
connected by chains. The
effect will be “rustic,’she said.
Merchants have agreed to
contribute up to $10 apiece to
make the directory.
In addition, die Womans
Club will provide shrubs and
annuals for the planters, Mrs.
Styles said. She said she hopes
ether groups of merchants will
follow the Cherry Street
example in rejuvenating their
businesses as part of a town
beautification program being
encouragged by the Womans
Club.
RAY WILSON of the Black Mountain Streets Department breaks up the
sidewalk on Cherry Street to prepare for improvements. (Dan Ward)