Thurtday, Ja!y 14, 1977, Vo). 33, No. 39
Serving -
* Black Mountain
* Swannanoa
* Montreat
* Ridgecrest
Moore attacks Hunt
for ' politics
in health services
A; a morning press con
rence last Friday, H.F.
tocre. director of the Western
egional Alcoholic
fhabilitation Center (ARC)
ittcued the administration
ir injecting politics in
atient care programs
^ughout State institutions,
f says that recent actions by
ovemor Jim Hunt and he
^stature has demoralised
taff personnel and this will
e.^ce effectiveness in patient
are areas.
The Governor has listed 868
ey personnel in state
comment as policy makers,
ien toward the end of the
egtsiative session a law was
nacted that deprives all
mpioyees with iess than five
ears continuous service of
ny rights under the State
ersonnel Act. This means
hat both groups-those on the
:empt list and all those with
ess than five years service
nay be fired without notice
nd they have no right of
ippeal.
Moore said that the
iovemor is in effect holding a
tub over the heads of a large
(egnent of state employees
tnd this is in effect a method
<f ruling through fear. He
aved the cnvemcr to reverse
this by issuing an Executive
Order to re-estabHah rights of
employees under the State
Personnel Act protections.
This wouid include all but the
direct policy makers at the
higest state level.
The ARC director told the
press conference that the ARC
had made dramatic progress
in the last three years. They
had been abie to recruit top
professionals including the
social work supervisor, who is
a member of the Academy of
Certified Social Workers; and
more recently, a doctartal
level psychologist. Dr.
Norman Desroaiers, a well
known psychiatrist and expert
in the treatment of alcoholism
was recruited a* Supervisor
Jlinical Services in Novem
ber, 1976. Dr. Desroaiers has
been working closely with
professional staff in
upgrading their skills and new
treatment programs have
been added. These include
special programs for women
and blacks. The position of
clinical chaplain was added
and scheduled Vester Services
are now held at the center.
Moore contended that this
dramatic progress and en
thusiasm on the part of the
staff was abruptly changed
Foore may oc /trea
in jKLP yweefiw#
H.F. Moore, director of the
AlcohoMc Rehabilitation
Center, said that Secretary of
Human Reaourcea Sarah
Morrow and N.P. Zarsar,
director of the Division of
Menta! Health Services, will
meet within the neat few days
to decide whether or not to fire
Moore for protesting state
poiicy puhiidy.
Neither Morrow or Zarzar
returned caHs the News made
to their Raieigh oHtces to
ccnHrm Moore* statement.
Moore said he is expecting
to be terminated and is
preparing for poaaiMe court
action.
Under new guideiines
handed down by Gw. Jim
Hunt, Moore does not have the
right to an appeal in a hearing
before peers because he is
within a group made exempt
from the State Personnel Act.
the tatter part of April when
the exempt Hat was an
nounced by Governor Hunt It
deteriorated further when
Geraldine King, business
manager, resigned rather
than work under the threat of
political dismissal. A very
well qualified psychologist has
also resigned and other staff
personnel are looking for jobs
elsewhere, he said. All these
facts were thought to the
attention of the Division
Director, Dr. N.P. Zarzar, and
to Secretary of Department of '
Human Resources, Dr. Sarah
Morrow. The only response
was Dr. Morrowk comments
at a meeting with Mental
Health institutional directors
on June 27. She stated that the
matter had been discussed
with Governor Hunt and he
was convinced his decision
was correct and that the in
stitutional directors would
have to proceed within the
framework of the Governor*
decision. To date, she has also
not taken up an offer by Moore
to tour the ARC facilities and
listen to feedback on the new
policy.
Moore said that 80 percent
of the ARC staff have no
protection under the State
Personae! Act. This has had a
devastating effect on morale
and directly affects patient
care. He stated that "politics
and patient care dont mii'and
he now feeis that the pubiic
must be informed % the
situation.
The ARC empioya 130
persons from the Black
Mountain-Swannanoa area.
Seventy-five of those persons
would without the right to a
hearing if terminated under
the new poiicy, Moore said.
Virtually aii Democrats in
the state house and senate
voted for the new measure,
Moore said. He has stated that
he has not registered as either
a democrat or Republican
A J!r# at tht Pr^ebyterian Nome !e/t a hoi# i^the
state roo/ o/ the gym and extenai ve water and a^nohe
damage tnaide iast weeh. (*Dan Ward)
warden eAoice
by Dan Ward
If the town of Black
Mountain receives Title n
funds, it wiil hire a full-time
animal controi officer in the
near future to alleviate
probiema caused by strays
and barking dogs.
The Town Board at its July
11 meeting informally ap
proved a request by Jon
Creighton, upon the recom
mendation of a special
committee on dog controi and
the advice of County Board
Chairman Curtis Ratciiff, for
state funds under the Com
prehensive Employment
Training Act to hire a dog
warden to patroi Black
Mountain and within a mile
outside its limits.
The dog committee
proposal, submitted by Ann
Hall, was based on discussions
with Ratcliff concerning the
options open to the town to
enforce its leash law. The
committee also investigated
animal control procedures in
other towns.
The town would be required
to supply an uniform if
needed, and fuel expenses for
the warden. Jon Creighton
said the town has a vehicle
that can be used to pick up
strays. The town would also be
required to pay any overtime
that may be incurred, but
could also use the warden to
perform duties that are not
now budgeted by the town,
under the requirements of
Title n funding.
The grant would pay the
wardens salary, set at the
beginning allocate an ad
ditional $2500
Fire hits Presbyterian Home
Black Mountain firemen
fought for two and one-haif
hours to put out a fire in the
ceding of the gym at the
Presbyterian Home for Boys
on Juiy 10. Nobody was in the
budding at the start of the fire,
which was started by light
ning.
Steve King of the fire
department said that the fire
was difficult to get at and to
see through the ciouds of
smoke in the 35-foot tail
building. The building suf
fered some smoke and water
damage, as well as a hole in
the slate roof. No monetary
estimates have yet been made
of the damage.
One truck and 11 men were
called to put out a car fire on
Ridgeway St. July 9. Minor
damage was reported.
One truck and six men were
called to standby on a car
wreck on US 70 east on July 10.
Also that day, one truck and 17
men were called to standby on
another car wreck on US 70
east.
One truck and 16 men were
called to put out a brush fire
Rut-fin <lnv* Rd nn !tt]v 7
atm ptckin after 40 years
Ze&e MPYZey 3forrts — &/Meg7-ass pioneers
byDaaWard
The Morris brothers, if
Mwya piayed it right, couM
have boon part of the aequin
CadiiiacNashviHe set right
now-hsd they sem to epjoy
being body shop owners in the
nicest tittle town in the
worid.'Biack Mountain.
The two former recording
artists, who credit themselves
M the inventors of Biuegrass,
now oniy piay two or three
hmes s year pubiiciy-usuaiiy
* Muegraaa teaavais.
Wiley Morris, who le beet
known in Black Mountain ae
(he owner of Morris Body Shop
and beat known in
ternationally aa the guitar
playing Morrla brother,
doeant dwell on not being in
(he music spotlight today.
"We dont have to brag,'he
aaid. "WeTe sdll (he beat and
we know it.'
The Morris brothers in the
mid-30s took what was then
ZEKE AND WILE Y MORRM back in (he 30a fb/t)
and today, on WibyO /rent porch in Biach Mountain.
caiied "MHbtMy mustc; a&
cording to Wjiey, and gave it a
iess choppy rhythm-music
that came to be known as
biuegrass
Zeke, who began singing
with J.E. Mainerb Moun
taineers in 1M4, joined with
brother Wiley and Homer
Sherrell in 1M7.
Homer, (Pappy) Sherreii
oniy stayed with the Morris
Brothers two years, but he
rejoined them in H7! to record
an LP record in the band room
at Owen High Schooi.
Live singing on the radio,
primarily WBT in Charlotte,
gave them the notoriety they
needed, and required that they
produce a great deal of
original music. SALTY DOG
was one of those songs. Today,
Zeke and Wiley continue to
receive royalty checks twice a
year for the popular song.
"ThatA our old standby,'
Wiley said of SALTY DOG.
"Wete been drawing royalties
off that since the AOs. Wefe
making more money off it now
than we did when we recorded
it.'
Wiley said he doesnt con
sider SALTY DOG the best
song the brothers have
written-citing GRAVE UPON
THE GREEN HILLSIDE and
TRAGIC ROMANCE as his
two favorites. Zeke disagreed,
saying that whichever song
was the most popular with
listeners has to be the best.
In addition to producing a
volumn of original recordings,
the Morrises were responsible
for introducing other
musicians to show business.
The most notaMe-and one of
the few who give the Morrises
public recognition for their
heip-is Ear) Scruggs.
"Wa gave him (Eari
Scruggs) the first job he ever
had,' Wiley said. "He was
wearing a blue shirt anda pair
of overalls. Grady Wilke came
in to us and said be had a 5
string picker out in the car and
could we listen to him.
"Well, he played as good or
better then as he does now,'
Wiley said with admiration.
Scruggs remembered his
roots when he went on a
national tour in 1970 to make a
documentary film and
recording called Earl Scruggs'
Family and Friends. One
segment was filmed in Wiley*
back yard, and included a few
numbers performed by the
Morris brothers. An LP album
was later made from the
soundtrack, with a baas and
female vocal mixed in on a
couple numbers.
Numerous showings of the
documentary film over
educational TV have resulted
in a resurgence of popularity
for the brothers. One coupie
Hew from Japan just to meet
the Morrises at a Muegrass
festival.
"I guess you could say wet e
helped more musicians than
any two people in the country,'
Zeke said. "We didnt always
get credit for it-but we dont
care.'
Zehe, who plays a 72-year
old, one-of-a-kind mandolin, is
owner of the Zehe Morris Body
Shop in Black Mountain. He
got his start in 1934 with J.E.
Mainer singing on WBT radio
in Chariotte on a program
sponsored by the Crazy Water
Crystal company, a Texas
mineral water marketer.
The brothers found them
selves pioneers in another
medium in the errly 50s when
they had a weekly TV show on
the infant WLOS-TV in
Asheville.
Their latest concert was last
year, when they played before
a packed arena on a Friday
night at Oklahoma State
University.
"We outdrew Scruggs by 50
percent, Wiley said. "And he
played on a Saturday night.'
Wiley attributed much of the
crowdk enthusiasm to a
showing of the Scruggk
documentary on television a
few days before the concert.
The Morris Brothers have
cut down drastically on their
appearances now and dont
intend to play again until next
year, at a bluegrass festival in
Raleigh. They still expect to
see a few of the old-timers
there, as well as young folks,
who know who the pioneers of
Muegrass are.
The grant would pay the
wardeni salary, set at the
beginning pay scale for a town
or county employee,
whichever is higher. The
candidates for warden would
be required to show that they
were not employed for at least
30 days prior to the beginning
of the term as warden, and
that they had registered with
the state employment service.
The position would expire in
September, 1970.
WATER
The board also heard a
recommendation from Aid.
John Mundy that the town
begin a surcharge of 45 to SO
cents per 10000 gallons to
persons receiving town water
near Sky-High reservoir and
on McCoy Cove Rd. The town
is losing at least that amount
in providing water to those
residents, he said, when
electrical costs and pump
maintenance are taken into
account.
Mundy said he will have
more complete figures on the
cost to the town of providing
water outside its limits at a
work session July 25. The
News hopes to go into greater
depth on the Town3 water
problems in the future.
Jon Creighton, town
manager, read a letter from
Richard Phillips, regional
engineer for the Land Quality
Section of the Department of
Natural and Economic
Resources, stating that the
town is required to have an
engineer design drainage
lines to prevent leakage at the
large dam at the Dunamore
Cove Reservoir. The board
authorised Creighton to spend
the funds necessary for an
engineers recommendations.
SPORTS MONEY
On recommendation of Aid.
Don Hoefling, the board voted
to allocate an additional $2500
to the Committee for Better
Sports to purchase new
equipment required by the
Western North Carolina
Football League. The money
is in addition to $2500 already
allocated to the committee for
updating equipment and will
come out of the recreation
budget.
* Belle Mordell went on
record as opposing the towns
spending additional money
on sports while the Depot has
been denied funds for art
classes for children.
WORK SESSION
Mayor Margaret Slagle
announced at the Town Board
meeting that thaw will be a
special work session July 25 at
7:30 pjn.
She later told the News that
the board will meet with
Denny Martin, assistant
director of the Land of Sky
Regional Council about ob
taingtng funds under the Clean
Water Act to improve the
CURTfS RATCLIFF, chairman o/ the Buncombe
County Board o/ Com misstonera met with a epectai
committee on etray animata in B!awMS4dMetain at the
Ofd Depot iaet weeh. (^Dan Ward;
town& water system.
REFUND FOR
UNANNEXED
The board also heard a
request by tetter from Mrs.
John & Nanney and the
Ronald Price family bra
refund of taxes charged them
while their land was im
properly annexed to the town
of Blade Mountain.
Aid. A.F. Tyson said that he
did not think that a refund was
due because the families had
originally petitioned to be
annexed, had received town
services, and were thought in
good faith to be annexed by
themselves and the town. Both
property owners have chosen
not to re-apply for annexation.
Tyson suggested that the
board ask the families to with
draw their requests. Aid. Tom
Sobol recommended that the
town manager obtain a legal
opinion from the attorney
general. Mayor Slagle asked
Jon Creighton to Implement
both suggestions.
NOME
The board also heard
complaints from Mr. and Mrs.
Walter Hall of excessive noise
from the Clubhouse being
carried across the lake and
creating a public nuisance.
Aid. Don Hoefiing, who said
he checked the decibel level of
the P.A. system at the pool
once, said he will recheck the
noise at full volumn. Mayor
Slagle said the loudspeaker
will be used in the future only
for emergency and telephone
announcements.
Aid. Hoefling said he will
investigate ways to cut down
on the sound level at the
clubhouse during dances.
WARRANTS
Paul Griffith suggested to
the board that a magistrate be
established in Black Mountain
to facilitate the issue of
warrants for police and the
future dog warden.
Aid. Tyson compared a
magistrate to the Justice of
the Peace system formerly
employed.
"The J.P.s had no sense of
law at aU-it was almost a
farce,'Tyson said. The board
took no action on the
recommendation.
The board will hold its nest
regular meeting on August !.
The subdivision ordinance will
be discussed at that time.
Budget breakdown
by Dam Ward
Ed. note: fn this story we
wiil attempt to break down
seme of the farger cr
peadttarea tn the M77-73 Black
Moan tain town budget and
compare them with iaat year*
expenditure. Thia anaiyaia
wiH not deal with individual
iine items or many of the
ieaaer categories, which may
be examined at town hali. The
H77-73 budget waa
unamimoaaiy approved at the
reguiar June meeting of the
Town Board.
The Black Mountain town
budget of (592,063 is about
(70,000 above the budget for
tast year. Of that amount, only
(211,000 is from property
taxes. The most notabie
sources for revenue an
ticipated are the iocai option
sales tax, (53,000; Powell Bill
(state grant for street im
provements), (53,000; ABC
revenue, (63,000; and golf
revenue, (55,000. With the
exception of golf revenue
which will be the same- all of
these revenue sources are
expected to bring in more
money than last year. &
addition, M2,000 is anticipated
in revenue sharing ftutda-a
(3.000 decline from last year.
While most areas of ex
penditure in the budget are
slightly higher than last year
attributed by Town Manager
Jon Creighton to a rise in
utility, supplies and main
tenance costa-a few areas of
the budget show a marked
change.
The difference between the
anticipated budget for 1976-77
and 1977-7! for the Police
department, for instance, is
an increase of almost (32,000,,
or 47.4 percent. Creighton
noted that the actual ex
penditures for police last year
were actually much higher
than was budgeted, due
primarily to addition of a
patrolman to thf force, pur
chase of another vehicle and
expenditure of almost (3,000
more than was anticipated on
auto supplies-primariiy fuel.
In addition, this year the
town wili purchase liability
insurance, at a coat of MOO,
pay an additional (3,400 in
matching funds for the state
investigator grant, and hike
police pay by 7 percent. The
total police budget this year,
not including revenue sharing
funds, is (98,982.
The Fire Department,
which has retired a bond issue
costing (5,200 per year for a
fire truck, is budgeted (58,950,
about a 4 percent increase
over last year. That amount
does not include (9,600 an
ticipated from revenue
sharing that the department
did not receive last year.
The water budget has ex
perienced a 68 per cent
reduction from last year, to
(129,276. Creighton said that
last years budget for water
was exceptionally high
because it included a (100,000
capital outlay to put the 10
inch water main through
town. The town expended such
a large amount last year to
take advantage of a rebate
cont on page 10