Serving
★ Ridgecrest
Tractor deal investigation
given to district attorney
by Dan Ward
Black Mountain Mayor
Margaret Slagle has turned
over to District Attorney Bob
Fisher and the foreman of the
current Grand Jury the
results of an investigation by
Black Mountain Police into
possible fruad by former
Black Mountain officials.
Mrs. Slagle said an in
vestigation was held, and its
results made public, because
she could be found guilty of a
misdemeaner if she were to
overlook a felony.
The investigation came in
the wake of an article by the
News that revealed that the
newly-appointed supervisor of
law enforcement for Western
North Carolina, Gene Ervin,
had purchased a used tractor
from the Town of Black
Mountain without benefit of or
public notice bid.
The investigation has
revealed that no bill of sale or
release to Ervin for the
tractor is in town records, nor
has Ervin received either
from the town. It also revealed
that the cashiers check paid
for by Ervin for $1,000-the
cost of the tractor- did not
specify what .the money was
for or who paid it, and it was
not entered on the cash
register in the town hall, as is
customary.
Town records simply show
that $1000 was entered into the
streets fund during the month
of October, 1974-the same
month the town paid $1000 to
the state Department of
Transportation for the tractor.
The report given to the
district attorney and foreman
of the Grand Jury also
suggests a further in
vestigation could be made into
other purchases made through
town accounts by former town
manager Charles Lindsey for
friends in an effort to save
them money.
Mrs. Slagle said that Fisher
originally discounted reports
of the tractor deal-saying few
people are able to back up
their allegations in such cases.
At that time, the News had.
copies of a letter to a person
named Dick in town govern
ment from Ervin directing
how the tractor could be
purchased, a check for $1000
for the purchase of the traetor
signed by Lindsey and former
Mayor Richard Stone, and a
receipt from the Department
of Transportation for the
check.
The News also received a
statement from Fire Chief
Mack Kirkpatrick that he
picked up the tractor at the
request of Lindsey, sup
posedly to be used to mow
grass at the golf course. An
affidavit given Det. Bill
Stafford by Kirkpatrick added
that he delivered the tractor to
an address on Craigmont Rd.
Lindsey told the News
earlier that he had arranged
for a number of persons to
purchase property through the
town, using a method he
described as “Swapping
checks’so that the town never
suffered a deficit for the
purchase.
Mrs. Slagle said she at first
tried to have the deal in
vestigated by the State
Bureau of Investigation, but
was told by the SBI in Raleigh
that a mayor does not have the
authority to call for an SBI
investigation.
SBI Director Haywood
Starling confirmed that policy
to the News Monday, saying
that the proper procedure for
Mrs. Slagle was to collect
evidence and present it to the
district attorney, who could
call for an SBI investigation
and a hearing before the
Grand Jury.
In a public statement, Mrs.
Slagle objected to a policy
excluding the mayor from the
list of persons authorized to
inaugurate an SBI in
vestigation, while the mayor
is also legally responsible for
reporting possible official
misdoing.
State senator
asks ABC inquiry
over tractor
by Dan Ward
Sen. Donald Kincaid (R
Caldwell) baa requested Phil
Carlton, Secretary of the
Department of Crime Control
ana Public Safety, to conduct
an investigation to determine
whether the newly-appointed
supervisor of the Crime
Control and Public Safety
western district, Gene Ervin,
should be fired for arranging
the purchase of a tractor from
the town of Black Mountain
without bid.
Kincaid, who requested tha~*
investigation based on in
formation give* him by the
former Crime Control and
Public Safety western district
supervisor, Bill Ingram, said
that Carlton promised to'check
out’Ingrams allegations that
Ervin falsified arrest records
and took part in an unethical
transaction with Black
Mountain officials for the
tractor. ABC agent James
Simmons would also come
under the investigation for
falsifying records, Kincaid
said,
Carlton “told me on the
phone last week that he would
check these out,’Kincaid said.
“If Mr. Ingramk charges
arent warranted they will be
dropped. If they are, these
•jmmwUI have to he replaced.’
Kincaid said that the at
torney general, when asked to
investigate Ingramk charges,
told Kincaid to have the in
vestigation done through the
department involved.
TS 1 '
An egret, native to the gulf coast, seemed to be lost
as he enjoyed the sun at Lake Tomahawk last week.
Or maybe he heard how pretty the mountains
are...(Dan Ward) (See poem elsewhere in this issue)
Med Center to hold election
by f Cook held Thursday night, July 28
at 8 pjn. at the chapel of the
The annual meeting of Hue Ridge Assembly. This
members of the Swannanoa meetingis held In accordance
Valley will be ^th the charter and by-laws
Llarence, iVic/c, and Larry Ogle
Racing runs in the family
by Dan Ward
The whine of the engines,
the squeal of tires, the roar of
the crowd when another car
spins out.
Such is the setting for a
weekly-get-together for the
Ogles of Grovemont.
Clarence Ogle and his two
sons, Larry, 30, and Nick, 23,
can be aeea moat Saturdays
NICK AND CLARENCE make up two-third* of the
°gle family racing team. (Dan Ward)
fighting the clock and the
“track villains’ at the
Asheville Speedway in their
self-built race cars-proving
that racing blood runs in the
family.
Clarence, who has been
racing since “ 57 or 58,’said he
never tried to talk his sons out
of racing.
“Theyfl be better off racing
at the track, than doing it on
the highway,be said. “As long
as they got their cars fixed
according to the (NASCAR)
, rules, the only thing that can
hurt them, really, is a fire.’
Although the requirements
for stock car racing require
that the cars remain very
similar to their factory-model
counterpart, racing rules
require that a heavy-duty web
of roll bars and reinforcing be
installed.
Clarence, who races in the
late model sportsman class,
has been making a living of
racing since he quit work as a
Highway Patrol mechanic in
1873.
In order to make ends meet
-it costs <15,000 to 20,000 just to
build a car such as his-be
figures he has to place in the
top five in each race.
Nick was less than a lap
away from winning his third
first place-and $75-last
Saturday when he was clipped
by Mike Pressley, son of the
“track villain,’Bob Pressley.
After bo in ring off a rail and
spinning, Nick crept in for
eighth place. Nick regards the
event as the scariest in his
two-year-old racing career.
Clarence said that although
“1 ha vent had one torn up in a
long time,’sabotage between
racers used to be the main
event at races .The rising costs
of building-and repairing
cars has turned the emphasis
on the part of the drivers and
fans to driving a clean race, he
said.
“I think people who go there
know the cost of it and dont
want to see that
anymore,Clarence said.
“Back years ago, if there
werent a bunch of wrecks,
people wouldnt think it was a
race.*
Clarence said he enjoys the
race more now, because in
past years “youfl just about
have to build a car every
week.k chore he describes as
“a lot of hard work.'
Larry, 20, has just built the
first car of his own. He has
been driving for a year in
other peoplek cars, and
paicticing.in his fathers. He
drives in the limited sport
sman class, a category that
differs from the others mainly
in the size of the engine and
customizing allowed. He
works an automobile
dealer in Asheville.
Nick, who works at RCA in
Swannanoa, has been racing
in the street division, a step
before the serious professional
level. Driving is more difficult
in that division, Nick said,
because a number of inex
perienced racers get in the
way. At $75 for a first place,
racing in the street division
hardly pays for the six racing
tires used in a 250-lap race.
But,“it* a good hobby if
youVe got the money,' Nick
said.
of the medical center, a non
profit corporation chartered
under the laws of the State of
North Carolina.
According to the charter of
the medical centei, any
resident of the Black Moun
tain-Swannanoa community
who has contributed in any
way to the development of the
Medical Center is
automatically a member. The
purpose of die annual meeting
is to elect members of the
board of directors and officers
for the year beginning on July
1, 1977. The annual meeting
also provides the opportunity
for the annual report of
finances, service and plans for
the further development of the
Medical Center. En
tertainment will be furnished
by the Blue Ridge Assembly
staff and others. The com
mittee in charge is Otha L.
Sherrill, chairman, Frank
Washburn, executive director
of the Blue Ridge Assembly
and Clarence Frye. The public
is invited and urged to attend
this imoortant meeting.
The Medical Center serves
die communities of Black
Mountain, Swannanoa,
Montreat, Ridgecrest, and the
eastern area of Asheville
. A 000 facility
was erected four years ago on
U.S. 70 mid-way between
Black Mountain and Swan
nanoa. Equipment consists of
modem and well equipped
doctors offices, emergency
services facilities and an x
ray machine with operator. At
present, services are offered
to the public through two
general practice doctors, a
dentist, an occulist, a team of
gynecologyist and obsterics
doctors and an x-ray
technician. Medical services
have been given to thousands
during the years of operation.
Lives have actually been
saved through emergency
services and excellent health
care has been offered to the
many thousands of residents
in the area.
The Medical Center is in
process of calling a full time
administrator and will give
the public the opportunity to
complete the cooperation with
county .state and national
health organizations.
“1-40 by-pass open
spring ’78”—chief
by Dan Wnrd
If weather does not slow
construction considerably this
winter, the section of 1-40
bypassing Black Mountain
will be completed and open to
traffic next spring, according
to J.H., Medlin, Highway
Department division engineer
in a letter to the Black
Mountain-Swannanoa
Chamber of Commerce.
Medlin also provided con
tractort deadlines for four
segments of 1-40 construction.
In some cases, those dates
conflict with actual com
pletion dates—assuming
construction progresses as
expected.
The segments of 1-40 from
Swannanoa to NC 9 and from
NC 9 to a point near McCoy
Cove Ed. and U.S. 70 have
contractors deadlines of
September 1 and October 1,
respectively. However, David
Patton, resident engineer for
the second segment, said
Uia.t completion for that
segment is expected around
June, 1978. Ed Pascal,
resident engineer for the first
segment, said that con
struction to the bridge will be
completed, although not open
to traffic, well before the
second segment.
The contractors’ deadlines
for the segments from McCoy
Cove Rd. to past Ridgecrest
and another from there to Old
Fort will also stand as the
expected time of completion
at August 1,1979 and the fall of
1981, respectively, Patton
said.
Interstate traffic will not be
routed onto NC 9. NC 9 will
“Proabably be opened to
traffic sometime this fall,’
Medlin wrote.
Tests to be run
on tilting bridge
David Patton, Highway
Department division engineer
for the 1-40 bridge con
struction, said that numerous
tests will be performed on the
1-40 bridge before it is opened
to traffic.
Confirming that con
troversy still exists over the
safety of the bridge, Patton
said tests will be made to
determine skidding factors in
winter conditions as well as
other studies.
The News first noted in May
that dissention existed among
engineers on the safety of the
bridge-including a lack of a
median wall to restrain
skidding vehicles.
Secretary of the Depart
ment of Transportation Tom
Bradshaw told Black
Mountain Rotary Club
members July 19 that the 1-40
bridge is not unsafe and is
simply visually misleading.
He said that the bridge is
engineered so that centrifugal
force will keep vehicles from
skidding off of it. He added
that he has received a number
of letters concerning the
bridge, according to Ed
Weber, who attended the
meeting on behalf of the
Chamber of Commerce.
Board deeds Lake St.
by Dan Ward
The Black Mountain Town
Board voted unanimously in a
special meeting July 15 to sign
a quick-claim deed to
relinquish any claim the town
may have to Lake Street.
Request for the town to
remove the street from
dedication and sign a quick
claim deed came from Dr. and
Mrs. John WUaoo, the only
residents with property facing
tiie site of the street, which
has never been developed. The
Wilsons hope to build a house
on the eastern half of the
property were the street lies.
Mayor Margaret Slagle
temporarily gave up her
power as mayor so that she
would not be required to sign
the deed. She said she was
opposed to it because it may
set a precedent for others who
would like to build on property
owned by the town.
Aid. A.F. Tyson said fit
this case will not establish a
precedent because each case
will have differing cir
cumstances.
Mayor Slagle appointed to
economic policy committee
Mayor Margaret Slagle of
Black Mountain, who also
serves as first vice-chairman
of the Land-of-Sky Regional
Council, has recently been
appointed as a representative
of Region B and Western
North Carolina governments
on the Local Government
Advisory Committee which
will assist in preparation of a
State Economic Development
Policy. Mrs. Slagle was
nominated by the North
Black Mountain
Fire Department
The Black Mountain Fire
Department fought two fires
last week.
On July 15, two trucks and 22
men put oat a mattress fire at
I
■ £ T ^ % H HK1.
Durenda Hayes and Tina Stafford found a way to beat the heat last week
with the help of a fountain and Rocky Hayes. (Dan Ward)
114 Scenic View Dr. Minor
damage was reported.
Also on July 15, one truck
and 10 men were called to put
out a van on fire on Craigmont
Rd. The trade was a total loss.
Buncombe County
Ambulance
The ambulance service
made five emergency runs, 12
routine and was not needed for
three.
Police
Report
The Black Mountain Police
had a refreshingly uneventful
two weeks so far in July
according to Asst. Chief Jim
Wiseman.
They served eight traffic
tickets, not including two for
DUI, arrested two for
resisting arrest and damage
to property, six for public
dr unkeness, one for displaying
an open alcoholic container,
snd two for trespassing a*, the
lake.
They served four warrants
and answered 1S5 calls from
July 3 to 1(.
Carolina League of
Municipalities to serve on the
Local Government Advisory
Committee comprised of
elected and appointed officials
from local governments
across the state.
In a letter asking Mayor
Slagle to serve in this
capacity, Arnold Zogry,
Assistant Secretary of Ad
ministration for IMlicy and
Management, stated that one
of the most important ob
jectives of the present state
administration is developing a
balanced poliicy for state
development. The ad
ministration emphasizes that
North Carolina* population
should continue to be one that
is dispersed rather than to
allow a few large con
centrations of population to
develop. The letter of ap
pointment noted that Mrs.
Slaglek appointment would
“broaden representation from
die western end of the state.’
The State* Economic
Development Policy will be
prepared over a period of
several months.
Mrs. Slagle has previously
served two terms of two years
each as a member of the Town
of Black Mountain* Board of
Aldermen and is in the final
year of her first two-year term
as Mayor of the Town. She has
served as first vice-chairman
of the Land-of-Sky Regional
Council since her election in
December, 1976. She also
serves as a member of the
Advisory Committee on Aging
of die Cornell and is an active
participant in the North
Carolina League of
Municipalities.