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Thursday. Auuust 31. 1978 Vol 24. No 43 «3UM KHhHU|9 r - MMHHmP^Bh
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Mountain Laurel Acres
annex complaints heard
by Du Ward
A handfull of residents of the
Mountain Laurel Acres
subdivision engaged in long,
and at times, heated,
discussion an the annexation
status of their property with
the Black Mountain Town
Board August 28.
Question of whether all 19
lots comprising the 21 acre
subdivision came into
question when tax rolls were
updated this year and
property owners who thought
they lived outside the town
received bills.
According to records
research done by Paul Grif
fith, the area was annexed to
the town in 1966 based on a
petition from Mrs. J.C.
Nanney. However., some
parcels had been sold prior to
the final reading of the an
nexation approval.
To further confuse the
situation, a local bill through
the general Assembly that
year formally annexed that
property, and has been in
terpreted by Town Attorney
Bill Eubanks, the League of
Municipalities, and the At
torney General’s office to
over-ride any improper
procedure followed in an
nexing those lots through the
town, with die exception of a
lot bought by J.W. Blanken
ship, Jr. before annexation
proceedings began.
The board heard testimony
from Mr. and Mrs. A.W.
Wilhelm, Mr. and Mrs.
Howard Lehman, and Mrs.
M.C. Dickens that they did not
want their respective
properties within the town
limits.
The board, after hearing the
opinion of Eubanks, asked
the attorney to ask die League
of Municipalities and the
Attorney General for a more
in-depth study of the Mountain
Laurel Acres issue and to give
the board a more specific
opinion on whether those who
do not want to be within die
town limits may be removed
from annexation, either by
local ordinance or legislative
action when the General
Assembly reconvenes in
January.
Child abuse charged
A Swannanoa man has been
charged by Black Mountain
Police with child abuse when
it was discovered that his two
year-old son suffered ex
tensive bruises while in his
custody: W. "*
According to Black
Mountain Det. Don Ramsey,
police issued a warrant on
Paul Pressley August 28
shortly after the child was
returned to the custody of his
mother, who lives in Black
Mountain.
Two breaJdns are under
investigation this week.
Suspects remain to be
questioned in connection with
fee brealdn and ldrceny at
ft* in toutf and two lighten''
from the Bia Studenc
residence at SIS Azalea Ave.
some time between August 14
and 38. Studenc was on
vacation at the time, police
reported.
On August 27, a breaUn at
the Vivian Buckner residence
at New Bern Apartments
netted an Instamatic camera
and small amount of cash,
acCTrdlng|tojpgiye. ^Sugpects
questioned.
Police recovered a number
of towels, wash cloths and
pillow cases stolen from the
Travel-Eze Motel last week.
Nobody was charged with the
theft
The sun shimmers off the streafn flowing from Lake Tomahawk. (Dan
Ward)
‘Booze in Black Mountain?’—London asks
by Du Ward
ed. note — Although we are
opposed to the growing
popularity of tbe media
becoming the news, and
although we have a policy of
aot printing rebuttal! to
mistake* other media have
made, we would like to make
*n exception considering
liquor-by-the-drink has lofted
Black Mountain to In
ternational reknown.
It was a strange series of
events that led to a British
newsman calling Johnny
Allison and John Mundy
August 28.
It began with a Charlotte
Observer reporter, Bob
Drogin, who came to Black
Mountain to interview a
number of people about the
September 12 liquor-by-the
dnnk referendum. One of
those people was Mayor Tom
Sobol.
“He seemed like a really
nice fellow at the time. We sat
by the pool and talked for two
hours, and when it was over,
he printed the two worst lines
Possible of what I said. He
made us all out to be a bunch
at Snuffy Smiths,"Sobol said.
In short, the article leaves
the reader with the impression
that Black Mountain
residents, who usually spend
all their time picking their
teeth with broom straws, are
ready to pick up their muzzle
loaders over mixed drinks.
To continue, Drogin also
works as a stringer for the
Washington Post The Post,
apparently sensing good
reader interest in a feud
between modem day likker
swillin’ hillbillies and Bible
thumpin’preachers, reprinted
the story under the headline
‘Black Mountain Folks Split
Over Demon Rum Referen
dum."
Apparently, mountain feuds
have international appeal,
because a British Broad
casting (BBC) reporter,
seeing the Post story, called
on Allison and Mundy to en
tertain and inform the stolid,
but beer-swilling, Londoners.
Paul Reynolds, a BBC In
terviewer, called Mundy from
New York, asking him to be
recorded for a London
broadcast Mundy at first
refused, referring the
newsman to the Rev. Edgar
Labor Day
driving care urged
The Labor Day holiday
weekend, according to High
way Patrol Commander
Colonel John Jenkina, is one of
the most dangerous weekends
of the year an North Carolina's
Hhways. Since 1972, some
145 persons have been killed
* the highways during the
Cabor Day holiday period,
which this year begins at S
P m. on Friday. September 1,
"id ends at midnight on
Monday, September 4. Six
**en persons died during the
•^7 holiday.
Jenkins said the i»«rfing
causes of fatal accidents
during the holiday period are
usually the same as any other
weekend — speeding and
drink driving
Jenkins said troopers will be
on the highways over the
weekend strictly enforcing all
traffic laws, with special
emphasis on speeding
motorists and drinking
drivers. Every piece of speed
timing equipment and the
special fleet of unmarked
patrol cars will be in
operation, he said.
Ferrell, chairman of a
coalition against liquor-by
the-drink. The newsman
called back when he found the
minister was on vacation.
“The information I gave
him was just general stuff,’ ’
Mundy said. “I told that man
it’s not a person against
person thw. It’s just that the
church is against an issue.
Mainly I just bragged on
Black Mountain.”
Afterward, Reynolds called
John Allison, Jr., former
owner of Wonk’s Dymaxion
Bar on Cherry Street
“What they were looking for
is mayhem,’ ’ Allison said.
“They thought from the ar
ticle that it was neighborhood
against neighborhood. They
were looking for barricades in
the streets. I told him this
wasn’t Northern Ireland. He
was also interested in brown
bagging — how it works. He
thought that waa hilarious.
“They wanted to know about
die influence of the religious
retreats. I told them it was
very simple — they come here
only in the summer and don’t
vote in elections.
“I think he was disap
pointed,’ ’ Allison concluded.
2nd fire truck
in accident here
by Dan Ward
As Black Mountain firemen
were still disputing a report on
a wreck involving one of its
pumpers, one of the depart
ment’s tankers crashed into
the assistant chiefs Cadillac,
apparently of its own accord.
According to Town Manager
Mack Kirkpatrick, Assistant
Chief Steriing Poe pulled the
tanker backwards into the fire
department garage August 28
to find the source of a noise
coming from the engine. After
checking under the hood, Poe
left the truck in neutral, but
applied both the hydraulic and
mechanical brakes to the
truck before shutting off the
ignition. He then went into the
fire house to get assistance
from Fire Chief Gary Bartlett
While inside, the truck
rolled across the parking lot,
doing extensive damage to
Poe’s private car, Kirkpatrick
said. He added that two
firemen who were the first to
arrive at the scene reported
that both brakes were still
engaged. Inspection of the
brakes showed they are in
proper working order, Kirk
patrick said. The trade suf
fered a smashed right fender.
“What's really strange is
that when the battery is dead,
we have to use crowbars to get
die truck rolling out of the
garage, "Kirkpatrick said.
“And, of course, that’s without
the brakes engaged.”
Although there is no
evidence that someone caused
the truck to roll from the
garage, Kirkpatrick said he
has not ruled out foul play in
the accident He said that a
number of lesser misfortunes
suffered by city vehicles In
dicates either vandalism or an
extremely bad run of luck.
The accident comes in the
wake of a report issued by
American LaFrance, Inc.
that an accident involving a
Black Mountain fire truck on
August 1 was not due to
mechanical failure.
In that accident a pumper
driven by David Bradley
Norton, a fireman in training,
crashed into the home of Mr.
and Mrs, J.E. MacMahan on
Old U.S. 70 at Blue Ridge
Road, totally destroying the
house.
Chief Bartlett refuted
LaFrance’s findings, saying
the company is apparently
Fire bounds
meeting set
A meeting was expected to
be held Tuesday evening
between officials representing
Black Mountain and Swan
nan oa Fire Districts to come
to a compromise on a proposal
by the Swannanoa Fire
Department to expand its
district eastwards.
The meeting, set for August
29 at the Swannanoa Fire
Station, followed an earlier
meeting in Black Mountain
between officials to reach a
compromise at the request of
the Buncombe County
Commissioners.
Expected to attend the
meeting were Black Mountain
Fire Chief Gary Bartlett, Aid.
Ruth Brandon, Fireman
Freddie Robinson, Swannanoa’
s Board of Directors and
Attorney Martin Nesbitt.
The two districts were given
six months by the com
missioners to come to an
agreement on new fire
boundaries.
disclaiming any blame for the
accident
According to a letter sent by
LaFrance by Regional Sales
Manager Doyce L. Ford,
inspection and testing of the
pumper showed that the
brakes were functioning and
that there were no defects in
the steering. Ford did note
that inspection of one of the
brake linings showed they had
been subjected to excessive
heat.
Ford went on to write that
die brake linings, engine, air
compressor and power
steering pump were not
original equipment and did not
meet American LaFrance
specifications.
Bartlett said he checked
with Broughton Hospital in
Morgan ton, from whom Black
Mountain bought the truck
and who had bought it new,
and found that the brake
linings had been Inspected,
but never replaced. He also
said that replacement of the
other equipment mentioned
had been done to
specifications given by Gene
Hall, LaFrance district ser
vice director.
Bartlett also said that
although the brakes worked
when LaFrance represen
tatives teaM the truck, they
aid not grab hold as quickly as
they should have. He
suggested that the brakes
failed when Norton tried to
stop at Old U.S. 70 because the
fireman had been driving the
truck around curves on North
Fork Road for the previous 90
minutes, causing the brakes to
heat excessively through
constant use.
Bartlett said Assistant Chief
Poe, who was a passenger in
the track at the time of the
accident, said that Norton did
apply the brakes, without
effect, before swerving to
avoid a car and hitting the
house.
Bartlett said that no
disciplinary action will be
taken against Norton as a
result of the accident
Damage on both the truck
and house are still being
determined.
Push for bam theater gets school backing
by Ella Booker
“What can we do to raise
money? There are some
costumes up here in the loft.
Maybe we could put on a play.”
Nostalgia buffs will
remember Mickey Rooney
saying this to Judy Garland in
the Andy Hardy film series. It
was a popular theme of the
movies of the 40’s.
At Charles D. Owen High
School, drama students of
Judy Jones will have an op
portunity to re-enact the
previous scene . when they
explore an old combination
silo and barn on their school
grounds. This was built as a
Work Progress Ad
ministration project in the 30 '
s.
Herds of cattle found shelter
in the bam until the school
leased the buildings to a
summer stock company from
1»SS through 1961. The
theatrical group of area
residents was headed by
Tinker Crawford Lauer of
Black Mountain. Renovation
to the buildings took place by
means of community team
work, and the Silo Circle
Playhouse came into being.
Old feed troughs became
benches when more than 250
residents regularly attended
the performances.
The first review read:
“New theater lights up the
skies of western North
Carolina.’ ’ Area artists
exhibited their work in the
downstairs lobby. The loft of
the old cattle barn became the
site of the first theater-in-the
round in Western North
Carolina.
Resident actresses included
Betty Alexander and Victoria
Green of Black Mountain and
Elaine Hunter Meyer of
Asheville. Other Black
Mountain residents who
participated in the produc
tions were Ralph Singleton
and his wife, Dana, who acted
as ushers, and Earl
Brotherton who directed
parking by waving lanterns.
Patsy Clarke of Asheville and
Harriett Terrell of Black
Mountain were responsible for
costuming.
Gordon Greenwood of Black
Mountain, state represen
tative, was one of the group of
local citizens who formed the
Silo Circle Angels to assist in
raising funds for the season.
In the early 60’s, the bam
reverted to its orginal pur
pose. Agricultural students at
Owen High School were in
volved with a cattle project and
a registered Angus herd was
kept in the bam. At present
the bam temporarily houses
athletic equipment for the
school.Although there are no
school funds available for the
project, plans are being
considered which would
revive the old Silo Circle
Playhouse by means of l joint
school-community effort.
Grady Roezell, Owen district
representative of the county
school board, is studying the
proposed project for im
plementation.
H.H. Zeugner, Buncombe
community schools coor
dinator, would oversee the
project “I feel that the Silo
Circle Playhouse will be a
major step in reviving com
munity interest in our Owen
area public schools, ’ ’ he
stated.
Charles Lytle, principal of
Owen High School, indicated
an interest in updating the
theater project for area
drama students and interested
citizens.
The county schools cultural
arts supervisor, Dorothy
Hampton, would like to see the
bam become a place where
arts activities can take place.
“Community involvement will
be needed, including volunteer
labor and materials before
any renovation can take place.
We hope it will give students
and residents of all ages an
opportunity to work together, ”
she commented.
Buncombe County Schools
Superintendent Dr. N.A.
Miller, Jr. thinks that the
building might be used as a
young children’s theater, a
speech center, puppet theater
or a classic film site. Small
musical productions could be
performed and art exhibits by
both the schools and the
community could be held, he
stated.
“Revival of the old Silo
Circle Playhouse is an ex
citing idea, ’ ’ commented
Tinker Lauer. “Perhaps the
community could work with
the students to put on a play
which would provide funds for
the theater. There mpy not be
costumes in the bam loft, but
the bam is still there along
with its memories of the past
and hopes for the future.”
Any individual or group
interested in pursuing the Silo
Circle Theater restoration
may call the office of the
Buncombe County Com
munity Schools Coordinator at
274-4266 or the office of the
Buncombe County Schools
Arts Supervisor at 274-7744.
Bruce Wilshire and Tinker Crawford in C
rehearsal scene from “The Rainmaker.” July 193
(Ed DuPuy)