Year-end photo special! Second class postage paid atfilack Mountain, NC 28711 Thursday, December 28, 1978, Vol. 25, No.8 Serving ★ Black Mountain ★ Swannanoa ★ Montreat ★ Ridgecrest 15 cents per copy What seemed to be ice clouds were just passing through, as this view from Ridgecrest toward Marion indicates. (Dan Ward) PIN terminal, dispatchers— does cost outweigh benefits? by Du Ward When a man wanted for armed robbery of the Pina Hut in Black Mountain was located last week, Det Don Ramsey gave little credit to superior police work. The man will be brought to trial here, Ramsey said, because of a martitw Black Mountain's Police Information Network (PIN) terminal, only five months old, has became a budgetary football among the Black Mountain Town Board that is l>ound to get tamped around in a number of other in upcoming months. While the terminal itself leases for a relatively «™«ii amount. It is available only to municipalities that have 24 hour dispatchers. Black Mountain's dispat chers, now funded primarily by grant money, will be en tirely on the town peyroll after oeit year-at a cast of at least 00,487. That is, if the board does not find the cost too heavy a burden. The terminal allows police access, in a mstter of seconds, to 14 stats and federal police ^formation banks. Prior to installation of the terminal in Black Mountain, local police celled on the county PIN terminal to perform some of •hose functions. Police, es may be expected, favor keeping the diapetchers end terminal despite the cost •c taxpayers. ‘"I’d say there have been 20 or more apprehensions because of the machine since it was installed,"Ramsey said. We would have never known Archie King (the armed robbery suspect) was in Charlotte without it” Buncombe County' s ter minal, Ramsey said, was only available to police here for checks on vehicle tags or license numbers. Response on those queries averaged three minutes, Ramsey said, as opposed to about half a minute. “Saving time is one thing, saving an officer’s life is another. If you run a license number through the machine before you approach the driver, you know what you are getting into, ”he said. As an example, he told of a highway patrol officer who was stabbed by a man be had pulled over for a traffic violation recently. If the officer had checked the terminal, he would have found the man was an escaped convict from Florida. Black Mountain Police send and recieve an average of about 400 to 500 messages each day, Ramsey said. The most common use is checks on vehicle tags and license numbers when motorists are stopped. He also uses the terminal to send fingerprint information in investigations. One unusual aspect of the terminal is one information bank that supplies “background information on criminal activity” as well as arrest records to aid police in evaluating suspects. “Every person who is wanted tor a major crime is on it Even if they use a ficticious name, it doean’t matter-we get fingerprints on them,” he said. Ramsey argues that the machine is worth the money. “I could compile a list of thousands and thousands of dollars we've recovered in stolen goods by using the terminal,” he said. But the theme of officer safety recurs in talks with Ramsey and his fellow police officers. “Where it especially helps is at night when you pull a car. If the driver is wanted for an armed robbery or hcmocide, you know better than to walk out without a gun. Without the PIN machine, a man could get blown away,’ ’ he said. Sticker renewal due The Division of Motor Vehicles of the North Carolina Department of Transportation has reminded motorists today that validation stickers and plates for 1979 will go on sale throughout the state on January 2. Renewal cards necessary for obtaining a 1979 sticker or plate were mailed December 18 and should be received by December 29. Anyone not receiving a renewal card should notify the Division of Motor Vehicles in Raleigh by mail at 1100 New Bem Avenue or by telephone at (919 ) 733 3025. Elbert L. Peters Jr., commissioner of Motor Vehicles, said, “It will take from ten days to two weeks to obtain a card and new plates or stickers must be displayed by midnight, February 15.’ Newcomers to North Carolina or those buying a car for the first time should make application for a license plate at the nearest local agency. With the exception of some special classifications, 1979 automobile liscenses will be renewed with a validation sticker Robbery suspect caught A man wanted for the armed robbery of Pizza Hut in Black Mountain on April 29 was located last week in Charlotte, where he was awaiting trial on other charges, according to Black Mountain Det Don Ramsey. Ramsey said that Archie King, 32, of Asheville was located by a computer check of his fingerprints. King was being held under another name in Charlotte. A warrant had been issued on King in May, Ramsey said, after he had been identified by a Marion man who saw a composite drawing based on descriptions given by wit nesses to the holdup, Ramsey said. Another man who drove a getaway car at the holdup has yet to be caught, Ramsey said. Police also arrested Clarence Quinn, of Black Mountain, at Hardee’ s restaurant here December 15. Quinn had escaped from the Hayward County Jail, Ramsey said. Ramsey noted that Black Mountain Police now have registration forms for bicycles that owners can fill out to aid police should their bicycles even be stolen and recovered An engraver is also available to mark bicycles and other items, Ramsey said. There is no charge for either service. 2nd HUD hearing set The second and last public hearing for the upcoming round of Department and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development grants will be held in Black Mountain at Town Hall at 7 pjn. January 4. Representatives of the Land-of-Sky Regional Council are expected to present a grant proposal for Black Mountain based on input .'rom an earlier bearing December 7, according to grants coor dinator Becky Williams. At that hearing, citisens told a special committee that they would like to see the town submit a proposal to install new water lines In Craigmont and to improve drainage in that area. According to Ms. Williams, representatives will submit a description of the project, a budget, and the boundaries of the project area. Application for this round of funding is due in Greensboro in early January, she said. 30years ago A front page photo and article in the News 30 years ago pointed out that out of a student body of 54 at Barea College in Kentucky, 12 of those were from Swannanoa and Black Mountain. One feature of the college was that no tuition was charged, but students had to work for tuition, room, board,, and expenses. The Swannanoa Warriors beat the infamous Fairview teams in ac' on for both boys and girls. Coach E.Y. Neill was credited with the rapid improvement of the basket ball teams. The lead photo of the week showed a huge pile of repaired toys and two of a group of Swannanoans who took it on themselves to repair them for needy children. Those man were James R. Hall, Thad Stevens, Robert Cragg, Fred McClure and Wade Martin. In the week’s editorial, the staff called for solutions to the valley’s ecomonic dependence on tourism and the subsequent 1 “four months feast and eight months famine.’ Among goals proposed were attract in dustry, provide a railroad underpass in Black Mountain, improve parking facilities, and improve the gym at the Grammar School. Others have been accomplished provide recreation for tourists, pave NC 9, and get bands or orchestras in the public schools. A majority of the News consisted of society blurbs about who was off visiting or who was in town for the holidays. CP&L was advising customers to buy only cer tified light bulbs that gave a soft glow. Viverette Radio and Supply offered a prayer that no person should ever be hurt because of harsh words or business. The Northwestern Bank offered a poem and picture of a fat New Year 1948 baby with New Year salutations. Black Mountain Hardware adivsed readers to watch the next paper for 0k “sensational announcement’ of a Sherwin Williams paint display. And that’s the way it was. Black Mountain Fire The Black Mountain Fire Department made five runs ast week. On December 18, two sngines and 17 men responded » a fire in die dust house at Slack Mountain Woodworking m Vance Avanue. Minor lamage was reported. One engine and five men were called to wash down after an auto accident on Virginia Road in Montreat December 23. One person was injured in an auto accident at the Bi-Lo Shopping Center on US 70 December 24. Mrs. Dan Respass suffered minor in juries. One engine, one res.ue truck, one ambulance and 19 men responded. About $50 damage was done when a fire started on an electric stove at the Ann Johnson residence on Laurel Circle December 25. One engine and 15 men responded. The Buncombe County Ambulance Service made 15 routine and four unneeded runs last week. Winter and old barns, like this one on Blue Ridfte Road, seem to go together in a scene of loneliness. (Dan Weird)

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