105 If. j.'cu^bert^Stwe^
Black houi.tain, i.t"
East Buncombe Fire District
$43,000 contract offered to town
Discussion on a contract offered by
Buncombe County to Black Mountain
for fire protection in the East Buncombe
Fire District was tabied Monday night
in a motion made by Alderman Ruth
Brandon and seconded by Margaret
Slagie.
Mrs. Brandon made her motion after
a letter dated May 9 was read from
James R. Lamb, president of the
Swan nan oa Volunteer Fire Department
to Curtis Ratcliff, chairman of the
Buncombe County Board of Commis
sioners. The letter requests that the
Commissioners reconsider their action
of last November to extend the west
boundary of the East Buncombe Fire
District to Eastwood Ave. in Swanna
noa, changing it instead to the North
Fork River.
Black Mountain stands to lose
(43,000 in taxes in 1981-82 if the
contract is not signed in time to be
included in the Buncombe County ,
budget, scheduled to be completed by
May 15.
If the contract is not signed, the new
board of commissioners, who began
Vandats destroy
garden at !ake
Vandals destroyed flower gardens
planted at Lake Tomahawk by the senior
citizens at Lakeview Center last Thurs
day night. The flowers, $25 worth paid
for by the staff and others donated by
the senior citizens, were planted Mon
day and Tuesday.
Police Chief Sonnie Slagle said that
there were at least two bicycles involved
and at least two different sets of
footprints, but maybe as many as four
or five involved in the incident. The size
of Lie footprints indicated, he said, that
the vandals were "little ones. "
"I just don't understand what makes
people do this, " said Alice Schweitzer,
director of recreation for Black Moun
tain. She said many volunteers have
recently gotten involved in making Lake
Tomahawk a safe, pleasant and beauti
ful park. "And it just gets destroyed by
a few hoodlums," she said.
When the beds were made, Mrs.
Schweitzer said, a wide bicyde path was
left between for access from the
swimming pool area to the iake ievei, so
there was no reason for them to ride
through the flower beds.
The senior dtizens will retrieve plants
thrown in the lake and tty to save some
of the stomped ones. Fortunately, rain
on Wednesday had prevented them
from setting out more plants they had
on hand, and these will be planted.
Besides flowers, the beds bordered by
railroad ties will contain a vegetable
garden.
A community dean-up of Lake
Tomahawk is scheduled for May 14.
Hattie Simmons (ie/t) and Myrtie Massey survey the
damaged piants at Lahe Tomahawh.
their term this year, will reopen the
discussion which has been raging for
the past four years If the issue is
reopened it -will be at least December
until a new decision is made, according
to town attorney Ron Sneed, and people
and businesses in the disputed area will
continue to receive free fire protection
for another year at other tax payers'
expense.
Ruth Brandon and Margaret Slagle
have called a special Town Council
meeting to be held Thursday at 7:30
a m. to "ask the commissioners to levy
a seven cent tax in the East Buncombe
Fire District regardless of where the
boundaries are," Mrs. Brandon said.
According to Town Manager Earnest
Hudgins, uniess the Board instead
signs the original contract by Thursday,
time wiU have run out on the $43,000
revenue.
"I believe one or more of our (Black
Mountain) elected officials have com
municated with some people conspiring
to keep us from getting this thing at this
time," Hudgins stated, citing the
timing of the letter from the Swannanoa
Fire Department and the fact that some
council members were aware of its
existence before it was made public.
"It is regrettable," he added.
"Frankly, I think that we have become
scapegoats in this thing."
Black Mountain Fire Chief Gary
Bartlett said Tuesday morning, "Since
this was settled last November (when
the County Commissioners established
the East Buncombe Fire District) we've
had the best working relationship with
Swannanoa ever. W e worked out a very
good mutual aid agreement.
"It's things like this that kill ac
complishments like that."
Mrs. Brandon said she believes that
the letter from the Swannanoa Fire
Department to Curtis Ratcliff should be
considered and another decision made
by County Commissioners before Black
Mountain agrees to sign a fire pro
tection agreement with the county.
BMCK
4.)
Dedicated to the growing Swannanoa Va!!ey
Thursday, May 14,1981, Volume 29, Number 20 Second ctass postage paid at Btack Mountain, NC 28711
tris show features !ocat beauties
by Bert Livingston
Rare iris blossoms from the extensive
plantings of Carmen Garraux and Carl
and Alice Hampton on Dillingham
Circle, near Warren Wilson College,
will be featured in the Fourth Annual
Iris Exhibit by Carolina Mountains Iris
Society in Asheville Mall from noon
until 9 p.m. Friday.
The Hampton gardens' most unusual
iris is "Esther the Queen," in the
opinion of Mrs. Hampton's mother,
Carmen Garraux. Mm. Garraux
describes the flower as having "huge
florets with blue-green standards, falls
of greenish buff and brownish-black
beard resting rn dark maroon signals."
Mrs. Garraux is an 88-year old gardener
who works with her irises every day.
Several hundred other blossoms of
the finest irises that can be grown in
North Carolina will be exhibited,
according to Flossie Nelson, Hender
sonville, president of the society.
Included will be "Attention Carolina,"
produced by Lottie Powell, Princeton,
one of the state's outstanding hybrid
izers. New to the horticultural section
of the exhibit this year is a division for
showing flowers grown by school-age
gardeners.
Judging will be conducted by Mr. and
Mrs. B.J. Brown of Charlotte. The
Browns have 15 years of experience as
judges in the American Iris Society.
Theme for this spring's exhibit is
"Beauty Lies Within the Eyes of the
Beholder." Besides horticultural
displays of blossoms, there will be 24
iris flower arrangements. These in
clude some made by area members of
Dtebana International. The five classes
for arrangements are: Oriental beauty,
freedom, renaissance, the artist's
choice and a walk in the woods. The
youth division will, as in the past
exhibits, present four iris flower
arrangements.
Town Counci!
Noise ordinance passed
Town Council passed several
ordinances Monday evening including a
noise ordinance, an update of privilege
license fees and an ordinance legally
establishing an auxiliary police reserve
force for the Town of Black Mountain.
The noise ordinance will prohibit
"indecent language and cursing, loud
or boisterous talking, hallooing and-or
other disorderly conduct within the city
limits." The fine set is not to exceed
$25.
Privilege tax
Privilege license fees will be raised to
add $4,000 in revenue to the coffers of
the Town of Black Mountain. Town
Council also agreed to send a letter to
state legislators expressing disapproval
that some professions are exempted by
the state from paying a local privelege
tax. Doctors and lawyers are among the
exempt.
Police auxiliary
Although Black Mountain has had a
volunteer police auxiliary for several
years, it was made legal Monday when
aldermen passed an ordinance estab
lishing the group officially.
The only limitation placed on the
auxiliary force by Town Coundl was
that their bylaws must be reviewed and
accepted by Town Council.
Bridge inspection
In other action, Coundl voted to give
a contract for bridge inspection to
Butler Associates. The inspection is
required by the N.C. Department of
Transportation and was to have been
completed by Dec. 30, 1980.
To be inspected are bridges on
Charlotte Street near radio station
WBMS, on East Cotton Ave., on Laurel
Circle Drive, and on the Hemphill
property leading to the town water
reservoir.
Pool repairs
It will cost the Town (8,490 to get the
dty swimming pool in shape for
summer opening. Town Coundl passed
a resolution to give the contract to Fair
Finish of Asheville Company.
Inside the pool, cracks in the concrete
will be repaired, missing and broken die
replaced, ail die regrouted, and the
surface painted and sealed.
Broken concrete around the pool,
damaged by freezing and expansion and
now causing safety hazards, will be
repaired and sealed to limit further
damage by water. The entrance to the
bathhouse will be roughed up to present
a non-skid surface.
Budget reading
Town Council passed the 1981-82
budget on its first reading. Another
budget workshop will be held Saturday,
May 16, at 7:30 a m, when aldermen
will continue to pare down the proposed
38 cent tax increase.
!nside
Speciat Otympics,
page 8
Flower arrangements will be judged
by Mrs. Gerald King and Mrs. W.C.
Lautner of Hendersonville and Mrs.
Henry Arch Nichols, Asheville, all of
whom are members of the North
Carolina Council of Garden Judges.
Invitation for the gardening public to
participate is an exceptional feature of
the exhibit. Anyone having blossoms of
named varieties of irises are urged to
bring the flowers to the main or fountain
entrance of the mall between 8 and 10
am. Friday. They will be received by
Katheryn Johnson or Nina Hensley,
Asheville, chairman and co-chairman of
the exhibits.
Mrs. Carmen Garraux beeps care/ui records o/ her irises
which have such names as "Stepping Out," "One Desire,"
"Esther the Queen," and May Meiody."
Weather
review
^3
May 5-high 83, low 47 degrees.
May 6-high 80, low 52 degrees; .02
inches precipitation.
May 7-high 54, low 44 degrees; .70
inches precipitation.
May 8-high 64, low 37 degrees; trace
precipitation.
May 9 -high 68, low 46 degrees.
May 10-high 61, low 55 degrees; .04
inches precipitation.
As of the week ending May 9, the area
has received 10.83 inches of precipita
tion. According to the National
Weather Service, the area would have
received 16 inches by now in an
average year.
W eather courtesy of
WPGW Radio,
When she started
raising iris, Mrs. Garramc
said, she never imagined she'd
have over 250 varieties. "J'd
just see some more 7 wanted,"
she iaughed.
'Lord of
the F ties'
okayed
Owen High School's media advisory
committee met Wednesday, May 6, and
made a unanimous decision to support
classroom use of the book, "Lord of the
Flies," by William Golding.
A complaint had been filed against
use of the book by Joyce Craig, the
mother of a student in a ninth grade
English class for gifted students.
The media advisory committee is
made up of school department heads,
the school librarian and a parent.
The meeting marked tl.e first time a
media advisory committee has acted on
a complaint against a book since a
"concerned parents" movement organ
ized this winter and petitioned the
school board to change book selection
policy. When the school board denied
the petition, the Rev. W endell Runion,
head of the group, said his group will
file individual complaints against many
books.
Chitdren to
give concert
performances
Over 70 children will be on stage
Sunday when the Warren Wilson Col
lege Community Arts Program presents
its concert finale. Musicians, dancers,
pianists and recorder artists ages three
through 13 will grace the Kittredge
Community Arts Center stage begin
ning at 3 p.m.
The Kindermusik students are those
of Linda Robinson; dancers have been
studying under Michelle Lee; the
recorder students are those of John
Werner; and the pianists have been
learning from Lynn Brown.
The Community Arts Program is
made possible, in part, by a grant from
the National Endowment for the Arts as
a cooperative outreach program through
Warren Wilson College. The concert is
free to the public.
Owen
graduation
May31
Graduation ceremonies for about 213
Owen High School seniors will be held
Sunday, May 31 in Spilman Auditorium
at Ridgecrest Baptist Conference
Center. An awards assembly will be
held prior to graduation on May 21 at
Owen High School.