Thursday, December 17, 198!, Volume 29, Number 51
Member of the NCPA
New board puts freeze on signs;
axes tiaison system
by BiD Anthony
Black Mountain's new Board of
Aidermen opened to a standing-room
oniy house Monday night and in two
hours compieted what a long-term
observer considered a "very heavy
agenda."
Oniy one dissenting vote was cast
during the evening. Aiderman Cari
Bartiett considered a Hanning Board
recommendation for a moratorium on all
new sign permits "penalizing to busi
nessmen." The new Alderman com
mented, "our sign ordinance worked
real fine until this came up about
height."
He was referring to a memorandum
signed by Hanning Board Chairman
Travis Childs. Childs informed the
Aldermen the Town's planners, through
"several workshops" in which iocal
citizens "have been actively participa
ting," became "aware of the several
areas of the ordinance that are ambi
guous or lack definition (e g. height)."
Wishing for time to compile a "fair, but
definitive ordinance that will stand the
test of time," Childs asked for the
moratorium. The Board of Alderman,
four to one, approved the request, for 90
days, with possibility of an extension.
Authority restored to department heads
Leading off the Board's "new busi
ness" was an o!d problem. Monday
night the Board unanimously approved
a resolution intended to restore person- -
ne! and funding authority to the police,
fire, water and street department
heads. In earlier years some Town
employees complained Aldermen, un
der a liaison arrangement, exercised too
mud) direct control over the depart
ments.
Department heads will now "have
full authority" to 611 vacandes and will
recommend dismissals to the town
manager. Department heads will also
have disciplinary authority. Appeals for
dismissals and discipline go to the Town
Manager, and on to Board as necessary.
Department heads also will' "have full
authority to determine how funds
allocated their departments shall be
used." The Town Manager can dis
approve an expenditure only if he
determines it "endangers the depart
ment's overall budget for the fiscal year
or is a misuse of funds," according to
the Board's resolution.
Power rescue tool
Mayor Tom Soboi reported the Bun
combe County Board of Commissioners
had offered the Town up to (2,500
toward purchase of a power rescue tooi.
The offer was contingent on the Black
Mountain Bremen raising the balance of
the tool's price. When McDonald's
Corporation allocated (3,200 toward
purchase of a tool and the Bremen came
up with (2,150, the county offered to
pay the remaining balance of (2,245 for
a Hurst Tool and stipulated that bids be
processed through the county's pur
chasing office. As the Black Mountain
Bremen preferred a Lucas Tool, the
Mayor objected to the county's stipula
tions of what tool to buy and to the role
of the county's purchasing office. The
Mayor would have preferred to accept
the county's (2,245, with the Town
making up the difference, for a Lucas
Tool. Former Alderman Margaret Sla
gle from the audience questioned the
relationship of new Alderman Steve
King's employment by the distributors
of the Lucas Tool. Mayor Sobol respond
ed by reading a letter from the Assistant
General Counsel of the N.C. League of
Municipalities. That authority saw no
problem with the Town engaging in
transactions with companies in which
Aldermen have no "financial inter
ests," but are "merely employees,"
and do not directly gain through such
actions.
Aldermen Doug Stafford and Michael
Begley saw no evidence of King's
personal interest in the sale. The Mayor
was authorized to seek "clarification"
of the county's position.
Fhe training area lease
The Board also agreed to lease to the
Town's Volunteer Fireman's Associa
tion 20 acres west of Cragmont Road,
behind the Pizza Hut, for training
purposes. The lease is for 20 years. The
resolution superseded a May 1980
resolution leasing the training area for
five years under the "absolute control
of the fire chief."
Lake Tomahawk dam
Mayor Sobol reported the N.C.
Department of Resources and Commu
Continued on page 2.
AsheviMe?
This billboard wishing "Asheville" greeting' of the season is curiously
iocated about halfway between Biack Mountain and Swannanoa on i-40.
(Photo by Dennis Hards)
V
Second class postage paid
at Black Mountain, MC 2#7JJ
King crowned
Mark Hopkins tried out his crown Sunday in a dress rehearsal for a live
Christmas pageant with assistance from his mother, Priscilla. The pageant
will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the parking iot of the First Baptist Church Dec.
16-18 and 21-23. Many area churches are involved in this project.
Hendon seeks end to
CETA incentive
program in N.C.
After conferring with North Caroiina
officials, Western North Carolina Con
gressman Bill Hendon has called on
Labor Secretary Raymond J. Donovan to
exempt the State of North Carolina from
a requirement that it pay students to
attend school.
Hendon said in a letter to Secretary
Donovan that, "R is unbelievably bad
public policy to pay students to attend
school, and I am concerned that such
payments may actually be an incentive
for more students to drop out of their
regular school program. "
The (30-a-week payments, to student
dropouts eligible only if they are from
families who already receive public
assistance, are required under the
federal Comprehensive Ehnployment
and Training Act (CETA). North Caro
iina has not previousiy made the
payments, but when the state recentiy
asked for an official exemption, the U S.
Department of Labor refused and
ordered the payments, which would cost
North Carolina (100,000 this year.
"To force the state to make such
payments...is inconsistent with the
Administration's desire to return deci
sion making and control of programs to
the state and local level, " Hendon told
Donovar '' 1 strongly urge you to review
the regulations for the incentive allow
ance program for all the states and to
immediately reverse the decision made
by your Atlanta Regional Office as it
relates to the State of North Carolina. "
Test wet!
Second try yietds 120 gattons a minute
by Cynthia Hehner
Water poured out of the second we!l
drilled at In-the-Oaks last week at a rate
of 120 gallons a minute, engineer Bob
Watts reported. That was good news,
Watts said, after the first well drilled at
the site yielded a disappointing seven
gallons per minute.
Both wells were drilled to a depth of
500 feet by Greene Brothers Well
Drilling of Canton.
Hie third and final test well in the
water project, passed in a Dec. 16,1980
$500,000 bond referendum is yet to be
drilled.
The next step will be to have a 24
hour pump test performed to measure
the exact amount of water produced by
the well, Watts said. A 100-gallon
Holiday scheduie
Hie Black Mountain News will observe the following scheduie for the
Christmas and New Year holidays.
The news and advertising deadline next week will be 2 p.m. Monday.
The paper will be printed on Tuesday evening. The News office will close at
5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 23 and reopen at 9 a m. Monday, Dec. 28.
Deadlines for the week after Christmas will be as usual, news at 5 p.m.
Monday and advertising at noon Tuesday. The paper will be published on a
regular schedule. The News office will be closed from 5 p.m. Wednesday,
Dec. 30 until 9 a m. Monday, Jan. 4.
minimum is required of the weli.
Hans should be available for approval
before Christmas for the other four
contractsinthe project, Wattssaid. Four
contracts will then be let for a water
storage tank, grading around the tank,
well house and pump installation and
water distribution lines.
It will be spring, Watts said, before
the weH is tied into the system.
The town's contract with In-the-Oaks
provides for any unused weil to become
the property of In-the-Oaks. Watts said
the first weii, which produced only
seven gallons per minute, would proba
bly be turned over to the Episcopal
Diocese.
!cy roads Named for
schoo! bus accident
No one was injured in a school bus
accident Monday morning on Old Fort
Road according to the N.C. Highway
Patrol, who investigated the accident.
The bus slid on ice 500 feet from the
intersection of Lower Flat Creek Road
about 7:20 a m., the rear end landing
in a ditch. Two students were on the bus
which was headed for A C. Reynolds
High School.
The State Patrol called the accident a
"fender bender. " Buncombe County
Schools Transportation Department re
ported dents on iower sheet metai
paneis of the bus.
Black Mountain Primary School Prin
cipal Jerry Green said Black Mountain
school buses did not travel in the Broad
River section Monday morning after he
checked the roads and determined they
were too icy to be safe for travel.
Beacon to dose for Christmas
Manufacturing and service depart
ments will dose for Christmas vacation
at the Beacon Manufacturing Company
^Weather
review
J
Dec. 8-high 57, low 35 degrees.
Dec. 9-high 30, low 26 degrees; snow
flurries.
Dec. 10-high 26, low 20 degrees;
flurries.
Dec. 11-high 37, low 18 degrees.
Dec. 12-high 50, low 12 degrees.
Dec. 13-high 48, low 14 degrees.
Dec. 14-high 36, low 31 degrees; .51
inches precipitation.
Dec. 23-30. Part of the manufacturing
and service departments will resume
operations on Dec. 30 at 7 a m. All
Owen over
West Henderson
56-42
Owen High School confronted West
Henderson last FYiday night and came
away with another Little Mac victory,
56-42, Brad Daugherty led the scoring
with 33 points and 16 rebounds.
Owen led the game until the fourth
quarter when the Fhlcons pulled the
score up to a he. Daugherty's 10 points
in the quarter, assisted by the defensive
performance of Keith PMaer, gave
Owen the victory which places Owen
3-0, 4-0 In the conference.
manufacturing and service departments
will be in operation on Jan. 4 at 7 a m.
Cannon Mills Company and its subsi
diaries, Maiden Knitting Mills, he.,
Wiscassett Mills Company, Beacon
Manufacturing Company and Social
Circle Cotton Mill Company, will give
(5,712,057 in Christmas vacation holi
day pay to its employees this year.
Cannon Mills, a leading manufacture
er and merchandiser of household
textiles and other consumer products,
operates manufacturing plants at Albe
marle, China Grove, Concord, Graham,
Kannapolis, Maiden, Rockwell, Salis
bury, and Swannanoa in North Carolina,
at Central, Westminster and York in
South Carolina, and at Social Circle,
Georgia.
Pianning Board to meet
The Black Mountain Hanning and Zoning Board will hold its regular monthly
meeting on Dec. 21 at the Town Hall at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
Special holiday issue
next u?eek