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PAGE 2—The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, January 23, 1969 1218 College St., Newberry, S. C. 29108 PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY 0. F. Armfield, Jr., Owner Second-Class Postage Paid at Newberry, South Carolina SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $2.00 per year in advance. Six Months $1.25. Nance street Construction is protested The following letter protest ing the construction of a four- lane highway through a resi dential area of the city was written to Paul W. Cobh, urban engineer of the State Highway Department, by Miss Juanita Hitt, a Nance Street property owner: Dear Sir: What gives me the right to write this outspoken letter of complaint against the proposed four lam 1 highway through the residential and business dis tricts of Newberry? I feel that I have every right because I am a Nance Street property owner, a tax-payer a school teacher and a citizen who is concerned about both the safety of the youth of our town and for the preservation of tiie many things which lend to tiie beauty of Newberry. As a Nance Street property owner, I feel certain that my fee!mgs ar>' the same as the majority of my friends and neighbors who live on the st reel. We love our homes. They aren’t just houses. With the exception of only a few places they are well kept and cared for, I wonder how many of you who are anxiously soliciting til is super lane highway have thought of tiie unhappiness and insecurity this will bring into our community. Why a four lane highway down a residential street? It seems to me if the town has the kind of money it will take to finance such a project, that tiie amount put out for a four lane highway could be best in vested into widening and re surfacing all our streets in town. Many of our streets are in bad condition, so why spend all that money on a four lane highway when many of out st reel s need improving ? I can cite you one street it paitaular that WAS paved About ! no yards of the pave ment on this -treed ua plowed up. leaving a strip of pavemen* at . i: tier > nd of tile st reet w it) t w plowed up strip in the Ceti ter. Tins was plowed up over 1 W (i 'i K A RS ago and tins -trip of ire' t has never been re paved Th I - i < 'arlisle St. Tiie New b, ! ry High Soho.d b a -1 ■ s- and lumber trucks going to ; tie Newberry 1.umber <’o. u-e tiiis -treet. Heavy traffic 111 o \ e ■' on tins S' reed , and t ile buses and truck.- are confronted wit it lough dn\ ing over the deep holes of a muddy strip of street that once was paved! I understand that over a per iod of years tiie town of New berry has turned over many of its si rmds to tiie State High way Department. Not too man\ Nance Street residents will re call that tiie property owm rs paid two-thirds of the cost of the first pavement we had on Nance Street. It was more than 40 years ago when Nance Street was first paved. Th< property owner on each sid< of the street paid one-third tht cost, the town of Newberry paid ONLY one-third. The side walk in front of our residence was paid for altogether by the property owner! I cite this incident for pure ly a personal reason only— when the town of Newberry needed to construct a new and more adequate water line down Nance street in 19G7, I was asked about the removal or the four beautiful trees between the sidewalk and street in front of my home. I raised the question—“Why can’t the wa ter line be laid under the Nance Street pavement instead of tad ween the sidewalk and street?” The answer I received was, “We can’t lay it there be cause of the State Highway right-of-way.” I didn’t fail to remember that I had paid one- third of the cost for the origi nal pavement in front of my home. My three beautiful shade trees and a bearing pe can tree were destroyed. I was led to believe by Mr. Riebe, City Manager, and other city officials that no further foot age would be taken from my property—and, now we are faced with the tremendous problem of having our entire yards taken. I am especiall. concerned about this for mam of our beautiful yards and wel kept lawns are at stake. I havt prided i ,yself for having a pretty yard for passers-by to enjoy. I have always felt that this was the one feeble way I could be a good citizen—to do my part to keep Newberry beautiful. Many years ago I planted my yard with a purpose in mind. I figured that by the time I re tinal I could enjoy the full growth and beauty of the shrubs and bulbs I had plant ed. Over a period of years there is an investment of sev eral thousand dollars in plant ings of trees, camellias, aza leas and rare flowering bulbs. How many so-called appraisers know the value of the plants and shrubs in such a yard? We were informed at the meeting at Speers St. School on December 19, 19G8, that no parking would hr permitted on Nance street. If Newberry were a city and had appropriatt (dub houses to provide place: of meetings for our civic aim pat riot ic orgamzat ions a n d our church missionary circles, t ha'll, meetings in our resid- ce- wouldn't be neeosary. H o\ ever, Now berry D not a (':! V and \V« ■ d on’t have s uch accn mmodat ions , therefore \\ ho ever a 111 ■mb ; a me.'ting at a Nan re : 0 re et residence will ha vt 1 no place to park! 1 s up- !>,> a this no parking” g o e s fi '!' fuller als, V ( aidings, doc11 it's calls ami 1 V , hat have you. Be 'eausi ■ I am a teaclmr I am o \ ery eoner r nrd about t he \n»uth of Nr w!h wry those b 1 '.vs and girls w ho would have to rn is ' a foil r lane highway to get to S pee ■rs Street Elemen- t ary Srh< Mil am 1 to Newbe rry High i Sell ool. A four-lane high way could 1 >ecome the perfect speedway f Patrolled? os but here again I cite the unnec essary added expense. It i- very difficult now to secure a police patrol—What would it be to hire additional help? What value do you place on a little child’s life? Not even a road paved in solid gold and studded with diamonds eoulc pay the price of a child's life. As a teacher in my community for 43 years, I have had the Newberry youth ever present in my heart—I will speak forth my mind and even fight to pro tect. them from the dangers and hazards of a super high way in the very doors of the schools which they attend. “The Best Jail in the State” seems to be in jeopardy also. The problem of building a new jail is the concern of every tax-payer in Newberry County. My tax dollars are hard earned and I don’t approve using one penny of my tax for such an extravagant move as to build a new jail. “The Memorial Square” is a sacred spot. It is the small but loving way in which the Am erican Legion paid a tribute to “our boys,” some of whom sleep in honored glory in for eign soil. I have a feeling that taking one inch from the Dough Boy Square would be cheating! It is now a beautiful spot. The town, the Civic League and the American Legion have spent several thousand dollars to make it a beauty spot. Just when the beautification of the Square is beginning to mature, we have those who would plow up the space along McKibben Street. The Square has not always been a beauty spot—and, I call it the Memorial Square, altho I understand of late the name “Plaza” has been projecte. Yes, the Square was an un sightly ugly sight before the American Legion chose to place the Doughboy there. It was a parking lot for mules and wag ons. Again, I say the Memorial Square is a sacred spot. We should not tamper with one inch of it! The proposal as printed on the various broehu:es and maps submitted by the High way Department read, “The IMPROVEMENT of Nance street”! I challenge anyone who refers to this as “Improvement.” “Destruction” is a mild word to use. The town will be vulnerable for many damage suits. This is most liable to happen for so much property along the route involved will be cheap ened and depreciated in value. Suits can and will be brought against the towm including the council. Of course, if the town has the kind of money it will take to build such a highway, it would be no problem to set tle damage suits. We who live on Nance St. are certainly not happy with the situation. This was defin itely proven at the public meet ing. I trust that those in au thority will take a long hard look and think deeply to give us the consideration that will be needed to keep Newberry a friendly, safe and beautiful lit tle' town. Thank you very much for being patient and kind enough to read a letter of complaint from a life-long Newberry cit izen. Vousden named Relocation Coordinator The South Carolina Highway Department has moved toward putting together a team to deal with what inevitably will be a significant part of any major highway project from now on. Even ahead of the anticipated passage of legislation to bring the state into compliance with the relocation assistance as pects of the 19G8 Federal Aid Highway Act. the Department has named a relocation coordi nator. The relocation ass.stance op- ■ration will come under th'' right-of-way section, headed by ROW engineer Sidney O. Hol st ('in. The r elocation coordinator is John A. Vousden, a 48-year- old native of Atlanta, who join ed the Highway Department as a right-of-way agent in 1958 after many years in forestry work, including land manage ment and land acquisition. His years with the Depart ment have included both urban and rural, primary and secon dary, right-of-way assignments. In 1964, he was promoted to reviewing appraiser, a title he held until his recent promotion to the relocation coordinator’s job. f “Relocation will be a ‘people program largely, translating the requirements of the Fed eral Act and of our own re location legislation into actual practice—helping homeowners and tenants who must vacate their homes for a highway in the public interest, to obtain decent, safe and sanitary hous* ing,” Mr. Vousden said. It will be a “tough” assign ment in any event, he added. "There will be problems,” Mr. Vousden said. He brings to the job his ex perience in right-of-way work and his experience in forestry, which was to a large degree or iented toward land acquisition, while with Union Bag and Pa per Company following gradua tion from the University of Georgia in 1912 (and after World War II service) with the U. S. Forest Service, for a year; and with West Virginia Pulp and Paper Co. 1955-1958. He has a bachelor of science degree from Georgia and his master’s in forestry from Duke University, 1948. In addition, he has complet ed Course I, offered at the University of Virginia; Course II, at the University of Chic ago, and Course III, at Clem- son University, in the study program of the American Ins titute of Real Estate Apprai sers. He was recently made a senior member of the American Right-of-Way Association, rec ognizing his 10 years of ex perience in the field. There are only two others similarly hon ored in the Department, and only five in South Carolina. At Greenwood, where he and Mrs. Vousden, the former Jua nita Shealy of Newberry and their two children, Claudia, 11 and Helen 10, have lived for some years, he was active in the Masonic order, including all the York Rite bodies and the Shrine, and in the First Pres byterian church. They are mov ing to Whitehall, in Lexington county. CROUCH RITES HELD TUESDAY Charles Coleman Crouch, 60, of Greenwood, died Sunday morning. Funeral services were held Tuesday with burial in Salem Methodist church ceme tery. His survivors include two sisters, Mrs. Margaret Bowles and Mrs. T. F. Werts of Silver- street. BIRTH OF SON Mr. and Mrs. Tommie Riley of 629 Hooken Circle, West Columbia, announce the birth of a son, Douglas Eugene, on Thursday, December 19. They have two other sons, Thomas 10 and Donald 5. Mrs. Riley is the former Miss Shirley Berley of Newberry. Auditor’s 1969 Tax Assessment Notice I, or an authorized agent, will be at the following places on the dates given below for the purpose if taking tax returns on all personal property (vehi cles, boats, motors, trailers, mo bile homes, farm machinery, livestock, etc.); also real prop erty, new buildings, and real estate transfers. Persons own ing property in more than one district must make returns for each district. All able-bodied male citizens between the ages of twenty-one and sixty are liable to $1.00 poll tax, unless in service or a stu dent. PROSPERITY (HAMM HARDWARE CO.) Thursday, January 23, 1969. At the Auditor’s Office until March 1st. After this date the books will be closed for taking returns. JEANETTE K. HAMM Auditor Newberry County. What happens when a house that has gone up in value, goes up in smoke? As a rule, the owner doesn t blame himself if he is under-insured. He blames his agent! That s why we caution our customers periodi cally that rising replacement costs require addi tional insurance protection. We would like to be your agent. “YOUR PRIVATE BANKERS” 1418 Main Street Phone 276-1422