Looking Back

25 Years Ago - Feb. 16, 1999

Keith Burt, a representative of Frontiervision was present (at the Falmouth City Council meeting) to hear comments and questions from the audience and council and to respond concerning the poor service being provided to the Falmouth and Butler areas.

Resident Roger Lonaker took the floor and told of the poor reception and inadequate coverage he was receiving from his cable system. Other residents lended support to Lonaker’s claims.

Council spoke with Burt about the poor service in the system in the office. Supposedly, many customers are finding it very difficult to get a representative on the line when a call is made with a complaint of being billed twice.

Council asked that Frontiervision send out a survey in the next billing cycle to do a poll of their customers to see what their complaints are and how many are having problems with their service. Burt said they would agree to the survey but that it might take a coup of months to do this. Council said they didn’t want to wait that long to get help to the people of Falmouth.

50 Years Ago - Feb. 15, 1974

(From a letter submitted to the Outlook from Clifford Wallace, Pendleton County High School principal):

I am concerned about the recent article in the Falmouth Outlook in which the Falmouth Chief of Police, Wayne Oliver, very irresponsibly was quoted as saying a “high percentage” of students at our high school were “one-time” users of drugs. People who attended the recent PTA meeting at Southern Elementary state the individual who made the presentation said that “90 percent of the students had experimented with drugs.” This statement is totally unfounded. My experience has taught me that when one quotes percentages, he should have valid research to support his information. Interviewing eight to 10 students or listening to rumors is not enough evidence to indict 630 (90 percent) out of a total of 700 students at Pendleton High School. I deeply resent it and I’m sure that one hundred percent of the parents of this school do also.

In a democratic system we try to teach our students that a person is “innocent until proven guilty,” not “guilty until proven innocent.”

The fact is that a very high percentage (98 percent) of our students are well behaved and do not use drugs in any way, shape, or form.

75 Years Ago - Feb. 18, 1949

Parking meters in Falmouth will begin operating Friday morning, Feb. 18, at 8 o’clock. Operation of the meters will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. The meters will not operate on Sundays.

If you get a parking meter ticket, you are to take it to the city clerk’s office at the city hall. The fine will be $1 if it is paid within 24 hours. If it not paid in that time, then it will be considered a regular traffic violation.

The meter will cost five cents for one hour; or 12 minutes to 24 minutes for two cents, 36 minutes for three cents, and 48 minutes for four cents.

A letter was read (Monday at city council) whereby Postmaster Kenneth Marquette was asking for free parking space in front of the post office for post office patrons. Council stated at the meeting that there was free parking space on Chapel Street and that post office patrons would use that street.

Mayor (D. Barnett) Casey stated that he had a request from John A. Woodhead to place parking meters in front of his funeral home on Shelby Street. The reason that they have not been placed there as yet is that the city ran out of meters during installation.

100 Years Ago - Feb. 15, 1924

Willis (Jackie) Owens was tried before Judge John B Colvin Friday on the charge of selling moonshine liquor and a jury gave him 45 days in jail and fined him $158. Judge Colvin also placed Owens under a peace bond for one year, requiring him not to handle moonshine. Owens has appealed the case to the Circuit Court, but he will have to execute the peace bond or go to jail.

James Cummins and Kirby Colvin were the witnesses against Owens. Cummins was convicted on the charge of being drunk on Monday, and after spending one night in jail, decided to tell from whom he bought the liquor, and he named Owens.

Sheriff Peoples and deputies Ravenscraft and Ashcraft, and Marshal J.O. Ferris, armed with a search warrant, searched the home of Owens in the East End and found three jugs with a very small quantity of moon in them. This was also used as evidence against Owens.