GROVER DOCTOR LEARNS OF DECISION WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM HEARING

SHELBY -- A somber Dr. Joseph Talley returned home on Saturday from his
three-day ordeal with the North Carolina Medical Board.

He was driving alone along I-85, headed home to Shelby, when he learned of
the board's decision.

Talley's wife, Sara, and two of their three daughters, who had accompanied
him at the hearing, had made a stop and were following in another car.

"It meant more than anything in the world that my children and my wife
thought I had fought a good fight," he said.

Surprised somewhat by the early decision made by the medical board, Talley
said, "Surprised? Yes, hope had kindled a little bit in the last three days.

"Clay called me by cell phone passing through Greensboro," he said,
praising attorney Robert Clay's work for him in Raleigh.

"Clay was superb, I couldn't have asked for anything better from him."

Letters to The Star from supporters, he said, "really kept me going. Gosh,
I really appreciate them. The public support frankly built my spirit up a
little bit."

Is he now hopeful that the board's remedy will be lenient?

Talley said he preferred not to comment further about the case, on the
advice of his attorney.

The 64-year-old doctor said he plans to return to his office at Grover
Medical Clinic Monday, and that until the board announces his punishment,
he will continue as he has for the past seven weeks, seeing the patients
who come to him but still unable to prescribe controlled medications since
the Drug Enforcement Administration lifted his DEA number Jan. 30.

He said that he knew pharmacy owner Billy Wease was making the move to
Kings Mountain. Wease's MediFare drug store had been a fixture at the back
of the clinic's parking lot since 1970.

"He had let me know about that," Talley said, "something he really had to
do for his business. He's a good friend, and I'll miss the professional
companionship of having him next door."

Sadness in his voice, Talley said, "What happens next, the only thing I
know for sure is I'm heading down to my workshop right now and going to
build me a train or two."