The News record h?
down on the farm?
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY ...see page 2
77th Year, No. 2 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N C THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1978 IS* Per Copy
State May Slash Child Care Program Funds
The Madison County ARC
Child Development Program
will be facing serious funding
problems at the beginning of
the next fiscal year in July
1978. According to Teresa
Zimmerman, ARC Day Care
coordinator for Madison
County, funding will be
reduced to 25 percent of the
current level if plans which
have been developed at the
state level are followed. Day
Care centers in Hot Springs,
Marshall, Mars Hill and
Greater Ivy will be affected
Ms. Zimmerman stated that
a direct appeal by the public to
the governor appears to be the
only avenue left to reverse the
funding decisions which have
been made by officials in the
Department of Human
Resources The support of
parents and concerned
citizens for the Child
Development Program is
being sought
"At this point, individual
letters to the governor stating
support for the program and
asking for the present level of
ARC and Title XX money to be
continued will be the most
effective way of letting Gov.
Hunt know that we value our
children and our child
development program,"
commented Ms Zimmerman
(Another article in this paper
lists other ways for concerned
citizens to demonstrate their
concern).
Currently, day care parents
are writing letters to the
governor Open meetings for
parents and others have been
held in the Greater Ivy, Hot
Springs and Marshall areas to
plan strategy concerning the
funding problem The Mars
Hill area meeting will be held
Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m at the
Mars Hill Day Care Center
Madison County is among 29
western counties which
initiated child development
programs in the form of day
care centers and day care
homes through a five-year
Appalachian Regional
Commission Grant The
demonstration project
reaches the end of its fifth
year on June 30, 1978 after
successfully demonstrating
the demand for and im
portance of quality child care
programs Through the years
the ARC funding has been
supplemented by Title XX
monies under the Social
Security act, by local funding
and by child care fees
The 75 percent reduction in
financial resources will result
from the loss of all ARC
funding and the shifting of
Title XX money from the 29
western counties to
distribution to all 100 counties
for day care programs Child
Development personnel in
Western North Carolina do not
feel that such a redistribution
is justified Western North
Carolina residents do not have
the great variety of child care
alternatives such as church
supported, private-for-profit,
industry, or community
subsidized day care centers
which are already available to
families in the Piedmont and
eastern sections of the state
ARC money has been used
by the program to provide
supportive services such as
health and dental treatment
services. It also enables the
centers to serve children of
middle and upper income
families who are not eligible
under Title XX standards
Without ARC funds, the
program will not be able to
serve children from all in
come levels
Additionally, ARC money is
used to bring other federal
money into the county.
Recently, it has funded a
training program which has
enabled day care staff
members to take child
development courses at Mars
Hill College
Although the original five
year ARC grant will soon
terminate. Congress passed
legislation to extend ARC
funding for two more years
Local parents, county officials
and members of the Madison
County Day Care Advisory
Board participated in a letter
writing campaign in support
of this legislation
Currently, this money is
available at the state level for
the child development
program However, officials
in the N. C. Department of
Human Resources have
chosen not to support the
allocation of this money to the
child development program
but to use it instead to develop
new infant and maternal
health programs and to build
and improve health depart
merit facilities
Ms Zimmerman stated that
efforts had been made to
convince state officials that an
infant health program could
easily be tied in to the existing
day care structure, thus
freeing some of the ARC
money for the child care
program However, she added
that state officials have not
been open to such a com
promise.
Dr Minta Saunders,
assistant secretary for
children with the North
Carolina Department of
Continued on Page 3
Bruce Boone |
Injured
In Shooting |
A Madison County man was I
seriously injured in a shooting
at the Day's Inn East on U.S.
|70 in Buncombe County |
Saturday night
Bruce Landon Boone of the
Grapevine Section of Madison
County was reportedly shot at
Close range by his wife, who
^as arrested Sunday in
Asheville
{ Boone was shot at least
Ece in the left chest and side
h a .38 caliber revolver, the
artment said. He was
token to Memorial Mission
Hospital following the
shooting where he is listed in
serious condition, according to
? hospital spokesman
Local Store
Again Entered
Last Friday
The National 5 and 10 Cent
Store on Main Street here was
entered early last Friday
morning, and a stereo 8-track
tape was missing, according
to Mrs. Helen Rudisill, owner
Policeman Carlie Gunter
discoverd the backglass in the
back door broken about 1:30
o'clock and notified Mrs
Rudisill. Investigation by j
local policemen and Sheriff ?
Ponder is continuing. |
This latest break-in was
almost identical to a break-in
and larceny of merchandise at
the same store last August.
The parties entered the same
back door then as they did last
Friday morning.
SUSAN LEDFORD, a young
artist at the Mars Hill center, puts
Mr NPMH -S W - - '"^MMMMMMMMMMMMI
the final touches on her
masterpiece.
$37,048 Allocated For Driver Ed
According to state Supt.
Craig Phillips an estimated
111,856 public school students
will be taught this year in
driver education programs.
These students will be in
structed by some 1,200 part
year and full-time certified
driver education teachers
across the state.
In a report published by the
state education agency, an
estimated 811,651,745 will be
allocated to the 145 local
education agencies during the
1977-78 school year.
The initial allotment
assigned to each local unit the
bulk of its operating funds for
the year. The mid-year
revision adjusted funding to fit
revised numbers of students to
be taught, actual numbers and
salary ratings of teachers
employed and current year
rates of cost for such items as
car operations, insurance,
instructional materials and
equipment The driver
education program in North!
Carolina is completely
financed by the $3 motor
vehicle registration fee.
The state Board of
Education approved these
mid-year revisions of driver
education budgets for fiscal
year 1977-78 at its January
meeting. Madison County
received an initial allocation
of $32,402 on July 7, 1977 and
will be alloted $4,646 for a total
amount of $37,048 for the
remainder of 1977-78. An
estimated 313 students will be
enrolled in driver education
programs during 1977-78 in
Madison County.
New School Cost:
$1.85 Million Up
As a follow up of a previous meeting con
cerning the possibilities of a new elementary
school to replace the present Marshall School on
the Island, members of the Madison County board
of education and interested citizens met at the
courthouse here on Tuesday night of last week.
In addition to the board members and citizens
were Supt. R. L. Edwards; Bert King, architect;
Larry Leake, attorney for the board; and,Debra
Ponder, secretary of the board.
King reported on three sites which have been
visited and told the gathering tentative estimates
on the sites as follows:
Hie landfill property near Marshall ?
grading, $140,000; road, $16,000; to hook to
Marshall water system, $30,000; sewerage
system, $28,000; cost of school building,
$1,800,000; total estimated cost, $2,014,000.
Madison High School property ? grading,
$45,000; sewerage system, $7,200; water system,
$1,800; building, $1,800,000; total estimated cost,
$1,854,000.
Madison County Health Center property ?
grading, $120,000; water system, $30,000;
sewerage, $28,000; road, $16,000; building,
$1,800,000; total estimated cost (not including cost
of property), $1,994,000.
Supt. Edwards stated that other sites would
be visited in the near future, including the Enka
property near Marshall, the Cloise Plemmons
property at Walnut; and the Clark property near
Walnut, as well as other proposed sites. In ad
dition to Supt. Edwards, Bert King; Virginia
Anderson, chairman of the board of com
missioners; and Bill Roberts, member of the
board of education; and possibly others, will in
vestigate the sites at the suggestion of the Mar
shall Advisory Group.
VISIT OTHER SCHOOLS
The Spring Creek, Hot Springs and Laurel
schools were also visited, and it was stated at the
meeting that estimated costs for repairs and-or
the building of the three schools would total in the
neighborhood of $370,000, to bring the three
schools to required OSHA standards.
A breakdown of costs are as follows:
Spring Creek ? building of seven classrooms
and other requirements, $400,000.
Hot Springs ? three classsrooms, $350,000.
Laurel ? three classrooms, $150,000.
Edwards stated that the board of education
and otrier officials would have a work session in
the courtroom here next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The public is invited.
There's Potential
For Industrial
Growth Here
Madison County has good
potential for industrial
development, according to the
North Carolina Resources
Framework Study
The document, prepared by
the Water Resources Planning
Branch of the Department of
Natural Resources and
Community Development,
will be presented at the
Madison County Planning
Board meeting at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday
The study found the area
along the French Broad River
from the Tennessee border to
Asheville suitable for location
of heavy water using in
dustries.
Other options include
proposed floodway systems
for Madison County, Marshall,
and Mars Hill Floodway
systems provide passages for
flood waters, and would limit
or prohibit construction in flat
low lying areas adjacent to
rivers
An alternative for a pumped
storage site in Madison
County would generate
electricity during peak
periods, and use surplus
nighttime energy to pump
water to higher elevation
reservoirs for use during the
next peak period, the study
said.
Jim Cody Files
For Superior
Court Clerk
James W (Jim) Cody of
Marshall announces his
candidacy for the office of
clerk of Superior Court of
Madison County in the May 2
Democratic primary election.
Cody, a native of Madison
County, attended Madison
County public schools, several
different sessions in public
relations at G. M. Training
Center. Charlotte, and holds a
certificate in sales psychology
Continued on Page 2
County's
Problems
Cited
i
Madison County residents
believe that the matter of
roads and transportation is
the greatest problem facing
North Carolina, according to
the 258 persons in the county
who responded to the "North
Carolina Tomorrow" survey
The survey, sponsored by
Gov. Jim Hunt and the State
Goals and Policy Board, was
conducted this fall throughout
the state to give citizens an
opportunity to participate in
the state government
decision-making process. As
the chief citizen advisory
agency in state government,
the board will make recom
mendations to the governor
for short- and long-range
solutions to the problems
based on sui vey results.
The questionnaire asked
respondents to name the
biggest problem facing the
state and to explain what state
government should do to solve
that problem. The survey also
dealt with satisfaction with
service delivery, taxes and the
overall quality of life in North
Carolina.
Statewide, the problem of
roads was volunteered by only
2.5 percent of all respondents,
compared to Madison
County's 19.4 percent. Top
solutions offered in the county
were improvement of
secoodary roads. im
provement of roads in
Western North Carolina and
more money for overall road
construction
The second- and third
ranked problems in Madison
were public education and the
economy, each listed by 13.6
percent On the matter of
elementary and secondary
education, the main solutions
included better funding for
schools, more teachers and
teaching basic skills
With regard to jobs,
unemployment and the
economy, they wanted new
industry brought into the state
first of all, followed by better
wages for workers and more
jobs
Other problem areas
frequently mentioned in the
county were welfare (7.6
percent), state government
(6 6 percent) and crime-law
enforcement (5.4 percent).
Like other North
Carolinians who completed
the "North Carolina
Tomorrow" survey, many
Madison County residents
indicated strong
dissatisfaction with welfare
services and utilities and
' satisfaction with community
colleges and higher education.
Their dissatisfaciton level
with public roads (44 percent
very dissatisfied) was much
higher than was seen
statewide (13 percent), while
their satisfaction level with
public education was slightly
higher than the remainder of
the state. *
Like others across the state.
citizens in the county ranked
in order these factors as
important in choosing a place
to live: availability of em
ployment, nearness to good
schools and services, desire to
be near family and climate.
A final section on the
questionnaire dealt with
economic problems and ap
proaches to solving them. Of
the six items. Madison County
persons felt that helping new
industry locate near small
towns and rural areas is by far
the most important. Indeed,
their response rate of 56
percent on this one item is
compared to the statewide
response of 22 percent on the
matter of locating new in
dustry in smaller areas.