Madison County Library
Marshall, W.C. 23753 9-30
The News Record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY
On thm Insld ? ...
Christmas Season Opens
At Biltmo/e House
. . . Turn To Page 8
78th Year No. 47
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C.
THURSDAY, November 29, 1979
15' Per Copy
VIEW FROM THE CHURCH
lawn of Peabody's Discount
Center in Forks of Ivy shows how
close the two buildings are. The
county line was found to cut
through the package store
building, with the area selling
beer resting on the Buncombe
side. Bridge in background car
ries Highway 19-23.
The Care And Cleaning
Of Wood -Burning Stoves
By one estimate, there were
over 40,000 chimney fires dur
ing 1976 ? a figure that is sure
to be higher today. And many
of these are severe enough to
burn down a house. In fact,
Marshall Fire Chief Jackie
Davis estimates that chimney
blazes that flare out of control
are the leading cause of house
fires in Madison County.
Not that so many people are
installing wood-burning stoves
as a principal source of home
heating, the danger of
chimney fires is likely to in
crease, especially among peo
ple new to wood heating.
Yancey County Fire Marshal
Tom Stone advises these peo
ple that the best way to avoid
chimney fires is to install their
stoves properly to begin with,
and then keep the system J
clean.
"We're not urging people
not to use wood as an alter
native or supplemental heat
source," Storie said. "But we
want homeowners to realize j
that their stoves must be pro
perly installed if they are to be
safely used. The fire chief in
Aaheville told me his men had
fought over 60 fires last year
caused by faulty installation
of wood stoves."
Few people realize the
danger of the intense, radiated i
heat from woodburning units.
This heat "cooks" com- |
bustibies like walls, interior
wooden structures,
bookshelves, ceilings, and
floors/This cooking gradually
raises the temperature of the
combustible material until it
starts to char and then bursts
into flame.
To reduce this clanger, a I
itove should be installed am
ple distances from such sur
faces. According to national
fire safety codes, it should be
at least 36 inches from back
and side walls. If there isn't
enough room, met a protec
tive heat panel or shield. This
can be made of non
combustible, Vinch asbestos
millboard, or 2ft-gauge sheet
metal, or both. The shield
should be m-inches from the
wall, and It should be raised
above the floor to allow alr
flow. Small pieces of pipe or
tough porcelain can be used as
spacers between the shield
and walls.
Another potential danger in
the installation of stoves is ra
diant heat on unprotected
wood floors. If the stove legs
art more than U inches in
length, the stove should be
placed on a piece of Si-gauge
MUl to reflect the heat. If the
tap are ?- to lMnches long, an
bricks are desirable to allow
air flow.
FLUE PIPE DANGER
Stoves are not the only part
of a wood heating system that
can cause fire; so can the flue
pipe, which radiates a tremen
dous amount of heat. A safe
rule to follow is to place a flue
pipe at least three times the
diameter of the pipe from any
combustible surface. A 6-inch
pipe should be is inches or
more from a combustible wall
or ceiling; with any size pipe,
18 inches should be the
minimum distance. If this
distance cannot be maintain
ed, a protective shield as
described for the stove should
be installed, with the pipe at
least 9 inches from the shield.
Most fires in wood heating
systems occur where flue
pipes pass through combusti
ble walls or ceilings. The
easiest way to prevent such a
fire is not to go through a wall
or ceiling, venting smoke
though a chimney. If this is
impossible, the safest wall in
( Continued on Page 8)
THIS DANGEROUS INSTALLATION could
lead to Are in several ways. The elbows
would accumulate creosote, which could
catch on Are. The resulting chimney fire
would quickly ignite the newspapers and un
shielded, flaking wallpaper a few inches
away.
Scholarship Given To MHC
In Memory Of Wilhides
A 1800 scholarship in the
Department of Biology at
Mars Hill Collage has been
established ia memory of
Robert and Wallace WUhide of
Andrews by Tom Moore
Davis, president of Kadotem,
Inc., a Hagerstown, Md , rail
Davis was a Mars Hill
claasmate of the Wllhide
brottNrs, who ware from An
Andrews, and their (later,
Catherine, is an alumna of
Mara Hill alao, Class of IMS.
The first Wilhide Scholar
ship will be awarded to a
freshman entering Mara Hill
in the fall at 19M. The aeiec
tion will be baaed on acholaatic
attainments * potential,
qualities integrity, evidence
of moral character, and a
Panel Says Beer Store
Is In Buncombe County
After Ave and a half months
>f surveying and deliberating,
i three-member commission
us ruled that the package
store in Forks of Ivy on the
Madison-Buncombe County
line is legally in Buncombe
County. /
The commission, consisting
of one representative of Bun
combe, one of Madison and
one of Rutherford County,
turned in a split decision to
Buncombe County Superior
Court on Nov. 26. The dissen
ting vote was cast by Robert
L. Edwards, the Madison
County representative.
'According to the original
terms created this commis
sion," said Edwards, the coun
ty's superintendent of schools,
"each of us had the right to
hire another surveyor if we
were not satisfied with the
results of the original
surveyor. I went to North
Carolina State University and
employed a professor by the
name of J.W. Horn; you can't
get a more qualified person
than that. He surveyed this
property and did not come to
the same conclusion as the
original surveyor.
"Therefore," he went on,
"since the professionals could
not get together on this, then I
would say there is doubt in the
matter. And if I understand
the court system correctly,
you just don't do something
like this if there is doubt."
The commission was ap
pointed last June by Superior
Court Judge William T. Grist
of Charlotte. It includes, in ad
dition to Edwards, Asheville
attorney Gary S. Cash and
Charles D. Owens, a land
developer from Forest City
who was chairman of the com
mission.
A hearing to consider any
objections to the decision was
conducted at 9 a.m. Nov. 27 at
the Buncombe County Cour
thouse, but it was not clear
what legal standing such ob
jections might have. The hear
ing was called by Judge
Robert E. Gaines of Gastonia,
who had previously granted a
third, 30-day extension in the
preparation of the report.
The decision of the commis
sion was made during a
meeting Nov. 19. For that
meeting the Madison County
member prepared a state
ment which included the
following points:
* Madison County has col
lected taxes on the disputed
property since 1851.
* Persons presently living
on the property are receiving
social welfare benefits from
Madison County.
* Children who have lived
on the property have attended
schools in Madison County.
* More than 30 people have
signed affadavits alleging that
the property has historically
been regarded as belonging in
Madison County.
"It appears," said Ed
wards, "that the commission
is going solely by the survey in
making this decision,
disregarding a good deal of
other evidence. To me that's
just like getting two doctors
together and one says you
have a toothache and the other
says you have appendicitis.
You just have to take your
pick."
The package store in ques
tion, known as Pea body's Dis
count Center, is owned by
Robert T. Soffield Jr. and Ed
ward J.R. Kirk pa trick They
were issued a permit by the
state Alcoholic Beverage Con
trol Board to sell beer at the
store a year ago. The con
troversy has raged since then.
People in the community
have objected to the package
store because it is directly
across the street from the
Forks of Ivy Baptist Church,
in a community comprised
largely of elderly, non
drinking residents. According
to the Rev. Ralph Hogan of
that church, many residents
resent the proximity of the
store to the church and worry
about driving past it during
busy sales periods. Some 800
residents have signed peti
tions asking that the store be
closed.
Mars Hill Sets Early
Registration For CEP
Mars Hill College's Continu
ing Education Program
(CEP) will hold a pre
registration for its spring
schedule at 14 sites in Western
North Carolina (W^C) during
the first week in December.
This will be the first time a
pre-registration has been held
for the program and accor
ding to Dr. John M. Hough,
dean for Continuing Educa
tion, it is planned to reduce the
confusion and time it has been
taking to register.
"We have nearly 600
students enrolled in the pro
gram this year," noted Or.
Hough, "and at registration
this fall we found that new or
prospective students were not
able to spend the time
necessary with the advisors
and other representatives.
The pre-registration should
help students already in the
program and streamline the
procedure during the actual
registration."
On Dec l, the Academic
Development Survey will be
given to new students in Belk
Auditorium from 9 to 10 a.m.;
from 10 a.m. to noon, the Stu
dent Advisory Committee will
meet in Marshbanks Hall.
Beginning at 1 p.m., student
advisors will be available and
pre-registration will be con
ducted for the Mars Hill, Mar
shall, Burosville and Hot Spr
ings classes.
.On Dec. 3, pre-registration
will be held in Asheville, at
Asheville High School's Voca
tional Building from 6 to 8
p.m.; in Henderonsville at the
Balfour School from 6 to 7 p.m.
Pre-registration will be held
Dec. 4 in WaynesvUle at the
Haywo*tf Comity Schools
Board Room from 6 to 8 p.m.
and in Sylva-Webster at
Southwestern Technical In
stitute from 6 to 7 p.m.
Registration will be held at
these sites from Jan. 7-15 at
announced times. According
to Dr. Hough, those who have
pre-registered will be able to
confirm their schedules and
pay their fees at this time,
leaving ample time for pro
spective students to talk with
advisors or new students to
enroll. The spring session will
begin Jan. 21 and last through
May 9.
Mars Hill's CEP began six
years ago with a handful of
students. Since that time the
program has grown to nearly
600 students in 14 sites from
Lenoir to Murphy. Over 100
students have received their
bachelor's degrees in that
time. Another 75 are schedul->
ed to graduate this coming
May.
The current handbook
listing class schedules at all
the sites, "Sequel," is
available from the CEP office
and may be obtained by con
tacting Dr. Hough or Ray
mond C. Rapp, program coor
dinator in care of the Continu
ing Education Program, Mars
Hill College, Mars Hill 28754,
telephone 689-1166.
WORKERS AT ONE of the pro
gram's centers, just outside
Walnut, are, left to right: Lou
Zeller, Michael Norins, Mary
Worley and Sandra Hensley.
H.S. Health Program
Enters Ninth Year
The Hot Springs Health Pro
gram, which maintains health
centers at Hot Springs,
Laurel, and Walnut/Marshall,
is moving into its ninth year as
one of the state's pioneering
health care operations.
And being a pioneer it is still
having some trouble defining
its mission to customers and
to the community.
One of its problems is that
because it receives some
federal funding many people
Trailways Running Buses
To Marshall And Mars Hill
Special shopper's bus ser
vice to Madison County was
inaugurated Wednesday, Nov.
21 by Blue Ridge Trailways
bus line. The service will con
nect points in Madison and
north Buncombe counties with
downtown Asheville and
Asheville Mall. Announce
ment of the special Wednes
day service was made by
Kingsland Hobein, vice
president of the Aahevilie
According to Hobeta, the in
itial push for the shopper's bus
cam* from Trailways' afsat
in Marshall. Mary Ramsey,
operator of Mary'a
munity servants seriously,"!
said Hobein, "and this added
service reflects our commit
ment to Western North
Carolina to help combat the
problems brought on by infla
tion, the energy crisis, and
now the problems which will
come from a decreased supply
of oil from Iran. Of special in
terest to us are the elderly who
need public tranaportaUip
doctor's appointments, shopp
door, extra hand rails, and
lower step, to make it more
accessible to the elderly. The
interior is equipped with
package racks for shopper's
parcels."
The bus will leave the
downtown Marshall area at
? ? f " Restaurant
on the By-Pass at ?:? a.m.
and Mars Hill at 10:10 a.m.,
traveling on to Aaheville.
Stops will be made in Weaver
ville, and the bus will come to
think of the three centers as
clinics dispensing free
medical service. In fact, they
are all part of a private,
community-owned, non-profit
corporation.
"I think the county has the
image of us as three clinics
where we take only poor peo
ple who have no nomey," said
Michael Norins, director of
the program. "We aren't real
ly clinics, even though the
Laurel center is still called a
clinic. That implies regular
hours for certain services, like
10-12 for eye examinations. We
are a medical office, like a
doctor's office, where clients
come when they are ill and
pay for medical service.
"But where we are different
from a normal doctor's office
is that we are non-profit; we
charge as little as we can
without losing money. Our
fees here are leas than any Of
fice fees for the area. The
average office visit ia
Asheville is $1S; here it is $10.
Physical exams there rai?e
from ITS to $M0; hare a com
I*"*
may be i
tioa to that, <
keep their records from the
very first time they come
here. Even if the doctor who
first treats a patient moves
away, we keep the records so
that we can offer a continuity
of service. This continuity is
very important for the patient.
And even though we had some
trouble keeping doctors in the
early years, we have more
than a dozen local people who
have worked here for more
than a few years. ? people
like Mary W or ley, Sandra
Hens ley, Pat West, Prances
Strom, Betty Franklin, Lor-,
raine She! ton, David Wells.
Paul Lovin, Mary Suttles,
Mary Holt, Ann WlBett, Judy
Roberts and Sandy List.'
The Hot Springs Health Pro
gram began in 1970 when Lin
da Ocker Mashburn came to
work in Hot Sfrrimi as a
K