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Marshall, *.C, 28753 9-30
fm News Record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY
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Wrestling Returns
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78th Year No. 48
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C.
THURSDAY, December 6, 1979
15* Per Copy 4
THE THAVICHITH FAMILY poses in the
warmth of the meeting room at Mars Hill
United Methodist Church. They were more
than pleased to be inside ; since their arrival,
the cold has been their biggest problem.
Refugees Reach Mars Hill
After several months of
waiting, the people of Madison
County at last had the oppor
tunity last week to welcome a
Lastian family who had spent
three years in a refugee camp
in Thailand.
The family, including
Phengphomma Thavichith,
his wife, five children and a
brother and cousin of
ThavtcMth, arrived in Mara
HiH on Nov. 2?. Tbey will live
in a house maintained by
members of the community.
The Board of Global
Ministers arranged for the
family to come here; Madison
County was chosen partly
because of its proximity to
Newton, near Hickory, where
other members of the same
family have already settled.
"The biggest problem for
them since they arrived has
been the cold weather," said
the Rev. Jim Boles, pastor of
the Mars Hill United
Methodist Church. "They are
keeping the heat in their house
up at 75 and 80, and still they
wear sweaters and overcoats
to keep warm. The children
have had trouble with
nosebleeds."
The most urgent need at the
moment is for money to buy
food. In addition, kitchen im
plements, bedding, and
miscellaneous items needed
by the Thavichith family.
Donations can be made
through Rev. Boles, Diane Hill
or any of the churches in the
Mars Hill area.
The family is originally
from Vientiane, the capital of
Laos. They were not
employees of the U.S. govern
ment there but were deemed
friendly to American interests
and therefore forced to leave
the country in 1975 when the
Pathet Lao took control.
Thavichith is 42 years old.
From 1960-75 he worked as a
policeman in Laos. Mrs.
Thavichith is a weaver and
cook; the family owned and
operated a food shop and a
weaving shop while in the
refugee camp. Their children
range in age from 5 to IS.
Their religion is Buddhism
and their native language is
Laoti&q. Thavichith indicates
that ho speaha Thai "fpMfc
well" and his brother has
some knowledge of French.
None knows English, although
the cousin in Hickory speaks
English well and will help set
tle the family in their new
country.
Novelist Visits Marshall School
To Discuss The Writer's Craft
Sue Ellen Bridgers, the
popular author of the novel
"Home Before Dark", came
to the Marshall Elementary
School last Friday to tell the
eighth-graders what it is like
to be a writer and how She
came to write the book.
Mrs. Bridgers, who lives in
Sylva with her husband and
three children, was accom
panied by Arnold Sgan of the
regional education office in
Canton. She spoke to the com
bined English classes of
Juanita Boone and Don Banks
She is a short, dark-haired
woman with a quick smile and
outgoing manner. She was
dressed in a red Mexican-style
smock and dungarees.
"Ther? might be any
number of people right here,"
she told the students in the
school library, "who can write
a book. You don't have to grow
up and go to school in a big ci
ty. I grew up in a small town
myself, in eastern North
Carolina. What's important is
to learn how people feel about
each other, and I think you can
learn that better in a small
town than in a city."
The writer gave a brief
history of her first book (she
has since published another,
"All Together Now") before
answering questions from the
"The idea for "Home Before
Dark" came on a hot night
when I and my husband and
children were driving east to
my mother's house. The air
conditioning didn't work and it
was so hot we had all cried at
least twice. It was an eiftf
TERESA GRIFFIN pins a cor
sage on Mrs. Bridges as class
president Greg Wilde looks on, in
the Marshall School office.
I got to thinking about the
comfort of homecoming, going
into the kitchen where grand
mother is, knowing I'll get my
favorite foods, knowing it
doesn't matter whether I've
been bad or good recently.
And right there, in the ear, as
we were getting close to home,
the book was born, and I spent
most of the weekend writing
the beginning. I'm afraid I
was a very poor guest at
grandmother's house because
of the book."
The central figure of the
book, a girl named Stella, la a
child of migrant farm worken
who never knew the kind of
home and security Sue Ellen
Bridgers took for granted.
a migrant girl Bridgets knew
have to be sad. There is
always struggle when
something happens worth
writing about."
?"Characters are more im
portant to me that conflict, but
it is only through what hap
pens to characters that we
And out about them."
. ?"Sometimes I can't make
the characters'do what I want
them to do. Sometimes they
tell me what they will do, and I
can't do anything about it."
In preparation for the
author's visit, the class read
her book and then wrote short
letters to Mrs. Bridgers giving
their reaction to it: "I really
enjoyed your book," wrote
Susan Dillingham, "because
the characters seemed to be
real. I felt like the characters
were really you."
County Gets $17,668
For Recreation Work
A grant for 117,608 has been
awarded to the Madiaon Coun
ty Recreation Commission for
the Ivy /Laurel Park, con
greaaman Lamar Gudger an
Rec rest ion Service for
? . M
development at Upper Laurel
Park, consisting of the in
stallation of lights for the com
munity ball field, and at
Greater Ivy Community Park,
consisting of grading and
lighting the ball field, two
dugoata, two seta of bleachers,
Greater Ivy Wins
First Place -Again
At the annual meeting of the
Western North , Carolina
Development Association on
Dec. 1, Madison did itself pro
ud, winning five awards for
four communities throughout
the county.
The Greater Ivy Community
surprised even its own
members by capturing the
first place award in Division C
(more than 200 families), ear
ning a $400 check from the
Asheville Citizen-Times. This
is the second year Greater Ivy
has won since the program
began five years ago. Mrs.
Martie Young accepted the
award from Cong. Lamar
Gudger.
The Sleepy Valley Com
munity won the second place
award for Division A
(communities with less than
100 families). The award for
Sleepy Valley was accepted by
Marie Osteen.
Randy Tweed
Acquitted In
Second Trial
Last week, for the second
ti^inlessjMnaye^Rfn
43 Kim Tweed was trieo
the Involuntary manslaughter
in causing the death of Janet
Elaine Brady.
This time he was acquitted.
The first proceeding was
declared a mistrial.
Elaine Brady died in a car
accident on the Marshall
Bypass, just south of Spnnkle
Shelton Wholesale Grocers,
just after midnight on Oct. 5,
1978. Also in the car were
Tweed, then 22, and Bobby
J?ck Fore, 20. Miss Brady was
also 20.
Testimony by Fore and by
State Highway Patrolman
Tony Dudley indicated that
the car, a brand-new Datsun
B-210 owned by Miss Brady,
was traveling far in excess of
the 55 mph speed limit at the
time of the accident. Dudley
said that skid marks at the ac
cident scene could be traced
and measured along the road
and the rocky bank beside it
for 810 feet.
Bobby Jack Fore testified
that as the vehicle moved
south on 25/70 he looked at the
speedometer and saw that it
was moving at 90 mph. He also
said that he and Elaine both
pleaded with Tweed, whom he
said was driving, to slow
down. ,
Ronald Brady, Elaine s
brother, of Route 2, Marshall,
testified that the Datsun in
volved in the accident was
"the first car Elaine had ever
owned. She was real par
ticular about who drove the
car."
According to the testimony
ol Kathy Chandler Roberts, of
TUlery Branch Road, Mar
shall, there had been beer
drinking before the accident
among a group including
Tweed. Fore, and Brady, but
that she could not be sure who
was doing the drinking.
Roberta, who went to school
with Elaine Brady, said that
sbe and two other young peo
ple, Bobby Fitter and Wayne
Fore, had tew talking and
driving around earlier in tte
ed in the accident. She also
said that the three had Mt
tiie tables near
Sleepy Valley was also one
of three communities in all of
Western North Carolina that
was singled out for a "Helping
Hand" Award - designed to
reward communities . "that
played a major role in
organizing another communi
ty club in the WNC Communi
ty Development Program."
Sleepy Valley was cited for
helping Hot Springs.
The youth program for Mars
Hill was found worthy of an
honorable mention prize,
which Elaine Randolph ac
cepted for her community.
In the Division B category
( 100-200 families ) , Walnut won
an honorable mention award
of $50, which was accepted by
Juanita Treadway.
In addition, two individuals
were singled out for their con
tinuing efforts on behalf of the
county - far beyond the call of
duty. They are Vernon J.
Ponder of Upper Laurel Com
munity and Lucille Burnette
of the Walnut-Brush Creek
Community. Each received a
framed certificate of recogni
tion signed by Richard J.
Wynne, president of the
WNCDA and publisher of the
Asheville Citizen-Times.
The community awards
were made by U.S. Sen.
Robert Morgan, who was also
the featured speaker at the
event, the 30th Annual Awards
Meeting. "I want to con
gratulate you on all the work
you have done here," said
Morgan to several hundred
county representatives and of
ficials at the Asheville Civic
Center. "What I think is most
important about this work is
that you have done it without
asking for federal dollars or
state dollars. You have done it
in tbe great American spsirit -
by yourselves." The program
is the largest single volunteer
effort of any kind in Western
North Carolina.
Sen. Morgan added: "The
biggest prizes will not be
presented on this platform to
day. They have already gone
to the communities which are
now better places to live
because of this program."
The other first-place awards
were won by Balsam Grove in
Transylvania County for Divi
sion A., and Ashford in
McDowell County for Division
B.
In Division A, after Balsam
Grove and Sleepy Valley came
Dix Creek #2 in Buncombe
County for third place and
Culberson in Cherokee County
for fourth. Honorable mention
awards of $50 went to Norton
in Jackson County, Snowbird
on the Cherokee Reservation,
Bethlehem in McDowell Coun
( Continued on Page 8)
STILL SMOLDERING more than
a day after it started, a fierce fire
destroyed the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Wayne Ramsey, just south of
Highway 213.
Ramsey Home Destroyed
By Fierce Fire Nov. 29
The horrje of Wayne and Pay
Ramsey on Hazelwood Road
was totally destroyed Nov. 29
by a fire so fierce that firemen
could not put it out, and so
tenacious that it was still bur
ning more than a day later.
The home, located just south
of U.S. 213 mid-way between
Marshall and Mars Hill, had
been remodeled and expanded
recently. It was pronounced a
total loss by insurance in
vestigators.
No one was injured in the
fire. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Ramsey were away at the
time it began. Mrs. Ramsey's
mother was at home and saw
the first smoke, alerting the
Marshall Volunteer Fire
Department at 4:35 p.m.
"When we got there," said
Marshall fireman Maurice
McAlister, "there was some
fire downstairs, but the pro
blem was that most of it was
upstairs and we never could
find out how to get up thpre.
The smoke was so thick you
couldn't see your hand in front
of your face. The only we we
could go in at all was by wear
you."
The firemen soon ran low on
water and called the Mars Hill
Fire Department for
assistance. The Marshall
group had only the two
smaller pumpers; the large
truck cannot be taken beyond
the city limits to fight a fire.
One crew was sent to
Petersburg to reload at the
creek. Even by reloading and
securing the help of Mars Hill,
the raging fire could not be ex
tinguished. Firemen fought
the fire until 8:90 p.m.
Marshall is expecting a new
fire truck some time this
month. Presently, its largest
truck has a capacity of 1,000
gallons; the two smaller
trucks hold 550 and 250
gallons.
The fire is thought to have
begun around the chimney,
possibly by malfunction of the
oil furnace. The Ramseys had
bought a wood stove to use for
heating, but the insurance in
vestigator said he had been
told the stove had not yet been
used. The only items saved
were a freeter and one or two
pieces of furniture.
Major Changes Listed
In Food Stamp Rules
Major changes in the food
stamp program that took ef
fect in January and March of
this year have resulted in a 21
percent increase in the
number of low-income people
in Madison County par
ticipating in the program.
In July, 1971, there were
2,314 residents of the county
ty 1,915 in July 197*. The total
value of the stamp* issued in
Many changes have taken
place in the program this year
as a result of food stamp
reform legislation enacted by
Congress in 1177.
John Kerr, chief of the Pood
Assistance Section of the divi
sion, cited two changes,
however, as the most signifi
cant in determining the
number of participants. "The
elimination of the require
ment that people have to pay a
certain amount of their money