Heard and Seen
By POP
ORATORICAL CONTEST
The Zone dinner meeting of the Op
timist Oratorical Contest was a thrilling
event held Friday night at the SAW I
Cafeteria at the Mall in Asheville. Included |
in the eight schools represented were two !
students from this county ? Danette Mid- 1
dleton, 13, of the Walnut Elementary |
School; and Greg Wilde, 14, of the Marshall
School. Both of these contestants received
gold medals and a right to compete in the
Zone Contest. Although neither of the local
students were judged first, second, or third
place winners in the girls' and boys' divi
sions, both Dannette and Greg were
presented certificates of honor for having
won top places in the county. Approximate
ly 30 Optimists, parents and friends of the
contestants were present from Madison
County. The contest was outstanding with
all of the contestants doing fine jobs with
their topic, "Challenge for the 80s." Some of
us from the Madison Club heard the eight
boys while some heard the girls. It's always
thrilling to see and hear our local students
in such events and I congratulate Danette
and Greg for their accomplishments. I also
congratulate the local Optimist Club for
sponsoring the contest in Madison.
F.C.A. SERVICE
More than 100 members of the Madison \
High School Fellowship of Christian '
Athletes were in attendance at the First
Baptist Church of Marshall on Sunday mor
ning. In addition to the regular members
and visitors of the church, many parents,
relatives and friends of the FCA enjoyed a
most interesting and meaningful service.
The sanctuary was filled, the two Sunday
School rooms were crowded and chairs
were added down both aisles. Special music
was enjoyed and the Rev. Mike Minnix,
pastor of the church, delivered a most im
pressive and moving sermon. During the in
vitational portion of the service, more than
20 young persons (and also adults) went to
the front for rededication and prayer. It was |
one of the most inspiring services ever held j
here. Ricky McDevitt, advisor of the 1
Madison High FCA, is to be commended for ,
spearheading last Sunday's special service 1
for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I
also want to commend the members for at- 1
tending. I am sure the service meant much |
| to them, their parents, relatives and <
friends. In fact, the service meant a great ]
deal to everyone who attended, including
this writer. Following the service, the
young people and others enjoyed a dinner in
the Fellowship Room of the church. Ladies
(and some husbands) prepared plenty of
delicious food for the dinner and I heard
there was plenty left over after more than
| 100 had been served. Good going.
Clean Up Smith Creek
To the Editor:
I agree with you in wishing
to keep the beautiful Western
North Carolina streams clean.
One of the worst polluted
streams to my knowledge in
this area is the Smith Creek
stream that runs into Hayes
Run Creek along Highway 213
just outside or maybe joining
the city limits of Marshall. If
this stream was cleaned up
and kept that way it would be
not only a more beautiful area
but a more healthful environ
ment.
A CONCERNED CITIZEN
FOUR GENERATIONS of the family of B.C.
Worley gathered Sunday, March 16, at his
home on Big Pine to celebrate hi* 80th birth
day. With him are hie oldest daughter, Mrs.
Novena Buckner, her daughter Winona Ran
dall and her two children. B.C Worley has
nine children, 21 grandchildren and 22 great
grandchildren Approximately 70 relatives
and friends were present at the birthday
celebration & f\
NANCY ALLEN'S first-graders
gather up books as fast as they
can to find their favorite. Though
they had only 15 minutes per
class, most students seemed to
know just which one they wanted.
Lucky Marshall Students
Pick Their Own Free Book
When the media center at
Marshall Elementary School
opened March 31, the students
were unusually eager to get in
side. This was RIF Day ?
Reading Is Fundamental ?
and thanks to a federal pro
gram and to the school itself,
each of the 545 students in
grades K through eight had
the opportunity to select and
take home the book of their
choice.
The students each had 15
minutes to pick out their first
book. They will have two more
chances during the school
year, gaining a total of three
books.
The most popular books pro
ved to be those that had to do
with mystery, sport, animals,
adventure, science fiction,
fairytales, biography, fan
tasy, classic tales, pictures
and reference (the "Guiness
Book of World Records" was a
surprise favorite). Some
selections were the Nancy
Drew mysteries, "The Man
Who Lost His Head," "Little
House on the Prairie," "How
to Eat Fried Worms," "Star
Wars," "Where Wild Things
Are" and "The Little Engine
That Could."
The books were mostly paid
for ? 75 percent ? by the
federal government. The re
maining 25 percent of the cost
was contributed by Marshall
School. They were ordered by
an RIF Committee comprised
of teachers, aides, librarians
and parent volunteers. The
committee used the book lists
of several publishers to find
the best mixture of books.
The Reading is Fundamen
tal program was inspired by
Mrs. Robert S. McNamara of
Washington, D C , in 1966. It
began to function in December
1975, when Congress establish
ed the Inexpensive Book
Distribution Program for
Reading Motivation. This pro
gram required a SO/SO local
match to federal money. In
1978 the program was amend
ed to make the federal share
75 percent as it is today.
Marshall's RIF committee
was appointed by Fred
Haynie, principal of Marshall
Elementary School, to help in
selecting of the books to be
chosen by the students and in
organizing the distribution of
the books. This committee
consists of chairman Nancy
Allen, Phyllis Moore, Carol
Gunter, Lorraine Cody, Betty
Ponder, Kathy Ledford, Nan
Wise, Patsy Waldrop and
Lucille Roberts, Madison
County librarian.
The students themselves
aided in the boak distribution.
They made attractive posters
to display in various places in
the community. They
prepared a newsletter which
they sent home to inform their
parents about the program.
And the parents aided in
preparing the books for
distribution.
Others may write for more
information about the RIF
program to the Inexpensive
Book Distribution Program,
Reading Is Fundamental Inc.,
475 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 4800,
Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C. 20560.
The Marshall Elementary
RIF Committee emphasized
that they had received con
siderable advice from Bill
Brigman, principal of Red
Oak Elementary School, and
Marilyn Shellenberger, Red
Oak librarian.
Genealogical
Meeting
The recently-formed Old
Buncombe County
Genealogical Society will hold
its next meeting on April 8
from 7-9 p.m. in Lord
Auditorium, Pack Library,
Asheville. The speaker will be
Betty Lawrence, supervisor of
the N.C Collection of Pack
Library. Her topic is "What's
in Pack Library for
Genealogists?" Tbe public is
invited. For more information
write P.O. Box 2122, Asheville
28802 or call 254-3311.
Alcoholism Is A Family Illness
(Continued from Page 1)
accusations, think they are
responsible, and be afraid to
argue or criticize, Children
may withdraw from social
contacts and keep friends out
of the home, covering up the
problem. The spouse and
children may become in
secure as the alcoholic
becomes unpredictable, more
involved in drinking as an ac
tivity and neglectful of others'
emotional needs. Parents may
think they've "gone wrong" in
raising an alcoholic child.
Any of these problems may
become so large in the life of a
family member that he or she
ceases to function normally.
But the worst aspect of this
social disease is denial. The
drinker denies that drinking is
a problem, and family
members often go along in the
deception. ?
"The key word in
alcoholism is denial," writes
Rev. Joseph Kellermann,
director of .the Charlotte N.C.
Council on Alcoholism, "for
again and again people do
what they say they will not, or
deny what they have done.
Drinking too much, too often,
is not a matter of choice. It is
the first sign of alcoholism.
Repeated denial, by hiding the
bottle and drinking alone,
reveals how important alcohol
has become in helping the
alcoholic fed better."
As long as the problem is
denied, says Taylor, little pro
grew can be made. The family
must agree to accept treat
ment ? no matter bow painful
and difficult it may be ?
before anything can change.
"What I try to do," she says,
"is first talk to the family
without the alcoholic. We
spend an hour a week for six
weeks. I try to help them
to get involved with counsel
ing here or somewhere else. If
the person declines all treat
ment, he is confronted with
the changes that are going to
take place. The family
sometimes has to leave home
temporarily, but most often
the alcoholic will decide to
stay in therapy here."
Confronting an alcoholic in
this way is a new treatment
technique that has been very
effective in overcoming the
trick of denial. Too often, the
people around alcoholics tend
to go along with them, meekly
give in to irresponsible
behavior, cover up for
blunders at work or with
friends.
"If the alcoholic is rescued
from every crisis," according
to Rev. Kellermann, "there is
not one chance in ten that the
alcoholic will recover."
It is not easy to confront an
alcoholic, to force him to deal
with a problem that has gone
on for years. Nor is it easy to
establish a program in a coun
ty that has considered itself a
non-drinking county for years.
Over a year ago, Jean Taylor
wanted to start an Alcoholics
Anonymous program, and she
began asking where there is
an alcoholism counselor in the
county. She learned there was
none, so she applied to Blue
Ridge in Asheville for funds to
do the job herself. At first, she
was informed that there was
no need for a counselor here,
because the state government
had listed Madison as a dry
county. But eventually she
won an agreement to fund the
job part-time.
After convincing the govern
February she was working on
ly two days a week. In June
she began finding patients
here and there and went to
four days a week. Then in
January of this year she
became full-time, and is now
getting walk-in patients.
"Alcohol is a depressant,"
she days, " a downer. That's
why fights break out and peo
ple are killed. And it's very
hard when you're depressed to
think about getting help.
That's why it's so important
for those around an alcoholic
to initiate the helping process.
"A lot of people think there
is no help ? that they are
doomed to live their lives in
that trap. But there is help.
There is Blue Ridge, there are
meetings of A.A. for the
alcoholic and Al-Anon for the
family. In the county, both
meet at the Marshall
Presbyterian Church at 8 p.m.
every Friday. Also, in
Asheville there is the Com
prehensive Alcohol Program
at 233 Parkway Building, and
in Black Mountain the
Rehabilitation Center's 28-day
program based on the 12 steps
of A.A.
"There is help. The impor
tant thing is to come out and
ask for it."
Crime
Prevention
Program
The Land of Sky Region*]
Council and the Crime
Prevention Division of the
North Carolina Department of
Crime Control and Public
Safety will sponsor a regional
crime prevention training pro
gram April 9 at 1:30 p.m. in
the Land of Sky Regional
Council Office at 25 Heritage
Drive in Asheville.
The training program is
designed to serve Buncombe,
Henderson, Madison and
Transylvania Counties, those
served by the Land of Sky
Regional Council. The pro
gram is one of a series of
training programs to be held
in each of the 18 planning
regions in the state. Tt>e agen
da will include a presentation
by L.D. Hyde, director of the
Crime Prevention Division.
In announcing the program,
Crime Control and Public
Safety Secretary Burley Mit
chell said, "Gov. Hunt and I
have become aware of the
need for training programs
such as these in addition to our
other crime prevention ef
forts. The Governor joins me
in encouraging interested
citizens to participate in the
training program in
Asheville."
Youth
Appreciation
In Mars Hill
In honor of the
achievements of Mars Hill
young people, the Community
Development Committee is
sponsoring a Youth Apprecia
tion Night April 10, at the
Mars Hill Elementary School.
The evening will begin at
6:30 with a covered dish sup
per, followed by reports by
representatives from the
following groups: Junior 4-H,
Senior 4-H, Girl Scouts, Boy
Scouts, Boys' Little League,
Girls' Softball League, and the
youth programs of Gabriels
Creek Baptist, Calvary Bap
tist^ Mars Hill Baptist and
United Methodist churches.
Everyone is invited to bring
a covered dish and join in this
night of recognition.
Editor's Column
Census Forms
I noticed one of our neighbors looking pale the
other day, and I asked her what had happened.
"Oh," she shuddered. "I got the long form."
I was puzzled for a second, then realized she
was talking about Census 1980. Most of us got
relatively short and straightforward question
naries that took only a few minutes to fill out and
mail hack. But one out of five households got "the
long form" ? some 19 pages of detailed queries on
everything from indoor (dumbing to marriage,
death and taxes. It was taking her the better part
of a weekend morning to get through it all.
Why should we bother? Well, there are good
reasons to go ahead and finish it all, even though it
is an annoyance.
For one thing, a good part of Madison Coun
ty's income is based on state and federal money,
and this money is distributed on the basis of how
many people live here and how great their needs
are. Money from revenue sharing, community
development, health, education, highway, Job
training, school lunch, and economic development
programs goes a long way toward keeping this
county working. If some residents are not record
ed by the census, the county's share of these pro
grams is reduced just that much.
For example, the county got half a million
dollars from the federal government last year to
rehabilitate older houses, and it is getting $1.5
million this year. The 1980 census measures,
among other things, the condition of our housing.
If all these housing facts are not recorded, we
might not get as much help in the coming years to
upgrade the structures that need work.
Madison County has a special reason to
answer all the census questions. As of 1970 the
population of the county was thought to be on the
decline. The population in 1960 was 17,217; by 1970
it was down to 16,003. By some estimates the
population was supposed to shrink to only around
10,000 by 1980. Had that happened, our share of
public funds would have dropped drastically. In
stead, the population fall appears to have revers
ed itself somewhere around the middle of the
decade. According to the most recent figures, it is
back up around 17,000 again.
Our representation in Congress and in
Raleigh is also based on population. And it will be
all but impossible for county officials to plan
ahead without knowing how many of us there are,
and where we live and work. So if you. haven't
already, take the time to fill out your form and
send it in.
4-H SHRUB SALE got off to a fast
start last Thursday in Joe and
Helga's building on the Marshall
bypass as customers flooded in to
pick up their orders. Above, 4-H
coordinator Gary Ealey helps
Judy Sears and Joanne Powell of
Mars Hill load their order. Ethel
Wallin, Sharon Carter, Judy
Sears, Marjorie Hunter, Joanne
Powell and Gary Ealey struggle
to sort out orders amid piles of
shrubs, trees and root stock. "All
the money we raise," said Ealey,
"goes to our 4-H club programs.
And these programs benefit all
the youth of the county, whether
they are 4-H members or not. By
selling plants we don't have to go
to the businesses to raise money.
The kids tend to learn what the
plants are and what they can be
used for. And we like to think we
are helping to beautify the county
and helping people grow their own
food."
Girl Scouts Schedule
Their Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of
Piagah Girl Scout Council,
Inc. will be held oo April 16, at
the Masonic Hall in Brevard.
Registration will begin at 10
a.m. and the meeting will
begin at 10:30 a.m. All
registered girl scout adults
and gills over 14 years of age
are urged to attend.
1Mb meeting is held for the
Board of Directors and
Nominating Committee, the
report to the membership by
the board of directors and the
i
Following the annual
meeting, there will be a lun
cheon and workshop. The
workshops include simple
puppetry, songs, and outdoor
crafts and games. These will
be taught by volunteers from
Transylvania County. All
ihos<> attending the annua
meeting are Invited to par
ticipate in a workshop.
Registration for the annual
meeting and reservations for
lunch must be in the girl scout
office by April H> Anyone in
terested in details should call
Uw council office in Ashevllfe
M 2S2-4442
V
The News -Record
NON-PARTISAN IN POLITICS (USPS 380-440)
ALAN H. ANDERSON. Editor
JAMES L STORY, Editorial Consultant
And Columnist
JULIA WILLIAMS, Advortisk* Manner
PuMshad Wookly By
Madtoon County PuDHsMng Oo. Inc.
BOX 369 MARSHALL, N.C. 28753
PHONE: (704) 449-2741