Community Calendar The Madison County EMS Advisory Counsel will meet, March 10 at 7 p.m. in the Madison County Courthouse. ? ? ? The Antioch Fire Department will hold their annual meeting, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. ? ? ? " Richard Dillingham, archivist in the Ap palachian Room at Mars Hill College, will speak at the first of the 1983 series of special programs sponsored by the Friends of Mars Hill Community Library at 7:30 p.m., March 10 at the community library. ? ? ? The next meeting of the Madison County Unit af the Retired North Carolina School Personnel will be held March 9 at 2 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center on Long Branch Road. Mrs. Lucille Burnette will be in charge and a good program is planned. All retired teachers in Madison County are urged to attend the meeting. ? ? ? The Marshall Premenstrual Syndrom Sup port Group will hold an organizational meeting Mar. 17 at 7 p.m. in the First Baptist Church of Marshall. Anyone interested in learning more about PMS is urged to attend. The sounds of old time mountain music will be heard in Burnsville March 11 as John McCut cheon, one of America's foremost folk musicians, presents a concert of Appalachian music. The man Johnny Cash called "the most impressive in strumentalist I've ever heard" will be appearing at Mtn. Heritage High School at 7:30 p.m. Admis sion for the concert, which is sponsored by the Toe River Arts Council, is $4 for adults and $2 for children. ? ? ? Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Ivy Ridge development, a 40-unit housing pro ject to be constructed by the Madison County Housing Authority, will be held Friday at the site located off U.S. 19-23 north of Mars Hill. The public is invited to attend. Weaverville Lions Club members have volunteered their time to paint the new Dry Ridge Museum at the corner of Main and Pine Sts. in Weaverville. Lions are also continuing to collect old eyeglasses as part of their work for the blind. Glasses may be dropped off at the First Union Bank in Weaverville. ? ? ? Alexander Nevsky, a black and white film classic from the 1930s with its climax in the famous depiction of Nevsky's Battle of the Ice, will be presented at the Weaverville Library on Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited without charge. ? ? ? There will be a public hearing on March 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall in Hot Springs to discuss the possibility of securing money for sewer needs for the Town of Hot Springs. Forest Service To Accept Bids Sealed bids will be recieved by the District Ranger, U.S. Forest Service, P.O. Box 128, Hot Springs, N.C. 28743, up to 10 a.m. local time at the place of bid opening, March 31, 1983 and opened immediately thereafter for all timber marked or designated for cut ting located in an area cover ing about 21 acres in Compart ment 38, Jack Branch, French Broad Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, ison County, North estimated to be 29 of Pine and per MBF for Yellow Pine and Hemlock; $74.81 per MBF for Yellow Poplar Group; $55.72 pre MBF for Mixed Oaks; $110.39 per MBF for White Oak and Northern Red Oak; and $0.80 per CCF far Hardwood Small Roundwood. $100.00 in the form of certified check or equivalent must be deposited with each bid. Sale award will be based on the highest total bid value. The right to reject any and all bids is reserved. information concerning SIGNING CONTRACTS for the new 40-unit Ivy Ridge housing development are Charles Smith, right, and Charles J. Carver of the Carver Construction Co. Carver signed the contracts in a ceremony held in the county courthouse Friday morning. Work on the low income housing will begin next week and is expected to be completed within a year. The $1.2 million project will be operated by the Madison County Housing Authority. THE WEST MADISON FIRE DEPARTMENT building is begin ning to take shape. Volunteers from the community are shown working on the roof to the new headquarters. Men and women from the community have donated their time and talents to the building's construction. Funds for the building were raised by conducting donut sales and basketball tournaments . throughout the winter. County Man Is Shot a snooting Monaay nigni in a Buncombe County package store sent a Madison County man to the hospital with multi ple gunshot wounds. Police report that Wade Ramsey was shot six times at close range with a small caliber handgun. The incident happened about 9 p.m. in Peabody's package store at Forks of Ivy. Ramsey was taken to Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville where he was in stable condition Tues day morning. Arrest warrants have been issued for Bill Maney of Yancey County. Maney is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury. He remained at large Tuesday motiving. An attendant at the store said the suspect fired six times at Ramsey before leav ing the gun on the store's checkout counter and fleeing the scene. Public Meetings The Madison County Board of Commis sioners, in conjunction with the Madison County Housing Authority, will hold a public hearing on March 22, 1983 at 7:30 p.m. in the Madison County Courthouse. The hearing will be conducted for the pur pose of receiving citizens comments on the Grantee Performance Report for the 1981-82 Community Development Activities in the Rice's Cove and Bee Tree Communities. Citizens who wish to comment at the hearing are encouraged to attend. The Madison County Board of Commis sioners, in conjunction with the Madison County Housing Authority, will hold a public hearing on March 22, 1983 at 7:30 p.m. in the Madison County Courthouse. The hearing will be conducted for the pur pose of preparing a community revitalization and planning application for the Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Pro gram. Citizens who wish to comment at the hearing are encouraged to attend. Phillips (Continued from Page 1) waiter Harreil was named to serve in precinct 1-1. Otis Chandler was named for precinct 2. Ed Krause and Ray Norton were named from precincts 3-2 and 3-1. Don Hall was named from precinct 4, Harry Payne from precinct 5, Curtis Roberts from precinct 6, Suzie Jenkins from precinct 7, Frank Massey from precinct 8 and Mollie Brown from precinct 9. Also named were Marian Tisdale, representing the Republican Women's Club and Michael Chapman from the Young Republicans. Others chosen to serve on the executive committee were David Plemmons, Bill Powell, Joe Fowler, Dedrick Brown, Bruce Briggs and Janet Nix. Pat Roberts was named the vice chairman of the county organization and Jane Briggs was named to serve as secretary. C.N. Willis was elected as. treasurer. The convention also selected April 30 and May 7 as proposed dates for the party's annual Lincoln Day dinner. The executive committee will determine the exact date of the dinner. County Unemployment Reaches 8.1 Percent There was good news and bad news in the unemploy ment picture this past week. The bad news came from the N.C. Employment Securi ty Commission (ESC) figures which showed that unemploy ment in Madison County in creased in January to 8.1 per cent of the work force. The good news came from Cleveland, Tenn., where of ficials of The Lay Co. an nounced that they will be opening a new department store in the Ingles' Shopping Center in Mars Hill before the end of the month. The new store will be hiring store clerks and stock personnel. The county jobless figures increased three-tenths of one percent in January, up from 7.8 percent in December. The percentage figure for January represents 680 jobless workers in Madison County. The January increase marked the seventh month in a row that the unemployment rate for the county increased. Despite the increase, Madison County trails both state-wide unemployment in January was up to 10 percent while federal figures released last week showed that U.4 per cent of the civilian work force was unemployed. State-wide figures indicated that unemployment increased in ail of the states 10 metropolitan areas. Asheville reported an increase to 9.1 percent from an 8.4 percent rate reported in December. Across the state, 94 counties reported increases in the jobless picture in Janhary. Dare County has the state's highest unemployment rate at 42.1 percent. Neighboring counties all reported in creases in January. Bun combe County reported a 9.2 percent rate while Yancey County reported a 16.4 percent rate and Haywood County unemployment stood at 13.7 percent. Unemployment Benefit Extended Thousands of jobless North Carolinians may be eligible for extended benefits accor ding to Glenn R. Jernigan, chairman of the North Carolina Employment Securi ty Commission (ESC). The Extended Benefits (EB) Program went into ef fect with the week ending Jan. 29, 1963, the first payable week will be the week ending Feb. 19, 1963. The program is ac tivated legally by a period of sustained high unemploy ment, and it begins the third week after the week in which there is a "trigger on" in dicator. Jernigan said, "We estimate that up to lS.OQp unemployed individuals, who are currently filing claims for unemployment insurance benefits, may be eligible to receive up to 13 additional weeks of benefits." EB checks have the same monetary value at regular unemploy ment insurance benefits The EB Program will last IS weeks, and it can be extended governments. Employers and unemployed workers are advised to con tact the ESC local office serv ing their area for complete in formation about the Extended Benefits Program. A record $56.3 million in weekly unemployment in surance benefits was paid to jobless workers in January. Never before has such a large sum been paid by the North Carolina Employment Securi ty Commission (ESC). The North Carolina UI Fund is the third most solvent in the United States with a January balance of more than $340 million. In contrast, the funds in 23 states werer bankrupt. Forecasts indicate bankrupt cies will increase to 35 by the end of 1983 and to 39 by 1984 Glenn R. Jernigan, chair man of ESC,- said, "Conser vative fiscal policies have maintained North Carolina's solvency, but the UI Fund is being depleted at an average rate of $19 million each week. We are very concerned about the sustained high unemplov ment rates and the drain, it on the UI Fund." in the It's a tMen It's a tracton _ It's a plow. its a Merry inn Ruggedbar lugged wheels and plow attachments turn your Merry Tiller into a tractor or plow in seconds. Merry Tiller available with choice of rotors to till, furrow, weed, cultivate, mulch and aerate. Get a Merry Tin jggffs^tSBssat,