News rec^dd
1 HAOISON Ry
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNT |gj
f^ARSHALL
NC
2Q753
82nd Year No. 18
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C.
WEDNESDAY, May 4, 1983
15' Per Copy
County Democrats
Re-Elect Zeno Ponder
By ROBERT KOENIG
Madison County Democrats met at
Madison High School Saturday after
noon and re-elected Zeno Ponder to
another term as county chairman.
Ponder was unopposed in the election.
Other members of the county ex
ecutive committee were also chosen
without opposition in a show of unity
following controversy regarding the
selection of delegates from Grapevine
precinct.
Hot Springs mayor Debby Ponder
Baker was elected to a two-year term as
vice chairman of the executive commit
tee. Wayne McDevitt was named second
vice chairman, and Bobby Jean Rice
was elected to another term as third
vice chairman. Christine Lister was
elected party secretary, succeeding
Jena Lee Buckner, and David Caldwell
of Walnut was named to serve another
term as party treasurer.
The elections to county offices follow
ed a debate regarding the Grapevine
precinct elections. In those elections,
both T.O. Coates and G.D. Mace claim
ed victory. The other delegations to the
convention were to decide which slate of
delegates to seat as the convention's
first order of business.
Both Coates and Mace were given 10
minutes to present their cases. G.D.
Mace spoke to the delegates on his own
behalf. The Coates delegation's case
was presented by Judy Coates.
Delegate R.L. Edwards suggested a
compromise by which each of the oppos
ing delegations would receive some of
the seats for the precinct. Mace rejected
that.
When a vote of the convention was
called, the Coates delegation was ap
proved by a margin of 48-13. The deci
sion sparked a mass departure of an
estimated 100 Mace supporters. The
Grapevine residents had come to the
convention to express their support for
Mace.
Contacted by telephone Monday even
ing, Mace told The News Record, "I
don't think we got a fair shake and
neither do the people who supported me.
I think it was unfair for the other
precincts to decide who was elected.
They didn't get all the facts. The people
feel that we got hoodwinked. We didn't
get justice."
Asked why he rejected the suggested
compromise, Mace said, "We tried to
compromise before the election. We
wanted to get some of our young people
who are interested in politics on the
ticket."
The controversial election was con
ducted at Roberts' store at the junction
of Grapevine and East Fork. Mace said
the final count of votes showed him the
(Continued on Page 13)
Marshall, County Apply
For Block Grants
By ROBERT KOEN1G
The Town of Marshall and
the Madison County Board of
Commissioners will be apply
ing for Community Block
Development Grant (CDBG)
funds totaling $699,903. An
nouncement of the grant ap
plications was made at public
meetings held in Marshall last
week .
Marshall will ask for
$549,370 to revitalize the Cot
ton Mill section of the town.
The county's request for
$150,533 will be used for
economic development plann
ing and site development .for a
proposed new housing
development on Higgins
Branch Rd. outside Mars Hill.
(See related story on Page 4).
Marshall's request for fun
ding was approved by the
town board of aldermen at a
special public meeting held on
April 18. The request calls for
$460,010 in funding to provide
water, sewer and housing
rehabilitation in the Cotton
Mill section and an additional
$89,360 in local option funds to
pay for water lines and fire
hydrants on Roberts Hill Rd.
? The town's requests states
that the Cotton Mill section
has the greatest concentration
of substandard housing in
Marshall. If approved, block
grant funds will be used to
destroy two unoccupied
houses and renovate 18 oc
cupied dwellings. Most of the
homes were found to be more
than 40 years old.
Both Island Rd. and Cotton
Mill Hill would receive
repairs, according to the plan
submitted with the grant re
quest. In addition to the hous
ing rehabilitation, the plan
calls for installing water lines
to five homes on Island Rd.
and placing two fire hydrants
on the road 500 feet apart. A
600-foot section at the end of
Island Rd. would be graded
and graveled and a guard rail
installed along the road next
to the river bank.
Sewer lines to serve ten
homes in the community will
also be installed, according to
the plan.
Cost estimates submitted
with the request show that
$226,000 of the grant would be
used to rehabilitate 18 homes
in the Cotton Mill section and
demolish two other buildings
deemed beyond repair The
grant request estimates an
average cost of $12,400 for
each house to be repaired
Homes requiring major
renovations could receive up
to $15,000 in repairs. Other
homes will receive minor
repairs, such as painting and
insulation worth up to $10,000
in cost.
All but one of the 21 homes in
the Cotton Mill section was
judged to be substandard
Most of the residents in the
community are elderly or han
dicapped.
The $89,360 request for local
option funds would be used to
install a six-inch water line
and four fire hydrants on
Roberts Hill Road. There cur
rently are no fire hydrants on
the road. A Tennessee Valley
Authority water leak inspec
tion determined that Roberts
Hill Rd. has more leaks than
any other section of the town.
Neither the Cotton Mill sec
tion nor Roberts Hill Rd. are
included in the planned $1.2
H Continued on Page 11 ?
\
Coming
Next Week . . .
For the past month. News Record editor
Bob Koenig )>as been {ouring each of the schools
of Madison County. In interviews with teachers,
principals and students, we have compiled a
special four-page report on the schools. For an
up-to-date report "on the school in your com
munity, look to the special four-page supple
ment to next week's News Record.
Car Wreck Kills
Marshall Man
Fred Samuel Ramsey, 81, of
Route 4, Marshall was killed
instantly Saturday morning in
a two-car accident at the in
tersection of U.S. Hwy. 19-23
and N.C. 213 outside Mars Hill,
according to the State
Highway Patrol.
Ramsey was the driver of a
1974 Dodge station wagon
which collided with a 1974
Ford pickup truck driven by
Oliver Dean Honeycutt, 37, of
34 Dogwood Dr. in Weaver
ville, a report by Trooper W.C.
Swanson said. The impact of
the collision sent the Ramsey
vehicle 140 feet down the road.
The accident occurred at ap
proximately 10:35 a.m. Satur
day. No charges were filed.
Two passengers in the
Honeycutt vehicle were taken
to Memorial Mission Hospital
in Asheville by members of
the Madisou County Emergen
cy Medical Service. Betty
Honeycutt, 34, of Weaverville
and her son, Jonathan, 4, were
treated and released, accor
ding to a hospital spokesman.
Elected COUNTY Democratic
Party Chairman Zeno Ponder.
Marshall Delays
Budget Decision
The Marshall Board of
Aldermen deferred a decision
on) the 1984 town budget at
their monthly meeting Mon
day night. The aldermen will
schedule a special session in
two weeks to adopt a budget
for the upcoming fiscal year.
They are waiting for a deci
sion on the county budget
before setting the tax rate for
the town. At present, the
town's tax rate of 75 cents per
(100 valuation is identical to
the county rate.
Town Clerk Shirley Sexton
has prepared a budget for the
upcoming fiscal year. She
recommended that the
aldermen set a tax rate of 85
cents.
Asked, "Can we make it on
80 cents?" by alderman
James Penland, Sexton said,
"We probably can." Penland
pointed out that the town will
soon be raising sewer and
water charges and that a tax
increase would be an addi
tional burden
The aldermen agreed to con
sider the budget for two weeks
before making a final deci
sion. They are waiting to Me
what the county commis
sioners do at their monthly
meeting Friday night. The
commissioners are expected
to consider the 1M4 county
budget at that time. The board
then voted to hold a special
session in two weeks to vote on
the budget. Sexton urged the
board to take quick action on
the budget to avoid a delay in
(Continued on Page 4)
Mars Hill Board Approves
Water Savings Plan
By CHERYL KOEN'IG
The Mars Hill Board of
Aldermen approved an $800
loan to help finance a water
conservation project at. their
monthly meeting in Town Hall
Monday night. The aldermen
voted to sponsor the project
after hearing a proposal from
Mike Bradley of the Madison
County Health Department.
Bradley told the aldermen
that the county health depart
ment is planning a joint water
conservation project in con
junction with the French
Broad Electric Membership
Cooperative; the towns of
Marshall, Hot Springs and
Mars Hill ; and Madison Coun
ty. Marshall aldermen endors
ed the project with a similar
$800 loan at their April mon
thly meeting. Hot Springs and
the Board of County Commis
sioners have not yet taken ac
tion on the proposal. ,
The water conservation pro
ject will encourage home
owners to install three water
saving devices in their homes.
The project's coordinators
(Continued on Page S)
Hughie Ray Brings The Farm To Town In Mars Hill
AAW IILL " A 111 KR h
some of his flock
By PAULINE CHEEK
A sure sign of spring in Mars Hill is the
frolicking of lambs in the fields of Hughie and
Lena Ray.
This year, 15 ewes graze protectingly near
their 20 lambs. "My daddy and granddaddy
both kept sheep, and so I do, too," says Mr.
Ray. "Sheep are very shifty; about the only
time they eat hay is when there is snow on the
ground What I like about them is that
they're so humble; all I have to do is go to the
barn and make one yell, and they come."
Usually, one lamb has to be bottle-fed a
gallon of milk a day, becoming a life-long pet
This year, however, none is
dogs, bees, rabbits, pigeons, and sometimes,
guineas and turkeys. Thirty-five years ago,
the same land would scarcely have sup
ported two cows.
"People thought I was crazy to pay $6,000
for 20 acres of poor land," Mr. Ray recalls.
'One Sunday afternoon my father-in-law
took us to look at it, and I said I wouldn't have
it. All 1 saw was broomsage and dewberry
briars. But, as time went on, I kept getting a
little more interested. We
Hamburg Mountain and had no telephone, no
electricity, not much of a road. So we bought
the land.
"The next spring, we i
got to work. We tore i
and
We :