Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / Jan. 11, 1984, edition 1 / Page 1
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SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901 ? r MADISON Vol. 84 No. 2 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY S^AT AT MAF ^?^NTY LIBRARY WEDNESDAY, January 11, 1984 general delivery" MARSHALL 25c Ramsey, Beall, Swain i I And Winner Enter Reelection Bids Wallin , Buckner File For County Offices By KOBKKT KOKNIG Madison County's incum bent representatives in both the State House and Senate have announced plans to seek re-election. Speaker of the House Liston B. Ramsey and Rep. Charles M. Beall have < announced their candidacy, along with State Sens. Robert . Swain and Dennis Winner. In the upcoming local elec tions, both Madison County Tax Collector Harold Wallin and Register of Deeds Jena Lee Buckner officially entered the race for re-election by fil ing with the Madison County Board of Elections on Wednes day. Wallin will be seeking his eighth term as the county tax collector. Buckner has served as register of deeds since 1976 and will be seeking her third term In announcing his intention to seek a twelfth term in the State House. Ramsey said, "The well-being of the people of the area I represent has always been of prime con sideration to me. and it shall continue to be." In making the announcement, Ramsey also indicated that he would also seek a third term as Hous?? Speaker should he win re election in Nov. Ramsey, who has served as House Speaker since 1981. is not expected to be opposed in the May primary. In citing his ac complishments in the General Assembly, Ramsey mentioned new administration and library buildings for Western Carolina University, funds for a test farm in Haywood Coun ty, renovation of the Swain County Courthouse, several libraries and the Cherokee Museum. Ramsey has also been in strumental in obtaining fun ding for Madison County pro jects such as the Hot Springs Health program's clinics in Walnut. Laurel and the recent ly completed facility in Hot Springs. County fire depart ments in Marshall, Mars Hill, Hot Springs, Laurel and Spr ing Creek also received $100,000 in funds in 1963 as a result of Ramsey's work in the General Assembly. A retired businessman, Ramsey devotes full time to his duties with the legislative branch of government. Prior to becoming Speaker, he serv ed eight years on the Advisory Budget Commission, a 1 j-mfember body that helps tin Governor draft the State's biennial budget. As Speaker, he names five members of the Advisory Budge! Commission as well as appointing all the standing committees and committee chairmen of the House During his legislative career. Ramsey has headed several key committees of the House, including two terms as Chairman of the Finance Committee, A native of Marshall, Ramsey is a graduate of Mars Hill College and served overseas with the Air Force during World War II. He was a member of the Marshall Board of Aldermen for 12 years. A Baptist, a Mason and an Elk, Ramsey is a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, as well as a trustee of the Cherokee Historical Associa tion. He and his wife, the former Florence McDevitt, have one daughter. Mrs. Mar tha Geouge of Asheville. Beall, who also represents the 52nd House District, was appointed to the House in 1961 by Gov. Jim Hunt. He won election to his first full term in 1982. The <W-year-ola legislator is employed by Champion Paper (Continued on Page 14 LISTON RAMSEY CHARLES BEALL HAROLD WALLIN i- , ? \ ' ' French Broad EMC Passes 12% Rate Increase By ROBERT KOENIG Most Madison County residents will receive some shocking news in the mail this week when the postman delivers their monthly electric bills. Officials of the French Broad Electric Membrship Cooperative have announced that residential service rates will increase about 12 percent this month. The increased rates will be reflected in monthly bills to be delivered this week. The increased rates are a result of an in crease in the wholesale cost for electricity charged by the Carolina Power and Light Co. (CP&L), the supplier for the local utility com pany. According to Charles Tolley, FBEMC general manager, this latest increase is only the beginning of a series of rate increases Madison County consumers can expect to see in the next five years. Tolley said in an interview last week that FBEMC is no more happy about the increase than its customers will be. The general manager said the FBEMC will challenge the latest increase in the courts. In addition to this latest increase, FBEMC is planning another 2.7 percent rate increase in May. These increases, Tolley said, are the result of a two-part rate increase requested by CP&L, the co-op's supplier. CP&L requested the in creases before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Washington, D.C. CP&L requested a two-part increase in their wholesale electric rates totalling 22 percent. The initial phase of the increase, which raised rates 16 percent, took effect in Nov., 1983. The second, six percent increase is scheduled to begin in April. Rules governing wholesale rate increases allow utility companies to charge the requested increased rates under bond until the FERC can rule on the proposed increase. Tolley said. "We've employed the best law firm and engineers we can afford to appeal the increase in Washington. We feel we can be effective in getting it reduced." Although FBEMC may succeed in getting a favorable ruling from the regulating commis sion, it probably won't benefit customers much. Should the FERC deny part of CP&L's in crease, FBEMC customers will be entitled to a refund of a portion of bills they will begin pay ing this month. By the time FERC rules on (Continued on Page 3 School Board Meets The Madison County Board of Education held their mon thly meeting on Wednesday morning. The school board ap proved several hew substitute personnel and a teacher leave policy at the short public meeting. The board also met in executive session to discuss a disciplinary decision, but to no action at the meeting. hiring I as a driver and Tammy .V Sprouse was hired as a substitute teacher. Sharon Maynard was selected as a substitute teacher at Hot Springs Elementary upon the recom mendation of the school's prin cipal, J. C. Wallin The board also hired Boyd Norton to serve as a substitute bus driver upon the recom ?nendation of Debby Baker, food services supervisor pis ' ?? - . ed on the grounds of Marshall Primary School. The board also approved a bid of $16,449 submitted by W. A Arthur Roofing Co. for replacing the roof on Hot Spr ings Elementary School Hie bid is conditional upon the con dition of the decking underly ing the roof Should the deck ing need to be replaced, the bid sUpitfatet a eoet of an addi tional 18,000. The board also extended the county-wide band-program for ? I Mars Hill To Purchase Computer Mara Hill will purchase a computer to handle water and sewer billing in the future. Hie town's board of aldermen made the decision authorizing the purchase at their Jan. 3 meeting Mars Hill. will begin monthly hilling when wor| on the town sewer project is com Marshall , ESC Reach Repayment Agreement More than 30 Marshall residents crowded into Town Hall on Monday night for the regularly scheduled meeting of the town's Board of Aldermen. Many had come to hear details of the town's troubled sewer project, bul there was no discussion of the project at Monday night's meeting. Butler-McGill Associates engineer Bill Lapsley, who last week told the board members that the project fac ed budget problems, attended Monday night's meeting, but did not address the board. Instead, those attending the meeting learned that Marshall had reached an agreement with the N. C. Employment Security Commission regar ding the repayment of a $37,000 debt owed by the town. Mayor Betty Wild read a letter ? from ESC officials spelling out ' terms of the repayment agree : ment. According to the terms of j the agreement, Marshall will I make six monthly payments I of $6,500 to repay the debt . The i town will have to pay six per cent interest on the debt, but ESC officials have agreed to waive any further penalties against the town. On a motion presented by Ed Niles and seconded by John Dodson. the repayment schedule was approved. Marshall will begin a crackdown aimed at getting lesiden.'s 4 o pay their water and sewer bills this month. In announcing the crackdown, r the board approved a resolu- I tion presented by Sammy t Lunsford to raise the recon- s nection charge from the pre- c sent $15 to $25. Letters will be sent out with c water bills informing delin- t quent water service 1 customers that payment of t current charges and ten per- I cent of past due charges must ( be paid before the tenth day of t the month. Wild said the town t would proceed to cut off water ' service to delinquents failing < to make payment and service < would not be restored until all ; past due charges are paid in > full. "We're definitely going to enforce this. If the water bills aren't paid, we're going to disconnect people," Wild said. The mayor added that residents unable to make the full payment should contact the town to make arangements for payment before service is cut off. Wild also added that the entire board will have to decide on adjustments and urged residents seeking adjustments in their bills to bring their re quests before the full board. Randy Graves, operator of the Kountry Kitchen restaurant, brought his own complaint about water and sewer charges before the board. Graves complained that his business was paying sewer charges equal to Ins water charges since July, while many other Marshall businesses had only begun to eceive the higher bills in Nov. Mter discussing the problem, he board agreed that Graves hould pay the higher charges inly since Nov. The town board also approv ed rate increases for water iervice hookup and parking on Monday night. At the sugges ion of Sammy Lunsford, the ?ard approved increasing the ;harge for connections to the own water system outside the own limits from $150 to $175. rhe increased charge more ?losely reflects the town's :osts for hooking up residents ?nd businesses to the town system. At the request of the mayor, the board also approved in creasing monthly charges at the town's Main Street park ing lot from |6 to $10. Wild said that Marshall has not been col lecting the rental charges for two years and volunteered to collect the rents herself Ac cording to the resolution ap proved Monday night, the ren tal charge of $10 per month is payable by the tenth day of each month. An additional charge of $1 per day will be charged for late payment. The aldermen also agreed to a transfer of cable franchise (Continued on Page 4 Man Held In Shooting , Assault On Officer A shooting incident in the California Creek section late Sunday night injured a Madison County resident and sent another resident to jail on charges of assault and firing into an occupied dwelling. Steve Russell Robinson of California Creek was shot four times with a .22 calibre rifle. Robinson sustained injuries to the head, arm and body and was taken to Memorial Mis sion Hospital where he was treated and released. Police have charged Sher din Garrin of East Fork with assault in connection with the incident. According to Madison County Sheriff E.Y. Ponder, Garrin has also been charged with assault on a police officer for attempting to hit sheriff's deputy Clayton Grindstaff with a vehicle as Grindstaff attempted to arrest the fleeing suspect. Garrin remained in the Madison County jail Tuesday morning in lieu of $50,000 bond. Sheriff Ponder reported that Grindstaff received no in jury in the incident. Sheriff Ponder also reported Monday that he has returned two fugitives from Calif, in the past week. Ponder said he traveled to Los Angeles to escort Paul Gullett back to North Carolina because of parole violation. Gullett has been turned over to the state Department of Corrections. Also returned after losing an extradition hearing was Ed ward Jerome Young, formerly of Gastonia. Young was returned to face six charges of receiving stolen property in connection with a series of break-ins. Three others con nected with the case have already faced trial and other cases are still pending. Young was returned from Riverside, Calif. No Action On Sewer Project Marshall town officials met with the engineer for the town's sewer project Friday morning in Town Hall. Mayor Betty Wild and the town aldermen met in a 90-minute closed session without taking any action. Last week, engineer Bill Lapsley told the town officials that problems with blasting rock on Walnut Creek Rd. and resurfacing road damaged by the con struction would result in cost overruns of up to JO percent of the estimated cost of the pro ject. Mayor Wild opened the Fri day meeting by calling for an executive session to discuss the project with Lapsley. The engineer met for more than an hour in closed session with the town officials who remained in executive session after the engineer departed. When the mayor and aldermen emerg ed. Wild announced that no ac tion was decided on in the clos ed meeting. When they returned to open session, the board met with Morris Trammell of Wastewater Services, Inc. of Asheville, the town's water system consultant. Trammell had earlier written to the board to inform them of pro blems with the town's water and waste treatment facility. Trammell informed the board that the recent freeze had caused an overload at the treatment plant on Blen nerhassett Island. He said that the agitator at the plant had sunk to the bottom of the treat ment tank and would have to be hauled out and put back in operation. The shutdown of the agitator posed no immediate health threat, but must be fixed as soon as possible according to Trammell. He added thai state officials would have to be .notified of the shutdown and offered the services of his company, Wastewater Ser vices, Inc., in repairing the treatment station. Alderman Sammy Lunsford said that town employees would work on removing the agitator on Saturday. Con tacted on Monday, Lunsford said attempts on Saturday to raise the agitator were unsuc cessful. He said the tank would be pumped on Tuesday in an attempt to reach the sunken agitator. Tramroett said tlial ithere were no problems with the pumping stations during the recent cold weather, but told the board that water from the town's Walnut Creek station was not being chlorinated because parts had been removed from station to repair the Fortner Hollow sta tion. Trammell and the town of ficials also agreed on an ex tension of the service contract the town currently has with Wastewater Services, Inc. The old contract expired on Nov. 15. At the request of Mayor Wild. Trammell agreed to re main on the job for another six months at the same price of $850 a month. Under the agreement, Wastewater Ser-. vices monitors and maintains the tow-n's water system and provides the town with a mon thly status report. The com pany is not responsible for the cost of major repairs. The town board also discuss ed an estimte received for overhauling the town's backhoe. Sammy Lunsford presented the board with an estimate received from Jim Calhoun. Mayor Wild asked for two moe estimates before a decision be made, but Lunsford was unable to obtain other estimates from Mar shall repair shops. No action was taken on the matter and the meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m. County, Railroad Settle Dispute Madison County and the Norfolk Southern Railway have reached a partial agree ment regarding the railroad's property taxes. Announce ment of the agreement was made by county attorney Larry Leake at Monday night's meeting oUhe county commissioners. Leake showed the commis s loners a check for which he said settled the railroad's) property taxes tw 1M0 through 1H3 using the railroad's formula for valuating its property. Leake added, however, that the ch*ck may not be Norfolk Supreme Court . The payment announced on Monday also does not include penalties or interest that will be determin ed later. Norfolk Southern, then operating as Southern Railway, challenged the method in which local com munities computed (heir pro perty taxes in 1M0. The so called "4-R" case has been argued in the. courts since Southern challenged the Department of Revenue's evaluations The North Carolina Court of Appeals has since upheld the Department ed through the courts. Leake told the commissioners, that according to the latest pay ment, the railroad's property was taxed at 55 percent of its 1980 evaluatioftand 90 percent of its 1N1 evaluation. The at torney said, "Undoubtedly, we'll" get more'' when asked if the payment closes the railroad's debt. How much more Madison County could receive will be determined by a Supreme Court ruling in the case. economic development The grant will request funding to provide a force main, pump ing stations and sewer lines to connect the 40-unit housing project and Madison Manor nursing, home with the Mars HMI sewer system Parker said exact figures on the coal of the project were not yet available, hut said the request would "be in the neighborhood $180 imx)." Exact figures will
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