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The News r-^^o
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SIN^
COUNTY LIBRARY
GENERAL, DEL I
f'MRSHAww NC * .3
Vol. 84 No. 15 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, NC WEDNESDAY, Aprilll, 1984
25'
Former Police Officer,
The News Record
File Lawsuits Against Town
Two unrelated lawsuits were filed last week
against the Town of Marshall, the Marshall
Board of Aldermen and Mayor Betty Wild. The
suits were brought by former Marshall police
officer Carlie Gunter and The News Record.
Gunter's suit was filed in the Madison County
Superior Court by Asheville attorney Lamar
Gudger. The suit alleges that Mayoor Wild and
the town's aldermen wrongfully dismissed the
18-year police veteran on grounds of police
brutality.
Documents filed with the Madison County
Clerk of Courts state that Wild and the
aldermen dismissed Gunter as one of their first
acts in office on Dec. 5, 1983. The suit contends
that on Dec. 6, the day following the swearing
in, Gunter was presented a notice stating that
his dismissal was because of police brutality.
Gunter's suit alleges that he asked for, and
was refused, a hearing on the charges of
brutality. The documents filed with the court on
Thursday seek $100,000 for wrongful dismissal,
an additional $150,000 for libel and $100,000 in
punitive damages.
The documents state that the former police
was dismissed from his position because of his
political beliefs, thus denying him his rights
under the first and fourteenth amendments of
the U.S. Constitution.
The libel damages sought charge that Mayor
Wild and the aldermen caused damage to
Gunter's reputation by allowing false informa
tion concerning police brutality to be published.
The suit also asks the court to order Gunter re
instated to his position on the Marshall police
force.
The suit brought by The News Record was in
stituted by News Record editor Robert Koenig
on Thursday and charges that the Mayor
violated the North Carolina Open Meetings law
by failing to provide adequate advance notice of
a public hearing.
Mayor Wild had scheduled a public hearing
on Friday at 9 a.m. for the aldermen to consider
leasing a town owned trailer at the Marshall
Recreation Center. Notice of the meeting was
made public at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Marshall attorney Richad Miller prepared
the documents charging the violation and ask
ing for a temporary restraining order to pro
hibit the Friday meeting.
Koenig drove the Boone Thursday afternoon
to obtain the restraining order from District
Court Judge Phillip Ginn. Judge Ginn signed
the order prohibiting the Friday meeting at 6
p.m. Thursday in the offices of the Boone Police
Department.
The order calls for a hearing on the restaining
order to be held April 16 at 2 p.m..
? ???Ill -
MARSHALL MAYOR BETTY WILD received a
pair of summons Friday morning.
Marshall Holds
30-Second Session
After waiting some 30
minutes to start Maonday's
special called meeting of the
Marshall Board of Aldemen, it
took the board only 30 seonds
to dispose of the business at
hand.
Mayor Wild had called the
special meeting, her ninth
since taking office in Dec., to
discuss a lease to rent a trailer
owned by the town located at
the Marshall Recreation
Center. Wild has proposed
leasing the trailer to William
and Devi Ramsey.
The called meeting was
originally scheduled for Fri
day morning, but was postpon
ed until Monday when The
News Record obtained a tem
porary restraining order
against thr Friday meeting.
Mayor Wild was the_ only
board member present at
Town Hall at the 9 a.m.
scheduled starting time for
the meeting. Board member
Ed Niles arrived some 20
minutes l&te, followed by
alderman John Dodson at
9:30.
With two board members
present, Mayor Wild called to
meeting to order. Dodson then j
said that he had studied the
lease and asked that the
agreement with the Ramseys
be tabled until the next '
regularly scheduled meeting
of the board on May 7
Dodson's motion to table the
decision was seconded by
Niles and passed. Mayor Wild
then adjourned the special
meeting.
Keep North Carolina Beautiful
MHC Receives
$441,597 Gift
Mars Hill College has
received a $441,597 gift from J.
Wesley Grayson, a retired
California financial consultant
who had previously given the
college $1.1 million in 1978 and
$735,065 in 1982
In announcing the third ma
jor gift on Saturday, Dr. Fred
Bentley, president of the col
lege. said the gift consisted of
$100,000 in cash and the re
mainder in Gulf Oil stock.
Counting several smaller
cash gifts in between the ma
jor contributions, Grayson has
given the college a total of
$2,379,869 over the last 54
years, which makes him the
most generous benefactor in
the 128-year history of the
school.
Mrs. Grayson, daughter of
the late Mr. and Mrs. Roy
Wall of Mars Hill, gave the
college an additional
$477,515.30 in 1982. This means
that the couple's total gifts to
the college have amounted to
almoat $3 million.
All of the money hat gone to
the support of a scholarship
program named for the
86- year-old former university
economics professor and
will be $3,635 for the 1964-85
school year. This means that,
over a 4-year undergraduate
career, one of these scholar
ships will be worth almost
$15,000
Currently there are 41
Grayson Scholars, and they
are among the most outstan-'
ding students, academically
and socially, in the student
body of 1100.
"The Grayson
Scholarships," explains
Bentley, "are making a
significant impact on the col
lege. They help attract
outstanding young people who
set a challenging pace in the
classroom and provide effec
tive leadership in dorm life,
student government, student
organizations, athletics, and
other aspects of campus liv
ing. Furthermore, the
Grayson Scholars have great
potential for the future. They
will become effective leaders
in business, industry, govern
ment and professional life and
in their communities, chur
ch* and families after they
are graduated "
Grayson is a Mid- Westerner
and the son of a Methodist
J. WESLEY GRAYSON
Kansas. He later taught at
Ohio State and operated a
brokerage firm in Ohio before
going into government at a
tax economist. For *> years
prior to Ma retirement he was
an economist with the Internal
Revenue Service in
Washington
A skillful manager of in
vestments, he made his
cial success in the late 1940s.
Grayson has been ac
quainted with Mars Hill Col
lege since 1M6, when he mar
ried the former Pauline Wall,
a native of Mars Hill whose
uncle, Dr. Robert Lee Moore,
was president of the college
from 1897 until 1938 His in
terest in the college has been
especially keen since 1178,
when he established the
schoUrshin orosram with a
0|#t fll at
(Continued on Pa# ?>
\
School Board
Approves
Furniture
Purchase
The Madison County Board
of Education met last Wednes
day and approved $3,165 in
funds to purchase new fur
niture for the Marshall
Primary School.
Superintendent Robert Ed
wards said that the furniture
was needed due to increased
enrollment at the school. The
purchase authorized by the
board will include 26 student
desks, two teacher's desks and
chairs, a secretary's desk and
several cabinets. The fur
niture will be purchased from
Learning Enviornments of
Liberty, N.C.
The school board also ap
proved several personnel deci
sions affecting the new school
during last week's session
After an executive session,
Superintendant Edwards
recommended, and the board
approved, granting tenure to
Marshall Primary School
principal Nancy Allen. Earlier
in open session, the board ap
proved naming Brenda,
Shepherd, Virginia Davis and
Betty McKinney as substitute
teachers at the school.
s. . t
School principal Sidney Har
rison, the board approved
Tom Pythian as a substitute
bus driver for the school.
Doyle Amnions and Louie
Zimmerman were appointed
as the two teachers to be fund
ed by state funds as
mathematics and science in
structors for the summer
term. Both will pprovide
remedial instruction to
students during summer
break.
The board also re-elected
Bobby Ponder to another term
as chairman of the school
board and reappointed Larry
Leake to serve as the board's
attorney.
At the request of Madison
H.S. principal David Wyatt,
the board selected May 25 as
graduation day for the Class of
1984 Wyatt reported that the
school has five students eligi
ble for the North Carolina
Scholars Program honors.
The board also heard a
report concerning property
owned by the board at Ebbs
Chapel. A community group
seeking to organize a
County
Receives
Grant
Madison County has receiv
ed preliminary approval for a
$236,000 Community Develop
ment Block Grant.
Annonuncement of the
award was made last week in
a letter to county commission
chairman Ervin Adams from
James A. Summers, secretary
of the N.C. Department of
Natural Resources and Com
munity Development
(NRCD).
The county had sought the
grant in an application sub
mitted in January. Funds
from the grant will be used to
install sewer lines from the
Madison Manor Nursing
Center into lines operated by
the town of Mars Hill.
Sam Parker, director of the
Madison County Housing
Authority, explained that the
funds were requested in order
lo correct a sewage problem
at the nursing home. The
home's present septic system
is unable to handle the load
placed on it and must be
pumped out twice a week.
Parker said that the sewage
problem threatened some 95
jobs at the facility.
He went on to say that
Brookwood Investments
Corp., the original operators
of the Madison Manor Nursing
Center, have completed plans
tor a new 60-bed rest home
facility adjacent to the nurs
ing home, to be called Moun
tainview Villas.
When completed, the new
rest home is expected te
employ about 27 workers. The
rest home will be constructed
using revenue bonds approved
by the county commissioners
in an agreement similar to
that which funded construc
tion of the nursing home.
The approval of the block
grant funds is conditional.
Parker said that an enviorn
mental impact statement will
have to be issued before fun
ding can be obtained. In addi
tion, plans for the sewer con
struction must meet with Divi
sion of Health Services ap
proval before contracts for
construction can be awarded.
Parker said the proposed
line would extend from the
Madison Manor Nursing
Home to a pumping station on
Jim Jarvis Rd Sewage from
the nursing home would then
be pumped by force main into
the system operated by the
town of Mars Hill
Construction of the Mars
Hill line to collect the nursing
home sewage has not yet
begun.
Parker estimated that it
may be several months before
ronstruciron of the nursing
home line can begin.
Clean-Up
Campaign
Begins
The annual Western North
Carolina Beautiful Contest, a
part of the WNC Community
Development Program got
underway officially this week
which is being observed as
"Community Development
Week" in this area. A majori
ty of the approximately 100
organized communities in the
improvement program are
engaging in clean-up and anti
litter projects.
This week was also
designated as "Cleanup Litter
Week" throughout North
Carolina.
Theme of the special com
munity week in Western North
Carolina is "People Helping
People." Purpose is to en
courage the organized com
munity clubs to undertake
beautification and other com
munity projects and to
recognize those with outstan
ding activities. The event is
being promoted by the
Western North Carolina
development Association and
the N. C. Agricultural Exten
sion Service, the two groups
which sponsor the WNC Com
munity Development Pro
gram.
The clean-up and beautifica
tion efforts were very suc
cessful in Western North
Caorlina last year. Hundreds
of miles of highways and other
areas were cleaned up.
Western North Carolina has
been sited as the outstanding
example of cooperation bet
ween the many community
clubs and other groups that
N. C. Department ol
last year in the WNC Beautiful
Contest went on to win three
fourths of all the awards
presented statewide at an
awards luncheon of Keep
North Carolina Beautiful, Inc
in March. Included was five of
seven first place awards.
Area awards to winners of
the beautification contest will
amount to $2,000.00 in 1984, ac
cording to Morris L.
McGough, executive vice
president of the Western
North Caorlina Development
Association.
Participation in the project
is open both to organized rural
community clubs in the IS
western counties and to other
organizations and groups. In
cluded in this category are Ex
en tsion Homemakers clubs,
civic groups, garden clubs.
Boy Scout and Girl Scout
troops, 4-H clubs, churches
and other groups.
Judging and awards are in
two separate divisions, one for
itie community clubs and one
for other groups.
Purpose of the WNC
BEAUTIFUL program is to
promote clean-up and
beautification projects, en
courage planting of flowers,
shrubs and trees, protection of
the natural beauty and
generally to promote an
awareness among the people
of Western North Carolina of
the need for improving the ap