News Record
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WW? SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901
sTAft*-IN*5 'SEWTPVi Jft- J
Vol. 84 No. 30 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSKj ftT 3< B,y, 3ie
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25c
Rains
Ravage
County
A sudden storm swept
through Madison County Sun
day afternoon, leaving a trail
of devastation in its wake.
Several parts of the county, in
cluding Marshall, Grapevine
and Hot Springs were damag
ed as a result of the storm
which dropped up to four in
ches of rain in some places. An
unofficial estimate placed
damage totals near $1 million.
Bailey Branch in Marshall '
was hardest hit by the storm.
At least three bridges over the
creek were washed out in the
storm. Water and mud
damage was also sustained by
many homes along the branch
and crops of tobacco, beans
and tomatoes were destroyed.
In- Marshall, the storm caus
ed a portion of Hill Street to
give way, dumping several
tons ofdirt on the First Union
Bank parking lot. No injuries
were reported.
OLD WOODEN BRIDGE ACROSS BAILEY BRANCH was washed out by heavy slorm
H MARSHALL ^
Speaker Presents Check To Marshall
Marshall will soon receive a
new garbage truck at no cost
to the town, thanks to an ap
propriation approved by the
General Assembly in the clos
ing days of the short session.
Speaker of the House Liston
B. Ramsey presented a check
for $35,000 to town officials
Friday to cover the cost of the
new truck. Ramsey said the
General Assembly approved
the appropriation at his urging
and credited Rep. Charles *
Beall with helping get the bill
approved.
Earlier this month, the Mar
shall Board of Alderman ap
proved purchasing the truck
with town funds. Ramsey ask
ed the General Assembly to
approve the spending
measure after reading of the
purchase in The News Record.
Ramsey also presented a
check for $15,000 to the Mar
shall Volunteer Fire Depart
ment for the purchase of a new
truck. Later in the day,
Ramsey visited Laurel and
presented members of the
Laurel Volunteer Fire Depart
ment a check for $15,000 with
which to purchase new equip
ment.
SPEAKER OF THE N.C. HOUSE USTON
RAMSEY and Marshall town officials Sam
my Lunsford, John Dodson and Betty Wild
stand in front of garbage truck that will soon
be replaced. Ramsey presented the town of
ficials with $35.Mfe check to purchase new
truck.
. Report To The Commissioners
Committee Calls For School Bond V ote
1 ' ' ' T - ' * . . "
American communities Cur
rently. f?ce a new reality. a
reality that will require com
munities to reassess their
resources and to determine
community priorities. The
Federal and State govern
ments are increasingly reduc
ing the resources (money and
programs ) available to local
communities. The hard reality
is that fewer federal and state
dollars wil flow into most com
munrtites.
What is to be done? Com
munities will either ex
perience continued deteriora
tion or intentionally seek
revitalization for the common
good of the citizens.
There are several signs of a
vital community, of a com
munity where the people care
about the social and physical
environment in which tliey
live. Are the roadways and
creeks free of litter? Are the
home6 painted and the yards
clean? Do the people speak ol
their community with pride?
Do the school buildings anc
churches reflect the presenc<
of a citizenry that consider!
their common life important'
Does the community take care
Pi ittPWP VP timg of ffiBiyuilj
presisting need? Is the school i
a live with caring teachers and |
inquiring students? Are the j
citizens, especially the
parents, directly and con
tinually involved in the life of
the school? Are there on
going, active community
organizations that seek to
enhance the well being of the
community?
It is the presence of an ac
tive ? community-wide
organization that seeks to
enhance the quality of life for
all citizens that is of urgent
importance. Some of the com
munities in Madison County
have such groups, usually
referred to as Community
Development Clubs. Madison
County must work toward the
creation of these clubs in
every local community and
the achievement of the follow
i ing goals:
f ' ? ?
To keep our mountains
I clean and beautiful.
I To take care of our
i neighbor* who have need of
' our love and assistance.
To reinvigoratr our local
:tu?rctws and i?cal. ldioel* .
through active interest and
participation in these critical
institution.
Therefore it is recommend
ed that:
The County Commission
proclaim a Community
Development Club Day
wherein all participating com
munities are honored for their
work and the importance of
these chibs is acknowledged.
The County Community
Development Club steering
committee is requested to nur
ture the development of a club
in every community in
Madison County.
EDUCATION
The Madison County Board
of Education and the Madison
County Commission are com
mended in their efforts to pro
vide for the educational needs
of youth. The devotion and
hard work exhibited by
teachers and administrators
in our schools is also ap
preciated The increasingly
complex knowledge and the
-SJullsLrequired by our society
and the critical importance of
an excellent educational
system to economic develop
ment requires that the educa
tional needs of our youth have
the highest priority.
Looking both at present and
future educational needs, two
issues were identified:
1 .. Attention must be given to
the rapidly deteriorating con
dition of most elementary
school buildings. While safe
and comfortable school
facilities do not necessarily in
sure a stimulating tearing ex
perience for students, the cur
rent condition of the elemen
tary school buildings, except
for the new facilities at Mar
shall and Mars HiH, constitute
a serious problem for students
and teachers. Most of the
elementary school buildings
must be renovated and
repaired. In addition, it is
necessary to develop an ap
propriate strategy to insure
the transfer of students from
the island facility.
2. A demanding and relevant
educational experience should
be provided for youth in the
county. Additional resources
are urgently needed to qualify
for accreditation by the
elementary commission of the
Southern Association, and
renewed effort is required to
involve more parents and
citizens in school activities.
The quality of education is
significantly related to the
degree of community par
ticipation in the life of the
school; therefore, special ef
fort s should be made to in
volve parents in school
related projects.
In summary, financial
resources must be raised to
provide for physical plant
renovation, repair, and con
struction and for program
development essential to
Southern Association Ac
creditation.
Recognizing that neither the
county budget nor local com
munities can provide the
necessary financial resources,
the following recommenda
tions were developed:
The Madison County Board
of Education petition the
MUdisvn County Hoard of
Commissioners to hold a
school bond referendum to
support said school needs, and
that
The Madison County Board
uf Commissioners authorize a
school bond referendum at the
earliest appropriate date.
SERVICES TO THE ELDER
LY
Persons aged 65 and over
represent approximately 14
percent of the population of
Madison County. These in
dividuals often have special
needs in terms of income,
housing, health, and com
munity services. With over 7M
elderly persons living alone in
the county, and with approx
imately 5M of these in
dividuals having incomes
below the poverty level,
special efforts must be made
to overcome problem*
associated with isolation. The
following recommendations
are proposed to address many
of the needs of the elderly
population.
Public Awareness
The Council on Aging should
promote greater awareness of
the needs of the elderly so that
the community will unders
tand the problems and support
efforts to serve these in
dividuals. A number of ser
vices are available in the
county to asist the elderly and
special efforts to make these
services known both to the
elderly and their families and
ihe community at large should
continue.
The Council on Aging should
maintain an up-to-date direc
tory of sources of assistance to
the elderly. Such information
should be made available to
churches and community
organiiations as part of the
public awareness* program,
since members of these
groups often have primary
contact with elderly persons in
need.
Community Services
A variety of community ser
vices are provided to the
elderly by agencies and
organizations in Madison
Comity. Participate m 41m
pr?gran< offered tfcrough the
senior center and the con
gregate meal sites should be
encouraged, and these pro
grams should be expanded to
more sites as funds are
available. These facilities pro
vide a much needed opportuni
ty for socialisation and the
programs address many of the
special needs of the elderly.
More emphasis should be
placed on providing one-to-one
counseling and educational
services through these pro
grams.
Special emphasis should be
placed on strengthening the
ability of family members and
relatives to provide ap
propriate care for elderly per
sons who can remain at home.
The extended family is an im
portant aspect of the culture of
Madison County which should
be preserved.
Safe and adequate housing
continues to be a major pro
blem for the elderly. The bous
ing authorities in the county
do provide some public hous
Continued On Page 8
Appalachian Memories - A Simpler Time
Old Times In Revere Recalled
Appalachian Memories: A Simpler Time'
was written by LilHe McDevKt Clark, a native
of Madison County, with the assistance of
members of the Reems Creek Horn ema ken
Club and the Appalachian Room of Mars HU
College. Members of the Home makers Club ate
selling the book at a sale price of $3.50 per copy.
The book will be available at The News Record
flashed through my mind was
of ?he big fireplace, filled *ith
wu
gathered around the fireplace
for our evening devotions. We
sang two songs. Dad would
have prayer, then we would go
to bed The girls would always
go upstairs, but I ?'ePt
downatairs with .Mother and
Dad. One night, soon after the
girls had gone ts bed they all
and pad rs upstair*. Two of
Is wcr?- Standing in the
the dart, and two wen
Tt* upstairs
lad not been finished, and the
rafters overhead were expos
ed.
A black snake was chasing
rats, and had fallen off the
rafters across my sister's
neck, and she covered up her
head and also covered up the
snake in bed
Dad had always taught us
not to be afraid of black
snakes, for they were the
farmer's friend. We were not
afraid of them in the day time,
but they did not make good
bed-fellows. In a few days, we
had the overhead area sealed.
kept them long after
[Christmas. It would not be
long before we would hear
cheery voices coming up the
path, then the courters would
rush to the kitchen where they
could make "mollassie" can
dy and have a candy pulling.
The adults would go to what
we called the big front room,
where there was the big
fireplace and chairs. Some of
the families had what they
called a parlor and an organ,
and always a dresser. They
had a Jolly Ume teihng stories
and just enjoying things in
general. If the moon was shin
>ng. all the children played
outside; If not. there as always
< S'de room where we could
square dancing! We- had com
petitive games, ball-games,
horseshoe pitching. Jumping,
spelling and singing.
Our family had a mountain
farm of 900 acres in Revere. .
We grew everything we ate,
except coffee and salt. We
made our sugar from
molasses made from came.
The sugar waa a brown,
coarse powder and very *
sweet. ,
Wash day was usually on
Monday. We had a big iron
kettle, with legs about three
inches high Dad made a
round circle out of rocks for
the kvttte to ait on. tie built |