IE NEWS RECORD
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901
? Thursday, March 13, 198* 25c
_ -
MADISON -
O^OtJWTV LIBRARY
GENERAL. DELiye^V
MARSHALL NC
mmmf
? Story On Page 2
Community
Calendar
Laurel VFD Ham Shoot Planned
The Laurel VFD will sponsor a ham shoot on March 1C
beginning at 1 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend. Proceeds
will benefit the fire company.
Baseball, Softball Signup Set
Final registration for baseball and softball youth league wil
be held on March 15 from 10 a.m. until noon in the cafeteria o
Marshall Elementary School. Registration is open to all boyj
and girls ages six through 15. New players must furnish a copj
of their birth certificate
Nuclear Dump Meeting Planned
In Spring Creek On March 21
There will be a citizen's awareness meeting concerning the
proposed nuclear waste storage facility on March 21 at the
Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Dept. station house. The meeting
is sponsored by the Madison County Nuclear Waste Education
Committee. Jerry Plemmons will be the featured speaker. All
area residents are invited to attend.
Alzheimer's Support Group To Meet
The Madison County Alzheimer's Disease Support Group
will meet on March 18 at 7 p.m. in the Marshall Senior
Citizen's Center on Long Branch Ed. The group is open to all
family members, friends, professionals and caregivers of
Alzheimer's victims. The purpose of the group is to provide an
opportunity for shared experiences and emotional support as
well as information exhcanges and assistance in caring for
persons afflicted with a dementing illness.
For more information on the group, call Viviene Direcks at
689-3246 or Marian Plaut at 649-2367.
Mars Hill VFD Dinner
The Mars Hill Volunteer Fire Dept. will hold a ham and
roast beef dinner on March 16 from noon until 1 :30 p.m. in the
cafeteria. of Mars Hijl Elementary School. Cost is $3.50 per
person. Proceeds will benefit the fire department's programs
200 Attend
GOP Dinner
Bv ANDKKW HI. I. Kit
Madison County Republicans held
their anual Lincoln Day dinner in
? Mars Hill on Saturday night. An
estimated 200 local Republicans at
tended the fundraiser held in the
cafeteria of Mars Hill College
The diners heard brief speeches
from local candidates and enjoyed a
buffet of fried chicken and steak.
Former U.S. Ambassador to
Romania David Funderburk. a can
didate for the U.S. Senate, addressed
the Mars Hill gathering Funderburk
described the tyranny of life in com
munist countries, called for a return
of school prayer and reiterated his
opposition to abortion.
Funderburk also criticised the
news media, saying. "-The news
media does not help a conservative
candidate get elected " The former
ambassador will face Rep James
Broyhill in the May 6 primary.
Broyhill did not attend the Mars Hill
dinner.
Harold Corbin, 11th District party
chairman, delivered the only critical
remarks heard during the fundraiser.
Corbin told the gathering. "We must
stop the Ponder stronghold." Corbin
also told his fellow Republicans.
"Zeno Ponder is too honest for his
own good."
State Supreme Court Justice Rhoda
Billings delivered the keynote ad
dress. Judge Billings was appointed
by Gov. James Martin to the court in
September of last year. She became
just the second woman to sit on the
state's highest court in its 167-year
history. She is unopposed in the May 6
Republican primary. In November,
she is expected to face Democrat
John Webb of Wilson. Should she win.
she will become the first Republican
elected to the court in the 20th Cen
tury.
In her address. Billings stressed
the heritage of the Republican Party,
its goals, values and long-standing
traditions.
Steen Calls For Forum
Mars Hill dentist Reese A. Steeii. a
Democratic challenger in the May 6
primary, has called for a public
debate on the issues Steen called for
the public forum in a letter sent to the
other Democratic candidates in the
race for the Madison County Board of
Commissioners.
Steen released the letter to The
News Record on Tuesday Copies of
the letter were mailed to county com
missioners Ervin Adams. James Led
ford and Virginia Anderson and
challengers Bobby Capps and John
.|1a|mW|> " -i. - '
Warning that local Republicans
"are working hard and have a real
good field of candidates for the fall
election", Steen told the other can
didates "It is imperative that we give
the Democrats of Madison County the
information they need to choose the
best people for our face-off with the
Republicans in November "
Steen asked interested candidates
to contact either himself or county
chairman Swan Huff or the local
news media if they were interested in
his suggestion
Court House Repair
Contracts Awarded
Roof Replacement To Cost $204,697
WORK ON THE MADISON COUNTY COURT HOUSE began
on Monday. The project to remove and replacing the
building's roof is expected to take two months. Workers will
begin preparing to remove the 16.5-ton cupola next week.
By ROBERT KOENIG
Contracts for the county courthouse repair project were
awarded last week. The Madison County commissioners an
nounced the contract winners following the opening of bids on
March 6.
Contracts for the roof removal and replacement and elec
trical work were awarded. In both cases, the contracts were
awarded to the lowest bidder.
Mars Hill architect Wayne Roberts read the bids during
Thursday's meeting. Before the opening, Roberts expressed
concern that the two bids received on the project might come
in too high. Afterwards, he expressed surprise that the bids
were as low as they were.
The low bid for removing and replacing the courthouse roof
was submitted by H and M Constructors of Asheville. Cost for
removing and replacing the existing roof are $189,300.
The J. Cole Construction Co. submitted a bid of $213,400 for
the project.
The commissioners received three bids for the electrical
contract work on the project. The winning low bid of $15, 397
was submitted by Hyatt Electric Co.
Hayes and Lunsford Electric Co. presented a bid of $15,502
and the M.B. Haynes Electric Corp. Submitted a bid of $15,750.
The commissioners met briefly in executive sessioii before
announcing the winners of the bidding.
Contracts for the project were signed on Monday. County
workers have begun removing debris and records stored on
the upper floor of the courthouse in preparation for the pro
ject.
Roberts told The News Record in a telephone interview that
work to remove the 16-ton cupola will begin next week with the
removal of the statue of "Blind Justice." He estimated that
removal of the cupola may take up to three weeks.
Plans call for the cupola to be removed in one piece and
placed on the courthouse lawn. It will then be studied to deter
mine if repairs can be made. The contracts signed on Monday
do not provide for returning the cupola to its original position
once the roof is replaced.
Marshall To Seek ^
Block Grant Funds
Marshall will once again apply for
a Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) to fund a housing
rehabilitation project on Cotton Mill
Hill. The town's request for funding of
the project was rejected last year.
The town's aldermen agreed to
seek the grant during their monthly
meeting Monday night in Town Hall
after hearing from Madison County
Housing Authority director Sam'
Parker.
Parker reported on progress on a
similar project underway on Island
Rd and " explained the CDBG pro
gram to the aldermen.
Cost of the Cotton Mill project is not
known. Rules governing the CDBG
program allow Marshall to apply for
up to $250,000 for housing rehabilita
tion projects. Parker will prepare
cost estimates on the project to be
presented at the April meeting.
The aldermen also awarded a con
tract for the installation of water and
sewer lines on Island Rd. The con
tract was awarded to Hobson Con
struction Co. of Asheville for a low bid
of $36,425. The installation project is
part of a CDBG program and will be
paid for with the block grant funds
Board member Faye Reid did not
attend Monday's meeting. She was
reported to be hospitalized, with
pneumonia, but was expected to be
released from the hospital later this
week.
Cecilia Ward also did not attend
Monday's meeting. The monthly
financial report was delivered by
town secretary Linda Dodson.
Mrs Dodson told the aldermen that
the town's budget was within line,
although both the fire and police
departments were over budget. The
overage was caased by the purchases
of new patrol cars and a furnace for
the fire station.
The board discussed dropping the
police department's Main Street
telephones as a cost-savinR measure.
The phones, costing about $200 per
month, are seldom used. Mayor Anita
Ward also questioned the police fuel
bill and suggested that, patrolmen
shut off their engines when not
patrolling
Mrs. Dodson also reported that the
town has begun saving money on both
overtime and utility charges A new
work schedule for town workers has
cut down overtime from an average
of eight hours per week to one.
Booth Marler was praised for his
work with the town crew on the aging
water system Mrs. Dodson reported
that the town pumped 7,449,000 gals,
of water "in Feb. while billing for
3.513.200 gals.
Mrs. Dodson said that the 7.449.000
gals, pumped in Feb. was 3,513,000
gals, less than the town has averaged
over the past five months. The board
members all praised Marler for help
ing the town crew identify leaking
lines. Mayor Ward said, "If we ever
have enough gold, we should make a
crown for Booth."
Delinquent water customers still
have outstanding bills totalling some
$15,000, but Mrs. Dodson reported
that collections have improved since
the board agreed to cut service to
delinquent customers.
Many of the delinquents have come
to Town Hall to work out repayment
schedules Mayor Ward reiterated
her prmise to cut service to delin
quents who do not meet their
payments. Some $2-3,000 in water
bills are owed by former customers
who have since left town, Mrs. Dod
son said.
The board agreed to sell the town's
old patrol car to Charles Allen for
$400. Allen was the only one to submot
a bid on the old car.
Eileen Payne of Cotton Mill told the
aldermen that the resident housing a
hog in their front yard has not remov
ed the ? animal as requested. The
board agreed to take the problem to
District Attorney Tom Rusher for fur
ther action. Earlier, the aldermen
sent a letter to the hog's owner
demading its removal.
The aldermen also approved a con
tract with the Marshall Youth
Boosters for use of the Blan
nerhassett Is. baseball field. Youth
teams will have use of the field on
Mondays through Saturdays from
April through early July expect for
April 29 and July 4. when the Mar
shall VFD will sponsor a circus and
rodeo.
The field will be available for adult
Softball following the close of the
Youth League season. Mayor Ward
had hoped to accomodate both the
youth and adult leagues, but Donna
Ward and others representing the
youth league said such a plan was un
workable.
Although approving the contract
for use of the field, the aldermen re
jected an appeal for funds from the
Youth League for repairs to the field
and bleachers. Board member John
Dodson told Ward that the town had
not budgetted funds for recreation in
the present budget.
WCU Professors Debate Economic
Effects Of Nuclear Waste Dump
By BILLSTUDENC
The Wavnesville Mountaineer
The location of a nuclear waste
repository in Western North Car
olina should have no appreciable
impact on the area's multi-million
dollar tourism industry, according
to a Western Carolina University
economics iirolessor.'
Dr. Frank O'Connor, one of three
WCU professors who spoke at an
informational forum Thursday at
First Baptist Church in Canton
shocked a crowd of about 200 people
when he said th. affect of a WNC
reiwsitory on tourism would be neg
'As far as tourism, I see rather
O'Connor said, send
. of i * "
mountains of WNC if a repository is
located here.
And those opponents let their feel
ings be known to O'Connor and the
panel of professors at Thursday's
meeting.
"I could disagree with everything
Dr O'Connor has said tad we could
still be friends," said Dr. Robert
Earnest a Waynesvilte pedi
atrician and spokesman for the
Haywood Anti-dump Leadership
Team (HALT)
st cited a pair of studies in
that tourism would be seri
" by location of a
Kisitorv in WNC
at the Canyonland
in Nevada were re
Asheville, 47 percent of those who
were asked said they would not
come to the area if they knew a
radioactive waste storage facility
was nearby.
Dr. Gordon McKinney, head of
the WCU history department, said
that the wording of the question
made the results somewhat mis
leading.
The surveys specifically asked,
"If you KNEW that a nuclear waste
repository was located nearby
would you still visit tbis area ? "
"Most transient tourists do ?X
MJMMfll
O'Connor also surprised the
crowd with his statement that he
doubted the second-home market,
another staple of the WNC econ
omy. would suffer if a nuclear waste
facility was located in the area.
Repository opponents have also
used that argument in their fight
againM location of a nuclear waste
facility in WNC
"The area around Highlands and
Cashiers is booming, O'Connor
said. "It is within ? mites of the
Oeonee Nuclear Plant
Within t hi