Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / Sept. 17, 1987, edition 1 / Page 1
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MP' Summer Look Back On Season A< See Page 10 Vol 87 No 38 Serving The People Of Our Communities Since 1901 J / ? l*?'- - y.S^pUmbf 17, 1887 I p ? - ? ? BILL STUDENC PHOTO Relaxin' On The River Thousands of reiideati of Madison, Bun combe, Henderson and Transylvania counties paid tribute last week to the French Broad River as part of French Broad River Week. Events included the annual Riverfest cel ebration in Buncombe County, rafting trips, displays, music and cleanup activities. Marlon Bull of Waynesville and Kathy Seavey of Columbia, 8.C., enjoy a quite moment dur ing a break on a recent whitewater rafting trip on the French Broad through Madison County. Three Face Federal Tobacco Fraud, Conspiracy Charges By BILL STUDENC Editor ASHEVILLE - Three men - a Madison County tobacco grower, the owner of a Tennessee burley warehouse and a warehouse employee from Madison County - have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to il legally market tobacco. Roy Yates Ammons, president of the WNC Burley Growers Association and a member of the board of direc tors of the Tobacco Growers Associa tion of North Carolina, has been charged in a federal indictment with conspiring to falsely identify and sell 13,823 pounds of tobacco in January 1986. Also charged in the indictment are Glen Samuel Martin Jr. of Pamplin, Va., owner of Big Burley Tobacco Warehouse in Johnson City, Tenn., and Maynard Don Cody of Marshall, who worked at Martin's warehouse. The three men have been charged with conspiring to fraudulently market tobacco using false documents, according to an indict ment handed down by the federal grand jury in U.S. District Court in Asheville last Wednesday. Ammons, a Mars Hill resident with several tobacco fields in Madison County, has been accused of allowing his U.S. Department of Agriculture tobacco marketing cards to be used to sell burley that he did not grow - a violation of federal tobacco price sup port program regulations. The federal indictment alleges that Ammons sold unused tobacco alloca tions on his marketing cards to Mar tin, through Cody, described in the in dictment as having a "working rela tionship with Big Burley Tobacco Warehouse." Ammons is alleged to have receiv ed $6,911.50 in cash from Cody for the sale of tobacco at Martin's warehouse, using Ammons' marketing cards, according to the in dictment. The charges come after an exten sive investigation by the U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture, Robert W. Beuiey. USDA inspector general, said in a prepared statement. If convicted of the charges, each man faces a maximum prison sentence of five years and a fine of up to $10,000, Beuiey said. The indictment also alleges that Ammons, Cody and Martin conspired with "others both known and unknown to the grand jury" to violate the federal tobacco program regula tions. Additional charges against those "others" may be filed at a later date, federal officials said. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville will handle the prosection of the case, Beuiey said. A first-appearance hearing for Am mons, Cody and Martin has been set for 10 a.m. Monday in magistrate's court in Asheville Ex-Candidate Played Part In Firing Of Police Chief By BILL 8TUDENC Two letters written by a fofmer candidate tor the Wea verviile Town Council apparently played a role in the recent firing of Weaverviile Police Chief barrell Hath burn Weaverviile officials received last month two letters detailing an alleged conversation between Rathbum and Brenda Murphy, who withdrew as a candidate for Weaverviile councilman, and her husband M.T. Mur phy, a state trooper with the N.C. Highway Patrol. Mrs. Murphy could not be reached for comment on what impact the letters may have had, if any, on her decision to withdraw from the Weaverviile coun cilman's race. She dropped out of the campaign Aug. 24 - two days after the date on the second of the two letters. She had previously refused to comment on her reasons for withdrawing from the election. BuLWeawerville Mayor Reese Lasher said there is apparently a conneciion between the letters and Mrs. Murphy's decision to drop out of the campaign. - "It is my understanding that there is a direct rela tionship between the letters and the reason she withdrew from the race," Lasher said this week. "It certainly didn't have anything to do with her not being qualified candidate. She withdrew for reasons ex traneous to the town's election proceedings." Lasher said he could not comment on how the letters may have led to Mrs. Murphy's decision to withdraw a&a candidate. In the letters, the Murphys told the board of several ' alleged statements made by Rathburn during the course of the conversation. The News Record has obtained copies of the letter*, one of which has been signed by a notary public. V carding to the leU?r?, Rath burn allegedly told the Mia phys that an ax-member of the Weaverville Pobee Department is bisexual, that a member of the Weaverville Town Council had a vendetta against him tpecauseof a ticket given to that councilman's brother in-law, and that Weaverville's town manager threatened to suspend a police officer if he campaign ed for Mrs. Murphy Mr. and Mrs. Murphy could not be reached for com- , ment, despite repeated attempts last week and this week. They did not return several messages left on the answering machine at their home. Weaverville officials are downplaying the part the letters played in the decision to fire Rathburn, but ad mit they did have a role in his termination. "The letters were involved only in an indirect sense," said Town Manager Charles Home "They certainly had no direct bearing on the matter." The letters from the Murphys were dated Aug. 30 and Aug. 22. Home fired Rath bum Aug. 28 after con ducting an internal probe into the town's police department. Although Home said that the two letters had no direct role in his decision to fire Rathbura. they did alert him to other problems in the department. "There were other things that I learned subsequent to the letters," he said. Home said he could not discuss those other reasons leading to the firing of Rath bum because it is a per sonnel matter. ?Ceotimied on Page 11 Migrant Worker, 23, Charged With Raping Deaf, Mute Woman By BILL 8TUDENC Editor A Spanish-speaking migrant worker has been charged with kid napping a woman, who is unable to speak or hear, and raping her in a field in the Big Laurel area last week. The Madison County Sheriffs Department has charged Lucio Rosales Figueroa, 23, with first degree rape and first-degree kidnap ping. Authorities had originally charged Figueroa, who had been working in tobacco fields in the Mars Hill and Baraardsville areas, with a misde meanor assault charge. But the District Attorney's Office dismissed that charge after authorities inter viewed the alleged victim and filed the felony charges v Authorities allege that Figueroa, who IhMM in the Big Laurel area, kid napped a 23-year-old deaf, mute woman as she was walking on a rural road last Sunday. The woman and her family had just moved to Madison County from Florida. "She was unloading the U-Haul that day," said Madison County Chief Deputy Dal Peek. The woman was allegedly abducted at gunpoint while walking on the road in front of her house, forced into a car. The woman told authorities that her captor drove her to Mars Hill and back to Big Laurel before raping her in the car, parked in a field about a mile from her home, Peek said. Authorities have been unable to find the gun used in the alleged assault. "We've searched the fields In that area pretty thoroughly, and we've not Mars Hill Board Hires 2 New Police Officers ' i Mi : By MARGARET A ? TJ The Mars Hill Board of ? voted unanimously Monday two new officers for the town's police force These nev additions are William Shephard MetcaH Krause worked tor nearly 13 yean for ft. Buncomb. Department ran 70 in training utd iaalaocer tified in-law entorcemeni Metcalf Creek in ] Mars Hill Police Chief E.J. the applications which were studied by I' ; board* '-meeting Mars Hill A10ermi ed concern about th* hmh turnover ii the town's police force, which ha? lost .awaits GOP 4mMm GOP Executive Committee To Rule On Hensley Resignation By BILL STUDENC Editor It will be up to the executive com mittee of the Madison County Republican Party to decide whether Jimmy Dean Hensley will be allowed to remain a member of the Madison County Board of Education. The committee has called a meeting for 7:30 p.m. today (Thurs day) to determine whether Hensley, who announced his resignation from the school board last Tuesday but changed his mind the next day, can keep his position on the board. Hensley resigned at last week's school board meeting, saying that his duties as a board member were tak ing too much of his time away from his family and his church. But Hensley the next day said he had changed his mind and would like to remain on the school board. Hensley said he believed he would be able to adjust his priorities so that he would not be spending all of his spare time dealing with school board issues, yet still be an effective board member. The school board, at its Sept. 8 meeting, took no action on Hensley's resignation. Because no formal ac tion was taken, board Chairman James Baker said he hoped that Hensley would be able to simply withdraw the resignation. It has turned out to not be that sim ple. Hensley, in a written letter of resignation to the board, said he -Ceottmied oa Page U i'obacco Barley tebico pre ucer* across :rop ready ftt r of C hriels Creek ec#1 Carolina ItU*! hum com a flek ret .'nuble State : Marshall Dam A Safety Hazard By BILL 8TUDENC Editor State officials have given the town of Marshall until Dec. 7 to make repairs at its water impoundment J dam ob Hunter Creek, a facility iden tified w a "high hasard." According to a letter to town of ficials from the NX Department of Natural Resources and Community Des einpinent, the dam "constitutes a threat to downstream bveejed i erf about 1,850 a number to state of at the abut nn J ill, fcl ? , i alAnA # . i &L A ment ana downstream slope of tne dam. ? Erosion in the spillway. ? Slumping (sinking) of Although the lake behind the dam has t since 1WS, and aiUx* ficials in 1977 approved the still in IMfet
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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