ley travel to ^
)in and if you
^eek for the
Millton
.ortant catcheVlA^ JJJLL N.C. 28754
Vol. LIII, No. 6, December 13,1979
'6 November 29,1979 two firsts were
la s oppe ^Corded in Mars Hill. One was the first
'^owfall of 1979-80. The other was the
^fival of the Thavichith family from
nt will be staraos at the Asheville airport and their
were held e^Ubsequent journey to their new home
h of the same ' Mars Hill.
• , , , are nine members of the
ee ere a avichith family: Mr. and Mrs. Pheng-
r^ a vimys , onima Thavichith, their five children,
® Camp4io range from 5 to 15 years in age,
, Mr. Thavichith’s brother and
le They have been living in a
isive ayer ■"gee camp in Thailand since 1975,
wee w en are they owned and operated a weav-
pbell IS a 5-9ag s^op, Mrs. Thavichith in an ac-
j asse 0 jJ^plished weaver and cook, and Mr.
svichith is skilled in auto mechanics
Berry, Georg'l ® policeman for fifteen years
Saturday, but Thavichith family
^ uuddhist, the official religion of
of the GeorgeOj However, on December 2, the
iny touchdovvi'iT* y visited the Mars Hill Methodist
! so Kenny PhVp are planning to visit many
passes. Keef'j'L churches in future weeks.
! biggest problem to be overcome
1, family is the language barrier
„ r exists between them and the
vn game wa rs jqjjj community; they speak only
sacks every giot,an; a Th^i. English
y e receiv ses have been started by college
^emmunity volunteers, all of whom
Thavichith Family Arrives
at Mars Hill
. fio Laotian. The volunteers say
s Gym. .^^Ihough there are some difficul-
see them play' ^ *"volved, the eagerness in which
Is has pursued the project
starting very Wt t make enjoyable their
heville at 7:O0’s 1° communicate with the Laotians
•«»Me.Hiaaieia>^g||^K lUethods as sign language. The
“u classes have not only helped
Id
'eak
the family adjust to their new home but
also the children to the new school
they began attending Monday, Decem
ber 10.
In making adjustments other than in
language, the family has had to become
accustomed to Mars Hill’s cold climate
during the months from December to
February, for in Laos, the' average
temperature for there months is 60
degrees, and it is considered the dry
season.
On December 1, the Thavichith
family traveled to Hickory, North Caro
lina to reunite with a cousin, and his
family who settled there only nine
months ago. This cousin speaks Eng
lish quite well and has been assisting
in the development of communication
between the family and the community.
Members of the Mars Hill com
munity and a few hard-working mem
bers of Mars Hill College (including
faculty, staff, and a very few students)
have served on the various committees
involved in enabling the Thavichith
family to adjust to all phases of living
in Mars Hill. These committees have
furnished the family’s home and have
provided clothes and food. The com
mittees are trying to secure employ
ment for the Thavichith’s but still need
financial support until the family is
economically stable.
If you are able to help the Thavichith
family by giving money and/or time to
help with the English lessons and cul
tural adjustment process, then please
do. Your contributions will be greatly
appreciated.
Da'vid Perkins
NATO! Package Store inBuncombe County
vft
I and a half months of survey-
w. deliberating, a three-member
has ruled that the package
*n Forks of Ivy on the Madison-
County line is legally in Bun-
■The
')fg 'Commission, consisting of one
i(ji ^'^lative of Buncombe, one of
'neH*!' '•ne of Rutherford County,
"nt ^ ®P^'^ decision to Buncombe
isg^. Superior Court on Nov. 26. The
'Og vote was cast by Robert L.
ive Madison County represen-
!atgj°''^'ng to the original terms that
! ag 'his commission,” said Edwards,
icjj superintendent of schools,
rvg.y' "a had the right to hire another
' ''es were not satisfied with
iqt tn \ ^he original surveyor. I
d North Carolina State University
I'lV p '*y®d a professor by the name
d pga can’t get a more quali-
®''n than that. He surveyed this
property and did not come to the same
conclusion as the original surveyor.
“Therefore,” he went on, “since the
professionals could not get together on
this, then I would say there is doubt in
the matter. And if I understand the
court system correctly, you just don’t
do something like this if there is doubt.”
The commission was appointed last
June by Superior Court Judge William
T. Grist of Charlotte. It includes, in
addition to Edwards, Asheville attorney
Gary S. Cash and Charles D. Owens, a
land developer from Forest City who
was chairman of the commission.
A hearing to consider any objections
to the decision was conducted at 9 a.m.
Nov. 27 at the Buncombe County Court
house, but it was not clear what legal
standing such objections might have.
The hearing was called by Judge Robert
E. Gaines of Gastonia, who had previous
ly granted a third 30-day extension in
the preparation of the report.
The decision of the commission was
made Nov. 19 during a meeting. For
that meeting the Madison County mem
ber prepared a statement which in
cluded the following points:
*Madison County has collected taxes
on the disputed property since 1851.
*Persons presently living on the pro
perty are receiving social welfare bene
fits from Madison County.
‘Children who have lived on the pro
perty have attended schools in Madison
County.
‘More than thirty people have signed
affadavits alleging that the property
has historically been regarded as belong
ing in Madison County.
“It appears,” said Edwards, “that the
commission is going solely by the sur
vey in making this decision, disregard
ing a good deal of other evidence. To
me that’s just like getting two doctors
together and one says you have a tooth
ache and the other says you have ap
pendicitis. You just have to take your
pick.”
The package store in question, known
as Peabody’s Discount Center, is owned
by Robert T. Soffield, Jr. and Edward
J.R. Kirkpatrick. They were issued a
permit by the state Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board to sell beer at the store a
year ago. The controversy has raged
since then.
People in the community have ob
jected to the package store because it is
directly across the street from the Forks
of Ivy Baptist Church, in a community
comprised largely of elderly, non
drinking residents. According to the
Rev. Ralph Hogan of that church, many
residents resent the proximity of the
store to the church and worry about
driving past it during busy sales periods.
Some 600 residents have signed peti
tions asking that the store be closed.
Reprinted courtesy of
The News Record