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LVII, Number 12
Serving the Mars Hill College Community Since 1926
Friday, April 6,1984
O’Brien-Gibson Trial Concluded
WACHTER
nionths, which included a
^Ustrating delays and post-
^ '> the trial for assault charges
iiiu pctuK, ' (j Hill College’s Dr. R.
1 gear, and perso® . ^rien (Dean of Student De-
*) and former MHC football
^Ude “Hoot” Gibson was con-
' i ^^arch 31, 1984.
ay be earned fo^j ^gan on Friday, March 30,
continued into a special
Saturday, March 31. The
precipitated this courtroom
look place on December 10
er 13, 1983.
Of
will need to hrW
md pads, hikial
dl other items
d cooking utensil®^
semester hours
5 Hill catalog
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the trip is $200'
mited to 20 p'
)rmation and res'
jbtained from
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Hill, N.C.
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ert
es
;on
^Jhber 10, Gibson was alleged
' id '*•11? ^ assaulted O’Brien, after
2^ ^ Or)' William Walker (Athletic
abusive manner. Gibson
il), ‘®ged to have verbally assault-
1)^ ®ad Coach Pat Sams.
13, Gibson was alleged
aipted to run down O’Brien
1^”^ the Mars Hill Post Office.
Ii ®**^ged that Gibson physical-
r,., Q’Brien while in the Post
.^‘bson
^8un
5nd
claimed that O’Brien
On him while in the Post
took out a warrant for
^ Pointir
lriJ';“‘ong a pistol,
ig °®gan at 9:30 a.m. Friday
Gibson being at least 20
fol] ^’^rien testified first, giv-
l^a'ving recount of the events
and 13: “I was walking
' aasium during the Mars Hill
Cijlj tball game against Lenoir-
with my 8-year-old son
Oqi Gibson, sitting up in the
S *tie and say, ‘There’s the
G’Brien said he ignored
found a seat on the other
side of the court. “At half-time, I saw
Gibson and his wife talking to Dr. Wil
liam Walker in what appeared to be an
abusive manner.” O’Brien approached
Walker with Pat Sams, after Gibson and
his wife had left. Gibson soon returned
and asked O’Brien if he wanted to get in
to the argument. O’Brien said he did
not, and at that point Gibson cursed
him. O’Brien responded with a curse
himself, explaining in court that, “I’m
from East Tennessee, and if someone
calls you that, it requires a response.
O’Brien said that Gibson then threat
ened Walker, Sams and himself with
physical violence.
O’Brien said he saw Gibson three days
later at the Mars Hill Post Office. “I
was walking into the Post Office lot
when I heard a car accelerate and tires
squeal. I looked over my shoulder and
saw a car coming toward me. I jumped
onto the curb to avoid being hit,” stated
O’Brien,
O’Brien said that Gibson was in the
car, which he parked in the Post Office
parking lot. Upon getting out of his car,
Gibson stated, “Do you want to get into
my business now?” an apparent refer
ence to the incident on December 10.
Gibson also asked O’Brien to repeat the
obscene name he called him at the Satur
day ball game, O’Brien testified.
O’Brien said that Gibson began kick
ing his shoes and throwing an elbow into
him. He said he tried to get away but
Gibson blocked him.
“At that point I started looking into
my coat pockets to find anything that
could be used as a weapon. I found a
magic marker, pulled it out, and Gibson
said, ‘You’re going to court, you pulled
a gun on me.
Of two witnesses which were in the
Post Office, one which came directly be
tween the two to break it up stated he
never saw any gun. The other witness,
Gordon Randolph, said he saw O’Brien
with a gun, but he was unable to de
scribe it in court. When asked why he
did not help break up the fight, Ran
dolph replied, “I wanted to see a little
blood first.”
O’Brien said he went to the Mars Hill
Police Department afterward to swear
out a warrant but was unable to do so at
that time because a magistrate was not
available.
Gibson came into the police station
while O’Brien was still there and told
Chief Cutshall to search O’Brien for a
gun. Cutshall replied that he could not
do that without a warrant.
Gibson’s lawyer, Forrest Ball, produced
witnesses in an attempt to prove that
O’Brien had carried guns previous to
this incident.
Vance Stephen Buckner, of Weaver-
ville testified that O’Brien stopped him
while he was driving around Mars Hill
one night in August of 1983. Buckner
claimed that O’Brien pulled a gun on
him and ordered him out of his car.
O’Brien said he stopped this man for
campus security reasons. Buckner had
been identified by two Mars Hill security
guards as a man responsible for peeping
into women’s dorms. Buckner was not
charged because he had a wife and two
small children. O’Brien also later stated
he did not charge Buckner because he
did not want to stir up a scare among
MHC co-eds after last year’s prowler
scare.
Gibson took to the stand on Saturday
morning, and during cross-examination
by O’Brien’s lawyer, Steve Huff, he
called over six witnesses liars, including
some of his own.
“It’s just a big conspiracy against
you, isn’t it?” Huff said.
“You can interpret it any way you
want,” Gibson replied.
Huff introduced into evidence a 1972
photograph which showed Gibson, then
head football coach at Tulsa University,
grabbing an official following a football
game against the University of Arkan
sas. He also asked Gibson about a 1981
incident in which he was involved in an
altercation with the business manager at
Carson-Newman College.
“You have to be in athletics to know
the tremendous pressure [involved in
coaching], especially playing a team like
Arkansas,” Gibson said. “It was a
spontaneous reaction in the heat of bat
tle. It happens to the best of coaches,
even .Woody Hayes.”
(Hayes was dismissed as head football
coach at Ohio State University after
striking a Clemson University football
player after his team’s 17-15 loss to
Clemson in the 1978 Gator Bowl Game.)
Huff accused Gibson of filing the
charges against O’Brien to embarrass
him.
The trial concluded mid-way through
the day, with the judge delivering ver
dicts of not guilty on all charges.
Judge Alexander Lyerly, in announc
ing the verdicts, suggested that the two
men either make friends or avoid one
another, stating that the two could find
more constructive things to do with their
time.
Nng Formal: A Night to Remember
we
\l. Whitaker,
stercard
Barone
H usually brings to mind
Hprj| ^^rror, but this year on
Uejj ^2, the broken mirrors and
2*''® way to the pleasure
JC? fine food.
ihj r>
f’ormal. It will be the
Of a
Mars Hill will hold its
i.*''
'lor
year of planning and
^ 'le by the Spring Formal
SGA.
^^J'nial will be held at the
^he jj^^f^urant on the Biltmore
■"tig for the formal is “All
* he restaurant is glass en
closed and opens up into a center court
yard where the dance will be held. The
Biltmore Estate and Deer Park Restau
rant are noted for their glamour and
elegance.
The Formal’s dinner will begin at 1:00
p.m., and promises to be an excellent
meal. Deer Park Restaurant will serve a
prime rib dinner, including fresh green
salad, oven-browned potatoes, broccoli
with cheese sauce, and apple pie. The
price for the dinner and dance is $17.50
per person, while those wishing to attend
only the dance will be charged $5.00 per
person.
The dance will begin at 9:00 p.m. and
will last until 1:00 a.m. “Next Exit” will
be the featured band at the formal. The
band is known for its uncanny ability to
reproduce songs just as they were done
by the original artists.
Formal-wear (tuxedos and formal
length dresses) will be most appropriate,
but not required, as semi-formal will be
acceptable.
A professional photographer will be
on hand for portraits. Two 8 x 10 and
four wallet size photos will cost only
$10.00. Candid shots, which will be on
display and available for purchase at a
later date, will be taken throughout the
evening.
David Nettles, Chairman of the
Spring Formal Committee, and SGA
Vice-President, stated, “Everyone on
the committee should be commended on
a job well done. I would also like to en
courage students, faculty, and staff to
attend the formal, so this event can be a
total college community experience.”