The News Record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY
-On thm Insldo . . .
Tall tales flourish
at Loafers Glory
... see page 6
77th Year, No. 45
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C.
THURSDAY, November 16, 1978
15* Per Copy
A BATCH OF FRENCH FRIES
could be made from this 3-pound,
8tt-inch long potato Arthur
Collins of Clyde dug recently.
Collins, a former Enka employee
and construction worker, raised a
'
good crop of beans, com, okra and
potatoes this year, but as he says,
"These potatoes ju$t outdid
themselves."
Comment Period Changed
For 1979 ACP Program
Proposed procedures and
practices for the 1979 ACP will
be published in the Federal
Register about Nov. 14 after
which the public will have 30
days in which to submit
written comments on the
proposals, according to Ray
Fitzgerald, administrator of
the Agricultural Stabilization
and Conservation Service.
Hiis is two weeks later than
the earlier announced ten
tative date of Nov. l for
publishing the proposals in the
County Hosts
Committee
For Aging
The members of the Greater
Ivy Lunch Club shared their
beautiful new surroundings
with Lknd-of-Sky Regional
Council's Advisory Committee
fer Aging last Thursday
morning.
: Dr. Grover Angel and Mrs.
I4idle Burnette are the
residents of Madison County
on the committee. Dr. Angel
(^presents the region's
elected officials and Mrs.
the Madison County
on Aging, at its
of the
Federal Register - Because of
the later publishing date, the
comment period is changed
from 60 to 30 days in order for
the new program to be ready
for operation by Jan. 1, Fit
zgerald said.
The agriculture, rural
development, and related
agencies appropriations act,
for fiscal year 1979 provides
that A CP assistance will not
be used for carrying out
measures and practices that
are primarily production
oriented or that have little or
no conservation or pollution
abatement benefits.
Fitzgerald said im
plementation of these
provisions of the act will be
achieved through the
establishment of: criteria for
determining the practices
eligible for ACP assistance;
guidelines for directing
assistance toward situations
in which practices can be
expected to yield significant
public soil or water con
servation, or pollution
abatement benefits; and
procedures to facilitate ap
proval of solutions to local soil
conservation, water con
servation, or pollution
abatement problems not
addressed by practices
thought to meet the national
criteria.
Written comments may be
delivered by mail or in person
to Alan Durick, acting
director, Conservation and
Environmental Protection
Division, Room 3096 South
Building, USDA-ASCS,
Washington, D.C. 20013.
Fitzgerald said final details '
on the 1979 A CP will be an
nounced about Dec. 26 and
these guidelines, procedures,
and practices will become
effective Jan. 1.
Little Pine Creek
v ? A ,
Bridge Contracted
1,789.72.
year (beginning of|
fiscal year 1079),
.... Jit administration has
awarded *88,408,667
or special interest to
Madison County was th*
awarding of a contract to
replace the bridge and ap
ovet Utll Pin.
| Go. o!
drainage >nd paving wait.
The culv.ft will be installedln
the same place as the Misting
bridge. The culvert wiH be
constructed in stages to allow
traffic through the con
struction site.
fork >s ed to begin
in December of this yeer and
is o to be
August W7>. ,|'l
Id Highway Division 13,
Madisoi ty is
repre nted ? he Beard
Open House This Sunday
Water Improvement
i
Facilities Completed
The Town of Marshall has
recently completed a $920,000
water system improvement
project with justification of
the project already evident.
For many years, the town has
experienced water system
difficulties due to an
inadequate source and a
delapidated distribution
system. As a result of the
undying efforts of the town
officials to perservere through
a complex project, it appears
as though the town will have a
safe and reliable water
system for many years to
come.
The improvement project
included a transfer of the
water source from the Hunter
Creek Watershed to a deep
well groundwater supply. The
Hunter Creek Dam was
condemned as being unsafe by
the North Carolina Depart
ment of Natural Resources
and Community Development
? Land Quality Section in
December, 1975. After much
study and field investigation,
it was determined that the
cost of satisfactorily repairing
tfcf dam was prohibitive to the
t(iwn therefore wfcter couM no
longer impounded behind it.
As a result ?f a feasibility
study completed by Butler
Associates, P.A. a consulting
engineering firm from
Asheville, it was decided to
develop groundwater as the
source of water supply to the
town.
The town now has four deep
wells in operation with a
combined capacity of 850
gallons per minute. The
present water useage
averages 200 gallons per
minute therefore adequate
ater is available for future
growth of the system. The
remainder of the project in
cluded approximately 21,000
lineal feet of pipe with ap
purtenances, two major
bridge crossings, a
subaqueous pipe crossing
under the French Broad
River, a major booster
pumping station with disin
fection equipment and a
floating cover installed on the
existing one million gallon
reservoir.
The project was funded with
a combination of grants from
the U.S. Department of
Commerce ? Economic
Development Administration
($493,700); U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban
Development ($187,100); N.C.
Department of Human
Resources ? Division of
Health Services ($118,821);
Madison County ($60,000) ;
and loan from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture ?
Farmers Home
Administration (174,000).
Many components of the
project have been in service
since February, 1978 with all
work being completed last
month.
Although the completion of
this project solves the major
water system problems
confronting the town, officials
are making efforts to rectify
individual water problems
sporadically occurring on the
extremities of the exisiting
system. The town officials
.consider the people of Mar
shall somewhat fortunate to
have this project completed,
particularly in light of the
water problems being ex
perienced by other Western
North Carolina towns. The
town's new water system has
not felt any effects whatsoever
of the continuing drought with
water useage curtailment
measures being unnecessary.
Without this project, the town
would have been out of water
two months ago.
The town officials would like
to thank all of the people in
volved in the project, par
ticularly the funding agencies,
Butler Associates, P A. who
designed and were responsible
for the construction of the
project and to McCall
Brothers Inc. ; Mountain
Shore Construction Cor
poration; and Taylor and
Murphy Construction Com
pnay Inc. who were the con
tractors on the project.
In order for the people of
Marshall to be able to see the
water facilities and better
understand their operation,
the town officials would like to
invite the public to an open
house on Nov. 19, from 2:30
p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The open
house will be held at the Lower
End of Fortner Hollow along
the banks of the French Broad
River at the site of the water
facilities.
Why Do Leaves Fall?
Trees Are Being Punished, Cherokee Legend Has It ,
Why do leaves fall?
Not, as many might think,
so wives can stick a rake in
their husbands' hands and
yank them from Saturday or
Sunday afternoon football
games on television.
And not, like scientists say,
Jaecaus*J?*e? sta? producing
plant v hormone and
chlorophyll, the leaves' food
making green pigment,
causing eventual suffocation.
Riding Mishap
Is Fatal
To Youth
Christopher Allan Buckner,
13, of Route 7, Marshall, (Big
Pine community), died in a
horse riding accident Monday
near his home.
The Madison County
Sheriff's Department reported
that the boy apparently fell
from his horse and was
dragged by the animal until
noticed by a neighbor in the
Big Pine section who sum
moned the rescue squad. He
was the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Wade Buckner. He was a
student at Walnut Elementary
School.
Funeral services will be
held Thursday at the North
Fork Baptist Church on Big
Pine at2 p.m.
The Rev. Frank Plemmons
and the Rev. Gray Fisher will
officiate. Cousins will serve as
pallbearers. Burial will be in
the church cemetery.
Surviving in addition to the
parents is a brother, Richard,
stationed with the Air Force in
Michigan.
The real reason is that trees
that lose their leaves suffer a
recurring punishment for
failing to endure a task.
So says a Cherokee legend,
which in these parts can be
considered fact. It goes like
this:
Back at the beginning of
time when the world was
being created (no one's sure
by whom) the animals and
plants were told to stay awake
and stand watch for seven
nights.
All did through the first
night, but by the second some
had fallen asleep. More
abandoned the vigil the third
night and more the fourth.
By the end of the seventh
night, only the panther, the
owl and one or two others of
the animals were still awake.
Those animals were given the
power to see and go about in
the dark and prey on those
that had to sleep at night.
Of the trees, only the cedar,
pine, spruce, holly and laurel
were awake. To them was
given the power to be always
green and greatest for
medicine. To the others it was
said, "because you have not
endured you will lose your
hair every winter."
That explained, some may
ask why leaves turn beautiful
colors before they fall. There
the Cherokees apparently let
us down.
No less a source than
Cherokee folklorist Mary
Chiltoskey knows of no legend
explaining that phenomenon.
Neither does Duane King,
director of the Cherokee
Museum. \
But maybe some poetic
license can help. Probably
instead of maintaining their
vigil those trees were out
painting the town red. Since
then they've kept up the
tradition; they've just ex
panded their assortment of
colors.
Nursing Center
; V * - - ' '4 ?*" .'xftyflgg* f|&l
Approval Sought
Kenneth P. Gummels,
Paragon Investments Inc.,
filed notice on Nov. 7 of intent
to incur a capital expenditure
for the purpose of acquiring
approval of the $471,500 cost
overrun for the proposed 100
bed Madison Manor Nursing
Center in Mars Hill.
The project proposal has
been submitted to the N.C.
Department of Human
Resources, State Health
Planning and Development
Agency, for review by plan
ning agencies under
provisions of the Social
Security Amendments of 1972.
The planning agencies, in
examining the proposal, will
seek to determine whether the
project is needed, if it can be
adequately staffed and
operated, whether it is
economically feasible within
prevailing rate structures,
and if it proposes specific cost
containment features.
Copies of the proposal have
been referred to the Facility
Services Division of the N.C.
Department of Human
Resources and to the Western
N.C. Health Systems Agency
Inc. in Morganton for review
as required by federal law.
In its role as coorinator of
project review's under Section
1122 of the Social Security Act,
the N.C. Department of
Human Resources, through its
state Health Planning Agency,
will receive the advice of the
state and regional agencies
about the conformity of the
project to their standards and
criteria
The department will then
decide on the recom
mendation to be made to the
U.S Department of Health,
Education and Welfare
concerning the project
Examination
Ordered
For Buckner
Judge Ray Braswell
deferred judgment after a
show-cause hearing here last
Friday for John Kenneth
Buckner, 40, of Route 1,
Marshall, who is charged with
murder in the fatal shootings
of a brother and sister.
Braswell ordered that the
defendant be sent to Dorothea
Dix Hospital in Raleigh for
examination as to his com
petency to stand trial.
The suspect is a disabled
veteran of World War II and
has a history of treatment in
state mental institutions.
JAMES HIGHTOWBR, an 11
y ear-old Canton resident, found
this bird stranded in the parking
lot of Wells Funeral Home. It's a
grebe, a swimming and diving
bird related to loons, and was
apparently on its way from north
to south when it landed in heavy
fog, perhaps mistaking the paved
surface for a lake. Grebes are
only able to take off from water,
so James took this one to Lake M
Junaluska after stopping for a