Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / Dec. 27, 1979, edition 1 / Page 1
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The & 78th Year No. 51 News Record SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY On the Inside . ? . New Windmill Design Makes Boone Obsolete Turn To Page 5 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT A^frSHALL, N.C. THURSDAY, December 27, 1979 15* Per Copy A CHRISTMAS MURAL was pieced together by Mrs. Young's business English class at Madison High School to celebrate the holiday season. The creators who spent three class periods (and extra time at home) cutting out snowflakes and coloring the scene at right, are front row, left to right: Mrs. Young, Beverly Green, Karen Franklin, Trina Nor ton, Rosemary Stanton, Brenda Stephens and Becky McDevitt. Second row: Lori Reese, Kathy Hensley, Connie Rice, Sandy Rice, Dianna Cutshall, Penny Gosnell, Janet Reed, Delores Wyatt, Aleshia Coates and Robin Self. Not present: April Ebbs and Don na Shetley. V - ?... ... f,. ^Electricity Rates Will Rise Jan. 1 After holding off for two years, the French Broad Elec tric Membership Corporation is raising its electricity rates by an average of S.3 percent The move was authorized by the board of directors on Dec. 18, 1979. The increases vary from zero to 6 percent according to the type of service. Residen tial rates will rise 5 percent, large commercial rates (more than 50 kilowatts) will rise 6 percent, street lighting rates will rise 10 percent, security lighting rates will rise 5 per cent, and small commercial rates (less than SO kilowatts) will not rise. The reason that not all in creases are the same is that French Broad EMC applied the new rates in a way never before tried here ? the "cost of service" technique. They calculated how much it costs the company to supply elec _ yicity toj*?ch class qf ?rv*?, and how much that class ac tually was paying. In the case of large commercial users, for example, it was determined that customers were being undercharged by 4'<s to 5 per cent, so their rates are being raised. In the case of small commercial users, it was determined that customers were paying their full share already, so their rates will stay the same. The calcula tions were made under con tract by Electrical Consulting Engineers of Charlotte. Another significant change in the rate structure is the elimination of the 5 percent all-electric home discount. This will mean that owners of all-electric homes are facing an increase of 5 percent in ad dition to the general residen tial increase of 5 percent, for a total of 10 percent. "The all-electric rate," said General Manager Charles Tolley, "was established when electricity was cheap. It was still being advertised as recently as seven and eight years ago. But now we don't want people to use electricity for heating and we can't af ford to offer the discount ? it used to be 10 percent ? anymore. "I know that this hurts peo pie, and I know they are going to complain about it. But all I can say is that we're living in a different world now. You could say that we were guilty of encouraging people to build all-electric homes, and this is true; and so was every other utility in the country." Another factor in the deci sion to eliminate this special rate is that increasing numbers of "all-electric" houses are actually relying heavily on oil or wood as their main heating source. The original discount was for homes that were "totally elec ( Continued on Page 7) Co-op Hopes For Wood-fuel Plant After a year of study, the French Broad EMC has deter mined that a wood-burning power plant is technologically feasible and could handle ap proximately a third of the co op's electricity load by as ear ly as 1963. If built, the Cane River plant would be the nation's first electricity generator con structed to use wood as fuel. At a meeting Dec. 17 at Mountain Heritage High School in Bumsville, General Manager Charles Tolley told an audience of about 50 per sons that French Broad has already taken an option on a 55-acre site on the Cape River, Ife miles west of Burnsville on Highway 19E The plant would be fired by burning finely-cut bark, sawdust, and barky slabs of waste wood, generating enough steam to produce 10 megawatts of electric power. Hie estimated cost of the facility is $16.5 million. The reasons for proposing this plant, according to a report released this week by the French Broad EMC board of directors, are several: -?To achieve partial relief from the escalating costs of wholesale electricity, present ly bought from Carolina Power & Light ; *To help the national and state goal of energy self sufficiency; *To develop electricity with a renewable energy source that is presently going to waste and even degrading the environment; *To produce power without pollution - the wood smoke would contain negligible amounts of sulfur or other pollutants; ?To create a new industry in the area that would employ local people. "What we hope to do," said Tolley, "is to earn a grant that will cover half or even all of the construction cost of the plant. Congress is working on a bill that makes money available to the REA (Rural Electrification Administra tion) to stimulate the use of alternative sources of elec tricity among REA co-ops like us. We have been in almost constant contact with the of AT MADISON HIGH ive four performances of three lys on Dec. 19 and 20, and the loved every minute, scene above is part of "The Ghost," which featured Joyner as Cleopatra; Worley as Aunt Barbara; Pfaff as Uncle Ed; Lee t as Joe ; PaulaShelton as Lisa Chandler as daughter No. 1; and Darlene Hill as daughter No. 2. The second play was "A New Sunrise," featuring Tammy Breedlove, Sue Tomberlin, Eddie Davis, and Stuart Jolley; and the third was "Fanner's Daughter," with Steve Ferguson, Owen Stanton, Tim Wilde, Lisa Fish and Brian Dodge. The director was Stuart Jolley of Mars Hill. fices of Gov. Hunt, Sen. Morgan, Sen. Helms, Rep. Ramsey, and Cong. Gudger, and we're very hopeful of get ting the money. Also, our board of directors has authorized me to send a copy of our full report on the plant to the REA people in Washington and to meet with them personally." The report was prepared by J.E. Sirrine and Co., with a grant of $30,000, arranged by Rep. Liston Ramsey and Gov. Hunt. "When we first mention ed our plan to the gover nor, "said Tolley, "he was very pleased. He jumped up out of his chair and clapped his hands, and said, 'Finally someone wants to do something with wood!" Tolley says that as far as he knows, there is only one elec tricity plant in the country now producing power com mercially with wood - a con verted coal plant in Burl ington, Vt. This would be the nation's first wholly wood Ponder Named To Panel By Governor BgjjS jfet1-"'- "j|' ? I Gov. Jim Hunt named Madison County Sheriff E.Y. Ponder of Marshall to the Law Enforcement Planning Com mittee of the Governor's Crime Commission. "E.Y. Ponder is one of the finest law enforcement of ficers in this state, and I know that he will be an exceptional member of this committee," Gov. Hunt said. "He has serv ed Madison County and the people of North Carolina well for many years, and I am cer tain he will make outstanding contributions as a member of The committee advises the Governor's Crime Commis sion on all matters relating to Ipiw enforcement, including priorities for the im provement fueled plant built just for that purpose. The broader purpose, of course, is to move a step closer to independence from the huge power companies from whom small co-op6 like French Broad must buy their electricity today. French Broad is almost helpless at controlling its rates, which are determined by the wholesale rates set by CP&L That amount has increased nearly four times since 1968, and is expected to continue rising at a similiar rate in the future. And a huge increase is expected when CP&L finishes building its 3,600-megawatt nuclear complex, which will be the second-largest in the country. The wholesale rate could as much as double when that happens. One of the main advantages of a wood-fueled plant is the price of the fuel ? which is far below the price of coal or uranium. (Utilities are now prohibited by federal law from building power plants fueled by oil or natural gas) . The cur rent price of wood waste, as established by J.E. Sirrine, is about |2 a ton, plus transpor tation costs. The cost of coal would be far higher, so that heat could be obtained from wood for about 70 cents per (Continued on Page 7) DR. CHIPPER JONES, right, discusses treatment with Oscar Williams of Little Laurel at the Laurel Medical Center. As medical director of the Hot Spr ings Medical Program, he divides his time between two of the three centers in Madison, County. Tuesdays and Wednesdays he drives to Hot Springs, and on the other three days he works at Laurel. Family Practice Specialist : A New Kind Of Doctor For Madison Mo*t doctors who spend the extra time to specialise in a particular field of medicine end up in large cities. This is not true for Dr. FrieWen B. "Chipper" Jones, who moved to one of tha most remote sec tions of Madison County last July. rigorous two-day examination testing his ability to deal with the whole broad spectrum of medicine. Dr. Jones came here July l to become medical director of the Hot Springs Health Pro gram. There, he divides his time between two centers, spending Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Hot Springs and Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays at Laurel. He treats from the fields of surgery to patient setttng like this," says Dr. Jones, "rather than in a hospital. I don't like ad ministrative chores, and a lot of a 'doctor's time is taken up with them in a hospital. I would rather spend that time with patients." Madison County is one of the very few counties in the stale raSHrHE people. We wanted to settle in a small community, and we are happy we did. We can't think of any reason we would uront 4 a VlnyliAAn Paiia want t o wave iviaaiRon i oun 4 , A "small community" is an underrtfttement: Chipper -i rul liit v?ri<, > c_-j? l?r j ooc? una nis will live io,iir
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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Dec. 27, 1979, edition 1
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