The News Record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY
On the inside
Reps. Ramsey and Messer
Announce Their Candidacy
. . . Turn To Page 6
79th Year No. 1
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N C
THURSDAY, January 3, 1980
IS' Per Copy
New Fire Truck Set
For Duty In Marshall
Residents of the Smoky
Mountain Fire District receiv
ed a large Christmas present
last week in the form of a
brand-new fire truck capable
of hauling 1,000 gallons of
water.
The 1980 GMC truck, which
cost more than $58,000, arriv
ed on Dec. 21, after having
been on order since August. It
was built by Emergency One
Inc. of Ocala, Fla With its all
aluminum body, extra-large
engine, air brakes, and Hale
pump capable of pumping
1,000 gallons of water per
minute, it is one of the finest
fire trucks made.
Jackie Jenkins, Jimmy
Ramsey and Jack Ramsey
traveled to Columbia, S.C.
Friday to take delivery of the
truck.
The truck has been purchas
ed by residents of the Smoky
Mountain Fire District, which
extends for four miles in every
direction from the fire house
door in Marshall. Funds for
the purchase were raised by a
bond issue.
Fire officials believe that
the new truck will provide
faster, more effective
coverage of homes within the
district. Previously, only the
two small trucks were free to
fight fires in the district. One
of these carries 535 gallons of
water, and the other 385
gallons. The third truck,
which carries 750 gallons, has
been required to remain in
Marshall for the protection of
residents there.
Also important, officials
emphasize that the new truck
carries 1,000 gallons of water,
which is the capacity required
by the N.C. Insurance Ser
vices' Office. After inspection
by officials of the insurance of
fice, and the purchase of any
further equipment deemed
necessary by these officials,
citizens living within the
Smoky Mountain Fire District
should see a reduction in their
fire insurance premiums.
It is also hope that the fire
district tax rate of $0.15 per
$100 valuation (the highest
LUNCH BREAK at Deringer is
gathering time for employees
Ruth Ramsey, Pappy Crowe,
Ollie Robinson, Ethel Jenkins,
Kathleen Shelton, Margaret
Wilde, Richard Wilson and
Pauline Malone.
Madison Industry:
On/Off Switches Depend
On Deringer's Contacts
Deringer Manufacturing
Co., one of Madison County's
largest employers, plays an
important role in producing
components essential to the
nation's automobiles, ap
pliances, and electrical swit
ches.
Deringer's specialty is elec
trical contacts ? tiny plugs of
metal that efficiently conduct
electricity whenever a switch
is closed in any of thousands of
electrical systems.
Thses contacts are made of
more than 60 combinations, or
alloys, of highly conductive
metels such as nickel, gold,
silver, tungsten, copper, steel,
and aluminum.
They are found, for exam
ple, in the timing units of all
Maytag washing machines
(silver cadmium oxide); the
on-off switches of Electrolux
vacuum cleaners (silver); the
window lifts of Ford and
General Motors cars
(nickel-coated steel); points
for distributors sold by Delco
Remy (tungsten steel); con
tact blades for Cadillac air
conditioners; switches and
contacts for most pinball and
other game machines sold in
thia country; and a variety of
relays, circuit breakers and
?witches sold by Square D,
Cutler Hammer, and Allen
Bradley.
Deringer contacts can also
be found in refrigerators,
dryers, auto horns and lights,
modern "computer" toys, and
even Christmas tree lights.
According to George Brown,
? Deringer vice-president:
"Deringer is the leading U.S.
(km specializing in the
manufacture of quality elec
trical Contacts, contact
assemblies and related pro
ducts used in relays, switches.
motors, controls, and other
electrical and electronic
devices."
The Marshall plant was
begun in 1972, with the help of
Harry Clarke, the president of
Western Carolina Industries,
who helped the company find
a place to set up operations.
The first Deringer site was ar
ranged by Kermit Cody of
Marshall, who leased them the
building that is now the fire
house and city hall.
"Mr. Clarke and Mr. Cody
were extremely helpful to us
in the beginning," said Pat
Clemens, who has been plant
manager here since the com
pany moved to Marshall.
"They really made this move
possible." Clemens has been
with the company since 1956.
The firm was founded in 1950;
its headquarters are in
Mundelein, 111., about 40 miles
northwest of Chicago.
(Continued on Page 8)
allowed by law) will be
lowered after the initial ex
penses involved with the ac
quisition of this new truck are
met. This, in turn, would lower
the cost of fire protection to
the SMFD residents for the
years to come.
One of the special features
of the new truck is a i
1,500-gallon folding portable
tank which is carried to each j
fire. The truck is capable of
emptying its full load of 1,000
gallons into this tank in 45
seconds, through a special
five-inch-diameter
"jet-pump" feature built into
the pumping system. This
capability will allow the truck
to leave its water supply at a
fire and go to a water source
for refilling while other trucks
or portable pumps stay to
fight the fire.
A typical fire at a single
family dwelling requires bet
ween 1,000 and 3,000 gallons of
water to extinguish.
In fighting a fire, two
features of the truck are
crucial: the carrying capacity
and the pumping capacity. A
truck can carry huge amounts
of water, but unless it can
deliver the water at sufficient
volume, it may not be able to
extinguish a hot fire. The
powerful Hale pump on the
new truck greatly increases
the pumping capacity
available to residents.
Members of the Marshal! Fire
Department say that with the
new truck they will be able to
save some buildings that in
the past would have burned to
the ground.
The truck will be operated
by members of the Marshall
Community Volunteer Fire
Department Inc. through con
tact with the Madison County
Board of Commissioners.
Financing was arranged
through the Farmer's Home
Administration.
Annual payments of more
than $4400 will be met through
the special fire district tax,
which was approved by voters
in November 1977. The current
fire tax rate of $0.15 per $100
valuation should provide ap
proximately $9000 per year to
the fire department. In addi
tion to meeting the annual
truck payments, the money
will be adequate for other fire
protection agreements in the
contract, as well as truck
maintenance, insurance, and
upkeep costs.
An advanced communica
tions system is one of the next
priorities of the fire depart
( Continued on Page 8)
Vehicle Registration Begins
North Carolina motorists
should have received their
1980 vehicle registration
renewal notices, according to
Commissioner of Motor
Vehicles Elbert L. Peters Jr.
The N.C. Department of
Transportation's Motor
Vehicles Division mailed ap
proximately 4.S million
renewal cards Dec. 17, Peters
said.
Sales of 1980 validation
stickers and license plates
begin Jan. 2. All registration
renewals, stickers or tags,
must be displayed no later
than midnight Feb. IS.
State Secretary of Transpor
tation Tom Bradshaw noted
the 1979 session of the General
Assembly passed legislation
which enables the Division of
Motor Vehicles to create a
"staggered" registration
system for the state beginning
in 1961.
He pointed out that the 1960
renewal period will be the next
to the Uut time that North
Carolina's motorists will pur
chase stickers or tags under
the current tjtitm.
"Through implementation
of the staggered registration
system and current steps we
are taking in our operations,
we are carrying out Gov. Jim
Hunt's commitment to pro
vide the best passible service
to the state's citizens and his
pledge for greater efficiency
Marshall Gets
$40,000 Grant
Toward Plant
The Environmental Protec
tion Agency has awarded the
city of Marshall $40,004
toward the plans and
specifications of a wastewater
treatment plant, Con
gressman Lamar Gudger has
announced.
The EPA award will cover
75 percent of the costs of the
plans, which will cover two
pump stations, force mains
and interceptors. The plans
are being prepared by Butler
Associates of Aaberllle
in government," Bradshaw
said.
The transportation
secretary pointed out that the
motor vehicle fees make up
about 30 percent of the state's
highway fund revenue.
Bradshaw said the vehicle
registration fees will be the
same as 1979 with fees for
each vehicle printed on the
renewal cards. The fee for a
private passenger automobile
is $16. Of that amount, $3 is for
driver's education expenses
The stickers and tags may
be purchased in person from
one of 115 license plate agen
cies across the state or by
mail from the Motor Vehicles
Division in Raleigh.
Vehicle owners who have
not received a renewal card
by Jan. 15, 1900, or who need to
report a change of address
should notify the Vehicle Ser
vices Section, Division of
Motor Vehicles, 1100 New
Bern Avenue, Raleigh 27897 or
call (919-73S-M2S) from 9 a.m.
to 5:90 p.m. Monday through
Friday.
(Continued on Page 9)
>:wmm
MARSHALL'S NEW FIRE TRUCK arrived
in town last Friday from Columbia, S.C. The
truck, an all-aluminum emergency one body
on a 1980 GMC chassis, has a 1,000-gallon
tank capacity and a special 1,500-gallon por
BBUMM m
table folding tank. It will serve all residents
of the Smoky Mountain Fire District, which
extends 4 miles in all directions from the fire
house door in Marshall
Marshall Playground Over
Its Major Funding Hurdle
After more than a year of
waiting and planning, the
town of Marshall has finally
received encouraging news
about its Town Playground
and Neighborhood Park pro
ject. The grant requested by
the town has been recom
mended for funding by the
Heritage Conservation and
Recreation Service (formerly
the Bureau of Outdoor Recrea
tion).
One final step remains: of
ficial approval by the Ser
vice's office in Atlanta. When
that approval is given, work
on developing the playground
and park can begin.
Mayor Lawrence Ponder
was advised of the news last
week by Howard N. Lee of the
North Carolina Department of
Natural Resources & Com
munity Development. The
project was recommended for
approval by the Land and
Water Conservation Fund
Review Committee.
Marshall applied for the
grant in September 1978, re
questing $21,750 in govern
ment money to be matched by
$21,750 from local sources.
The town will decide soon how
its portion of the expenses are
to be raised.
The plan for the playground
was initiated by the Town
Recreation Commission,
which was appointed by the
Board of Aldermen to seek out
more varied recreational op
portunities for town residents
At present, the oniy facilities
available are the outdoor
swimming pool at the
playground site and the soft
ball diamonds on the island.
The site for the project is the
6.8-acre area owned by the
town just off Skyway Drive,
within the town limits and
behind the Madison Shopping
Plaza on the Marshall Bypass .
The Madison Opportunity Cor
poration is presently using the
building adjacent to the swim
ming pool.
When finished, the area will
offer to residents a "tot lot"
for young children, two tennis
courts, a multi-purpose slab
for basketball and other
sports, 12 picnic shelters with
tables and benches, a large
picnic pavilion, and better
parking areas, as well as the
swimming pool already in use.
There will be a pattern of well
defined walking paths with
handrails and ramps for han
dicapped and older persons.
The tennis courts will be
available not only to the
general public, but also to
students at the high school,
which will be able to offer ten
nis as part of the physical
education program for the
first time.
DIAGRAM of the planned Marshall
Playground area show tennis courts,
playground, picnic areas, swings, basketball
slab and poplar trees that will be planted
around the edges.
State Raises Liability Level For Motor Vehicle Insurance
Minimum liability in
surance levels for vehicles
registered in North Carolina
will be raised Jan. l, 1900, but
the new coverage re
quirements do not affect cur
rent policies until their
renewal date after Jan. 1, ac
cording to the state's motor
vahtclea commissioner
?tart L. Paters Jr. pointed
out that the last session of the
General Assembly raised the
financial responsibility for
automobile liability in
surance. Hie new minimum
levels are: 125,000 for bodily
injury or death of one person;
$50,000 for bodily injury or
deaths of two or more people;
and $10,000 for property
damage.
Previously, the figures were
$15,000, $30,000 and fc.ooo
Peters said, however, he
wanted to reemphaaize that
the new minimum levels are
not required on policies
renewed prior to Jan. 1, 1979.
The state's motor vehicle
owners must certify their in
surance waf on regiatra
tkm rtBMMl aattoaa when pur
chasing new tags or stickers.
The 1900 vehicle registration
renewal notices were mailed
Dec. 17 by the Motor Vehicles
Division.
Sales of 1980 validation
stickers and license plates
begin Jan. 2. The new tags and
stickers must be displayed no
later than midnight Feb. IS.