"
Iftlisoo County library
Marshall , N.C. 23753 9-80
Ihe News record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY
-On thm Insldm . . .
Ponder Reelected
Board Of Ed Chief
Page 10
79th Year No. 16
T t
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C.
THURSDAY, April 17, 1980
15' Per Copy
A FLOOD WATCH was called for Madison
County for early Monday after heavy
weekend rains and thunderstorms. The
French Broad River lapped around the edges
of Blannerhasset Island, but Marshall school
children went about their business un
concerned. Parents continue to worry about
the precarious location of the elementary
school.
Big Pine Couple Is Selling
Organic Crop Fertilizer
Ever since they moved to
their farm on Big Pine seven
years ago, Jim and Libby
Woodruff have been exploring
better ways to treat t^eir aoij^
Specifically, they have sear
ched for fertilizers and condi
tioners that Mould not just
give their crops enough
nutrients for a single season.
They wanted more than
that. They wanted long-term
health for their soil; higher
humus content; a good
balance of minerals that
would make their plants ?
and the people who eat them
? as healthy as possible.
They have finally found
what they were looking for.
Several months ago they
located a line of fertilizers and
plant foods that they believe
will produce healthier soil and
plants than any other. They
have line of pro
ducts from Necessary Trading
Co. in New Castle, Va , and
are offering them for sale to
County farmers and
gardeners.
The products include
Leathermeal, a mixture of
byproducts from hides and
other slaughterhouses waste
that is rich in nitrogen
(similar to the familiar Nitro
10); Calphos, ground
phosphate rock with a trace of
calcium; potassium from
green sand, a potashrich rock
that has been ground into
powder for field application;
Erth-rite, a mixture of com
posed materials rich in
humus; and.Sea Crop 16, a li
quid extract of kelps and other -
sea plants from the coast of
Maine which increases plant
growth, vigor and disease
resistance.
"Healthy soil contains cer
tain elements," says Jim
Woodruff, "that have to be
maintained: humus, various
minerals, tiny rock particles,
a complex community of
bacteria, fungi, yeasts and
otheV organisms in a delicate
balance. Virgin soil has this
balance; when we plow it and
plant crops in it, we change
the balance. What we would
.4il(? io do is replace the
elements used by crops with
material as much like
nature's materials as possi
ble.
"Most chemical fertilizers
don't do this," he went on.
"They are fast-acting and
they are designed to pump
nutrients into the plants for
one season ? then they are
gone. We are offering fer
( Continued on Page 6)
DAVID DOWDY, 17, of the Bear Creek sec
tion of Madison County, is shown with a
37-inch long, 12^ pound Muskie he taught
last Sunday morning at Redmon Dam.
Wayne Freeman, 18, of the Redmon section,
who was Ashing with David, helped land the
large fish by jumping into the French Broad
had been
and final
Citizens List Priorities
The mayor, city council and
planning board of Marshall
recently sent out a questionnaire
to the citizens of the town, asking
them which issues they regard as
m06t important.
Those questionnaires have now
been completed, returned and
compiled, and the town reports
that the response was excellent.
The town officials would like to
thank all those who took the trou
ble to fill out the form and would
like to report on the results.
Below is a listing of the town
priorities, ranked according to the
preference of those who returned
their questionnaires:
1. Attract industries that will
provide better, higher-paying
jobs.
2. Improve the availability of
24-hour, emergency doctors' ser
vices.
3. Improve roads in the area.
4. Improve the town's police and
fire protection services.
5. Preserve and restore the ex
isting business district along the
French Broad River.
6. Develop a sound approach
toward the town's future develop
ment and prevent unwise use of
land within the town.
7. Improve water and sewer ser
vices.
8. Improve the town's recrea
tion facilities and programs.
9. Improve run-down areas
through rehabilitating housing
and improving existing services
to these areas.
9. (Tie) Increase citizen input to
the town's government.
11. Help provide low-cost housing
for lower-income residents in the
town.
12. Further develop and improve
existing library facilities.
Blue Mold Spreading North From Florida
By WILEY DaVAUL
AGRICULTURAL EXTEN
SION
AGENT
Blue mold iimnn to here.
Firmer* should keep a cons
tant watch over their tobacco
temperatures
of this dtaease. The riieeeee is
by the
ly , the disease first appears in
small areas scattered
throughout the bed. The
leaves of infected plants
become a lighter green color
than those of healthy plants
Leaves then wilt aad apper
scalded, in later stages, the
leaves tin bwwu appear
b*Bh* mold to doing great
daauge in beds in the sUtes of
Florida and Oeargla. Those
farmers whs are spraying
,L?' *? - J- ?|,i4 K * J
uieir dpub wiui ninficKM*
have thus ft escaped
damage. Those who have not
Madison County farmers
should start a spray program
when plants are small (the
sin of a dime at the most).
Beds should be sprayed weak
ly. Spray twice a week during
periods <if rainy wsathar. The
first three to four nprsyiap
should be with Fcrbam at the
rate tf five tablespoons per
?rite of water. After tMs,
gallon of water.
. Fungicides are preventives,
not cm. V btae mold comes
in spile of the spray
treatments, then strep
tomycin sulfate at the rate of 1
tablespoon per three gallons of
water wouM be the treatment. ,
Those farmers who prefer a
dutf treatment may use aJ^sr
bam IM percent or a Maneb
Rehab Moves Quickly
On Hot Springs Homes
The effort to rehabilitate
two groups of older houses in
the Town of Hot Springs is be
ing handled so smoothly by ad
ministrators and workers
alike that the project is well
ahead of schedule.
According to Larry McCall,
Community Development
director for Hot Springs,
seven of nine houses due for
rehabilitation along Spring
Creek Road are nearing com
pletion, and six of eight houses
in the Silvermine area are
almost finished.
The speedy progress of the
project is due partly to good
weather this winter (work
began on Nov. 13), and partly
to good management by
everyone concerned with it.
"Larry McCall has worked
very hard and effectively,"
said Becky Williams, the
grant agent at Land-of-Sky
Council who helped secure the
funding from the Department
of Housing and Urban
Development. "And so has the
town board and the advisory
council in Hot Springs. It's
really the good pace of this
work that helped us get
another grant for next year for
other houses in Hot Springs."
The town board consists of
Debbie Baker, Wesley Staude
and Jerry Ramsey ; the mayor
is Swann B. Huff. The citixens'
advisory committee consists
of Chairman Sidney Harrison,
Rich West, Kenneth Sumerel,
Joe Cogdill and Nellie Norton.
The Community Development
secretary is Patsy Shelton.
Part of the challenge in fix
ing up a number of houses in a
small area, according to
Larry McCall, is to keep them
from looking too much alike
when they are finished.
"I looked at some homes in
another area that were done
with government grant
money," he said, "and they
were all alike. They looked
like 'government work.' Even
the paint was the same color;
every house was a kind of off
yellow. Here we try to let the
owners choose their own color
of paint, and we try to vary the
exterior as much as we can."
McCall said that his houses,
like those being rehabilitated
in the Spill corn area, are all ;
costing slightly more than
estimated, primarily because
the cost of materials has risen
between IS and 20 percent j
since the grants were written.
Any materials made of
petroleum, such as roofing
materials, have gone up even
more.
"We originally estimated
that each house would cost
around 99,500," be said. "But
we find that they are costing
closer to 911,000. Fortunately
for the overall budget, three
houses that were initially
scheduled to be in the project
are no longer included, so that
saving can be applied to the
others."
The regular work force
responsible for bringing the
houses up to Section 9 Stan
dards consists of Carmen D.
Payne, foreman; Freddie
Barnette and Sammy
Barnette, carpenters; and
Louis Gosnell and Johnny
Payne, helpers. This crew has
worked since the beginning.
The plumbing, electrical, roof
ing and painting is done by
various contractors.
The HUD grant, which
became effective last October,
was approved for $263,280 and
called for work to be done on a
minimum of 20 houses. It was
to be used to provide "safe and
sanitary" housing for 79 per
sons in the target areas, all of
whom earn low or moderate
incomes. Most of the houses
are more than 50 years old and
narrowly spaced on steep,
difficult-to-work land.
The specific neighborhoods
for next year's projects were
selected by the Community
Development directors and
approved by the Madison
County Planning Board.
' .. . . . . *, ,9-dMMi
THE HOME OF JESSIE AIKENS on Spring
Creek Road was photographed before the
rehabilitation work began. ?* -
...AND AFTER COMPLETION.
Instead of a dull gray, the house is
now a bright yellow ; homeowners
are in most cases given their
choice of exterior finish. More im
portant, the structure and interior
have been brought up to Section 8
standards.
EPA Tells Plan Board ^
Of County's Sewage Needs
The Madison County Plann
ing Board spent the largest
part of its regular session last
week listening to a group of
men from the Environmental
Protection Agency talk about
small wastewater systems.
As many as 2,000 homes in
the county said the eight EPA
men have inadequate sewage
systems. These systems will
soon have to be brought up to
standards, they said, or legal
action could be taken against
the owners
Because most people cannot
afford new treatment
systems, which cost around
11,000, the EPA is offering to
put up most of the money ? as
kmg as the county will agree
to pay for a small share and to
guarantee that the systems
will be maintained and
monitored in the future. '
The local share of a pew
sewage system was estimated
by the EPA representatives to
be as low as $75 ? at present
costs. But because the EPA
Construction Grants Program
can take as kng as four years .
from first application to com
pletion, the cost is certain to
rise. And the maintenance
cost per homeowner was
estimated at $6 to $8 a month
? or perhaps more.
As one EPA man admitted,
they have never dealt with an
area quite like Madison Coun
ty in this program, and all
costs are at present only
estimates.
. Bach owner would also be
responsible for calling the
"honeywagon" to pump out
the septic tank when it is full.
This presently costs about no
and must be done every two to
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