News record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY
I
80th Year No. 7 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL. N.C. THURSDAY, February 12, 1981 15c Per Copy
^Parking Lot Shooting^
By NICHOLAS HANCOCK
Editor
A young Walnut man was seriously in
jured by a self-inflicted gunshot wound ear
ly Friday evening in the parking lot of the
Madison Plaza Shopping Center, according
to Madison County Sheriff E.Y. Ponder.
Rocky Flemming, 19, was listed in
satisfactory condition at Memorial Mission
Hospital in Asheville after removal of the
bullet Sunday, Ponder said.
Responding to a call at 8:01 p.m. Fri
day, Sheriff Ponder said he found Flemm
ing slumped over in the seat of his
Volkswagen automobile in the shopping
center parking lot in front of Ingle's super
market. A .22 calibre Euger pistol was lay
ing beside Flemming, Ponder said. Flemm
ing had sustained a bullet wound in the right
side of his chest, according to the sheriff's
department report.
Flemming's wife, Rebecca, told Ponder
that Flemming had shot himself, and upon
questioning, Flemming told the sheriff that
he had shot himself. An ambulance rushed
Flemming to Memorial Mission Hospital
where he was treated and prepared for
removal of the bullet on Sunday.
Ponder said no charges have been filed
in the incident which occurred just two days
after the fatal stabbing of another youth in a
nearby parking lot on the Marshall bypass.
Marshall Town Council
HUD Project Report Given,
Police Request New Car
By NICHOLAS HANCOCK
EDITOR
A report on Marshall's hous
ing rehabilitation project and
several requests from depart
ments and individuals
highlighted the February
meeting of the Town of Mar
shall Board of Aldermen.
Donald Ramsey, project ad
ministrator for the Housing
. rf tv il&> ' ->> . < J ! 1
and Urban Development
(HUD) community develop
ment project, presented a
financial status report to the
aldermen showing project ex
penditures as of Jan. 31.
So far, the town has spent
$103,714.06 of a community
development block grant of
$804,000. Broken down into
categories, the report stated
Hunter Shot
A man was hospitalized after a hunting com
panion shot him in the back with a shotgun Satur
day afternoon, the Madison County Sheriff's
Department reported.
Brannon Norton, about 35, of Route 5 was car
ried to Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville,
where his condition was listed as satisfactory
Saturday night, according to a hospital
spokesman.
The sheriff's department said the shooting ap
peared to be an accident and no charges were fil
ed.
The incident occurred about 3 p.m. while Nor
ton was grouse hunting with a neighbor, 16-year
old Joey Blackwell of Marshall, in the Caney Fork
area outside of Marshall.
The youth tried to shoot a bird and accidental
ly shot Norton, who was about 50 yards away, with
a 16-gauge shotgun, the sheriff's department
reported.
BONNIE HILL CHURCH has been a
cohesive force in western Madison County
for nearly a century. Kevin Motley talked
with several people who remember parts of
the church's history See his itory on Page
3.
$15,476.76 in administrative
expenses of which $10,015.71
was paid to the three ad
ministrators in the project, ac
cording to Ramsey. Project
administrators began full
time work on Oct. 1.
Ramsey's report said
$88,237.29 has been spent to
date on housing rehabilitation
with $41,439.53 being paid in
salaries A total of $46,797.76
has gone into fringe benefits,
materials, travel, contracts
and technical and legal fees.
The town's HUD project
employs 20 full-time
rehabilitation workers and
two part-time employees.
Ramsey said eight houses
are 90 percent completed in
the project, and that
workcrews have already
started on their eleventh
house. He added that the pro
ject is "well ahead of
schedule" as far as stretching
the allocated money spent on
the houses in the target area.
In another matter, the
aldermen heard a request
from Marshall Police Chief
Bill Lisenbee for a new police
car. Lisenbee said the 1972
Ford Torino was worn out ?
"the motor and transmission
are gone." The aldermen gave
Lisenbee the go-ahead to look
for a car to replace the Torino,
but S.L. Nix warned the police
chief that the police cars
"have got to be kept up." Nix
said when something goes
wrong with one of the cars it
needs to be reported by the of
ficer using the car, "Don't
pass it off on the officer com
ing on duty," he said.
After several months of
discussing the town cemetery,
the aldermen announced they
would be hiring Bud Roberts
to begin work on clearing the
cemetery of weeds and bushes
which have grown up over the
years. Alderman Jackie Davis
said he would supervise the
work of Roberts once work is
underway.
The board of aldermen
heard a request from two of
Marshall's volunteer firemen
for two new Koehler lights for
the department. The firemen
said the department needed
the lights badly. The
rechargeable, hand-held
lights cost approximately $230
per pair and come equipped
with batteries which provide
3,000 hours of use. The board
approved the purchase of two
additionaf lights after 'alder
man S.L. Nix reminded the
board that "we've got to have
lights, these boys are fur
nishing their own lights. "
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Moore ap
peared before the aldermen to
request that something be
done to prevent cars from
almost sliding into their house
on Candler Drive during snow
and ice. The Moores explained
that Candler Drive was a very
steep hill, and there had been
occasions when cars have
nearly slipped off the road into
their house.
"It's no fun sitting at home
and knowing a car can come
right into your living room,"
the Moores said.
"We pay taxes to the city,
and I've been footing the bill
for salting the road myself,"
Mr. Moore said. "If the town
will haul some salt and sand
up to the road, we'll furnish
the manpower to put it out."
The aldermen agreed to
"take a load of sand mixed
with sodium chloride to pile on
the edge of the road.
In one of the last items of
business, Eloise Riddle,
secretary to the board, in
formed the aldermen that the
State Board of Elections had
sent the town notice of new
elections rules for municipal
elections. The notice listed the
registration deadline as Oct. S,
1961, and candidate filing
dates as from 12 noon Sept. 11
to 12 noon Oct. 2 for the non
partisan plurality election to
be held on Nov. 3. The office of
Mayor and all four aldermen
seats will be up for grabs in
the election.
Judge Lyerly Selected
To International Bar
eived a distinc
Wfta he
j| member <rf
, remittee of
Ike International Bar Aaaocia
[3 g< 1 yerly vas OM <rf 19
elected fro
statca, with
selected from the United
? ^ t (???rail* K ''I o iitm
' ? jJ
SfW,
selection was rude by the
chairmen, Claea Henatrom of
{J A O ...
diocKiiuiiii , owwjcn .
Lyerly was elected in
November as District Court
for th. 24th Judicial
District which includes
Yance) ? . h?
A very an I WaUuga counties
Hr and Jodgf Robert 8.
Newtawi^
'
The Vienna Choir Boys On 1981 American Tour
Choir Boys Capture Audience
By NICHOLAS HANCOCK
Editor
A capacity crowd filled
Moore Auditorium at Mars
Hill College last Wednesday
night to listen to 23 young
boys, ages ? to 14, sing in a
language that few in the au
dience understood and songs
that most there had never
heard.
If the idea of doing that
doesn't make much sense, it
really doesn't matter because
true art, special art doesnt'
have to make sense. It's just
there to be enjoyed for the
beauty it gives. And, the Vien
na Choir Boys are special, and
they are artists, and they were
enthusiastically enjoyed by
everyone fortunate enough to
get a seat at the concert. And.
Mars Hill College was for
tunate to be able to bring the
world famous performers to
Western North Carolina
through its Visiting Artists
and Lecturers program
The tradition of the 'Wiener
Saengerknaben" goes back to
1498 when the original group
was established by imperial
decree by Emperor Max
imilian I of the Hapsburg em
pire. Four centuries passed
before the Choir Boys made
their first tour outside
?On the Inside . . .
Walnut's Mike Cody Composes
His Own Songs And Performs
In High Places.
See Story On Page 3.
Hendon Appointed To
Committee On Aging
WASHINGTON-U.S. Rep.
Bill Hendon has been ap
pointed to the House Select
Committee on Aging.
"I am especially pleased
with this committee assign
ment," Hendon said. "The
Asheville and Western North
Carolina areas are growing
retirement centers for the
elderly, and this assignment
will give me the opportunity to
look after the special needs of
those Senior Americans who
live there, many of them on
fixed incomes and facing ex
tremely difficult times in this
highly inflationary period."
The committee has Jurisdic
tion over a number of social
service programs for the
Rep. Bill Hendon
elderly programs. Norton was
recently awarded for her work
in organizing and developing
the Congressional Senior
Citizen* Intern Program She
was atoo featured in a story on
the program published
Wednesday in The Washington
Port.
Austria , and they first came to i
America in 1932. only six
years after the group began its
European tours. Since that
time they have made annual
tours to the U.S. and to almost
every major country in the
world.
What sets these young per
formers apart is a combina
tion youthful naivete and ex
huberance blended with
highly skilled artistry. Their
unchanged voices are expertly
trained in three and four part
harmonies which captivate
audiences as the boys sing
practically every form of
vocal music from Latin hymns
to American folksongs.
It has been said that the
Vienna Choir Boys are pro
bably one of the most
thoroughy drilled and rehears
ed singing groups in the world,
and it is precisely that ? the
discipline ? that awes the
American spectator familiar
with today's U.S. youth.
The Choir Boys' perfor
mance Wednesday night could
be considered flawless as they
presented a two hour perfor- 4
mance with two short inter
missions. Musical director
Franz Farnberger led the
boys through 16th and 17th
century works by Purcell,
Gallus and Pieter during the
first part of the program en
ding it with three pieces from
the almost dissonant haun
ting, and difficult "Pater
Noster" by Krenek. part Two
of the concert was a presents- -
tion of the operetta "Hansel
and Gretel" performed in
costume with songs sung in
the original German and
dialogue spoken in delightfully
Continued on Page 3
Man Stabbed
To Death
A young Marshall man was fatally stabb
ed Wednesday night, Feb. 4, during a fight
which occurred in a parking lot near Vader's
Barber Shop and a carwash just outside the
city limits on the Marshall Bypass, accor
ding to the Madison County Sheriff's Depart
ment.
Charles Sexton Jr., 17, died as a result of
the 7:15 p.m. incident. Sheriff E.Y. Ponder
said Kenny Smith, 23, of Mars Hill was taken
into custody Wednesday night and charged
with murder in Sexton's death. A
preliminary hearing on the charges is
scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13.
Smith was released on a $10,000
Monday by Judge Lyles, Ponder uitf ' i .