The NEwrJ^"~^RD
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MAUiaw., ? ? f
80th Year No. 11 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C. THURSDAY, March 12, 1981 15c Per Copy
I
Board Readies For New Budget
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Budget Woes Aired At School Board Meeting j
By NICHOLAS HANCOCK
Editor
With just 10 weeks of school
remaining in this year, school
superintendent R.L. Edwards
still has school budget woes,
as evidenced at the board of
education meeting last week.
Edwards read a notice from
the State Board of Education
which contained predictions of
much higher operating costs
to local school units for the
next fiscal year. For example,
Raleigh school officials are
predicting the price per gallon
gasoline for school buses to be
as high as $1.50 or more by
1982
Edwards shifted the blame
of some of the budget pro
blems to the county commis
sioners by pointing out the
commissioners fell short of
giving the school board what it
requested for 1980-81 by
$152,969. 'If we hadn't had the
carry-over money
<some)i54,000> to do what we
felt the children of Madison
County should have,..." Ed
wards said, indicating the
school system barely made it
through this year.
"Now who's going to have to
set the educaton pattern, the
board of education, or are the
county commissioners going
to say 'Now here's an amount
of money, you educate on that
amount of money'?" Edwards
asked the board members.
"This is the problem I
have,'' Edwards added. "Now
if the board of education wants
to get involved item by item
(with the budget), we'll have a
workshop. If you suggest I go
ahead and work up a budget
and we go through it item by
item, then we'll do that."
Board members com
mented and nodded in agree
ment that they preferred Ed
wards to prepare the budget
for fiscal year 1961-82 and pre
sent it to them for their ap
proval or disapproval.
North Carolina law requires
that local school budgets,
together with a budget
message, be submitted to the
board of education not later
than May l. "The budget and
budget message should, but
need not, be submitted at a
formal meeting of the board.
The budget message should
contain a concise explanation
of the educational goals fixed
by the budget for the budget
year, should set forth the
reasons for stated changes
from the previous year in pro
gram goals, programs, and
appropriation levels, and
should explain any major
changes in educational or
fiscal policy," the law states.
In an additional effort to
point out the school system's
financial needs, Edwards said
that Madison High School is
worth )4 million on today's
market, and he emphasized
the county commissioners on
ly granted the board $25,000 in
capital outlay funds to main
tain capital improvements at
all seven of the county's
schools. Board member Ed
Gentry stated it costs 10 per
cent of the current value of
any building in order to main
tain it, if that building is used
on a daily basis as are the
schools.
In other matters at the
school board's March
meeting, the board:
? Heard from architect J.
Bertram King that an Energy
Technical Assistance report
had been sent to Raleigh on
Feb. 20, and another report is
to be sent on April 15. The
reports are a preliminary step
in seeking a federal grant to
formulate energy conserva
tion measures for the county 's
schools. According to King,
the grant would require 50 per
cent matching funds provided
by the board of education
? Adopted a new school bus
driver salary schedule which
allows bus drivers to be paid
$3.50 per hour. The new pay
scale became effective March
1.
? Approved the school
calendar for 1981-82 as submit
ted by the school principals.
The calendar reflects the
same dates as the 1979-80
calendar. Edwards com
mented that the "principals
said this calendar is what the
teachers want."
? Received an invitation to
attend a School Board
Association meeting in
Asheville on Tuesday, March
17. All members of the board
indicated their intentions of
attending with Mr. Edwards,
along with Dr. Bobby Jean
Rice, supervisor of county
schools, and Owen Fish, direc
tor of the Title I program.
? Passed a motion to pur
chase a new car for R.L. Ed
wards. The superintendent's
present vehicle has logged1
90,000 miles, and it will be
transferred to David Wyatt,
principal of Madison High.
? Retired to executive ses
sion to hear recommendations
from the school system's
seven principals on the rehir
ing of tenured teachers for
1981-82. The board approved
the rehiring of 24 regular,
tenured teachers at Madison
High; 33 at Mars Hill Elemen
tary, 15 at Marshall, 9 at
Laurel, 3 at Walnut, 5 at Hot
Springs, and 4 at Spring
Creek. The board also approv
ed the rehiring of 15 vocational
teachers at Madison High.
? Approved the rehiring of
all seven principals for the
1981-82 year. They are: David
Commissioner Virginia Anderson, Supt. R.L. Edwards
Wyatt, Madison High School;
Jerry Plemmons, Spring
Creek; J.C. Wallin, Hot Spr
ings; Sidney Harrison,
Walnut; Frederick Anderson,
Mars Hill; and Vernon
Ponder, Laurel.
? Also in executive session,
listened to five parents from
Hot Springs on a personnel
matter involving a teacher at
Hot Springs School. The board
took no action on the matter
when it returned to regular
session.
Commissioners Praise
New Fire Department
In the shortest meeting this
year, ? one hour ? the
Madison County Board of
Commissioners whizzed
through routine business last
night in what seemed like an
effort to join other county
residents in watching the ACC
basketball tournament.
Stan McElroy, newly
elected chief of the West
Madison Volunteer Fire
Department, presented a peti
tion to the board requesting
their support of the recently
formed department under
N.C. General Statute 55-A.
Commission chairman
James Ledford praised
McElroy and the people in
volved in establishing the fire
unit, and commissioner
Virginia Anderson read a
resolution commending the
citizens for their efforts. The
three member board
unanimously passed the
resolution
McElroy also asked the
commissioners if the depart
ment could use the services of
county attorney Larry Leake
to help the unit draw up
bylaws and state and federal
tax exemptions charters.
Leake agreed to help, and the
commissioners approved his
services.
In another matter, the com
missioners heard a proposal
from Hank Holmes of Hot Spr
ings to provide cable televi
sion to the outlying areas of
Madison County through the
services of Univamp of
Johnson City, Tenn. Holmes
asked if a county franchise
would be necessary for
Univamp to begin operations
here, and Leake said that it is
the custom in most counties.
The board took no action on
the matter, but indicated an
interest in the proposal.
Univamp uses satellite and
airwaves communications,
and could possibly offer Home
Box Office service, according
to Holmes.
In other action, the board of
commissioners:
? Signed an agreement with
the towns of Marshall and
Mars Hill to implement a
feasibility study for expansion
of the Mars Hill watershed to
include a water system that
would serve both towns and
parts of the county.
? Heard a report from
school superintendent R.L.
Edwards clarifying the
sources of the school board's
$147,234 carry-over for fiscal
year 1979-80. Edwards ex
plained the sub funds reported
in the school board audit and
pointed out th'ft CETA
employees given to the school
system by the commissioners
had enabled him to save some
$40,000 to $60,000."
"So I want the commis
sioners to understand that
there is nothing wrong concer
ning the audit. It is the pro
blem in communication in the
question which is being ask
ed," Edwards said, referring
to recent reports in The News
Record.
"There has been a certain
paper giving out information,
which I have documents for
our attorney to review, that
are false and inaccurate," Ed
wards stated.
Edwards told the com
missoners that he will be
presenting a budget to the
board of education at its next
meeting, and said, "I hope
that this will help you in seeing
that we are being as conser
vative and yet trying to meet
the needs of our students as
best we can."
? After a five minute ex
ecutive session, recommend
ed the employment of Richard
Miller for the 4-D Child Sup^
port Enforcement program in
Yancey County, and authoriz
ed Leake to prepare a release
for the county's recreation
property to the town of Mar
shall.
CIRCLES are formed by the 9 foot
diameter steel casings that will be
used to construct the supporting
piers of the new Southern Railway
bridge over the French Broad
fill Hi, *- kl ?! ?
ritvtw DJr R. naOCOCK
River south of Marshall at the Ivy
River. The casings were spotted
at along the bank of the French
Broad near the construction site
of the new bridge.
Commission Could Be Eliminated By Summer
Madison Officials Await ARC Budget Decision
FROM STAFF AND
AP REPORTS
Marshall Mayor Lawrence
Ponder Is holding his breath
waiting to see what happens,
and other town and county of
ficials in Madison Cointy are
apprehensive over the fate of
the Appalachian Regional
Commission, ? 16-year-old
agency that has been praised
by the Reagan administration, ?
but may totally fall under the
budget ax as early as this spr
ing or summer.
Sara Yount is the Arc state
coordinator In North .-u oi, ia,
and for six years she had
millions of federal dollars to
help hundreds of mountain
families in 29 western North
is frozen now, and the propos
ed cancellation of the fiscal
year 1M1 monies would
eliminate 17 million of ARC
funds for some 47 projects in
the 39 N.C. Appalachian coun
ties.
The federal Office of
Management and Budget
director, David Stockman,
proposes an immediate ter
mination of the ARC and aU of
its programs except highway
expenditures. The highway
programs would be transfer
red to the federal Department
states. But there to a food
chance ARC could be ter
minated Just given everything
etoe that's going on here."
II Congress approves the
cut, programs in North
Carolina and 12 other Eastern
states will low money for 706
planned projects, ranging
from creation of 65 day care
centers to installation of miles
of watsr and sewer pipes
Nearly <314 miffion in ARC
highway money would be
to h ??
tion. Another (233,000 for a
sewer extension to the coun
ty's industrial park would be
lost. And, another $200,000 for
the construction of the Hot
Springs Community Health
Center will be gone if the 1M1
funds do not remain available.
Mayor Ponder, county com
mission chairman James bed
ford and Mars Hill mayor BUI
Powell attended a meeting in
February with Uth District
Congressman Bill Hendon in
Asheville to show their tup
port for ARC and other federal
worthy of his support, accor
ding to Ponder.
Pander Mid the conversa
tion centered around the ARC,
and Rep. Hendon indicated to
his Ashevtlle audience that he
would be in support of continu
ing ARC funding. However,
contacted later in his
Washington office, llendoo
said he wouid have to consider
what is best for the country
proposed American Greeting
Corporation plant.
The ARC was created to
help Appalachian com
munities take advantage of
matching grants from other
federal agencies. Incapable of
floating bond issues to pay
their share of the development
projects, mountain com
munities relied on ARC to pay
the local matching money for
them.
Council Gets
Stonewalled
By SCOTT FITZGERALD
The Mars Hill Town Council received some
disheartening news at its last session. The council
was hoping to hear that the approval for govern
ment grants had been given to their sewer and
water project planned for the Mars Hill Communi
ty, but their hopes were not fulfilled because the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not
pass approval.
The $3.5 million project which will provide
water and sewer service through an intricate
system and treatment facility, will be funded
through grants amounting to over $2 million. The
project, which had already received state ap
proval in December, was stonewalled by the EPA.
The EPA stated they had approved the system's
design and technical aspects, but they said they
were displeased with the financial goals and
figures involved in its construction.
Mayor Bill Powell said the council wanted to
build the system in phases so it would be financial
ly safe for the town." ...But the EPA wants to
have a guarantee that the town will complete its
end of the bargain if the EPA gives grant
monies.
The council and members of the community
present were very upset at the EPA's stalling of
the project. Mars Hill College President, Dr. Fred
Bentley was displeased because he had received
word from the state that the council was
"dragging their feet." "I didn't know what to j
think when a government agency asks for a push
through of a project when that same agency will i
not pass approval on the very same project," said
Dr. Bentley.
Consequently, the council has found itself bet
ween ? rode and hard place. The EPA's delay
causes the council to react with patience but the
project is costing more and more everyday due to
rising inflation and an unstable economy.