The News Record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY
v;- Tv ' ' ? v ? . '
80th Y?ar NO. 29 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C. THURSDAY, July 16, 1981
Will Assist At Mars Hill College
Kruk Resigns As
Basketball Coach
Madison High head basketball coach Joe
Kruk resigned from that position Tuesday and
will be working this season as an assistant to head
basketball coach Robert Ronai at Mars Hill Col
lege.
Contacted at his home Monday night, Kruk
said his letter of resignation to Madison High prin
cipal David Wyatt "was written today and will be
in the mail tomorrow (Tuesday)." Kruk had little
to say about his resignation other than he had
resigned and that he was already assisting Ronai
with the Mars Hill team.
Also contacted Monday night, Wyatt said
Kruk had told him he was resigning but he hadn't
received Kruk's letter of resignation. "It was a
big shock to me," Wyatt said.
Wyatt saio he had not made a choice "at this
time" for a replacement for Kruk. "I've been do
ing a little thinking, but I have not made any con
tacts or commitments at this point," he said.
Kruk had been head coach for the boys' team
at Madison for two years. Prior to that he was
athletic director and head basketball coach at Mt.
Heritage High School in Yancey County. He
resigned as both teacher and coach at Madison.
p "v.
Joe Kruk
Health Program To Hold
10th Anniversary Dinner
The Hot Springs Health Program will hold its
10th Anniversary dinner celebration and annual
meeting on Monday, July 27 at 7;30 p.m. in the
Madison High School cafeteria.
HSHP officials emphasized the dinner is free
to the public, and they said they cordially invite
everyone to attend. Dinner guests are asked to
notify the HSHP of how many family members
will be attending the supper by Friday, July 17.
Officials said persons can call the receptionist at
their community medical center or write: Dinner,
HSHP, P.O. Box 68, Hot Springs, N.C. 28743.
The HSHP annual report will be given and a
short business meeting will be conducted at the
dinner. Entertainment will be provided by the
Shelton Family and the Puncheon Fork String
Band. Michael Norins, HSHP director, said the
dinner has been planned to be "short on speeches
and business and long on fun."
The dinner is in celebration of 10 years of
growth and successful medical service of the pro
gram.
Marshall Tax Rate At 75c
By NICHOLAS HANCOCK
Editor
Holding its tax rate at 75 cents per $100
valuation for the 1961-82 fiscal year, the
Town of Marshall will "just about break
even" in its financial operations, according
to town officials.
"We're just going to be holding our
own," said Eloise Riddle, town clerk.
According to the $475,000 budget
adopted by the board of aldermen in June,
an 88 cent ad valorem tax rate was needed
at full property valuation to meet budget re
quirements for the coming year, but the
aldermen agreed to set the rate at 75 cents
and make up the needed difference from the
fUnd balance in the general fund. The town
has held its tax rate at that figure for the
past four or Ave years according to Riddle.
The town has also lost some tax base
from some businesses that have closed or
moved out of town, officials said.
These reductions practically offset the
increase in tax valuation increases, they
said.
The aldermen approved an appropria
tion of $17,500 from the 1900-81 fund balance
to balance the new budget and avoid an in
crease in the tax rate.
The 1961-82 budget calls for general
fund expenditures of $184,265. The largest
expenditure in this category is $49,400 for
the police department. Other expenditures
authorized from the general fund by depart
ment are Administration, $27,625; Recrea
tion, $14,509; Streets, $20,150; Fire Depart
ment, $5,275; Tax Department, $1,506;
Cemetery, $2,200; Sanitation, $13,200;
Powell Bill (streets), $18,160; and Non
Departmental, $32,246. *
ETHEL THAYER (played by Laura Treacy )
explains the pains of growing old to her
daughter Chelsea (played by LeElla
Ratcliff) in S ART'S production of "On
Golden Pond.' First run of the widely ac
claimed comedy ends Thursday, July 16 with
a second presentation scheduled for July 31
and Aug. 1 and 2 at Owen Theatre at Mars
Hill College. (Photo by Bob Gessner)
School Board Adopts
$6.2 Million Budget
By NICHOLAS HANCOCK
Editor
The Madison County Board
of Education officially
adopted a $6.2 million budget
resolution for fiscal year
1981-82 at its July 6 meeting in
Marshall. In order to meet the
required June 30 deadline, the
budget resolution was approv
ed by board members "by
phone or in person" by June 27
according to school
superintendent Robert L. Ed
wards.
The budget resolution, as
explained by school finance of
ficer Isabel Whitt, provides an
interim budget on which the
system can operate for the
next 30 days until school of
ficials learn from Raleigh how
much state and federal funds
will be received by the system
for the year.
Whitt pointed out that this
was not a final budget, and
that other budget resolutions
would be in the making as the
school board was notified of
state and federal funds
available.
This budget resolution is
based on last year's budget
amounts plus five percent,
Whitt said. In order (or the
school system to operate
through July, the state sent
word to Whitt that it would
certify (or deposit) the
amount spent in July, 1980
plus five percent in the
system's account.
The budget document is
divided into seven categories
each showing funds ap
propriated for that category
and estimated revenues from
sources for the category.
An immediate change fore
seen in the document concerns
the county appropriation to
the Local Current Expense
Fund. The school board re
quested $697,939 from the
county, but the commissioners
designated only >525,000 for
the schools in that category in
their 1981-82 budget adopted
June 90. The school board's
capital outlay fund is destined
to come up $25,000 short since
the board asked the commis
sioners for $50,000 but were
appropriated only half that
amount
The school board's local cur
rent expense fund calls for a
total of $1,012,248 for instruc
tional programs and suppor
ting services. The two largest
expenditures in that category
are $409,113 for vocational
education programs and
$462,700 for business suppor
ting services. Revenues
estimated are $314,309 from
state funds and $697,939 from
the county.
The state public school fund
amounts to $3,682,475 with the
amount estimated as coming
from the state. Instuctional
programs are designated to
receive $2,645,354 of that total,
and the two other large expen
ditures are $248,347 for school
administration supporting
services and $577,456 for
business supporting services.
The federal grants fund
category calls for an ap
propriation of $454,477. In
structional programs will
receive $337,883 of that with
the remainder going for sup
port services Revenue for this
category comes from ESEA
Title I, Title Vl-B and CETA.
The school fund service fund
totals $546,150 With $446,000
designated for business sup
port services and $100,150
designated for other support
services. Estimated revenue
for the fund lists $446,000 in
U.S. Department of
Agriculture grants and
$100,150 in school meal sales
The board's capital outlay
fund totals $512,029, all of
which is designated to be
spent on the Marshall-Walnut
consolidated elementary
school. The 1973 state public
school facilities bond will pro
vide an estimated $154,652 as
revenue, the board estimated
$50,000 in county appropria
tions, and $307,377 is listed as
the. third revenue source as a
fund balance appropriated
from last year's budget.
In the final two fund
categories, the budget resolu
tion shows $600 from the
alcoholic beverage control
fund designated to be spent on
the purchase of equipment
and $10,000 in the Spring Creek
Veteran's Farm Cooperative
Program fund designated to
be spent on vocational pro
grams.
Teachers Put Out With Lawmakers
The failure of the General
Assembly to take affirmative
action on reduction of teacher
pupU ratio* and pay increases
for teachers before it adjourn
ed last Friday has unleashed
the ire of North Carolina
Association of Educators
members across the state.
"The 1M1 General
Assembly utterly tailed to
meet the needs of North
Carolina's public school
children.'' John 1. WUson.
NCAE pr < 'sicienl said.
return in September will not
have either the personnel or
the supplies to maintain the
quality that existed during the
past year."
He said the General
Assembly ignored the needs of
handicapped children with the
result that many at these
children will end up in regular
classrooms which are not
that the General Assembly
rrneged on its [ < Ucal com
schools in September, and ab
solutely nothing that I* done in
October can change that
fact."
Wilson said the decision to
"totally ignore the needs of
public education was a oon
Coatiaaed an Page I
Duckett Sentenced
To Twelve Years#*
A Madison County man was
sentenced to It years in prison
after pleading guilty Monday
in U.S. District Court in
Asheville to charges in con
nection with tke May 17 rob
tj ?f e M Avon*
:t was charged
? ti<? with the robbery i
Mernmon Avenue branch
First -Citiiens Bank and Trust
Co.
According to poilca rapor ts,
am annedwtlfca
o( the bank a> vs- a m May