Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / Dec. 24, 1981, edition 1 / Page 1
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The News record SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON CO^ Wfh Year No. 52 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C, THURSDAY, December 24, 1981 PY ? ' / ...... ? Merry Christmas from . . ; ? jjt V The Staff and Associates of The News Record C Dave Wilson Appreciation Day I Hay, Dec. 24 nas been of ficially proclaimed "Dave Wilson Appreciation Day" in Marshall by Mayor Lawrence Ponder. "Dave's dedication to his job of keeping our downtown area dean and debris-free in all kinds >f cheerful personal!!) and belptolns iraall matters >f garbage collectior have ul made Marshall a diviner and b* Town residents and officials will gather at Town Hall at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to pay special tribute to Mr Wilson with an old time "pounding, the traditional ntain method of presenting food and gifts to mountain area preachers Ail town residents and 3USiB -men re toatte d Kr "our friend and ? ?' ';V - '? :.?*? ? " * .V "-N ?? , "v ' ' " ? . >; '? ... . ' Local Officers Baffled By 'Break-ins' By NICHOLAS HANCOCK Editor Local an0 state law enforcement officers were baffled Thursday night by a rash of break-in in cidences which spread like wildfire throughout Madison County. County Sheriff E.Y. Ponder said reports began coining in to hi? office at U:05 p.m. and continued pouring in until approximately. 4: 30 a.m. Friday. The sheriff called in units of the state Highway patrol to assist in apprehending a prime suspect in the bizarre break-ins, but the alleged culprit elud ed state troopers after running a roadblock set up on U.S. 23 near Murray Mountain. Ponder said once the suspect "disappeared over Murray Mountain," about 4:45 a.m., the calls stopped coming in at his office. But officers con tinued to investigate the break-ins through most of Friday. Few clues were found, the sheriff said, but he added that he has "a pretty good idea who's behind this." The unusual series of events began when several residents of. the Hot Springs area called the sheriff's department to report "someone bumping around in my livingroom," as one caller described it. Minutes later, the Hot Springs Police Depart ment was flooded with calls from residents repor ting a prowler in their homes. Officers dispatched to the houses were unable to turn up a suspect, and reported that nothing seem ed to be taken from any of the residences. On the * contrary, most residents told officers that items which they had never seen before had mysterious ly turned up in their livingrooms. Ponder said later reports began coming in from the Spring Creek and Meadow Fork communities, and seemed to spread further south and east in the county over Dogget Mountain and into the Little Sandy Mush area. A Morrow Branch Road resi dent reported "loud clattering noises" on the roof of his hours shortly before hearing a prowler in his tlen. ' Robert Weaver said nothing seemed to be miss ing from his residence, but, "I noticed that the packages under the Christmas tree were re arranged, and there seemed to be more of them." Burder Reeves reported a suspicious vehicle "swooshing by the house at a high rate of speed" shortly before the Weaver report was turned in. Residents along the southern edge of the county experienced similar disturbances later in the night, and Ponder said the unusual reports of strange noises and intruders began in the Mar shall area about 2:30 a.m. James I. Story, retired veteran reporter and former editor of The News Record, said his house was hit shortly after 2:40 a.m. "It all happened so fast I couldn't even interview the fellow," Story said. When reports began arriving from the Mars Hill area, Ponder decided to call in the Highway Patrol to assist deputies in an attempt to halt the fast moving intruder. * Ponder said break-ins began in the south Mars Hill area and seemed to progress northward. A road block was set up on U.S. 23 near the foot of Murray Mountain by Troopers Johnny Robinson and A.L. Cooper while deputies and the Mars Hill Police Department combed the streets of the town in search of the elusive suspect Ponder radioed the patrolmen that the suspect seemed to be heading in their direction and cau tioned them to be on the lookout for a vehicle traveling at an extremely high rate of speed. "I've never seen anything like it," Trooper Robinson said later Friday morning. "That thing was coming up the road like a bullet. I just knew ? we had completely lost two patrol cars if that thing hit us. But it just took off and flew right over us and sailed over Murray Mountain without ever touching the ground again. It just disappeared into the night," he said. Robinson's report described the vehicle as a large, early model red metal sleigh with eight large brown furry creatures in front. The driver was described as a plump male dressed in a red suit. The man had a long, white beard, the report stated. "It's strange," Robinson said, "I would have sworn I heard him laughing as he went by. Something like Ho, Ho, Ho!' " County Gets Two Of Four Projects By NICHOLAS HANCOCK Editor Fiscal year 1M4 is the earliest that Madison County will see any actual highway construction begin, according to a revised highway improve ment schedule adopted by the state Board of Transportation last Friday. Plagued by soaring inflation and declining revenues, the North Carolina Department of Transportation will be work ing under a new Highway Im a'M^ercenMreduction in an is "basically a maintenance program." A third of the state highway projects planned over the next 10 years ? estimated to cost $1.1 billion ? were cancelled under the new schedule, and many of the fr billion in con struction projects retained by the program were postponed for years. Only two major projects in Madison County were kept on the state's planning books while the t . listed two t ? j ? s projects approximately $10.5 million with right-of-way work begin ning hi fiscal year 1983 and construction scheduled for 1984. Total project cost tor 10.8 miles of improvement to U.S. 19 is listed at $34.1 million. Right-of-way work will be con ducted in 1988 and 1988, accor ding to the schedule, and con struction will Ipgia in 1988 and continue through 1991 Ap money will fund the project,' In addition the board ap proved a *.800 project tor the U S. ?-70 and N.C. 113 interchange at Mar imately 50 percent of the total for those primary and urban highway needs," Roberson said. The new plan says the state hopes to spend $212 million a year on primary highway im provements through 1991, down from the $315 million a Continued on Page 2 rPublic Meetings-i The Marshall Board of Aldermi meet Mooday, Jan. 4 at 7:J town hall on Main Street. Aioermen By, Jan 4 at 7:30 p.m. it th< town hall on Main Sti Th Mad oi Coi tior a ill meet m J it 0:30 a.m to the c Commit I a I
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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Dec. 24, 1981, edition 1
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