Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / March 2, 1983, edition 1 / Page 1
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The news record SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MAD :7 "TY / a ^ ft , '' /?5 : *' 82nd Year No. 9 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, n.w ? 15c P. Copy Continental VP Predicts Telephone Charges To Rise Basic monthly telephone service in Madison County and Weaverville area could cost $50 in the next five years if present inflation and deregulation trends continue, The News Record has learned. Turner A. Rogers, vice president of Continental Telephone of North Carolina, said last week that such rapid rate increases might deprive low income customers of phone service entirely. Rogers said he is concerned about the trend because it will effect people in his company's ser vices area "socially as well as economically. In other words, they won't be able to call the sheriff, the doctor, the fire department, the church." Rogers says he is unhappy with the so-called "Pure II" deregulation plan that would require residential customers to pay flat rate to local phone companies for access to long distance lines whether or not they made any long distance calls. In contrast, the local com panies have been paid by the Bell System for their part in helping provide the long distance service. Rogers noted that 60 percent of Con tinental's revenues have been coming from the Bell System. Long distance rates have been high enough in the past partially subsidize local ser vice, bringing basic telephone service within reach of as many people as possible. Rural customers will be hurt the most, Rogers said, because rural users already pay more for telephone ser vice than city residents because rural homes are fur ther apart, creating the need for longer lines and longer travel distances for servicing. While local rates would rise, long distance rates in Madison County would go down under the Pure II plan. The proposed changes have not yey been approved by the necessary state and regulatory agencies. Con tinental opposes the changes. The Bell System favors them because they will allow the long distance company to compete more effectively with other companies offering long distance service. Rogers also had some predictions concerning changes that will be beneficial to Madison County and Weaverville customers. Computerized digital swit chboards should make new services like call forwarding and speed dialing available in the future. Even telephone computer connections that will allow window shopping by phone could eventually become possible. The new computerized swit chboards will help keep costs down because they require less maintainence and space than those currently in use. Some changes have already taken place. As of Jan. 1, customers with party line phones become eligible, as those with single party phones, to buy their telephones and avoid a mon thly leasing charge. Party line customers were unable to pur chase their phones in the past because their instruments had to have the right frequency to ring on their line only. About a quarter of all telephone customers in Madison County are still on party lines. . As of the first of the year, customers aquiring new ser vices or adding additional ser vices are required to purchase their own phone. The new regulations also allow first time customers to save money doing their own in-house wir ing. The telephone company offers a booklet providing in structions for the wiring. There are now approximate ly 5,240 telephone customers in Madison County and 5,027 in the Weaverville exchange. The price of telephone service is based on the number of phones that can be reached in an exchange. All phones in Madison County are in Group I, phones that can reach fewer than 4,000 other phones local ly. Weaverville customers, who can tlelphone Asheville numbers toll-free, are in Group 5 and pay a higher basic charge each month. All toll calls made in Madison County must first pass through Asheville. If so meone in Marshall wants to caU someone in Hot Springs, the call goes into Asheville and back out again. Because of this, it is not likely that the changes in telephone service charges will include the reduc tion in the present toll call system among the towns, Rogers says that the cost of rewiring to make such changes possible would be prohibitive. Clean Water Committee Sets Recommendations ? t >. . _ : '? V . ..... i; ; v - -w ? - ->iS - - ?' * -1 - ' ' ' ? " * ? "* " **"' *** By ROBERT KOENIG The Citizens' Advisory Com mittee for the Madison County Clean Waters Project met recently to finalize a draft summary of their recommen dations for installing septic systems in county homes. The committee's work, to be presented to the Madison County Board of Commis sioners, is the first step in a project to upgrade sewage facilities in six target areas in the county. The committee will report to the county commissioners at their regular monthly meeting, scheduled for Friday in the county courthouse at 7:30 p.m. The county commis sioners are not abligated to ac cept the committee's recom mendations. The [Manning phase of the Clean Waters Project is just the first step in the process to provide the septic systems. Funding for the project is not expected before the 1985 fiscal year. The planning phase is a necessary first step toward obtaining the necessary fun ding from Environmental Pro tection Agency. The Madison County Housing Authority cur rently has funds from the block grant program to install septic systems in 35 homes. When the necessary funding is provided, the advisory com mittee hopes to install septic systems in some 240 homes in the county. At their last meeting, the citizens' advisory board, com posed of residents of the six target areas, decided on a number of recommendations. Although the committee did not decide on a particular area in which to begin the project, they were in agreement with the proposal that work be begun in a single area before going on to another of the targeted areas. The commit tee also agreed that participa tion in the project would be on a voluntary basis. The committee also agreed that the Madison County Health Department should be charged with the responsibili ty of informing residents in the target areas of the costs, benefits and responsibilities of accepting the new septic systems. Those homeowners agree ing to having the systems in stalled will be charged a por tion of the system's cost. It is estimated that the cost of a conventional system will be somewhere around $120 while more expensive systems could cost $240. The committee agreed that those residents ac cepting septic systems will pay according to the kind of system needed. Committee member Dr. Don Anderson suggested that some provision be made for low income and elderly residents receiving im provements. Becky Williams suggested that looking into Farmers Home Administra tion funding for those unable to afford the improvements. The committee also agreed that those receiving the system be required to grant an easement so that inspections and maintenance on the systems can be performed. Regarding the costs of homeowners, the committee recommended that each homeowner be required to pay a $25 refundable deposit prior to having the site evaluated -- * y '"-r--*- - ?*> .7 t ? 1 for a recommended septic system Those receiving the improvements would .also be required to sign a binding con tract for the construction and easement and would be re quired to pay the balance due at the completion of the con struction. One of the major questions the committee was unable to resolve at their last meeting regarding which county agen cy should be appointed to operate the project. The com mittee recommended that the county commissioners make the decision. A detailed 21-page draft summary of the committee's findings has been prepared by Prank R. Shutz Consulting Engineers of Asheville. The report will be presented to the board of commissioners at the Friday night meeting. Mountain Park Hotel A Legend's Lure Remains BY ELIZABETH D. SQUIRE Travelers still come to Hot Spring lured by the legend of healing springs. Sheila Price, waitress at the Trail Restaurant, says that even In winter about two peo ple a week come in and ask "Where is the hot spring?" and "Does it really cure diseases?" More come in sum mer. On a recent cold day, a young couple and a young man who hopes to buy land in Hot Springs had ignored the "no trespassing" signs to go look at the boarded up bathhouse. Said the young man: "What catches the imagination is that there's something of natural origin here that goes way back to the earliest part of our history, was once built BATH HOI iSE of the Mountain Park Hotel as it aDtears tndav up into something remarkable and then just faded back into nature... except it didn't. Now it's walled away." Even back in the 1920's as the widely famous resort bgan to die, the citizens could not believe it. Peggy Dotterer did not know her twelth birthday par ty with a cake decorated by the chef at the Mountain Park Hotel would be her last at the hotel. Shortly after that birth day party, her grandfather, Col. James Henry Rum bough, then in his Bo's, gave up runn ing the hotel. That was on the ?ve of World War I Then during the war the /? * man men were seized brings back legendary memories. The husband to be of Carolyn Parker of Weaverville, Arthur Robinson, served as an army guard at the internment camp, then sailed to France on the captured German ship. Ther was a cabin for the Kaiser inlaid with gold on that ship, young Robinson totd her. After the war, the Mountain Park Hotel bufned down, pro bably because a repair worker dropped a cigarette. This was the third hotel near the spr ings to burn: the first Warm Springs Hotel in 1838, the next hotel in 1884. the Mountain Park In 1920 Bessie R. Sanfortt. one of Col. Rum bough's daughter*, bult the next building by the springs, a sanatorium Mrs. Sanford was a fit i ject for a legend herself then had married and lived i in Hoi Graves says. Jesuits of the New Orleans province bought the building and the springs property around it, intending to start a college. But Hot Springs never became a college town because the Jesuits unable to get a tax deduction and finally (Continued on Page 3) Shelton Laurel's Crafty Potter By ROBERT KOENIG In the peaceful quiet of her Shelton Laural home, Nancy Darrell works at an age-old craft. With only thousands of her farm animals to disturb the silence, Nancy sits at a kick wheel crafting fine porcelain wares that are both functional and beautiful. Nancy operates a cottage in dustry with many centuries of history from her farmhouse near the Tennessee border. She and her husband. Don, operate a small farm on 50 acres in the Shelton Laurel section on Mill Creek. The road which led her to Shelton Laurel and to her craft began in Rising Fawn, Ga., in 1970. There, Nancy began an apprenticeship with master potter Charles Counts. After studying with Counts for two years, Nancy traveled to Limerick, Maine, where she continued her training with Bob Vermillion. Following another two years of training, Nancy struck out on her own and moved to Spring Creek. She and Don lived in Spring Creek until 1979, when they were able to purchase the farm they now operate. Her workshop is a large room behind the house. There, PEGGY DOTTERER stands next to the sign an the boarded-upbath house, showing prices at the time it closed. surrounded by sacks of clay that she uses to create her pot tery, Nancy sits at her wheel and "throws" pottery. When potters "throw" pottery, they create the forms that will be solidify on shelves called boards. A board might contain several dozen pieces of work, depending on the size of the in dividual pieces. The first step in creating a work of pottery begins weeks before Nancy sits down at her wheel. The clay used to create porcelain is a mixture of kaolin, silica and feltspar. The mixture must be allowed to age to allow for the breakdown of bacteria. Nancy ages her clay from two to six months. Some potters will age their clay for as long as a year. Once the clay is ready to be thrown, Nancy takes special care to center the clay on the wheel. This centering is im portant for creating a piece that is evenly shaped. When the clay is centered on the wheel, the potter's magic begins. As the wheel turns the clay, skilled hands make the lump of clay take shape as a vase, bowl, cup or plate. To the casual observer, the work ings of the potter's hands is barely detectable. The un trained eye watches as a bowl takes shape at the potter's fingertips. Nancy uses few tools in het craft. When the piece on the wheel begins to take shape, Nancy will use a small piece o! plastic called a rib to help shape the piece. Later, sh? will use another small tool to trim away any rough edges After the thrown piece of clay has been coaxed into shape, it goes on a shelf to dry. The piece must dry to a stage where it is what Nancy describes as "leather hard" before handles or knobs can be added. Once the handles are added, the piece then must continue drying until it reaches the bone hard stage. The chalk white pieces of pottery are then ready for their first firing in the kiln. Exposure to the high temperatures of the kiln creates porcelain from the clay by a chemical reaction. Nancy's kiln is a gas heated creation behind the workshop. She and Don built it when they moved to the Shelton Laurel farm. The pieces to be fired must be carefully stacked inside the kiln so that no piece touches Continued on Page 8 W'ville Office To Close Officials of. the Continental YHephone Company of'North Carolina have announced plans to dose their service of fice in Wesverville effective March 11. The office closing is part of the company's efforts to cen tralize service to customers. Services handled in the Weaverville office will be on ices m ayiva ^Continental Tel*P*>one ?usiom era Is ladUor
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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March 2, 1983, edition 1
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