Me News Record
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901
82nd Year NO. 23 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N.C.
WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1983
1 Par Paim,
Commissioners
Raise
Property Tax
By BOB KOENIG
The Madison County Board of Commis
sioners voted to increase the county property
tax rate by 20 cents at a monthly meeting Fri
day night. The increase raises the Madison
County property tax rate to 95 cents on each
$100 of assessed valuation, highest in Western
North Carolina.
The tax increase cornes at a time when the
commissioners are attempting to prepare the
operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year
and collect taxes owed from previous years.
The shortfall leaves the county almost $20,000
below projected revenues for the current fiscal
.year.
A report in the Monday edition of The
Asheville-Citizen stated that the county may
not be able to meet the employee payroll this
week because of the shortfall. There was no
discussion of payless paydays for county
workers at the Friday night meeting. Neither
Caldwell or commission chairman James Led
ford was available for comment on Monday
concerning the report.
Caldwell told the commissioners that he
has received budget requests totaling $2.6
million from county agencies for the upcoming
fiscal year. He said that the county would have
to impose a tax rate of $1.09 in order to meet all
the request. The finance officer asked the com
missioners to hold a session to work on the
county operating budget for next year.
The board members rejected increasing
the tax rate to $1.09. Ledford asked if delinquent
taxes could be included in next year's budget.
Caldwell said the delinquent tax payments
could not be anticipated and, therefore, could
not be included in the county's budget.
County attorney Larry Leake reported that
efforts to collect delinquent taxes have thus far
been unsuccessful. He said that his office had
thus far sent out written notices to some 40
delinquent taxpayers owing in excess of $27,000
in back taxes. To date, the letters have received
only one response with a payment of $266.
Ledford asked Caldwell if the county could
operate with a tax rate of 90 cents. The finance
officer said he didn't think so, adding that the
devaluation of property owned by Norfolk
Southern Corp. would cost the county at least
$172,000, or ten cents "per $100 of the county's
assessed property evaluation.
Caldwell reported that he has trimmed the
county Board of Education's request for
$951,000 to $600,000. Commissioner Ervin
Adams moved to increase the property tax rate
to 95 cents. The motion was seconded by
Virginia Anderson and was passed without op
position.
Even with the cut in the Board of Educa
tion's request, the commissioners must still
trim $164,000 from requests of other county
(Continued on Page 10)
WNC COUNTY PROPERTY TAX RATES
ON $100 VALUATION
AVERY 52C
ASHE 58c
BUNCOMBE 59.5c
BURKE 62c
CHEROKEE 42c
CLAY 54c
CLEVELAND.. 68c
HAYWOOD 69c
HENDERSON 39.5c
MACON 35c
MITCHELL 65c
Mcdowell 57c
TRANSYLVANIA 69c
RUTHERFORD 85c
YANCEY 50c
?Several counties impose additional sur
charges for communities within fire districts
Marshall
Proiect
Delayed
By BOB KOENIG
Work 011 the $1.2 million
Marshall sewer project was
postponed for at least two
weeks when town officials
discovered that the project
had failed to attract a suffi
cient number of bidders. The
discovery was made at a bid
opening Thursday afternoon
at which town officials had
hoped to award two contracts
in connection with the project.
The bid opening was held in
conjunction with the monthly
meeting of the Board of
Aldermen. Bids on two
separate contracts were read
by Bill Lapsley, an engineer
with Butler-McGill
Associates, the town's consul
tant on the project. One con
tract called for the construc
tion of a waste treatment plant
and pumping stations. A se
cond contract was to be
awarded for the installation of
interceptors and w- er mains.
Although five contractors
submitted bids on the waste
treatment portion of the pro
ject, only two bids were sub
mitted for the larger contract
to install the water mains.
State law requires the town to
receive at least three qualified
bids before awarding the con
struction contract.
The bid opening was further
complicated when Lapsley
read a bid submitted by CFW
Construction Co. of Fayet
tevilie, Tenn., but declined to
announce the other bid on the
(Continued on Page 10)
Mars Hill Project
Explained
More than 35 Mars Hill
residents attended a public
hearing on the town's propos
ed $2.4 million sewer project
Monday night .at Mars Hill
Town Hall. The public hearing
was held to infonn residents of
plans for the proposed new
sewer system and to hear
their views on the project.
Mayor Bill Powell,
aldermen, and the town clerk
explained details of the pro
posed project and answered
residents' questions. Powell
said the project will cost an
estimated $2.4 million. Funds
will coine from grants from
the Farmers Home Ad
ministration, Mars Hill Col
lege, the North Carolina Clean
Water Fund and from the sale
of a $1.5 million bond issue
that Mars Hill voters will
decide on Aug. 3. Financing
for the project is similar to i
that obtained by Marshall last t
year for renovation of the *
town's water and sewer
I system.
The engineering firm ol
McGuire-Beebe of Spartan
burg, S.C. provided cost
estimates in March. PowelJ
termed the firm's figures
"bare bones estimate of the
cost." the mayor told those at
the meeting that construction
of a waste treatment plant will
cost almost $600,000 while four
pumping stations will cost
$330,000. Interceptor lines will
cost another $133,000, and col
lector lines will cost almost a
million dollars. The project
has a contingency fund of
almost $200,000.
Tbe mayor also said that the
system will have an annual
operating budget of $221,394
beginning in 1965. Estimates
provided by the FinHA state
that the average monthly cost
for private residents should be
about $15.33. The town's debt
m the bonds will be repaid
>ver 40 years.
When completed, the
system will serve 90 percent of
f the town. Residents along
Parkway View Ed., and in the
trailer park owned by C.N.
Willis will not be served by the
new system. Powell said the
area was excluded from the
project because including the
road in the plan would have
cost an additional one million
dollars. Aldermen Dr. W. Otis
Duck told the residents that
those homes not connected to
the new system will not pay
the additional water and
sewer charges.
Powell said all homes serv
ed by the new system will be
required to hook into the
system. He added that the
mandatory hookup is a re
quirement for the FinHA
grant. The project will provide
water and sewer lines to loca
tions just outside the
homeowner's property. The
residents will have to pay the
cost of connecting their homes
to the system's lines.
In addition to some 400
private residents, the new
system will also serve 11
businesses and the town's
largest water customer, Mars
Hill College. Dr. Fred Bentley
attended the Monday night
meeting and explained the col
lege's position concerning the
project.
"We don't have any choice
in this matter," he said. "If
the town were not to approve
this project, we will have to
proceed immediately with
plans to have a secondary
treatment plant operating by
September of 1984. We're
under a strict mandate to do
something."
The school has pledged
$150,000 for the project and
will also give over its present
system to the town as part of
the proposed project.
Mars Hill businessman
Clyde English told the
meeting, "This will mean a lot
to bringing business to Mars
Hill, and 1'in glad to see it.
Mars Hill is on the move and
this will Keep us moving."
Powell told the meeting that
a referendum on the bond
issue has been scheduled for
Aug. 3. Residents have until
July 5 to register to vote in the
referendum. Before adjourn
ing the public meeting, the
town residents took a voice
vote of confidence on the plan.
The vote was unanimous in
favor of it.
The Regular monthly
meeting of the town's board of
aldennen was held following
the public hearing. Council
member Gordon Randolph
was out of town and did not at
tend the Monday night
meeting.
The remaining town of- 1
ficials approved a request by ]
chief of police R.J. Cutshall
for a salary increase for Mars <
Hill police officer Rick
Haynes. The aldennen ap- 1
(Continued on Page 10)
Mars Hill Man Drowns
After Rescue Of Seven
A Mars Hill man drowned in
the French Broad River near
Hot Springs Sunday afternoon
after helping rescue several
friends when their craft over
turned under the Deep Water
Bridge.
George Frank Wilson, 39, of
Route 2 Mars Hill was pro
nounced dead at the scene
when discovered by rescue
workers, according to
Madison County Sheriff E.Y.
Ponder.
Ponder said, Wilson disap
peared after rescuing seven
members of the group. After
assisting the seven back to
shore, Wilson returned to the
water to help the other two
rafters when he went under.
The accident occurred about 2
pin.
Rafters at the scene of the ac
cident immediately began a
search for Wilson. The
Mi.di9on County EMS and a
rescue squad from Newport,
Tenn. joined in the search.
Wilson's body was recovered
about 5:15 p.m. by members
of the county rescue squad in a
boat. He was found in water 20
feet deep some 170 yards from
where he first disappeared.
The tradegy ended a two
day river trip for the Mars Hill
group. Ponder said the rafters
set out from Asheville Satur
day morning and camped near
Marshall Saturda> night
They were near the end of
their planned trip when the
raft overturned.
M.H. Police Capture
2 Escaped Convicts
Mars Hill police captured
two escaped convicts from
South Carolina early Friday
morning in Mars Hill, accor
ding to police Chief R.J. Cut
shall.
The escapees were from the
Cross Anchor Institute, a cor
rections facility near Gaffney.
The prisoners were on a work
release job in a garage owned
by the city of Gaffney when
they made their escape in a
city-owned truck Thursday.
The truck apparently ran out
>f gas near Mars Hill.
Mars Hill police officer Rick
Haynes was the only officer on
duty after midnight in Mars
Hill when he spotted the two
men walking near parked cars
on South Main Street near the
Mars Hill College cainpu?.
Haynes stopped the men and
asked for identification.
Neither was able to produce
any identification and one of
the men gave Haynes a false
name. Haynes ran a check on
the two men and then took
them into custody and called
Chief Cutshall. After discover
ing the stolen truck, Cutshall
called Gaffney and found the
true identity of the escaped
convicts. Arrested were
James Thurston, 23. serving
three years for breach of trust
and John Hall, 20, serving a
three year sentence for car
theft
Officer Haynes and Chief
Cutshall escorted the
prisoners to the Madison
County Jail in Marshall. The
men were returned to the
South Carolina prison on Fri
day afternoon.
Officer Haynes was com
mended by the Mars Hill
Board of Aldermen for his ar
rest at the board's Monday
night meeting.
The
Times
And
Ways Of
Keeping It - Are Changing
By JOY ASCHENBACH
National Geographic News Service
WASHINGTON ? Once upon a time, a
glance at the sun seemed good enough. Now,
man needs to know the exact time to a billionth
of a second, and atomic clocks tell him.
A hundred years ago, noon was whenever
the sun passed directly over your town. To
signal the moment in large cities, a big "time
ball" was dropped from a mast atop the highest
point around.
There were at least 100 different local times
in the United States, and a person traveling
from coast to coast would have to reset their
watch some 30 times.
Even within the East, when it was noon in
the nation's capital, it was already 12:08 p.m. in
Philadelphia, 12:12 in New York, and 12:24 in
. In Atlanta, it was still only 11:30 a.m.
So were travelers on the then
It was known as the "Day of Two Noons"
because in the eastern part of each zone there
was a noon by the sun, and another by standard
time. Telegraph lines transmitted the new noon
time from the master clock at the U.S. Naval
Observatory in Washington, D.C., to major
cities.
Some people grumbled. "The sun is no
longer to boss the job," complained an Indiana
newspaper. "People must.. .eat, sleep, work,
marry, and die by railroad time. The planets
must, in the future, make their circuits by such
timetables as railroad magnates arrange '
Despite the initial resistance, the rest of the
world followed. Within a few years the entire
globe was divided into 24 uniform time zones,
each an hour apart Every 15 degrees of
longitude east or west of the prime meridian &
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