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The News pcrnoD
COUNTY LIBRARY
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY S GENERAL ?ELIVERY
MARSHALL |\|C
>8753
82nd Year No. 30 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL, N C WEDNESDAY, August 3, 1983 15* Per Copy
yjcene Of Double Murder
HOME OF William Gahagan and
his sister, Bonnie, scene of last
Friday's double murder.
Police Probing
Laurel Slayings
County and state law en
forcement officials were conti
nuing their investigation this
week into the slayings of two
Laurel River residents,
members of one of the
county's oldest families.
The two, William Grady
Gahagan. 83. and his sister,
Bonnie Mae Gahagan, 79,
were slain late Friday even
ing; their bodies were found
by a son, Grady Gahagan of
Asheville, early Saturday
afternoon.
Madison County Sheriff
E.Y'. Ponder told The News
Record at presstime that "we
are still in the process of
eliminating suspects."
Two shots were fired at each
of the victims, one in the chest
and one in the back of the
head. Sheriff Ponder said
there was a possibility that a
fifth shot was fired. All were
from 32 or 38-caliber pistols.
*>
Scene of the mureders, for
which robbery was the ap
parent motive, was the home
of Bonnie Mae Gahagan,
where her brother had made
his home since the death of his
wife, the former Bessie
Thomas, in 1979 Sheriff
Ponder said the $5,000 to
$10,000 is believed to have
been taken from the house.
Time of the murders, he said,
has been fixed at 10 p.m. to
midnight Friday.
Entry to the large white
house, an historic landmark in
the area (see other story in
this issue), was gained by for
cing a rear door to the kitchen
area, where the bodies were
found. Sheriff Ponder said a
number of fingerprints were
found at the scene. A trunk,
which presumably contained
the money taken in the
murder-robbery, is being ex
amined by state investigators.
Gahagan (in 1950s)
Bonnie Gahagan ( 1937 )
Non-I-26 Rout** t
'Better For County
A four-lane limited access
road rather than an Interstate
highway extension into Ten
nessee would better serve the
Madison County area, in the
view of Zeno Ponder of the
State Transportation Commis
sion.
And, Ponder told The News
Record this week, such a non
Interstate road would be far
more likely if the mandate of
the Appalachian Regional
Commission <ARC> is renew
ed by Congress. A bill to that
effect has been introduced by
Rep. James McClure Clarke
and co-sponsored by 49 other
legislators.
An Aug. 26 meeting has been
called by the Unicoi County,
Tenn. Chamber of Commerce
to put forth a plan to extend In
terstate 26, which now ends on
the outskirts of Asheville, into
Tennessee by way of North
Buncombe and Madison coun
lies, mainly by upgrading
Route 23.
But Ponder warned that
such an extension would serve
through-traffic by means of
cloverleaf exits required for
Interstate highways, leaving
it to the state to build access
roads to serve possible in
dustries in the area. The Ap
palachian regional approach,
he said, calls for development
of roads especially designed to
serve the needs of the region
rather than the Interstate
traveler. ARC's plan would
also call for funds for sewers,
water supply and health care
- all important to develop
ment of the region.
Most important. Ponder
said, the regional roads would
provide access as needed for
roads leading to industrial
sites ? something the In
terstate proposal cannot ad
dress. ? E.D.S.
GOV. HUNT, Speaker Ramsey at opening ceremonies
New Medical Center
Dedicated In Hot Springs
The Hot Springs Health Pro
gram dedicated the new Hot
Springs medical center with
ceremonies, Friday morning
North Carolina Governor Jim
Hunt delivered the dedication
address to an audience of
several hundred county
residents on hand to tour the
new building.
Gov. Hunt arrived in Hot
Springs by helicopter follow
ing an address to ^neeting at
the North Carolina Associa
tion of Educators at Mars Hill
College.
Jerry Plemmons. a member
of the program's board of
directors, addressed the
gathering, presenting a brief
history of the health program
and detailing efforts which
made the new facility possi
ble. Plemmons said, "This
building represents 12 years of
efforts to bring quality health
care to the people of Madison
County. Our director. Monica
Teusch, has done a heck of a
job getting this project finish
ed. She's been putting in 14
and 16-hour days getting
everything ready for today."
Plemmons also acknowledged
the contributions of former
program director Michael
Norrin and architect Taylor
Barnhill, who designed the
rr- >dical center.
enmi'ns introduced
Garland Woody, a member of
the board of directors
representing the Hot Springs
Spring Creek area. Woody
thanked the members of the
building committee and Gov.
Hunt and Speaker of the House
Liston Ramsey for their sup
port of the program. Woody
said that he had received a
call from the state budget
director asking how much
money was needed to com
plete the project. Woody said
he told the director. "The
sky's the limit.'' Woody then
introduced Ramsey, calling
him the "most respected
speaker in the history of the
General Assembly."
Ramsey thanked Woody and
told the gathering. "If you
were in Raleigh, you'd find
that that admiration is not
^unammou;/' The speaker
went on to i?ll the audience of
the role Hunt had played in
seeing the new medical facili
ty completed He said that
"Jim Hunt may run for the
Senate next year, but I don't
know for sure because he
hasn't told me what he plans
to do when his term expires "
When Hunt took the
microphone, he said to
Ramsey. "If I should decide to
run for the Senate, you'll be
the- tirst person I tell " The
governor told a different ver
sion of the story recounted by
Woody. Hunt said, "The
budget director asked. 'How
much do you need0' and
Woody replied, 'How much do
you have?' The director had to
call Liston to find- out how
much we had "
Hunt praised the efforts of
tiie Hoi Springs Health pro
gram, saving ' In 12 short
years, you have done what
seemed impossible to many
people Vou built the Hot Spr
ings Health Program into an
outstanding example of ex
cellent community health care
and this new clinic is the most
recent example of your faith
and hard work Today, you
have made the impossible
possible."
Hunt praised the efforts of
Jerry Plemmons. Monica
Teutsch and Liston Ramsey
and the people of Hot Springs
who raised $40,000 to fund the
building project. He also noted
the contribution of the Ap
palachian Regional Commis
sion, which funded the project
with a grant of $180,000. and
called for the ARC to be main
tained by Congress.
Following the address. Hunt
joined the program's board of
directors for a tcur of the new
facility.
At the program's annual
membership meeting July 25,
board member Jerry Plem
mons toJd the membership
that the project was com
pleted within its budget and on
time. Board member Don
Darrell told The News Record
that a $150,000 loan that the
health program had planned
to use to complete the building
was not needed.
Area Stands To Gain
$500.000-Plus In Bill
Counties in the 52nd District
(Madison, Haywood, Jackson,
Swain and part of Graham)
and the towns therein will gain
more than half a million
dollars in extra revenue if all
the state's counties enact the
sales provision enacted in the
recent General Assembly ses
sion, Rep. Liston B Ramsey
told The News Record on Mon
day.
Specifically, Speaker
Ramsey said, the total district
(if all counties enact the sales
tax levy) will receive $542,450.
Of this, Madison County and
the town governments therein,
he said, will receive $210,125.
Speaker Ramsey explained
that the Senate version of the
sales tax proposal would have
sent the tax revenues back to
the counties wnere iney were *
collected, but that the House
bill ultimately passed allots
the money on a population
basis to the counties that enact
the tax.
Speaker Ramsey said that
his figures on the 52nd District
will apply il all of the state's
100 counties enact the tax. "It
is very likely that they will
within four or five years," he
told The News Record.
Ramsey admitted that his
efforts on behalf of the House
version of the tax that prevail
ed "probably held up adjourn
ment for a few days," but that
"I feel that it was worth it
because over a period of
several years, you are talking
about a lot of money for these
five mountain counties."
Garbage Pickups
(lut In Marshall
Sharp cuts in Marshall's
garbage pickups were
scheduled by the Board of
Aldermen at a meeting Mon
day night.
Pickups, which had been
made three days a week, will
henceforth be made one day a
week ? on Monday ? for the
whole town, and another day
?Thursday ? for the
downtown area, the board
decided.
On the advice of Mayor
Lawrence Fonder, the board
decided Monday on a motion
by John Dodson and seconded
by Charles Sexton, to ter
minate Charles Sexton as a
town employee due to a cut
back in funds. Sexton has been
a backhoe operator and active
in water and sewer systems
maintenance.
Victims Called Crentle , Loving
By ELIZABETH SQUIRK
A gentle, loving person
whose violent death last week
seemed entirely out of keeping
with her life ? that is how
friends and relatives describ
ed Bonnie Gahagan, 78. Her
brother William Grady
Gahagan, 83, was in such poor
health he could hardly walk
without his sister's help.
The two, whose family came
to Madison County before it
was a county, were found shot
to death Saturday in the home
their father, Wade Gahagan,
built in the early IMO's on the
banks of the Laurel River.
Wood for the house was failed
on Wade's thousands of acres
and cut in his own saw mills.
He decorated the house with
oak, cur ley maple, cherry and
other woods. The house re
mains a landmark, described
in Underwood's history of
Madison County.
The Gahagans' grand
parents came from Ireland
and were already extensive
landowners in JMadison Coun
ty by 1827. Their home, built in
1840, still stands not far from
the house where the murders
took place.
William Grady Gahagan
had been a forester. At one
time he ran the Three Laurels
Nursery with his brother, the
late Leslie Gahagan. He is
remembered as a good family
man and a man who loved the
outdoors, recalls his gran
daughter. Sharon Franklin.
He had been in and out of
hospitals and was living his
his sister Bonnie because he
was no lonisr well enough to
Hve alone
Bonnie Gahagan was still
well enough to grow a large
garden, full of vegetables
right now. She would feed
anybody who stopped by,
Sharon Franklin remembers,
and give to anybody in need.
A longtime friend. Pauline
Zimmerman, remembers how
lovingly Bonnie Gahagan look
ed after one member of the
family after another ? first
her mother, in and out of the
hospital for years, then her
brother Leslie, until he died.
And then she took care of her
brother William after his
wife's death in 197? A lifelong
friend, Gertrude Thomas,
remembers Bonnie Gahagan
as "almost a saint.''
She was interested in educa
tion from the time she went to
the Cook Farm School up
above Belva, recalls her
cousin, Elizabeth Baker. Bon
nie Gahagan's father had
shown her the importance of
helping to pay one of the
Laurel teachers, and getting
her to deliver the salary. She
attended Weaver College in
Weaverville. In later life she
collected family history.
Bonnie and William
Gahagan were members of
the Hurricane Presbyterian
Church, a small church near
the family home, one of four
for which Pauline Zimmer
man's father-in-law was
pastor beginning in about 1917.
When he retired and the tiny
church cloaed, Mrs. Zimmer
man recalls, Bonnie Gahagan
and her brother went to the
church by themselves to pray
, and md the Bible on Sun
i days.
Partners Buy Woodwork Plant Site
A contract was signed Mon
day, The News Record has
learned, looking to develop
ment of the former Oak Stoves
location as a wood preparation
plant that will employ 20 per
sons immediately and 40
within a year.
The site is being purchased
by Charles Fletcher and an
unidentified partner, and is on
property off the Marshall
bypass developed by Jim
Henderson. The new plant will
chiefly handle red oak to be
prepared for furniture
manufacturing.
No Water Sharing, Say TV A, LOS
' It is not economically feasi
ble for the town of Mars Hill to
?hare its water supply with the
town of Marshall, a recent
meeting of TV A, Land of the
Sky and local officials has
dMermined
The larger demand for
water would require a water
treatment plant or filtration
because water would not have
the time to sit in receiving
*
tanks where sediment settles
officials concluded. The cos
of the added equipment woul
make the water-sharing pn
hibitively expensive, Gordo
Randolph told the Mars Hi
town council Monday evening
He said TV A is encouragin
Mars Hill and other towns t
borrow equipment to fin
leaks in the water system an
to correct these
Weaverville Gets
New Traffic Light
A new traffic light at Tri
t ity Plaza in Weaverville, at
the turnoff for North Bun
combe High School, should be
in full operation by the time
school starts, says Bill
Hamlin, Traffic Service
Supervisor of the Dept. of
Transportation District 13.
Delay would result only if
the Maintenance Dept. of
DOT, which is w idening the in
tersection and putting in a new
traffic control island, does not
have its part of the work
finished in time.
The new traffic light, and a
new flasher at the intersection
of Routes 25 and 70, both result
from traffic engineering
studies that show a high rate
of accidents at those two
points.
W ork To Start In Walnut Creek Area
Work on Marshall's near
million-dollar sewer improve
ment program will start Aug.
15, with the Walnut Creek por
tion of the project leading off.
Decision on the project star
tup was reached Monday at a
pre-contract meeting among
Mayor Lawrence Ponder,
representatives of the three
contractors involved and of
ficials of the Farmers Home
Administration, principal fun
ding agency for the project.
Timetable for the project is
330 days, which would put
completioun at July 11, 1984.
A bid-opening for the project
was held early in June but fail
ed to produce the required
three or more bidders. A se
cond bid-opening on June 17
drew three bidders.
Fire Dents. Get
$100,000 Funding
Madison County has receiv
ed $100,000 to fund im
provements to local fire
departments. Announcement
of the grants, approved by the
General Assembly last month,
made by Rep. Liston Ramsey,
Speaker of the N.C. House.
Ramsey presented the oSecks
to representatives of the Hot
' Springs and Laurel Volunteer
Fire Departments on Friday.
' The speaker also presented a
'! check to the West Madison
V.F.D. in ceremonies held
*' Saturday morning in Spring
8 Creek.
'j The West Madison V.F.D.
received the largest ap
0 proprtaUon. M0, 000 Ramsey
told The News Record on Fri
.
day that fire departments in
Hot Springs, Marshall. Mars
Hill and Laurel have each
received appropriations of
$15,000 to fund improvements.
Laurel fire chief Lawrence
Cutshall said that the grant
will be used to help the depart- ?
ment complete construction of
a new fire house. The West
Madison Fire Department is
also expected to use the funds
to complete the fire station
under construction adjacent to
Spring Creek School. Mars
HiU fire chief Gordon Ran
dolph told The News Record
the grant will be UMd to help
pay for a new fire truck the