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News Record
mADISON
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISO ~
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Vol. 84 No. 14 PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE COUNTY SEAT AT MARSHALL. N C '^gt>NfcaL>AY, April 4, 1984 25C
Marshall Approves
Block Grant Request
By ROBERT KOENIG
Marshall (own officials
gave their approval to the
recommended proposal for a
Communnity Develoment
Block Grant request
presented by the town's plann
ing board. The aldermen ap
proved the proposal at a
public hearing held Monday
prior to the start of the regular
monthly meeting.
Marshall's Mock grant re
quest is for the maximum
amount available, 1750,000.
The funds will be used to fund
seven separate projects.
Included in the application
will be funding for housing
rehabilitation on Island Rd..
Cotton Mill Hill and Fortner
Hollow. The fourth project in
the package would provide
many improvemnets recom
mended for Main Street by the
Tennessee Valley Authority's
Town Lift planners.
Also included in the request
will be three smaller projects
that will be lumped in as local
option projects.
Myra Grant of the Land of
the Sky Regional Council, who
has coordinated the efforts of
the town officals and planning
board in writing the grant re
quest, explained the several
projects at the hearing.
Although some of the figures
aren't finalized. Grant
presented figures for the pro
posed request at Monday's
hearing. Some last-minute ad
justments will be necessary
before the formal grant re
quest is submitted to the N.C.
Department of Natural
Resources and Community
Development on April 16.
Plans for the Island Kd.
housing rehabilitation call for
refurbishing four homes at an
average cost of $13,000 each
and demolishing two vacant
homes at a cost of $2.xoo.
Water lines and fire hydrants
will also be installed at an
estimated cost of $29,000.
Total cost of the Island Kd.
project, including engineering
and administration, is
$108,700.
The Cotton Mill Hill project
will repair two trailers and
nine homes at a cost of
$160,000. Engineering and ad
ministration costs push the
project'* total budget to
1192.000.
The Portner Hollow project
is the most expensive of the
projects approved Monday
night. If funded, the project
will repair five homes and two
trailers and demolish a home
owned by Madison County
Sheriff E.Y. Ponder. In addi
tion to the housing rehabilita
tion. Portner Hollow would
also receive septic tanks,
sewer and water lines,
culverts and paving. Including
the cost of engineering and ad
ministration, the Portner
Hollow project would cost
I36I.0M.
The fourth project recom
( Continued On Page 8)
Gibson And O'Brien
Are Acquitted
By ROBERT KOENIG
After twodays of testimony
in Madison County District
Court, both former Mars Hill
football coach Claude Gibson
and the college's dean for stu
dent development, R. Michael
O'Brien were found no< guilty
of charges of assault. District
Court Judge Alexander Lyerly
acquitted both men of all
charges during a rare Satur
day session of the court.
The charges against both
men stemmed from a Dec. 13
confrontation at the Mars Hill
post office. Gibson had charg
ed that the college dean had
pulled a gun out after ex
changing blows in the post of
fice lobby. O'Brien had charg
ed that the former Mars Hill
football coach had attempted
to hit him with his car as
O'Brien was crossing the
street on his way to the post of
fice.
Gibson was charged with
assaujt, assault with a deadly
weapon and communicating
threats. O'Brien was charged
with assault by pointing a gun
and carrying a concealed
weapon.
In announcing his verdict,
District Court Judge Alex
ander Lyerly told both defen
dants, "It is obvious to the
court that something happen
ed between Dec. 10 and Dec.
13, 1983. but the law requires
of me a test that requires pro
of beyond a reasonable doubt.
The law doesn't allow me to
speculate or fill in gaps as to
what happened or did not hap
pen. It is not my job to preach
to you, but it occurs to me that
gentlemen of your ages and
educational backgrounds
should be able to find more
constructive things to do with
your time than to run around
Madison County behaving the
way you have."
"I would hope that this
behavior is episodic and that
you do not repeat it. This ver
dict gives each of you a clean
slate. I suggest in your future
relations with each other that
you either make friends or
avoid one another altogether.
The next time you engage in
any sort of inappropriate
behavior, it may very well
lead to much more serious
charges."
Testimony in the case began
on Friday morning. Prior to
the start of the non-jury trial,
Gibson's attorney, Forrest
Ball, asked for and received a
probable cause hearing. Ball
requested the hearing because
Madison County magistrate
E.Y. Ward had declined to
issue warrants against Gibson
on the day of the incident when
O'Brien appeared at the
magistrate's office in Mar
shall.
Ward was called to the stand
to explain why he had denied
O'Brien's request for war
rants against Gibson. Ward
told the court that he advised
O'Brien to consult with an at
torney before taking out the
warrants. Ward added that
he issued the requested war
rants when O'Brien appeared
at the magistrate's office on
Dec. 14.
Following Ward's
testimony, Judge Lyerly
found probable cause for the
charges against Gibson and
ordered the trial to begin.
O'Brien was the first of 28
persons to testify during the
two-day trial. He told the court
that his conflict with Gibson
began on Dec. 10 at a basket
ball game on the Mars Hill
campus.
O'Brien said that Gibson
said, "There's that son of a
bitch" as O'Brien was enter
ing the stands with his son.
The confrontation came to a
head at the halftime intermis
sion of the game when Gibson
and his wife confronted
William Walker, the athletic
director of the college.
O'Brien told the court that
he saw Gibson standing over
Walker and called Pat Sams,
coach of the Mars Hill
women's basketball team over
because he thought Gibson
was threatening the athletic
director.
When he and Sams came
over to Walker, O'Brien told
the court that Gibson started
cursing him, saying, "You're
a g-damned chickens - son of
a bi.tch." According to
O'Brien's testimony. Gibson
also said, "Let's go outside so
I can kick your ? O'Brien
said he responded to Gibson
by saying, "Your're a
(Continued on Page 7)
Faircloth Visits County
Promises Laurel Road
Democratic gubernatorial
candidate D.M. "Lauch"
Faircloth visited Madison
County on Saturday, accom
panied by county Democratic
chairman Zeno Ponder.
Faircloth addressed gather
ings in Marshall, Revere and
Mars Hill during in campaign
swing through the county.
In Marshall, Faircloth told a
gathering of suporters that he
would not raise, taxes while
governor. The former
Secretary of Commerce said,
"We've got enough money to
do what needs to be done. I
will see to it that state govern
ment spends its monet as
wisely as you do." He also
pledged tt raise teachers
salaries but did not say how
big a raise hr would propose.
DISTRICT ENGINEER EARL McENTIRE
and state transportation board member Zeno
Ponder, left, outlined the proposed plan for
secondary road improvements at Monday
night's meeting of the Madison County commis
sioners.
Secondary Koad Proposals
Are Outlined
By ROBERT KOENIG
North Carolina Department
of Transportation (DOT) of
ficials presented the Madison
County commissioners with a
list of proposed secondary
ri>?d projects at Monday
night's meeting of the board.
The proposals were outlined at
a public hearing held prior to
the start of the commis
sioners' regular monthly
meeting.
District engineer Earl
McEntire and transportation
board member Zeno Ponder
explained the proposed pro
jects to the hearing.
McKnlire told the hearing
that Madison County will
receive an estimated $710,022
for secondary road projects
during the 19X5 fiscal year.
Final approval of the funds
will not be made until the July
meeting of the slate Board of
Transportation.
McKnlire said that the
$710,022 figure was based on a
formula used to determione
each county's share of secon
dary road funds. Madison
County currently has some 30:1
miles of unpaved roads.
Statewide, there are some
IX.4M6 miles of unpaved roads.
The engineer said that secon
dary road funds for the com
ing year should total about $44
million.
Chief among the secondary
road projects McKntire
recommended to the commis
sioners were several projects
that are already underway,
but which will require addi
tional funds in order to be
completed.
The projects needing addi
tional funds included State
Road <SR> 1 135, known as Lit
tle Pine Rd. McKntire
reported that an additional
!75,<HM> would be needed to
complete the project that
began in 1982.
The project to improve SR
1138. Sweetwater Rd. from
U.S. 25-70 to Sweetwater Gap
needs an additional 1295.000 in
order to be completed. The
project k? designed to connect
with a road to be constructed
from N.C. S3 at Trust at
Payne's Chapel. McEntire
said that the Sweetwater Rd.
project was only partially
funded in the 1982-83 budget.
He also reported that an ad
ditional $40,000 is needed to
complete paving of a one mile
(Continued on Page 10)
Plans For New Road Detailed
Preliminary plans for a $9.5
million road to link Marshal)
to western Madison County
were unveiled at a meeting
Wednesday night in the
Madison County Court House.
North Carolina Department of
Transportation officials ex
plained the project to some 50
county residents.
According to the plans
discussed at the meeting, ap
proval has been given for a
new road through Little Pine
Gap that will link N.C. 63 with
Payne's Chapel. The new road
would complete the link to
Marshall by connecting with a
project already underway to
build a connector from U.S.
25-70 to Payne's Chapel.
Officials said the 9.2-mile
road would begin at N.C. 63
southeast of Trust and will end
at State Road 1135 at Payne's
Chapel. The $9.5 million pro
ject will be paid for with
federal and state funds.
The officials pointed out that
the exact route and design of
the road have not yet been ap
proved. However, one official
at the Wednesday night
meeting said that the route
detailed at the public hearing
was, "the only feasible route
we've found."
The road's preliminary
design calls for it to be able to
(Conntinued on Page 10)
ELECTION '84
m
Voter Registration
Deadline Nears
Madison County Supervisor of Elections Ver
nie Lunsford has announced that the Board of
ELections office on Main Stretet in Marshall
will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30
a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The office will also be open
this Saturday, April 7, for residents wishing to
register to vote in the May 8 primaries. On \
Saturday, the office will be open from 9 a.m.
until l p.m.
April 9 is the final day for residents to
register ot vote in the May 8 primary elections.
Lunsford also
Board of
that the Madison
fWj
April
Taylor Blasts Hunt,
Democrats And Press
CHARLES TAYLOR
The political temperature in
I Madison County was raised
j several degrees Saturday
i night at the annual Lincoln
' Day dinner held by
Republicans at Madtoan H S
In his keynote adkfr? to the
gathering, former State
Senator Charles Taylor of
Brevard lashed out at Gov.
Jim Hunt, the press.
Democrats and mult i member
districts
Taylor attacked Hunt, ac
cusing the governor of par
ticipating hi a shady deal to
keep Democrat* in control of