The NEWS RECORD
SERVING Tf ^tTlibrarv V COUNTY SINCE 1 90 1
1 GENERAL DELT^FRY W
MARSHALL NC 28753
WEDNESDAY, February 6, 1985 25c
Community
Calendar
Lions Host UNC-A Thursday Night
The Mara Hill Lions will host arch-rival UNC-Asheville Thursday night in
basketball action at Chambers Gym. The District 28 contest is scheduled for a
7:30 p.m. tipoff.
The Lions will also host USC-Aiken and Belmont Abbey in Satirday and
Monday night games this week.
Patriots Home Friday, Saturday
The Madison Patriots will host Mountain Heritage Friday night and North
Buncombe Saturday night in Ivy Conference action at Madison H.S.
American Legion Meets Feb. 7
The American Legion Post No. 317 will hold its monthly meeting on Feb. 7 at
0:30 p.m. All members are urged to attend this important business meeting.
Optimists Meet Thursday Night
i
The Madison Central Optimists Club will meet Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at Mary's
Restaurant. All members are asked to attend.
4-H'ers Offer Soil Testing
The 4-H Exchange Club will conduct soil samples for 11. To have samples
taken from your garden, field or lawn, contact the 4-H office at 649-2411.
Samples are analyzed and tested free of charge through the N.C Agricultural
Extension Service.
A meeting of all Christmas tree growers will be held on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in
the Marshall Senior Citizens' Center on Long Branch Rd.
Pisgah Legal Services Board Meets
The board of directors of Pisgah Legal Services will meet on Feb. 7 at 4 p.m.
in the offices at 89 Montford Ave, in Asheville. The meeting is open to the
public.
Pisgah Legal Services provides free civil legal services to low-income and
elderly residents of Madison and Buncombe Counties. For more information, ?
call 253-0406.
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Support Group To Meet
There will be a meeting of the Madison County Support Group for Friends
and Families of the Handicapped on Feb. 7 at the Marshall Day Care Center
on Long Branch Rd. The meeting will follow a lecture by attorney A1 Singer.
ARC Directors Meet Feb. 17
The board of directors of the Madison County Association for Retarded
Citizens will meet on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Marshall Day Care Center on
Long Branch Rd.
Postage Rates Increase Feb. 17
Marshall postmaster Jim Craine has asked us to remind
readers that rates for first class postage will increase on Feb.
17. Cost of a first class letter will increase from 20 cents to 22
cents. Rates for post cards will increase from the present 13
cents to 14 cents.
Marshall Aldermen Meet Monday
The Marshall Board of Aldermen will meet on Feb. 11 at 7 : 30
p.m. in the Town Hall. The public is invited to attend.
Icy Roads Close School
Icy roads forced the closing of Madison County schools
Tuesday morning. Freezing rains which arrived early Tues
day morning made driving hazardous throughout Western
North Carolina and were blamed for numerous traffic ac
cidents. No serious accidents wore reported as of 11 a.m. Tues
day. Warmer weather Tuesday afternoon were expected to
ease condition.
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Burley Quotas Cut 10 Pet
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week
that the 1985 national marketing quota for burley tobacco will
be cut ten percent below the 1964 level. The cut is the max
imum allowed by law.
In making the announcement Secretary of Agricultire John
R. Block said that overmarketings are estimated to exceed net
undermarketing by some five million pounds, making the 1985
effective quota 520 million pounds, about 24 percent below the
1984 effective quota.
For Madison County, the reduction will mean a loss of half a
million pound of the crop. The county's 1984 quota called for
production of some five million pounds.
Bill Zink of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation
Service said his office received notice of the cut last FYiday.
Zink said the reduction in the basic quota is in response to
surpluses being held by both the manufacturers and Stabiliza
tion Corp. Current farm legislation calls for reducing quotas
when existing reserves exceed necessary reserve supplies.
The current surplus is estimated to be between two and three
years wirth of production.
The USDA had earlier announced a similar ten percent
reduction in production quotas for flue cured leaf.
The impact of the cut may be even greater for Madison
County in 1985, depending upon the result of 1984 sales. Final
reports on the 1984 sales will not be available until the end of
this month, Zink said. If county farmers exceeded the 1984
quota, the 1985 crop sales may be further reduced.
Quota cards for individual farmers will be delivered
sometime in March, Zink said, when they are received from
Stabilization offices in Kansas City. Burley markets are still
open in Kentucky and are scheduled to close on Feb. 12.
In announcing the reduction in the 1985 basic quota, Block
said that about 191 million pounds in excess of the reserve sup
ply level for the leaf are currently on hand.
ITC Rejects Tobacco Import Quotas
By A.L. MAY
Washington Correspondent
The News and Observer
The U.S. International Trade Com
mission voted 4-1 Friday not to seek
curbs on imported tobacco, con
cluding that import quotas cannot
cure what the panel chairman called
the "far from healthy" federal tobac
co program.
The recommendation to President
Reagan effectively killed the second
push in four years for quotas to stem
the flood of cheap foreign tobacco into
the United States. Administration of
ficials consistently have spoken
against protectionism, and Reagan
was not expected to go against the
nearly unanimous ITC vote.
The ITC vote drew ries of anguish
from tobacco officials and politicians
under intense pressure to find other
means of reinvigorating the tobacco
economy.
Sen. Jesse A. Helms, R-N.C., who
last month had expressed confidence
that the ITC would vote for import
quotas, said Friday that the commis
sion "has made a serious error in
judgement."
"This leaves no alternative to mak
ing U.S. tobacco strongly competitive
in the world market." Helms said in a
prepared statement. He apparently
was alluding to the growing senti
ment for a sharp reduction in tohacco
price supports, which now are widely
blamed for prompting manufacturers
to buy more cheap foreign leaf.
Six U.S. cigarette manufacturers
are considering another proposal to
improve the economic health of the
federal tobacco program by agreeing
to buy at discount rates the 812
million pounds of surplus flue-cured
leaf held by the Flue Cured Tobacco
Stabilization Corp. In exchange, the
manufacturers and other buyers
would benefit from U.S. Dept. of
Agriculture action to reduce price
supports, which set minimum levels
for market prices.
David B. Fishel, vice president for
public relations at R.J. Reynolds
Tobacco Co , said the nation's second
largest cigarette manufacturer was
pleased by the ITC vote. "We think it
supports what we were saying all the
time" about tobacco imports not
seriously affecting domestic produc
tion, he said. ?
But some tobacco leaders attemp
ted to turn the ITC decision into
pressure on the cigarette companies
to voluntarily reduce their import
purchases.
"We could solve this problem
tomorrow 'with a simple agreement
by the tobacco companies to buy
American tobacco, not foreign tobac
co, said Rep. Larry J. Hopkins, R-Ky.
Hopkins warned that if the com
panies "aren't willing to help" they
should not expect the help of tobacco
state congressmen "when the anti
smoking groups and the cigarette tax
advocates try to put -them out of
business" by increasing cigarette ex
cise taxes t
Lawyers and representatives of teh
American Farm Bureau Federation,
which had petitioned for stiff quotas
to cut the influx of foreign leaf by
half, were downcast as the ITC
meeting room emptied.
"We have no question that the
numbers reflecting the imports over
the past 10 to 14 years are at levels
that have to be interfering with the
domestic program" John N. Parker,
N.C. Farm Bureau Farm com
modities director, said in a telephone
interview from his Raleigh office.
"We feel like the system has poorly
served farmers in the consideration
of this case."
Some tobacco farmers visiting the
Southern Farm Show in Raleigh
reacted gloomily to the news.
"I believe we're about half mad
and half broke," said farmer Gray
Wolfe of Surry County.
"It seems a shame that folks sit tn
Washington regulating the profits of
the tobacco industry," said Jim
Woodall, a Wake County farmer
"They've let imports in at the ex
pense of the American farmer. And
the farmer has to take it."
But Rick Apple of Guilford County,
a farmer and vice president of the
Tobacco Growers Assoctatiori of
North Carolina, said he was "pleas
ed" by the ITC vote.
"I don't fell like there should be any
restrictions on imports," Apple said.,
"where we should address that is by
becoming more competitive in the
world market. If we do that, the com
panies are going to make more pur
chases."
Leaf dealers and importers also
cheered.
Hugh C. Kiger, executive vice
president of Leaf Tobacco Exporters
Association and the Tobacco Associa
tion of the United States, said in
Washington that the ITC had "madea
judgement based on economics
rather than politics. "
Jobless
Rale Drops
Madison County bufcked a
statewide trend in December as
unemployment declined by one and
one-half percent while increasing in
61 counties across North Carolina.
Despite the decline, joblessness in the
county remained above the statewide
average of 7.2 percent.
Figures released by the North
Carolina Employment Security Com
mission (ESC) last week showed that
Madison's jobless rate stood at 8.4
percent as IBM came to a close. The
8.4 percent figure represents 710
unemployed workers in the county.
The ESC figures also show that the
county's work force declined during
Decemeber to 8,430 workers. In
( Continued on Page 2)
What Do
?
You Think?
Should Madison Comity residents I
have to pay extra to call their '
neighbors in other towns?
If you don't think so. let the state
Utilities Commission know. Continen
tal Telephone president John Feaster
told a group of county residents that
toll-free service could be obtained if
county residents petitioned for it.
Petitions are now being circulated.
If you'll All in the coupon to the
right, we'll present your opinion to
the UtilHIties Commission on Feb. II
when It comes to Marshall for a hear
The
with a petition calling for their road
to be renamed Grandvtew Rd. 11k
petition preeented no aHggaattai hr
renaming the road the January deci
sion named Grandvu
In tbe pest year, U < cc .aioner
have held low public eetings o
M
board's first afternoon meeting, the
committiooen approved the creation
of a Madison County Arte CoucU to
promote art appreciation in county
The commisioners again went into
ctoaad session to discuss personnel
matters with Ed Morton, director of
the county Health Dept. Upon return
regar
the rights of property < |
said that rafters were legally entitled
ooccu: i the riwr bank in
the vent of an eme ?t> \ nut th if
the banks to
lUn
? s mcuicai uhov.
je Emergency Medical Ser
? ? irtj. Deci will be leaving the
county in Apnl (pie a practise in
VKcMft.
1 I secretary CaMwei;
the county collector
had 12; January
The B3 un mi th
moot} totalling
13, 813
The
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ingoKaryfot