The NEWS RECORD
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901
Special Sno ^ f ,V/w?
I / SENE-ral DF(
f y
WEDNESD/ Nc
Community
Calendar
Utilities Commission Hearing
Set For Feb. 19
The North Carolina Utilities Commission will conduct a
public hearing in Marshall on Feb. 19 to bear public comments
regarding the latest rate increase request by Continental
Telephone of North Carolina.
The hearing will be held at the Marshall First Baptist
Church at 11 a.m. The meeting had earlier been scheduled for
the Dept. of Social Services conference room, but was changed
in order to accomodate an expected large audience.
The meeting is open to the public.
Country Music Show Set
There will be a Country Music Show at the Marshall Recrea
tion Center on Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. Entertainment will be pro
vided by the Madison High School string band and the Bounty
Hunter band.
Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children under 12.
Parenting Classes Offered
Parenting classes are being held each Tuesday evening at
7:30 p.m. in the Marshall Senior Citizens Center on Long
Branch Rd. The classes are free and open to all parents.
Sessions will focus on disciplining children and on child
development. For more information, contact Marian Plaut or
Steve Michaels at 649-2367.
Snowstorm Closes Schools ,
Downs Power Lines
A winter snowstorm hit the Western Carolina mountains
early Tuesday morning, blanketing Madison County in up to
two feet of snow. The snow came on the heels of heavy rains
which fell on Monday, swelling streams and teh French Broad
River.
Tuesday's storm brought power outages to French Broad
EMC .and CP&L. customers throughout the county. Hardest hit
were residents of Hot Springs and the Grapevine com
munities, where power was out until Wednesday afternoon.
Shorter blackouts were also reported in Marshall, Walnut and
Mars Hill as ice and downed trees caused problems for line
crews.
The storm also forced the closing of Madison County
schools. Schools were closed on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday and are not expected to reopen before Monday.
Helms Supports
Farm Credit Plan
Sen. Jesse A. Helms, Chairman of
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri
tion, and Forestry, said Secretary
Block's announcement of credit relief
measures for financially-strapped
fanners is "timely and substantial
assistance that will help farmers ob
tain funds necessary for Spring plan
ting."
"These new guidelines will help
farmers and bankers make more ef
fective use of the credit initiatives an
nounced by President Regan last
year," said Helms. "It will also help
to alleviate the substantial backlog of
loan applications so that farmers can
obtain necessary credit in a teimely
manner.
"Secretary Block and President
Regan are to be commended for using
the full extent of their authority to
provide this timely, short-term relief
Because of the short lending season,
it would not be possible for Congress
to pass legislation that would provide
the necessary relief for this year,"
said Helms.
The measures announced would
modify a credit program im
plemented in September by allowing
banks to write down interest rates on
loans to farmers in exchange for a
government guarantee for up to 90
percent of the loan. Banks will still
have the option of obtaining the
guarantee by writing off 10 percent of
the loan principal.
"This plan will call for all sectors of
the farm financial community, in
cluding producers, commercial
bankers, and Federal financial per
sonnel to cooperate in an effort to pro
vide timely operating loans," said
Continued on Page 2
Hendon Calls For
Spending Freeze
.Eleventh District Congressman
BUI Headon called a Monday after
noon press conference in Asheville to
unveil a new trailer he will uae as a
mobile office.
Hendon also told reporters that he
supports a freeze on government
spending at 1M4 levels, except for
defense and Social Security and other
retirement programs
Hendon Mid, "I think the best way
to control it is to freeze federal spen
ding dead in its tracks, except for
Social Security and retirement
benefits."
He said that Presi Reagan's.
Regarding suggestion* ton
dismantling the tobacco support pro
gram made by Agriculture Secretary
John Block, Heodoo said, "We've got
a lot of hard negotiating to do with the
secretary His proposal is not the
greatest Idea I've ever heard. This is
a negotiating process and that's what
we have senators and congressman
for. We haee a hard fight in front of us
on a great many issues. I'm Just glad
to be a pert of it."
Heodoaals" reitrrHted his < nil for a
constitutional amendment to require
Marshall Suspends
Chief Of Police
By ROBERT KOENIG
Marshall aldermen John Dodson
and Sammy Lunsford voted Wednes
day to suspend the town's chief of
police, Joe Griffey.
The decision to suspend Griffey
came at the end of an emergency
meeting of the town board called by
Dodson on Wednesday morning. Mar
shall Mayor Betty Wild and aldermen
Ed Niles- opposed the decision.
Immediately following the
emergency meeting, Wild met with
town attorney Charles Mashburn.
Following that meeting, she announc
ed that she would comply with the
decision to suspend Griffey of his
duties as police chief.
Later Wednesday, Mayor Wild ap
pointed Larry Davis as the town's ac
ting police chief.
Dodson called for the police chief's
suspension following a shooting inci
dent with a motorist Friday night on
U.S. 25-70. Dodson asked for an in
vestigation of the incident Monday
evening during thp regularly schedul
ed meeting of the board.
At that Monday night meeting.
Griffey gave the aldermen a verbal
account of what transpired Friday
night. Griffey was not present at
Wednesday's emergency meeting.
Dodson said he spoke with both At
troney General Lacey Thronburg and
District Attorney Tom Rusher on
Tuesday concerning the incident. At
Wednesday's meeting, police officer
Larry Davis, who was driving the
police car during the Friday night
chase, told the board what had hap
pened.
Davis said he began pursuing a
Jeep, model and year unknown, when
the vehicle pulled in front of the
police car on the Marshall By-pass
near the shopping center.
When the car first pulled in front of
the police car, Davis said, he thought
the driver was drunk because of the
erratic way the car was being handl
ed. Davis noted, however, that the
driver's performance improved when
the police car's blue light was turned
on.
Davis followed the vehicle, attemp
ting to stop it as it drive south on U.S.
25-70. Davis said that Griffey, who
was in the passenger seat, began
shooting at the vehicle's tires in an at
tempt to stop the vehicle. Davis said
nine shots were fired, six from Grif
fey's service revolver and three from
Davis' gun. Davis said Griffey fired
all nine shots.
The police managed to get the vehi
cle stopped on Tillery Branch Rd.
after the driver, identified as a
28-year old Weaverville resident, at
tempted to elude the police on Tillery
Branch. Davis said most of the shots
were fired while the police car was
behind the Jeep. Several shots were
also fired while the police car was
alongside the Jeep. One shot hit the
Jeep's left rear tire.
Davis said that when the Jeep was
finally stopped, Griffey pointed his
gun at the suspect, saying, "If you
move, you're a dead son of a bitch."
Davis said the driver charged with
reckless driving, driving without an
operator's license, failure to stop for
a blue light and misdemeanor posses
sion of marijuana. At the time of his
arrest, Davis said, Roberts appeared
"scared to death." Roberts then
began cursing the officers and beat
his head against a divider in the
police car.
According to Davis, the suspect
was taken to the Madison County Jail
where he was charged with misde
meanor possession of marijuana.
While at the jail, a counselor from
Blue Ridge Mental Health, where the
suspect had been receiving counsel
ing, was called. Davis said that the
man was later released into the
custody of his parents.
Dodson told the meeting that both
Attorney General Lacey Thornburg
and District Attorney Tom Rusher
had said that Griffey did not have the
right to shoot at the fleeing suspect.
The district attorney's office is cur
rently investigating the incident.
After telling his version of the inci
dent to the aldermen, Davis met with
assistant District Attorney Jim
Baker on Wednesday afternoon.
Mayor Betty Wild defended the
police chief, saying, "He made a
split-second decision. He didn't know
what he had in front of him at the
Continued on Page M
Dodson Calls For Investigation
By ROBERT KOENIG
With the sound of dripping water
providing background music, the
Marshal) Board of Aldermen held
their regularly scheduled monthly
meeting in Town Hall Monday night.
Leaks in the Town Hall roof had town
employees scrambling for buckets to
catch the water.
The aldermen received the monthly
financial report from Cecilia Ward.
The report indicated that the town's
finances are running low, with only
$45,000 remaining in the general fund
for the 1965 fiscal year which ends
June 30. However, a $35,000 capital
expense entered last month for the
purchase of the town's new garbage
trUfck was not in tl?c general fund
budget. Subtracting that' $35,000 ex
pense means that approximately
$81,000 remains in the general fund
budget for the remainder of the year.
Mrs. Ward did not present the
board with the monthly report of the
town's water and sewer system
because of delays in sending out the
monthly bills for Jartuary. Freezing
weather delayed the monthly reading
of the meters. Linda Dodson said that
water bills should be in the mail later
this week.
The freezing weather also promp
ted the alderman , to approve ad
justments to the January bills. Many
Marshall homeowners were forced to
run their water taps continuously
during last month's sub-zero weather
to prevent pipes from freezing.
Earlier, Sammy Lunsford estimated
that the town had pumped 18 million
gallons during the month, twice the
normal amount. .
The aldermen voted to disregard
the January meter readings and to
charge each customer the same rate
they paid during Decemeber.
The chief order of business during
Monday '? Nam was discussion of a
shooting incident Friday night during
a chase on U.S. 25-70. Board member
John Dodson questioned police chief
Joe Griffey on the incident.
Griffey told the aldermen that he
and officer Larry Davis were on
U.S. 25-70 in front of the Ingles Shopp
ing Center when a Jeep pulled in
fromt of them, forcing them off the
road.
Continued on Page 8
Bus Driver Charged
? ? ? ? f ""V
Sheriff Returns Three Missing Youngsters
By ROBERT KOENIG
Two Marshall Elementary School students anjj a teenager
reported missing on Monday were returned to Madison County
Wednesday afternoon by Sheriff E.Y. Ponder. A school bus
driver, Ronnie Ball, has been charged hi cxonnection with the
youths' disappearance.
Merrilee Gofoi$h, 12, and Teresa Payne, 13, of the Little
Pine community afcd Jeff Bailey, 15, were ;located at a rest
stop on Interstate 40 near Statesville by Madison County
Sheriff E.Y. Ponder. >**~
Ponder found the three youngsters and Ball after contacting
relatives of the bus driver.
Ball, 39, is charged wittf two couaUdf contributing to the
delinquency of a minor and abduction. He was being held
Thursday in the Madison County jail in lieu of bail. A banding
hearing for Ball was scheduled for Friday in Madison County
District Court.
Upon their return to Marshall, the youngsters were examin
ed by a physician. Both Goforth and Payne were released to
the custody of their parents and no charges were filed. Payne
is alleged to have helped the two girls leave the county and is /
being held in the Juvenile Detention Center in Leicester.
The two Marshall Elementary School students were
reported missing from school on Monday. Hie girls- left the ?
school with Ball and met Bailey in Marshall before leaving the .
county for parts unknown.
Ramsey Re-Elected
As Speller Of The House
By ROBERT KOENIG
Rep. Listen B. Ramsey of Marshall
made history last wee| when be
became the first man ever elected to
a third term as speaker of the North
Carolina House of Representatives
Ramsey's election as leader of the
lower bouse came on the opening day
of the General Assembly.
The 68-year old legislator was
nominated for the unprecedented
third term by his district seatmate
Rep. Charles Seall of Canton In
nominating Ramsey. Beall told the
House members, "It is with utmost
pleasure and pride that I nominate
for Speaker of this body, my
T??3=u
"In this world, a man most be either
a hammer or an anvil." Listen
Ramsey is a hammer.
He is a leader, a doer of deeds who
takes his responsibilities seriously. D -
he thinks something Is worth doing,
he puts his whole self into it. Add to
this quality a demonstrated devotion
to pubikc service, a razor-sharp in
sight into issues and a loyalty to the
legislature as an Institution, and you
have the ingredients of a success
story unparalleled in North Carotins
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