SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901
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School Board Meeting Rescheduled
The monthly meeting of the Madison County Board of
Education, originally scheduled for May 1, has been
rescheduled for May 3 at 10:30 a.m. in the Madison County
Court House. The public is invited to attend.
Laurel VFD Annual Meeting Set
The Laurel Volunteer Fire Dept. will conduct its annual
membership meeting on May 6 at 7 p.m. All Laurel residents
are invited to attend and elect the fire company directors.
Laurel VFD Pig Roast Planned
i ne Laurel VFD will sponsor a pig roast on May 5 from noon
until 2 p.m. Charges are $3.50 for adults, $2 for children under
12. Proceeds from the roast will benefit the fire company's ac
tivities. _
Operation Child Find In Marshall
OPERATION CHILDFIND, a program to provide parents
with fingerprints of their children, will be at the Marshall
Presbyterian Church on April 27. Children to be fingerprinted
must be accompanied by an adult. Parents will be provided
with a permanent record of their children's fingerprints.
Legion Ladies Plan Craft Fair
The American Legion Ladies Auxiliary of Post 317 in Mar
shall is planning a crafts and flea market in conjunction with
the May 25 Memorial Day parade in Marshall. Spaces will be
provided at no charge. For more information, contact Bea
Banks at 649-2436 or Faye Reid at 649-3294 before May 11.
Fox Hunters Bench Show Set
The Appalachian Fox Hunters will hold their Spring bench
show at the Ebb's Chapel School on April 26 beginning at 6
p.m. Trophies will be awarded for first, second and third
place. The public is invited to attend.
Hot Springs Junior Beta Dance
The Hot Springs Junior Beta Club will sponsor a Spring
Dance featuring Sid the Surf on May 3 from 8 until 11 p.m. in
the Hot Springs School gymnasium.
573 Volunteers
To Clean Streams
More than 500 Madison County
volunteers will get their feet wet this
Saturday during the first annual
Clean Streams Day clean-up effort.
Volunteers from Spring Creek to
Greater Ivy and Sandy Mush to
Shelton Laurel will take part in the ef
fort to remove debris from county
watersheds.
Group leaders can pick up trash
bags and Clean Streams Day T-shirts
at The News Record office until Fri
day at 5 p.m.
The Clean Streams Day campaign
is sponsored locally by The News
Record, Plowshares, the French
Broad Rafting Co. and the French
Broad River Foundation.
Among the waterways to be target
ted for clean-up are Brush Creek, Big
Pine Creek, Walnut Creek, Ivy River,
Hayes' Run, Spring Creek. Laurel
River, Bull Creek and portions of the
French Broad River.
Several auto repair shops have also
volunteered totiefp remove abandon
ed vehicles from along creek banks.
Response to the clean-up effort has
surprised the event's organizers
News Record editor Bob Koenig said.
"We would have been happy to have
gotten half the response we have. It
just shows that the people of Madison
County, particularly the young peo
pie, are involved in protecting our
watersheds from pollution "
Dept and Ladies Auxiliary have I
volunteered their help.
Besides the organized groups,
many individuals and families will be
taking part. Lionel Filiss will be
leading a group of 30 volunteers on
Big Laurel Creek. Susan Adams and
Kathy Graeter will bring their
families to the clean-up on Brush
Creek and Geneva Barnette will lead
a clean-up effort on Upper Shut-In.
Bill and Loreen Shealy and their
daughters. Olivia and Natasha, will
be part of the clean-up effort on Big
Pine.
In the event of bad weather,' local
groups are asked to conduct their
clean-up at their convenience. Pro
ject organizer Curt Crowhurst ad
vises volunteers to wear old clothes
and shoes and bring along raingear
and gloves. Gloves would also be
useful for hauling trash
The Madison County Landfill will
also be assisting in the clean-up ef
fort. Landfill director Jim Brown said
that the counyt landfill will be kept
open until 6 p.m. Saturday to ac
comodate groups bringing trash for
disposal The county's convenience
centers will remain open until 7:90
p.m. Saturday for trash disposal.
Brown said that a truck will be left
at the landfill entrance over the
weekend for groups bringing trash
after operating hours. Groups are
asked to deposit their collections in
the truck.
Brow n
items that c
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Sunday Fire Destroys .
Petersburg Home ' : -v ?' : ?
By ROBERT KOENIG
A Sunday morning fire in the
Petersburg community destroyed the
home of the Norman Littrell family.
Mars Hill VFD members arrived at
the scene about 9 a.m. to find the
wooden frame house engulfed in
flames. The Mars Hill firefighters
were assisted by members of the
Marshall VFD in controlling the
blaze. ~
Mars Hill fire chief Eddie Fox
reported that his company poured
some 7,000 gallons of water on the
fire. The firemen succeeded in
preventing an oil tank adjacent to the
home from exploding, but the home
was completely destroyed.
There was no one in the home at the
time of the fire and no injuries were
reported. The family was away for a
weekend of fishing at Lake Hartwell
at the time of the fire.
Cause of the blaze has not been
determined. Madison County Sheriff
E.Y. Ponder inspected the scene on
Sunday and has called for assistance
from the State Bureau of Investiga
tion arson squad. The arson in
vestigator is expected to search the
rubble on Tuesday morning.
Littrell and his wife have five foster
(Continued on Page 10)
SMOLDERING RUINS ARE ALL THAT REMAINS OF day morning fire. Arson investigators were to visit the
THE Norman Llttrell home in Petersburg following Sun- scene Tuesday morning.
Downtown Marshall Approved
For Historic District Study
B.v ROBERT KOENIG
The downtown Marshall business
district has been approved for a study
that could lead to the area being nam
ed a historic district. The study could
lead to the town being included in the
National Register of Historic Places
The decision was made last week in
Raleigh at the quarterly meeting of
the State Professional Review Com
mittee. Announcement was made in a
letter to Marshall Mayor Betty Wild
from Douglas Swaim, preservation
specialist with the state Division of
Archives and History.
Swaim said that last week's deci
sion is the first step in a long process
of thorough historical research. The
decision opens the way for Marshall
property owners to claim investment
tax credits for rehabilitating com
mercial properties.
The Economic Recovery Tax Act of
1981 provides a 25 percent investment
tax credit to assist with the
rehabilitation of income-producing
properties within a historic district.
Before Marshall property owners
can proceed to claim the tax credit,
however, the town or Marshall Mer
NO FOOTBALL PLAY
Mars Hill College 8*nt
Ptwto by Bob Men?
Fred
up and saw ac
I game ?t Mrares
Hit 4^-jrai old was inserted on
several pans plays Aft r?f? Is hi told >s
thankful the U ? quartcrlu i spotted other receivers open
chants Association will have to sub
mit a request for nomination to the
National Register.
Swaim administers the National
Register program in WNC. In his let
ter to Wild, he offered to assist Mar
shall property owners. He can be con
tacted at 296-5024 in Asheville.
News of the committee's decision
was welcomed by Richard Kingston,
the Marshall harpsichord maker who
has spearheaded the downtown
revitalization effort. Kingston told
The News Record that the designa
tion could lead to the creation of a
historic district that would bring
tourists back to the county seat.
Kingston is also involved in an
ongoing historic survey of Madison
County buildings being funded by a
state grant. The harpsichord maker
said, "I'm most appreciative of the
fact that the county leaders have
shown the forethought to support me
in these efforts, realizing the impor
tance this can have to the future
economic development of the
county."
335 Attend
FBEMC Meeting
More than 300 members attended
the annual membership meeting of
the French Broad Electric Member
ship Cooperative on Saturday at
Madison High School.
This year's meeting celebrated the
50th anniversary of the establishment
of the Rural Electrification Agency, a
federal program established by
Franklin D Roosevelt to bring elec
tric power to rural areas
Displays Of early electric ap
pliances and those used in pre
electric days were set up in the school
vestibule. Entertainment was provid
ed by the Madison High School String
Band and ballad singers Sheila Bar
nhill and Cas Wallin
At the afternoon business meeting,
the membership approved the re
election of board of direectors
members Noville Hawkins. Thomas
Buchanan and Carl Ramsey
In his annqgl report. ^FBEMC
general manager Charles Tolley told
the members that increased industry
in Yancey County helped the co
Power. Appalachian Power Co. and
the Southeast Power Administration
(SPA I. He said that SPA, a federal
agency which generates power from
dams operated by te Army Corps of
Engineers, has promised to supply
limited peaking power to FBEMC.
The general manager also detailed
the co-operative's continuing main
tainence effort, saying that treating
the co-op's aging poles costs from
$150 to $200 per pole.
Tolley also presented Pioneer
Award to many individuals responsi
ble to the formation of the co
operative in 1939. The first contract
for power, Tolley said, called for 127
miles of line to serve 175 members
The present FBEMC system runs
2,900 miles of line and serves more
than 21,000 members
Among those receiving Pioneer
Awards were: James Bailey. Mark
Bennett, P.R Elam. D.M. Robinson.
Mrs. Crawford Bryan. Marty
Buckner and Ernest Teague. Tolley
also presented Pioneer Awards to
former FBEMC employees Lincoln