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Nuclear Waste Dump Site List
Madison County is among 12 locations in seven states that
will remain under consideration for the nation's second facili
ty for storing highly radioactive nuclear waste. The U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to study a
105-square mile area in Madison, Buncombe and Haywood
Counties last ftiursday in Washington. The announcement
brought immediate protests from North Carolina officials.
The area under consideration includes a portion of Spring
Creek, Sandy Mush in western Buncombe County and the
eastern portion of Haywood County north of Waynesville in a
triangle bordered by N.C. 63, Interstate 40 and N.C. 209.
A second North Carolina site, in eastern Wake County near
Raleigh, will also be included in the DOE study. Other possible
sites to be considered are located in Virginia, Georgia, Maine,
New Hampshire, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Nuclear Dump Meeting Tonight^
A public hearing on plans to locate a nuclear waste storage
facility will be held tonight at the Unitarian Universalist
Church on Charlotte St. in Asheville at 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Steve Yurkovich, chairman of the Earth Sciences
department of Western Crolina University will be the guest
speaker. Dr. Yurkovich is a member of Rep. Bill Hendon's
committee studying the U.S. Department of Energy's
Crystalline Repository Project.
The public is invited to attend. The informational meeting is
being sponsored by the Sierra Club.
Burley Day '86 Planned
Burley Day '86 will be held at the Terrace Hotel ip Lake
Junaluska on Feb. 5. All burley tobaccfriafThersare invltetfTb
attend. ? ^
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will feature
discussions by a panel of tobacco specialists, farmers and
warehousemen. New developments in burley varieties and
changes in the tobacco program will also be discussed.
Lunch will be provided to all attending the meeting. To
make reservations, contact Madison County Agricultural Ex
tension Agent Wiley DuVall at 649-2411.
Laurel VFD Bingo Party
The Laurel Volunteer Fire Dept. will sponsor a bingo party
on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. in the fire station. Everyone is invited to
attend.
Lions Home Saturday Night
The Mars Hill College Lions will host Barber Scotia College
in District 26 basketball action Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in
Chambers Gym. On Jan. 27, the Lions will entertain Lincoln
Memorial in a scheduled 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
Cody Enters GOP
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 authorized the con
stuction of the nation's first permanent nuclear waste storage
facility in the western U.S. The law also provides that DOE
will identify five sites in the eastern U.S. for construction of a
second storage facility.
The DOE initially announced that some 215 sites in 17 states
were being considered for the second storage site. Last Thurs
day's announcement eliminated 203 from consideration.
Legislation which authorized the search for the second
nuclear waste storage facility calls for the dump to be con
structed underground in a crystalline rock formation.
Madison, Buncombe and Haywood Counties are within a
rock formation known as the Elk River Massif, a 128-mile long
formation believed to have been formed some 450 million
years ago. The 29-mile wide formation covers portions of 15
WNC counties, from Watauga to Macon County.
Plans for the second storage facility call for construction of
a 2,000-acre underground mine, at least 985 feet below ground -
level. Nuclear waste to be buried would be prepared at a sur
face facility occupying between 200-400 acres. The entire
facility would occupy an area some 12.4 miles in diameter.
Wastes to be stroed at the facility would be shipped in from
all across the country. After inspection, the materials would
be sorted and packaged above ground before burial. Plans call
for teh proposed facility to accept up to 70,000 metric tons of
the radioactive material before the facility would be closed,
backfilled and sealed off. DOE estimates are that the facility
would reach capacity about the year 2020.
The NEWS RECORD
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SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 7907
?>V 4 . ' ? ? ' - ' v .. ?jkt'-- ' ?' ?
Thursday, January 23, 1986 25c
Investigation Completed
DA Won't Charge Ledford
Accounting Errors Are Blamed
By ROBERT KOENIG
District Attorney Tom Rusher announced that the investiga
tion of Madison County Commissioner James T. Ledford's
business relationship with county agencies has been com
pleted and that no charges will be filed.
Last week, the Madison County grand jury returned a bill of
presentment calling for an investigation of business transac
tions involving three Exxon stations operated by the county
commissioner in the Mars Hill area.
Rusher announced the completion of the investigation in a
telephone interview Wednesday morning. Rusher told The
News Record, "We have called the Attorney General's office
in Raleigh and there's substantial opinion that he (Ledford)
did not violate the law."
The DA points out that Madison County contracted wiffrtrai
ford Enterprise's fh 1978 for the repair and maintfenence fit
county-owned vehicles. "Some of the money spent was for gas
and oil purchased by the ambulance drivers using an Exxon
credit card," Rusher said. "If you subtract that from the
amount spent, I believe he has stayed within the limits."
Rusher added that there is no evidence to indicate the drivers
were ordered to purchase gas from the Ledford-owned sta
tions.
The question of Ledford's knowledge of the possible viola
tions also entered into whether charges of conflict of interest
would be brought. Rusher said, "There may be a failure of
proof in this case. Technically, the actual violation would have
taken place when the county went over $5,000 and Mr. Ledford
had knowledge of the fact."
State law limits the amount of business public officials can
conduct with public agencies to $5,000 a year. Audit reports for
the past two fiscal years indicate that Ledford-owned stations
exceeded the limit by $100 in the 1984 fiscal year and by $1,100
in the 1985 fiscal year.
Rusher said that the limits may have been exceeded
unintentionally because of clerical accounting errors Ledford
may have had no knowledge of
The conflict of interest law which limits the amount of
business public officials may conduct with government agen
cies makes violations a misdemeanor offense.
Rusher said he has decided not to press charges;, adding that
he has received assurances from county attorney Larry Leake
that the excess business will not happen again.
The DA concluded the telephone interview by saying, "If it
ever comes up again, the issues are drawn and he'll appear in
& explain. Weil not be tolerant of future tran
Ledford called The News Record' in Friday to report the
results of the investigation. The county commission chairman
has insisted throughout the investigation that he provided
repairs to county-owned vehicles in order to save the county
money. The directors of the Madison County Transportation
Authority and Emergency Medical Service have supported
Ledford's contention that his stations have provided repairs at
less cost than other garages.
In a telephone interview with The News Record, Ledford
said, "I've only tried to help the county save some money. I'm
glad this business is behind us now."
The investigation was conducted by Assistant District At
torney Gerald Wilson.
Primary
Doyle Cody of Mars Hill has filed
for the Republican nomination for
Madison County Clerk of Superior
Court. Cody announced his candidacy
on the first day of the filing period.
A native of Madison County, Cody
was raised in the California Creek
community and has made his home in
Mars Hil for the past 30 years.
The son of the late John and Julia
Buckner Cody, he is married to the
former Judy Phillips of Mars Hill.
The couple have a daughter, Rebecca
Kruk, and a grandson, Casey.
A graduate of Mars Hill High
School, Cody attended both Mars Hill
College and Western Carolina
University. He operates a dairy and
tobacco farm in the Mars Hill area.
Cody is a former Madison County
Commissioner. He served two terms,
from 1966 through 1870, including one
term as chairman of the board
Two other Republicans entered the
May primary races for county offices
on Tuesday night
Clarence B. Cutshall of Laurel has
Bobby Capps Enters
County Commission Race
Bobby Capps of Mars Hill entered
the Democratic primary race for the
county commission on Monday.
Capps, 42, entered the race by filing
with the Madison County Board of
Elections in Marshall.
Capps became the first Democratic
challenger to incumbent county com
missioners James Ledford, Ervin
Adams and Virginia Anderson. All
three incumbents had earlier filed for
re-election.
Capps is the owner and operator of
the Capps Funeral Home in Mars
Hill. A Buncombe County native, he
has lived in Mars Hill since 1872 when
he purchased the funeral home he
now operates Both his father and
grandfather were natives of Madison
County.
A graduate of Enka H.S and the
Ciacinnatti College of Mortuary
Science, Capps is married to the
former Louedith Wiggins. The couple
have two sons, Todd, 13, and Tim, 9
Capps is a member of the Bethel 1
list Church and the Bald Ci
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