28753
E NEWS RECORD
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901
Thursday, January 30, 1986
25c
Nuclear Dump Meeting Tonight
At Mars Hill College
The North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and
Community Development will hold a public hearing on the 1
proposed nuclear waste storage facility being considered for j
the Sandy Mush area tonight at 7 p.m . in Moore Auditorium on 1
the campus of Mars Hill College. The public is invited to at
tend. 1
Baseball Boosters To Meet
i
There will be a meeting on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. in the Marshall |
Elementary School gymnasium for all members of the Mar
shall Youth Baseball and Softball Boosters Club. The annual (
election of club officers will be conducted. All members are
urged to attend.
Open House In Hot Springs
The town of Hot Springs will host an open house at the new |
Town Hall on Main Street on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. prior to the
start of the regular monthly meeting of the board of aldermen.
Mayor Kenny Ramsey invites all Hot Springs residents to at
tend.
Optimists Meet On Feb. 6
The Madison Central Optimists Club wiil hold its monthly
meeting on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at Mary's Restaurant on the Mar
shall Bypass. All members are asked to attend.
County Commissioners Meet Monday
The Madison County Board of Commissioners will meet on
Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. in the Madison County Court House.
Mars Hill Board To Meet
The Mars Hill Board of Aldermen will meet on Feb. 3 at 7 : 30
p.m. in the Mars Hill Town Hall.
Hot Springs Town Meeting
The Hot Springs Board of Aldermen will meeton Feb. 3 at
7 : 30 p.m . in the Hot Springs Town Hall.
School Board Meets Feb. 5
The Madison County Board of Education will meet on Feb. 5
at 10:30 a.m. in the Madison County Court House.
Hendon Will Tour
Proposed Dump
Sites In West *
By BILL STUDENC
ASHEVILLE ? U.S. Rep. Bill
Hendon will be traveling next
month to at least one of three sites
under consideration in the West for
the nation's first nuclear waste re
pository.
Hendon. in an effort to keep a pro
posed federal Department of
Energy nuclear waste dump out of
Western North Carolina, will also
introduce legislation that would
prohibit the placement of a per
manent dump within 400 miles of a
temporary storage facility.
DOE has announced plans to lo
cate a temporary storage site in
Tennessee ? possibly in Oak Ridge,
only 76 miles from a potential per
manent dump site in Haywood.
Buncombe and Madison counties
Hendon's steps are part of a
lO point nuclear waste action plan
announced by the 11th District con
gressman Saturday during a news
conference at his Asheville offices.
"Without a doubt, this is the most
important add most critical envir
onmental issue of the 1988* and the
1980s for all of us here in Western
North Carolina," Hendon said.
"We believe nuclear waste should
be stored nowhere on the Bast
Coast," he said. "We believe it
should be put out West, in the
> that's what
necessary.
"What 1 learn on that trip could be
very, very helpful to us here in
Western North Carolina," he said.
As another prong of his plan,
Hendon has already drawn up a
rough draft of legislation that would
prohibit a permanent nuclear dump
site within 400 miles of aay proposed
temporary storage site.
DOE is looking at three sites in
Tennessee ? 0a k Ridge, Hartsvill
and the Clinch River Breeder Rea<
tor site ? for the temporary storage
facility, called a "monitored re
trievable storage" (MRS) facility.
Hendon believes Oak Ridge will be
selected for the M RS site.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act
prohibits the location of a per
manent, deep geologic storage fa
cility in the same state as a MRS
site. Hendon hopes to amend the act
to prohibit the temporary and per
manent storage sites from being
within 400 miles of each other
"We are saying that a manmade
boundary ? the Tennessee state
line in this cue ? is Irrelevant,"
Hendon said. "Sure, we want
everybody to dp their part. But if the
MRS if in Oak Ridge, by golly, we
are doing our part by the increase in
transportation shipments that will
: and we think this
is a very fair and very equitable
way<
?mphis, for ex
ample, is 380 miles from Oak Ridge
MRU- m ' 4 '"**?
Sheriff E.Y. Ponder Files
For Re-election
Madison County Sheriff E.Y. Ponder filed for re-election
Monday afternoon, ending weeks of speculation regarding his
plans. The 76-year old sheriff will be seeking his ninth term as
Madison County's top lawman
The state's senior sheriff in terms of both experience and
age, Ponder was first elected in 1950. He was unseated in the
1962 election, but was returned to office in 1966.
In announcing his plans to seek a ninth term, Ponder told
rhe News Record, "I'm feeling fine and I believe I can still do
the job the people of Madison County elected me to do."
Ponder's decision to seek re-election is expected to keep
other Democrats from the race. Several interested candidates
have been waiting to see of Ponder would file before announc
ing their plans. In 1982, the sheriff waited until the final day of
the filing period before announcing his plans.
Ponder told reporters he planned to run several weeks ago,
but police business prevente him from filing before Monday
afternoon.
Sheriff Ponder's younger brother, Zeno, won't be making a
bid for county office this year. Rumored to be considering a
run for the county commission following his acquittal of
federal mail fraud charges, the younger Ponder announced on
Monday that he would not become a candidate in the May
primary. In a telephone interview, the former county
Democratic Party chairman said, "I've promised the good
Lord and a lot of people that I wouldn't run and I intend to keep
my word."
Sheriff Ponder is not expected to face a primary fight. He
will most likely face Republican Dedrick Brown of Mars Hill
in the November election. Ponder defeated Brown in the 1966
election to win back the post.
DR. REESE A. STEEN
...enters county commission race
John Hensley
Enters Race
John A. Hensley of Marshall
entered the Democratic primary race
for the County Commission on Mon
day, becoming the second
Democratic challenger to in
cumbents James Ledford, Virginia
Anderson and Ervin Adams.
A lifelong resident of Madison
County, the 63-year old businessman
is married to the former Edith Nix
Fisher
In announcing his candidacy.
Hensley told The News Record, "I
just want to do the best I can for the
people of Madison County I don't say
I have all the answers, but I'd like to
see a little progress here. 1 haven't
seen a thing change in Marshall in the
last 30 years."
A veteran of the U.S. Army in
World War II, Hensley was discharg
ed as a Staff Sergeant
18 years, he has owned and operated
both the Riverview Gulf Service and
Grocery and the John A. Hensley
Construction Co. in Marshall.
Hensley served two terms as a
member of the Madison County
Board of Elections and worked with
the Madison County chapter of the
American Red Cross. The upcoming
pi unary is his first attempt at elec
tive office.
Hensley describes ! himself as a
fiscal conservative", saying, "The
people have a right to know where
their tax monev .s gomg I believe
that the future depends upon our
youth and that they must be educated
to the very best of our ability.
SHERIFF E.Y. PONDER
...to seek ninth term
Reese Steen Enters
"Commission Race
Dr. tteese Steen of Mars Hill filed
for a&eat on the Madison County
Board df Commissioners late Monday
afternoon. Steen will face incumbents
James Ledford, Virginia Anderson
and Ervin Adams and challengers
Bobby Capps and John Hensley in the
May 13 Democratic primary
A native of Rockingham. Steen
came to Madison County in 1973 to
help establish the Hot Springs Health
Program's dental clinic. The follow
ing year, he moved to Mars Hill
where he established a private prac
tise *
In announcing his candidacy, Steen
told The News Record, "I want to be a
voice for the taxpayers of Madison
County, to hold meetings at times
when working people can attend, and
to change county governments
priorities to strengthen our educa
tional system and improve our
economic base."
Steen is a graduate of the Universi
ty of North Carolina at Chapel HID.
He also received his degree in den
tistry from UNC.
He ran unsuccessfully for the coun
ty commission in 1982, finishing fifth
in the Democratic primary. 100 votes
behind the incumbents and
challenger Bobby Capps.
Dr. Steen is the president of the
Mars Hill PTA, chairman of the Mars
Hill Planning Board and president of
the UNC Alumni Association of
Western North Carolina.
He and his wife, Lynn, are active
members of the Mars Hill Baptist
Church. They have three children;
Justin, 6, McKenzie, 8, and Tracy, 10.
Justin and McKenzie are enrolled in
Mars Hill Elementary School and
Tracy attends special education
classes offered in Asheville.
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