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. HE NEWS RE C
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SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901
Thursday, February 13, 1986
25c
MADISON
COUNTY LIBRARY
GENERAL DELIVERY
MARSHALL NC
I
County School Board Meets
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? Story on Page 6
Community
Calendar
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Lincoln Day Dinner Planned
The Madison County Republican Party's annual Lincoln
Day dinner will be held on March 8 at 7 p.ni. in the cafeteria of
Mars Hill College. Associate Supreme Court Justice Rhoda
Billings will be the featured speaker. Local, state and federal
office candidates are also expected to attend.
Tickets are $8 each and are available from Jim Baker,
Jewell Church, C.N. and Perry Willis, Susie Jenkins, Pat
Roberts, Howard Riddle, Dedrick Brown, Buster Norton and
Roy Norton.
For more information, contact Betty Wild at 649-2466.
Weaverville Town Council To Meet
The Weaverville Town Council will hold its monthly meeting
on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on Main Street.
Tomato Growers To Meet Feb. 26-27
The annual meeting of the North Carolina Trellised Tomato
Growers Association will be held on Feb. 26 and 27 at the Ter
race Hotel in Lake Junaluska.
For more information, contact Tom Wiley at 253-1691.
Burley Meeting Set For Feb. 20
The annual Burley Tobacco Education meeting will be held
on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at Madison H.S. Area farmers attending
the session will receive information on development and new
varieties, disease control, fertilizing and other related sub
jects.
A representative of the Burley Stabilization Corp. will also
attend to update farmers on the status of tobacco legislation
being considered in Congress.
For more information, contact extension agent Wiley
DuVall at 649-2411.
Lions Host Cumberland
The Mars Hill College Lions will host Cumberland College in
basketball action tonight in Chambers Gym. Tip-off is
scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Hot Springs License Examiner
The N.C. driver's license examiner will be available in Hot
.Springs on the first and third Monday of each month, except on
holidays. Examiner is located in the Lion's Hut on U.S. 25-70,
Deadline Nears For
V- ?
Crop Loss Claims
Madison County burley tobacco growers planning to file
claims for crop losses with the Federal Crop Insurance Corp.
(FCIC) must file within 30 days of the final burley sales or
Feb. 28, the end of the insurance period, according to Samuel
E. Evans, FCIC field supervisor.
Evans said that policy holders who have not paid their
premiums prior to Jan. 31 will be charged 1.5 percent interest
per month on the amount due until paid in full. If premiums
are unpaid by April 15, the grower's policy will be subject to
cancellation for the following crop year.
Clarke Won't
Support Hendon
Nuke Ban Bill \
1
HH
roposed
r waste
has "little
former con
(Clarke an
nounced he will not support the bill
The Fairview Democrat made the an
nouncement during a Friday press
conference in Asheville
Clarke it siskin# to win back the
scat he lost to Hendon in IM4,
tCarlier, Hendon had asked for his op^
pfrma
i within a
I ?! AMIA.I
of nuclear shipments on our
highways." Clarke said a Nashville
federal court decision made last week
would delay construtckw of the pro
posed MRS in Oak Ridge He said
North Carolinians should join with
Tennessee officials in their fight to
halt the proposed temporary storage
facility.
Clarke also said he would fight to
see that only one permanent nuclear
storage facility is built and located in
MM X
Trooper Murder Suspects
Enter Not Guilty Pleas
Bray, Rios Arraigned In Yancey County Court
William Bray and Jimmy Dean
Rios entered not guilty pleas this
week to charges of first-degree
murder. The two men, escaped
prisoners from an Arkansas county
jail, are accused of slayings N.C.'
Highway Patrol Trooper Bobby Lee
Coggins on Sept. 14 of last year.
Bray, 21, and Rios, 23, entered the
pleas on Monday and Tuesday during
brief court appearances in Yancey
County Superior Court in Burnsville.
Both men are currently being held
without bond in the Madison County
jail. They were transported to Burn
sville for the hearing because the
Madison County Court House cour
troom is closed for repairs.
Repairs to the courtroom and cour
thouse roof have forced prosecutors
to delay the trials for the two men.
Work on the courthouse is expected to
begin later next month and should be
completed sometime in May.
Both men have been charged with
first-degree murder in connection
with the slaying of Trooper Coggins
Prosecutors contend the pair shot the
trooper while stopped on N C. 209
near Hot Springs. The pair were cap
tured on Sept. 18 in Spring Creek
following a manhunt involving some
200 lawmen.
Both men have been held in the
county jail without bond since their
capture, except for brief periods
when they underwent psychiatric ex
aminations at Dorothea Dix Hospital
in Raleigh
In addition to the first-degree
murder charge, Bray is charged with
larceny of a firearm, discharging a
firearm into an occupied vehicle,
breaking, entering and larceny and
second-degree burglary.
Rios, also charged with murder,
faces charges of armed robbery, ac
cessory after the fact of discharging a
firearm into an occupied vehicle, se
cond degree burglary, breaking,
entering and larceny and larceny of a
firearm.
The suspects are reporesented by
court-appoited attorneys Joe Huff.
A.E. Leake and Forest Ball. At
torneys for the pair have filed a
number of motions with the court and
are seeking a change of venue for the
trials
District Attorney Tom Rusher has
said he intends to try the men
separately. He has not indicated
which man would stand trial first
Repairs to the Madison County
Court House make a date for the start
of the trial uncertain, but Rusher told
reporters on Tuesday that he ex
pected the trials to begin in late May
or early June.
Marshall To Begin Pulling Meters
Delinquent Customers Face Water Cut-off
By ROBERT KOGNIG
Marshall's delinquent water
customers will soon find themselves
high and dry. At their monthly
meeting this week, the town's
aldermen unanimously voted to cut
off service to all delinquent
customers starting on Feb. 25.
The aldermen took the action after
learning that nearly $14,000 in
charges are currently past due. Town
crews will begin removing meters on
Feb. 25 during their rounds of meter
reading. Anyone owin a past due bill
as of that date will be subject to hav
ing the ir service cut off without fur
ther notice.^, ..
Previous town boards have promis
ed crackdowns on the delinquent
water customers, and in some cases
removed selected meters from long
delinquent residents This latest
crackdown, however, will apply
across-the-board to all delinquent
customers.
Cecilia Ward delivered the monthly
financial report and told the
aldermen that the town's finances
were in good shape at this point in the
fiscal year. The town's largest ex
pense continues to be utility charges
from the French Broad EMC. The
monthly report indicates Marshall
paid FBEMC more than (12,300 in
January for electric charges incurred
by the Water and Sewer and streets
departments.
On the positive side, Mrs. Ward
reported that water consumption was
down by almost two million gallons in
January froq* Dec ., IMS, while billjrjg
(of water increased by hatr jrmtfliori
gallons. Board members credited
town employee Booth Marler for the
increase in billing and decrease in
consumption. Marler, a longtime
town worker recently rehired, has
helped town crews locate leaks in the
system .
The aldermen also discussed lock
ing a fore hydrant on U.S. 25-70 in
order to prevent construction crews
from taking on town water without
paying for it.
The board tabled a final decision on
a proposed sewer use ordinance at
Mayor Ward's suggestion. The mayor
said the aldermen needed explana
tions for many of the proposed
regulations contained in a model
sewer use ordinace they are consider
ing. Town officials will meet next
Monday to discuss the proposed or
dinane with state officials and Morris
Tremble of Wastewater Systems,
rnc. 'fhe water consultant
The board approved a letter to Gar
field' Caldwell of Cotton Mill Hill
ordering him to remove a hog from
his front yard. Neighbors have com
plained repeatedly of the hog, which
is housed in a shed in Caldwell's front
yard. The letter states that keeping a
hog violates town health ordinances
and as|cs for its removal immediate
iy
The board also agreed to install a
culvert in fromt of road property
owned by Everett Barnett and agreed
to order town crews to pick up trash
at the ballfield on Blannerhassett Is
Mayor Ward announced that the
latest tests showed that the town's
waste treatment plant was in com
pliance with state regulations. An in
spection in December revealed that
the plant was discharging too many
solids into the French Broad River,
prompting state officials to seek a
sewer use ordinate*:.
The board met in executive session
briefly before adjourning at 9 p.m.
The next regularly scheduled
meeting of the board will be held on
March 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Mars Hill Considers Sign Ordinance
By ROBERT KOKN'IG
Mars Hill aldermen will consider a
new zoning ordinance -governing out
door advertising and changes to the
town's fire code during public hear
ings to be held on March 3. The board
agreed to conduct the public hearings
during the monthly meeting of the
board held on Feb. 3.
The public hearings will be held
prior to the start of the regular mon
thly meeting in March.
The town's planning and zoning
board has prepared an ordinance
governing outdoor signs. Final ap
proval to the draft ordinance was
given during last week's meeting of
the planning board.
The proposed sign ordinance would
cover all forms of outdoor signs and
advertising. It would prohibit con
struction of new signs which fail to
meet the requirements of the or
dinance, but provides that present
signs and billboards will be allowed to
remain standing as long as they re
main in good condition. The town's
building inspector would be authoriz
ed to order removal of poorly
maintained signs.
Obsolete signs would be removed
within 30 days, and temporary signs
must be taken down within 10 days.
Signs which do not conform to the or
(finance requirements will have to be
removed according to a timetable
based on the cost of the sign. All non
conforming signs would be removed
within five years.
Owners of non-conforming signs
wHSch are in need of major repairs
would be allowed to replace the non
conforming signs.
The proposed ordinance also sets
down requirements regarding size,
location and lighting and requires all
sign owners to obtain a permit. A $50
fine will be imposed on sign owners
failing to comply with the ordinance.
The proposed ordinance would ban
signs which constitute a traffic
hazard; signs in street right-of-way
or obstructing fire escapes, doorways
and windows; all off-premises adver
tising; flashing signs; roof signs;
signs posted on utility poles, trees or
fences and portable signs. Tem
porary real estate signs, church signs
or organization signs would be per
mitted. Also permitted would be ser
vice station signs, gasoline price
signs under 40 inches in height, con
struction signs and outdoor menu
signs at drive-through restaurants.
The proposed ordinace also spells
out rules for signs in residential
areas, wall signs, movie theatre mar
quees and signs at shopping centers
eologist Criticizes DOE
s.fWTT> C7 ..
I v . . ' ffl
consult with Attorney
Tbarnburg concerning
i against the DOE.
by calling for a
approach to com
bating the proposed nuclear waste
lump He said North Carolinians
?' propoaed ?''rnpcr jr\
hor n . storage fa
as , U.8 and o
By JOHN REITZ
The WaynesviHe Mountaineer
Already-completed federal studies
of the WNC rock body picked as a
potential site for a nuclear waste
dump show the selected location is a
poor choice, according to a geologist
familiar with this area
"Frankly, I'm flabbergasted," said
Dr Steven Yerkovich of Western
Carolina University m Cullowhee.
Yurkovich a geology professor at
WCU, said a simple examination of
the federal government's own reports
clearly shows placing a storage facili
ty in this area would be an unwise
decision
The Department of Energy (DOE)
announced last month that a rock
body that extends into portions of
Haywood, Madison and Buncombe
Counties is one of the 12 finalists for
Obviously a rock formation that is
subject to fault movements is not
desirable, Yurkovich said, because of
the possibility of the high-level
wastes leaking into the water supply
The DOE report on the formation
says that "the massif is fault
bounded. and cut by many faults. In
the southern part of the massif, steep
northeast-trending joints occur in
groups spaced less than a foot apart."
This means that the chances of rock
movements are good, Yurkovich
said.
The DOB also wants a rock body
that is "one rock type," Yurkovich
said, but the DOE's won report says
the WNC formation is "a
heterogenous assemblage of gneiss,
schist, amphtbolite. cut by intrusions
such as the Beech granite and the
ilaskite a?d pegmatites ofthe Spruce
tt riLl t i t 1
Rivers run thnugh this wea."
Yurkovich said. "In rocks with lots of
fractures like these we have the
potential for lots of opening."
A detailed study of the ground
water syatem has not been done, but
some contend that contaminated
ground water in this area could easily
travel hundreds of miles through the
ground before sirfacing in wells and
water systems.
Yurkovich said he and several
others "sat around trying to fighure
out why they did what they did. We
came up with several ideas."
One guess, he said, is that the prox
imity to Interstates as, 40. 75 ami 77.
in the DOE's list is the *
imity to a proposed
retrieval!* Uempoi
facility in Oak Wd |
facility would hand!. si
of nui lear waste whidh \