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Farm And Garden Guide
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SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MADISON COUNTY SINCE 1901
Thursday, March 20, 1986
25'
DOE Sets April 4 Public Hearing
The U.S. Department of Energy will hold a public hearing in
the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium of the Asheville Civic Center on
April 4 at 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend and comment
on a proposed nuclear waste storage facility being considered
for Buncombe, Haywood and Madison Counties.
For information on registering to speak at the meeting, see
related story on Page 5.
Nuclear Waste Education Committee
To Hold Meeting On Sunday
The Madison County Nuclear Waste Education Committee
will hold a business meeting on March 23 at 7 p.m. in the Mar
shall Senior Citizens Center on Long Branch Rd. The meeting
is open to the public.
Spring Creek VFD Dance
The Walnut Creek Community Development Club will meet
on March 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Enon Baptist Church fellowship
hall. Jack Buckner of the N.C. Dept. of Transportation will be
the guest speaker.
Laurel VFD Dance Saturday Night
The Laurel VFD will sponsor a dance on March 22 at 8 p.m.
in the fire hall. "Carolina Mist" will perform. Admission is $2.
Proceeds will benefit the fire company.
Community Watch Program
The Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Dept. will present "Nothin'
Fancy", a band of Madison H.S. musicians, on March 22 at 7
p.m. in the fire hall. Everyone is invited to attend.
Walnut Creek CD Club Meets
There will be a meeting on March 31 at 7 : 30 p.m for all per
sons interested in starting a Community Watch'progf&rfi ffi
Hot Springs. The meeting will be held at Town Hall. All Hot
Springs residents are invited to attend.
County Election
Registrars, Judges
Are Appointed
Registration Deadline Is April 7
The Madison County Board of
Elections last week approved
registrars and judges for 10 of the
county's 11 precincts. Registrars
and judges for the Sandy Mush
precinct have yet to be determin
ed.
In North Marshall, Lucretia
Griffin was named as the
registrar. Franklin Frisby Jr. was
named as the Republican judge
and Sammy Lunsford was ap
pointed as the Democratic judge.
Howard Riddle was named as
registrar in the South Marshall
precinct. Richard Freeman was
named as the Republican judge
and Willard Ball was named as
Democratic judge.
tn Laurel, G. McClellan Cutshall
was named as registrar. Muncie
Shelton was appointed as
Republican judge and Mary
Tweecf was named as Democratic
judge.
Jean B. Flowers was named as
the Mars Hill precinct registrar.
John H. Burry was named as
Republican judge and David
Wyatt as the Democratic judge
In Beech Glen, Neil Willis was
named as registrar. Clyde McKin
ney was appointed as the
Republican judge and J.D.
Thomas will serve as the
Democratic judge.
In Walnut, A. Jack Davis was
named as registrar. Clayton
Hensley wil be the Republican
judge and David Treadway will
serve as the Democratic judge.
-Continued on Page S
School Board Members Told
_ i
Madison County Schools
Near Last In Local Funding
By WILLIAM LEE
Madison County School Superinten
dent Robert Edwards informed the
County Board of Education at its
monthly meeting last Wednesday
that Madison County can probably
expect to be last in the state next year
in the amount spent locally on educa
tion.
According to statistics provided by
the state board of education con
troller's office, Madison County rank
ed 141 out of 142 board units in the
amount spent locally per pupil for the
1984-85 school year When this year's
figures are released, Edwards says,
the county can expect to see itself on
the bottom of the list, due in part to
local cutbacks and because number
142 - Fairmont City - has since con
solidated with Robeson County.
Edwards made the point that the
figures showed Madison County spent
$828,269 locally on education in
1984-85, which translated into a
$292.06 per-pupil figure. Edwards
noted that our next-door neighbor.
Yancey County, which has an equal
number of students, averaged $381.55
per pupil.
Billie Jones of Big Laurel informed
the board of her displeasure with the
current state of county schools. She
made a particular point of the high
school's need for band instruments
and supplies. Also, according to
Jones, many music classes in the
county are without instructors, pro
viding only a teacher to oversee the
class.
"I think if we take a close look at
our taxes and where the money is be
ing spent, we can find the money for
education," Jones told the board.
Edwards reminded Jones and the
board that the school system is at the
mercy of the County Commission for
its funding. Last year the school
board asked for $1,627,000 in funds,
but were granted only $620,000, giving
them a revised budget of just over
$700,000, including carryover funds,
said Edwards.
According to the state statistics,
Madison County schools rely on the
state for more than $5,300,000 in fun
ding, 76 percent of the total budget.
However, board chairman Bobby
Ponder added, "...with continued
federal cutbacks effecting the state
as well, there is no way a local board
can make up the difference."
A decision on the Easter holidays
was tabled in the morning session
after a long deliberation failed to pro
duce a motion. Board members
Gerald Young and Ed Gentry had ,
questioned the efficiency in opening
the schools for just the one day on Fri
day, April 4, as proposed. They also
questioned whether students would
return from vacation for the one day.
School hoard attorney Larry Leak* *
informed the board that should they
decide to hold vacation through April
4, it would leave them with only 179
school days on the calendar. State
law requires a minimum of 180 days
per year. Leake told the board that it
could request a one-day waiver, but
suggested it might be needed should
any further school days be missed.
During the board's afternoon ses
sion, chairman Bobby Ponder again
failed to get the board to make a mo
tion concerning the Easter vacation.
The board then went into executive
session.
Upon returning to open session,
Larry Leake read a formal resolution
proclaiming that all county schools
will be closed from Good Friday,
March 28, through Thursday, April 3.
-Continued on back page
Promotion Policy
Is Adopted
The Madison County Board of
Education last week approved a new
student promotion policy for the
1966-87 school year. The new policy
only applies to the elementary level,
grades one through eight.
The ultimate responsibility for re
taining or promoting students still
rests with the school principal and in
dividual teacher. The new county
policy, however, offers basic
guidelines and criteria that must be
met.
If, for example, a student is not
making appropriate acedemic pro
gress, any such case will be referred
on to the School Assistance Team
(SAT) who will study each individual
student's learning needs, pr consider
home intervention to first assist in
academic progress before actual
retention is considered.
The new policy provides for notice
to be given immediately to the
parents at the conclusion of each
grading period should retention be
possible. The schools will also
schedule a conference between
parents, teachers and counsellors, to
discuss any retention of a student.
Specific passing grades are re
quired for promotion in Madison
County schools, varying by grade-age
group. Students in grades one
through three will require passing
grades in basic reading, language
arts and mathematics. Grades four
through eight will require at least a
"D" average in language arts and
math, and at least a "D" in at least
two of the following subjects:
science, social studies, or healthful
living.
Principals may make exception,
upon recommendation of the school
committee, for those students cer
1 tified as mentally handicapped in the
categories of trainable, educatable,
and severe or profoundly mentally
handicapped. The school committee
can also make exception for Ujose
already retained previously in tfie
same grade span of one through
three; four through six; and seventh
and eighth.
A total of six or more unlawful
absences in the school year can also
result in retention.
The new student promotion policy
. now includes a paragraph that makes
allowances for the new state stan
dards which requires retention, or
remedial work, for any student who
falls at or below the 24 percentile in
his or her grade level.
MADRON HIGH SCHOOL BUS No. 38 was damaged when it
slid off Cogdill Branch Rd. Thursday afternoon. No injuries
were reported amnong the four students aboard the bus at the
time of the accident.
Ponder, Edwards
Debate Figures
By WILLIAM LEE
The Madison County Board of
Education received a booklet filled
with statistical information compiled
by the State Board Of Education Con
troller's Office last week that could
be interpreted as a failing grade for
local schools.
School superintendent Robert Ed
wards made a particular point of
statistics which showed Madison
County rankipg 141 out of 142 school
board units in the state for 1984-SS.
"With the Fairmont City Board
having since consolidated with
Robeson County, we can expect to see
a dead last finish when this year's
figures come out," Edwards said.
The state statistics pointed to a
total of 1620,961 being allotted to
schools from local revenues. That
translated into a (292.06 per pupil ex
penditure (PPE), based on enroll
ment of 2,861 students last year. The
state average for local funding is
$648.93 per pupil.
What Edwards didn't take note of
was the total PPE of Madison County
once all resources, state and federal
monies, are included. In the overall
picture, Madison County showed a
92,510.73 per pupil budget, ranking
83rd in the state.
State and federal funds, however,
are designated monies, Edwards ex
plains. The school board is required
to spend them only where the state or
federal grants allow. Teacher
salaries, for example, are paid
-Contiaaed on back page
Hydrologist Seeks Data For Dump Fight
By BILL STUDENC
Staff Reporter
II Mother Nature would just let off
a little steam, Western North Car
, olina might be removed from the
federal Department of Energy's list
o A 12 candidates still in the running
for a high-level nuclear waste re
pository.
Or at least so thinks Dr. Garrett
Smathers, chairman of the Canton
Planning and Zoning Board and a
noted expert in the field of ter
restrial hydrology
Smathers, who teaches high
school level science in the
Buncombe County public school
system, is taking a six-week leave
of absence to pursue a scientific in
vestigation of the are*.
Smathers will be looking at the
the existence of underground
water, including warm or hot water
springs.
"1 am looking for hydrotherma!
features, ' ' Smathers said this week.
"That is, like the hot springs over in
Madison County. This is the hypoth
esis that I'm trying to develop and
evaluate."
The existence of at least one hot
water spring may indicate a ne
twork of underground thermal
springs, Smathers said. If that is the
case, it should be more than enough
to disqualify WNC as a repository
candidate.
During a DOE public briefing
held last Month in Asheville, a DOE
geologiet old be was not aware of
wanty.
of about 1,800 thai
?L
fracture or crack that may go down
6,000 feet, and water is coming in
contact with the warm crystal
rocks," Smathers said. "When this
happens, water rises and goes
through the crack and comes out as
ahot spring."
A number of hot springs in WNC
would indicate that there are deep
fractures in the rock structure
underlying the potential repository
site.
"I am looking for people who
know of springs and seeps where the
water is warm, or where there is
steam escaping from cracks hi the
rock," Smathers said. "I'll go in
vestigate and check the tempera
ture to see if we do have a
geothermal fracture. ' '
Smathers is hoping that his
studies will reveal a large network
air is coining out." Smathers said.
"I've never seen these warm blow
holes, but I've had people tell that
there are such things in this area . "
Places where snow or ice never
accumulates, even in the coldest
winter months, may indicate some
type of geotherma! activity, he said.
Smathers is also looking for other
geological and hydrological fea
tures that may disqualify WNC
from DOE's list of candidates. Am
ong those features are :
? Sulphur springs ? The exis
tence of sulphur springs, often used
around the turn of the century by
enterprising inn owner* to attract
tourists looking for the "hMling
characteristics' of the mineral
could indicate deep frac
for
Ssi "Vi ;
seismic activity thatoccured before
devices to record such tremors
were installed.
Smathers is working with the
Tennessee Earthquake Infor
mation Center at Memphis State
University to compile seismic data
from the WNC area.
Although there have been no
major tremors in the region in rec
ent times, there have been more
than 300 earth movements very
deep in the earth below WNC, some
five to six miles below the surface,
Smathers said. Those quakes have
measured between 0.5 and 2.$ on the
Richter scale
"They (earth movement*) are
......
dangered or rare plants and ani
mals is another thing that Smathers
will be investigating, particularly
in Canton's Rough Creek Water
shed. Canton officials were alar
med to find that a portion of their
watershed, which provides water to
much of East Haywood, is within
the area being looted at by DOE .
' ' DOE didn't even know that there
was a watershed in the area. That
shows how well they reviewed their
data, "Smathers said.
"1 intend to look at the Rough
Creek Watershed, and the total ec
ological picture of it, to see if there
are any rare or endangered plant or
animal species in there," he said.
"We need to conduct an ecological