ws record
* ? mmtm ? " 4 eoP'e Of Madison County Since 1901
Vol. 86 No. 44 Thursday, October 30, 1986 25c
County Gets Ready
For Election Tuesday
A number of important state and local seats liven up the 1986
election, with a reasonably good turnout expected this Tues
day, November 4.
Here in Madison County, the voters will be electing an all
new county commission with the current three commissioners
having lost in the primaries. A close race is also expected in
the school board race, with an outside chance of one or two of
the incumbents giving way to Republican challengers.
On the state level, James McClure Clarke and William Hen
don do battle once again for U.S. Congressional District 11
seat. Clarke lost to Hendon the last time the two went head to
head. Former North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford is
considered to have a slight edge in the polls to unseat
Republican James Broyhill for the U.S. Senate. Broyhill was
appointed to that seat two months ago after the death of
Senator John East.
For State Senate District 28, voters can choose two can
didates among the four running, Democrats Robert S. Swain (
and Dennis Winner, and Republicans Bill Horton and John
Stewart, Jr. Democrats Charles Beall and Liston Ramsey are
unopposed for State House District 52.
News Record Names
Studenc As Editor
William J Studenc Jr. has been
named editor of The News Record.
He starts work at the paper's Mar
shall office next Monday, succeeding
Robert T. Koenig.
Studenc. who grew up in the Black
Mountain and Swannanoa area, holds
a bachelor of arts degree in jour
nalism and history from the Universi
ty of North Carolina at Chapel HiU.
He has been with The Mountaineer.
The News Record's sister newspaper,
since June 1963 as a staff reporter.
Studenc. 25, whose appointment to
the News Record editorship was an
nounced this week by Cheryl Koenig.
the paper's general manager, won
first place for newswriting in 1964 in
the North Carolina Press Assn.'s an
nual contest.
A graduate of Owen High School in
Swannanoa. Studenc (whose last
name is pronounced "students") has
been a part-time sports reporter for
The Asheville Citizen and was a
reporter-photographer intern for the
Black Mountain News during the
summer ot 1982.
While attending Carolina. Studenc
was a writer for the UNC Journalist
and a staff writer for The Daily Tar
Heel, the five-day-a-week paper serv
ing the UNC campus.
As a staff writer for the three
timef-a-week Mountaineer in
Wayn6sville, Studenc has been work
ing for the last three years under the
direction of editor Clifton B. Metcalf .
a Madison County native, handling a
variety of political and environmen
tal "beats" for the paper
Between Robert Koenig'a depar
ture for a new job as news editor with
the Hendersonville Times-News and
Studenc's arrival next week. The
News Record's newsgathering and
features have been in the hands of
William Lee, news editor, and
Elizabeth and Chick Squire, con
tributing editors. All will continue
under Studenc. Liz Squire is expected
to contiiuie as a contributor of
features to The News Record for the
foreseeable future. -C.B.S.
Community Calendar
Democratic Fish -Fry
The Democrats will hold a fish-fry on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 6
p.m. at the Marshall Elementary School on the Island. Enter
tainment will be furnished by the Boone Brothers. Everyone is
invited to attend.
Transportation To Polls
Transportation to the polling places in Madison County oni
Election Day will be provided by call 649-2103.
Rummage Sale
The First Marshall Freewill Baptist Church and the Shoal
Hill Freewill Baptist Church will co-sponsor a rummage sale
Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and Nov. 3 in the Jackie Ball Building in Mar
shall.
League To Meet Monday
The Madison County League of Women Voters will meet
Monday, Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. at the home of Nancy Lippard and
Ruth Smith in Hot Springs. Those wishing to attend should
call 622-7237 or 689-5722.
?rt? __
RSP Meeting
The NUdUoo County ?it ?
S1 K? ~ *????"'
gram
Three new county commissioners are to be selected among
Democrats Bobby Capps, John Hensley, Reese Steen, and
Republicans Clarence Cutshall, Clarence Faulkner, and Bob
Phillips.
Running for the two school board seats for District 1 are
Democrat incumbents Franklin Anderson and Gerald Young,
challenged by Republicans Joseph Godwin and Ed Krause. In
District 2, the three seats now held by Democrat incumbents
Ed Gentry, Bobby Ponder and Floyd Wallin, are being sought
by Republicans James Baker, Jimmy Dean Hensley, and
Mike Jenkins.
Residents in the western portion of the county, including
Marshall, will vote for the District 2 candidates. Those living
in Petersburg, Mars Hill and other East Madison communities
will vote for District 1.
Long-time Madison County Sheriff E.Y. Ponder, Democrat,
is being challenged by Republican Dedrick Brown. Brown fill
ed the vacated Sheriff's post four years ago, but lost in the
general election to Ponder.
The current Tax Collector's position held by Harold Wallin,
Democrat, is being sought by Republican Betty Wild. Wild is
the former mayor of Marshall.
A pair of Cody's, not related, are seeking the Clerk of Court
position. Democrat incumbent James Cody is being challeng
ed by Republican Doyle Cody.
Three state constitutional amendments are also on the
ballot, as well as a number of judicial seats to be filled. The
polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Madison County is broken into 12 precincts with polling
places as follows- (jt) North Marshall-- Madison High;
(2)South Marshall - Marshall Elementary; (3)Laurel~ Laurel
Elementary; (4* Mars Hill-- Mars Hill Elementary; (5)Beech
Glen- Greater Ivy Community Center; (6) Walnut- Walnut
Elementary; (7) Hot Springs- Hot Springs Elementary;
(8)Ebbs Chapel- Ebbs Chapel Community Center; (9)Spring
Creek- Spring Creek Flemertary; (lO)Sandy Mush- Election
Bldg. near Reeves G?x>?ery; (ll)Grapevine- Coates Store at
Petersburg; &irtM!&>Revefle-ilice Cove- the old Gunter's
Grocery.
' "*' "f '?
Bill Studenc
. . .becomes editor
Where's The Money Hidden ?
ALL OUT FOR HALLOWE'EN is Nikki Edwards of Main
Street, Weaverville, whose yard also has a life-size witch and
a graveyard.
State Agents Looking
At 'Irregularity' Reports
Agents of the State Bureau of In
vestigation are in Madison County
this week looking into allegations of
voting irregularities, and will be in
the county through Election Day
next Tuesday, The News Record
has learned.
Charles Dunn of the SBI in Ral
eigh said Tuesday that two SBI
agents are currently in the county .
County District Attorney James
T. Rusher said the SBI inves
tigators are looking into specific al
legations of voting irregularities, in
both the primary and the upcoming
election next Tuesday, and are "not
part of a fishing expedition." The
irregularities "may have already
occurred" or "may be occurring
now in Madison County," Rusher
said.
The invesigation, said Rusher,
"was requested by me as a result of
specific complaints made to offi
cials of the Madison County Board
of Elections, and will continue as
long as there appears a legitimate
need." He saii do charges have
been brought as of Wednesday
morning.
William Powell, chairman of the
Board of Elections, confirmed that
at least one request for an inves
tigation came from his board and
involved both the primary and the
upcoming election.
Neither Rusher nor Powell would
say anything further, although,
Pow.ell said, "I'd like to." Rusher
said any further disclosure by the
SBI might hurt the investigation.
Rusher said that anyone acting
"honestly and legally for the pur
pose of furthering his political party
or candidates and causes has noth
ing to fear from this investigation. ' '
Debbie Gutshall Aquitted
In Superior Court session held last
week in Marshall, Debbie Cutshall. of
Greeneville, Tenn. was found inno
cent of charges of accessory to break
ing and entering, larceny, and con
spiracy. The case dates back to
November 29 of last year when Isaac
"Junior" Gunter, and Jeffrey
Bullman were shot and killed by
Odell Cook while attempting to break
Ghosts , Gold At Little Pine
Bv KMZAHKTII I). SQUIKK
Ben Krisby Jr. of Hector Corner.
Marshall, tells such vivid and unit
ing eyewitness stories about ghostly
happenings at the site of the old
Chunn's stock-stand that, for some,
he offers a Robert L. Kipley-type
warning-believe it or not.
The stock-stand, on what was once
the Buncombe Turnpike, is now stone
chimneys in ruins off in the woods,
just across from IJttle Pine Creek.
But Ben Krisby remembers the house
when it was still standing -a part-log.
part-plank house with a porch all
around the first floor and porches on
two sides of the second floor. And the
inside was comfortable with huge
stone fireplaces and walls finished
with dressed lumber.
Once there were three stories, back
when Ibe house served as a
stagecoach slop and stock-stand.
Ttal was from a boot I KM or IIU? until
it was *ol|? I* Ben's grMI
t'hunn house there were pens for the
animals, back then. By the time Ben
knew the house, the pens were gone
and the top floor had been removed.
Ken's father grew up in this house,
which had room for several genera
tions of the family, and his grand
father ran a store nearby even after
the family no longer lived in the old
stock-stand.
And nobody in the family was
afraid of the strange happenings
there. Ren says, because his grand
father and his father seeaped so sure
that whatever was haunting the place
would not harm the Frishys. In fact.
Ben's grandfather John, a ferryman
and sometime bounty-hunter who
always dressed entirely hi black, did
not seem to be afraid of anything. Ben
recalls. A
Ben's father was entirely relaxed
come up the river toward the dam
Sometimes it would come within 20
feet of them as they sat in the
woodyard and his father would throw
wood-chips at it. The light didn't
seem to be affected by the wood-chips
in any way. "Sometimes I've watch
ed it M or 40 minutes." said Ben.
"I've never seen swamp-gas burn
like that. It was not like foxfire. It
would move here and there and final
ly go away down the branch, down the
river mi of sight."
T%e light had a quality about It a Ut
ile Uke the Brown Mountate lights,
whoich he has seen a number of
lime*, he says-except that U?e Brown
Mountain lights are shaped like a gas
lantern and often obscured by fog.
< For asare about the Brown Mom
tain lights, and the legend that tbe.v
are related to two murders, see
into his store in Belva. Debbie Cut
shall, the girlfriend of Gunter, was
apprehended by Sheriff Ponder later
that evening as she drove by the area
Testimony given at the trial left
doubt as to her complicity in the
crime.
Upon her arrest in November she
claimed to have taken the two men
hunting and awaited their return at a
spot along Cook Farm Rd. near the
home of Arville Gunter. She said she
stayed in the car from 10 p.m. to 3
a.m. and went looking for them when
they didn't return.
Cutshall later changed her state
ment, saying she had instead taken
the two to Love Gunter 's house where
she fell asleep around midnight. She
said she was later woken by Love
Gunter who told her he had taken the
two to the Little Laurel area to go
hunting and they hadn't returned. She
claim ad he asked her to take his car
and go look for them.
It was the differences in the two ia
itial accounts that left the district at
toraey's office dubious of Cutshall.'s
possible involvement.
"Someone had obviously taken the
two over to Cook's store," said Asst
District Attorney James Baker.
Detotte Cutshall was driving a car
back and forth in front of the ?Ure. its
license plate removed and a sot of
keys in the trunk Together with hor
two different accounts we foM we had
a reasonably food case "
It was testimony by Love Gunter
and Irene Gunter. wife of,(
Gunter, that raised*