RECORD
Serving The People Of Our Communities Since 1901
ol^No.U Thursday, March 12, 1987 25*
Crumbling Craggy Prison in Woodfin won't be
moving to Madison County. An emergency
prison package approved by the General As
BILL STUDENC PHOTO
sembly last week ensures that Craggy's
replacement will remain in the North Bun
combe County area .
Craggy Prison To Remain
*
In North Buncombe Area
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
The General Assembly took action
last week guaranteeing that a
replacement for aging Craggy Prison
will be built in Buncombe County,
probably north of the current Woodfln
facility.
Legislators approved a 915.1
million emergency prison package
that includes $5.6 million to construct
a new 300-man prison in Buncombe
County. ' '* - , '*- ' : . i
The fact that the legislation
specifically calls for Craggy 's
replacement to be built in Buncombe
County effectively removes Madison
County from further consideration
for the new prison and brings to a
close one of the fiercest public
debates in recent years.
Some Madison County residents
had asked N.C. Department of Cor
rections officials to consider locating
the new prison in Madison. Those
residents said the prison cotfld pump
qpittlK million a year inU> thr Iocs!
economy and create up t^, 100 new
i
jobs.
Sherill Allen, superintendent of
Craggy Prison, visited two sites in
Madison County before the General
Assembly's action last Thursday.
One of those sites was land owned by
Madison Democratic Party leader
Zeno Ponder, a fact that prompted an
outcry from Pooder's opponents.
Public sentiment against the pro
posed prison grew, as opponents con
tended that the prison would result in
tower property W* and argued
-Continued on back page
Repair Pricetag
For County Schools
Tops $36 Million
By ANNE K ITCH ELL
Staff Writer
The Madison County Board of
Education has submitted a proposal
to state education officials indicating
a need for $36 million in school
renovation and construction.
The proposal is the result of a re
quest made by the state superinten
dent of schools, who asked each local
school board to make a study of
school facility needs.
The objective of the statewide
study was to identify the cost of pro
viding a safe, attractive, functional
learning environment for every stu
dent.
And that cost in Madison County is
$36 million.
During the regular school board
meeting March 4 Madison County
School Board Superintendent Bobby
Edwards presented the findings of a
Dec. 5 statewide survey rf educa
tional needs. Madison Courity tanks
among the top 20 in the dollar? deeded
to replace obsolete facilities, Ed
wards said.
A. Craig Phillips, state superinten
dent of public instruction, sfid is a
tetter to local school offu$aS that a
1978 study indicated statewide educa
tional needs in excess of $1.8 billion.
The results of the study were
presented to the General Assembly
with a request (or a statewide bond
referendum for school construction.
A study in 1964 indicated statewide
educational needs in excess of $2.2
billion.
While the statewide bond referen
dum was not put to a vote, legislators
and school boards agreed that the en
I
tire state is in need of a uniform and
equal policy which would give
smaller and poorer counties a means
of obtaining necessary revenue to
upgrade their schools in compliance
with the basic education guidelines.
Edwards said the cost of the entire
project to the Madison school system
would be a whopping $36,890,460.
*
-Continued on Page 9
Students Should Circle
Aug. 17 On Calendars I
By ANNE KITCHELL
Staff Writer
Although summer vacation is
three months away, Madison
County students can already mark
their calendars for the beginning
of the 1967-88 school year.
Students can put a big red circle
around Aug. 17 - that will be their
first day back to school, according
to a school calendar adopted last
Wednesday by the Madison Coun
ty Board oi Education.
For teacBers, the first optional
teacher workday or annual leave
day will be Aug. 11.
Next year's calendar calls for
nine holidays, 10 countywide an
nual leave days, 16 optional annual
leave or work days and four man
datory work days.
School boards in North Carolina
are required by law to give
students 180 days of instruction
yearly.
The board also heard a letter
from Senior Associate State
-Continued oa back page
Sheriffs Department $30,000 Over Budget, County Says
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
Madison County Sheriff Dedrick
Brown will exceed the amount of
money budgeted to hit department by
at least $30,000, if he continues spen
ding county funds at his current rate.
That's the word from Robert
Capps, chairman of the Madison
County Board of Commissioners, who
made the statement at last week's
meeting of the commissioners.
"Eight now, if he continues at his
present rate, he will have overspent
his budget by $30,000 just on
salaries," Capps said.
"if that is not helping the sheriff's
department, I don't know what we
can do," he said. "We have not turned
him down once. It is time we let the
people know we are helping the
sheriff."
Capps' comment came in response
to recent criticism of the county com
missioners for failing to provide Wfi
cient funds for the sheriff's depart
ment.
An advertisement purchased in The
News Record by the Bipartisan
Citizens' Committee For Better
Government last month criticized
county government for paying county
attorney Larry Leake (55,000 in 1986,
while paying Brown a salary of
$17,000 a year.
Leake and Capps later said that the
payments were for services rendered
by Leake over a seven-year period,
for an average annual payment of
about 17,500 from the county.
Figures provided by Jan Franklin,
Madison County finance officer, cor
roborated Capps' statement about
overspending in the sheriff's depart
ment.
The former Madison County Board
of Commissioners approved a
1139,680 annual budget for the
sheriff's department for 1986-87,
Franklin said.
Of that amount, inherited by the
current commissioners, $94,594.02
had been spent as of Jan. 31, Frankin
said.
Franklin has estimated that Brown
will spend $63,038.64 on salaries alone
from February through June.
He had already spent $11,602.43 on
salaries for February as of Feb. 20.
Those figures indicate the sheriff's
department should spend $169,236.09
by the end of the fiscal year, Franklin
said.
And that is $29,556.09 more than
allocated to the department by coun
ty officials.
The actual amount of money overs
pent by the sheriff's department may
actually be higher than (30,000,
Franklin said. Her figures do not in
clude utility charges and other
unknown expenses.
Capps said this week that commis
sioners are committed to funding the
sheriff's department as much as
possible.
"What we told Dedrick was that we
want to give him every penny we can
to help him operate a good sheriff's
department because that's what the
people want," Capps said.
Brown had met with commis
sioners shortly after taking office in
December to request $27,000 in addi
tional funding to hire extra help for
his department.
The commissioners took no action
at that time, but promised to do
whatever they could for the depart
ment.
But the commissioners now say it is
unlikely they will be able to provide
additional funds to the sheriff - or
any other county department - until
?Continued on back page
Recreation Center May Get Repair Funds
*
Anita Ward
to be maintained'
-xj& :
. !
By BILL 8TUDENC
The Marshall Board of Aldermen
agreed Monday to try to divert $99,000
in leftover state grant money to the
town's dilapidated recreation center.
The decision brought to art end four
months of debate about what to do
with an estimated $99, OH that is
available to the town - MO, 000 in
money remaining from a sewer line
installation project on Cody Road
Chandler Drive and $19,000 in local
option money.
The board agreed to instruct Sam
Parker of the Marshall Housing
Authority to re-apply for the state
funds so they could be used for
repairs to the town's recreation
That decision came after a
40-minute public hearing - and with
some reluctance from Marshall of
ficials.
Town board members had hoped to
use the extra (99,000 for housing
rehabilitation work iq the Cotton Mill
Hill area.
But Parker told the board in
November - when he first informed it
of the leftover grant money - that
199,000 it not enough money to fund
all the work that needs to be done on
Cotton Mill Hill
It would cost at least $130,000 to
rehabilitate all the hones that need
work in that area, he has said. The
available 199,000 would rehabilitate
up to 10 homes; but several homes
would not be repaired
If the board chose to use the money
for rehabilitation work for a portion
of the homes on Cotton Mill Hill, it
would be unlikely that the remaining
homes would receive future grant
mney, Parker said.
And that fact helped the Marshall
board make its decision.
"Myself, I could not go over to Cot
ton Mill Hill and knock on doors and
say, 'We're going to do your house,
but not your neighbor's,' " said
Mayor Anita Ward.
"We're all willing for it to be used
since the money cant be used on Cot
ton Mill Hill," Alderman Faye Reid
said. "We just don't know if NRCD
will let us do it"
?CtMlned on back page
Home For Retarded Wins Town's Support
By ANNE K1TC
The lfan
a resolution Monday night to
TSfcw a private com pan; to
ta?ng for an .ntormediati
facility f. the mentally
4 *10
Iti
that
LH
4011.
The Madison County I
10 build a facility new Mars HU|
Mart Hill officials have now agreed
to sponsor the facility's financing.
Blue Ridge Mental Health attune]
Dai I Matney asked Mars
?gr<* to support the
he
Recent Rains Ease
Drought Problems I
By DAVID GERRARD
The Mountaineer
Rain and snow in the last six
months have rebuilt groundwater
supplies in the state, according to
well drillers and hydrologist*.
After a year of record low levels,
groundwater supplies returned to
near normal in December, and
continued rainfall is adding to the
total.
Kathy Hill, a hydrologist with
the US. Geological Survey in
Raleigh, monitors groundwater
levels in Transylvania County
with special test wells Water
levels in the wells there "were
continuing to go down until
"hpfciahii - it was three feet
below normal at that time" she
said. Much-needed rains intbefall
Jane Williamson, who keeps
track of weather statistics at the
Mountain Research Station in
Waynesville, said a late rally sav
ed the rainfall for IMS. "The rain
in August really saved the tobacco
crop," Williamson said.
Overall, rainfall for the year
was 9 inches below normal, but
heavier than normal rains (root
August through November pulled
the figure up. Precipitation in the
fall was 4 inches above normal in
the area, saving form a 13-inch
deficit for the year.
Rainfall in WNC has been above
normal tor 1987, which should help