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Serving The People Of Our Communities Since 1901
Vol. 87 No. 41
Thursday, October 8, 1867
25c
Sheriff Threatens To Sue Commissioners
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
Sheriff Dedrick Brown may take the
Madison County Board of Commissioners
to court to get the funds he says he needs to
operate the county jail.
"I talked to a lawyer this morning, and
he told me that we have a lawsuit against
the county for failing to meet minimum
standards," Brown said Tuesday. "We do
have grounds for a lawsuit."
Brown's comments came after his
renewed request for funding for full-time
jailers and new requests for additional
funds for a evidence storage building and
camera surveillance system were rejected
by county commissioners at their Monday
meeting.
The commissioners and Brown have
been at odds for several weeks over the
rate of spending in the sheriff's depart
ment. Brown has said he must have addi
tional funding to operate Madison County
Jail at minimum standards established by
the state, while commissioners have
criticized Brown for spending more money
than he should be spending.
Brown, who has said a lack of funding is
not a legal excuse for failing to meet state
standards regulating county Jails, said he
should know by the end of the week
whether he will file a lawsuit against the
county.
Members of the Concerned Citizens
Committee for Better Law Enforcement
have offered to divert some of the money
they have raised for the department to hire
an attorney to represent the sheriff. Brown
said.
"I've had about eight calls telling me to
bring a lawsuit against the
commissioners," he said. "We've discuss
ed using part of the money the committee
has raised to hire an attorney to represent
me against the commissioners "
Brown's main complaint has been that
the county's allocation of $189,129 is insuffi
cient to allow him to pay some $53,000 in
salaries for four full-time jailers. Those
Jailers are necessary so that someone is
supervising prisoners at all times, he said.
"They (commissioners) refuse to do
anything for me," he said Tuesday. "They
keep hollering that I'm overbudget, but
they didn't include my jailers in the
budget. I've got to have them."
The commissioners, on the other hand,
have continued to voice concern with the
rate of spending in Brown's department,
warning that the sheriff's office could be
$38,000 overbudget by the end of the fiscal
year.
Discussion of sheriff's department spen
ding arose during Monday's board meeting
when Brown asked commissioners for
(2,300 for materials for the construction of
an evidence storage room, and an
estimated $3,500 for a surveillance camera
system to be used in the Jail.
Commissioners rejected both requests,
citing a lack of funds, bringing up again the
often -discussed topic of funding for the
sheriff's department.
The commissioners say that they left it
up to Brown to decide where to decrease
spending, and say that every department
in the county received less money than re
quested at budget time.
But Brown continued to say that addi
tional funding is necessary to operate the
jail at state standards, and to provide fUIl
time coverage of the county by deputies.
"I'm doing things that we have never
done before. We have 24-hour patrol
-Continued on Page 2
Mars Hill Board
Hears Motel Plans
By MARGARET A. STUDENC
Staff Reporter
The town of Mars Hill may soon
have a new addition to its family of
businesses in the form of a motel, 60
units or larger, along U.S. 19-23.
J.F. Robinson, who owns several
Mara Hill businesses, and architect
Wayne Roberts presented to the Mars
Hill Board of Aldermen Monday night
a master plan for a proposed motel
located Just behind the Western Steer
at the intersection of Carl Eller Road
and U.S. 19-23.
"We believe it will be a significant
contribution to the community and a
benefit to the college," said Roberts.
The property, owned by Robinson,
is alnmdy rnisi fnr commercial use.
If things go according to plan, the
motel could be ready for room oc
cupants by late spring or early sum
mer, Robinson said.
An anticipated increase in traffic
flow along U.S. 19-23 in the next two
or three years should help provide
customers for the motel, Roberts
said. If a proposal to widen U.S. 19
north of Mars Hill to interstate stan
dards comes to pass, that should
mean even greater traffic flow, he
said.
Roberta told the aldermen and
mayor that his work on the motel pro
ject would not be in conflict of in
terest with his role with the Planning
and Zoning Board.
The plan Roberts gave to the board
is not a final draft, and is subject to
change.
"This is a master plan; it is not set
in concrete," he said.
Roberts told the board that Robin
son also has more property next to
the proposed motel site which can be
developed.
The town board accepted the plan,
subject to the the receipt of approval
by the Planning and Zoning Board.
In other action, the board agrfeed to
send letters to members of the House
of Represents lives, state Depart
ment of Transportation officials and
Gov. Jim Martin urging that U.S. 19
be improved to a four-lane highway
from Mars Hill north to the Ten
nessee state line.
The board also approved a resolu
tion to give $499.94 to the Land-O-Sky
Regional Council for a program to
provide assistance to local govern
menu in obtaining grants and funds.
Stocking Up...
Employees of Ike new Food lioa Store is the Weaverviile
Plaxa are bdsy stocking the shelves in anticipation of Sunday
grand opening. 8ee Page IS.
Ex-Police Chief,
Weaverville Agree
On Settlement
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
Weaverville officials have allowed
former Police Chief Darrell
Rath burn, fired in August, to resign,
apparently closing the book on the
issue.
Eathbum's resignation came as the
result of behind-the scene Mgotations
between his attorney, Devere Lentz
of Asheville, and BUI Barnes, at
torney for the town of Weaverville.
The two attorneys reached the
agreement during a weeklong reeess
in a grievance hearing requested by
Rathburn. That hearing began on
Sept. 23, but was recessed for nearly
a week after the proceedings dragged
on for three hours that evening.
The bearing was originally to
resume Sept. 18, but was again
postponed because of conflicts in the
attorneys' schedules.
It was between Sept 23 and Oct. 1 I
when Lentz and Barnes reached the
agreement allowing Rathburn to I
resign. i
"The matter as regards Darrell
Rath burn has been resolved," Barnes
said earlier this week. "DarreU has
tendered his resignation as chief of
police, and his request for a
grievance hearing has been
withdrawn."
"We just got together and worked it
out, and that was the way it came
out," Lent! said.
The resignation is effective Sept.
30.
Charles Home, Weaverviile town
manager, fired fUthburn on Aug. M
for undisclosed reasons after aa in
ternal investigation into the police
Although more than one month
passed between the date of termina
tion and Rathburn's letter of resigna
tion, Hathburn will not receive salary
payment for that month, Barosssaid.
"It is our understanding that we
simply allowed him to resign. He was
Mred and he resigned - that's all that
will be reflected in his psrsoisiel
File," Barnes said. "There is no
monetary settlement."
?CMtineed on Page X
Madison Officials Adopt
Revaluation Rate Schedule
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
What is Madiaon County worth?
That's exactly what Madison Coun
ty officials art trying to And out in the
on-going revaluation of homes,
buildings and property.
The Madison County Board of Coin
missioners took a major step Monday
toward learning the county's worth
when the board adopted a schedule of
rates for the IMS property revalua
tion.
The rate schedule will be on display
for 19 days in the Madison County Tax
Supervisor's Office.
Tax Management Associates, a
Charlotte firm conducting the
revaluation, will use the schedule to
determine the value of structures and
property in the county.
Commissioners say that the new
schedule should more accurately
reflect the actual value of property in
Madison County. Much property has,
in years past, been evaluated at less
than its actual worth, county officials
said.
According to the schedule adopted
by the commissioners Monday, the
base rate for a frame house win be
990 per square foot. That compares
with 9M-90 per square foot under the
current rate schedule.
For brick homes, the base rate will
increase to 999 per square foot - up
from 997.06 under the current
The rate schedule for land values
will also be going up. Rural land will
be evaluated at between $400 per acre
to 91,200 per acre. Currently, rural
land U evaluated at $100-1800 per
acre.
Homeaites will be evaluated at
$2,000-910,000 per acre, up from a cur
rent schedule of $500-$2,500 per acre.
Commercial, industrial and recrea
tional land will be evaluated at
$10,000-$75,000 per acre under the new
rate schedule. That compares to a
previous schedule of $800-920,000 per
?CI*. ?" M .1
The actual value of a home or tract
of land will also depend on a number
of variables, including topography of
the land, road frontage and im
provements or additions to buildings.
School Board OKa Final Budget
With $ 9.1 Million Grand Total
Bikr
The Madison Coun
Education hat
-
krd of
MU,ooo
? lan *? 1 million
That < night -
aMMb earl; Tuatdaj (
than thrw montt
ind delay on the
or stall posit
County Board of Commix
sioners appropriated to the school
lyatern *159,000 less than requested.
, by uruif
have been able to avoid those
<<?#? ** san 4 tMi Is
DOE To Resume Nuclear
Dump Study In WNC
By BEN ANDERSON
The Mountaineer
The search for high-level
nuclear waste repository site in
the Eastern Unitedd States has
resurfaced, thrusting a
106- square-mile area comprising
parta of Madison, Haywood and
Buncombe counties back in the
running
The U.S. Department of Energy,
in a letter last week from
Secretary John S. Herri ngton to
governors of 17 states, announced
the search focusing on U Eastern
sites is being resumed. The
department suspended the search
in May IMS, a suspension that
many Democrats termed a
isthattheNoclear Waste Psttcy Act is
?tffl the law.'
Rep. James M. Clarke
study.
Although dismayed by DOE's
announcement, U.S. Rep. James
McClure Clarke, D-N.C., whose
Uth District includes the Elk
River complex, said that the
wasn't surprised by it.
First of all, it was exactly what
we said during the 86 election,"
Clarke said from Ms home in Pair
view. "Whenever there was a
Republican running, DOE went
and said there wouldn't be a dump
site."
Clarke defeated incumbent Rep.
Bill Hendon, a Republican, In the
fall election despite the (act that
DOS said in May 19M M ww
zagsst s
I*
*
Sr
the law," Clarke said, "and it calls
for an Eastern site. I think the im
portant thing to to fight it all the
way, not to relax. My opponent
(Hendon) kept saying the search
was all over, but we cant relax."
Clarke is co-sponsor of two bills,
of which Rap. Morris K Udall,