MADISON
COUNTV LIBRARY
GENERAL DELIVERY
MARSHALL NC
. ^ie Of Our Communities Since 1901
Vol. 87 NO. 51
Thursday, December 17, 1987
25c
Holiday
Pageantry
It was beginning to look a lot
like Christmas in Marshall
this past weekend, with the
annual Christmas Pageant
and the renewed holiday pa
rade. Above left, the three
wise men from the pageant
have their moment in the spot
light. Mary and Joseph (above
right) make their journey tow
ard Bethlehem. Right, WLOS
TV weatherman Bob Caldwell
was the master of ceremonies
at Saturday's parade.
BILL STUDENC PHOTOS
Schools To Continue
Using Teen Drivers
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
School systems in North Carolina
will be allowed to continue to use
17-year-old bus drivers through the
end of the current school year.
That was the ruling last week from
the U.S. Department of Labor - a rul
ing relayed Monday night to the
Madison County Board of Education
by Robert Edwards, superintendent.
Gov. James Martin had requested
last month that North Carolina
schools be allowed to continue using
17-year-old bus drivers because
school systems would have difficulty
finding qualified adult drivers
The U.S. Department of Labor,
which had announced in August that
school system^ would have until Dec.
31 to repMice teen-age drivers,
granted Martin's request.
Under a ruling announced last
week, 17-year-olds now currently
driving school buses will be allowed
to continue to drive through the re
mainder of the school year.
In Madison County, that ruling will
affect five 17-year-old drivers - all of
them drivers for Madison High
School.
Principal David Wyatt of Madison
High School said he was glad to hear
of the ruling.
"I probably could have found
replacements (for the 17-year-olds),
but it would not have been easy,''
Wyatt said.
"I think we'll be able to find adult
drivers for next year, but it won't be
as easy without the students and I
think the students have had a good
record," he said.
Ivan Randolph, principal at North
Buncombe High School, said the rul
ing means that seven bus drivers at
his school won't be out of a job.
"It's not right to take a man's job
away from him if he's been working
all year," Randolph said Tuesday.
?Continued on Page 8
Commissioners 'Fine-Tune'
Property Revaluation Plans
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
The Madison County Board of Commissioners took
steps Tuesday designed to "fine-tune" the process of
revalution of property in the county.
The board, after meeting with representatives of the
N.C. Department of Revenue and a company conducting
the revaluation of Madison County property, unanimous
ly agreed to adopt an amendment to the schedule of real
property values approved in October.
The amendment is 9imply a more specific listing of the
different types of property that may be owned by
Madison taxpayers, said Larry Leake, county attorney.
The purpose of the expanded schedule of real property
values it to help explain to the taxpayer why his property
has been assessed at a certain amount, Leake said.
"This should make the job of the Tax Supervisor's Of
fice a little easier in coming up with values and a little
easier to explain to the taxpayer how that value was ar
rived at," he said.
If a taxpayer wants to know how appraisers reached a
certain figure for the value of his property, the Tax
Supervisor's Office can consult the amended schedule of
property values.
The expanded schedule was developed by the N.C.
Department of Revenue and is based on a standard
schedule, but has also been slightly modified for Madison
County, Leake said.
"We think this will take the judgement out of the whole
process and make it a lot more objective as opposed to
subjective," Leake said.
"The commissioners and the Tax Supervisor's Office
want to make doubly certain that all taxpayers are
-Continued on Page 8
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Weaverville Consider^ Water Improvements
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
Wea vervilie officials wiii be looking
during the next few months at ways to
Improve the quality of water
delivered to customers in the town.
Among the steps that may be taken
are the replacement of old water
lines, the construction of new lines
and the addition of filters.
That was one of the topics discuss
ed Saturday by members of the newly
elected Wea vervilie Town Council,
who met at the Ramada Inn West in
Asheville in their second planning
retreat. Council members had met
Nov. 14 to begin making plans for the
town's future during the next two
years.
Saturday's session was designed to
continue that informal dialogue
among council members, said
Weaverville Mayor Reese Lasher
Again, improving the town's water
supply and delivery system was
among the top issues discussed by the
council, Lasher said.
Gary McGill, engineer for the town,
updated newly council members on
Weaverville's well-known water sup
County Workers Get
4-Day Christmas Break
From Staff Reports
Most county employees will en
joy a four-day Christmas holiday
break next week, courtesy of the
Madison County Board of Com
missioners
The commissioners unanimous
ly agreed last month to give coun
ty workers two additional days of
paid holiday time during
Christmas week
The two extra days off are
designed to nuke up for the raise
that moat county employees didn't
get this yu because of budget
constraints, said Robert Capps,
chairman of the Madison County
And that means that moat coun
ty offices will be dosed Tuesday
through Friday of next week, said
Ralph Wee, Madison County
ing county oil ices lor four days.
But some users of at least one
county service feel otherwise. The
News Record has received
telephone calls this week from
working parents who make use of
the Madison County day care
centers.
"What are we supposed to do
with our kids?" asked one woman,
who would not reveal her name.
"We don't have all thoae extra
days off. We have to either hire a
sitter or take off from work
without pay, and I can't really af
ford to do aitlMr."
Luanne Roberts, director of Uw
Madison County Day Care Pro
gram, said that three of Uw coun
ty's four day care centers will be
closed for three days next week.
"The canters will be open Tues
day, Dec. B,even though the other
county offices will be closed,"
Roberts said.
Busea will not ben?tog en that
ply problems and the steps that have
already been taken to help solve those
problems.
The town, for the past several
years, has been unable to provide
water to potential customers outside
the corporate limits. During periods
of drought the past two summers,
Weaverville officials have been forc
ed to purchase some water from the
Asheville-Buncombe Water Authori
ty
Earlier this year, town officials
signed an agreement with the
Asheville-Buncombe Water Authority
enabling Weaverville to purchase
water from the authority until a new
source of water can be located.
One possible source that has been
looked at is the Ivy River. The towns
of Weaverville, Mars Hill and Wood
fin have participated in a joint study
to determine the cost of tapping the
Ivy River as a source of water for all
three towns.
Preliminary studies indicated the
cost of the project would be an
estimated $10.5 million.
-Continued on Page 8
Venezuelan Man I
Charged With Rape!
From Staff Reports
The Madison County Sheriff's
Department has charged a native
of Venezuela now living in
Madison County with raping a
79-year old Walnut woman last
week.
Rodolfo Lorenz of 85 School
Road, Walnut, has been charged
with second-degree rape, accor
ding to a warrant filed in the
Madison County Courthouse.
Lorenz, 47, was arrested last
Thursday by the Madison County
Sheriff's Department, said Chief
Deputy Dal Peek.
The alleged rape occurred
Thursday morning at the victim's
home in Walnut, Peek said
-Continued on Page 8
I Swear . . .
Marshall Mayor, Aldermen
Take Oaths Of Office
By BILL STUDENC
Editor
There sure was a lot of swearing go
ing on at Monday's meeting of the
Marshall Board of Aldermen.
First, Madison County Clerk of
Court James Cody swore In Anita
Ward for her second term as mayor
of Marshall.
Cody then swore in newly elected
aldermen Iverson Bradley and
Jackie Davis.
He also swore in Bradley, the top
vote-getter in November's balloting
for Marshall aldermen, as mayor pro
tern and town board clerk.
There would have been even more
swearing, but Alderman Ed "Doc"
Niles, the only incumbent aldermen
re-elected by Marshall voters, was
not present at Monday's meeting
Cody told Ward that she could ad
minister the oath of office to Niles at
a later meeting.
After all the swearing, the Marshall
Board of Aldermen held a brief
meeting, most of which was spent on
organizational matters for the new
board.
The aldermen divided up super
visory responsibility for various town
departments.
Davis, a former alderman who
returns to the board after a four-year
absence, will be over the Marshall
CoatiniMd on Page 8
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Maintenance Crew Hours
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year cutting back
laitteiuuiee department
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