Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / Jan. 14, 1988, edition 1 / Page 1
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Ttj ^L,^Rr DcrAon GENERAL DELIVERY ? V^BH^ M M ? MM MARSHALL 28753 f Mm mS ^ |% Serving Madison And Northern Buncombe Counties WNC Digs Out From Snowstorm Prom Staff Reports Western North Carolinians are still digging out in the wake of the winter's first major snowstorm, which dumped up to a foot of snow on Madison and Bun combe counties last week. The storm, despite its intensity, seemed to cause few major problems - thanks at least in part to ad vance warning from weather forecasters. Grocery stores were jammed all day last Wednes day as residents geared up for the big storm that was rolling across the nation's midsection on a collision course with the South. Those shoppers, who stocked up on staple items including milk, eggs and bread, weren't to be disappointed. Snow started falling on Madison and Buncombe counties in the early morning hours last Thursday, and it didn't let up until dark, leaving a ton of the white stuff covering everything. Although there was a ton of it, the snow didn't prove to particularly slippery, as temperatures in the teens apparently resulted in a drier snow. Roads became more slippery over the weekend, after some of the snow began to melt during the daytime hours, only to refreeze at night. The heavy snowfall and subsequent thawing and ref reeling kept many workers and customers at home - and off the roads - late last week. Law enforcement agencies reported only a few minor accidents during and after the snowstorm. -Continued on back page BILL STUDENC PHOTOS Road crews fought a losing battle Thursday to keep the streets clear of snow (top), while Scott Student a snowbound visitor from Greenville, found walking 'the best way to 'get to town (bottom). Mars Hill Considers Fire District, Tax By BILL STUDENC Editor Mars Hill officials are hoping residents of Beech Glen, East Fork and Grapevine townships will agree to a fire tax to help pay for the con tinuation of fire protection currently provided by the town at no charge. If residents in those townships don't agree to the special tax, Mars Hill of ficials say they may be forced to stop providing fire protection to areas located outside the town limits. "The town's financial situation is just like everybody else's - tight," said Eddie Fox, Mars Hill fire chief. "In a matter of time, the town is go ing to have to cut out fire protection outside the city limits unless we get assistance in funding from somewhere." That "somewhere" may be from residents of unincorporated townships who currently receive free fire protection from the Mars Hill Fire Department. The Mars Hill Board of Aldermen, during its regularly scheduled meeting last week, unanimously agreed to endorse a proposed fire tax district for Beech Glen, East Fork and Grapevine townships. Although the proposal had already won the approval of the previous town administration, Fox asked the newly elected board to show its support for the plan before he takes steps to establish a fire district. "We are hoping to obtain funding from the people outside the city limits for the fire department," Fox said this week. "The town has been paying all the department's expenses, other than the small amount we raise through fund-raising events and donations." The town of Mars Hill has allocated about $35,000 a year for the operation of the Mars Hill Fire Department, he said. But, during the past four years, the majority of fire calls received by the Mars Hill Fire Department have -Continued on back page Water Quality Problems Continue In Marshall By BILL STVDENC Editor Marshall officials say they are not particularly pleased with the results they've seen so far from a filtration system designed to remove im purities from the town's water supp ly The system was installed late last summer at a cost of about $50,000. Although many Marshall residents said they noticed some improvement in the water quality a few months after the installation of the filters, water quality has declined in recent weeks. "I've been disappointed with the water," said Alderman Ed ??Dofc'*'"" Niles. "We got these filters in and we've not seen the improvement that I expected." The problem, said town clerk Linda Dodson, is that employees of the town water department have not been flushing water lines and fire hydrants on a regular schedule. "We need to do that," Dodson said. "If we do that on a regular basis, that will really clean it up." The Marshall board agreed last year to spend $50,000 on a flltration system to help remove the iron and manganese that has historically given Marshall's water supply an unpleasant taste, odor and color. Town officials told residents not to look for any improvement in water quality for up to three months - that's the estimate^ length of time it would take for the filters to clean out the en tire system. During the fall, many Marshall residents called Town Hall after the system began to work, resulting in cleaner water. Residents have recently started calling Town Hall again - this time to voice complaints about water quality. "It (the water) looks like watered down tea," Dodson said. Regular maintenance of water lines and fire hydrants should take care of the pro blem, she said. When the lines and fire hydrants are not flushed, iron and manganese that has built up over decades of use gets into the water lines, she said. Town officials agreed to instruct town water department employees tr -Continued on back page Movie To Be Filmed In Marshall $ Extras Needed From Staff Report* If you've always wanted to see your smiling face grace the big screen, you may soon get your chance. "Trapper County," a major motion picture to be produced by Noble Entertainment, Inc., will be filmed beginning later this month in the Marshall and Asheville areas. And producers are looking for "hundreds of extras" to be used dur ing the on- location filming. Not much information has been released about "Trapper County," described by film producers as "an action-packed adventure." The names of the stars of the film, to be directed by Ed Murphy, have not yet been released. Film crews will be in the Asheville Marshall area for about five weeks to shoot the movie. Location casting calls for people of all ages and types will be held this weekend in Marshall and Asheville. "The people of Asheville and Mar shall are gracious enough to allow us to be their guest here, and in return we would like to use as many people from this area as possible," said Pam Plummer, location casting director for Fincannon and Associates casting company, based in Wilmington. A casting call for Madison County residents will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. at Madison High School. Open casting calls are also scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Asheville Mall. Registration for the casting calls will begin in Asheville at 1 p.m. each day and last until ? p.m. The film's producers are seeking local residents "with flexible schedules," Plummer said. Some roles will require only a few days of work while others will require several weeks, she said. No acting experience is necessary, she said. All roles as extras are pay ing roles. Those interested in a role in "Trap per County" should attend one of the castiitf calls and take a recent PolaiCid-size photo to accompany the application A photographer will be on hand to take photos of those who do not have a recent picture. There will be a $2 charge to cover the cost of the film and the photographer's time. Plummer, who recently was on location near Banner Elk for the film ing of "The Winter People" starring Kelly McGillis and Kurt Russell, said she is looking forward to working in the Marshall area. U.S. 25-70 Project To Begin r rom suui neporis The N.C. Board of Transportation has awarded a 9312,051 contract to a Skyland firm to begin work on the first phase of improvements on U.S. 25-70 near Hot Springs. The contract, awarded to Blue Ridge Structure Co. by board during its Jan. 8 meeting, calls for the clear ing of brush and timber from a i 2.5-mile corridor between Tanyard i Gap and N.C. 206 to be excavated for . i construction of the redesigned U.S. i 25-70. The clearing of land at the intersec- i uon Of N.c. 209 and U.S. 25-70 at the Laurel River is the first step in the first phase of a proposed $31.5 million project to modernize U.S. 25-70 through the Hot Springs area. The entire 10.6-mile project, to be built at an average cost of $3 million per mile, is expected to be complete by the autumn of 1994. The project is designed to remove hairpin turns and steep grades, making U S. 25-70 a safer highway, state transportation officials say. The first step - the clearing of land ?long the first phase of the project - will allow the Department of Transportation's photogrammetry unit to obtain clearer aerial photographs of the region, said Bill Jones, public relations officer for DOT. The photos will be used to deter mine how much earth must be moved during the grading of the highway, Jones said. Aerial photographs are the best way of obtaining data needed for con struction of a highway in a moun tainous region, said John R. Sutton of Candler, the transportation board's representative from Division 13, which includes Madison County. The best time to photograph the region is in May, Sutton said. Clearing of the area should begin later this month A contract for grading and paving of the cleared section is scheduled to be awarded in the fall. Work on the second phase of the project, a 5.8-mile section of U.S. 25-70 from Hot Springs to the Ten nessee state line, should begin in 1990, while work on the portion of U.S. 25-70 from the top of Tanyard Gap to Hot Springs is expected to start in ISM. 2 Convicted In Federal Tobacco Fraud Case ASHEVILLE ? A U.S. Dtatrict Court Jury has convicted the owner of a Tennessee bur ley warehouse and a warehouse employee with violating federal tobacco marketing laws. A third man involved in the charges - Roy Yates Amnions of Mars Hill, president of the WNC Burley Tobacco Growers Association and a member of the board of directors of the Tobec eo Growers Association of North Carolina - pleaded guilty in November and agreed to testily against the other two defendants. The jury returned verdicts of guilty against Glen Samuel Martin Jr., owner of Big Burley Tobacco Warehouse in Johneoa City, Tenn., and Maynard Den Cody of Marshall, who hauled tobacco to Martin's warehouM from Madison County. The Jury, after about an hour of deliberations Monday, found the two men guilty of charges of compiling to illegally market tobacco in violation of federal tobacco regulations All three men, indicted on the con spiracy chargee in September, will be sentenced today (Thursday) in U.S. District Court in Asheville. Ammoos agreed to plead guilty and to testify if the U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to make no fri<'**"'v*w<lstVT Madison Authorities Investigate Rape Department ia investigating the ?> 1 rape at an Aaheville woman rThe woman. 36. told authorMipt the w? It the A ahevillr an a nd taker acros. the ?here aha ?aa robbed of about 990 1 . ? J Tte woman aaid ate ted been at a party is AaheviU* when tte gotta a" rgumeni with bar boyfriend, -air Tte woman Ml the party aw County where hi raped her Authorities are searching tar a man. about 54 or H, with a *iali concerning the sentence he will Ammons testified last week that he offered to Martin, through Cody, ex cm allotments remaining on his U.S. Department of Agriculture tobacco marketing cards in January IMS. Federal tobacco marketing regula tions prohibit the use of marketing earth by anyone other than the grower who produced the tobacco. Am mora testified uiat M received Contel, Southern Bell To Reduce Rates After State Ruling Prom Staff Reports Telephone customers can look forward to a reduction in their monthly telephone bills, thanks to action taken last week by the N.C. Utilities Commission . The commission has ordered that five investor-owned public telephone companies - including Continental Telephone Co. of North Carolina and Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co. - reduce their rates. Continental Telephone customers will see their rates reduced by 5.44 percent, while Southern Bell customers' rates will fall by 9.09 percent. The rate reductions result from the federal Tax Reform Act of IMS, which lowered corporate in come tax rates by IS percent. The Utilities Commission, after a lengthy investigation into the im pact of tax reform on public utilities, has ordared that the customers should save $2.41 per month ($28.92 annually), a decrease from $44.30 to $41.80 in the monthly charge. The 9.02 percent rate reduction for Southern Bell customers will mean a $1.24-per-month savings for residential users. The monthly rate will drop from $13.75 to $12.51 for an annual savings of $14.$$. Business customers will see the monthly rate fall by $3.41, from $37.30 to $33.?, for a yearly sav ings of $40.n. Other telephone companies af fected by the Utilities Commission action are ALLTEL Carolina, Inc., Sandhill Telephone Co. and Lex
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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