Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / March 24, 1988, edition 1 / Page 1
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The NEWS RECORD BBSS- ~ ' i rsj'.*,! of . ' i , St t Serving Madison And Northern Buncombe Counties Thursday, March 24, 1988 WW -f we.rotK*l_ DELI MARSHALL honors Wy'? rece,v?" oU-conference See Page 8 VERY w? m7%3 ? Mal| Hill man charged with two counts of taking Indecent liberties with a minor. 2. See Page 10 I I Tie Weaverville Town Council is searching for i replacement for Ann Williams, who resigned from the council last week. v .v * See Page 14 i Sheriff Lays Off Dispatchers, Closes Jail D.. ntt ? tsiwi ay Dikkaiuumi Editor Sheriff Dedrick Brown says he'd rather lay off four dispatchers and close Madison County Jail than try to operate the sheriff's department with only two deputies. Brown announced the closing of the jail one day after the Madison County Board of Commissioners agreed to lay off three deputies in an effort to keep the county from going broke. "They (commissioners) told me, 'If you wish to change the personnel (to be laid off), please advise this office,' " Brown said Tuesday. "Well, we wish to change personnel and we're advising them. We don't want to lay deputies off." County finance officer Ralph Rice, who has found himself in a running battle with Brown in recent weeks over spending in the sheriff's depart ment, said county government will support Brown's decision to close the jail. "I concur with that," Rice said Tuesday. "By laying off the four jailers, he'll save about the same amount of money." Under a budget resolution approv ed Monday by commissioners, three deputy positions in the Madison Coun ty Sheriff's Department were to be terminated. The commissioners also What impact will the dispatcher layoffs have on emergency agencies? See Page 10 Commissioners blaml 'irresponsible spending* for the sheriff's budget problems. See Page 10 eliminated a $300 monthly expense payment Brown. Those steps would save the county between $15,000 to $20,000, Rice said. But Brown said laying off deputies is unacceptable, and he will lay off dispatchers, who also serve as Jailers, and close the Jail instead. Rice estimated that laying off the four dispatchers and closing the jail will save about $500 less than the county's plan. "It'll still be within the budget confines that we're dealing with," he said. Commissioners say they must trim spending in the sheriff's department or the county will have no money at the beginning of the 1988-89 fiscal year. Commissioners earlier this month agreed to give Brown another $46,000 to operate his department through June 30. Brown had only $11,000 left in the sheriff's department budget on March 1. But that additional $46,000 gave Brown only 957,000 through the end of the fiscal year. Commissioners in structed Rice and Brown to come up with the best way to spend that money. Brown, after some preliminary discussions with Rice, said he would not meet with the finance office. "I've tried everything to work with Dedrick," Rice told the commis sioners at Monday's special meeting, called for the purpose of dealing with the sheriff's department budget. "I think if we don't make some cuts, the county will be broke. We are already in serious trouble as it is." The extra $46,000 allocated to the sheriff's department has left the county with only $2,000 in its con tingency fund, to be used in case of emergency. Rice recommended to the commis sioners that three deputies be laid off, -Continued on Page 10 Madison County Sheriff Dedrick Brown may be spending a lot more time answering BILL STUDENC PHOTO emergency calls, after his decision this week to lay off county dispatchers By BILL 8TUDENC Editor A citizens group has threatened to sue the town of Weaverville if it pro ceeds with the satellite annexation of Reems Creek Golf Club. But that didn't stop the Weaverville Town Council from approving by a 2-1 vote Monday the annexation of 90 acres of the development located 1.2 miles outside current town limits. Barring legal action halting the an nexation, Reems Creek Golf Club will officially be part of the town of Weaverville on July 1. Joe Joyner, chairman of Concerned Citizens of Weaverville, said his group will be pursuing a lawsuit to stop the annexation on the grounds that it does not meet criteria for the annexation of non-contiguous proper ty. "That (a lawsuit) is probably the plan," Joyner said after Monday's meeting of the Weaverville Town Council "Our attorney says the law Is very clear on this, and we can only go by the advice of the attorney." Joyner said he will be meeting this week with attorney Harold K. Ben nett to decide whether to file a lawsuit. Joyner also gave town officials a petition with 150 signatures of residents opposed to the annexation. Many of those signing the petition previously signed a petition cir culated by golf course developers, Joyner said. "Upon being more fully informed, they have now signed our petition," he said. Bennett told Weaverville officials at the meeting that the petition for an nexation is not valid because it in cludes only the 189 homesites while excluding the actual golf course. State law regulating satellite an nexations requires that all portions of a subdivision must be included in a satellite annexation, he said. "The petition in this case is on behalf of Reems Creek Golf Club, consisting of 189 residential lots par tially surrounding a golf course The very name Reems Creek Golf Club' clearly indicates to me that the 189 residential lots proposed to be sub divided are part erf the same subdivi sion that the golf course is a part of," he said. "To adopt the annexation resolu tion under these conditions invites the town to undergo the expense and em barrassment of a lawsuit," Bennett told the council. Bill Barnes, town attorney, said he has checked with the N.C. Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and that the petition for annexation meets all requirements. The golf course is actually a separate enterprise that will be operated by Keiunure Associates in dependently of the residential development, Barnes said. Thejplf course will be open, on a membership basis, to people other than residents of the development, and property owners in the develop ment do not have to belong to the golf club, Barnes said. Golf course developers have said they would prefer that the golf course be annexed, but state law prevents towns from annexing more than 10 percent of its existing corporate limits. If the golf course property was included, it would bump the acreage above that 10 percent mark, accor ding to town officials. Kenmure Associates has agreed to seek a change in state law so that the goif course can also be annexed. Bennett also told the council that the town will not be able to provide adequate police and fire protection to the new development. State law re quires that a newly annexed area receive the same services that are available inside the municipal limits. While an overflow crowd watched at Weaverville Town Hall, the council approved the annexation, with Coun cilmen Bernard Koesters and Franklin Spear* voting in favor and -Continued on back page Buncombe Authorities File More Cockfighting Charges Prom SUIT Report* Five men were arrested near Bar nardsvilie Sunday on charges of cockfighting at the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department conducted its second raid this month on an illegal rooster fight. Two of the five arrested Sunday were among 19 people charged March 12 with cockfighting in the Coleman Boundary of the Pisgah National Forest. Buncombe County authorities say they intend to continue efforts to halt illegal cockfighting in the Barnard sviUe area. "We're going to actively patrol that area to try and make sure it doesn't happen again. If it does happen again, we will issue more citations; We will do whatever is necessary to combat the problem in that area," said Lt. Johnny Lloyd. "Prior to making these arrests, we did receive a number of calls from residents complaining about cockfighting in that area," Lloyd said. Sunday's arrests occurred after the sheriff's department received an anonymous telephone call at about 3:45 p.m. that a cockfight was in pro gress at 4U) Stoney Pork Road. Pive residents were in the yard. along with 10 live roosters and three dead ones, when authorities arrived, according to reports. ' Deputies confiscated the live roosters and took them to the Bun combe County Animal Shelter, Lloyd said. After last week's raid, roosters were returned to their owners. Authorities said last week that they had no place to hold the birds. Cockflghting is a misdemeanor and Is punishable by up to a 9500 fine, six months in jail, or both. Cited on charges of cockflghting Sunday were. Bobby M. Maynor, 24, of 401 Stoney Fork Road; Dobie ?Continued on back page ?t. Improvement Boards Discussed h V By HASSIE PON OEK 1 Staff Writer Mary Jackson Willis from the University of South Carolina spoke at on the Councils." School improvement used in the South school system to provide local ac y in the educational pro According to Willis, before a school improvement council car be im plemented, the community should underarm! (he purpose of a school Improvement program The purpose df the program is to take a look at the Khoot, hen to nd imp*' \ i plan that wttt work in i Wl lOf tations; and, home and school rela tionship. But before a council can really work, parents must be ready to gat in volved with their child's education, Willis said. ?The world of American life is not the Norman Rockwell example or the 'Leave It To Beaver.' Many parents today are Just too busy with their Child's extracurricular activities to '?< bothered with their school >nd whether the school is doing Its Job," ?he said. Woman Awakens To Bed In Flames From Staff Reports A Weaverville woman awoke early last Thursday morning to find the foot of her bed engulfed in flames from a I abort -circuiting electric blanket. Nancy Lou Ctinedist was able to get out of bed and awaken her daughter before the fire could spread through the rest of her mobile home, located at 7 S. Main St., Weaverville. "When the woke up, the bottom of the bed was on fire, said Weaver ville Fire Chief John Penley. "It was ? close call ' A total of 21 firefighters from the Weaverville and Reeras Creek fire departments responded to the call at 4:08 a.m. last Thursday. Firefighters were able to contain the blate to the bade bedroom and bathroom of the mobile home, owned by Elwin Bruce Qinedinst Sr 'Due to heavy heat and smoke damage, it was considered a total
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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March 24, 1988, edition 1
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