seventy-five cents e serving madison county since 1901 e august … · 2019-04-04 · war, 2,314...

A new accounting approach to a seven-year-oldschool energy loan could help pave the way for county-paid bonuses to all Madison public school teachers.Madison County Public Schools superintendent ToddHolden pitched the county board of commissioners onthe proposal at a special work session on Aug. 25.

In May 2009, the Madison County Schools enteredinto a $3.4 million, 15-year loan to finance energy effi-ciency improvements. Since its inception, loan repay-ments have come from the school’s general fund. In hisfirst appearance before the commissioners, Holden in-stead advanced a plan that would use so-called “40/42funds,” or state sales tax money reimbursed to countiesthat is earmarked for school construction and technol-ogy projects, to repay the loan.

The current annual loan payment stands near$320,000, rising above $400,000 in the final year of theloan. Using 40/42 funds over the life of the loan will helpfree up cash to provide teachers and school employeeswith a county-financed supplement. 40/42 funds cannotbe used for such a supplement.

“We could make loan repayments from 40/42 everyyear, making the supplement sustainable,” said Hold-en. “This could be continued every year.”

Holden offered a rough outline of a bonus schedulethat would provide $250 to all teachers and a $150 to allschool employees, aside from Holden and a few othercentral office administrators. The payment wouldcome around Christmas, according to Holden. Any sup-plement plan would need the approval of the board ofeducation.

Pay bumpfor localteachers?PAUL EGGERSPAUL@NEWSRECORDANDSENTINEL.COM

PAUL EGGERS/PAUL@NEWSRECORDANDSENTINEL.COM

Madison County teachers could benefit from a proposedaccounting change that would free up funds forlocally-financed pay supplements.

See TEACHERS, Page 2

www.newsrecordandsentinel.comVol. 118No. 35

HOT SPRINGS • MARSHALL • MARS HILL • WEAVERVILLE

E Serving Madison County since 1901 eseventy-five cents August 31, 2016

October through December are whenmost nonprofits see the majority of theirdonations. Figures from a 2012 surveyfrom nonprofit information serviceGuideStar show that the holiday seasonis a big help to the bottom lines of chari-table organizations. Most nonprofits,however, operate year-round, meaningthat budgets can be stretched before giv-ing picks up in late October.

The United Way of Madison Countyunderstands that area organizationsface this accounting challenge. In orderto ensure that groups can continue ser-vicing those in need throughout the year,the local arm of the national nonprofit re-cently donated $3,505 each to four or-ganizations: the Community Housing Co-alition of Madison County, Beacon ofHope Services, Neighbors in Need andthe Salvation Army of Madison County.

“These charities depend on UnitedWay funding,” said Claudia Reavis, coor-dinator of the United Way of MadisonCounty. “This is vital support for them tomeet the crisis needs of their clients.”

Kenny Clewis of the Salvation Armyaddressed how important the contribu-

tion, and its timing, is to the Hot Springs-based group. “Our strongest fundraisingtime of year is Christmas, while in thesummer kids are out of school and ourfood costs climb through summer. It getsexpensive,” he said. “So, this is life-sav-ing this time of year.”

The timing of the donation also workswell for Neighbors in Need, a local non-profit helping residents with food, heatand utilities assistance. “We are proud tobe associated with United Way, especial-ly this time of year when food pantriesare desperately low,” said MelanieKraft, the organization’s vice chair.

For Beacon of Hope, the funds helpthe group’s efforts to ensure residentshave food. “Contributions from UnitedWay mainstream the operating costsneeded for Beacon of Hope to providethe nutritional support for all ages - sen-iors, children, adults and families,” said

director and CEO of Beacon of Hope Al-len Bradley. “Over 1000 Madison Countyresidents receive food monthly fromBeacon of Hope. With United Way, wepartner to help Madison County.”

The Community Housing Coalition ofMadison County, a nonprofit dedicatedto maintaining safe and affordable hous-ing, springs into action in the summer-

time. By coordinating and completinghome repair projects like roof renova-tions, CHC helps keep local residents intheir homes. From June through August,nearly 1,000 volunteers from across thecountry assist the group’s efforts.

This past summer, CHC mobilized an

United Way chapter backs local nonprofits

PAUL EGGERS/PAUL@NEWSRECORDANDSENTINEL.COM

Volunteers from Greensboro joined forces with CHC this summer to replace a roof in theGrapevine community.

PAUL EGGERSPAUL@NEWSRECORDANDSENTINEL.COM

See NONPROFITS, Page 2

Patriots take homecoveted Juice Jug

Page 9

Finding hope amidpersonal suffering

Page 5

Drive just a few minutes north of Ashe-ville on the interstate or up the old riverhighway and Madison County quicklyturns rural. You’ll pass by more barnsthan people in the countryside.

“We believe we are the barn county,” said SandyStevenson, director of the Madison County Visitor’sCenter. But just how many barns dot Madison’scountryside, no one had really counted until TaylorBarnhill came along.

“I started driving up and down the road and do-ing a windshield survey,” Barnhill said. It quicklyaveraged out to five barns a mile in some sections

of the county.With a conservative estimate of 10,000 barns,

Madison likely boasts a barn for every two resi-dents. But Barnhill believes it may be closer to17,000 or more.

Barnhill is the researcher for the AppalachianBarn Alliance, a nonprofit compiling a databaseand organizing tours around Madison’s multitudeof barns.

While the cribs, stalls and lofts no longer housetobacco following the demise of the cash crop, thebarns still hold potential for tourism, said Steven-son, who serves as the Appalachian Barn Allianceboard president.

The 10,000

BARNSof Madison County

ANGELI WRIGHT/AWRIGHT@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM

Ross Young, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension agent for Madison County, left, Sandy Stevenson, AppalachianBarn Alliance board president, center, and Taylor Barnhill, Appalachian Barn Alliance researcher and historian, right,walk away from the Floyd Wallin barn off N.C. 212 in Shelton Laurel in Madison County. The barn is believed to havebeen built in the late 1800s.

DALE NEALDNEAL@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM

See BARNS, Page 8

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The Madison County ArtsCouncil wants vendor artiststo know that booth spaces re-main open at the fifth annualArt on the Island festival Sept.24 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Blan-nahassett Island. All types of ar-tisans are welcome to apply. Musicand food will be on-site, and the eventis free to the public.

All works must be handcrafted. Art-ists are not required to live in Madison

County, but are required to bemembers of the Madison

County Arts Council.Booth fees are $50 formembers and $85 for non-members (part of the non-member fee will go to-

ward a year-long member-ship, which includes dis-

counted fees at otherfestivals.) For more information, con-tact the Madison County Arts Councilat 649-1301or visit madisoncountyarts.com.

Spaces remain openfor festival vendorsSTAFF REPORTS

Free training classes at the libraryWhether you need to get “workforce

ready” or just want to brush up on yourskills, Madison County Public Librariesoffer free classes in a variety of work-shops. Topics range from productive jobsearching to mastering the basics ofMicrosoft Office products.Sign up at the designatedbranch for any or all ofthese free workshopssure to give you anedge in the 21st centu-ry job market. Ses-sions last 60-90 min-utes, and computerswill be provided foryour use.

Microsoft Excelbasics - This is an in-troductory workshopaimed at teaching youhow to create a simplespreadsheet and use basicfunctions. Let Excel help make rec-ord-keeping easier for you. Basic knowl-edge of Microsoft Word is recommendedbut not required. This class will be heldat the Mars Hill Library on Wednesday,Sep. 7 at 2 p.m. Call 689-5183 to sign up.

Job searching online - Searching fora job in the 21st century is different thanit used to be. Many employers even re-quire applications to be submitted on-line. This workshop will introduce you toNC Works and other online resourcesthat make job searching easier for you.This workshop for patrons ages 18 andup will be held at Madison County PublicLibrary - Marshall on Monday, Sep. 19 at6 p.m. Call 649-3741 to sign up.

Microsoft Publisher basics - Learnhow to use Microsoft Publisher 2013 todesign signs, flyers, bookmarks, busi-ness cards and more. Basic computer,mouse and word processing skills are re-quired. It will be held at the MadisonCounty Public Library—Marshall onMonday, Sep.26 at 4 p.m. No previous ex-perience with Publisher is necessary.Space is limited for this free workshop,

so call 649-3741 to sign up.

Holiday closingAll Madison County Public Library lo-

cations will be closed Monday, Sep. 5 forLabor Day. Enjoy!

Author event at Mars Hill LibraryThe book discussion group in Mars

Hill will meet Thursday, Sep. 8 to discuss“A Short Time to Stay Here.”

Written by WNC author andMadison County native

Terry Roberts, thisbook is of particularinterest to local resi-dents as it is set inHot Springs. Manymay know that dur-ing the First WorldWar, 2,314 Germandetainees were

housed at the Moun-tain Park Hotel and on

its grounds. The Moun-tain Park Hotel was a 200-

room resort hotel located onthe grounds of what is now the

Hot Springs Resort & Spa. These menwere not prisoners of war but were civil-ian internees: merchant ship sailors whowere captured while their ships were inthe ports of New York, Boston, Philadel-phia, and New Orleans at the time Presi-dent Woodrow Wilson announced thatthe United States would be enteringWorld War I.

Roberts’s family history and thetown’s history are intertwined and arethe basis for his novel which won the Wil-lie Morris Award for Southern Fiction,the Clark Cox Fiction Award and the SirWalter Raleigh Award. Roberts will bejoining the discussion at the Mars Hill Li-brary to participate in the discussion andto respond to questions and commentsfrom attendees. All interested readersare encouraged to attend. The discussionbegins at 1 p.m.

We hope to see you at the library thisweek. Remember that your library is the“very best place to start” when you needinformation. Visit us at www.madison-countylibrary.net.

MEGAN C. ADAMSMADISON COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

Page 2 The News-Record & Sentinel August 31, 2016

LLiibbrraarryy CCoorrnneerrLLiibbrraarryy CCoorrnneerr

“It may not be much, but it would besomething,” said Holden. “I want to dowhat’s best for our kids, and what’sbest for our kids is to keep our teach-ers.”

The pitch for a county-financedteacher supplement marks the firsttime school personnel have directlyappealed to the current board for extrateacher pay. 2016-17 budget discus-sions between the education boardmembers and county commissionerscentered on maintaining existingfunding for local teachers.

Though commissioners did not voteon the additional spending from 40/42funds, they did express a willingnessto accept the plan. A formal vote on theissue is expected at the commission-er’s September meeting, according tocounty manager Forrest Gilliam.

“It shows our heart is in the rightplace,” said commissioner MatthewWechtel. “It’s a good way to get our footin the door with a supplement pro-gram.”

“We’re all here to support you andour teachers,” said chairman WayneBrigman, who pointed out the overallbudget for the county would stay thesame if this new approach to loan re-payment were adopted.

TeachersContinued from Page 1

estimated 10,000 volunteer hours tocomplete 31 repair projects in all cor-ners of the county, according to exec-utive director Christopher Brown.

“The United Way of Madison Coun-ty is a great partner. It gives the largenumber of Madison County folks whowork outside the county, in organiza-tions that participate in United Waygiving, the opportunity to convenient-ly give back to their community,” hesaid. “Their financial backing sup-ports CHC’s efforts to continue ourhard work through the winter months

of the year, when resources are limitedand need is great.”

United Way of Madison County’sused undesignated funds to make thecontributions to local charities, mean-ing that donors did not earmark wherethere donation would go. Still, contrib-utors to Madison County’s local chap-ter can be certain that their money willstay within the community.

“100 percent of donations stay inMadison County – unless they say itshould go somewhere else,” said Rea-vis. “Often, if you give to a large or-ganization, you don’t know where itgoes. That’s not the case here.”

To learn how to get involved withthe United Way of Madison County,call 680-9546.

NonprofitsContinued from Page 1

A federal judge ruledAug. 26 that two studentsand an employee must beallowed to use restroomsmatching their genderidentity at University ofNorth Carolina campuses,and he said they have astrong chance of provingthe state’s bathroom-ac-cess measure violatesfederal law.

U.S. District JudgeThomas Schroeder tem-porarily blocked the Uni-versity of North Carolinafrom making the threeplaintiffs follow the rest-room provision of the so-called HB2 law as thelarger case makes its wayto trial in November. Hisfinal decision on the lawwon’t come until aftertrial.

Passed in March, HB2requires transgenderpeople to use restrooms inschools and many publicbuildings that correspondto the sex on their birthcertificates, rather thantheir gender identity. Italso excludes gender

identity and sexual orien-tation from statewideantidiscrimination pro-tections.

The state’s Republicanleaders argue the law isneeded to protect privacyand safety by keepingmen out of women’s rest-rooms. Transgender resi-dents challenging the lawsay that restroom safetyis protected by existinglaws, while the North Car-olina measure is harmfuland discriminatory.

In his ruling, Schroe-der wrote that the chal-lengers “are likely to suc-ceed” in their argumentsthat HB2 violates Title IX,a federal law prohibitinggender discrimination ineducational institutions.

However, he said plain-tiffs haven’t shown theyare likely to succeed on aclaim that the law violatestheir constitutional equalprotection rights, and hereserved judgment on an-other constitutional claimrelated to due process.

Rebuffing argumentsby the law’s defenders,Schroeder also noted thatexisting laws already pro-tect people’s privacy in

restrooms.“North Carolina’s

peeping and indecent ex-posure statutes continueto protect the privacy ofcitizens regardless of” thebathroom provision,Schroeder wrote, “andthere is no indication thata sexual predator couldsuccessfully claim trans-gender status as a defenseagainst prosecution un-der these statutes.”

He said that while hisinjunction shouldn’t poseany hardship to the stateleaders seeking to defendthe law, failing to blockthe restroom provision“would cause substantialhardship to the individualtransgender Plaintiffs,disrupting their lives.”

The plaintiffs chal-lenging the law include astudent at UNC’s Greens-boro campus, an employ-ee at its Chapel Hill cam-pus and a high school stu-dent at the state School ofthe Arts, which is also runby the university system.

The American CivilLiberties Union, whichrepresents the transgen-der plaintiffs, and the U.S.Justice Department bothargued for the injunctionto block the restroom ac-cess measure. Defendingthe law are RepublicanGov. Pat McCrory, Repub-lican legislative leadersand a citizens group.

U.S. judge blocks N.C. lawJONATHAN DREW ANDEMERY P. DALESIOASSOCIATED PRESS

PAUL EGGERS/PAUL@NEWSRECORDANDSENTINEL.COM

A federal judge issued a ruling which temporarily blocks thebathroom-access measure included in HB 2.

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