Kingsport Times-News from Kingsport, Tennessee • 3

£WfC5rVR Thursday March 12 1987 Kingsport Times-News 3A vf ivrS Wnahington WfV'-jC comiJMeiriitt 1 4 i At Plioemx will rise vAj' "K- i a 1 By BARBARA HASS Scott County Bureau ought 1 for court ftj By STEPHANIE McCLELLAN Washington County Bureau 4 i h'i '5 If rfi JP4? A eel i SMspfsir JONESBOROUGH So Washington County officials will not have to move into the new Johnson City courthouse with hand-me-down tables and chairs county commissioners will be asked to approve about $40000 in unplanned costs for furniture But County Executive George Jaynes said Wednesday the furniture is not an unnecessary expense (Phillips) and Jack (Daniels) have anything to take to the new courthouse They are going to have to have some he said Phillips is the county court clerk and Daniels is the county trustee Jaynes also said there are a lot more rooms to furnish at the ment and no orders (from buyers) We now have an expert manager been in the busi- ness for 34 years and has good contacts" she said i has gotten several orders But she cannot begin operations without sufficient funding to pay the workers until the orders can be made delivered and payment received It takes six to eight weeks to get Hie accounts receivable paid once you produce the product" Robinson said The sewing co-op which currently is operating from a small building downtown be leasing our building from she said (the present location) is really too Robinson said she was seeking money from OCS to use as capital to restart the sewing coop and money to complete the Phoenix building and put 55-60 additional employees to work in the building botton line is about $285000 for the total she said "This is a good return That is less than a $3000 investment per employee for 100 employees from this money will be more than two-fold to the community When the sewing factory burned it took about $21000 in weekly wages out of the Dungannon community" Robinson said Phoenix will be a community owned for-profit subsidiary of the DDp operated by a board of directors with members from the community and a worker representative Dungannon a Phoenix will rise again from the ashes of a fire in Dungannon But instead of a bird this Phoenix will be a sewing factory replacing one that burned in 1984 with the potential to em-' ploy 75 to 100 workers Nancy Robinson director of the Dungannon Development Commission traveled to Washington DC last week to ask assistance from Sen Paul Trible R-Virginia in funding for the project get help Robinson said (Trible) was so receptive felt good and hopeful after the meeting After these three years of struggle finally getting where we can see the Trible met with Robinson and Spencer Lott director of State and Project Assistance for the Office of Community Services and they discussed the possibility of OCS funding Others at the meeting included Jean Sargent manager of the Dungannon Sewing Cooperative Keith Burnett executive director of the Rural Areas Development Agency and Teri Vautrin education director for DDC was a very productive Robinson said In a letter to Robinson after the meeting Trible wrote: assured I will support your application once you apply to OCS and I will continue to pursue matching funding Times-New ohoto Eni Carter Chilly ride This youngster bundles up against the sudden cold snap to take a spin on his bicycle at Riverfront Park Traffic counts assessed on downtown JC streets By ROD FRANKLIN Johnson City Bureau JOHNSON CITY Several college students are collecting information about traffic loads on Johnson two major downtown thoroughfares to help the city determine if the one-way streets should be opened to two-way traffic new Washington County Courthouse-Downtown Centre are eight conference he said Chairs are most in demand for the new courthouse especially for court waiting areas Ashe Street there will be 100 people standing in the halls when Chancery Court is in session and with a full Jaynes said Purchasing Agent Tommy Miller said he is now working on a master plan for furnishing the new courthouse major concern is wheth-' er you want to spend the money and where the money will come he told members of the building committee The $4 million project which covers courthouse renovations in Jonesborough and Johnson City did not include funds for new furniture Jaynes said money would have to be taken from the unappropriated surplus fund 73-year-old courthouse also will need new furniture when remodeling is completed in September in another budget Jaynes said are not worried about that right will be a profit-sharing factory with a certain percentage of the profits to come back to the Robinson said will do other economic development projects with this The students who are enrolled in Chuck industrial design class at East Tennessee State University are assessing traffic counts on Main and Market streets Trible asked for a copy of the proposal to give to the Appalachian Regional Commission and Economic Development Administration in an attempt to secure funding from them Robinson said streets likely will not change traffic volumes in the area or improve traffic flow through the downtown area but said enough merchants have expressed the desire for conversion to warrant a study of the idea The survey hopes to determine whether east or west is the predominant direction traveled by vehicles through the downtown area at given times of the day Students presently are observing traffic volumes at selected periods supervising them on what kinds of information they need to collect and what times of the day to count Cantrell said Conversion of the streets would require some 1 additional signalization' Cantrell said there also would be a need for impact studies on the east and west ends of the thoroughfares The average 1984 daily traffic count on Main Street between South Roan and Watauga streets was 5930 vehicles For Market Street in the same area it was 5830 Two other one-way streets that might be candidates for conversion after completion of the State of Franklin Road are Ashe and Walnut Cantrell said She estimated it will take' about $150000 to finish the building buy equipment and have capital to begin the business the successful conclusion of a three-year effort (the DDC) have joined forces with the Dungannon Sewing Cooperative to work together to create these 10O com-munity jobs and eventually will expand into the Phoenix Robinson said The students plan to present the information to the city at the end of the semester to help engineers and planners decide whether those streets should be opened to two-way traffic after the State of Franklin Road project is completed Engineer Allan Cantrell said two-way traffic may be feasible because State of Franklin is expected to divert traffic around downtown and relieve congestion on Main and Market In addition believe that some of the downtown merchants think if they have a two-way street they will have better he said Cantrell acknowledged that conversion of the think that by joining hands we give birth to community which is the DDC Robinson said think the whole county should do (the sewing cooperative) had fallen on bad times because of a lack of manage- Slingshot Olga Thrasher drug wife placed on probation regulations undecided I By MARY ELLIN ARCH United Press International al authorities and to plead guilty to money laundering and of giving aid and comfort to a fugitive Nelson King He was the pilot of a pot-filled plane belonging to Wallace Thrasher that crashed in a fireball on Fancy Gap Mountain in Carroll County in October 1984 A man died in the crash but King walked away and persuaded Olga Thrasher to get him to a hospital passed off as a victim of a motorcycle crash King later was convicted in the death of Mark Bailey '34 of Wiscasset Maine and was sentenced to six years in prison faced a variety of charges including conspiracy to commit murder had indeed become a law-abiding citizen and deserved a second chance have a feeling not going to be in trouble he said Turk ordered Thrasher to submit to drug testing or any other searches as might be required from the probation officer He said violation of the terms of the probation could mean Thrasher would face up to five years in prison and a fine of $250000 Thrasher offered no objections to her sentence and in a brief statement said she wants oiit of the public eye I can maintain a life with my children which is most The father of the two children Wallace Thrasher faked his own death in a Jamaican plane crash in late 1984 and has not been seen since Authorities believe however he later was killed by drug runners because of a suspected double cross Under a plea bargain struck in May 1985 Olga Thrasher agreed to cooperate with feder ROANOKE A drug wife who was swept up in international smuggling intrigue went from facing long prison terms and big fines to getting three years probation Wednesday after her lawyer struck' what ho called real sweetheart Olga Thrasher a striking dark-haired former Southwest Virginia woman kept her end of the bargain helping prosecutors with numerous cases including a role in the seizure of 700 pounds of cocaine that went down as the biggest bust in Virginia history Federal officials said she is expected to testify in forthcoming cases as well Prosecutors kept their end of the deal and US District Judge James Turk went along with the recommendation for supervised probation lawyer Gordon Saunders of Lexington said Thrasher was now model living near Atlanta and working in a sales job Turk said he believed the 29-year-old woman who had NASHVILLE (UPI) Senators were undecided whether felons should be allowed to carry slingshots and fountain' tols but passed a measure that' would allow retired sheriffs to pack pistols The Senate delayed action on a measure that would add to the list of weapons convicted felons are prohibited from carrying but voted 24-7 for a bill that would exempt retired law enforcement officers from a state law prohibiting carrying dangerous weapons is the Lowell Thomas said Sen Ward Crutchfield D-Chattanooga sponsor of the measure that would let exsheriffs carry guns Crutchfield was referring to former Sen Lowell efforts in past years to pass the bill Thomas who retired from the Senate last year is a former sheriff The delayed measure sponsored by Sen Jim Kyle D-Mem-phis mentions slingshots razors dirks bowie knives blackjacks brass knuckles and Spanish stilettos as items to be prohibited for felons The list also would include sword canes ice picks fountain pistols or other instruments containing a firing pin capable of shooting tear -gas or pistol cartridges In other action senators voted 30-OJora bill that would fry I 4 V- 5 It was while investigating the crash that police found out Wallace Thrasher had faked his death Another twist came when a man Olga Thrasher hired to kill King secretly taped the conversations it was that leverage which led Olga Thrasher to fully cooperate with authorities Prosecutors said Olga Thrasher believed King failed to pay Wallace Thrasher $250000 for a marijuana shipment and that the non-payment led to Wallace Thrasher eventually being killed in retribution talk Olga Thrasher faces the glare of television lights as she walks down the hallway of a federal courthouse In Roanoke Wednesday on her way to a sentencing hearing where she was placed on three years probation Improve academic skills Foundation seeks to motivate Sullivan students By SANDRA GUY Sullivan County Bureau BLOUNTVILLE The search continues for new programs to help motivate Sullivan County students to improve their academic skills particularly in schools that seldom participate in outside competitions Only one application has been submitted from a school in the rural eastern part of the county where some residents frequently express resentment toward better-funded schools in the Kingsport area Five of the board members Wednesday approved only one proposal with no strings attached That program which will receive $100 for supplies calls for parents of students at Indian Springs Elementary School to lead sharing talents such as foreign languages art and cooking The sessions will be held two afternoons during a six-week period allowing each grade level at least two opportunities to participate during a full school year clear the way for the state to Contract with Shelby County for housing about 800 state prisoners Shelby County will receive $12 million from the state toward building a new jail and will pay $25 a day for each state prisoner The House passed a bill Wednesday that critics claim could make it easier to launder money through bingo winnings Sponsor Rep Shelby Rhine-hart D-Spencer said the bill deletes the requirement that the Internal Revenue Service be given the names of bingo players who win more than $500 Ujady i( A Other ideas that met favorable reaction from the board included a writing program to improve communication skills of learning disabled children and a reward system to 'encourage parents and students to read Most of the three-hour meeting was spent developing guidelines and philosophies for approving proposals which the board agreed should provide measurable results for students with a minimum of transportation funding While several board members agreed county schools need to join more academic competitions Tennessee Eastman Co spokesman Charlie Sorrells said he would like to see some funding for noncompetitive programs that also would help students grow The excellence in education founda tion received tax-exempt status recently as a stipulation for obtaining a $10000 contribution from TEC Another $3000 from three other organizations has brought the budget so far to $13000 Four of the board members previously served as Sullivan Better Schools Task Force while the remaining 12 board officers will be representatives of groups that contribute $1000 or more to the excellence foundation Many of the task goals recommended last fall including lowering the high school drop-out rate improving basic skills test scores for low achievers in elementary and middle schools and encouraging high achievers preparing for college will serve as guidelines for funding innovative programs Lane said' trying to avoid letting the rich get said Don Lane of Colonial Heights vice president of the newly funded Foundation for Excellence in Public Education which reviewed several proposals Wednesday night Applying for funding of innovative programs is not complicated and proposals from all county schools and teachers are welcome he said 4.