Former publisher, House member Huskins dies at 93

STATESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA - J.P. Huskins, a former state House member and retired publisher of the Statesville Record & Landmark, died Wednesday in Athens, Ga., at the age of 93. <br> <br> Huskins, who served in the House starting in 1971 through the early 1980s, was known for his work helping establish the East Carolina University medical school. <br> <br> ``He was known statewide,&#39;&#39; said Bill McMillan, an Iredell County attorney who served with Huskins in the General Assembly. ``If you know anybody that&#39;s been governor since 1950, they know Jay Huskins. ... He was truly one of the powers in the state.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> McMillan credited Huskins with getting Interstate 77 to go through Iredell County instead of through Salisbury and Winston-Salem. <br> <br> Huskins wrote his ``Down in Iredell&#39;&#39; column for 35 years, a staple on the Record & Landmark front page. <br> <br> ``He really changed the Record & Landmark from just a regular reporting newspaper to an active one,&#39;&#39; said Chester Middlesworth, who worked with Huskins at the paper. ``He was an activist, promoting good programs, good community relations and economical welfare in the community.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Huskins also worked to bring Mitchell College, then a private junior college in Statesville, into the state community college system. A library at the college is now named in honor of him and his wife, Mildred, who died in 1998. <br> <br> Huskins was a native of Burnsville and served in the Navy during World War II. <br> <br> Huskins also served on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and was chairman of the House Congressional Redistricting Committee in 1981. His late brother, Frank, was a state Supreme Court justice. <br> <br> Funeral arrangements were incomplete Thursday night.