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VOL. 5, NO. 35
Rangers
Fight
Fires
In West
i
The US Forest Service,
Toecane Ranger District an
nounces that there has been a
crew detailed to help fire
fighting efforts in Western
United States. These men
include Johnny McLain, Dis
trict Ranger; Doug Francis,
Rick Wilson, Clifford Peter
son, Steve Whitson, Dayton
Biddix, Mike Howell and
Kenny Deyton.
The crew first was assign
ed to the Marble Cone Fire
which covered 173,793 acres
in Southern California, Los
Padres National Forest. To
date, a total of 156 miles of
line has been built around the
fire and 893,200 gallons of
retardant dropped. The sup
pression cost of the fire to
date is $10,659,258.00.
Fire fighting efforts were
hampered because the north
ern end of the fire was located
in the Ventana Wilderness
Area, mechanized fire fight
ing equipment is not permit
ted in the wilderness area. It
is felt that any type of
mechanical equipment in an
area of this type will detract
from the wilderness atmos
phere. The fire was started by
lightning and classified as a
brush fire.
The crew was later sent on
the Hog Fire in northern
California and then on to a fire
located in Idaho.
Lee Thompson, Recreation
and Fire Control Technician
on the district has been
assigned to dispatching crews
and equipment for all the
many fires in the Western
United States.
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Test Crop Shown
Carlisle Bledsoe, County Extension Chairman, Yancey
County, left) and Furney Todd, Extension Professor of Plant
Pathology, NCSU; discuss the System Test at the Lawrence
Grfndstaff farm. Burley growers will have a chance to view this
test on Wednesday, August 31, at 9:20 a.m. The Tour will
continue into Madison to the Roy Ammons farm, have lunch at
Holiday Inn West, Asheville, and a visit to the Mountain
Research Station near Waynesvllle. The final stop on the Tour
Is an excellent crop of Burley tobacco 'V n ' •> Caldwell
farm in Haywood County at 4:00 p.m.
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Photo by Brian Westveer
Burnsville Health Care Center; Formerly Burnsville Extended Care Facility
Yancey Gets New Hospital
BY CAROLYN YUZIUK
To the uninformed or
disinterested it may be only a
name change, but to Yancey
County doctors and thousands
of Yancey citizens, the plan
ned opening of the Burnsville
Health Care Center is a case
for rejoicing.
Formerly named Burns
ville Extended Care Facility
which was designated and
constructed as a Skilled
Nursing Facility for the
elderly-our health care build
ing which is very near
completion on the Pensacola
Highway, has been trans
formed on the planning board
into a multi-functioned unit
encompassing a 24-bed acute
care hospital, a 26-bed exten
BURNSVILLE, N.JX 28714
ded care facility, a fully
equipped emergency room,
laboratory and X-ray depart
ment.
On October 1,1977, target
date for the opening of the
Burnsville facility of the Blue
Ridge Hospital System, the
doors will open to patients
who need hospital care. And
the doctors and staff of the
present Yancey Hospital will
be there to take care of them.
Only a few short weeks
ago the future of health care
in Yancey County was bleak.
Proponents of the health care
merger between Burnsville
and Spruce Pine, which took
place almost six years ago
giving birth to the Blue Ridge
Hospital System, said that
this area was privileged to be
part of a pilot project unique
in North Carolina. The expan
sion/construction program
that Mitchell and Yancey
County were embarked upon
showed “progressive medical
care thinking,” they said.
Most Yancey citizens, how
ever, including the local
doctors, could not see beyond
one hard fact: Yancey County
Tobacco Tour For
Yancey Growers
The Agricultural Exten
sion Service will be conduct
ing a Research on Wheels
Tobacco Tour next week,
according to County Exten
sion Chairman W.C. Bledsoe.
It will begin in Pilot Moun
tain, N.C. on Monday and end
at Waynesville Wednesday
afternoon. A number of
experimental tobacco plot
cooperators will be recognized
for their work at a Banquet in
Boone, 8:00 p.m. August 30,
Bledsoe commented.
The following day, Wed
nesday, August 31, the tout
will visit the farm of Lawrence
Grindstaff at 9:20 a.m. Mr.
Grindstaff’s research plot is a
classical example of the part
that variety, rotation and
multi-purpose chemicals can
play in a tobacco disease
situation.
“We cordially invite all
Yancey tobacco growers to
join the tour at Mr. Grind
staffs and continue with us to
a farm in Madison before
lunch in Asheville (free)”,
Bledsoe continued. “I believe
our growers can benefit from
the afternoon program which
covers the tobacco research
work at the Waynesville
research station.” he added.
Those planning to attend
was losing its hospital, and in
its place, Burnsville Extended
Care Facility, a nursing home,
was to be Yancey County’s
‘piece of the action’ within’
the Blue Ridge Hospital
System.
Yancey doctors, especial
ly, staged a prolonged fight
for a hospital, stating that
Yancey Hospital-which could
no longer operate when the
new facility opened-had pro
ven time and again that this
county has a need which will
not be filled by additional
beds in another hospital 15
miles away. The fight had
seemed futile; the plans
remained unchanged.
Yancey Countians were
lulled, during recent years, by
lack of news about the health
care arrangements, but in the
fall of 1976 a large group of
concerned citizens met with
local doctors. They had just
been galvanized into action by
the imminent closing of
Yancey Hospital, and wanted
to see what they could do to
keep a hospital here. The
answer was....nothing.
It seemed the plans set in
should call the Agricultural
Extension Office to make
reservation for lunch, 682-
6186.
★ ★
Cattle
Sale Set
Graded cattle sales, spon
sored by the Agricultural
Extension Service, the State
Department of Agriculture,
and North Carolina Cattle
mens’ Association, will soon
be underway. It is estimated
that in excess of 20,000
yearling steers and 24,000
feeder calves will be con
signed throughout the state.
Yearling Steer Sale dates at
the WNC Livestock Market in
Asheville are: September 20,
September 27, and October
18. Feeder Calf sales will be
held October 4 and November
1. All sales are at 10:00 a.m.
Cattle are weighed in the
previous day. Additional sales
are held on other days in
nearby towns of Boone and
Canton. If you need additional
information, please call the
Agricultural Extension Office
at 682-6186.
motion in 1971 were basically
unalterable in their inten
. lions. The Extended Care
, Facility in Burnsville was set
v to open sometime in 1977.
Yancey County had already
been given an emergency
treatment area over and
above initial nursing home
plans, and this, with six
“observation” beds in the
ER, had to be enough. Local
doctors had a choice of
admitting patients to Spruce
Pine Hospital and driving
there to see them, thereby
cutting office hours down or
out; or turning their patients
over to the Spruce Pine
doctors to treat while in the
hospital there.
At this point, the Yancey
County Chamber of Com
merce became involved. Feel
ing that a local hospital
facility was a strong selli|ig
point in bringing business and
industry to Yancey County,
and knowing that Yancey
County could not bring in new
doctors without a hospital
here and might very well lose
some of the doctors who have
been serving this area for
many years; the Board deci
ded it would be in the best
interests of the citizens for
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Yancey County Little League field was completed recently
at Lincoln Park. The project, which waa begun by the £mnty
almost one year ago, was completed with tfae help of the Town
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1977
them to work toward retaining
a hospital facility locally.
After writing to hospital
authorities in Raleigh and to
Mr. Don Carlisle, Adminis
trator of the Blue Ridge
Hospital System, to find out
just what the situation was in
regard to plans for health care
in Yancey County, the Cham
ber Board of Directors met
late in July, 1977, with Mr.
Carlisle and stated their
determination to work for the
assignment of hospital beds in
the Extended Care Facility.
During the nearly two hours
of discussion, Mr. Carlisle
proposed a plan for Spruce
Pine Hospital to give up 18 of
its assigned hospital beds to
the Burnsville Unit. These
beds, combined with the six
ER beds which we already
had, would bring to Yancey
County 24 acute-care hospital
beds. That number of exten
ded care beds would simply
be eliminated, said Mr.
Carlisle.
The Administrator went
on to say that although the
reassignment of beds would
simply not have been possible
even six months ago, recent
legislation which held Medi
[Cont’d on page 2]
j
Permit Required
Hunters Can Park J
On Some Overlooks
Joe Brown, Superinten
dent of the Blue Ridge
Parkway, reminded sports
men recently that certain
Parkway overlooks may be
used for hunter parking
during the hunting seasons on
Pisgah Game Lands in Wes
tern North Carolina.
“Hunter parking will be
permitted in most Parkway
overlooks from Buck Creek
Gap, milepost 344.1, to
Richland Balsam, milepost
431.0,” stated Brown. “All
overlooks where hunter park
ing is not permitted will be
signed accordingly.”
Hunters wishing to use
these designated Parkway
overlooks to gain access to
Game Lands must secure a
special Hunter Parking Per
mit. These permits may be
obtained at Parkway Head
quarters in the Northwestern
Bank Building in downtown
ID Wanted
The Buncombe County Sheriff's Department
and the State Bureau of Investigation has
requested help on a current investigation.
On August 16, 1977 the skeletal remains of a
human body was found at the head of Sugar Creek
near a ridge known as “Old Frosty” in the
Barnardsville section of Buncombe County.
Examination of the remains in the state laboratory
have determined them to be that of an approximate
50 year old or older negro male approximately 6’ in
height. The teeth were in poor condition with the
top front 4 teeth missing. This person at time of
death was wearing a 17-34 light colored long
sleeved shirt with 2 button cuffs, a pair of K-Mart
brand polyester and cotton med. blue pants, size
36, and black smooth toe leather lace-up shoes size
10 to 11.
No identification was found on the body but bills
and coins were found in the wallet with the latest
date being 1975. No evidence of any foul play has
been uncovered to this date, however identification
of these remains are vitally needed so the
investigation can continue.
If you know of anyone fitting this description
who has been missing within the past 2 years
please contact the Buncombe County Sheriff’s
Department 254-9751. Your information will be
held in strict confidence.
Os Burnsville and WAMI Sommer Yooth Program. Foods wet»
provided through several different federal grants.
It
15'
Asheville, from park rangers
and the South District Office
of the Parkway at Oteen, add
from the Pisgah Foreit
District Ranger’s Office near
Brevard, North Carolina. ♦:
Permits must be
in person by each hunter! Np
mail or telephone requests
will be accepted. “We wffl
begin issuing permits on
September 1,” said Mr.
Brown.
“Each hunter using tfqp
overlooks for parking mu{t
carry his permit on hip
person. We will provide a
special identification sticker
for each vehicle as we did last
year,” concluded Brown.
Those desiring further
information concerning thjs
hunter parking prograib
should contact the District
Ranger’s Office (258-2850,
extension 701) or Headquar
ters Ranger personnel (255-
2850, extension 760).