VOLUME 58, NO. 33
Nat Paid
1,794
Caver*
Alleghany
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: WPfsP
ny News
AND STAR-TIMES—(CONSOLIDATED ON SEPTEMBER 2, 1941)—ALLEGHANY COUNTY’S ONLY NEWSPAPER
tion
$2.00 a Year in Alleghany County
SPARTA, NORTH CAROLINA THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1947
$2.50 a Year Out of County
* 75 Graduating From Alleghany County High Schools
Health Need* Q1
County Discussed
Here Wed. Night
Committee Is Appointed To
Make Study; Much In*
terest Is Shown
At a meeting of a group of in
terested citizens at the court
house, last night, a special com
mittee was named to study health
needs of Alleghany county and
to investigate the possibility of
building a health center or small
hospital, here. This special com
mittee, composed of Dr. C. A.
Thompson, Kemp Doughton and
Rev. C. W. Irvin, have been ask
ed to report their findings to the,
board of commissioners for offi
cial action.
Presiding at the meeting was
Dr. R. ft King, county health
officer, who pointed out that the
•district health department had
no official responsibility for the
project but that it was the con
cern of the people of the county.
Wade E. Eller, district sanitarian
and Dr. King,'in presenting the
information, pointed out that the
county is already being consider
ed as the site of a health center
(Continued on page 8)
I
Overseas Relief
Drive Continued
Clothing. Bedding And Shoes
Will Be Collected
Through May 31
:'.t
1
The drive for overseas relief
■which was scheduled to end May
11 has been continued until May
31, it was announced by Rev.
Henry G. Ruark, state director of
the campaign.
Members of the Boy Scout
' No. 78 made. *. .fcotue^).
house canvass last Saturday in
an effort to raise as much as "a
pound a, person” in bedding,
shoes, and clothing. Although
the people responded generously,
more is needed.
The,local churches, schools and
the courthouse are all centers
for collecting the clothing, and
citizens of Sparta and Alleghany
county as a whole are asked to
use this additional time to send
in their contributions.
Gifts of money will also be
accepted and may be sent to the
local churches, Rev. F. G. Walk
er, chairman of the drive, here,
stated.
Relief Film Is
Shown At C. Of C.
Following the fish fry held at
the community building Friday
night, members of the Chamber
of Commerce were shown the
film "Seeds of Destiny,” shown
in conecticm with the relief cloth
ing drive now underway in the
county.
Rev. C. D. Hutton, of Glade
Valley, spoke briefly to the group
on the value of education to self.
Rev. Mr. Hutton, who had plann
ed to bring a Glade Valley chorus
■with him and was unable to do so,
rendered several special selec
tions of music.
C. W. Ervin, representative,
also spoke briefly to the group
on highlights of the 1947 Legis
lature.
Enrollment Of
Schools Is 1900
The total enrollment of the
hifh schools and elementary
schools of the county this year
is 19M. Of this number 320
are in the hifh schools and
1530 in the elementary frades
This is an increase oyer the
past year. This Increase in en
rollment is partially due to the
normal increase In population
as well as the return of vet
erans andt some families who
wen* away durtof the war do
ing war work, officials point
out.
to the Ugh schools the girls
" fee boys with a to
tal of Mf to 144.
a small
135 Veterans “Go
Back To School”
To Study Farming
Sparta Has 90 And Piney
Creek 45; Get Class Work
With Practical Training
In addition to the veterans that
have come back to school for
regular work in the Alleghany
county high schools, others have
enrolled in the farm training pro
gram, one of the many phases
of on the job training opportuni
ties offered them under the G.
I. bill of rights.
There are 135 young men of the
county who, under this program
get classroom work along with
their practical farming. These
training classes are given at both
Sparta and Piney Creek high
schools in connection with the
vocational agriculture depart
ments. -
At Sparta there are 90 veterans
on the program under the sup
ervision of Ralph Cheek. Special
instructors for the program in
clude James A. Graham, who is
in charge of the Test Farm at
Transou and Roy Ellison, with
Herbert Woodruff and Cleve
Nichols in shop work. .
At Piney Creek there are 45
veterans on the program under
the supervision of Ernest Min
nich with Dent Pugh fend Sidney
Pugh as assistants. Here the new
projector is used for visual ed
ucation in connection with the
classes.
Reports from the years work
reveal that several trainees have
already purchased farms, where
they are putting into 1 practice
what they have learned under
the prq0S»i%.r A number have
carried out special soil conserva
tion practices and have done other
improvement work on the farm.
(Continued on page 8)
Cafes Are Closed,
By Sanitarian
Sparta’s two cafes that were in
operation, the bus station and
Smithey’s cafe operated in con
nection with the store were clos
ed last Friday by Sanitarian Jack
D. Cobb until some changes can
be made. The Shell cafe had al
ready been closed by the owner
for some repairs. Many week end
visitors, including the circus
found themselves without an eat
ing place.
Officials at both Smithey’s and
the bus station said that they
planned to be ready for re-open
ing soon. According to a new rul
ing the cafes must have three
compartment sinks, one for wash
ing, scalding and sterilizing, one
of the cafe men pointed out “We
are always happy to comply with
the rulings of the health depart
ment and know that it is a neces
sary and useful organization, but
we would have appreciated be
ing given a little time to secure
a new sink instead of be order
ed closed until we can secure
one,” one operator said.
HEADS SCHOOLS
Miss Clyde Fields, who is
completing her fourth suc
cessful year as county super
intendent of schools.
Lunch Program
In Schools Has
Been Successful
Over 113,000 Meals Are Serv
ed During The Current
School Tear
During the present school year,
which is drawing to a close, more
than 113,000 meals will have
been served in the school lunch
rooms, according to reports from
the schools. This means that hun
dreds of children have been bet
ter prepared mentally and phys
ically to carry on their school
work.
There are now four lunchrooms
in operation in Sparta, Piney
Creek, Little Pine and Rich Hill.
Three of these schools, Spafta,
Little Pine and Rich Hill, have
bought refrigerators this year.
Through the federal aid plan they
are receiving some funds for
pots, pans, storage bins and some
other equipment this year. This
(Continued on page 8)
County Teachers
Met This Moriiing
.. t
The final county-wide teachers
meeting for this school year was
held this morning, when plans
for closing were discussed as well
as plans for the 1947-48 school
year.
Bus schedules, needed supplies
and other problems were dis
cussed by the group. Represent
ative Ervin presented the health
needs and discussed the possi
bilities of a health center and it
was presented at the public meet
ing Wednesday evening.
Need Of New Bldg. Discussed
By P.-T.A.; Work Reviewed
The school building program
'or Alleghany county was thor
tughly discussed by eighty in
terested parents and teachers as
veil as other specially invited
;uests at the dinner meeting of
the Sparta Parent-Teachers As
sociation Tuesday night Mem
bers of the county board of edu
ation as well as county commis
sioners were also present.
Plans for improving and build
ing new school buildings were
liscussed by the group. Speaking
in behalf of Sparta high school
vas Ralph Gentry, out-going P.
T. A. president, who discussed
the growing need of a new build
ing at Sparta as well as the need
of a new athletic field. Miss
Clyde Fields, county school sup
erintendent, in discussing the
ointed out .that
materials had i
the original plans of
oould not be followed. The pos
sibility of moving the high school
to a new site and to leave the
grade school at the old site was
also discussed by the group.
Greek Hill, member of "Hie
board of education, and Guy Per
ry, county commissioner, both
spoke favorably in regard to the
building-program, as well as oth
er county school improvements,
and Mr. Perry pointed out that
plans were now to continue the
present levy for the schools.
A special P.-T. A. committee,
composed of D. F. Sturdivant,!
Rev. F. G. Walker and R. J. fom
dolph, as well as representatives I
of several civic organizations, are
to meet \yith the county com
missioners today to discuss plans
for increasing the levy for this
year.
Members of the P.-T. A. were
also asked to contact their con
gressmen to regard to federal aid.
(Continued on page «)
Alleghany Has
59 Teachers In
School System
■ ■■ .
Sparta vjLeads Other Schools
With 22; All Teachers Are
Well Trained
Alleghany county noiy has a
total of 57 white teachers and
principals and two colored teachr
ers, bringing the total up to 59
for the county.
While this county has felt the
teacher shortage, it has been
more fortunate than many in hav
ing for the most part, well train
ed, experienced teachers; and the
additional salary given teachers
by the legislature will most like
ly keep some, who would have
otherwise had to leave the pro
fession, leaders pointed out.
in the two central high schools
of .the county there are 12 prin
cipals and teachers, leaving a
total of 47 in the grades.
Glade Valley is operated under
the Presbyterian board and not
Alleghany county.
In the central schools Sparta
has the largest number of teach
ers with twenty-two and Piney
Creek has a total of thirteen.
A complete list of the high
school teachers in the schools of
the county is published in con
nection with their respective j
school activities in this edition. |
The other elementary teachers of
the county are:
Sparta, Mrs. Flora B. Dutton,
Mrs. H. E. Singletary, Ivy Grace
Doughton, Mrs. Madge Reeves,
Mrs. Ruth J. Choate, Mrs. Re
becca Choate, Mrs. F. Guy Walk
er, Ivazelle Taylor, Edna Lee Ed
wards, Mrs. Zelma R. Ellison,
Mrs. Bessie McMillan, Eula Mil
dred Taylor, Mrs. Grace C. Rec
tor.
Cherry Lane, Bettie , Joines;
Glada- VaHey, Mrs. Bgrtrice D.
Gentry; Liberty Knob, Mrs. Nan
nie W. McCann; New Hope, Mrs.
Lura Spalding; Strattdfrd, Mrs.
Bfantly Fender.
Pine Swamp, Mrs. Rachel
Thompson, Mrs. Vera E. Reed;
Whitehead, Mrs. Carrie V. Fen
der, Mrs. Jettie C. Mathews;
Wolf Branch, Mrs. ■ Johnny T.
Gambill, Mrs. Clytie D. Reeves.
Piney Creek, Gladys Robbins,
Hazel J. Phipps, Elma Waddell,
Jean McMillan, Rachel Halsey,
Maxine Parsons, Mrs. Blanche
Osborne, Mrs. Ruth W. Halsey.
Little Pine, D. Clair Wyatt,
Mrs. Mallie Handy, Mrs. Eula E.
Truitt, Mrs. Cecile Gibson.
Rich Hill, Ray V. Smith, Mrs.
Paul Smith, Mrs. Ruby Lee Dun
can, Mrs. Josephine J. Wilson.
Laurel Springs, Fred T. Hart,
(Continued on page 8)
Music Taught In
County’s Schools
In addition to the regular
courses of study, Alleghany coun
ty schools have the advantage of
nnving music taught in many of
- Where formal classes are
•?ot ftpJd. singing is stressed in
• e r-sdes
A* Ptney Creek Mrs. Myrtle
Jones and Miss Gladys Robbins,
■ h v. their music have added
much to the culture of the school
and the community.
At Sparta, Mrs. P. L. Choate
has taught piano to a number of
students. Here one of the most
popular courses has been that of
music appreciation taught by
Mrs. Ida J. Warren. Lectures,
recordings and discussions are
used.
4 Veterans To
Get Diplomas
Four Alleghany county vet
erans, who served in World
War n. are to receive diplo
mas next week along with
other regular members
graduatinr clapr
School Building
Needs For County
Are Presented
FINALS SPEAKER
f.W»L '■ ■■■—■ " '
Rev. W. T. Whittington,
who will deliver the literary
address at Piney Creek, Fri
day night.
Hundreds Are
Transported To
School On Buses
16 Buses Have A Total Of 630
Miles Daily; Make Rec
ords In Safety
Transportation of school chil
dren in Alleghany i iiimljnij ijj
important part of the scMHHjH
tern; as there are 1400ejfl
transported daily by th# |P||
that travel a total of 630 miles
each day. j
The county received two bach
ly needed new school buses this
year and officials point out that
two more have been promised
for the next school year.
The school buses have made a
remarkable record this year for
timeliness and safety as well as
economy. Much of this is due
to th'e well trained drivers as
well as the fact that every effort
is made to keep all buses in an
excellent state of repair.
School officials pointed out that
they were well pleased with the
records made this year, particu
larly since the conditions of the
roads and the weather were un
favorable part of the time.
Sparta Student
Awarded Trophy
Jimmy Davis, Sparta high
school senior, was awarded a tro
phy for being the most outstand
ing senior on the Yellow Jacket
football team of Sparta high
school for the year, 1946.
The award was given by Tom
my Osborne, Wade Irwin and J.
R. Gentry, former students who
are interested in the athletics of
Sparta high school. It is to be
an annual award given by them.
Sparta Group Cites Urgent
Need For Building; Other
Needs Outlined
A group of representatives of
the P.-T. A. and other public
spirited citizens met with the of
ficials of the county this morning
to cite the urgent need of a build
ing for Sparta, since the element
ary school building is far inade
quate and additional room is also
needed for the high school. It is
hoped that some immediate ac
tion can be taken on this.
>osed, and a negro school
in Cherry Lane town
r MADE
shortages of
m
has
More consolidation or some ad
ditional buildings are also needed
in other parts of the county. An
elementary school building
Prather’s Creek tpwnshin
been proposed, and
build1—
ship.
IMPROVEMENT
Because of great
material and scarcity of labor,
much repair work has been out of
the question this year. Some has
been done and other improve
ments , made, however. Twelve
new outdoor toilets have been
built. And at Piney Creek the
water system, indoor toilets and
lavatories have been installed.
Laurel Springs school has dug
a deep well and installed a com
plete water system. • This was
sponsored by the Grange. The
county paid for the materials and
the Grange, the labpr
Other a
been planned for the summer
months.
Students Win In
County Contests
Alleghany county high school
students entered several contests
this year, among them being the
soil conservation contest and the
spelling contests of the county
and the WSJS contest.
Julian Hyde, Glade Valley high
school student, was the winner
of the county soil conservation
contest contest held in Febru
ary and was fourth place winner
in the district contest at North
Wilkesboro, later that month.
Roma Ruth Phipps, of Piney
Creek, was the winner in the
county spelling contest but was
unable to represent the county
in the WSJS spelling event. She
was represented by Edward Rec
tor, of Sparta, instead.
COUNTY AGENTS GO
TO DISTRICT MEET
County Agent R. E. Black and
John P. Burch, assistant agent,
attended the district meeting for
county agents held at the Sky
Brook Farm at Waynesville Wed
nesday. >1
Livestock Judging Team
Wins At Statesville On Sat.
The Sparta high school voca
tional agriculture livestock judg
ing team again came home a win
ner after attending the district
contest held at Statesville last
Saturday. „
The livestock judging team,
composed of Fieldon Miller, Bob
by Black, and Wayborne Mitch
ell, was awarded a $45 prize .as
well, as the honor of having ,166
more points than any other team
representing Northwestern North
Carolina.
Fieldon Miller was individual
high scorer over the 104 contest
ants. His score was 466.75 out
of a possible 500. The team as a
whole scored 1288 points out of
a possible 1500.
The team judged one class of
swine and six classes of beef cat
tle.
i The boys are now eligible to
compete in the State
which will be held at
July 8, # and 10. If
there, they will be given $600 and
all expense paid trip to the na
tional contest in Kansas City,
Missouri.
The contest is sponsored by the
State and National FFA.
School Planned
For Bus Drivers
A bus driver’s school for all
prospective school bus drivers
for Alleghany county will be held
at the Sparta high school Tues
day, May JO, at 9:30 a. m., Miss
Clyde Fields, county school sup
erintendent, announced this
week.
C. I. Yelton, representative
the department of motor ,v
will be
Finals At Sparta
And Glade Valley
Set For Thursday
Piney Creek Exercises, May
23; Outstanding Speakers
Secured
This year 75 graduates, 45 girls
and 30 boys are being awarded
diplomas from the three
/schools of the county at die com
mencement exercises, which will
get underway Sunday and con
tinue through next Friday night
Several outstanding speakers
have been secured and other spe
cial programs have also been
planned including plays and class
night activities. The public ia
cordially invited to attend all of
these exercises.
The exercises for Sparta high
school will begin Sunday, May
18, when the baccalaureate ser
mon will be delivered by Rev.
C. D. Hutton, of Glade Valley,
at 8:00 p. m. at the Sparta Bap
tist church. Class night will be
observed by the seniors, Tues
day, May 20, at 8:00 p. m. The
commencement address will be
delivered Thursday, May 22, at
8:00 p. m. at the Sparta Baptist
church by Rev. Ralph Richie,
pastoi* of the Elkin Presbyterian
church.
The senior play, "The Eyes of
Love,’’ will begin the commence
ment exercises at Glade Valley
high school, Saturday night, May
17, at 8:15 p. m. Through error,
the date was omitted in last
week’s paper when a previous
announcement was made. The
baccalaureate sermon will be de
livered by Dr. J. O. Mann, di
rector of religious education for
22, at 11:00 a. m.
Piney Creek exercises will get
underway Saturday night, May
If, at 8:00 p. m. when the senior
class will presen* -r—■ "Here -
Comes Charlie,” in high
school auditorium.
Rev. W. T. Whittington, pastor
of the Baptist church in Damas
cus, Va., will deliver the com
mencement address, Friday, May
23, at 8 p. m., at the high school
auditorium.
Health Clinics
Next Tuesday
It was announced this week
that the final pre-school clinics
would be held at Sparta on Tues
day at nine o’clock and Rich Hill
at 10:30 and Little Pine at 11:30
on the same day.
When these clinics are held this
will complete this schedule in the
fifteen schools.
In the one and two teacher
schools of the county every child
has been examined. And in the
larger schools all children refer
red to the health authorities by
the teachers have also been given
an examination.
Paper Dedicated
To Education