VOL.I, N 0.34
Yancey Citizens To Attend
Special NCSII Meeting
An area meeting has been
scheduled for Boone on Wednes
day, November 29, to give
Yancey people an opportunity
to discuss agricultural matters
with several administrators from
North Carolina State University.
W. C. Bledsoe, County Ex
tension Chairman, saidtheßocne
meeting has been planned for
the people of Alleghany, Wilkes,
Mitchell, Ashe, Watauga,Yan
cey and Avery counties.
Fourteen such meetings are
planned across the state in an
effort to improve communica -
tions between local citizens and
the School 6f Agriculture and
Life Sciences at North Carolina
State University, Bledsoe stated.
"N. C. State University of
ficials will report on what the
university is doing in the way
of agricultural teaching, re
search and extension. Local
people will have an opportunity
to discuss their problems and
needs," Bledsoe added.
Fanners, agri-btsinessmen,
homemakers and other people
with an interest in agriculture
are invited. Starting time is
7:30 p. m. and the place is the
County Courthouse in Boone.
The Yancey group will depart
from the Courthouse at 5:30 p.
m. Those interested in atten -
ding should contact the Exten
sion Office.
J. Worth Gentry, president
of the N.C. Agricultural Foun
dation, plans to attend the
■Bl rmWmll ' ■ -'S
vHI 4k ; 33 *1 ju
t SiWfl/ yfe
v BSatwy ' ’ r * BR^PPH- ■ :‘--v
--t £4L v «|H
L “* .
Photo By Craig Jenkins
IMC Initial Pledge Reyment
Leonard Breeman, Jr. , Ben L, Robinson and Ray Wise
man, area representatives for International Minerals and
Chemical Corporation, recently presented a $2,500 check
as initial payment on the Company's $12,500 pledge to
the Blue Ridge Hospital System Development Fund, to
Taylor O. Teague, General Chairman, at the campaign's
headquarters in Spruce Pine. IMC, with mines and pints
in Spruce Pine, Baketsville and Burnsville, has 125 em -
ployees in an area which will benefit horn the Fund's con
struction program for the Spruce Pine Community Hospital
* «nd the Yancey County Extended Care Facility, Burnsville.
THE YANCEY JOURNAL
f / - ™ “ • .
meeting. NCSU will be repre
sented by Dr. James E. Legates,
dean of the School of Agricul -
ture and life Sciences, and se
veral members of his staff.
Church
Programs
The choirs of Griffith Cha
pel A.M.E. Zion Methodist
Church will present a musical
program at Higgms Memorial
United Methodist Church, Sun
day evening, November 26,
1972 at 7:30 p. m. Everyone
is invited and encouraged to
come and hear this fine group.
A love offering will be ta
ken to benefit the Griffith
Chapel Church building fund.
★
There will be a spec.al song
service at the Covey Rook Free
Will Baptist Church, Green
Mountain, N.C. on Sunday
night, November 26 at 7 p. m.
according to pastor, Reverend
Holt HerreJl. Some outstand -
ing groups are expected. Every
one is cordially invited to at
tend.
★
A Revival will be held at
Cane River Baptist Church from
November 26 through Decern -
ber 2 at 7:30 p. m. nightly.
Guest speaker for the Revival
is Reverend Kenneth Ridings.
i '' M"- f7W35 ¥ l||l
%HAHKS(ii¥IAe
Squirrel Hunters Benefit From Sudden
Bushytail Population Explosion Here
This has been a dandy squir
rel season so far. In many parts
of the state, hunters have been
amazed at the sheer volume of
bushytails.
"Haven't seen anything like
it in years," said one mountain
eer. "On opening day, I walk
ed up behind the pasture to the
woods and was back at the louse
in time for breakfast with a li
mit of eight. I skunt 'em out
and fried some for breakfast.
Tasted right good with clabber
biscuits and black coffee."
My mountain friend had only
one problem—ton many squirrels,
"I had to pick out hard shots to
keep from killing my limit too
quickly," he said.
It's a problem no one is
complaining about. The sud
den population explosion of
squirrels is largely the result of
last winter's good mast crop and
the fact that it never really got
cold.
"When you have mild wea
ther combined with a large crop
of acoms," you almost always
get more squirrels the following
year," said Stuart Critcher, As
sistant Chief of the Division of
o ?6%m&iltf Ike fyiKcey IRec&id
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23,1972
Game for the N.C. Wildlife
Resources Commission. "Squir
rels had lots of food last year,
and we've got lots of squirrels
this year. "
The squirrel population—par
ticularly in western North Caro
lina—went through a similar
episode about six or seven years
ago. A heavy food crop and a
relatively mild winter set the
stage for a bushytail boom. The
following winter, the mast crop
was exceedingly poor, and the
squirrels migrated out of many
western areas to other areas
where food was more plentiful.
The migration worried some
hunters and nature lovers. For
one thing, more squirrels were
run over by automobiles, and
some people believed that some
thing unnatural was happening.
Some were even concerned with
worry that the squirrel popula -
tions in western North Carolina
might disappesur.
They didn't, of course, be
cause the wax and wane of wild
life populations is a natural
thing. The squirrel population
returned to normal within a jear
or so.
"We would not have been
surprised to see such a migra -
tioo again this year," said Mr.
Critcher, "but so far, any mi
gration has been slight. Appar
ently, this year's mast crog
though small—is sufficient."
Critcher predicts, however,
lhatihis spring will see squirrel
raising smaller and fewer litters
of ynmg to compensate for this
winter's overabundance of squir
rels, Critcher also says that the
next winter's squirrel population
won't be as high as this year's.
The squirrel population — from
yearto year—depends largely
upon the food aip ply of the pro
ceeding year.
If you havalt been squirrel
hunting yet this year, youhould
be able to get in on some good
shotting. And if you wind up
with a few extra squirrels,dress
them and freeze them for later.
You're allowdd 75 for the season.
h> addition to fried squirrel,
why not try squirrel in brans -
wick stew or diow mein. Chow
mein? That's right. Believe
it or not, squirrel chow mein
is pretty good.
t *
r~ —* *****?•»«>
rs is i&lajt tMm, i X X \\li L■ ■ *>» il.
w jJ K .* \Mh±W lt? Li M ft ur* , j \ '
i’-j*'* 1 ‘a irfc '' && 4 ‘ J* Jg,
jCfaKBCL ttfiMW Bell Btißj. '■ \ V V
khwbi fc «^S3SShI
iCp|j£- r~ •• _• -J
“Closed To Vehicles" Sign Posted On Logging Road By Forest Service
Tree Planting Aids Conservation
And Can Bring Profits To landowner
Bacchus Hensley, Yancey
County Forest Ranger, advises
that tree planting time is ]ust
around the comer in Yancey
County.
Planting trees is a good
conservation measure and can
be very profitable to the land
owner. Abandoned pastures,
old fields, and cut-over wood
land are areas which are well
suited for planting trees.
Tree seedlings cap be order-
National Forest Service
Closes Old Logging Roads
If you have been on National
Forest Lands recently you may
have noticed that many of the
old logging roads have been
closed to vehicle traffic.
Actually, this is nothing new,
the Forest Service has been clo
sing logging roads as soon as the
timber sale is completed for
many years, but jeeps and other
4-wheel drive vehicles have
been using them anyway. This
continued use on these roads has
caused extensive damage in
many areas.
These mads were built by
logging contractors to remove
timber from National Forest
Lands. They were not designed
or constructed to be permanent
roads. Most of them are narrow}
have temporary bridges, box
culverts and are of steep grade.
These roads, especially the ones
with steep grade are highly sus
ceptable to erosion unless an
extensive amount of road main
tenance is performed period! -
cally.
When the timber sale is com
pleted, the roads serving that
sale are water barred andseeded
to grass. The logging contrac -
tor bears all expense for the
above erosion control measures,
but he bears this expense only
once. If the road continues to
receive heavy use after the ero
sion work is completed, the
water bars are soon cut out and
the grass is destroyed. This can
and often does create serious
problems with erosion control.
The Toecane Ranger District
has over 60 miles on which some
maintenance work is performed
ed from the County Forest Ran
ger, Coisity Agent, orA.S.C.S.
Office. The N.C. Forest Ser
vice will be operating a tree
planting crew which will be
available to plant trees "Tm
landowners. The cost for this
tree planting service will range
from $26.00 per acre to $35.00,
depending on the number of
trees planted and the condition
of the land. This price Includes
both trees and labor to plant
• < wifm he, '•
UK
each year. Several of these
roads are hardly more tluhvgass
able by pick-up trucks and 4-\
wheel drive vehicles. These \
roads are in bad need of repair/
but we don't receive enough
money to do this repair
plus the necess \ 7y maintenance
work on the rest of the roads. So
only the roads that provide ac
cess to the most numberef acres
are left open and maintained.
These seeded logging roads
do more than prevent erosion,
they provide good foot access
for hunters to somewhat remote
areas of National Forest Lanck.
Many a deer and other game
animal has been killed byahun
ter while he was wall ' lg these
roads. These seeded roads are
also beneficial to deer and up
land game birds. Grouse and
turkey chicks live chiefly off
insects for the first 9 weeks of
their lives. Insects are many
times more abundant in grassy
areas than in wooded areas.
Also, most wildlife requires
a somewhat wild environment
that is not being constantly dis
turbed by man. If every logging
road remained open at the end
of the timber sale there would
soon be few areas left that man
was not a frequent visitor.
ft is not the intent of the For
est Service to keep Forest Visi
tor from enjoying their Nation
al Forest by closing these logging
roads, ft is the Forest Service
intent to protect the National
Forest and its resources so that
they can be enjoyed for many
generations to come.
them. Cost share assistance ii
available through the A. S.C. S
Vffice at the rate of $14.00 p<
acre planted.
landowners interested in or
deling trees or having tree
planted should contact Forest
of the planting site. Range
- *v hi -S