THE YANCEY JOURNAL
VOL. 2, NO. 35
Environmental Problems Follow 'Land Boom’ In Western North Carolina;
Wildlife, Streams, Wilderness Areas Threatened By Development Surge
By Jim Dean
Maior newspapers across the nation are calling it " the
last, big Eastern land boom. " They're talking about wes -
tern North Carolina, and they compare the sprawl of deve -
lopment and real estate speculation with the Florida, Ari -
zona and Southern California booms.
A story in the Baltimore Sun in early August is fairly
typical. Says the Sun. "Land prices have tripled in many
areas during the past year and even 'goat' land—a localism
for almost vertical r r’ / hillside covered with trees —may
brine more than SSOO an acre.
"We don't know how long it's going to last," says one
real estate agent, "but people are not quibbling abort terms,
and there is no sign of a financial downturn. "
United Fund Contributions
Finance Many Progams
By Ashton Chapman
Your tax-exempt contribu -
tion to the United Fund in Mitch
ell or Yancey County, or to the
special fund campaigns conduc
ted each year in Avery* help a
number of humanitarian agen -
cies to continue functioning in
your county. Without such do
nations as yours, some of the
agencies could no longer stand
ready to serve you and other
residents of your area.
One of the most important
of these agencies, and ouevdiich
always serves the public speedi
ly, cheerfully and without any
charge, is the American Nation
al Red Cross. The importance
of the Red Cross to residents of
the Tri-County area is beyond
calculation.
Every one of its programs is
of great importance. These in
clude the life-saving blood pro
gram, school health program,
service to military families, les
sons in swimming and in water
safety, courses in first aid and
home musing, to name some of
the most outstanding services.
Although there is never any
charge for any of these services
it does cost the Mayland Chap -
ter to have the bloodmobile
from the Asheville Red Cross
Blood Center make each of its
scheduled visits to the three
counties several times a ye ar ,
and to maintain a centrally-lo
cated office for the three coun -
ties in Spruce Pine, including
expense of telephone, postage,
and other necessities.
Therefore it is important that
everyone donate generously to
the United Fund in Mitchell, or
Yancey County or direct to the
annual Red Cross drive inAtury,
in order that the Red Cross may
continue its valuable free ser
vices in the three-county area.
Records in the Chapter's
headquarters office show that
several Red Cross chapters were
organized in the three counties
as early as World War I and la
ter disbanded.
Grandfather Mountain Chap
ter, Elk Park, was chartered on
October 23, 1917, with E. R.
Mortimer, Chairman. This
chapter was disbanded March
28, 1928. The Banner Elk
Chapter was chartered Novem
ber 1, 1917, with Dr. W. C.
Tate, Chairman, and thischap
ter was disbanded March 28,
1928. The Avery County Chap
ter, New land, was chartered on
January 30, 1928, with T.C.
Dellinger, Temporary Chrmn.
The Bakeisville Chapter, to
serve the whole of Mitchell
County, was chartered January
7, 1918 , with A. R. Gallimore,
Chairman. This chapter was
disbanded January 13, 1921.
The Mitchell County Chap
ter in Spruce Pine, was char -
tered August 27, 1928, with
Mrs. W.C. Young, Chairman;
the Yancey County Chapter,
Burnsvilleyvas chartered May
20, 1918, with the Rev. Homer
Casto, Chairman. It was dis
banded December 8, 1923. A
new Yancey County Chapter,
Burnsville, was chartered De
(Cont'd on page 2)
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Mark Bledsoe Pictured With His Parents, Scoutmaster McLain, And Jack Tessier
Youth Dies Os A tridental Gunshot Wound
Tonny Young, 15, of Burns
ville, died Saturday at Memor
ial Mission Hospital in Asheville
from a self-inflicted gun shot
wound in the chest.
According to Carroll Hens -
ley of the Yancey County Sher
iffs Department, the shooting
was accidental. Young was ap
parently attempting to clean a
16-gage shot gun when it fired.
Hensley said he answered the
call around 9 a.m. Saturday
from the victim's brother, Ty
ren Young, requesting that the
sheriff's department send an am-
Though this may be news to many North Carolinians, par
ticularly those living in the Eastern or Piedmont sections of
North Carolina, it is hardly news to western Tar Heels. They
have seen gentle valleys and small communities turn almost
overnight into rapidly growing tourist centers complete with
condominiums, motels, ski resorts, summer vacation home
developments and all the neon trappings that go with it.
Feelings in the mountains are mixed, of course,but there
is considerable widespread opposition to the "land boom"by
local people who do not like to see life styles and familiar
landmarks altered so quickly. Many would prefer not to
see them changed at all.
There are also serious environmental problems rising as
a result of the boom. Huge recreational complexes are ex
WSr . m
- - Vi* At,: :Jr
- Hppn im r
Donna Ami John McLain Receive Recognition Awards
bulance to their home.
Tyren Young told Officer
Hensley that his brother was in
the bathroom when he said he
wanted to clean the shot gun
Restue Squad Spousors Show
The Yancey County Rescue
Squad will sponsor a country
music show and dance Saturday
night, September 1, 1973 at
Btoo p. m. in the Burnsville
Elementary School gym. The
Honeycutt Brothers, Mike Loftis
and Southern Country and the
Robinson family will be inchi -
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 1973
and asked Mm to bring it to him.
He said hejrook his brother the
gun and returned to the living
room and sat down to watch te
levision when he heard the shot.
ded in the local talent.
There will be drawings for
door prizes and refreshments will
be, available. Tickets are SI.OO
in advance from Rescue Squad
mem ben and $1.50 at the door.
Children under 12 will be admit
ted free when accompanied by
an adult.
panding into private, near wilderness areas. All too often,
there are major losses of wildlife habitat and streams.
The populations of many species of fish and wildlife
(bears, turkey, deer and trout far instance) cannot tolerate
more than minimal damage to habitat. These species
and many others —will be seriously affected by the rapid
development, and may not even survive in some areas
where they are now fairly abundant. Already huge inroads
have been made on prime near-wildemess areas and wild
life habitat. Sportsmen and conservationists are concerned
that if tlie "land boom" continues at its original, uncontroll
ed pace, there will be very few suitable large areas for the
wildlife to life, and even fewer trout streams.
"It seems to me," observes one native of the region, "that
Boy Scouts Receive Awards,
Troop Honors Scoutmaster
Last Tuesday night Mark
Bledsoe, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ca
rlyle Bledsoe received the Eagle
Scout Award. Mark is the third
hoy from Troop 502 to receive
this award which is the highest
in Scouting. The award
ini presented by Mr. Jack Tes
sier, Scoutmaster from Ashe
ville, at a Court of Honor held
in the Fellowship Hall of Higgins
Memorial Methodist Church.
Boys receiving the Star Scout
Award were Jimmy Wilson, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Dean Wilson;
Tommy Carr, son of Mr. and
Mrs. William Carr; Mike Grind
staff, son of Mr. and Mrs. Louie
Grindstaff; Doyle Bradford , son
of Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Bradford.
Boys receiving the First Class
Rank were Todd Bailey, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Dick Bailey; Steve
Parsley, son of Mr. and Mis. Sam
Parsley.
Boys receiving the Tenderfoot
Rank were Sam Young, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Young; Doug
McLain, son of Mr.and Mrs. John
McLain; Jackie Buchanan, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Buchan
an; Gregg Edge, son of Mr. and
Nbs. Wallace Edge; Gregg Wes
ts|l, son of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip
\Ai estall; Jerry Laye 11, son of
V:. and Mrs. Hebren Layell. and
Bi yan Hensley, son of Mr. .and
K rs. Ben Hensley.
A large crowd of parents en
jc fed a pot-luck meal and slide
po mentation of the troop's recent
5( -mile hike and trip to the
N itional Jamboree in Butl e r ,
Pennsylvania prior to the awards
b nquet.
★ ★
As part of Tuesday's cere
i onies, Scoutmaster Johnny
lcLain was presented an
s vard by the members of his
' roop in recognition of all the
vork he has done for the Troop
i id the community as a whole.
John McLain has distinguish
e 1 himself in many capacities
i the four years that he and his
f mily have lived in Burnsville.
1: has been an able and cap -
ale leader in hb church, hav
i: i served as a deacon for the
pst two years. In 1972 he was
e ected secretary of the Board
o Deacons, A position he has
1 ithfully filled. He has been
a regular attender of his church,
i: :hiding Sunday School,Train
i j Union, and prayer meeting.
_ F r the past year he has served
a president of the lion's Club,
indicating his interest in com
munity affairs. The Lions Club
has grown and accomplished
much under his leadership.
By far his most outstanding
work since coming to Burnsville
has been that with the Boy Scout
organization. Combining vast
knowledge of the outdoor world
with excellent leadership abili
ty, he has led the Boy Scout
Troop 502 of Burnsville to a re
cord high in number and inter
est. The boys have responded
to his work with them both be
came of his capability and be
cause of his sincere interest in
them as individuals. Their
knowledge and appreciation of
the outdoors have been greatly
advanced through numerous
camping activities and hikes.
Emie Howard and Kennie Dey
ton, two of the boys in his troop;
have received their Eagle Awards
and Mark Bledsoe received his
recently on August 21.
Time invested in the lives
of boys, the future men of Am
erica, is time well spent, and
no man in Burnsville has invest
ed a greater portion of his life
in this choice and important
activity.
As part of the evenings events,
Donna McLain , wife of Scout
.-Jf
master Johnny McLain f was
also presented with the "Scouter's
Wife Award" by the troop mem
bers.
During the time the McLain's
have been ( n Yancey County,
Donna has been active in commu
nity and church work. She has
served as Brownie Leader, Junior
Leader, and as Troop Committee
Member of the Yancey Girl
Scouts. She has also been very
active as a member of the First
Baptist Church in Burnsvill.
CAP To Hold
Open House
The Mountain Wilderness Ci
vil Air Patrol Squadron will hold
an Open House September 1,2
and 3 at Mountain Wilderness
Air Park at Pensacola.
There will be Free Airplane
Rides with each $5.00 donation
to the Civil Air Patrol Squadron.
Come see Burnsville and area
from the air—and support your
local CAP Squadron.
many of these developmezts are destroying the very things
that attract people to the mountains in the first place. No
one really feels any security anymore. It seems that only
yesterday I could look out my window in the morning and
confidently expect the comforting sight of rolling fields and
mountains and the road curving in the distance, ft was like
a picture postcard, and I don't have to tell you how much
it meant to see it everyday. Now, there is a trailer court
in the valley, the mountains are carved up in roads and cha
lets and the road is wrapped up with motels and tourist trapa
It makes me sick to see it, but what can I do?"
Very little, actually, and if the prophets are correct,we
are only seeing the beginning. One reason the native resi
dents are so helpless is the fact that only a few of the 23
western counties have any sort of effective zoning, which
means that no landowner has any real assurance that his pro
perty might not someday soon be ringed with mobile homes
or sitting next to a new factory or recreational area where
the center of attraction is an "old west" gunfight staged
hourly seven days a week.
Some see the boom as a good thing, uplifting economics
in areas long depressed. And yet, most of the na* es in
these areas prefer their way of life and in no way i them
selves as economically underprivileged.
In addition to the general sprawl of developmait througj*-
out the western end of the state, there are many new resort
cities or recreational areas being developed, some of them
huge. Ttough a very few of them are taking pains to par
tially protect the environment and aesthetics of the area,
most are far more interested in a fast buck* Many of these
fast bucks are going to out-of-state developers who have al
ready run out of places to despoil in their own states and
are looking for new horizons. Though of the unwise
development is locally funded, much of it originates from
out-of-state speculators, particularly from Florida.
Perhaps, as some point out, the land boom in w estern
North Carolina is unavoidable. It is, after all, one of the
few remaining large areas in the nation which has not pre -.
viously felt the blades of hordes of bulldozers. And people
in other states along the Eastern Seaboard have become dis
enchanted with the loss of primitive innocence and natural
beauty and are looking for new promised lands. Western
North Carolina looms large in the imaginations of those
seeking a simpler way of life. Therefore, perhaps some
sort of boom is unavoidable.
But it need not result in the same massive destruction
that has occurred in other states which have experienced
such booms. Statewide Land Use Planning bills are in the
hopper, and if a good, strong one is passed, it will help. A
law regulating land speculation by oit-of-state developers
should also be considered. Other states have such laws.
Meanwhile, the state should strongly consider acquiring
as much of the unspoiled private land as possible to insure
that at least part of the western North Carolina area will
still have aesthetic appeal and plentyof fish and wildlife.
There are near wilderness areas—one as large as 40,000
acres (the old Mead Paper Company of Sylva tract now own
ed by a Florida developer)--that might still be bought and sa\ed.
It would be sad indeed if North Carolina proved unable
to slow and control the rape of her prime western lands. If
s we don't act soon, it will be too late, and Tar Heels will
have learned nothing and profited less from the bitter lesson
in Florida, Southern California and other "landboom" states.
★ ★ ★
Mayland Tech To Conduct
Course In Proper Land Use
Mayland Technical Institute,
in conjunction with Agricultur
al Extension Service, ASCS Ser
vice, Farmers Home Admin is -
t ration, Soil and Water Conser
vation and Mitchell County
Rural Development Panel will
conduct a 20 hour course in pro
per land usage for developmen
tal purposes* All interested ci
tizens are urged to attend and
especially those who are plan
ning any types of developing or
participating in property de
velopment.
~ ,
Topics to be discussed will
be as follows!
1. How Development has
affected our local areas.
2. Land Capabilities
1Q C
3. Site Planning
4. Access Road Lay-Out
5. Fishery Resources
6. Wildlife Resources
7. Forestry Resources
8. Sanitation
9. Water Resources
10. Field Trip to be con
ducted.
11. Coimty Planning.
Registration will be at the
auditorium of Harris High in
Spruce Pine, September 13,
1973. Classes to run through
October 16, 1973. Registra •*
tion will be at 7ioo p. m., and
classes will run from 7KX)p.m
to 9ioo p. m. on Tuesday and
Thursday evening. There will
be a $2.00 registration fee per
peison#