THE YANCEY JOURNAL
VOL. 3. NO. 6
I |,.^f
Roberts-Corn To Compete In State Program
Roberts-Corn Selected To
Represent Woman’s Club
The Burnsville Woman's
Club, during the period July 1,
1972 to February 15, 1974, has
participated in the "Beauty For
Business" contest, co-sponsored
by the Cities Service Oil Com
pany and the General Federa -
tion of Woman's Clubs. The
following businesses have been
awarded C ertificates of Com
mendation: Roberts - Com
Chevrolet-Buick, Inc. ; Ye Olde
Fabric Shop; Maud's Beauty
Shop; The Yancey Journal.
Mrs. Mack Ray, project
chairman and Mrs. Ralph Jacks,
President of the local Club, re
ported these places have com -
pleted renovation work which
has improved their apjpearance
and thus helped upjgrade the vi
sual standards of the community,
The following three judges,
Mr; Hazen Ledford, Manager
of The Northwestern Bank, Mr.
Bruce Westall, businessman,
and Mb. Garland Wampler,
homemaker and active commu
nity leader, have selected the
Roberts-Com Chevrolet
Inc. as having done the most
outstanding job of improving its
apjpearance. This business has
been awarded a First Place Cer
tificate and will be entered in
the State competition program,
representing the Burnsville Wo
man's Club.
Two entries will be singled
out for recognition in the state,
with the clubs sponsoring them
receiving grants of SIOO and
SSO respectively. The winning
business from the state will re-
59,850 Grant
Approved
Congressman Roy A.Taylor
announced Tuesday the appro -
val of a grant of $9,850.00
from the National Endowment
for the Arts to Music in the
Mountains, Inc., Burnsville.
The grant will be used for
cost of Chamber Music, con
certs and workshops, evening
lecture demonstrations, in
school programs and children's
workihops.
ceive a placque from Cities
Service. The winner will also
be entered in further competi -
tion from which six national
winners will be selected.
Plans Made
For Contest
Plans for a Western North
Carolina Community Beautifi
cation Contest for 1974 have
been announced by John W.
Erichsan of Asheville,president
of the 18-county Western North
Carolina Community Develop
ment Association and Mrs. Dot
Grindstaff, area chairman of
the WNC Community Develop>-
ment Program.
Participation in the beauti
fication contest is open to any
area that enters the community
development program, which
is sponsored on an area basis by
the development association
and by the agricultural ag&nciei
and local sponsors in each county,
Purpose of the WNC ComT -
natality Beautification Contest
is to encourage communities to
conduct organized clean-up
and beautification projects.
Special awards are being offer
ed to recognize those doing out
standing work.
This year for the first time
special awards far the amount
of SSOO will be awarded to the
community, which is entered
in the Community Beautifies -
tion Contest, which does the
best job, according to the num
ber of families in die com mu -
nity, of collecting paper, bot
tles and cans for recycling. The
award is sponsored by the Coca-
Cola Bottling Co. of Asheville.
Communities have until the
15th of May to enter the Beau
tification Contest. Entryblsnla
are available from the County
Extension Office or Western
North Carolina Development
Association, 420 City Building
Asheville, N.C. 28801.
Judging to select the winner
in each county will be held in
i August. These will be judged
in area competition In early
September.
BURNSVILLE, N.C. 28714
Call Hotline
For Help
By Jerry Blackwelder «
An elderly lady calls to say
that her public assistance check
for the month has not been de
livered, and her bills are due.
A frustrated parent has re
cognized *n emotional prob -
lem in his child, and does not
knorr where to turn.
An employee telephones to
tell of a problem on his job.
All these callers have dial
ed HOTLINE, a direct toll free
number into the office of Se -
cretary of Human Resources
David T. Flaherty. The calls
are handled by Craig Souza, a
member of Secretary
staff.
"We get approximately 15
calls a day, " Souza said.'About
70% of them are from citizens
and the remainder come from
our employees. "
The HOTLINE number can
be called without charge from
any telephone in the state. The
number is 1-800-662-7950. At
nights and on weekends and ho
lidays, the telephone is answer
ed by an automatic recording
device. The callers are asked
to leave their names and tele
phone numbers and the calls
are returned when the office
reopens.
S ouza traced the path of a
HOTLINE call:
"The call is catalogued,gi
ven a case number, andwritten
up on a four- part form. The
Division heads have designated
individuals to be responsible for
handling our calls. They are
required to respond to the call
er within three days. The con
tact person in the division eith
er takes the call up with a local
office or with a section of the
division, depending on the na
ture of the problem.
'The answer is sent back to
the caller, with a copy to our
office. A record is kept on the
call, in case further follow-up
is needed. "
Some callers cannot wait
three days for an answer to their
problem. "If we say 'rush'then
r the divisions know that the call
requires immediate action, "
Souza said.
What type of people use the
s HOTLINE?
A Those who are frustrated with
personal problems, says Souza.
'They can get help faster by
1 calling rather than by writing
s letter, " he explained.
Many people call just to
- have someone to listen to them.
> 'lt's like a long-distance coun
seling service," he added.
The idea of an in-WATS
service is a new concept to state
government. The Governor's
ombudsman also has instituted
a HOTLINE system to handle in
quiries and complaints.
■ "We work closely with the
■ Governor's ombudsman's office"
Souza said. "If they have a HSF
5 man Resources problem, they
- refer it to us and we handle it
in the same manner as a HOT
i LINE call."
■ Tax Report
r m 1
Local 1% Sales and Use Tax
collections by county were re
ported recently for December.
Net collections for Decem
ber by Yancey County amoun -
ted to $11,835.36. This figure
compares with Mitchell County I
collections of more than sl6 |
thousand.
Rise In Regionalism:
Are We Losing Control?
The control of Yancey County affairs is being deeply af
fected by what is known in government circles as "regiona
lism". This is the growing practice of grouping counties
together into districts or regions for purposes of administer
ing the various government services and other functions.
Under regionalism local government no longer tails direct
ly with Raleigh, but dealings are handled through the vari
ous district or region headquartea.
Yancey County is already neck-deep in regionalism.
Our Health Department is administered from Boone as part
of a 4-county district. Our Library is run from Spruce Pine
as part of a 3-county region. W.A.M.Y. is run from Boone
as part of a 4-county region. For governmental grants and
certain planning we are part of Ihe 4-county Mount ain
Scenic Region. Both mental health and daycare function
regionally, and for the Federal program of crime preven -
tion we deal with still another regional headquarters, loca
ted in Boone.
Tempting Financial Inducements Persuade Counties
Much of the spread of regionalism is recent,but already
the complaint is being voiced thit in practice it deprives
counties of much of their rightful decision making regard -
ing local affairs.
Out of one side of their moutls the bureaucrats in both
Raleigh and Washington talk about the desirability of hav
ing control of local affairs at th< grass-roots level. But
from the other side of their moufas they advocate the spread
of regionalism, and proceed to (evise tempting financial
inducements to seduce counties into joining regional set-ups
We view as wholly indefensible the practice of Raleigh
bureaucrats offering special SJfcements, financed with the
taxpayers money, to pexsuadl counties to join regional or
ganizations. This constitute: unfair discrimination against
self-reliant counties that choose to manage their own affairs.
Control Is Dlnsion; Meetings Poorly Attended
If the bureaucrats had delberately set out to devise an
innocent looking way to reduce decision making and control
at the county level they coull scarcely have hit on a better
plan than by the spread of rejkmalism. It cleverly gives
the illusion of retaining a fai measure of local control.
Boards of directors are always formed including representa
tion from each of the region'i counties. But this control, in
practice, is largely an illusid.
The board members are uaally picked from people al
ready heavily overloaded wit civic affairs—such as county
. commissioners, mayors, scho»l superintendents and the like.
They have little time to devdt to the region's problems;
the infrequent board meeting are usually held in another
county (in our case, often infoone), attendance is often
poor— in one of our regions, i quorum did not attend for
an entire year—and at best, ay one county has only a mi
nority vote.
AU this conspires to give practical control to the district
organization staff—more likeV 1 than not headed by some
bureaucrat with close ties to laleigh. The staff tends to re
flect Raleigh thinking, and tie end result is that any one
county's contribution to decison making is all to often lit
tle more than that of a rubberstamp.
Better than further argumOt to make our point will be
a short review of the experience of the Yancey County
Health Department with participation in regional districts,
and recent goings-on in the Appalachian District Health De
partment in which the Yancer County department is now a
part. The history of our heath department for 25 years has
been stormy and beset with poblems. Originally part of a
3-county district consisting o' Avery, Mitchell and Yancey,
friction and disagreement related in the withdrawal of
Avery, since which time thal county has gone it alone. A
few years later came a ruptus between Mitchell and Yan
cey, and for a time Yancey rent it alone—significantly,
we understand, the period oi greatest harmony, progress
and efficiency in the departssnt's history.
Avery Wouldn't Join; Mtchell Pulled Out
Regrettably, as we see it, our County Commissioners,
last year were persuaded by tie Raleigh health bureaucrats
to join the Appalachian District Health Department, a dis
trict now consisting of Alleghmy, Ashe, Watauga and Yan
cey. Avery, still going it aline, would have none of it,
and Mitchell, after briefly jolting had second thoughts and
pulled out. Yancey is now geographically a remote satel -
lite to a district headquarters th Boone. Board meeting
necessarily involve burdenson* travel for our board mem
bers who at the meeting? wiUbe dealing with members from
three remote counties whose bterests and problems may
well be different from ours. The whole set-up would al
most guarantee . that we wdfc have effective control of
the affairs of our health department.
And how has It worked in tCactice? Here is one exam -
II (Cont'dOn page 2)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7,1974
Tests Show Walter Tomato
Yields Greater Profit
By Johnny Hensley
A D ollars return p>er hour of
labor for tomato growers may
be increased by planting the
Walter variety rather; than the
ManapaL Demonstration varie
ty test in Madison County resul
ted in 39. 7 percent increase
in labor productivity with the
Walter compared to the Mana
pal variety. This means that
almost one and one half bushels
of Walter was producedVi\vhile
only one bushel of Manapalwas
produced for one hour of labor.
The time saved with the
Walter variety was mainly dur
ing the Trellis Erection, Suck
ering and Trellising process.
Data from one test showed that
more than 6 times the number
of horn's of labor were required
for trellising Manapal compared
to Walter. Other growing oper
ations also required more time
with Manapal than with Walter
variety.
T hese test results indicate,
that a grower can grow larger
acreages with the same amount
of labor and obtain greater yields
and more return in dollars per
hour of labor.
Production of trellised toma
toes has often been measuredi*-
terms of tons or bushels of toma
toes marketed per acre. Gross
returns to the farmer are also
measured in terms of dollars
per acre. Recent production
studies of different varieties
grown in relation to the amount
of labor required for a dolin'
net return to the farmer indi -
cates another "measuring stick"
could be used. The yield in
Girl Scout
Cookie Sole
Yancey County Girl Scouts
are busy taking orders for their
delicious cookies. The price
is the same for all five kinds
thlt the Girl Scouts delivered
to Yancey County homes last
year. So take advantage of one
of the few bargains today and
order your cookies now from
your favorite Girl Scout. If
no one calls on you give your
order to Mrs. Earl Young, 682-
2628, in Burnsville.
The profits of the cookie
sale go to the troops to finance
their activities and to the Pis
gah Girl Scout Council to pro
vide program and camp equip
ment and facilities for all
Girl Scouts in Western North
Carolina. A resident camp
for Troop Camping all year and
individual Resident Camping in
the summer has been bought,
developed and maintained byl
cookie tale profits. Equipment
for as many as 450 campers is
bought and maintained for
troop* *r> use on their own troop*
camping trips. In addition
some of the profit is used in\
the Council's delivery of ser- '
vices to troops in twenty - six
neighborhoods.
Help Yancey County Girl
Scouts help themselves. Order
plenty of the cookies which
will be delivered to you at the
end of February and the first
part of March.
bushels per hour of labor requir
ed may give a better picture of
the grower's actual wages. Tliis
"measuring stick" can better
able the grower to compare his
actual wages with the opjpor -
tunities offered by a factory,
mill, mine, or other farming
enterprises.
Ebllars per hour of labor is
a better means of measuring
return than yields pier acre.
More tests are planned to
further prove the advantages
of one variety to another and
to calculate the growers actual
return in dollars p>er hour of
labor.
Rev. Bud Bierman
*
Special
Services
The Faith Fellowship Bap
tist Church, Mitchell Branch,
Burnsville will be holding spe
cial services February 10 thru
February 14. Services begin
at 7:00 p.m. each evening.
Rev. Bud Bierman, evange
list from Greenville, S.C.,
will be speaking. He is direc
tor of Alumni Affairs for the
Bob Jones University Alumni
Association, Greenville.
A native of Phoenix, Ariz.
Mr. Bierman was graduated
from Bob Jones University in
1961. His alma mater award
ed him a graduate assistantship
and he served as an assistant to
the dean of men while comple
ting his master of arts degree
in 1963 and the bachelor of
divinity degree in 1965. He
was active in campus activitla
and was selected to be inclu -
ded in the publication "Who's
Who Among Students in Ameri
can Colleges and Universities"
and in his senior year was cho
sen for "Outstanding Christian
Leadership" and received the
American Legion Citizenship
Award.
He pastored the First Ehprtist
Church of Westfield, N. Y. for
nearly seven years before ac
cepting his present position at
BJU on January 1, 1972. While
in New York he conducted a
daily radio ministry and tattght
in a Bible institute.
He has conducted numerous
evangelistic campaigns, revi
vals, and youth rallies through
out the nation and is in demand
as a speaker at summer youth •
camps.
Everyone is invited cordial
ly by pastor Rev. Dick Buchan
an, to attend these services.
10*
Susan Wilson
EY Student
Wins Honor
Susan Wilson has been namai
East Yancey High School 1973-
74 Betty Crocker Family Leader
of Tomorrow. Susan won the
honor by competing with other
seniors in the written knowledge
and attitude examination on
December 4. She is now eligi
ble for state and national honors
and will receive a specially de
signed award from General Mills,
Inc., sponsor of the annual edu
cational scholarship program.
State Family Leaders of
Tomorrow receive a $1,500
college scholarship while state
second- place winners receive
a grant of SSOO. The state win
ner also earns for his or her
school, a 20-volume reference
work, "The Annals of America?'
from Encyclopedia Brittanica
Educational Corporation.
In the spring, state winners
aid their faculty advison will
be die guests of General Mills
on an expense-paid shcational
tour which will include Wash -
ington- D.C. and Minneapolis,
Minnesota. A special event of
the tour is the announcement of
the All-American Family Lead
er of Tomorrow, whose scholar
ship will be increased to
Second, third and fourth place
winners will receive scholarship
increases to $4,000, $3,000
and $2,000 respiectively.
This year, 703,074 students
from 14,463 schools were en
rolled in the Betty Crocker
Search, which for the second
year, included senior boys.
Since the program began in 19-
54-55, apiproximately nine
million students have participa
ted and scholarship awards to
tal more than $2 million.
Susan ft the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Ned Wilson of Pensa
cola and was a student of Home
Economics under Mrs. Mack B.
Ray.
Names Entered
In Competition
The Board of Education? has
received many names for the
neWhigh school in the school
naming contest. Already over
sixty suggestions have been
received. The contest will end
on February 15 and a selection
of a name will be made soon
thereafter.
The following names have
been submitted by two or more
people:
Yancey High School, Yan
cey County High School, Yan
- ..... „ . ~
cey Central High School,
Yancey County Consolidated
High School, Burnsville High
School, Mt. Mitchell High
School, Bums High School.
Blue Ridge High School, Eart
Riv«.id; * School, Tom
" 76" High School.