THE YANCEY JOURNAL
VOL 3, NO. 15
Toe River Near Death;
State Could Rescue It
The Toe River near Spruce Pine is
dying.
It is a terrible thing to see a river
dying, to see silt and pollutants
spreading through its once crystal
waters like cancer destroying a vibrant
life.
The Toe has been in trouble for
years, but only recently have citizens
begun to fight to save the river. Their ef
fort is perhaps the largest joint civic un
dertaking, in recent years, in Mitchell,
Avery, and Yancey counties.
A petition . signed by some 2,000
citizens supporting reclassification of
the river was presented March 12 to the
N.C. Board of Water and Air Resources
at a public hearing in Asheville. Support
has also come from the boards of county
Avery, Mitchell, and
Yancey counties; health departments in
Mitchell and Yancey counties; civic and
wildlife clubs.
Under the state plan, which is sup
ported by the citizens’ groups, the Toe in
the vicinity of Spruce Pine to the
Nolichucky River would be reclassified
from “D” category to class “C.” Class
“D” permits dumping of wastes. Class
“C” waters are suitable for fish and
wildlife propagation, for boating and
wading.
Mining interests in the Spruce Pine
area oppose the plan. They maintain
that it would interfere with industrial
processing and that its implementation
would have an adverse impact on the
area’s economy.
Reprinted from THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN, Saturday, April 6 edition
lye Screening
Program Here -
The Hon'* Club of Western
North Carolina is sponsoring an
eye screening program for all
pre-school children in Yancey
County. All parents of pre -
school children ages 2-5 years
are invited and encouraged to
have their children's eyes check
ed at this time.
The screening will be con -
ducted in the Eye Van that will
be set up at the elementary
schools in the county. This Eye
Van will be in Yancey County
April 16 - 19.
The Eye Van schedule is as
follows:
Tuesday, April 16—Mica -
ville School 9 to 11 a. m. ; the
South Toe School 12 to 3 p. m.
Wednesday, April 17— the
Burnsville School 9 to 11 a.m.;
Clearmont School 12 to 3 p. m.
Thursday, April 18-- Bald
Creek School 9 to 11 a. m.;
Pensacola School 12 to 3 p. m.
Friday, April 19—Bee Log
School 9 to 11 a. m.
Sunrise
Services
The Faith Fellowship Baptist
Church on Mitchell Branch will
have a Sunrise Service at 7:00
a, m. Easter Sunday. A film
will be shown, "Power In The
Blood". Everyone is cordially
invited to attend.
★
An Easter Sunrise Service
will be held at Spruce Pine
Drive In at 6:30 a. m. on Sun
day morning, April 14. Ben
Lee Ray will conduct the service
There will be free coffee and
donuts. All are welcome to
attend and enjoy the fellowship
As to the first point, the state con
tends that the industry is generating
pure sediment into the rjver and that the
industry can take corrective action. Ad-
those measures would be cost
ly-
But the industry has a civic, if not
moral, responsibility to the mineral-rich
land that has benefitted it for so many
years.
: ■' As to the second industry argument,
it is true that many citizens in the three
counties are employed by the industry.
Jobs are not plentiful there. But the in
dustry has failed to provide convincing
evidence that cleaning up the Toe would
prompt an economic collapse.
And too, many of those citizens
fighting for the river either work or
have relatives and friends who work in
the industry. Yet they see clearly the
importance of saving a natural resource
whose demise would diminish
themselves and their heirs.
That many of the region’s leaders
are behind the state plan is significant.
If they felt that the conservation
measures were detrimental, they surely
would not be pushing for them.
After all, to permit a river to die,
and it has happened all across the coun
try in recent years, says something
about us as a people that mere words
cannot articulate.
We would only add that the Toe, just
perhaps, can still be saved. The state
should reclassify the river as proposed.
Time is running out.
’;jjft\ fi ® J B
Rev. Dan Barr
State Income Tax Assistance Available
At Burnsville Post Office Monday
Mr. Leatherwood, local Re
venue Officer for the North
Carolina Department of Reve
nue, advises that personnel to
assist in filing State Income
and Intangibles tax returns will
be available on Monday of each
week through April 15, 1974.
The office is located in the
Post Office Building,
and -assistance is available at
this place on Monday, April 15,
between the hours of 8:30 and
5:30 p. m. Mr. Leatherwood
requests that taxpayers bring
the pre-addressed forms which
were mailed to them from Ra
V* ?V m 11 <
' BURNSVILLE, N.C. 28714
Rev. Dan Graham
leigh. Completed returns show
ing refund due should be mail
ed to the North Carolina De
partment of Revenue, Post
School Days
Yancey County Schools will
be closed for the Easter Holi -
days on Friday and Monday,
April 12 and 15. Graduation
date for high school seniors has
been set for Friday, May 25.
The school year for all other
students will end on Tuesday,
June 4 with teachers complet -
ing their year's work on Wed -
nesday, June 12.
Rev. Barr
Is Speaker
The Rev. Dan Barr of Bris
tol, Tennessee, grandson of
evangelist Dan Graham, will
preach Sunday evening at the
Estatoa National Presbyterian
Church, near Celo. Mr. Barr
will also administer the sacra
ments of the Lard's Supper and
Baptism.
Many persons in Yancey
County will remember the Rev.
Dan Graham, well know n
throughout Virginia, Tennessee
and North Carolina, from his
evangelistic meetings in Yan
cey County over a quarter of
a century ago. Besides a tent
meeting in Micaville, and
other communities,Mr. Graham
conducted meetings in the Es
tatoa Presbyterian Church 28
years ago, in 1946, according
to the best recollection of th>se
who were present.
Mr. Graham, a graduate
of Union Theological Seminary
in Richmond, Virginia, and
pastor of numerous churches in
East Tennessee, beginning in
1920, left the Presbyterian
Church, U. S s over 20 years j
ago. This is the same reaooj
the Estatoa group withdrew frcm
the same denomination last
year and became part of the
newly formed National Presby
terian Church, which now has
over three hundred churches
throughout the country.
Rev. Dan Barr, who comes
to tire Estatoa Church Sunday,
is a recent graduate of the Bib
lical School of Theology in Hat
field, Pennsylvania. He was
ordained to the ministry last
January in Westminster Presby
tery, a presbytery of the Na
tional Presbyterian Church,
comprised mostly of churches
in Southwest Virginia and East
Tennessee. Mr. Barr is present
ly on the faculty of Graham
Bible College in Bristol, an in
stitution founded by liis grand
father in 1951.
The Communion Service
will begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday,
April 14, at the Esataoa Presby
terian Church on Route 80.
Office Box R, Raleigh, North
Carolina 27634. Other comple
ted returns should be mailed to
the North Carolina Department
of Revenue, Post Office Box
25000, Raleigh, North Carolina
27640.
Gospel Sing
A Gospel Singing will be
held Saturday night, April 13,
at the Church of God of Proph
ecy, Meadow Road,Bun*ville.
Everyone is welcome to attend;
and especially singers. There
will be a special Easier Program
on Sunday morning.
THURSDAY, APRIL 11,1974
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Groundbreaking for Mountain Heritage High School
Groundbreaking for the new comprehensive high school
—" £or Yancey County, to be named Mountain Heritage High
School, was held Sunday, April 7at the building site
west of Burnsville. Following a speech of welcome and
recognitions by Ed Hunter, Yancey School Superintendent,
Bill Banks, member of the Yancey County Board of Educa
tion spoke on the meaning of the name chosen for the high
East Yancey Students Will Participate In
Fourth Annual High School Mathematics Contest
East Yancey High will parti
cipate in the Fourth Annual
High School Mathematics Con
test, April 25, 1974 at Western
Carolina University. Twelve
students were selected on the
basis of grades and teacher eva
luation to attend.
Two of our students will par
ticipate in the Comprehensive
Evaluation. They are Randy
New Building Planned For MAY Tech
Above is shown the architect's sketch for the new build
ing for Mayland Technical Institute. Charles L. Me Murray,
AIA of McMurray Architects, Charlotte, North Carolina,
Robinson, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Paul Robinson and Charles Du
laney, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee
Dulaney. Niles Howell, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Howell
and Joey Biggeistaff, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Jack Bigg erst ass, will
participate in the Algebra II
Examination. The Geometry
contestants are Marie Hunter,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs, Edgar
school. Pictured above are (1. to r.) Charles Hopson, Jim
Gardner, Wade Styles and Claude Vess, School Board mem
bers; Earl Young and O. W. Deyton, County Commission
ers; Bill Banks, School Board member and Frank Fox,Coun
ty Commissioner. Several hundred persons attended the
ceremony, after which refreshments were served, the mo
del of the school plan was studied and the grounds toured.
Hunter; Leslie Steele, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel D.Boonq
Darrel Styles, son of Mr. and
Mrs. J. C. Styles; and Rebec
ca Welbom, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Car ley S. Welbornjr.
The four who will participate
in Algebra I are Sandra Fendeq
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clay
Fender; Ronnie Huskins, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Benny Huskins;
Sheila Peterson, daughter of
presented the design to the Board of Trustees on March 4.
The design received unanimous approval, and detailed
design is now in progress.
10 e
Mr. and Mrs. Dallas K. Peter
son; and Gwen Silvers, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Dolph Silvers.
Dance Set
A dance will be held at East
Yancey High School on Friday,
April 12, in the Gym. This
event is sponsored by the East
Yancey Cheerleaders. Admis -
sion is $1.50 per person; $3.00
per couple.