THE YANCEY JOURNAL
VOL. 4, NO. 40
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Senior Citizens At Grandfather Mountain
On Wednesday, September 23, fifty senior citizens and five
workers loaded on three buses and went to Grandfather
Mountain for a picnic. The weather jvas great; the scenery,
with the leaves beginning to turn mtmy colors, was beautiful.
The wind was cold but must have been just right for the Gliders
as there were half a dozen or so flying over and around the
mountain in the afternoon. The senior citizens visited the Bears
Yancey Gets Road Funds
State Secondary Roads
Councilman Ted Smith of
Swannanoa announced today
that $48,40b of supplemental
road construction funds have
been allocated for use to
improve secondary roads in
Yancey County.
This allocation is part of a
54.6 million statewide sup
plemental allocation of secon
dary road construction funds
Meet The Candidates
GOP Dinner Slated
The Yancey County , Re
publicans will host a “Meet
the Candidates” dinner at
Mountain Heritage _ High
School cafeteria, Saturday,
October 9, at 7:00 p.m.
Musical entertainment
will be provided by the choir
from the Burnsville A.M.E.
' Griffith Chapel. This choir has
gained an outstanding repu
tation for their talent and
enthusiasm.
Speakers for the event will
be Dave Flaherty, GOP
candidate for Governor, and
Bruce B. Briggs of Mars Hill,
Republican candidate for Con
gress from the Eleventh Con
gressional District.
Robert L. (Bob) Rhinehart,
candidate for Chairman of the
Yancey County Board of
Commissioners, Walter Ed
wards and K. Lyda Letter
man, will also be in atten
dance.
Other Republican candi
dates expected to be present
are the District Court Judges,
Ray Braswell and Bob Lacey,
both from Avery County;
James D. McKinney of
Marion, Representative for
McDowell and Yancey Coun
ties; Ted Smith from Swanna
noa and Edward B. Krause of
Asheville, candidates for
State Senators for the 26th
Senatorial District.
Tickets for the dinner are
S 5 .00 and may be-purchased
at Republican Headquarters
between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or
for Fiscal Year 1976-77 and
was approved by the Board of
Transportation last month.
These funds are in addition to
the S3O million dollar alloca
tion enacted by the General
Assembly during its Second
1976 session.
Yancey County’s share of
the S3O million allocation
released in July was $313,200,
bringing the county’s total
they will be delivered if so
desired by phoning 682-7211
or 682-7108. They may also be
obtained from Republicans
throughout the county.
Smokey Visits Headstart
Blaln Ray, forestry technician from the U.S. Dept, of Forestry brought Smokey the Bear to visit
the Headstart Center In Burnsville on Thursday, September 23. He showed a film on fire
prevention and let Smokey talk to the children and give them handouts to make them more aware
of the problem of forest fires. There were 24 adults and 40 children to greet Mr. Ray and his good
friend Smokey. Afterwards there was a Headstart and Homestart parents meeting where officers
were elected for the coming year. WUliam and Violet Thomas were elected co-presidents, with
Clifford and Ingrid Deyton elected vice presidents and Buleah Hughes secretary-treasurer. The
"mbe^hetute I’* 1 ’* °° ° Ctobe> 26 7,30 pm durln 8 which a Halloween Party In full costume
BURNSVILLE, N.C. 28714
and some walked across the Mile High Swinging Bridge. The
~—trip was enjoyed by everyone, and the lunch was packed by
Servamalion, who delivers lunch every day to the Nutritional
Feeding Program at the Community Center in Burnsville.
Anyone who would like to participate in this program should
call WAMY, 682-2610, or the Feeding Site at 682-7563.
«
share of secondary road
construction funds for this
fiscal year to $361,600.
“The Yancey County
share of the funds is based on
a formula that puts all
counties on an equal footing
by considering estimated local
construction costs, the num
ber of unpaved miles of
secondary roads in any given
county and the relationship of
this mileage to the overall
mileage of un paved secondary
roads in the State,” Smith
explained.
There are 151 miles of
unpaved secondary roads in
Yancey County and the
average cost of constructing a
single mile of roadway in
Yancey County is estimated at
$70,350.
Smith will coordinate the
planning and selection of
construction projects within
Yancey County that will be
financed by this supplemental
allocation. “We will be
working very closely with the
county commissioners in de
termining what projects to
present to the Secondary
Roads Council for its final
approval,” concluded Smith.
Sales, Use
Tax Report
Local 1% Sales and Use
Tax collections during the
month of August, 1976, were
reported recently by J.
Howard Coble, Secretary,
N.C. Department of Revenue.
The report shows Yancey
County collections for that
period amounted to the sum
of $20,647.31.
In Our Opinion:
No Park Please!
BY CAROLYN YUZIUK
Is everyone in favor of establishing a Mt.
Mitchell National Park? How could anyone be
against it. It sounds wonderful!
Well, we’ve heard a few home truths in the past
two weeks that makes us wonder if the
establishment of Mt. Mitchell National Park is
really in the best interests of the people of Yancey
and Mitchell Counties. We also wonder if other
people are as ignorant of all the facts about the
rules and restrictions governing a National Park as
we were.
We must realize that the area which the
proposed National Park would encc&npass is mostly
in Yancey and Mitchell Counties. And we’re talking
\ about thousands of acres. One suggestion was for
50,000 to 100,000 acres to be set aside for this
purpose. If a National Park is created from these
lands, these acres would pass right out of U.S. ,
Forest Service management. We would have, in
essence, a Wilderness Area under management of
the Department of Interior.
_ A LOT OF NO’S
There could be no hunting, no back country
travel by jeep or truck, no taking of galax, moss,
shrubs for yards, or even wildflowers, no
management of timber cutting to enhance deer and
grouse habitats-not even for firewood and not even
if the trees are dead-in a National Park.
Sportsmen in our midst may think this
point, but other conservationists and nature lovers
may believe we should be happy to let-the
government take over the preservation of our land
in its natural state. What better way to make sure
that the same unspoiled beauty we enjoy will also
enrich the lives of our sons and daughters and their
children.
It’s not that simple, however. At least, not for
those of us who live here.
As one far-seeing Yancey citizen said on the
subject, “If this bill passes, the land surrounding
Mt. Mitchell National Park will be as crowded as
Coney Island on the 4th of July.”
If a National Park is created in this area we’ll be
listed in the National Parks directory, and there
would be no way of preventing the rest of Yancey
County from becoming another Gatlinburg.
Whether we think this is bad or not depends on our
feelings about “boom” towns with wall-to-wall
motels and bumper-to-bumper campers.
Not even the wilderness we would be trying to
preserve would be spared. The hiking trails in the
Smoky Mountain " National Park have become so
crowded that.the Park Service has had to drastically
limit the hiking use by issuing permits.
A GOOD ALTERNATIVE
There is one alternative, however, to saying a
flat “no” to the creation of a National Park--an
answer that would allow us to use our land without
losing it eventually to land developers and private
interests. It is important for everyone to be aware
that an option exists between the extremes of the
creation of an untouchable National Park on one
hand, and what could be an inevitable exploitation
of that same land by private developers on the
other hand.
The answer could be to suggest and promote
the creation of a National Recreation Area instead
of a National Park. The people in Southern Virginia
made this choice a few years ago when a National
Park was proposed for the Mount Rogers area near
Marion, Virginia. They decided on what is now the
Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area.
WHAT MAKES NRA WORK?
What makes a National Recreation Area work
for conservationists, sportsmen and just about
everyone else who uses the forest? A National
Recreation Area is designated by an Act of
Congress and would be administered by the U.S. •
Forest Service under multiple use management
with emphasis on recreational uses. These uses
would include hiking, camping, hunting, fishing,
wilderness experiences, horseback riding, jeep
travel ways, etc. The Act would also designate
boundaries and would empower the Forest Service
to buy lands needed to preserve areas such as the
top of the Black Mountains from eventual
development.
Under this plan, timber cutting can be done
much as it is presently being done under Forest
Service jurisdiction, but the stress is on
management of timber to enhance the area rather
than on timber production.
When a National Recreation Area is
established, master plans are drawn up by the
Forest Service for construction and maintenance of
jeep roads to enhance hunting and fishing in the
area. Additional monies are devoted to the
construction of new hiking trails and their
maintenance, and needed campgrounds are
established and maintained in the area. The whole
emphasis for the land is on use without abuse.
JUDGE FOR YOURSELF
.We urge everyone to judge for themselves how
the establishment of Mt. Mitchell National Park
i
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1976
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New Little Theatre
Production Slated
‘‘Spoon River Anthology,
the latest production by
Burnsville Little Theatre will
be presented Thursday* Fri
day and Saturday, September
30, October 1 and 2 at
Parkway Playhouse. This is
the Little Theatre’s first
production using the facilities
of the Playhouse. Perfor
fnances begin at 8:15 p.m.
Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon
River Anthology stands as one
of the classics in American
poetry and this successful
stage adaptation by Charles
Aidman serves well to convey
the pertinent and powerful
nature of Masters 1915 work.
The style of the play is
W eekend
Highway
Accidents
Two automobile accidents
on Yancey County highways
caused injuries but no fatali
ties last weekend.
On Saturday, September
25, David Bishop of Miami,
Florida was involved in a
one-car accident when his car
went off a 50 ft. embankment,
striking trees and overturning
on N.C. 197 South near the
Buncombe County line. Bish
op was taken to the hospital
for treatment.
Trooper B.R. Owens inv
vestigated the accident.
Sgt. Don Reavis investi
gated a three-car accident at
2:00 p.m. Sunday at the
Prices Creek and 19E Inter
section. Paula Mae Higgins of 1
Route 3, Burnsville was '
attempting a left hand turn *
when Arthur T. Morrison
apparently lost control of his
car and hit the Higgins Car
and another car driven by Bill
Arrowood.
Mrs. Higgins was taken to ■!
an Asheville hospital. Mr. I
Arrowood and his wife, Nancy
were also taken to a hospital
SLT" “ s ' r,ous ' ,
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uamage to the Higgins |j
$1,200; to the Arrowood I]
15 c
unique. Former residents of
the imaginary town of Spoon
River speak from their graves
and sketch out the story of
their frustrated lives. The
bitter truth to be found in this
play has made it a classic
piece of theatre. Musical
accompaniment in the form of
a chorus and guitars make it a
well rounded evening of
entertainment.
The cast includes Kim
Aldridge, Barbara Bailey,
Becky Bingham, Gail Deyton,
Pat Hardy, Kevin Shirley,
Tim Thompson and Fred
Topping. The musicians are
Jennifer Lee, Bob Rissman,
Willie Riddle and Sam Stew
art.
Phillip Shore, who ap
peared in Burnsville Little
Theatre’s production of Don't
Drink The Water, is directing
Spoon River Anthology.
Tickets are available in
advance from Little Theatre
members and at various
businesses in town. Admis
sion at the door will be $2.00
for adults and SI.OO for
students.
Region D
Grant Is
Approved
Congressman Roy A. Tay
lor announced the approval of
a grant of $45,000 by the
Economic Development Ad
ministration for the Region D
Economic Development Dis
trict’s planning program
through June 30, 1977. The
Region D Council of Govern
ment will provide $15,000 to
complete the $60,000 total
cost.
Region D Economic Dis
trict, headquartered at Boone,
N.C., consists of Avery,
Mitchell, Yancey. Alleghany.
Ashe, Watauga and Wilke*
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Tent Revival
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Tent Revival Services byl