THE YANCEY JOURNAL
( VOL. 4, NO. 52
Control Is The Issue:
»Vv
■ Ar r
[The Public Must Foot Bill
BY JIM DEAN
I N.C. Wildlife Commission
I Who should pay for clean
I air and water? I think most of
I us would agree that those who
enjoy the benefits or profits of
cleap air and water should-by
all rigltts-pay for it.
Unfortunately, when you
translate that relatively sim
ple concept into actual exam
ples, sontfe people come up
with a different answer. Let’s
be specific. When an industry
installs filters so that no
pollution comes from its
stacks, who should dole out
the money? When a city puts
in a new sewage disposal
plant, who pays for it? If
pollution control equipment is
required on new automobiles,
who foots the bill? ,
A whopping majority of
the American public (74
percent) is on record as being
opposed to business passing
along increased costs of
pollution control to the con
sumer by charging higher
prices. This figure comes
from a recent Harris Survey,
which interestingly also found
that public concern over air
and water pollution is at
record peaks nationwide.
The result of this Harris
Sdrvey |s confusing because it
seems to show a contradic
tion.
It sounds as though people
are saying, “Yes, I’m highly
concerned about the quality of
the environment, but I don’t
care enough about it to pay for
it.”
If, indeed, that is the
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Santa Visits Elderly On Christmas Eve
Santa Claus visited the folks at Haven Heights Rest Home
last Friday night, Christmas Eve, bringing goodies and gifts
for al). He visited with each person and they eitfoyed It
. ' -. ,® .-* *' ' ■ ’ ' ' ’.'"' -' " r
message then it is clear that
the prospect of securing
a healthy and well-balanced
environment appears rather
dismal.
Performance Slated
By Artist In Dance
Mary Hicks, Third Cen
tury Artist in dance, and the
Crooked Pine String Band will
present a concert on Satur
day,
p.m. in the karris High
School Auditorium in Spruce
Pine.
Miss Hicks, a modem
dancer and choreographer,
has been in residence in
Transylvania County since
February of 1976. She has
Rescue Squad Helps
Dragging Operation
The Yancey County-
Rescue Squad was notified !
Saturday, December 18, that
a Mutual-Aid call had been
sent to all Rescue Squads in
New Year’s
(
Dance Set 1
There will be a New Year’s *
Dance at the South Toe
Community Center on Satur- I
day night at 7:30. Music will ‘
be by Mike Loftis and the '
Southern Country. Proceeds
from the program go to the
center to buy equipment.
Price will be $1.50 per person.
c
<
Notice ;
* <.
Starting January 3 every- t
one is required to list their j
property for taxation. You
should list it at the Court- (
house in the Grand Jury t
room, between the hours of £
8-5 Monday through Friday t
ar«l 8-12 on Saturday. Proper- t
ty should be listed by January v
31. Failure to list will cause a £
10% penalty to be imposed. t
BURNSVILLE, N.C. 28714
There is no magical'
shortcut. No grand benefactor
is suddenly going to write a
blank check to us so that we
can clean up the mess we live
given workshops in dance and
movement throughout the
public school systems in
Transylvania County, and she
has performed for numerous
clubs and organizations in
Western North Carolina.. Her
appearance with the Crooked
Pine String Band in Spruce
Pine on January Bth is part of
the Third Century Artist
Exchange Program in North
[Cont’d on page 2]
Western North Carolina. The
McDowell County Rescue
Squad was still dragging in an
attempt to recover two men
from Asheville who drowned
when their boat overturned
while they were duck hunting
on Lake James.
The Yancey County-
Rescue Squad responded to
the call and sent six men
Sunday, December 19, to
participate in the dragging
operation in which more thsn
500 man hours had already
been spent-all volunteer
hours by Rescue Squad men
from all over WNC.
Approximately 125 men
and 23 boats participated in
Sunday’s search, which yield
ed nothing. The search will
continue around the first of
the year if nothing is found
before then.
If you would like to be part
of a Rescue Operation like
this, the Squad meets the first
and third Tuesdays of each
month. Everyone is welcome
to attend a meeting and see
what they think of the squad
and whether they would like
to join or not.
J ** ,
tremendously. Santa’s visit was sponsored by the Radio Patrol,
who also contributed the gifts and goodies. A big “Thank You” 1
comes from everyone at Haven Heights for this delightful
surprise at Christmastime. ,
in. Ultimately, no matter how
you slice it, the people of this.
country will foot the bill for
clean air and water. Nor do we
really have any choice be
cause a clean and healthy
environment is not a luxury to
be enjoyed by a few fishermen
and hikers. It’s a necessity for
all of us.
Ik the only
fair and logical way to effect a
cleanup is to have the costs
passed on to the consumer..
Some consumers have sug
gested that this could be
achieved by decreasing taxes
on companies that clean up
pollution. In certain cases,
creating tax advantages to
spur pollution cleanup may
help, but in the long run, this
will not lessen the burden
because the taxpayers will
have to make up the differ
ence.
Likewise, increasing taxes
against companies that con
tinue to pollute may only
aggravate the problem, espe
cially if the problem is a lack
of funds. Such punitive action
may work, but only in Certain
cases.
The simple and inescap
able fact is that pollution
control must be considered
part of the normal., cost of
doing business. For example,
the installation of pollution
control equipment in an
automobile plant must be as
much a part of normal
operating expense as the cost
of the raw steel that makes
the body of a four-door sedan.
And if that be the case,
then those costs should
rightly be reflected in the final
price the consumer pays for
the product. (After all, if you
were manufacturing paper
clips and were forbidden by
law from passing along the
cost of the raw metal you
used, how long could you stay
in business)?
No one wants higher
prices, but in the long run
there may be no other way to
maintain a quality environ
ment. Our hand has been
called, and it’s time to put the
chips on the table. If we want
clean air and water, we’ll
have to pay for it.
May Your Fondest |
Wishes All Come True
1U : \■:S '9 gs
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I ,i r : May new horizons open, new joys I ||\W lit
mL come into your life ... new hopes
9k jbk S'’
Churches And Individuals
Contribute At Christmas
Six churches and numer
ous individuals made contri
butions so that thirty-two
needy families could have
Christmas in Yancey County
this year. Contributions in
cluded financial gifts as well
as gifts of food and Bibles.
The total value of contribu
tions was eight hundred and
seventy dollars.
The Yancey County De
partment of Social Services
was requested to identify
families who, without a
contribution, could not have
Christmas. The Department
of Social Services also took the
responsibility of distributing
the gifts.
Contributions from groups
included: The Mt. Mitchell
Baptist Church, West Burns
ville Baptist Church, Happy
Homemakers, Bolen’s Creek
Sales , Use
Tax Report
Local 1% Sales and Use
Tax collections by county
were reported recently for the
month of November, 1976.
The report shows Yancey
County collected the sum of
519.806.10 during November.
This amount compares
with Avery bounty collections
of $24,071.02 and Madison
County collections which were
516,383.47. Mitchell County
collected nearly $26,000 for
November.
This report is issued
monthly by J. Howard Coble,
Secretary, State Department
of Revenue in Raleigh.
rHURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1976
, ' V.- t~
Baptist Church, Mountain
Lutheran Fellowship, First
Presbyterian Church of
Burnsville, and Riverside
Baptist Church.
The Yancey County De
Burnsville Fire Calls
December 22: 11:35 a.m.
Automobile Blaze at Mt.
Mitchell Industries. Damage
to wiring. ,
December 24: 6:05 p.m.
Paul Cooper residence on
Charlie Brown Road, Chim
ney Fire-no damage, 2 trucks
★
South Toe Fire Calls
December 20: 8:30 a.m.
House fire on Blue Rock
Road. Owned by Mr. and
Mrs. Mercer Wilson, Char
lotte, N.C. Unoccupied at
time of fire. ty>of Vi burned
through when fire dept, was
called. Although firefighters
substantially prevented fur
ther fire spread, house was
gutted. Water obtained from
the nearby South Toe River by
portable pump relay, and
25-30,000 gallons was put on
the fire. Cause investigated
by Sheriff Banks and the SBI.
Two trucks and 13 firefighters
responded,
December 21: 6:30 a.m.
House fire on Forest Service
Road in Mt. Mitchell Lands.
Temperature 8 degrees, win
dy, roads icy. Residence
owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jessie
Riley of Charlotte, N.C.
partment of Social Services
expresses its heartfelt appre
ciation to everyone who made
contributions toward its
Christmas Fund for the needy
families of Yancey County.
and 16 men responded.
December 25: 9:40 a.m.
David Hudgins mobile home,
Whispering Pines Mobile
Home Park. Home and
contents completely destroy
ed. 2 trucks and 16 men
responded.
★
Occupants escaped by smash
ing thermopane window in
bedroom and leaping to
ground. Fire confined to floor
and wall around fireplace.
House filled with smoke,
cleared by using smoke
ejector. First aid given to
occupant who suffered cuts
going through window. Two
trucks and 13 firefighters
responded.
December 22: 7:30 a.m.
House fire on Route 80. Vi
mile north of Ballew’s store.
Temperature 4 below zero.
Occupied by Al Henry family
who had moved in only two *
days earlier. Usual access to
house is across swinging
bridge, so fire trucks drove
through South Toe River at
old crossing to get to house.
Fire confined to wall and attic
around flue pipe. Two trucks
and 17 firefighters responded.
%
15 c
Holiday
Highway
Accidents
An accident Wed., Dec. 22
6 miles north of Burnsville, on
Jacks Creek Road, involved
two vehicles: a 1976 Ford
Truck driven by Tony Mc-
Laughlin, 42, of Route 1,
Burnsville; and a 1965 Volks-,
wagon driven by Fred Robin
son, 37, of Route 4, Burns
ville.
The McLaughlin vehicle
Was traveling south approach
ing a private drive. The
Robinson vehicle, coming out
of the private drive, experi
enced brake failure and pulled
into the path of the truck.
The Robinson VW was
struck and came to rest in a
ditch on the southbound
shoulder. The Ford came to
rest in the middle of the
highway headed south.
There were two passen
gers, Sally Thomas and
Sharon Thomas in the Mc-
Laughlin vehicle. Sharon was
taken to Spruce Pine Hospital.
There were no passengers in
the Robinson VW. Damage to
the Ford was estimated at
$200.00; to the VW $300.00.
Trooper E.T. Thomas investi
gated.
On Saturday, December
25, at 6:15 p.m. there was a
two-car accident about 4 miles
out of town on U.S. 19E
toward N.C. 80. Philip Haw
field, 68, of Route 1, Pineville,
N.C. was in Vehicle #l, a 1972
Oldsmobile. In Vehicle #2, a
1963 Chevrolet was Gary
Burnsville.
Vehicle 2 was traveling
north on 19E and applied
brakes to avoid another
vehicle making a turn. It
skidded into the left lane,
striking vehicle 1 on the left
front. Both vehicles then went
' off the roadway onto the
shoulder. The road was
covered with snow at the time
of collision.
In the Hawfield vehicle
there were two passengers
with one only slightly injured.
There were no passengers in
the Whitson vehicle. None
were taken to the hospital.
Damage to the Hawfield Olds
mobile was estimated at
$400.00; to the Whitson
Chevrolet 1300.00. Sgt. D.W. *
Reavis investigated.
Also on Christmas Day,
December 25, at 7:00 p.m.
there was a two car accident 9
miles out of Burnsville on
N.C. 197 N. Everett Edwards.
25, of Route 1, Green
Mountain was in a 1975
Datsun which was stuck in a
ditch.
Kermit Peterson, 38, of
Route 2, Green Mountain was
driving a 1968 Buick north
and slid into the same hole as
the Datsun, striking it. The
Datsun stayed at rest. The
Buick came to rest on the
northbound shoulder of 197 N.
There was one passenger
in the Edwards’ vehicle and
three passengers in the
Peterson vehicle. None of the
passengers were injured.
Kermit Peterson was taken to
Spruce Pine Hospital but was
not seriously injured.
Damage to the Datsun was
estimated at $600.00; to the
Buick $300.00. Trooper E.T.
Thomas investigated.
‘Thank You’ I
The Mt. Mitchell CB
aub held a fund-raising I
drive for Lisa Haney on
appreciation to every- I
I one who contributed. I