* jjr o a • ' ■ .* ‘ Caldwell farm in Haywood County at 4:00 p.m. \ - 1 —— ; A j Br ~*4-i Photo by Brian Westveer Burnsville Health Care Center; Formerly Burnsville Extended Care Facility Yancey Gets New Hospital BY CAROLYN YUZIUK To the uninformed or disinterested it may be only a name change, but to Yancey County doctors and thousands of Yancey citizens, the plan ned opening of the Burnsville Health Care Center is a case for rejoicing. Formerly named Burns ville Extended Care Facility which was designated and constructed as a Skilled Nursing Facility for the elderly-our health care build ing which is very near completion on the Pensacola Highway, has been trans formed on the planning board into a multi-functioned unit encompassing a 24-bed acute care hospital, a 26-bed exten BURNSVILLE, N.JX 28714 ded care facility, a fully equipped emergency room, laboratory and X-ray depart ment. On October 1,1977, target date for the opening of the Burnsville facility of the Blue Ridge Hospital System, the doors will open to patients who need hospital care. And the doctors and staff of the present Yancey Hospital will be there to take care of them. Only a few short weeks ago the future of health care in Yancey County was bleak. Proponents of the health care merger between Burnsville and Spruce Pine, which took place almost six years ago giving birth to the Blue Ridge Hospital System, said that this area was privileged to be part of a pilot project unique in North Carolina. The expan sion/construction program that Mitchell and Yancey County were embarked upon showed “progressive medical care thinking,” they said. Most Yancey citizens, how ever, including the local doctors, could not see beyond one hard fact: Yancey County Tobacco Tour For Yancey Growers The Agricultural Exten sion Service will be conduct ing a Research on Wheels Tobacco Tour next week, according to County Exten sion Chairman W.C. Bledsoe. It will begin in Pilot Moun tain, N.C. on Monday and end at Waynesville Wednesday afternoon. A number of experimental tobacco plot cooperators will be recognized for their work at a Banquet in Boone, 8:00 p.m. August 30, Bledsoe commented. The following day, Wed nesday, August 31, the tout will visit the farm of Lawrence Grindstaff at 9:20 a.m. Mr. Grindstaff’s research plot is a classical example of the part that variety, rotation and multi-purpose chemicals can play in a tobacco disease situation. “We cordially invite all Yancey tobacco growers to join the tour at Mr. Grind staffs and continue with us to a farm in Madison before lunch in Asheville (free)”, Bledsoe continued. “I believe our growers can benefit from the afternoon program which covers the tobacco research work at the Waynesville research station.” he added. Those planning to attend was losing its hospital, and in its place, Burnsville Extended Care Facility, a nursing home, was to be Yancey County’s ‘piece of the action’ within’ the Blue Ridge Hospital System. Yancey doctors, especial ly, staged a prolonged fight for a hospital, stating that Yancey Hospital-which could no longer operate when the new facility opened-had pro ven time and again that this county has a need which will not be filled by additional beds in another hospital 15 miles away. The fight had seemed futile; the plans remained unchanged. Yancey Countians were lulled, during recent years, by lack of news about the health care arrangements, but in the fall of 1976 a large group of concerned citizens met with local doctors. They had just been galvanized into action by the imminent closing of Yancey Hospital, and wanted to see what they could do to keep a hospital here. The answer was....nothing. It seemed the plans set in should call the Agricultural Extension Office to make reservation for lunch, 682- 6186. ★ ★ Cattle Sale Set Graded cattle sales, spon sored by the Agricultural Extension Service, the State Department of Agriculture, and North Carolina Cattle mens’ Association, will soon be underway. It is estimated that in excess of 20,000 yearling steers and 24,000 feeder calves will be con signed throughout the state. Yearling Steer Sale dates at the WNC Livestock Market in Asheville are: September 20, September 27, and October 18. Feeder Calf sales will be held October 4 and November 1. All sales are at 10:00 a.m. Cattle are weighed in the previous day. Additional sales are held on other days in nearby towns of Boone and Canton. If you need additional information, please call the Agricultural Extension Office at 682-6186. motion in 1971 were basically unalterable in their inten . lions. The Extended Care , Facility in Burnsville was set v to open sometime in 1977. Yancey County had already been given an emergency treatment area over and above initial nursing home plans, and this, with six “observation” beds in the ER, had to be enough. Local doctors had a choice of admitting patients to Spruce Pine Hospital and driving there to see them, thereby cutting office hours down or out; or turning their patients over to the Spruce Pine doctors to treat while in the hospital there. At this point, the Yancey County Chamber of Com merce became involved. Feel ing that a local hospital facility was a strong selli|ig point in bringing business and industry to Yancey County, and knowing that Yancey County could not bring in new doctors without a hospital here and might very well lose some of the doctors who have been serving this area for many years; the Board deci ded it would be in the best interests of the citizens for * lIT JMbI " iiifl Yancey County Little League field was completed recently at Lincoln Park. The project, which waa begun by the £mnty almost one year ago, was completed with tfae help of the Town THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1977 them to work toward retaining a hospital facility locally. After writing to hospital authorities in Raleigh and to Mr. Don Carlisle, Adminis trator of the Blue Ridge Hospital System, to find out just what the situation was in regard to plans for health care in Yancey County, the Cham ber Board of Directors met late in July, 1977, with Mr. Carlisle and stated their determination to work for the assignment of hospital beds in the Extended Care Facility. During the nearly two hours of discussion, Mr. Carlisle proposed a plan for Spruce Pine Hospital to give up 18 of its assigned hospital beds to the Burnsville Unit. These beds, combined with the six ER beds which we already had, would bring to Yancey County 24 acute-care hospital beds. That number of exten ded care beds would simply be eliminated, said Mr. Carlisle. The Administrator went on to say that although the reassignment of beds would simply not have been possible even six months ago, recent legislation which held Medi [Cont’d on page 2] j Permit Required Hunters Can Park J On Some Overlooks Joe Brown, Superinten dent of the Blue Ridge Parkway, reminded sports men recently that certain Parkway overlooks may be used for hunter parking during the hunting seasons on Pisgah Game Lands in Wes tern North Carolina. “Hunter parking will be permitted in most Parkway overlooks from Buck Creek Gap, milepost 344.1, to Richland Balsam, milepost 431.0,” stated Brown. “All overlooks where hunter park ing is not permitted will be signed accordingly.” Hunters wishing to use these designated Parkway overlooks to gain access to Game Lands must secure a special Hunter Parking Per mit. These permits may be obtained at Parkway Head quarters in the Northwestern Bank Building in downtown ID Wanted The Buncombe County Sheriff's Department and the State Bureau of Investigation has requested help on a current investigation. On August 16, 1977 the skeletal remains of a human body was found at the head of Sugar Creek near a ridge known as “Old Frosty” in the Barnardsville section of Buncombe County. Examination of the remains in the state laboratory have determined them to be that of an approximate 50 year old or older negro male approximately 6’ in height. The teeth were in poor condition with the top front 4 teeth missing. This person at time of death was wearing a 17-34 light colored long sleeved shirt with 2 button cuffs, a pair of K-Mart brand polyester and cotton med. blue pants, size 36, and black smooth toe leather lace-up shoes size 10 to 11. No identification was found on the body but bills and coins were found in the wallet with the latest date being 1975. No evidence of any foul play has been uncovered to this date, however identification of these remains are vitally needed so the investigation can continue. If you know of anyone fitting this description who has been missing within the past 2 years please contact the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department 254-9751. Your information will be held in strict confidence. Os Burnsville and WAMI Sommer Yooth Program. Foods wet» provided through several different federal grants. It 15' Asheville, from park rangers and the South District Office of the Parkway at Oteen, add from the Pisgah Foreit District Ranger’s Office near Brevard, North Carolina. ♦: Permits must be in person by each hunter! Np mail or telephone requests will be accepted. “We wffl begin issuing permits on September 1,” said Mr. Brown. “Each hunter using tfqp overlooks for parking mu{t carry his permit on hip person. We will provide a special identification sticker for each vehicle as we did last year,” concluded Brown. Those desiring further information concerning thjs hunter parking prograib should contact the District Ranger’s Office (258-2850, extension 701) or Headquar ters Ranger personnel (255- 2850, extension 760).