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VOL. 5, NO. 47
Schneiders , Gudger Visit
BY CAROLYN YUZIUK
Greg Schneiders, Presi
dent Carter’s Aide, who said
he was here as Carter’s
personal representative, as
sessed the damages in flood
tom Yancey County on
Monday, November 14. Ac
companied by U.S.Congress
man lamar Gudger, the men
flew over the Pensacola area,
one of the hardest hit, before
setting down at Mountain
Heritage High School. They
then drove to the county’s
Disaster Relief Center at Cane
River Middle School.
Schneiders, who is a close
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Photo by Jody Higgins
Radio Patrol Carries Mrs. Lillian Hackett To Safety
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Mrs. Elmer Day Had Been 111 And Isolated Before Radio Patrol Arrived
President Carter To Get First-Hand Report
friend of the President, and
Gudger talked personally with
Yancey County Commissioner
Carl Carter and other Yancey
County people including
county newsman Ed Yuziuk,
before ‘addressing over 200
people in the Cane River gym.
Schneiders told them,
“The President has a person
al interest in this situation and
wants me to report back to
him. We hope we can do
something to take care of your
needs. What we need to know
is how the Federal govern
ment can best assist you.”
He urged people to “be
BURNSVILLE, N.C. 28714
aggressive” about reporting
flood losses. "It’s your tax
dollars being put to use,” he
said.
With Schneiders and Gud
ger on the tour were David
Britt, state coordinating offi
cer; Herb Temple, represen
tative from the Defense Civil
Preparedness Agency; and
Joe Winkle, Federal disaster
relief coordinator who has
stated that Yancey County is
the hardest hit county in the
disaster area.
Congressman Gudger said
that he hoped citizens with
flood ldsses will not feel
ashamed to seek assistance
from any of the emergency
centers set up over the
District.
“I know how proud
mountain people can be,” the
Congressman said, “but this
is not a hand-out. It isn’t
welfare. It is assistance
supported by your tax money,
set aside for just such
emergencies.
“Citizens who qualify for
casualty loss tax refund can
receive immediate refund of
income taxes they have
already paid in, rather than
having to wait until April 15 to
apply for refund at that time.
Persons who have lost homes
Schools Stay Closed
Until November 28
All Yancey County schools
will remain closed until the
Monday after Thanksgiving,
November 28, according to Ed
Hunter, Yancey County Sup
erintendent of Schools. “We
will make up some of this time
by shortening the Christmas
holidays,” he said.
At the present time school
buses could only make about
25% of the bus routes.
Hopefully in two weeks time
more of the roads will be in
Radio Patrol
Evacuates Aged
BY JODY HIGGINS
“I’ve been here since 1925
and there’s never been
anything like this,’.’ said
85-year-old Percy Threadgill
as he waited on Rocky Fork
Road for members of the
Radio Patrol Emergency Ser
vice to bring his sister and
brother, Lillian Hackett and
Henry Threadgill, out of
isolated Cattail Creek Com
\munity Tuesday by stretcher.
Mrs. Elmer Day, a 76-year
old Cattail resident with a
heart condition was first to
be carried out through <
rushing creek and up a steep,
wooded embankment in the
five-hour operation to evacu-
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1977
will be provided with tempor
ary housing and will be
eligible for loans to rebuild!
Congressman Gudger said
the funds and services are
available not just for poor and
disabled persons, but for all
eligible citizens of the coun
ties listed for disaster assis
tance.
“We encourage our moun
tain people to take advantage
of this disaster relief pro
gram,” Gudger said, “and
not to look on it as a handout
or dole, which it is not. It is a
program whereby taxpayers
can get back on their feet after
suffering losses which no
[Cont’d on page 8]
acceptable condition for the
buses to travel.
The Superintendent added
that he hopes to have
Clearmont Elementary School
repaired so that those stu
dents can also return by the
28th. An inspection team from
HEW will visit the school
Wednesday, November 23
and major repairs will start
immediately thereafter.
Federal aid will be avail
able to help with the cost.
ate four elderly residents of
this community of vacation
homes. Except for about 20
people, the usual summer
population, some 150 families
had already abandoned Cat
tail for the winter months.
Tlje Pensacola section,
heavily damaged by the
November 6 flooding, was left
without electricity, telephones
and roads and bridges for
several days. Cattail was one
area that was inaccessible by
vehicle as bridges were
destroyed and roads became
creeks and rocky river beds.
Fred Ewing, who was ill,
and his wife, had been taken
out of Cattail the previous day
by helicopter. These remain
ing four residents who were
elderly or in ill health had
been waiting for promised
helicopter evacuation for se
veral hours, when four Radio
Patrol members walked the
one mile into Cattail that was
inaccessible by vehicle to
inform them that if they
wanted to leave they would
have to walk out or be carried
out by stretcher because the
helicopter could only be
brought back into Cattail for
an extreme emergency.
“Cold weather and possi
ble rain or snow is moving in
tonight, and we need to get
these older people out who
are in bad health and don’t
have heat, electricity or
communication with the out
side,” Keith Presnell of the
Radio Patrol explained. If the
weather gets worse it might
make it harder or impossible
to get them out tomorrow or in
the next few days.”
It was a long five hours for
the four Cattail residents and
Radio Patrol members Pres
nell, Bill Beaver. Mike Prick
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front’d nn n*on 101
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Clyde Mclntoxh. Gudger. Schneider* And Yuziuk
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Carl Carter, Joe Meyers Os Civil Defense, David Britt
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Rep. Gudger Speaks To Citizens At Cane River Disaster Center
Ili
HUD Team Arrives
BY JODY HIGGINS
Monday afternoon Tom
Musgrove of the General
Services Administration and
Grady Roberts of the Housing
and Urban Development
Team met with County
officials to arrange housing
and offices for 40 to 50 HUD
disaster team members who
will be coming to Yancey
County *s process applica
tions for the HUD program.
Roberts explained that the
small group presently operat
ing out of Cane River Middle
School is only the beginning
of the operation.
Musgrove made arrange
ments with the County and
the Blue Ridge Hospital
System to take over the old here for three months at th» f '*J§j
Yancey Hospital building. minimum and possibly for a£. ti
HUD will begin operating out year," Roberts said. “We.'
of that facility almost imme- have one major concern rgh£ 4m
diately, now; to -find housing, '»& p
"HUD will be operating [Coat’d on page 12]
«** *XWhh I k.
: Fatal Accident Here; •
' A Bakersville woman,
Dorothy Woody, 36, became
♦he first victim of Sunday’s
! flooding in Yancey County at
7:10 Monday night, Novem
: ber 14, when the jeep she was
5 driving north on NC 197 near
the Brush Creek intersection
‘ went off the edge of a road
1 . damaged by the flood. As she
I lost control of the vehicle, it
15 c
- ..
went across the left side of tln| f!
road and overturned into Bhl J ]
Toe River. , JT J '
The driver was thrown / ]
from the vehicle and the body '