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vTo be a voice, and to allow the voices of our community to be heard.v Jan. 5, 2012 W Vol. 2, No. 1

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By Jonathan AustinYancey County News

Generations of mountain residents my recall public service announcements for the Consumer Credit Service of WNC, an agency dedicated to helping people get out of the hole created by debt or poor credit. What many may not realize is that the non-profit still exists, just with a new name.

The non-profit goes by the name OnTrack WNC, and its mission continues to be helping people overcome financial problems. “We are the consumer advocate for everyone in Yancey County” and the rest of the region, said

Chris Berthiaume, an OnTrack foreclosure prevention loan counselor.

OnTrack has scheduled three foreclosure prevention workshops in Burnsville this winter “for Yancey County homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages after they’ve lost their jobs or experienced other temporary hardships.”

Berthiaume said the agency can help residents apply for assistance through the N.C. Housing Finance Agency Foreclosure Prevention Fund. The purpose of the fund is to help people in high unemployment counties stay in their homes. The fund will make

mortgage payments for qualified unemployed workers while they seek jobs or complete job training in a new field. Others, who through no fault of their own, have gotten behind on their mortgage payments because of divorce, illness or other temporary hardship, may qualify for help while they seek jobs to get back on their feet.

“A lot of folks are hurting,” Berthiaume said. “ The economy is changing underneath peoples’ feet.” So far, OnTrack has helped six Yancey families access the Foreclosure Prevention Fund, he said.

See Page 7

Real help for those in Yancey facing foreclosure


Melvin and Janice Blevins survived the early morning fire that gutted their Seven Mile Ridge home, but the effects linger.

They linger in the tears that overcome Janice when she glances at the burnt home, or sometimes just when she thinks about it.

They linger in worries about Melvin’s medications, which burned up on Christmas Day.

They linger as an acrid smell in the clothes that - while not burned - were suffused with the chemical smell known too well to anyone who has had a house burn.

“The smoke was so thick and black” Janice recalled when

thinking back to the fire at their High View Trail home.

Shor t ly af ter 6 a .m. on Christmas morning, Janice says she awoke to the heavy smoke that filled the home. She struggled to awaken Melvin, to put on some slippers, to get the two of them out of the burning home.

The home is on land given

to Melvin by his father - with a million dollar view of the Black Brothers mountain range.

The couple had recently spent thousands of dollars on home renovations, including a new high-tech metal roof. They say they had talked about getting some fire insurance, but hadn’t.

See 4

Melvin Blevins stands in the charred interior of his High View Trail home this week surveying the damage from a Christmas morning blaze that destroyed all his belongings. At right, items sit on a kitchen shelf stained with greasy smoke residue. Melvin and his wife, Janice, say they’ve tried to salvage belongings from the home but no matter how hard they clean, they can’t get rid of the odor of the blaze.

Jonathan Austin/Yancey County News

Letter writer questions arrest of local mother

Fewer unemployed, but where are jobs?

Using fire to improve wildlife

Look inside for...

2 Jan. 5, 2012 • yanCEy COUnTy nEWS

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WE TAKE CREDIT CARDS.

By Dee ShoreWhen it comes to lessening the effects of

water pollution, residential and commercial rain gardens are becoming increasingly popular in North Carolina, thanks in large part to N.C. State University and its Cooperative Extension Service.

Rain gardens are shallow depressions in the ground that capture runoff from driveways, parking lots and roofs, allowing the water to soak into the ground. That prevents erosion and also keeps potential pollutants out of streams and other water bodies.

In the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Biological and Agricultural Engineering specialist Bill Hunt has led the way in research related to rain gardens, also known as bioretention basins or cells, and he teaches and consults with students and professional engineers and developers interested in learning about them.

Also, Horticultural Science faculty members Anne Spafford and Helen Kraus wrote Rain Gardening in the South, an award-winning book that translates Hunt’s research into an easy-to-follow gardeners’ guide for home landscape rain garden installation.

Together, Hunt, Spafford and Kraus are conducting research to quantify rain gardens’ effectiveness in pollution remediation, to broaden the palette of plant recommendations for rain gardens and to design beautiful and effective rain gardens for commercial and residential sites.

Meanwhile, N.C. Cooperative Extension agents across the state have spread the word about rain gardens’ environmental benefits and helped homeowners, businesses, schools and other organizations develop them. With Hunt’s support, four agents also offer the nation’s first rain garden certification programs for landscapers. Hundreds of people across the

state have attended the class and passed the end-of-course exam.

E d u c a t i o n a l publ ica t ions tha t E x t e n s i o n h a s posted on the web (http://go.ncsu.edu/raingarden) explain how rain gardens work: Plants, mulch and soil combine to filter pollutants from runoff and break them down in the soil over time, returning cleaner water through the ground to nearby streams. Rain gardens also reduce flooding and provide habitat for insects and wildlife.

Wend i Har tup , a natural resources agen t in Forsy th County, has been one of Cooperative Extension’s leading advocate for rain gardens in North Carolina and the Southeast. She conducts regular rain garden workshops, and she consults with individuals, communities and organizations needing help with designing their gardens, choosing the right site and selecting drought-tolerant plants that can also survive being inundated with water for up to 24 hours. Working in partnership with the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District, she has helped groups find funding for 30 rain gardens.

Recently Hartup compiled statistics about Extension’s statewide 2010-11 rain garden education efforts, which resulted in at least

33 rain garden installations treating nearly 120,000 square feet of impervious surfaces and removing hundreds of pounds of potentially polluting nitrogen and phosphorus from stormwater.

While most rain gardens are small, backyard projects of 100 to 200 square feet, Hartup has led installations of projects of up to 5,000 square feet. Those larger projects at public sites – including a school, a fair ground and a city park – have been accomplished with grants and donations from Cooperative Extension, Lowes Home Improvement, the Soil and Water Conservation District, the Farm Bureau and others.

Extension’s Watershed Education for Communities and Officials program has been involved in several rain garden projects. Here, alexandra Cousteau (center) joins WECO’s Christy Perrin and Patrick Beggs at a ribbon cutting for a school rain garden in Wake County.

Extension agents focus on rain gardens

Jan. 5, 2012 • yanCEy COUnTy nEWS 3

Opinion/Outlooks

WHO WE AREThe Yancey County News is the only independent

newspaper in Yancey County. It is owned, operated and published by

Susan Austin ........ Advertising/PublisherJonathan Austin ........... Editor/Publisher

who are the sole participants and members of

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Burnsville, NC 28714

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The Yancey County News (USPS publication No. 3528) is published weekly - every Thursday - for $25 per year in Yancey County, $35 per year out of county. Published by Yancey County News LLC, Periodicals postage paid at Burnsville, NC.

Postmaster: Send address changes to: Yancey County News, 132 W. Main St., Burnsville, NC 28714

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To be a voice, and to allow the voices of our community to be heard.

By Rob Schofield nC Policy Watch

According to the folks on Right-wing Avenue, there really aren’t many (if any) poor people in North Carolina. You know this rap – it’s the one in which comfortable pontificators in Washington and Raleigh confidently inform us that a family can’t be “poor” if its members have access to luxuries like a bathroom, an oven and a telephone.

Of course, anyone with a pair of eyes and a modicum of common sense knows this is baloney. Laying aside the fact that there are obviously thousands of homeless men, women and children who lack even these lavish extravagances, the hard and undeniable truth is that there are hundreds of thousands of people in this state who have a place to get in out of the cold but who still subsist on incomes that are well-below below the marker known as the “federal poverty line” (around $22,000 per year for a family of four). A large percentage of these people are children. Many others are working adults.

Think about that number for a minute. Imagine trying to put together a budget in which four survive on the munificent sum of $424 per week. Mind you, that is an amount at which the federal government says they would not be “poor.”

Now, think about the following, courtesy of the researchers at the N.C. Budget and Tax Center:

Nearly 1 in 5 North Carolinians lived in poverty in 2010. That is roughly the same percent of the state’s population that was struggling with economic hardship in 1969.

Approximately 1 in 4 African-Americans and 1 in 3 Latinos lived in poverty.

Job loss, high unemployment and low earnings combined with underinvestment in the institutions that support opportunity are driving economic hardship in communities across the state. African-Americans, for example, in 2010 had a joblessness rate of 17.4 percent – nearly 7 percentage points above the state average of 10.5 percent for that year.

High and persistent poverty impacts families and their communities. For children especially, growing up in poverty has lifetime consequences. In North Carolina, 40.2 percent of African American children and 42.6 percent of Latino children lived in poverty.

Educational achievement suffers in these conditions of economic hardship and underinvestment. For every five students in North Carolina who enter high school, four years later only four of them graduated. For Latinos the graduation rate after four years is 68.8 percent and for African-American students the graduation rate is 71.5 percent.

Poverty impacts not only quality of life but also longevity. The average African-American in North Carolina lives 6.5 fewer years than the average white North Carolinian.

The need for myth-bustingAh, but what about all those amazing

freebies that the poor receive? You know: all that fabulous “welfare” swag – things like food stamps and housing and health care subsidies. That’s takes big bite out of the number, right?

Well, actually no, it doesn’t. Sure, public safety net programs are important and do make a critical difference. But they do not for the most part lift people out of poverty – especially given the inadequacy of the official poverty level itself. A mound of recent Census Bureau analysis confirms this.

No, the cold, hard truth is that no matter how one manipulates the numbers, the ranks of poor people have been swelling dramatically.

Of course, some people will never be convinced by the data. They’ll dredge up anecdotes about low-income individuals who have made poor choices with respect to their education or their jobs or their personal relationships (as if people of means never followed such paths). Then they’ll claim that most low-income people are secretly raking in all kinds of under-the-table income that isn’t reflected in the statistics (though they never really explain where it comes from) or dishonestly signing their children up for exciting perks like reduced-price school

lunches.These myths can, of course, be readily

dispelled in most communities by a simple trip to a struggling neighborhood, social service office, women’s shelter or urban house of worship. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons (fear, sloth, the presence of ideological blinders) most people will not make these trips.

The Truth and Hope TourThis week in a sincere effort to respond to

the stubborn and widespread unwillingness in our society to confront and see the poverty all around us, advocates at the state NAACP, the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity and the N.C. Justice Center announced a new effort to shine a bright light on the issue. They’re calling it the “Truth and Hope Tour of Poverty in North Carolina.”

Here’s how the Rev. William Barber of the NAACP described the objective of the effort, which will begin this week:

“We want to shine the light of truth on the conditions of poverty and despair in North Carolina. We have faith there are leaders in our government, our media, our churches, and our schools who believe in the North Carolina Constitution’s clear mandate that our ‘Government is instituted solely for the good of the whole.’ When our leaders act on that belief, a tidal wave of hope can come right behind the tornadoes of economic despair, creating a powerful new wave of economic and spiritual investment in Eastern North Carolina.”

Professor Gene Nichol, head of the UNC Poverty Center, put it this way:

“The scourge of poverty in North Carolina is both our largest policy challenge and our greatest sin against constitutional principle. We seek to shine a light through this tour on the huge gap between our words and our deeds.”

In short, Barber, Nichol and their allies have decided to call the bluff of right-wing ideologues.

It is a welcome and sadly necessary development.

Shining a light on one of North Carolina dirtiest secrets

Is it possible that Yancey County DSS would use their position for a personal vendetta? There is a woman here in Yancey that was accused of criminal sex abuse on her own children. She jumped through hoops for several months to prove otherwise. Drug tests and psychological exams were administered, at her expense, on numerous occasions. She passed all tests. Finally, Buncombe DSS was brought in. They found her innocent of the abuse charges. All ends happily every after ... NOT.

The first week of December she got home from work to find Burnsville Police and DSS at her residence, wanting to search. They did not have a warrant. Her home is not located in the town limits. They tore her house apart and left. Two weeks later she

was arrested and charged with manufacturing marijuana and manufacture of meth.

My experience had been that when an arrest of this nature is made, the local law jumps on the nearest stump, beat their chest and declare themselves to be the supreme potentate. In this case nothing was made public. Also, anyone present is usually charged with all counts of said arrest. In this case, her husband was released on misdemeanor charges. Is that because he has a relative working at DSS?

The mother’s bond was set higher than that for most murder suspects. A bond reduction hearing was scheduled for the Tuesday before Christmas. No one showed up; no attorney (got to do business here, you know), no arresting officer. She got to spend Christmas in jail. How

would you feel about that?The same people keep

getting arrested here in Yancey for a few pills. The law needs to GO TO WORK and arrest the people who are really responsible for bringing drugs into our county. I have seen things like this written about in the paper, and nothing ever happens. People have become so apathetic. They say ‘It’s not my problem.’ It will become your problem when they kick your door in and charge you with something you didn’t do. DSS and the law need to remember they are supposed to serve and protect; not to falsely accuse and imprison citizens. I call for an investigation into the practices of DSS and the Burnsville Police Department.

Name withheld for obvious reasons

Tired of heavy-handed police and social services


ObituariesAaron Martin Briggs

Aaron Martin Briggs, 27, of Micaville, passed away Sunday, January 1, 2012, at his home.

A native of Yancey County, he was a son of the late Martin Briggs. Aaron was the light of his family’s lives that went out too early. He was loved by his family and now is talking with his Dad, for whom he grieved, until his death. Aaron was a member of Claymound Baptist Church.

Surviving are his mother: Anita Chrisawn Briggs Buchanan and her husband, Steve, of Burnsville; two sisters: Alicia Kim Briggs of Barnardsville and Amber Briggs Nunes and husband, Matthew; and a nephew: Matthew Martin (Little Man) Nunes, all of Burnsville; maternal grandparents: Chuck and Joan Chrisawn of Micaville; paternal grandparents: Robert and Molly Briggs of Green Mountain; his girlfriend: Taylor Edwards of Burnsville; two aunts: Amanda McCurry of Green Mountain and Nancy Williams and husband, Brian, of Newdale; and, three uncles: Tommy Chrisawn and wife, Melissa, and Michael Chrisawn both of Micaville, and Jerry Briggs of Green Mountain.

Funeral services will be held at 8 p.m. Friday in the Chapel of Holcombe Brothers Funeral Home. The Revs. David Garland and Roger Hilemon will officiate. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Double Island Baptist Church Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m. Friday prior to the service at the funeral home. At other times the family will be at the home of Chuck and Joan Chrisawn, 340 Double Island Road.

James Lee Owen

James Lee ”Jim” Owens, 68, of Burnsville, passed away Saturday, December 31, 2011, at St. Joseph Hospital.

A native of Yancey County, he was the son of Effie Ogle Silvers of Burnsville and the late, John Silvers.

He and his wife, Katherine, his best buddy, were married for 44 years. A loving father of, Kimberly Hensley and husband Dale of Oxford, James Owens and wife, Holly of Burnsville, Theressa Owens of Raleigh, and special son Dustin Proffitt. The love of his life were his grandchildren, John and Lillie Hensley and Landon Owens.

Surviving are sisters, Phyliss DeLorme and husband, Lee of Eugene Oregon, and DeLois Hall, brothers, Donald Joe Owens and wife Ina Dean, Doug Silvers and wife Bonnie all of Burnsville, and brother John David Silvers, of Columbia, S.C., brothers-in law, Euranious Robinson and wife Willa Dean and Alton Robinson and wife, Jane, sisters-in-law, Gladys Giles and husband, John, Lola Stanley, Georgia Daigler and husband, Joe, and Wanda Proffitt and husband Bob. Numerous nieces and nephews who each was loved in their

special way.J i m w o r k e d f o r F r o n t i e r

Telecommunications and predecessors for 44 years. A faithful and involved member of Bolens Creek Baptist Church, he served as deacon, trustee, Sunday School superintendent and choir member. He ministered at Brookside Rehabilitation and Care for over 20 years.

Funeral service was Tuesday in Bolens Creek Baptist Church with Dr. Chris Morgan and Niles Howell officiating. Burial followed in the Miller Cemetery on Bolens Creek.

Donations may be made to M-Y Meds, P. O. Box 892, Spruce Pine, NC 28777.

Lane Harris

Lane Harris, 72, of Burnsville, passed away Saturday, December 31, 2011, at Brookside Rehab and Care.

A native of Yancey county, he was the son of the late Sol and Lena Penland Harris. He was also preceded in death by brothers: Harold and Charles Harris; sisters: Marjorie Taylor and Lois Hensley. He was a member of the Bolens Creek Baptist Church.

Surviving are a daughter: Lisa Harris of Asheville; a sister: Vernell Evans of Burnsville, and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral service was Tuesday in the Chapel of Holcombe Brothers Funeral Home. Niles Howell officiated. Burial was in the Carroway Cemetery.

Bobby Lee Huskins

Bobby Lee “Crewcut” Huskins, 64, of Pinehawk Mountain, Spruce Pine, died unexpectedly Sunday, January 1, 2012.

A native of Mitchell County, he was a son of the late George Avery and Marie Huskins. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by a sister, Linda Silver and a brother, George A. Huskins Jr; a close friend and fellow trucker, Jennings “Lil’ J” Hefner.

Bobby loved his Lord and Savior and was unconditionally devoted to his family. He will truly be missed by his family and his close friend and fellow trucker, Richard “Outlaw” Riddle.

He is survived by his loving wife of nearly 44 years, Eddie Jo Self Huskins; two daughters: Denita H. Wyatt and husband, John, of Marion and Kimberly H. Harmon and husband, Mike, of Boone; one son, Eddie A. Huskins, and wife, Jamie, of Spruce Pine; three sisters: Carolyn Silver and husband, Dean, of Marion, Sabra Jones and husband, James, of Spruce Pine and Betty Hughes and husband, Johnny, of Burnsville; two brothers: Ronald Huskins and wife, Wanda, of Tennessee and Jimmy Huskins and wife, Connie, of Bakersville; sisters-in-law, Hazel Huskins of Micaville and Marlene McKinney and her friend Larry Sprank; ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild; several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his family of Faith Baptist Church of Cane Creek in Bakersville and his two special dogs, Dixie

and Lil’ Man.Funeral was Wednesday in the Chapel

of Yancey Funeral Service. The Rev. Tim Watson and Rev. Matthew Mills officiated. Interment followed in the Crabtree Chapel Cemetery.

Wilma Letterman Frey

Wilma Letterman Frey, of Morganton, died Tuesday, January 3, 2012, at Valdese Hospital. A native of Yancey County, she was born August 17, 1941, to the late Andrew and Edith Harding Letterman. She was also preceded in death by a brother, Wade Letterman; two infant brothers and one infant sister.

Surviving are her daughter, Michelle Frey of the home; son, Jesse Frey and Connie of Morganton; two granddaughters: Jennifer Writer of Mount Wolf, Penn., and Shannon Boyer of Interlachen, Fla.; two grandsons: Rusty Hartman of York, Penn. ,and Jordan Gibson of Morganton; sister, Barbara Palmisano of Penn.; five brothers: Dewitt Letterman and Danny Letterman and wife, Revonda, all of Marion, David Letterman and wife, Ginger, Tommy Letterman and wife, Elizabeth and Johnny Letterman and wife, Mildred, all of Burnsville. Several nieces and nephews also survive. Wilma was loved by all who knew her.

Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 7, at Plum Branch Baptist Church. The family will receive friends in the fellowship hall following the services.

Memorial donations may be made in Wilma’s memory to Cancer Care of WNC at 445 Biltmore Ave, Ste 100, Asheville, NC 28801.

Bryan Keith Woody Bryan Keith Woody, 52, of the Cane

Creek Community of Bakersville passed away January 1, 2012. He was born in Mitchell County and was the owner of Woody Lumber Company. He was a Member of Cane Creek Baptist Church.

Survivors include: his wife, Kathy Woody, father, Delaney Woody of Bakersville, mother, Helen G. Woody of Florida; daughter, Jennifer Woody Sparks and husband, Michael Sparks, of Bakersville, grandchildren, Dylan Woody, Luke Sparks, sisters, Cindy Woody of Bakersville, Tracy Woody of Chapel Hill, brother, Greg Woody of Spruce Pine.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Roe and Ina Woody.

Funeral service was Wednesday at Roan Mountain Baptist Church on Cane Creek Road, Bakersville. Mark McKinney and Mike Rathbone officiated. Interment was Thursday at Cane Creek Cemetery.

Donations may be made to the family in care of Kathy Woody, PO Box 733, Bakersville, NC, 28705.


Things to doHere is a list of public events scheduled at UNC Asheville through January 22. Some events may be listed under more than one category.

ART

January 7 – February 8 – New exhibit, “Perception” – Annual juried exhibition by members of ArtFront, UNC Asheville’s student art organization. Works in two and three dimensions in different media as well as photographs. Free and open to the public daily at UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Gallery. Info: cesap.unca.edu/calendar or 828/251-6991

January 9 - February 28 – New exhibition, “Caprice,” by Vasi ly Polevoy – “Caprice,” an exhibition of mixed media pieces from Russian artist Vasily Polevoy, through February 28 at UNC Asheville’s Blowers Gallery in Ramsey Library. Free and open to the public daily with some evening viewing hours. Info: 828/251-6436.

January 13 - February 3 – Art Opening and Lecture: 3rd Annual Drawing Discourse Exhibition – Jerome Witkin, prominent Amer ican f igura t ive artist, lectures from 5-6 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. The 3rd Annual Drawing Discourse Exhibition, juried by Wiktin opens with reception from 6-8 p.m., S. Tucker Cooke Gallery in Owen Hall on campus. Exhibit on view weekdays from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. through Feb. 3. Lecture, reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. Info: art.unca.edu or 828/251-6559.

FILMS

January 17 – Film: “Iron Women of Liberia” – Shown as part of UNC A s h e v i l l e ’s M a r t i n Luther King Jr. Week, “Iron Women of Liberia” profiles Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and women she appointed to key leadership positions. Free and open to the public, 8 p.m. Highsmith

University Union room 143. Info: 828/251-6585

Janua ry 19 – F i lm : “Whatever it Takes” – Shown as part of UNC Asheville’s Martin Luther King Jr. Week, “Whatever it Takes” is a documentary chronicling the struggles and t r i umphs o f an innovative public high school in New York City’s South Bronx. Free and open to the public, 12:30 p.m. Highsmith University Union room 143. Info: 828/251-6585

HEALTH

January 20- Fab Friday with Rheumatologis t Ellison Smith – Dr. Ellison Smith, Rheumatologist and Internist with the Asheville Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center, presents “When Friendly Fire Occurs in our Body,” a talk autoimmune diseases, symptoms, and t reatments . Free and open to the public, 11:30 a.m. at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Lunch available in the Reuter Café; brown bags welcome. Info: unca.edu/ncccr or 828/251-6140.

January 20 & 27 – Medicare Choices Made Easy – Get information about policies from the trained volunteers of the N.C. Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIPP) in two sessions, 2-4 p.m. Jan. 20 and 27, in UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Free and open to the public. Advance registration and info: Sybil French, Council on Aging, 828/277-8288.

LECTURES

January 12 – Asheville Chamber Music Series Pre-Concert Lecture – Focuses on next day’s performance by The American Chamber Players of pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Brahms. Lecture is free and open to the public at 4:15 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Info: Info: unca.edu/ncccr or 828/251-6140.

January 17 – Mart in Luther King Jr. Week Panel Discussion with members of SNCC – Isaac Coleman and Carol Rogoff, members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating C o m m i t t e e , d i s c u s s their work in the civil rights movement and the impact it has had on them. 12:20-1:30 p.m., UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union room 224. Info: 828/232-5024

NOTE TO EDITORS – damali ayo spells her name all lower-case.January 19 – damali ayo: “Are You Ready to Fix Racism? (or are you still pretending it doesn’t exist?) – damali ayo, activist and artist, speaks at 7 p.m. in Lipinsky Auditorium as part of UNC Asheville’s observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Week. Free and open to the public. Info: cesap.unca.edu.

January 19- Celebrating Life in the Mountains: “Native Born” – “How to Create Unique Mountain Landscapes Using Native Plants and Nature-Inspired Garden Elements” – presentation and discussion with horticultural experts. Free and open to the public, 7 p.m. at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Info: unca.edu/ncccr or 828/251-6140.

January 20- Fab Friday with Rheumatologis t Ellison Smith – Dr. Ellison Smith, Rheumatologist and Internist with the Asheville Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center, presents “When Friendly Fire Occurs in our Body,” a talk autoimmune diseases, symptoms, and t reatments . Free and open to the public, 11:30 a.m. at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Lunch available in the Reuter Café; brown bags welcome. Info: unca.edu/ncccr or 828/251-6140.

January 28 – Civil War Lecture – “Rebels and Tories in the Mountains,” by Steven E. Nash; part of series sponsored by WNC Historical Association,

UNC Asheville’s North Caro l ina Cen te r fo r Creative Retirement and the Zebulon Baird Vance Birthplace Historic Site. 2 p.m., UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center. Suggested $5 donation. Info: http://rocky2.unca.edu/ncccr/events/specialevents.html or 828/251-6140.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WEEK EVENTS

January 17 – Mart in Luther King Jr. Week Panel Discussion with members of SNCC – Isaac Coleman and Carol Rogoff, members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating C o m m i t t e e , d i s c u s s their work in the civil rights movement and the impact it has had on them. 12:20-1:30 p.m., UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union room 224. Info: 828/232-5024

January 17 – Film: “Iron Women of Liberia” – Shown as part of UNC A s h e v i l l e ’s M a r t i n Luther King Jr. Week, “Iron Women of Liberia” profiles Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and women she appointed to key leadership positions. Free and open to the public, 8 p.m. Highsmith University Union room 143. Info: 828/251-6585

Janua ry 19 – F i lm : “Whatever it Takes” – Shown as part of UNC Asheville’s Martin Luther King Jr. Week, “Whatever it Takes” is a documentary chronicling the struggles and t r i umphs o f an innovative public high school in New York City’s South Bronx. Free and open to the public, 12:30 p.m. Highsmith University Union room 143. Info: 828/251-6585

January 19 – damali ayo: “Are You Ready to Fix Racism? (or are you still pretending it doesn’t exist?) – damali ayo, activist and artist, speaks at 7 p.m. in Lipinsky Auditorium as part of UNC Asheville’s observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. week. Free and open to the public. Info: cesap.unca.edu.

MUSICJanuary 12 – Asheville

Chamber Music Series Pre-Concert Lecture – Focuses on next day’s performance by The American Chamber Players of pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Brahms. Lecture is free and open to the public at 4:15 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Info: Info: unca.edu/ncccr or 828/251-6140.

J anua ry 18 - P i an i s t K i m b e r l y C a n n i n Concert – Free and open to the public, 12:45 p.m., Lipinsky Auditorium. Info: 828/251-6432.

NORTH CAROLINA CENTER FOR CREATIVE RETIREMENT

January 12 – Asheville Chamber Music Series Pre-Concert Lecture – Focuses on next day’s performance by The American Chamber Players of pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Brahms. Lecture is free and open to the public at 4:15 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Info: Info: unca.edu/ncccr or 828/251-6140.

January 19- Celebrating Life in the Mountains: “Native Born” – “How to Create Unique Mountain Landscapes Using Native Plants and Nature-Inspired Garden Elements” – presentation and discussion with horticultural experts. Free and open to the public, 7 p.m. at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Info: unca.edu/ncccr or 828/251-6140.January 20- Fab Friday with Rheumatologis t Ellison Smith – Dr. Ellison Smith, Rheumatologist and Internist with the Asheville Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center, presents “When Friendly Fire Occurs in our Body,” a talk autoimmune diseases, symptoms, and treatments. Free, 11:30 a.m. at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, home of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. Lunch available in the Reuter Café.


UARA Racing

By Wink BodenhamerK y l e G r i s s o m

began his UARA career at the ripe old age of 15 with three races in 2004 in his pre-rookie season. His first ever UARA r a c e a t H i c k o r y October 2, 2004 was quite impressive with a third place finish. He finished 12th and 4th in the next two events of 2004. It was the beginning of a great relationship with the Grissom family and the UARA.

Grissom hit the grid with the UARA in 2005 with the strong support of his family and a lot of talent behind the wheel. At 16 years of age he came home as the Rookie of the Year. Grissom had one win in his Rookie season. He made that accomplishment at Anderson Speedway. Not only was Grissom Rookie of the Year, he came home with a solid third place in the final point standings.

2006 had Grissom picking up where he left off in 2005. With strength behind the wheel and power under the hood Grissom brought home two wins in 2006 plus he pulled off a repeat in the third position on the final points board.

During 2007 and the first part of 2008 Grissom took a break from the UARA. His

For Sale2002 Jeep Wrangler, new rag top, brakes, tuned

and ready for the road or dirt! Women owned and babied! 4 Cyl., auto 4 x4, 78K Miles, $9,950

OBO. Call 910-620-7365.

In THE GEnERaL COURT OF JUSTICE, yanCEy COUnTy, nORTH CaROLInaSUPERIOR COURT DIVISIOn

administrator / Executor notice

Having qualified as Executor of the estate of Joseph Harold Black of yancey County of North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before 30th day of March 2012 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. all persons indebted to said estate please make immediate payment.

This the 30th day of December 2011

James a. Black32 anderson RoadWeaverville, nC 28787 Jan. 5.12.19.26/, 2012

Grissom stayed at the front of the pack all year long

partial return in 2008 showed he still had the strength and stamina to take on the UARA regulars continually running up in the front pack. Grissom had one win in 2009 and finished seventh in the overall standings. 2010 had Grissom with one win for the season and his third time as the third place finisher in points.

2011 has shown Grissom up with the front pack all season long and one win under his belt. Amazingly Grissom brings home his fourth UARA third place point trophy.

Grissom consistently shows he is a force to be contended with and is repeatedly a driver for the fellow STARS to watch and learn from. It has been a pleasure for the UARA to watch this young man mature both on and off the track.

During his UARA career Grissom has won 6 races. His wins have been at Anderson, Hickory (2), Newport, Dillon and Ace.

He has had 6 Sunoco poles to his credit. His Sunoco Poles have been at Tri County (2), Kingsport (2), Newport and Hickory.

G r i s s o m h a s competed in 91of 157 total UARA events to date.

F o r m o r e information on the UARA, visit them

online at www.uara-stars.com or call (828) 692-3833.

Fans can also follow the series on Twitter (@uarastars) or Facebook (United Auto Racing Association)


Program offers help in foreclosure

A Washington Congress That Works For The

People Not Just For The

Corporations

Cecil Bothwell Candidate for 2012 Democratic Party nomination in North Carolina's

11th United States Congressional District,

Will Host an afternoon Town Hall So Bring Your Toughest Questions and

Join The Conversation.

Burnsville Town Center 2PM-4PM

Saturday, January 14

Create Jobs & Bring Jobs Home

Public Financing For All Political Campaigns End The War On Drugs End Corporate Personhood

NAFTA and CAFTA Are Working against Us , Fix It Or End It End Income Taxes On Wages Below $200,000

Wanted! ..

From the front

“That may not sound like a lot, but when you talk about the impact on people in our own communities,” the ripple effect can be dramatic. “We help them hold on to their assets; hold on to what’s theirs,” Berthiaume said. In rural mountain counties, “what we’re dealing with is family land; land that’s been handed down” across the generations.

Berthiaume said the economy hit hard for “people who were self-employed and people who had worked for manufacturers and industries” that have closed or moved away.

But can OnTrack find a solution to every problem? “Every situation is different,” Berthiaume said. “My job is to help these folks navigate this system to save their house. OnTrak has the highest approval rating in the state, in this program.”

The OnTrack workshops are scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 19; Thursday, Feb. 16; and Thursday, March 15. Each runs from 6 -7:30 p.m. at Higgins United Methodist Church, located at 101 N. Main St.

If approved, assistance is provided as a zero-interest, deferred loan of up to $24,000 or 24 months of mortgage-related payments. In high unemployment counties designated as ‘hardest hit,’ such as Yancey County, the maximum assistance is $36,000 or 36 months. Homeowners will resume making their own mortgage payments at the end of the loan period. If the owner continues to live in the home for 10 years, the loan will be considered satisfied and no repayment will be due.

Workshop preregistration is required. “Once they register they get a mailing that details what they need to bring,” Berthiaume said.

Any financial help “can only be used to pay the mortgage. The money goes to the mortgage holder, it does not go to the consumer,” Berthiaume said. But it can be used to address late fees and penalties that have accrued during the pre-foreclosure process. “This program specifically addresses the main issue at hand - that’s folks that are laid off and facing foreclosure. We solve the problem at hand, then we automatically help with other issues. We (work with the client to) create a plan to solve or address those other issues.” Want to know more?

For information about eligibility and preregistration, homeowners should call OnTrack WNC at 828-255-5166 or 1-800-737-5485 or visit the NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund website at www.ncforeclosureprevention.gov.

The Appalachian Pastel Society will meet Jan. 14 from 10 a.m-noon. After a short meeting, join us for a ”paint-around” in which participants can bring an easel, board, and pastels; WNC Ag Center, Youth Building, Fletcher.

www.appalachianpastelsociety.org or call Miriam Hughes at 610-389-0058.

Girls on the Run of Western North Carolina, a regional non-profit with a mission of inspiring girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running, recently expanded and is now offering programs in Yancey County. Burnsville Elementary school hosted the first Girls on the Run program this Fall for 15 girls. On Saturday December 10th, the girls, their coaches and volunteer Running Buddies travelled to Asheville, NC to participate in the end-of-session 5K (3.1 mile) run. Gillian Gavenus, Burnsville Elementary student & program participant said “I can’t believe I ran a 5K. Girls on the Run really is fun!” Her mom, Suzanne Gavenus, said the program also helped with self confidence and gave Gillian an increased interest in making healthy choices.

Volunteer coaches, like Jodi Antinori, lead the program lessons,

which meet twice a week after school. The coaches who have volunteered at Burnsville Elementary this session were Rebecca Fox, Holly Houchard, Ashley Hudgins, Anne Phillips, and Sharon Randolph. “This is a great program. I think the coaches got as much out of this program as the kids,” said Jodi.

There is a need for volunteer coaches to support continued growth. The program will hopefully be taking place this spring at Burnsville Elementary School and Bald Creek Elementary. Bald Creek Elementary is particularly in need of volunteers. You do not need to be a runner to coach, but a positive, healthy-living advocate willing to volunteer your time over the 12-week session.

For more information about the programs or to volunteer as a coach, please call Amy Sheele at Graham Children’s Health Services at 682-7899 or [email protected].

Want to make a resolution? Resove to share your ideas, complaints, thoughts and musings in 2012 as Letters to the Editor

in the Yancey County News.Email them to Jonathan@yanceycountynews

or mail them to 132 West Main St

Burnsville, NC 28714

Volunteers needed for Girls on the Run Program in Yancey


Michelle Bartlettstylist at The Beauty Alley

208-7788

My January Specials are

$25perm w/cut$35Hilite w/cut$3 Waxing

(Bring this ad in with you!)

Mon-Fri 9-6Sat 9-Noon

‘It’s a New Year,

for a New You!’Yancey County Commissioner Michele Presnell poses for a photograph with N.C. Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, N.C. Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry, and Representative Julia Howard at a reception in Charlotte last month honoring Republican Women Electing Republican Women.


The unemployment rate decreased in Yancey County in November, according to data released Wednesday by the N.C. Department of Commerce.

The rate went down in 74 counties, increased in 20, and remained the same in six.

“Unemployment rates continued to drop across North Carolina in November,” said N.C. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Dale Carroll.

In Yancey County, the November rate was 10.9, down from the October rate of 11.3, Compared to a year ago, the rate was down one-tenth of a percent.

But the drop in the rate doesn’t necessarily mean Yancey is creating jobs.

“Some folks are finding jobs, but they’re not finding them in Yancey,” said Barry Morgan, the Burnsville Employment Security Commission JobLink branch office manager. “There are some jobs, but they’re having to travel. The majority are

having to travel to Asheville area.”None the l e s s , t he d rop i n t he

unemployment rate is good to hear, he said. “In this economy, any drop’s a good thing. it’s a great thing, but I’m hesitant on calling it a trend.”

N o r t h C a r o l i n a ’s s t a t e w i d e unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) was 9.5 percent in November. This was a 0.2 of a percentage point decrease from October’s revised rate of 9.7 percent, and a 0.4 percentage-point decrease over the year.

Orange County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in November, at 5.8 percent. Meanwhile, Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate, at 16.6 percent.

The western county with the highest Unemployment rate in November was Graham, with a rate of 15 percent. The western county with the lowest rate was Polk, with 7.1 percent.

Mitchell County recorded a rate of 10.6 percent. Avery County had a rate of 10.9 percent. McDowell had a rate of 11.9

percent, while recorded a rate of 8.9 percent. Buncombe County had an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent in November, while the Asheville metropolitan area combined had a non-farm unemployment rate of 7.5 percent.

Morgan said some events could help improve the job situation locally. The widening of U.S. 19 to Mars Hill could help. “I hope it brings jobs in. I think it will help the area.”

He said wider roads help with employment because it provides better “access for trucks and for people. It’s positive all the way around”

As residents travel to neighboring counties, they may wonder what is driving apparent economic growth in towns that appear similar to Burnsville. In Black Mountain, for instance, few storefronts are empty and there appears to be a vibrant day and night-time economy.

“Anybody has that opportunity; it just depends on the decisions that are made,” Morgan said. “It just depends on what the population of the area wants.”

Unemployment rate drops in Yancey County

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) will host a series of train-the-trainer workshops designed to prepare N.C. Cooperative Extension employees to better support new farmers. “Bringing New Farmers to the Table: Addressing the Supply Side of the 10 percent Campaign” will be held in five locations, beginning Jan. 19.

The training will focus on support of beginning farmers: land access, capital and credit issues, and business planning. The workshops are part of CEFS’ annual Seasons of Sustainable Agriculture workshop series.

Workshops will run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The regional training will be Jan. 19, at thr Madison County Cooperative Extension Center.

CEFS will facilitate this training focused on making support for beginning farmers an integral part of CEFS’ 10 percent campaign. Instructors (noted on registration form) will use a train the trainer approach to present and discuss some of the top challenges facing beginning farmers in North Carolina.

This training is supported by the Beg inn ing Fa rmer and Ranche r Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The training is

open to all Extension agents, directors and Local Food Coordinators.

Beginning farmers from each district will speak from his/her experience in getting started. CEFS also hopes to include a peer-to-peer opportunity to hear successes from agents who work regularly with beginning farmers.

This project is supported by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Please contact Joanna Lelekacs with any questions: [email protected], or at 919.244.5269.

Workshops will help Extension focus on new farmers


Celo Trails

Electric service available • ample well and septic options • planned access for horse trailers • builder recommendations • deed restrictions

Do you dream of a private Celo vacation site near some of the best riding trails

in the country? A place where a horse is the preferred mode of transportation? A place with a community barn, paddock, and grazing space just steps from your door?

Do you seek life lived harmoniously with the land amid the stunning landscape and

breathtaking views of the Black Bros. range?

Make the dream a reality at Celo Trails, a development of homesites situated

amongst generations-old laurel and hardwoods just an amble away from the South Toe River and its pristine trout waters. Each property is defined not by a surveyor’s grid but by nature. Trails tie the sites together for afternoon rides and socializing, with easy access to the stable, paddock, and managed grazing space.Priced from the mid-50s.

Email: [email protected]

Country Cablevision was honored as the 2011 Business of the Year at the annual membership dinner/meeting of the Yancey County /Burnsville Chamber of Commerce, held at the Burnsville Town Center. In this photograph, Randy Miller is seen accepting the Business of the Year award. Hope Martin was honored as the 2011 Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year. Officers for 2012 were also announced. They are: Barbara Tester, president; Kathy Hogan, vice president; Rita Earley, secretary; and Gerald Presnell, treasurer. Past President is Paul Badgley.

Country Cablevision honored as chamber Business

of the YearT h e M a y l a n d Community College BookWormz group will discuss How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu at the college’s M a i n C a m p u s in Spruce Pine on Friday, January 20, at 2 p.m. Anyone who has read the book or who is interested in the book club is welcome. For more information call 765-7351 x 208.

Mayland book

club to meet

Jan. 20


Do you have great photographs of a memorable family events? An anniversary, birth, graduation or other special moment?

Share them with us and we’ll show the world.And if you just have a great photograph, share that as well to let everyone see your

photographic skills!Email them to Jonathan@yanceycounty news.com

Old Time Timber, Inc.

[email protected] 828-284-1164

Grading contractor • Large or Small Jobs • Septic • Chipping •

Equipped for Most Any Work • Excavating • Tree Removal • Retaining Wall

• Custom Sawmilling

Teachers and principals! Share your good news here, for all to see! Email school news to [email protected]

Food for thought for middle school

BreakfastPancakesCereal

Animal CrackersJuice/Fruit/Milk

LunchHamburger/

Cheeseburger/Pizza Stix/Sunbut’r w/

jelly San’wich/Corn/Carrot Stix/Peaches/Cranberry Crunch/

Milk

Monday, Jan 9 Tues Jan 10 Wed Jan 11 Thurs Jan 12 Friday, Jan 13

BreakfastBreakfast Pizza

CerealAnimal CrackersJuice/Fruit/Milk

LunchTurkey Pie/BBQ Rib S’Wich/Sunbut’R w/jelly San’wich/Baked

Potatoes/Green Beans/Mandarin

Oranges/Pineapple Bits/Milk

BreakfastPancake&Sausage

StickCereal


LunchToastedCheese

S’Wich/Sunbut’R w/jelly San’wich/Veggie Beef Soup/Broccoli/

Fruit/ApplesauceMilk

BreakfastHam Biscuit


LunchBeef Nachos/Ham&Cheese

S’Wich/ Sunbut’R w/jelly San’wich/

Salad/Refried Beans/Fruit/Fruit Cocktail/

Milk

BreakfastSausage Biscuit


LunchHot Dog/Baked

Ham/Mac&Cheese/Cornbread/Sunbut’R w/jelly San’wich/B.Beans/Slaw/Pears/Blueberry Crisp

Milk

What’s to eat at the elementary schools?

BreakfastBreakfast PizzaSausage Biscuit


LunchTurkey Pie/BBQ Rib S’Wich/Chix Tenders/Biscuit/Baked Potatoes/Green Beans/

Mandarin Oranges/Pineapple Bits/

Milk


StickBreakfast Pizza


LunchToastedCheese

S’Wich/Sunbut’R San’wich/Stuffed

Crust Pizza/Veggie Beef Soup/Broccoli/



Breakfast PizzaCereal


LunchBeef Nachos/

Ham&Cheese/ChixQuesadilla/


Milk


PancakesCereal


Lunch Hot Dog/Baked

Ham/Mac&Cheese/Cornbread/Stuffed

Crust Pizza/ B.Beans/Slaw/Pears/

Blueberry CrispMilk


PancakesCereal


LunchHamburger/

Cheeseburger/Pizza Stix w/marinara/ Corn/Carrot Stix/Peaches/Cranberry

Crunch/Milk

BreakfastBreakfast PizzaSausage Biscuit


LunchTurkey Pie/BBQ Rib S’Wich/Chix Tenders/Biscuit/Baked Potatoes/Green Beans/

Mandarin Oranges/Pineapple Bits/

Milk




LunchToastedCheese

S’Wich/Sunbut’R San’wich/Stuffed

Crust Pizza/Veggie Beef Soup/Broccoli/



Breakfast PizzaCereal


LunchBeef Nachos/

Ham&Cheese/ChixQuesadilla/


Milk


PancakesCereal


Lunch Hot Dog/Baked

Ham/Mac&Cheese/Cornbread/Stuffed

Crust Pizza/ B.Beans/Slaw/Pears/

Blueberry CrispMilk


PancakesCereal


LunchHamburger/

Cheeseburger/Pizza Stix w/marinara/ Corn/Carrot Stix/Peaches/Cranberry

Crunch/Milk

Chowing down at Mountain Heritage

Monday, Jan 9 Tuesday, Jan 10 Wed., Jan 11 Thurs Nov Jan 12 Friday, Jan 13

Monday, Jan 9 Tuesday, Jan 10 Wed., Jan 11 Thurs., Jan 12 Friday, Jan 13

Friday, Jan 6



LunchBeef Tacos/Fish

Nuggets/Cornbread/Sunbut’r w/Jelly

San’wich/Salad/Pinto Beans/Pineapple Bits/Mandarin Oranges/Milk





Nuggets/Cornbread/Chix Quesadilla/

Salad/Pinto Beans/Pineapple Bits/

Mandarin Oranges/Milk

Friday, Jan 6





Nuggets/Cornbread/Chix Quesadilla/

Salad/Pinto Beans/Pineapple Bits/

Mandarin Oranges/Milk

Friday, Jan 6


Bill takes a pair of boot out for a try Bogs Footwear is considered a leader in

quality boots. For this reason, when they contacted me to do a review on a set, I jumped at the chance. Being from North Carolina, my hunting areas offer plenty of opportunities for human/snake encounters. Based on that, the Bogs Copperhead snake boots were the logical choice.

Since this is a rubber boot, I felt this would be a good boot to deer hunt in. Rubber boots do not carry scent preventing the chance to leave my human odor on the trail to the tree stand. With the snake boot quality, I was hoping this would also work well for turkey hunting in the spring as well.

According to Bogs, the Copperhead boot “offers a perfect fit that doesn’t need breaking in.” So, I might as well take their word on it! I looked over the boots when they arrived at the house, but I did not even remove the cardboard liners from the inside. I wanted to hike in them from scratch.

I woke up around 4am, took a shower, and then began dressing for the hunt. Sliding my feet in the boot kind of reminded me of Iron Man. There is a long zipper in the back of the boot with a folded rubber liner. When my foot got past the snake lining, it ‘locked’ into place. I was quite surprised at the weight of the boot. Once zipped up, the boot seemed much lighter than just holding them in my hands. The real test would come in about 30 minutes.

I drove with the boots on and I could tell there was limited movement in the ankle area. This was expected, after all, it is a snake boot.

Once at the entrance to the field, I grabbed my pack and bow and commenced to hike. After only a hundred yards or so, I could feel some fatigue already on my right foot

and ankle. My left ankle, however, was doing well. A little history; my left ankle was broken while in college while playing basketball. I made a steal on the opposition but as I headed in the other direction, my left ankle stepped on the side of his foot, rolling it completely over. From this injury, I have chronic pain and occasionally develop a limp. The support from the hard snake lining in the boot actually helped in this case. I rested a couple of minutes and thought about what was going on. I step differently with my left than I do my right, so I adjusted my walk. Problem solved! I proceeded to hike about a mile in to the stand with no leg, ankle or foot fatigue. They were actually quite comfortable for the hike after I adjusted my steps.

It was a chilly morning (low in the mid

30s) and the 5mm of combined Neo-Tech and Airmesh insulation provided plenty of warmth. I did not test them in water, but this is a rubber boot and that is what they are made for. I have no doubt they would handle the water well.

The construction of this boot is noticeable from the moment you open the box, through the process of pulling the boot on, and to point where the boot is worn. They are advertised as not having to be broken in, and in my case the advertising was dead on. The comfort exceeded my hiking boots and the rubber shell does not carry scent. The boot contains a 400 snakeguard for puncture protection and security when walking through snake infested waters or lands.

The Bogs Copperhead snake boot lists at $190. I spent half that on a nice pair of 9mm chest waders. I have snake chaps that I may have spent $40 on. The point I am making here is they are expensive and I am a little cheap in regards to clothing and shoes. But...yes, there is a but…THESE BOOTS MAY BE THE HIGHEST QUALITY PRODUCT I HAVE EVER REVIEWED. I am overly impressed. Bogs has made a believer out of me, and I can see myself paying this much for this same boot in the future if circumstances dictate it. They are worth it.

Bill Howard is a Hunter Education and a Bowhunter Education Instructor, a wildlife representative and the BCRS program chairman for the North Carolina Bowhunters Association, and an avid outdoorsman. He can be reached at billhoward [email protected].

Bill Howard’s

Outdoors

Outdoors

T h e s t a t e i s offering a course for the certification and recertification of Wildlife Damage C o n t r o l A g e n t s . We have reserved a meeting room at Lake Wheeler for both courses. We wi l l accep t p re -registration only. There will be no money accepted the day of the class. Thank you for expressing an interest in this cou r se , howeve r please understand that

the demand for the workshop is high.

Regist ra t ion is open for interested new agents on a first-come first-serve basis.

A g e n t s m u s t p a s s a c l o s e d book Certification examination and a criminal background check prior to being c e r t i f i e d . O n c e you have received n o t i f i c a t i o n o f certification you may begin operating in a WDCA capacity.

T h e w o r k s h o p

will be held at Lake Wheeler Park in Raleigh. Directions to the Center will be sent with your registration confirmation letter.

Lodging is not included in the fee. Classes are Feb 29 – March 1 and March 28 - 29.

The cost of the class is $200.

For details or to register, go to http://www.ncwildlife.org/ProblemWildl i fe /

Wildlife commission uses fire to improve wildlife habitatIt may seem counterintuitive

to start a fire to prevent a fire, but that’s exactly what the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is doing on some of its game lands in eastern North Carolina.

The Wildlife Commission, working with the N.C. Forest Service, recently burned about 60 acres on the Pettiford Creek tract of the Croatan Game Land in Carteret County. The area sits close to homes and neighborhoods, and abuts the Croatan National Forest. While it might seem dangerous to burn land near houses, a carefully started and monitored prescribed fire has multiple benefits to plants, animals — and the people living in the neighborhoods.

Regular controlled burning reduces the fuel load — or build-up of grass, leaves, pine straw and other forest debris — preventing wildfire and allowing firefighters to suppress a wildfire much quicker than they would have otherwise.

“We have protected the houses in that area, while we are benefitting wildlife,” said Ken Shughart, a forester with the

Wildlife Commission. “Thirty or more acres had never been burned before, and the longleaf ecosystem really benefits from regular prescribed burns.”

In addition to reducing fuel load, controlled burns maintain habitat for protected animal and plant species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher frog, Venus flytrap and rough-leaf loosestrife, which occur in the longleaf pine habitat in and around Pettiford Creek tract.

Shughart said that Commission staff responsible for controlled burns receives extensive training to ensure that they are careful to protect surrounding communities, themselves and the land they are working to restore.

“Fire experts do a great deal of work before the burn,” Shughart said. “They create a burn plan, which includes smoke-management details, fire-control measures, acceptable weather parameters, equipment and personnel needs. The plan also details how the ecosystem will benefit from fire.”

Fire once occurred naturally

in eastern North Carolina. Low-intensity fires burned every 3-5 years, fueled by grass, leaves, pine straw and other forest debris. They kept the forest open, allowing sunlight to penetrate to its floor and reducing buildup of dangerous fuel loads. Fire suppression altered the landscape, allowing fuels to

accumulate and putting people and communities in jeopardy.

Fire-dependent ecosystems also rely on the sunlit forest floor created by burning to maintain the habitat native to North Carolina. Deer, turkey and songbirds are abundant on the Pettiford Creek tract and surrounding areas.

Damage control training offered


Week of 1/9/12 - 1/15/12

ACROSS1 Facial treatment5 Karate move9 Part of FYI

12 Wesley Snipes superhero role

13 Took the subway

14 Seedy joint15 Sweater size16 Easily moved18 Complexion

concern19 Ballpark

beverage20 Coon's cousin21 Scrabble

10-pointer22 Arctic bird23 Abdominal

protrusion24 Worry

compulsively26 Police action28 Jailbird29 Gunslinger's 61 Like venison's 30 Make yawn 44 Mindful of

mark flavor 31 Pita sandwich 45 Bakery buy30 Butcher shop 62 Eliot or Frost 33 Auditioner's goal 47 Catch sight of

purchase 34 Escape slowly 48 With intensity31 Well-bred chap DOWN 35 Like some winds 51 Gumbo veggie32 Pretense 1 Sugar pill, say 36 Jump Jet 52 Balancing bar35 Beat it! 2 Sincere 37 Ward worker 53 2007 film, "____38 A bit pretentious 3 Outer border 40 New York area the Wild"39 Act like Etna 4 Ang or Spike 41 Skirt opening 55 Gear tooth43 Corn serving 5 Rural swimming 42 Restraining rope 56 Drench44 Sandwich spot

cookie 6 Catcher's base45 Celeb magazine 7 Foul smell46 Full of fervor 8 Teacher's fave48 Cheer starter 9 Bankroll49 Calendar abbr. 10 It may be 50 Take away by standing

force 11 Dependent51 Woodwind 12 Proclaim

instrument 14 Peephole's place53 Yearning 17 Type of tea54 Cause of plane 19 School transport

turbulence 22 Pale as a ghost56 Sidewinder, e.g. 23 Stereo system57 Trust, with "on" 25 Cave sound58 Type of surgeon 26 Right-hand page59 Badger's cousin 27 Hawk's home 60 Use a towel (var.)

The Weekly Crossword

Answer to Last Week's Crossword

by Margie E. Burke

Copyright 2012 by The Puzzle Syndicate

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

18 19 20

21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

32 33 34

35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

43 44 45

46 47 48 49

50 51 52 53

54 55 56

57 58 59

60 61 62

C R I B S T O A T R E A PL A M A P E N C E A C R EA J A R A C T O R S H I NM A M B O H O U S E C O A T

E V E N S E R AS P A C E D O U T G L O V ET R I U N E L I M O N I BR O S E M E C C A S A G OA W L S A T E N A T I O NP L E A T C R A N B E R R Y

P U R E T A L EC O U P D E T A T E R E C TE L S E H E M E N A G A RL I E N A R E N A G I R OL O R D B A N D Y E S P Y

CLaSSIFIEDSWanTED

Attention Snow Birds! Do you find yourself wondering if the beautiful mountain home you leave empty as you fly “south” for the cold winter months is safe, well maintained and protected? How would you feel if you know your home was safe in the hands of a mature, professional house sitter, who would then be willing to fly “south” for those hot summer months as you fly “north” back to the beautiful mountains of Yancey County? If this is an appealing idea, please drop an email to [email protected] Please use the subject line House Sitter.

SERVICESCrafters wanted for new upscale gift shop in Burnsville. Rent your own booth!! $15 per linear foot per month. Depth of Booth varies. We sell your products – 100% profit of your crafts goes back to you. Call immediately for your application! 828-678-0059.

GRaDInG EXCaVaTInG HaULInG - RICE Grading and Hauling: Land Clearing, Roads, Ponds, Home Sites, Erosion Control, Gravel, Fill Dirt, Mulch, Septic Systems & Repair, Retaining Walls. FREE ESTIMATES. Firewood for sale! Call Tim Rice Burnsville 828-284-2979

MISCELLanEOUSAdvertise your items FOR SALE in the Yancey County News! Only FIVE Dollars for FIFTY WORDS! Call Susan to place your ad today! 678-3900.

Give the gift of reading! Subscribing to Yancey County’s ONLY LOCALLY OWNED Newspaper can provide a year’s worth of great information! Only $25 will get your home delivery started TODAY! Call 678-3900 to sign up NOW!

FOR RENTSmall 2 bedroom, 1 bath house near downtown, not HUD approved, no pets. References and deposit. $450 month. Call 682-6102 or 674-6266.

FOR SALE6.29 acres land plus 3 bedroom, 2 bath Mobile home for sale in Ramseytownship. Will finance with 10% downpayment. Listed at $110,000.

HELP WANTEDMature, Dependable person to help handicapped individual with light housekeeping duties. Four hours, twice monthly in Green Mountain area. Must like dogs. References required. 682-9425.

PLEASE HELP

A fund has been set up at United Community Bank

for Johnny Crain. Johnny is in the last stages

of Leukemia and Bone Cancer.

He has no insurance. Please donate if possible.

Is your subscriptionup for Renewal??

Now that we are having our ONE YEAR Anniversary, (!!) It’s time to think about renewing your

subscription to the ONLY LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER in beautiful

YANCEY County! We are grateful to the ones who have already done so, and look forward to a maintaining our relationship with

the many friends and supporters we have made throughout this year

past! Please call or stop by our office – 132 West Main Street, in beautiful

downtown Burnsville! 678-3900.


By John RosemondQ: Our 17-year-old

daughter is an honor student who has been a c c e p t e d t o t h r e e colleges. She has not been a risk taker, except with boys. Her most recent boyfriend is a wonderful kid and very smart. Apparently, they both resent our rule that a parent must be home when either of them is visiting at the other one’s home, but they’ve gone along with it, however reluctantly. We just found out that they’ve been texting about sneaking out in cars to be alone. What should we do?

A: Your question, however brief, absolutely drips with evidence that the two of you are guilty of world-class micromanagement. Your daughter is a senior in high school, an honor student, and a generally sensible person whose only “crime” is that of wanting to be alone with her boyfriend, who is equally guilty where she is concerned. Sounds normal to me. In fact, it sounds downright reasonable.

For purposes of the present discussion, micromanagement is the attempt to control someone who (1) cannot be controlled or (2) has demonstrated the ability to exercise reasonably good self-control. For micromanagement to work, both of those conditions must be false. If either condition is true, however, then micromanagement will not work and the anxiety-driven attempt to make it work will create a wagonload of problems.

There will be times in a child’s life when micromanagement is both feasible and necessary - during infancy and toddlerhood, for example. As a child matures, the need for micromanagement decreases.

It can certainly be argued that some teens, because they have demonstrated a serious inability to make good decisions, may need to be micromanaged. Regardless, the very teen who needs it is not going to submit to it. A teen who does not need it is not going to submit to it either. Therefore, micromanagement does not work with teens. Period.

Your daughter has obviously demonstrated the ability to exercise reasonably good self-control. The attempt, therefore, to control her is going to cause lots of problems and solve none. In fact, your attempt to micromanage

your daughter is likely to result in the very problems you are trying to prevent. With the best of intentions, you have become your own, and her, worst enemies.

Invariably, micromanagement resu l t s in four p rob lems: deceit, disloyalty, conflict, and communication problems. You have discovered that your daughter is right on the edge of trying to deceive you. One down, three to go. You and she are having conflict concerning your rules. Two down, two to go. Deceit and conflict go hand-in-hand with communication problems. Three down, one to go. From here, it’s a short step to disloyalty - the increasingly likely possibility that your daughter will decide to reject your values, values you’ve worked for more than 17 years to instill in her. That’s all four down. Is the price worth it?

You can still retrieve this situation, but you’d better be ready to eat some crow. I strongly encourage you to sit down with her and say words to the following effect: “We hope you know we have only your best interests in mind, but we have to admit we’ve made a mistake. We’ve been acting like you can’t be trusted when in fact you’ve given us no reason to believe that’s the case. We’ve made our values and expectations perfectly clear to you. You’re a smart person. You know what the consequences might be of violating them. So, we trust you to do the right thing where this boy is concerned. From now on, we’re going to stop trying to control your relationship with him. We are convinced you are capable of controlling it yourself. We love you!”

Does this approach guarantee that no problems will develop? No. No one can make that guarantee. But believe me, these two young people are far more likely to do what you don’t want them to do if you keep doing what you are currently doing. So, the solution is quite simple: Stop!

John Rosemond answers questions at rosemond.com.

Living

with

children

Micromanagement does not work with teens. Period.

Family

Yancey County Commissioners on Tuesday held a public hearing at their regularly scheduled meeting prior to approving application for a $400,000 grant to implement a Scattered Site Housing Rehabilitation Program.

Every three years each county in North Carolina, with the exception of Wake and Cumberland, is eligible to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the North Carolina Division of Community Assistance to develop a Scattered Site Housing Program, according to Michelle Ball at High Country Council of Governments.

The program provides funding for housing repairs to low-income homeowners. Homes selected for the program must be brought up to current building codes, and could possibly be eligible for replacement with a new mobile home.

Homeowners must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for the CDBG Scattered Site Housing Program:

• The property must be located in Yancey County;

• The property cannot be located in the floodplain;

• The applicant must own and occupy the property full time (a legally prepared and recorded “Life Estate” or life time rights to the property spelled out in

an existing deed may also be accepted);

• Total gross income (before taxes) for everyone in the household over the age of 18 must be below 50 percent of the median income for Yancey County.

For a one-person household, the income limit is $17,350 a year /$1,445.83 a month.

For a two-person household, the income limit is $19,800/$1,650.

For a three-person household, the income limit is $22,300 /$1,858.33.

F o r a f o u r - p e r s o n household, the income limit is $24,750/$2,062.50.

F o r a f i v e - p e r s o n household, the income limit is $26,750/$2,229.16.

Applications for assistance will be accepted through January 31.

Applications will be available at the Yancey County Manager’s Office, the Department of Social Services, the Yancey County Cooperative Extension Office, the Yancey Tax Office, the Yancey County Health Department, and the Yancey County Senior Center.

You may also find applications online at www.yanceycountync.gov and www.regiond.org, or you may call Michelle Ball at High Country Council of Governments at (828) 265-5434 to request an application.

Housing rehab grant money is available

Up to 10,000 Medicare patients with chronic conditions will now be able to get most of the care they need at home under a new demonstration announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

“This program gives new life to the old practice of house calls, but with 21st Century technology and a team approach,” said CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner.

Created by the Affordable Care Act, the new Independence at Home Demonstration greatly expands the scope of in-home services Medicare beneficiaries can receive. The Independence at Home Demonstration will provide chronically ill patients with a complete range of primary care services. Participation in the Demonstration is voluntary for Medicare beneficiaries.

CMS will join with medical practices to test the effectiveness of delivering primary care services in a home setting on improving care for Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions. Medical practices led by physicians or nurse practitioners will provide primary care home visits tailored to the needs of beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions and functional limitations.

The Demonstration will reward healthcare providers that show a reduction in Medicare expenditures through an incentive payment if they succeed in providing high-quality care while reducing costs. CMS will use quality measures to ensure beneficiaries experience high quality care.

Medical practices eligible to participate in the Demonstration must include physicians or nurse practitioners who have experience delivering home-based primary care. Up to 50 practices will be selected and each must serve at least 200 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions and functional limitations.

Applications and Letters of Intent, if applicable, are due on Feb. 6. Questions on this demonstration may be submitted to CMS at: [email protected].

Program funds at home health care


Week of 1/9/12 - 1/15/12

Edited by Margie E. Burke

Answer to Last Week's Sudoku

HOW TO SOLVE:

Copyright 2012 by The Puzzle Syndicate

Difficulty : Medium

The Salvation

Army store in

Burnsville has

FREE winter coats!If you need a winter coat,

drop by the store on West

Main Street.

A Public Service

Of The

Yancey County News

$ Wanted to Buy $JUNK VEHICLES

& Rollback Service! Pay Fair Price

Will Pick Up Vehicle828-284-7522 828-284-7537

From the front“We los t mos t

everything,” Janice said.

Luckily, Melvin had built a log home next door. Their son had been living there until recently when he moved away. So the couple had a bed to sleep in and the son’s furniture to use. “We’re using Jimmy’s cookware,” Janice said. “He left some for us.”

The fire, which apparently started in or around the wood stove, “hit our kitchen, living room and dining room the worst,” Janice said. “Thank God we’ve got here to live, and we got a good bed.”

The Blevins’ have been given some clothes , but “ the couch, chairs, TV, stereo all melted or burned; they’re all gone,” Janice said.

She got out with two pair of shoes - i n c l u d i n g h e r bedroom sl ippers - and friends have donated some clothes.

But what Janice doesn’t have is a good dress. “I desperately need some church clothes and church shoes,” she said.

Melvin needs pants size 36/30, and large sized shirts. He wears shoes size 10-10 1/2 wide.

Janice needs tops in large, and 14 petite pants. In dresses she wears 14-16, and a 7 1/2 wide shoe.

T h e y h o p e t o salvage their washing machine, but even

a good laundering doesn’t take the aroma from the household goods.

“We need towels, queen-sized sheets, bed covers, dishwear. “I don’t have any drinking glasses,” Janice said.

But through it all, the Blevinses are thankful that they nor their dog, Patches, were not injured. “We weren’t hurt. Nothing but your pride,” she said.

Four departments from two counties battled the fire, and Melvin is thankful for their hard work. While the interior is burned, he hopes the structure is salvageable. “I want to build it back, if I can,” he said quietly. “We’ll see.”

Want to help? Call the newspaper at 678-3900.

Couple thankful they survived house fire

Top photo, Melvin Blevins looks inside the refrigerator-freezer destroyed in an early-morning blaze Christmas day. Bottom photo, the fire in the living room blackened the walls as the heat collected against the ceiling and then expanded downward toward the floor.

Jonathan Austin/Yancey County News

Parkway Playhouse Jr, the educational after-school performing arts program at the Parkway Playhouse i s now taking registration for its Spring Production of ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ The production camp is open to students aged 4-18. Tuition is $60/month per student. The production will

Production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ now castinghave rehearsals on Monday afternoon, after school, starting on Jan. 23. The show will be performed at the Parkway Playhouse in April.


By Medea L Galligan Filling up on omega-3 fatty

acids does a body good. These polyunsaturated fats, which play

a crucial role in how your body’s cells function, have been shown t o r e d u c e h a r m f u l inflammation t h a t c o u l d lead to heart d i s e a s e , d e c r e a s e

triglyceride levels and blood pressure, and prevent fatal heart arrhythmia. Your body can’t produce omega-3s, though, so you’ve got to be diligent about making sure your diet provides them. The good news is that fatty acids hide in tons of foods, like beans, certain oils and veggies, and - as you probably know - seafood. Take a look at these favorite sources.

SeafoodYou should eat fish a couple

t imes a week. The federal government’s latest dietary guidelines, released in early 2011, suggest a specific amount - 8 ounces a week - to get an average total daily intake of 250 mg. of

eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), two main types of omega-3s. Here’s a look at some popular fish and shellfish and their approximate total content of those two fatty acids per 4-ounce portion:

• Salmon (Atlantic, Chinook, Coho): 1,200-2,400 mg.

• Anchovies: 2,300-2,400 mg.• Blue-fin tuna: 1,700 mg;

yellow-fin tuna: 150-350; canned: 150-300 mg.

• Sardines: 1,100-1,600 mg.• Trout: 1,000-1,100 mg.• Crab: 200-550 mg.• Cod: 200 mg.• Scallops: 200 mg.• Lobsters: 200 mg.• Tilapia: 150 mg.• Shrimp: 100 mg.

OilsThrow a dash of flax-seed oil

onto salad and start cooking with canola or soybean oil for a nice hit of omega-3. These carry alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the type of omega-3 found in some vegetable oils, which the body partially converts to EPA and DHA.

Beans• Kidney, pinto, and mung

beans will do you right.• Nuts and seeds

• Add a nutty flavor to salad, yogurt, or morning muesli with almonds or walnuts. A handful of either make a perfect high protein snack and will up your omega-3 intake.

Veggies

• Spinach - Serve up this leafy green in a salad, or saute it and add it to a whole-grain pasta dish.

• Winter squash - This veggie makes an interesting side dish that boosts your omega-3 intake.

• Broccoli and cauliflower - These cruciferous veggies are on your side when it comes to omega-3s.

I sincerely hope that this article has provided you with information

and options on how to increase omega-3 fatty acids in your diet.

Medea L Galligan, a local holistic health coach, earned her Masters of Science in Nutrition from Oklahoma State University, and also attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s Health Coach Training Program, located in New York City. Since 1998, she has helped thousands of people of all ages improve their health and well being through support and encouragement, exploring which foods are right for them, and assisting them in bringing back the joy of cooking and eating.

Visit www.HealthyLifestyle C o n c e p t s . c o m f o r m o r e information.

Delicious ways to increase Omega-3 intake

These tasty options come from a recipe book published by Green Mountain Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Bill Whiteside had the cookbook sitting on a shelf earlier this year, and let the newspaper borrow it for use in the newspaper.

Tofu Sandwich Spread

Mash: 1 lb Tofu 1/2 C Nutritional yeast 1 T Onion Powder 1 T Italian Seasoning 3/4 t. salt 1 T oil opt.Also can add 1 medium chopped onion

sautéed with 1/2 red or green pepper. Increase salt to 1 t.

Mash together and serve on bread or in a pita with mayo, lettuce, tomato, etc or use as A

topping on pizza or in broiled sandwich.

Vegetable Wraps

(adapted from 7 secrets Bracketts)Prepare: 1/2 C seasoned tofu or soy curls or useHickory smoked Tofurky slices. 1 red bell pepper, sliced 1 onion sliced lengthwise 1 carrot, thinly sliced 3-4 “long” 1 - 6 inch zucchini, sliced and cut to 3 inch lengths

Mix vegetables in a bowl with vegetarian hoisin sauce or with marinade below:

Combine: 1 T Bragg with 1 T honey. 1 t.

lemon juice, and 1/2 t salt.Add seasoned tofu or soy curls. Spread

mixture on lightly greased cookie sheet. Broil uncovered 5~1O minutes until crisp-tender, or lightly grill until tender but crisp.

Heat wrap in a flat pan, lightly coat with hoi sin sauce, lay some of each vegetable on it and roll folding one end in. Can add sprouts if they are available.

Very Easy Sloppy Joes

Sauté: 1 onion, chopped 1 Red pepper, chopped 1/2 roll “Gimme Lean” Sausage style,

groundAdd: 1 large can Vegetarian Baked BeansHeat through. Serve over open toasted hamburger type

buns.

Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients2-15-oz. cans garbanzo beans, drained/

rinsed1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced1/8 teaspoon ground cumin3/4 teaspoon salt3 Tablespoons lemon juice2 teaspoons toasted tahini5 Tablespoons olive oil1 teaspoon Water1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers .

Directions1. Place all but roasted bell peppers in food processor, and blend until smooth.2. Stir in roasted red bell peppers. Chill.3. Serve with crackers, pitas or bread.

Festive Franks

Ingredients1 pkg pastry puff sheets2 cans Vegi franks1/4 t Poppy seeds1C Tomato Sauce1/4 C Ea. molasses, honey1T1 Lemon juice1 t. Onion powder1/4 t Ea. garlic & cumin powder1/4 t Liquid smoke .

Directions1. Mix last six ingredients in pan and

simmer until thickened.2. Unroll dough and separate into sheets.

Cut into thin triangles 1/2 to 3/4 inch at the wide end.

3. Cut each hotdog into 5 pieces and place in a bowl.

4. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the triangle and place a hot dog piece at the wide end and roll up, continue with remaining dogs and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

5. Bake 13 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Dip in remaining sauce or serve with catsup.

More tasty recipes from Green Mountain Presbyterian


Give a pet a great New Year! YHS Pet Press

Call the shelter at 682-9510 for more information on these or other pets, or plan to visit us at 962 Cane River School Road.

Judy is a Beagle mix a size bigger than BJ but still perfect as a house dog. She would love to curl up by your fireplace or stove and wait out a long winters night.

BJ is an adorable young adult male Beagle mix with a great demeanor. He is small in stature and would be a great little house dog.

Jazzie is domestic me-dium haired spayed 2 year old adult female..

Rosie is a small spayed female mix breed dog. Rose is around 7 months old. We see some retriever and some shepherd too.

Bo is a small neutered male Beagle mix around 1 year old and 25 lbs. He is great with kids and is the perfect size for a house dog.

Wild Flower is a calm and loving domestic short haired brown fe-male Tabby cat. She is about 2 years old.

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