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University of North Carolina at Asheville D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections/University Archives Register for: The Community Improver February 1967 Vol. X
The Community Improver, February 1967 Special Collections, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNCA
Title	"The Community Improver February 1967 Vol. X"
Alt. Title	"The Community Improver February 1967"
Identifier	http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/housing_authority_city_asheville/series_01_admin_files/community_improvers/10_ february_1967/default_community_improver_february_1967.htm
Creator	Redevelopment Commission of the City of Asheville
Alt Creator	Housing Authority of the City of Asheville -- NC R-48 East Riverside Urban Renewal Project
Subject Keyword	Alfred Miller ; Algary, William F. ; Allen, W. C. ; Arthur Eddington ; Arthur Whiteside ; Asheville City Council ; Asheville, NC ; bond election ; bond issue ; Caldwell, Thelma ; Canty, M. J. ; Citizens Participation League ; city manager ; city planning ; civic improvement ; Clark, Phil ; Dailey, Ruben ; Dr. Wayne Montgomery ; Dunton, Joan ; Dusenbury, J. A. ; East Riverside Urban Renewal Program ; East Riverside Renewal Project ; Eddington, Arthur ; Gene Smith ; Greer, James ; housing ; Housing Authority of the City of Asheville ; Ira B. Jones School ; J. A. Dusenbury ; James Greer ; Joan Dunton ; Miller, Alfred ; M. J. Canty ; modernization ; Montgomery, Dr. Wayne ; Nasty Branch ; "Operation Green Hornet" ; Phil Clark ; public housing ; Public Service Company ; redevelopment ; Redevelopment Commission of the City of Asheville ; rehabilitation ; relocation ; Ruben Dailey ; "Saturday Pigtail" ; Smith, Gene ; South French Broad YWCA ; Sumner, Theodore ; Thelma Caldwell ; Theodore Sumner ; urban planning ; urban renewal ; W. C. Allen ; Weir, Weldon ; Weldon Weir ; Whiteside, Arthur ; Willliam F. Algary ; YMCA ; YWCA ;
Subject LCSH	City planning -- North Carolina -- Asheville City planning -- United States -- Asheville (N.C.) Asheville (N.C.) -- Planning Civic improvement -- North Carolina -- Asheville Urban renewal -- North Carolina -- Asheville Asheville (N.C.) -- Urban renewal Urban renewal -- United States -- Case studies Federal aid to community development Urban renewal -- United States -- Finance Housing -- North Carolina -- Asheville Relocation (Housing) -- North Carolina -- Asheville Public welfare -- North Carolina -- Asheville Asheville (N.C.) -- History
Date	1967
Publisher	Redevelopment Commission of the City of Asheville
Contributor	Housing Authority of the City of Asheville
Type	text ; illustrations
Format	Newsletter 7 1/4 " 8 1/2" ; illus.
Source	D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, Manuscript Collections M2007.12.1
Language	English
Relation	Is part of: Asheville Model City Records, Special Collections, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNCA ; Housing Authority of the City of Asheville ..., D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, UNCA.
Coverage	1967: Asheville, N.C.
Rights	Any display, publication or public use must credit D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the authors of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Donor	Donor 310 ; City of Asheville, NC.
Description	This issue of The Community Improver deals almost exclusively with the $1.4 million bond issue election, set for March 7, 1967. The election determines whether the citizens of Asheville will support the redevelopment of East Riverside, a project that will take an estimated 6-10 years. The bond issue will require a tax increase of 7¢ per hundred dollar tax valuation. The newsletter seeks to garner support for the bond issue, most notably through interviews with prominent East Riverside residents who support redevelopment: Mrs. M. J. Canty (retired teacher), Gene Smith (editor of The Southern News), J. A. Dusenbury (teacher at South French Broad High School), W. C. Allen (director of Allen’s Funeral Home), Ruben Dailey (attorney), Arthur Eddington (principal of Livingston Street School), and Thelma Caldwell (executive director of the Asheville YWCA). Mr. Dusenbury commented, “‘This project is going to mean a great deal to Asheville in general and to the East Riverside Area in particular. Along with the other plans, this program will help make Asheville a place we can begin to really take pride in. The people must know the benefits that will be derived from this program. The people who have the facts will support it. This is one way we can really show our interest in improving our community.’” The newsletter also reports on two YWCA programs – “Operation Green Hornet” which serves as a social event for teenagers, and “Saturday Pigtail,” a home-education “enrichment program” for pre-teen girls.
Acquisition	2007-
Citation	Housing Authority of the City of Asheville Records, "The Community Improver February 1967," D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville
Processed by	Special Collections staff 2008
Last update	2008-05-07
CONTEXT

PAGE	DESCRIPTION	THUMBNAIL
The Community Improver, February 1967 -- FULL TEXT
1	FEBRUARY, 1967 VOL. X Asheville is on the move... Progress Through Community Effort THE COMMUNITY IMPROVER BOND DATE SET Many people wonder why something has not been done yet in East Riverside. They have been asking, "What should I do to my house ?" "When can we expect new streets?" or "What about new playground space for our children?" The Redevelopment Commission has made plans that will renew East Riverside. The federal government has already signed the contract to give Asheville 63 million dollars for this very large program. East Riverside will have new streets, new playgrounds, new housing. The creek ("Nasty Branch") will be cleaned up, there will be a new fire station, a new branch YMCA. All of these things, and others too, are planned for East Riverside. For these things to happen, Asheville's citizens must pass a 1.4 million dollar bond issue.* After much disappointment and delay, City Manager Weldon Weir has negotiated with bond counsel and has set the date of this bond election for March 7. On that date, the people of Asheville will decide whether or not they will support the redevelopment of East Riverside. A successful bond vote will set in motion the action that will begin to renew not only East Riverside but the entire City of Asheville. It is expected that this program (East Riverside) will take from 6 to 10 years to complete. *This bond issue will require a tax increase of 1 $ per hundred dollar tax valuation. This means that if your property taxes are now $100 a year your tax increase would be only $2.30 a year. If your taxes are less, the increase would also be less. Passing Ordinance to Set Bond Issue Date [caption]
2	City Councilman William F. Algary is explaining the program of redevelopment to people interested in seeing better housing in Asheville. Mr. Algary took them on a tour of the East Riverside area last Monday so they could see for themselves the bad housing conditions that urban renewal will get rid of. By conducting these "tours" of East Riverside, Mr. Algary is gathering support for the bond issue that will be voted on March 7. COUNCIL TAKES ACTION In a meeting last Thursday, the City Council passed an ordinance calling for the election of the bonds to provide Asheville's share of the money for the East Riverside Urban Renewal Program. In passing this ordinance, the Council officially set the date of the bond referendum for March 7. At this time, all of the voting citizens of Asheville must decide whether or not they will allow the East Riverside Program to get started. Montgomery Greer [caption] James Greer, Director of the Redevelopment Commission, is showing the President of the Asheville Kiwanis, Dr. Wayne Montgomery, photographs of the East Riverside area. At a meeting of the Kiwanis on Friday the 20th, Mr. Greer explained the plans for urban renewal in East Riverside. This meeting is typical of a number of meetings that have been held or will soon be held, presenting the plans for the East Riverside program. For February, eleven meetings have already been scheduled. Not long ago, an Asheville Citizen reporter interviewed some residents of East Riverside. He asked these people how they felt about the Urban Renewal Program. All were for it. We conducted similar interviews—with similar results. MRS. M. J. CANTY Mrs. Canty, a retired teacher, is deeply interested in the housing conditions in this area. "I try to keep my house nice hoping it will encourage others." She is anxious for the bond issue to pass and for work to begin. She feels one cause of bad housing has been the failure of the city to enforce the housing code. An effective code is one of the benefits of the urban renewal plan.
3	GENE SMITH Mr. Gene Smith, editor of The Southern News, is "for urban renewal in East Riverside." He feels that people have been waiting too long for it, and that "what is needed now is action." Mr. Smith thinks Asheville will have enough Public Housing with the 300 units that are presently planned. He urges a "yes" vote for the bond issue. J. A. DUSENBURY "This project is going to mean a great deal to Asheville in general and to the East Riverside Area in particular. Along with the other plans, this program will help make Asheville a place we can begin to really take pride in. The people must know the benefits that will be derived from this program. The people who have the facts will support it. This is one way we can really show our interest in improving our community." Mr. Dusenbury is a teacher at South French Broad High School. Among other things, he is interested in seeing more recreational space and community centers for the youth of the area. W. C. ALLEN Mr. W. C. Allen, director of Allen's Funeral Home, is also the chairman of the Citizens Participation League. His feeling is that the residents of East Riverside were at first misled into believing that the East Riverside Program could be carried out without a bond vote. He said that the following delay in holding the bond vote has caused much bad feeling. Some people were asked not to repair their houses because they would be bought under the urban renewal plan, but the plan was delayed. Mr. Allen has called for a meeting of the area captains to discuss the bond issue and to set a date for a mass meeting of the residents. This mass meeting would provide answers to many questions of the people in attendance.
4	RUBEN DAILEY "It would be a great disappointment ... I think it would be a jolt ... if the bond issue did not go through. There are so many people who have waited so long for this redevelopment. I voted for the East Riverside Program when I was a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Redevelopment Commission, and I am for it now." Mr. Dailey, an attorney in the area, is a supporter of the plan to renew the giant East Riverside Area. ARTHUR EDDINGTON "Why wasn't the date set earlier?" This was Mr. Arthur Eddington's response when asked for a statement concerning the bond issue date. Mr. Eddington, the Livingston Street School Principal, has been worried for some time over the despair of the people in the area. The delay in the urban renewal program for East Riverside, he felt, caused the people much anxiety. This was affecting the children as well. Mr. Eddington plans to go to the Executive Committee of the PTA to impress upon the members the importance of endorsing and supporting the bond election. He will ask them in turn to ask the entire PTA to endorse the bond referendum and to actively solicit support in getting it passed. Part of the urban renewal plans are for expansion of Livingston Street School. The school, as Mr. Eddington explains, does not now have the land it needs in order to comply with the standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Urban renewal will correct this. THELMA CALDWELL "I heartily approve of the East Riverside renewal plan." Mrs. Caldwell is Executive Director of the YWCA in Asheville. While the East Riverside "Rehab" office was operating on 86 Livingston Street, two of Mrs. Caldwell's staff spent much time there helping the Rehab staff with classes that had been organized. Mrs. Caldwell states that this kind of cooperation between the YWCA and the Redevelopment Commission will begin again when the bond issue is successful and the program gets underway. The YWCA is one of many agencies whose help will be sought by the Redevelopment Commission in its plans for an all-out attack on the problems of the area.
5	Vote for Urban Renewal in East Riverside MARCH 7
6	YWCA REPORTS According to Mrs. Joan Dunton, the South French Broad YWCA has had great success with two of its recent programs. Two days a week the "Y" is swarming with teenagers who "drop in" after school for "Operation Green Hornet". The kids run this program themselves with adult supervision. There is talking and music and dancing. The "Y" is a good place to meet. This program has been so successful that more leadership is needed to increase the meeting times in the week. "Saturday Pigtail" is a winter enrichment program for girls 9-12 years old. This program includes cooking, sewing, sports, music, and dancing. John Bridges of the Public Library is donating his services to the work, and Miss Nicks of Public Service Company is teaching the girls kitchen techniques. Seventy two girls have signed up for this program. PANEL AT IRA JONES There was a good crowd in attendance at Ira B. Jones School last Wednesday night. There was a panel discussion on the subject of "Urban Renewal in East Riverside." James Greer, Phil Clark, Arthur Whiteside, Alfred Miller, and Theodore Sumner were panelists. Many questions were answered by the panel members, and a good deal was learned by those in the audience. Some residents of East Riverside attended. Redevelopment Commission of The City of Asheville P. 0. Box 7148 604 City Building Asheville, N. C. 28807
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The Community Improver, February 1967 Special Collections, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNCA

The Community Improver, February 1967
Special Collections, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNCA