Around 50 years ago, Yancey County Schools entered into a lease agreement with the South Toe Volunteer Fire Department to allow a fire station to be built on a corner of the South Toe Elementary School property. This agreement has served the community well for many years. However, with increasing populations, the Fire Department now sees the need to remodel and expand the existing building to better serve the citizens of the South Toe fire district.
Many of the grants that are available for this type of project require the fire department to own the land they wish to build or expand on. Therefore, YCS has been working with STFD and the Yancey County Commissioners to see the ownership of the requested parcel of property be changed from YCS to STFD. The process has been lengthy but YCS is happy to announce that they have successfully declared the property as surplus and released it to the County Commissioners who will pass a resolution to deed the property over to STFD.
Mr. Barry Jones spoke on behalf of the South Toe Volunteer Fire Department Board of Directors to extend gratitude to YCS Superintendent Kathy Amos, the YCS Board of Education and attorney Donny Laws for the research and efforts put forth to see this partnership continue for the benefit of the community. Mr. Jones noted that the South Toe fire district is the largest in Yancey County and serves 72 square miles. STFD plans to construct a new building that will house a community space and will serve and protect the South Toe community for years to come.