The State Board on Geographic Names has gotten out of the middle in a disagreement among some Phelps County residents about whether the Little Piney is a river or a creek. The federal governemnt says it’s a creek. Some Newburg residents want it re-designated a river. Some other Phelps Countians want it to stay a creek. Others don’t call it either – it’s just the “Little Piney.” One of the members of the State Board on Geographic Names, Bob Flanders, says it really doesn’t matter what the government says it is because people will call it whatever their tradition says it is. The Board has decided there is not strong enough local support for the change so it won’t recommend the federal names board make the Little Piney a River.
