Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation is now accepting photographs for its 8th annual “Pet Photography Contest.”

To the Editor:

A critical skill for magicians is to be able to misdirect your attention while executing the deception. “Look at this hand while I fool you with the other one.”  

Such is the current attack on climate change by those who try to convince us that it’s not an important issue. The new strategy is not so much to deny that climate change isn’t happening, but rather to state that it has happened before and is a natural process. So why should we worry?

This change from “it isn’t happening” to “it’s happened before” would be irrelevant and silly if it weren’t so dangerous. The basic fact is true. The earth has been both significantly warmer and colder than now. Likewise, ocean levels have been both higher and lower than they are now. So what’s the big deal?

The crucial fact that isn’t mentioned is that these events occurred thousands and millions of years ago and that the changes occurred over centuries and millennia rather than over decades. The “Big Deal” is that thousands of years ago we did not have most of the population living near seacoasts, we did not have New York, Charleston, Miami and hundreds of other coastal communities. We did not have major military installations like Norfolk and San Diego with all of the buildings, roads, bridges, pipelines, etc., associated with those cities and bases.

The cost of replacing, relocating or protecting all of this is astronomical. Consider the cost and disruption caused by Superstorm Sandy ($65 billion, 650,000 homes damaged or destroyed) and imagine how much worse it would have been if sea level was a foot higher. We could build dikes like the Netherlands or storm gates like London, but at what cost?

The danger in the new rhetoric from the climate change deniers is this: climate change is happening and sea level is rising. There is also a strong suggestion that extreme climate events are becoming more frequent and severe, as predicted by the climate scientists. It’s going to cost a lot to deal with, both in dollars and lives. The longer we delay, the more it will cost.

The insurance industry and U.S. Department of Defense are taking this issue seriously. Maybe it’s time that the public and Congress take a fact-based approach to the problem rather than following the misdirection to irrelevant issues.

John Gladden

Franklin

To the Editor:

James Womack, Chairman of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mining and Energy Commission, would ask us to suspend disbelief when he states on a recent visit to the fracking fields of Bradford County, Penn., “… [that] I had to almost get on top of the wells before I could see them.”

In his zeal for a “win-win for everybody,” Mr. Womack has chosen not to see other aspects of a landscape under dispersed industrialization: a network of interconnected well pads, pipelines, freshwater impoundments, compressor stations, and access roads, along with artificial lighting and helicopter noise, and the millions of gallons of water needed per drill site, that accompany fracking. The oil and gas industry may be able to screen some of this “sprawl” from the roadside view, but seen from the air it’s a different story: a soul-less, ransacked nowhere.

My introduction to the fracking landscape occurred in the San Juan Basin in northern New Mexico and included the schizophrenic world of the “split estate,” whereby the landowner owns everything above the surface, and the industry owns the minerals below the surface.

This world is well documented in Josh Fox’s 2010 documentary, Gasland, a personal journey from Pennsylvania to the oil and gas boom states out West in order to understand the impacts of fracking. Gasland has become a cautionary tale for citizens in central Pennsylvania, the hub of the Marcellus fracking boom.

Fossil fuel extraction on public lands in North Carolina is not new. In 1982 citizens in Macon County formed a coalition to oppose exploratory drilling for oil in the Nantahala National Forest, and one of the critical allies in opposing drilling were hunters, especially bear hunters, who rightly feared the loss of bear habitat. This unusual alliance of hunters, conservationists, and locals eventually led to the formation of a regional environmental organization, the WNC Alliance; and to the eventual revision of USFS Management Policy for the Nantahala Forest by not permitting such exploration. 

As in the struggle for voting rights, the struggle for the preservation of our public lands from industrial development never ends. 

We should all understand the impacts of fracking and the ultimate loss of wildlife habitat go far beyond the current controversy of government over-reach in its undercover operation against hunters in WNC. I hope hunters will show the same passion in defending public lands from development as they did in 1982.

Roger Turner

Sylva

To the Editor:

The billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch don’t live in North Carolina. One resides in New York City, the other in Kansas. So they can’t vote here.

But what they’re doing to North Carolina has vastly more impact than any two votes.

They’re taking our forthcoming election into their deep pockets, already having spent as much as $5 million through their front organization, Americans for Prosperity, to weaken and defeat our U.S. senator Kay Hagan.

In a sane world, there would be no difference between an illegal vote and outside campaign money. One would be as criminal as the other.

But this is the asylum to which the Supreme Court has condemned us.

The only election abuse that the Republicans in Raleigh care about is the voter fraud that doesn’t exist. They’re simply delighted with the Kochs’ big bucks.

For misplaced priorities, that recalls the Washington policeman who should have been guarding President Lincoln the night he was shot. To show he had been on duty after all, he turned up at headquarters the next morning with a streetwalker he had arrested.

Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., has been hurt in the polls by an assault that is massive and murderous. By some reckoning, she is the number one target nationwide of these ruthless right-wingers, who have spent an estimated $20 million with the election still nearly a year away.

How much of it comes from the Koch bullies themselves and how much from others can’t be discerned. The details are concealed in an ingenious web of money laundering.

The pretense is that their money barrage is about issues, not candidates. It is a distinction without a difference. The ads belabor Obamacare and Democrats like Hagan who have supported it.

Why would these petrochemical billionaires care so much about Obamacare?   

For one thing, they’re afraid that the kinks will be worked out and the American people will eventually see Obamacare as the most decent thing since Social Security and Medicare — and would credit the Democrats for it. The Kochs don’t like Democrats.

For another, the Kochs are just plain mean. They hate government. Their father was a founder of the John Birch Society, and the fruit didn’t fall far from the tree.

Lastly, it serves the purposes of the plutocracy that the Kochs epitomize to keep the American people in thrall to their employers for health care. Obamacare gives Americans the option to change jobs or strike out for themselves without putting their family’s health in peril. It sets them free from the plantation and the company store.

If the Kochs win, we will have replaced government of, by and for the people with government of, by and for billionaires.

The subversive Citizens United of four years ago can’t be undone soon enough. For now, we can only hope that the good people of North Carolina — and elsewhere — will see through the Koch propaganda campaign to the reasons behind it.

Kay Hagan deserves our votes. The Kochs don’t.

Martin A. Dyckman

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Thanks to the wildlife officers for catching the poacher who shot the mother bear on our private property. Well done!     

Jerry Bevino

Bryson City

Sales of the Friends of the Smokies specialty license plate in North Carolina increased in the fourth quarter, benefiting priority projects in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) including science education programs.

The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles has released fourth quarter figures with $93,520 going to Friends of the Smokies from specialty plate sales, an increase from the same period last year. Total contributions from the Smokies plate now top $3.5 million since the program launched in 1999.

These contributions help fund projects on the North Carolina side of GSMNP including supporting the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob and the Parks as Classrooms program. Through Parks as Classrooms, students participate in hands-on, curriculum-based environmental education lessons that highlight the natural biodiversity found in GSMNP. Funding support from Friends of the Smokies allows the program to be offered for free, giving thousands of elementary, middle, and high school students from Western North Carolina the opportunity to discover new experiences in the park each year.

To help support Great Smoky Mountains National Park and programs like Parks as Classrooms, North Carolina residents can purchase a Friends of the Smokies specialty license plate now, regardless of plate expiration date. Go to any North Carolina license plate office or www.ncdot.gov/dmv/vehicle/plates. 

For more information and to download a specialty plate application, visit www.friendsofthesmokies.org or contact Brent McDaniel at Friends of the Smokies, 828.452.0720.

Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

For as long as he can remember, Austin Brown’s fascination with plants has remained rooted in their relationship with people.

A Sylva farm-to-table restaurant is featured in the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s (ASAP) Get Local initiative for its additional sourcing this month from Appalachia Grown certified farms.

Guadalupe Café added additional meat-based items to its menu after January was designated as meat month by ASAP. The restaurant rotates specials such as queso con carne, bison chili, goat burgers and pork chops. 

“For the past several years, we’ve seen interest in Get Local grow, with chefs whipping up intensely creative dishes around the month’s ingredient,” says Molly Nicholie, ASAP’s Local Food Campaign director. “With the initiative in 2014, we want to shine the spotlight on them as well as the featured ingredient, giving these chefs even more opportunities to get inspired by our local bounty and diners more chances to connect with the source of their food.” 

www.asapconnections.org or 828.236.1282. 

A whole lot of people visited the WNC Nature Center last year. The Friends of the WNC Nature Center report that 107,949 people visited the Nature Center in 2013, a record-breaking attendance. Last year also saw the completion of several projects and developments at the Nature Center, including a new Red Wolf boardwalk and viewing areas, an improved Red Wolf habitat and the addition of a black ant exhibit in Appalachian Station.

Also, several new play features for kids were added, including an oversized bog turtle, a new “barn chores” play area in the North Carolina Farm and the Arachnid Adventure climbing playground near the wolf habitats. 

www.wildwnc.org.

Tracking elk in Great Smoky Mountains National Park just got a little easier, thanks to a grant from Charter Communications. The communications and technology company gave a grant for $13,720 to Friends of the Smokies for the purchase of 15 radio collars and two receivers for tracking and monitoring elk throughout the park. 

Tube World in Maggie Valley treated 170 students from Clyde Elementary to a fieldtrip last week as part of a creative school incentive program to encourage positive behavior.

Three new public access sites and boat put-ins have been developed along the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County:

This year all-electric vehicles registered in North Carolina — about 1,600 of them — are required to pay a $100 annual fee in addition to normal registration fees.

STAR Ranch Rescue, a refuge for abused and neglected horses and other animals in Haywood County, has received a $750 grant from the Haywood County Community Foundation to help purchase horse feed for the winter. 

The deadline for submitting applications for grants from the North Carolina Arts Council is Monday, March 3.

The grant programs are designed to sustain and advance the state’s arts industry, to enhance the education of the state’s children and youth, and to ensure that all North Carolina citizens have access to a wide range of high quality arts programs.  Grants from the council are catalysts for public private partnerships and helping arts organizations leverage the required matching funds.

To be eligible to apply for Arts Council grants, an organization must have non-profit status, have been producing quality arts programs for at least two consecutive years, and have prior-year organization cash operating expenses of at least $20,000.

Grant awards are recommended by panels of civic leaders and arts experts based on artistic merit, benefit of the project to the state’s citizens, and the applicant’s organizational strength and capacity. Information about grants for organizations is available at the council’s website: www.ncarts.org. 

919.807.7300 or www.ncdcr.gov.

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has announced its “Homegrown Picks” for 2014.

Buy Haywood, is the only county-specific agritourism initiative in Western North Carolina and works diligently to introduce high-quality farm products to community-minded consumers. Each year Buy Haywood creates and distributes a free Agritourism Guide of working farms, produce stands, markets, and activities. www.buyhaywood.com.

A growing project of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, the Blue Ridge Music Trails guide travelers to the many public settings in which original mountain folk music and dance thrive today. The trail makes it easy to find authentic regional folk music, meet musicians, see traditional dancing, and in many cases take part in the festivities for a first-hand experience of the area’s rich music heritage. www.blueridgemusic.org.

After much planning and developing, the Haywood County Film Commission has officially been revived, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Haywood County TDA and Advantage West. The TDA is currently working with Advantage West in Asheville, who has been supplying information on Haywood County when presented with location requests for TV and film. www.haywoodcountytourismdevelopment.com.

The Haywood County Quilt Trails project helps the area tell its history by featuring colorful and meaningful quilt squares installed on barns, public buildings, and shops. Quilts represent a much-loved symbol of comfort, family, and heritage, which make the squares a perfect way to tell the story of Haywood County. www.haywoodquilttrails.org.

www.visitncsmokies.com or 800.334.9036. 

Six Western North Carolina artists have received funding from the Jackson County Arts Council to support their artistic endeavors. Regional Artist Project grants support professional artists at any stage in their careers to pursue projects that further their artistic development.

Donations for people affected by a November fire in Cullowhee will be collected at Western Carolina University’s men’s basketball game at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.

To the Editor:

Everybody wants transparency in government — everybody except our Republican legislators in Raleigh. Last year, they passed the most repressive voter suppression law in the nation, arguing that it would eliminate the almost-nonexistent voter fraud in North Carolina. Now they don’t want us to know how they came to the conclusion that suppressing voters is a good idea.

The state is being sued simultaneously by a civil rights group and the federal Justice Department to negate the law on the basis that it discriminates against young people and non-white people. To establish this intent, both plaintiffs want copies of the e-mails that the legislators sent back and forth to each other prior to enacting the law.  

However, Republican legislators are resisting turning over their emails. Correspondence — including emails, letters, notes, and recordings — between public officials conducting public business is a public record, subject to public scrutiny. 

So, the question now is what do the Republican legislators have to hide? Like Nixon guarding his Watergate tapes, are they afraid that their candid remarks will reveal their true nature?

Rick Bryson

Bryson City  

To the Editor:

Are you concerned if you are in your 50s or late 40s that the Social Security fund could run out of money too soon? 

In December, only 74,000 people found jobs, and some of those may have been part-time jobs. The U.S. is going into the sixth year of high unemployment. Millions have left the workforce, which means they have not been putting money into the fund. Employers only pay into the fund when people are employed.  

Yet thousands of people could have been working building the Keystone Pipeline and drilling for oil and natural gas. We could have been well on our way to being energy self-sufficient. Instead of putting millions on welfare and food stamps, we could have hired people to build roads and bridges. We will never be able to recover all of the lost money that could have gone into the Social Security fund had we put people to work. 

In November, let’s elect people who believe in putting people to work. Keeping Social Security solvent should be a high priority, especially if you are counting on it.

Jim Mueller

Glenville

To the Editor: 

This is what President Barack Obama said this week: “Where I can act on my own without Congress, I’m going to do so.” 

“I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone. And I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions ... and I’ve got a phone that allows me to convene Americans from every walk of life.” 

What in-your-face remarks those are! Imagine that! Barack Obama will act to make or change laws without Congress! Maybe he thinks we like that? Not so, Mr. President. These are arrogant, disgraceful statements made by a president of the United States.

Barack Obama is saying he will do what is not allowed by the U.S. Constitution to further his own agenda. He is saying that the officials we elected to the United States Congress are of no matter to him. He is disdainful and demeaning to every member of Congress and therefore to we the people.

Congress makes laws, the President signs or does not sign the bills into law. That is how it works, according to the U.S Constitution. We the people elect our senators and representatives to participate in congressional lawmaking according, we hope, to our wishes and direction. The President works with Congress to make compromises or to convince the majority of members of Congress to see the issue his way. 

The President of the United States does not change laws on his own, as Obama has done repeatedly, especially regarding Obamacare. Allowing businesses to delay their participation for a year, granting different rules for different groups of people, and changing the rules for insurance company allowed policies are only a few of the changes Obama has made to the Obamacare law.

I urge readers to contact members of Congress and ask: “Does Congress have what it takes to face up to tyrant Barack Obama?” 

If the answer is “Yes,” what is the action the House and Senate will and can take to reverse the results of the unconstitutional and unlawful actions by President Obama? If the answer is “No” and Congress cannot or will not stop a President from actions that make and change our laws, then we are doomed to imperial presidencies and Congress should go on permanent recess.

Carol Adams 

Glenville

To the Editor:

After reading the Jan. 15 edition and seeing continued plans to weaken the present Steep Slope Ordinance in Jackson County (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/12322), I am reminded of the letter below that I wrote last year. The facts and issues appear unchanged. So that everyone understands possible consequences, it cost me $25,000 to clear and repair the mudslide damage on my property.

Here’s the earlier letter:

This is an open letter to our planning committee and county commissioners.

Things to consider:  

1) We have an existing Steep Slope Ordinance.

2) Mudslides are not covered by insurance in N.C.

3) Changes being considered to make the present ordinance more “user friendly” could weaken it. 

4) We live in an increasingly litigious society.

My question is as follows: if someone loses his/her home to a mudslide in Jackson County that might not have occurred except for a weakened Steep Slope Ordinance, will our county tax dollars be used to defend present Planning Board members and County Commissioners or will these individuals be responsible for their own defense?

This issue has become even more personal to me as I pay thousands of dollars to clean up a mudslide on my property that is not covered by homeowner’s insurance.

Craig N. Green

Sylva

To the Editor:

I always look forward to the “Awards” issue of The Smoky Mountain News. May I make three short observations?

The “It’s all fun and games until ...” award had one oversight. The unfortunate elk did not “have” to be euthanized, it was just the easiest way out for park officials. There is a behind-the-scenes effort currently under way to prevent a repeat of the unnecessary killing of an elk whose only sin is being friendly.

The “One Size Fits All” award (this year) would have been more appropriately named “There’s a fool born every minute” award. To hire and pay a “branding firm” $50,000 to come up with an inane phrase like “Play On” says a lot about Jackson County’s Tourism Authority ... basically that their breads not fully baked. Any third- or fourth-grade class could have done better, and for a lot less largess.

And once again I failed to make the awards list. How about the “Most unwelcome letters-to-the-editor” award?

David L. Snell

Dillsboro

To the Editor:

The changes in the five-year black bear management plan currently being proposed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission puts major emphasis on killing and relaxed hunting regulations of our valued bears with little or no options dedicated to bear education as a viable alternative. Killing continues to be the preferred wildlife management route pursued by NCWRC officials with little emphasis on addressing the public’s role in creating wildlife issues. I, along with many other North Carolina wildlife advocates, oppose the “killing of more black bears management philosophy” and feel major consideration should also be given to alternatives such as educating the public regarding their role in living safely with black bears. 

The American Bear Association is dedicated to promoting the welfare of the black bear through education. It would be prudent to examine their philosophy, which many black bear advocates would like to see emphasized in North Carolina. They state, “We need to live with our wildlife neighbors as more people move into their habitat. A tolerant attitude is particularly critical for those living in bear country. Careless human behavior can create so-called ‘nuisance bears’ and too often bears are shot unnecessarily.” 

Despite the strong “kill more bears” recommendations by NCWRC officials, regarding management, many wildlife advocates specifically oppose extending the bear hunting season and increasing bag limits. This proposal fails to address positive education factors that could also have an impact on undesirable bear-human contact. The majorities of the general public feel bears are an important part of our mountain landscape and enrich our quality of life.

Where employed, black bear education has proved to drastically decrease black bear incidences. Organizations already exist in North Carolina which are qualified to assist communities and individuals regarding how to follow “bear safe” practices that have successfully reduced incidences and contact with our black bear neighbors. By educating the public regarding food sources, pets and behavior of black bears, issues can be dramatically reduced. 

As a concerned full-time resident who lives in black bear country, I see far less black bear activity and few incidences that call for such a radical killing of more bears. I would like to urge NCWRC management officials and our legislators to seriously consider education opportunities rather than just more killing as an option. Many feel the black bear is a highly valued symbol of the wildness and is a fascinating part of mountain living. In a variety of positive ways, bears touch the lives of residents, visitors and part-time homeowners in Western North Carolina. For many, educating the public regarding how to live safely in bear country is certainly an alternative that should be considered in the NCWRC five-year black bear management plan. 

John Edwards 

Director of Mountain Wildlife Days

Cashiers

The Golden LEAF Foundation and Duke Energy recently funded a trio of advanced manufacturing training grants, totaling $1.3 million, to Southwestern Community College and several partners.

The funding has ensured that ConMet and other manufacturers throughout Western North Carolina can locally train their employees on the latest technology.

Community partners throughout Swain, Jackson and Macon counties include ConMet, DuoTech Services, TekTone, Franklin Tubular, Jackson Paper, Caterpillar, Hometex and Shaw Industries.

Don Tomas, president of SCC, said the three grants mark the first three phases in an effort to close skills gaps identified by area industries.

“We’re excited about the partnerships we’ve created and communication lines we’ve opened,” Tomas said. “Receiving these grants is a game-changer for SCC and our service area.”

Elements of the grants include:

• $860,000 from Golden LEAF to install the equipment at the Swain County Regional Education and Training Center for workers and students to learn advanced manufacturing skills such as electronics and robotics.

• $220,000 from Golden LEAF for advanced manufacturing training equipment to be housed in the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center.

• $250,000 from Duke Energy to help equip SCC’s Jackson Campus for certificate, diploma and degree programs in computer engineering technology, electronics/electrical technology and robotics.

• A STEM (science-technology-engineering-math) education coordinator will be hired by Swain County Schools to help high school students enter this education and training pathway.

The Haywood Regional Medical Foundation has donated $400,000 to MedWest Haywood for a remodel of the fourth floor, which includes the Women’s Care Unit and Progressive Care Unit.

“We are so grateful to the HRMC Foundation for making this remodel possible,” said Janie Sinacore-Jaberg, President and CEO of MedWest Haywood.  “We know our patients and visitors, as well as our staff, physicians and volunteers will really enjoy being in the new units when they are complete. As we move through the exciting transition that lies ahead of us, this is one more indication that our community supports their hospital.”

Recent sizeable donations by the Haywood Regional Medical Center Foundation included $3 million to fund The Homestead Hospice Center and $265,000 to help build the new Outpatient Care Center on the campus of MedWest Haywood. 

 “The board’s mission and function is to promote fundraising in support of the hospital,” said Laura Leatherwood, Chair of the HRMC Foundation. “It’s mutually beneficial and helps our community in so many ways.”

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority will see unprecedented turnover on its board this month, with five of the 12 seats being filled by newcomers.

Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

Some homeowners in Waynesville might have started wondering why a certain visitor who had routinely appeared in their yard is no longer coming around: town public works employees, pen and paper in hand, jotting down readings on their water and power meters.

On Sept. 12, Jeff Clontz walked out of Haywood County Jail a free man. It wasn’t his first time, though. Jail, release and failing to pay child support comprised a cycle he knew well, but this time was different. When Clontz left the jail, he left behind more than just physical bonds. His spiritual bonds were gone, too. 

Lindenwood Lake, a four to five-acre stretch of water in Highlands, froze over last week during the area’s record-cold temperatures. Michelle Ruigrok, program assistant at the Highlands Biological Station, said she was able to stand on the edge of the frozen pond, where it appeared to be frozen several inches deep. However, she said it was hard to tell how deep the middle of the pond had frozen.  

The left loop of the Tsali Trail system popular among mountain bikers is closed due to a slide along the trail.

The other three loops in the trail system remain open. The Forest Service will work to evaluate and repair damage to the trail and issue an alert when the trail is reopened. Located near Fontana Lake, Tsali Recreation Area is nationally known for its 42-mile trail system. The four-loop network is open to hikers and horses, but the system is best known as a challenging mountain bike course. 

www.fs.usda.gov/nfsnc.

New farmers market planned for Macon 

The Macon County Heritage Center at the old Cowee School is launching a new farmers market in the region this summer.

Friends of the Rickman Store has received a small startup grant for planning the market. It will be on a different day than the Franklin farmer’s market, giving local growers an outlet to increase sales and expand production. The new market may also pull in new growers and new buyers due to the different location. 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.421.2923.

Food for thought at Farmers Market

The Jackson County Farmers Market has a lending library full of books and DVDs mostly focused on food — growing, eating, and cooking it. Become a Friend of the Market by donating a minimum of $5 to the market and get check-out privileges for these resource materials. For a complete listing of books and DVDs, visit www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org/books/library-books-and-dvds/. 

The farmer’s market winter hours are Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community Table, 23 Central St. in downtown Sylva.

Registration is now open for the Assault on Black Rock, a seven-mile trail race in Jackson County that takes runners and hikers on an ascent and descent of one of Western North Carolina’s most picturesque mountain summits.

Haywood Waterways Association is calling on lovers of clean water, those immune to the cold or anyone out there  crazy enough to jump on Polar Plunge bandwagon.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will receive 25 to 50 white-tailed deer every year for the next three years from Morrow Mountain State Park.

To the Editor:

When Hillary Clinton proposed a government-run, single-payer system to solve our health care crisis, Republicans responded by proposing a private insurance system based on an individual mandate. Then-Gov. Mitt Romney then adopted this insurance proposal for Massachusetts with great success. It was the conservative approach based on the free market and designed to save taxpayers from out-of-control healthcare costs. That plan was the basis for the Affordable Care Act, now known as Obamacare.  

Conservatives hate big government almost as much as they dislike big government deficits. Their plan attacked both problems. Private insurance companies ran the system and made a profit. Out-of-control healthcare costs were curbed.

Money is the key. The United States pays almost twice as much for health care than any other industrialized country, and yet we have much poorer health outcomes and fewer people covered. Our current system was broken, and would have soon bankrupted the country.

The Affordable Care Act is not something progressive Democrats wanted. What they wanted was a government-run single-payer plan. What we got was a private, for-profit insurance plan that everybody has to join because of the individual mandate. As the very conservative Heritage Foundation said, the key is personal responsibility. Everybody has to pull their own weight, no free rides.

What you don’t hear through the media noise surrounding the now-repaired website is the fact that the ACA is already helping to reduce health care cost inflation to a 50-year low. That fact alone will reduce our long-term deficit more than short-term cuts in spending.

Congress spent over a year crafting this law. It is complex because it is full of compromises to satisfy all the stakeholders. It is clear Republicans are doing everything possible to make it fail even though it was their idea.

Whether this law is good for you may depend on who is your governor. Democratic-led states created their own websites, expanded Medicaid and in general promoted competition between insurance carriers. In those states there has been much success. 

In Republican states like North Carolina, the insurance rates have been higher because of the state’s failure to encourage competition. The state’s failure to expand Medicaid to more than 500,000 uninsured has caused a financial crisis for many hospitals. One in four uninsured Macon County residents will continue to use the emergency room for basic care, at great cost to all of us. 

As Mitt Romney said of the individual mandate in 2006, the plan must include “... the personal responsibility principal, that is essential to bring health care cost down for everyone and getting everyone the health insurance they deserve and need.”

Louis Vitale

Franklin 

David C. Friedman • Guest Columnist

Doug Wingeier’s op-ed published in The Smoky Mountain News on Dec.  25, 2013, titled, “Christmas ‘peace’ in the land of the Holy One,” (www.smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/12259) is an impressionistic and factually distorted presentation of classic anti-Israel bias bordering on a rejection of the Jewish state’s right to exist. 

Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

He campaigned on the promise of making Franklin fertile ground for new ideas and encouraging more openness and transparency in government. 

There’s an open call for actors to audition for “To Kill A Mockingbird” Feb. 2-3 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. Professional actors are asked to be there at 6 p.m., with community theater actors at 7 p.m.

This year HART is trying something new. The theater is giving actors a chance to audition for principal roles for the entire season at one time. The idea is to give actors interested in being considered for leading roles an early shot at casting and give directors more time to assemble a cast. This is the only scheduled audition for “To Kill A Mockingbird,” the first show on the season, which will cast all roles. Anyone interested in being a part of that show in any role should attend one of the two nights or contact the director Wanda Taylor to make special arrangements for another time.

HART’s 2014 season includes “To Kill A Mockingbird,” opening April 25; “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do,” opening May 23, with auditions March 23-24; “Grand Night For Singing,” opening June 20, with auditions April 27-28; “Hello Dolly,” opening July 11, with auditions May 4-5; “The Odd Couple,” opening Aug. 22, with auditions June 29-30; “Urinetown,” opening Sept. 26, with auditions July 27-28; “Macbeth,” opening Oct. 24, with auditions Aug. 17-18; “A Christmas Carol,” opening Dec. 11, with auditions Nov. 2-3.

www.harttheater.com.

Apollo Winds, a professional chamber music group, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, in the recital hall of the Coulter Building in Cullowhee. 

The concert features Francis Poulenc’s “Sextet,” a three-movement work with an extensive part for the piano, to be played by Bradley Martin, WCU associate professor of music. Also on the program are “Three Shanties” by Malcolm Arnold, “Dublin Bay” by Percy Granger and “Klezmer Music for Woodwind Quintet” by Donald Draganski. 

Apollo Winds is a group of musicians who teach at colleges and universities in Western North Carolina and are members of several orchestras in the region. 

Free.

828.227.7242.

Smoky Mountain Sk8way & FUN ZONE will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and customer appreciation skate on Wednesday, Jan. 15, in Waynesville. The ribbon cutting will be from 4 to 6 p.m. followed by a customer appreciation night from 6 to 9 p.m. 

The rink has expanded and improved, adding a new FUN ZONE, with inflatable obstacle course, climbing wall and slides, and a new wood skate floor. Also, the snack bar has been remodeled and its menu expanded. The rink also added another 100 pairs of brand new rental skates so they can accommodate larger groups.

Admission is free for this fun-filled night of roller-skating. Skate rentals cost $2; FUN ZONE is $2, with all-night specials on pizza and drinks.

828.246.9124 or www.smokymountainsk8way.com. 

Play Shop, a free event in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service and Celebration, will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center, 45 E. Ridge Drive, Bryson City.

This year marks the beginning of Western Carolina University’s 125th year of existence, and university faculty, staff and students are planning a yearlong celebration to mark the milestone.

Appalachian fiddle and banjo duo The Stuart Brothers will perform at 7:45 p.m. Jan. 16 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

An exhibit of work by Edward J. Bisese titled “Good Thoughts Better” will open with an artist talk and reception at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, in the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University.

Hiker Danny Bernstein of Asheville, author of The Mountains-to-Sea-Trail Across North Carolina, won third place in the “People on the Trail” category of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail photo competition for this shot of her hiking partner, Sharon McCarthy, while hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

One of the region’s premier garden and landscape designers will give a talk at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at Lake Junaluska as part of the monthly “Live and Learn” series.