Western Carolina University’s 2016 original radio-style production of “Blackbeard’s Ghost and the Queen Anne’s Revenge” has won a “best of festival” award from the national Broadcast Education Association.

By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist

The press must be the keyboard on which the government can play.

— Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister, March 15, 1933

Donald Trump’s tantrums when he’s criticized or doesn’t get his way betray an emotional maturity that did not get beyond the “Terrible Twos.” Unfortunately, there is no one and no way to send the man-child in the White House to time out. To the contrary, grownups around him and in Congress are encouraging and enabling his behavior because it serves their own dark purposes.

To the Editor:

Thank you Smoky Mountain News and Becky Johnson for writing an article bringing to a close the chapter on the proposed annexation of Lake Junaluska with Waynesville.  Your coverage was excellent and served all parties with factual information. 

A lesson all can learn from this experience is that relationships are more important than our personal opinions. Another is to make the best of any situation.

The improvements made to the Conference and Retreat Center and to the Department of Public Works are a reflection of the attributes of Jack Ewing and Jack Carlisle. Their dedication to the Lake Junaluska Mission Statement plus their leadership through and beyond controversy is greatly appreciated. Both will leave huge shoes to fill sometime in the future.

Ron Clauser

Lake Junaluska

To the Editor:

It’s gotten to the point that I’m hesitant to listen to or read the news. President Trump’s most recent series of denigrating tweets and pronouncements are more suited to a petulant 4-year-old than the president of the United States. His sophomoric behavior and rants remind me of the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s “red scare” of the 1950s.

Trump’s erratic behavior, outright falsehoods, and bizzare outbursts have thrown the world into chaos. What we as a country need in our chief executive is leadership, not attacks on anyone who happens to disagree with him. What this world needs is stability, not disarray. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I’m deeply concerned at our president’s incredibly thoughtless demeanor. Even the most ardent of Trump supporters have to be wondering what’s going on.

The president has revealed what I and the majority of Americans who didn’t vote for him feared ... that this individual is totally unsuited to the office to which he was elected. The president may have gotten away with his autocratic, bullying tactics as a businessman, but it just doesn’t cut it when it comes to being the leader of the free world. Even members of the Republican-dominated Congress are finally coming to the reality that this “leader” is seriously flawed. This is not the behavior of a normal person. Bad ... really bad. God help us all.

Kurt J. Volker

Otto

The next meeting of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, inside the Historic Courtroom of the Haywood County Courthouse, in Waynesville.

Joshua Daniel Calhoun, 22, of Cherokee, was sentenced Feb. 14 in Swain County Superior Court to a maximum of 38 years and five months in prison for his role in the 2013 murder of Calup “Joe” Caston.

A Haywood County jury recently convicted Dewey George Gidcumb, 52, of Haywood County of felony voter fraud for voting twice in the 2016 Primary Elections in North Carolina.

Swain County commissioners are accepting applications from community members to serve on a newly formed Broadband Advisory Committee.

Richard Reeves has been awarded the N.C. Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service and the Elaine Kuhl Volunteer Service Award for his work to provide firewood to underprivileged individuals in Haywood County.

A team of fire experts is assembling at Great Smoky Mountains National Park to conduct a review of the 2016 Chimney Tops 2 fire that started in the park on Nov. 23.

Haywood’s biggest water champions of 2016 have been recognized by the Haywood Waterways Association, highlighting accomplishments from youth education to picking trash out of streams.

More than 340 acres in Jackson and Cherokee counties have been conserved, thanks to conservation easements through Mainspring Conservation Trust.

Many thanks to The Smoky Mountain News for the recent article by Becky Johnson (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/19193) to update the citizens of Haywood County about the library system survey many will receive in early February. The feedback from that survey is important to shape the development of the library system strategic plan. If you receive one of the 4,500 surveys in the mail, please take a few moments to fill out the two-sided form and then place it in the postage-paid envelope and return in the mail.  The Public Policy Institute of Western Carolina University will tabulate the results of your feedback and present them to the library task force in mid-March. The draft strategic plan should be completed in time to inform the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) of citizen interests this spring.

Why is this library survey important?  The key stakeholders  — the Haywood County leadership (including the county board, county manager, library director and appointed, volunteer board of trustees) and the nonprofit library support organizations (Friends of the Library and Library Foundation) have agreed to share resources to fund this county-wide, broad-sample survey so that we have the most current ideas to work with to complete the multi-year library system strategic plan.

Haywood County citizens have much to be proud of from the talented library team led by Sharon Woodrow. In 2016, the Haywood County Public Library won a state award (from among our 100 counties) for one innovative program and a second national level award for a separate initiative called “plug in and read” to inspire preschoolers. The library team wants to provide even better service to the citizens and needs your feedback on how to best meet that goal.     

The Friends of the Library provide both extensive volunteer hours and significant nonprofit resources to ensure maximum, quality programs are made available to citizens across all ages and interests. The Library Foundation, another nonprofit organization, provides infrastructure support across the library system. Both nonprofits rely on citizen donations to meet those needs and initiatives.

Thanks for your interest in helping to even better “connect the community” by completing the library survey and returning your feedback!   

David E McCracken

President

Haywood County Library Foundation

Kevin P. Murphy,

President

Friends of the Library Foundation 

To the Editor:

Unfortunately, anti-abortion supporters named themselves pro-life, thereby labeling pro-choice supporters pro-death. This serves to demonize the pro-choice movement, increase division, promote intolerance, and incite violence, as in the bombing of Planned Parenthood clinics and murder of their clinicians who provide low-cost healthcare for women and access to contraception, which results in fewer abortions. 

The point of contention between these two groups lies in definitions of when life begins. It is at conception for the anti-abortionists, and for pro-choice supporters it is either when an embryo becomes a fetus (occurring the earliest at the end of the first trimester) or when capable of sustaining life independently, at about 24 weeks. 

The pro-choice movement maintains that these beliefs and choices are personal decisions not to be decided for them by any government entity or any group or individual. They support the right of women in the anti-abortion movement to their own beliefs. 

Some members of the pro-choice movement personally do not favor abortion but concede that every woman has a right to choose for herself whenever it concerns her own body. 

Judy Stockinger

Franklin

To the Editor:

Our fathers and grandfathers fought in World War II to save the world from Nazi domination. Over 60 million people died in that war. There had been a European war about every 30 years for the last couple of centuries. After WWII, American leaders decided to make sure it would never happen again. The key to preventing another World War was NATO.

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed as a military alliance of European and North American democracies to serve as a counter-balance to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. Today NATO is just as important as it was in 1945.

 Gen. James Mattis, the new Secretary of Defense, said at his confirmation hearing, “If we did not have NATO today, we would need to create it.” It was clear in 1945 and it is clear today that Russia is our main adversary in the fight to create a world governed by democratic principles and the rule of law. Gen. Mattis called Russia “the principle threat” to the United States and he said, “I have very modest expectations about areas of cooperation with Mr. [Vladimir] Putin.” Russia sees NATO as the chief obstacle to its divide and conquer method of expansion.  

 Today, Russia is on the march to recreate the old Soviet Union. In March of 2014 they took by military force Crimea, the territory in Ukraine. This was the first time since the end of the WWII that a border in Europe had been changed by military force. Sanctions were imposed on Russia for this act of war. Through the use of cyber warfare, propaganda and social media, Russia has been attempting to destabilize every country in Europe. It is not clear if the Russian interference made any difference in our election, but it is clear they tried.

 Since WWII, we have been the world leader in opposing the forces of tyranny and oppression. The relative peace and prosperity we have enjoyed in the last 70 years is a direct result of the unity and power of NATO and similar alliances. Now, with a casual tweet calling NATO obsolete, our world leadership is in question.

Louis Vitale

Franklin

To the Editor:

The Constitution guarantees the right to assembly, and Americans continue to exercise that right throughout history. In the 1900s, we marched for women’s suffrage; in the 1930s, we marched for workers’ rights; in the 1960s, we marched for civil rights; in the 1970s, we marched for peace. Never before in the history of American non-violent protest were these marches joined by people from all around the world. 

The Women’s March the day after the inauguratio was a worldwide phenomenon of epic proportions. In hundreds of cities around the world, thousands participated, totaling millions of people worldwide. While these events were organized by women, the point of the marches was not limited to issues affecting women. The march was a show of solidary and an affirmation of human rights. It was a coming together to gather strength and inspiration from one another.

 I, for one, am grateful that I live in a country where the transfer of power shifts without bloodletting. That said, it is important to remember that, while the electoral college handed us a new president, the result was not the will of the majority. The elections of 2016 and 2000 are the only times in modern history when the American public was forced to accept a president not elected by the majority of its people. But government is not perfect and we live with the consequences. It is not too early to begin to think about the elections of 2018 and 2020.

 Over the next four years, no doubt, American institutions will be dismantled. We face the dissolution of Social Security, a program that has helped Americans for the better part of a century. We face the erosion of Medicare, an insurance program that provides care to seniors. We face the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and a return to people paying into a system when they are healthy, only to find their insurance denied when they need it most. We face the return to an environment where clean water and clean air are no longer priorities. We face the loss of a minuscule amount of the federal budget that supports community programming under the NEA, NEH and PBS.

Still, we should take heart. Never before in history, have people from all around the world joined America to affirm our concerns and to support our democracy.

Anna Fariello

Cullowhee

The board of directors of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre (HART) in Waynesville held its annual meeting recently in the newly opened Daniel and Belle Fangmeyer Theatre. 

Sherry and Gary Patterson vacationed in Bryson City for the first time about 20 years ago and now they can’t get enough of it.

Affinity Living Group held a groundbreaking ceremony recently for its new assisted living community, Bryson Senior Living. Pictured moving the ceremonial first shovelfuls of earth are Denis Rainey, Affinity Vice President of Operations; (from left) Swain County Commissioners David Monteith, Ben Bushyhead, Philip Carson, Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran and Adult Services Supervisor Carol Manley.

What type of fat does Ingles use in the Bakery for frying donuts, and why isn’t beef fat/lard or coconut oil used?

Is sugar “as addictive as cocaine?” These are both things you may have seen floating around the internet.

To the Editor:

I am writing to express my concern about the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.” The dismantling of this important health care program has already begun by the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate and by President Trump through executive orders signed his first day in office.

I am a senior citizen, currently enrolled in Medicare. According to a report by CNN, repeal of the ACA will cause Medicare premiums to increase and costs for prescription drugs will also increase. Perhaps more importantly, the currently free preventative care services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, would no longer be provided. 

President Trump promised to leave Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security alone, but I have no faith this will be possible as the dismantling of the ACA is so complicated and confusing. Why the rush, wreaking this kind of havoc before having a replacement ready? President Trump recently tweeted “insurance for everybody,” which, quite frankly, has a very hollow ring.

What if there is no way to adequately replace the ACA and we’re headed toward a major health care crisis in this country? As it is, the United States ranks 37th in the World Health Organization’s ranking of world health systems. In my opinion, we can do a great deal better.

Nancy Bullock

Canton

To the Editor:

Regarding Scott McLeod’s piece last week about the availability of internet service (www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/19234), it is a big problem.

My husband and I moved to Maggie Valley from Colorado after he retired. The man who sold us his house had DSL. There is a DSL line coming to the house. After we moved in, we were told that AT&T would not give us DSL service because they were “capped out.” 

First they told us that they would contact us. Then we were told that we needed to call them in the winter when they would have lines available. They told us everything except that Santa would give us a DSL line.  

If we had known about not having internet we would not have bought this house. I have warned my friends and family across the country about the internet problem when buying a home. I don’t think we’ll be able to get what we paid for if we sell our home because everything now depends on internet.

We are on a fixed income. I am paying $130 per month for 40 gigs with Sprint. That’s the best I can do. If I go over that, it's $50 per gig. I know because one month we had company and used 52 gigs. That's $600 in overage charges. Luckily, my husband called Sprint and they gave us one month of “forgiveness.” It is absolutely frightening.  

I feel like I am living in the 1800s and I don’t feel like anyone cares.

Carol Rooney

Maggie Valley

“Ignorance and misinformation, if allowed to prevail in foreign policy, handicaps the country’s security. In a world of complex and continuing problems, in a world full of frustrations and irritations, America’s leadership must be guided by the lights of learning and reason or else those who confuse rhetoric with reality and the plausible with the possible, will gain the ascendency with their swift and seemingly simple solutions to every world problem.”

— John Fitzgerald Kennedy, November 22, 1963 

To the Editor,

With the advent of the current executive administration in Washington, I believe that this is a quotation that should be resurrected and remembered. We, as a people, are frustrated with world and domestic events. But we should not, we cannot, allow these frustrations to overrule our reason, logic, and learning to allow “ignorance and misinformation” to become paramount in both our foreign and domestic policy. 

There is no room for “alternative facts” in our political system. We must rely on the truth, the true facts, as proven by evidence, not as accepted by belief only. I realize that people with differing views may interpret the proven facts in far different ways, but that is a difference of opinion, not a difference of the facts.  

If a fact cannot be vetted as true by evidence and empirical examination, then it is either an unfounded rumor or an outright falsehood (let’s define that as a lie). In either case, if not vetted as truth, then it does not belong in governmental policy or in tweets from the Oval Office.  

Mr. Trump, please refrain from lying to the American people and expecting us to accept and believe the lies. Many of us may be smarter than you think.

Luther Jones

Sylva

To the Editor:

The very first section of President Donald Trump’s order banning immigrants from seven nations refers to the plane attacks in 2001 that wreaked havoc in New York City, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. He writes: “... several of the 19 foreign nationals who went on to murder nearly 3,000 Americans ....” weren't properly vetted by the State Department.

Guess what? Of those 19 terrorists, not one came from the seven countries Trump must have picked out of a hat. No, they came from three of our major “allies” — Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates and Egypt, along with one or more from Lebanon. Ask our President why those three major allies got a pass. Is it because they buy our jets and we buy their oil? George Bush, Barack Obama and now Trump have all refused to even sanction those three nations.

Who are we, as a nation, being executive ordered to become? You and I are far more at risk of harm from a family member or friend. Yet we are told to reject oppressed refugees, most of whom are women and children, for what valid reason? Our actions in doing so put even more pressure on nations vastly poorer than ours to open their arms and hearts, or just let people die.

Worse yet is the wrapping of Christianity into this cake of hatred and bigotry. The facts counter Trump's lie that Christians were severely denied entry while Muslims were waved through into this country. I can picture Jesus extending his hand to greet displaced women, children and men who have fled their countries in order to survive. I just don't see Him holding a sign telling “those people” to go back to their temporary tents and shacks.

Bob Clark  

Waynesville

A week of rainy weather put drought on the retreat, with the classification of extreme drought absent from North Carolina for the first time since Oct. 11, 2016. 

A $20,000 Google Field Trip Days grant will help the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont give more kids and school groups access to its immersive environmental education programs.

Wayne Littrell, 72, of the Coleman Mountain community of Haywood County, was arrested Sunday, Jan. 29, and charged with the murder of his wife Mary Littrell, 66, at their home on Hawk Mountain Road.

There will be a meeting of the Indivisible Sylva NC group at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Jackson County Public Library.

To the Editor:

Those job killing North Carolina Republicans are at it again. The Republican General Assembly has cost North Carolina hundreds of jobs with the ill-conceived HB2 bathroom bill. Now 10 Republican legislators are asking the Trump administration to kill a big wind farm project that has been completed in the Atlantic.

A company has built a $400 million wind farm that can produce the equivalent energy for 60,000 homes in accordance with Navy specifications so as to be compatible with flight training and radar instillations. Amazon is planning to use the energy generated from the wind farm for a distribution center they are developing. Is stopping this project how Republicans promote business in North Carolina?

The legislators want the wind farm shut down and presumably dismantled. Their argument is that the turbines pose a threat to Navy pilot training. Apparently they feel that Navy aviators are unable to fly over or around the turbines. They also claim the wind farm was installed due to “ political correctness” imposed by the Obama administration. Both arguments are bogus. We need to develop more alternative energy sources, which currently support more jobs than coal mining.

Maybe the better question concerning the wind farm is how much the Republican legislators got in political contributions from Duke Energy?

Norman Hoffman

Waynesville

Two U.S. Forest Service roads in Madison County have been closed for safety reasons,

A record 149,600 visits were recorded at the Waynesville Recreation Center in 2016, busting the previous record of 149,574 set in 2009.

The increasing number of wildlife requiring aid in Western North Carolina will benefit from a $5,000 grant that the N.C. Veterinary Medical Association awarded to Asheville-based Appalachian Wildlife Refuge.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic condition experienced by some 1 in 5 Americans. IBS affects the large intestine (colon) and is characterized by abdominal pain, cramping, gas, bloating and diarrhea. Often diagnosis of IBS is made after eliminating other possible diseases and causes of these symptoms. (Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome/basics/definition/con-20024578 ).

Support Local Food Entrepreneurs at Ingles Markets on Weaver Blvd., Weaverville. January 26th - 3-6 pm

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park reeled in 11.3 million visitors in 2016, a 5.6 percent increase over the previous record of 10.7 million set in 2015.

Fifteen tons of food that would otherwise have gone to waste found their way to hungry mouths in 2016, thanks to volunteers with the Haywood Gleaners.

The Appalachian Mural Trail has developed a long-range plan to include these priceless murals and all future murals into a trail of murals encircling the Blue Ridge Parkway. Each mountain community and downtown area now has opportunities to join the mural trail to create their own outdoor historical mural or showcase what they have already developed.

Although many poets and musicians have won awards, there is only one person who has a world-wide celebration every year from Canada, United States, Europe, South Africa, to Australia. That is Robert Burns, national poet of modern Scotland.   

Robert Burns is credited with saving the folk music of Scotland. He was born just a few years after England conquered Scotland in 1746. The English were intent on destroying the clan system. Edicts of Proscription were issued forbidding the remaining Scottish people from wearing tartans and speaking Gaelic upon removal or threat of death. Scottish leaders and their families were hunted down. The lucky ones escaped and came to America and Canada. Not many decades passed before the old language, except in the darkest dells of Scotland, was lost.

Robert Burns was a poor farmer in Ayeshire, Scotland, but became an accomplished poet. He began to compose a collection of poems about familiar country characters and legends. To make the subjects more human, he wrote in the Broad Scots dialect that was used for storytelling. He set many of these to old pub ballads.

He performed this repertoire in meeting halls and salons around Scotland, attracted mentors, and became famous. Two hundred and fifty-eight years later, Robert Burns Nights highlighting his poems and songs are bringing people together around the world.  He did not live long enough to gain his popularity. He died at the age of 37.

The Friends of the Scottish Tartans Museum will host its annual Burns Night Dinner on Jan. 21 at Tartan Hall, First Presbyterian Church in Franklin. You do not have to have a Scottish heritage or a certain dress to attend this event. Anyone is welcome. The evening starts with a roll call of clans and districts, moves on to a five course Scottish dinner menu, interspersed with Burns’ poems and songs and concludes with singing “Auld Lang Syne,” perhaps his most famous work. Martha’s Kitchen is the caterer for our night. During the dinner, the Jacobites by Name will provide musical entertainment.

Common practices in all Burns Night celebrations are a calling of the clans, presentation of the Haggis, ode to the haggis, Selkirk grace, a witty toast to the Lads and Lassies, the immortal memory of Robert Burns, a toast to the bard, and “Auld Lang Syne,” which Scots sing to welcome a new year.

There will be a silent auction, door prizes, and a 50/50 raffle. It adds spice to the night to watch competition between friends who try to outbid the other. The silent auction helps us to raise money to fund our projects through the year. There will be a donation jar. Putting on a five course dinner is rather expensive, but the Friends do this night to support our friends and the Scottish community. 

Merrilee Bordeaux

Franklin

To the Editor:

Scott McLeod’s recent editorial “Looking more for ideology, less politics” (www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/19140) truly resonated for me and I hope for this paper’s readers. I grew up in the shadow of this country’s birth near Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts,  and my formative years were spent on Cape Cod. I campaigned for President Kennedy in high school and had the honor of meeting him during my stint in the Navy (1961-65). 

After earning by bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in public administration, I’ve come to personally and professionally know hundreds of city, county, state, and federal officials, both elected and appointed.

Before “retiring” in 2006, my career included time as a political reporter for a South Florida newspaper, Director of Communications and Governmental Affairs for two Chambers of Commerce, and as the first Executive Director of the Broward County (Florida) League of Cities. I actively participated in Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission during the 1970s and ran for Broward County Commission in 1992. I have no affiliation with any political party and consider myself an independent.

As an observer of and participant in governmental affairs for a good portion of my professional career, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Unlike North Carolina, Florida has a constitutional requirement coined “the Sunshine Law.” That law requires all elected branches of government from the local to the state level to advertise and conduct all business in public. I believe there are a few minor exceptions such as executive sessions of the legislature, but the press must be present or have a pool reporter in attendance. No secret meetings, no midnight surprises, no deception. It’s a shame the federal government doesn’t have such a requirement.

The only way this country has been able to thrive as a democracy past these 311 years is through healthy, open discourse, unrestricted (in most cases) public access to our government and electors, and the active involvement of its citizenry. Too many people rely on tweets, rumor, innuendo, and “reality TV” for information about their government and our elected leaders. Political parties have so polarized this nation that I will be astounded if the incoming administration will be able to function objectively.

In the words of the late Sir Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form of government ... except for all the rest.” So a word to those of you out there who have an opinion about a particular candidate, issue, or position on the state of our government. Stop whining. Educate yourselves on the people and the issues. And above all get involved. The framers of our constitution created the greatest republic on the face of the earth. You owe it to them and yourselves to continue that tradition.

 Kurt J. Volker

Otto

To the Editor:

When you write “Looking for more ideology, less politics,” what exactly does that imply? And when you talk about “the fight for equal rights for blacks, women, gays, and the LGBTQ community” is something you “support wholeheartedly,” will you please explain to me why whites and males are always left off that list?

David L. Snell 

Franklin

To the Editor:

I am writing this letter in hopes that people walking their pets will be more considerate to people like me.  

I am talking about the owners who do not leash their dogs at Lake Junaluska and other public area parks here in town, even though many posted signs say that a leash is required at all times. 

Again yesterday I was walking my dogs back to our parked car when another vehicle pulls up right next to mine sees me across the way with my hands full, opens his door and let's his dog jump out with no leash. I loudly ask him to leash his dog, he and others with him rudely ignored me. I am disabled so I have to be very careful when out with my pets. 

My little male will be very protective when a strange dog appears to close by. Just because you think your dog will be friends with mine or obey your commands does not mean that me, my dogs or your dog cannot get hurt. I would much prefer to be able to walk my dogs near my home but we have a large free roaming Shepherd whom is allowed do as he pleases. Neither his owners or Animal Control will assist with this problem either. So after years of trying to make them enforce the law I have no choice but to go to the lake or college or recreation area.  

So please, if you want to let your dog free range, we have hundreds of miles of national parks and trails for you to do so.  Let us seniors be safe.

Mylan Sessions 

Clyde

To the Editor:

Mr. McLeod, am writing to commend your timely Opinion piece. You made a number of excellent points. It's so hard though, with the constant drumbeat of news, headlines, tweets, blogs, posts, etc., in your face. I am trying to chill out and talk about something else. Probably good for us all. 

David Goodrow, 

Scaly Mountain

A Clyde man who has been missing since Jan. 3 has been found deceased.