To the Editor:

The commercial property owners, the merchants who rent property for their small, medium and large businesses, deserve to understand how the county has decided that commercial property has increased 35 percent, 42 percent, and even 67 percent in value. This is very bad for Haywood County.

Maggie Valley is at economic Ghost Town level and I do not mean the one up on the mountain! I mean the merchants and commercial property owners in Maggie. The same goes for downtown Waynesville. How can our elected officials believe that commercial property is worth so much more money? You cannot give away commercial property in most commercial areas of the county.

A week or two ago a super liberal organization called MoveOn.org came through Haywood County and was invited to meet with county Democrats at their center in Haywood Square. I received an invitation via the Internet and decided to go see their performance and hear what their message was.

I was met at the front door and told, “You are not allowed at this meeting!” I guess they knew who I was, but they failed to greet me by name. I told the person blocking the doorway that I had received an invitation on the Internet and had come to hear their message. She said loudly for all those already seated inside to hear ... “Only card carrying Democrats are allowed in this meeting.”

OK, I replied, and stood perplexed outside the closed door. Then they sent a man out front to stand there and hold up a large professionally prepared poster that was all red, white and blue that stated in very large letters, “Stop the War on Workers!” Well I am a worker, along with other employed people in Haywood County, and I was not aware of a war against me and other workers around the county.  But, maybe I am just working too hard to survive these hard times and have not been made aware of a war on me that needs to be stopped!

But now that the new revaluation results have been mailed to commercial property owners I am about to decide that the county commissioners have declared war on businesses in Haywood County. Haywood County, Canton, Clyde, Maggie Valley, Waynesville and the Downtown Waynesville Association all participate gleefully in taking money from property owners in Haywood County and spending it willy-nilly on this non-essential services or pet projects. They will now set a tax rate and we will cough up money for them to pass out to this agency and that agency in the name of Big Government ....

Are you Taxed Enough Already? Meet me in front of the Haywood Courthouse on Tax Day, April 15, Friday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Bring your own lawn chair. Open mike and the meeting is open to those who carry a party card and to those who do not! There will be no door to close in your face. This meeting is open to all.

Jonnie Cure

Waynesville