Admin
After 29 years at the helm of the Nantahala District of the Nantahala National Forest, District Ranger Mike Wilkins is retiring.
Longtime Mainspring Conservation Trust board member Richard Clark has retired from the board.
A new pollinator garden has been completed in the Waynesville Recreation Park.
Vecinos Farmworker Health Program, a community service partner with Western Carolina University’s College of Health and Human Sciences, has received a major grant that will ensure continued assistance to an underserved local population.
With the first two days of election filing in the books, only three people have signed up to run for elected positions in Jackson County municipalities, which have a total of eight open seats between them.
Leaders of Western Carolina University and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College met Monday, July 8, to sign a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions of higher education that guarantees admission to WCU for all A-B Tech graduates who satisfy specific requirements spelled out in the document.
1670 Brown Ave, Waynesville. Thursday, July 25 • 3-6 p.m. Have you ever been to a “Taste of Local” event at Ingles?
Inulin is a prebiotic dietary fiber (a fructo-oligosaccharide – FOS) and may be listed in ingredients as “chickory root”.
Results from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s wild turkey harvest summary show this year’s harvest was the second highest ever recorded, with hunters across the state reporting 18,730 birds harvested, including 1,478 birds taken during the youth-only hunting season.
Gov. Roy Cooper has signed into law a bill that reconstitutes several boards and commissions that the court previously held to have unconstitutionally appointed membership. Those boards include the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.
To the Editor:
I visited the new aquarium in Bryson City on Saturday. I was very disappointed. Volunteers put thousands of hours into this aquarium. They designed the layout, build the stands, installed the beautiful woodwork with donated barn wood. They assisted with the plumbing, the tank decorations and installed all the informational displays. Well over $100,000 was donated to provide Bryson City with a new high-end attraction that fits so well with the fishing industry and fly fishing museum.
To the Editor:
I’m writing to express my outrage regarding the claim in a letter recently printed in local paper that teachers who march in Raleigh are not worthy to be called “professionals.”
By Bob Scott • Guest Columnist
Those of us fortunate enough to live in communities where natural amenities abound know just how attractive these places can be to people who define their lives by recreational pursuits that are tied to our streams, rivers and mountains.
In Macon County and Franklin, where I am mayor, I see it every day, whether hikers setting out along the Appalachian trail, kayakers and rafters rolling down the Nantahala or Cullasaja rivers, or fly fishers plying the smaller waters all around.
To the Editor:
To impeach or not to impeach, that is the question on the minds of many Americans and the U.S. Congress. We must consider whether such action is in the vital best interests of the United States despite any political risks of its outcome.
Children of my generation were taught, accepted, and held inviolate, the Constitution’s basic principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. Every child today, and every adult in America, is learning from Donald Trump, that these tenets, this foundation, our code of ethics, our Constitution, may be nothing but hogwash.
By refusing to respond to any congressional subpoenas, Trump is saying Congress has no constitutional authority to oversee the executive branch. He’s stating that Congress is subordinate (not a co-equal) branch of government. Do we just simply forget about separation of powers?
By spending money on his ill-conceived wall that Congress explicitly refused to OK, Trump is saying Congress has no constitutional authority over spending. Goodbye, checks and balances. Goodbye, Congress.
By shutting down government whenever this man-child doesn’t get his way, Trump is saying he has the constitutional right not to execute laws whenever it suits him. Again, Farewell, Congress.
By directing the attorney general, the justice department, the FBI and the secretary of the treasury to act in his own personal interest rather than in the interests of the American people, Trump is saying that he (or any president) can run the U.S. government on his own. Adios, Constitution and Goodbye, America, au revoir, ta-ta, sayonara.
By threatening to cut off trade with the second-largest economy in the world, Trump is saying he has sole authority to endanger the entire American economy. Andres Manuel Lopez Abrador (President of Mexico) is the most recent leader to try and explain the economic facts of life to Trump before he puts the world’s economy in a tailspin.
And by doing everything possible to stop an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including firing the head of the FBI (interference we all now know was true and clearly took place), Trump told America it’s AOK for a president to obstruct justice. Goodbye, law. You comfortable with that? I’m not.
The core purpose of the U.S. Constitution is to prevent tyranny. The framers wisely distributed power among the President, C ongress, and the judiciary, giving each of the three branches the means to limit the power of the other two. In other words, the framers of the U.S. Constitution anticipated the possibility of a Donald Trump.
The framers also put in components to enforce the Constitution against a president who tries to usurp the powers of the other branches (which Donald Trump clearly has). The last sentence of Article I, Section 2: “The House of Representatives shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” In the next to last paragraph of Article I, Section 3: “The Senate shall have sole Power to try all Impeachments.”
President Trump (in my opinion) clearly appears to be actively usurping the powers of the other branches. Therefore, the road ahead (though difficult to traverse) seems equally clear. Under our present circumstances, the Constitution mandates, commands, and expressly directs that the House of Representatives undertake an impeachment inquiry and present the resulting evidence to the Senate.
This may not be the most popular or the most practical and certainly not the most risk-free political thing to do. But it is the necessary and the right thing to do.
David L. Snell
Franklin
To the Editor:
FAKE NEWS! While I don’t make a habit of using Trump terms, it’s the best way to describe the false claim made in the letter published earlier this month in another local newpaper that two Muslim congresswomen, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tiaib, have co-sponsored legislation to establish Muslim holidays as new federal holidays.
According to FactCheck.org, on January 12, 2019, “a self-described ‘parody’ website (sorightithurts.com) published a made-up story about the two Muslim congresswomen introducing a bill recognizing Muslim holidays as federal holidays.” Sadly, the story went viral because so many people, including the author of the June 3 letter, did not check FactCheck or Snopes before sharing it.
Although there was no disclaimer with the January 12 story, Snopes indicates there is a general disclaimer on the “So Far Right It Hurts” website stating that the content is “paradoxical” and intended for “comic effect or ridicule.” The disclaimer further explains that the website articles range from “misleading to wildly imaginative” and are published under the assumption that the reader understands there is no claim of “accuracy or validity.”
To be certain, I checked the official source for all Congressional legislation — www.house.gov — and there have been no bills introduced by Reps. Omar or Tiaib to create any Muslim holidays.
I’m assuming that the author of the letter (Ted Carr of Bethel) heard this made-up story about the two congresswomen from controversial Muslim critic Chris Gaubatz when he spoke to the Haywood GOP, so I hope Mr. Carr will do the responsible thing and notify Gaubatz (as well as those who attended his presentation) that he’s spreading fake news.
It’s very sad that the right-wing extremists launched immediate efforts to discredit the two congresswomen almost immediately after they took their oath of office in January 2019; even sadder, that this very dated made-up story about them is still being circulated.
Myrna Campbell
Maggie Valley
The Waynesville Judo Club recently competed in the South Carolina State Championship, coming away with 11 medals.
The N.C. State Board of Elections is seeking public comments through July 12 on proposed rules changes related to the implementation of the new voter ID law, including the photo identification requirement for absentee-by-mail voting.
Disclosure: While I don’t avoid meat, dairy, seafood, poultry or eggs there are those who do for ethical or health reasons, so it is great to have a variety of choices to refer them to when they shop at their local Ingles Markets.
Types of Iron: Heme (found in animal products) and nonheme (found in plant products and enriched grains). Heme iron is more readily absorbed by your body.
To the Editor:
In the summer of 1964, I was a 20 year old boiler-man aboard the U.S.S. Preston (DD-795), docked in Hong Kong. Word came to our Captain that two sister ships (Maddox and Turner Joy) had been fired on by North Vietnamese naval vessels. We were ordered to relieve the Maddox in order for repairs to be made. I had no doubt about the veracity of that information then. Like my daddy who served before me along with three brothers who were serving at that time I believed we were loyal to God and country. Protecting democracy!
To the Editor:
In a recent issue of The Smoky Mountain News, Ms. Hannah McLeod expressed her disdain for evangelical Christian Old White Men (OWM). While most of her attack was centered on the abortion issue in Alabama, she also made a variety of other assumptions and charges I would like to address.
Renovated tennis courts will greet Lake Junaluska visitors this summer season.
A relatively new trailhead now has a brand new parking lot that’s sure to make accessing the Bartram Trail in Macon County easier and more convenient than ever.
Women of Waynesville recently donated $10,000 to Sharin Care, a fund designated to help relieve the financial burdens associated with medical and dental needs for people in Haywood County.
Leonard “LJ” Green, of Waynesville, was arrestedby June 11 by the Waynesville Police Department for Solicitation for Prostitution and two counts of Stalking.
Recent reports of increased bear encounters in Panthertown Valley have prompted a call for caution among visitors.
To the Editor:
In the June 5 issue of The Smoky Mountain News, Hannah McLeod imputes the motives of those who oppose abortion.
To the Editor:
I commend Hannah McLeod for speaking so forthrightly and forcefully about the new extreme abortion laws.
To the Editor:
Hats off to Scott McLeod and the staff at SMN for navigating two decades of informative, entertaining and inspiring reporting a genuine picture of issues and life in WNC. They’ve succeeded in an incredibly tough business, when others were folding, due not only to their tenacity, determination, sacrifice and courage, like the early settlers to our region, but because they turn out a damn good product and make it look easy.
To the Editor:
Congratulations The Smoky Mountain News for its 20th anniversary.
As a fifth-generation journalist, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Scott McLeod’s remembrances through the past two decades. Leaving a paying job at one paper to start another, and with his wife and young children at the time, was certainly a gutsy move.
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In the most recent edition of the SMN (June 5), I read a guest editorial written by Mr. Sam Edwards that was intended, I suppose, to serve as some sort of “cogent” response to a guest editorial written a week prior by Ms. Hannah McLeod. I can only offer my own opinion here, but I do believe Mr. Edwards fell short on the cogency scale, as his response became essentially an ad hominem attack on Ms. McLeod. Upon seeing Hannah McLeod’s recent guest column published in these pages on May 29, my first reaction was that it belongs in the same category as those rants whose message boils down to, “It’s da Jooz.” Ms. McLeod’s seething anger about what she perceives, rightly or wrongly, as the victimization of the identity groups she most cares about may explain her passion, and may even call forth sympathy for their — and her — wounds. However, her fervor does not excuse her vicious caricatures of the views and motivations of those with whom she disagrees and her distortion of facts that she should have checked before writing about them. As the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but no one is entitled to his own facts.” A basic principle of good analysis — which she ought to have been taught at App State — is to base it on primary sources before expressing definite opinions. This she evidently has not done. In its mission to engage children with the outdoors, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Kids in Parks program is marking a powerful milestone; kids and families have completed one million adventures through the program’s TRACK Trails. This figure represents more than one million miles hiked, biked or paddled, and more than 500,000 hours spent outside. You can’t always believe what you see. The water in our mountain streams is sometimes polluted even though it appears crystal clear. And sometimes what looks like pollution is actually fighting the effects of pollution. Mainspring Conservation Trust now has an office in downtown Sylva. Author and curator Anna Fariello was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Folk Art Center during the annual meeting of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged investment adviser Stephen Brandon Anderson, 41, of Waynesville, with defrauding clients by overcharging advisory fees of at least $367,000. To the Editor: Many people in our Western North Carolina counties are in a health care coverage void. Through no fault of their own they are among 530,000 persons in the state who are caught in a coverage “gap” between Medicaid and Medicare. That gap is created when their income level, either too high or too low, disqualifies them from both programs unless NC legislators adopt Medicaid “expansion.” Until then, most people in this gap can’t afford routine doctor visits where health conditions could be treated before they become emergencies. We see these persons every day. They are construction workers, early childhood educators, home health care aides, cashiers and service workers in restaurants, retail, hotels and the entertainment industry. These are people who feed their families and pay rent by juggling up to four jobs. Their employers don’t provide health care coverage and when there’s a health crisis, the emergency room is their only option. They live on the margin of our communities and it seems that certain legislators aim to keep them in that place. This needs to change! Democrat and Republican legislators know that the solution is to pass legislation that provides “clean” Medicaid expansion. This means no special requirements — no fees, no reporting, no extra hurtles that have been judged to be illegal or impractical in other states. Many of our representatives and senators know Medicaid expansion is the most fair and appropriate solution. It has already been adopted by 37 other states. Our hospital administrators, doctors and other health professionals agree they will be better able to care for lower income North Carolinians through clean Medicaid expansion legislation. Why are Reps. Michelle Presnell, R-Burnsville, and Kevin Corbin, R-Franklin, and Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, denying health care coverage to these people in WNC? Paul Smith Mars Hill To the Editor: Thank you for publishing Norman Hoffman’s diagnosis of our president’s obvious disorder. Hoffman’s approach is logical, analytical, factual, clinically professional — done with clear objectivity. Donald Trump is a threat to everything that makes us proud Americans. Voters, wake up! Diane Davis Waynesville To the Editor: You don’t have to look far to see that many in North Carolina — approximately 500,000 — are struggling from an absence of adequate, high quality health insurance. This is why Haywood Regional, as part of its mission of “Making Communities Healthier,” is supporting bipartisan efforts by Gov. Roy Cooper and legislators from both parties in the General Assembly to expand Medicaid. If North Carolina were to expand Medicaid, access to affordable insurance coverage would become available to the most vulnerable in North Carolina, including many in rural communities like ours. Currently, many uninsured North Carolinians are reliant on emergency rooms in hospitals for their health care needs. Instead, our state should expand insurance coverage to allow these individuals and families access to appropriate care through a primary care physician. This will help them get the care they need at the right time and in the appropriate setting, which will improve health outcomes and build a stronger North Carolina. Expanding access to insurance coverage is also critical to maintaining the viability of community and rural hospitals and the communities they serve. Now is the time to address this critical need impacting our family, friends and neighbors. I hope that you will join us and encourage Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, and Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, to support efforts to expand Medicaid in North Carolina, including “N.C. Health Care for Working Families” (HB 655) which is currently under consideration in the North Carolina General Assembly. Rod Harkleroad, CEO, Haywood Regional Medical Center Maurice Phillips, Board Chair, Haywood Regional Medical Center By Hannah McLeod • Guest Columnist Living outside the United States makes it easier to ignore the day-to-day whirlwind of political and social bull that pervades our society. The back and forth, the focus on optics instead of outcome, the now-faster-than-24-hour news cycle. My days here in Costa Rica are centered around making sure everyone gets fed, that the house runs smoothly, and whether or not there is good surf. Presence is a must. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission wants to hear about hellbender sightings, part of agency biologists’ ongoing effort to learn more about where the giant salamanders live and how their populations are faring. On the heels of a year when more people died from boating accidents in North Carolina than in any other year since 1990, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is urging caution on the water. A blended burger is when you add mushrooms to your hamburger meat. You may choose to do this to decrease the fat amount, increase the fiber, stretch the meat further or just as a way of eating less meat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications from producers looking for help to cover the cost of organic certification. As of March 18, the Nantahala Hiking Club is officially a 501c3 nonprofit. Deer harvest in North Carolina declined 9 percent from the previous three-year average in the 2018-19 season, despite the fact that it increased 7.3 percent in the western region, according to hunter reports to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. More than 115 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway will be resurfaced this year as part of a pavement preservation program. Twenty years after the program launched, drivers in Tennessee and North Carolina have passed the $15 million mark in support to Friends of the Smokies through specialty license plate sales. Eighth grader Gracie Burgess, of Bethel Middle School, will see her artwork worn by eighth-graders across Haywood County during Kids in the Creek this year following her win at Haywood Waterways Association’s annual T-shirt contest. 
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Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian
The Paraguariensis tree or Paraguayan Holly, with its holly-like leaves, grows to over 26 feet in height in subtropical regions of northern Argentina, southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Read More
Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian
Question: Which of your pork, poultry and beef products at Ingles Markets are “hormone-free”? Read More
Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian
There seems to be more interest lately in non-alcoholic (NA) beverages. These run the gamut from mixed drinks without alcohol (aka “mocktails”) to beer and wine that can be classified as NA when they have less than 0.5% ABV (alcohol by volume). Read More
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