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To the Editor:
Limited government was ridiculed in a recent Smoky Mountain News article. Most Americans are strong believers in limited government because we believe in our individual rights.
These rights (such as free speech) must be protected against a powerful and abusive government. Freedom of speech limits the government’s ability to prevent citizens from speaking their minds and opposing the government. Freedom of speech is not only for the press and journalists — it is for everyone.
This is a powerful limit on the government. So limited government is a good thing. People around the globe have been arrested because they choose to speak out against their governments.
In America, we are seldom arrested for excising our freedom of speech. But some of our other liberties are not so well guarded.
That means that a powerful government can take away your freedom of speech … freedom of religion … freedom to bear arms … put us in jail without probable cause … spy on our cell phone conversations and internet messages … use drones … and abuse the power of the IRS to intimidate us. Ordinary citizens must limit the power of the government or it will be abusive.
In general, as our government over-reaches into all areas of our lives, Americans do not approve. As the original extremists (Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Ben Franklin, etc.) remind us, “Any government powerful enough to give you anything you want, is powerful enough to take away everything that you have.”
Our rights come from God; they are not given to us by our government. This is important. When the government is limited, it means that individual people have more power. So power to the people implies a limited government. Governments take freedoms from people in many ways.
So it is our job as good citizens to fight back against the government’s desire for more power and to limit the abuses of the government.
Freedom is not free; it must be fought for everyday. Limiting government ensures freedom. I will even protect your freedom to disagree with me.
Lynda Bennett
Maggie Valley
By Doug Wingeier • Columnist
In early October we spent two weeks in our 150-year-old log cabin situated on a corner of our daughter Ruth and husband John’s 40 acres in central Minnesota, which has no electricity or running water.
While there we enjoy a simple life — reading by oil lamp and candlelight, outhouse comfort, vegetarian diet, sleeping sundown to sunup. Ruth is a licensed nurse midwife who has delivered more than 2,000 babies (many of them home births) in the 30 years she has lived there. John is recently retired after working as an Alaskan bush pilot, builder and cabinet maker, skilled factory worker, and a math and science teacher. They have raised three boys, the youngest now a college junior.
By Paul Clark • Correspondent
Mary McNeil carried her shopping bag around Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market like a kid on Halloween. In went fresh-ground sausage, newly prepared chorizo and a few cuts of meat from animals that spent the summer happily munching Haywood County’s glorious green grass.
Walking through the market outside the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre on a crisp fall day, McNeil felt good not only about the quality of meat she was buying from a surprisingly large number of meat vendors, but also about what she was doing for the local economy. Buying meat from local farmers helps them keep their land in farms and their families in the pink.
Hey, all you turkey deep-fryer users. What are your plans this Thanksgiving for all that cooking oil once you have fried the big bird?
Here’s an idea: bring your used cooking oil to one of Blue Ridge Biofuels drop-off bins located throughout Western North Carolina. Recycling cooking oil keeps mucky grease out of sewers and landfills and turns it into clean energy instead, according to BRB.
For more information, visit www.cookingoilrecycling.org.
The Waynesville Judo team took top honors at the Fall Brawl judo tournament Oct. 5 at the Waynesville Recreation Center by winning the coveted Team Trophy. The Waynesville team competed among nearly 100 contenders from five different states, who attended the event.
“Overall we were pleased with the event,” said Sensei Jimmy Riggs. “We had lots of good judo, the Sunset Cruisers and great barbecue.”
In addition to the Team Trophy, individual competitors from the Waynesville Judo team also claimed numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in their divisions. First place winners were: Braden Riggs, Max Rogers, Jessi Shell, Billy Frizzell, Eli Frizzell, Gage Cole, Dalton Greer and A.J. Flowe.
Second-place winners were: Trevor Phillips, Travis Austin, Carson Frizzell, Dessa Phillips, Mitchell Ensley, Greg Rogers and Samuel Danks. Third-place winners were: Jazzie Baxter and Cristian Kuehl.
The club’s next tournament will be at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. For more information about the program contact Jimmy Riggs at 828. 506.0327.
U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officials have released a picture of a man they believe may have information about the Linville Gorge wildfire, which is now 100 percent contained after burning nearly 2,600 acres. They are hoping the public can help identify him.
The Great Smoky Mountains Association will hold a “blow-out sale” on select merchandise starting Thanksgiving Day at its Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
More property along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waterrock Knob is now protected, thanks to The Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC) and a Salisbury couple.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of a fire that broke out Nov. 21 in the commercial strip in the center of the Western Carolina University campus and caused heavy damage to three popular businesses.
No injuries were reported during the fire. All university functions remained operational throughout the duration of the incident, and the university did not cancel classes. Portions of Centennial and Central drives were closed while firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.
The fire, which resulted in heavy smoke pouring from the affected businesses, was reported shortly after 9 a.m., and was extinguished by approximately 12:30 p.m., emergency officials said. A total of 21 units from WCU, from the counties of Jackson, Haywood, Macon, Swain and Buncombe, and from the Qualla Boundary responded to the blaze, including firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical care teams.
The fire damaged three dining establishments in the commercial area of Centennial Drive — a Subway sandwich shop, Rolling Stone Burrito and Mad Batter Bakery and Cafe. The businesses are located on the ground floor of the two-story structure. The second story of the building, which had contained apartments until several years ago, was unoccupied.
By Colby Dunn • Correspondent
On a recent sunny afternoon, Deb Shalosky is standing in the kitchen pantry at the Fines Creek Community Center, a little autumnal sun glinting off the neatly labeled octagonal jar in her outstretched hand.
By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent
The legendary Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub, an institution and social mainstay in downtown Franklin, saw a generational changing of the guard this year after 15 years in the hands of its original founder and owner.
By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent
A group of merchants in Sylva rallying their fellow shopkeepers and restaurateurs in the downtown area to jump on the buy local movement as a way to strengthen their own economy from the ground up.
Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent
A nearly decade-long dream to build an inpatient hospice house for the terminally ill and their families in Franklin is closer to becoming a reality.
By Paul Clark • Correspondent
In the old Imperial Hotel in Canton, Sid’s on Main is creating a little history of its own.
Sid Truesdale, who owns the restaurant with his wife Page, is honoring the building’s place in local history by putting pecan pie on the menu. The original restaurant, which fed workers and executives at the then-new Champion paper plant nearby, served pecan pie, as well as the drop biscuits that Sid also offers.
Light rainfall over the weekend wasn’t enough to slow the Table Rock fire in Linville Gorge nor will this week’s expected weather help much either, a fire official said Monday. “[The rain] has helped, but a half inch is not going to put this fire out,” said Deborah Walker, fire information officer for the U.S. Forest Service. Fire officials pulled firefighters off the line Sunday because of windy conditions and this week’s forecast of wind and warmer temperatures will continue to make it too risky for firefighters to access the uncontained areas. As of Monday morning, the fire had burned about 2.275 acres, closing a number of trails, and was about 40 percent contained. “We have an uncontained portion of fire on the original south line that’s in steep and rugged country. It’s very difficult to get in there. We can’t put crews in there to put containment lines,” Walker said. Instead, firefighters will cut snags and do dozer line and hand line construction to bolster their containment lines on the east and south sides of the area. The fire was first detected on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in the Table Rock Picnic Area on the Grandfather Ranger District in the Pisgah National Forest. More than 190 personnel are involved with the firefighting effort. The cause of the fire is unknown. Fire investigators are asking the public to contact the Grandfather Ranger District at 828.652.2144 with any information about people in the Table Rock Picnic Area on Monday, Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day.
Portions of the popular Graveyard Fields Loop Trail are closed for upgrades, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The agency expects to complete the work by late December.
The Forest Service will construct a board walk on the east end of the trail, which will be closed during the construction. Users can access the Upper and Second Falls via the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Also, users can park in the Graveyard Fields Loop parking lot and start at the west end of the loop.
In addition, the Blue Ridge Parkway will make improvements at the parking area for the Graveyard Fields in the near future. The work will include increasing the parking capacity and construction of a restroom facility. Dates for repairs at the parking lot have yet to be determined. Funding for the project comes from a Scenic Byway Grant awarded to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. The grant matching funds are provided by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation to pay for the trail work.
Talk about mission creep. What was supposed to be a simple, final project for his Blue Ridge Naturalist certificate of merit turned into a full blown illustrated hiking guide for Haywood County. And so much the better, says Ken Czarnomski, who combined his three greatest passions: hiking, cataloging and sketching into the illustrated Purchase Knob Hiking Guide.
Have an idea for a project that will benefit the Appalachian Trail but have limited funds to make it happen? Apply for an Appalachian Trail Special License Tag Grant through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The deadline is Jan. 10, 2014.
Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent
Michael Wagenseil is settling into his element, arranging displays of ski equipment and clothing as he finishes a flurry of preparations at a new rental shop in Maggie Valley amid the beginning of what is considered a rite of the winter season here.
It is familiar territory to a man who has spent years working at ski areas across the country, including in Colorado, whether as a lift attendant or a member of the ski patrol.
By Doug Wingeier • Columnist
The cover story in the Oct. 30-Nov. 5 issue of The Smoky Mountain News described divisions in the Haywood County Republican Party caused partly by differences in ideology and partly by conflict over strategy and approach.
All branches of the Haywood County Public Library are currently collecting food to help meet the needs of local residents through Dec. 18.
Citizens can bring their contributions to the front desk and give it to library employees.
The most-needed food items include canned items, such as meats, stews and chili, pasta, sauces, vegetables and fruits, juices, beans and canned or dry soups; peanut butter; jelly (no glass containers); hot and cold cereals, rice, packaged pasta, juice boxes, baby food and cereal (glass containers acceptable); baby formula; granola and cereal bars; diapers (all sizes); personal items, such as shampoo and soap; and paper goods, like toilet paper and paper towels. Dog and cat food will also be accepted.
828.452.5169.
The Board of County Commissioners is seeking applicants to fill three vacancies on the Haywood County Agriculture Advisory Board (Farmland Preservation) and three vacancies on the Tourism Development Authority Board.
The three positions on the Agriculture Advisory Board are at-large positions for three-year terms. The positions on the Tourism Development Authority are for three-year terms, for representatives of accommodations with more than 20 units; accommodations with 20 units or less; and a tourism-related business.
Application deadline is 5 p.m. Dec. 4. Download a form at www.haywoodnc.net and attach in an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Or pick up and drop off a form from the third floor of the Haywood County Courthouse, 215 North Main Street in Waynesville.
Canton biscuit maker finishes strong
Canton resident Chris Sellers competed recently in the final round of Bojangles’ 18th annual Master Biscuit Maker Challenge at the company’s Test Kitchen in Charlotte.
Sellers is a biscuit-maker at the Bojangles’ on Champion Drive in Canton.
He was one of only nine biscuit-makers to advance to the final round of the competition to determine Bojangles’ top biscuit-maker of all Bojangles’ franchised restaurants. To make it to the final round, Sellers’ biscuits earned the highest scores in his restaurant, area and regional level buttermilk biscuit-making competition.
Sellers didn’t win but took home a Master Biscuit Maker Finalist trophy, a $250 cash prize and bragging rights.
Jackson Chamber holds holiday reception
The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce held its Holiday Reception Nov. 20 at the Comfort Inn in Sylva.
About 150 Jackson County Chamber of Commerce members, partners, friends, ambassadors and board members came out to celebrate another great year at the chamber. Everyone enjoyed socializing over drinks and tasty treats from member restaurants Half Past and Zaxby’s. Incoming and outgoing chamber board members were recognized, as were Ambassadors. Door prizes provided by members were given out and everyone made donations to the Jackson County Department on Aging’s Operation Christmas Box.
Cashiers chamber recognizes community leaders
The Cashiers Chamber of Commerce has created a new community advisory board comprised of public sector, education and business leaders to address specific economic and community development efforts.
The Inaugural members are: Dr. David Belcher, Chancellor of Western Carolina University; Chief Randy Dillard of the Cashiers Glenville Volunteer Fire Department; Dan Harbaugh of the Tuckaseigee Water & Sewer Authority; Commissioner Mark Jones of Jackson County; Karen Sullivan of Remax/Summit Properties representing the Rotary Club of Cashiers Valley; and Chief Roy Taylor of Blue Ridge Public Safety.
The Cashiers chamber dished out its annual awards at a recent banquet, including Businessperson of the Year to Jim Zoller of Zoller Hardware.
The Cashiers chamber has also installed its officers for the coming year. Robin Tindall-Taylor of the Highlands Cashiers Hospital Foundation will serve as president, Mary Alice Grant of Sounds Essential will serve as president-elect, and Will Madden of Macon Bank will serve as treasurer. Debby Hattler of Hattler Properties and Mountain Lake Rentals was installed as a newly-elected director.
Get your packing in ship shape
The Ship Haus, a one-stop shop for packing and shipping needs, is up and running in Waynesville and Sylva just in time for the holidays.
The Ship Haus stores offer convenient packing and shipping from one location. Their seasonal motto: “Get your ship together for the holidays.” The Ship Haus will offer the full range of FedEx services. It is a division of The Print Haus, which recently joined forces with Old Style Printing. With the addition of The Ship Haus, they will now be providing an even wider range of services including full service printing, copying, on-site design services, signs and banners, faxing, laminating, coilbinding and direct mail.
The Ship Haus is located at 641 N. Main St. in Waynesville (828.456.4287) and 509 Asheville Hwy., Suite B, Sylva (828.586.4287) or www.theprinthaus.com.
Help shape Haywood’s economic development blueprint
The Haywood County Chamber and Economic Development Council have created an industry and business survey for evaluating the Haywood County business environment.
The results and recommendations will be used to assist in developing long-range business retention and expansion planning for the Haywood County business community. It will provide a blueprint and action plan for the chamber as it takes over the lead role of economic development functions from county government.
The survey only takes a few minutes and can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/haywoodchmbredc.
Over the next few weeks, Southwestern Community College will host a pair of information sessions for anyone interested in pursuing a career in one of Western North Carolina’s fastest-growing industries. Jobs are available now in the field of table gaming, and SCC currently offers the state’s only certification in the field. Including tips, these jobs typically pay $20 or more per hour.
The first upcoming information session will be Nov. 21 at the SCC Macon Annex. A second session is set for Dec. 5 at the college’s Jackson Campus. Each session runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“By attending one of these sessions, you’ll gain valuable information on career options,” said Scott Sutton, SCC’s director of occupational training. “You’ll also learn about industry requirements as well as training opportunities, and you’ll get the chance to interact with an instructor to get a feel for what the training entails.”
New classes begin in January. Information session attendees will get the first opportunity for enrollment.
For more information or to schedule a time and location for your visit, contact Latresa Downs at 828.339.4426 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The 26th annual “Hard Candy Christmas Arts & Craft Show” will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 29-30 at the Ramsey Center at Western Carolina University.
This popular event features the original work of over 100 regional artisans. Customers line up early for the first selection of pottery, woodcrafts, jewelry, folk art, glass art, and specialty sweets and breads. Collectors of Old World Santa’s, heirloom ornaments and miniatures always find something new. You can even purchase a fresh mountain greenery wreath or scented dried fruit rope for your house.
Admission is $4 for an adult weekend pass, with children under 12 free.
www.mountainartisans.net or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.524.3405.
“Ring of Fire — The Music of Johnny Cash” comes to life at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.
Joe Moore, author of the Santa Claus Trilogy, will make a special appearance from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 29 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 30 at Santa’s Gift Shop at the Macon County Community Facilities Building in Franklin.
Four-time Grammy Award winner David Holt will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, at the Martin Lipscomb Performing Arts Center in Highlands. Holt will be joined by musician Josh Goforth.
Asheville blues/rock group Mojomatic will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at Swain County Center for the Arts Bryson City. Following the concert there will be a meet and greet reception for the musicians and exhibiting artist, Vickie S. Beck, whose baskets and realistic acrylic landscape and still life paintings will be on exhibit and for sale through mid-January.
By Jacob Flannick • SMN Correspondent
After ending a series of lessons in which she learned the basic steps of clogging, Dee Decker did not want to stop dancing.
So she held out hope for another floor, eventually moving into a classroom in a vacant church in Bryson City a couple years ago. That is where she — along with a handful of others who regularly take clogging lessons — spent hours during the winter and summer months, stomping and twirling to the old-time folk rhythms of Appalachia.
The Macon County Commissioners received the 2013 Robert and Virginia Ramsey Brunner Land Conservationist of the Year Award during LTLT’s annual Fall Celebration Nov. 2 at the Cowee School in Franklin. The award recognizes the Macon County Commissioners’ essential role in conserving the historic Cowee School, which is now being repurposed as a community and heritage center, home now to a new Bluegrass concert series. Former classrooms are now being used by various groups, including the Macon County Historical Society and the Eastern Band of Cherokee. The Macon Heritage Center also houses the Cowee Pottery School and Cowee Textiles. The Brunner Award was established in 2004 to honor the Brunners’ vision and generosity, which were instrumental in the founding of LTLT. “Without the Macon County Commissioners this project could not have happened,” said LTLT Board President Ken Murphy. “The Macon County Commissioners, our elected officials, not only approved the repurposing of this facility, they provided critical support including financial support. Their approval and support was evidence of their real vision for the future, and we recognize that they made their decisions in light of many competing considerations and alternative uses of the funding provided.”
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has upgraded its Green Growth Toolbox to better equip communities to deal with wildlife and natural resource conservation in developing areas. In addition to a handbook, a GIS data package and a website, the Commission’s second edition of the toolbox contains additional detailed information about the amount of habitat that wildlife need in developing landscapes; more step-by-step guidance on conserving wildlife habitat through land use and development planning; visual examples of how to use the conservation mapping data and how to design wildlife-friendly developments; and more than 60 articles on the economic and societal benefits of a green-growth approach. “A good example is in Apex, where homes in the Shepherd’s Vineyard development adjacent to the American Tobacco Trail sold for $5,000 more than comparable homes in a nearby neighborhood,” said Land Conservation biologist Kacy Cook.
The toolbox handbook, first released in 2009, was updated based on feedback from more than 200 planners, developers and local governments who attended Green Growth Toolbox workshops.
The Wildlife Commission provides the Green Growth Toolbox and technical guidance at no cost.
www.ncwildlife.org/conserving/programs/greengrowthtoolbox.aspx or 910.638.4887.
Rural preservation leaders in the Bethel community of Haywood County have announced the permanent protection of 29 acres through two separate conservation easements.
You know winter is just around the corner when Great Smoky Mountains National Park starts shutting down. Here is a list of the Park’s closures and change in hours:
Dr. Randall Provost walked the walk—or more accurately ran the run—when he competed in the Mountain Jug Run for Research, a 175-mile relay from Cullowhee to Boone, last month to raise money for athletic training research and scholarships.
So, what does one do when a sedated bear wakes up in the back seat of a helicopter mid-flight or in your office while you’re on the phone or in your car while you’re driving down the highway?
A section of Blue Ridge Parkway from Milepost 376 at Ox Creek Road to Milepost 355, near the entrance to Mount Mitchell State Park, will close Nov. 12 to allow workers to stabilize a failed slope just north of Tanbark Ridge Tunnel at Milepost 374.
While alternate routes are available, the detour route marked with road signs directs traffic from Asheville, along Interstate 40 to U.S. 221, back to the Parkway at Spruce Pine, and alternately from Spruce Pine south to Asheville via U.S. 221 and Interstate 40. Mount Mitchell State Park will remain open and accessible from the northern approach along the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 330, near Spruce Pine, or from N.C. 80.
Parkway managers said the slope stabilization project was just too dangerous to allow motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists on the road. They ask that motorists stay alert, be aware of barrier signs and follow the signed detour to ensure optimal visitor safety.
The project is expected to be completed by late spring, with the Parkway open to all traffic during the 2014 summer visitor season.
By Colby Dunn • Correspondent
Each year, an estimated 50,000 people visit Cherokee looking to hit it big, but instead of casting lots at Harrah’s, they’re casting lines into the miles of stocked and protected streams that flow through the Qualla Boundary.
While the casino remains the dominant moneymaker in town, the town’s reputation as a fly fishing destination is gaining an economic toehold in the tourism business here. With fishing waters open year round, tournaments and derbies to choose from in every season of the year, and a stock of 400,000 trout poured into the ponds and streams annually, Cherokee can offer more than a few incentives to entice a fisherman seeking a new venue.
The last couple of weeks have been filled with a lot of news about Haywood Regional Medical Center and its potential partnership with Duke LifePoint Healthcare.
Understandably, many people in the communities served by this hospital have questions about the proposed partnership with Duke LifePoint and what this means to everyone who relies on the hospital for quality health care services close to home.
The process for exploring this potential partnership is just beginning, and we have a lot of work to do to learn more about one another and examine how we can best work together.
While we are not able to provide specific information about our proposal at this stage, we can share some information about Duke LifePoint and why we are interested in acquiring Haywood Regional Medical Center.
Duke LifePoint works with community hospitals to strengthen their ability to provide the best possible health care to meet the needs of their communities. We provide support and resources to help these hospitals weather the changing healthcare environment, expand the services they provide, recruit new physicians to their facilities, offer new opportunities for their employees and find better ways to serve their communities. We make long-term investments of capital and other resources to help our hospitals succeed, and we are focused on keeping care local. We strive to give our hospitals’ employees outstanding opportunities for professional and personal growth.
We recognize the importance of collaborating with local and regional providers for the best possible outcomes for our patients. Improving the quality care provided within each of our communities is our top priority.
We also pride ourselves on being a good community partner. We have maintained or increased charity care levels at every hospital with which we have partnered, and we work to support important community causes.
Duke LifePoint chose to submit a proposal to acquire Haywood Regional Medical Center because we believe that this hospital has tremendous promise. We like that its communities are committed to the hospital’s success, and we see great opportunity to strengthen the hospital for the future.
The Duke LifePoint team is very excited at the prospect of being part of Haywood Regional and the hospital’s communities. We look forward to getting to know you all in the weeks to come and hope that you are looking forward to getting to know us. We believe that, together, we can make a big difference, and we are eager to move forward with next steps.
Willaim F. Carpenter
Chief Executive Officer
LifePoint Hospitals
William J. Fulkerson Jr., M.D.
Executive Vice President
Duke University Health System
To the Editor:
As a retort to the concerned citizen who wrote a letter to the editor about the intent of the Cullowhee planning committee to supposedly steal the property rights and money of the people of Cullowhee, I would like to inform you that there is no such conspiracy. In fact, it was not the county planner who suddenly decided to start a planning effort within Cullowhee; it was a coalition of property owners who decided they had enough of having the views from their houses destroyed by yet another apartment complex.
They were tired of the lack of community and cohesiveness in Cullowhee and having a downtrodden “downtown” on Old Cullowhee Road. They were tired of not being able to walk or bike along the back roads around Cullowhee without the threat of being hit by a car due to lack of sidewalks, something which has already happened several times on Ledbetter Road. These are the things that the Cullowhee planning effort is meant to address. It is to benefit the property owners and residents of Cullowhee instead of the wealthy developers that would build where ever they wish and decimate the property values of adjacent home owners.
As of now, without any zoning in the Cullowhee area, it would be completely possible for, say, an asphalt plant to be plopped down right next to your home.
And finally, you say that we have some of the most stringent county ordinances and regulations in the state? Obviously you have never been to Raleigh, Chapel Hill or Charlotte and their surrounding areas. There you couldn’t find a smidgeon of wiggle room for developing your property or doing what you wished with it.
In contrast, our county, similar to most other mountain counties in North Carolina, has some of the least stringent standards and fewest zoning laws in the state. And it is this lack of standards and ordinances that has led to uncontrollable and damaging (environmentally, socially, and economically) growth in rural areas like Cullowhee.
So please, instead of spurting knocked up conspiracy theories designed to inspire fear in the citizens of Jackson County, think about how the Cullowhee planning effort might actually benefit you and the community.
Anja Nothdurft
Cullowhee
To the Editor:
I attended last week’s open forum sponsored by the newly formed Cullowhee community planning group where local citizens are discussing and considering our community’s growth. In the face of record university enrollment and multiple apartment construction, a head-in-the-sand approach is of no benefit to anyone. Each of these new students and each of these new buildings require roads, parking, water, and sewer, not to mention amenities like additional sidewalks, bikepaths, and recreation areas. This growth, although welcome, impacts our county’s infrastructure.
This effort at community-based planning is a long time in coming. For over two years, Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor hosted open meetings where citizens overwhelmingly voted to ask county commissioners to establish a planning council, similar to one formed in Cashiers. This process has begun with the formation of a formalized planning group and the appointment of citizens who represent a wide range of viewpoints.
In light of the progress made, it was particularly disappointing to read Mike Clark’s letter to the editor in last week’s paper. After all, Clark is one of those who serves on the planning group, but his letter appears to negate any interest in planning whatsoever. He raises a call of alarm, citing “ordinances, regulations, fees, fines and new taxes,” and warns against a “roomful of people who think they just have to control the property rights of others.”
Come on, Mr. Clark, aren’t you one of the people in the room? With such opposition, how can you hope to contribute to a process you appear to detest?
I only hope that other residents who are serving their community on the planning group are more open minded. As I said at the start of this letter, Western Carolina University seems poised for growth. Just as you would not accept more students without instructors to teach them, our county cannot encourage growth without planning (and building) the infrastructure necessary to accommodate them.
Anna Fariello
Cullowhee
To the Editor:
Cullowhee is the fastest growing community in Jackson County. After several years of effort and well-attended community meetings sponsored by CuRvE (Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor), the Jackson County Commissioners wisely established the Cullowhee Community Planning Advisory Council. Mike Clark, whose letters appeared in the Sylva Herald and The Smoky Mountain News last week, is a member of the Council.
On Nov. 5, the Council, along with the County Planning Department, sponsored a meeting for the community to participate in developing a vision for Cullowhee. This meeting was widely advertised, open to the public and well-attended. Once again, the community showed its support for planning to help Cullowhee reach its potential to become a beautiful town that takes advantage of its surrounding natural resources.
As Mr. Clark says in his letter, historically, the community has been opposed to zoning. But today is not yesterday. We need to move beyond past history and help Cullowhee become a livable town where residents, businesses and the university co-exist in what could be the most beautiful town in the state. Just imagine the Old Cullowhee Road business district with a river park, a greenway, a new bridge with bike paths, sidewalks and street lamps guiding pedestrians from the campus to the downtown. Just imagine student apartments and well-maintained mobile home parks with good roads and safe access for emergency vehicles. Just imagine residential areas with homes that are not devalued by unbridled development.
I agree with Mr. Clark that we should contact our county commissioners. The best thing property owners and residents can do right now is to let them know we have had enough of unbridled development, and the time has long since passed for smart growth and planning. You can find contact information for all the county commissioners at this link: www.jacksonnc.org/county-commisioners.html For information on the Planning Council: www.sites.google-.com/a/jacksonnc.org/cullowhee-community-planning-advisory-committee/home
Mary Jean Herzog
Chair, CuRvE
Cullowhee
I’ve heard all the speeches and read all the legislative fantasies, and I’m still not satisfied with what I’ve heard about the state of the schools. The stories don’t match.
One question I cannot get the answer to is this: is the figure used by the state legislature for school budget before or after the reversion monies? When did the reversions start? Why?
Jacob Flannick • SMN Correspondent
Hundreds of high school students from across the state and beyond toured the campus of Western Carolina University last Saturday morning, trying to envision whether their next step might lead to Cullowhee in what has emerged as a crucial part of the university’s recruiting efforts.
“Telling Your Story,” a workshop that combines business management, marketing, entrepreneurial activity and economic strategies with the art of storytelling, will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in the Cordelia Camp Building at Western Carolina University.
Participants will learn how storytelling is one of the most important tools that entrepreneurs and nonprofit managers have at their disposal. The workshop will emphasize participant interaction, and assignments and activities will be designed to strengthen students’ researching, reading, presenting, communication and writing skills.
The session will be led by Tim Hall, director of the Storytelling Center in Bryson City, who has been involved in theater, writing and storytelling for more than 50 years.
Cost is $59 per person, which includes a networking lunch.
learn.wcu.edu or 828.227.7397.
The Balsam Mountain Roller Girls want you. A flat track female roller derby league based out of Haywood County, the team is looking to grow its team at the Smoky Mountain Sk8way & Fun Zone in Waynesville.
The team holds two practices per week from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sundays and Thursdays. Skating trainees, referees and players will learn through physical training. Both skating and non-skating trainees will learn rules through instruction and watching the game.
The junior’s team, Balsam Mountain Junior Roller Girls, for girls ages 11 to 17, practices from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays. Girls and their parents are invited any Monday night to learn more about this confidence- and muscle-building sport.
League members will explain the game of roller derby, show video clips of the game in action, talk about the league and team opportunities, and then let participants try out skates. The event is not just for women who want to play, but for anyone who would like to learn more about roller derby or would be interested in joining the world’s fastest growing sport.
Requirements are that all trainees must be 18 years old or older, pay $40 a month dues and sign a waiver. Referees, non-skating trainees and volunteers are exempt from dues but will have attendance requirements while in training. All skaters must pass a skills test and purchase USARS insurance (an annual fee of $55) before they are put into full contact play. Skates will be provided.
828.246.9124.
The craft beer bottling line launch party will be a 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, at Nantahala Brewing Company in Bryson City.
A reception for the opening of a new mural in the children’s room of the Canton Branch Library will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 14, at the library.
Tickets are now available for iconic rockers REO Speedwagon and pop star Robin Thicke who will perform at Harrah’s Cherokee. REO Speedwagon plays at 9 p.m. Feb. 14, with Thicke at 8 p.m. Feb. 25.
The Highlands Biological Station (HBS) is trying to raise money to buy furnishings for its newly renovated Reinke Library and Seminar Room. “We came to the end of our funding before we could purchase the furnishings,” said Sonya Carpenter, director of the Highlands Biological Foundation, which initiated the $15,000 campaign. The research center has already received a $2,500 donation from the Garden Club of America. The money will be used to purchase tables, chairs, lamps and other furnishings to give students a space where they can “feel comfortable to study and to communicate their findings,” Carpenter said. “We teach college level classes during the summer for college students from all over the United States and internationally. And we have a group of students who come primarily from [the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill] to spend a semester in residence here in the fall. Biology students spend a lot of time in the classroom. We give them opportunities to do field work.”
The Reinke Library has a vast collection of scientific journals relevant to regional organisms and ecological systems. The library houses more than 100 master’s degree theses and doctoral dissertations based on work conducted at the HBS. “We feel the library and the laboratory are the heart of what we do here,” Carpenter said.
The storied research center, now owned by the University of North Carolina, was founded in 1927 and is also home to a nature center and a botanical garden.
www.highlandsbiological.org/rally-for-reinke or 828.526.2221.
