The Bethel Rural Community Organization was recognized with the Mountain Heritage award at the recent Mountain Heritage Day festival held at Western Carolina University.

The Bethel Rural Community Organization, a nonprofit created “to enhance the quality of rural life in the Bethel Community of Haywood County,” was recognized for fulfilling that mission with farmland and historic preservation initiatives. Producing and offering books, CDs and DVDs — as well as selling art prints of historic sites — the group collects and documents the area’s history. 

“We’re very honored that the work we do is recognized,” said Ted Carr of the organization. “Our goal has been recording and preserving history so that our heritage can be shared in the future and told by those who know the stories best.”

A paddle tour of Lake Logan in Haywood County will be held on Sunday, Oct. 19, with Haywood Waterways Association, Lake Logan Episcopal Conference Center and Waynesville Recreation Center.

A workshop and strategy session on making Haywood County a premier road biking destination will be held from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, in Waynesville.

An effort to breathe new life into a neglected Waynesville park will be the focus of the next Trout Unlimited Cataloochee meeting, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Waynesville Inn. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Parkhas a new acting superintendent following Dale Ditmanson retired as superintendent in January after nearly 10 years of service, and his replacement’s departure more recently. 

Western North Carolina farmers can apply for farm diversification grants over the next two years totaling $340,000.

To the Editor:

This is my first written word, publicly in 20 years. I pray that it be as in the will of the Father in that I commit this time, for I feel from the depths of my heart that protecting the poor innocent people with property left in the Smokies and this paradise of creation the Father blessed our Native Americans with. As a Marine I was ready, willing and quite capable of fighting to the death to defend my home and my neighbors. That feeling of protecting and serving should never leave a man who has ever served America.

So it is today with the men and women who commit to defend our civil laws, I look at this solidarity with the spirit of protecting those who need protecting the most. I say we are shepherds protecting the sheep. It is with that purpose of thought that I commit myself and the ancient church to defend Western North Carolina, especially. For it has been my home for some time. Yes, as that Marine of Marines to defend my paradise, to await the return, yes, defend the land and the people from the fracker people. Their greed will poison and destroy even to put innocent poorer people in their graves. These fracker kinds of people have a very, very dark but clear record in many other states today.

It is in this regard I would truly thank our county manager and staff, our county commissioners, our Bryson City mayor and his town council. I would also thank all the organizations that swiftly mobilized as a fighting force of purpose, to defend WNC. This defense to me personally is as r­eal as any terrorist threat from anywhere else in the world. I think I have said enough for now. Thank all you again. The men and women of Swain County, Bryson City and the Nation of Cherokee who have committed to protect and serve.

I pray that each and every one of us, as with one spirit would pledge to vote for men and women who will fight the fracker or anyone else who would invade and destroy even one of our citizens, or his land in WNC. Swain County, you are the first to make a unified stand. Thank you from the depths of my heart.

Raymond Judson McGill

Bryson City

To the Editor:

Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, has been running ads that say N.C. citizens are paying more for health insurance because U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan supported the Affordable Care Act. In fact, you can thank Tillis  and Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, for increasing your health care premiums by $1,000 every year. They were both key figures in blocking the expansion of Medicaid in our state for 500,000 citizens that would have quality health insurance because of the Affordable Care Act, but now have no insurance at all.

Hospitals and other caregivers still have to provide these people with the care they need even if they can’t afford to pay for it and have no insurance. In order to stay in business our hospitals have to cost shift this uncompensated care to those with private health insurance. This cost-shifting results in an average premium increase of $1,000 per year for every person in North Carolina with private insurance. 

Tillis and Davis are also responsible for the deaths of hundreds of our low-income friends and neighbors because of this lack of quality health care. Are Tillis and Davis really the kind of representative you want?

Ed Morris, MD

Franklin

To the Editor:

Becky Johnson’s report on the Canton and paper mill landfills gives me a much-needed better understanding of the massive mounds that have been accumulating beside I-40 I’ve been passing by over the years. While I knew that these landfills were predominately being developed from wastes of the paper mill, I did not have any knowledge of how hydrology from these landfills would be affecting neighbors’ well water nor the river from outflows.

Certainly the hydrologic contamination patterns must be interrupted as we are accumulating massive amounts of coal ash. Moving accumulated elements from coal beds in Kentucky or elsewhere and concentrating them in coal ash as waste byproducts does not address how the hydrology in our local environment will be affecting us. Unlike the coal ash ponds near the generating plants, drying coal ash dumps must be a better way, as the Evergreen Packaging plant is currently doing. The next question to ask is how are the pollutants from the landfill operations for the wastewater treatment plant finally dealt with? 

Air pollution and water pollution are linked also. When I was a child, little was known about managing pollutants from Canton’s paper mill and Enka’s rayon plant. There were occasional days that the odors from one or both those plants drifted through the morning air to our farm in the Fruitland Community east of Hendersonville. Those air pollutants were being dealt with much better in recent years and somewhere those air pollutants had to either be decomposed or dispersed in other ways, meaning some may have made its way into water. This was followed by procedures to clear up water hydrology and this has been a significant advancement in the past couple of decades. It is good to have a local agent, Marc Pruett, and state agent, David Ramey, oversee these operations.

Keeping our mountain air and water fresh and clean is always a primary need for all those living or visiting here.

Dan Pittillo

Sylva

To the Editor:

I am a retired classroom teacher and worked in Haywood County Schools for 37 years. During the past two years I have been disappointed and concerned over the decisions that have been made by the Republican-led legislature and governor that directly affect the lives of the citizens of North Carolina. 

A lot of valuable time has been spent at the taxpayers’ expense, especially in the area of education. I am pleased that teachers received a raise, but this turned out to be very misleading. Only beginning teachers received a significant amount. Many veteran teachers received less than 1 percent, and many didn’t receive any raise at all. We need to retain all teachers, and there isn’t any substitute for experience. Teachers have lost tenure and longevity pay, and those who are working toward advanced degrees don’t have any assurance that they will receive extra money for having obtained their degree.

Thousands of teacher assistant positions have been eliminated and teachers have to cope with more students in their classes, inadequate supplies, outdated textbooks and not enough books for all students to have a copy to take home.

Once an educator, always an educator, and I think Jane Hipps is the candidate that can help put North Carolina Public Schools back on track. I have known Jane since she came to Haywood County. She spent more than 30 years working in the county school system. She understands what educators need in order to bring North Carolina schools into the future. Jane also has a degree in nursing earned after retiring from Haywood County Schools. She will work to secure healthcare for all citizens, jobs for those who need them, and try to help people in all areas of life.

Sen. Jim Davis seems to think that teachers should be able to manage a classroom with more students, less materials, less pay, and without teacher assistants. His wife taught in California in the 1980s and she didn’t have teacher assistants, so evidently he doesn’t think they are needed. Sen. Davis can’t understand what teachers are fussing and griping about. After all, they got a raise.

Sen. Davis also thinks that public libraries aren’t important, and that they are becoming obsolete. If he wants a book, he just goes to a bookstore and buys it.  This isn’t a solution for the majority of North Carolina citizens. I am a member of the Haywood County Friends of the Library Book Sale Committee, and we work from September to July to hold an annual book sale. We made over $30,000 this past July to benefit the library. The books were priced so that everyone could afford them.  Hundreds of people took advantage of this opportunity to have books to read.

It seems that the Republican-led Legislature and governor didn’t have any clear vision or agenda for the laws that were passed. Every decision that was made at the state level was intended to suppress our values and freedoms. They have allowed doubts, fears, and paranoia to guide their decisions. Don’t ever underestimate revenge. It is a very powerful motive.

Gail Leatherwood

Lake Junaluska

To the Editor:

There has been a lot of discussion regarding environmental impacts of fracking, yet two areas have not been discussed much. One is the social impacts that hundreds of transient workers bring, and the other is property rights issues. I want to speak on the latter. 

The state geographic regions targeted for fracking are in areas owned and occupied by farmers and rural landowners. These folks tend to be the most uninformed about fracking due to the lack of accurate information available to them, yet they are the ones that will be most negatively impacted by fracking.

In Lee, Chatham and Moore counties, there are more than 2,000 farms that involve over 220,000 acres of farmland. There are documented cases in other states of farmers being negatively impacted by fracking to the point that it is severely affecting their livelihood. On Friday, Sept. 12, several individuals from other states spoke at the MEC hearing who were firsthand witnesses to the horrors of wastewater spills, deliberate spraying of toxic wastewater on back roads, failing cement well casings and negligent drilling companies who have no regard for people living next to these wells. We heard about cows dying by the hundreds from what can only be determined by vets as arsenic poisoning, calves being stillborn or with blue or white eyes; another indication of poisoning. The stories go on and on regarding poisoned dogs, cats, chicken, livestock and horses. While it is sad when a family loses a pet, it can be financially devastating when a farmer loses numerous animals that he depends on for his subsistence. 

In North Carolina there’s a 1940s policy called Compulsory Pooling. It was originally designed to prevent a landowner’s minerals or resources being depleted by a neighbor’s well. This policy is now being used in the fracking industry to force landowners who do not sign drilling leases to be pulled into a property group of landowners who have signed drilling leases. An oil company is required to have a certain amount of acreage in order to place a well pad. Forced pooling is a method of pulling in non-consenting property owners and basically forcing them to lease their land. Most landowners don’t consult with an attorney before signing land leases to oil companies. 

Folks in Western North Carolina have a long-standing adverse history with the government concerning land rights. Mountain people have long memories regarding situations where they feel the government “cheated” them. Any local can regale you with their version of the TVA dam, the Road to Nowhere or the Trail of Tears, complete with a personal family history attached to these events. Emotions run deep when you mention forcibly separating a property owner without their consent.

With the passing of Bill 286, the government has given oil companies permission to do just that. I’m unsure Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, knew what he was doing when he co-sponsored the fracking bill. Based on his waffling in the past couple of months, I’m not sure he does either. Either way, it’s obvious he’s not in touch with the people WNC. The ones I know are a proud, resilient, hardworking breed who don’t take kindly to strangers coming in and telling them what they can do with their land. It’s time we stick together. Demand the moratorium reinstatement.

Susan Leading Fox 

Bryson City

To the Editor:

Our country is in a heap of trouble. Ebola has now been introduced into the United States. In the Mideast ISIS is running rampant killing and beheading while announcing they intend to bring their fight to the United States. Our borders are open, allowing anyone to slip in and move about the country freely. What a mess!

Leadership from the top level of government is grossly lacking. And yes, that means leadership from the President of the United States. He does not take the advice of his military experts who have laid out the plan needed to defeat ISIS. Instead we are dilly-dallying with ineffective bombing and still talking about what to do next. 

He refuses to command our borders be closed and to co-operate with the states that are trying to do that on their own. He has sent troops to West Africa to fight the Ebola virus and in the meantime the virus is here in the United States. Every day he blames others for the lack of solutions to these very serious problems.

The main role of the U.S. government is to protect our citizens. Recently because the White House protection by the Secret Service was breached, the head of the Secret Service resigned and security there has been tightened.   There is continual talk about protecting our troops and keeping them out of harm’s way. There certainly is nothing wrong with those goals, but what about us … the American people? We are vulnerable and in grave danger. 

Barak Obama is not doing the job to protect us and neither are Democrats in Congress who go right along with him. Our Sen. Kay Hagan has supported Obama 96 percent of the time. I doubt she will change that record if re-elected. So unless Hagan and other Democrats are sent home, there is no hope of increased protection for us there.

I am increasingly concerned and truly afraid for our country, my family and all of us. As a country we seem to be befuddled and are being run by incompetents. This condition must change, and we have a chance to do it with our vote in this midterm election.

Carol Adams

Glenville

To the Editor:

The dictionary definition of “conservative” is, “Holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation.” How does that definition square with today’s elected Republican actions and agenda?

By definition you would think Republicans would want lower taxes for as many people as possible. That is a very traditional value. Yet unless you make more than about $90,000 a year, your overall taxes went up. A conservative businessman, when facing hard times, would cut his expenses and do everything possible to increase his income. Yet the “conservative” N.C. legislature cut the state’s income by giving the largest tax breaks in state history to the wealthiest 1 percent of our citizens. The state is now facing a very serious deficit. This will have to be made up either by additional cuts to education and Medicaid or by increased taxes on the poor and middle class and more increased fees for every possible service.

There can be no more traditional values than good schools. Over the last 50 years there has been a bipartisan effort in the N.C. Legislature to create one of the best school systems in the South. That is, until now. Recently, a national rating company listed N.C. as the worst state for a person considering a career in teaching. This ranking did not take into consideration the 5 percent pay raise given to new teachers which, incidentally, was paid for by cutting other portions of the education budget. Career teachers got next to nothing.

What could be a more traditional value than protecting the very land and water that make this state such a special place to live? Yet the response by the N.C. legislature to coal ash spills by Duke Energy, the reversal of almost all environmental laws and the approval of fracking seem to be the very opposite of traditional values. In every case, the beneficiaries of these changes are large out-of-state corporations, not the citizens of North Carolina.

Conservatism values the individual. Every individual should count. Yet the state legislature recently passed the most draconian voter suppression law in the country. A federal judge, while ruling on this law, asked the attorney representing the state, “Why does the state of North Carolina not want people to vote?” Of course the answer is, “voter fraud.” The number of actual voting fraud cases in the state, however, can be counted one hand. This is simply a naked attempt to suppress minorities, elderly, youth and poor from voting. Maybe that is a Republican value. But it is not a conservative value.

If you call yourself a conservative, think about what that means. Look around and see who represents those values you hold so dear.

Louis Vitale

Franklin

Superstar comedian George Lopez will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at Harrah’s Cherokee. 

Lopez is a multi-talented entertainer whose career encompasses television, film, standup comedy and late-night television. For two seasons, he hosted Lopez Tonight, a late-night television talk show on TBS, which represented Lopez’s return to series television after co-creating, writing, producing and starring in Warner Bros. Television’s groundbreaking hit sitcom “George Lopez,” which ran for six seasons on ABC.

Tickets are $31.50, $40, $46.50 and $57.50.

www.harrahscherokee.com or 800.745.3000.

The 31th annual Church Street Art & Craft Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, on Main Street in downtown Waynesville.

Bluegrass group The Darren Nicholson Band will be performing during the Farm-to-Mug brewery and food event at 4 p.m. Oct. 16 at Walnut Cove Farms in Waynesville.

The upcoming celebration of the town of Sylva’s 125th anniversary will feature an array of local storytellers on Oct. 11 at the Lifeway Church in downtown.

Twenty-three of the best high school marching bands from five states will compete for honors during the annual Tournament of Champions on Saturday, Oct. 18, in E.J. Whitmire Stadium at Western Carolina University.

A candidate debate last week between N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and challenger Jane Hipps, D-Waynesville, plowed a lot of ground. Education, Medicaid, and fracking were the biggies, but the 90-minute debate ran the gamut, touching on government spending, guns, charter schools, teacher salaries, higher ed, and so much more.

Twenty years after Aaron Prevost and other community leaders provided the seed money to start the endowment, The Fund for Haywood County has reached a milestone goal by surpassing the $1 million mark.

“In two decades, our Advisory Board has recommended 84 grants to 47 different organizations, totaling just over $690,000,” said George Ivey, the chairman of the Fund’s advisory board, during a recent celebration at Twigs and Leaves Gallery in downtown Waynesville.  “These funds have made a difference in Haywood County.”

The endowment consists of the Prevost Fund — funded by  his estate and now totaling $631,000 — and The Fund for Haywood County, which now stands at $378,000 and has 192 donors to date.  The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) manages both funds.

“In Haywood County, we can recognize  the tremendous impact that one person’s generosity can have. Aaron Prevost understood the value of endowed funds and invested in his community by making a substantial planned gift,” said Elizabeth Brazas, CFWNC President. “These grants, made in partnership with The Community Foundation, support nonprofits working to support people in need, protect our cultural and natural resources, educate children and more.”

Grants from The Fund for Haywood address a wide variety of topics:

• People in Need, including grants to organizations like Mountain Projects, the Habitat Re-Store, and Kids at Work.

• Education projects, including recent funding to help a leadership program for students at Hazelwood Elementary School.

• Cultural resources, including recent improvements to the Folkmoot Friendship Center.

• Food and farming projects, including a Farm-to-School program launched in partnership with the Haywood County School System.

• Natural resources and recreation, like the recent improvements to Graveyard Fields.

For more information about The Fund for Haywood County, contact Chair George Ivey at 828.648.2710. To make a tax-deductible contribution to The Fund for Haywood County, donate on-line at www.cfwnc.org, with a stock gift, or by mail to The Fund for Haywood County, P.O. Box 627, Waynesville, N.C., 28786. Contributions of any size are welcome and will enable the Fund to support more programs with local dollars.

The Community Foundation is a nonprofit serving eighteen counties in Western North Carolina. To learn more about The Community Foundation, call 828.254.4960 or visit www.cfwnc.org.

Jerry Monroe Berry and his son, Joshua Monroe Berry, of Swain County have been charged with growing marijuana in the Nantahala National Forest. 

According to Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran, a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations aircraft was conducting a routine flyover in Swain County when the plants were spotted. The drug operation was located in the Nantahala National Forest. Afterward, the site was monitored for several weeks by law enforcement authorities 

Officers and agents from the Swain County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee Police Department, U.S. Forest Service, SBI, DEA, Cherokee ALE, Cherokee NRE, BATF, U.S. Park Service and North Carolina State Highway Patrol took part in the bust.

Cochran stated that the estimated street value of the plants is approximately $1million.

The Town of Sylva is celebrating its 125th year since incorporation. To mark the occasion, a slate of activities are planned for Oct. 10-11. The celebration pays homage to the history of the town.

“The activities are all things that would have happened in 1889,” explained Sylva Town Manager Paige Roberson.

About the race: This used to be a toss-up district, but clever redrawing of voting boundaries by the Republican-led legislature in Raleigh two years ago tipped the scales to the right. The liberal stronghold of Asheville was carved out and shunted it into a different Congressional seat.

N.C. House of Representatives, seat 118

Is this my state rep? Yes, if you live in Madison and Yancey counties and part of Haywood — namely Canton, Clyde, Bethel, Cruso, Maggie Valley, Jonathan Creek and Crabtree areas.

Do I vote in this race? Yes, if you live anywhere in the seven western counties.

A pair of grants from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will help improve water resources in Haywood County. State-wide, $2.2 million was given to 37 projects.

The big one for the Haywood County Soil and Water Conservation District was a $23,948 grant to install a cistern at Open Door Ministries, a soup kitchen and outreach center for the needy located at Frog Level in Waynesville. 

“The patrons can reuse the roof water to grow vegetables which can then be used in the kitchen there,” explained Leslie Smathers, director of Haywood County Soil and Water. 

The district also received $1,500 to work on streambank stabilization along Raccoon Creek. 

• Ball Creek Road, a U.S. Forest Service road that begins at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and ends at Upper Nantahala Road in Macon County, will be closed through late October for repairs. Storm events in January 2013 caused the need to fix two roadway slides and replace two culverts. 

• Chimney Tops Trail will continue to be closed periodically through Dec. 11 as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park works to finish a three-year trail rehabilitation. The trail will be closed Monday through Thursday until work finishes. The rehabilitation effort is focused on rebuilding the trail with durable stone and rot-resistant black locust to combat erosion damage. 

Cataloochee hike to feature elk and history

A full-day hike Tuesday, Oct. 14, in the Cataloochee Valley area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will give hikers a chance to experience the mountain roads of 80 years ago — winding routes through thick tree canopy and rhododendron — and finish up the day by viewing a herd of elk. 

This Friends of the Smokies Classic Hike will be lead by hiking guide author Danny Bernstein and will cover 8.7 miles of trail, with a total elevation gain of 1,300 feet. It’s an out-and-back route on Pretty Hollow Gap Trail along Palmer and Pretty Hollow creeks. 

Along with stops to enjoy the scenery of flowing mountain streams, hikers will learn about the history of Cataloochee settlers through historical buildings, cemeteries and stories of the annual family reunions honoring the first homesteading families in the Cataloochee area. Friends of the Smokies uses donations to help maintain many of the buildings there. 

$10 for Friends members or free for those who bring a friend; $35 for non-members with one-year membership included. Registration dollars benefit Smokies Trails Forever program. Carpools will leave from Asheville and Maggie Valley. Register with Anna Lee Zanetti, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.452.0720. 

Dinner with elk

It will be dinner and a show in the Cataloochee area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park when the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust embarks on its annual Elk Excursion Thursday, Oct. 9. 

The outing will include a 45-minute presentation from an Elk Bugle Corp volunteer about the elk, which were reintroduced to the area in 2001. Guests will then have a chance to explore the valley for a bit before meeting back up for a tailgate dinner while watching the elk engage in their dramatic mating ritual, known as “the rut.”

During the rut, male elk bugle to attract females and to challenge other bulls, an eerie yet enchanting sound that echoes throughout the valley.

$10 HCLT member; $35 non-members with one-year membership included. Dinner included in price. Space is limited — reservations required. 828.526.1111 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

A lineup of fall interpretive programs is underway in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will run through the end of October. From black bears to berries to carbon footprints, the fall programs cover plenty of ground.

Sundays

• Longing for the “Good Ol’ Days.” Join a ranger for a walk on the Mountain Farm Museum and learn what life may have been like on an Appalachian mountain farm. 2 p.m., adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 

• Junior Ranger: Smoky Mountain Elk. . Learn about the history of the elk through “show and tell” activities, and then stay and watch the elk come into in the fields. 5:30 p.m., Palmer House in Cataloochee Valley. 

Mondays

Welcome Back to the Smokies! 

Join a ranger to hear the stories of reintroduced species within the park, including peregrine falcons, river otters and elk. 1 p.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch.

Tuesdays

• Do You Have Power? Join a Ranger to learn how to leave a light carbon footprint and help protect the park and planet for future generations. 1 p.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch. 

Wednesdays

• Forecasting the Future with Mother Nature. Nuts were fair, berries late, with several morning fogs and moon rings in August. Join a ranger to learn what this might mean for the upcoming winter and how people in the past used nature to forecast the seasons. 11 a.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Thursdays

• Black Bears: Big, Smelly and Smart. Discover the ways black bears adapt to their environment and how they prepare for winter. 1 p.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Fridays

• Myths and Legends of the Cherokee. The lands of the Cherokee once extended through several states within the southeast and included all of the Great Smoky Mountains.  Join a ranger to explore the culture, history and mythology of the Cherokee through storytelling. 1 p.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Saturdays

• Smoky Mountain Elk. A ranger will take questions about elk and dish on the best places to see them in the park. Hands-on components will reveal how elk stay warm and what it feels like to carry those heavy antlers on your head. 11:30 a.m., Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

828.497.1904

There’s a new specialty license plate coming soon: the brook trout plate.

White-nosed bat syndrome is marching west, and as a result the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has closed the Whiteoak Sink area between Cades Cove and Townsend through March to keep people from spreading the disease to bats hibernating there. 

Cambodia and Thailand might be on the other side of the world from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but they deal with similar resource issues — including plant and wildlife poaching — so the Smokies is reaching out to provide a week of training to 10 female park officials from those southeast Asia countries. 

The outlook for a bright leaf season is improving, as Western Carolina University fearless fall foliage forecaster Kathy Mathews has updated her prediction about the quality of the annual color show, based on changing conditions in the mountains.

The Franklin Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Bakery will offer a How To Create A Gingerbread House seminar at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Underground Franklin Event Center below the bakery.

The 24th annual Bryson City Chili Cook-Off will be held Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad Depot.

The Town of Sylva will hold its 125th anniversary celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, in downtown.

The historic Colonial Theatre in downtown Canton has been nominated for a Momentum Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association for best musical venue of the year.

Folk/rock/country singer Chris Minick will perform at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

By Jim Hunt • Guest Columnist

Earlier this year, I called for a state commitment to raise teacher pay to the national average in the next four years. It was a bold proposal, but that’s what leaders do. Since that time, teachers got a raise, but what they didn’t get was a commitment. State lawmakers need to go back to the drawing board if they are going to show teachers that they are valued.

To the Editor:

By this means I thank N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, for presenting the fracking forum in Macon County to afford his constituents the opportunity to at least attend a meeting where Senate Bill 786, the Energy Modernization Act, was discussed. 

The Energy Modernization Act is the overreaching bill that lifts the moratorium on issuing state permits for hydraulic fracturing for gas, or fracking. The law allows companies to start the processes that will lead to fracking with much protection for those who will profit most, little concern for the health and safety of the people who will someday, somehow be impacted, and a callous disregard for the earth that sustains all of us. 

Sen. Davis is proud to have been one of the bill’s sponsors. His constituents were not heard before the law passed. Now the local governments that more directly represent us are rendered powerless in protecting our land and our lives. Our Franklin Board of Aldermen and our Macon County Commission, as well as all other local government units in the state, are prohibited from passing any ordinances “that in any manner are in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions” of SB786.

The Forum was not designed to give attendees information and respond to the valid concerns most people had. The panel consisted of a Lee County Commissioner who is a member and former chairman of the Mining and Energy Commission, a geologist who serves as the science and energy advisor to the N.C. Senate, a Republican senator from Mocksville, and a member of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. This cool-headed lady was the lone voice crying in the wilderness, courageously and vainly trying to balance the distorted rosy picture painted by the other panelists of all the good things that fracking will bring us. Sen. Davis politely gave her the opportunity to respond to each question but this effort at fairness could not mitigate the stacking of the deck three to one. 

As to the other panelists, the MEC member gave a slide presentation that was a slick hard-sell tactic probably similar to what BP used getting permission to drill in the Gulf. The Republican senator must have forgotten where he was because he did not respond to questions but rather delivered one campaign speech after another, complete with family history, his contributions to the welfare of his constituents, promises of good-paying jobs from fracking, and his love of God and country. The only thing missing was babies to kiss. Unfortunately, the clock kept ticking as he kept on stomping. 

The three pro-fracking panelists were not unbiased, honest believers in the merits of fracking but rather zealots with vested interests in convincing the public that fracking would be like manna from heaven. I knew this was true when the geologist compared the potassium that can be one of many unpronounceable and mystery chemicals in the fracking mix to the potassium in our breakfast bananas. And this geologist is a real scientist?

The insult compounding the above injuries was hurled by the MEC member who in a closing rant tried to suggest that being opposed to fracking was unpatriotic and disregarded the lives sacrificed in defending our nation. His words were so hurtful and arrogant that a member of the audience felt compelled to respond even though the public had been barred from making any comments.

Sen. Davis stated that only about 10 percent of the questions submitted had been answered and committed to respond to the rest through his legislative address at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I appreciate his willingness to hear from his constituents though more questions could have been answered if the panelists had been limited to answering the questions and not promoting their personal agendas. What I appreciate most is Sen. Davis’ reminding the public that we still have a voice in expressing our opposition to all the ills associated with fracking. He reminded us of his support for SB786 and that he is running for reelection this November. Our voices can speak loud and clear at the ballot box.

Olga F. Pader

Franklin

To the Editor:

The letter writer on fracking in the Sept. 17-23 issue of The Smoky Mountain News appears to have been influenced by the bombastic and fictional style of the extreme right. He begins by demeaning those who are critical of fracking and suggests they are un-American. 

The truth is that fracking and the related drilling have been shown to cause contamination of ground water and earthquakes in at least three different states. Some of these effects are noted as much as 15 to 20 miles from the drilling site. Concerns about fracking are neither “hysterical” nor “unpatriotic” as the writer asserts. The concerns are based on facts, not propaganda of oil and gas companies.

Hysteria did not “prevent” development of nuclear power. The valid environmental concerns (Three Mile Island in the U.S., Chernobyl in Russia) and costs of not just safe construction of plants but also disposal of nuclear wastes caused nuclear energy to be economically uncompetitive. Maybe the writer would volunteer to store some nuclear wastes in his basement since the government can’t seem to find a place to put it.

The writer claimed that “… someone would go insane …” from the noise wind farms generate. I have actually visited a wind farm in Illinois some years ago and did not hear any bothersome or even noticeable noise from the big turbines. Maybe the writer should visit such a farm, or maybe his hearing is more acute.

The discussion needs more facts and less ad hominem attacks.  

Norman G. Hoffman, Ph.D.

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Although Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, and his fellow Republicans Sen.  Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, like to tout their $1 billion increase in funding for public education, they have little to say about how little of that money actually reaches the classroom. 

Funding for textbooks has remained at around $23 million for the past three years, a considerable drop from the $111 million allocated in the 2009-10 fiscal year. That means that school districts now receive $14.26 per student as opposed to the $67.15 they received some six years ago. The result is that in many districts students are no longer issued textbooks; rather there are class sets, which must remain in the classroom, and many of these are held together by duct tape. 

In 2017 when state funding shifts to digital textbooks, this issue will not fade away. According to June Atkinson, state superintendent of public instruction, it will take approximately $75 million to provide the necessary computers or electronic tablets. Add to that the cost of software. This shift assumes, of course, that students have access to the Internet at home. If not, will we find students and their parents clustered at Starbucks or McDonalds where free wi-fi makes completing homework possible.

Despite an increase of 43,700 students since 2008-09,  the funding for classroom activities (which includes textbooks) has declined by $1 billion, according to Philip Price, CFO for the Department of Public Instruction. So what Tillis and the Republicans in the state House have given with one hand, they have taken away with the other. On Nov. 4, we should tell them that textbooks do matter.

Lynda Self

Waynesville

To the Editor:

As someone with 25-plus years of experience in water and wastewater equipment design, manufacture and installation, I can guarantee that 100 percent of fracked wells will fail at some point in the future and they will release their residual gases and chemicals into our air, water and on our land. All well casings are made with carbon steel, and that material rusts and corrodes upon contact with dissimilar minerals (metals) and moisture. No fracked well is safe, so we are putting millions of wells throughout the USA and our environment at risk along with our precious drinking water and our air quality while transferring this liability to the landowners and their heirs since the fracking companies will be long gone with their profits.

 We need to stop fracking and evaluate this serious threat. If terrorists began injecting these chemicals into our lands, we would be at war. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, co-authored this fracking bill and all Republicans including our governor approved it without apparent long-term oversight or concern for the people. Perhaps it is time to send a message this November that people and their property rights should come before profits.

Larry Stenger

Franklin

Chopping, sawing, axe throwing, tree climbing, log rolling and more will be on tap during an intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Cradle of Forestry in America.

Haywood Community College’s famous Timbersports Team will be one of six teams to compete. 

The first half of the day will day will include dendrology, team log roll, orienteering, water boil, log toss, tree identification and archery.

After lunch, some of the more hardcore timbersports will begin, with events ranging from the axe throw to the horizontal speed chop to cross-cut sawing to the pole climb. Activities will run from 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by a BBQ dinner.

 Last year’s HCC Timbersports Team made it to the mid-Atlantic meet, with team member Logan Hawks taking third place in the nation for the STIHL Timbersports Series Collegiate Lumberjack Competition. 

HCC has a long lineage of top timbersports teams.

Check out the full schedule at www.haywood.edu/news/hcc_to_participate_in_john_g_palmer_intercollegiate_woodsmens_meet_at_forest_festival_day. 

The Cradle of Forestry’s Forest Festival Day will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.

More than 80 traditional craftsmen, exhibitors and forestry students will be on site sharing demonstrations of old-timey and outdoor skills, such as whittling, woodcarving, candle making, wood turning, fly fishing and tying, falconry and creating cornhusk dolls. 

The festival celebrates the Cradle’s status as the birthplace of forestry in America. Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck, forester for George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate from 1895 to 1909, founded America’s first forestry school in 1898 and used the present Cradle of Forestry area as its summer campus. At that time the word “forestry” was a vague and new idea in the U.S.

$6 ages 16 and older; $3 youth 4 to 15 and holders of America the Beautiful and Golden Age passes; free for children under 4. Located 4 miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway on U.S. 276 in the Pisgah National Forest, 25 miles from Waynesville. 

www.cradleofforestry.com or 828.877.3130.

Ed Zahniser, son of the man who was widely regarded as the father of the Wilderness Act, will speak at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 as the keynote speaker of a Wilderness Act celebration at Sugarlands Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The celebration will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and conclude with a hike the following morning. 

Outdoor USA Magazine named Nantahala Outdoor Center, located outside Bryson City, as one of the top 100 outdoor specialty retailers in the United States in its September issue. Nominations were judged on outstanding work and entrepreneurial drive, and they were submitted by brands and distributors.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy recently recognized a passel of Franklin businesses and organizations for their support of the Appalachian Trail, naming them AT. Community Supporters for helping out the hiking community, the ATC or the trail itself. Recipients were:

• Three Eagles Outfitters, a hiking and camping outfitter that offers hikers discounts, Internet service, a coffee bar and lounge, in-town shuttles to the store and a free mail drop service.

• The Franklin Chamber of Commerce, which has helped build public awareness about the resources and economic opportunity inherent in the AT’s proximity to Franklin. The chamber highlights Franklin’s status as an AT Community in its Newcomers Guide, where it also prints AT hike information, and the chamber houses an AT display in its building. 

• Outdoor 76, an outdoor supply store downtown that leads hikes on the AT. The store serves 1,000 to 1,500 thru-hikers each year and its owners are members of the AT Community Committee. 

• First Baptist Church of Franklin, which serves a free hiker breakfast for four weeks each spring, last year feeding more than 800 hikers. The church also takes a photo of each hiker and mails it to their home, along with a written note. 

As the weather cools down, the competitive edge will be heating up in the running communities of Western North Carolina over the next few weeks. Push your limits with a fall race in your community. 

A comedy set in Martha’s Vineyard that explores a wealthy world of infinity pools, Bentleys and yacht clubs with men in pink pants, “Elemeno Pea” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1-3 and at 3 p.m. Oct. 4 in Hoey Auditorium at Western Carolina University.