To the Editor:

I am writing about the Save America Act. I have seen conflicting information about this legislation, which is now awaiting Senate approval after passing the House. The more I attempt to research the proposed changes to voting eligibility, the more confused I become.

I moved to Highlands in 2019, applied for my N.C. driver’s license, and discovered that I needed a Real ID.

A study by a Western Carolina University economist indicates that Jackson County saw more than $144 million in total economic impact from the $770,000 that county government invested in the local Department of Social Services to administer Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits last year. 

Residents, business owners and community leaders of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Swain County are invited to attend a pair of public open house meetings.

The Swain County open house will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, in the Community Room of the Swain County Administration Building in Bryson City. The EBCI open house will be held from 3-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Yellowhill Community Building in Cherokee. 

The U.S. Census Bureau on Feb. 2 announced that it was cutting four of six 2026 nationwide test sites aimed to inform the 2030 decennial count — Colorado Springs, Fort Apache Reservation, western Texas and Western North Carolina. It will now conduct operations in only Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina. 

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources has released data from a preliminary study that found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances present in soil, wastewater and biosolids, the nutrient-rich organic material that remains after wastewater has been treated. The study is the agency’s first investigation assessing PFAS concentrations in biosolids across the state.

PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals widely found in commercial, industrial and consumer products. PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment and can build up in humans and animals. More information about PFAS can be found on DEQ’s website.

DWR staff began gathering samples in 2023 for the study, which evaluated PFAS concentrations in wastewater and biosolids from 37 municipal, industrial and domestic wastewater treatment facilities. Staff also tested soil collected from 19 fields that are regulated under non-discharge permits.

The study found PFAS compounds present in wastewater, biosolids and soil samples. Estimates found the majority of PFAS entering wastewater facilities on an annual basis is discharged into waterways, as compared with the amount entering the environment through land application of biosolids. An overview of the study, including background information and a summary of the results, is available online.

There are currently no federal or North Carolina state regulatory requirements for PFAS in biosolids. The study will inform future study design and identify opportunities for further data collection and analysis. Researching the movement of these chemicals in the environment was beyond the scope of the study.

Question: Can drinking tart cherry juice help with my knee pain due to osteoarthritis?

Answer: While tart cherry juice isn’t harmful, the research proof of its efficacy to reduce pain or inflammation due to arthritis just is not there. 

The steady loss of workers who keep Waynesville’s water running and streets clean has town leaders on edge. 

At the Oct. 28 meeting, council heard grim numbers and took action, voting to fund a pay study meant to stop an exodus that’s led to tremendous turnover and left nine out of about 80 positions vacant. 

Despite a decline in room occupancy tax revenue, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is celebrating a banner year for its signature winter event while doubling down on aggressive promotional campaigns and strategic long-term investments aimed at driving off-season traffic and insulating the county from mixed national trends in tourism spending. 

As a retired physician assistant who devoted a long career to public health in Macon County, I am deeply concerned by the misinformation about vaccines being spread by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his appointees. 

Haywood County is reminding local business owners that the county’s tourism development authority is conducting a survey to assess recovery progress, current needs and ongoing challenges in the wake of Hurricane Helene.