The man who opened fire in an UNC-Charlotte campus classroom, killing Waynesville native Riley Howell, will now spend the rest of his life behind bars, after pleading guilty to two counts of murder Sept. 19.

A volunteer firefighter who died while responding to a call was laid to rest on Sunday, after a procession made up of dozens of first responders accompanied his casket from the Jonathan Creek Fire Department to Lake Junaluska’s Stuart Auditorium. 

Magnesium tends to be kind of a tricky mineral because adequacy is difficult to assess since it is stored in cells and in the bones. 

To the Editor:

Western North Carolina’s answer to Jim Acosta — Smoky Mountain News Editor Scott McLeod in his last week’s column — frets that “never has the credibility of those of us who call ourselves journalists been under attack like we are today.”

Boo-fricken-hoo. What does the record actually show?

The Sedition Act of 1798 resulted in the arrest of the editors of the Philadelphia Aurora and the Times Piece. I wonder if they would agree with that statement.

Read Upton Sinclair’s The Brass Check, where he compares the title item — a token bought by the customer in a brothel and then given to the woman of his choice — to media owners who purchase the services of journalists.

Jefferson was instrumental in overturning the Sedition Act, but in his second term he instructed state attorney generals to prosecute newspaper editors for sedition.

Jefferson never held journalistic credibility in high esteem: “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle.” “I deplore with you the putrid state into which our newspapers have passed, and the malignity, the vulgarity, and mendacious spirit of those who write for them.” “From forty years’ experience of the wretched guess-work of the newspapers of what is not done in open daylight, and of their falsehood even as to that, I rarely think them worth reading, and almost never worth notice.”

Lincoln was responsible for shutting down more than 300 newspapers during the course of the Civil War. Government officials shut down The Chicago Times for excessively criticizing the Lincoln administration. Editors were arrested, papers closed, and reporters kept away from battlefields. Secretary of War Stanton approved the destruction of the DC newspaper, The Sunday Chronicle. A number of editors were sent to prison at Fort Lafayette.

How’s that for being “under attack?”

Teddy Roosevelt tried to sue newspapers for their criticism of his Panama Canal purchase.

Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1918 prohibiting printing, writing, etc. against the war effort. Under this law, Eugene Debs was prosecuted for a speech and Rose Pastor Stokes for writing to a newspaper.

Prior to WWII, Congress passed the Smith Act, the first peacetime sedition law. FDR bullied the media with threats to revoke broadcast licenses and effectively shut down Yankee Radio for criticizing his policies. The day after Pearl Harbor, FDR gave J Edgar Hoover emergency authority to censor all news and control all communication in and out of the country.

Truman famously wrote: “Presidents and the members of their Cabinets and their staff members have been slandered and misrepresented since George Washington … when the press is friendly to an administration the opposition has been lied about and treated to the excrescence [sic] of paid prostitutes of the mind.” Maybe he had The Brass Check in mind.

JFK’s Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Bill Ruder admitted, “Our massive strategy was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope that the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue.” JFK tried to shift some of the blame for the Bay of Pigs fiasco unto the press. He called upon journalists to exercise more self‐restraint and to show support for the president as a moral responsibility in time of crisis. He attempted to pressure the media to voluntarily censor itself. Mark Watson of The Baltimore Sun wrote that Kennedy “has thrown overboard the wartime principles and practices which two world wars have justified.”

John Mitchell, Nixon’s Attorney General, sought injunctions to prevent the Pentagon Papers from being published. Nixon had his enemies list and had them audited. His administration tried to revoke the Washington Post’s television station.

When the Obama administration obtained the records of 20 Associated Press phone lines and reporters’ home and cell phones, the AP called the seizure a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into its news gathering activities, betraying information about its operations “that the government has no conceivable right to know.”

When Obama’s Justice Department went after James Rosen’s records, The New York Times editorial board stated, “The Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news.”

The Department of Justice published a report in 2013 of their review of their practices and policies regarding issuing subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders to obtain records from journalists. David E. Sanger, chief Washington correspondent of The New York Times responded that the revised guidelines were “just formalizing what was observed in past administrations. The guidelines worked pretty well until the Obama administration came in.”

Do you really expect us to believe that current “attacks” rise to these levels?

I think your op-ed is a thinly veiled attack on Trump and I think you have it backwards. The tone and severity of attacks on the administration from the press are unprecedented in modern times. I restrict it to modern times because I am aware of the treatment of James T. Callender towards Jefferson as one of a multitude of worse assaults upon government officials by the press.

When Clark Holt, ombudsman for The New York Times left that position, he remarked on how poorly the newsroom reacted to his oversight of their work and resisted accountability. They were fine asking invasive questions, but did not like to have the tables turned and be criticized in public.

Perhaps you could consider the 1924 inaugural address of president-elect of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Paul Bellamy: “Blessed be the critics of newspapers.” 

Timothy Van Eck

Whittier

To the Editor:

Since North Carolina’s 11th Dist. Representative Mark Meadows, R, took office in 2013, 93,000 and counting US citizens have been killed by gun violence. Additionally, depending on the year, there have been from 15,000 to 31,000 gun-related injuries and each year nearly 22,000 suicides by guns. And equally as sad are the many thousands of families whose lives are forever changed due to gun-related violence.

A majority of registered voters nationwide say Congress needs to do more to reduce gun violence: 72 percent total including 50 percent of Republicans, 93 percent of Democrats, and 75 percent of Independents.

Rep. Meadows, who is suspected to be in the deep pockets of the pro-assault rifle NRA, has consistently voted “nay” for gun reform. It’s time to replace do-nothing Meadows with someone with the guts, gumption, and gonads to reduce this senseless carnage with common sense gun regulation.

Maj. Steve Woodsmall, USAF-Retired, for NC 11th Dist. Representative is that person. He’ll be part of the solution; not part of the problem.

John H. Fisher

Hendersonville

An outdoor economy initiative at Western Carolina University has been selected as a finalist in the University Economic Development Association’s 2019 Awards of Excellence competition.

After 18 years with Mainspring Conservation Trust and five years as its leader, Sharon Fouts Taylor will retire on Feb. 29, 2020.

The Cashiers Community Fund has awarded $141,000 in grants to nonprofits serving Cashiers and the surrounding region. 

It’s no secret that Western Carolina University is a growing community, with enrollment topping 12,000 for the first time this semester following an upward swing that’s seen the student body increase for eight out of the past nine years. 

Waynesville arts and cultural organization Folkmoot has reached an agreement with the Academy at SOAR, a longtime boarding school in the Balsam community of Jackson County, to move its school operations on the Folkmoot Friendship Center campus.

Blue Ridge Health (BRH) has been awarded a $650,000 New Access Point grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to open a new community health center in Bryson City.

My doctor has told me I have diverticulitis. Is there a diet I should be following?

By Marsha Lee Baker • Guest Columnist

Somewhere, sometime, and in some way, each of us thinks about peace. We might not call it “peace,” but we think about it. We wonder where or what peace is with questions like “Why can’t we get along?” and “What is wrong with this family?” We sense peace each time we say, “What a wonderful time together!” and “I’ve never felt so whole in my life!”

To the Editor:

Police drenched with buckets of water in New York, anti-police chanting as police attempt to remove a criminal held up in a house in Pennsylvania, an ICE office is shot up in Texas. I could go on and on about the recent acts of lawlessness towards law enforcement. It looks like the public has picked up on the lawlessness being allowed at our southern border. Migrants bust over our borders into our country, march up to officials, claim asylum and soon are released to go anywhere in the country with a promise to appear in court at some later date.  

True asylum seekers file in the first free country they enter so moving through Mexico to claim asylum is also against the law. Most never show up for their court dates but have made themselves at home illegally in our country. Never mind that our hospitals, schools and welfare systems are overburdened and that illegals are costing millions of taxpayer dollars. Many who have been ordered by the courts to leave the country pay no attention and defiantly stay right here. It is no wonder that some in our country take the allowed lawlessness to be an invitation to defy and break the law ... and hopefully get away with it.

The shame is that busting through our borders illegally is an example to others who now get the idea that acts against our laws and law enforcement must be OK. Illegal migrants are not being held accountable for their lawless entry into our country. President Trump is working daily, ever since he took office, to secure our borders, to deport those who are here without documentation or who have been ordered to leave, to halt thousands marching to the U.S. from Central American countries He has found legal monies to fund building the wall.  He has ordered ICE to find and deport those who have been ordered to leave the country, criminals or MS-13 gang members. But Democrats in Congress fight his secure border solutions and attempts to remove illegals every step of the way. Democrats seem to be okay with lawlessness. The answer to that is to see that Democrats are removed from office in the 2020 election so President Trump has support to permanently secure our borders from illegal entry and hopefully restore lawful behavior in the country.

Judy Milkey

Sylva

A beloved shelter on the Appalachian Trail near Roan Mountain is closed until further notice due to structural damage. 

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has reached a biodiversity milestone with the discovery and documentation of 20,000 species of plants, animals and other organisms in the park since the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory launched 21 years ago. 

The Nantahala River in the Nantahala Gorge is now open to the public for all uses for the first time since landslides on Saturday, Aug. 24, resulted in significant damage and blockages in the area. 

A ruling handed down by a North Carolina court last week declared N.C.’s legislative districts to be illegal partisan gerrymanders and ordered the immediate redrawing of maps, which should have a substantial effect on Democratic representation in the General Assembly in 2021. 

That's certainly not a black or white issue! There are many new products on the market being called "plant-based" which is often a euphemism for vegetarian or vegan products. As with any products you should look beyond the marketing and check the nutrition facts panel and the ingredients. 

To the Editor:

For the past few years I have gotten in the habit of picking up a copy of The Smoky Mountain News in Bryson City, where I live, or as we bounce around Jackson and Haywood counties. In general, I find the publication to be an excellent effort to bring local and regional news and information to residents of the area. 

That said, what’s up with the obsession Cory has of trashing Shining Rock Classical Academy week after week after week? I have read most, if not all, of the articles about this start-up public charter school, and the leadership and staff who are obviously trying to bring another viable educational choice to the students and parents of Haywood County. The paper is clearly biased against the concept of a taxpayer-funded charter school, or against some other aspect of this effort.

I’m sure these folks would freely admit that they have not done everything perfectly, but odds are they are doing their best. Trying to breathe life into a vision such as this is never easy, and in the field of public education I suspect it’s even harder than usual. And one would have to believe that this effort is based in a true desire to create something special, as I can’t imagine there is a bunch of money in it for anyone. 

As I read through the August 14 issue, I could not help but to be struck by the ironies created by other articles in the publication. On the very next page, “Teachers just don’t get enough credit” is an essay on the undervalued efforts of teachers in our society. What about the poor Shining Rock teachers who had to prepare for the new school year as SMN publicly trashed their school, which has likely negatively affected the enrollment and potentially some of their jobs? Later is “A reminder: leave something good behind,” a book review of a new book about the life of Anthony Bourdain, reflecting on his wish that we all leave something good behind. Somehow I would bet that the leadership and staff of Shining Rock are trying to do just that, against tough odds, made tougher by this paper. I have no connection with anything or anyone involved in this school, and don’t even know where it is, but the spirit of these articles just strikes me as mean and unjustified!

Mark Hanna

Bryson City

To the Editor:

In discussions with people who are clamoring for universal background checks, I find many people don’t understand how far the law goes and what it will make illegal. 

In my safe I have six guns that belong to a young soldier serving overseas who could not take his firearms with him. He put his household goods in storage and his choices were to leave the firearms in the storage unit where they were vulnerable to theft and also rust or ask someone he trusted with a safe to hold them.

Under the proposed background check law he and I would both be guilty of six felonies each once he gave me the firearms to store. One for each gun. And when I return them to him six more each. Twelve felonies total for each of us. Under the new proposed law to stay legal we would both have to travel to a gun store, enter his guns into the gun store’s books, have me fill out paperwork as if I was buying them and pay a fee that in our area averages $35 per firearm. Then repeat it in reverse to give them back to him when he returns, paying again.

More than $400 in fees and several hours wasted to do the responsible thing and have someone safely store his firearms, but he could leave them in a storage locker more open to theft without hassle or expense. And, both he and I are exempt from the background checks because we have concealed carry permits! So hours of wasted time and hassle and hundreds of dollars spent just for meaningless paperwork to avoid breaking the law for two people just trying to do the right thing and be responsible.

How would this stop crime?

There are other things these laws would make illegal. If you offer to help someone clean or repair a gun and take it to your home to do it that’s a felony. If you loan someone a firearm to go target shooting it’s a felony unless you hand it off and get it back all while physically at the range. Farmers and ranchers who have a rifle on hand to defend livestock and let their employees use it? Felony if the employee even picks it up and the owner isn’t physically there. Offer to help someone move and their firearms are in a box on your truck and they are not with you? Felony. Leave your firearms in a friend’s hunting cabin when you are not there? Felony. Ask someone to drop your hunting rifle off at the gunsmith for you? Felony. Going on a hunting trip and you carry someone’s rifle to the hunt for them? Felony.

Any time they can argue possession of the firearm changed hands, even for a brief moment, is enough to charge a felony for not doing a background check. At one time or another almost all gun owners have done something harmless along these lines that they want to turn into felony charges.

Don’t be fooled. These laws are about creating gotcha moments to turn law-abiding gun owners into felons, not about reducing crime.

Tim Glance

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Donald Trump’s only redeeming value may be that he is the shock to the system the U.S. needs to force some serious self-reflection. We have been living the American Dream for so long we forgot what it is to be awake to what is really going on in our society, especially in the sordid political arena and in the imbalance of wealth accumulation. We Americans need to take stock of the values we want to live by and act accordingly. 

The notion of justice, fairness and compassion for all has been dashed by the craven greed which now fuels our society. Current overblown military budgets came about because we lost track of what our real strengths were: a strong economy, assimilation of immigrants, a desire to live up to the cornerstone of the formation of our nation, liberty and justice for all. 

Blind ambition for wealth and the twisted idea that military strength protects us from foreign influence — along with our overblown national ego — have perverted the character of the nation such that our founding fathers would be shocked at what we have done to our country. Nosce te ipsum, America.

John Barry

Franklin

Bob Savelson • Guest columnist

Thinking about Labor Day, it has been a national holiday since 1894. Consistent with the nation’s ambivalent feelings about whether organized labor should truly be part of its social fabric, the statute was signed by President Grover Cleveland — who earlier that year had dispatched federal troops to break a strike called to support Pullman car employees protesting wage cuts. 

Until further notice, public access to U.S. Forest Service lands in the Nantahala Gorge is closed due to hazards created by recent landslides into the Nantahala River.

The main access roads into Cataloochee and Cades Cove will be closed for several months this winter due to road construction projects. 

This autumn should yield vibrant fall colors in the mountains, according to Western Carolina University’s fall color forecaster Beverly Collins. 

The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees elected a slate of officers for 2019-20 and made appointments to several committees, including a new group that will study the possibility of future beer and wine sales at WCU athletics facilities.

How many times a week are you able to sit down together as a family or with friends and enjoy a meal around the table?

A Georgia man was pronounced dead in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Thursday, Aug. 22, following a cardiac event. 

A Haywood Community College student recently took fourth in a national timbersports competition held in Wisconsin. 

To the Editor:

It has been a long time sense I have written to an Editor, but the opinion in a recent issue issue regarding gun control needs to be addressed.

The writer used some very good examples to support his argument; however, every solution he offered has been tried in the past without satisfactory results. In 1997 England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand implemented almost everything suggested, and the violent crime rate in the United Kingdom has soared by 77 percent since 2007. Their violent crime rate went to 2,034 per 100,000 compared to the USA violent crime rate of 466 per 100,000. These facts can be verified at gunsinamerica.com.

If examining and licensing gun owners and registering guns would work, then wouldn’t vehicle drivers stop violating traffic laws? Every driver and every vehicle is registered, but people still run red lights and drive over the speed limit. How can this be? All have been properly registered, tested and educated, but for some reason laws are violated. Why would anyone think the same procedures would stop mis-use of guns? 

If these proposed law changes would fix the problem, then Chicago would be one of the safest cities in the nation because almost every proposal made is in place in Illinois and/or Chicago. In Illinois to buy a gun or ammunition, you must have a state-issued gun owners identification card that has your picture on it and identifies you as a responsible honest law-abiding person and to acquire these cards you must go through an extensive background check. In Illinois they call it a “good guy card.” In Chicago you have to have a police-issued permit to have a gun and the gun must be registered with the police. This also requires a background check. 

In Chicago a few weeks ago there were 40 people shot and nine killed in one weekend. Nothing was said about this in the mass news media. The amazing thing is that criminals do not obey laws. Imagine that! How do these gang-bangers in Chicago even get ammunition? I guarantee they do not have “good guy cards.” Many of them are too young to even legally buy guns. If gun laws do not work and have been proven almost daily not to work, then why do people continue to suggest we make more of the same laws? To do the same thing over and over and expect different results every time is the definition of insanity.

The so-called gun violence is not a gun problem. We have a people problem. A people problem that most people do not want to fix. The reason is that it will require us to change. We will have to make changes in the way we raise our children, educate our children and the way we treat one another. To make these changes it will probably take at least a generation to completely fix. We must bring the Supreme Being back into our homes, lives and schools. We must return to the Golden Rule and treat others as we would want to be treated. 

There was a survey recently made on several college campuses and the results that came out of this survey was that a significant number of the students thought that it was OK to use violence to shut up people that were expressing views that they did not agree with. Look at the number of cases in the past few years where conservative speakers were not allowed to speak on college and university campuses that they were invited to speak at, where the students rioted and destroyed public and private property because they did not want anyone to hear the speakers. 

I believe that it is time that we really take a long hard look at what has happened to society during the last few decades. When I was in school, many years ago, I made a stock for my shotgun in art class. Now the children cannot even carry a nail clipper to school. The change was us. We have become the problem. We are the only ones that can fix the problem and it will not — or should not — require any lawmakers to get involved. Stopping violence, whether by guns, verbal, physical or riots, is something we must do. We are the ones that are responsible and we are the ones that must change.

Donald Kimmel

Waynesville

To the Editor:

The only constant left in this country is our laws. We are only a great people if we abide by what our founders created a few hundred years ago. The current administration is perpetuating constant discourse and fueling divisiveness with racist tweets and rallies. Everyday we are bombarded with rants from the conspirator in charge of our country and interests. He has no shame or love for anyone other than Trump Inc. He has split families from their children and they sit in cages still, he insults anyone he pleases — including our allies — but loves the murderous dictators and respects them. Even before he launched his campaign he spread racist views and lies about others for his own gain.  

Now the threat to our democracy is further eroded by the mass killings targeting people of color. Congratulations Mr. President! You are truly inspirational to so few, but those few apparently listen and agree with your twisted ideology and love their guns and Bible. So here we go, America down the rabbit hole. Laws? No good if no one enforces them. Mitch McConnell is useless and refuses to do his job but he remains in control. He turns a blind eye to the fraud sitting in the Oval Office, he sheds no tears for the people lying dead in our streets. The only power the rest of us have left is our vote. Let’s hope that it’s secure.  

Mylan Sessions

Waynesville 

To the Editor:

The most recent despicable, senseless and tragic “mass shootings” (California, Texas and Ohio) and “mass stabbings” (California) are, once again, going to cause our society to look for answers as to why such events occur. They occur because we, as a society, have allowed irresponsible personal conduct to become the “norm.” There is very little accountability for anyone’s actions until a tragic event occurs. Early warning signs of inappropriate behavior are ignored because we don’t want to “upset” anyone.

They occur because of the degradation of personal and social values that allow some individuals to think they are more important than the other members of our society; and when they feel “wronged” that  they have the “right” to punish anyone , any time for their perceived plight.

They occur because of the violence in movies, TV shows, digital games,  “comic” books and the videos on the internet. These forms of “entertainment” include the unfettered use of handguns, rifles, knives/machetes. futuristic “ray guns” and any other device one could imagine, to do harm to the characters in those media. There seems to be a “hardening” to the sense of the “player” concerning the appropriateness of indiscriminately inflicting harm on others.

They occur because we have a societal problem, one that will not be easily solved and certainly won’t be solved by some “legislative action” (another  law). No one wants to hear this, but we will continue to have these mass shootings/stabbings until our societal values change for the better.

In the 1950s one could go to a Sears, JC Penney, or other such stores and walk out with as many guns as you could afford to purchase. There were no epidemics of mass shootings/stabbings during that time. We had different societal values then. 

I have urged our state’s congressional members to make sensible, meaningful decisions about the inevitable new (but will be mostly ineffective) laws that will probably be passed in order to show that something is being done by the  politicians to address our issues. Knee-jerk, emotion-based, politically-motivated new laws will not solve our problem.  

One area that would positively effect our mass shooting/stabbing situation is to greatly increase the funding for mental health services. We need a means for responsible people, i.e. the “village”, to identify those that exhibit destructive behavior, while retaining “due process” under the law.

I encourage everyone to contact your congressional members to inform them of your position on this matter. 

Tom Rodgers

Cullowhee

To the Editor:

Trump’s been talking about reducing payroll taxes. Beware everyone! Don’t fall for his shell game. Payroll taxes are the Social Security and Medicare taxes! This is just another ploy to justify eliminating these benefits. Tell your representatives that you are not falling for it. 

Penny Wallace 

Waynesville

A severe deluge dropped 3.5 inches of rain in the Nantahala Gorge in Swain County on Saturday and triggered slides that covered the road in four locations within a half-mile stretch on the western side of the gorge and spread debris from the mountainside into the river at three locations.

This past summer, Andrew Allen had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get clinical experience at one of the state’s top teaching hospitals — Vidant Medical in Greenville. 

More than 150 leaders from Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties in North Carolina gathered Aug. 16 in Bryson CIty for the 7 County Western North Carolina Community Summit to discuss strategies about how to collectively create better cooperation in their efforts to encourage lifelong recovery for those suffering from substance use abuse and dependence.

Do you have a favorite local food item? Here are just a few of the local food products you can find at your Ingles Market. Look for the local foods sections at your Ingles Market!

BRYSON CITY – N.C. Department of Transportation crews are working around the clock on U.S. 19/74 until the highway is open through the Nantahala Gorge. 

BRYSON CITY – A heavy rainstorm Saturday evening and four subsequent mudslides have closed U.S. 19/74 in the Nantahala Gorge through the night, and traffic is being detoured around the area.

My wife likes to use stevia for baking as well as cold and hot tea but I can’t stand the taste – it tastes bitter to me, almost like licorice! What’s going on?

An inmate at the Haywood County Detention Center, Zachary Nathaniel Lambright, 20, was pronounced deceased at Haywood Regional Medical Center on Monday, Aug. 19, at 3:02 p.m. following an apparent suicide in his assigned cell in the Haywood County Detention Center.

To the Editor:

All of us are heartbroken with the recent reports of mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. Texas of all places! The state where we are told everyone would be safer if they had a gun. I’d be shocked if most shoppers in the El Paso Walmart weren’t packin’! Where was the in-store response to the shooting? It failed, along with the bogus notion that more guns means a safer community. Actually, the opposite is true.

To the Editor:

As a nurse practitioner who treats opioid addiction, I am appreciative of The Smoky Mountain News’ coverage of the opioid crisis. Our community benefits from increased visibility of the opioid crisis. Increased visibility leads to decreased stigmatization of addiction as well as increased empathy for those suffering from it, which, in turn, increases access to care. 

To the Editor:

Regularly, for four years, both the Mountaineer and The Smoky Mountain News have published articles lambasting the Shining Rock Classical Academy’s records and activities.

To the Editor:

Lindsay Graham had it right. In 2015, he described Donald Trump as “a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” Merriam-Webster defines bigot as: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices. That definition clearly encompasses racism and perfectly describes Mr. Trump.

Fifteen high school students from across the region who are members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians had an opportunity to experience college life first-hand as the second annual Judaculla Camp was held June 17-21 at Western Carolina University.