When Grace Powell walks into the Jackson County Public Library on June 1 as its new full-time director, she will inherit more than a building full of books — she will inherit a community still divided. 

Powell, a lifelong Sylva resident, earned her elementary education degree at Western Carolina University, taught third grade at Scotts Creek elementary school for a year and a half before earning a master’s degree in library science from East Carolina University.

To the Editor:

It was reported in The Smoky Mountain News on Aug. 5 that Jackson County Commissioner John Smith’s completion of a statutorily required ethics training within a year of being elected was in question.

Unlike the other four members of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, John W. Smith did not take the basic ethics training within 12 months of election as required by state law, The Smoky Mountain News has learned.

To the Editor:

Present-day political unrest reminds me of the Spanish cellist, conductor and composer, Pav Casals, known in English by his Spanish name, Pablo Casals. Casals was born in El Vendrell, Spain, Dec. 29, 1876. He lived in France after 1936 and Puerto Rico after 1956, where he died, Oct. 22, 1973. 

One good thing about being skeptical of your own opinions is that if the wrong candidate wins you can reassure yourself by thinking that perhaps you were wrong all along and the people who voted the wrong way were right. 

During an Oct. 17 Annual Council meeting, the Cherokee Tribal Council approved an ordinance that strengthens ethics laws for tribal officials — but struck a proposed change that would have restricted their activity for a year after leaving office.

Tribal government is expected to gain on openness and accountability following passage of a pair of laws in Cherokee Tribal Council this month. After more than a year of work, the tribe now has a code of ethics and a mechanism to ensure the new standards are enforced.