Spring and summer mean more time outdoors, but they also mean tick season. Ticks can carry serious diseases like Lyme disease, so take these steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. Haywood County Environmental Health offers these simple tips: 

• Dress Smart:

Wear long sleeves, long pants and closed-toe shoes. Tuck pants into socks to keep ticks from crawling up your legs.

• Use Repellent:

Apply EPA-registered insect repellents that contain DEET, picaridin or permethrin (on clothing only).

• Stay on Trails:

Avoid tall grass, brush and wooded areas where ticks thrive. Stick to the center of hiking trails.

• Check Yourself and Pets:

After being outdoors, do a full-body tick check. Don’t forget behind the knees, underarms and scalp. Check pets, too.

• Shower Soon:

Showering within two hours of coming inside can help remove ticks and reduce your risk of infection.

• Remove Ticks Promptly:

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick close to the skin and pull upward steadily. Clean the bite area with alcohol or soap and water.

• Stay safe, stay vigilant and enjoy the outdoors responsibly.

For more information, visit cdc.gov/ticks.

To the Editor:

The 2024 presidential election revealed one thing in crystal-clear, proof-positive, light-years beyond any reasonable doubt comprehensibility, that the ability and capacity of the average American voter to simply (but so importantly) distinguish between fact and fiction, the ability to grasp (and choose confidently) between truth and falsehood, the aptitude necessary to seek out and determine right from wrong, to diligently and with purpose contrast good and evil, and lastly, the ability and the practiced competence to differentiate and choose the honorable from the dishonorable — no longer exists. 

More than two years after deadly flooding killed six people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to public and private property from Bethel to Cruso to Canton to Clyde, Haywood County will purchase an early warning siren system to keep residents better informed for when — not if — it happens again. 

BBB Scam Tracker has numerous reports of unscrupulous contractors who trick homeowners with supposedly good deals.