For the second year in a row, law enforcement leaders, elected officials, and advocates met to discuss key issues affecting public safety with the goal of working toward concrete solutions.
The event, called “Meet in the Middle,” was organized by Western North Carolina DWI Taskforce leader Ellen Pitt and was cohosted by state Reps. Anna Ferguson (R-Swain) and Eric Ager (D-Buncombe). During the two-hour roundtable, held the afternoon of Sept. 13 at Maggie Valley’s town hall pavilion, each participant had the chance to discuss two issues they considered important to the evolving world of public safety.
Along with Ager and Ferguson, other elected leaders and candidates showed up, including Republican NC-11 nominee Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson), Buncombe County Sheriff candidate Gary Parris, and District Attorney-Elect for Rutherford and McDowell counties, David Norris. Also present were representatives from various aspects of law enforcement, including North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) troopers.
Pitt kicked off the event with opening remarks, during which she drove home the importance of public safety. From education to agriculture, while different candidates have different priorities, she argued that public safety is a necessary complement to any other agenda.
“We need safe business environments and streets for the economy to be what it needs to be, so you’ve got to have the police highly trained,” she said.
Pitt has led the charge to pass new DWI laws, including the Sober Operator Act. Originally proposed by Pitt’s longtime ally, the late Rep. Mike Clampitt, it is now sponsored by Ferguson and Ager. Pitt encouraged lawmakers present to consider how “desperately needed” the sober operator act is.
People around the room spoke one by one. Some talked about making it easier for a grandparent to get limited guardianship over their grandchildren in situations where the parents are struggling with addiction. Ferguson also wanted to see changes in DWI laws, including the ability to introduce roadside breathalyzer numerical results as evidence in court.
“The more I talk with law enforcement, the more I’m amazed the hoops you have to jump through to even get information introduced in court,” Ferugson said.
Finally, Ferguson said that legislators need to consider what laws should be passed to regulate recreational cannabis use when, not if, it is legalized.
Ager advocated for the use of continuous alcohol monitoring bracelets for DWI defendants awaiting trial.
“We need a modernization of our legal structure in North Carolina that takes into account the new technologies we have,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot over the last 30, 40 years. Our legal system is a bit trapped in the past.”
The NCHSP troopers, First Sgt. Aaron Ammons and Sgt. Cory Hipps, discussed staffing issues the area is grappling with. There are 20 troopers right now covering Haywood and Jackson counties, and that number should be up to 25. Of the 17 western counties comprising Troop G, only two are fully staffed.
Jean Harris, a member of Nurses Against Drunk Driving, lost her sister, brother-in-law, and 8-year-old nephew in 2024 to a driver now awaiting trial on a DWI charge for the collision. “My number one passion right now is to make sure the sober operator act gets passed,” she said.
District Attorney-Elect for Rutherford and McDowell counties David Norris said he’d like to see more simplified DWI laws, noting that there are 65 paragraphs in that statute, which creates a lot of room for error for prosecutors.
Bill Hollinged, a former Waynesville police chief who now heads up the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, said he has been surprised by the proliferation of shops that carry THC products and kratom, which affects the user similarly to an opioid.
Republican Haywood County Sheriff candidate Mark Mease, who currently serves as a narcotics investigator with the Cherokee Indian Police Department, echoed that concern, adding that they are seeing more vape pens popping up as well.
“We’re seeing these vape cartridges popping up in schools with fentanyl and meth, not just THC,” he said.
Balkcom touted her public safety record as a state legislator, especially in the realm of public safety when it comes to protecting children. She said she would like criminals to dread jail again.
“We don’t make believers out of criminals anymore,” she said, adding that she wants the “fear of God” put into them.
Pitt closed things out by thanking those who put in the work for the DWI Taskforce and those who attended.
“Everybody gets heard,” she said. “That has served us well for all these many years.”