Travis Smith began his career with the Tribal Alcohol and Beverage Control Commission on Feb. 27, 2024. He was guaranteed a four-year term until a fellow TABCC member submitted a grievance to the Eastern Band of Cherokee’s Office of Internal Audit and Ethics Aug. 14 of this year. 

To the Editor:

I just finished reading The Smoky Mountain News article about the proposed amendments to the FRL agreement. In the article quotes Todd Bryson: “the [FRL] Board of Trustees, they have more authority than what they realize to make some of these changes that need to be made.” 

A pair of new environmental violations issued this month brings the total for Canton’s shuttered paper mill up to seven since it closed last June and 22 since May 2021 — an average of 1.3 violations every two months. 

While mountain residents were busy preparing for Christmas, the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill in Canton that until May 2023 employed more than 1,000 of them was racking up a pair of new environmental violations.

The now-shuttered paper mill in Canton has received a new violation for exceeding permit limits on toxicity for water released from the plant, continuing a pattern established over the last two years of averaging more than one notice of violation every two months. 

Pactiv Evergreen has been issued its second notice of violation in less than a month, bringing its total since May 2021 up to 15 — more than one violation every two months, on average.