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According to the Beverly-Hanks Q2 2020 Real Estate Market Report, Western North Carolina’s real estate markets have undergone rapid and meaningful adjustments since the end of March. However, a strong seller’s market still makes it a good time for many to meet their real estate goals.
By Boyd Allsbrook • Contributing writer | In light of the recent national uproar over police brutality, law enforcement training has rocketed to the forefront of public discussion. It’s a complicated topic; not merely for the politically charged rhetoric it now commonly evokes, but also because approaches to training new officers vary widely from state to state, county to county and agency to agency. It’s a convoluted process and made more difficult to grasp still when you factor in how agencies emphasize different aspects of training on even a personal basis.
Four months after the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians filed suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision to allow the Catawba Indian Nation to move forward with plans for a casino in Kings Mountain, the DOI has officially taken the land into trust and the Catawba have broken ground on the site. However, the EBCI is still fighting the decision, on July 6 submitting a new, amended complaint in the case.
Buncombe’s share less than other NC counties, neighboring states
By Mark Barrett
AVL Watchdog
A bill that would have changed the distribution of Buncombe County’s controversial hotel tax to better benefit local government is likely dead until at least next year.
RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) selected 13 businesses to join its pool of qualified vendors to support the state’s response to COVID-19, bringing the total number of vendors to 39.
Jackson County Department of Public Health has identified a COVID-19 outbreak at a local skilled nursing facility. Five employees at the Skyland Care Center have tested positive for COVID-19. All positive employees are following isolation orders.
Haywood County Public Health received notice of 14 new cases of COVID-19 since July 14, which brings the number of cases recorded in Haywood County to 146. The individuals reside in Haywood County and are in isolation.
By Sally Kestin and John Maines
Of 911 calls and requests for assistance to Asheville Police, less than 1 percent involve a violent crime, an AVL Watchdog analysis of police dispatch data shows.
Is there an easy way to find low-sodium products at Ingles?
The Left Loop Trail of the Tsali Trail Complex in the Nantahala National Forest is closed for maintenance work.
Local applicants are wanted for facilities management jobs in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
A search and rescue effort in the Shining Rock Wilderness area of the Pisgah National Forest had a happy ending last week when rescuers found missing hikers Kelly and Mark Kleinbrahm, as well as their son Noah, around 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 7.
Discover the amazing diversity of life in the Pigeon River with an event on Saturday, July 25, at Jukebox Junction in Bethel.
Tour 10-Acre Garden and enjoy a wood-fired pizza Saturday, July 25, at the Ten Acre Garden in Bethel.
With rising case counts showing that the Coronavirus Pandemic is far from over, a new round of cancellation announcements has emerged.
By Brandi Hinnant-Crawford • Guest Columnist | In 2014, on my 30th birthday, I got a call from my former department head offering me a job at Western Carolina University. I was ecstatic; I was going home. Upstate New York winters are not kind to girls raised in the south (aka GRITS), and the Old North State is the state I love more than any other in the union — everyone was happy. Two years after living in Jackson County, I heard about these amazing kindergarten classrooms at Hazelwood Elementary; I wanted my kids to have this wonderful experience. After apartment living for two years, I moved into a colleague’s house in Waynesville. Finally—the west was feeling like home. My kids had a yard, and I had Belk (Modern, Southern, Style!). Plus, Waynesville is halfway between my Cullowhee office and Biltmore Park classroom. Jackpot!
To the Editor:
I am writing this to the Haywood County School Board and the citizens of Haywood County.
My name is Brandon Milan. I am a decade-long resident of Haywood County and the white father of two Black children, one of whom is already a student in the Haywood County School system.
Artists in all disciplines are eligible to apply for grants to support their professional and artistic development through a partnership of the North Carolina Arts Council and Asheville Area Arts Council, Haywood County Arts Council, Arts Council of Henderson County, Tryon Fine Arts Center, Rutherford County Recreation, Cultural, and Heritage Commission, and the Transylvania Community Arts Council.
The Jackson County Department of Public Health has confirmed that two recent deaths in Jackson County residents are related to COVID-19.
Nantahala Health Foundation has announced a call for grant proposals directed at regional nonprofits and governmental agencies with immediate needs, especially those magnified by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Haywood County Public Health received notice on July 10 of two new cases of COVID-19. This brings the number of cases recorded in Haywood County to 117. The individuals are in isolation at home. The individuals reside in Haywood County.
House Bill 1043 requires school systems to develop a Remediation and Summer Jump Start Plan for the 2020-2021 school year. Remediation and Summer Jump Start is defined as supplemental summer learning programs for students who were in K-4 in the 2019-2020 school year whose learning has been negatively affected by the impacts of COVID-19.
The search for missing hikers Kelly and Mark Kleinbrahm and their son Noah ended successfully Tuesday afternoon around 1 p.m. when the family were found safe in an off-trail area east of Ivestor Gap Trail and south of Graveyard Ridge Trail in the Shining Rock Wilderness area of Pisgah National Forest.
Haywood County Public Health received notice on July 9 of six new cases of COVID-19. This brings the number of cases recorded in Haywood County as of 4 p.m. July 9 to 115. The individuals are in isolation at home. The individuals reside in Haywood County.
Macon County Public Health has identified a cluster of 9 people who have tested positive at Norton Creek Farms. Employees who have tested positive are isolated from others. All of the farm workers who have potentially been exposed to these individuals have been contacted and will be tested for COVID-19.
The Franklin Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon cutting ceremony at Appalachian Growers located in the Cowee Valley.
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced Wednesday that Michael Macht has joined the 43rd Prosecutorial District as an assistant district attorney.
Western Carolina University Chief of Police Steve Lillard was named national runner-up in the higher education division of Campus Safety magazine’s 2020 Director of the Year awards.
Haywood County Public Health received notice on July 8 of two new cases of COVID-19. This brings the number of cases recorded in Haywood County to 109. The individuals are in isolation at home.
What is tempeh?
A new campaign from EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems aims to make farmers markets safer for the public and vendors alike.
Visitors to DuPont State Recreation Forest could have to pay an entrance fee in the future following Gov. Roy Cooper’s ratification of Senate Bill 390.
Tree seedlings are now available from the N.C. Forest Service, with nearly 50 species of conifers, hardwoods and native understory plants in stock.
A grant from the U.S. Forest Service will help the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians expand and connect the Hall Mountain Community Forest to the Little Tennessee River.
Liz Hall has been selected as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s first emergency manager.
The popular ArborEvenings after-hours series at the N.C. Arboretum will return this year with a toy-filled twist.
To the Editor:
I hope every eligible North Carolina resident plans to vote in the November election; the opportunity to vote is both a privilege and a responsibility for all of us. As new residents of Swain County and a military family, we have moved 14 times. Now, Western North Carolina is our home. I am an unaffiliated registered voter.
Today, downloading the request form from the N.C. Board of Elections website (NCSBOE) is easy. Go to: https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting-options/absentee-voting
When I was active duty, absentee ballot was how I voted. I never wondered if my ballot was counted; I trusted the system. In North Carolina you don’t need a reason. Five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington have all-mail voting. In these five states every voter receives a ballot by mail. Study after study has debunked any claims of fraudulent voting. Voter fraud almost never happens. Voting by mail is necessary to safely allow increasing voter turnout during the time of this pandemic.
Recently, North Carolina’s Legislature passed an election reform law. It expanded absentee voting and made in-person voting safer amid rising concern over the ability to hold smooth elections during the Coronavirus Pandemic. The law requires an online absentee request option for state voters, who formerly could only request such ballots by mail or in person. The law also reduced the number of witnesses who must sign a voter’s absentee ballot from two to one. Just because you request an absentee ballot doesn’t mean that you can’t still vote in person if you choose.
A significant number of people will be requesting absentee ballots this year. It is a sound decision knowing the lines may be long and social distancing during these times is so important; the convenience is obvious. Don’t wait until the last minute to request your ballot — do it now! If you don’t have computer access, you can request the application for an absentee ballot at your county Board of Elections. Voters need one of the following types of identification: N.C. driver’s license, N.C. special identification card for non-operators, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Every position on the ballot is important — at this time our world is particularly stressed and sound leadership at every level of government is important. Everyone has a role to play in good governance and protecting each other as best we can. Our local governments are stressed and budgets require creative utilization of dwindling resources. That is another reason to pay attention to the local elections. Local elections are vitally important.
My request form to Swain County Board of Elections will be mailed today, giving plenty of time for it to be processed for the November election. It’s not too early to request it. The request must be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 27, 2020, one week before the election. Let’s keep each other and the people who work the polls safe and get it done!
Mary K. Buranosky, CDR USNR-Ret
Whittier
To the Editor:
Major news sources inform us that Russian operatives have paid mercenaries to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. What does the Commander in Chief have to say? His knee-jerk response is that he had not been briefed. Not responsible. Will Trump fire those officials who failed to call it to his attention? Should the Commander in Chief be held accountable? Or will congressional Republicans blame it all on Putin? Does the buck not stop at The Resolute Desk anymore?
I have never been the president. Never boasted that I don’t need daily briefings. Never claimed to be the only person who can fix things. Never said I was “the chosen one.” Never said I know more than the generals. Never belittled an American war hero. Never dodged the draft with “bone spurs.”
This latest troubling news has cast an even darker cloud over Trump’s ability/intent to protect Americans. Indeed, what are his basic motives? Perhaps, it is now time for Republicans in Congress to listen to what former National Security Advisor John Bolton says: Trump is “unfit for office.” Bolton is a staunch Republican.
Dave Waldrop
Webster
By Peter H. Lewis • AVL Watchdog | By 1860, about 15 percent of the population of Western North Carolina was enslaved. Only a small percentage of the White settlers, who had pushed out Indigenous Native Americans, owned slaves — about 2 percent of households, according to Katherine Calhoun Cutshall, collections manager, North Carolina Room, Pack Memorial Library — and of those, most owned one or two. The majority were owned by a handful of elite families, whose names are commemorated throughout the region.
On Monday, June 22, Southwestern Community College hosted Nantahala Health Foundation representatives as they set up a mask distribution site at the Burrell Building on the Jackson Campus.
The Jackson County Department of Public Health has identified its second COVID-19 cluster in a single day, announcing that 11 employees at Mountaintop Golf & Lake Club tested positive for the disease so far.
Jackson County Department of Public Health has identified a COVID-19 cluster in a local medical provider’s office.
Knoxville, Tennessee-based Johnson Architecture, along with project partner IBI Placemaking, recently earned an award in North Carolina for the Cherokee Cultural Corridor Master Plan.
The Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation to provide valuable Personal Protection Equipment to small business members in need.
By Peter H. Lewis • AVL Watchdog | Vance, Patton, Woodfin, Henderson, Weaver, Chunn, Baird — their names are familiar to anyone living in Asheville and Buncombe County today. All were wealthy and influential civic leaders honored by having their names bestowed on statues, monuments, streets, schools, parks, neighborhoods, and local communities.
Haywood County Public Health received notice July 2 that another Haywood County resident has tested positive for COVID-19. This brings the number of cases recorded in Haywood County as of 5 p.m. on July 2 to 93. The individual is in isolation at home.
The Second Blessing Thrift Store, located in Waynesville, is open, expanding operations and in need of donations and volunteers.
To the Editor:
The Nantahala and Pisgah national forests are the headwaters of seven major river systems, providing drinking water for millions of people in four southeastern states and wildlife habitat for a bewildering array of native species such as the hellbender and native brook trout. Right now, the U.S. Forest Service is drafting the next forest management plan for these forests — a blueprint for how our forests will be managed for the next 15-20 years — and, unfortunately, the current draft is inadequate in a few very important ways when it comes to protecting water quality.
First and foremost, the Forest Service needs to meet or exceed the stream protection standards that they’ve set for other Southern Appalachian National Forests such as the Chattahoochee, the Cherokee, and the Jefferson. While the 100-foot buffer on perennial streams is good, the draft plan only affords intermittent streams a 15-foot buffer, and provides no protection at all for ephemeral streams — the type of streams that make up the very beginning of the watershed networks we depend on.
Compare this to Cherokee National Forest, across the border in Tennessee, which has a default riparian buffer of 100 feet on perennial streams and 50 feet on intermittent streams, as well as some protections within 25 feet of ephemeral stream channels. Cherokee National Forest also allows buffers to be increased to 264 feet in areas with steeper slopes, although limited harvest is allowed.
These buffers prevent stream banks from being degraded, provide shade, and reduce sediment pollution due to timber harvesting, road building and other development. When these protective buffers are removed, water temperatures increase and sediment makes its way into streams and rivers. That excess sediment suffocates aquatic habitats and reduces populations of species such as trout, freshwater mussels and hellbenders.
The Forest Service should also adapt better timbering practices and improve road and trail maintenance to reduce sediment pollution. Forest roads in backcountry areas that will be passively managed should be decommissioned or repurposed for trails. This would help prevent erosion and sediment pollution and extreme flooding in forest rivers and streams due to the heavy rains and storms and stormwater runoff.
Finally, there are nine Outstanding Resource Waters in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests. These are watersheds that are determined to have excellent water quality and exceptional ecological or recreational significance, and the Forest Service should make sure they are named and protected in the final plan.
The Forest Service’s deadline for public comment is June 29 and this is our last significant chance to have our say. Submit your comment today at mountaintrue.org/forestplancomment, through the Forest Services CARA portal, or by US Mail addressed to Plan Revision Team, National Forests in North Carolina, 160 Zillicoa St, Asheville NC 28801, and help us win better protections for the 1,200 miles of streams and rivers of Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests.
Callie Moore, MountainTrue Western Regional Director
David Caldwell, Broad Riverkeeper
Hartwell Carson, French Broad Riverkeeper
Gray Jernigan, Green Riverkeeper
Andy Hill, Watauga Riverkeeper
To the Editor:
The Appalachian Trail, spanning nearly 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, maintains a natural mystique that cannot be found anywhere else on earth. It attracts over 3 million visitors annually and is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world.
Regrettably, this national treasure is imperiled by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which is set to pass through the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests and bisect the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The 600-mile pipeline begins in Harrison County, West Virginia, travels through Virginia, extends into southern and eastern North Carolina, ending in Robeson County.
In a dispute between the National Park Service and the United States Forest Service, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2018 that the Appalachian Trail and the 600 feet below it, which is necessary for the construction of the pipeline, fell under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Service. On June 15, 2020, in a 7-2 reversal of the 4th Circuit decision, the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the 1968 Trails System Act to mean that although the National Parks Service may run a footpath over the land, the land underneath belongs to the National Forest Service. In their dissent, Justices Sotomayor and Kagan asserted that if the National Parks Service administers the trail, it must also administer the land underneath, as the trail cannot be separated from the underlying land. As a result of this ruling, the U.S. Forest Service has the authority to issue a permit to pipeline developers.
The preservation of the Appalachian Trail is of considerable significance to many of us, and I’ve spent countless summer days mesmerized by its beauty, awed by its challenges, and felt the sense of wonder that arises when hiking through these mountains. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is destructive, dangerous, and unnecessary. Its negative impacts, which include restricted access to clean water and breathable air, disproportionately fall on low-income workers and people of color. Corporate greed should not take precedence over the livelihood of entire communities.
Grace Feichter
Waynesville
To the Editor:
I moved to Jackson County in January of 2013 and have been in love with everything about this area until recently. Increasingly, I wonder if this is home anymore. Home is often a place that you feel safe, secure, and loved — those haven’t been my feelings lately as I have spent time in town and seen armed men guarding the statue of the Confederate soldier known as “Sylva Sam” that stands overlooking our beautiful town.
I inquired with Town of Sylva board members and learned that three board members voted to ask the Jackson County Board of Commissioners to remove the statue solely based on public safety and the request was denied. I have read statements from county commissioners who seem to either be in support of keeping Sylva Sam in his present place, would like to remove Sylva Sam, or would like to create a task force to provide commissioners with some direction on Sylva Sam.
I find it concerning that our elected officials aren’t listening to those who recently spoke at a board meeting in favor of replacing the statue since no one other than the chairman of the board of commissioners provided support for keeping Sylva Sam in its current place. The idea of creating a Task Force is just as unsafe as keeping Sylva Sam present overlooking our community. I assume this task force would be made up by a diverse group of individuals in our community that aren’t in support and that are in support of Sylva Sam. This task force would put black and brown individuals in our community in an unsafe position, putting them in direct contact with the same individuals who stand armed to guard Sylva Sam. This task force would slow down the progress that is being made regionally, state-wide, and nationally to address these racist monuments.
While I applaud the effort to include community members in the conversation, I believe this is best left to those who myself and many others have elected to make decisions on my behalf in this community. Now is the time for our local elected officials to provide us with the leadership that you agreed to provide and anything other than that leadership is negligent on your part. This lack of leadership shows that you don’t represent all of the individuals that voted for you.
As an African American voting member of this community I would like to feel safe at home again and hope you will hear me in asking you to do what is right for someone that voted for each of you! The way forward may be hard and require you to be uncomfortable and to confront your own biases, but it is right. I hope that you will be able to proudly tell your grandchildren you were on the right side of history in deciding to remove a statue that depicts racism and hatred in our region.
Kelly Brown
Sylva
