Faced with a tall and growing stack of bills in the solid waste department, Haywood County commissioners are seriously considering offloading part of county trash and recycling operations to private companies.

Whether it’s the $4.5 million spent to expand the White Oak landfill, expensive equipment sorely in need of repair or replacement, environmental fines incurred by the now defunct Francis Farm landfill, or a relentless rise in recycling without staffing to sort it — county commissioners have just about had enough.

The equivalent of 15 full-time employees would be out of a job as early as July 1, the start of the next fiscal year, if the outsourcing plan is enacted. Commissioners have yet to vote formally on the drastic change in county operations, but Commissioner Kevin Ensley says the board seems to be in agreement thus far.

“We’re pretty much going to be doing this,” Ensley said.

A solid waste task force has examined every facet of the issue and recommended the following:

• Privatize the county’s 10 convenience centers, where residents without trash pickup dump household garbage and recyclables, a move that would save the county $145,192.

• Eliminate the pick line at the recycling center where employees sort recyclables. Instead, haul recyclables — other than cardboard, paper and metal, which can be more profitable to sell — to another county to be sorted by machine. Citizens will be encouraged to sort their own recycling. Projected cost savings: $286,166.

• Eventually close the transfer station in Clyde some time this fall. Towns with trash pickup and private haulers would have to take loads directly to the White Oak landfill. Residents can still drop bulky items, metal, cardboard and paper in Clyde, however. Projected cost savings: $940,000 annually.

The first two recommendations may take place as early as July 1, though the transfer station shutdown will have to wait until the landfill is prepared for increased traffic. It would need a redesign to keep the public separated from heavy dump trucks and improvements to the dirt roads, which are passable only by four-wheel drive in the rain.

Even if the first two recommendations are implemented, the solid waste fee would still shoot up from $70 to $92 per household this year. County leaders say that the fee would jump even further to $110 if they don’t contract services out to private companies.

“We can’t ask our people to pay much more,” Commissioner Bill Upton said.

“Now would be the best time for us to go down this path,” said Commissioner Mark Swanger, who anticipates soliciting proposals and bids from contractors in the very near future.

Haywood leaders have already been in discussions with one Tennessee company and two North Carolina companies so far.

Furthermore, county leaders are exploring the option of private management of the landfill and have not completely ruled out selling the property.

“If they brought up the idea, we would listen,” said Stephen King, solid waste director for Haywood.

A devastating week

Last week, King had the difficult task of calling his employees at the recycling center together to announce that they would likely lose their jobs in less than two months.

King ran down to most of the county’s 10 convenience centers to personally deliver the bad news to workers there.

“It’s a very difficult predicament to be in,” said King. “I felt personally if I didn’t let them know, I would be doing them a disservice.”

Regardless, workers at the pick line are still deeply disappointed in county leaders.

“A lot of them have worked for some time,” said Dan Best, a pick line worker. “It’s just devastating for the people.”

With an unemployment rate at about 12 percent in Haywood County, Best said commissioners are sending much-needed Haywood jobs out of the county.

Larry Boone, an employee at Hazelwood convenience center, said he felt “uneasy” about the potential of losing both his job and benefits. Some of the savings from a private company taking over would likely be a result of lower wages and fewer benefits.

Though convenience center employees like Boone have a real chance of being rehired by the private companies that take over, it’s another story for the pick line workers at the recycling center.

“I have a lot of compassion for the employees,” said King, who said the gathering at the recycling center brought tears to his eyes. “I’m right here working with them.”

Ensley said he, too, hates to see job loss but pointed out that the county’s recommended budget is 2.5 percent lower compared to last year’s budget, reducing the size of government and saving taxpayers of Haywood County more money.

“I’m not comfortable with us losing jobs, but I’m more not comfortable with raising the fees and taxes,” said Ensley. “I would rather keep those as low as we can.”

Benefits of privatizing

Commissioners have depicted privatization of trash and recycling operations as a direct path to efficiency.

The county’s current system is decidedly antiquated compared to what private companies devoted solely to solid waste accomplish every day.

King said it’s been difficult trying to fix equipment so old that he has to call all over the country to find parts.

“It’s a lot of cost involved to get yourself updated,” said King. “We’ve just scraped by for so many years in trying to utilize everything we can.”

Most private companies can compact garbage far more tightly, which could mean a doubling or even tripling of the landfill’s capacity, according to Swanger.

Shutting down the transfer station would save the county from ferrying loads of trash to the landfill. “The least amount of times we can touch something, the more money you save,” said Upton.

County residents, however, would not be forced to make the long trek out to White Oak — located at exit 15 off I-40 — and would still be able to dump bulky items, like couches, at the Clyde facility.

Town and county residents may have to begin sorting recyclables since the county will ship off certain recyclables but keep paper, cardboard and metal in-house.

For now, blue bags containing those products would still be hauled away to be sorted by machine, even if they contain paper, cardboard or metal.

King pointed out that using a machine would be vastly more efficient than having employees pick through mountains of blue bags manually.

“If we’re able to process two tons a day, they’re able to process eight tons an hour,” said King.

Disputing claims

According to Dan Best, a recycling pick line employee, the commissioners would not save taxpayer money in the long run.

“It’ll be just as expensive or more expensive,” said Best. “They’re using that for an excuse, and it don’t hold water...What they’re after is to get it out of their hair.”

It would cost more to haul away recyclables than sort them here, Best said, adding that contractors may initially offer attractive deals, but they would jack up prices once they’ve secured an agreement.

Swanger disagreed, arguing that the county would carefully construct contracts with private entities to protect the taxpayers from such price increases.

Paul White, a private hauler in Haywood County, agreed with Best, adding that the move would actually harm small businesses and private households in the end.

Hauling trash directly to the landfill rather than the transfer station would prove taxing for his vehicle, since access to the landfill can be especially difficult during bad weather, and construction debris like nails often damage tires there.

White said he’ll have to pass on the cost for upkeep to his customers, some of whom are already having trouble paying for the service with the poor economy.

“That pretty well puts me out of business,” said White.

Though the county planned to meet with private haulers to discuss privatization, White is skeptical about how much voice he and his fellow haulers will actually have.

“They already know what they’re going to do,” said White. “This is just a token meeting.”

Not a philosophical decision

County leaders openly support the idea of privatizing the landfill, but they stop short of touting privatization as the answer to all of government’s problems.

“This is not a philosophical discussion,” said Swanger.

King said it’s not a matter of government’s ability, but rather of adequate funding.

“I think government can do jobs as well and sometimes even better as long as it’s properly funded or maintained through the years,” said King. “If we’d started from day one funding the whole aspect in a different matter, I think we’d be in a little bit different shape.”

Privatization isn’t the best option for every county department in Swanger’s view.

“I think it’s function-specific. There are things that only government can do that cannot be logically privatized: law enforcement, emergency services, education,” Swanger said. “Many things government does and does well. There are other things that can have better results with a public-private partnership.”

Swanger said the proposed solution for solid waste would create such a partnership, with regular reviews, scrutiny and compliance ensured by county officials.

Removing sediment from Lake Logan would not only benefit its owner, Evergreen Packaging, it could potentially save homes and businesses from flooding, according to a study that was recently completed by McGill Associates.

“If we’re successful, we could lower the lake level, hold the floodwaters, and decrease impact,” said Joel Storrow, president of McGill Associates.

Evergreen Packaging primarily uses the lake to maintain the water flow necessary for its paper mill operations. Lowering the lake level would increase water storage capacity for Evergreen, while simultaneously holding back floodwater that could potentially damage properties located downstream. Increasing the lake’s capacity would therefore remove properties from the floodplain.

Just how many properties would be saved by dredging Lake Logan is dependent on how much sediment is removed. Lowering the lake by 10 feet would remove 15 structures from the flood plain. Dredging 15 feet from the lake would save 23 structures, while lowering Lake Logan 20 feet would save 29 properties.

Evergreen says it is only comfortable with dropping the lake by 10 feet, however, due to fears that filling up a lake that’s 15 or 20 feet deeper during a drought would prove challenging.

McGill has compiled preliminary cost estimates, which show it would take $1.8 million to draw down the lake by 15 feet; $6.8 million to drop the lake 15 feet; and $9.8 million to dredge 20 feet.

Storrow said he plans to pursue funding from the Federal Emergency Management Association, which could potentially provide 75 percent of the cost.

However, the recession means FEMA, like many other agencies, has less funding to dole out in grants.

“This is a very competitive program,” said Storrow. “This isn’t a slam dunk.”

However, because McGill’s study incorporated floodplain mapping from the state and the Army Corp of Engineers, it can back up its claims that dredging the lake would save homes, thereby making its application more competitive.

The study was commissioned after the devastating 2004 floods with state and federal aid funds. The Town of Canton received enough aid to fund 50 percent of the study, while Haywood County and Evergreen provided 25 percent each.

A grassroots effort to halt a mine expansion in west Waynesville jumped its first hurdle last week.

Citizens have convinced a state environmental agency that there’s enough community interest over the rock quarry expansion to hold a formal public hearing on the matter.

In April, Harrison Construction Company applied for a state permit from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to add about 13 acres to its 302-acre quarry on Allens Creek Road.

The company claims it must expand its gravel mining operations to help repair a slide caused by a wall failure inside its existing pit.

The slide sent a 600-foot slab of rock crashing down at the Waynesville rock quarry, which dislodged 480,000 tons of earth and buried a drilling rig.

“It can’t be left the way it is,” said Don Mason, environmental compliance officer for Harrison. “It has to be repaired ... This expansion is a safety act, not a mining act.”

Harrison says it needs to “back up far enough” to replace the quarry’s sheer face with a terraced-system to prevent future slides. While disturbing nearly 12 out of the 13 acres, Harrison plans to leave a hundred-foot-buffer around the perimeter.

Mason said mining more gravel is essential to repairing the slide.

“Are we going there specifically to mine that section? No,” said Mason. “We’re going there to repair the slide.”

But, residents say bringing the quarry that much closer to their doorstep will heighten health hazards by exposing them to more dust, which can cause extreme respiratory problems and even death. They claim blasting at the quarry already rattles their windows and cracks house foundations and walls.

Noise pollution, environmental damage including possible water pollution, and harm to property values are other objections to the expansion.

Mason retorted that the mine complies with strict state and federal regulations, and has never received complaints about structural problems. In reality, DENR records show there has been at least one complaint regarding cracks in a nearby house’s foundation and driveway retaining wall, which may have been caused by blasting.

Resident Nancy McGurdy said she built a cabin only 10 years ago near the quarry, and she’s already discovered a crack in her basement floor.

A petition that is being circulated states that the quarry creates undesirable living conditions for both humans and animals and destroys the natural beauty of the mountains, which is extremely important to residents, tourists, and the local economy.

“You can grow another tree, but you cannot grow another mountain,” said resident John Willis.

Public uproar

According to Judy Wehner, assistant state mining specialist with DENR, the fate of most mining permit applications are decided without a public hearing.

In this case, residents have gathered nearly 200 signatures protesting the mine expansion and demanding a public hearing. It held two community meetings, and solicited support from county commissioners, U.S. Congressman Heath Shuler, Governor Bev Purdue, and at least three state legislators.

More than 30 nearby residents appeared at a recent county board meeting, convincing commissioners to send a letter to DENR requesting a public hearing.

Many at the meeting complained that DENR sent out only six letters informing residents about the permit application, though the state agency was following policy, which states that only those who live 1,000 feet from the affected area must be notified.

“That’s spelled out in the law,” said Wehner.

Public interest turned out to exceed six families, however.

Michael Rogers has lived near the mine for more than 50 years, but this is the first and only time he’s ever been notified by DENR about a potential expansion. Rogers said the state agency would hardly receive the “significant public input” that’s required to hold a public hearing from the six families that were notified.

So he and his neighbors spearheaded an effort to stop Harrison Construction Company in its tracks.

“I know Harrison Construction has an interest in mining gravel, but I think they’ve disturbed enough of the mountain,” said Rogers.

Health concerns are especially significant for Rogers. His neighbor’s three grandchildren all have serious cases of asthma and must regularly go on antibiotics to cure their earaches.

Rogers recalled driving home one day and thinking the mountain was on fire when it was actually dust from rock near the quarry. “It matters which way the wind is blowing,” said Rogers. “It pushes it all right over us.”

Another concern for Rogers is seeing the quarry come as close as four feet to the springhead he shares with two other families.

“If we lose our wells and springs, how are we going to get back drinking water for our property?” asked Rogers.

According to Rogers, three residents have already signed up to file class action suits against Harrison Construction Company, due to mica from dust allegedly killing a family member.

He said he and his neighbors, too, are unafraid to take legal recourse if necessary.

Rogers has little sympathy for Harrison’s claim that it must repair a slide on its property.

“If they’ve had a failure, it ain’t anybody’s fault but their own,” said Rogers. “I think it’s just poor mining practices.”

According to Mason, the slide was caused by a fault in the foundation, which caused a section of the high-wall to fail.

Mason said he has the support of geologists from the state and federal governments when it comes to expanding the mine. He said he invited the neighborhood to attend a question and answer session last week but only four neighbors showed up.

“The information on all this is readily available,” said Mason, adding that few have taken up the company on its offer.

But Rogers said he and his neighbors have contacted Harrison Construction in the past and voiced concerns about the quarry and previous expansions, but they received little attention from the company. This time, they changed strategy and decided to go straight to DENR instead.

The neighborhood group said it would hand out flyers on Election Day to educate the community. It plans to meet again at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, at the Grandview Lodge in Waynesville.

With the county budget on everyone’s mind, two Haywood commissioners received a vote of confidence on the job they’ve done despite a staggering recession.

Chairman Kirk Kirkpatrick and Commissioner Bill Upton both sailed through the Democratic primary with comfortable margins. Newcomer Michael Sorrells, a service station, convenience store and café owner in Jonathan Creek, will join the two incumbents on the Democratic ticket come fall.

Sorrells has served on the Haywood school board for six years and has emphasized his experience working with a large budget as well as his business acumen. Sorrells said he’d always been told he had a lot of support within the community, and the primary results verified that for him.

“I ended up in the mix, and I’m tickled to death,” said Sorrells.

Commissioner Kirkpatrick said the current board provides an open forum and a transparent government, which helped both incumbents win the primary.

Both Kirkpatrick and Sorrells said the budget and solid waste needs will prove to be major issues in the November election. Kirkpatrick said the commissioners have handled the budget well despite a major recession. Commissioners will continue to analyze all of the county’s expenditures to see where cuts can be made, however unpleasant it may be to cut certain services, said Kirkpatrick.

“You just have to cut it with a sharp knife, but it’s difficult,” said Kirkpatrick. “We’ve made most of the cuts that we can make.”

However, growing impatience with government spending hit home in Haywood County, where the conservative 9/12 movement persistently made itself felt at every commissioners’ meeting.

Fiscal conservatives in Haywood asserted that county leaders were spending freely while ordinary citizens were just scraping by.

At the center of the debate has been the estimated $12.5 million commissioners plan to drop on renovating an abandoned Wal-Mart in Clyde. The former megastore will house the county’s health and social services department.

“I just think we need to think before we get out our checkbook,” said Waynesville voter Chris Forga.

But the two department’s current facilities have been used for more than a half century, and commissioners argued that it would be far more expensive to renovate or buy new property than renovate the Wal-Mart store.

Last year’s 1.7 cent tax increase similarly inflamed citizens who were struggling to pay bills at home. Simultaneously, other citizens took commissioners to task for cutting all nonprofits from the county budget.

Nevertheless, commissioners claimed they have worked well under a tight budget and point out that tax rates in Haywood are currently 17th from the bottom in the 100-county state.

Haywood County commissioner

Democrat – top three advance

Michael T. Sorrells: 2,537

J.W. (Kirk) Kirkpatrick: 2,520

Bill L. Upton: 2,290

Rhonda Schandevel: 1,942

John C. McCracken: 1,556

Raymond L. Brooks: 1,451

Frank (Danny) James: 628

Republican – top three advance

Mic Denny King: 1,099

David Bradley: 986

Tom Freeman: 817

Jeanne Sturges Holbrook: 781

Michael (Hub) Scott: 560

Haywood County Solid Waste Director Stephen King did not spend his interview with The Smoky Mountain News sitting at an office, pointing to encouraging recycling statistics.

Instead, King was constantly on the go, picking up a stray glove he spotted on the ground, ripping off plastic wrapping from a cardboard box headed to a recycling pile, and even sorting recyclables, taking the place of an employee as she chatted with the reporter.

King has personally learned to use all the equipment at the Materials Recovery Center in Clyde, where the county’s recyclables are hauled.

As many already know, King’s utter devotion to the cause does not wane after the workday is done. He’s known to spend his spare time picking up recyclables, just like he did with his dad as a young kid.

King says it’s difficult to see a mess without wanting to clean it up.

“It’s just a conscious effort, what I believe in, the way I think people should be,” said King. “I want to take something nobody else wants and make it a valuable commodity.”

Though King is modest about his role, it’s clear his wholehearted commitment to sustainability has given Haywood County an immense leg-up in increasing recycling.

“When the boss gets interested, that makes a big difference,” said Commissioner Bill Upton.

Haywood now ranks 11th in the state for total amount of material recycling, averaging 212.9 tons per capita, according to 2009 statistics from the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources.

A mere two years before in 2007, Haywood County ranked 63rd out of 100 counties in the state. Since then, Haywood has practically doubled its per capita recovery of recyclables.

King said the citizens are the ones who deserve congratulations, not him.

“It’s not a one-man show, it’s a community effort,” said King.

Commissioner Mark Swanger said people are becoming more aware of the benefits of recycling and simply want to do the right thing.

“As generations grow up, it becomes a natural thing to do,” said Swanger. “It’s something they’ve always done.”

Government is certainly taking up the cause as well, with a state ban on plastic in the landfill passed in October 2009 and a landfill ban on discarded computer equipment set to take effect in April 2011.

Local county and town governments have worked to promote recycling to citizens through presentations, newsletters and educational materials online.

The Town of Waynesville is expecting to set its own record for recycling this year. From July to December 2009, the town picked up 157.2 tons of recyclables. If residents continue recycling at this rate, the town might break 300 tons at the end of the fiscal year in July 2010.

In comparison, Waynesville residents recycled a total of 173.6 tons for the entire 2004-2005 fiscal year.

Town Manager Lee Galloway said he’s personally observed an increase in recycling in his own household. Galloway and his wife recently put out their garbage before heading for a walk and realized they only had one bag of trash and two bags of recycling.

“Between what we put in the recycling and what we put in the compost, it really cuts down on what we put in the can at the street,” said Galloway.

Commissioner Kevin Ensley said he hadn’t educated himself on recycling until just last year. Until then, he didn’t realize citizens could recycle more than cardboard.

He went straight to Sam’s Club and bought himself two large trash cans to add to the one he already had for paper.

With seven people in his household, Ensley says he’s seen the number of trash bags he takes out decline from six a week to just two.

“It’s amazing, really,” said Ensley, who became convinced recycling was the way to go when he thought of all the space that recycling would save in the county landfill that taxpayers support.

“I’m not really an environmental-type person, I’m for keeping tax rates low,” said Ensley.

For those who are less than concerned with saving the environment, recycling advocates are likely to bring up two economic arguments to sway the debate.

Material that isn’t recycled heads to the landfill, which has finite space and which costs taxpayers to expand. A new cell at Haywood’s landfill cost almost $5 million and is projected to last five years. Recycling can add two years of life to that figure.

The second argument that’s routinely brought up by advocates is that recycling supports American jobs.

The county’s recycling center has five full-time employees devoted to sorting the steady stream of recycled materials that flows in. Then, there are the haulers who either bring recyclables to the facility or tow them away after they’ve been separated and compacted into enormous “bales.”

After them are those who work at plants that process recycled material, including many in North Carolina and nearby states like Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama.

“Recycling supports jobs in every one of these states,” said King.

Despite Haywood’s incredible success story with recycling, the picture’s not all rosy, as is evident as soon as one walks into the Materials Recovery Facility in Clyde.

The problem with success

A sea of blue plastic bags holding recyclables greets the eye and overwhelms the imagination at the MRF. It’s difficult to picture workers actually making progress, sorting through that mountainous heap.

In the face of a shocking surge in recycling, Haywood’s MRF has not gained, but actually lost employees in the past few years.

“We, in some respects, are a victim of our own success,” admits Swanger, who along with Upton serves on the county’s solid waste task force.

Robin Ledford, pick line operator and supervisor, can attest to that. She’s seen a jump from 4 to 6 tons a week of recyclables to 20 to 26 tons a week since she started working at the pick line three years ago.

The pick line is situated in an enclosed area above the heap of blue bags and mammoth bales of already sorted recyclables. It is reminiscent of the factories of yesteryear, where workers planted themselves in front of a conveyor belt all day, engaging in highly repetitive work.

An unsorted mess enters the room on the conveyor belt, as employees situated on either side of it work furiously to toss materials into one of four bins either beside them or across from them.

The quickest and most experienced employees take care of the front of the line, and the unsorted mess gradually becomes manageable as it moves forward.

A magnet sits at the end of the line to pick up some of the recyclables as well. It cost the county $23,000, but saved the county $18,000 in just the first year, according to King.

While the county says its studying needs at the MRF, Ledford and her co-workers are not shy about expressing their own opinions.

“We need help, but the county doesn’t seem to think we do,” said Ledford. “It’s stressful. It gets to you sometimes ... Everybody there gets depressed because it keeps piling up.”

Sometimes, workers are pulled from other departments within solid waste to help keep up with the never-ending tide of recyclables.

Sheriff Bobby Suttles has devoted as many as eight inmates to help out, but recently inmates haven’t been coming to the MRF.

Ledford demands that all commissioners — along with citizens — immediately take a tour of the facility. “They really don’t see what we do,” said Ledford.

However, Swanger said the solid waste task force is actively pursuing solutions to the problem. It’s just too early to say what action the county will take.

“I think it will be a while because it’s complicated,” said Swanger. “There’s much research to be done.”

Several presentations on solid waste have been made to the county board over the last few years, but the lion’s share of discussion is still taking place within the study committee.

For now, possibilities include privatizing various aspects of solid waste, including hauling recyclables from the MRF. Swanger assures employees these discussions are entirely premature. “We don’t want to scare employees, [but] we have an obligation, I think, to explore all possibilities.”

The option of hiring more employees to deal with the surge in recycling is not off the table, Swanger added.

Upton said there’s not only a need for additional staff, but also for a director of recycling.

In Ensley’s view, it would take a while before the county could add any staff to MRF.

“We’d have to have some growth in the economy to be able to add a position,” said Ensley. “We might be able to move some people laterally.”

While the need for a solution is obvious, some disagreement among commissioners exists over just how profitable recycling can be.

According to Swanger, recycling extends the life of the landfill, but it is generally not a profitable venture.

“In the long run, it does save money, but the actual selling of the commodities that are recyclable are not profitable,” said Swanger.

Ensley, however, said recycling could potentially be a moneymaker, and the more citizens recycle, the more recyclables the county can sell.

King also defended recycling’s potential for generating revenues. According to him, the recycling sector, like many others, is experiencing a down market, which has cut into revenues. The county could see more revenue if it invested money to improve operations and fix equipment that’s long sat unused at the recycling center.

A forklift has been sitting at the MRF for a year, waiting to be fixed, while a baler is approaching 20 years of service.

“Everywhere you turn, there’s equipment down like that,” said King. “You show me a piece of equipment in a business that’s 20 years old ... In a business, you gotta stay with the times.”

Paul White, a hauler from Maggie Valley, concurred with King, emphasizing that there’s only one baler in the recycling building that’s now operational.

“If it breaks down, they’re up the creek,” said White. “Stephen King is probably doing the best he can with what the county gives him to work with — but it ain’t enough.”

Unspeakable discoveries

Despite recycling’s many demonstrable benefits, there will always be a sliver of the population opposed to it, Swanger said.

Ledford has witnessed that opposition up close. She’s come across some “inhumane” items in her line of work, including dirty diapers, cat droppings, needles, and bagged dead animals, like a dead possum just last week.

Ledford doesn’t believe it’s an accident. “There’s no way you should get raw meat in your recyclables,” Ledford said.

Commissioners Swanger and Ensley were taken aback upon hearing about Ledford’s experience.

“Whether a person takes the time to recycle or not is one thing,” said Swanger. “But to protest against recycling is irresponsible.”

Ensley said he had not heard of such occurrences before. “That doesn’t really make any sense,” said Ensley. “You’d have to be really illiterate to do that.”

King, however, doesn’t want to pay attention to the slight minority that opposes recycling. For the rest of the world, it’s become almost fashionable to recycle or pursue sustainability.

King said he usually hates trends, but can’t deny the benefits of moving away from being a “throwaway society.”

“Most people are realizing we can’t have the same mentality of use, use, use, dispose, dispose, dispose,” King said. “They’re understanding we have to preserve some.”

Against all odds, a 250-year-old scarlet oak tree still stands on N.C. 110 south of Canton, despite being struck by lightning, despite neighboring a busy road, despite being forgotten by many for more than three decades.

A Native American council existed near the Osborne Boundary Oak, and Gen. Griffith Rutherford and his men marched by the tree while battling Native Americans nearby. The tree is documented to have served as a line marker in the late 1700s.

It remained in public memory long after.

In 1976, hundreds of local activists rallied to save the oak after the North Carolina Department of Transportation announced it would fell the tree in its quest to widen N.C. 110. Public opposition was so strong that DOT moved the highway to rescue the tree in 1978. It even put up a guardrail to protect the historic oak.

After so much energy was invested into preserving the Osborne Boundary Oak, it now lives unrecognized and undistinguished, trimmed and hacked haphazardly like any other tree by the DOT.

This year, Doris Hammett, one of the original protesters against the DOT in the ‘70s, decided it was time to take up the cause once again.

Hammett’s husband spent his last days near the tree at Silver Bluff Village, an assisted living facility in Canton. She visited him daily and would pass the diseased tree each time she went. Hammett knew she had to take action.

“In the ‘70s, the tree had a full canopy of leaves ... It was a healthy tree,” Hammett said. “When I went back, the tree has rotten limbs, it’s diseased, it’s been hacked.”

Hammett contacted the DOT, the Haywood County manager, a state senator, two historical societies, Haywood Community College’s Forestry Department — everyone she could think of who might help.

The DOT was caught completely off-guard by Hammett’s call. Changing of the guard at the agency meant knowledge of the oak had gradually been lost as officials retired.

Lloyd Anderson of Southern Tree Care, along with Doris, her daughter, DOT representatives, and historical society members, recently visited the oak to see if any hope remained for the badly damaged tree.

After a close inspection, Anderson said the tree had suffered significant root loss due to road construction, been injured by salt flying off the highway in the wintertime, and had survived being struck by lightning in the last five years.

Despite all that, Anderson concluded that with proper care, the tree could be rehabilitated and survive for another 50 years.

“It’s a tough, old tree,” Anderson said. “Everything that’s been done to it, especially after it’s been struck by lightning, it definitely has a vigor and life to it.”

Richard Queen, roadside environmental engineer at the DOT, said since learning of the oak and seeing it face-to-face, he, too, would like to see the tree saved.

Queen said the DOT would take care of the tree and bring it back to life, though the agency’s first concern will always be public safety.

“We always have to consider the liabilities of a limb falling on someone as they drive by,” Queen said.

Hammet is confident the DOT will once again take action to save the tree, but regardless of the help it has pledged, Hammett is not taking any chances on the tree this time around. She hopes to raise awareness of the Osborne Oak and other historic trees in the area to ensure they are remembered and flourish for as long as possible.

The Bethel Rural Organization is working to get the Osborne Boundary Oak on the America’s Historic Tree Register, while Hammett has convinced Haywood Community College to have its students study the tree each year to observe its growth.

With Arbor Day coming up April 30, Hammett and her daughter, Karen, hope the community will not only plant new trees but also recognize the special trees we already have.

“We have very little of the old growth forest left,” said Karen Hammett. “Old remaining giants show us what the forest was originally like before settlers came here.”

Recognized ‘Tree Cities’ in WNC

Waynesville, Sylva, Asheville and Brevard were recognized by the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA community for their commitment to urban forestry.

Waynesville was one of only 20 towns in the state to also receive a Tree City USA Growth Award for demonstrating progress in its community forestry program recycling. The prestigious Growth Award honors environmental improvement and higher levels of tree care in Tree City USA communities.

Tree City USA communities must have a tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

More information about Tree City USA can be found at www.arborday.org/TreeCityUSA.

Not every tree planting is beneficial

Planting a tree this Arbor Day, April 30? Waynesville town horticulturist Jonathan Yates hopes it’ll be the “right tree for the right place.”

Yates bemoans that many trees in town are mutilated each year to keep from touching utility lines overhead. He would rather see the trees cut down and have shorter trees planted, which would save homeowners from investing money in yearly maintenance, Yates said.

Waynesville has a list of trees that are appropriate for each neighborhood. Contact Yates at 828.456.3507 for more information.

All visible signs of the grandiose megadevelopment known as Cataloochee Wilderness Resorts have vanished from public view in Haywood County.

Businessmen behind the development recently vacated a Clyde office that served as their headquarters owing more than $8,000 in back rent, according to a civil lawsuit filed against them by the landlord. The water to the office was turned off for failure to pay their bill, according to Clyde town records. Boxes of files — from credit card statements to printed out emails to property blueprints — were left behind when they moved out.

Cataloochee Wilderness Resorts burst onto the front pages of local newspapers three years ago, garnering attention both for its massive scale and unconventional approach — as well as a controversial figure behind the project.

The plans called for a 4,500-acre development in Jonathan Creek with shopping malls, condos, a hotel, a movie theater, snow skiing and even water skiing, as well as hundreds of homes.

Six years into the project, however, the developers do not own a single acre of land. They have not secured financing for the project. Nor have they sealed lease agreements from retailers to fill the massive outlet complex featured in the plans.

That doesn’t mean the project is off, however, according to Frank Wood, spokesman for the project.

“It is still percolating,” Wood said. “We just aren’t ready to say anything right now. We are in final negotiations.”

The project has been stalled in the financing stage for some time. Wood said most recently the economy has posed a challenge.

“It is difficult getting financing right now,” Wood said.

But the former president of the land acquisition corporation behind the project said the economy is not to blame.

“I don’t think the economy had a doggone thing to do with it. This thing was sliding down already,” said Steve Lusk, who spent two years working for the project.

Lusk served as a property procurement agent, tracking down the owners of key parcels that the developers hoped to buy.

“I was the one getting the manure under the boots,” Lusk said.

Jonathan Creek is a rural community with a plethora of small farms. Lusk knocked on door after door, visiting on people’s porches, around their kitchen tables or in the shade of their barns.

“They are wonderful people out there, whether they were with us or against us,” Lusk said.

Lusk hung out with farmers and watched cattle being born. He was invited to Thanksgiving dinner by one family. And just last month, he went to the funeral of one person he’d grown close to during his work.

Lusk said money never actually changed hands in any of the contracts he secured. The contracts merely locked in a price that the landowner was willing to sell for.

Usually, the buyer puts up a good faith deposit to show they are serious when entering such contracts. But Cataloochee developers kept the deposit in an escrow account held by their own agent rather than with the landowner, Lusk said.

The contract terms were “extremely protective” of Cataloochee developers. Lusk said the contract language went to extreme lengths to envision scenarios that would allow the developers to walk away and not purchase the land after all.

Lusk said all the contracts he secured have expired now.

But Wood said if and when financing comes through, the contracts could easily be renewed.

“It is like anything — money talks,” Wood said. “Until the financing is in place, both sides of the table get tired of talking about it.”

Wood admittedly is not actively involved in the project anymore. He is living in Florida and is in a holding pattern as far as Cataloochee Resorts is concerned until he sees positive movement.

“When the financing hit a snag, I backed away and said ‘I’ll just wait until something comes through.’ If it ever goes, I will be running it,” said Wood, who was promised the job of development manager.

Falling out

Lusk didn’t part on quite such amicable terms. He says he was booted off the project a year ago for no reason by Dean Moses, the main player behind the development who lives in Clyde.

Lusk spent two years working for Moses on the promise of a payoff when the project eventually came to fruition — a payoff that never happened and apparently never will, Lusk said. Lusk said he got no salary for his work other than a stipend of $20 a day for food and gas.

“I was to be paid when money came in, but the financing never materialized. No one ever came forward with the money,” Lusk said.

After Moses cut Lusk out of the project, Lusk filed a civil suit in hopes of getting compensated. But this month, Lusk withdrew his claims. He was tired of trying to collect in a case he saw dragging out for a very long time.

“I am moving on personally after quite a very, very long time,” Lusk said. “I am trying desperately to restart my career.”

It’s not the only lawsuit to surface in connection with Cataloochee Wilderness Resorts.

A Tennessee man claims he was defrauded of $328,000 by Moses and his wife, Colleen. John “Thunder” Thornton of Chattanooga put up the money for down payments on property but the money was diverted to other uses, including the personal gain of Moses and his wife, according to the ongoing suit. Thornton is suing Moses for fraud, conspiracy and breach of contract.

Along with the $328,000 earmarked for land purchases, Thornton loaned another $275,000 to cover operating expenses for the project. The expenditure of those funds are not contested in the lawsuit, however.

Yet another man involved in the project has filed for personal bankruptcy, due in part to debt racked up in connection with Moses. Robert Worthington of Knoxville, who had been Moses’ attorney, co-signed on loans and credits cards on behalf of the Cataloochee development endeavor and Moses, and was held responsible for the debt, according to court filings.

“He listed several debts that were associated with Dean Moses, including loans made to Dean Moses and credit cards used by Dean Moses and his wife,” said Bill Horton, Thornton’s attorney.

Horton said he is not surprised Moses’ project has yet to get off the ground.

“He has a history of going from project to project and raising capital, and then the projects are never completed or they fail or never materialize,” Horton said. “He operates on other people’s capital.”

Moses was the figurehead behind a string of failed business proposals for the closed-down Dayco factory in Waynesville —now the new super Wal-Mart — a saga that spanned several years and eventually ended in bankruptcy court eight years ago.

Moses and his business partners created one company after another with plans to develop the dormant industrial site. They solicited capital from private investors and lending institutions, racking up debts on company credit cards in the meantime.

Files dating back to the Dayco real estate deal in 1999 were among the boxes left behind when the Cataloochee businessmen moved out of their Clyde office. When Moses’ name surfaced as a player behind Cataloochee Wilderness Resorts three years ago, spokespeople downplayed his role in the project as only a consultant. The boxes of Dayco files among the abandoned files suggest otherwise.

Lusk said that the checking account of the Cataloochee development enterprise was controlled entirely by Moses and his wife.

Prior to coming to Haywood County and promoting the Dayco deal, Moses was involved in failed developments in Tennessee.

Interstate 40, closed since October due to a massive rockslide, reopened with little fanfare on Sunday evening. For the people who depend on the road for their living, seeing the traffic flow again brought a sense of relief.

“We are thrilled to death,” said Mike Sorrells, owner of Sorrell’s Marathon and Auto Repair in Jonathan Creek. “You do not know how much that road means to your well-being until it’s not there.”

The work on I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge will continue through the summer as crews complete stabilization efforts, but with both eastbound lanes and one westbound lane open, Western North Carolina’s main transportation artery is back in business.

The total cost for the repair project, initially slated for completion in February, is estimated to be $12.9 million, and according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the federal government will cover nearly 100 percent of the cost.

For business owners like Sorrells, though, there is no way to recover what was lost. They watched with horror as the timetable for the road opening was pushed back due to poor weather conditions.

“It looked like this thing was going to get opened in February, and it was like a blow to the stomach when we learned it wouldn’t be until late April,” Sorrells said.

The economic effects of the I-40 rockslide have been a source of attention ever since the road was closed. In March, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that it would hand out $1.4 million in loans to businesses affected by the slide, but the money was spread over the region from Asheville to Sevierville, Tenn.

Before the rockslide, about 19,000 vehicles a day traveled on the road, and almost half of them were trucks. Businesses that directly relied on the commercial traffic, like gas stations and hotels have been hardest hit by the closure.

Sorrells said he was forced to lay off weekend staff as his sales of gas and tires plummeted.

“We survived,” Sorrells said. “It was very difficult. You really saw the fall-off on the weekends.”

Lynn Collins, executive director of the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, said the road reopened just in time for the summer tourism season.

“We’re thrilled obviously,” Collins said. “We have a lot of special events, beginning with this weekend, and hopefully we’ll have a good attendance with the road being opened.”

Still, the authority’s numbers have been bleak during the closure. Occupancy tax numbers were down 25 percent in the month of January from 2009 and 7 percent to date for the year. The numbers of walk-in visitors at the Canton Visitor Center were even more stark, only half of what they were a year ago through March.

Collins said the low numbers in January and February were likely the result of the weather, the economy, and the road closure.

Until the road reopened, eastbound travelers were detoured to I-26 on a route that added 53 miles and nearly an hour of driving time. The detour was not enough to stop skiers from visiting Cataloochee Ski Area, which enjoyed a successful winter season this year.

“We had a good season and the folks from Knoxville were able to get to us,” said Tammy Brown, Cataloochee’s marketing director. “We found that by offering differing routes, folks were able to deal with it.”

Brown attributed Cataloochee’s success to a great winter of natural snow and ideal conditions for snowmaking. The fact that the ski area did so well showed that the closure of I-40 was not a death sentence for tourism-based businesses on its own.

Traffic was also up in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which experienced a 5 percent increase in visitors over last year, primarily because U.S. 441 through the park offered an alternative route across the mountains.

While the interstate opened officially on Sunday, the work to stabilize the rockslide area will continue through the summer as crews complete the installation of rock bolts and anchor mesh at five separate sites. Both eastbound lanes are open, but one westbound will remain closed for about three miles and westbound truck traffic is restricted.

Haywood County Attorney Chip Killian had his response ready for the citizen activists who have incessantly demanded referendums on a string of controversial county decisions.

At Monday’s commissioners’ meeting, Killian informed them that state law actually forbids counties from holding such referendums without approval by the state legislature.

In recent months, a few citizens have insisted on holding a vote of the people on purchasing the former Wal-Mart shopping center to house the county’s DSS and health departments.

They’ve also asked for a vote on supporting overtly Christian prayers by commissioners to open public meetings, despite the risk of a lawsuit.

County commissioners are required by law to hold referendums on general obligation bonds, but they cannot initiate a vote by the people on any other issue without first obtaining permission from the General Assembly.

“It is unlawful to use public funds to set up and hold a referendum that the General Assembly has not authorized,” said Fleming Bell, a professor of public law and government with University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Commissioner Mark Swanger estimates that it would cost at least $30,000 in taxpayer money to fund a referendum. “It’s not something that can just be done because you want to do it,” said Swanger.

A vote by the people is required every time a loan is backed by the “full faith and credit” of taxing power of the county, according to Commissioner Kevin Ensley.

Since the county is purchasing the former Wal-Mart property, it can use that property as collateral. Because the county is not completely relying on its taxing power to back the loan, it is exempted from the referendum requirement.

Moreover, Ensley said a referendum in this case is just not practical.

“I don’t think the seller would wait for November for us to do that,” said Ensley.

Ensley admitted that even he would not wait for a vote if he were selling property, adding that real estate agents would be similarly reluctant to wait months for a referendum to secure a deal.

Not every decision requires county commissioners to run down to Raleigh to get approval for a referendum, Ensley added.

“We don’t live in a democracy, we live in a constitutional republic,” said Ensley. “You vote for people to represent you.”

Unlike most voters in a referendum, commissioners and county staff spend hours researching issues before they make a decision, Ensley added.

“If you aren’t educated on the issues, how will you know?” said Ensley. “Your vote might not be informed.”

Swanger emphasized citizens don’t need a referendum to express how they feel on pressing issues. They have other avenues for expressing their opinions, like commenting at public meetings or through letters to local newspapers.

While Ensley and Swanger said a referendum would have no legal effect, Fleming said his understanding is that the General Assembly can actually require a referendum to be binding.

Both commissioners had cited a referendum Buncombe County held on zoning in the 1990s. In that case, the advisory vote was nonbinding, and commissioners later passed zoning changes despite a majority of voters opposing the measure.

Commissioners defend Wal-Mart purchase

Swanger said it’s a “very small number” of opponents who are requesting a referendum. He said the handful of people who make regularly public comment at county meetings don’t necessarily represent the rest of Haywood County’s 60,000 residents.

Swanger said he’s spoken to many people who have studied the issue and are in favor of the Wal-Mart purchase.

However, Swanger admits that there were opponents who have legitimate concerns about spending taxpayer money or have a philosophical disagreement with the commissioners. But he suspects the motives of a few who demand a referendum.

“I think some of it is a political agenda of being against anything the government does unless it benefits them,” said Swanger. “There’s a group of people who are just anti-government, and I don’t think it matters what the decision is.”

Ensley said in his experience, public opinion is split 50-50 on the Wal-Mart renovation project, but those who are for small government and against the Wal-Mart purchase often change their mind once Ensley explains the county’s justifications. Ensley tells them that state would require the county to build a new facility that could cost between $20 and $25 million if commissioners don’t take action.

“They see the common sense behind doing it and taking care of that situation,” said Ensley. “Unless you don’t want to do it at all, it makes sense to do it.”

Ensley said renovating the DSS facility would not solve parking problems or provide additional space for necessary expansions. “The building was built for a hospital, not for offices,” said Ensley.

Ensley also tells opponents that much of the debt payment would be offset by outside funds.

Of the annual debt payments, Haywood County would pay $260,000, about $260,000 would come from state and federal reimbursements, and $125,000 would come from Tractor Supply, which is leasing part of the old Wal-Mart building.

According to Swanger, Congressman Heath Shuler has also requested $6 million from the federal government to fund the Wal-Mart project.

Finance director Julie Davis says that Haywood County’s preliminary Rural Development loan application has been approved at the state level. Commissioners have not discussed a tax increase to finance the project, Davis added.

Democrat candidates, pick three

Raymond L. Brooks, 59, owner of trucking company

Brooks has worked with citizens for more than 30 years as a preacher at Waynesville’s Bible Baptist Church. He wants to reduce the county debt and be more careful with spending. Brooks would also like to bring in more jobs and help the education system.

voteraymondbrooks.com

J.W. “Kirk” Kirkpatrick, 41, attorney, incumbent

Kirkpatrick has served as county commissioner since 2002, and became chairman of the board in 2008. He says his experience will be helpful in successfully managing county funds. Kirkpatrick would also like to continue work on the Wal-Mart renovation project and see good and reasonable use of the Haywood Community College’s quarter-cent sales tax.

John C. McCracken, 66, retired assistant superintendent and finance officer for Haywood County Schools

McCracken wants to hold the line on spending until the economy improves and keep the tax rate as low as possible. He said as a former Board of Education member, he’s already learned a lot about how the county budget operates.

Rhonda Schandevel, 45, dental hygienist

As a parent of a disabled son, Schandevel is a long-time advocate for children with special needs. She wants to work with the economic development commission, tourism development authority and local chambers of commerce to bring jobs with good wages and benefits to Haywood County.

www.facebook.com/pages/VOTE-for-Rhonda-Cole-Schandevel/112728778739407

Michael Sorrells, 53, owner of service station, convenience store and café

Sorrells has served on the Haywood County School Board for six years. He oversaw the construction of a new school in Bethel and flood repairs. No burning issues drove Sorrells to seek office, other than hopes to move Haywood County forward with better leadership.

www.michaeltsorrells.com

Bill Upton, 65, retired superintendent of Haywood County Schools, incumbent

Upton is nearing the end of his first term as county commissioner. Education is his first priority, both in the public school system and at Haywood Community College. Upton vows to keep the tax rate as low as possible, pointing out that 83 of the state’s 100 counties have higher tax rates than Haywood County.

* Frank “Danny” James will appear on the ballot but dropped out from the election last week due to personal reasons.

Republican candidates, pick three

David Bradley, 44, sales

Bradley hopes to create a diverse economy with stable jobs, especially for younger generations. Bradley says Haywood should focus on more than just tourism and create policies that are friendly to entrepreneurs. He hopes to create a strategic plan for the county with specific goals and objectives for the next 15 years.

www.bradleyforcommissioner.com

Tom Freeman, 52, building contractor

Freeman says his children and grandchildren have already been burdened with the commissioners’ out of control spending and the county’s high taxes. As commissioner, Freeman would like to work on getting the county debt-free by slowing down spending and putting an end to borrowing.

Jeanne Sturges Holbrook, 48, self-employed

Holbrook would like to stand up to state lawmakers who push state mandates on counties. She would also like to address the high percentage of the county population dependent on public assistance. Holbrook said she would be independent and objective if elected as commissioner.

www.holbrookforcommissioner.com

Denny King, 52, engineer

King said he decided to run because he believes the commissioners are spending too much money. King is a strong advocate for property rights and running a smaller, constitutional government. He opposes the proposed health board rule, which carries a maximum penalty of a misdemeanor for creating a public health risk by improperly storing trash.

www.dennykingforcommissioner.com

Michael “Hub” Scott, 45, maintenance supervisor for Canton paper mill out on disability

Scott plans to hold down taxes, spending and regulation. He hopes to provide incentives to keep established businesses running and attract new ones. Due to a brain tumor, Scott is now on disability. He promises to donate his salary as commissioner to the community kitchen in Canton.