A recent study in the Bethel Community revealed that “working land conservation easements” would be valued as high as $7,900 to $9,400 per acre for flat or rolling land outside the floodway of the Pigeon River or other streams.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

In the end, the acquisition of Blue Ridge Paper Products by the New Zealand-based Rank Group for $338 million last week may have been the result of the purchase of a single factory in tiny Pine Bluff, Ark.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

It appears that the re-opening of Ghost Town in the Sky on Memorial Day weekend has made the town of Maggie Valley anything but.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Architects last week unveiled plans for a new three-level building that will house the Waynesville Police Department and town planning offices.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Parking for free

Public parking for as long as you want in downtown Waynesville:

The damming of creeks and streams by private developments is on the rise in Western North Carolina — so much so that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has voiced concern over the cumulative impacts.

Those who supported Heath Shuler’s bid to represent this region in Congress probably did not believe the detractors who spent most of the last election harping about how he would become Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s lapdog once he arrived in Washington. Well, a recent study of voting trends in this Congress reveals Shuler as one of the most independent congressmen in the House. That description is almost a badge of honor in the highly charged partisan atmosphere that currently rules in our nation’s capital.

The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust honored those that donated land and conservation agreements in 2006 at a recent celebration.

By Michael Beadle

Fishing for something fun to do this weekend? Head downstream to the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds for the 18th Annual Smoky Mountain Trout Festival on Saturday, June 23.

By Chris Cooper

It’s been a year at least since I did a live show review, and it’s likely that that last review involved Sylva’s one bright hope for a live music venue, Guadalupe Café. I’m also pretty certain that in the aforementioned article a particular ever-evolving band of musical n’er do wells (Shiner Miners) made an appearance, and there may have been some minor chastising involved by yours truly regarding certain long-winded excursions into the great wide world of tuning by Mr. Webb and Co. that evening.

It was a while back and my memory is hazy, so that’s merely my best recollection.

But Friday night, a little after 10 o’clock, a band that so closely resembled the Shiner Miners it was shocking took the, err “stage,” at the Guad and proceeded to bang out some of the tightest and freakiest “smartass with a sense of humor” rock I’ve heard just about ever in this town. Still quirky, still a bit disheveled and glassy eyed, but this new, leaner three-piece gave me the distinct impression that they actually had their *&^% together, and have developed into one of the better rhythm sections in town.

Put simply, no matter how goofy the music may occasionally come across, drummer Isaac Sturgill and bassist Jason Beck have achieved that joined-at-the-hip quality that defines a band’s sound and momentum. As a guitarist, Webb has embraced the creative use of effects (namely echo) lending a whole new atmosphere to the mutated reggae/rap/dub/country/spoken word/rock thing that’s become a sort of trademark.

That’s not to say that the slop we all know and love isn’t still there — it’s just that the Shiner Miners are getting so good at being themselves that even the slop is refined. The usual crowd of locals was present, and by the second set was wound up into such a frenzy that clothing began disappearing, footwear was set aloft, spontaneous wrestling matches broke out and even a fine example of the good old fashioned “drunken lip-lock on the dance floor” made an appearance. If my calculations are correct and all the votes have been processed and accounted for, the Shiner Miners easily won the “most improved local band of people that I’m friends with but that I’m not obligated to say nice things about” award, and that ain’t no small feat.

The next night was the fourth (fifth?) installment of Sylva’s “Play For Peace” music ... thing, with multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Matt Williams kicking off the late evening festivities. Considering the amount of times a mysterious “scheduling conflict” was mentioned into the mic, my educated guess is that there may have been some kind of “scheduling conflict” regarding who (Williams or funky jam upstarts Ideal Way) was the opener and headliner, but again, that’s just a guess — albeit a sarcastic one.

There’s no doubting the considerable skills of Williams and accompanist Stephen Foster (who qualifies as a multi-instrumentalist in his own right, looking at the sheer number of horns of varying shape and size he brought along for the ride) when you see them perform.

Williams has so many instruments under his belt, such a command of on-the-fly looping and layering (including his vocals) that it’s tough not to be a little knocked out when you see the guy pull it all off right in front of you. His fondness for vaguely 70’s styled “prog-pop” is apparent, with phased-out Jean Luc-Ponty styled violin solos taking flight over his major and minor seventh based “mini jams.”

And as carefully rehearsed as this kind of performance has to be, there were true moments of spontaneous improvisation, especially when he and Foster began trading fours and playing off each other. My only wish was for a little more ebb and flow in the set, maybe a few more numbers delivered sans looping and such fanciness, so that when Williams does build that miniature orchestra of sound we know he carries around in his head it’s just that much more meaningful.

Regardless, Williams has been hard at work in WCU’s studio on several new albums slated for fall and winter release, and if the new tunes in his set are any indication, they’re going to be quite excellent.

Back to the rhythm section thing — Ideal Way has a great one. As if it wasn’t difficult enough to basically improvise an entire set of music (in this case, an hour or two) it’s even tougher to make the majority of it actually work, and it’s that quality that may eventually separate Ideal Way from much of the tie-dyed jam band pack. There are bassists that groove, and there are bassists that noodle, but in Christian Ferri you get the better elements of both. Positively super-glued to Caleb Beissert’s bass drum, the duo struck the just the right balance of busyness and dynamic interplay in order to give Brett Dumsha’s guitar enough space to cluck, squawk and squeal as needed.

Though some of the transitions between the “songs” got a little lost, once these guys found a groove they chomped down on it like an emaciated pitbull on Ronald McDonald’s burger scented hand. Amidst the wacka-wacka of the wah pedal and the syncopated goodness of the drums and bass, there was a head-bobbing, hippie-dancing good time to be had by all, and though the vibe was completely different than that of the previous night, having two nights in a row of fine music on Main Street is nothing to scoff at.

But even better — it was proof that people do indeed still enjoy hearing talented players stretch out and take chances onstage, be it the brainy oddball antics of the Shiner Miners, the meticulously crafted singer/songwriter pop of Matt Williams or the inspired, mercurial soundscapes of Ideal Way: all local musicians, and all damn good. Now stop whining about being bored and go see a show.

(Chris Cooper can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Traveling Wilburys Re-release

On June 12 the Traveling Wilburys re-released the supergroup’s two albums along with (depending on whether you buy the deluxe or standard edition) bonus DVD content and 40-page collectible book with photos, original liner notes, new liner notes and a uniquely numbered certificate of authenticity. Really, I shouldn’t have to say any more. That alone should make you run right down to your local music store and order it, lest they actually have it in stock — then you’re really in luck. For those sad and lonely few not already acquainted with the Traveling Wilburys this is the perfect chance to get a musical education. Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Rob Orbison and George Harrison teamed up to create the Wilburys as the result of what was originally supposed to be a single B-side track. Upon hearing that track — “Handle Me With Care,” which incidentally is the song I walked down the aisle to — album producers said it had to be more than just a one tune gig. And oh, how lucky we are.

Buying a House

In about a month’s time the husband and I will be moving to a new house. It’s our very first house house, not a townhouse or a condo as we currently own. It’s an all-consuming task for sure. We’ve already spent way too many hours discussing various colors tones — “too cool,” “warm grey,” “reminds me of pea soup” — and have plans out the yin yang for all that we’re going to do — landscape this, rip out that, install a new one of these, refinish those. And I have to say that there’s a great part of me that has seriously enjoyed being a girl in all this. I’ve picked out new dishes — something I failed to do for the wedding — contemplated a few new specialized pots and pans to fill all the cabinet space in what will be my new kitchen, picked out flowers for the garden and bought a new rug for the bedroom (thank you Carpet Barn). All of it is part of making a house our home.

— By Sarah Kucharski

By Chris Cooper

In the mid 90’s it would’ve been nearly impossible to write about “new to the scene” female artists without mentioning Paula Cole. You know, “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” and all that.

A Man, A Can, A Plan

My youngest son and I have gotten a kick out of using this cookbook this summer. Subtitled “50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make,” this durable, stain-resistant cookbook should be in every guy’s kitchen. The recipes taste great, are healthy and inexpensive, and even include pictures of the ingredients.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Walking his dog in a Waynesville neighborhood one summer evening several weeks ago, fear was the farthest thing from Dan Elliott’s mind. So when a pit bull came charging after Elliott and his 80-pound Australian Shepherd mix, sinking his teeth into the dog’s hindquarters, Elliott was shocked. It took a full minute for the owner to unlock his pit bull’s jaws from Elliott’s dog.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

Searching for the term “dowsing” on the Internet will bring up all kinds of Web sites related to the paranormal. But to many who practice the craft, including Alvin Fradey, dowsing is simply an unexplained technique that works and can help locate everything from skeletons to minerals. It was first used to find underground water sources.

By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer

After decades of neglect, an overgrown hill in Jackson County holding the remains of residents of the old Jackson County Home was nearly forgotten. Thanks to the determination of one man, however, the old cemetery has been saved.

Following months of course reconstruction, Smoky Mountain Country Club in Whittier will re-open 9 holes of golf this weekend.

By John Armour

You’d think that what happens in Western North Carolina, in the 11th Congressional District, isn’t very important to the powers-that-be in Washington. That’s usually so. But not now. And two extraordinary events that have occurred a year and a half before the 2008 election for that seat prove the point.

A government building for a mountain town that looks like it belongs in the mountains? Funny how that is going to work out for the town of Waynesville but never could come to fruition for Haywood County and the justice center that now dominates Waynesville’s Main Street.

By Kirkwood Callahan • Guest Columnist

Concerned Americans await the concluding acts of the political drama the president and his allies call “comprehensive immigration reform.” Many questions remain unanswered. The most salient is: Why are the president and Republican leaders in the Senate gambling with our national security?

By Stephanie Wampler

Stuff. Life is all about the stuff, isn’t it? We have stuff to amuse us, educate us, make our work easier, and do our work for us. We work hard so that we can buy more stuff. Where would the world be without vacuum cleaners? Could life continue without CD players? Certainly life as we know it could not continue without computers.

By Nancy Geiger • Guest Columnist

My daughter, Brittany, is staying at Western Caroina Univesity this summer. The hotel she has been working at wanted her year-round, and since her sorority house stays open and charges for her room all summer it made sense.

To celebrate its 90th anniversary, the Carolina Mountain Club Challenge committee has added two new hiking challenges this year to its lineup.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is beginning a new program that allows nearby residents, business people, teachers and community members to see the everyday workings of the national park.

A 601-acre tract in Avery County near Roan Mountain has been purchased and conserved by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. The tract is adjacent to the Pisgah National Forest and near the Appalachian Trail in the Highlands of Roan. The tract borders one of the highest ridges of the Southern Appalachians, and rises to 6,150 feet in elevation.

A large Appalachian Trail gathering is coming to Western Carolina University this summer, and local trail clubs hosting the week-long conference are recruiting volunteers to help during the event

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy will hold is biennial meeting in Cullowhee from July 19 through 26. The Carolina Mountain Club and Nantahala Hiking Club — along with three other hiking clubs from Tennessee and Georgia that maintain designated sections of the A.T. — are organizing and putting it on. Volunteers are needed to lead hikes, register guests, support workshops, distribute information, and assist with parking, camping and reception activities.

Volunteer can help out in shifts that range from four hours to a full day, anytime during the week. The event will feature hundreds of organized hikes on the Appalachian Trail and other WNC trails. Attendees will also have the chance to learn about hiking, gear, history, and trail maintenance techniques, as well as have the opportunity to meet new people who are passionate about the A.T. and its management.

www.appalachiantrail.org/2013biennial.

To the Editor:

I miss Martin Luther King. His enlightened reason and fervent advocating for equal rights is sorely missed. Unfortunate that a man with a gun chose to end his life.

Make no mistake about it, there have always been people who selfishly and self-centeredly would have us believe their rights should be paid for by other people’s blood and or expense.

In the case of those schoolchildren from Newtown, in no way, shape or form can any person not bereft of moral attributes or rational logic conclude their deaths were the cost of liberty and its equal protection thereof, let alone gun ownership.

In the application of our naturally inherent or inalienable civil rights, the only person who bears the cost is the person duly engaged in such application. No one else bears any direct burden. However, there is a cost of liberty: eternal vigilance. This requires informed knowledge more than just personal opinion.

The latest Supreme Court decision regarding private ownership of guns can be found at www.supremecourt.gov/-opinions/09pdf/08-1521.pdf. While reaffirming the right to private ownership of guns for self defense, the justices also re-affirmed our government’s interest in regulating such application:

“It is important to keep in mind that Heller, while striking down a law that prohibited the possession of handguns in the home, recognized the that the right to keep and bear arms is not ‘a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever, and for any purpose …’ We made it clear in Heller that our holding did not cast doubt on such longstanding regulatory measures as ‘prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill,’ ‘laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms …’  We repeat those assurances here. Despite municipal respondents’ doomsday proclamations, incorporation (by the 14th Amendment) does not imperil every law regulating firearms.”

While our founders were forced to modify their own liberal embrace of the deistic notion of naturally inherent rights and the equal protection thereof, they gave to their posterity the means to correct their error. 

No other country has accomplished such a radical embrace of liberal principles. None. Nor has any other country so entrusted their citizens to make their own decisions while reserving their right to remedy once harm has been done, like, gee, I don’t know, a self-closing garage door that kills a child.

 Just as we the people require proper licensing and or restrictions for our vehicles, so too should we for our guns. Every gun should have a traceable title. Even the ones I own.

Chuck Zimmerman

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Nature abhors a vacuum. Mother Nature assures change. Organisms are constantly adapting, changing, improving, evolving. Understand-ing life cycles in nature assists man in many ways. We can collect water, grow vegetables, clear land, harvest timber, fish for food, hunt the wildlife and even recreate on our wild lands.

Whatever “our” case may be, nature is constantly in motion, changing. Stop mowing your lawn and watch a small forest begin: berries, scrubby pines, locust trees, and soon, poplar trees. The forest grows on over a span of time. Our southern Appalachian mountain region naturally grows incredible hardwood trees of many varieties: red oak, white oak, chestnut, oak, hickory, tulip poplar, walnut, cherry, maples, ash, birch, basswood and so on.

We are so blessed to live in this region of deciduous beauty. Our forest resources have tremendous beauty, but they also provide us with much bounty, and that must be respected, understood and included in forest management plans.

All living things die. In death, there is life. We know that all living things have a life cycle, and then they will die. Managing forests requires many different approaches to handling varying ages of forest sections. The United States Forest Service is charged with managing our federal lands for multiple uses: timber, water, wildlife and recreation. Each of these objectives is carefully weighed and included in plans for our forestlands.

Man can mimic natural death by timing timber harvest carefully and with full intention for each treatment area. The resource professionals allow science to direct their action, and timber management should be included in the tool belt of prescriptions, along with forest thinnings, prescribed fire, use of herbicides to eradicate invasive species and so on ... all options should be left on the table.

To preserve something is to save it. A passive land management approach allows nature to take hold as it will. Man has a minimal impact on the environment and takes a hands-off attitude. To preserve the land is to lock it up and leave it.

A museum mentality has taken over our national forest policy: “you can look, but not touch.” I think man should wisely use and respect our renewable resources and be encouraged to keep these large land tracts in timber rotations, rather than converting them out of a forest-use, rarely to grow trees again once paved.

Conserving the resource allows us to use the bounty, sustainably, and with an eye for the next generation, leaving the land more productive and better than before.

Disturbance happens. Ice, wind, fire, tornados, flooding, hurricanes, typhoons, and hail are a few natural events that wreak havoc for man on earth. Disturbances will always occur. The early Native Americans would slash and burn forests, to manage the land for their lifestyle and kept the understory growth down with prescribed fires to encourage wildlife proliferation. Man has always worked to tame the land. Modern-day timber harvest can mimic these natural disturbances, while growing jobs, creating American-made products, and providing year-round revenue for our local economies, sustainably and perpetually. Waste not, want not.

Wood is good. Trees are the gifts that keep giving. During their growing life, they provide shade, fruits and foods for man and creature alike, and provide immense beauty to our mountains. With a common-sense and pragmatic approach to land management, trees can be harvested to enjoy a whole new life of giving: in the form of a handmade generational piece of fine furniture to be coveted and passed down within a family line. Perhaps the trees will be used to fashion hardwood floors in a home to also last another lifetime. Wood is good, renewable, and can be managed in perpetuity. Please do not lock up these resources, because to watch them grow and die without using and enjoying them is a true waste of their many gifts.

We need wood. With carefully planned timber harvests, brand-new money is created by taking a raw material and converting it into lumber. From there it grows into heirloom furniture, fine homes, hardwood flooring, and so on. The “leftovers” from sawdust, mulch, and chips make all sorts of items we need: juice containers, envelopes, cardboard, pressed board items, paper products etc. The “resins” go into hairspray, glues, steering wheels, spray paints and crayons. Even aspirin and ice cream contain wood products! We need wood, and trees can infinitely provide us with value-added products using carefully planned management approaches.

Please allow the United States Forest Service to move forward with the project at Devil’s Courthouse. Please do not impede our natural resource professionals from actively managing our forestlands, now or in the future.

Susan Fletcher

Candler

To the Editor:

How incredibly serendipitous that your newspaper of Jan. 23 should headline the flooding and landslides that occurred during the four days of local heavy rains while at the same time highlighting the ongoing review of the Jackson County Steep Slope Ordinance by the Jackson County Commissioners and the County Planning Committee. To add spice to the stew, the column by Mr. Don Hendershot (The Naturalist’s Corner) reported the cuts by the N.C. legislature to the landslide mapping program midway through its work in Jackson County, effectively ending that program and leaving the county without a credible evaluation of the slide risks to current and future homeowners and to infrastructure in our county. Mr. Hendershot indicated the resultant savings from those program cuts saved the state ($1.4 million) while also pointing out that the cost of landslide remediation from a single incident in Maggie Valley has already cost the state that same amount.

Page 6 of the paper reported additional slides in Maggie Valley during the past week at Rich Cove (site of the original slide) and at the head of Soco. No casualties this time excepting a car and a few trees falling on a house. My sympathies to those suffering losses, especially the recently retired couple in Macon County who lost their home of one year to a slide.

I would agree that completion of the landslide mapping project in Jackson County will do nothing for those already occupying potential slide sites, except perhaps to warn those occupants to be aware of the consequences of significant rain events in their locale. For those with plans to build, the map would serve to let those people know that alternative building sites might be safer and much less expensive to them at some point in the future, especially in these “big storm” times. Whether the landslide mapping ever resumes in Jackson County is probably moot, but the results of recent weather events should certainly provide critical advice to the Jackson County Planning Committee as they evaluate the slope and cut/fill thresholds to be used in future home and infrastructure building decisions. Someone’s life may depend on it. 

Roy B. Osborn

Cullowhee

Tunnel projects to delay work on I-40

The N.C. Department of Transportation will perform work on three tunnels in the Pigeon River Gorge on Interstate 40 in Haywood County during a two-week period starting Monday, Feb. 4.

• Traffic reduced to a single lane at the tunnel on I-40 West between Exit 7 (Harmon Den) and Tennessee, and traffic through the tunnel on I-40 East will be re-routed on Feb. 4.

• Traffic through the tunnel on I-40 East between Harmon Den and Tennessee will possibly be re-routed on Feb. 5.

• Traffic reduced to single lane at the tunnel on I-40 East between Harmon Den and Exit 15 (Fines Creek) Feb. 5-6.

www.ncdot.gov/travel.

N.C. DOT to resurface I-40, Newfound Road

North Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded an $8.6 million contract to Harrison Construction Co. Division of APAC-Atlantic Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn. to resurface 5.7 miles of Interstate 40 in Haywood County between Exit 15 (Fines Creek) and Exit 20 (U.S. 276/Jonathan Creek). The contract also includes resurfacing 2.9 miles of Newfound Road from the Buncombe County line to south of Johnson Road in Haywood County. Work will start as early as April 15 and is scheduled for completion by Sept. 20.

The Haywood Regional Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees recently appointed Laura Leatherwood as the new chairman of the board.

Leatherwood is the vice president of Student and Workforce Development at Haywood Community College, where she has worked since 2000. In addition to her new position on the HRMC Foundation board, Leatherwood serves on the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors, Western Carolina University College of Business Advisory Board and WCU Catamount Club Board of Directors.

Leatherwood has a vested interest in MedWest-Haywood and has served as a hospital ambassador to the community during recent years. Having assisted with the opening of the MedWest Health and Fitness Center, which was funded primarily through the HRMC Foundation.

www.medwesthealth.org.

A rain-induced landslide in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park left a gaping hole in U.S. 441, but its impact could leave a lot bigger hole in the local economy if park officials are not able to fix the road in time to save at least part of the tourist season.

A company hired by the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has found a dozen businesses that have been evading a 4 percent lodging tax.

Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Fiber student Rebecca Porche is the recipient of the Handweavers Guild of America’s Dendel Scholarship for 2012.

Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville has raised $160,000 since last summer in a capital campaign to build a second theater.

The total price tag of the second facility is $950,000. The second theater, which is only in preliminary conception stages, would be mid-sized — big enough for full scale productions, but not as big as their current main stage auditorium. It would seat 150-180, compared to the current mainstage, which seats 250.

The possibilities range from small plays to dinner theater, drama camps to acting classes, cabaret to wedding receptions. It seems the avenues of potential are endless. It also allows two plays to run simultaneously, rather than ending a successful run, even if it is continuing to sell out, just because the next show has come up on the schedule, according to Steven Lloyd, executive director at HART.

HART has an economic footprint on the community of $2.4 million dollars a year, with Stage II aimed to double that, according to an economic impact formula developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Americans for the Arts.

HART has smaller “backstage” theater styled after an upclose theater-in-the-half-round. It seats up to 70 people, mostly used for the winter theater series.

“It’ll look hugely successful because you come in and can’t find a seat. But, if we did it on the main stage, it would look like a failure,” Lloyd said. “We need that middle facility to fit that audience.”

In 2012, the progress of the theatre evolved into a semi-professional community theatre, producing five studio shows and six main stage shows, plus a new production of “A Christmas Carol.”

828.456.6322 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.harttheatre.com.

Onlooker John Highsmith takes a gander at “Blue Heron,” the latest metal sculpture from Grace Cathey at the “Fire & Ice: Pottery, Glass and Metalwork” gallery reception on Jan. 27 at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville.

Theatrical productions of “Struggle for Freedom” and “George Washington Carver and Friends” will be put on for local school students at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, in the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

Bright Star Touring Theatre, a national professional touring theatre company based in Asheville, is also taking the production to students in Swain County in during February, which is recognized as Black History Month.

The Jackson County Arts Council is accepting donations that will go toward these performances and the cost of bussing the students to and from the productions.

“Struggle for Freedom” seeks to honor the American Civil Rights Movement by celebrating key moments of the struggle. The life and work of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. provides the backdrop to scenes that recreate the Montgomery bus boycott, the March on Washington, the Woolworth Sit-ins and much more.

“George Washington Carver and Friends” offers fast-paced and accessible introduction to many influential black Americans who have shaped our nation over the last 150 years, including the lives and accomplishments of Booker T. Washington, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Madame C.J. Walker, and other famous leaders.

Bright Star Touring Theatre serves nearly 1,000 audiences annually with a variety of programs ranging from Heroes of the Underground Railroad to Aesop’s Fables. The company is committed to providing professional theatre to audiences at an affordable and all-inclusive rate.

828.507.9820 or www.jacksoncountyarts.org.

A consortium of Western North Carolina public agencies and private organizations will receive a grant of $766,000 from the N.C. Bio-fuels Center, to advance the bio-fuels industry in the region.

Swain County farmers, landowners, and other interested individuals are invited to share their thoughts and idea on a new farmland protection plan to support agriculture in Swain County.

To the Editor:

As someone who has lived in four different countries and traveled to several others over the last 11 years, I can tell you that no people who I have encountered continually demand that their government institutions solve every problem imaginable like Americans do. From the dangers of electric garage doors to the eradication of bed bugs, there seems to be nothing that Washington isn’t charged with fixing.

Then, there are those horrific incidents of violence perpetrated by a mentally unstable person that sends many Americans into a tizzy and raises their collective voices for Washington to do something urgently. Cries of “this can never happen again” call out for new laws to prevent future tragedies.

And so we have the latest episode of hysterics over the tragedy that was the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings.

To be sure, whenever any young children lose their lives it is a tragedy. Whether they are in the classrooms of America’s schools, in cars on America’s streets, or collateral damage from an American drone strike over Pakistan, the loss of the young and innocent hits each of us where we live.

But, in the case of the reaction to the latest tragedy, the last thing Washington should do is pass any new gun control legislation including legislation banning so-called “assault rifles”

A little perspective is needed to understand why. Less than 400 people a year are killed with rifles of all kinds. According to FBI numbers from 2005 to 2011, hammers and clubs killed more people than rifles in America. Logically then, shouldn’t hammers and clubs be banned before rifles? At the very least, shouldn’t a license be required to own one? Furthermore, why would anyone but construction contractors need to own sledge hammers? Are they not the hammer equivalent to an assault rifle? Could you imagine going to Lowes to purchase a hammer and having to undergo a background check and a seven day waiting period?

Yet, this is the conversation our leaders are having about rifles, which again, kill fewer people than hammers and clubs.

America has not experienced a direct danger from a foreign adversary since the War of 1812. One could argue that Pearl Harbor was about the Japanese only wanting to cripple our Pacific fleet. Yet we have sent millions into harm’s way to “defend” our freedom and have lost thousands doing so.

Were the lives of those young people less worthy than the youth lost at Sandy Hook? Of course not. But our leaders tell us that freedom has costs, and the hundreds of thousands of young men and women that gave their lives “defending” our freedom is a large part of that cost.

So, I submit to you that those 20 children who lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary are also a part of the cost of defending freedom. At the end of the day, individuals have a natural right to self-defense. They have a right to defend themselves against criminals, foreign invaders, and their own government if it becomes tyrannical enough. Why should law-abiding citizens be asked to unilaterally disarm because a deranged individual used a gun to murder children? It is nonsensical.

Lastly, children die in car accidents, drown in bathtubs, and are poisoned by ingesting prescription drugs all the time. Does this warrant the banning of these items? Of course not, because they are vitally important to modern life just like the means to protect oneself is.

Kenn Jacobin

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Friends, they’ve out-waited us. And, motivated by the smell of money, they appear to have outlasted us as well and are – right now – in the process of outmaneuvering us.

Jackson County’s land-use ordinances were enacted six years ago at the urging of and with the strong support of county residents; this was accomplished over the vigorous opposition of area developers (some county-based, some not). Now it’s six years later and Jack Debnam and Co., aka the majority faction of Jackson County’s Board of Commissioners, are busily pulling the original ordinances’ teeth and concocting a more developer-friendly set of rules.

Shame on Debnam and his cronies for working hard and quietly to subvert the demonstrated wishes of Jackson County residents, and shame on us for watching it happen and doing nothing about it.

Robert M. Lindy

Cullowhee

To the Editor:

Don’t let anyone tell you there’s no conspiracy or that conspirators are not busily at work here in our “exceptional” country full of “superior” people.

It’s not written anywhere. There’s no agenda to read or way to order your very own printed copy. You won’t find it on a site like Google, where you can select from an assortment of opinions written by various authors (many offer valid research based on facts but, sadly, others promote flawed opinion).

But yes, there is definitely a conspiracy out there working against you and me. It’s organized by those multi-billionaires often called plutocrats or oligarchs. It’s advanced by well-paid minions and media shills, leaders and members of groups like ALEC. Most names are readily available and have been publically reported. They’ve spent billions on past elections to influence your thinking so you’ll slavishly allow them to control you, your children, and the future of our country.

They want you to support a return to prior administration policies of unpaid-for wars instigated for maximum profit by the military-industrial complex. They work to allow Wall Street’s multiple ventures to gamble with America’s capital, and they advocate that health care be in the control of insurance and medical corporatists, while they promote hate and fill you with fear.

These manipulators are counting on your reality show attention span in the hope you won’t notice they’re the creators of our so-called fiscal problems. They encourage you to fantasize a return to the heyday of growth following WWII when European manufacturing was obliterated and we filled that gap. They want you to believe their silly stories until the inevitable day when the country comes to halt, is unsustainable, has another war, and all benefits flow only upward. Trickle down? Not here.

They’re plying you with fear! They advocate that you arm yourself because some unspecified others are coming. They say religion and the U.S. Constitution are in danger. They tell you that all government involvement in public benefits like education, police, fire, emergency workers, water resources, roads, farms, prisons, immigration or all similar entities, not forgetting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, must be privatized. By whom? Who benefits?  

There’ll be no outside conspiracy. Mega-corporatist greed will cause the ultimate downfall of the U.S.A. The aim of constant hate and fear messages will be their tool of control, cause dissent and turn us against each other — “divide and conquer.”

Don’t allow control or support to these takers who mask themselves as caring patriots and-or Christians. While telling you they advocate freedom and small government without any regulations, their ulterior motives will necessarily impose huge governance. Theirs! Freedom? Also theirs!

Observe the real conspirators whose only goal is to gain even more wealth without investing in anything, without contributing to the national coffers, and without producing any real benefit to the U.S., or us. Conspiracy? You can count on it.  

And, by the way, it is not sponsored by the U.N.

Shirl Ches

Franklin

To the Editor:

Legislation has created a zone where the only people protected by a “gun free zone” are the evil criminals that come there to break the law. No one can stop them.

Good people are forbidden to carry a gun to protect themselves.

The criminal targets a gun free zone to break the law knowing the good people will not be able to stop him. Progressive legislation creates the problem, and then acts like more bad legislation will prevent it next time. Logic dictates that lawbreakers do not obey the laws.

Gun free zones are dangerous. We can trust the American people to protect our children and ourselves.

Lynda Bennett

Maggie Valley

To the Editor:

We have just been through a holiday season during which the U.S. Postal Service and its workers have served us well. Millions of cards, letters, and packages have passed from city to city, home to home. Stamps have been sold, money orders purchased, heaps of mail delivered to our doorstep. As a nation, we should be grateful for this useful and friendly service. As individuals, I hope we have said “thank you” to postal workers at the counter, in the delivery truck, and at our door.

Each day, USPS letter carriers cover four million miles delivering an average of 563 million pieces of mail. They ride snowmobiles, fly bush planes, run mail boats, and even ride mules to the floor of the Grand Canyon. All for 45 cents per piece! I believe the USPS is a huge bargain, a civic treasure, a public good that links our people and communities into one nation.

But what do we hear about the Postal Service from Congress and other scaremongers bent on privatization of everything within reach? It’s broke, going bankrupt, wasteful, near collapse, superfluous, bloated with too many overpaid workers, unprofitable, in serious crisis.

Hogwash! The Post Office is a service! It is explicitly authorized by the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8). Benjamin Franklin was our first Postmaster General. Our founding fathers never expected it to make a profit; rather, it was created to provide a service. We don’t expect the State Department to make a profit, or the Defense Department, or the Center for Disease Control, or FEMA, or the Park Service. All government agencies exist to serve our people. Why is the Postal Service any different? Answer: It’s not!

Keep in mind that the PO takes no money from taxpayers. It is not going broke. All its 32,000 local offices (more than Walmart, Starbucks, and McDonald’s combined) are paid for by selling stamps and other products. And it made a $700 million profit during the last four years, despite the slumping economy. The so-called “deficit” comes from a 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act that required the Postal Service to pre-pay the health care benefits — not only of present employees, but also of all employees who’ll retire during the next 75 years. Yes, some who haven’t even been born yet!

And the law further required that these benefits be fully funded by 2016. This is costing the Postal Service $5.5 billion a year — money taken from postage revenue that could be going to services. This was a deliberate effort by the then-President and Congress to make it look like the PO was losing money.

Furthermore, through a 40-year-old accounting error, the federal Office of Personnel Management has overcharged the post office by $80 billion for payments into the Civil Service Retirement System. Give the PO back its own postage money and, presto, no more crisis, no more risk of collapse.

So, let’s demand that no post offices be closed, no mail processing centers shut down, no jobs cut back, no loss of Saturday delivery or of next-day delivery for first class mail! Stop trying to make the PO into a business. Let’s reclaim it as the Postal Service — like other services the government provides to “we the people” — law enforcement service, military service, diplomatic service, forest service, national parks service, roads and highways service, environmental protection service, food safety service, etc.

 And let’s take special care to express our gratitude to the postal workers who serve us every day.

Doug Wingeier

Waynesville

Carolina Nights, a closed-down dinner theater in Maggie Valley, could make a comeback as an entertainment venue under new owners.

A Haywood County couple with a track record as local business partners bought the building last month for $235,000.