Mickey Luker has been working on a remodel of Caney Fork General Store ever since he purchased the property in 2011, but now the county commissioner candidate is claiming that politically motivated nefariousness caused the county health department to deny him the wastewater permit he needs to add a deli line to his business.

The Swain County Health Department is concerned about the number of Hepatitis B cases confirmed in 2015.

A smoking ban in public places took effect in Waynesville last week, making it illegal to light up a cigarette on town sidewalks.

An outbreak of the highly contagious intestinal bug known as norovirus has been raging through North Canton Elementary School over the past two weeks, but illness now seems to be on the downswing — to the relief of parents and teachers alike.

To build a fence or to not build a fence? 

It might not seem like such a portentous question, but as Sylva Town Commissioner Mary Gelbaugh found out when she asked her Facebook friends whether the town should look at putting a fence along Scotts Creek through Bridge Park, it kind of is. The comments came so thick and fast that Facebook contacted her to see if someone had hacked her account.

Don’t light, chew, smoke or spit that tobacco in Jackson County parks, and if you do, you could be slapped with a $50 fine. That is the gist of a proposed law that will soon be voted on by county commissioners.

Joyce Porter had just finished cleaning her house in Jonathan Creek and was planning to hop in the shower, but when she turned on the faucet, no water came out.

The numbers are unforgiving.

One in three unexpected deaths in Haywood County are likely prescription drug overdoses. This year alone, there have been eight drug-related deaths — out of 25 unexpected deaths in all. And that doesn’t include two deaths last week that the county medical examiner suspects are overdoses as well. 

After enduring months of dogged opposition over a county rule that would protect residents from nasty garbage piles on their neighbor’s property, Haywood County leaders are trying a different tack.

The county has dropped the idea of a public health rule governed by the health department and instead will draft a health ordinance. An ordinance will allow more flexibility, while a rule under the auspice of the health department had to conform with state mandates.

Haywood County Commissioner Mark Swanger recommended the new approach, which garnered unanimous support from the rest of the commissioners.

Swanger said some sort of mechanism is necessary to protect people from unhealthy situations created by neighbors.

“It has nothing to do with aesthetics or that you just have a messy yard. It would have to be a demonstrated health risk,” said Swanger.

The scrapped health rule chiefly dealt with garbage that might attract disease-carrying rodents and mosquitoes, but would have also applied to an abandoned swimming pool that had become a health risk or a chemical spill, for example.

While some opposed the spirit of the ordinance as meddling in the private property arena, others merely took issue with over-reaching enforcement and over-the-top punishment.

The rule allowed the health director to come onto private property without permission and offenders could have been charged with a class I misdemeanor.

Wording was changed to require the health director to first get a search warrant except in the case of an imminent hazard. But little could be done about the class I misdemeanor for violations, as that was the punishment mandated by the state. If written as an ordinance by the county, however, it could carry a lesser charge of a class III misdemeanor, Swanger said.

A small task force has been appointed to provide input on writing the ordinance, including two critics of the health rule in its original form.

One of those, Terry Ramey, said he hopes the new approach will help “bring people back together instead of being mad at each other.”

Ramey said too much bad blood exists between the critics of the rule and members of the health board for a compromise to be reached.

“It had gotten to a head-butting deal,” Ramey said. “It just got out of hand.”

Ramey said he is not against an ordinance in principle.

“We need something,” Ramey said. “Let’s say somebody had trash piled up and it was rotten and it had insects and stuff in it. We want something in place for situations like that. Even the people against it don’t want a really bad health hazard.”

But Ramey said the original rule left too much room for broad interpretation.

On Monday morning, Haywood County commissioners listened as one citizen after another came up and blasted a change to a health board rule that has been on the books since 1970.

About 40 people stood up to express their opposition to the rule when one speaker asked for a show of support.

Citizens accused the commissioners of backhandedly reviving a nuisance ordinance that had already been stamped out by public outcry.

“You asked the health board to do your dirty work,” said Lynda Bennett at the meeting. “This is a very, very unpopular ordinance.”

The rule that’s now in question chiefly deals with safely storing garbage that can attract disease-carrying pests. Its most controversial aspect is a measure that allows the health director to step onto private property in the case of an imminent hazard — something that is already permitted under state law.

Another component of the ordinance that’s up for debate is the maximum penalty for a Class 1 misdemeanor for not storing garbage safely and creating a health risk for others — another issue that’s been set by the state, according to Chip Killian, Haywood County attorney.

“The statues are there, we need to enforce them,” said Commissioner Skeeter Curtis.

Haywood’s health board was ready to vote on the amendment with little ado in January when a crowd of 75 showed up to voice strong opposition.

After months of addressing citizens’ concerns and altering wording on the rule, the health board is now ready to vote on the amendment on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

Citizens rallied together once more Monday to express their fury concerning the measure, which they see as an unconstitutional violation of property rights.

“My only concern right now is our freedoms,” said Catherine Jones. “Little by little and on all levels, our freedom is being chipped away.”

Some speakers pointed out that commissioners up for re-election this year might feel their objections come fall, unlike the many health board members who are appointed, not elected.

“They cannot be held accountable at the ballot box like you can,” Bennett added.

Responding to certain concerns, the Haywood health board already amended its amendment to the rule to say the health director must always try to get a search warrant before entering property unless there is an imminent threat.

Commissioner Mark Swanger, who serves on the health board, said to his knowledge, no one has ever been arrested, fined or had their property entered without a warrant in the 40 years the health board rule has been in effect.

“Now what more can anybody ask for?” said Swanger.

Later, Swanger gave an example of when the rule would come in handy. He pointed out that trucks carrying nuclear waste constantly pass through the county on Interstate 40. If one should get in an accident, run off the road and spill toxic waste on private property, health authorities should be allowed to enter and abate that threat immediately.

“I see people smirking,” said Swanger. “If it were your backyard, you would wish they would help you.”

Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick added that this was in no way an attempt to violate people’s constitutional rights. He had his own example for the rule’s utility.

If a child gets sick playing in a filthy yard with feces and other health risks, there would be little health authorities and law enforcement could do without the rule. A worried mother’s only recourse would be to pursue expensive legal action.

“You guys can say it’s farfetched, but it’s certainly possible,” said Kirkpatrick. “Without this particular rule, there’s nothing the county can do.”

Kirkpatrick also emphasized the difficulty of penalizing violators with a Class 1 misdemeanor. He said such cases are extremely difficult to prosecute and the last thing Haywood County wants to do is spend money to enforce the rule. The health department will instead cooperate with violators right off the bat.

Have your say

The Haywood County health board will vote on the controversial amendment to its solid waste rule at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the county health department.