To the Editor:

Our EMS and fire departments, law-enforcement and many in serving military units have come to our region’s rescue. They  and caring ordinary neighbors who have put on their boots and gloves and helped so many people in desperate need are our heroes.

Among the most important races in North Carolina is the contest to see who will become the state’s next attorney general, the office that represents the state in legal proceedings while also offering legal advice to prosecutors and law enforcement across the state. 

On the morning of Sept. 27, as rain fell steadily from the pre-dawn sky, Travis Donaldson took a drive around the eastern end of Haywood County. Donaldson, the county’s emergency services director, made a lap around all the appropriate areas, finishing up in Cruso with the intention of turning around and heading back toward Waynesville, where an emergency operations center had already been set up. 

Waynesville Police Chief David Adams had all of his law enforcement instructor certifications suspended by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission; however, he told The Smoky Mountain News late last week that he plans to appeal the commission’s ruling. 

Western North Carolina’s regional DWI taskforce has renewed its push to pass several new drunk-driving bills into law during next year’s long session in Raleigh. 

An estimated 38 million motorists are expected to travel by roadways this Memorial Day weekend and the State Highway Patrol is working to ensure residents and visitors to our state reach their destinations safely. 

Adults may soon be able to purchase marijuana for recreational use from Cherokee’s new dispensary. 

At a work session last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian’s Tribal Council discussed several questions they had regarding a potential ordinance that would legalize sales of cannabis to any adult with a valid ID.

The Town of Sylva passed an ordinance addressing panhandling last week by a narrow margin after extensive and contentious discussion on the topic. 

The Town of Franklin will be the latest municipality in North Carolina to implement a social district after the town council unanimously voted to adopt the ordinance during its first meeting of the new year. 

Newly elected Haywood County Sheriff Bill Wilke stepped into some big shoes following the retirement of longtime Sheriff Greg Christopher, but earlier this year Wilke showed Haywood County, along with some of its most vulnerable residents, that he wears some pretty damn big shoes himself.