The second phase of a two-year trail rehabilitation project in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will begin Monday, April 16, on the popular Rainbow Falls Trail. 

In a 68-mile fundraising run through the mountains of Northern Georgia, Matt Kirby conquered the terrain in 20 hours and 44 minutes to raise $2,100 for Southwestern Community College students facing financial emergencies. 

In a month-long celebration of Earth Day, the #WNCforthePlanet initiative invites businesses, civic groups and community organizations to take part in the Business & Community Challenge, in which groups compete with each other to earn Planet Points and work to improve the local environment. 

To the Editor:

Trump TV, aka Fox News, has scored another low mark thanks to its sneering cross-bearer, Laura Ingraham. The holy one recently mocked a 17-year-old Parkland High student for failing to get accepted into UCLA despite his 4.2 grade point average.

Parkland High senior David Hogg, who has been one of many student spokespersons against the NRA and gun violence in the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day massacre at the Florida school, has apparently drawn the wrath of the Trump minions on Fox News.

Ingraham gleefully tweeted Hogg “whimpered” about not getting accepted to the California university. Nice lady, picking on a high school student. She’s a real credit to her “faith.” 

I happened to tune into Fox on Ash Wednesday and saw Ingraham, with her prominent ash cross smeared on her forehead, and she looked like a temple Pharisee making a public display of her great faith. I notice she always seems to wear a little cross on her necklace — yet her on-air comments show she has the compassion of a stone and the sneer of Herod.

If Fox News is the channel of choice in heaven, I sure as hell don’t want to go.

James Budd

Bryson City

To the Editor:

I have read many good articles from Smoky Mountain News Editor Scott McLeod, but the editorial on the so called Brunch Bill was definitely not his best work. It’s really the “sell more booze bill” during traditional hours reserved for church and family. See, you missed the big picture — another American value sacrificed for “better business,” or anything for a buck. 

Now you forgot to mention that since the new Cashiers ABC store opened and Ingles putting beer and wine on half their shelves, we have more drinking related accidents and fatalities than ever. Just the cost of better business?

According to your chamber of commerce logic, we should sell alcoholic beverages all day and night 24/7? Why have an age limit, sell to kids too — just like McDonald’s right? The point is, the good old USA we grew up in is disappearing a little bit at a time because what used to not be OK is now normal — like selling booze during church hours.

Jerry Floyd

Cashiers

To the Editor:

I don’t understand how we are supposed to be human in modern life. We want social change but apart from Facebook fighting and walking around in the streets I don’t see any real progress as to what we are really seeking from that? I’m not entirely sure, world peace? How does that happen without changing power figures? That requires war, more war, lots of war. Then war creates more factions which creates more enemies. 

More social equality? That sounds more promising, seems to be some progress being made too, although it’s hard to tell when it seems more like a shift in scapegoats than actual equality sometimes. I did nothing to hurt the white rhinos, I don’t want their horns for a thing, let them run free and be unharmed.

But I also did nothing to stop them being killed, How could I? You didn’t do anything either, but you post the meme every 10 minutes to make someone feel ashamed for you. 

I try to recycle and limit plastic, but I have to get to work because big companies need my money to pay for there last chemical spill and I need power at my house. I want to fight’em, but I’m not rich and being covered in tattoos and being an alcoholic to hide my anxiety isn’t helping my chances in Washington. 

I want black kids to quit getting shot by power-crazed cops, but white kids keep getting shot at school for making fun of the quiet kid, so now everybody only wants those cops to have guns. And I want to say more of this but I’m just a guy on a phone like everyone else, seeing clearly past the simplicities of the points I’m making and seeing the faults even in my own perspective, but I don’t want to fight but mainly I don’t want to win the argument, I want to tie in the debate. Winning should never be the point. Unless it is just war you want disguised in a peace sign.

Robbie Crisp

Sylva

To the Editor:

I am pretty sure I am not alone in wondering every time I drive around in Waynesville, why does the city allow us to be beat to death and our vehicles, over such worn out streets? Gravel roads would be smoother. From Russ Avenue all the way to the courthouse, library, Frog level area or basically everywhere you go, it is a rough ride. With the continuing business growth and our extreme popularity for thousands of tourists who flock to our town for the Apple Festival, etc., every year, it’s time to do some re-paving please.

Mylan Sessions 

Waynesville 

To the Editor:

Is it possible that the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency has begun? That, in my view, would be the best possible outcome to the 2018 election, for our country, for our people, for the world. We have flaws in our democratic system and a character weakness in our nation that allowed someone clearly unqualified and unfit to be elected president. We need it to be done and over with as soon as possible and somehow insure it never happens again.

Over 40 U.S. House Republicans have announced they’re retiring at the end of this term, the highest number to do so (and it’s only March) in any recent election cycle.

With President Trump’s approval ratings bogged down in the low- to mid-30’s, it’s possible Republicans anticipate a midterm bloodbath and losing control of both houses of Congress to the Democrats. Democrats only need to flip 24 seats to win a majority and (in modern times) the president’s party loses (on average) 32 seats. That does not bode well for Republicans, especially with a president as catastrophe-prone as Trump.

Republicans can blame Trump and themselves for their mean-spirited and partisan determination to reverse everything Obama accomplished and for no other reason than their own ill-conceived and ill-considered notions that everything Obama did was wrong for America. If they hadn’t been so obsessed with making Obama a one-term president instead of doing what was right by the American people, they wouldn’t be plagued now with the prospect of losing control of their government and the demise of their party.

When Democrats take control of both Houses of Congress, Trump will face the inevitable risk of impeachment as well as hostile committee chairs with subpoena power. Incidentally, no less than nine GOP committee chairs (so far) aren’t running for re-election. Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it Mr. President?

As Noah Rothman in Commentary/Magazine.com phrased it, “Americans are prepared to throw Republicans out of power, not because of their record in office but in spite of it.” It’s not Republican policies that trouble most people, citizens are repulsed by Trump himself, disgusted by his inane tweets, sickened by his vulgar comments and deeply offended by his hate-filled, often racist speech.

The United Nations human rights spokesman, Rupert Colville said there was no other way to describe Trump’s remarks (referring to his bunghole comment in the Oval Office) “but racist.” Leaders the world over are disgusted by this U.S. president, and so am I.

He’s an embarrassment to us all and how anyone can support Trump at this point defies reason. Anyone who scorns the U.S. Constitution, advocates prosecuting his critics, boasts of groping women, and praises white supremacists is unfit to be a United States president and as far as I’m concerned gives a whole new meaning to “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Never will I cast a vote for another Republican so long as Donald Trump remains in office. Republicans, if you don’t have the gumption or the resourcefulness or the plain old moxie to force this lunatic from office before he completely destroys America (or worse), then for the sake of the country you have sworn to serve and defend, turn the responsibility over to someone who will ... and the sooner the better.

David L. Snell   

Franklin

To the Editor:

I am responding to the reader who wrote regarding Fox News and illegal immigrants.  I have no TV at home, but sometimes I watch Fox News programs while at the Recreation Center. Fox News is always on, but hardly anyone pays attention. I guess the TV ratings are determined by the TV set being on, and not whether anyone is watching.

One day they were broadcasting an interview; I never knew which side of the political spectrum the guest represented, but it didn’t matter since the interviewer kept interrupting. Apparently, the Fox interviewer had more important points to make so the guest never had an opportunity to complete a single sentence. Maybe all TV interviews are like this one.

On another day, they presented news of a caravan moving through Mexico and implied that it was of great concern for the United States. Later I had to go elsewhere for some factual information. It turned out they were a group of people escaping from war and violence in Honduras. They make this pilgrimage every spring (around Easter time) and they stop along the way asking for asylum at various embassies. Some of them are granted asylum and some are not. 

So, the news was real, not fake, but it was presented in such a way as to incite fear rather than to inform. That is my experience of watching Fox News.

Regarding googling “illegal immigrants and IRS.” I did that, and learned that immigrants (both legal and illegal) pay taxes like anyone else, and if they are due a refund, the IRS sends them a refund like anyone else. In addition, they, like everyone else, pay social security taxes, which are not refunded. As everyone knows, illegal immigrants cannot be in the social security system. So, they receive no benefits from Medicare or other social security programs.

But, you do. If you are a Medicare recipient, your benefits are partially paid for by people you call illegal immigrants. But, I assume, everyone already knows that. 

Paul Strop

Waynesville

Longtime Cherokee Councilmember Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown, became the latest recipient of North Carolina’s highest honor when she was presented with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine last month. 

Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band will be enjoying one of the best things about Thanksgiving Day — going back for a second helping.

By Will Studenc

To the Editor:

I am a product of Haywood County Schools and have two now-grown daughters who were educated in the Haywood school system. I have also taught social studies in public schools in North Carolina and Maryland.

I have been proud (most of the time) of the administration and teachers working for our children in this county, but the recent statements by Bill Nolte (interim Superintendent of Haywood County Schools) both saddened and angered me. 

Really, more folks should read the Constitution of the United States. It is quite a remarkable document and does not consist of the Second Amendment only. (And by the way: the Second Amendment addresses the necessity for a “well-regulated Militia”— a sort of National Guard — and says nothing of an individual’s right to bear arms. But that’s another letter.)

The First Amendment guarantees “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Lately I have written several grievances to our North Carolina representatives, but all I received for my effort was a form letter which in no way related to my questions. A majority of Americans want reasonable protections in place to prevent our children from being murdered in their classrooms, and when our legislators are ignoring us, “peaceable assembly” is a last resort.

The Haywood County Schools administration under Mr. Bill Nolte recently missed an excellent opportunity to teach students a lesson in government under our Constitution. Those who wished to walk in recognition and memory of the murdered students in Florida should not only have been allowed, but encouraged to do so; those not in agreement with the walkers would not have been forced to do so. Each group should respect the other as American citizens, expressing our rights under the Constitution. Classroom lessons and class discussions about the First Amendment and “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” could have followed, to the benefit of those who agree and those who disagree.

Again, the Constitution contains not only the Second Amendment. There are other guarantees before it, among them, freedom of speech, of the press .... oh, never mind. Google it.

Wanda Taylor

Waynesville

To the Editor:

We, as North Carolinians, have entered an era of restrictive practices centered around limiting our ability to decide governance. Our districts are gerrymandered in order to keep one party in power. We elected officials that insure their power by neutralizing our votes and refuse to work with each other. 

We must take action in this upcoming election. We cannot allow ourselves to stay apathetic. We cannot allow our votes to be weakened by calloused politicians who work tirelessly to ensure their own power. The 10th and 11th congressional districts need fresh blood; new perspectives that have not been jaded by the power dynamics and party squabbles. First-time candidates offer this perspective. We have a duty to research our candidates and vote for whom we believe is the best fit.

If we do not actively engage in the political system, we will only see the expansion of these power-controlling tactics. Access to healthcare; prison reform; equality regardless of gender, race or sexuality; and infrastructural repair are all important issues to me, so the candidate I will vote into the U.S. Congress is Phillip Price. You must find the right candidate for you to promote real change in our state.

Connor Ferry

Asheville

To the Editor:

On March 12, 2018, at the Haywood County School Board meeting, Dr. Bill Nolte, interim superintendent, spoke to the board about the planned walkout of students related to the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Dr. Nolte emphasized that the event was not a political statement and was being organized in order to give students the opportunity to express themselves in honor of the victims in a safe environment. We were in the room that evening and that commitment of our school board and district staff made us proud. The student organizers were working closely with school administration to make sure the events were inclusive, focused on the issue of school security, in honor of the victims and nonpartisan. The fact that the students were putting into action the best ideals of civic engagement and peaceful demonstration was palpable proof that their public education was instilling in them the best aspects of American democracy. As we drove home, we discussed this opportunity for hands-on civics and felt proud of the partnership that would ultimately strengthen and protect our community. We thought, this is what it means to be American. 

The students at Tuscola, and presumably elsewhere in the district, took this effort upon themselves because they wanted to find a constructive way to do something in response to an incomprehensible tragedy. They saw a national issue and it felt personal enough for them to act. Unfortunately, inclement weather intervened, and those activities were canceled, but the students understood and worked instead to figure out how they could honor the victims and advocate for the safety of all students going forward.

Now imagine the surprise and profound disappointment we felt in reading the March 20 letter posted on the Haywood County School website from Dr. Nolte in which he not only undermined the students’ efforts by suggesting they were being manipulated by a “tool being applied to promote political agendas” but also invoking religious “divine intervention” that disrupted the students’ expression of grief and concern for their collective safety. These student leaders faced, at minimum, distinct social risk in organizing, and did so by working closely and productively with school administration. The students were living, in perhaps the very best way, the peaceful civic engagement and involved citizenry that their teachers ask of them, and that HCS espouses to achieve to assure the development of “well-informed, productive citizens for the future … reflective of a commitment to family and community involvement, high expectations for all students, and caring and child-centered schools.” Nolte’s statement counters that vision and sends the message that disengagement is what is really valued by the school system. What an incredibly disheartening message to send to the students, faculty, and staff. 

Dr. Brandon & Angeline Schwab

Waynesville

The Southern Highlands Reserve has launched a digital database to advance its ability to research native plants from its perch atop 4,500-foot Toxaway Mountain. 

Franklin-based outfitter Outdoor 76 has announced that it will open a second store, joining Motion Makers Bicycle Shop at a new location in Cherokee this May. 

The nation’s largest single-day effort to remove trash from a river will return to Western Carolina University with the 34th annual Tuck River Cleanup, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 14. 

The Haywood County Arts Council Board of Directors unanimously elected Leigh Forrester as the new executive director. She will assume the role immediately.

Lake Junaluska has received a certificate of approval from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality authorizing construction activity to begin on the restoration of the bridge over the dam.

Thursday, April 26 • 3:30-6:30 p.m. Ingles Markets, 684 N. Broad St., Brevard.

An increase in serious bear encounters in Panthertown Valley has led the U.S. Forest Service to recommend that backcountry campers there use bear-resistant containers and carry bear spray. 

Haywood Community College was recently named a 2017 Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, commemorating this accomplishment by planting a mountain silverbell tree on campus. 

To the Editor:

This letter is director to Julie Fries, news director for Channel 13 WLOS, and to Joe Fishleigh, the general manager of the station which is owned by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group. 

To the Editor:

Week after week I read the opinions and dissertations from the left. It seems that those of us on the right never speak up, so I decided to change that. 

The outdoor labyrinth at Lake Junaluska has long been a place where people go to seek spiritual renewal. Recent renovations have improved the appearance and functionality of the labyrinth and ensured that it will endure for generations to come.

The Jackson County Public Schools Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Elliott, Superintendent announced Evelyn Graning as the new principal at Smoky Mountain High School.

Though some organic marketers would like you to believe that organic means “pesticide-free”; organic farmers can use pesticides as long as they meet the specifications for the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP primarily allows natural pesticides but some synthetic pesticides are permitted. 

By John deVille • Guest Columnist

Given all the challenges and unwarranted criticism those of us who work in public education must endure, I am hesitant to publicly chastise a fellow educator. But the positions taken by Haywood County Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte in a recent blog post lead me to take exception.

Dr. Nolte’s post outlined his (and by extension, the entire HCS district) positions concerning the national movement of student walkouts, which are motivated by the lack of legislative response to school shootings which have visited so many campuses since 1999. 

Dr. Nolte characterized the walkouts as a “tool being applied to advance a political agenda,” that an unnamed “political organization” is behind the movement.

The walkouts are certainly are an effective awareness-raising tool and, as they are designed to influence changes in legislation, they are inherently political. What’s so wrong about that? 

I’m unclear as to what unnamed “political organization” Dr. Nolte refers. There are the nearly 200,000 students who have been on a school campus since 1999 and who have been terrorized by a school shooting. There are their parents, the teachers, and citizens who are saying “Enough,” and who have come together to demand responsible gun ownership laws. Are they the sinister organization of which Dr. Nolte writes?

Dr. Nolte’s view of the situation is that this unnamed organization’s mission is to “encourage students to walk out of school.” This is perhaps the most distressing part of the post — the dismissive insinuation that students aren’t moral agents in and of themselves. Dr. Nolte seems to believe that students networking with other students is beyond their ability, that they cannot be inspired by the behavior of other students to confront legislators across the country. 

Students can be inspired to do stupid things by other students; and they can be inspired to take a leadership role where adults have largely failed. While students may not have the right to vote, we certainly try to teach students advocacy skills which need not hibernate until they are 18.  

While I understand Dr. Nolte’s desire to minimize conflict on middle and high school campuses which already face so many challenges, his move to stifle student political speech, specifically to quash a mid-day student walkout focused on creating awareness and political pressure leading to reform in gun legislation, is troubling. 

Dr. Nolte categorically stated that Haywood students are “not interested in political agendas.” 

That assertion stands in glaring contrast to Tuscola High junior Grace Feichter who said:

“After I heard about the shooting at Parkland, I was devastated. We had a discussion about the national walkout and if we would be interested in having one at our school, and everybody said absolutely yes.”  

Dr. Nolte’s statement does not comport with Tuscola student McKenzie Yazan who said: 

“I think that it’s definitely not more guns in schools,” she said. “Personally I think that we need to have more reforms and background checks for people wishing to buy a gun.”

Both students’ statements are overtly political as they must be if any meaningful change is to occur. 

Dr. Nolte laments that schools are becoming “political battlefields” and vows to forestall any such efforts in that direction in Haywood County Schools. That is a most puzzling and unfortunate stance.

Schools are, almost by definition in 2018, “political battlefields.” 

Dr. Nolte may recall the spring of 2016 when the Haywood community marched to raise awareness for the sad closing of Central Elementary, due in part to budget cuts by Raleigh. We all marched — parents, teachers, administrators, board members, myself, and yes, students. No, it wasn’t during the school day, but the school was certainly the battlefield. 

What else can our schools be expected to become in a democracy other than a political battlefield when the lack of responsible gun laws have significantly contributed to our schools becoming war zones? 

A simple act of a walkout, whether sanctioned by the administration or not, is a rather measured and reasonable response to the gun violence and terror which has gripped our campuses. Dr. Nolte’s concerns about student safety during a potential walkout must be relegated to the red herring bin as that activity is no more dangerous than administratively-sanctioned activities Haywood County high school students engage in every day. 

The list of tasks which public school educators are called to fulfill is daunting, and I certainly do not envy Dr. Nolte’s tremendous responsibilities. I have the greatest respect for him and for anyone else who has provided a lifetime of service to educating and mentoring young people into adulthood. While it is certainly less messy to go full hamster ball and try to wall the school campus off from the political tides of the day, perhaps it is time to follow the military admonition to “embrace the suck,” to accept what might be unpleasant but what is unavoidable, especially when this particular political debate so directly impacts the students themselves and when they are proving that they are the most eloquent and forceful voices in the debate. 

(John deVille is a former Macon County Teacher of the Year and has taught social studies at Franklin High School since 1996.) 

Often underappreciated, a simple glass of cow’s milk is a nutritional powerhouse. 

Hatchery-supported trout waters will open once more at 7 a.m. Saturday, April 7. 

The success of Cherokee’s 10.5-mile Fire Mountain Trail System has spurred Motion Makers Bicycle Shop to open a new location in Cherokee, expected to be operational by early May.

The Southern Highlands Reserve has launched a digital database to advance its ability to research native plants from its perch atop 4,500-foot Toxaway Mountain. 

This year’s Assault on BlackRock drew 105 runners and brought in more than $4,000 for the Jackson County Shop with a Cop Program.

By Stephen Wall • Guest Columnist

I was disappointed to read Interim Superintendent Bill Nolte's post on the Haywood County School website (www.haywood.k12.nc.us/blog/2018/03/20/schools-and-political-protests/). I think he misunderstands why tens of thousands of young people have raised their voices to protest the carnage inflicted by the 18 school shooting that have occurred so far just this year, over 200 in the past decade.

To the Editor:

In the wake of school shootings and #NeverAgain, school administrators are faced with the issue of how to respond when school walkouts are planned. Some will react by supporting students, while others take a very different tack. 

The town of Canton has hired Robert “Shawn” Gaddis as its new chief of police effective March 31. 

Over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday weekend, local, tribal, state and federal law enforcement agencies conducted an operation that was focused on the exploitation of children and the predators involved. 

Spring is coming to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with many seasonally closed facilities reopening for warmer weather.

More than 100 volunteers congregated at Lake Junaluska for Lake Cleanup Day Saturday, March 10, removing more than 8 tons — 16,000 pounds — of trash from the lake. Trash ranged from tiny pieces of plastic to bulky tires and pipes. 

By Will Studenc

By Norman Hoffman • Guest Columnist

It is truly amusing to see an apparent “conservative” say that liberals are out of touch with reality because they don’t watch Fox News. I tend to watch several networks and frequently have found that what Fox talking heads are saying does not match the facts. Not only do they tend to have a strong bias to saying what conservative want to hear, their “facts” are often wrong or distorted. 

To the Editor:

Article 11, section 2 of the Constitution says “The President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.” 

The safety and security of the country is his primary responsibility. Since the end of WWII, through the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union and now into the rule of Putin, Russia has been our principal adversary. From the despotic rule of Joseph Stalin to the kleptocracy/oligarchy of today’s Russia, it has always stood for one man rule and against true democracy in any form.

Every intelligence agency of our government has confirmed that Russia has attacked and is still attacking our country. The weapons in this war are cyber bots, Facebook posts, Twitter rants, hacked email accounts and now confirmed attacks on our infrastructure. “The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of engineering a series of cyber attacks that targeted American and European nuclear power plants and water and electric systems, and could have sabotaged or shut power plants off at will,” wrote the N.Y. Times in is March 15 issue.

Let’s be clear, there is now a button on Putin’s  desk that can turn off our water, electric and cripple our internet. How long do you think it would take for this country to descend into total chaos if our smart phones were turned off? No need of nuclear bombs, or thousands of tanks and million man armies, just turn off our power. What could the world’s most powerful Navy do to protect us from that?

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has increased its spending on our cyber defense and issued the above statement as a warning. Real progress in this cyber war must come from the Commander in Chief, and so far nothing. When the State Department refused to spend the $80 million to counter Russian propaganda, the President  was pleased. When the Secretary of State strongly criticized the Putin government for using a chemical weapon to attempt to kill a Russian spy, he was fired within 24 hours.

Donald Trump has vaguely criticized the Russian government but he has  never said an unkind word about Vladimir Putin. He fawned over Putin when he put on his Miss America pageant in Moscow. During the campaign, he sent his business associates to try to contact Putin so he could build “Trump Moscow.” He has admired Putin’s strong leadership and his disdain for a free press. He has spoken glowingly about Putin over 80 times from through Feb. 16 2017, and he continues to do so to this day.

The head of the U.S.’s cyber operations recently said the country’s response to Russia’s hacking provocations have “not changed the calculus or the behavior” of the Russians and that “they have not paid a price.” Only the President can give the order to counter this attack, and he has not. Our Commander in Chief cannot defend us in a cyber war when he seems blinded by his fondness for the leader of the enemy forces.

Louis Vitale

Franklin

To the Editor:

The mice in the Old School Antique Mall on 441 South are heading for the hills because on April 1 The American Museum of the House Cat will open for the 2018 season. 

Last year the museum attracted 5,560 visitors from all over the world. Some came because they knew the museum was there, but the majority were just driving along U.S. 441 and saw the signs and the paintings of large cats, had the feline fever, and made a U-turn to visit. 

Had the museum not been there most would have driven on through Dillsboro and might have gone up the hill to Bryson City, Ashville, or Tennessee. The cat museum has become a little net that catches tourists from out of town and gives them a reason to stop in Jackson County. Once they visit the museum most of them visit other things in the area. People are always asking us where to eat or what else is there to do here? 

We hope to attract as many or more visitors than last season. The museum grossed just under $35,000.00 in 2017, but cost for rent, a full-time museum guide, and the cost to set up with improvements the rooms we occupy exceeded income and the year ended with a deficit. All income from admission tickets and sales benefit the Catman2 cats’ only shelter in Cullowhee and its low-to-no cost spay and neuter program for residents of Sylva and some surrounding areas. I take no salary or other form of income. 

In 2017 and so far in 2018, Jackson County has not euthanized a healthy adoptable cat. With help, the Catman2 Shelter and now its Cat Museum can help keep Jackson County a safe haven for cats. 

Please help us with your donations, private or business, to Catman2 Inc., a not-for-profit 501 3 tax exempt corporation that operates the cat shelter and museum. We could also use volunteers at both venues. Helping us will help put Jackson County on the map and in turn help local business.

Harold Sims, Founder and President of Catman2 Inc. Since 1996. Find both the Museum and the Catman2 shelter on Face Book or see us at www.catman2.org. For informaton about visiting the Cat Museum call 828.476.9376 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To the Editor:

This is in response to Nan Smith’s “Liberals have lost touch with reality” in the March 7 edition. On Feb. 2, I read an online article from www.psychologytoday.com entitled “7 Steps to Becoming a Dictator” by Mark van Vugt, Ph.D. Trump has accomplished four of the seven steps. Does this make you happy, Ms. Smith? Perhaps it is YOU and other Trump loyalists who are out of touch with reality. 

I fear we are way down the path to a Trump dictatorship. The signs are staring us in the face. It’s almost too late to do anything about it, so if we’re going to stop a Trump dictatorship, we need to do it NOW.

Janice Workman

Bryson City

The town of Franklin will begin a 90-day trial of a new one block long parking plan for Main Street from town hall to the town square beginning March 26, depending on the weather. 

David and Annie Colquitt of Knoxville, Tennessee, are purchasing The Swag, a popular mountain retreat near Waynesville.

Do you have a Swiss Army Knife or a Multi-purpose tool that serves a variety of functions? There are also foods like that! Here are just a few that I thought of — what are your “Swiss Army Knife” foods?

A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RD or RDN) is a licensed title.