Starting this week, The Smoky Mountain News will begin issuing a steady stream of coverage from the nation’s capital as the world awaits the swearing in of the United States’ 45th President, Republican Donald J. Trump.

Still looking for coconut and sea salt flavored chocolate bars, popcorn, or beverages? You are SO last year…while those flavors are still around,  it looks like this year’s flavor will be GINGER.

My wife was stranded in Mississippi. She was supposed to get home late on Friday night, but then the big snowstorm came. We ended up with 4-6 inches, which in the North would be considered a flurry. In the South, it means we have to shut her down for a spell.

While I was in the Food Lion — which felt like Times Square on New Year’s Eve, except with people clutching gallons of milk instead of glasses of cheap champagne — my wife was getting the terrible news that her flight to Charlotte had been canceled and the kids were getting the awesome news that school was closing early.

To the Editor:

Is it just me? Or are any of your readers just a wee bit concerned about (this is hard to say) President-elect Trump’s continuous barrage of incomprehensible tweets, pronouncements and otherwise just plain ignorant takes on world affairs.  Kind of reminds me of the old Reese Witherspoon movie “Clueless.”

And for all you Trump supporters out there ... you’ve been snookered. What we’re stuck with, at least for the next four years, is a pompous, self-absorbed reality TV star who has absolutely no idea about what it takes to be president. He has denigrated the FBI, CIA, NSA and every intelligence agency to the point that he will have zero credibility upon taking office. Not to mention the plethora of honest, hard-working citizens of this country, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation or political party.

He recently claims “to know a lot about hacking” and suggests we go back to courier and snail mail to communicate with the world rather than use computers. Donald ... do you realize you have tweeted yourself into infamy? Do you understand our entire civilization including our nuclear defense system and our entire city, county, state and federal support systems are run by computer? Maybe we should go back to the pony express, horse and buggies and manual labor.

Trump’s “bromance” with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is equally puzzling. He questions whether Russia could possibly be behind the hacking of our election system and, recently, an utility system in New England. I can only imagine Putin chomping at the bit, waiting for the village idiot to take office. Let the puppet show begin.

 Even members of the top Republican leadership have questioned Trump’s worldviews. Is the President-elect really ready to assume leadership of the greatest nation on earth? And I emphasize the fact that it is, and has been great, long before Trump was conceived.

I think not. God help us see this through. Our future depends on it.

Kurt Volker

Otto

To the Editor:

The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language defines ethics as: “moral principles or code.” The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) was established in 2008 to be a non-partisan organization that looks into complaints as to ethics violations of the rules of Congress. The complaints can come from other members of Congress, from the executive branch of government, or indeed, from the public. It is the OCE’s job to investigate these complaints to determine if they have merit and then report them to the Congressional Ethics Committee. 

It is then up to this bi-partisan committee of Congress to determine if any congressional rules have been violated and if any disciplinary action should be taken. The findings of the Office of Congressional Ethics are open to the public. There’s the rub. No congressman wants his constituents to be aware that he may have violated the “moral principles or code” of his job or of society as a whole.

Last Monday, Jan. 2, the Republican House of Representatives members met in private session and voted to basically gut the OCE of most of its duties and power. It was a closed meeting not open to the total members of the House of Representatives. I have several concerns with this action. 

First, the exclusion of the Democratic representatives from the discussion shows that there was no intention of allowing open debate of the issue. I realize that the Republicans have the power to ram items like this through the Congress by virtue of control of both the House and the Senate, but any vote that affects the governance of the country, and thereby, the people, should be open for debate and an exchange of opinions and ideas.  

Secondly, because this was a closed meeting, our congressional representatives are not required to inform the public as to how they voted. Rep. Pat McHenry, R-Gastonia, was quite willing to announce that he voted against the proposal in that he believed that any changes to the OCE should be subject to open debate.  

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, has refused to let his constituents know how he voted on this issue. He says that it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the issue because he is currently under investigation by the OCE. Notice that he has not stated that he abstained from voting, only that he will not tell the public how he stands on the issue. This implies that he did, indeed, vote.

This is the third point. Rep. Meadows is currently under investigation for paying his former chief of staff $58,125.00 for performing no duties. The OCE report stated: “There is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Meadows retained an employee who did not perform duties commensurate with the compensation the employee received and certified that the compensation met applicable House standards, in violation of House rules and standards of conduct ….” As Rep. Meadows is under investigation by the OCE, the ethical thing to do in this situation was to recuse himself from the closed debate and abstain from voting. He obviously did not do so, and is therefore in violation of “moral principles or code.” The problem, Mr. Meadows, is not how you voted, but that you voted on this issue at all.

Luther Jones

Sylva

To the Editor:

Given the recent suggestion in The Sylva Herald that the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority possibly fund a downtown director for Sylva, we appreciate the opportunity to clarify the function of the TDA and correct inaccurate perceptions and information that has been presented.

We also would like to note that no one from the town of Sylva has reached out to the TDA to make any request regarding such a position or to discuss such a position with the TDA.  

While we applaud the idea of a Main Street director/downtown director for Sylva, that responsibility does not rest with the TDA. The Jackson County TDA was created specifically to promote travel and tourism and to serve as the marketing organization for the entire county, which also includes the communities of Cashiers, Cullowhee and Dillsboro. 

The goal of our efforts is to drive the economy through tourism, not just in Sylva, but across Jackson County as a whole. Tourism is one of the top economic engines for Jackson County, and the program of work we have put in place has seen double-digit occupancy tax increases. What this translates into at the end of the day is more jobs for the people in our community as businesses gear up and open in our county to serve needs created by increased visitation. 

More people dining in our restaurants, shopping in our stores, and buying chocolates and coffee, that is where the more than $176 million in tourism spending annually comes to life. Our river outfitters, our restaurants, our gas stations, our grocery stores, boat rental facilities, guide services — all of these livelihoods and more are supported by tourism. Tourism touches every industry, directly supporting more than 1,700 jobs in our communities.

These accomplishments are due to the strategic marketing efforts that have been implemented over the past several years — development of a website, e-newsletter, visitors guide, branding, advertising, public relations and social media campaigns — all marketing efforts carefully created, implemented and continuously monitored for effectiveness, to promote the entirety of Jackson County. 

This also includes significant funds to promote festivals and events, in Sylva and throughout Jackson County, across all marketing channels to draw overnight and day visitors to the County. In addition to providing logistical support to the entities planning these events, the TDA reinvests in our communities through a grant program in which we have given more than $90,000 to local events.

The Jackson County TDA has one of the most robust marketing programs in the region, operating on a budget less than that of many other counties. The fact that we can achieve double-digit growth speaks volumes to the ability of the TDA and our partners to get the absolute best return on any marketing investment. November occupancy tax collections were up 34 percent over the same period last year, and Website traffic is up 1,100 percent over the same time last year. Every available dollar is reinvested back into marketing. Diverting any of these dollars from the TDA budget would have a significant impact on the TDA’s mission to position Jackson County as premier tourist destination

Sylva has a vibrant downtown that is thriving, and our Jackson County Chamber of Commerce does an excellent job at event creation, promotion and support. We have some new events rolling out this year they’ve created that we’re excited to share soon. They are an excellent partner with the TDA in creating a visitor experience in Jackson County and we look forward to continuing to work with them to attract visitors to Sylva and all of Jackson County.

Nick Breedlove, Director

Jackson County Tourism 

Development Authority

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort earned recognition for reducing its environmental impact when Green Key Global bestowed it a 4-Key rating last month. 

Wet weather over the past week has put a dent in the severity of drought in Western North Carolina. 

A public hearing seeking input on this year’s round of proposals from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, at the Haywood Community College auditorium, with written comments accepted through Feb. 1.

A day hike in the Shining Rock Wilderness Area of the Pisgah National Forest turned into a days-long ordeal culminating with a massive rescue effort when two hikers got lost off-trail Thursday, Jan. 5.

Downtown Franklin will be undergoing plenty of changes in 2017 and for the next few years as the town works to improve sidewalks and traffic patterns and the state begins new road projects.

Citizens recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day since it was established in 1986, are encouraged to volunteer on the third Monday every January to honor King’s vision of service.

Haywood Habitat for Humanity is seeking qualified homeowners for homes located in Haywood County.

Haywood County Special Olympics officials are forming a Local Program Committee so that the program can reach more potential athletes and volunteers.

Western Carolina University’s Ben Steere, assistant professor of anthropology and co-director of Cherokee Studies Programs, is recipient of the Principal Chief Leon D. Jones Award for Archaeological Excellence, presented by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. 

Swain Community Hospital is looking for small groups of residents to be part of ongoing focus groups to discuss changes occurring in the hospital emergency department.

Embezzling nearly $1 million from The Sequoyah Fund in Cherokee will land the organization’s former executive director in federal prison for more than two years, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger decided at a Dec. 15 sentencing hearing.

Two hikers lost in the Shining Rock Wilderness area in Haywood County were rescued Saturday evening thanks to the efforts of helicopter crews and nearly 100 ground based rescuers from over two dozen local, state, and federal agencies.

Throughout my entire life, I’ve awoken on New Year’s Day energized to be more, do more, see more. This year was very different. I woke up wanting to do less, to simplify everything. I woke up feeling steadfast, reflective. 

My mom’s been by my side for 36 holiday seasons, so the first one without her felt strange and melancholy. Thinking back on the last couple of months, there are some bright spots like snuggling on the couch watching movies under the glow of the Christmas tree, making gingerbread houses with the whole family, and visiting my sister and niece in D.C. for a mommy and kid weekend. 

To the Editor:

I very much appreciated your comments about Castro and Cuba, particularly your childhood experience at Guantanamo. I too have had some firsthand experience in Cuba, but have come away with a somewhat different take.

I first went there in 1978 with a delegation of religious journalists, sponsored by the Christian Century magazine, not long after the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion. We visited schools, hospitals, small “family doctor centers” where doctors lived and served their constituencies, neighborhood watch committees, museums, private homes, churches and the ecumenical seminary, and had several long dialogues with church leaders and members. We were left free to arrange these visits on our own with no government direction or surveillance.

Everywhere we went we heard widespread support for Fidel Castro, appreciation for and commitment to the “gains of the Revolution,” resentment against the U.S. embargo and invasion, a sense of alienation from the Cubans who had gone to Miami, and disappointment with the missionaries and pastors who had fled (“the pastors deserting their sheep”). 

Then, in the late 80s and early 90s, while our son Philip was serving a six-year stint there as a United Methodist missionary, I went several times. We traveled across the island, had meetings in churches, distributed medical supplies and bicycles, giving lectures in the seminary, and carrying on conversations with a whole range of people. This was during the “special period” after the collapse of the Soviet Union and withdrawal of its subsidies.

At that time there was economic hardship. It was blamed on Russia, government mismanagement, and especially the U.S. embargo. This had engendered experimentation in organic agriculture, a whole range of inventive “make-dos” (dubbed “resolver”), such as preservation of 1950s U.S. autos, and a bus called “the camel” because of its odd shape. The country operated under a dual economy under which those who had access to U.S. dollars were better off than those limited to Cuban pesos and there was an increased desire to migrate to the U.S. Also, there was a remarkable spurt of church growth (the Methodist Church has more than doubled in recent years).

Some takeaways:

• An Afro-Cuban Ph.D. in biochemistry in a new 11-story science lab doing research on developing new medications. Her father was a cane-cutter, and her potential would never have been developed without the “gains of the Revolution” in providing free universal education from nursery to grad school.

• A black Russian Orthodox priest who had shed his cassock and taken up a rifle to defend his country against the Bay of Pigs invasion.

• A Methodist bishop who had early been required to do forced labor but later, with 30 other church leaders, was invited to meet with Fidel and gained from him permission to invite a missionary (our son), recruit U.S. mission teams and acquire building materials to repair the churches.

• An elderly laywoman who had taken a pulpit to replace a departed pastor (“The shepherds deserted the sheep,” she said), and asserted that, as a Christian, she supported the “gains of the Revolution” in free health care, education and social services.

• A dedicated Cuban doctor who treated me for shingles that developed while I was there would accept no payment, and told me she was satisfied with her monthly salary of U.S. $500, because her life purpose was to “serve the people,” not to make a lot of money.

• An island-wide network of “family doctor centers,” each serving 250 families, where doctors lived, held clinic in the mornings, and made house calls in the afternoon.

• An 8-year-old boy who invited us to see the “museum” in his village, which turned out to be a one-room, dirt-floor, thatched roof hovel where his family had lived before the Revolution, then invited us to their modern three-room apartment with electric lights, refrigerator and TV.

• A museum depicting — among aspects of the armed struggle led by Fidel and Che to oust the dictator Batista — a display of the 60-some attempts by the CIA to assassinate Fidel.

• A seaside nature reserve designed to protect from tourists the giant turtles who come up to lay their eggs — one result of a constitutional amendment requiring environmental protections.

• A layman in our son’s church who had just been released from an eight-month prison term assessed for criticizing the government, where he said he was treated well and saw no signs of torture.

• Church people — some supportive, some critical of Fidel and the government — who shared worship and fellowship together in the same congregations. 

Of course, there were the abuses alluded to in your editorial — killings, corruption, confiscation, persecution — such as have been reported by refugees and the U.S. media. But I saw another side to the story, which readers need to know as well.

Doug Wingeier

Waynesville

New cattle working equipment will soon be available for community use in Swain and Jackson counties.

A reward of $5,000 is being offered in the case of a red wolf that was shot and killed around Dec. 19 in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, located east of Greenville.

Three people have died in a plane crash that occurred Monday, Dec. 26, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The three victims were David Starling, 41, Kim Smith, 42, and Hunter Starling, 8, all of Bradford County, Florida.

A Smokies biologist will give a glimpse of plans for a brook trout restoration project in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, at Rendezvous Restaurant in Maggie Valley.

Members of the Blue Ridge Mountain Quilt Guild in Canton stopped by the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office recently to drop off some unique gifts to help kids caught in tough situations.

Lake Junaluska has announced new leadership of the Lake Junaluska Singers, a choral group that has been part of Lake Junaluska’s history for more than 60 years. Mary Wannamaker Huff began as the interim director of the Lake Junaluska Singers on Jan. 1.

Taste of Local at Ingles Markets on Broad St. in Brevard Thursday, January 5, 3-6 p.m.

Seven trails and one road that have been closed since the Chimney Tops 2 Fire are now open in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Campfires are now legal in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time since Nov. 15.

License plate sales raised nearly $815,000 to support the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this year, with the grand total rising to $13.3 million since the program launched in 1999.

More than 30 years after the first piece of property was donated toward the creation of DuPont State Recreational Forest, the final acres have been added to complete the land donation from the DuPont company.

Environmental quality projects in Western North Carolina will get a boost thanks to grants from the Duke Energy Foundation, whose Water Resources Fund this year doled out $778,000 to environmental and wildlife programs. 

Haywood Community College Continuing Education Creative Arts is expanding its selection of music classes spearheaded by local musicians Julie and Bryan McConnell.

A reconnaissance flight by the Tennessee Army National Guard was able to locate the missing single engine airplane within Great Smoky Mountains National Park at about 4:43 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 27.The plane was found on an unnamed ridge between Cole Creek and Bearpen Hollow Branch. Paramedics on board were hoisted down to the crash site and confirmed that there were no survivors. The identities of the victims have not been confirmed. 

“The plane is positioned on a very steep mountain side and could be at risk of sliding further down into the drainage,” said Chief Ranger, Steve Kloster. “These search and rescue personnel specialize in high angle rescues and have the best knowledge in making sure we conduct our operations in the safest manner possible.”

Ground teams searched the steep and heavily wooded area on foot Tuesday, but were unable to access some areas due to the rough terrain. A single Blackhawk helicopter was able to fly late afternoon and spotted the wreckage along the last known flight path of the missing aircraft. Recovery efforts of the three victims will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 28.

The plane was in route to the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport from Florida on Monday, Dec. 26, when it went missing over the park at about 4:01 p.m. The three occupants of the plane, David Starling, 41, Kim Smith, 42, and Hunter Starling, 8, were from Bradford County, Florida. The National Transportation Safety Board will be the lead in the investigation of the plane crash.

The National Park Service worked closely with the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, Civil Air Patrol, Federal Aviation Administration, and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency in this search effort. 

Tim Dietz, Ridgefield Farm's  Ranch Manager and Steve Whitmire, owner of Brasstown Beef,  are both proud of the fact that Ridgefield Farm is GAP 4 (Global Animal Partnership www.globalanimalpartnership.org) and BQA (Beef Quality Assurance www.bqa.org) certified. These certifications address the humane treatment of animals.

Major reconstruction is underway at the Massey Branch Boat Access Area on Santeetlah Reservoir, meaning the area will be closed through Feb. 1, 2017.

The Whitewater Falls area of the Nantahala National Forest, near Cashiers, will remain closed indefinitely due to severe wildfire damage. 

Jackson County will be getting three new electric vehicle charging stations thanks to a grant from Duke Energy.

To the Editor:

Nothing in a recent letter (“Please, just check the facts,” Dec. 14, The Smoky Mountain News) rings true, factual and correct or adds any genuine evidence to support the assertions made. 

I don’t know about alt-right (or alt-left) people since those are “politically correct” labels whose meanings constantly shift depending on who you are talking to or whether one political stripe or the other is more susceptible to online scams (my sense is that it is evenly distributed among the population). 

It used to be the case when we had three television network news shows, several radio news networks, hundreds of authentic newspapers and a number of high-quality weekly news magazines that most of them made profits, though not huge, for their respective parent companies. If they didn’t they went out of business. 

Of course, that was when readers/viewers/listeners trusted them and had a reason to trust them — because they reported the facts. Since what passes for an educational system no longer trains young men and women to actually think, why shouldn’t they be taken in by fake news, whether it be from the regime or some bipolar con man?

Speaking of con men, neither Jestin Coler or Paul Horner are reputable sources for citing financial figures as they both are paid liars and as such have no credibility.

Just two fairly recent cases where the mainstream media (MSM) was caught with their fake news pants down are the Rolling Stone Magazine/University of Virginia false rape scandal and the Duke University men’s lacrosse team false rape scandal. Interestingly, in both incidents the msm relied upon single source information — always a bad thing whether it be in the news or intelligence businesses. Do an Internet search to check the authority and factuality of these two examples, unless you are just too lazy to do the work.

You can invariably tell a “letters-to-the-editor-charlatan.” They always lead with personal insults (ad hominem attacks), which are the safe space of someone who has no clue about what they’re talking about. Anger, the irrational road to false confidence, which leads directly to boorishness and disordered ideations, often follows closely thereafter.

And yes, the prime hideout from truth and reality for the forward comrades crowd is the false narrative; a fallaciously written script purposely made to twist the facts of a situation to the false meme that progressives are right and anyone who does not agree with them is wrong. These charlatans will always use non-existent facts and outright lies to construct the delusion du jour and you, gentle reader, can be assured that the meme will change, often constantly, as these charlatans are always exposed as they struggle irrationally and impotently to draw the intellectually wary into their nets.

Acquiring knowledge has always been a personal responsibility because despite the angry screechings of the kindergarten crowd, human nature does not change. Therefore, a close, skeptical reading of letters to the editor is essential to wending your way closer to the Truth. Merry Christmas.

Carl Iobst

Cullowhee

To the Editor:

Have we ever seen such hypocrisy? The Russians have now hacked the 2016 election, really? Liberal news media are now very concerned about the Russians destroying our democratic process. 

Wasn’t it the media (CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC), among others, whose “journalists” tried to control the results of the election with biased and skewed reporting against the right? Where was this deep concern when the American people were trying to get objective information about the presidential election?

The Federal Communications Commission has publically stated the press are public trustees. The FCC continued that “broadcasters may not intentionally distort the news and that rigging or slanting the news is a most heinous act against the public interest.” Controlling the news and slanting the facts or reporting innuendos are not portions of a democratic process any more than “hacking” by another country.  

Where is the evidence the Russians hacked the election? The media owes the public this truth. If we cannot trust the information we receive from mainstream media and the content of the news is controlled or skewed, we are no longer operating as a democracy anyway.

Let us protect all aspects of the democratic process, not just the portions that agree with personal opinions or bias.

Claudia Knipe

Waynesville

Ashton Zari turns 7 on Christmas Eve, and even though he is in Columbus, Ohio, seeking medical treatment, his only birthday wish is for his community members back home in Macon County to make a donation to a great cause.

Detectives with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office are looking for two men they believe to be involved with a breaking and entering that occurred in rural Haywood County.

Haywood County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an alarm call around 8 p.m. Dec. 10 in the Eagles Nest community.

Based on a visit to Brasstown Beef (supplier for Ingles Markets)  for entire post: http://inglesinfoaisle.com/dirty-boots-and-the-basics-of-beef

Summer camps and Envirothon programs in Haywood, Buncombe and Madison counties will benefit from a $25,000 grant awarded to the Southwestern Resource Conservation and Development Council from the Pigeon River Fund.

The Duke Energy Foundation gave a hand toward supporting firefighters battling wildfires this fall with a $100,000 donation.

Last week’s rains caused a downgrading of drought designations across the board in Western North Carolina.