To the Editor:

On a personal level, I am quite unhappy with last Tuesday’s election results. As a “community leader,” what concerns me more is that Haywood County no longer has any representative in Raleigh. In the last legislative map drawing, Haywood County was a sacrificial lamb. I have no recriminations for those people that held that political brush.  

However, as the canvas is now painted, I see nothing good for the county for generations to come. This isn’t about Democrats and Republicans. It is a serious political issue when the largest electorate in a governmental district has no voice. And that’s what Haywood is — the largest county by population in both the 118th and the 119th state House districts and in the 50th Senate District.  

I challenge the citizens of Haywood County, the political parties, businesses and other affected entities to rectify this civic injustice. We don’t have the liberty to point fingers, but we have the obligation to rightfully take our seat at the table.

In politics, “pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered.” I for one, don’t relish my county on the political menu as an hors d’oeurve.   

Mayor Gavin A. Brown

Waynesville 

A man the Clyde Police Department and Haywood County Sheriff’s Office mentioned as “wanted” in connection to an armed robbery that happened at the Single Stop on Carolina Boulevard in Clyde on Oct. 15 has been arrested.

Life Challenge of Western North Carolina has been awarded a $9,000 grant from the Evergreen Foundation to help make essential improvements and renovations to its residential shelter and therapeutic treatment facility for women who are suffering from substance abuse problems and other life challenges.

With dry conditions reigning and wildfires raging, it’s currently both dangerous and illegal to start a fire nearly anywhere in Western North Carolina.

What is ERYTHRITOL? I noticed this ingredient on some stevia sweetener I bought at Ingles. 

To the Editor:

I live by Standing Indian Campground on West Old Murphy Road. Last Wednesday I watched the helicopters going to the Boteler Peak fire from my home. That afternoon, however, a U.S. Forest Service truck drove past my house, going the wrong direction from Boteler Peak. A first responder and West Macon Fire Truck came next, followed soon after by the smell of smoke, confirming that there was indeed another wildfire: The Buck Knob Fire. What ensued was an impressive procession of Forest Service vehicles, wildland fire trucks, local fire trucks, first responders, a dozer, and then of course the helicopters. I was awestruck.

Right now, professional women and men from across the country are here supporting local crews. Together with the staff of our Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests, local first responders and county fire departments, they are working to manage numerous wildfires on our national forest. With limited resources, these crews are tasked with balancing public safety (and their own) with the health of the forest (because fire under the right conditions can have long-term benefits for some types of forest).

 Unfortunately, unlike the dedicated funding that exists for many other natural disasters, wildfire response activities are funded through the Forest Service and Department of the Interior budgets. This means that the Forest Service must often transfer money from other funds in its budget to respond to wildfires. It is imperative that the Forest Service has a stable budget that provides the resources needed for its other work, such as managing roads and water quality to conserve fish and wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and more.

Despite working under uncomfortable and unpredictable conditions, the personnel that I encountered last week handled my questions with grace. And while I was at the district office, a local man called to offer the pond on his property for helicopters to use for water.

This man understands the spirit of public lands management. That is, when it comes to our shared public lands, we must take care of them together. We must give the professionals and agencies the tools and information that they need to do their job, and avoid adding to their workload. Be diligent about any sources of ignition on your property. Don’t throw cigarette butts out of your car window. Respect signs indicating that a road is closed for fire management, and if you see personnel and volunteers, thank them. 

Finally, speak up in support of the men and women who work for the Forest Service. Write to your representatives in Congress and ask them to seek dedicated funding for wildfire response, so that the Forest Service may take care of our national forests for the benefit of us all.

Michelle Ruigrok

Franklin

To the Editor:

As someone who is regarded as white, why am I a member of the Jackson County NAACP? This is what I know: the policies that hurt black children in schools also hurt white children. The conditions that create hungry black children also create hungry white children. The policies that keep black families from getting health care keep many white families from getting health care. Laws that hurt black workers also hurt white workers. Therefore, what is good for black people is good for everyone. When we unite over our common needs, solutions can be found.

From a Christian point of view, Jesus was quite clear. He stated (Mark:31) that the second of two commandments is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

If you think your neighbors are only those who look like you or agree with you, Jesus also said (Matthew 5:44) “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Later (Matthew 25:40), Jesus said “as you did to one of the least of these my brothers, you do to me.”

Jesus is again quoted (John 13:34) as saying “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

Clearly, Jesus is for brotherly love, not hatred.  In addition, hatred doesn’t just hurt the recipient, it hurts the souls of those who hate even more.

As for Jesus himself, was he not born a Middle Eastern Jew, with dark skin? The whole notion of black versus white is superficial, if not artificial, as we are all human beings whose ancestors originated in Africa. If you don’t believe me, have your DNA tested and find out for yourself.

To hate others for their humanity is to hate oneself. That is no way to live. Ultimately, this is about justice, and not for ‘just us.’  As the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Until all are free, none are free.” Now that is the way to live.

When we all come together, we can create something positive for everyone.

Dan Kowal

Franklin

Two Haywood Community College students have been recognized for their leadership, scholarship and dedication to the wildlife management profession with the 2016 Dave Dudek Wildlife Award.

With a new, more stringent ozone standard now in effect, North Carolina’s numbers are looking good.

The North Carolina Forest Service has issued a burn ban for 25 Western North Carolina Counties, effective immediately and until further notice.

Campfires in the backcountry of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are a no-go following the park’s decision to issue a fire ban due to extremely dry conditions — in fact, many backcountry sites are currently without water. 

Chuck Francis will again return to chair a Haywood County School Board that has set high marks for achievement, climbing into the top 10 percent of all districts in the state.

Haywood Community College Career & College Promise student Ezekiel MacMillan was recently awarded the third place National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) Student Entrepreneur Award. 

Haywood County Deputies responded to the Haywood Regional Medical Fitness Center around 6:15 a.m. Nov. 2 in reference to nine cars being broken into.

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), serving as a Designated County Partner of the North Carolina Arts Council, is pleased to announce the 2016-17 subgrantees for the Grassroots Arts Program. These awards are for organizations producing high quality arts programming. The subgrantees for this grant period are:

 Jackson County has joined five other Western North Carolina counties in receiving designation as a primary natural disaster area due to agricultural losses from drought.

A weekend of outdoor competition raised $220,000 in support of military members and their families at Mountain Falls Luxury Motorcoach Resort and Burlingame Country Club Lake Toxaway last month.

More than a ton of trash vanished from Richland and Allens creeks following a volunteer cleanup effort this fall.

The Pisgah Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest has a new district ranger following the arrival of Dave Casey, who most recently served as district ranger of the Bankhead Ranger District in Alabama.

Fire season is just beginning, but already five fires are lighting up the Nantahala National Forest. About 130 people are busy battling the blazes, with crews coming from as far as Alaska to help with the firefighting efforts.

Editor’s note: This is a letter former FBI agent Mark Swanger Jr. sent to current FBI Director James Comey. Swanger is the current chairman of the Haywood County Commissioners.

As a retired FBI Agent, I write to express my view of your recent actions regarding the so-called email scandal involving Hillary Clinton.

The Jackson County Arts Council has received four grants from the North Carolina Arts Council to fund various programs for the Jackson County community and schools this fiscal year.

Firefighters on the Dicks Creek Fire near Sylva have reported drone activity near the fire.

To the Editor:

It would be dreadful enough if Donald Trump were merely the most unfit, unprepared, unworthy and uncouth person ever to seek the presidency.

But it is worse than even that. He is inciting his followers to violence if he loses the election, which he claims will be stolen from him. He’s prompting them to acts of intimidation at polling places. His paranoid ranting aims to subvert the legitimacy of a Hillary Clinton presidency, in the same way he libeled Barack Obama’s citizenship. His accusation that “international bankers” are conspiring against him is nakedly anti-Semitic.

His threat to imprison Clinton is fair warning that he would be a tyrant in the mold of Vladimir Putin, the Russian dictator who is trying to help him win.

Trump’s conduct has become subversive, seditious. He is a clear and present danger to the republic — more so than any foreign foe, because this enemy arises within.

“Democracy is on the ballot,” President Obama has warned. That is true.   

At a rally in Cincinnati last week, one Dan Bowman — identified as a 50-year old contractor — told the Boston Globe what to expect if Clinton is elected.

“If she’s in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That’s how I feel about it. We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office, if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take .... I would do whatever I can for my country.”

It is a federal crime to threaten the life of a presidential candidate.

That is what Donald Trump is doing to our country. He has willfully laid bare and inflamed the ugliest aspects of America. It’s plain to see that he will not accept defeat with the grace that most Americans expect from those who don’t win. He means instead to launch a post-election fascist movement with himself as its führer. We know now how decent Germans felt as they watched Adolf Hitler seduce and spellbind their countrymen.   

The antidote to Trump’s poison is to whip him as soundly and convincingly as possible. Those who don’t vote or waste their votes on hopeless third-party candidates will be voting in effect for Trump, and to put their country in peril.

Hundreds of responsible Republicans have endorsed Clinton, along with prominent newspapers that had never recommended a Democrat for president. They did so because Clinton, despite her imperfections, is the only rational alternative to a hideously unqualified, immoral and dangerous narcissist who can’t take criticism without lashing out like a schoolyard bully. To put this bully within reach of the nuclear codes would be civic insanity.

The pity of it is that too many Republican officeholders are still his enablers, recommending his election even as they claim to deplore his past and present vulgarities. Do Sen. Richard Burr, Gov. Pat McCrory, Rep. Mark Meadows and Rep. Patrick McHenry really believe Trump deserves to be president?

It makes no difference whether they are in it for the spoils that would come from having a Republican, even one as counterfeit as Trump, in the White House, or are simply trembling in the face of Trump’s hard-core followers. Either way, they’re selling out their country for selfish ends. It brands them as unfit for office as Trump himself. 

Martin Dyckman

Asheville

To the Editor:

In last week’s guest column about Colin Kaepernick I wrote, “His protest is by kneeling (in prayer) while the National Anthem is being performed prior to National Football League games.” 

My friend, Shane, asked me to verify that Mr. Kaepernick prayed during his protest. Basically, this showed that I had made an assumption and could offer no evidence to support the two words — in prayer. Therefore, I thank Shane for catching that mistake on my part. 

I apologize to The Smoky Mountain News readers for that error. I also apologize to Mr. Kaepernick. I do not know what his belief is regarding prayer. So, I should not paint a picture of the gentleman praying in public without knowing for certain that he did. 

As most readers probably already know when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray (Luke 11:1-4, KJV) He told them to pray in their closet with the door closed. Much is said today about prayer in public places and before public meetings. The question may be — should people advocate for or against public prayer based on what is written in the King James Version of the Bible?

Dave Waldrop

Webster

Nantahala Racing Club’s “superior performance and program development” earned it recognition as the American Canoe Association’s 2016 Stroke of Achievement Award winner. 

The Haywood Community College Woodsmen’s Team took second place at the 2016 John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet this month, with students placing in 14 of the 16 events held that day.

Even as Eastern North Carolina is reeling from flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew, Western North Carolina is plunging deeper into drought, with the drought in Macon, Cherokee and Clay counties now classified as extreme. The rest of the western region is slightly less dry, but only slightly — it is classified as experiencing severe drought.

Gardner-Webb University welcomed nearly 160 high school chorus students to campus Oct. 13 as the university’s music department sponsored the 39th GWU Choral Clinic and Concert. The day of instruction and rehearsal culminated in a public concert in Dover Theatre on the GWU campus.

Two months after a Silver Alert was issued in the disappearance of 81-year-old Sylva resident Eunice Gass, dental records have confirmed the discovery of Gass’ remains in the Cherokee National Forest.

Swain County residents will be asked whether they support an additional quarter-cent sales tax when they vote during the Nov. 8 general election.

Two months after issuing a Silver Alert in the disappearance of 80-year-old Sylva resident Eunice Gass, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is awaiting test results on remains believed to belong to Gass.

Fire danger is increasing throughout the forests of Western North Carolina, necessitating caution for any kind of outdoor burning. 

Drought is continuing and frost has ended the growing season in much of Western North Carolina, so hay could be in short supply over the winter for livestock producers. Hay Alert, a special website set up by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, aims to address that issue.

Local athletes figured prominently in the top places for the Naturalist Epic 25K/50K race held Oct. 8, a grueling undertaking that routed athletes through downtown Franklin and along the Bartram Trail for a total 7,000 feet of climbing in the 25K race and 10,500 feet of climbing in the 50K race.

The Smokies came to the Latino communities of Knoxville this month in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, with more than 100 Latino people attending an event at Sugarlands Visitor Center where attendees were offered a chance to learn about the park in Spanish.

Seasonal images of Western North Carolina’s most exquisite waterfalls adorn a newly published calendar set to raise money for the Blue Ridge Natural Heritage Area Partnership. 

A new map of Tsali Trails not only creates a better guide to the nationally known trail system on the Swain/Graham county line — it will generate revenue to pay for maintenance of Tsali Recreation Area. Publisher Milestone Press will donate a portion of the proceeds for the purpose.

More than 100 leaders from across Western North Carolina came together at Western Carolina University this month to talk about how to grow the regional economy without negatively impacting the mountain environment. 

It was the tale of two halves as the Pisgah Black Bears went toe-to-toe against their Haywood County rivals, the Tuscola Mountaineers.

By Dave Waldroup • Guest Columnist

Legendary former Chicago Bears head football coach Mike Ditka has now joined the chorus of protesters who bash San Franciso 49’ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his peaceful protest against racism in America today. His protest is by kneeling (in prayer) while the national anthem is being performed prior to National Football League games. 

To the Editor:

The greatest problem facing our country today and in the future is not from abroad but from within. It is the use of hate that is gripping the “far right” and it is growing and spreading among our population.

In the older days, each party built their platform on how to better help the nation and its people. In the early sixties, this “far right” element entered the Republican Party and changed things. They tried attacking their opponents in every way possible and forgot about things to help the people. It became known as “negative politics.” It has worked and has continued over time to grow until now it is no longer “negative politics” but has become “hate politics.” This hate is now being spread by some of its “far right” promoters who even use parts of the scripture to promote it.

Our Constitution forbids the mix of church and state; however, we must also remember that Christ taught only love and forgiveness. While the Bible is used to illustrate the sins of the opponents, is hypocrisy not the greatest sin of all?

As a nation, where will this hate lead us? If we study history, we learn that the angry man was what eventually led the Nazis and Hitler to power, along with Stalin and the Soviets. What kind of nation will we become and what do we leave for our children if this aforementioned hypocrisy “hate” is not stopped?

According to national polls, it seems that everybody is mad at our country. Although not perfect, it is still the greatest country on earth. They blame Obama for their anger, but truly our economy has come a long way under his guidance considering what he inherited. It would have been done even better had he not had to deal with our other president (John Boehner?). 

ISIS must be happy.

If this sounds like the “negative politics” I’m trying to fight, it is. It is the only thing left to do. Nothing else has worked to stop it. As a farmer would say, “it’s time to grab the bull by the horns,” and as firemen know sometimes you have to fight fire with fire!

This thing on gun control has finally come to the top where it should have been years ago. Just look at the lives that could have been saved.

Tommy Boyd

Haywood County

To the Editor:

A key skill for magicians is misdirection. Look this way so you won’t see what I’m actually doing. For four years, our legislators in Raleigh have shown that they are exceptionally talented magicians. They have passed legislation that enflames their base, while the real point of the legislation was either against federal law, harmful or ridiculous. 

The magic has been to keep attention on the most inflammatory components of the bills while slipping the really dangerous components through with little scrutiny.

Consider fracking. This bill was a waste of time and your money spent in hearings, arguments and exploring for gas deposits. Because natural gas was abundant and cheap, fracking was not going to happen in North Carolina. Why on earth would a company drill into unproven and, at best, marginal reserves under those conditions?

What this bill was really about was stripping local governments of the ability to manage their own resources. In Western North Carolina we depend on tourism and recreation for significant parts of our economy. We need exceptionally clean water to support that economy. That bill also prevented private landowners from stopping fracking on their own land.

Next came the Voter ID law. Again, the legislature addressed a non-existent problem, but generated a lot of angst. What this bill was really about was preventing a lot of elderly, minority and student voters from voting. As the legislators were told ahead of time, this law was ruled unconstitutional. 

Now we have HB2. The financial damage to the state is in the hundreds of millions. What this bill was really about was preventing Charlotte from experimenting with a higher minimum wage to see whether it would help their economy. The ‘bathroom bill’ also prevented employees from suing for discrimination in state courts, forcing them to take their issues to federal courts that are backlogged because the U.S. Senate will not confirm judicial appointments. There is not much doubt that HB2 will be ruled unconstitutional.

Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, voted for all of these laws that bring ridicule to our state and limit your rights. Magically, he has not yet been held accountable for the damage.

John Gladden

Franklin

To the Editor:

The future of the American system of representative government is under attack, and who is heeding the call to defend it? 

Are a generation of young Americans ignorant of our democratic traditions and/or disinterested in the survival of our political democracy? Are many Americans more interested in their computer games and TV shows than in voting and participating in our political system? Do many Americans view the presidential election as just another reality TV show? Do they care that special interests are able to spend huge sums of money to buy candidates’ elections to public office who will support their interests and not the needs of the American public?

Why are many American citizens oblivious to the fact that, for the first time in our history as a nation, a foreign power is attempting to influence the outcome of our presidential election? Are American voters aware that overwhelming evidence proves Russia, under the dictatorship or Vladimir Putin, is hacking the emails of the Democratic Party and the its presidential election campaign? Doesn’t anyone wonder why the Russians are not hacking the Republicans and their presidential election committee?

Do voters care that WikiLeaks is relaying illegally obtained information to the American press? Do they understand this is an effort to discredit Hillary Clinton and hope she will lose the presidential election? Why would Putin, and the business oligarchs that support him want Trump to be our next president? What motivates Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge the evidence that Russia is behind the hacking of the Democrats?

Could it be that Trump has business interests in Russia and releasing his tax returns would reveal this? Is it because he is a great admirer of Putin and praises his leadership as a dictator? Is Trump using Putin as his role model in his call to jail his opponent Clinton, an event that is unprecedented in our history as a democratic country? 

Do younger Americans understand the meaning of representative democracy? Do they know that the right to vote is the cornerstone of a free republic?  Will many Americans abandon the right to vote that so many in our history have fought and died to achieve? Will special interests and foreign powers subvert our republic? What will we tell our children and grandchildren?   

Margery Abel 

Franklin

To the Editor:

Thank you for your honest opinion regarding Trump running for our highest office (www.smokymountainnews.com/opin-ion/item/18589). I respect your bravery to be open about how you feel, and wanted you to know that there are many of us who tried to be fair, give him an opportunity even though he has no political experience, but he has pushed the limits too far for any sensible person to even consider voting for him. 

That is a scary thought when you see hundreds of normally reasonable citizens turning a deaf ear/blind eye to what he is saying and doing. I have never felt so sick about a political personality having the opportunity to be our president. Even though there were many I did not feel would be the right choice, it never scared me like this one does. This time I feel that there is not a good choice, there are issues with both candidates and despite who is the winner, we are going to all be losers.

I appreciate your comments, and thank you.

Nancy Shay

Whittier