Haywood County Public Health received notice April 5, that another Haywood County resident has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The individual is in isolation at their home.

Our community — along with communities around the world — is navigating unprecedented challenges as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread. The cycle of our lives and neighborhoods has been altered, and we are all working to accommodate an ever-changing new normal. Fear and uncertainty complicate our collective abilities to do this.  

A chat room conversation between colleagues at Western Carolina University with ties to China led to fast action that is putting surgical masks into the hands of front-line health workers in the region's smaller care facilities.

Key messages from Haywood County Health Department Medical Director Mark Jaben following the first positive cases in the county.

Hawthorn Heights, an emergency shelter for teens in Bryson City, has shut its doors permanently due to financial constraints during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Ingles Markets, Incorporated has announced its most recent efforts to recognize and support associates during the COVID-19 crisis, which includes hiring thousands of employees and bonuses for current employees.

As a professor in Western Carolina University’s Department of Biology who specializes in immunology and infectious diseases, Mack Powell finds the COVID-19 pandemic particularly interesting.

Macon County Public Health received notice on Wednesday, April 1, that the first Macon County resident has tested positive for COVID – 19. An elderly individual was tested on Thursday, March 26, and was admitted to and is in isolation at an area hospital.

Dr. Mark Jaben, the medical director for the Haywood County Health and Human Services Department, is preparing video updates to keep citizens aware of recent updates and messages regarding the spread of the coronavirus. Subscribe to the Smoky Mountain News on YouTube to see his daily updates and view past videos.

Many of us are looking for easy to prepare dishes with multiple uses, and chili is definitely one of them. Whether you make chili at home or you buy a canned version, and whether you make chili with ground beef/pork/chicken or meat-free; there are lots of things you can do with chili beyond just having it in a bowl with cornbread.

Guys aren’t supposed to sit and wait. Guys are supposed to take action, to get things done.

Yet we seldom get the chance. Most weeks, most months — shoot, most decades — we try to be kind and do what we can.  Sully Sullenberger had been flying for domestic airlines for 29 years: dragging his flight case through terminals, sitting in a pilot’s seat that was still warm from the last guy, flying all over the country, all day long, just to end up in Cincinnati.  Then on a cold January afternoon, about two minutes after he left LaGuardia for two-hour trip to Charlotte, he had a broken airplane over Manhattan.

To the Editor:

While I applaud the federal government for the passage of their Coronavirus Stimulus Packages to ease the economic impact of the current crisis, I cannot help but wonder if we could not be helping each other a bit more. As workers in many industries are forced out of work and will be relying on government support to feed and house their families, I ask is there any sort of “pay it forward” (or perhaps in this case backward) that might help.

What if manufacturers large and small saw this an opportunity to do the morally correct and patriotic thing by manufacturing the medical supplies and equipment needed at minimal profit margins instead of hiking prices?

What if banks were willing to freeze mortgages for those out of work instead of relying on the government to drastically increase unemployment benefits so their profits continue unabated?

What if landlords would forgive rents for businesses forced to close their doors — and banks would freeze mortgages on these commercial properties in the same manner as for unemployed workers so small businesses would not need to rely on government and/or government backed loans (to be turned into grants) to have a physical place of business to reopen when the need for virus mitigation closures has passed?

What if everyone currently in possession of more than one month’s supply of toilet paper would return it to the store so those who need it could purchase it? Or better yet, SHARE it with their neighbors.

What if everyone with a yard put in a victory garden — sharing seeds with their neighbors as a pack of seeds for most vegetables is enough to supply several families?

What if everyone who is not thrown out of work by this crisis would donate a portion of their earnings to local food banks, shelters and or their local hospital’s “coronavirus supplies fund”?

I am sure each of you reading this can think of other small and large ideas of ways we can all help each other and share the burdens of this epidemic. Resolve to put into play those within your power to do so.

I know some of my suggestions would require much communication between individuals, businesses and government. One hundred years ago this might have been impossible, but with today’s technology I believe it would be relatively easy.

We need to recognize that this epidemic is going to cause hardships and temporarily if not permanently change the way we do some things in America. It is time for the American people to learn share not only thoughts and prayers but also resources and hardships but most importantly to share a resolve to get thru hard times by working together and to share hope.

Kaysea Crowe

Franklin

To the Editor:

Congratulations to the politicians and the news media! You have been able to take a serious virus situation and enlarge it to a horrible pandemic situation. These scare tactics have further created other situations which have greatly affected our economy.

The solutions the politicians have enforced by quarantine have led to mass unemployment and failure of many small businesses.

To solve this problem, the government has produced and signed a $2.2 trillion bailout program. The money to cover this will be created by the Treasury printing inflationary currency. This inflationary burden is the largest ever perpetrated on our economy.

Since this situation has occurred during President Trump’s administration, he will be blamed by the liberal Democrat politicians!

So, congratulations to Nancy Pelosi. You were unable to impeach President Trump, so instead have inspired the liberal news media to create this pandemic crisis.

Richard Swanson

Waynesville

Wendy Williams, a 2005 graduate from Southwestern Community College’s Medical Laboratory Technology program, is now facing the Coronavirus pandemic head on as the Director of Laboratory and Pathology Services for the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System in Boone.

Haywood Regional Medical Center has joined other area hospitals, health care organizations, and LifeShare Carolinas to create a donation-friendly community through the Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign for organ donation. 

Western Carolina University will be issuing partial refunds to students for payments made toward on-campus housing and dining services they have been unable to access because of the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said Tuesday the judicial system remains open for business with measures in place to counter the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, formally resigned from the House of Representatives on Monday, previously serving North Carolina’s 11th District. Effective immediately, Meadows will begin serving full time as President Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, as previously reported.

Dear Haywood County Neighbors,

 Haywood’s Outdoor Pantries wants you to know about one of the ways that members of our community are addressing food insecurity. These are hard times for many, and making sure that basic foods get to those who are hardest hit is critical.

DreamCatcher Hotels, the Memphis-based hotel developer that brought Memphis the Guest House at Graceland hotel concept, is sending a large, delicious care package to a customer in Cherokee as a way to support their community during the Covid-19 quarantine and scare.

Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, Waynesville Police Department, Maggie Valley Police Department, Canton Police Department and Clyde Police Department recently issued a joint statement in response to questions and concerns about how the state "Shelter in place" order will be enforced throughout the county. 

The Board of Directors for Dogwood Health Trust recently approved the allocation of $10 million to address COVID-19 needs throughout the 18 county and Qualla boundary region of Western North Carolina.

Have you ever started a recipe and realized you don’t have a key ingredient? Gone to the store and can’t find what you need? Here are some ideas for substitutes.

A major restoration project has been completed along the Linville River. 

An interim farmers market will operate in Asheville amid the coronavirus crises, from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. 

About 900 miles of Hatchery Supported Trout Waters will open to anglers at 7 a.m. Saturday, April 4. 

The Golden LEAF Foundation announces $15 million in funding to launch a rapid recovery loan program in response to economic losses related to coronavirus. 

For those who live or work in Jackson County, these answers to common questions provided by the county's public information officer might clear some of the muddier waters. 

A part-time Jackson County resident that tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) is being monitored by health officials.

As of March 20, North Carolina Environmental Health closes all restaurant seating areas, including outdoor seating, immediately.

A coalition of regional funders has come together to support an Emergency and Disaster Response Fund activated and administered at The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC).

Gov. Roy Cooper has announced that 2-1-1 is the number to call for assistance and resources related to the COVID-19 coronavirus. NC 2-1-1 is an information and referral service, operated by United Way of North Carolina, where families and individuals can obtain free and confidential information on health and human service resources within their community 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Resources are available in most languages.

With the health and safety of patients, families, employees and community in mind, Haywood Regional Medical Center will temporarily suspended all visitation effective at noon today, March 20.

By Bob Scott, Mayor of Franklin

I woke up this morning with the feeling I was in a murky, alternate universe. Things just didn’t seem right. Franklin is on lockdown with the rest of the nation due to a virus labeled Corvid-19.

Concerns about COVID-19 are negatively impacting blood donations, according to The Blood Connection and the American Red Cross.

Whether you’re planning for a hurricane, a blizzard or to be quarantined for a pandemic it doesn’t hurt to have some emergency food supplies on hand that can easily be turned into meals. 

Youth groups in sixth through 12th grade from Haywood and Haywood-adjacent counties are invited to experience a Lake Junaluska Summer Youth Event at a special program-only price for local commuters.

Now in its second year, Critter Camp at the Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society is a win for kids and critters alike.

Prescribed burns are planned for the Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest over the coming months, aiming to create healthier, more diverse and more resilient forests that better support wildlife. 

Nominations are wanted for three seats on the Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. 

The local community rallied to clean up Lake Junaluska during the annual Lake Cleanup Day Saturday, March 7, collecting 184 bags of trash. 

Nantahala Outdoor Center will mark the 2020 season by opening a new Ocoee location complete with a brand new outpost building. 

Is your business prepared for the Coronavirus? Southwestern Community College will be hosting a webinar on that topic from 2-3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25. Experts from the business continuity, supply chain and healthcare industries will address questions and concerns of small business owners during this Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

To the Editor:

Is it possible Donald Trump and the Republican Party he seems to have successfully hijacked have (together) made corruption the political norm in the United States? I’m asking for a friend.

Joel Stein (Los Angeles Times) asked a similar question. “Why did President Trump pardon a rogue’s gallery of white-collar criminals?” Stein went on to state: “… many people assume he commuted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s sentence and pardoned junk bond king Michael Milken, tax cheat Bernard Kerik, and others, simply because they were friends or because he owed them a favor.”

In Trump’s world view (which we Americans have witnessed with our own eyes and ears), cheating is neither here nor there, it’s irrelevant and these white-collar crooks he pardoned had been unfairly persecuted for doing what everybody else does, it’s no big deal.

Blagojevich is calling himself a “political prisoner” even though he was caught, among other crimes, demanding that the CEO of a children’s hospital give his campaign $50,000 or see its public funding cut off.

Stein states succinctly in layman’s terms, “it’s clear who benefits from accepting corruption as normal and inevitable — the strongmen trampling democracy around the globe.”

Clearly Donald Trump fits that genre; in fact, it’s not only characteristic of Trump, he excels at it. In Trump’s world (and that of those he surrounds himself), truth is inconsequential, totally unimportant. Conversely Trump seems to take extraordinary pride in his own lies, the number and severity of which are legend.

It was a severe blow to our system of checks and balances that Trump remained in office following his impeachment, dodging justice by disregarding the Constitution and refusing to comply with subpoenas.

Our government’s inability to oversee the executive branch coupled with Trump’s distain for truth and justice has substantially crippled our government and contributed significantly to making corruption normal and acceptable. This is a severe threat to our most fundamental institutions and to the very foundations of our democracy.

By remaining silent, or by supporting Donald Trump in any way, shape or form, we become (either knowingly or unwittingly) accomplices, co-conspirators in the devaluing and ultimate death of America’s most cherished and treasured moral standards and guiding principles. Are you willing to let that happen? God help us.

David L. Snell  

Franklin

To the Editor:

In September 2019, I attended a meeting “Nuclear Disarmament Now: What can we do?” Prior to this meeting, this issue was not at the top of my agenda. However, after hearing the speakers and reviewing the information provided, I became aware of the urgency of taking action and informing others about an impending crisis that impacts us as individuals and our earth. 

In January 2017, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists reset the hands of the Doomsday clock to two minutes to midnight. “The danger cannot be overstated,” said the scientists.  A growing number of military and policy experts including those from the far right are calling for the United States to take concrete steps toward complete nuclear disarmament. They are saying our nuclear arsenal makes us less secure, not more secure.

On July 7, 2017, on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly, 122 nations voted to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The treaty bans the use, threatened use, possession, development, production, testing deployment or transfer of nuclear weapons under international law. It will enter into legal force once 50 nations have signed and ratified it. As of November 2019, 80 nations have signed the treaty and 34 have ratified it. The United States has not signed the treaty.

While many think North Korea (or maybe Iran in view of recent events) may be the most imminent nuclear threat to us, the greatest threat to our security is our nuclear weapons, which we use to threaten others and they use to justify their own nuclear ambitions. 

Recent legislation that has been introduced includes a  resolution “Embracing the Goals and Provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” (HR 302) calls on the president to align U.S. policy with the goals of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of national security policy. 

“Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2019” (HR 669 and SB 200) would require a declaration of war from Congress in order to launch a nuclear first strike. The requirement would not apply in the event of a nuclear attack on the United States or its allies. HR 921 and SB 272 would establish U.S. policy to not use nuclear weapons first.   For more information, contact Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (www.ananuclear.org) or Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (www.orepa.org).

Please contact your legislators in Congress asking whether they support any of the proposed legislation and urge others to do the same. Now is the time; we must stand up to be heard. Our future demands an end to nuclear armament now.  

Mary A. Herr

Cherokee 

All Fontana Regional Library locations in Macon, Jackson, and Swain counties will be closed to the public through March 31, although phone calls will be answered.

The underground issues at a slide location in the Nantahala Gorge are evolving.