District 50: Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties

December 14, 2017

Dear Senator Davis:

Perhaps relations between the two political parties would improve if their leaders were to apply the Golden Rule: Do unto others what you would have others do unto you.  Please ask your Republican colleagues on the judiciary committees how they would respond if they were the minority party: if Democrats barred them from meetings to change the law for selecting state judges, what would they be telling the press?

We are indignant that a North Carolina General Assembly group is meeting in secret, excluding all Democrats and reporters as well, in violation of our individual rights as citizens to know what our elected officials are doing.

We are even more indignant that the Republican supermajority has been holding those meetings to change the process for selecting state judges to appointment by the NCGA.  It is an insult to all the people of North Carolina that NCGA Republicans are stealing individual voters’ power to weigh the merits of candidates for judgeships.

We expect you to do your duty to protect North Carolinians from this flagrant, un-American power-grab, which takes away every voter’s rights and freedoms as individual citizens to elect the most qualified people for judgeships.

We would appreciate a reply telling us what you are doing to keep this despicable action.  Please do not write to rationalize taking voting power from citizens because we have done research enough to know that it is an untenable position.

Stephen B. and Mary Jane Curry

Waynesville

To the Editor:

Kudos to Smoky Mountain News Staff Writer Cory Vaillancourt on his story, “Homeless in Haywood for the Holidays.” Cory came out of his comfort zone to see what it was like to live on the “fringe.”

As the wife of a pastor and member of one of Haywood’s many churches, it warms my heart to hear that Cory had meals to eat and a bed to sleep in. I especially appreciated Cory’s observation, “Aside from some very small grants given to some of these organizations by some municipalities, the entire time I was out there the vast majority of the assistance that kept me alive came directly from the hearts and homes of Haywood County churchgoers.”

I have lived in Haywood County for the past 10 years, having lived in many other places prior to that. I became involved in and volunteered for several projects for the needy and homeless, mainly through churches I have been a member of. I honestly don’t know how our community organizations would survive if not for the generous donations of time, food and money from so many of our local churches. Haywood County residents and church members are a special kind of people — warm, caring, generous. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

It is very hard to put yourself in the shoes of a person who has no permanent home, or is living on public assistance and just can’t seem to break the cycle. The majority of people in these situations have the biggest hearts and would give you the shirt off their back. If we — just for a day or two, as Cory experienced — would walk in their shoes, we would learn a whole lot and maybe change our attitude and way of thinking when it comes to those who find themselves in a tough situation. I hope Mr. Vaillancourt’s story has opened the eyes of those who look through the homeless and disadvantaged as if they didn’t exist.

Rose Rich

Waynesville

Tips are needed related to a human-caused fire that resulted in damage to cabins in the Elkmont Historic District of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A proposal to reauthorize prescribed burning on 19,038 acres in Jackson, Macon and Swain counties is open for public comment through Jan. 19, 2018.

Environmental groups across Western North Carolina got a boost from this fall’s Pigeon River Fund Awards through the Community Foundation for Western North Carolina, with grants totaling $347,000 in funding toward water quality projects in Haywood, Buncombe and Madison counties.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has released the final versions of five game land management plans, including the plan for the 5,000-acre Needmore Game Lands straddling Swain and Macon counties.

Three new elk have arrived at Grandfather Mountain State Park’s environmental wildlife habitats.

Former Carolina Mountain Club president George Oldham received the organization’s highest award last month when he was presented with the Honorary Lifetime Membership recognition.

The recent passing of longtime Clyde Mayor Jerry Walker left a hole not only in the hearts of residents, but also on the board of aldermen.

After receiving applications from three people, the Haywood County School Board has selected Bethel’s David Burnette to fill the seat of a board member who resigned in October.

Services are available for those suffering from substance abuse through the following providers in Western North Carolina:

A Jackson County landmark has changed hands.

Laura Lynn milk tastes so good! Is the date on the milk a “sell by” or “best buy” date?

To the Editor:

An American coup d’etat is in progress. There are no guns being fired, no booting out of the president. This coup is being orchestrated in daylight right before our eyes and there seems to be no way of stopping this juggernaut.

Someone who studied authoritarian regimes said, the trouble is, once the public wakes up to realize their country has become a dictatorship, it is too late,

This is happening here and nodw. We have a president who loves powerful authoritarian leaders, calls journalists the enemy, and pretty much does whatever he so desires from day to day with zero understanding of the or the gravity of the office he holds. He admits he doesn’t read, and forms his opinions from the last person he talks to. And people blindly worship him!

Are you scared yet?

This week there was an uptick in the chaos and distractions, which conveniently takes our attention away from a budget that contains every right wing wish dreamt up in the last 40 years. It gives a massive holiday gift to the ultra rich and major corporations that our children and grandchildren will have to pay for. Why do they need this give-away? It makes no sense. The stock market is booming, these criminals hide money overseas to avoid taxes and we reward them. Everyone should be outraged!

This inhumane budget is being rammed through Congress at record speed, with zero input from the Democrats and from over half of our country’s people.

When Trump was asked about the hollowing out of State Department, here is what he said: “But we have some people that I’m not happy with there. Lemme tell you, the one that matters is me. I’m the only one that matters, because when it comes to it, that’s what the policy is going to be.”

We need action. Please call your representatives in Congress and tell them what you think about their budget.

• Rep. Mark Meadows, District 11, meadows.house.gov/contact, 202.225.6401.

• Rep. Patrick McHenry, District 10, mchenry.house.gov/contact, 202.225.2576.

• Sen. Thom Tillis, www.tillis.senate.gov/contact,  202.224.6342.

• Senator Richard Burr, www.burr.senate.gov/contact, 202.224.3154.

Caryl Brt

Waynesville

To the Editor:

No one wants to talk about this question, least of all the folks who make our laws. But isn’t this the question that underlines the ongoing “debate” about “repeal and replace” — or just “repeal” — the Affordable Care Act? Is health care just another product that has to be purchased — if you can afford it — or is it a duty that arises from the nature of this country and its people?

We are not people who let poor people die for want of food, hence the food stamps program; or for a place to live, hence the public housing and other subsidies in the housing market. These are not perfect solutions, but their very existence shows that we are not heartless people.

Perhaps people are afraid to tackle this question because of the furor that would likely arise from those who call themselves conservatives. They wail about government taking on these problems. They believe that everything should result from the activities of a private market.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was not afraid of “big government” solutions to social problems, nor was President Lyndon Johnson. Their courage, and their ability to appeal to “the angels of our better nature” in addressing the problems gave us Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and a host of other programs. How many of you would want these programs repealed? The screams would be deafening.

Legislators are not answering these “why” questions by laying out the principles that would undergird whatever program is finally adopted. Instead, what we hear is point-scoring: how much or how little public health can we get away with paying for. The Affordable Care Act is viewed by many legislators as just another “big government” program that has to be reduced — with the apparent consequence that many millions of Americans who now have health insurance will lose it.

Let’s have public debate about the principles that should lead us to some form of universal health insurance for all Americans, a condition that exists in all other industrialized countries from Japan to Canada to most of Europe. Let’s figure out a way to prevent people from dying or going bankrupt because they could not pay for treatment they need. We can do this, but only if the Congress reverts to the normal process of governing — hearings where different ideas are explored and solid legislation is developed.

John Vanderstar

Waynesville

To the Editor:

I’m confused! The stock market is at all-time high and unemployment is lower than we have seen in decades. More wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals than any time since the years leading up to the Great Depression. Major corporations have excellent profits with large amounts available for investment.  he effective corporate tax rate (what they actually pay) averages below 25 percent and many pay no federal taxes at all.

The source of my confusion is why Republicans are ramming through a major revision of the tax code that primarily benefits those who already have most of the money. Normally, a country will implement tax cuts in response to economic distress. Such was the intent of the Reagan and the Obama tax cuts.

The initial Reagan tax cut was based on “Trickle Down” theory, was targeted to the same wealthy population that the proposed cuts benefit, didn’t work very well and was followed by multiple tax increases as record deficits occurred. In contrast, the Obama tax cuts were modest, targeted to those who pay the payroll tax (i.e. Social Security tax) and was coupled with a spending package that kept millions of middle class citizens out of unemployment.

So here we are. The economy is growing. Unemployment is low. Corporate profits are strong and wealth continues to accumulate at the top at the highest rate in almost 100 years. What has not happened is the increase in wages to match the increases in the stock market and the overall economy. Nor have the strong corporate profits resulted in significant investment in high-wage jobs.

Think about it. If I have a business and my customers’ wage increases have not kept pace with their increases in rent, utilities, food and a host of other costs, they don’t have the extra cash to spend on my product. I’m certainly not going to spend large amounts of money for a factory to make more of that product. Corporate executives recently told the White House just that. They would use their tax cut to buy back stock and increase dividends to their investors.

This tax bill is not about creating jobs. This effort should be retitled the “Our Big Donors Appreciation Bill of 2017” and then killed before it creates a trillion-dollar hole in the economy.

John Gladden

Franklin

To the Editor:

Unless Congress comes to its senses and rejects the misguided tax legislation currently being considered, working people — the solid middle class — of Western North Carolina and throughout the United States will be hard hit during the next 10 years. On the other hand, the wealthy — those with incomes of more than $1 million a year and the super wealthy, those with incomes of more than $10 million a year — will reap enormous benefits from having bought and paid for so many members of Congress.

Will some working people see a modest reduction in income taxes from this bill? Yes. But many won’t see any, and nearly everyone except the top 10 percent will lose those gains because individual tax reduction provisions are temporary while corporate tax reductions are permanent.

But it gets worse. In order to pay for those “temporary” reductions, the country will add more than $1 trillion to its debt. And, as Speaker of the House Paul Ryan noted recently, there will be severe reductions to Medicare, Medicaid and scores of other programs that serve deserving working people, their parents, their grandparents and their dependents.

We must stand up against this stealth attack on working people. Voters who have never contacted a senator or congressman are now demanding they vote against the tax bill. Everyone should make that call.

Phillip Price, a working man who stands up for working people, is running to “repeal and replace” Congressman Mark Meadows. Price is right on “real” tax breaks for the middle class. He’s right on healthcare reform. He’s right on the environment. He’s right on equality and equal treatment for all. Price offers a pivot in the right direction.

Dennis Frobish

Maggie Valley

Boom axe operations along the Blue Ridge Parkway will result in closures at various locations along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the coming weeks.

Buncombe County Commissioners voted to commit to complete transition to clean and renewable energy during a meeting Tuesday, Dec. 5.

A portion of the Rim Trail near Hayesville that’s been closed since 2010 has now reopened to the public.

A new fish species has been discovered in the South, with Tennessee Valley Authority biologists identifying the logperch, or Percina apina, in Duck River tributary streams in middle Tennessee.

A routine day of fish population monitoring turned exciting when Mainspring Conservation Trust biologists found a federally threatened fish in a tributary of the Little Tennessee River, the first time that species had been found in that particular stream.

The Appalachian Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest has a new district ranger following the hire of Richard Thornburgh, who will begin his new position Jan. 7.

Smoky Mountain News writer Holly Kays has introduced her new novel, Shadows of Flowers.

My husband and I are really frustrated. We have been trying to lose weight but it doesn't seem to be working. We have been on a diet for a while but we are gaining weight instead!

A recent disc golf tournament in Waynesville earned nearly $2,000 to support Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood County Special Olympics.

Land conservation in the Highlands of Roan area got a boost with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy’s purchase of 142 acres at Upper Roaring Creek Valley.

The first phase in construction of a new trail system is now complete with the opening of the Piney Knob Trail System near Murphy Saturday, Nov. 18.

To the Editor:

Special counsel Robert Mueller has uncovered more Russian characters mingling with Trump campaign officials than are found in a Tolstoy novel.

After receiving recommendations from the 1 percent subcommittees, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has made final decisions on which projects will receive grant funding.

The black glass Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center is an iconic structure on the Western Carolina University campus, but it will soon have a much different look following the WCU Board of Trustees’ Dec. 1 endorsement of a $3.9 million project.

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), administrator of this year’s Regional Artist Project Grant (RAPG), is pleased to announce grantees selected for the 2017-18 fiscal year.

Devin Patrick Kelley, a 26-year-old Texan, killed 26 people before apparently taking his own life on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, during church services at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church (Texas). News reports indicate the slaughter was the result of a heated “domestic situation.” All indications are that upon his bad conduct discharge from the U.S. Air Force he should have been identified as an individual who could not buy or possess weapons legally. Sadly, that crucial information was never relayed to civilian authorities. Thus, Kelley obtained and used a Ruger rapid-fire assault rifle as he carried out his atrocious mass murder.

To the Editor:

I recently received a personal assurance from Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, that the CHIP/Health Choice program upon which tens of thousands of NC families rely  for their children’s health care would be funded.

To the Editor:

Make no mistake about it. The so-called tax reform is first and foremost a payback to the billionaires and millionaires who fund Republican campaigns. The tax breaks for the wealthy provide a huge payback of billions for the millions donated to Republican candidates up and down the ballot.

Record-breaking hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis completed her 1,175-mile adventure on the Mountains-to-Sea trail Saturday, Nov. 18, just in time for Thanksgiving.

A $20,000 donation to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont from Brookfield Renewable will give low-income kids in the area the chance to attend one of the residential outdoor education programs offered at Tremont.

A multi-year effort to restore forest landscapes in the Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest has won the 2017 Restored and Resilient Landscapes Award from the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region.

North Carolina’s Dry-Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Act Program has hit its 20th anniversary, and since that time the program has handled 466 reports of contaminated sites.

After raising more than half a million dollars to protect 50 pristine acres in the Fires Creek watershed, Mainspring Conservation Trust acquired the property on Monday, Nov. 20.

Clingmans Dome Tower reopened from a closure for rehabilitation work on Wednesday, Nov. 15, but access will be short-lived — the annual closure of Clingmans Dome Road will begin on Friday, Dec. 1, with reopening scheduled for April 1, 2018.

The Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center will host an inclusive holiday celebration complete with music, snacks and desserts from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2 in its facility at 450 Pigeon Street.

A crew of more than 50 volunteers from the community decorated Lake Junaluska for the holiday season, including the Rose Walk, the Bethea Welcome Center, the gazebos along the walking trail, the Inspiration Point garden and more.

Sarge’s Pet Photo Contest is back and it’s a holiday theme. Enter printed photos of your pets in costume or in a fall/winter holiday setting.

“White foods are bad and we shouldn't eat them!” — This saying comes from folks that seek to eliminate some highly processed carbohydrates made with white flour like pastas and white rice, but are all “white foods” really bad for us?