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By Danny Bernstein • Guest columnist
When I first thought about taking my granddaughter, Hannah, on an outdoor experience, I looked at various intergenerational offerings but realized that she and I would be doing the same activities.
The Nantahala Racing Club’s Whitewater U.S. Open will keep the river churning at Nantahala Outdoor Center March 27-29.
A 550-acre prescribed burn will start soon near Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
To the Editor:
Sen. Tom Tillis, R-N.C., is probably not a traitor, but he surely is an embarrassment to the state of North Carolina.
About as soon as his hand came down from swearing in, he allowed as how restaurant workers should not be compelled by law to wash their hands after a restroom visit. Government was being a big bully in this case by forcing them to wash their hands.
So, if we take Tom’s logic to its logical conclusion, we shouldn’t have to pay taxes, obey speed limits, or bother with fishing regulations. That’s just government being a big bully.
But the issue of Tillis being a traitor has to do with this smarmy letter to which he put his signature, the one that advises the nation of Iran to ignore the President of the United States, the chief foreign policy officer of the nation. Citizens and even senators are constrained by law from negotiating foreign policy with foreign governments. The law has been on the books for almost as long as the U.S. has been a nation. Tillis and 46 other senators chose to ignore it.
Realistically, because of his office, Tillis and the “gang of 47” will not be tried in federal court for treason. Too often holders of high office and position escape punishment due them.
But there is a price to be paid for political stupidity and embarrassing those who elected you. Tillis can be tried in the court of public opinion and found to be ... irrelevant.
Rick Bryson
Bryson City
To the Editor:
For years I have promoted downtown. I tell my friends to shop locally, eat at our local restaurants and enjoy our festivals. If the smoking ban goes into effect, I won’t be doing any of those things anymore.
That means I will not be coming to your store for my Christmas shopping sprees. I will no longer spend money at the kitchen store, jewelry store, fish market or general store.
I will not be coming to your restaurant with my family and friends. I will not be dropping into your pub for a local brew. I will not be bringing my out-of-town guests for a visit to quaint downtown Waynesville for shopping and dining.
Think about it. I won’t be the only one.
Bob Nowakowski
Waynesville
Haywood Community College’s Creative Arts Professional Crafts and Continuing Education departments recently participated in the American Craft Council show March 13-15 in Atlanta.
This initiative is designed by the American Craft Council to bridge the gap between educational curriculum in craft and the marketplace by providing undergraduate students a venue for a curated, collective exhibition of their work.
HCC was among more than 250 of the country’s most talented contemporary jewelry, clothing, furniture and home decor artists. The platform highlighted the talents cultivated by the emerging artists in the Creative Arts Program and exposed the work generated in the program at a national level.
The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national, nonprofit educational organization founded in 1943 with a mission to promote understanding and appreciation of contemporary American craft.
828.565.4240 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The film adaptation of the Ron Rash novel The World Made Straight will make its Western North Carolina big-screen premiere at 3 and 7 p.m. Monday, March 23, in the A.K. Hinds Center at Western Carolina University.
Country star Joe Diffie will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.
The Smoky Mountain Rollergirls and their junior league The Lil’ Nemesisters will open the 2015 home season with a doubleheader at 4:30 p.m. March 21 at the Swain County Recreation Center in Bryson City.
QUESTION: A friend told me about your “Taste of Local” events but I have never gone to one. What are they and when is the next one?
ANSWER: Our “Taste of Local” events are a way for our customers to meet some of our local farmers and vendors.
Gardeners can get a head start on the growing season by renting greenhouse space for their seed trays at the Old Armory Recreation Center in Waynesville.
You pay only $5 for a tray and greenhouse space, but plant your own seeds. Trays are watered daily by staff onsite. Stop by from between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 16-20 to sign up. 828.456.9207 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The public is invited to mingle with researchers from around the world March 19-21 during the annual conference of Discover Life In America, whose mission is to inventory every species that makes its home in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The conference, based in Gatlinburg, includes a full slate of lectures and field trips, including basic field botany with retired Western Carolina University professor Dan Pittillo and a hands-on salamander study in creeks around the Chimneys with Susan Sachs, education coordinator at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in the park.
A campaign to introduce homeowners and businesses to the option of solar energy is underway in Jackson, Haywood, Macon and Swain counties.
The first in a series of forums exploring the viability of small-scale solar will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Cullowhee.
The Solarize WNC campaign, a partnership of The Canary Coalition and Clean Energy for WNC, aims to outline a clear, profitable path for people, businesses, nonprofits and government entities to adopt solar and energy efficiency technology. The sessions will include information about the technologies; details about tax credits, utility rebates and financing; a chance to meet experienced installers and a question-and-answer session.
Future forums will be held in Franklin, Waynesville, Bryson City, Canton, Highlands and Cherokee between now and summer.
Free. Register at www.cleanenergyfor.us/clean-energy-for-wnc.
The Canary Coalition, 828.631.3447 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Les Saucier, a professional nature photographer, will speak at the Sylva Photo Club at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Cullowhee Methodist Church.
A U.S. Forest Service project aiming to improve wildlife habitat and forest health will allow logging, fire, thinning and other forest management techniques in a small area of the Nantahala National Forest on the Swain and Macon county line.
Outdoor lovers will get a chance to see some of the best locally made gear during Outdoor Gear Builders of Western North Carolina’s inaugural Get in Gear Fest, slated for noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at RiverLink Park in Asheville.
The event will include gear demos, clinics, local beer, raffles and games including tug-of-war and a paddle down the French Broad River. But it will all center around Outdoor Gear Builders of WNC’s spirited network of manufacturers who make equipment for everything from climbing to caving to hiking.
The mountain region’s 26 outdoor gear manufacturers provide 470 jobs and pump more than $6 million into the 24-county area. The outdoor industry sector is growing, too, with new manufacturers continually joining the Outdoor Gear Builders network.
Brevard-based SylvanSport has been named a finalist in the internationally renowned Edison Awards for its product GO, a lightweight pull-behind trailer that functions as a camper and versatile outdoor gear hauler. The awards, inspired by revered inventor Thomas Edison’s persistence and inventiveness, recognize innovation, creativity and ingenuity.
To the Editor:
You're 83 years old, on a fixed income of out-of-state retirement and Social Security, living in Franklin. Your 2013 North Carolina state tax was $37. You get your 2014 state tax done by AARP as usual, and you are informed that you owe $227 N.C. state tax. Your income has not increased, you own no property, nothing has changed, just the tax laws.
“How is that possible?” you scream. You are retired in another state, under the new tax law passed by the legislators in their Raleigh power center, this leaves you deprived of the tax deduction you were always entitled to. That's the explanation given.
You have to pay the $227 by April 15 or you pay that plus interest. This you are also advised. It isn't going to be easy. You have rent and everything that goes with that, plus other bills. The extra $227 was not budgeted.
You have two check periods, March and April to deduct $100 from each only from your food budget. This leaves very little for food, for prescriptions and leaves out medically prescribed supplements. You’re on a special diet due to health problems. For two months you are in serious health and financial trouble.
I had heard that families with children would no longer receive the earned income credit for each child. These are working families who can ill afford to lose these deductions.
The new tax bill adversely affects mainly working families and middle-class seniors who didn’t come to North Carolina loaded with excess cash.
I am the senior and the new tax certainly hurts me. Of course, the legislators representing this area, like Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and Rep. Roger West, R-Marble, and N.C. Gov. McCrory could care less. They just make certain their extremely wealthy constituents stay ahead of the game maintaining the tax loopholes which those less moneyed never had.
Sleep well harmful legislators. Pray constantly for God's forgiveness for the harm you do.
Selma V. Sparks
Franklin
The inaugural Western North Carolina Natural Bodybuilding & Physique Federation Competition will be at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.
The Langston Hughes Project, a multimedia concert highlighting a “jazz poem” written by the late poet, novelist, playwright and social activist, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.
The bodhran, a traditional percussion instrument of Ireland, will be the focus of two presentations Thursday, March 19, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
QUESTION: What are the different grades of meat and what does it mean?
ANSWER: The major grades of meat are: Prime, Choice, Select. These are known as “quality grades” and reflect the tenderness and juiciness of the meat due to marbling (fat content) of the meat.
QUESTION: I have heard a lot about quinoa but I don’t know how to cook it.
ANSWER: Quinoa is often called an “ancient grain” and it is a relative of spinach. It is primarily cultivated in South America and is gluten-free.
To the Editor:
If you are over 65 (and maybe even younger) you will remember a wonderful phenomenon of the good old days. And what was this marvel? The doctor who made house calls!
What a source of comfort he was. As a child, I remember he would examine me, and then sit on the bed holding my hand and uttering soothing words. I bet many of you remember his cheerful bedside manner and the touch of his cool hand on your forehead.
Not every illness or injury is serious enough to warrant being in a hospital. But some are too serious for the poor patient to have to manage to drive to a doctor’s office (particularly in bad weather) and sit in a waiting room for half an hour.
But what has happened? Now, everything is “call 911” or ”go to Urgent Care.” But a house call? Never!
Now, 911 is important and can save lives. Urgent Care is a good alternative from having to rush to a hospital. But, they are impersonal. And that’s the key word to describe medicine today.
Which brings an idea to mind. Are there three or four family doctors in Haywood County who would be willing to form a small consortium of “Docs who would make house calls?” Think about it. These few doctors could share patient information and take turns in making house calls. These calls would be made among their own patients, not necessarily the whole county at large. It might inspire other consortiums to be formed.
Not only would it provide a good income for the medical men involved, but would inspire great gratitude and comfort in the hearts of their patients.
And maybe bring back a little of the compassion of the good old days.
My husband and I would immediately become patients of any doctor who was part of this. Wouldn’t you?
JoAnna and Richard Swanson
Waynesville
To the Editor:
Religious folk love to talk about Armageddon and the Apocalypse with almost all major religions predicting some sort of end times. Who knows, maybe there’s some sort of ESP subconsciously telling us that eventually life, as we know it, will cease to exist on this planet. It’s happened before, several times in fact. Scientists tell us that at one point there were no more than a few thousand humans left.
Caught up in our own daily personal survival, we go through our daily routines with no thought to the future, much less the distant future, living for today only.
Environmentalists fuss about CO2 emissions but ignore discussing over-population for fear of bringing the wrath of the religious down on them. But over-population is the most threatening single issue we have on this planet as it requires humans to use up more and more of our natural resources and eventually our resources will be gone entirely.
No one knows for certain when — perhaps in 50 years or so — that the Middle East will eventually give out of oil, which is their only source of riches. Once that happens, they are doomed unless they can come up with some alternative power source such as nuclear power instead of oil. Even then they will not be able to feed their rapidly expanding population.
Egypt’s population alone will almost double at the current birth rate to 140 million by 2050, but with jobs for less than 20 million. The result, along with much of the Middle East and Africa, is people are migrating to Europe and other countries. About 200,000 are expected to head for Italy this year alone.
Much of South America is over-populated with insufficient natural resources. The lack of jobs cause people to migrate to the United States where they can reside until our own resources disappear.
About 95 percent of Venezuela’s money comes from oil, and once that is gone, who knows what will happen?
Unfortunately, we don’t have finite resources either. Eventually, we will use up our underground water and when that happens farmers will be going broke by the thousands followed by national food shortages. Fresh water is our most valuable resource.
As our population grows and we can’t feed everyone, we may have to follow China in their forced abortions and allow only one child per American family. Worldwide, we may see abortions in the billions, perhaps even millions here in the U.S. Lack of fresh water to grow crops and the resulting starvation of millions will give us no other option.
Overpopulation is something that we need to begin discussions on.
Bob Wilson
Franklin
To the Editor:
Political parties have almost destroyed our country. The greed and self-interest of both political parties have consciously eroded the rights granted to us by God and protected by our Constitution. This document is unique in history and guarantees us that the government cannot infringe on the enumerated rights, yet in their unending thirst for power, the two parties have stripped us of many of our “inalienable rights,” leaving us at the mercy of runaway power grabbing political parties.
Our government and the two major parties have been on a binge of spending the futures of coming generations. They have destroyed the respect of our allies and diminished our ability to defend the country from aggressive adversaries.
If we are to take back the country, we must elect a President that is truly unencumbered by special interests and party pressure. Is it time to let the magic of free markets grow our economy and restore the job growth needed to allow all Americans to prosper as a direct result of their efforts. We have the tools of the greatest economic engine in the history of the world.
Accountability and responsibility must protect the allocation of the taxes collected from working Americans. The 10th Amendment of the Constitution is very specific as to the authority of the federal government, assigning all other activities to the states. Not being a constitutional lawyer, even I can understand what our founders meant. Getting back to that division of powers will not be easy, but we must do just that to maximize the value of taxpayer money.
Shrimp on treadmills do not deliver full value to the taxpayers.
Several departments in our government need to be completely eliminated, lowering the deficit and helping stop the growth of our debt.
An effective leader does not consider himself, or herself, the smartest person in the room. They surround themselves with qualified subordinates and then listen to them and let them do their jobs.
Would you support a business, non-party-affiliated, candidate for President?
Bruce Gardner
Waynesville
To the Editor:
If we really want to defeat ISIL, restore calm, and some semblance of peace in the Middle East, we would take one third of what we are spending on war in the whole region and spend it on a Marshall Plan (some may remember that is what “won the peace” after World War II) to restore infrastructure, water and renewable power with less emphasis on fossil fuel so people can go about their daily lives and businesses in safety. Our bombing campaign and troops only provide recruiting tools for terrorists and disruption, displacement and death for civilians. So far the only "winners" are the war profiteers who are bankrupting the U.S. financially and morally.
If ISIL is such a serious threat to the U.S. that it requires a bill to authorize another open-ended use of military force, no such authorization should be granted without a clear plan, the re-instatement of the draft so we have enough troops to achieve it, and putting a 5 percent surtax on those making less than the congressional salary and a 10 percent surtax on those making the same or more (currently $174,000) to pay for the cost of the war. The tax will expire when the war is over. If it really is a national security issue, we all need “some skin in the game,” not just 1 percent of us.
Jane Harrison
Waynesville
Four arrests were made yesterday (March 3) in connection with a Halloween party last fall that allegedly involved underage drinking and resulted in the alleged statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl.
Several Western North Carolina conservationists earned a spot in Wild South’s annual list of nominees for the Roosevelt-Ashe Conservation Awards, an honor that recognizes outstanding work to protect wild places and wild things in the South.
A new invasive plant species is springing up in moist, nutrient-rich soils across eastern North America and has been spotted in six North Carolina counties, including Swain.
January was a record-setting month for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 351,670 visitors, achieving a lifetime visitation of 500 million — more than any other national park service unit aside from the Blue Ridge Parkway and Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California.
Farmers in Western North Carolina will branch out with new crops and alternative growing methods, thanks to 31 grants totaling $168,000 given out by WNC AgOptions.
Waynesville was named a 2014 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, keeping running a streak that began in 2008. The designation recognizes a town’s commitment to keeping healthy trees a prominent part of the urban environment.
The Highlands Annual Chili Cook-off will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Highlands Community Building.
There will be live music, dancing and, of course, great chili, salsa and cornbread to sample. Prizes will be $100 or more in value and will go to Best All Round Table Decorations, Most Unique Chili, Most Traditional and Hottest. There will also be prizes for Best Salsa and Cornbread.
Tickets cost $25 at the door.
828.526.2112 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Neil Simon’s comedy hit, “Plaza Suite” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. March 5-7 and at 3 p.m. March 8 in the Feichter Studio at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
The National Coalition Against Censorship announced Anne Wade of Cullowhee as the winner of the 11th annual Youth Free Expression Project Film Contest, which asked teen filmmakers to explore censorship issues of the past, present and future.
Legendary rock group STYX will be performing at 9 p.m. Friday, March 13, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center.
To the Editor:
A recent letter suggested that its author does not believe in economic projections. He may not realize “estimates” of future economic outcomes is a vital part of planning that any organization — whether private businesses or governments — would have to do to make wise decisions. Or it may just be that he is not happy that overwhelming data support the basic tenant that any state that expands Medicaid under the present Affordable Care Act is going to reap huge economic benefits for its citizens.
Not only do both of the studies that he wrote about about (REMI and George Washington University study) show huge economic benefits for North Carolina, but there have been 32 other studies in 26 states that have analyzed the anticipated impact of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion on state and local economies. These studies used at least six different economic impact models, all of which have been examined by experts in the field for accuracy. Every single one of these studies has shown that states that expand Medicaid would reap tens of billions of dollars in economic growth (Gross State Product), tens of thousands of new jobs created both in health care and in other areas, and millions of dollars of increased state revenues (https://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/8522-the-role-of-medicaid-in-state-economies-looking-forward-to-the-aca.pdf).
I could not find a single study that looked at the economics on a state level under the current Affordable Care Act that did not show huge economic benefits to those states that expand Medicaid. I need someone to show me the studies that show no economic growth for states that expand Medicaid.
Dr. Ed Morris
Franklin
To the Editor:
An earlier letter requires concrete proof of the success of the Affordable Care Act. Those truly interested in facts need to research the impact of expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in the Republican dominated states of
Arkansas, Arizona and Kentucky, as well as its impact in Washington state. All of these states have experienced a dramatic decrease in the number of uninsured people, vast economic benefits to their health care systems and economic growth.
North Carolina has 500,000 uninsured citizens and each day this state returns $4.9 million to the federal government. It is unproductive to speculate about future outcomes since no one of us can predict the future.
What is the current status of North Carolina’s healthcare system resulting from the state’s rejection of the Affordable Care Act? Describing present conditions, avoiding generalizations, speculation and unpredictable future possibilities, the writer needs to provide factual examples demonstratinghow rejecting the ACA is benefitting our state and its citizens. Give us the facts only, please.
Margery Abel
Franklin
To the Editor:
Thank you, Jackson County Commissioners for your courage in passing a resolution calling on the North Carolina General Assembly to petition Congress for the creation of the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood, declare that money is not free speech and that will reverse the 2010 Supreme Court decision on Citizens United vs. the U.S. Board of Elections.
Jackson County joins many organizations in North Carolina and nationwide — locally, the towns of Webster, Forest Hills, Highlands, Franklin and Bryson City, and Asheville — in standing up for the rights of individual citizens versus corporations. For those who might not be familiar with the case of Citizens United vs. the U.S. Board of Elections, the decision basically allowed corporations to be treated as people, which gave them the right to donate as much as they wanted toward the goal of electing a candidate from the political party of their choice — not directly to the candidate (which still is illegal) — but in “independent expenditures” and “electioneering communications.”
One such organization very much in the news these days is Koch Brothers Industries, which has committed almost a billion (yes, billion) dollars toward expenditures of their chosen party during the 2016 election. In my opinion, this totally unbalances elections. Since many voters see only the media advertisements for and against certain candidates, a flood of such advertisements in favor of one person could easily sway voters who have not looked outside the media for facts to assist in their voting decisions.
So, thank you again, commissioners, for standing up for us.
Marti Senterfit
Cashiers
By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist
Whether they strut across schoolyards or along the polished halls of a state capital, all bullies are alike. They have to be the boss of everything. They can’t stand anyone who talks back. But they can be beaten.
For now, though, the bullies are on a roll in North Carolina.
A draft plan to revamp the old Drexel furniture factory property in Whittier into an agricultural center will be presented at a community meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at Smoky Mountain Elementary School.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is working on a plan to guide management at the Cold Mountain Game Land in Haywood County for the next 10 years.
An agritourism guide for Haywood County is looking for new listings to help visitors and locals alike explore everything from pick-your-own berry farms to farm-to-table restaurants.
Smokies rangers are looking for tree-lovers who want to try their hand at science to adopt a tree monitoring plot on the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
A speaker series featuring outdoor adventurers at Western Carolina University will kick off at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, with a presentation by Mark Singleton, executive director of American Whitewater with a headquarters in Sylva.
The season’s first hike in Friends of the Smokies’ “Classic Hikes of the Smokies” series will explore Smokemont Loop Trail in a 6.2-mile hike led by hiking guide and author Danny Bernstein.
Western Carolina University history department faculty members Sue Abram and Andrew Denson are overseeing a public history project that recently received a $5,000 development grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership.
The impact of successful festivals and events on the economy of the 26 westernmost counties of North Carolina will be the subject of a daylong tourism industry conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, in the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center at Western Carolina University.
“Golden Threads,” a dramatic 24-foot art mural created by Doreyl Ammons Cain for the Shindig on the Green in Asheville, is currently seeking donors to make its installment a reality.
