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Following flood, quit complaining and get to work
To the Editor:
A group of people who quit attending the Caney Fork Community Center, who don’t attend churches on Caney Fork or pick up roadside garbage have passed out flyers and want to have a meeting at the Caney Fork Community Center to discuss what can be done about the flood damage on Caney Fork.
They want something done immediately about their road to their house that they built in the Caney Fork Creek bed.
There are men who have been working day and night, 14- and 16-hour shifts, on roads, electric lines and telephone lines. And these people are complaining?
If there was a way to prevent storms like those recently in Florida and Western North Carolina, don’t you think it would have been done? If you can come up with that solution, I am sure George Bush would have a place for you in Washington, D.C.
We people who have lived here on Caney Fork most all our lives stay prepared with a food and water supply, flashlights and batteries. Then we get out with shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows and help ourselves as much as we can. Then we wait for the state, electric power line and telephone people to get to us and make the repairs that we cannot make ourselves.
It took years to fix everything after the 1940 flood on Caney Fork. I remember sitting on the mountainside with the rest of my family, watching the water, houses and animals go by. The lightning was so fast we could see everything, even in the night and the hard, pouring rain.
God permits things like this to happen all over the world, as in the days of Noah.
If you want to feel better, get out and help some neighbor that needs help, and you will feel better also. And, wait, with the rest of us.
Norma Coggins
Cullowhee
Bush administration provides false ‘security’
To the Editor:
Jackson County will soon vote for president and I desperately hope everyone will look beyond the media hype over “security” when making their choice.
I hope everyone will think about what American security really means.
Our library has the book by George W. Bush’s former secretary of the treasury, Paul O’Neill, a lifelong Republican, who was forced to resign because he opposed Bush’s skyrocketing deficit spending. Should we be worried that our economy is increasingly dependent on foreign investment? Just like we’re already dependent on foreign oil?
Our library also has the books by the former director of national security and by Joseph Wilson, the former ambassador to Iraq, who also tried to warn the Bush administration away from its obsession with invading Iraq. Dozens of high-ranking officials have resigned and left us warnings of what really happens in an administration that blindly pursues ideological agendas.
The tragedy of 9/11 that killed 3,000 Americans was horrific, but encouraging America to obsess about it is not. Even the Environmental Protection Agency under Bush admits that 20,000 Americans are dying prematurely every single year due to air pollution, with tens of thousands more hospitalized, and many more children suffering from asthma. These Americans suffer and die from chemical weapons of mass destruction that we wouldn’t have to look very hard for the source of. Is that security?
The recent effects of hurricanes have really been felt here. I wonder if anyone saw the few CNN reports about how hurricanes are increasing in frequency and power over the last decades, increasing along with the sea temperatures they feed from, increasing with global warming? Or recent reports about how fast Arctic and Antarctic ice is melting? Do you feel secure about that?
A very few people have become ultra-wealthy, while a great many have fallen into poverty. The United States recently became the No. 1 western nation in imprisoning the largest percentage of its population. Obesity-related disease will soon overcome smoking as the biggest health risk among Americans as our health care costs skyrocket.
The Bush administration says we’re better off, and the war in Iraq is being won. Nearly everyone else sees a place that was never a real threat becoming an ever-expanding breeding ground for terrorism. The international community sees us as a rogue state. Record deficits are threatening our children’s future. And no other modern president has ever had a worse record on environmental issues.
Just what does security mean to Jackson County?
Robert Franz
Whittier
Suggestions for pre-election reading
To the Editor:
I address this letter to all voters who intend to exercise their right in the national election in November. Please, whether or not you have made your decision, take time to read one or both of these books: Losing America by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, and The President of Good and Evil by Peter Singer.
Unlike all the foolish and time-wasting political ads on TV, the information found within these pages is truly eye-opening.
Mary Hreha
Sylva
God is not a Republican or a Democrat
To the Editor:
I have never been much of a political party-goer in the traditional sense. While I usually vote for a Democratic candidate, I always vote for the person or cause that most represents my values. Sometimes it’s a Republican.
I love our democracy because it is a free, open and respectful exchange of ideas, about religion, politics and values of all kinds.
A bumper sticker reads, “God is not a Republican or a Democrat.” In response a Republican friend of mine said, “Yes, God must be pretty irritated with both parties.” Amen.
Kerry echoed my faith best when he said that instead of wondering whether God is on our side, we should be wondering if we are on God’s side. And, Bush was at his best after 9/11 when he gathered leaders of all faiths in our National Cathedral to reiterate the age-old words of courage and comfort that come from all religious texts.
My mother is a “yellow-dog Democrat.” At nearly 90 she cannot understand why our home state of South Carolina has grown increasingly Republican. She certainly can’t understand why one of my cousins who has been a South Carolina Representative converted several years ago from Democrat to Republican.
My father was a businessman and a politician who was mayor of our small town for several terms. Open political debate was a feature at our dinner table. I am glad that he required us to watch historical debates, like the Kennedy-Nixon exchange on our little black and white television. I’m not sure how my father was registered, but I know he often voted Republican and especially liked Goldwater.
What happened to Republicans like my father – responsible, thoughtful people who believed strongly in freedom, conservation of resources and separation of church and state, and who cringed at the thought of a national debt or any fiscally irresponsible economic decision?
This week I came across a message from Garrison Keillor, the funny, articulate host of A Prairie Home Companion:
“Something has gone seriously haywire with the Republican Party. Once, it was the party of pragmatic Main Street businessmen in steel-rimmed spectacles who decried profligacy and waste, were devoted to their communities and supported the sort of prosperity that raises all ships. They were good-hearted people who vanquished the gnarlier elements of their party, the paranoid Roosevelt-haters, the flat-Earthers and Prohibitionists’ element. Fifties Republicans were giants compared to today’s. Richard Nixon was the last Republican leader to feel a Christian obligation towards the poor.”
Keillor goes on to say, “The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the history of humanity has survived this. The election of 2004 will say something about what happens to ours. Omens are not good.”
Keillor’s most important message is this: “The Union is what needs defending this year. Government of Enron and by Halliburton and for the (Radical Right) is not the same as what Lincoln spoke of.”
I care less this year about what candidates have done in the past. I want to learn what will they ask American people to do about the future? How will we develop an enlightened plan for sustainable economic development? What will they ask of us to relieve the burgeoning ranks of the poor and decrease the widening gap between the haves and have nots? What will be done to preserve our natural resources and end our dependence on a fossil fuel that keeps leading us into war? How to return to an economy of surplus and not deficit? How to restore trust and partnership with sister nations? When can we trust that the Bill of Rights still works and that freedom of speech and the press are not just history lessons? When will we really value the freedoms for which our ancestors shed blood and those we say we are trying to protect in Iraq in a bloody sacrifice?
Here is my call to WNC. Whether we pull the Democrat or Republican lever on Election Day often has as more to do with the lever our family has always pulled than about platform issues. This time, no matter whether you claim to be a Democrat, Independent or Republican, I call on you to study the long-term impact of each party’s platform. What will it mean for your grandchildren? Upon what true American values is it based?
Register and go to the polls, friends. No matter what. God bless us and the people of all nations.
Marsha Crites
Sylva
Seeking information on car that left accident scene
To the Editor:
On Sept. 4, a pleasant Saturday afternoon before the catastrophic devastation of Frances and Ivan hit our area, my husband and I were driving north on N.C. 107 returning home from a trip to Transylvania County. Our trip was abruptly ended as a car going south on 107 struck a Suburu Forester, also traveling south, sending the Forester spinning out of control across the highway to hit us broadside. We had no time to be aware of any danger.
The result: the Forester was completely wrecked. Our vehicle was flipped onto the passenger side and caught fire. Miraculously, we survived this collision thanks to two good Samaritans who stopped to pull us out of our car. My husband suffered a broken right arm and bruises and I was in the hospital for nearly a week with a fracture in my pelvis. Neither of us can drive yet and both have missed over two weeks of work and may miss more.
We are fortunate that so many people have helped us, from the unselfishly brave men who pulled us out of the car, the first responders, ambulance crews, staff at Harris Hospital as well as wonderful friends who have and are still providing food, transportation, and lots of tender, loving care.
However, the driver who caused this accident left the scene and as of Sept. 24 has not been found. The only information the highway patrol has is that the car is a “white Pontiac or similar vehicle.”
Of course, it could have been much worse. Our injuries could have been more extensive or even fatal. Other cars could have been hit. As it is, my husband and I continue to deal with the results of the accident: loss of freedom because we cannot drive, missed work, ongoing pain and discomfort, mental and emotional distress, unanticipated medical bills and oh, yes – expense of a new vehicle. Fortunately, we have good medical and automobile insurance. But somewhere out there, the person who caused this unfortunate sequence of events is not being honest and is not taking responsibility for his or her part in this accident.
Cars continue to be one of the most deadly weapons in our society, killing as many people in a single month as were killed in all the horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001. Cars are being made safer every year, but drivers are obviously the ultimate safety factor. One hope to reduce the number of accidents is to make sure drivers are held accountable for their actions.
If you can, please help the highway patrol apprehend the person who caused our accident. Anyone who has any information may contact State Trooper B.S. Parker at (828) 627-2851.
Gail Findlay
Whittier
SMHS football coaches play politics
To the Editor:
Enough excuses already for the coaches as to why Smoky Mountain can’t win a football game. Perhaps the school board and athletic director should begin a search for new talent to head the football program. It didn’t bother a former school board or athletic director to dismiss the most successful coach (Babe Howell) in high school football from Sylva-Webster, and presently Smoky Mountain, without justification. It appears to this writer that the talent is there, but those responsible for coordination of the team have to go.
As someone once said, you can’t build a football team under the friends and family plan. A politically-motivated coach cannot coordinate a team from fear of retribution. Our school board in the past has wasted thousands of taxpayers’ dollars on dismissal of superintendents, principals and other school staff. Maybe it’s time they use some money responsibly in the search for talent to make the players and the community proud of a winning team.
There’s something wrong when Tuscola-Pisgah can pull 13,500 fans and Smoky Mountain can’t fill half the bleachers. Remember the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s when the stadium was filled to capacity and fans lined the banks and field? Maybe some of us still long for those days once again.
The “Babe” didn’t care if you were red, yellow, black, white, rich or poor ... if you had talent, you played. Maybe we need someone like him again.
Robert Parris
Sylva
Duke should evaluate pre-storm water releases
To the Editor:
I am a 20-year resident of East LaPorte along Caney Fork Creek.
I lost my wife, Karen, who died of cancer in 1998 at age 51. We had great memories raising two boys and spent may spring, summer and fall days at our Western North Carolina home.
The memories will remain even though my home is now destroyed from the flooding from Hurricanes Frances and Ivan. Caney Fork backed up because the creek could not release properly into the Tuckasegee river, which was filled to capacity when Duke Power was releasing water from the dams. Consequently, Caney fork and other creeks caked up and flooded may households and endangered many lives.
This letter is not meant to be mean-spirited or unfair to Duke Power. Ivan was a large storm, but throughout the years it seems Duke has not had a comprehensive pre-storm preparedness program to minimize flooding people out of their homes, endangering human and animal lives and damaging personal property causing financial and insurance hardships. This of course increses insurance rates and causes true misery.
Recently Hurricane Frances raised many creeks and caused some minor flooding. To my knowledge, Duke Power did not start letting out water from its dams soon enough. Hurricane Ivan was coming, and Duke flooded the Tuckasegee. When Ivan arrived, the creeks were already flooded because Duke was dumping water from its dams trying to catch up due to a delayed water release effort.
I’ve been told that we are in a cycle of more hurricanes. The past practices of late catch-up release of water from the dams is not acceptable. We need an earlier release of water to minimize flooding and destruction of our properties.
I ask Duke Power to review their pre-storm preparedness program for earlier release of water from its lakes to help the many people living on its creeks and watershed from flooding and let these creeks properly drain into the Tuckaseigee River.
I am sure we all appreciate Duke Power, but it is time for them to udate and improve their pre-storm preparedness system.
Bill Gross
Cullowhee and Alva, Fla.
Setting Taylor’s environmental record straight
To the Editor:
In response to a (Sept. 16) letter written by Avram Friedman, executive director of the Canary Coalition, Taylor for Congress would like to set the record straight once and for all.
Congressman Taylor introduced H.R. 2116, the Smoky Mountain Clean Air Act, in June of 2001. This act calls on the Tennessee Valley Authority to reduce their emissions and modernize all outdated operating facilities. Shortly after the introduction of H.R. 2116, the TVA announced they would place scrubbers on five of their stacks; more specifically these scrubbers would be placed on stacks that affected areas east of Tennessee. Surely this is not just a mere coincidence.
Mr. Friedman’s statement regarding Congressman Taylor’s involvement in the creation of the Clean Air Act and the North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act are accurate; however, he failed to clarify that the Clean Air Act was introduced to Congress in 1990 and Congressman Taylor was not elected to Congress until 1992.
Also, I am sure that Mr. Friedman is aware that the North Carolina Clean Air Act is a piece of state legislation, therefore making it nearly impossible for Congressman Taylor to be involved with its creation or passing.
If you would like more information regarding Congressman Charles Taylor, please contact 631-2941.
Rebecca Heppel
Jackson County Coordinator, Taylor for Congress
Sylva
Taylor’s claims need close scrutiny
To the Editor:
Representative Charles Taylor has been running a series of television campaign ads for his re-election in the 11th Congressional District, in which he is credited for progress on air quality issues, including his introduction of the Great Smoky Mountains Clean Air Act. The public deserves to know the truth about the extent of his efforts.
Representative Taylor introduced the Great Smoky Mountain Clean Air Act in 2001 during the 107th Congress where it received virtually no support, even among members of his own party. The bill never left committee. He did not reintroduce it in the 108th Congress. This proposed legislation attempted to address only the Tennessee Valley Authority’s power plants, ignoring all other sources of pollution that affect Western North Carolina’s air quality. Representative Taylor commissioned a study by the General Accounting Office to determine the sources of air pollution in western North Carolina, but did not act on its results. The GAO report concluded that TVA is responsible for only 30 percent of the nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions transported into WNC. Power plants and factories owned by utilities and private industries in other southern and midwestern states are responsible for a greater portion, but Taylor made no attempt to include these greater sources in the legislation he introduced. Taylor’s Great Smoky Mountain Clean Air Act has no relationship to the North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act, state legislation that Taylor had no role in creating or passing.
Air quality has become an issue of critical importance to all people living in western North Carolina. Asthma is the number one cause of school absenteeism in our public schools. There is an epidemic of emphysema and other pulmonary diseases that members of the medical community have tied directly to the long-term deterioration of WNC’s air quality. This epidemic has caused health care costs and insurance rates to rise. Poor visibility in the mountains is threatening the tourism industry. Millions of trees are dead and dying at higher elevations. Rare plant and animal species and aquatic life in our rivers and lakes in this region are being threatened by acid rain, excess nitrogen deposition and mercury from coal-burning power plants and other polluting sources.
It’s important that political claims, such as Representative Taylor’s, be scrutinized for their veracity, so the public is not lulled into complacency believing that progress is being made, where it is not.
Avram Friedman
Canary Coalition
Hope Taylor-Guevara
Clean Water for North Carolina
Susan Stewart
WENOCA Group of The Sierra Club
Jody Flemming
Western North Carolina Alliance
A vote for Kerry is unthinkable
To the Editor:
The upcoming election in November is extremely vital to the future of the United States. Here are some things you might consider before casting your ballot.
The next president is very likely to appoint at least three judges to the Supreme Court. If that president is John Kerry, the judges he appoints will likely attempt to subvert the Constitution and further erode self-government as liberal judges have done in the past. Public acknowledgment of God, respect for life, individual value based on personal merit, basic standards of decency, enforcement of various laws (such as immigration) and the obvious concept that marriage is defined as between a man and a woman, all will ultimately fall by the way. Is that what you want? I do not.
Overlooking any possible discrepancy in John Kerry’s activities while in Vietnam, it is well-documented that he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April 1971 after he returned from Vietnam. During that testimony he accused Americans of regularly committing war crimes in Vietnam and listed dozens of gruesome atrocities.
What the media fails to report (for obvious reasons) is that Kerry’s testimony resulted in our prisoners of war being made to read parts of his testimony for propaganda reasons and being tortured if they refused, and many did. John Kerry is not a Hollywood bimbo; he was a United States Naval Officer in the same Navy I served in proudly (and including Vietnam) for 20 years. I was in Vietnam at approximately the same time Kerry was and during that time (and for the remaining 13 years of my career) I never once heard of the “war crimes” committed against the Vietnamese as Kerry claims.
I will not spit on the graves – the graves of every man who served gallantly in Vietnam and especially the several hundred of my comrades who were abandoned alive and on the ground in the hands of our enemy – by voting for Kerry.
And finally, John Kerry says he supports our troops in Iraq (and other places). His record in the U.S. Senate does not support that. It is common knowledge and a matter of record open to anyone who takes the time to read it that John Kerry’s votes support the leftward drift of the liberal wing of his party. He has often and consistently voted against delivery systems that are the basis of our national defense. Imagine the havoc John Kerry would cause (in just this one matter) were he able to speak from the Oval Office.
There are many more reasons why John Kerry should never be president of the Untied States. It is not a difficult decision. To vote for John Kerry is unthinkable.
David Snell
Dillsboro
Unnecessary detours are unsafe
To the Editor:
The new North Carolina Department of Transportation division head’s priority for safety is a wonderful thing, but customer service is also important.
Such was the situation on Old Cullowhee Road Sept. 8 at approximately 9 a.m. after a long night of heavy rain.
The DOT had placed “Road Closed” signs approximately a few hundred yards from the N.C. 107 traffic light, but it was found that one eastside lane was passable.
Old Cullowhee Road is a well-traveled road at that time in the morning – one that many commuters use.
It would have been helpful for DOT to work for the safety of commuters by having some friendly personal care road service on the southbound entrance.
Many commuters need further information: entry to access roads, length of road closure, etc.
In this case, one lane was passable. DOT could have routed commuters on this one lane with a little communication.
Unnecessary detours for the public also contribute to unsafe practices.
Kenneth Lee
Sylva |
