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Commissioners should be supported for their stand
To the Editor:
Every morning I stop at the Speedwell General Store for a cup of coffee. The store is my community’s crossroads and news center, and I stop for the company as much for the coffee. I stop at the time of day when construction workers and tradesmen are also busy beginning their days. Over the last few years I’ve noticed that most of the construction workers coming through are no longer local people or people I recognize from my community.
It has been said that the first reason our commissioners shouldn’t take steps towards creating effective regulation and accountability in this county is that the current development boom creates jobs; lots of jobs for local people. This makes a great headline, it makes a great emotional appeal but it doesn’t make for much truth and anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear can see the lie of it. The development boom benefits developers first and foremost. A check of county records indicates that a vast majority of the development being done in this county is being done by outside people and money. Centex and some of the other big development firms are big multi-million even multi-billion dollar companies with no ties or allegiances to anyone in Jackson County.
The people who head the developments are not from Jackson County. Many if not most of the contractors that now work in Jackson County have no origin or ties here. The vast majority of the average workers who are building these homes are not from this community, did not come to be part of this community and will not stay in this community when the boom is over. The gated communities and developments that these people are constructing will not be inhabited by people from or with ties or commitments to Jackson County.
If the development frenzy is slowed, Jackson County will not become a wasteland. Land will not suddenly be worthless. If reasonable and effective regulations are enacted to protect, preserve and sustain our existing local communities and our existing local folks, then the greatest consequence may be that the communities that have been built and nourished by past generations will have a chance to continue for future generations. The money and development that supposedly enriches us is only serving to fragment and divide.
Ask yourself, if the present trend continues will you or your children be able to afford one of the fancy new million-dollar homes? Will you be able to afford one next door? What jobs do you think these summer and second homes and gated communities will create? Will we all get high-paying jobs as developers and mortgage bankers or will there be more jobs as landscapers and waiters and store clerks? Will a teacher’s salary or a salary at DOT pay the cost of living in Jackson County?
When all the land is sold and all the developments are built and all the profits are removed, what will be left?
If you ask yourself who is actually building these developments and who is profiting from and living in these developments then perhaps the next question is, who is paying for the roads and water and sewer and emergency services and parks for these developments? Whose taxes have gone up and whose communities are less than what they were?
The commissioners have taken a stance that Jackson County ought to be for the people and communities of Jackson County not one big development ATM machine. They should be applauded, and they should be supported. In the coming weeks you will hear arguments for and against specific policy proposals; you will hear emotional pleas for property rights and protection of development as a source of wealth and riches. You will hear predictions of economic disaster. Perhaps it would be wise to weigh all those arguments against a simple idea: are your communities better today than they were yesterday? Are your children’s futures brighter? Is your property safer? Are the current trends of development building the kinds of communities and quality of life that you wish for?
Who has expressed a clearer, better vision for Jackson County – our commissioners or the real estate and development interests?
Mark Jamison
Cullowhee
Does anyone learn from experience?
To the Editor:
Last time it was lumber; this time it’s real estate. Does anyone learn from experience?
Around 1888, outside lumber companies took an interest in Jackson County’s virgin forests, moved in with capital, equipment, and experienced workers to begin cutting trees. When the trees were pretty well all gone 50 years later, the lumber firms decamped: the money had already run off into out-of-state pockets, and local residents were left baking in the sun on denuded mountainsides.
Then the rains came, and in 1940 local folk were astonished to see whole hillsides slump into streams and rivers. Every bridge on the Tuckaseigee was washed away or rendered unusable, and there was very serious loss of life and property.
The lesson here was that outside commercial interests are a lot more interested in their bottom line than in the county’s well-being.
Now outside development interests are taking a close look at Jackson County’s residential potential and are moving in with capital, equipment, and experienced workers to strip away mountainsides and build exclusive subdivisions and gated communities. When all the suitable land has been bought up, built on, and sold to out-of-state (and part-time) residents, these developers too will depart, leaving Jackson County residents with overloaded infrastructure, inadequate roads, eroding mountainsides, and largely absentee (non-taxpaying, non-voting) owners of high-end homes in the gated communities. I am told that more than 60 percent of property tax bills are now mailed out of state, and that the percentage is rising.
In 1888 county officials didn’t see it coming. In 2007 our county commissioners have heard bullhorn warnings from residents who remember and reflect. Some of the commissioners are listening. Let’s hope they all do the right thing this time, establish a moratorium on subdivisions, and put Jackson County on a responsible, sensible course of development rather than allowing the exploit-and-move-on faction to do our developing for us, at our expense, and primarily for their benefit.
R.M. Lindy
Cullowhee
‘Alley cats’ make best pets
To the Editor:
At the Catman2 shelter we rescue all types of cats. Most are “alley cats,” the multi-colored tabbies, tortoiseshell, black, orange and white ones. Now and then we find a Siamese, Persian or some other exotic breed. When these are put on our Web site, people fight over who will be able to adopt it. Sometimes I think they see me as King Solomon and expect me to divide the creature so all can have it. I am surprised when one of these pure breed or pure-bred look-alikes stays for more than a week. I am happy to find them homes, but I am sad for all the others that have to stay in the shelter, waiting for weeks or months or years.
The alley cat is your best pet. Most pure-bred cats need all kinds of extra care and have all kinds of problems. These cats need bathing and grooming. Persians have problems with their eyes and nose because of their dished-in face. Because of inbreeding some types are more likely to have internal conditions like a heart murmur. They may be sick more often, and can’t hold a candle to the hale and hearty alley cat. Alley cats are the stock of the original cat. They know how to take care of themselves. Living in the wild has given them an immunity to disease and other things. Years ago the alley cat came into the cave and befriended man. They enjoy company. They love to play and, like your oven, they are self-cleaning. And there are so many of them there’s more than enough for everyone. We guarantee their love.
I wish people would visit my shelter and sanctuary in Cullowhee and meet the alley cats I have waiting for a real home. I am sure I have the cat of your dreams. All my cats have visited the vet. They are spayed and neutered, negative for feline leukemia and have all vaccinations. We charge a low adoption fee of $65 and have a money-back guarantee if things aren’t pleasing – just bring the cat back and get a refund or pick up another cat. There’s not a better deal. There’s no such thing as a “free” cat. See my cats at www.catman2.org or call me at 293-0892.
Donations are welcome and appreciated. We could also use help at the shelter. We need people to help socialize shy cats as well as other tasks on a day by day basis. We are only a short drive, and cats love the company.
Harold Sims
Cullowhee
Where does the money go?
To the Editor:
There is no question that development is in high gear in Jackson County and that some people are making a lot of money from it. But who is making that money and where is that money going. Anyone who has tried to hire a local contractor knows that they are all busy and have work backed up for sometime.
When I ride by some of the bigger development projects I see workers, trucks and equipment that are not from Jackson County, and I see materials being delivered by trucks from companies that do not have a Jackson County address.
Further, I know that many of the developers have come to Jackson County only because there is a lot of extra profit to be made here. Some of that extra profit is because of the high demand for mountain home sites, but some of that extra profit is because Jackson County has little in the way of regulations and the developers can concentrate on the least cost method and not have to worry about satisfying county regulations. In addition to few regulations, Jackson County’s inspection departments are so understaffed that they can not possibly match the pace of development and building that has been going on for the past several years. Bear Lake Reserve has so overwhelmed the county they are allowed to have their own engineer to do the inspections and file a report with the county. And like Centex, the owner of Bear Lake and many other developers are not from Jackson County and neither are their laborers or craftsmen, so that at the end of the week and the end of the month, as well as at the end of the job, an awful lot of the money being made on development in Jackson County leaves Jackson County.
What percentage of the money stays here and what percentage leaves? I do not know. But I do know that there is a whole lot more leaving than there is staying.
So who is really going to be hurt by a six-month or less moratorium? Truthfully, probably nobody to only a very few for a very short time. The facts are that in the last five years there have been about 6,000 new lots added in the county and before that there were close to that number of unsold lots in previously developed subdivisions, according to the county records when I was on the planning board. Obviously there are plenty of lots available for contractors to build houses on and since there are many platted lots that do not yet have streets to them there is work for grading contractors and loggers to clear and grade those streets. Since it is unlikely that any subdivision that is currently physically under development will be required to shut down, those jobs are not threatened. So why are there so many tantrums being thrown over a moratorium that would allow the county to gain control of an out-of-control situation?
I do not know. It must be the money.
Bill Lyons
Cullowhee
Public urged to attend Feb. 27 hearing
To the Editor:
Supporting new Commissioners Tom Massie, William Shelton and Mark Jones is a last-ditch effort for all of us to beat off a pack of developers intent on destroying the beauty of our mountains, which are our home. I equate those developers from out of town, as well as the local ones that have joined them, to no more than a predatory pack of wolves, stalking a vulnerable prey to bring it down. Our human predators are stalking our mountains for money and appealing to the short-sighted without understanding of what a long-term, sustained development for years to come would mean to them and their families. Our predators are taking millions out of our county and plan to rape and pillage the steep slopes and the U.S. 441 corridor.
The temporary moratorium is the only tool the commissioners have to stave them off with until the planning board can define where roads to access and exit from the whole corridor/land mass can go; to keep free-flowing traffic moving on some planned alternate roads and exits will prevent a repeat of the nightmare highway N.C. 107. This will encourage Harrah’s customers, etc., to come to Sylva easily and quickly and produce jobs. Just talk to former Commissioner Conrad Burrell, who tried to stop the N.C. 107 mess but had no votes to back him. The former commissioners should have passed subdivision ordinances a long time ago to protect these mountains, but with one commissioner working for a developer (Chairman Brian McMahan) and former Commissioner Eddie Madden in real estate, what could we expect? No one with that much conflict of interest should be allowed to sit on the county board.
We need to take a good look at McMahan’s history and track record as it defines who he is and what his agenda has been. “Actions speak louder than words.” He has stood up for the developers to gain choice lots sited on the highway along U.S. 441, therefore blocking any access to egress roads, infrastructure or anything else needed to be put in place for our citizens. President Bush’s last attempt to sell out forest lands saw McMahan table a request by a group spokesman for a county resolution against it. I watched him. Instead of putting it to vote then and trying to stop it, he swept it under the rug.
(Commissioners subsequently passed a resolution opposing the sale of Forest Service lands.)
If we unite and support our new commissioners, who have shown their integrity, we will empower them to protect us. This is our last chance to win against these outside and local predators. Come and bring everyone you can to the public hearing slated for Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. in the main courtroom of the Justice Center. People power can save the mountains we love and hold so dear, but only if you come to be counted.
Marie Leatherwood
Sylva
State should OK ‘traditional gaming’ in Cherokee
To the Editor:
There is absolutely no doubt about the economic impact the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and its Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel operation has in Western North Carolina. Over the past 10 years the facility has furnished our previously economically depressed area with not just hundreds, but thousands, of quality jobs. And guess what? All without incentives from the state of North Carolina.
In early February the Tribal Council of the EBCI approved a $650 million commitment to expand the casino and hotel over the next five year with an estimated 1,000 new jobs. And guess what? The tribe is doing so with no aid or incentives from the state of North Carolina or any of its public/private economic development partnerships such as Advantage West.
This is not to downplay the importance of the new Google facility in Caldwell County but rather to try to understand why the state is willing to offer an incentive package of $260 million when it is not willing to let the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have traditional gaming that will in turn allow the tribe to compete on a level field with other casinos in the southeast.
Gov. Easley, why does the state feel comfortable offering a multi-million dollar incentive package to the non-Indian business community and yet continue to keep the tribe from realizing the full potential from its one true economic opportunity: gaming?
Undoubtedly, the state is using leverage to gain some monies, such as other states have, from Indian gaming. The state should realistically look at the way the tribe still generates massive amounts of revenue to North Carolina through state income tax paid by a majority of employees at the casino. It should be underscored the majority of casino and casino hotel employees are not Indian.
Another consideration is that tribal members do pay sales tax on all merchandise purchased off the reservation. This translates to every tribal member who shops in Jackson, Swain, Macon, Haywood, Buncombe, Mecklenburg, Henderson and every other county in North Carolina paying state sales tax. This amounts to millions in state revenue from tribal members and all non-Indian employees of the tribe and its casino/hotel operation. And it will continue to grow through expanded gaming/hotel facilities in Cherokee.
Additionally, purchases by the casino from North Carolina businesses for food, electricity, uniforms, vehicles, etc.are in the millions of dollars.
There are also those of us who are non-Indian and have retired from tribal government employment. This tribe’s retirement package is financially underwritten by casino revenues, and yes, as non-Indians we have to pay state income tax on our retirement benefits from the tribe.
So, as one voice that’s fully aware of the past and future economic potential of the tribe’s gaming and hotel operation, I urge the governor of North Carolina to allow traditional gaming as permitted in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. It will provide more jobs and more revenue that is ultimately distributed throughout North Carolina and cost the State of North Carolina nothing. Not one dollar compared to $260 million for 210 jobs at Google.
Dave Redman
Sylva
(Editor’s Note: Redman is a retired director of tourism development for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.)
Tell county leaders your views on development
To the Editor:
During the last few years and especially in the last couple months, people in Jackson County have been feeling increasing fear and anger, worry and heartbreak. I’ve read it in the newspapers, heard it from friends, and witnessed it in meetings of the county commissioners and the planning board, all related to growth issues in the county.
For some it is about loss of income. For others about changes in the beauty of our mountain slopes. It may be loss of access to places that have been visited since childhood. Or muddy water where once it was clear. Higher taxes. More regulations. Loss of property rights. Waste of resources.
For so many, there is uncertainly, worry, fear, anger.
And yet, the bottom line is that we all want the same outcome – a place where we can earn an income and live in the midst of great natural beauty. And where our children and their children can too.
The problem is that different people are on different roads to that destination. We have different road maps and different directions, but, I think, we all want to end up at the same place.
Once it may have been enough to say, “Trust me. I know the way. I’ll get us there.” I’ve heard that very thing from several people recently. I’ve even said it myself. But I don’t know. I think I know what would work for me, but until I compare my ideas with those of other people, I can’t begin to know their needs and find a solution.
The commissioners have set up a planning board to develop a common set of directions for everyone in Jackson County. They will make the final decision.
That decision and that ordinance will only be as good as and as representative of everyone’s interests as the information that the board has to work from. So I urge each citizen of Jackson County to inform that board about particular needs and wants. Get a copy of the draft ordinance to use as a guide and say what you want to leave in, or take out, change about it or add to it.
And let’s get it done just as quickly as we can so all of us can work and live together and enjoy this marvelous place we all call home.
Ron Arps
Sylva
Greathouse’s punishment not enough
To the Editor:
I am a 1996 alumnus of Western Carolina University and have been increasingly impressed over the past several years with the work that has been done to improve its reputation. Academic requirements have increased for incoming freshmen, enrollment numbers are higher, and academic programs and standards are improving. All in all, I have been pleased with the progress I have witnessed. As a teacher in neighboring Transylvania County, I have encouraged many students to consider WCU as a possible university choice.
So, imagine my surprise when I learned from one of WLOS’s top stories Feb. 5 that a decision had been made to reinstate Kyle Greathouse to the WCU basketball team after only a three-game suspension. Frankly, as a community member I am disgusted, and as an alumnus, I am appalled. I see this action as wrong on several different levels.
First, driving under the influence is a serious offence but not treated with enough severity in North Carolina, in my opinion. Legally, Greathouse only got a slap on the wrist in comparison to the fact that he was driving intoxicated at almost twice the legal limit, that he almost killed himself, and that he endangered the life of his passenger, plus anyone else who might have been on the road that night. And for his dishonesty about what really happened? As far as his athletic career, he should have been suspended for the rest of the season at least. Someone should have made an example of him and allowed him to learn that there are consequences for mistakes, and they are not always pleasant. Is winning more important than having respectable and responsible players? Is there a code of conduct for athletes? If so, where does an accident of this gravity fall into that code? Do Catamount coaches condone their athletes drinking heavily during the season, or any time for that matter?
Second, WCU has a long-standing reputation in Western North Carolina for being a “party school.” Yes, most universities have drinking on and around their campuses, but WCU has several incidents in its recent past that add credibility to the talk (i.e. a fraternity that lost its national charter, a student who fell out a window, and now a basketball player who almost died in a car crash). I would hope that the school would deal with such issues in a manner that reflected the moral fiber of the community, sending a strong message that these type of activities will not be tolerated.
Third, what kind of message does this decision send to the community, especially our young people? At Rosman High School, we have worked for the last six years to fight the mentality that drugs and alcohol are necessary for a good time. We host numerous guest speakers and plan an after-prom lock-in annually. Still, in the past four years there have been at least six alcohol-related fatalities among teenagers in WNC. North Carolina also has the sixth highest alcohol fatality rate in the United States. Every time we feel we are making a little progress from our actions, something like this surfaces in the media. Athletes are role models, whether they want to be or not. We put them on television, cheer them on and watch their every move. By the Catamount coaches and administration allowing Greathouse back on the court, WCU is sending the wrong message about this type of behavior.
After so much work and effort has been invested in the future of academics at WCU, this announcement and decision is disheartening. From WCU’s own athletic mission statement, there is a “commitment to high standards of personal and professional conduct by all members of the athletic community” and that the department wishes to serve “as a positive public relations tool for the university.” Is WCU willing to sacrifice its reputation and beliefs for a few extra points on the scoreboard? As an institution of higher learning, they have the responsibility to set a standard of excellence in all facets of campus life. I, for one, am disappointed in this turn of events and I will think twice about bestowing my next recommendation to my students.
Julie Queen
Rosman
Agrees with editorial: better school event scheduling is needed
To the Editor:
I must agree with the editorial in last week’s Sylva Herald regarding the scheduling of the “middle school” basketball tournament. It was indeed very poor planning.
When Smoky Mountain High School has a home game, most of the Fairview, Cullowhee Valley and Scotts Creek teams are in attendance, so to have them play a four-game tournament on the same night as the SMHS final regular season game was unfair to everyone involved. Yes, there’ve been “middle school” games scheduled on the same night as SMHS games this season; however, those game were over by 6 p.m., allowing time to make the game, even away games in most cases.
According to (Superintendent) Sue Nations, the “middle schools” were given the option of rescheduling Thursday’s games to either Wednesday or Saturday and two of the four schools “down here” refused to. Personally, I think that was very selfish.
My son Jalen and SMHS senior All-American Cetera DeGraffenreid have a very special friendship, and he has not missed one home game (and not very many away games either) since she began her career at SMHS. He was devastated that he had to miss one of her most important nights. No, her high school career isn’t over and yes, she will play at SMHS again, but those games aren’t Senior Night. He didn’t see her being honored and she didn’t see his appreciation of the fantastic four years of basketball she has provided. And it’s not only Jalen – Jackson Simmons had hardly missed a home game during this senior class’ four years until Thursday.
I hope those school officials who refused to change the games are satisfied with themselves, even if their decision was unfair to their students, the students at the two “middle schools,” the students at SMHS and all their parents. What happened to compromise?
Gretta Rosbar
Sylva
Moratorium a rash measure
To the Editor:
To read recent headlines in local newspapers and listen to quotes from our county officials, I’ll bet most of the people in Jackson County are in favor of the “subdivision moratorium” recently approved. As the headlines read “Commissioners put brakes on new subdivisions” and “Freezing big growth – at least for now,” we’re thankful that the awful developer scarring the mountainside will be stopped. Hold on – the devil is in the details.
Either the editors of these papers and the officials haven’t read the proposed legislation or they are deliberately misleading the public. In either case, we should be concerned.
Let me quote directly from the draft ordinance approving the moratorium: “For purposes of this ordinance, the term ‘subdivision’ includes all divisions of a tract or parcel of land into two or more lots, building sites or other divisions for the purpose of sale or building development.” If you had planned on selling Aunt Suzy a piece of your land for her retirement home, you are a developer. If you might want to sell your neighbor a little strip of the back 40 that you never used anyway, you are a developer.
County commissioners are considering a draft titled “An Ordinance of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners Establishing the Requirement for a Land Development Compliance Permit Prior to Undertaking Development Activities.” I quote the definition of development: “Development means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to building or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations. Provided, however, this term shall not include activities such as ordinary maintenance and landscaping operations, individual home gardens, the upkeep of yards and grounds, repairs, additions or minor modifications to single-family dwellings, and the cutting of firewood for personal use.” You can paint your house, grow a garden or split firewood. However, if you want to fill a low spot, grade a hill, build or pave a driveway, or sell firewood to your neighbor, you’re now a developer and therefore subject to regulation.
I’m sure the officials will say they don’t intend for this to affect everyone who owns any property in Jackson County in such an inclusive manner, but it does. This legislation is a horrible example of a poorly conceived, knee-jerk reaction to a problem that deserves thoughtful and careful consideration. As written, it’s a taking of every land owner’s property rights.
At the Feb. 8 news conference, the county manager was asked if there had been any study of the economic effect of a moratorium. The answer was “no.” Real-estate-related activities are the second-highest employer. They produce more economic wealth for county citizens than any other activity. Anyone who operates a dozer, hammers nails, surveys, etc. will be negatively affected. How many of us can afford to be without work for six months or more? Once the new ordinance is in place, what effect will it have on future jobs and real estate values? Should these not be questions that your officials can answer before taking such drastic actions?
The draft subdivision ordinance, now before the planning board, will have the most significant economic impact on this county of any legislation ever proposed.
The proposed legislation would require a 50-foot setback from all water sources, so look at your land and envision never being able to use any of it within 50 feet of any water. That building site you dreamed of down by the creek, forget it. The 5 acres you bought because it had 1,000 feet of stream through the middle? The county is going to take half of it from you. The draft legislation also requires DOT standard roads. Imagine a 50-60-foot swath up the side of every mountain just to get to a couple of building sites. If you must build DOT roads to every building site, you can kiss affordable housing goodbye.
Everyone agrees that rampant development without control is not a good thing. Nobody wants polluted creeks or traffic-clogged roads. However, the little guy shouldn’t lose his property rights because of some developer, and the future of jobs and our economy shouldn’t be jeopardized by a rush to legislate.
If you own property in Jackson County or are in any way concerned about the economic impact of these actions, you need to get involved. Let’s tell county officials to slow down and do it right. Let’s demand they carefully consider the outcomes of their actions. Let the truth be known and our input be heard.
Ray Trine
Cashiers
Moratorium is wrong way to deal with development
To the Editor:
No matter how you feel about steep-slope and ridgetop ordinances for Jackson County, you must admit that there is a right way and wrong way to go about discussing them. Can there be any doubt that four of our commissioners have chosen the wrong way? Without due process of law, they have effectively denied every citizen of Jackson County some of our most basic property rights. As citizens we not only have the right but the duty to resist oppressive government. Get your hands on a copy of this proposed subdivision and moratorium and you’ll see just how oppressive a government can get. Now is the time for the silent majority to let these four commissioners know how you feel about property rights and fairness in government. Please call William Shelton, Tom Massie, Joe Cowan and Mark Jones and let them know that there are plenty of us who know the difference between private land and public land. We’re tired of people floating in here to sit down and expect the rest of us to do the same. They don’t want to see a bulldozer, but did they dig out their house sites by hand? Do they have any idea about how many ordinances, standards, regulations, inspections, application fees, permits, engineering fees, waiting periods, etc. someone had to go through to get them a place to gripe about development from?
If you think arrogant government is already deep enough into our lives, you had better call these four commissioners and speak up at the 6 p.m. Feb. 27 public hearing at the Justice Center. This is a critical tipping point in Jackson County history.
To close on a positive note, we do have one commissioner who tried his best to let the public have a say on this issue. Chairman Brian McMahan stood up for fairness in government and pleaded for the public to be informed before any decision was made. Let us all demand the other four now listen to both sides. Call them and speak up Feb. 27.
Mike Clark
Cullowhee
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