Letters to the editor: 02/22/01

Bandwidth blues

To the Editor:

It seems to me that areas in North Carolina that are expanding (RTP, the Triad, Charlotte, even Asheville) have an element that is helping that growth - bandwidth. The days of tapping into the net with slow, unreliable modems is screeching to a halt. Technology is creeping into every area of our lives and I'm afraid that Western North Carolina's creeping is causing it to be left in the cyber dust.

Sylva has just begun to lay the groundwork for cable access, but it is only available in limited areas. DSL service that taps into the already laid telephone cables at delicious speeds has less spotting than Elvis. I've been told to check back in a month or so for DSL since the last millennia.

Wireless service that comes with a hefty price tag is limited to line-of-sight issues that boggle the mind here in the mountains. There are new satellite ISPs with adequate access, but they are expensive and come with complicated setup tasks with added costs. The last recourse that is available to everyone is ISDN from GTE. But ISDN comes with such sticker shock, it would be cheaper to mail your correspondence with a stamp attached to each word.

The new professionals are wielding laptops and palm pilots that carry their lives and schedules in a digital fury. Companies are looking for computer savvy employees that know how to bend the Internet into dollars. At home and at work, bandwidth-rich computer areas are banging away at their keyboard at lightning speed, soaking up more information than the disabled modem user can accomplish in a week.

New software that demands faster connectivity is crippling the productivity of computer professionals in this area. The bandwidth advantage that allows richer areas to accomplish more in less time, bolsters the economy there making it attractive to business and community, and leaving room for growth. Western North Carolina's lack of technological growth is having the opposite effect.

For the last couple of years I've griped and complained about slow access to GTE and anyone else that would keep me on the telephone out of courtesy. Now I am forced to leave the area because of my inability to provide a high standard of productivity to my employer.

I wonder if I would have entertained that thought if the ISPs in this area would have been able to keep up with technology. I'm afraid that I won't be the only computer professional sent packing as Western North Carolina struggles to break into the bandwidth revolution. Farewell beautiful countryside.

Todd Pratt

Sylva

Continued development is not inevitable

To the Editor:

I am afraid there is a bit of misunderstanding on their part about the situation regarding development in Jackson County. The land transfer tax would be assessed on purchasers, not sellers. The net result will be to reduce the in-migration of outsiders by increasing the cost to them. A reduction in or elimination of development will have no net impact on local Realtors because the volume of resales of existing homes will be able to support them at their current income level, transfer tax notwithstanding, assuming no increase in the number of local Realtors.

Donald Trump is the most obvious example. He made his fortune by reselling property that had already been developed since there was no room for further development in New York City. There is no reason why our local Realtors aren't capable of the same.

Although Todd Baucom seems to think it is easier to sell two $60,000 properties than one $100,000 property, it will certainly take him quite a bit more time and expense to sell two. To believe that volume alone generates profits is false, the only exception is a large manufacturer. The local Realtors would be better off selling fewer, higher-priced homes and incurring less expense and time by doing so.

That a reduction in "housing starts" in Jackson County will create a local recession is also false. The overwhelming majority of new houses in Jackson County are built by out-of-state workers. In Cashiers, at this very moment, there is a person who is "leasing out" migrant workers for construction projects by the bus load. Although he will soon be prosecuted, his efforts demonstrate that the high volume of construction in this area creates no benefit for the workers in this area. If there were no out-of-area workers, there would be sufficient work for local construction workers to stay in business for years to come without any new housing starts.

I'm also amazed that sportsmen are not up in arms about the loss of land due to out-of-area developers. Another friend of mine is a female hunter and a local Realtor who obviously must be concerned about losing land to development. I would love to hear from her. Eliminating hunting land by building houses has the same net effect as gun control - if they can't take away the guns, they can take away the land.

That Jackson County is going to continue to develop is not inevitable. People can live elsewhere, and we should do everything we can to discourage unlimited population growth. There is no reason to allow ourselves to be victimized.

Patrick Holleman

Sylva

'Second notice' causes problems

To the Editor:

I received a second notice of taxes due on Monday, Feb. 12, from the tax collector's office. I thought this was odd since I always pay my taxes in same month that I receive the notice, which was September.

I took the "second notice" to the tax collector's office and ask them why they were sending me a second notice. I was told very politely that the tax assessor's office had made a mistake in valuations and used 1999 valuations instead of 2000 valuations. I told them that was fine and I proceeded to pay the additional taxes due when I was told that I had interest due for not paying taxes on time.

I told the clerk that I never received a "First Notice." They told me that I was sent a first notice. I told them I did not receive one or I would not have come down to this office to question it.

Interestingly, there were two other people waiting to talk to the tax clerks with "Second Notices" in their hands. They also said they did not receive a first notice.

Since the amount of interest was so small, I went ahead and paid it along with the additional tax that was due. I felt that when I did pay this penalty, I was admitting that I was delinquent in paying my taxes. I hope the personnel in the tax office understand this and the unfairness I felt. Possibly, someone did not get these first notices out, maybe a computer error, or the Postal Service may have lost some of them.

I hope others in Jackson County who received a "Second Notice" and never received their first notice speak out.

Ron Gamble

Cullowhee

Local builder supports land transfer tax

To the Editor:

No, you are not my advocates. I am a landowner and builder, and I think that the land transfer tax and the effects it might create (slight slowing of rampant growth and more revenue to help cover cost of services that the rampant growth creates the need for) are a positive step.

I'll take Mark Jamison, whom I don't personally know, to be my advocate through his thoughtful letter to the paper Feb. 8 on this matter.

Sincerely,

Tom West

Cullowhee

Private haulers deliver waste; they don't create it

To the Editor:

The costs of our solid waste removal system with GDS runs over $1 million a year. Combined with the commitment to Macon County for the landfill, totals reach in excess of $3 million a year, making solid waste second only to the school system in expense to the county. The financing for GDS - which rents Jackson County the equipment we use, manages and staffs the SRCs, transports the garbage, recycling and items put into the gray boxes, and as well as the cost of tipping fees, which are paid separately by the county - all comes from the county's general fund. Make no mistake, we are paying for it, and handsomely, too.

GDS says that additional hauling and tipping fees are being incurred by overuse of the centers by the county's many private waste haulers. It's true that there is room for abuse in the system, and some haulers take full advantage of it.

But there are others like ourselves who do not, and GDS has made it sound like we all stay awake at night making more trash to put into the compactors. We don't create the waste, only deliver it, in the amounts that would be brought to the centers anyway. Perhaps less, as my company offers a recycling service, and we are committed to recovering reusable resources and putting them back into use.

The customers of private waste haulers pay extra out of their own pockets (at no cost to the county) for the convenience of having someone go to the collection centers for them, whether they be infirm and unable, unwilling, or too busy to go there themselves.

I would like to take this opportunity to turn the mirror back onto GDS in regard to the additional hauling and tipping fees. Who assumed responsibility and management of the SRCs? Who is responsible for what goes into the compactors, filling them up so quickly? What are the attendants doing?

I think we are all aware of the abuses and the lack of recycling going on at the compactor sites, but I don't believe GDS gives the knowledge, support or backing to their employees to enforce the concept of waste reduction. If GDS wants to complain about increasing trips to the landfill, then they need to mind their own sites and take a more active role in their own business concerns, instead of pointing the finger at local haulers.

In all fairness to GDS, although I don't think they have been very fair with us, their hands are tied in this matter. There are no set guidelines in the county to bring about a decrease in the amounts of solid waste to be disposed of, or any regulation as to who can use the SRCs (residents only and/or businesses also), or what type of waste can be placed there (residential and/or commercial).

I think I am safe by saying that this is the crux of GDS's problem - no required recycling and unanticipated handling of commercial waste, but they need to take this problem to the people who can solve it, and not lay the blame at the feet of the haulers.

The county commissioners have become acutely aware of the importance of passing a solid waste ordinance that is equitable and understandable to all who use it. Hopefully the commissioners will include the small private waste haulers in their considerations as they deal with the collection of trash in the county on a daily basis and are familiar with the unique problems that arise with living in a small but widespread mountain community.

By developing a sensible method for handling solid waste, commissioners can reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill, rein in the haulers that abuse the system, and create rewards for those haulers, businesses and individuals who have remained steadfast and conscientiousness in their commitment to the county by reducing solid waste expenses.

As the finger pointing goes on and the argument is debated at length between all of the interested parties, there is one thing that we all need to keep in mind. We are all responsible, each and every individual, for what goes into those compactors and what that will cost the county. To continue to think that what you throw away is of no concern to others is self-indulgent, because in the long run it effects everyone paying taxes in this county.

Let's band together as a community to reduce the cost the county pays for solid waste removal. Recycling is not a crime, benefits everyone, and takes little effort. Call us if you have questions about what to do or how to do it.

If you don't want to be bothered and have expendable cash, pay for someone to do it for you, but be sure you are getting what you paid for. In this way, perhaps we can begin to stop "throwing away" our tax dollars and put them to better use in programs that need funding like health and child care programs, programs that feed and care for the poor, the Rescue Squad, or the volunteer fire departments to name a few.

We are all proud to be a part and live in Jackson County. Let's all take a part in living responsibly.

Sincerely,

Laurie Dorris

President

EarthWorks Recycling Inc.

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