Letters to the editor: 03/21/02

March is Red Cross Month

To the Editor:

Our local chapter provides programs and services to residents in Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Swain and Yancey counties, as well as the Qualla Boundary. We continually strive to meet our mission of helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies in the most effective and efficient manner.

As the director, I am humbled when I daily observe a dedicated, knowledgeable staff, along with hundreds of faithful, trained volunteers delivering services. They serve because they care about people - people just like you. People whom without a moment's notice could find themselves and their loved ones in the middle of a life or death emergency. None of us ever thinks the unimaginable could happen. That is what our local Red Cross is all about.

I am new to this area and one of the reasons I chose to live in Western North Carolina was because of the people and their sense of community involvement. The Asheville-Mountain Area Chapter has an excellent reputation throughout the state and even the nation.

It is this very community that I call upon now. Negative actions and decisions at other chapters and at our national headquarters affect us locally. This is truly unfortunate. I am asking you to help us continue to provide services and programs by supporting us within your individual communities.

We need your support to provide quality services such as first aid and CPR training, water safety training, blood services, single family fire assistance, blood pressure screenings, communication for military families, and many other related services.

Just last year, our chapter provided over 74,000 classes, disaster responses, blood collections and community services. We accomplished all of this while passing with flying colors an internal and external audit of our financial records.

Our community is unique. Neighbors help neighbors. They support their own and many times, people they do not even know, locally, nationally and internationally.

We are your Red Cross. We feel privileged to serve. We need you as we face financial challenges that have occurred as a result of so much negative publicity. Our chapter maintains an environment of integrity and excellent customer service.

We welcome you to drop by our offices anytime or give us a call if you have questions or concerns. You can reach me by telephone at (828) 258-3888, extension 201 or e-mail me at longj@usa.recross.org.

We are proud of what we do and where and whom we serve.

Sincerely,

Jim Long

Executive Director

Asheville-Mountain Area Chapter

American Red Cross

Asheville

Are we going to do nothing?

To the Editor:

Once upon a time I lived in a country where we had freedom of speech and freedom of expression granted to us as a constitutional right, and independent thinking was applauded.

We all have symbols in our lives that will most likely offend or embarrass someone else. So tell me, is the answer something that requires us as individuals, and as a country to go around tearing those symbols down and hiding them until we eventually have no symbols left?

The First Amendment guarantees us the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression, yet every day organizations, groups, and the "politically correct" crowd are asking - no - demanding that we give these up.

I am more and more shocked each day as I read, see and hear people doing and saying outrageous things in the name of being politically correct. I see intelligent people parroting someone else's thoughts, with no true original thought of their own.

The current demands that sports teams and school mascots change their names are insulting. Did any of these opponents ever stop to ask some basic questions? For those who want the name Warriors changed, did it occur to you that the title "Warrior" is not a name strictly reserved for a male Indian?

Are you so afraid of offending someone that you will one day deny your own heritage, ancestry or lifestyle? America was and still is a great melting pot, filled with different nationalities, cultures, religions and histories. Are we going to lose our own individuality for the sake of someone else's?

Locally, a young lady named Annie McCord has taken it upon herself to abuse my heritage, and a cause that my ancestors believed in by saying' "In our society today, it is just not acceptable."

May I ask what is not acceptable? Is it acceptable that the Federal government dubbed my ancestors "Rebels" as a derogatory term? Yet the name was embraced instead of being taken as the insult.

Are people who live up North upset because they have been referred to as "Yankees?" Is there some group of Southerners, or even Northerners, demanding that the New York Yankees change their name? Are we going to boycott foreign travel because the people in those countries refer to all Americans as "Yanks," or "Yankees?" McCord said that, "It is time to shed this unfortunate image of the past and to select a new mascot with positive imagery and associations."

This is a country where we applaud our forefathers for wanting to be independent from British rule; where we applaud any group in the world who attempts to create a new country or gain independence from an old one. Why is it different with Southerners who decided that they wanted to be separate from the United States?

Did the opponents of the Confederate flag, and mascots depicting Southerners do their research and discover that about 90 percent of the soldiers who fought for the Confederacy did not own slaves? One of those men was my great-grandfather; six more were his brothers. All were from a dirt-farm family in Macon County. So tell me, what were they fighting for?

Once we do away with all symbols, will the animal rights people then demand that all animals be removed from mascots and emblems? Will the atheists and the other non-Christian faiths then arise and demand the removal of all crosses?

I think it's time to stop postulating what others have to say and take a long look inside ourselves. Are you ready to give up something that you feel represents you? Being politically correct is often just a reason not to have to think for oneself. Is that what this country is coming to?

The Jews and Romans killed Jesus Christ because he spoke against their government and their faiths. The Inquisition dealt with people who did not believe the way of the Catholic Church. Hitler got rid of as many Jews as he could just because he blamed them for bad luck. The communist Soviet Union got rid of the Christians. The United States tried to eradicate the Indians. The Afghans kept their country from being educated.

So what do you do when someone tries to take something away from you? Kind of reminds me of that old World War II saying about every one being taken away and no one did nothing until there was no one left to do nothing. Are we going to allow everything to be taken away from us and do nothing?

Nathan Phillips

Dillsboro

Our foolish county commission

To the Editor:

The cell tower communication providers are trying to save lives by making communications work in the dead spots. The county commissioners are trying to keep cell tower operators from being efficient. This bunch of proposed regulations will help make Jackson County the laughing stock of the world through publicity about the stupid regulations they are proposing.

Personally, I have been a licensed radio engineer since 1933. I witnessed the backwoods politicians in North Florida oppose the use of radio communications for the Florida Highway Patrol. Currently the FHP has one of the most modern communications systems known to the industry. This saves hundreds of lives annually, as there is no place in the state of Florida that has a dead spot in radio communications.

Jackson County has many dead spots. Our commissioners are insisting on keeping these dead spots. We will have to replace the current commissioners with people who can understand our needs. The current commissioners lack business experience, even though they are now running the largest business we have in Jackson County into the ground.

Lack of communications in assisting rescue operations for fire and accidents kills people.

I am submitting this action by our Jackson County Commission to both the Federal Communications Commission, and to the U.S. senators involved in making laws and regulations that would prohibit county commissions from killing people in the future due to restrictions on communication efficiencies.

Think - save lives.

Frank Young

Cullowhee

Theater group not consulted about plans for museum in old courthouse

To the Editor:

My interest became quite keen when the old Jackson County Courthouse was mentioned. Judging by the Ammons ladies' plans, that particular building would be turned into some kind of museum. When the Sheriff's Department moves out of the rooms they are now using, that may make a good place for a museum.

The Kudzu Players and The Chatterbox Children's Theater have renovated the courtroom into a working theater. We have spent many long and grueling hours in the process, but it has been worth it to bring quality theater to Jackson County. We have a children's production opening this week with 39 children and their parents actively involved. We do not particularly want to be included in the plan to become some kind of Smithonian theater group, especially without our knowledge or consent.

We have not been contacted by the Ammons sisters for such a plan, but I do not think the Sylva Garden Club was contacted either. I hope the commissioners will see that such an idea be thoroughly researched before any kind of affirmative action is indicated as a go-ahead for such a project.

Sincerely,

Penny Graham

Kudzu Players President

Cullowhee

Don't airbrush our history

To the Editor:

If I understand their explanation of the CSA "vision," which membership would "orchestrate," the people of Jackson County would eventually be able to participate in this amazing venture by, (a) going to the "hub" location, which would be the Jackson County Courthouse, and looking at a kind of miniature cyclorama of our county's history which would wind its way through all levels of the building.

This experience would inspire us to (b) travel to an undetermined number of locations "which span the region" where we would find larger and more awesome depictions of the mini-murals in the courthouse.

Now, throughout this trek, we would have a "trail book" which would tell "the story of each mural." I assume that we will also have CSA personnel to act as interpreters as we dutifully hike the (handicapped accessible?) trails.

Further, we are told that this "living history" project will be 10 years in the construction. Actually, that seems a modest time frame in view of the half-century devoted to Mt. Rushmore. I believe the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Dakota Black Hills is up to 14 years and still counting.

I take it that CSA optimistically believe that if CSA builds it, "they will come" (which worked well in the movie!) In approximately a decade, Jackson County will play host to countless visitors (I'm assuming that this grand creation isn't just for us local folks) from around the world who will walk reverently through "the courthouse hub" and then journey like pilgrims to these majestic murals. There, they will stand in awe, their cameras clicking, while they contemplate our noble heritage (as interpreted by CSA).

Well, I am a bit anxious about specific details here. Will these paintings depict the mountains? That seems a bit redundant since the "real thing" is all around us. I assume there will be historic events and notable figures. Will we know in advance who, why, where?

As for the concept of large murals, is it possible that there are other options? Might our history and culture be better served by other mediums? Why not exhibits which utilize professional museum resources and are perhaps housed in the readily accessible Hooper House?

According to Ms. Cooper's letter, CSA has the support of foundations, prestigious museums and a prominent member of the Cherokee tribe. Well, at the risk of violating the privacy of these benefactors, I would like to know who they are. Other than the questionable reference to the Smithsonian, what grants has CSA received? Who is this prominent Cherokee who shares CSA's vision?

Further, why do I not see references to the organizations in our region that have a profound respect for our heritage? Where is the Jackson County Historical Society? The Webster Historical Society? The Mountain Heritage Center at WCU? The Jackson County Arts Council? The Folklife Division of the N.C. Arts Council? How can CSA accomplish its mission without the support and cooperation of these organizations, which are totally committed to reflecting our culture with integrity and authenticity?

Finally, I feel that the basic issue here is a difference of opinion as to what is a "true and honest depiction" of our heritage. My perception of my heritage - and I would venture to say one that is shared by a considerable number of people living in this region - is quite different from what I have seen depicted (and celebrated) by CSA. Words like "real" and "true" (and especially "beautiful,") are subject to a diversity of interpretations. What is poignantly beautiful to CSA might be "saccharine-tacky" to someone else.

For the past 35 years, I have been telling stories and teaching courses in Appalachian culture. According to the people who write extensively about our past, one of the most common obstacles encountered by researchers is the frequent temptation to romanticize and sentimentalize the past. It is what I call "eclectic memory" - the tendency to remember only what we find pleasing or self-serving.

In some instances we prefer to honor what never existed except in a misguided imagination. Instead of some semblance of the truth, we get a sweet, syrupy concoction which is high in cholesterol and just not good for you.

Well, I want my heritage "warts and all," for in the final analysis I am confident that honorable traits will outweigh the flaws - and the flaws (those unsightly blemishes) is what makes our ancestors breathing and vital... "humans," in other words. I don't want someone taking an air-brush to our history, erasing its wrinkles and improving its face.

Gary Carden

Sylva

Setting record straight

To the Editor:

When I was first elected, I didn't receive much help or input from those already on the board, and I think there was a reason for that.

The first decision I was asked to make as a board member was the selection of a town manager. Though I had not yet taken office, I was asked to sit in on the interviews as was the other new member, Eldridge Painter. The decision was that the sitting board (Eldon Cabe, Norma Lee, Maurice Moody, Lynda Sossamon and Audrey Tritt) would choose the town manager. At first I didn't care, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought the board that would take office in December 2001 (myself, Cabe, Moody, Painter and Tritt) should select a manager because we would be the ones to work with the person selected.

It was then decided that the decision would be postponed until January, after the new board was seated.

While I think it was good that Mr. Painter and I sat in on the interviews, I was disappointed when I realized the manager decision was a "done deal" in the sense that a decision was made long before the interviews were conducted. Richard McHargue was going to be the town manager no matter what Mr. Painter or I thought.

Please understand that I am not trying to detract from McHargue or his performance since he became town manager. However, I do wish that we had had the opportunity to nominate other candidates because McHargue was not the top candidate based on the rating system used to evaluate the candidates after their interviews.

I meant for my vote to be "no," but I was confused by the procedures. I abstained from voting on the manager question because I thought abstaining meant I was holding my vote to be cast later for a different nominee. I wish the decision had been postponed until after Mr. Painter and I had attended the N.C. Institute of Government training for new board members that we went to a week or so later.

I supported long-time town clerk Tommy Thompson and thought he should have been town manager until he retired in two or three years.

The purpose of this letter is to explain to the people of Sylva, who elected me to serve them, why I abstained from the city manager vote. I'd like for people to know that I intend to do my best for Sylva. I welcome calls from the people of Sylva, and anyone with a concern should feel free to call me or talk to me any time.

Sincerely,

Danny Allen

Sylva Town Board member

Shocked at response to CSA mural project

To the Editor:

Community mural projects usually are not handled by academic institutions or political affiliations. Obviously this would again take away the clear voice of the average person or minority group. One such non-profit group is the Precita Mural Arts and Visitor Center in San Francisco, Calif. They have been organizing community murals for twenty years. Their website is www.precitaeyes.org.

The role a small arts council can play in a community mural project is to support the planning committee who is directing the project and or supply the funds needed to accomplish the project. They also can sit on the planning committee as a needed part of the community group. Of course strong, well-established arts councils can and have accomplished fine mural projects.

There is a big difference between these arts council mural projects and the project we have researched and proposed, called the Majesty of Mountain Heritage. Our plan is designed to let our mountain people speak through the murals. Our contact at the Smithsonian Institution liked the idea of the murals reaching out from the museum site, adding interest to the artifacts inside. The murals would be story murals. Local artists would be chosen to paint the murals based on ability and heart and not judged by some academic standard. Schools could get involved in the project, leaving a lasting signature of the children's participation.

As a mountain child, I spent my days exploring the forests and streams, loving every moment of my time here. My father couldn't make enough money here so moved us away when I was a teenager. But the memories of these mountains kept me going through many a tough time. I did put myself through a major university in southern California, obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a master's degree in Biological/Medical Illustration - seven years of medical and art school combined. While there I was privileged to work with the University of Southern California School of Medicine as an art director for special projects, my art was part of Smithsonian exhibits, several of my art pieces were placed in the Pentagon, my art was displayed in the University of California at Irvine and the Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry. I took part in touring art exhibits and created art for storyboarding for films and video productions in Hollywood. I could go on.

When my sister Amy and I returned home to the mountains our only desire was to work with the local children sharing stories that were told us by our grandpa, aunts and uncles, who settled this land. Our heart is in this work.

This is what Catch the Spirit of Appalachia was founded on. We have worked with well over two million children throughout the southeast in the past 15 years. Our workshops help children learn they "can do it," no matter what problems they have to overcome.

My sister Amy is the most honest, authentic and hard-working person I have ever known. I am privileged to be her sister. She has written seven books, loves to talk with the mountain people and writes their stories down. Her dedication to the mountain people is beyond words.

Catch the Spirit of Appalachia is a grassroots arts organization with a strong board of directors. We did not jump into this project with just a couple of hours research on the Internet. We have been working on this project for months with 15 years of community work behind us.

Much research has been accomplished and we have made giant strides with significant key people to make this project a reality. We have produced a 10-year working plan. So far we have had strong support from people who understand the project and have taken the time to find out more about it.

I was shocked by the responses we have had recently. Normally people rally around such a valuable project for their community. This project will help our children for years to come and supply jobs in a worthwhile venue.

Sincerely,

Doreyl Ammons Cain

CSA co-founder

Tuckasegee

Letters Welcome

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Letters may be sent via email to: news@thesylvaherald.com, dropped by the newspaper's Main Street office or mailed to P.O. Box 307, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

Back to Archive: 03/21/02.