Letters to the editor: 03/28/02

More voices needed to preserve culture

To the Editor:

Basically, I wondered if there were other resources and ideas that were readily available to Jackson County in developing a practical but imaginative way to preserve our culture and tradition. Well, this is what I found out with a little time on the Internet, a few phone calls and one personal visit.

The National Endowment of Arts sponsors a grant process that is readily available to small communities. It is called "Challenge America." NEA will fund projects that mobilize the community's resources and utilize such diverse agencies as the local libraries, the school system, the local historical preservation organizations, community theatre groups and appropriate divisions of colleges and universities. All of those agencies in combination can initiate a program that will not only preserve local historical sites and history, but will make it a part of the community through dramatizations, exhibits and oral history projects.

Next, I contacted the School of Architecture at N.C. State University and verified the fact that they have a program designed to help communities convert their historic buildings into community resources. Upon request from an appropriate organization, they are willing to send a team of graduate architectural students to a site where they will initiate a project that is carried out with community input. They then design a scale model of the building (the courthouse, in this instance), which can be exhibited in the local library (or elsewhere) where everyone can watch the design progress and react to it - in fact, they once did such a scale model for Sylva some 15 years ago when a local group attempted to save the old Sylva High School.

After that, I contacted the N.C. Humanities Division at N.C. State and talked to an oral history researcher who expressed an interest in doing research in Sylva. He would interview local residents, film and document appropriate presentations and turn all of his work over to the local schools, libraries and preservation societies. He has been doing this for a while and has several films which are distributed in North Carolina schools. He is completing a project in the Snowbird Community now.

Finally, I discovered that one of the most successful Challenge America projects in our country is in Swannanoa. I contacted the director, Jerry Pope, and asked if he would be willing to talk about how he acquired a grant and developed a project that has become a model for historical preservation throughout the U.S.

He offered to come to Sylva and talk to a cross section of appropriate organizations about how to develop a coalition of local resources and acquire a grant. I immediately called nine individuals who were each a part of Jackson County's "cultural resources."

Now comes the rub. Of all of my local contacts, two attended the meeting. They were Perry Kelly of the Jackson County Arts Council and George Frizzell of the archives department at Western Carolina University's Hunter Library. Jerry and his wife discussed their ideas with an audience of three (I was there, but deaf of course). They even offered to return if other representatives of the community wished to talk to them at a later date.

I am left with a mystery. Why didn't the other representatives attend the meeting? (Or grant me the courtesy of telling me that they wouldn't be able to attend?) There are a number of possible answers.

Perhaps I am not the ideal person to call such a meeting. All I can say is, I was prompted to do so because I didn't see anyone else discussing options to CSA's plans. Perhaps, some of them felt that it wouldn't be "politically correct," although waiting until it is "safe" to act isn't exactly my idea of having a "commitment" or even a sincere interest in our history and culture. Then, too, perhaps there was this great show on TV that night. I can't compete with that.

There are other disturbing possibilities. Perhaps some of our "cultural entities" aren't accustomed to considering ideas that originate outside their organization. Perhaps many of them have their own personal agendas and are busy developing scholarly and/or cultural projects with "international implications." If that is true, then perhaps CSA should be given free reign with the Jackson County Courthouse since they are the only organization with enough interest to take decisive action.

Although we seem blessed with an abundance of organizations with alleged goals to preserve and reflect our culture in a meaningful way, I occasionally feel that some of these agencies are like those huge earth-moving machines, which huff, puff, consume energy and emit smoke but never accomplish anything because they are in "neutral." They don't move. Other groups seem to be the projection of a single individual who pursues programs with a kind of whimsical self-interest.

Aren't there any good cultural agencies in the county? Oh, yes, quite a few, and judging from the calls, letters and e-mail I have received, they are individuals who are alarmed, both by the CSA project and the lack of discernment and action that is currently evident.

If another meeting were called with the announced purpose of forming a coalition of local resources for the purpose of saving our courthouse, preserving our culture in an appropriate manner and allowing our community to participate in the process... would anyone come?

Gary Carden

Sylva

Government should put away credit cards

To the Editor:

One of the best examples is now being attempted in our state government by Senator Hoyle. Hoyle is a respected name from the rules of playing cards and games, and the book written by Hoyle. But Senator Hoyle wants to "borrow" many millions of trust fund dollars collected from us, the taxpaying citizens of North Carolina, which are now in trust to build the roads we have paid for but not built. He wants to waste these road building funds on many other appropriations. If we cannot afford these other "wants," they should wait their turn until we can afford them. Our politicians are not aware that every automobile should be a Cadillac.

We all know that when a political figure says "borrow," he means steal and convert the intended fund to something we could not justify doing. The Powell Law, giving our taxes to undeserving villages, is a prime example of waste of our fax dollars. We pay for many small incorporated villages to be incorporated. They should pay their own way.

Jackson County has spent much of our tax money for the next several years. Any new expenditures will mean our taxes will have to be increased. This means that people on fixed incomes will not be able to afford their food, doctors, medical needs and living expenses, because the current political spenders are over-spending on things we would like to have but cannot afford. In Jackson County, we are spending on many projects which are good if we can afford them with our current income levels. But the current commission, senator and representative are spending like the above "credit card mentality" we read about daily.

We must remember Enron, which manipulated their holdings and gave their officers millions, which eventually cost all their employees their retirement savings. This cost the employees all of their retirement savings. This did accomplish the fact that they became the largest bankruptcy in our history.

One of the alternatives will be inflation, In which case, our bank accounts and savings will be worth one half of their current value. This again is credit card mentality. We cannot gain from this type operation.

At our rate of not controlling our spending, North Carolina can also be one of the big spenders and end up with comparable bragging rights of being the worst financial condition of any state in our fifty states.

Let us be known for success, not failure.

Frank Young

Cullowhee

Allen took couragous stand

To the Editor:

He also stated it was a foregone decision that McHargue was going to be the manager, even though he was not the top candidate as several of the board members stated.

The only way Mayor Brenda Oliver and the town board can restore my confidence and that of other voters in Sylva is to put the manager decision on the November ballot instead of having it crammed down our throats with a behind-closed-doors decision reached even before candidates interviews and probably was even made before the job was advertised in the paper.

It's one thing for the board to make a behind-closed-doors decision based on a candidate scoring the highest, but it's entirely another thing to decide to hire a certain person no matter what. Let the voters of Sylva decide the issue in an election and put the debate to rest forever.

Also I noticed that our mayor traveled to Washington, D.C., to represent Sylva at the National League of Cities Conference. I wonder with all the shortages in our town finances was it really necessary for her to do this?

I still think that the town board should have postponed going to the manager form of government until they could have done it without cutting town employees' Christmas bonuses and without eliminating a position in the maintenance department.

I also wonder why after making these cutbacks in order to hire Richard McHargue they are able now to find travel money to send our mayor to Washington, D.C. I wonder how many of the mayors who attended were from small towns. Most of them probably came from big cities with big budgets to lobby for big money from Washington.

Finally, thank you, Danny Allen, for taking a very courageous stand and telling the citizens how the manager decision really happened. And thank you for restoring my confidence in the political process and humanity and for being the one person I voted for who I would be very comfortable in electing again.

Herb Zachmann

Sylva

Production presents positive image

To the Editor:

It was wonderful to experience such a community effort organized by Webster Baptist Church. This Easter passion play compliments the Christmas story "Trail of Light," an interfaith production sponsored by Cullowhee Baptist Church.

I am proud to be part of a community that embraces morals and values with a positive message. I hope both productions become annual traditions.

Thank you to all who worked so hard to present these magnificant gifts to the community. We are blessed by your efforts.

Ray Menze

Cullowhe

County should broadcast meetings

To the Editor:

Not only would open-air broadcasting encourage more citizen participation, but it would remove doubts and misunderstandings that usually arise from closed-door meetings and an uninformed public.

The local newspaper serves a vital purpose reporting commissioners' agenda and actions; however, once-a-week printing opens a door for other media avenue to connect the citizens' desires with commissioners' actions.

Possibly now is the time to look into such a venture of an open-air forum.

Ken Lee

Sylva

WCU music programs worth watching

To the Editor:

You may recall reading about a new professor of music coming to WCU about three years ago. You may also recall that he had won a couple of Emmy's for work he did in Hollywood.

Now he's doing his magic at Western, in part, directing the Catamount Chamber Singers. They started with a rendition of "In the Mood," a favorite from the '40s. Then they moved on to "All That Jazz," "Operator" with a really swinging solo by Sarai Ensley, "To Make You Feel My Love" with a solo by Josh Walls and "All Right, OK, You Win." It was difficult to sit quietly through all that upbeat music.

After a brief intermission the Music Technology Ensemble, under the direction of Colin Bragg, performed five jazz numbers with riffs by each of the five members. Colin Bragg is a new comer to Western. He got sounds out of his electric guitar I've never heard before and his fingers really danced across the frets. Two numbers were especially fine, "Wave" and "How Insensitive," both by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

After another brief intermission, more instrumentalists joined the group, along with the Catamount Chamber Singers to perform a medley from "Les Miserables," including solos by nearly every singer. Upon completing the performance the performers received a standing ovation from the audience.

It's too bad so many music lovers in the Sylva area missed this delightful performance. Don't miss the peformances in the coming weeks. And next year be sure you don't miss the programs directed by Frazier and Bragg. Wouldn't it be great if they could play to a packed house? I'll be there, the Lord willing.

Fran Webster

Sylva

CSA's passion is keeping heritage alive

To the Editor:

If you know anything about the people involved in CSA, then you know they have a passion for keeping mountain heritage alive and respected. I have learned that passion is a hunger, a burning for a desired outcome.

A friend of mine told me she was able to stick to her diet because of something her mother told her when she was a child, which was to always leave the table a little hungry and you'll never be overweight. Well, I got to thinking about hunger, and how being hungry for something is just like passion. In the Bible it says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

What we have in Amy and Doreyl Ammons are two women who have a passion for teaching people to be proud of what they have, that it's all right to grow up poor. The most creative, energetic, passionate people come from humble backgrounds because they've had to make do with what they had.

For a lot of folk, that meant also being ashamed of your background. We see in small towns everywhere efforts to keep the young people from leaving home or to get them to come back after they've sought out the "world out there." Amy and Doreyl did not leave by choice, but they came back home, just as Gary Carden came back home, and even he has worked to preserve mountain heritage.

If you don't know about Catch The Spirit of Appalachia, it is more than a street fair in downtown Sylva, it's more than teaching heritage in the schools, it's more than summer camp for kids. These ladies have encouraged local people to attend writing workshops and to write their stories, and they have published those stories and made videos of people telling their stories. It is amazing to me that they have continued to carry their dream with passion, planning, detail work, scraping together the money to see their vision come alive and mean something to other people. They have worked hard and continue to stand up for what they believe in.

This mural project is not a political maneuver for CSA. This is simply the passion of pride in mountain heritage that more and more folk here are catching. A lot of hard work has gone into getting this project started, and the planning committee has just begun.

Maybe some people think that the mural project should be taken over by other groups, but the truth is that this is Catch the Spirit of Appalachia's project. They haven't asked anyone to take it over, and the very idea that it should be handed over on a silver platter to someone else is wrong and especially disrespectful of those who have worked for the last 12 years to bring this organization to this point.

The CSA board of directors has repeatedly invited anyone who wants to participate in either the mural project or any other heritage project to join us. We have had an enormous response. The last planning meeting was well attended with many caring, supportive people.

If you want to have a voice in what CSA is doing, you are welcome to join us.

Judy Teague

CSA Board of Directors

Cullowhee

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