|
|
Letters to the editor: 04/20/00 |
|
Need for teacher supplement a reality
To the Editor: As a former school teacher, both in Jackson County for several years and in Florida and Illinois for 15 years before that, I know the importance, from a professional point of view, of feeling as though I am valuable to the school and educational district that I serve. When I graduated from college in 1976, teacher recruitment was a very dynamic and active process in Illinois. I was actively ³courted² by several different school districts before I even graduated from college. Public school systems sought to secure teachers that would bring excellence into the system. To that end, there was a great deal of competition to draw teachers to those areas that most needed the fresh ideas and motivation of newly trained teachers. Our nation is again facing what could well be a very severe shortage of teachers in the upcoming decade. Our county is looking at the same prospect, I believe. Jackson County is currently one of only nine systems in North Carolina that do not offer any supplements to our teachers. We have come full circle again after 25 years to a place where many local educational agencies across the nation are taking a more assertive tact in recruiting teachers. This is happening in North Carolina as well. Many counties are offering sign-on supplements and other attractive supplements and stipends that will ultimately cause new teachers to choose those locations over ours if we are not willing to become more progressive in our attempts to make Jackson County a promising teaching arena for new professionals. I encourage those who are in decision-making positions in our schools to consider that the strength of our schools lies not in our buildings, nor in our curriculum, nor subjects that are taught... but in the relationships that are built between teachers and children. We have maintained a standard that is competitive only because our schools are full of professionals who, above all else, are committed to the process of teaching. We need to focus on recruiting and maintaining the good teachers in Jackson County or that will not continue. Buildings are important. Books are important. But those things do not teach our kids. Good teachers do! It is really as simple as that. Let's keep our county schools full of teachers who are committed to tying THEIR futures to our kid's futures. Lynne Johnson Cullowhee Forest Hills ETJ proposal is an elitist move To the Editor: To the Editor: We were unpleasantly awakened one day to learn that Forest Hills was proposing to extend its jurisdiction so that it could "protect" the Speedwell community. There is almost unanimous opposition to this proposal in Speedwell, and considerable opposition in Forest Hills itself. It is difficult to understand how Forest Hills, made up generally of recent transplants from other areas, could impose itself on a community where many of its residents were born and raised, and many who prefer to live in the country instead of in a city-like subdivision. When we moved here 30 years ago we could have located in Forest Hills, but we were tired of city living with its rules and regulations and wanted to live "in the country," where we could hang clothes out to dry, have a cow, pig, or horse, or build an apartment house if we wished. The people in Speedwell are very diverse in their education, income and lifestyle; however, they all respect each other and have the philosophy of "live and let live" with regard to each other's property. We may not always agree with what someone in the community do, but that is their right and we respect it. As to the proposed "protection," i.e. zoning, we find it totally unacceptable. There has been some mention of the protection of property values, but the people of Speedwell are not so concerned about property values as they are with the right to do with their property as they see fit. It has been perfectly acceptable to have a big house next to a small house, trailer or cow pasture. By the way, if the college expands (as again predicted), Speedwell (including that area under the ETJ proposal) would be an excellent place for new apartments, trailer courts, rooming houses, small businesses, and such. How this would hurt the property values in Forest Hills just doesn't compute. Forest Hills is sufficiently isolated from the rest of the area by high mountain ridges; there is no way anything that develops in surrounding communities could have any impact. As to the proposed "education" of the people in Speedwell, they are offended by the implication that they are "uneducated" about managing their property. Speedwell folks, whose families have been here for generations, probably know a lot more about how to get along with their neighbors than those in a city. Forest Hills should give them a little more respect - it should refrain from an empire-building mentality. Forest Hills can legally take over a portion of Speedwell, but what is legal is not always right. Some day the county will get a master plan. Of course, in the meantime, others may argue that non-regulated development may occur, but to the people of Speedwell, that is preferable to mandated regulation. If Forest Hills wants to remain an exclusive, restricted and protected subdivision, perhaps they should put a gatehouse at the entrance. We see that the only outcome of an action such as this will be a permanent enmity between the people of Speedwell and Forest Hills. Larry Morton Marilyn Morton Cullowhee Proposed ETJ is 'unbelievable' To the Editor: It is unbelievable that here in the land of the free such a law that would permit such a thing as an ETJ was ever passed. We must have all been asleep when it was being considered. However, this should be a lesson in keeping up with what the people we elect are doing and remembering it on Election Day. It is unbelievable that a small group of people representing Forest Hills would seek to impose their will on their surrounding neighbors, then tell them "it's for you own good." That line is on the first page of every dictatorıs play book. It is unbelievable that a village of some 220 acres would want to control 1,300 acres outside their boundary. Think of a word that describes both this desire and a 3-year-old who wants all the cookies for himself. It is unbelievable that a group of people who, for the most part, make their living from or because of Western Carolina University would in effect look on the projected increase in students as if it was a coming plague. Take away the students and there would be no university in Cullowhee Valley. Take away all those who earn their bread and butter directly or indirectly because WCU is there, and there would hardly be enough people left to stir up the dust in the empty streets. It is unbelievable, but you, too, could become a victim of an extra-territorial jurisdiction power grab. Ed Ulsenheimer Cullowhee Put an end to animal cruelty To the Editor: It is upsetting to think that my fellow residents of Jackson County treat domesticated animals in the way described by Lee Minor's letter last week. To poison an innocent animal innocent because it is not the animal's fault that it was born and neglected with full knowledge that it would die a long and painful death is truly cruel. Mr. Minor was right to warn his neighbors about keeping a watch on their pets. Many anti-cruelty organizations recommend what both cats and dogs be kept indoors because they are always in danger of cruel behavior. It is time we accept the practice of protecting our pets in some way as part of the responsibility of pet ownership. This includes the prevention of future incidents of cruelty by having the companion animal spayed or neutered. Edith B. Vandervoort Cullowhee Questions put to Adams To the Editor: My father, "Bo" Bumgarner, and mother, Laura Stewart Bumgarner, moved from the Glenville area to Speedwell in the early 1900s. They bought approximately 368 acres of land on what is now known as Bo Cove, raised a family of three boys and four girls and as was typical of the early 1900s in Western North Carolina, they made a living farming the land they lived on. Now, there are only two of us left, Mrs. Baye Bumgarner Moore and myself. I expect to stay here on Bo Cove the rest of my life, and I sure do not want to have Forest Hills telling me what I can and cannot do with my land. Mr. Adams, as far as I know, you and Mrs. Anne Martin still own the property across the road and creek from my property on Bo Cove Road. Your property is bordered on its south side by Tilley Creek and on its west side by both Pressley Creek Road and the property of Mrs. Bessie Blanchard. The property consists of about 4.5 acres. However, from what I understand concerning the boundaries of the ETJ proposal, this places your property just barely outside the proposed boundaries. As a member of the Forest Hills planning committee, I wonder why your property on Bo Cove Road was not included within the area proposed by the Forest Hills ETJ? Yes, you could argue that your property would best be accessed from Pressely Creek; however, I wonder if there could be other reasons. Could it be that the ETJ with its potential restrictions might be an inconvenience or hardship on you if you wanted to make improvements to your land? Could it be that you do not want anybody telling you what you can and can not do with your land on Bo Cove? Or could it be that you are planning on doing something with the property that would not be allowed under the land use restrictions of the ETJ? Fred Bumgarner Cullowhee ETJ proposal is 'moral outrage' To the Editor: Apparently my first sign was not clear about my concerns about Forest Hills ETJ. So I made another one. It says, "Forest Hills: A minority. Cullowhee: A majority. ETJ: A moral outrage!" In my mind taxes are not the primary issues. Freedom and liberty are! I think that it is a moral outrage for an elitist minority such as Forest Hills to be able to force its will on a part of Cullowee that is many times its size and much older! My heartfelt thanks to those of you in Forest Hills who are opposed to ETJ. John T. Overbey Cullowhee |
Back to Archive: 04/20/00. |