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Letters to the editor: 06/07/01

Mountain Heritage Center serves educational purpose

To the Editor:

I have learned through friends and family in your area that a treasure in Western North Carolina may be in peril.

I have visited the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University numerous times during my amateur studies of the Scotch-Irish and have found it to be one of the finest institutions of its type.

I realize that the foremost purpose of the university must always be to educate its students, and when budget cuts are mandated, anything outside of the mainstream of education is always in jeopardy.

I would not wish to be the one who has to make such decisions, but whenever the decisions must be made, I hope that it will not be forgotten that the Mountain Heritage Center serves one of the most important of all educational functions... it tells us who we are.

Sincerely yours,

Jeff R. Gallaher Johnson

Bedford County, Va.

Praise for Arrington

To the Editor:

I was at the Sylva Park this past weekend and could not help notice the beauty of the remodeled park. One could not help but realize that the park is so popular that it has outgrown the available seating.

While sitting there, I felt a little guilty. This park is probably the most significant thing that has happened in the town of Sylva in many years. It got the whole town moving in the same direction for the first time in the 20 years I've been in Jackson County.

Almost nothing has been done to give recognition to Cathy Arrington. Cathy was the chairman of the park project and worked untiringly to keep the momentum going. When the other members of the committee would get discouraged and disenchanted with the enormity of the project, Cathy would be the voice urging us onward.

By the time we were actually building the park, Cathy was nine months pregnant, but she continued on, working 12 to 14 hours a day. The response from the town was the most wonderful thing I have ever seen I cannot help but wonder if without Cathy's devotion and perseverance if the project would have really happened.

It is time that Jackson County and the town of Sylva do something to recognize this hard-working, visionary lady. The things that can be done are endless and are best left to the town council and the board of commissioners.

Sincerely,

Fred August

Sylva

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