Letters to the editor: 08/15/02

GAL volunteers needed in WNC

To the Editor:

Statewide, 16,000 children were represented by 3,500 volunteers, yet almost 3,000 children went to court alone and without representation. In the 30th Judicial District, all our children were represented by volunteers. However, it is necessary to recruit more volunteers to keep up with the rate of child neglect and abuse, which increases yearly.

It has been proven that most children who are abused grow up to abuse their own children. You can help stop this cycle of abuse in a child's life by becoming a trained volunteer Guardian ad Litem.

For information on how you can receive free training to become a GAL, contact Pat Steinbronn or Mary May at the Swain GAL office at (828) 488-6224.

The GAL program is available in every county in North Carolina. For statewide information and referral, call 1-800-982-4041.

Thank you,

Mary May

District Administrator

Alternative transportation options need to be safe

To the Editor:

Riding my bicycle from Dillsboro to Sylva is a near impossibility without risking life and limb at the expense of fast moving cars and Diesel-spewing trucks. There is less than a bicycle's width of a shoulder on each side of the road and no sidewalks to help keep pedestrian walkers safe from the roadway.

If I could utilize the railroad tracks as a bike lane, as I see most walkers doing, I would. Children in our community need a safe way to commute without having to rely on parents to drive them everywhere. Not everyone owns a car. Not everyone wants to drive a car.

As a community we should offer everyone an equal opportunity to move safely within our towns without fear of being run over by a bigger and faster moving vehicle. It's hard enough keeping my legs moving and lungs breathing when biking up a mountain road let alone dodging cars and breathing exhaust while I'm doing it. We need safer, more pedestrian-friendly options when travelling and moving about town.

I have often heard of problems related to traffic and parking in Sylva. I would hope that one of the obvious solutions would be embraced wholeheartedly: Alternatives to additional cars on our roads should be promoted and encouraged.

A community Greenway is one solution, but that may be far off in the distant future. Everyday commuting with a bicycle or even on foot between Dillsboro, Sylva and Cullowhee are near impossibilities. Dodging cars and trucks on 107 is not my idea of a good time. My zero emission vehicle does not contribute to the traffic, parking or pollution problems we experience here everyday.

I hope officials in the towns of Sylva and Dillsboro will create a more pedestrian-friendly environment for their citizens outside of the downtown areas. Currently there are no safe ways to get into either downtown without a car - try it and you will understand what I mean.

This is an issue we should be discussing as a community for only as community coming together will we find solutions to make Sylva pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

Thank you,

Jason Kimenker

Sylva

Support voiced for Cullowhee Baptist

To the Editor:

I believe God guides our steps, as well as our starting and stopping; it is time to stop so Cullowhee Baptist can keep on moving. When Christians have to meet behind close doors there is something wrong. I do not think God's work has to be done in secret. All that is important in the end will be what is done for the Lord. I will lift you up in my prayers as you work in Jackson County to win the lost.

Being a resident of Jackson county and at the present serving the Lord in Honduras, I feel the need to share with members of the TBA how I feel on the issues Satan has used so well to put our association in turmoil and take our minds off the Lord and his work.

For several months now I have read with deep sorrow how God's servants at Cullowhee Baptist have been under attack. I would like to ask you a few questions. Do you want to see a man and his wife preach the word to members of the community and students at the university so that they might be encouraged by the word and come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior? Or do you want to debate on who is supposed to deliver the message and have them die and go to hell? Are you so blinded by Satan that lost souls do not matter? This is a mission field in your front door; what are you doing about it?

My husband, Raymond, and I are co-workers here in Honduras. God called us both and has used us both in his work here. We have been accepted, loved and nurtured by the Honduran people. We have men and women working together to reach a lost and dying world for Christ. Our goal is and will always telling others about Jesus, who died for you and for me.

As a young girl I attended Zion Hill Baptist Church in Jackson County with my dad and mom. My parents (Lawny Jones, deceased, and Lucille McMahan) and the folks at Zion Hill taught me about Jesus. These were men and women who were burdened for lost souls. They did not have time to fuss over who was to tell the good news; they just shared the gospel with everyone.

I remember walking up Pumpkintown Road on Sunday mornings with my dad and cousins to go to church; sometimes we would walk a long ways before someone came along and picked us up. I am thankful for a heritage like this and those dear souls who were serious about the great commission. They taught me that I was to go and to do whatever God called me to do, and it did not matter that I am a woman. Most important, I am a servant of God. I think it is time that the people of Tuckaseigee Baptist Association get busy about God's business: Winnings souls for him. As Paul tells us in Eph. 4:3 NIV, "Make every effort to keep unity of the Spirit through the bonds of Peace" or in the KJV, "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Serving the Lord in Honduras,

Patsy Jones Deitz

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