Letters to the editor: 12/14/00

Opposed to land transfer tax

To the Editor:

To cut to the chase, the land transfer tax is viewed by the commissioners as a way to "stick it to the Floridians" while saving face with local voters. For the commissioners, this is an easy tax for which to get initial local support by promoting the "us against them" mentality, pitting local voters against second home owners. This is, however, very short sighted, and local registered voters will soon realize how much this tax costs them.

The problem with this tax is multi-faceted. At the very least it is an unfair burden targeting a select group of county residents, namely, property owners. Property owners in this county already pay ever increasing ad valorem property taxes (as evidenced by the recent reevaluation), a $60 landfill tax and $2 per thousand in land transfer taxes already required in the form of county document stamps.

The land transfer tax proposed is in fact not a new tax, but a 500 percent increase on an existing tax. As it stands now, if you sell a home for $100,000, you must pay the county $200 at the time of sale. If this tax passes, you will pay the county $1,200 at the time of sale for a $100,000 home!

Ad valorem property taxes in Jackson County were increased in the year 2000 by approximately 31 percent. The landfill tax (excluding businesses) was increased by 25 percent What the county commissioners are proposing is in essence a 531 percent tax increase for owners of real property in Jackson County.

Additionally, as sellers of real property try to recuperate this tax by raising their prices it causes at least two further problems. The first is to make it virtually impossible for the first time home buyer to realize their dream of owning their own home. An additional 1 percent added to already escalating prices will destroy the ability of thousands to purchase their own homes. Secondly, the added 1 percent to real property values will ultimately raise the assessed values of real property in the county thereby once again increasing ad valorem property taxes setting in motion a never ending cycle of higher and higher taxes for property owners.

Another problem with this tax is the risk of losing real property purchasers (the "Floridians" to whom the commissioners would like to stick it to) to adjoining counties that do not have this tax. It is very easy for "Floridians" to go to Swain, Macon or Transylvania counties to purchase their second home, thereby avoiding this excessive tax, which will cost Jackson County residents jobs and tax revenues. If we lose tax revenues to surrounding counties, it will mean more tax increases for Jackson County property owners to make up the difference.

I urge your readers to contact the following elected officials asking that they oppose this unfair tax: Sen. Bob Carpenter, 29 Admiral Drive, Franklin, N.C. 28734, (828) 524-5009; Sen. Dan Robinson, P.O. Box 115, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723, 293-9427; Rep. Phil Haire, P.O. Box 248, Sylva, N.C. 28779, 586-3131; Rep. Roger West, P.O. Box 160, Marble, N.C. 28905, (828) 837-5246; Rep. Margaret Carpenter, P.O. Box 893, Waynesville, N.C. 28786, (828) 926-8968.

Marty Jones

Glenville

Senior Tar Heel Legislature

To the Editor:

The Senior Tar Heel Legislature is made up of one senior from each of our 100 counties. We are to report to the General Assembly our list of legislative needs for the elderly in our state. Our Senior Tar Heel Legislature has been faithful to our assigned tasks. A concern is that seniors are not aware of this voice that speaks directly to our legislators.

Your county Tar Heel delegate for Jackson County is Dr. Wilma Cosper, P.O. Box 107, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723. The alternate is Irene Hooper, P.O. Box 2317, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723. Contact them if you would like more information about the Senior Tar Heel Legislature.

Sincerely,

Lamar Moore

Senior Leader

Duke University

Long-term Care

Antifreeze can kill

To the Editor:

Please be aware that it takes an extremely small amount of ethylene glycol (the ingredient in most brands of antifreeze) to kill your pet. Two ounces can kill your dog and one teaspoon can kill your cat. One tablespoon can be hazardous to children.

Please keep an eye on your pets. If your pet appears "drunk" or is acting oddly, please contact your veterinarian immediately. If it is determined that your pet was poisoned, you can contact Animal Control at 586-6138.

Please also consider using Sierra brand antifreeze, which uses propylene glycol rather than the extremely toxic ethylene glycol. Sierra can guide you to retailers if you call 1-800-289-7234. Please inspect your vehicles to see if they are leaking antifreeze.

Our pets are precious to us, and we are their only defense against man-made threats.

Veronica Garrison

Webster

New 'Christmas Carol' worthy of original

To the Editor:

The Sylva Herald had a good write-up about the Kudzu Player's "A Christmas Carol," but I probably wouldn't have made it if I didn't have a relative playing in it. And I would have been the loser! Normally I wouldn't like people changing things I have loved for years, and that were near perfect to begin with. I believe Dickens got it right with this one, just as written.

But it wasn't a play, so when it is made into one people might make changes. Well, this one is really different - and really delightful. I came out genuinely entertained. The spirit as well as the "message" of Dickens work is not lost, but here in great measure. The idea of 12 actors playing over 50 parts seems a challenge - but it works.

No, I am not a reviewer - but it is still on this weekend, Dec. 14, 15 and 16. It is really worth the trouble (helped put this old Scrooge more in the spirit), so I thought I'd pass this along. The number for reservations is 631-2888.

Herald Stockton

Sylva

County manager decision is good news

To the Editor:

Eight years ago when I first proposed this, along with expanding the board of commissioners to five members, I didn't foresee the problems it would cause. The expansion was passed with no trouble, but the powers that be at that time did everything they could to stop the county manager proposal from happening.

I know in my heart the main reason the GOP commissioners were defeated two years ago was because of what they tried to do when Mr. Lewis resigned. Even though what they did was legally correct, many felt it wasn't morally correct. Many in the Jackson County Democratic Party were appalled at the idea of loosing some of their control. I wonder if any of you realize how this move will take a lot of the "politics" out of county government.

Jackson County still has a long way to go in it's thinking. A county job or a job at the Department of Transportation should not be the aspiration of young people. There is so much more out there in this great, big shiny world. And you donšt have to sell your soul to a particular political party to get those jobs.

I'd like to wish all my friends and foes in Jackson County a very happy holiday season. My first winter back in Wisconsin is proving to be everything I remembered and more. It's colder than a mother-in-laws kiss here.

God Bless you all,

Lynn Garrett

Pt. Washington, Wisconsin

formerly of Cashiers

Queen tune inappropriate for high school concert

To the Editor:

What does the selection of such a piece for the performance tell us about the leadership and direction the students are being given in the music program while they are under the school's supervision? Can anything positive really come out of having our community's best and brightest teenagers spending their time memorizing lyrics such as:

"Mama just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now be's dead."

Just what is the "positive educational outcome" the music program is seeking when it teaches the young people of this community to memorize verses like:

"Too late, my time has come, Sends shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time. Goodbye, ev'rybody, I've got to go, Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth. Mama, ooh, I don't want to die, I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all."

And when our children are struggling with low self esteem, drug addiction, promiscuity and alcohol use, and our school system is struggling with high drop out rates, low grade point averages, and low test scores, what possible positive effect could getting some of the brightest young people to repeat over and over to themselves and in practice:

"Nothing really matters, Anyone can see, Nothing really matters, Nothing really matters to me."

And should the argument be put forth that music (lyrics and all) is an art form and therefore neutral, I would like to point out that no less a "music icon" than Jimi Hendrix disagreed when he was quoted by life magazine (Oct. 3, 1969, pg. 74) as saying "Music is a spiritual thing. You can hypnotize people with music and when they get at their weakest point you can preach into their subconscious minds what you want to say."

I would like to ask just what the educational purpose is of "preaching" - "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me" - into the mind's of our community's children. Just how far are those that run the school system our tax dollars are paying for willing to go? Perhaps the next Winter Concert can feature "See You In Hell" by Grim Reaper, or "Sheep" by Pink Floyd, side by side with Gruber's "Silent Night." Maybe another Queen song with the chorus "All going down to see the Lord Jesus" could be paired with Handel's "Joy to the World the Lord has come..."

Enough is enough and teaching the lyrics of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and like "songs" to our young people is too much. Yes, they may listen to a great deal worse on their car stereo on the way home from school, but should the school system be allowed to sink to the lowest point of popular culture? If we answer that question "yes," perhaps to be consistent we should welcome weapons into the schools, sell bullets, set up drug stands, open kegs, and racks of pornography on the playgrounds, while playing Dead Kennedy songs at lunch and distributing free needles.

The superintendent, school board, and principle of Smoky Mountain High School should initiate formal disciplinary action and go on record with strong disapproval of material such as this being introduced into this community's high school music program. Young people have enough of a uphill battle without the school system putting stumbling blocks in their way.

If we continue along this path we may one day find ourselves singing the opening verse - "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality" - and wondering what went wrong as we try to pick up the pieces.

Alarmist? Remember Columbine did not happen in a vacuum, teen suicide and teen murder do not take place in vacuums - it all starts somewhere, and avoiding other Columbines, and other teen suicides and other teen murders won't just happen, it all has to start somewhere. Isn't it time we took this seriously and got started?

Sincerely,

Lee F. Mallory

Whittier

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