To the Editor:

We would like to express our gratitude for the opportunity to serve you and say thank you for your business. These last few months have been challenging for everyone and especially for small businesses like Waynesville Tire. We have been blessed by our loyal customers.

We have had to reconfigure our ways of meeting your needs and at the same time striving to keep you — our customers — and our employees safe and healthy. This has required us to give you curb service since March. We will be continuing these same practices in the coming weeks for the health and safety of all.

We can never tell you how much we appreciate your patience and understanding and we look forward to serving you for years to come. 

And remember, we can’t do anything about COVID-19 but we can still cure baldness.

Jeff McCall, owner

Waynesville Tire

To the Editor:

Donald Trump doesn’t want to wear a face mask. He feels he looks ridiculous in one. Donald Trump wants no restrictions in his need for many attendees to the upcoming Republican National Convention in North Carolina. Donald Trump has politicized the wearing of face masks. Thus, he wants thousands of people at the convention cheering him on and no face masks in sight. 

His followers will follow him. Thousands of Trumpers will be crammed together for hours in Charlotte. Some of them will inadvertently bring COVID-19 into the convention hall. As a result, this convention will be the epicenter of a huge cluster of COVID transmission and from there back out into the country. Very irresponsible.

Daniel Perlmutter

Cullowhee

To the Editor:

Did you know there is a group of essential workers who will not be getting a stimulus check under this administration — workers who pay taxes and contribute to the Social Security funds. They pick our fruits and vegetables and labor to keep us fed. They are undocumented immigrants, many of whom have lived in this country for 20 years and have raised families here.

And I am only talking here of immigrants working 20 or more years in our country. Even though they are among the most needy, they will not receive a cent of stimulus money.

This is incredible pettiness. We are a great and rich nation. We can feed our workers in time of need. A recent campaign slogan stated “Make America Great Again.” These petty policies do not make America look great. They make us the laughingstock of the rest of the world

We deserve better than this.

Paul Strop

Waynesville

To the Editor:

On Monday, May 25, George Floyd of Minneapolis was the latest victim of wrongful police killings. May Mr. Floyd be the last. Change is possible. 

A decade ago, with one of the worst problems of excessive force and killings of unarmed people nationwide, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department implemented body cams and trained police in de-escalation techniques. By 2014, there were no deadly force incidents involving unarmed suspects and a decrease of police shootings by 36 percent. 

We in the Jackson County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have an ongoing dialog with our county sheriff and police departments, and we salute their interest in better policing. We join the national NAACP in supporting the end of pretextual stops and stop and frisk tactics. We urge congressional candidates to commit to enacting national standards for police accountability such as the End Racial and Religious Profiling Act (ERRPA) and the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act (LETIA), which provide enhanced oversight for police departments. We also support local law enforcement training on implicit bias and effective data collection on traffic stops.

As a community, let’s enable law enforcement policy development to eliminate wrongful police killings.

Enrique A. Gómez PhD

President, Jackson County NAACP

Sylva

Rural counties have so far been sheltered from the high numbers of positive COVID-19 cases, but as testing ramps up, the number of positive cases continue to rise. 

District Attorney Ashley Welch announced that Jeremy Edward Stepp has been sentenced as a habitual felon and can expect to spend the next 25 to 42 months in prison for possession of methamphetamine.

By Sally Kestin • AVL Watchdog | Kathie Carnahan nursed her husband through two major surgeries, watched helplessly as dementia robbed the once vibrant attorney of the ability to speak, and made the gut-wrenching decision to place him in an Asheville nursing home.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Rangers responded to a report of a motorcycle collision along Newfound Gap Road near Park Headquarters at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 30.

Western Carolina University has announced plans for fall 2020 that include holding the first day of classes as scheduled on Monday, Aug. 17, eliminating the traditional fall break, moving final exams online and sending students home for the remainder of the semester prior to Thanksgiving.

 Workers laid-off due to COVID-19 face impending deadlines to qualify for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance.

Macon County Public Health has identified 42 positive cases of COVID-19 in the last 48 hours.

Haywood County Public Health received notice on May 28, that another three Haywood County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 — this brings the total number of cases recorded in the county to 48.

By Ilana Fiorenza • AVL Watchdog | The pandemic that left thousands of Asheville workers unemployed has been particularly hard on the artists, musicians and performers who help define the city’s character.

Macon County has identified three more COVID-19 cases, bringing the total cases up to 21.

• The Ingles Advantage card will help save on every shopping trip. (See your local store for a card.) Look for your Advantage special pricing on shelf tags.

The opening of Clingmans Dome Road on Tuesday, May 19, was followed by an additional wave of reopenings on Saturday, May 23. 

Delayed Harvest trout waters will open on June 6 in North Carolina, affecting 34 streams and two lakes. 

By Molly Boothroyd • Guest Columnist | Who would have thought the year 2020 could be so negative, life-changing but also filled with so much joy? 

I have patiently waited my turn for the many celebratory Pisgah High School senior traditions. Wearing a red cap and gown as my fellow seniors walk down the halls to loud cheering in our previous elementary and middle school. Hugging our teachers and giving high fives to younger students telling them to “work hard and graduate!” The senior picnic celebration after the group senior 2020 class photo. Spending one last day together eating and hanging out before heading off in different directions. 

To the Editor:

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed many societal issues in our country — inadequate healthcare, the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, racial injustice, a lack of funding for our educational institutions, extreme partisan bickering, etc. You might say there’s another kind of virus out there that we need to address.

In order to address the virus in the 11th Congressional District of North Carolina, a representative who knows how to get things done is needed. That man is Morris (Moe) Davis. A Shelby native who graduated from Appalachian State University and North Carolina Central Law School, Davis spent 25 years in the Air Force, rising to the rank of colonel. During his Air Force days, he worked as a chief prosecutor for terrorism trials at Guantanamo Bay and ended up resigning from his position rather than obtain evidence through torture. He’s stood up for the right to free speech and has also worked as a national security specialist for the Congressional Research Service, worked as a law professor and a judge, among other positions. Davis has the experience, leadership ability and know-how to get things done.

The many issues Davis wants to address include gradually implementing a public option healthcare plan that puts people above corporate profits, raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, strengthening public schools and investing in infrastructure to bring more broadband access and jobs to Western North Carolina. You can learn more at moedavisforcongress.com.

As Moe would say, “It’s always the right time to do the right thing.”

Betty Dishman

Sylva

To the Editor:

On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was jogging in a residential Brunswick, Georgia, neighborhood, was murdered by a group of white men who said they thought he was suspicious looking. The local police took no action for 70 days, until the press got involved, leaving them no choice but to arrest those responsible.

On May 3, 2020, in New Hanover County, an armed mob including an off-duty deputy sheriff knocked on the door and threatened to forcefully enter the home of a black family, claiming to be looking for a missing girl in the neighborhood. No girl was there and it was the wrong home, but the family was terrified as their lives were threatened by this vigilante gang of thugs.

Incidents like these are too common, sometimes with the silence or encouragement of the highest elected officials.

Whether you are the editor of a newspaper, an elected official, or just a person who believes in basic justice, the rule of law and the sanctity of human rights in our nation, it’s time to stand against those who take the law into their own hands through acts of racial hatred, intimidation and domestic terrorism.

Avram Friedman

Sylva

To the Editor:

The entire article on the Cherokee suing over the Catawba casino proves that the only reason for the Cherokee to object to the Catawba casino is greed. If they would make money from it, there would be no objections. They did the same to prevent a casino in coastal North Carolina. And the non-N.C. Cherokee need to stay out of N.C. affairs. This can easily be settled. Allow non-native run casinos in the state. Besides, the Cherokee casino is not even owned by a state corporation.

Gino De Neef

Franklin

Roberta Harverson started her nursing career as a CNA. After completing her LPN at AB-Tech, she began working at Autumn Care of Waynesville in 1992. In 1998, she became a Registered Nurse but continued to stay at Autumn Care, since it has always felt like home to her.

Mercy Urgent Care is now offering two types of COVID-19 testing, viral testing and antibody testing, at all eight of its urgent care facilities across Western North Carolina, including Waynesville. By offering both tests, Mercy hopes to improve tracking of the virus and slow its spread throughout the region.

Macon County Public Health has identified a COVID-19 cluster of positive cases in an area church located in Franklin.

In accordance with Executive Order 141, the ABC Commission will temporarily allow On-Premise ABC permit holders to include additional outdoor seating as part of their licensed premises if that space is approved by the appropriate local government entity. 

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is reporting the state’s highest one-day number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with 1,107 cases reported. 

By Sally Kestin

AVL Watchdog

It began with one employee falling ill from the coronavirus. By Friday morning, just 11 days later, 55 elderly and infirmed residents at the Aston Park Health Care Center in southwest Asheville and at least 30 of its staff had tested positive. Four residents had died, and one was hospitalized.

Macon County Public Health has identified three additional positive cases of COVID-19. All three are unrelated to the positive essential workers at an area business.

Haywood County Public Health received notice May 22, that another Haywood County resident has tested positive for COVID-19.  This is the 41st case recorded in the county. This individual is in isolation at home.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting its first case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19.

Haywood County Public Health received notice May 21, that seven more Haywood County residents have tested positive for COVID-19.  These are the 33rd - 39th cases in the county. All are in isolation at home.

Haywood County Public Health received notice May 20 that four more Haywood County residents have tested positive for COVID-19. These are the 29th – 32nd cases in the county. All are in isolation at home.

All Fontana Regional Library locations in Macon, Jackson, and Swain counties will provide curbside pickup service starting the week of Monday, May 18. Call your local library to ask about hours for that location.

On May 24, Macon County Public Health announced a cluster of cases centered around the Evangelical Ebenezer Church. As of press time on May 26, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services had reported 18 cases in Macon County, up from four cases May 15. One Macon resident died from the disease, reported April 6.

To the Editor:

I see these folks protesting, yelling and carrying weapons, as if a gun is an argument that trumps all else. I want to ask them what they are afraid of since volume and bravado are usually signs of fear. But, we live in a time of fear, a time when reasons and a search for truth are cast aside by dogmatism and belief in belief. 

There is a favorite truism of some of these folks: You have to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything. I think they don’t know how close they are to the truth and yet how very far away. If the thing you stand upon is a crumbling wobbly foundation then surely you will fall …. for everything.

My brother is a doctor, a pathologist. He is a man of science. He is not an alarmist. He does not speculate. When presented with a problem, he inhales the available literature in an honest attempt to advance his understanding. He understands that science is a continuing inquiry, a continuing search for facts. There are questions that science cannot answer. There are truths beyond the realm of science. But, there are facts derived by science that exist whether we believe them or not.

He wrote the following in an e-mail:

“In the matter of isolation: I actually think that we are entering the period when staying up on the mountain is more and more prudent. It is just a matter of mathematics; there are now a million or more known cumulative cases of Covid in the U.S. There have been studies done in New York (based on antibody testing, to demonstrate virus exposure in the past) suggesting that with the limited virus and testing that has been done in real time to find cases, there has been an underestimation of as much as 10:1 of the numbers of actually exposed infected people. Thus 1 million known infections translates to 10 million probable real infections, which is to say the 1 million known ones and the 9 million that were asymptomatic, had mild or atypical symptoms, or had real disease but never made it to hospital and either recovered or died without fanfare. It can be assumed that this bug is now circulating freely through the entire U.S. population and if the various troglodytes decide to allow things to reopen in the current state of the epidemic in the U.S. there will not only be a further major fiasco …”

The second clause of his final sentence was related to our personal discussion. I am in my late 60s and have a spate of auto-immune diseases that require regular infusions of biologics. That puts me at very high risk. Fortunately, I live on a mountain in rather isolated conditions. My brother was cautioning me on the necessity of maintaining that isolation.

We were discussing the very real possibility that we would not see each other again or see our mother or an uncle who we are close to. My mother is in her 90s. My uncle is just turning 80. Both have health issues which make them even further at risk. My brother lives in Canada so crossing the border to see either of them or me involves both risk and logistical problems.

Besides those family members I think of my friend Nelda. She is soon to be 76 and lives in Raleigh now. We became acquainted when she was my editor at the Mountain Xpress. Our relationship became much more than that. She is my emotional partner, the person in this world I truly love.

The idea that I may never see her in person again is devastating; made even worse by the prospect that the loss would extend to her two beautiful granddaughters. They call me Uncle Maniac and offer a light I never thought I would see since I never had children of my own.

Maybe this all sounds very melodramatic and maudlin, but I have every reason to want to not believe this virus is dangerous. The losses I face have nothing to do with money. They could be permanent, irreparable, without any hope of recovery or reconciliation. I do not relish the consequences of this enforced isolation. I do not want to accept the emotional, social, and, yes, economic devastation that this has wrought. But anger, ignoring facts and data, or concocting conspiracy theories accompanied by accusations of ulterior motivations won’t change the basic science and its implications.

Your AR-15 cannot shoot the virus or make it run away. Yelling incoherent slogans about freedom will not confer immunity. Denial, wishing for magic cures, or whistling past the graveyard with false bravado will accomplish nothing other than to make this much harder. Fear, misplaced belief, and anger will kill you with the same finality as any bullet. 

Patience, steadiness, reliance on facts, and perhaps most of all basic human kindness, decency, and concern for each other are our most potent weapons.

Mark Jamison

Webster

To the Editor:

Come on guys, your MAGA hats won’t make me sick. Your bumper stickers can’t hurt me. Your open state rallies are ill advised, refusing to wear masks is downright dangerous.

I see you in the supermarket, Walmart, Lowe’s, wherever you go. I see you smirk at me as if to say “you’re a jerk.” Maybe I am, but I want to be a live jerk. My husband would not survive COVID-19. Therefore, I take this personally. 

So, keep your hats, bumper stickers and rally if you want. I just want to keep my husband and others at risk safe.

The president refuses to wear a mask, he also said injecting disinfectant would cure the virus. You chose to follow his lead?

Ah, come on guys!

Kathy Lang

Waynesville

A new online course from Cullowhee-based Landmark Learning is teaching first aid skills for people who are sheltering in place. 

Eddie Woodhouse has been named the new executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency in North Carolina, serving as an appointee of President Donald Trump. 

The Pisgah National Forest has begun to reopen many trails and roads and partially lift restrictions for dispersed camping, and fire restrictions have been removed for both the Pisgah and the Nantahala. 

The 2020 Festival of Peonies in Bloom is underway through the end of the month, allowing visitors to witness a field full of peonies in bloom. 

A recently conserved piece of land in Macon County includes a federally significant marsh, a scenic view and a portion of the Nantahala River.

Myth: Celiac disease means you have an allergy to gluten.

This year, Tammy Ensley celebrated 15 years as coach of Pisgah’s varsity cheerleading team and her first year coaching the girls’ track team.