Letters to the Editor

Silent Vigil To Raise Awareness of Violence Against Women November 25
On Wednesday, November 25, Women in Black and OASIS will sponsor a vigil to observe a day designated by the UN General Assembly—International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. We will be standing on the steps of the Jones House in downtown Boone from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in silent vigil.

The designation of this day is to encourage communities to raise public awareness of the issue of violence against women, one of the most widespread human rights violations throughout the world community. Globally, an average of 6 out of 10 women experiences physical and/or sexual violence in her lifetime. For women 16 to 44, violence to their person is the major cause of death or disability. A 2003 report from the U.S. Center of Disease Control and Prevention estimates a cost of intimate partner violence in the U.S. alone to be $5.8 billion/year.

We need a significant presence in our community on November 25 to show that this is not acceptable, we care, and that we are willing to take a stand. Please join us, even if for part of the time, and spread the word.

Get this message out to friends, make announcements to organizations you are part of, invite your friends and associates.

For more information, contact Marg at 828-264-4310 or mckinnymj@yahoo.com.

Hope to see you on the 25th.

Marjorie McKinney
Boone

America Must Strengthen Jobs, Work Force
J-O-B-S—the number one issue in the real world America today. Certainly it is the number one concern in our 10th District here in Western North Carolina. Our unemployment here is close to 15%, way above the national average. But, let’s not get into citing a bunch of statistics; we know it’s bad. So, what do we do about this? Do we look to the government for help? Is that what our parents did when they went through difficult times, or our founding fathers? Were they better at providing for their families than we? Silly as it sounds, “I am my father’s son!” I learned when there is a problem to stand up and confront it. It is up to us. How often is it up to us?

How do we take on our problem of high unemployment? How do we create jobs to replace the jobs lost due to economic downturns and globalization? Well, let’s attack globalization first. 

Globalization—something we’ve been hearing about for 20 years now; my kids heard about it in school as they grew up—the importance of “globalizing,” spreading our free enterprise system around the world and opening our country to the world’s way of doing business. I tried that in my businesses, but a funny thing happened; I ran into cultural differences, something they don’t tell you about when expounding on the importance of globalization. “We need to level the playing field.” Does that sound familiar? Easy to say, but an “unlevel” playing field has a lot to do with different cultures around the world; something people who have no real world experience don’t know about. But, I’ll save that for another writing.

I attended a Tom Peters (renowned author and business guru) seminar about 20 years ago and remember him saying there were hungry, intelligent, competitive thriving cultures with workforces of 4 billion people just seconds away by phone or fax. (This was before the Internet.) And, that the Asians were targeting the United States with all their efforts. Why were they targeting us? Because we were and still are the center of the global economy, the economic breadbasket of the world!

Tom Peters was right. They came after us and attacked us in our weakness—our bloated, inefficient manufacturing industries. This wasn’t the fault of the employees, but rather management who let these economic giants flounder and decay from within. I remember in my early days of small business, people talking about “getting on with Delco, or Chrysler.” Getting on! Not going to work but getting on! If I hired one of these people for my small business they’d be gone in a minute if Delco called.

So, what happened in these large corporate facilities? Anybody who worked in one saw and knew what made those companies grow and prosper in the glory days. The original owner’s management style and passion for the industry was long gone, along with the passion of the original labor force. When globalization hit with a cheap work force “there was nothing that could be done,” so they said. That was wrong! What built those industries was not cheap labor to be taken away: it was American ingenuity and the free enterprise system working together. That’s what was lost first—why the companies stagnated, decayed and why the jobs were then lost. The Asian continent attacked our weakness and our jobs suffered; lost to overseas manufacturing.

But, what happens when you attack someone’s weakness? Well, in war you get to kill them, but that’s not legal in business. When someone attacks your weakness in business what do you do? You fix it. And now what have you done? You just made yourself stronger. This is what we need to do; we need to make ourselves stronger in our jobs!       To be continued…

Vance Patterson
Morganton

ASU—Agrarian Reformer
Twelve people attended the third meeting of the ostensible Citizens’ Plan held Thursday evening, November 5, 2009, at the commissioners’ board room. After the presentation, there were several good points made about issues that urgently need to be addressed.

The untold ugly side of ASU’s presence was the principal subject, which is also associated with the worsening plight of the farmer in Watauga. The opening comments recounted the long string of broken official promises regarding ASU’s growth. Another observation pointed out that most county and town initiatives and policies are for ASU’s benefit, paid for by town and county taxpayers. Another citizen remembered that ASU students, at a previous meeting, requested that the county provide affordable housing for ASU students. Yet, ASU continues to grow its student body and dominance of this county. Truthfully, the Planning Oversight Group is focusing on issues the county will face, if ASU’s growth is not checked.

Longtime farmer Edward Greene, who reiterated his stand against zoning and its detrimental effects on farmers, described the many difficulties of the remaining farmers in his area contending with county officials, developers, young renters of nearby housing and their dogs. He spoke of another farmer, now deceased, who was told by a Soil and Water official that he could not farm all of his land because the official claimed a portion of the land was in the floodplain. Yet, a developer, after purchasing land in the New River floodplain, was allowed to even subdivide this property. Mr. Greene concluded that individuals with influence and money can purchase farmland at agricultural prices, obtain variances to develop and make huge profits.

He told of constant trouble with dogs chasing and injuring his cattle and even killing newborn calves. The dogs belong to college students in a nearby housing development. These young people are not aware or respectful of the considerable worth of cattle, which currently ranges from $400 to $700 a head. These additional problems have caused Mr. Greene to put his farm up for sale, directly and indirectly because of ASU’s presence and continual growth.

The Oversight Group, of which at least two members have ASU connections, in their Citizens’ Plan draft, called for viewshed protection, corridors and gateways, recreation sites and continued tourism promotion. These measures will further undermine and take more land and equity from the farmers and all rural property owners. The land is all the rural people have. They do not have savings of any significance; they do not own stocks, bonds, etc. The land is their retirement, their only insurance for the future; it is their legacy to their children and grandchildren.

Madeline K. Carter

Thanks for Hosting Bear Paw Hike
I want to send out a heartfelt "thank you" to the High Country Conservancy for hosting a hike on November 14 at the Bear Paw State Natural Area. Approximately 25 hikers attended. We were treated to a well-organized event that showcased state-protected land, great trail and beautiful vistas, high above Seven Devils Road near Valle Crucis.

Thanks also to the High Country Press for running a promotional article prior to this event. Several hikers mentioned that they were made aware of the function through this feature. It's a great example of how a local community can pull together and explore the natural assets of northwestern North Carolina.

Tom Mueller, Ph.D.

Continued Support for Farthing Street Traffic Light
Thanks to all the residents of the Farthing Street Chestnut Drive, elected officials and others who have joined us in our efforts to get a traffic light at the Farthing and King Street intersection.

A previous letter to this publication highlighted the efforts of our neighborhood to get a traffic light at Farthing Street to provide access that will be severely limited by the current King Street project and the concrete median it brings. This includes limited access to emergency vehicles into this neighborhood that all come from the west.

This light, as one of our neighbors pointed out, will make a great project better. This light will help prevent speeding on a street that is seeing an ever increasing amount of pedestrian and bike traffic.

Through the efforts of Boone Town Council member Stephen Phillips, neighborhood residents were invited to the November meeting of the Transportation committee.  This meeting was attended by a standing-room-only contingent from the neighborhood and included folks from other neighborhoods in support and resulted in a recommendation to Town Council to pursue the project. 

Anyone interested in supporting the Farthing Street traffic light project is invited to join us at the November 19 council meeting at Council Chambers on Blowing Rock Road at 6:30 p.m. Anyone seeking additional information may e-mail me at fandcneighbors@gmail.com.

J.F. Heffren
Boone

Mayor Clawson Thanks Voters
Dear Editor:

I would like to personally thank everyone who came out and voted in our recent municipal election. Thank you for re-electing me to the position of mayor of the Town of Boone. Your vote of confidence was certainly overwhelming, and I sincerely appreciate your support. Thank you for your trust and assurance in me to serve four more years as mayor.

I plan to work hard as always in making our town a wonderful place in which to live!

Loretta Clawson

5K Run/Walk a Huge Success
Thanks to all who helped and participated in the Relay for Life Scarecrow 5K Run/Walk to benefit the American Cancer Society-Relay for Life held Saturday, October 24, at the Greenway Trail. A good time was had by all, the weather was perfect and a great group of runners/walkers helped make the 3rd annual fall run so successful. First place female was Tiffany Thompson (19:46) and first place male was Michael Kepley (20:19). First place masters, (40+ older) female was Sharon Brooks (25:46) and male David Ziegler (21:55). For more race results, you can go to our website, www.appstate.edu/~wardpy. Thanks also to Charlies Auto Parts-NAPA of Boone, Foscoe Country Corner and Deli, Jeff's Lawncare, Real Deals Now and Tim Bryant. The Relay for Life Team Jerry’s Intimidators sponsored this event. For more information about upcoming road races, you can go to our website, www.appstate.edu/~wardpy.

Becky Younce and Paula Ward

EDITOR'S NOTE: High Country Press does not verify the information in the letters to the editor submitted to the newspaper and does not endorse the positions expressed in the letters. The opinions and assertions are those of the writers alone.

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