Pless continues to support some ‘bad stuff’

Rep. Mark Pless, to put it bluntly, is a piece of work. He identifies as Republican yet supports measures that fly in the face of a long-held conservative philosophy that a less centralized government is better, one that puts more control in the hands of local leaders.

He also carries grudges — a fact he readily admits.

A recent legislative “victory” for Pless stripped Maggie Valley town officials of authority to regulate zoning in their extra-territorial jurisdiction. The bill that he introduced and shepherded through the legislature was, in Pless’ own words, “retribution” for an earlier RV moratorium the town had enacted.

Politics in the town of Maggie Valley have long been acrimonious and sometimes sensational. Votes at town board meetings are often split as the town navigates its unique status as a haven for small tourism-related businesses while also yearning for its former glory days when Ghost Town in the Sky attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

To this end, the town spent years developing a comprehensive Unified Development Ordinance. For a while during its development — from January 2022 to June 2022 — RV parks were banned. However, during most of the time this plan was being developed, you could indeed build almost any kind of RV park.

In North Carolina, extra-territorial jurisdiction refers to parcels of land adjacent to or otherwise outside of municipal boundaries where cities and towns nonetheless exercise cer-

Thanks for supporting Folkmoot event

To the Editor:

Folkmoot’s first-ever Summer Soirée on July 20 at the Folkmoot Friendship Center attracted nearly 200 guests and featured food from over a half dozen local eateries, live entertainment and a silent auction.

This fundraising event showcased Waynesville’s vibrant culinary scene by taking guests on a “cultural journey” in which they visited various rooms inside the Friendship Center where they savored food from The Scotsman, Guayabitos, Bocelli’s Italian Eatery, Watami Sushi and Noodles, The Cheesecake Mousse, and Haywood Smokehouse. All the eateries donated food for the event. A silent auction was held online with all contributions going to help with renovating the Folkmoot Auditorium, which is in need of new seats, lighting and sound upgrades, and most notably, a new air conditioner. The event raised more than $20,000.

The organizing committee thanks all the attendees, sponsors, local restaurants, silent auction donors, performers and volunteers who helped with the Summer Soirée. International Festival Day will take place on

LOOKING FOR OPINIONS:

tain powers, like zoning. Residents of ETJs don’t pay city taxes, but they also don’t get to vote in city elections.

Pless, with the support of two of the five Maggie Valley aldermen, seems very proud of his bill that strips the town of the ability to control zoning in its own ETJ. He calls it a property rights issue, but it’s just Pless throwing his weight around.

“Why should they be able to enforce their zoning, which is mixed up and has no accountability?” said Pless at a recent press conference.

Well, for one, the “they” he is referring to were aldermen elected by the voters of Maggie Valley two years ago when all these issues were being discussed, so they are duly elected to make decisions about the town.

Second, it’s simply ludicrous for one legislator to be this heavy handed toward local government’s rights. But it’s no surprise considering this is Mark Pless we’re talking about. He also tried to get a bill passed that would make all town and school board elections in Haywood County partisan even though just about every town alderperson and members of the school board were against the measure. No matter, he tried to get it passed.

Julia Freeman, a Republican on the Waynesville Town

Letters

Saturday, July 29, on Main Street in downtown Waynesville. For more information visit www.folkmootusa.org.

Jessica May Folkmoot Board of Directors

How can we describe Trump?

To the Editor:

By reading the final report of January 6 Committee, I noticed this bit of information: As many as 80,000 people responded to Donald Trump’s call for a protest that would be “wild.” Think about that number — 80,000. That seems like a horde of people. But, is it really?

When you look at 80,000 as a percentage of 340 million Americans you get a different feel. Could Trump do no better than 80,000? Get your calculator! Figure the percentage. Only 80,000 people were following Trump’s orders. The other 339.9 million refused, weren’t invited or were otherwise indifferent. Now hundreds of those who rioted are serving time for various crimes. Many of them believe they were lied to by Trump.

Remember: Over 81 million people voted

Board, had this to say about Pless’ partisan elections bill: “Honestly, he’s an individual that’s not actively listening to his constituents or listening to elected officials in the community. I have not been contacted, and whoever these constituents are, I’d like to speak to them because they have not reached out to me. I don’t know who he’s representing, except maybe his own self interests.”

Pless just can’t stop himself. He’s also seeking $20 million to rebuild Central Haywood High School in Clyde, which was destroyed in the flood cause by the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred in August 2021. But the school system doesn’t need the school and has told him so. The system’s enrollment is declining, and school officials already have a school — Central Elementary — that was available.

“With the mill closure and declining [average daily membership], we didn’t feel like an expansion at this time was prudent,” said Haywood Schools Superintendent Trevor Putnam in a recent news story.

Here’s Pless on his reasoning for introducing the Maggie Valley ETJ bill: “I do some really bad stuff and I do some good stuff; it just depends on which side of the bed I crawl out of as to which you get sometimes.”

This is one of the few times I agree with our legislator. Constituents be damned, he does indeed do some “really bad stuff.” for Joe Biden. Yet, Trump (who garnered only 70 million votes) tried to use 80,000 people to overthrow the election.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)

Currently, Trump is facing indictment for his misdeeds. If prosecuted, he will be provided a fair trial. Remember: Trump wanted to deny Hilary Clinton a fair investigation/trial. He promoted the chant “Lock her up.”

Thankfully, Americans aren’t calling for him to be locked up without a trial. America has a written Constitution to follow. The question remains, though: Is Trump a victim? Or is there another word that describes him?