January 27, 2012
Edition
Sylva, NC
Volume 86, No. 45

Sign declared disturbance; press attorneys disagree - County officials told 83-year-old Sylva resident Marie Leatherwood that her actions created a disturbance during the Jan. 17 commissioners’ meeting. Dressed in a green jumpsuit, the short-statured Leatherwood argued her point with commissioners for about 2 minutes before she agreed to put down her cardboard sign. Ironically, the sign highlighted her displeasure with commissioners’ previous decision to conduct the next countywide property revaluation in 2013, even though county officials earlier that night had agreed to postpone that revaluation. For the past year, Leatherwood has often appeared at commissioners’ meetings with a sign, though her message has changed. Initial signs reflected her...

Knotts to move, leave Sylva board - A Sylva official will be leaving the town board in July. Two-term Sylva board member Stacy Knotts will resign in order to move this summer to Charleston, S.C., where her husband Gibbs Knotts will take a position as head of the political science department at the College of Charleston. The couple moved to Sylva from the Atlanta area in 2000; Knotts was first elected to the town board in 2005. “I’m sad to leave before my term is over,” she said Tuesday. “I hope I’ve made a difference on the town board since I’ve been here.” After Stacy Knotts leaves in July, the remaining board members will appoint her replacement. Gibbs Knotts is leaving a position as political science professor and department head at Western Carolina University to accept the Charleston post.

Heritage Center receives historic gun - Odell Haskett of Sylva, right, and Scott Philyaw, director of Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center, examine a shotgun once owned by Thomas Ledbetter, a prominent Cullowhee resident of the early 20th century who served as county surveyor, member of the county board of education and as a state legislator. Haskett delivered the shotgun to the museum on behalf of his friend David Ledbetter, Thomas Ledbetter’s grandson, who wanted the artifact to be added to the MHC’s permanent collection. David Ledbetter, who spent boyhood summers in Cullowhee, now lives in Delray Beach, Fla. MHC curator Pam Meister said the gun will be part of an upcoming exhibit that will focus on “the private collectors...

County leaders tackle tough topics during all-day session - During an all-day Jan. 13 work session, county commissioners grappled with a number of pressing topics, though no formal action was taken. Those issues and the discussion surrounding them include: Alcohol referendum Board of Elections Director Lisa Lovedahl updated county leaders on the status of the planned May referendum authorizing countywide alcohol sales. The next step to get the item on the primary ballot is for county attorney Jay Coward to forward it to the U.S. Department of Justice for pre-clearance. That is required because the county has a large minority (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.) After that approval, Lovedahl will submit the item to the State Board of Elections by Feb. 29. The date of the primary could change, Lovedahl said, due to a redistricting lawsuit. However, a recent court ruling makes it likely the primary will proceed as planned in May. Lovedahl...

Commissioners discuss library plaque - Some seven months after dedicating a new county library, commissioners discussed the names that will be on a plaque at the new facility during an all-day work session held Jan. 13. Coincidentally, the item for plaques at the library was listed on the agenda as “plagues,” which prompted laughter, and county Manager Chuck Wooten said there has been much discussion from all sides. Plaques that are traditionally installed in new facilities cite board members who were in office when the building was constructed, along with the architect/designer and builder, Wooten said. However, in the case of the library, construction continued after three new commissioners took office. A previous design for a plaque to hang in the new library featured the names of the five....

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