Making a list, checking it twice: last-minute gift ideas for those in the headlines in '23

Bill Studenc, The Mountaineer, Waynesville, N.C.
·4 min read

Dec. 16—Dear Mr. Kringle, I'm writing again to share my Christmas list. As has become my holiday custom, these aren't gift ideas for me. Rather, it's a compilation of last-minute gift ideas for local newsmakers who have been too busy making news to compose their own lists.

Far be it from me to say who's been naughty and who's been nice. After all, that's your job. Now, to the list:

* For would-be voters surprised to discover they couldn't cast ballots in Waynesville's municipal elections because they lived beyond town limits, a refresher course in civics and government. Sure, decisions made by Waynesville officials can affect residents in unincorporated areas of the county, but if you don't pay city taxes, you don't get to vote in city elections.

* For fans of Western Carolina University's football team, one more conference win in 2024 than the Catamounts earned in 2023 — and the first trip to the playoffs since 1983.

* For executives at Pactiv Evergreen who unceremoniously shuttered Canton's venerable paper mill in June after 115 years of providing good-paying jobs to thousands, a lump of coal in their stockings. Actually, make that a jar of the black liquor, a toxic byproduct of the paper-making process, often seen seeping into the Pigeon River.

* For state and local officials from both major political parties who reached across the aisle and put aside petty partisanship to help the town of Canton when facing economic turmoil from the unanticipated loss of the region's largest employer, a community's sincere gratitude.

* For Maggie Valley residents continuing to hope for the triumphant return of Ghost Town in the Sky, a settlement to the lawsuit between the niece of the theme park's late owner, Alaska Pressley, and business partner Frankie Wood — along with the realization that the beloved mountaintop attraction is unlikely to return to its heyday.

* For truck drivers attempting to detour around construction on Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, temporary deactivation of their GPS navigation systems, which frequently reroute the 18-wheelers onto narrow, twisty country roadways ill-suited for big rigs.

* For potential homebuyers in Haywood County, more affordable housing options to help lower-income residents be able to purchase a house in our increasingly desirable slice of the world.

* For fallen Vietnam War hero Freddie Hall, whose aircraft went down in 1969 and who was declared "missing-in-action" until his remains were discovered in 2021, a salute and much-deserved "welcome home" after his interment at Green Hill Cemetery in October, some 54 years later.

* For property owners along the Pigeon River in Cruso refusing to grant contractors permission to come onto their land to remove debris left behind by the destructive flooding of August 2021, a change of heart and the understanding that their bullheadedness is putting neighbors at risk from future flooding events.

* For the now-defunct Downtown Waynesville Association, our thanks for using its $70,000 fund balance to kickstart a project to resurrect the historic arch over Main Street declaring the town "the Gateway to the Smokies, with a groundbreaking ceremony held in August.

* For thieves who absconded in June with two of the roadside signs in Maggie Valley designed to warn motorists of the presence of majestic elk, a romantic encounter with a bull elk during the height of rutting season.

* For proponents of a failed proposal to establish a social district in downtown Waynesville that would allow customers to carry adult beverages purchased at participating establishments and stroll around Main Street, an opportunity to be heard without being shouted down by opponents, many of whom don't live in Waynesville.

* For speakers at a Waynesville Town Council meeting attempting to share their politically incorrect thoughts regarding LGBTQ people after an alleged incident involving a transgender woman in the women's locker room at the Waynesville Recreation Center, the same opportunity to be heard without being shouted down. All opinions, including those that don't necessarily correspond with the sentiments of the majority of the masses, deserve to be heard — as long as those opinions don't regress into hateful name-calling and vitriol.

* For motorists attempting to navigate through multiple upcoming road construction projects in Haywood County, including a Russ Avenue make-over and improvements to the U.S. 23-74 Bypass between Tuscola High School and Waynesville, patience. Lots and lots of patience.

* For readers of The Mountaineer, a wonderful holiday season and a peaceful New Year.

Bill Studenc, who began his career in journalism and communications at The Mountaineer in 1983, retired in January 2021 as chief communications officer at Western Carolina University. He now writes about life in the mountains of Western North Carolina.