The Sylva Herald is reporting that last week’s big public hearing to gather public hearing on proposed hydraulic fracturing regulations in North Carolina apparently included a group of questionable fracking supporters. In her story posted online following Friday’s hearing, reporter Quintin Ellison wrote that 18 men in turquoise “Shale Yes” attended, with some of them saying they were bused in from a homeless shelter in Winston-Salem.

From Ellison’s story posted on The Sylva Herald’s page on Facebook:

Few pro-fracking supporters made themselves visible. People favoring the drilling technology were booed and hissed at during previous fracking hearings. There were some, however. Three or four from America’s Energy Forum and N.C. Energy Forum, groups that receive financial support from American Petroleum Institute. And there was Winston-Salem resident Christian Bradshaw, who said he made the three-hour trip to support “energy-creating jobs” for North Carolina. Another 18 or so men sported turquoise-colored “Shale Yes” T-shirts. Some of them expressed confusion about why they were in Cullowhee. A handful removed their shirts or turned them inside out after anti-fracking supporters quizzed them about their knowledge of fracking. One of the men told The Herald he stays in a Winston-Salem homeless shelter and came because he had been told it would help the environment. He said he felt misled. The man, an Army veteran receiving mental-health care, refused to provide his name or additional details, saying he didn’t want any trouble. To prove his story, he fished in his pocket and produced a Bethesda Center For The Homeless business card. The men who would talk – none were willing to provide their names — seemed nervous. They asked reporters to close their notebooks when other people approached. One warned another to be quiet. They denied receiving money to attend the hearing. Fracking protesters cried foul. “The energy industry keeps claiming that there is support for fracking in WNC. What they fail to mention is that they have to bus the clueless ‘supporters’ in,” said Betsy Ashby, who helped organize Jackson County Coalition Against Fracking.

Here’s a YouTube video showing some of those men. Check it out.

I haven’t seen any other news outlets reporting this, but it sure appears to be shady. Stay tuned.