This may be a true statement, but the number of incidents are becoming far more common. There have been 2 of those deaths and multiple attacks within a 100 mile radius, within 10 years, and within a 3 hour drive of were I live. I'm aware of at least a dozen incidents in East TN and North GA just in the last few years. Most of which never made the news. Over a 100 year period the number may be irrelevent, but over the last 10 years it certainly is not.
I don't spend a lot of time worrying about it. I do use common sense in regards to food, but I cannot control what others who have been in an area before me are doing. If other hikers/campers/homeowners are doing stupid stuff and training bears to accept human food I must be prepard. The state killed 3 bears just over a week ago that came out of the mountains and were making pests of themselves in a neighborhood near where I hunt.
I still believe most bear incidents can be traced back to poor human decisions, but often the person who pays, is not the person who trained the bear to hang around humans. It only makes sense to be prepared with an adequate firearm.
My personal choice is a Glock 10mm loaded with the same 200 gr Doubletap loads. But the 357 is also a good choice. I prefer the Glock because it gives me the same performance in a much lighter, easier to carry package when hiking in bear country.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/oct/05/bears-killed-after-roaming-chatsworth-georgia/
Another incident just over a year ago
http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=202374
From 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/us/24bear.html?_r=0