Smoky Mountain News | February 21, 2024

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Western North Carolina’s Source for Weekly News, Entertainment, Arts, and Outdoor Information

February 21-27, 2024 Vol. 25 Iss. 39

Post-mill economic strategy takes shape Page 12 Center for Cherokee language preservation opens Page 16

CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: Last fall, the state legislature approved a new District Court judge for Western North Carolina in its budget, a seat that will be filled through the 2024 election. In December of last year, Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement, setting off a complicated political process to find a replacement. With two Republicans vying for each seat, the question is, who will don the robe? (Page 6)

News Macon budgets for capital, considers quarter-cent sales tax ................................4 TABCC member arrested for misuse of tribal funds ................................................5 Waynesville’s Sustainability Board emphasizes strategic plan ..........................11 Economic development planning effort underway in Haywood ..........................12 Haywood foundation seeks greater economic development role ......................13 Candidates for Jackson school board address capital needs ............................14 Building a center for Cherokee language preservation..........................................16

Opinion Electoral College is more valuable than many realize ............................................18 Letters to the editor ..........................................................................................................18

February 21-27, 2024

Taking it to the streets: Graffiti artist Dustin Spagnola ..........................................20 Books: Parallel lives of two men makes great history ............................................27

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news

Macon budgets for capital, considers tax increase

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER apital needs are at the center of Macon County’s budget process for fiscal year 2024-25 and the county is in a good position to fund several big-ticket items.

Even so, commissioners are considering another look at the quarter-cent sales tax option.

“As we look toward fiscal year 25 and the budget, capital has been the theme,” said County Manager Derek Roland. “With respect to capital in the coming fiscal year, this is a once-in-a-generation budget. This budget will provide the vehicle for some of the most significant capital expenditures in the history of this county.”

Macon County has the lowest property tax rate in the state of North Carolina at $0.27 cents per $100 of assessed value and looks to be able to maintain that position even as it undertakes major capital projects.

One penny on the tax rate generates about $1.25 million for the county.

Some of the explosive economic growth that Macon County experienced during the pandemic and the years that followed appears to be leveling off. While the county saw a 12.6% increase in sales tax collections between 2021 and 2022, there was only a 0.43% increase for the same period between 2022 and 2023.

Real estate sales in Macon County at the end of the 2023 calendar year were down 5% in Highlands and 18.5% in Franklin.

However, the average sales price has continued to climb, increasing by $150,000 in Highlands and $10,000 in Franklin throughout 2023. That’s part of a 65% increase in the average sales price in Franklin between 2019 and 2023, and a 110% increase in Highlands during the same period.

The tourism industry has seen a similar trajectory.

“The pandemic ignited travel and tourism across Macon County,” said Roland.

Occupancy tax collections in Nantahala came to about $150,000 in 2023, which is a 127% increase from pre-pandemic levels. In Franklin, occupancy tax collections in 2023 were $490,000, which is about 117% more than in 2019, and in Highlands, the latest occupancy tax collection of $1.5 million is 96% above pre-pandemic levels.

“You see a strong travel and tourism industry that took off during the pandemic, much like our real estate, but it’s now coming back down and settling into what I feel like is a new normal,” Roland told the board.

Macon County currently has an AA2 credit rating from Moody’s and an AA credit rating from Standard and Poor’s.

“You are in very good shape here on your credit rating,” said Mitch Brigulio, financial advisor for the county. “You have access to the market to borrow money, should you choose to do so, at attractive rates.”

From FY 2020-21 to FY 2022-23, Macon County’s fund balance has grown by $13.8 million, as compared to $2.8 million from 4 FY 2017-18 to FY 2019-20. The county has

Smoky Mountain News

February 21-27, 2024

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According to Lynch, the school system could about $22 million of outstanding tax-suplook at moving current pre-K classrooms ported debt, which is low relative to the size of the county. Most of that debt is tied to the from Iotla Valley, South Macon and Macon Middle School project, and the coun- Cartoogechaye to that building, which would free up space within those schools. However, ty is scheduled to pay a significant amount it wouldn’t help East Franklin Elementary of that over the next five years. directly because it doesn’t have any pre-K “You have the capacity to take on addiclasses. tional debt,” said Brigulio.

“However, we could then begin to look at This capability for taking on additional redistricting those lines to free up space and debt will be important for the county, which shuffle,” said Lynch. “Depending on how we has a $180,000,000 capital improvement plan to be paid out between 2025 and 2029. This plan includes items Macon County has $180 million like the new high school and in capital projects scheduled Highlands School renovations, as through 2029. File photo well as recurring allocations for schools and other services.

“Over the next five years, you’re able to complete $180 million of capital projects, $146 of which comes in 2025,” said Roland.

“You’re able to do this and never fall below $7 million in your capital reserve fund that has been established for capital projects and never fall below $25 million in your fund balance.”

According to Roland, the county can do this without having to raise its current tax in the coming fiscal year.

“You can accomplish all that without compromising your ability to do future capital projects as well,” said Roland.

This is of key importance for move forward that could definitely be a posthe county, as the school system, amid the sibility in the future.” new Franklin High School project, is already Total cost projections for the Highlands looking ahead to the need for a new East School project sits at just under $5.5 million.

Franklin Elementary School. The current During the budget kickoff meeting Feb. 8, building is overcrowded and has maintecommissioners awarded a contract to nance issues.

According to Superintendent Josh Lynch, Vannoy Construction to be the construction manager at risk for the project. after undergoing a site assessment, the The Franklin High School project is now school system was advised that it would not projected to total $127 million. The county be economically feasible to fix the current was awarded a state grant to pay for $62 milschool building. lion of the project, and will now be on the “We had to pivot and move in a different hook for about $65 million. It has already direction, so that would be an entire school spent $3 million on the project for design looking forward in the future,” said Lynch. services and architectural firm LS3P is cur“It is our oldest elementary school currentrently completing construction documents. ly.”

“Franklin High School is something we’ve Other needs within the school system planned for, we’ve discussed, we’ve held include a renovation and expansion at meetings, we’ve had setbacks, we’ve spent Cartoogechaye Elementary School, which approximately $3 million in design fees hophas reached its capacity and is having to use ing that one day this would become a realiauxiliary space as classroom space, ty,” said Roland. “In the fiscal year 25 budgNantahala wastewater unit and Highlands et, that project becomes a reality.” soccer field.

However, the budget kickoff meeting did“My board will have a chance to look at n’t come without another close call for the all of these, prioritize them and bring them Franklin High School project. Despite his back to you as a prioritized list as we move insistence that he is completely on board for forward,” said Lynch. “But I just wanted you a new Franklin High School, Commissioner to have this in front of you as you’re beginJohn Shearl made a motion that the decision ning your budget process.” to move forward with the project should be Commissioner Josh Young inquired put to a referendum on the November ballot. about the school system’s ability to realign The board was split, with Paul Higdon schools to alleviate overcrowding. With joining Shearl in voting for the referendum.

Bartram Academy consolidating into the But with Young, Danny Antoine and new Franklin High School, that building will be vacant after the completion of the project. Chairman Gary Shields voting against it, the

motion failed. By a margin of 3-2, the board approved a motion to enter into the RFQ selection process for a construction manager at risk for the Franklin High School project.

During the Feb. 8 meeting, the board also considered a referendum for the quarter-cent sales tax on the November ballot.

When the option to increase the sales tax by one quarter of a cent appeared on the Macon County ballot in 2022, 55% of voters rejected the measure. At that time, revenues

from the additional tax were going to be earmarked for the high school project.

The quarter-cent sales tax, which would apply to residents and out-of-towners alike, is projected to accrue about $2.4 million for the county annually.

“If we get the quarter-cent, we could essentially drop our mill rate by two mills,” said Young. “I think it’s a strong point to make to the people that we could collect funds from pass-through revenue and offset our local mill rate by two cents and keep all our CIP fully funded.”

Brigulio, the county’s financial advisor, said that the nature of Macon County’s economy supports Young’s idea.

Roland told the board it was smart to continue pursuing alternate revenue sources.

“I think Commissioner Young made a great point with the quarter-cent sales tax,” Roland said. “That can go back on the ballot in fiscal year 24. All that does is give us $2 million more on an annual basis that we don’t have now. We can use that to reduce the tax burden on Macon County citizens, to help us do more capital projects, however this board sees fit to do that.”

Macon County will continue the budget process with department requests, which are due to the county manager by March 14.

After the manager has met with department heads, schools and outside agencies, he will present a draft budget to the board of commissioners May 21. The expected adoption date is June 11.

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mission member for cause requires a majority vote of Tribal Council.

Littlejohn is not the first TABCC member to face scrutiny in recent years. Former TABCC Chairman Pepper Taylor resigned after a 2022 Office of Internal Audit and Ethics investigation found that the TABCC had spent $76,421 on food and beverage

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ACCEPTING NEW PA PATIE ENTS G eorge Mitchell Littlejohn. Donated photo purchases and $133,039 on travel and training during a five-month period, among other red flags. As chairman, Taylor was responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, and then-Principal Chief Richard Sneed asked for his resignation.

Shortly after completing the investigation that led to Taylor’s resignation, the Office of Internal Audit and Ethics released a separate investigation finding that another TABCC member, Shannon Ross, had on multiple occasions falsely identified himself as an alcohol law enforcement officer to a casino bartender, attempting to get a new drink while he still had another one in hand. Sneed had asked for Ross’s resignation as well, but Ross refused, and Tribal Council declined to remove him for cause.

Ross’s term expired on July 30, 2023.

fired deliberately toward the occupants. The victims told jury members that the experience had been terrifying.

Superior Court Judge Tom Locke sentenced Leopard to serve a total minimum active prison service of 102 months up to a total maximum of 148 months.

Prosecutors explained to jury members that Leopard faced four criminal counts, not just one, because each trigger pull of the AR-10 semiautomatic rifle required thought.

District Attorney Welch thanked the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, singling out Deputy Rob Porter, Detective Ryan Brooks and the office’s former major, Shannon Queen.

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Glenville man sentenced after shooting into home A Glenville man, angered by neighbors’ target practice and who, afterwards, fired four times into their residence, is now in state custody serving active prison time, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.

Last week, Jackson County jury members found Gene Allen Leopard, 64, guilty of four counts discharging firearm into an occupied dwelling.

The shooting occurred on April 28, 2018.

At the time, three people were in the home: the couple who own the residence and a friend of the husband who had participated earlier in target practice.

Only the two occupied rooms were lighted — indicating, prosecutors argued, that Leopard

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February 21-27, 2024

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER eorge Mitchell Littlejohn, a commissioner on the Tribal Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, is facing 11 charges in tribal court following a Feb. 16 arrest for allegedly charging more than $1,800 to a TABCC credit card for a variety of unauthorized purchases.

“Arrests such as these show the seriousness of taking advantage of appointed positions,” Cherokee Indian Police Department Chief Carla Neadeau said in a statement posted to Facebook. “When someone takes advantage of a Tribal entity, it is the same as taking advantage of the entire tribal community.”

Littlejohn, 61, faces six felony charges — one for forgery and five for misusing tribal money or property — and five misdemeanor charges for fraudulent use of a credit, bank or debit card.

According to court documents, the first offense occurred shortly after noon on Aug. 20, 2023, when Littlejohn allegedly used a TABCC credit card to make a $118.98 online purchase at Lowe’s Home Improvement while at the TABCC office.

The next day around the same time, he allegedly charged $285.58 for a transaction with Verizon Wireless, and on Aug. 22, he is accused of putting a $539.28 purchase at Lowe’s on the credit card, both online purchases made at the TABCC office.

On Dec. 14, 2023, Littlejohn used the card to make a $754.95 purchase at Cherokee Boys Club, signing a receipt for the purchase without authorization from TABCC, court document allege. The final charges stem from a Jan. 21 incident in which Littlejohn allegedly charged a $151.58 payment to Verizon Wireless on the card.

To be released from jail, Littlejohn will have to post an unsecured $30,000 bond and agree to various conditions, including a prohibition on visiting TABCC properties or speaking to its employees.

Littlejohn was appointed to his current term in 2022, and that term is not set to expire until July 30, 2026. Removing a com-

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TABCC member arrested for misuse of tribal funds

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Filling the vacancy

February 21-27, 2024

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committee would have a greater say.

Unique process plays out to replace tiveMichele Woodhouse is the party chair for NC-11 and has been executing the process laid out by the state party. retiring Superior Court judge She said NCGOP general and senior counsel both reviewed

BY KYLE PERROTTI N EWS E DITOR hen Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement late last year, it caught many in the Western North Carolina legal community off guard and set in motion a process with little precedent.

Now, two Republicans, District Court Judge Tessa Sellers and Assistant District Attorney John Hindsman, square off to see who will appear on the November ballot to become the senior resident Superior Court judge for district 43A, made up of Macon, Swain, Clay, Graham and Cherokee counties.

But the complicated procedure to fill the vacancy has left some folks wondering whether too many people are playing politics with the judiciary.

After only 10 years on the bench, a relatively short span compared to many other judges, Coward announced his retirement in December of last year and made it official on Feb. 1, creating a judicial vacancy that has to be filled quickly to keep things moving in a judicial district that’s already backed up.

Coward, a Republican, wasn’t up for reelection until 2030, but this November, the seat will be on the ballot.

Because the vacancy on the bench was created after the Dec. 15, 2023, deadline to appear on the 2024 ballot, GOP members in the five counties he served will vote to see who will appear on the 2024 ballot with the hope that that person will subsequently be appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper.

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THE PROCESS

On Jan. 13, 2024, an internal NCGOP memo laid out the process for a Republican to appear on the November 2024 General Election ballot. NCGOP provided The Smoky Mountain News with a copy of that memo, which draws from both statute and the party’s State Plan of Organization. The memo notes that because the filing period has already closed for the 2024 election, a committee made up of that party’s members can hold a vote to put someone on the ballot, and Democrats can do the same. At this time, there’s no indication that Democrats intend to put anyone on the ballot, although that may change over the coming months.

The governor’s appointee would fill the vacancy until the winner of the 2024 election is sworn in.

State law dictates that in a multi-county judicial district, only “county executive committee members” who live within that multi-county district may vote. In this case, that’s the five counties that make up the District 43A. The details of how the vote would play out are based on the party’s plan of organization and are laid out in the memo. The county executive committees are made up of a chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer, along with five atlarge members selected during the county convention, which is held in odd years. That means the nine members from each of the five counties — 45 people total — will vote. But the votes will be weighted based on the number of registered Republicans in that county.

The numbers for the weighted vote were pulled when the memo was issued and are as follows: Macon has the most at 35.31%, then Cherokee with 33.71%, Clay with 13.52%, Swain with 8.77% and Graham with 8.69%. While all nine members of each executive committee are expected to vote, if one doesn’t show up, that doesn’t change how the 6 counties are weighted, meaning each voter on that execu-

the plan and that it’s the same process that’d be followed for a similarly timed vacancy elsewhere, even though this is the first time she’s seen something like this play out for a judicial seat.

“My job has been to call the meeting in accordance with general statute and the plan of organization,” she said, adding that she thinks the process has gone well and that the executive committee members have had the chance to get to know the candidates to make an informed decision.

However, a few people have taken issue with the process. While some of those people have questioned if the weighted vote is proper, others think there shouldn’t even be a party-driven process to get someone on the ballot.

Danny Davis, a retired District Court judge, a Democrat and current head of the Haywood County Board of Elections, believes that because Coward wasn’t up for election this cycle and the filing period had already closed, that state law would dictate that Cooper’s appointment would hold the seat until the next Superior Court election cycle in 2026.

“If Judge Coward had filed, then yes this applies, but that’s not the case since he’s not up for election. No one’s raising this stuff but me,” he said. “I couldn’t find any case law on this, so I would have thought the state board of elections would have rendered an opinion on this at some point, but it hasn’t.”

The state board of elections did not respond to a request for comment.

Cherokee County attorney Zeyland McKinney raised more of a philosophical issue with the process. McKinney who is the judicial district bar counsellor, meaning he represents the district on the state bar, simply argued that voters should have a say and not just the 45 total members of the executive committees.

“Except in the most dire circumstances, there ought to be a primary to determine who the nominees of the respective parties will be,” he said. “I understand there are statutes and laws, but what’s right and what’s wrong may be different from the statute.”

THE CANDIDATES Hindsman and Sellers are both Clay County natives.

Like his father who deployed to Vietnam, Hindsman opted to serve in the Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2000 after graduating from Appalachian State. He received a deferment of that commission to attend law school at Campbell before joining the Judge Advocate General Corps, through which he’s prosecuted cases involving soldiers. In 2013, he spent 12 months on active duty at Fort Carson, Colorado, and he still flies back as needed to fulfill his duties as a reservist. He now holds the rank of Major.

On the civilian side, Hindsman was an assistant district attorney in Vance County until 2013, when he came to Western North Carolina to serve in the same position, a position he continued to hold after current District Attorney Ashley Welch was

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John Hindsman (right) speaks with Mitch Carson, a member of Swain County GOP’s Executive committee. Kyle Perrotti photo

THE POLITICS Coward was appointed to his Superior Court seat in September 2013 by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. Cherokee County attorney Leo Phillips said that prior to that, when then-Superior Court Judge James Downs announced his retirement, he, Welch, Coward and Sellers all expressed interest in the seat. Phillips said that at that time, he spoke with Welch — who was an assistant district attorney under Bonfoey at the time — who asked him to let Coward have the seat while she readied herself for a run for District Attorney. She told Phillips that because she was stepping aside, Coward would support her and her allies in any political endeavors.

“I was willing to back her all the way to attorney general,” Phillips said. “Bill never said any of this to me, but I remember having that conversation with Ashley.”

Phillips, who is supporting Sellers, said he used to back Welch, but that since she was accused by many of influencing legislators to kill a potential judicial district split that many thought would alleviate the burden on the courts in the westernmost counties, his support has waned.

Either way, when it comes to the current process to fill the vacancy, Phillips said his support of Sellers comes from his belief that she’s simply the best candidate.

“I want the person who’s been tested in the courtroom on the bench,” he said.

However, Welch — who wields sizable political power, especially in Macon County — has voiced her support for Hindsman and even appeared with him on a Zoom call

Kevin Corbin. File photo

Karl Gillespie. File photo While there was a rumor that Hindsman had said during events early on in this process that Sen. Kevin Corbin and Rep. Karl Gillespie, both Macon County Republicans, supported him in his effort to gain a seat on the bench, SMN was unable to confirm that. Both legislators told SMN that they were not supporting either candidate as they thought it would be inappro-

Smoky Mountain News

Tessa Sellers (right) talks to Cody White, an attorney who lives in Swain County. Kyle Perrotti photo

during which executive committee members had the chance to ask questions of each candidate. In addition, at a Feb. 7 meet and greet with the Swain County GOP, Hindsman announced that he also had the support of Coward. Several people interviewed by SMN questioned her ardent support, noting that it could create the appearance of a conflict should he win and hear cases involving the district attorney’s office. Some even said such support is unethical. Welch declined to comment for this story.

Coward announced his retirement on Dec. 7, eight days before the filing period closed and one day after Sellers had filed to retain her District Court seat. Upon his retirement, Hindsman was ready to make a run for the seat and said in a Cherokee Scout story that he intended to seek both Cooper’s appointment and a spot on the ballot.

February 21-27, 2024

elected in 2014. He is now a senior assistant district attorney.

While Hindsman initially indicated that he would do an interview with SMN, he later backed out, saying in a text message that “given the process of the nomination as well as the judicial status of the position,” he’d have to decline. When asked whether his decision was due to a regulation that prevents the interview or his own discretion, he said it was by his own discretion.

Sellers has been on the bench as a District Court judge for the last 10 years.

Like Hindsman, she got her law degree from Campbell. After finishing law school, she came right back to Western North Carolina, where she worked as an assistant district attorney under Mike Bonfoey — Welch’s predecessor — before going into private practice. In 2014, Gov. Pat McCrory appointed Sellers to a District Court seat to fill the vacancy left by Richlyn Holt’s retirement. She was reelected in 2016 and again in 2020. She is currently slated to appear on the 2024 ballot for the same seat and would run unopposed.

In an interview with SMN, Sellers said that her decade of experience on the bench

felt about Hindsman or Sellers, he did note that he’d be interested in considering their behavior he’s seen in court, whether on the bench or as a prosecutor.

But Ford ultimately said that either way, he’s happy to have two qualified candidates, one of whom will join what he considers a qualified slate of judges already on the bench in Western North Carolina who have been professional and competent, something he said isn’t always the case everywhere.

“We’re blessed in this neck of the woods,” he said. “I’ve been practicing long enough in North Carolina to run across a few judges who you wonder how they got out of law school. Neither of these individuals are like that.”

As a Democrat, retired judge Danny Davis is still active in his party and has an idea of where leadership stands. He believes that Sellers is well respected enough that if she appears on the November ballot, they’ll likely sit on their hands and won’t challenge her; however, he couldn’t say the same thing with certainty about Hindsman.

“I don’t think there’s any Democrat lawyer who would want to run against Sellers,” he said. “Lawyers mostly just want qualified people on the bench.”

Attorney Bill Jones, who formerly headed up Haywood County’s Democratic Party, echoed that sentiment.

“Tessa Sellers has earned the respect of the bar,” Jones said.

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Ashley Welch

makes her the perfect person to fill the vacancy in Superior Court.

“I’ve been on the bench now for almost 10 years, and in this position, I’ve served the community,” she said. “I want the chance to serve the community further by working with more challenging cases. I’ve always said as a District Court judge that if this position came open, I’d seek it.”

Members of the executive committees who spoke with SMN wouldn’t even hint as to who they may vote for, but they did note that they wanted to see not only the candidates’ resumes, but they also wanted to get to know each person and gauge their demeanor.

In Macon County, GOP Vice Chair Dylan Castle and at-large member Michael Lyons spoke. Castle said he wants to learn more about the candidates’ qualifications and will make a decision based on who has the best experience applicable to that seat.

Lyons said he was “honored” to take part in such an important process that few get the chance to see play out. He said he’s spoken with both candidates and believes they’re both qualified.

“I’ve heard great things from legal experts on both candidates,” he said. “I think it’s a win-win situation.”

While no one from Graham or Cherokee counties could be reached, similar answers were recorded from members of the at-large committees for both Swain and Clay counties. Clay County Chairman Larry Ford, who has practiced law since 1976, said that while he thinks Hindsman is qualified and would do a fine job, he concedes that experience on the bench demands consideration.

“Being a judge is kind of an art form,” he said.

Ford was interested in judicial temperament, as well. While he didn’t say how he

S EE VACANCY, PAGE 9 7

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BY KYLE PERROTTI N EWS E DITOR or the first time in almost two decades, Western North Carolina is getting a new district court judge, and with no one from any other parties running the contest will be decided by the March 5 Republican Primary.

The seat for the district — which includes Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Clay, Graham and Cherokee counties — was included in last year’s state budget, along with a public defender’s office, both of which should alleviate the backlog of cases, especially in the district’s far-west counties.

Although the candidates for the seat, Andy Buckner and Virginia Hornsby, are from the same party, their interviews with The Smoky Mountain News highlighted key differences in experience, politics and philosophies.

Here’s what they had to say.

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Andy Buckner

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Andy Buckner. File photo Buckner, who grew up in Western North Carolina, was a teacher and band director at Smoky Mountain High School before going to law school at the University of Kentucky.

Before coming back to Western North Carolina in 2016 — seemingly for good — he worked at larger practices in WinstonSalem and Raleigh and covered a “wide variety of subjects,” including different types of complex civil cases.

“I spent a good bit of time in my first couple of years defending police officers on civil rights claims when they were sued,” Buckner said.

In Western North Carolina, Buckner worked at Coward, Hicks and Siler from 2005-2010 and 2016-2019, when he took a job as an assistant district attorney under District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch, who he said is now endorsing him in his judicial run.

“It doesn’t pay as well, but from day one, I felt energized and like I was doing some good,” he said.

On June 1 of last year, District Court Judge Kristina Earwood announced that she was retiring due to an emerging health concern, leaving a vacancy that was filled by Gov. Roy Cooper. That process began with members of the district’s bar voting on three recommendations to send to the governor.

The top vote-getter, Justin Greene of Swain County, was eventually appointed. Buckner came in third in that vote and said the expe-

rience gave him a good idea of how to talk to people about why he is seeking a seat on the bench and what kind of judge he may be.

“This is a little easier in that regard,” Buckner said, adding that he was still a bit uncomfortable with all the politics.

Buckner has faced some criticism, especially from his opponent, regarding his recent party change from unaffiliated to Republican. Although Buckner had voted in Democratic primaries in 2018, 2020 and 2022, he said once he realized that he’d have more success on the ballot under one party than the other, he assessed his own values and decided to join the Republican Party.

“I feel like I do have conservative values,” he said. “I’m very much a law-and-order guy, and that feeling has been amplified through my work at the DA’s office.”

Either way, Buckner is among many Western North Carolina attorneys who believe that judicial elections shouldn’t be partisan.

His concern is that the cultural issues that have pervaded every aspect of American politics may find their way to the bench and taint what is supposed to be an independent judiciary. If someone espouses political beliefs while campaigning for a judicial position, he said, it could open people who come before the court to feeling like they may not get a fair shake.

“I think getting involved in whatever the issues of the day are is irresponsible,” he said.

Buckner said that rather than political or judicial philosophies, he thinks the most important thing for a district court judge is to be competent and fair while maintaining decorum and dignity.

“My experience is that with the judges that I’ve respected the most, the most important thing was getting the law right,” he said.

Virginia Hornsby Hornsby (no relation to District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch) has lived in Macon County since 2018 and has practiced law in the region since 2004. In her 20 years practicing, she’s split her time almost evenly between family law and criminal law.

As a senior district attorney in Madison and Yancey counties, she handled everything from juvenile prosecutions to misdemeanors to felonies, including murder.

In family court, she said she has seen no shortage of divorce cases with complicated equitable distribution elements during which numerous assets must be divided between sometimes-hostile parties.

“We have to get forensic accountants involved if one spouse may be hiding assets,” Hornsby said.

Hornsby added that she’s done “the full menu” of domestic cases during her 10 years practicing civil law out of Buncombe County.

“I’ve also done those cases on an emergency basis for Pisgah Legal Services when I was a volunteer attorney for them,” she said.

After moving to Macon County in 2018, Hornsby had her name put on the courtappointed list to represent indigent criminal defendants who can’t afford their own counsel. She said that while it’s rewarding work,

it’s difficult, given the nature of the system.

While a public defender office is coming to the district soon, for now, there are very few people on the court appointed list, and pay is only $65 an hour, barely enough to break even for many attorneys. Hornsby said she has about 300 pending cases.

Hornsby said she’s long wanted to run for a district court seat and tailored her career to that ambition. Hornsby especially touted her legal background and the diversity of cases she’s handled. She specifically mentioned her experience in family law, which she said makes up about 60% of “what judges do.”

“District Court is the originating court for custody cases, juvenile cases; people are going through a divorce and distribution of their assets, equitable distribution, alimony, DSS cases,” she said.

Along with the diverse array of cases she’s heard, Hornsby talked about her experience in all counties that make up the 43rd Judicial District, working with the different clerks and court staff she’ll encounter as a judge. She said that would make her learning curve a bit gentler.

“Every court is different,” she said. “Every clerk likes to do things a different way, every judge has a different style, so it’s a good thing to go to each court and feel out what’s going on.”

While Buckner didn’t weigh in as much on his judicial philosophy or politics, Hornsby voiced strong opinions on both.

On politics and partisan judicial elections, Hornsby said she has nothing to hide and embraces the role of parties in judicial elections because it gives voters more information with which to make an informed decision. She has also discussed Buckner’s recent shift to the Republican party at campaign events as a means to draw a contrast.

When it comes to judicial philosophy, Hornsby sounded a lot like Antonin Scalia, the late United States Supreme Court Justice, who pops into most people’s minds when they hear the word “originalism,” the judicial

Virginia Hornsby. File photo philosophy associated with the idea that the text of a law should be construed as it was written and intended to be interpreted at the time it was passed.

“If you read the law, you know that you don’t ever make decisions without knowing the law and making some kind of judgment,” she said.

VACANCY, CONTINUED FROM 7

File photo

COUNTY Cherokee Clay Graham Macon Swain TOTALS

File photo

THE VOTE The 45 members of the executive committee will gather at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Clay County GOP headquarters.

They will first determine who the committee chair will be. The chair’s role is to sign the letter to the state board of elections to let officials know who will be on the ballot.

Then the state board of elections will communicate that to the counties so they can get that name on the November ballot.

If Sellers is selected, then the same process — including Haywood and Jackson counties since they’re part of the same judicial district — will play out again to determine which Republican will appear on the ballot for her District Court seat. It is still unclear whether Democrats will put a name on the ballot for Superior Court or District Court should Sellers win the vote Saturday.

Corbin said that as soon as the vote is done and they know who will be on the ballot in November, he will call the governor’s office and request that that person be appointed. Woodhouse said she’s hoping that appointment will come in short order.

“I called the committee vote so soon on Feb. 24 because I wanted Gov. Roy Cooper to have the name of the Republican in hand quickly,” she said. “If he’s going to make an appointment and fill that seat to serve the people, I want him to know who we’re putting forward.”

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But while Corbin and Gillespie said they wanted to stay out of this process, Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain) has been a fierce advocate for Sellers.

“She’s got extensive experience in Western North Carolina,” he said. “She’s handled an array of different types of cases, civil and criminal. She was the second elected Republican as judge in Western North

Michelle Woodhouse.

February 21-27, 2024

Mike Clampitt.

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priate for legislators to be so heavily involved in a political process to put someone in a judicial position.

However, Corbin did say that right around the time Coward announced his retirement, Coward had asked the senator if he could reach out to Gov. Cooper and ask if he’d appoint someone. Then, Hindsman made it clear that he hoped Corbin would tell Cooper about his desire to fill the vacancy.

“He was trying to get the appointment instead of the election,” Corbin said, adding that he did talk to the governor and advocate for an appointment, although he also noted that he did not advocate for Hindsman specifically and at that time he didn’t even know Sellers was interested.

“My comment to the governor’s office was to say, ‘As the senator of this district, we need a judge in this position,’” he said.

Corbin said that while some people, including Coward — who didn’t respond to multiple interview requests — encouraged him to back Hindsman, he never spoke with Welch about who he should back.

“We talked about the fact that there was an opening,” he said.

Carolina, which I think is very important ...

She’s had a great working relationship with both sides of the aisle and is very well respected and trusted. She’s made good, competent legal decisions, and it would behoove us to have her in that position to replace Judge Coward.”

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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR aynesville is revving up its eco-efforts with a freshly minted advisory board paving the way for a long-term plan to create an even cleaner environment that will continue to draw tourists — and put some green back into locals’ pockets, too.

“This board wants to make Waynesville a better place for people to live, both in terms of the quality of their environment and their livelihoods,” said Waynesville Council Member Chuck Dickson.

“Particularly those in lower income situations who could benefit from the cost savings.”

Last summer, Town Council approved a motion offered by Dickson to create Waynesville’s first environmental sustainability board, charged with protecting the natural resources that drive the region’s tourism-based economy.

It wasn’t the town’s first official action towards that end; around that same time, Waynesville declared its intent to become carbonneutral by 2050, and more than a decade ago, town government facilitated installation of the third-ever electric vehicle charger west of Asheville.

The ESB’s responsibility, as outlined by Dickson, was to plot the course for achieving climate mitigation and adaptation benchmarks by compiling citizen-led expert advice focused on data and return on investment.

Two additional factors also influenced the ESB’s creation. One was the unprecedented streams of federal funding that became available for alternative energy programs as the result of President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Bill and his Inflation Reduction Act. The town recently hired a grants administrator to help compete for those funds.

W

— Chuck Dickson, Waynesville Town Council member

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MASSIE FURNITU URE CO., INC. Making the town safer for bike and pedestrian travel also lowers carbon emissions. Expanding the growing local network of EV chargers would so the same — even after accounting for the carbon emissions associated with generating the electricity that charges the vehicles, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

On Feb. 15, the ESB held a retreat at Lake Junaluska to incorporate these goals, as well as others, into a strategic plan.

“We’ve got folks with advanced degrees, futurists and folks who are very data-driven, so it really is a great group of people to have who care passionately about this subject. The point of the retreat was really just to try to flush out what our big areas of interest are,” said William Hite, a Waynesville resident and registered nurse at the Charles George VA in Asheville who’s been a strong advocate for residential solar generation. Hite serves as the ESB’s first board chair.

Members of the ESB spent nearly six hours working to craft an aspirational mission and vision for the board, but they’ll have to make peace with constraints on their scope.

Keith Ray, a member of the ESB, cited electric school busses, like those in Cherokee, as an example. The school buses in Waynesville are operated by Haywood County Schools, so exploring alternatives would require collaboration across local governments.

They’ll also have to recognize their limitations as an advisory board. Made up of volunteers, the ESB can’t actually implement any of the mitigation strategies it chooses to explore, but it can make recommendations to Town Council. The ESB doesn’t have a budget, either, and must rely on Council’s approval of matching funds for any grants the ESB might pursue.

“We know that like small towns throughout the United States, we just don’t have a lot of money,” Hite said. “So we’re looking for the biggest bang for the buck, and that will guide us.”

The next meeting of the Town of Waynesville’s Environmental Sustainability Board is scheduled for Thursday, March 7.

for those who haven’t yet registered. Hours and locations vary by county, but generally run from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Some locations will be open on Saturdays, but not all locations offer hours on every Saturday during the early voting period. For specific questions about days, hours, registration or voting, contact your county’s board of elections. Search for early voting sites by visiting vt.ncsbe.gov/evsite.

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The other came from a more sinister incident, the December 2022 attack on a Moore County electrical substation that left more than 40,000 customers without power for almost four days and killed an 87-year-old woman who relied on an oxygen machine to breathe.

As one of North Carolina’s 70-some electric cities — which purchase power from suppliers and resell it to municipal customers while maintaining their own infrastructure — town government has to respond when things go dark. In Western North Carolina, that happens mainly as the result of floods, ice and wind.

Bolstering grid resiliency was one of the first goals mentioned when the 12-person ESB first met on Oct. 13, 2023, even after a 2022 update to the town’s the town’s solar program that made small-scale energy generation somewhat more lucrative for homeowners.

Other priorities centering on energy, transportation and urban ecology promise more tangible strategies meant to sustain both the

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February 21-27, 2024

“This board wants to make Waynesville a better place for people to live, both in terms of the quality of their environment and their livelihoods. Particularly those in lower income situations who could benefit from the cost savings.”

environment and the economy.

Monitoring tree canopy cover in urban environments, as some larger cities do, helps pinpoint areas where new trees can help prevent erosion, decrease energy costs and slow rainwater on its way into the town’s streets and sewers.

Encouraging pervious parking areas also help reduce runoff. The City of Raleigh offers a reimbursement program for qualifying businesses and homeowners who remove impervious surfaces in favor of the porous, rice cake-like surface.

Waynesville has an existing lighting ordinance that mentions light pollution, which disrupts wildlife and contributes to increased carbon dioxide generation by wasting energy. The ESB could investigate whether the ordinance is working, or if it can be strengthened.

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Substantial economic development planning effort underway in Haywood

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR alling the last decade “a period of intensive and dynamic change” for Haywood County, strategic planning consultants in conjunction with county economic development administrators will produce a late spring report for commissioners identifying local priorities, challenges and concerns augmented by the closure of the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill in Canton last year.

Clyde-based Shining Rock Ventures, lead consultant on the project, says it plans to hold approximately 40 in-person and/or online 45-minute private interviews over eight to 12 weeks.

The interviews will be conducted with a diverse group of key stakeholders including but not limited to local government officials, business leaders, the creative class, utility providers, healthcare leaders, law enforcement and, according to SRV’s scope of work proposal, thoughtful citizens.

Feedback gleaned from the sessions will contribute to the Haywood County Recovery and Resiliency Roadmap Plan, a fresh five- to 10-year approach to economic development in a post-mill environment.

Although the mill’s closing — which the

February 21-27, 2024

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proposal says created a “significant short- to mid-term gap” in the local economy— remains a concern, the county’s lack of affordable housing, high development costs, escalating environmental challenges, aging infrastructure and proximity to encroaching Asheville all threaten economic and social stability.

The plan has its origins in the immediate aftermath of Pactiv Evergreen’s March 6, 2023 announcement that it would close its century-old paper mill in Canton, throwing nearly 1,000 people out of work, damaging the tax base and leaving behind substantially underutilized acreage rife with environmental problems after decades of misuse.

“After the mill closure, a lot of people had lots of opinions on what to do next — advice we received from other elected boards, from people around the community,” said David Francis, community and economic development director for Haywood County, in a presentation to Haywood County Commissioners Feb. 19. “So, we started looking around [thinking] about, what’s the next step? What are we going to do after the mill? How are we going to tackle this?”

A small group of strategists, led by Francis, began meeting and reviewed old

Community and Economic Development Director David Francis will lead the creation of a post-mill economic development strategy.

Haywood County government photo

county plans created after the 2004 flood and during the Great Recession. Discussing larger visions and processes, the group felt that listening sessions would be a good start.

SRV, led by Southern Appalachian native Jesse Fripp, has both extensive and recent experience in strategic planning of this scale.

The consultancy led the development of the Mountain West Partnership’s 2022 strategic plan, as well as Dogwood Health Trust’s 2022 capital landscape assessment.

David Lilly, a Sylva-based growth and

development advisor with a background in ecommerce and clean technology, will work with Fripp as principal consultant.

The project timeline shows the first group of interviews, with an estimated 28 public officials, will begin at once and finish up around March 4. The second group of interviews, with an estimated 11 people from the private sector, begins immediately after the first and should end by March 18.

After that, the third group, labeled “community/other,” will commence, comprised of only four sessions.

A round of follow-up interviews and deep dives are slated for early April.

The consultants will perform the work for a flat fee of $53,750 plus up to $2,588 in expenses for a total cost of $56,338. Funding for the plan comes in the form of a $50,000 grant from Dogwood, and an additional $6,338 from the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce.

Commissioners approved the project unanimously. Commissioner Tommy Long asked Francis to restate how the project would be funded, and Francis responded that the $50,000 grant from Dogwood was only a small portion of the $250,000 the nonprofit had donated to the county for planning purposes. BlueCross BlueShield donated $500,000 for the same reason.

The draft and final reports are due by mid-April. The report, which should be available to the public in early May, Francis told The Smoky Mountain News, is advisory in nature.

“This is a guide, not a policy,” he said.

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That came after a three-year process to get the parcel into the proper hands following at least one private redevelopment effort that failed.

Haywood County and the Town of Waynesville each gave the foundation $650,000 to purchase the Dayco site out of bankruptcy. The foundation flipped it to developers for $2.1 million, paid back the town and the county, and kept whatever was left.

Last fall, the foundation reconstituted its membership to establish seven board seats by position: the county’s manager and economic development director, the chamber of commerce president, the TDA director, the school district’s superintendent, the community college president and the executive director of the Southwestern Commission.

Those institutional members in turn elected six at-large board members with varying stakes in the community and varying skillsets: Bradshaw, of Civil Design Concepts engineering, Matt Haynes of Premier Magnesia, Jennifer Bennett of Duke Energy, Kaleb Rathbone of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Chris Brown, CEO at Haywood Regional Medical Center and Jake Robinson, CEO of Champion Credit Union.

“The parties expect a revitalized foundation will take a more proactive role in economic development by offering advice and guidance to the county. The county will rely on the foundation’s business expertise to assist with new and expanding businesses, potential grants and partnerships with state, regional and local governmental units,” Bradshaw said in the memorandum.

One aspect of that proactive role will be in making funds available “when such funds could be instrumental in advancing specific projects.”

The county can also work with the foundation and utilize its nonprofit status to pursue grants unavailable to local governments.

“I’ve seen the good work that [the foundation] has done,” said longtime Haywood commissioner and current chair, Kevin Ensley. “I think early on, we did a lot of work and then probably in the last 10 years, it’s not been as much because of the recession … once Dayco was done, that was kind of it for a while.”

Under the general terms of the agreement, the parties will operate from more detailed agreements for specific projects.

It’s thought that HAF might have around $2 million right now, but online financial records aren’t current.

“We don’t have a ton of money to date, but we’re pretty pivot-able, if you will,” Bradshaw told commissioners. “We can act somewhat quicker, I think, than let’s say county government can for instance. We want to be that aid.”

February 21-27, 2024

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR fter a quiet couple of years through the uncertainty of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Haywood Advancement Foundation is pursuing closer economic development coordination with Haywood County government at a time when the county needs capable strategic partners more than it has in the past two decades.

Haywood County commissioners signed off on a memorandum of understanding with the foundation during a Feb. 19 meeting, formalizing their 34-year relationship on paper for the first time and promising cooperation in the aftermath of Pactiv Evergreen’s decision to close its paper mill in Canton last year.

“From Haywood Advancement’s perspective, it’s kind of that cooperative olive branch to say, ‘Hey we’re here to help,’” said Patrick Bradshaw, foundation chair, at the meeting. “Let us know how we can help you. We anticipate specific projects may require other things to go along with [them] or accompany them, but we just felt like it would be appropriate to have a starting place, to say we’re here in an effort of cooperation. If we can be of help, call on us.”

Founded in 1990, Haywood Advancement Foundation is a nonprofit corporation that has acted independently as well as in conjunction with local governments to promote economic growth.

Those contributions range from making small donations for a business plan competition in 2016 to helping establish and endow — with a $250,000 check — the Haywood Strong Recovery Fund early on in the pandemic.

Its legacy, however, lies in much larger economic development projects. Under the guidance of then-Executive Director Mark Clasby, the foundation helped establish the WNC Regional Livestock Center and improved the Beaverdam Industrial Park, both just outside downtown Canton.

The memorandum specifically cites the foundation’s unique flexibility allowing it to receive and administer grants from local governments to “purchase, develop and sell” land.

That’s exactly how HAF scored one of the county’s biggest-ever economic development wins, during a crisis that today sounds vaguely familiar.

A large industrial concern closed down, throwing nearly a thousand people out of work, damaging the tax base and leaving behind substantially underutilized acreage rife with environmental problems after decades of misuse.

The year was 2007, the company was Dayco, and it had taken nearly 10 years to find the right buyers for the 35-acre site that eventually became the Walmart off Hyatt Creek Road.

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Haywood nonprofit seeks greater economic development role

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Candidates for Jackson school board address capital needs

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER his election season, there are four candidates vying for two seats on the Jackson County Board of Education. With Chairperson Elizabeth Cooper choosing not to seek reelection, the board will have at least one new member after votes are in.

In district one, Gayle Woody is up against Rainy Brake for the seat currently held by Cooper. In district three, incumbent Wes Jamison is facing challenger Clint Irons.

Jackson County is unique in that it holds elections for school board during the primary election.

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husband also worked in Jackson County Schools, and her two children were educated in that system.

“I decided to run because, being a retired teacher, I was concerned about the criticism and negative response to teachers,” Woody said. “I know how hard teachers work and I feel that it’s best for our children if we support teachers to do their job.”

If elected to the board, Brake’s top priority is to create an atmosphere of open dialogue for parents. She wants to see forums with twoway communication to address parents’ concerns.

“I believe that school board members should maintain clear and constant communication with school leadership, teachers and staff to ensure that they have the resources

February 21-27, 2024

This year, commissioners introduced a resolution to move school board elections to the fall, while keeping the board nonpartisan. However, the resolution was approved after the primary ballot process had already been implemented.

This year, commissioners introduced a resolution to move school board elections to the fall, while keeping the board non-partisan. However, the resolution was approved after the primary ballot process had already been implemented. The school board will be on the General Election ballot in 2026, but for now, it remains on the primary ballot.

DISTRICT ONE

Smoky Mountain News

Gayle Woody is a retired teacher who spent almost 25 years teaching in Jackson County Schools. Woody served one term as a county commissioner; she volunteers at United Christian Ministries and has served on the Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Center Board, as well as the Arts Council. Woody’s

Clockwise from upper left: Wes Jamison, Rainy Brake, Clint Irons and Gayle Woody. Donated photos Rainy Brake currently teaches Cherokee language at Western Carolina University and has also taught at the elementary level.

“I believe that my obligation to advocate for my students does not stop at the classroom door,” said Brake. “I believe that every citizen has a responsibility to help their community and I believe that my background in education can be beneficial to the citizens of Jackson County.”

and support they need,” said Brake. “Our students need a rich and varied curriculum that challenges and inspires them, and we have so many wonderful resources within Jackson County that can be beneficial to crafting the best educational experience possible.”

If elected to the board, Woody’s top priority is to support teachers in any way she can.

“One of those would be to make sure they get the supply money they need,” said Woody.

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DISTRICT THREE Wes Jamison is the current representative for district three on the Jackson County Board of Education. He grew up in Jackson County, attended Scotts Creek Elementary School and graduated from Smoky Mountain High School. He went on to N.C. state University to study structural engineering and has now

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“Jackson County has money. We have a very healthy fund balance, and we need to make sure that teachers get what they need.”

Another priority for Woody is to encourage open communication between the school board, teachers, staff and parents.

Woody said she is in favor of a traditional middle school for Jackson County, “but not to the exclusion of meeting other desperate needs in Jackson County.”

According to Woody, those other needs include a new cafeteria and kitchen at Fairview School, as well as additional classroom space; a regulation track, ADA access and bathrooms for Smoky Mountain High School Athletics; and Blue Ridge School gym and performance space.

“I have experience working with some of our state legislators because of my work as a commissioner, and it’s going to take some state money, some grants and work with our county commissioners to get these things done, because all facilities are funded through the county commission,” said Woody. “I have a good record of engaging community support. It’s going to take that as well.”

Brake recognizes that a traditional middle school has been identified as one of the top priorities for the school board in the coming years but is not committed to supporting it.

“As a representative, I believe it is my job to listen to constituents and their concerns and ideas, rather than coming in with my own preconceived notions,” said Brake. “At this point, I believe we are still at a stage where all stakeholders should be heard and believe that members of the board of education should ensure accessible, well-advertised and open forums to allow that dialogue throughout the community.”

Both candidates agree that the top issue facing JCPS today are facilities needs.

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school for the county. “[A traditional middle school] will increase students’ interaction and help build better friend bases before they get to high school,” said Irons.

The biggest challenges Jamison sees facing JCPS are the cost of real estate in the area versus the amount the school system can pay its employees, finding bus drivers and the facilities needs.

“It’s hard to fill a position when the salary won’t afford you rent,” said Jamison. “Our current facilities are being utilized to the max. Rooms are having to be converted and used for things they weren’t intended for.”

If elected for another term, Jamison’s priorities include continued communication with the county commission to ensure capital improvement projects get the funding they require and continuing to find ways to make school employee’s salaries more competitive with surrounding counties.

Jamison has been in favor of a traditional middle school for Jackson County during his tenure on the board and will continue to support that endeavor if reelected. He noted that the middle school has been identified as a priority for the school system and that it will require a commitment from the county commission to fund it.

“We have to find a piece of land big enough to put it on and the project has to be funded,” said Jamison. “I personally don’t see any of these improvements to our school system as being a tax burden. When we give our kids better facilities to learn in, more opportunities for CTE and STEM classes, and start bringing them together at this middle school age where their teachers can collaborate and the kids can develop relationships with each other earlier and begin to learn from each other, we will see a return on our investment.”

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February 21-27, 2024

worked with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for 21 years. His children currently attend JCPS. Jamison was first elected to the school board in 2016 and was reelected in 2020. If elected again, this will be his third term on the board. In addition to his time on the school board, Jamison has served as a board member for Mountain Projects for the past six years and has been a youth sports coach.

“I’m running for school board to ensure that the kids in Jackson County get the best education possible,” said Jamison. “So, when they’re applying to college, or entering a welding program, or going into the workforce, they’re able to rise above the competition. I want to be there making sure our schools are continuing to improve, and that as a county, we are becoming more competitive with the pay that our school employees are receiving so we can keep them there.”

Clint Irons is a small business owner, running a repair shop on Skyland Drive for the past 10 years. He has coached little league baseball and middle school basketball. His wife is a schoolteacher, and both of his children attend JCPS and are active in school sports and other activities.

Irons says he is looking for change on the board.

“I think there needs to be changes made; some things are being overlooked,” said Irons.

His top priority, if elected to the board, will be to build community support for schools. This is one of the biggest challenges Irons sees currently facing JCPS. “Teachers need much more support and help,” Irons said. “Right now, I feel that JCPS has lost their involvement with the students’ families and the community. They need to get more interactive, which I think would help build a better outlook towards the system.”

Irons is in favor of a traditional middle

20+ + YEARS news

Rachel Paige Crowe, 33, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison, five years of probation, $5,200 in fines and at least 15 years on the sex offender registry after pleading guilty to engaging in sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy on the Qualla Boundary in 2022.

Crowe had originally faced five charges, four related to alleged sexual encounters with the boy and a fifth for allegedly lying to an FBI agent about the magnitude of her online interactions with the victim. She pleaded guilty to two charges of engaging in sexual contact with a minor between the ages of 12 and 16, with the remaining charges dismissed. Both Crowe and the minor victim are members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, resulting in the case being Rachel Paige Crowe handled in federal court.

According to the factual basis that Crowe agreed to in accepting the plea, the investigation came about after, while drinking with friends, Crowe told them she had sex with the boy after his uncle, who was her boyfriend, told her to. However, the investigation revealed that the relationship went further than a onetime encounter, with the FBI discovering a sexually explicit video from Crowe on the victim’s phone and hundreds of Snapchat communications between the two, “several sexual in nature and describing past and planned sexual encounters,” the factual basis document says.

Crowe entered her guilty plea in April 2023, with U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. handing down the sentence on Jan. 23. Upon her release, Crowe will be subject to many restrictions while on parole and while on the sex offender registry.

— Holly Kays, Staff Writer

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news

More than words

Fluent Cherokee speakers say that there’s something elemental about the language, something that conjures meaning more specifically and paints verbal pictures more intimately than English allows. In a 2018 interview with The Smoky Mountain News, Beloved Woman and first language speaker Myrtle Driver Johnson said that Cherokee is more grounded in the relationships between words and the things they describe, producing richly layered meanings and preventing insincere expression.

The new building will offer a home base for language revival, the first significant capital investment toward that goal on the Qualla Boundary since New Kituwah Academy was built in 2009. New Kituwah offers Cherokee immersion education for children ages birth through elementary school grades.

Recognizing that children learning Cherokee at school often come home to parents who can’t interact in the language, the tribe has also launched an adult language learning program in which participants earn a paycheck — for the duration of the program, learning the language is their full-time job.

The Cherokee Speakers Place offers more than 8,000 square feet of space for fluent speakers and language learners to gather, practice the language and preserve what they know. It includes a spacious lobby and large meeting room with a kitchen, offices, classrooms, a library, a recording room and a patio peppered with tables and chairs.

“I’m sure I’ve made some mistakes today, but I appreciate the chance to try, speak and learn,” said Miss Cherokee

New building a center for Cherokee language preservation

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ribbon-cutting ceremony held Friday, Feb. 16, for a building dedicated to preserving the Cherokee language was a celebration of the culture and language that has formed the Cherokee people for countless generations.

More than 200 people gathered for a ceremony that was nearly half over before a single word of English was spoken.

Instead, it showcased Cherokee-language speeches from tribal elders who grew up speaking it and musical performances from the new generation learning their ancestral language at New Kituwah Academy. The school is located just a stone’s throw away from the new building, which is called kalvgviditsa tsalagi aniwonisgi tsunatsohisdihi, or in English, Cherokee Speakers Place.

Roger Smoker, chairman of the Cherokee Speaker’s Council, said that the building will be a place where Cherokee language learners can gather to hone their skills, where the Cherokee Speakers Council can meet and where the Speakers Consortium bringing together fluent speakers in all three Cherokee tribes can gather when it’s held on the Qualla Boundary.

“This new building will house the second language speakers, and it will benefit our communities and represent the committed values of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,” he said.

Not so long ago, Cherokee was the dominant language among tribal members, and English the minority. But over the last century or so that dynamic has reversed. Through the 1970s, Native American children were often forced to attend boarding schools where speaking the indigenous language was discouraged or even punished, leading to many children of that generation ceasing to speak the language of their elders fluently, or at all, and finding themselves incapable of passing it down to their own children. As the 21st century dawned, tribal leaders began to realize that, if they did nothing, there was a real danger of their native language dying out.

“Our language is sacred,” said Howard Paden, executive director of the Cherokee Language Department for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. “God made that, and we can 16 have the biggest buildings, the biggest casinos, but if we

2023-24 Scarlett “Gigage” Guy, who emceed the event completely in Cherokee.

Tribal leaders hope that the new building will facilitate more such “mistakes” made in the honest effort to learn the Cherokee language — so that one day, its future will be safe in the minds and on the lips of the tribe’s young people.

“We can’t be scared,” Hicks said. “We have to walk across and figure out how we do it, and how we do it better.”

Smoky Mountain News

February 21-27, 2024

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don’t have the very essence of who we are — when we speak in that form, there’s words that English doesn’t have. There’s concepts that English doesn’t have.”

Paden wasn’t the only person who attended the ceremony from one of the other two Cherokee tribes. United Band of Keetoowah Indians Chief Joe Bunch spoke to the crowd as well, and a delegation from the Cherokee Nation sat in the audience.

“As a group of tribes, we have to continue to make sure that we’re heard,” said EBCI Chief Michell Hicks.

Like many people his age, Hicks is not a fluent speaker, something that he acknowledged in his comments.

“My dad understood. My grandma spoke, but really didn’t teach,” he said. “My generation, we lacked resources — but it’s not an excuse. I don’t have an excuse other than, I’ve got to allow for more of an effort.”

A New Kituwah Academy student helps celebrate the event by participating in a traditional dance (top). Elder and first language speaker Marie Junaluska (left) claps as Cherokee Speakers Council Chairman Roger Smoker, also an elder and first language speaker, hands back the scissors they used for the ribbon-cutting (above right). Cherokee speakers, elected officials and leaders ribbon on the new Cherokee Speakers Place (above). Holly Kays photos

news February 21-27, 2024

Smoky Mountain News

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Electoral College’s value is underestimated I

It’s ‘Trump first’ for Republican Party To the Editor: The Republican complaints about the southern border are just political theater.

When presented with a bipartisan bill with billions of dollars for border personnel and enhanced infrastructure along with policies they say they want, they block the bill. They blocked a bill that gave them virtually everything they wanted because Donald Trump told them to block the bill. Trump did not want the bill to pass because he thought doing something meaningful about the border would hurt his chances for election.

The simple fact is that Trump and the Republicans are more interested in power and winning elections than in solving any part of the border issues. The “build the wall” and other talking points are more important to Republicans than actually doing anything.

This is not the first time we have seen this hypocrisy. In 2017 Trump was in the White House and Republicans controlled both the House and Senate. Did they do anything about the border? Of course not.

In 2018, a bipartisan bill was put together to provide some funding for “the wall” and for more personnel and realistic border security measures. Trump said he would not support

get what’s best for them? If you’re progressive, don’t you want minority groups to be represented? If you’re for minority rights, then polity — not Democracy — is the one for you.

Moreover, if you like polity you ought to be beholden to the Founders instead of calling them bad names — judging them by present-day standards instead of by standards of their time — because they came up with about the only sane solution to make a polity and not a Democracy, and that solution was the two-senator-per-state rule and the Electoral College.

I’ll explain.

Suppose instead of 50 states, we divided up the USA into fifty identiGuest Columnist ties, or “The United Identities of America (UIA).” One identity group might be made up of Black lesbian trans-women, which we could call the “state” of “Blesbitroma.”

Another state might consist of non-binary Native Americans who are missing at least one limb, or “Manynampia.” I can’t tell if either of these two states would have the population of North Dakota, but I’m pretty sure they’d have much smaller populations than California.

The important thing is that at least forty-nine different minority identity groups — 49 of the 50 states — would get two senators each to represent them just the same as the largest and most obnoxious state of all, “Strawmanlandia” made up of straight white males. Strawmanlandia would have nothing over Blesbitroma or Manynampia in so far as being equally represented in the Senate. Wouldn’t that be a good thing for minorities? Minorities represented nationally by

Steven Crider

n this election year of 2024 I want to discuss two controversial topics: the Electoral College and two-senators-perstate rule.

You may think the Electoral College is anti-democratic and that only stupid conservatives could want it. Same with the two-senators-per-state rule where a state with a small population like North Dakota (800,000) gets the same number of senators as a state with a huge population like California (40,000,000). I’m guessing if you don’t like these two parts of our Constitution then you’d describe yourself as a modern liberal, or a progressive. Well, I’d like to give one conservative’s view on why these are good things.

Aristotle described six types of government: (1) Monarchy — one leader ruling for the benefit of all; (2) Tyranny — one leader ruling for the benefit of one; (3) Aristocracy — a few leaders ruling for the good of all; (4) Oligarchy — a few leaders ruling for the benefit of a few; (5) Democracy — the majority ruling for the benefit of the majority; and, (6) Polity — the majority ruling for the benefit of all.

I don’t know about you, but I’m for polity. And so were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, among others. You hear it called a “democratic republic” sometimes. (You may claim that instead of a polity we’ve got an oligarchy, the oligarchs being Gates, Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, etc., but that’s another topic for another day.) Several of the Founders had fine classical educations and the ones that didn’t were well-read homeschoolers with brilliant minds, so they knew which political systems worked best and which worked worst, going back 2,000 years.

If you’re for Democracy (or democratic socialism) then think again. Do you really want the majority to rule so they

leaders they elected? As for the minority population of North Dakota in the USA, so for the minority populations in Blesbitroma and Manynampia in the UIA. Likewise for the Electoral College. Suppose Strawmanlandia has 90,000,000 voters, 90% of whom (81,000,000) vote for the Republican candidate for president, say (to make up a name), “Ronald Slump.” Suppose further that in the remaining 49 states — remember, all minorities — vote on average 60% Democratic giving their presidential candidate “Werrin Hiding” a plurality of Electoral College votes but only 80,999,999 total votes, which would make Werrin president by the Electoral College, but since you’ve dispensed with that you get Slump.

You see, with the Electoral College, Strawmanlandia is limited on how much influence it has on the rest of the country, so that even if everyone in Strawmanlandia voted for Slump, the Strawmanlandian majority doesn’t get its way for the entire nation.

If you’ve endured this article so far, you’re better than me because I’m nearly spent, but I bet you can see the analogy that I’m trying to draw. If not, here’s the best I can do. It is conceivable that in the near future heavily-Democratic states like California and New York shrink in size and states like Texas, Tennessee and Florida increase in size making their majority Republican populations so large that their combined Republican votes — if taken as majorities — would mean Republicans dominate nationally (What goes around comes around). The Electoral College puts a check on that.

So, which do you prefer, polity or democracy? And do you still want to badmouth Jefferson and Madison?

(Steven Crider is retired physician who lives in Waynesville.

He can be reached at crittersteve@gmail.com.)

LETTERS the bill, so Mitch McConnell refused to put the bill up for a vote in the Senate.

The bottom line is that Trump and Republicans want to campaign on the border, but they don’t want to fix anything. They just want to scare white folks that hoards of brown people are going to take over the country in order to win elections. This is not America First, it is Trump First. America’s interests are dead last for Trump and Republicans.

Norman Hoffman Waynesville

DEI advocates miss Dr. King’s point To the Editor: Since we have recently celebrated Martin Luther King Day, I thought it good to reflect on how far we have departed from his vision for America.

Dr. King dreamed of a colorblind society in which a person was judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin. Today, all you hear about is skin color, not to mention gender, sexual orientation, and all the hooey about oppressors and the oppressed and a confused hierarchy of inter-

sectional marginalization. This monstrous scam keeps people comparing themselves with others, finding fault, indulging self-pity, makes them suspicious and distrusting and generates animosity. In other words, it destroys their capacity to lead a happy, useful life. There is no room left for actual personal

betterment; it’s always someone else’s fault.

The only diversity is skin deep but there is a great deal of uniformity of thought.

Equity means justice, but there is no justice here, just envy and a descent to the lowest common denominator. Just think of the hubris involved in people who

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To the Editor: The Democratic Party is in a pickle. Concocted by Democrats long departed, their present dilemma has been 60 years in the making and it is this: many rank-and-file Democrats today are uncertain that Joe Biden (because of his age and perhaps other factors) can weather the taxing responsibilities of the presidency for another full term. Adding to their anxiety is the prospect of a Kamala Harris administration. I recall the doubts and misgivings when Biden (fulfilling his promise to choose a woman as his running mate) chose Harris.

Hindsight (as we know) is 20/20. May I opine, this is what happens when you substitute race and gender for such attributes as ability, qualifications, competence, aptitude, etc.

Six decades ago (I was active-duty Navy then) Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity were introduced across the land. Liberal thinkers of the time believed that discriminatory practices could be corrected, and the playing fields levelled, by providing special conditions (advantages) for women and minorities.

In the process of “opening doors of opportunity” for some but not all people, one important factor got overlooked: you

Catherine Proben C

BROKER ASSOCIATE

TESTIMONIAL

Democrats have come to a fork in the road

cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong, at least not without paying a heavy price.

We have witnessed, over decades and several generations, the dumbing down of America, the loss of expertise, the lowering of standards throughout our institutions: education, parenting, production, things that were once considered the backbone of America no longer work, due in part to advancing less qualified men and women and passing over more qualified men and women, in the pursuit of the elusive precept of “equality.”

To the Democratic Party I must submit, you are reaping only what you have sown.

As expressed so well in an old Portuguese Proverb, “the fruit of the tree of errors.” The chickens of inclusion and diversity, I am afraid, are coming home to roost.

However, all is not lost. The Republican Party (a.k.a. the “Trump Cult”) has made its choice, raw power over governing, and at any cost, and nothing shy of an act of God can deter them.

That leaves the fate of our country in the hands of the only real political party left, the Democratic Party. You must make a better choice. It’s time for a leap of faith. I well recall John F. Kennedy’s well-chosen words in 1961: “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans …”

Mr. President, it’s time to pass the torch again. Please consider choosing a different running mate for your second term, someone from a generation younger than ours, someone with a fresh, lively vision for the future but capable of tackling the agonizing problems of the present. We must not surrender this beautiful land our fathers bequeathed us, or our nation’s future, or the fate of democracy itself, to men who lie, threaten and defraud.

Were it my choice to make (given our present circumstances), I would name Hakeem Jeffries (six-term Congressman from New York) as my running mate. He has shown an extraordinary ability to think on his feet, he is especially well-spoken, articulates complicated matters in simple, understandable terms and he projects the characteristics of a true statesman.

We have arrived at a fork in the road, Mr. President, and as Yogi Berra was wont to say, we should “take it.”

David L. Snell Franklin

CLIENT

think they can weigh all past injustices and prescribe the proper remedy, especially when that remedy involves disadvantaging those in the present who are blamed for what their forbears may or may not have done generations ago. How long will two wrongs make a right?

Nobody has an answer for that, and forgiveness seems to be a foreign concept to the diversity, equity and inclusion crowd.

So diversity devolves to rigid conformity and equity devolves to revenge. How about inclusion? Inclusion is a rearrangement of exclusions. Ask any white cis hetero Christian male or any of those who have pejorative synthetic jargon directed at them. DEI could very well be labeled IED because it will eventually detonate and blow up society, and for this DEI must DIE. Long live MLK’s vision.

David Parker Sylva

-Michael C.

(Located (Located in in the the NAPA NAPA Auto Auto Parts Parts Center) Center)

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Smoky Mountain News

Taking it to the streets Asheville graffiti artist Dustin Spagnola

BY B REANNA DELANNOY S PECIAL TO SMN “After pop art, graffiti is probably the biggest art movement in recent history to have such an impact on culture.”

Famed art dealer Jeffrey Deitch wasn’t wrong when he made the above statement during a conversation for Interview Magazine. Simply put, graffiti and street art invite the viewer to listen visually on a public stage. You can explain it the best you can, but the only way to enlighten someone is to show them what it is and its importance.

So, when trying to sort out how to go about introducing this art form to a possible uninformed audience, I called on a familiar face for a chat, a good friend of mine, who just so happens to be a very talented and well-known artist in Asheville — Dustin Spagnola.

If you’ve visited Asheville in the last decade or so, you might recognize his public works scattered about town. Murals of people and cultural icons on the sides of local businesses.

Pieces on display in local art shows. Maybe his paintings in the window of his tattoo parlor/art space at the 474 Gallery Studio in West Asheville.

Spagnola is a contemporary artist, with his work focusing on — but not limited to — portraiture, with both oil and spray paint as his mediums. Throughout his career, he has worked alongside many street artists, muralists and graffiti writers, both nationally and internationally.

With his background and education in art as a graduate of Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, Spagnola has worked in and around public spaces for a large portion of his career. Simply put, he’s an example of an artist who has an understanding of how public works

can impact a community.

“When you have people actively working to make something vibrant, who are interested in making public art, people are interested in walking around and they’re able to interact with their physical location in a way that maybe they might not choose otherwise — it changes the user’s experience of space, it engages people more and the space becomes more alive,” Spagnola said.

Spagnola and I met in his studio and chatted about the piece he had recently completed during the annual Art Basel/Art Week in Miami in January. The street mural he had done was one I had seen him do before on canvas with oil paint — a style Spagnola elegantly captures with his murals.

“I want to remind people that art isn’t just for people in a museum or people with money or people with a degree,” Spagnola said. “Art is a part of all of our lives, whether it’s the cartoons your children watch on our clothing, the music we listen to or the cars we have.”

Now, this would seem to be a far cry from the “graffiti” most people encounter on a day-to-day basis. And, to some, it might not be considered the same thing technically. Let me clarify — street art and graffiti are two different styles overlapping, the same family, but not the same thing.

Over the last decade or so, murals have become more accepted, whereas most other forms of graffiti have not. And, with the rise in popularity, the art form has taken on a different role within many cities and towns.

“Not every muralist out there creating something is a graffiti artist — some might know nothing about that culture,” Spagnola said. “I’ve met people who’ve never picked up a can of spray paint that were hired to do a mural, with no knowledge or background of creating murals and the people hiring them don’t either. Make art and maybe get to know more about the people around you who are making art as well — that’s just being respectful to other artists.”

Regardless, if it’s seasoned artists or newcomers, what in general it is about street art and graffiti that makes a place

like Asheville — or any town really — somewhere where people would want to come visit?

“The reality is that it draws people in, makes the town more accessible and maybe makes it safer to some degree,” Spagnola said. “If you have a town that’s all grey and beige, it’s boring and that’s all there is to it. You might have pretty green trees and pretty mountains, but the visual landscape of the city itself can be boring and that doesn’t mean that it’s free of crime or that it’s safe.”

So, then what about safety and accessibility?

“I’ve been to places where they’re actively trying to get rid of graffiti and not allowing visual art. Just because it has clean walls and an outdoor space doesn’t make a place safe,” Spagnola said. “It’s the difference between a bunch of abandoned storefronts and a bunch of businesses packed full of customers. Where would you want to be? When you have people walking around on the street, engaging with one another, talking about art and community, that unused space becomes something important.”

As our conversation came to a close, I asked Spagnola what he would like people — who might have a preconceived notion of what graffiti and street art is — to understand and take away when seeing this art form out in public.

“A gallon of paint from the hardware store is one of the most accessible tools you can get in this world,” Spagnola said. “It’s so simple to create a mural, so simple to remove them and make something new. I want to encourage people to enjoy making things — it’s one of the nicer aspects of being alive.”

A renowned tattoo artist and muralist, works by Dustin Spagnola can be found around the city of Asheville (pictured) and other metropolitan areas across the country. Breanna Delannoy photos

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Smoky Mountain News

Americana/folk duo Bird in Hand first appeared in my life and how it now has will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, evolved into a small piece of my personal Feb. 24, at Mountain Layers and professional identity — as a writer, Brewing Company in Bryson City. adventure seeker, hopeless romantic and carefree, devil-may-care human being.

Highlander Mountain House Like most of us, I’ve always been aware (Highlands) will host its “Salon of Audrey Hepburn, her once-in-a-generaSeries” with Stephen Wilson Jr. tion natural beauty, style and grace, that (country/folk) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, effortless screen presence very few have ever Feb. 22. possessed that will forever captivate audiences. Those incredible films, too — The Scotsman (Waynesville) will “Roman Holiday,” “My Fair Lady,” host Ben & The Borrowed Band “Sabrina,” “Two for the Road.” And not to at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. mention all of her work as a UNICEF Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will Goodwill Ambassador. host Rock Holler at 8 p.m. Friday, And I remember watching “Breakfast at Feb. 23.

Tiffany’s” as a kid. But, it wasn’t until I was in college in Connecticut where the film became a big inspiration in that early desire to become a writer — A good book to read at 5 Walnut Wine Bar God willin’ and the creek don’t in Asheville. Garret K. Woodward photo rise. At some point, I can’t remember exactly, I came across the film on late night TV, probably following some weekend collegiate excursion, myself usually the last one asleep.

This go-round, the film captivated me, this unfolding, whirlwind story of an aspiring writer who lands in New York City, only to cross paths with cosmopolitan high society, but also this femme fatale, soon to become creative muse, etc. You know the story. It remains as powerful today as it did when first written in 1958.

Not long after that renewed affinity for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” I found myself at a school poster sale in the campus cafeteria. I browsed the selection, only to come face-to-face with this small print of Audrey Hepburn in her Holly Golightly pose and poise. outfit — the black dress and diamond accesNow with this original copy of sories, the elongated cigarette holder and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” within my hands, I’ve unfiltered tobacco stick hanging off the end. been chipping away at it, albeit slowly, usualI purchased the print and hung it up on ly when I have a little bit of rare free time to the corkboard in my small third-floor dorm kick back in the recliner and knock down room. Then, the print came with me out west several pages, reacquainting myself with the following graduation in 2007 when I chased characters and the plot of a book that’s now journalism gigs in the Rocky Mountains and over 65 years old, yet feels like it was combeyond, in the same box packed up with the posed yesterday — the power of quality writole “Garrett” mug of mine I bought in ing and real emotion put forth from the Seattle. I recently wrote about that mug, too. depths of the human condition.

I suppose the winter doldrums conjure these More so, it’s about being along for the thoughts, the cold winds of February whipride that is life, all while retaining that childping up dusty memories. like wonder of curiosity and discovery so That same print currently sits on the wall many of us lose along the way, sadly, in the living room of the Waynesville apartwhether we realize it or not. Is it still with ment. It serves as a reminder of where it all you? No? Well, then where did it go? When began, those early years of trying to figure “it was the last time you truly stood outside of all out” and how, well, you never really figure yourself and took a leap of faith? Take that anything out — you just keep moving along, trip. Pick up that instrument. Call that perhoping that whatever does happen, that it’s son. Order the filet. in the name of love and compassion, purLife is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.

February 21-27, 2024

’m a minimalist. I don’t want much, nor do I care to ever have much. As long as I’m surrounded by shelves of books and stacks of vinyl records, a comfy recliner and some cold suds in the fridge in my humble abode of a one-bedroom Waynesville apartment (that also has a porch with mountain views, thankfully), I’m good to go.

For my money, literally and figuratively, I think it should be spent on travel, experiences and fine dining. You’ll never forget that glass of pricey red wine on the Las Vegas Strip or freshly caught lobster on the coast eof Maine. And you’ll never forget who you were with in doing so, how you felt and how wondrous the universe can be if you just lean into it a little bit. f As I always say, “Order the filet.” Life is what you make it, so make it delicious and adventurous. To that, I also hold a deep respect for literature. That feeling of holding an actual book, setting aside time to flip through the pages, letting your imagination soar from simply black ink typed on a once blank white page — it’s pretty incredible, with its timeless luster of awe and wonder never lost on me.

Well, the other day, as I was enjoying some wine and cheese with my girlfriend, Sarah, at the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar in Asheville’s Grove Arcade, I found myself browsing the endless rows of literary classics and rare books within the winding, seemingly never-ending store.

Eventually, I came across a first edition copy of Truman Capote’s seminal 1958 novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” One of my favorite books (and films). And for obvious f reasons when you peel back the story line of f a young writer trying to find footing in this ” all too wild and crazy world. Food for thought when I first read it those many years, as I was a hungry soul in search of the written word. Still am, too.

The price of the book was very agreeable. And yet, I was momentarily on the fence about purchasing it. But, that personal motto of “Order the filet” echoed throughout my heart and soul. And so, I approached the register.

Right now, as I sit on a chair in the window of the 5 Walnut Wine Bar in downtown Asheville — sipping the $5 white wine special, diving once again into the legend and lore of Holly Golightly through the words and sentiments of the late Capote — a feeling of gratitude for the moment washes over me.

It’s funny how “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host “Min XiaoFen: An Evening of Eastern Culture” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22.

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

DOWNTOWN WAYNE Y SVILLE 21

arts & entertainment

On the beat • Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8-10 p.m. every Thursday.

Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7-9 p.m. every first and third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public. For more information, go to blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host music bingo 7 p.m. Mondays, karaoke 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, trivia 7 p.m. Thursdays, open mic night 10 p.m. and Mike Rhodes Fellowship Feb. 24. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.

• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to coweeschool.org/music.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. Thursdays and semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.

Smoky Mountain News

February 21-27, 2024

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Fireside at the Farm” sessions on select weekends. For more information, go to oldedwardshospitality.com.

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• Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host “Min Xiao-Fen: An Evening of Eastern Culture” 7 p.m. Feb. 22. For a full schedule of events and/or to purchase tickets, go to folkmoot.org.

• Fontana Village Resort Wildwood Grill will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public.

800.849.2258 or fontanavillage.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host its weekly “Tuesday Jazz Series” with We Three Swing at 5:30 p.m., Syrrup Feb. 23 and Rene Russell (singer-songwriter) Feb. 24. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.

• Frog Quarters (Franklin) will host live music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays with Jim Austin’s Classic Country Band Feb. 24. Free and open to the public. Located at 573 East Main Street. littletennessee.org or 828.369.8488.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host Little River Band (classic rock) 9 p.m. Feb. 23 and Clint Black (country) 8 p.m. March 2. For a full schedule of events and/or to buy tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

• Highlander Mountain House (Highlands) will host “Blues & Brews” on Thursdays,

“Sunday Bluegrass Residency” from noon to 2:30 p.m. and the “Salon Series” with Stephen Wilson Jr. (country/folk) 8:30 p.m.

Feb. 22. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to highlandermountainhouse.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Trivia Night w/Kirk” from 7-9 p.m. every Monday and Liz Perry (singer-songwriter) Feb. 24. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

ALSO:

Americana, folk at Mountain Layers Jackson County Americana/folk duo Bird in Hand will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Mountain Layers Brewing Company in Bryson City.

The road less traveled has always been the way for husband-and-wife duo Bird in Hand.

Bryan and Megan Thurman call the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina home and the region is directly reflected in their music. Bird in Hand is upbeat and new

Bird in Hand will play Bryson City Feb. 24. File photo

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” on Wednesdays and semiregular live music on the weekends. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Karaoke on the second/fourth Friday of the month and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host “Music Bingo” 6:30 p.m. Mondays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Meadowlark Motel (Maggie Valley) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to meadowlarkmotel.com or call 828.926.1717.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host an “Open Mic w/Frank Lee” Wednesdays, Wyatt Espalin (singer-songwriter) Feb. 23 and Bird In Hand (Americana/indie) Feb. 24. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Peacock Performing Arts Center (Hayesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.389.ARTS or thepeacocknc.org.

• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public.

828.586.1717 or facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.

• Salty Dog’s Seafood & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host “Karaoke w/Russell” every Monday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public.

828.926.9105.

• Santé Wine Bar (Sylva) will host semi-reg-

while still rooted in the traditions of American folk.

The two have played all over the Appalachian region, as well as across the country, and share an onstage chemistry that demands attention. They need to be seen live to understand the meaning of “Appalachian Thunder Folk.”

You can find their debut EP, “Due North,” online at birdinhandmusic.com. The show is free and open to the public. For more information, go to mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

ular live music on Sundays. Free and open to the public. 828.631.3075 or facebook.com/thewinebarandcellar.

• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host a “Celtic Jam” 2-5 p.m., Blended Hemp (Americana/acoustic) Feb. 22, Celtic Road Jam 4 p.m. Feb. 24 and Ben & The Borrowed Band Feb. 24. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.

• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host The Swingin’ Medallions (rock/R&B) March 2. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to smokymountainarts.com or 866.273.4615.

• Stecoah Valley Center (Robbinsville) will host a Community Jam 5:30-7:30 p.m. every third Thursday of the month and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, call 828.479.3364 or go to stecoahvalleycenter.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host “Bluegrass Wednesday” at 6:30 p.m. each week. 828.526.8364 or theuglydogpub.com.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Mountain Gypsy (Americana, free) Feb. 22, Rock Holler Feb. 23, Topper Feb. 24 and Karaoke with Lori Feb. 29. All shows are $5 at the door and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.538.2488.

• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.

On the beat

Our American Songbook’

Bria Skonberg will play WCU Feb. 29. Matt Baker photo

On the table

ALSO:

• “Love at First Bite” wine dinner will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the J.R. Chophouse in Franklin. Featuring the wines of Tommasi Family Estates, Chef James invites you to a romantic and memorable evening of fine dining paired with great wines by Sommelier Jennifer Smathers. Menu priced at $79.99 per person, with a $35 advance deposit required. For more information, call 828.369.3663 or go to jrchophouse.com.

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine

tastings and special dinners, go to waynesvillewine.com.

• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturday at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines.

Educational classes and other events are also available. For more information, call 828.538.0420.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. There will also be a special “Beer Train” on select dates.

For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or go to gsmr.com.

Featuring “Asian Soundscapes” created by Min Xiao-Fen, Folkmoot USA will present “An Evening of Eastern Culture” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

Prepare yourself for extraordinary performances by Min Xiao-Fen on the Chinese pipa, Mari Ohta on the Japanese koto, Thom Nguyen on percussion and the Warren Wilson College Gamelan Ensemble with classical Javanese dancer Dr. Siti Kusujiarti.

Few artists have done more to both honor and reinvent the 2,000-year history of the pipa than soloist, vocalist and composer Min Xiao-Fen. Classically trained in her native China, she served as a principal pipa soloist at Nanjing Traditional Music Orchestra and was an in-demand interpreter of traditional music before relocating to the United States and forging a new path for her instrument alongside many of the leading lights in modern jazz, free improvisation, experimental and contemporary classical music.

NPR Weekend Edition lauded Min as “one of the world’s greatest virtuosos” and JazzTimes hailed her as “a pioneer in integrating her ancient instrument with modern jazz and improvised music.” The New York Times raved that her singular work “has traversed a sweeping musical odyssey.”

Doors will open at 6 p.m. As well, the Iron Wok food truck will be onsite.

Tickets are $20 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to folkmoot.org.

Smoky Mountain News

• “Battle of the Beans” chili cook-off will be held from 6-8 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 25, at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Sylva. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

‘An Evening of Eastern Culture’

February 21-27, 2024

A special production of “Sing and Swing: Our American Songbook” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 29, in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Composers and trumpeters Benny Benack III and Bria Skonberg will lead a talented group featuring Jocelyn Gould (guitar), Mathis Picard (piano), Mark Lewandowski (bass) and Charles Goold (drums) “We’re both fans of the classic songbook era and the artists that made it possible. The fact that we’re still playing these songs 75 to 100 years after they were written is a testament to their quality,” Skonberg said. “Naturally, we gravitated towards the great pairings of trumpet players and vocalists, like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald or Louis Prima and Keely Smith — we’ve listened to that music as long as we have played the trumpet.”

The repertoire, noted co-leader Benack, will include songs such as the Duke Ellington classic “In a Mellow Tone,” a duet featuring Skonberg on trumpet and vocals, featured in his most recent album, “Third Time’s the Charm”; Comes Love,” a nod to the inimitable Louis and Ella; “Banana Split for My Baby,” a cheeky swinger by Louis Prima and Keely Smith; and “I’m Glad There is You,” a classic by Sarah Vaughan and Clifford Brown.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for senior citizens (age 65 and older) and WCU faculty/staff, $15 for students/children (non-WCU) and $5 for WCU students.

Doors open at 7 p.m.

For more information on the event and/or to purchase tickets, go to arts.wcu.edu/sing-swing.

arts & entertainment

‘Sing and Swing:

Min Xiao-Fen is a world-renowned musician. File photo

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Smoky Mountain News February 21-27, 2024

arts & entertainment

On the stage arts & entertainment

HART presents ‘A Month of Sundays’ A special production of “A Month of Sundays” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16-27, 23-23 and 2 p.m. Feb. 18, 25 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

“A Month of Sundays” is a play that promises to take audiences on a captivating journey filled with laughter, authenticity and heartfelt moments. This thought-provoking production will also mark the reopening of HART’s Feichter Studio, which has been closed since March 2020.

The story plot revolves around Cooper and Aylott, best friends who live in a retirement home in upstate New York. The show takes an honest look at what aging is like, adjusting to a new environment in old age, facing the realities of aging and repairing relationships with family. The show is a great mix of comedy and wit while tackling difficult subject matter in a touching and heartfelt way.

To make ticket reservations, go to harttheatre.org or call the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host comedy legend Brian Regan at 9 p.m.

Friday, March 1. For a full schedule of events and/or to buy tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

ALSO:

‘A Month of Sundays’ will be at HART on select dates in February. Donated photo

February 21-27, 2024 Smoky Mountain News 25

arts & entertainment

On the wall

Haywood Arts celebrates ‘Love’ As the first showcase of the year, the “Love” exhibition will run through March 3 at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville.

Through a diverse range of mediums such as paintings, glasswork, ceramics, quilting, jewelry and more, HCAC artists skillfully conveyed their personal interpretations of love.

This event not only marks the opening of an extraordinary exhibit, but also serves as

The HCAC ‘Love’ exhibit will run until March 3. Donated photo

Smoky Mountain News

February 21-27, 2024

the launch of the “Give a HeART” project. Dedicated artist members generously donated their time and art supplies to create unique pieces of art on wooden panel hearts.

These exquisite hearts will be available for purchase in the gallery until the end of February, with all proceeds directly benefiting the HCAC. The HCAC gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information, go to haywoodarts.org.

28 Walnut St. Waynesville

828.4556.3021

HaywoodCChamber.com

Business es of the Mo Mon nth:

The 56th annual Juried Undergraduate Daniel Velazquez Perez, Lydia Vereen and Exhibition will run through March 22 at the Gogaji Renn Yang.

Fine Art Museum in the Bardo Arts Center An awards ceremony and reception will at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. be held from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 14, The exhibition is one of the longest-running Catamount art traditions. For emerging artists, this exhibition is an opportunity to share their artwork with a larger public and to enhance their skills in presenting artwork in a professional gallery setting.

Students’ work is reviewed by an outside art professional, one who has the challenge of making selections ‘Stress Response’ is a porcelain work by Joshua Masters. Donated photo from the many talented students who submit an application. This year’s judge is Erika at the WCU Fine Art Museum The reception Diamond, a textile-focused artist, curator and will include a talk from the artists, complieducator based in Asheville. mentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Free WCU artists include Katie Barnett, Adam parking is available.

Bryant, Alexis Bumgardner, Jessie Butner, For more information, go to Matthew Cain, Zoila Carrasco, Nathalie wcu.edu/bardo-artsCatalán, Isaiah Davis, Sally Drumheller, center/blog/posts/56th-annual-juried.aspx.

• “Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson” will run through June 28 in the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. This exhibition brings together a selection of baskets, pottery, carving, painting, photography and more. To learn more about the exhibition and reception, please go to arts.wcu.edu/spark.

The Fine Art Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

ALSO:

• CRE828 (Waynesville) will offer a selection of art classes and workshops at its studio located at 1283 Asheville Road. Workshops will include art journaling, watercoloring, mixed media, acrylic painting and more. For a full list of classes, go to cre828.com. For more information on CRE828, email dawn@cre828.com or call 828.283.0523.

(LEFT TO RIGHT) JACOB GURNER, RA AYYLENE GALLOWAY WA AYY,, MATTHEW PRUITTT, T, JESSICA WIGGINS

Pisgah P Peest Contrrol N. Lakeshore Drr.., Lake Junaluska, NC 28745 (828) 377-6052 • waynesville.pisgahpesttcontrol.com

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Eason, Anilia Hornsby, Gillian WCU undergraduate Rhiannon Kaminski, Kiara Leary, Madi Livingston, Joshua Masters, Gloria Melo-Estrada, Naomi Michaela Morse, Berlyn Perdomo, exhibition, reception Michelle, Jessica Rial, Alexis Shafir, Samantha Taube,

Servicing ASHEVILLE, BREVVA ARD, CASHIERS, HENDERSONVILLE, WA AYYNESVILLE & SURROUNDING AREAS

the enjoyment of photography and the improvement of one’s skills. They welcome photographers of all skill levels to share ideas and images at the monthly meetings. For more information, email waynesvillephotoclub@charter.net or follow them on Facebook: Waynesville Photography Club.

• Haywood County Arts Council (Waynesville) will offer a wide-range of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. The HCAC gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information and a full schedule, go to haywoodarts.org.

• Jackson County Green Energy Park (Dillsboro) will be offering a slew of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. For more information and a full schedule, go to jcgep.org.

• Gallery Zella (Bryson City) will be hosting an array of artist receptions, exhibits and showcases. The gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, go to galleryzella.com or call 517.881.0959.

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. For more information on the upcoming classes and/or to sign-up, go to southwesterncc.edu/scclocations/swain-center.

• Waynesville Photography Club meets at 7 p.m. every third Monday each month on the second floor of the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center in Clyde. The club is a nonprofit organization that exists for

• Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro will offer a selection of upcoming art classes and workshops. For more information and a full schedule of activities, go to dogwoodcrafters.com/classes or call 828.586.2248.

On the shelf

Jeff Minick

T

the vigorous man who worked as a cattle rancher in the Western Badlands, organized and led the Rough Riders in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and served as a progressive president of the United States who broke up business monopolies and whose foreign policy was guided by the proverb, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

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Smoky Mountain News

Roosevelt’s contemporary, Booker T. Washington, was born a slave who lifted himself out of a grinding poverty to get an education at Virginia’s Hampton Institute.

From there, he founded and presided over Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute, a Black college raised up in the middle of the Jim Crow South, built largely by the hands of its students. Renowned both in America and in Europe for his diligence and statesmanship, Washington was a vocal advocate for race, responsibility, and liberty.

Kilmeade brings these two men together here because each admired the other and worked together to combat the racial tensions and segregation of their time. In 1901, following the death of President William McKinley after he was shot and mortally wounded by an assassin, Vice President Roosevelt assumed command of the White House. On the day of his swearing in, he sent a brief letter to Booker T. Washington, inviting him to come north “to talk over the question of possible future appointments in

the south.”

The two men met soon afterwards, and Roosevelt laid out his plans for those appointments to various offices and judgeships. That meeting and their collaboration might have passed unnoticed had not Roosevelt then invited Washington to the White House for supper. As word got out that a Black man had for the first time dined at the president’s table, reactions across the nation ranged from approval to ugly racist denunciations of the presidents and his actions.

Washington and Roosevelt continued their friendship and often worked together, but the upheaval caused by that White House dinner acted as a brake on any more such intimate time together. Both men were pragmatists, and Washington in particular was often criticized by other Black leaders for his seeming accommodation to racial divides in the South, a criticism still leveled at him by some today.

The last section of “Teddy and Booker T.” is titled “Men of their Time,” and here we see what so many today forget, that we are all products of our time.

Some make the horrible mistake of throwing stones at both these men without taking into account the times in which they lived and the obstacles they faced. A nuanced study of history like “Teddy and Booker T.,” of things as they really were as far as we can determine, should replace that condemnation with understanding and with admiration for what they were able to accomplish.

A final note: Anyone from high school students to adults should find pleasure and instruction in this dual biography. They’ll learn bits and pieces about slavery, the American West, the powers of the presidency, and more. If you’re looking to enhance your knowledge of our past and the people who created our present, read “Teddy and Booker T.” (Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” minick0301@gmail.com.)

February 21-27, 2024

hat many Americans today suffer a disconnect from their past is beyond argument. Some of us have seen those manin-the-street encounters where a reporter will ask questions of pedestrians — “What event do we celebrate on the Fourth of July?” or “Name the countries America was fighting during the Second World War” — only to be met with embarrassed shrugs or a blank stare.

The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as “The Nation’s Report Card, gives us hard evidence of this Writer ignorance. It reveals that U.S. history scores for eighth-graders had once again declined, with 40% of students falling below the NAEP Basic level, which indicates only partial knowledge of a subject to perform at grade level. Only 13% of students made it into the proficient category.

This unfamiliarity with our nation’s history has deep roots. Twenty-five years ago, for example, a study of 55 of some of America’s most elite colleges — Duke, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and others — revealed that they required no course in U.S. history. Moreover, 81% of the seniors from these institutions failed a high school history exam, a showing so dismal and so disturbing that Democrat Sen. Joseph Lieberman and his Republican colleague Slade Gorton introduced a resolution, one with little effect, calling on American colleges and universities to include more American history in their programs of study.

Even when history is taught nowadays, educators and academics often focus on the warts and blemishes of people from the past rather than on their accomplishments. This approach to the past lacks nuance, an inability to look at a Robert E. Lee or an Abraham Lincoln as figures living in an era whose values were poles apart from our own. Some who approach history with these prejudices hope to wipe clean the slate of the past and establish a utopia, forgetting that future generations will be turning a gimlet eye on their own shortcomings and deceits.

Maybe all these folks should follow the advice of the good senators mentioned above and learn some history. A good place to start would be with Brian Kilmeade’s “Teddy and Booker T.: How Two American Icons Blazed a Path for Racial Equality” (Sentinel, 2023, 368 pages).

Here we meet two remarkable Americans, Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington, who have long occupied a place in my personal pantheon of American heroes. Kilmeade gives us the biographies of these two men in parallel stories. Here we meet Roosevelt as a sickly boy who with the help of his father transformed himself into

arts & entertainment

Parallel lives of two men makes great history

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Outdoors

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COMPETING PRIORITIES

The last stroke When flows are high, the Upper Chattooga River offers a fun ride to advanced paddlers. Kevin Colburn photo

Forest Service ruling ends Chattooga paddling debate

tions are now punishable as a Class B misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine for an individual or $10,000 fine for an organization.

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS E DITOR decades-long debate over paddling rules on the Upper Chattooga River has come to a close after the appearance of a final ruling in November 2023 took some stakeholders by surprise.

“I’ve never seen a decision withdrawn and then finalized,” said Kevin Colburn, national stewardship director for American Whitewater. “It’s quite the curveball for the public.”

The rule, finalized on Nov. 7, 2023, can trace its history back to 1974, when Congress designated the 57-mile-long Chattooga River as part of the National Wild and Scenic River System. One of the longest and largest free-flowing mountain rivers in the Southeast, its path runs mostly through undeveloped land managed by the U.S. Forest Service. It originates in North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest and forms the border between northwestern South Carolina and northeastern Georgia as it flows south through Georgia’s ChattahoocheeOconee National Forest and South Carolina’s Sumpter National Forest, ending up in Georgia’s Tugaloo Reservoir.

The first restrictions on boating the river came in 1976, when the Forest Service decided to allow canoes and kayaks on the lower two-thirds but prohibited them in the headwaters.

That prohibition remained in place until 2012, when, in response to years of deliberation and litigation led by the nonprofit American Whitewater, the Forest Service adopted a new plan that allowed a limited form of use. While commercial boating was still banned above the Highway 28 bridge, nonmotorized, non-commercial boating was allowed on 17 of the Upper Chattooga’s 21 miles — with restrictions. Paddlers could run the river only during daylight hours between Dec. 1 and April 30 each year when the gauge at Burrells Ford read 350 cubic feet per second or greater.

The newly approved rule mirrors the restrictions in the 2012 plan, so in effect, nothing has changed. However, viola-

SURPRISE REVIVAL

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Colburn, who has been intimately involved with the issue since 2001, said he was taken aback to see the press release announcing the new rule, as he had been under the impression that the proposal was withdrawn in 2018. A look at the regulations.gov page tracking the proposal seems to confirm that impression. The page lists the proposal as being entered on Jan. 19, 2016, with a public comment period ending March 21, 2016, and withdrawn on March 7, 2018.

However, the Forest Service says, the proposal was never actually withdrawn. The regulatory identification number for the proposal was removed from the regulatory agenda, said spokesperson Alan Abernathy, but formally rescinding it would have required a separate notice in the Federal Register — something that never occurred.

The regulatory number was removed to comply with a now-rescinded executive order from President Donald Trump to remove any items considered inactive, Abernathy said. The Forest Service chose to advance higher-priority actions ahead of the Chattooga ruling and removed that item from the regulatory agenda. It reinitiated work on the proposal in 2021 after the Biden administration came into office, and a new regulatory number was created.

“What is shown on the regulations.gov website, the old number as withdrawn, is in reference to the Regulatory Identification Number and not to the regulatory action,” Abernathy said.

No public comment opportunity accompanied the revived approval effort.

“The final rule amendment considers public input that was provided during the 2016 public comment period on the proposed rule amendment,” Abernathy said. “The agency determined that no changed circumstance has occurred to impact the validity and relevancy of that previous process.”

The final rule won’t change how paddling on the Upper Chattooga is regulated now, but its publication put an end to paddling advocates’ long-held hope of expanding boating opportunities in the Nantahala National Forest and reignited memories of a dispute that turned acrimonious enough to wind up before the U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit in 2013.

Unlike popular paddling rivers like the Tuckasegee or the Nantahala, most days the Upper Chattooga River isn’t even runnable. But with a big rain, it turns into a temporary playground for advanced paddlers looking for a Class IV or V adventure.

“It is very challenging, very clean water, very beautiful scenery, big trees — it’s just delightful,” Coburn said. “It’s a really, really wonderful river.”

Because of the difficulty level and ephemeral nature of the flow, use has always been light, Colburn said. He considers paddling a noninvasive sport, pointing out that it’s even allowed in designated wilderness areas where other popular pastimes like mountain biking, drones and organized races are off-limits.

“It’s not something that needs to be managed,” he said.

“Instead, the Forest Service continues to spend who knows how much money locking the public out of the river. And it just makes no sense.”

As management of the area was being debated leading up to and following adoption of the 2012 plan, tension with American Whitewater’s position ran in multiple directions. Friends of the Chattooga, a group of fishermen, hikers, campers, environmentalists, birdwatchers and nature lovers, said allowing paddling on the river would ruin the solitude this beautiful, wild area afforded.

And the Rust family, which owns 859 acres straddling the Chattooga River and surrounded on most of three sides by Forest Service land, opposed any rules that would allow or encourage people to paddle the section of river that flows through their property or trespass on their land.

“It’s not something that needs to be managed. Instead, the Forest Service continues to spend who knows how much money locking the public out of the river. And it just makes no sense.”

— Kevin Colburn

Nicole Hayler, executive director of the Chattooga Conservancy, said that Trout Unlimited was one of the major parties at odds with American Whitewater’s wishes. When the Chattooga River was divided into wild, scenic and recreational sections under the National Wild and Scenic River Act, she said, the portion above Highway 28 was ruled off-limits to boats — not because it wasn’t possible to kayak it, but because anglers didn’t want kayakers on that section of river.

“That was their special fishing ground,” she said. “And so that was really the point of contention.”

Multiple chapters and state councils of Trout Unlimited submitted comments on the 2011 Environmental Assessment exploring management options for the Upper Chattooga. Some expressed categorical opposition to allowing any paddling on the stretch of river, while others said they preferred that the paddling ban remain in place but could accept alternatives that allowed it to occur in a limited manner.

“If you spook a pool, it’s pretty much done for 45 minutes to an hour before you can fish it again,” said Mike Bamford, an outdoorsman and member of the Rust family, “so it doesn’t take many floaters in a day to make the river unfishable.”

Brian Esque, chair of the N.C. Council of Trout

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ning it requires dropping everything at a moment’s notice to catch the river while the water’s high. Colburn estimates that only around a dozen people paddle each of the sections in the Upper Chattooga per year.

“Without any closures it might be two dozen,” he said.

While Forest Service figures show low use on sections 0 and 00 of the Upper Chattooga, it’s not as low as Colburn indicated. Between 2012 and 2022, the Forest Service said, an average of 68 people paddled the river each year, ranging from a low of nine in 2014 to a high of 176 in 2013. For five of the 11 years for which data was provided, use ranged between 50 and 100 people per year. Four years had lower use than that and two years had higher use.

Colburn said he was surprised by those numbers, adding that they didn’t match the much lower figures American Whitewater had collected from the Forest Service over the years.

The Forest Service stood by its figures, which it said were generated directly from the agency’s database of private boater permits and river use.

But numbers aren’t really the issue, Bamford said.

“Would you open up your living room for only a couple days a year, just to the general public?” he said. “It’s not a matter of whether it’s a couple days a year. It’s not open to the public, period.”

He’s glad that paddling restrictions will continue under the new rule, though he takes issue with language in the ruling he sees as vague

SNOW REPO ORT

Kevin Colburn photo

DEBATING NAVIGABILITY

enough to allow the Forest Service to someday overstep its bounds in the future. The property’s backyard is “completely open” to the river, and the family doesn’t want strangers paddling through it, he said. As the property owners, it’s their right to say no.

Colburn disagrees with that conclusion. In North Carolina, the public has the right to boat on any “navigable waters” with or without the permission of the owner of the surrounding property, as the waters themselves are considered to be in the public trust. He pointed to a 1998 Attorney General’s Opinion that states that “if a body of water in its natural condition can be navigated by watercraft, it is navigable in fact, and, therefore, navigable in law, even if it has not been used for such purpose.”

“It’s navigable, and the public has a right to paddle it,” said Colburn.

Hayler, also a kayaker, agreed that the stretch of river is navigable but pointed out that

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Smoky Mountain News

American Whitewater is also unhappy with how the decision handled the river’s proximity to the Rust land. The Chattooga River bisects the property, and the Rust family, which has owned it since 1946, contends that it owns not just the land around the river but also the riverbed itself.

The Forest Service decision appears to honor that interpretation, prohibiting boating upstream of the property. Instead of putting in at the easily accessible bridge upstream of the Rust property, boaters must hike about a mile to reach the downstream access.

“There’s no other river in the country that I’m aware of that has restrictions like this,” Colburn said.

The restrictions are especially perplexing, he said, given how few people paddle the Upper Chattooga. It’s remote, it’s advanced, and run-

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February 21-27, 2024

The Chattooga River’s natural beauty has earned it recognition under the National Wild and Scenic River Program.

stating that rivers whose navigability has not it also contains Corkscrew Falls — the biggest been determined should be considered nonsingle drop on the Chattooga River — which navigable “until adjudicated otherwise.”

“99.9%” of paddlers portage, thereby stepping on the privately owned shoreline.

OOKING “The Rust family was adamantly opposed to FORWARD having people basically It’s been a long battle, trample their property, but for better or worse, it’s because it’s really steep over. and there’s no soil on the “We thought that there rocks,” Hayler said. “It was a different path where probably would have led the conflict between the to some environmental two user groups could have damage.” been addressed more equiBamford said that’s tably, I think,” Hayler said. not the main issue. He “And I think that was capdoesn’t want his family to tured in the position we be deemed liable should took. But it’s a done deal an accident occur on their now.” property, and at a more Going forward, she Upper Chattooga River. basic level, he disputes said, proponents of the Colburn’s assessment that Kevin Colburn photo Chattooga’s natural beauty the river is navigable, and can turn their attention to therefore in the public trust. He pointed to a the bigger questions facing this special area.

1934 finding from the U.S. Army Corps of Due to its proximity to Atlanta, Asheville and Engineers that classified the Chattooga River as Greenville, South Carolina, the Chattooga is non-navigable — though that document menfacing “fierce” recreational pressure even as tions only the river’s South Carolina and development pressure squeezes its headwaters.

Georgia sections, not the uppermost section in Going forward, Hayler hopes to see the Forest North Carolina.

The Forest Service says that neither position Service support a more protective designation within the Wild and Scenic River Program that is correct. In the 2012 Environmental will better defend the river from those forces.

Assessment on the proposed paddling regula“Safeguarding what we can within the Wild tions, it stated that “navigability and public and Scenic River Corridor is where we think access rights on this reach have not been forthe energy needs to be right now,” she said. mally analyzed” and cited a Forest Service rule

outdoors

Unlimited, said TU supported the final ruling.

“As the requirement required 350 cfs or greater conditions, we felt that anglers and boaters would not be in competition,” he said.

“We also believe that paddlers and anglers being able to share the headwaters of the Chattooga equally will also allow us to come together to help protect the river.”

Colburn believes the regulation was unneccesary. Because paddlers can run the river only during high flow conditions — conditions that are typically not optimal for anglers — there’s little overlap between the two user groups, he said.

Hayler said the Chattooga Conservancy had proposed a compromise intended to mollify both sides — allowing paddling year-round, but only in small groups when the river was running at least 450 cubic feet per second, and only using existing access points.

“That’s not what happened,” she said.

Instead, the Forest Service permitted two new boating access trails, a decision to which The Chattooga Conservancy objected. The new trails compromise the “real wilderness experience” otherwise available in these remote and biologically sensitive areas, Hayler said.

The Forest Service decision requires paddlers to self-register and restricts paddling to the window between Dec. 1 and April 30. But it only requires the river to reach 350 cubic feet per second — according to Hayler, the swifter 450 cubic feet per second limit would have better restricted conflict between paddlers and anglers.

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outdoors

Public comment open on Ela Dam license surrender Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accepted an application that Northbrook Carolina Hydro II LLC submitted in November seeking to relinquish its license to generate power from Ela Dam on the Oconaluftee River.

The decision kicks off a public input period that ends March 13.

The dam is located downstream of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Northbrook’s property abuts the Qualla Boundary for 1.5 miles. If the application is approved, Northbrook would leave the dam and associated structures intact but would disconnect from the grid and remove generators and turbines.

According to FERC, Northbrook

Ela Dam has been in operation since 1925.

File photo

intends eventually to deed the property to Mainspring Conservation Trust “for potential future removal of the dam after the surrender is final.” Regardless of whether the dam is ultimately removed, Mainspring has said, the license surrender would open up opportunity for ecological and cultural restoration along the 1.5-mile

Celebrate water quality in style

Tremont Writers Conference accepting applications Applications are open to the second annual Tremont Writers Conference, slated for Oct. 2327 at Tremont’s campus in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, through April 30.

This intensive five-day retreat is intended for writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry and is coordinated in partnership with Smokies Life, formerly known as the Great Smoky Mountains Association. Participants will join renowned authors and professional park educators for the retreat, brainstorming and fine-tuning their work with award-winning author workshop leaders while also learning and writing throughout the day.

Morning workshops in fiction, nonfiction

and poetry will take place outdoors, led by faculty members Monic Ductan (fiction), David Brill (nonfiction) and Maurice Manning (poetry).

Guest author Frank X Walker, the first African American Kentucky Poet Laureate and workshop leader at the 2023 conference, will lead several sessions for the entire group, including a guided discussion on the craft of writing. Each afternoon, writers will join experienced Tremont naturalists for guided explorations that spark curiosity and wonder through a deeper connection to the region’s cultural and natural history.

Evenings will conclude with hearty dinners, fellowship with peers, and readings by writing faculty.

Acceptance to conference workshops is based on manuscript evaluation, with chosen writers notified by July 14. Meals and lodging are included in the $1,600 cost, with financial aid opportunities available. For more information, visit writers.gsmit.org.

Smoky Mountain News

February 21-27, 2024

The 16th annual Hiwassee Watershed Gala will take place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, at the Charles Suber Banquet Hall at Young Harris College in Georgia.

This upscale social gathering celebrates good water quality, still being measured in many rivers, lake, and streams, and recognizes those who work to sustain it. This year’s event will be shorter and slightly less formal, featuring a menu of heavy hors d’oeuvres, along with wine, beer, soda and water.

Popular local musician Troy Underwood will provide his bluesy, soul and folk sound for the evening.

Tickets are available for individuals or tables of eight. Learn more at mountaintrue.org/gala2024.

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Writers at the 2023 conference spent mornings workshopping and receiving constructive feedback on their submitted manuscripts. Michele Sons photo.

stretch of water.

FERC has invited the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Muscogee Creek Nation and Catawba Indian Nation to participate in the process. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has submitted a motion requesting to be considered a party in the

action.

Comments can be submitted at ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov or 866.208.3676. View the entire filing at ferc.gov using docket number P-2601-077.

— Holly Kays, Outdoors Editor

Van Horns honored for hiking club legacy

Conservancy, been the face of the School Outreach Program for a decade, served as Trail Ambassadors and hike leaders and served on numerous club, ATC and U.S. Forest Service committees and task groups.

In addition, Bill has served as club president and a representative to the Regional Partnership Committee, as well as being a consistent part of NHC’s trail maintenance efforts.

The award created in their honor, “The Van Horn” will be given annually at a club member who has contributed greatly to the NHC and A.T. In 2023, the NHC recorded more than 8,000 volunteer hours from over 100 people valued at more than $250,000. The club rebuilt the Rock Gap Shelter and Wesser Bald privy, established a corporate sponsorship program and logged over 5,400 hours in trail maintenance activities and 750 hours in hike leading and trail ambassador activities.

In recognition of the outsize impact that longtime members Bill and Sharon Van Horn have had on the organization, the Nantahala Hiking Club has created a new annual award in honor of their contributions.

Since joining the club in 2002, the couple has contributed more than 20,000 hours to NHC and the Appalachian Trail — an extremely high number for a club whose recognition program stops at 2,000 hours, a marker the Van Horns surpassed a decade ago.

Together, the Van Horns have sectionhiked the entire A.T., started and organized the annual Hiker Chow Down, started and led the Trail Ambassador Program and Visual Resource Inventory Initiative, helped Franklin earn designation as the first A.T. Community by the Appalachian Trail

Adopt a trail section The Benton MacKaye Trail Association is looking for volunteers to adopt six trail sections in North Carolina, taking ownership of their regular monitoring and maintenance.

These sections are Sandy Gap to Round Top, Beech Gap to Haoe Lead intersection (southwest), Haoe Lead intersection (southwest) to Hangover Lead Trail, Haoe Lead intersection (northeast) to Big Fat Gap, Big Fat Gap to Yellowhammer Gap and Forest Service Road 251C (east end) to Fontana Lodge.

The trail has 79 maintenance sections in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Currently, 32 solo maintainers, seven associations/organizations, 14 husband/wife teams and two partner teams maintain them. Several maintainers have two or more sections.

For more information, contact Joe Cantwell at josephfcantwell@gmail.com.

Learn more at bmta.org/trail-maintenance.

The 288-mile Benton MacKaye Trail runs through three states. File photo

Blue Ridge Parkway bridge nears completion

Prescribed fires planned for Cherokee National Forest

For the first time since 2022, High Path Avian Influenza has been found in North Carolina.

A positive sample was identified at a commercial turkey operation in Lenoir County, located in the eastern part of the state.

“It is unfortunate that we have this outbreak in a North Carolina poultry farm at this time,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, “but we have handled this before, we have trained, and we have good partners. I am confident that we are as prepared as any state in the country to handle this.”

This type of HPAI virus is considered a low risk to people but is highly contagious to other birds, including commercial and backyard flocks of poultry. The virus is also not considered a food safety threat and infected birds do not enter the food supply. Flocks within 10 kilometers of the infected farm will be tested for HPAI. While the virus has been identified on only one farm thus far, the threat is statewide, said State Veterinarian Mike Martin. Commercial operations and backyard flock owners alike should follow strict biosecurity measures, including keeping birds enclosed without access to wild birds or other domestic flocks.

Report higher-than-normal flock mortality rates to a veterinarian or to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Veterinary Division at 919.707.3250. Learn more at ncagr.gov/divisions/veterinary/avianinfluenza.

• Tires • Brakes • Alignment • Tractor Tirres Authori h ized Motor Flee l t Management Main a tenance

Smoky Mountain News

Avian flu found in Lenoir County

WAYNESVILLE TIR RE, INC. February 21-27, 2024

A slate of prescribed fires is planned through the end of May on the Cherokee National Forest in southeastern Tennessee, with some smoke impacts possible over the state line in North Carolina.

Planned burns for the Tellico Ranger District in Monroe County, Tennessee, include: 1,004 acres at Bark Camp between Forest Service Road 35-1, 36-1 and 442802; 4,252 acres on Miller Ridge between FSR 35-1, 36-1, Ballplay Creek, FSR 284 and Flats Creek; 813 acres at Hemlock between Highway 165, Long Branch, Hemlock Creek and FSR 217; 2,005 acres at Brushy Ridge between Highway 165, FST 92, 93 and FSR 217; 3,200 acres at Rough Ridge between FST 163, FSR 210 and Rough Ridge Creek; 2,835 acres at Beaver Dam between FSR 126, 210, 24 and 40921; and 845 acres at Wildcat between FSR 210, 384, 384C and Basin Lead.

Planned burns for the Ocoee Ranger District in Polk County, Tennessee, include: 2,653 acres

at Towee/Wildcat/Loss Creek between FSR 2015 and 2016, FST 152/82, the Hiwassee River and FSR 108; 2,102 acres at Rock Creek between FSR 185, 77, 33571 and Highway 30; 536 acres at Madden Branch between FSR 366, Highway 30 and Interstate 64; 447 acres at Island Creek between Parksville Lake and FSR 302; 943 acres at Johnson Branch between Parksville Lake and FSR 302, 302A and Camp Cherokee; 608 acres at Sina Branch between FSR 67 and 99; 3,042 acres at Sheeds Creek between FSR 221 and 62; and 1,605 acres at Chestnut Mountain between FSR 221, 221E and 62 and FST 145.

Burn days will be determined based on weather conditions, with burning operations expected to occur through the spring months.

Prescribed fire is used for many reasons, including to improve and increase habitat diversity, help manage for more resilient vegetation and reduce the risk of fire hazard.

Open houses to discuss these plans are slated for 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Boys and Girls Club Sutton-Hooker Unit Gym in Benton for the Ocoee Ranger District and 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, at Tellico Community Center in Tellico Plains for the Tellico Ranger District.

outdoors

The new Blue Ridge Parkway bridge over Interstate 26 in Asheville is now just 3 feet from connecting, but several operations and several weeks remain before the two sides will meet. The bridge deck has been built one side at a time by lifting pre-cast concrete sections and placing them in position, alternating from one side of the pier to the other.

The final section, as designed in the pre-construction plans, will be poured by hand following other necessary operations.

The next major step, scheduled for late February, involves pouring concrete to close The gap is getting close to closing on the the gap near the western abutment. After new Blue Ridge Parkway bridge over that concrete cures, crews will increase tenInterstate 26. NCDOT photo sion in the cables that run through segments of the bridge. The final closure pour connecting the two sides is currently scheduled for a night in the next four to six weeks. The exact date will be determined based on the time needed for concrete to cure and time needed to increase tension in the cables. r Remaining operations revolve around building short sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway leading up to the bridge on both sides. Other tasks include placing a 2-inch overlay on the deck, building a 5-foot sidewalk, and adding stone masonry in specific locations.

The opening date is to be determined, though Resident Engineer Luke Middleton said he hopes leaf peepers will be able to drive over the new bridge this fall.

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Tobacco Trust money flows to WNC outdoors

The N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has awarded more than $6.1 million in 30 grants, including more than $400,000 targeted toward the western counties.

Grants serving the entire western region include $100,000 to the Center for Agricultural and Food Entrepreneurship for the WNC FoodWorks Sustainability Plan, $80,000 to WNC Communities to refurbish the WNC Regional Livestock Center and $83,250 to the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project to support small farm viability. Additionally, a $150,000 grant awarded to the Haywood County Consolidated School System will support an outdoor agricultural classroom.

Other grants went to projects serving areas outside the western region, though many will serve the entire state. These projects range from soil health to Christmas tree seed to beekeeping.

The N.C. General Assembly created the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission in 2000 to lessen the financial impact on farmers and tobacco-related businesses caused by the sharp decline of tobacco in the agricultural economy. The commission’s original funding was established through tobacco industry annual payments as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement. Its current funding comes from a set appropriation of funds.

For a list of grant recipients, visit tobaccotrustfund.org.

Hike Laurel Knob

Long-term water quality information helps leverage grants for water quality improvement projects. HWA photo

Become a water quality watcher

Smoky Mountain News

February 21-27, 2024

Help keep tabs on water quality in Western North Carolina by joining the Volunteer Water Information Network.

Haywood Waterways Association manages 25 sites on 19 Haywood County streams through the network, with volunteers needed for sites on Lower Fines Creek off Interstate

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40 exit 15 and mid-Fines Creek at the intersection of Fines Creek Road and Max Patch Road. Results allow for long-term water quality monitoring information that helps leverage grant funding for water quality improvement projects.

Training and materials are provided, and backup volunteers are available for all sites.

For more information, contact Christine O’Brien at christine@haywoodwaterways.org or 828.476.4667, ext. 1.

Laurel Knob. File photo

Take a Leap Day hike to Laurel Knob at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, in Panthertown Valley.

Laurel Knob is a 1,200-foot cliff face, the tallest uninterrupted cliff face in the eastern U.S. This difficult hike will cover 5 miles of distance and 973 feet of elevation gain, with an estimated hiking time of six hours. Hikers should bring a day pack with snacks, lunch, 1.5-2 liters of water, a head lamp with fresh batteries, layers of extra clothing, rain gear, a hat and sunglasses.

Open to ages 10 and up. Cost is $7. Offered through the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department. Sign up at jcprd.recdesk.com.

Haywood hires new rec director

Bear boxes replacing cables at some A.T. shelters Trekking through fresh snowfall on the Appalachian Trail, Carolina Mountain Club volunteers and U.S. Forest Service staff installed a new bear box at Little Laurel Shelter — part of a larger CMC initiative to replace traditional bear cables with boxes at each of the 10 A.T. shelters the club maintains.

Weighing in at more than 300 pounds, these robust boxes are designed to prevent bears from accessing hikers’ food, reducing the likelihood of bear-human interactions and promoting a safer coexistence. The boxes are installed at least 100 yards from shelters, further diminishing the connection between food and humans in the bears’ minds.

Installing these hefty boxes requires a coordinated effort from numerous volunteers who navigate remote and sometimes rugged terrain to transport and install them. A key component of installation success has been the use of the Zebmobile, a device designed specifically for hauling heavy bear boxes. The Georgia Appalachian Trail Club loaned it to CMC, and the device has been invaluable in transporting these bulky items. Individual donor Sal Puleo was instrumental in making the project possible, funding the purchase of nine out of the 10 bear boxes being deployed.

For more information, visit carolinamountainclub.org.

Grants available for high school outdoor clubs A limited number of high schools will be awarded a $10,000 grant to develop a Trailblazers Outdoor Club for the upcoming school year, with applications open through March 30.

Selections are made by the N.C. Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission, with grants able to be used toward outdoor activities and curriculum. Each club must have at least one advisor who is a staff member at the school.

Learn more or apply at gooutside.nc.gov/trailblazers/apply. For more information, reach out to Program Director Alan Pomeroy at alan.pomeroy@nc.gov or Outreach and Engagement Manager Noel Griffin at noel.griffin@nc.gov.

February 21-27, 2024

Fly tying retreat coming to Maggie

File photo

Learn to tie flies with the best during the Fly Tyers Retreat 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at the Maggie Valley Pavilion in Maggie Valley.

This free event is open to fly tyers of all skill levels, with participants expected from Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina. Tyers can register for the morning session, afternoon session or both.

Sponsored by Maggie Valley Fly Shop, Frogs Fanny, Hareline, Spirit River and Cataloochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Register with Bob Nanney at 828.593.1467 or fearnofishrob@gmail.com or with Ray Sugg at 828.476.6808 or raysuggjr@aol.com.

Great Sm Smokies mokies

Help wildlife on Tax Day

STORAGE SST TORAGELLLCLCL Call 828.506 6.4112

greatsmokkiesstoragee.com Endangered Wildlife Fund. Donations may also be made directly at ncwildlife.org/donate#diversity_fund.

Smoky Mountain News

When filing a state tax return this year, North Carolina workers can support research and conservation management projects by donating some or all of their tax refund to the N.C. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund.

The impact of such gifts is amplified via a federal grant that matches every $100 donated with $186 in grants. In the past, funds have supported projects to improve surveilling abilities and detection of hellbenders, increase gopher frog populations and support sea turtle nesting.

To donate, check Line 30 on the state income tax form or, if filing with the aid of software, enter a contribution amount when prompted to the N.C. Nongame and

outdoors

Volunteers use the Zebmobile to haul a bear box through fresh show. David Huff photo

Haywood County has a new recreation director with the appointment of Elizabeth “Elli” Flagg, who started her new job Feb. 19.

Flagg, who previously served as recreation director in Craig, Alaska, is a Georgia native who began her journey in recreational management at Clemson University before pursuing further education abroad at Bond University in Australia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in parks, recreation and tourism management.

“We are thrilled to welcome Elizabeth to our team,” said David Francis, Haywood County Director of Community and Economic Development. “Her proven track record of success, coupled with her innovative spirit and dedication to community engagement, will enhance the recreational experiences available to our residents and visitors.”

During her time in Alaska, Flagg implemented foundational policies, procedures, financial management practices and asset organizational systems that significantly enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of recreational services. A press release called her leadership and collaborative approach “visionary,” saying that she “empowered individuals of all ages and backgrounds to actively participate in recreational activities, fostering healthier and more vibrant communities.”

Flagg will oversee the continued growth of the outdoor recreational programming and the new bike park featuring a pump track, a kiddie track and a skill course to learn mountain biking.

Her appointment follows the departure of previous director Ian Smith, who left the position in November 2023.

434 Champion Drive, D Canton, NC 28716 21 Hollon Cove Rd R , Waynesville, Waynesville NC 28786 33

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outdoors

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Notes from a Plant Nerd

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here are so many different native plants and flowers that I have yet to see growing in the wild. And I really want to. These include plants that grow nearby but are rare and specialized enough that I just haven’t found them yet, as well as plants that live in the southeastern U.S. outside of the mountain region that I would love to go meet for the first time, even common ones. I refer to these plants as my botanical bucket list.

One of the weirdest-looking flowers that I have ever seen I’ve yet to find blooming in the wild, only in captivity. This is how I describe plants growing in arboretums, botanical gardens and native plant gardens, both public and private. They’re kind of like zoos for plants. And while it is great to be able to visit these gardens and observe many different types of plants, the lure of finding them in the wild pulls me more and more as my life develops.

So, this past weekend I headed up to the Highlands Botanical Garden to see if the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) were up and in bloom. They were, and they were beautiful. The skunk cabbage is creepy, odd and interesting, but seeing it outside of its garden-gate cage would require driving to the northern mountain or piedmont counties of North Carolina, as we are outside the plant’s natural range here in the southwestern mountains.

This northern, or boreal, species can be found throughout the northeastern U.S. growing in swamps and wetlands from the coast to the interior. Among its many fascinating attributes is that even in Maine and across eastern Canada, skunk cabbage blooms in winter, in February. It can even bloom while covered in a deep blanket of snow. Skunk cabbage flowers are able to produce heat through a biochemical reaction in the flowers called thermogenesis that has been measured as high as 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This is plenty warm enough to melt the snow covering it so that its pollinators can find it.

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**Wells Fargo Home Projects credit card is issued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., an Equal Housing Lender. Special terms for 24 mo. apply to qualifying purchases of $1,000 or more ZLWK DSSURYHG FUHGLW 0LQLPXP PRQWKO\ SD\PHQWV ZLOO QRW SD\ R΍ EDODQFH EHIRUH HQG RI SURPRWLRQDO SHULRG $35 IRU QHZ SXUFKDVHV LV (΍ HFWLYH VXEMHFW WR FKDQJH &DOO IRU FRPSOHWH GHWDLOV 7KH OHDGLQJ FRQVXPHU UHSRUWLQJ DJHQF\ FRQGXFWHG D PRQWK RXWGRRU WHVW RI JXWWHU JXDUGV LQ DQG UHFRJQL]HG /HDI)LOWHU DV WKH Ȋ UDWHG SURIHVVLRQDOO\ LQVWDOOHG JXWWHU JXDUG V\VWHP LQ $PHULFD ȋ )RU WKRVH ZKR TXDOLI\ 2QH FRXSRQ SHU KRXVHKROG 1R REOLJDWLRQ HVWLPDWH YDOLG IRU \HDU 2΍ HU YDOLG DW WLPH RI HVWLPDWH RQO\ 6HH 5HSUHVHQWDWLYH IRU IXOO ZDUUDQW\ GHWDLOV 0DQXIDFWXUHG LQ 3ODLQZHOO 0LFKLJDQ DQG SURFHVVHG DW /070HUFHU *URXS LQ 2KLR $5 &$ &7 +Ζ& )/ &%& Ζ$ & Ζ' 5&( /$ 0$ 0' 0+Ζ& 0Ζ 01 Ζ5 07 1' 1( 1- 9+ 10 19 1< + + 25 3$ 3$ 5Ζ *& 71 87 9$ :$ /($))1: -= :9 :9

34

Puzzles can be found on page 38 These are only the answers.

A skunk cabbage emerges from the ground at the Highlands Botanical Garden. Adam Bigelow photo Skunk cabbage produces a type of flower called a spadix, covered by a spathe. This type of flower can be observed in the spring wildflower called jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) and in the common houseplant called peace-lily (Spathyphyllum spp.). A hood of fused flower petals (the spathe) grows around the cluster of yellow flowers on the inside. This protective covering causes some people to think that these plants are carnivorous like pitcher plants are (Sarracenia spp.). But while this flower likes to attract insects for pollination, it does not consume them.

Skunk cabbage flowers are pollinated mostly by flies, gnats and sometimes ground beetles that are attracted to the mottled red and green petals, and the foul aroma put off by the flower.

This common tactic for pollinator attraction tricks the insects into thinking that the flower is a rotting animal. The aroma of the flower is only one reason for the common name of skunk cabbage. Once the leaves unfurl and grow larger, a crushed or bruised leaf will stink of skunk and other nastiness.

These large leaves give rise to the second part of this plant’s common name, as they are large, green leaves that resemble the leaves of cabbages, especially the outer sun-leaves. As soon as one starts gathering what looks like a rogue cabbage growing in a creek or swamp, the fetid odor easily gives the plant’s identity away. I have read that the young leaf shoots are edible, but I haven’t met anyone brave enough to try them. I think I’ll stick to coleslaw and kimchi, thank you.

If you’d like to see the skunk cabbage in bloom, it can be found growing at the aforementioned Highlands Botanical Garden, as well as the Asheville Botanical Garden and Dr. Dan Pittillo’s Nodding Trillium Garden here in Cullowhee, which is maintained by the HighlandsCashiers Land Trust. If anyone wants to take me to a population of skunk cabbage growing in the wild, let me know. I’d love to check this plant off of my botanical bucket list.

(Adam Bigelow lives in Cullowhee. He leads weekly wildflower walks most Fridays and offers consultations and private group tours through Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions. bigelownc@gmail.com.)

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Jackson County Farmers Market meets every Saturday November through March 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and April through October 9 a.m. to noon at Bridge Park in Sylva, 110 Railroad St. Special events listed on Facebook and Instagram.

• The Jackson Arts Market takes place from 1-5 p.m. every Saturday at 533 West Main St. in Sylva with live music and an array of local artists.

• Cowee School Farmer's Market is held Wednesdays from 3-6 p.m., at 51 Cowee School Drive in Franklin.

The market has produce, plant starts, eggs, baked goods, flowers, food trucks and music. For more information or for an application, visit www.coweeschool.org or call 828.369.4080.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • The 21st annual Business of Farming Conference will take place Saturday, Feb. 24, at the A-B Tech Conference Center in Buncombe County. The conference focuses on the business side of farming, offering beginning and established farmers financial, legal, operational and marketing tools to improve farm businesses and make professional connections. Register at asapconnections.org. Cost is $75 by Feb. 1 before rising to $95, with a discount for farm partners registering together and scholarships for limited-resource and BIPOC farmers. Cost includes locally sourced breakfast and lunch.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS • The Pollinators Foundation offers weekly Mindful Movement Qigong classes for all ages to reduce stress and improve health and well-being. Classes take place 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Folkmoot Center in Waynesville. For more information visit thepollinatorsfoundation.org or contact Marga Fripp at margacfripp@gmail.com 828.424.1398.

• The Pollinators Foundation and The Share Project host weekly Happy Hour Nature Walks 4:30-5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at Lake Junaluska. The group meets at the Labyrinth. For more information visit thepollinatorsfoundation.org or contact Marga Fripp at margacfripp@gmail.com 828.424.1398.

• Mountain Area pregnancy Services and the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor work together to provide a casual support group for prenatal and breastfeeding individuals from 1-2 p.m. on Tuesdays at Mountain Area Pregnancy Services, 177 N Main St. Waynesville, NC. All are welcome, registration is recommended. For more information, please call 828.558.4550.

CLUBS AND MEETINGS • The Western Carolina Cribbage Club meets every Monday at 6 p.m. An eclectic group of young and old, male and female. The group supplies boards, cards, pegs and are always willing to help those still learning the finer points of the game. For more information contact kei3ph@bellsouth.net.

• The Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library Creative Writing Group meets 10:30 a.m. to noon on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. For more information, email Jennifer at jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2561.

• Knit Night takes place at 5:30-7:30 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month at The Stecoah Valley Center. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP is recommended: 828.479.3364 or amber@stecoahvalleycenter.com.

Smoky Mountain News

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com • Sylva Writers Group meets Wednesday mornings at City Lights Books. If interested contact sylvawriters@gmail.com.

• A Novel Escape Book Club takes place at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month at the Novel Escape Bookstore (60 E Main St, Franklin). Every other month one book is selected for discussion. On alternate months the meeting is round-table discussion in which participants share what they’ve read lately. For more information call the bookstore at 828.369.9059 or visit anovelescapefranklin.wordpress.com.

• Silent Book Club takes place at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the Novel Escape Bookstore (60 E Main St, Franklin). Bring your own book and whatever makes you feel cozy and enjoy a quiet, uninterrupted hour of reading amongst friends.

KIDS AND FAMILIES • Celebrate the leap year at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, at the Jackson County Public Library with frog themed snack and activities, including interactive games and demonstrations. For more information, call Jackson County Public Library in Sylva at 828.586.2016 or email Michelle Stephens at mstephens@fontanalib.org.

• On Mondays, the Macon County Library will host Lady Violet, a King Charles Spaniel service dog, for children to practice their reading skills. Children who feel nervous reading aloud to an adult tend to feel more comfortable with a pet or a service animal. Sign up for a time to read with Lady Violet or to one of the library’s reading friends at the children’s desk or call 828.524.3600.

• On Tuesdays, Kelly Curtis will offer reading services to families from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Macon County Public Library. Families may sign up for a 30-minute time spot at the children’s desk or by calling 828.524.3600.

• Mother Goose Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Wednesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children from birth to 2 years old. For more information, contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.

• Toddler’s Rock takes place at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Macon County Library. Get ready to rock with songs, books, rhymes and playing with instruments. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• Culture Talk takes place at 2 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month at the Macon County Public Library. Travel the world from inside your library. This event features guest speakers and food sampling from the location being discussed. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• Art afternoon takes place at 3:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Macon County Public Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

A&E

• Uptown Gallery in Franklin is celebrating Youth Art Month. During the month of March, stop by the gallery

to see Macon County Schools K-12 student artwork on display. A reception will be held 3-5 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at Uptown Gallery. For more information visit franklinuptowngallery@gmail.com.

• The Pollinators Foundation at Folkmoot offers creative arts playshoes to reduce stress and cultivate joy and compassionate connection. More information at thepollinatorsfoundation.org/events, or contact Marga at margacfripp@gmail.com, or 828.424.1398.

• “An Evening of Eastern Culture” will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Folkmoot Center in Waynesville. The event will feature “Asian Soundscapes,” with performances by Min Xiao-Fen on the Chinese pipa, Mari Ohta on the Japanese koto, Thom Nguyen on percussion and the Warren Wilson College Gamelan Ensemble with classical Javanese dancer, Dr. Siti Kusujiarti. Iron Wok food truck will be onsite. For more information visit folkmoot.org.

• Trivia Night is hosted 6:30-8:30 p.m. every Thursday evening at the Meadowlark Motel in Maggie Valley. For more information visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• Paint and Sip at Waynesville Art School will be held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7-9:30 p.m.

To learn more and register call 828.246.9869 or visit PaintAndSipWaynesville.com/upcoming-events.

Registration is required, $45.

• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood St. in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods. Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.

• Smoky Mountain Event Center presents Bingo Night with doors opening at 4:30 p.m. and games starting at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday and fourth Monday of the month. For more information visit smokymountaineventcenter.com.

FOOD AND DRINK • “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• Take a trip around the world with four different wines every Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Bryson City Wine Market. Pick from artisan Charcuterie Foods to enjoy with wines. 828.538.0420 • Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • Chess 101 takes place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. every Friday in the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. No registration required, for more information call 828.648.2924.

• Wired Wednesday, one-on-one technology help is available at 3-5 p.m. every Wednesday at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Library. For more information or to register, call 828.648.2924.

• Uptown Gallery, 30 East Main St. Franklin, will be offering Children’s Art Classes Wednesdays afternoons.

Adult workshops in watercolor, acrylic paint pouring, encaustic and glass fusing are also offered. Free painting is available 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday in the classroom. A membership meeting takes place on the

35

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: n Complete listings of local music scene n Regional festivals n Art gallery events and openings n Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers n Civic and social club gatherings second Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. All are welcome.

Call 828.349.4607 for more information.

Outdoors

• A turkey shoot will be held 9 a.m. Saturdays at the American Legion in Waynesville, continuing weekly through mid-April 2024. Breakfast food will be available for sale, with cash prizes offered. The event is weather-dependent. The American Legion is located on 171 Legion Drive in Waynesville.

• Take an easy 5-mile hike along Lakeshore Trail at Fontana Dam Thursday, Feb. 22, with the Partners of Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness. The group will meet at the Fontana Dam Visitor Center Parking Area at 10 a.m., and then hike across the dam and onto the trail.

Hikers should wear hiking shoes and bring water and snacks. Contact Cindy Mease at 919.624.8850 with questions.

• The Cat Classic is taking place now through Feb. 24.

Submit your best and most creative Cataloochee video (up to one minute), filmed only at Cataloochee, tag @thecatclassic on Instagram or email the clip to thecatclassic@gmail.com. Awards ceremony and prizes March 9 with cash prizes for 1st - 3rd men’s and women’s divisions, 14 and under and 15 and up.

• Help transform an old cattle pasture into a wildlife haven 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 24, at Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in Otto. Snacks and tools provided, with no prior experience necessary. Event is weatherdependent. Volunteers may be able to take home extra saplings. Sign up at mainspringconserves.org/events.

• Learn how to grow plants from seed with a program slated for 9:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Center in Waynesville. Pre-registration is required for the seed starting class at go.ncsu.edu/haywoodgardeningclasses or by calling 828.456.3575. Cost is $10, to be paid at the door by exact cash or check.

• Take a Leap Day hike to Laurel Knob at 9 a.m.

Thursday, Feb. 29, in Panthertown Valley. Open to ages 10 and up. Cost is $7. Offered through the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department. Sign up at jcprd.recdesk.com.

• Learn to tie flies with the best during the Fly Tyers Retreat 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at the Maggie Valley Pavilion in Maggie Valley. This free event is open to fly tyers of all skill levels, with participants expected from Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina. Register with Bob Nanney at 828.593.1467 or fearnofishrob@gmail.com or with Ray Sugg at 828.476.6808 or raysuggjr@aol.com.

• The annual Haywood County Extension Master Gardener Plant Sale is now underway, with orders due pre-paid by Friday, March 8. Order forms are available online at go.ncsu.edu/haywoodplantsales or by email to HCMGplantsale@gmail.com. They’re also in physical form at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Office on Raccoon Road in Waynesville. 828.456.3575.

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NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No.2024 E 000062 Cody M Parton, having TXDOL¿HG DV WKH $GPLQistrator of the Estate of Doris Ann McCarter of Haywood County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before Apr 30 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

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Administrator of the Estate of Maggie ParaLee Messer of Haywood County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before May 14 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

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IN THE NEX XT T ISSUE

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FOURTH-ESTATE FANTASY ACROSS 1 Not quite first-rate 7 "Patience -- virtue" 10 Car tankful 13 Collie of TV 19 Cattle farm of the West 20 Trumpet blast 22 Singer and actor Frankie 23 When it's 12:00 p.m.

24 Element #3 25 Japanese city that hosted the 1998 Olympics 26 Start of a riddle 29 Japanese buckwheat noodle 30 Dr. Seuss' Sam- -31 Amo, amas, -32 "Addams Family" cousin 35 Riddle, part 2 43 Faint smell 45 Foldout bed 46 Co-workers of MDs 47 Stalactite site 48 Florence's river 49 Total amount 51 "Scram!"

52 Minecraft and StarCraft, e.g.

55 Riddle, part 3 60 Brief promos 61 Triceps' place 62 Pop's Celine 63 See 58-Down 66 Bullfighter 67 Riddle, part 4 70 Put a new front on, as a building 72 Unbroken 73 Recognized

75 With 59-Down, brand of frozen potatoes 76 Famously feisty fish 77 Riddle, part 5 81 Oval shape 84 Dejected 85 "Who am -- judge?"

86 Secret writing 87 Postal pieces 88 Detectives like TV's Magnum, for short 89 Karachi's nation: Abbr.

91 Very long time periods 92 End of the riddle 99 Disloyal type 100 Impulsive desire 101 Illusionist Geller 102 Like planted seeds 104 Riddle's answer 113 Enter very quickly 114 Novelist Caldwell 115 Common gauge for toy trains 116 "Despite that ..."

117 Gets smaller 118 "Happy Days" actress Ross 119 Bunks on ships 120 Mil. ranker 121 Gym pad 122 Hole to receive a lace DOWN 1 Bird's crop 2 Trellis strip 3 "Noelle" star Kendrick 4 Glasgow natives 5 Grandstander 6 Chimpanzee variety 7 "-- have to wait" 8 Got married 9 Lure for insect

extermination 10 The earth as a goddess 11 Cut -- (dance) 12 Pago Pago people 13 "Meteor" actor Martin 14 1972 Billy Wilder comedy film 15 Long, involved story 16 Shut loudly 17 Actress Skye of "Stranded" 18 Grammy winner Brian 21 "-- the breaks!"

27 Former Egypt-Syr. alliance 28 Texter's "Holy smokes!"

32 "Let me!"

33 Bases-loaded situation 34 Lightweight kitchen utensils 36 Peak 37 Chicago daily, in brief 38 Global: Abbr.

39 Mark for life 40 Easter meat 41 Adam's mate 42 -- Moines 44 Bob of choreography 49 Tahitian skirts 50 Package delivery co.

51 Carpentry material for some cabinets 52 Chi follower 53 Spicy Spanish pork sausage 54 Taxonomic subdivisions 56 Become lively 57 Cheer yell 58 With 63-Across, for the time being 59 See 75-Across

63 Oven used to bake naan 64 Spiny anteater 65 Most unkind 67 Conservation org. with a panda logo 68 Pooch's yap 69 Big blue body 71 Genre of many sitcoms 74 Wide shoe spec 76 Mining shaft 77 Higher ground?

78 "You wish!"

79 Conde -80 User-edited website 81 Rescue squad VIP 82 "-- -di-dah!"

83 False story 88 Projecting curves on saddles 89 By the day 90 Huffington of HuffPost 91 So to speak 93 Wise-acting 94 Thick-skinned critters 95 Day, in Chile 96 Studly guys 97 Abbr. on a bad check 98 End a vacation 103 Mother-of-pearl 104 Surfing need 105 Cake finisher 106 Holy Week's time 107 Eldest of the Brady boys 108 Helper: Abbr.

109 For fear that 110 Half a train track 111 -- gin fizz 112 Camp shelter 113 Yank's rival

ANSWERS ON PAGE 34

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This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate in violation of this law. All

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WAYNESVILLE OF FFICE 74 North Main Street | (828) 634-7 7333 At allentate.com, enter e the address into the searcch bar for details on any pro operty.

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February 21-27, 2024

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Smoky Mountain News

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CALL TODAY (828) 634-7333 3