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Feb. 5-11, 2014 Vol. 15 Iss. 36

Board of elections probe continues in Macon

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CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: The public will get its chance to weigh in on the rewrite of the Jackson County steep slope regulations on Feb. 13. The new proposal weakens what were once the strongest set of steep slope and building ordinances in the state, yet proponents argue that the new regulations still do their intended job but in a much more reasonable fashion. (Page 8)

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News Macon looks at internal controls in wake of embezzlement probe . . . . . . . . 6 Canton’s parking rules scrutinized. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Emergency vet care a problem in far western portion of WNC . . . . . . . . . 14 Haywood County, Christian groups near deal for old prison . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Opinion Vouchers for private school education just a bad idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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A&E Haywood County Film Commission gets new life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

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Books Gary Carden reviews Night Film by Marisha Pessl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Outdoors Creating fly rods a calling for WNC man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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What happened to internal controls?

Macon County reviews policies as embezzlement investigation continues

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hree weeks after the State Bureau of Investigation launched a probe into possible embezzlement at the Macon County Board of Elections, county leaders are still sifting through the paperwork to figure out just where it all went wrong.

“It goes without saying this situation has brought to our attention things that we need, policies that we need to have in place regarding check requests and our financial policies here in Macon County,” said County Manager Derek Roland.

The investigation focuses on a series of 37 checks totaling $50,000 that were allegedly misappropriated over a seven-month period starting in June 2013, according to court documents.

During that time, Election Director Kim Bishop filed myriad payment requests with the county for various outside contractors — in particular four women who were supposedly doing work for the board of elections. However, the women never received the checks, according to court records: Bishop was taking the checks herself and depositing them. Further, signatures of election board members submitted to the county appear to be forged, according to court records.

The SBI is continuing to investigate the situation, and no charges have been filed, but Bishop has been placed on paid investigative leave.

While the SBI performs its investigation, Macon County officials are doing their own, evaluating the events internally to figure out if they missed some red flags and, if so, whether they could change their policies to

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keep it from happening in the future.

Court documents indicate that the $50,000 in allegedly misappropriated checks occurred over a seven-month period, with the paper trail involving forged signatures, fabricated spending justifications and incomplete paperwork.

County officials are now retracing their steps, trying to determine how the alleged embezzlement went undetected for so long and identifying any weak links in their system.

BREACH NO. 1: NO TAX FORMS For starters, none of the four women who were supposedly doing contract work for the elections office had submitted a W9 tax form, a standard document that should

instance, in Jackson County contracted workers must go to the human resources department with personal identification, including a social security number, so that tax forms can be put on file.

In Haywood County, contracted workers — namely poll workers and voting machine testers — must supply their tax forms and identification. Poll workers are given photo IDs. “That’s just standard personnel policy,” said Haywood County Board of Elections Director Robert Inman. “I would assume it would be that way across the entire state.”

BREACH NO. 2:

INCOMPLETE INVOICES

ideally be filled out before a contractor is paid.

“We try to get it when the first check is mailed or shortly thereafter,” said Lori Hall, the county’s finance director.

However, she said the county has no hard and fast policy. Checks were written to the women even though none of them had verified their information on the form.

In other counties, new vendors are required to physically appear at either the human resources office or before the Board of Elections in order to be approved to work. For

Before the county cuts a check to an outside contractor, the department head submits a check request form, which details who should be paid, how much and why.

Theoretically, the check request should include a description of the work or services the contractor provided.

In this case, the many of the check requests contained irregularities. Seven of the 37 check requests made no attempt to explain what kind of work the contractor was being paid for. Most had just a one-word description such as “training,” “boxing” or “sorting.”

In other counties, such as Haywood, department heads must back up all such requests with some sort of paperwork, such as a receipt if the request is intended to reimburse an employee, or a program from the seminar or training that is the purpose of the spending.

“When we have an invoice or a check request, we require some form of backup to say what it’s for,” said Julie Davis, Haywood County Finance Department Director.

That’s a policy that Macon County will likely adopt following the situation at the Board of Elections, Roland said.

“What this will do is set the ground floor in terms of what acceptable documentation we have to have before we can cut a check,” he said.

of Investigations probe into embezzlement allegations, chairman Luke Bateman said.

Since the investigation isn’t conclusive yet, Bishop remains on the county payroll, even though she was put on leave.

“At this point, we have not made any changes to her situation, but that is always subject to change, depending on how the investigation goes,” he said.

In the meantime, the election board will hire part-time help to aid the remaining two elections office employees.

The extra salary load — paying for parttime help while still paying Bishop, too — will put a drain on their budget.

Further, it’s still reeling from the shortfall created by the $50,000 in question.

At its Jan. 30 meeting, the board determined that it is only about $20,000 shy of where it should be at this point in the fiscal year, but some various outstanding bills yet to be paid could put the budget shortfall

closer to $40,000.

Depending on how many candidates sign up to run in state and local elections this season, the board could recoup some of that money, but Bateman expects the effect will be minimal. Candidates pay a registration fee of 1 percent of the base annual salary of the position they are running for, so that revenue stream varies heavily depending on how many people run and for which offices.

“There’s no way for us to know how much will come in off of these,” Bateman said. “It’s very tough to predict.”

Nevertheless, deputy election director Debbie George said the organization should be able to squeak through the May primary until the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

“This could have been a lot worse, so $20,000 or thereabouts is not bad,” board member Gary Dills said.

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Macon election office assesses damage in emergency meeting

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fter discovering $50,000 worth of unauthorized checks had disappeared from its budget and placing director Kim Bishop on paid investigatory leave, the Macon County Board of Elections is now trying to regain its footing.

The election board held an emergency meeting last Thursday to evaluate its financial situation and plan for the election season that kicks off this month, possibly while the director position still hangs in limbo.

Whether the board fires Bishop depends on the outcome of a State Bureau

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BREACH NO. 3: NO MONTHLY FINANCE REPORT

BREACH NO. 4: UNAPPROVED, YET FULFILLED, CHECK REQUESTS

HIGH SPENDING THRESHOLD

Other financial firewalls may also prove helpful to Macon County in the future. For instance, currently department heads must only obtain a purchase order for expenditures over $10,000, a procedure that requires review from the county manager and finance director.

But in Haywood County, that threshold sits at $1,000, lowering the probability of

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INSECURE PAYMENT MODE Instead of sending the checks directly to the contractors, the county finance office gave the checks to Bishop to pass out. But, Hall said, it’s not unusual for a department head to request that the check be sent to his or her department for pickup, as Bishop did for most of the checks in question.

“It’s very common,” Hall said. “We have a lot of checks every week we hold for the departments.”

In some counties, that wouldn’t fly. For instance, Jackson County pays its workers — exclusive of poll workers, who receive a check — through direct deposit in order to increase security.

BREACH NO. 7: UNUSUAL TIMING As other election directors pointed out, it would be unusual for an election office to require as much contracted help during a quiet election year as Bishop’s check requests indicated. Nearly all contracted help, mostly poll workers and voting machine testers, happens in the months surrounding an election, but 12 of the check requests were made between June 1 and Aug. 31.

“The average is about $10 an hour, no more than 40 hours a week except very close to election time,” Lisa Lovedahl-Lehman, director of the Jackson County Board of Elections, said of her office’s contracted workers. “Normally we just use them for a couple months leading up to elections and a couple months afterward.”

And in a quiet election year like 2013, when Franklin and Highlands town elections were the only ones taking place, $50,000 would most definitely count as excessive spending on contracted services, regional election directors say. Haywood County, for instance, which is much larger than Macon, spent $48,694 for such expenditures in the busier 2012 election, but in 2013, it only spent $11,335.

Swain County has $20,000 in contracted services budgeted for 2013-14 but has spent just $1,240 so far. Lovedahl-Lehman says $20,000 to $30,000 is a normal range for her county.

Roland plans to take all of these considerations into account as he considers which policies will best protect the county in the future, tentatively planning to bring recommendations to the county commissioners at their March 11 meeting.

“All of these entities have come together and handled this in a very professional manner, and handled it promptly,” Roland said of the finance, law enforcement, legal and elections people involved in responding. “These financial policies will be handled with the same level of care and professionalism.”

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BREACH NO. 5:

BREACH NO. 6:

February 5-11, 2014

The finance department will also take another look at its internal process for approving check requests, Hall said. When a check request comes in, it must receive a stamp from accounts payable. However, 12 of the 37 check requests did not have that stamp. According to Hall, that’s because the stamp bears the name of one employee, Lesa Southard, and nobody else is authorized to use it when she is not there.

“She’s been out for surgery two different times in the past six months,” Hall said, which is why checks were being cut without Southard’s approval stamp. In the future, Hall said, the department will likely purchase a blank stamp that another employee can use and initial if Southard is not available.

Hall, who has been the finance director for only two years, herself also plans to be more hands-on.

“Before the checks are printed each week, I try to review them,” she said. “In the real world, we all get busy. Of course, this has opened my eyes. We started two weeks ago that these checks are not getting out the door before I’ve looked at them.”

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Had the election board members more closely monitored the budget, the unauthorized payments supposedly going to contractors may have been detected sooner.

At its Jan. 30 meeting, the board decided that it will revisit its own financial accountability policies.

“We’re certainly going to make every effort to keep an eye on the financial reporting on a monthly basis instead of on a quarterly basis,” said Luke Bateman, board chairman.

Luke Bateman The board is still working out exactly what form its new system of accountability will take, but a monthly financial report from the director to the board will likely be a component, as will closer communication between the board and the county’s financial director Lori Hall.

“I think when you have more accountability with more folks involved, it’s a good thing,” Bateman said.

multiple smaller payments slipping through the cracks, as happened in Macon County. “[That] means others are going to check it and make sure it’s a purchase you’re authorized to make and that you have the funds to make it,” Inman said.

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Step up and be counted

Steep slopes on the rocks

Public could tip scales in steep slope rewrite

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER ho shows up and speaks out at a steep slope public hearing in Jackson County next week could alter what mountainside development looks like for decades to come.

The public hearing will be at 6 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 13, at the county administration building in Sylva.

“From what I have heard there are some organizing on each side of the opinion scale,” County Planner Gerald Green said of the expected turnout.

A rewrite of steep slope development rules in Jackson County has been in the works for 14 months.

Some call it minor tweaking. Some call it a major rollback.

Certainly the revised rules aren’t as strict.

But whether they were too arduous before and needed loosening up — and if so, by how much — is the question of the hour.

The planning board eventually cut off its own debate last month and will now float its best shot at a rewrite before the real panel of judges.

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“This is not the planning board’s ordinance and it is not the commissioners’ ordinance. It belongs to the people of Jackson County.”

Smoky Mountain News

— Tom Rogers, planning board member

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“Really the public voice, that’s where you are going to get the good and bad of what you are trying to do and really, the public should have the final call. That’s the way I look it at,” said Dickie Woodard, a Realtor who sits on the planning board.

The rules could be loosened further or tightened back up slightly, depending on the public comment.

“This is not the planning board’s ordinance and it is not the commissioners’ ordinance. It belongs to the people of Jackson County. If they want to be able to influence the ordinance, they should come,” said Tom Rogers, a planning board member. “The people of this county should not be apathetic about this.”

The planning board will make a final pass of the ordinance after the public hearing.

But the buck ultimately stops with the

S EE H EARING, PAGE 10

County Planner Gerald Green has had the tough job of funneling the thoughts and ideas of planning board members into a written, executable ordinance. Becky Johnson photo

Relaxed building rules try to strike a balance

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER avid Brooks grew up dirt poor. His dad farmed corn, apples and tobacco, always with a plow and mule, never with a tractor. Brooks’ mom and five siblings were often left to tend to the 100-acre hillside farm in Jackson County when his dad journeyed in search of cash-paying jobs — taking him as far as Washington state during summers to work as a logger.

“I guess it was poverty, but we didn’t know it at the time,” Brooks said.

Brooks, now 61, carved out a much better life for himself as a homebuilder and contractor. One of his proudest jobs: a $1.3 million house on his boyhood homeplace.

Brooks and his siblings sold off their parents’ farm, but it was tough.

“I didn’t want to sell it. I didn’t want to see it developed,” Brooks said. But he found the right buyer, two out-of-state couples shopping for a private mountain estate to vacation on. They even let Brooks visit the property anytime he wants.

Brooks’ hallowed view of that family land makes him an unlikely champion for unfettered, freewheeling development of Jackson County’s mountainsides.

But indeed he is.

“I don’t like people saying, ‘You can’t do this with your land, you can’t do that with your land,’” Brooks said. “If a guy is paying taxes on his land, he should be able to do what he wants to do with his land.”

Brooks has driven that point home time

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and again with fellow members of the Jackson County planning board over the past year as they hashed out how far the county should or should not go in reining in steep slope development.

And that put him squarely at odds with Tom Rogers.

“I was always concerned about the way we treat the mountains. Many of the things we do aren’t recoverable. A road is a road forever. A house is a house forever,” Rogers said.

But Rogers has a confession to make: he is an outsider, and not just any outsider, but a retiree from Florida no less. He came to the mountains seeking his own slice of heaven and found 20 acres on Caney Fork that fit the Tom Rogers bill nicely.

“We came up here for solitude and beauty,” said Rogers, an avid hiker and trail volunteer.

And he wants to see it stay that way.

Brooks and Rogers have found themselves at the same table, albeit on opposite sides, during a monumental moment, with the fate of mountainside development — and in turn, the county’s economy, environment, sense of place and very identity — hanging in the balance.

Now and then, Rogers has borne the brunt of a wry comment by fellow planning board members, accusing him of moving here and then wanting to lock the gate behind him. The hypocrite card would be tossed out in the heat of steep slope discussions, aiming to neutralize and even devalue Rogers’ point of view in a fell swoop.

The planning board has spent the past 14 months rewriting steep slopes regulations

first put in place seven years ago. They were more restrictive than anywhere else in the mountains at the time. The watered-down version that has emerged from the rewrite is still head-and-shoulders above most counties in North Carolina. Only a couple have regulations that even come close.

Zac Koenig, a homebuilder in Cashiers, is one of the only planning board members left today who was on the board when the original ordinance was written seven years ago.

For the record, he was against it back then.

“I thought it was way too restrictive,” said Koenig.

The new version is much more realistic, he said.

“I think it is a good balance between making sure the safety concerns are all met but still allowing people to build on their property,” Koenig said. “I think it is a pretty fair ordinance.”

Nonetheless, not all planning board members agree with loosening the rules.

Two have made the case repeatedly for upholding most of the steep slope restrictions on the books.

Building on steep slopes should require a higher standard, said Sarah Graham, a planning board member who works for the Southwestern Development Commission.

“We don’t have a hospitable environment for unlimited growth,” Graham said. “With that comes some inherent limitation on what should be allowed to happen. That philosophical issue is at the crux of this.”

Seven years ago, the groundbreaking development rules in Jackson County were a pushback against the unprecedented land rush of the previous decade, a frenzied buying spree that gobbled up huge chunks of the mountains to make way for ritzy, gated communities for vacationers and retirees.

THE GOLD STANDARD

Ask Dickie Woodard what he thinks of the ordinance, and it’s like talking to an oracle.

“I can’t answer that in a general way.

There are three different fields of thought if you want to look at the whole thing,” said Woodard, a Realtor on the planning board.

“There’s the safety of building, then the aesthetics and then there is the environmental.

It depends on which one of those three perspectives you want to talk about.”

The safety of steep slope development was an easy one for the planning board to agree on. Simply put, houses and roads shouldn’t fall down the mountain.

But regulations dealing with aesthetics were blacklisted early on. The visual impact of mountainside development was seen as a non-starter in the discussions.

“I would love to live in a place that looked like Cades Cove,” Woodard said. “There are pictures we all have in our mind that we think look like the mountains. But what appeals to me may not mean a thing to you.”

Setting the table: a planning board primer

HUNG JURY

WATER UNDERGROUND

Clark Lipkin, a surveyor in Cullowhee, doesn’t want the county to micromanage the way mountainside development looks. Becky Johnson photo steep slope development under the old ordinance would jack up the cost of homes and lots. Developers would do the math and conclude the profit margin of putting in a subdivision wasn’t worth it, and go somewhere else instead.

For individuals wanting to build on steep lots, the criteria would add to the cost of a house.

But Graham said that just goes with the territory.

“We say ‘If you chose to build on this 40 percent slope then here are some of the things we expect.’ I don’t think that is asking too much,” Graham said.

Graham said those building large houses on steep slopes are rarely struggling to get by and can afford extra steps to lessen their impact on shared natural resources.

“We are not burdening our low-income people,” Graham said.

Brooks disagreed.

“Most people can’t afford this stuff,” Brooks said.

To Koenig, the hoops and hurdles and costs tacked on to steep slope construction in the old ordinance would clearly limit development — and the jury is still out on whether that was a hidden motive all along.

“The intention of the old ordinance wasn’t to keep people from building, yet it said if you don’t meet these things you can’t build,” Koenig said.

While the old regulations didn’t stop people from building on steep slopes outright,

they certainly discouraged it. Since the rules were put in place seven years ago, only two new residential developments have been proposed in Jackson County.

In both instances, the developers crafted plans that avoided building on steeper portions of the tract. By conserving steep areas as open space, they could stay under the steepness threshold that would have made the steep slope rules kick in.

What’s in, what’s out See next week’s issue of The Smoky Mountain News for a complete breakdown of the proposed steep slope revisions.

Indeed, that was part of the intent: to encourage developers to stay off steep slopes by making steep slope development less attractive in the first place.

The steep slope rules worked in tandem with the subdivision ordinance, conservation incentives and open space criteria to change the way developers think about lot and road design when mapping out a new development.

The revisions take a more piecemeal approach in the interest of streamlining the regulations and making them easier to understand.

“It is making it more clear,” Lipkin said.

“It is a complicated ordinance. I have been looking at it for years, and there’s a lot I still

One of the more heated issues for the planning board was groundwater — which thousands of residents in Jackson County rely on for their drinking water.

What happens above ground impacts the groundwater below. When land is graded, built on and paved over, rain doesn’t find its way back into the groundwater table as easily.

“Water is something we all have a right to.

We need to ensure our neighbor’s well won’t run dry because of our actions,” Graham said. “That is allowing irresponsible development. What is the role of government other than to protect the greater good?”

The planning board debated how many houses you can put on a tract before it would max out the groundwater table.

They also debated how much area you can build over without compromising “groundwater recharge,” which happens every time it rains.

“That water has got to go somewhere. It used to go into the soil base. Now it is going to go somewhere else, and the steeper the slope is, the faster it is going to go,” Rogers said.

Rogers’ thinking is this: steeper slopes need a larger natural area to allow for adequate groundwater recharge.

“It needs to be a function of slope,” Rogers said.

Rogers and Graham lost on that one, however.

The portion of a lot that can be paved or built on was increased substantially during the rewrite and is no longer based on a sliding scale relative to the slope.

Groundwater isn’t Graham’s only concern. She’s also worried about creeks and rivers. After all, they are the landing place for everything that runs downhill.

Gravity has a way of getting its way with steep slopes.

Smoky Mountain News

When the original ordinance was put in place, construction workers rallied in protest, claiming it would take a bite out of the economy by slowing development.

In hindsight, it’s hard to say whether that prophecy came true.

“I have no idea,” said Lipkin. “There’s people that claim to know, but I don’t see how you could know.”

But that comes with caveats. It didn’t hurt the development industry because it was going to tank anyway due to the recession and housing bust, some say.

“Given the building business dropping off as it did, I don’t think the ordinance had an impact,” Koenig said.

But, if the more stringent regulations were to stay in place, they could slow a comeback in the homebuilding industry, he said.

The rules and regulations piled onto

don’t know about it, and I’m not a not smart person.”

But deconstructing and rebuilding the ordinance in compartmentalized blocks make it less effective, Rogers said.

“You have to take a more holistic view,” Rogers said. “There are several parts that tell the story.”

February 5-11, 2014

Sections of the old ordinance aimed solely at preserving viewsheds were struck unless there was a safety or environmental argument for keeping it.

The ban on ridgetop building was lifted, and rules about blending houses with the natural topography were also cut.

“As much as I don’t want to see an ugly house, I support a person’s right to have an ugly house,” said Clark Lipkin, a land surveyor on the planning board. “The government should not be regulating for aesthetics.”

Instead, slope stability was the gold standard, the ultimate litmus test, when weighing whether to keep or cut a particular regulation.

“Yes or no, is it safe or not safe,” Lipkin said.

“Keep your house pad stable, that is what’s more important than anything. When you put a house place in, don’t half-ass it. Put it in right,” Brooks said. “I am more for letting people do what they want to do as long as they do it in a safe, responsible way.”

But that’s assuming all developers will indeed do the safe and sensible thing of their own accord, without being forced to.

Those in favor of fewer restrictions say the mountains will naturally dictate what developers do.

“The steepness of the ground is going to dictate what you should do, what you can and cannot,” Woodard said.

believe the old steep slope rules were in varying degrees too strict — won an upset election in 2010.

Naturally, planning board members appointed by the new commissioners more closely reflected the philosophy of those commissioners.

That’s the case with any political appointments, whether it’s the president’s picks for cabinet members or the governor’s picks for agency heads. It’s perfectly normal for elected leaders to appoint worker bees who share their values.

So it wasn’t a question of “if,” but rather how much, the steep slope rules would be loosened by the new planning board appointed by the new commissioners.

Commissioner Doug Cody said the commissioners have been falsely represented as pulling the strings of the planning board.

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The steep slope rewrite is the handiwork of 11 planning board members — all of them appointed by county commissioners.

The majority of today’s planning board is tied to the building or real estate industry in some way. There are three homebuilders, one Realtors and one surveyor — five out of the 10 currently on the board. (One seat has been vacant for several months.)

Today’s planning board is far different from the one that wrote the original mountainside rules seven years ago.

The majority today feels the old rules are too strict and should be rolled back.

The changing of the guard on the planning board came about organically, yet predictably.

A slate of three new county commissioners — who all

“We have been accused of pressuring the planning board to gut these ordinances. Have you felt any pressure at all?” Cody asked County Planner Gerald Green at a recent county meeting.

“Not, not at all,” Green replied.

The planning board is an all-volunteer group, and that makes it prone to a good bit of flux. In the past year, there’s been turnover among four of the 11 planning board members — a couple had health problems, one decided it was too time consuming, another simply cycled off due to term limits.

Today, the planning board only has two members left from when the original ordinance was written seven years ago.

County Planner Gerald Green said the planning board has been thoughtful and deliberate. They didn’t come in and start blindly slashing language from the ordinance “The people appointed to the planning board represent a broad spectrum of the county population,” Green said.

That’s a good thing if industry insight is desired, but not so good if it comes with inherent biases.

S EE LOOSENING, PAGE 10 9

news Zac Koenig stands in front of a custom home he built in Cashiers. Koenig welcomes a second crack at steep slope regulations because he thought the original rules passed seven years ago were too tough. Donated photo LOOSENING, CONTINUED FROM 9 Thin soils are stitched loosely to the mountainside with tree roots. And they tumble down easily when disturbed. Especially when you add rainfall to the equation.

“With any development, there’s a small amount of time when runoff is worse until the landscape reestablishes itself,” Graham said.

“But the long-term impacts are only going to multiply with the number of disturbances you put on this problematic slope soil.”

A LONG PROCESS

Green to draft new language that reflected the consensus.

But as time went on, it became more difficult to divine exactly what the consensus was from the often-freewheeling discussion. And what seemed like the consensus one month would change by the next meeting as planning board members mulled the issues on their own during intervening weeks.

“One of the difficult parts was to balance the different opinions and desires of the planning board members,” Green said. “We were having to rehash things so much to get a clearer direction.”

Ultimately, the board started taking mini straw polls when they were unable to work through a particular sticking point with unanimity.

That was partly due to the diversity of views brought to the board by the two newcomers, but it was also partly because the lower hanging fruit had been tackled first and the more controversial parts set aside for later.

Discussion often came down to a num-

Smoky Mountain News

February 5-11, 2014

When the planning board cracked open the steep slope rules 14 months ago, there was clear consensus: the current rules were too strict. The only question was how much to loosen them.

But partway through the rewrites, momentum stalled when two new planning board members came on the scene. The two new board members wanted to save much of the current ordinance and were vocal in their views.

One of those was Tom Rogers, “We don’t have a hospitable who admits his past life as a weapons engineer for the Air Force environment for unlimited led him to ask a lot of questions growth. With that comes with and challenge unquantified assumptions. some inherent limitation on what “I jumped in in the ‘quote unquote’ middle of this. As a result should be allowed to happen.

I asked an awful lot of questions.

— Sarah Graham, planning board member Why were things being done the way they were? Why do they need to be changed? What is the rationale for them bers game. being changed?” Rogers said. “My drip was How steep should a slope be before the usually what’s driving such and such issue rules kick in? At what point does the risk of and what’s the data behind it.” landslides increase?

Koenig said his biggest challenge as chairHow tall can a cut-and-fill slope be and man was how long to let the debate go. still be safe? How steep can a slope be before “I wanted everyone to have an opportuni- an engineer must be called in? What portion ty to say their piece. The hard thing for me of a lot should remain undisturbed? Should was at what point do we decide everyone had there be a sliding scale for runoff controls the said their piece?” Koenig said. “At a certain steeper the slope is? How big can a house pad point, it was like, ‘OK we got to move on.’” be and still allow for groundwater absorpInitially, the planning board went page by tion? page, discussing the merits of each section When discussions took a technical turn, 10 and leaving it up to County Planner Gerald and they often did, the side that prevailed in

the end often came down to the side still standing when the dust settled. A handful of planning board members did the majority of talking when it came to the numbers game.

But Rogers, the engineer out of the bunch, claimed they weren’t playing with a full deck.

No one really knows how many houses on a steep slope the groundwater table can handle. And no one really knows which slopes are the most landslide prone.

“The question we need to ask is could you even put ‘x’ number of houses in that area in the first place and ensure the mountain isn’t going to fall off, and where are you going to get the water?” Rogers said. “We need to know what challenges we are going to face.

How do you do that without the macrolevel parameters of development defined, and around here that’s landslides and water? And neither of those have been studied.”

That didn’t stop the planning board from trying, however. There were hours and hours of discussion about landslide risk, groundwater recharge, impervious surface, disturbance variables and slope factors.

END OF THE ROAD Ultimately, the planning board had to chose which side to err on: the side of caution or leeway?

“The general consensus is not wanting to go a tiny step too far in the direction of regulating development, and I just disagree with that,” Graham said.

Graham said there was probably room to ease the language in some places. But not as much as it was.

Brooks, however, countered with the common sense card.

“What it comes down to is common sense. There is no magical answer for anything in this county. We have some of the

H EARING, CONTINUED FROM 8 county commissioners. They can approve the revisions as is from the planning board or make their own adjustments.

“It is absolutely not a done deal,” said Sarah Graham, one of the few planning board members who would rather keep the current rules intact. Graham called on those who fought for the steep slope rules to be enacted seven years ago to come back out and stand up for them.

“There was a lot of energy that went into the creation of the original ordinance and a lot of passion behind people’s convictions and beliefs, and I think commissioners need to hear from folks that still feel that way,” Graham said.

And in an election year — Commissioners Jack Debnam, Doug Cody and Charles Elders are up for election — public sentiment could have some sway.

Meanwhile, those on the other side of the fence intend to make themselves heard as well.

David Brooks, a planning board member and builder, said the rewrite doesn’t undo enough of the regulations.

“I still don’t agree with it. I don’t agree with restricting people,” said Brooks.

worst terrain anywhere in the state,” Brooks said. “We need some kind of regulation on the steep land. There is no doubt about that.”

But to Brooks, those regulations should stop short of trampling on what someone can build on their own land — be it the size or number of houses, how many trees they can cut or how big their driveway can be.

In the end, the rewrite didn’t go as far as Brooks wanted, nor did it keep all the regulations Graham would have liked.

The rules still limit how much land can be disturbed on a lot, but not by as much. The rules still limit the size of a home’s footprint, but not by as much. The rules still require developers to set aside a portion of land in subdivisions as open space, but not as much.

The rules still require engineering oversight for steep slope construction, as well as hydrology plans and geotechnical analysis, but developers no longer have to do environmental impact assessments. Mountainside homes still have to be partially screened by trees, but other viewshed protections were removed.

“We are just common people trying to figure out the problems around here,” Brooks said. “We don’t get paid for this. We get bashed a lot, but we are trying our best. We are doing the best of our ability.”

Despite their diverging views, Graham doesn’t doubt that. At the Southwestern Commission, Graham works closely with elected town and county leaders across the seven western counties. She’s witnessed a universal conundrum over natural resources over the years when it comes to land-use planning.

“Most of them love these mountains,” Graham said. “There is a fine line between folks not wanting to have restrictive land-use regulations but also really appreciating the natural resources in the place they live, and it makes for an interesting political arena when it comes to issues like the steep slope ordinance.”

“Everybody thinks this is set in stone. It’s not. We are taking it out to people to get their input.”

Woodard, who is somewhere in between Brooks and Graham, said there probably isn’t anyone who agrees with every single line in the ordinance.

“We will never have everything just the way we think it should read,” Woodward said.

Clark Lipkin, one of the most vocal members of the planning board during the rewrite process, pledged he would suspend his own opinions to consider public comment. He knows what it’s like to be on the outside of the process. He was there himself seven years ago when the first version went through.

“I honestly felt like I didn’t get listened to. So I am going to try to keep that in mind and take the public’s comments seriously,” Lipkin said.

The public hearing will allow anyone who pleases to get up and say his or her piece, within time limits. But it won’t be an open dialogue or back-and-forth discussion.

If someone wants to talk more at length, Jackson Commissioner Chairman Jack Debman issued an open invitation for folks to call him directly.

The program “Understanding and Navigating the Affordable Care Act” will be

The 2014 Class of the Waynesville Civilian Police Academy is set to begin classes at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at the Waynesville Police Department.

The Civilian Police Academy gives citizens the opportunity to become more familiar with a wide range of police department activities including, but not limited to, police operations, uniform patrol, traffic services, investigations, K-9 units, DWI detection, school resource officers/DARE, drug abuse, crime scene processing, special response teams, and domestic violence. Attendees are also given the option of participating in a field trip to the firing range.

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Lumpy Lambert, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who resides in Waynesville, has been named general manager of the new Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel being built in Cherokee County.

“For years, our tribe has made education a priority for our people, and the announcement of Mr. Lambert’s promotion signals success for our tribe.

Lumpy has worked hard to achieve this goal and I am happy to make this announcement,” said Principal Chief Michell Hicks.

Lumpy Lambert Lambert began his gaming career at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in October 1997 as an operations supervisor. He quickly rose through the ranks as casino manager, director of casino marketing, vice president of casino operations, and, since 2011, assistant general manager of casino operations.

Lambert also helped lead the Cherokee casino through its six-year, $650 million dollar expansion project, which was completed in 2012.

The $110 million dollar Cherokee County casino will create more than 900 jobs on-site, inject up to $39 million dollars in wages into the surrounding area and will be a significant economic development project for Cherokee County and its residents

held at noon Thursday, Feb. 13, at the First Presbyterian Church in Franklin.

The League of Women Voters will host a the event, with Cynthia Solesbee, Certified Health Care Navigator for Macon County, presenting an overview of the Affordable Health Care Act and the programs available to consumers, to help the community understand how the ACA works. Solesbee will be able to make individual appointments with the public to help lead them through the sign-up process and help them find the most suitable and affordable insurance plan.

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Finding a culprit behind parking crunch in Canton

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER ree parking has its drawbacks, at least for the Country Music and Dance Parlor in downtown Canton.

Free parking downtown means anyone can park anywhere, for pretty much however long they want. So, when Fannie Dorlon needs spaces for her bands to load and unload their gear, there’s nary a spot to be found.

“I don’t want to cause a problem, but I have bands with equipment weighing upwards of 200 pounds. Their equipment is expensive, and they don’t want to carry it around or get it wet,” Dorlon told the Canton town board at a meeting last week.

Dorlon aired her concerns over what to do when there is no room on Main Street for her booked music acts to haul their gear to and from the venue.

“When the bands say, ‘You’ve got to do something or we’re gone,’ then this is a major problem for me,” Dorlon said. “I either have to get the space for them or I’ll have to go somewhere else to run this business.”

Dances at the parlor are held from 7 to 10:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday.

“I think we just mark off the [parking

February 5-11, 2014

F

spots] during her unloading hours or just let them park in the left lane,” Canton Mayor Mike Ray said. “This shouldn’t be a difficult situation.”

Interim Town Manager Jason Burrell felt it wasn’t that simple. Technically, downtown parking has a two-hour time limit between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. But it’s based on the honor system. Cops don’t patrol for parking tickets.

“Your issue is a parking enforcement issue,” Burrell said.

If the town wants to start enforcing the two hour limit, it should do it throughout downtown, not just in front of the dance hall, he said.

“We’ll see if we can go up there and talk to them for your purposes. But personally, I’m not going to something for this person or that person unless I can do it for everybody,” Burrell said.

Dorlan claimed that parking spots on Main Street in front of her dance parlor are continually taken by business owners and their employees, with the Mexican store Mi Tierra and Penland’s Furniture Galleries being specifically named.

“The people that run businesses downtown have that whole block used up,” Dorlan said.

A parking crunch in downtown Canton has stirred up conflict over spaces in front of businesses. Garret K. Woodward photo

ALL FULL The problem is not unique to Canton.

How to stop downtown employees from hogging prime parking spaces is an age-old problem in small towns around the mountains, with strategies varying.

Some towns rely on peer pressure, with friendly reminders sent out in the newsletters

of the downtown merchants association. But since most small towns have free parking downtown — designed to encourage tourists to loiter, shop and spend — there’s not a whole lot a town can do to motivate a change in bad parking habits barring a more ironfisted approach.

Both Sylva and Highlands have an ordinance that prohibits those

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sions, to work with the police department with some latitude for these events,” he said.

“As of right now, after 5 p.m. it’s fair game.”

“We can’t just make an exception for one person,” agreed Alderwoman Carole Edwards. “We have to be fair.”

The board decided to address the parking issue at a later date when all parties involved could discuss their needs, and after all downtown businesses were personally spoken to about the subject moving forward.

“We need to go by each business and not just send them a letter,” Ray responded. “We need to speak to someone face-to-face rather than by a letter. I think we need a better rapport with our businesses.”

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February 5-11, 2014

Following the Canton meeting last week, Gerald Penland, owner of Penland’s Furniture Gallery, echoed Dorlan’s sentiments that something must be done about the parking situation downtown. But, he also was unaware of Dorlan’s personal concerns towards his business.

“She’s never come and complained to us.

This is the first I’ve heard about it,” he said.

“We have two furniture stores right here and no unloading zone. It would be wonderful if the town put in a loading zone into their plan.”

Across the street, Otilia Aleman, manager of Mi Tierra, said she and her employees do not park on Main Street.

“We don’t park there because sometimes people want to come to our store and they need this parking,” she said.

Dorlan suggested that business owners and employees should not park on Main Street. She pointed out nearby parking lots that should be used by the businesses, which would leave downtown spots open for consumers and those loading and unloading for

momentary needs.

“I’ve heard that this has been going on for years and that people would be surprised if I got anything done about it,” she said.

“I think most people need to do a little walking anyway, so I don’t see a problem there,” Ray responded.

Alderman Zeb Smathers felt the current parking plan should be reevaluated to make sure special events are not only taken notice of, but also taken care for. He felt the specific need of the parlor should be addressed, with the larger issue of a town parking plan figured out in the future.

“We would need to add a clause to our ordinance for special needs and special occa-

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who work downtown from parking in prime customer spots during key business hours.

Violators can be ticketed. Both towns are small enough that beat cops can spot the telltale signs of the same vehicle parked in offlimits customer spots day after day.

Merchants also report each other if necessary. According to the Sylva town manager Paige Roberson, the ordinances are doing their job in keeping the parking issue at bay.

Several years ago, Waynesville implemented a three-hour parking limit along Main Street, complete with signage to deter merchants from sitting on spots all day. But its enforcement is sporadic, since the police department lacks a full-time employee dedicated to chalking of tires and writing parking tickets. During peak tourist months, however, a greater effort is made to monitor the time limits.

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BY JAKE FLANNICK offering walk-in service and extended hours SMN CORRESPONDENT at least one evening per week. ears have passed since Jack McJunkin’s For some pet owners in the region, the dog was struck and fatally injured by a nearest source of emergency veterinary care car on a Swain County road. But memo- in Asheville might seem out of reach, esperies of the episode linger. cially if their pet is in critical condition.

It was a Sunday, recalled McJunkin, 68, Even so, many here regularly make the who is left to wonder whether his miniature trip, said Christy Reeves, operations manager poodle might have survived had he not had at the Regional Emergency Animal Care to wait until Monday to take it to a veteri- Hospital, or REACH, located in Asheville. narian.

Being hit by a car is the leading cause of “Our local veterinarians take the weekend visits there, given that pets in rural areas are off,” he said. He has not gotten another dog more likely to roam free. since.

The animal hospital emerged in the late Emergency veterinary care is in fact avail- 1990s, after dozens of veterinarians from able in the far western part of the state, if you across the western part of the state formed a have the right relationship with the right vet group to expand emergency veterinary care who is willing to give their home or cell phone here. It has grown to include dozens of number out. workers, including eight veterinarians, But for pet owners here who, like offering round-the-clock and specialty care McJunkin, might not have such ties, the such as surgery. prospect of round-the-clock care for their aniOfficials at REACH are aware of calls to mals is dim.

“It’s been a problem here for a The Waynesville Animal Hospital long time,” McJunkin said. It could be a lifeline for pets who is one of the few west of Asheville fall ill or sustain injuries. open on Saturday, during morning While there is no shortage of vet offices in the region, few are and afternoon hours. open on weekends, partly as a result of limited staff.

“We do have to sleep,” said Dana Lee, a vet- consider building another animal hospital erinary technician and receptionist at the Sylva further west, Reeves said.

Animal Hospital, where a total of three veteri“There’s a lot of people, unfortunately, narians take turns scheduling appointments that don’t have a regular vet,” she said. for Saturday mornings. The clinic is one of at Having a regular vet is the first step, but is least two in the region whose hours extend to sometimes one taken too late. the weekend, albeit for a brief period. “We’re “When they do need something, then it only able to handle so many clients.” becomes an emergency,” said Ted Rowe, who Offering after-hours pet care takes more manages Shearer Pet Health Hospital in than just one vet or two holding office hours. Sylva, where his wife is a veterinarian. He “You really need more than a couple peo- noted that he returns to the clinic on ple,” said Christy McLean, who manages Monday sometimes to find voicemail mesthe Animal Hospital of Waynesville. “You sages left by pet owners who had sought care need a staff.” over the weekend.

The Waynesville Animal Hospital is one of It is a precaution pet owners sometimes the few west of Asheville open on Saturday, fail to take even for themselves, with doctors during morning and afternoon hours. It oper- recommending regular medical checkups ates with a handful of veterinarians, three of regardless of apparent health conditions. them full-time, who determine the extent of “It’s the same thing,” Rowe said of schedtheir availability after-hours on a discre- uling veterinary checkups for pets, “the tionary basis. It is among others in the region patients just have four legs instead of two.”

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Moving forward Commissioners express support for use of old prison by trio of ministries

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER plan to turn the old state prison campus in Hazelwood into an epicenter for changing lives is moving forward fast.

Two weeks ago, a duo of Christian groups laid out their pitch during a work session with the Haywood County commissioners. They hope to convert the former prison dorms into a halfway house and homeless shelter to further their ministries.

Then, joined by Open Door Ministries, which serves meals to people in need, they got themselves on the agenda for the commissioners’ meeting this week.

Commissioners endorsed the idea.

“I think there is general support to favorably consider some arrangement,” said Commission Chairman Mark Swanger.

The next step is drawing up a contract and lease granting the groups use of the old prison. The small, minimum-security prison was shut down by the state two years ago in the name of consolidation. The county inherited it, but doesn’t have any use for it.

Representatives of Haywood Christian

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February 5-11, 2014

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Emergency Shelter, Next Step and Open Door Ministries — which would operate a homeless shelter, half-way house and soup kitchen at the site, respectively — spoke to the commissioners about their organizations’ work and hopes for a future that includes expansion into the currently unused prison.

“What we’re asking the commissioners for is a long-term lease on the facilities,” said Nick Honerkamp, the homeless shelter’s founder and president.

What exactly that lease includes — and who it includes — is far from final. The Open Door had been a bit of a wild card in the prison makeover, and they’re still not a definite yes.

Perry Hines, executive director of the Open Door, said they are definitely interest-

ed, not only to serve the clients at the halfway house and homeless shelter, but to reach people on that side of town who can’t get to their existing soup kitchen near downtown Waynesville.

“We know there are people in the Hazelwood area that would also be able to utilize what we offer at the Open Door,” Hines said.

But opening a second location in Hazelwood isn’t a decision to make lightly. It would require hiring a second person to oversee the Hazelwood operations, and the cost to renovate the old prison kitchen could be significant. Hines is talking with contractors to determine how much it will cost to

Church, which is the ministry’s primary sponsor.

“As I give you a scenario that may work for the Open Door, it is based on the presupposition that there is no major barrier to entering the building that may be cost-prohibitive,” Hines told the commissioners.

If no insurmountable construction or equipment costs crop up, Hines said, he would want a minimum 10-year lease from the county for a kitchen, dining room and office space for three people, as well as a continuing dialogue with the county about opportunities for expansion. Aside from the buildings the faith-based groups are asking to lease, the property contains three others they might be interested in using in the future, if neither the town nor the county needed them.

“What are we needing? Room, room and more room,” Hines said.

SEARCH FOR SYNERGY

get the prison’s kitchen facility up and running, praying about the decision and seeking input from Long’s Chapel United Methodist

Why more room? Because Open Door’s services aren’t limited to free meals. Though the organization did serve 35,696 meals in 2013, it also provided 1,043 loads of laundry, 1,132 showers and 128 free haircuts. It held up to 20 daily meetings with clients for encouragement, prayer and direction, as well maintaining a community garden, job research learning center, work program and three weekly and daily worship devotions. If the ministry moves into the old prison, Hines wants its efforts to grow in synergy with Next Step and

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MOVING FORWARD The commissioners have not yet taken any action, but they expressed unanimous support for the groups’ goal of a unified campus for people who need help, whether due to homelessness, recent incarceration or food insecurity. Though the date could get pushed back if it takes Open Door longer than expected to evaluate the financial aspect of the move, as of now the commissioners are planning to revisit the issue at their March 3 meeting.

In the interim, they asked the groups to work with County Manager Ira Dove and County Attorney Chip Killian to create a draft contract outlining the agreement they would like to have with the county. Swanger expects that a lease could then be written and signed within weeks.

“I appreciate the faith community stepping in,” said Commissioner Kevin Ensley, continuing, “The main thing they’re doing is changing their hearts. When you change their heart, you change their actions.”

Affairs of the Heart

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The homeless shelter would occupy another dormitory on the property, offering refuge for people who aren’t in Next Steps’ demographic but need help to get back on their feet. The shelter began in 2008 as a response to the economic recession, and since then it has operated out of Camp New Life during the coldest six months of the year, Nov. 1 to April 30. Participating churches take turns shuttling guests, who must test negative for alcohol and drugs, from dinner at Open Door to the camp.

There, they participate in an evening devotional, sleep and do morning chores before riding back to Open Door for breakfast.

But the organization is more than a stopgap measure. Shelter volunteers and employees work individually with each guest, connecting them with the resources they need to leave the streets and get their lives on more solid footing.

“We’re able to help almost half of them find shelter before the season’s over,” Honerkamp said.

Of the 442 people the shelter has housed since 2008, 210 found housing by the end of the season, but Honerkamp wants to do more. When the shelter’s services end in April, so do the stability and relationships that help guests move forward with their lives. Moving to the prison would allow that to change.

“By expanding to a year-long program, we can offer food, shelter and programs during the day that could cause more people to make a life change and for that change to be life-long,” Honerkamp said.

Regular priced merchandise only. Offers ends 2-28-14

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Smoky Mountain News

Unlike the other two ministries, Next Step is an organization still in its infancy. It grew out of an already-existing effort called Hands Up Restoration Transformation to provide spiritual support for people incarcerated in the Haywood County Jail, but even as Hands Up swelled its attendance at Bible studies and Sunday morning worship over the past year, its leaders began to realize that the jail was something of a revolving door.

“Our mission is to provide a network that will inspire regeneration through breakthroughs and offer life skills that will achieve immediate and lasting transformation,” Ledford said.

If the lease works out, Next Step would take over one of the two dorm-style buildings, once used for low-security prisoners at Haywood County Department of Corrections, to offer transitional housing for male ex-offenders in the county. To participate, inmates would fill out an application to help Next Step determine individualized short-term goals and recommend how long the person should spend at the facility to achieve them. Participants would learn personal responsibility by pitching in

We Love Our Locals

February 5-11, 2014

NEXT STEP

to maintain the home, and Next Step would offer resources such as computer classes and GED assistance to help participants meet their goals.

Eventually, Next Step would like to expand its services to female ex-offenders as well, but, true to its name, the new ministry is taking it one step at a time.

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Haywood Christian Emergency Center, a sentiment that those groups share.

“Seventy-nine percent of our [Haywood Christian Emergency Center’s] funds go to services that might be utilized by other organizations,” Honerkamp explained.

Principally, Honerkamp said, if all three ministries were housed on the same campus, the shelter’s security person and parttime director could also help with Next Step and Open Door.

That kind of partnership would make sense, the groups believe, because while they each offer different services and have different focuses, they share a common goal: healing broken lives by meeting physical needs and offering a spiritual reason to change. It’s a formula that works, said Jason Ledford, president of Next Step, so the county would do well to give the groups the means to work together to do it even better.

He cited research such as a 2012 Baylor University study, which compared recidivism rates — people who get out of jail only to land back inside a short time later — between two similar groups of 366 prisoners.

One group completed an 18-month program based on Christian faith and the other did not. Those who completed the faithbased program had a re-arrest rate 26 percent lower, a reconviction rate 35 percent lower, and a rate of re-imprisonment for a new felony 40 percent lower. A follow-up study found that the program saved taxpayers nearly $8,300 per participant in increased post-incarceration taxes and productivity and in decreased cost to the justice system.

“One of our goals is to teach our clients to honor governments,” Ledford said, a perspective that he said will return the program’s graduates to society as productive, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens.

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#193 - free table leveler

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Vouchers are just bad education policy he Smoky Mountain News published an excellent analysis of the controversy centered on the current legislation called the “Opportunity Scholarship Program” in the Jan. 29 issue (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/12377). SMN Staff Writer Holly Kays presented this material in exemplary form.

I was particularly struck by the quote that is attributed to Rep. Roger West, our elected official from Marble. He said, “I think anybody that wants to make a decision to go to a private school, they ought to be able to do it, and they ought to be able to recoup what the state allocates for each student.” This seems like a strange system of reasoning to come from a representative who has sworn to uphold the laws of North Carolina (based on our constitution). Since 1789 North Carolina has provided public education opportunities for all of her citizens.

Few would claim that the system has been perfect. Few would claim that our elected officials have acted perfectly all of the time. This, unfortunately, is one of those times when a group

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Public Art Commission needs to speak up To the Editor: I served on the Waynesville Public Art Commission from 2006 until March of 2011. Public art was a brand new commission at the time, tasked with not only starting a public art collection for the town of Waynesville but raising private funds to purchase the art, setting up all procedures for soliciting proposals from artists, choosing the location and overseeing the installation of the artworks, and writing the manual for the care of the art collection and procedures for deaccession of artworks, either donated or purchased.

Part of all this background work was also establishing a mission statement to guide the procurement of the art: The mission of the Waynesville Public Art Commission is to engage the community and enrich public spaces through original art that celebrates Waynesville’s unique historic, cultural, natural and human resources.

The members of the commission worked for months on the wording of this mission statement with the goal of insuring that Waynesville’s public art collection would be appropriate to an Appalachian mountain community.

I see that this mission statement is still posted on the Town of Waynesville’s website. I respectfully submit a request to the current Public Art Commission members for an explanation as to how the sculpture titled “La Femme” fits the mission statement. Or, has the mission statement been changed?

I can accept the inclusion of Bill Eleazer’s “Chasing Tadpoles” into the collection. As a long-time art teacher at Tuscola High School, Mr. Eleazer had a long association with the community and chasing tadpoles is an activity that can occur right in the middle of town

of elected officials has used very poor judgment. This will entangle state/local agencies and organizations in a costly legal battle to overturn this bad legislation.

Yet, we now face a situation where misguided lawmakers have created an opening for private schools to siphon off money that should be used for the overwhelming number of young people for whom education dollars are intended by our state constitution. This makes for an extremely uneven and unfair playing field. Public schools use public money (and seek private funds) to carry out their mission. Private schools have (since 1789) used private money exclusively.

Now, with the Opportunity Scholarship Program they have been provided a key to the bank, which was set up originally for the population at large. No law mandated private schools.

Some people decided they wanted an alternative to public education. So, they agreed to pay for it for whatever reason they had at the time. I admired their efforts and ingenuity at that time. I do not admire their ingenuity in obtaining public

down in Frog Level. Or in Vance Street Park which would be a most appropriate location for this piece.

But a giant, modernistic bust of a woman titled “La Femme”?

I think an explanation is in order.

Kaaren Stoner Iron Duff

Teachers, public education get raw deal To the Editor: If you have been following the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, you have recently learned that 85 individuals control more wealth than the less wealthy half of the world’s population … that’s 3.5 billion people. It just underscores the extreme differences in wealth in our world.

With that on my mind, I couldn’t help but think of North Carolina’s hardworking teachers who are now ranked 46th in pay in the country. I’m sure you are aware of the decision by our state legislature to give a bonus of $2,000 over four years to 25 percent of the teachers in each school district. This 25 percent are to be chosen, somehow, by the principals and superintendents, leaving the other 75 percent to wonder why they were not included. Oh, and of course, the teachers are also giving up their recourse to due process, which opens the door to political based control.

Public education is the foundation of our economic strength as a state. According to the North Carolina Constitution, it is the responsibility of the state legislature to guarantee an adequate public education to all our students.

Yet it seems the current administration has a warped idea of how to insure that. Cutting funding to education has never enhanced it.

Keeping a lid on teacher pay is a guarantee that many teachers will leave for greener pastures in neighboring states, or find a more

funds. Is there any mechanism by which public schools could legally tap into private school money?

It is interesting to re-read Mr. West’s statement. It would be very difficult to argue that people should not be able to make a decision for their children to go to a private school. However, it is not difficult to oppose the idea of usurping public funds for private education. It will be proven to be unconstitutional when subjected to the scrutiny of superior courts. If not, a whole new set of legislation may allow each of us to pick how we want military money spent. We might be able to select exactly which crops we want to support in agriculture research, etc. This state and this country will be mighty hard to govern if we come to that type of latitude in legislation.

Hopefully we will see the reversal of this legislation. Let’s hope that part of the review will specify that all of the money siphoned off will have to be repaid to the public schools.

Dave Waldrop Webster

LOOKING FOR OPINIONS The Smoky Mountain News encourages readers to express their opinions through letters to the editor or guest columns. All viewpoints are welcome. Send to Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainnews.com., fax to 828.452.3585, or mail to PO Box 629, Waynesville, NC, 28786. lucrative profession … and it will negatively impact our state now and in the future.

Perhaps Gov. Pat McCrory and our state legislature will consider the benefits of education when they set the new budget. Instead of punishing our educators, I would ask them to make a goal of bringing teacher pay up to the nation’s median … 25th is so much better than 46th and falling.

Nancy Scott Franklin

How did county finance not catch on?

To the Editor: The alleged embezzlement of around $50,000 from Macon County taxpayers by a county employee highlights incompetency within the county’s “award winning” finance department. The allegations in Judge Letts’ search warrant for the Macon County Board of Elections (BOE) office lay out the damning details.

The alleged embezzler wrote at least 29 “check requests” between July 2013 and midJanuary 2014 with insufficient documentation and no or forged signature authorizations. Without hesitation finance’s accounts payable (A/P) issued checks totaling around $50,000 to sham vendors. The checks were

given to the embezzler who allegedly pocketed the money.

Macon County, with more than 400 employees and a budget of nearly $60 million annually, has a finance department using purchase order (PO) and payment procedures appropriate for a “mom and pop” shop.

Why would the county’s finance department process any “check requests” except in very limited and carefully controlled circumstances? To handle 29 “check requests” from one employee over a short period is astounding. Especially since many didn’t meet authorization requirements, involved “vendors” who weren’t vetted, receipt of services wasn’t verified, and checks weren’t mailed to the vendors. Was there a co-conspirator within the finance department? Will any finance department employees be disciplined for failure to follow procedures? Are there any written procedures?

“Check requests” are ripe for fraud and at least one employee figured that out. How many other undetected embezzlements have occurred, or are occurring, within Macon County government?

The county manager must hire an independent forensic auditor, or an auditor from the Office of the State Auditor, to thoroughly review all aspects of Macon County’s Finance Department. The forensic auditor must assure everyone that no other illegal activities have occurred or are occurring, and assure that all purchasing procedures in the finance department are brought up to 21st century standards.

Until a forensic audit is completed, corrective actions are implemented, and a public report is issued to county residents answering all questions raised, residents should have no confidence that the county’s finance department is protecting taxpayers’ money.

Vic Drummond Franklin

Background checks are government overreach

Café

Deli & So Much More 6147 Hwy 276 S. • Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station)

bbcafenc.com • 828.648.3838 Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • Closed: Sat. & Sun.

Valentine’s Day Reservations

MAKE YOUR

BURGERS TO SALADS SOUTHERN FAVORITES & CLASSICS LOCAL BEERS NOW ON DRAFT LIVE MUSIC ON THE PATIO TUES.-FRI.

117 Main Street, Canton NC 828.492.0618 • SidsOnMain.com Serving Lunch & Dinner

MON.-THURS. 11 A.M.-9 P.M. • FRI. & SAT. 11 A.M.-10 P.M. SUNDAY BRUNCH 11 A.M. TO 2:30 P.M.

Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251

Closed on Sunday. We specialize in handcut, all natural steaks, fresh fish, and other classic American comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available. We also feature a great selection of craft beers from local artisan brewers, and of course an extensive selection of small batch bourbons and whiskey. The Barrel is a friendly and casual neighborhood dining experience where our guests enjoy a great meal without breaking the bank.

AMMONS DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT & DAIRY BAR 1451 Dellwwod Rd., Waynesville.

828.926.0734. Open 7 days a week 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Celebrating over 25 years.

Enjoy world famous hot dogs as well as burgers, seafood, hushpuppies, hot wings and chicken. Be sure to save room for dessert. The cobbler, pie and cake selections are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

opinion

BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Tuesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (takeout only 5 to 6 p.m.) Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Serving Mediterranean style foods; join us for weekly specials. We roast our own ham, turkey and roast beef just like you get on Thanksgiving to use in our sandwiches. Try our chicken, tuna, egg and pasta salads made with gluten free mayo. Enjoy our variety of baked goods made daily: muffins, donuts, cinnamon buns and desserts.

BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997.

Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slowsimmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts.

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

Brown bagging is permitted. Private parties, catering, and take-out available.

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Mile-high mountaintop dining with a spectacular view. Join us for plentiful buffet-style dinners on Fridays and Saturdays, and long winter holiday weekends. Dinner is served from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in winter and includes pot roast, Virginia ham or herb-baked chicken, complemented with an assortment of seasonal vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Dinner nightly from 4 p.m.

226-31

February 5-11, 2014

Frogs Leap Public House Innovative Southern Cuisine with a local backbone & homegrown libations Voted #1 Restaurant Waynesville/Canton 2013

Love the Locals 2014 Tuesday: Free Snack w/2 Cocktails

Wednesday: 1/2 Price Wine

Thursday: 1/2 Price Bottle Beer 226-71

INDULGE YOUR

Taste For

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ALENTINE S

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5:30-9:30 P.M. • $45/COUPLE*

VALENTINE’S DAY 4 COURSE MENU Shrimp Cocktail Choice Of Salad Or Soup Chateaubriand For Two Chocolate Covered Strawberries Champagne Split For Two Regular menu selections available

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The Smoky Mountain News 828 | 452 | 4251

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Smoky Mountain News

To the Editor: The Jackson County commissioners recently made a mistake — an honest, wellmeaning, well-intentioned error, yet a mistake nonetheless. Imposing background checks on county volunteers is government intrusion and is wrong. These infringements to our freedoms are totally contrary to the natural rights principles codified by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, the other founders in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and, all the men (and a few women) who fought against and achieved victory over a tyrannical British king.

What took so long for American citizens to allow their government to violate us with airport strip searches, lock down whole cities for martial law exercises by the Department of Homeland Security and the military, conduct illegal searches of people and property in search of one lone alleged bomber (Boston, January 2013), use metal detectors against citizens lawfully entering public buildings, and, yes, forcing county volunteers to endure background checks in an assault on their persons and reputations? Apathy.

We’re more interested in sports on big screen televisions, adult beverages in our refrigerators, and fast food hamburgers in our stomachs than holding our local, state, and federal representatives honest, open, accountable, and within the constitutional rule of law.

Collectivists (progressives) such as Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler used tools of oppression such as these before and we're seeing these Fascist, authoritarian tools of enslavement used here in America in the 21st century where our government has become the common enemy of us all.

Opposing this fascism are the forces of individual freedom, smaller government, fiscal sanity, and the constitutional rule of law. Numerous men and women in our communities haven't given up on politically restoring the Constitution and the republic, although peacefully accomplishing this is becoming less and less possible everyday.

Call, write and email the county commissioners and demand that they reverse their decision to impose background checks on law-abiding county volunteers. Even something as small as this will send a message to your representatives (those seats are yours and mine) that the Fascist tide must stop and begin to reverse here, now.

What you do here today will make a difference as to whether your children and grandchildren become slaves or whether we reestablish our Creator-given American freedoms.

Which side are you on?

Carl Iobst Cullowhee

tasteTHEmountains

226-17

Reservations required:

828.456.3551 ext. 366 or opentable.com 176 COUNTRY CLUB DR. *Special 4 Course Menu - Per Couple Excluding Tax and Service Charge

226-03

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FEB 6: MOVIE NIGHT 6:30PM “HAPPY” FEB 7: ART OPENING 6PM W/ MICHAEL THAMES FEB 8: MANGUS COLORADO 7PM FEBRUARY 14-15

tasteTHEmountains desserts. We also offer a fine selection of wine and beer. Lunch is served on the same days from 12 to 2 p.m.

SPECIAL VALENTINE'S DINNERS

S PRING S TREET, D OWNTOWN S YLVA CREPES, PANINIS, SOUPS, SALADS, GOURMET PASTAS WINE & BEER

CityLightsCafe.com 226-12

Bridget’s Bistro at the

226-15

Herren House

Join us for a

Sweetheart Dinner

Friday, Feb. 14th

live music by Debra Horn

Re-Opening for Lunch Feb.12, 2014

Love The Locals Specials 94 East St. • Waynesville

February 5-11, 2014 Smoky Mountain News

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine.

Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events.

Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

BRYSON CITY CORK & BEAN A MOUNTAIN SOCIAL HOUSE 16 Everett St.,Bryson City. 828.488.1934.

Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.,

CORK & CLEAVER 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

828.456.7179. Reservations recommended. 4:30-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, Cork & Cleaver has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Executive Chef Corey Green prepares innovative and unique Southern fare from local, organic vegetables grown in Western North Carolina. Full bar and wine cellar. www.waynesvilleinn.com.

FRYDAY’S & SUNDAES 24 & 26 Fry St., Bryson City (Next To The Train Depot). 828.488.5379. Frydays is open; but closed on Wednesdays. Sundaes is open 7 days a week. Fryday’s is known for its Traditional English Beer Battered Fish & Chips, but also has burgers, deep fried dogs, gyro, shrimp, bangers, Chip

68585

828-452-7837 www.herrenhouse.com Open for Sunday Brunch 11-2 • Lunch 11:30-2 Wed.-Fri.

CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881.

Winter hours: Sunday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday & Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Join us in our historic location for scratch made soups and daily specials. Breakfast is made to order daily: Gourmet cheddar & scallion biscuits served with bacon, sausage and eggs; smoked trout bagel plate; quiche and fresh fruit parfait. We bake a wide variety of breads daily, specializing in traditional french breads. All of our breads are hand shaped. Lunch: Fresh salads, panini sandwiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck.

Private room available for meetings.

Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 3p.m., Full Menu 3 to 9 p.m. Serving fresh and delicious weekday morning lite fare, lunch, dinner, and brunch. Freshly prepared menu offerings range from house-made soups & salads, lite fare & tapas, crepes, specialty sandwiches and burgers. Be sure not to miss the bold flavors and creative combinations that make up the daily Chef Supper Specials starting at 5pm every day.

Followed by a tempting selection of desserts prepared daily by our chefs and other local bakers. Enjoy craft beers on tap, as well as our full bar and eclectic wine list.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Nutrition Facts serving size : ab out 50 p ag es Am ount per Serving

Valentines’ Dinner Treat your sweetheart to a romantic dinner at the Pin High Bar & Grille

Calories 0 % Daily Value * Tot al Fat 0g

0%

Reg ional New s

100%

Op inion

100%

Outd oors

100%

Art s

100%

Entert ainm ent

100%

Classified s

100%

* Percent Weekly values b ased on Hayw ood, Jackson, M acon, Sw ain and Buncom b e d iet s.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7:

SmokeRise

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8:

My Highway

226-14

83 Asheville Hwy. Sylva Music Starts @ 9 • 631.0554

We’ll feed your spirit, too.

February 14 & 15 • 5-9 p.m.

We will be offering a special a la carte menu featuring classic southern appetizers, chef-selected entrees and decadent desserts.

Reservations required.

828.926.4848 www.MaggieValleyClub.com 226-62

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Cataloochee Ranch 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC 28751 | CataloocheeRanch.com | (828)926-1401

tasteTHEmountains Butty, chicken, sandwiches & a great kids menu. Price friendly, $3-$10, Everything available to go or call ahead takeout.

Sundaes has 24 rotating flavors of Hershey's Ice Cream making them into floats, splits, sundaes, shakes. Private seating inside & out for both locations right across from the train station & pet friendly.

FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St. Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; Dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors. www.frogsleappublichouse.com.

HERREN HOUSE 94 East St., Waynesville 828.452.7837.

Lunch: Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Brunch 11 a. m. to 2 p.m.

Enjoy fresh local products, created daily.

Join us in our beautiful patio garden. We are your local neighborhood host for special events: business party’s, luncheons, weddings, showers and more. Private parties & catering are available 7 days a week by reservation only.

JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel. 828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday through Saturday. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner. The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

MAGGIE VALLEY CLUB 1819 Country Club Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Fine and casual fireside dining in welcoming atmosphere. Full bar. Reservations accepted.

MOUNTAIN PERKS ESPRESSO BAR & CAFÉ 9 Depot St., Bryson City. 828.488.9561.

Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections.

PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood (available in full and lighter sizes), thin crust pizza, homemade soups, salads hand tossed at your table. Fine wine and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, dine indoor, outside on the patio or at the bar.

Reservations appreciated.

ARTISAN BREADS & PASTRIES

SWEETS

FOR YOUR

SWEETIE!

PASQUALINO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT 25 Everett Street, Bryson City.

828.488.9555. Open for lunch and dinner everyday 11:30 a.m.-late. A taste of Italy in beautiful Bryson City. Exceptional pasta, pizza, homemade soups, salads. Fine wine, mixed drinks and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, reservations appreciated.

PATIO BISTRO 30 Church Street, Waynesville.

828.454.0070. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Breakfast bagels and sandwiches, gourmet coffee, deli sandwiches for lunch with homemade soups, quiches, and desserts. Wide selection of wine and beer. Outdoor and indoor dining.

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 828.926.0201 Bar open Monday thru Saturday; dining room open Tuesday thru Saturday at 5 p.m. Full service restaurant serving steaks, prime rib, seafood and dinner specials.

226-61

ITALIAN

MEDITERRANEAN

STEAKS • PIZZA CHICKEN • SEAFOOD SANDWICHES OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK 1863 S. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.454.5002 HWY. 19/23 EXIT 98

SOUL INFUSION TEA HOUSE & BISTRO 628 E. Main St. (between Sylva Tire & UPS). 828.586.1717. Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon -until.

Scrumptious, natural, fresh soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. 60+ teas served hot or cold, black, chai, herbal.

Seasonal and rotating draft beers, good selection of wine. Home-Grown Music Network Venue with live music most weekends. Pet friendly and kid ready.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Heart-Shaped Cakes, Cream Puffs, Cookies and more!

226-65

Fair Trade Coffee & Espresso

18 North Main Street Waynesville • 452.3881 SUN-THR: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

FRIDAY & SATURDAY: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

ASHEVILLE: 60 Biltmore Ave. 252.4426 & 88 Charlotte St. 254.4289

Romantic Dinner Warm your heart WITH A

SPEEDY’S PIZZA 285 Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.3800.

Open seven days a week. Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Family-owned for 30 years. Serving hand-tossed pizza made to order, pasta, subs, gourmet salads, calzones and seafood. Also serving excellent prime rib on Thursdays. Dine in or take out available. Located across from the Fire Station.

for two

MAKE YOUR VALENTINES DAY RESERVATIONS NOW!

Classic local American comfort foods Craft beers Small batch bourbons & whiskey

TAP ROOM SPORTS BAR & GRILL 176 Country Club Dr. Waynesville 828.456.5988. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Enjoy soups, sandwiches, salads and hearty appetizers along with a full bar menu in our casual, smoke-free neighborhood grill.

Call 828-452-9191 for reservations Dinner Nightly at 4 p.m. • CLOSED ON SUNDAY

454 HAZELWOOD AVENUE WAYNESVILLE

THE WINE BAR 20 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.452.6000. Underground cellar for wine and beer, served by the glass all day.

Cheese and tapas served Wednesday through Saturday 4 p.m.-9 p.m. or later. info@classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

VOTED “BEST DINNER” TWO YEARS IN A ROW!

226-68

Smoky Mountain News

MOONSHINE GRILL 2550 Soco Road, Maggie Valley loacted in the Smoky Falls Lodge. 828.926.7440.

Open Thursday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9 p.m. Cooking up mouth-watering, woodfired Angus steaks, prime rib and scrumptious fresh seafood dishes. The wood-fired grill gives amazing flavor to every meal that comes off of it. Enjoy creative dishes made using moonshine. Stop by and simmer for a while and soak up the atmosphere. The best kept secret in Maggie Valley. themoonshinegrill.com

Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies. Various desserts.

February 5-11, 2014

J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817.

Lunch Sunday noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner nightly starting at 4:30 p.m. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome.

Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

226-64

21

22

A&E

Smoky Mountain News

Haywood revives film commission

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER Becky Seymour can see the bright lights of Hollywood from Haywood County.

“Right now we’re in the major infancy stage, but we want to basically put Haywood on the map in the film and television world,” she said.

As video marketing manager for the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, Seymour is leading a charge to tap the niche industry.

Haywood County is no stranger to the silver screen. It was a star in the blockbuster movie “Cold Mountain,” and will be there again when “Serena” comes out later this year. But neither of these place-based novels set in Haywood were actually filmed here — the production companies went overseas instead.

But Haywood’s tourism leaders aren't giving up on the idea of turning the county into a film hotspot — not just for movies, but TV shows, reality shows, commericals, even catalog shoots.

They have revived the idea of a Haywood Film Commission, something that was around in the 1980s but had fizzled over the years.

“And we’re going to change that,” Seymour said.

ROLL CAMERA

When a production company begins looking around for potential locations to film, whether it be a major motion picture, independent project, music video or commercial, there are three categories they address — location, support services and crew.

Location could be a bustling city or backwoods farm, where support services can encompass catering, engineers and makeup artists, while crew can be those with editing and marketing backgrounds. The possibilities are as endless as the positions that need to be filled when the cameras roll.

“We’re trying to really put together a database of what we can offer here in Haywood,” Seymour said. “It can get a little frustrating because when we currently get these requests, the deadlines are within 24 hours, and for me to just think off of the top of my head of who to contact for these services can be almost impossible. We need this new database to be more efficient.”

The revival of the film commission comes at a crucial crossroads for the North Carolina film industry as a whole. As of now, the state offers a robust 25 percent tax credit and other incentives for companies looking to film here. But, that credit is due to expire at the end of 2014.

“It would put the state at a great disadvantage,” said Scott Hamilton, CEO and president of AdvantageWest Economic Development Group.

Advantage West has targeted the film industry in recent years as an economic cata-

“We’ve already had one completed project for 2014 and one major scouting of the region — we’re off to great start,” said Amanda Baranski, director of the WNC Film Commission. “There’s also a very strong community of local filmmakers and large pool of talent, so we have lots of opportunities.”

But the uncertainty of where funding for the larger WNC Film Commission will come from does open the door for collaboration — cue the Haywood County Film Commission.

“We all can work together,” Seymour said.N “My goal is to make our film commission so established and so out there that if these production companies aren’t sure what they may need, then they can come directly to us.”

HAYWOOD TO HOLLYWOOD

The Haywood County Film Commission was recently involved in filming an episode of the reality show “The Motorhead Traveler” when host Kevin Cullen (right) came to Waynesville to work alongside metalsmith Grace Cathey (left). Garret K. Woodward photo lyst worth courting.

“We work a lot to try and get these productions in and that’s what we’ll do as long as North Carolina is competitive and private investors see the opportunities and value of investing in the film traditions,” Hamilton said.

But AdvantageWest has seen significant budget cuts from the state. It’s lost 75 percent of its funding — a drop from $1.1 million to $337,000 — forcing it to seek private donors and sponsors to fund its economic development efforts.

CAROLINA CINEMA The economic impact of the film industry on North Carolina is massive.

In 2013, there were 5,700 production days, $254 million in spending and 25,000 job opportunities, with filming taking place in more than 30 counties.

For Western North Carolina, reality shows like “Moonshiners” and “Hillbilly Blood” are made in our own backyard.

In terms of the big screen, classics like “The Fugitive,” “Dirty Dancing” and “The Last of the Mohicans” all had parts shot in Southern Appalachia.

In recent years, the major movie series “The Hunger Games” was filmed in and around Brevard. Now, tour companies in the area offer Hunger Games fan weekends with tours of filming locations and even role-playing games.

“It is my understanding that during the filming of ‘The Hunger Games’ they spent $5,000 a

By the numbers In 2013, there were 5,700 production days, $254 million in spending and 25,000 job opportunities, with filming taking place in more than 30 counties in North Carolina.

For Western North Carolina, film-related activity that went through the WNC Film Commission included: • 34 completed projects in the region • 80 location scout inquiries using WNC digital database • 86 Haywood County locations submitted to digitial location database • 154 film-related inquires • 20 film scout visits *Data provided by AdvantageWest Economic Development Group.

week on ice and $10,000 a week on flowers, stayed in local motels, rented homes, so all of those industries in the private sector benefited from that success,” Hamilton said. “We will continue to promote this region as a strategic location, a viable location to film and complete their productions with a talented crew base and a very iconic and diverse topography.”

So, with the state tightening its belt, AdvantageWest will keep its WNC Film Commission up and running.

It had 34 completed projects, from big-time productions to local documentaries. Add that number to the 234 film inquires in 2013, and one can see the potential that lies in the region.

And while Seymour is collecting information for the Haywood County database, she can’t help think about how ideal her surroundings are for production companies.

“There are lots of things around here that can play anything,” she said. “You have Waynesville and this quaint downtown setting, then you have Canton with its unique industrial feel to it. We have so many things that these companies are looking for.”

With the ball finally rolling for Haywood County, Seymour already has another long-held dream waiting to emerge from the back of herv mind — a film festival. Between The Strand at 38 Main and Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville, the Colonial Theatre in Canton, Lake Junaluska Conference Center and the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds, she’s sees the promise the county has to host an event, perhaps something on the smaller, more local scale.

“It’s not every person for themselves. Thesey are things we all need to work together on. We can do anything,” she said. “There are so many possibilities with this, and you’ve got to start where I’m starting right now, which is getting the information about the county and moving forward.”

Want to know more?

If you’d like to know more about the Haywood County Film Commission, how to be part of its database and where to fill out an application, v click on www.visitncsmokies.com or email becky@visitncsmokies.com.

For the database, there are three categories: location, special services and crew. The businesses and positions desired to be included in the database include categories like accounting, acting, art, assistant director, camera, catering, choreographer, construction, costumer, craft service, dialect coach, director, editing, electric, food stylist, greens, grip, hair, locations, makeup, marine services, medic, model maker, music, paint, personal assistant, post production supervisor, producer, production assistant, production manager, production office, production supervisor, projectionist, property, publicity, script, set decoration, N sound, special effects, still photography, stunts, v transportation, tutor, VFX, video and wrangler.

arts & entertainment

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Smoky Mountain News

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5

48 MONTH CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT

February 5-11, 2014

What does the “K” stand for? boxes, garbage cans and, as expected, other “It stands for Kavanagh,” I told the lady people’s modes of transportation.

Those license plates were eventually fbehind the counter. “My mother’s maiden name, now my middle name.” transferred from the Camry to my 1991 As I sat in the North Carolina driver’s Plymouth Acclaim, while I waved goodbye license office in Clyde recently, the lady to the Camry as the mechanic drove it into behind the counter was curious, and conthe junkyard. After a few years, the cerned, as to what the “K” stood for on my Acclaim lost its plates to a 1998 Isuzu New York State driver’s license.

Hombre pickup truck. And soon, those “Do you have any other form of current plates were once again unscrewed and identification that states, in full, what your peeled off, only to be placed on a 2001 middle is?”

I looked down at my pile of papers. Tax “What am I going to do, forms. Electric bill. Paycheck stub. Nothing said, in full, what the “K” stood for. Crap. get mad at a complete “It doesn’t appear I do.” stranger because their “What about a passport?”

“Expired.” camera doesn’t work?”

“College degree from a school in the state of North Carolina?”

“Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.”

GMC Sonoma — my current ride.

I was out of luck, seemingly on every That Sonoma pickup truck, once my front. So, I headed back to my office in beloved late grandfather’s, has been in Waynesville to sort out things and get a snowy Wyoming ditches, sandy Maine correct tax form. On my second attempt beaches, desolate North Carolina mountainat getting my license, all of my identificatops, bustling Manhattan streets, and everytion requirements were good to go. where in between. And all the while, those Onward to the vision and computer drioriginal license plates have remained, as if a ver’s test — both of which I aced with flypersonal metal diary of rust, dirt and identiing colors. OK, I can get my license now, fication numbers. right?

By the time this column becomes last “Well, not today you won’t,” said the week’s news, my cherished New York plates man behind the counter. “Our camera isn’t will be taken down for one final time. Most working today. You’ll have to come back tomorrow to get your photo taken. Then, you can get your paper license, then your plastic one in the mail, then you can register your vehicle and get Country legend Merle Haggard plays Harrah’s plates.”

Cherokee at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7.

I didn’t get frustrated, I got a grin across my face leaving the The Woody Allen classic film “Annie Hall” will license office. I wasn’t mad. I’ll be screened at 7:45 p.m. Feb. 7 and 5 and get it tomorrow. No biggie. What 7:45 p.m. Feb. 8 at The Strand at 38 Main in am I going to do, get mad at a Waynesville. complete stranger because their camera doesn’t work? No, never.

Jeff Sipe Trio performs at 9 p.m. Feb. 7 at No And so, as I cruised back into Name Sports Pub in Sylva.

Waynesville, my thoughts drifted to my last encounter with the driAn artist reception for the new exhibit “Local ver’s license office. When I was Flavors” will be held at 1 p.m. Feb. 9 at 16, and the world was my oyster.

Gallery 86 in Waynesville.

Where once that license was in my possession, the open road Acclaimed printmaker Matt Liddle will give a was mine for the taking. I took talk during a reception at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 13 that newly minted license, stuffed at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. it proudly into my wallet and headed home, ready to purchase my first car. likely, I’ll take one and place it on my bookWith 199,999 miles on the odometer, shelf, the other to be donated to the wall of that rust bucket 1989 Toyota Camry was a Tipping Point Brewing in Waynesville. They’ll dream come true for my teenage self. I be switched for pristine North Carolina forked over $300 to the current owner as he metal, adorned with the words “First in handed me back the keys and title. Once my Flight,” containing the possibility of unknown New York plates were thrown on it, that people, places and things I’ll eventually cross vehicle became my personal bumper car, paths with in this glorious home I call bouncing off of parking garage pillars, mailWestern North Carolina.

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23

February 5-11, 2014

arts & entertainment

On the beat WCU to host high school band performance series

Mountain Heritage Center series welcomes Woody Pines

Western Carolina University’s School of Music will host the western regional AllDistrict Band for a series of rehearsals and performances Feb. 14-15 in Cullowhee.

The clinic involves more than 350 middle and high school band musicians from throughout Western North Carolina.

Students are selected for participation through a rigorous audition process and spend two days rehearsing with guest clinicians. They will present a concert Saturday afternoon to end the event.

Also as part of the clinic, students will have an opportunity to hear performances by the WCU Wind Ensemble and the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet. The Wind Ensemble’s performance at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center is free to the public. The program will include “George Washington Bridge” by William Schuman, “Colonial Song” by Percy Grainger, “Angels in the Architecture” by Frank Ticheli, “Overture on Themes from Porgy and Bess” by George Gershwin and “Fandango” by Joseph Turrin. “Fandango” will feature WCU music faculty members Dan and Amy Cherry on trombone and trumpet.

828.227.7242.

Hear echoes of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Preservation Hall at 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 6, when Woody Pines, performs at Western Carolina Woody Pines University’s Mountain Heritage Center in Cullowhee, as part of the 2013-2014 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Jam Series. A jam session for local musicians will follow at 8 p.m. Along the lines of traditional music, Woody Pines sings about fast cars, pretty women and hard luck.

The First Thursday concerts and jam sessions will continue monthly at the Mountain Heritage Center through April. Upcoming concerts will feature James Leva and the Crooked Pine Band. Pickers and singers of all ages and experience levels are invited to participate in or listen to the jam sessions.

Free.

828.227.7129.

JOIN US FOR ARTS EVENTS AT WCU FEB. 9 | SUN. 5PM | BARDO ARTS CENTER | $20

FEB. 11 | TUE. 7:30PM | BARDO ARTS CENTER | $5

FEB. 12-16 | WED. -- SAT. 7:30PM, SUN. 3PM | HOEY THEATRE | $15

Theatre: “A Doll’s House” Smoky Mountain News

Legendary country singer Merle Haggard will perform at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 7, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center. Haggard has 40 #1 hits, a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame and countless music awards for songwriting and performing. His acute observation of life’s details is reflected in how he sings, writes music and performs, rightfully earning him standing as “the poet of the common man.”

Tickets $34.99, $44.99 and $54.99. www.harrahscherokee.com or 800.745.3000.

Merle Haggard

REO Speedwagon to rock Harrah’s Iconic rockers REO Speedwagon will play at 9 p.m. Feb. 14 at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center.

Formed in 1967, signed in 1971, and fronted by legendary vocalist Kevin Cronin since 1972, REO Speedwagon is a band whose career will always carry REO Speedwagon on with music that continues to define excellence in song craftsmanship and brilliant live performance for several generations of fans. Tickets are $40, $55 and $65.

800.745.3000 or www.harrahscherokee.com.

Music: “1964” The Tribute to the Beatles

Theatre: Imago Theatre “FROGZ”

FEB. 14 | FRI. 7:30PM | BARDO ARTS CENTER | FREE

Music: WCU Wind Ensemble

SAVE THE DATE: APR. 4 | FRI. 5PM | BARDO ARTS CENTER | FREE

FRIENDS OF THE ARTS SILENT AUCTION VISIT THE FINE ART MUSEUM FOR ONGOING EXHIBITS | FINEARTMUSEUM.WCU.EDU

EVENTS ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE COLLEGE OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS AT WCU. JOIN FRIENDS OF THE ARTS TODAY!

FOR MORE INFO – 828.227.7028 | ARTS.WCU.EDU 24

Haggard brings honky-tonk to Harrah’s

• Dana & Susan Robinson and the Hot Swing Tribute will perform at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. The Robinson’s will play Feb. 7 and the Tribute, Feb. 8. All shows begin at 7 p.m. $10 minimum food, drink or merchandise purchase. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

ALSO:

• The Jackson County Genealogical Society (JCGS) will host its second program of the year at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in the Community Room at the historic Jackson County Public Library Complex in Sylva.

Presenters will provide the audience with a lively evening of bluegrass, gospel and traditional mountain music. 828.631.2646.

• Strung Like a Horse, Jeff Sipe Trio, Screaming Js, Wilhelm Brothers, Darren & The Buttered Toast, and PMA will perform at No Name Sports Pub in Sylva. Strung Like a Horse plays Feb. 6, with Sipe, Feb. 7, Screaming Js, Feb. 8, Wilhelm Brothers, Feb. 13, Darren & The Buttered Toast, Feb. 14 and PMA, Feb. 15. All shows are free and begin

at 9 p.m. 828.586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com.

• Singer/songwriter Caleb Burress hits the stage at 9 p.m. Feb. 7, at the Water’n Hole Bar and Grill in Waynesville. 828.456.4750.

• The “Winter Pickin’ in the Armory” will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at the Canton Armory. The event includes mountain music, vintage country, clogging and dancing.

Featured performers will be the J. Creek and Stoney Creek cloggers, with live music from Bobby & Blue Ridge Traditions. The “pickin’” is every first and third Friday of the month. www.cantonnc.com.

• Valentine’s Day with The Mixx will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 14 at Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville. Free. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Mangus Colorado and Carolina Dusk will play City Lights Café in Sylva. Mangus Colorado performs Feb. 8, with Carolina Dusk, Feb. 14.

All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m.

828.587.2233 or www.citylightscafe.com.

On the wall

A “PaperCutting Art Workshop” will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Jackson County Public Library Complex in Sylva.

Artist Marcia Roland will teach the workshop, which will be a beginner’s course in creating intricate designs. Registration is required.

Participants are asked to bring a small pair of scissors (cuticle scissors are ideal) to the class.

All other materials will be provided.

The free class is limited to 10 people.

828.586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.

WCU to screen ‘Girl Rising’

“Girl Rising,” a feature film inspired by the true stories of nine girls from nine countries, will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in the theater of A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University.

Narrated by movie stars including Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez, the film was created to convey the importance of investing in the futures of female children and ways to support global change as it relates to global poverty, class and gender. sacarter@wcu.edu or jwhitmire@wcu.edu.

North Carolina potter Mark Hewitt will hold ceramics demonstrations and give an artist’s talk Thursday, Feb. 13, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

Demonstrations of the art of throwing ceramics will be from 9:30 a.m. until noon and 1:30 p.m. until 4 p.m. in Room 151. Hewitt will give an artist’s talk at 5 p.m. in Room 130.

All events are free and open to the public. jbyrd@wcu.edu or 828.226.3595.

• An open call for artists is now on for the 6th annual Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival, which will be held Oct. 10-12. www.visitcashiersvalley.com or info@visitcashiersvalley.com or 828.743.8428.

• Michael Thames will host an art opening at 6 p.m. Feb. 7 at City Lights Café in Sylva.

Free. 828.587.2233 or www.citylightscafe.com.

• The Met: Live in HD will be screened at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the

printed in layers. As each layer is cut and overprinted, the previous color is revealed.

Liddle is a printmaker and book artist who has been making prints for over 30 years. He received a BA in Visual Studies from Dartmouth College in 1983 and an MFA in Pr i n t m a k i n g / B o o k Arts from The University of the Arts in 1991. He moved from Philadelphia to Cullowhee in 1995, when he was hired by WCU to be the studio coordinator of the printmaking and book arts area. He is currently serving as the Director of the School of Art and Design.

Liddle is also one of the co-directors of the Paper and Book Intensive.

The event is hosted by the Jackson County Arts Council. www.fontanalib.org.

Artist reception, showcase for Macon painter A reception and conversation with artist Lizzy Falcon will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb.13, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Her paintings and sculptures will be on display through February at the library.

Falcon’s work has a whimsical and emolike feeling. Thematic threads of her work are grey-toned girls with one big eye, as “Big Eyes Art” and the “Lowbrow Art” movements have had a major impact on her. She uses grey tones for her characters to avoid assigning them race or ethnicity. www.lizzyfalconart.com.

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Mostly Local, Always Sustainable Highlands Performing Arts Center. Before the showing of the renowned opera, a discussion on the performance will be held at 12:30 p.m. $24 per person.

Students free. www.highlandspac.org or 828.526.9047.

ALSO:

• An artist reception will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at Gallery 86 at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville.

The reception celebrates the current showcase, “Local Flavors,” which runs through March 29. Free. 828.452.0592.

• A classic heist thriller film featuring Sterling Hayden and Louis Calhern will be screened at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

Free. www.fontanalib.org.

• A call for artists is currently underway at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. Artists of any medium are being sought to display in the theater’s lounge and concession area. www.facebook.com/38main.

FEBRUARY LOVE THE LOCALS SPECIAL:

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• The 3rd annual “Valentine’s Day Wine and Dine” will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, at Claymates Pottery in Dillsboro. Paint a plate, mug or bowl while Chef Brian prepares gourmet pasta dishes to order. Complimentary wine and dessert included. $20 per person.

Reservations required. 828.631.3133.

• Pet artists Janice Swanger and James Smythe will be the featured artists through February at the Mahogany House Art Gallery and Studios in Waynesville. Both artists will have a collection of their pet portraits on display and for sale. 828.246.0818.

WINE AND CHEESE Saturday, Feb. 8 • 3-6 p.m.

Spinning Spider Creamery Cheeses & Wine Pairings

“SLAWSA”

Smoky Mountain News

• The films “Annie Hall” and “Romeo + Juliet” will be screened at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. “Annie Hall” plays Feb. 7-8, with “Romeo + Juliet,” Feb. 14-15. Screenings are at 7:45 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

Saturday. Tickets are $6 per person, $4 for children. 828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

A “Coffee and Chocolate Reception” and gallery talk with artist Matt Liddle will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at the Jackson County Public Library Complex in Sylva.

Liddle will talk about works in his exhibit, “Selected Prints,” now showing at the Rotunda Gallery through March 6. This exhibition features original prints produced over the past five years. The exhibition includes work in a variety of print media, including relief, screen print, photopolymer intaglio and vitreography. The images range from the figurative to the abstract, including Liddle’s most recent work printed from pieces of pegboard. In these works, the surface of the pegboard has been cut and printed like a reduction woodcut, with colors being over-

February 5-11, 2014

Hewitt to give ceramics demonstrations at WCU

‘Coffee and Chocolate Reception’ with printmaker at Jackson library

arts & entertainment

Papercutting workshop offered in Sylva

an “everything condiment” Saturday, Feb. 15 • 2-5 p.m. as seen on The Shark Tank

828.452.3848

www.sunburstmarket.com www.facebook.com/sunburstmarket

25

218-75

A GIFT

F

On the stage

arts & entertainment

LOVE

the companionship of a romantic relationship.

The production is connected to WCU’s 2013-14 campuswide interdisciplinary learning theme, “1960s: Take It All In,� in which the campus community has been challenged to reflect on the legacy of the decade.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and WCU faculty and staff, and $7 in advance and $10 the day of the show for students. www.bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 828.227.2479.

$99 ANNUAL SPA MEMBERSHIP

Family-friendly ‘FROGZ’ show coming to WCU “A Doll House� comes to WCU Feb. 12-16. Donated photo

‘A Doll’s House’ at WCU

February 5-11, 2014

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The 1960s version of the production “A Doll’s House� will be performed at 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 12-15 and at 3 p.m. Feb. 16, in the Hoey Auditorium at Western Carolina University.

The show is part of WCU’s 2013-14 Stage and Screen Mainstage Season. Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 “A Doll’s House,� one of the world’s most performed plays, reveals the love, deceptions — and self-deceptions — that lead a woman with few alternatives to re-evaluate her identity as a wife and mother. The character Nora, who has been objectified, centers her life on pleasing her husband but struggles with not knowing who she is as an individual. Meanwhile, her friend, a self-sufficient pragmatist who has a career, yearns for

Imago Theater’s “FROGZ,� a family-friendly show that combines Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatics with outlandish masks, mime and music, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

With larger-than-life animals taking on human characteristics, “FROGZ� was designed to create a comedic and mind-bending carnival of the absurd that entertains people of all ages.

The group has developed a distinctly theatrical approach — one that’s equal parts dance, design, circus, music, text and illusion. The show is recommended for ages 3 and older.

For more information about the series, visit www.ace.wcu.edu. Tickets are $5 for students and children, and $10 for all others. www.bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 828.227.2479.

Diplomate

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad’s PEANUTS™ “The Valentine Express and Sweetheart Trainâ€? will depart at 11 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 15, from the train depot in Bryson City.

The train will travel along the Tuckasegee River to Dillsboro for a one and a half hour layover with dining packages available.

828.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

Senior trip to heads to Chocolate Lounge The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will offer a senior trip on Feb. 12 to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Asheville. The trip will leave the Waynesville

Recreation Center at 10:30 a.m. and return by 5:30 p.m. The trip will include a small lunch on the way to Asheville and then treats at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge.

Cost is $5 for members of the Waynesville Recreation Center or $7 for non-members. 828.456.2030 or recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

Chocolate competition to benefit library The 7th annual Chocolate Cook-off benefiting the Friends of the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City is now accepting applications for entrants.

The cook-off is from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on March 1, and the deadline for entry is Feb. 24. Applications can be found at w w w. f o n t a n a l i b . o r g / b r y s o n c i t y / chocolatecookoffapplication_2014.

828.488.0580.

Books

Smoky Mountain News

27

‘Night Film’ is a tiring yet mesmerizing read did not like this book. My first response on finishing it was that I would not review it, but there is a paradox here. The author has an enviable and encyclopedic knowledge of the history of film, and this book is freighted with a wealth of film myth and legend.

In addition, the Asheville-born Marisha Pessl demonstrates a gift for crafting startling images and the narrative of Night Film contains some of the most original and suspenseful writing that I have read in recent years. There are some impressive Writer techniques, such as mixing graphic imagery and photography. In addition to descriptive details, Pessl adds items such as brochures, post cards, maps and memorabilia in an attempt to add verisimilitude to the lives of her characters. What then? What, in my opinion, is wrong with Night Film?

I have to admit that the story is, at times, mesmerizing. Consider the basic premise. A legendary director named Stanislas Cordova created a series of 15 films which were actually banned from theaters. However, Cordova’s devoted fans began bootlegging them. Audiences gathered in unorthodox settings (graveyards and the catacombs in Paris) to see horror films with provocative titles like “Thumbscrew,” “Wait for Me Here” and “Somewhere in an Empty Room.” Disturbing stories began to circulate about Cordova’s private life, and ranged from the theory that he did not exist (he has not been seen in public in over 30 years) to the belief that he is a permanent resident of a mental institution.

Much of this reminds me of the sensationalized life of Dario Argento, the Italian filmmaker. Indeed, much of Argento’s life and

Gary Carden

I

work resembles Cordova’s, and the antics of his daughter, Asia, are dutifully reported by the press each week. Also, much of Dario’s work (horror) resembles a typical Cordoba thriller.

The protagonist of Night Film is Scott McGrath, a private investigator (who talks like a Sam Spade wannabe) whose obsession with Cordova has cost him his reputation and his marriage. Unable to prove his allegations

Night Film by Marisha Pessl. Random House, 2013. 599 pages. that Cordova is not only insane, but has destroyed countless lives, McGrath is hit by a lawsuit from the Cordova estate. The lawsuit destroys McGrath’s credibility, but he continues to investigate stories about the director’s involvement in satanic rituals and black

Memoir writing class, teen activities at Canton library The Canton Branch Library is hosting a number of tween and teen activities this month.

The Teen Advisory Group (TAG) will meet at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 6 to discuss the book City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. A “Valentine’s Workshop” for teens will be held at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12. The valentines will be distributed to local nursing homes.

The “Memoir Writing Class” will be at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11. Writer and former English professor Polly Davis will instruct the introductory class. Participants will be guided on the basics of how to document their personal stories. No previous writing experience is required. Free. The program is made possible by the Friends of the Library. Light refreshments will be served.

The “Tween Club and Teen Happenings” will meet at 4 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 13. The club is open to children in grades 4-7 and will meet once a month. Each meeting will feature book talks and a

magic. When the body of Cordova’s brilliant daughter Ashley is discovered in an abandoned building, McGrath is convinced that she has been murdered or driven to suicide and launches a revenge-motivated search for proof.

His quest will take him to remote islands, abandoned sound stages, old estates that are now rumored to be the sites for strange rituals and occult activities, locales in foreign countries (Chile) and New York hotels where aging, alcoholic actresses spend their days staring out the window. Along the way, there are repeated visits to a witch’s store managed by a real witch who is adept at recognizing curses (McGrath has one) and concocting defenses which may contain exotic ingredients (bat dung and ginseng).

It is an epic journey, but before McGrath reaches the end of his quest, you, the reader, may no longer care ... or to be more precise, the reader may be a-weary of McGrath’s cynicism and the novel’s atmosphere of the endless paranoia and tension in which each discovery merely sets the stage for yet another mystery.

Along the way, the hard-boiled McGrath picks up two assistants: a young drug addict named Hopper, who seems to know more than he should about Ashley (He once attended a nightmarish summer camp with her) and Nora, a research assistant who ends up living with McGrath. McGrath has an 8-year-old daughter of his own, and as his search for Cordova becomes more daunting, the safety of his daughter is (or seems to be) threatened.

Some episodes become over-the-top surreal. For example, the one in which McGrath finds himself at a crossroads, much like the one where Robert Johnson, the blues musician, made a pact with the devil. There is a story that children are sacrificed at the crossroads and a field full of children’s clothes suggests that “something happened

special craft or activity. The Feb. 13 meeting will have members creating marble art. kpunch@haywoodnc.net or mailto:kpunch@haywoodnc.net or 828.648.2924.

Young adult panel discussion, book signing Young adult novelists Megan Shepherd, Jessica Khoury and Stephanie Perkins will host a panel discussion at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Shepherd’s Her Dark Curiosity, the second book of The Madman’s Daughter trilogy, was released Jan. 28 and explores the hidden nature of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves. Perkins is the author of Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After, which will be out in May. Khoury is the author of Origin and Vitro, which was released on Jan. 14. Vitro is a death-defying tropi-

here.” McGraph unearths bones and finds blood-stained clothing, all of which is meaningless. The blood is food coloring and the bones are from animals. At one point, our fearless investigator finds himself on an abandoned set for one of Cordova’s films, yet this is an elaborate hoax complete with a lake, cabins, dressing rooms and costumes. There is no corpse, no hatchet-welding madman. There is only a trapdoor and a tunnel, and at the end, another trapdoor.

Throughout Night Film, McGraph senses that he is being watched and that somewhere, Cordova and/or his agents are mocking him.

Before the reader reaches the end of this novel, he/she may have the same feeling. Despite Pessl’s heartfelt description of Ashley, who visits an obscure music store to play/perform on the piano, and yes, leave yet another clue; yes, despite the image of a lonely, doomed young woman, well, enough is enough. I am tired of gritting my teeth and looking over my shoulder.

I grew tired of creeping along dark corridors or groping my way through yet another tunnel that is growing ... too narrow as I followed the stalwart McGrath past constricting walls to find yet another trap-door. I am almost ashamed to admit it, but I no longer care.

We are left with a dozen questions. What became of Cordova’s son, who lost two fingers in a bizarre accident during the filming of a Cordova classic? Why did Cordova’s wife commit suicide, or did she? And then there is the question that continues to be asked. Does Cordova even exist? Marisha Pessl assures us that he is real. In fact, if you go to YouTube and search “Night Film Found Footage,” you will be greeted with one of those surveillance films that that shows people going and coming on a street, and, wait, look! Yes, there he is! The man with the hat on that pauses on the curb and then slips away into the shadows ...

cal adventure that delivers a frightening message about dabbling with creation.

828.586.9499.

Library offers book-finding tool Fontana Regional Library is pleased to announce the launch of a new feature of its website that highlights new and recommended books for readers of all ages across Macon, Jackson and Swain counties, selected exclusively by staff from local libraries. The service, called “Check This Out!,” is on the library’s homepage and can be accessed from anywhere.

The site suggests new books in more than 20 different categories and genres, selected by local library staff and available on Fontana Regional Library shelves. A link on the library homepage directs people to “Check This Out!,” which opens as a separate webpage with tabs highlighting selected new and noteworthy items on library shelves, complete with descriptions and cover photos. www.fontanalib.org.

28

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER here’s nothing abnormal about the pair of armchairs in Jim and Baraba Mills’ living room, or about the television — the old tube kind — and wooden entertainment center that they face. Typical, too, is the hodgepodge of DVDs and VHS tapes filling the shelves and the pictures of kids and grandkids covering the top.

But even a cursory glance reveals Jim’s true passion. A trio of mounted trout — one rainbow and two brown — hang on the wall above the TV, and a flytying station crammed with every color and weight of thread imaginable stands in front of the ceiling-high shelf filled with old glass medicine bottles from Jim’s days as a pharmacist with the U.S. Public Health Service. Fly rods, either sheathed in protective cardboard tubes or laying out to dry on a jerry-rigged rack of cardboard boxes, fill every corner of the room, and a stool sits in front of the pair of thread spools that Jim is using to create the wrappings on his most recent angling project. It’s more than a living room: it’s a fly rod shop of the most unique variety.

“Jim’s rods are just special,” his wife Barbara said.

“You can feel it.”

Just as J.K. Rowling’s Garrick Olivander matches young wizards in the Harry Potter series with the perfect wand to work their magic, it’s Jim’s calling to tailor each rod to the fisherman — or woman — who calls him up, looking for the ideal fishing instrument.

“I don’t push a rod on anyone,” the 73-year-old said, after pulling out of his interviewer the only fly fishing story that she possessed. “I want them to feel it. You know the feeling you got when you caught that fish? That’s the way I want you to feel when you cast my rod. I like for a fly rod just to be an extension of your arm.”

You can’t get that result by filling out a generic online order form. Jim invites potential customers up to his home in the woods between Whittier and Cherokee, where he watches them cast their own rod and reel. He gauges how the hold the rod, how they handle it, finds out what kinds of fish they want to catch with it. He asks them what kind of rod they want, and then he decides what kind of rod they need. Sometimes, as in the case of the customer who climbed Jim’s winding driveway convinced that he needed a Dickerson taper, they’re surprised by Jim’s conclusion.

“I said, ‘Here’s two Dickersons, but they are not the rods that are going to give you the most pleasure,’” Jim said in one of the many anecdotes that pepper his conversation. “So I showed him a Granger. He went back to the Dickerson. Went back to the Granger again. Had a cup of coffee. He said, ‘Can I cast them again?’

Finally, the customer delivered his verdict.

“He said,” Jim recalled, “‘When you measure the ease, there’s no comparison. I just thought I knew what I wanted.’”

T

IN THE BLOOD

When it comes to fly fishing, Jim knows what he’s talking about. He’s been handling a fly rod since childhood and chasing trout since turning 21. A native of the Carolina coast, Jim spent every Saturday hooking sun perch with his parents, a activity that bonded the family of three until his parents’ deaths.

Even in her 90s, Jim’s mother would accompany him

Hooked for life Mills reels in memories with artisan rods With his fly tying station and wall of glass pharmacist’s bottles in the background, Jim holds out the freshly varnished bamboo rod that he’s getting ready to wrap. Holly Kays photo

on a James River bream-fishing trip every summer.

So it’s only fitting that his current enterprise in rod-building began with his father. In 1964, Jim had just begun his career with the U.S. Public Health Service, working as a pharmacist and hospital administrator in the desert of Arizona, 70 miles from Tucson, which was the nearest place to buy a newspaper. The young pharmacist wasn’t pulling in much of a paycheck, so he decided to make his dad a homemade Christmas gift — a fly rod.

“No DVDs and no books to tell you how to make them,” Jim said. “I just sat down and learned to make it. Dad’s friends saw it and they said, ‘Jim [Sr.], get him to make me one.’ I was in the service making a measly $268 a month. I said, ‘You guys are going to have to pay me for these things. I can’t keep giving them away.’”

That’s what got him started, and 50 years later, just three years fewer than he’s been married to Barbara, he makes about 70 or 80 rods per year.

Learn from an expert Jim Mills is always happy to give advice to aspiring fishermen, and his rod shop is open for business. Visit his website, www.ravenforkrods.com or contact him directly by phone at 828.497.5576 or email at info@ravenforkrods.com.

ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE But for Jim, it’s not about the money. It takes him about four days of work and considerable cost in materials to turn out three or four bamboo rods, but he only charges $450 each. But for Jim, it’s about the people.

“I’ve met oodles and oodles of people,” he said. “I’ve shipped rods to lots of countries, but meeting the people is more fun to me than anything else.”

And the stories of the people pour forth: the 10-year-old boy whose face beamed so brightly the first time he cast one of Jim’s rods, the young man whose

“I say if you’re in a hurry, go somewhere else, because I don’t want to be hurried in making one. I can’t stand the pressure of having to do something fast and not get it right.”

— Jim Mills

wife wrote back to thank him for making her husband so happy, the affluent customer who has bought 15 rods from Jim over the years.

“I said, ‘Why are you buying my rods?’” Jim said. “He had bamboos from Scotland, from Winston, from Thomas and Thomas. He said, ‘Jim, you put your heart into your rods. I’m going to keep buying them.’”

And it’s true. Jim lives closely with his work, leaning over the racks of drying rods every time he wants to put a movie in, spreading into his wife’s kitchen when he uses its long counters to varnish the rods — or to make the candy with which he pays his reel seat supplier in Colorado. He used to pay him money, but the man made it clear he preferred pecan brittle.

“I say if you’re in a hurry, go somewhere else, because I don’t want to be hurried in making one,” Jim said of his rods.

“I can’t stand the pressure of having to do something fast and not get it right.”

He can put a graphite rod together in an evening, placing the single-foot eyes, wrapping designs in nylon thread around them, adding on the reel seat and handle and coating it with a varnish, epoxy in low humidity and Marine Spar in high. He still putters carefully about the craftsmanship, and it does take two or three days for the varnish to dry, but with his bamboo rods, he takes the artistry to a whole other level.

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nature that most people never see.

“It’s amazing the things I get to see out in nature when I go fishing,” he said. “I’ve seen trees that six men couldn’t get their arms around. I’ve seen waterfalls that people don’t ever see. I’ve seen animals in action, fishing, that it’s just something else.”

Jim can still recount the time he stood motionless in the Oconaluftee River as a mountain lion headed toward Piney Village, or the family of elk that crossed it while he fished a different section of the river. Each

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February 5-11, 2014

Neighbors caring for neighbors paused separately for a drink and then crossed as he stood casting.

And now, just as the water tightened the bond he kept with his parents as the decades passed, it still binds him to his son Chris, who now lives in Alabama, and to his daughter Marissa, who calls Knoxville home.

“It keeps the circle going,” he said.

So he keeps the rods in his living room moving through the stages to completion, keeps the fishing trips going and keeps his door open for anyone interested in learning just what it is that’s so special about fly fishing.

“People can’t understand it that don’t do it,” he said. “And it becomes addicting.

It’s become very addicting to me.”

CarePartners’ Home Health professionals provide nursing, therapy, telemonitoring and personal care for patients in the comfort of their own homes.

With an office in Haywood County and a staff of professionals that live in your community, CarePartners is here for you when you need us.

To learn more about our Home Health Services in Haywood and Jackson Counties, call (828) 452-3600 carepartners.org

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Smoky Mountain News

These rods take three or four days to make, varnish and finish, requiring multiple layers of Marine Spar varnish for the pole and a separate battery of lacquer, color-fast solution and varnish for the wraps. In between layers, Jim painstakingly smoothes out any bubbles with brass wool.

“I put three coats on the rod and five coats on the wraps, real thin so they look nice and don’t look bubbly over like you would with epoxy,” he said, holding out an example.

Then, of course, he has to place the eyes that will eventually hold the line responsible for hooking that first rainbow or trophy brown.

That’s always a trial-anderror process for Jim, different for each rod and for each customer. He’ll place the eyes, try out the cast, and, if the action is off at all, he’ll remove them and try again.

The result? A thin pole of shining golden wood, handwrapped with colorful interweaving silk threads, so light that the cork handle seems to float in your palm.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” he asked. It wasn’t a question that begged praise — it was an invitation to share in the mysterious bliss that Jim receives from anything fly-related.

Because for Jim, the meaning of a good rod extends far beyond the joy of creating it in his workshop. It’s about the feeling he gets when the line twitches and the fish pulls, and it’s about the camaraderie of friends and family sitting around a campfire while the stars shine. It’s about the expression on a child’s face when she reels in a fish for the first time, or that dawning comprehension when a fishing novice finally begins to understand the language of water. And it’s about the places, too. That little stick of bamboo is Jim’s invitation inside parts of

outdoors

Octogenarian Jim Pader will talk about his record-setting hike up Mount Whitney from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 12, at REI in Asheville.

Pader, who is from Macon County, trained for two years on the Appalachian Trail and Bartram Trail, often at night and by himself, to prepare for the 22mile journey up Mount Whitney in California. The trip is normally a two- or three-day excursion, but he did it in one day at age 83, with his two children and Macon County coach Sarah Lowell. He is the oldest man on record to have accomplished the task. www.rei.com/event/55549/session/85810.

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outdoors

Call for nominations for conservation awards Know of a great conservationist who deserves some recognition? Wild South wants nominations for its sixth annual Roosevelt-Ashe Conservation Awards for their outstanding contributions to environmental conservation in the South during the past year. Awards are given to Outstanding Journalist, Outstanding Youth, Outstanding Educator, Outstanding Small Business and Outstanding Conservationist.

The deadline for nominations is midnight, Friday, Feb. 14. visit wildsouth.org.

Smokies plate sales up from last year

Smoky Mountain News

February 5-11, 2014

WNC Nature Center reaches record attendance for 2013 A whole lot of people visited the WNC Nature Center last year. The Friends of the WNC Nature Center report that 107,949 people visited the Nature Center in 2013, a record-breaking attendance. Last year also saw the completion of several projects and developments at the Nature Center, including a new red wolf boardwalk and viewing area, an improved red wolf habitat and the addition of a black ant exhibit in Appalachian Station.

Also, several new play features for kids were added, including an oversized bog turtle, a new “barn chores” play area in the North Carolina Farm, and the Arachnid Adventure climbing playground near the wolf habitats. www.wildwnc.org.

Friends of the Smokies specialty license plates earned more than $90,000 in the last quarter, funds that will benefit Great

Smoky Mountains National Park projects and science education programs in North Carolina.

The $93,520 revenue is an increase from the same period last year. Total contributions from the Smokies plate now top $3.5 million since the program launched in 1999.

These contributions help fund projects on the North Carolina side of the Smokies, including Parks as Classrooms — giving thousands of elementary, middle and high school students from Western North Carolina hands-on, curriculum-oriented fieldtrips in the park each year.

“Fostering a love and appreciation for nature early in life can have a profound impact on the education and career choices students make for their future,” said Acting Smokies Superintendent Pedro Ramos.

“Programs like Parks as Classrooms are essential to the creation of the next generation of park supporters.” www.FriendsOfTheSmokies.org or 452.0720.

Haywood teacher recognized for conservation education A Haywood County teacher, Janet Frazier, has been named the 2013 North Carolina Elementary Conservation Education Teacher of the Year.

The award recognizes those teachers who do a great job of teaching conservation. Frazier was nominated as Conservation Teacher of the Year last

February by the Haywood Soil and Water Conservation District.

At the time she was a teacher for academically and intellectually gifted students at Canton and Bethel middle schools.

Frazier used the Soil and Water Conservation District’s annual essay, PowerPoint, speech contests and Envirothon as learning opportunities for her students, eventually sponsoring five teams and accompanying those that qualified for the N.C. Envirothon to Burlington to compete against 48 other teams from across the state. This year Frazier is a media specialist at Central Elementary School in Waynesville.

Youth shooting competition held in Canton The 2014 “Midwest Shootdown” Invitational, featuring middle and high school hunter safety students competing in archery, .22 rifle and shotgun contests, will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 8 at Lenoir’s Creek Devon Farm in Canton.

Teams from Murphy, Andrews, Robbinsville, Hiawassee Dam, Pisgah, Bethel and Canton will compete. No admission fee. Concessions will be available.

Bring a lawn chair and come and see some of the top youth shooters in the state.

Address is 43 Lenoir Lane, Canton, N.C., 28716. dfranklin@borgwarner.com for information.

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Outhouse race to run in Sapphire outdoors

So, when else would you have an opportunity to race an outhouse down a ski mountain?

Thought so.

Chris Grimshawe photo That’s why the annual Great Sapphire Outhouse race is a must do or must see. From 1 to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 15, at Sapphire Valley Ski Resort, enjoy the spectacle, er... party as three-member teams of racers compete to send their outhouse and “driver” down a 120-foot-long, snow-packed track.

All proceeds go to the CashiersHighlands Humane Society, and it’s all in good fun, said Chris Grimshawe, marketing director for Sapphire Valley Resort.

“Winning the outhouse race may prove to provide the winner with instant recognition, increased sales at their business, unsolicited cash donations, invitations to black tie events in Hollywood and Paris, and unimaginable improvement to their overall appearance,” he said. “It’s a coveted award. It generates enough money to have a good time.”

The teams include three members, one of whom must be seated inside the outhouse, which will be mounted on skis, while the other two push the structure for the first 30 feet.

From then on the outhouse and the “driver” are on their own, Grimshawe said.

Racers must build a structurally sound “outhouse,” according to race regulations, or rent one for $25 from the resort. The entry fee is $100. Drivers must be at least 16.

A static parade will be held at 2:30, where race goers can view the structures. For more information, visit www.skisapphirevalley.com or call Grimshawe at 743.2251 or Steve Martell at 743.6159.

— Melanie McConnell

Tallulah Hike steps off a year of wilderness

Learn the how-to’s of backyard viticulture

“Frog Love in the Pink Beds” will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Cradle of Forestry. There will be an indoor talk on the natural history of the wood frog and amphibian conservation, followed by a guided walk outdoors to explore frog habitats and hopefully find frogs.

Warm, wet weather this time of year can pull frogs from their hiding places to find mates and lay eggs in woodland waters. The program explores the ages-old phenomenon that gives the hope of spring. Since frogs love rain, the program will be held unless wintry conditions make travel to the Cradle of Forestry hazardous.

The Cradle of Forestry is located in the Pisgah National Forest on U.S. 276, four miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway. www.cradleofforestry.com.

Consider the idea of home-grown wine at the annual Grape Growers Conference set for 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Madison County Cooperative Extension Office in Marshall. Learn how to grow grapes, sell grapes, make wine, add graperelated value products, build a trellis and decide which grapes to grow.

The conference is hosted by the Sustainable Appalachian Viticulture Institute, the French Broad Vignerons and the Jewel of the Blue Ridge Vineyard. North Carolina is home to 118 licensed wineries and more than 475 commercial vineyards, with the average vineyard size at four acres.

The conference registration fee is $25 paid in advance or $30 walk-in. www.GrapeSAVI.org. 828.606.3130 or Blethen@GrapeSAVI.org.

Smoky Mountain News

Cradle of Forestry Presents Frog Program

February 5-11, 2014

A guided hike along the Tallulah River in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of passage of the Wilderness Act. It is being led by the Nantahala Hiking Club and the Southern Appalachian branch of the Wilderness Society.

The hike is part of a year-long series of outings and programs in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and organized by the Southern Appalachian branch of The Wilderness Society in partnership with other organizations. Activities will include guided hikes and walks in wilderness areas, events celebrating the connections between wilderness and the arts, trail maintenance volunteer opportunities, celebratory gatherings and more. www.southeastwilderness50.org.

For the meeting place, call the hike leader at 828.369.1983

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32

WNC Calendar

Smoky Mountain News

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• “Marijuana use and legality: where is it headed?” will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 5, Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub, 58 Stewart St., Franklin. Dialog not debate. 371.1020.

own or rent one for $25. www.skisapphirevalley.com or 743.2251 or 743.6159.

• Law Enforcement Appreciation Days, Feb. 6-7, Fire and Rescue Appreciation Days, Feb. 20-21, Cataloochee Ski Area. Special reduced rate for law enforcement personnel and fire and rescue personnel with valid i.d. and their families. www.cataloochee.com.

• Benefit concert for Feline Urgent Rescue of Western North Carolina (FUR), 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb.15, Colonial Theater, Canton. Tickets, $15. 550.6884 or visit www.facebook.com/FURofWNC. Donations welcomed, P.O. Box 1352, Waynesville, NC 28786.

• The Compassionate Friends group, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, Dugan Classroom of Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church, Clyde. 400.6480.

• Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table, Monday, Feb. 10, 5 p.m. dinner at Bogart’s in Sylva, 6:30 p.m. social hour at the Jackson County Justice Center followed by 7 p.m. program, featuring author Stephen Davis. 293.9314 or 456.4212.

• Free Responsible Alcohol Seller Server (RASP) Training, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, Western Carolina University-Cullowhee, 104 Centennial Drive, Forsyth Building, Room 101. Offered by North Carolina ABC. Register at http://abc.nc.gov/education/rasp.

• Navigating the Affordable Care Act, noon Thursday, Feb. 13, Tartan Hall, First Presbyterian Church, Franklin.

Speaker, Cynthia Solesbee, Certified Health Care Navigator for Macon County. Hosted by the League of Women Voters. Bring your own lunch.

• Drugs In Our Midst, 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, Burnette Cove Baptist Church, 193 Burnette Cove Road, Canton. Learn about the danger of drugs in the community.

• Educating Your Child About the Danger of Drugs, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, Waynesville Police Department, Main Street, downtown Waynesville. Middle school and high school kids are welcome but no children under the age of 12. Pizza and soda provided.

BLOOD DRIVES Jackson • Sylva Community Blood Drive, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 7, Jackson County Department on Aging, 100 County Services Park Road, Jackson. 800.733.2767 or log onto www.redcrossblood.org , keyword: Sylva.

Haywood • Tye Blanton Foundation Blood Drive , noon to 5 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 9, Central United Methodist Church, 34 Church Street, Canton. 800.733.2767.

• Haywood Community College Blood Drive, 12:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, 185 Freedlander Drive, Clyde.

800.733.2767or visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code: HCC.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Group Travel Workshop, 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, the Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center.

• Free 90-minute computer class: Intermediate Excel, 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Free tax preparation assistance available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Friday and Monday, at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva and from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. by appointment every Tuesday at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Call the library at 586.2016 or Donald Selzer, 293.0074, at the Senior Center.

• Ribbon Cutting for Maggie’s Galley new location, 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, 1374 Sulfur Springs Road, Waynesville.

• “Business Networking in Waynesville,” 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, The Gateway Club, 37 Church St., Waynesville. 367.0488.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Waldroop Family Benefit, 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, South Macon Elementary School.

• 8th annual Great Sapphire Outhouse race, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, Sapphire Valley Ski Resort, three miles east of Cashiers. Fundraiser for CashiersHighlands Humane Society. $100 entry fee. Build your

KIDS & FAMILIES • Western Regional Science and Engineer Fair, Feb. 5-6, featuring students from elementary, junior high and high schools throughout Western North Carolina, at Western Carolina University Ramsey Regional Activity Center. www.sciencefair.wcu.edu.

• Nature Nuts: Fred the Fish – 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12 and Monday, Feb. 24, for ages 4 to 7. Learn how various types of pollution affect fish in a mountain stream. Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard. Register at 877.4423 or www.ncwildlife.org.

• Eco Explorers: Fly-Tying – 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12 and Monday, Feb. 24, for ages 8 to 13. Enjoy a morning learning the fundamentals and art of fly-tying.

Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard.

Register at 877.4423 or www.ncwildlife.org.

• “Frog Love in the Pink Beds,” 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, Cradle of Forestry Forest Discovery Center, Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, on N.C. Highway 276. www.cradleofforestry.com.

Science & Nature

• MedWest Haywood Blood Drive, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 14, 75 Leroy George Road, Clyde.

800.733.2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code: Haywood.

• Celestial Valentine Event, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institutue, Pisgah National Forest. Evening at PARI programs cost $20 per adult, $15 for seniors/military and $10 for children under 14. Register and pay online at www.pari.edu or call 862.5554.

Swain

Literary (children)

• Harrah’s Casino Cherokee Blood Drive, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee.

800.733.2767 or log onto www.redcrossblood.org, keyword: Harrahs

• Mary Ann’s Book Club, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

HEALTH MATTERS • Top Tips for a Dream Career, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, WCU University Center Theater. Speaker, professional kayaker Chris Gragmans.

Meet at the Waynesville Recreation Center. $5 for WRC members and $7 for non-members. Register at 456.2000 or email recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

• Lunch and Learn on osteoporosis care and treatment with orthopaedic surgeon Douglas Gates, MD, noon to 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 7, Harris Regional Hospital board room, Sylva. 586.5531 or visit www.sylvaortho.com.

• Screening breast thermograms, Friday, Feb. 14, Dogwood Wellness, 114 W. Hemlock St., Dillsboro.

Screenings done by Cindy Sullivan, CCT, Clinical Thermographer nurse. Initial thermogram is $149.

Appointments at 586.6262.

RECREATION & FITNESS • Women’s Volleyball League registration through Feb. 14. $175 per team. League play will be held Tuesday nights beginning March 4, at Jackson County Center in Cullowhee. 293.3053, rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Adult Coed Indoor Soccer pickup games, 6 to 8 p.m.

Wednesdays, through March 26, Old Hazelwood Gym, 112 Virginia Ave., Waynesville. Players must be 18 years old & up. $3 per session or $20 for a season pass punch card and available for purchase at the door.

Daniel Taylor, 452.6789 or email drtaylor@haywoodnc.net.

• Spring soccer registration, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 1728 and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, Jackson County Recreation Department. 293.3053 or jonathanparsons@jacksonnc.org.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Senior trip to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Asheville, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12.

• Teen Advisory Group, 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, Haywood County Library, Canton. Katy Punch at kpunch@haywoodnc.net or 648.2924.

• Homework Help, 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Family Night: Shadows of Me, 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Children’s Story time: Brownie Groundhog, 11 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 7, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Children’s Story time: Punxsutawney Phil, 3:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 7, JCPL. 586.2016.

• American Girls Club at City Lights, noon Saturday, Feb. 8, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Children’s Story time: Light Bulbs, 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Children’s Story time: Rotary Readers, 11 a.m.

Monday, Feb. 10, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Homework Help: 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Children’s Story time: Be Mine, 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Homework Help, 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Lego Club, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, JCP. 586.2016.

• Homework Help, 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Write On!. Children’s creative writing group, 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 12, JCPL. 586.2016.

• Family Story time: Valentine’s Super Friends, 10 a.m.

Monday, Feb.10, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• Family Story time: Valentine’s Super Friends, 10 a.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 11, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings • Adventure Club: Laura Ingalls, 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 11, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• Culture Club: Egypt, 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• Mary Ann’s Book Club, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• Lego Club, 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• Valentine’s Workshop for Teens, 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, Haywood County Library, Canton. Katy Punch at kpunch@haywoodnc.net or 648.2924.

• New Tween Club, 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, Haywood County Library, Canton. For children in grades 4-7. Katy Punch, kpunch@haywoodnc.net or 648.2924.

A&E FESTIVALS, SPECIAL & SEASONAL EVENTS • PEANUTS™ The Valentine Express and Sweetheart Train, 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, historic Bryson City depot. Join Charlie Brown, Lucy and Snoopy for a train ride along the Tuckasegee River to Dillsboro for a 1 ½ layover. 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

• “Cirque du Soleil Journey of Man” 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City. Also featuring mimes, face painter and glass blower Tadashi Torii and digital artist Corina Pia Torii. www.corinapia.com or call 331.8994, www.tadashitorii.com, www.facebook.com/toriistudios, or call 545.3041.

• Introduction to Basic Clowning, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 8, First Presbyterian Church, Sylva. $30, includes lunch, makeup and supplies. 684-1743.

• Jackson County Genealogical Society program, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 13, Community Room, Historic Jackson County Courthouse, featuring bluegrass, gospel and traditional mountain music with Jessie Stephens, Jacob Jones & Friends. 631.2646.

LITERARY (ADULTS) • Young Adult novelists, Megan Shepherd, Jessica Khoury and Stephanie Perkins will participate in a panel discussion at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 586.9499.

• Memoir Writing Class, 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, Haywood County Library, Canton. Taught by writer and former English professor Polly Davis. Free, introductory class. Space limited. 648.2924.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Merle Haggard, 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort Event Center. www.ticketmaster.com, www.harrahscherokee.com

• The Met: Live In HD, Saturday Feb. 8, Highlands Performing Arts Center. 12:30 p.m. pre-opera discussion, 12:55 p.m. performance begins. Rusalka by Antonín Dvo ák, featuring Renee Fleming. Tickets, $24, available at www.highlandspac.org or 526.9047.

Students are free.

• “1964: The Tribute,” a Beatles tribute band, 5 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 9, in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University. bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• Imago Theater’s FROGZ, a family-friendly show that combines Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatics with outlandish masks, mime and music, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. Recommended for ages 3 and older. Tickets, $5 for students and children, $10 for all others, Bardo Arts Center box office or online at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or by phone, 227.2479.

• Frozen, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14-15 and 3 p.m. Feb. 16, Feichter Studio at Haywood Regional Arts Theatre, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. “Frozen” tells the story of the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl, Rhona. 456.6322, www.harttheatre.com. Hold over/snow dates: Feb. 21- 23.

• Western regional All-District Band rehearsals and performances, Feb. 14-15, Western Carolina University. Hosted by WCU’s School of Music and director of bands, John West. Clinic involves more than 350 middle and high school students. WCU School of Music, 227.7242.

• WCU Wind Ensemble, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center, WCU. 227.7242.

• REO Speedwagon, 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center, 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee.

Must be 21 years old or older. Tickets start at $75. www.Ticketmaster.com.

NIGHT LIFE • Strung Like A Horse, Thursday, Feb. 6, No Name Sports Pub, 1070 Skyland Drive, Sylva. 586.2750.

• Husband-wife duo, Dana and Susan Robinson, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, The Classic Wineseller, Church Street, Waynesville. Guitar, banjo, fiddle and harmony. $10 per person minimum on live music nights which includes food, drink, and retail purchases.

Reservations accepted between 6 and 7 p.m. by calling 452.6000.

• The Mixx, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, Frog Level Brewing, Waynesville

MUSIC JAMS • Community music jam, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, Marianna Black Library auditorium, downtown Bryson City. 488.3030.

• Pickin’ in the Armory, Friday, Feb. 7, Canton Armory, with Bobby & Blue Ridge Traditions, the J. Creek Cloggers and the Stoney Creek Cloggers.

• Woody Pines, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center, ground floor of the H.F. Robinson Administration Building. Jam session will follow at 8 p.m. Free. 227.7129.

• Second Sunday Community Dance, 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 9, Community Room, second floor, Jackson County Library Complex, Sylva. Ron Arps, ronandcathy71@frontier.com.

FOOD & DRINK • 7th Annual Chocolate Cook-off deadline for entry is Monday, Feb. 24. Applications at the Marianna Black Library or www.fontanalib.org/brysoncity/ChocolateCookoffApplic ation_2014.pdf. All proceeds go to improvements at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. 736.0612.

• 3rd annual Chocolate Cook-off, 2 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 8, Albert-Carlton Cashiers Community Library, Cashiers. Admission is $6 and children under 5 are free. Late entries, call Kathie Blozan, 743.1765.

• Little Black Dress Night, 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, Papou’s Wine Shop, 428 W. Main St., Sylva. Gentlemen may want to wear their favorite jacket and tie. Wine by the glass specials. 586.6300 or papouswineshop@frontier.com.

ART/GALLERY EVENTS & OPENINGS • Sylva Photo Club, formerly Jackson Photo Club, photo displays at both ends of the Jackson County Library’s second floor. February meeting, 1 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 8, 318 Skyland Drive, Suite 1-A, Coggins Office Park, Sylva. sylvaphotoclub@gmail.com or call 226.3840. http://sylvaphotoclub.wordpress.com.

• Papercutting Art Workshop with Marcia Roland, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, Jackson County Public Library.

Free beginners course. Bring a small pair of scissors.

Limited to 10 people. Register at 586.2016.

• North Carolina potter Mark Hewitt, ceramics demonstrations, 9:30 a.m. to noon, in Room 151 and artist’s talk, 1:30 to 4 p.m. Room 130, Thursday, Feb. 13, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University. jbyrd@wcu.edu, 226.3595.

• Reception for and conversation with local artist Lizzy Falcon, 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. Falcon’s paintings and sculptures are on display at the Macon County Public Library through February. lizzyfalconart.com.

• Movie night, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, JCPL. Call for movie title. 586.2016.

• Free family movie, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, Marianna Black Library, Bryson City. Sequel to a contemporary animated classic, featuring arch-villain Gru and his three orphan girls. 488.3030.

• “Girl Rising,” a feature film inspired by the true stories of nine girls from nine countries, will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at the A.K. Hinds University Center theater at Western Carolina University. Narrated by movie stars including Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez. Free. sacarter@wcu.edu or jwhitmire@wcu.edu.

Outdoors OUTINGS, HIKES & FIELDTRIPS • Wilderness hike, 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, Tallulah River Trailhead to Deep Gap and back. Children and dogs on leash welcome. Five miles, moderate to strenuous. Meet at 9 a.m., Westgate Plaza, Franklin to carpool. Leaders, Bill and Sharon Van Horn. 369.1983, reservations. www.southeastwilderness50.org.

PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS • Swannanoa Rim Explorer Hiking Series Presentation, 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, Asheville REI. Free.

Registration required at www.rei.com/event/55570/session/85769.

• “Heads Up for Hunters of the Sky” 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, Oconaluftee Multipurpose Room near Cherokee.

Program presented by Michael Skinner, executive director of the Balsam Mountain Trust near Sylva.

Hosted by Great Smoky Mountains Association.

Register by Feb. 5. $10 for GSMA members and $35 for non-members, which includes a complimentary personal or gift membership opportunity.

SmokiesInformation.org or call 888.898.9102, ext.

325, 222 or 254. Fly Selection 101 – 10 a.m. to noon, Friday, Feb. 7, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard. Register at 877.4423 or www.ncwildlife.org.

2014 Midwest Shootdown Invitational, 9:30 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 8, Lenior’s Creek Devon Farm, Lenior Lane, Canton. Competition between high school and middle school hunter safety students. Events include archery, .22 rifle and shotgun. Rain date, Feb. 15.

Bring a lawn chair.

• Fly-Tying: Level I – 9 a.m. to noon, Monday, Feb. 10, for ages 12 to adult. Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard. Register at 877.4423 or www.ncwildlife.org.

• Climbing Mount Whitney with Jim Pader presentation, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, REI Asheville.

Register at www.rei.com/event/55549/session/85810.

• Casting: Level I –10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, for ages 12 and up, Lake Imaging in DuPont State Recreational Forest. Bring a lunch. Register at 877.4423 or www.ncwildlife.org.

• Wild South invites nominations for its Sixth Annual Roosevelt-Ashe Conservation Awards in the following categories: Outstanding Journalist, Outstanding Youth, Outstanding Educator, Outstanding Small Business and Out Standing Conservationist. Deadline for nominations is midnight Feb. 14. For more information, visit www.wildsouth.org.

• Artist reception 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9 Haywood County Arts Council Gallery 86 to kick off Local Flavors, a new 25-artist exhibit, which runs through March 29. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Call to artists to apply for entry in the 6th annual 2014 Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival, Oct. 10-12, Cashiers Valley. www.visitcashiersvalley.com or e-mail info@visitcashiersvalley.com or 743.8428.

CLASSES, PROGRAMS & DEMONSTRATIONS • Oil painting demonstrations by Nick DePaolo 12:30 to 4 p.m. Thursdays, Feb. 20, March 6 and March 20, Cedar Hill Studio and Gallery at Depot St., Waynesville.

Smoky Mountain News

• Classic Wineseller’s live music, Sheila Gordon, Friday, Feb. 14 and Eve Haslam, Saturday, Feb. 15 (ticketed event).

• Dance Party, 7 to 8:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, Waynesville Recreation Center. Music provided by Paul Indelicato. $10 per person. Bring a finger food.

456.2030 or email recfitness@townofwaynesville.org.

• Classic crime drama, starring Sterling Hayden, 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, Macon County Library, Franklin.

‘Doc’ Riedenschneider, legendary crime ‘brain’ just out of prison, has a brilliant plan for a million-dollar burglary. 1 hr, 52 mins. www.fontanalib.org.

February 5-11, 2014

• “A Doll’s House,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12-15 and at 3 p.m. Feb. 16, Hoey Auditorium, Western Carolina University. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and WCU faculty and staff, and $7 in advance and $10 the day of the show for students. www.bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 227.2479.

DANCE

wnc calendar

• The Martins, a multi-Dove Award winning and Grammy nominated Christian music vocal trio, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Franklin. Tickets start at $14. GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615.

FILM & SCREEN • New movie, starring Johnny Depp as an Indian, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, Meeting Room, Macon County Library, Franklin. Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, and some suggestive material; 2 hrs. 29 mins. www.fontanalib.org.

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CDL-A Req. 877.258.8782. www.ad-drivers.com DRIVERS: OTR & Regional, Home Weekly/Bi Weekly Guaranteed! Paid Weekly + Monthly Bonuses, 90% No Touch/ 70% Drop & Hook, Paid Loaded & Empy/Rider Program BC/BS, Rx, Dental, Vision, 401K etc...

877.704.3773.

HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS HOSPITAL Positions now available: ER and Med/Surg Registered Nurses, Radiologic Technologist, Medical Records Manager, Inpatient Coder, Receptionist, and Activities Assistant.

Benefits available the first of the month following 60 days of full-time employment. PreEmployment screening required.

Call Human Resources.

828.526.1376, or apply online at: www.highlandscashiershospital. org

Ann knows real estate!

Pet Adoption SARA - A purebred, 4 1/2 lb., 10 month old Chihuahua. She is black and tan ,housebroken, friendly, and really cute. Special pricing. Call 828.293.5629.

FIFI - 8 month old Dachshund mix. She is very active, friendly and loving. She is working on housebreaking. 877.ARF. JCNC. CASSIDY - A 24 lb. chocolate and tan Beagle, female. She is friendly and happy. She is 2-3 years old. 877.ARF.JCNC. HOLLY - A beautiful, calm hound. She is about two years old, weighs about 45 lbs. She is good with other dogs, not a barker, trots beside a bike on a track, working on housebreaking Call ARF’s central number to make arrangements to meet Holly (1.877.ARF.JCNC.) REDWALKER - A handsome, one year old, Walker Hound. He is red and white and weighs 48 pounds. He gets along well with other dogs. He is very affectionate with people. He is house trained and knows how to

use a doggie door. He is neutered and current on vaccines. He would be a nice companion to someone of any age. 877.273.5262.

BLACKIE - A sweet, relaxed, female black and tan hound.

She gets along with people and other dogs. She weighs 40 lbs. and is about six years old. She is spayed and current on her vaccinations. She is house broken and is learning to use a doggie door. She has some special needs that can easily be met in a loving home. 1-877ARF-JCNC.

Ann Eavenson CRS, GRI, E-PRO

ann@mainstreetrealty.net

506-0542 CELL 226-40

101 South Main St. Waynesville

ARF’S NEXT LOW-COST spay/neuter trip will be March 3rd.. Register and pre-pay at ARF’s adoption site on Saturdays from 1-3. Spaces are limited, so don’t wait until the last minute.

There are a number of grant opportunities for cats or dogs of qualifying individuals to bring the low-cost spay/neuter cost down even further.

MainStreet Realty

(828) 452-2227 mainstreetrealty.net

ARF (HUMANE SOCIETY OF JACKSON COUNTY) Holds rescued pet adoptions Saturdays from 1:00 - 3:00 (weather permitting) at 50 Railroad Avenue in Sylva. Animals are spayed/neutered and current on shots.

Most cats $60, most dogs $70.

Preview available pets at www.a-r-f.org, or call foster home.

226-57

IN YOUR EAR MUSIC EMPORIUM Local Independent Music Store is hiring ENTHUSIASTIC self-motivated individuals to complete a unique team. Must be able to multi-task and work under pressure. Must be proficient on a computer. Retail experience and guitar/instrument knowledge beneficial. Please apply in person Main St., Sylva.

PENNY - Hound/Beagle Mix dog

brown tabby & white, I am 1-2 years old and I’m a beautiful girl who loves attention and petting.

I came to AHS as a stray, but I definitely enjoy the company of people. I am calm and gentle, will lie on your lap, and will let you pick me up. I love to knead before I settle in, and look at you with my “Elvis Presley eyes”! I get along fine with other cats.

Adoption fees vary; if you’re interested in me, please contact: adoptions@ashevillehumane.org

– brown, black, & white, I am 12 years old and ready to explore the world! I love to sniff things out, and I’m a smart girl who already knows several basic commands. I would enjoy a household that gives me exercise and structure. I get along fine with other dogs if they are also energetic, but can sometimes be a little too much for very laidback dogs. Adoption fees vary; if you’re interested in me, contact: adoptions@ashevillehumane.org

ASHEVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY 828.761.2001, 14 Forever Friend Lane, Asheville, NC 28806 We’re located behind Deal Motorcars, off Brevard & Pond Rd.

226-48

226-41

The Real Team

JOLENE HOCOTT • LYN DONLEY MARLYN DICKINSON

Real Experience.

Real Service. Real Results.

828.452.3727

www.The-Real-Team.com

MOUNTAIN REALTY 1904 S. Main St. • Waynesville

226-37

smokymountainnews.com

REGIONAL CDL-A DRIVERS Averitt offers fantastic benefits & weekly hometime. 888.362.8608.

Paid training for recent grads w/a CDL-A & drivers with limited experience. Apply online at: AverittCareers.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer.

LULU - Domestic Shorthair cat –

February 5-11, 2014

AIRLINE CAREERS BEGIN HERE Get Faa Approved Maintenance Training Financial Aid For Qualified Students - Housing Available Job Placement Assistance. Call Aviation Institute Of Maintenance 1.866.724.5403 WWW.FIXJETS.COM. SAPA

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE SPECIALIST Part-time, 20-25 hours/week.

Sought for Environmental Nonprofit (Balsam Mountain Trust).

Email: mskinner@bmtrust.org for a complete job description.

WNC MarketPlace

FIVE NURSE POSITIONS Southwestern Child Development Commission, Inc., a private nonprofit agency, is accepting applications to work with Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) Project. The NFP Project is an evidence-based home visitation program for first time parents. Positions will serve Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.

• One (1) Nurse Supervisor.

MSN preferred. Desired experience includes: work in public/community health, home visitation, provision of maternal/ child health services, program management, one on one supervision and work with diverse populations.

• Four (4) Nurse Home Visitor positions. BSN required. Two years of recent experience in maternal/child health, public health, or mental/behavioral nursing and experience in home visitation are preferred.

All positions require current NC RN license in good standing and current CPR. Excellent verbal and written communication skills & basic computer skills required. Applicant must have a current NC Drivers License & insured vehicle available for work. Must be able to work flexible schedule including some evenings & weekends. Must be able to travel in area & out of state for education sessions.

Qualified bilingual (Spanish) candidates are needed. Competitive wages and full benefit package available. To apply, submit a NC State Application for Employment to the Human Resources Department, Southwestern Child Development Commission, Inc. PO Box 250 Webster, NC 28788.

Applications accepted until the positions filled. EOE.

EMPLOYMENT

Mountain Realty

Ron Breese Broker/Owner 2177 Russ Ave. Waynesville, NC 28786 Cell: 828.400.9029 ron@ronbreese.com

www.ronbreese.com Each office independently owned & operated.

find us at: facebook.com/smnews 35

WNC MarketPlace

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

OWNER OPERATORS Average $3k/week! Be out up to 14 days, enjoy GUARANTEED home time! Weekly settlements. Pay loaded/unloaded. Class-A CDL & 1yr driving. Fleet Owners Welcome.

Operate under your own authority or ours! Call Matt 877.398.0657.

DriveforCardinal.com

EMPLOYMENT

REACH READERS ACROSS North Carolina for only $330. Run your 25-word classified line ad in 99 newspapers with one call to this newspaper or call NCPS 919.789.2083.

TOP 1% PAY Pet & Rider Prog Experience pays up to 50 cpm Full Benefits + Quality Home time CDL-A required.

1.888.592.4752. Or go to: www.ad-drivers.com SAPA

HOME WEEKENDS. $1,000 sign on bonus. Regional flatbed. No tarp freight. Excellent pay and benefits. Owner/Ops welcome. Call 800.554.5661, ext. 331. www.tlxtransport.jobs HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR Training! Bulldozers, Backhoes, Excavators. 3 Week Hands On Program. Local Job Placement Assistance. National Certifications. GI Benefits Eligible. 1.866.362.6497

TRUCK DRIVERS WANTED Up to $7,500.00 Sign-On Bonus!

Top 100 Companies! Great Pay, Home Time and Benefits! Choose the Best Job! Apply at: www.TruckDriverJobOffers.com SAPA

NEED MEDICAL OFFICE TRAINEES! Become a Medical Office Assistant at CTI! NO EXPERIENCED NEEDED! Online Training gets you job ready!

HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed. Careertechnical.edu/nc.

1.888.512.7122

OPEN DECK High Mileage Expedited Fleet.

Clean, predictable freight. Heavy Haul and Specialized also available. Company Trailers AT NO COST. Details at www.dailyrecruiting.com or 1.800.669.6414

FINANCIAL

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Injury Lawsuit Dragging? Need fast $500-$500,000? Rates as low as 1/2% month. Call Now! 1.800.568.8321. www.lawcapital.com Not valid in NC SAPA BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

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Prevent Unwanted Litters!

The Heat Is On! Spay/Neuter For Haywood Pets As Low As $10.

Operation Pit is in Effect!

Free Spay/Neuter, Microchip & Vaccines For Haywood Pitbull Types & Mixes!

BAMA A VERY BEAUTIFUL 6 MONTH OLD PUREBRED BLACK AND TAN COONHOUND. SHE HAS A HEALTHY, SLEEK AND SHINY COAT, SOULFUL EYES AND OF COURSE, WONDERFUL, SILKY EARS! BAMA IS GENTLE, SWEET AND EAGER TO PLEASE. ELF THOUGH ELF IS 3 MONTHS OLD, THE SMALLEST IN HIS LITTER, HE'S GOT LOTS OF SPUNK AND ENERGY - NO PROBLEM FOR HIM KEEPING UP WITH THE BIGGER KITTIES!

Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 12 Noon - 6 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

219-32

www.smokymountainnews.com

February 5-11, 2014

Great Smokies Storage

36

10’x20’

92

$

20’x20’

160

$

ONE MONTH

FREE WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT

828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828 Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction

Puzzles can be found on page 38.

These are only the answers.

FURNITURE

LAWN & GARDEN HEMLOCK HEALERS, INC. Dedicated to Saving Our Hemlocks. Owner/Operator Frank Varvoutis, NC Pesticide Applicatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s License #22864. 48 Spruce St. Maggie Valley, NC 828.734.7819 828.926.7883, Email: hemlockhealers@yahoo.com

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

LOTS FOR SALE

AUCTION - VILAS, NC Sat. Feb. 22nd. 3-Level Home on 20+/-Acres. Adjoining 30+/-acre tract. Main level 1620+/- sq ft.; granite; cherry cabinets; Jacuzzi. www.RogersAuctionGroup.com 800.442.7906 NCAL#685

HOMES FOR SALE BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor shamrock13@charter.net McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

HOMES FOR RENT UNFURNISHED

PUBLISHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOTICE

CLEAN & BRIGHT 3/BR 1/BA In Waynesville. All Appliances, Wood Floors, Car-port with Storage Room, Extra Large Deck with Beautiful Views, Located on Dead End Street. $750/mo. + Deposit & Lease. No pets/Smoking. For more information call 828.734.9419 or 828.734.9409

VACATION RENTALS CAVENDER CREEK CABINS Dahlonega, North Georgia Mountains. **WINTER SPECIAL: Buy 2 nights, 3rd FREE!** 1,2 & 3 bedroom Cabins with HOT TUBS! Virtual Tour: www.CavenderCreek.com CALL NOW Toll Free 1.866.373.6307 SAPA FLORIDA DISNEY AREA Hotels, Suites & Condoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s As Low As $39.00 per night! Call 1.855.303.5528 Promo Code: SAPA

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x10â&#x20AC;&#x2122; units for $55, 20â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x20â&#x20AC;&#x2122; units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

MEDICAL CANADA DRUG CENTER Is your choice for safe and affordable medications. Our licensed Canadian mail order pharmacy will provide you with savings of up to 90 percent on all your medication needs. Call Today 1.800.265.0768 for $25.00 off your first prescription and free shipping.

SAPA MEDICAL GUARDIAN Top-rated medical alarm and 24/7 medical alert monitoring. For a limited time, get free equipment, no activation fees, no commitment, a 2nd waterproof alert button for free and more - only $29.95 per month. 800.983.4906 SAPA

Michelle McElroy

ELLIPTICAL TRAINER Almost New, $100. For more info call 828.648.6594.

EXTENSION LADDER Extends over 20 feet, $75. For more info call 828.648.6594.

WRAP UP YOUR Holiday Shopping with 100 percent guaranteed, delivered-to-the-door Omaha Steaks! SAVE 67 PERCENT - PLUS 4 FREE Burgers - Many Gourmet Favorites ONLY $49.99 ORDER Today 1.800.715.2010 Use code â&#x20AC;&#x153;4937 CFWâ&#x20AC;? or go to: www.OmahaSteaks.com/holiday33 SAPA VIAGRA 100mg and CIALIS 20mg!

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RESIDENTIAL BROKER ASSOCIATE E-PRO, CNHS, RCC, SFR

828.400.9463 Cell michelle@beverly-hanks.com

74 North Main St. â&#x20AC;˘ Waynesville 828.452.5809

226-44

226-43

Mike Stamey

mstamey@beverly-hanks.com

828-508-9607

74 NORTH MAIN ST. â&#x20AC;˘ WAYNESVILLE, NC

www.beverly-hanks.com

%UXFH 0F*RYHUQ & H O O 0F*RYHUQ 3URSHUW\ 0DQDJHPHQW 1& /LFHQVHG 5HDO (VWDWH %URNHU +D\ZRRG 6W 6XLWH % VKDPURFN #FKDUWHU QHW HVYLOOH 1&

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NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

226-49

Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400

February 5-11, 2014

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise â&#x20AC;&#x153;any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discriminationâ&#x20AC;? Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis.

2.819 ACRE TRACT Building Lot in great location.

Build your 2nd home log cabin here. Large 2-story building near HCC, was a Work Shop.

Price Reduced $65,000.

Call 828.627.2342.

FOR SALE CHAMPION SUPPLY Janitorial supplies. Professional cleaning products, vacuums, janitorial paper products, swimming pool chemicals, environmentally friendly chemicals, indoor & outdoor light bulbs, odor elimination products, equipment repair including household vacuums. Free delivery across WNC. www.championsupply.com 800.222.0581, 828.225.1075.

WNC MarketPlace

COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupeloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 828.926.8778.

HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Tues. & Wed. 10:00am - 5:00pm & Thurs. 10:00am- 12:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

147 WALNUT ST. â&#x20AC;˘ WAYNESVILLE, NC

828.456.7376 â&#x20AC;˘ 800.627.1210 TOLL FREE 111 CENTRAL AVE. â&#x20AC;˘ ASHEVILLE, NC

www.sunburstrealty.com

Equal Housing Opportunity 226-18

Full Service Property Management 828-456-6111

Your Local Big Green Egg Dealer

BEST PRICE EVERYDAY

www.selecthomeswnc.com Residential and Commercial Long-Term Rentals

226-56

smokymountainnews.com

828.258.1284 â&#x20AC;˘ 800.490.0877 TOLL FREE

Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.725.2962

10-5 M-SAT. 12-4 SUN.

ON DELLWOOD RD. (HWY. 19) AT 20 SWANGER LANE WAYNESVILLE/MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.8778

37

Super

Smoky Mountain News

February 5-11, 2014

IN REVERSE

38

CROSSWORD

69 Caustic compounds produced during prenaACROSS tal exams?

1 Harass 73 Softening the cuti7 In the lead cles, polishing the nails, 12 Fill by force etc.?

16 - -mo replay 75 Shipbuilding material 19 Think creatively 76 Address for a woman 20 Has - up one’s 78 Sign after Pisces sleeve 79 “Pan Am” actress 21 - fire under (urged Garner to action) 80 Soloist’s supporter 22 Zero-star review 84 Just-OK grade 23 Private retreat for 85 Fatty substance San Francisco NFLers?

88 Number after uno 25 Behaves in the man- 90 Parties for future ner of wives of rajahs?

27 Skater Midori 93 Suffix with benz28 Suffix with musket 94 “- saying goes ...”

29 Bring pain to 96 1980s-’90s legal 30 Openings under drama desks 97 Belief in one god 31 Nick’s wife in “The 100 Staying focused at Thin Man” work 33 Word coined to 104 Multiplied by describe an unnamed 108 Studiers of living Hulk Hogan maneuver? things in a 1964 36 Clutches Hitchcock film?

38 Handles, as a matter 113 Kansas city east of 39 Wish for Wichita 40 Backyard party, 114 Nucleus orbiters briefly 115 Grow rancid 43 Hits, as a fly 116 Boozing type 46 Little bite 118 Audiotapes’ suc47 Drag-racing track? cessors 53 Month after Mar. 119 Making calm 54 Olympic sleds 120 Cubbyholes of a 56 Berliner’s “Alas!” certain shape?

57 Rug cleaner 123 Distinctive period 59 “King Lear” daugh124 Big name in waffles ter 125 Bizarre 61 Billies and nannies 126 “Relax!” order 64 Papa’s ma 127 Approx. fig.

65 Take way too much 128 Radish, e.g.

129 Thomas Jefferson, religionwise 130 Henhouses

54 Insect stage 55 Anesthetized 58 Marriott rival 60 “Imagine!”

DOWN 62 “Rikki- - -Tavi” 1 Yearning 63 Strewed 2 Text cleaner 66 Standing by 3 Mexican Mrs. 67 - clear of 4 - kwon do 68 Test track turns 5 To be, to Bizet 70 WWW giant 6 Stitch anew 71 Winter woes 7 Air blower 72 Dodo 8 Lest 74 “That’s right!”

9 Emu or kiwi 77 Put on TV 10 Racing boats 81 Pulls on cow udders 11 Pro - (for now) 82 Clear - bell 12 Joust sound 83 Ducks’ org.

85 “I’d like to have a 13 Cuts to bits, as a look” potato 86 Respirators 14 Shows up for 87 Eyed closely 15 Variety of golf club 89 Drives away, as a fly 16 Overflowing 17 Waters off Sandusky 91 Feedbox bit 92 Intl. 1940s conflict 18 Dances set to rag94 Explorer Vespucci time 95 Blowup in a copy ctr.

24 Departure’s opp.

98 Old Peru resident 26 Hearth items 99 Kid watcher 30 “Do You Want to 101 Twisting force Secret” 32 Truncated form of a 102 Relative of a guinea pig wd.

103 Hindu lutes 34 Suffix like -ish 105 Latte varieties 35 TGIF’s “I” 106 Born first 37 - Paulo 107 Gives cheek 41 Some sodas 109 Beatnik’s drum 42 Gift topper 110 Gold brick 44 Chef’s cover 111 Mao - -tung 45 - Fountain 112 Whale finder 47 Keep vexing 117 Puente of mambo 48 “- in peace” 120 Put turf on 49 More - few 121 On Soc. Security, 50 Rip up say 51 Hiccups, e.g.

122 Co. VIP 52 Poet’s dusk

answers on page 36

PERSONAL

ENTERTAINMENT

A UNIQUE ADOPTIONS, Let Us Help! Personalized adoption plans. Financial assistance, housing, relocation and more. Giving the gift of life? You deserve the best. Call us first!

1.888.637.8200. 24 hour HOTLINE. SAPA

SCOTTISH TARTANS MUSEUM 86 East Main St., Franklin, 828.584.7472. www.scottishtartans.org. Matthew A.C. Newsome, GTS, FSA, SCOT., Curator & General Manager, Ronan B. MacGregor, Business Assistant.

MEET SINGLES RIGHT NOW! No paid operators, just real people like you. Browse greetings, exchange messages and connect live. Try it free. Call now 1.888.909.9978.

SAPA

SAVE ON Steel Buildings & New Safe Rooms! Farm Show Specials, bring this ad: Booth #1315 Raleigh, NC or Call 866.993.0966, only while supplies last.

SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION AIRLINES ARE HIRING Train for hands on Aviation Career.

FAA approved program. Financial aid if qualified. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance Now at: 877.300.9494.

EARN YOUR High School Diploma at home in a few short weeks. Work at your own pace. First Coast Academy. Nationally accredited. Call for free brochure. 1.800.658.1180, extension 82. www.fcahighschool.org SAPA VETERANS! Take full advantage of your Educational training benefits! GI Bill covers Computer & Medical Career Training! Call CTI for Free Benefit Analysis today. 1.888.734.6712

STEEL BUILDINGS

SERVICES

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Downsizing - Estate Sales - Clean Out Services. Company Transfer Divorce - We are known for Honesty & Integrity! Jack & Yvonne Wadham, Insured & Bonded.

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MEDICAL GUARDIAN Top-rated medical alarm and 24/7 medical alert monitoring. For a limited time, get free equipment, no activation fees, no commitment, a 2nd waterproof alert button for free and more - only $29.95 per month. 800.615.3868

DIRECTV $0 START COSTS! 150+ Channels $7.50/week! FREE HBO/Cinemax/Showtime/Starz!

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DISH TV RETAILER Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 1.800.405.5081

REDUCE YOUR CABLE BILL! Get a whole-home Satellite system installed at NO COST and programming starting at $19.99/mo. FREE HD/DVR Upgrade to new callers, SO CALL NOW TO LEARN MORE 1.866.983.7935

WEEKLY SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Answers on Page 36

Maddie and her prince.

Don Hendershot photo

The naturalist’s corner

BY DON H ENDERSHOT

Dinosaurs, LEGOS and toads, oh dear No better way to celebrate a big thaw than an impromptu field trip. We rounded up kids, friends and friends’ kids and headed for the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. Our first stop at the Arboretum was the Baker Exhibit Center. Denise had checked online before we left and said there was a dinosaur exhibit there. I was curious to find out how dinosaurs were going to be exhibited at the Arboretum. Like most things at the Arboretum, it was totally cool.

The exhibit “Be the Dinosaur: Life in the Cretaceous” combines a lot of different technology and visuals to create a terrific handson learning experience for kids. Video game technology is used to create this interactive experience described online: “The simulation at the core of this exhibit is, to-date, the most complex simulation of dinosaurs and their world ever created. For the first time, artificially intelligent dinosaurs roam across realistic terrain. The dinosaurs have simulated muscle and digestive systems. Virtual winds circulate digital odors. Plants grow and have accurate nutritional values. In

order to prepare for a trip into this exciting virtual world, visitors will need to ‘dig’ through other exhibit components to unlock the secrets of how dinosaurs survived, and thrived.” Other parts of the exhibit included full-size dinosaur bones and robotic dinosaurs from the Catawba Science Center.

We left the Cretaceous Era and went outside, where we found an eight-foot hummingbird, a five-foot butterfly, a huge green darner dragonfly, a bison with a calf, a gardener, a lawnmower and more. All of these stunning exhibits were made from LEGOS. There are 27 sculptures in all, displayed in 14 different settings throughout the exhibit hall and grounds.

Sean Kenney created the sculptures.

Kenney, a children’s book author and only one of 13 official LEGO Certified Builders in the world, used half-a-million LEGOS for the exhibit. The bison and calf alone required 45,143 LEGOS. I’m not sure how much longer the LEGOS exhibit will be around; according to the Arboretum’s website the exhibit was supposed to close on Jan. 5.

After the LEGOS we hit the Bent Creek Trail. Our original plan was to hike to Lake Powhatan and back. However, with kids taking every little spur that went to the creek

and with adults in full leisure-stroll mode, we didn’t make it. It was still a wonderful outing on a mild winter afternoon with friends and family.

We even managed to run across a couple of notable natural-history encounters. We

found a witch hazel that looked as if it had just recently lost its petals.

The ovary and sepals were in still place, creating the illusion of a small delicate flower.

The genus name for witch hazel, Hamamelis means “together with fruit” and refers to the fact that you can often find this year’s flowers together with the fruit from last year. However, our shrub had lost this year’s flower and jettisoned last year’s fruit, leaving just next year’s developing fruit.

We also ran across a toad. I think it was an American toad, but I didn’t examine it closely. I was too busy getting a picture of Maddie and her prince.

It’s not unheard of to see a toad on a 55degree winter afternoon, but I was a little surprised because it has been so bitterly cold recently. The kids fashioned it a crude burrow and placed dry leaves over it, I’m sure it was grateful.

(Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached a ddihen1@bellsouth.net.)

Buy New, Buy Now

February 5-11, 2014

The Home You Want...Where You Want It!

Smoky Mountain News

Franklin Building Center 335 NP & L Loop, Franklin, NC Hwy 441 Across from Franklin Ford *Photos may show options not inculded in the base price of the home.

(828) 349-0990

39

February 5-11, 2014

FEBR RUAR ARY 8 AT 7:30 PM

Smoky Mountain News

Bennie Anderson & The Drifters with The Sock Hops F FEBRUAR Y 14 UPCOMING SHOWS:

with Kirk Cameron & ?IZZMV *IZÅMTL ?

IZ ZMV *IZÅMTL FEBRUAR FEBRUARY Y9

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