On the Cover:
After 11 years, a plan for managing the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests has finally been hammered out. Now that the work is done, some fear the finished product will keep stakeholders in different camps instead of bringing them together, as had been hoped. (Page 28) Holly Kays photo
News
Waynesville affordable housing project seeks more incentives ............................4 WCU enrollments dips........................................................................................................5
Waynesville town leaders take a hard look at budget realities..............................6
Staggered terms likely in the future for Waynesville..................................................7
Former deputy loses appeal over Giglio order............................................................8
Sylva appoints new commissioner in town board shuffle......................................10
Governor visits Sylva to announce wastewater plant funding............................11
Waynesville may update town aldermen title............................................................12
Franklin High School projected costs drop..............................................................14
Principals shuffled in Haywood after Blackmon resignation................................15
Opinion
Libraries should bring communities together............................................................18
A&E
A conversation with Lyle Lovett....................................................................................20
‘Being a Ballerina’ includes powerful life lessons....................................................27
Outdoors
Notes from a Plant Nerd..................................................................................................34
Sophia Burleigh.
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N EWS E DITOR: Kyle Perrotti.
WRITING: Holly Kays.
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written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath
Different forms of “fasting” seem to be in the news a lot lately from “time-restricted eating”(TRE), to intermittent fasting (IF) and circadian rhythm eating (CRE). What they have in common is typically limiting the amount of time you eat to certain times of the day or days of the week. Important note: For some individuals this type of restriction is definitely NOT advisable, e.g. during pregnancy, individuals with Type 1 diabetes, people with a history of eating disorders, a person taking medications that need to be taken with meals in a certain time period.
Positives of fasting: It may make you more conscious of hunger and satiety (fullness) cues and decrease the overall number of calories you eat because you aren’t snacking or grazing throughout the day. Weight loss in some individuals may improve blood sugar control, lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.
Negatives of fasting: There is seldom any emphasis on the nutritional quality or types of foods eaten in non-fasting times, so some may feel that this is permission to eat whatever they want when they are not fasting. Lack of calories due to skipping meals may cause dizziness and inability to concentrate and not having energy to exercise. If you are fasting, you may not be able to participate in family or social occasions around food.
Bottom Line: Most of us already fast overnight for 8 or more hours and then break that fast at BREAKFAST. If you have a tendency to snack and graze throughout the day, especially on high calorie foods, setting limits to when you eat may be helpful if your goal is to help control or decrease the calories you consume. Always talk to your family physician to make sure this type of diet/eating pattern is advisable given your medications and medical history
A LOOK AT “FASTING”
Erosion control measures once estimated at $6,000 have nearly doubled, to $11,800. The sewer line extension itself, estimated at $209,000, will now cost 18% more, coming in at $246,500.
All told, MHO’s original $306,750 estimate for the sewer component of the Balsam Edge project has grown 20% to $368,125. Adding in system development fees of $100,000 brings the total to nearly $470,000. While MHO will own the development, tenant relations will be conducted by a company called Partnership Property Management. Rents will be determined by what percent of area median income (AMI) tenants earn.
When MHO initially proposed the project, it was intended to serve only those earning between 40-80% of AMI.
Each of the three apartment sizes were allocated at the 40%, 50%, 60% and 80% levels, with more than 25% of all units reserved for those making a maximum of 40% AMI.
That means a one-bedroom for 40% AMI tenants would have gone for $388, a two-bedroom for $469 and a three-bedroom for $539. At the maximum 80% AMI, those rents would have been $721, $849 and $963, respectively.
BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT P OLITICS E DITORTwo years after a nonprofit affordable housing developer was granted incentives by the Town of Waynesville, the project is finally moving again but the developer has now returned to the table, asking for more incentives amidst rising construction costs.
“We have a workforce in Waynesville that needs safe, adequate housing that is affordable to them,” said Adeline Wolfe, a real estate developer with Mountain Housing Opportunities. “I think a big misconception is that this is poverty housing, and it’s not. This is housing for the workforce of Waynesville and is much needed if Waynesville is going to continue to be affordable for all of its residents.”
In April 2021, a private, nonprofit community development corporation called Mountain Housing Opportunities requested $306,750 in affordable housing incentives for a proposed 5.3-acre, 84-unit affordable housing development on Howell Mill Road, called Balsam Edge.
Waynesville aldermen granted MHO a little over $167,000 — the estimated cost after in-kind town labor was factored into the equation.
Over the past 35 years, MHO has accumulated 1,134 affordable rental units in the region through acquisition, development, new construction and renovation. The group also offers assistance to prospective homeowners who meet income limits in
Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties.
Of the 84 units at Balsam Edge, 22 will be one-bedroom, 42 will be two-bedroom and 20 will be three-bedroom. All will be constructed in accordance with EnergyStar guidelines, to keep utility costs low, and 12 will be ADA compliant.
The parcel, however, does not currently have access to town sewer services, which are costly to install.
The incentives approved by aldermen in 2021, which are in line with the town’s affordable housing policy, were to help reimburse the town’s sewer fund and cover the cost of system development fees, physical infrastructure and installation.
When the plan was first presented to aldermen nearly two years ago, the project timeline had estimated that units would start being leased by summer of 2023.
But construction on Balsam Edge hasn’t yet begun because Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency didn’t materialize for MHO as anticipated. The LIHTC application process is extremely competitive and also resulted in yearslong delays for the redevelopment of the old Haywood Hospital into affordable housing units.
Last October, MHO finally got the news it had been waiting for — an award notice on $9 million in credits, and a $1.5 million federal loan. The Balsam Edge project was one of only 28 projects awarded in 23 North Carolina counties for the 2022 application cycle.
That cumulative effort by the NCHFA will
The Town of Waynesville Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing to consider increasing affordable housing incentives already granted to Mountain Housing Opportunities for an 84-unit development on Howell Mill Road.
• Time: 6 p.m.
• Date: Tuesday, March 28
• Location: Town Hall, 9 South Main Street, Waynesville
result in just 1,716 affordable housing units across the entire state – not nearly enough, but better than nothing.
“The award to Balsam Edge could not come at a better time as currently more than 1,400 renter households in Haywood County are paying over half of their income for rent alone,” reads an MHO press release issued upon notification of the award.
Now, MHO says that construction is expected to begin this fall, with completion estimated in spring, 2025.
A lot has changed since MHO’s original request was considered by aldermen. Inflation and skyrocketing construction costs have caused problems across the country, and Haywood County has not been spared.
Site work, including grading and paving, was estimated by MHO in December 2020 to total $30,400. A February 2023 estimate provided by MHO says that’s gone up almost 20% to $36,200.
Now, due to some confusing changes by the IRS, MHO will eliminate the 80% units and serve only those earning 40 to 60% of AMI.
New rents will run between $534 and $801 for one-bedrooms, $642 and $963 for two-bedrooms and $741 and $1,112 for three-bedrooms. All those rents are gross and include a utility allowance of $79 for one-bedrooms, $92 for two-bedrooms and $109 for three-bedrooms.
On Feb. 16, aldermen approved annexation of the parcel into the town’s corporate limits. Previously in the town’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, the parcel had an estimated annual property tax bill of $2,377. After development, MHO estimates that bill will jump to nearly $19,000, generating more revenue for the town.
On March 28, aldermen will hold a public hearing and consider amending the previous incentive agreement per MHO’s request.
Alderman Chuck Dickson, who’s taken an active role in affordable housing initiatives, said he’s supportive of the request and expects some increase from the original amount of $167,000 even with the town’s inkind labor.
Wolfe said that if the proposed amendment to the original incentives doesn’t come in at the requested level, the project will still move forward.
“It’s not going to kill the project,” she said. “It’s definitely going to be not ideal, since costs are increasing across the board, but we’re used to doing a lot of fundraising. This is a really great source that we’re excited about, but projects like these have multiple [funding] sources.”
Spring 2023 enrollment at Western Carolina University is down 3.6% compared to the spring semester last year, according to a headcount taken on the 10th day of classes this semester.
The university is attributing the 391-student decline to larger-than-normal numbers of December graduates and the pandemic’s ongoing impact on student and family finances. WCU graduated 1,308 students in December 2022 — 471 more than in December 2021.
“The university’s data show a significant uptick in graduation count year over year,” said Tim Metz, assistant vice chancellor of institutional planning and effectiveness. “With more students graduating, there is the impact of fewer returning students the next term.”
In total, WCU has 10,586 students enrolled this semester compared to 10,977 last year. This number includes a 7.2% decline in the number of graduate students and a 2.9% decrease in the number of undergraduate students. However, Brian Kloeppel, dean and professor of the Graduate School and Research, noted that there were enrollment increases in the doctor of psychology program and in health and human science fields such as the doctor of physical therapy program and master’s programs in social work, athletic training and health sciences.
Enrollment data show that the decline came entirely from students who attend inperson classes. These students comprise 74.2% of the student body, and their numbers decreased 4.7% compared to spring 2022. Distance learning enrollment increased slightly, by 0.6%. Of first-time, full-time freshmen in fall 2022, 87.1% returned for the spring semester. That’s an improvement from the 86.5% fall-to-spring retention rate in
2022 but still well below the 91% norm in the years leading up to the pandemic. While spring 2023 has brought reduced enrollment among both men and women at WCU, the gender ratio has slid further in favor of women as men become an increasing minority on campuses nationwide. Only 41.1% of spring 2023 students are male, the lowest percentage of any semester on WCU’s publicly available database, which goes back to 2007.
Prior to the pandemic, WCU was routinely setting enrollment records as its beautiful surroundings, growing academic profile and comparatively low cost began to attract increasing numbers of students. Enrollment hit its peak in fall 2020, with 12,243 students. Since then, it’s declined each semester.
Similar trends have been at play at the state and national levels. Total enrollment for the University of North Carolina System peaked in fall 2021 — a bit later than WCU’s fall 2020 peak — and has declined each semester since. The National Center for Education Statistics shows a 3.3% drop in total enrollment at institutions of higher learning subject to the federal Title IX law between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years and a 1.7% decline between 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.
However, WCU’s trends could be in the process of reversing. In May, the university graduated its largest class in history. The remaining students were members of smaller, pandemic-influenced cohorts, but in fall 2022 WCU welcomed 1,913 first-time, fulltime freshmen, a 12.5% increase from the 2021 cohort and the largest freshman class since before the pandemic.
Enrollment data show that the decline came entirely from students who attend in-person classes. These students comprise 74.2% of the student body, and their numbers decreased 4.7% compared to spring 2022.Western Carolina University is seeing a decline in both graduate and undergraduate enrollment. WCU photo
The Town of Waynesville’s municipal expenditures and revenue streams have all come in as expected during the 202223 fiscal year, but with a long and growing list of deferred maintenance needs and purchases, aldermen are looking for places to save money while once again raising the specter of a general obligation bond initiative.
“What we’re trying to do is give you a glimpse of reality,” said Town Manager Rob Hites during a Feb. 24 budget retreat.
First, the good news. Current year ad valorem tax collections are currently at 97.3% of the general fund’s $18.2 million budget, with four months remaining to collect the rest.
Last year’s collection rate was 97.4%. Collection rate is important, because aldermen must factor the prior year’s collection rate into the upcoming budget. Ad valorem taxes are the largest single source of revenue for most towns, including Waynesville.
Prior-year ad valorem taxes — overdue or delinquent taxes dating as far back as 2011 — have thus far been collected at a rate 138% above budget, although the total is a relatively miniscule $188,000.
The top 10 delinquent property owners still owe 20% of the total outstanding balance from 2011 through 2022.
Finance Director Misty Hagood asked aldermen to become more aggressive and pursue garnishments and attachments, so Aldermen Chuck Dickson responded by offering a motion directing the tax collector to pursue all legal means to collect the taxes. The motion passed unanimously.
For the third straight year, sales tax collections continue to surpass previous year collections. Like most Western North Carolina municipalities, Waynesville has seen a substantial uptick since the Coronavirus Pandemic began in early 2020.
Right now, collections are running 11% over prior year but the data that suggest the sales tax surge may finally be cooling off, as February’s distribution (for sales made in the month of November, 2022) is only 2% above last February’s distribution.
The town’s enterprise funds are likewise all on track, although the electric fund is still feeling the pinch from when aldermen suspended cutoffs for a time during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Approximately 300 payment plans were signed by electric customers who couldn’t pay. Currently, there are 30 remaining. According to Hagood, 24 customers signed payment plans but have since moved away.
Since there’s no “blacklist” of delinquent customers shared between Waynesville’s electric billing service and Duke Energy — because of Duke, said Hites — those customers can still seek service with Duke and won’t feel compelled by the lack of electricity to pay their debts to Waynesville.
Estimated write-offs for three years will be
around $500,000, Hagood said, which is more than double what they should be, meaning the town’s electric fund budget of $10.3 million will likely take a $250,000 hit.
The town’s total fund balance is hovering around $9.7 million, good for 65.5% of general fund expenditures. Unrestricted fund balance stands at $7.4 million.
Those figures, however, are somewhat deceptive.
“In order to get the best borrowing [interest rate] we can for the fire station, for fire trucks, for any borrowing, we need to stay within the percentage of our peers in cities of 10,000 to 30,000 people,” said Hagood.
Hites said that number is about 46%, meaning there’s really only $500,000 of available fund balance for aldermen to appropriate. He went on to warn against large cash incentives for development projects, and asked the board to focus on smaller façade grants.
Although the town’s financial position would be considered strong in any other given year, more than $9.7 million in capital improvements are waiting to be funded — and that’s just for this year alone.
The finance department wants a new SUV at $40,000, and more meter reading devices costing $18,000.
Development services also wants a new SUV, and $130,000 for greenway work.
The police department wants $88,000 for bodycams and car cameras.
The recreation department wants to resurface the tennis courts at a cost of $600,000, a bathroom at Obama-King park for $80,000, a truck for $60,000 and a new mower for $12,000.
Streets and sanitation wants $300,000 for bridge repair, a new $200,000 loader, a $75,000 leaf collector and three trucks averaging $95,000 each.
The Cemetery Committee wants $40,000 for a master plan, and $30,000 for arch repair.
Including this year and the next four, the total approaches $21 million. And that doesn’t include surprises, like equipment breaking down unexpectedly.
The current ad valorem tax rate is 45.92 cents per $100 in assessed value, up from 43.95 cents the previous year. At present, that means once cent on the tax rate is worth about $156,000 in collections to the town. If taxes go up by a cent, the town should realize another $156,000 in revenue. If taxes go down by one cent, the town would lose the same amount in revenue.
With those figures in mind, the town would have to raise taxes by a whopping 62 cents to pay for all the current year asks.
For a homeowner with a $100,000 assessed value, their annual property tax bill would jump from $459.20 to $1,079.20.
By far the biggest request this year is $6 million for the new fire station, and $1.5 million for an addition to the existing station.
Waynesville Fire Chief Joey Webb, Sr. will likely approach Haywood County Commissioners in the coming weeks or months to ask for an increase in the fire tax for districts the department serves that lie outside municipal boundaries. A one-cent increase in the fire rate would raise approximately $77,000.
Webb, however, was recently congratulated by North Carolina’s Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshall Mike Causey for raising the department’s rating, which means both a huge savings in homeowners insurance and a little less sting from any tax increase commissioners decide to grant them.
But there’s another way for the town to address all these needs without raising taxes by 62 cents — to be clear, a preposterous and unsustainable proposition that nobody has seriously entertained.
One additional penny on the ad valorem tax rate would support around $1.33 million in borrowing, meaning the town could pay for all $9.7 million in current requests with an 8-cent tax increase. That would take a $100,000 property’s annual tax bill from $459.20 to $539.20.
Unfortunately, there are already $5.5 million in requests for the next budget, including a $2 million ladder truck. If all else stays the same economically, the town would only have a few hundred thousand dollars to spend, thus creating another backlog with $2.6 million in requests already on paper for 2026, $1.8 million for 2027, and $1.3 million for 2028.
Only about $427,000 in new revenue will be generated over the next five years if all development that is currently scheduled takes place, but due to escalating prices and salaries, most of that will be eaten right up, providing negligible growth in the tax base.
Borrowing for every single ask on the five-
year, $21 million needs assessment would cost at least 16 cents on the tax rate.
Indeed, some of the requested items won’t make the cut this year, and may never, but Hites cautioned aldermen that they need to determine the difference between needs and wants and should be focused on public safety.
Alderman John Feichter raised the possibility of issuing general obligation bonds, just like he did last year, but it’s a gamble. If voters do not approve of the bonds, the interest rates on them would be higher by half a percent or more.
Hites told aldermen that generally speaking, such bonds can be “sold” to the general public to pay for items like affordable housing, parks or stadiums in larger municipalities, but would be a much tougher sell for decidedly un-sexy requests like air compressors and lawnmowers.
With all that being said, Recreation Director Luke Kinsland, who was appointed director late last year after the retirement of Rhett Langston, got a rough introduction to municipal finance during the budget retreat.
Kinsland, who’s worked for the department since starting out as a lifeguard as a teen, presented the recreation master plan that was created in 2017. The plan requests around $4.7 million over the next 10 years, including more than $500,000 this year.
Given Hites’ “needs and wants” advice, it’s difficult to imagine most or all of these requests being fulfilled any time soon, if at all.
Much of the budget retreat was focused on proposed spending, but aldermen are also looking for ways to cut costs and raise cash.
For example, aldermen have continually rejected appeals to raise non-resident rates at Kinsland’s rec center off Howell Mill Road. Residents who pay
With inflationary pressures, rising costs and millions in deferred maintenance needs all impacting Waynesville’s budget, collecting every last cent of the annual property tax levy is more important than ever. During a Feb. 24 town budget retreat, Finance Director Misty Hagood said that the top ten tax delinquents owed 20 percent of all delinquent taxes in Waynesville, dating back to 2011.
1. Welch, James Timothy ................$42,388 4 properties, 2020-2022
2. Burgin, William P. Jr. ...................$20,395 6 properties, 2011-2022
3. Kirkpatrick Management LLC .....$16,037 1 property, 2012-2022
4. Schulhofer, William D/LT ...............$9,537 5 properties, 2018-2022
5. Farmer, Shirley..............................$1,292 5 properties, 2018-2022 Grasty, Shirley Hooper (Farmer) ...$8,206 1 property, 2017-2022
6. Medford, Brittany Jane .................$7,517 1 property, 2018-2022
7. Bryant, Thomas Edward ................$7,039 1 property, 2011-2022
8. Kitzis Holdings LLC ........................$6,528 1 property, 2020-2022
9. Mathews, Paula P. .........................$6,107 1 property, 2012-2022
10. Rathbone, Kristy Williams ...........$4,774 4 properties, 2018-2022
TOTAL:........................................$129,820.24
Source: Town of Waynesville Finance Department
property taxes to the town, some of which go towards rec center operations, pay the same rate as visitors from outside the county, state and country — visitors who pay nothing towards the upkeep of the facilities.
Hites said that non-residents are being subsidized by residents to the tune of about 3 cents on the tax rate. Aldermen asked Kinsland to draft recommendations for a new schedule of fees. An increase that eliminates that “subsidy” would take a substantial chunk out of any proposed tax increase.
Dickson also led the charge on the creation of a new advisory board that could not only help make Waynesville cleaner and greener, but also save money.
“The environment is what drives our economy,” Dickson said in pushing for the board, which will focus on sustainability.
Hendersonville has such a board, Dickson said, which advises the town on long-term strategies that could actually save the town
money while also focusing on clean energy benchmarks the town set six years ago for 2050 and keeping an eye out for grants.
“Setting up a board is a big thing, so we need to make sure it is something it will work,” he said. “I’ve been saying this for a year and a half now. There’s lots of money out there.”
Increased grant funds also come with increasing grant administration, so Dickson also proposed the addition of a grant administrator to satisfy reporting requirements and ensure overall compliance with the terms of such agreements.
Feichter offered a note of support, saying that the median salary of $79,000 would be money well spent.
“What I would urge this board to think about is not how much it would cost to hire a grant administrator, but how much such a position could bring in,” Feichter said.
Alderman Julia Freeman, who works as the executive director of a domestic violence nonprofit called REACH of Haywood County, said that in her experience grant administrators are often paid out of grant funding, and that their pay could be contingent on their performance.
Dickson’s motion passed unanimously.
One final action that also passed unanimously will also help with the town’s forthcoming budget-balancing act will be seen as bittersweet at best.
Every budget season, aldermen set aside around the equivalent of around one cent on the tax rate ($156,000) for what’s called “special appropriations.” These are small grants made to area nonprofits.
“For instance, last year we had some funds for [substance abuse treatment provider] Meridian [Behavioral Health Services] for some capital items, furniture, stoves, that kind of thing,” Hites said.
As it turns out, the General Assembly does not authorize municipal governments to spend money in this manner.
Assistant Town Manager Jesse Fowler recommended lowering the amount to $100,000 and including a legal review on the applications.
“I think this would be an administrative nightmare and it would be too much to ask,” said Alderman Anthony Sutton, who suggested the town halt the spending altogether and put the money towards the grant administration position.
Mayor Gary Caldwell mentioned that Haywood County commissioners had gotten out of the business of making similar appropriations years ago.
Freeman, who works in the nonprofit industry, said the funds neither make nor break any of the local nonprofits that receive them, and that the concept itself may have run its course.
Feichter wasn’t too happy about the prospect of axing the line item, but it’s perhaps the least difficult decision aldermen will make concerning the 2023-24 fiscal year budget. The motion to discontinue was unanimous.
“I feel like the money we spend on helping these nonprofits comes back to us tenfold,” he said. “It’s frustrating that we’re faced with a decision to essentially do nothing.”
Waynesville is Haywood County’s only municipal government that elects all of its members at once, but that will likely change — just in time for this year’s election.
“I think there are couple reasons this is good idea,” said Alderman Chuck Dickson. “One is board continuity. A complete turnover of the board could destabilize things quite a bit, possibly even throw things into turmoil.”
Dickson said that mass turnover on the Board of Aldermen could result in staff turnover and the loss of institutional knowledge, something Mayor Gary Caldwell acknowledged by saying it would “devastate” the town’s operations.
The issue of staggered terms has come up a number of times over the years, including at last year’s retreat.
“In 11 years, we’ve addressed this 11 years,” said Alderman Julia Freeman. “It’s time to make a move.”
Town Manager Rob Hites said that in previous years, the town was under the mistaken impression that such a change could only be made through a local bill presented in the General Assembly, but former Town Attorney Bill Cannon discovered last year that the assumption simply wasn’t true.
Per NCGS 160A-102, governing boards may amend the city charter by ordinance to make the change by following a specific
process for doing so.
Aldermen voted unanimously to direct the town attorney to draft a “resolution of intent to consider an ordinance” amending the town’s charter during the town’s annual retreat on Feb. 24.
During the vote, aldermen also agreed that this year the top two vote-getters would serve four-year terms, with the next two top vote-getters serving two-year terms.
Once the town attorney’s resolution is adopted, the board must call for a public hearing on the matter within 45 days. Then, within 60 days after the public hearing, the board must adopt an ordinance stating the method by which the staggered terms will be implemented. All of these steps, according to statutes, must be completed at least 90 days before the next election.
An alternative method, drawing straws to see who would serve four-year terms, was rejected.
Should the change be implemented, the town would hold elections every two years instead of every four years. In the past, Hites has said running an additional election would cost the town about $13,000.
After this year’s election sets up the staggered terms, all terms for aldermen would return to being four years.
The office of the mayor is elected separately from aldermen. The term length and timing of the mayor’s election will not change.
Alawsuit filed by a former deputy against District Attorney Ashley Welch and Assistant District Attorney John Hindsman has been entirely dismissed.
The suit, filed by Eric Giles, a former deputy in Cherokee, Graham, Clay and Macon counties, claimed that a Giglio order issued by Welch’s office violated his constitutional rights — specifically his rights to free speech, due process and equal protection.
A Giglio order is issued by a prosecutor when it is determined a law enforcement officer has a severe enough integrity or reliability issue that their character can be impeached should they have to testify in court. Because such testimony is vital to the job, a Giglio order essentially puts an end to that officer’s career.
“In compliance with our procedures, prosecutors in our office recently reviewed materials and information in our possession regarding substantial violations,” the letter from Welch’s office to Giles reads. “Unfortunately, in a review of these materials and information, the findings of the committee revealed that on more than one occasion you misrepresented your duties as a law enforcement officer in your employment with both the Clay and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in public forums.”
Giles filed the suit on Aug. 27, 2021, in Clay County Superior Court. He then filed a lawsuit in September 2021 in federal court against Welch and Hindsman individually and in their official capacity with the District Attorney’s Office.
“Plaintiff Giles can no longer obtain employment as a certified law enforcement officer in North Carolina as a result of the ‘Giglio letters’ issued by the Defendants,” the suit read.
Not long after the Giglio order was issued on Aug. 28, 2018, Giles was placed on leave by former Cherokee County Sheriff Derrick Palmer, for whom he worked at that time, so that an internal investigation could be completed. In short order, he was reinstated and said it was because Welch failed to provide evidence for Palmer’s investigation.
“I went back to work about two weeks ago — the chief deputy called me and told me to stop being lazy and get back to work,” Giles said in a Smoky Mountain News story from that time. “And I’m back on full-time patrol duty — I’m not in courthouse security or behind a desk somewhere.”
However, within months, Giles was placed on bailiff duty and then became a detention officer.
For her part, at that time, Welch said the Giglio order would stand and that she didn’t
intend to withdraw it, adding that evidence wasn’t provided to Palmer based on a threat of litigation from Giles and his attorney Zeyland G. McKinney Jr. of Murphy.
“My intent was always to reply, but before I got a chance, I received a nasty letter from Giles’ attorney that caused me concern. Based on his accusations and tone it was very apparent to me I needed to see an attorney,” Welch said. “At the advice of counsel, I didn’t respond.”
The Giglio order was issued based on allegations that Giles misrepresented his law enforcement duties while running as a Democratic candidate for Macon County Sheriff. In March 2018, Giles took part in a candidate forum, where he stated he worked at four different agencies and had been a member of the drug task force in Cherokee County. However, the complaint states that Giles misspoke and was a member of the drug task force in Graham County and not Cherokee.
The initial suit noted that then Macon County News reporter Brittney Lofthouse — who helped moderate the forum — accused Giles on social media May 9 of lying about being on that task force, in addition to claiming his statement that he was a victim advocate when he was employed by Clay County Sheriff’s Office was false.
“Therefore Brittany (sic) Burns Lofthouse circulated untruthful rumors about Plaintiff Giles having affairs with young women when he worked in Graham County and in Clay County,” the lawsuit states.
There were also allegations against Giles that involved a potentially inappropriate relationship with a high school student. While Giles has maintained he resigned from his deputy position with Graham County Sheriff on good terms, information from the Graham County human resources department said otherwise. According to a 2014 memo to county commissioners, Giles had
applied for unemployment benefits, and the county denied his request because of behavior unbecoming of an officer.
According to the high school principal at the time, David Matheson, Giles used his county-issued key to enter the high school weight room at 3:20 a.m. along with a female, and they departed the building at 4:10 a.m. They perhaps would have never been caught were it not for school officials trying to figure out who’d left some kind of mess in a locker room.
“Sheriff Mickey Anderson stated that [Giles] would not be eligible to sign up (for benefits) due to he was on duty at the time that he entered the weight room with a civilian,” Board Clerk Kim Crisp stated in the memo. “Sheriff Anderson stated that his conduct was not acceptable to his standards and was negligent in his duties.”
SMN spoke with the former student around that time. She stated that nothing inappropriate happened and that Giles was simply offering her support and advice during a tough time in her life.
Before ever filing suit, McKinney responded to the Giglio Order by sending a letter to the DA’s office on Sept. 26, 2018, that included about 40 pages of campaign finance reports showing Welch’s contributions to Giles’ opponent — incumbent Sheriff Robert Holland — and Holland’s contributions to Welch’s campaign.
According to campaign contribution records, Welch did donate $1,000 to Holland’s campaign for re-election.
Holland would go on to win that election before recently retiring at the end of that term in 2022.
In his letter addressed to Hindsman, McKinney stated that the DA’s office made no effort to contact his client regarding the allegations of “ethical or moral” breaches that would disqualify him from testifying in court.
“It seems to me that due process, at a min-
imum, requires you to give my client an opportunity to be heard prior to making a decision to disqualify him from testifying in criminal proceedings,” the letter read. “Your actions, unless remedied, will likely bring an end to my client’s law enforcement career. It is disheartening to know that you and Ashley Welch have such little regard for fair play and substantial justice that you did not give my client an opportunity to rebut whatever allegations have been made against him ….”
McKinney ultimately accused the DA’s office of misusing its power and interfering with an election campaign in addition to requesting the Giglio order be rescinded.
“Your boss, Ashley Welch, has openly supported Sheriff Holland in the campaign for Sheriff of Macon County and has donated $1,000 to his re-election campaign,” he wrote to Hindsman.
Similarly, Giles’ suit also accused Lofthouse of having conflicts of interest, including being married to a Macon County Sheriff’s Deputy and the fact that she worked for the DA’s office under Welch.
The defendants claimed it was their duty to send the letter based on the decision in Giglio v. United States, but Giles claimed the reasons for sending the letter were not reasonably related to the defendants’ function as prosecutors.
“The Defendants gave the Plaintiff no meaningful opportunity to be heard or to present evidence on his behalf prior to sending the ‘Palmer Giglio letter’ to the Plaintiff’s employer,” the complaint reads with regard to the perceived violation of Giles’ constitutional right to due process.
While Giles was represented by McKinney, Welch and Hindsman were represented by Kathryn H. Shields, special deputy attorney general with the North Carolina Department of Justice under Attorney General Josh Stein.
In the defendants’ request to dismiss the suit, Shields presented a number of individual, specific arguments, including one that states that “absolute prosecutorial immunity” bars Giles from any claims for monetary relief.
On June 6 of this year, Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger issued an order that, in part, dismissed Giles’ suit. Following that order, the only part of the suit still in play was the one that sought injunctive relief based on a violation of Giles’ First Amendment Rights.
The defense provided a response to claims of the First Amendment violation, arguing that Welch and Hindsman were entitled to the immunity provided by the Eleventh Amendment, as well as prosecutorial discretion.
“The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State,” that amendment reads.
After several more months of back-andforth, including mediation, on Feb. 17, Giles and McKinney submitted a “Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice,” which put an end to the case — a case that may serve as a bellwether for similar civil challenges to Giglio orders.
David Green Edwards, 32, of Cherokee, was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual contact with a minor.
According to court documents, in 2019 the child victim disclosed sexual abuse dating back to 2014, when the victim would have been about 5 years old. The child victim said that, on at least two different instances, Edwards inappropriately touched her private area with his hand and genitalia. Information presented in court showed that Edwards was interviewed multiple times by law enforcement and denied sexually abusing the child but admitted that he wished the victim was closer to his age. Both the child and Edwards are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Edwards was indicted and arrested in December 2021. He entered a plea agreement in July 2022 and was sentenced on Feb. 23. The 15-year sentence is significantly less than the sentence outlined in the court’s advisory guidelines. Edwards’ attorney Emily Jones argued for the reduced sentence in a memo she sent ahead of the sentencing before Chief Judge Martin Reidinger. At the time Edwards committed the offenses, she wrote, he was addicted to methamphetamine and Roxicodone and was also dealing with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Today he is “not the same person” as he was at the
The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority announced the hire of Kara Addy as its new Social Media Manager.
The Jackson County TDA is the county’s marketing, promotion, and destination management organization. Founded in 2013, the Jackson County TDA’s primary goal is to inspire visitation to the area, promote local offerings, and in turn, support the growth of the local economy.
Addy’s background includes a leadership role at the Highlands Chamber of Commerce/Visit Highlands where she managed content across various channels, a role as a content editor and client experience manager at Silver Creek Real Estate Group/NC Living Magazine, and a marketing director position at McKee Properties where she managed the company’s brand, campaigns, communication strategies, social media presence, SEO, and web presence. She has also held positions at Western Carolina University and the University of South Carolina where she developed and implemented
time of the offense, Jones wrote. His arrest may have saved his life — he overdosed on fentanyl three times in the months leading up to it. “Mr. Edwards grew up to be a very troubled young man, who found himself unable to cope with the challenges he faced in a healthy way. He has tremendous remorse for the harm that he has caused,” Jones wrote. “Now sober for the longest period in many years, Mr. Edwards wants to continue on the right track. He knows he needs mental health treatment. He knows he needs substance abuse treatment. While he is not the same person he was back in 2014, he is eager to continue to improve himself through mental health and substance abuse treatment at the federal prison. Further, he anticipates utilizing the treatment resources available while on supervised release.”
Edwards is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. When released, he will be required to register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Cherokee Indian Police Department with assistance from the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pritchard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted it.
— Holly Kays, Staff Writer
communication plans and donor relations strategies.
Addy has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications with a minor in Political Science from Florida State University. She also has an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) certificate from the Public Relations Society of America, a certificate in NonProfit Leadership Institute from Francis Marion University, and a certificate in Learn, Educate, and Develop Supervisory Essentials from the University of South Carolina.
“Her extensive experience in content management, marketing, and communication strategies, combined with her exceptional leadership skills, make her the ideal candidate for this role,” said Jackson County TDA Director Nick Breedlove. “We are confident that her creativity and expertise will help us elevate our social media presence and engagement with our visitors, contributing to the continued growth of the local economy.”
“I am thrilled to join this dynamic team and to have the opportunity to lead the social media strategy for the JCTDA,” Addy said. I look forward to using my experience and creativity to elevate the brand and engage with our audience in new and exciting ways. Her first day with the JCTDA is Feb. 27, 2023.
BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF W RITER
The Sylva Board of Commissioners selected Brad Waldrop as its newest member, filling a seat that had been vacant since the resignation of Mayor Lynda Sossamon in January.
“There were three applicants,” said Mayor David Nestler at the Feb. 24 town board meeting. “They are all very good candidates and on behalf of the town I would like to thank all of those candidates for taking an interest and being willing to serve.”
Waldrop won a majority of the votes in the first round of voting.
“I’m very humbled by them putting their faith in me,” Waldrop told The Smoky Mountain News. “It’s certainly a humbling thing to be chosen to do something this important and represent this many people. They’re my neighbors and friends and people to work with and people I work with and people I’ve known most of my life. I’m very gracious to have the opportunity to help.”
Waldrop was born and raised in Sylva and graduated from both Smoky Mountain High School and Western Carolina University. He is the co-owner and general manager of Ward Plumbing, Heating & Air, has been a member of the Sylva Rotary Club for over two years and has served on the Jackson County Planning Board for one year.
“I feel largely invested in the community. My family lives here, I grew up in Sylva, I recently had a daughter, she’ll be three in April.” said Waldrop. “I’m hopeful that I can work with the board and town to create an environment where she has a great childhood like I did here, and that people can be happy here in a well-run community.”
While Waldrop had not previously considered running for town board, he says that after the appointment, he will consider running for the town board seat come November elections.
“The growth and change happening in Sylva are very exciting,” Waldrop wrote in his application for the position. “It would be my humble honor to play a small, responsible part in helping the town become an even more amazing town for residents and visitors.”
Before Waldrop outlines specific goals for his time on the board, he wants to spend time with town staff and board members, get caught up on everything the town is working on and listen to community members about their wants and needs.
In his application for the board seat Waldrop said he would like to see the town board work to establish maintenance and upkeep requirements for downtown buildings related to awnings, lighting, windows and more, an area in which he thinks Sylva trails neighboring towns. He is also an advo-
cate for public art — the Sylva postcard mural adorns the side of the Ward Plumbing office on Mill Street — and would like to see the town focus attention on both public art and a walking, biking culture.
Waldrop will be sworn in at the next regular meeting of the town board and will serve until the November elections at which time the seat will be up for election.
After Sossamon resigned at the start of the new year, the town board voted to appoint Nestler to the mayor’s seat. The board then appointed Commissioner Mary
Gelbaugh as mayor pro tem, the seat Nestler had previously occupied. This left one seat on the board of commissioners vacant, and with elections not taking place until November, the town solicited applications for those willing to take on the role in the interim.
The board received applications from three Sylva residents — Guy Phillips, Brad Waldrop and Destri Leger. Using a ballot voting system, Waldrop won the vote with Commissioners Ben Guiney, Greg McPherson and Natalie Newman voting in his favor. Commissioner Gelbaugh voted to select Guy Phillips.
Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority received a visit from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper last week as he announced $462.9 million in funding for water infrastructure projects around the state.
“When we think about the economic development that we need to have, you’ve got to increase your water and wastewater capacity, and these funds are going to help us do it,” said Cooper.
In Jackson County, TWSA will receive $4.1 for a drinking water treatment plant clearwell and a high service pump replacement. TWSA was created in 1992 when Jackson County, Dillsboro, Sylva and Webster consolidated their water and wastewater utilities.
A clearwell is an enclosed tank that comprises the final storage tank in a municipal drinking water treatment system. It can be used to store and mix water with specific disinfectants that keep the water free of dangerous levels of microbes as it sits in the plant and as it travels through the water system to its destination.
The high service pump being replaced is required to move high volumes of treated water into distribution systems serving communities.
“Being able to move forward with the clearwell and high service pump replacement project makes our system much stronger and more resilient by adding much needed storage within our treatment process,” said Daniel Manring, Executive Director of Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority. “This in addition to the high service pumps, will allow us to manage and maintain our distribution system in a more effective manner. Our goal is to be able to serve our community without disruption regardless of the circumstances and this is a
big step to ensure that level of quality that we are known for. Having support from the NC Department of Environmental Quality in this program, along with several other programs we have participated in, is much appreciated.”
The Department of Environmental Quality received 649 applications from 91 counties in North Carolina for this round of grants. The funding is provided by a portion of the $2.3 billion from the American Recue Plan Act, State Revolving Funds and Community Development Block Grant Funding.
“Investing in water infrastructure provides communities with reliable, affordable access to clean water and the opportunity for future economic growth,” North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Elizabeth S. Biser said in a press release. “The amount of funding requested highlights the extensive need for infrastructure investment across North Carolina.”
Both Governor Cooper and Secretary Biser toured the TWSA facility last Thursday, Feb. 23, and got an up-close look at the clearwell and high service pump replacement project.
“Every single North Carolinian deserves clean drinking water, and aging water systems are a threat to the health and economies of too many of our communities,” said Governor Cooper in a press release. “Thanks to investments initiated by the Biden administration, we can make a once in a generation transformation in rebuilding water infrastructure for towns and counties throughout our state.”
Also in The Smoky Mountain News’ coverage area, the Town of Waynesville received $400,000 for its Comprehensive Stormwater Master Plan, and Bryson City received $200,000 each for a sewer and water system asset inventory and assessment.
All the world’s a stage, Shakespeare wrote, and all the men and women merely players. But with the recent uptick in bad actors consistently providing misinformation to Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen, a proposal to increase transparency by broadcasting meetings got bogged down over concerns that the videos would simply end up as food for trolls.
“People engage digitally now,” said Alderman Chuck Dickson in presenting a proposal to televise the board’s regular Tuesday evening meetings. “I think we have an opportunity to meet people where they are.”
Dickson’s comment came during the Board’s annual budget retreat, held on Feb. 24.
A few years ago, the town purchased equipment that would facilitate the broadcast of audio and video, however supply chain issues slowed the delivery and installation of the equipment until only recently.
Now, the town has the capability to film the dais, as well as the speaker’s podium, and make the videos available online in real time or after the fact. Assistant Town Manager Jesse Fowler said the videos could be uploaded to a YouTube channel at little to no cost.
Dickson said he thought that such a move would help to clamp down on misinformation being peddled by some in the community who repeatedly show up to opine on everything from crime rates to COVID vaccines to homelessness.
“We shouldn’t let other people control the
narrative,” Dickson said. “I think it might be interesting for the public to see what some people are saying in public comment.”
Alderman Jon Feichter said he was aware of the potential consequences of the broadcasts, but supports the idea nonetheless.
The other three members of the Board, aldermen Julia Freeman and Anthony Sutton, along with Mayor Gary Caldwell, weren’t so sure.
Caldwell said that with this being an election year, he was concerned about burdening a future board with the provision, and that he didn’t feel good about it.
Freeman initially said she was on the fence.
“It’s a slippery slope when you put your face out there,” she said, mentioning derisive comments she’d seen about the appearance and wardrobe of some aldermen, which she called “pure nastiness.”
Currently, the Haywood County Board of Commissioners is the only municipal government in the county to broadcast meetings live. Those meetings are both archived on YouTube and hosted on the county’s website.
On the county’s website, viewers have the ability to simultaneously view the agenda, and skip directly to different agenda items.
Sutton, seeking a compromise, pushed for the audio to be broadcast.
“I have a little trepidation, but I think we should take some baby steps first,” he said, noting that the board could always make a move towards video in the future if it so desired.
Alderman Jon Feichter pushed back on Sutton’s suggestion, worried that some might take the audio out of context.
“Do you worry that audio-only misses the nuance?” Feichter asked. “If it’s just our disconnected voices in an audio recording, it’s a
BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT P OLITICS E DITOR
When is an alderman not an alderman? When that alderman happens to be a woman.
On Feb. 24, Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen discussed the possibility of changing the name of its elected officials from the gendered term, “alderman” to something more gender-neutral.
“I travel extensively around the U.S. and people ask me what I do, and I tell them I’m an alderman,” said Alderman Julia Boyd Freeman, who called the term, “antiquated.”
The word itself derives from the Old English “ealdorman,” which means “elder man,” and has been in use as a title for elected officials, nobility or rulers since at least the
challenge for the listener to put a name to a face. I think we would be missing out if we didn’t include that video.”
Sutton made a motion to broadcast the audio of meetings after the fact — but without video. Freeman seconded and the motion passed 4 to 1 over the objections of Feichter.
“I voted against it not because I don’t support it, but because I don’t think it went far enough,” he said. “I want to livestream the meetings.”
Waynesville currently limits public comment to 30 minutes at each meeting, although that time limit may be extended at the pleasure of the mayor. The limit hasn’t been invoked in recent meetings, if ever.
One option that wasn’t discussed was to avoid broadcasting the public comment session, in order to cut down on grandstanding and the dissemination of misinformation.
While some may complain that such a
eighth century. A number of European languages utilize the same word, including the Dutch “ouderman,” Finnish “oltermanni” and German “altermann.”
Its use as a formal title for elected representatives was and is widespread in many countries, including the United States. In Chicago, 50 aldermen represent the city’s 50 wards.
Of course, the term emerged at a time when patriarchal societies prevented most women from ever holding power in the first place, so it wasn’t much scrutinized.
Now, with more and more women in elected office — from the White House to Waynesville — the term remains a troubling reminder of rampant sex discrimination.
Alderman Anthony Sutton called the term “misogynist.”
Sutton’s comment echoes those of other states, cities and towns that have either reduced usage of or eliminated altogether the troublesome term. The State of Illinois officially refers to Chicago’s aldermen as “alderpersons.”
Back in May, 2017, the town of Franklin voted to change its charter, abandoning the “Board of Aldermen” moniker in favor of “Town Council.” Franklin aldermen were designated “councilmembers.”
Then-Mayor Bob Scott proposed the idea, saying the renaming would not only be more accurate but would also recognize that the Board had two women and two men — both under the age of 40 — who were not exactly
move would stifle free speech and the ability of residents to communicate with their elected officials, speaking in person at public comment sessions of municipal government meetings isn’t the only way for people to get involved with decisionmakers on local issues.
Email addresses of aldermen and town staff are provided on the town website, and most public officials also publicize their telephone numbers as well.
Additionally, state statutes only require municipal governing boards to provide the opportunity for public comment once per month. All municipal governments in Haywood County that meet more than once a month — including the county and the towns of Canton, Maggie Valley and Waynesville — provide this opportunity at every meeting. The Town of Clyde meets only once per month, and offers a public comment session at every meeting.
all that “ald.”
Around that same time, Canton’s Board of Aldermen took a different approach, renaming itself the Board of Aldermen/women. Although grammatically cumbersome, it does respect the fact that Alderwoman Gail Mull and Alderwoman Kristina Proctor, well, exist.
With each change, nominal costs are incurred, including printing and possibly new name plates for meetings. Some Franklin aldermen were apprehensive about spending the money, but passed the change 3 to 2 anyway.
In Haywood County, Maggie Valley retains the title “aldermen,” and currently has one woman, Alderman Tammy Wight, on the board. The Town of Clyde also uses the title and also has one woman, Alderman Diane Fore. Bryson City still has aldermen, like Alderman Heidi Ramsey-Woodard. So does Andrews, including Alderman Brandi Smith.
Further west, the towns of Fontana Dam, Hayesville, Lake Santeetlah, Murphy and Sylva all have town councils, and thus town councilors or commissioners.
Waynesville Alderman Jon Feichter opposed the move because he said he thought the connection to previous Waynesville boards was important. Fellow Alderman Chuck Dickson didn’t seem to express a desire either way.
According to Freeman, town staff will study the issue and come back with recommendations and a process to bring the item up for a vote in the coming months.
BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF W RITER
Progress will continue on the new Franklin High School after a vote by the Macon County Commission to enter into phase two of the project.
“We’ve just kicked this can for so long, I’m ready to vote it up or down,” said Commissioner Josh Young, who instigated the motion to move forward with the project.
At a budget work session in February, Paul Boney and Emily Kite of LS3P Designs presented commissioners with an update on the project. The timeline now shows construction documents and procurement for phase one — involving stadium construction — will take place between March and October of this year, after which construction will begin and is set to last around 14 months. Construction of the stadium portion of the project is estimated to wrap up in January 2025.
Design development for phase two — involving construction of the high school — will run through June, construction documents and procurement are estimated to take until the end of this year with construction running from January, 2024 through June, 2026.
“We have the flexibility to run the stadium project and the high school project not quite on the exact same track,” said Kite. “We’re a little bit ahead in our development of the stadium, we’re a little further along on that particular project.”
There is also flexibility within the stadium portion of the project depending on whether Franklin High School can schedule an entire season of away football games. If so, construction on the stadium can begin in the fall, otherwise it will begin afterward.
The construction subtotal for the project was originally estimated at $91.2 million and is now estimated at $77.7 million.
“Originally in the estimate we had over $10 million for cost escalation. In this estimate we’ve cut that to about $4.2 because if we’re going from right now to September to bid this thing, then that cost escalation window for us is much less,” Boney said.
At the Feb. 9 meeting, Young made a motion to authorize LS3P to enter into phase two design development for Franklin High School, which will allow for construction documents and procurement for the stadium portion of the project. To move into this phase of the project the motion also included the allocation of $715,120 from the general fund.
The $715,120 appropriated from the general fund, along with the $335,122 already spent, gets the county to the $1 million commitment necessary for the design development of the new high school and the construction documentation and procurement for the new stadium.
“This is going to get us to where we need to get to put the budgeting together for the whole project,” said Young. “Right now, we
and its ability to borrow money. According to Brigulio the county has a double A rating, two spots from the highest public rating possible.
can’t bid this thing out. These numbers are all estimates, we don’t even know what it costs.”
The motion passed unanimously. Throughout the rest of the year, county government and the school system will start to see a clearer picture of actual project costs as individual pieces get estimated and go to bid.
“This will take the stadium portion through procurement, which is putting it out to bid and getting prices back,” said County Manager Derek Roland.
This vote not only moves the high school project forward, it also helps the design firm and the school system complete its grant application for the needs based capital improvement funding available through the state.
“It gets us through design development, which allows us to get all of our engineers involved, allows us to get the building settled, the size of the building settled. It allows us to go back to the public and make those presentations,” said Boney. “Then we have construction documents to go, which takes about another four or five months’ worth of work, in order to get it ready to bid. But we would have submitted design development to school planning so that they know we’re serious about this project.”
During the budget work session, Mitch Brigulio of Davenport Public Finance, the county’s financial advisor, presented commissioners with the overall financial state of the county, as it relates to the county’s credit rating
“You’re starting from a position of strength in terms of your credit rating,” he said. “You have access to the capital markets, and you have access to borrow money and you can borrow that money at an attractive rate based on your credit rating.”
With a particularly plentiful fund balance available, Brigulio presented two options for fund the high school project — one in which the county does not receive any grant funding, and the other in which the county receives $50 million in needs-based grants from the state.
If the county does not receive grant funding, it will need to issue $14 million in debt 2024, and $102 million in debt in 2025. This would require an additional 4.5 cents on the current property tax rate to cover the debt service. If the county does receive grant funding, it would need to issue $14 million in debt in 2024 and $54 million in debt in 2025. This scenario would require an additional 1.17 cents on the current property tax rate to cover the debt service.
While voters chose not to pass the article 46 sales tax referendum last November, the proceeds of which would have gone toward building the new school, it could still do so in the future. If the county were to succeed in passing the article 46 sales tax referendum, it would only need an additional 2.8 cents in property tax for the no-grant scenario; it would need no tax increase in the case that it does receive grants.
BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF W RITER
Haywood County Schools has new leaders at several schools after the resignation of the Tuscola High School Principal left a vacancy to fill.
“It has been a long, exhausting interview process,” said Superintendent Trevor Putnam. “We have gone through a ton of really highly qualified applicants. We’ve exhausted a very talented interview pool.”
Casey Conard, who previously worked as principal at Waynesville Middle School, has been appointed to fill the position of principal at Tuscola High School, replacing Heather Blackmon who resigned earlier this month. Conard was appointed to lead Waynesville Middle School in October after its principal, Graham Haynes, was selected to serve as Assistant Superintendent when Bill Nolte retired and Trevor Putnam was hired as Superintendent of the school system. Before his brief time at Waynesville Middle School, Conard worked as assistant principal at Pisgah High School.
Conard began his career in Haywood County eleven years ago at Hazelwood Elementary School. Prior to moving to WMS, he had spent the last five years at Pisgah High School.
“I am so thankful for the opportunity to lead Tuscola High School,” said Conard. “My experiences in Haywood County have been exceptional and I look forward to continuing to serve my community in this capacity. Leaving Waynesville Middle School is very bittersweet for me. I’m leaving an amazing leadership team, great staff and most importantly wonderful students. To those folks, although I will not be walking the halls with you each day, I will be a part of your community and I will be cheering you on from the hill. Waynesville Middle School is an amazing place and I’m so thankful for the love, support and enjoyment that I’ve felt there.”
The position at Tuscola High School became available after Blackmon resigned due to an incident related to the suspension and resignation of football coach Chris Brookshire. Brookshire had been accused of sexual harassment by fellow employees.
Because both employees resigned, rather than getting fired or undergoing a hearing with the board of education, the circumstances surrounding their suspensions and resignations are not available to the public.
“I’m going to approach the principalship at Tuscola High School in the same way I’ve approached all my positions in Haywood County,” said Conard. “I’ll bring a love for people, a competitive mindset and a strong work ethic. I will make studentcentered decisions, and work as hard as I can to make the Tuscola experience the best experience for all students. Simply, I want the best for students. I believe in and love Haywood County Schools and appreciate the trust you’ve put in me.”
Jennifer Reeves will move into the principal position at Waynesville Middle School, replacing Conard. Reeves was previously working as principal at Jonathan Valley Elementary, where she has been since 2019. Prior to that she worked for five years as assistant principal at Waynesville Middle School. She has been teaching since 1998.
“I would like to thank you all for entrusting me with the opportunity to return to my middle school roots,” said Reeves. “Twenty-one of my 25 years in public school have been in middle schools. I spent some time at Bethel Middle and even Waynesville Middle School. I will truly miss the Jonathan Valley family. I love Jonathan Valley. The students, families, faculty and staff have taught me so much about elementary school. Jonathan Valley is a great place to be, and I know that their new principal who will be taking my place will take great care of them. Thank you for your trust and faith in me at Waynesville Middle and I’m looking forward to being a mountaineer again and serving the Waynesville Middle School Community.”
Taking Reeves’ place at Jonathan Valley
Elementary School is Jacob Shelton, who was previously working as assistant principal at Tuscola High School. Shelton served as lead administrator at the school over the
“It is hard to leave Tuscola, a place that I call home and have since I graduated from there in 2004, but I know Mr. Conard is going to do a fantastic job. He puts the kids
last few months during the suspension and eventual resignation of Blackmon.
“I am thrilled to join the school that I went through, kindergarten through fifth grade. I went to Jonathan Valley. I hold that place dear in my heart,” said Shelton. “I’m going to put everything I’ve got into Jonathan Valley. I’m excited for this opportunity, I’m grateful for it.”
first and that’s what they need. It’s a great place. I am thrilled to start this new journey, go from kids with beards and as tall as me to kids that look like my amazing son. I’m thrilled for this; I appreciate the opportunity.”
The school board accepted Putnam’s recommendations for appointments unanimously.
Jake Tallent vividly remembers the impact that the New Century Scholars program had on his life.
“It was an incredible opportunity for me,” said Tallent, who was inducted into the program in 2007 while he was in the seventh grade. “It opened doors that might not have been possible otherwise. Being able to do the volunteer aspect of New Century Scholars got me in touch with some really great people.”
Thanks in part to the solid educational foundation he received through the program, Tallent went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude from Southwestern with an associate degree in 2014. Along the way, he made the President’s and Dean’s lists numerous times.
These days, the Macon County native is living his dream as captain for a charter airline based in Asheville, and he returned to SCC’s Jackson Campus on Jan. 30 to speak to the newest group of New Century Scholars at their induction ceremony.
Tallent is among the more than 2,500 students who’ve been inducted as New Century Scholars since the program was founded by the late Dr. Charlie McConnell, who was Jackson County Public Schools Superintendent at the time, and then-SCC President Dr. Barry Russell.
Deserving students are annually inducted in the seventh grade and receive resources and support as they navigate middle and high school – preparing for a successful experience in college without worrying about the financial aspect.
The New Century Scholars program is supported entirely by private donations and provides last-dollar tuition assistance.
“Every year, I’m struck by how many lives are being changed by this visionary program and the generosity of individuals and businesses in the communities we serve,” said Dr. Don Tomas, President of SCC. “It’s wonderful to shake the hands of these future Southwestern students as they walk across the same stage where they’ll one day soon receive their college degrees. Their future just got a lot brighter, and all of us at SCC are proud to be a part of it.”
In addition to working toward their high school diplomas, New Century Scholars are required to participate in community service activites that encourage leadership skills and explore potential future career options.
To support this program, donations may be made at SouthwesternCC.edu/Foundation or by check to New Century Scholars and sent to the SCC Foundation, 447 College Drive, Sylva, NC 28779.
Jake Tallent, a former New Century Scholar and 2014 SCC graduate, spoke to the next generation of New Century Scholars during their induction ceremony on Jan. 30 at Southwestern’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. Donated photo
Jackson County Public Schools will begin accepting preschool applications for the 2023-24 school year on March 9. The cost is $600 per month or $500 per month for JCPS employees.
Children who will be four years old by August 31, 2023, are prioritized for most programs. Children who will be three years old by August 31, 2023, are eligible to apply at Blue Ridge School and Smokey Mountain Elementary School.
An appointment is required to apply for a preschool program. Parents or guardians should contact the school they would like their child to attend prior to March 9 and schedule a time for a developmental screening.
Parents or guardians should bring proof of birth date to the developmental screening for each child who is applying to attend a preschool program.
Financial support may also be available. Parents or guardians who would like to apply for financial assistance must provide proof of income by March 9, and the child for whom they are applying must turn four years old by August 31, 2023.
For more information about preschool applications, please visit jcpsnc.org/preschool. For questions about the district preschool program that are not related to scheduling screenings, please call
Laura Dills at 828.586.2311 ext. 1950 or email ldills@jcpsmail.org or call Kelli Bumgarner at 828.586.2311 ext. 1939 or email kbumgarner@jcpsmail.org.
Western Carolina University was chosen as one of America’s best midsize employers for 2023 by Forbes Magazine.
WCU has been ranked in the top 20% coming in at number 97 out of 500 organizations.
“This ranking is a true testament of the remarkable talent and dedication of WCU’s faculty and staff,” Chancellor Kelli R. Brown said. “These hardworking professionals have a positive impact on our students and our region, throughout North Carolina and beyond, each and every day. And to be one of only two North Carolina employers represented in the top 100 is an incredible achievement. I couldn’t be prouder of the faculty and staff who are essential to making Western the wonderful university it is.”
More than 45,000 employees were surveyed at companies and institutions around the U.S. that have 1,000 to 5,000 employees. Participants were asked on a scale from 0-10 if they would recommend their current employer to friends and family, and to include any other organization they would
also recommend.
WCU has nearly 1,600 employees at its Cullowhee campus, Biltmore Park instructional site in Asheville and through its distance learning programs.
The Jackson County Public Library is starting a new program called Tech Time that will run, starting in March, every Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. This program is open to all and free of charge.
Every Monday, digital navigators will host the program to assist attendees with basic smartphone, laptop, iPad and tablet skills. Tech Time sessions offer one-on-one help on any personal digital device. Tech Time is a chance for residents of all ages to bring their devices and ask any questions. Participants can learn how to set up an email account, mute your cell phone, backup and store files, and much more.
Tech Times are free. No library cards are required, and no appointments are necessary. Services are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information, please call the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva at 828.586.2016 or email at jcpl-adults@fontanalib.org. This program
is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library.
Western Carolina University’s Spring Literary Festival returns to campus March 20-23 with a series of live events.
The 21st annual gathering of poets and authors is free and open to the public, with all events taking place in the Hinds University Center.
Directed by Jeremy Jones, an associate professor of English, the festival has a long tradition of bringing established and emerging literary talent to the community.
Monday, March 20
• Noon – Gilbert-Chappell Poets
• 4 p.m. – Idra Novey, author of “Those Who Knew” and “Take What You Need,” and Glenn Taylor author of “The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart” and “The Songs of Betty Baach.”
• 7 p.m. – Ashley M. Jones, the Poet Laureate of the State of Alabama and author of “REPARATIONS NOW!
Tuesday, March 21
• Noon – Stephen J. West, author of “Soft-Boiled: An Investigation of Masculinity & the Writer’s Life” and A. Kendra Greene, author of “The Museum of Whales You Will Never See.”
• 4 p.m. – Mark Powell, author of eight novels, most recently “Lioness,” and Charles Dodd White, author of “In the House of Wilderness,” the recipient of the Appalachian Book of the Year award in fiction.
• 7 p.m. – Beth Macy, author of four books, including national bestsellers, “Truevine,” “Factory Man,” and “Dopesick,” which was adapted into the Emmy-award-winning Hulu series.
Wednesday, March 22
• Noon – Winners of the high school, undergraduate and graduate student creative writing competitions.
• 4 p.m. – Erin Tran, a queer Vietnamese poet and the author of “Mouth, Sugar, and Smoke” and “The Gutter Spread Guide to Prayer” and Devon Miller-Duggan, poet and author of “Pinning the Bird to the Wall,” “Alphabet Year,” and “The Slow Salute.”
• 7 p.m. – S.A. Cosby, a crime fiction writer and author of “My Darkest Prayer,” “Blacktop Wasteland,” and “Razorblade Tears.”
Thursday, March 23
• Noon – Tom Belt (Cherokee Nation) and Lisa Leffler, co-authors of “Sounds of Tohi: Cherokee Health and Well-Being in Southern Appalachia.”
• 4 p.m. – Angela Velez, a Peruvian-American writer, artist and author of the young adult novel “Lulu and Milagro's Search for Clarity.”
• 7 p.m. – Jason Mott, author of “Hell of a Book,” the 2021 National Book Award recipient for fiction.
For more information, visit litfestival.org or contact WCU at 828.227.7264.
It seems to me that when we talk about the spaces in our community for our children, we should be talking about what is safe, supportive and loving.
We need schools that are safe, supportive and loving.
We need libraries that are safe, supportive and loving.
Every single high school freshman that I have taught in the years since youth owning cell phones was common in American culture has access to the most graphic material which they can peruse at their own discretion, outside any parental supervision. And any parent who thinks they have any sort of control over what their cell phone-owning children can see doesn’t understand the concept of digital natives who operate at the level of the National Security Agency when it comes to thwarting parental blocks and monitoring apps. They will seek and find what they want.
What’s the difference between a 14-year-old’s cell phone and the Macon County Library?
The content in the library is all vetted. Painstakingly vetted and curated. The library staff doesn’t spin a wheel and select books at random. Rather, they consult professional librarian association recommendations, professional reviewing association recommendations and so on. The library staff discuss. And discuss some more. The Fontana Community Outreach Project polled our communities and received the feedback that the library selections should reflect the diversity of our communities in an equitable manner. And that public polling further informed library selections.
The word “neutrality” was tossed about freely at the last board meeting of the Macon County Library. And what I found interesting and noteworthy about the multiple uses of
To the Editor:
I was heartened to see the recent coverage that the Pilot Travel Center off of I-40 on Exit 24 received from WLOS in Asheville. In this featured segment, the dangerous situation that has developed from the lack of adequate pull-in access for trucks was highlighted. A
the term from multiple speakers was that each speaker had a different definition of what constituted “neutral,” with the only variable being agreed upon was that “neutral is something that fits with what I believe and doesn’t challenge my beliefs.”
And there is no librarian nor library on Earth nor in history who can fulfill such a nebulous notion of neutrality except to convert libraries into mere empty structures with empty shelves such has been done in some Florida public schools.
Perhaps that is the mission objective and I’m just too dense to get it.
When I reflect on tough decisions involving my students, when I think about how to address tough questions in the public arena, when I think about how I should interact with others in my daily life, I try to find a grounding, relatable person to emulate. A person who is all about providing allyship to the disinherited, the alienated, the marginalized, the unloved. A person who is relentlessly supportive and loving. A person whose generosity of spirit and pocketbook seems to have almost no bounds.
The Smoky Mountains’ own Dolly Parton.
What would Dolly do? I think Dolly would say:
“We need schools that are safe, supportive and loving. We need libraries that are safe, supportive and loving.”
Leading an angry mob and accusing the loving, kind, supportive and UNDERPAID library staff of criminal behavior
big thank you to Cathy and Carson Helms, local residents who were quoted in the article, for stepping forward and verbalizing what so many of us have been thinking for years.
As a local resident that lives up the road from the Pilot, I have seen firsthand the chaos that ensues every day from the traffic backup that is caused by the great number of trucks lined up and waiting to pull into and out of
when there is no criminal behavior is just plain old being mean. And Dolly says that we shouldn’t be mean.
Dolly says we should love. We should open our hearts and wallets to make the world safer and more supportive for our children. And we should be especially worried when there is a genuine national crisis of teens engaged in self harm because their sexual orientation does not match up with what some people think it should be.
Rather than taking the time, effort and our limited community energy to tear apart our precious library and its precious staff. Rather than making moves to dismantle the historic, precious, frugal and cost-saving Fontana Regional Library system, we should be building it up. We should not be ripping into the library staff like a chainsaw run amok; rather, we should be supporting them.
In short, I think we should spend our time trying to build schools rather than short-changing this generation and the next. We should be adding books and other media to the library and paying our staff properly rather than operating out of a center of hate seeking to isolate and/or remove books we don’t like and tearing libraries down.
We should be supporting the diversity of our communities in an equitable manner. And supporting and loving our most vulnerable.
We are rags of many colors but we can stitch ourselves together as a community coat of mutual support, security, and love.
Just like Dolly’s momma did.
(John deVille is a long-time public school teacher in Macon County. jdeville@gmail.com.)
the station. The problem has been made worse by the recent construction that is being done on I-40 at Exit 20. While plans for safety improvements are said to be in the works, the fact that they have been “in process” for over a year and have not yet been approved just sounds like stalling to me.
I would like to see more transparent and frequent coverage of the progress that is being made for the Pilot re-do, in hopes that this will push the matter along more quickly. And
while they are at it, management really should do something about cleaning up the mass of garbage strewn about and cascading down the property hillside. It shows great disrespect for the land and for the surrounding neighbors who have to view this mess on a daily basis.
In the meantime, take care while travelling down Crabtree Road/N.C. 209 near exit 24, especially during rush hour.
I’m the mom to two boys, ages 14 and 11. Both of them are currently on the cusp of a big transition. My younger son, Case, is in fifth grade and will be starting middle school in the fall, while my older son, Brooks, is in eighth grade and will be entering high school. With it already being March, they are beginning to visit their future schools and make decisions regarding class schedules and activities for the upcoming school year.
When Brooks entered middle school almost three years ago, I didn’t think much of it, other than being happy for him because I could tell he’d outgrown elementary school. But then as the next several years unfolded, I watched my little boy with his clear skin and high-pitched voice quite literally morph into a young man. When once my arm draped around his shoulder, it now drapes around his waist and for the mom of any boy, this repositioning of the arm tugs mightily at the heartstrings.
Knowing how much growth and change occurs in those seemingly short three years of middle school makes me want to slow down time for Case. He’s my baby, so when he follows in big brother’s footsteps and experiences his own massive growth spurt and dive into puberty, there will be no more high-octave voices chattering in the car or throughout our home.
Meanwhile, Brooks is ready to leave the junior high years and move on to high school. From watching their step siblings and friends’ kids, I know that the independence that comes along with the teenage years is going to speed up time exponentially. Once he is driving, working a part-time job, and heavily involved in academics and athletics, our days of relaxing and connecting will be minimal.
I remember reading a quote from writer Gretchen Rubin that said, “The days are long, but the years are short.” When Brooks and Case were babies and toddlers in constant need of my energy and attention, the days often dragged on and on as I worked hard to entertain and engage them. Now, I wish I could go back in time to fully remember what it was like to have them little.
Being in a co-parenting situation, I’ve become accustomed to the boys being with their dad and not always under my roof. As any divorced parent will tell you, it’s not
easy, but eventually it becomes the new normal and you adapt to make the best of the situation. I’ve learned it’s a must to focus on quality of time versus quantity because if I think too hard about the days I’m missing while they’re at their dad’s, I’ll drive myself crazy. Learning this has been a silver lining of joint custody. I never, ever take for granted the minutes, hours and days I have with my boys.
One time I read that moms often feel like we are the main character of our children’s life stories, but in reality, they are the main characters of their own stories. I often have to remind myself of this when they are making memories that don’t include me. As long as they’re happy and creating a joyful, memorable life story, I have to remove my selfish ego from the situation, as challenging as it may be.
Even though it’s hard to watch my boys make big life transitions, they are excited by them. Brooks is talking about AP courses and elective classes that would match up with his future goal of being an architect or environmental engineer. He loves visiting college campuses because he’s starting to envision himself as one of the students walking through a student center or sitting at a baseball game.
Similarly, Case came home from school this week chattering about a visit from the middle school band director. He’s now entertaining the thought of playing the saxophone or the trumpet. He’s asking his older siblings which teachers were their favorites and if he should take advanced PE or folk art. During basketball season as he watched Brooks play, he talked about how badly he wanted to make the middle school team.
No matter how much we sometimes want time to stand still, it keeps moving forward. The older and wiser I become, I learn more and more that each day is truly a gift that shouldn’t be squandered away worrying or stressing over things out of our control.
As my boys navigate these new beginnings, I can’t let my desire to keep them young block the path. Instead, I need to be a solid cornerstone of their support system and their biggest cheerleader. Most importantly, I need to remember no matter how tall they grow or how deeply they speak or how successful they become, I will always be their mom and for that, I am forever grateful.
(Susanna Shetley is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for The Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living and Mountain South Media. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com)
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shooper@beverly-hanks.com
From humble beginnings as a teenage singer-songwriter in his native Texas to gracing some of the most iconic stages the world over, Lyle Lovett remains a true American musical treasure.
At 65, the beloved Grammy-winning musician still stands proudly at the crossroads of Americana, country and folk music. And more so with a deep, unrelenting sense of curiosity and collaboration, this childlike wonder of discovery and destiny emanating from his heart and soul.
In conversation, Lovett is keenly introspective, where’s it more about gratitude and appreciation of being in “the now” than anything else. It’s about not focusing on the past or worrying about the future, but to be present, and also to realize how everything is all one moment, anyhow — that place where the real intrinsic beauty of the universe resides.
Acclaimed Americana/country singersongwriter Lyle Lovett & His Acoustic Group will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.
Tickets start at $38, with priority seating available. smokymountainarts.com or 866.273.4615.
you are, to live every day — the right now is all we have. You can’t look past anything, you can’t think about the results. When you’re trying to do good work, you can’t imagine an impact. You just have to think about your work — the impact will take care of itself. The impact will be whatever it is, but the work is what’s important.
At my age, I don’t have ambition, in terms of the music business. My motivation really comes from just wanting to do a good job in my little corner of the music business. I want to serve the audience that I have and do good work — anything beyond that is a bonus, really.
SMN: To that, I would surmise you’re someone that’s always harnessed and held gratitude throughout all of this.
Smoky Mountain News: Sonically, or perhaps artistically, where are you right now? What’s the landscape look like?
Lyle Lovett: You know, I still enjoy playing. The record [“12th of June”] came out in [2022], and we’re still playing songs from the album, as well as songs from my past. I mean, artistically, it’s all been one kind of through line. Everything’s been connected. So, my process continues to be what it’s always been — I play live and I make up stuff along the way.
SMN: I guess with any kind of artistic endeavor, in the back of your mind you’re like, “What does this all add up to?” But, then you realize that it’s just all one thing, anyways.
LL: Well, that’s a great way to say it. It’s kind of all one thing. It’s not a matter of starting or stopping, ever. It’s a matter of keeping going. Everything is connected, everything inspires everything else. It’s not, “I’m going to sit down and write for my next album.” Your life goes on, your personal life and professional life.
Everything is connected. You’re not just able to stop one thing and start something else. For my career and personal life, everything has happened at the same time — you just kind of keep those files open all the time.
SMN: If you’re caught up with thinking about the next step, you’re never going to be satisfied — you’re never going to enjoy where you are.
LL: You’re saying all the things that I think. [Laughs]. It’s so important to appreciate where
LL: Well, there are people who work for a living, who do jobs that they’re not thrilled with, people who look forward to the end of the day and to vacation time. I’m fortunate that my job — if you want to call it a job — is engaging in something I just love to do, and would do anyway. I want to play music with my friends, whether I were able to do it onstage in front of an audience or not.
When I started playing in 1976, I was 18 years old. I thought it a summer job. A high school buddy of mine and I got a gig at a local restaurant, not far from where we grew up, called The Mariner [in Houston, Texas]. It was a steak and seafood restaurant that had live entertainment in the bar as people waited for their tables.
And we played [The Mariner] just a couple nights a week because their regular guy wanted an extra couple of nights a week off that summer to be with his family. So, we were kind of the fill-in band. And, I really thought at the time, “Well, this is a cool summer job.”
But, somehow or another, I just didn’t stop when I went back to school that fall. I started figuring out how to book myself, figuring out play up in College Station [while attending Texas A&M].
I just never stopped playing. I was 18 years old, and I would have never imagined that this would become my whole life. It’s a great feeling to be able to do something you love to do, and to be blessed to be able to sustain it.
Early in my career, journalists would ask, “What does success mean to you?” Well, my answer today is that same as it was then — [success is] being able to do what you love to do, the way you want to do it, and being able to keep doing it.
“I just never stopped playing. I was 18 years old, and I would have never imagined that this would become my whole life.”
— Lyle LovettLyle Lovett. (Michael Wilson photo) A conversation with Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett & His Acoustic Group (Americana/folk) will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.
It was surreal to be in that moment, this whirlwind of sound and spectacle, the aweinspiring scope of it all.
About 10:30 a.m. last Tuesday, I laced up my running shoes and walked out the front door of the small hotel room in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Blue skies, sunshine and warm air.
It was also Mardi Gras and “Fat Tuesday.” The moment I stepped foot onto Esplanade Avenue, a sea of faces, costumes, live music and absolute mayhem appeared before me. Sidewalks were filled with folks heading in seemingly every direction, each in search of a particular parade or house party. Shenanigans afoot, and all in the name of the beauty and culture that is NOLA.
Jogging down Esplanade, I turned right onto North Rampart Street, ultimately pushing into the depths of the French Quarter. Down Barracks towards Burgundy, Dauphine, Bourbon, and Royal streets. Bars and restaurants already overflowing with joyous humanity in the late morning.
Along my trek a few anonymous faces yelled out here and there, “Hey, why you running right now? It’s Mardi Gras. Get a drink in your hand.” True that, my brothers and sisters. True that. Trotting back to the hotel, I darted back down along Barracks Street to skip around the foot traffic on Esplanade.
And it was in that moment on the corner of Barracks and Treme where I noticed a door opening in what appeared to be an abandoned building, or at least seemed so when I ran by it a couple days prior. I realized it was a neighborhood bar, the exterior wall painted with the words, “The Little People’s Place.” A pop-up tent was also being set up to grill out.
Returning back to the hotel, my lady friend was sitting by the pool reading a book in the noonday sun. After a quick dip in the refreshing waters, I emerged from the pool and told her about The Little People’s Place, how it was right around the corner, and, perhaps, we should stop by for some cold suds amid our afternoon Mardi Gras wanderings and ponderings. She agreed.
After we got dressed, it was time to enter the madness, to head out into the general public and see what sorts of adventures we may find ourselves immersed in. Stepping back onto Esplanade, a parade was drifting by. Standing there on the grassy median, we were soon surrounded by hundreds of colorful costumes following a massive drumline.
Walking up to The Little People’s Place, one of the patrons said it was “a cash only bar, but there’s an ATM ‘round the corner a couple blocks south of here.” Following his directions, we were moseying to Rampart, but not before finding ourselves in the midst of The Wild Magnolias parade on the corner of Henriette Delille and Governor Nicholls.
Celebrating the indigenous heritage that lies at the foundation of NOLA culture and history, the tribe was adorned in beautifully intricate suits (pictured). Pounding their drums and howling into the heavens, they roamed the side streets, picking up new followers one-by-one, including ourselves. We followed the congregation for a few blocks,
only to circle back to The Little People’s Place once cash was secured at the ATM in the corner store.
The small structure was only one-story tall, where it’d be filled to the brim if more than a dozen patrons were inside at the same time. Most of the friendly faces were on the sitting outside on the large bench or simply standing on the sidewalk sipping cold suds. Vibrant conversation and storytelling. Belly laughter. Hugs. Handshakes. Beloved old friends or new ones genuinely made in the haste of the moment at-hand.
Eventually, I found myself making acquaintances with Roy, whose grandfather opened The Little People’s Place in 1947. Roy grew up in the house next door. He spoke of his childhood a few decades ago, where he, his siblings, cousins, and other neighborhood kids would ride their bike all around the city, play stickball and football in front of the bar, and how memorable the Friday fish fry was — and remains — to this day.
Roy was as welcoming as he was interested in how we stumbled across the establishment. “It just seemed like nice place with good folks,” I said. He smiled and shook my hand. We were now friends. A couple hours
The inaugural “Fire Arts Festival” will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. 3
2
A rock-n-roll power trio tribute to the sound, music and vibe of Jimi Hendrix, Imij of Soul will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville. 4
A special “Kids at HART” production of “Children of Eden!” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. March 3-4, 10-11 and at 2 p.m. March 5 and 12 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
5
The Blue Ridge Orchestra’s “Musique Ménage,” a concert of contrasts, featuring Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 and original music by local artists Fancy & The Gentlemen, will be presented at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 4, in the Charles Beall Auditorium at Haywood Community College in Clyde.
later, my lady friend and I moved on into the French Quarter.
But, forget the alternate, somewhat plastic reality that is Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras. No, we headed up and down Royal and Burgundy streets, out towards the boardwalk along the Mississippi River, the air now foggy from a cool evening breeze overtaking the hot city. Onward towards Frenchman Street and back into the Treme neighborhood.
It was nearing midnight and soon Mardi Gras would be over, at least until next year. Strolling down Esplanade, it was decided to grab a late-night burger and fries at Buffa’s Lounge. The mob scene inside and on the street corner at Buffa’s that was earlier in the day was now just a fresh memory. The floors were covered in glitter, confetti and empty drink cups. The place was pretty much empty, as were the streets.
The bartenders were delirious yet jovial amid endless work shifts throughout the last few days. As I got up to use the restroom, I could hear a piano being played in the back barroom. I wandered in and there was this single person tapping away at the keys. Nobody else around. All the chairs put up and so forth.
I asked his name. “Adam,” he replied. He had just finished a 12-hour shift behind the bar, now just flushing out his exhausted mind with some solo piano numbers played for nobody in particular, just himself and in that moment, this deafening silence in the aftermath of the torrential storm that is Mardi Gras.
Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
‘Meet me in the city and see everything is so fine’The Wild Magnolias parade in New Orleans. (Garret K. Woodward photo)
A rock-n-roll power trio tribute to the sound, music and vibe of Jimi Hendrix, Imij of Soul will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville.
The show is free and open to the public. To learn about Imij of Soul, go to facebook.com/jimivibes. For more information, call 828.246.0350 or click on boojumbrewing.com.
Willow Wright is a seven-year-old Franklin resident battling cancer.
A fund-raising swim sponsored by Braulio Fonseca and local nonprofit “A Warriors Way Cancer Fund Inc.,” is being held March 11.
You can donate online to help defray the family’s costs by going to www.gofundme.com/f/swimmingfor-willow-wright
or scanning the QR code in this ad
The Blue Ridge Orchestra will usher in the month of March with “Musique Ménage,” a concert of contrasts, featuring Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 and original music by local artists Fancy & The Gentlemen.
The concert will be presented at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 4, in the Charles Beall Auditorium at Haywood Community College in Clyde.
The full orchestra will perform Movements I, II, and IV of Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, a magnificent work, which has earned comparisons to Beethoven’s later symphonies.
Following intermission, audiences will be transported from the mountains of 19th century Austria to the mountains of 21st century North Carolina. The BRO Strings will be joined by Fancy & The Gentlemen, an Asheville based trio whose music, like Schubert’s, is a reflection of the time and
The Pic’ & Play Mountain Dulcimer Players will be resuming in-person jam sessions at the St. John’s Episcopal Church basement fellowship hall in Sylva.
The group welcomes all beginners and experienced dulcimer players, including mountain (lap) dulcimer and hammered dulcimer players. Songs played include traditional mountain tunes, hymns, and more modern music. The group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of every month in the basement of St. John’s.
place of its composition.
Fancy Marie, Katie Leigh, and Craig Kellberg have developed their own unique sound with roots in the traditions of honkytonk, blues, southern gothic, and classical music.
Musique Ménage brings together two very different styles of fine music not often paired in a single performance. These concerts are sure to open many eyes and ears to new and engaging musical experiences and Haywood Community College is proud to bring orchestral music to Haywood County.
All proceeds from ticket sales will support student needs for HCC students helping to cover unforeseen expenses students might face to keep them on track and successful during their educational journey.
Tickets are $25 general admission and $15 Students, Free for age 5 and under. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit haywood.edu/orchestra.
Pic’ & Play has been playing together since 1995. The more experienced members welcome new players, help them navigate their instruments, and guide them through some of the basics of tuning, strumming, and playing.
The mountain dulcimer, also known as a fretted dulcimer or a lap dulcimer, is a uniquely American instrument. It evolved from the German scheitholz sometime in the early 1800s in Appalachia and was largely known only in this region until popularized more broadly in the 1950s.
For more information, call Kathy Jaqua at 828.349.3930 or Don Selzer at 828.293.0074.
• Altered Frequencies (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.342.8014 or alteredfrequencies.net.
• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8-10 p.m. every Thursday. Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.
• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7-9 p.m. every first and third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public. For more information, click on blueridgebeerhub.com.
• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host karaoke at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, Imij Of Soul March 4 and The Get Right Band (rock/indie) 9:30 p.m. March 17. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.
• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.
• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Orchard Sessions” on select dates. Tickets start at $25 per person. oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.
• Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. For tickets, click on folkmoot.org.
• Fontana Village Resort Wildwood Grill will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 800.849.2258 or fontanavillage.com.
• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host its weekly “Tuesday Jazz Series” at 5:30 p.m., Isaiah Breedlove (Americana/indie) March 3, Shelly Vogler (singer-songwriter) March 4 and Mike Oregano (Americana/indie) March 10. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.
• Frog Quarters (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free and open to the public. Located at 573 East Main Street. littletennessee.org or 828.369.8488.
• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. For a full schedule of events and/or to buy tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.
• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Trivia Night with Kirk” from 7-9 p.m. every Tuesday, Open Mic Night every Wednesday, Ethan Brown (singer-songwriter) March 3 and Andrew Wakefield (singer-songwriter) March 11. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.
innovation-brewing.com.
• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” on Wednesdays and semiregular live music on the weekends. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” 6 p.m. Tuesdays, trivia 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Open Mic 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.
Rising singer-songwriter Andrew Wakefield will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at Innovation Brewing in Sylva. Based out of Asheville, Wakefield possesses an extensive and eclectic catalogue of compositions — guitar-driven bluegrass to folk, old-time to newgrass, rock to Americana. He’s currently a contributing member of The Well Drinkers, and also a former member of Supper Break and Cynefin.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host trivia 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Old Time Jam 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Meadowlark Motel (Maggie Valley) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Tickets are $20. 828.926.1717 or meadowlarkmotel.com.
• Moss Valley (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. Food trucks and beverages available onsite. Bring a lawn chair. Presented by Drake Software.
• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.
• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host Captain Midnight Band (jam/soul) March 17 and Guavatron (jam/rock) March 18. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.641.9797 or nantahalabrewing.com.
• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows behind at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. noc.com.
• Orchard Coffee (Waynesville) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.246.9264 or orchardcoffeeroasters.com.
• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.586.1717 or facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.
• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the
Career highlights include performing at Merlefest, as well as playing alongside Molly Tuttle and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, members of Billy Strings, Town Mountain, Fireside Collective, Songs From the Road Band, Jon Stickley Trio,
weekends. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.369.6796.
• Salty Dog’s Seafood & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.926.9105.
• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.482.9794 or satulahmountainbrewing.com.
• Sauced (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.246.9585 or saucedwnc.com
• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host Appalachian Renegades (classic rock) March 3, The Paper Crowns (Americana/rock) March 10 and “Live Celtic Jam” 4 p.m. March 11. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.
• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.
• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host Lyle Lovett (Americana/folk) 7:30 p.m. March 4, “Newsboys with Adam Agee” (Christian/rock) 7 p.m. March 11 and United States Air Force Heritage of America Concert Band 3 p.m. March 12 (free show). For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.
• Southern Porch (Canton) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.492.8009 or southern-porch.com.
• Stecoah Valley Center (Robbinsville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.479.3364 or stecoahvalleycenter.com.
Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, George Clinton, and Jeff Sipe, among others. With renewed focus on the solo project, a bluegrass-themed sophomore album is in the works and set for release in early 2023. The show is free and open to the public. For more on Wakefield, click on andrewwakefield.net.
• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.743.3000 or theuglydogpub.com.
• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.526.8364 or theuglydogpub.com.
• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host JR Williams March 2, Outlaw Whiskey March 3, Virginia & The Slims March 4, Blackjack Country March 9, Jon Cox Band (rock/country) March 10 and Rock Holler March 11. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.
• Valley Cigar & Wine Co. (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows are at 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.944.0686 or valleycigarandwineco.com.
• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.
• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 9:30 p.m. 828.456.4750 or facebook.com/waternhole.bar.
• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.743.6000 or whitesidebrewing.com.
• Wine Bar & Cellar (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. 828.631.3075 or facebook.com/thewinebarandcellar.
• Yonder Community Market (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. Donations encouraged. 828.200.2169 or eatrealfoodinc.com.
A special “Kids at HART” production of “Children of Eden!” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. March 3-4, 10-11 and at 2 p.m. March 5 and 12 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
From musical theatre greats, Stephen Schwartz and John Caird, comes a joyous and inspirational musical about parents, children and faith, not to mention centuries of unresolved family business. This epic musical tells the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and the story of Noah and the flood, all of which deal with the headstrong, cataclysmic actions of their respective children.
As generations pass, faith and loyalty are tested, but the bonds of family and love remain strong. With incredibly beautiful and moving music by acclaimed Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz (“Pippin,” “Godspell,” “Wicked” and Disney films, including “Enchanted” and “Pocahontas”) this production features a talented cast of young performers who tell these timeless stories about parents, children, and their endlessly complex relationships.
The cast includes Henry Blackburn, James Cloninger, Ruby Cloninger, Ruthie Collins, Kayenta Cruz, Chelcy Frost, Drake Frost, Naomi Gevjan, Peyton Jennings, Tristan Johnson, Kade Mabe, Logan Norman, Josie Ostendorff, Reese Pifer, Luna Risch, Ezra Roth, Savanna Shaw, Noah Sheets, Emma Shell, Abby Welchel and Haiden Wood, with choreography from students James Cloninger and Ruthie Collins.
Tickets are $21.50 for adults, $11.50 for students. To purchase tickets, click on harttheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at 828.456.6322. Winter Box Office hours are 3-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
There will be a contra dance class offered from 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.
Contra dance is considered the most accessible and sociable of all dances, with participants moving in two long facing lines or in groups, and with frequent partner changes. With its roots in the British Isles and France, contra dance has become a traditional American dance form.
No experience is needed to contra dance. All dances are taught. Beginners’ lessons start at 6:30 p.m., with dancing from 7-9 p.m. No need to bring a partner, but you’re welcome to do so. You may also bring a closed water container and snack. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Masks are encouraged, but not required. Please don’t wear perfumes or strong scents.
Suggested donation of $10 per person. This project is hosted by the Arts Council of Macon County and supported by a generous gift from The James Edward Hudock Trust.
• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.
• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.
• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines. Educational classes and other events are also available. For more information, call 828.538.0420.
• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or click on gsmr.com.
The nonprofit Quilt Alliance and the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva will present two free “Community Quilt Days” in March.
• Saturday, March 4: There will be a talk about quilts in Western North Carolina. Participants will see an interview with a local quilter, learn about historic quilts made in the area, and find out how to document the quilts you own and make. Come for the presentation from 12:30-1:30
p.m. and stay for fun interactive and educational displays, which are available until 4 p.m.
• Saturday, March 25: Noon to 4 p.m. Sign up for a time slot to bring in your quilts (ones you’ve made or ones you own) to share and document. There will be photo and video stations set up and an interactive station for attaching labels to quilts. A quilt historian will be available to help identify quilt patterns and other details of vintage and antique quilts.
Quilt Alliance is a nonprofit 501c3 organization established in 1993 with a mission to document, preserve, and share our American quilt heritage by collecting the rich stories that historic and contemporary quilts, and their makers, tell about our nation’s diverse peoples and their communities.
For complete information on the Quilt Alliance, click on quiltalliance.org/communityquiltdays. You can also call the library at 828.586.2016 or email at jcpl-adults@fontanalib.org.
This program is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. The library is a member of Fontana Regional Library. To learn more, go to fontanalib.org.
The reception for the 55th annual Juried Undergraduate exhibition will be held from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 2, at the Fine Art Museum in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.
Currently being showcased through March 24, the exhibition is one of the longest-running Catamount art traditions. For emerging artists, this exhibition is an extraordinary opportunity to share their artwork with a larger public and to enhance their skills in presenting artwork in a professional gallery setting.
Students’ work is reviewed by an outside
art professional, one who has the challenge of making selections from the many talented students who submit an application. This year’s judge is Margaret Curtis.
Curtis is a feminist artist whose multilayered, narrative paintings address interpersonal and societal power dynamics. She is a 2021-2026 Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellow. Curtis received degrees from Duke University and The Atlanta College of Art. This event will include a talk from the artists, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, and drinks. Free parking is available. arts.wcu.edu/juried-23.
Monday & Saturday Dinner Service
Monday 4 p.m.-8 p.m.
Friday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
perfect for all walks of life, from families to golf groups to ladies who lunch. We pride ourselves on using fresh ingredients from our gardens and supporting local farmers. The details are priority.
The inaugural “Fire Arts Festival” will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro.
Amid a slew of activities offered, there will be glassblowing, blacksmithing, artwork for sale, and walk-in classes available. For more information, call 828.631.0271 or click on jcgep.org.
• The immersive installation ”Courtney M. Leonard — BREACH: Logbook | CORIOLIS” is currently being showcased through May 5 in the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Created by the Shinnecock Nation ceramic artist as part of Leonard’s BREACH series, the exhibition explores cultural and historical connections to water, fishing practices, and sustainability. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday. Free and open to the public. arts.wcu.edu/breach.
• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. For more information on the upcoming classes and/or to sign-up, click on southwesterncc.edu/ scc-locations/swain-center.
• Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro will host an array of upcoming art classes and workshops. For more information and a full schedule of activities, click on dogwoodcrafters.com/classes.html or call 828.586.2248.
This year, the women’s basketball team of Christendom College, a small school in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, includes a forward, Catherine Thomas, who has averaged 27.7 points and 14.8 rebounds per game. Those are outstanding percentages in any league, no matter its size.
On Saturday, February 25, I watched my grandson and his teammates from Pennsylvania’s tiny Gregory the Great Academy play rugby against another Catholic school, Gonzaga, in the heart of Washington, D.C. It was cold and snowing, and though the Greg’s team over the years has won trophies and tournaments, the highly ranked Gonzaga powerhouse handily whipped them.
Meanwhile, my friend John, who attended the Gonzaga-Greg’s game with us, later spent the early evening watching his adopted team, the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets, advance to the Finals in the NCAA Division III ODAC tournament by defeating Ferrum College.
In each of these sports contests, and in the countless others that occur annually across our country, from the Super Bowl to a Friday night high school football game, millions take pleasure from cheering on their teams and watching the talents at play on the fields, on courts and in the arenas. As we watch these games and contests, it’s easy to forget the incredible mix of ingredients that go into the making of all such athletes: their dreams and the pursuit of excellence, the untold hours of practice, the interior fortress of grit and determination, courage and suffering, and lessons learned, as the old tag from the television show Wide World of Sports put it, from “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
In “Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life” (University Press of Florida, 2021, 272 pages), Gavin Larsen raises the curtain and turns on the footlights of the stage revealing the role played by these same attributes in the life of a dancer.
Larsen begins her memoir when she is an eight-year-old girl new to the New York School of Ballet. Clumsy and ignorant, she
learns her steps and movements by mimicking her older classmates, receives expert instruction and some sharp criticism as she moves forward, and eventually falls in love with the world of dance. By the age of 16, in a rapid succession of epiphanies, she discovers that the deeply-embedded passion she feels for ballet was “her destiny, what she was born and made to do, even before she
routine of a dancer. In the first chapter of this series, Larsen describes the muscle stiffness on rising in the morning, the first exercises of the day, a breakfast of buttered toast, two hard-boiled eggs and hot tea until it’s time “to pick up your bag, take two Aleve, and walk out the door.”
Like the best of our athletes, then, professional ballerinas find their days filled with exercise and intense practice, and watching over the machinery of the body that is so precious to their profession.
And like those football players, gymnasts and skaters, Larsen daily pursued the artistic excellence that will move a performance from the category of good to great. Attention must be paid to every physical detail of the body: a flat stomach, the tilt of the head, the bend and curl of the fingers, no wrinkles on the forehead. In this sense, the dancer resembles the great portraitists of art, with their own bodies serving as the paint and canvas.
Even more, the dancer must, as Larsen shows us time and again, translate the works of composers into a physical form, blending movement with that music in their attempts to captivate and inspire an audience. Here is the core target of all that relentless training, diet and practice.
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And at age 17, a senior in high school, Larsen was offered a position with the Pacific Northwest Ballet.
For the remainder of this fine autobiography, we follow Larsen’s life at the barre, in the studio and in performances. This life is incredibly demanding, usually consisting of a long and rigorous daily workout, considerations of diet and sleep, dealing with physical ailments grave or minor, and learning steps and movements until she could probably repeat them in her sleep, all the while competing with other dancers for spots in a performance or for a place on a company’s roster.
In four short chapters in the first part of the book, all of them titled “How to Be a Ballerina,” Larsen leads us through the daily
“Being a Ballerina” is a perfect read for aspiring young dancers or for anyone interested in the world of ballet. Just as importantly, however, it is a study of arete — that old Greek concept about the quest for excellence and the fulfillment of our potential. No matter our situation or station in life, here is a worthy goal for all of us. The mother who spends her days taking care of her children, the electrician who earns his living from his trade, the pediatrician caring for one more case of strep throat: all these folks and the rest of us daily face the opportunity, as did Gavin Larsen, to develop our skill sets, to improve them, and to become artists in our own right.
The subtitle to Larsen’s book — “The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life” — has something to teach us all about the power we all possess to strive for excellence and seek that impossible dream of perfectibility.
(Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” minick0301@gmail.com.)
A monthly book club is being currently offered at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Each month, a library staff member will be discussing some of the new book titles that the library has received. Particular attention will be paid to “under the radar” titles and authors, new releases, and other books that the staff is excited about. All are welcome and no registration is required. For more information on when the club will meet, please call the library at 828.586.2016.
This club is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. The JCPL is a member of Fontana Regional Library (fontanalib.org).
swapped out for higher-quality patches encountered during projects.
The Partnership wasn’t the only group to object to the plan. The Forest Service recognized 891 parties as meeting the criteria for involvement in the objections process, and three days of virtual meetings in August aimed to hear all the objections raised and discuss suggested remedies to them. In January, the U.S. Forest Service finished reviewing those objections, and on Feb. 17 the agency released the final plan, incorporating changes from the objection process.
According to Evans, “the Forest Service didn’t do anything meaningful at all in response to those objections.”
However, there were some changes.
The Pisgah and Nantahala national forests are now operating under a new management plan, ending an arduous, 11-year process to revise an existing plan implemented in 1987.
The new plan was one of the first developed under a 2012 planning rule that emphasized public participation throughout the process.
“We’re excited to share the final plan, and really that provides the framework for us working together for the next generation to address the complex challenges we’re going to be facing,” said Forest Supervisor James Melonas. “And really it builds on an incredible conservation legacy of the past century, when not more than 100 years ago these lands were cut over and not national forests. And so it’s amazing to see where we come from and exciting to see where we’re going into the future.”
Some groups involved with the plan’s creation also expressed optimism for the forest’s future and relief that the tedious and at times contentious planning process is over. They’re happy that the final version reflects comments and concerns they voiced along the way.
But that sentiment is far from universal.
“The old plan forced us into sort of a zerosum game, and being close enough to that to know that that was not necessary, I just assumed that rational minds in the Forest
Service would see that too, and that they would help us get out of that gridlock pattern,” said Sam Evans, leader of the National Forests and Parks Program for the Southern Environmental Law Center. “A big disappointment for me here at the end of the process is that it is more of the same. It’s going to drive a wedge between stakeholders that had found consensus.”
SELC and four other environmental organizations — MountainTrue, The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife — published a joint press release the same morning the final plan went live, Feb. 17, decrying the plan as a failure that “turned a tin ear to legitimate input” and “outright dismisses the need to protect thousands of acres of high-priority areas for rare species.”
The final plan is out, Evans said, but the fight is not over. The groups are considering their options.
“We can sue over the plan,” Evans said. “We can oppose projects as they come up under the new plan. I would say the only thing that’s not an option for us is letting this plan roll out and be implemented in a way that continues to degrade those same resources — unroaded areas, healthy, intact forests like the state Natural Heritage Areas and existing old growth.”
All five organizations are active members or affiliate members of the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Partnership, a group of more than 20 diverse organizations with sometimes competing priorities for the forest plan that spent years hammering out a viable compromise.
When the revised plan came out in January 2021, many in the group were upset to see key recommendations excluded from the document.
Prominent among these concerns was the tier system the plan used to identify two levels of goals — benchmarks the Forest Service could reach using its own resources and benchmarks that would require help from partners. The Partnership wanted to see various tier objectives tied together so that, for instance, the Forest Service couldn’t move on to Tier 2 timber harvest goals without first meeting Tier 1 goals in other areas, such as invasive species management and watershed protection. Additionally, the Partnership said, the plan should require ecological restoration treatments to be paired with any commercial timber harvest occurring on the forest landscape.
The group was also concerned that 54,000 acres of state Natural Heritage Natural Areas were placed in management areas open to commercial logging and road building, and that the plan didn’t allow for protection of old growth patches found during timber projects. The group wanted to see a “cap and trade” approach to the 265,000-acre Old Growth Network identified in the plan, so that lowerquality patches in the network could be
An additional 800 acres was added to the Forest Scenic Area at Big Ivy/Craggy Mountain and Shope Creek — objectors had asked for an additional 4,000 acres — and a newly eligible Wild and Scenic River segment with a recreation classification was added for the North Fork French Broad River. Objectors had asked that designation be recommended for four rivers, but the final plan does recommend nine new Wild and Scenic Rivers in addition to the 10 currently recommended and three designated.
The final plan also clarified how the plan protects species of conservation concern and recovery of federally listed species. It contained various changes in response to concerns from multiple outdoor recreation groups, including clarifying management aspects for user-created trails, updating guidance on managing climbing routes through unique habitats, and added management approaches related to visitor management at equestrian campgrounds. Additionally, the document updated process documentation on ecological modeling, species analyses and Wild and Scenic Rivers evaluations.
But for the coalition of organizations represented by SELC, those revisions are nowhere near enough to address what they say are critical failures in the plan. Under the plan, 458,000 acres — about 45% of the forest — are deemed suitable for logging, and the groups say that 100,000 of those acres should be protected as old growth forests, rare species habitat and roadless backcountry. The most aggressive logging schedule under the plan allows 3,200 acres to be harvested each year, or 64,000 acres over the estimated 20year life of the plan.
Evans said the groups he represents never wanted to see increased logging on the forest but agreed to support it as a means of compromise — so long as certain parameters were met, as agreed to by the Partnership.
“We thought, sort of naively in hindsight, that the Forest Service would see the value in that and would build that into the final version,” said Evans. “Instead, what the Forest Service did was pull out all of the good stuff. So basically, they just
“The Forest Service didn’t do anything meaningful at all in response to those objections.”
— Sam Evans
As the sun hits the horizon, it shoots color through the sky from a viewpoint on the Pisgah Ranger District. USFSphoto
stripped out of the plan all of the focus on restoration and left the timber production. And when they did that, they also didn’t include any sideboards around things like old growth, state natural heritage areas and unroaded backcountry areas.”
“The Forest Service chose to blatantly ignore the voice of the people and the best available science in determining the future of our public lands,” added Hugh Irwin, senior conservation specialist for The Wilderness Society. “This forest plan will put key conservation areas and values at risk.”
However, condemnation of the final plan is not universal among members of the Partnership. Megan Sutton of The Nature Conservancy, who represented the Partnership during last year’s objection meetings, said she is not ready to make public comments about the plan, but representatives from both EcoForesters and the Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society — both of which are active Partnership members — expressed support for the final plan and optimism about the forest’s future.
Nick Biemiller, forest conservation director for the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society, said that the final plan doesn’t include everything he’d like it to or everything the Partnership asked for, but that he understands why.
“While I think there was a lot of strong collaboration through certain stakeholder collaboratives, like the Stakeholders Forum and like the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Partnership, those are not the only members of the public that the Forest Service was hearing from,” Biemiller said. “They were also considering the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; they were also considering local counties across Western North Carolina, local residents not just in urban areas like Asheville but also people that live out in the country and rural communities. And when taken as a whole, that’s a pretty diverse series of interests.”
Lang Hornthal, co-executive director of the nonprofit forestry organization EcoForesters, said that he never expected the Partnership’s recommendations to be copied and pasted into the plan.
“I personally never had an expectation that they wanted us to write the plan, and in fact early on they shared with both collaborative groups, the Partnership and the Stakeholders Forum, that that was not the reason for having people engaged with the Forest Service,” Hornthal said. “That was their job. That’s what they were hired to do and what they are required to do.”
Still, he said, the final document shows that the Forest Service was listening to what the Partnership had to say and may well be the most collaborative forest plan that’s ever been written.
Lack of protection for old growth forest is a big part of the problem that SELC, MountainTrue, The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife have with the final plan. The issue has proved contentious throughout the entire planning
process.
The new plan includes 49,000 acres of newly recommended wilderness in addition to the 66,000 acres of designated wilderness already found on the forest, and it designates 265,000 acres — more than one-quarter of the forest — as part of an Old Growth Network where timber harvest can’t take place and trees will be allowed to grow to the end of their natural life.
However, during the objections process last year, the Partnership criticized the Old Growth Network as containing very little actual old growth. The plan should establish a “cap and trade” system, the Partnership said, under which any highquality old growth discovered during project planning could be added to the network in exchange for acreage with lesser old growth characteristics.
The Forest Service did not implement this suggestion. In its objection response document, the Forest Service wrote that it made this decision due to disagreement about the correct size of the Old Growth Network and disagreement over the criteria used to add or remove patches. The large acreage given to the Old Growth Network is intended to offset this issue.
According to Evans, only 30,000 acres of the 265,000 acres is at the minimum age level to qualify as old growth, and the remainder is middle-aged forest of 60-100 years. Meanwhile, known old growth stands were not included in the network. The Forest Service does not have a figure for the number of acres in the network that currently qualify as old growth.
“We’re trading young forest that maybe will become older one day for existing old growth now,” Evans said, “and that isn’t a good trade for the species that live in old
growth forests and don’t move around.”
Evans is especially concerned about creatures like salamanders and lichen, which often have specific habitat requirements and aren’t able to flee when their surroundings suddenly change. He fears that the plan will result in valuable old growth forest that didn’t make it into the designated network being cut down without consideration — the forest plan does not require project-level surveys for old growth patches.
Hornthal thinks those fears are overwrought. Most of the trees in the 1.04-million-acre forest are 80-100 years old, springing up in the 1920s and 1930s as large-scale logging slowed down.
“The same characteristics that are important from an old growth network and system standpoint are also happening all over the forest as 1.1 million acres is getting older, unless disturbance happens, either manmade or through nature,” he said.
Melonas said that the Forest Service’s “guiding light” as it develops projects will be the framework developed under the new plan that lays out desired conditions for various areas of the forest. Those desired conditions sometimes center on creating younger forest and sometimes on developing older forest.
“Because of the complexity of the forest, there’s always going to be places that we might find a particular stand that is in that older forest type, and we can say, ‘You know what, that’s an area that’s special, and that we want to favor for those types, and that’s part of a larger project that’s holistic in a given area,’” he said.
Hornthal doesn’t see anything sinister in the Forest Service’s decision to pass on the cap-and-trade idea or to leave decisions about old growth discovered during timber
projects up to the district ranger.
“I didn’t hear the Forest Service say that they were going to go in and cut down old growth forests because they didn’t care about it,” Hornthal said. “What I did hear them say is we have a mandate to consider all age classes and the important values that they bring to the forest system. And we’re going to try to manage for all those values.”
It’s a matter of flexibility, he said, and wanting to keep all tools on the table to restore and improve forest health in the face of uncertain challenges.
Evans scoffs at that perspective, pointing to the controversial Southside Timber Project in southern Macon and Jackson counties as evidence.
“To those who said, ‘Don’t worry, the Forest Service will do good stuff under this plan even if they’re giving themselves the permission to do bad stuff,’ I say that’s your answer,” he said.
In press releases issued the same day, the Forest Service and the five environmental groups drew opposing conclusions about the plan’s implications for climate change.
The Forest Service said that the plan “focuses on forest resilience in the face of climate change,” while the environmental groups contended that it “ignores” the role of forests in fighting climate change.
“If you were to calculate which of those ecozones have the most potential for carbon storage, it’s the places with the big trees,” Evans said. “It’s the cove forest, it’s the mesic oak forest. They tend to store the most carbon. And if you were doing a restoration forest plan, those are the areas that you would leave alone.”
That’s not what the plan does, and that’s a huge loss in the fight against climate change, Evans said.
Hornthal sees it differently, laying out two schools of thought for the role of forests in combating climate change. The first view says that sequestering carbon is the most important goal, and that forests should be managed to sequester as much carbon as possible by limiting tree cutting. The second view sees forests as an important resource that must be kept as healthy as possible to withstand whatever challenges the future brings.
“If you’re managing solely for carbon sequestration and that’s it, and then a wildfire happens and burns down everything that you were growing, what have you done?” he said. “But if you’re managing a forest for resilience and making it as strong a system as possible, you are probably in a better position to be prepared.”
He believes that’s what the plan does.
When asked which part of the plan he was happiest about, Melonas said he was especially proud of the Forest Service’s col-
laboration with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The tribe had “close consultation” with the Forest Service throughout the planning process, said EBCI Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources Joey Owle.
“When you go through the plan and look at the various management objectives and priority areas, there are aspects of it that reflect what the tribe’s priorities are, and so we’re pleased to see that our considerations and priorities are in the plan,” Owle said.
The plan includes an objective to ensure sustainable harvest of ramps and a diverse selection of medicinal plants, and another to enhance, restore and augment native ginseng populations while also managing per-
and of course, new relationships that we can build, that it resulted in meaningful and thoughtful consultation,” Owle said.
Now the meetings are over, the public comment periods ended, and the new plan is out. The process is over — for now. When the last plan was completed in 1987, it didn’t take long for environmental groups to sue over alleged weaknesses in the document, ultimately winning in court and spurring significant revisions, which took effect in 1994. That could happen again.
Evans said the five environmental groups don’t have immediate plans to sue, but that legal action is not off the table. They believe the plan is deeply flawed and can’t be allowed to go into effect unchallenged — whether that challenge happens in the courtroom or during the planning process of each subsequent project.
mitted ginseng collection at sustainable levels. Both objectives reflect input from the tribe. The plan also specifies that the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, should be managed in consultation with tribes and with the National Park Service.
At the same time that the Forest Service was finalizing the plan, the EBCI was finalizing an agreement with the Forest Service under the authority of the Tribal Forest Protection Act that will allow the tribe and the Forest Service to partner on forest management and stewardship projects that include tribal land.
Owle said he was impressed with how the forest management plan served as a framework for addressing complex challenges and drew language from it when crafting the Tribal Forest Protection Act agreement.
“What we’ve been able to accomplish with the Forest Service staff here in North Carolina has been a testament to the relationship-building that’s been long-standing
“I’m hopeful that the Forest Service will take its lumps and learn something from this objection process and at least try to stay within the zone of consent and stay within the collaborative sphere as it’s rolling out projects,” Evans said. “I don’t anticipate that. I don’t expect it. But that’s what my hope is. But, if they don’t, it is not an option for us to just sit back and let them do that. We’ve put much too much into this process to quit now.”
As the planning process began more than a decade ago, Forest Service staff believed that a longer, more collaborative process would result in a final plan that the region’s diverse stakeholders could get behind. That consensus would, they hoped, allow individual projects to move through more quickly, with fewer objections and lawsuits.
The final plan does enjoy support from a range of groups — but certainly not from all of them. The process has not once and for all settled the long-standing tensions between myriad competing interests. But perhaps that was never possible.
“In an ideal world, we’d be in a situation where everybody felt excited about the plan and kind of ready to streamline the process of implementing it,” Biemiller said. “I don’t think we’re there with some organizations and interests. I think that’s too bad. I also do kind of wonder if some of that was unavoidable anyway.”
A CSA fair 3:30-6:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, at the YWCA of Asheville will highlight farms participating in community supported agriculture that have pickup locations in Buncombe County.
The fair, organized by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, is a relaxed setting where attendees can chat with farm-
ers about their products, growing practices and payment structure. It will include local food tastings, activities for kids and produce and food products for purchase. For those unable to attend or who are looking for a CSA outside of Buncombe County, online tools at asapconnections.org/csa help customers compare CSAs throughout the region, making it easier to choose a program that fits individual needs.
The growing season is getting closer, and Haywood County Master Gardeners are available to answer questions about all manner of plant-related issues.
The in-person plant clinic at the Haywood County Extension office on Raccoon Road in Waynesville is staffed Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons — drop by and explain your plant problem. Master Gardeners will also respond to emails sent to haywoodemgv@gmail.com — preferably with clear digital photos and a detailed description of the issue — or reply to messages left at 828.456.3575.
During a business meeting Thursday, Feb. 23, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission voted to adopt eight proposed rules related to wildlife management for the 2023-24 season.
These rules include increased either-sex deer season on private lands in several counties: Madison, Burke, Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, Caldwell, Polk, Rutherford and Cleveland.
The Wildlife Commission will consider proposed fisheries and game lands regulations at
an upcoming meeting. Proposals for this year’s rule changes were presented at three public hearings across the state in January and a fourth virtual hearing. The furthestwest in-person hearing was in Marion. During a two-month public comment period, the Wildlife Commission received input via email, an online comment portal and mail.
The rules adopted at the February Commission meeting have an anticipated effective date of June 1. To view the full text of all adopted rules, view the exhibits within the Feb. 23 Commission meeting agenda package at ncwildlife.org/about/meetings-actions.
Much of the maintenance on one side of the Spur Tunnel is complete, allowing contractors to begin work on the other side. Depending on weather conditions and arrival of supplies, the singlelane closure will switch to the opposite lane sometime between March 1-3.
The day of the lane change, crews need to realign a portion of the concrete barrier wall, realign the crash cushion, remove and re-establish the temporary traffic lane markings, relocate and revise traffic signs, and complete other work. The single-lane closure will continue to be in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the construction period.
Crews began work in January to replace drains and lights, clean and seal the tunnel interior, put in a new lighting control system, and install a propane-powered generator for emergency backup. The Federal Highway Administration awarded a $10,284,135 construction contract to Bryant’s Land Development of Burnsville, NC for the repairs, which should fully conclude by June 5. While the project continues, drivers should stay alert, reduce speeds, refrain from honking and be courteous to other drivers while in the construction zone.
farmers grow a variety of high-quality produce.ASAP photo Nonprofits are pushing for increased protection of old-growth forest. Steven McBride photo
Four hikes this month will offer a look at wildfires around the region, led by Haywood County Parks and Recreation. Varying in length and difficulty, these excursions offer opportunities for a spectrum of interests and hiking abilities.
■ On Wednesday, March 1, a 3.9-mile hike to Courthouse Falls will climb 1,170 feet, considered an easy-to-moderate route. Hikers will meet their guides at 9 a.m. at Jukebox Junction in Bethel.
■ On Saturday, March 4, take a challenging 6-mile hike to Pinnacle Point in Sylva, climbing 2,218 feet to the view at the top. Hikers will meet their guides at 8 a.m. at the Best Buy parking lot in Waynesville.
■ On Saturday, March 18, hike the second leg of the Art Loeb Trail. This moderate-tochallenging point-to-point hike will gain 1,673 feet in elevation.
■ Check out the new Strawberry Gap Trail on property conserved by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy on Wednesday, March 22. Hikers will meet their guides for this moderately challenging hike at 9 a.m. at the Lowe’s parking lot in Waynesville.
All hikes are $10. Sign up at bit.ly/haywoodrec.
The group crosses Kephart Bridge during a previous Classic Hikes outing.
The 2022 Classic Hikes of the Smokies Series will start on Tuesday, March 14, with an easy-to-moderate 5.2-mile hike among the historic homes on Jakes Creek Trail in the Elkmont District. It will be the first of 10 monthly excursions guided by expert hikers this year.
These hikes, offered the second Tuesday of each month, feature interpretation of the
history, flora and fauna of some of the best trails in America’s most-visited national park. Hikes vary in distance, difficulty and location within the park. Registration is $20 for Friends of the Smokies members or $35 for non-members, which includes a oneyear membership. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Smokies’ Smokies Trails Forever program, which funds rehabilitation efforts for
high-use trails in the park.
This year’s hiking schedule is:
■ March 14: Jakes Creek. This easy-tomoderate 5.8-mile hike takes in wildflowers and the historic buildings of the Elkmont District.
■ April 11: Smokemont Loop and Chasteen Falls. Experience wildflowers, forests and cascades on this moderate-todifficult 7.5-mile loop.
■ May 9: To be determined.
■ June 13: Chimney Tops. This 4.4-mile moderate-to-difficult hike shows off wildflowers and mountain views, along with the fruits of a previous Trails Forever project.
■ July 11: Hemphill Bald from Polls Gap. This moderate-to-difficult 9.4-mile hike offers spectacular mountain views.
■ Aug. 8: Schoolhouse Gap. Take a 4.4mile easy-to-moderate stroll through wildflowers and summer forest.
■ Sept. 12: Mt. Cammerer via Low Gap. Incredible fire tower views are the reward for this difficult 11.2-mile trek.
■ Oct. 10: Charlies Bunion. Walk a difficult 8 miles along the Appalachian Trail to take in spectacular mountain views.
■ Nov. 14: Cove Mountain. This moderateto-difficult 12.4-mile hike takes in a waterfall and autumn forest with a shuttle making the route possible.
■ Dec. 12: Deep Creek Waterfall Loop. An easy-to-moderate 5.5-mile loop walks by waterfalls and doubles as a holiday celebration.
Space is limited. Register at friendsofthesmokies.org.
7 Trails Open 3 Aerial Lifts
1 Surface Lifts 20-30 Inch Base Weekdays: 9:00am – 10pm Weekends: 8:30am – 10pm
Hiker and backcountry rescuer Nancy East will present her book “Chasing the Smokies Moon: A 948-mile hike fueled by love, loss, laughter and lunacy” at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 9, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin, while also talking about hiking safety.
East will talk about her book but also empower listeners with the knowledge and skills to stay “safe and found” on the trail. Copies of her book will be available for purchase and signing.
The event is free and part of the library’s “Walking with Spring” series in partnership with the Nantahala Hiking Club and Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Council. A free
The Great Smokies Eco-Adventure, a fundraising event for Discover Life in America, will be held Sunday, April 30, through Tuesday, May 2, near Gatlinburg.
Featuring “glamping,” gourmet food and drink and guided nature hikes, the event will support DLIA’s mission to conduct biodiversity research in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Currently there are 21,552 unique species known to the Park
— with more than half of those documented by the ATBI in its 25-year mission to catalog every species that exists in the Smokies. The Eco-Adventure is a fun and informative experience that allows guests to make new friends and new discoveries, said DLiA Executive Director Todd Witcher.
All-inclusive tickets are $950 apiece, with registration closing April 10. Space limited. Register at dlia.org.
A 1,295-acre prescribed burn in the Yellow Creek area of Graham County could take place any time before April 15.
The U.S. Forest Service is planning this burn on the Cheoah Ranger District to improve wildlife habitat and reduce the risk of future wildfires. The date of the burn and actual number of acres burned will depend on daily weather conditions.
During the burn a portion of the Yellow Creek Mountain Trail, TR48, and the Yellow Creek Falls Trail off State Highway 129, will be temporarily closed for visitor safety. The trails will be reopened once it is determined that conditions are safe for passage through the area.
Join MountainTrue’s 17th annual caravan around the Lake Chatuge shoreline to view a variety of birds 7:30-10 a.m. Saturday, March 11.
Typically, 18-25 different species are observed, ranging from small songbirds to larger birds of prey and wintering waterfowl commonly associated with more
northerly climes. Retired Young Harris College professor and MountainTrue member, Brenda Hull will lead the bird watch again this year. A spotting scope is provided for up-close views, but participants should still bring binoculars and a favorite bird identification guide, if they have them.
Cost is $5 for MountainTrue members or $15 for nonmembers. No pets. In case of inclement weather, the outing will be held Saturday, March 25. Sign up at mountaintrue.org/event.
Parking fees at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville are increasing.
As of Feb. 27, personal vehicles will now be charged $20 to park, up from $15. The fee for large vehicles will be $60 and $125 for buses and oversized vehicles. The arboretum will offer a 50% discount on the first Tuesday of each month, and membership rates will remain unchanged.
“Given the valuable additions made to programming and events on property, and the continued efforts to offer reduced-price programs, as well as inflationary pressures so many businesses are experiencing with labor and materials, the Board of Directors felt that it was time to increase the gate fee paid by one-time visitors,” reads the announcement from the Arboretum.
The Board of Directors reviews gate prices every two years, but the review has not occurred in four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
East retired from a 23year career as a small animal veterinarian to pursue her interest in outdoor education, guiding and writing. A member of the Haywood County Search and Rescue’s Mountain Rescue Team, she holds two speed hiking records in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: fastest known time for walking all 800-plus miles of the park and fastest known time for a mixed-gender team completing all 44 miles of trail to Mount LeConte in 24 hours.
raffle will win one lucky participant a prize. nantahalahikingclub.org.
See the Oconee bells in full bloom Friday, March 10, with an Alarka Institute outing led by naturalist Jack Johnson.
The group will convoy from Cowee to South Carolina to see these delicate blooms, perhaps also stumbling upon their mycotrophic friend the dwarf pygmy pipe as well. Johnson will share his homegrown specimens of the low-growing evergreen perennial Shortia galacifolia with guests. Space is limited, and cost is $65. Sign up at alarkaexpeditions.com.
BY ADAM B IGELOW
There’s a change in the air every year around this time. A subtle shift in energy. Days start getting longer, and sunset occurs later each day. Birdsong sings louder in the morning, and the sounds of wood frogs echo through the valleys. If you do happen to notice, you’ll see the male flowers of hazel alder
(Alnus serrulata) start to elongate and turn yellow. And a light red haze will begin to glow as the red maple (Acer rubrum) buds first swell, then open to produce one of the earliest flowers to bloom in the year.
Red maple winter.
Now I ain’t from around here, and I don’t claim to be an expert on Appalachian folkways and lore. But since I began studying with plants over 20 years ago, I started hearing about what I have come to know as the “Little Winters of Appalachia.” My initial encounters with this phenomenon were in reference to “blackberry winter” which signifies the end of cold weather, the beginning of Summer, and time to plant tomatoes in Western North Carolina.
It turns out, though, that there are a whole bunch of little winters that lead us through the freeze and thaw and freeze again as winter changes through spring to summer. And, as I understand it, all these little winters correspond with a cold snap that is followed by the blooming of a different species of tree. Although some claim it is the bloom that happens first, and then a cold snap soon follows. Either way, a long time ago people didn’t have fancy clocks and calendars on their phones, or long-range weather forecasts that could tell them when it was time to do certain things around the house and farm. A long time ago, there also used to be winter.
People relied on signs and signals told to them by the plants growing around them, a language learned through long years of study and connection to place. The typical progression of blooming trees was (and still is) a calendar that can be read as clearly as the one on your phone if you know the language of how to read the signs. Redbud (Cercis canadensis) blooms lead to black locust (Robinia pseudoacaccia), then dogwoods (Benthemidia florida) followed by blackberries (Rubus allegheniensis). This is the most known and traditional progression.
And, whatever you do, do not plant your tomatoes before blackberry winter, which is when all the blackberry bushes around you
are in flower. I like this as an indicator for planting summer vegetables, rather than using the official frost-free date of May 15th. Or even using Mother’s Day, which is a commonly cited safe panting time. What I like about following the blackberry winter admonition is that it is based on phenology, which is the scientific study of when things happen in nature. And the blooming of plants and flowers does not all happen on the same day every year, or even the same day in our region. It depends on your local conditions and microclimate, influenced by things like elevation, slope, facing and other environmental factors.
There are many more trees and shrubs that flower in a predictable progression, than the four species most commonly known. And I think these trees deserve their own little winter designations. Like serviceberry winter, which told mountain folk when the travelling minister be visiting
after the long, cold and frozen winter. You knew it was time for services only the preacher could perform, like weddings and funerals, when the serviceberry or “sarvis” (Amelanchier arborea) was blooming on the mountainsides.
Or what about black cherry winter (Prunus serotina) or shrubs like pussy willow winter (Salix spp.) and spicebush winter (Lindera benzoin) which correspond with the first blooming wildflowers. Or what about one of the most common trees in all of the forest, the one that is in bloom all around as I write this, and that was the inspiration for this week’s article? What about the red maple? Doesn’t it deserve its own little winter? Especially since it actually blooms in what used to be called winter. Y’all remember when we used to have winter?
(Adam Bigelow lives in Cullowhee and leads weekly wildflower walks and ecotours through Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions. bigelownc@gmail.com.)
• Medicare Basics, an informative session with John Chicoine, SHIIP representative, will take place 2-3 p.m. Thursday, March 2, at the Waynesville Branch of the Haywood County Library. For more information, email Kathy Olsen at kathleen.olson@Haywoodcountync.gov.
• Receive help with the job search during NCWORKS: Job Search Assistance from 2-4:40 p.m. Friday, March 3, at the Waynesville Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. No appointment necessary. For more information, call 828.456.6061 or visit ncworks.gov.
• Celebrate the history of African Americans in Haywood County with “Lift Every Voice!: African American History in Haywood County” from 3-4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library.
• Haywood Community College Foundation is hosting a concert to support student needs on Saturday, March 4, at 3 p.m. in the HCC Charles Beall Auditorium. The Blue Ridge Orchestra will showcase Musique Ménage, a concert of contrasts, featuring Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 — “The Great” — and original music by local artists Fancy and the Gentlemen. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.haywood.edu/orchestra
• Haywood Pathways Center’s 5th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser will take place 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Waynesville. For more information visit https://www.haywoodpathwayscenter.org/empty-bowlsfundraiser/ or call 828.246.0332.
• Jackson County Senior Center will host a GIANT Yard Sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 1. Proceeds from the event will fund the Smoky Mountain Senior Games which begin on Monday, April 3.
• The NC Guardian ad Litem Program is holding certification classes in Macon and Haywood Counties in March. Volunteers are needed to advocate for the best interest of children who have been alleged to be abused and/or neglected. Applications can be filled out at volunteerforgal.org. For more information call Brad Renegar at 828.454.6395.
• “Waking up Your Inner Goddess: 8 Week Series” will begin 5:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March1, at the Waynesville Yoga Center. For more information visit https://waynesvilleyogacenter.com/event/waking-upyour-inner-goddess-8-week-series/.
• A Shamanic Breathwork workshop designed to support the process of change will be held 1-5 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Waynesville Yoga Center. Cost is $88, for more information or to register visit https://waynesvilleyogacenter.com/event/yoga-shamanic-breathwork/.
• Yoga for Posture, a weekend-long workshop will be held Friday through Sunday, March 10-12, at the Waynesville Yoga Center. Cost is $250 for the weekend. For more information or to register visit https://waynesvilleyogacenter.com/event/yoga-for-posture-immersion-workshop/.
• Reduce Stress and Pain the Somatic way with a class 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the Waynesville Yoga Center. Class will explore movement standing, seated and lying on the floor. Space for this event is limited. Cost is $40, to learn more or register visit https://waynesvilleyogacenter.com/event/reduce-stress-
n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.
n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com
pain-the-somatic-way/.
• A Gentle Yoga Class will be offered noon to 1:15 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at the Waynesville Yoga Center. Cost is $22 or one class credit. To learn more or register visit https://waynesvilleyogacenter.com/class-schedule/.
• Mountain Area pregnancy Services and the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor work together to provide a casual support group for prenatal and breastfeeding individuals from 1-2 p.m. on Tuesdays at Mountain Area Pregnancy Services, 177 N Main St. Waynesville, NC. All are welcome, registration is recommended. For more information please call 828.558.4550.
• Hiker and backcountry rescuer Nancy East will present her book “Chasing the Smokies Moon: A 948-mile hike fueled by love, loss, laughter and lunacy” at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 9, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin, while also talking about hiking safety. The event is free and part of the library’s “Walking with Spring” series in partnership with the Nantahala Hiking Club and Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Council. nantahalahikingclub.org/
• Professor Bart D. Ehrman, Biblical scholar and author of six New York Times bestselling books including “Jesus” and “The Triumph of Christianity,” will speak and answer questions at 7 p.m. Friday, April 14, at the Queen Auditorium in the Folkmoot Friendship Center at 112 Virginia Ave. in Waynesville. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door Tickets may be purchased at Blue Ridge Books or by calling 828.226.5921.
• Tremont Writers Conference, an intensive five-day retreat for writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry will take place Wednesday, Oct. 25-29. Applications to participate in the event may be submitted online now through April 30 at writers.gsmit.org.
• Creative Writing Club will take place at 3:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of every month at the Macon County Public Library. The writing club is intended for ages 8-12. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
• Move and Groove Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Thursday, at the Canton branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Exciting, interactive music and movement story time ideal for children 2-6 years old. For more information contact Ashlyn at ashlyn.godleski@haywoodcountync.gov or at 828.356.2567.
• Mother Goose Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Wednesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children from birth to 2 years old. For more information, contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.
• Next Chapter Book Club Haywood is a fun, energetic and highly interactive book club, ideal for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The group meets every second and fourth Monday of the month. For more information, email Jennifer at jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2561.
• Storytime takes place at 10 a.m. every Tuesday at the Macon County Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
• Toddler’s Rock takes place at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Macon County Library. Get ready to rock with songs, books, rhymes and playing with instruments. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
• Culture Talk takes place at 2 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month at the Macon County Public Library. Travel the world from inside your library. This event features guest speakers and food sampling from the location being discussed. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
• Art afternoon takes place at 3:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Macon County Public Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
• Green Energy Park will celebrate its reopening with the “Fire Arts Festival” from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Green Energy Park, half-mile past Huddle House in Dillsboro. For more information visit www.JCGEP.org.
• A watercolor class will be held 10 a.m. to noon Monday, March 13, at the Waynesville Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Registration is required. To register, email Kathy Olsen at kathleen.olson@haywoodcountync.gov.
• Paint and Sip at Waynesville Art School will be held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7-9:30 p.m. To learn more and register call 828.246.9869 or visit PaintAndSipWaynesville.com/upcoming-events. Registration is required, $45.
• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon-4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood St. in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods. Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.
• The Knights of Columbus will hold its annual Lenten fish fry dinners from 4:30-7 p.m. on Friday, March 10 and Friday, March 24, at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Franklin. Adult plates are $15, child plates are $5.
• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.
• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.
• Take a trip around the world with four different wines every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday 11a.m.-6 p.m. at the Bryson City Wine Market. Pick from artisan Charcuterie Foods to enjoy with wines. 828.538.0420
• Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.
• Chess 101 takes place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. every Friday in the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. No registration required, for more information call 828.648.2924.
• Wired Wednesday, one-on-one technology help is available at 3-5 p.m. every Wednesday at the Canton
Visit
n Complete listings of local music scene
n Regional festivals
n Art gallery events and openings
n Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers
n Civic and social club gatherings
Branch of the Haywood County Library. For more information or to register, call 828.648.2924.
• Uptown Gallery, 30 East Main St. Franklin, will be offering Children’s Art Classes Wednesdays afternoons. Adult workshops in watercolor, acrylic paint pouring, encaustic and glass fusing are also offered. Free painting is available 10 a.m.-3 p.m. every Monday in the classroom. A membership meeting takes place on the second Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. All are welcome. Call 828.349.4607 for more information.
• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m.3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. 828.349.4607 or pm14034@yahoo.com.
• Phyllis Stiles, founder and director emerita of Bee City USA, will explain how gardening practices can help pollinators make the most of your yard during a talk at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 2, via Zoom. Organized by the WNC Sierra Club. Register at WNCSierraClub.org. For more information, contact Chair Judy Mattox at judymattox15@gmail.com or 828.683.2176.
• The annual Haywood County Extension Master Gardener plant sale is now underway, with pre-paid orders due by March 3. Find order forms online at haywood.ces.ncsu.edu, pick them up at the Extension Office on Raccoon Road in Waynesville or contact 828.456.3575 or mgarticles@charter.net.
• The inaugural Land and Lake Relay will be held Saturday, March 4. This 63-mile race is set up for fourperson and six-person teams, starting at Warren Wilson College in east Asheville and finishing at Fonta Flora Brewing at Lake James. Registration is limited to 60 teams. For more information or to register, visit gloryhoundevents.com.
• A honeybee keeping instructional class offered by Haywood County Beekeepers Chapter will take place 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Office in Waynesville. In case of snow, the class will be rescheduled for March 18. To register or for questions contact Brother Allen 828.400.1735 or bees@cbvnol.com.
• Hike with Haywood County Parks and Recreation on Saturday, March 4, to Pinnacle point in Sylva. Hikers will meet guides at 8 a.m. at the Best Buy parking lot in Waynesville. All hikes are $10. Sign up at bit.ly/haywoodrec.
The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 copies across 500 locations in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, including the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. Visit www.wncmarketplace.com to place your ad!
Rates:
• $15 — Classified ads that are 25 words, 25¢ per word after.
• Free — Lost or found pet ads.
• $6 — Residential yard sale ads.*
• $1 — Yard Sale Rain Insurance
Yard sale rained out? Call us by 10a.m. Monday for your ad to run again FREE
• $375 — Statewide classifieds run in 170 participating newspapers with 1.1+ million circulation. (Limit 25 words or less)
• Boost Online — Have your ad featured at top of category online $4
• Boost in Print
• Add Photo $6
• Bold ad $2
• Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue Highlight $4
• Border $4
Note: Highlighted ads automatically generate a border so if you’re placing an ad online and select a highlight color, the “add border” feature will not be available on the screen.
Note: Yard sale ads require an address. This location will be displayed on a map on www.wncmarketplace.com
p: 828.452.4251 · f:828.452.3585
classads@smokymountainnews.com www.wncmarketplace.com
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION
Case No.17 E 616 Teresa B. Summey, Ernest Lee Summey May 08 2023
Teresa Summey
Greer, P.C. 366 Merrimon Avenue Asheville NC 28801
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION
Case No.2022 E 000091Charles Roy Raschke Jun 01 2023
Administrator 28364 Falcon Crest Dr Canyon Country, CA 91351
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION
Case No.2023E000109
to the estate and these letters are issued to attest that the authority
Fiduciary
Po Box 1224
Canton, NC 28716
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION
Case No.2023 E 000053
Donald R Simerly
May 22 2023
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
GUT REHAB SERVICES FOR 2 HOUSES
Rachel Ann PriceJun 01 2023
authorized by the lawsceive and administer all
Fiduciary
325 Jacks Holler Marshall, NC 28753
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
GUT REHAB SERVICES FOR 2 HOUSES
SECOND REQUEST-
BIG COVE HOUSING SECOND REQUEST -
• Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com
• Anne Page - apage@beverly-hanks.com
• Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com
• Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com
• Ellen Sither - esither@beverly-hanks.com
• Mike Stamey - mikestamey@beverly-hanks.com
• Karen Hollingsed- khollingsed@beverly-hanks.com
• Laura Thomas - lthomas@beverly-hanks.com
• John Keith - jkeith@beverly-hanks.com
• Randall Rogers - rrogers@beverly-hanks.com
• Susan Hooper - shooper@beverly-hanks.com
• Hunter Wyman - hwyman@beverly-hanks.com
• Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff@beverly-hanks.com
• Darrin Graves - dgraves@beverly-hanks.com
ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com
• Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com
• Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com
• Randy Flanigan - 706-207-9436
• Steve Mauldin - 828-734-4864
EXP Realty
• Ashley Owens Rutkosky - ashley.rutkosky@exp.realty
Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com
• The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com
• Ron Breese - ronbreese.com
• Landen Stevenson- landen@landenkstevenson.com
Lakeshore Realty
• Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com
Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com
• Lyndia Massey- buyfromlyndia@yahoo.com
Mountain Creek Real Estate
• Ron Rosendahl - 828-593-8700
McGovern Real Estate & Property Management
• Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com
Premier Sotheby's International Realty
• DeAnn Suchy - deann.suchy@premiersir.com
• Kaye Matthews - kaye.matthews@premiersir.com
RE/MAX Executive - remax-waynesvillenc.com remax-maggievalleync.com
• The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com
• Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com
• Mary Hansen - mwhansen@charter.net
• Billy Case- billyncase@gmail.com
Rob Roland Realty
• Rob Roland - 828-400-1923
Smoky Mountain Retreat Realty
• Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com
• Sherell Johnson - Sherellwj@aol.com
Answers on 34
“WORKING CATS”
Asheville Humane Society has cats available who arehouse, etc. Fully vaccinated and spayed/ neutered. (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ RETRIEVER/BEAGLE MIX – TAN/BROWN, CANELO 2 year old toys; shy and needs
Asheville Humane Society (828) 761-2001 adoptions@asheville-
