Alcohol sales likely at WCU games this fall

March 11-17, 2020 BY HOLLY KAYS S TAFF WRITER C hanges to the alcohol situation at Western Carolina University games are on the way for the upcoming school year, both inside and outside of stadium walls.

During the March 5 meeting of the WCU Board of Trustees’ Administration, Governance and Trusteeship Committee, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Mike Byers gave an update on efforts to offer beer and wine sales at athletic events, and it’s looking like such beverages will be available at games starting this fall.

“What we expect to see is that we’ll be in a position to have beer and wine sales at football beginning in the fall and basketball beginning in late fall, and softball in the spring,” Byers told the committee. “We do not expect to be prepared to offer beer sales at baseball by next spring because one of the requirements is that you have to have a secured venue, and baseball is not a secured venue.”

Alcohol sales can’t occur at baseball games until a fence is erected around the entire stadium, and that will be difficult to accomplish simultaneously with the parking deck’s nearby construction, expected to begin in May and last one year. It’s likely that beer and wine sales will be offered at baseball games for the spring 2022 season.

Byers has been researching beer and wine sales since trustees voted Dec. 6 to authorize such sales pending development of an implementation plan, which he delivered to trustees last week. The recommendation came as the result of three months of study from a 17-member special committee assembled in August to examine the pros and cons of alcoholic beverage sales at sporting events. That discussion was instigated by a state law enacted in June, which authorized public colleges and universities to allow alcohol sales at stadiums, athletic facilities and arenas on school property.

WCU has determined it will work with Aramark for alcohol sales, and representatives of the company have visited campus to tour Ramsey Activity Center and Whitmire Stadium in order to identify the ideal point of sale and distribution locations. With the locations identified, Byers and Aramark are working through estimated costs to get sales started.

“Our intent is once we have those estimates to connect the dots between whether it can pay for itself or not,” said Byers. “I would expect that to be a barrier we’ll be able to overcome.”

“What we expect to see is that we’ll be in a position to have beer and wine sales at football beginning in the fall and basketball beginning in late fall, and softball in the spring.”

— Mike Byers, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance

The university currently expects that revenue from alcohol sales will only cover the cost of implementing the program. However, said Chief Communications Officer Bill Studenc, any proceeds over and above the cost of operations will go toward fan experience initiatives.

Parking deck construction will have another impact in addition to delaying implementation of alcohol sales at baseball games. It’s also the impetus for an overall reshuffling of game day parking and tailgating zones.

“The need for additional handicapped parking has escalated in recent years to become a problem that we need to address,” said Studenc. “Because the deck construc

tion will cause us to reshuffle many parking areas beginning fall 2020, we wanted to go ahead and address the need for handicapped parking near the stadium.”

During their March 6 meeting, trustees unanimously approved a plan to change the location for student tailgates where alcohol is allowed from the Field House Lot, located just north of the stadium, to the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Lot, which is on the opposite side of Centennial Drive. The action also included adding the Field House Lot to the list of areas where alcohol is permissible for general tailgates but not for student tailgates. The change will allow the university to offer more handicapped-accessible parking near to the stadium.

“We looked at all the parking lots as the potential destination for it,” Byers said of student tailgates during a March 5 meeting of the trustees’ Administration, Governance and Trusteeship Committee where the matter was discussed. “This was the one that had the most overlap of interest. There was no one place that was unanimous on everybody’s part.”

ENSLEY TIRE SERVICE MOBILE TIRE SERVICE - WE COME TO YOU!

We Specialize in Farm & Agriculture Tires & Repairs Farm Tires

David Rhode, who sits on the board as president of the WCU Student Government Association, said he was worried the lot might not be big enough.

“My concern is that Bardo might not be enough to house all the student organizations we have that do come out and tailgate, regardless of whether they’re consuming alcohol or not,” he said.

Byers said that concern was likely unfounded. The Bardo lot will offer enough tailgating spaces to accommodate the same level of interest from student-recognized organizations seen last year, he said. While the number of parking spaces is smaller, many of the spots in Bardo back up to natural wooded areas that expand the space available. “It could actually result in a net gain,” said Byers.

As the university gears up for a slew of housing and parking-related projects in the years ahead, the tailgating change is just one of many adjustments to be made in preparation. It’s “a very simple change,” said Byers, and it’s “part of a long string of dominos we’re working on to arrange game day.”

JustDoOils.com

BY HOLLY KAYS S TAFF WRITER N early three years after the state legislature passed a bill allowing local governments to approve Sunday morning alcohol sales, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has passed its own version of what’s known as the Brunch Bill.

In a divided vote that featured little discussion, the Tribal Council approved an ordinance change that will allow alcohol sales at locations already approved to sell alcoholic beverages between 10 a.m. and noon Sunday mornings.

“You make $3,640,000 a year for 52 days and two hours’ service — I think that’s a pretty good investment and pretty good revenue coming in for the people,” said Birdtown Representative Boyd Owl. “I’m going to move to pass.”

Yellowhill Representative Tom Wahnetah seconded Owle’s move, and the legislation passed with four members opposed and eight in favor, for a weighted vote of 31-69.

Voting against the measure were Painttown Representatives Tommye Saunooke and Dike Sneed, Big Cove Representative Richard French and Wolfetown Representative Bo Crowe. In favor were Wolfetown Representative Chelsea Saunooke, Chairman Adam Wachacha, Vice Chairman David Wolfe, Yellowhill Representative Tom Wahnetah, Birdtown Representatives Albert Rose and Boyd Owle, Snowbird/Cherokee County Representative Bucky Brown and Big Cove Representative Perry Shell.

The Brunch Bill measure made the rounds through town halls and county commission chambers across the region a couple years ago after the state legislation passed in June 2017. Previously, no Sunday alcohol sales were allowed prior to noon in North Carolina.

The measure prompted lively debates in many localities, bringing out passionate support and passionate opposition. Some local governments, like the towns of Sylva and Franklin, passed it with little fanfare or opposition. Others, like Maggie Valley, passed it only after a long, drawn-out, public process. And some, like Jackson County and Dillsboro, didn’t pass it at all.

On the Qualla Boundary, alcohol sales in general are more limited than in other areas of the region. It’s been allowed on casino property since 2009, but until 2017 that was it. Since then, a state law known as the Blue Ridge Law has allowed some establishments in Cherokee located within 1.5 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway on-ramp to sell alcohol, a change that proved quite controversial in the community.

Sediment removal delayed at Lake Junaluska

Western North Carolina has experienced one of the wettest winters on record, which has severely impacted the biennial removal of sediment from Lake Junaluska and routine maintenance of the Lake Junaluska dam.

Due to the excessive rain so far this year, the sediment removal schedule has been delayed and the need for an additional drawdown of Lake Junaluska in the winter of 2020 and 2021 will be required to complete necessary work.

Since the creation of the lake in 1913, sediment from upstream has been a consistent issue and has required regular maintenance work in order to preserve the lake. Since 1994, about 300,000 cubic yards of silt has been removed, totaling 37,500 truckloads, which is equivalent to filling a super Walmart store from floor to ceiling with sediment.

“In 2020, we planned to remove 4,000 cubic yards of sediment and build a new access road for future sediment removal,” said Ken Howle, executive director at Lake Junaluska. “Unfortunately, less than 1,000 cubic yards have been removed to date and it is unlikely that we will be able to remove the remaining sediment before being required to refill the lake for spring spawning and waterfowl nesting.”

Routine maintenance to the dam will also be postponed. When the lake is down, structural inspections are conducted to the parts of the dam that are not usually visible when the lake is at full pool. Maintenance is also conducted to the spillway, which includes sandblasting exposed rebar to remove rust that can cause deterioration. Once the rust has been removed, the rebar is cleaned, a protectant is then applied to the exposed areas to prevent deterioration, ending with concrete being poured to re-cover the rebar.

Lake Junaluska will provide ongoing updates of plans for sediment removal next year.

Down Home to host Haywood meeting

Down Home Haywood will host its monthly community organizing meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at First United Methodist Church, 566 S Haywood St., Waynesville.

“We will welcome all newcomers with a brief introduction to Down Home and then will review the status of our current work on projects concerning food insecurity in Haywood, the local elections in November, efforts to expand Down Home’s reach, and more,” said Chelsea Hoglen, Haywood Chapter organizer.

This event is open to anyone interested in helping create a Haywood County that works better for all of our neighbors. We meet on the third Saturday of each month. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Children accompanied by parents are also welcome. Transportation can be arranged by emailing chelsea@downhomenc.org or calling/texting 828.476.8189.

PRE-OWNED INVENTORY

CARS 2018 CHEVROLET CAMARO 9,016 2018 CHEVROLET CAMARO 13,185 2019 CHEVROLET IMPALA 1,875 2017 CHEVROLET MALIBU 19,222 2018 CHEVROLET MALIBU 10,697 1972 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 97,171 1994 FORD CROWN VICTORIA 74,655 2014 FORD FOCUS 95,181 2013 FORD FUSION 110,655 2017 HONDA ACCORD 21,739 2003 KIA RIO 2019 NISSAN ALTIMA 37,599 2018 NISSAN ALTIMA 45,634 2019 NISSAN MAXIMA 11,499 2019 NISSAN SENTRA 39,701 2018 NISSAN SENTRA 44,573 2014 SUBARU FORESTER 95,516 2018 SUBARU LEGACY 39,087 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK 71,119 2019 TOYOTA COROLLA 42,777

TRUCKS 2019 CHEVROLET COLORADO 15,542 2017 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 40,020 2010 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 149,055 2014 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 109,419 2015 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 78,342 2014 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 68,442 2016 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 50,089 2019 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 9,665 2002 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 2500HD 266,707 2015 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 3500HD 93,281 2007 DODGE RAM 1500 142,632 2016 FORD F-150 54,317 2019 FORD RANGER 25,747 2012 GMC SIERRA 1500 135,306 2017 GMC SIERRA 3500HD 147,376 2019 NISSAN FRONTIER 26,497 2019 NISSAN FRONTIER 27,911 2019 NISSAN FRONTIER 28,249

SUVS 2020 CHEVROLET EQUINOX 15,585 2020 CHEVROLET EQUINOX 13,485 2006 CHEVROLET HHR 166,016 2017 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 43,424 2017 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 39,294 2018 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE 18,363 2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE 131,529 2018 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE 22,442 2018 DODGE JOURNEY 43,238 2019 FORD EXPEDITION MAX 43,285 2017 INFINITI QX30 37,697 2019 JEEP CHEROKEE 15,693 2019 JEEP CHEROKEE 45,316 2019 JEEP COMPASS 35,635 2019 JEEP COMPASS 46,307 2009 JEEP PATRIOT 169,410 2018 JEEP RENEGADE 21,426 2007 JEEP WRANGLER 132,773 2018 KIA SOUL 38,511 2018 KIA SOUL 38,969 2019 NISSAN PATHFINDER 38,162 2018 NISSAN ROGUE 43,271 2019 NISSAN ROGUE 37,642 2018 NISSAN ROGUE SPORT 38,403 2018 TOYOTA RAV4 41,686 2019 TOYOTA RAV4 32,712