Smoky Mountain News | March 16, 2022

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

March 16-22, 2022 Vol. 23 Iss. 42

Maggie Valley zoning debate rages on Page 8 Cherokee cuts ribbon on first tribal ABC store Page 18

CONTENTS On the Cover: The Violence Against Women Act was renewed earlier this week as part of an omnibus spending bill. See how elected officials in the Tar Heel State understand its importance, as well as what it can do for survivors right here in Western North Carolina. (Pages 10-11)

News Up to the fight: Cherokee’s new police chief aims for big changes ..................6 Maggie Valley Board denies slew of zoning requests ..............................................8 Controversy over food trucks continues in Maggie....................................................9 Investigators say victim safety is top priority..............................................................12 VAWA reauthorization expands tribe’s ability to hold abusers accountable....14 Waynesville begins research on social districts ......................................................16 Sylva Fire requests funding for more paid staff ........................................................17 ABC store opens in Cherokee ......................................................................................18

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Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Travis Bumgardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . travis@smokymountainnews.com Jessica Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessica.m@smokymountainnews.com Susanna Shetley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Sophia Burleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sophia.b@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Kyle Perrotti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kyle.p@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Hannah McLeod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hannah@smokymountainnews.com Cory Vaillancourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cory@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), George Ellison (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Susanna Shetley (writing)

CONTACT Opinion Why N.C. is at bottom of right-to-know states ........................................................20 Forests need diversity for their health..........................................................................21

A&E On top of the mountain ....................................................................................................22 An old guy looks at graphic books ..............................................................................29

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

March 16-22, 2022

Apple trail effort resurrects legacy of Cherokee orchardists................................30

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Josh Taylor has served as chief of the Cherokee Indian Police Department since July 2021. Holly Kays photo

Up to the fight Cherokee’s new police chief aims for big changes

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER osh Taylor is seven months into his job as chief of the Cherokee Indian Police Department. Asked how it’s going, he pauses, clasps his hands together atop the table, and leans forward.

“It’s been a fight, ma’am,” he says.

As a former U.S. Air Force munitions inspector and veteran of the Iraq War, Taylor’s not one to fear a fight. He entered the Air Force in 2000 and left it in 2008 as a staff sergeant following an honorable discharge.

Then he came back home to Cherokee, completing Basic Law Enforcement Training at Southwestern Community College and spending two years with the CIPD. He left in 2010 to become one of the first Tribal Alcohol Law Enforcement agents in Cherokee, helping integrate state alcohol laws into tribal code and developing an alcohol training program for servers on the Qualla Boundary — and also working cases ranging from human trafficking to narcotics.

He went back to the CIPD for a short stint in 2015 as major of police operations but then returned to ALE, this time as its chief.

That’s where he stayed until July 2021, when he took on the title of chief of police — and the challenge of changing what he says is a dysfunctional status quo.

“It’s been a hard fight to try to change a culture that has been embedded in the Cherokee Indian Police Department for the past four to five years,” he said. “There wasn’t much supervision, so there wasn’t a lot of direction. Our police department was only reactionary. There was no proactive going on.”

Taylor’s been working to change that and credits strong relationships with Tribal Council and officials from the Attorney General’s Office and the Cherokee Court with helping him make positive changes. He’s also made some key hires within his own department.

“I honestly don’t think patrol has ever had such strong leadership” Taylor said of Carrie 6 Wade, whom he appointed as patrol captain,

Smoky Mountain News

March 16-22, 2022

J

and he’s grateful to have Captain Carla Neadeau overseeing jail operations and Lieutenant Roger Neadeau and Captain Gene Owle over investigations.

“I feel like I’ve surrounded myself with strong leaders of the tribe,” said Taylor.

COUNCIL GRANTS AT-WILL FIRING POWER That support was palpable during Taylor’s March 3 appearance before Tribal Council. He was there to ask the body’s approval for a new power to aid his efforts — the ability to fire unsatisfactory employees at will.

“It’s nothing personal with anybody, but we have a status quo up there that has to be changed,” he said. “If not, we are not serving this community to the fullest. Please raise your hand if you feel like it’s gotten better in the past six months.”

Hands went up in unison.

“I feel like I’m running about 60 to 70%,” Taylor said. “Think about what we could be doing for this community if I’m running 110%. The only thing I’m asking is to help me have the tools to give the community better service.”

The ordinance in question exempts sworn officers and detention officers in the CIPD from the typical termination process outlined in the tribe’s personnel policy.

“Any sworn officer or detention officer working for a law enforcement agency answering to the Chief of Police serves at the pleasure of the Chief of Police and any corrective action or disciplinary procedures, up to and including termination, shall be at the sole discretion of the Chief of Police,” the ordinance reads.

However, Taylor said there would still be a process leading up to termination. A fivemember internal affairs board including representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, human resources, the state and the CIPD, plus one at-large member, would review the case, make a recommendation,

and pass it along to Taylor for final action.

“If people do their job, they’re not going to be in trouble,” he said. “The only thing I’m asking is come to work, grind, put some people in jail, help solve some cases, and go home. When you’re off duty, don’t drink and drive or beat your wife. That’s the only thing I ask them.”

Tribal Council ultimately approved the proposal, with nine members in favor and three others — Big Cove Rep. Teresa McCoy and Snowbird/Cherokee County Reps. Bucky Brown and Adam Wachacha — preferring to table it for a work session, but a lengthy discussion preceded the final vote.

As originally proposed, the ordinance contained a sunset clause — the fire at will power would have remained effective only through Sept. 30, 2023. Taylor said he included that clause as a check on himself and a signal to Council that he did not attend to abuse his new authority. However, Council voted to remove the clause — unanimously, with an abstention from McCoy — before passing the ordinance.

“I don’t like the sunset clause,” said Painttown Rep. Dike Sneed, who was chief of the CIPD from 2015 to 2017. “I think it needs to go into effect. State, county, that’s how they operate. When you say, how can they do it with so few men, those few men know if they don’t do their job, they go home. That’s the way it needs to be here.”

No such knowledge is commonplace at the CIPD, said Taylor, and that’s a problem.

“There is this culture that’s been sent down from the last decade or so that it’s hard to get fired from the tribe,” he said. “That is the theory in mind. So they know if they get suspended, they’re going to be at home for at least six months suspended, getting paid.”

In the past, he said, there have been employees on paid suspension for more than two years before finally being terminated.

The last person Taylor fired had been collecting a paycheck for five-and-a-half months after being told not to come back to work.

Nobody around the horseshoe challenged Taylor’s assessment that the police department has a culture problem, but several of them questioned whether giving Taylor unilateral firing power was the right solution.

“I’ve never been supportive of at-will, but I do share your concern,” said Wachacha. “I think there is some issues that I’m very disturbed about, especially with personnel staying on payroll for so long. I think there’s some efficiency issues in HR or wherever those bottlenecks are that need to be addressed.”

McCoy also questioned Taylor’s solution, suggesting instead that the Police Commission be given ultimate firing power. Taylor said that the Police Commission’s role is to set policy, not to supervise daily operations, but McCoy felt that having a formal board making those decisions would better guarantee that employees’ civil rights were upheld.

“A lot of the people who have that at-will opportunity are sheriffs,” she said. “They’re elected. If our chief of police position was elected, I would shut up and support it in a heartbeat, but I am concerned about that.”

But in Taylor’s view, the buck still stops with him — and he needs to have the authority to produce the results for which he has repeatedly asked Council to hold him accountable.

“If I’m slipping,” he told Tribal Council

Aug. 5, just a week after his first day on the job, “please call me to this horseshoe and hold me accountable. I will be accountable.

Please help me stay on track.”

ONE TEAM, ONE FIGHT

“I’m very intense about this job,” Taylor told Council March 3. And the reason is that he can see clearly what’s at stake from his success or failure.

“We’ve got to give the community a voice,” he said. “The community has struggled and suffered for so long with DV, child molestation, drugs, that it was overtaking our tribe. It was overtaking our community — everybody from our leaders to our kids saw it, and it was becoming the norm. And we have to give the community a safety blanket to stay between the bad guys and the good guys.”

The police are that safety blanket, he said, or at least they should be. But officers can’t step into that role without the trust of the community — trust that the CIPD is currently in the position of winning back.

“I love Cherokee, I love this community,” he said. “I love our people. I love just talking to our people. I feel like slowly but surely we’re bringing the trust back between law enforcement and the community.”

Building that trust will be key to mastering the most damaging crime issues in Cherokee, said Taylor.

“I thought drugs was our number one problem,” he said. “I was 110% wrong. The domestic violence and the child molestation are our number one problem. That’s what leads to drugs.”

In Taylor’s view, most drug issues in Cherokee seem to originate from a desire to numb pain caused by domestic violence or sexual abuse — and those are crimes that are often underreported, due to the shame and fear victims often feel in coming forward.

Expanded tribal prosecutorial powers under the Violence Against Women Act (see VAWA, page 10) have been very helpful in better holding abusers accountable, said Taylor.

On March 11, President Joe Biden signed a bill that will expand those powers.

“The new VAWA laws coming into effect Oct. 1 are going to make a huge difference holding non-enrolled members accountable on our tribe,” said Taylor.

But serving justice in those cases is still a challenging and pressing issue.

“I wish we could charge all cases on the tribe,” said Taylor. “I wish we could be looked at almost as a county court.”

Cherokee, he believes, is better positioned to handle its own cases than distant justice systems centered in Sylva, Bryson City or Asheville (see TRIBAL, page 14).

Looking forward, Taylor plans to continue throwing his energy into the job, hoping for a future marked by a spirit of collaboration and unity within not only the CIPD, but also in Cherokee’s other first responder organizations.

“I need people to worry about what the department is doing for the community, not what an individual is doing,” he said. “I need them to have more of a team mindset. Five years down the road, I hope we’re running on that mindset and developing the culture of a team — one team, one fight.”

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Maggie board denies slew of rezoning requests

Smoky Mountain News

March 16-22, 2022

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER “The motion passes, three to two,” is becoming an ever more common phrase during Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen meetings. Whether the board is discussing food trucks (see page 9) or property zoning, the vote is becoming predictable. Last Tuesday was no different.

At its regular March meeting, the board denied all three rezoning requests from Maggie Valley land owners and their agentin-common, Coastal Development Carolina, LLC, of which Ghost Town developer Frankie Wood is managing member, by votes of 3-2.

Requests were made for portions of all three properties to be rezoned R3, high density residential, instead of the lower density residential zone they are currently in.

Legally, zoning and rezoning requests can’t take into account the plans of property owners or developers. Zoning decisions should be a broader consideration based on consistency with surrounding properties and the uses allowed in each zone. Town Attorney Craig Justus reminded the public and the board of this several times throughout the meeting.

However, members of the public seemed caught up on what they saw as a lack of clear plans for the three properties, complaining that Coastal Development Carolina, LLC would opt for the highest possible density on each property. Many members of the public discussed rumors they’d heard about RV parks and trailer parks planned for the properties.

RVs are not allowed in any residential zone but must be part of Planned Unit Developments. Singlewides and doublewides are allowed in both R2 and R3 zones.

However, one of the main differences between R2 and R3 zoning, other than permitted lot size, is that mobile home parks are permitted under R3, but only with a special use permit that would have to be approved by the zoning board of adjustment.

The three members of the board who voted against all three zoning requests did so for a few stated reasons. John Hinton voiced concern over granting R3 zoning when the town is currently working to develop a Unified Development Ordinance. He and Jim Owens said they have concerns over permitted uses in the current R3 zoning.

“I have a problem with doing R3 this close to a big UDO,” said Hinton. “And I’m concerned about the permitted uses that are allowed under R3.”

Both Tammy and Phillip Wight argued that it wasn’t fair to stop the process of zoning or granting rezoning requests simply because the town was working through the process of completing its UDO. Members of the board have been trying to get the UDO completed since at least 2015. Tammy Wight also noted that both town staff and the planning board recommended granting the rezoning requests for all three properties.

“I want to ask all my fellow board mem8

Town Hall was packed for the March meeting of the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen. Hannah McLeod photo bers, do all of you understand zoning laws and regulations better than an experienced paid town employee, hired as an expert in her field with multiple master’s degrees?” asked Tammy Wight. “And if so, why are we wasting our time and taxpayers’ money to fund this position? We have hired the best of the best. We should give her opinion credence or we need to stop wasting taxpayers time and money. Campgrounds and RV parks are not allowed in R3.”

The first of three properties up for rezoning was 29 Playhouse Road, owned by Hazel and Bart Campbell. The property is 7.82 acres, currently split-zoned C1 (commercial business) and R1 (low density residential).

The property owners came before the board to request that the low density residential portion of the property (5.6 acres) be rezoned R3, high density residential.

The property is bordered by more commercial business districts, as well as lowdensity residential areas. However, the flea market that borders the property, though zoned R1, low-density residential, is in legalnonconformity to its assigned zoning.

According to Town Planner Kaitland Finkle, referenced in the previous quote by Tammy Wight, the future land use map calls for the Playhouse Road property to be zoned high density residential, equivalent to the current R3. On Feb. 10, the planning board unanimously approved the request for rezoning; both staff and the planning board recommended the board of aldermen approve the request to rezone the property R3.

Betty Joe Campbell Beasley, whose family has owned the property since the 1950s, spoke in favor of rezoning.

“It’s time for change, it’s time to open your eyes, it’s time to let Maggie grow,” said Campbell Beasley. “Both sides can work together, and Maggie Valley needs to work together, not against each other.”

Among those members of the public arguing against granting the rezoning

request was Tammy Hartzog of Kamp n’ Kountry. She said she was representing a majority of members of her community that did not want to see high density zoning for the Playhouse Road property. Many of their concerns centered on Rocky Top Road, a notoriously narrow road in poor condition that also provides access to the property in question.

“I think this is an easy one. I don’t see how it was ever zoned R1,” said Phillip Wight. “The planning board and staff recommend it; it fits the mold in every way as to why it should be R3.”

“We’re dealing with a UDO that is 15 years old,” said Jim Owens. “Maggie Valley has changed dramatically in 15 years. I’ve got issues with R3 as it stands. I’m hoping that when we get the new UDO to look at, and the land use plan, we can do a better job of planning our future growth. With the new UDO plan, there may be a high-density plan that fits here that doesn’t have a cornucopia of uses that are in the current plan.”

The motion to deny the rezoning request passed 3-2; Mayor Mike Eveland, Jim Owens and John Hinton voted in the affirmative, against the rezoning request, while Tammy Wight and Phillip Wight voted against the motion, in favor of granting the rezoning request.

The next two properties up for rezoning came and went in a similar fashion with both planning board and town staff recommending approval of the rezoning requests and the board denying the requests 3-2.

The second property, owned by Jerry and Sandra Day is located at 217 Campbell Creek Road. The 6.1-acre plot is currently zoned R2 with the property owner requesting rezoning to R3. It is bordered by both R1 and C1 zones. However, the property is bordered by Kamp n’ Kountry which is a highdensity development, legally nonconforming in its low-density residential zone.

The staff recommendation to approve

the rezoning request of R3 was based upon compliance with the future land use map designation as high density residential, as well as high density adjacent properties.

Tammy Wight once again spoke in favor of accepting the recommendation of the planning board and town staff and granting the rezoning request. Annexation of this property was approved on Aug. 17, 2021, and initial zoning was set by the board of aldermen at R2, instead of the requested R3, in October.

The rezoning request was denied, once again with the Wights in favor and Eveland, Hinton and Owens against.

The third property up for rezoning is owned by Robert Hotchkiss. Currently split zoned C1 and R1, the property owner was requesting the R1 portion to be rezoned to R3. The property is bordered by other C1 property, as well as the high-density residential developments Appalachian Village and Raven Ridge. Raven Ridge is zoned R2 but is legally nonconforming to that zone and fits within the R3 designation.

According to Finkle, the future land use map calls for this entire property to be zoned Soco Road Mixed Use. This zoning district does not exist today but is proposed in the new UDO zoning map. The Soco Road Mixed Use zone would allow for high density residential as the property owner was requesting.

Several residents of Appalachian Village and Raven Ridge spoke out against rezoning the property R3.

“First, I want to make the emphatic point that Appalachian Village is not opposed to higher density development on the Hotchkiss property. We’ve expected this to happen eventually; we are concerned that it fits the singlefamily residential nature of the adjoining community,” said David Libran, HOA president of Appalachian Village. “Allowing R3 density development on that property will allow, I’m not saying it’s planned for, it will allow much more than this.”

Another woman spoke about the trials of owning and selling property in Maggie Valley amid recent issues over zoning. She owns property adjacent to the third property up for rezoning.

“I am not really opposed to R3 or what they use that for. I will say that it’s the owner’s property and they have a right to do what’s within their zoning,” she said. “What we need is to not have had to wait since you knew there was a problem with R3 in 2015 to 2022 to be able to do what we want to with our property. I’ve had three offers on that property but because of the environment in Maggie Valley with what zoning is and could be and might not be, they have said ‘we’re now going to have to wait.’ Why should me as a seller or a buyer have to wait after you’ve had seven years since you knew there was a problem to fix the problem? I think that is really awful.”

The board again voted three to two to deny the rezoning request for the third property in question.

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER he issue of Food Trucks has come up once again for the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen. This latest discussion may lead to a final decision about food trucks in the valley.

Last Tuesday night, David Angel, Owner of Elevated Mountain Distilling Company, along with General Manager Jessica Newhart, came before the board to request the special event permit required to allow a food truck to operate on their property.

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Ingles Nutrition Notes written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath MORE THAN MAYO AND MUSTARD: CONQUERING CONDIMENTS Condiments act to enhance flavors of food and for sandwiches, mayonnaise and mustard are often the “go-to” condiments, but they can get a bit boring. Let’s explore other easy options to make your sandwiches and wraps a bit more interesting: • Sriracha + mayo – Mix together spicy sriracha sauce with some mayonnaise (add some relish for interest)

March 16-22, 2022

• Hummus – There are so many different flavors or hummus from garlic to chocolate.

• Nut butters – From peanut to almond to cashew or mix some honey or jam in with your nut butters.

• KMM-Mix together ketchup, mayonnaise and a spicy mustard.

• Guacamole or mashed avocados • BBQ sauces – Who says barbecue sauce is just for ribs?

Do you have any interesting condiment ideas or combinations?

Let me know!

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN

Smoky Mountain News

under the current town ordinance, a special event permit must be obtained to allow for a food truck.

The board of aldermen recently granted a special event permit to Harvest Moon Crepes, a food truck that wanted to set up shop outside of Tony’s Tube World. The food truck was allowed to operate during the tube world’s business hours for the rest of its season.

Angel submitted a request for a special event permit that would allow rotating food trucks on the property of Elevated Mountain Distilling Company, Thursday through Sunday during operating hours, through 2022.

“Explain to us how you are a special event four days a week for the rest of the year,” said Mayor Mike Eveland.

Angel and Newhart argued that they were following a precedent set by the town board, that to have a food truck on the property of a business, one should acquire a special event permit as was done in the case of Tony’s Tube world and Harvest Moon Crepes.

The three board members who had voted against food trucks in the past, John Hinton, Jim Owens and Mike Eveland argued that the request goes above and beyond the special event permit because Elevated Mountain does not hold special events Thursday through Sunday every weekend.

“We authorized Tony’s Tube World for a one-off because it is a special event,” said

Owens. “Tony’s Tube World is not open year-round, it was a limited special event. As a board, we have never addressed whether food trucks belong in Maggie Valley, period.

And in my case, the way I feel about it, we need to address that issue before we do anything else with food trucks.”

Tammy Wight gave an impassioned speech in favor of allowing a special event permit for rotating food trucks at Elevated Mountain, noting the business Elevated Mountain brings to Maggie Valley yearround, as well as the charitable works the company does for the community.

“This is the most anti-growth, antibusiness board, strip you of your freedom and your property rights, I have ever seen in the Town of Maggie Valley,” said Wight.

Eveland then asked Angel what band was playing at Elevated Mountain that weekend.

“I’ll tell you who it is,” Wight broke in. “It’s the Tricia Ann Band, and let me tell you something else, my daughter has her own career and she works her butt off. I do not benefit from her career whatsoever. And for you to bring my daughter into this, that’s sick.”

Angel and Wight also noted the improved safety aspect of having a food truck at an establishment that sells alcohol without food options.

The conversation was quickly devolving into a heated argument when the town attorney stepped in to offer his advice, suggesting that Angel scale back his request to a shorter time frame, during which the board should figure out where they stand on food trucks and determine rules and regulations for them.

“It’s not fair for us to be limited to the time constraint of Tony’s Tube World because they only asked for six weeks,” said Angel. “They asked for six weeks because their work model only goes to the end of March and then it’s over. You already set a precedent that for Tony’s Tube World, you would let them have a food truck to do their day-to-day operation, seven days a week, all hours. We really just need it on the weekends when we do these special events.”

The board unanimously approved the scaled-back special event permit for six weeks. Angel was directed to inform Town Planner Kaitland Finkle which 42 days he plans to have a food truck on-site. The board appointed Tammy Wight and Jim Owens to a special committee that would work with the town attorney on a definitive food truck ordinance in the time being.

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Controversy over food trucks continues in Maggie

Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian

@InglesDietitian Leah McGrath - Dietitian Ingles Markets… caring about your health

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news Actress Angelina Jolie speaks in favor of the Violence Against Women Act during a Feb. 9 Senate Judiciary Committee press conference, as California Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein (left) looks over her shoulder. C-SPAN photo.

March 16-22, 2022

Vital VAWA Act’s reauthorization expands domestic violence protections

Smoky Mountain News

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR t’s hard to believe there was ever a time when reports of stalking, sexual assault, domestic violence and dating violence weren’t taken seriously by law enforcement, courts or the general public, but there was – and it wasn’t even 30 years ago.

When the Violence Against Women Act was first authorized, it had an immediate and quantifiable effect on prosecution of these crimes and also devoted substantial resources toward prevention. From 1994 through 2010, rates of intimate partner violence declined by 64%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Still, more than 35% of North Carolina women and 30% of North Carolina men will experience some form of stalking or intimate partner violence, be it physical or sexual, in their lifetime, according to a 2021 report issued by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In 2020, a 24-hour survey of local and state domestic violence hotlines logged more than 20 calls an hour, every hour. That same year, there were 91 intimate partner homicides in North Carolina.

Every few years, VAWA grant funding 10 expires and Congress entertains reauthoriza-

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tion. The most current version expired in 2019, and although the money keeps flowing, the ever-changing scope of VAWA can’t be expanded to protect marginalized groups – especially tribal citizens, undocumented immigrants and the LGBT community – until it’s reauthorized.

Senators last week unveiled a bi-partisan compromise version of VAWA that’s slightly different from the version that passed the House in March, 2021, and President Joe Biden asked for the bill on his desk “as soon as possible.”

With razor-slim Democratic margins in the Senate and some controversial expansions omitted, VAWA was inserted into a $1.5 trillion omnibus appropriations bill. Biden signed the bill on March 11, but will it be enough? riginally, the Violence Against Women Act was signed by President Bill Clinton on Sept. 13, 1994. The bill’s primary Senate sponsor, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) later called it one of his most important legislative achievements in a career that at that point had spanned 20 years and would go on for another 16 in the Senate, before taking him to the White House twice.

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The initial aims of VAWA were modest but important, as the task of addressing intimate partner violence was literally starting at square zero.

“It was pioneering in 1994 because there weren’t coalitions and collaborations across the country,” said Monika Johnson-Hostler, executive director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault for the past 20 years. “There were not nearly enough of the services that we do have today. We have over 2,000 domestic violence shelters and over 1,500 rape crisis centers that did not exist in 1994.”

Funds totaling $1.6 billion were appropriated and directed to a variety of purposes through grants to states and tribes where the rates of violence against women were highest.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT Although North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein’s office doesn’t play a role in enacting federal legislation, Stein has consistently advocated for VAWA and the funding it brings to the state.

“The Violence Against Women Act supports domestic violence and sexual assault victims and helps bring perpetrators of these crimes to justice. It will also help us to better prevent crime and work more sensitively with victims, including through new funding for restorative justice programs,” Stein told The Smoky Mountain News on March 2. “No one should ever have to live in fear of violence, and we must do everything in our power to prevent it.”

The grants from VAWA 1994 would go on to fund shelters, to make public transit more secure, to make prosecution more efficient

and to educate public school students at all grade levels – as well as college students, judges and attorneys – about rape prevention.

“What we know to be true is that funding, along with the support that bill, has garnered really has allowed us to increase the work that we’ve done to provide direct services,” Johnson-Hostler said. “I would also say the cornerstone of what we do is prevention work, and that wasn’t happening. That part required leadership with law enforcement, medical professionals, prosecutors, everyone who would be a first responder or the first place a survivor would go are brought into a collaborative process that ensures that we create the best response for survivors in our local community.”

Provisions in VAWA also made genderrelated crimes a federal Civil Rights violation, forced protective orders from any state to be recognized by every state, made it a crime to cross state lines to harass or assault a spouse or intimate partner or to force a spouse or partner to cross a state line.

In the courts, VAWA increased penalties for sex crimes against victims under the age of 16 and authorized judges to double maximum sentences on repeat sex offenders.

It also and amended the Federal Rules of Evidence to prohibit evidence of a victim’s reputation, past sexual behavior or even their clothing from being considered as mitigating factors in rape cases – a critical point in the 1988 Jodie Foster movie The Accused.

“It was pioneering in 1994 because there weren’t coalitions and collaborations across the country.”

— Monika Johnson-Hostler, executive director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Language in VAWA has long been construed to provide protection to victims who are men, as well.

House Republicans slashed funding for VAWA in 1995, and five years later, a portion of VAWA giving accusers the right to sue their attackers in federal court was struck down as unconstitutional.

Congress had claimed jurisdiction due to the 14th Amendment’s Commerce Clause, which gives the federal government regulatory oversight of almost anything involving interstate commerce. Congress claimed the $10 billion in taxpayer cost in caring for victims of domestic violence gave them the right to intervene, but the Rehnquist court disagreed in U.S. v. Morrison.

In 2000, VAWA was again reauthorized with broad bipartisan support, and expanded access to legal immigration for victims of human trafficking and certain victims of violent crime including domestic violence and sexual assault. VAWA’s subsequent reauthorization in 2005 expanded and improved

lines. No Democrats opposed the bill.

One of the reasons that so many Republicans opposed the House version was because of something called “the boyfriend loophole.”

Right now, federal law prohibits the purchase of weapons by people convicted of domestic violence who have lived with, been married to or have a child with their victim.

The House version would have expanded the weapons ban to current or former intimate partners as well as those convicted of stalking.

“It requires adjudication,” Hostler said. “I think that’s important and I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but North Carolina is one of the states with the highest number of domestic homicides with a gun.”

The National Rifle Association vehemently opposed closing VAWA’s boyfriend loophole.

“Today, it’s equally important because we’ve spent the time and have momentum to say that our services are here and we support the needs of survivors.”

— Monika Johnson-Hostler, executive director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault

It takes a village Strong collaborative partnerships support victims in WNC

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER n 1978, there were all of two shelters in North Carolina for survivors of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault and their children. Today there are over 100, working collaboratively to support victims of interpersonal violence and sexual assault, many of which receive funding from the money allocated through the Violence Against Women Act. This legislation aims to protect women and children through the dissemination of preventative grants to domestic violence shelters, advocacy centers and law enforcement with the goal of preventing crimes against women and children and funding resources for victims of crime.

“Grant funding allows all these groups to provide services, which allow my office to have more successful prosecution and make sure that women and children or victims have the services they need,” said District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch.

In Western North Carolina, The Thirtieth Judicial District Alliance is one such organization. A nonprofit organization established in 1999 to serve victims of violence in the seven far western counties, the alliance has experienced the benefits of funding provided through the Violence Against Women Act. VAWA, effectively in place for almost 30 years, has provided funding to support programs that are working with victims of violence under the categories of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.

The Alliance has received more than six million dollars in VAWA grant funds to address specialized populations that include victims with disabilities, elder abuse, financial exploitation victims, legal assistance for victims, rural victims of crime, children and youth exposed to violence and a specialized prosecution team supporting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

“The importance of these grant funds lies in the resources that we can provide to victims of violence in our communities,” said Lynn Carlson, Alliance Executive Director. “Not only can we provide court and victim advocacy, but we are able to offer evidence based mental health services in conjunction with ani-

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March 16-22, 2022 Smoky Mountain News

On Dec. 16, 2021, senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced they’d come up with a framework to reauthorize VAWA, albeit without closing the boyfriend loophole.

North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr recently added his name to the list of cosponsors of the Senate version of VAWA, which was introduced last week, but fellow North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis was an early cosponsor.

“I’ve worked very closely with Sen. Ernst on several measures,” Tillis told The Smoky Mountain News on Feb. 17. “You may know that she is actually a victim of sexual assault herself.”

Ernst told Bloomberg News three years ago that she’d been raped by a boyfriend while a student at Iowa State University in the late 1980s or early 1990s and that the incident had left her feeling “embarrassed” and “humiliated.” Ernst, an Army veteran and now the highest-ranking Republican woman in Senate leadership, never reported the incident to police.

Nevertheless, Tillis wanted to steer clear of the boyfriend loophole issue.

“I felt like [VAWA] needed to be reauthorized, but we also needed to make sure that it did not move into areas that I think could cause problems for the bill,” Tillis said. “So, I thought that by being a cosponsor, I had a seat at the table, and we could influence what the final product looks like.”

Tillis’ staff legal counsel Cirilo Perez said that “the boyfriend loophole was agreed upon on by both sides [to be] taken out of the Senate version.”

Another equally important issue that did make it into the final version of VAWA revolves around the authority of tribal law enforcement officials to prosecute non-tribal members.

On tribal lands, non-tribal members who are involved in crimes adjacent to domestic violence, like endangering children or assaulting an officer, have to be prosecuted in federal court. Some tribes have asked for the power to do that locally.

Perez said that Senate negotiators from both sides of the aisle agreed to update the Title VIII section, Safety for Indian Women, that will expand the provision from the 2013 version of VAWA to allow tribal prosecutors to prosecute non-Indians who commit domestic violence. However, the non-Indian defendant can file a writ of habeas corpus in tribal court. Individuals found guilty will still be placed in federal prisons.

A spokesman for Tillis confirmed that the update will indeed apply to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

On March 9, the Senate’s version of the bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 was released, but not as a standalone bill that could be debated or amended – it was inserted into a $1.5 trillion, 2,700-page omnibus bill.

An omnibus bill is a single large bill that combines several (often unrelated) measures into one document.

The cumbersome nature of omnibus bills means that true scrutiny of and debate over the issues contained therein are stymied, and the bill must be voted up or down without changes. In essence, it’s a classic example of government sausagemaking – a “take it or leave it” measure where almost everybody gets something they want and almost everybody gets something they don’t want.

The omnibus bill that Congress sent to Biden’s desk includes $575 million in funding for VAWA, almost $14 billion for aid to Ukraine, $4 billion for rural development including broadband and $1.5 billion to expand law enforcement capabilities on the southern border.

Given the historical data available, VAWA’s been vital in addressing the needs of intimate partner violence victims in North Carolina for the past 28 years.

Given the population growth projections for North Carolina and its associated increase in demand for services, VAWA will remain vital, at least for the next few years – now that Biden’s signed it, VAWA and the grant funding it provides will be authorized through 2027.

“Today, it’s equally important because we’ve spent the time and have momentum to say that our services are here and we support the needs of survivors,” Johnson-Hostler said.

“As those needs grow, the Violence Against Women Act has to grow to meet those needs.”

If you or someone you know may be in an abusive relationship, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

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many of these immigration-related provisions.

The attempted 2012 reauthorization of VAWA saw a revolt by conservatives opposed to the immigration-related provisions of VAWA 2005 and the extension of VAWA protections to same-sex couples and transgender people, but it passed anyway in 2013 with the LGBT and immigration provisions intact.

For the first time, a federal funding statute had explicitly banned discrimination against “actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation,” just two years before landmark the U.S. Supreme Court case Obergefell v.

Hodges forced states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

When the federal government briefly shut down in late 2018, VAWA expired, was briefly reauthorized, and then expired again on Feb. 15, 2019. Since then, reauthorization has languished.

“The Violence Against Women Act unfortunately has never in my 20-plus year tenure been reauthorized before it expired,” Hostler said.

The topic of potential reauthorization came up just before the 2020 General Election in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.

During a congressional campaign forum hosted in Cullowhee on Sept. 5, 2020 by The Smoky Mountain News, Blue Ridge Public Radio and Mountain Xpress, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Richard Sneed asked Henderson County Republican Madison Cawthorn and Asheville Democrat Moe Davis about VAWA. It was Sneed’s first question, and as he only got to ask two questions it was perhaps indicative of Sneed’s interest in the matter given all the other federal issues the tribe must manage.

“The United States is facing a tumultuous time, dealing with race-based issues particularly relating to police reform. Native nations across the U.S. experience an increased rate of domestic violence, rape and kidnapping.

On some reservations federal studies have shown women are killed at a rate of over 10 times the national average,” Sneed said.

“First, do you plan to support the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act when it comes before Congress again? And secondly, how does the protection of missing and murdered indigenous women fit into your police reform agenda?”

Cawthorn, who eventually won the race, indicated an initial willingness to support VAWA reauthorization.

“You know, if that act does come up that protects women from domestic violence, it’s something I would be more than willing to vote for,” he said. “The reason is because I believe it is the duty of the government to protect the weak and if there is a woman, or a man for that matter, who is facing a situation where they’re facing domestic abuse or violent of any kind, I believe it’s the role of the government to step in and protect them.”

When the House passed its own version of the VAWA reauthorization act in March, 2021, Cawthorn joined reps Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) as well as 169 other Republicans in voting no.

The bill passed, 244-172, largely along party

S EE VILLAGE, PAGE 12 11

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Investigators say victim safety is top priority

BY KYLE PERROTTI N EWS E DITOR n Suzie Pressley’s 11 years on the job, she’s seen the agony people face trying to leave an abusive relationship and the freedom they feel when it happens.

For the last 11 years, Pressley has been Haywood County’s domestic violence advocate, a job that puts her in a position to get people the help they need while also aiding in building cases against abusers.

Pressley, a civilian employee of the Haywood County Sheriff ’s Offices, spends many of her days between her office and the courthouse doing everything she can to navigate the process to find relief and safety for those who need it most. Along with offering a sympathetic ear and immediate advice, she can help survivors get a 50B order, which is basically a restraining order that ends in jail time if violated.

“Some people just have no clue the protective order exists,” Pressley said.

When deputies respond to domestic violence calls, they give Pressley’s information to survivors. When Pressley speaks with those people, she leaves no stone unturned in determining the appropriate course of action, directing some to the 30th Judicial District Alliance (See 30th Alliance, page 11) or REACH of Haywood County for additional resources.

In an email, Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher said domestic violence can’t be tolerated and that he encouraged people to report unacceptable behavior to law enforcement right away. When addressing the seriousness with which his office treats those cases, he gave Pressley immense credit for handling much of the workload.

“Suzie Pressley does a fantastic job for citizens of Haywood County,” Christopher said.

“She assists victims daily and is the vital link

to getting cases into court for prosecution.”

Capt. Tony Cope, Lt. Matt Shell and Sgt. Heath Justice comprise HCSO’s criminal investigations division’s upper chain of command. Cope, who has been in CID for 23 years, said a main consideration when handling domestic abuse cases is whether children live in the household.

“We not only protect the survivor, but it’s also important that we protect those children … It’s traumatizing for a child to live in that environment day in and day out. Sometimes, the only time they ever escape is when they go to school,” Cope said, adding that the sheriff ’s office — including Pressley — also guide kids toward resources such as counseling.

VILLAGE, CONTINUED FROM 11

project; and OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) which funds our Opioid Affected Youth Initiative.”

The success of the VAWA grant programs within far Western North Carolina lies in the collaborative nature of each of the projects.

There are multiple partners that assist the Alliance in increasing and strengthening its effectiveness. These include law enforcement, the Office of the District Attorney, the REACH programs that offer advocacy and emergency shelter, KARE as a child advocacy center, Haywood County government, Mountain Projects Senior Resource Center and faith-based communities in the area.

For the Alliance, 98% of its funding comes from federal grants under the U. S. Department of Justice and from grant awards through the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission. According to Carlson, the impact of the VAWA reauthorization is significant for the victim service agencies and collaborating organizations in reaching out and supporting victims of crime.

“We provide victim advocacy which helps with basic needs,” said Fowler. “Protection in

March 16-22, 2022

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Smoky Mountain News

mal assisted therapy for children and youth witnessing violence.”

All funds the alliance receives from The U.S. Department of Justice are competitive.

The alliance must compete with programs across the United States to earn a grant award. Grant funding for most programs runs for three years, and it is not unusual to have overlapping funds from different sources. In any given year, the alliance may be receiving $600,000 to $1 million in funding.

“We compete for more than just VAWA grants, which is the Office on Violence against Women under the U.S. Dept of Justice,” said Sue Fowler, Director of Grant Management for the alliance. “Also, under USDOJ is VOCA funding, through the Victims of Crime Act, which funds our North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission Grants to include immigrant victims of crime, elder victims, veterans with disabilities, and children and youth exposed to violence; BJA (Bureau of Justice 12 Assistance), which funds our School Safety

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT Justice said a key element of bettering deputies’ response to domestic violence cases is training offered through the North Carolina Justice Academy, which receives funding authorized in the Violence Against Women Act (see VAWA, pg. 10). In fact, the enhanced training, done in collaboration with the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault, was put into practice as a result of considerations made at the state level during the reauthorization of the 2017-2020 Violence Against Women Act. But there are still ubiquitous challenges.

For example, survivors find it consistently difficult leaving their abuser, and it’s even tougher to follow through with prosecution since that requires interviews and even court testimony. Justice said in most cases the way law enforcement is made aware of abuse is a 911 call and not someone filing a report.

“It takes a survivor an average of seven times to leave their abuser,” he said.

“We want to hold the offender accountable if there are criminal charges that need to be filed, but we are victim-oriented.”

— Lt. Matt Shell, Haywood County Sheriff’s Office

Pressley echoed that sentiment.

“They cannot walk out that door,” she said. “They don’t go through with anything because of the fear.”

Pressley has no shortage of stories where survivors have had trepidations, afraid of being cut off from family or finances or even

“It takes all of the organizations to assist one victim in a comprehensive manner. We are fortunate to have strong collaborative partnerships in Haywood County.”

— Sue Fowler, Director of Grant Management

conjunction with law enforcement, court advocacy and support during court proceedings, animal assisted therapy, evidence-based treatment for children and youth who have been exposed to violence, elder victims of abuse and financial exploitation. VAWA also supports training efforts with law enforcement, community programs, other victim service providers and prosecution related services.”

In a rural area like Western North Carolina, pooling resources is vital to provide a strong

concerns of greater harm. She recalled one incident when Shell was still in the patrol division and responded to a call from a woman alleging her partner had slapped her.

What Shell didn’t know was, prior to his arrival, she concealed bruises and scrapes on her arms and legs suffered when she was dragged by her hair.

Pressley took note of those injuries during her follow-up interview and told investigators. More charges were secured.

“The guy ended up going to prison,” she said. “She didn’t go back with him either.”

While many detectives handle domestic violence investigators, they also have other areas of focus. However, Cagle’s main assignment is to ensure those cases stay on track.

She said she goes back and knocks on the door of a household where

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continuum of services to victims, says Fowler.

It is necessary for domestic violence shelters and advocacy centers to work together.

If the alliance has a victim of domestic violence, they may need the services of Legal Aid to secure a protection order, they may need the services of REACH for emergency shelter and possible court advocacy. If there is a child involved that has been abused, KARE Child Advocacy Center can provide a forensic interview and/ or a medical exam.

When there is court involvement, prosecutors from the Office of the District Attorney assist. Law enforcement can assist with police reports and safety issues.

The alliance provides assistance along the continuum for victims with advocacy, resources, treatment for children and youth, therapy and linkage to community programs. All of these can be provided in English and in Spanish as the alliance employs four bilingual staff.

“It takes all of the organizations to assist one victim in a comprehensive manner,” said Fowler. “We are fortunate to have strong collaborative partnerships in Haywood County.”

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March 16-22, 2022 Smoky Mountain News

abuse occurred, sometimes noting evidence of injuries not visible during deputies’ initial response. She frequently takes pictures of injuries during follow-up visits.

Cagle then gives survivors Pressley’s information and turns evidence over to the district attorney’s office with the aim of prosecution.

That evidence is also used by Pressley when determining whether a protective order should be sought.

Shell talked about the importance of Cagle’s role when following up with survivors.

“We felt like we were missing some things in domestic violence and that there was more that we could do to make sure there’s a felony charge,” he said. “We felt like we were missing those pieces, so that’s why it’s really important to have a detective solely in charge of following those cases from beginning to end.”

One time, Shell explained, Cagle’s followup resulted in saving a woman from an actively abusive situation. When she pulled up to the home where a man had previously been arrested on a domestic violence charge, she heard screaming.

“A girl came running out, and [Cagle] had to engage the guy with her duty weapon and take him back into custody for violating the order,” Shell said.

But arrests and charges aren’t always Pressley’s end game, although successful prosecution is a goal in many cases. On some occasions, getting a person out of an abusive relationship is best done out of court. She likes to tell one story in particular to illustrate that point.

A woman she worked with wanted out of a desperate situation but didn’t want to do it in a way that would lead to charges, since she was afraid her partner may hurt or even kill her if he got out on bond. They came up with a plan. While Pressley didn’t offer specific details, she said it took about three months to execute it, and she didn’t even find out it was until she received a surprise phone call.

“She said, ‘I’m gone,’” Pressley recalled. “I said, ‘Just don’t even tell me where you are.’”

Pressley said the woman moved around for a while before settling down and that her abuser never found her.

While deputies focus on charging offenders, each one interviewed for this story also pointed out that their main goal is to be survivor-centered in their approach.

“We want to hold the offender accountable if there are criminal charges that need to be filed, but we are victim-oriented,” Shell said. “It’s important to make sure the victim — male, female, child — is safe. Criminal charges, those will come in time if we even need to, but our main goal is to make sure the victim is safe and in a good place.”

While the detectives and Pressley said long periods of isolation endured by most during the pandemic have led to more domestic violence, another issue with lockdowns is that the office hasn’t hosted its semiannual awareness events. They urged anyone who thinks they may be in an abusive situation to reach out to the sheriff ’s office, no matter the circumstances.

“It’s about getting out and getting safe,” Pressley said. “If they don’t want to do that through the legal system, I don’t care.”

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Handled at home VAWA reauthorization expands tribe’s ability to hold abusers accountable

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER n July 21, 2015, Cherokee resident John Michael Arkansas was convicted of violating a domestic violence protective order. He received a year of probation and $1,600 in fines and restitution, with a 75-day sentence hanging over his head should he violate the terms.

The conviction — which in most contexts would be considered a run-of-the-mill criminal proceeding — was a groundbreaking achievement for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Arkansas was the first non-enrolled person to be charged, tried and sentenced before the Cherokee Tribal Court, a milestone made possible through the 2013 renewal of the Violence Against Women Act. The federal law created a pathway for Native American tribes to gain jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit domestic violence against enrolled members on tribal land — a crime that is lamentably common and lamentably difficult to prosecute.

“It really enhances an Indian tribe’s sovereignty, because an Indian tribe should be able to defend itself, carry out its own affairs,” Cherokee Chief Justice Kirk Saunooke said of the tribe’s powers under VAWA. Since 2015, the EBCI has pressed charges against non-Indians in 66 alleged incidents of domestic violence, convicting 34 of those cases in tribal court, with some cases still in progress. Domestic violence cases against non-Indians account for 10-20% of all domestic violence crimes charged in Cherokee each year, said Tribal Prosecutor Shelli Buckner, with 2017 and 2018 seeing the highest number so far. Those years also saw the highest overall number of domestic violence cases in Cherokee. Because the tribal court can sentence defendants to a maximum of only three years in prison per charge, with a cap of nine years spread across three charges, more serious cases still get sent to federal court.

“Domestic violence should be addressed vigorously,” said U.S. Attorney Don Gast.

“I’ve heard it said and I’ve used this line before, too, that domestic violence is murder on the installment plan. It’s important to attempt to intervene and prosecute domestic violence cases even at the misdemeanor level before it becomes a homicide.”

Smoky Mountain News

March 16-22, 2022

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LOCAL PROSECUTION EASIER ON VICTIMS Prior to VAWA, those misdemeanor cases were simply not resulting in the sentences that victims, law enforcement and the legal 14 community hoped to see. Saunooke’s prede-

cessor Bill Boyum attributed that reality to overfull dockets forcing federal prosecutors to prioritize their efforts toward more egregious crimes, like murders and robberies.

“They [federal prosecutors] have things that are higher on ‘things to do’ than a Friday night slapping of somebody,” Boyum told The Smoky Mountain News in 2015. “It’s just a fact of life.”

Gast, who has been with the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2001, said that’s not accurate, and that he’s never had to decline a case due to workload issues. In fact, he said, as a federal prosecutor, he has a smaller caseload than he did as an assistant district attorney working under state jurisdiction.

“We handle all those cases with utmost care, seriousness and respect,” he said.

Tribal and federal prosecutors and law enforcement have a positive relationship, all those interviewed for this story emphasized, and they all want to see justice for victims of crime. Dena J. King, now three months into her new job as U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said that she too looks forward to strengthening that partnership — “especially when it comes to protecting Indian women and girls from the violence they face,” she said.

But both federal and tribal officials acknowl-

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT edge that there are benefits to prosecuting domestic violence crimes closer to home.

In many such cases, the victim is the crime’s only witness, meaning that she or he must participate in the case to secure a conviction. It’s always difficult to convince somebody who has suffered abuse at the hands of a romantic partner to make a formal complaint, complete interviews with law enforcement and attorneys, and possibly even testify in a courtroom.

When that courtroom is an hour away in Asheville — or even just 20 minutes away in Sylva — populated by strangers unfamiliar with the Cherokee culture, it’s even harder.

“When you take them out of what they know is their tribal lands and where they feel safe, and stick them in another city, in another courtroom, with nobody they know, it did cause a lot of disconnect, and it still happens today sometimes,” said Cherokee Indian Police Department Chief Josh Taylor.

Victims often need more than just legal services as they navigate the emotional, professional and financial aftermath of an abusive relationship — the Cherokee court system can connect them with local services more efficiently than the federal court in Asheville.

“Asheville is only an hour away, but it’s still a long way to go for court hearings,” said Gast.

TRIBAL PROSECUTION POWERS EXPAND Tribal officials believe that the last seven years have proven that the Cherokee court can prosecute non-Indians fairly and effectively, and the question’s been building — why should domestic violence be the only crime for which the tribe may hold non-

Since 2015, the Cherokee Tribal Court has been able to prosecute non-tribal members for domestic violence offenses, and new federal legislation will expand that ability to eight additional crimes.

Holly Kays photo

Indians accountable?

“Give us more jurisdiction,” said Saunooke. “Let us handle this.”

When President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan omnibus bill that includes VAWA renewal legislation (see VAWA, page 10), Saunooke got his wish. The bill expands tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians to include assault of tribal justice personnel, child violence, dating violence, obstruction of justice, sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking and violation of a protective order — in addition to domestic violence.

“The historic tribal provisions in this bill attest to years of powerful, collaborative efforts between survivors, tribal leaders and allies across Indian Country,” National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp said in a statement. “We commend Congress’ momentous action to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and now, by exercising our inherent sovereignty and jurisdiction, Tribal Nations will continue to increase safety and justice for victims who had previously seen little of either.”

The expanded authority in VAWA covers crimes that commonly co-occur with domestic violence incidents, but, under the current structure must be split off as separate state or federal cases.

As an example of a domestic violence case resulting in additional charges, Saunooke pointed to the 2017 case of Howell Clinkscales, a non-enrolled man who, according to an affidavit filed by CIPD Investigator William Ferguson, was attacking his girlfriend, an enrolled member of the EBCI, when police arrived on the scene Feb. 8, 2017 — strangling her and punching her in the face and body. The victim allegedly told Ferguson that Clinkscales threatened to kill her, and on the same date he allegedly threatened to kill officers and investigators from the CIPD, responders from tribal EMS, and staff at the Cherokee Hospital emergency room, the affidavit states.

In federal court, Clinkscales faced five charges, related both to the assault of his girl-

friend and to the alleged assault and threats against law enforcement and first responders. He ultimately pleaded guilty to just one count — assault of an intimate partner by strangulation — and in Feb. 2018, was sentenced to three years in prison. However, court records indicate he was released early, because in March 2020 he was convicted of violating the terms of his release in October and November 2019. He was given two more years of supervised release as punishment, but mere months later, in August 2020, Clinkscales came before a judge for once more violating the terms of his release. This time, he received four months in jail.

HELP THE VICTIM, HELP THE CASE Ultimately, the EBCI’s justice and law enforcement leaders want the tribe to have jurisdiction over all crimes committed within its boundaries. It’s a sovereignty issue, and it’s also a victim’s rights issue. Due to the complexities of jurisdictional boundaries between state, federal and tribal court, it’s feasible that a single incident could result in cases filed in all three courts.

“It’s an inefficient system of justice in a way that is particularly hurtful to victims who’ve already been hurt,” said Tribal Prosecutor Shelli Buckner.

Testimony is not transferrable between jurisdictions, even if the set of facts for two cases are nearly identical. So split jurisdiction requires victims of domestic violence to tell an already-painful story multiple times, and to incur expenses by doing so due to missed work and fuel costs. Domestic violence victims are often in a poor position to foot the bill.

“Let’s say that a survivor has left his or her abuser and gone from a two-income household to one income, so they’re already facing some additional financial hardship,” said Buckner. “And then we’re going to put demands on them that are going to require them to suffer even more financial hardship. It shouldn’t be neces-

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do physical abuse, so they feel like they’re doing the wrong thing anyway,” said Taylor.

“They’re dependent on that person’s income usually. So, the cards are stacked against them from day one. We’re trying to make the process better, where we can make it more easy and safer for them to actually make changes in their life and get help.”

Many times, said Taylor, victims are wary of uniformed officers.

“Not everybody wants to talk to the police officers,” he said. “So, if you build up a good team of people that they trust and know close to their home, where they don’t have to go 50 million different places, it makes it easier for them not to back out or be scared.”

Streamlining that process is more important now than ever, with a global pandemic exacerbating domestic violence issues even as it complicates conventional forms of justice delivery, such as jury trials. In 2019, the tribe convicted 22 domestic violence defendants, both enrolled and non-enrolled. In 2020, despite pandemic-induced court closures, that number increased to 30. In 2021 convictions had almost doubled from 2019, rising to 42.

“I think it (the pandemic) is going to cause there to be a more consistent increase in domestic violence, because there will just be more opportunity in that people are around each other more in their homes,” Buckner said.

“Time will tell, and I hope that I’m wrong.”

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sary to get justice for somebody.”

Even if charges are filed in only one jurisdiction, the victim may still be required to show up at a flurry of appointments —medical exams, meetings with social workers, debriefing with police officer — to move the case forward.

Tribal departments are collaborating to address that challenge with an effort to create a “one stop shop” for crime victims — a Family Justice Center providing a single location with all the services necessary for the victim to move forward with the case, and with their lives. The project, tribal officials hope, will result not only in convenience for crime victims, but also in improved conviction rates due to fewer victims dropping out of the legal process.

“When they are forced to go different places, at any one of those stops they could fall off, because it is hard to tell that story and have to tell it over and over,” EBCI Legal Assistance Program Manager Bonnie Claxton said while discussing the concept with Tribal Council March 3.

The Family Justice Center concept would bring all the professionals that victims are currently forced to seek out at separate locations and often on separate days to a single location, making the most of the victim’s time and emotional capital.

“A lot of the people who face domestic violence, they have more mental abuse than they

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We’re h i r i ng !

March 16-22, 2022

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER requested athletic fee increase at Western Carolina University met approval from the University of North Carolina Board of Governors at its Feb. 24 meeting, but this month WCU trustees passed a resolution pledging that increase would stick around only as long as the debt for the projects it seeks to support.

“I’m really glad we have this so I can take it back to the students,” Student Government Association President Rebecca Hart, who is also a member of the WCU Board of Trustees, said during a March 3 Finance and Audit Committee meeting.

“Because while it is a UNC System policy that it is rolled back, it’s difficult to explain that policy to students. So having a piece of paper I can bring back to them of this is what they said, they put it in writing, it is a commitment to you all, I’m really grateful to be able to take that back to them.”

Hart had requested the resolution as a condition of the board’s approval of the athletic fee increase Dec. 3. For the first time in memory, the proposed athletic fee increase earned support from all six student representatives on the WCU Tuition and Fees Committee, but their support was the result of leadership’s promise that the fee increase would disappear once the $30 million in athletic upgrades it was intended to finance had been paid. Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance

Mike Byers told Hart a fee sunset was baked into the existing policy, because once the debt was issued the increase would move from the athletics fee line time to the debt service line item. The university would be required to reduce the debt service fee when the debt term ended. However, Hart wanted an outright statement of that pledge to bring back to the student body.

Trustee Casey Cooper, who chairs the Finance and Audit Committee, thanked Hart for her “courageous advocacy” in the matter.

“This sends the message to them (the students) that we heard them,” he said.

The $86 increase will bring the total annual fee to $868 for the 2022-2023 academic year. In two years, the university will seek an additional hike of $59. That money, combined with an additional $104 that the university wants to keep collecting after the debt it currently services is retired, will comprise the $249 per student that WCU needs to fund $30 million in athletics upgrades.

Philanthropy is expected to raise an additional $30 million, bringing the total upgrade fund to $60 million.

University leaders praised the Board of Governors’ approval of the fee, with Chancellor Kelli R. Brown telling trustees during their March 4 meeting that she was “thrilled” it had passed.

“Some of our athletic facilities have served well beyond their life expectancy and are in desperate need of renovation, repair or replacement,” Alex Gary, WCU’s director of athletics, said in a statement following the Board of Governors meeting. “Coupled with a significant fundraising campaign, the vote today will go a long way in helping us address much needed renovations.”

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WCU trustees promise sunset for athletic fee increase

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Waynesville begins research on social districts

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR fter Alderman Anthony Sutton floated the idea near the end of a Jan. 11 meeting, the Town of Waynesville will now take a methodical, deliberate approach to the question of whether or not – and where – social districts could end up being established.

“Once we get our presentation from staff and also from fellow aldermen who are kind of spearheading this, unless there’s something out of this investigation that is shocking and would move me to not support it, I will support it, and in three districts,” said Alderman Julia Boyd Freeman.

The establishment of social districts, made possible by a recent legislative act, would allow for the on-street consumption of alcohol under tightly controlled circumstances within defined areas and times established by municipalities or counties that decide to opt in.

As the town has three distinct urban cores, in Frog Level, on Main Street and Hazelwood, any, all or none of them could end up being designated as social districts.

Proponents of the measure say it would prove a bigger draw for festivals and outdoor events and boost bar business, while opponents are concerned about litter and disorderly conduct.

The Town of Sylva moved quickly to

During the brief discussion that ensued, Freeman revealed that there’s actually precedent for alcohol being served on the streets of Waynesville in the past.

“We had two beer wagons during International Festival Day. Altrusa of Waynesville was the organization that got the clearance and go-ahead to do that back in the 1990s,” she said. “There was one right between town hall and the old fire station, and the other was down at the courthouse area.”

More The Town of Waynesville meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at 16 South Main St., in Waynesville.

Meeting agendas are available at waynesvillenc.gov.

Freeman said she couldn’t recall any problems associated with the sales of alcohol at that time, and that the measure was about supporting not only local businesses, but also the vendors that travel to participate in the town’s big events like the Apple Harvest Festival and the Church Street Art and Craft Show.

“We are there to support our local merchants and their storefronts, but also you’ve got all the vendors,” she said. “It keeps peo-

Smoky Mountain News

March 16-22, 2022

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establish a social district in its downtown; initial discussions were held on Jan. 27, with Main Street Sylva Association Director Bernadette Peters telling commissioners that they’d done “quite a bit of research” on the issue, speaking with officials in Mobile and Huntsville, Alabama and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Peters said she also visited Kannapolis, where a social district was established last fall.

Still, opponents offered stiff resistance to the Sylva proposal during a Feb. 10 commission meeting, citing safety and a lack of bathrooms as reasons why the district should not be established. The measure passed, by a vote of 3 to 2.

On March 8, Waynesville Town Manager Rob Hites briefed aldermen on the specifics of the social district legislation and asked if town staff should proceed with a preliminary investigation into stakeholder sentiment before proceeding with any specific proposals.

Aldermen agreed, and town staff said they’d reach out to business owners in Hazelwood and Frog Level. Jay Spiro, newly-sworn chair of Waynesville’s new town-controlled Downtown Waynesville Advisory Committee said he’d poll DWAC members in the town’s Main Street municipal service district. Aldermen also asked for a report from Waynesville Police Chief David Adams.

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ple actively engaging and walking in the street versus just walking around once and leaving. I think it would be a very positive thing to support those people who come in and sell their goods on the street. So many of the people that attend these festivals are from other communities, and so they’re used to this type of stuff.”

Municipalities must specify not only the geographic boundaries of the district, but also must set the hours, so it’s not likely the districts would be in force 24 hours a day.

Yet to be settled, however, is the issue of whether the social districts will be active for short periods of time during special events by permit only, or if the district would be permanent, year-round.

Back in January, Sutton told The Smoky Mountain News he didn’t envision the district being established on a permanent, year-round basis, but Freeman said it wasn’t out of the question.

“I think we’re gonna have to rely literally on the research to see where that falls down,” she said. “You know if it’s something that is positive for the community, then it could be not just for special events, it could be something that’s permanent.”

Aldermen would have to take formal action to implement the district, but that won’t likely happen for a few weeks, to allow staff time to gather recommendations.

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March 16-22, 2022 Smoky Mountain News

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER ylva Fire Department is requesting funding from Jackson County for the salary of additional paid personnel in the split paid, volunteer fire department. At a March 10 commissioners meeting, Sylva fire chief Mike Beck made his case.

“The thing about volunteers right now, there’s a lot of people that do it, but their employers pretty much got out of the mode of letting anybody leave to go to fires,” said Beck. “Used to be, 20, 30 years ago it wasn’t a problem, now it is. That’s why a lot of people don’t volunteer at fire departments, they can’t. They’re not allowed to. We used to have a waiting list to get into the department, that’s not the case anymore. You have to go out and hunt people, and then you’re lucky if you get anybody.”

There are currently 33 volunteers on the Sylva Fire Department Roster and two paid employees per shift. During the hours of 8 a.m.-5 p.m., the average response for an incident is between four and 10 people, including the two paid positions at the department. Between the hours of 5 p.m.midnight, the average response to an incident is five to 12 people, and from midnight-8 a.m. response to an incident ranges from two to five volunteers.

According to Beck, 36% of calls come in during staffed hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 64% of calls come in during non-staffed hours, after 5 p.m. and on the weekends. Similarly, only about 37% of calls to Sylva Fire Department come from within Sylva town limits, the other 63% come from Sylva’s surrounding areas.

Chief Beck stated several reasons for the need for more paid staff. The “two in, two out,” policy is a national mandate from OSHA that requires four firefighters to be on the scene before an interior fire attack can be made. Increased staffing will allow for three firefighters on each shift, getting closer to the four-person rule, and Beck says the fourth person can be chief officers or volunteers. Additionally, Beck says response time to incidents will decrease with more staffing.

By increasing the number of paid staff, Sylva Fire Department would be able to expand assistance to Harris EMS at all times of the day; 500 hydrants in the district can be fully inspected, tested and maintained; insurance ratings will improve, resulting in lower premiums for businesses; and training and fire education prevention would increase.

The total amount of funding now requested from the county for the Sylva Fire Department is $1,171,728. That is just over $800,000 more than the county is currently funding. This would fund 12 new paid positions for the fire department.

news

Sylva Fire requests funding for more paid staff

17

ABC store opens in Cherokee news

Alcohol availability widens following September referendum

HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ust six months after Cherokee voters said yes in a referendum election, a liquor store is open on the Qualla Boundary — making the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians the first tribe in the country to have one.

“That gives us some sovereignty back that we didn’t have before,” said Tribal Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission Chairman Pepper Taylor at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Thursday, March 10.

Prior to the referendum, the only establishments on the Qualla Boundary able to sell Tribal officials cut the ribbon on Cherokee’s first ABC store. Holly Kays photo alcohol were at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and a select few retail businesses selling beer and wine — restaurants covered by a state law pertainthe fee was too high for businesses to make ing to “tourism establishments” located a profit at competitive prices. within 1.5 miles of a Blue Ridge Parkway “Even at 15%, it wasn’t competitive,” on-ramp.

Taylor said. “So we ended up making the Over and over, Cherokee voters had said move to drop it to zero percent offno to referendum efforts to expand the premise.” availability of alcohol, but in September While the 30% service fee is waived for 2021 they passed three measures approving retail sales, it remains for on-premises sales both on-premises and off-premises beer and in hotels and restaurants. wine sales, as well as a tribally operated The TABCC is pleased with the results of package store. The margins were large, with the 2021 election, but Taylor said the board approval rates varying between 57.6% and is already considering a new referendum 62.7%, depending on the specific question. question for the public — approval for “The board, everyone was surprised by mixed beverage sales on off-casino lands. the outcome,” Taylor said in an interview.

“To us, we got the first three corners of In the months since the referendum the pie, and now we need to finish that last passed, the TABCC has been working to slice,” he said. implement the results. The new store, locatTaylor, who works as the jail administraed at the intersection of U.S. 19 and U.S. tor for the Cherokee Indian Police 441 next to the old KFC, is the most tangiDepartment and grew up with a severely ble example of those efforts, a sparkling alcoholic father, is no stranger to the daninterior space offering everything from gers of alcohol. But, he points out, alcohol moonshine to cognac. It is open Monday and the issues it brings with it has been through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. present in Cherokee for years, legal local “This is a great opportunity for the sales or no. If they’re going to buy it anytribe,” Principal Chief Richard Sneed said way, the line of reasoning goes, the profits during the ceremony. “It’s a great opportumay as well go back to the tribe, rather than nity for economic development for future to governments in Swain and Jackson coungenerations.” ties.

The TABCC hired Marni Queen, former “Ultimately, these dollars end up affectCEO of New Hanover County ABC Stores, ing the bottom line for per capita payments to manage the Cherokee store. Originally that are given to the members each year, from Sylva, Queen said she saw the job as particularly from the revenue drop from an opportunity to move back home. alcohol at the casino, $55 million over three Profits from sales at the store go to the fiscal years,“ said TABCC Attorney Mikael TABCC, which after paying its bills, servicGross. “That puts a significant amount of ing its reserve and spending at least 5% of money back into the per capita pot for conproceeds on adult education efforts, turns sideration.”

J Gov. Roy Cooper speaks at a press conference in Waynesville on March 15.

Cory Vaillancourt photo

Gov. Cooper returns to Haywood, checks in on flood recovery

March 16-22, 2022

On March 15, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper made several stops in Western North Carolina, including one in Waynesville, where he checked in with local leaders on the progress of recovery from Tropical Storm Fred.

Last August, flooding killed six after torrential rains devastated parts of Cruso and Canton. Cleanup in Cruso and Canton is nearly complete, but there are still some people awaiting aid.

After a briefing in the Historic

Haywood County Courthouse, Cooper said he understood people’s frustrations with FEMA, and said he was still looking into how to help landowners remove debris piles and fix private roads and bridges damaged in the floods.

North Carolina’s Office of State Budget and Management established a walk-in location in the Haywood courthouse for people who want to discuss their concerns and seek help face-to-face, rather than on the phone or the internet.

Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers and Haywood County Commissioner Tommy Long thanked Cooper, who then departed to survey what damage remains in Cruso, and at Pisgah High School’s Memorial Stadium.

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excess cash over to Tribal Council. Like other retail sales on the Qualla Boundary, alcohol sales also produce a 7.5% tribal levy — akin to a sales tax — which also returns to the tribal budget. On the low end, said Taylor, the store is expected to produce gross sales of about $2.5 million, which would yield $187,000 in tribal levy.

So far, he said, eight new retail permits have been approved since the referendum results went into effect.

The referendum results gave the TABCC the ability to sell beer and wine at the package store, in addition to liquor, but the board decided not to offer beer and wine so as to avoid competing with private businesses, Taylor said. The board also dropped the 30% service fee it had originally charged

news March 16-22, 2022

Smoky Mountain News

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Why N.C. is at bottom of right-to-know states

BY SANDY H URLEY & B ILL MOSS G UEST COLUMNISTS or decades, North Carolina has ranked near the bottom of all states in the country when it comes to the public’s right to know what went wrong when a government employee is transferred, demoted or terminated for disciplinary reasons.

There have been efforts to change that, including a bill introduced 25 years ago by a young state senator named Roy Cooper, who now of course is North Carolina’s governor.

So, “Sunshine Week” March 13-19, is an appropriate time to examine where North Carolina stands on the people’s right to know.

Founded in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors, Sunshine Week is designed to heighten awareness about the importance of open government and freedom of information and advocate for change where change is needed.

Change is needed badly here. The best hope for that openness

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Child rearing should take place at home To the Editor: It’s almost humorous to read about what a child should glean from Pre-K and kindergarten. I said “almost humorous” because to me even the theory of Pre-K and kindergarten is categorically terrifying. I know this letter will quickly take on a Jurassic tone but, in my view, to believe children need Pre-K to learn socialization skills is beyond absurd.

There was a time (not a million, but just 60 years ago) when socialization, also colors and shapes, the numbers, how to print (even write in cursive) how to read, play — everything a child could possibly learn in Pre-K or kindergarten — was taught at home by parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and in villages across our nation. Children went to the movies on Saturday, you never saw a school bus parked outside a movie theater on a school day. Parents once actually reared their children.

Children entered school in the first grade at age six (or slightly before depending on when their birthday fell). They possessed the necessary basic skills and knowledge that teachers (with the help of parents) built on to “promote the welfare of children and youth in the home, school, church and community.”

That’s a quote, the first objective of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (1940s). Note, the home came first.

There was a time in America when childrearing was natural and instinctive. People got married, had children, and reared them. Taking away all the intellectual rhetoric, the purpose of raising children is to help them out of our lives and into successful lives of their own.

In the last 60 years, we’ve done such a good job of turning wives into mothers and husbands into dads, that by the time their kids leave home they’ve forgotten how to be

and accountability is ready to be taken up now by the Legislature.

For the third time since Gov. Cooper’s 1997 bill, the Legislature has a chance to make history by enacting legislation that opens public employee personnel files to inspection when bosses or elected leaders take disciplinary action.

Passed last year by a bipartisan majority in the N.C. Senate, the Government Transparency Act of 2021 would open personnel files in cases of misconduct by public school teachers and professors, city and county managers, and state and local law enforcement officers.

All North Carolinians should ask how the wall of secrecy around these disciplinary records was erected in the first place. One clue lies in a letter presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee last spring voicing full-throated opposition to the Government Transparency Act by none other than the state’s public school teachers lobby (NCAE), the North Carolina state employees association (SEANC), and the

LETTERS married. Please remember too, men are just as important as women to the raising of children. Unfortunately, many people today think of childrearing as primarily “women’s work” and as a result we’re inclined to regard fathers as “parenting aides.”

Another thing we’ve managed to misplace over time, and which is a valuable tenet of childrearing, is that children, from an early age, should be responsible and contributing members of the family. Children require a lot of supervision but not a lot of attention. Too much attention (like too much of any good thing) is addictive.

Contrary to what many people believe, previous generations of women were not home with their children, they were home for their children. They supervised but otherwise did not pay a lot of attention or become highly involved ... and kids did just fine.

Parenting is basically just getting in touch with your common sense and perhaps giving your children a regular, healthy dose of Vitamin “N,” as in “No.” Schools are where children are educated, not raised. Rearing is done at home. Then, when a child goes to school (at an appropriate age) he takes his parents with him in the form of their discipline, their expectations, and their values.

David L. Snell Franklin

Good luck to all who oppose Cawthorn To the Editor: I will be so happy for this uneducated, law-breaking manchild — Rep. Madison Cawthorn — to be voted out of office soon and let him slither back under the rock he came from. He joins a list from here of embarrassing, disgraceful elected politicians

Teamsters Union. The opposition caused the bill to stall in the state House, though it remains alive in that chamber and can be taken up at the leadership’s signal. The bill has the full support of the N.C. Association of Broadcasters, the N.C. Press Association, and the N.C. Sheriffs’ Association, not to mention consistent and broad support in polling of taxpayers and voters.

This election year — when every seat in the General Assembly is on the ballot — is a good time for those voters to remind candidates of their interest in knowing about the conduct of government employees they’re paying.

A fix for North Carolina’s legacy of personnel files locked in file cabinets sits on the goal line. Legislative leaders and the rank and file should be eager to punch it in.

(Bill Moss, publisher of the Hendersonville Lightning, is the NCPA’s Legislative Committee chair. Sandy Hurley, Regional Publisher, Mount Airy News Media Group, is president of the North Carolina Press Association.)

like Rep. Mark Meadows (what’s your address?) and others who have done nothing for Western North Carolinian voters but grandstand for self-gain and political advances to push their outrageous personal anti-democratic agenda in the media or worse quietly under the sheets (not the kind you sleep on).

I think Cawthorn may be the worst yet because he is so young, inexperienced in life and obviously no student of world history. Yet in between his run-ins with the law, he frequently spouts blatant headline grabbing ignorant statements about issues that he obviously needs to do his homework on before speaking. Its public officials like him and others that make us all look like a bunch of dumb (fill in the blank) fools forever voting these yahoos into office to start with.

Please deliver us all from this current

clown-in place and replace him with a grownup that actually has an education, some life experience and who truly cares about our western mountains and the new challenges we are facing now. Good luck to all the candidates running against him and good riddance.

Mylan Sessions Balsam

ARPA helped most Americans To the Editor: March 11, 2022 was the one-year anniversary of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that was signed into law by President Biden. At a time when the news cycle moves so fast, we should stop and reflect on this law and how it has helped ordinary Americans,

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including those right here in Jackson County.

The American Rescue Plan Act is considered one of the most far-reaching pieces of anti-poverty legislation ever passed. It is said to have reduced child poverty by more than half and helped families through the expanded tax credits for working families and families with children. What this meant was that every family with children under 17 received an expanded childcare tax credit via a monthly payment check of $250-$300 for each child. This helped working parents pay for childcare so they could go to work or just stay afloat. The Act provided rental assistance to keep families in their homes so they wouldn’t get evicted if they lost their job, as many did during the pandemic.

ARPA increased food assistance benefits for WIC and SNAP, congregate meals, home delivered meals, commodity foods and the emergency food and shelter program. One of my patients told me that because of the increase to her SNAP benefits she didn’t have to go to a food pantry to get food anymore. As a dietitian, these benefits are good for the health and wellbeing of people, and have reduced hunger. In North Carolina, the American Rescue Plan Act provided over $13 million in assistance for home-delivered meals and over 19 million for nutrition assistance for WIC. The ARPA provided nutrition assistance benefits and assistance to public health departments, rural health clinics and small

rural hospitals like Harris Regional. It also provided substance abuse prevention and treatment money and support for community health centers. The program provided money for the low-income energy assistance and water assistance programs. It provided money for early childhood education and for institutions of higher learning. Here in Jackson County, WCU and SCC both received money from ARPA. Many local businesses, including restaurants in Jackson County, received direct payments under the restaurant revitalization fund. Visit usaspending.gov to see how ARPA funds impacted our community.

Lastly, let’s not forget the stimulus checks! On this one-year anniversary of the American rescue Plan Act, we should acknowledge that while Democrats in Congress worked for the people and helped them during a time of crisis, not one Republican in Congress voted for ARPA, including our own congressman, Madison Cawthorn. Rep. Cawthorn did say on social media that he was “proud” to see taxpayer dollars going to his district even though he did not vote for it! In the Senate, our senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis also voted against the bill and against providing health and economic benefits to their constituents. Looking back, I’m sure many people who received assistance from this legislation are grateful that it passed as it improved their lives in ways big and small.

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ties such as those mentioned above are in alignment with the management philosophy of the U.S. Forest Service. Harlan is advocating the U.S. Forest Service take a more hands-off approach, one similar to that used by the National Park Service. The U.S. Forest Service was never intended to be an extension of the National Park Service. Both agencies provide balance in natural resource management on our public lands. One aims to sustainably utilize natural resources through active management, and the other intends to preserve areas as they are.

Harlan was recently quoted as saying we are all landowners of the national forests, and we should have a voice in how it is managed. This is true. The public has voiced their opinion, and they want to see a mix of active management and areas set aside to become old-growth forests. This mixed public opinion represents stakeholders from diverse backgrounds with diverse ideas on what the management goals of the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests should be. This diverse set of goals is far more diverse than the desires of Will Harlan and the Center for Biological Diversity.

George Hahn Canton

March 16-22, 2022

To the Editor: The revised forest management plan for the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests have been under scrutiny lately. One of the main critics of the plan is Will Harlan of the Center for Biological Diversity. Harlan’s greatest critique of the plan is a perceived lack of old-growth forests. However, the plan calls for 265,000 acres (one-quarter) of the national forests to be designated as old growth forests and an additional 49,000 acres to be designated as Wilderness Areas.

Both designations would protect those areas from any type of active forest management. But in Harlan’s eyes, that’s not enough. He wants even more acres of national forest land to be set aside never to be actively managed.

Old-growth forests provide a diversity of forest structure that is needed in a healthy forest. But letting forests succeed to old growth conditions is not the only way to achieve this diversity. Clearcuts, single-tree and group selection harvests, and prescribed burning provide structure diversity as well. A mix of young, middle-aged, and old growth forests contribute the greatest benefits to wildlife, water quality, and forest resiliency.

Furthermore, active management activi-

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‘JEWGRASS’ Nefesh Mountain brings a different perspective to bluegrass music

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER he word “Jewish” can be used to describe both an ethnicity and a religious faith; some people are one or the other and some people are both, but you don’t have to be either to appreciate the cross-cultural crunch Nefesh Mountain brings to the stage.

“I spent my whole childhood in Brooklyn, very Jewish on my mom’s side of the family, going to Hebrew school and everything,” said Eric Lindberg, who plays guitar and banjo and sings. “Going down South during the summers and playing guitar with my uncles and learning blues and old-timey stuff, I really fell in love with this wide-open South that was so different than Brooklyn.”

Lindberg’s uncles lived in North Georgia, which is not known for its large Jewish populations but is known for the same Appalachian musical traditions that span the storied mountain range running from Alabama through Western North Carolina all the way on up to Maine. Assimilation was the name of the game, Lindberg said, and he let his music do the talking for him while earning a degree in jazz performance from Rutgers.

Nefesh Mountain’s lead vocalist, Doni Zasloff, had a somewhat similar experience in the Northeast.

Raised in Philly and Washington, D.C, Zasloff earned her degree in musical theater from Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

“I grew up loving my Jewish identity but also kind of being a rebel in it,” Zasloff laughed. “I always thought of myself as like, a Jewish cowgirl or a spiritual cowgirl. I just wanted to understand my spirituality. I was challenging it, but I always felt very connected to that part of me. Even if I was angry about certain parts of the religion, I felt like I wanted to find my own place in it.”

Zasloff fell in love with Americana, bluegrass and country music but said that Lindberg really opened her eyes, her ears and her heart to the depth and beauty of old-time music.

“I think he really exposed me to that in a way that I just fell in love with it,” Zasloff said.

While falling in love with the music, Zasloff also fell in love with Lindberg. The two began

T

Left to right: Erik Alvar, Eric Lindberg, Doni Zasloff, Alan Grubner and David Goldenberg are Nefesh Mountain. Jeffrey Delannoy photo

“If you listen to the old Flatt and Scruggs recordings and the Stanley Brothers, there is so much gospel in there, so much faith, there’s so much pain, even though it sounds happy. It’s the happiest sounding sad music that you’ll ever hear.”

— Eric Lindberg

working together in 2010 and began performing as Nefesh Mountain around 2014, after they’d realized how well Jewish cultural traditions — instrumental, vocal and liturgical — meshed with bluegrass themes.

“Bluegrass has always been kind of a spiritual folk music,” Lindberg said. “If you listen to the old Flatt and Scruggs recordings and the Stanley Brothers, there is so much gospel in there, so much faith, there’s so much pain, even though it sounds happy. It’s the happiest sounding sad music that you’ll ever hear.”

The Jewish people have long been known as much for their suffering as their spirit, both of which are evident in Nefesh Mountain’s three studio albums.

Their most recent, “Songs for the Sparrows,” features two tracks in particular that amplify a perspective not often heard in this type of music.

“Pieces of the Sun (For Anne Frank)” is wistful yet shiny and asks amazingly simple questions with amazingly difficult answers.

“Tree of Life” invokes the memory of a 2018 mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh with stark, plucky notes beneath Lindberg and Zasloff ’s words of healing and of hope.

“In this day and age where there’s so much hate and antisemitism and racism, I think that us being outwardly Jewish and also all about peace and love and inclusion, we’re really just hippies who want to spread good vibes,” Zasloff said. “We’ve learned maybe that our music can break down some barriers between people and kind of open people’s hearts.”

Depending upon which Nefesh Mountain songs you hear, they can sound like a highgrade contemporary bluegrass act or a serene, reflective, eastern-influenced revival. The Times of Israel called Nefesh Mountain a

“spiritual hybrid” while Rolling Stone said “Songs for the Sparrows” was “a master class in string music.” “Nefesh” means “soul” in Hebrew.

Underscoring that point is the roster of bluegrass royalty that regularly records with Lindberg and Zasloff.

“Jerry Douglas has become like, our ‘Uncle Jerry,’” Lindberg joked.

Douglas, a dobro and lap steel player, has long been a bluegrass boundary-pusher, not unlike Nefesh Mountain.

“And Sam Bush, too. Jerry Douglass, Sam Bush, Bryan Sutton, I mean, these are guys that I grew up listening to. Bryan’s a little bit younger, but those guys, Sam and Jerry, are my absolute heroes and now to call them friends and to make this music for them to put their stamp on was huge for me, because it wasn’t just this little husband-and-wife team from the New York area being like, ‘We’re gonna play bluegrass and it’s gonna be somewhat Jewish.’

They really helped us roar with it a little bit,” said Lindberg.

Roar they have, from last fall’s edition of MerleFest to the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry, where Nefesh Mountain made their debut this past December.

Their current tour brought them to Asheville’s Isis Music Hall last week, and keeps them in the region through St. Patrick’s Day.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

‘A Life in Focus,’ a conversation with Graham Nash

(photo: Amy Grantham)

W

SMN: And one of the things I love about those two mediums is that each is a time capsule.

GN: Yes, absolutely. A time capsule, indeed. And you know, now that I’m almost 80 years old, I can see my life through my pictures — where I was, who I met, what moments were interesting to me. It’s been a wild ride and I’m still here. I’m still creating

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The 3rd annual “Steve Sutton Memorial Concert” will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 18, in the Queen Auditorium at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

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A special stage production of “Ann” will be held at 7:30 p.m.

March 18-19 and 2 p.m. March 20 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theater in Waynesville.

3 4 5

Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host Scott Low (Americana/indie) at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 19.

Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Woolybooger (folk/blues) at 6 p.m. Friday, March 18.

The Natti Love Joys (reggae/soul) will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, March 18, at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Sylva.

and I’m not letting go yet. Obviously, I think about death every 10 minutes. I mean, I’m 80 and I know that we’ve lost many, many people that are much younger than me, you know? And I’m looking at my life and I’m realizing that it is on the downward slope.

And I’m going to try and make as much music and take as many pictures and create as much as I possibly can before I die.

SMN: What’s that like for you now that you’ve gotten older, to see those photographs of those people that didn’t make it as far?

GN: It’s sad. But, I realize that life is life and I have to embrace the fact that death is a part of life. And I hope to face [death] with grace and dignity when [it’s my turn]. Time is the only currency we have that not even

SMN: What is the role of the songwriter these days? Because it feels like it’s as important now as ever before.

GN: It is important — now more than ever before. And our responsibility is to reflect the life that we are living and reflect the times that we live in. We have to reflect the times and tell people what the hell is happening. Because, from most of the media, you not getting any of the truth. But, in certain songs, you’re getting a face full of truth.

SMN: As you’ve gotten older, how has the meaning of the word “love” changed or remained the same?

GN: I think it just broadens the acceptance of what love is. It’s not that you want to fuck this girl so bad, you know? It’s not that. It’s love for the world, for the planet, for the people. We have so many great things happening in this country. And so many fucked things happening in this country at the same time.

I’m glad to be alive. I’m glad to be an artist.

I’m glad to be able to express my opinions in a country that will allow that. I’m not so sure in many other countries that our music would even be played, never mind allowed.

SMN: You’ve been on this earth 80 years, and you’ve had this incredible life that is still moving forward, still bountiful, and still creative. And with all those experiences, moments and people — onstage and off — what has culmination of that, thus far, taught you about what it means to be a human being?

GN: I think we have to try and make our best life — personally, and then for other people, too. We have to live our best life.

Many people are alive. [But], not a lot of people are living, meaning — working, looking to the future, making this place a better place. You know, I’m lucky to be who I am. I look at my life and I kind of shake my head and I wonder — why me?

Editor’s Note: For more information on Graham Nash or to purchase his new book, “A Life in Focus,” click on grahamnash.com.

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Smoky Mountain News: You’ve been a photographer your whole life, since you were a little kid. What is it about that medium that really speak to you?

Graham Nash: [I’ve been a photographer] longer than I’ve been a musician. It’s the same energy. It’s the same, creatively. I’ve always done it. So, some of my photographs make people smile. Some of the photographs make people think. And I’m glad about both of those things.

SMN: When you look through the book, what photo really stands out?

GN: One of them, I took a photograph of a [discarded] cigarette package [on the ground] and it said “Peace” [on the package]. The photograph was taken in Hiroshima, Japan.

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ithin his iconic melodies that have serenaded our hearts and minds for over a half-century, singer-songwriter Graham Nash is able to capture these vivid snapshots of a time and place, of people and things, these images we’ve hung up on the walls of our collective memory — the embedded signature of songs immortal.

In his new book, “A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash,” the musical legend looks in the rearview mirror at the road to the here and now, and also at eyes looking right back at him. It’s a rollicking, more so astonishing, collection of faces, and of rock royalty, some of which long gone from this earth.

Images of his whirlwind time in folk-rock juggernaut Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Intimate moments of his true romance with songbird Joni Mitchell. Backstage with Bonnie Raitt or Dennis Hopper. In a car with Jackson Browne. Standing side stage in awe of Jerry Garcia or David Gilmour. And also, the simple daily meanderings of a curious soul that remains in continual motion.

Each page of the book is a day in the life of Nash, who recently turned 80 — a kind soul and kindred spirit in constant examination of his life, always running towards the unknown horizon in the name of cosmic selfdiscovery and genuine human connection.

But, in conversation, Nash is far from nostalgic. The urgency of action and activism he harbored in his budding youth amid the social upheaval and politically turbulent 1960s and 1970s remains intact. If anything, that deep sense of compassion and social responsibility is as honed and keenly aware as ever of the world around him.

Graham Nash.

SMN: Where does that old soul nature within you come from? You’ve always seemed to radiate that.

GN: Because English people faced annihilation twice from the German folks. And when you make it past World War I and survive World War II, problems like your coffee not being warm enough are ridiculous, you know? Give me a real problem. I mean, if we can make it through World War II, we can make it through anything — and that’s [always been] our attitude.

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On the beat Woolybooger.

Steve Sutton.

Blues, roots at Mountain Layers Americana/folk singer-songwriter Woolybooger will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, March 18, at Mountain Layers Brewing in Bryson City Dubbed “music to grow your hair out to,” the Murphy musician is well-regarded for his mix of blues and roots music into a unique Southern Appalachian tone.

Free and open to the public.

828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

Reggae, soul returns to Lazy Hiker The Natti Love Joys will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, March 18, at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Sylva.

A roots-rock-reggae band that has been

playing live since 2003, the group consists of husband-and-wife duo Anthony “Jatti” Allen and Sonia “Marla” Allen.

Jatti was previously the bassist for the reggae group The Congos, while Marla originates from the cult all female reggae group Love Joys, where she recorded two albums under the legendary Wackies label run by Lloyd Barnes (Bullwackie).

Free and open to the public. lazyhikerbrewing.com.

Sanctum Sully.

Nantahala welcomes Sanctum Sully Popular Western North Carolina rock/blues outfit Sanctum Sully will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, March 18, at Nantahala Brewing in Sylva.

Free and open to the public. For more information, click on facebook.com/sanctumsully.

828.641.9797 or nantahalabrewing.com.

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award-winner himself, Sutton graduated from Tuscola High School in Waynesville. Upon graduation, he was simultaneously offered gigs with the “Godfather of Bluegrass” Bill Monroe and bluegrass legend Jimmy Martin.

“But, Jimmy offered me something like $10 more a week, so I took it,” Sutton said in a 2015 interview with The Smoky Mountain News.

In 1974, Sutton joined Martin on the road, kicking off a career that took him across the globe, ultimately gracing the Grand Ole Opry stage numerous times. Sutton also had stints with Alecia Nugent and Rhonda Vincent. And through his lifelong pursuit of bluegrass and mountain music, Sutton also remembered where it all began, alongside late banjo great and Bluegrass Hall of Famer Raymond Fairchild. “[Steve’s] talent and free-flowing sense of humor constantly fed that professional effort to the highest levels,” said Marc Pruett, Grammy-winning banjoist of Balsam Range.

“Steve was a valued, respected member of a heritage-schooled, living culture. He was ‘the real deal,’ and his warm smile and largerthan-life talent leaves a void in our mountains that can’t be filled.”

Tickets to the performance are $35. The show will be all ages.

To purchase tickets online, click on showclix.com/event/3rd-annual-steve-suttonmemorial-concert.

March 16-22, 2022

Get to know There will be a special concert in memory of late Haywood County banjo great Steve Sutton kicking off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 18, in the Queen Auditorium at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

Performers will include The Darren Nicholson Band and Whitewater Bluegrass Company.

The concert is an opportunity for his many friends to raise money for the International Bluegrass Music Association trust fund and for a scholarship in his name for music students at Waynesville’s Tuscola High School.

A longtime member of the Darren Nicholson Band and Whitewater Bluegrass Company, Sutton was 60 years old when he passed away in his sleep on May 13, 2017, one day shy of his 61st birthday.

“I basically owe my musical career to him,” said mandolinist Darren Nicholson of International Bluegrass Music Association “Entertainer of the Year” bluegrass act Balsam Range, who was Sutton’s best friend and longtime collaborator. “He got me my first professional job, which led to all the relationships that are still relevant in my current career. Steve believed in me so much that he took me to Strains of Music in Waynesville and paid cash for a Gibson mandolin. Steve was kind to everyone he met and helped countless people — he just had a good heart.”

A Grammy-nominated, multiple IBMA

arts & entertainment

Steve Sutton Memorial Concert

Contact Caitlin Bledsoe at 828-926-4831 for information.

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On the beat arts & entertainment

• 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. on Thursdays.

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 and a special “St. Patrick’s Day Party” March 17. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.

Travis Tritt.

Travis Tritt rolls into Harrah’s Country megastar Travis Tritt will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Friday, March 25, at Harrah’s Cherokee Resort Event Center.

With the release of “Set in Stone,” Tritt, a multi-platinum selling artist with numerous radio hits, will embark on the next chapter of his stellar career. Armed with the distinctive voice, insightful songwriting, and outlaw edge that have served him well for more than three decades, Tritt is a staple of the arena-level live music scene.

For tickets, go to caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee and click on the “Events” tab.

• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.369.4080 or coweeschool.org.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” March 17 and Blue Jazz March 19. All events begin at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public.. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.

March 16-22, 2022

• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company (Maggie Valley) will host an Open Mic Night 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.734.1084 or elevatedmountain.com.

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• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) 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.

828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host Travis Tritt (country) 9 p.m. March 25. For tickets, aesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

Smoky Mountain News

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host a special “St. Patrick’s Day Celebration” w/Acoustic Pizza March 17. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

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• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Limited seating. Reservations are highly recommended. 828.452.6000 or classicwineseller.com.

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• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. March 16 and “Divas On Tap” 8:30 p.m. March 19. All events are free and open to the public. innovationbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Natti Love Joys (roots/reggae) March 18 and Alma Russ March 25. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Woolybooger (folk/blues) March 18, Kate Thomas (singer-songwriter) March 19, Scott James Stambaugh (singer-songwriter) March 25, Granny’s Mason Jar (Americana/folk) March 26 and Mountain Gypsy (Americana) March 27. 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 Sanctum Sully March 18 (rock/jam), Scott Low (Americana/indie) March 19, Shane Meade & The Sound (rock/soul) March 25 and PMA (rock/reggae) March 26. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

828.641.9797 or nantahalabrewing.com.

ALSO:

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. rathskellerfranklin.com.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.482.9794 or satulahmountainbrewing.com.

• Southern Porch (Canton) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

828.492.8009 or southern-porch.com.

• 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 semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.

• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Both events begin at 6 p.m. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 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.

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• “Trucker Hat Painting Class” will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at the Innovation Station in Dillsboro. Come learn to paint a landscape trucker hat that will mimic watercolor, yet can stand up to water, sun and all your summer adventures.

Hosted by Elise Holmes. Cost is $36 per person.

• Haywood County Arts Council (Waynesville) is currently seeking one or more gallery interns with a passion for the arts and interest in learning about the administration of a small nonprofit. Send cover letters and resumes to HCAC Executive Director Morgan Beryl at director@haywoodarts.org.

• “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. For more information, call The Uptown Gallery at 828.349.4607 or contact Pat Mennenger at pm14034@yahoo.com. franklinuptowngallery.com.

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ALSO:

• A “Foreign Film Series” will be held at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Each month, on the second and fourth Friday, two movies from around the globe will be shown.

This program is in the Community Room and is free of charge. Masks are required in all Jackson County buildings. To find out what movie will be shown and/or for more information, please call the library at 828.586.2016. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library. To learn more, click on fontanalib.org.

Blackrock run. walk. crawl. march 19, 2022 sylva, nc

Logo courtesy of SCC Graphic Design Students.

All proceeds benefit Jackson County Rescue Squad.

Smoky Mountain News

• The “Lois Petrovich-Mwaniki: Shadowed Reality” showcase will be held through March in the Rotunda Gallery at Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. The exhibit consists of oil portraits. Hosted by the Jackson County Arts Council (JCAC). The library requires masks to be worn indoors.

Cookie grab bags will be available in lieu of refreshments. Showcase is free and open to the public.

with a painting you created.

Events will be held at the following locations: 828 Market on Main (Waynesville), Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva), BearWaters Brewing (Canton) and Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City).

Please visit WNC Paint Events (@paintwnc) Facebook page, under “Events” for date and time of upcoming events. For pictures of previous events visit Arramae’s Instagram: @wnc_paint_events.

For pricing and to sign up, go to wncpaint.events. Space is limited. Drinks sold separately.

March 16-22, 2022

Robin Arramae of WNC Paint Events will be continuing her fun paint nights to bring you not only a “night out” but an experience that lifts your spirits.

Join others as Arramae shows you stepby-step how to paint a beginner level painting of the evening as you sip on your favorite local craft beer. This two-hour event should have you feeling better than you felt before you came. And you leave

Grand

Ballroom

The Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville has announced that painter Laura Parker is the “Artist of the Month” for March.

“As a lifelong artist I’ve worked in a variety of media, but, for several years, have focused on painting in oil, for its softness and malleability, and gouache, for its opacity and portability,” Parker said. “I’m especially drawn to capturing a moment, feeling or the likenesses of places and individuals I’ve encountered in my travels.

I see a painting wherever I look and have begun to stretch my boundaries with the new experience of painting en plein air.” haywoodarts.org.

Want to paint, sip craft beer?

arts & entertainment

HCAC ‘Artist of the Month’

Western North Carolina’s

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March 16-22, 2022

arts & entertainment

On the stage HART presents ‘Ann’ A special stage production of “Ann” will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 18-19 and 2 p.m. March 20 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theater in Waynesville.

In 1988, Ann Richards, a little-known politician from Texas, was invited to make the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

The next day, she was an international sensation, appearing on the covers of newspapers around the world. Three years later, this divorced, recovering alcoholic Democrat was elected Governor of Texas.

Known for her fiery wit, bawdy jokes and no-nonsense approach to governing, though only serving one-term, she became a beloved national figure.

HART is proud to present audience favorite Allison Stinson as Ann Richards, in a one-person performance of “Ann” in the Fangmeyer Theater.

The play originally opened in Texas to critical acclaim, and moved on to Chicago, onward to the Kennedy Center before opening on Broadway in 2013. It starred Holland Taylor as the governor and earned her a Tony nomination.

Tickets are $20 per person. To make reservations, call the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322 anytime. Seating is general

admission, but reservations are strongly recommended as performances often sell out.

For additional information, go to harttheatre.org.

Ready to try theater?

A scene from “Anne Frank.”

• “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka” will hit the stage at 7 p.m. March 25-26, April 1-2 and 2:30 p.m. March 27 and April 3 at the Swain Arts Center in Bryson City. The production will feature the Swain County High School Vocal Ensemble, SMS 8th Grade Performing Arts Class and several elementary students. Tickets are $10 adult, $5 students. The box office opens one hour before showtime. For more information, go to swainartscenter.com and click on the “Upcoming” tab.

ALSO:

• A live onstage production of Disney’s “Descendants: The Musical” will be performed at 7 p.m. March 17-19 and 2 p.m.

March 19 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets are $12 for students, $15 for adults. For more information, click on smokymountainarts.com or call 866.273.4615.

The Haywood Arts Regional Theater in Waynesville is currently offering a wide variety of classes in the theater arts for all ages, young and old. Whether you are just starting out or want to hone your skills, HART has opportunities for you.

Learn more about acting with Acting Classes available for K-2, Grades 3-5, middle/high School, adults, and seniors. Musical Theater Dance and Advanced Beginner Tap are available for teens and adults so you can learn about the world of Musical Theater Dance.

And classes are rounded off with Improvisation classes and Musical Theater Group Voice for teens and adults. Spring

courses have already begun, with 12 weeks of courses through May 13, with a week off March 28-April 1 and spring break April 1115. HART also offers pay-per-class with just a $15 drop-in fee.

HART is also offering free workshops in Stage Management April 2, 9 and 16.

You can learn more about these opportunities and sign up for classes and workshops by visiting harttheatre.org and viewing the Kids at HART classes and camps page. Masks will be required for all courses.

For more information, contact Artistic Director Candice Dickinson at 646.647.4546 or email candice@harttheatre.org.

Smoky Mountain News

On the street

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• “St. Patty’s Spring Kick-Off” will be held from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Live Irish music by The Crossjacks, and also The Ghost Peppers.

Cloggers, food, fresh produce, dream whips, axe throwing and other fun activities throughout the day. Don’t forget to wear green. darnellfarms.com.

ALSO:

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

Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.

• “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.

• A “Wine Tasting” will take place on Friday and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine Market. Enjoy new wines, meats, cheeses and yummy snacks, all while making new friends or hanging out with old ones. For more information, call 828.538.0420.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m.-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.

On the shelf Coelho for writing this work of art that makes clear what we should all know about life. Never Give Up On Your Dreams.”

I don’t expect to become an aficionado of graphic works like “The Alchemist.” I’ll still enjoy cartoons like those by Tung or Gauld, Watterson or Schulz, but I’ll probably stick for the most part to unillustrated novels, letting my imagination shape the words, characters, and events untainted by images

Jeff Minick

O

Like “Baking With Kafka,” “Book Love” wouldn’t work without its illustrations. The blurb on the back even advertises its contents as “comics,” which they are.

Paul Coelho’s “The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel” (Sea Lion Books, 2010, 208 pages) was the other book that accompanied me home. The original novel sold millions of copies around the globe.

In this graphic version of that book,

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drawn by others.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t intend that observation to sound critical, for I can understand why others might enjoy this blending of literature and art. After all, we live in the age of the Internet, where so much of what we absorb is a combination of pictures, words, and memes. It makes sense to me that many would find delight in illustrated books. Besides, judging by how so few people these days read more than a couple of books a year, I’m glad to see others taking up and enjoying graphic works like these.

With that last comment, and with National Poetry Month just around the corner, let me end with this bit of verse from Emily Dickinson: There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away, Nor any Coursers like a Page Of prancing Poetry – This Traverse may the poorest take Without oppress of Toll – How frugal is the Chariot That bears a Human soul.

Enjoy your books and reading, everyone!

(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.)

“Growing up with a wide range of cultures, religions, and backgrounds, Stone strives to bring these diverse voices and stories to her work.”

– nicstone.info

Get a FREE TICKET to Beyond the Ban with purchase of one of Stone's books while supplies last

ALL OF AUTHOR NIC STONE'S BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE at

Smoky Mountain News

Coelho, illustrator Daniel Sampere, and adaptor Derek Ruiz all include brief introductions with their thoughts on this project.

All three praise the graphic novel’s publisher, Sea Lion Books, for its commitment to excellence. Interestingly, Daniel Sampere calls himself a “comic book artist.”

Here the panels of the story are in full color and vividly drawn. Sampere writes of his work that “the magic of the book quickly invaded me, and I started enjoying drawing desert scenes, really beautiful landscapes.”

Coelho adds that “It was an old dream of mine to have “The Alchemist” as a graphic novel” and “To those who’ve read ‘The Alchemist’ novel before, you will soon discover the graphic novel does not lose the essence of the story at all, but in fact enhances upon it visually.” Derek Ruiz, who was originally unfamiliar with “The Alchemist,” writes, “I want to thank Paul

Featured Author Nic Stone

March 16-22, 2022

ver the last year or so, I’ve noticed that the graphic books on the shelves of my public library are multiplying faster than a battalion of rabbits.

As a kid, I would have called these illustrated novels, histories, biographies, collections of jokes, and so on, comic books.

Even then, comic was probably out of place. There was nothing comic about Sergeant Rock, those illustrated stories about American soldiers in World War II. And the Classics Illustrated series, which took works like “Romeo and Juliet,” “Moby Dick,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” and “The Three Musketeers,” Writer and cut most of the text while making them into cartoons, were my first introduction to world literature. Boonville, North Carolina, at that point didn’t have a public f library, but Weatherwax’s Pharmacy carried f Classics Illustrated, and I used to sit in the - front window of that drugstore reading away a and carrying one home every once in a while. At 12 cents a copy, they were a great n bargain.

As a parent and grandparent, I have for - years read to children from such illustrated s works as the Tin-Tin books, Asterix, Bill e Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes,” and s Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts,” but though I remain a fan of comic books, I gave up other c illustrated books many, many years ago.

6 But then, as I say, I realized that graphic novels and other such books had invaded the public library. As a result, I decided to do an informal count of these relative newcomers. The adult section yielded a count of approximately 1,120 graphic books. In the young reader’s section of the library, I found another 1,600 in the same genre. I’m sure I missed some along the way, but that rough count opened my eyes to the popularity of illustrated books.

Because I don’t really understand this phenomenon, I checked out two graphics and brought them home. The first was Tom Gauld’s “Baking With Kafka” (Drawn and Quarterly Publishing, 2017, 160 pages.) Here for the most part is a satirical take on the writers, readers, and the literary scene. The humor in the book, which is sharp and brought some chuckles, wouldn’t work in any other format. The illustrations are neither busy with detail nor lavishly colored, which only adds to the fun.

Reading Gauld reminded me that at least once I did read and review for the Smoky Mountain News an illustrated book, Debbie Tung’s “Book Love” (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2019, 144 pages). A copy still sits on my shelf, and every now and again I pick it up to revisit its quiet and quirky charm.

arts & entertainment

An old guy looks at graphic books

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Juanita Wilson (right) and Bob McCollum, co-chairs of the Nikwasi Initiative, plant a tree along the new Barbara McRae Cherokee Heritage Apple Trail March 7.

Holly Kays photo

Trail honors the fruit of her efforts.

“I can I just can’t fathom how much there was in that brain about my people that I didn’t know,” Wilson said of McRae. “It was pretty cool to get to know her. It really deepens my love and my thirst to know more.”

So far, four heirloom apple varieties are planted along the apple trail, along with two peach trees. The Nikwasi Initiative is working with the Cherokee Speakers Council to develop interpretive signs to go with them, in both English and Cherokee, explaining the significance and history of the featured apples.

AN ONGOING SEARCH

Reclaiming the tastes of home Apple Trail effort resurrects legacy of Cherokee orchardists

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS E DITOR he capital of Kazakhstan, Alma Ata, translates to “full of apples” — an homage to the country’s heritage as the birthplace of the now-ubiquitous fruit. In the approximately three-quarters of a million years since people first discovered wild sour crab apples in a central Asian forest, the apple has traveled the world, splitting into 7,500 varieties as diverse as the orchardists responsible for breeding them, separated by miles and millennia.

Sometime in the 1500s, Spanish explorers brought apples to Mexico and South America, and the fruit spread throughout the New World, eventually hitting the Appalachian region, where the Cherokee people — already adept agriculturists — quickly

T

Find the Apple Trail The Barbara McRae Cherokee Heritage Apple Trail is located at the half-mile marker of the Little Tennessee River Greenway in Franklin. To get there, start at the Big Bear parking lot and turn left. After half a mile, the orchard will be off-trail to the left. Fruit trees take a while to mature, so the apple munching isn’t expected to start for about five years.

recognized its potential.

“Sustainability was the number one rule of our people in all things,” said Juanita Wilson, standing beside a freshly dug hole a little way off Franklin’s Little Tennessee River Greenway. “So they made sure that they developed apple species that would withstand the weather, that were hardy, that the environments were conducive for keeping them flourishing for generations to come.”

ORIGINS OF THE APPLE TRAIL The hole beside which Wilson — a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and co-chair of the Nikwasi Initiative — stood on the sunny morning of Saturday, March 7, now holds a tiny apple tree, one of 11 heirloom fruit trees the 20-some volunteers nestled in the ground that day. Funded by a grant from the Blue Ridge Natural Heritage Area, the effort was the result of a partnership including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Mountain True, Friends of the Greenway, and the Nikwasi Initiative.

The result, named the Barbara McRae Cherokee Heritage Apple Trail, honors a pillar of the Franklin community who died in 2021.

“Barbara just brought such a ray of sunshine to everything,” said Wilson. “Whether we were talking about controversy or not, she was always the one who looked beyond that to what could happen. And here we are. We’re starting to start to heal with every shovelful of dirt.”

The controversy that birthed the Nikwasi Initiative occurred a decade ago when the Town of Franklin — which at the time owned

The Junaluska apple ripens in October each year. Horne Creek Farm photo Nikwasi Mound — sprayed herbicide on the sacred Cherokee landmark in an effort to establish a different variety of grass there.

What followed was an intense exchange between Franklin and Cherokee leaders that, years later, resulted in creation of the nonprofit Nikwasi Initiative — which includes both Franklin locals and Cherokee tribal members — to steward the site. McRae was instrumental in brokering the agreement.

McRae was also an avid student of history, especially history that involved the Cherokee people and her beloved town of Franklin.

While she was alive, McRae began researching the Cherokees’ history of apple cultivation.

The Barbara McRae Cherokee Heritage Apple

All the partners in the project want to see more apple trees join the existing stock, but it will take time, patience and lots of research to complete that task.

“We’ve really only scratched the surface of this project to know what was really of Cherokee origin,” said David Anderson, horticultural operation supervisor for the EBCI. A self-professed apple nerd, Anderson was already interested in tracking down the history of Cherokee’s apple culture when Nikwasi Initiative Director Elaine Eisenbaum approached him about the Apple Trail project, asking for his help with finding seedlings to plant.

Anderson accepted the charge with enthusiasm, but it was no small task. Unlike many other crops, apple cultivars don’t reliably pass along their characteristics via seeds.

Propagating them requires finding a living specimen, taking cuttings and grafting those cuttings on to root stock.

Anderson spent hours looking for source materials, eventually hitting on Horne Creek Farm, a state historical site north of Winston-Salem that maintains an orchard of Southern heritage apples. From there, he procured the Junaluska, Cullasaja, Nickajack and Horse seedlings that volunteers planted this month. In total, he’s working with six or seven different locations in hopes of eventually securing all the varieties that his research indicates likely originated from Cherokee orchardists — or, in the case of the Horse apple, originated elsewhere but became culturally important in Cherokee communities.

DISJOINTED HISTORY Once they adopted the apple as their own, the Cherokee people had enormous success with cultivating it, Anderson said — along with countless other crops. Before the removal, the tribe was conducting its own internal agriculture census.

“It showed there was a surplus of food in the Cherokee Nation at that time,” he said.

“They were adopting European farming strategies and really, really succeeding with them.”

But when they were forced to leave their land and walk the deadly Trail of Tears in the 1830s, much of that rich horticultural tradition was left behind, for-

F

Find the Smokies Most Wanted

genetics tweaked and the chain of custody broken. Anderson has been diving deep into historical documents of all kinds, attempting to uncover historical Cherokee apple varieties and reunite Cherokee cultivars with their original Cherokee names.

“North Carolina may be the pinnacle of apple conservation in the United States as far as having several conservation-type orchards that really focus on preserving what we know today as Southern apples and fruit varieties,” said Anderson.

Even so, the history is incomplete, and the contemporary storyline is often a race

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A volunteer chainsaws invasive plants encroaching on the orchard. Holly Kays photo

against time.

“Once we lose those tastes and flavors, there’s no way to get them back,” he said.

Having experienced first-hand the difficulty of tracking down these rare varieties, Anderson hopes that the Apple Trail effort will mean that, in the future, those ancient flavors will be available on roadsides and backyards across the region.

“We’re going to be able to put them back in the hands of the community, so we don’t have to have this discussion ever again, hopefully, to where we’re fighting to find these trees,” he said.

“We’re hopefully going to have households all over the Qualla Boundary and the surrounding areas that have these trees on their property.”

The Apple Trail is a way to bring those apples home again, and to translate the spirit of cooperation that worked so well hundreds of years ago when it came to trade and agricultural innovation into one that supersedes science and economics to reach the core of what it means to be a community.

“I think that we’re honoring the ancestors now,” said Wilson, “Recognizing what used to be here, what was beneficial to all the citizens — Appalachian people, Cherokee people, Scottish people. We know they all were residents, and still are. So to me, it’s almost like a unification.”

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March 16-22, 2022

gotten or appropriated.

“Some of the most famous nurserymen of the South came to Cherokee country after removal to find Cherokee genetics to work with,” said Anderson.

From there, history gets murky. With the Cherokee separated from their land and their cultivars in the hands of non-indigenous orchardists, names were changed,

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outdoors

Help preserve the multitude of species in ing project to catalog all life in the Smokies. The the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by ATBI, also using iNaturalist, has recorded 4,100 participating in the Smokies Most Wanted program, an initiative that encourages park visitors to record sightings of animals, plants and other organisms from their smartphones, using the iNaturalist app.

Visitors can use the app to document any organism they encounter while exploring the Smokies, and the park’s nonprofit science research partner Discover Life in America uses the data collected to record new park species, detect invasive species, learn about understudied or rare species, and map species across A young citizen scientist snaps an observation. Valerie Polk photo the park.

“There are lots of fairly common plants and animals around the Smokies that we just don’t have many dataspecies by more than 5,700 users, who have points for,” said Becky Nichols, park entomolosubmitted over 71,000 iNaturalist observations gist. “Smokies Most Wanted is a great way for in the park. the public to contribute to science in the park, For more information about the Smokies and to help us learn about and protect life in Most Wanted Project, the Smokies.” visit dlia.org/smokiesmostwanted. Browse the Smokies Most Wanted is an extension of list of Smokies Most Wanted species at inaturalthe All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, DLiA’s ongoist.org/guides/9115.

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Work planned for Clingmans Dome Road outdoors

When Clingmans Dome Road reopens for the season on April 1, it will do so with the caveat of single-lane closures, to be in effect intermittently through Sept. 2.

This month, while the road is still closed to the public, workers will repair drainage systems, reset curbing and complete other work that can be accomplished during cool-

Mortimer Trails Project. SORBA photo

Two Pisgah bike trails closed for renovation

March 16-22, 2022

Two mountain bike trails on the Pisgah National Forest — Holly Springs Trail and Schoolhouse Trail — are closed for renovations and expected to reopen by mid-April.

The trails are located on the Grandfather Ranger District. Holly Springs Trail, known locally as the Sinkhole Trail and located near Upper Creek in Burke County, will receive maintenance focused on restoring drainage and eliminating trail braiding.

Schoolhouse Trail, located in Caldwell County adjacent to the Mortimer Campground, is closed for maintenance and relocations on 2 miles of trail. That project is funded by the N.C. Recreation Trails Program and supported by volunteer planning efforts from the Northwest N.C. Mountain Bike Alliance as part of the Mortimer Trails Project. It also includes volunteer work from High Country Trails.

The Clingmans Dome Observation Tower offers sweeping views of the surrounding mountains. NPS photo

The lane closures along the 7-mile roadway are needed to conduct a pavement preservation project that is expected to extend the life of the existing pavement by five to seven years.

er weather. After April 1, lane closures will occur from 7 a.m. Mondays through noon Fridays, managed with flagging operations and a pilot car to lead traffic through work zones. No daytime closures will be allowed

Keep waterfalls sparkling If you love waterfalls, mark your calendar for Saturday, March 26, and the second annual Waterfall Sweep organized by Waterfall Keepers of North Carolina.

Crews of volunteers will spend that day picking up litter at beloved waterfalls across the state. Join in by conducting a cleanup on your own or join one of the existing crews. Space is still available on crews cleaning Bernies Falls near Lake Toxaway, Roy Taylor Falls near Balsam Lake and Tanasee Creek Falls, also near Balsam Lake.

Learn more or sign up at waterfallkeepersofnc.org/waterfall-sweep.

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on federal holidays, during the week of Easter, or between July 15 and Aug. 15.

One of the park’s most popular destinations, Clingmans Dome Road receives more than 500,000 visitors annually. The roadway features several scenic overlooks, high-elevation trailheads and direct access to Clingmans Dome, at 6,643 feet the highest peak in the park.

The Federal Highway Administration awarded the more than $2.6 million construction contract to Bryant’s Land and Development Industries, Inc., from Burnsville. The project work will consist of patching deteriorated sections of the roadbed, sealing cracks in the pavement, and applying a high-performance surface treatment.

Drivers should drive slowly and carefully while traveling through the work zone.

Fish Cherokee’s opening day Opening day for fishing season is Saturday, March 26, on the Qualla Boundary, and a weekend-long fishing tournament offering $20,000 in cash prizes will celebrate the occasion.

March 26-27, tournament participants will fish the Qualla Boundary’s world-class trout waters for tagged fish, which will be specially stocked for the event and redeemable for cash prizes ranging from

$25 to $5,000.

Register by paying the $15 entry fee and $17 two-day fishing permit anywhere fishing licenses are sold or online at FishCherokee.com by Friday, March 25.

Fishing will start one hour before sunrise and end one hour before sunset each day, with prize redemption hours 2-4 p.m. each tournament day. Open to all ages and legal fishing methods.

A weekly group bike ride originally scheduled for Tuesdays will be held Wednesdays instead.

Starting March 16, riders will meet weekly at 6 p.m. at Motion Makers Bicycle Shop’s Sylva location, and then head out for a 25-mile roundtrip road ride featuring 1,600 feet of climbing.

Motion Makers also holds regular group rides for mountain bikers, Thursdays in Cherokee and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Bent Creek. Learn more at motionmakers.com/about/weeklyrides-pg207.html.

Pisgah District Ranger Dave Casey. “We’re making good progress and it’s exciting to see the iconic Sliding Rock attraction reopen this year.”

Sliding Rock is a 60-foot natural water slide that ends in an 8-foot-deep pool of water. Staffed and operated under permit by Adventure Pisgah, Sliding Rock has restrooms available seven days a week April 30-Oct. 9,

One of the Pisgah National Forest’s most popular tourist destinations, Sliding Rock Recreation Area, will reopen on April 30 for the first time since Tropical Storm Fred ripped through Aug. 17, 2021.

The storm caused unpreceAfter the storm, logjams, underwater debris and dented flooding that damaged infrastructure required a prolonged damaged infrastrucclosure at Sliding Rock Recreation Area. USFS photo ture at the beloved spot and left debris in the Davidson River, which would create hazards for anyone attempting to slide down the rocks. Now it’s reopen, but damage repair and improvements are still in progress, to be continued for years to come.

The lower observation deck was then weekends only Oct. 15-30. Lifeguards are damaged beyond repair and will not be rebuilt present every day May 2-Sept. 15. in time for the reopening, but visitors will be Due to Sliding Rock’s popularity, visitors able to walk down to the stream at that locashould arrive early and avoid the peak hours tion and view the sliding action from the of noon to 4 p.m. When the parking lot fills upper observation deck. up, it’s closed until spaces become available.

“TS Fred was devastating for much of the The site may close temporarily due to heavy Pisgah and our local community and there is rainfall, lightning or high-water levels. still so much ongoing recovery work,” said

March 16-22, 2022

Bike Sylva

Sliding Rock reopens after flood damage

outdoors

Anglers get an early start on the day. File photo

National paddling race coming to NOC

NOC photo

More information will be posted as race day draws near at noc.com/events/nrc-usopen.

Hone your kayak roll Time is running short to get a kayak roll practice session in at the Waynesville Recreation Center, with the weekly Wednesday sessions concluding March 30.

From 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday, whitewater kayakers and canoeists are invited to stay sharp on their roll with the help of a certified instructor, who will be available at the pool to assist on an informal basis.

Advance signup is required. Sessions are free to rec center members and available for the daily admission fee to nonmembers. To register, contact 828.456.2030 or ahood@waynesvillenc.gov.

Smoky Mountain News

The U.S. Open, a two-day event featuring slalom, extreme slalom and wildwater races, will come to the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Swain County Saturday, March 26, and Sunday, March 27.

Presented by the Nantahala Racing Club, the U.S. Open attracts kayakers from around the country, including national champions and Olympians. Events will begin at noon Saturday and conclude at 3 p.m. Sunday.

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newsdesk crafts

outdoors

✁

3.

2.

1.

Museum series to explore Native food tradition A lecture series focusing on food sovereignty will offer installments through May at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, featuring a lineup of Cherokee innovators, advocates and culture keepers dedicated to

Nico Albert.

4.

Donated photo

#193 - free table leveler

SNOW REPORT

March 16-22, 2022

10 Trails Open 3 Aerial Lifts 2 Surface Lift 36-48 Inch Base Weekdays: 9:00am – 4:30pm Weekends: 8:30am – 4:30pm FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED

preserving indigenous foodways and plant gathering traditions.

■ At 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at Birdtown Community Center, Cherokee Nation chef Nico Albert will give a live presentation, discussing food sovereignty and preparing several dishes in front of the audience. Albert is the owner and executive chef at Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods, revitalizing ancestral indigenous foodways to promote healing and wellness in native communities.

■ At 6 p.m. Monday, March 28, a live

Roadside volunteers wanted in the Smokies The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is looking for volunteers to help park rangers provide minor roadside assistance

Smoky Mountain News

Snow conditions can change quickly visit: cataloochee.com for the most up to date conditions

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

Roadside Assistance Volunteers stand beside their duty vehicle. NPS photo

34

screening of Albert’s lecture will premier on YouTube, as well as a Q&A session with MCI staff.

■ Join MCI staff live on YouTube at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, April 20, for the premiere of “Corn: A Look at Traditional Foodways and Cherokee Identity.” In the film, elders and community members discuss the continuing impact and uses of corn, a staple food in the Cherokee diet for thousands of years. Learn traditional preparation methods and how corn ties to the Cherokee identity. Museum staff will lead a chat-based Q&A. ■ The series will conclude at 3 p.m.

Wednesday, May 18, with a virtual event titled “The Seeds We Bear: The Ties Between Food, Identity & Motherhood.” Four women from different indigenous nations across the United States will discuss the impact of traditional foods in their communities — and how pursuing stronger ties with traditional foods and preparation can strengthen our ties with ourselves. Panelists will also discuss how food can influence childbirth and motherhood.

All events are free, but space is limited.

Find registration links at mci.org/learn/programming.

to visitors.

Supported annually by Friends of the Smokies, the Roadside Assistance Program

equips volunteers with a courtesy vehicle containing tools, a batter charger and vehicle fluids to help visitors with needs such as jumpstarting a dead battery or unlocking a vehicle.

Volunteers must work 32 hours per week in a team of two, with at least one team member having prior law enforcement experience. That experience allows them to better recognize hazards and situations that should be passed directly to park rangers. Volunteers receive an RV site — RV not included — with water and electric services.

Positions are available in the Oconaluftee District near Cherokee, the Little River District near Gatlinburg and the Cades Cove District near Townsend. For more information, contact grsm_volunteer_office@nps.gov. To apply, visit bit.ly/37gqknp.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Jackson County Farmers Market meets from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. every Saturday November through March and 9 a.m.-noon April through October at Bridge Park in Sylva, 110 Railroad St. Fresh, locally grown seasonal vegetables, locally produced meat, eggs, fresh bread and pastries, coffee, foraged mushrooms, flowers, starter plants for the garden, honey, jams and jellies, local artisans and more. Special events listed on Facebook and Instagram.

• The Jackson Arts Market takes place from 1 to 5 p.m. every Saturday at 533 West Main St. in Sylva with live music and an array of local artists. Wooly Booger will play at the market March 19, Benjamin Jacobs will play at the market March 26.

• The regular Jackson County NC NAACP meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 19, online. The topic is “Honoring Mountain Voices: Our 2022 Theme”. Email jcnaacp54ab@gmail.com to receive instructions to join online. All are welcome.

• The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce will hold its STIR (socialize, talk, interact, remember) event from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at Sylva Thrift Shop.

This is a networking event, RSVP by Monday, March 21 by calling the chamber at 828.586.2155.

• The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with the Jackson County Health Department, will host a prescription drug take back day on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, form 10 a.m.-2p.m. at the Jackson County Senior Center in support of Operation Medicine Drop and observance of National Poison Prevention Week.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Western Carolina University’s Educational Leadership Programs will be hosting Equity in Education Summit from 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 25, at the Crest Center in Asheville. The registration fee for the summit is $100 and includes a light breakfast and lunch. For more information about the conference, contact Jess Weiler at jrweiler@email.wcu.edu. For more information about registration, visit learn.wcu.edu/equity-summit or call 828.227.7397.

• Haywood Community College will host “Business Planning Power Hour” Financials” from noon-1 p.m.

Thursday, March 17. For more information visit tinyurl.com/39k3wu3b.

• Haywood Community College will host “Basics of Bookkeeping” from 10 a.m.-noon Wednesday, March 16.

For more information visit tinyurl.com/39k3wu3b.

• Haywood Community College will host “Spring EMFS Agribusiness Series: Food Safety” from 6-7 p.m.

Thursday, March 17. For more information visit tinyurl.com/39k3wu3b.

• Western Carolina University’s Spring Literary Festival returns to campus March 14-17 for a series of live events. For more information, visit litfestival.org or contact WCU’s English department at 828.227.7264.

• The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service will hold a free seminar on how to start and grow your own grape vines from 6-7 p.m. Thursday, March 17, via zoom. For more information, contact the Macon County Extension Center at 828.349.2049 or e-mail Christy Bredenkamp at clbreden@ncsu.edu.

• The SHARE Project and MAHEC are sponsoring a free workshop on the basics of MAT (Medicated Assisted Treatment) at 6:30 p.m. March 22, at the Haywood Regional Fitness Center upstairs classroom. Due to limited space, pre-registration is required. Email name, number of attendees and phone number to info@theshareproject.org.

Smoky Mountain News

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com • The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service will hold a Gardening Basics 101 Seminar (free) from 6-7 p.m.

Monday, March 28 via Zoom. For more information, contact the Macon County Extension Center at 828.349.2049 or e-mail Christy Bredenkamp at clbreden@ncsu.edu.

(roots/reggae) March 18 and Alma Russ March 25. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public.

828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Woolybooger (folk/blues) March 18, Kate Thomas (singer-songwriter) March 19, Scott James Stambaugh (singer-songwriter) March 25, Granny’s Mason Jar (Americana/folk) March 26 and Mountain Gypsy (Americana) March 27. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

FOOD AND DRINK HEALTH AND WELLNESS • Swain County Caring Corner Free Clinic is open Thursdays 4-9 p.m. at Restoration House (Bryson City United Methodist Church). Office hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9 a.m.- noon. Call 828.341.1998 to see if you qualify to receive free medical care from volunteer providers.

• Tai Chi for Veterans (and everyone else) will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 17, in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room. Tai Chi for Veterans is a newer program in Macon County, and the library is hosting a sample class. Amelia Capaforte Jones with the John & Dorothy Crawford Senior Center will lead a demonstration class, a talk and a Q&A. The class is geared to veterans but open to all. Comfortable clothing and masks are suggested.

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • Blue Ridge Books and News will Host a discussion about the book “Dear Martin,” and its recent challenge at Tuscola High School with author Nic Stone at 6 p.m.

Thursday, March 24, at the Haywood Community College Auditorium. For more information about the program, drop by or call Blue Ridge Books at 828.456.6000.

A&E

• 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.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host a special “St. Patrick’s Day Party” March 17. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” March 17 and Blue Jazz March 19. All events begin at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.

• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company (Maggie Valley) will host an Open Mic Night 7-9 p.m. on Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.734.1084 or elevatedmountain.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host a special “St. Patrick’s Day Celebration” with Acoustic Pizza March 17. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. March 16 and “Divas On Tap” 8:30 p.m. March 19. All events are free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Natti Love Joys

• At 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at Bird Town Community Center, Cherokee Nation chef Nico Albert will give a live presentation, discussing food sovereignty and preparing several dishes in front of the audience. Albert is the owner and executive chef at Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods, revitalizing ancestral indigenous foodways to promote healing and wellness in native communities.

Events are free, but space is limited. Find registration links at mci.org/learn/programming.

• “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 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12 (and other 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.

• Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • A live onstage production of Disney’s “Descendants: The Musical” will be performed at 7 p.m. March 17-19 and 2 p.m. March 19 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets are $12 for students, $15 for adults. For more information, click on smokymountainarts.com or call 866.273.4615.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m. to 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.

Outdoors

• The Haywood County Master Gardener Plant Clinic is now open again with an in-person format, 9 a.m.-noon every Tuesday and 1-4 p.m. Thursdays through September, excepting holidays. Drop into the Cooperative Extension Office on Raccoon Road in Waynesville or call 828.456.3575.

• A weekly group bike ride originally scheduled for

35

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: n n n n

Complete listings of local music scene Regional festivals Art gallery events and openings Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers n Civic and social club gatherings Tuesdays will be held Wednesdays instead. Starting March 16, riders will meet weekly at 6 p.m. at Motion Makers Bicycle Shop’s Sylva location, and then head out for a 25-mile roundtrip road ride featuring 1,600 feet of climbing. Learn more at motionmakers.com/about/weekly-rides-pg207.htm • The Assault on BlackRock trail race is set for 9 a.m.

Saturday, March 19, with proceeds benefiting the Jackson County Rescue Squad. Registration is $25 in advance or $30 on race day. Sign up at www.ultrasignup.com.

• Get acquainted with trail running 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Saturday, March 19, on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in Haywood County. The Waynesville Recreation Center will host this community trail run/walk, open to all ages and levels. For more information contact MaShon Gaddis at 828.456.2030 or mgaddis@waynesvillenc.gov.

• The Hemlock Restoration Initiative will hold a treatment demonstration from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, March 20, at Bent Creek Experimental Forest Headquarters in Asheville. To see the complete list of events or to sign up, visit savehemlocksnc.org/events. Most events require registration one week in advance.

• Hike Pinnacle Park with the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 22. The group will meet at the Waynesville Recreation Center and return by 4:30 p.m. Cost is $8 per person. Bring water, snacks and lunch for the top.

828.456.2030 or mgaddis@waynesvillenc.gov.

• The Hemlock Restoration Initiative will hold a volunteer workday with the Forest Restoration Alliance from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, March 25, in Waynesville.

To see the complete list of events or to sign up, visit savehemlocksnc.org/events. Most events require registration one week in advance.

• Saturday, March 26, the second annual Waterfall Sweep organized by Waterfall Keepers of North Carolina will take place. Crews of volunteers will spend that day picking up litter at beloved waterfalls across the state.

Learn more or sign up at waterfallkeepersofnc.org/waterfall-sweep.

• Opening day for fishing season is Saturday, March 26, on the Qualla Boundary, and a weekend-long fishing tournament offering $20,000 in cash prizes will celebrate the occasion. Register by paying the $15 entry fee and $17 two-day fishing permit anywhere fishing licenses are sold or online at FishCherokee.com by Friday, March 25.

• The U.S. Open, a two-day event featuring slalom, extreme slalom and wildwater races, will come to the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Swain County Saturday, March 26, and Sunday, March 27. More information will be posted as race day draws near at noc.com/events/nrc-us-open.

• The Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon and Mighty Four Miler will return to Waynesville this year, stepping off Saturday, April 2. Register at gloryhoundevents.com.

Market WNC PLACE

MarketPlace information:

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: • • • •

• •

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$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 Legal Notices — 25¢ per word $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.

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p: 828.452.4251 · f:828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com www.wncmarketplace.com 36

www.smokymountainnews.com

Announcements

Employment

A-1 DONATE YOUR CAR, Running or Not, Fast Free Pickup. Maximum tax deduction. Support United Breast Cancer Fdn. Programs. Your car donation could save a life. 888-641-9690

GROUP HOME STAFF NEEDED: Full time BenH¿WHG SRVLWLRQ DYDLODEOH in Waynesville. Paraprofessional will participate in the care of residents by providing guidance, supervision, medication and prompting as needed. High School diploma, driver’s license, documentation required.

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Business Opportunities BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! Publications sold at all major secular & specialty Christian bookstores. CALL Christian Faith Publishing for your FREE author submission kit. 1-855-658-2057

PATHWAYS FOR THE FUTURE, INC. dba Disability Partners is seeking a dynamic, forward thinking person for the position of Exec-

NOW HIRING HOUSEKEEPERS $15.00/Hour plus benefits Full Time/Permanent Also, Part time and Temp Available Please visit:

https://jobs.wcu.edu or Call 828-227-7218 An Equal Opportunity/Access/Affirmative Action/Pro Disabled & Veteran Employer.

March 16-22, 2022

utive Director. Disability Partners is a local Center for Independent Living serving 14 Counties in Western North Carolina, ZLWK RI¿FHV LQ 6\OYD DQG Asheville, North Carolina.

People with disabilities are served through the Center for Independent Living, Homecare Partners and Person First Services, a provider of the Innovations Waiver through Vaya. The Executive Director Job Description and application can be found at https:// www.disabilitypartners. org/employment-opportunities. All applicants must submit by email: Cover Letter, current Resume and a complete application to: ssacco@disabilitypartners.org. The deadline to apply for the position is April 29, 2022 at 5:00pm. Documents submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

THE JACKSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT Of Social Services is recruiting for a Processing Assistant III. Duties will include reception, copying, ¿OLQJ VFDQQLQJ UHFHLYLQJ and providing information to the public, data entry, and other related clerical tasks. Applicants should have excellent customer service skills, good computer skills, the ability to communicate effectively in person and by telephone, a generDO NQRZOHGJH RI RI¿FH procedures, and the ability to learn and apply a variety of guidelines.

The starting salary is

$25,847.02. Applicants must have completed high school and have at least one year of clerical experience or an equivalent combination of training and experience. The application for employment is available online at www.jcdss.org or may be obtained at the Jackson County Human 5HVRXUFHV 2I¿FH RU WKH Sylva branch of the NC Works Career Center.

Applications will be taken until March 18, 2022.

THE JACKSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT Of Social Services is recruiting for an Income Maintenance Caseworker. This position is responsible for intake, application processing and review functions in determining eligibility for Family and Children’s Medicaid. Above average communication, computer and work organizational skills are required. Work involves direct contact with the public. Applicants should have one year of Income Maintenance Casework experience. Applicants will also be considered who have an Associate’s Degree in human services, business or clerical UHODWHG ¿HOG RU JUDGXDtion from high school and an equivalent combination of training and experience. The starting salary is $28,496.34 – $31,417.21 depending on education and experience. The application for employment is available online at: www. jcdss.org and should be submitted to the Jackson County Department of

WNC MarketPlace

6RFLDO 6HUYLFHV *ULI¿Q Street, Sylva, NC 28779 or the Sylva branch of the NC Works Career Center.

Applications will be taken until March 25, 2022.

CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANT PT – Haywood and Jackson Co. - Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership (SMHP) is the affordable housing division of Mountain Projects, Inc. SMHP is seeking a Part-Time Construction Assistant to work in the Self-Help Housing Program. This position will work under the direction of the Construction Supervisor to assist in overseeing families in the construction of their own homes. Previous experience or knowledge of construction, weatherization, carpentry, or building codes is a plus.

This position will work on construction sites in both Haywood and Jackson Counties. Some nontraditional hours will be necessary. If you’re interested in this position, please visit www. mountainprojects.org to apply now. This position offers competitive pay, JHQHURXV EHQH¿WV DQG D great work environment.

Mountain Projects is an Equal Opportunity Employer. EOE/AA SELF HELP GROUP COORDINATOR/RECRUITER – Haywood and Jackson Co. - Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership (SMHP) is the affordable housing division of Mountain Projects, Inc. SMHP is seeking a full-time Self Help Group Coordinator/Recruiter to work in the Self Help Housing Program.

This position will work under the direction of the Affordable Housing Manager to recruit income eligible families who are interested in the self help method of constructing each other’s homes and assisting them in obtaining housing loans from Rural Development. The ideal candidate will be organized, energetic, engaged, and motivated to work with families from diverse backgrounds as they secure the American Dream of homeownership. Some

nontraditional hours will be necessary. If you’re interested in this position, please visit www. mountainprojects.org to apply now. This position offers competitive pay, JHQHURXV EHQH¿WV DQG D great work environment.

Mountain Projects is an Equal Opportunity Employer. EOE/AA

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37

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ANSWERS ON PAGE 34

the Affordable Housing Manager will be a knowledgeable and engaging communicator – both orally and in writing – who is able to secure and manage funding from various grants, private donors, and government programs to develop affordable housing and supportive services.

Knowledge of construction, basic loans, lending, and mortgage principles is desired. Three years’ experience in Housing related services-including Housing Counseling, Land development supervision and budget management experience is required. A Master’s degree in a related ¿HOG DQG H[SHULHQFH is preferred. If you’re interested in this position, please visit www. mountainprojects.org to apply now. This position offers competitive pay, JHQHURXV EHQH¿WV DQG D great work environment.

Mountain Projects is an Equal Opportunity Employer. EOE/AA MOUNTAIN PROJECTS, HEAD START Is currently hiring in Haywood & Jackson Counties.

Competitive Salaries DQG ([FHOOHQW %HQH¿WV Please visit: www.mountainprojects.org for more information.

PREVENTION SPECIALIST MANGER- FT Haywood County- Mountain Projects Inc. is currently seeking a Prevention Specialist Manager. You will provide oversight for the Prevention Services department. Provide supervision regarding program development, oversight of budgetary issues, evaluation process and sustainability planning. &HUWL¿FDWLRQ DV D 1RUWK Carolina Prevention Consultant with at least 5 years’ experience in the

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Competitive pay and EHQH¿WV RIIHUHG )XOO or part time. License preferred. (828) 4522815 OlgaGeorgi2@ allstate.com

ATTENTION ACTIVE DUTY/MILITARY Veterans Begin a new career and earn your degree at CTI. Online computer & medical training available for veterans & families! To learn more call 833-9703466

SUDOKU

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, Answers on 34 the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

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www.smokymountainnews.com

March 16-22, 2022

WNC MarketPlace

Legal Notices NOTICE TO CREDITORS The undersigned having TXDOL¿HG DV ([HFXWRU of the Estate of GEORGE ROBERT ORR, deceased, late of Haywood County, North Carolina, this is to notify DOO SHUVRQV ¿UPV DQG corporations having claims against the estate to present such claims to the undersigned at 247 Charlotte Street, Suite 205, Asheville, North Carolina on or before the 16th day of June, 2022, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment.

This the 16th day of March, 2022 ROBIN MADELLE OWENS fka ROBIN ORR METTS, Executor c/o John C. Frue, Attorney 247 Charlotte Street, Suite 205 Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 255-0309 INVITATION FOR BIDS Harris Estates. Second Avenue, Sylva, NC. Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership, a division of Mountain Projects, Inc. requests bids for all WUDGHV LQ EXLOGLQJ ¿YH houses in the Harris Estates, Second Avenue, Sylva, NC. Each house will be individually contracted and billed.

Mountain Projects will oversee all construction, inspections and invoice payments. If interested in bidding please contact Joey Massie , MPI Construction Supervisor for digital or paper copies of the two blueprints we will be using.

Contact Joey at 828421-8837 or jmassie@ mountainprojects.org. All requests to bid must be received by no later than 12 o’clock Noon on March 28, 2022. Mountain Projects, Inc. reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to delete from or add to the work orders. Contractor must furnish MPI with proof of Worker’s Compensation if required and General Liability Insurance.

Medical DENIED SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY? ApSHDO ,I \RX¶UH ¿OHG SSD and denied, our attorneys can help! Win or Pay Nothing! Strong, recent work history needed.

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Pets B&W TUXEDO CAT, LITTLE KITTY 3 yr old female. Sweet and friendly; would prefer a calm, predictable household without dogs. Asheville Humane Society (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org LABRADOR MIX DOG, BLONDE/TAN —BANE 9-yr old male; sweet, cuddly, and active. Prefer home without children or other dogs. Asheville Humane Society (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org SARGE’S ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION Holly is a Pit Bull Terrier mix female about 3-1/2 years old. She may be an adult now, but she is still very much a puppy in energy level and playful spirits!

6KH¶G ORYH WR ¿QG DQ active family who will give her lots of opportunity for adventures and physical activity.

Holly’s adoption fee is $50. If you’d like to meet her, please complete the application online at www. sarges.org and we’ll contact you to set up an appointment.

(828) 246-9050 info@ sarges.org

Real Estate Announcements WHITE-GLOVE SERVICE From America’s Top Movers. Fully insured and bonded. Let us take the stress out of your out of state move. FREE QUOTES! Call: 855-8212782 PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise ‘any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination’.

Familial status includes children under 18 living with parents or legal guardians and pregnant women.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate in violation of this law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

Home Improvement UPDATE YOUR HOME With Beautiful New Blinds & Shades. FREE in-home estimates make it convenient to shop from home.

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warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 833-987-0207 WATER DAMAGE TO YOUR HOME? Call for a quote for professional cleanup & maintain the value of your home! Set an appt. today! Call 833664-1530 (AAN CAN)

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FREON WANTED: We pay $$$ for cylinders and cans. R12 R500 R11 R113 R114. Convenient. CerWL¿HG 3URIHVVLRQDOV &DOO 312-291-9169 or visit RefrigerantFinders.com

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Health/Beauty LIFE ALERT. 24/7. One press of a button sends help FAST! Medical, Fire, Burglar. Even if you can’t reach a phone! FREE Brochure. CALL 844-9022362 ATTENTION: Oxygen Users. Gain freedom with a portable oxygen concentrator. No more heavy WDQNV RU UH¿OOV *XDUDQteed lowest prices. Oxygen Concentrator Store 844-866-4793 STROKE & CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Are leading causes of death, according to the American Heart Ass. Screenings can provide

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Great Smokies

STORAGE LLC Call 828.506.4112 greatsmokiesstorage.com 434 Champion Drive, Canton, NC 28716 21 Hollon Cove Rd, Waynesville, NC 28786

March 16-22, 2022

WNC MarketPlace

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Smoky Mountain News March 16-22, 2022