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March 29-April 4, 2017 Vol. 18 Iss. 44

Trump budget ‘gut shot’ to down-and-out Appalachia Page 10 Keeping Cherokee stories alive, one hike at a time Page 34

CONTENTS On the Cover: The increasing use of body-worn and dash-mounted police cameras in Western North Carolina has sparked privacy concerns from citizens and cost concerns from local governments struggling to equip officers with the devices.

(Page 6) A typical forward-facing in-car camera setup protects officers and the public.

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News Women empowering women to run for office ............................................................3 Trump budget “gut shot” to down-and-out Appalachia ........................................ 10 Meadows in the middle of repeal and replace ........................................................ 11 Classroom size uncertainty to impact school budgets ........................................ 12 Search for new Canton town manager begins ...................................................... 13 Former vice chief’s widow will lose her Cherokee home .................................... 14 Dillsboro river park vote planned in Jackson ............................................................ 15 Jackson considers consolidated health department ..............................................16 Community Almanac ........................................................................................................19

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Cherokee man keeps old stories alive, one hike at a time .................................. 34

The Naturalist’s Corner It really is spring ................................................................................................................ 47 March 29-April 4, 2017

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Meadows makes his mark in the swamp .................................................................. 20

The DuPont Brothers return to Waynesville ............................................................ 24

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Empowering women to run for office

Politicians share their experiences being a woman in government

be ashamed about — having friends and family to support you is also very important during a campaign,” she said.

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR omen have a lot of internal dialogue when considering a run for public office — I don’t have time. I have a full-time job and a family to take care of at home. I don’t know enough about the issues.

I don’t have the name recognition. I don’t have a college degree. Who would vote for me? I’m a woman.

It’s that kind of self-doubt and hesitation that can discourage women from seeking political office, which is why women continue to be underrepresented on every level of government — from local town councils to Congress.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, women only make up 24.4 percent of all state legislators nationwide. In the North Carolina General Assembly, women represent 23 percent of the seats — compare that to women representing 42 percent of the General Assembly in Colorado.

While women are well represented on many of the town boards west of Asheville, there is only one woman serving as a county commissioner west of Asheville — Graham County Commissioner Connie Orr. Last Saturday, a panel of female politicians spoke at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville about their experiences running for office and encouraged women to do the same. Whether they had won their respective races or not, the women spoke openly and candidly about their challenges, shortcomings and personal victories.

N.C. Sen. Terry Van Duyn, representing Buncombe County’s District 49, said women should embrace that instinct that makes them closely examine all possibilities because that’s what makes them good councilwomen, commissioners and legislators.

“One of the reasons women are reluctant to run is because they have more humility — they ask ‘am I really qualified to do this?’ Men tend not to ask that question and it’s important because when we get to the legislature, it’s that humility which makes us better legislators because we don’t come thinking we know all the answers,” she said. “So we’re willing to ask questions, we’re willing to learn and we’re willing to change our mind about things and that’s just not as true from the men I work with.”

Holly Jones, who served as a Buncombe County commissioner for eight years and an Asheville City Councilwoman for seven years, also said women need much more encouragement from others before deciding to run — pointing out that five out of six of the panelists were asked to run several times by friends and colleagues before pulling the trigger.

“It’s a very important dynamic for women candidates to understand and it’s nothing to

Rhonda Cole Schandevel said she had to be convinced to run for office several times.

The first time she ran for office was in 2010 at the encouragement of her father who was dying of cancer. Even though she told him she didn’t have the experience, he convinced her she could do it.

“We had the best time and it helped my dad get through the experience he was going through. He was so proud even though I lost, but we ran a fairly good race and I learned a lot,” she said.

Her father passed away later that same year, but she didn’t let that personal loss stop her. The next year she attended a “Women in Office” Institute in Raleigh to learn more about the campaigning process. In 2012, she ran for a seat on the Haywood County Board of Education and won.

Patsy Keever, who served as a Buncombe County commissioner for 12 years and served one term as a state representative, said it was her eighth-grade students that made her want to run for office the first time. Each year she

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THE PUSH THEY NEEDED

WOMEN IN WNC

In honor of Women’s History Month, Progressive Nation WNC, a political action group formed after President Donald Trump was elected last November, sponsored its first event last Saturday. “The Future is Female: Empowering WNC Women to Run for Office” symposium featured a panel of females who have run for or held a local or state office. The panel shared their personal insights and advice about running a campaign from their perspective as women in public positions.

STILL A MAN’S WORLD? When asked if they had experienced discrimination or other challenges in what is still considered a male-dominated profession, the panelists had a few telling anecdotes

to describe what it’s like being a woman in government.

Sen. Van Duyn said outright discrimination has decreased in recent years though misogyny still happens in more subtle ways nowadays.

“Let’s just say I’ve gotten a few too many neck rubs if you know what I mean,” she laughed.

But overall her experience has been a positive one — as a freshman senator she was elected minority whip.

“My caucus wanted a woman in leadership and that presented an opportunity for me, but I hope that wasn’t the only reason I was chosen,” she said.

Keever, who started as a commissioner 25 years ago, said it was once common for her to receive letters addressed to “Dear Sirs” and she remembers attending events in certain parts of Buncombe County where the men wouldn’t even acknowledge her existence.

“I was never addressed, I was never acknowledged and I made a point of bringing it up whenever it happened and I think I was known for being just so outright and making known we do have women here,” Keever said.

Growing up in Haywood County, Schandevel said she was often identified as Dee Cole’s daughter, Rob Cole’s little sister, someone’s wife, mother, etc.

“And all those things I’m very proud of but it was always ‘little Rhonda Cole’ and I really have to be honest with each of you that I never felt like I was worthy to do these things that I always ended up doing,” she said. “I have realized that because of the relationships in my life, I am who I am — we’re

S EE OFFICE, PAGE 4

Smoky Mountain News

most important job you’ll ever do,” she said.

But she did sign up to for a seat on the Asheville City School Board on the last day and went through a tedious application and interview process before being chosen to serve on the board. She served for eight years — four of which she served as chairwoman.

While she had always had an interest in politics, Jane Hipps of Waynesville said it was her husband Charles Hipps that encouraged her to run for office before he died. He was active in local politics in Haywood County and told her it was her turn to get involved.

“Charlie asked me to run for political office a few months before he died — he told me it was my time and I told him one person in politics in the family was insanity enough,” she recalled.

She was asked to run a couple of times after his death but it just wasn’t the right time. Finally, she said yes when she was asked four years ago to run against Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, to represent District 50.

Jones was also asked by another candidate to run for Asheville City Council, though she developed an appreciation for good public policy at a young age since her father served as a state senator.

“I was lucky enough to see what good can happen in legislation and good policy — it’s how we got public Kindergarten — we didn’t have that when I was in Kindergarten — someone In Raleigh made that happen,” she said.

March 29-April 4, 2017

would do special lessons for her students about the importance of elections and voting.

Then one year she decided to put her money where her mouth was.

“It got to the point that I wanted to prove to my students that politicians are not awful people who just want to put their hands in your pockets to take your money — they’re normal people, and I figured what’s more normal than your own teacher and I ran for county commissioner,” Keever said.

With 15 people running for five open seats on the board, she said she was lucky to get one of them and served three terms.

Rep. Susan Fisher, D-Buncombe, said she has been interested in politics since she worked for the late Jamie Clarke — who represented N.C.’s District 11 Congressional District for three terms — as a legislative correspondent in Washington, D.C., while she was in college.

“I learned so much observing him in action — you couldn’t have asked for a better boss. He was just a salt-of-the-earth public servant,” Fisher said. “And I told myself if I could do even a fraction of the good I got to observe him do, I would have done something.”

But it wasn’t until years later when she was in the car line at school waiting to pick up her kids in Asheville that she was approached about running for office. It was the school principal that kept asking her day after day when she planned to put her name in the hat for school board.

“I said I was thinking about it but I was also in the throes of parenting and that to me is the

Women in Government

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Phrases that Make (this) Dietitian Crazy

March 29-April 4, 2017

Cleanse - As in “I’m going on a 30-day cleanse so I’m not eating____.” I often hear people say they are doing a "cleanse" and cutting out things like dairy or whole grains or only eating fruits or vegetables or drinking juices. Improving your eating habits is a good thing, but excluding foods or food groups that provide important nutrients is not a good thing. Drastically limiting calories by doing a cleanse or fast deprives your body of calories. In the short term you may lose water weight, but the tradeoff will be several days of being “hangry,” light-headed and irritable. Stick with washing your hands or your face if you want to do a cleanse!

Smoky Mountain News

Detox - As in “You need this tea to do a detox.” The only

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thing healthy people need to detoxify their bodies is already there, your kidneys and liver. If those organs aren’t working correctly you would most likely be in the hospital having various machines and medications helping you “detox.” There are times when people are inadvertently exposed to poisons, drugs, or chemical toxins that they may need to seek medical assistance to detoxify from these agents.

OFFICE, CONTINUED FROM 3 all a product of our past — and I now know that I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I’m not the dullest either and that I have every right to be here, but more importantly I have the responsibility to my community to stand up and do these things.”

Fisher said there are a lot of male chairmen of committees in the House of Representatives, especially in the last few years since Republicans have been in power and fewer women are serving in the General Assembly. She recalls several instances during committee meetings when a male chair has refused to call on a female legislator with her hand up for a question.

“It’s like almost a reflex they’ll go to the man raising his hand,” Fisher said.

One particular instance Fisher had her hand raised for well over 10 minutes waiting for her turn to speak in a committee meeting and kept getting passed over by men in the room. At a certain point it became obvious to everyone else around her that she was being ignored and finally another male representative said something.

“Not that you need anyone to come to your rescue but one of the things I’m noticing at least nowadays — and this is a positive — is that men and women will come to the rescue for each other when they see a wrong thing happening,” she said. “We need to nurture that in each other — especially women sticking up for other women.”

Hipps admitted we still live in a maledominated culture though things are changing and women have more opportunities to take on leadership roles — they just have to work harder than men to prove their worth.

“I think as women we have to stick with our message — we have to work harder and we have to prove ourselves, we have to listen to people and have the answers,” she said.

The first time Jones ran for commissioner there was already one woman sitting on the board and there seemed to be an assumption that only one woman could serve on the board at a time.

“When I decided to run there were a lot of people that were like ‘there’s already someone in the woman’s seat,’” Jones said. “I am going to be so excited when either the city council has a majority women or the county commission has majority women because that’s going to be a milestone in my community.”

The most poignant incident Jones had was when she was first elected to the county commission and spoke out on a hot-button transportation issue during a public board meeting. Even though she was well versed on the issue at hand, she got some blow back from one of her male colleagues on the board.

“One of my colleagues from a different generation said something to the effect of ‘little lady, I don’t know who you think you are coming over here from the city trying to tell us … you need to know where you are now’ and I really was taken aback,” she said. “And it happened at a public meeting.”

Jones stood up for herself after the meeting when she said the same commissioner came up to her and poked her in the shoulder with his finger and warned her that she better never pull something like that again.

“I said you get your finger off my body and don’t you ever touch me again,” she recalled.

“And that was that. But it’s not OK.” Keever encouraged women in the audience to read a book that was recommended to her by U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan called Broad Influence. She said the book was all about communication and the way organizations change when they get a tipping point of women.

“And that tipping point is 20 to 30 percent, so when the (Buncombe County) commission went from one woman commissioner to two women commissioners it made a huge difference,” Keever said.

OTHER CHALLENGES

TO OVERCOME

Questions from the audience also included “Am I too old to run?” “How much money do you need to raise for a campaign?” “I have too many skeletons in my closet to run, but how can I help other women get elected?”

“Do you still have to be born in North Carolina to be able to win?” “Can I get elected if I’m not a Christian?”

Keever said age should not keep women from seeking office. While you don’t have to be asked to run by someone, she said support from friends and family are extremely important — just as important as raising money.

WOMEN IN WNC

Schandevel agreed that raising money was the hardest part but the more you get used to asking for money the easier it gets to make it happen.

“I knew it would take money but I had no idea how much money it would take,” she said. “From October 2015 and Election Day 2016 I personally raised over a quarter of million dollars by getting on the phone and literally begging people for money.”

Besides raising money, Fisher said a candidate also needs people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and knock on doors and make phone calls to garner support in the community.

“Sometimes you don’t even realize the people out there who are ready, willing and able to do something for you,” she said.

“That’s what makes a great campaign is putting everybody to work and making sure everybody knows that they’re needed.”

As for being born in North Carolina, Van Duyn said she has been successful in office without being a native. She added that educational credentials are always a plus but it’s not a deal breaker either.

“What people are looking for is authenticity — not credentials,” she said. “They want to know that they can trust you and that what you say is what you’ll do.”

When it comes to the question of religion, everyone acknowledged it’s a touchy subject.

While each panelist varied in their religious beliefs, they all said that their faith is a personal aspect of their life that they don’t need to push on others.

Van Duyn said actions always speak louder than words.

Meet the panel

PATSY KEEVER Former chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party; served one term in the N.C. House of Representatives from 201012; served as a Buncombe County commissioner for 12 years.

Rep. Fisher, D-Buncombe, represents District 114. She was tapped by the Democratic Party in 2004 to fill the vacancy left by Rep. Martin Nesbitt. In 2014, she was elected to her sixth full term as a state representative.

SEN. TERRY VAN DUYN

Schandevel was born and raised in Haywood County.

She was elected to the Haywood County Board of Education in 2012 and had an unsuccessful run for N.C. House of Representatives to represent District 118 last year.

Represents District 49 in Asheville in the N.C. Senate and also serves as Democratic whip.

JANE HIPPS

HOLLY JONES

Hipps ran on the Democratic ticket against Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, in 2014 and again in 2016 but was unsuccessful in unseating the three-term senator.

Jones was a Buncombe County commissioner for eight years and served on the Asheville City Council for seven years. The Democrat had an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor in 2016.

GERRYMANDERING Even if women get past the internal struggle and decide to run for the state legislature or U.S. Congress, Fisher said gerrymandering

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March 29-April 4, 2017

REP. SUSAN FISHER

RHONDA COLE SCHANDEVEL

also prevents women and other minorities from being elected.

The N.C. House passed a bill to create a nonpartisan redistricting commission to redraw the district lines, but Fisher said it’s extremely unlikely the Senate will even bring it up for a committee hearing. Right now, Fisher said she benefits from gerrymandering and her district is safe, but that didn’t mean it’s right. She said the last redistricting done by Republicans bumped seven female candidates out of their district, which meant they had to drop out or run in a primary.

Van Duyn said she often hears that it’s fair play since Democrats did the same kind of gerrymandering when they controlled the General Assembly.

“This is not our grandfather’s gerrymandering — Democrats used to draw districts on legislative computers using voter registration data and that doesn’t tell you much. So we did some padding but it wasn’t efficient,” she said.

Now legislators are using better technology and have more information at their fingertips that allow them to make many assumptions about voters whether they are registered unaffiliated or not registered at all.

“The power of gerrymandering has increased dramatically to the point where 50 percent of our legislators run unopposed,” Van Duyn said. “If we were in a Third World country we would say it’s not democratic because it’s not.”

While she isn’t hopeful the Senate will consider the bipartisan supported bill from the House, she is hopeful the Supreme Court will say enough is enough.

Despite the setbacks, Keever encouraged women to run for local office first. She said 2018 is going to be a good year to run because they won’t have to compete with a presidential election on the ballot.

Fisher said filling those local offices will be even more important in the coming years as Republican legislators also push to make more school board and municipal elections a partisan affair.

“They are putting the squeeze on the local level — we need good, thinking, caring individuals at every level of government,” she said. “We’ve got to be able to thwart that goal from the other side that says ‘we’re going to win every seat from the courthouse to the White House.’”

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“I am not a person who likes to wear my faith on my sleeve,” she said. “I won’t say I never pay a price for not wearing my religion on my sleeve, but I think if I do that it closes me off from other people and I don’t ever want to do that.”

Hipps also pointed out that the women on the panel who had been successful in their campaigns were running in Buncombe County while she and Schandevel were running in more rural districts to the west of Asheville.

“There’s a divide in the success of women in urban and rural areas — we have to work harder in rural areas because people are not as open to women in government,” Hipps said. “A commission chairman was talking to my campaign manager after the election and he said, ‘Jane was the perfect candidate except that she was a woman,’ so we have to keep chipping away at that.”

Keever said she won every local race she had in Buncombe but lost when she tried to run for Congress in the 10th and 11th districts. She attributes a lot of that loss to her religion. As a Unitarian Universalist, she said she believes in everybody’s right to believe what they want to believe.

“I respect everyone’s religion, but I don’t think religion should be a part of what we’re talking about because your actions speak louder than words,” she said. “And once you’re elected you represent every person in your district — not all of them are going to be the same religion as you.”

Keever added that the question of abortion never failed to come up when running for a legislative office.

“I could have someone eating out of the palm of my hand thinking I was the best thing in the world and then they would ask me that question and I had to answer it completely — that nobody is in favor of abortion but what we need is for women to be able to make their own choices about their own bodies,” she said.

Hipps agreed that the “G” issues — guns, gays and God — are still a big distraction for voters over the real issues facing North Carolina and the nation.

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The tools of truth

year, $75-million U.S. Department of Justice grant offering beginning in 2015, more than 70 percent do.

“We want the public to have full confidence and trust in the Waynesville Police Department,” said Hollingsed. “What we have found is that as complaints come in they may sound horrific, but as you go back and watch the video you say, ‘That’s not what happened.’ Whether we’re right or wrong, that helps us aid in the prosecution of the case.

The video camera will help us find the truth.”

THE RIGHT TO NO

A Digital Ally DVM 800 HD cam hangs from the ceiling of a Maggie Valley PD K-9 cruiser, pointing out the front windshield. Cory Vaillancourt photo

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER s the digital revolution proceeds unabated and technology exponentially shrinks in size and cost, law enforcement agencies have more tools in and on their trunks than ever before.

But with those tools, specifically dashmounted or body-worn cameras, come controversies.

Orwellian conspiracy theories and concerns over public access to recordings from these devices haven’t slowed camera implementation, but costs have, leaving many rural departments fighting to find funding for what some — but not all — hail as a tremendous step forward in public safety and crimefighting technology.

“It’s another tool for us to use to find the truth,” said Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed, who added that judges and juries find particular value in video evidence.

March 29-April 4, 2017

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WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS Smoky Mountain News

Mounted on the dashboard or ceiling of a growing number of law enforcement vehicles is a small, boxy black plastic camera; when the blue lights come on, the camera starts recording.

Except it’s been “recording” — cameras come equipped with a 30-second buffer, so when the lights go on, footage from the previous 30 seconds is added to the file.

A belt-mounted microphone allows officers to record verbal interactions once they’re out of the patrol car, and when they return, they manually stop the recording, give it an appropriate label like ‘DWI’ or ‘traffic stop’ and continue on their way.

Similar procedures are used for bodymounted cameras; the data is then either physically or wirelessly uploaded to a storage site, and used primarily to help police build 6 cases against suspects.

“They feel like that is much better evidence than verbal testimony,” said Hollingsed, referring to judges and juries.

“They want to see something visual. So the in-car cameras have been a very good tool and resource for us.”

But these videos aren’t just good for prosecutors — they’re good for police officers as well.

“I think officers have found that it has kept them out of trouble. Every time we’ve had a complaint involving an officer where they’ve been on video, the video has exonerated the officer,” he said. “If there was ever question, that camera told the story.”

The stories the cameras tell can be disturbing, but they are an essential piece of any police encounter.

In 2016 Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed by police in Charlotte. Family members claimed Scott was reading a book in his car and was unarmed, but police thought otherwise.

After Scott ignored repeated orders to drop his weapon, he was shot by officer Brentley Vinson. Mecklenburg District Attorney Andrew Murray later said Vinson had acted within the law.

In the Scott case, two recordings — a body cam and dash cam — were used to shed light on what had transpired; a firearm was found at the scene, a book was not.

Similar incidents back in the 1990s are what led to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to create the In-Car Camera Incentive Program, which began to dispense federal aid to state police to purchase and implement dashcams in 2000.

North Carolina was somewhat of an early adopter and began cam use in the 1990s; by 2004, only three states didn’t yet have them.

Before the program, only about 10 percent of state police highway patrol cars had cameras. Today, thanks in part to a three-

While nominally straightforward, the use of cameras — as well as microphones — by law enforcement has led to the thorny issue of who should have access to the recordings.

In North Carolina, the General Statute 132-1.4A governs law enforcement agency recordings and sets out several classes of people entitled to several levels of access.

The process starts with a written request to the agency head, who may — but not “shall” — disclose but not release recordings to any person whose image or voice is in the recording, or that person’s designee or legal guardian.

Disclosure is defined by the statute as “to make a recording available for viewing or listening,” and often occurs when people who are uniquely tied to the recordings ask to see relevant portions thereof.

Release, however, is defined as providing an actual copy of the recording and can be achieved only through court order. It is usually undertaken by someone not in the video, like members of the media, who have to prove that there is some sort of compelling public interest in the recording.

“People are interested in the conduct of public officials working in the public interest,” said Jeff Welty, Associate Professor of Public Law and Government and the Director of the North Carolina Judicial College. “People are interested when body or dash cams show law enforcement interacting with the public.”

Prior to the fall of 2016, North Carolina laws governing the distribution of audio and video recordings were considered vague and inadequate by critics, especially as to whether and when footage could be released by agencies.

Some departments held that recordings were public record, while some classified them as records of criminal investigations or personnel records, which are exempt from public disclosure.

“A police department that deploys body-worn cameras is making a statement that it believes the actions of its officers are a matter of public record.”

— Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed, in a budget request for body-worn cameras

Additionally, if a release request was denied, there was no clear direction as to which court should hear a request, or what set of standards that court would apply.

Since GS 132-1.4A was enacted last October, better definitions of “release” and “disclose” were added, as were standards for Superior Courts to evaluate, Welty said.

Now, departments can release recordings of their own accord only after obtaining a court order.

Petitioners unrelated to the case but seeking the release of recordings must also obtain a court order, after paying a filing fee of approximately $200 — which is seen by some as an unduly high barrier to smaller media outlets performing investigative work and ordinary public citizens with an interest in public affairs.

S EE TRUTH, PAGE 9

Law Enforcement camera utilization in Western North Carolina BODY DASH State Police (statewide).................................................. 0................................................1097 Haywood County Sheriff.................................................. 0..................................................10 • Canton PD...................................................................17.................................................11 • Clyde PD...................................................................... 0...................................................0 • Maggie Valley PD......................................................... 7...................................................6 • Waynesville PD.............................................................0..................................................22 Jackson County Sheriff....................................................0...................................................8 • Sylva PD......................................................................15.................................................10 • Western Carolina University PD.................................. 20..................................................3 Macon County Sheriff...................................................... 0...................................................* • Franklin PD................................................................. 12..................................................0 Swain County Sheriff....................................................... 0...................................................0 • Bryson City PD............................................................. 0...................................................0

* An exact figure was unavailable as of press time; Macon Sheriff Robert Holland said the department has “a couple” of outdated cams.

Jackson law enforcement navigates new age of police video O

OFFICER PROTECTION The Western Carolina University Police Department, while smaller than the Sylva Police Department, has had body cameras for a bit longer — the department got its first ones in 2008 and adopted the current system in 2014.

“Our primary thought on them when we first started using them was to capture what we’re seeing as evidence in court, that kind

of thing,” said Police Chief Ernie Hudson.

“And that’s still the primary purpose.”

However, he cautions, camera footage should never be taken as standalone evidence. It shows only one perspective, and doesn’t typically capture the entire context of what’s happening. Camera evidence is used in court only when the officer who captured it is present to testify.

For Major Shannon Queen of the Jackson County Sheriff ’s Department, officer protection should be the primary use of police video, not evidence. The videos — taken from the vantage point of the officer’s chest or the unchanging perspective of his car — don’t show the whole picture. Relying too heavily on them as evidence can lead to incorrect conclusions.

For example, a pair of police videos in the 2003 case of Marquise Hudspeth shows two different angles on an incident that left Hudspeth dead after police fired eight shots into his back. From one angle, it appears that police officers chase down and shoot at a man who is simply walking away from them. Another angle shows Hudspeth brandishing a metal object, which resembles a gun in the video but turned out to be merely a cell phone. The case was hotly contested at the time, but the U.S. Justice Department eventually cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing.

Police cameras have been around for a while, with dash cams debuting in the 1990s and body cameras coming around more recently, in the early 2000s, though their use surged after the Ferguson case.

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Smoky Mountain News

EVIDENCE COLLECTION VERSUS

THE TOOLS OF TRUTH

March 29-April 4, 2017

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER n Aug. 9, 2014, an encounter between Officer Darren Wilson and 18-year-old Michael Brown on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, left Brown dead and the entire nation in the midst of a riotous public debate over whether the shooting was a product of racism or self-defense.

Over in tiny Sylva, North Carolina, Police Chief Davis Woodard didn’t take long to determine how the incident would affect his department.

“We had body cameras I think by Sept.

6,” he said.

The officers who shot Brown weren’t wearing body cameras, making it harder for courts to ferret out exactly how the encounter had transpired. After Brown’s death, Woodard was certain that it wouldn’t be long before the U.S. Department of Justice made body cameras mandatory — but that hasn’t happened. However, Woodard said his officers are glad to have them in the department. On a practical basis, the cameras assist officers when writing reports and compiling evidence. They also provide a form of protection to cops and citizens alike.

“I think it makes them (citizens) maybe cooperate a little bit more, because they know if they choose not to cooperate, any of their actions are going to be recorded, whether it be good or bad,” Woodard said.

“It also vice versa for the officer makes them step up their game a little bit too, because they know their actions are going to be recorded as well.”

Initially, Sylva purchased five body cameras — one for each officer on shift at a given time. Now, each officer has their own camera, a total of 15 costing $800 apiece.

The department also has 10 in-car cameras, which cost $5,000 apiece. There’s also a $600 annual cost for storage. The hard drive costs $260. Though grants paid for some of the equipment, the town bought most of it. The total cost — grants included — of $62,300, plus the annual storage cost, is a significant portion of the town’s $3.6 million general fund, of which $1.2 million goes to the police department.

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being requested by the public, but a highprofile police shooting in Charlotte last year thrust the issues surrounding release of such videos into the public eye.

Just months before the September shooting, the legislature had passed a law laying out explicit protocol for releasing and retaining any such footage. The July 2016 law went into effect Oct. 1 and allows law enforcement agencies to get rid of any video that is not part of a case file after 30 days. It also requires citizens requesting public release of a video to obtain a court order first.

Obtaining a court order involves paying a $200 court filing fee.

Agencies in Jackson County have not yet had to put the part of the law involving release of videos into practice. However, Queen, Davis and Hudson all have a favorable impression of the law.

“It provides clear guidance, and I think clear guidance is all we ever asked for,” Queen said.

Before, the question of whether or not to release a video was left to the discretion of the individual agency, which would have to determine — without any clear legal guidelines — whether release would harm an ongoing investigation or violate someone’s privacy. While discretion is a great thing, Hudson said, the issues surrounding portable video technologies are so new that Holly Kays photo stronger guidance is welcome.

But the laws are just starting to catch up On the one hand, public documents are with current technology. According to citizens’ check on how well government Queen, this lag is the reason that the agencies are serving them. Did the officer Jackson Sheriff ’s Department doesn’t curfire cold-blooded shots into an unarmed rently have body cameras, using only dash man, or was he acting in self-defense against cameras instead. a gun-brandishing criminal?

“We’re kind of letting the rest of the On the other hand, officers often country figure out what’s best practice with encounter people in their weakest, most them so we don’t waste taxpayer money vulnerable moments. How would it here,” Queen said. change law enforcement if someone calling 911 to report a sexual assault had to about the video someday making it EEDED GUIDANCE worry on YouTube?

“Would that have a chilling effect on Neither Queen, Davis or Hudson could people reporting crimes?” Hudson asked. recall any instances of police video footage “And I think that’s a valid concern.”

“I see everybody’s point in this one, actually,” Queen added. It’s a fine line, balancing the public’s right to know with the victim’s right to privacy and the agency’s need to conduct a fair investigation.

The new law may not be perfect, Hudson acknowledged. One could argue, for example, that requiring a $200 court filing fee to request a video might be too high a barrier. But he believes it’s a defiPolice cameras have been around nite improvement over what’s come before. for a while, with dash cams “Like any statute, there debuting in the 1990s and body may be a time when they finetune it for various reasons, cameras coming around more and the courts may give further direction,” Hudson said. recently. But the laws are just “But my basic thought on this starting to catch up with current is at least this is a good start and gives us all something to technology. work with.”

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Haywood cop cam use low, may grow

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER variety of law enforcement agencies serve the 60,000 residents speckled about the 555 square miles of Haywood County, and although they all practice varying degrees of camera system usage, they all seem to share similar concerns about costs and benefits.

Perhaps atypical of most Haywood agencies is the healthily stocked Canton Police Department.

Sgt. Scott Sluder is a 21-year veteran of the force, but has been tinkering with technology since he was in high school; he’s taken up the task of maintaining Canton’s 17 body cameras and 11 dash cams used by 15 full-time and 4 reserve officers.

The grant-funded dash cams cost about $3,000 each, Sluder said, adding that they “weren’t the cheapest” available, but a previous cam system employed by the department over the past four years — and also grantfunded — was deemed not dependable enough or secure enough.

Like other officers, Sluder cites the prosecutorial benefits as well as officer safety benefits as reasons he’s glad the department has the cameras.

“It protects both parties,” he said.

Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher agrees.

“They are a good investment, as we are able to capture evidence that could be used in a court proceeding,” Christopher said. “As technology advances, we want to pursue every opportunity that is financially feasible to reach the goals of the office.”

Christopher’s department currently has 10 dashboard cameras that cost around

Smoky Mountain News

March 29-April 4, 2017

A

8

“They are a good investment as we are able to capture evidence that could be used in a court proceeding.”

— Sheriff Greg Christopher, Haywood County

THE TOOLS OF TRUTH $4,500 each when purchased about eight years ago, but he’s made a budget request this year for 30 body cameras and 30 dashboard cameras, to the tune of $125,000.

Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed has also made a budget request this year — $38,000 — for body-worn cameras after an evaluation period last year left officers clamoring for them.

The town currently does not employ any body camera systems.

“A police department that deploys bodyworn cameras is making a statement that it believes the actions of its officers are a matter of public record,” Holingsed said in his written request.

“If these are approved, it will be probably just a matter of a couple months before we have the program completely implemented,” he said. “We think we know what camera we want. We already know the operation, because we’ve evaluated them and tested

Out of sight: Macon, Swain departments largely off-cam

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER maller cities and counties with smaller tax bases can’t always afford the capital expenses of their wealthier neighbors — it’s a simple fact of life for rural Appalachian governments that often have to do without the luxuries afforded to the better-off.

Matters of public safety further illustrate the digital divide, but quite unlike a sprawling soccer complex or robust library system, scarce funding for expensive camera systems means officer safety and public accountability could suffer.

Franklin Mayor Bob Scott comes from a law enforcement background, having spent a stint with the Macon County Sheriff ’s Office before retiring from Western Carolina University Police.

Scott’s first career, however, was in journalism, which may be why decades ago he

S

wrote the very first grant applications for Macon County’s old in-car old videotape cameras.

“They took up about half the trunk,” Scott laughed.

The Franklin Police Department acquired 12 body cams for $300 each in 2016 thanks to some required spending by a local ABC store; Franklin Police Captain Danny Bates said that the department already had a server for data storage and bought a few external hard drives for backups.

“They’re a good tool,” Scott said. “I think they protect the officer, too, especially in this day and time when there is a certain amount of animosity towards law enforcement.”

Scott’s town is relatively well-off in relation to the rest of the far west; although the Macon County Sheriff ’s Office no longer uses those bulky in-car videotape systems that took up half Scott’s trunk, they don’t seem to be much better off than

One of Canton’s new police cruisers, many of which already have dash cameras.

Canton officers also use body-worn cams. Cory Vaillancourt photo them and the officers have told us what they liked and didn’t like. It’s just a matter of getting the service hooked up and getting it ready to go.”

Maggie Valley’s dash cams — actually, ceiling mounted — cost $25,960 and were funded by the town; six patrol officers each have one, and the department shares seven body-worn cams.

Although Maggie Valley’s small department doesn’t currently incur any cost for data storage, that will almost certainly change in the future. As Canton’s Sgt. Sluder put it, “cloud-based storage is pretty expensive for a department our size,” which is why most local departments rely on local storage solutions.

But for departments of a larger size — the size of North Carolina, for example — financial resources are more abundant.

Patty McQuillan, a communications officer with the N.C. Department of Public Safety, said that all State Police Officers at the rank of trooper and sergeant who are assigned to the field have dash cameras.

The State Police consists of more than 1,600 troopers who cover 78,000 miles of highway across the state, including all over sprawling Haywood County. Currently, they have 1,097 cameras in the field statewide, with an expected 368 more coming once the 2017-18 fiscal year begins July 1.

Meanwhile, the tiny Haywood County town of Clyde doesn’t have any cameras at all.

when they did.

Sheriff Robbie Holland said that the agency doesn’t employ body-worn cameras, but does have “a couple” of very old, very outdated cams.

“They’re so old that if they break, the company that makes them will no longer fix them,” he said.

But he — like every single agency head in The Smoky Mountain News’ four-county coverage area — wants them.

“Absolutely,” Holland said. “It protects community and officers, relieves any doubt, resolves he-said-she-said complaints against officers, allows administrators to monitor their employees and also acts as a deterrent.”

Holland got a $190,000 quote for 26 incar cams last year.

Macon County’s average law enforcement spending is on the order of about $4.2 million per year, with just over $3 million going to salaries, wages and the like, which means Holland’s quote would represent an almost 20 percent increase in nonpayroll spending.

The Swain County Sheriff ’s annual spending is about $1.5 million; Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran said his

department’s never had cams, and he hasn’t asked for them.

“It’s budgetary,” Cochran said. The Cherokee Indian Police Department has been discussing purchasing cameras over the past two years but has held off thus far due to uncertainty regarding dissemination of footage, evidentiary value and storage.

Bryson City Police Chief J.G. Jones’ administrative assistant Thomas Carswell said that the BCPD doesn’t have any cameras at the moment, but not because they don’t want them.

“We only had them in two cars to begin with,” said Carswell, who also handles IT for the department. “We got a grant in the past, but those cameras lasted about a day beyond their warranty, like everything else in life.”

When the cameras began to break down, the department couldn’t afford repairs, so Carswell had to Frankenstein them.

“I’ve made two into one,” he said.

As to when they’ll buy replacements, Carswell couldn’t say.

“The funds just aren’t there,” Carswell said. “If we had the money, we’d be glad to run them.”

TRUTH, CONTINUED FROM 6

While nominally straightforward, the use of cameras — as well as microphones — by law enforcement has led to the thorny issue of who should have access to the recordings.

Hollingsed said.

Privacy and prosecutions both come at a price, borne ultimately by taxpayers.

Dashboard cameras can run anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars apiece, so outfitting a department of several dozen — or several hundred — officers means finding the money.

Even worse, once the cameras are purchased and implemented, there’s the recurring storage cost that’s turned out to be a disaster for some departments.

An Associated Press story last fall focused on the town of Clarksville, Indiana’s, body camera usage and reported that the department shelved cams first implemented in 2012 due to increased data storage costs.

Clarksville has approximately 50 fulltime and 25 reserve officers in a town of about 20,000 people; storage costs had been between $5,000 and $10,000 per year until a state law mandated 190-day mini-

mum storage, at which time storage costs increased tenfold.

“We have some guidelines from the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police that we we’ll be using as far as how long we will store certain things,” said Hollingsed. “Just general calls for service where we don’t know if we will need it again, that’s probably a 90day storage in case there’s a complaint made.

On a misdemeanor arrest it will be one year, for felonies 20 years, and capital crimes — murder cases — they’re stored forever.”

Forever.

Like a park, cemetery or section of sewer line, camera systems involve a one-time purchase cost, periodic upgrades, regular upkeep and perpetual maintenance.

The benefits of these systems — transparency and accountability — make a strong argument for their continued implementation but don’t reduce the upfront and recurring costs of their use.

To boot, further funding challenges also loom.

President Donald Trump’s preliminary budget released in March seeks to shutter the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Policing as well as the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which in 2016 granted $20 million to more than 100 city, municipal, state and tribal law enforcement agencies to help create and enhance the use of body-worn cameras.

Such cuts amidst long-term cost concerns may make cameras something local law enforcement can’t afford, but can’t afford not to have.

March 29-April 4, 2017

Chief Bill Hollingshed: Veteran Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed is an advocate of camera recording systems. Cory Vaillancourt photo tim of a crime — you’re the victim of domestic violence — and we are in your home. Do you want that on the news?”

Long-held fears of American society adopting the universal government surveillance depicted in George Orwell’s 1949 novel 1984 seem to have waned over the past two decades.

Indeed, most people give implied or explicit consent to be recorded by law enforcement agencies, private businesses, smartphone-wielding passersby and even drone aircraft on a daily basis.

Reasonable expectations for privacy outside the home are likely lower these days, but those fears have taken on a new tenor as technology continues to deliver more and more video to more and more people.

Grills, Fire Pits, & Outdoor Living Design and Installation

Smoky Mountain News

‘INFRARED X-RAY SUPERMAN VISION’

what the officer saw and we want the courts to see what the officers saw — not what the technology saw.”

Another, more far-fetched imagining is that extensive use of recordings by law enforcement agencies — more than a third of the nation’s 18,000 police departments have or are testing recording equipment today — could lead to sinister applications, like the creation of an imagery database used to generate a profiling matrix capable of identifying, say, protestors in a crowd or clients to certain businesses.

While it seems implausible, it’s certainly not impossible, given the rapid technological advances that have spawned law enforcement gadgetry that cops hammering out reports on typewriters in the 1970s probably couldn’t have foreseen.

But a major barrier to the misuse — and even the legitimate use — of recordings still remains.

“By far, the most expensive part of a video camera program is the storage,”

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“Cams have the great potential to promote transparency and accountability and improve trust between law enforcement and the community,” said Mike Meno, communications director for the ACLU of North Carolina. “But that can only be the case if we have laws that ensure some level of public access.”

Meno said that the ACLU has raised concerns and spoken out on the limits of public access, including the cost of going to court to obtain recordings.

“Obviously there are privacy interests, but as a general rule, that should be the decision of the person in the video,” he said.

Nevertheless, right-to-know advocates now have at least some guidance on what can be released and under what circumstances it can be released.

“We try to balance that with the right of privacy of the public,” said Hollingsed. “And these body cams, they’re difficult sometimes .to walk that fine line. Let’s say you’re the vic-

Some legislators — both in North Carolina and across the country — have called for the Robocop-esque use of augmented reality cameras that can record in night vision or infrared.

That idea doesn’t have a lot of support from law enforcement.

“We are adamantly opposed to that,” said Hollingsed.

While it could help with the visual identification of concealed suspects or concealed weapons or even help illuminate what, exactly, transpired during a midnight warehouse rave, officers don’t see the video in real time, making it of little use in cases like Keith Lamont Scott’s.

“Understand that with the decisions that are made in a split second on the street, when you’re judged on that it needs to be judged on the same criteria that the officers on the street have, not through infrared x-ray Superman vision. When they pull out that cell phone,” Hollingsed said, quickly brandishing his from just out of view and pointing it menacingly like a weapon, “we want the public to see

828.333.5456 CleanSweepFireplace.com 9

news

App-alling: Trump budget gut shot to down-and-out Appalachia

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER any rural Americans who voted for Donald Trump last November did so based on his promise to cut the federal deficit and rein in spending. When he announced his preliminary budget proposal March 16, however, Democrats and Republicans alike were shocked at the extent of proposed cuts to programs that serve some of the nation’s poorest rural communities.

Now, Congress — especially Republicans — must wrestle with the notion of alienating their rural base while advancing what many argue is a much-needed privatization of this type of development.

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Smoky Mountain News

March 29-April 4, 2017

Long before Brooklyn native David Feingold was a CNN national editor or London bureau chief, he worked in public radio. Since 2015, he’s been the general manager at what is now called Blue Ridge Public Radio (better known as WCQS).

Run from a spacious but small space on Broadway in Asheville, BPR’s 16 full-time employees reach 110,000 weekly listeners on a yearly budget of $2.4 million.

President Trump’s budget proposes the complete defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which could affect distribution of programs like Sesame Street and slash Feingold’s budget by almost 10 percent.

“It’s premature to get into a blind panic. We make our case to our customers, who make their case to their representatives,” Feingold said.

WCQS is the most listened-to station in the Asheville metro area, and is number two in its designated market area, which includes 13 counties and parts of upstate South Carolina.

It’s also the only radio news source some in this part of Southern Appalachia ever hear.

“The value we provide is quality news coverage and quality music that can’t be found anywhere else,” he said. “That’s why I think in a community like ours, we’re highly valued.”

Feingold may be right; he said that 8 to 10 percent of listeners become members, and over 50 percent of incoming revenue on an annual basis comes from those members.

“We’re pretty self-sufficient,” he said.

“We’re getting to the point where our corporate sponsorships are growing, and I expect it to increase even more, because businesses know they’re reaching listeners that can’t be reached any other way — listeners with high levels of income, education, people who are active in their community — this is the most efficient way to do it.”

While these would help the president fulfill his campaign promise to cut what he calls “wasteful” spending, that $450-something million savings amounts to about $1.35 per taxpayer, per year.

“When you separate radio out of that,” 10 Feingold said, “it’s 30 cents.”

ARC spending in Mark Meadows’ Congressional District, FY 2017 FUNDS, ARC TOTAL FUNDS, TOTAL Stecoah Valley Arts, Crafts & Education Center, Inc. Stecoah Gymnasium Strategic Redevelopment Study..........$38,400.................... $48,000 Alexander County Alexander County Broadband Study.....................................$10,000.................... $20,000 Southwestern N.C. Planning & Economic Development Commission Southwestern N.C. Planning & Economic Development Commission Admin. Grant..............................$43,823.................... $58,431 Land of Sky Regional Council Land of Sky Regional Council Admin. Grant........................ $39,699.................... $79,398 Isothermal Planning & Development Commission Isothermal Planning & Development Commission Admin. Grant...................................................$44,097.................... $58,796 Western Piedmont Council of Governments STEM WEST-GEMS & PBL Girls Engaged in Math & Science & Project Based Learning......................... $100,000.................. $160,500 High Country Council of Governments (Region D) High Country Council of Governments Admin. Grant........... $43,548.................... $62,211 Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, Inc. Blue Ridge Craft Trails........................................................ $90,000................... $173,227 N.C. Department of Commerce North Carolina Registered State Basic Agency Cooperative Agreement........................................................$45,000.................... $45,000 TOTAL..................................................................................... $454,567.................. $705,563

Source: Southwestern Commission

A MEANINGFUL EXPRESSION OF CARE Rural America has long benefitted from federal programs designed to muster resources that, while beyond the means of local governments, have prevented parts of the country from falling into Third World socioeconomic status.

Socialism? Sure. But without it, much of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee might still not have electricity.

The same topographic challenges that faced rural electrification advocates in the early 20th century still stymie their modern counterparts riding the broadbandwagon.

The days of sprawling federal programs like the Tennessee Valley Authority are over — long over — despite their benefits, evidenced by the conspicuous lack of equivalent federal internet initiatives.

Now, smaller-government conservatives with which Trump would like to identify have turned their attentions to longstanding federal institutions like the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Not that that hadn’t been tried before; defunding the EPA is an idea that’s been around pretty much since it was created dur-

ing the Nixon administration in 1970.

The NEA sees frequent threats to funding, especially after funding controversial exhibits like photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s 1989 exhibit “The Perfect Moment,” which featured some rather graphic homosexual S&M photographs.

North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms became a consistent opponent thereafter.

Even PBS and the CPB have faced funding difficulty in the past, based in part on their perceived value to their communities.

In 1969, Fred Rogers — known to millions as Mr. Rogers — testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee in opposition to budget cuts.

“I give an expression of care every day to each child, to help him realize that he is unique. I end the program by saying, ‘You’ve made this day a special day, by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you, just the way you are.’ And I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we will have done a great service for mental health,” he told gruff Rhode Island Sen. John Pastore. “I think that it’s much more dramatic that two men could be working out their feelings of anger — much more dramatic than showing something of gunfire. I’m constantly concerned about what our children are seeing, and for

15 years I have tried in this country and Canada, to present what I feel is a meaningful expression of care.”

“Looks like you just earned the $20 million,” Pastore said, to laughs from the gallery.

Indeed, during the next budget year, funding for PBS increased by more than 100 percent.

But budget cuts are still in the works for other federally funded agencies whose impact on rural Appalachia are almost immeasurable.

“He is not the first president to suggest these types of cuts,” said Sarah Thompson, executive director of the Southwestern Planning and Economic Development Commission, which is based in Sylva. “He’s cutting programs seen as excessive by some, so the ARC and the EDA are zeroed out. The president’s proposed budget is pretty much the Heritage Foundation’s budget.”

Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation has long advocated dismantling the $247.5 million Economic Development Administration — the sole federal agency entirely focused on economic development — claiming it duplicates the functions of the TVA, Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Small Business Administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

“We [the Southwestern Commission] are the economic development district and the local development district for the ARC,” said Thompson.

The ARC has, for half a century, funded economic development and infrastructure projects through federal-state partnerships across all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.

Funding to the ARC has increased from $60 million to over $120 million in the last four years alone, and pays for things like the Stecoah Gymnasium Strategic Redevelopment Study and the Swain County Hospital’s digital mammography unit — both unattainable without this type of funding.

“Rural local governments do not have the tax base and revenue to provide incentives to companies like that. That’s when these federal programs come in to help keep those jobs in our region,” Thompson said.

Thompson said she’s also “cautiously optimistic” that the cuts may not pass muster; the doubling of the ARC’s budget over the last four years was largely championed by rural Republicans like Kentucky Congressman Hal Rogers, who on March 16 called the cuts “draconian.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, also from Kentucky, opposes Trump’s cuts to the ARC as well; Kentucky is one of the largest yearly recipients of ARC funds.

‘MONOLITHIC PUBLIC MEDIA SUGAR DADDY’

Both Thompson and Feingold appear hopeful that their respective federal funders won’t disappear, but they can’t ignore the possibility that it will happen.

“That hurts, because that’s a

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Meadows in the middle of repeal and replace

market forces determine the future of places like Bryson City, for better or worse?

A recent water line extension to Snap-on Tools in Murphy cost the company $3 million, and included $440,000 from the ARC. By his own admission, Feingold’s BPR isn’t in tremendous danger if the funding cuts are enacted; doesn’t this prove the Heritage Foundation’s point — that competition will and should weed out businesses like Snap-on as other enterprises like BPR adapt and overcome funding challenges?

“We’re working towards creating sustainable communities,” Thompson said. “Many don’t want to leave where they are for economic opportunity, and we’ve found that it’s a better idea to create that community where they live.”

The Snap-on project helped the company retain 275 jobs and expand to create 25 new ones, something the market forces apparently couldn’t accomplish.

“Rural America has a large amount of people living in it. Those people need basic infrastructure and jobs. The idea that the market can step in and take care of that, it’s harder to argue that because we don’t have the tax base to pay for basic infrastructure,” Thompson said.

Feingold said that for his part, replacing that lost revenue would have to come from the private sector.

“There’s no monolithic public media sugar daddy out there,” he said.

The 3rd Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon follows nearly the exact same course as previous years, begining on Main Street in beautiful downtown Waynesville and winding through neighborhoods & scenic farmlands to finish in Frog Level, a revitalized railroad district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

New this year is the 4-Miler, which starts and finishes at the same place as the Half Marathon.

Smoky Mountain News

stable amount of revenue in the budget that we can use for regular operating expenses — everything from paying the electrical bill to acquiring programing,” Feingold said. “If we have to trim back, we might have to eliminate some programs, while asking the business community to be more generous.”

Repercussions to the entire public broadcasting industry might have a more profound effect on smaller rural outlets, which often serve very small listener bases spread out across many miles.

“On both radio and TV there are some stations that are just on the edge financially,” he said. “They’re less supported or the economy where they’re located may not be in good shape. There will be some stations that will really be on the edge on this.”

Those same challenges could also have a profound effect on smaller rural towns that benefit from the ARC. “The town of Bryson City has really antiquated water and sewer, and one of the smallest tax bases in the state,” Thompson said.

“So the ARC paid for them to upgrade their wastewater treatment plant. You can’t have economic development, or even a community, without wastewater treatment.”

But should that sort of economic development even take place? One of the Heritage Foundation’s prime tenets is that no entity should receive anything from the government that gives it an advantage over any other competing entity, so why not just let

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March 29-April 4, 2017

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER epublicans under President Barack Obama voted more than 40 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no luck. Now, with the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate all firmly in Republican control —

and even a pending Supreme Court majority — the party of opposition has become the party of proposition, but their proposition to repeal and replace the controversial universal healthcare system has been derailed by members of their own party.

The face of that opposition is Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus whose members derailed what President Donald Trump hoped would be an early and major achievement of his administration.

“I’m here to support our congressman — he’s our congressman, not Trump’s congressman, and he’s doing what we want him to do up there, and that’s stand firm and get us an

good,” he said. “Longer wait times, poor service. If you need to really find out about it, talk to people from Canada who come here to get services.”

Carr and Mitchell, in relation to Trenka, illustrate the divide between the Republican “repeal and replace” crowd, and the “repeal” crowd that wants nothing to do with more compulsory insurance.

Carr — a former Haywood County GOP Chairman — said he thinks that 60 or 70 percent of Haywood Republicans support Meadows’ stance.

But now that Republicans have absolutely devoured their main foe — Hillary Clinton and the Democratic establishment — and have turned on each other, can the federal government even be called a Republican majority anymore?

Weeks ago, President Trump threatened to “come after” Meadows if he didn’t support what some call Ryancare and what the Congressional Budget office said would pull the rug out from under more than 20 million Americans.

Meadows in his role as chairman of the HFC has been all over the national news as of late, appearing on Joe Scarboro’s MSNBC TV talker and on Wolf Blitzer’s CNN show March 16, Sean Hannity’s radio show on March 21, granting interviews to USA Today March 21 and Breitbart News March 23 and appearing on ABC’s “This Week” March 26.

Yet Congressman Meadows’ office did not return repeated calls and emails from The Smoky Mountain News requesting comment for this story.

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German native and Haywood Resident Herb Trenka supports Congressman Mark Meadows at a rally in front of the Haywood County Historic Courthouse on Monday but opposes all government healthcare. Cory Vaillancourt photo

affordable care act that really is affordable,” said Haywood Republican Ted Carr, who held a banner expressing his support at a rally in downtown Waynesville March 27.

Billed as a “thank you” event for Meadows and organized by national conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks, the rally drew about 25 people to the Haywood County Historic Courthouse, where they were greeted by the honks of cars driving down Main Street.

Gail Mitchell made the drive from Buncombe County to give thanks to Meadows as well.

“I’m thanking him for his number one concern — the health care bill,” Mitchell said. “It needs to be affordable. I know somebody that’s paying $25,000 a year for insurance for just him and his wife.”

Haywood County resident Herb Trenka didn’t have to come far to attend the rally, but in reality, he’s come from quite a distance. A native of Germany, Trenka has been in the United States for 59 years.

“There’s too much bureaucracy, high taxes and disregard for the Constitution,” he said. “I’m here to thank him for standing up for principle and not wavering from the principles he was elected for.”

Unlike Carr and Mitchell, Trenka has experience with socialized health care and doesn’t think the government should even be involved at all.

“We should be out of it entirely,” he said.

“I lived through it as a young child in Germany, and saw what socialized medicine does to the doctors, and the populace. It’s no

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Classroom size uncertainty to impact budgets

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR chool systems in Western North Carolina were hoping a proposed piece of legislation regarding class size requirements would make it through the General Assembly this session to take some pressure off their 2017-18 budgets, but now it seems unlikely the bill will pass.

Newly elected Rep. Kevin Corbin, RFranklin, introduced House Bill 13 in January shortly after being sworn into office.

The current law states that classroom sizes for Kindergarten through third grade can’t exceed 19 to 21 students, depending on the grade, by three students.

Corbin’s HB13 would allow classroom sizes to exceed the cap by no more than six students, which would give local systems more flexibility without having to hire new teachers to deal with a small overflow problem.

In theory, everyone is for smaller classroom sizes so students can receive more oneon-one instruction from teachers, but it can have unintended consequences for local school systems. While the state is mandating lower K-3 class sizes, legislators are unlikely to provide additional funding to school systems to hire more teachers.

Corbin said HB13 is a common sense bill that will save WNC school districts hundreds of thousands of dollars while still

March 29-April 4, 2017

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keeping class sizes low.

However, Corbin’s counterpart — Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin — is not in favor of easing the classroom size restrictions. Since the legislation that passed last year to lower class sizes originated in the Senate and was supported by Davis, he doesn’t see the Senate undoing that measure.

Davis has said that research shows lower class sizes enhance student performance,

which is why Republicans have made it a top priority in education policy. Since Republicans took over in 2011, Davis said the state has invested more than $200 million to local school systems to reduce class sizes and he would like to see more accountability for that funding before considering any other changes.

Superintendent Dr. Anne Garrett said Haywood County Schools will need to rethink its proposed budget now that HB13 doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. The original plan was to put any additional funding the school system receives from its annual allocation from the county toward increasing teacher supplement pay.

“We securitized our budget because we wanted to increase supplements for all our staff — since 2008 we’ve not changed anything with supplements,” Garrett said.

Haywood County Schools has recently lost about 30 teachers to Buncombe County, which offers a higher supplement. Buncombe County’s average supplement pay is $3,721, compared to Haywood’s $1,967.

Currently, teachers in Haywood County receive a 2 to 5 percent supplement to their salary depending on their years of service. Garrett said the new plan would have put teachers on a supplement scale from 4 percent to 7 percent to make Haywood more competitive.

She said the school system was able to pull together $423,000 to put toward implementing the new supplement scale, but now that money will be needed to hire more teachers.

“We’re getting some additional money this year from commissioners because of our

funding formula but with not knowing what HB13 will do, we had to use that additional money to put 10 more positions in the budget to be on the safe side,” Garrett said. “It’s an unfunded mandate if it’s not funded by the state. So right now we just can’t afford to increase supplements.”

Macon County elementary schools are nearing capacity already, and the stringent classroom size restrictions will greatly impact next year’s budget.

“Unless changes are made to the current law, Macon will need seven additional teachers next year,” said Macon County Schools Superintendent Chris Baldwin. “We are looking at a number of options, but in order to address the new legislation without impacting other classrooms, additional local funding may be needed.”

Swain County Schools Superintendent Sam Pattillo said his schools would also struggle to meet the class size requirements next year and wishes the Legislature would make quicker decisions about education funding.

“Timing is crucial in planning. How can a group of elected officials hold up scheduling and planning for students in our state?” he said. “Our county does not have the means to provide local funding to meet this criteria — another example of the impact on low wealth students and a widening gap to a fair and equal education for everyone.”

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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT for the town.

STAFF WRITER “Jason has been extremely loyal, and has he sudden but amicable resignation of been a great employee for the Town of Canton Town Manager Seth HendlerCanton,” Smathers said. “He’s earned it, he Voss came as a surprise to many, but as has the experience, I know he’s interested, the shock wears off, at least one town offiand I see no reason not to support Jason as cial is hoping to maintain momentum and town manager.” replace him in a timely manner.

Smathers said that he’s most concerned Hendler-Voss, who served as town manager for three years, will become the Parks and Recreation Director for a “large agency in the Washington D.C. metro area,” according to a press release issued March 24. His last day as Canton’s town’s manager will be May 31.

Canton Alderman Zeb Smathers said that the board now has several options for filling Hendler-Voss’ position, and he hopes that some determination of how to do that will be made at the board’s next meeting April 13.

“I suspect we’ll have a closed session relating to personnel and figure out how to move forward,” Canton Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss listens to a citizen’s Smathers said.

One of those options comment during a 2016 town board meeting. Cory Vaillancourt photo moving forward is to name an interim town manager and move on from there. The with maintaining the momentum the Town of Waynesville did as much when town’s acquired over the last year or two; a Mike Morgan took over for Marcy Onieal in number of projects — including the municearly 2016. Waynesville ended up hiring ipal pool — are currently underway, and full-time manager Rob Hites that August. with budget season ending sometime after An additional option is to conduct a Hendler-Voss’ departure in late June, a prolonged candidate search, like when steady hand will be needed to keep things Hendler-Voss was originally hired. It was on track. nearly a two-year process to replace longNaming an interim or making a hire time Canton Manager Al Matthews when quickly would also allow Hendler-Voss, who he retired. The town finally narrowed it made more than $89,000 last year, help to down to three candidates who went train the new manager, who if hired would through a public interview process before walk into the job on June 1, just seven days Hendler-Voss was hired. before the first pubic hearing for the Fiscal Yet another option has been staring Year 2017-18 budget, and just 21 days aldermen in the face for a number of years before the budget adoption vote. now.

Smathers also said that town employees Assistant Town Manager Jason Burrell have reached out to him about the position, has been with the town since before and he wants to be sure they have some Hendler-Voss was hired, served as interim input as to what transpires. manager when Matthews retired and was a “It’s my understanding that the hiring final candidate for Hendler-Voss’ position. could happen under our [town board’s] disInfrastructure improvements, cretion,” he said, meaning that it doesn’t streetscaping upgrades, the municipal pool appear the town would have to conduct a project, the town’s 100-plus year old Labor search or advertise the position.

Day festival and a blooming downtown Canton Mayor Mike Ray was unavailbusiness corridor have led many to laud able for comment when reached, and Hendler-Voss’ leadership, but with him Alderwoman Carole Edwards generally does every step of the way has been Burrell, who not return calls seeking comment on town is also in charge of economic development issues.

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Search for new Canton town manager begins

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Following Tribal Council decision, former vice chief ’s widow will lose her home Court date set after April Ledford refuses to move out

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER he widow of former Vice Chief Bill Ledford is refusing to move after Tribal Council’s January vote to strike the portion of his will that left her the house, and now a May 1 date in the Cherokee Tribal Court will determine the final outcome.

“Contrary to one Council member’s statement that I have ‘No reason to come back here,’ I have every reason to be here,” April Ledford wrote in a Feb. 23 email to all 12 Tribal Council representatives. “Simply put, it’s what I have known since 1997. Besides a bond with Bill, I have many strong ties to this area.”

Bill Ledford, who served as Vice Chief 1987-1991 and 1995-1999, died October 2013 in Chapel Hill, but his will came before Tribal Council for approval much more recently, in May 2016. On the Qualla Boundary, the wills of tribal members are first reviewed by the court system to ensure that they’re valid as the wish of the deceased person, and then they are approved by Tribal Council to ensure that the dissemination of property and possessions is in keeping with tribal law.

Over the course of multiple Tribal Council sessions last summer, members of the Ledford family spoke against April Ledford, attacking her character and the legitimacy of her relationship with Bill Ledford, who was 37 years her senior.

April Ledford, meanwhile, contended that she and Bill had been very much in love despite the difficulties posed by his family and that they’d taken every precaution when writing the will to prevent exactly what was unfolding in Council chambers.

April Ledford is not a tribal member and therefore not legally allowed to own property on the Qualla Boundary. However, Cherokee law allows enrolled members to grant nonenrolled survivors what’s called a life estate — a life estate would have allowed April to reside on Bill’s property for the rest of her life, though it would have reverted back to the tribe upon her death. According to tribal code, Tribal Council has the option — but not the obligation — to grant life estates.

The Bill Ledford matter left off in July 2016, when Council opted to table the will.

However, it made a reappearance during the Jan. 12 Tribal Council meeting, when Jennifer Bainbridge, a tribal attorney, presented Council with a version of the will approval resolution that would revoke the portions of it granting April a life estate.

March 29-April 4, 2017

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Smoky Mountain News

received notifying her of the Jan. 12 meeting was postmarked Jan. 5, she said, and delivered a few days later. However, April’s mother passed away Dec. 29 with a funeral scheduled for Jan. 7, according to an obituary notice, and April didn’t return to Cherokee until after the Jan. 12 meeting was over.

“Call me paranoid, but I think somebody knew I was out of town,” she said.

She also contests many of the claims made by the Ledford family. First off, she said, she does not have a home in Chapel Hill — it’s been foreclosed on. Records from the Orange County Tax Office confirm this. The property was foreclosed on, auctioned off and transferred to the State Employees Credit Union, according to a November 2016 deed.

In an interview, William John said that the property was still in her name when he last checked but conceded the status could have changed in the meantime.

April went on to say that cat feces on the living room floor occurred because Jarin and Damin Ledford, who were staying with her, Former Vice Chief Bill Ledford, who wouldn’t keep the door open to the room passed away in 2013, stands beside containing the litter box, as she’d requested. his new truck in 2004. Donated photo Similarly, she said, the fleas were a result of their bringing the dog inside when she’d help with the house, April had allowed the asked that it be left out. house to “deteriorate to deplorable condiIn regards to what William John tions,” with a thriving flea population and cat described as her “actions against two of my feces on the floor. sons,” April said, she asked only one of them A phone call to William John confirmed to leave and had multiple, solid reasons for that the letter was his. doing so, including “total lack of respect for “These are my father’s words,” Jason some basic rules” and did so knowing he had Ledford told Council. “I think I speak on plenty of places to stay. behalf of the Ledford family — we are coming However, William John said, “she basicaltogether as a family and we’re hoping to heal, ly alienated them, made them feel like they and this will help us heal as we close the page weren’t welcome and ran them out.” His sons on this chapter that has caused this once — ages 24 and 38 — stayed at a motel so tight-knit family to grow apart.” they’d be close to work and wouldn’t impose William John’s letter found ample sup- on family members, William John said.

April attributes William John’s about-face to greed. “In April Ledford is not a tribal member my opinion it’s like his eyeand therefore not legally allowed to balls turned into dollar signs,” she said. own property on the Qualla William John, however said it was the result of careful Boundary. However, Cherokee law thought and the realization that when it came to April, allows enrolled members to grant “what I was being fed was stuff non-enrolled survivors what’s called you find in a cow pasture.”

“I’m trying to heal my fama life estate. ily now,” he said. “Everything is twisted. I don’t want to see port from Tribal Council, though my family fractured anymore. Everybody is Councilmember Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove, finally starting to talk. We spent so many said that banishment was unlikely, as it typi- years not talking. That bothered me a lot.” cally requires “charges and convictions and Following Council’s decision, April hasn’t jail and all that good stuff.” However, McCoy exactly started pricing moving trucks. said, “I don’t see her (April) coming back here Cherokee is her home, she says, and she’s not if she has nothing to come back to.” moving. She said that Jason Ledford deliv“I believe that if your grandfather were ered what she describes as a “bogus” notice of here right now, he would beg us to do just eviction on March 7, ordering her to get out exactly what happened,” McCoy said, moving by March 15. She said she’s in shock over the to pass the resolution. Councilmember Travis turn of events, and over the implication of Smith, of Birdtown, seconded the motion McCoy’s words back in January. and it passed 11-1, with only Jones opposing.

“Bill would want me homeless?” she asked in her February letter to the councilmembers. what you are saying?”

ONTESTED CLAIMS “Is that She is still in the house, but the Ledford April, however, was not present at the family has filed in Cherokee’s small claims meeting, and she says that’s because she court to have her evicted. A hearing is set for didn’t know it was happening. The letter she May 1.

REVERSED POSITIONS When efforts to write April out of the will 14 began last year, three councilmembers

opposed the measure: Vice Chairman Brandon Jones, of Snowbird; Councilmember Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown; and Councilmember Adam Wachacha, of Snowbird. They felt that it was not council’s place to guess at what a deceased person might have wanted when a verified will was already in front of them.

However, this time around Jones was the only councilmember to vote against the amendment.

A letter written by Bill Ledford’s son William John Ledford likely had something to do with it. William John, a previous director of transportation for the tribe who now works as a civil engineering inspector in Albuquerque, stood against his siblings during last year’s discussions, supporting April’s right to inherit the house. April was his father’s wife, he said at the time, and she made him happy. If his father had wanted April to have the house, he said, she should have the house.

“I will uphold my father’s wishes,” he told The Smoky Mountain News last summer, adding that even if Council revoked the life estate, the house would then revert to him, since he is the oldest sibling. And he pledged that in that situation, he would let April continue to live there.

By January, however, William John’s position had changed dramatically.

“Due to actions against two of my sons by April Zodican (Ledford), I now see her in a different light,” he wrote in a letter his son Jason Ledford read to Council during the January session. “I now believed that she schemed to separate my father from his children and family in order to compel him to use his resources … to help her obtain a dream house that she still has ownership of in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.”

William John’s letter went on to say that April should be stripped of her life estate and be banished from the Qualla Boundary.

He wrote that, according to reports from his adult sons Jarin and Damin Ledford, who he had sent to live with April for a while and

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Consolidated health department under discussion in Jackson

some food for thought during a meeting last y week exploring the possibility of consolidat-

ing some of the county’s health and human s resources services into a single department. e “Things have gone well in a lot of counl ties, so if there’s a way to potentially e improve services for the citizens of Jackson e County, I think we owe it to the citizens to f at least investigate it,” said Commissioner t Ron Mau, who suggested discussing the . change during the board’s first work session e after his election last November. “This is the t start of the conversation, is the way I’m e looking at it.”

A state law passed in 2012 giving coune ties more freedom to consolidate departd ments than they’d previously had, allowing , them to combine the health department m with one or more human services depart. ments. So far, 22 counties — including f Haywood, Swain and Buncombe — have d formed a consolidated department.

Following Mau’s suggestion, the board n invited Jill Moore, public law and governy ment associate professor with the University m of North Carolina School of Government, to r give an informational presentation on the r options available. Margaret Henderson, a d public administration lecturer with the

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m ROS AND ONS n The meeting opened with a quick poll of - its participants to see what about consolida” tion had their interest and what they liked

about the current set-up. The resulting disr cussion revealed overwhelming support for l the work the boards are currently doing and n hesitation about trying to fix what many , said wasn’t broken. f “At this point I have to say I feel like we

Three of the five commissioners — t Mau, Mickey Luker and Charles Elders, all . of whom are Republican — said that while t the board might ultimately decide to - change nothing, it made sense to at least f have a conversation. t “I think anytime that we can look at and e investigate a potential to improve any servicf es for the citizens of our county, then it’s

worth a conversation,” Luker said. “Whether d we do it or not is a decision down the road, . but I think you’ve got to start somewhere.”

Counties that have undergone consolid dation have had varied reasons for doing so, s Moore said. Some wanted to improve servr ice delivery or change the relationship between the county commissioners and the

“Things have gone well in a lot of counties, so if there’s a way to potentially improve services for the citizens of Jackson County, I think we owe it to the citizens to at least investigate it.”

— Ron Mau, Jackson County Commissioner

how and with whom some types of information can be shared — such as information regarding child welfare cases, for example — don’t change.

Some of the goals motivating consolidation can be achieved without consolidating at all.

“Honestly, consolidation in or out, it’s co-location that I envision has efficiencies,” said Health Department Director Shelley Carraway. “More collaboration, more hallway light bulb moments.”

Existing logistical challenges are driving Commissioner Elders’ interest in consolidation. Builders, for example, have to deal with three different departments with three different offices in two different buildings — planning, permitting and health. Similarly, the health and social services departments often deal with the same people, and those departments are about as far away from each other as it’s possible to be in a town as small as Sylva. The health department is on Scotts Creek Road, and social services is off of N.C. 116 near Webster.

“We had a lot of people complaining about running so many places to get questions answered,” Elders said. “I’m very concerned about how we might consolidate some of those and be better servants to our builders and whoever needs this service.”

Longtime health board member Doug Homolka agreed that “it could drive a drunk to sobriety to try and get all those things done,” but cautioned against “throwing the baby out with the bath.”

“Maybe a better conversation between the directors of those particular areas (is to) put it into a one-stop shop situation and put it to someone who’s consistently answerable so you don’t get a different answer every time you go there,” he said.

HAYWOOD’SEXPERIENCE Haywood County was an early adopter of the consolidated health department model, launching a study of the concept almost as soon as the law was passed and debuting its

“Anytime we have a vacancy, we look at it and ask ourselves where is the best place it could work across the whole agency,” Blevins said. “That’s kept us from having to add positions over the last several years.”

He said the 19-member governing board is “dynamic” and that while big transitions are always difficult, the county’s original goal of improving service to citizens is being achieved.

However, he said, the calculation is differ-

ent for each county. Jackson County has a reputation for wonderful service delivery already, so it’s possible that the investment involved with consolidation wouldn’t be worth the potential return. And the fact that Jackson’s health and social services offices are so far apart also poses a problem. Haywood County’s departments were already co-located when consolidation took place.

“If they’re in a county where they’re across town it’s a little harder,” Blevins said.

“It can be like getting married and still living in two houses. You’d be married, but you wouldn’t be working as closely together.”

Jackson’s social services building is still fairly new — it’s been around for roughly a decade — but commissioners are currently discussing the future of the health department’s location. The department needs more, better-configured space, and the board will soon decide whether to renovate the existing building or pursue new construction. In February, commissioners voted to pay $424,350 for a 3.9-acre property that’s on Skyland Drive next to an existing county building and just down the road from the current health department building — that land could be used to house a new health department, and the consensus surrounding consolidation could be a piece of the puzzle.

“I think every county should ask themselves that question,” Blevins said. “We have this available to us. Should we do it or not? The answer might be no.”

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have two exceptionally well-run public bodies - and both of those deliver exceptional service g to our citizens,” said Commission Chairman e Brian McMahan. “I don’t see any need to s change the way we do things now, but I’m y open to the conversation here at the table.”

consolidated department in January 2014.

“It’s been great, honestly,” said Stoney Blevins, director of the Haywood County Department of Health and Human Services.

“I really can’t think of any downsides.”

Blevins had experienced a consolidated department before arriving in Haywood County in December 2014, working with the Wake County department that gained state permission to consolidate before the newer, broader law passed in 2012. He says the model allows more efficient use of resources and creative service options.

March 29-April 4, 2017

School of Government, also came to facili- tate a group discussion among members of y the commissioner, health and social services s boards. The county paid a $2,000 facilitao tion fee, plus travel expenses, for the visit. e

departments. Others wanted to create a unified personnel system, as consolidation gives counties the ability to put under county policies employees who previously were required to be under state personnel policies. And still others wanted to save money by identifying efficiencies.

However, Moore said, there have been some lessons learned in the process.

Consolidation sometimes saves money, but it doesn’t always. And it doesn’t necessarily make communication seamless between departments, because legal restrictions on

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g r d BY HOLLY KAYS , STAFF WRITER l The Jackson County Commissioners got

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Commissioners mull public input ahead of April 3 meeting

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ith an April 3 vote on a proposed river park in Dillsboro just days away, all five members of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners are leaning toward approving the project after listening to an hour of public comment March 20.

Commissioners applauded the vigorous public participation — most of which was in favor of the proposal — and said they’re busy researching the issues raised to determine whether any changes should be made to the agreement before it’s approved.

The proposal on the table would sell 7 acres of county-owned property along the Tuckasegee River near Dillsboro to a newly formed company owned by Jackson County businessman Kelly Custer.

WNC Outdoor Development would pay $50,000 for the property — valued at $791,000 and purchased for $350,000 — but agree to a set of stipulations for its use. The adventure park would include rafting, fishing, camping, retail, concessions, a greenway and additional components such as a zipline, climbing wall or ropes course.

It would create at least 10 fulltime jobs and allow public access to the river and greenway. Custer would also be required to meet benchmarks for generation of tax revenue — if he fails to meet them, the county could terminate the agreement or ask him to pay the difference between actual and projected revenue.

Between purchase of and improvements to the property, the county will be investing $926,000 in the deal. However, commissioners expect to get back their investment — and more — by the end of the 10-year agreement. They envision the park serving as an anchor attraction, benefitting myriad other Jackson County businesses by extension. In addition to the 7 acres of public land, Custer has purchased 13 contiguous private acres.

“I just think the potential is there to help the economy of the Dillsboro area and the whole county,” said Commissioner Boyce Dietz.

During the March 20 hearing, 20 people addressed commissioners. While the speakers were overwhelmingly in favor of the deal, they also expressed concerns.

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Commissioners have since been thinking over those criticisms, some of which are addressed below.

The $50,000 price tag is a sweetheart deal for the developer and a loss for the county.

Commissioners acknowledge that the selling price is much lower than market value, but that’s because the deal’s main purpose is economic development. The low selling price will leave Custer with more capital to develop the property, and clawback provisions in the contract guarantee the county reimbursement if Custer fails to meet the agreed-upon benchmarks. By the end of the 10-year agreement, the county expects to get its money back as tax collections rise.

A 7-acre piece of county land near Dillsboro is being considered for a riverside adventure park. Holly Kays photo “If I had any idea that we would lose our investment, that there was such a risk we would never get our investment back and never be able to protect the county taxpayers, I would not move forward with it, but I feel very secure with what is being presented,” said Commission Chairman Brian McMahan.

The new development, bolstered by the cheap land deal from the county, will unfairly compete with existing rafting businesses.

When asked about this issue, several commissioners argued that the river park could have the opposite effect — with more people visiting the area, existing rafting businesses could in fact see an increase in clientele.

Economic Development Director Rich Price agrees with that assessment.

“We feel like Jackson County will become a true family rafting destination, therefore driving additional visitation and additional rafters, which will not only benefit an additional outdoor adventure company but also will drive businesses to our existing rafting companies,” Price said.

According to David Brown, vice president for governmental affairs of the Knoxville-based America Outdoors Association, that’s a possibility but not a given. Characteristics

Be heard

such as pricing, quality of the venue and nature of the rapids combine to determine whether a new venue adds to or takes away from existing rafting businesses.

“When you add a new venue, depending on how attractive it is, it can draw from other river venues or whitewater venues in the area,” he said.

However, commissioners point out that the river development will almost certainly provide a significant boost to other area businesses, including Dillsboro’s downtown shops and restaurants. Over the course of the 10-year agreement, the development is expected to bring $60 million in multiplied spending.

Rafting is a dying industry. This proposal doesn’t have long-term viability.

Price expressed confidence that this is not the case locally and that his research has “strongly suggested that a family-oriented rafting and adventure company would be a perfect fit.”

According to Brown, the rafting industry

The agreement doesn’t address what happens after the 10 years is up. What’s to

stop the property from someday being sold for an undesirable use, such as a junkyard?

In Price’s view, that’s a bridge the county will not likely have to cross. He anticipates the business becoming wildly successful and remaining on the property long after the initial 10-year agreement is up.

However, commissioners want to safeguard the property’s use for waterfront recreation.

“I think we need some protections there moving forward,” said Commissioner Mickey Luker. “I think that was one of the big things coming out of the meeting.” Some research will be necessary before considering that option, however.

“Legally, can we even do anything like that?” said Commissioner Ron Mau. “It’s a question worth asking.”

No pedestrian connector to downtown Dillsboro is stipulated in the agreement, and the roads leading to the site are small and narrow. Without more planning, traffic congestion will be significant and impact to downtown businesses will be limited.

Commissioners all seemed to recognize the importance of traffic and pedestrian considerations. And while the proposed agreement does not stipulate a pedestrian connector to downtown, Price is already researching options to erect a footbridge in the future.

“I think that’s probably more long-term plan,” Luker said. “That would be a little more cumbersome to put that in the plan and expect the developer to make that hap-

pen, because that includes a lot of territory outside his region.”

However, McMahan said he does intend to take a closer look at the traffic plans and ensure Custer’s doing everything he can on his end to reduce traffic backup. The county could also involve the N.C. Department of Transportation at some point down the line.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS County staff is currently working to answer the questions commissioners sent them after sitting through the public hearing. When the responses come back, changes to the proposed agreement could be in order — or commissioners might discover that the concerns have already been well addressed.

Other topics commissioners said they’d need to research include potential impacts to wildlife and water quality; planned sites for rafter take-out and whether those accesses will be sufficient to handle the additional traffic; and whether the language protecting public access to the river and planned greenway is strong enough.

All five commissioners said they’re taking the process very seriously, but they also said they see no reason why the agreement wouldn’t ultimately go through.

“I think it would be an asset greatly for Dillsboro and to the entire county,” said Commissioner Charles Elders. “I think we should take a good look at the concerns and study that, but I think we need to go ahead with the project.”

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We Have Moved

SYLVA — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

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The Jackson County Commissioners plan to vote on the river park proposal during their next regular meeting, 3 p.m. Monday, April 3, in room A201 of the Jackson County Justice Center. Though no additional public hearing is scheduled, public comments of three minutes or less are accepted at the beginning of each meeting.

is seeing growth in some areas and decline in others.

“The rivers where demand is sustained or growing are near designated attractions or close to sizable populations or metro areas,” he said. “And they offer generally family-class whitewater experiences.”

That description matches fairly well with what the proposed site in Dillsboro has to offer. The town is less than 20 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which last year saw a record-breaking 11.3 million visitors. Jackson County already has a strong outdoor tourism industry, and Dillsboro is 50 miles from Asheville, and within 100 to 150 miles of Atlanta, Chattanooga and Knoxville.

That stretch of the Tuckasegee River would definitely meet the definition of “family-class.” The Tuck’s rapids are not as large as those on the Nantahala River, for instance, and existing companies allow children as young as 4 years old or 40 pounds in guided rafts.

However, Brown cautioned, the adventure aspect of the proposal — ziplines, climbing walls and the like — isn’t necessarily a sure thing. Much will depend on the execution.

“There are some really fantastic zip lines out there, so you have to really build a good one for it to be successful these days,” he said. “Just to throw a rope or two across the river is probably not going to be adequate.”

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Long’s Chapel Youth Ministry

FUNDRAISER

Sunday, April 9 • Everyone is invited!

Pancake Breakfast 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. • Donation Only

Pulled Pork BBQ 5 p.m. • $10/plate • Live Music

Silent Auction 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m.

Bid on an assortment of gift certificates, items, homemade cakes and more!

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March 29-April 4, 2017

All proceeds go towards benefiting youth summer trips at Long’s Chapel.

Info: Shawn or Lindsey, 828-456-3993.

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Community Almanac Memorial service planned for Rev. Jimmy Carr

Smoky Mountain News

funded by The Fund for Haywood County, the J. Aaron and Adora H. Prevost Endowment Fund and an anonymous fund of CFWNC. “This building has been part of the community for over 50 years. It has long needed renovations to make it useable for the residents of our community,” said Michael Hannah, chairman of Thickety Community Board.

Rev. Dr. Jimmy Carr.

SMN photo

Lake Junaluska will hold a memorial service for Rev. Dr. Jimmy Carr at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in Stuart Auditorium.

Carr served as the executive director of the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church and Lake Junaluska for 11 years, retiring in 2010. The memorial service is an opportunity to remember the impact he had at Lake Junaluska and in the wider Haywood County community, as well as a chance to celebrate the legacy of inclusion and love he left behind.

In addition to beginning this pivotal change in the structure of Lake Junaluska as an organization, Carr also raised funds and implemented a number of facility improvements during his time as executive director.

More than $11 million of improvements took place, including renovations to Shackford Hall, the apartments and the golf course clubhouse, and the construction of the Bethea Welcome Center.

Gospel Messengers to perform in Sylva First United Methodist Church of Sylva will hold an Open Door Meal & Sing at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 29, in the church’s Christian Life Center.

The community is invited to enjoy a meal, which will be prepared by church members, musical entertainment, and fellowship.

The Gospel Messengers, a group who ministers with traditional and Southern Gospel Music, will provide the spiritual, inspirational entertainment. A brief devotional will precede the meal.

The Open Door and Sing event is held on the fifth Wednesday in those months, which have one.

All are welcome and invited to attend.

828.586.2358.

Food preservation class offered in Swain Food Preservation 101 will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, April 4, at the Swain County Extension Center, 60 Almond Road Bryson City.

Water bath and pressure canning methods will be covered as well as dehydration and freezing this summers bounty. There is no cost but registration is required as space is limited.

Call 828.488.3848 to register.

Clothes to Kids of Haywood County receives $3,000 The Fund for Haywood County, an affiliate of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, recently presented a check for $3,000 to Clothes to Kids of Haywood County to support the purchase of shoes for children in low-income households through the All God’s Children Need Shoes project.

Lois Beery Fulmer with Clothes to Kids, said, “This grant goes a long way in helping us improve the self-esteem of students by allowing them to fit in at school, just through a pair of shoes.”

Providing shoes is just one part of the Clothes to Kids mission of providing complete wardrobes for low-income families at no cost to them.

Working directly with the Haywood County School system, this nonprofit uses 100 percent of its grants, donated clothes and money to provide three complete wardrobes twice a year, in spring and fall. www.clothestokidshaywood.org.

Community Table to receive matches for donations Thanks to a generous anonymous supporter of The Community Table in Sylva, all donations made to the organization through May 1 will be matched up to $5,000.

The Community Table is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing nutritious meals to our neighbors in need in a welcoming environment since 1999 through our food pantry and dinner service programs.

When making a donation, note in the memo or designation line that your gift is in response to the “Challenge.” Donors will also be entered into a quilt raffle. Donations may be sent to The Community Table at P.O. Box 62, Dillsboro, N.C. 28725 or made via the “Donate Now” button at www.communitytable.org.

Community Kitchen receives $20,000 grant The Fund for Haywood County, an affiliate of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, recently presented a check for $20,000 to The Community Kitchen to support building two classrooms.

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Hospice House receives $50,000 grant

This grant was part of The Community Foundation’s People in Need grant cycle and was funded by The Fund for Haywood County and an anonymous fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.

These classrooms will be used to teach computer classes and other basic skills like interviewing for a job or learning how to sew.

Organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Drugs in Our Midst and others that need a closed space for meetings may find a safe home at the Community Kitchen.

The Community Kitchen currently distributes food to those in need in Haywood County and the classrooms will be a beneficial addition to the services provided.

Macon 4-H competes in horse bowl Member of the Macon Hoofprints 4-H Club recently competed at the district and then state Horse Bowl Competition.

The team placed second in the district and seventh in the state. Natalie Owens placed in the top 10 for 4-H youth horsemen in North Carolina.

Horse Bowl is a team competition where youth match their knowledge about horse anatomy, breeds, equipment and nutrition against other horsemen. The 2017 Horse Bowl team included Isaiah Simpson, Morgan Simpson, Morgyn Brannon, Natalie Owens and Olivia Hedden.

Thickety Community Park receives Fund for Haywood County grant The Fund for Haywood County, an affiliate of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, recently presented a check for $9,500 to Thickety Community Park for renovation of a building to become a community center.

This grant was part of The Community Foundation’s People in Need grant cycle and was

Hospice House Foundation of WNC has received a $50,000 grant from the Richard J. Reynolds, III and Marie M. Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem to support the construction of a hospice inpatient facility in Franklin.

SECU Hospice House, with six patient suites, will serve hospice patients from the six far western counties of Macon, Jackson, Swain, Graham, Clay, and Cherokee, the Qualla Boundary, and Northeast Georgia. HHFWNC anticipates serving roughly 200 hospice patients per year.

828.524.6375 or www.hhfwnc.org.

Haywood tops Special Olympics fundraiser list Haywood County Sheriff’s Office has earned a spot in the top 10 on the list of 50 law enforcement agencies in the state that raised the most money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run in North Carolina last year.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run is the largest public awareness vehicle for the Special Olympics. The outstanding fundraising result in the county was largely due to the success of the event “Cops on Top,” where law enforcement officers and firefighters camped out on the roof of Belk in Waynesville last June for a full weekend.

Participants in the event were able to pull in more than $30,000 from sponsors and citizens of Haywood County.

Cats available for seniors Feline Urgent Rescue of Western North Carolina is presently housing several beautiful senior cats in need of adoption.

These lovable cats are 7 years old or older and have many good years of love left, making them ideal pets for senior citizens.

“We think our senior cats will be ideal for a home with senior citizens because they will bring companionship and joy without the training necessary for a kitten,” said Sydney Klocke, President of FUR. Older cats are litter box trained and happy to be inside. Before they are adopted, all cats from FUR are spayed/neutered, up-to-date on shots, leukemia tested and microchipped. The adoption fee is $35. In the event that something happens that the owner is unable to care for the adopted cat, FUR will take it back.

844.888.2287 (CATS) or visit furofwnc.org.

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Meadows makes his mark in the swamp

Like mercury on slick glass To the Editor: Please don’t even try to convince most people that Republicans are slow to change due to some long-standing conservative ideology or a spiritual (Christian) base which they claimed only a few years ago with their “Contract with America” and/or “Moral Majority.” Think back a few months to the Republican campaign. Republican establishment leaders were doing everything they knew how to prevent Donald Trump from becoming their nominee for President of the United States. Little did they realize (or want to admit?) how keenly Trump sensed the mood of rural Americans. It seems now that rural Americans as well as establishment Republican leaders knew very little about how closely Donald Trump associated with Vladimir Putin on a personal/business basis. This potentially dangerous relationship will now play out during Trump’s presidential term.

Fast forward to Trump’s grab for power by winning the Republican primary. Once Trump benefited from the devious “Christian” influence of Franklin Graham asking his followers to “hold their noses” and FBI Director James Comey mailed his damning letter undermining Hillary Clinton, most of the erstwhile Trump critics lined up in support of their brand-new, billion-dollar hero. This success at the voting booth was enhanced by massive advertising dollars from the National Rifle Association as well.

Fake news, false statements from Trump, devious utterances from the FBI Director,

Meadows.

I can appreciate that this was a huge bill and that Meadows — the former Florida and Jackson County resident turned Ashevillian so he could more easily escape his district to wallow in the swamp — played a big role in its defeat. Our congressman was a key player in stopping the Trump-Ryan bill, gaining clout for the Freedom Caucus he chairs and himself in doing so.

But what we want to know is whether that clout will do anything for us back home? We haven’t heard Mark’s response to the Trump budget proposal that would gut federal funding for many key programs that help his constituents, like the Appalachian Regional Commission, public television and radio, Meals on Wheels, Editor Foster Grandparents, low-income heating assistance, etc., etc. One reason we haven’t heard is that during the recent congressional recess Meadows didn’t hold a single public town hall meeting. Zippo for Marko.

Even the largest newspaper in the region, the Asheville Citizen-Times, was reduced to taking quotes from the D.C. press to explain Meadows’ position on the healthcare bill.

Scott McLeod

Where’s Mark?

As in Rep. Mark Meadows, our Republican congressman who reportedly represents the rural and economically challenged residents of mountainous Western North Carolina?

Where is he, literally, after his prominent role in the healthcare drama that played out last week in our nation’s capital (otherwise known as the swamp).

Well, if you pay attention to his press office and watch night-time cable news (I’m guilty of both), you’ll find that he’s spent the weeks leading up to the momentous healthcare vote last Friday making the rounds of the various talk shows.

Meadows was seemingly basking in the limelight provided by his leadership of the Freedom Caucus, the renegade GOP faction that foiled the President Trump and Rep. Paul Ryan healthcare initiative that was to replace Obamacare.

Press releases from his office made sure newspapers and constituents knew that on March 16 the former Tea Party favorite Meadows had a two-fer, first with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough on “Morning Joe” and later with Wolf Blitzer on CNN. These appearances were sandwiched by appearances on Fox and again on CNN and MSNBC. Then there’s the Wall Street Journal guest column he co-authored with Sen. Ted Cruz on healthcare reform, this one published earlier in March.

And all the newspapers and websites covering the minutiae of D.C. politics had plenty of interviews and quips from

sheep-herding by a famous evangelist’s son, hacking by Vladimir Putin will all be accepted now by Republican leaders in the Congress of the United States. Why? Christian values?

American values? Dedication to Democracy?

Insistence on fair voting in every precinct?

Making every vote count? Hardly! The answer is Republicans won the fraudulent election.

They not only maintained power in Congress, they gained coveted seats giving them enormous political power. But, political power does not automatically confer moral influence to those holding the power.

Do Republicans want to investigate the influence of hacking by Vladimir Putin? Few of them have shown any inclination. And, most are fighting the idea of a bipartisan special committee and disclosure to the American people. If they do agree with an investigation they will try to hide the truth from us (the American citizens who are told “Your vote counts”). But, how can every vote count if they have been tainted by the hacking of a foreign power? We are left to ponder — Who elected the President of the United States?

What Americans believed to be a bedrock, a cornerstone of our system of transferring power has shifted like mercury on slick glassmuch like the speed with which Republicans rushed to get on the Trump wagon. Now, instead of Republicans joining Democrats and demanding the suspension of all subsequent legal moves until we can feel assured of the validity of this election, they have moved swiftly to install the man they once labeled as a fraudulent, racist, unfit, womanizing buffoon.

Has there been that much of a moral shift within the Republican Party in the last

Incidentally, our reporters’ phone calls also went unanswered.

Many in his own party, apparently, are second-guessing his recent actions. A Waynesville event on Monday that was deemed a “Rally and Sign Wave” to support his actions on the healthcare bill drew, by our reporter’s count, a mere 25 attendees. I saw more people than that buying Girl Scout cookies Saturday outside of Lowe’s.

Get the gist here? Look, we all appreciate our congressman learning the ins and outs of various cable news greenrooms.

That will set him up for a job with Fox News at some point in the future and he won’t be looking for work like our former governor. But we also want someone who represents our region, who makes us feel like he really cares, who comes home and actually spends time in the hinterlands of his district.

I used to have long-running ideological differences with our former Rep. Charles Taylor, a Brevard Republican who also rose to prominence during his tenure in Washington. But one thing for sure about Taylor is that he couldn’t wait to get back to WNC and out of the Washington swamp.

Perhaps those kinds of politicians are long gone. Keep sending out those notices of television appearances, Mark, and when it’s convenient we look forward to seeing you occasionally emerge from the swamp.

(Reach Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainnews.com)

LETTERS decade? Has there been that much of a shift with most Americans? Do we prefer political party power at the expense of the voting power of all Americans?

Are there other people who are getting bored with the false claims that Republicans are more patriotic, stronger Christians, more dedicated to constitutional principles? Could Franklin Graham possibly be acting Christlike when he calls Democrats “atheistic, godless progressives”? Is it not getting clear as a bell that what they strive for is Republican Party power at any cost? Democrats need not get pious now. They can be just as guilty of the same excessive struggle for power.

Perhaps politics has always included chicanery. If so, why do Christians rush headlong into it? Can they really uphold biblical principles while seeking earthly power? Few expect that Republicans will change like mercury on slick glass. But, would it not be wonderful for America if enough listened to their consciences and decided to do what is right morally rather than what is politically expedient in this crucial hour? Democracy could use a little good news like that.

Dave Waldrop Webster

Thank the EPA for WNC’s success To the Editor: I was born in a steel town in 1948. When I was 2, we moved to a textile town. I remember my mother telling me that in the steel

town, she checked the wind direction before she washed clothes since if the wind was blowing toward our house, the clothes would just get dirty when she hung them out to dry.

Growing up in a textile mill town, I remember the creeks running the color of whatever dye was used that day.

The air was unhealthy to breathe in the steel town, and the water was unsafe to contact in the textile town. There were no fish, or pretty much anything else, living in those creeks. A pond downstream from those mills was later declared unsafe for fishing or swimming because of high concentrations of toxic metals.

I lived on the Hudson River for a few years. Indiscriminant dumping of waste to that river had eliminated several profitable fisheries and killed those jobs. PCB releases from a General Electric plant subsequently shut down a profitable striped bass fishery.

Acid rain did the same thing to recreational fisheries in Upstate New York lakes.

The creation of the Environmental Protection Agency under a Republican president and subsequent authorization of the Clean Air and Clean Water acts eliminated the worst of those abuses.

Adapting to these and subsequent regulations added costs to these industries and municipalities. What seems to be lost in the conversations are the jobs that were created to develop technologies to prevent the pollution, build the equipment to meet the requirements and monitor the results. Those are real jobs that contribute to the economy.

What is also lost in the current conversation is the improved human health associated with the reduction in air and water pollution. This includes both the

Never forget the past To the Editor: The other day I read something that chilled me to the bone, especially considering the direction the new administration is taking our country.

After living in Germany for 13 years and touring the concentration camps of Auschwitz, Dachau and Buchenwald that were liberated at the end of World War II and remembering the Japanese-American internment camps, I am becoming fearful.

I urge you to read the following quotation attributed to Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), who was a prominent German Protestant pastor and, as an outspoken foe of Adolf Hitler, spent the last years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. He believed that through their silence many German and Protestant leaders were complicit in the ensuing Holocaust: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”

If Trump fails, there is always 2020

Smoky Mountain News

To the Editor: Regarding Mr. Martin Dyckman’s op-ed published in the March 8 issue of The Smokey Mountain News, I found his historical comments on Hitler’s rise to power to be quite accurate and thought-provoking. The comparison to President Trump’s rise to power is indeed interesting.

However, his allegation that the people that voted for him were “more interested in throwing bombs than in building bridges” is inaccurate. His assertion regarding “the great moral character” of Trump’s opponent is unquestionably inaccurate. Hillary Clinton possesses many characteristics, none of which could be described as “great moral character.” Rather, she appears to be self-absorbed, imbued with a sense of entitlement (thought she deserved the presidency), a proven liar (email server, Benghazi), an ineffective leader (Benghazi), a dirty tricks dealer (Sanders), an opportunist and an influence dealer (Clinton Foundation) and a poor judge of character (Bill and Monica).

It wasn’t just the “deplorables” and the “bomb throwers” that voted for Donald Trump — it was also those for whom there was no viable alternative. In addition, those voters were sick and tired of the leadership during the last eight years. They felt that if they were unhappy with the last eight years, then the next four would be even worse.

Mr. Dyckman is correct in that there is little similarity to the conditions in Germany in the 1930s and the conditions in our country in the 2000s. We are fortunate to have a system of checks and balances that hopefully will preclude any rise of authoritarianism.

There is a practical reason that the Electoral College exists — it prevents the greatly populated states from forcing their will on the remainder of the country. Whether one feels that is a good thing or not depends, I suppose, upon where one resides. In any event, it is our system as it exists today.

Hopefully, Mr. Trump will prove to be a good president for our country. If not, then there is always 2020.

Stephen Thomason

I’m severely under-acquainted with the Midwest.

My older son has a game on his Kindle that asks him to identify certain states or place them in the correct location on a map, and it’s the Midwest that always stumps me. Is that Kansas or Nebraska? And is that one there Illinois or Iowa? What do Missouri and Minnesota even look like? Which ones borders Canada? Are the Dakotas considered “Midwestern”?

Columnist You get the picture.

I’ve explored the entire West Coast from the tiptop of Washington State to where California borders Tijuana. I’ve perused every state on the East Coast and most of New England, except for maybe Vermont. I’ve also been to Texas, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Hawaii, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, New Mexico and a few others.

But until this past weekend, I’d never been to a midwestern state to speak of. I’ve traveled through a couple of them en route to a final destination but even those brief glimpses were few and far between.

So when my close friend asked if I wanted to fly to her hometown of Des Moines to stay with her sister’s family and see The Lumineers in concert, I was all about it.

I’ll admit I was more excited about seeing one of my favorite bands than about exploring Des Moines, but I think I felt that way because I had no schema regarding what was even in the state of Iowa.

We all do that thing in our head when someone mentions a state and visions automatically pop up in our mind.

New York? NYC, Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, Broadway, immigration history.

Tennessee? Memphis, Nashville, country music, Graceland, whiskey.

Alabama? Football, civil rights history.

California? Sunny beaches, surfers, fresh sushi.

Florida? Disney World, oranges.

South Carolina? Charleston, seersucker clothing, Palmetto tree stickers.

Oregon? Portland, beer, music, hipster coffee shops.

Colorado? Snowboarding, ranches, the Rocky Mountains.

Texas? Austin, The Alamo, big hair, cowboys, ‘Who shot J.R.?’

And so forth.

When my friend mentioned a trip to Iowa. I was thinking, ‘What’s in Iowa?’

My friend said the Iowa State Fair is listed in an article called 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. It’s the oldest, largest state fair in the country and apparently exudes true Americana, but it’s in August so our timing was off. Dangit.

Leading up to the trip, people joked about cows and cornfields being the only things in Iowa but would you believe it, I didn’t see one cow or cornfield the entire time I was there.

While I was initially most excited about the concert, I became intrigued about Iowa itself. As an

adventurer, new places excite me tremendously.

Further, I knew I’d find something I love because the few people I know from Iowa are pretty awesome so the state’s obviously doing a few things right.

As I reflect upon my three days in Des Moines, a few highlights stand out in my mind.

The state has outstanding beer.

I’ve never been one to enjoy a Bud Light or Coors Light or any of those watered down types. Give me a flavorful, solid, well-brewed beer and I’m a happy girl. Coming from North Carolina where microbrews are aplenty, I’ve become a little spoiled and get frustrated when I ask a bartender what local beers they have on tap and they say Yuengling is their “dark beer.” That’s such a terrible response.

A bartender in New York City last summer answered with “We don’t have many local beers in the city, but Brooklyn has some great breweries if you can get over there. I can make you a killer Moscow Mule, though.” I liked that answer. It was honest and helpful.

I got neither of those responses in Des Moines.

There were so many locally brewed beers everywhere we went, it would take me weeks or months to try them all. Two establishments we visited were El Bait Shop and Iowa Tap Room, and both were busting at the seams with quality, delicious microbrews.

I don’t think Des Moines is getting a fair shot at the Beer City USA award. Just because the rest of the city isn’t as flashy as Portland or Asheville, it still deserve a shot at first prize.

Des Moines also knows its stuff when it comes to reclaimed and vintage furniture. Last Saturday, the city was hosting an event called Vintage in the City.

The event’s Facebook page describes it like this: “Des Moines’ Annual Event to support local brick & mortar shop owners who have fantastic mid-century, retro, industrial, architectural salvage, repurposed, primitives and vintage items.”

It was a shop hop hosted by a collection of vintage/antique stores. Each location offered a food or beverage item for patrons to enjoy while shopping.

Pretty cool, huh? We only made it to two stores before we had to quit due to depleting funds. As an aside, the show American Pickers is based out of Iowa.

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, I was really impacted by the people. Every person I encountered from my friend’s family to bartenders to Uber drivers to TSA agents to shop employees to restaurant servers was so friendly and easy-going.

And people in Iowa smile and laugh easily. I like that. The city has a relaxed, chill pace to it. Perhaps being landlocked does something to the psyche.

Maybe with no beach or mountain retreat to escape to, folks just settle in where they are and enjoy life.

Now don’t misunderstand me, the concert was phenomenal. I love this particular band in a deep, personal way. The past few years have been the hardest of my life and their songs are like a soundtrack to that time period.

With that being said, my memories from Des Moines are about much more than music.

As I sit here writing this column, I smile thinking about my first intentional adventure in a midwestern state. And as with a lot of life’s experiences, nothing compares to the first time, so even if I eventually visit Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and the rest of the landlocked clan of states, I’ll always hold Iowa closest to my heart.

(Susanna Barbee can be reached at susanna.barbee@gmail.com.)

March 29-April 4, 2017

What if you were to change these groups to: Catholics, Mormons, Mexicans, Italians, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, LGBTQ, etc.?

We need to strongly reject and speak out against any such discrimination of any and all people.

Nancy Copeland Waynesville

There are more than cornfields in the Midwest

Susanna Barbee

reduction in premature deaths and health care costs to treat the diseases caused by bad air and water.

Clean air and water have its own associated industries. What would rural Western North Carolina be without tourism, outdoor recreation and clean-environment related retirees? A recent analysis by WCU showed that tourism alone generated $154 million in spending and produced $27 million in worker income in 2015.

Thank the EPA for our economy while we still have it.

John Gladden Franklin

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tasteTHEmountains Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 AMMONS DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT & DAIRY BAR 1451 Dellwwod Rd., Waynesville.

828.926.0734. Open 7 days a week 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Celebrating over 25 years. Enjoy world famous hot dogs as well as burgers, seafood, hushpuppies, hot wings and chicken. Be sure to save room for dessert. The cobbler, pie and cake selections are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Smoky Mountain News

March 29-April 4, 2017

APPLE ANDY'S RESTAURANT 3483 Soco Road, Maggie Valley located in Market Square. 828.944.0626. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Serving the freshest homemade sandwiches, wraps, and entrees such as country fried steak and grilled flounder. Full salad bar and made from scratch sides like potato salad, pinto beans and macaroni and cheese. www.appleandys.com BLOSSOM ON MAIN 128 N. Main Street, Waynesville.

828.454.5400. Open for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Mild, medium, to hot and spicy, our food is cooked to your like-able temperature.

Forget the myth that all Thai food is spicy.

Traditional Thai food is known to be quite healthy, making use of natural and fresh ingredients, paired with lots of spices, herbs, and vegetables. Vegetarians and health conscious individuals will not be disappointed as fresh vegetables and tofu are available in most of our menu as well as wines and saki chosen to compliment the unique flavors of Thai cuisine.

BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slow-simmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts. Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily. Brown bag-

WAYNESVILLE’S BEST BURGERS

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Lunch served 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Monday through Saturday. Dinner 5 to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Closed on Sunday. We specialize in hand-cut, all natural steaks from local farms, incredible burgers, and other classic american comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available.

BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Chef owned and operated. Our salads are made in house using local seasonal vegetables. Fresh roasted ham, turkey and roast beef used in our hoagies. We hand make our own eggplant and chicken parmesan, pork meatballs and hamburgers. We use 1st quality fresh not preprepared products to make sure you get the best food for a reasonable price. We make vegetarian, gluten free and sugar free items.

Call or go to Facebook (Breaking Bread Café NC) to find out what our specials are.

CHEF’S TABLE 30 Church St., Waynesville. 828.452.6210.

From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday dinner starting at 5 p.m. “Best of” Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine. Set in a distinguished atmosphere with an exceptional menu. Extensive selection of wine and beer. Reservations honored.

CHURCH STREET DEPOT 34 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.246.6505. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Mouthwatering all beef burgers and dogs, hand-dipped, hand-spun real ice cream shakes and floats, fresh handcut fries. Locally sourced beef. Indoor and outdoor dining. facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot, twitter.com/ChurchStDepot.

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine. Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more.

Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly.

Live music and lots of events. Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

for what has become a tradition in these parts, breakfast at Joey’s.

THE CLASSIC WINESELLER 20 Church Street, Waynesville.

828.452.6000. Underground retail wine and craft beer shop, restaurant, and intimate live music venue. Kitchen opens at 4 p.m.

Wednesday through Saturday serving freshly prepared small plates, tapas, charcuterie, desserts. Enjoy live music every Friday and Saturday night at 7pm. www.classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel.

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner. The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

COUNTRY VITTLES: FAMILY STYLE RESTAURANT 3589 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley.

828.926.1820 Winter hours: Wednesday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet. Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service.

FERRARA PIZZA & PASTA 243 Paragon Parkway, Clyde. 828.476.5058.

Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Real New Yorkers. Real Italians. Real Pizza. A full service authentic Italian pizzeria and restaurant from New York to the Blue Ridge.

Dine in, take out, and delivery. Check out our daily lunch specials plus customer appreciation nights on Monday and Tuesday 5 to 9 p.m. with large cheese pizzas for $9.95.

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

JOEY'S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Winter hours: 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Joey’s is a family style restaurant that has been serving breakfast to the locals and visitors of Western North Carolina since 1966. Featuring a large variety of tempting pancakes, golden waffles, country style cured ham and seasonal specials spiked with flavor, Joey's is sure to please all appetites. Join us

MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva.

828.586.3555. Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Sunday brunch 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Hand-tossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch. Beer and wine. Free movies Thursday trought Saturday.

Visit madbatterfoodfilm.com for this week’s shows.

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

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

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

Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot.

Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections. Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies.

Various desserts.

PAPERTOWN GRILL 153 Main St., Canton. 828.648.1455 Open 7 days a week 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Serving the local community with great, scratch-made country cooking. Breakfast is served all day.

Daily specials including Monday meatloaf, chicken and dumplings on Thursdays and Friday fish.

PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Sunday. Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood (available in full and lighter sizes), thin crust pizza, homemade soups, salads hand tossed at your table. Fine wine and beer selection.

Casual atmosphere, dine indoors, outside on

Visit Us and Discover

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MON.-SAT. 11 A.M.-8 P.M.

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ging is permitted. Private parties, catering, and take-out available. Call-ahead seating available.

34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 Mtwitter.com/ChurchStDepot C facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot

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Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Saturday 12 p.m.-10 p.m.

Closed Tues.

Sun. 12-9 p.m.

Sandwiches • Burgers • Wraps 32 Felmet Street (828) 246-0927

MEDITERRANEAN & ITALIAN CUISINE 1863 S. Main Street • Waynesville 828.454.5002 Hwy. 19/23 Exit 98 LUNCH & DINNER TUES. - SUN.

www.pasqualesnc.com

tasteTHEmountains the patio or at the bar. Reservations appreciated.

PATIO BISTRO 30 Church Street, Waynesville.

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

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley 828.926.0201 Home of the Maggie Valley Pizzeria. We deliver after 4 p.m. daily to all of Maggie Valley, J-Creek area, and Lake Junaluska. Monday through Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. country buffet and salad bar from 5 to 9 p.m. $11.95 with Steve Whiddon on piano. Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 to 8 p.m. 11:30 to 3 p.m. family style, fried chicken, ham, fried fish, salad bar, along with all the fixings, $11.95. Check out our events and menu at rendezvousmaggievalley.com

SALTY DOG'S SEAFOOD & GRILL 3567 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

828.926.9105. Open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Full service bar and restaurant located in the center of Maggie Valley.

Featuring daily $6 lunch specials and daily dinner specials such as $1 Taco Tuesdays and 45¢ Wednesday Wings. Backyard Bar is open every weekend thru October. Join us for every NFL game.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4

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

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

TAP ROOM BAR & GRILL 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

828.456.3551. Open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, the Tap Room Bar & Grill has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Full bar and wine cellar. www.thewaynesvilleinn.com.

TRAILHEAD CAFE & BAKERY 18 N Main Street, Waynesville.

828.452.3881 Open 7 days a week Monday-Saturday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. You will find a delicious selection of pastries & donuts, breakfast & lunch along with a fresh coffee & barista selection. Happy Trails!

WAYNESVILLE PIZZA COMPANY 32 Felmet Street, Waynesville.

828.246.0927. Open Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 9 p.m.; closed Tuesdays. Opened in May 2016, The Waynesville Pizza Company has earned a reputation for having the best hand-tossed pizza in the area. Featuring a custom bar with more than 20 beers and a rustic, family friendly dining room. Menu includes salads, burgers, wraps, hot and cold sandwiches, gourmet pizza, homemade desserts, and a loaded salad bar. The Cuban sandwich is considered by most to be the best in town.

Join us for tasty burritos, tacos, quesadillas or crepes!

3 E JACKSON ST. • SYLVA, NC

www.CityLightsCafe.com

Real New Yorkers.

Real Italians. Real Pizza.

Dine-In ~ Take Out ~ Delivery

An Authentic Italian Pizzeria & Restaurant from New York to the Blue Ridge.

Just to serve you!

Featuring: Calzones · Stromboli Subs · Pasta and More NOW OPEN SUNDAYS NOON to 8 P.M. Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

243 Paragon Parkway | Clyde

828-476-5058

Happy Easter Sunday, April 16

Easter Buffet 11:30 AM — 3 PM Reservations Required: 828.456.3551 Adults: $30.95* • Young at Heart Age 70+: $22.95* Ages 6-12: $12.95* • Under Age 5: Free *Prices Do Not Include Tax & Gratuity.

Further Discounts Do Not Apply to Young-at-Heart Price

Smoky Mountain News

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

We’re open every evening for dinner until 9 p.m.

March 29-April 4, 2017

SAGEBRUSH STEAKHOUSE 1941 Champion Drive, Canton 828.646.3750 895 Russ Ave., Waynesville 828.452.5822. Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Carry out available.

Sagebrush features hand carved steaks, chicken and award winning BBQ ribs. We have fresh salads, seasonal vegetables and scrumptious deserts. Extensive selection of local craft beers and a full bar. Catering special events is one of our specialties.

p.m Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville. Using only the freshest ingredients in home-made soups, salads and sandwiches. Come in and see for yourself why Smoky Mountain Sub Shop was voted # 1 in Haywood County. Locally owned and operated.

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde

828-456-1997 blueroostersoutherngrill.com Monday-Friday Open at 11am

Real Local Families, Real Local Farms, Real Local Food

176 COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE, WAYNESVILLE, NC 828.456.3551 23

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

of that matters and you’re faced to accept the reality of what you’ve willingly gotten yourself into. Although you may be guided by experts who’ve completed the trek hundreds of times and religiously know their route to the top, an element of risk is imminent and nature’s plan is unpredictable. Ropes break, storms whip in, avalanches growl and bottomless crevasses lurk underneath seemingly safe and fluffy snow mounds. Understanding independence as an artist is similar to a young Sherpa making their first attempt at the summit, in that it allows them to understand how to survive the climb on their own. That’s the key to building towards success within the framework of the current music industry mold. Today might bring a storm, but tomorrow calls for blue skies and sunshine — a window of hope to make our next move. We aim to be able to adapt to either scenario, and that understanding is what will keep us alive on the mountain.

The DuPont Brothers will perform at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville on Sunday, April 2.

Hand-me-down reasons The DuPont Brothers return to Waynesville

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER It’s needed now more than ever before.

The place of the singer-songwriter in a modern world is a tricky spot. With all the bells, whistles and studio tricks at your fingertips, one could surmise that pop and mainstream radio in 2017 sounds more like an Internet dial-up tone in the 1990s instead of actual melodic harmonies.

And yet, the wise words and well-earned wisdom of the day-in-day-out worker bee folk songwriter will always be sought after. It’s that line in the sand of talent that separates those who hide behind a manufactured sound compared to those who stand tall atop their honest lyrical wordplay and intricate guitar fluttery.

For the better part of the last four years, Americana/indie act The DuPont Brothers have traversed the Eastern Seaboard with their brand of “New England Gothic,” where the sights, sounds and emotions of long, daunting winters and whimsical, carefree summers radiate from their hands and voices.

After a string of studio albums, the Vermont-based sibling duo have just released an EP, “Live at Beehive,” which was recorded and filmed at Beehive Productions in Saranac Lake, New York. The offering is merely setting the stage for their upcoming full-length record, “Live at DeepWells Mansion,” captured during their appearance on “The DeepWells” podcast, a live acoustic music series, previously known as “Acoustic Long Island.”

With their five-year mark looming in the distance, both Zack and Sam are glancing over their shoulders at the path taken to where they stand today, which is a spot — a place of body, mind and soul — where the tricks of the trade come full circle when fate and opportunity intersects with intent and passion.

Smoky Mountain News: The DuPont Brothers have been a moving target of music, purpose and creativity. Where are you two right now?

Zack DuPont: Well, if anything, the four years of doing this has done nothing but encourage us to dig deeper into the pursuit. The longer we carry on, the more we understand that it’s about enjoying the ride in a way that can harvest momentum towards evolving as artists first, then further creating a path to becoming a more recognized name on the national scene by using the art as the vehicle.

We’re fully independent, our relationships with musicians we love and industry folks we trust are nurtured more and more with every show we play and every record we release. We’re surrendering to the path we’ve created and it’s leading us to exactly where we need to be.

SMN: What is it about releasing a live album that provides different advantages in capturing that magic in the moment?

Sam DuPont: Live recording let us puts a great deal of emphasis on the performance element of tracking. We tend to favor it in the stu-

dio because it’s what usually feels natural for us. It just works really well for our sound. This band is all about what happens when we sing and play together. So, capturing that in real time usual makes for the coolest takes. The live thing is what this band revolves around, so it’s important for us to capture it — imperfections and all.

SMN: The DuPont Brothers have been plugging along hard for the last four or so years. And though there are plenty of levels to move up and break through, how do you measure success these days?

ZD: The unfolding career path of an independent band is kind of similar to attempting to climb Mount Everest. The summit seems like it’s the end goal, right? And the value and meaning of reaching the top is unique to the individual. It could be a fitness trial, to conquer nature, process emotional trauma or to just say, “I did it.” Having clarity around why you’re doing it is step one. Once you’re up there, none

SMN: In this great big world, it seems art and music are needed now more than ever, especially in this current political and social climate. What do you see out there on tour, interacting with all kinds of people and visiting all kinds of places? Are you optimistic about the future?

SD: Traveling and playing songs for a living allows us to see and meet all kinds of interesting folks. It just really drives home how relevant local culture is to peoples’ identity and behavior. I’m super grateful to get to travel like we do, seeing so many other peoples’ lives kind of shrinks your own in a nice way — it’s a valuable dose of perspective. It’s strange for me to wrap my head around it, but there are a lot of people who really dig what’s going on in the country right now. I do know that often times the most sustenance I get in a week comes from seeing live music, or consuming art in some form or another. I know that I myself am reaching for art and all of its substance in a way that I haven’t before. I truly believe that there will always be a demand for art — it’s something that cannot be replicated or replaced. We’re just going to keep making the best music we can. I’m absolutely optimistic [about the future], and that optimism comes from my faith in music more than anything else.

Want to go?

The Smoky Mountain News will launch its “Sunday Soiree” concert series with The DuPont Brothers (Americana/folk) at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

Based out of Burlington, Vermont, Sam and Zack DuPont have been busy on the road since 2013. Their two records — “Heavy as Lead” (2015) and “A Riddle For You” (2016) — have taken them up and down the Eastern Seaboard and across the Midwest.

The DuPont Brothers have made festival appearances at Grand Point North and South-BySouthwest (SXSW). They also have supported a wide array of national acts, including Grammy award winning artists like Sturgill Simpson, Jerry Douglas and Blake Mills.

Tickets for the “Sunday Soiree” are $10 per person. Craft beer and wine will be available for purchase. Tickets can be bought online at www.folkmoot.org or at the door. A portion of the proceeds will go to the continued activities and events put on by Folkmoot. www.dupontbrothersmusic.com.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Just when you found me, I’m gone

Garret K. Woodward in his “party shirt.”

Smoky Mountain News

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5

March 29-April 4, 2017

You don’t know me.

In recent weeks, I’ve found myself saying that exact statement above to folks I love and care about. One being my sister over the phone back home in the North Country. The other via Skype with a femme fatale currently out of the country, one that has caught my eye over the winter.

Saying that statement isn’t out of ill will or merely shutting down when someone knocks on the door of my soul. Rather, it comes from this deep urge to never be pigeonholed or figured out, to always remain elusive, where a “catch me if you can” attitude reigns supreme.

I never want to be pinned down, physically or emotionally.

Whether it’s wearing a full suit buttoned up to my neck or having to go through the motions of a relationship in public, I’ve always felt stifled, perhaps No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host Humps uncomfortable when asked to act & The Blackouts (psychobilly) at 9:30 p.m. “a certain way” in social settings.

Friday, March 31.

I’d rather (and I do) wear my Nantahala Brewing Company (Bryson City) will “party shirt” at a black-tie gala or host Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (folk/bluegrass) at 8 simply bounce around a party p.m. Saturday, April 1. than having to (sometimes) play babysitter to someone who can’t Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Andrew function in a room of strangers Scotchie & The River Rats (rock/blues) at 8 without the crutch of their signifip.m. Saturday, April 8. cant other.

It’s not my intent to come Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will across as selfish. But, the more host Heidi Holton (blues/folk) at 5 p.m. Friday, I’m told to “sit still and behave,” March 31. the more I fidget around, the Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host more irritated I get. And that The Tyler Kittle Jazz Trio at 7 p.m. Saturday, same internal feeling rears its April 8. head when I’m on the phone or in person with someone who thinks day. When I was 11 my principal told me to they “have me figured out.” my face, “Garret, you’ll never amount to Sure, I reveal a lot of myself within this weekly column. And I am a very transparent anything in your life,” after I was sent to the office for talking too much in class (excitedly person, in all honesty. But, there are sincere about history). And that same principal depths — Marianas Trench depths — that I made sure I was put on the “wonder drug” keep to myself. What’s down there? Well, Ritalin in the mid-1990s, only to be teased just some dark moments, personal loss and by my peers all through middle school when heartbreak I’ve made amends with years I went to the nurse’s office for my “crazy ago, and don’t feel the need to throw out pills.” there on a table like an accidentally spilled Or that time my college girlfriend took beer on a counter filled with nearby folks who may or may not want to be soaked with off behind my back and flew halfway across the country to get “closure” with her ex who my carelessness and such. always tried to get between us (we broke up There were those times in elementary shortly thereafter). Oh, and putting my hand school when I was stuffed in a gym locker, on the casket of one of my best childhood which has made me claustrophobic to this

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

My outer shell is pretty tough these days, friends as they lowered it into the ground ready to deflect blindsided attempts at mere weeks before his 20th birthday, mutinflicting pain and sadness inward. But, I tering under my breath, “I promise to live a look at that shell as a shield, and not some life for two,” seeing as everyday I live is kind of impenetrable fortress of solitude. another day over his final total.

And yet, the shield and the fortress can look Yikes, eh? And that’s only the tip of the one-in-the-same from an outsider’s perspeciceberg (before age 21) if y’all really want to get into the “nitty gritty” of it all beneath the tive — where assumptions and improper characterizations originate. skin of this here writer. Sure, we all go Inside every one of us resides a “book of through the whole spectrum of emotions. self,” an ongoing saga, where many (even It’s all part of being a human being in the our closest friends) have only read the first grand scheme of things, am I right?

And I’ve got as many bruises on my It’s not my intent to come across as heart as most of you out there. We all have our selfish. But, the more I’m told to “sit still battle scars and war and behave,” the more I fidget around, stories. Some crazier than others, but, all in the more irritated I get. And that same all, we’ve emerged from the rubble and lived to internal feeling rears its head when I’m tell about it. Each of us on the phone or in person with someone carries that weight, though you might not who thinks they “have me figured out.” notice it by the ease of our swagger or lack of few chapters in the numerous years of heaviness when we crack a smile. friendship. You’d be surprised just how far So, does that mean I’m being ridiculous when I say, “you don’t know me”? No. Well, down the rabbit hole you and yours can go when real trust, genuine love and true not really. I come across — in sincerity — camaraderie are the right combinations of as a happy-go-lucky person, and it took a keys to unlock the tales of those around lot of work to get to that point. Yeah, I’ve been even-keeled my entire life, but life also you. Try it sometime, and be willing to listen, for that is the greatest thing one can has a funny way of chipping away at that strength until all you’re left with is dust and give those with a voice way down below that has yet to be heard. a space where your potential and promise Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all. once stood.

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On the beat invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of Grampa’s Music in Bryson City.

The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn old-time mountain songs. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — year-round.

This program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment of the Arts.

828.488.3030.

WNC gets the blues

Smoky Mountain News

March 29-April 4, 2017

Popular blues/folk singer Heidi Holton will perform at 5 p.m. March 31 at Andrews Brewing Company and 7 p.m. April 1 at Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville.

Holton began young, leaving Murphy to play in rock bands in Athens and New Orleans before the blues came a-calling. She studied under the great Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane) and then disappeared to Alaska’s arctic interior to perfect her craft.

She has recently moved back to Murphy and is touring around the Southeast. www.heidiholton.com.

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Bryson City community jam A community music jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are

Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet Western Carolina University’s School of Music will the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, in the recital hall of the Coulter Building.

GET IN THE TUB, Y’ALL Americana/bluegrass act Ol’ Dirty Bathtub will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at Nantahala Brewing Company in Bryson City. Free and open to the public. www.facebook.com/oldirtybathtub.

FROG LEVEL HAS THAT JAZZ

Founded in 1993, the quintet has performed throughout the U.S. and internationally with a repertoire ranging from classical to jazz, patriotic to pop.

The event is free. For more information, call the WCU School of Music at 828.227.7242 or visit www.smbq.org.

Balsam Range Lions Club fundraiser The Lions Clubs of Western North Carolina will be holding a benefit concert featuring Balsam Range at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at Stuart Auditorium in Lake Junaluska.

All of the proceeds are going to Brighter Visions, the vehicle that the Lions Clubs use to fund their work for the blind and visually impaired of our communities.

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased on the Balsam Range website by clicking the tickets link for the April 1 event. Tickets can also be purchased at the Clyde Town Hall or by calling the Lions at 828.593.1025. www.balsamrange.com.

The Tyler Kittle Jazz Trio will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 8, at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Based out of Jackson County, Kittle is an acclaimed national saxophonist.

The show is free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

Ken Voltz photo

HCAC Student Honors Recital

Honors Recital, call 828.452.0593 or visit www.haywoodarts.org.

The Haywood County Arts Council’s 19th annual Student Honors Recital will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at First United Methodist Church of Waynesville.

This year’s Honors Recital features student pianists, instrumentalists and vocalists nominated by music teachers representing area schools and studios. Expect to hear a broad range of works, from familiar classics to compositions that inspire and challenge beginners.

Lindsey Solomon, executive director of the Haywood County Arts Council, notes that the Student Honors Recital is a special event for performers and audiences alike: “Performing in public is an essential formative experience for young music students. It builds confidence and stimulates creativity.

For audiences, it’s a chance to be part of that experience. There’s nothing quite like hearing musicians in the making.”

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information about the 2017 Student

Mickey Gilley country soul Country legend Mickey Gilley will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

In 1976, the Academy of Country Music named Gilley “Entertainer of the Year.” He was also awarded the “Album of the Year,” “Single of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” and “Top Male Vocalist” awards. In 1978, the film “Urban Cowboy” starring John Travolta and Debra Winger was based on Gilley’s Club in Pasadena, Texas. The soundtrack featured many popular artists and a huge hit for Gilley, “Stand By Me.” His remake of this soul hit went platinum and made Gilley a household name.

Tickets are $24. To purchase tickets, visit www.greatmountainmusic.com or call 866.273.4615.

On the beat

WCU ‘First Thursday’ series Lee Knight will play April 6 in Cullowhee.

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host Heidi Holton (blues/folk) from 5 to 7 p.m. March 31. All shows are free. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• The Canton Armory will host “Winter Pickin’ in the Armory” at 7 p.m. every first and third Friday of the month. The event includes mountain music, vintage country, clogging and dancing. Doors open at 6 p.m. Free. www.cantonnc.com.

Donated photo

• The Canton Public Library will host The Bull Moose Party (bluegrass) at 3 p.m.

April 2. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Haywood County Arts Council. Free.

Jamie Laval.

Virtuoso Celtic fiddler Jamie Laval will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

A musical journey through the Scottish

Highlands, U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Laval enraptures audiences with his passionate performances of traditional music of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany and Quebec.

He blends an ancient art form with stunning virtuosity and contemporary flair that resonates with families, youth, seniors, and devotees of ethnic, jazz, and classical music. Laval performed on Dave Matthews’ platinum album “Some Devil” and gave a private performance for Her Majesty the Queen.

Laval's newest album, “Murmurs and Drones,” won the popular vote for “Best World Traditional Album” in the 2012 Independent Music Awards.

The evening combines toe-tapping melodies, amusing and informative stories, foot percussion and an innovative arrangement style to create a beautiful atmosphere of the Scottish Highlands.

Tickets are $18. www.38main.com.

ALSO:

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host Doctor Paul April 8. Shows are free and begin at 7:30 p.m. www.curraheebrew.com.

• Derailed Bar & Lounge (Bryson City) will have music at 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

828.488.8898.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Marc Keller (singer-songwriter) March 31, Heidi Holton (blues/folk) April 1 and The Tyler Kittle Jazz Trio April 8. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Haywood Arts Regional Theatre (Waynesville) will host singer-songwriter Chris Minick & ‘Round The Fire (jam/rock) at 8 p.m. April 1 in the Harmons’ Den Bistro. Dinner, wine and beer available for purchase. $5 cover charge. www.harttheatre.org.

• Heinzelmannchen Brewery (Sylva) will host Henry Wong (singer-songwriter) and a potluck from 6 to 8 p.m. March 30. www.yourgnometownbrewery.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night March 29 and April 5, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo March 30 and April 6. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Troy Underwood (singer-songwriter) March 31, Beau & Luci (rock/blues) April 1 and Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats

• No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host Humps & The Blackouts (psychobilly) March 31, Viva Le Vox w/Post Hole Diggers (blues/swing) April 1, Chris Monteith Karaoke April 7 and Modern Strangers (fastgrass) April 8. All shows are free and begin at 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.nonamesportspub.com.

• O’Malley’s Sports Bar & Grill (Sylva) will host PMA (reggae/rock) April 1. All shows begin at 9 p.m. 828.631.0554.

• The Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host DJ Justin Moe 9 p.m.

March 31. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.rathskellerfranklin.com.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic with Susan at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and live music on Friday evenings.

828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.

• Sneak E Squirrel Brewing (Sylva) will host Red Leg Huskey (Americana) April 1 and Caribbean Cowboys (pop/rock) April 7. There will also be line dancing every Friday at 7 p.m. and contra dancing every other Friday at 8 p.m.

828.586.6440.

• The Strand at 38 Main (Waynesville) will host be an “Open Mic” night from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. All are welcome.

828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host Andrew Rickman (acoustic/rock) March 31 and Humps & The Blackouts (psychobilly) April 1. All shows begin at 9 p.m. 828.456.4750.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host Mario Gaetano Percussion Ensemble 7:30 p.m. March 30, Daniel Myers Senior Recital 6 p.m. April 1, Student Recital 1:25 p.m. April 5 and William Schaffer (horn) 7:30 p.m. April 7 in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building. There will also be a Clarinet Masterclass with Michael Lowenstern at 3:30 p.m. March 31 in the Choral Room. www.wcu.edu.

Smoky Mountain News

The Strand welcomes acclaimed Celtic fiddler

various instruments, including the fivestring banjo, various guitars, the Appalachian dulcimer, the mouth bow, the Cherokee flute and the Cherokee rattle, as well as the Native American drum.

Sponsored by WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center, the First Thursday concerts and jam sessions will continue through this spring, with programs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month.

The events are free and open to the public. Pickers and singers of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in the jam sessions, which also are open to those who just want to listen.

828.227.7129.

• Nantahala Brewing Company (Bryson City) will host Circus Mutt (jam/rock) March 31, Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (folk/bluegrass) April 1, Frank Lee (Americana) April 7 and Grandpa’s Cough Medicine (Americana) April 8. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

March 29-April 4, 2017

The 2016-17 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Concert and Jam Series at Western Carolina University will continue with singer-songwriter Lee Knight on Thursday, April 6.

Knight’s 7 p.m. performance of string music will be held in the ground-floor auditorium of H.F. Robinson Administration Building. It will be followed by an 8 p.m. jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate.

Knight currently works as a folk singer, storyteller and outdoor leader, performing at concerts, workshops, Elderhostels, festivals, camps and schools. He leads hikes, canoe trips and guides whitewater rafts. He plays

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Joe Cruz (piano/pop) March 31 and April 8, Dulci Ellenberger & Kevin Williams (piano/guitar) April 1 and James Hammel (singer-songwriter) April 7. All events begin at 7 p.m.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

(rock/blues) April 8. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. 828.349.2337 or www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

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On the street Sylva is for ‘Just the Girls’

Smoky Mountain News

March 29-April 4, 2017

Join the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce for the inaugural “Just the Girls” event at 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, in downtown Sylva.

The event is open to girls of all ages, so bring your mother, grandmother, your daughter(s), granddaughter(s), and your best friends.

Register and pick up your "To Do List" of participating businesses at Fusions Spa between 4:30 and 6 p.m. Make your way around downtown, visit the businesses, get your "To Do List" stamped and completed, and have fun. No purchase necessary.

Business owners will stamp your "To Do List" as you visit. Return your completed "To Do List" to Fusions Spa by 8:30 p.m. to be eligible to win door prizes from the businesses.

You do not have to be present to win — the chamber will contact you. Check the Facebook page often for a list of participating downtown Sylva shops and restaurants at www.facebook.com/justthegirlssylva.

Participating businesses are offering special sales and freebies, ranging from free appetizers, to discounts up to 90 percent off.

Cherokee cultural landscape of Swain “Mounds, Towns, and Scared Fires: The Cherokee Cultural Landscape in Swain County” will be the next program for the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society. The presentation will be 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 6, at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center in Bryson City.

Ben Steere, assistant professor of anthropology and co-director of the Cherokee Studies Programs at Western Carolina University, will be the presenter. The valleys of Western North Carolina were once filled with platform mounds and townhouses of the Cherokee. Steere will be sharing information gathered from numerous archeological

Childcare is available. First Baptist Church Explorers Ministry is offering childcare for only $15. Parents Night Out details are available at www.firstbaptistsylva.com/first-explorers.

Following is a list of participating businesses: B&B Gifts and Interiors, Baxley’s Chocolates, Blackrock Outdoor Company, Blue Ridge Inn, City Lights Bookstore, City Lights Café, The Cut Cocktail Lounge, Dixie Mae Vintage Market, End of Main, Friends of the Library, Fusions Spa & Wellness, Heinzelmannchen Brewery, Humanite Boutique, In Your Ear Music Emporium, Innovation Brewing It’s By Nature: A Gallery of Southern Crafts, Jackson County Visual Arts, Jackson’s General Store, Lulu’s on Main, Mad Batter Food & Film, Motion Makers Bicycle Shop, and Sassy Frass.

“We are so excited to kick off this event for our many wonderful and eclectic downtown merchants,” said Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and Event Coordinator Julie Hooper Spiro. “It’s going to be a fun night of camaraderie for girls of all ages from our local community and those visiting from other areas as well.”

For more information, call the chamber at 828.586.2155 or email Spiro at julie@nc-mountains.com.

projects in and around Swain County and the Qualla Boundary. Steere is recipient of the Principal Chief Leon D. Jones Award for Archaeological Excellence, presented by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians.

Steere, a native of Durham, graduated with a degree in anthropology from Wake Forest University. He completed his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Georgia. Since 2004, he has worked on many archaeological projects in and around Swain County and the Qualla Boundary, including excavations at the Ravensford Tract for the new Cherokee Central School on Big Cove Road in 2004-05, and archaeological survey to identify and map poorly understood Cherokee mound and town sites all over WNC from 2011 to 2012.

Conversation and refreshments will follow the presentation. This is open to the public and there is no admission charge.

Heinzelmännchen Brewery April 22 is Heinzelmännchen’s anniversary, and for its 13th year, the brewery will be hosting an anniversary party at the brewery. This is the same day as the Greening up the Mountains festival, and in addition to the anniversary party, the brewery will host a beer garden at the festival for all those of-age to enjoy their brews.

Sneak E Squirrel Brewing

‘Sylva Brew Hop’ The second annual “Sylva Brew Hop” will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 1, in downtown.

In honor of “NC Beer Month,” join City Lights Café, Heinzelmännchen Brewery, Innovation Brewing, Mad Batter Food & Film, Sneak E Squirrel Brewing and The Cut Cocktail Lounge for the “Sylva Brew Hop.” Ticket-holders will visit each of the six establishments and taste two local or regional beers. Tickets include a souvenir glass and two 4-ounce pours at each location.

Tickets are $25 purchased online by March 30. Day of event is $35. For advance tickets, visit www.citylightscafe.com/sylvabrew-hop.html.

The Sneak E Squirrel will be re-releasing some of its most popular experimental beers, known as the Beer of the Week. April will start off with the hugely popular “Bad Juju IPA.” On Easter, the “Palm Sunday Ale” and “Easter Bunny” will be on tap. The month ends with a seasonal tribute to spring, the “Cherry Blossom IPA.” Sneak E Squirrel’s kitchen will be turning out weekly food specials to pair with special weekly beers.

Innovation Brewing Innovation is releasing a special sour beer. The brewery will also host a chocolate and beer pairing.

Baxley’s Chocolates Baxley’s is offering a special chocolate box for April in which they include chocolates to pair with specific beers. It will include a beer-pairing guide, which describes the chocolate and tells you which beers go well with it.

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In terms of “NC Beer Month,” the following will also occur in Sylva:

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On the street

Women of Waynesville open house

WOW members provide much needed volunteer services for community events like Power of Pink 5K, Main Street Mile and Folkmoot’s Halloween fundraiser “Spookmoot.” WOW is also building up its “stealth mission” fund to provide financial support for women and children when resources aren’t available through other government or nonprofit agencies.

While WOW works hard, members also know how to have fun with regularly planned socials like whitewater rafting, cookouts, concerts and other team-building activities to give everyone a chance to get to know each other.

The event is free and food and drink will be provided. For more information about WOW, visit www.womenofwaynesville.org, follow them on Facebook or call 828.550.9978.

• The Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department will hold its annual Easter Egg Hunt at noon Saturday, April 8. Held at the recreation park for ages 10 and under. Prizes awarded to all children who find “Golden Eggs.” There will be a decorated Easter Egg Contest prior to the hunt. 828.293.3053 or visit rec.jacksonnc.org.

• There will be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m. April 1 and 7 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. The will also be a wine pairing dinner with Chef Jackie Blevins ($70 all inclusive, three courses and four wines) 7 p.m.

March 30. A “drop-by” wine and craft beer with small plates to order will be from 5 to 8 p.m.

March 31. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

• There will be a “Homebrewing Eco Forum” at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 7, at the UU Fellowship Hall in Franklin. No bathtub brewing here. Homebrewing has come a long way since grandpa’s “tonic.” Simple equipment is readily available and has made homebrewing fun, safe and easy. John Duncan of the Sneak E Squirrel Brewing in Sylva will describe how easy it is to make a brew, which perfectly matches your personal taste.

And it’s legal. All are welcome to meet and greet at 5:30 p.m. and bring a covered dish to share at 6 p.m. 828.524.3691.

• A wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m.

April 1 and 7 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. $5 per person. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.586.6300.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host a wine tasting on Wednesdays and a craft beer tasting on Thursdays. Both events run from 4 to 8 p.m. There will also be tapas from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. www.classicwineseller.com.

• Free cooking demonstrations will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays at Country Traditions in Dillsboro. Watch the demonstrations, eat samples and taste house wines for $3 a glass. All recipes posted online. www.countrytraditionsnc.com.

In continuing with our “Cultural Series,” which celebrates and showcases art events, symposiums and performances throughout Western North Carolina, we here at The Smoky Mountain News welcome popular Vermont Americana/folk duo The DuPont Brothers.

6:30 P.M. SUNDAY, APRIL 2 FOLKMOOT FRIENDSHIP CENTER 112 VIRGINIA AVENUE · WAYNESVILLE

CRAFT BEER AND WINE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ADMISSION: $10 ADVANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT FOLKMOOT.ORG DUPONTBROTHERSMUSIC.COM

www.smokymountainnews.com

Smoky Mountain News

• “Are politics and ethics mutually exclusive?” will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum, which will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, April 3, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in Franklin. Those interested in an open exchange of ideas (dialog, not debate) are invited to attend. 828.371.1020.

ALSO:

Sunday Soiree The DuPont BROTHERS

March 29-April 4, 2017

Women of Waynesville, a nonprofit organization that supports the needs of women and children in Haywood County, invites all interested women to attend an open house and membership drive event.

The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 30, at Room 1902 located on 1902 South Main Street in Waynesville. It will give prospective members an opportunity to learn more about WOW and its mission before making the decision to join.

Since forming in 2012, WOW has raised more than $150,000 for Haywood County charities, including Haywood Habitat for Humanity, Mountain Projects, Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, KARE, REACH, Haywood County Schools Foundation and Meals on Wheels.

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March 29-April 4, 2017 Smoky Mountain News

Dogwood Crafters ceramics workshop

Macon painter exhibit, reception There will be an artist reception for Sharon Ann Volker from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Volker’s art will be on display through the month of April at the library.

Volker is a self-taught artist. She began working with pastels in the early 1990s, experimenting first with the human form and then with a variety of still life and landscape subjects.

She had always been interested in oils and after numerous visits to various museums and galleries, attempted her first oil on canvas in early 2000. It was a reproduction of a “typical” Mediterranean village scene by an artist known as Vincent. Volker discovered the painting in an art magazine and was intrigued by the artist’s use of color, light, and shadow.

Inspired by the positive comments of family and friends, she went on to reproduce other works by Croatian artists Rajic Drago and Frane Mlinar, and also by American born artist John Zaccheo. Volker was especially attracted to their striking, hyper-realistic scenes of the Adriatic Coast.

More recently, Volker has added eight original pieces to her portfolio. Her work has been profiled in the Asheville Citizen-Times and the Macon County News. She has also won gold and silver medals in a variety of competitions, including second place in the state of North Carolina in 2007 at the Senior Games, “Silver Arts” division.

Volker is a full-time resident of Otto and can create detailed reproductions and original works of art. She may be contacted at 828.524.5078 or by email at volkerks@frontier.com.

Spring has arrived and Dogwood Crafters are celebrating with a holiday workshop from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, April 6, at the Dillsboro Masonic Lodge.

Participants will have their pick of Easter favorites — bunnies or eggs. The ceramic pieces can be painted in one day and picked up the following week.

Brenda Anders, the president of Dogwood Crafters, will instruct participants in the techniques of painting ceramics while covering the types of paints and stains used and the differences in greenware and bisque.

Cost for the workshop is $11. Register to attend by calling Dogwood Crafters at 828.586.2248 or emailing junettapell@hotmail.com by March 30.

WCU student art showcase The 49th Annual Student Reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at the Western Carolina University Fine Arts Museum. The exhibit will be on display April 3-28 in the museum.

Colorado-based artist Martha Russo serves as juror for this exhibition that features the best of new and innovative creative expression in a variety of media by undergraduates at WCU. The exhibition is supported in part by the Western Carolina University Office of the Chancellor Arts & Cultural Events at WCU, WCU College of Fine & Performing Arts WCU School of Art & Design. museum@wcu.edu or 828.227.3591.

“

arts & entertainment

On the wall

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On the wall

• “Speed Sistersâ€? will be screened at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. The film documents the activities of the first allwoman racecar driving team in the Middle East.

The screenings are free and open to the public. bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 828.227.2479.

ALSO:

• Paint Nite Waynesville will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Sign up on the Paint Night Waynesville Facebook page (search event: Brush N. Brew) or call Robin Smathers at 828.400.9560. paintnitewaynesville@gmail.com.

• Leap Frog Tours will host a Waynesville Art excursion from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, March 31, in downtown. For more information or to

RSVP, visit www.leapfrogtours.com or call 828.507.1421.

arts & entertainment

• The “Healing Through Artâ€? exhibit will be held April 7-29 at the Gallery & Gifts showroom at the Haywood County Arts Council in downtown Waynesville. See artistic pieces aimed at touching the lives of people through creativity, all while healing individuals and communities. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Artist Damaris Pierce will offer Zentangle drawing workshops on April 8 at her Waynesville studio. www.drawingitin.com or 828.254.0988. • The MFA Thesis Exhibit for Jordan Krutsch will be showcased through March 31 in the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University. A reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at the museum. www.wcu.edu. • The “Animal Magnetismâ€? art exhibit will run through April 1 at the Haywood County Art Council’s “Gallery & Giftsâ€? showroom in downtown Waynesville. The exhibit celebrates our fellow creatures with animal-inspired artwork. www.haywoodarts.org. • There will be a “Thursday Painters Open Studioâ€? from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at the Franklin Uptown Gallery. Bring a bag lunch, project and supplies. Free to the public. Membership not required. For information, call 828.349.4607.

On the stage

The Town of Waynesville Historic Preservation Commission will host a series of speakers to inform the public on the rich and fascinating stories behind some of the

ALSO:

• The Highlands Performing Arts Center will continue the “Live via Satelliteâ€? series with The Bolshoi Ballet’s production of “A Contemporary Eveningâ€? at 12:55 p.m.

Sunday, April 2 and The MET Opera’s production of “Nabucco� by Verdi at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, April 8. There will be a preopera discussion hosted by Beverly Wichman before each screening at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.highlandspac.org, at the door or by calling 828.526.9047.

This facility and its affiliates comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.

ATENCIÓN: si habla espaùol tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingßística. Llame al 1-828-456-7311.

: 1-828-456-7311

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Smoky Mountain News

Waynesville historical speakers series

• A production of “Charlotte’s Webâ€? by “Kids at HARTâ€? will be performed at 2 p.m. April 1 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids. www.harttheatre.org.

March 29-April 4, 2017

A production of the classic musical “Hair� will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. April 5-7, 8 p.m. April 8 and 3 p.m. April 9 in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. “Hair,� the beloved and controversial 1960s show that defined the rock-musical, tells the story of the Tribe, a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius� living a bohemian life in New York City. Claude, his good friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and all of their friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves, and the sexual revolution with their rebellion against the war and a society they stand at odds with. Claude must decide whether to resist the draft as his friends have done, or to succumb to social and familial pressures to serve in Vietnam, compromising his pacifistic principles and risking his life.

This production contains strong language and adult themes.

Tickets are $22 for adults, $17 for WCU faculty/staff and seniors, $7 for students/child. bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

historic places within the community.

The goal of “Haywood Ramblingsâ€? is to entertain and inform all ages on some of the interesting aspects of Waynesville’s long history. Talks will be held at 4 p.m. in the Town Hall Board Room. • “Country Roads: Pathways to Our Artistic Heritageâ€? by Libba Feichter on April 6. • “Local history and The National Registerâ€? by a panel of local historians on May 4.

For more information, contact the Town’s Development Services Department at 828.456.8647.

newsdesk crafts

Gimme a head of ‘Hair’

4.

#193 - free table leveler

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

David Joy’s new book is a dark gem Many times We've been out drinking And many times We've shared our thoughts But did you ever, ever notice The kind of thoughts I got And that I see a great darkness, And that I see a great darkness, And that I see a great darkness.

— Bonnie Prince Billy ust after I bought The Weight of the World, I ran into an old friend of mine who is extremely well-read, and since I knew that he had already read the book and since I value his opinion, I asked, “So, what did you think?”

“This young man can write, he said, “but most folks will Writer find him a hard jog down a rocky road on a rainy day.”

“You didn’t like it?”

“Oh, I loved it, but I am not most people.

Most people are looking for a book that allows the critics to use phrases like ‘spiritually uplifting,” or ‘filled with a zest for life.’

David Joy is filled with a need to force his readers to recognize that there are two elephants in the room when he is writing: despair and desperation. He is going to insist that you see them. Despite his name, Joy doesn’t provide much, I am afraid.”

My well-read friend turned to leave and then, as an afterthought, added, “Think of him as Virgil ... not Virgil Honeycutt, the banjo player, but Virgil, the poet that lead Dante through Hell.”

Now that I have finished The Weight of the World, I think my well-read friend was spot on. Like that old Italian poet, I have followed David Joy through a landscape that is filled with an existential darkness. Of course, we are talking about Little Canada here ... winding roads, rusty trailers and the pungent smell of mildew ... a place where every face we

glimpse is either guarded, frightened and/or hostile. Little Canada, a section of Jackson County that has a near mythical reputation for violence, poverty and drugs. Once noted for moonshine, the old corn-fed stills have been replaced by a thriving cottage industry of illicit drugs.

Gary Carden

J

The Weight of the World by David Joy. G. P. Putnam’s and Sons, 2017. 260 pages.

The Weight of the World has two protagonists: Thad Broom and Aiden McCall. These boys are devoted to each other, not as “blood brothers,” but as something even stronger and even more devoted. Both dream of escaping Little Canada but are trapped by powerful forces that render them helpless. Aiden becomes an instant orphan when he watched

Bryson City poetry reading Swain High School student Jade Shuler and Pat Riviere-Seel, the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet for the Western Region of North Carolina, will host an evening of poetry at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

• Shuler is a junior at Swain County High School who has been writing poetry since she was 13, and used poetry as a method of self-discovery and escape from problems she did not fully understand. In 2016, two of her poems were published in Speechless, an online publishing site associated with her school. She also read her poems at a Speechless gathering.

This year she was selected to participate in a program with Narrative 4, an international nonprofit organization focused on

his father kill his mother and then himself.

Thad seizes on enlistment as a means of escaping a dead end existence and finds himself in Afghanistan where he discovers that he is capable of committing inhuman acts, including the killing of children carrying concealed explosives and the water-boarding of prisoners with diesel oil. When, Thad returns home, he is haunted by the memory of his wartime experience and the knowledge of his own guilt.

Thad and Aiden, like hundreds of other young Appalachians, survive by becoming a part of the construction boom, but by the time Thad returns, the construction work has all vanished. Ironically, the two young men often find themselves dismantling the very homes that they had helped build in a search for copper wiring which can be sold for a fraction of its value. Both talk of escaping from Little Canada for opportunities in Asheville, but they never have enough money to escape — only enough money to get high which is, ironically, a kind of escape.

Aiden has ended up living in a trailer owned by Thad’s mother, April, and while Thad is in Afghanistan, Aiden falls in love with her. It is a doomed relationship, of course, and aside of the difference in their ages, April has her own demons, including the memory of a rape in a dark church, a loveless marriage and her inability to love her own son who bears the physical trait (red hair) of her rapist. She also dreams fitfully of escape by selling her house and land for enough to move to a place where no one knows her name and history.

David Joy only needs a catalyst, a lighted match that he can drop into this explosive brew. It comes on a night that begins like hundreds of others: Thad and Aiden find themselves among the customers of one of Little Canada’s major drug dealers, Wayne

increasing empathy through the exchange of personal narratives.

Shuler enjoys reading, being outside, painting, and listening to music. She hopes to attend Lenoir-Rhyne University after graduation.

• Riviere-Seel is a poet, runner and a woman who has lived long enough to have “past” and “former” prefixes for more jobs and volunteer positions than she can name without looking at a resume.

She is a co-editor of the anthology Kakalak and the author of two prize-winning poetry chapbooks: No Turning Back Now and The Serial Killer’s Daughter, winner of the Roanoke-Chowan Award. Her most recent poetry collection, Nothing Below but Air, was a semifinalist for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. The Serial Killer’s Daughter has been turned into a one-act play and performed

by Shared Radiance Theatre.

Riviere-Seel has taught in UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies

Deitz and when everyone is under the influence of Wayne’s “blue crystals,” Wayne accidentally blows his own brains out. When the party explodes and everyone escapes into the night, Thad and Aiden suddenly realize that the long-dreamed of escape is at hand. When the two frightened and drugged young men return to the scene of Wayne’s demise, they are thinking of the large store of crystal that Wayne had ... hopefully enough to fund their escape. In addition, they have the dead drug dealer’s money ... thousands of dollars plus bag of crystal. All they have to do is find a buyer for everything.

The curse of the search is the fact that although they have the means to escape, they are still doomed. The catch is, in Little Canada there are no buyers except those who will find a way to get the drugs and money without paying for them. Because of the arrival of migrant workers, all willing to work for less in construction than Aiden and Thad, the Mexicans have become their most hated enemy. Ironically, the Mexicans are victims, too.

And when they find themselves abandoned in Little Canada, the migrant workers follow the only solution available. They adapt.

They become drug dealers, too.

At the heart of this novel, we have two doomed young men who make one final attempt to escape the complicated dead end roads of Little Canada. With each betrayal, Aiden and Thad learn another bitter truth.

Thad will find that the inner darkness he discovered in Afghanistan, has come home with him and suddenly, every way he looks, there is the knowledge: “some men deserve to die” and he is one of them. Perhaps there is a redemption to be found for the death of a child in a foreign country if he can save a child here, in Little Canada. Perhaps there is even a bit of justice for a little dog named Loretta Lynn who is one of the hapless victims in this novel. Perhaps, when April finally catches a bus out of Little Canada, she has saved something from the wreckage. Perhaps, Aiden will find redemption and justice by bringing a final judgment to a crime that was committed in a dark church 20 years ago.

The Weight of the World is a dark gem.

Not to everyone’s taste, but it deserves everyone’s respect.

Writing Program, and in 2012 she held a unique position as poetin-residence at the NC Zoo. Before earning her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, she worked as a newspaper journalist, publicist, and lobbyist.

The Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series (GCDPS) is a free program of the North Carolina Poetry Society that pairs an established North Carolina poet with four student writers who wish to develop their work. From December through May, the students and the Distinguished Poet correspond or meet to discuss and work on about a dozen of each student’s poems. The series includes a GCDPS reading at Western Carolina University’s annual Literary Festival in April and the opportunity to set up joint readings of the student poets and the Distinguished Poet at the students’ home libraries.

The Resilience of Southern Identity WCU professor Chris Cooper and College of Charleston Professor H. Gibbs Knotts will present their book The Resilience of Southern Identity: Why the South Still Matters in the Minds of Its People at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

The American South has experienced remarkable change over the past half century.

Black voter registration has increased, the region’s politics have shifted from one-party Democratic to the near-domination of the Republican Party, and in-migration has increased its population many-fold.

At the same time, many outward signs of regional distinctiveness have faded — chain restaurants have replaced mom-and-pop diners, and the interstate highway system connects the region to the rest of the country. Given all of these changes, many have argued that southern identity is fading.

But here, Cooper and Knotts show how these changes have allowed for new types of southern identity to emerge. For some, identification with the South has become more about a connection to the region’s folkways or to place than about policy or ideology. For others, the contemporary South is all of those things at once — a place where many modern-day southerners navigate the region’s confusing and omnipresent history.

To reserve copies of The Resilience of Southern Identity, call City Lights Bookstore at 828.586.9499.

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March 29-April 4, 2017

• A “Theme Team Book Clubâ€? is now being offered by the Waynesville Public Library.

The group meets quarterly from 2 to 4 p.m. on the first Friday of the month. The next meeting is April 7, with the theme “A Fresh Start: Books About Starting Over.� Pick any book you would like to read for the theme.

Everyone gets a chance to discuss their book. 828.356.2507. Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library.

S Banking... Simplified

Through the lens of life Smoky Mountain News

Asheville photographer and writer Sue Wasserman will sign copies of her new book, A Moment’s Notice, at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 8, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Comprised of pieces about gratitude, patience, presence, and other meditations inspired by mountain nature, A Moment’s Notice is at once a field guide to the region and a meditation on what it means to exist in the world.

Wasserman casts her well-trained eye on Southern Appalachian wildlife and translates what she sees and experiences in nature into thoughtful reflections. Included are the common names of the flora and fauna depicted.

A freelance writer, Wasserman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Southern Living, American Style, as well as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Asheville CitizenTimes.

828.586.9499.

33

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Stories from mountains Cherokee man keeps old stories alive, one hike at a time Flanked by Joel Turner and Rebecca Ballou, Gil Jackson waves from the heath bald just above the Hangover. Holly Kays photo

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER The last known footprint of the slant-eyed giant Judaculla is not easy to get to.

First, there’s the drive to Wolf Laurel Trailhead, which takes about an hour to reach from Robbinsville up a steep and rutted U.S. Forest Service road that winds past tumbling waterfalls and an intersection with the Appalachian Trail before reaching the parking lot. Then there’s the hike — 3.5 miles of steep uphills offset by rocky downhills pieced together with the occasional stretch of level ground, often while traversing a narrow ridgeline with slopes falling steeply to either side.

At the end of it all, though, is the Hangover. The deciduous forest suddenly gives way to a rock-studded heath bald affording sweeping views of endless mountain waves, with Lake Santeelah in the foreground and Clingmans Dome just out of sight in the background. A rhododendron-cased scramble leads to the elusive final destination, a rock

whose steeply sloping sides make standing difficult. The mountain falls away underneath, dropping sharply to the valley far below.

And there, clearly etched in a depression on the otherwise smooth rock, is Judaculla’s footprint. It’s the outline of a six-toed foot, complete with clawmarks.

The story of Judaculla — or Tsulgala, as he was known before the English corruption Judaculla gained prevalence — is well known in Cherokee legend. But as is the case with many stories that explain the origins of the region’s natural landmarks, the present-day locations of those landmarks aren’t always so well documented. The existence of Judaculla Rock near Cullowhee — a soapstone bearing ancient Cherokee markings and also, supposedly, the seven-fingered handprint of Judaculla himself — is common knowledge locally. But that’s not the only Cherokee story about Judaculla, the superhuman giant who could leap from mountaintop to mountain-

The footprint story The Cherokees lived in a large village by a creek, which was surrounded by the mountains.

Tsulgala (Judaculla) helped the people that lived there; he would bring in food to the people, such as hindquarters of a deer to feed the people in the village.

Tsulgala would come to the village, particularly to one of the elderly women’s place; she had two daughters and a son that lived with her. But, Tsulgala would always come in the evening and sit in the corner away from the light. One day the elderly woman was curious to why he always came in the evening and he would not show his face, so she was going to find a way to see his face. She gathered sumac tree for firewood. This type of tree sparks when it burns. That evening Tsulgala came and brought deer meat with him. Like before he went to the corner where it was dark and sat down. After a while when it got dark outside, she went outside and gathered her sumac wood and placed it in the fire. It took a few minutes to burn, but the wood started to burn and it started to pop and spark.

Tsulgala had to look up and turn his head towards the fire; finally they could see his face and the eyes were slanted up and down. Tsulgala got up and ran away.

Tsulgala lived in the mountains. There was a place with a big rock at the edge of a mountain, which Tsulgala leaped off, and he left an indentation of his foot on the rocks.

This story was written by John Ross in his book Cherokee History and Culture — and based on the version told by his great-grandmother Sally Mink, of Snowbird.

top. And the location connected with the last story told about him, ending with his jump off a mountainside that left a footprint in the rock, was unknown.

That is, until tribal member Gil Jackson set his mind to finding it.

“When I first heard about the story, I said, ‘I think I know where it is, but I’m not sure,” Jackson said.

An avid hiker, Jackson, 65, has walked just about every trail that exists in Western North Carolina. Three years ago, he hiked from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.

When he heard the story of Judaculla, an image came into his head of a footprint-like depression he’d seen on one of his hikes, somewhere, but he couldn’t quite place it.

That same weekend, though, he happened to hike the Hangover. And there it was, etched in rock. A six-toed footprint, clear as day.

Tears leaked in his eyes. He didn’t want to leave. Now, he hikes to Hangover about five times a year.

This time, however, he wasn’t alone. Joel Turner, a Robbinsville resident and Cherokee language learner who is married to a tribal member, came along with his two Cherokee stepdaughters — Rachel Ballou, 16, and Rebecca Ballou, 14.

PRESERVING HISTORY Jackson was nothing short of thrilled to see the two girls show up. His whole life has been a campaign, of sorts, to get Cherokee kids outside to explore their homeland and learn the stories that go along with the places they encounter.

He grew up in the Snowbird area of Graham County, speaking Cherokee as a first language and breathing Cherokee stories like air. Over the course of his life, however, he’s seen that heritage become less prevalent among the younger generations, and he fights

against its loss. His hikes are part of that effort. They’re a mash-up of oral instruction and physical challenge, inviting young people to learn about their heritage while experiencing the beauty of the mountains where their ancestors once trod.

“We’re just losing too many people who know anything about our culture,” Jackson said. “That’s who we are. That’s our identity.”

That’s why he looks to the young people — Cherokees with decades of physical ability before them to learn the joys of scrambling up rocky ridges and discovering hidden waterfalls. Being Cherokee is as much about learning the love of place as it is about knowing the stories, Jackson said.

“I want people to appreciate what we have here — beautiful mountains, clean streams, clean water, healthy rivers. I want them to understand that and I want them to appreciate it,” Jackson said. “And you can only do that if you’re in it and drinking out of the streams, fishing out of these streams, jumping out of these waterfalls — all that kind of stuff.”

If they can do that while seeking the sites that star in Cherokee legend, all the better.

“These sites are going to be lost,” he said.

“I don’t know anybody else within our tribe that hikes and knows about these places.”

Now semi-retired, Jackson spent his career trying to bolster a spirit of adventure among Cherokee youth. As executive director of Cherokee Child and Family Services, he helped launch Cherokee Challenge in 1982, a program that aimed to reach youth through a variety of outdoor adventures and team-building activities.

“The primary goal was to improve their self-esteem,” Jackson said, “so they didn’t have to be dependent on alcohol and drugs.”

Jackson has since retired, and the Cherokee Challenge program ended in the early 2000s, but Jackson’s efforts to get youth outside to explore their ancestral lands have not subsided. Currently, he works through a grant from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, which allows him to buy food and equipment for kids who participate in the outings he plans. Teens from poor backgrounds might not be able to afford a good pair of shoes, for example, and they might not have access to the granola bars and trail mix that hikers usually bring along. But that shouldn’t rob them of the chance to explore.

He also extends his instruction to young people outside the tribe, teaching classes at the University of North Carolina Asheville and regularly hosting students from colleges across the country for alternative spring break weeks on his property near Robbinsville. The students come to spend a week working on the trail system he’s installing there, and in return Jackson teaches them about Cherokee culture and environmental science.

“The feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day is real good,” Jackson said. “They want selfie pictures with me, and almost without exception they’re coming to say, ‘Thank you for allowing us to work on your property.’”

Help tidy up the Tuck The 33rd annual Tuck River Cleanup is just around the corner — Saturday, April 8 — and Western Carolina University is looking for volunteers willing to get dirty to keep things clean.

Known as the nation’s largest single-day effort to remove trash from a waterway, the cleanup organizes WCU students, faculty, staff and community members to remove tons of garbage from 27 miles of river — traveling both by foot and by raft.

Registration and transportation to the river will be offered 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., with the first 500 participants receiving a free T-shirt.

Transportation back from the river will be 3-5 p.m. with free food and entertainment

4-6 p.m. on the lawn of A.K. Hinds University Center.

ON THE MOUNTAINTOP

wonder.

“You don’t know if it’s real or not,” Rebecca said.

The hike was long, the girls agreed, and it might be a while before they’re up for something that ambitious again — though a shorter excursion might be nice. But standing up on the bald with the mountains all around was amazing, Rachel said. It made her think about the creator who formed it all.

The volunteer cleanup crew gets to work. WCU photo

Let the games begin The event is hosted by WCU’s Base Camp Cullowhee, with a long list of sponsors contributing as well. Kay Tufts, kjtufts@wcu.edu or 828.227.8804.

Vendors sought for Smokies eclipse event Temporary food and beverage vendors are being sought for the solar eclipse event planned in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Aug. 21.

About 1,600 people will shuttled to Clingmans Dome that day to participate in eclipse activities and presentations, with vendors authorized to sell their wares to those in attendance. To be considered, all applications, fees and supporting information must be considered by April 24. The National Park Service will select the best-qualified applicants by the end of May. More information on applicant requirements is available at www.nps.gov/grsm/getinvolved/dobusinesswithus.htm. Molly Schroer, Concessions Management Specialist, 865.436.1209 or GRSM_Concessions@nps.gov.

March 29-April 4, 2017 Smoky Mountain News

Sometimes it’s harder to drum up enthusiasm from the ranks of tribal members. In Jackson’s experience, oftentimes “kids would rather text and play video games than walk in the woods.”

Consequently, he was delighted to see Rachel and Rebecca ride up to the trailhead with their stepfather.

However, the trek to Hangover was no entry-level hike — at about 7 miles roundtrip, it was on the Gil Jackson long side, and the route included stands on the plenty of steep inclines and rock rock that bears scrambles. The girls had little to the footprintno hiking experience, and didn’t like mark that really know what they were in for.

Cherokee legend As the walk in lengthened, their purports to energy began to flag, though it come from the spiked in spurts as Jackson pointslant-eyed giant ed out the telltale signs of their Judaculla. ancestors that came before them Holly Kays photo — like an old tree bearing the scars of the straps used to hold it down as a sapling, making it point the way to the Hangover for Cherokees walking the old path long ago.

Then, they reached the top.

Gasps of amazement escaped as they mounted the rocks, lifting their heads above the thickets of rhododendron to see the limitless view stretching before them. At the edge of the outcrop, there was the Hangover — and the footprint etched into it. They crawled onto the rock to crowd around their stepdad, gaping at the footprint.

“It just makes you think a lot about “It’s like one old Cherokee told me one stuff, I guess,” Rachel said during a break time,” Turner, the girls’ step father, said. on the way back down. “I just like learning “He said, if you’re walking on the wrong about them (the stories), because they’re footpath, you’re out alone and you can from our ancestors.” sense that there were those here before you, It’s fascinating, her sister agreed, and they walked and lived. And if you kind because the old stories coupled with sights of just listen in a stream you can hear them like the Hangover’s footprint make you speak. They’re there.”

Registration is open through April 7 for the Haywood County Senior Games, with competitions scheduled from opening ceremonies April 20 through the closing banquet May 11.

Athletic events include disc golf, cycling, horseshoes, track and field, swimming and pickleball, among many others. The games also include an arts component with categories such as visual arts, heritage arts, literary arts and performing arts.

More than 100 participants of ages 50 and up typically participate in the three weeks of events, with medals awarded to first through third places in each five-year age division.

The $15 entry allows seniors to participate in as many events as they choose in either division, with a few select events incurring an

outdoors

additional fee. Register through April 7 at the Haywood County Recreation & Parks office at 63 Elmwood Way in Waynesville or go online to http://torch.ncseniorgames.org. Offsite registration will be offered 7-10 a.m. at the Waynesville Recreation Center Thursday, March 30.

Coordinated by the Haywood County Recreation & Parks Department and sponsored statewide by the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services. 828.452.6789 or www.haywoodnc.net.

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outdoors

Celebrate spring in Cherokee A celebration of spring will be held April 7-8 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds in Cherokee, with hours noon to 6 p.m. April 7 and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 8.

The Annual Spring Garden Fair will feature vendors, classes and demonstrations with a variety of garden-oriented items available for purchase.

Free. Sponsored by Principal Chief Patrick Lambert and Legend Weaver Studios. legendweaversstudios@gmail.com.

Snag a space in the community garden Community garden space is available in Franklin, with the Macon County Community Garden Committee now taking applications for plots as the garden prepares for its sixth season.

Spaces are 500 square feet and tilled, with gardeners supplying their own fertilizer, seeds and plants. Plots cost $25 each, with gardeners asked to donate a portion of their produce to the Macon County Care Net. In the past four years, the garden has provided a substantial amount of fresh vegetables for those in need. Since its beginning, the garden has grown from 16 garden spaces to 24.

Applications are available from Macon County Cooperative Extension, 828.349.2049. The garden will open by May 1.

Spruce up on soils A lesson on the basics of soils will help gardeners get ready for the growing season at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension office in Waynesville.

Master Gardener Volunteer Jim Janke will present.

Free. Sarah Scott, 828.456.3575.

Drop in to visit wildlife orphans

Smoky Mountain News

March 29-April 4, 2017

The animals of Edith Allen Wildlife Sanctuary in Canton will welcome visitors to the Welcome Wildlife Baby Shower 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 1.

The drop-in event will give the public a chance to celebrate the new life that spring brings. With all the babies being born, springtime is when the wildlife sanctuary receives the most wildlife orphans in need of care.

The nonprofit sanctuary is licensed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, operating a 6,000-square-foot building on 3 acres to rehabilitate and release native wildlife, as well as offer permanent care for some exotics.

828.646.8805 or www.edithallenwildlife.com.

36

Birding in the backyard An exploration of the mountain’s feathered friends will be presented 4-5:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 4, at the Waynesville Public Library.

Presented by The Balsam Mountain Dr. David Kirk,

Dr. Robin Matthews,

Jody Schmit,

FACOG

FACOG

Certified Nurse Midwife

Nature Center to ramp up education efforts The WNC Nature Center will launch a regional education outreach program thanks to a $52,000 grant Friends of the WNC Nature Center received from the N.C. Science Museums Grant Program.

A new outreach educator Great horned owl. SMN photo will now be available to bring 30-minute, hands-on programs with live animals for area groups who might not make it to the Nature Center themselves.

“The Center receives many more requests for education and classes than we can possibly provide, so we often have to

Trust, “Backyard Birding” will cover the types of birds found in the backyards of Western North Carolina and what people can do to ensure their health and survival.

Free; registration required. Sponsored

by Friends of the Library. Kathy Olsen, 828.356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net. turn down requests,” said Education Specialist Lauren Pyle. “But thanks to this grant, we can start saying yes to those travel requests.”

The Nature Center’s award was one of 41 given to science centers across the state, totaling $2.44 million. The N.C. Science Museums Grant Program aims to enhance public education opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, especially in lowresource communities.

The WNC Nature Center attracts more than 134,000 visitors annually, and the number has been steadily increasing for the past six years. The center’s education department directly impacts more than 15,000 of those annual visitors. www.wildwnc.org.

Assault on Blackrock draws high turnout Runners navigate the steep and rocky trails of the race route.

A spring wildflower hike will explore the Big Creek Watershed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 8.

Wildflower enthusiast Donna Machen will lead the hike, helping participants identify the variety of wildflowers on display this time of year at one of Machen’s favorite places to see nature’s beauty. The 4-mile round-trip hike to Mouse Creek Falls is rated easy and will conclude around 3 p.m., with light refreshments provided.

The hike is part of the Haywood Waterways Association’s “Get to Know Your Watershed” series.

Free for HWA members with a $5 donation requested from nonmembers. Space is limited. RSVP by April 6 to Christine O’Brien, christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 828.476.4667.

Donated photos

outdoors

Despite some negative publicity last month when spikes were planted along the trails at Pinnacle Park in Sylva, turnout was high for the grueling Assault on Blackrock trail race Saturday, March 18, at Pinnacle Park.

Compared to 73 people last year and 82 people in 2015, this year’s race drew 87 athletes to complete the demanding 7-mile trek, which includes 2,770 feet of elevation gain.

Nathan Rhodes, 40, of Asheville, took first place in the men’s division with a time of one hour, 22 minutes. Mandy Dockendorf, 37, of Cullowhee, took first place in the women’s division with a time of one hour, 38 minutes. Competitors came from areas throughout the southeast, including Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and towns across North Carolina.

Several officers patrolled the area during

Take in the wildflower show at Big Creek

Trek Twentymile race day to ensure safety, and it went very well, Sylva Police Chief Davis Woodard told town commissioners last week. However, nobody has yet been arrested in connection with the 50-plus spikes planted on the trails in February.

“The case is still very much an open and active case,” Woodard told commissioners.

“We’ve exhausted a lot of time and effort into it, everybody has. It will remain a priority.”

A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for planting the spikes.

Contact the Sylva Police Department at 828.586.2916.

— By Holly Kays, staff writer

The critical issues at play in last year’s historic wildfire season will be dissected by a panel of experts 5-8 p.m. Monday, April 3, at Highland Brewing in Asheville.

“Before We Burn Again: A Panel on the Future of Wildfires in WNC” will feature leaders in the fields of wildfire management, fire ecology, climate change and community planning. They will discuss the dangers and ecological benefits of wildfire as well as the reasons behind last year’s historic wildfire event and the most appropriate, proactive responses and strategies for managing future wildfire phenomena.

Presented by MountainTrue and the Asheville Citizen-Times and sponsored by French Broad Chocolates, Highland Brewing and Nantahala Outdoor Center. $10, or free for MountainTrue members. Register at http://bit.ly/2o5ud1d.

Diane E. Sherrill, Attorney FREE LUNCHEON SEMINAR

Both are forming soon.

April 19 & May 24

Call to join or inquire about more information.

11:30 AM

Best Western River Escape Inn Dillsboro • Reservation Suggested

828.586.4051

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28 Maple St. • Sylva

Concealed Carry Class: 80/BYO gun 90/gun & ammo provided $

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Pre-concealed carry & post-concealed carry classes also available

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Smoky Mountain News

Is a Will Enough?

.22 Pistol League and Cowboy League

March 29-April 4, 2017

Wildfire season to be discussed over beer

An 8-mile trek through the trails less traveled in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be offered Saturday, April 8, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Wolf Ridge Trail to access Twentymile Loop.

Dana Murphy of the Great Smoky Mountains Association will lead the hike, which is part of GSMA’s Hiking 101 series of hikes along fan-favorite trails. Murphy will introduce hikers to Leave No Trace principles, citizen science techniques and the past fall’s wildfire season in the Smokies.

The hike is rated moderate to strenuous and will conclude around 5 p.m. The Twentymile area is located near Robbinsville. $10 for GSMA members and $35 for nonmembers, with one-year membership included. Register at http://conta.cc/2mUKyow.

17 Palmer Rd. Waynesville | 828-452-7870 Hours: M-W:11-6 Th.& Fri:11-8 Sat.:10-6 Sun:1-5

www.mountainrangewnc.com

37

outdoors

Volunteers are encouraged to stay to fish after the stocking is complete. Donated photo

Easter Dance Party for Adults Saturday, April 8 · 7-8:50 p.m.

The Waynesville Rec Center will be sponsoring its next Dance Party (both ballroom and line dance music) with live entertainment once again. We're very happy to have Paul Indelicato with us with his dance music and songs. The charge is $10 per person. If you are able to join us, please bring a dish of your choice- finger foods.

COME JOIN US! We are open Monday-Friday from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 1-7 p.m.

Members get free child care, free personal training and free exercise classes. Please call ahead for pool hours.

WAYNESVILLE

PARKS AND RECREATION March 29-April 4, 2017

or email Tim Plowman at 828.456.2030 tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov

Meet Charlotte Figi.

At just 3 months old, she experienced her first seizure, an experience that would send her family on a path that would change the world. Charlotte was suffering from 300 grand mal seizures per week when they met the Stanley Brothers, who had been developing proprietary hemp genetics. Together they created a hemp oil extract that was introduced into Charlotte’s diet in hopes of providing her relief.

Smoky Mountain News

Charlotte didn’t have a single seizure during the first seven days of treatment, which was a clear sign that the Figis had stumbled onto something extraordinary.

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Help stock the Pigeon River Trout fans are invited to help the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Trout Unlimited Cataloochee chapter stock the West Fork of the Pigeon River, 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, April 6.

Volunteers should bring a clean 5-gallon bucket, trash bags and friends to help stock at least 1,400 pounds of fish. Waders are also recommended. The job will take about three hours to complete.

It’s the N.C. Wildlife Resources

Commission’s responsibility to stock the river, but having a volunteer force to help allows the fish to be dispersed more evenly along the river, resulting in a more enjoyable fishing experience.

The group will meet at a parking lot that’s past Lake Logan and before Sunburst Campground off of N.C. 215, across from the shooting range.

Ron Gaddy, tucataloochee427@gmail.com.

Stocked trout waters to open Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters will open for the season at 7 a.m. Saturday, April 1, in 25 western counties.

With the season running through Feb. 28, 2018, anglers can harvest a maximum seven trout per day with no minimum size limits or bait restrictions. Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters are marked by green-and-white signs and stocked from March to August each year. In 2017, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will stock nearly 916,000 trout, 96 percent of which will average 10 inches in length.

The stocking schedule is online at ncpaws.org/RSReports/FishStock/WeeklyStockingForm.aspx, and daily updates on waters stocked are available at www.ncwildlife.org/fishing/hatcheriesstocking/ncwrcstocking.aspx.

Seats available on wildlife advisory board Four seats are open on the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee, with nominations accepted through April 30.

The board advises the Commission on conservation issues surrounding nongame species across the state and meets four times per year, usually at the Commission’s headquarters in Raleigh. The Commission will appoint committee members at its July meeting.

Two seats are “expert affiliate seats,”

reserved for people with extensive expertise and experience in dealing with nongame wildlife conservation in North Carolina.

The remaining two are at-large “affiliate seats,” reserved for people from organizations that provide a stakeholder voice in wildlife resource conservation — such as land trusts, non-governmental conservation organizations and federal natural resource agencies other than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nomination forms are available at www.ncwildlife.org and should be submitted with a resume and cover letter. Email nominations to shauna.glover@ncwildlife.org.

Shauna Glover, 919.707.0064.

Talk like a turkey Turkey hunters of all skill levels will benefit from a free workshop offered 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 1, at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard.

Experienced instructors will provide hands-on instruction on turkey biology, hunting methods, equipment selection, scouting techniques, decoy set-ups and calls. A combination of classroom and outdoor learning, the day will include plenty of opportunities for participants to put their new knowledge into practice.

Free, with space limited. Register at www.ncwildlife.org/pisgah.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • A memorial service for Rev. Dr. Jimmy Carr will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska. Carr was executive director of the United Methodist Church and Lake Junaluska for 11 years before retiring in 2010.

• Women of Waynesville, a nonprofit organization that supports the needs of women and children in Haywood County, will hold an open house and membership drive event from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, at Room 1902, 1902 S. Main St., Waynesville. www.womenofwaynesville.org or 550.9978.

• Haywood Habitat for Humanity will hold information sessions for applicants at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 1, at the Waynesville Library; at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 30, at the Canton Library, and at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Waynesville. 452.7960.

• A TED talk discussion on “Your elusive creative genius” will be offered on Wednesday, April 5, at the Waynesville Library. 15-20 minute talk followed by discussion. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• Haywood Community College is seeking nominations for its annual Outstanding Alumni of the Year Award.

Deadline for nominations is March 31. For a nomination form and more info, call 627.4679 or write dconard@haywood.edu.

• Applications are being accepted for the Haywood County Farm Bureau Scholarship. Students must be graduating seniors, currently enrolled in a Haywood County school or enrolled in a two- or four-year school and a resident of Haywood County. 2.5 GPA or better.

452.1425 or Karen_greene@ncfbssc.com.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health is seeking input from residents who have used its services or who have thoughts on the health needs of Jackson County. http://health.jacksonnc.org/surveys.

• Information sessions for Evergreen Foundation grants will be offered at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 12, at Graham County Library in Robbinsville; 1:30 p.m. on April 12 at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City; 10 a.m. on April 19 at Macon County Public Library in Franklin; 12:30 p.m. on April 19 at Jackson County Public Library in Sylva; and at 2 p.m. on April 19 at the Haywood County Public Library in Waynesville. Proposals are due at 5 p.m. on May 31. Register for info session: dcoleman@evergreennc.org or 421.7483. www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

• Volunteers will be available to assist area residents of all ages with federal and state income tax preparation and filing through April 14. Hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. every Friday and Monday at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva and from 3-6:45 p.m. on Tuesdays or by appointment at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. For appointments: 586.2016. For tax preparation assistance in other counties, visit: www.aarp.org.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Summer and fall registration for Haywood Community College is underway through April 28. 627.4500 or haywood.edu.

• A “Message Mapping” seminar will be presented by the Small Business Center at Haywood Community College from 6-9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29, in HCC’s Regional High Technology Center, Room 3021, in Waynesville. A message map helps you pitch your product, service, business or idea in a simple and compelling way. Speaker is Tonya Snider, owner of tenBiz. Register: 627.4512 or SBC.Haywood.edu.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• Western Carolina University’s annual Research and Scholarship Celebration is Wednesday and Thursday, March 30, in Cullowhee. Includes the Undergraduate Expo and the Graduate Research Symposium, which concludes with a reception and awards program at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the UC Grandroom. Follow on social media: #RASC17.

• WordPress, Part 1, will be offered at 4 p.m. on April 4, at Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Taught by Jim Geary with assistance from Cassie Chambliss.

Basic instruction for using the web publishing platform.

Register: 524.3600.

• A “Customer Service for Small Business” seminar will be offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 6-9 p.m. on April 6, at the HCC Regional High Technology in Clyde. Led by Tonya Snider.

Register or get info: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

Smoky Mountain News

a.m.-4 p.m. on April 22. Applications available at www.greeningupthemountains.com, or call 631.4587.

• Town of Dillsboro will be hosting three arts and craft shows open to vendors from the surrounding region.

Over 40 artisans for each of these festivals are needed, artisans who will be displaying and demonstrating their hand made arts and crafts from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Family entertainment and festival food will be available during each show. First show is Saturday, June 17 — The 3rd annual “Front Street Arts & Crafts Show.”

Application due April 1. Vendors may apply for these shows by downloading an application from the town’s website, www.visitdillsboro.org. 586.3511 or festivals@visitdillsboro.org.

• The Downtown Waynesville Association is seeking heritage themed vendors for the annual Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration that will take place Saturday, June 10, on Main Street. 456.3517 to request an application or visit the event calendar at www.downtownwaynesville.com by April 28.

HEALTH MATTERS FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • The annual Raymon Stovall United Methodist Men’s Poor Man’s Luncheon is set for 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Friday, March 31, in the Christian Life Center of First United Methodist Church of Sylva. $8 per plate. Pinto beans, potatoes, cole slaw, drink and dessert. Takeout orders available. 586.2358.

• Feline Urgent Rescue (FUR of WNC) is hosting a cat food drive throughout April at 79 Branner Drive in Waynesville. 844.888.2287 or www.furofwnc.org.

• During April, Frank and Louis Perrone, award-winning father and son chef/proprietors of Frankie’s Trattoria in Maggie Valley, will be sharing their legendary recipes in a cookbook titled Frankie’s Libro di Cucina — Reminiscing and Cooking with Frank “The Kid” Perrone. All proceeds from sales of the book will help fund Richie’s Alliance for Autism and support the Olsen Huff Center of Mission Children’s Hospital in Western North Carolina. Pre-order forms will be available at www.frankiestrattoria.com in March for signed copies to be delivered beginning in mid-April.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS • The Good Samaritan clinic of Haywood County seeks volunteers to help uninsured patients receive medications, vision care and other health and spiritual-related services in Waynesville. Clinic is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Friday. 545.5287 or crocco@gcshaywood.org.

• An opportunity to help spruce of Western Carolina University’s mountain biking trails is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 2, starting at the WCU Health and Human Sciences parking lot. 227.8813 or basecamp@wcu.edu.

• A training session for volunteers interested in assisting visitors at and near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Friday, April 7, at the Oconaluftee Multi-Purpose Room near Cherokee.

Register: 497.1914 or Kathleen_stuart@nps.gov.

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• Western Carolina University’s student-run, Mountain Area Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic will be open from 6-8:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. 227.3527.

• Preparation for Childbirth classes will be taught by a certified childbirth educator from 7-9 p.m. on Thursdays March 30-April 20, June 1-June 22, Aug. 3, Aug. 24 and Oct. 12-Nov. 2 at Haywood Regional Medical Center. 452.8440 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses.

• A “March for Health” is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. on April 1, starting at Bridge Park in Sylva. A satellite march coordinated with others in Washington, D.C., New York City, Seattle and more. http://bit.ly/2n2ym8l or www.marchforhealth.org. 269.8952 or 631.3379.

• The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on April 5 at Haywood Regional Medical Center Health & Fitness Center in Clyde.

Redcrossblood.org or 800.RED.CROSS. • The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on April 6 at Lowe’s in Sylva.

Redcrossblood.org or 800.RED.CROSS. • The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 1-5:30 p.m. on April 7 at Jackson County Department on Aging in Sylva. Redcrossblood.org or 800.RED.CROSS. • The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on April 10 at Swain Community Hospital in Bryson City. Redcrossblood.org or 800.RED.CROSS .

• Gerald King, M.D., of Western Carolina Orthopaedic Specialists will present a “Talk with a Doc” dinner seminar on “From Pain to Performance: Hip & Knee Replacement” at 6 p.m. on April 11, in the Haywood Regional Medical Center Café in Clyde. Healthy meal will be served. RSVP required: 800.424.3627.

• The eighth annual Health Living Festival is from 9 a.m.-noon on April 18, at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. Health screenings and 25 exhibitors encourage participants to live well. 587.8292.

• Haywood Regional Medical Center is currently seeking volunteers of all ages for ongoing support at the hospital, outpatient care center and the Homestead. For info and to apply: 452.8301, stop by the information desk in the lobby or volunteer@haymed.org. Anyone interested in becoming a hospice volunteer can call 452.5039.

• The High Mountain Squares will host “A Night with Elvis Dance” from 6:15-8:45 p.m. on Friday, March 31, at Memorial United Methodist Church in Franklin.

342.1560, 332.0001 or www.highmountainsquares.com.

• Greening up the Mountains Festival is seeking artists, mountain crafters, environmental and food vendors to apply for a booth in its 20th festival, which is from 10

• Registration for a spring golf league has begun through the Jackson County Recreation Department. $10 fee to enter and $20 per week to golf course. League is

RECREATION AND FITNESS

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Smoky Mountain Country Club.

Register at www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• ZUMBA! Classes, are offered from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays, at the Canton Armory. $5 per class. 648.2363 or parks@cantonnc.com.

• Tai chi is offered from 10:45-11:45 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center. It’s also offered from 1-2 p.m. on Thursdays.

452.8080 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/Fitness.

• Ultimate Frisbee games are held from 5:30-8 p.m. on Mondays at the Cullowhee Recreation Park. Organized

by Jackson County Parks & Recreation. Pick-up style.

293.2053 or www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

POLITICAL • “Are politics and ethics mutually exclusive” will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum at 7 p.m. on April 3, at the Rathkeller Coffe Haus & Pub in Franklin.

Dialog, not debate. 371.1020.

• The Swain County Democratic Party will have its convention at 5:30 p.m. on April 4, at the Swain County Senior Center in Bryson City. Delegates will be chosen for the 11th District Convention, which is May 20.

735.1950.

• Indivisible Swain County NC meets at 6 p.m. on April 5 at the Historic Calhoun Hotel in Bryson City. Topics: environmental and healthcare issues. 488.1118.

• The Jackson County Democratic Party will hold its annual convention from 10 a.m.-noon on April 8, at the community room of the Jakson County Public Library in Sylva. Delegates will be elected to district and state conventions as well as to state- and district-level positions.

• Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor has coffee and an open public discussion with Highlands residents from 11 a.m.-noon on the last Friday of each month at Hudson Library in Highlands. www.fontanalib.org or 526.3031.

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk,” a book, will be presented by Appalachian Trail hiker and storyteller Nancy Reeder at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

• WCU professor Chris Cooper and College of Charleston Professor H. Gibbs Knotts will present their book The Resilience of Southern Identity: Why the South Still Matters in the Minds of Its People at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 1, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. To reserve copies of The Resilience of Southern Identity, please call City Lights Bookstore at 586.9499.

• As part of the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series, the Marianna Black Library will host Swain High School student Jade Shuler and Pat Riviere-Seel, the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet for the Western Region of North Carolina, at 7 p.m. on April 5, in Bryson City. 488.3030.

wnc calendar

• The Theme Team Book Club will meet from 2-4 p.m. on April 7, at the Waynesville Library. Topic is: A fresh start: Books about starting over. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• Asheville photographer and writer Sue Wasserman will sign copies of her new book, A Moment’s Notice, at 3 p.m. April 8, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

586.9499.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Registration is underway through April 7 for the Haywood County Senior Games. Register online at torch.ncseniorgames.org or from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays at Haywood County Recreation & Parks in Waynesville. Games start on April 17.

KIDS & FAMILIES • Open enrollment is underway for the 2017-18 school year for Haywood Christian Academy. www.HaywoodChristianAcademy.org. Info: 627.0229.

• The Play Sanctuary’s monthly Pop-Up Play is from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, April 1, at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva. Local musicians perform; opportunity for kids to make and decorate musical instruments.

Rain location is Family Resource Center at 1528 Webster Road. www.playsanctuary.wordpress.com.

• The “Howl In at Full Moon Farm” is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. on April 8. Theme is “Easter Egg Hunt.”

Opportunity to meet wolfdogs. Stay for potluck at 5 p.m. ($5 donation). For info and directions: 664.9818, info@fullmoonfarm.org or fullmoonfarm.org.

March 29-April 4, 2017

• The Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department will hold their annual Easter Egg Hunt at noon April 8. Held at the recreation park for ages 10 and under. Prizes awarded to all children who find “Golden Eggs.” There will be a decorated Easter Egg Contest prior to the hunt. 828.293.3053 or go to rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Registration has begun for Youth Spring Soccer through the Jackson County Parks & Recreation Department. Open to players born between 2003-12. $55. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Registration is underway for this summer’s Adventure Day Camp at Lake Logan. One-week camps start on June 19. For grades 1-5. $225 weekly fee.

Susan@lakelogan.org or 646.0095.

KIDS MOVIES • The new movie “Pete’s Dragon” will be screened at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

Smoky Mountain News

• A family movie will be shown at 3:30 p.m. on April 4, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Movie is about two siblings who discover an enchanted board game that opens the door to a magical world.

Info, including title: 488.3030.

A&E FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

• Join the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce for the inaugural “Just the Girls” event at 4:30 p.m.

Friday, March 31, in downtown Sylva. The event is open to girls of all ages, so bring your mother, grandmother, your daughter(s), granddaughter(s), and your best friends. Register and pick up your “To Do List” of participating businesses at Fusions Spa between 4:30 40 and 6 p.m. Make your way around downtown, visit the

businesses, get your “To Do List” stamped and completed, and have fun. No purchase necessary.

Childcare is available. First Baptist Church Explorers Ministry is offering childcare for only $15. Parents Night Out details are available at www.firstbaptistsylva.com/first-explorers. For more information, call the chamber at 828.586.2155 or e-mail Spiro at julie@nc-mountains.com.

• Author and former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins will be featured at the 15th annual Spring Literary Festival, which is scheduled for April 3-6 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. A number of other writers including Stephen Clingman, Paul Worley and more will also be featured. Litfestival.org or 227.7264.

• Sign-ups are underway for the 18th annual Taste of Chocolate, which is April 15 at the Maggie Valley Country Club. Categories are amateur, bed and breakfast, professional and baker’s choice. 356.2833 or jchicoine@mountainprojects.org.

• Spring Garden Fair is April 7-8 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds in Cherokee. Vendors, demonstrations, classes, educational materials, door prizes and more. Open noon-6 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday. legendweaversstudios@gmail.com or 736.3798.

FOOD & DRINK • The Sylva Brew Hop is from 3-7 p.m. on April 1 in downtown Sylva. $25 per person to taste two local or regional beers at each of the following: City Lights Café, Heinzelmännchen Brewery, Innovation Brewing, Mad Batter Food & Film, Sneak E Squirrel Brewery, and The Cut Cocktail Lounge. Tickets available at http://citylightscafe.com/sylva-brew-hop.html, through March 30 or for $35 per person at the gate on event date.

• As part of Beer Month in Jackson County, the following establishments are offering specials in April: Sneak E. Squirrel is re-releasing some of its most-popular experimental beers; Innovation Brewing is releasing a sour beer and hosting a chocolate and beer pairing; Baxley’s Chocolates is offering a chocolate box to pair with specific beers; Heinzelmännchen Brewery is hosting its 13th anniversary party on April 22.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • “A Picasso” will be performed March 30-April 2 at HART Theatre in Waynesville. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on March 30 and April 1 and at 2 p.m. on April 2. $10 for adults; $7 for students. www.harttheatre.org or 452.6322.

• Country legend Mickey Gilley will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets are $24. To purchase tickets, visit www.greatmountainmusic.com or call 866.273.4615.

• “Charlotte’s Web” will be presented at 2 p.m. on April 1 at HART Theatre in Waynesville. Tickets: $10 for adults; $5 for kids. Reservations: 456.6322 or www.harttheatre.org.

• An Open Door Meal & Sing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29, at First United Methodist Church of Sylva. Performance by Gospel Messengers (Southern Gospel). 586.2358.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host Mario Gaetano Percussion Ensemble 7:30 p.m. March 30 in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building. www.wcu.edu.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host a Clarinet Masterclass with Michael Lowenstern at 3:30 p.m. March 31 in the Choral Room of the Coulter Building. www.wcu.edu.

• Chris Minnick and the trio Round the Fire will perform a variety of genres from folk rock to reggae from 8-10 p.m. on April 1 at HARMON’S DEN Bistro at HART Theatre in Waynesville. $5 cover.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Joe Cruz (piano/pop) March 31 and April 8, Dulci Ellenberger & Kevin Williams (piano/guitar) April 1 and James Hammel (singer-songwriter) April 7. All events begin at 7 p.m. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host Daniel Myers Senior Recital 6 p.m. April 1 in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building. www.wcu.edu.

• The Bolshoi Ballet’s production of “A Contemporary Evening” will be shown live via satellite from Moscow at 12:55 p.m. on Sunday, April 2, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center at 507 Chestnut Street in Highlands. Tickets available at www.highlandspac.org, at the door or by calling 526.9047.

• The Haywood County Arts Council’s 19th annual Student Honors Recital is at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 2, at First United Methodist Church of Waynesville.

Pianists, instrumentalists and vocalists. 452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org.

• The Smoky Mountain News will launch “Sunday Soiree” concert series with The DuPont Brothers (Americana/folk) at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. “Cultural Series,” encourages and promotes artistic events, performances and symposiums around Western North Carolina, the “Sunday Soiree” will provide a platform for local, regional and national acts. Tickets are $10 per person. Craft beer and wine will be available for purchase. Tickets can be bought online at www.folkmoot.org or at the door. A portion of the proceeds will go to the continued activities and events put on by Folkmoot. www.dupontbrothersmusic.com.

• The Bull Moose Party performs bluegrass from 3-4 p.m. on April 2 at the Canton Public Library.

HaywoodArts.org.

• Western Carolina University’s School of Music will the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, in the recital hall of the Coulter Building.

Founded in 1993, the quintet has performed throughout the U.S. and internationally with a repertoire ranging from classical to jazz, patriotic to pop. The event is free. For more information, call the WCU School of Music at 828.227.7242 or visit www.smbq.org.

• Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (bluegrass) and the Liberty Baptist Church Choir will perform at the Canary Coalition’s fundraising event from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on April 5, at the Mad Batter Food and Film in Sylva. Silent auction.

Canary Coalition is a nonprofit grassroots organization focused on air quality, climate change and environmental justice issues. www.canarycoalition.org, 631.3447 or info@canarycoalition.org.

• A production of the classic musical “Hair” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. April 5-7, 8 p.m. April 8 and 3 p.m. April 9 in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. Tickets are $22 for adults, $17 for WCU faculty/staff and seniors, $7 for students/child. bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• The 2016-17 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Concert and Jam Series at Western Carolina University will continue with singer-songwriter Lee Knight on Thursday, April 6 at 7 p.m. in the ground-floor auditorium of H.F. Robinson Administration Building. It will be followed by an 8 p.m. jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate. First Thursday concerts and jam sessions will continue through this spring, with programs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. Free. 227.7129.

• The MET Opera’s “Nabucco” will be shown at 12:55 p.m. on April 8, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center at 507 Chestnut Street in Highlands. Pre-opera discussion at 12:30 p.m. led by Beverly Wichman.

Tickets available at www.highlandspac.org, at the door or by calling 526.9047.

• An “Evening of Celtic Music and Stories” featuring Jamie Laval is at 7:30 p.m. on April 8, at The Strand in Waynesville. Laval is a U.S. National Scottish Fiddle

Champion. $18 in advance; $22 at the door; $10 for students with school ID card. www.38main.com or 283.0079.

• Alice Cooper will perform at Harrah’s in Cherokee on April 29 at 7:30 p.m.

• Chris Rock will perform at Harrah’s in Cherokee on May 25 at 8 p.m.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • The Gem and Mineral Society of Franklin meets at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, at the Masonic Lodge at 50 Church Street. A film presentation of “Rockhounding in Idaho.”

• “Country Roads: Pathways to Our Artistic Heritage” will be presented by Libba Feichter from 4-5 p.m. on April 6, at the Folkmoot Center in Waynesville. Part of the Haywood Ramblings series presented by the Waynesville Historic Preservation Commission.

• A discussion on Afghanistan and Pakistan, part of the Great Decisions Series, is scheduled for 5:15-6:45 p.m. on April 6, at the Waynesville Library. Series is focused on critical global issues facing America today.

Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• A Spring/Easter ceramics class will be offered from 10 a.m.-noon on April 6, at Dillsboro Masonic Lodge.

Led by Brenda Anders. $11. Register: 586.2248 or junettapell@hotmail.com.

• A community program on “Homebrewing” is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 6, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall in Franklin. Covered dish at 6 p.m. 524.3691 or SandiDonn2@yahoo.com.

• “Mounds, Towns and Scared Fires: the Cherokee Cultural Landscape in Swain County” is the title of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society, which meets at 6:30 p.m. on April 6 at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center in Bryson City. Presenter is Ben Steere, assistant professor of anthropology and co-director of the Cherokee Studies Programs at Western Carolina University.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • The MFA Thesis Exhibit for Jordan Krutsch will be showcased through March 31 in the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

• Through the end of March there will be a display of the Studio Alive Artist exhibition, which will feature founder Catherine Christie at the Hudson Library in Highlands. These exhibitions will continue throughout the year displaying works of one Studio Alive artist at a time in the community room. Studio Alive is a group of artists that meet weekly at the Hudson Library. The group started meeting at the home of Catherine Christie in 1980.

• The “Animal Magnetism” art exhibit will run through April 1 at the Haywood County Art Council’s “Gallery & Gifts” showroom in downtown Waynesville. The exhibit celebrates our fellow creatures with animal-inspired artwork. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Penland Gallery opens its exhibition season by displaying pieces from 32 artists working different styles and materials. Opening reception is from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on April 1 at the Penland School of Crafts near Spruce Pine. The exhibition is on display now and runs through May 14. 765.6211 or penland.org/gallery.

•The 49th Annual Student Reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at the Western Carolina University Fine Arts Museum. The exhibit will be on display April 3-28 in the museum. museum@wcu.edu or 227.3591.

• “Soft Diplomacy: Quilting Cultural Diplomacy in Liberia” is on exhibit through May 5 at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee. 227.3591.

wnc calendar March 29-April 4, 2017

Building was a complete renovation and space was first built out for Edward Jones office in 2005. Space is currently occupied by Junaluska Internal Medicine and is in excellent condition. Unit includes 2 restrooms, kitchenette and mechanical room. There is direct access to an outdoor covered patio area on the creek. The building has excellent onsite parking and is located in Waynesville only 3/10 mile North of the courthouse. Location is centrally located to all commercial areas of Way. without the traffic backups. Lease is $11.75 sq.ft. and includes exterior maintenance, taxes, water and 3’x8’ lighted sign. Available 5/1.

Puzzles can be found on page 46.

These are only the answers.

Smoky Mountain News

Class A Office/Professional/Medical space, 1850 sq. ft. MOVE IN ready

Nicest 1850s/f move in ready space in Haywood County!

627 N. Main Street, Suite 2, Waynesville.

Shown by appointment only, Call Jeff Kuhlman

828-646-0907.

41

wnc calendar

• An art reception for Sharon Volker is scheduled for noon-3 p.m. on April 6, in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. Volker’s art and jewelry are on display throughout April. 524.3600.

• “Coming Together: Healing Through Art,” an exhibit featuring a variety of local artists, will be on display from April 7-29 at Haywood County Arts Council Gallery & Gifts in Waynesville. Presented by the Haywood County Arts Council. 452.0593, info@haywoodarts.org or HaywoodArts.org.

• An exhibition by Atlanta-based photographer Chris Aluka Berry will be on display through March in the Rotunda Gallery of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Info: info@survivalpride.com or art@affrilachiastudio.com.

• A three-month ceramics exhibit at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum is currently in Cullowhee. Fineartmuseum.wcu.edu or 227.3591.

• Artist Melba Cooper will be exhibiting her stunning series of paintings, “POLLINATION,” at Cullowhee Mountain Arts’ (CMA) Studio in downtown Sylva. www.cullowheemountainarts.org/up-in-the-studioevents or 342.6913.

• The “Women Painters of the Southeast” exhibition will run through May 5 in the Fine Arts Museum at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

March 29-April 4, 2017

• New artist and medium will be featured every month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• As part of the Arts Council’s Integrated Arts initiative, a sampling of works by renowned Macon County sculptor Nelson Nichols (www.nicholssculpture.com) will be displayed at this event. Executed in stone, bronze, and wood, Nichols’ sculptural body of work reflects his unique style, Spiritual Expressionism, encompassing anatomical/figurative pieces in classical realism, a series of abstract interpretations, a series illustrating universal/spiritual concepts, and an environmentally inspired series including sculptures of endangered/threatened species. Admission is by donation; $7 is suggested. arts4all@dnet.net or 524.ARTS (2787).

FILM & SCREEN • Western Carolina University’s ACE Committee, the Student Art Education Club and the university’s Fine Art Museum will present “Speed Sisters” –a documentary in the Southern Circuit series, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, in Room 130 of the Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee. Focuses on the first all-woman race car driving team in the Middle East. Free for students; $20 for others. Pre-registration required: tcbowers1@catamount.wcu.edu (students) or hensley@wcu.edu (all others).

• “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” a documentary, will be screened at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

Smoky Mountain News

• Adult movie time, 6:30 p.m. Mondays at Jackson County Public Library. Call for title of movie. 586.2016.

42

• Free movies are shown every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva.

Madbatterfoodfilm.com.

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings • A program on “Reading the Water” will be offered from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on March 28 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. Info: 877.4423.

• The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open hatchery-supported trout waters at 7 a.m. on April 1 in 25 western counties. Season runs through Feb. 28. https://ncpaws.org/RSReports/FishStock/WeeklyStockin gForm.aspx. www.ncwildlife.org.

• A “Welcome Wildlife Baby Shower” will beheld from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, at Edith Allen Wildlife Sanctuary, Inc., in Canton. www.edithallenwildlife.com, 646.8805 or 788.1805.

• A workshop for turkey hunters will be offered from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 1 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. For ages 12-up. Register: www.ncwildlife.org/pisgah. 877.4423.

• A panel of experts will discuss the critical issues at play in last year’s historic wildfire season from 5-8 p.m. on Monday, April 3, at Highland Brewing in Asheville. Title is “Before We Burn Again: A Panel on the Future of Wildfires in WNC,” featuring leaders in fields of wildfire management, fire ecology, climate change and community planning. $10 or free for MountainTrue members. Register: http://bit.ly/2o5ud1d.

• Balsam Mountain Trust will present a program on “Backyard Birding” from 4-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, at the Waynesville Library. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolesn@haywoodnc.net.

• Tricks and tips covering all aspects of hiking will be offered 6:30-8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, at REI in Asheville. The program will cover trip planning, essential items, equipment, safety and local hiking resources. Free, with space limited. Sign up at www.rei.com/learn.html.

• Volunteers are invited to help the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Trout Unlimited Cataloochee chapter stock the West Fork of the Pigeon River at 1S0:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 6. Meet at parking lot past Lake Logan and before Sunburst Campground off N.C. 215 across from the shooting range. Tucataloochee427@gmail.com • A spring wildflower hike is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 8, in the Big Creek Watershed of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Led by Donna Machen. Presented by Haywood Waterways Association.

Free for members; $5 donation for nonmembers. Sign up: 476.4667 or Christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com. Membership starts at $25. http://hikingthecarolinas.com/bigc.php.

• The 33rd annual Tuckasegee River Cleanup starts with registration at 11 a.m. on April 8 on the University Center Lawn at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Outdoors • Learn about “Spring Wildflowers of Southern Appalachian” with Adam Bigelow in a six-week course that will be offered in two separate sessions: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Mondays through April 24 or on Tuesdays through April 25. Cost is $150 for the series. Singleday rates available. Info or to register: bigelownc@gmail.com.

• The 67th annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage will be held April 11-15 in Gatlinburg, with the program stacked full of professionally guided programs exploring the region’s wildflower, wildlife, ecological, cultural and historical diversity through a series of walks, photo tours, seminars, art classes and motorcades. www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org.

• Registration is underway for a women-only fly-fishing weekend, which is April 21-23 at the North Mills River Recreation Area and Campground in Henderson

County. Open to women of all skill levels who want to learn more about fly fishing. $125 registration fee.

Preregistration required: www.ncwildlife.org/bow.

Register or get more info: bb.gillen@ncwildlife.org or 919.218.3638.

• North Carolina residents are invited to participate in the “NC’s Candid Critters” – the largest camera trap survey ever. Residents of Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties can participate in a brief online training process then borrow a camera trap from any Fontana Regional Library location. Info: NCCandidCritters.org or www.fontanalib.org.

FARM AND GARDEN • “Grave Threats Few Are Discussing” will be presented by Bryson City Canners from 7-9 p.m. on March 29 at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

AliceSmith9876@aol.com.

• Wonder Weeds and Hero Herbs. “Not Your Ordinary Herbal Workshop” Learn powerful and easy to find herbs, and time proven recipes to enhance your health and well-being. Learn how to make your own tinctures, teas and extractions. Learn how to use 8 products you can get at your grocery store to amp up your immune system and build your stamina. Learn my top 12 herbs that address most health issues and how to prepare teas tinctures and extracts. Learn time honored formulas. April 1 and 2: 9-4pm; $244 (supplies extra and optional). Contact Jan Adams 828 558-1234 • The Jackson county Farmers Market is from 9 a.m.noon each Saturday starting April 1 in Bridge Park on Railroad Ave. in Sylva. Wood-fired oven featuring personalized pizzas with toppings and ingredients from the market to kick off the season. www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org. 393.5236.

• Food Preservation 101 will be held from 9 a.m.-noon on Tuesday, April 4, at the Swain County Extension Center in Bryson City. Water bath and pressure canning methods, dehydration and freezing will be covered.

Registration required: 488.3848.

• Extension Master Gardener volunteer Jim Janke will offer a presentation on the basics of soils and getting a garden ready for growing season at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, at the Extension office in Waynesville. 456.3575.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • Registration is underway for the Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon and 5K, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 1, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Online fees are $60 half marathon and $25 for 5k. Race-day registration is $80 and $30, respectively. Register: www.active.com.

• The Roaring 5K is at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 1, at South Macon. 369.0796. Proceeds benefit the school’s parent-teacher organization. www.active.com.

• The inaugural Volksmarch 5K Walk is scheduled for 10 a.m.-noon on April 1 at Deep Creek Picnic Area in Bryson city. Ski-walking poles will be demonstrated and provided. 586.4009 or 488.3848.

• Registration is underway for the Friends of the Lake 5K Road Race & Walk, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 15, at Lake Junaluska. Supports recreation opportunities of Lake Junaluska. Register: www.lakejunaluska.com/run, 454.6680 or developmentoffice@lakejunaluska.com.

HIKING CLUBS • The First Baptist Church of Franklin offers its annual free hiker breakfast seven days per week through April 9. All-you-can-eat pancakes and bacon are on the menu with van pickup from the Budget Inn, Sapphire Inn and Gooder Grove. 369.9559.

• Friends of the Smokies’ Classic Hike Series kicks off on March 29, with a hike at Mingus Creek. Four miles roundtrip to see a historic cemetery. Led by Danny

Bernstein. $20 for members; $35 for new and renewing members. Register: www.Hike.FriendsoftheSmokies.org.

• The Thru-Hiker Chow Down will offer hikers a free chip-dog lunch and locals a chance to meet 2017’s crop of adventurers from noon-3 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, at the Lazy Hiker Brewing Company. Sponsored by the Nantahala Hiking Club and Lazy Hiker.

369.1983.

• A women’s backpacking trip is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, April 4-5, to Porters Creek in Gatlinburg, Tenn. marti@gsmassoc.org.

• “Hiking on the Appalachian Trail Around Franklin” will be presented by Bill Van Horn at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, in the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate four-mile hike on Saturday, April 8, to Rough Run Falls and High Falls north of Glenville.

Reservations:743.1079.

• A hiker cookout is scheduled for Saturday, April 8, at Gooder Grove in Franklin. 332.0228.

• An eight-mile trek through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 8, at the Wolf Ridge Trail to access Twentymile loop. Moderate to strenuous. $10 for Great Smoky Mountains Association members and $35 for non-members. Register: http://conta.cc/2mUKyow.

• Friends of the Smokies’ will have a classic hike on Tuesday, April 11, to Big Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dolly McLean will lead the moderately strenuous hike. $20 for members or $35 for new members. www.Hike.FriendsoftheSmokies.org.

• Hike of the Week is at 10 a.m. every Friday at varying locations along the parkway. Led by National Park Service rangers. www.nps.gov/blri or 298.5330, ext. 304.

• Friends of the Smokies hikes are offered on the second Tuesday of each month. www.friendsofthesmokies.org/hikes.html.

• Nantahala Hiking Club based in Macon County holds weekly Saturday hikes in the Nantahala National Forest and beyond. www.nantahalahikingclub.org • High Country Hikers, based out of Hendersonville but hiking throughout Western North Carolina, plans hikes every Monday and Thursday. Schedules, meeting places and more information are available on their website, www.highcountryhikers.org.

• Carolina Mountain Club hosts more than 150 hikes a year, including options for full days on weekends, full days on Wednesdays and half days on Sundays. Nonmembers contact event leaders. www.carolinamountainclub.org • Mountain High Hikers, based in Young Harris, Ga., leads several hikes per week. Guests should contact hike leader. www.mountainhighhikers.org.

• Smoky Mountain Hiking Club, located in East Tennessee, makes weekly hikes in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park as well as surrounding areas. www.smhclub.org.

• Benton MacKaye Trail Association incorporates outings for hikes, trail maintenance and other work trips. No experience is necessary to participate. www.bmta.org.

OUTDOOR CLUBS • The North Carolina Catch program, a three-phase conservation education effort focusing on aquatic environments, will be offered through May 15. The program is offered by the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. Free for members; daily admission for non-members. 456.2030 or tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov.

• The Cataloochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited meets the second Tuesday of the month starting with a dinner at 6:30 p.m. at Rendezvous restaurant located on the corner of Jonathan Creek Road and Soco Road in Maggie Valley. 631.5543.

PRIME REAL ESTATE Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News

LEGAL NOTICES

MarketPlace information: The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

Rates:

■ Free — Lost or found pet ads.

■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads, ■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $15 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

■ $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’

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- REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL All Trades for Complete Construction • Greenmore Self Help Housing Development The Housing Division of Mountain Projects Incorporated is seeking proposals from Framers, Plumbers, Electricians and HVAC Installers to construct single family homes for low income self-help clients through the USDA Self Help program on the Greenmore project located off Old Clyde Road and James Street in Clyde NC. This project will start NLT May 1st 2017 and be completed NLT September 30th 2017. This RFP will cover the First 6 of the 14 homes to be built in the project. Homeowners have the choice of Five home plans which will be available to the bidders March 20th 2017 upon request and payment of a $100.00 refundable deposit.

Questions about the project should be directed to: Mark Kephart, Construction Supervisor mkephart@mountainprojects.org 828.557.4677 BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

SAPA

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April 1st, 9AM - NEW TIME! 5550 Wilkinson Blvd. Bldg A., Charlotte, NC 336.789.2926 RogersAuctionGroup.com NCAL#685 YOUR AD COULD REACH 1.6 MILLION HOMES ACROSS NC! Your classified ad could be reaching over 1.6 Million Homes across North Carolina! Place your ad with The Smoky Mountain News on the NC Statewide Classified Ad Network- 118 NC newspapers for a low cost of $330 for 25-word ad to appear in each paper! Additional words are $10 each. The whole state at your fingertips! It's a smart advertising buy! Call Scott Collier at 828.452.4251 or for more information visit the N.C. Press Association's website at www.ncpress.com

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CARS DRIVE WITH UBER. No experience is required, but you'll need a Smartphone. It's fun and easy. For more information, call: 1.800.655.7452

WNC MarketPlace

CARS -

CARS -

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EMPLOYMENT

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March 29-April 4, 2017

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BAKERY/CAFE FOR SALE Turnkey Investment in Dillsboro Near Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road, Restaurants, NOC, Hwy. 441. For More Info Contact: venturosgooditalianeats@gmail. com

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Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday 12:30pm - 4:00pm & Friday. 8:00am- 4:00pm 50 Duckett Cove Road, Waynesville

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Equal Housing Opportunity

This is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer 386-15

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Monday & Wednesday 8:00am - 4:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

M

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400

Includes Free Multi-point Inspection

O

FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Digital Content and Social Media Specialist For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal at: https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.comHuman Resources Office Phone: 910.678.7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu An Equal Opportunity Employer

Offering 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400

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EMPLOYMENT NUCLEAR POWER Paid Training, great salary, benefits, $ for school. Gain valued skills. No exp needed. HS grads ages 17-34. Call Mon-Fri 800.662.7419.

CAVALIER ARMS APARTMENTS

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

with service appointment

(828) 298-4911

LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE Southeast Correctional Medical Group (SECMG) is now hiring Licensed Practical Nurses for Buncombe County in Asheville, and Jackson County in Sylva.

Other counties we service are: Transylvania County in Brevard, Henderson County in Hendersonville, and Haywood County in Waynesville.

We hire WOW! We are a company of passionate, committed people, and we don’t do things like other companies. Join us, and you join a family. To apply for an a vailable position, please visit our website at: http://cfmg.com/ or contact: Ginny Ward, Corporate Recruiter Email: Ginny.ward@cmgcos.com Phone: 760.445.6140 Correctional healthcare will surprise you. If you want to be part of our family, and think you have what it takes to WOW us, we invite you to check us out!

NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS

18

(828) 550-2810

44

BUSINESS FOR SALE

FULL TIME BOOKKEEPER/ PAYROLL ADMIN. POSITION Available. Accounting Degree or equivalent work experience with minimum of 2 years’ experience with QuickBooks, full knowledge of accounts payable, accounts receivable helpful, indirect cost accounting a plus. Must have experience with on-line data base payroll management. Excellent computer skills required, experience with Microsoft Excel and Word. Applications available at DisAbility Partners, 525 Mineral Springs Drive, Sylva.

Please call Gale at 828.631.1167 for more information.

EMPLOYMENT

Mike Stamey

mstamey@beverly-hanks.com

MOUNTAIN REALTY

Mieko

828-508-9607

Thomson BROKER/REALTOR®

Cell (828) 226-2298

mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com www.ncsmokies.com

2177 Russ Avenue Waynesville NC 28786

74 NORTH MAIN ST. • WAYNESVILLE, NC

www.beverly-hanks.com

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT 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 the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18 This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

SAVE YOUR HOME! Are you behind paying your MORTGAGE? Denied a Loan Modification? Is the bank threatening foreclosure? CALL Homeowner’s Relief Line now for Help! 888.944.6492

HOMES FOR SALE

BEAUTIFUL 4/BR 2/BA HOME 15 Boxwood Terrace, Canton, NC. Ready to move in with 2,300 sq. ft., Newly renovated with Master Suite, Laundry & Walk-in Closet.

Adequate Storage & Lots of Character. Walking Distance to Library & Main Street. $274,000 Call Alesia for more info 828.400.9943

LOOKING FOR A MINI FARM? This rustic house and land is located in the Henson Cove Area of Canton, NC. Includes a Barn, 2 Acres, 2 Streams, a Pond and a Forest of Bamboo. Asking $195K. For more info or to preview house and property, call Alesia at 828.400.9943 MOVING OUT OF STATE? Best Interstate Moving and Storage offers a FREE Quote and A Price Plus Promise. Call 877.648.6473 Now! SAPA

Haywood County Real Estate Agents

147 WALNUT STREET • WAYNESVILLE

828.506.7137

aspivey@sunburstrealty.com

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT CLIMATE CONTROLLED STORAGE FOR YOU 1 Month Free with 12 Month Rental. Maggie Valley, Hwy. 19, 1106 Soco Rd. For more information call Torry

828.734.6500, 828.734.6700 maggievalleyselfstorage.com 12X28 STORAGE UNIT FOR RENT In Tuckaseegee, Half Mile Down Hwy. 281. $130/mo. For More Info Call 828.450.0534.

GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

HEALTH & FITNESS

www.sunburstrealty.com/amy-spivey

Ann Eavenson R B A ESIDENTIAL

ROKER

SSOCIATE

ann@beverly-hanks.com

www.beverly-hanks.com

828.506.0542

828.452.5809 office

Catherine Proben Cell: 828-734-9157 Office: 828-452-5809

cproben@beverly-hanks.com

74 N. Main St., Waynesville, NC

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46

IT TAKES TWO

CROSSWORD

Lollobrigida 66 The older Obama girl ACROSS 67 Theme of this puzzle 1 Sighing word 73 Asocial sort 5 Humiliate 74 She had a show with 10 Sugar-name suffix Sonny 13 Stretch (out) 75 “It’s — -brainer” 19 Billiards item 76 Rogen of “Superbad” 20 Drive rudely (out) 77 They look like foot21 Flanders of “The less socks Simpsons” 81 Gymnast Olga 22 Mambo music’s Tito 84 “Ghost” co-star Demi 23 Bicycle add-ons for 85 Stylist’s goo tykes 86 Coastal 26 Make a new blueprint 91 In a crowd of for 95 Pal, casually 27 Cut and Paste set96 Rink rentals ting 98 Ignited again 28 Give relief to 100 Commercial charge 29 Protein formed dur102 Cozy lodging ing blood clotting 103 Tacit assents 30 Sue Grafton’s “— for 104 Part of some madeRicochet” up faces 31 Sterile hand wear 107 Teeny bit 35 Three, in 6-Down 109 Little leaves on 38 PIN-taking dispenser flowers 39 “Hands off!”

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Answers on Page 41

Louisiana waterthrush. creative commons photo

The naturalist’s corner

BY DON H ENDERSHOT

It really is spring was reconnoitering the Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens on Monday March 27, with Brent Martin, Southern Appalachian regional director at The Wilderness Society, for an upcoming field trip with the Franklin Bird club on April 24.

The Serpentine Barrens is located along Buck Creek in Clay County, off U.S. 64 about 17 miles west of Franklin. The barrens is a botanically distinct area created by the dominant serpentinized rock types — dunite and olivine. The area is home to many rare and/or endemic plants because of the rare soils created by the serpentinized rock and two decades of prescribed burning by the Forest Service.

I have several bird points that I survey annually for the U.S. Forest Service along Buck Creek Road, so the idea for a “doubledipping” field trip came naturally. Brent and I went over to get a feel for where and how to access the barrens and tie that into birding stops. While there was little going on with regards to wildflowers at this early date — we did encounter a few violets in flower — the gray, wooded mountainsides were beginning to awaken with bird song.

I

Blue-headed vireos were by far the most common and most vocal migrants. I believe we heard them at almost every stop. But what sealed the spring deal for me — we were cruising along the bumpy gravel road with Buck Creek churning just outside the car windows when above the din came the loud slurred whistles of a Louisiana waterthrush.

The big voice of the Louisiana waterthrush allows it to be heard over the noise of the rushing streams and rivers it nests along.

It is one of — if not the earliest — wood warblers to return to its nesting habitat in the Southern Appalachians every spring.

This handsome small chorister is sleek brown above with a bold white eye stripe and brown-streaked breast and flanks. The Louisiana waterthrush has a look-alike cousin, the northern waterthrush that follows it in migration.

The northern waterthrush does not nest in the Southern Appalachians but migrates through. It is almost a dead ringer for its cousin. It has a brown back with brown streaking on its breast and flanks like the Louisiana but the eye stripe is creamy or buffy and the throat is finely streaked whereas the Louisiana has a clear throat. Northern waterthrushes prefer still or sluggish waters

and we may get to see one at the large bog at the end of Buck Creek road.

Other signs of spring we observed included a green darner dragonfly, several spring azure butterflies, one fresh and gloriously orange eastern comma and a pair of dueling brown creepers.

Ready or not spring has sprung! If you

are interested in the April field trip to the Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens check out the Franklin Bird Club’s website at https://franklinbirdclub.com. It promises to be a great outing with lots of birds, bugs and bushes to look at.

Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached at ddihen1@bellsouth.net.

March 29-April 4, 2017

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