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March 30-April 5, 2016 Vol. 17 Iss. 44
Gun rights debated at Haywood meeting Page 4 Jackson will borrow millions to fix school facilities Page 13
CONTENTS
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On the Cover: Running out of time and options, Swain County Commissioners decided to file a lawsuit against the federal government over the North Shore Road money. The U.S. Department of Interior agreed in 2010 to pay the county $52 million over 10 years since it broke its original promise of rebuilding the road from Bryson City to Tennessee, but has paid out only $12.8 million. (Page 6)
News Gun rights debated at Haywood commissioner meeting ......................................4 Jackson planning board considers fracking protections ........................................8 Cherokee council upholds removal of gaming leaders ............................................9 Old Town Bank sold to Entegra ..................................................................................10 HCC to take over business incubator space ..........................................................12 Jackson will borrow millions to fix school facilities ..................................................13 Dog owners rejoice over park drainage project ......................................................14 Franklin man shoots, kill 22-year-old son ..................................................................15 Neighbors fear commercial creep on Howell Mill ..................................................16
Opinion The arts thrive only if we support them ......................................................................20
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Sacrosanct gun rights hotly debated in Haywood Commissioners weigh long-standing ban on concealed weapons in county buildings BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER un supporters turned out en masse this week urging Haywood County commissioners to allow concealed guns on county property, from the historic courthouse to youth sports fields. A packed house of nearly 250 people turned out for a public hearing on the issue Monday night, with the vast majority demanding a longstanding ban against weapons on county property be lifted. They argued the ban should not apply to those with lawful conceal carry permits. “It’s what our country was founded on: God, guns and guts,” said James Smathers. “We have got to wake up in this country and it starts with meetings like this. We have to stick together and go all the way to Washington with this.” The ire of gun supporters rained down on commissioners for over an hour as two dozen speakers took their turn at the microphone. Some delivered passionate, eloquent speeches heralding the noble virtues of freedom and quoting passages about liberty from historical figures. “We will all stand together or we will hang separately,” said Carolyn Underwood, who even cited verses of poetry. “Strange things are happening in this land that once was free, so brother I ask are you going to stand with me?” Other speakers took on the distinct tone and tenor of a Sunday sermon, designed to move the masses and draw rousing applause, even standing ovations. “Fear the government who fears your guns,” said Alan Davis. “He who would give up liberty for safety deserves neither safety nor liberty.” Many speakers argued that the ban should not apply to those with legal conceal carry permits. Criminals intent on doing harm won’t obey the law anyway. But meanwhile, the general public who complies with the ban will be disarmed and incapable of defending themselves. “It would infringe on our rights as morally compassed citizens. Those who have no regard for the law will be the ones carrying guns onto county property and you will have left us law abiding citizens completely defenseless,” said Meredith Mayer. “All the criminals will be put on notice that county property is easy picking because there will be nobody to stop them,” added Don Calhoun. The audience was dominated by men, who outnumbered women nearly 3 to 1. Most of the speakers were men as well, and some said they feel a sense of duty to protect those around them, particularly women 4 and children, and thus need to carry a gun
Smoky Mountain News
March 30-April 5, 2016
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Haywood County commissioners have landed in the middle of a show-down over gun rights as they weigh whether and where to ban concealed weapons on county property. Around 250 people packed into the Haywood County historic courthouse Monday night for a public hearing on whether concealed guns should be allowed on county property, from libraries to soccer fields to polling booths. Becky Johnson photo in public at all times to defend society against threats. “I don’t like to carry. It is uncomfortable. I don’t enjoy it,” said Denver Stephens. But, “I have four kids and I feel it is my obligation to protect them. We live in an evil world.” “You can bet your nose I am going to protect my granddaughters and my wife,” said James Smathers. Allen Davis, a pastor at Woodland Baptist Church, said he finds comfort in the fact that many in his congregation have conceal carry permits. If a shooter ever came down the aisle of his church, “They will have anywhere from eight to 20 handguns pointed at them,” he said. Several speakers said concealed carry permit holders play a valuable role in the community, ready to spring into action to protect innocent victims. “If you fellas were in a bind somewhere, wouldn’t you want somebody to help you out if somebody had a gun on you?” Terry Ramey asked the commissioners. A few women raised their voice in favor of gun rights as well. “We are law-abiding citizens. We are good people who just want to take care of ourselves and our families,” said Kathryn Trull. Carolyn Underwood, a retired teacher, disagrees with the ban on concealed weapons in schools as well. “As a teacher I would have liked to carry one in my purse or locker to protect the children,” Underwood said.
One of the more interesting perspectives was shared by a transgender speaker, Jess Dunlap, who is a leader with the Haywood County Libertarian Party. “The world is already unsafe for people like me,” said Dunlap, citing higher rates of violence against the LGBT community due to bias and bigotry. “It seems unfair to force anyone to relinquish the right of self defense. I am radical in the belief of our right to bear arms anytime, anywhere, as an eligible gun owner.” Several speakers pledged retribution at the ballot box for any commissioner that voted for a ban on concealed weapons in county buildings. “Controlling the lives of citizens can create discontent. Your attempt at making law will be reflected in November I am sure,” said Franklin McKenzie. Only one commissioner, Kevin Ensley, is up for re-election this November. Bad people aren’t the only ones the public needs to protect themselves against, according to Doug Knight. “Wildlife could attack me and I would not be able to protect myself,” Knight said. “If I am not mistaken we have had bears right down here in the middle of Main Street.”
HOW THE HUBBUB STARTED Along with careful crafted gun rights arguments, commissioners got a generous dose of pent up anger and disdain for government rules and regulations in general. The
commissioners were sitting ducks with no choice but to absorb the wrath of those who feel their basic liberties have been eroded from the courthouse to the White House. Today’s commissioners had nothing to do with the original ban on concealed weapons on county property, but that fact was lost on most of the audience. Instead, commissioners have found themselves in the hot seat as they attempt to modify the ban — ironically making it less restrictive than it is now. Email comments have been flooding the inbox of county leaders leading up to the public hearing. And like those in attendance, most thought the ban was something new being proposed. “We have a lot of people saying ‘they are trying to take away our gun rights.’ Actually we are trying to expand them,” County Manager Ira Dove said. Concealed guns have been banned on county property and in county buildings since the mid-1990s. Most counties and cities across the state do likewise. However, Haywood’s ordinance banning concealed weapons on county property no longer squares with state law, which was changed in 2013 by the Republican-led General Assembly. Republican lawmakers passed a new law that over-rode local ordinances across the state. They ruled that counties and towns could no longer summarily ban conceal carry permit holders from
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N.C. Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Spruce Pine, spoke out against a ban on concealed weapons on Haywood County property at a public hearing Monday, however, the state has a similar ban on concealed weapons in state government buildings and grounds. Becky Johnson photo
The move by state Republican lawmakers to loosen gun laws in 2013 was controversial. Sweeping changes to state statutes also made it legal for those with conceal carry permits to take guns on college campuses, into bars, and into ticketed venues like concerts or amusement parks. One of the most contested changes involved parks and playgrounds. Most cities
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and counties around the state banned weapons at parks, sports fields and playgrounds. Such bans became illegal under the new law, and cities and towns were forced to allowed conceal carry permit holders to wear their guns in parks and on greenways. Nonetheless, Allens Creek Park remained on the list of county property where a weapon ban would apply, even in the proposed ordinance revision. This caused confusion for speakers, who questioned how the county could continue to ban weapons at the park when state law specifically prevented such bans. “If you attempt to ban concealed carry permits in parks, we will sue you and we will win,” said Paul Valone, a representative of the gun rights group Grassroots. N.C. Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Spruce Pine, traveled from Yancey County to attend the hearing and also spoke in favor of allowing weapons at Allens Creek Park. One speaker asked commissioners if they would feel differently if their daughters or granddaughters got attacked and raped while jogging on a greenway. Allens Creek Park consists of soccer fields, a walking path, a playground and picnic facilities. Under state law, a ban on concealed weapons could only apply during official athletic events on the sports fields, not to the entire park as a matter of course. After the hearing, Dove admitted the language referring to Allens Creek Park needed to be clarified. The county intended the ban to only apply when athletic games were being held on the soccer fields, not as a matter of course. The ordinance didn’t stipulate that, however, and Dove admitted the intent should be more clear. “It would only be those days when you have an athletic event,” Dove said. It is not known when the commissioners will vote on the new weapons policy applying to county property. Commissioner Mark Swanger said the county will prepare a fact sheet responding to Frequently Asked Questions that came up during the hearing and present it at the next county meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday. April 4.
March 30-April 5, 2016
packing heat on government property — instead the ban can only apply inside buildings and on the surrounding premises. When it comes to county property with no building on it — such as trash drop-off sites or greenways — concealed carry permit holders can’t be banned from carrying weapons. That forced the county to clean up its ordinance. “What we are doing tonight is to try to make our current ordinance match state statutes,” Dove explained to the audience. Dove said the commissioners could have cleaned up the ordinance to square with state law without holding a public hearing, and thus avoided the backlash now being directed at them. But Dove said the commissioners wanted to be open and transparent by calling a public hearing. “It is not good public policy to try to duck an issue,” Dove said. Most speakers didn’t realize there’s Ira Dove been a longstanding ordinance on the books banning concealed weapons on county property, and thought it was something new being proposed. Those who understood that fact, however, urged commissioners not to simply square the existing ordinance with state law changes, but to throw it out altogether. “I ask that y’all get rid of this. There are other counties that have gotten rid of it. So let’s get rid of it out of Haywood County,” said Doug Knight.
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At a dead end Swain County to sue federal government over North Shore Road settlement money
The visits to the capital have become an annual occurrence, but it hasn’t helped them get the money. Rep. Meadows said he fully supported the decision of the commissioners in their quest to get what is owed to their residents. “They have represented the people who have elected them in a wonderful fashion,” he said. “We’ve had no less than two dozen meetings as it relates to the funding, so this decision to potentially file a lawsuit is not something that comes as a surprise to me.”
BROKEN PROMISES
North Shore Road, better known as the ‘Road to Nowhere,’ once went all the way to Tennessee, but now ends just before this tunnel outside of Bryson City. Jessi Stone photo
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March 30-April 5, 2016
BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR fter waiting for years to get the money promised to them, the Swain County commissioners made a unanimous decision last week to sue the federal government for $38.2 million. “It’s about our only option left,” said Commissioner Steve Moon. The $38.2 million is what the federal government still owes Swain County for flooding and destroying a road in the 1940s when it constructed Fontana Dam. Originally, the federal government promised to rebuild the 30-mile road that connected Bryson City to Tennessee, but it never happened. In 2007, the National Park Service agreed to a cash settlement of $52 million that had already been approved by Swain County Commissioners. With the settlement agreement running out in 2020, the county is feeling the crunch to get its hands on the money before it disappears for good. “The federal government has actually lied to us for so many years — it’s been 70 years since the original promise was made — yet very little has ever been done,” Moon said. “They’ve made it seem like it’s perfectly fine to lie to the citizens, so we need to try to hold them accountable.” After fighting tooth and nail for years to get the road rebuilt, the county finally agreed to take a cash settlement instead. That should have been the end of it, but the federal government has paid out only $12.8 million of the settlement. Commissioner Chairman Phillip Carson announced the decision to file a lawsuit last 6 Thursday after commissioners returned from
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an hour-and-a-half-long closed session with County Attorney Kim Carpenter. While there was no official vote taken, Carson said commissioners unanimously agreed to direct Carpenter to act on behalf of the board of commissioners. Carpenter said Attorney Douglas P. Wheeler and the law firm of Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C., would file the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior on behalf of Swain County related to the settlement agreement. “The Board of Commissioners directed the Hogan Lovells firm to file the action in the Court of Federal Claims, which is the venue for claims against the United States. Once filed, the U.S. Department of Interior will have 30 days to file a responsive pleading,” she said. Wheeler, who is a partner at Hogan Lovells, is an environmental lawyer who focuses on federal regulatory issues and matters pertaining to land use and growth management. Wheeler also served as the Secretary of Resources for California from 1991-99 and served as the assistant legislative counsel for the U.S. Department of Interior for seven years. Commissioners David Monteith and Carson recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., where they met with U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and discussed the ongoing issue of the settlement money. “At the meetings we discussed the North Shore settlement money owed to Swain County by the federal government,” Monteith said. “We also met with the Interior Department and National Park Service attorneys concerning the settlement money.”
Suing the federal government is obviously a last resort for the county, but commissioners are at the end of their ropes. Current and previous county leaders — as well as their representatives in Washington — have been fighting for years with little result. It’s an issue with a lot of history and hurt feelings. Many Swain County residents still remember their parents or grandparents being forced off their land so the Great Smoky Mountains National Park could be created. The creation of Lake Fontana flooded numerous communities and forced families to move. However well intentioned, those actions have left Swain County families with a deep distrust of the federal government. The government’s empty promise of rebuilding the road has only added to residents’ skepticism. Before the settlement was reached in 2010, commissioners and the community were torn on whether taking a settlement was the best option given the federal government’s habit of not following through. Some saw a settlement agreement as nothing more than another meaningless piece of paper and were dead set on getting the money to rebuild the road. Monteith was part of that camp. “We might get the $6 million, the rest of it is a promise that we might do this in the 2009 budget. What good is a promise? We’ve been waiting 60 years. They are asking us to trust them again? I have no confidence,” Monteith said back in 2007 when the settlement was still being debated. Monteith’s prediction was dead on. Under the agreement, the federal government was supposed to make an initial payment of $12.8 million the same year the settlement was reached and was then obligated to make annual payments until the $52 million was paid off. The initial payment was made, but the county hasn’t received a dime since then. Some county leaders and residents came to terms with the slim likelihood the federal government was going to spend $600 million on rebuilding the road and instead fought hard for a cash settlement. The Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County, a group that first proposed the idea of a monetary settlement, came up with the $52 million figure, which was based on the value of the road at the time it was flooded plus interest and inflation.
WHAT WENT WRONG? Three U.S. representatives from North Carolina have taken up the fight in Washington for Swain County. Rep. Charles Taylor was adamantly against the settlement
and wanted the government to honor its original agreement to replace the road. Rep. Heath Shuler, a Swain County native, fought for the settlement when he was elected, and now Rep. Meadows is fighting to get Swain County the rest of the settlement money. While the language and the intent of the settlement agreement seems crystal clear to Meadows, he said the issue has gotten caught up in an “earmark ban” in Washington. Even though this is more of a contractual agreement, everyone in politics knows earmarked projects have “pet project” written all over them and they don’t have a chance of getting through. “This is the real definition of bureaucratic red tape,” Meadows said about the situation. “This is why most decisions need to be made at a local level. Bureaucrats get to hide behind their desks and wonder why something so simple can’t be done.” Even when the $4 million installment for Swain County was included in the National Park Service’s budget in 2012, the department claimed it didn’t have the authority to release the funds and asked for additional authorization from Congress. During his tenure, Shuler even asked the General Accounting Office for an opinion on whether the Park Service could turn over the money in its budget without a specific vote by Congress saying it was OK. The General Accounting Office said that the Park Service could release the funds to Swain County if it wanted to. It’s become the classic run-around. The National Park Service didn’t ask for additional authorization on any other items outlined in its budget. The funding sat there so long that Congress rescinded the allocation because it was unspent. The settlement installment hasn’t even made it into the budget during the last two fiscal years. Meadows said he has made the North Shore Road settlement a top priority since taking office in 2012. He said he’s worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle to get the issue resolved. He’s made countless personal calls to Department of Interior personnel but continues to have an uphill battle with an administration that refuses to appropriate the money in the National Parks Service budget. “This is the last thing Rep. Shuler worked on before leaving office and it’s the first thing I worked on when I came into office, so it’s not a lack of follow-up from anyone,” Meadows said. He’s been working with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., to present legislation that would address the problems in the appropriation process, and he should have a better idea in a few more months whether that approach will be successful in getting the money released. While he’s hopeful and will continue to keep trying, Meadows said he doesn’t want to be naïve about the situation either. “The next few months will tell us whether we can get it done through the appropriations process, but I certainly encourage commissioners to go down this path on parallel tracks to make sure they get what’s owed to them,” Meadows said. “My favorite line is ‘If you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.’”
Former Swain County commission chairman Glenn Jones (seated right) signs an agreement with the federal government for $52 million for the North Shore Road cash settlement as former U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler (seated left) and other stakeholders look on. File photo
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report stating “it appears to be in the public interest to seriously reconsider the plan” to build the road. 1968 — Construction on the road stops after 7 miles. The Park Service has used up the $8 million and is out of money. The prospects for more money seem slim due to environmental opposition. 1974 — Contingency from Swain County makes a trip to Raleigh to visit N.C. Attorney General Robert Morgan. They ask Morgan for the state’s help suing the federal government to resolve the 1943 agreement. They learn they have no grounds for a lawsuit, due to a hold harmless clause in the agreement. 2003 — Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County hire an accounting firm to come up with a figure for the monetary settlement. They arrive at $52 million, based on the cost of the road when it was flooded, with interest and adjusted for inflation. Commissioners vote 4-1 in favor of the settlement. 2007 — National Park Service announces its long-awaited decision in the lengthy environmental assessment. It comes down in favor of a cash settlement. 2010 — Swain County receives the first installment of $12.8 million. 2011 — A $4 million payment is appropriated in the National Park Service budget but then rescinded mid-year after being caught up in an across-the-board clampdown on earmarks by Congress. 2012 — A payment is again appropriated, but the National Park Service refuses to release it, claiming it lacks clear authority to do so. 2013 — The payment never makes it in the federal budget. 2014 — The payment never makes it in the federal budget.
March 30-April 5, 2016
Swain County residents seem supportive of the county commissioners’ actions to sue the federal government, but not all of them are convinced it will do any good. Leonard Winchester, chairman of the Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County group, said he couldn’t claim to be a lawyer or predict how the case would be laid out. But if he were a betting man, he’d bet Swain County never sees that money. “I think the remaining money will not reach appropriations based on statements made by the director of the National Park Service. He indicated it was a matter for the Department of Interior,” Winchester said. “And the new (Department of Interior) secretary, when they questioned her about it, she handed it off to someone else saying it was a conflict of interest for her and that’s hard for me to comprehend. I took that as a clue (Secretary) Sally Jewell had no intention of seeking appropriations.” Even if the money did somehow get appropriated, Winchester said it would be labeled as an “earmarked” project and would raise a red flag for other congressmen.
However, when asked if it was worth the money to fight it, Winchester didn’t hesitate. “Yes, it’s worth the fight. I have even said so to the county manager and commissioners,” he said. “We had ideas for how the interest from the money should be used — for special projects the county hasn’t had money for — and I would definitely consider this one of those special projects.” Right now the $12.8 million is sitting in a trust fund managed by the N.C. Treasury Department collecting interest. County Manager Kevin King said the county would be using some of that interest money to pay for the upcoming legal fees. Rick Bryson, a Swain County native who is running to unseat Meadows in the 11th Congressional District, said he has encouraged the commissioners for a couple of years to file a lawsuit against the federal government for the settlement money. He isn’t convinced it will work, but he thinks it will get their attention and put pressure on the Department of Interior to do something. “I’ve said for a while we ought to stop playing patty-cake with these guys in Washington and sue them,” he said. “We have a 2020 deadline to get that money.”
• 1920s — Forney Creek Township wants a road leading from Bryson City to Deals Gap on the Tennessee state line. It is the height of the timber boom and the road would improve access to Knoxville. The community took out bonds totaling $400,000 to pay for the road. • 1934 — The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is officially created. • 1940 — Forney Creek Township has yet to pay a single cent on the road bonds it took out nearly 20 years prior. With interest, the amount now comes to $694,000. The county assumes the outstanding debt. It refinances the bond for $1.3 million, which also includes money for a new school. • 1941 — President Roosevelt authorizes federal funding to build Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River. Tennessee Valley Authority begins land acquisition. • 1943 — 44,000 acres is added to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the people evacuated, along with those in the direct path of rising water. An agreement is signed between Swain County commissioners, the governor of North Carolina, Tennessee Valley Authority and the Department of Interior that promises to build a new road — provided Congress appropriates the funds — along the north shore of the lake. • 1947-48 — National Park Service builds 0.9 miles of the promised road on the Fontana Dam side. • 1959 — State of North Carolina constructs a road from Bryson City to the national park boundary, laying the groundwork for the park to pick up construction. • 1960 — Congressman Roy A. Taylor secures $8 million for construction of the North Shore Road. Park Service commences road construction where the state left off. • 1962 — National Park Service issues a
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North Shore Road timeline
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Fracking protections a key consideration in ordinance revision BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hen the state opened the doors for hydraulic fracturing — called “fracking” — in 2014, a flood of public opinion from the mountains told Raleigh that drilling would not be welcome in the western part of the state. And while the best guesses of science suggest that there’s little to no gas worth harvesting under the mountains, Jackson County is still moving ahead to build some protections against fracking into its code of ordinances. The question is, how? The legislation that set up the framework to allow fracking in North Carolina made it clear that any local rules contradicting the state regulations would be invalid, so the trick is writing language into the ordinance that protects Jackson County against the purported ill effects of fracking while still holding up in court. “If you ever had an applicant come in and say, ‘These development rules are too stringent, I can’t actually perform the mining operation,’ they can go to the state and say, ‘These are too restrictive,’ and the state can say, ‘I agree, you don’t have to follow them,’” said Planning Director Michael Poston. When the planning board first began looking at the Industrial Planning Ordinance in April 2015, they immediately added fracking under the definition of mining, subjecting
March 30-April 5, 2016
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the industry to the same regulations as other forms of mining. Poston advised the planning board that the edit was probably sufficient protection, or at least as much protection as the state law allows. “After the state came down with their ruling, a lot of folks said, ‘We put a lot of time and energy into developing standards that may not even apply in the end. How much of the board’s time do we want to take up developing these?’” Poston said.
The trick is writing language into the ordinance that protects Jackson County against the purported ill effects of fracking while still holding up in court. Several of the board members disagreed with that conclusion. “When we were discussing this earlier, the old board, the commissioners wanted us to put a section in there about fracking,” said Burt Kornegay, who’s been on the board since March 2014. “They wanted it specifically in there.”
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Last year, commissioners entered into a contract with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which agreed to give the county free legal advice to write an industrial development ordinance that would protect against the impacts of fracking while also surviving legal challenge, pointed out member Ken Brown. Shouldn’t the planning board look at pulling some of those experts in? “I personally wouldn’t mind hearing from an outside group,” said member Kirk Stephens. County Commission Chairman Brian McMahan encouraged that perspective when contacted for a follow-up interview. He asked Poston to research the legalities of additional regulations, especially the possibility of requiring baseline testing before development begins. If required, the pre-drilling testing would provide a basis for comparison later to determine whether potential claims of environmental contamination had merit. When baseline testing does not occur, the
energy companies can simply say that there’s no proof that contamination wasn’t already present before their operations began. However, research will be required to see whether the county has authority to make those kinds of rules or whether that’s the realm of the state. “We wanted them (the planning board) to make sure that they focused on environmental impacts for polluting industries,” McMahan said. The goal isn’t to pass a rule saying fracking isn’t allowed — due to state law, such an ordinance wouldn’t hold water for a moment — but rather to add requirements for developers that will better protect residents and the environment. “Its not denying or allowing anything to happen,” McMahan said of his hopes for the ordinance. “It would be, are these requirements that we can tack on in our industrial development ordinance?”
Planning board digs into rules for industrial development Junky yards will not be regulated under ordinance
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The 2014 hearing on fracking rules held in Cullowhee drew the largest attendance of any of the four hearings held statewide, with all of the more than 100 speakers voicing opposition to the practice. Jackson County hopes to build protections against fracking into its code of ordinances. Holly Kays photo
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ake a drive around the mountain roads of Western North Carolina and it probably won’t be long before a tight curve spits you out alongside a yard decorated with a few rusty old vehicles here, some extraneous car parts there and a peppering of discarded tools for good measure. Is that a junkyard, or is that just a junky yard? And if it’s the latter, is that something the county should regulate? That’s the question that the Jackson County Planning Board circled around during its March meeting. Besides looking bad, that kind of junk often leaches contaminants into the ground. But it’s private property and not a use controlled by issuing permits. “I grew up right over the hill from there, but in my mind a junkyard like that is not a positive thing to have out there — I don’t care whether it’s my brother’s or uncle’s or who,” said board member Ken Brown, referencing a specific junky yard the board discussed. On the other hand, said board member Kent Moore,
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the board should approach those kinds of restrictions with caution. “You have to careful about how you do this,” Moore said. “I’m an old car guy. I have an old car and I know a lot of people who have old cars and old trucks … I’ve not got a junkyard.” For nearly a year now, the board has been working up a revision to the county’s industrial development ordinance, which regulates everything from mining to asphalt plants, in addition to junkyards. But while the name of the board and the ordinance they’re busy dissecting hasn’t changed, the turnover of membership has been significant. Until commissioners changed the ordinance in November, planning board Michael Poston membership wasn’t staggered — meaning that terms for all 11 members ended at once. Of the current members, only four were serving in April 2015 when the board first began discussing the ordinance. Even the planning director at the time, Gerald Green, has since moved on, with the new director, Michael Poston, now just about two months into his tenure. Which, perhaps, is why much of the discussion this
month mirrored the talk around the table from a year ago. At that time too, board members had asked the planning director to look into writing regulations for private junkyards. They’d acknowledged the language could get thorny, and Green had cautioned that regulations should be objective and specific — no subjectivity. The back-and-forth this time around turned out to be rather similar, with the planning board ultimately directing Poston to look at writing a binary set of rules — one aimed at commercial junkyards and a second set aimed at private junkyards. Commissioners, however, did not agree — as Poston found when he set about getting their pulse on the direction the planning board had asked him to go. “We stressed to him that we didn’t want to consider anything in this ordinance other than junkyards, not junky yards at people’s houses,” said Commission Chairman Brian McMahan. The reason, McMahan said, is that the ordinance is all about commercial industries such as mines and asphalt plants. Regulations on residential property would be out of place there. “That’s another topic for another day,” he said of the junky yard issue.
Gaming commissioners argue for their jobs back A
THE BACKSTORY
POINTS AND COUNTERPOINTS Chad Smith, a former chief of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma who acted as the fired TGC members’ attorney, said the members’ removal was tantamount to a bill of attainder, which is legalese for finding somebody guilty without a trial. “If these commissioners have done something wrong, there’s a proper process to do that,” Smith said. “Resolution No. 4 was not the proper process.” Not so, countered Jones. In fact, the
Cherokee Councilhouse photo
Cherokee code specifies that TGC members are “subject to removal, with cause, by a majority of the Tribal Council.” “This is not a bill of attainder,” he said. “If this is a bill of attainder, then any time this council takes an act to remove somebody — which is set forth in multiple places where you can do that — then all of those would be bills of attainder.” Likewise, Jones shot down Brown’s assertion that she had been acting within the bounds of the code by simply removing herself from discussions pertaining to the hiring process. Tribal code prohibits commissioners from “engaging in outside employment or activities, including seeking or negotiating for future employment, which conflict with their official duties and responsibilities as determined by the Tribal Council.” “There’s not much more of a clear conflict of interest than to still be a member of a board that’s deciding who to hire in a position that you’ve applied for,” Jones said. “If you’re going to apply for the position, you’ve got to resign from the board. That’s just that simple.” Councilmember Teresa McCoy questioned whether Brown had actually removed herself as thoroughly as she had claimed to. Reading from the minutes of a July 8 TGC meeting, McCoy pointed out that Brown was listed as being part of a discussion as to the process for advertising the position. “She (Brown) was in the meeting at that time and she agreed that she was going to go along with the changes that were proposed for the position,” McCoy said. Brown had submitted her letter of interest in the position the previous month. McCoy also questioned the educational requirements that were listed when advertising the position. Previously, the standard had been that the executive director should have a master’s degree or above — Lambert, the former director, had a law degree — but this time around the position was open to anyone with at least a bachelor’s. “To me our casino is our golden egg,”
THE FINAL DECISION It took council some time to come to a decision. After two hours of deliberation they came back in session only to decide they needed more time in closed session to reach a conclusion. But when the decision came, it was not ambiguous. With a move by Councilmember Tommye Saunooke and a second by Councilmember Bo Crowe, council voted unanimously to deny the protest, with Councilmember Travis Smith abstaining. “I could talk about a few relevant things and a lot of things that aren’t relevant, but I don’t think I need to,” Jones said. “It is clear this council made the right decision when it passed Resolution No. 4.”
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The story began when Principal Chief Patrick Lambert decided to run for office. He had served as executive director of the TGC for 22 years, the first person to hold the position, when he retired in February 2015. Rick Saunooke, who had worked closely with Lambert for most of that time, took over as interim executive director as the TGC set about finding a permanent replacement. According to the TGC members, they took the task very seriously and made pains to approach it in the fairest possible way. “They (commissioners) presumed that the applicants for the director would likely be well known to the commissioners both as colleagues and as friends,” former commissioner Don Rose testified. “In order to achieve as much objectivity as possible, the commissioners opted to hire an independent firm to conduct the search.” In March 2015, the TGC entered into a contract with Valiant Consulting Group — a Native American-owned firm based in Albuquerque, New Mexico — to handle the hiring process. Valiant advertised the position, assessed applications, conducted interviews and provided the board a ranked list of the top five applicants, suggesting they interview the top three. Fourteen people applied for the job, with one of those — Rick
Former Tribal Gaming Commission member Bob Blankenship tries to convince Tribal Council to restore his position.
McCoy said. “I mean, we drop the qualifications or standards to hire people in key positions, to me we jeopardize the quality this tribe would be receiving.” According to tribal code, executive directors must have “at least five years of responsible administrative experience in public or business administration or possess broad management skills and have an MBA, J.D., or other higher degree of education.” Jones concedes that it’s possible to read that sentence in two ways — saying either that the director must have five years of experience in one of the fields listed or have broad management skills plus a higher degree of education; or else that directors must have experience as well as a higher degree. But Jones contends that the correct reading is the latter and argued that the TGC members knew that. “Actually, it is obvious the ordinance calls for at least a master’s, but we concluded the lowest we could go and still meet the ordinance requirements was a bachelor’s,” Jones read from a July 1 email from Rose to Lambert. Based on that, Jones charged that the TGC board set out wanting to hire Hicks and wrote the job description so that he would stand a high likelihood of getting selected through Valiant’s process. “They knew before they made the decision that Chief Hicks with a bachelor’s degree was not qualified for this position under the code,” Jones said. Smith, meanwhile, retorted that the email was taken out of context and part of a long chain of emails showing the commission’s “due diligence.” Based on his education and experience, McCoy said, Hicks should qualify for a salary range of $149,000 to $178,000 under the TGC salary scale, but his starting salary was $214,000. That’s still a lot less than the $250,000 Lambert was making at the time of his resignation, Smith pointed out, and significantly less than the salary Letts requested. But it’s not apples to apples, McCoy responded, because Lambert holds a juris doctor degree and had been in his position for 20 years before progressing to his end salary.
March 30-April 5, 2016
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fter being ousted from their jobs when the September elections brought a new Tribal Council and executive administration, the three people who had composed the Tribal Gaming Commission came before council last week hoping to convince councilmembers to give them their jobs back. They hadn’t done anything wrong, they argued, and the process to remove them wasn’t correct. But Tribal Council didn’t buy it. They voted unanimously, with one abstention by Councilmember Travis Smith, to uphold the removal of Bob Blankenship, Don Rose and Sheila Brown from the board. “Gaming, everybody knows, is the single most important economic engine for this tribe,” Scott Jones, attorney for the tribe’s executive branch, told Tribal Council. “The integrity of that enterprise is vital for this tribe. In such an important area, even the appearance of impropriety is cause for removal. Here you not only have the smoke of improper appearances, you have the fire of improper acts.” Jones contended that the TGC had dumbed down the educational requirements for the position specifically so that former Principal Chief Michell Hicks would be eligible for the job and that Brown had violated Cherokee tribal code by applying for the position while still serving as a TGC member.
Saunooke — excluded from consideration due to not meeting the educational requirements. The job description required a bachelor’s degree, and Saunooke had only an associate’s. “We opened this (list of names) in the gaming commission office with the administrative assistant there to open it with us and read off the names of the people and where they rate,” Blankenship said. Brown had applied for the job, coming in as number three on the ranking, but she assured Council there was no conflict of interest there, as she removed herself from all discussions surrounding the hiring process. The commission then offered the job to the top-ranked applicant, Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts. However, negotiations fell through due to the salary and contract length Letts would require to compensate for leaving his current position with the state. So, they offered the job to Hicks — the second-ranked candidate. At the time, Hicks, who had appointed all three of the commissioners serving at the time, still held office. The plan was for him to migrate to the role of TGC executive director in November, after the Oct. 5 end of his political term. The selection was something Lambert had feared and made clear he would fight when he came out the winner in the Sept. 3 election. On Sept. 8, the three former TGC members said, Lambert had met with them and asked about the hiring process. “Patrick (Lambert) said, ‘I don’t know where you all are at in your hiring process, but if you hired Michell Hicks, I’m going to do all in my power to reverse that, to include tearing the house down if I have to,” Blankenship said. “And that’s the statement he made.” Hours after his inauguration, Lambert followed through on that promise, presenting a resolution to council asking that they remove all three TGC members. At that time, he contended that Hicks’ hire was “nothing more than political payback,” the scenario was rife with “conflicts of interest” and the TGC had breached tribal code by allowing board member Sheila Brown to be considered for the director’s position. Council passed the resolution unanimously, and the next day Hicks received word that the newly appointed TGC members had rescinded his contract. Saunooke was named acting director.
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Cherokee council upholds their removal for cause
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Out with the old, in with the new Regional banking powerhouse Entegra finalizes deal for Old Town Bank BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER ld Town Bank shareholders overwhelmingly approved the sale of the start-up bank headquartered in Waynesville last week, ending its nine-year run as a small independent local bank in light of the changing landscape facing financial institutions in the post-recession world. Old Town’s sale to Entegra Bank, formerly known as Macon Bank, garnered approval from 99 percent of the shares participating in the vote. Old Town Bank President Charles Umberger said the sale is a good news story rather than one of defeat. “We are two strong survivors that are partnering strategically to better serve our markets and communities in the future,” Umberger said of the institutions. Not unlike Old Town, Entegra has smalltown roots of its own, dating back to 1922 in Franklin. It has grown over the decades to become one of the most prominent banks in the far western region, with 15 branches spanning 10 counties and two states. The decision to sell Old Town was a tough one, however, admitted Neal Ensley, chairman of the Old Town Bank board. Bank founders had envisioned a locally owned, community-minded bank based in Haywood County, and letting go of that dream wasn’t easy.“It is hard to give it up. There were mixed emotions,” Ensley said. Umberger and Entegra Bank President Roger Plemens can now laugh about the ini-
March 30-April 5, 2016
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Entegra Bank President Roger Plemens (left) and Old Town Bank President Charles Umberger are now hitting for the same team after the sale of Old Town Bank was finalized this week. tial phone call between them a year ago, when Umberger told Plemens a resounding “no” when asked if Old Town was open to a merger. “We were not for sale,” Umberger said. “We were profitable and independent and planned to remain that way.” Plemens said Umberger didn’t exactly hang up on him, but made his fierce pride for Old Town known. That was something Plemens respected, but as a businessman he knew that acquisition proposals often go like
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Commissioners under the gun to pass shooting range rules
BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER Rules governing where commercial outdoor shooting ranges can go in Haywood County would provide security and peace of mind for rural residents who fear the intrusion of a gun range in their midst, but shooting advocates fear the proposed regulations are too prohibitive. “You will never be able to open a shooting range in this county unless you are a millionaire,” said Eddie Cabe, a speaker at a public hearing on the proposed shooting range ordinance Monday night. Currently, there are no rules in Haywood County governing where an outdoor shooting range can go or how it must operate. In an effort to shield communities from the ill effects of an outdoor gun range, Haywood County commissioners have proposed an ordinance to govern them. Under the proposed rules, commercial outdoor shooting ranges have to be a quarter-mile away from any existing occupied buildings. “A quarter mile? There is no place in Haywood County you can legally build a shooting range anymore,” James Smathers said at the hearing. However, supporters of the shooting range ordinance 10 asked those in the audience to think about what it would be
Smoky Mountain News
that initially, and didn’t write off the idea. Entegra had made its intentions known to expand into Haywood County. Entegra had the wheels in motion to open a branch in Waynesville early last year, and was even eyeing property directly across South Main Street from Old Town Bank. But Entegra held off in hopes of courting Old Town. Plemens said it takes a new branch a couple of years to build up a customer base. Old Town brought an existing local customer
base to the table already, and had earned the community’s trust and loyalty — something he hopes will transfer to Entegra. Meanwhile, the board of Old Town Bank began to ponder the merits of a merger. Entegra offered Old Town a way forward that preserved their community-minded values but also ensured its staying power by joining forces with a larger institution. It also allowed shareholders to be made whole on the investment they made when founding Old Town in 2007. “The shareholders have really not had any return on their investment. They would have loved to have some dividends, but it hasn’t been practical,” Ensley said. “We felt like it was the best deal for our shareholders going forward.” Old Town Bank had roughly 400 shareholders. When the bank launched in 2007, it raised capital through a private offering of one million shares at $11 a share. The number of shares has remained fixed at one million, and while some shareholders have sold their shares to other investors in private transactions, the shareholder base has remained static for the most part. “The shareholder base has remained fairly constant and supportive throughout,” Umberger said. Entegra offered shareholders $11.05 a share in cash — a modest return on the initial share price of $11 nine years ago, but a return nonetheless. “The bank is not being sold because we are in distress, but the shareholder is getting out whole,” Ensley said. That’s saying a lot given the carnage witnessed among smaller locally owned banks during the economic recession. Several in the region have simply closed, or were absorbed for pennies on the dollar. “Times have just been tough for community banks,” Ensley said. That said, Old Town had
like to be bombarded with the noise of a shooting range next door. “This could go on continually all day long. People in rural communities need protection,” said Lisa Nelson. The shooting range ordinance came about at the behest of residents in the rural Francis Farm community, an idyllic pastoral setting on the outskirts of Waynesville, where an indoor gun range has been proposed. “This could happen beside your house just like it is happening beside my house,” said Vicky Rogers, a resident of Francis Farm. Francis Farm residents appealed repeatedly to the county to stop the indoor gun range being proposed in their community, but commissioners didn’t think an indoor range posed a threat to anyone’s safety or well being, and instead chalked up concerns to mere aesthetics and character — things they weren’t inclined to regulate for. However, commissioners drew a distinction when it came to outdoor shooting ranges, which they felt could pose a health and safety risk for neighbors. Other requirements in the proposed rules include a 6foot-high fence around the entire shooting range, environmental precautions to prevent lead contamination, a 300foot buffer from neighboring property lines and noise deci-
bel limits. The rules call for safety precautions as well, such as warning signs around the perimeter, on-site staff during hours of operation, an alcohol ban and proper design to ensure wayward bullets are captured. The rules would apply only to commercial operations, where the general public can pay to come shoot, and not to private gun clubs or friends that get together to shoot. While crafting an ordinance, commissioners imposed a 60day moratorium on new commercial outdoor shooting ranges. Otherwise, there would be nothing to stop outdoor shooting ranges from rushing to open before the rules were crafted. The county has another month to finalize the shooting range regulations before the moratorium expires. Those with existing firing ranges will have to register their location with the county in order to be grandfathered in. Andrew Jackson, who regularly gets together with buddies to shoot on his own land, fears he could get caught up in the dragnet of the ordinance. “We know how to do this. We don’t need a piece of paper,” Jackson said. Commissioners could adopt the shooting range ordinance as early as their meeting next Monday, April 4. To read a copy of the proposed rules, go to www.smokymountainnews.com and click on this story.
in civic causes and the business community in Haywood just as Old Town was. “They are very much a community oriented bank. I think they will continue that spirit,” Ensley added.
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Umberger said the sale to Entegra is exciting for both customers and employees of Old Town Bank. “Entegra is large enough and strong enough to offer things that we as a small bank hoped to and planned to some day but Entegra already does,” Umberger said, noting everything from quicker, more seamless mortgage loans to better employee benefits. “We do as much as we possibly can
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given our size, but the reality is we could only lend so much,” Umberger said of Old Town. “We had business accounts we could no longer continue to serve, because our ability to grow did not keep up with their credit needs as they continue to grow.” On a practical note, Old Town customers working in other counties won’t have to rush back to Waynesville to make a deposit by 5 p.m., since Entegra has 15 branches from Upstate South Carolina to the far west. “The people in our region are becoming more regional,” Umberger said. While the sale will officially go through on April 1, the 2,000 customers of Old Town Bank won’t notice any changes right away, however. “The sign will still say Old Town Bank. Check stock, debit cards, the online platform will all stay the same for now. We will work toward system convergence in August,” Umberger said. “That will give us five months to do what’s called map-andmerge to move our customers into the Entegra system. That will give us a lot of time to do it in a well thought-out way.” Umberger will join the executive management team of Entegra as a vice president. The rest of Old Town’s staff will remain exactly where they are now. “They will still see these same smiling faces who know their name when the walk in the door, who deliver quality, professional, friendly, reliable service that they count on,” Umberger said. “That is number one. I hope our customers and community realize that.”
March 30-April 5, 2016
Entegra Bank wasn’t without its own challenges during the recession and real estate crash. During the boom years, Macon Bank was a major lender for the parade of speculative developers and wave of secondhome and retirement lot “We are two strong survivors that are buyers flooding the mountains. partnering strategically to better serve our When the house of cards markets and communities in the future.” collapsed, — Charles Umberger, Old Town Bank President Macon Bank was left holding the bag on hundreds of foreclosed lots and more difficult today, and the climate is more bankrupt developments. challenging for smaller banks to navigate. It ultimately landed the bank on the FDIC watch list in 2012. It had a lot of company, however, with hundreds of banks OMMUNITY VALUES across the nation in a similar predicament While the offer was financially attractive with an out-of-kilter portfolio. Entegra to shareholders, what clinched the deal was quickly turned the corner and got off the Entegra’s philosophy. Shareholders and watch list, however. founders realized they didn’t have to com“Management handled it quickly to promise their ideals of a community-mindrecapitalize the bank and go forward,” ed bank by selling out to Entegra. Plemens said. “Our board believes we have a responsiNot one to be beaten, Entegra is now in bility to our community we serve. The more a stronger position than ever and in a fullwe got to know Entegra and their vision of scale expansion mode. It was greeted with what a bank ought to be, we said ‘This wild success on the stock market in fall 2014 sound like a strategic partner that makes when it became a publicly traded company. sense,’” Umberger said. It was a surreal experience for Plemens, Known as Macon Bank until its name who traveled to Wall Street and rang the change last year, Entegra began as a small opening bell for the stock market the day local bank almost 90 years ago in Franklin. Entegra went public. Entegra has 46 percent of the banking mar“You are standing in Times Square and ket share in Franklin — a testament to its they are putting your picture up seven stohometown legacy and symbiotic relationries tall,” Plemens recalled. ship with the community. Plemens had a good feeling about it, “You don’t stay around since 1922 withhowever. Demand was so high during the out helping your community grow and initial public offering that shares were overthrive,” Umberger said. “They share our subscribed. vision of community commitment. We “We had seen a very positive trend. We weren’t going to partner up with someone felt it was going to be successful, we just who wasn’t.” didn’t know how successful,” Plemens said. Plemens said Entegra plans to be active Entegra opened at $10 a share the day it
went public and was trading for $12.50 by the time the market closed. “That is beyond not-too-shabby,” Umberger said. “It was probably one of the most successful capital raises of a financial institution in recent history. Everyone took notice.” The share price was at $17.50 as of Monday. The bank raised $65 million in capital by going public. That in turn launched an expansion phase for Entegra. Last year, it purchased two bank branches in Anderson and Chesnee, South Carolina. “Now we have this capital we need to put to good use,” Plemens said. Part and parcel to its expanding foot print, bank leaders had to relinquish their long-held identity as Macon Bank. “We didn’t want a name that was going to tie us to a geographic region,” Plemens said. Entegra has 16 branch locations in 10 counties and two states.
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largely weathered the storm. “We are not leaping into the arms of a rescuer. These are two strong organizations who weathered some difficult times, who had strong local boards and strong local managers who stuck to their knitting and stuck to the game plan and said ‘we are going to make it to the other side,’” Umberger said. “Now that we are on the other side, we have a different world than we had in 2006.” The bad economy and troubled real estate market aren’t the only things that have taken a toll on smaller, local banks. The regulatory and political environment is
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HCC to take over business incubator space BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR t will be a bittersweet transition for Smoky Mountain Development Corporation executive director Allan Steinberg. On one hand, he has to watch the nonprofit he’s led for nine years dissolve, but on the other hand, he’s excited about the possibilities ahead as Haywood Community College takes over the organization’s facility. Smoky Mountain Development Corporation has spent the last 30 years assisting entrepreneurs with borrowing money to start their own businesses and providing them with affordable incubator space to grow at the Center for New & Expanding Business on Industrial Park Drive in Waynesville. In the next month, Steinberg will be assisting in the transition as ownership of the 17,000-square-foot building is given to HCC. The HCC Board of Trustees has committed to using the building for economic development purposes and will honor the lease agreements SMDC has with all seven tenants through 2017. HCC’s Small Business Center will be relocating from the HCC campus to the new building, which is conveniently located next to HCC’s Regional High Technology Center. “The incubator is an amazing opportunity that will allow us to work with existing business owners and new business owners,” said Katy Gould, director of the Small Business Center. “It will help us further connect the college with the business community in Haywood County. Other than moving some offices and the SBA’s business seminars to the donated building, the HCC Board of Trustees hasn’t determined exactly how the building will be utilized once the tenants’ leases are up. However, Steinberg said the SMDC gift stipulates it must be used for workforce development, job creation and job training. “Since its inception, the role of the incubator was to support startups, promote existing businesses, and create jobs in the community,” said HCC President Barbara Parker. “Likewise, our role in the community is to support job creation and provide workforce training.” While the donation of a building is great
Smoky Mountain News
March 30-April 5, 2016
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The Center for New & Expanding Businesses, located on Industrial Park Drive in Waynesville (above), has been donated to Haywood Community College. Right: Michelle Briggs recently moved into the St. Andrews Square Absolutely Yummy Catering in the Center for New & Expanding Businesses in Waynesville. Jessi Stone photos news for HCC, it will be mean the end of SMDC. Steinberg said the organization had properly served its mission by providing more than $18 million in loans to 37 businesses and helped small businesses employ 600 people in the region. He said the downfall had nothing to do with the management or performance of SMDC. About 80 percent of SMDC’s revenue, which helped operate the incubator building, came from the service fees they received from packaging and servicing Small Business Administration 504 program loans for businesses. When times were good, SMDC had as many as 25 loans in its portfolio, but then loans began to get retired and no new loans were being taken out. With low interest rates being offered after the recession, SMDC services weren’t as in demand as they once were, and Steinberg said the SBA hasn’t changed its loan program to keep up with the current economic climate.
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“In the last five years the economy has changed,” Steinberg said. “Unfortunately with the changes in the current financial arena — and even though the incubator space is full — the SBA 504 loan program provided 80 percent of our revenue so we had to make a decision on what to do next.” As a small corporation, SMDC had a hard time meeting all the SBA requirements, and the organization was encouraged to consolidate with a larger certified development corporation or give up our SBA certification. Since SMDC covered the 10 western counties
excluding Asheville, Steinberg said consolidating wouldn’t have made sense. After much thought, SMDC’s board of directors made the tough decision to decertify its loan program. Not getting the revenue from the loan service fees meant SMDC could no longer financially support the business center, which is unfortunate because that program is going strong. “The incubator space for the first time in its history is full of good long-term tenants,” Steinberg said. It hasn’t always been this successful. Steinberg said the building was empty when he was hired as the executive director in 2007 because it was difficult to find the right tenants. At that time the space was geared more toward manufacturing — the idea was to rent space to a start up and incubate them for 36 months until they were ready to graduate into a larger operation that would create jobs. “Everything hit bottom during the recession, so I talked to my board and they agreed to give long-term leasing to keep the building full and we’ve done just that,” Steinberg said. The business center has a wide variety of businesses, including Skyrunner Wireless, Austin Medical, Waynesville Soda Jerks, Asheville Honey Company, St. Andrews Square Absolutely Yummy Catering and others. Tenants pay below market rent based on the square footage of the space they occupy, which is between 200 and 1,800 square feet. They also receive free business counseling with SMDC and HCC. Steinberg said the building is in great shape and the rent from the tenants should be enough to cover utility and maintenance expenses for HCC. “We made a concerted effort to find out who would best serve this building for job creation and training,” he said. “We’d already built a relationship with HCC and it seemed to be a natural fit for them to take over management and operations.” Gould said she is excited about the future of HCC and the ability of the Small Business Center to make an even larger impact in the community by taking over operations. “This is a nod to the college and what we’ve been doing within the local business climate,” she said.
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Commissioner candidate questions the decision timeline BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER eaking roofs, failing heating systems and broken pipes in Jackson County Schools will get some much-needed attention after commissioners voted unanimously to take the first steps toward borrowing as much as $10 million to fix them. “Our county commissioners not only recognized (the need), they were willing to borrow the money and get it in our hands as quickly as possible so we could start on that,” said Superintendent Mike Murray. “I feel Mike Murray very encouraged.” Leaks and system failures have been regular features of the school system’s budget discussions with the county for the last couple years — a broken water main under Smoky Mountain High School was leaking $5,000 of water per month as Murray spoke.
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limit the state imposes on counties for this type of contract. It’s hard to say exactly how much the project will end up costing, however. “Who knows whether the estimates they’ve put together are high or low at this point in time, but we believe they’re reasonable estimates,” said County Manager Chuck Wooten. All commissioners have done so far is pass a resolution stating that they intend to reimburse themselves, through a loan, for money they will begin spending immediately to address the school system’s capital needs. There’s no sense, Wooten said, in paying 3 percent interest on a loan when the bulk of the funds needed are sitting in the county’s fund balance. By passing the resolution, the county gave the school board permission to go ahead and start planning to address these needs with the understanding that the county will appropriate the money to do so when the funds are needed. The work will likely be done in two phases, said Commission Chairman Brian McMahan, with the county borrowing whatever amount it needs to reimburse itself for funds expended by the end of the calendar year. At some point next year, the county would borrow a second time to pay itself back for the second batch of expenditures.
ONE PROJECT OF MANY But Mau also questions the need to pay for all the repairs by issuing debt. The county has a fund balance of more than $8 million above the minimum level the state requires counties keep for emergencies — why not draw from that to pay for the costs that sales tax revenue can’t cover, Mau asked. “It does not appear there would be a
need to borrow the entire $9 million,” Mau said. That might well be the case, Wooten said, if school repairs were the only capital need on the county’s plate. But it’s not. Commissioners are working toward building a new animal shelter and a new or renovated health department. An expansion of the justice center is on tap and commissioners are hoping to further improve and expand community parks. “It kind of comes down to a point where we have a lot more projects than we have available funds,” Wooten said. “If we’re only looking at schools, I agree we could pay for that on a pay-as-you-go basis.” Commissioners plan to pay the debt off using sales tax revenue already earmarked for school spending. Of the $9.27 million the county receives annually from sales tax revenues, $2.65 million is earmarked for education spending. Of the $2.65 million, $799,000 is not already committed to another project. Borrowing the projected $8.6 million in renovations would mean paying $720,000 on the loan each year. If the county borrowed the $10 million maximum, it would pay $833,000 a year. The board is hoping to ramp up education spending overall with a countywide sales tax increase. The quarter-cent hike would bring Jackson’s sales tax to 7 percent, with the estimated $1.1 million in additional annual revenue to go to K-12 and community college capital projects. The issue will be on the June 7 ballot as a referendum question.
QUESTIONS ABOUT QUICKNESS The decision to endorse the resolution was unanimous, but support among audience members was not. “Incredible,” said Ron Mau, a councilmember for the Village of Forest Hills who will be running against Commissioner Vicki Greene in November. “How can the commissioners walk into the meeting, add an issue that potentially adds $10 million in debt to the Ron Mau county and add it to their agenda so there is no public notice and therefore no public comment?” Commissioner meeting agendas and links to documents related to each item are typically posted online in the days leading up to each meeting, giving people a chance to see which issues will be discussed and review the materials beforehand. Sometimes, however, items are added lastminute at the beginning of the commissioner meeting. The debt issue was one of those items. Commissioners did have a scheduled meeting with school system administrators two days before the meeting — after the initial agenda had been posted — when they learned what their list of critical needs
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COMING TO A HEAD Things have come to a head this year, with Murray telling commissioners he couldn’t afford to wait for the money to come gradually available. Things needed to be fixed now, he said, in January presenting a list of more than $12 million dollars’ worth of roof replacements, HVAC system renovations, water projects and athletic facilities. “We have to keep roofs over our heads,” Murray said. “We can’t market the school system if things are falling down around us.” Commissioners agreed with the need’s acuteness but asked Murray to back out the cost of new athletic facilities. Though the school system is in the midst of attempting to fund a $900,000 artificial turf football field with aid from a $200,000 NFL grant, commissioners decided to put a hold on funding for other items on the athletic facilities wish list, such as tennis courts, a baseball field and a new track at Smoky Mountain High School. However, they have agreed to take out a loan for as much as $10 million to get the school system started on addressing the other needs as soon as possible. “This money is to keep roofs from leaking on kids’ heads,” Commissioner Boyce Dietz said. The list of critical needs will cost an estimated $8.6 million to address, which is under the $10 million per year borrowing
March 30-April 5, 2016
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Jackson will borrow millions to fix school facilities
looked like and of the broken water main under the high school. “We got a very big water leak that just occurred,” McMahan said. “That’s $5,000 a month. That’s $60,000 of money in a year. Why wait? All we did was just approve a resolution that says that we intend to pay ourselves back when we borrow money.” More votes will occur before any money is transferred or debt issued. Commissioners will have to approve a transfer from the counBrian McMahan ty fund balance to the school system, a decision that will be published in advance and give people an opportunity to comment, McMahan said. That will likely happen at either the April 7 or April 21 meeting. Opportunity for public comment will arise once more before commissioners actually take out any debt. Taking on debt requires a public hearing.
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Cullowhee planning committee appointed BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER early a year after Jackson County passed zoning standards for Cullowhee, the ordinance is set to get ground-tested with the creation of the Cullowhee Planning Advisory Committee. The committee, tasked with arbitrating any disputes or requests for exemption related to the zoning ordinance, has existed on paper ever since the ordinance went into effect last May. Commissioners put themselves in as place-holding committee members when they passed the zoning rules, but this month they began the process of appointing actual members of the Cullowhee community instead. “When we adopted that (zoning ordinance), we didn’t have a planning director,” said County Manager Chuck Wooten at the commissioners’’ Feb. 16 work session, when they first began discussing planning committee appointments. Because the zoning rules required a committee to go into effect, commissioners had opted to put their board in as a substitute until they could hire a planning director and get all their ducks in a row to start making appointments. So far, four members of the seven-member committee have been appointed. Three of the four sat on the Cullowhee Advisory Board that helped develop the zoning ordinance in the first place, a three-year process. That doesn’t mean that they’re all of the opinion that the ordinance is perfect, however. “Just like with any ordinance, it’s going to take some time to get it figured out,” said Scott Baker, one of the newly appointed members. Baker was chairman of the Cullowhee Advisory Board and currently serves as chairman of the Jackson County Planning Board. “We know there will have to be changes. There will be situations that come up.” Commissioners had said the same thing last May Scott Baker when they passed the zoning rules, vowing to check in on the ordinance at least yearly to make sure it was working as intended. The committee’s role will be to listen to any issues with the ordinance’s restrictions that may arise — a developer who wants an exemption to some portion of the zoning rules, for example, or a homeowner requesting relief from some unintended consequence of the rules — and deliver recommendations to the county planning board, who will in turn pass on a recommendation to commissioners. “It’s really a working ordinance as we go on to see how it’s going to go,” Baker said. All committee members must live, work or own property in Cullowhee, meaning community decisions will be made by people who have a vested interest in the community. In addition to Baker, the committee will include Myrtle Schrader, Jack Debnam and Rick Bennett. Of the three remaining appointments, Commissioner Boyce Dietz will be responsible for one and remaining two will be at-large appointments agreed upon by the full board. No meeting schedule has yet been set. The committee will meet monthly with members serving three-year staggered terms.
Smoky Mountain News
March 30-April 5, 2016
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Dog owners rejoice over park drainage project BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hile the Waynesville dog park’s temporary closure this week might have canines a little bit antsy, dog owners are rejoicing over the reason — a drainage project expected to spell an end to the post-rain sludge that’s been a reality for the wellused park. “It’s definitely a huge relief that they’re taking care of it because the dog park is a vital community asset that needs to be maintained and well cared for,” said Mary Roderick, who can often be seen throwing balls for her Chesapeake Bay retriever Ziggy or supervising wrestling matches featuring her Australian shepherd Scarlet. Waynesville Parks and Recreation expects to complete the project for somewhere under $2,000, said Rhett
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Dogs large and small enjoy hanging out at the Waynesville dog park. Holly Kays photo
Langston, director for the department. They’re installing what’s called a French drain, a pipe with holes to allow water in along its downhill route to the creek and set in a bed of stones to further improve drainage. Parks and Rec is also installing additional signage, pointing the way to the dog park from both the skate park parking lot and the picnic area lot on Marshall Street. The work began on Monday, March 28, and is expected to be complete by Wednesday, March 30. “It should be a lot more user-friendly after a hard rain rather than having to stay away from it for a while,” Langston said. The dog park is constructed using a “flat V,” which basically means that the land is slightly sloped toward a ditch in the middle of the park that’s intended to run down to the nearby creek. But Langston had gotten complaints from dog park users who were unhappy about the standing water that lurked in the dog park
following a good rain, with the town’s Recreation and Parks Advisory Commission opting to monitor the situation for a month and then decide what should be done about it. “Hopefully this will be very good for the park and remove all the standing water after it rains and it will be nicer for everybody,” Langston said. The dog park regulars are hoping that’s the case. And not just because of the rain-related muddiness in the center of the park. Since October, there’s been another, more noticeable drainage issue in the mix — a giant hole that had become something of a permanent water feature within the fenced-in area. Scuttlebutt around the dog park is that it started with a rut made by a town maintenance truck and developed into something more as the dogs dug it out. Since the hole’s development, dog park sessions have been punctuated by cries of, “No, Ziggy!” or “Don’t drink that, Shark!” as dog owners attempted to keep their furry sidekicks away from the increasingly dirty water. “It wasn’t just mud,” Roderick said. “It was kind of algal and scary.” With the freeze-thaw of winter, the hole wasn’t much besides a nuisance, a sure-fire way for water-loving dogs to earn themselves a post-dog-park bath. But as warmer weather set in, the water began to turn a sinister shade of green, with some dog owners swearing that the nasty water contained therein had gotten their dogs sick. “I had been up with him a few nights with the squirts from drinking that stuff,” said Gary Hummer, whose greyhound Shark is well known as the fleetest beast at the dog park. The episode had cost him about $180 in vet bills, Hummer added. Ziggy the Chessie also had about two weeks of diarrhea, Roderick said, but that could be from the dog park or from a stay in a kennel — hard to tell for sure. Town workers busted the borders of the pond and got it all drained out earlier this month, and dog park users are excited to see that a more permanent solution to the park’s other drainage issues is in the works. “At least they’re trying, and I think that’s good,” said Bruce Cramond as he left the park’s parking lot with his English springer spaniel Hank in tow. “I’m thrilled, because it is such a mess,” Roderick agreed. “Even though I have a huge yard, I really like to come to the dog park for the socialization for the dogs — and for me.”
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BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR acon County Sheriff ’s Office is investigating the death of 22-year-old Hunter Curtis after he was shot and killed by his father on March 26 during a domestic dispute. Hunter’s death has left the small community reeling as law enforcement tries to piece together what happened inside the Curtis household that night. A distraught Monica Curtis, Hunter’s mother, made the call to 911 about 10:30 p.m. that night. Through heavy sobbing she requested emergency responders at the Stonecreek Drive residence but couldn’t tell dispatch what had happened as a verbal and physical altercation can be heard in the background. Monica informed dispatch that Hunter was really drunk and Tony had just had surgery on his eyes. “I just don’t want them to hurt each other,” she said. According to the incident report, a deputy arrived at the Curtis home to find Monica waiting outside the home. Upon entering the house, the deputy found Tony Curtis standing in a doorway without a shirt on and bloodstains on his body and left ear. Tony told the deputy he needed help and led him to the bathroom inside a bed-
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Smoky Mountain News
March 30-April 5, 2016
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER he future of the old furniture factory in Whittier has been through more than its share of twists and turns over the past year, but Jackson County now has an offer on the table from a group of farmers who want to turn it into a packing and agricultural resource facility. “It moves that property into a positive direction,” said Brian McMahan, chairman of the Jackson County Commissioners. “Instead of sitting there vacant and idle and being a negative, it becomes a positive.” Commissioners and the farmers, working under the name Thomas Valley Growers LLC, have agreed to a five-year lease for the price of $15,000 per year, or $75,000 total, to be paid in cash or through in-kind repairs to the 1960s structure. The agreement would include an option to renew at the same rate. But the deal is not yet final. Legally, the county must go through an upset bid process to give anyone willing to pay more than the agreed-upon price a chance to make an offer. The 10-day period began on Thursday, March 24. To outstrip the farmers’ bid, competing offers must be at least $3,800 more than their $75,000 offer, with the county reserving the right to decide not to lease the property to any bidder. When the upset bid process closes, the county will hold a public hearing before signing the final agreement. Though nothing’s final, the farmers are already going full-steam ahead with the planning. They’ve been discussing the idea publicly since September, when they approached commissioners with a roughly sketched-out plan to make the abandoned factory into an agricultural facility capable of housing everything from produce packaging equipment to commercial-size coolers to storage space for a seed and fertilizer purchasing co-op. At the time, commissioners liked the idea but said they needed to see a more specific plan and sort through the legalese of how to do these kinds of agreements by the book. That’s why Thomas Valley Growers formed. The principals in the limited liability corporation, each with an equal share, are five prominent farmers in the Whittier area — Joe Ward, William Shelton, Kent Cochran, Nathaniel Darnell and Bryan Bumgarner. If the deal goes through, the first order of business would be to get a pack line installed in time to package this year’s produce, Ward said. They’ve already been meeting with contractors. “Whenever the county signs the lease
and the ink’s dry on it, we’ll be ready to start,” he said. Once the pack line is squared away, Ward expects the company will turn its attention to other aspects of its vision for the property, such installing commercial coolers and getting a seed and fertilizer coop underway. “Because we’re getting so close into this year now, we’re kind of under the gun to get this pack line in and then we’ll work on this other stuff during the summer,” Ward said. While only five farmers are listed as principals in the company, the facility, once off the ground, would be a boon to growers big and small throughout the region, Ward said. “Once it gets up and gets a-going, anyone in the county could take advantage of it,” Ward said. “If you wanted to raise an acre of tomatoes on your afternoons off, now you’ll have somewhere you can sell them.” The facility will give area growers access to the equipment needed to professionally package their crops as well as the chance to combine their harvest with other farmers to create a more attractive supply for buyers. “I’m just looking for really my kids, and I want my grandkids to do a little something here on this old farm and have somewhere to sell it,” Ward said. “Right now there’s nowhere to sell much.” If the deal goes through, it would put a cap on a discussion that’s been unfolding for years, ever since the building went vacant about 10 years ago. For more than 30 years, the 82,000-square-foot building had housed the Drexel Heritage Furniture Plant, and the county bought the 32-acre property in the early 2000s after Drexel moved out. In 2013, the Southwestern North Carolina Resource Conservation and Development Council began working on a plan to make Drexel into an agricultural center housing everything from concerts to a commercial kitchen, but that plan went out the window when a building assessment revealed it would cost $1.7 million to bring the sturdy but aging building up to current code. That’s when commissioners began floating other options, including giving the land to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in recognition of the site’s history as home to Stecoah, a major Cherokee town. It was during that time that the farmers first approached commissioners with the processing center concept. Now, an upset bid process and a public hearing are all that stands between the farmers and the property. “Our local farmers, a very strong segment of our population, are going to be able to benefit from the use of it,” McMahan said. “I think it’s a win for everybody.”
room where he found Hunter lying in the tub. Tony told the officer he shot Hunter. After calling for EMS and backup, the deputy took a hand towel from the bathroom and applied pressure to Hunter’s stomach wound. Other deputies arrived to secure the firearm from the bedroom. EMS took over medical care on Hunter, but he died later that night at Angel Medical Center. Tony told deputies Hunter came home intoxicated and an argument began between them. He said he thought Hunter was locked outside the residence after hearing him scream and yell so he went to let him back inside. “(Tony) Curtis explained he grabbed the firearm from the bedroom drawer,” the deputy reported. “T. Curtis drifted from the conversation from that point.” The case is still Hunter Curtis under investigation though no charges have been filed against Tony. The Curtis Family owns Curtis TV/Radio Shack in Franklin. Tony’s father, Verlin Curtis, served as a Franklin alderman for 12 years. Funeral services for Hunter are planned for 11 a.m. Thursday, March 31, at Discover Church. Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetery. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in memory of Hunter to Teen Challenge, an organization founded to combat alcohol and drug addiction in the community.
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Whittier farmers make an offer on Drexel plant
Franklin man shoots, kills his 22-year-old son
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In Russ Avenue’s shadow Neighbors fear commercial creep, struggle with identity crisis
BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER aynesville leaders are weighing whether to expand the commercial footprint of Russ Avenue, an issue that has pitted neighbors against each other along the recently widened Howell Mill Road. A group of property owners straddling two worlds — the commercial pulse of Russ Avenue on one side and a quiet pocket of homes and rolling hills on the other — have grown weary of being on the front line. Tom Shook wants to move somewhere quieter, away from the Russ Avenue development flanking him. But his residential zoning is a detriment. “I have been trying to sell it for several years. A lot of tire kickers, and they always ask ‘Could it be rezoned?’” said Shook. “I am just asking to get best value for my property.” But the neighbors who live on the other side of Shook fear the commercial creep of Russ Avenue along Howell Mill Road. They worry their own doorsteps could become the new frontline of the commercial. “We don’t want another Russ Avenue out there,” said Joe Rogers, one of the neighbors. The debate reflects an increasingly common land-use challenge in Waynesville: where to draw the line between the commercial and residential interface? “It is a larger land-use question of how we handle a transitional area between a growing commercial district and a traditionally residential neighborhood,” Planning Director Elizabeth Teague said. “How do you manage growth in between these two areas? How do you transition between different zoning uses?” Waynesville’s planning department has gotten half a dozen zoning appeals over the past year from residential property owners on the edge of a commercial district — all of them wanting their property reclassified as commercial. Town board members haven’t always agreed on what to do. On one hand, they don’t want to stifle commercial growth. But they also don’t want to throw neighbors under the bus by allowing commercial development to inch deeper into a residential district. The rezoning requests have been handled in piecemeal, case-by-case basis. Twice, they 16 resulted in a rare split decision for the board.
Smoky Mountain News
March 30-April 5, 2016
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Howell Mill Road (above) before a major Department of Transportation widening project was completed earlier this year. Neighbors are now afraid the widened and improved corridor (top) will encourage more commercial development. A Shot Above of WNC photo • File photo The latest one — the question of whether and how to rezone the Howell Mill corridor — has more at stake than the fate of a single property, Teague said. The $11.6 million road-widening project along Howell Mill has transformed the twolane country road to a primary gateway for the commercial hotbed of Russ Avenue. “The higher visibility and the increased traffic will realize an increased development potential and probably an increased desire to be able to develop by the property owners along that corridor,” Teague said during a preliminary discussion of the issue by the town planning board last week. Three property owners along Howell Mill with adjoining tracts — totaling seven acres — are seeking commercial zoning designation. They made their case to the town planning board last week, describing their predicament. Their property abuts the backside of the newly expanded Ingles grocery store and an electrical power substation. It’s fronted by the newly widened Howell Mill Road, and
overlooks Sonoco Plastics manufacturing plant to boot. “There is no way anyone is going to buy three houses that look smack at a packaging facility,” said Karen Hollingsed, the property owners’ real estate agent. She’s gotten only three calls from potential buyers in five years. They all wanted it for commercial development — not for the three homes that sit on it. But a quiet residential neighborhood flanks the other side of the property. Tucked behind a knoll, their rural respite is a sharp contrast to the traffic melee on Russ Avenue. Those neighbors fear encroachment of commercial development into their community. “We are going to be the rear side of whatever goes out there,” said Steve Leonard. “It will be an eyesore for the people directly behind the site. It is very likely our property values will decrease significantly.” Four of Shook’s neighbors spoke against the rezoning at the planning board meeting last week. Among them was Ginger Haynes, who
harkened back to community land-use discussions in the 1990s, when the zoning designations now on the books were crafted as part of the town’s comprehensive land-use plan. Haynes said the “meaningful, well-vetted plan” shouldn’t be reversed in piecemeal fashion, but should engage community input and discourse before irreparably altering the vision laid out years ago. The Waynesville planning board postponed a decision pending a community landuse meeting planned for 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 4, at the Waynesville Recreation Center. The meeting is aimed at collecting input from residents on how they envision the future of the Howell Mill corridor. “We wanted to find a way to engage the people along that corridor in what they want to see happen,” Teague said. “The community-wide meeting will give people the opportunity to share what they want to see happen, knowing the road will bring more traffic and there will likely be more pressure for development.” Teague hopes to learn whether there is middle ground between those seeking broader commercial designation and those hoping to preserve the residential character. Shook and the other two property owners want to be reclassified as part of Russ Avenue’s high-intensity commercial district, which allows everything from drive-thrus to digital signage to retail stores with a footprint of up to 100,000 square feet. “Part of the discussion is what is the middle ground. Maybe it is not Russ Avenue zoning, but maybe it is something else,” Teague said. Options could include higher density residential development, allowing for condos and apartment complexes, cluster development, or mixed-use that allows a blend of lower-impact commercial development coupled with more intensive residential development.
Community Kitchen moving to new facility T
The current location of The Community Kitchen at 98 Pisgah Drive in Canton is too small to meet the growing needs of the organization. (above) The Community Kitchen’s soon-to-be new home at 394 Champion Drive in Canton will accommodate more people and more parking. Jessi Stone photos
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March 30-April 5, 2016
BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR he Community Kitchen in Canton works hard to make sure no one in the community goes hungry, and now the organization needs help from the community it serves to expand its food ministry. A fundraising campaign is currently under way to help The Community Kitchen move into a larger facility, and time is running out to meet the goal. The nonprofit needs $20,000 for the down payment by April 10 and another $100,000 to renovate the new building to fit its needs. Executive Director Kim Czaja said the need for free meals has grown so much in the last few years that The Community Kitchen needs more space to be able to meet its mission of feeding the community. “Last Friday I was cooking and we had 50 people show up but we only have enough seating for 40 people,” she said. “The need is here more than we realize.” The Community Kitchen was formed in 2007 by a coalition of people from different churches in the community. The food ministry has been located at 98 Pisgah Drive — the former Handee Stop — for about eight years and has been serving dinner every night since then. Now the time has come for The Community Kitchen to move into a larger building. After looking for the perfect location for several years, Czaja said the board finally agreed to purchase property and a building at 394 Champion Drive in Canton — better known as the old EZ Stop. While the current location is about 1,400 square feet, the new facility is 7,000 square feet with room to expand on the 1.5-acre tract of land. Czaja said the sellers gave The
Community Kitchen a great deal on the purchase. With an accepted offer of $90,000, the nonprofit is getting the property and building for half of the listing price. The tax value is $350,000. Czaja said about $10,000 has already been raised for the down payment and with the pledges still coming in, the organization should be close to meeting its goal by April 10. Coming up with the renovation funding is the most important goal right now because leaders don’t want to have to pay rent at the current location while also having to pay a mortgage at the new location. The Community Kitchen will also need in-kind donations of time, paint, construction supplies and more. Czaja is hopeful all the hard work will pay off in the end. The new location will provide more kitchen space, storage, dining area, parking and even classroom space. “We’ll be able to add two classrooms for things like GED, resume building and basic financial classes for the community,” she said. “Right now those types of classes are only offered in Waynesville, but if I had the space, groups like LifeWorks said they’d hold classes here.” Czaja would also like to see The Community Kitchen offer more healthy eating classes and teach people how to can and preserve food. “My ultimate hope is that we’re not needed one day,” she said. “Our goal is to get people out of poverty, but until then we’re going to keep helping people in need.” The Community Kitchen volunteers serve an evening meal every night at 5 p.m., seven days week, 52 weeks a year. In 2014, more than 12,500 plates were served. In addition to the dinner, the organization distributes food boxes to families twice a month. More than 1,600 boxes were given out in 2014. To make a donation toward the new location, visit www.cantoncommunitykitchen.org/newlocation-coming or mail a check to The Community Kitchen, 98 Pisgah Drive, P.O. Box 513, Canton, N.C., 28716 or call 828.648.0014.
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Donations needed for the move
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Health
Smoky Mountain News
Harris, schools partner for wellness challenge Harris Regional Hospital is partnering with Jackson County Schools in its faculty and staff wellness challenge titled ‘For the Health of It.’ The program awards points to staff members who participate in healthy activities designated in the challenge, which occurs twice yearly from January to May and September to December. The individual and school with the most points at the end of the challenge period receive a cash award provided by Harris Regional Hospital. The fall 2015 individual winner was Janet Bottoms with 1,660 points and The HUB was the winning school. In a ceremony at The HUB March 1, the school received a $2,500 prize from the hospital. Other participants received gift cards provided by the school system. ‘For the Health of It’ is continuing for the spring semester and will conclude May 20 with another award from the hospital. Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital also support Swain County Schools with a similar program customized for teachers and staff.
Free Falls Prevention Program begins April 20 A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns about Falls, an eight-week program, will be offered by Haywood Regional Medical Center beginning Wednesday, April 20. A Matter of Balance is an award-winning program taught by certified instructors and is designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity levels among older adults. Participants learn to set realistic goals to increase activity, change their environment to reduce fall risk factors, and learn simple exercises to increase strength and balance. The program is free to eligible participants. A Matter of Balance classes will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. each Wednesday from April 20 to June 8 at Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center in Clyde. A workbook and refreshments will be provided. 828.452.8349, 800.424.DOCS or myhaywoodregional.com/balance.
Angel Medical recognizes certified nurses Angel Medical Center recently recognized the contributions of all their nurses with clinical and nursing leadership certifications on March 19 — Certified Nurses Day. During the celebration, the hospital’s 42 certified nurses were honored by leadership. “These certified nurses are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to the members of our community,” said Rhonda Moore, interim chief nursing officer at AMC. “The certification benefits patients and their families, validating that the nurse caring for
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offer this program to senior clients and these classes will start on Monday, May 9. 828.452.6675 ext. 2272 or Michelle Claytor at 828.356.2813.
Red Cross to hold blood drives
Karen Gorby (from right), Angel Medical Center’s president/CNO, thanks Lynn Echols and Vicki Lynn for their dedication to providing quality healthcare to the community on National Certified Nurse Day. Donated photo
Angel Medical Center earns certification Angel Medical Center in Franklin has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in ultrasound and mammography as the result of an extensive review by the American College of Radiology. The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. “Angel Medical Center is dedicated to providing excellent care for our community, and these accreditations are proof of our commitment to that,” said Lori Smith, AMC’s radiology manager. them has demonstrated experience, knowledge and skills in the complex specialties of acute and critical care.”
Mission recognized for workplace health Mission Hospital in Asheville has been recognized for its commitment to employee health. Healthy Together N.C., in partnership with The Duke Endowment and the N.C. Hospital Association, has awarded Mission with the Excellence Recognition for reaching the highest standards in workplace health and prevention. Mission achieved this recognition for the second consecutive year by earning straight A’s in four modules of WorkHealthy America, a Prevention Partners initiative addressing tobacco use, physical activity, nutrition and the overall culture around health and wellness.
Haywood Regional seeks hospice volunteers The Homestead at Haywood Regional Medical Center is currently seeking interested hospice volunteers to register for upcoming orientation and patient care training.
Volunteers are an integral part of the hospice team, filling roles that range from direct contact with patients to providing clerical support for the organization. Hospices that participate with Medicare are required to utilize volunteers alongside their paid clinical and administrative staff. The new volunteer orientation session will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, at Haywood Regional Medical Center in the Clinical Learning Building (Old Urgent Care Building located behind the Hospital). RSVP at 828.452.5039.
Diabetes prevention classes offered MountainWise, an organization that works with the eight westernmost counties of North Carolina to improve the health of their residents, is sponsoring a type 2 diabetes prevention program in Haywood County. The free program, which will be held at the Haywood County Health & Human Services Agency in partnership with the Healthy Haywood coalition, kicks off on April 11 and will offer group classes and individual sessions with trained lifestyle coaches who will help prevent at-risk individuals from developing type 2 diabetes. The Senior Resource Center will also
The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to give blood during National Volunteer Month this April and make a difference in the lives of patients in need. Upcoming blood donation opportunities include: • April 1 — 1 to 5:30 p.m., Jackson County Department on Aging, 100 County Services Park, Sylva. • April 6 — 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Haywood Regional Medical Center Health & Fitness Center Classrooms, 75 Leroy George Road, Clyde. • April 11 — 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Swain Community Hospital, 48 Plateau St., Bryson City. • April 12 — 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Macon County Library, 149 Siler Farm Road, Franklin. • April 14 — 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Western Carolina University Hinds University Center, Highway 107, Cullowhee. • Mountain Pediatric Group, located at 24 Falcon Crest Lane in Clyde, recently celebrated its grand opening. 828.452.8873. • Angel Medical Center’s diabetes support group meets on the third Thursday of each month at 4 p.m. in the AMC dining room. For more information, call Barbara Hall at 828.369.4166. • Taylor Foss, senior vice president of Organizational Transformation at Mission Health, will be the featured speaker at the next Haywood Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 14, at Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. Visit haywoodchamber.com or call 828.456.3021.
ALSO:
• A free demonstration on vibrational raindrop technique will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 6, and at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in Maggie Valley. Learn how this technique balances your body’s energy, reduces stress, improves your personal health and wellness, enhances circulation and more. To register, call Tina at Divine Harmony at 828.508.0904. Seating is limited. • Harris Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine will offer a free educational event on arthritic knees and knee replacement at noon Monday, April 4, at the Medical Park of Franklin located at 55 Holly Springs Park Drive in Franklin. Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Ryan Slechta will present the session. Lunch will be served. Call to register: 828.631.8894.
Opinion
Smoky Mountain News
BY DAVE WALDROP GUEST COLUMNIST The North Carolina legislature has abandoned its responsibilities to public education under the guise of school choice. The state Supreme Court has ruled once that the legislature’s ill-conceived voucher program is unconstitutional. Unfortunately that ruling was reversed on appeal. Regardless of how the courts rule, there remain questions as to the efficacy and propriety of the voucher program: 1. Has the Republican-led legislature turned its back on public education in spite of the fact that it is their job to nurture it both financially and, perhaps of even greater importance, with their hearts and souls? 2. Have legislators been influenced by lobbyists for private/religious schools? What role has groups like the Art Pope-sponsored PEFNC (Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina) played in the development of the bill? 3. Are standards equally applied to the evaluation of public and private/religious schools? 4. Has this legislature considered allowing a few public schools to operate with no state standards to see if they improve? 5. Who will be held liable if/when a student who has been provided a voucher to a private/religious school is abused or harmed in some way? 6. Are plans afoot to provide security officers in private/religious school to promote the safety and security of those students attending on vouchers? 7. Have background checks been conducted on teachers and staff of all private/religious schools to protect voucher enrollees from predators? 8. Who will be responsible for enforcing school attendance laws? 9. Will it become possible for tax money to be diverted from tax-funded community colleges and universities to privately operated schools? One of the most quoted arguments in favor of the voucher program is that public schools need the competition from private, religious and for profit- schools. There may be some logic in that reasoning, but are the incentives of the market really transferable to the process of education? However, there has been precious little systematic comparison to convince reasonable legislators to dive headfirst into these murky waters. Competition is usually based on written rules and what is referred to as a “level playing field.” It is hard to compete when officials are able to make up the rules as they go along. I give a lot of credence to the old adage, “Be careful. Don’t trade a good mule for a picture of a thoroughbred.” It may be fair to ask — who’s minding the education store in North Carolina? (Dave Waldrop lives in Webster and can be reached at dewaldrop@frontier.com.)
The arts thrive only if we support them “The arts are so incredibly vital to a quality of life, smart business and the health of a community. The arts teach us to appreciate beauty, to make visible our thoughts, ideas and inspirations and to continually problem solve. These are important life skills that apply to every aspect of community, family and business. The survival of the arts is paramount to our happiness and also our innovation.” — Kari Rinn, Haywood Community College director of Creative Arts hen regional arts leaders gathered two weeks ago at Western Carolina University for the “LEAD: Arts” summit, comments like those from HCC Creative Arts Director Kari Rinn were coming from the mouths of many in attendance. It was as if a group of under-appreciated creative minds finally got their few minutes in the spotlight, and they were eager to share their views. Not that anyone was whining or walking around with their hats out. Quite the contrary. From what SMN writer Garret K. Woodward reported in his story about the event (www.smokymountainnews.com/aae/item/17346), it seems that everyone wanted to tell anyone who would listen that the arts are a vital aspect of what makes this mountain region so special. “The arts in WNC are at a tipping point.
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Our reputation for being an art, music and craft nexus is growing on a national scale. It’s time for us to come together and make a plan on how we can all work to capitalize on our collective successes to sustain and grow our current organizations and nurture the next generation of artists,” said Denise Drury, director of the Fine Arts Museum at WCU. I, for one, fear a different tipping Editor point. There is plenty of evidence that we live in an era when support and promotion of the arts by political leaders is waning. Just this past fall there was an outcry in Buncombe County when a new county economic development and job creation plan totally excluded the arts as a sector for active job recruiting. It’s really hard to imagine that in this place where the arts are so important, in a city that is the cultural capital of the region — and the cornerstone of that “nexus” Drury mentioned above — that the arts would be left out of a major economic development initiative. But it happened. And of course we all know what is happening in our public schools. In the name of test-
Scott McLeod
Questions for the legislature
What lessons from the 2016 primary? f I had to use one word to describe the North Carolina primary, it would be predictable. Boring, even. The very same pollsters who blew the Michigan Democratic primary hit the nail on the head in North Carolina. It’s almost impossible to find a pollster who did not predict that the top of the ticket would feature wins by Trump, Clinton, Burr, Ross, McCrory and Cooper. Even the turnout was, well, average for a Guest Columnist presidential year (virtually identical to statewide voter turnout in 2008 and 2012). Despite the fact that primaries can give us a good sense of the preferences of each political party in isolation, primary results can’t tell us much about general election outcomes. In a general election, the vast majority of voters have standing commitments to one political party or another that overrides the patterns we see in a primary, when the electorate is much easier to sway. Furthermore, turnout is much lower in the primary than in the general election; these reliable, politically informed primary voters tell us
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Chris Cooper
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nothing about the less-attentive general election electorate that we will encounter in November. As a result, be cautious when any pundit, editorial writer or political scientist implies that we can learn anything about the general election outcomes or patterns from the primary. There was one issue, however, where voters of both parties had an opportunity to cast a vote on primary day, and thus where we can eliminate caveats about generalizing to the entire electorate from the votes of a relatively small number of partisans—the Connect NC bond. The bond passed with a whopping 63 percent of the vote (a mandate by virtually any definition) and passed in 99 of North Carolina’s 100 counties (with Pender County as the only holdout). Unlike single party candidates, here, we can learn a good bit by examining what factors might help us explain why the bond passed at different rates in different places. A likely suspect to explain this disparity across counties might be turnout. After all, pro-bond groups invested heavily in a public relations campaign to further their cause. We might expect that the bond benefited from these pockets of high turnout. Interestingly, however, the data do not bear out this idea. Counties with high turnout were no more like-
ing and student achievement, the arts are getting either eliminated or simply cut to the bone. Music, theater, art, and foreign languages are all in a downward spiral in favor of extra science and math classes. I’m not knocking those who find fulfillment in those important academic areas. That’s not the point. For centuries, though, western civilization has placed the arts on an equal footing with science. Politicians today are wont to extol the inspiration of our founding fathers, but they often forget that those men placed a high emphasis on music, architecture, languages and what we now refer to as a “liberal arts” education. In fact, at that time one couldn’t be considered educated without a strong grounding in the arts. The interplay between the arts and the patrons of the arts is always a moving target. In an age when a growing political movement is based almost entirely on an anti-government or a “never raise taxes” mentality, community arts leaders will have to be more creative than ever. The recent summit should serve as a catalyst for finding ways to work together and grow awareness. We do live in a nexus of the arts, a place that attracts and inspires creative spirits. But it will not survive unless it is nurtured. (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)
ly than counties with low turnout to support the bond. Many also suggested that the racial makeup of the county might be important. Perhaps given historical barriers to access to higher education, counties with larger proportions of African-Americans, Latinos or Native Americans might be less apt to support the bond. Again, the data do not support this assumption. Racial diversity, no matter how it’s measured, had no impact on support for the bond in North Carolina counties. In fact, partisanship, as measured by the relative proportion of Democratic and Republican registered voters in the county, is the only thing that can help explain differences in bond passage rates across the state. Even here, though, we should be careful not to make too much out of these findings. Although Democratic-leaning counties did vote for the bond in greater numbers than Republicanleaning counties, all counties but one (regardless of whether the Democratic Party had 50 percent plus 1 of the voters) voted “yes.” From this perspective, this was the one truly bipartisan measure on the ballot. Primaries are fascinating affairs — particularly this year. Let’s just keep in mind what we can and what we cannot learn from them. (Christopher Cooper is professor and head of the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs at Western Carolina University. ccooper@email.wcu.edu.)
On being a columnist for a small-town newspaper
Susanna Barbee
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APPLE CREEK CAFE 111 N. Main St., Waynesville. 828.456.9888. Tuesday through Thursday 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 10:30 a.m. to midnight. Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. We are excited to be on Main St. serving lunch and dinner with a full bar. Our menu includes items such as blackberry salmon, fettuccine alfredo, hand-cut steaks, great burgers, sandwiches, salads and more. Join us for live music every Friday and Saturday nights. Friday 6 to 9 p.m. live piano music. Saturday 6 to 9 p.m. live jazz music. No cover charge. BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slowsimmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts. Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily. Brown bagging is permitted. Private parties, catering, and take-out available.
BOGART’S 303 S. Main St., Waynesville. 828.452.1313. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Carry out available. Located in downtown Waynesville, Bogart’s has been long-time noted for great steaks, soups, and salads. Casual family atmosphere in a rustic old-time setting with a menu noted for its practical value. Live Bluegrass/String Band music every Thursday. Walking distance of Waynesville’s unique shops and seasonal festival activities and within one mile of Waynesville Country Club. 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-Friday 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 pre-prepared 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. BRYSON CITY CORK & BEAN A MOUNTAIN SOCIAL HOUSE 16 Everett St.,Bryson City. 828.488.1934. Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to
Joeys will reopen on
April 2nd Spring has Sprung!
Smoky Mountain News
With my first reader comment as a Smoky Mountain News columnist being that far-fetched, I decided anything was possible and from that point, I pulled on my big girl pants and said to myself, “Let’s do this, sister.” Four weeks ago I wrote about cutting a skin tag off my husband’s face with a paring knife and the hard work it takes to make a marriage work. People liked this column and said it made them laugh. Others said they appreciated the honesty with which I wrote about the entangled beautiful mess that is matrimony. Then came my Donald Trump column. And wow. I now know that if I want to get a discussion stirred up, I need to write about politics. The funny thing is I’m not really a politically minded person; I just wrote the column from my heart and used a few editorial citations to support my statements. A number of people have approached me in person to commend my honesty, and many of my emails about the Trump column were heartfelt and kind, thanking me for stating what they also feel. Some opposing comments were clear and warranted while others were slanderous and hateful. One Trump-supporting gentlemen and I had a very sincere email exchange that began with a rude comment on his part. In the end, I felt like we both had more understanding of opposing views. The difference between my column and a political column in the N.Y. Times is that I know the people who are commenting. Many of the names on the SMN Facebook page are very familiar. I’m not a national columnist where some random person from a far-off place is bashing me. After reflecting upon all of this, I’ve decided that it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I actually like the comments. I like that people have opinions, and I truly appreciate when people can articulate their opinions in an intelligent way without the use of vulgar language and cutting words. Apparently, this is a challenging feat for some. Despite the fact that I love to travel and feel I have a global perspective on most things, at the end of the day, I’m a smalltown girl. Always have been, always will be. I grew up in a town so similar to Waynesville it’s eerie. And both towns mean the world to me. I want my two little boys to grow up respecting other people’s opinions, even if it differs from their own. I also feel like that’s what a columnist must do, especially in a place where everyone knows your name. (Susanna Barbee can be reached at susanna.barbee@gmail.com.)
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
March 30-April 5, 2016
hree months into this, I’ve decided that being a columnist for The Smoky Mountain News is potentially more challenging than being one for The New York Times. I’ve never been a columnist for a big-city publication, but I bet it’s easier to get lost in a sea of fast-paced New Yorkers after a contentious or honest column than it is to walk into Joey’s Pancake House where one knows half the occupancy. Growing up in Weaverville, I’m no stranger to the smalltown vibe, a vibe that’s both comforting and precarious. Comforting in that kids have five sets of parents. With carpooling, birthday parties, sports and dance practices, vacations, sleepovers, Columnist parades, ballgames and the local pool, all adults chip in to take care of whichever kids end up in their car or at their house that day. Comforting in that the same students sit in classrooms together from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Comforting in knowing a walk down Main Street means friendly waves and chatting with familiar faces. Precarious in that gossip abounds. Rumors spread. Precarious in that neighbors and “friends” are quick to judge if someone makes a moral mistake or bucks the status quo. Precarious in that the same students sit in classrooms together from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Precarious in that walking down Main Street leaves no room for anonymity. Living in a small town can be both tricky and rewarding. Most of the time. When I first started writing this column, our editor Scott McLeod used the word “edgy” when describing what he was looking for. In my very first piece, I described my conversation with him and within 24 hours of publication, I received this comment in an email. “This is just a quick query. I am wondering whether you will be able to address the bigger picture in your columns? For instance persistent contrails in our skies, sometimes called “chemtrails”? Can you discuss GMOs and Monsanto, or fluoride in our drinking water in your edginess?” I remember just starting at the screen and wondering if this comment was a joke. Then I Googled “chemtrails” and in case you are curious as well, chemtrails are long-lasting trails left in the sky by high-flying aircraft carrying chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed for sinister purposes undisclosed to the general public, according to the Internet, that is.
tasteTHEmountains
Soco Rd. Maggie Valley
(828) 926-0212 Reservations Accepted
find us at: facebook.com/smnews
Open every day except Thursday 7 A.M. - Noon
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tasteTHEmountains 3p.m., Full Menu 3 to 9 p.m. Serving fresh and delicious weekday morning lite fare, lunch, dinner, and brunch. Freshly prepared menu offerings range from house-made soups & salads, lite fare & tapas, crepes, specialty sandwiches and burgers. Be sure not to miss the bold flavors and creative combinations that make up the daily Chef Supper Specials starting at 5pm every day. Followed by a tempting selection of desserts prepared daily by our chefs and other local bakers. Enjoy craft beers on tap, as well as our full bar and eclectic wine list. 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.
CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881. Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Join us in our historic location for scratch made soups and daily specials. Breakfast is made to order daily: Gourmet cheddar & scallion biscuits served with bacon, sausage and eggs; smoked trout bagel plate; quiche and fresh fruit parfait. We bake a wide variety of breads daily, specializing in traditional french breads. All of our breads are hand shaped. Lunch: Fresh salads, panini sandwiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck. Private room available for meetings. 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
COUNTRY VITTLES: FAMILY STYLE RESTAURANT 3589 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley. 828.926.1820 Open Wednesday and Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday. 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. FRANKIE’S ITALIAN TRATTORIA 1037 Soco Rd. Maggie Valley. 828.926.6216 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com 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. J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817. Winter hours: Thursday through Dunday 12 to 4 p.m. for lunch and 4 p.m. to closing for dinner. Daily luncheon special at $6.99. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh
FRIDAY, APRIL 1 • 7 P.M.
Pick Up & Go Lunches 11:30-1:30
Call ahead or walk in Call for delivery info
144 Industrial Park Dr. Ste. D 1 Waynesville 22
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.
(828) 246-9815
Live Music with
Karen “Sugar” Barnes & Dave Magill 3 E JACKSON ST. • SYLVA, NC
www.CityLightsCafe.com
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Smoky Mountain News
March 30-April 5, 2016
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 hand-cut fries. Locally sourced beef. Indoor and outdoor dining. facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot, twitter.com/ChurchStDepot.
and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events. Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.
tasteTHEmountains seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome. Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.
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.
JOEY'S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley. 828.926.0212. Winter hours: Friday-Monday 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. 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 for what has become a tradition in these parts, breakfast at Joey’s.
NEWFOUND LODGE RESTAURANT 1303 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee (Located on 441 North at entrance to GSMNP). 828.497.4590. Open 7 a.m. daily. Established in 1946 and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Family style dining for adults and children.
JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel. 828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 9 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. THE LUNCHBOX CAFE 100 Spicewood Dr., Clyde, 828.246.6296 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Serving up scrumptious breakfast, lunch and dinner all made with care in a welcoming environment. Subs, salads, sandwiches and more.
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
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 the patio or at the bar. PATIO BISTRO 30 Church Street, Waynesville. 828.454.0070. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Breakfast bagels and sandwiches, gourmet coffee, deli sandwiches for lunch with homemade soups, quiches, and desserts. Wide selection of wine and beer. Outdoor and indoor dining. RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 828.926.0201 Open Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m and Sunday 7:30 a.m to 9 p.m. Full service restaurant serving steaks, prime rib, seafood and dinner specials. ROB’S HOT DOG SHACK 42 Montgomery St., Waynesville 828.707.7033. Open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Rob’s serves gourmet hot dogs and has homemade side items. Outdoor and indoor dining, café style restaurant. Locally owned and operated. Family oriented business.
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 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 homemade 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. 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 .
338-14
MON.-SAT. 11 A.M.-8 P.M.
34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 Mtwitter.com/ChurchStDepot C facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot
338-05
MEDITERRANEAN
ITALIAN CUISINE
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Smoky Mountain News
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VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin. 828.369.9890. Established here in in 1998. Come to Franklin and enjoy our laid back place, a place you can sit back, relax and enjoy our 62” HDTV. Our Pizza dough, sauce, meatballs, and sausage are all made from scratch by Vito. The recipes have been in the family for 50 years (don't ask for the recipes cuz’ you won't get it!) Each Pizza is hand tossed and made with TLC. You're welcome to watch your pizza being created.
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TWIN MAPLES FARMHOUSE 63 North Hill Street, Waynesville. 828.452.7837. Open for Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Located just two blocks from downtown Waynesville, Twin Maples is available for weddings, receptions, family reunions, birthday parties, showers, luncheons, corporate meetings and retreats.
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BREAKFAST & DINNER DAILY SUNDAY LUNCH
March 30-April 5, 2016
MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva. 828.586.3555. Open Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Handtossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch. Beer and wine. Free movies with showtimes at 6:30 and 9 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Visit madbatterfoodandfilm.com for this week’s shows.
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.
SAGEBRUSH STEAKHOUSE 1941 Champion Drive. Canton 828-6463750 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. Local acoustic music on Tuesday nights.
Sun-Thur 11 AM - 10 PM Fri-Sat 11 AM - 11 PM
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A&E
Smoky Mountain News
Mountain Born & Bred Haywood journalist releases collection BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER urning the steering wheel onto Johnson Street, one quickly leaves the unrelenting bustle of two-way traffic along N.C. 110. Immediately, you enter the serene suburbia of the quiet dead end road in downtown Canton. Pulling in front of a nearby fieldstone house, the sound of a barking dog can be heard from behind the front door. Soon, the door opens and a friendly face emerges, a neighborly wave hanging above their head. “It’s good to see you again,” Edie Hutchins Burnette smiles, all the while corralling her enthusiastic canine. “This is Heidi. She’s real friendly. Don’t let her bark make you think otherwise.” Built by her father (a pillar of Canton and school superintendent from 1924 to 1953), Burnette’s childhood home is cozy and welcoming. It’s filled with old photos of loved ones, many of which are gone from this earth, including her husband Charles (aka “Chili”). There are shelves of books documenting Appalachian life and lore, antique furniture and irreplaceable trinkets — items symbolizing Burnette’s past and deeply rooted family ties of a life spent residing and thriving in Canton. At 80, she’s a babe in the woods as they say. Still feisty and antsy, with a childlike wonder and endless curiosity that truly adheres to the adage “you’re only as old as you feel.” And good thing, too, seeing as it was that keen inquisitive nature within Burnette that blossomed into a bountiful career as a longtime journalist, one who captured the life of the characters that roamed Haywood County and greater Western North Carolina. A mother, social worker, educator and writer, Burnette has garnered a joyful place in this world. It’s an existence filled with unforgettable experiences — moonshiners to lumberjacks, veterans to football players, farmers to rebels — that found their way into her new collection of stories, Mountain Echoes. The over 400-page book encompasses the unique people, history and wisdom that caught her attention and were published for several years in the pages of the Asheville Citizen-Times. Sitting down with Burnette, one feels like they’re talking to a dear friend, even if it may be your first time crossing paths with
T
her. It’s that sincere interest in people and conversation that allowed her to dig below the surface of just what makes mountain people — in her blood and within her presence — tick. Garret K. Woodward: What brought this on? Why this collection now? Edie Hutchins Burnette: I thought about it over a period of time. I have a double second cousin (Carroll Jones) who has published four books. And he had read my columns. He kept pushing and pushing, telling me I needed to put something together. And, of course, if you’re interested in writing, having a published book is always a dream.
Longtime Canton journalist Edie Hutchins Burnette has released a collection of her columns and stories. Titled “Mountain Echoes,” the book extensively chronicles the life and history of Haywood County and Western North Carolina.
GKW: Has it been weird going through all those old columns? Do you remember all those people? EHB: Oh, yes. It’s been full circle kind of thing. I wanted to capture the history of these people before it got lost. I felt a sense of
Garret K. Woodward photo
Want to go?
stant shift, which makes things interesting.
Beloved Southern Appalachian columnist Edie Hutchins Burnette will read from her new collection Mountain Echoes at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. You can purchase a copy of the book (from Jan-Carol Publishing) at the reading or online at www.amazon.com.
GKW: What is it about Haywood County that sets if apart from other places? EHB: The people are, by and large, fascinating. But, there are so many different backgrounds. The first people who came here, they came with empty suitcases. But, they came with a head full of various things — ingenuity, old-time music, creativity.
urgency to put together this collection because so many of my primary sources have died. GKW: What do you see these days when you look at Haywood County, the whole ebb and flow of this area? EHB: When you think about the past, the industry has seesawed. In the beginning, Hazelwood was heavily industrialized. Of course, Champion Fibre Company (now Evergreen Packaging) was here in Canton, and then Dayco came to Waynesville (now closed). It’s been a con-
GKW: I agree, wholeheartedly. I think people move here for a reason, even if they don’t know what that reason is at the time. Something about this place is magnetic. EHB: That’s exactly what I was going to say. I’m not a mystic by any means, but I feel a real drawing sensation from these mountains. GKW: Why writing? What does it do for you? EHB: I feel compelled to do it. It’s an urge. Your fingers itch. GKW: What were you looking for in your subjects? Was your antenna always up? EHB: My antenna was always raised. Thanks to my father and grandfather, those two specifically, I had been to so many places in this county. Primarily in the woods. And I just picked up all these tidbits here and there. Then, I went back and did the research, which became the columns. I also knew some local people. Joe Worley was one, and Charles Cathey, who is a
cousin of mine. They were real knowledgeable about local history. Well, I never left each of them without a notebook full of information and ideas. And the North Carolina section of the Haywood County Public Library in Waynesville is invaluable. Also, Champion Fibre Company had a magazine, called “The Log,” and there are bound copies in the Canton Area Historical Museum. I would sit there and look through them, and see all these families and names that I remembered.
GKW: It must be odd to have this attention put on you with this book? EHB: It is. People remember. They remember. It just chronicles various parts of their lives, and they like to think about it.
GKW: It’s about preserving those who are physically disappearing, and also the events and stories that are becoming lost in the minds of this region. EHB: You know, I have noticed that many of the high school graduates that I knew, they’re coming back. They feel that pull. It was a safe place to live. Everyone was looking out for you. It was not unusual for a neighbor to take on ways to help one another. We haven’t lost it all. It’s still a great place to be. GKW: I feel folks are guarded these days, and perhaps suspicious.
S EE B URNETTE, PAGE 27
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arts & entertainment
This must be the place
March 30-April 5, 2016
personality that partakes in it. The genre itself is a melting pot of styles, and with that, so are the people in the crowd and onstage. And that notion alone proved a huge turning point in my life. I didn’t fit in anywhere, and thought something must be wrong with me BY GARRET K. WOODWARD because of that. But, when ska came around, it hit me — you don’t have to be anybody else except for being yourself. Entering high school, I took that ball of energy within me and ran with it. I zigzagged between social circles. I wanted to be (and liked being) friends with everyone. Nerds. Jocks. Goths. Loners. Cheerleaders. Smelly kids. Snobs. I wanted to immerse myself in their lives, to try and make sense about why they are like they are, and what it said about our society in general. I didn’t know it then, but that endless curiosity and fascination ultimately led me to becoming a journalist, one who writes about you and me, nothing and everything, for good or ill. Even now as an adult, I still bounce around social circles. Teachers. Politicians. Farmers. Musicians. Blue collar. White Collar. Bring it on, all of it. If you’re a character, I want to talk to you. And with that, it also brings up the biggest thing I’ve come to realize about myself — being a moving target. I don’t like to be pinned down, whether it’s by labels, friends, family, or girlfriends. I want to constantly be evolving. Some look at me as stubborn, but it’s a fine line The Slackers at The Jinx. between being stubborn and being independent in your endeavors. I don’t want to Garret K. Woodward photo be known as “one thing,� I want to pursue and do many things. As my beloved Jack Kerouac I remember that guy. once wrote, “They danced down Standing in the front of the audience at the streets like dingledodies, and The Jinx nightclub in Savannah recently, I I shambled after as I’ve been watched as longtime road warriors The doing all my life after people who Slackers took the listener on a journey of Ruth’s Chris Steak House will host a dinner interest me, because the only ffunky horns and sentimental wordplay. consisting of a custom-created five-course people for me are the mad ones, A legendary ska act (a blend of reggae menu paired with champagne at 6:30 p.m. the ones who are mad to live, fand punk), the band brought me back — March 30-31 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. mad to talk, mad to be saved, way back — to the beginning, that era when Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Porch desirous of everything at the I was discovering not only new music, but 40 (funk/rock) as part of their Appalachian Trail same time, the ones that never also myself in the process. Popular in the “Thru-Hiker Celebration� at 7:30 p.m. yawn or say a commonplace mid/late 1990s, ska was (is) a safe haven for thing, but burn, burn, burn like those of us who didn’t fit in anywhere else. It Saturday, April 9. fabulous yellow roman candles was a collage of wallflowers, skaters, shoe The 14th annual Spring Literary Festival will be exploding like spiders across the gazers, potheads, rebels and whoever else held from April 4-7 at Western Carolina stars and in the middle you see that was in search of a scene with open arms University in Cullowhee. the blue centerlight pop and — an escapism of sound and attitude. everybody goes ‘Awww!’� And I remembered that guy. Me. That The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host Joe It’s a tone and view of the middle school kid who wore Coke bottle Lasher Jr. (country/rock) at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, universe that was set within the glasses, parted his hair with too much gel, April 2. stone of my soul years ago, back whose outfits were a decade out of style (only A car show for “Operation Christmas Child� will when saving enough money for a to come back into fashion a decade later) and be at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 2, at Franklin High concert ticket or gas to get there finding a date to the Friday night dance was School. meant something, that chance to as tough a quest as summiting Mount discover something bigger than Everest. I was an outcast, even though I may on the airwaves and in my headphones. yourself, something transcendent and magihave been the last to get that memo. Groups like The Slackers, The Mighty cal. It’s a feeling I chase everyday. That perThus, with so much free time on my son I remembered from high school, that hands, I found a kinship with music, especial- Mighty Bosstones, Save Ferris, No Doubt, blonde mohawk sporting, Chuck Taylor ly when performed live. I was a weird kid (still Sublime, Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger and Bim Skala Blim, they provided a soundtrack to sneaking squeaking, handheld CD player am, proudly), and going to a show opened up holding, corduroy pants wearing, studded a whole new world to me. All the “weird� kids my adolescence, and, in the process, bestowed me with the confidence to dance belt strapping, plaid long sleeve adorning, seemed to have one thing in common — like no one is watching, that everyone “rock on� hand signal shaking kid. we’re music freaks. And when I would go to around you is filled with unlimited possibiliI remember that guy. I’m still that guy. concerts, my life was a clean slate. Nobody ty, that we’re all in this together — the more, Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all. knew me, and I could be whoever I wanted to the merrier, the weirder, the better. (Editor’s Note: If you’d like to reach be, which was all over the map. One of the most important traits of the Garret K. Woodward, email After all the doom and gloom of the garret@smokymountainnews.com.) grunge era, ska was such a breath of fresh air ska scene is the mere fact there is no one set
Spring Literary Festival APRIL 4-7 AT WCU
3 EAST JACKSON STREET • SYLVA
828/586-9499 • citylightsnc.com
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Jam series welcomes Buncombe Turnpike
Tribute to Elvis in Franklin The “World’s Best Tribute to Young Elvis” Travis LeDoyt will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. LeDoyt has been called “the best young Elvis in the world,” and also featured in the New York Times Magazine photographed in the office of Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records and the man who gave Elvis Presley his first recording contract. LeDoyt is enjoying amazing success emulating the career of “The King” during the 50’s and there are four good reasons why: he looks like Elvis, sings like Elvis, moves like Elvis, his personality and mannerisms both on and off stage are strikingly similar to Elvis. To those people who think they have seen it all when it ‘Young Elvis’ performer Travis LeDoyt comes to Elvis tribute acts, this is the one that makes them do a will be in Franklin on April 8. double-take. Tickets start at $20. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.
Smoky Mountain News
March 30-April 5, 2016
arts & entertainment
On the beat
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The 2015-16 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Jam Series will continue with Buncombe Turnpike at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. The performance of bluegrass and mountain music will be followed by an 8 p.m. jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate. The concerts and jam sessions will continue at the center through next spring, with programs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. 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. Free. 828.227.7129.
WCU Percussion Studio concert
Brass Quintet at WCU The Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, in the recital hall of the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University. The concert will feature music from the many countries visited by the quintet since its founding in 1993. As cultural ambassadors for WCU, the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet has performed in China, Ireland, Wales, England,
Russia, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Jamaica. Next year’s itinerary includes the Isle of Man and South Africa. In addition to the international flavor of music performed, a slideshow before the concert and during intermission will visually highlight the quintet’s travel experiences. Members of the ensemble, the quintet-inresidence at WCU, are P. Bradley Ulrich, trumpet; David Ginn, trumpet; Travis Bennett, horn; Mike Schallock, tuba; and Zsolt Szabo, trombone. www.smbq.org or 828.227.3274.
Western Carolina University’s Percussion Studio will present a concert of chamber and ensemble music at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the recital hall of the Coulter Building on the WCU campus. Under the direction of Mario Gaetano, professor in the WCU School of Music, the student ensemble performs music specifically composed or arranged for percussion instruments. The concert will feature a variety of original compositions, including “Five Dream Sequences” by Walter Ross, with Lyn Burkett, assistant professor of music at WCU, accompanying on piano, and Gaetano’s “Fiesta Del Rio” performed in a contemporary samba style. Other pieces during the evening performance will be David Long’s melodic “Essences of the Four Signs,” featuring tuned percussion such as bells, vibraphones, xylophones and marimbas, and David Skidmore’s fast-paced, aggressive “Ritual Music” played with drums and four tambourine players. The concert also will include Lou Harrison’s “Song of Queztecoatl,” in which the ensemble will perform on such unusual instruments as glass bottles, Chinese wooden blocks, automobile brake drums, Austrian cowbells and Asian gongs. The event is free and open to the public. www.wcu.edu.
Poetry, jazz in Franklin A family-friendly evening of poetry performance and soft jazz will be held at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at The Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in Franklin. The show opens with Poetry Alive, a team of professional actors performing memorized poems, classic to modern, in dynamic theater style, turning verse into script and audience members into fellow actors. Poetry Alive has entertained hundreds of thousands of people of all ages in clubs, libraries, and schools in all 50 states and many foreign countries. Following the poetry performance, the Savaiko-Olson Guitar Duo, Jazz Mountain, will take the Rathskeller stage, with a satisfying mix of jazz standards, swing, bebop, bossas, and blues. Bringing to their performances a combined 60+ years of experience as solo and ensemble artists, these versatile musicians move easily from familiar favorites to contemporary and original tunes. This event is produced by the Arts Council of Macon County, and supported by the Grassroots Arts Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Admission is by donation; $5 is suggested. arts4all@dnet.net or 828.524.ARTS. To learn more about the performers, visit www.poetryalive.com or www.jazzmountain.com.
On the beat
• BearWaters Brewing (Waynesville) will have Bohemian Jean (singer-songwriter) at 7 p.m. April 2. www.bwbrewing.com. • The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Jay Brown (Americana) April 8 and Joe Cruz (piano/pop) April 9. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.
Bloodshots April 2, Alex Culberth & Alison Voodoo (jive) April 8 and If Birds Could Fly (Americana) April 9. All shows are free and begin at 9 p.m. www.nonamesportspub.com. • The Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host Twelfth Fret (Americana) April 2 and Gary Carter (singer-songwriter) April 9. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.rathskellerfranklin.com. • Sagebrush Steakhouse (Canton) will host the Mile High Band (rock) April 5. All shows begin at 7 p.m. 828.646.3750.
• The First Presbyterian Church (Franklin) will host folk musician and educator Anne Lough (Americana/Celtic) at 7 p.m. April 5. Admission is $5. Sponsored by the Macon County Arts Council. 828.524.ARTS.
• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic with Jimandi at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays, “Funky Friday” with Bud Davis at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Isaish Breedlove (Americana) at 7 p.m. on Saturdays. 828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.
• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night March 30 and April 6, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo March 31 and April 7. All events begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.
• Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro (Sylva) will host a jazz evening with the Tyler Kittle & Michael Colling Duo (with special guests) every other Tuesday starting at 7 p.m. April 12. www.soulinfusion.com or 828.586.1717.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host The Remnants (Americana) April 2 and Porch 40 (funk/rock) as part of their Appalachian Trail “Thru-Hiker Celebration” on April 9. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Tipping Point Brewing (Waynesville) will host Scott Stambaugh (singer-songwriter) April 1 and ‘Round the Fire (Grateful Dead tribute) April 8. Both shows are free and begin at 9 p.m. www.tippingpointtavern.com.
• Mad Anthony’s Bottle Shop & Beer Garden (Waynesville) will have Bohemian Jean and Sandra Hess (singer/songwriters) at 8 p.m. April 8. www.madanthonys.bar.
• Tuck’s Tap & Grille (Cullowhee) will host College Night with DJ Alex Prince at 10 p.m. March 31.
ALSO:
• The Maggie Valley First Baptist Church will host “An Evening with Mountain Joy Gospel Group” on April 3. Free. 828.926.0065.
• Nantahala Brewing Company (Bryson City) will host Jon Stickley Trio (Americana) April 1, Black Arts Ensemble (rockabilly/gypsy jazz) April 2, Stolen Rhodes (Americana) April 8 and Soldier’s Heart (Americana/rock) April 9. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.nantahalabrewing.com. • No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host Log Noggins April 1, Little Lesley & The
• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host Little Lesley & The Bloodshots April 1, Andrew Rickman (rock/country) April 2, Tonology (rock) April 8 and Spearfinger (metal) April 9. All shows begin at 9 p.m. • The Waynesville Public Library will host the Lightning Bugs (Americana) at 3 p.m. April 9. Free. www.haywoodarts.org. • Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host a Percussion Ensemble on April 7 and The Daniel Myers Senior Recital April. 9 Both performances are at 7:30 p.m. in the Coulter Building. Free. www.wcu.edu.
GKW: What stories stick out the most? EHB: Several people have asked me that. But, in the back of my mind, I wanted to help dispel the stereotypes of the “dumb hillbilly.” I wanted to feature these people, and all of those things they accomplished, all done with very little. It was because of this innate, intellectual ability, I guess. People here are rather perceptive. They have this sense just like a dog. They pick up rather quickly on who’s good and trustworthy, and who is not. And there are so many stories I didn’t include in this one. I always have ideas in my head, things I’ve yet to write about. I’m not going to predict about a second book yet, because I’m not getting any younger. [Laughs]. GKW: And a big focus of this collection, and in your life, is the Canton paper mill. EHB: I have a real big compulsion for writing about Reuben B. Robertson (president of Champion) and all he did for the people here. He came from Ohio, but he grew to sincerely love the mountain people.
GKW: I feel face-to-face communication is a lost art these days. EHB: I think that’s a real loss. We’re too “busy.” Too many electronic toys. The human connection is vital. I loved going out and talking to people. And if they feel that you’re receptive to them, they just open right up. I want people to have respect for these mountains and these people, to enjoy the history and stories that make this place great. GKW: And yet, the odd thing is, when you do engage with somebody these days, you find they’re starving for conversation. EHB: Absolutely. All they want is a ready ear. It made me very happy. There was this one man who had lived in Cruso. His daughter called me and asked me to come and talk to him. He wanted to tell me about Spruce, which was logging camp up in Sunburst. And what he said to me was, “If I don’t tell you, it won’t be remembered.” He didn’t want the story and history to be forgotten. It was a gift he was giving to me. And I walked away with so many gifts from people.
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Smoky Mountain News
• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will hold community music jam from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 7. Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. Free. 828.488.3030.
• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host Joe Lasher Jr. (country/rock) April 2 and The Dirty Soul Revival (blues/rock) April 9. All shows are at 9:30 p.m. There is also a weekly Appalachian music night from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays with Nitrograss.
GKW: I think it’s pure curiosity. EHB: Yeah. [Laughs].
March 30-April 5, 2016
• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will have Shawn Hagan (Americana) April 1. All shows are free and at 7 p.m. unless otherwise listed. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.
• Salty Dog’s (Maggie Valley) will have Karaoke with Jason Wyatt on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Mile High (rock) at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Andrew Rickman (rock/acoustic) will also perform on Saturdays. All events begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
EHB: You know, mountain folk have always been suspicious. And when I did these stories, I went places that no one knew who I was. I don’t know where I got the nerve to just walk up and knock on their door.
And he did so many things to help them make a life in a new world, where they were accustomed to farming and logging. It was like when the railroad came. This area was isolated. Then they cut through the banks and ran the railroad, and looked what followed. The mill, it’s been just so much a part of being in Canton. I’d hate to visualize life without it.
arts & entertainment
• Andrews Brewing Company will host Troy Underwood (singer-songwriter) April 1, Andrew Chastain (singer-songwriter) April 2, Frank Lee (singer-songwriter) April 8 and Gold Rose (Americana/folk) April 9. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. www.andrewsbrewing.com.
B URNETTE, CONTINUED FROM 24
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arts & entertainment
On the street
Jackson celebrates NC Beer Month, Ale Trail W
hether you enjoy sipping a smooth golden ale, something hoppy or a dark IPA, Jackson County’s craft breweries have you covered for NC Beer Month this April. North Carolina boasts more breweries and brewpubs than any other state in the Southeast and Jackson County is renewing its commitment to quality local brews during April with events for locals and visitors. Not many towns boast walkable brewery tours, but Sylva’s Main Street plays host to three breweries in a scenic one-mile stretch – the Jackson County Ale Trail. The ale trail starts at Sneak E Squirrel, winding its way by Mark Watson Park, beside Sylva’s Historic Courthouse, down Sylva’s Historic Main and Mill Streets to Heinzelmännchen, ending at Innovation Brewing.
March 30-April 5, 2016
EVENTS: • April 1 – Chocolate and Beer Pairing. Sample six Baxley’s Chocolates expertly paired with six Heinzelmännchen beers. ($5 from each ticket is donated to Jackson County’s Good Samaritan Clinic). Presented by Baxley’s Chocolates and Heinzelmännchen. 5 to 8:30 p.m.; $10. • April 1 – Sierra Nevada Beer & Cheese Pairing At Evolution Wine Kitchen. Taste five beers and five cheeses for $15. Live music by Bird in Hand during the evening session. Ticketed event; tickets can be purchased instore or online at www.evolutionwinekitchen.com. Two tasting sessions are from 2 to 4 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m. • April 1 – April Fools’ Dinner at Sneak E
Squirrel • April 4 – IPA Comparea-thon at Sneak E Squirrel. Taste five IPAs made with the same grain bill and bittering hops. • April 7 — Live Music and Brews at Heinzelmännchen. Performance by Henry Wong on the guitar. • April 9 — Brew Hop. In honor of NC Beer Month, join Innovation Brewing, Heinzelmännchen Brewery, City Lights Café, Sneak E Squirrel and Evolution Wine Kitchen for the Sylva Brew Hop. Tickets include a souvenir Sylva tap glass, two 6 oz. pours at each location and a chance to win prizes during the hop challenge. Then, enjoy a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) show at Bridge Park for the after-party. Tickets can be purchased in-store at Evolution or online at www.evolutionwinekitchen.com. 5 to 11 p.m. • April 13 — Sierra Nevada Beer and Cheese Pairing Event. Evolution Wine Kitchen is hosting a beer and cheese pairing with
Presentation on Mount Le Conte
Smoky Mountain News
Professor Ken Wise will host a discussion about Mount Le Conte during the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the SCGHS Library on 200 Main Street in Bryson City. “The Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project at the University of Tennessee Library: A Look at the First Permanent Camp on Mount Le Conte” will include a brief history of the early camp on Mount Le Conte that was the forerunner of what is now Le Conte Lodge. Paul Adams originally established the camp in 1925 to accommodate members of the GSM Conservation Association in the effort to establish a national park in the Smokies. Wise will be outlining the history of the GSM Regional Project, established by himself and his colleague Anne Bridges in 1998, which includes digital collections, an annotated bibliography, and of other information about his Smoky Mountains research. The Smoky Mountain material is housed with Special Collections at the UT library and may be visited by the public. The collection includes interviews of people who lived in the Smokies conducted by Pete Prince. There is also a collection of the Smoky Mountain Historical Association newsletters, which contains a great deal of genealogical information about families of Sevier and Blount 28 Counties, as well as local histories of some of the families from
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Evolution or online at www.evolutionwinekitchen.com closer to the event. 6 to 11 p.m. April 16 — Murder Mystery Dinner at Sneak E Squirrel April 20 — Evolution Birthday. Music from Dirty Ol’ Bathtub. Great beer and food specials all night long. Evolution Wine Kitchen will remain open until midnight. April 20 — Earth Day Celebration at Innovation Brewing. Live music from Bird in Hand and a special IPA release. April 21 — Heinzelmännchen Brewery Anniversary Celebration. Food, entertainment and craft beer. Live guitar music with Henry Wong. This year’s celebration includes a special release of Kirsch Bock. 4 to 9 p.m. April 29 — Foothills Brewing Tasting Session at Evolution Wine Kitchen. Pay-atthe-door beer tasting with food specials and giveaways from Foothills Brewing.
MULTIPLE DATES:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Tickets include a selection of artisan cheeses expertly paired with a variety of Sierra Nevada beers. A Sierra Nevada expert will be conducting the pairing. Tickets can be purchased in-store at
Swain County. Digital sites for some the information may be viewed at digital.lib.utk.edu. Wise is a Professor at the UT Libraries and co-director of the GSM Regional Project. He joined with Anne Bridges and Russ Clement, to edit Terra Incognita: An Annotated Bibliography of the Great Smoky Mountains, 1544-1934; Hiking Trails of the Great Smoky Mountains; and co-authored with Ron Petersen, A Natural History of Mount Le Conte. Conversation and refreshments will follow the presentation. This is open to the public and there is no admission charge.
Guides needed for Folkmoot Folkmoot USA is seeking up to 20 guides to provide group support for the 33rd annual Folkmoot Festival. The 2016 guide duty begins July 15 and is complete on Aug. 1. Guides reside at the Folkmoot Center for the entirety of the festival. Applications are available at www.folkmootusa.org and are due by April 23. Folkmoot guides serve as ambassadors to visiting international folk music and dance groups are provided with room, four meals a day and are paid a stipend. Guides support international group members 24-hours per day. Guides serve as emcees, facilitators and translators; they ensure compliance with Folkmoot guidelines and N.C. laws; guides support
• April 4, 11, 18, 25 – Sneak E Squirrel Brewery IPA Mondays • April 4, 10, 18, 25 – Sneak E Squirrel Homebrewing class. This four-session class with the brewmaster will teach the basics of brewing and get you started on a lifelong adventure in brewing. • Throughout April – Pint and a Pie. Throughout April enjoy a pint of beer and an individual size pizza for only $10 at Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company located at the Sapphire National Golf Club. For more information on Jackson County’s celebration of NC Beer Month, please click on www.mountainlovers.com.
seamless performances, transportation and meal schedules and are vital to the festival production team. It is highly recommended that individuals interested in guide work attend the Folkmoot Guide Leadership Workshop on from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 23. This workshop, facilitated by Dr. Lane Perry of Western Carolina University and Folkmoot Executive Director Angeline Schwab, will focus on communication, team building, public speaking, conflict resolution, emergency management and logistics of the festival. To register for this workshop, contact Elizabeth Burson at 828.452.2997 or elizabeth@folkmoot.org.
Want to learn how to brew?
There will be a “Learn to Brew” class starting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 4, at The Sneak E Squirrel brewing company in Sylva. The four-session workshop will teach you how to make your own beer. The brewers will cover the basics of brewing, brew a batch with you, teach you to handle the finished beer, and how to bottle it. The class cost is $150, and you leave with $150 worth of equipment and ingredients. For further details, come by the brewery. 828.586.6440.
On the street
There will be Catamount paw prints on the next edition of a calendar highlighting North Carolina’s African-American heritage as Western Carolina University joins The Heritage Calendar project. Launched in 2013 by primary sponsor AT&T, “The Heritage Calendar: Celebrating the North Carolina African American Experience” honors individuals of all races from across the state who have
• The “Release the Rose — A Spring Wine Dinner” will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, April 8, at The Farm at Old Edwards in Highlands. Live music, food tastings and spring wine releases. $125 per person. To RSVP, call 828.787.2625 or www.oldedwardsinn.com/rosewinedinner.
• A car show for “Operation Christmas Child” will be at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 2, at Franklin High School. All money raised will go to the OCC. Entry fee is $15 per car. Spectators are asked to bring donations for shoeboxes, such as soap, toothbrushes, paper, pencils, toys, and more. 828.371.7503 or www.franklin-chamber.com.
• A wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. April 2 and 9 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva.
Dine out for autism, participants sought Frankie’s Italian Trattoria in Maggie Valley will be hosting a benefit for autism on Monday, April 11. A few of the restaurants in Haywood County have signed up and Frankie’s would like to extend an invitation to chamber members who may want to be involved with this great event. Restaurants can either donate a percentage of their revenue to the Olsen Huff Center, provide gift certificates (or any sort of other silent auction items) that can be used to raise money. As you may or may not know, the Perrone’s (owners of Frankie’s) son, Richie, has autism, as this benefit affects them
Chef Ricardo Fernandez will be hosting a Mountain Cooking Club class from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. Fernandez was the former coowner/head chef of Lomo Grill. The classes celebrate local ingredients and seasonal fare. His classes combine his native Argentine cuisine with influences from Spain and Italy, the home of his parents. The menu for this class will include sweet peas and manchengo cheese bruschetta; silky fennel, watercress and apple bisque; asparagus, prosciutto and Parmesan fettucine; and chocolate bourbon truffles. Class fee is $65 plus a $1 Mountain Cooking Club 2016 membership fee. To reserve your space, please mail a check (payable to Ricardo Fernandez) to Suzanne Fernandez at 3553 Panther Creek Road, Clyde, North Carolina 28721. Reservations confirmed upon receipt of payment. 828.246.7465 or chefricardos@gmail.com.
If you spend time in the backcountry you need to be prepared. Fast paced and hands-on, this two or three-day Wilderness First Aid course covers a wide range of wilderness medicine topics for people who travel and work in the outdoors.
APRIL 16TH - 17TH
$5 per person. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.586.6300. • A free wine tasting will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. April 2 and 9 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120. • ‘Angry Americans’ — Reality based or media creation?’" will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum at 7 p.m. Monday, April 4, at The Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in downtown Franklin. Those interested in an open exchange of ideas (dialog not debate) are invited to attend. 828.371.1020.
ALSO:
• A wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. March 30 and April 6 at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. Free with dinner ($15 minimum). 828.452.6000. • There will be a “Tasty Tuesday: Winter Seasonals” at 7 p.m. April 5 and 12 at Mad Anthony’s Bottle Shop & Beer Garden.
The Wilderness StarGuard® is a cutting edge aquatic rescue course designed to meet the needs of wilderness trip leaders with a focus on prevention. Wilderness First Aid is a Prerequisite for Star Guard.
APRIL 23RD - 24TH
Register Now at landmarklearning.edu For more information, call the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department at 456-2030 or email tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov
Smoky Mountain News
• Ruth’s Chris Steak House will host a dinner consisting of a custom-created five-course menu paired with champagne at 6:30 p.m. March 30-31 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. $120 per person. Reservations are required. www.harrahscherokee.com or www.ruthchris.com.
Mountain Cooking Club in Waynesville
March 30-April 5, 2016
made a lasting impact on communities and individuals in North Carolina and around the globe. A team of WCU students, led by Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, associate professor of history and director of graduate social science education programs, will interview the honorees and write profiles to be published in the printed edition of the 2017 calendar and on the project’s website at
www.ncheritagecalendar.com. “We are excited about this opportunity for our students and our university,” said WCU Chancellor David O. Belcher. “This promises to be a great educational enhancement for our students, giving them valuable hands-on experience both as writers and as historians, while also enabling Western Carolina University to help people across the state to connect with their heritage and their neighbors.” WCU students participating in the project are Joshua Wilkey of Dillsboro and Raquel Kelly of Franklin, who are graduate students in history; and Cassandra Talabi of Mebane and Sherae Bonner of Whitesburg, Georgia, who are elementary education majors with concentrations in history. “WCU has a well-earned reputation for community service and commitment to excellence,” said Clifton Metcalf Jr., AT&T public affairs director. “We look forward to working with the university and its students and are thrilled to welcome the Catamounts to the team.” Another component of the project is lesson plans based on the life of each honoree, developed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and available online as resources for educators statewide. Other primary participants are The News & Observer, Capitol Broadcasting Company/WRAL-TV, PNC Bank and the Sheraton Raleigh hotel. www.wcu.edu.
arts & entertainment
WCU students join The Heritage Calendar project
directly. The Olsen Huff Center in Asheville is where Richie visits once a month. www.facebook.com/frankiestrattoria or 828.926.6216 or 954.609.3502.
WAYNESVILLE
PARKS AND RECREATION 828.456.2030 or email tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov
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March 30-April 5, 2016
arts & entertainment
On the wall HCC creative arts classes Haywood Community College Continuing Education Creative Arts will offer a selection of additional classes for April and May. • Local ceramicist Kelsey Schissel, of Plays in Mud Pottery (www.playsinmud.com), will be teaching two eight-week courses aimed at the more advanced potter: Ceramics 2: Intermediate Throwing and Finding Your Voice as a Potter. Ceramics 2 will focus on building technical skills required for throwing more complex forms while Finding Your Voice as a Potter will cover enhanced surface design techniques for your vessels using a variety of stamps, tools, glazes and slips. Ceramics 2: Intermediate Throwing runs on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. starting April 7 and ending May 26. Finding Your Voice as a Potter runs on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 5 p.m., also beginning April 7 and ending May 26. Register by March 31. • Accomplished blacksmith Elizabeth Brim, also an instructor at Penland School of Crafts, will be teaching a blacksmithing course specifically designed for jewelry makers. In Blacksmithing for Jewelers: Hammer and Heat, students will learn basic blacksmithing techniques such as bending, scrolling, splitting, and torch welding steel. The scale of these techniques may be adjusted to suit your artistic endeavors. Working in iron, students will leave with an understanding of
‘Trashion Show’ returns
SCC portfolio development for artists A new, three-part series of seminars offered by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center will help craft artists develop their own professional material for an artist portfolio. Classes meet at 6 p.m. on consecutive Tuesdays from April 5-19 at SCC’s Swain Center near Bryson City. The first two classes run until 7:30 p.m. while the April 19 class ends at 8 p.m. Facilitating the classes will be Jeff Marley, heritage arts department chair for SCC. The first workshop (April 5) in the series, “Artist’s Resumes & Curriculum Vitaes,” will help participants generate more specific resumes. Participants will then create a bio and artist statement in the second seminar (April 12), and the final meeting (April 19) will focus on portfolio images and photographing their work. Seating is limited, and registration is required. Reserve your seat at www.southwesterncc.edu/sbc.
The Jackson County Arts Council will host a “Trashion Show” at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. This fundraiser will be a fashion show with clothing and accessories made of recyclable material along with a Couture collection donated from local businesses. Prizes will be awarded. www.jacksoncounty arts.org or 828.507.9820 or info@jacksoncountyarts.org.
Beverly Tan Photography
• The fourth annual Birdhouse Bash is currently underway. Bring complete birdhouses to the Second Blessing Thrift Shop in the Frog Level District of Waynesville by May 5. The birdhouses will be part of the silent auction at the “Whole Bloomin’ Thing” festival. For more information, call 828.476.4231 or 828.734.1570.
Want to own a quilt block?
The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, who manages the Haywood County Quilt Trail (HCQT), is excited to announce the kick off of a raffle program where you can enter to win your very own 4x4 foot quilt block. The designated block is the “Gateway to the Smokies” spring edition which features a trio of trillium blossoms and two bear paws situated below the mountains and an arch, representing the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains. Raffle tickets can be purchased through the Haywood County TDA by calling 828.452.0152 or by stopping by the TDA visitor center at 44 North Main Street in Waynesville. The block is currently on display at the visitor center as well. The cost is $25 per ticket or five for $100 and are capped at a total of 10 tickets per person. The drawing will be held on Friday, May 6, as part of the week-long celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week. The TDA does want to emphasize that because the block will be featured on the Haywood County Quilt Trail, it is required to remain in the county and must be installed on a building or structure that can be accessed or viewed by the public year-round. 30 All proceeds from the raffle will go to ben-
Smoky Mountain News
blacksmithing techniques and samples to take home and apply to their own work. This class will occur over three days beginning Sunday, May 22 through Tuesday May 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Register by May 6. To register, creativearts.haywood.edu or 828.565.4125.
• There will be an armor construction workshop held by blacksmith Brock Martin from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 2 at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Fee is $255 (materials included). There is a 10-percent discount for Jackson County residents. www.jcgep.org. efit the future development and enhancement of the Haywood County Quilt Trail, which means the addition of more blocks and merchandise to promote this popular trail. www.haywoodquilttrails.com. • Odili Donald Odita will give an artist talk at 5 p.m. April 7 in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. In conjunction with the Fine Art Museum's exhibit, “Color + Theory,” he will talk about his work. Although color theory principles first appeared in the early 15th century, major advances were made by the German Bauhaus by artists like Josef Albers. This exhibition celebrates modern and contemporary artist who explore meaning and the use of color in art.
• A pine needle basket class will be held by Dogwood Crafters from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at the Masonic Lodge in Dillsboro. Joyce Lentz will lead the workshop. Participants will make a small pine needle basket using a walnut slice as its center. Cost of class is $25. To register, 828.586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com.
ALSO:
• A community art group meets at 10 a.m. every Wednesday at the Hudson Library in Highlands. 828.526.3031. • There will be a bake sale from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 2, in front of the Scottish
Tartans Museum and Heritage Center in Franklin. The bake sale will benefit Breacan Clann, the living history group of the museum. • The “Come Paint with Charles Kidz Program” will be at 4 p.m. March 31 at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City. $20 per child. Materials and snacks included. 828.538.2054. • The film “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2” will be shown at 7 p.m. March 30-April 1, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 2 and 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. April 3 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. There will also be a free screening of “The Peanuts Movie” at noon and 2 p.m. April 2 and 9. www.38main.com. • The films “Carol” (March 31) and “Daddy’s Home” (April 1), “Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2” (April 2) and “Star Wars – The Force Awakens” (April 6) will be screened at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Screenings are at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. with a special 2 p.m. matinee on Saturdays. Free. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com. • A two-day calligraphy workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to noon April 12 and 19 at the Dillsboro Masonic Lodge. Hosted by Dogwood Crafters, the workshop will be led by Cheryl Thompson. Register by Tuesday, April 5. Cost is $14. junettapell@hotmail.com or 828.586.2435.
On the wall
On the stage
rom the beginning Cullowhee Mountain Arts (CMA) has been committed to hosting high-quality workshops taught by instructors with national and international reputations. Students have come from all over the United States and Canada and have attended from countries as far as Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia and New Zealand. They are always impressed with the beauty of the region, the campus of Western Carolina University and the town of Sylva. CMA is currently celebrating its fifth year of programming exciting workshops and retreats for Artists and Writers. The programs have evolved since first creating “The Summer ARTS Series,” five weeks of Visual Art and Creative Writing Workshops. The SAS is partially sponsored by the College of Fine and Performing Arts and held in the Bardo Art Center and the College of Art and Design at WCU. And in 2013, the opportunity for CMA to program in other locations too, when founder and Executive Director Norma Hendrix created the concept of traveling to inspiring locations and running retreats with workshops from a variety of historical spots across the United States. The retreats for artists and writers will be held this year again in Taos, New Mexico, April 16-22; Lake Logan in Canton, May 9-15, Sept. 11-15 and Oct. 24-29; and (new this
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presents
An evening with
MountainJoy
“We began programming Visual Arts Workshops in 2012, and within two years added Creative Writing,” Hendrix said. “These two disciplines are a natural fit, and the exchange of ideas and concepts between writers and artists is wonderfully inspiring.” Now in its third year of programming Creative Writing workshops, CMA has
A “Live via Satellite” broadcast of the MET Opera’s “Madame Butterfly” will be shown at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center. Beverly Wichman will host a pre-show discussion at 12:30 p.m. One of the world’s foremost Butterflies, Kristine Opolais takes on the title role of the spurned geisha in Anthony Minghella’s breathtaking production, which has thrilled audiences ever since its 2006 premiere. Star tenor Roberto Alagna is the callous naval officer who breaks Butterfly’s heart. Karel Mark Chichon conducts. For tickets, visit www.highlandspac.org.
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Gospel Group
March 30-April 5, 2016
Maggie Valley First Baptist Church
year) two weeks of CMA retreats with workshops in the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts on the beautiful Cape Ann, Aug. 14-19 and Aug. 21-26.
‘Madame Butterfly’ to screen in Highlands
arts & entertainment
Creative arts workshop retreats
ramped up its commitment. The Summer ARTS Series now offers three workshops each of the five weeks of the Summer ARTS Series in; Poetry, Nonfiction and Fiction, to be taught by a stellar faculty of award winning writers. The Visual Art workshops have concentrated on Book Arts, Ceramics, Mixed Media, Painting and Printmaking. This season CMA has added two Photography workshops geared to inspire participants in the use of photography as a tool for abstraction and “painting” with layers of imagery or as a foundation for printmaking in the process of photogravure. Another highlight for the 2016 season is the rich selection of Encaustic offerings: encaustic printing (both on sculptural forms and on paper) and encaustic painting with mixed media, both 2 & 3-D. The Ceramics workshops this season will bring instructors who are masters of different surface treatments, glazing techniques, for both wheel turned and hand built forms. CMA is also returning a host of instructors who have become favorites for their workshops in Painting and Mixed Media. For all the details and how to enroll, visit the CMA website at www.cullowheemountainarts.org.
Smoky Mountain News
Sun. April 3rd · 6pm in the Sanctuary Admission is free, love offerings are welcome.
3436 Soco Rd. · Maggie Valley
828-926-0065
Find us on Facebook. Federally Insured by NCUA 31
32
Books
Smoky Mountain News
When disagreeing could still be eloquent “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” — George Orwell, 1984 or the past year, Americans have endured — I use the word deliberately — the charges and countercharges of men and women running for the presidency of the United States. We must now endure another seven months of this ruckus, and as in most American elections throughout our history, mudslinging will be the order of the day. On our college campuses, we are also Writer seeing our language abused: free speech restricted, professors fired or muzzled, and certain speakers banned from campuses or shouted off the lecture platform. Some universities have created “safe spaces,” where students are protected from the free speech of other students, professors, and speakers. Other students demand “trigger warnings” in classrooms, advance notification of books or discussions that may distress them. We have all watched politicians, commentators, writers, and ordinary citizens twist our language into outlandish pretzels. Example: politicians continue to declare Islam a “religion of peace.” There exists no religion on our planet that can claim to be a “religion of peace.” (Even Buddhists run amuck now and again.) After all, the man who founded Islam committed and condoned killing, made women subordinate in all ways to men, and decreed that people of other religious beliefs should be persecuted. If we look at our personal communications — comments on various blogs, exchanges on Facebook — we often find the same degraded, warped use of language. Go to any political site online and read the comments. Unless most of the readers of a particular column are in full agreement with the author, there are
Jeff Minick
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will be smacked down with insults and obscenities. Share why you like Donald Trump, and you will be pilloried with curses and imprecations. All of which lead me to my book review for the week. Recently Karl Keating, a Catholic apologist and founder of Catholic Answers, contacted me about purchasing some books I have self-published. Keating is the author of such books as Catholicism and Fundamentalism and What Catholics Really Believe, and I have long admired his writing. It is clear, vigorous, and concise. During our exchange of letters and books, he sent me his latest work, Apologetics: The English Way (Rasselas House, 2015, 303 pages, $15.99). The book relates an exchange of views regarding Catholicism and Christianity between English apologists for the Christian faith and those opposed to either Christianity or Catholicism. Most of these exchanges occur in the 1930s. What struck me about these debates was not so much the thoughts of those involved, but the humor and good will toward those who held opposite views. They were tender in their regard for their opponent. They carefully chose their words to avoid confusion or unintentional insult. They were polite and reasonable in making their points. Apologetics: The English Way by Karl Keating. Rasselas In a word, these writers were House, 2015. 303 pages. civilized. For me, Apologetics: The English Way is a “dipper” book, meaning that participants curse, shame, and bash away at I read it randomly rather than cover-to-cover. one another, using their words like What strikes me, as I have said above, is the broadswords to bleed their opponents. Ad civilized tone of the correspondence collected hominem attacks are the preferred style of in this volume. Here, for example, are Hilaire assault. Explain your support for Hillary Belloc’s opening remarks to Dean Inge: Clinton for president, for example, and you barrages back and forth between those who disagree with one another, humorless and impolite (that’s putting it gently) verbal bombardments. In many of these “dialogues,” the
• Highlands author Scott Conard latest release is Touching the Soul, an expressive collection of poems. Published by New York City-based Page Publishing, the poems cover a span of 13 years, covering topics like love, religion, humor, and everyday life. To purchase the book, you can find it on Apple iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and Barnes & Noble. To learn more, click on www.pagepublishing.com.
ALSO:
• Local author Darlene Melcher has released two new faithbased works on fiction. The Prodigal’s Advocate Participant’s Companion and Doors of Destiny Traveler’s Companion are
now available in both paperback and eBooks at www.crystalseabooks.com. • Author Charley Pearson will present his new book The Marianated Nottingham and Other Abuses of the Language at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. This infestation reveals, at long last, the Sheriff of Nottingham’s side of the story, because it’s about time someone told the truth about Robin Hood. • Author Liberty Crouch will present her recent work Demons Release Trilogies at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at Blue Ridge
“You have often attacked (and defamed) the Catholic Church in your pages. In that effort you have introduced, among others, my own less significant name. I propose to answer you. “The task is the easier because your animosity leads you to open declaration of your hatred, and unlike so many of your kind, you are sometimes led by exasperation to be sincere.” Belloc proceeds to forcefully but civilly take Inge to task. Here is the Catholic Arnold Lunn at the close of an exchange with self-described “moderate Protestant” G.G. Coulton: “I should like to thank you for the vigor of your attack. It is sporting of a writer in his ninth decade to issue these fiery challenges to debates and I am happy to oblige you. We have at least two things in common, a keen enjoyment of this form of controversy and a love for that dear country Switzerland, and though I should hardly describe myself as a Coulton-fan, you will, I hope, forgive me if I say how much I enjoyed your chapter on Adelboden in your attractive autobiography, Fourscore Years.” Few Smoky Mountain News readers will find appealing the subject matter of Apologetics: The English Way, but most who read a book review column surely take some interest in language and its usage. For me, Keating’s book has served as a vivid reminder of the crudity and chicanery of our present usage. It inspired me to try and choose my words more carefully when speaking or writing, and to be civil whenever possible to those who disagree with me. Apologetics: The English Way has also made me more aware of the demeanor and speech of those running for public office. To curse your opponent isn’t a sign of strength. It’s a sign of weakness. To employ blunt speech is not always an indicator of truth and honesty. To play upon the ignorance of people is despicable. (Jeff Minick is a writer and teacher. He can be reached at minick0301@gmail.
Books in Waynesville. Through years of journaling her way to a confession of healing and recovery from a deeply rooted lifelong drug abuse career and mental illness, she expresses unique insight with an array of full color digital personal artwork with the illustrations provided throughout the entirety of this book. • Writer Carly Robbins will host a book signing and reading from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in the Catamount Bookstore in Western Carolina University. Robbins is the author of the Secrets Series, with a third volume due out in the future. www.wcu.edu.
Renowned Latina writer at WCU Acclaimed Latina novelist, poet and essayist Judith Ortiz Cofer will visit Western Carolina University for a lecture and reading at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, in the theater of the A.K. Hinds University Center. She will lead an open discussion with students from 11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in the permanent gallery of WCU’s Fine Art Museum. Cofer was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Patterson, New Jersey, and is considered a leading literary voice for depicting the Puerto Rican immigrant experience. An O. Henry Prize winner and Georgia Writers Hall of Fame inductee, she is Emeritus Regents’ and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia. She is a twotime Pulitzer Prize nominee and received a fellowship with the National Endowment for the Arts for poetry. She is the author of four critically acclaimed novels, several books of poetry, essays and memoirs, as well as children’s books. Both events are free and open to the public. www.wcu.edu.
Pulitzer Prize winner headlines Lit Fest
March 30-April 5, 2016
a website to take you to places where there are no websites.
Smoky Mountain News
The 14th annual Spring Literary Festival will be held from April 4-7 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. All events are held at Illusions on the third floor of the University Center Theater, unless otherwise noted: Monday, April 4 ■ Noon — Gilbert Chappell Distinguished Poet Brent Martin with student poets. ■ 4 p.m. — Creative nonfiction writer Catherine Reid, author of Falling into Place: An Intimate Geography of Home. ■ 7:30 p.m. — Poet Major Jackson, author of Roll Deep and Hoops. Tuesday, April 5 ■ Noon: Poets Lauren K. Alleyne, author of Difficult Fruit, and Denton Loving, author of Crimes Against Birds. ■ 4 p.m. — Fiction and nonfiction writer Bret Anthony Johnston, author of the novel Remember Me Like This. ■ 7:30 p.m. — Poet, fiction, and nonfiction writer Judith Ortiz Cofer, author of the memoir The Cruel Country. Wednesday, April 6 ■ 4 p.m. — Poets Darnell Arnoult, author of Galaxie Wagon, and Jane Hicks, author of Driving with the Dead. ■ 7:30 p.m. — Fiction and nonfiction writer Lee Smith, author of the memoir Dimestore: A Writer’s Life. (Coulter Recital Hall) Thursday, April 7 ■ 4 p.m. — Fiction writer Robert Gipe, author of Trampoline: An Illustrated Novel. ■ 5:30 p.m. — Literary Festival Reception, Illusions, A.K. Hinds University Center, WCU Campus. ■ 7:30 p.m. — Nonfiction writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg, author of Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story and All Over but the Shoutin’. All events are free and open to the public. www.litfestival.org.
Log on. Plan a getaway. Let yourself unplug. 33
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Smoky Mountain News
A new meaning for ‘study lounge’ WCU installs solar panel and hammock lounge combo with sustainability funds BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hen Earth Day rolls around this year, students at Western Carolina University will be able to celebrate with a bit of high-class hammocking, with the date marking completion of what’s been dubbed the Electron Garden on the Green — believed to be the nation’s first combination solar-generating facility and hammock hang-
to environmental sustainability. It currently generates just under $80,000 per year. Bishop is especially enthusiastic about this, the first project, because it was funded, designed and approved by students. “We really wanted them to feel like out of the gate the first project is something they would really want with their money, and the buzz around campus is that they’re really excited about it,” Bishop said. The student-comprised Sustainability Energy Initiative Committee began taking proposals for projects to fund in the spring of 2015, accepting ideas from students, staff and faculty. Proposals ranged from permanent structures to internships to research projects, all surrounding a common theme of sustainability and educational value. The Electron Garden concept came from three senior students — Ross Heffley, Robert Bianculli and Chase Weddle — who Hanging around in hammocks is already a designed it as a senior popular pastime at Western Carolina capstone project for University. WCU photo the Department of Engineering and Technology. The 10-kilowatt solar system will supply power to WCU’s grid, reducing both energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions. But the structure will have a dual purpose as well — it will include hanging space for about 10 hammocks, plus electrical outlets and Internet and USB ports. That’s something that’s sure to attract interest, said Zach Waldroup, a WCU student who interns with the university’s Office of Sustainability and Energy Management while also serving on the SEI Committee. “Hammocking” — also called “ENO-ing” in reference to Asheville-based hammock company Eagle Nest Outfitters — has surged in popularity on college campuses in recent years. Capitalizing on the fad, said Bishop, will also serve to boost the university’s goal of getting students outside, defying the statistic that Leaders in the Electron Garden on the Green project welcome the backhoe’s arrival to begin the the average American spends about 90 perproject. They are (from left) Jarred Rathbone, lead electrician for the project; Lauren Bishop, cent of his or her time indoors. “We wanted to try to build something that director of the Office of Sustainability and Energy Management; and Chase Weddle, a student would promote our students to get outside intern in that office who helped design the project and is serving as project manager. WCU photo and enjoy that connection with the outdoors
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ing lounge on a college campus. “We’re excited about it, and I think the students are pretty excited as well,” said Lauren Bishop, sustainability officer for WCU. The project is just the first in what’s sure to be a long line of sustainability-oriented endeavors funded through a student fee added in fall 2014. The $5-per-semester fee is part of the university’s Sustainability Energy Initiative and aims to support projects related
When you go The ribbon-cutting for the new solar generation and hammock lounging combo is slated for Friday, April 22 — Earth Day. That’s already a busy day at Western Carolina University, when the school’s annual Earth and Wellness Celebration will offer plenty of opportunities for diversion. Among other attractions, this year’s event will include live music, a drum circle and a presentation on the cultural relationship between the Cherokee people and their waterways, given by Barbara Duncan, education director at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. For a complete schedule, visit http://bit.ly/1pUQMXl.
and what is unique and beautiful about our campus,” said Bishop. For Waldroup’s part, he’s celebrating the impending completion of the Electron Garden as the culmination of years of work by an ever-changing student body. “Years of hard work and determination from our predecessors (in campus environmental advocacy) is finally about to pay off with our first project,” he said. “It will put a face to the Sustainability Energy Initiative, and I believe it will really jump-start interest in our efforts and overall campus sustainability.” The roots of the SEI trace back to 2006, when a proposal for the committee was first drafted by WCU alumnus McKenzie Dillingham, who was then president of the student environmental advocacy group Eco CATS. The Electron Garden project will cost about $60,000, a figure that’s about half of what it would cost if most of the work wasn’t being done in-house — electricians in the Office of Facilities Management have been “great partners” in bringing the project to fruition, Bishop said. The Electron Garden isn’t the only project that the sustainability fee has brought to the horizon. In April, artists from Camp Little Hope — a collective of artists, writers and designers — will arrive for a six-week residency to help students create nature-based sculptures for installation on the university’s multi-use trail system. “The whole concept of their installation is really awesome,” said Bishop. “It basically portrays how the forest is a living, breathing entity, so they’re going to try to encapsulate that with this project.” That project, the second of the two funded through the first year of sustainability fees, was proposed by Denise Drury Homewood, director of the Fine Art Museum at WCU. As to what the next year’s projects will entail, that remains to be seen. Proposals for 2016 are due this week, meaning students serving on the SEI Committee will soon be busy sifting through them in search of the next batch of winning ideas.
Meet the Smokies’ flowery faces outdoors
A wildflower hike exploring the Big Creek Watershed of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will offer blooms a-plenty on Saturday, April 9. Donna Machen, a wildflower identification expert, will be on hand to put names to the variety of flowers in bloom that time of year. The 4-mile roundtrip hike to Mouse Creek Falls is considered easy and expected to end around 3 p.m. after a 9:30 a.m. start. The event is part of Haywood Waterways Association’s “Get to Know Your Watershed” series of outdoor recreation activities working to raise awareness of Haywood County’s natural beauty. Free for HWA members; $5 for nonmembers. Space is limited and carpooling is encouraged. RSVP by April 6 to Christine O’Brien at christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 828.476.4667.
Many kinds of trillium grace the mountain region. Donated photo
Celebrate spring in Cherokee The inaugural Spring Garden Fair will come to Cherokee April 8-9 at the Cherokee Fair Grounds, the first event of its kind on the Qualla Boundary. Festival-goers will be able to learn about everything from composting to beekeeping to raisedbed gardening — with plenty more besides. Garden-related items from seeds to yard art will be available for purchase, and Cherokee students raising money to travel to Costa Rica for the tribe’s annual ecology-themed field trip will be selling brewed and ground coffee. Children will get the chance to talk to Smokey the Bear, and master gardeners will be on hand to chat. A photo contest taking entries of children in fruit, flower or vegetable costumes will award prizes. For more information or to enter the photo contest, email legendweaverstudios@gmail.com.
Mini garden, mega harvest March 30-April 5, 2016
Learn how to grow a lot of food in a small space with a program on square-foot gardening from 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at the Waynesville Public Library. Master Gardener Hughes Roberts, a certified square-foot gardening instructor, will teach a square-foot gardening technique created by Mel Bartholomew. The method uses only 20 percent of the space of a conventional row garden and can be done on patios and decks. Free, with refreshments served. Sponsored by Friends of the Library. Kathy Olsen, 828.356.2507 or kolsen@Haywoodnc.net.
The warm sunshine and flowers of spring lead to a mating frenzy for most creatures, and a gameshow-style program
courtship — a world where roses and chocolates don’t stand a chance against the fantastic and sometimes sleazy romantic gestures of the animal world. Teams of two will compete in a gameshow-like format testing knowledge, trivia and acting abilities. Drinks, desserts and prizes for the top team will be offered. $10. RSVP to 828.526.2623.
Barking tree frogs. J.M. Butler photo on animal courtship will highlight this season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Highlands Nature Center. “Mating and Dating in the Animal Kingdom: A Gameshow Mash-up” will provide plenty of adult-only hilarity delving into the seductive world of animal
The Landbird Steward Team is looking for members, with an all-day training offered Saturday, April 9, at the Highlands Biological Station in Highlands. The training will cover a variety of volunteer opportunities, equipping those willing for everything from talking to landowners to conducting surveys to working on a database in your home office. This Audubon N.C. Golden Winged Warbler Workshop is hosted by the Highlands Biological Station and Highlands Plateau Audubon Society. Free, with registration required at 828.526.2633. Lunch provided.
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The tower at Clingmans Dome offers unparalleled views of the Great Smoky Mountains. NPS photo
Clingmans Dome Road opens early The road to the highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened a tad early this year due to last week’s warm weather. Clingmans Dome Road opened Saturday, March 26, a few days ahead of its usual March 31 opening. The 7-mile road
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A prescribed burn will be conducted sometime before mid-April in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard. The 1,000-acre burn will occur along U.S. 276 between its junction with Avery Creek Road and Coontree Picnic Area. Avery Creek Road and some trail sections may be closed during the burn. The purpose is to reduce fuel build-
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typically closes Dec. 1 of each year. At 6,643 feet, the dome is the park’s highest point and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi, offering a 360degree view at the top. Current road closure information is posted at @SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter.
up and improve wildlife habitat, with the exact date dependent on weather conditions. Last week, the U.S. Forest Service conducted a pair of burns in the Nantahala National Forest. The first burn included 1,000 acres in the Fires Creek area of the Tusquitee District between Rockhouse Creek and Big Stamp Road. The second affected 1,670 acres in the Nantahala Gorge between Ledbetter Branch, Ledbetter Forest Service Road, Mud Cut Branch and U.S. 74. These burns were also aimed at reducing fuel load. www.fs.usda.gov/nfsnc.
Spring openings in the Smokies
open April 1 and Big Creek Horse Camp will open April 8. www.nps.gov/grsm.
Spring is here, and facilities closed for the winter are opening up accordingly in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. ■ Clingmans Dome Visitor Information Center will open April 1. ■ Round Bottom/Straight Fork Road will open April 1. ■ The backcountry office at Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with reservations also available online at www.smokiespermits.nps.gov or 865.436.1297. ■ Cataloochee Campground will open March 25; Big Creek and Deep Creek campgrounds will open April 8; and Balsam Mountain Campground will open May 27. Smokemont Campground is open yearround. ■ LeConte Lodge, accessible by trail only, opened March 21. ■ Cataloochee Horse Camp will open March 25, Round Bottom Horse Camp will
Blue Ridge Parkway sets opening schedule Facilities and visitor services along the Blue Ridge Parkway will soon be opening for 2016, a year that marks the 100th anniversary for the National Park Service. ■ Pisgah Inn and Restaurant will open April 1. ■ Mount Pisgah Picnic Area will open April 15. ■ Waterrock Knob Visitor Center will open April 29. ■ Mount Pisgah Campground will open May 6. ■ The Folk Art Center and Asheville Visitor Center are open year-round. Some sections of the southern end of the Parkway are still closed due to winter weather. For real-time updates on Parkway closures, visit www.nps.gov/maps/blri/road-closures.
Easter on the trail
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Cataloochee Ski Area is a finalist for the I AM a Snowmaker Award, given annually by SAM Magazine and HKD Snowmakers — but it needs votes from the public to win. To enter, Cataloochee’s snowmaking crew created a video showing why it’s second only to mother nature and made it to the top six, along with crews from British Columbia in Canada to Copper Mountain, Colorado, to Sunday River Resort in Maine. SAM Magazine is the trade publication for the mountain resort industry, while HKD Snowmakers is a North American company that manufactures and supplies energy- efficient snowmaking technology. Vote at http://platform.votigo.com/votingapp/profiletab/2016-HKD-I-AM-a-Snowmaker by Thursday, March 31.
After visiting every national park in the Southeast, author Danny Bernstein will launch the book she wrote about the experience at 7 p.m. Friday, April 8, at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville. “I put a historical and personal spin on my travels,” Bernstein said. “In my attempt to become a Southerner one park at a time, I show that every national park has a human story as well as great scenery.” The book, Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey through the National Parks of the South, introduces readers to the rangers, volunteers, visitors, park partners and historical figures who make the parks come alive. For a full list of Bernstein’s book events, see www.hikertohiker.net/aboutdanny/hikes-and-talks.
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Celebrate the national parks — literary style
Spring ranger programs have begun in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, giving visitors a chance to explore the Smokies with help from the park rangers. ■ Charismatic Mega-Fauna, a 30-minute program featuring the park’s biggest animals, will be offered at 11 a.m. on Fridays at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, located along U.S. 441 just north of Cherokee. ■ Coffee with a Ranger, an hourlong program giving visitors a chance to find out what’s happening in the park over a cup of coffee, will Mountain Farm Museum. SMN photo be held at 10 a.m. on Saturdays at capped-accessible. the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Topics will ■ Back Porch Old-Time Music Jam, two vary based on visitor interest. hours of traditional Appalachian music, ■ Down on the Farm, a two-hour prowill return at 2 p.m. April 16, May 7 and gram exploring the lives of homesteaders May 21 at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. in the Smokies, will be held at 2 p.m. on Visitors with an acoustic instrument to Sundays at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. play are welcome to join this old-time jam. The program will include a walk to the All programs will run through May 7. adjacent Mountain Farm Museum to wit-
March 30-April 5, 2016
Snowmaking crew makes the top cut
ness activities such as fence building, woodworking and gardening. ■ Return of the Elk, a 90-minute program telling the story of the elk’s return to the Smokies after a 200-year absence, will be held at 3 p.m. April 12, April 19 and May 3 at the Rough Fork Trailhead of Cataloochee Valley in Haywood County. The excursion will include a hike of less than 1 mile to the elk acclimation pen and is not handi-
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include multiple choices of bread, drinks, his Easter marked an important mileomelets with a plethora of topping choices, stone for Jerry Parker, an Appalachian and sandwiches for takeout. Trail thru-hiker who completed the They call themselves the omelet angels. 2,160-mile trail before it was cool. Over the years, Parker has taken hunMarch 27 was the 25th anniversary of dreds and Parker’s Easter Sunday tradition of mornhundreds ings on the trail, an annual event that he of photos, organizes with the help of about a dozen just as he other people, feeding more than 100 thrudid during hikers a hefty breakfast. Parker, 65, did the his 1979 trail in 1979, when lass than 200 people thru-hike reached the 2,000-mile mark — much fewer with the than the nearly 900 who did so in 2013. 1975 “You would not believe the impact you Canon EF make on people’s lives,” said Parker, who lives in Cullowhee. “I have more stories than that still works 40 you probably have time to listen to about years later. why people come back.” “Most Parker recalls feeding a husband and of the wife about seven or eight years ago. A few images are years later, the woman reappeared at the tent on Easter. “She started crying,” Parker said. “She was scattering her husband’s ashes. He had passed away from cancer.” Many years, the feedees become the feeders, with Parker vouching for the fact that people have returned from as far as Alabama, Louisiana and Kentucky to Appalachian Trail thru-hikers (above) and young take part in the Easter tra‘trail angels’ (below) alike enjoy Easter breakfast dition. Typically, the crew on the trail at Deep Gap. Donated photos will set up camp Saturday evening at Deep Gap, in the Standing Indian area of the imprinted in my mind to this day,” Parker A.T. near Franklin, and wake up Sunday to said. “The trail becomes forever part of one’s start cooking. fiber, soul and being. Perhaps that is why I “Write your order and don’t be shy!” do it year after year.” read the instructions on the paper menu — By Holly Kays, staff writer handed out to passing thru-hikers. Choices
Take your pick of ranger programs
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Lace it up A slate of challenging long-distance races will be coming to the Smokies this spring, meaning it’s time to get back on that training regimen and sign up to run. ■ The Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon and 5K will unite runners from across Western North Carolina and the Southeast
Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon. SMN photo
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March 30-April 5, 2016
on Saturday, April 2, at Western Carolina University for a scenic course through campus and along the Tuckasegee River. Proceeds benefit Ascent Partnership, an initiative involving WCU and Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital. $25 for the 5K and $60 for the half. www.halfmarathon.wcu.edu ■ The Nantahala Hilly Half Marathon — with its difficult climbs, winding singletrack and stunning views — will be held
Saturday, April 2, at Nantahala Outdoor Center. $50. www.noc.com/events. ■ The Smoky Mountain Relay, a challenging race in which teams of six or 12 runners jointly traverse 212 miles through the Smoky Mountains in an epic overnight relay, will be held April 22-23, beginning at Pink Beds Picnic Area near Brevard and finishing at Nantahala Outdoor Center. $100. smr.smokymountainrelay.com/ ■ The Pisgah Running Adventure Race, slated for Sunday, May 8, at the Davidson River Campground near Brevard, will challenge teams of two or more to reach four of five checkpoints and get back to the starting point as fast as possible. Routes vary between 20 and 30 miles and should take more than four hours to complete. $60. www.active.com. ■ The Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon will return for its second year on Saturday, May 14, in Waynesville. The route winds through tree-lined streets before ascending for mountain views, starting on Main Street and ending at Frog Level. $55 before April 7. smokieshalfmarathon.com. ■ The Cradle to Grave 10K and 30K will cover miles of trail Saturday, May 14, at the Cradle of Forestry in America. The race starts on the Pink Beds Trail past fields of wildflowers and beaver ponds, returning by a series of different, varied trails. Lunch and entertainment will be provided after the race. $45 for the 10K abd $65 for the 30K before April 1. www.active.com.
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Stocked trout waters to open Stocked trout waters open this week. Mark Haskett photo
Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters throughout Western North Carolina will open at 7 a.m. Saturday, April 2. During the season — which will run through Feb. 28, 2017 — anglers can harvest up to seven fish per day, with no minimum size limits or bait restrictions. The stocked waters, managed by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, are marked with green-and-white signs and stocked from March through August each year. This year, nearly 916,000 trout will be stocked, with 96 percent averaging 10 inches long and the
Help out with stocking Volunteers are invited to get in on the action with a trout-stocking event on the West Fork of the Pigeon River at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, April 7, meeting in the parking lot along N.C. 215 just south of Lake Logan. Volunteers will spend about three hours stocking 1,200 pounds of fish in this event organized by Trout Unlimited Cataloochee in cooperation with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The fish will start biting about an hour after stocking, so bring a rod along — as well as a clean 5-gallon bucket for the stocking itself. tucataloochee427@gmail.com.
other 4 percent about 14 inches. At noon each day, updates on stocking locations are posted at www.ncwildlife.org/Fishing/HatcheriesStoc king/NCWRCStocking.aspx. Many miles of stocked waters are privately owned, with the Commission urging anglers to be respectful of private property, clean up litter, not block driveways, close gates after use and report wildlife violations to 1.800.662.7137.
Commission wants to lift bear baiting restriction A proposed rule change allowing hunters to bait black bears with unprocessed food throughout the entire hunting season will be the focus of a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, at the Haywood Community College auditorium in Clyde. The hearing will focus on potentially extending the time that bears can be taken with the aid of unprocessed food as bait to the entire bear hunting season. “Allowing all hunters to take bears with the use of unprocessed food products for the entire season should increase harvest and create more equitable bear hunting opportunities,” according to the Wildlife Commission. Current state regulations don’t allow processed food to be used as bait anywhere with a black bear season. The hearing is one of five the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is holding throughout the state to gather input informing the rulemaking process. Comments can also be given online at www.ncwildlife.org/Home.aspx or to regulations@ncwildlife.org by April 12.
Get hands-on with stream monitoring Become a foot soldier in the campaign for clean water with a training offered from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Cherokee. Sponsored by the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River, the training will teach participants how to collect aquatic insect samples, identify bugs and report water quality problems. After completing the program, volunteers will work in small groups to monitor at least two sites twice per year in Swain and Jackson counties, including the Qualla
Boundary — about four to six hours per year. Eric Romaniszyn, who serves as executive director of the Haywood Waterways Association, will teach the course, a Stream Monitoring Information Exchange program focused on macro-invertebrates. SMIE is a collaborative regional project through MountainTrue in which volunteers collect information to be shared with the N.C. Division of Water Resources to help plan and identify waterways in need of extra attention. Free, but pre-registration is required with Ken Brown, riverwind44@icloud.com or 828.506.9163. Ages 12-14 can attend with a parent and ages 15-17 require parental permission. www.watrnc.org.
Waynesville Rec is looking for opinions The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department is looking for feedback through an online survey, which will be open through March 31. The short survey is online at www.waynesvillenc.gov/online-survey. 828.456.2030.
WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Southwestern Community College will host a job fair from 1-4 p.m. on March 31, at the college’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. More than 50 employers representing a wide range of industries. 339.4212 or m_despeaux@southwesterncc.edu. • An Eco-Forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 1, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin. Topic is: “How much food to grow in your garden and store in your cupboard. All are welcome to bring a covered dish at 5:30 p.m. 316.7857 or Melissa.Junkin@gmail.com. • A special ceremony honoring Scottish Americans will be held to celebrate National Tartan Day for the U.S. and Canada at 1 p.m. on April 6 at the downtown gazebo in Franklin. All are welcome.
BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Haywood Community College’s summer and fall registration is underway through April 22 for new and continuing students. 627.4500. • The Swain County TDA’s next board meeting is at noon on March 30, at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce in Bryson City. • A four-week course in “Conversational Spanish” will be offered from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesdays, March 30April 20, in Room 139 of Western Carolina University’s Cordelia Camp Building in Cullowhee. Cost: $79. Instructor: Garrett Fisher, Spanish instructor in WCU’s Department of World Languages. Info and register at converences.wcu.edu. 227.7397. • A free Social Media Marketing Summit will be offered by the Small Business Center at Haywood Community College from 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on March 30, in Clyde. Seminars include “Twitter Made Easy” (8 a.m.); “Facebook Made Easy” (10:30 a.m.); “Instagram Made Easy” (1 p.m.) and “Tools for Social Media” (3:30 p.m.). All seminars are in Room 203 on the HCC Campus. SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512. • An Electronic Notary Public class for licensed notaries will be offered from 9 a.m.-noon on March 31, at Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus. $70. Register: http://tinyurl.com/hm4k9mf. Info: www.secretary.state.nc.us/notary, j_williams@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4497. • A local alcoholic beverage seller/server training seminar is scheduled for noon-1:30 p.m. on March 31, at Goodwill Career Connections in Waynesville. Free. Exclusively for businesses that hold ABC permits. • A free series on QuickBooks software will be offered by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays throughout April at the college’s Jackson Campus. Registration required: www.southwesterncc.edu/sbc. Info: t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4211. • Western Carolina University’s School of Nursing will host its eighth annual Education Fair - a chance to learn about nursing career opportunities – from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on April 2, at WCU’s instructional site at Biltmore Park Town Square in Asheville. Info: http://nursing.wcu.edu, jshirley@wcu.edu or 654.6506. • Breacan Clann, the living history group of the Scottish Tartans Museum, will perform a reenactment from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 2, in front of the town hall in Franklin. • A free small business seminar entitled “How to Perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis” will be offered by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center from 5:30-
All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. 8:30 p.m. on April 4, at SCC’s Jackson Campus. Registration required: www.southwesterncc.edu/sbc. Info: t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4211. • A launch event for the Student Success Campaign’s second phase entitled “March to a Million” will be held at 4 p.m. on April 5, in the Burrell Building on Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. 339.4241 or b_woods@southwesterncc.edu. • A small business seminar entitled “So You Have an Idea! Now What?” will be offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 3-5 p.m. on April 5 in Clyde. For more info or to register, visit SBC.Haywood.edu or call 627.4512. • A Job Interview Skills Workshop will be offered from 10 a.m.-noon on April 5, at the Waynesville Library. Free; sign-up required: 356.2507. • Issues and Eggs will be from 8-9 a.m. on April 6, at Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. 456.3021. • A free small business seminar entitled “Proactive Grant Research – Capitalize on Your Time and Energy” will be offered by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center from 9 a.m.-noon on April 6, at SCC’s Jackson Campus. Registration required: www.southwesterncc.edu/sbc. Info: t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4211. • “The Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project at the University of Tennessee Library: A Look at the First Permanent Camp on Mount Le Conte” presented by Ken Wise is the topic of the next presentation at the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society meeting, which is at 6:30 p.m. on April 7 at the SCGH Museum in Bryson City. Free; open to the public. • A small business seminar entitled “Your Small Business Taxes” will be offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 2-4 p.m. on April 7 in Clyde. For more info or to register, visit SBC.Haywood.edu or call 627.4512. • A small business seminar entitled “Basics of Bookkeeping” will be offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 6-9 p.m. on April 12 in Clyde. For more info or to register, visit SBC.Haywood.edu or call 627.4512. • Tickets are on sale for the Swain County Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Membership Banquet, which is from 6-9 p.m. on April 21, at the Fryemont Inn in Bryson City. Advance tickets are $30 per person; $35 on week of event. Stop by the Chamber to purchase tickets.
FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Submissions are being accepted for Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation Annual Pet Photo Contest. Digital entries are being accepted. Each photo has a $7 fee. Categories are puppy, kitten, dog, cat and photographer under age of 12. Entries are due by April 1. Payment accepted through PayPal link on Sarge’s website. Entry forms available at www.sargeanimals.org/tenth-annual-pet-photography-contest or by email at sargesanimalrescuefoundation@gmail.com. Info: 246.9050. • The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, who manages the Haywood County Quilt Trail (HCQT), is excited to announce the kick off of a raffle program where you can enter to win your very own 4x4 foot quilt block. The designated block is the “Gateway to the Smokies” spring edition which features a trio of trillium blossoms and two bear paws situated below the mountains and an arch, representing the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains. Raffle tickets can be pur-
Smoky Mountain News
chased by calling 452.0152 or by stopping by the TDA visitor center at 44 North Main Street in Waynesville. The block is currently on display at the visitor center as well. The cost is $25 per ticket or five for $100 and are capped at a total of 10 tickets per person. The drawing will be held on May 6th. www.haywoodquilttrails.com. • A Food Drive is being held throughout the month of March, which is National Nutrition Month, by the Nutrition Education Center at Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center in Clyde. The center is open from 5:30 a.m.-9 p.m. on Monday through Thursday; from 5:30 a.m.-8 p.m. on Friday; from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and from 1-6 p.m. on Sunday. 452.8092 or http://myhaywoodregional.com/services/nutritioneducation. • A car show for “Operation Christmas Child” will be at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 2, at Franklin High School. All money raised will go to the OCC. Entry fee is $15 per car. Spectators are asked to bring donations for shoeboxes, such as soap, toothbrushes, paper, pencils, toys, and more. 828.371.7503 or www.franklin-chamber.com. • A bake sale is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. on April 2, in front of the Scottish Tartans Museum and Heritage Center in Franklin. Benefit Breacan Clann, the living history group of the museum. • A seed money fundraiser is underway to benefit the new Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. The library furnishings fund receives 50 percent of sales receipts for each packet sold directly or 25 percent sold at SowTrueSeed.com; use the code MBL2016. 488.3030, ext. 128, jdelfield@fontanalib.org. • An Autism Awareness Golf Tournament, 18-hole, captain’s choice style, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on April 12 at Maggie Valley Club. $500 per foursome; boxed lunch and four tickets to TASTE event included. RichiesAlliance.org or louisaperrone@gmail.com. • Birdhouse Bash, an opportunity to create or decorate birdhouses for charity, is underway throughout April. Presented by Daydreamz project and Open Door Community Gardeners. Birdhouses will be auctioned off through a silent auction during “The Whole Bloomin’ Thing” festival on May 7 in Waynesville. Drop off birdhouses between 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Monday through Saturday at the Second Blessing Thrift Store in Frog Level of Waynesville. Info: 476.4231 or 734.1570.
VOLUNTEERS • Folkmoot USA is seeking up to 20 guides to provide group support for the 33rd annual Folkmoot Festival. The 2016 guide duty begins July 15 and is complete on Aug. 1. Guides reside at the Folkmoot Center for the entirety of the festival. Applications are available at www.folkmootusa.org and are due by April 23. Individuals interested in guide work should attend the Folkmoot Guide Leadership Workshop on from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 23. To register for this workshop please contact Elizabeth Burson at 452.2997 or elizabeth@folkmoot.org.
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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 • The town of Dillsboro will be hosting three arts and craft shows open to vendors from the surrounding region. First one is June 18 — The 2nd annual “Front Street Arts & Crafts Show.” This first summer show premiered last year in Dillsboro to great success. Application due April 1. www.visitdillsboro.org or www.visitdillsboro.org/specialevents.html. Connie Hogan at 586.3511. • Folkmoot is seeking professional artists and community craftspeople to host booths at the 33rd Annual International Festival Day that will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 30 on Main Street in downtown Waynesville. Application packets can be downloaded or entered electronically at www.folkmootusa.org. Vendors who prefer to receive packets by mail can call the office at 452.2997. The deadline for applications and fees is 5 p.m. March 31. Applications will be juried and selected vendors, notified by May 15.
HEALTH MATTERS • Registration is underway through March 31 for team members for Relay For Life in Haywood County. Carrie.shuler@cancer.org. • A free Lunch and Learn event about arthritic knees and knee replacement will be held at noon on April 4, at the Medical Park of Franklin. • Angel Medical Center’s diabetes support group meets at 4 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the AMC dining room. 369.4166. • A free demonstration on Vibrational Raindrop Technique will be held at 10 a.m. on April 6, and at 1 p.m. on April 7, in Maggie Valley. Learn how the technique balances your body’s energy, reduces stress and more. Register or get more info: 508.0904. • Swain Community Hospital will host an American Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on April 11, in Bryson City. Appointments: 800.733.2767 or www.redcrossblood.org. • A free diabetes prevention program will be offered starting April 11 at the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency. Info and registration at www.healthyhaywood.com.
RECREATION AND FITNESS VENDORS • Greening Up the Mountains Festival is seeking artists, mountain crafters, environmental and food vendors to apply for booths in the upcoming 19th annual event, which is April 23 in Sylva. www.greeningupthemountains.com, 586.2719 or at Sylva’s Town Hall. Info: 631.4587. • The Downtown Waynesville Association is seeking heritage themed vendors for the 6th annual Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration that will take place Saturday, June 11, on Main Street. 456.3517 to request an application or visit the event calendar at www.downtownwaynesville.com. Applications accepted until April 18.
• Greenway Yoga, part of the Macon County Public Library’s “Walking with Spring” series, is scheduled for 2 p.m. on March 30, on the Greenway. Beyond Bending Yoga’s Jennifer McIntee will lead. Free, open to the public. http://beyondbendingyoga.com. 524.3600. • Registration is underway for Appalachian Dance Class 101, which will be offered at Folkmoot in Waynesville. Instruction on square dance formation and basic flatfoot and clogging styles unique to Haywood County will be provided by Kim Rose, director of the J. Creek Cloggers. Four-week classes cost $40 and are offered from 6-7 p.m. at the Folkmoot Community Center. Classes start April 19 for ages 6-up; and May 17 for Ages 16-up. Register: 452.2997 or elizabeth@folkmoot.org.
wnc calendar
• The High Mountain Squares will host their “All Fools Day Dance” from 6:15-8:45 p.m. on April 1, at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin. Ken Perkins from Pelzer, S.C. will be the caller. Westernstyle square dancing, mainstream plus levels. 342.1560, 332.001, 283.1171, or www.highmountainsquares.com.
THE SPIRITUAL SIDE • United Methodist Women throughout the Smoky Mountain District will meet for a study on “Latin America: Its People and Faith” that will be led by Dr. Douglas Wingeier at 9 a.m. on April 2, at Maggie Valley United Methodist Church.
AUTHORS AND BOOKS • The Coffee with the Poet series is cosponsored by the Netwest program of the North Carolina Writers Network and gathers the third Thursday of each month at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 586.9499. • A family-friendly evening of poetry performance and soft jazz will be held at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at The Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in Franklin. Admission is by donation; $5 is suggested. arts4all@dnet.net or 524.ARTS. To learn more about the performers, visit www.poetryalive.com or www.jazzmountain.com. • Author Charley Pearson will read from his new book “The Marianated Nottingham and Other Abuses of the Language” at 3 p.m. on April 2, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. 456.6000 or www.blueridgebooksnc.com.
March 30-April 5, 2016
• “Angry Americans – Reality based or media creation?” will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum at 7 p.m. on April 4, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in Franklin. Moderated discussion group for those interested in an open exchange of ideas. 371.1020. • Acclaimed Latina novelist, poet and essayist Judith Ortiz Cover will visit Western Carolina University for a lecture and reading at 7:30 p.m. on April 5, in the theater of the A.K. Hinds University Center in Cullowhee. Free; open to the public. Info: mdbirkhofer@wcu.edu.
• “Nature Nuts: Frogs and Toads” will be offered for ages 4-7 p.m. on April 4 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Learn differences between these amphibians. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. • Eco Explorers: Canids will be offered for ages 8-13 from 1-3 p.m. on April 4 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Learn about teeth, paws, claws and other qualities of this group that includes wolves, coyotes and foxes. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. • Crazy 8s Math Club for grades 3-5 will meet from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on April 11, at Macon County Public Library in Franklin. If interested, write cdando@fontanalib.org or call 524.3600. • Mountain Youth Talent Contest at the Sun Trust Lot on Main Street on April 23 starting at 9:30. Music will be held throughout the day at both the Main Street stage and at the Bridge Park gazebo on Railroad Avenue. heather_gordon@ncsu.edu
KIDS MOVIES • Free screening of “The Peanuts Movie” at noon and 2 p.m. April 2 and 9 at The Strand on Main in Waynesville. www.38main.com. • A family movie will be shown at 3:30 p.m. on April 5, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Free. Movie is a computer-animated adventure about Snoopy and his sidekick Woodstock. 488.3030.
A&E
• The book launch of “Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey Through the National Parks of the South” is set for 7 p.m. on April 8 at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville. www.malaprops.com.
KIDS & FAMILIES Smoky Mountain News
• Registration for the Jackson County Parks/Recreation Department’s summer day camp is at 8 a.m. on April 2. Numbers are given out starting at 7:30 a.m. $600 cost. $25 sibling discount. Open to all 6-12 year olds who’ve completed kindergarten. Tentative start date is June 20. Camp operates from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays at the Recreation Center in Cullowhee. Info: 293.3053, ext. 2.
• Local author Carly Robbins will have a book signing and reading from 2-4 p.m. on April 6, at Western Carolina University’s Catamount Bookstore in Cullowhee. Robbins has written two books: “Secrets of Those That Are” and “Secrets of the Untold.”
• Author Liberty Crouch will read from her new book “Demons Release” at 3 p.m. on April 9 at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. 456.6000 or www.blueridgebooksnc.com.
• Volunteer training sessions are scheduled for a variety of sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For Mingus Mill, training is from 9 a.m.-3p.m. on March 31, at Oconaluftee. For Oconaluftee Visitor Center, training is from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 5, at Oconaluftee. Info for Clingmans Dome and Mingus Mill: 497.1906 or florie_takaki@nps.gov. For Oconaluftee, info: 497.1914 or Kathleen_stuart@nps.gov. • The “Come Paint with Charles Kidz Program” will be at 4 p.m. March 31 at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City. $20 per child. Materials and snacks included. 538.2054. • An archery class will be offered for ages 8-and-up from 10-11:30 a.m. on March 31 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.
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pants ages 8-15 from 1-2:30 p.m. on March 31 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Learn firearm safety and shooting from experienced center staff. Free. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.
• A BB Gun Shooting range will be open to partici-
FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Cherokee Casino Resort. $120 per person. Reservations are required. www.harrahscherokee.com or www.ruthchris.com. • The “Release the Rose — A Spring Wine Dinner” will be held at 7 p.m. April 8, at The Farm at Old Edwards in Highlands. Live music, food tastings and spring wine releases. $125 per person. To RSVP, call 828.787.2625 or www.oldedwardsinn.com/rosewinedinner. • Chef Ricardo Fernandez will be hosting a Mountain Cooking Club class from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 9, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. Class fee is $65 plus a $1 Mountain Cooking Club 2016 membership fee. 246.7465 or chefricardos@gmail.com. • Frankie’s Italian Trattoria in Maggie Valley will be hosting a benefit for autism on April 11. Frankie’s would like to extend an invitation to chamber members who may want to be involved with this great event. Restaurants can either donate a percentage of their revenue to the Olsen Huff Center, provide gift certificates (or any sort of other silent auction items) that can be used to raise money. As you may or may not know, the Perrone’s (owners of Frankie’s) son, Richie, has autism, as this benefit affects them directly. The Olsen Huff Center in Asheville is where Richie visits once a month. https://www.facebook.com/frankiestrattoria or 926.6216 or 954.609.3502. • Dine Out for Autism is scheduled for April 12-13 in Haywood County. Restaurants can donate a percentage of revenue earned that night to the Olsen Huff Center, provide gift certificates (or a percentage of other silent auction items that can be used to raise money. For info, visit RichiesAlliance.org, www.frankiestrattoria.com or www.facebook.com/frankiestrattoria. • TASTE – an evening of food, wine and local beers – is scheduled for April 13 at Maggie Valley Club. Benefits go toward Autism charity. Advance tickets are $35 or $40 at the door. RichiesAlliance.org • Tickets are available for a wine-tasting and fingerfood event presented by Bosu’s and FUR from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, April 22, at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. 15 percent discount per case; 10 percent per bottle or a free cat. Tickets are $30 each; available at Bosu’s 421.1290, 452.0120 or look up FUR of WNC on Facebook. • Bakers are being sought for the 17th annual Taste of Chocolate Plus event, which is on April 23 and sponsored by the Maggie Valley Country Club. Categories are: Amateur, Bed & Breakfast, Professional and Baker’s Choice. 356.2833 or jchicoine@mountainprojects.org.
ON STAGE & IN CONCERT
• A reception celebration Western Carolina University’s 14th Annual Spring Literary Festival is set for 5:30-7 p.m. on April 7, on the third floor of the A.K. Hinds University Center in Cullowhee. Event includes a reading by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rick Bragg. Other events from April 4-7 associated with the festival are listed at http://litfestival.org along with more info.
• Renowned bluegrass/gospel group Balsam Range will continue their 6th annual “Winter Concert Series” with guests The Studio Dream Team at 7:30 p.m. April 2, at the Colonial Theatre in Canton. 235.2760.
• The 14th annual Whole Bloomin’ Thing festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 7, in the Frog Level district of Waynesville. Contact Joy Simmons, joy.b.simmons@outlook.com.
www.smbq.org or 227.3274.
FOOD & DRINK • Jackson County’s craft breweries are celebrating N.C. Beer Month throughout April. Breweries include Sneak E. Squirrel, Heinzelmännchen and Innovation. www.yourgnometownbrewery.com; www.innovationbrewing.com and www.facebook.com/TheSneakESquirrel. • Ruth’s Chris Steak House will host a dinner consisting of a custom-created five-course menu paired with champagne at 6:30 p.m. March 30-31 at Harrah’s
• The Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 5, in the recital hall of the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.
• The North Carolina Symphony, led by Associate Conductor David Glover, will perform a program of classical favorites at 7:30 p.m. April 6, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Event tickets are free and will be available at the theatre box office beginning at 10 a.m. the day of the concert. www.greatmountainmusic.com. • Haywood Ramblings speaker series is held at 4-5 p.m. on “Growing up in Hazelwood” by Mary Ann Enloe, April 7 & “The Old Ways: Dowsing, Healing, and Knowing the Signs” by Ann Melton, May 5 at the Town of Waynesville Board Room. Snow date is the following Thursday. Light refreshments. 456.8647.
• Western Carolina University’s Percussion Studio will present a concert of chamber and ensemble music at 7:30 p.m. on April 7, in the recital hall of the Coulter Building on the WCU campus in Cullowhee. Free. 227.7242. • The 2015-16 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Series at Western Carolina University will conclude at 7 p.m. April 7, with a concert featuring the bluegrass band Buncombe Turnpike in the ground-floor auditorium of H.F. Robinson Administration Building in Cullowhee. Free; open to the public. Jam session follows at 8 p.m.; local musicians invited to participate. 227.7129. • Singer-songwriter Jay Brown (guitar, piano, harmonica, vocals) performs at 7 p.m. on April 8, at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. 452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com. • Travis LeDoyt will present a tribute to Elvis Presley at 7:30 p.m. on April 8, at Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets start at $20 each. To purchase tickets are get more info, visit www.GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615. • Joe Cruz (piano) performs music of the Beatles, Elton John, James Taylor and Simon and Garfunkel at 7 p.m. on April 9, at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. 452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com. • “The Time of My Life Tour,” featuring four contemporary Christian artists, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 10, at the Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts in Franklin. Featured artists are The Afters, Chris August, Unspoken and Among the Thirsty. Tickets start at $17 each. To purchase tickets are get more info, visit www.GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615. • Tickets are on sale for a Sandy Patty concert, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 16 in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska. Packages include lodging, meals and reserved concert seats. http://lakejunaluska.com/sandipatty.
CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • The Jackson Rangers Camp 1917 will hold monthly meetings (except July) at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Barkers Creek Community Center. Members are being sought to participate in honor guard graveside events and honor Confederate soldiers. The Confederate Rose, a ladies auxiliary group that supports active members, meets at the same time and location. 736.6222 or jrcamp1917@hotmail.com. • Registration deadline is March 31 for “Ceramics 2: Intermediate Throwing and Finding Your Voice as a Potter” will be offered from 2-5 p.m. on Thursdays starting April 7 until May 26, at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Taught by Kelsey Schissel of Plays in Mud Pottery. CreativeArts.Haywood.edu. Register: 565.4125. • The Gem and Mineral Society of Franklin will meet at 6:30 p.m. on March 31, at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building on US 441 South. Meeting features a presentation entitled “What’s the Real Story About Fracking?” by Ed Dibble, a petroleum geologist. Guests welcome; light refreshments served. 524.4936. • There will be an armor construction workshop held by blacksmith Brock Martin from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 2 at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Fee is $255 (materials included). There is a 10-percent discount for Jackson County residents. www.jcgep.org. • Submissions are being accepted from professional artists through April 15 who wish to participate in “Artists Count” – a project of Jackson County Arts Council to document the vibrancy of visual arts in Jackson County. Application available from ArtistsCount@gmail.com. • A pine needle basket class will be held by Dogwood Crafters from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 5, at the Masonic
• A three-part series of seminars designed to help craft artists develop their own professional material for an artist portfolio will be offered by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center at 6 p.m. on consecutive Tuesdays from April 5-19 at SCC’s Swain Center near Bryson City. Free. Registration required: www.southwesterncc.edu/sbc. Info: t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4211. • A two-day workshop on Calligraphy will be offered by Dogwood Crafters from 10 a.m.-noon on consecutive Tuesdays, April 12-19. Class will be taught by Cheryl Thompson. Cost: $14. Register: 586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com. • Cullowhee Mountain ARTS, a nonprofit organization hosting artist and writer workshops and retreats located near Asheville, will be hosting its second annual retreat with artist workshops on April 16-22 at the Mabel Dodge Luhand House in Taos, New Mexico. The local commuter price is $950. The price includes breakfast and lunch, workshop, artist presentations and optional evening salons. Materials will include drawing media, water media as well as cold wax and pigment sticks. For more info, contact CMA Executive Director Norma Hendrix at 828.342.6913 or norma@cullowheemountainarts.org or www.cullowheemountainarts.org.
ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • The Stecoah Artisans Gallery is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, throughout March. • An exhibition entitled “This is a Photograph: Exploring Contemporary Applications of Photographic Chemistry” is on display at Penland School of Crafts near Spruce Pine. 765.6211 or penland.org/gallery.
• Odili Donald Odita will give an artist talk at 5 p.m. April 7 in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. In conjunction with the Fine Art Museum’s exhibit, “Color + Theory,” • Western Carolina University’s Fine Art Museum will host an exhibition exploring the use and meaning of color in art till May 6 in Cullowhee. Museum is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekdays with extended hours to 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission and parking are free. Reception is from 5-7 p.m. on April 7. Fineartmuseum.wcu.edu or 227.3591.
• The Haywood County Arts Council has partnered with LIFESPAN for their March exhibit at the arts council’s Gallery & Gifts in downtown Waynesville. The art for the March show will be provided by LIFESPAN Arts, an inclusive art studio where artists can experience working with different artistic mediums including painting, pottery, mosaic art, and jewelry. www.haywoodarts.org. • Artists Maureen Simon (photographer) and Bruce Brennan (painter) are exhibiting their work through March 31 at the Haywood County Public Library in Canton. Simon’s photography shows life on the streets of New Orleans (www.ofifoto.photography). Brennan’s work features expressionist land and seascapes (www.rbrucebrennanfineart.com). HaywoodArts.org.
• A classic movie will be shown at 2 p.m. on April 1, at the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room. Starring Anthony Quinn and Silvana Mangano, the movie is about Barabbas, the criminal that Pontius Pilate induced the populace to vote to set free. 524.3600. • Adult movie time, 6:30 p.m. Mondays at Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016.
Outdoors • The Nantahala Outdoor Center Raft Guide School will teach participants how to be raft guides during five-day courses that are offered April 3-8. $450 fee includes lodging, meals and equipment. Must be 18 years old. • “Trail Magic,” a presentation about Jamy Suminski’s 2015 thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail, will be offered as part of the Macon County Public Library’s “Walking with Spring” series at 7 p.m. on March 30. 524.3600. • “Thinking About Backpacking on the A.T.??” will be presented by Bill Van Horn, an Appalachian Trail 2000 miler, as part of the Macon County Public Library’s “Walking With Spring” series at 7 p.m. on March 31. http://appalachiantrail.org. • Turkey hunting seminars will be presented from 6-9 p.m. on March 30-31, at the HCC Auditorium. The Wednesday seminar is introductory; the Thursday seminar is advanced. Preregistration required: http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/SkillsBasedSemina rs.aspx. • “Reading the Water” will be offered for ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 1 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Enhance your fly-fishing experience by improving your understanding and approach to catching trout. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. • The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River (WATR) is holding a free SMIE Macro-Invertebrate training session from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on April 2 at St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Cherokee. Eric Romaniszyn, a regional leader in SMIE and aquatic biology, will teach the course. Ages 12-14 can attend with a parent; 15-17 must have parental permission. Free; pre-registration required: mcyelen2@catamount.wcu.edu, 704.426.0819, riverwind44@icloud.com or 506.9163. Info: www.watrnc.org. •Feline Urgent Rescue of WNC will hold its annual meeting at 3 p.m. on April 2, at the Waynesville Branch Library. FUR of WNC is a nonprofit charitable rescue dedicated to the care and placement of displaced cats. Guest speaker is Doyle Teague, Haywood Animal Control director. Info: 421.1290 or info@furofwnc.org. Donations accepted at FUR of WNC, P.O. Box 1352, Waynesville, NC 28786 or online at www.FURofWNC.org.
The event begins on Main Street in beautiful downtown Waynesville & winds through neighborhoods & scenic farmlands to finish in Frog Level, a revitalized railroad district listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Smoky Mountain News
• New artist and medium will be featured every month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.
• The films “Carol” (March 31), “Daddy’s Home” (April 1) “Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2” (April 2), and “Star Wars – The Force Awakens” (April 6) will be screened at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Screenings are at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. with a special 2 p.m. matinee on Saturdays. Free. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com.
March 30-April 5, 2016
• The Jackson County Arts Council will host a “Trashion Show” at 2 p.m. April 2, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. This fundraiser will be a fashion show with clothing and accessories made of recyclable material along with a Couture collection donated from local businesses. Prizes will be awarded. www.jacksoncountyarts.org or 828.507.9820 or info@jacksoncountyarts.org.
FILM & SCREEN • The film “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2” will be shown at 7 p.m. March 30-April 1, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 2 and 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. April 3. at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. www.38main.com.
wnc calendar
Lodge in Dillsboro. Joyce Lentz will lead the workshop. Participants will make a small pine needle basket using a walnut slice as its center. Cost of class is $25. To register, 828.586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com.
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• “Spring Fever: Mating and Dating in the Animal Kingdom” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on April 2, at Highlands Nature Center. Game-show mashup is an opportunity to test your knowledge, trivia and acting abilities. Desserts and drinks offered along with prize for the top couple $10 per person; registration required: 526.2623. • MET Opera’s “Madame Butterfly” will be shown live via Satellite at 12:55 p.m. on April 2, at The Highlands Performing Arts Center. Pre-opera discussion will be led by Beverly Wichman at 12:30 p.m. www. Highlandspac.org. • The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open approximately 1,000 miles of hatchery-supported trout waters in 25 western counties at 7 a.m. on April 2. The season will run through Feb. 28, 2017. www.ncwildlife.org or 919.707.0220. • “Introduction to Fly Fishing” will be offered for ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 5 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Offered by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. • A public hearing will be held by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission at 7 p.m. on April 5 at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Hearing purpose is to accept comments on proposed temporary rules regarding black bear hunting in North Carolina. • Bird walks along the greenway begin at 8 a.m. on April 6. Meet at the Macon County Public Library parking area. 524.5234.
March 30-April 5, 2016
• Trout Unlimited Cataloochee will hold its annual “Stocking the West Fork of the Pigeon Delayed Harvest” event on April 7. Meet at the West Fork upper parking lot at 10:30 a.m.; bring a clean five-gallon bucket and a friend or two. Public invited. • Western Carolina University’s Department of Chemistry and Physics will host a viewing of the nighttime sky with telescopes from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on April 8, at the Jackson County Airport. Free; open to the public. Info: 227.2718. • An all-day training is available for anyone interested in becoming a member of the Landbird Steward Team on April 9 at Highlands Biological Station in Highlands. Free; lunch provided; registration required: 526.2633. • “Birdhouse Basics” will be offered for ages 7-up from 2-3:30 p.m. on April 9 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Get ready for spring by building a birdhouse to take home and learn some basics about birds and their habitat requirements. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. • The Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Council meets at 10 a.m. on April 12, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub in Franklin. Anyone interested in supporting the A.T. and local outdoor community is welcome.
Smoky Mountain News
• Bird walk along the greenway is set for 8 a.m. on April 13. Meet at Salali Lane in Franklin. 524.5234.
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 • “On the Water” East Fork French Broad” will be offered for ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 12 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Practice fly-fishing skills and learn about Delayed Harvest regulations, wading, reading the water and more. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. • “Return of the Elk,” a 90-minute program telling the story of the elk’s return to the Smokies after a 200-year absence, will be held at 3 p.m. April 12 and 19 and May 3 at the Rough Fork Trailhead of Cataloochee Valley in Haywood County. The excursion will include a hike of less than 1 mile to the elk acclimation pen and is not handicapped-accessible. • “Charismatic Mega-Fauna,” a 30-minute program featuring the park’s biggest animals, will be offered at 11 a.m. on Fridays through May 7 at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, located along U.S. 441 just north of Cherokee. • “Coffee with a Ranger,” an hour-long program giving visitors a chance to find out what’s happening in the park over a cup of coffee, will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturdays through May 7 at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Topics will vary based on visitor interest. • “Down on the Farm,” a two-hour program exploring the lives of homesteaders in the Smokies, will be held at 2 p.m. on Sundays through May 7 at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. The program will include a walk to the adjacent Mountain Farm Museum to witness pastime activities such as fence building, woodworking and gardening. • “Wild Survival” exhibit featuring the return of North America’s wolves and peregrine falcons will be on display through May 8 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville. Open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. inside the Baker Exhibit Center. Free; non-member guests are required to pay $12 parking fee. www.ncarboretum.org.
FARM AND GARDEN • The Agriculture Advisory Board will meet to discuss farmland preservation at 7 p.m. on March 31 at the Savannah Fire Department. Contact Rob Hawk at 4883848 or email robert_hawk@ncsu.edu. • Food Preservation 101 will be offered from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 1, at the Jackson County Coooperative Extension Center in Sylva. 586.4009.
• The inaugural Spring Garden Fair is set for April 8-9 at the Cherokee Fair Grounds on the Qualla Boundary. Learn about composting, beekeeping, raised-bed gardening and more. Photo contest of children in fruit, flower or vegetable costumes. An initiative of Principal Chief Patrick Lambert.: legendweaverstudios@gmail.com. • “Ask a Gardener” plant clinics, provided by Buncombe Master Gardeners, are scheduled for 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on second and fourth Saturdays of each month starting April 9 in the breezeway area between two retail buildings on the south side entering the Farmers Market. http://buncombemastergardener.org or 255.5522.
COMPETITIVE EDGE • Registration is underway for the sixth annual Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon and 5-K, which is April 2. Fees are $60 for the half marathon and $25 for the 5-K if registering by March 29 at http://halfmarathon.wcu.edu. More info: valleyofthelilies@wcu.edu. • The Splash of Color Dash 5K Run/Walk, a benefit for Children’s Fair and Week of the Young Child, is scheduled for 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on April 2, in Cherokee. Preregister at https://fs22.formsite.com/Tahneescamp1/Spring5k/ind ex.html or bring cash on day of the event. $30 VIP passes; $20 regular registration; $10 for kids 5-8. More info at: http://tinyurl.com/h6wtq4r. • 5K Run and Walk will be held starting at 9 a.m. on April 23, at Mark Watson Park through the Jackson County Parks & Recreation as part of the Greening up the Mountains. $15 pre-registration fee through April 16. Register online at www.imathlete.com or stop by the Recreation Center in Cullowhee. Race day registration begins at 8 a.m., and the cost will be $20.
HIKING CLUBS • Nantahala Hiking Club will have a three-mile, easyto-moderate hike – with an elevation change of 300 feet – to Alarka Falls and Walton Smith Memorial Trail on April 2. Visitors and friendly dogs welcome. Reservations: 349.3380. • Nantahala Hiking Club will take a two-mile easy hike with small elevation change around the lake in the Highlands Botanical Gardens on April 3. Visitors welcome; no dogs. Reservations: 369.7352. • Reservations are due by April 6 for a Spring Wildflower Hike in Big Creek Watershed of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The event is April 9, Led by Donna Machen. RSVP to haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 476.4667. Info on Haywood Waterways: www.haywoodwaterways.org or 550.4869.
• Nantahala Hiking Club will take a 7.6-mile, strenuous hike with an elevation change of 1,800 feet on April 9, on Art Loeb Trail from Daniel Boone Camp to Deep Gap. Able visitors welcome; no dogs. Reservations: 369.1983.
OUTDOOR CLUBS • The Jackson County Poultry Club will hold its regular meeting on the third Thursday of each month at the Jackson County Cooperative Extension Office. The club is for adults and children and includes a monthly meeting with a program and a support network for those raising birds. For info, call 586.4009 or write heather_gordon@ncsu.edu. • 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. • An RV camping club, the Vagabonds, camps one weekend per month from April through November. All ages welcome. No dues or structured activities. For details, write lilnau@aol.com or call 369.6669. • The Tuckaseigee River Chapter No. 373 of Trout Unlimited meets at 6:30 p.m. on first Tuesday of the month at United Community Bank in Sylva. Dinner is $5. • 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. • Cold Mountain Photographic Society is a camera/photography club for amateurs and professionals who want to learn about and share their knowledge of photography with others. Must be 18 or older to join. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the conference room of MedWest Health and Fitness Center, 262 Leroy George Drive in Clyde. More information at www.cmpsnc.org or info@cmpsnc.org. • The Cherokee Runners meets each month on the 1st and 15th of the month (if the first falls on Sunday, the group meets on the 2nd), at the Age Link Conference Room. Group runs are being held each Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. starting at the Flame. www.cherokeerunners.com. • Mountain Wild, the local chapter of the N.C. Wildlife Federation works to preserve and increase wildlife and wildlife habitat of the region. Free programs and guest speakers held periodically at the WNC Nature Center in Asheville. Call 338.0035. • Free Fly Fishing Classes are offered at River's Edge Outfitters in Cherokee every week. Participants of all ages and skill levels are welcome and encouraged to attend. Classes will be approximately an hour and half long. For more information contact Rivers Edge Outfitters at 497.9300.
338-18
Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’ $
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• A Square Foot Gardening program will be presented by master gardener Hughes Roberts from 2-3 p.m. on April 6, at the Waynesville Library. 356.2507.
Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction
Puzzles can be found on page 46. These are only the answers.
PRIME REAL ESTATE Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MarketPlace information:
LIVING ESTATE SALES 3 SMALL ESTATES - 1 LOCATION 10 Commerce St., Waynesville. Thur., Fri., & Sat. 10 - 4pm Antiques, Art, Beautiful Dining Room Set, Bedrooms & Everything in Between! Presented by Frog Pond Estate Sales
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.
AUCTION
ABSOLUTE AUCTION 114 Guns, Tractors & Farm Equipment, Shop Tools & Equipment, Personal Property. Saturday, April 9, 10 a.m. 1035 Highway 18 North, Sparta, NC. BOYER REALTY & AUCTION. 336.372.8888 boyerrealty@skybest.com. Col. James R. Boyer. NCAL1792. 336.572.2323
Classified Advertising:
ROLLING STOCK AUCTION City of Charlotte & Mecklenburg Co. Apr 16th, 10am, 5550 Wilkinson Blvd. Bldg A., Charlotte, NC 336.789.2926. RogersAuctionGroup.com NCAL#685. 5% Admin Fee.
Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com
WAYNESVILLE TIRE, COO
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RUN YOUR CLASSIFIED In 101 North Carolina newspapers for only $375 for a 25-word ad. Call this newspaper or 919.516.8009 for details.
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SULLIVAN HARDWOOD FLOORS Installation- Finish - Refinish 828.399.1847.
PAINTING JAMISON CUSTOM PAINTING & PRESSURE WASHING Interior, exterior, all your pressure washing needs and more. Specialize in Removal of Carpenter Bees - Cedar or Log Homes or Painted or Siding! Call or Text Now for a Free Estimate at 828.508.9727
CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING
ACORN STAIRLIFTS. The Affordable Solution to your stairs! **Limited time -$250 Off Your Stairlift Purchase!** Buy Direct & Save. Please call 1.800.291.2712 for Free DVD and brochure. ALL THINGS BASEMENTY! Basement Systems Inc. Call us for all of your basement needs! Waterproofing, Finishing, Structural Repairs, Humidity and Mold Control. FREE ESTIMATES! Call 1.800.698.9217 DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions. Owner/Builder: Dave Donaldson. Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316 FIND THE RIGHT CARPET, Flooring & Window Treatments. Ask about our 50% off specials & our Low Price Guarantee. Offer Expires Soon. Call now 888.546.0135 SAPA SAFE STEP WALK-IN TUB. Alert for Seniors. Bathroom falls can be fatal. Approved by Arthritis Foundation. Therapeutic Jets. Less Than 4 Inch Step-In. Wide Door. Anti-Slip Floors. American Made. Installation Included. Call 800.807.7219 for $750 Off.
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EMPLOYMENT DRIVERS: CO & O/Op’s: Earn Great Money Running Dedicated! Great Hometime and Benefits. Monthly Bonuses. Drive Newer Equipment! 855.582.2265 ATTN: CDL DRIVERS Avg. $60k+/yr. $2k Sign-On Bonus. Family Company w/ Great Miles. Love Your Job and Your Truck. CDL-A Req 877.258.8782 drive4melton.com JONATHAN CREEK INN In Maggie Valley, is searching for dependable, friendly Housekeepers. Baic cleaning skills & Valid Driver’s License Req. Weekends are a must as is the ability to pass a background check. Apply in person at 4234 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley.
www.smokymountainnews.com
March 30-April 5, 2016
HUDDLE HOUSE - NOW HIRING Restaurant Manager, Waynesville, NC Area. Competitive Pay (DOE), Insurance, Paid Vacation, Premium Holiday Pay, Bonus & Incentives Program, Meal Benefits, $300 Sign-On Bonus. Submit Your Resume Via Email to: HHJOBSLINE@GMAIL.COM
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JONATHAN CREEK INN In Maggie Valley, is Looking for a General Maintenance/Grounds Worker. Basic All-Around Skills + Pool, Hot tub & Landscaping. Valid Driver’s License & Reliable Transportation req. Weekends & Background Check req. Apply in Person at 4234 Soco Rd., Maggie Valley
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
AVIATION GRADS Work With Jetblue, Boeing, Delta And Others - Start Here With Hands On Training For FAA Certification. Financial Aid If Qualified. Call Aviation Institute Of Maintenance 1.866.724.5403 SAPA
EXPERIENCED AUTO MECHANIC Needed for Light Mechanic Work. Must Have Own Tools. For more info come to Performance Auto Repair, 57 East Sylva Cir., Sylva or call Larry at 828.631.1957
CREATIVE AND ARTISTIC RETAIL Shop, Seeks Energetic & Cheerful Sales Associate. Jewelry and Fashion Experience a Plus. Call 828.926.1877
BUDDY MOORE TRUCKING Is looking for OTR drivers to deliver various freight in the Southeast and Midwest regions. Must have 2 years experience in Van or Flatbed. $2,500 sign on bonus. Call 1.800.241.1468. SAPA
MAINTENANCE/HANDYMAN Full or Part-Time - Duties include Carpentry, Repairing Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical Eqpmt., Servicing & Maintaining Small Engines, Commercial HVAC, Kitchen & Laundry Eqpmt., and Repairing Buildings: Drywall, Floors and/or Stairs. Call 828.586.0251 to Schedule an Interview. CENTER SUPERVISOR KNEEDLER CHILD DEVELOPMENT - WCU Must have BS Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field and Administrative Level III Credentials, Basic Computer Knowledge, 2-3 yrs. Exp. in NC Day Care Regulations, 2-3 yrs. Supervisory Exp. and Good Judgment Skills. This is an 11 month position with benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville or 25 Schulman St., Sylva or you may go to website: www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application online Pre-Employment drug testing req EOE/AA
now n o w h hir hiring! r i ing g! Restaurant R estau auraan nt m manager aan nager waynesvillE, w aynessvviill illE, E NC area area bASE A ED UPON UPO PON EXPERIENCE) EXXP PERIEN NCCEE) *cOMPETITIVE *cOM MPETITIV E VE P PAY AY ((bASED
*inSU *inSURANCE URAANCCE *PAID *P PAID I VVACATION AACAATTIOON *Premium *P Premiiu um hol holiday liid day p pay ay *bonus *bo on nus & incentives inccentiv t ves p program r roggraam m *meal *m meal a b benefits enefiitts *$300 *$ $300 ssign-on iign-oon bo bonus on nus submit su ub bm miit yyour oou ur r resume essu ume vvia ia eemail: mail: i HHJOBSLINE@GMAIL.COM HHJO OB BSLLIIN NE@GM @ MAIL. I COM
HEAD START PRESCHOOL TEACHER - JACKSON COUNTY A BS or Birth-K Degree in Early Childhood Education is Mandatory for this Position. Also required for this position are: computer skills, responsible for classroom paperwork, good judgment/problem solving skills and time management skills. Candidate must have the ability to work with a diverse population and community partners. Two years classroom exp. is preferred. This is a 10 month position with full time benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville 28786 or 25 Schulman St., Sylva 28779 or you may go to our website: www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application. Pre-Employment Drug Testing EOE/AA HIGH-TECH CAREER With U.S. Navy. Elite tech training w/great pay, benefits, vacation, $ for school. HS grads ages 17-34. Call Mon-Fri 800.662.7419 SAPA
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
REAL ESTATE - SALES Seeking a Full-Time SelfMotivated Sales Professional for In-House Timeshare Sales at an Established Resort in Maggie Valley, NC. We are a Timeshare Management Company with a Great Reputation and Over 30 yrs. exp. Flexible Hours, Generous Commission Rate with a BiWeekly Base Draw and Minimal Supervision if You Have What it Takes to be the Best. NC Real Estate License Required. Please email your resume to: pnimphius@spmresorts.com
HEAD START CENTER SUPERVISOR- JACKSON COUNTY Must have an AA degree in Early Childhood Education; prefer someone with a BS Early Education or related field. Must have Administration levels l & ll, good judgment/problem solving skills, experience in a classroom and the ability to work with diverse families. Prefer someone with two year supervisory experience; Part time 29 hours of less must be flexible. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd, Waynesville or 25 Schulman St, Sylva, NC or www.mountainprojects.org EOE/AA
US POSTAL SERVICE How Hiring 1.800.228.0216 $21/hr avg w/Federal Benefits included to start. FT/PT Not affiliated w/ USPS HEAD START CENTER SUPERVISOR- HAYWOOD COUNTY Must have an AA Early Childhood Education Degree; prefer someone with a BS Early Childhood Education or related field. Must have Administrative Levels I & II, basic Word/Email use, good judgment/problem solving skills, experience in classroom and the ability to work with diverse families. Prefer someone with two years Supervisory Exp.; will be responsible for supervision of daily operations for two centers. This is a full time position with benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786 or 25 Schulman St., Sylva, NC 28779 or you may go to our website: www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application. Pre-Employment drug testing req EOE/AA
ENTRY LEVEL HEAVY EQUIPMENT Operator Career. Get Trained - Get Certified - Get Hired! Bulldozers, Backhoes and Excavators. Immediate Lifetime Job Placement. VA Benefits. National Average $18$22. 1.866.362.6497.
HAYWOOD/BUNCOMBE COUNTY VOCATIONAL SPECIALIST – ACTT Meridian is seeking a Vocational Specialist to work on our Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) in Haywood County. This position offers a unique opportunity to work with individuals and businesses supporting people returning to the workforce. Bachelor’s degree, valid driver’s license and reliable transportation required. Apply at: www.meridianbhs.org
REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT LEASE TO OWN 1/2 Acre Lots with Mobile Homes & Empty 1/2 Acre + Lots! Located Next to Cherokee Indian Reservation, 2.5 Miles from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. For More Information Please Call 828.506.0578
REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under 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 an equal opportunity basis.
REAL ESTATE WANTED TO BUY WANTED: OLD BARN, HOUSE, OR Other Building to Salvage, or Tear Down, for Lumber/Building Materials; Terms Negotiable. Licensed & Insured. Call or Text John 828.380.1232 or email: john@ashevillepropertyservices. com
HOMES FOR SALE BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112. RUN YOUR CLASSIFIED In 101 North Carolina newspapers for only $375 for a 25-word ad. Call this newspaper or 919.516.8009 for details.
NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS FRECKLES A REDTICK COONHOUND, ABOUT 10 MONTHS OLD. HE'S A SWEET BOY, FRIENDLY AND EAGER TO PLEASE. FAVORITE PASTIME: PLAYING WITH OTHER DOGS! HE'LL BE A WONDERFUL FAMILY COMPANION TO LUCKY ADOPTERS. KENOBI A HANDSOME ORANGE TABBY BOY ABOUT 8 MONTHS OLD. HE HAS BEAUTIFUL MARKINGS AND BIG FLUFFY TAIL. HE IS FRIENDLY, LOVES TO EXPLORE, AND WELCOMES ATTENTION FROM HIS HUMAN. HE'LL BE A WONDERFUL FELINE FRIEND TO HIS LUCKY OWNER.
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400 Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available
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Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.725.2962 Equal Housing Opportunity
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Emerson Group • George Escaravage — george@emersongroupus.com
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Committed to Exceeding Expectations
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(828) 550-2810
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ROB ROLAND
828-400-1923
RROLAND33@GMAIL.COM
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McGovern Real Estate & Property Management • Bruce McGovern — shamrock13.com
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RE/MAX — Mountain Realty • • • • • • •
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smokymountainnews.com
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Haywood County Real Estate Agents
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The Seller’s Agency — listwithphil.com • Phil Ferguson — philferguson@bellsouth.net
Al Rasi 828.421.5472 - Franklin, NC.
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DISCARD PILE
CROSSWORD
66 Backed - corner 67 Phrase with synonyms ACROSS starting this puzzle’s eight 1 Merchandise taken longest Across answers back, briefly 70 Indonesian skewered 5 London or Manhattan meat dish area 71 Less quiet 12 Divs. of dollars 73 Analyze the makeup of 15 Leaf support 74 Clan emblems 19 Mimicry pro 75 Expert witnesses’ 20 Angle units unproven theories, say 21 Girls’ night out, per78 Kia minivan haps 80 Noah’s craft 23 Small-scale golf vari81 “L’shanah -!” (Hebrew ety “Happy holidays!”) 25 Massive 82 Shoulder lift 26 Fr. holy woman 83 Bee chaser? 27 Pop artist Warhol 86 Bygone Olds 28 Utter fibs 88 Eden woman 29 To be, in Québec 89 Beanbag tic-tac-toe 30 Wedding chapel vow game 31 Like - of sunshine 92 Stand by for 33 Draft lottery org. 95 Medical scan, briefly 35 Insult-hurling sort 96 - -Puf (body sponge) 38 Conversed with 97 “Billy Budd” star 40 Settle a debt Stamp 42 The, in Québec 98 Worker in the trench43 Stop es? 44 Food cart’s counter101 Antitrust org. part on a ranch 103 Old Cuzco native 46 Bummed out 104 Portuguese for 47 “I get it!” “year” 48 FDR’s follower 105 Tony winner Carter 49 Grill master’s cover-up 106 Plant pouch 50 Opera parts 108 “Woe is me!” 52 Actor Jack of “Barney 110 Pollution-fighting org. Miller” 112 Ally of Rodan 55 Wichita resident 114 Bit from a shredder 57 Execute a long slap 117 Charged shot, maybe 118 Trip for nature lovers 60 Snooping (about) 119 - -Alt-Del 63 Juan or Eva of 120 Kiln used for drying Argentina hops 65 Exact copy 121 Modern art?
122 “Ain’t gonna happen” 123 Former U.S. gas brand DOWN 1 Smart blows 2 Tombstone inscriptions 3 Dwindle 4 Tolkien monster 5 Ocean Spray prefix 6 Dial, Zest and Coast 7 Arnold, Duchin and Merckx 8 Rim 9 Writer Bellow 10 Actual thing 11 Daisy’s kin 12 Common crudités gowith 13 Fractions for many agents 14 Bull’s sound 15 Sleuth Spade 16 Russian carriage 17 Chopin’s 27 18 Southern Indian city 22 Moralize from a pulpit 24 Actress Salma 32 Dog show gp. 34 Sound-swapping reverend 36 Eye-opener? 37 Grazing area 38 Educ. inst. 39 Nashville nasality 41 The Atlantic’s Cape 45 Pictorial plot 46 Sweatboxes 47 Tennis pro Arthur 51 Give it 52 Set of rooms 53 William of - (“razor” philosopher) 54 Green-lights
55 Newsstand 56 Novelist Nin 57 Seek water with a divining rod 58 Printer brand 59 “Oro y -” 60 Martial-arts mercenary 61 “God is - side” 62 Smell nasty 64 “Law & Order” actor Linus 67 Common jazz combo 68 Rinse 69 Australia’s - Rock 72 Prefix for “outer” 74 Old Roman wraps 76 Marshy tract of land 77 What GPS aids in: Abbr. 79 Nebula, in part 82 Bassist Sutcliffe 83 Notions 84 Performers like Houdini 85 Suffix with journal 86 Rock’s Ocasek 87 Cultural 90 Brittle 91 Stimpy’s cartoon bud 92 Slow, to Solti 93 Ryder of film 94 In conflict 95 “Lite” beer 96 Lorraine of “The Sopranos” 99 D, in Greece 100 Ruhr hub 102 Knock at gently 107 Nile critter 109 Retro hairdo 111 Guthrie with a guitar 113 Facial flaw 115 - distance 116 Star pitcher
answers on page 42
MEDICAL
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WEEKLY SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine. Answers on Page 42
The naturalist’s corner BY DON H ENDERSHOT
Early to the woods
pitched and faster with 6-8 “dees” per second. You may need a second-hand or stopwatch to realize this difference in the beginning but once you become accustomed to the two different calls they are pretty easy to recognize. All the calls I heard the other day were from black-capped chickadees. Also present, singing and calling loudly were red-breasted nuthatches. I even heard two winter wrens singing. I saw and heard
W WCU CU SCHOOL SCHOOL OF NURSING NURSING
EDUCATION EDUCA ATION T FAIR FAIR A SATURDAY, SA ATURD T AY, APRIL 2
10 a.m. – 2 p p.m. .m. WCU WCU at Biltmore Biltmore Park Park 28 Schenck P Parkway arkway ATTENDING A TTENDING PROGRAMS: PROGRAMS: UNDER GRADUAT UNDERGRADUATE TE • • • • • • • •
BSN Pre-Licensure Pre-Licensure Accelerated Accelerated BSN RN to to BSN RN to to MS(N) WCU/A-B WCU/A-B T Tech eech C CC C RIBN W WCU/Blue CU/ Blue Ridge C CC C RIBN W WCU/Isothermal CU/ Isothermal C CC C RIBN WCU/Southwestern WCU/ Southwestern C CC C RIBN
• • • • • • •
MS(N) Family Family Nurse Pr Practitioner actitioner MS(N) Nurse Anesthesia MS(N) Nurse Educator Educator MS(N) Nurse LLeadership eadership Post-Master’s Certificate Post-Master’s C ertificate Options Doctor Doctor of Nursing Pr Practice actice (DNP) Primary Care Care Certificate Certificate
Smoky Mountain News
GR GRADUATE ADUAT TE
March 30-April 5, 2016
Due to contractual obligations with the Forest Service I have been in the woods a little earlier than usual this year. I’m not complaining, it’s been wonderful watching spring arrive. I began hitting the woods in February and everything, except the conifers and other evergreens, was brown and/or gray. There was a little bird life — chickadees, titmice, juncos, woodpeckers and Male red-breasted nuthatch at Richland other winter residents Balsam. Don Hendershot photo — but not a lot, a few chips and call notes but only an occasional chickadee song. Then in March the maple buds started glistening and soon red and orange flowers started filling the trees. Green shoots and stems began to push through the brown leaf litter giving depth and texture to the forest floor, blue and yellow violets began to appear here and there; there was definitely a change in the air. This past weekend I spent a lot of time in the woods from the Pisgah National pine siskins plus heard some goldenForest near Brevard to the Nantahala near crowned kinglets calling. Lower in the Hiwassee Dam and spring is definitely proPisgah, at the visitor’s center, I heard my gressing. I stopped at Richland Balsam first-of-season (FOS) yellow-throated warOverlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway bler, and later I heard my FOS blue-headed around noon last Friday on my way to the vireo and pine warbler. Pisgah National Forest. Richland Balsam at The next day I was in the Tusquitee 6,053 feet is the highest overlook on the District of the Nantahala NF and I had a Parkway. It was still mighty gray up there FOS black-throated green warbler near except for the spruce and fir. Hayesville and a FOS yellow-throated vireo But as I was sniffing around at the edge of the overlook I began to hear black-capped just west of Murphy. On the drive home through the Nantahala Gorge on Sunday I chickadees. The black-capped’s song is only saw trillium, squirrel corn and spring beauty two syllables — “fee-beeee” as opposed to in flower. the four part song of the Carolina chickadee In recent years my spring baptism hasn’t — “fee-beeee, fee-baayy.” But the problem is, where the two populations overlap — like occurred till the third week of April when I lead trips for the annual Spring Wildflower along the Blue Ridge — they hybridize Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains rather freely and since the song is learned National Park. I wake up one morning, drive (it’s a phenotypical song, meaning a combination of genetic and environmental factors) to the Park, walk into the woods and — whoa — it’s spring, flowers are open, bees both species plus the hybrids can and often do learn both songs and they look very simi- are buzzing, birds are singing and it gives lar in the field. Hybrids, in fact, can produce the impression that spring appears overnight. a combination of physical characteristics. Of course that’s not the way nature However, the “chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee” works and it’s been a joy to be out and about call note is learned differently and is considand see the incremental changes associated ered to be diagnostic. The black-capped with the season of rebirth and promise. chickadee’s call is lower pitched and slower (Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. than the Carolina’s. It has about four “dees” He can be reached a ddihen1@bellsouth.net.) per second while the Carolina call is higher
828.654.6499 SING..WCU.EDU NUR NURSING.WCU.EDU 47
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