outdoors
Smokies mechanic named Employee of the Year Brad Roberts, maintenance mechanic supervisor for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has been named the park’s 2021 Employee of the Year. Having worked for the park for 30 years, Roberts oversees preventative maintenance, unplanned maintenance and building project planning for the Tennessee side of the park. His leadership was instrumental in drafting and implementing a COVID safety plan for the park. “Brad is hard-working, knowledgeable, and embodies the meaning of service,” said Acting Superintendent Alan Sumeriski. “He is a consummate professional and represents
the National Park Service, the Smokies and the community well.” Originally from Winston-Salem, Roberts began serving the Smokies as a 16-year-old, when he enrolled in the Job Corps program at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center. He then progressed to working as a “student in trainBrad Roberts. NPS photo ing” and landed a permanent position in 1992. He now lives in Sevierville with his wife, Karen, with whom he has four children and three grandchildren.
Pitch in with Panthertown Friends of Panthertown is hosting a series of trail work days this spring, and all are invited to come pitch in. Scheduled work days are Friday, April 15; Saturday, April 16; Friday, April 22; Friday, April 29; Friday, May 13; Saturday, May 14; Friday, May 20; Saturday, May 21; Friday, May 27; and Saturday, May 28. No previous trail work experience is necessary. Work days typically run from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., with about 5 miles of hiking on moderate trails while doing trail corridor clearing, pruning and some tread and drain work. Sign up at panthertown.org/contact. Learn more at www.panthertown.org/volunteer.
Get to know April 6-12, 2022
Maggie. Between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains rests one of the best golf courses in North Carolina
Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. NPS photo
Clingmans Dome opening delayed Clingmans Dome Road will open for the season April 8, a delay from the typical April 1 opening date due to drainage improvement work in the main parking area, including a culvert replacement and roadway patching. The work must be complete before a planned pavement preservation project begins, an endeavor that will result in single-lane closures on Clingmans Dome Road through Friday, Sept. 2. The closures will be permitted weekly from 7 a.m. Monday through noon Friday, managed with flagging operations. Daytime
closures will not be allowed on federal holidays, Easter week, July 4 week, or June 15-Aug. 15. Burnsville-based Bryant’s Land and Development Industries, Inc. landed the $2.6 million contract from the Federal Highway Administration. The project aims to extend the life of the existing pavement by five to seven years. Clingmans Dome Road will be open for the season through Nov. 30. Updated road closure information is available at @SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter or at nps.gov/grsm.
Winding Stairs Road closure extended Work requiring closure of Winding Stairs Road in Macon County was expected to wrap up by the end of March, but due to engineering complexities the projected completion date is now May 27. The Nantahala Ranger District issued a Special Use Permit to Duke Energy to install an overhead powerline along the road and an underground powerline under a paved bike path along the Nantahala River. The gate for Winding Stairs Road and the bike path will remain closed until the project is complete. 828.524.6441.
Smoky Mountain News
Parkway closures planned for road repair work
INITIATION FEE
SPECIALS
1819 Country Club Drive, Maggie Valley
M AG G I EVA LLEY C LU B . CO M
Join today for access to our beautiful amenities. Contact Caitlin Bledsoe at 828-926-4831 for information.
golf | fish | hike | raft | dine | play | stay
38
@SMOKYMOUNTAINNEWS
Repair will start next week on settlement, cracking and rockfall issues on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Deep Gap and Linville Falls. These issues were identified during recent geotechnical assessments by the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration and present potential hazards to park visitors. Contractors will be onsite the week of April 11, with work expected to be complete by September
2022. Crews will install rock and soil anchors and slope netting at cut slopes, as well as reconstruct fill slopes and address paving repairs. While work occurs, the Parkway will be completely closed from milepost 276.4 at U.S. 421 to milepost 280.9 near Deep Gap. Delays will occur around milepost 323 south of Linville Falls due to a single-lane closure managed with a temporary traffic light.
Panthertown volunteers showed up big in 2021 The numbers are in, and in 2021 a total of 322 volunteers with Friends of Panthertown donated 1,945 hours of labor worth $52,904, spread over 68 trail workdays. No negative bear encounters were reported last year, and two new bear boxes were installed. Over a four-day period, 18 local trail leaders and partners received sustainable trails training. Friends of Panthertown stewards Panthertown Valley, a backcountry recreation area in the Nantahala National Forest near Cashiers that includes 30 miles of trail.