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

April 26-May 2, 2017 Vol. 18 Iss. 48

Cherokee chief receives support at Grand Council Page 11 Pisgah awarded $100K grant for industrial education Page 17

CONTENTS On the Cover: After a busy week of rallies around the country, the state and the county, progressives gathered at the Historic Haywood Courthouse April 23 to speak out on healthcare and welcome Asheville Republican Congressman Mark Meadows’ first Democratic challenger. (Page 3) Despite the rain, about 300 people with umbrellas attended a rally at the Historic Haywood County Courthouse to oppose the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Cory Vaillancourt photo

News Democrats welcome progressives in symbiotic alliance ........................................ 3 Cherokee chief receives massive support at Grand Council ............................ 11 Tribal members weigh in on state of the tribe ..........................................................14 Pisgah receives $100K grant for industrial education .......................................... 17 Cultural Conversations: A more equitable community ..........................................17 PAWS swoops in to shelter puppy mill rescues .................................................... 18

Opinion Thankful to have been a teacher .................................................................................. 20

A&E Blue Ridge Big Band to play Folkmoot Friendship Center ................................ 28

Outdoors Mountain bikes roll into Swain High .......................................................................... 38

The Naturalist’s Corner

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April 26-May 2, 2017

Don goes to Washington .............................................................................................. 47

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Late to the party?

Democrats welcome progressives in symbiotic alliance

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“To me they have revitalized the Democratic Party,” Campbell said. “That’s where I think the positive impact of all this energy is. It will reactivate a lot of the people who haven’t been active.”

Campbell worked the mainstream members of the party ahead of time to pave the way for the progressives.

“I thought she did it really well,” said Ellis. “She makes a real effort to stay in touch with all the sort of subgroups within the party. It went much smoother than it could have because she didn’t create a negative atmosphere or barrier to those people being able to participate.”

Campbell not only reached out to her own party leaders, but also the leaders of Progressive Nation during their early formation.

“I told them ‘I want to work with you.’ I didn’t want it to be ‘You have your agenda and we have ours,’” Campbell recounted.

Campbell’s diplomacy, while sometimes tinged with tough love, has been a hallmark of her leadership style the past two years.

“That was a goal of mine, to make it more inclusive and have a bigger tent, and I feel like I have done that,” Campbell said. “Some of it has just happened naturally.”

ELECTION 2018

Smoky Mountain News

The groundswell of progressive activists had energy to offer, and it made sense for the party to capitalize on it.

“They were so discouraged after the election. They felt like they couldn’t just say ‘Oh well, we lost’ and not do anything,” Campbell said. “I wanted to get them working with the Democratic Party.”

It’s doubtful the progressives would have walked into a party precinct meeting on their own, however, if they hadn’t been brought in first by Progressive Nation.

“The party hierarchy hadn’t been able to convince people to get involved at the local level,” White said.

They needed a vehicle, and an invitation.

“They hadn’t really seen the way to get in before,” Queen said. “But Progressive Nation have made a big splash and said ‘Come with us and we’ll show you.’”

The trajectory of the current progressive movement has played out in American politics before.

“I think these groups usually pop up because people are dissatisfied with the traditional party structure,” Cooper said. “But it almost functions like a gateway drug into the main party. If they are successful, they’re able to pull the party in their direction.”

Chuck Dickson, a Waynesville lawyer who’s long been involved in the Democratic Party, admitted party bureaucracy can be a turnoff.

“It is kind of boring to have the precinct meetings and elect officers and take minutes and all these kinds of things, but there is a need for the structure that the party provides,” Dickson said.

Dickson is the long-time organizer for the party’s Get Out the Vote effort. He often sees an influx of volunteers who canvass and work

April 26-May 2, 2017

throughout the party.

“I am tickled to death to see all the new blood that is coming in,” said Marietta Edwards, 75, a Cruso precinct chair. “We need to keep people paying attention. Gracious, that’s how we got in the mess we’re in.”

Edwards was blown away when six new people showed up for the annual party precinct meeting in Cruso — more than doubling their usual attendance. She passed the hat and raised more than $100 to help with rent for party headquarters.

“I was flabbergasted because we’d never been able to collect money at A grassroots progressive movement is making their presence known across WNC, witnessed at this the precinct meeting before,” Edwards said. health care rally in Sylva in January. A vast network of pop-up activist groups is also injecting the traditional Meanwhile, Edwards Democratic Party. has started going to the Progressive Nation meetings, a sign of cross-pollination that’s working both ways.

“The Democratic Party here is so ready for a change to be made. I think this election was a wake-up call that change needed to happen,” said Natasha Bright, 40, another leader Haywood County.

Kevlin is a newly minted precinct officer of Progressive Nation WNC. Remarkably, the party stalwarts have with the Haywood County Democratic Party, put pride aside and readily admit they need and she’s not alone.

Dozens of activists with Progressive the help.

“Boy, are we happy to see Progressive Nation WNC turned out for the Haywood party’s annual precinct meetings — and 15 of Nation WNC come along,” added Buffy

BY B ECKY JOHNSON them now hold official party titles as precinct Queen, a long-time Haywood Democrat.

“Some of us who have been in the party for STAFF WRITER chairs or vice-chairs. housands of pop-up progressive activist “That was part of our plan,” Kevlin said. years are battle-scarred in a way, so we need groups have emerged around the coun- “If you really want to make some changes you that fresh enthusiasm.” try since November’s election. have to get involved in the local party.”

They’re holding marches and rallies, Almost overnight, the new wave of proN OPEN DOOR clogging Congressional phone lines, hosting gressives came to comprise a quarter of the forums and town halls, writing letters to the Haywood Democrats The progressive movement started organeditor — anything and everything to keep executive committee. ically — outside the formal party structure — the heat up and public engaged. The quesbut now stands to invigorate the traditional “I am a big propotion now is how to harness and leverage nent if we want to Democratic Party. their energy.

“I am amazed and impressed in the level change the system we Passion is driving the grassroots move- have to do it from the of enthusiasm they’ve generated. I think it is ment. But it takes more than passion to influ- inside out,” said Chelsea fantastic,” said Jon Feichter, a Waynesville ence policy and elections. It takes a political White, 23, a founder of businessman who’s been involved in the party.

Democratic Party for years.

Progressive Nation “If you think about the life cycle of these WNC. “We asked peoLast month, Feichter passed the torch of Chelsea White groups, they get people fired up, they get peo- ple who was willing to precinct chair to a newcomer with ple involved and then they become part of the step up into leadership positions in the Progressive Nation WNC. He’s one of several formal structure,” said Chris Cooper, political Democratic Party. It is a great opportunity for who have moved over to make way for the science professor at Western Carolina the progressive movement to utilize their progressive infusion, and did so gladly.

University. “People who are putting a lot of voice inside the party.”

Of the 15 party precinct positions protime into politics eventually realize they need Luckily, it wasn’t seen as a hostile gressives now hold, there’s only one where a the parties.” sitting Democrat tried to keep their seat but takeover.

It happened sooner than anyone expect“We didn’t storm. We simply showed up got out-voted by a progressive contingent at a ed, however. and wanted to know how we can help,” said precinct meeting.

Last month, progressives across North Mary Curry, a Progressive Nation member “It was not an ambush by any means,” Carolina showed up in force on the doorstep who took on a role as a precinct vice chair. said Steve Ellis, a long-time party member of their local Democratic Party precinct Rather than the traditional party stal- and Waynesville attorney. meetings.. They weren’t just visiting. They warts bucking the newcomers, they had a The credit for an amicable merger, rather pulled up a seat and settled in. than a hostile takeover, largely goes to Myrna plate of cookies and extra chairs waiting.

“An alliance is absolutely necessary to “A lot of older people stepped aside to let Campbell, the chair of the Haywood effect change. We can’t start a third party in the younger people in,” Kevlin said. “They are Democratic Party. Campbell embraced Western North Carolina,” said Amber Kevlin, very, very excited.”

Progressive Nation out of the gate, setting the 33, a leader of Progressive Nation WNC in Indeed, that’s a resounding sentiment tone for the rest of the party.

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polls during campaign season, but then melt away. Progressive Nation provided a venue to keep them involved.

“I think it is a great thing, and I think many in the Democratic Party welcome the infusion of energy,” Dickson said. “It is time to get more spirit into the party.”

MOVING THE NEEDLE The energized base trends younger and more progressive than the stereotype of a traditional mountain Democrat.

“We are seen as a little more left,” said Amber Kevlin, a Waynesville organizer behind the grassroots group Progressive Nation WNC. Kevlin openly admitted she’d like to push the party in a more progressive direction, much like the Tea party made the Republican Party more conservative over the past eight years.

up to a honeymoon period, but many believe it will last.

“The progressive group and establishment Democrats don’t know each other all that well, but it seems like both sides are getting to know the other and working toward a common purpose rather than fighting with each other like it seems the Republicans have,” Ellis said.

BUILDING A BRIDGE Like many involved in the progressive movement, Mary Curry got involved as a campaign volunteer — first for Bernie Sanders, and then for Hillary Clinton. Typically, her activism would have stopped there.

“This is not what I planned on doing in retirement. Taking hikes in the forest is what I wanted to do,” said Curry, 68, who moved to Haywood County a year ago.

“But after the election I felt like I had to do something productive.”

She began attending Progressive Nation

Sugar: this year’s VILLAIN ingredient!

(Parts of this blog were originally written in 2014, "Weight Woes and the Villain du Jour")

April 26-May 2, 2017

Having been a dietitian for over 20 years, I've seen fingers pointed at many supposed "villains" of weight and health issues:

• Fats: cholesterol, saturated fat, partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats) • Red Meat • Eggs • Salt/Sodium • "GMO's"

• Soda • Artificial dyes • Artificial sweeteners • High fructose corn syrups • Gluten • Wheat •Carbs (carbohydrates)

This year's "villain" is definitely SUGAR. You can find "no sugar added" and "sugar-free" claims on everything from bread to bacon. I'm not saying that we should eat sugar with abandon and I do think that limiting added sugars is important. (See American Heart Association Guidelines or the Dietary Guidelines for

Smoky Mountain News

sugar amounts http://buildupdietitians.blogspot.com/2016/07/guest-post-sugar-shock-

4

by-margaret-peck.html#!/2016/07/guest-post-sugar-shock-by-margaret-peck.html) Trying to isolate one "villain" for our health or weight issues and eliminate it from our diet is seldom accurate or science based and we may end up substituting it with choices that aren't especially healthy. The culprits for poor health and obesity are often a "gang" i.e multiple issues. Additionally, food brands and marketers will use these food fears to market products to us that may still not be good choices, for example gluten-free fried donuts, no-sugar bacon, and non-GMO candy.

What's the bottom-line?

View "free-from" claims with skepticism and a grain of salt. Eat foods in moderation. Get exercise. Don't fall for marketing claims on food!

Engaging the public in democracy is a key tactic of the progressive movement, like the “write-your-Congressman” station this at a weekend rally in Waynesville. Becky Johnson photo “We are the left’s answer to the Tea party,” Kevlin said.

The Tea party emerged as a conservative backlash following Obama’s victory in 2008 — just like the Indivisible movement is a progressive backlash to Trump’s victory.

Kevlin said there’s a stark difference between the movements, however. The Tea party — which stands for taxed enough already — used aggressive, my-way-or-thehighway tactics to push out Republicans seen as too moderate.

“We see Democrats as too moderate, but we still want to work together,” Kevlin said.

While factions within a party can cause it to fracture, Feichter sees the allegiance holding. Inclusion is a fundamental tenet of the Democratic Party, he said, citing Hillary Clinton’s campaign anthem “Stronger Together.”

“This is a prime example of that kind of mentality. We don’t agree on everything but we do have a shared set of values and there is room for competing interests within that sphere,” Feichter said.

The cooperative spirit could be chalked

meetings, and soon found herself being courted for a role as vice chair of the Maggie Valley precinct.

The credit again goes to Campbell, chair of the Haywood County Democratic Party.

Curry said Campbell invited her to lunch and asked her consider taking on the vacant vice chair role.

“From the very beginning, Progressive Nation and the Democratic Party in Haywood County have been working hand in glove,” Curry said. “We are absolutely working for the same agenda. We want a country for everybody, not just the top 1 or 2 percent.”

Curry believes the symbiotic relationship will continue.

“Progressive Nation is the immediate action wing of the Democratic Party the way I look at it. We are in it for the long haul,” Curry said.

Curry wasn’t the only one Campbell courted from the progressives to fill vacant party precinct seats. Campbell was well aware that progressives planned to show up at precinct meetings, and given their numbers, they would likely have the

ELECTION 2018

ACROSS THE STATE The same story playing out in Haywood County has happened across North Carolina. President Obama, in his farewell speech, incited Americans to get involved in local politics if they didn’t like where the country was headed. Apparently, the progressives were listening.

All across the state in March, hundreds of progressives claimed seats as precinct chairs and vice chairs in their local Democratic parties. In Wake County, roughly half the 800 Democrats who attended the annual county convention last month were brand new to the party establishment.

The progressive movement recently lobbied for recognition as an official caucus within the state party. The proposal came from a contingent of former Bernie Sanders supporters, and was passed by the party’s state executive committee in February. The recognition not only means symbolic clout but a designated seat at the party’s leadership table.

The real test of unity between Democrats and progressives remains to be seen, however. The relationship could be strained come primary time, when progressive candidates will likely square off against moderates for a spot on the Democratic ticket.

Progressives pose a risk to the party if they push a more liberal candidate to the forefront. A self-described progressive may have trouble winning a general election in WNC’s conservative districts.

But primary competition within a party always creates some strain.

“I don’t think there is any more potential for that now than there would normally be within the party,” Campbell said. “The party was strained between Bernie and Hillary.”

For now, where someone falls on the progressive scale just isn’t part of the conversation, given the larger obstacles Democrats are facing.

“We just aren’t even having those discussions about ideology at all,” Curry said.

“I have never seen the Democratic Party so united as it is right now.”

Harnessing the progressive tide

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER progressive tour de force has emerged across the mountains since the election of President Donald Trump.

The movement has many names and myriad networks. Indivisible. Common Ground. Forward Franklin. Our Revolution.

Stronger NC. WNC is not alone. Pop-up activist groups have grown like wildfire, and most share the same origin story.

“We started with less than 20 people in a living room,” said Chelsea White, 23, a cofounder of Progressive Nation WNC. “For many of us, this was our first big grieving process directly related to politics.”

Hundreds are now affiliated with Progressive Nation WNC in Haywood. Twice they’ve outgrown their meeting space and had to upgrade to a larger location.

They meet every Monday to strategize, talk issues and get their marching orders for the week — whether it’s writing letters, calling Congressmen, making rally signs or hanging flyers.

The pace is dizzying, but the call to arms is exactly what’s so appealing. Frustrated progressives want something more tangible than making Crock-Pot meatballs for covered-dish party suppers.

“They are much more action-oriented,” said Chuck Dickson, a Waynesville Democrat. “It’s remarkable with what they’ve done by putting out action calls and giving people specific things to do.”

But with the next election still 18 months out, will the movement have staying power?

“That’s they key question,” said Jon Feichter, a Waynesville Democrat and town alderman who applauds the progressive movement. “Everyone is motivated right now, but will it still be burning as bright a year from now? I sure hope so.”

Starting a movement isn’t easy. At 23 and fresh out of college, White should be starting a career.

Instead, she spends most of her week as an unpaid activist and organizer. She’s been the engine behind Progressive Nation WNC,

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but also makes regular rounds to other progressive groups as far away as Burke and Yancey counties.

“I’ve been working two jobs to do this,” White said — one waiting tables in Murphy, the other as a shop clerk in her hometown of Sylva.

“Those are my only source of income and I have been doing this in all my spare time,” White said. “But if I expect people to take time out of their day to do this, then I have to set an example.”

White’s cohorts are in a similar boat.

Amber Kevlin is a full-time nursing student at Haywood Community College, works 30 hours a week and has a 5-year-old.

But in her free time — “what little time I have,” she said — Kevlin’s leading Progressive Nation.

“Everyone is motivated right now, but will it still be burning as bright a year from now?”

— Jon Feichter, Waynesville

The third co-founder, Natasha Bright, said her kids were one of the main reasons she kept pushing after the election defeat.

“It is normally not anything I would have done ever,” said Bright, 40. “But I wanted to show them even if you lose, you stand up and keep fighting for what you think is right.

You don’t just take it.”

STEERING A STAMPEDE Progressive Nation WNC isn’t alone. A huge number of activist groups have mobilized across the region — around two dozen spanning 10 counties, according to an online progressive registry.

It’s a show of strength on one hand, but poses a challenge: can they work together as one organism?

“All of these groups may have various goals individually, but I have found all those goals are very similar,” White said.

A national framework has now emerged to loosely connect the web of pop-up groups under one progressive movement. The

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April 26-May 2, 2017

progressive group there. If so, we wanted to make sure they knew they were welcome,” Covin said.

Then something unusual happened.

Covin’s precinct crafted a resolution to introduce at the county convention two weeks later pledging to work collaboratively with Progressive Nation WNC. “Somebody suggested we need to work with the Progressive Nation movement in Haywood County because we have such similar goals — and frankly we need all the help we can get,” Covin said. “There are a lot of young people involved in the progressive movement and we could use their energy and ideas, so it benefits us.”

The resolution is symbolic in nature, stating that the “Haywood County Democratic Party recognizes a kindred spirit in Progressive Nation WNC” and “seeks common ground to cooperate with Progressive Nation whenever and wherever possible.”

Many had no idea the resolution was coming at the county convention. Even Campbell wasn’t sure how it would go down.

“I thought there would be some resistance, but it was unanimous,” Campbell said.

Haywood’s resolution will move on the

district convention, and then to the state convention. Campbell wagers there will be similar resolutions from other counties, and they will somehow be wrapped into an overarching version.

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votes to go head to head with mainstream Democrats for precinct positions. So Campbell tried to find places to include progressives in the party leadership where there wouldn’t be any opposition from a sitting Democrat.

“In most cases, the longstanding Democrats who had been in that position for years were ready to abdicate that role,” Campbell said.

Bill Messer was among the Democratic Party stalwarts who eagerly handed over his precinct chair to a progressive.

“I’d had it for years. When you are working on 77, it is time for change,” said Messer, who lives in Bethel. “I figured she could do a better job.”

Campbell had alerted all the precinct chairs in the county to expect an influx of progressives at their annual precinct meetings in late February. So when Riley Covin opened his Beaverdam precinct meeting, it was the first thing he addressed.

“I asked if there was anyone from the

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Is this thing on?

WNC groups claim Meadows isn’t listening

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER embers of several progressive groups concerned over the moral and monetary implications of Affordable Care Act repeal in rural Western North Carolina say that although their congressman isn’t listening to them now, maybe he’ll hear them in 2018.

But in 2016, voters endorsed Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, by an almost 2-to-1 margin, both in Haywood County and in his sprawling, mountainous district. He chairs the influential House Freedom Caucus, appears regularly in the national media and has loud-and-clear electoral support.

Taking up that fool’s errand — or hero’s quest, depending on who you ask — is a youngish newcomer to politics who says he’s part of a Bernie Sanders-style movement that will indeed make itself heard.

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COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

Smoky Mountain News

April 26-May 2, 2017

It was somewhere around 1 p.m. on Monday, April 23, on the edge of Waynesville when the rain began to take hold.

A low dark deck of clouds blanketed the region, sometimes dipping down into the misty mountains and filling the sky with terrific raindrops the size of small grapes.

That — and temperatures in the high 40s — didn’t stop about 300 people from gathering in front of the courthouse to express their increasing discontent with Meadows.

In the rain they stood for three hours, or more, listening to speaker after speaker recount heartbreaking — and wallet-busting — stories about how repealing and replacing the ACA as championed by Meadows would hurt people across the country, across the state and across the region.

“We invited Mark Meadows,” said Natasha Bright, co-founder of one of the multitude of groups sponsoring the rally, Progressive Nation WNC. “We’re all very Natasha Bright concerned about healthcare and the repeal of the ACA and we feel like we should have the opportunity to ask Mark Meadows questions.”

Meadows didn’t attend, and doesn’t have a town hall meeting scheduled in the area until August.

“As we’ve said before, we have no plans to change our normal Town Hall schedule that we’ve used every year, but we are always active about receiving public feedback,” said Meadows’ Press Secretary Ben Williamson on April 24. “The congressman held over 50 public events last year alone, for example.

Additionally, Congressman Meadows strongly values constituent comments, concerns, 6 and feedback that we receive through our

website, phone calls, and meetings. Every concern is relayed directly to the Congressman and he’s insistent on receiving their input before making decisions on major legislation.”

“He’s about to put forth a health bill,” Bright said. “They’re about to work on a tax bill. We need to be able to ask him questions now, in person.“ Bright said Meadows’ office hasn’t reached out to her group about their concerns; judging from the look of the homemade signs held by protestors — some calling him “MIA Meadows” and some displaying an obvious Where’s Waldo motif — many at the event seemed to feel Meadows had left them feeling like a fool in the rain.

Meadows, however, isn’t the only target; Republican members of Congress across the country have seen similar displays of disaffection over the ACA.

ELECTION 2018 In the land of ice and snow — Wisconsin — constituents of House Speaker Paul Ryan withstood temps in the 20s and heavy midmarch snowfall to demonstrate against Ryan’s ACA repeal plan.

Weeks later, South Carolina Congressman Joe “You lie!” Wilson, who directed his infamous allegation at then-President Obama during a joint session of Congress in 2009, saw it thrown back in his face at a town hall meeting because of his support of an ACA repeal.

On the same dreary day as the Haywood County event, a similar demonstration was planned in Hickory for N.C.’s 10th District Rep. Patrick McHenry — whose district includes large parts of Asheville and Buncombe County.

In stark contrast, a small crowd of less than 30 people showed up to a “thank you” rally for Meadows in Haywood County on a bright, sunny Tuesday earlier this month.

But about 60 people showed up to an April 20 health care forum at the Haywood Regional Arts Theater hosted by an ad-hoc group calling itself Concerned Citizens for Health Care.

“It was a very nonpartisan event that really just asked people from the community to come forward and talk about their experience with Medicaid, Health Choice, and the Affordable Care Act,” said Dr. Stephen Wall, a pediatrician who practices in Canton and Clyde.

Most startling to Wall, who presented a resolution April 3 to the Haywood County commissioners asking them to “go on record” in opposing cuts to the ACA and a host of social services, was a short speech by Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher on opiate addiction and recidivism.

“If people can’t get adequate health care and can’t get treatment, they just bounce right back,” Wall said from beneath his green and white umbrella. “The statistics in Haywood County are really quite disturbing.”

Demonstrators at a health care rally in Haywood County April 24 stood for hours in pouring rain. Cory Vaillancourt photo Wall estimates that he’s had over 120,000 patient encounters during his 28-year career, which is still going strong; but on the other side of the doctor-patient relationship is Transylvania County resident Lucia Gerdes.

“I’m a cancer survivor. I was able to leave my corporate job and become a small business owner because of the Affordable Care Act,” she said. She came to the Haywood County Lucia Gerdes rally from her home in Cedar Hill to speak on the ACA’s impact on small businesses.

“It’s shortsighted, his stance,” said Gerdes, who is also a vice chair in her local Democratic Party. “Meadows ran to ‘repeal and replace’ with common sense solutions,

and to fix health care. I think that people who voted for him didn’t realize what his definition of ‘fixed’ meant. It’s not something that works for everybody — the poor, the disenfranchised, business owners — we all want affordable health care.”

Joseph Pritchard, who travelled from Morganton in Burke County where he serves as a Democratic Party precinct chair and also participates in the Our Revolution Asheville group, agrees with Gerdes.

“Any business that has over 50 employees has to provide benefits,” Pritchard said. “So we’re stifling those small businesses that are reaching that point but can’t afford to grow because they can’t afford to provide health care for their people.”

The very topic of the government’s role in “providing health care for their people” has been hotly debated for years, but never more so than after many of North Carolina’s

WHOLE LOTTA LOVE Throughout the afternoon rally, the rain dwindled and then rekindled in gusty, blustery, mercurial fits, much like the day Donald John Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.

The day before that, in his D.C. office, Congressman Meadows told The Smoky Mountain News, “Taking the rug out from underneath people who have coverage is certainly not the thing to do. It’s not the compassionate thing to do, and not something I would support.”

referendum on health care for Meadows.

Meadows supporters hope for the exact same thing.

“I think Mark is a solid candidate that has widespread support throughout the 11th district,” said Jeremy Davis. Davis is the chairman of the Haywood Republican Alliance, a political action committee made up of local Republicans proffering themselves as the more conservative flavor of Haywood County Republican.

“Mark is a good communicator, and has shown he sides with the people he represents, which is how it should be,” Davis said. “I suspect Mark’s seat is safe but I will campaign on behalf of Mark and spread the good news about what he's trying to do.”

Meadows — who spent just $332,000 to beat his opponent in 2016 but is certainly capable of raising much, much more — has made no secret of his desire to be rid of the ACA, and voters in WNC have now sent him to Washington three separate times over six

Cory Vaillancourt photo

S EE M EADOWS, PAGE 9

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS Staying connected with their counterparts in other counties isn’t the biggest challenge, however.

The progressive groups lack a formal structure of their own.

Smoky Mountain News

years largely because of it.

First elected in 2012 with 57 percent of the vote, Meadows has only grown more popular since then, garnering 63 percent in 2014 and 64 percent in 2016.

At this point, in a district that is red and only getting redder, probably the best candidate to dislodge Meadows would come from within his own party. In late March, President Trump called Meadows out, saying he was “coming for” the congressman if Trumpcare didn’t pass.

Trump may have been joking at the time, but he may not have been; South Carolina Republican Congressman Mark Sanford told the Charleston Post & Courier March 30 that Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said to him, “The president asked me to look you square in the eyes and to say that he hoped that you voted ‘no’ on this bill so he could run [a primary candidate] against you in 2018.”

Meadows has declined to comment on whether or not he’ll run for re-election, saying through a spokesman that his sole focus was “to do the job that Western North Carolinians sent us to do, which is to repre-

moniker Indivisible is a catchall for the grassroots movement, but it’s hard to define something so intangible.

Indivisible rolled out a tool kit this month to arm the pop-up groups with “advocacy tactics” to effect change.

The go-to guide covers everything from forum nuts-and-bolts and call scripts to how to find out your congressman’s voting record.

Indivisible has admittedly borrowed from the Tea Party’s playbook.

“It was this is how the Tea Party was effective and this is what liberal activists need to do too,” White said of the Indivisible guide.

The guide was initially put online as a Google doc by two former congressional staffers to help the progressive resistance turn their anger into activism.

Just four months later, an online registry at Indivisible lists a network of 5,983 pop-up groups.

WNC is particularly rich with pop-up groups. A few counties have started Indivisible groups, including Indivisible Swain. Others — like Progressive Nation WNC — simply claim an allegiance to Indivisible but have a name of their own.

“It is anyone who identifies with the progressive movement,” White said.

Across the mountain in Franklin, a progressive pop-up group called Forward!

Franklin has grown from a core of 15 in the weeks following the election to 60 or more.

“I think people are starting to wake up and not be complacent in the political process,” said Lauren Hickman, 35, a cofounder of Forward! Franklin.

Aside from the regular activism of writing letters to congressmen and holding demonstrations — like the climate march they’re leading on the Little Tennessee Greenway this Saturday — Forward!

Franklin appeared before county commissioners and asked them to urge state lawmakers to fund public education.

“We raised awareness in the greater community,” Hickman said, citing coverage of the commissioner meeting in the Franklin Press. “Our lawmakers are aware of the press so anything we can do to help raise our voices and let them know we are here will help.”

Some groups trace their origin story to a candidate.

Our Revolution chapters were formed by Bernie Sanders supporters. Hillary supporters have rallied behind Stronger NC, a take off on Hillary’s campaign slogan Stronger Together. There’s even remnants of Obama’s grassroots movement Organizing for America. And a bastion from the Occupy movement is still hanging on in Jackson County.

“Whoever wants to come shows up and you’re in,” said Buffy Queen, who’s a volunteer with both the Haywood Democrats and Progressive Nation.

Progressive Nation isn’t registered as a PAC. It’s not a nonprofit. It doesn’t even have a bank account.

Sure, it has a Facebook page. But there’s no official membership roster, no system for choosing leadership and no clear way to determine if a consensus has been reached should the need arise.

That could be problematic when it comes to supporting a particular candidate, especially if several Democrats are running in a primary. How will a group with no membership roster determine which candidates to focus their energy on?

Progressive Nation WNC hosted a rally last week in Waynesville aimed at vilifying Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, and gave stage time to a progressive candidate whose declared his intentions to run against Meadows. There’s rumbling of at least three other Democratic candidates who are contemplating a run for Meadows’ seat. Will Progressive Nation give them stage time at rallies, too?

Offshoot movements have proven they can make a mark on history. The Occupy Wall Street movement rose and fell, but implanted the middle class with collective ire for corporate greed and wealth inequality — coining the label “1 percenter” to refer to the privileged elite class at the top.

The Black Panthers played their part in shaping the mainstream Civil Rights movement, and the Knights of Labor were critical to workers rights in the 19th century.

But they all eventually faded.

“It is hard to create a faction that is sustaining,” said Chris Cooper, head of the political science and public policy department at Western Carolina University.

One of the big pitfalls for movements is their lack of organizational structure.

“If you want to email Occupy you can’t do it,” Cooper said.

The pop-up groups aren’t completely devoid of organization. Forward! Franklin, for example, has a mission statement, a steering committee and seven issue-based action groups that members can join.

Progressive Nation WNC has a similar working model.

For now, the grassroots nature of the progressive movement is the source of its strength.

“It is almost like a flower blooming,” White said.

But it’s unclear how long it will work.

When Progressive Nation needs to pay for supplies or rent meeting space, individual members pull out their wallets and write a check on their own.

“It is hard for an independent ad-hoc group to be able to sustain itself for a long period of time,” said Steve Ellis, a volunteer with the Haywood Democratic Party.

And that’s where the formal party can play a reciprocal role.

“People who have been involved in the established party have some experience to offer those who are full of energy and commitment,” Ellis said.

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April 26-May 2, 2017

His Press Secretary Ben Williamson reiterated that stance in a recent email.

“Throughout this process the congressman has made it clear that he will not support a bill that fails to lower premiums or neglects to protect those with pre-existing conditions,” he said. “Along those lines, we ochose not to support the AHCA because we -didn’t feel that it would serve our contstituents well. We remain wholeheartedly -committed to those same principles as we tmove forward.”

As of early April — shortly after the House mFreedom Caucus forced Speaker Ryan to pull sthe so-called “Trumpcare” bill — Meadows owas still pushing for states to be able to waive eout of some or all of the ACA’s required essential health benefits, like addiction and mental shealth treatment, ambulatory and emergency oservices, hospitalization, laboratory tests, ematernity and pediatric care, physical rehab, wprescriptions and wellness care. h The ACA also mandates coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, but eMeadows wants high-risk insurance pools ”similar to those of the past. r Protesters at the Haywood rally, including sGerdes, hope the 2018 election will serve as a

TIDE, CONTINUED FROM 5

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living-wage jobs that also conferred benefits dried up.

“We lost all of our woodworking industry, the furniture industry, we lost the textiles — those may not have been the highest paying jobs, but they came with benefits,” Pritchard said. “They came with health care. And now we don’t have any of that anymore.”

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SMN: So that task fell to you.

MC: People started jokingly saying, ‘Oh you should run, you’d be great, you’re a former farmer, you’re young, you’re a great speaker and great organizer. You’re the perfect person to run against Meadows.’

A short break with Coffay

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER orn in Florida but raised in tiny Blue Ridge, Georgia — just a few miles outside of Murphy and not far from where Tennessee borders Georgia and North Carolina — Matt Coffay, 30, has spent a little over a decade in Western North Carolina, after moving to Asheville to attain a degree in philosophy.

A Bernie Sanders supporter during the last election, Coffay founded the Asheville chapter of Our Revolution, a Sanders-affiliated group evocative of the Howard Dean movement that has watched the Democratic Party reluctantly accommodate some of Sanders’ positions since his primary loss to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

That says a lot about who Coffay is, and what he believes — but that’s not all he brings to the table. A former farmer who up until recently operated a small CSA (community supported agriculture), Coffay has some overseas experience and has certainly gotten his hands dirty.

Coffay sat down with The Smoky Mountain News to talk about this and more, just hours before he stood in front of a microphone at the Historic Haywood County Courthouse and declared his intention to challenge Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, for his congressional seat in 2018.

SMN: And how did you take that?

MC: I kind of laughed it off for weeks. I never, ever thought of running for public office. I thought of being a teacher or a farmer but never in my mind was it that I would run for city council or anything like that. The more I started thinking about it and talking to people, friends and family, and saying I was thinking about doing this, I started thinking, “Wow, actually…”

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Smoky Mountain News

April 26-May 2, 2017

Smoky Mountain News: Why philosophy?

Matt Coffay: I started taking philosophy courses and the idea of really getting to the bottom of everything, really analyzing everything and getting to the bottom of everything in this world really appealed to me.

For a long time I thought I would be a teacher. I wasn’t sure if it would be high school or college, but I wanted to have an impact on the education system. The longer I was in school and the more I started looking at graduate school and the way that that works, the less appealing that became to me.

I ended up moving for about a year to China and I lived in China for a year. I spent a couple of years in acupuncture school, so when I moved to China I was thinking, ‘Well, I’m going off to China and getting some first-hand language experience, and then maybe I’ll go to graduate school and do some Chinese philosophy and also geopolitical stuff, and end up being able to teach.

I lived in Nanjing and Shanghai, which are two of the most polluted cities in the world in terms of air pollution and water pollution. I just felt like I needed to be doing something tangible, to try to do something about what I was seeing. One of the scariest things to me was the way the food system was working in big cities there.

I would take the train every day to school and see fields being irrigated with basically green sludge, like wastewater of the factory downriver — basically the worst kind of 8 stuff you can imagine.

30 year-old Matt Coffay recently became Asheville Republican Congressman Mark Meadows’ first declared challenger for the 2018 election. Cory Vaillancourt photo

“I think there’s a real problem that you have so many people in Congress that are independently wealthy that are just completely out of touch with what’s going on with regular people.”

— Matt Coffay

So when I came back to the states, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with that, and then I ended up meeting some folks that were farming, small-scale farmers. I started looking at the food system in the states and wanted to make changes in a really tangible and direct way.

That was how I ended up getting started farming.

SMN: Farming has a tradition of political activism, and I think we know why that is.

How do you move from one to the other?

MC: While I was farming, I was volunteering with this organization called the National Young Farmers Coalition, a 501©(3) based out of New York. They do grassroots organizing aimed at changing federal policy to make it easier for young people start farming and stay farming. I started a local chapter, and then after I stopped farming I got a job with them.

But after the election, I started the chapter of Our Revolution in Asheville. So I ended up getting pretty involved in the Democratic Party as a result, not intentionally, it just sort of happened organically because what we were doing — when I say we I mean the national organization and all the local chap-

ters including ours — what we were really focused on was getting new people involved in the political process, and it just so happens that our stance on the issues and our set of values corresponds most closely to the platform of the Democratic Party. But the organization is still considered nonpartisan, because there are a lot of people involved who are not members of the Democratic Party as well.

ELECTION 2018 So we were really trying to get people involved at the precinct level — going to meetings, getting people involved in the party so that they’re ready to do things like canvass and get out the vote and really put that infrastructure into place.

As a result of that, I started talking to people about what the next step was going to be, and when we started talking about what races we’d to put our energy into, we said, ‘Let’s think more about getting out of the bubble of Asheville as well and into the rest of Western North Carolina,’ and the hot topic with everybody, really, was who’s going to run against Mark Meadows?

SMN: What makes you qualified for this job?

MC: I think just regular people like me probably should be running for office. I come from a working-class background and I’m not independently wealthy by any means. I think there’s a real problem that you have so many people in Congress that are independently wealthy that are just completely out of touch with what’s going on with regular people. Certainly, that’s not the case across the board, but the vast majority of people in Congress, if you were look at the entirety of both houses, you’re talking about a bunch rich lawyers basically. And most of the country’s not comprised of rich lawyers.

SMN: I don’t consider Meadows to be in that class — he’s not mega-wealthy, not an attorney, and was a small business owner who worked hard using the benefits of our system to become a millionaire.

MC: You can make the case that he was the sandwich shop owner, and he worked hard, and became a developer, and then made his money doing that. The reality now is that somebody like Mark Meadows is really in my opinion out of touch with what people in Western North Carolina actually need.

If you look at the numbers for Western North Carolina, on average we have more people on Medicare, more people on Medicaid than the national average. Those are the things that really matter to people in Western North Carolina. That’s what I believe.

And I believe that people voting for Mark Meadows against their own interests don’t realize that they’re voting against their own interests — they don’t realize that his plan to repeal Obamacare is not going to give them better health care.

This is not about personal attacks; this is not about him being a bad person. That’s not where I’m going with this at all. The policies that he wants to advance at a national level are going to hurt people that I care about in Western North Carolina.

That’s the bottom line.

SMN: Another thing that matters to people in this district is the Second Amendment.

MC: I have no problem with people hunting. I have no problem with people owning guns for recreational purposes, whatsoever.

Gun control is not a big issue that I want to get involved with in this

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most people in Western North Carolina care about is jobs, education, healthcare and infrastructure, and not whether North Korea is making another one of its million empty threats to South Korea.

Cory Vaillancourt photo

M EADOWS, CONTINUED FROM 7 sent them and their values in D.C.” But while there might just be enough room for a centrist, establishment Republican to challenge Meadows in this heavily Republican congressional district — one perhaps more willing to go along with the less-severe changes originally proposed for ACA — that hasn’t stopped a young, liberal Asheville Bernie Sanders supporter from becoming the first to throw his hat in the ring, 18 months before Election Day.

THE RAIN SONG

Smoky Mountain News

Huddled beneath portable canopies hastily assembled on the courthouse steps, a dozen or so people — and a pile of electronic equipment — remained out of the rain, which by 4:30 had become unrelenting.

The crowd had only grown larger as the rally wore on; after a fiery speech by former Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, one neatly dressed young man stepped from a far corner of a tent and took the podium.

“More than 20 groups have come together to fight for the things that are important to us,” said Matt Coffay, 30, a grassroots organizer and former farmer who is — or rather, was — the director of Our Revolution Asheville until he resigned right then and there, before the crowd.

“We need to do more than just resist,” he said. “We reach a point where we have to do more than just fight back, and play defense all the time. I think what we need all across America are leaders that will stand up for the working class values that everybody in this crowd cares about.”

That thoroughly-soaked crowd with members from Buncombe, Burke, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, McDowell, Swain, and Transylvania counties sang its approval in the downpour, pumping signs in the air while shouting and clapping cold hands that were already trying to hold umbrellas, cameras or canes.

“I think we need people who will stand up to the likes of Mark Meadows, people who only serve the interests of wealthy donors and grandstand, every week, on TV, for publicity for their own benefit, at the expense of the people of their district,” he said just prior to declaring his intent to seek the Democratic nomination for the 11th

congressional district and take on Meadows in 2018.

Coffay has taken an unlikely path and faces a hard road; a graduate of UNCAsheville with a degree in philosophy, he’s young, inexperienced, and has even made some missteps, like earning a late-2014 Madison County DUI he called “a big personal mistake” that he deeply regrets.

“I knew this would come up if I pursued public service but that one event doesn’t define me, because I faced the consequences, performed my sentence of community service and 12 months of unsupervised probation and took control of my life,” he said in a statement when asked about the incident.

Campaign spokeswoman Ashley McDermott said Coffay has had no other run-ins with the law.

What Coffay does have going for him, however, is his youth, and possibly his inexperience. He’s intelligent, energetic and well versed in policy matters, and, maybe most importantly, he isn’t a congressman.

“We feel like the unaffiliated voters are the key to success in beating Meadows because many of them lean Democratic, and they’re now the second largest group of voters in Haywood County and in North Carolina,” said Myrna Campbell, who was re-elected earlier this April as the chair of the Haywood County Democratic Party. “They outnumber the Republicans. Matt should appeal to the unaffiliated voters for sure.”

The rallies, demonstrations and town halls that have taken place across Meadows’ district of late may just be the recurrence of a familiar American political trend — firstterm presidents tend to see their parties lose seats in congress once they’ve entered the White House. Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938 has experienced substantial loss, or little gain, except for George W. Bush.

Progressive groups like the 11th District coalition that put on the Haywood rally and candidates like Matt Coffay hope that what they’re all shouting about — a deep opposition to Trump, and especially Meadows — doesn’t go unheard.

“What do I hope comes out of today?” asked Progressive Nation WNC’s Natasha Bright.

“I hope that enough people hear us to join us.”

April 26-May 2, 2017

SMN: You’ve also talked about farming, and the food system both abroad and here in United States. In Western North Carolina, the Haywood County chapter of SMN: Another wedge issue that divides the Farm Bureau said at a breakfast last both parties is choice. week that their two major issues were health MC: I believe that what all of us want is for there to be as few abortions as possible. I care and labor.

MC: I’m a good example of somebody think everybody can agree. Nobody is prowho would have never been able to farm abortion. I’m certainly not pro-abortion. without the ACA. I was making so little I think if what we want is for there to be money farming, which is certainly the case as few abortions as possible, then what we for most small farmers, that I never would need to do is expand access to healthcare have been able to afford health insurance services. We need to make sure that people plan without a subsidy through the ACA. have access to birth control, and education.

In terms of the immigration situation, if The vast majority of what Planned we take all of the migrant workers who are Parenthood does has nothing to do with performing abortions. But I think if people want essentially shouldering our food system right now and singularly go through and county-by-county, state-by“I believe that people voting for state, try to deport all of these Mark Meadows against their own people, the food system would interests don’t realize that they’re collapse.

We need comprehensive immivoting against their own interests gration reform, and a path to citizenship for people who want to — they don’t realize that his plan work hard.

The reality is, working with to repeal Obamacare is not going NYFC and farming myself, there’re not a lot of people that to give them better healthcare.” want to do that kind of work in — Matt Coffay United States. That’s just a fact.

People that are here that are willing to work hard and pay taxes need a path to talk about whether you’re pro-choice or to citizenship so that they can be in this pro-life, if you’re going to talk about prochoice and pro-life what you really need to be country and do that work. talking about is what happens to children SMN: Your messaging could resonate after they’re brought into this world. with certain crowds, provided they’re Right now we have a completely broken exposed to it. How do you, a Democrat, plan healthcare system. Virtually half of all pregto raise enough money to compete with a nancies are being paid for with Medicaid. popular three-term incumbent in a heavily What we really need to be talking about is Republican district? how to take care people after they come into MC: I’ve had plenty of conversations with the world. career political consultants and what they want me to do is six to eight hours of call SMN: Speaking of the world, you said time per day with the wealthy 1 percent and that you’d lived in China, which has been the donor class. both a boogeyman for the Trump adminisThat’s how people think you win congresk tration, as well as a potential partner in solvsional campaigns. And a lot of congressional ing the North Korea conundrum. campaigns have been won that way. They’re MC: I think there’s a serious lack of right. It does work. If you sit on the phone, understanding on the part of a lot of people in Congress who pretend to have this kind of you can raise a lot of money.

We are planning to run a historic groundawareness of what our foreign relations are breaking small donor campaign the same and what they ought to look like. way that the Sanders campaign was able to People that have never been to these places that think that they know what sort of compete with the political machine of Hillary Clinton. We are going to raise money with a a stance we should take with this country or small-donor machine that’s going to be able that country, I spent some time in South to compete with Mark Meadows.

Korea and I can tell you that there’s a very And that’s not a naïve statement on my different perception of antagonizing North part. We’re going to seek out endorsements Korea happening in Seoul then there is here from most national organizations, and I in United States. feel confident that because what Mark So I think that a lot of what’s going on Meadows is doing and what he stands for right now in terms of the stance that Trump in Congress — and again this is not personis taking with Syria with North Korea et al — what he stands for in Congress is so cetera, this is essentially just a smokescreen damaging for working people that working to distract people from domestic issues. people are going to step up and help us Our relationships with those countries fund this campaign. are important, but I really think that what

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campaign. I think there are way more important things we can do in Congress to help the people in this district. If you want to talk about gun control, I think things like the loopholes that exist for purchasing guns at gun shows, those things need to be addressed at some point. Gun control is not going to be a focal point of our campaign.

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Climate change march Forward Franklin is hosting the People’s Climate March WNC on Saturday, April 29, in Franklin.

Speakers and music will begin at 2 p.m. at Big Bear Park Picnic Shelter, E. Main Street and the march through downtown will begin at 3 p.m. and end at the Gazebo on the Square where there will be informational tables until 5 p.m.

This is a family friendly event. Bring signs, personal water bottles and wear green. www.peoplesclimate.org

Budgeting program offered at senior center A free budgeting class will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 3, at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center.

The class will cover the basics of budgeting using a straightforward, step-by-step approach that can be adapted to any household or lifestyle. Join us and find out how to get started.

This is an information only session. No selling will take place.

Lynn Heinrichs is co-founder of the Appalachian Financial Institute, a local nonprofit supporting lifelong financial independence through education and coaching.

Register by calling 828.356.2800.

Smoky Mountain News

April 26-May 2, 2017

Franklin forum tackles free speech

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“Does free speech include ‘hate’ speech?” will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum at 7 p.m. Monday, May 1, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub, located downtown at 58 Stewart St., Franklin.

Franklin Open Forum is a moderated discussion group. Those interested in an open exchange of ideas (dialog, not debate) are invited to attend.

828.371.1020.

Native Plant sale All are welcome to attend a plant sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the Corneille Bryan Native Garden at Lake Junaluska.

The sale will primarily feature perennials and will also offer a few native shrubs and trees. All the plants that will be sold are native to the Appalachian Mountains. The sale will happen at the top of the garden, at the intersection of County Road and JB Ivey Lane. Cash or check only.

828.778.5938.

Habitat accepting applications Haywood Habitat for Humanity is seeking qualified homeowners for homes located in Haywood County.

Applicants must attend one mandatory information session prior to application. Information sessions are scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at Haywood County Library-Canton, and 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church. haywoodhabitat.org or call 828.452.7960.

Assembly votes to stop impeachment

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In total, 1,355 people attended the April 18 Grand Council meeting, and 1,242 turned in a ballot. Of those ballots, 1,140 included votes on the impeachment issue, with 84 percent voting to end the impeachment effort against Principal Chief Patrick Lambert.

While turnout to the Grand Council included less than 1 percent of all enrolled members, the number of votes cast on the impeachment question was 31.3 percent of the number of votes cast in the 2015 election for principal chief. In that election, Lambert secured 71 percent of the vote.

Grand Council voted on the following resolutions: • Res. 1: Create a “Power to the People” program that provides $115 per month for tribal elders to pay their electric bills.

• For: 1,182 votes. Against: 60 votes.

• Res. 2: Rename the old Cherokee High School building “Maggie Wachacha Tribal Headquarters” and turn it into a one-stop shop for all tribal programs.

• For: 1,029. Against: 119.

Tribal members applaud Principal Chief Patrick Lambert during Grand Council April 18.

Holly Kays photo

IMPEACHMENT IN CHEROKEE

WIDESPREAD SUPPORT Energy in the room was high as the agenda got started. The first two of the four listed items dealt with issues unrelated to the impeachment controversy that initially spurred Lambert to call the Grand Council.

Those items called for creation of a program to pay power bills for tribal elders and a resolution to designate the old high school for use as a tribal headquarters.

However, it was clear that most folks in the room were primarily interested in discussing the impeachment issue. Though 25 people spoke during the discussion on the power bill program, many of their comments had nothing to do with power bills.

“I believe that when we voted, we voted for change, and when the change comes that means cleaning house and that means you’re going to clean the dirty. You’re not going to keep it. We don’t want the clutter,” said Victoria Welch, one of the first speakers of the evening. “I just want to say, Chief Lambert, you’re doing an awesome job.”

“When you left (the hospital) you asked if I had any advice for you,” said Alfred Lossiah, who once served as director of the Cherokee Indian Hospital when Lambert was an addiction counselor there, before he went to law school. “I said, ‘Yes, the only thing I need to say to you is never compromise your ethics and your principles,’ and over the years I have not seen you do that.”

• Res. 4: Rescind Tribal Council’s 2017 resolution 546, which lists articles of impeachment and sets an impeachment hearing date.

• For: 959. Against: 183.

“I really appreciate Patrick, what he’s doing for the elders,” added Edith Crowe, of Wolfetown. “I think these councilmembers need to be put out, completely.”

Three hours in, the power bill resolution passed — by a show of hands, with that display backed up later in the evening by a count of paper ballots — and some people left. The ballots, printed on blue paper, could be dropped off at any point during the meeting at one of the provided boxes, which were staffed at all times.

The thinning crowd could be what prompted Lambert to move the impeachment-related resolutions up on the agenda and bump the second item — the one dealing with the old high school — to the end.

STOPPING THE IMPEACHMENT The impeachment resolutions sought to kill and prevent execution of the two resolutions that Tribal Council had passed in February and in April — first, to draft articles of impeachment against Lambert and hire an impeachment attorney, and second, to approve the articles and set an impeachment hearing date.

As with the first agenda item, the resolu-

Smoky Mountain News

bers,” Lambert said. “Yet every so often in our history we’re faced with situations that are more political and complicated. We’ve handed that power back to the people to make those decisions.”

He then ran through a list of his administration’s accomplishments over the past year-and-a-half, the promises he’d campaigned on and reiterated at his 2015 swearing-in, and the serious challenges still facing the tribe. Lambert also affirmed his contention that the effort to impeach him is based on retaliation for his work to expose corruption and demand transparency in tribal government. When he came into office, he admitted, he may have inadvertently made some procedural mistakes, but those mistakes were not violations of the law and not impeachable offenses.

“I will honor the results of this meeting today one way or the other,” Lambert said. “I want to say that whatever the outcome of the meeting today, the FBI’s not stopping. The FBI’s still coming.”

The rules for that day’s Grand Council, he told the crowd — which would eventually total 1,355 people — were developed from rules published in The Cherokee One Feather surrounding the series of Grand Council sessions former Principal Chief Joyce Dugan held in 1995 and 1996.

The rules included 25 different items.

Stipulations included declaring a quorum to be the number of tribal members present at the time of the meeting; allowing any enrolled member to speak on any issue for 3

minutes; giving the chief the power to preside and decide when to cut off discussion; requiring members to be at least 18 years old to vote; and declaring that all decisions would become effective immediately upon ratification by the chief.

• Res. 3: Rescind Tribal Council’s 2017 resolution 502, which directed impeachment charges be developed against Principal Chief Patrick Lambert.

• For: 958. Against: 182.

April 26-May 2, 2017

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ig Cove Road in Cherokee slowed to a standstill last week as traffic backed up for more than a mile, en route to Cherokee Central School and the Grand Council meeting that Principal Chief Patrick Lambert had called for 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 18. The spacious parking lot at Cherokee Central School, where the event was to be held, quickly reached capacity. Some drivers pulled off to park on any patch of roadside grass or gravel available, while others pushed a little further to park at the old high school, where a shuttle would ferry them to the meeting.

The scheduled 1 p.m. start time came and went as people continued to stream into the gymnasium’s stadium-style bleachers, pausing at the entrance to receive either a red or green dot to display on their clothing. Green dots went to people who had verified their status as enrolled tribal members, giving them the right to speak before the crowd and fill out a ballot — after turning in a ballot, the dot would be marked with an X. Red dots went to non-enrolled people, who were allowed to attend but not to vote or address the audience. Individual copies of the resolutions were not given out, but poster-size printouts were taped up on the wall inside.

Chief Lambert took the mic to apologize for the delay and promise to start just as soon as everyone had had a chance to park. It was nearly 1:30 p.m. by the time prayer, the presentation of colors and remarks by honored elders were underway to kick off the meeting.

Patrick Lambert “I just want to tell y’all how humbled I am to be here today,” Lambert addressed the crowd. “I want to welcome you to your Grand Council.”

Grand Council, which the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Charter and Governing Document gives the principal chief the right to call, is a gathering to which all enrolled members are invited. The exact function and authority of Grand Council, however, is currently the subject of a lawsuit in Cherokee Tribal Court (see story on page 14).

In his remarks to Grand Council, however, Lambert said that the body has authority to pass, uphold or overturn laws, and its decisions supersede those of Tribal Council.

“Typically those decisions happen within our government buildings and our government offices and down at the council cham-

The votes news

Cherokee chief receives massive support at Grand Council

S EE I MPEACHMENT, PAGE 12 11

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tions drew strong support from nearly all of the 22 people who spoke on them.

Secretary of State Terri Henry, who served as chairwoman of Tribal Council in the two years preceding Lambert’s election, was the first to take the mic.

“One of the things that I’ve seen, chief, you do is to strive for accountability, and today this whole conversation and everything that’s led to us being here today is all about accomplishing government accountability,” she said. That wasn’t the case during the previous administration, she said, when laws and procedures were routinely flouted.

“These articles (of impeachment) are in essence trying to go to the letter of the law,” Henry said. “Where were they (Tribal Council) in 2014? Where were they?”

“Since Chief Lambert has come in and taken over operations, the accountability has increased,” added Polly Castorena, of Wolfetown, who has worked for the tribe since 2008. “I see it day to day.”

Many speakers expressed anger with their Tribal Council representatives — for not attending Grand Council, or for not representing them as they felt they should be represented, or both.

“This is Grand Council,” said Patricia Garcia, of Birdtown. “I think they (councilmembers) should be here because they’re supposed to be the people who speak for us.

Supposed to be.”

Of the 12 councilmembers, only Richard French, of Big Cove, and Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown, attended. Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove, sent her regards but was out of town at the time. The other nine — the same nine who have consistently voted for impeachment — simply didn’t attend.

yells from the audience, though some other audience members responded by yelling that Owle should be allowed to speak, even if he wasn’t expressing the viewpoint held by the majority in attendance.

Others questioned the voting method.

Many people marked their ballots and turned them in before the discussion was complete.

“What I’ve already voted on is different than what we’ve amended,” said Lavita Hill, of Big Cove. “The resolution, we’ve since changed them, so what if I want to change my vote based on the changes?”

“Well the resolution wasn’t included on your ballot,” Lambert said. “It was just a description.”

Ashley Sessions, a Birdtown candidate for Tribal Council, said that the resolutions should include provisions to keep Tribal Council from simply passing duplicates of the impeachment resolutions if Grand Council voted to repeal them.

“We know how sneaky they are,” Sessions said. “We know they would just create a new one.”

This resulted in an amendment stating, “Tribal Council shall not take any action that contradicts the express intent of these resolutions.” However, Susan Toineeta, a former Tribal Council member from Wolfetown, later took the mic to say that the resolution was too broad in its prohibition against future impeachment efforts. Elsewhere in the ordinance, it’s stated, “any ordinance pertaining to the impeachment is hereby invalid and unacceptable.”

Toineeta moved to strike that phrase about any impeachment ordinance being invalid, saying it would hamstring Tribal Council should any impeachable offense arise in the future. However, Grand Council voted to kill that move.

CONCERNS AND OPPOSITION

VOTE OPPOSES IMPEACHMENT

The meeting was more than just a forum for Lambert’s supporters to express solidarity or air grievances about the legislative branch, however. The session also involved several back-and-forth discussions about the wording of the resolutions and about the legitimacy of the process itself.

Perhaps the most explosive resulted from a series of comments by Joey Owle, a Wolfetown community member who is running for a school board seat.

“Only one group in the room was allowed to submit resolutions,” Owle said, referring to the fact that all four resolutions on the agenda were submitted by a group called The Committee For Putting Cherokee Families First. “Why wasn’t anybody else given the opportunity to do so? This Grand Council is about the chief. This is about his agenda.”

Owle called Lambert’s management style “dictatorial” and “micro-managing,” referring to the Grand Council as a “pep rally” and saying that tribal employees who aren’t Lambert supporters didn’t show up for fear of repercussions.

“Having supported Chief Lambert twice in the previous two elections, I wouldn’t support him again based on how he conducts himself,” Owle said.

Owle’s comments were met with boos and

Both anti-impeachment resolutions passed handily, with the room becoming largely empty by the time Grand Council made it to the last item on the agenda, which sought to authorize turning the old high school into a centralized tribal headquarters building. This passed as well, though the discussion spurred a move from the floor to resolve that solid plans be made to expand the Cherokee-language New Kituwah Academy to serve students all the way through 12th grade. The issues were related in many people’s minds, as Tribal Council had some time ago discussed using the old high school for the academy.

By the time the discussion was over, the votes counted and the meeting dismissed, it was 8 p.m. But Lambert indicated that, while it had been more than 20 years since a Grand Council was held, it might not be quite that long before another session convened. He recessed the meeting rather than actually adjourning it, meaning that Grand Council could be resumed at any time.

“Great job today,” Lambert said before recessing the meeting. “We’re going to do this more often. I think it’s a great day for the Cherokee people and returning some power back to our people. Don’t let them tell you that your votes don’t count. This is real.”

I MPEACHMENT, CONTINUED FROM 11

IMPEACHMENT IN CHEROKEE

Moses Walkingstick, of Yellowhill, expresses his dissatisfaction with how Tribal Council has treated tribal members. Holly Kays photo

Tribal members discuss impeachment, Grand Council, and the state of the tribe

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BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER t would be near impossible to find someone in Cherokee these days who doesn’t know about the political turmoil enveloping the tribe, or who doesn’t have an opinion about who’s to blame. Last week The Smoky Mountain News ventured over to Food Lion, the Qualla Boundary’s only grocery store, asking tribal members for their take on the whole thing as they walked in to pick up a gallon of milk or returned from a full-scale shopping trip.

That day, April 20, was originally scheduled as the impeachment hearing for Principal Chief Patrick Lambert, but a court order put a halt on the process. The hearing, if it winds up being held at all, now isn’t likely to happen until mid-May at the earliest. So, as the warm spring day vacillated between sun, wind and rain, tribal members were left to wait and wonder what might happen next.

Of the seven people interviewed, only one expressed support for Tribal Council’s efforts to remove Lambert from office.

Comments from tribal member Gail Pusch, 62, succinctly summarized the consensus of the majority interviewed.

“The council’s been on a witch-hunt for our chief forever, and I think it’s just awful because he’s done more good for our tribe than anybody,” she said. “He’s exposing corruption, and that’s why these councilmembers are doing everything they’re doing to get him out. Because they’re corrupt.”

Tribal members voted overwhelmingly to put Lambert in office, Pusch said, and they want him to stay in. Seeing council move steadfastly forward with the impeachment proceedings feels like a slap in the face.

“I think it’s a bunch of crap what the council is doing,” she said. “I don’t think they have

a right. I’m just sickened by it right now.”

Most of those interviewed didn’t waste much time in bringing up the FBI investigation when asked their thoughts on the impeachment issue. After his election, Lambert had a forensic audit of tribal finances conducted, and he turned the results over to the FBI. This resulted in an investigation into the Qualla Housing Authority, on whose board six of the 12 councilmembers sit.

“Nothing was brought up about it until the audit with the housing,” said Joseph Arch, 25. “That’s whenever everything started kicking into gear. That’s whenever everything really started happening. But he’s doing what he said he was going to do and I respect him for that, but I don’t respect the councilmembers, how they’re going about it.”

“They’re just mad because they got caught doing what they was doing, and it’s finally coming out,” said Erica Lambert, 33.

She said she’s no direct relation to the chief.

“I feel like it’s crazy, and I feel like they’re trying to impeach him because he’s trying to do the right thing,” agreed Anissa Price, a 23-year-old mother of two.

Of course, not everybody feels that way.

A woman who would identify herself only as a tribal member in her 30s or 40s caught the reporter’s attention for a chance to give her opinion on the issue.

“I just wish that if Mr. Lambert says that he’s innocent, why won’t he just let the (impeachment) hearing happen? If I was charged with something I wasn’t guilty of I would want to prove it,” she said. “All these different strategies he’s using to avoid it makes me wonder why he’s doing it.”

Janet Smith, 61, said she doesn’t know enough about the issue to have a strong opinion on impeachment. However, she said, it’s distressing to see the tribe so divided and the government so paralyzed.

“I’d like to see the executive office and the council work together,” Smith said. “Being at odds with each other is not good for us.”

However, Smith said, she did go to the Grand Council Lambert held April 18, though she wasn’t able to stay for the whole

“Although there were a lot of people that showed up, it’s not even near the majority of the membership of the tribe, so that kind of concerns me,” she said.

While the turnout was a relatively low percentage of the tribe’s entire membership, it was a significant percentage of the electorate. In the 2015 election, 3,661 people voted in the chief ’s race, and during Grand Council 31.3 percent of that number — 1,140 people — voted on whether the impeachment process should be stopped.

The remainder of those interviewed either gave positive reviews of Grand Council or expressed their regret at having to miss it. Price said she’d had to work, unfortunately, while Willard Lossie, 67, said he had a prior commitment in Asheville.

“I would have went though,” he said,

expressing his support for Lambert. “Maybe the next one.”

“I thought it was good,” Erica Lambert said. “I thought it was great, but they (Tribal Council) ain’t upholding it and I think that’s wrong.”

Arch said it was good to be able to go and hear what everyone had to say, though he said it bothered him to hear people booing one speaker who was expressing opinions in opposition to Lambert.

“It was there for everyone to talk and say what they needed to say,” Arch said. “And they should have more or less showed more respect.”

He was also upset that most councilmembers didn’t show up. Two of those who have been consistently opposed to impeachment — Councilmembers Richard French, of Big Cove, and Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown — were there, with Councilmember Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove, sending her best wishes while traveling out of town. But the remaining nine were notably absent.

“I wished all the other councilmembers could have been there to listen,” Arch said.

“That way they could understand what the people are thinking. To me really I thought it should have been recommended that they showed up, that they sat there and listened.”

Overwhelmingly, tribal members interviewed in the Food Lion parking lot that day expressed sadness at the state of the tribe and a desire for things to turn right-side up once more.

“I think we have bigger things to work on besides this,” Smith said.

news

Talk of the town

thing. Of the seven people interviewed, the source who wished to remain anonymous was the only one who didn’t attend and had no desire to attend.

“It was another means of him avoiding the hearing,” the woman said. “And I knew that it didn’t have any kind of legislative power.”

With only 1,355 people out of more than 15,000 tribal members attending, she said, the results couldn’t speak for the entire tribe.

Smith said that worried her, too.

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Grand Council vs. Tribal Council Disagreement over Grand Council’s authority spurs lawsuit

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER t’s safe to say that the Cherokee Tribal Council is not scurrying to incorporate the decisions of Grand Council into its future actions. Tribal Council held a special-called meeting Wednesday, April 19 — the day after Grand Council was held — in which it set a new impeachment hearing date to comply with a recent order from the Cherokee Supreme Court and shot down an amendment Councilmember Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown, had introduced aimed at recognizing the authority of Grand Council.

“So we got nine people that’s going to overrule the Grand Council and the vote of the people. Is that what I just saw happen?” said Principal Chief Patrick Lambert.

Lambert went on to say that this gathering of Tribal Council couldn’t even be considered a valid meeting, as the tribe’s Charter and Governing Document states that only the chief can call a special session of Tribal Council. He repeated the claim two days later, when Tribal Council met for its second special session of the week. That time, the purpose was to add five articles to the existing seven articles of impeachment.

Smoky Mountain News

April 26-May 2, 2017

I

COURTROOM DEBATE As a result of Tribal Council’s refusal to recognize the legitimacy of Grand Council, Lambert added a new complaint to an existing lawsuit in Cherokee Tribal Court which now alleges 12 counts of law breaking on the part of Tribal Council. Temporary Associate Judge Sharon Tracey Barrett heard arguments Monday, April 24, on Lambert’s

motion pushing for a preliminary injunction on Tribal Council’s impeachment efforts.

After three-and-a-half hours of arguments, Barrett said she would take the issue under advisement and come up with a ruling at a later date.

“We have shown the court a substantial likelihood of success on the merits (of the case),” Lambert’s attorney Scott Jones told Barrett, adding that granting a preliminary injunction would “prevent irreparable harm” to the tribe.

If granted, the injunction would stop Tribal Council from moving forward with impeachment until the court could conduct a full hearing to determine who should have the final say — Grand Council, or Tribal Council. A variety of other issues are at play in the lawsuit as well.

Tribal law is a bit hazy on the definition and function of Grand Council. It’s not mentioned anywhere in tribal code but appears only as a single sentence in the tribe’s Charter

IMPEACHMENT IN CHEROKEE and Governing Document: “The Principal Chief shall have the right to call a Grand Council of all enrolled members to attend and he shall preside over such meeting.”

Jones based his case for the authority of Grand Council in tribal custom and tradition.

In Tribal Court, judges must look to customs, traditions and precedents alongside the laws themselves.

“The Grand Council historically has the ultimate power of the tribe,” Jones said. “It is the power of the people.”

In recent history, he said, Grand Council has been called three times. Once, in 1972, Grand Council met and voted to accept a $1.86 million settlement from the U.S. government for obstructing tribal heritage sites

The month in review

• April 6: Tribal Council approves articles of impeachment, sets an April 20 hearing date, and suspends Principal Chief Patrick Lambert pending the results of the hearing. Lambert’s office immediately files a lawsuit claiming Tribal Council does not have the power to suspend a chief. Tribal Court grants a preliminary injunction, putting a hold on the suspension until a full court hearing can be had on the matter.

• April 11: Tribal Court denies a complaint that Councilmember Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove, filed claiming that certain actions of Tribal Council were illegal and the body should be restrained from moving forward with impeachment.

• April 17: During a hearing on the lawsuit Lambert’s office filed April 6 — which was later amended to include a list of other complaints — Tribal Court sends the matter to the 14

Councilmember Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown, (center-frame, wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt) was one of only two councilmembers to attend Grand Council. Holly Kays photo with the building of the Tellico Dam. A few years later, Principal Chief John Crowe called one in 1979 to draft a constitution.

And most recently, Principal Chief Joyce Dugan called a series of Grand Council meetings in 1995 and 1996.

Jones argued that the decisions of these Grand Councils were recognized as carrying the full authority of the tribe. When Grand Council voted to accept the settlement in 1972, that decision was accepted by the U.S. government, he said. And before the 1979 Grand Council concluded, the tribe voted to submit the draft constitution it had compiled in those sessions to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which would conduct an election for tribal members to decide whether to adopt the constitution. In accordance with the vote, the constitution was submitted, though it did not pass the election and was never adopted.

While Jones averred that Grand Council’s authority has been observed in the past, upon questioning from Barrett he allowed that Tribal Court had never before been asked to weigh in as to whether Tribal Council or Grand Council is more powerful.

However, he argued, Grand Council’s authority is well grounded in tribal tradition, and the meeting held April 18 sent a clear message to Tribal Council.

“It’s unquestionably the will of the people

Cherokee Supreme Court and mandates a 10-day stay on impeachment proceedings.

• April 18: Principal Chief Patrick Lambert presides over a Grand Council to which all enrolled members are invited to vote.

Attendance is 1,355, with 84 percent of 1,140 votes cast on the impeachment issue in favor of stopping the impeachment.

• April 19: Tribal Council holds an emergency meeting during which it reschedules the impeachment hearing for May 2 to comply with the court order. Council denies a motion to recognize the results of Grand Council. Lambert says the Tribal Council meeting is not legally binding, as he did not call the meeting and the chief is the only one with the power to call a special session of Tribal Council.

• April 20: Lambert’s attorney Scott Jones writes a request for a preliminary injunction on impeachment proceedings as part of a lawsuit against Tribal Council for failing to recognize the authority of Grand Council.

that the impeachment proceedings cease,” he told Barrett.

TRIBAL COUNCIL’S VIEW However, Chris Siewers — the attorney representing Tribal Council — argued that there was no historical precedent for Grand Council overriding an action of Tribal Council and said that, even if there was, the April 18 Grand Council meeting was not conducted in accordance with procedures used in the past.

“What happened here can’t be called Grand Council in any historic sense of the word, but I don’t think the court has to get to that to decide the issue at hand,” he said.

“I think from what we’ve presented this morning it’s clear there’s not this idea of a Grand Council that can convene and tell other elected officials what to do. I think that what this history shows is it’s more a consultation session.”

To support that argument, he pointed to a 1994 resolution that had been submitted to the Tribal Council by the clerk of Grand Council, asking that a Grand Council be held that October. Tribal Council killed the request.

It is the principal chief — not the clerk of Grand Council — to whom the Charter gives the authority to call

F

• April 21: Tribal Council holds another emergency meeting, during which it adds five articles of impeachment to the original seven, adopts formal guidelines for impeachment proceedings and hires Cherokee-based attorney Chris Siewers to represent them during the hearing. Lambert again states that the meeting is not a valid meeting. Later that day, the Cherokee Supreme Court sets a May 9 hearing date for Lambert’s suit regarding the legality of impeachment, meaning that no impeachment hearing can be held before then.

• April 24: Temporary Associate Judge Sharon Tracey Barrett hears arguments on Lambert’s motion that a preliminary injunction be issued in the impeachment effort, in light of Grand Council’s vote and Tribal Council’s failure to recognize its authority. After more than three hours of arguments, Barrett says she will take the matter under advisement and rule at a later date.

Pro-impeachment officials • Vice Chief Richie Sneed • Chairman Bill Taylor, of Wolfetown • Vice Chairman Brandon Jones, of Snowbird • Councilmember Bo Crowe, of Wolfetown • Councilmember Adam Wachacha, of Snowbird • Councilmember Albert Rose, of Birdtown • Councilmember Travis Smith, of Birdtown • Councilmember Marie Junaluska, of Painttown • Councilmember Alan “B” Ensley, of Yellowhill • Councilmember Anita Lossiah, of Yellowhill Anti-impeachment officials • Principal Chief Patrick Lambert • Councilmember Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove • Councilmember Richard French, of Big Cove • Councilmember Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown Robert Saunooke, who is representing the nine tribal council members named, has filed a motion to dismiss. The grounds for dismissal rest largely on the argument that Tribal Council members have sovereign immunity from lawsuits when acting in their official capacities, and that sovereign immunity has not been waived.

— By Holly Kays, staff writer

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If granted, the injunction would stop Tribal Council from moving forward with impeachment until the court could conduct a full hearing to determine who should have the final say — Grand Council, or Tribal Council. to raise their hands in a yay or nay in addition to turning in a paper ballot. Barrett expressed interest in seeing a video of the hand vote.

While much information was presented over the course of the day, quite a few questions remained unanswered. But this will not be the last time this case is heard in court.

The Cherokee Supreme Court will hear the case in its entirety during a May 9 hearing — Barrett will not be the final arbiter.

“I’m very mindful that this case will probably be decided ultimately by the (Cherokee) Supreme Court,” Barrett said.

Smoky Mountain News

Grand Council. However, Siewers argued, “if the Grand Council was all-powerful, why do you have the clerk of that Grand Council going to Tribal Council to ask for something?”

Siewers also cast doubt on how Lambert conducted the April 18 session. Proper notice was not given, he said, as previous Grand Councils had been advertised in The Cherokee One Feather weeks beforehand and Lambert announced this one just one week before it happened. Lambert first announced the meeting on his Facebook page and mailed flyers to every mailbox owner on the reservation, but he did not advertise it in the newspaper and, Siewers said, there was no evidence he’d sent mailers to tribal members who don’t live on tribal land.

In addition, he said, the voting procedures were suspect. The EBCI Board of Elections was not involved, and with tribal members being given their ballots upon entrance to the seven-hour meeting rather than at the ballot box, there was not enough ballot security to ensure that each person had only one vote.

“This is not a vote with real structure in place that is authorized by the election board to carry out,” Siewers said. “We cannot put any stock into those numbers.”

The votes were double confirmed, Jones pointed out, with those in attendance asked

MAY FEATURED ARTIST th

April 26-May 2, 2017

ribal Council will have to change the date set for Principal Chief Patrick Lambert’s impeachment hearing for the third time — if, that is, the Cherokee Tribal Court allows the impeachment to move forward.

The original date was April 20, but a lawsuit that Lambert filed regarding the legality of the impeachment resulted in a ruling from Temporary Associate Judge Sharon Tracey Barrett that no impeachment hearing could occur until the court issued a further ruling. The case will go to the Cherokee Supreme Court, Barrett’s decision read, so impeachment would be stayed “for a period of ten days, or until otherwise ordered by the Cherokee Supreme Court.”

As a result, Tribal Council convened for a special session April 19 — Lambert said the meeting was illegal, as the tribe’s Charter and Governing Document gives the principal chief the sole power to call a special session — and set a new hearing date for May 2.

However, on Friday, April 21, the Cherokee Supreme Court scheduled a court hearing for 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 9, stipulating that the stay on impeachment proceedings would not be lifted until after the court issued a final order in the case.

The suit alleges 12 different counts of law-breaking on the part of the proimpeachment faction of Tribal Council.

Among other things, it claims that Tribal Council has no right to suspend a chief, has held illegal secret meetings, has deprived Lambert of his due process under the law, interfered with the Office of Internal Audit investigation that formed the basis of impeachment efforts and violated the authority of Grand Council.

Diane E. Sherrill, Attorney news

Impeachment stalled Cast of characters T

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Tools of the Trade GE grants Pisgah High $100K for industrial education

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER dvanced manufacturing and machining in Western North Carolina just got a huge boost from a Fortune-500 multinational conglomerate with more than $127 billion in yearly revenue.

On Tuesday morning, General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt visited Pisgah High School to present the school with a $100,000 grant from the GE Foundation.

“We think this is the kind of relationship worth pursuing,” Immelt said.

“This specific grant is for the machining and metals department,” said Jenny Wood Valliere, executive director of the Haywood County Schools Foundation, the nonprofit organization that supports the school system with grant writing, fundraising and scholarships. “They can buy equipment, do professional training with their teachers, and hopefully offer some new classes.”

“Around 2005 there was a need for skilled machinists at Smiths Aerospace, which later became GE,” Singleton said.

“They hired a couple of my kids right out of high school, and were very impressed with them, so we got to talking about how we could expand that.”

Students at Pisgah start out by learning how to make precision measurements with micrometers, progress into operating manual machines and finally get into CNC programming operation.

Singleton said he’s hopeful the program — which currently has a waiting list — can expand to serve more students.

GE Aerospace’s Rick Kennedy feels the same.

“Approximately 16 percent of all the employees of our Asheville operation graduate from this high school,” Kennedy said, adding that finding a quality workforce is a much greater concern for GE than one might think.

“What you’re seeing “We think this is the kind of relationship here is a microcosm of a national crisis,” he said. worth pursuing.”

“And that crisis is that — Jeff Immelt, General Electric CEO we have jobs around the United States, but we Machine shop has been a part of Pisgah don’t have the people to fill them. We see High School since the very beginning, this in aerospace all over the United States. according to Chip Singleton, Pisgah’s metals So, we have a pipeline out of this school of manufacturing teacher. Singleton is himself people in a position to be trained by General a graduate of Pisgah, and once worked at Electric. You can’t just walk in off the street Smiths Aerospace Components in Asheville and work at a General Electric plant. The making parts for jet engines. equipment is getting more sophisticated,

A

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT

Over the course of the six Cultural Conversations sessions I participated in at Folkmoot, our diverse little group — sitting in one big circle — learned a lot about ourselves, and each other.

We made connections by sharing personal experiences and discovered how we define ourselves. We explored race and ethnicity by examining cultural identity and cultural conflict. We looked at cultural bias in Western North Carolina by discussing hate groups.

We investigated inequity and assessed intersectionality by asking ourselves, and each

other, the tough questions.

Armed with that newfound knowledge, we entered facilitator Angela Dove’s final class session prepared to learn how to use it.

Now, knowledge for the sake of knowledge is all well and good, but that was never the intent of this program.

Perhaps 11th century French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux put it best when he said, “There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is Curiosity.

There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is Vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.”

To serve is to love, thus to serve one’s community is to love one’s community —

and so the challenge is getting people who are experienced in operating sophisticated equipment.”

North Carolina is still the fifth-largest manufacturing state in the union despite years of setbacks in the sector. Many Pisgah grads also end up working at the county’s largest employer, Evergreen Packaging in Canton, which has been making important contributions to the regional economy for more than a century. Like GE, the paper mill relies on skilled workers to keep things moving.

“It’s a huge deal for them to come in for a meeting like this and recognize Pisgah High

School for what we’re trying to do to help them out,” Singleton said of GE. “Because if they can’t find the talent here, they’re going to have to go somewhere else.”

GE Aviation holds a major presence in the worldwide commercial, military, business and general aviation markets and also creates digital products that monitor fuel usage and optimize operations. A marine division manufactures both civilian and military gas turbines for ships, including the $13 million, twin-shaft, 6,000 horsepower LM500 engine, which is used by the navies of Denmark, Japan and the republic of Korea.

ask any elected official or public servant or non-prof exec about that one.

So as we begin walking the walk, after talking the talk, we consider the ways in which you and I can move forward to fulfill one of the program’s goals, which is to help make Western North Carolina the best place to live, work and raise a family.

The most important thing to consider is that when cultural conflict arises in our community, it can be overcome.

Lunch-counter sit-ins and suffrage marches don’t really take place anymore, because those issues have been surmounted, but activism is still needed and takes place on a far more personal level than ever before.

Organizing a Cultural Conversationsstyle discussion group among friends or coworkers might be your best bet in getting started. Talking to banks about loan policies, or aldermen about budgetary priorities is another great move. In group settings, volunteering with a school, a church or a political group — like one of the Haywood Democratic, Republican or Libertarian

organizations — is also a good idea.

As you and I move about this community, walking in many different worlds, we need to constantly be asking ourselves if the policies, procedures, and community participation of banks, bureaucracies, corporations, foundations, political parties and news outlets are equitable, inclusive and fair.

Although the first Cultural Conversations program at Folkmoot is now over, Folkmoot Executive Director Angie Schwab hopes to continue with new classes, eventually resulting in hundreds of cultural ambassadors like me and my classmates embedded in the community, talking the talk and walking the walk towards a more equitable community.

Will you be one of them?

This is the final installment in a series chronicling SMN Staff Writer Cory Vaillancourt’s participation in Folkmoot’s inaugural Cultural Conversations program. Check back for wrapup coverage of the Cultural Conversations sessions, featuring interviews, insights, and more.

For more information about Folkmoot, visit www.folkmoot.org.

Smoky Mountain News

A more equitable community

Cory Vaillancourt photo

April 26-May 2, 2017

Folkmoot’s Cultural Conversations

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt speaks to a crowd at Pisgah High School April 25.

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PETS & PEOPLE

ConnectingPets & People 2017 PAWS swoops in to shelter puppy mill rescues

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR large-scale rescue effort involving multiple animal welfare agencies resulted in the removal of more than 400 animals from a puppy mill in Clarkesville, Georgia, last week.

For the second time in the past year, the Humane Society of the United States reached out to Beth Cline, executive director of PAWS Animal Shelter in Bryson City, for assistance in the rescue effort being led by Habersham County Department of Animal Care in Georgia.

Cline didn’t hesitate to take off to Georgia where she spent the next couple of days helping the national organization remove the animals from the property.

“PAWS was among the first responders on the morning of April 13, 2017, at the scene of a large-scale, multi-species animal neglect case in Clarkesville, Georgia,” Cline said. “A total of 435 animals were found suffering in deplorable conditions, with many of them living in filth and inches of feces.”

The animals included 283 dogs and puppies, along with cats, donkeys, pigs, chickens,

April 26-May 2, 2017

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More than 400 animals were removed from a puppy mill in Clarkesville, Georgia, on April 13. Donated photos

Beth Cline, executive director of PAWS in Bryson City, helps transport abused and neglected animals from a puppy mill in Georgia. Donated photo

S EE PAWS, PAGE 19

Let your love of animals live on

Low-Cost Spay & Neuter Services

Smoky Mountain News

Your life-long love of animals can become part of your legacy. Yes, you can make a lasting difference in the lives of Haywood County’s pets by considering the Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation Bequest Program.

Leaving a bequest to Sarge’s, when planning a will, supports Sarge’s mission of saving dogs and cats — far into the future.

Bequests to Sarge’s will give comfort and safety to homeless animals right here in Haywood County. Let your love of animals live on through Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation.

For the Bequest Program information: Call 828-246-9050 or email sargeexecdir@gmail.com.

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Haywood Spay/Neuter We make low-cost spay & neuter affordable for your neighbors.

182 Richland St. • Waynesville

828-452-1329

haywoodspayneuter.org

National Pet Month

A celebration of the benefits that pets bring to people’s lives — and vice versa.

PAWS, CONTINUED FROM 18

Resources

PETS & PEOPLE

Here is a list of pet adoption and advocacy groups — and veterinarians — in the four western counties of Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain and the Cherokee reservation.

HAYWOOD • FUR (Feline Urgent Rescue) of WNC 844.888.CATS(2287) or www.furofwnc.org.

• Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation 828.246.9050 or www.sargeanimals.org.

• Star Ranch 828.400.4940 or www.star-ranch-rescue.com.

• Haywood Spay/Neuter 828.452.1329 or www.haywoodspayneuter.org.

• Haywood County Friends of the Animal Shelter www.hcasfriends.org.

HAYWOOD VETS • Animal Hospital of Waynesville 91 Depot St., Waynesville. 828.456.9755 or www.animalhosp.com.

• Canton Animal Hospital 74 Radio Hill Rd., Canton. 828.648.7800.

• Country Lane Animal Hospital 9019 Carolina Blvd., Clyde. 828.627.9100 or www.clanimalhosp.com.

• Balsam Animal Hospital 628 South Main St., Waynesville.

828.452.1868 or www.balsamvet.com.

• Haywood Animal Emergency 3248 Asheville Rd., Waynesville. 828.452.1478 or www.haywoodanimaler.com.

• Junaluska Animal Hospital 3248 Asheville Rd., Waynesville. 828.452.1478 or www.junaluskaah.com.

• Maple Tree Veterinary Hospital 1855 Russ Ave., Waynesville. 828.452.5211 or www.mapletreevet.com.

JACKSON

JACKSON VETS • Cashiers Village Veterinary 855 U.S. 64, Cashiers. 828.743.5656 or www.facebook.com/cashiers-village-veterinary-clinic.

• Cherokee Animal Care Clinic 1100 U.S. 441, Whittier. 828.497.3704 or www.cherokeeanimalcare.com.

• Cope Creek Animal Clinic 8 Connor Rd., Sylva. 828.586.3534.

• Jackson County Veterinary 1362 E. Main St., Sylva. 828.586.8383 or www.facebook.com/jackson-county-veterinaryassociates.

• Sylva Animal Hospital

SWAIN • PAWS Bryson City 57 Lemons Branch Rd., Bryson City.

828.488.0418 or pawsbrysoncity@yahoo.com. www.pawsbrysoncity.org.

• PAWS Thrift Store 110 Bryson Walk, Bryson City. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 828.333.4267 or pawsthriftshop@yahoo.com

It is Haywood Animal Emergency’s mission to provide after hours and emergency services to the community and its pets with a caring environment.

Treating both clients and patients with compassion, kindness and respect.

SWAIN VETS • Bryson City Veterinary 200 Bryson Walk, Bryson City. 828.488.6018

MACON • Macon County Animal Shelter 1377 Lakeside Dr., Franklin. 828.349.2106 or www.maconnc.org/animalservices • Appalachian Animal Rescue Center 851 Lake Emory Rd., Franklin 828.524.4588 or www.appalachiananimalrescuecenter.com.

MACON VETS • Franklin Veterinary Hospital 2947 Georgia Rd., Franklin. 828.369.8080 or www.franklinvethospital.com.

• Animal House Veterinary Clinic 991 E Main St., Franklin. 828.524.9990 or www.leapoffaithvet.com.

• Noah’s Ark Companion Animal Hospital 1239 Old Murphy Rd., Franklin. 828.524.6121 or www.noahsarkvet.us.

• Highlands Cashiers Animal Clinic 2465 Cashiers Rd., Highlands828.526.5206 or www.highlands-cashiersanimalclinic.com.

• Lenzo Animal Hospital 1869 Georgia Rd., Franklin. 828.369.2635 or www.lenzoanimalhospital.tripod.com.

• Animal Wellness Hospital of Highlands 2271 Dillard Rd., Highlands. 828.526.8700 or www.awhhighlands.com.

• Susan Mast 828.963.2600.

Emergency & critical care

Overnight nursing care

Digital radiology

Ecg monitoring with cardiology consult available

In-house lab Ultrasound

Accepts all major credit cards, care credit and icare Surgical services financial Communication with family Endoscopy

Mon. - Fri. 5:30pm - Midnight Sat. & Sun. 8:30am - Midnight

3248 Asheville Rd. Waynesville NC 28786

828.452.1478

Smoky Mountain News

• ARF Rescues and fosters pets in a no-kill shelter, and facilitates their spay and neuter.

1-3 p.m. Saturdays at 50 Railroad Ave., Sylva.

877.273.5262 or www.a-r-f.org.

• Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society 200 Gable Dr., Sapphire. 828.743.5752 or www.chhumanesociety.org.

• Catman2 Cat Shelter 637 Bo Cove Rd., Cullowhee. 828.293.0892 or www.catman2.org.

• Jackson County Animal Shelter 463 Airport Rd., Sylva. 828.586.6138, 828.586.1911 after hours or animal.jacksonnc.org.

1307 Asheville Hwy., Sylva. 828.586.8587.

• Western Carolina Animal Pain Clinic and Shearer Pet Health Hospital 1054 Haywood Rd., Sylva. 828.586.3300 or www.shearerpethealth.com.

Excellent, affordable veterinary emergency care for your pets.

April 26-May 2, 2017

ducks, doves, bunnies, a horse and an alpaca.

“We never expected to discover something of this magnitude in our own backyard,” said Madi Hawkins, director of HCACC, in a press release. “I’m grateful to our dedicated and compassionate staff who have been on scene over 24 hours and will continue to be here until the last animal is rescued. This is a heartbreaking situation, and it’s not an easy task to be present to witness this kind of cruelty.”

Cline assisted with the task of helping to extract the 283 dogs from the appalling conditions, working with veterinarians on scene to identify any critical medical needs, and safely transporting the dogs to a temporary shelter several miles away. It took two full days to help rescue all the dogs.

“Not only were the conditions filthy and unacceptable by any humane standards, but the dogs were matted with feces and even sticks matted into their fur,” Cline said.

“There were dogs that you could not tell the animal’s head from its tail, and fur so matted that legs couldn’t even move. There were wire pens set up for as far as the eye could see, with no gate to enter each pen.

Therefore, these dogs never had any kind of daily touching, petting, let alone muchneeded bathing and brushing.”

PAWS returned to Georgia on April 20 and brought dogs back to the Bryson City shelter. Cline said they will be adopted out as soon as they are spayed or neutered. The dogs brought to Bryson City are breeds that are rarely found at the shelter but are constantly being sought after. Cline doesn’t think she’ll have any problem finding great homes where they will finally get the love and care they deserve.

The HSUS and assisting agencies are safely transporting the dogs, cats, bunnies and birds to a temporary emergency animal shelter, where they will be thoroughly examined by teams of veterinarians and receive any necessary immediate medical care.

Rescue Bank is providing the necessary food for the dogs. The horse and farm animals are being transported to Horse Inc. PAWS also assisted HSUS last October with an international rescue effort. PAWS and the Cashiers-Highlands humane Society took in 15 of the more than 500 dogs that were rescued from a backyard dog meat farm in South Korea.

This time PAWS took in four small breed dogs from the Georgia rescue, including a Yorkie Maltese mix, Yorkshire terrier, schnauzer and a Pomeranian Maltese mix.

Even though the PAWS facility in Bryson City is aging and always at full capacity, Cline never has the heart to turn an animal in need away.

“We felt we needed to do whatever we could to help in this case because this could have happened just as easily in our own county,” she said. “Swain County has no county shelter, no animal control and we would need all the outside resources we could obtain to help with such a large number of animals.

Plus it was the right thing to do.”

For adoption information, call PAWS at 828.488.0418.

HaywoodAnimalER.com

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20

Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Thankful to have been a teacher As a little girl, I had all sorts of diaries and journals and wrote poems and stories galore.

Even though language arts and English were always my favorite classes, I began steering away from my goal to be a writer. I don’t know why that happened, but it did.

I was awarded the North Carolina Teaching Fellows scholarship and when that happened, I completely put my writing aspirations aside and majored in psychology, minored in English, and ultimately obtained masters and specialists degrees in school psychology, an add-on degree in journalism and licensures to teach middle grades language arts and high school English.

Columnist The bulk of my career as an educator was on the second story of the Bowles Building at Waynesville Middle School teaching seventh-grade language arts. I loved my time as a teacher but something about the profession just didn’t jive with my core personality. Despite that, I truly miss the students. They were my absolute favorite part of the job. Getting to know them, teaching them new information, reading and exploring literature with them, working to enhance their writing and grammar skills and most importantly, being a small component of their life and development into young adulthood.

I still love seeing former students in town. I catch myself smiling like a proud parent when I’m scrolling on social media and one of them pops up in Europe or on a mission trip or playing a college sport or running a marathon or doing some other amazing thing.

With confidence, I can say most teachers stay in the profession for the students. With pathetic pay, severe stress, intense demands and pressure to show growth on high-stakes testing, the connection with young minds still wins out.

And I love that. I love when human relationship prevails above everything.

Susanna Barbee

At 37, I’m still sorting out what I want to be when I grow up.

When I was 8, I sent a children’s book to a publisher in Raleigh. Last Tuesday, I submitted a children’s book to several publishers. In between those two submission dates, I have been a waitress, sales associate, school psychologist, English teacher, essential oil distributor, instructional coach, social media manager and writer.

My childhood self knew more about me than I realized.

Had I followed my intuition back then, I could have saved a lot of time and money.

But life is a beautiful, messy journey and I will never lament my long string of careers. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them for different reasons, but of all the jobs I’ve had, teaching was the most complicated and intense. While all of my professional endeavors possessed quirks and challenges, nothing has compared to managing the stresses of teaching while simultaneously working to inspire 105 middle schoolers in an eight- or nine-hour span of time.

Both of my parents were teachers. My mom initially taught high school business but spent the bulk of her career as the media coordinator (formerly known as a librarian) at Weaverville Primary School. My dad taught English, social studies and worked with colleges to write grants for new public school programs and initiatives.

They worked their tails off and on the side, my mom sold Avon and my dad was the night manager at the old Roses once located on Merrimon Avenue where Stein Mart is today. It seemed they were always working but also always pinching pennies so my sister and I could do and have what we needed and wanted.

I never wanted to be a teacher. When I was very small I wanted to be a maid. I remember fastening a basket around my waste with a hot pink spiral jelly belt, putting cleaning items and a tip jar in the basket, and performing small chores around the house for change. Then for a brief period, I wanted to go to Yale and be a pediatrician. Oh, the things we think we’re gonna do someday. Shortly thereafter, I began writing.

Even though I haven’t been in the classroom in several years, my dad still likes to give me teacher paraphernalia or resources. The other day, he gave me a poster that said: Rules for Teachers — 1872 1. Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.

2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session.

3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.

4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.

5. After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend time reading the Bible or other good books.

6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.

7. Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.

8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.

9. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.

While the profession is certainly different than it was in 1872, it’s still one of the most important jobs in the world, if not the most important. All professionals, no matter the field, began in a classroom with a teacher who helped a lightbulb go off.

“Teacher Appreciation Week” is coming up soon (May 8-12), and while it’s always fun to have a single week to really spoil the teachers in your life, I do hope you let them know they’re appreciated during other times of the year. Even a quick email, note in an agenda book or a small card means a lot to a teacher.

Teachers love to know they’re making an impact. At the end of the day, that’s what gets them out of bed each morning.

I know because I was there. And even though I’ve moved onto a different career, I will forever be proud to say I was once a teacher.

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

A big thank you to Rep. Mark Meadows ll citizens of western North Carolina owe a big “thank you” to Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, and the Freedom Caucus bloc of representatives in the U.S. Congress. This group, led by Mr. Meadows, is responsible for the fact that those of us who are not wealthy, who may have pre-existing medical conditions, who are elderly, or who are not covered by a group health care plan provided by an employer, can still — at least for now — purchase reasonably affordable health care insurance.

The withdrawal of Speaker Paul Ryan’s American Health Care Act (Ryancare, or Trumpcare depending on your preference) means that the Affordable Care Act will continue as the law of the land “for the foreseeable future,” according to Mr. Ryan. President Trump has made it clear that he will not be bringing up a healthcare initiative again in the near future. Apparently he didn’t really have a plan in mind after all, in spite of his campaign promises.

The Freedom Caucus put a stake in the ground (and a stake through the heart of the proposed legislation) over the fact that certain provisions of the ACA would survive — it was not a sufficiently complete repeal for this group of radical right politicians.

And it appears quite obvious that the Republican Party, after seven years of grandstanding votes to repeal what they termed “Obamacare” and which became a rallying point for resistance to anything that had President Obama’s or Democratic support, had

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absolutely no alternative plan or strategy to address health care.

Although the American Health Care Act was eventually exposed as a relatively cold-hearted attempt to cut benefits, such as Medicaid, that largely help the poor and the elderly, in favor of huge tax breaks for corporations and the rich, it still wasn’t enough to satisfy Mark Meadows and the Freedom Caucus. Their insistence on even more severe cuts to benefits, up to or including complete repeal of the ACA, with no replacement at all, was the eventual undoing of the plan. Last minute deal-making to try to bring the Freedom Caucus on board only drove moderate Republicans away from supporting the bill.

Will Mark Meadows and the Freedom Caucus be among those willing to work in a bi-partisan way to achieve a good result for a broad cross section of Americans? It doesn’t seem likely based on what we’ve seen on healthcare and so many other issues. Do they believe that their constituents really want them to vote “no” on every bill that is not a big tax break for the wealthiest 1 percent, or a big cut to any spending programs that aren’t for defense or a border wall?

If that turns out to be the case, remember it when you decide which citizens to send to Washington when election time comes around in 2018.

Dan Chasins Cashiers

Don’t throw baby out with bathwater To the Editor: In a recent Q&A in The Mountaineer, Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, seemed very light on specifics related to health care. In response to being asked what he believed to be inadequate in the healthcare bill, in 21 lines of print, he said premiums would not come down enough and that it had to have a safety net for those who can’t afford insurance. Admirable goals. In 28 lines of print in answer to what an ideal affordable health care plan should include, he repeated the same two goals. Is that all? In a conversation with a constituent in his Washington office, he commented, “Who would have thought that health care was so complicated?” Indeed! Who would have thought that a member of Congress voting on national health care legislation would not know that?

In health care legislation, a tweak here has repercussions there. It is indeed complicated.

You can’t change one component without affecting something else.

Haywood GOP does battle with anarchists To the Editor: It was odd to be reminded of the Spanish Civil War when reading your article about the Haywood County GOP. It seems that history is repeating itself, though, since your article reflects that the Republicans are having great difficulties organizing and coordinating with the anarchists.

John T. Barrett Sylva

The solution is to destroy all nukes

awareness in any quarter of the “law of unintended consequences.”

The U.S. has 7,000 nuclear warheads in its stockpile, with only 100 required to plunge the Earth into darkness, killing millions, destroying agriculture worldwide, and starving billions to death. Yet, while insisting that Iran and North Korea destroy their nuclear capability, the U.S. is disregarding its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and gearing up to “update” and expand its arsenal.

When will we wake up and realize that the only real protection against nuclear disaster is the total elimination of nuclear weapons?

Doug Wingeier Waynesville

Votes will help Haywood Schools

Corporations are not U.S. citizens To the Editor: Are you sick of government ignoring the people it was meant to represent? Do you want your representatives to do their job and represent you instead of the special interests? The North Carolina legislature is sitting on a bill, right now, that would force the government to work for us.

SB354 — the “We the People Referendum” — would put Citizens United on the NC ballot in 2018, giving citizens a chance to say once and for all that money is not speech and corporations aren’t people.

Sign the petition here: http://www.ncwethepeople.org/ncwtponline-petition.php This bill would rip the levers of power away from the big money players and special interest and put it where is belongs, with the people. SB 354 is sitting in the

Senate Rules Committee. The next step is for committee chair Senator Bill Rabon to put it on his committee agenda and see that the bill gets the vote it deserves. If you want to see this referendum on the ballot then please let Sen. Rabon know, call 919.733.5963 or email Bill.Rabon@ncleg.net Garrett Lagan Bryson City

Thanks for the help with Panthertown To the Editor: Friends of Panthertown and Mainspring Conservation Trust would like to thank all of our donors, including Jackson County residents, commissioners, and the Tourism Development Authority for contributing to the 16-acre Salt Rock land acquisition.

With the outpouring of generosity and community support, together we were successfully able to raise the funds necessary to purchase and conserve this important piece of property. Thank you for helping us protect and maintain Panthertown Valley.

Join the Friends of Panthertown on Saturday, June 3, National Trails Day, at the Salt Rock trailhead to celebrate conservation of Panthertown. Visit www.panthertown.org for more info.

Jason Kimenker Executive Director Friends of Panthertown

Smoky Mountain News

To the Editor: The Haywood County Schools Foundation is a participant in “A Community Thrives” project sponsored by Gannett, USA today, and the Asheville Citizen-Times. In this project there are three categories of Wellness, Arts & Culture and Education. Haywood Schools Foundation entered the Education category. The three winners will receive $100,000 for first place with two $50,000 second- and third-place winners. We are competing with the nation: i.e., Charlotte, Atlanta and Chicago. To win we must have support of all our citizens.

Please help us get their support and votes.

Submission was a three-minute video which gave a description of the project which had to be approved for entry. We chose the Citation Awards Program. The Haywood County Schools used it successfully last year and felt that it is a success story.

Our video can be seen on line by following these directions: Google “USA Today: A Community thrives — awarding grants to great ideas.”

Scroll down to submissions. “View all submissions.” You get to a page with Head line “Submit an Idea O Days until voting begins.” When the page comes up, scroll down about 50 rows of submissions. Give the computer time to call up the submissions. Look for Citation Awards for Education.

We are asking our supporters to help us pass the next step. The voting period began at 11:59 a.m. on April 12 and ends at 11:59 a.m. on May 12. Votes will be submitted at www.act.usatoday.comhttp://act.usatoday.com/submit-an-idea/ and by filling out the required information. You may vote one time each day for 30 days. You must be over 13 years of age. At the end of the voting period, up to ten (10) applications in each of the three (3) categories which have received the highest number of votes, will be the finalists and advance to the judging.

Everyone can help our idea to advance to the 10 applications in the education category by voting each day. Set your computer so that when you open it in the morning

you can vote for that day. Do this for 30 days and we will be among the finalist if all of our supporters — students, teachers, parents, families, clubs, organizations, businesses, everyone votes. Do vote yourself, every day and remind everyone you meet, “Have you voted?”

Our children thank you.

Doris B. Hammett, MD Waynesville

April 26-May 2, 2017

To the Editor: Back in 1979, then National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski received a middle-of-the-night phone call with the alarming news that a large-scale Soviet nuclear attack had been launched against the United States. Moments later a second call carried word that the all-out attack was underway. Convinced that the end was near, Brzezinski was seconds away from waking President Jimmy Carter to persuade him to press the button to begin a retaliatory nuclear response. But then, moments later a third call came canceling the alert and explaining that it was all a human, technical error. A training tape simulating a Soviet attack had mistakenly slipped into the actual early warning network, temporarily confusing the on-duty crew. They had taken eight minutes rather than the prescribed three to correct a near-calamitous error.

Imagine what might happen were such a mistake to occur with the current, triggerhappy Washington crew in charge — claiming authority to engage in acts of war without the congressional approval required by the Constitution. There would be only a few minutes to assess a report’s reliability and decide whether and how to respond.

Recently we have had a quick decision to direct several dozen missiles at Syria, killing many civilians. The largest non-nuclear bomb ever exploded indiscriminately has incinerated many in Afghanistan. A nervous, unstable, belligerent Kim Jong Un now has responded by rattling his sabers (missiles) in North Korea. There is no apparent

LETTERS

opinion

He also stated that he didn’t want to do anything to hurt children, the poor or the elderly. Then please remember that those are the ones most affected by Medicaid and by the Affordable Care Act.Congressman Meadows: We need to get away from simplistic throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater solutions. I have a problem with repealing the Affordable Care Act if it is not replaced with something better. It is not perfect, but please work to correct its shortcomings. Don’t ditch it till you are sure, in the complicated world of healthcare insurance, that you have something better to offer.

Joanne Strop Waynesville

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

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

BLOSSOM ON MAIN 128 N. Main Street, Waynesville.

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

Forget the myth that all Thai food is spicy.

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

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

Smoky Mountain News

April 26-May 2, 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

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.

CHURCH STREET DEPOT 34 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

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

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

FERRARA PIZZA & PASTA

WAYNESVILLE’S BEST BURGERS

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.

GUADALUPE CAFÉ 606 W. Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.9877.

Open 7 days a week at 5 p.m. Located in the historic Hooper’s Drugstore, Guadalupe Café is a chef-owned and operated restaurant serving Caribbean inspired fare complimented by a quirky selection of wines and microbrews.

Supporting local farmers of organic produce, livestock, hand-crafted cheese, and using sustainably harvested seafood.

J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817.

Open for dinner at 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Worldfamous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome. Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

JOEY’S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Winter hours: 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Joey’s is a family style restaurant that has been serving breakfast to the locals

Nutrition Facts serving size : ab out 50 p ag es Am ount per Serving Calories 0 % Daily Value * Tot al Fat 0g

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde

828-456-1997 blueroostersoutherngrill.com Monday-Friday Open at 11am 22

243 Paragon Parkway, Clyde. 828.476.5058.

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

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

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

Real Local Families, Real Local Farms, Real Local Food

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

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

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tasteTHEmountains 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.

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

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner.

The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

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

828.586.3555. Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Sunday brunch 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Handtossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch.

Beer and wine. Free movies Thursday trought Saturday. Visit madbatterfoodfilm.com for this week’s shows.

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

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

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.

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

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley 828.926.0201 Home of the Maggie Valley Pizzeria. We deliver after 4 p.m. daily to all of Maggie Valley, J-Creek area, and Lake Junaluska.

Monday through Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. country buffet and salad bar from 5 to 9 p.m. $11.95 with Steve Whiddon on piano.

Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 to 8 p.m. 11:30 to 3 p.m. family style, fried chicken, ham, fried fish, salad bar, along with all the fixings, $11.95.

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

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

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

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

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

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 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

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

3 E JACKSON ST. • SYLVA, NC

www.CityLightsCafe.com

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

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

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

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

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

TRAILHEAD CAFE & BAKERY 18 N Main Street, Waynesville.

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

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.

WAYNESVILLE PIZZA COMPANY 32 Felmet Street, Waynesville.

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

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

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

Closed Tues.

Sun. 12-9 p.m.

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

128 N. Main St., Waynesville

Mild, Sweet or Spicy

Introducing our New Fusion Menu

featuring

THE BLOSSOM BURGER

WINE • BEER • SAKE Hours 11:30-9:00

(828) 454-5400 BlossomOnMain.com

Real New Yorkers.

Real Italians. Real Pizza.

Dine-In ~ Take Out ~ Delivery

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

Just to serve you!

Featuring: Calzones · Stromboli Subs · Pasta and More

Smoky Mountain News

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

Sub Shop was voted # 1 in Haywood County.

Locally owned and operated.

April 26-May 2, 2017

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

Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections. Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies. Various desserts.

lunch with homemade soups, quiches, and desserts. Wide selection of wine and beer.

Outdoor and indoor dining.

NOW OPEN SUNDAYS NOON to 8 P.M. Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

243 Paragon Parkway | Clyde

828-476-5058

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24

A&E

Smoky Mountain News

Suddenly it’s spring Blue Ridge Big Band to play Folkmoot Friendship Center

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER It’s as timeless as the soundtrack of our lives, regardless of age.

When you listen to big band music, you either remember where you were when these melodies first hit the airwaves or you remember hearing them as a kid at your grandparents’ house. The sounds of a full orchestra — led by the likes of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey or Benny Goodman — conjure immediate memories. It’s wellearned emotions of love, heartbreak, happiness and sadness, all wrapped together in the musical notes and songbird vocals of the singular force that is big band.

And carrying on these traditions is the Blue Ridge Big Band. Based out of Asheville, the 17person ensemble is comprised of musicians from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and all corners of Western North Carolina.

“Live music is important to support, whether that is the BRBB or a local musician performing at a coffee house or The Asheville Symphony. Live music is being replaced by recorded and electronic music everywhere. It’s really unique that a community our size has a group like this that performs as often as we do,” said Chris Ulery, director of the BRBB and band director at Canton Middle School. “[And] I really enjoy the people who play in the band. Many were friends before playing in the band, four of us are band directors in [Haywood County], and many have become good friends because of the band — when you play with people you enjoy, it makes everything better.”

Ulery took over the ensemble from former director David Teague five years ago, with the group changing their name to the BRBB. And during his tenure, Ulery not only has brought more regional exposure to the act, he’s also encouraged the dialogue within the group in terms of what they’ll rehearse and ultimately play.

“Our big band is a little different,” Ulery said. “We don’t just do ‘big band’ music. We try to give everyone something that they enjoy.

It’s also one of the things that the members of the band enjoy.”

“One thing that might distinguish the Blue Ridge Big Band is that we actually like each other. We enjoy interacting inside and outside of the music — that’s a bonus,” added tenor saxophonist Bruce Henderson. “It’s unusual for 17 people to get along this well, but the common bond is the music. We share the same goals and depend upon each other in attempting to improve with each performance. We might not

be the best band, but we tend to be a band that most people seem to want to hear, and that must mean we are doing something right.”

A Canton native, Henderson recently moved back to his hometown. A lifelong multi-instrumentalist, he has found his niche, his ideal setup in the BRBB, after years of attending music camps and workshops around the country.

“I was hoping to find opportunities right here in Haywood County. The Blue Ridge Big

to local nonprofits, and also to simply lift the spirits of those within earshot, especially during the holidays.

“One of the other things that is important to me is that we try to perform [around] Western North Carolina as much as possible,” Ulery said. “We try to serve our greater community by doing performances and concerts, while they may not pay, give back to the community in a way that we can help. We do quite a few Christmas performances at a variety of venues to help spread a little holiday cheer.”

“We try to arrange at least a couple of gigs during [the] Christmas season for people who live in nursing homes and other residential

rehabilitation facilities. Some of the elderly residents have not heard a live big band in years, and they are as thrilled as we are to experience it,” Henderson added. “It can be very emotional for us, as these people often don’t get to hear the music of their past in a live setting. That’s another reason I love playing in the band — to know that someone is actually enjoying your band’s efforts is a great feeling, to know that you might be lifting someone’s sprits, distracting them from daily stresses, or just giving them something to hum on the way home. Well, to me, that is part of the reward of playing in a big band right here in Haywood County.”

The Blue Ridge Big Band will play April 29 in Waynesville.

Wayne Ebinger photo

Band continues to be that very opportunity for me,” Henderson said. “I was never formally trained in music. Everything I have learned I have had to dig out for myself, and I’m not my own best teacher. I continue to struggle to learn, and still know my place in the food chain as a musician. But, I know in my heart that I’m grateful that innate musical ability, hard work and dedication have allowed me to experience something that many musicians only dream of — the opportunity to play in a big band. It is, indeed, a great experience.”

“The group has a fairly unique composition — folks ranging in age from their early 20s to, well, several 20s,” Ulery noted. “We come from all walks of life. Business professionals, several teachers — one with a doctorate — two used car salesmen and our own psychologist.”

And even though the BRBB spends countless hours rehearsing and performing throughout the year, what matters most to the group is their continued community involvement. They aim to lend their services

Folkmoot and Blue Ridge Big Band In partnership with the Blue Ridge Big Band, Folkmoot will host “Dancing through the Decades,” a live big band music and dance experience, at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

The Blue Ridge Big Band is comprised of 17 musicians who share a love of big band music and performing. Musicians hail from Haywood, Jackson, Buncombe, Macon and Henderson counties and range in age from the young to the young-at-heart. Chris Ulery, band director at Canton Middle School, is the musical director. The BRBB’s mission is to entertain audiences with a wide variety of musical styles from traditional big band music and contemporary jazz to popular music of the last few decades.

“Dancing through the Decades” will begin with appetizers and no-host bar. Guests can sit back and enjoy the musical performance or dance to music from the 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s from swing to rockabilly and disco-style dancing. Dance instructors will be on hand to demonstrate dance steps and styles. Please dress to impress. This event is $30 for presale tickets only. Tickets can be purchased at www.folkmoot.org or by phone, 828.452.2997.

Folkmoot’s year-round programming initiatives have been made possible by Haywood Regional Medical Center, the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

Folkmoot is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating many cultures in one community. The Folkmoot Friendship Center is located in the Historic Hazelwood School at 112 Virginia Avenue in Waynesville. Staff can be reached by phone at 828.452.2997 or by email at info@folkmoot.org.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Garret K. Woodward photo

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5

87 Annual

Ramp Convention May 6th & 7th, 2017

VENDORS NEEDED

2 DAY EVENT: Saturday (6th): 12pm - 5pm Sunday (7th): 12pm - 5pm For more info call:

Diane Megrath

828.734.2234 April 26-May 2, 2017

April 28, 29 & May 5, 6, 11,* 12, 13 at 7:30 pm April 30 & May 7, 14 at 2:00 pm

Smoky Mountain News

It was immediately familiar.

Stepping into the Canton Middle School last Friday morning, the sights, sounds and smells of the building transported my The Strand at 38 Main (Waynesville) will host mind back to when I was 13 years legendary singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale at old some two decades ago. There 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6. was the sights of teachers and administrators meandering up Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host and down long corridors, sounds Darren Nicholson & Caleb Burress of young teenage boys and girls (Americana/folk) at 7 p.m. Friday, April 28. playfully teasing and laughing The Smoky Mountain Roller Girls will be with each other, smells of an old hosting a double header for the first bout of gymnasium and predictable cafethe season on Saturday, April 29, at the Swain teria food.

County Recreation Center in Bryson City.

Seeing as it was “National Poetry Month,” myself and The Art After Dark 2017 season will kickoff another writer, Jessica Jacobs, from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 5, in downtown who is a widely-acclaimed nationWaynesville. al poet, were asked to come in and present our work, our love of No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host Humps written word, to around 180 & The Blackouts (psychobilly) at 9:30 p.m. eighth-graders.

Friday, April 28.

Having been an after-school teacher during college, and also a It was cathartic leafing through the regular substitute at my old high school post-college, I love being in the classroom — pages. I remembered those long lost ex-girlinteracting with young minds, and also hold- friends, desert truck stops, endless cold highways, high mountain peaks, cheap ing court as I try to introduce new ideas and motel rooms, vast oceans and happenstance realms of thought. It’s in my blood, with my strangers encountered out in the abyss. But, mother and sister being educators, as well. mostly, I remembered that person — me — Preparing for the day at Canton, I had to who was out there on the horizon trying to sift through hundreds of dusty poems I hadn’t looked at in years. Yes, I am a writer. And figure it all out, wanting so badly to be a writer, and to make ends meet in doing so. yes, I write all the time. But, I’ve never really I’ll be the first to tell you I don’t know what thought of myself as a poet. That style of the hell I’m doing when it comes to writing. I writing has always been more of an exercise will say, however, that to be a good writer, you or urge to harness a short burst of energy need to be honest, with yourself and your and emotion, one that I need to get out of readers, with the rest being about finding your my head, off my fingertips and onto a piece unique voice (and crisp prose, too). of paper. And yet, there they were, countless All I know is that I can’t stop writing. pieces of paper with words of mine, those The literary faucet won’t shutoff (thankfulshort bursts of energy and emotion from ly), and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep years on the road, the last five in Western doing it. I tell people I’d go crazy if I couldn’t North Carolina.

AMERICAN LEGION POST #47 th

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

write, go for a run and see live music. And I mean that, sincerely. All three of those things make up my existence, and connect the dots of what I’m trying to, and will ultimately, do.

And as I stood up there, in front of dozens of teenagers waiting to see if I have anything to contribute to hold their attention, I found myself not only talking to them, but also myself, in expressing just why writing is so important and vital — regardless if your work ever sees the light of day.

The beauty of writing is that every single one of us is a writer, whether we know it or not. There are currently 7.5 billion people in this world. Which means there are 7.5 billion individual stories. Which also means only you — and you alone — can tell your story. As I told the middleschoolers, there are just as many teenage social cliques as there are in adulthood.

The names, faces and ages may change, but the targets and subject matter tend to stay the same.

But, with writing, those social barriers get broken down and understood, where you as a reader are shown how, regardless of background or religion, we all have one thing in common — being human. No matter who you are, you’ve laughed, cried, had successes and failures, and, if you’re lucky, loved and had that reciprocated. And once those hopes or frustrations, thoughts or concerns are laid out on paper, your mind is now able to relax and be clear, if but for a moment.

I remember being in eighth grade. I was a nerdy beanpole who would rather go to a history museum or play in the fields behind my childhood home than go to a middle school dance or try to gain acceptance in the popular social circles. And it wasn’t until I was 20 years old that I discovered my love for writing, a force of creativity and inner passion that brought to light all of my past, my present, and what I hoped for the future.

It was mesmerizing to watch and listen to those Canton teenagers come up and read their poems. Some were short and to the point, while others expressed either sadness or joy — emotions that permeate through any age bracket. There were many students who walked away from the presentations excited about writing, with handfuls not even phased by it all. And that’s ok, because for the ones that had something sparked within, it is a small ember that can ignite the biggest blaze — so long as you never stop being in awe of your dreams, your adventures, and the world surrounding you.

I may be 19 years older than those teenagers, but I’m still trying to navigate the unmerciful waters of life. And with writing, with what doors it has opened for me, and with those incredible people it has brought into my life, I’m able to row relentlessly with the ability to find safe harbor.

Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.

Adults $24 Seniors $22 Students $11 *Special $16 tickets for all Adults on Thursdays.

Special $8 Tickets for all Students on Thursdays & Sundays.

The Performing Arts Center at the Shelton House 250 Pigeon St. in Waynesville, NC

For More Information and Tickets:

828-456-6322 | www.harttheatre.org This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

25

Smoky Mountain News

April 26-May 2, 2017

arts & entertainment

On the beat

26

Balsam songwriters series

old-time fiddler Rayna Gellert (Uncle Earl), and they released an album together (“CoDependents” in 2012).

Starski was born and raised in the woodlands of Western Pennsylvania, amidst the beauty of rural Appalachia. According to her, “Growing up, music was all around me

The “Songwriters in the Round” series will continue with Anne McCue, Scott Miller and Ellen Starski at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the Balsam Mountain Inn. Bluesy songstress and multiAnne McCue. instrumentalist, McCue has released her sixth studio album “Blue Sky Thinkin.’” McCue recorded and produced the album alongside Dusty Wakeman (Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam) in Los Angeles and Nashville. The album has been mastered by Ray Kennedy in Nashville. It reunites the band from her critically acclaimed “Roll” album and allows McCue to explore some of her favorite influences, including Billy Holiday, Charlie Christian, Howlin’ Wolf, Memphis Minnie and Bessie Smith.

Miller manages the family cattle farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, but he also has a degree in Russian — everybody in my family sang. My grandand Soviet Studies from William & Mary mother sang in musical theater and the vioand tours the country as an esteemed linists and banjo players of my family go singer-songwriter. Miller was a member of back generations.”

Tickets are $49 per person, which the V-Roys — the first band signed to Jack Emerson and Steve Earle’s label — and later includes a buffet dinner.

828.456.9498 or www.balsammouna member of the band The Commonwealth.

He toured for some time with renowned taininn.net.

‘An Evening with Jim Lauderdale’ Americana icon Jim Lauderdale will play May 6 in Waynesville.

Legendary singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale will perform at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 6, at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

Two-time Grammy-winning singer and master songwriter Jim Lauderdale is both a “songwriter's songwriter,” who's written/cowritten many modern classics for iconic artists, as well as an intuitive sideman, who's enhanced the music of a bevy of esteemed musicians. As a solo artist, since 1986, he's created a body of work spanning 28 albums of imaginative roots music, encompassing country, bluegrass, soul, R&B and rock.

Throughout his three-decade career, Lauderdale has helped pave the way for the

JAM Kids Day Camp Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. is presenting the JAM Kids Day Camp on Saturday, May 13, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

This event is completely free and open to JAM students, as well as other children learning traditional Appalachian music throughout North Carolina and beyond.

The JAM Kids Day Camp will start at noon with activities and workshops led by master teaching artists from the region.

Students will also have the opportunity to jam with new friends and perform for an audience.

Students will be able to choose three workshop activities, such as North Carolina Banjo Songs (Susan Pepper, Sylva), Jump Right Into Singing and Songwriting (Dusk Weaver, Cherokee), Beginner or Intermediate Fiddle (Kalia Yeagle, Johnson City, Tennessee), Beginner or Intermediate Guitar (Cary Fridley, Asheville), Basics of 3-Finger Banjo (Trajan Wellington, West Jefferson), Mandolin (Liam Purcell, Deep Gap), String Band

current Americana movement, recording albums and writing songs that cross genres from country, rock, folk and bluegrass. He has written songs and worked with some of the finest artists in traditional and modern music, including Robert Hunter, Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello, George Strait, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, John Oates, Solomon Burke, Lee Ann Womack, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Blake Shelton, the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, and Gary Allan among many, many others.

Tickets are $25 per person. You can purchase tickets at The Strand or online at www.38main.com.

(Geraud Barralon and Zach Kilmer, Murphy), Playing the Doghouse Bass (Eliot Smith, Boone), and the Art of Performing (Cane Mill Road Band).

Parents are welcome, but not required, to attend with their children, and additional arts/crafts activities will be available for younger siblings. Sign-in begins at 11 a.m.

May 13. Children should bring their own musical instrument to participate. The event will occur at the Forsyth Building on the WCU campus.

Participants must pre-register by April 28 at www.jamkids.org/wcu in order to receive a meal at no cost.

Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc. offers a variety of learning and performance activities for students, teachers, program directors, and volunteers involved in the 40 after school JAM programs throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

For more information about the organization or this event, visit www.jamkids.org or contact Brett Martin, executive director of JAM, at 276.773.0573 or brett@jamkids.org.

On the beat

Mountain Faith comes to Iotla Acclaimed bluegrass act Mountain Faith will perform during the “Leadership & Literature Tasting Buffet” at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 4, at the Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin.

Tickets are $25 per person, which includes a show ticket and meal.

828.524.2938.

Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival

The Arts Council of Macon County will host an evening with acclaimed songwriter and Atlantic and Sony Records recording artist Harlan Collins at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 27, at the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin.

Collins, who arranged music for the cult classic film “This Is Spinal Tap,” and has been a musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” will perform some original songs and share personal insights into the art and business sides of his long career in the music industry.

Among his many credits, Collins has composed for film and TV, and has written/cowritten several musicals, including “Highlander: A Celtic Opera,” based on the popular film and TV series, and “My Cuba,” currently in development in Los Angeles.

Admission is by donation, $5 is suggested. Light refreshments will be served.

This event is produced by the Arts Council of Macon County, supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Contact the Macon Council for details, arts4all@dnet.net or 828.524.ARTS (2787). www.harlancollins.com.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Sheila Gordon (piano/vocals) April 28 and Joe Cruz (piano/pop) April 29.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host Ryan Sheley (singersongwriter) April 29 and Bradley Carter (singer-songwriter) May 6. Shows are free and begin at 7:30 p.m. www.curraheebrew.com.

May 6. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. 828.349.2337 or www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Nantahala Brewing Company (Bryson City) will host live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host Humps & The Blackouts (psychobilly) April 28 and Grandpa’s Cough Medicine (bluegrass) April 29 ($2 cover). All shows are free and begin at 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.nonamesportspub.com.

ALSO:

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic with Susan at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and live music on Friday evenings. 828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.

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

828.488.8898.

• Sneak E Squirrel Brewing (Sylva) will host line dancing every Friday at 7 p.m. and contra dancing every other Friday at 8 p.m.

828.586.6440.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Darren Nicholson & Caleb Burress (Americana/folk) April 28. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Heinzelmannchen Brewery (Sylva) will have live music and a potluck from 6 to 8 p.m. April 27 and May 4. www.yourgnometownbrewery.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night April 26 and May 3, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo April 27 and May 4. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Rachel Stewart (acoustic) April 28, Northside Gentleman (funk/soul) April 29 and PMA (reggae/rock) album release party

• The Strand at 38 Main (Waynesville) will host legendary singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale at 7:30 p.m. May 6 (tickets are $25) and an “Open Mic” night from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. All are welcome.

828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host the Local Metal Showcase April 28 and Bender Kills (rock) May 5. All shows begin at 9:30 p.m. 828.456.4750.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host Ian Jeffress Faculty Recital 7:30 p.m. April 28, Civic Orchestra 4 p.m. April 30 and Clarinet Studio Recital 7:30 p.m.

April 30 in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building. There will also be a Mountain Winds Concert at 7:30 p.m. May 2 in the Bardo Arts Center. www.wcu.edu.

Smoky Mountain News

Macon Arts welcomes Harlan Collins

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host Scott Mark (singer-songwriter) April 28 and Marshall Ballew (Americana/folk) April 29. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. There will also be an open mic “Jammin’ with Heidi” on Wednesdays from noon to 6 p.m. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

Warren Brothers, Martina McBride, Lorrie Morgan, and Phil Vasser.

A tireless philanthropist, Evans is involved in several charitable endeavors.

She is a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association and has been awarded the Crystal Cross for her support of the American Red Cross.

Tickets start at $30. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

April 26-May 2, 2017

In partnership with the 47th annual Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival and Warren Wilson College, the Haywood County Arts Council will be hosting a “2017 Festival Kick-Off Celebration” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Inessa Zaretsky, pianist and artistic director of the festival, will be joined onstage by Jasper String Quartet members Rachel Henderson Freivogel (cello) and J Freivogel (first violin). The program will highlight works of Hayden, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.

Featured performers this summer will include a soprano who has sung at Spoleto, a pianist who is a Van Cliburn Gold Medalist, and a violinist who has won the International Tchaikovsky Competition, as well as the Jasper, Enso and Tesla String Quartets.

Tickets are $25 each. Purchase tickets at www.scm-festival.com/tickets.

Country star Sara Evans will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 28, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Evans is an award-winning country music singer and songwriter with a stellar career fueled by one of the most compelling female vocals of her generation. Over the years, Evans has developed a reputation for delivering thoroughly satisfying albums brought to life by her distinctive voice.

She has sold nearly six million records and her last four albums have been certified Gold, Platinum, or multi-Platinum. Some of her number one hits include, “Suds in a Bucket,” “A Real Fine Place to Start,” “No Place That Far” and “A Little Bit Stronger.”

Evans has collaborated with many outstanding artists including Brad Paisley, The

arts & entertainment

Franklin welcomes Sara Evans

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arts & entertainment

On the street FUR of WNC wine tasting Feline Urgent Rescue (FUR) of Western North Carolina will host an evening of wine and appetizers from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville.

Atop discounts on single wine bottles and cases, there will also be a silent auction, featuring local artwork, jewelry and gift certificates.

RSVP online at www.furofwnc.org until May 2. Cost is $30 per person and includes three wine tasting tickets. Sponsorships available for $125, which includes two admissions and a bottle of Mosseland wine.

For more information on the wine tasting, call 843.422.2704. To learn more about FUR of WNC, visit www.facebook.com/furofwnc or call 844.888.2287.

WOW Kentucky Derby fundraiser

April 26-May 2, 2017

Women of Waynesville, a nonprofit organization that supports the needs of women and children in Haywood County, will present its inaugural “Kentucky Derby Gala Fundraiser” from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at The Waynesville Inn. The event will be held out on the terrace

of Waynesville Inn overlooking the golf course and gorgeous mountain views.

Guests can help themselves to an array of heavy southern hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar with everything you’ll need to make a mint julep.

Attendees can watch the races throughout the afternoon on big screen TVs and will have an opportunity to place bets on four different Kentucky Derby races with a chance to win a cash prize. The event will also feature a Derby Hat and Derby Bowtie contest judged by local stylish celebrities.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Girls on the Run, a program that trains young girls to run a 5K and also builds self-confidence. Several Haywood County elementary schools have utilized this national curriculum locally to inspire girls to be physically and mentally prepared for life’s challenges.

Tickets for the Kentucky Derby fundraiser are $35 each and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com/e/kentucky-derby-gala-fundraiser-tickets33061166840.

For more information or to make a donation to WOW, call 828.550.9978.

Since forming in 2012, WOW has raised more than $150,000 for local charities in Haywood County.

To find out more about WOW, visit www.womenofwaynesville.org or follow them on Facebook.

28 Walnut St. Waynesville

828.456.3021 HaywoodChamber.com

Business of The Month: Inn at Tranquility Farm

Do you like ramps?

The 87th annual Ramp Convention will be held from noon to 5 p.m. May 6-7 at the American Legion Post #47 in Waynesville.

Family friendly activities, corn hole tournament, ramp eating contest, and “King & Queen of the Ramp” winners. There will also be live music from the Darren Nicholson Band (Americana/bluegrass), Carolina

Hearts (Americana) and Mile High (rock/classics).

Tickets are $8 pre-event, $10 day of event, which includes a meal. Tickets without a meal are $8 day of event.

828.550.6691.

‘The Saga of Sam Hunnicutt’ Jim Casada will be presenting “The Saga of Sam Hunnicutt: A True Swain County Original” at 6:30 p.m. May 4 at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center in Bryson City. The event will be part of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society meeting.

Some would say that Hunnicutt was the hunter for the ages, an expert geologist, a natural historian, a yodeler, a turkey-pantherbobcat caller, and a songbird imitator. One of his lifelong pursuits was seeking gold, silver and precious stones. He was a noted “sanger” (ginseng digger). Hunnicutt was a self-proclaimed “perfect hunter and fisherman.” He was the author of Twenty Years of Hunting and Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains, which was possibly the first book ever written by a Swain County native.

Western Carolina University and its Friends of the Hunter Library have reprinted Hunnicutt’s book as the first volume of a new annual series bringing rare items back into print and making them available to the public.

Casada, a retired university professor, is a native of Bryson City and calls himself a “son of the Smokies.” He wrote the introduction for the Hunnicutt reprint, which will be available for purchase at the meeting. Casada’s soon to be published 36-chapter book Profiles in Mountain Character has a chapter devoted to Sam Hunnicutt. Casada has also written numerous forewords, chapters, and introductions for other books as well as having authored and edited dozens of books.

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

An event venue that specializes in weddings.

Smoky Mountain News

Their mission is to provide the highest quality customer service experience possible for our clients and their guests.

1804 CAMP BRANCH RD, WAYNESVILLE • 828.564.1105 LEFT TO RIGHT: CECE HIPPS, STEVE MCNEIL, SUTTON AND KYLE KATZ OF INN AT TRANQUILITY FARM!

PRESENTING SPONSORS

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Smoky Mountain Roller Girls return The Smoky Mountain Roller Girls will be hosting a double header for the first bout of the season on Saturday, April 29, at the Swain County Recreation Center located on Deep Creek Road in Bryson City.

The double header will feature the Lil’ Nemisisters Junior Derby team taking on the Gastonia Junior Roller Derby team to start off the action. The Smoky Mountain Roller Girls will then challenge Peach State.

The first bout starts at 4:30 p.m. with your hometown team Smoky Mountain Roller Girls taking the track at 6 p.m.

Proceeds from the bout will benefit Swain County's Relay for Life. The Smoky Mountain Roller Girls have a tradition of

donating proceeds from their ticket sales to local charities since their debut sold out bout in 2012.

Smoky Mountain Roller Girls is a nonprofit, all women’s flat track derby team based in Swain County. Women ages 18 and up are encouraged to come out for practice on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sundays 5 to 8 p.m. Men and women are also invited to join the team as non-skat- J ing officials, referees and volunteers.

Tickets are $5 ahead of time. They can be purchased at Bryson City Bicycles, Donno’s Higher Ground Tattoos or from a roller girl or $7 at the door. Order tickets online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

Children under 5 are always free.

Nantahala Brewing Company will be hosting an after party beginning at 8 p.m. following the bout.

On the street

In preparation for launching their new brewery, Mountain Layers Brewing in Bryson City, Kim and Mark Pettit had to understand the brewing process, develop a business plan, secure the necessary financing and design a new logo.

For help with all of those, the Pettits reached out to Southwestern Community College and Tiffany Henry, director of SCC’s Small Business Center.

The Pettits also took advantage of SCC’s craft brewing and bartending certification classes, and they even commissioned Southwestern’s advertising and graphic design students to create the Mountain Layers logo. Plus, they met with Henry on multiple occasions for confidential small business counseling.

“SCC’s fingerprints are all over this business,” Mark said while giving a tour of his brewery recently. “I can’t tell you how fortunate we were to find Tiffany. She helped us put together our business plan, she helped prepare us to get financing we needed, and she helped us connect with a network of people who were able to help us out.”

The brewery is located in the center of downtown Bryson City on historic Everett Street. The building includes a rooftop deck overlooking the Tuckasegee River and nearby mountains.

It also includes an “Honor and Remember” wall that features the American

Flag, the five branches of the U.S. military and patches representing first responders of Swain County and across the country. The wall has special significance for Mark, who is retired after spending 30 years in law enforcement in Minnesota.

“When you spend so much of your life in public service, you want to serve people — even after you retire,” Mark said. “The new

Canyon Kitchen additions, dinner series

17, guests can enjoy a Coupe Cocktail Dinner with cocktail book author, Brian Hoffman, of Hoffman Media. Lastly, they will close out the month with a wine dinner featuring Chateau Montelena on May 24.

For more information on Canyon Kitchen or reservations, visit www.lonesomevalley.com or call 828.743.7967.

We specialize in farm & agriculture tires & repairs.

We handle several lines of farm tires.

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business is a great way to engage and interact with people and serve our local community that has embraced us.”

To learn more about SCC’s Small Business Center, contact Henry at 828.339.4426 or t_henry@southwesterncc.edu. www.southwesterncc.edu.

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

ALSO:

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

ENDS THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 28 SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE!

haywood.edu/registration 828.627.4500

Smoky Mountain News

• There will be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m. April 28 and May 6 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

SUMMER REGISTRATION

April 26-May 2, 2017

Located in the rustically elegant Jennings Barn at the foot of Cow Rock Mountain in Lonesome Valley, Canyon Kitchen will be opening for the season on Thursday, April 27.

Executive Chef Adam Hayes and his team of seasoned culinary professionals have been preparing for the restaurant’s opening for months and are looking forward to the new offerings and enhancements.

That program includes a new restaurant manager, Tim Smith, who is also a certified sommelier. Erik Hedlund will be alongside Chef Hayes in the kitchen as Executive Sous Chef, as well as Ken Naron as Sous Chef and Jorden Cruley as Pastry Chef. In addition to some new faces, guests can also expect to see several enhancements to the restaurant itself with a reconfigured kitchen, new equipment, pastry shop and bar.

To kick off the season, Canyon Kitchen will host special culinary events and wine dinners on Wednesdays throughout the month of May. The first scheduled is a dinner featuring Guest Chef Meherwan Irani from Chai Pani on May 3. The next event, on May 10, is a fundraiser for the Hospice House. On May

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arts & entertainment

SCC vital in brewery launch

ENSLEY TIRE SERVICE

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April 26-May 2, 2017

arts & entertainment

On the wall CMA scholarships are now available Cullowhee Mountain Arts of Sylva announces eight scholarships available for the Cullowhee Mountain Arts Summer Arts Workshop Series at Western Carolina University.

Three weeks of workshops will run during the month of June beginning June 11. Application deadline is May 5.

Through the Jackson County Arts Council Grassroots grant, CMA is matching funds to provide eight, half-tuition scholarships open to all regional artists living in Jackson County. To apply, go to the JCAC webpage or the CMA webpage: www.cullowheemountainarts.org/scholarships or call Director Norma Hendrix 828.342.6913.

The Summer of 2017 Cullowhee Mountain Arts Summer Arts Series will be held at WCU mid-June to the end of June, bringing 16 artists, their students, and their workshops to the region.

Since 2012, CMA has attracted international attention for its unique format and distinguished level of art workshops and programs held locally on the WCU campus, nearby Waynesville at Lake Logan Episcopal Retreat Center, Sante Fe/Taos, New Mexico and Gloucester, Massachusetts. CMA is offering several workshops this year along the eastern seaboard in Snow Hill, Maryland. In what has become an annual event, this past January saw CMA travel across the globe to hold two weeks of workshops in Takapuna, New Zealand.

CMA is a local, but internationally recognized grassroots nonprofit organization providing the Summer Artists Workshop series at WCU, an established annual summer event on the Western campus introducing artists and educators from all walks of life to Western North Carolina.

Waynesville’s Art After Dark returns Smoky Mountain News

The Art After Dark 2017 season will kickoff from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 5, in downtown Waynesville.

Each first Friday of the month (MayDecember), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors.

Participants include Burr Studio, Cedar Hill Studios, Earthworks Gallery, Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts, The Jeweler’s Workbench, Moose Crossing Burl Wood Gallery, T. Pennington Art Gallery, Twigs and Leaves Gallery and The Village Framer.

It is free to attend Art After Dark.

30 www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.

Interested in calligraphy?

Controlled Chaos Film Festival returns

Dogwood Crafters Co-Op will offer a twoday calligraphy workshop from 10 a.m. to noon May 4 and May 11 at the Dillsboro Masonic Lodge.

Cheryl Thompson, a long-time member of Dogwood Crafters, will share basic strokes and lettering techniques. Cost of the class is $14, payable on the first day.

Register to attend by May 1. Call Dogwood Crafters at 828.586.2248 or email junettapell@hotmail.com.

Franklin ARTSaturday

Films created by Western Carolina University students will be screened at the ninth annual Controlled Chaos Film Festival at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 28, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee.

Several of the films have mature subject matter and are not suitable viewing for children. For more information, contact the Film and Television Production Program at 828.227.7491.

Tickets are $12 at the door. Proceeds and donations benefit the Motion Picture Student Project Fund, which helps students in WCU’s Film and Television Production Program with the cost of creating their senior thesis films. www.wcu.edu.

A free ARTSaturday workshop for elementary school-age children and their families will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Franklin’s Town Square Gazebo.

The nature-themed event features makeand-take mini kites and paper craft flowers, Chalk-on-the-Sidewalk art, and other fun fresh-air activities. Come for any part of the session. Materials and trail mix snacks will be provided; no pre-registration is needed.

In conjunction with the workshop, Macon County Art Association members’ works will be on display in an “Out of the Frame” clothesline art show and sale on Town Square.

828.524.ARTS or arts4all@dnet.net.

HCAC art camp

Judaculla Art Competition

The Waynesville Recreation Center has partnered with the Haywood County Arts Council to offer a weeklong art camp from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 19-23.

The camp is for rising third through seventh graders. There are still spots left for your child to participate in this exciting day camp, which will offer a variety of arts experiences. Classes include: drama, guitar, collage, jewelry, poetry, painting, and more.

“We were so excited to have this opportunity to work with the Waynesville Rec. Center on an art camp — we’ve worked to create lots of variety during the week, introducing participants to all kinds of art. This is the type of camp I would have loved to participate in as a child,” said HCAC Executive Director Lindsey Solomon.

Price is $135 for the week, and the registration deadline is May 2. To register, call the Waynesville Recreation Center at 828.456.2030.

Artists from Western Carolina University and across the region are invited to submit entries in the Judaculla Art Competition being sponsored by WCU’s Cherokee Center.

Artwork on paper, canvas or in standing sculpture form can be turned in at the Cherokee Center, located at 1594 Acquoni Road in Cherokee, by Monday, May 1.

The artwork should be based on Judaculla Rock, a large soapstone boulder located near WCU’s Cullowhee campus that contains some of the best-preserved petroglyphs (rock carvings) east of the Mississippi River, or on the giant of Cherokee legend known as Judaculla.

Winning artwork will become the property of WCU and will be displayed in various locations around the WCU campus in Cullowhee and at the Cherokee Center.

For more information, contact Sky Sampson, director of the Cherokee Center, at 828.497.7920 or snsampson@wcu.edu.

• Local crafter and instructor Junetta Pell will be teaching a new “Berry Gathering Basket” workshop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

April 27-28 at the Jackson County Extension Office in Sylva. This basket is a unique design that includes a hard bottom, tightly woven sides and a handy strap to gather those fresh berries as you pick them. Call the Extension Office at 828.586.4009 to register and for the supply list. Cost for this project is only $15. Class size is limited

ALSO:

• There will be an exhibit showcasing the work of painter Sharon Ann Volker through the month of April at the Macon County

Public Library in Franklin. Volker is a selftaught artist. She began working with pastels in the early 1990s, experimenting first with the human form and then with a variety of still life and landscape subjects. Volker is a full-time resident of Otto and can create detailed reproductions and original works of art. She may be contacted at 828.524.5078 or by email at volkerks@frontier.com.

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

• “Paint Nite Waynesville” will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. There will also be “Painting at the Porch” at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Southern Porch in Canton.

Sign up for either event on the Paint Night Waynesville Facebook page (search event: Brush N. Brew) or call Robin Smathers at 828.400.9560. paintnitewaynesville@gmail.com.

• There will be a “Thursday Painters Open Studio” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at the Franklin Uptown Gallery. Bring a bag lunch, project and supplies. Free to the public. Membership not required. For information, call 828.349.4607.

On the wall

The Waynesville Public Art Commission has selected three finalists from a field of eight applicants for its upcoming project in the parking lot in Hazelwood.

As part of a scheduled renovation by the Town of Waynesville to the parking lot leased from The Forga family, a mini-park dedicated to Robert and Viola Forga will be placed in a centralized location in the lot. The piece will be placed in the park.

The theme of the piece is “The Plott Hound.” The Public Art Commission viewed this as an opportunity to not only pay homage to the Plott Hound and its roots in Hazelwood, but to have the first piece of public art there as well.

Artists from North Carolina and Tennessee were asked to submit proposals along with examples of their past works.

Metal specialists and sculptors with a variety of backgrounds and experiences applied for the $20,000 commission.

“Although we were hoping for a larger

number of applicants, we were happy with the caliber of the proposals,” said George Kenney, chairman of the Public Art Commission. “It is important that all areas of Waynesville showcase public art that reflects local culture and is accessible to all,” he added.

The three finalists will make presentations to a Citizen Advisory Panel on April 29.

The public is invited to attend these presentations. The panel will consist of 30-35 selected citizens and will represent a cross-section of the community. After reviewing the final proposals, the panel will have an opportunity to fill out a comment sheet, as well as discuss their thoughts with the Public Art Commission. The commission will request approval to move forward by the Board of Aldermen to award the project after an official decision is made at the May public art commission meeting.

The finalists for the project are Jim Collins of Highlands, Todd Frahm of Asheville and Robert Orr of Waynesville. The $20,000 commission will be raised from private individuals, area businesses, and grants from the North Carolina Community Foundation.

The mission of the Waynesville Public Art Commission is to engage the community and enrich public spaces through original art that celebrates Waynesville’s unique historic, cultural, natural and human resources.

For more information, contact Kenney at 828.246.0124.

Are you ready for ‘Artrageous’?

The “Artrageous: An Interactive Art and Music Experience” will be held at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 29, at the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

The “Artrageous” troupe of artists, musicians, singers and dancers pay tribute to a variety of art forms, pop icons and musical genres culminating in a gallery of finished paintings. The Troupe was formed in 1980 in the Kitsilano district of Vancouver, British Columbia, by current Artrageous members Daniel K. Moyer and Deborah B. Noble.

Artrageous has produced over 2,500 shows both nationally and internationally.

Tickets are $8 for students/children, $20 for WCU faculty/staff and $24 for adults/seniors.

For tickets or further information, visit the Bardo Arts Center box office Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. or one hour prior to each ticketed performance.

Tickets can also be found online at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or by calling the box office at 828.227.2479.

• A production of “The Nerd” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. April 28-29 and 2 p.m.

April 30 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

One of the funniest plays ever written, this comedy has had audiences laughing for years. Suitable for all audiences. Tickets are $25.68 per person. www.harttheatre.org or 828.456.6322.

ALSO:

• The Highlands Performing Arts Center will continue the “Live via Satellite” series with the National Theatre of London’s production of “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern” at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 29. Tickets are avail-

arts & entertainment

Hazelwood Public Art finalists

On the stage

able online at www.highlandspac.org, at the door or by calling 828.526.9047.

• The Haywood Christian Academy’s Night of the Arts will bring together all of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters onstage in “Seussical, Jr.” at 6:30 p.m. May 4-5 at the school on 1400 Clyde Road in Clyde. This will be a fantastical musical extravaganza featuring HCA students. Purchase tickets at haywoodchristianacademy.churchcenteronline.com/registrations/events/62418.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for HCA students. For more information, contact the school office at 828.627.0229 or visit www.haywoodchristianacademy.org.

April 26-May 2, 2017

SATURDAY APRIL 29 • 3 P.M.

Smoky Mountain News

Bookstore

Bren McClain

will present her novel, One Good Mama Bone 3 EAST JACKSON STREET • SYLVA

828/586-9499 • citylightsnc.com

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

A desperate tale, beautifully written “And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry And satisfy the needs of the oppressed, Then your light will rise in the darkness, And your night will become like the noonday.”

— Isiah 58:10 he setting of Desperation Road is a short stretch of highway in Mississippi between Magnolia and McComb near the Louisiana state line. It is a rural area and other than the Fernwood Truck Stop and the Armadillo bar, there is nothing of interest ... just closed stores, a bus station and a halfway house. This is where Michael Farris Smith’s characters spend their time in a desperate search for peace or redemption.

They are all defeated and bear the scars of their encounters.

When Maben and her daughter, Annabelle, appear on the highway, they are on their way to the Writer truck stop. Maben carries a garbage bag that contains their worldly possessions: some ragged clothes and the child’s coloring books.

When an elderly gentleman is touched by their plight, he gives them a ride to the truck stop and gives Maben $40.

So, this story of blighted lives begins with an act of kindness from a stranger. It is an act that serves as a catalyst, igniting a series of actions that eventually leaves Maben on a remote road with a dead cop and a gun in her hand.

Russell Gaines is just out of prison, having served an 11-year sentence for a drunk driving charge. One night, the drunken Russell had been out joy riding and he had encountered a truck parked on a bridge (a courting couple) and the subsequent collision left Jason Teasdale dead. Russell knows that some people (Jason’s brothers, Larry and Walt) feel that his 11-year sentence was not sufficient punishment and they are prepared to repeatedly beat Russell senseless. Russell seems to accept this and survives his first beating on the day he arrives home from prison. Although his former true love has now married and has three children, Russell has irrational dreams of starting over.

Larry Teasdale dreams of killing Russell. In fact, he spends much of his time driving the dark roads between Magnolia and McComb, muttering constantly about hate for Russell.

He rides with a crow bar on the seat next to him. Ah, but Larry has other problems. He has an unfaithful wife who makes no effort to keep her affairs a secret. Larry feels that the world is laughing at him and he is right. He also suspects that his wife is involved with Russell.

Gary Carden

T

are not a part of the aimless and frantic movement of the desperate. Russell’s father, Mitchell, is a man who has found peace with Consuela, his Mexican housekeeper and his catfish pond.

Suddenly, things begin to come together.

Perhaps Russell cannot have his lover back, but perhaps there is a kind of recompense. Is his own redemption realized in the saving of Annabelle?

As Russell watches his father and Annabelle fish and notes the growing bond between the old man and the girl, he senses that much has been lost, but here is a permanent bond taking shape. Only Maben’s final fate is uncertain.

Although battered and badly damaged, she has survived.

As for Larry, he reaps the fate he so desperately sought.

This book is beautifully written.

The dialogue is especially noteworthy and much of it Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith. Little, Brown & Company, 2017. sounds like it was 269 pages. overheard in a rural bar or cafe. The characters, especially the waitresses and the Russell and Larry. As the search for the killer weary store clerks, sound like the people in of the cop who was killed with his own gun continues, the lives of the desperate characters small rural areas.

Several years ago, I read Michael Farris begin to merge and Boyd suspects that the Smith’s Rivers, another remarkable novel and consequences of Russell’s plight will become I feel that both books contain a recurring the same as ... Maben. theme. Cohen, the protagonist of Rivers, feels It is Boyd who remembers the frightened that he is an ordinary man with unremarkable girl who was with Jason the night that her lover died on that bridge. When Russell brings talents and capabilities. However, he finds that he has been given a daunting responsibility. If Maben and Annabelle home to his father’s he and his world are to survive, it is necessary farm and watches the two settle into a safe that he become “remarkable” ... even heroic. haven, he vows to help Maben. He convinces He reluctantly strives to accomplish his goal her to get rid of the gun and even suggests and succeeds. I felt that Russell is also a man that he can keep Annabelle if Maben will that circumstances require that he become make her escape on the bus. All of this plan is “remarkable,” both in what he is willing to known to Boyd who suddenly finds that the sacrifice and in what he accomplishes. Like secret that he carries is a weighty responsibiliCohen, he succeeds. ty. The security of the other characters is (Gary Carden is a writer and storyteller. He can dependent on his silence. be reached at gcarden498@aol.com.)

One character is remarkable in that they Boyd, who was Russell’s best friend in high school, is now the local cop, and spends much of his time cruising the same dark streets as

Havelin to present works Noted Asheville author Michael Havelin will be reading from his mystery novels and short stories at 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 29, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville.

Havelin has written eight novels and is hard at work on another in his Ben Bones series. Over the course of his creative life, Havelin has been a solo blues performer and rhythm guitarist in a revival big band.

He’s been a photographer of motorcycle road racing, has authored how-to photography manuals and articles, and has been the publisher/editor of two national magazines. Havelin has taught computers to the U.S. Army and nature photography and writing at the college level. He’s even practiced law for several years.

828.456.6000 or www.blueridgebooksnc.com.

• Writer Bren McClain will present her latest work One Good Mama Bone at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. In the book, McClain tells the story of Sarah Creamer, a recently widowed and dirt-poor single mother struggling to survive in rural South Carolina in the 1950s. Sarah has been told by her own mother that she’ll never have “one good mama bone” in her, and Sarah believed it.

But when she buys a steer for her son to enter into the local cattle show and sale, hoping it will help them with their money troubles, the calf’s mother follows and what Sarah needed to know about compassion and good mothering she learns from watching Mama Red.

ALSO:

City Lights open mic The NetWest program of the North Carolina Writers Network will host an open mic night at 7 p.m. Friday, May 5, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Folks are encouraged to bring their poetry or short pieces to share. Sign-ups begin at 6:45 p.m. for 10-minute reading session. The North Carolina Writers’ Network connects, promotes, and serves the writers of this state. They provide education in the craft and business of writing, opportunities for recognition and critique of literary work, resources for writers at all stages of development, support for and advocacy of the literary heritage of North Carolina, and a community for those who write. www.ncwriters.org.

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There’s a Cherokee legend about how strawberries came to be.

THE FIRST MAN AND FIRST WOMAN lived very happily together at the edge of the forest for a long while but as with any relationship, they started to get on each others nerves.

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At first, First Woman smelled a lovely aroma. She sniffed and looked around, then saw a

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First Woman was so intoxicated by the pleasures of this red berry that she sat and ate the strawberries she could reach. And she forgot her anger. She thought about how sweet the berries were and how other things in her life had been sweet. She even thought, I need to share this with First Man, he won’t believe it. So she gathered a skirt full of berries, turned and walked home, meeting him along the way, as he was looking for her.

She placed a berry in his mouth, and all was forgotten and forgiven.

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Smoky Mountain News

& NOW PICKING STRAWBERRIES!

So First Woman decided enough was enough and left. First Man didn’t worry until a few days had passed and she had not come back. The Sun felt very sorry for the First Man and decided to help him out. To entice the First Woman to stop walking away, he put blueberries in her path. She took no notice and kept walking. Then the Sun caused some gorgeous blackberries to grow in her path. She kept walking.

plant with shiny green leaves, lovely white flowers, and a large luscious red berry. She picked the berry up, smelled it, then gave it a taste. It was incredibly sweet and delightful to her palate.

April 26-May 2, 2017

THE CHEROKEE’S LEGEND OF THE STRAWBERRY

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Mountain bikes roll into Swain High Fleet donation from Bryson City Bikes aims to get kids riding

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fleet of new mountain bikes has come home to roost at Swain County High School, thanks to a donation from Bryson City Bicycles.

In December 2016, the bike shop landed an award from Synchrony Financial that granted it $10,000 to grow the business and another $10,000 earmarked for a community project of its choosing. Bryson City Bicycles was one of only five small businesses nationwide to land one of the Working Forward Small Business Awards, and co-owner Diane Cutler had no doubts about where in the community she wanted to invest that $10,000.

“Bicycling can be a lifelong activity, and if we can get kids into that now, it’s something that is a tool for them to stay active the rest of their lives,” she said.

That’s in sharp contrast to most organized sports, which most people stop playing regularly upon graduation. The problem, however, is that bicycles are expensive, and children from low-income families in particular wouldn’t likely have the opportunity to give the sport a real shot.

Because of the bike shop’s expertise and connections, Cutler and co-owner Andy Zivinsky were able to leverage that $10,000 award into more than $20,000 worth of bicycles and equipment. Last week, they headed over to Swain High to deliver 17 bicycles, 20 helmets, a floor pump, a repair and wash

A

stand, a cleaning kit, various tools and a new 6x12 enclosed cargo trailer to store and transport the bikes. The donation also includes two years of free maintenance, replacement parts and service from Bryson City Bicycles.

Last week’s visit to Swain High was about much more than dropping of some bikes, however. Cutler and Zivinsky ran an orientation program for two different high school physical education classes, talking about helmet safety, bike anatomy and the basics of riding. Not every teen, it turned out, knew how to ride a bike.

“There’s a lot of anxiety there with kids, and that’s where I’d like to be able to help where I can,” Cutler said.

She remembers one student who was especially nervous, having never ridden before.

But in the course of about five minutes, she was a bike rider.

Cutler and Zivinsky returned the next day, as well, to help out with a mini-triathlon that students in the school’s leadership program had organized. The course included a halfmile run, a mile bike ride and then a quartermile of trail running.

“That was really an exciting way to have the kids use the bikes for the first time,” she said.

For Cutler, use is the key. Before she even sent in the application for the award, she started contacting the school system to see if they’d even have a way to use a fleet of bikes.

“I didn’t want to just bestow a fleet of bikes on someone who would put them in a

garage,” Cutler said. But, as it turned out, “the school was very excited about it.”

“We hope that we will create a generation of kids who enjoy biking, get their future families involved and support the local community,” said Sonya Blankenship, assistant principal and Healthy Services Coordinator at Swain High.

Scotty McMahan, a physical education teacher at the school, is excited about incorporating the bikes into his curriculum. Ultimately, he’d like to be able to take kids out for trail rides nearby and perhaps get enough coverage to be able to take kids out one at a time.

“Realistically, at first you may only get one or two kids who take and hold and make it a lifetime activity. Next year it may be three or four, then five or six. Then it really takes hold,” McMahan said.

For its part, Bryson City Bicycles is looking forward to partnering in whatever way will be helpful.

“There are so many different things, and it kind of depends on where the school wants to go,” Cutler said, “but we are 100 percent backing this and so enthusiastic to make it happen.”

In the long-term, she’d love to see an intramural bike program, a middle school bike program and even a bike share program for faculty. And, ultimately, the dream is to found a National Interscholastic Cycling Association team. The organization allows high school students to travel for mountain biking competitions, offering an alternative to traditional

Andy Zivinsky and Diane Cutler show a Swain County High School physical education class how to use their new bikes.

Ogilvy agency photos

Boosting the online presence While half of Bryson City Bicycle’s $20,000 award from Synchrony Financial went to the bike donation at Swain County High School, the other half will allow the shop to set up an e-commerce platform.

Keeping a retail business afloat in a seasonal, tourism-based economy can be difficult — 75 percent of the shop’s annual revenue is made in six months, and 85 percent of it comes from tourists. By creating a robust platform for online sales, owners Diane Cutler and Andy Zivinsky hope to create a more reliable, year-round income stream.

The $10,000 grant will allow them to make that happen.

team sports.

North Carolina is one of 18 states to have a NICA league, and Swain High is strategically placed for its students to excel should such a team become available in Bryson City. The nationally known trails at Tsali Recreation Area are just 20 minutes to the west, and 20 minutes to the east a new system of mountain bike trails in Cherokee is about to be unveiled.

While cycling is set to soar in Western North Carolina, nationwide the sport is suffering, Cutler said, citing statistics that bicycling as a hobby dropped 8 percent across the general population and 21 percent among people ages 7-17 between 2000 and 2010.

“That’s a problem,” Cutler said. “Kids just aren’t there playing and being active while they’re developing, and you’ve got to get those habits in early. Having something fun is really important. I’m just glad we were able to provide this opportunity.”

Swain County High School junior Tanner Wiggins enjoys one of the 17 new performance bikes donated by Bryson City Bicycles.

Pedal the mountains

Paddlers enter the water during the NOC Spring Fling. NOC photo outdoors

Spring is here and Western North Carolina’s rural roads have drawn their fair share of cyclists who are ready to roll.

Weekly rides are underway throughout the region, offering seasoned riders and new converts alike the chance to get pedaling.

Macon County

n A ride leaves at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays from Smoky Mountain Bicycles. Routes vary with distances typically 15-25 miles.

Road bikes only. A no drop ride. Organized

by Smoky Mountain Bicycles, 828.369.2881 or info@smokymtnbikes.com. n A ride leaves at 8 a.m. on Saturdays beginning in June from South Macon Elementary School. Routes vary with distances typically 15-25 miles. Road bikes only. A no drop ride. Organized by Smoky Mountain Bicycles, 828.369.2881 or info@smokymtnbikes.com.

Jackson County

n A 25-mile ride covering the back roads from Sylva to Balsam leaves at 6 p.m.

Tuesdays from Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva. The route includes flat stretches, lots of climbing and a descent on the return of the out-and-back ride, which includes 1,600 feet of elevation gain. Organized by Motion Makers, 828.586.6925.

Haywood County

The NOC Spring Fling will offer gear demos, a vendor fair and a family-friendly freestyle event April 29-30 at Nantahala Outdoor Center near Bryson City.

The event will kick off at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, when the vendor fair, gear demos and Nantahala Cascades release begin. The Nantahala River Club 4Fun Freestyle will be held at noon, with kids surfing and family activities 2-4 p.m. The following day, a release at the Nantahala Cascades will make for exciting paddling 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Free. A full schedule is available at noc.com/events/noc-spring-fling.

Buncombe County

n A beginner-friendly social ride for women will begin at 6:15 p.m. Mondays from the Bent Creek Ledford Parking Lot, covering 5-8 miles of mountain bike trails.

Organized by Motion Makers Bicycle Shop.

828.633.2227. n A training ride for women who know how to handle a mountain bike but want to go faster will start at 6:15 p.m. Wednesdays from the Ledford parking lot at Bent Creek.

The rides will cover 8-12 miles and use more technical trails than the beginner’s ride. Organized by Motion Makers Bicycle Shop. 828.633.2227. n New this year is the Sunday Gravel Ride, which will leave from Motion Makers in Asheville at 8 a.m. Sundays all summer for a 40-mile ride on paved and gravel roads to Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard. After enjoying a beverage in the tap room, participants will get a free ride back to the shop on the Oskar Blues Trolley, leaving at 12:45 p.m. Organized by Motion Makers Bicycle Shop. 828.633.2227.

Sunburst hike offered

Explore a new trail system An easy 2.5-mile hike on the brand new Piney Knob Bike and Hiking Trails near Murphy will provide a tutorial in how to read the landscape, 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, May 4.

Johnny Strawn, a landscape expert and Mainspring Conservation Trust board member, will lead the hike through the conserved Murphy Watershed property and help participants understand what the land has to say about its natural, cultural and historical attributes. Participants will also learn some beginner-level plant identification.

This hike will be the first public viewing of the new trail system.

Free, with space limited. The group will meet at 9 a.m. in Murphy and carpool to the trailhead.

RSVP by April 27 to Sarah Posey, sposey@mainspringconserves.org or 828.837.6383.

Volunteers are needed for the upcoming Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon and 4-Miler Saturday, May 6, in Waynesville.

The races will kick off at 7:30 a.m. and wrap up at noon — volunteers will work shifts of one to two hours standing at one of 12 locations to direct runners.

Speaking of running, registration is still open for the races themselves. Through May 4, the 13.1-mile half marathon is $70 and the 4-mile route is $30, with prices increasing for day-of registration. Proceeds benefit the Haywood Chamber of Commerce, which will use the funds to assist its partnership with the businesses of Haywood County. haywoodchamber.com/events-calendar/signature-events/gateway-to-the-smokies-half-marathon.

WIPE OUT CANCER

The American Cancer Society and the Relay For Life of Franklin Event Leadership Team would like to invite you and one guest to the 2017 Relay For Life of Franklin, NC

Cancer Survivors’ Dinner Thursday, May 11 at 6 p.m.

Prentiss Church of God 59 Church Hill Lane, Franklin, NC Please RSVP for dinner by May 5th by calling 828.349.6900 choose opt. 2 and leave a message

Smoky Mountain News

An easy-to-moderate 5-mile hike in the Sunburst area of Haywood County will provide an opportunity to learn more about local flowers and woody plants, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 6.

Shannon Rabby, lead instructor of fish and wildlife management technology at Haywood Community College, will lead the hike, which is part of Haywood Waterways Association’s “Get to Know Your Watershed” series of outdoor outings.

The event is free for HWA members with a $5 donation requested for nonmembers. Memberships start at $25. HWA will provide light refreshments. No pets.

Space limited; RSVP by Thursday, May 4, to Christine O’Brien, christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 828.476.4667.

Volunteers wanted for Gateway to the Smokies

April 26-May 2, 2017

n An easy ride aiming to help people ease into a healthier lifestyle through cycling is offered Thursday mornings in the Canton area, typically covering 8-10 miles. Road bikes are preferred and helmets are required. Nobody will be left behind. A partnership of Bicycle Haywood N.C. and the Blue Ridge Bike Club. For specific start times and locations, contact Michele Trantham, mttrantham@hotmail.com. n A ride for cyclists at the intermediate level and above will be offered at 6 p.m.

Thursdays, with starting points alternating

Spring into paddling between the Waynesville Recreation Center and the Canton Recreation Park. The season will start April 27 with a ride leaving from Waynesville. Cyclists regroup as necessary and typically cover about 20 miles over the course of an hour and a half. Bob Clark, bobclarklaw@gmail.com.

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outdoors

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April 26-May 2, 2017

Find us on Facebook. Federally Insurred by NCUA

Firefly viewing lottery opens The lottery to view this year’s crop of synchronous fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will open at noon Friday, April 28, and close at 8 p.m.

Monday, May 1.

This year, the firefly viewing in the park’s Elkmont area will begin Tuesday, May 30, and end Tuesday, June 6. All visitors will park at the Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg and take a shuttle to the viewing area. A total of 1,800 vehicle passes will be awarded using a randomized computer drawing, with lottery winners charged a $2.75 reservation fee and awarded a parking pass. A roundtrip shuttle fee of $1 will be charged the day of the event.

The synchronous firefly viewing is an annual tradition in the park, with thousands of visitors gathering in late May and early June to observe the naturally occurring phenomenon of a firefly species that flashes synchronously after dark during mating season.

Access the lottery system at www.recreation.gov by searching “Firefly Event� or call 1.877.444.6777.

Sylva passes renewable energy resolution Sylva’s commissioners unanimously passed a resolution calling for a statewide commitment to eliminate fossil fuels during their meeting Thursday, April 13.

The resolution, circulated by the N.C. Climate Solutions Coalition — of which the local organization The Canary Coalition is a part — calls for a complete transformation from fossil fuels to renewable energy by the year 2050 in order to avert the worst consequences of climate change.

The goal is based on the Climate Solutions Project, a nationwide effort formed by a team of scientists led by Mark Jacobson, Ph.D., of Stanford University. The scientists conducted a comprehensive research project to determine how each of the 50 states could meet 100 percent of its energy needs through sources other than fossil fuels by 2050.

The results of the North Carolina study indicate that a combination of offshore and onshore wind energy will provide an estimated 55 percent of all energy needs in this state. Solar electric and thermal systems will account for another 41.5 percent, hydroelectric power will provide 2.7 percent and ocean wave devices will produce 0.8 percent. The average annual energy cost savings per person is estimated at $131.

Boone and the Watauga County Commission have also passed this resolution, and it’s being introduced to municipalities and counties throughout the state. A statewide resolution has also been introduced to the N.C. General Assembly.

SPACE AVAILABLE

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Journey through the universe

Panthertown land purchase finalized Carolina is to people,” said Mainspring Board Chair Chris Brouwer. “Individuals from all over the country have contributed to this initiative, proving what a special place this region is. We are so happy that, when they visit to hike, fish and enjoy that area, the view from inside Panthertown Valley will be forever undeveloped as they look up at Salt Rock Gap.” The Friends of Panthertown will now begin preparing the property for more parking. Friends of Panthertown will cut trees and lay gravel to make more room for visitors, who had previously been forced to park on the shoulder of Breedlove Road.

Mainspring will ultimately convey the 16 acres to the U.S. Forest Service, to become part of Panthertown Valley.

Great Smoky Mountains Association gives $2 million to the Smokies

GSMA’s total contribution over its 64-year history to $37.6 million. www.smokiesinformation.org.

A $25,000 donation from the National Park Foundation will help the many Tennessee residents who lost their homes following the Chimney Tops 2 Fire last year.

“We are saddened to know that so many lost so much, and we hope that our contribution can help make a very tragic situation more manageable as they rebuild their lives,” Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation.

The funds will be managed by the National Park Service Employees and Alumni Trust Fund. A gift from Humana, which has a community location in Knoxville, made the donation possible.

The area is still recovering from fires that burned 17,140 acres in Sevier County, Tennessee, after underage arsonists set fires at the Chimney Tops inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The resulting firestorm, fueled by extreme winds and dry weather, caused 14 deaths, injured 190 people, damaged 2,500 structures and cost $500 million in damage.

Writer and conservationist Brent Martin will lead a five-day workshop on 18th-century naturalist and artist William Bartram May 1519 at the Highlands Biological Station in Highlands.

In “Mountains Piled Upon Mountains,” participants will explore the Western North

Carolina landscape and writings of William Bartram through daily field trips, readings and meetings with authors. By the end of the week, students will have experienced firsthand the landscape depicted in Bartram’s seminal 1791 publication Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories of the Muscogulges or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the Chactaws.

Martin is a published writer and poet, and also serves as Southern Appalachian Director of The Wilderness Society, based in Sylva.

Course cost is $400. Sign up at www.highlandsbiological.org/summer-2017/.

Brent Martin, 828.524.7400 or brent_martin@tws.org.

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

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

Smoky Mountain News

The Great Smoky Mountains Association had its best year every for sales and membership in 2016, allowing the organization to contribute more than $2 million in support of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The donations include the more than $200,000 that GSMA raised following the November wildfires to assist park employees, volunteers and affiliates who lost their homes.

In 2016, the GSMA donated $862,000 toward special projects, $781,000 in in-kind services and $205,000 for park interpretive operations.

Special projects funding covered a long list of endeavors, but highlights include $18,000 for bear collars, $138,000 for resource management and science interns and $50,000 for fence repair and maintenance at Cades Cove. Park interpretive funding provided $51,000 for backcountry information staff, $43,000 for library staff and $36,000 for special events and demonstrations, among other line items.

The $2 million donated in 2016 brings

Donation will help fire recovery

Explore the mountains through the eyes of a naturalist

The Highlands Biological Station.

April 26-May 2, 2017

A 16-acre property adjacent to Panthertown Valley Backcountry Area has been conserved following Mainspring Conservation Trust’s April 21 closing on the purchase.

The land, which was privately owned, borders Panthertown’s western entrance at the Salt Rock parking area near Cashiers.

Mainspring and Friends of Panthertown teamed up to raise more than $82,000 from groups and individuals toward the $195,000 purchase. That money was matched dollarfor-dollar by Fred and Alice Stanback.

The Jackson County Commissioners covered the remaining balance of $31,700 to complete the transaction.

“This project has really confirmed how important conservation in western North

outdoors

Jordan Smith of Mainspring Conservation Trust talks about the protected view with Friends of Panthertown’s Mike Purdy, looking out at Salt Rock Gap in Panthertown Valley. Tim Robison photo

A stunning 30-minute voyage through time and space will be presented at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, May 3, at the Macon County Public Library with the planetarium show “From the Earth to the Universe.”

The show takes the audience to the colorful birthplaces and burial grounds of stars and beyond the Milky Way to the unimaginable immensity of myriad galaxies. The history of astronomy, the invention of the telescope and today’s giant telescopes that allow us to probe ever farther will be discussed along the way.

Produced by ESO Supernova Planetarium and supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the State Library of North Carolina.

Free, with tickets available for pick-up starting one hour before the show.

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outdoors

Celebrate avian immigrants

along U.S. 276, about 35 miles south of Waynesville.

The Cradle of Forestry in America will celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with guided walks, games for kids and a live raptor program Saturday, April 29.

The day will start at 8:30 a.m. with naturalist Vicky Burke, who will lead guided walks. Games and activities for kids will be offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and wildlife educator Carlton Burke will present the raptor program at 3 p.m.

Started in 1993, International Migratory Bird Day celebrates the spectacular annual phenomenon of bird migration. Many of these species pass through the Cradle of Forestry, with about 28 species spotted at last year’s event. $5 for ages 15 and up, and free for youth. Sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service. The Cradle of Forestry in America is located in the Pisgah National Forest

A volunteer searches the stream for water-dwelling creatures.

Bird downtown Sylva Seasoned birders and novices alike will take to downtown Sylva 8-10 a.m. Tuesday, May 9, for a birding outing led by Brent Martin, director of The Wilderness Society’s regional office based in Sylva.

An easy walk around downtown will provide plenty of opportunity to spot neotropical migratory songbirds that have arrived from Central and South America, with resident bird populations such as crows, cardinals and goldfinches making a showing as well. The outing will cover parking lots, sidewalks, a giant sycamore tree by Scotts Creek and the community garden. An optional bird talk will follow at City Lights Café.

Free, with RSVP required to Michelle Ruigrok, michelle_ruigrok@tws.org or 828.587.9453.

Kevin FitzPatrick photo

Help out with wildlife education

Smoky Mountain News

“

April 26-May 2, 2017

The Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education needs volunteers to accommodate increased seasonal visitation, looking for folks to answer questions about the fish hatchery, help with maintenance, assist with fishing instruction and cover the front desk.

The center is located near Brevard along the Davidson River. It includes various aquariums, nature trails and the neighboring Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery. Hours through November are Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

To volunteer, call 828.877.4423.

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Collect bugs for science Splash in the stream while helping local scientific efforts during a stream survey day slated for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 29, in Scaly Mountain near Highlands.

The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust will meet its volunteers at the Highlands Biological Station for an educational presentation, and then carpool to the stream site for a picnic lunch and stream sampling demonstration. The afternoon will be spent in the stream, collecting bugs — or, more technically, aquatic macroinvertebrates.

No experience required. Ages 10 and up. Sign up with Sarah Pursel, hclt_ed@earthlink.net or 828.526.1111.

Throw out litter Macon County is spearheading a countywide litter pickup Saturday, April 29, in conjunction with the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Spring Litter Sweep, and a pair of local agencies is offering opportunities for the public to get involved. n Mainspring Conservation Trust will pick up litter along Arthur Drake Road 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Trash thrown along this road gets carried into the Little Tennessee River when the banks flood, harming the environment. Materials will be provided, but RSVPs are requested by Thursday, April 27, to Sharon Burdette at sburdette@mainspringconserves.org. n Nantahala Hiking Club will clean up the overlook and waterfall trail just east of Winding Stair Gap. The crew will be led by NHC members Bill and Mary Johnson, with the U.S. Forest Service picking up any trash collected. To sign up and learn the meeting time and place, call Mary at 352.409.7771 or email mejberrypicker@aol.com.

Individuals and organizations of all types are encouraged to participate in their own ways as well. Clean-up supplies will be available through Friday, April 28, at 5 West Main Street in Franklin.

Clean-ups should focus on secondary roads, as the DOT litter sweep will focus on primary roads.

Contact Derek Roland, droland@maconnc.org. Rain date is May 6.

Control pest organically An in-depth seminar on organic pest management, to be offered three different times in May, will help gardeners learn how to better control the insects, diseases and weeds that plague their vegetables.

Seminars will be held: n 10:15 a.m. to noon Tuesday, May 2, at the Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library in Cashiers. n 10 a.m. to noon Monday, May 8, at the Swain County Extension Center in Bryson City. n 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at the Jackson County Extension Center in Sylva.

Offered by Jackson-Swain County Cooperative Extension, the seminar will cover topics ranging from companion plants to soil amendments to organic sprays. A variety of handouts will be given and questions will be answered.

Free, with registration required with Chrisy Bredenkamp, 828.586.4009 or clbreden@ncsu.edu.

Azaleas on display The 58th Rhododendron and Azalea Show, organized by the American Rhododendron Society’s Southeastern chapter, will be at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville April 29-30.

The show will be on display noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 29, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 31, with a guided trail walk down the arboretum’s National Native Azalea Collection offered at 1 p.m. April 29 and April 30, starting from the Baker Exhibit Center lobby. Trained volunteers will lead participants on a 2.5-mile walk to discuss the collection, which represents nearly all native azalea species in the U.S. Free with $14 parking fee. Donations to the N.C. Arboretum Society are welcomed.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Haywood Habitat for Humanity will hold information sessions for applicants at 2 p.m. on April 30, at the Canton Library, and at 6 p.m. on May 18, at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

452.7960.

• Denim Day, in support of “Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” is April 26. Wear jeans or denim to support awareness. NOMORE.org or DenimDayinfo.org.

ReachofHaywood.org or 456.7898.

• Haywood County Public Library’s second annual Library-Con will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 29, at the Waynesville Library. Panel discussions, workshops, live gaming demos and storytimes. www.haywoodlibrary.org, 356.2511 or look up Haywood LibraryCon on Facebook.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • “Business 101 for Craft Artists,” a workshop, will be offered by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center from 2-5 p.m. on April 27, at the Swain Center in Bryson City. Register: www.ncsbc.net. Info: t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4426.

• A seminar entitled “eBay for Beginners” will be offered by the Small Business Center at Haywood Community College from 9 a.m.-noon on April 27, at HCC’s Regional High Technology Center auditorium.

SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• A seminar entitled “eBay Build Your Business” will be offered by the Small Business Center at Haywood Community College from 1-4 p.m. on April 27, at HCC’s Regional High Technology Center auditorium.

SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• A discussion on the European Union, part of the Great Decisions Series, is scheduled for 5:15-6:45 p.m. on April 27, at the Waynesville Library. Series is focused on critical global issues facing America today. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• Summer and fall registration for Haywood Community College is underway through April 28. 627.4500 or haywood.edu.

• Western Carolina University will hold an information sessions for parents interested in enrolling their children in the Catamount School, a new laboratory school being established for grades six through eight at Smoky Mountain High School at 5:30 p.m. on May 4 at Cullowhee Valley School. 227.7311.

• Southwestern Community College’s Job Fair Friday is scheduled for 9-11 a.m. on April 28 in the Burrell Conference Center on SCC’s Jackson Campus. J_waldroup@southwesterncc.edu.

• Participating businesses in Maggie Valley will host an open house to the public from noon-7 p.m. on April 29.

Participants who get their cards stamped from all businesses will be entered in a drawing for the grand prize.

• A RISE and SHINE program will feature a Roger Brooks video from 8:30-9:30 a.m. on May 2 in the Maggie Valley Town Hall Board Room. Video is about five strategies for helping “Ma and Pa” businesses increase sales and make your community a stronger visitor destination.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Tickets are on sale now for the Ducks on the Tuck “Duck Draw Raffle” to benefit Southwestern Community College’s New Century Scholars program. More than 30 prizes available including a 50-inch smart flatscreen television. Drawing is May 12. Tickets are $5 each or

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. $25 for six and available from current New Century Scholars, their coordinators in each county and from SCC: 339.4227 k_posey@southwesterncc.edu. A related “Where’s Tucker” social media selfie photo contest is also going on. More at www.southwesterncc.edu/ducksonthetuck.

• The Smoky Mountain Roller Girls will be hosting a double header for the first bout of the season on Saturday, April 29 at 4:30, at the Swain County Recreation Center located on Deep Creek Road in Bryson City. Proceeds from the bout will benefit Swain County’s Relay for Life. Women ages 18 and up are encouraged to come out for practice on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sundays 5 to 8 p.m. Men and women are also invited to join the team as non-skating officials, referees and volunteers. Tickets are $5 ahead of time.

They can be purchased at Bryson City Bicycles, Donno’s Higher Ground Tattoos or from a roller girl or $7 at the door. You can also order tickets online at www.brownpapertickets.com. Nantahala Brewing Company will be hosting an after party beginning at 8 p.m. following the bout.

• Haywood Community College’s Wildlife Club will hold a Fish Fest from 1-6 p.m. on April 29, at the college’s mill pond in Clyde. Fishing clinic from 1-4 p.m.; fish fry and tournament from 4-6 p.m. Clinic is for ages 6-12. $8 entry fee for trout fishing tournament, which is open to kids and adults. Fish dinner is $8. Proceeds benefit the HCC Wildlife Club. 627.4560.

• Tickets are on sale now for the Empty Bowls dinner benefitting the backpack program at St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock. The event is from 5-7 p.m. on April 30, in the church’s Parish House. Area potters and school groups make and donate pottery bowls for the event. Tickets: $25 for one person (includes a handmade pottery bowl) or $50 for a family (two pottery bowls). Tickets available at the Parish House. Info: 693.9783 or 698.8775.

• Feline Urgent Rescue (FUR of WNC) is hosting a cat food drive throughout April at 79 Branner Drive in Waynesville. 844.888.2287 or www.furofwnc.org.

• A fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Haywood County will be held from 5-8 p.m. on May 2, at McDonald’s of Waynesville on Russ Avenue. Twenty percent of sales go to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

• A Leadership and Literature Tasting Buffet, with special guest Mountain Faith, is scheduled for May 4, to support Iotla Valley Elementary. Tickets: $25.

• An evening of “Wine Tasting and Savory Appetizers” will be held as a fundraiser for Feline Urgent Rescue of WNC from 5-8 p.m. on May 6, at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. RSVP by May 2 at www.furofwnc.org. $30 for individuals or $125 for sponsorship: 843.422.2704.

• Tickets are on sale for “Sharing Our Passion for Compassion” – a charity dining event to benefit Hospice House Foundation of WNC. Features guest speaker and author Hattie Bryant, who will speak about “taking control of end-of-life decisions.” Event is at 6:30 p.m. on May 10 at Canyon Kitchen in Cashiers. $175 per person. www.hhfwnc.org, 524.8261 or micheleralderson@gmail.com.

• Women of Waynesville, a nonprofit organization that supports the needs of women and children in Haywood County, will present its inaugural “Kentucky Derby Gala Fundraiser” from 4 to 8 p.m. May 6, at The Waynesville Inn. Proceeds from the event will benefit Girls on the Run, a program that trains young girls to run a 5K and

Smoky Mountain News

also builds self-confidence. Tickets for the Kentucky Derby fundraiser are $35 each and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com/e/kentucky-derby-gala-fundraisertickets-33061166840. To find out more about WOW, visit www.womenofwaynesville.org or follow them on Facebook.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS • Volunteers are needed for the Jackson County Special Olympics Spring Games, which are April 28 at the Smoky Mountain High School track. 293.3053.

• The Downtown Waynesville Association is seeking heritage themed vendors for the annual Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration that will take place Saturday, June 10, on Main Street. 456.3517 or www.downtownwaynesville.com. Applications accepted until April 28.

HEALTH MATTERS • A wellness workshop, Emotions + Oils is being offered on April 26 at 6 p.m. in Clyde. For location and details: 275.6496.

• Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families (ACA) meets at noon on Saturdays at the First United Methodist Church Outreach Center at 171 Main St. in Franklin. 407.758.6433 or adultchildren.org.

• The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive from 12:30-6 p.m. on April 26 at Church of the Good Shepherd in Hayesville. 800.733.2767.

• The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on April 26 at Cherokee Indian Hospital in Cherokee. 800.733.2767.

•”Breastfeeding A-Z” will be offered for expectant mothers from 7-9 p.m. on Thursdays April. 27, Aug. 31 and Nov. 9 at Haywood Regional Medical Center. Taught

by Board-Certified Lactation Consultants.

MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses or 452.8440.

• The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 1-5:30 p.m. on April 28 at North Canton Elementary School in Canton. 800.733.2767.

• “Your Amazing Newborn” classes will be offered for new parents from 7-9 p.m. on Thursdays, May 4, Sept. 7 and Nov. 16 at Haywood Regional Medical Center.

MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses or 452.8440.

• Western Carolina University’s student-run, Mountain Area Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic will be open from 6-8:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. 227.3527.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • Registration for a Beginner/Intermediate Jazz Class through the Jackson County Recreation Department will begin on April 28. $50. Meets from 7-8:15 p.m. on Tuesdays starting on May 16. For ages 14-up. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Registration for a Beginner/Intermediate Ballet Class through the Jackson County Recreation Department will begin April 28. $50. Meets from 12:15-1:15 p.m. on Mondays starting June 5. For ages 14-up. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Registration for a Women’s Tennis League through the Jackson County Recreation Department will run from May 1-28. $10 singles, $20 doubles. For ages 14-up. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Registration for a Men’s Racquetball League through the Jackson County Recreation Department will run from May 1-28. $10 singles, $20 doubles. For ages 14-up. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Registration for an adult soccer league through the Jackson County Recreation Department will run from

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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 May 1-21. $200 per team. For ages 14-up. Games will be on Thursday nights in Cullowhee. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Haywood County Health and Human Services will offer a Lifestyle Change Program from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on May 2, at Canton Library. Program goals are for each participant to get 150 minutes of physical activity each week as well as a seven-percent weight loss. $50 fee refundable for participants who complete the program.

Scholarships available. 356.2272.

• Yoga is being offered at the Fitness Connection in Waynesville. First class is free. Info: 476.0179 or 550.1640.

• An opportunity to learn ski walking is offered from 5:30-7 p.m. on Mondays through May 22 at Monteith Park in Dillsboro. A training tool used by competitive cross-country skiers to maintain strength in the offseason. 356.4009.

• ZUMBA! Classes, are offered from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays, at the Canton Armory. $5 per class. 648.2363 or parks@cantonnc.com.

POLITICAL • A “People’s Climate March WNC” will be held at 2 p.m. on April 29 starting at Big Bear Park Picnic Shelter on E. Main Street in Franklin. Speakers and music at 2 p.m.; march through downtown starts at 3 p.m. www.peoplesclimate.org or forwardfranklinnc@gmail.com.

• The 11th District Republican Convention is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on April 29, at Pisgah High School in Canton. $10. Guest speaker is U.S. Congressman Mark meadows. 11thdistrictconvention@gmail.com or www.ncgop11.org. RSVP for luncheon: 11thdistrictconvention@gmail.com or 385.0365.

• Immigration issues in Macon County will be discussed with commissioner Ronnie Beale in an Eco Forum starting at 5:30 p.m. on May 5, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall in Franklin. Covered dish supper followed by 6:30 p.m. program. 524.3691.

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • Former Asheville resident Bren McClain will hold a reading and signing for her debut novel “One Good Mama Bone” at 3 p.m. on April 29 at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. www.citylightsnc.com or www.brenmcclain.com.

• Author Michael Havelin of Asheville will read from his mystery novels and short stories, and he’ll answer questions about his writing at 3 p.m. on April 29, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. 456.6000 or www.blueridgebooksnc.com.

• The NetWest program of the North Carolina Writers Network will host an open mic night at 7 p.m. May 5, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Folks are encouraged to bring their poetry or short pieces to share. Sign-ups begin at 6:45 p.m. for 10minute reading session. www.ncwriters.org.

a.m. to 1 p.m. April 29, at Franklin’s Town Square Gazebo. 524.ARTS or arts4all@dnet.net.

wnc calendar

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • A budgeting program will be offered at 9:30 a.m. on May 3, at the Senior Resource Center in Haywood County. Register: 356.2800 or stop by the Senior Resource Center.

KIDS & FAMILIES • The Waynesville Recreation Center has partnered with the Haywood County Arts Council to offer a weeklong art camp from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. June 1923. The camp is for rising 3rd through 7th graders.

There are still spots left for your child to participate in this exciting day camp, which will offer a variety of arts experiences. Classes include: drama, guitar, collage, jewelry, poetry, painting, and more. Price is $135 for the week, and the registration deadline is May 2.

456.2030.

• Open enrollment is underway for the 2017-18 school year for Haywood Christian Academy. www.HaywoodChristianAcademy.org. Info: 627.0229.

• Nature programs will be offered from 9-10:30 a.m. (for ages 3-5) and 4-5:30 p.m. (K-3rd grade) on April 26 and May 17 at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. http://rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Kindergarten registration for East Franklin Elementary is at 9:30 a.m. on April 28.

• Nature Explorer activities and games will be offered for grades K-3rd from 4-5:30 p.m. on May 3 at the Cashiers/Glenville Recreation Center. http://rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Nature Discovery activities and games will be offered for ages 3-5 from 9-10:30 a.m. on May 3 at the Cashiers/Glenville Recreation Center. http://rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Registration has begun for Youth Spring Soccer through the Jackson County Parks & Recreation Department. Open to players born between 2003-12.

Birth certificates required for first-time players. $55. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

KIDS MOVIES • A family movie will be shown at 3:30 p.m. on May 2, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Movie is about a workaholic father who agrees to let his children keep a St. Bernard puppy who recently escaped from two dognappers. Info, including movie title: 488.3030.

• A family movie will be shown at 10:30 a.m. every Friday at Hudson Library in Highlands.

Chaos Film Festival at 7:30 p.m. April 28, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee.

227.7491. Tickets are $12 at the door. Proceeds and donations benefit the Motion Picture Student Project Fund. www.wcu.edu.

• The Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival kick off is April 29, at HART in Waynesville. Featuring Inessa Zaretsky (pianist) and the Jasper String Quartet members Rachel Henderson Freivogel (cello) and J Freivogel (first violin) HaywoodArts.org.

• The Art After Dark 2017 season will kickoff from 6 to 9 p.m. May 5, in downtown Waynesville. Each first Friday of the month (May-December), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors. www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.

• Thunder in the Smokies is May 5-7 at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds.

FOOD & DRINK • The “Songwriters in the Round” series will continue with Anne McCue, Scott Miller and Ellen Starski at 6 p.m. April 29, at the Balsam Mountain Inn. Tickets are $49 per person, which include a buffet dinner. 456.9498 or www.balsammountaininn.net.

• Preregistration is underway through April 28 for the JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc.) Kids Day Camp, which is May 13 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Preregister: www.jamkids.org/wcu.

Workshop activities include North Carolina Banjo Songs, Jump Right Into Singing and Songwriting and Beginner or Intermediate Fiddle or Guitar. Info: 276.773.0573, www.jamkids.org or brett@jamkids.org.

• A free ARTSaturday workshop for elementary schoolage children and their families will be held from 11

A&E FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS • Films created by Western Carolina University students will be screened at the 9th annual Controlled

• Located in the rustically elegant Jennings Barn at the foot of Cow Rock Mountain in Lonesome Valley, Canyon Kitchen will be opening for the season on April 27. To kick off the season, Canyon Kitchen will host special culinary events and wine dinners every Wednesday throughout the month of May. The first scheduled is a dinner featuring Guest Chef Meherwan Irani from Chai Pani on May 3. www.lonesomevalley.com or call 743.7967.

April 26-May 2, 2017

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Smoky Mountain News

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Today she is a nine year old who is thriving and enjoying life. The Stanley brothers assure consumers that the oil maintains a 30:1 ratio of CBD to THC. THC is the psychoactive compound that produces the “high” effect in marijuana. Thanks to Charlotte’s Web, Charlotte can now live life like a normal child. She is able to feed herself and sleep through the night. Her autistic symptoms have virtually disappeared. As such, her mind is clear, and her attention is focused. Her brain is recovering, and she is happy.

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• The Arts Council of Macon County will host an evening with acclaimed songwriter and Atlantic and Sony Records recording artist Harlan Collins at 7 p.m.

April 27, at the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. Admission is by donation, $5 is suggested. Light refreshments will be served. Contact the Macon Council for details, arts4all@dnet.net or 828.524.ARTS (2787). www.harlancollins.com.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will have WCU Choirs 7:30 p.m. April 27 and Ian Jeffress Faculty Recital 7:30 p.m. April 28 in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building. www.wcu.edu.

• Country star Sara Evans will perform at 7:30 p.m.

April 28, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.Tickets start at $30. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

• Tickets are on sale now for a 3 Doors Down performance as a fundraiser for the Better Life Foundation on Oct. 21 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com or 800.745.3000.

• “The Nerd” by Larry Shue opens April 28 at HART Theatre in Waynesville. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on April 28-29, May 5-6, and May 11-13 and at 2 p.m. on April 30, May 7 and May 14. Tickets: 456.6322 or www.harttheatre.org.

• Alice Cooper will perform at Harrah’s in Cherokee on April 29 at 7:30 p.m.

• In partnership with the Blue Ridge Big Band, Folkmoot will host “Dancing through the Decades,” a live big band music and dance experience, at 7 p.m.

April 29, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville. “Dancing through the Decades” will begin with appetizers and no-host bar. Guests can sit back and enjoy the musical performance or dance to music from the the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s from swing to rockabilly and disco-style dancing. This event is $30 for pre-sale tickets only. Tickets can be purchased at www.folkmoot.org or by phone, 452.2997.

• Artrageous: An Interactive Art and Music Experience will be presented as part of the Galaxy of Stars Series on April 29, in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Tickets available at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 227.2479.

• The National Theatre of London’s production of “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” will be presented live via satellite at 1 p.m. on April 29, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center in Highlands.

Tickets: 526.9047, at the door or highlandspac.org.

• Haywood Christian Academy students will put on a performance of “Seussical, Ja.” – featuring characters from several of Dr. Seuss’ books – at 6:30 p.m. on May 4-5 at 1400 Old Clyde Road in Clyde. Tickets: https://haywoodchristianacademy.churchcenteronline.com/registrations/events/62418. Info: 627.0229 or www.haywoodchristianacademy.org.

• Legendary singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. Tickets are $25 per person. www.38main.com.

• The Haywood Community Chorus will present “Gospel to Gershwin” featuring Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass at 4 p.m. on May 7, at the Waynesville First United Methodist Church.

• Chris Rock will perform at Harrah’s in Cherokee on May 25 at 8 p.m.

• Tickets are on sale for Leslie Jones’ comedy performance, which is July 1 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. www.ticketmaster.com or 800.745.3000.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • The Gem and Mineral Society of Franklin meets at 6:30 p.m. on April 27, at the Masonic Lodge at 50 Church Street in Franklin. Program is: “Gem Mining in Brazil.”

• “Local History and the National Register” will be presented by a panel of local historians from 4-5 p.m. on May 4, at the Folkmoot Center in Waynesville. Prior to the panel discussion, the Waynesville Archives Museum will hold an open house from 2-4 p.mk. on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse. 456.8647.

• A discussion on Latin America, part of the Great Decisions Series, is scheduled for 5:15-6:45 p.m. on May 4, at the Waynesville Library. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• Jim Casada will present “The Saga of Sam Hunnicutt: A True Swain County Original” during the May 4 meeting of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society. Meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center in Bryson City.

• Dogwood Crafters Co-Op announces a two-day calligraphy workshop as part of their ongoing commitment to offering heritage craft instruction. The workshop will be from 10 a.m. to noon May 4 and May 11 at the Dillsboro Masonic Lodge.

Cost of the class is $14, payable on the first day.

Register by May 1. 586.2248 or email junettapell@hotmail.com.

• Registration deadline is May 8 to join the WNC Civil War from May 12-15. $30 nonrefundable fee per person. Hotel rate is $291.61 for three days; breakfast included. Reserve room by calling 540.635.3161. Info: 593.5924 or 648.2488.

• Cullowhee Mountain Arts of Sylva announces eight scholarships available for the Cullowhee Mountain Arts Summer Arts Workshop Series at Western Carolina University. Three weeks of workshops will run during the month of June beginning June 11. Application deadline is May 5. Through the Jackson County Arts Council Grassroots grant (JCAC), CMA is matching funds to provide eight, half-tuition scholarships open to all regional artists living in Jackson County. To apply, go to the JCAC webpage or the CMA webpage: www.cullowheemountainarts.org/scholarships or call Director Norma Hendrix 342.6913.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • Penland Gallery opens its exhibition season by displaying pieces from 32 artists working different styles and materials. The exhibition is on display now and runs through May 14. 765.6211 or penland.org/gallery.

• “Soft Diplomacy: Quilting Cultural Diplomacy in Liberia” is on exhibit through May 5 at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee. 227.3591.

• Sharon Volker art and jewelry are on display throughout April in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. 524.3600.

• The Waynesville Public Art Commission has selected three finalists from a field of eight applicants for their upcoming project in the parking lot in Hazelwood. The three finalists will make presentations to a Citizen Advisory Panel on April 29. The public is invited to attend these presentations. The commission will request approval to move forward by the Board of Aldermen to award the project after an official decision is made at the May public art commission meeting. For more information, please contact Kenney at 246.0124.

• The “Women Painters of the Southeast” exhibition will run through May 5 in the Fine Arts Museum at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

FILM & SCREEN • “The Fate of the Furious” is now playing at The Strand on Main in Waynesville. Show times are April 26-28 at 7 p.m., April 29-30 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m., and May 1-4 at 7 p.m. www.38main.com.

• “20th Century Women” is being shown April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free.

• “LA LA LAND” is showing April 28 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and April 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free.

• A new action movie starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie will be shown at 2 p.m. on May 4, in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. Movie’s about a secret government agency that recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force.

524.3600.

Outdoors • A bird walk along the greenway is scheduled for 8 a.m. on April 26. Meet at the Macon County Public Library parking area. https://franklinbirdclub.com or 524.5234.

• John and Cathy Sill will lead their annual bird walk on April 28 in the Standing Indian area. Sign up: 524.5234.

• International Migratory Bird Day Celebration is from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 29, at the Cradle of Forestry in Brevard. $5 for ages 16 and up; free for youth. https://cradleofforestry.com/event/internationalmigratory-bird-day-celebration.

• Mainspring will hold a Macon County Clean Up event from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on April 29 at Arthur Drake Road in Franklin. www.mainspringconserves.org.

• Balsam Mountain Trust will hold a “Creature Feature: Radical Rattlers” program from 2-3:30 p.m. on April 29. BalsamMountainTrust.org.

• Bear, Bluegrass and Barbeque will be held all day April 29, at Outdoor 76 in Franklin. The N.C. Bartram Trail Society and Nantahala Hiking Club will discuss hiking opportunities in Macon County, with Mainspring Conservation Trust firing up the smokers at 5 p.m.

Food and beer for purchase will benefit Mainspring.

Live music from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 2-4 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. 349.7676.

• A “Close-Up Outdoor Photography” program will be offered for ages 14-up from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 29 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. Info: 877.4423.

• A Fly-Tying program for the beginner is scheduled for 9 a.m.-noon on April 29 for ages 12-older at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3. Info: 877.4423.

• A citizen-science program about caddisflies, dragonflies, mayflies and other stream bugs will be offered from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 29, through the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust. Part of an aquatic macroinvertebrate survey. 526.1111.

• Mainspring Conservation Trust will pick up litter from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on April 29, along Arthur Drake Road in Macon County. Materials will be provided, but RSVPs are requested by April 27, to Sharon Burdette at sburdette@mainspringconserves.org.

• Nantahala Hiking Club will clean up the overlook and waterfall trail on April 29, just east of Winding Stair Gap. The crew will be led by NHC members Bill and Mary Johnson, with the U.S. Forest Service picking up any trash collected. To sign up and learn the meeting time and place, contact Mary at 352.409.7771 or mejberrypicker@aol.com.

• “I Am Not Your Negro” will be shown on May 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva.

Free.

• The Cradle of Forestry in America will celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with guided walks, games for kids and a live raptor program April 29, in Pisgah Forest. Day starts at 8:30 a.m. with guided walks, and concludes with the raptor program at 3 p.m. $5 for ages 15-up; free for youth.

• A classic 1944 drama starring Bette Davis will be shown at 2 p.m. on May 5, in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. It’s about a woman

• The 58th annual Rhododendron and Azalea Show, organized by the American Rhododendron Society’s Southeastern chapter, will be on display from noon-5

Smoky Mountain News

• The movie “God is Not Dead 2” will be shown at 8 p.m. (or dark) on April 28, on the lawn of Faith Baptist Church of Sylva.

• “A Dogs Purpose” will be shown on May 5 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free.

April 26-May 2, 2017

• “Coming Together: Healing Through Art,” an exhibit featuring a variety of local artists, will be on display through April 29 at Haywood County Arts Council Gallery & Gifts in Waynesville. Presented by the Haywood County Arts Council. 452.0593, info@haywoodarts.org or HaywoodArts.org.

forced into a loveless marriage with an older man.

524.3600.

wnc calendar

• Artists from Western Carolina University and across the region are invited to submit entries in the Judaculla Art Competition being sponsored by WCU’s Cherokee Center. Artwork on paper, canvas or in standing sculpture form can be turned in at the Cherokee Center, located at 1594 Acquoni Road in Cherokee, through Monday, May 1. The artwork should be based on Judaculla Rock, a large soapstone boulder located near WCU’s Cullowhee campus that contains some of the best preserved petroglyphs (rock carvings) east of the Mississippi River, or on the giant of Cherokee legend known as Judaculla. For more information, contact Sky Sampson, director of the Cherokee Center, at 497.7920 or snsampson@wcu.edu.

41

wnc calendar

p.m. on April 29, and from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday, April 30, at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville. $14 parking fee.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center’s Spring Fling starts at 10 a.m. on April 29-30, in Nantahala. Demos, vendor fair and family friendly freestyle event.

Noc.com/events/noc-spring-fling.

• A cycling ride leaves at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays from Smoky Mountain Bicycles in Macon County.

Routes vary with distances typically 15-25 miles.

Road bikes only. A no drop ride. 369.2881 or info@smokymtnbikes.com.

• A 25-mile cycling ride covering the back roads from Sylva to Balsam leaves at 6 p.m. Tuesdays from Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva. The route includes 1,600 feet of elevation gain. 586.6925.

• An easy cycling ride aiming to help people ease into a healthier lifestyle through cycling is offered Thursday mornings in the Canton area, typically covering 8-10 miles. Road bikes are preferred and helmets are required. Nobody will be left behind. A partnership of Bicycle Haywood N.C., the Blue Ridge Bike Club and MountainWise. For specific start times and locations: mttrantham@hotmail.com.

• A ride for cyclists at the intermediate level and above will be offered at 6 p.m. on Thursdays, with starting points alternating between the Waynesville Recreation Center and the Canton Recreation Park.

The season starts April 27 with a ride leaving from Waynesville. Cyclists regroup as necessary and typically cover about 20 miles over the course of an hour and a half. Bob Clark, bobclarklaw@gmail.com.

April 26-May 2, 2017

• A beginner-friendly social cycling ride for women will begin at 6:15 p.m. on Mondays from the Bent Creek Ledford Parking Lot, covering 5-to-8 miles of mountain bike trails. 633.2227.

• A training cycling ride for women who know how to handle a mountain bike but want to go faster will start at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesdays from the Ledford parking lot at Bent Creek. The rides will cover 8-to-12 miles and use more technical trails than the beginner’s ride. 633.2227.

• New this year is the Sunday Gravel Ride, which will leave from Motion Makers in Asheville at 8 a.m. all summer for a 40-mile ride on paved and gravel roads to Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard. 828.633.2227.

• Trout Unlimited Cataloochee will hold its annual stocking of the West Fork of the Pigeon Delayed Harvest at 10:30 a.m. on May 1. Meet at West Fork upper parking lot. Usually takes three hours.

• A program entitled “From the Earth to the Universe” will be presented at 2 p.m. on May 3, in the Macon County Public Library Planetarium in Franklin.

524.3600.

Smoky Mountain News

• The Franklin Bird Club will have a bird walk along the Greenway at 8 a.m. on May 3. Meet at the Big Bear shelter parking area. 524.5234.

• Mainspring Conservation Trust will host a “Read the Landscape” on Piney Knob Hike as part of its 20-for20 Events and Celebration on May 4 in Murphy. http://tinyurl.com/lwcvb4g.

• “Wildflower Whimsy” is scheduled for May 5-6 at the Highlands Biological Station in Highlands.

Fundraiser for the Highlands Biological Foundation, which supports the facility’s botanical garden, laboratory and nature center. Wildflower display and opportunity to learn about fire ecology. Event runs from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Mday 5 and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on May 6. $75 for members; $100 for nonmembers. http://highlandsbiological.org/wildflower-whimsy • Birding for beginners and beyond will be offered by the Highlands Audubon Society at 7:30 a.m. on May 6 at Founders Park in Highlands. www.highlandsaudubonsociety.org or 526.1939.

• Balsam Mountain Trust will hold a “Double Top Expedition” from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on May 6, at Balsam Mountain Preserve’s Double Top Trail.

Wildflowers, unique blooms.

BalsamMountainTrust.org.

• “An Evening with Mac Brown” will be featured at the Trout Unlimited Cataloochee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on May 9 at Rendezvous Restaurant in Maggie Valley.

Topic is “Nymphing and Subsurface Strategies.”

736.1469, macbrownflyfish@gmail.com or http://macbrownflyfish.com.

• The Wilderness Society’s Southern Appalachian Office will host a “Birding Downtown Sylva” outing from 8-10 a.m. on May 9. RSVP required: michelle_ruigrok@tws.org or 587.9453. Info: http://wilderness.org.

FARM AND GARDEN • A Master Gardener Plant Clinic is offered every business day through Sept. 22. Call 456.3575 with any gardening question.

• The Haywood County Pesticide Collection Day is from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on April 27, at the Cooperative Extension Office at 589 Raccoon Road in Waynesville. www.ncagr.com/PDAP or 456.3575.

• A talk about the Sylva and Cullowhee Community Gardens will be presented by Adam Bigelow at 7 p.m. on April 27, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. 586.2016.

• A berry gathering basket workshop will be taught by Junetta Pell from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 27-28, at the Jackson County Extension Office in Sylva. Register: 586.4009. $15.

• Haywood Community College will hold a Spring Crafts and Plant Sale from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 28, in Clyde. Crafts sale is in the Creative Arts Building, second floor; plant sale is in the Nix Horticulture Complex. Info: 627.4673 (craft sale) or 627.4625 (plant sale).

Puzzles can be found on page 46.

• A native plant sale will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 29, at the Corneille Bryan Native Garden at Lake Junaluska. 778.5938.

• The Corneille Bryan Native Garden will have a plant sale from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 29, at the junction of JB Ivey Lane and County Road in Lake Junaluska.

778.5938.

• An in-depth Organic Pest Management Seminar for gardeners will be offered by the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service on three dates in May. Sessions are from 10:15 a.m.-noon on May 2 at the Cashiers Library; from 10 a.m.-noon on May 8 at the Swain Extension Center in Bryson City and from 6-8 p.m. on May 11 at the Jackson Extension Center in Sylva. Info: 586.4009, 488.3848 or clbriden@ncsu.edu.

• The Macon County Master Gardener’s Annual Plant Sale will be held from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on May 6 at the Environmental Resource Center at 1624 Lakeside Drive in Franklin. Rain or shine.

• Cradle of Forestry will hold a Garden Day event from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on May 6, in Pisgah Forest. $5 for ages 16-up; free for youth. www. cradleofforestry.com/event/garden-day.

FARMERS MARKET • The Jackson county Farmers Market is from 9 a.m.noon each Saturday at Bridge Park on Railroad Ave. in Sylva. www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org.

393.5236.

• A community tailgate market for local growers is open from 3-7 p.m. every Wednesday at The Village Green Commons in Cashiers. 734.3434, info@villagegreencashiersnc.com or www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

• Haywood Historic Farmers Market is held from 8 a.m.-noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the parking lot of HART Theatre in Waynesville. haywoodfarmersmarket@gmail.com, www.waynesvillefarmersmarket.com or www.facebook.com/HaywoodHistoricFarmersMarket.

• The Original Waynesville Tailgate Market is from 8 a.m.-noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 171 Legion Drive in Waynesville (behind Bogart’s).

456.1830 or vrogers12@att.net.

• The Jackson County Farmers Market will be on Saturdays from 9 a.m.-noon at Bridge Park located in Sylva. Info: 393.5236. jacksoncountyfarmersmarket@gmail.com or website jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org.

• The ‘Whee Farmer’s Market is open from 4 p.m. to dusk every Tuesday at the University Inn on 563 N. Country Club Drive in Cullowhee, behind the entrance to the Village of Forest Hills off Highway 107 across from Western Carolina University. 476.0334. www.facebook.com/CullowheeFarmersMarket.

• The Franklin Farmers Tailgate Market is from 8

www.ThePrintHaus.com

a.m.-noon on Saturdays on East Palmer Street across from Drake Software in Franklin. 349.2049 or alan_durden@ncsu.edu.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • The fourth-annual Fairview Flyin’ Eagle 5K Run/Walk is at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, in Sylva. $20 before April 28 or $25 on race day.

• The New Vision Gymnastics Flippin’ 5K will run along the Little Tennessee River Greenway at 9 a.m. on April 29, in Franklin. Proceeds will benefit the New Vision Gymnastics Competitive Team. $25, and $15 for the Lil’ Flippers Fun Run to start at 8:30 a.m.

Register at www.active.com.

HIKING CLUBS • The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate-tostrenuous six-mile hike on Saturday, April 29, from Betty Creek Gap to Carter Gap Shelter. Reservations: 369.1983.

• An easy, 2.5-mile hike will be offered from 9 a.m.noon on Thursday, May 4, on the Piney Knob Bike and Hiking Trails near Murphy. Led by Johnny Strawn, who will teach some beginner-level plan identification.

RSVP by April 27: sposey@mainspringconserves.org or 837.6383.

• An easy-to-moderate five-mile hike will be led by Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood Community College on May 6 in the Sunburst area.

Free for members; $5 donation for nonmembers. RSVP

by May 4: christine@haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 476.4667.

• Nantahala Hiking Club holds monthly trail maintenance days from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on every fourth Saturday at 173 Carl Slagle Road in Franklin. Info and to register: 369.1983.

• Hike of the Week is at 10 a.m. every Friday at varying locations along the parkway. Led by National Park Service rangers. www.nps.gov/blri or 298.5330, ext.

304.

• Friends of the Smokies hikes are offered on the second Tuesday of each month. www.friendsofthesmokies.org/hikes.html.

• Nantahala Hiking Club based in Macon County holds weekly Saturday hikes in the Nantahala National Forest and beyond. www.nantahalahikingclub.org • High Country Hikers, based out of Hendersonville but hiking throughout Western North Carolina, plans hikes every Monday and Thursday. Schedules, meeting places and more information are available on their website, www.highcountryhikers.org.

• Carolina Mountain Club hosts more than 150 hikes a year, including options for full days on weekends, full days on Wednesdays and half days on Sundays.

Non-members contact event leaders. www.carolinamountainclub.org

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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

HOMES FOR SALE

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18 This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

ADT SECURITY Protects your home & family from “what if” scenarios. Fire, flood, burglary or carbon monoxide, ADT provides 24/7 security. Don’t wait! Call Now! 888.618.5327 BEAUTIFUL 4/BR 2/BA HOME 15 Boxwood Terrace, Canton, NC. Ready to move in with 2,300 sq. ft., Newly renovated with Master Suite, Laundry & Walk-in Closet.

Adequate Storage & Lots of Character. Walking Distance to Library & Main Street. $274,000 Call Alesia for more info 828.400.9943 BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

CAVALIER ARMS APARTMENTS

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NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Offering 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400 Section 8 Accepted - Rental Assistance When Available -

Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400

Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday 12:30pm - 4:00pm & Friday. 8:00am- 4:00pm 50 Duckett Cove Road, Waynesville

Phone # 1-828-456-6776 TDD # 1-800-725-2962 Equal Housing Opportunity

OFFICE HOURS: Monday & Wednesday 8:00am - 4:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

Phone# 1.828.273.3639 TDD# 1.800.735.2962 This is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer

Metal Art & Home Decor

860 Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC

44

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2723 Soco Rd. MAGGIE VALLEY

Store: 828-944-0701 Cell: 828-734-1665

HOMES FOR SALE

MOVING OUT OF STATE? Best Interstate Moving and Storage offers a FREE Quote and A Price Plus Promise. Call 877.648.6473 Now! PROTECT YOUR HOME WITH Fully customizable security and 24/7 monitoring right from your smartphone. Receive up to $1500 in equipment, free (restrictions apply). Call 1.800.941.7987

COMM. PROP. FOR RENT PROFESSIONAL MEETING SPACE Located in Waynesville, Holds up to 90 People. Suitable for Seminars, Family Gatherings, Worship, Ect. Kitchen Area, Wifi/ Screen. For More Information and Rates for ROOM 1902 Call 828.454.7445 or 828.551.8960

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT

1 Month Free with 12 Month Rental. Maggie Valley, Hwy. 19, 1106 Soco Rd. For more information call Torry

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Haywood County Real Estate Agents Beverly Hanks & Associates • • • • • • • • • •

beverly-hanks.com Ann Eavenson - anneavenson@beverly-hanks.com George Escaravage - gescar@beverly-hanks.com Randy Flanigan - randyflanigan@beverly-hanks.com Michelle McElroy - michellemcelroy@beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig - marilynnobrig@beverly-hanks.com Brooke Parrott - brookeparrott@beverly-hanks.com Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither - ellensither@beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey - mikestamey@beverly-hanks.com Pamela Williams - pamelawilliams@beverly-hanks.com

ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com • Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com • Rick Boarder - sunburstrealty.com Haywood Properties - haywoodproperties.com • Steve Cox - info@haywoodproperties.com Keller Williams Realty kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff.yourkwagent.com • Yvonne Kolomechuk - yvonneksells.yourkwagent.com • The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

Lakeshore Realty • Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Home Properties

Hours:

mountaindream.com • Sammie Powell - smokiesproperty.com

Tuesday-Friday, 12 Noon - 6 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management

April 26-May 2, 2017

GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

CLIMATE CONTROLLED STORAGE FOR YOU

—————————————— WNC MarketPlace

LOOKING FOR A MINI FARM? This rustic house and land is located in the Henson Cove Area of Canton, NC. Includes a Barn, 2 Acres, 2 Streams, a Pond and a Forest of Bamboo. Asking $195K. For more info or to preview house and property, call Alesia at 828.400.9943

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT

• Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

Realty World Heritage Realty realtyworldheritage.com • Carolyn Lauter realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7766 • Martha Sawyer realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7769

BULLSEYE - A VERY UNUSUAL LOOKING BOBTAIL KITTY ABOUT ONE YEAR OLD. HE HAS A BEAUTIFUL BLACK AND SILVER STRIPED COAT AND LARGE GOLD EYES. BULLSEYE IS STILL VERY MUCH A KITTEN, QUITE PLAYFUL AND CURIOUS. HE'LL BE A FUN FAMILY COMPANION CAT.

SFR, ECO, GREEN

147 WALNUT STREET • WAYNESVILLE

828.506.7137

aspivey@sunburstrealty.com

www.sunburstrealty.com/amy-spivey

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

• • • • • • •

remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com Holly Fletcher - hollyfletcher1975@gmail.com Judy Meyers - jameyers@charter.net Mieko Thomson - ncsmokies.com The Real Team - the-real-team.com Ron Breese - ronbreese.com Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

smokymountainnews.com

RE/MAX — Mountain Realty

GEORGIO - AN ADORABLE POM MIX BOY ABOUT 11/2 YEARS OLD. HE IS GREAT ON LEASH, FRIENDLY, AND GETS ALONG WITH OTHER FRIENDLY DOGS. HE MAY NOT BE SO CRAZY ABOUT KIDS, THOUGH, SO HE'S HOPING TO FIND A NEW HOME WITH ADULTS AND OLDER KIDS.

Rob Roland Realty • Rob Roland - rroland33@gmail.com

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com 45

www.smokymountainnews.com

April 26-May 2, 2017

WNC MarketPlace

Super

46

CROSSWORD

X MARKS THE SPOT ACROSS 1 Between 6 Cartoon thud 9 Snively cries 15 Film format 18 Chat session 20 The Bruins’ Bobby 21 Author — de Balzac 22 Aussie leaper 23 “You only have so much time” 26 Ron of “Tarzan” 27 Quaint suffix with poet 28 Virgil’s 61 29 “How sad” 30 Entwine anew 32 Den furniture 33 Swimmer also called a blueback 36 Scheduled mtg.

39 “+” or “-” atom 41 Take — (cab it) 42 Wee child 43 Boggy area 45 Possess 47 Campbell’s product, in Spanish 49 Netherlands cheese 52 Forts made of squared timbers 55 Any “:50” time 58 Slo- — fuse 59 One of the Greys on “Grey’s Anatomy” 60 Emailer’s “incidentally” 61 Gun of Israeli design 63 “The Waste Land” poet 65 Suffix with trick or hatch 66 New Nintendo system of 2012 68 Bingham of “Baywatch”

70 Proverbs 71 Where all eight X’s appear in this puzzle 74 “No —, Bob!” 77 Greek island near Paros 78 “Time —” (1990s scifi series) 79 Blabber 82 Trunk gunk 84 Actress Farrow 85 Pronounce 86 Bella — (British Columbian native) 88 CPR-trained pro 89 Be dozing 91 Has a frank discussion 94 Heavy hammer 96 Old Pontiac muscle cars 98 TV scientist Bill 99 On deck 100 Turnip, e.g.

103 Regal crown 105 Sis or bro 107 Royal name of Norway 108 “Gravity” actress 112 — -T-Pak (Wrigley’s gum unit) 114 Worry-free 115 Nerve cell extension 116 River islet 117 Devilkin 120 Broadway’s Hagen 121 “A Treatise on Money” economist 126 Click in Morse code 127 “Crack a Bottle” rapper 128 Dr. — (“Crack a Bottle” rapper) 129 Wields 130 I, to Johann 131 Really uncool types 132 Nile snake

133 Bird noise

screenwriter Penn 64 Secular DOWN 67 Perfect 1 Part of a French play 68 Poison: Prefix 2 — scale of hardness 69 Entry points on pipes 3 Individuals 71 Suffix with press 4 16-team grid gp.

72 Kerosene 5 Noted family name in 73 Abstainers from alcohol wine 74 Flower stalk 6 — choy 75 “— la Douce” 7 Opera solos 76 Address that bounced 8 “Entertaining —” (Joe email is delivered to Orton play) 79 Rustic sort 9 Cat food brand 80 Vega of “Spy Kids” 10 Ad — films 11 Pen filler 81 Cable shows, e.g.

12 Bete — 83 Tent securer 13 Borgnine of film 85 Clever 14 Self-balancing two87 “Smoking —?” wheeler 90 Reproach to Brutus 15 Had lofty aspirations 92 Big boa 16 Saab rival 93 Resembling a vat 17 Senior group member 95 Ore deposit 19 Puffer’s cousin 97 Low bows 24 “Bye now!”

101 Toothache relief brand 25 Savoir-faire 102 City near Seattle 31 Sommer of the screen 104 Old Big Appletheater 32 Actress Keanan 106 Apple tablet 34 Unusual foreign objects 108 — Arabian 35 “Criminy!”

109 Garret 36 Stroll along 110 Vikki Carr’s “It Must 37 Gondola guider —” 38 Authorized substitute 111 Knots on tree trunks 40 Sign banning 180s 113 Digital book, e.g.

44 Statistical asymmetry 117 As to 46 Compass pt.

118 Dole (out) 48 Toiling insect 119 “Hey, you” 50 Salve plant 122 Dir. 135 deg. from 4651 Verbal gems Down 53 Big Apple stage award 123 Sea, in Caen 54 Tunic worn over armor 124 Sales — 56 Port of Japan 125 Hedge bush 57 Annual PGA Tour event 62 Drummer Starkey and

answers on page 42

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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

Overwhelmed here are bucket lists and then there are bucket lists. As parents, the bucket lists we envision for our kids do not necessarily conform to their own bucket list. But this spring break we stood our ground and imposed, gasp, D.C. and the Smithsonian for our annual trip.

The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (SMNH) is nonpareil in scope, mission, detail and scientific acumen. The museum is larger than 18 football fields and is home to the largest natural history collection in the world. It maintains the most extensive collection of natural history artifacts and specimens in the world. There are more than 145 million objects and/or specimens in the SMNH. So suffice it to say that one morning during spring break will not make you an expert on the Smithsonian. But if you’ve had your coffee or cheerios — depending on age differential — it is clearly an eye-opening experience.

There are 10 permanent exhibitions at the SMNH — Janet Annebar Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals (think Hope Diamond), David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins (focusing on six million years of evo-

T

lution), Sant Ocean Hall (giant squid and gray whale skeletons), Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution (butterfly pavilion), Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt (do you know where your mummy is), Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals (274 specimens on display), Dinosaur and Fossil Hall (closed for expansion — re-opening 2019 — in the meantime Last American Dinosaur and FossiLab exhibits help scratch that dinosaur itch), Orkin Insect Zoo (daily tarantula feedings), Bone Hall (oldest exhibit in the museum with nearly 300 vertebrate skeletons and a brand new “Skin and Bones” interactive app for your phone), and African Voices (highlighting the global influence of Africa’s peoples through the history of time).

In hindsight, if your spring break happens to coincide with the National Cherry Blossom Festival, you may want to research the Smithsonian well enough to know what exhibits are at the top of your list and target them for early arrival or you may want to defer to another date. The Smithsonian website notes if you’re looking for a quieter museum experience, “Visit between Monday and Wednesday, or any weekday during September and February.”

We were there during the last week of the

2017 Cherry Blossom Festival and while it was winding down, we had lots of company.

But even with the blossom peekers, we arrived at the SMNH around 9:30 on a Monday morning and there was only about a 10-minute wait to get in. The first couple

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Don Hendershot photo of hours weren’t too bad but by noon the mass of humanity was getting pretty close.

We managed to at least browse through all exhibits. My girls’ favorite was the Hall of Mammals — besides the 274 specimens of animals from around the world, there was a prevalent and detailed storyline showcasing mammalian evolution over 225 million years. I enjoyed that because it tied right in with my favorite exhibit, the Hall of Human

Origin.

But by 2 o’clock we had rubbed enough shoulders and fell out on the National Mall.

After catching our collective breath, we decided to visit the National Gallery of Art — what a great decision. Cool, not crowded, and unhurried, it was a great way to decompress, and nothing instills humility in the soul like standing in front of great art. We visited the West Building that afternoon.

The West Building exhibits works from the medieval period through the late 19th century, featuring such masters as da Vinci, Rembrandt, Monet and Van Gogh plus many others. We enjoyed the West Building so much that we began our second day of D.C. touring in the East Building with its collection of modern and contemporary art showcasing Matisse, Pollock, Warhol, Picasso and others.

After all, I may not know what I like, but I know art.

Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached at ddihen1@bellsouth.net.

to our Friends of the Lake corporate sponsors:

Haywood Regional Medical Center • Smoky Mountain News Wells Fargo• Sheppard Insurance • The Mountaineer Champion Supply • Clark & Leatherwood, Inc. RCF Construction Company • Haywood Ace Hardware Haywood Builders Supply • Evergreen Packaging • Melrose Law

April 26-May 2, 2017

THANK YOU WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK

the following for sponsoring our 5K Road Race & Walk: Smoky Mountain News

Champion Credit Union Dr. Kerry P. Cogburn, DDS Dr. James J. Teague, III, DDS Dr. Pamela Van Praag, DDS Dr. Robert L. Franklin, III, DMD Forté Photography Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center Yarrington Physical Therapy & Sports Care, Inc. Mountain Awards • US Foods

A special thanks to Ed Green, Right on Time Productions, our staff, volunteers, and friends.

Because of your support, more than $19,700 was raised!

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, March 31, 2018 lakejunaluska.com/friends-of-the-lake

47

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