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

May 23-29, 2018 Vol. 19 Iss. 52

Plott Creek residents against proposed development Page 3 Commissioners stall Blackrock conservation project Page 20

CONTENTS On the Cover: Educators from across WNC traveled to Raleigh on May 16 to participate in the Teachers Rally for more funding for public education. Even those who couldn’t attend the rally wore red shirts at school that day to show solidarity for the marchers and demand legislators invest more in public education.

(Page 6) Legislators and staff watch the Teachers Rally from inside the Legislative Building in Raleigh. Chuck Carte photo

News Plott Creek residents against housing development ................................................3 Haywood’s legislators speak at gun rally ....................................................................4 Macon budget battles increasing costs ......................................................................9 Haywood schools talk school safety ..........................................................................10 Tax increase proposed in Jackson ..............................................................................14 TWSA to keep up-front fees ........................................................................................16 Cherokee to vote in alcohol referendum May 31 ..................................................18 Commissioners stall Blackrock conservation project ............................................20

A&E Justin Townes Earle on songwriting, Van Zandt ......................................................28

Outdoors Effort to restore Rainbow Falls Trail a team effort ..................................................42

CORRECTION

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

The headline of a submitted press release published in the May 16 issue of The Smoky Mountain News contained incorrect information. Vaya Health is moving out of its current office building in Sylva, but its new office will still be located in Sylva. SMN regrets this error.

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Concerned citizens pack Waynesville Town Hall May 21. Cory Vaillancourt photo

Plotting progress I

CONCERNS The parcel itself is located just west of the Great Smoky Mountain Expressway and south of Plott Creek Road; between them is Hazelwood Elementary School.

It’s an idyllic, pastoral setting with historic farmhouses and luxury homes scattered about the rolling hills of the Plott

S EE PLOTT, PAGE 4

At issue, say neighbors, is the semi-rural character of a historic part of Waynesville.

Cory Vaillancourt photo

Smoky Mountain News

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER t’s rare to see great interest taken in the meeting of a municipal planning board, but a contentious proposal that would allow for apartments on a semi-rural piece of land on the outskirts of Waynesville has ignited a debate not only about the future of the 41-acre parcel on Plott Creek Road, but also about the future of the community as a whole.

Developers say the 200-unit complex is what the town needs. Neighbors strongly disagree. Although the town’s planning documents currently allow for substantively similar developments on the parcel, at the crux of the issue is the unfortunate stigma attached to residents who would rent — and not own — the proposed units.

And as town officials consider the past and future of the area, the fight is far from over.

Creek Valley, where North Carolina’s State Dog, the Plott Hound, originated some two centuries ago.

The area’s zoning designation, however, has oscillated between low and medium density since its inception around the turn of the last century.

Carved out of another district in 2003, the Plott Creek Neighborhood Residential District originally allowed multi-family use until revisions eliminated that use in 2011.

Multi-family dwellings are defined by the town as a building or portion thereof containing three or more dwelling units on a single lot, where each unit has a separate entrance from the outside or through a common vestibule.

Townhomes, however, are defined as three or more attached dwelling units in which each unit has its own front and rear access from the outside, where no unit is located over another unit, and where each unit is separated from any other by one or more vertical common fire resistant firewalls.

The most important distinction, however, is that with townhomes, the land underneath each unit is titled to the unit itself. A multi-family dwelling would likely be titled to a development or management company.

In this case, that’s Gastonia-based Southwood Realty Company, which on April 24 applied for a text amendment to the Plott Creek Neighborhood Residential district that would allow multifamily dwellings.

“We’re a family-owned company started by my grandfather,” said William Ratchford, vice president of Southwood. “We are the largest owner of apartments in Western

May 23-29, 2018

Community conflicted over proposed apartment complex

North Carolina with a presence in the area dating back to 2001 in Henderson County.”

Southwood has an option to purchase the parcel, presumably contingent on getting a favorable ruling on the proposed text amendment. If it is successful, plans include a 200-unit apartment complex on the site.

“We’re not big-city developers looking to come in,” Ratchford told the Town of Waynesville Planning Board May 21. “We build units and products in small towns that cater to the town with the workforce housing that is often needed for a town to survive and bring individuals who can be teachers, firefighters or policemen.”

The units, according to Ratchford, would be little different in size and scope from developments featuring townhomes, which are currently allowed in the PC-NR district.

“The apartments we can build more expensively,” he said. “We put more costs

into the units themselves because we have a lower cost under the roof line. We put in 9foot ceilings, crown molding and granite countertops. We can make a fair argument that our apartments that have stone and brick look better than the Centex home communities right beside them.”

Ratchford addressed the Planning Board in support of his application, and in doing so attempted to diffuse what he supposed would be the four biggest arguments against his proposed text amendment.

Traffic would indeed increase in the area by about 50 percent, according to J.M. Teague Engineering’s traffic engineer Jason Fulton.

“Currently I would have to look at my reports to tell you what we counted, but the DOT says there’s 2,500 cars daily on that stretch of road,” Fulton told the Planning Board. Fulton added that the apartment complex would generate 1,300 more cars daily, and add a new peak period — the 4 to 6 p.m. commute — to existing peak hours based on pickup and drop-off times at Hazelwood Elementary, where traffic is busiest from 7 to 9 a.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Ratchford explained that by virtue of apartment complexes typically containing 30 percent one-bedroom units, his proposed development would actually generate less traffic than a townhome development.

“Most developers do not build one bedroom townhomes,” he said. “It’s just not normally an efficient thing to build, therefore townhome communities of similar size will naturally have more traffic than an apartment community.”

That carries over to another concern — school overcrowding — as well, per Ratchford.

“As a 200-unit apartment complex, because of the nature of the housing, one bedrooms usually have considerably less children than a townhome or housing development, so there’s less impact on schools,” he said.

As for environmental impact, the threestory apartment buildings allow for greater cost efficiency, construction-wise, than town-

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Brothers mentioned the history and heritage of the area.

But it was local attorney and Plott Creek resident Chuck Dickson who raised the economic connotations surrounding renters.

“Multi-family use inherently leads to more transient use, and I would submit, not as much pride of ownership or pride of place as single family homes,” Dickson told the board.

Ken Hollifield, who lives on Plott Creek Road, said that he was concerned about property values declining.

Al Dana identified himself as a former law enforcement officer who specialized in child sex crimes, and said putting a 200-unit apartment complex right next to an elementary school was “asking for trouble.”

The sum of those arguments suggests that people who are unable or unwilling to purchase a single-family home in PC-NR and instead rent will lower property values and prey upon children.

Ratchford said that a recent survey of approved applicants at similar properties in Western North Carolina showed median income of just over $40,000 an applicant, well above the county’s $33,000 median household income.

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PLOTT, CONTINUED FROM 3 houses do, meaning less land can be disturbed on a project.

The final concern, and often most contentious aspect of any proposed development, is density of units per acre, but in this case the PC-NR district allows far greater density than what Southwood plans to use.

“The project we’re proposing the density is less than five units an acre,” Ratchford said. Current zoning allows for at least 10.

Additionally, North Carolina fire code allows a maximum of 200 units under one property entrance, thus capping any potential development.

“There’s not a piece of land in Plott Creek unless you combine several properties that could be 200 units or more,” he told the board. “So if we’re not here for density, what are we here for?”

CRISIS

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

As the Town of Waynesville’s Development Services Director, Elizabeth Teague plays an important role in any planning decision that takes place within the town.

In this particular case, Teague had to research the issue and decide first and foremost whether or not the proposed text amendment was consistent with the town’s comprehensive plan.

Adopted in 2002, the plan, titled, “Waynesville: Our Heritage, Our Future 2020 Land Development Plan” provides a framework for future land use as defined by community input.

“The overall land-use school [of thought] that was adopted back in 2002 states that the town would promote the orderly growth, development and enhanced land values in the town by preserving and improving Waynesville’s existing neighborhoods, creating more attractive commercial centers, maintaining a strong downtown area, and taking steps to reduce urban sprawl and protect the natural beauty of the community,” Teague told the board. “Additionally it says we should provide an attractive range of housing opportunities and neighborhoods for all residents of Waynesville.”

That plan lays out where higher density residential development should go — near the core of the city — and where it should transition to medium or low density, near the outskirts.

The PC-NR district sits precariously in an area where both would be suitable; its maximum density of 10 units per acre is greater than the six or eight units per acre in the town’s other residential districts, but well below the 16 units per acre allowed in Waynesville’s urban residential district.

It is perhaps this conspiracy of geography and zoning that might explain why PC-NR allowed, then disallowed multi-family housing and why a developer thinks it’s worth the effort to again seek it as a permitted use on the parcel.

After going through planning board minutes and board of aldermen minutes from years back, Teague said she couldn’t find any 4 discussion specifically on that point.

The 41-acre parcel sits just west of Hazelwood Elementary School, off Plott Creek Road.

Haywood GIS photo

Adding to the ambiguity, Teague during her research discovered a troubling inconsistency.

“We have kind of a curious not necessarily ‘conflict,’ but an interesting thing which we’ve encountered before, that when ordinances are revised, not all contradictions are addressed,” she said. “Sometimes we update something in one part of the ordinance, but there is something else in another part of the ordinance.”

In this case, the zoning ordinance expressly permits apartments in all neighborhood residential districts, including Plott Creek — a remnant of the time when it was permissible. But the town’s table of permitted uses says apartments aren’t allowed in PC-NR or the Sulphur Springs Neighborhood Residential District, an artifact from when the use was removed.

Bearing all that in mind, Teague found the proposed text amendment to be “consistent with our land-use plan map and our stated goals.”

Furthermore, Teague said, projects of the type proposed by Southwood are sorely needed.

“We do have a bit of a housing crisis,” said Teague, who then quickly corrected herself. “Not a bit — we have a housing crisis in Waynesville. We have gone through the process with Haywood County to do a housing study, and a key priority that came out of that study was that we lack rental housing. And it’s not just affordable rental housing — it’s any rental housing.”

While the proposed development isn’t strictly “affordable housing” as defined by most — that which costs less than 30 percent of one’s income — it is what Teague

has termed “workforce housing,” which while not bargain-basement is also not ultra-luxurious.

“The problem is, there’s not enough reasonably priced housing,” Ratchford said after the meeting. “I talked to The Mountaineer [newspaper], had multiple conversations with her and she said with an entry-level reporter they say, ‘You’re hired, good luck finding entry-level housing.’”

Teague summed up her presentation to the planning board by saying that “allowing multi-family within this particular district actually is a strategic way of handling a specific need that we have.”

CONTENTION After almost an hour of hearing from Teague and Ratchford, the more than 100 people who’d piled in to town hall board room and spilled out into the hallway for the planning board’s public hearing finally got the chance to do what they’d come to do, and do it they did — by throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the proposed text amendment.

Not a single supporter other than applicant Ratchford spoke in favor of the project during the public comment session, but 15 residents opposed it for reasons both practical and philosophical.

Alan Schork, retired from the commercial real estate industry, said he represented a large group of homeowners opposed to the project. When his time came to speak, he asked those in opposition to the measure to raise their hands; pretty much everyone did.

Another area resident, Mary Thomas, cited the same concerns Ratchford predicted — traffic, schools, the environment. Teresa

WHAT’S NEXT?

After Ratchford made his arguments and Teague submitted her findings, planning board member Anthony Sutton moved to find Southwood’s proposed text amendment consistent with the 2020 plan, and also moved to accept the proposed text amendment. Those motions were seconded by board members Danny Wingate and Pratik Shah.

Board member Marty Prevost, a Realtor, asked to abstain from voting and to recuse herself from the matter; Board Chairman Patrick McDowell asked if she had a direct financial interest in the project.

She said no, and should have voted, but unofficial minutes from the meeting say she didn’t.

Ginger Hain and Jason Rogers voted against both motions, which passed. Hain said she thought the matter would be best handled during the town’s currently transpiring update of the 2020 plan, which will bring land use planning in Waynesville up through the year 2040.

Southwood’s request, however, was scheduled to go before the full board of alderman May 22, as The Smoky Mountain News was going to print.

If aldermen accept the recommendation of the planning board, the developer would then be free to apply for a permit to create a multi-family development on the parcel.

That request would again go through the planning board. If the planning board accepts the request, the developer would then go through the building permit process.

Residents who opposed the project, however, seem to be undeterred by the planning board’s vote.

“We’ll be back,” Dickson said.

Look for more about this story in next week’s issue of The Smoky Mountain News, on stands and online Wednesday, May 30.

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Haywood’s legislators show support for Second Amendment

*Paid for by the Committee to Elect Mark Melrose

Reps. Michele Presnell (left) and Mike Clampitt speak to Second Amendment supporters in Waynesville May 19. Cory Vaillancourt photo

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Do you have grass-finished beef at Ingles and does that mean that it is organic? What’s the difference between grass-finished and other beef?

Answer: We do have grass-fed/grass-finished beef and we do have organic beef at Ingles.

Organic beef is not necessarily grass-finished but any grasses/grains the cattle are fed have to be organic crops.

I have visited Brasstown Beef and Hickory Nut Gap in the Western part of NC (we carry their beef at Ingles) as well as an organic beef farm in the middle of the NC and a large cattle ranch and feedlot in Nebraska. At all of these farms, some small with a few hundred cattle, and others large, with over 1000 head of cattle; the cattle graze for the majority of their lives on grasses.

To provide them with the nutrients they need, they have to have access to specific types of grasses. This is typically determined by an animal nutritionist so the farmer can plant or give cattle access to the right sort of grasses. It is in the farmer or rancher’s best interest to make sure cattle can meet their nutritional needs so they grow at the appropriate rate and remain healthy and stress free. When grasses aren’t growing, during times of drought or winter, the cattle have to be fed. If the cattle are to be “grass-finished” they would remain eating grass until the time they are processed for their meat. The benefits to this is that the meat will be leaner and there may be small amounts of nutritional differences in the omega-3 fatty acid in the meat( but not enough to get excited about and you would do better to get your omega 3’s by eating fish or plant/seeds). The down sides of grass finished are really two things - you need grasses to feed them for a longer amount of time, than can get costly for the farmer and therefore the meat tends to more expensive to the consumer. Also, since it takes longer for the cattle to make it to the appropriate weight, they produce more methane and this affects greenhouse gas emissions. Many people can taste the difference between grass-finished and grain-finished beef and the latter often has more marbling so that makes it more desirable in terms of taste. Depending on the cut of meat, grain-finished would have a slightly higher fat content than grass-finished Having been to a feed lot (grain finished), I can tell you that the cattle are eager to eat their grain and grass ration. The feed is not all grain or corn (actually botanically corn is a grass!). I saw the cattle eagerly run up to the food troughs as their food was put in. All of their feed is calculated by an animal nutritionist to make sure they get the appropriate blend of nutrients as well as other vitamins and minerals. Sometimes they are also given probiotics to help their immune system and digestion. Since cattle are ruminants (their stomach that has 4 Chambers) they digest food totally differently than humans or other animals.

Source: www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/dairy/feed-and-nutrition/feeding-the-dairyherd/ruminant-anatomy-and-physiology.html.

Smoky Mountain News

“We’re both life members of the NRA, and like she just said, she hasn’t got a contribution, and I haven’t got a contribution.”

Adopting a popular rallying cry of Second Amendment supporters, Clampitt told the crowd that governments shouldn’t meddle with gun control.

“The Constitution of United States says our Second Amendment right to bear arms shall not be infringed,” he said. “Folks, they shall not be infringed. It’s not a choice by government or a choice by any state government. That is a right guaranteed us by the Constitution.”

Both Clampitt and Presnell are running for re-election this year, and will face the same Democrats they defeated in 2016.

The so-called “Trump surge” appeared to have benefitted both candidates last time; Clampitt squeaked out one of the narrowest legislative victories in the state in his third contest with then-Rep. Joe Sam Queen, DWaynesville, while Presnell posted the most impressive numbers of her three-term tenure against Rhonda Cole Schandevel, D-Canton.

As in 2016, the Trump presidency’s effect on local elections remains a pressing question; it could be devastating for Democrats, or for Republicans, as reports of huge Democratic gains in generic polls a year ago are beginning to show signs of fading.

Nevertheless, both Clampitt and Presnell agreed it was important for them to support their positions in principle and in person.

“It’s very important,” Presnell said.

“We’re just common people, just like everybody else. We both have a very good reason to stand up. If we don’t stand up for it — somebody’s got to in Raleigh, for our Constitution, for gun rights — we had to stand up and that’s what we’re doing.”

But as legislators, accessibility — especially during an election season — becomes even more important.

“We are representatives of the people, of the district,” Clampitt said. “For the people of the district to have a voice, they need to know they can talk to us at events like this. It should help them understand and let them know, as Michelle said eloquently, we have your back.”

May 23-29, 2018

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER ne day after the 22nd school shooting of 2018 took place in Texas, a previously planned Second Amendment rally at the Historic Haywood County Courthouse drew citizens and elected officials who explained that the problem was really more a societal issue, than a security issue.

“I think it is the breakdown of the family,” said Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, at the event. “Most shooters come from a broken home. Many didn’t have a daddy when they were growing up.”

About 75 people turned up on a rainy Saturday in Waynesville for the event, which featured a conspicuous lack of firearms and a similar lack of counter-protestors. A small group of people carrying concealed weapons stood on the sidewalk in compliance with a county policy banning firearms from the courthouse grounds.

Presnell said she’d had “lots of discussions” about school shootings and gun violence, and said she’d discovered an answer as to why so many mass shootings seem to take place in gun-free zones.

“Nobody shoots back,” she said, adding that banning bump stocks and assault weapons not only wouldn’t solve the problem, but would instead lead to an erosion of the Second Amendment itself.

“When the policies fail to produce the results that they want,” she said, “they [gun control advocates] will come back for more reasons to infringe on my constitutional right to carry a weapon for self-defense.”

During her address, Presnell, who represents a small but populous sliver of Haywood County in the General Assembly, said she’s never received a contribution from the . National Rifle Association.

Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, represents the rest of Haywood County and said likewise he’d never received NRA contributions, either, even though both he and Presnell are members.

“Michele and I are in lockstep with the Second Amendment rights,” Clampitt said.

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news An estimated 15,000 educators took to the streets in Raleigh May 16 to rally for more funding for public education.

Donated photo

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

Teachers take to the streets

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WNC teachers demand more money for public education

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR ore than 20 school districts in the state of North Carolina had to shut down as more than 15,000 teachers traveled to Raleigh on May 16 to rally for public education.

While none of the school systems west of Buncombe County had to take a day off, the far western counties were well represented at the rally. Many teachers that couldn’t attend still showed solidarity by wearing red shirts to school that day to represent the “RedforEd” march that ended at the Legislative Building.

Karma Shuford, a special education teacher at Bethel Elementary in Haywood County, said she wore red to take a stand for the value of public education.

“My biggest issue is our focus on testing, but teacher recruitment and retention, working conditions, being understaffed, and the overall disrespect of public education and educators weighs heavy on my heart as well,” she said. “I am not sure the sea of red in Raleigh even caused a blip on the legislature.

It might have planted a seed — I hope it did, and that seed will grow.”

Teachers across the region cited many reasons for marching, but some Republicans

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claimed teachers were selfishly rallying for pay raises. Rep. Mark Brody, R-Monroe, called participants “teacher union thugs” trying to control the education process.

Despite the criticism, teachers kept their message positive, saying they were marching for the future of North Carolina — the students.

Tyler Faetz has taught English at Franklin High School for 19 years. He became a teacher to share his love of literature and to create better students and citizens.

“My participation in the rally was predicated on my belief that the students of North Carolina are not worth less than the students of neighboring states such as Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia,” he said. “Over the past several years, we have witnessed a stunning decline in per pupil expenditures, which is the metrics that is generally used when determining the level of state investment in public education. We now spend 12.2 percent less on students than we did before the recession.”

Gov. Roy Cooper spoke at the rally, telling teachers he was on their side and would continue to fight for more funding for public education and higher pay for teachers.

“This is far more than about teacher pay.

It’s about respect. It’s personal folks,” Cooper said. “It’s about real investment in our

A group of teachers from Macon County (top) made the five hour trip to Raleigh to be part of the rally. Karma Shuford and Chris Frodsham, Exceptional Children teachers at Bethel Middle School (above), show support for the teacher rally in Raleigh by wearing their red shirts.

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schools. If I’ve learned anything from the hundreds of teachers I’ve met it’s that teachers don’t teach for incomes. Teachers teach for outcomes.”

Faetz has always considered himself an advocate for public education, but this was the first time he’s participated in a rally of this size and scope.

“I was so incredibly encouraged by the rally. To see so many teachers, parents, students and concerned citizens standing in unity was overwhelming,” he said. “It was also so gratifying to see the number of teachers who packed both chambers of the legislative building to let legislators know that we are watching and that we are overwhelmingly supported by the citizens of our state.”

DOING LESS WITH LESS As the recession raged on and state education funding was taking major hits between 2008 and 2013, it was common to hear teachers and school administration brag about being able to do more with less, but teachers now say it’s gotten to the point they’re just doing less with less.

North Carolina’s per-pupil spending isn’t keeping pace with the national average or with surrounding southern states. North

Carolina spends about $9,329 per student while Georgia spends over $10,000 and South Carolina spends $11,552 on average.

The lack of per-pupil funding means less textbooks, less technology and fewer teaching positions for elective classes that aren’t state mandated but can enrich a student’s love of learning.

“The media keeps saying we want a raise.

No, I want my students to have the same opportunities I had 15 years ago. When I was at Franklin High they offered eight more science electives then what we can offer now — the classes that had the biggest impact on me are not offered,” said Franklin High science teacher Kate McMahan. “Our students aren’t competitive when they go to college because there’s not as many opportunities as others have. We’re not even doing more with less now, we’re doing less with less.”

McMahan said the state isn’t providing funds for textbooks, which means her science students use the same textbooks in her classroom that she used when she graduated in 2003. As one might expect, the information is outdated.

“Math and science are constantly changing. Pluto isn’t a planet anymore,” she said.

School districts have turned to using digital textbooks, but even

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Average annual teacher salary in 2016-17 • • • • • • • •

2016 2017 2017 Rank Georgia ...............................................$54,190..................$55,532......................23 Kentucky .............................................$52,134..................$52,338......................29 Virginia ...............................................$49,690..................$51,049......................34 Alabama .............................................$48,518..................$50,391......................35 Tennessee ...........................................$48,817..................$50,099......................36 South Carolina....................................$48,769..................$50,000......................38 North Carolina ....................................$47,941..................$49,970......................39 Mississippi .........................................$42,744..................$42,925......................51

Spending per student in 2017 • • • • • • • •

South Carolina ..................................................................................................$11,552 Virginia..............................................................................................................$11,141 Kentucky............................................................................................................$10,508 Georgia..............................................................................................................$10,010 Tennessee...........................................................................................................$9,393 North Carolina....................................................................................................$9,329 Alabama.............................................................................................................$9,238 Mississippi.........................................................................................................$8,361 Source: National Education Association statistics

Based on trends, the NEA estimates that the average salary of instructional staff will increase from $61,386 in 2016-17 to $62,329 in 2017-18, a gain of 1.5 percent.

The average classroom teacher salary for 2017-18 will increase by 1.4 percent over 2016-17, from $59,660 to $60,483.

SKILL AND DRILL Skill and drill — that’s how teachers refer to the state’s method of teaching. With so

S EE TEACHERS, PAGE 8

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Highway patrol, correctional officers — there’s a lot of other state employees that are there. They want a raise, too.”

Clampitt said that while the march was “impressive,” it was also unsettling in that it resulted in the cancellation of school for what he said was about a million students.

Like Presnell, Clampitt stressed balance in how the state divvies up resources.

“So teachers aren’t the only ones, but they have had the most attention in the last six years,” he said. “We’re going to

have to start sharing the toys, and the sandbox and the playground, so to speak.”

DEMS DIFFER Both Presnell, in her third term, and Clampitt, in his first, are seeking re-election in the November General Election, where they’ll both face the same opponents they bested in 2016. Not surprisingly, Democrats Rhonda Cole Schandevel and Joe Sam Queen feel differently about the issue than the Republican incumbents do.

“Isn’t it time we start listening to the 20,000 teachers that moved to action instead of the few politicians that say they are providing teachers all the resources that are needed?” asked Schandevel, who lost to Presnell by more than 10 points in 2016.

Schandevel said that teachers “see with their own eyes” resource levels available, and as caretakers of future leaders, they ought to get what they’re demanding in order to stave off “further erosion of a once highly-regarded system.”

Queen, who will face Clampitt for the fourth time in November, said that strong public schools are the foundation of any democracy and ensure opportunity for everyone, not just the wealthy.

“Our students don’t thrive without a quality teacher in every classroom, and our schools don’t thrive without an effective principal out in front, leading the way,” said Queen. “They’re undermining public education for private school vouchers, and that’s just disrespectful.”

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Smoky Mountain News

ing sure all her students receive specialized, individual instruction. She has five classes each day — two resource classes where she is the sole teacher, and three inclusion classes where she co-teaches a class with another regular education teacher.

“This means we have about 35 minutes — plus lunch with students — each day to plan for our individual classes, maintain the paperwork for the individualized education plans for each of our EC students, meet with parents, actively monitor each student’s progress plus attend grade level meetings,” she said. “So many demands and responsibilities are placed in our lap that we often feel we are not teaching students the way they deserve to be taught.”

McMahan said she would like to see smaller class sizes, which would require more funding for positions from the state.

While the recent school shootings have prompted a lot of talk about mental health and the need for more school counselors, she said reducing class size would also help create better relationships between teachers and students.

“With 28 students in a high school class, I can’t talk to all of them every day, and the cap is 35 in elementary school,” she said.

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER s thousands of North Carolina teachers descended on the state capitol last week demanding more education funding and better pay, Haywood County’s legislators say progress has been made, and more is coming, but politicizing the issue neglects other state employees who are just as critical to the state’s success.

“It wasn’t about a pay raise, it was about politics,” said Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville. “In general, that’s what it was about.”

Teachers in North Carolina are poised to receive their fifth consecutive pay raise from the General Assembly with the passage of the state’s new budget, but are still below the $38,617 national average starting salary reported by the National Education Association for the 2016-17 school year.

“We continue to give them raises. It’s going to be a while before they get up to the national standard, but it’s coming,” Presnell said.

North Carolina’s average starting salary is $37,514, according to the NEA, placing it above all neighboring states except Virginia’s $39,398.

Presnell said that Republicans inherited a state in financial disarray when they took control of the General Assembly in 2010 after more than a century of Democratic domination, one reason for the discrepancy.

Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, said that conservative control of the legislature is what has made those raises possible in the first place.

“The thing is, the state had been into almost bankruptcy, if we remember back in 2009, the state had to furlough individuals, [and] they could not give pay raises,” Clampitt said. “So we have been fiscally responsible in the state house to take care of some debt and come forth with a good business climate. As you’ve seen recently, several large corporations are now considering coming to North Carolina, which will help us with the tax base and therefore because of that help us make other raises available.”

And, according to Presnell, there are plenty of hands out.

“We’re getting there, but there’s other state employees,” she said. “It’s not just teachers. How about the State Highway Patrol that put their life on the line every single day when they get up and put their shoes on? They are very important.

May 23-29, 2018

funding for that is being cut in order to save positions. While there haven’t been many lay offs in the last several years, she said retiring teachers aren’t being replaced.

Jennifer Love, STEM coordinator for Macon County Schools, said classroom funding is a big issue, especially for science teachers who can quickly use up any allotted funding for one piece of equipment. Then teachers have to go out and spend their own money for any supplies needed for experiments or hands-on projects.

McMahan said it was those sorts of classroom projects that encouraged her to pursue a career in the sciences. In fact, she said many of her classmates who took the science elective Methods of Science Research with her at Franklin High went on to be doctors, science teachers, engineers and psychologists.

“We learned critical thinking and projectbased learning. We learned how to follow through with projects and goal setting — we need more of that type of learning,” she said.

Faetz said it’s such an exciting time to be a teacher because of the innovation of different technologies and educators moving toward teaching models that address problem-solving skills, collaboration and communication skills.

“The most disheartening thing is that this innovation is coming precisely at the same time when our state is most reluctant to properly fund public education,” he said.

With less teachers and a higher studentto-teacher ratio, time management is a challenge for many educators. As a special education teacher, Shuford is responsible for mak-

Clampitt: teachers need to start ‘sharing the toys’

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By the numbers

TEACHERS, CONTINUED FROM 6

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

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many required standardized tests to complete during the school year and so many strings attached to those test scores, teachers feel like that’s all they do.

Shuford said she knew when she was a young child she wanted to be a teacher, but she’s struggled to adapt to the constant changes in the public school system.

“I taught public school for eight years before becoming so totally frustrated at how students were treated by the system. At the time I left, I was teaching at Central Haywood, and it seemed all we did was test, test, test,” she said. “My heart was broken for what I saw those kids going through, and I couldn't deal with it anymore.”

Disenfranchised with the system, she began teaching at Haywood Community College and home-schooled her young children until they were in fourth and second grades. When Shuford volunteered in her daughter’s classroom, she said her love of teaching was reignited. She renewed her teaching license and began teaching at the middle school level, which she enjoys.

“All of that becomes relevant as to where I am now, because I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of several sides of the equation,” she said. “I know why people get frustrated with public school. I understand why parents may choose the charter, private, parochial, homeschool school routes. But, I advocate for the public schools because that is where most students go, and they deserve the very best available. They deserve the opportunity to shine and succeed.”

McMahan said many teachers feel like the state is setting them up for failure with some of the required testing and the kinds of questioning on the tests.

“Whoever is making these tests is evil,” she said. “It’s horrible that an OCS (Occupational Course of Study) student has to take the same test as my honors students.

That’s just cruel. And the test doesn’t test biology knowledge — it tests your ability to read a sentence with several double negatives.”

Faetz said Franklin High used to offer English electives — creative writing, film as literature and journalism — but those have all been stripped because of the building’s overcrowding. Limited space also keeps the school from offering more AP classes that would make students more competitive.

“Students will be denied that opportunity because of funding. Our remedial reading program needs to be expanded as well to accommodate the needs of incoming students, but because of funding we will be unable to provide these opportunities,” he said.

Love said the current “skill and drill” methods are not doing students any favors.

Once in the trenches of the classroom, Love now has the added perspective of working with local businesses to better understand their workforce needs and challenges.

“Through this job I’ve come to learn what kind of students are graduating from high school and the needs in the community,” Love said. “The testing and the skill and drill 8 that comes along with it isn’t producing the

Franklin High School English teacher Tyler Faetz and his wife Melissa Faetz take a selfie inside the Legislative Building during the teacher rally in Raleigh. Donated photo learners that we need in the our communities. The problem solving and critical thinking, even the soft skills like answering phones and typing, all have fallen by the wayside because it’s not on the test. There needs to be a paradigm shift in education. That’s why I went to the march.”

PAY RAISES While it’s not the main reason teachers rallied, it is a big factor, especially considering the shortage of funding for supplies and the extra workload teachers are taking on to compensate for having fewer funded positions.

During the recession years, teacher salaries were frozen and North Carolina fell to 48th in the nation for teacher pay. The Legislature has given teachers a raise for the last several years, which has bumped the state up to 39th in the nation, but the state still lags behind the national average. North Carolina’s average teacher salary is now over $50,000, but the national average for 2018 is expected to be over $60,000.

“Take the teacher salary schedule from 1996-1997, adjust it for inflation, and it becomes a little more clear why teachers, especially veteran teachers with 25-plus years of experience, are frustrated,” Shuford said.

N.C. Teacher of the Year Lisa Godwin addressed the pay issue during an interview in Raleigh. She said it’s not just about teachers wanting more money — it’s about being able to recruit and retain quality teachers instead of losing them to surrounding states who are doing a better job funding public education.

McMahan, who could have gone into many other science fields, chose to be a teacher because she wanted to stay close to family in Macon County and start her own family there. However, she said it is frustrating to know she could drive 20 minutes down to Georgia and see her salary increase by $15,000.

Local governments have tried to improve teacher retention by offering supplemental

pay for teachers, but smaller counties are still having a hard time not losing teachers to counties like Buncombe that can offer a higher supplement. For example, Haywood County pays an average $1,967 supplement while Buncombe pays an average $3,721.

Shuford said she’s concerned about the future of public education based on a shift in society’s attitude toward public education and educators.

“Where teaching used to be a very respected profession, now, it is almost a ‘last resort.’ We asked a group of 75 seventhgraders who wanted to be a teacher when they grew up. In that particular group, none of them did,” she said. “In 10 years, I suspect that North Carolina will be in a full-blown teacher shortage crisis.”

FIGHT FOR FUNDING Much blame is passed around as school systems fight to get the funding they need to meet all the state standards and mandates.

A formula determines how much funding a school system receives from the state for teaching positions, but it’s not perfect. It doesn’t account for students who enroll in the middle of the year or students who return to the public school system midyear from homeschooling, private school or a public charter school.

With mandates on class size, local school systems often have to rearrange classrooms and add teaching positions in the middle of year without the funding coming from the state to pay for the new position. Exceptions have been made that allows school systems to increase class sizes, but that puts more strain on the teachers.

“Budget cuts eliminated an EC (Exceptional Children) position at our school, so the other EC teacher and I absorbed the workload of the third person. When I started at BMS four years ago, we had 22 EC students with three teachers,” Shuford said. “This year, we had 45 students with two teachers. My principals did all they could. My EC director did all she could, but the harsh reality is that

you can’t get blood from a turnip.”

School systems then have to request funding from the county for infrastructure needs, and county governments are struggling to keep up with those needs as well. The North Carolina Education Lottery was sold to county governments as a revenue stream to be used for school construction needs, but that’s not how it’s been used. The state promised 40 percent of the proceeds would go to counties, but in reality counties are receiving less than 20 percent to put toward infrastructure, creating a backlog of maintenance issues.

“The first school I taught in had a waterfall in the corner coming in from the leaky roof and broken windows. One time the heat went out at the high school for several days.

Our buildings are crumbling, classes are getting bigger and bigger and we have fewer resources available,” Love said. “When the economy was not doing well we all cut back.

Now we keep being told the economy is better so why are we not seeing it trickling down?”

Indeed, the state legislature is discussing what it should do with a $350 million surplus from the 2017-18 budget plus $275 million in extra revenue coming in for 2018-19. A 6-percent raise for teachers is one of the items on the table for consideration.

Love said educators heard a similar story at the county level when Macon County Manager Derek Roland presented the proposed budget for 2018-19. The budget does include a slight increase for Macon County Schools capital needs, but $600,000 isn’t going to go far in taking care of the school’s $3.2 million in facility needs.

Many of the improvements are needed to better secure Franklin High School in light of several student-made threats. With 1950s infrastructure, the lack of secure buildings makes the school an easy target for intruders.

“To put it bluntly, security at Franklin High School is a travesty,” Faetz said. “While our school resource officers and administrative staff do their best to monitor a school of 1,000 students, they are dramatically understaffed.”

With more than $22 million sitting in the county’s fund balance, educators don’t understand why these capital projects aren’t getting done faster.

“The county has a surplus and meanwhile the school’s emergency fund is dwindling down to nothing,” Love said. “At a meeting recently we were talking about how can we reduce textbook spending instead of cutting positions and everyone is sitting there like, ‘you have to be kidding me!’”

The increase to the county’s public safety budget wasn’t lost on educators either. The increase was due to the increase in the number of inmates being detained at the Macon County Detention Center.

“The public safety piece of the pie keeps gets bigger — the jail used to have 50 inmates a day and now it’s 100 and they have to ship others off to other counties,” Love said. “I don’t know what all the answers are, but I know we’re putting more money into incarceration than education. If we educate our students and give them a reason to have a productive life, maybe we can ensure they won’t end up in jail.”

No tax increase proposed for 2018-19

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FY 2015 – FY 2018 (projected)

Debt still being paid off includes $1.5 million for school technology upgrades, $1.5 million for Highlands School renovations, $2 million for Parker Meadows Sports Complex and $2.9 million for Union Academy and Highlands School renovations.

Thanks to an increase in the county’s property tax collection rates and a $74 million increase in overall property values, Macon County can expect an additional $250,000 in revenues for the next fiscal year, which will come in handy given all the increases in expenses Roland highlighted for commissioners.

HEALTH INSURANCE Roland said the health insurance rate increase would have the biggest impact on the county’s budget in the coming year. The county received seven proposals from different health care providers, but even the best deal comes with a heavy cost.

“Rate changes to health insurance will mean a $504,148 annual increase in the county’s contribution,” he said. “We’ve had two of the worst claim years in our history — that has been an ever-changing thing and has a tremendous impact on the county.”

The county does have a health insurance reserve to lean on in cases like this, but much of the cost will be passed on to retired county employees and active employees who have dependents covered on the county’s plan.

The county will continue to pay 100 percent for employee coverage.

Roland recommended moving $280,325 from the health care reserve to the general fund to cover over half of the increase while $258,321 of the hike will be passed along to employees through a 10 percent reduction to the county’s dependent subsidy.

“But when you compare these rates we’re

at now, even with these changes, Macon County still retains among the highest quality of affordable health insurance plans you can have out there,” Roland said.

County employees received a letter from the county earlier this month alerting them to the 24 percent increase to the county’s Blue Cross Blue Shield plan and how it would impact their dependent coverage. Employees with children were advised to check their eligibility for other health insurance coverage, including Medicaid and Health Choice coverage through the state.

Roland also said he won’t be recommending a cost-of-living wage increase for the county’s 360 employees because of the health care impact and because of the new pay plan the county implemented a few of years ago to get wages up to where the county can compete regionally.

PUBLIC SAFETY Roland said an increase in the number of inmates coming through the county deten-

tion center has caused an increase to the county’s overall public safety budget, which accounts for $13.9 million or 28 percent of the county’s overall budget.

In 2013-14, Roland said the 75-bed jail was averaging around 52 inmates a day, but now the average is up to 100 a day and many have to be transported to other facilities outside the county. An increase in the jail population means an increase in staffing needs, food and health care costs as well at the detention center.

The county is also budgeting an additional $56,000 for courthouse security upgrades.

Roland said the security committee would be making a full report to commissioners soon on its recommendations.

The county also will be investing $46,000 toward equipping four sheriff patrol vehicles with dash cameras. The new cameras will replace the department’s “outdated and non-functioning” camera systems.

To see the complete budget summary, visit http://maconnc.org/budget-message.html.

May 23-29, 2018

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR acon County’s proposed budget for 2018-19 does not include a tax increase despite increasing costs and capital needs throughout the county.

The county’s total proposed budget is just over $49.8 million, which is only a few thousand dollars more than last year. County Manager Derek Roland told commissioners during his budget presentation May 15 that the property tax rate would remain at 34.9 cents per $100 of assessed value. With the Derek Roland average tax rate in the region being 45 cents and the state average 67 cents, Roland said Macon County is still providing quality service at an affordable rate.

Macon County continues to grow its fund balance year after year. With about $22.5 million in reserves, Roland said the county has about six months worth of expenses within the fund balance in case of an emergency, but commissioners are also eyeing some of that money to advance their capital improvement plan.

Looking at the county’s debt load, Roland said it continues to decrease each year and that would continue unless the county decides to take out a new loan for a project. In 2011, the county’s debt was over $62 million and now it’s just over $33 million.

“Since 2011, we have essentially cut our debt load in half,” he said.

Fund Balance Available as Percentage of Expenditures

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Macon budget battles increasing costs

Macon Schools request $3.2 million for capital projects

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR etween Macon County Schools and Southwestern Community College, education expenses make up 18 percent of the county’s budget.

The $8.5 million in education expenses, including an additional $182,723 over last year’s budget, will cover $7.3 million in operating expenses for the public school system, $600,000 in capital outlay expenses, $472,590 for teacher supplements, $60,000 in timber sales proceeds and $281,843 to SCC.

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Despite the 3 percent increase in funding over last year, it’s not enough to keep up with the needs of Macon County Schools.

The $600,000 included in the proposed budget for capital outlay isn’t going to put a dent in the school board’s $3.2 million list of facility improvement needs.

While many items on the list have been mounting over the last few years, others are safety improvements recently identified because of the school shooting that have occurred across the country. Macon County has had its fair share of threats in the last several months, including a recently discovered hit list created by a 16-year-old male student at Franklin High School.

Close calls like that have put school administrators on high alert and this year’s

capital funding request comes with high stakes. The school system is asking for funding for safety improvements particularly at Franklin High School. Like many high schools in the region, the buildings are spread out with many entrances and exits that need to be better secured.

The long list of requests include $40,000 to renovate FHS’s main entrance, $7,500 for classroom door locks, $52,000 for a classroom phone system, $4,000 for a card entry system at Macon Elementary, $150,000 for perimeter fencing at the high school, $300,000 for an alarm system and $181,100 for security cameras.

Superintendent Dr. Chris Baldwin would also like to see more funding for school counselors. Franklin High School only has

two counselors who are expected to work with about 1,000 students.

With the recent teacher rally in Raleigh (see page 6), school safety, teacher pay and crumbling school infrastructure are hot topics commissioners know have to be addressed.

After the budget presentation, Commission Chairman Jim Tate acknowledged the educators who were there to advocate for more funding. While there wasn’t an opportunity for public comment, Tate assured everyone there would be more dialogue and discussion at 6 p.m.

June 5 when the commissioners hold a joint meeting with Baldwin and the school board to discuss the education budget request.

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Smoky Mountain News

Safety improvements are top priority

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Never again, again School safety could be beyond the reach of counties, states

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER n April, students at Santa Fe High School southeast of Houston walked out of classes to protest gun violence in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting Feb. 14.

Weeks later eight of them are dead, along with two teachers.

The May 18 Texas shooting keeps American schools on pace to average more than one school shooting a week so far through 2018.

“I think you have to take it seriously,” said Chuck Francis, chairman of the Haywood County Schools Board of Education. “You can’t say, ‘Haywood County is a rural county and no one’s gonna do that here.’ If anybody’s thinking that way, they’re wrong.”

But as local school districts react to an increasing focus on security, some are finding that they can only do so much.

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NO GUARANTEES

May 23-29, 2018

There’s no one magical solution to the school safety issue according to Interim

While welcome, more school resource officers aren’t necessarily the answer to school safety issues, according to Interim Haywood Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte. Cory Vaillancourt photo those ‘first five minutes situations.’”

From Sandy Hook, Nolte said he learned that even locked doors and security cameras won’t stop someone bent on doing harm.

“While those things are very important and we need those and we have those in some of our schools, it’s not a guarantee,” he said.

But perhaps the most striking lesson of all came from the Parkland shooting.

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Haywood Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte, “but there are some really good things you can do.”

Nolte’s comments could barely have been more timely, as they came almost two weeks before the shooting at Santa Fe and almost two months after a school-sanctioned walkout by Haywood students was thwarted by mother nature.

The problem, however, isn’t limited just to public schools like those Nolte oversees as interim superintendent.

“We’ve certainly had shootings in lots of places — public Bill Nolte schools, private schools parochial schools, movie theaters, concerts, workplaces, urban settings, rural settings — and people have certainly used things other than firearms to hurt people,” he told Haywood Commissioners May 7 during a school safety update. “So it’s very important to remember that harm to our students could come in in lots of forms and fashions.”

A career educator, Nolte said he remembers the grim lessons learned after mass shootings going back almost 20 years.

“I remember Columbine,” he said, adding that protracted attacks of that sort are no longer as common. “Now it’s one of

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“In [the Parkland shooting] at Stoneman Douglas, we learned that it’s not a problem that can be handled by schools or probably by one government body,” he said. “It’s very, very complicated.”

REACTIVE VS. PROACTIVE Haywood County Schools does about as much as it can to be prepared for a crisis of

ing from the info coming out on [Santa Fe], even with an armed SRO, you lost 10 lives,” he said. “By the time they were able to respond to the shooter, they lost 10 lives.”

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On the local level, Nolte said some of the practical solutions are within reach, but many of them or not.

A self-proclaimed “gun guy,” Nolte said that some gun control is certainly part of the equation.

“We also need some teeth, I think, probably in legislation and in the courts to make sure that some folks really can’t get access legally to firearms,” he said. “And that’s the trick — I’m a gun guy, so I’m not certainly against firearms, but there are a few folks that we need to make sure can’t get their hands on them, and again I think that’s beyond the role of the commissioners.”

Banning some from legally acquiring firearms may be helpful, but then again it may not; it wouldn’t have stopped the last two school shootings, nor would it have prevented what happened at Sandy Hook or Columbine.

“While gun control is not the answer, the best and most effective path forward, I believe, is one that safeguards our schools from becoming ‘soft targets,’ or areas with little to stand in the way of someone with bad intentions,” said Western North Carolina’s congressman, Mark Meadows, RAsheville. “We owe it to our kids to give them the safest environment possible.”

Meadows recently introduced a flurry of bills designed to address school safety primarily through SROs, but didn’t respond to questions about another of Nolte’s wishes — better communication in the community about students who display potentially dangerous behaviors.

“We need the ability to communicate more personal information, I think, among community agencies about people who have been repeatedly aggressive and have demonstrated that and had a long record of that,” said Nolte. “We can do that legally in the moment of crisis, but if we see someone who has hurt people for a long, long time it’s hard to talk to law enforcement and other agencies about them, given our current federal laws, unless there’s a crisis at hand.”

Finally, Nolte said, schools should have more leeway in getting rid of potentially dangerous students.

“We need the ability to remove people who are willfully and intentionally aggressive, that have a long history of that. I’m not talking about mental illness… I’m talking about people who for a long time have threatened to hurt people,” he said. “I think that would probably take some legislative changes at a federal level. When those folks are identified, they are liable to be, in my opinion, a perpetrator. So we need to be able to remove those folks.”

Nevertheless, Francis and Nolte remain realistic about just what they can do on the local level.

“We have to keep all options on the table as to what we can do,” Francis said.

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the type that recently befell Santa Fe, including regular updates of crisis management plans and as annual training sessions for administrators in conjunction with local law enforcement.

“That work across agencies is just invaluable,” Nolte said. “Everyone has a job. Some are directing traffic, some are housing the incident command center, others are trying to protect students.”

There are also a minimum of three lockdown drills each year in Haywood’s schools, but some other measures are far more costly, and may not even work.

Chuck Francis “We need to be sure we’re implementing practical solutions,” Nolte said. “It’s really easy to get emotional and spend several million dollars that can easily be worked around by someone who is ill-minded or intends on hurting someone.”

For example, Nolte said that doors, gates and fences not only don’t guarantee security, they can actually pose a security risk.

“A lot of problems occur within, usually someone that knows the school, so I’m a little concerned about a fence around every school, because then you’d have to screen each individual coming in to make sure they didn’t have something, and in a crisis situation you want to keep bad people out, but you also want good people to be able to get out.”

As another example of solutions that only Mark Meadows address physical security, Nolte cited school resource officers.

“There are calls for more school resource officers and we would love to have them, but as I think I said in our work session, there may not be enough property tax money in Haywood County to take care of every safety need,” Nolte said.

Currently, Tuscola, Pisgah and Central Haywood high schools all have their own SRO, as does Waynesville Middle School, but Bethel and Canton middle schools have to share one.

“We love our five,” he said. “And we have added one more to the local current expense budget, but SROs can’t solve every problem, either.”

A statement by Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher back in March indicated he was exploring the possibility of creating a program that would see armed volunteers with military or law enforcement experience guarding schools, but Nolte said regulatory framework and liability issues were still nebulous, so it’s gone nowhere.

Francis agrees that more SROs would be welcome, but also sees the problem with reactive, as opposed to proactive, solutions.

“I’ve watched the news and listened to some experts, according to what I’m gather-

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Sneed investigation results ‘ease concerns’ about wrongdoing, press release says Report on Cherokee lawsuit settlement not yet public

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER n investigation into the legality of a lawsuit settlement in which Principal Chief Richard Sneed agreed to pay seven former tribal employees a total $698,000 has been completed, with a May 15 press release summarizing the investigation’s results identifying no wrongdoing.

“The investigation confirmed exactly what we had stated from the outset,” Sneed said in a statement to The Smoky Mountain News. “As I have done throughout my term in office, I will continue to focus my energies on diversifying the tribe’s revenue streams, creating opportunities for enrolled members and bringing efficiency and fiscal accountability to our tribal government.”

The investigation stemmed from a 2017 settlement agreement that ended a lawsuit claiming that former Principal Chief Patrick

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Former Principal Chief Patrick Lambert (left) tells Tribal Council his concerns about the payouts as Principal Chief Richard Sneed (far right) sits in the front row of Council chambers in January. File photo Council’s approval during its meeting on Nov. 2, 2017. However, Tribal Council was never presented with the proposed agreement, and two business days after the Nov. 2 meeting a new settlement document was completed, listing an amount one-third higher than the original agreement. This document stated that the plaintiffs should receive a total $698,000 and did not stipulate that Tribal Council approve the payout.

Some Tribal Council members were concerned when talk of the settlement reached

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their ears, with the issue first discussed publicly in December 2017 when Councilmember Lisa Taylor, of Painttown, asked Sneed to “squelch publicly” the rumors she’d heard of $75,000 payouts. The next month, Councilmember Richard French, of Big Cove, introduced a resolution seeking to investigate the legality of those payouts. Council voted unanimously in favor of it.

The resolution stated that Tribal Council should retain an outside entity to “conduct an investigation to

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May 23-29, 2018

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Lambert’s decision to fire the seven plaintiffs following his 2015 election was unlawful.

The plaintiffs — Brandi Cooper, Mollie Grant, Mark Kephart, Jason Lambert, Donna Owl, Kimberly Peone and Cory Blankenship, who currently serves as secretary of finance — said that Lambert made “false and defamatory statements” about them and that he intentionally inflicted emotional distress on them, but Lambert filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing that sovereign immunity protected him from suit in his official capacity and that there was no basis for a claim against him in his individual capacity.

The court granted some of Lambert’s motions to dismiss but denied others, keeping the suit alive. Both sides appealed portions of the ruling to the Cherokee Supreme Court. By the time the case made it that far, the 2015-2017 Tribal Council had voted to remove Lambert by impeachment, and Sneed was the new principal chief, meaning that he now occupied Lambert’s place in the lawsuit.

The parties eventually decided to settle, with a signed agreement from Oct. 9, 2017, outlining terms by which the plaintiffs would receive a total $525,000 subject to Tribal

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Some Tribal Council members were concerned when talk of the settlement reached their ears, with the issue first discussed publicly in December 2017 when Councilmember Lisa Taylor, of Painttown, asked Sneed to “squelch publicly” the rumors she’d heard of $75,000 payouts. uments online. The original agreement, signed by all parties, was dated Oct. 9. The second agreement, for the larger amount, was signed Nov. 6 by all parties except for Sneed — Chief of Staff Paxton Myers signed on his behalf. An email to West requesting clarification on the settlement date was not returned as of press time.

The press release further states that checks were cut to the plaintiffs’ law firm Carpenter Guy & Arnold, not to the individual plaintiffs, with two check dates because of an error by the insurance company — Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, 2017. The fiscal management policy was last updated June 29, 2017, it says,

and the only approval it requires for line-item transfers is approval from the Planning and Analysis Office. The settlement was paid out of the Lawsuit Settlement line item.

“Prior settlement procedures were different,” the press release reads. “Some settlements had a Tribal Council authorization resolution prior to payments and some did not … Tribal Council will develop a settlement process that will regulate future settlements.”

While the resolution requesting the investigation was clear that the purpose was to look into the legality of Sneed’s actions in settling the lawsuit, the press release does not mention Sneed by name or specific actions by him. It states that “the investigation findings helped ease the concerns” of some Tribal Council members regarding the settlement payout but does not explicitly say what those concerns were.

“On that investigation report, I’m hearing the questions that are important to this entire issue were not even addressed,” Lambert said via text message.

“Remember this was NOT an investigation of Patrick (Lambert) and why certain people were fired or reassigned 2.5 years ago … but it is instead a underhanded payoff deal orchestrated as a settlement using tribal money to enrich friends and political supporters,” Lambert continued.

Tribal Council’s next meeting will be Thursday, June 7, with Council possibly discussing to what extent the report could be made public at that time, though no agenda for the meeting is yet available.

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Assistant Haywood Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte took over as interim superintendent last March upon the retirement of Dr. Anne Garrett. Since then, a search for a permanent replacement has been ongoing, but is drawing to a conclusion — the application deadline passed last week, and board Anne Garrett members now have 12 resumes in their hands, according to Haywood School Board Chairman Chuck Francis.

“It’s a good strong pool,” Francis said.

Upon review, the board will narrow that pool down, conduct interviews, and make a decision; Francis said there was no immediate timeline, and the decision would “take as long as it takes.”

Nolte is a candidate for the position, and a permanent superintendent is expected to be named before school starts next fall.

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ensure Chief Sneed ‘[complied] with policies, plans, procedures, law and regulations’ regarding the Blankenship, et. al. v. Lambert settlement.” It also directed the investigator to find out when the tribe’s fiscal management policy was created, updated and amended; from which line item the settlement was paid; the settlement date; individuals paid and check dates; and prior precedent for how settlement payments should be handled.

In addition, the resolution said, “investigation findings may be made public as long as it complies with the Cherokee Code Chapter 132, Public Records.”

The tribe retained Hendersonville-based Elite Private Investigations to complete the investigation. While the job is now complete, the report has not been released — only the press release from West.

According to the press release, in July 2017 the Cherokee Supreme Court encouraged the parties to “explore possibilities outside of litigation” to settle the lawsuit, and the parties then participated in a mediation on Oct. 9, 2017, resulting in a settlement dated Oct. 30.

While the press release references an Oct. 30 settlement, neither of the settlement documents discussed publicly so far are dated Oct. 30. During the original reporting of the settlement agreement in December, employees in Cherokee’s Clerk of Court office said that, while the file for the court case in question is public record, that file did not contain the actual settlement agreements. However, Lambert posted copies of the settlement doc-

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Tax increased proposed in Jackson Proceeds would fund school and community safety resources

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER proposed property tax increase in Jackson County would pay for increased school safety personnel and community safety resources.

In his proposed budget presented Monday, May 21, Jackson County Manager Don Adams recommended that commissioners raise the tax rate from 37 cents per $100 of property value to 38 cents per $100 of property value. Each cent on the tax rate brings in an estimated $918,000, but the new expenditures associated with the proposed tax increase would total $1 million. Adams proposed to cover the extra cost through the general fund, with the result that the proposed budget includes less contingency funding than typical.

“We normally try to keep this at $200,000 to $300,000, but the budget is a little tight this year,” Adams said of the contingency fund, which the proposed budget would put at $183,000.

Commissioners began pondering a tax increase following the Feb. 14 school shooting

May 23-29, 2018

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in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead.

Follow-up discussions about the status of school safety in Jackson County revealed a need for improved security, more school resource officers and more access to counseling services.

Commissioners have already funded $400,000 for security cameras and monitors, $27,000 for safety-related architectural plans and $133,000 for school resource officers and the equipment they will require through the end of the fiscal year. The proposed budget would offer a permanent funding stream for six school counselors, four additional school resource officers and one juvenile detective to the county’s payroll. Those positions would cost an additional $667,000 yearly, and the remaining budget increase would cover $148,000 for debt service to the new Glenville-Cashiers Rescue Squad building and $191,000 to expand Harris Regional Hospital’s EMS service at Qualla from 12 hours a day to 24 hours a day.

It’s possible that grants could defray at least part of that total cost, Adams said, but he recommended that commissioners commit to spending the $918,000 from the additional 1 cent tax on safety issues, regardless of what happens with grant funding.

“This 1 cent should be dedicated to public safety and school safety needs,” he said. “If we find out in August we do get a couple hun-

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The largest components of Jackson County’s proposed $64.5 million budget would be human services, education and public safety. Donated graphic

Be heard A public hearing on the proposed budget for 2018-19 will be held at 2:55 p.m.

Monday, June 4, in room A201 of the Jackson County Justice and Administration Building in Sylva. Those who can’t attend the meeting in person can submit written comments to Angie Winchester, clerk to the board, at angiewinchester@jacksonnc.org.

Contact information for individual commissioners is also available at www.jacksonnc.org/county-commisioners.html. The proposed budget is online at www.jacksonnc.org/finance.html, with hard copies available in the county’s administration and finance offices. dred thousand dollars in grants, I would argue that first of all we offset that $87,000 that we’re having to spend here (above the $918,000 from the tax increase), but second of all that should be reserved to discuss other safety needs or school safety needs.”

Cashiers and Glenville residents could see an additional, smaller tax increase, as the proposed budget recommends that the fire tax for that district rise from 2.33 cents per $100 of property value to 2.43 cents per $100. The increase aims to help cover a desired $45,000 increase to the Cashiers-Glenville Volunteer Fire Department budget. According to

Budget highlights Jackson County’s proposed 2018-19 budget totals $64.5 million, a 0.2 percent increase over the 2017-18 budget. Notable items in the budget include: • Spending $546,600 to reinstate the career path program, which aims to retain and attract quality employees by offering competitive compensation and step increases.

• Adding several positions, including a human services director, part-time community social services assistant and full-time recreation programming coordinator. The proposal also recommends reclassifying

Adams’ budget message, the current tax rate was not capable of covering expenses for 20172018 — the fund lost about $44,500 and now does not have a fund balance.

Jackson County last increased its tax rate in 2016, following the implementation of a postrecession property revaluation that brought a net decrease in county property values. On that occasion, commissioners voted to increase the rate from 28 cents per $100 to 37 cents per $100. The fire tax for southern Jackson County was implemented in 2015 following extensive community meetings and a strong case from the Cashiers Fire Department regarding a need for more reliable funding.

The budget is far from final. During meetings planned for 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Thursday, May 31, and Friday, June 1, commissioners will hear from various entities and departments that would like to see the budget reflect something different than currently proposed. Adams told commissioners that Southwestern Community College will be one of those entities, as the school has other capital requests that are not included in the proposed budget.

Following the May 31 and June 1 meetings, commissioners will hold a public hearing to take input on the proposed budget at 2:55 p.m. Monday, June 4, in room A201 of the Jackson County Justice and Administration Building in Sylva. A final proposed budget will then be presented for adoption at 6 p.m. Monday, June 18. various employees to higher-paid positions.

• Adding four school resource officers and one juvenile detective, and funding six additional school counselor positions.

• Borrowing $10 million to begin construction of a $19.8 million health sciences building at Southwestern Community College. Debt service would be funded from quarter-penny sales tax proceeds.

• Funding $191,000 to bring EMS coverage in the Qualla area from 12 hours per day to 24 hours per day.

• Increasing the fire tax for CashiersGlenville from 2.33 cents per $100 to 2.43 cents per $100 to cover expenses.

Haywood Schools reinstates pay steps

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At the regular meeting of the Haywood County Schools Board of Education on May 14, the board voted to reinstate pay steps for over 350 employees.

The pay steps were frozen during the 2005-06 school year and resulted in numerous situations in which new employees made the same salary as employees with 10 or more years of experience in the same job. Over time the school system began losing experienced employees who went to other school systems or into the private sector.

The frozen pay steps primarily impacted employees who do not hold a teaching license as part of their job requirements. Job classifications returning to a pay step scale include clerical, teacher assistants, transportation, custodians, child nutrition and program directors. The cost of putting employees on the proper pay-step scale according to their years of experience, is about $350,474.

“On behalf of our employees, I want to thank the Board of Education as well as several of our program directors for their work to address problems with employee pay,” said interim Superintendent Bill Nolte.

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Haywood updates school calendar

May 23-29, 2018

At the regular meeting of the Haywood County Schools Board of Education on May 14, the board voted to amend the school calendar, making Thursday, June 14, the last day of school for students. Friday, June 15, will be a mandatory workday.

North Carolina law requires school calendars to include a minimum of 1,025 hours of instruction covering at least nine calendar months. This school year Haywood County Schools missed 13 days due to inclement weather. All of the saved teacher workdays and annual leave days were used to make up instructional time. All schools exceed the required 1,025 hours in the calendar law.

Free sports physicals offered Smoky Mountain News

Haywood Regional Medical Center and Haywood Regional Sports Medicine are hosting the annual Free Sports Physicals session on Thursday, May 24, at Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center located at 75 Leroy George Drive in Clyde.

Students may arrive according to the following schedule: • 3:30 p.m. Canton Middle School • 4 p.m. Waynesville Middle School • 4:30 p.m. Bethel Middle School • 5 p.m. Tuscola and Pisgah High School Contact your school for a registration packet and bring completed packet with you. It is not necessary to sign up for an appointment.

There will be a Parent Lounge from 3:30 to 6 p.m. with refreshments while waiting on children to finish. For more information, call 828.452.8080 or the 24-hour referral line at 800.424.DOCS (3627).

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TWSA to keep upfront fees

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER he Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority will look to keep up-front fees for water and sewer hookups high when it adopts its new budget in June, following a divided May 15 vote.

The fees, which are currently called impact fees and will be termed system development fees when the new fiscal year begins, are levied to pay for the future cost of replacing the water and sewer capacity that the new user will occupy. They’ve been a topic of contention in recent years, with opponents saying that the fees, which can be in the tens of thousands of dollars for a water-intensive business like a restaurant or brewery, are a hindrance to economic development in Jackson County. Meanwhile, proponents say that eliminating the fees would require raising rates for existing users, many of whom have already paid an impact fee in the past — that wouldn’t be fair and shouldn’t be considered, they say.

In 2017, the state legislature passed a law regulating how system development fees can be calculated, prescribing the method utilities must use to calculate the maximum possible system development fee. TWSA is now at the tail end of implementing those regulations, having just voted to accept the results of an analysis it commissioned to come up

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TWSA board members discuss what to do about upfront fees during a May 15 meeting.

Holly Kays photo

with the maximum rates.

The analysis, presented during a May 8 work session, showed that, while system development fees for residential customers were mostly below the calculated ceiling, commercial fees were well above that ceiling.

The initial version of the analysis showed that TWSA was already charging less than the maximum fees, but that was due to a

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mistake in the calculations. The consultant had originally done his calculations based on the number of TWSA accounts, not the number of units TWSA serves — some homes and businesses share a meter, accounting for that fact caused a significant shift in the results.

Recent public discussion about upfront fees has centered on the plight of Creekside

Oyster House and Grill, which originally thought it might be unable to follow through with its plan to relocate and expand due to $44,900 in water and sewer impact fees. The analysis showed that going forward the fee ceiling for an identical business would be $34,300 for water and sewer combined — a 23.6 percent reduction.

Two members of the TWSA board — Sylva Commissioner David Nestler and Jackson County Commissioner Ron Mau — pushed for TWSA to take this opportunity to further downgrade upfront fees, even eliminating them completely and replacing them with a monthly fee charged to all users.

“As a budget planning tool, this is a picture of what you don’t want to have to base your financial planning on,” Nestler said, looking at a table of impact fee revenues from the last 13 years. “This looks like it’s bonus money that goes into reserve.”

Since the 2004-05 fiscal year, TWSA’s impact fee revenue has varied between a high of $2.3 million in 2005-2006 and a low of $51,680 in 2011-12. The policy behind that fee has also varied over the years, with TWSA previously charging an acreage fee with its impact fee that disappeared in 2008.

“System development fees provide advance reserves for the kinds of things we’ve been doing over the last few years,” said TWSA Executive Director Dan Harbaugh. “When you have a market that’s hot and available capacity and people want to buy and you do upfront charges and people are giving you money to offset needs for the future, it gives you

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recently completed analysis puts the figure at $250,000, a number that comes from the average impact fee revenue over the past six years. However, Harbaugh said, going to a 13-year mean yields an average of $663,000.

But deciding which figure is most appropriate is a tough call, he said. Fee revenues have been more stable over the past six years than over the past 13, and the 13-year mean covers a time when TWSA’s policies surrounding impact fee rates were different than they are now. Then there’s the real estate boom, the bust and the recession — unusual economic events that are stuck in the middle of both timeframes.

When Nestler’s motion failed, board member Buddy Parton, who was appointed by the Town of Dillsboro, moved that the board look to retain system development fees “at the appropriate level” and continue charging existing users system improvement charges to cover maintenance costs, which state law says system development fees can’t pay for.

“TWSA was formed in 1992, and the number one and two objectives were focus on financial viability and the other was controlling impact on TWSA ratepayers,” Parton said. “I’m concerned about if we do away with it (system development fees) that we’re not going to have those funds in reserve.”

Parton’s motion ultimately carried. The Finance Committee will meet at 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 29, to discuss rates for the 2018-19 budget, and the full board will consider those proposals when the draft budget is presented in June.

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reserves that can be put in the bank to slow down the rate of increases.”

Harbaugh said that now is not the time to scale back revenue, because TWSA has a long list of capital improvements that will need to happen over the next 20 years, with the capital improvement plan showing TWSA quadrupling its debt service between now and 2037.

“We’re looking at a long-duration drawdown of our capital reserves based on what’s in the capital improvement plan,” he said.

Harbaugh was direct in his opinion on the fee issue. He’s a proponent, and believes getting rid of the fees would be unfair to ratepayers.

“TWSA staff doesn’t recommend the elimination of first-time fees for new customers due to impact on ratepayers,” he said May 15.

Ending the three-hour meeting required the board to give its finance committee guidance on how to structure fees for the 20182019 budget, and Nestler made the first move, asking the board to “look into eliminating system development fees entirely and look at how much revenue we would need to make up and how we could by charging all customers based on how much that customer uses.”

Mau seconded Nestler’s motion, but no other board members joined them by voting in favor.

The question of exactly how much TWSA would need to bring in annually to replace revenue from system development fees doesn’t seem to have an ironclad answer. The

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Cherokee to vote in alcohol referendum Voter will decide fate of ABC store and beer/wine sales

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ncreased alcohol availability could be on its way to the Qualla Boundary pending the outcome of a referendum vote slated for Thursday, May 31.

When registered voters in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians head to the polls, they’ll face a ballot featuring a single item: “To allow ABC permits to be issued to allow retail sales of alcoholic beverages on tribal trust land at a tribally owned package store and ABC store,” with the option to vote yes or no.

A yes vote would allow the tribe to build a store — technically two stores, likely housed in a single building with two entrances — with one side selling liquor and the other side selling beer and wine.

“The intent of beginning with just a tribally owned package store was, for lack of a better term, to ease into this,” Principal Chief Richard Sneed said during a town hall meeting May 15. “Initially one of the proposed questions was, ‘Do you support alcohol sales tribal-wide?’ That would be everything all at once.”

If tribal members vote yes on the referendum, Sneed said, tribal leadership might then ask voters to consider further loosening alcohol laws down the road.

“If this passes, we would have 18 months to demonstrate to the public here in Cherokee that this could be owned and operated responsibly, and that would demonstrate that we could ease into restaurants, other retail and so forth,” he said at the town hall. “We didn’t believe there would be widespread support for just across-the-board everything all at once, and I don’t believe anybody in the community wants to see — certainly I don’t want to see — bars on every corner. It’s just a very metered approach to moving into it.”

The discussion that ultimately produced the referendum vote began shortly after the 2017-2019 Tribal Council was sworn in.

Councilmember Lisa Taylor, of Painttown, was upset that some restaurants near the Blue Ridge Parkway had been granted alcohol permits as the result of a state law that granted a loophole to a previous referendum vote that restricted alcohol sales to casino property.

Taylor wanted a referendum in order to get rid of the so-called Blue Ridge Law permits, but Attorney General Mike McConnell advised Tribal Council that referendum results would not affect those permits.

However, the referendum discussion continued on with Council eventually settling on the question now facing voters.

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

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TRIBAL MEMBERS WEIGH IN If an informal survey of shoppers at the 18 Cherokee Food Lion last Thursday is any indi-

cation, voters are split on the issue. Of 12 people interviewed, half said they either didn’t plan to vote or hadn’t decided which way to vote. Three said they were in favor of authorizing an ABC and beer/wine store, while three others said they were opposed.

“I don’t think it’s a good thing at all, because it’s too close,” said Debra Locust, 53, of Birdtown. “If they have to ride a little further, let them ride a little further. I know it may be big money for the tribe, but we’ve always voted against stuff like that.”

For some, personal experience with alcohol addiction guided their views.

“If this passes, we would have 18 months to demonstrate to the public here in Cherokee that this could be owned and operated responsibly, and that would demonstrate that we could ease into restaurants, other retail and so forth.”

— Principal Chief Richard Sneed

“I’ll be against it, because I’ve got some family members that are abusing alcohol, and I don’t think it’s a good idea,” said Donna George, 55, of Wolfetown.

Currently, someone wanting to pick up a bottle of liquor would have to drive into Sylva, Bryson City or Maggie Valley, though beer and wine are available at the Catamount Travel Center, just across the line marking the boundary of tribal trust land.

For some, that’s a reason to be in favor of a tribally owned store. People who are going to drink are going to drink, they figure, so the tribe might as well reap the profit from it.

“I’m all for it,” said Cheryl Owle, 52, of Birdtown. “Because of the revenue mainly, and you know people that like to drink alcohol, they’re going to get it wherever they can.

So I feel like the revenue should be here instead of somewhere else.”

Joi Owle, 22, also of Birdtown, said that she’d like to see the tribe eventually approve alcohol sales even beyond the confines of a single package and ABC store.

“I also think it would be really good for tourism here, because it’s something that a lot of surrounding areas have and it brings a lot of people in,” she said, “which would also bring more revenue in.”

Others felt more conflicted about the issue.

“It’s just always been on the reservation,” said a 34-year-old Big Y voter who only gave her first name, Mary. “I don’t think there’s any reason why, just why not I guess. I have grandkids and try to keep them away from all that, but I think it’s probably going to get a no

Cherokee voters will soon decide whether the Qualla Boundary should have a tribally operated beer, wine and liquor store. Holly Kays photo vote anyway. For me I guess I’m in-between, I guess. It’s not good for the reservation, but like I said it’s always been here.”

THE VOTE COUNTING PROCESS The alcohol referendum will be the first election held since a report came out revealing significant weaknesses in Cherokee’s elections-related security. The report, by Arizona-based Veriti Consulting LLC, was completed Jan. 29 after a recount of ballots in the September 2017 elections yielded substantially different results than the original machine count.

The report turned up a slew of issues that alarmed voters and tribal leaders alike. It

Cast your vote The referendum election is open to all registered voters in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 31. Voters will check yes or no when asked “to allow ABC permits to be issued to allow retail sales of alcoholic beverages on tribal trust land at a tribally owned package store and ABC store.” concluded that the shift in votes had likely occurred because somebody tampered with the ballots between the machine count and the hand count, something that was apparently rather easy to do due to the fact that the ballots were stored in plastic containers in an often unlocked vault, and that the lids of those containers had slots that a person could easily stick their hands through. The security faux pas continued from there, according to the report.

The report stated that unvoted ballots were stored on open shelving in the Board of Elections office, to which an unknown number of people have a key. It said that voter

registration cards were in need of an audit and that registration information was not secure enough, creating the potential for voter fraud. In addition, Veriti said that polling locations were not covered by security cameras and that poll workers should receive more training and a written policy book. A follow-up work session revealed that the Board of Elections has no written policies or procedures outside of the ordinance that creates it.

EBCI Board of Elections Chair Denise Ballard did not return phone calls asking to what extent Veriti’s recommendations have been implemented in advance of the alcohol referendum. However, comments she made during the May 15 town hall indicate that some of the issues the report turned up will not affect the referendum.

“I will tell you this will be a hand count,” Ballard said at the town hall. “We’re not using any machines. It will be hand-counted at each polling location at the end of the day.”

Much of the issue with the September elections seemed to stem from problems with the aging machines that the tribe uses for elections and from lax security surrounding ballot storage. In this case, ballots will be hand-counted immediately.

According to the Veriti report, in the September election ballots were transported by police escort from the polling places to the Tribal Council House, where they were read by voting machine tabulators. In a February work session Ballard told Tribal Council that Board of Elections members and representatives from Automated Election Services, the company that provides Cherokee’s election services, were present while the machine count took place. Ballard did not state during her comments May 15 who would be present while ballots were counted at individual polling places or whether those hand counts would be videotaped, as is the case with hand counts that occur when a recount is requested following a typical election.

Waynesville Town Clerk Eddie Ward recently earned her Master Municipal Clerk (MMC) designation.

Ward is one of only two individuals to have achieved this designation in Waynesville’s history. This is the culmination of efforts put forth over several years.

She earned her Certified Municipal Clerk designation in 2012 and immediately began working toward the MMC and did not stop until it was attained.

The MMC program is an advanced continuing education program that prepares participants to perform complex municipal duties. The program has an extensive and rigorous educational component and a professional contribution component.

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Life jacket stations open in Jackson

May 23-29, 2018

Life jacket stations will be open Memorial Day weekend throughout Jackson County to keep outdoor recreationalists safe while enjoying the lakes and rivers.

Beginning May 25, these stations — located at the Tuckasegee River Main Stem: East LaPorte, Locust Creek, Dillsboro (Scotts Creek), Barkers Creek, and Bear Lake — will offer life jackets of varying sizes for children to borrow while they participate in water activities near the site. Life jackets will be available through Labor Day weekend.

The stations were made possible through the efforts of multiple agencies such as Duke Energy and the Brian and Nathan Keese Water Safety Organization, Safe Kids Jackson County, Jennings Builder Supply, Jackson County Department of Public Health, Jackson County Public Works Department and the Sea Tow Foundation.

Presentation about Medicaid changes Smoky Mountain News

The Smoky Mountain Medical Society and the N.C. Medical Society will co-sponsor a presentation on “Medicaid Changes and Potential Solutions” at 5:30 p.m. June 5 in the upper level classrooms of the Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center in Clyde. Steve Keene, the chief operating officer and general counsel for the N.C. Medical Society, will lead the presentation regarding the transformation of the current Medicaid program to Medicaid managed care. This change is the most significant to the Medicaid program in over 40 years. This meeting is appropriate for medical providers in the Western North Carolina area, as well as administrators, office managers and billing staff.

Email Nancy Robinson at nancy@ashevillemeeting.com or call 828.277.9634.

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news

Conservation project stalls in Jackson

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER n effort to conserve 441.5 acres of land in the Plott Balsam Mountains adjacent to Sylva’s Pinnacle Park has met resistance from a majority of the Jackson County commissioners, with the commission’s three Republican members expressing hesitation during a May 15 work session on the topic.

“We’ve made promises, and naturally I’d be considering about the Qualla-Whittier area and other parts of the county,” said Commissioner Charles Elders, whose district includes Qualla and Whittier. “We need to make sure they’re taken care of before we take on a lot more.”

The property in question is currently owned by the homebuilding company America’s Home Place, which has been in conversation with The Conservation Fund for the past two years about selling the land for conservation. It’s split into two tracts — the 441.5-acre Blackrock section, which is currently the topic of discussion in county government, and the 471-acre Shut-In property, which is in earlier stages of conservation planning. Taken together, these two properties adjoin 1,088-acre Pinnacle Park and a 5,000-plus-acre block of land that will soon be transferred into National Park Service ownership as part of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

When The Conservation Fund first began exploring conservation options, in 2016, America’s Home Place was looking to sell all 912 acres together for $4.25 million — a sum patently out of reach for smaller communities like Jackson County and Sylva.

However, by spring of this year the plan had been revised to split the sale into two separate purchases, with Mainspring Conservation Trust taking the lead on the Shut-In portion and aiming for a 2020 closing.

Meanwhile, America’s Home Place had offered a price of $2.2 million for the Blackrock tract, with The Conservation Fund cobbling together a more feasible plan for footing the bill. The organization plans to seek a $1 million grant from the state’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund and to raise $400,000 in private donations, with Jackson County and Sylva each chipping in $250,000 and Sylva ultimately taking ownership of the property.

Sylva commissioners sounded favorable to the idea when they discussed it during an April 26 work session, with plans to take an official vote May 24. However, during Jackson County’s May 15 work session, Republican commissioners Mickey Luker, Ron Mau and Elders said they weren’t ready to approve the spending.

Mau said he thought the asking price might be too high and pointed out that purchasing the land for transfer into Town of Sylva ownership would take it off county tax rolls.

“When a deal like this gets structured, 20

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

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mit, to help preserve that tract, we will have does the county get any credit for the foremissed a great opportunity.” gone tax revenues we’ll be giving up?” Mau When asked about funding, Adams told asked.

“It would be owned by the Town of Sylva, commissioners that there is enough money which is a government entity that is not sub- in the Conservation, Preservation and Recreation Fund to commit the $250,000 ject to our tax, so yes it would be coming off and still be able to finish a project to build a the tax rolls,” responded Chairman Brian park in Savannah and likely to do the same McMahan. “But again the tradeoff is we’re in Qualla, depending on what property and protecting a ridge top that is extremely visible in the northern part of the county, and it helps maintain that huge ridge, the Plott Balsam Ridge, that runs through our county, and it also helps protect the watershed.”

To address Mau’s concerns about the cost, Adams said that an appraisal would have to be done before the purchase could go through, as state grant funds can’t be used to pay a price that’s above market value.

Luker and Elders both asked how the land purchase would fit in with the county’s ambitious recreation A sweeping mountain view stretches along property master plan. Funding owned by America’s Home Place. Donated photo (from file) would come from the county’s Conservation, Preservation and Recreation Fund, and “ If we pass up this opportunity to commit, they were concerned we will have missed a great opportunity.” about the idea of bumping the land purchase ahead of goals the county has been project scope is selected. working on for a while, such as building a However, Luker, Mau and Elders said park in the Qualla/Whittier area, finishing a they’d rather hold off on the decision and park project in Savannah and extending the opted not to place the vote on the May 21 greenway. agenda.

“I think about the fact of our greenway,” “If three of you don’t want to do it, Luker said. “We’ve been kind of piecemealing it together forever and we still don’t have there’s not much conversation,” said Commissioner Boyce Deitz. “But you don’t an adjoining greenway. The last thing that have the opportunity to do these things bothers me honestly is the fact that this is a much when you talk about conservation and piece of property that we’re going to spend this money on and then just turn it over and property protection, things of that nature.

You’ve got to take advantage of it when it’s have no control or say in it really.” there.”

McMahan agreed that extending the Commissioners won’t be able to put off greenway and building a park in Qualla are the decision for much longer and still have important projects but pointed out that the option of making the deal happen. Bill there aren’t concrete opportunities right Holman, North Carolina director for The now to pursue those projects.

Conservation Fund, said that he’s looking to “I agree with what you’re saying, Mickey get commitments from Sylva and Jackson (Luker), but our staff has been working realCounty by June 1 so he can submit the grant ly hard with property owners behind the application. With the May 21 meeting now scenes trying to explain that, and if there’s gone, the county’s next regular meeting any way it could have happened it would when a vote could take place is June 4. have happened by now,” McMahan said of “He (Holman) might could squeak out the greenway effort. “On Whittier, we ought another two weeks, but I think he’s going to to work on it harder, try to identify some run out early June sometime,” Adams told opportunities and build it out in the future. commissioners.

But if we pass up this opportunity to com-

While the conservation project was absent from the agenda May 21, two people addressed the issue during the meeting’s public comment section.

“More than a simple acquisition, this would protect an important piece of property from development for future generations of Jackson County citizens,” said Cullowhee resident Craig Forrest. “This purchase would

to help preserve that tract, — Brian McMahan

offer the protection of the ridgeline and viewshed as well as provide for the construction of additional hiking trails.”

Forrest urged commissioners to take action now and said that it should take precedence over other projects due to the time-sensitive nature of the opportunity.

The second speaker, former commissioner Tom Massie, was critical of the board’s decision not to act that evening and said he was “perplexed” as to why the board wasn’t jumping on an opportunity to receive a 5 to 1 return on its $250,000 investment by leveraging town and grant funding.

“Projects like this are important to our county,” Massie said. “Although there are always naysayers that don’t see the wisdom of the project, the wisdom will become much clearer in the future. This is the time.

We have the opportunity now. We have the money, according to your own staff. The question is, does this commission have the vision and the motivation to do this project, to at least submit the application? I don’t think you can afford to sacrifice the longterm benefits to the citizens of Jackson County for petty politics.”

Town council approves special-use permit

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR second affordable apartment development is coming to Siler Road after the Franklin Town Council approved a special-use permit.

The development — called Verbena and built by the development company Workforce Homestead Inc. — will be similar to the Indigo Apartments recently constructed on Siler Road, except the complex will only be for people 55 or older. The apartments will sit on a 5-acre parcel fronting Siler Road owned by James Vanderwoude. According to the special-use permit application, Verbena will include 60 one- and two-bedroom garden-style units.

“Fortunately we’ve got the example of Indigo to look at in terms of what kind of performance and product you can expect from me — the residents at Indigo seem to be pretty happy,” said developer Jim Yamin.

“There’s certainly a strong need and

A

developments. These guidelines are used when developers plan out their development proposals for the agency to get approved for the federal tax credits.

“It’s pretty telling they took the step to allow one spot per unit because what they find — especially for these types of developments — is there’s just not as much of a need for more parking spaces and you can avoid laying down excessive asphalt and creating more impervious surface than necessary,” Yamin said.

Collins said he could see a problem with limited parking, especially on holidays when families have visitors.

Town Councilmember Barbara McRae said she liked the idea of limited parking if it meant less pavement and less erosion and runoff.

“And also the fact that this recommendation is based on so much data, it’s hard to argue with that,” she said.

Councilmember David Culpepper said he was comfortable with 60 spots if the developer and the planning board were comfortable with that number.

Town Engineer Nathanael Moore said he

“There’s certainly a strong need and demand for additional affordable units — we’re going to be targeting an independent living, senior population.”

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wanted the town council to consider making the construction of a utilities road a condition of granting the special-use permit.

Just as Indigo turned its water and sewer system over to the town once construction was complete, the same process will occur when Verbena is completed. Moore said the town has 25-foot easements to be able to reach the water and sewer manholes on the property, but the area is swampy, making it difficult for the town’s utility trucks to reach the furthest manhole.

Moore said a 300-foot utility road would cost $5,000 or less to build and would help the town better serve those properties in case of a water leak or other emergency.

“That way we can provide the services we need to provide and feel comfortable taking over the system,” he said. “We’re just asking for a route to get through the swampy area.”

Yamin said it was the first he’d heard about the access problem even though he went through the same permit process for Indigo. While it’s too late to attach anymore provisions to the Indigo project, the town council did approve the permit unanimously with the condition the town will have deeded utility road access from Verbena.

Town council also approved a water and sewer allocation of 10,800 gallons per day for the development.

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— Jim Yamin

demand for additional affordable units — we’re going to be targeting an independent living, senior population.”

The project plans include only one access point off Siler Road and only 60 parking spots — five of which will have a handicap designation — to accommodate the 60-unit building. Town Planner Justin Setser said the planning board had a long discussion on whether 60 parking spots would be adequate for the development or whether the town should require 90 parking spots.

“I recommended 90 but the board decided on 60. We talked about holidays, etc., would be an issue, but the burden (to the developer) still outweighed that,” he said.

Councilmember Joe Collins asked if there was room for additional parking if the town made it a condition upon approving the special-use permit.

Yamin said there was room but that more filling and grading would be required to increase the size of the platform, which would mean steeper slopes and more cost added to the project. When building affordable housing and relying on tax credits from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, Yamin said budgeting for the project is tight.

Yamin said the agency changed its guidelines this year to allow one parking spot per unit for affordable senior housing

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Affordable apartments for seniors coming to Franklin

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Education

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McElroy leaves donation to HCC

Hester to compete in national science competition

Haywood County resident Lynwood McElroy has been a supporter of Haywood Community College for many years and even after his death, he remains a strong advocate for those who wish to achieve higher education.

As part of his estate, McElroy left HCC a gift of over $555,000 to ease the financial burden of those seeking a post high school degree. He died in May 2017.

“Mr. McElroy always had a special interest in education and in our community,” said HCC President Dr. Barbara Parker. “We are grateful for his most generous gift that will enable many students to access higher education for years to come.”

For more information on HCC’s Foundation or to make a gift, email pahardin@haywood.edu or call 828.627.4544.

Carly Hester, a seventh-grader at Cullowhee Valley Elementary, advanced from the Western Regional Science and Engineering Fair held Feb. 8 at Western Carolina University, to take top honors at the state Science and Engineering Fair held at NC State University in Raleigh on March 23.

She was awarded first place in the Junior Division Biological Science B category for her project “Faux Fido: Could a Faux Friend Offer the Same Results as an Emotional Support Animal.” Along with winning a trophy and $100, Hester won a nomination to compete in the Broadcom Masters, the premier science and engineering competition for middle school students. Hester is the daughter of Eric and Becky Hester of Sylva, and granddaughter of Melvin Bryson of Dillsboro.

WCU to receive student engagement award

Donation made to Reading Rover

WCU hosts regional science fair

Friends of the Marianna Black Library recently wrote a check for $1,500 to help the Reading Rover continue its mission to bring books and educational materials to local pre-schools.

This year the Reading Rover has had some mechanical issues that have set it back in funding. The Friends membership and bookstore have raised enough money to increase their donation by $500 this year.

The Reading Rover is a mobile unit serving preschoolers and child care providers throughout Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary with story times, teacher and parent workshops, teaching aids and parenting and family resources. The Rover is funded by community support as well as by local library funds.

For several decades, Western Carolina University has hosted the Western Regional Science Fair in Cullowhee.

This year’s theme was “Superhero Science” and students from 36 area schools submitted 140 projects for judging. Out of those projects, 37 were invited to participate in the state-level competition held in Raleigh.

“We are excited about the quality of the submissions and the thirty-seven projects that competed in the state competition,” said Kelley Holzknecht Dinkelmeyer, science fair director and physics instructor in the WCU department of chemistry and physics. “We look forward to another successful Regional Science Fair in 2019.”

The Western Regional Science Fair is the largest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) event held in Western North Carolina.

Summer registration at HCC Hans is new community Haywood Community College registration for summer college president semester is underway now. Summer is an ideal time for four-year college students who are back home for the summer to earn credit toward their degree by taking classes at HCC for a fraction of the cost of a four-year college course.

HCC offers plenty of classes that transfer seamlessly to colleges in the University of North Carolina system and many other schools. Courses offered range from Biology, Business, Public Speaking, and American History, to Elementary Spanish, Art Appreciation, Digital Photography, Southern Culture, and Disc Golf. For a complete list of summer courses, tuition fees, dates and more, visit haywood.edu/summer-classes-2018 or call 828.627.2821.

State leaders recently welcomed new North Carolina Community College System President Peter Hans to his new role.

Hans is a former chairman of the UNC Board of Governors and has served on the State Board of Community Colleges and the State Banking Commission.

He attended UNC-Chapel Hill and has a master’s degree from Harvard University.

“We have the state’s most impressive leaders here today talking about the pivotal roles of community colleges in our state’s proud past and bright future,” said Hans. “In many ways the stars are aligned for action. We have a strong bipartisan commitment to community colleges.”

The Engagement Scholarship Consortium has announced it will present its inaugural Excellence in Student Community Engagement Award to Western Carolina University for the work and contributions of WCU’s Center for Service Learning and Student Democracy Coalition.

The consortium is a national organization composed of public and private higher education institutions working collaboratively to build strong university-community partnerships.

WCU’s Student Democracy Coalition works to register voters, build awareness of political issues, hold community forums and candidate debates, and aid citizens to be active in civic engagement.

HCC receives $900,000 gift Haywood Community College recently received more than $900,000 from John Marvin West through a bequest from his estate.

The Canton native died at age 77 Jan. 4, 2018. He retired with over 40 years of service with Estes Express Trucking Company and various other trucking companies.

Education and helping those less fortunate were very important causes to both West and his late sister Grace Cooper. Before her death, West established a scholarship in her honor at HCC. The funds donated by West will be restricted to Haywood County students per his wishes.

Six Sigma, ‘Lean’ workshops Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering two workshops during June and July on Six Sigma and “Lean” Improvement Principles.

The Six Sigma workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, June 15, and the “Lean” Improvement Principles workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, July 13. Both workshops will be held at WCU’s instructional site at Biltmore Park in Asheville.

Dr. Todd Creasy, DM, MBA, MSc and Juran Institute Certified Master Black Belt in Six Sigma; Lean Sensei, will serve as instructor for both workshops.

Early bird registration is $249. Registration after June 1 will be $279. Visit pdp.wcu.edu.

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ALSO: • May 25 will be an early release day for Macon County Schools’ students. Students will be dismissed at 11:45 a.m.

• Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Development will be offering a Conversational French Language Course from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, May 29 through June 27, in room 139 of the Camp Lab Building in Cullowhee. The course costs $79. Visit learn.wcu.edu.

• Haywood Community College recently held an Honor’s Day Convocation to celebrate outstanding students and recognize their accomplishments.

Matthew Joseph Valliere was recognized with the Dallas Herring Achievement Award.

• The Board of Trustees of Western Carolina University will hold its quarterly meeting at 9:30 a.m. Friday, June 1, in the boardroom of H.F. Robinson Administration Building. The board also will hold committee meetings beginning at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 31, at various locations on the fifth floor of the Robinson Building.

• On May 9, 22 fourthgrade students at Fairview Elementary School in Macon County participated in Bike to School Day, an event that promoted biking to school as a fun and safe way to travel. Safe Kids Jackson County, Active Routes to School, and the NC State Highway Patrol partnered together, offering free helmets and helmet fittings, leading students through a bike skills course and providing education on bike safety.

Opinion If you have opinions on growth, it’s time to speak up F Smoky Mountain News

ifteen or so years ago, meetings like those Monday and Tuesday night in Waynesville were all too common: private citizens who usually keep to themselves flooding a public meeting because they are worried how a particular development project will affect their lives and their communities, and they wanted to make sure their voices were heard. Large, high-end residential developments were being planned across the mountains in the early 2000s, and steep slopes, water quality, traffic, viewsheds and a concern for preserving that highly subjective “sense of place” and “quality of life” were on many minds.

It happened in counties throughout our coverage area, and often it pitted neighbor against neighbor. That era of rapid development ended with the recession, but it’s beginning to ramp up again. And so the huge 200-unit apartment complex a developer wants to build along Plott Creek Road in Waynesville drew many of those same worries.

No doubt these three-story buildings on a 40-acre tract next door to Hazelwood Elementary will change that community. Engineers say traffic will increase by 50 percent on Plott Creek Road, for some homeowners views won’t ever be the same, and if this project succeeds it’s all-too-likely developers will take notice and choose similar sites in Waynesville for more of the same.

Waynesville, Haywood County, and the entire region west of Buncombe are in dire need of quality rental housing. The options right now are few and fewer, with most of what’s available being either old, rundown apartments or the occasional single-family homes. Young professionals and retirees face this shortage whenever they move to the mountains.

Air B&B destroying my peace of mind To the Editor: It would seem that Haywood County has a new growing pain, at least for my small neighborhood. The relative new rental phenomenon of Air B&B’s has landed in our county.

It is true that we have become a very popular destination for visitors and relocation for many but suffer a lack of rental accommodations. Asheville has already attempted to tackle this touchy issue, but get ready Haywood, it’s here, too.

As I write this, there are no county or city ordinances in place to protect us homeowners who cherish our unique mountain lifestyle. I, among others, value my right to peace and quiet by purchasing a home in a private small neighborhood, only to discover that my neighbor has turned his home into a mini motel with no regard for the rest of us. We have a self-maintained private road that is being abused and ruined due to extreme traffic from his guests. No neighborhood association was needed in the past, so now it’s too late. We are being held hostage to intrusive, destructive traffic, loud late-night parties and simple rudeness. Yet, these “Air B&B” hosts advertise themselves as the perfect zen-like dwelling for their guests.

Something has to be done before this gets completely out of hand. As a taxpayer, I should be entitled to some property rights

Is the lack of such housing a detriment to attracting new businesses and retirees who don’t want to take on the expensive repairs that come with owning a home or who prefer to forego yard work?

The Monday meeting of the Waynesville Planning Board highlighted all these issues as speaker after speaker came to the podium opposed to the apartment project. However, the actual question before the board was whether it would amend the language of its development standards to allow multi-family dwellings in the Plott Creek Neighborhood Residential District.

Seven of the nine similar districts in Waynesville allow these kinds of apartment complexes. Two of them — Plott Editor Creek and Sulphur Springs — don’t.

Elizabeth Teague, Waynesville’s Development Services Director, said the staff ’s recommendation was to approve the change. “… the text is consistent with our land-use map and the goals of our land-use plan,” she told Planning Board members.

Teague also pointed out that a recent study by the county’s Affordable Housing Task Force recommended the need for “more rental housing, not just affordable rental housing.”

Despite the overwhelming opposition, the Planning Board recommended that the town board pass the amended ordinance. As its Chairman Patrick McDowell made clear several times throughout the meeting, the issue before the board was

Scott McLeod

24

LETTERS without having to spend a fortune on lawyers and legal costs to enjoy my own backyard. I have researched many avenues so far only to be advised to get a lawyer.

I would like to thank the many nice county personnel and city staff including Mayor Gavin Brown for giving me what they could.

But sadly there is very little to protect us homeowners. Wake up Haywood! This is not fair for us that live here full time, work hard and pay taxes. If you are experiencing the same or similar, please speak up and be heard. Our elected politicians need to bone up on this issue soon.

Mylan Sessions Waynesville

Presidents are not above the law To the Editor: Draw a Venn diagram. Circle one is morality. Circle two is ethics. Number three is law.

As most people know morality is basically voluntary. Morality is the substance of individual and group conscience. Ethics is basically guidelines for certain groups of people who adhere to them voluntarily. Most groups establish some penalty for failure to comply.

Neither of the behavioral guidelines listed above permeates all behavior in America. The law does. We are a nation founded on laws.

not an up or down vote on the proposed apartment complex.

The Planning Board’s role is give its recommendation to the town board on the wording of the town’s land use ordinances, and town staff said what’s important is to be consistent. So, the board’s vote was a validation of the staff ’s recommendation on that wording.

As I write this Tuesday morning, the Waynesville Town Board is preparing for its meeting tonight where it will hold another public hearing and consider adopting the Planning Board’s recommendation. No doubt a similar crowd will be there, and I’m told a few lawyers representing nearby property owners may also attend and speak. I have no idea if the town will pass the proposal.

If anything, this land-use skirmish should be a call to action. The town is in the early phases of updating the 2002 Land Development Plan that was groundbreaking and which is still in use (it was updated in 2009). The standards that apply to Plott Creek are from this 2002 plan. The new plan will be developed over the next several months, will be finalized in early 2019, and will guide the town for 20 years.

Business cycles are a fact of life, and it seems we are headed into a new era of development and growth. A quick look east to Buncombe County provides all the evidence one needs. This new plan needs input from concerned citizens, business interests and anyone who has opinions about how the greater Waynesville community should grow. Check the town’s website or this newspaper for information on hearings coming up this summer.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)

The president of the United States (whose election is heavily questioned as to its legality) has apparently ignored morality, ethics and the law for his entire lifetime. By virtue of his family’s wealth he has thumbed his nose at morality, ethics and the law with little total financial loss. Acquisition of money seems to be his only priority.

This mode of operation has worked as long as he has been able to isolate “weaker” individuals and businesses. However, he has now entered into a legal disagreement with most Americans. Some will take his side because of party affiliation. Some want earthly power for their religious beliefs. The reality is, though, that most Americans want to see Donald Trump have to operate within the same legal framework as the rest of us. He is no more special than anyone else.

Since Trump should provide moral and ethical leadership befitting the office of the President of the United States but refuses/fails to do so, we may have to tolerate that for a while. We should not have to abide his overt mocking of the legal system that makes America a beacon of democracy, civility, hope and freedom for the rest of the world.

If he is above the law, why do the rest of us have to obey? We have to agree to obey or we might as well shred the Constitution of the United States of America. We will either continue to be a beacon or we will extinguish the flame that Lady Liberty holds for all the world to admire.

Deep down, do you want a president who wants to be above the law?

Dave Waldrop Webster

Large corporations get boost under bill To the Editor: Thank you Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., for your public service, and thank you for your response to my letter requesting your support. I differ with your response, and ask you again to please co-sponsor, sign the discharge petition for, and vote for the resolution of disapproval, under the Congressional Review Act, against the FCC action of December 2017 “Restoring Internet Freedom.” “… unnecessary control over an entity …” is not what I seek. I’m asking for a level playing field. If so-called “Restoring Internet Freedom” is not reversed by our members of Congress, the big telecom spenders are free to crush their smaller competitors and impose whatever charges they can get away with, with no recourse for any average customer.

Competition should provide success to the best quality effort, not the size of the purse.

So-called “Restoring Internet Freedom” takes away the rules of the competition and paves the way for abuse. That would be a disservice to the vast majority of your constituents.

You might argue that it’s a disservice to people who are able to pay

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Smoky Mountain News

Taffy in our hands. It closed when I was in middle school. Another, more modern one opened on the campus of North Buncombe High School. But it never was the same at the old Weaverville Community Pool.

For vacation, it was always Myrtle Beach. Because we owned a little place in Ocean Lakes Campground, we rarely traveled anywhere else, unless we happened to have a competition somewhere. But 95 percent of the time, our summer trips were to Surfside Beach. When there, we would ride bikes, eat watermelon, fight mosquitos and jump waves. At night we played cards and board games, battled each other in puttputt or went to the Pavilion to ride rides.

Nostalgia can be a glorious and a painful emotion. I’m sure there were times where I was bored during the summer, extremely annoyed about practicing baton, jealous of my friends who were going on cruises or youth mission trips, or perhaps sick of going to Myrtle Beach as our primary vacation spot, but none of that comes to mind right now. I feel only gratitude and longing for a childhood that was quintessential and for a family of four that was alive and well.

And now as I watch my boys experience their own summer fun, I want them to grow up with those same happy memories. Their experiences are somewhat different than mine but also similar. While they attend more camps than I did, they will be going to the beach, the lake, Dollywood and spending a lot of time playing with friends. They are excited and have been counting down the days until school ends.

Adulting is really hard and when we’re young, we don’t have the perception or wherewithal to appreciate life and realize just how amazing it is to live and laugh without the worry of money, relational woes or ailing parents.

As a mom, I often hear myself saying, “Just enjoy being a kid.” I guess we don’t necessarily have to be a child to embrace that mentality. The boys are pumped about summer break and I am too, actually. After a rough couple of years, I’m looking forward to an easygoing, fun-filled summer with those I love.

These youthful years for my children are fleeting. I plan to do everything I can to be a bright spot in their memories. When they’re grown men with their own families, I want them to smile to themselves as they look back and think fondly on their own childhood summers.

(Susanna Barbee is digital media specialist and associate editor of Smoky Mountain Living. susanna@mtnsouthmedia.com)

May 23-29, 2018

To the Editor: The Cherokee Cancer Support Group is in its 20th year. We couldn’t have progressed without donations from individuals, EBCI Tribal Council, local churches, and fund-raising events. We were fortunate to be a recipient for a grant from the Community Foundation of Western Region.

All proceeds go for the client’s care and needs, as each one differs due to age, gender, and diagnoses.

We offer assistance, but do not persist.

On hearing a prognosis, we give clients time to absorb the information, respecting their privacy, resiliency and reservedness.

To justify clients served and show our accountability, assistance is given from information on a referral from Cherokee Indian Hospital or a signed doctor’s treatment plan. All information is kept confidential.

Monthly meetings are held the first Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m., beginning with a pot luck dinner. We invite a guest speaker from a different profession such a health, finance, etc.

Meetings are open to the public.

The executive board consists of 12 members, all volunteers, giving their time, knowledge, and skills to make this group what it is today. They are exceptional.

Business meetings are held the last Monday of each month at 10 a.m.

As stated in our mission statement, we provide educational resources to prevent mortality through early detection, strengthen by action, and sustained by community, direct services provided to the clients.

We have overcome barriers that have kept us in our comfort zones by sharing experiences and giving empathy as well as receiving it.

Several clients have attended Camp Bluebird, a retreat in Hendersonville for cancer survivors from throughout the state. Those who have attended have found that to be a part of a communal life setting lessens feelings of social isolation.

Cherokee Cancer Support does not see you as a number, or a name on a piece of paper. Clients are special to us — personally, we are here for you, no matter how long the process. We encourage other support groups to give direct services to their clients because their needs are so great due to loss of job, financial burden and emotional support.

Flora Bradley Cherokee Cancer Support Group Facilitator

atching my two little boys get excited about summer vacation makes me reflect upon my own childhood summers. Both my parents were teachers, so the countdown to that last day of school was a significant family event.

My mom and dad worked tirelessly all year. When the final school bell rang, the sense of relief for them was paramount. Having been a teacher Columnist myself for 10 years before entering the fields of journalism and marketing, I know that feeling very well.

Teaching is a challenging profession, one that requires maximum energy, creativity and emotion but results in little monetary reward. Summer break is an absolute necessity for teachers. Otherwise, they would have no time to rest and recharge for the next group of students.

When my sister and I were girls, our summers were filled with pool time, beach trips and practicing for whatever competition was on the horizon. My mom did not have the opportunity to take dance or learn a musical instrument when she was growing up, so she wanted my sister and me to have every opportunity imaginable.

Not only did we take dance multiple nights a week, but we also took baton, musical theatre, piano and gymnastics. I have no idea how she kept up with it all. I can barely keep up with my boys’ soccer and swim schedules.

One of the biggest baton competitions of the year happened during summertime, so a lot of our break was spent practicing at our local elementary school. Admittedly, we did this begrudgingly. In fact, there were sometimes arguments and crying because we just wanted to lay around the house and play Miss America with our dolls or hang out with our friends. But oh, what I would give now to see my late mother here on this earth and to experience one more baton practice with her and my big sister.

When we weren’t slinging the baton or at the dance studio, we were often at the local Weaverville Community Pool.

Remember public pools? It seems like they’re disappearing. There’s something about a public pool that feels very Americana. When we were young, we frolicked around that pool like we owned the place, with our tan skin and sticks of Laffy

Susanna Barbee

Cancer support group values patients

Summer break is coming into view W

opinion

more, that they not be allowed to drink the cleanest water, breathe the cleanest air, use the fastest internet. I would not buy that argument. Where will we be in a few years — further along the road to equity, or taking this massive reversal to inequity?

Bil Aylor Bryson City

Lunch Wednesday - Saturday 11 am - 2 pm Dinner Starting at 5:00 on Performance Nights* Brunch Sunday 11 am - 2 pm

@SmokyMtnNews

250 Pigeon St. in Waynesville In the Daniel & Belle Fangmeyer Theatre For Menu, Information and Reservations:

www.harmonsden.harttheatre.org *Reservations required for dinner. Visit harttheatre.org for HART Theatre’s performance calendar.

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tasteTHEmountains

Sunday: 12pm-6pm Tue-Thurs 3pm-8pm Fri-Sat: 12pm-9pm Monday: Closed AT BEARWATERS BREWING

101 PARK ST. CANTON 828.492.1422

PIGEONRIVERGRILLE.COM

Retail Restaurant LIVE Music

Events begin at 7:15pm unless otherwise noted. Dinner and Music reservations at 828-452-6000.

FRIDAY, MAY 25 Jay Brown guitar, vocals.

Folk-Americana, Blues, Pop, Originals.

May 23-29, 2018

SATURDAY, MAY 26 Joe Cruz piano, vocals. Beatles, Elton John, James Taylor + More.

FRIDAY, JUNE 1 ‘Round the Fire featuring Chris Minick guitar, harmonica, vocals; Lee Kram percussion, vocals; and, Greg Kidd bass, vocals. Folk Rock, Americana, Originals.

SATURDAY, JUNE 2 Joe Cruz piano, vocals. Beatles, Elton John, James Taylor + More.

FRIDAY, JUNE 8

Sheila Gordon piano, vocals. Jazz, Pop, Originals.

SATURDAY, JUNE 9

Joe Cruz piano, vocals. Beatles, Elton John, James Taylor + More.

Smoky Mountain News

828-452-6000 • classicwineseller.com 20 Church Street, Waynesville, NC

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

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Lunch daily 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner nightly at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Wine Down Wednesday’s: ½ off wine by the bottle. We specialize in handcut, 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.

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Breakfast seven days a week, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. – with eggs, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, fresh fruit, sometimes French toast or pancakes, and always all-you-can-eat. Lunch menu every day from 12 noon to 2 p.m. includes homemade soup du jour and fresh-made salads. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night will feature an evening cookout on the terrace. On all other nights of the week, dinner is served family style and includes locally sourced vegetables, homemade breads, jellies, desserts, and a wide selection of wine and craft beer. The evening social hour starts at 6 p.m., dinner is served starting at 7 p.m., and cozy rooms and cabins are available if you love us so much that you want to stay for breakfast, too. Please call for reservations. And see our dinner menu online at www.cataloocheeranch.com/dining.

WAYNESVILLE’S BEST BURGERS

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.

DELLWOOD FARMHOUSE RESTAURANT 651 Dellwood Rd., Waynesville.

828.944.0010. Warm, inviting restaurant serving delicious, freshly-made Southern comfort foods. Cozy atmosphere; spacious to

EVERETT HOTEL & BISTRO 16 Everett St.,Bryson City. 828.488.1934.

Open daily for dinner at 4:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday Brunch from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner from 4:30-9:30 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. Followed by a tempting selection of desserts prepared daily by our chefs and other local bakers.

FERRARA PIZZA & PASTA 243 Paragon Parkway, Clyde.

828.476.5058. Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 12 to 8 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.

HARMON’S DEN BISTRO 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville 828.456.6322. Harmon’s Den is located in the Fangmeyer Theater at HART. Open 5:309 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday (Bistro closes at 7:30 p.m. on nights when there is a show in the Fangmeyer Theater) with Sunday brunch at 11 a.m. that includes breakfast and lunch items. Harmon’s Den offers a complete menu with cocktails, wine list, and area beers on tap. Enjoy casual dining with the guarantee of making it to the performance in time, then rub shoulders with the cast afterward with post-show food and beverage service. Reservations recommended. www.harmonsden.harttheatre.org J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817.

Open for dinner at 4:30 to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. World-famous 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.

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO New Menu Items Including Vegan Cheese, Crepecakes and Almond Joy Creamcrepes!

New and improved Hormone-Free, Antibiotic-Free Chicken, Turkey and Ham!

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde MON.-SAT. 11 A.M.-8 P.M.

34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 26

accommodate large parties. Big Farmhouse Breakfast and other morning menu items served 8 a.m. to noon. Lunch/dinner menu offered 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Come see us.

You’ll be glad you did! Closed Wednesdays.

twitter.com/ChurchStDepot

facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot

828-456-1997

blueroostersoutherngrill.com Monday-Friday Open at 11am

Real Local Families, Real Local Farms, Real Local Food

Annie’s Breads for Paninis and Soups!

3 E JACKSON ST. • SYLVA, NC

www.CityLightsCafe.com

tasteTHEmountains 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.

MAGGIE VALLEY RESTAURANT 2804 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

828.926.0425. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Daily specials including soups, sandwiches and southern dishes along with featured dishes such as fresh fried chicken, rainbow trout, country ham, pork chops and more.

Breakfast all day including omelets, pancakes, biscuits & gravy. facebook.com/carversmvr; instagram @carvers_mvr.

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.

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

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

Located across from the Fire Station.

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

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

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

TRAILHEAD CAFE & BAKERY 18 N Main Street, Waynesville.

828.452.3881 Open 7 days a week. 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. 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.

FarmHouSe reSTauranT OPEN MEM ORIAL DAY

Homemade daily SpecialS monday - chicken pot pie Tuesday - meatloaf Thursday - chicken & dumplings Friday - Fried Fish oked ite sm mesqu w/ 2 platter BBQ 9 .4 $9 sides

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!

243 Paragon Parkway | Clyde

Breakfast Served daily 8am-12pm (Sat. 7am-12pm) lunch & dinner Served daily 11am-8pm cloSed WedneSday 2651 dellwood rd. Waynesville 828.944.0010 now Hiring experienced cooks!

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

Open Sundays Noon to 8 p.m.

828-476-5058 NEW LOCATION OPEN!

Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m • Closed Sundays

499 Champion Drive | Canton Present this coupon and recieve:

10%

OFF ENTIRE MEAL

May 23-29, 2018

PIGEON RIVER GRILLE 101 Park St., Canton.

828.492.1422. Open Tuesday through Thursday 3 to 8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

Southern-inspired restaurant serving simply prepared, fresh food sourced from top purveyors. Located riverside at Bearwaters Brewing, enjoy daily specials, sandwiches, wings, fish and chips, flatbreads, soups, salads, and more. Be sure to save room for a slice of the delicious house made cake.

Relaxing inside/outside dining and spacious gathering areas for large groups.

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

dellwood

Simple, delicious food.

Craft Beer on Tap LIVE MUSIC EVERY SATURDAY FROM 8-10 P.M.

O MEM PEN O DAYRIAL !

M-S: 11:30-9 · Sun: 10-9 · Sun. Brunch: 10-2

828.454.5400 | 128 N. Main | Downtown Waynesville | FireflyTapsAndGrill.com

Daily Specials: Soups, Sandwiches & Southern Dishes

Featured Dishes: Fresh Fried Chicken, Rainbow Trout, Country Ham, Pork-chops & more

We’ll e fee ed your sp pirit, too.

Breakfast : Omelets, Pancakes, Biscuits & Gravy!

New Hours: Open Friday, Saturday & Sunday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Breakfast served all day!

2804 SOCO RD. • MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.0425 • Facebook.com/carversmvr Instagram- @carvers_mvr

Mon/Wed/Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Friday/Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Closed Tuesday

Sunday 12-9 p.m.

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

Evening E vening feasts feasts. Casual lunches and breakfa br eakfa asts. And A nd the mile high peaks of the Great mile-high Great Smokies all around you. Call (828)926-1401 for reservations.

And get a little taste of heaven, Catalooc chee style. style

Smoky Mountain News

MAGGIE VALLEY RESTAURANT

Catalo t oche ee Ranch 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC Catalooche eeRanch.com

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Smoky Mountain News

Least I got the blues Justin Townes Earle.

and Townes Van Zandt come out and there was this kind of resurgence in the songwriter. The role of the songwriter is more important, but people aren’t paying as much attention as they did, but I don’t think that makes it any less important.

SMN: It’s been a little over 20 years since Townes Van Zandt passed away. What’s your biggest takeaway not only on his legacy, but the man himself?

JTE: Well, you have to look at Townes for what he is. And there’s two parts to that.

Which is this incredible songwriter who had this incredible talent. But, you also have to look at him as a cautionary tale, how you can squander that talent. I don’t believe that Townes’ later records were as good as his early records.

A lot of people say that “Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas” (1977) is their favorite Townes Van Zandt, and I hate that. It’s not “Our Mother the Mountain” (1969) or “Townes Van Zandt” (1969).

Justin Townes Earle on songwriting, Van Zandt

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER hen two-thirds of your full name encompasses two-thirds of arguably America’s greatest songwriters, it’s pretty apparent you’ll follow suit — in life, and in art.

Justin Townes Earle is the son of beloved longtime troubadour Steve Earle, with his middle name in honor of the late Townes Van Zandt, a musical figure as tragic as he was talented. Though Justin had his own troubles out of the gate, between teenage transgressions and adulthood trappings, he has found emotional and professional footing in recent years, ultimately emerging atop the list of great lyricists and acoustic performers of the modern era.

In his melodies, Justin paints a truthful, poignant picture of life in America. It’s a roller-

W

Want to go?

Justin Townes Earle will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Friday, June 1, at The Grey Eagle in Asheville. Tickets are the show cost $17 in advance, $20 day-of-show. Indie-rocker Lilly Hiatt will open the performance. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit www.thegreyeagle.com. coaster of sadness and happiness, where when you’re in pursuit of your dreams, only the highest of the highs and lowest of the lows seem to emerge. And yet, though one may find themselves in the midst of those intensive extremes, you tend to also be well aware of where you currently stand, able to weather the storm in hopes of a new tomorrow.

The Smoky Mountain News recently caught up with Justin. He spoke of Van Zandt’s legacy, what it means to have a societal platform in this age of confusion and chaos, and why the only

way to become great songwriter is to dive deep in the words of those who came before you.

Smoky Mountain News: What is the role of the troubadour in the 21st century? Can you still be a troubadour in the digital age?

Justin Townes Earle: Yeah, I think you can.

Because I don’t think that it necessarily has anything do with the way your music is delivered, except for the fact that you tour and you present a good live show. The digital age is definitely changing the way that the music business is shaped. But, I don’t think that it has changed the amount of work that goes into becoming a songwriter, becoming a well-round musician.

SMN: [Is that] role of the songwriter as important now as ever before?

JTE: I do think that it’s more important, whether people know it or not. Hopefully we’ll have it circle back around like in they did in the 1970s. [There was] the late 1950s, early 1960s “folk scare,” and then in the 1970s Guy Clark

SMN: Was there a moment when you realized a song could be whatever you wanted it to be?

JTE: Yeah. I think that kind of came in hindsight. I loved Nirvana when I was a kid. It didn’t take me long, probably in my late teens, where I went back and realized what a great songwriter [Kurt Cobain] was, what the influence was he had over me as a songwriter. He’s definitely somebody who broke a lot of rules according to a lot of songwriters — lyrically and musically. You don’t want to formulaic about the way you write songs. But, I’m not one of those people that says there are no rules.

Hell yes, there are rules. It’s like the way I think about baseball — there are rules, but if you can get outside of those rules, there’s a reasonable question that you may be able to do it.

SMN: Was there ever a piece of advice you carry with you now that you initially blew off?

JTE: Absolutely. My father telling me “you can’t be a songwriter if you don’t read.” It was something that I blew off until I was in my late teens and early 20s. Then I really found the importance in that, even today it makes more sense to me.

Editor’s Note: To listen to the entire conversation, you can stream the audio for free by going to YouTube and searching: “Justin Townes Earle Garret K. Woodward.” To message Woodward, email: garret@smokymountainnews.com.

“I’m not one of those people that says there are no rules. Hell yes, there are rules. It’s like the way I think about baseball — there are rules, but if you can get outside of those rules, there’s a reasonable question that you may be able to do it.”

— Justin Townes Earle

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Chicago, with Terry Kath center.

Cry sweet tears of joy, touch the sky

We are hiring for the following positions: • Housekeeping Supervisor • Housekeeper • Front Desk Agent • Porter • Manager with Chef Emphasis • Waitstaff • Dishwasher

Apply online at lakejunaluska.com/careers

ELVIS PRESLEY JOHNNY CASH CARL PERKINS JERRY LEE LEWIS

May 24,* 25, 26, 31 & June 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 at 7:30 pm May 27 & June 3, 10 at 2:00 pm

Smoky Mountain News

There will be a one-year anniversary Right around the point of the celebration for Elevated Mountain Distilling song “Beginnings” when Chicago Company starting at noon Saturday, May 26, singer/keyboardist Robert Lamm at the distillery in Maggie Valley. belted out the lyrics, “Time passes much too quickly/When we're Isis Music Hall (West Asheville) will host the together laughing/I wish I could “Bluegrass Sessions” with Australian sing it to you,” I could see and feel sensation Kristy Cox at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the goosebumps rising on my May 29. arms.

The “Rockin’ Block Party” will kickoff summer Sitting in the depths of the from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 26, on Main Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Street in downtown Waynesville. downtown Asheville last Sunday evening, I let the power of rockThe Cherokee Bluegrass Festival will return fusion act Chicago wash over me.

June 7-9 at the Holiday RV Village and Some of the greatest music ever Campground in Cherokee. created, they’re a rock band with a horn section, celebrating 51 Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Heidi years as a living, breathing and, Holton (folk/blues) at 8 p.m. Friday, May 25. most importantly, relevant act in the music industry.

Being 33, I was probably the 1960s, she was always a freak for bands who youngest person in the audience by at least had horn sections. I think a lot of that came 25 years or so. The band remains at the core from her love of playing the French horn in of the Baby Boomer generation, where a her high school band in a Catholic school a multitude of its melodies remain on the “soundtrack of your life” for millions of folks stone’s throw from the Canadian border in my parent’s age. And yet, the tunes are time- Upstate New York. She was all about Chicago, and other incredible groups with less. You can sit there and watch the wellhorn sections — I’m talking about Blood earned wrinkles and grey hair disappear in Sweat & Tears, Sly & The Family Stone, and the crowd, where all is left are bodies later on The Blues Brothers, to name a few. reclaiming their youth in a flood of joyful And there I was, a kid in the single digits and life-altering memories, all of which are of age in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ridtied to the sounds of Chicago. ing around with my mother and little sister, My love for Chicago comes directly from in her old Toyota Camry, with Chicago blastmy mother. A flower child who came of age, ing from the tape deck, streaming out the and went through college, in the mid/late-

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arts & entertainment

This must be the place

open windows into the wide-open fields and back roads of my native North Country. As a child, I liked the catchiness of the melodies.

They were so easy to gyrate to, let alone singalong to and feel part of.

When I went I started my senior year of college in the fall of 2006, finally off campus in my own abode, I took my mother’s extensive vinyl collection and record player with me. I wanted to hear these songs the way they were meant to be heard, from analog recording methods — snap, crackle, pop, and all.

Putting the needle down to the vinyl of the seminal 1970 album “Chicago II,” I would immediately think of home, faces and places I missed, and now was so far removed from — physically and emotionally. The more I played that record, the more I began to hear my own trials and tribulations, and ever-emerging freedom, in the words and tones. Now as a full-fledged adult, I finally understood the power of the lyrics, the life experiences behind the melodies, experiences we've all had and shared, all connected in the sounds of one of the all-time great bands — of any genre, at any time.

That college house just outside of New Haven, Connecticut, filled with a handful of my closest cronies, was, in essence, a dump.

Garbage cans filled with empty beer bottles and nothing in the refrigerator expect cold pizza and a half-full jar of mustard. But, I lived in the attic room, the only renovated space in the entire three-story turn-of-the20th-century home.

I remember that attic vividly, the windows and door to the back-deck entrance opened, a slight breeze floating in. I remember “Chicago II” being played nonstop, at all hours of the day and night. And the sounds of the immortal song “Make Me Smile” streaming out of the record player, the undeniable and completely underrated guitar playing and vocal stylings of the late Terry Kath, who tragically passed away at the peak of the band’s success at age 31 in 1978. Heck, Jimi Hendrix once said of Kath to the members of Chicago, “your guitar player is better than me.”

Every single time I hear “Make Me Smile” or “25 of 6 to 4” from “Chicago II,” or “Beginnings” or “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” from the self-titled debut album (when they were called Chicago Transit Authority), I’m immediately taken back to that college bedroom, where I would listen to those melodies and wonder what was to come following graduation, daydreaming of an unknown future I was trying to paint on an empty canvas of hopes and dreams.

I’m also immediately taken back to those days of my youth, when my mother would take us for a ride around town or in the rural countryside, and time itself didn’t seem to exist, or even matter at all, when you’re a kid and all that lies ahead of you is full day of nothing to do, and nowhere to be, with the sounds of Chicago playing in the background — a melodic vibration of the human condition, where love always outweighs hate, and compassion will always overtake division.

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

Adults $26 Seniors $24 Students $13 *Special $16 tickets for all Adults on Thursday, May 24.

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.

29

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

arts & entertainment

On the beat Rick Springfield to play Harrah’s Rock legend and actor Rick Springfield will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Friday, May 25, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.

With 25 million records sold, a Grammy Award for his smash-hit “Jessie’s Girl,” and a whopping 17 Top-40 hits including “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “An Rick Affair of the Heart,” Springfield.

“Love Somebody” and “Human Touch,” Springfield has no intention of taking his foot off the accelerator.

“I put everything I've got into making records,” Springfield said. “Sometimes people think they have you pegged but I trust my music to show them otherwise.”

Springfield has toured for over 30 years, hand-delivering the hits to millions of fans worldwide during his leg-

endary, high-energy live shows.

“Some are favorite songs that I’ve written that I’ve never performed live because they’ve never quite fit into the full band live show. I think fans are as excited to now hear these songs live as I am to play them,” Springfield noted.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, visit www.harrahscherokee.com.

Ian Ridenhour.

Concerts on the Creek returns The Concerts on the Creek summer series will kickoff with Ian Ridenhour (alt-rock/pop) at 7 p.m. Friday, May 25, at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva.

The lineup for this year’s series will also include: Train (classic hits) June 1, The Dirty Soul Revival (rock/blues) June 8, Robertson Boys (bluegrass) June 15, Tuxedo Junction (classic hits) June 22, Carolina Soul Band (R&B/beach) June 29, Crocodile Smile (soul/rock) during the 4th of July Fireworks (starting at 6:30 p.m.), Darren Nicholson Band (Americana/country) July 6, The Super 60s Band (classic hits) July 13, Andalyn (rock/country) July 20, Summer Brooke & The Mountain Faith Band (bluegrass/gospel) July 27, Lance & Lea (Americana/pop) Aug. 3, The Get Right Band (soul/rock) Aug. 10, The Colby Deitz Band (rock/Americana) Aug. 17, Geoff McBride (rock/Americana) Aug. 24 and Dashboard Blue (classic hits) Aug. 31.

The concerts are free and open to the public. There will also be food tricks onsite. For more information, call 828.586.2155 or www.mountainlovers.com.

Swain Co. Heritage Festival Crafts, Music and Fun for the Whole Family!

ART AFTER DARK Friday, May 25 • 6 to 8 p.m. • “Gospel Music Night” Saturday, May 26 • 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. • Country, Gospel & Bluegrass Music

Friday, June 1 6-9 p.m.

Featuring clay artist Crystal Allen

RIVERFRONT PARK • BRYSON CITY

30

Bring a lawn chair.

Crafters and Non-Profits Contact: swaincountyheritagefest@gmail.com for more information

98 N. MAIN ST. • WAYNESVILLE • MON-SAT 10-5:30 • SUN 1-4 828.456.1940 • W W W.T WIGSAN DLEAVES.COM

On the beat arts & entertainment

Cherokee Bluegrass Festival

LUNCH DAILY 11:30 A.M.-2:30 P.M. DINNER NIGHTLY AT 5 P.M. TUESDAY-SATURDAY Voted Best Steak in Waynesville

Wine Down Wednesdays 1/2 off bottle of wine

Asheville-based Americana/rock act Gold Rose will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 2, in The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville.

This alt-country trio consists of singer-songwriter/guitarist Kevin Fuller, bassist Ryan Kijanka and drummer Ryan Sargent. The band meshes crunchy guitar noise with folk,

“

Gold Rose.

Closed Sunday & Monday 454 Hazelwood Avenue • Waynesville Call 828.452.9191 for reservations

Let Me Sell Your House

“

I am dedicated to providing you with excellent services beyond your expectations.

My Customers are REAL SATISFIED

“I chose to work with Catherine Proben because I trusted that she had my best interests at heart. She was professional, knowledgeable, and added a personal touch to the entire process. She always was available by phone or text to inform me of the progress of the sale of my home.

I am so impressed with the professionalism, dedication, and innovative ways that she used to sell my home. I highly recommend her & the Waynesville office to all the sellers and buyers in the area.”

- Dr. Sherry Manburg, Waynesville, NC (Seller)

Catherine Proben

Smoky Mountain News

Americana at Boojum Brewing

and Balsam Range. Seven-time IBMA “Gospel Recorded Performance” winner Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver will culminate the stage shows.

Happy Holiday RV Village and Campground has over 400 hookups, including water, electric, and bathhouses. This is in the heart of The Cherokee Indian Reservation.

Please bring lawn chairs with no high back chairs or rockers allowed. No pets or alcoholic beverages allowed in concert area. Security will be on duty. This is a family show.

Shows go on rain or shine under a large tent, with tickets available at the gate. Daily ticket prices are $40 for adults in advance until May 30, then $45 at the gate. A threeday adult ticket is $90 in advance and $95 at the gate. Children ages 7-15 are $15 per day or $45 for three days in advance and $50 at the gate. Children under age 7 are free when accompanied by parents.

Tickets may be ordered online at www.adamsbluegrass.com. Sound by Blue Ridge Sound, Sherry Boyd, M.C.

May 23-29, 2018

The Cherokee Bluegrass Festival will return June 7-9 at the Holiday RV Village and Campground in Cherokee.

The three-day event begins at noon Thursday, June 7, and goes until 10:30 p.m. daily. Open stage will be 11 a.m. to noon.

• Thursday: The Crowe Brothers, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, The Little Roy & Lizzy Show, The Inspirations, Carl Jackson and Larry Cordle & Jerry Salley.

There will also be a 90-minute show by Grand Ole Opry members Dailey & Vincent at 8:30 p.m.

• Friday: Carolina Blue, Mountain Faith, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, Paul Williams & The Victory Trio and The Gibson Brothers. The “Queen of Bluegrass” eight-time International Bluegrass Music Association “Female Vocalist of the Year” Rhonda Vincent & The Rage will close out the evening.

• Saturday: The Malpass Brothers, Kenny & Amanda Smith, The U.S Navy Band Country Current, The Gibson Brothers

Classic local American comfort foods, craft beers, along with small batch bourbons & whiskey.

Vegetarian options available

74 N. Main St.,Waynesville

828-734-9157

cproben@beverly-hanks.com

country and Americana stories.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/goldrosetheband.

31

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

arts & entertainment

On the beat

Groovin’ On the Green returns The Village Green in Cashiers is pleased to announce the opening of the 2018 summer concert series, Groovin’ On the Green.

The first concert will be Memorial Day Weekend. Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blues will perform at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26, at The Village Green Commons stage and lawn.

The season features outstanding musicians with unique sounds and a diverse range of musical genres. The schedule includes favorite artists Geoff McBride, The Colby Deitz Band, High Five, Bo Spring Band, Andalyn, The Sundown Band and The Buchanan Boys. After a few years absence, Jay Drummonds returns to the stage with some friends on June 29. Local crowd-pleasing Hurricane Creek performs July 6.

Groovin’ On the Green will also welcome first time performers Porch 40, Eat a Peach and the all-female group, The Krickets. The final concert will be a Labor Day Weekend dance party with The Boomers, a high energy, up-tempo group who will end the season with a family friendly end of summer celebration.

The Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association, commonly known as GCAMA,

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” with Jody West (singer-songwriter) May 25 and Granny’s Mason Jar (Americana) May 26. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host Twelfth Fret (acoustic/folk) May 25 and 1898 (Americana) June 1. All shows begin at 8 p.m. www.facebook.com/balsamfallsbrewing.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host an acoustic jam with Main St. NoTones from 6 to 9 p.m. May 31 and June 7. Free and open to the public. www.blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host Ben Morgan (singer-songwriter) 8 p.m. May 25 and Gold Rose (Americana/rock) 9 p.m. June 2. Shows are free and open to the public.

There will also be an open mic every Thursday at 9 p.m. www.boojumbrewing.com.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Jay Brown (guitar/piano) May 25, Joe Cruz (piano/pop) May 26 and June 2, and ‘Round the Fire (acoustic/rock) June 1. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host Stone Crazy (rock/pop) May 26 and Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (Americana/bluegrass) June 16. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.curraheebrew.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Bohemian Jean (acoustic) May 25, The Myxx 32 May 26 and Scoundrel’s Lounge June 2. All

created Groovin’ On the Green nine years ago to bring high quality entertainment to the area while at the same time highlighting local and regional musicians. The Village Green has served as the host venue and last year collaborated with GCAMA to present the concerts. This year, GCAMA has merged all event functions into The Village Green. The highly successful GCAMA events Groovin’ On the Green and Cashiers Valley Leaf Festival will now be produced by The Village Green for the public enjoyment.

Groovin’ On the Green is rain or shine.

Bring a chair and your family, friends, coworkers and neighbors to The Village Green Commons on Frank Allen Road. Picnics and coolers are allowed, however concert goers can enjoy delicious food and beverage for sale from the vendors onsite.

Concerts are free, but donations are always appreciated. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash and under the control of their owners at all times.

To learn more visit www.villagegreencashiersnc.com. Follow The Village Green on social media @cashiersgreen.

shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Harmon’s Den Bistro at HART (Waynesville) will host karaoke and an open mic at 8 p.m. on Saturdays. www.harttheatre.org.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night May 30 and June 6, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo May 31 and June 7. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

ALSO:

• Isis Music Hall (West Asheville) will host Gypsy Guitar (jazz/swing) outside 6:30 p.m.

May 23, Chris Moyse & Kirsten Maxwell (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m. May 23, Christie Lenee w/Jenn Cornell & Searra Jade (folk/acoustic) 8:30 p.m. May 23, Rahm Squad (jazz/funk) outside 6:30 p.m. May 24, Jonn Del Toro Richardson (Americana/blues) 7 p.m. May 24, Sidewalk Chalk (hiphop/soul) 8:30 p.m. May 24, Lara Hope & The Ark (rockabilly) outside 6:30 p.m. May 25, Nuevo Flamenco Ensemble (world/classical) 7 p.m. May 25, Rough & Tumble (Americana) 7 p.m. May 26, Jim Arrendell (Motown/soul) 9 p.m. May 26, Misty Mountain String Band (Americana/bluegrass) 5:30 p.m. May 27, Russ Wilson (blues/jazz) 7:30 p.m. May 27, Tuesday Bluegrass Sessions w/Kristy Cox (Americana/bluegrass) 7:30 p.m. May 29, Chris Jamison’s Ghost (Americana/country) outside 6:30 p.m. May 30, Seth Glier & Brad Cole (indie/pop) 8:30 p.m. May 30, Rahm Squad (jazz/funk) outside 6:30 p.m. May 31 and Nikki Forbes (folk/indie) 7 p.m. May 31.

For more information about the performanc-

Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blues.

es and/or to purchase tickets, click on www.isisasheville.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Heidi Holton (folk/blues) May 25 and The Remnants (rock) May 26. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. There will also be an open mic night at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host an open mic night every Thursday. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Nantahala Brewing (Bryson City) will host Somebody’s Child (Americana) May 25, Hail!

Cassius Neptune May 26, Ogya (world) May 27, If Birds Could Fly (Americana) June 1 and Frank & Allie (bluegrass/Americana) June 2. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• Salty Dog’s (Maggie Valley) will have Karaoke with Jason Wyatt at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, Mile High (classic rock) 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, and a Trivia w/Kelsey Jo 8 p.m. Thursdays.

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

• Southern Porch (Canton) will host Ryan Perry Band (country) May 25, Jason Wyatt (singer-songwriter) May 31 and Freewheelin’ Mama June 1. All shows begin at 7 p.m.

Free and open to the public. www.southern-porch.com.

• The Strand at 38 Main (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic” night from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. 828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• The Oconaluftee Visitor Center (Cherokee) will host a back porch old-time music jam from 1 to 3 p.m. June 2. All are welcome. www.thepapermilllounge.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host Roshambeaux (rock/Motown) May 26 and Andalyn (rock/country) June 2. All shows begin at 9:30 p.m.

• The Paper Mill Lounge & Theatre (Sylva) will host The Slick Skillet Serenaders (gypsyjazz) May 24 and DIVA (Adele tribute) May 28. All shows begin at 8 p.m. www.facebook.com/thepapermilllounge.

• The Warehouse Restaurant at Nantahala Brewing (Bryson City) will host Frank Lee & Allie Burbrink (Americana/folk) June 2. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• Pub 319 (Waynesville) will host an open mic night from 8 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday with Mike Farrington of Post Hole Diggers. Free and open to the public. www.pub319socialhouse.com.

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host John the Revelator (blues/rock) May 25 and The Peachtree Peppers (Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute) June 1. All shows begin at 10 p.m.

On the beat

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May 23-29, 2018

The Jackson County Public Library will host the Liberty Baptist Church Choir for a concert at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 31, in the Community Room.

Mary Sue Casey will open the concert with a short historical talk about the history of Liberty Baptist Church and the AfricanAmerican community in Jackson County.

Casey was raised in Sylva, where she attended all-black schools through seventh grade. She graduated from Sylva-Webster High School in 1970 and went on to earn B.S. and M.A. degrees in secondary education from Western Carolina University.

An award-winning math teacher and cheerleading coach at Smoky Mountain High School and Cherokee High School, Casey is now retired from teaching but remains highly involved in community and church activities.

From the church website: In May of 1871 a group of consecrated Christians (ex-slaves), requested permission to establish the Scotts Creek Liberty Baptist Church as their place of worship. With mutual agreement the Scotts Creek Baptist Church (white) granted letters to: Moses Bryson, Sip Bryson, Ella Bryson, Betsy Bryson, Lucinda Love, Sylvia Bryson, Rena Bryson, Abby Bryson, Elizabeth Bryson, and Dorcus Love.

The Scotts Creek Baptist Church and the mother church, assisted in organization of the Scotts Creek Liberty Baptist Church. The first Location was in a Log Cabin, on the upper part of Col. Daniel G. Bryson's farm, near the Gum Springs, which is also near the Billy Ray Bryson's home now.

This program is free of charge. The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. For more information, call the library at 828.586.2016. The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library (www.fontanalib.org).

Serving All of Western North Carolina

arts & entertainment

Liberty Baptist Church Choir

Bryson City community jam Smoky Mountain News

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

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of Grampa’s Music in Bryson City.

The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn old-time mountain songs. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — yearround. This program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment of the Arts.

828.488.3030.

33

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

arts & entertainment

On the street Nominations sought for Mountain Heritage Awards Western Carolina University is accepting nominations for the Mountain Heritage Awards, prestigious honors bestowed on an individual and an organization each year for contributions to or playing a prominent role in research, preservation and curation of Southern Appalachian history, culture and folklore.

The awards will be presented at the 44th annual Mountain Heritage Day on Saturday, Sept. 29, on the WCU campus.

Deadline for nominations is Saturday, June 30.

There is a storied tradition of the awards and the recognition given to regional figures, institutions and organizations, beginning with the first presentation in 1976. “What do Cherokee ‘Beloved Woman’ Amanda Swimmer, community activist Rob Tiger, the late WCU Chancellor H.F. ‘Cotton’ Robinson and Mountain Faith Band all have in common?” said Pam Meister, director of WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center. “And how about Dogwood Crafters, the Jackson County Genealogical Society, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Young Adult Choir of Tried Stone Missionary Baptist Church? They’re all recipients of WCU’s Mountain Heritage Award.”

Recipients are chosen by a committee comprised of regional and campus representatives. Letters of nomination should

Distillery celebrates first year

There will be a one-year anniversary celebration for Elevated Mountain Distilling Company starting at noon Saturday, May 26, at the distillery in Maggie Valley.

There will be tastings, activities, food truck (5:30 p.m.) and music by banjo legend Raymond Fairchild (6 p.m.), a member of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Hall of Fame. The event is free to attend. Tours of the distillery cost $5, which includes samples. www.elevatedmountain.com.

34

not exceed five pages and should include the full name of the individual or organization being nominated, with a website address if applicable; the mailing address of the nominee; the founding date for organizational nominees; a list of the nominee’s accomplishments; a list of the awards and other recognitions received by the nominee; information about the nominee’s influence in the relevant field of expertise, such as crafts, music or organizational cause; and information about the nominee’s role as a teacher, advocate, leader or curator of mountain culture.

Nominations should be delivered to the Mountain Heritage Center offices, located in Room 240 of WCU’s Hunter Library; mailed to Mountain Heritage Center, 1 University Drive, Cullowhee N.C. 28723; or emailed to pameister@wcu.edu.

Swain County Heritage Festival The Swain County Heritage Festival will be held May 25-26 at Riverfront Park in Bryson City.

From 6 to 9 p.m. the Friday night entertainment is loaded with local talent featuring an emphasis on old-time gospel. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. the Saturday entertainment features classic country, bluegrass, and clogging. In addition to music, the festival offers local arts and crafts, food, games for the kids, log-sawing contest, sack races and fun for the whole family.

For more information on the festival, visit www.greatsmokies.com.

Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling The Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from May 25 through Oct. 27 at the Oconaluftee Islands Park.

Sit by a bonfire, alongside a river, and listen to some of Cherokee’s best storytellers. The bonfire is free and open to the public. There will be no bonfire events in September. www.visitcherokeenc.com.

Waynesville ‘Great Decisions’ series

All aboard the BBQ, craft beer train

The “Great Decisions” series will take place from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. on Thursdays from through June 21 in the auditorium of the Waynesville Public Library.

Prepare to discuss the world. “Great Decisions” is America's largest discussion program on world affairs. Presented by the Foreign Policy Association.

This program provides background information and policy options for the eight most critical issues facing America each year and serves as the focal text for discussion groups across the country.

Schedule is as follows: China and America: Media and Foreign Policy (May 24), Turkey: A Partner in Crisis (May 31), U.S. Global Engagement and the Military (June 7), South Africa's Fragile Economy (June 14) and Global Health: Progress and Challenges (June 21) Questions may be directed to moderator David McCracken at dem32415@aol.com.

Registration is required: 828.356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

There will be a barbecue and craft beer tasting from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 26, on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, departing from Bryson City.

Slow-cooked barbecue and ribs, with craft beer tastings for the adults age 21 and up. The age 20 and under crowd will enjoy uniquely crafted non-alcoholic beverages. The train will take you to the Fontana Trestle for a spectacular sunset.

800.872.4681 or visit www.gsmr.com • The Strawberry Festival will return on Saturday, May 26, at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. For more information, contact the Cherokee Welcome Center at 828.359.6490.

ALSO:

• Line Dance Lessons will be held on Tuesdays in Waynesville. Times are 7 to 8 p.m. every other Tuesday. Cost is $10 per class and will feature modern/traditional line dancing. 828.734.0873 or

kimcampbellross@gmail.com for more information.

• “Laughing Balsam Sangha,” a meeting for Mindfullness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, meets will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays at 318 Skyland Drive in Sylva. Included are sitting and walking meditation, and Dharma discussion. Free admission. For more information, call 828.335.8210, and “Like” them on Facebook.

• There will be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m. May 26 and June 2 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. May 26 and June 2 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.631.3075.

• 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.

On the street arts & entertainment

Waynesville’s ‘Rockin’ Block Party’ The “Rockin’ Block Party” will kickoff summer from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 26, on Main Street in downtown Waynesville.

In the middle of downtown will be a concert by The 96.5 House Band (classic hits), The Blue Ridge Big Band (swing/jazz), and more. Running from 6 to 7 p.m. will be “Kids on Main,” which will be filled with children’s activities.

The event is put on by the Downtown Waynesville Association. For more information, visit www.downtownwaynesville.com.

May 23-29, 2018

The “Franklin In Bloom” festival will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 2, in downtown.

A festival for all ages, the event is hosted by the Franklin Garden Club. It will include children’s activities, garden tours, gardening demos, wildflower self guided walk, fairy gardens and homes, bee pollinators, reading in the garden, garden critters, “Make and Take” children’s activities and a “Garden Critters

Hunt.” There will also be music, vendors, popcorn, garden arts/crafts for sale, and more.

You’ll also receive a free “Franklin In Bloom” keepsake pin to remember the day.

Calling all gardeners, artists and friends for a tea cup garden competition. Think small and join in the fun. Drop off your creative entries by 11 a.m. for a 1 p.m. judging with ribbon awards. Entries will be on display and can be picked up by 3 p.m.

Sponsored by Fox Mercantile. For more information, visit www.franklinchamber.com.

Smoky Mountain News

‘Franklin In Bloom’ festival

35

arts & entertainment

On the wall

Haywood Arts $10,000 challenge Haywood County Arts Council Board President Michael Lodico and his wife Mary Alice are giving a great surprise — an end-of-year gift up to $10,000 in matching funds for all donations to the HCAC annual fund through June 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

All gifts to the Haywood County Arts Council made between now and June 30 will be matched dollar for dollar up to $10,000. Consequently, when an individual makes a tax-deductible donation of $25, HCAC will receive $50.

“Whether the Haywood County Arts Council receives $5 or $500, every dollar counts when it comes to ensuring that our community’s quality of life is enhanced through a broad array of cultural and artistic activities,” said HCAC

Executive Director Leigh Forrester. “We hope this matching campaign inspires individuals, the community and business donors to double the value of their gift between now and the end of the fiscal year.”

Annual fund donations enhance art education, local artists and innovation in art. This year, annual fund gifts supported monthly art exhibits in the HCAC gallery, artist workshops, the Junior Appalachian Musicians program, Mind the Music senior piano lessons, Dance ARIS, Young Artist Concert, art exhibits at the HART and both Waynesville & Canton Libraries, Student Honors Recital, Sunday at the Opry Veterans Day performance, as well as artist receptions and other community events.

“This is a great opportunity for our community to show its appreciation for the Haywood County Arts Council and to get involved in whatever way they can, because every gift of every amount makes a difference.” Forrester said.

To give online, visit www.haywoodarts.org or visit the HCAC gallery at 86 North Main Street in downtown Waynesville to make a cash donation.

A work by Dominick DePaolo.

Ready for ‘Adventures in Acrylic’?

May 23-29, 2018

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will host the “Adventures in Acrylic” art classes from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. June 5, 12, 19 and 26 at Gallery & Gifts in downtown Waynesville.

This is a class to explore different ways of using acrylic paint. Local artist, Dominick DePaolo will provide instruction in using acrylic in the traditional way, in the watercolor format and also using a palette knife for maximum texture.

The class size is limited to eight students. Each session will be four classes and the attendee will have finished two paintings in each style. All supplies will be provided for each class or you may bring your own.

For more information and/or to reserve your spot, call 828.452.0593.

Smoky Mountain News

A FESTIVAL OF

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FOLK DANCE & WORLD CULTURE Cultural activities, cuisine, live music, dance instruction and performances.

View full schedule at folkmoot.org.

@SmokyMtnNews

Haywood Arts ‘Creations in Oil & Handcrafted Mugs’ The Haywood County Arts Council’s exhibit “Creations in Oil & Handcrafted Mugs” will run through May 26.

This exhibit features talented local artists including Melba Cooper, Don Millsaps, Jo Ridge Kelley, Nathan Perry, Mollie Harrington Weaver, Velda Davis, Tina

Waynesville art walk, live music The “Art After Dark” season will continue from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 1, 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

Honerkamp, Sun Sohovich, Cayce Moyer, Susan Phillips, Cory Plott, Cathey Bolton, Dominick DePaolo and Carolyn Strickland.

“Spring is the perfect time to showcase the wonderfully diverse works in oil and also the fun and collectible handcrafted clay mugs produced by our communities’ local artists,” said Leigh Forrester, HCAC executive director.

Visit the Haywood County Arts Council at 86 North Main Street in Waynesville to view the variety of art for sale. For more information about the Haywood County Arts Council, visit www.haywoodarts.org.

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. www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.

On the wall

• “Paint Nite Waynesville” will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursdays (May 31, June 14 and 28) at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Sign up for either event on the Paint Night Waynesville Facebook page or call Robin Arramae at 828.400.9560. paintnitewaynesville@gmail.com.

Wonderful Selection of vegetables, gardens plants, hanging baskets and more!

your friendly, local blue box — smoky mountain news

arts & entertainment

• The “Meet the Artist” reception with Brian Hannum (pianist), Drew Campbell (photographer) and Jon Houglum (painter) will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 25, at Gallery Zella in Bryson City. Enjoy North Carolina wine, food and music. Free to attend. For more information, call 828.488.3638 or visit www.galleryzella.com.

Stop by while inventory lasts.

1856 DELLWOOD ROAD • WAYNESVILLE, NC

828-926-1901

• Gallery 1 Sylva will celebrate the work and collection of co-founder Dr. Perry Kelly with a show of his personal work at the Jackson County Public Library Rotunda and his art collection at the gallery. All work is for sale. Admission is free. Children are welcome. Gallery 1 has regular winter hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. art@gallery1sylva.com.

ALSO:

• Mad Batter Food & Film (Sylva) will host a free movie night at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For the full schedule of screenings, visit www.madbatterfoodandfilm.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.

• Free classes and open studio times are being offered at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Join others at a painting open studio session from 6:30 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday or from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Thursday. Bring your own materials and join an ongoing drawing course led by gallery artists from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday.

For information on days open, hours and additional art classes and workshops, contact the gallery on 30 East Main Street at 828.349.4607.

Smoky Mountain News

• A “Youth Art Class” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon every Saturday at the Appalachian Art Farm on 22 Morris Street in Sylva. All ages welcome. $10 includes instruction, materials and snack. For more information, email appalachianartfarm@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.

May 23-29, 2018

• The Waynesville Fiber Friends will meet from 10 a.m. to noon on the second Saturday of the month at the Panacea Coffee House in Waynesville. All crafters and beginners interested in learning are invited. You can keep up with them through their Facebook group or by calling 828.276.6226.

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Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

On the wall

Roadworks: Experiential Arts Opportunities The Western Carolina University College of Fine and Performing Arts presents WCU Roadworks, a free outreach program offering experiential arts opportunities throughout the summer to the community.

The program began with performances from students in the School of Stage and Screen in 2016 and in 2017, students from the School of Music were featured. This summer, students from the School of Art and Design will be roving around the community in an “Art Trailer.”

The Roadworks Art Trailer will be avail-

able for outdoor event opportunities and is managed by four WCU students, two graduate students and two undergraduates.

The Art Trailer will feature an aluminum pour demonstration, showcasing some of the advanced skills and ideas being implemented by the School of Art and Design.

Highlighting the School’s strong connection with the Jackson County Green Energy Park, this opportunity brings metal pouring to individuals that may have never experienced this spectacle before. As the host of the event, Roadworks will gift a 4” x 4” piece of aluminum art to commemorate the experience.

The second element of the Art Trailer is a drum painting pop-up tent accompanied with music. Participants will use percussion tools, such as drumsticks, mallets, and brushes, to paint onto a piece of canvas serving as their “drumhead.” At the end of the event, guests are able to take their paintings home. Finally, in another tent from the Art Trailer, Roadworks will offer a small pop-up gallery space to showcase the work of the 4 student artists involved with this project.

If you are interested in learning more about Roadworks or would like to request the Art Trailer for your event, click on arts.wcu.edu/roadworks to read more about the program and fill out our contact form.

‘Artist’s Point of View’ show

The Haywood County Arts Council and local nonprofit REACH are co-sponsoring the latest exhibit “Freedom: An Artist’s Point of View.” The exhibit will run June 1-30 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showcase in downtown Waynesville.

REACH serves survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse and teen dating violence. They not only operate a 24-hour helpline and emergency shelter, but also provide victim advocacy, legal assistance, counseling referrals, and community education.

With over 30 local artists donating works of art in oil, acrylic, ceramic, photo, digital, textile, watercolor, pencil, 38 cold wax and glass mediums, this promises to be an exciting

HCC Professional Crafts Graduate Show

The graduating class of Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts program will exhibit their best work at the 2018 Graduate Show, which will be held through June 24 at the Southern Highland Craft Guild Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville.

This year’s show has work in clay, jewelry, fiber and wood. This exhibit marks the professional debut for many exhibiting craftspeople. The college makes involvement in the installation, organization, and publicity of this exhibit as part of the coursework for the professional crafts students.

The Professional Crafts program is a twoyear commitment, focusing on all aspects of

show. The artist reception will be held during Art After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 1, at Gallery & Gifts.

For more information, call 828.452.0593, email info@haywoodarts.org or visit www.haywoodarts.org.

Interested in making jewelry?

Long-time local artist Melissa Enloe Walter will be demonstrating her unique gold and silver leafing technique on jewelry from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 2, at the Haywood County Arts Council in downtown Waynesville.

Walter has developed this technique by layering multiple acrylic glazes over gold and silver leaf to create luminous orig-

becoming an independent craft professional.

In addition to sharpening their technical and artistic skill in their chosen medium, students also create a marketable line of production work, plan a studio, and become familiar with the craft market.

Mandatory coursework includes photography of finished pieces for gaining entrance into craft shows, creating a business plan, and designing and building a studio tailored to fit production needs.

The Folk Art Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission and parking are both free. For more information, call 828.627.4673 or visit creativearts.haywood.edu.

inal works of art on canvas and jewelry. The pendants are miniature versions of her original paintings. In the demonstration, she will showcase how she hand-enhances each piece of jewelry with gold and silver leaf, therefore making each pendant a one-of-a-kind treasure.

Walter’s subject matter ranges from native animal species to ethereal waterscapes and landscapes. Featured jewelry will be available to view and purchase at this special event.

Walter has operated numerous galleries and design firms in the southeast and is now residing in Waynesville. Her studio is located in the 100-year-old farmhouse where she grew up inspired by nature and animals.

For more information call 828.452.0593, email info@haywoodarts.org or visit www.haywoodarts.org.

On the stage arts & entertainment

(From left) Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.

‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at HART

The “Unto These Hills” stage production will be held at 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday from June 2 through Aug. 18 at the Mountainside Theater in Cherokee.

This decades-old acclaimed outdoor drama traces the Cherokee people through

the eons, through the zenith of their power, through the heartbreak of the Trail of Tears, finally ending, appropriately, in the present day, where the Cherokee people, much like their newly re-scripted drama, continue to rewrite their place in the world — a place based on traditional Cherokee values and modern sensibilities.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.cherokeehistorical.org.

Smoky Mountain News

‘Unto These Hills’ outdoor drama

Joshua Rubenstein was brought in from New York to play Carl Perkins. Actor/guitarist Jackson Whiting from Atlanta is Elvis. And area actor/musician Dominic Aquilino is Johnny Cash. They are joined

by Clara Burrus, Dave Bruce on drums, Raymond Mathews on bass, and Jeff Messer as Sam Phillips.

This is HART’s first all professional cast and a big risk for the theater but the show has a reputation of inspiring dancing in the aisles. The focus is on four of the music industry’s most exciting performers at the start of their careers, and it’s all about the music.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. May 24-26, 31 and June 1-2, 7-9, and at 2 p.m.

May 27, June 3 and 10. The theater has special discounted tickets for the performances on Thursday, May 24. Harmons’ Den Bistro at HART is also open before all performances with a new menu and features karaoke on Saturday night after the performance.

To make reservations for the show and the bistro, call 828.456.6322 or go online to www.harttheatre.org.

366 RUSS AVE. WAYNESVILLE BiLo Shopping Center

May 23-29, 2018

One of rock-n-roll’s legendary events is being recreated as a musical on the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre stage in Waynesville.

On Dec. 4, 1956, at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, four of the century’s immortals — Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis — engaged in an impromptu jam session. Record producer Sam Phillips recorded the event, which was never to be repeated.

A musical based on the jam session opened on Broadway in 2010 to rave reviews and Tony nods and now HART is bringing it to its stage for a four week run beginning May 18.

Director Steve Lloyd knew when he picked the show for the season that it would be impossible to cast locally, so ads were placed in theater industry trades and after reviewing scores of video auditions four actors were cast with the musical skills to recreate the “Million Dollar Quartet.”

Actor/pianist Edgar Cardoso was brought in from Los Angeles to tackle the role of Jerry Lee Lewis. Actor/guitarist

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40

Books

Smoky Mountain News

Audio books a real pleasure when traveling or 16 years, I have made several annual trips between Western North Carolina and Front Royal, Virginia, a town located about 70 miles west of D.C. on I-66. My children all graduated from a small college in this town, and three of them have settled here.

Over the years, I have come to know every rest stop, every exit, and many of the gas stations and fast food joints along I-81. I also appreciate beauty in this part of Appalachia, the mountains around Johnson City, the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley, the austere landscape Writer in winter and the spectacular Irishgreen fields and forests of late spring.

Nonetheless, when you’ve driven the same expressway 75 or 80 times, especially if you make many of these trips alone, you become bored, restless for some diversion. You try the radio, but let’s face it: most of the music stinks these days, and the talk show hosts either grate on the nerves or run so many ads that you quickly lose interest in the program.

Time then for an audio book.

On my latest trip, I checked three recorded books out of my public library: Niall Ferguson’s The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die; Michael Gelb’s How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day; and Nicolas Sparks’ True Believer.

As I headed south, I decided to try the da Vinci CDs first. Read by Doug Ordunio, How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci began well, with Gelb telling readers why he became fascinated by da Vinci’s work and the genius we find in his Notebooks. Other than some basic facts, I know little of the life of this great artist and was thoroughly enjoying Gelb’s take on him.

Then we hit the chapter on the Middle Ages, intended as a sort of introduction to the Renaissance. Here Gelb relies for his history solely on William Manchester’s A World Lit Only By Fire. I have read all of the books written by Manchester and am a fan of his work, but this particular book, which I once taught, is filled with biases and stereotypes.

Moreover, I had just finished Will Durant’s thousand page plus The Age of

Both suppositions proved true. The miles flew by as the story entertained me, and if I slipped absentmindedly away for a few moments or answered a phone call, when I came back to the disc I had no trouble falling back into its story. To my way of thinking,

and blue skies, and I decided to postpone the breakdown of civilization until another, gloomier day.

Though I have read a couple of his novels and once saw a movie based on one of Sparks’s books, I am not a devotee of this author. I chose True Believer because I supposed the plot would be easy to follow while driving and because the blurb on the CD box made one of the main characters, Jeremy Marsh, sound interesting.

this ease of listening is key as a pleasure on my journey. For me, novels and biographies are the most easily followed of the genres and so suit me best for a journey.

David Aaron Baker, an actor, reads True Believer, and does a fantastic job. At one point, in a dialogue between a cameraman from Brooklyn and an older woman from Eastern North Carolina, Baker slips back and forth between the appropriate accents of these two people. The mayor of Boone Creek,

Jeff Minick

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Faith, which gives us a much fuller picture of Medieval Europe. Gelb’s attacks on that time and place are absurd and wrongheaded, and so I popped out that disc and debated between listening to Nicholas Sparks or Niall Ferguson. The day was bright with sunshine

Rachel from the diner, the librarian Lexi Darnell, whom Jeremy Marsh comes to love: Baker’s voice for each of these characters makes them come alive.

There were two humorous slips in this reading. At one point, Baker is reading a line about kudzu, but pronounces the word “cood-zoo.” It took me a moment to catch his meaning, and then I burst out laughing.

Whenever he read the words New Bern, I also smiled, because he accented the second word: New BERN. I’ve visited that area many times and have always heard the town pronounced as NEW Bern.

Those were points of unintended amusement, but otherwise the nine CDs of True Believer entertained and even provided some instruction in the workings of the human heart. Lexi and Jeremy seemed real to me, with Lexi holding back from any relationship for fear of being hurt again and the practical, mythbusting man of science Jeremy slowly realizing that he has fallen deeply in love with her. From my perspective as a male, Sparks understands and is sympathetic to the female mind and heart, which is undoubtedly one reason so many women read him. As in so many of his other books, Sparks also vividly recreates the terrain and towns of coastal North Carolina.

And if you’re vacationing with children? Well, sharing an appropriate recorded book can provide both pleasure and bonding. Once, on a long trip south, two of my sons and I listened to Brian Jacques’ Martin The Warrior, and I recollect enjoying the story and the discussions that followed.

So when you’re hitting the road, and you want the miles to fly by and some entertainment for your passengers, grab a few CDs from the library or download audio books from your computer.

Make that road trip a vacation instead of a chore.

(Jeff Minick is a writer and a teacher. minicko301@gamil.com)

Smoky Mountain News & Smoky Mountain Living Open House

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Our House | 144 Montgomery Street Waynesville

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Friday, June 1 | 5:30-7:30

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Come celebrate 19 years of Smoky Mountain News going around the sun.

Free food and drinks for you to enjoy plus a seriously awesome staff.

May 23-29, 2018

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

42

MUCH DONE, MUCH TO DO

REBUILDING RAINBOW Effort to restore popular Smokies trail a team effort

This rock staircase covers a previously washed-out section of trail and is designed to last for 100 or more years.

Holly Kays photos

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ost days, the lower portion of Rainbow Falls Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the last place you’d expect to have a solitary wilderness experience. On a really busy day, said Trails Forever crew leader Josh Shapiro, the trail will support the feet of literally thousands of hikers.

But this day was different. On an overcast Thursday in mid-May, spring greenery was bright as could be after a recent spate of rain, muted light creating a magical quality under the canopy and clouds holding their load but for a few escaped sprinkles.

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Yet, nobody on the trail. Nobody, that is, except for Shapiro, a team of park pack mules with their handlers, and the work crews charged with leaving Rainbow Falls Trail more safe, sustainable and functional than it’s been in years.

“We’re trying to build them to a standard that can suit even hikers that aren’t as prepared as they should be,” Shapiro said. “A trail like this one, nobody has to drive through the park to the visitor center, so there’s not a lot of information if people are just coming from Gatlinburg. On this trail we see a lot of people with flip flops, or some people with bare feet and other people who are more prepared.”

Recovery from fire Walking up the Rainbow Falls Trail, all is leafy tranquility, everything a mountain trail should be on a spring day. But as the trail climbs uphill, the reminders begin — blackened tree trunks, the bare stems of dead rhododendron branches, a sudden scarcity of understory vegetation.

That’s a result of the wildfires of fall 2016, which culminated with a small fire on the Chimney Tops roaring to life when wind speeds as high as 87 miles per hour propelled the flames toward Gatlinburg, burning 17,900 acres, killing 14 people and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage.

That was a year and a half ago, but from an ecological standpoint recovery is still in its infancy.

“It’s going to change a lot,” said Great Smoky Mountains National Park fire ecologist Rob Klein. “Every year it’s going to change and look very different. This summer will look very different from last summer, and it will continue like that for some time.

Some of these places are going to be fundamentally changed for a

Rainbow Falls is in the midst of the second year of a two-year rehabilitation project, a partnership between the park and Friends of the Smokies aiming to rebuild problem areas to a standard that will last for the next 75 to 100 years. The trail is currently closed to the public from 7 a.m. Mondays through 5:30 p.m. Thursday evenings as crews crush rock, construct drains and rebuild bridges. While that’s caused some disappointment for tourists who come to the Smokies hoping to see the falls up close, park staff believe the ends will more than justify the means.

Before rehabilitation, the trail was a mystifying maze of official routes and user-created paths, degrading the natural environment and challenging hikers to figure out which path was the right one — especially in the first quarter-mile or so from the trailhead.

“People who wanted to hike to the falls ended up wandering here for an hour and being frustrated they never actually got their hike,” said park spokesperson Dana Soehn, gesturing down the trail. “We’ll be able to solve a lot of problems just in this quarter of a mile right here.”

Trail crews attacked that section of trail first thing when they began the project in May 2017. Now, it’s a clearly defined path outlined in locust logs and covered with gravel that lies atop a layer of cloth that will prevent the gravel from disappearing into the mud below.

Wandering further up the path, Shapiro pointed out other improvements, such as sections of now-smooth tread once littered with trip-hazard rocks and roots, or a carefully constructed rock staircase over a spot where erosion had turned the original trail into a gully so massive even digging a drain wouldn’t solve the problem. Instead, the trails crew found stones in the surrounding forest that they then transported to the piece of trail in question through a combination of pulleys and muscles. They then began the painstaking process of fitting them into a staircase intended to last for a century or more.

long time.”

Last summer, the park completed a monitoring effort that revealed that 60 to 70 percent of the burned area experienced a low-severity fire that didn’t much impact the soil or damage larger trees. The remaining portion saw a more severe fire, however, burning the forest floor almost to bare rock and killing even the largest trees. While those low-severity areas should bounce back within two to five years, Klein said, the harder-hit places will take decades, and they may never be exactly the same.

Much of that change is part of the natural rhythm of things. For example, the Smokies will likely have a lot more pine trees going forward, because some species, such as table mountain pine and pitch pine, are fire-adapted trees that drop their seeds only following a wildfire. With existing vegetation gone, those pine seeds take hold and grow into thousands and thousands of sprouts, and eventually into thick stands of trees.

“They’re kind of little clues that fire has been a very important part of this landscape for a very long time,” Klein said.

On the other hand, fire can also allow for less desirable species

From water bars to drains to the rock that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke smashed in two when he visited the project site, every foot of trail is a landmark to Shapiro.

But the work is not yet done, far from it.

Unofficial trails still wind through the place, with eradication a persistent challenge.

It takes time and muscle to close off a trail, covering it with enough brush or rock to render it impassable. And then, locals who have grown used to those off-the-beaten-path routes are often insistent about keeping them open, going so far as to move intentionally placed boulders in order to reverse a closure — if you want to close a trail, Shapiro said, you’ve got to mean it.

Keeping the path smooth and free of trip hazards like rocks and roots has proven particularly difficult on Rainbow Falls, Shapiro said. No mechanical equipment is permitted on the trail, meaning any rocks that get crushed, dug up or moved are crushed, dug up or moved by hand. And the Rainbow Falls Trail has a lot of rocks.

“This trail has been really challenging because all the small rocks end up being enormous boulders,” Shapiro said.

Up at Rainbow Falls itself, 2.7 miles from the trailhead and the furthest point that most hikers venture on the 6.6-mile trail, wrangling with rocks is just what trail crews were up to.

A crew of five, all National Park Service employees, was about halfway through a full day of manual labor, swinging hammers down on the rocks protruding from the ground.

“We’re trying to make the rocks less exposed, easier to walk on,” said Josiah Gray, a member of the Trails Forever crew.

The method? Literally crushing rock and guiding the newly created chips to fill in any holes in the trail tread.

For more skilled work like this — crushing rock, building steps, replacing foot logs — the park tends to rely on its own employees, to ensure that the job is done up to standard.

But plenty of other hands will have credit to claim for the completed trail. That same day, a group of students from Ohio State University was spending a

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to take hold.

“We’re getting a pretty serious influx of non-native, invasive plants,” Klein said. “The park does a lot of work to eradicate those from inside the burn area. Those are things that aren’t supposed to be there, and they can cause a lot of problems.”

Species like princess tree, Chinese silvergrass and coltsfoot are doing their best to colonize the ground left open by fire, with park staff doing their best to keep them out and leave those acres for native plants.

For the most part, the fires avoided doing too much damage to park infrastructure, but the aftermath is still keeping several trails closed.

Trail crews hope to start working on Bullhead Trail in early June and Sugarlands Mountain Trail in mid-July, aiming to reopen both trails in the fall. But the uppermost portion of the Chimney Tops Trail will remain closed indefinitely.

“We don’t have any plans to work on the upper section of Chimney Tops Trail this year,” said park spokesperson Dana Soehn.

“We are still trying to give that area time to heal and stabilize.”

Find an adventure Community Center from 2 to 4 p.m. will gather experts to answer questions about exploring Panthertown and offer door prizes and giveaways, live music by Geoff McBride and a chance to sign up for summertime guided hikes in Panthertown. Hosted by Friends of Panthertown. www.panthertown.org n A work day on the Appalachian Trail at Max Patch will help ensure the trail stays beautiful for the year ahead, 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Novice workers will be matched with skilled trail maintainers, so no experience is necessary.

Participants should wear long pants and sturdy boots, and bring a lunch with plenty of water.

day on the trail as part of a volunteer trip, and an American Conservation Experience crew — mostly current or recent college students looking for job experience — will be putting in hundreds of hours on the project. Some of those students could later end up working for the park.

“During hiring season a lot of times we’ll pick up crew members from that ACE crew,” Shapiro said.

‘A TREMENDOUS IMPACT’ The Rainbow Falls project is the fourth installment of a program that launched 10 years ago with the goal of rehabilitating the Smokies’ most iconic trails to a standard that will allow visitors to safely enjoy them for generations to come.

Friends of the Smokies launched the Trail Forever program in 2008 when it

The Trails Forever program holds volunteer workdays 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Wednesdays, June through September. No experience is necessary — just a willingness to work. To sign up, contact Adam Monroe at adam_monroe@nps.gov or 828.497.1949.

More information is online at friendsofthesmokies.org/trailsforever/volunteer.

received a challenge to match a $2 million grant from the Aslan Foundation of Knoxville. The program is now a $5 million endowment that funds a fulltime crew to reconstruct and rehabilitate some of the park’s most impacted trails. The Forney Ridge Trail was the first project tackled, back in 2010, followed by the Chimney Tops Trail, Alum Cave Trail and now the Rainbow Falls Trail.

“It’s so important,” Anna Zanetti, North Carolina director for Friends of the Smokies, said of Trails Forever. “These trails are chosen because of various reasons, and a lot of times it’s because there’s been a lot of search and rescues on these trails. One of the overall goals is to help reduce search and rescues on these trails by making these trails safer. I think that, from the standpoint of the park, has been tremendously helpful, especially on Alum Cave Trail.”

With $215.5 million in deferred maintenance, the park has plenty of projects that need doing and operations that could run more smoothly if all those needed improvements were complete. While paved roads make up the bulk of deferred maintenance needs at $162.3 million, trails and buildings are nearly tied for second, at $16.1 million and $16.2 million, respectively.

Thanks to the Trails Forever Program, the park is starting to chip away at that number, little by little. The Rainbow Falls project will cost a total $1.23 million, but federal funding will foot just $718,500 of that bill, with Trails Forever contributing the remaining $512,000.

“The possibility of seeing this program grow is something I really look forward to,” Zanetti said. “It does make a tremendous impact on visitor safety, visitor experience and the ability of the park to have well-maintained trails that will be here in perpetuity.”

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Smoky Mountain News

Trails Forever crew members work to remove rock from the trail as it approaches Rainbow Falls.

Volunteer on Rainbow Falls

May 23-29, 2018

Years of hikers looking for shortcuts have resulted in massively eroded slopes like this one, slated for rehabilitation by the time the project finishes in November.

outdoors

National Trails Day, the only nationally coordinated event celebrating all muscle-powered trail activities, will return Saturday, June 2, with several local opportunities to celebrate while enjoying the beautiful landscapes of Western North Carolina. n A picnic and expo at Panthertown Valley near Cashiers will celebrate National Trails Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The picnic portion will last from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with participants gathering at the Salt Rock Gap overlook, just down the trail from Breedlove Road, to enjoy a packed lunch, take in the view and explore the nearby trails. Afterward, an expo at the Sapphire Valley

Tools will be provided, and the group will carpool from a meeting place in Asheville. Hosted by the Carolina Mountain Club. RSVP is required at www.carolinamtnclub.org/eventform.cfm. Ann Hendrickson, arriba2928@gmail.com. n A 40-mile bike ride along gravel U.S. Forest Service roads will leave from the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Mills River on Friday, June 1, and wind up at Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard on Sunday, June 3. The route will include 3,800 feet of climbing, with several bailout options along the way. The group will do 10 miles Friday, 20 miles Saturday and 10 miles Sunday, setting up camp in the Pisgah National Forest along the way. Hosted by the Adventure Bicycling Association, with RSVP required to havenerk@gmail.com.

828-452-7870

mountainrangewnc.com

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Vein Education Series Ve outdoors

Do you exxperience

LEG PA PAIN? Even a short walk up p the e stairs or doing some shopping can be pain p ful for many people.

Problems with h veins v can cause: • Aching, cra amp ping or burning • Leg num mbne ess or tingling • Skin changes or o discoloration • Re estlesss legs • Varricosse veins

FR R REE Vein Edu ucattion Session day y 0D\ 5 30 Guesst Sp peakers:

Dr. Al Mina M a, MD, FACS Dr. Josshua a Rudd, DO

Event e loccation: Haywood Regional ance e Behind Hospital

To o reg egister call

828.452.V VE EIN (8346)

May 23-29, 2018

MyHaywo oodRegional.com

{Celebrating the Southern Appalachians}

Azaleas bloom at Gregory Bald, the destination of one of the hikes to be offered at the event.

Donated photo

Adventure in Cades Cove An overnight adventure June 11-12 at Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will offer guided hikes, a cocktail hour with National Park Service rangers and the chance to hear a former backcountry ranger discuss search-and-rescue missions.

Dwight McCarter, author of Lost!: A Ranger’s Journal of Search and Rescue, will give an evening program about his more

than 30 years working search and rescue in the Smokies, during which time he rescued 26 people. $350 per person or $500 per couple, with overnight lodging in Townsend, Tennessee. Organized by Friends of the Smokies, with proceeds funding critical projects and programs in the park. hike.friendsofthesmokies.org.

Help keep Panthertown beautiful A workday to maintain trails at Panthertown Valley near Cashiers will be held 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26.

The group will meet at the Salt Rock Gap Trailhead on Breedlove Road and hike 3 to 4 miles over the course of the morning. Volunteers should bring a day pack with lunch, water, rain gear and gloves. No experience necessary. Tools provided. Event cancelled in case of rain.

828.269.4453 or friends@panthertown.org.

return to Waynesville by 5:30 p.m. $12 for rec center members; $15 for nonmembers. 828.456.2030.

Smoky Mountain News

Hike Rattlesnake Lodge

Smoky Mountain Living celebrates the mountain region’s culture, music, art, and special places. We tell our stories for those who are lucky enough to live here and those who want to stay in touch with the place they love.

Subscribe or learn more at smliv.com MAGAZINE

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Hike Charlies Bunion A rewarding but strenuous hike to Charlies Bunion in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will set off at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 30, from the Waynesville Recreation Center.

The 8-mile roundtrip hike follows the Appalachian Trail to a rocky outcrop featuring a stunning view, with 1,600 feet of elevation change along the way.

The hike is offered as part of Base Camp Waynesville through the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. The group will

A summer series of ranger-guided hikes along the Blue Ridge Parkway will kick off with an outing 10 a.m. Friday, May 25, at Tanbark Tunnel near Asheville.

The moderate 1.5-mile roundtrip hike will visit the old site of Rattlesnake Lodge, exploring the lush forest that thrives there today and learning what life was like at Dr. Ambler’s famous Rattlesnake Lodge mountain retreat. The meeting place is a dirt pulloff by the southern entrance of Tanbark Tunnel, milepost 374.4. Hikers should bring water, good walking shoes and clothing for changeable weather.

Hikes are offered weekly at 10 a.m. on Fridays through October, at various locations along the Parkway’s path through North Carolina.

828.298.5330, ext. 304.

Smokies celebrates 20 years of new discoveries

MONDAY 9-10 AM: Slow Flow Yoga w/ Sara • 10:30-11:30: Gentle Yin Yoga w/ Sara • 5:45-6:45: Mixed Level Flow Yoga w/ Candra • 6-7: Yoga Basics w/ Sara • 7- 8: Buti Yoga w/ Jay TUESDAY 9-10 AM: Gentle Yoga w/ Jay • 10:30-11:30: Flow + Myofascial Release w/ Jay • 2:15 – 3:15: Tai Chi* w/ Bill • 5:30-6:15: Barre Above* w/ Jay • 6:30-7:30: Fluid Unwind w/ Hanna WEDNESDAY 9-10 AM: Flow + Deep Stretch w/ Sara • 10:30-11:30: Gentle Yin Yoga w/ Sara • 5:45-6:45: Mixed Level Flow Yoga w/ Maura • 6-7: Hot Stone Restorative w/ Amber • 7-8: Intro to Flow + Restorative w/ Maura THURSDAY 6- 7: Sunrise Yoga w/ Michael • 9-10: Gentle (Chair) Yoga w/ Jay •10:30-11:30: Mixed Level Flow w/ Jay • 2:15 – 3:15: Qi gong w/ Bill • 5:30-6:15: Barre Above* w/ Jay • 5:156:15: Movement and Meditation w/ Amber • 5:45-6:45: Mixed Level Flow Yoga w/ Maura •6:30-7:30 PM: Yoga Basics w/ Amber• 6:30-7:30 PM: Candlelight Flow w/ Kendall FRIDAY 9-10: Hot Stone Restorative w/ Amber • 10:30 – 11:30: Gentle Yin Yoga w/ Sara • 12- 1: Barre + Flow w/ Jay • 78: Buti Yoga w/ Kayla or Jay SATURDAY 9-10: Mixed Level Flow Yoga w/ Michael or Candra • 10:3011:30: Beginner Flow Yoga w/ Maura SUNDAY 11:30-12:30: Mixed Level Flow Yoga w/ Kendall • 4-5: Beginner Flow w/ Maura

CALL OR REGISTER ONLINE AT WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com

274 S. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE

828.246.6570

An open house to showcase programs and services available through conservation agencies in Swain County will welcome all from noon to 2 p.m.

Wednesday, May 30, at the new office on 100 Brendle Street in Bryson City.

The office houses the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency and the Swain County Soil and Water conservation District. In addition to learning more about what the agencies do, visitors will enjoy lunch and refreshments, see a display of the Soil and Water Conservation District’s mobile soil exhibit and agricultural rental equipment and take part in a 1:30 p.m. ribbon cutting by the Bryson City Chamber of Commerce.

RSVPs requested at 828.488.2684.

Learn how to protect agricultural land A workshop on protecting agricultural land will be offered 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 31, at Southwestern Community College in Sylva.

Hosted by the N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, the workshop is a training for

county leadership, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, N.C. Cooperative Extension, the N.C. Forest Service, tax assessors, planning departments, registers of deeds, land trusts and other local nonprofit staff. It will cover how to protect agricultural heritage through administering local Voluntary Agriculture District programs.

Authorized by the N.C. General Assembly in the 1985 Farmland Preservation Enabling Act and implemented at the county level, Voluntary Agriculture District programs help form partnerships between farmers, county commissioners and land use planners to encourage voluntary farmland preservation, support productive use of agricultural land and protect land from urban development.

Free, with registration required at through the link at www.ncadfp.org.

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Smoky Mountain News

The Village Nature Series will kick off for the season at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, at The Village Green in Cashiers.

The program, “Hooked on Trout,” will focus on past and current fishing opportunities available to area anglers, as well as concerns facing coldwater mountain streams. Speaker Patrick Weaver, of the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, will offer an enlightening historical perspective on anglers in the region, including some local fishing icons.

In addition to being a popular pastime, fishing is an important economic driver in Jackson County. In 2016, the state legislature named Jackson County the Trout Capital of North Carolina, and the area is a

popular destination for anglers from all over.

Village Nature Series programs are free and offered the last Tuesday of each month, May through September, at The Village Green Commons on Frank Allen Road.

828.743.3434 or info@villagegreencashiersnc.com. www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

CASUAL FINE DINING WITH

May 23-29, 2018

A scientist collects algae for documentation. NPS photo

Swain conservation agencies to host open house

Village Nature Series kicks off with trout

outdoors

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is celebrating 20 years of conducting biodiversity inventories, with the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory and its nonprofit partner Discover Life in America both created in 1998.

Since then, biologists have documented thousands of plants and animals and identified nearly 1,000 new species previously unknown to science.

“We are grateful for the partnership between the park and DLIA, and the variety of institutions and individuals that have participated in this project,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “This has been a tremendous scientific effort to help us better understand the Smokies and how we might better protect it for the next generation of owners.”

Prior to the ATBI, nearly 10,000 species had been documented in the park; that number has now nearly doubled. New species to science found during the ATBI include 31 moths, 41 spiders, 78 algae, 64 beetles, 29 crustaceans, 58 fungi, 21 bees and their relatives, 18 tardigrades and 270 bacteria. These collection records give managers a much better understanding of which species exist in the park and what environmental conditions they require.

Numerous ATBI-related education events and workshops in the past 20 years have involved more than 200,000 students and 6,500 teachers, with more than 1,000 volunteers contributing more than 60,000 hours to the project. This scientific effort has produced a baseline for one of the most diverse ecosystems in the United States. Park managers now have a better understanding of the resources, and can better predict how changing conditions in the future may impact them. dlia.org.

MAY SCHEDULE

743 HAYWOOD RD • WEST ASHEVILLE

ISISASHEVILLE.COM 828.575.2737

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outdoors

Check out the newest mountain bikes

Women’s paddling festival comes to NOC

A mountain bike demo 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 27, at Fire Mountain Trailhead in Cherokee will give bikers a chance to check out the latest trail bikes from Specialized.

Motion Makers Bicycle Shop, which is in the process of opening an outpost in Cherokee, will host the demo, with the 2019 Stumpjumper one of the options to ride. Participants should bring their own helmet, shoes and pedals, with Motion Makers taking care of the rest.

Voted one of Western North Carolina’s “fastest and flowiest” trail systems, Fire Mountain offers a variety of rides.

A three-day paddle festival focused on helping female paddlers connect, share and paddle together will come to the Nantahala Outdoor Center near Bryson City Friday, June 1, to Sunday, June 3.

The Ladies Southeast Paddling Series will feature trips on different rivers to suit a range of skill levels and is open to all women and all watercraft. Inspirational paddler Anna Levesque will host the festival, leading sessions of yoga for paddling and stand up paddleboard yoga. $20. Registration includes T-shirt, dinner and raffle ticket. https://bit.ly/2rNesPG.

Volleyball league forming

Smoky Mountain News

May 23-29, 2018

A summer adult volleyball league is forming in Waynesville, with an organizational meeting slated for 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 6, at the Waynesville Recreation Center.

The league is open to players 18 and older as of July 1, with the season running June 20 through Aug. 22. Teams can have a maximum of 12 players and minimum of six.

Entry fee is due June 13 and will be based on the number of teams participating.

Donald Hummel, 828.456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

Department has recently added a program A mobile recreation program offering specialist to its staff to administer Base outdoor recreation opportunities in comCamp on the Go. Colt Miller is a graduate munities throughout Haywood County will of Western Carolina University who previbegin June 18, and a meeting at 5:30 p.m. ously worked for the Asheville Parks and Tuesday, May 29, at the Waynesville Recreation Department, where he served Recreation Center will gather community members interested in helping make the program a success.

Base Camp on the Go will supplement local day camps, schools and community centers with relevant outdoor recreation opportunities, with a curriculum that partners with Haywood County families to encourage nature play and outdoor activity.

Base Camp on the Go Mini Camps will launch Colt Miller was Monday, June 18, with sesrecently hired as a sions running 10 a.m. to program specialist to noon on a regular rotation administer the Base throughout Haywood County Camp on the Go communities. Monday locaprogram. Donated photo tions are yet to be determined, but camp will be at for eight years in capacities ranging from the Fines Creek Community Center on pool supervision to event programming to Wednesdays, rotate between Lake Junaluska marketing. and Canton on Thursdays and come to the Tim Petrea, 828.456.2030 or tpeWaynesville Recreation Center on Fridays. treat@waynesvillenc.gov.

The Waynesville Parks and Recreation

Golf to support free summer camp A golf tournament June 27-28 in Haywood County will raise money for Base Camp on the Go, a new initiative to offer free summer camp opportunities for Haywood County kids.

Shotgun tournaments will be held Wednesday, June 27, at the Maggie Valley Club, starting at 8 a.m. for men and 1 p.m. for women. On Thursday, June 28, shotgun tournaments will move to the Waynesville Inn & Golf Resort, with men’s events at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

A gala — featuring food, music and dancing — will follow at 6 p.m.

Hosted by the Haywood Healthcare

Farmers market opens in Cashiers The Locally Grown on the Green Farm Market at The Village Green in Cashiers has joined the ranks of Western North Carolina farmers markets, opening for the season May 23.

mobile technology to help you get a lot less mobile.

Log on. Plan a trip.

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Base Camp prepares to go mobile

Foundation, the annual golf tournament has previously been an August event, but this year’s dates have been changed to better support Base Camp on the Go, which starts in June. Run by Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department, the program will set up at various locations five days a week, two hours per day, and offer free outdoor activities. However, success will rely on continued donations and grants, as the town and county budgets aren’t able to fully support the program. $150 to golf and attend the gala; $75 for the gala only.

Purchase tickets online at HaywoodHealthcareFoundation.org or contact Marge Stiles, 828.452.8343 or mstiles@haymed.org.

The market will run 3 to 6 p.m.

Wednesdays throughout the growing season, featuring a selection of vegetables, herbs, honey, fruit, flowers and more from local growers, with live folk music adding to the atmosphere.

Find current market information on The Village Green Facebook page. info@villagegreencashiersnc.com or call 828.743.3434.

Master Gardeners welcome new members The ranks of Haywood County Master Gardener Volunteers grew 17 stronger following a graduation ceremony this month.

During a dinner May 3, the 17 new Master Gardener volunteers were recognized, as well as “seasoned” Master Gardeners with five, 10 and 20 years of service, and with 250, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 lifetime volunteer hours.

Master Gardeners staff the Haywood County Extension Plant Clinic, which maintains a line at 828.456.3575 that residents can call to get a research-based answer to any gardening question.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Glenville Area Historical Society (GAHS) Historical Museum opens for the season Friday through Monday, May 26-28 (Memorial Day Weekend). www.glenvilleareahistoricalsociety.com.

• A Community Night of Modern Board Games is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 26, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin. 524.3691 or SandiDonn2@yahoo.com.

• Champion Credit Union Aquatic Center in Canton will have its grand opening on May 26 at 11 a.m. Pool will be open to the public for free that day from noon to 5 p.m. Pool will be only on weekends through June 10 and open Monday through Sunday starting June 16th.

Admission is $5 with a 10 visit pool pass being offered for $45. www.cantonnc.com/swimming-pool or 646.3411.

• A rabies clinic will be offered for dogs, cats and ferrets four months or older from 5-6:30 p.m. at the following dates and locations: May 28 at Canton Middle School; May 29 at Jonathan Valley School; May 30 at Waynesville Middle School; May 31 at Bethel Elementary School; and June 1 at Riverbend School. $9 per vaccination. 456.5338.

• Indivisible Swain County NC meets at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, at the Swain County Senior Center in Bryson City. 488.1118.

• Nominations are being sought for the Mountain Heritage Awards that will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 29, on Western Carolina University’s campus in Cullowhee. Awards go to individual and organization for contributions to or playing a prominent role in research, preservation and curation of Southern Appalachian history, culture and folklore. Nominations can be sent to pameister@wcu.edu, Mountain Heritage Center, 1 University Drive, Cullowhee N.C. 28723, or drop off in person at Room 240 of WCU’s Hunter Library.

• The Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from May 25 through Oct. 27 at the Oconaluftee Islands Park.

Sit by a bonfire, alongside a river, and listen to some of Cherokee’s best storytellers. The bonfire is free and open to the public. There will be no bonfire events in September. www.visitcherokeenc.com.

• Oconaluftee Indian Village will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday through Nov. 10. As you step into the Oconaluftee Indian Village, you’re transported back to witness the challenges of Cherokee life at a time of rapid cultural change. Tour guides help you explore the historic events and figures of the 1760’s. www.cherokeehistorical.org.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center will hold a business jump-start series from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through May 29 at the Canton Public Library. Topics include “How to Start a Business;” “Financing Your Business” and “How to Write a Business Plan.” For info or to register: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• A Forklift Operator Certification class will be offered from May 29-30 and June 26-27 at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Cost: $75. Info or to register: 627.4669 or rgmassie@haywood.edu.

•The Tusckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority Finance Committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, at the TWSA Main Office in Sylva. Discuss the 2018-19 fiscal year budget.

• An Introduction to Quickbooks 2018 class will be

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. offered in June at Haywood Community College in Clyde.

Cost: $60. Info or to register: 627.4669 or rgmassie@haywood.edu.

• Registration is underway for a Conversational French Language course that will be offered by Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Development from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays from May 29June 27 in Room 139 of the Camp Lab Building in Cullowhee. Cost: $79. For info or to register: learn.wcu.edu.

• A Wilderness First Responder course will be offered June 2-10 and June 30-July 8 by Landmark Learning in Cullowhee. Register: www.landmarklearning.edu.

• Community Choir will be offered from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesdays through June 13 at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Cost: $60. Info: 627.4669 or rgmassie@haywood.edu.

• Registration is underway for a Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals course that will be offered June 11-15 by Landmark Learning in Cullowhee. Register: www.landmarklearning.edu.

• Registration is underway for a pair of workshops on Six Sigma and “Lean” Improvement principles that will be offered June 15 and July 13 by Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment. Six Sigma workshop is from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on June 15; “Lean” Improvement Principles workshop is from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, July 13. Early registration is $249; cost goes up to $279 after June 1. For info or to register: pdp.wcu.edu.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • The Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Center is seeking donations for its silent auction at the Annual Barn Event, which is set for June 2 at Bloemsma Barn in Franklin. 349.3200 or smpregnancycc@dnet.net.

• An Open Door Meal & Sing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30, at First United Methodist Church of Sylva. Meal, musical entertainment and fellowship. 586.2358.

• Tickets are on sale for “Starstruck,” a benefit for the Highlands Playhouse, scheduled for July 1 at the Highlands Country Club. Multi-course plated dinner and drinks, live auction and live theatrical vignettes from the casts of “Guys and Dolls” and “Damn Yankees.”

Tickets: $200. Purchase tickets: 526.2695, HighlandsPlayhouse.org or Playhouse Box Office.

Smoky Mountain News

held from 1-2 p.m. on Thursdays through May 24 in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• A presentation on “Medicaid Changes and Potential Solutions” will be offered at 5:30 p.m. on June 5 at the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center in Waynesville. www.mysmms.org or 277.9634.

• MountainWise of Macon County’s Substance Use Task Force will hold a Medication Take Back Event from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on June 9 at the new Ingles on the Georgia Road in Franklin. Bring unused/old prescription medications for free disposal.

• A monthly health series on “Mind and Body: Health, Nutrition & You” continues with a presentation on “Drug Abuse, Addiction and the Opioid Crisis” at 6:30 p.m. on June 12 at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

586.2016.

• Registration is underway for a “Story Based Medicine Course 1: Making Your Own Medicinal Syrups,” scheduled for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on July 7, through the Alarka Institute. Led by Katie Ballard. Cost: $65. Register: www.paypal.me/cedartree. Info: alarkaexpeditions@gmail.com, 371.0347 or alarkaexpeditions.com.

• Registration is underway for a “Story Based Medicine Course II: Hydrosol Distillation,” scheduled for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on July 7, through the Alarka Institute. Led by Katie Ballard. Cost: $65. Register: www.paypal.me/cedartree.

Info: alarkaexpeditions@gmail.com, 371.0347 or alarkaexpeditions.com.

• Codependents Anonymous meets at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Friendship House on Academy Street in Waynesville. Group of people desiring healthy and fulfilling relationships. 775.2782 or www.coda.org.

• Community First Aid and CPR classes are offered from 6-10 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Info: 564.5133 or HCC-CPRraining@haywood.edu.

• Nutrition counseling and diabetes education are offered through Macon County Public Health in Franklin.

349.2455.

• Western Carolina University’s student-run, Mountain Area Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic will be open from 6-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays of each month. 227.3527.

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) holds a support group for family, friends, and those dealing with mental illness on the 1st Thursday of each month in the 2nd floor classroom at Haywood Regional Medical Center at 6:30 p.m.

• HIV and syphilis testing will is offered during normal business hours at Jackson County Health Department.

• Registration is underway for the Haywood Healthcare Foundation’s annual Golf & Gala event, which is scheduled for June 27-28 at Maggie Valley Club. Benefits “Base Camp on the Go” for Haywood County children. $150 for both events or $75 for gala only.

HaywoodHealthcareFoundation.org or 452.8343.

• “Laughing Balsam Sangha,” a meeting for Mindfullness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, meets will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays at 318 Skyland Drive in Sylva. Included are sitting and walking meditation, and Dharma discussion. Free admission.

335.8210, and “Like” them on Facebook.

• Haywood County Arts Council is matching, dollar for dollar (up to $10,000) it receives through June 30.

Donations enhance art education, local artists and innovation in art. To donate: www.haywoodarts.org or visit the gallery at 86 North Main Street in Waynesville.

• A “Walk With A Doc” program is scheduled for 10 a.m. each Saturday at the Lake Junaluska Kern Center or Canton Rec Park.

MyHaywoodRegional.com/WalkwithaDoc.

• The Community Table has a Blue Plate Special fundraiser from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month from January through October in Sylva. $7 minimum donation; dine-in or carry-out. 586.6782.

HEALTH MATTERS • The Confident Caregiver Series, designed for caregivers of those with dementia and Alzheimer’s, will be

• 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 Jackson County Department of Public Health will offer a general clinic from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 587.8225.

• A Food Addicts Anonymous Twelve-Step fellowship group meets at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays at Grace Church

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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 in the Mountains in Waynesville. www.foodaddictsanonymous.org.

• A free weekly grief support group is open to the public from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursdays at SECU Hospice House in Franklin. Hosted by Four Seasons Compassion for Life Bereavement Team. 692.6178 or mlee@fourseasonscfl.org.

• A free, weekly grief support group will meet from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursdays at the SECU Hospice House in Franklin. 692.6178 or mlee@fourseasonscfl.org.

• “ECA on the Move!” – a walking program organized

by Jackson County Extension and Community Association – meets from 9-10 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. It’s an effort to meet the American Heart Association’s recommendation of 10,000 steps per day. 586.4009.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • Registration is underway for adult beginner tennis classes, which will be offered from 6-7 p.m. on July 12Aug. 9 through the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. $60 for five sessions. 703.966.7138 or kakareka@me.com.

• An organizational meeting for a summertime adult volleyball league will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 6, at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Ages 18-up. Season is June 20-Aug. 22. Info: 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Flow + Center Yoga is offered from 9-9:55 a.m. on Wednesdays at Maggie Valley Wellness Center.

944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• Flow + Chill Yoga is offered from 9-9:55 a.m. on Thursdays through November at Maggie Valley Wellness Center. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• Gentle Vin Yin Yoga is offered from 9-9:55 a.m. on Fridays through November at Maggie Valley Wellness Center. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• Lunchtime Flow Yoga is offered from noon-1 p.m. on Fridays through November at Maggie Valley Wellness Center. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• Mixed Levels Flow Yoga is offered from 9-9:55 a.m. on Saturdays through November at Maggie Valley Wellness Center. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

SPIRITUAL • The Summer Worship Series at Lake Junaluska kicks off at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 10, with Rev. Susan Slye Giles, who will be guest preacher. Giles is dean of Memorial Chapel at Lake Junaluska. www.lakejunaluska.com/events/worship/summer_worship.

• Registration is open for the Festival of Wisdom and Grace, a conference for adults seeking purpose and renewal in the second half of life scheduled for Aug. 13-16 at Lake Junaluska. Speakers include Rev. Heidi B. Neumark and Dr. Clayton Smith. Entertainment includes “Acts of Renewal” – a husband and wife theatrical duo.

800.222.4930 or www.lakejunaluska.com/wisdom-andgrace.

wnc calendar

POLITICAL • Jackson County’s annual legislative update and luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 30, at Mountaintop Golf & Lake Clubhouse. County manager Don Adams will present the government’s strategic priorities and discuss how related programs and funding will impact the Cashiers area. Cost: $25 (Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce members) or $30 for nonmembers. RSVP required by Friday, May 25.

743.5191.

• Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Bryson City) will hold town halls from 4-6 p.m. on June 1 (at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva) and June 29 (at the Swain County Administration Building in Bryson City).

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department has set a time for senior citizens (55-older) to play tennis from 9 a.m.-noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through Oct. 28 at the Donnie Pankiw Tennis Center in Waynesville. For players intermediate or higher skill level. $1 per day. 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• The Waynesville Recreation Center will offer additional courts for pickleball for seniors from 7 a.m.-noon on Mondays through Fridays. For ages 60-up. Free for members; $3 for nonmembers. 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• The Mexican Train Dominoes Group seeks new players to join games at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.

356.2800.

May 23-29, 2018

• A Silver Sneakers Cardio Fit class will meet from 1011 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Haywood County Senior Recreation Center. For ages 60 and above. Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• Book Club is held at 2 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800 • Senior croquet for ages 55 and older is offered from 9-11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Vance Street Park in front of Waynesville Recreation Center.

Free. For info, contact Donald Hummel at 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• A Hand & Foot card game is held at 1 p.m. on Thursdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• Senior Sale Day is on the third Friday of every month at the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore. Patrons 60 and older get 20 percent off all purchases. Proceeds benefit the Sylva Library.

Smoky Mountain News

• Pinochle game is played at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

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• Mah Jongg is played at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.

356.2800.

• A Canasta card game is set for 1 p.m. on Mondays at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• A Parkinson’s Support Group is held at 2 p.m. on the last Wednesdays of each month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

KIDS & FAMILIES • Free fishing days are scheduled for kids at the following dates, times and locations: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Cullowhee Creek (293.3053 or 557.0618); 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Cliffside Lake in Macon County (524.6441, ext. 421); 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on June 2 at Lake Powhatan in Buncombe County (877.3265); 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Cherokee Lake in Cherokee County (837.5152); 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Santeetlah Creek in Graham County (479.6431); 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, June 9, at Max Patch Pond in Madison County (682.6146).

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health is now offering “eWIC” cards rather than paper vouchers for the N.C. Women, Infants and Children program.

587.8243.

• Free Sports Physicals will be offered on Thursday, May 24, at Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center in Clyde at the following times: 3:30 p.m. for Canton Middle; 4 p.m. for Waynesville Middle; 4:30 p.m. for Bethel Middle; and 5 p.m. for Tuscola and Pisgah high schools. 800.424.DOCS (3627).

• A girls volleyball academy will be offered for grades 3-8 on Tuesdays and Sundays from through May 29 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. $5 per session for third through fifth grades. $10 for sixth through eighth grades on Tuesday; $5 on Sundays. Instructor is Tuscola High volleyball coach Pam Bryant. 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• A meeting for Base Camp on the Go is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Program will supplement local day camps, schools and community centers with relevant outdoor recreation opportunities. 456.2030 or tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov.

• A program on “Nature Nuts: Fishing” will be offered to ages 4-7 from 9-11 a.m. on May 29 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/bo4zckn.

• A program entitled “Eco Explorers: Crayfish” will be offered to ages 8-13 from 1-3 p.m. on May 29 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/bo4zckn.

• A “Nature Nuts: Raising Trout” program will be offered to ages 4-7 from 9-11 a.m. on June 4 and June 16 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Register: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

Puzzles can be found on page 54.

These are only the answers.

• An “Eco Explorers: Stream Investigation” program will be offered to ages 8-13 on June 4 and June 16 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Register: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• Applications are being accepted for young entrepreneurs interested in sharing handmade products at the Many Cultures Day on Saturday, July 21, through Folkmoot. Deadline is Friday, June 15. Guidelines and applications: folkmoot.org/young-entrepreneurs. Info: 452.2997 or vendors@folkmoot.org.

• Camp Folkmoot – “Hands Around the World” is open to dancers of all abilities, ages 10-17, and is scheduled for July 20 at the Folkmoot Friendship Center at Sam Love Queen Auditorium. Learn basic movements and concepts, gain appreciation for differences and similarities between cultures, create “Make-and-take” cultural crafts, participate in short performance with groups. $30 per camper: Info: elizabeth@foolkmoot.org. Register: Folkmoot.org or 452.2997.

SUMMER CAMPS • Registration is underway for a summer youth event at Lake Junaluska, geared toward grades 6-12, featuring Andy Lambert (speaker) and Jimmy Atkins (worship band) from June 17-21. Register: 800.222.4930 or www.lakejunaluska.com/summeryouth.

• Registration is underway for a “Basketball Shooting and Dribbling Camp” that will be offered from July 1619 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Led by Kevin Cantwell, former head coach at Appalachian State and associate head coach at Georgia Tech. $150 per person. 456.2030 or academy7@live.com.

• Registration is underway for a summer youth event at Lake Junaluska, geared toward grades 6-12, featuring Charlie Conder (speaker) and The Advice (worship band) as well as an outdoor movie, from June 24-27. Register: 800.222.4930 or www.lakejunaluska.com/summeryouth.

• Registration is underway for Youth Tennis Camps that will be offered this summer through the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. Juniors tennis camp is from 3-5 p.m. on July 16-20; Teen camps (ages 14-18) are from 3-5 p.m. on June 19-24.

Teacher is Rumi Kakareka, a certified teaching pro with 20-plus years of experience. Register: 703.966.7138 or rkakareka@me.com.

• Registration is underway for Camp WILD – a day camp for students entering seventh or eighth grade – from Aug. 6-9 with an overnight camping trip on Aug. 8. Presented by the Jackson County Soil & Water Conservation District. Registration deadline is July 1. $35 (scholarships available) To register: 586.5465 or janefitzgerald@jacksonnc.org.

• Registration is underway for a summer youth event at Lake Junaluska, geared toward grades 6-12, featuring Celia Whitler (speaker) and Abbye West Pates (worship band), from July 20-23. Register: 800.222.4930 or www.lakejunaluska.com/summeryouth.

• Registration is underway for a summer youth event at Lake Junaluska, geared toward grades 6-12, featuring Kevin Wright (speaker) and Abbye West Pates (worship band) – as well as a special performance from illusionist Matt Adams along with a talent show - from July 23-27. Register: 800.222.4930 or www.lakejunaluska.com/summeryouth.

• Registration is underway for a summer youth event at Lake Junaluska, geared toward grades 6-12, featuring Juan Huertas (speaker) and Jimmy Atkins (worship band) – as well as a special performance from illusionist Matt Adams along with a talent show and Sunday morning worship in Stuart Auditorium - from July 27-31. Register: 800.222.4930 or www.lakejunaluska.com/summeryouth.

KIDS FILMS • “A Dog’s Purpose” will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on May 23 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 10% of proceeds from sales of food will go to ARF. 586.2016.

• “Solo: A Star Wars Story” will be showing at 9:30 p.m. May 24, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m., May 25, 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. May 26, 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

May 27 and 7 p.m. May 28-31 at The Strand on Main in Waynesville. Check website for tickets, 38main.com.

• “James and the Giant Peach” will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on June 1 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva.

Free. 586.2016.

• “A Wrinkle in Time” will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on June 9 and 7 p.m. on June 10 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.2016.

A&E FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS • The Maggie Valley Spring Rally in the Smokes – a bike rally, car show, bike & trike show and more – is May 24-26 at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. www.maggievalleyrallys.com.

• The Swain County Heritage Festival will be held May 25-26 at Riverfront Park in Bryson City. From 6 to 9 p.m. the Friday night entertainment is loaded with local talent featuring an emphasis on old-time gospel.

From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. the Saturday entertainment features classic country, bluegrass, and clogging. In addition to music, the festival offers local arts and crafts, food, games for the kids, log-sawing contest, sack races and fun for the whole family. www.greatsmokies.com.

• The Strawberry Festival will return on Saturday, May 26, at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. 359.6490.

• The “Art After Dark” season will continue from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 1, 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.

• The sixth annual Family Fun Event is scheduled for 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Bloemsma Barn in Franklin. Games, corn hole tournament, silent auction, activities and barbecue. Barbecue plate ($15), hot dog plate ($7), family meal ticket for two adults and four children ($45). Proceeds benefit the ministry and free services of the Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Center. 349.3200 or smpcc.org.

• The “Franklin In Bloom” festival will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 2, in downtown. Children’s activities, garden tours, gardening demos, wildflower self guided walk, fairy gardens and homes, bee pollinators, reading in the garden, garden critters, “Make and Take” children’s activities and a “Garden Critters Hunt.” There will also be music, vendors, popcorn, garden arts/crafts for sale, and more.

Calling all gardeners, artists and friends for a tea cup garden competition. Think small and join in the fun.

Drop off your creative entries by 11 a.m. for a 1 p.m. judging with ribbon awards. Entries will be on display and can be picked up by 3 p.m. www.franklin-chamber.com.

FOOD & DRINK • There will be a one-year anniversary celebration for Elevated Mountain Distilling Company all day Saturday, May 26, at the distillery in Maggie Valley.

There will be tastings, activities and music by banjo legend Raymond Fairchild, a member of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Hall of Fame. www.elevatedmountain.com.

• “Karaoke Night for the Animals” is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 9, at “The Gem” – Boojum Brewing’s downstairs bar and event space in Waynesville. Tickets: $20 (presale) or $25 (at the door). Food, entertainment and cash bar. Info: 246.9050 or visit Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation on Facebook.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • “Million Dollar Quartet”, HART’s first all professional cast will perform at 7:30 p.m. May 24-26, 31 and June 1-2, 7-9, and at 2 p.m. May 27, June 3 and 10. The theater has special discounted tickets for the per-

• Rock legend and actor Rick Springfield will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Friday, May 25, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. www.harrahscherokee.com.

• The Liberty Baptist Church Choir will have a concert at 6:30 p.m. on May 31 in the community room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. 586.2016.

• A Cherokee Story Telling/Drum Circle will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 1. Cherokee stories told by Lianna Constantino. Covered dish at 6 p.m.

Directions: 342.9274 or SandiDonn2@yahoo.com.

• The “Unto These Hills” stage production will be held at 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday from June 2 through Aug. 18 at the Mountainside Theater in Cherokee. www.cherokeehistorical.org.

SUMMER MUSIC •The Concerts on the Creek summer series will kickoff with Ian Ridenhour (alt-rock/pop) at 7 p.m. Friday, May 25, at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva. Free and open to the public. There will also be food trucks onsite. 586.2155 or www.mountainlovers.com •The Concerts on the Creek will have Train (classic hits) at 7 p.m. June 1 at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva. Free and open to the public. There will also be food trucks onsite. 586.2155 or www.mountainlovers.com.

• The “Groovin’ on the Green” concert series at The Village Green in Cashiers will kickoff over Memorial Day weekend by hosting Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blues at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 26. www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • Western North Carolina Woodturners Club will meet at 10 a.m. on the second Saturday every month at the Bascom in Highlands.

• Registration is underway for a “Warhammer Class” that will be led by Brock Martin of WarFire Forge from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on May 26-27 at Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Cost: $400; materials included. Preregistration required: 631.0271. Info: www.JCGEP.org.

• “Media and Foreign Policy” – part of the “Discuss the World! Great Decisions series – will be held from 5:15-6:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net. Questions: dem32415@aol.com.

• Western Carolina University’s “ROADWORKS” program will present a live pour of molten aluminum, a drum painting tent and a display of featured students’ work from 6:30-8 p.m. on Saturday, May 26, in the United Community Bank Parking Lot in Waynesville. 452.0593 or info@haywoodarts.org or HaywoodArts.org.

• “Turkey: A Partner in Crisis” – part of the “Discuss the World! Great Decisions series – will be held from 5:15-6:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net. Questions: dem32415@aol.com.

• “SING ALONGS” are scheduled for 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays in June at the Macon County Library in Franklin. Info: CampFireChoirWNC@Gmail.com.

Smoky Mountain News

• Barbecue and craft beer tasting from 7 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, May 26, on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, departing from Bryson City. Slow-cooked barbecue and ribs, with craft beer tastings The train will take you to the Fontana Trestle for a spectacular sunset. 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

• The Highlands Cashiers Players presentation of “Some Enchanted Evening” opens with a 7:30 p.m. performance on May 24 in Highlands. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on May 24-26 and May 31-June 2; and Sunday matinees are at 2:30 p.m. on May 27 and June 3. Tickets: 526.8084 or highlandscashiersplayer.org.

May 23-29, 2018

• The Cherokee Bluegrass Festival will return June 7-9 at the Holiday RV Village and Campground in Cherokee. The three-day event begins at noon Thursday, June 7, and goes until 10:30 p.m. daily.

Open stage will be 11 a.m. to noon.

Shows go on rain or shine under a large tent, with tickets available at the gate. Daily ticket prices are $40 for adults in advance until May 30, then $45 at the gate. A three-day adult ticket is $90 in advance and $95 at the gate. Children ages 7-15 are $15 per day or $45 for three days in advance and $50 at the gate. Children under age 7 are free when accompanied by parents. www.adamsbluegrass.com.

formances on Thursday, May 24. Harmons’ Den Bistro at HART is also open before all performances with a new menu. To make reservations for the show and the bistro, call 456.6322 or go online to www.harttheatre.org.

wnc calendar

• The “Rockin’ Block Party” will kickoff summer from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 26, on Main Street in downtown Waynesville. In the middle of downtown will be a concert by The 96.5 House Band (classic hits), The Blue Ridge Big Band (swing/jazz), and more.

Running from 6 to 7 p.m. will be “Kids on Main,” which will be filled with children’s activities. www.downtownwaynesville.com.

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wnc calendar

• “Let’s Talk About It” – a library discussion series exploring how selected books, films and poetry illuminate a particular theme – will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at the Waynesville Library auditorium.

Focus is “Nothing Like It In The World: The Men Who Build the Transcontinental Railroad.”

• “Adventures in Acrylic Art Classes” will be offered by the Haywood County Arts Council from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on June 5, 12, 19 and 26 at the HCAC Gallery in Waynesville. 452.0593.

• Registration is underway for a Surface Design with Natural Dyes class that will be offered from 4:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays from June 5-July 24 at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Cost: $377. Info or to register: 627.4669 or rgmassie@haywood.edu.

• “U.S. Global Engagement and the Military” – part of the “Discuss the World! Great Decisions series – will be held from 5:15-6:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

Questions: dem32415@aol.com.

• Registration is underway for an “Axe-Making Class” that will be led by Brock Martin of WarFire Forge from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on June 9-10 at Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Cost: $380; materials included. Preregistration required: 631.0271. Info: www.JCGEP.org.

• Registration is underway for a “Beginning Bladesmithing Class” that will be led by Brock Martin of WarFire Forge from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 23-24 at Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Cost: $300; materials included. Preregistration required: 631.0271. Info: www.JCGEP.org.

• Registration is underway for a “Lichens of the Southern Appalachians” program scheduled for Aug. 4, through the Alarka Institute. Led by Jennifer Love.

Register: www.paypal.me/cedartree. Info: alarkaexpeditions@gmail.com, 371.0347 or alarkaexpeditions.com.

ART SHOWINGS AND May 23-29, 2018

GALLERIES • Gallery 1 Sylva will celebrate the work and collection of co-founder Dr. Perry Kelly with a show of his personal work at the Jackson County Public Library Rotunda and his art collection at the gallery. All work is for sale. Admission is free. Children are welcome. Gallery 1 has regular winter hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wednesday and Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. art@gallery1sylva.com.

Smoky Mountain News

• The “Meet the Artist” reception with Brian Hannum (pianist), Drew Campbell (photographer) and Jon Houglum (painter) will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 25, at Gallery Zella in Bryson City. Enjoy North Carolina wine, food and music. Free to attend. 488.3638 or www.galleryzella.com.

• A “Creations in Oil & Handcrafted Mugs” exhibit will be on display through May 26 at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville. HaywoodArts.org.

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• The Haywood County Arts Council and local nonprofit REACH are co-sponsoring the latest exhibit “Freedom: An Artist’s Point of View.” The exhibit will run June 1-30 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showcase in downtown Waynesville. The artist reception will be held during Art After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 1, at Gallery & Gifts. 452.0593, email info@haywoodarts.org or visit www.haywoodarts.org.

• Local artist Melissa Enloe Walter will demonstrate her unique gold and silver leafing technique from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at the Haywood County Arts Council. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Graduating students of Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts program will exhibit their best work at their graduate show through June 24 at the Southern Highland Craft Guild Folk Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville. It’s open from 9 a.m.6 p.m. daily. Info: 627.4673 or creativearts.haywood.edu.

• The Haywood County Arts Council is accepting applications for its “HCAC Artist Member Show” exhibit scheduled for July. Applications: director@haywoodarts.org or www.haywoodarts.org.

• The Haywood County Arts Council is accepting applications for its “Art Share” exhibit scheduled for August. Applications: director@haywoodarts.org or www.haywoodarts.org.

• The Franklin Uptown Gallery has opened for the 2018 Season. The artist exchange exhibit will feature artwork created by members of the Valley River Arts Guide from Murphy. 349.4607.

• New artist and medium will be featured every month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

FILM & SCREEN • “Black Panther” will be shown at 6:30 p.m. May 25 and 7 p.m. on May 26 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.2016.

• “Paul, Apostle of Christ” will be showing at 7 p.m.

May 23-24 at The Strand on Main in Waynesville.

Check website for tickets, 38main.com.

• “Game Night” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on May 24 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free.

586.2016.

• “Monty Python & The Holy Grail” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on May 31 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.2016.

• “Red Sparrow” will be shown at 7 p.m. on June 2 and 7:30 p.m. June 7 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.2016.

• A 40-mile bike ride is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, June 1-3, leaving from the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Mills River. Hosted by the Adventure Bicycling Association. RSVP required: havenerk@gmail.com.

• A three-day paddle festival focused on helping female paddlers connect, share and paddle together is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, June 1-3, at the Nantahala Outdoor Center near Bryson City. $20. https://bit.ly/2rNesPG. • A picnic and expo will celebrate National Trails Day from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Panthertown Valley near Cashiers. Live music by Geoff McBride. www.panthertown.org.

• A work day on the Appalachian Trail is scheduled for 8:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Max Patch.

Hosted by Carolina Mountain Club. RSVP required: www.carolinamountainclub.org/eventform.cfm. Info: arriba2928@gmail.com.

• Cradle of Forestry in America will host an “In Search of Blue Ghosts Twilight Tour” from 8:30-10:30 p.m. on May 23-26 and May 30-June 2, near Brevard. Tickets: $8 for ages 4-12; $16 for 13-up. Register: cradleofforestry.com/event/blue-ghost-tour.

• A program entitled “Casting for Beginners: Level I” will be offered to ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on May 23 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/bo4zckn.

• A rabies vaccination clinic will be offered from 9-10 a.m. on Saturday, May 26, at the Macon County EMS Station in Nantahala. $10 (cash only) per pet.

349.2106.

• A program on Tackle Rigging for Fly-Fishing will be offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-noon on May 26 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/bo4zckn.

• A workday to maintain trails at Panthertown Valley is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 26, near Cashiers. 269.4453 or friends@panthertown.org.

• A seven-mile canoe trip touching on the “Cultural and Natural History of the Little Tennessee River Valley” will be led by Brent Martin on May 26. $50 per person. Registration underway: Register: www.paypal.me/cedartree. Info: alarkaexpeditions@gmail.com, 371.0347 or alarkaexpeditions.com.

• A mountain bike demo is scheduled for 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday, May 27, at Fire Mountain Trailhead in Cherokee. Check out the latest trail bikes from Specialized.

• “Slingshots in the Smokies” – an annual slingshot owners event – is scheduled for May 29-June 2 at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. 561.351.9095 or www.slingshotroadsters.com.

• The Haywood County Plant Clinic is open every business day at the Haywood County Extension Center on Raccoon Road in Waynesville. To discuss any gardening problem, call 456.3575 or stop by.

FARMERS MARKETS • “Locally Grown on the Green,” the Cashiers farm stand market for local growers, will be held from 3-6 p.m. every Wednesday at the Village Green Commons in Cashiers. info@villagegreencashiersnc.com or 743.3434.

• The Swain County Farmer’s Market is held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. every Friday through October on Island Street in downtown Bryson City. 488.3681 or chamber@greatsmokies.com.

• Jackson County Farmers Market runs from 9 to noon on Saturdays at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva.

• A “Women’s Intro to Fly-Fishing” class will be offered for ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 2 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Register: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• Waynesville Historic Farmers Market runs from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays 8 a.m. to noon at the HART Theater parking lot. waynesvillefarmersmarket.com

• An “Introduction to Fly Fishing” program will be offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 5 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Register: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• Franklin Farmers Tailgate Market runs from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays through the end of October, on East Palmer Street across from Drake Software. 349.2049 or www.facebook.com/franklinncfarmersmarket.

• Boating Safety courses will be offered from 6-9 p.m. on June 5-6 at Haywood Community College in Clyde.

Room 3322; Building 3300. Must attend both meetings. Future offerings are July 9-10, Aug. 28-29 and Sept. 10-11. Pre-registration required: www.ncwildlife.org.

• The ‘Whee Farmers Market, Cullowhee runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays through the end of October, at the University Inn on 563 North Country Club Drive in Cullowhee. 476.0334 or www.facebook.com/CullowheeFarmersMarket.

• A “Casting for Beginners: Level I” program will be offered to ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 8 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Register: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

Outdoors

programs. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y7293et3. Info: www.ncadfp.org.

• FUR will celebrate “Adopt A Cat Month” with a cat adoption day from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 9, at the sanctuary in Waynesville. $50 per adult; $65 per kitten.

844.888.CATS or furofwnc1@gmail.com.

• Registration is underway for a Fly Rod Making class that will be offered from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 12-Aug. 7 at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Cost: $360. Info or to register: 627.4669 or rgmassie@haywood.edu.

• Registration is underway for a “Mountain Camellia (Stewartia ovata) Field Trip,” scheduled for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 21, through the Alarka Institute. Cost: $35. Led by Jack Johnston. Register: www.paypal.me/cedartree. Info: alarkaexpeditions@gmail.com, 371.0347 or alarkaexpeditions.com.

• Registration is underway for a “Mountain Camellia (Stewartia ovata) Field Trip,” scheduled for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 30, through the Alarka Institute. Cost: $35. Led by Jack Johnston. Register: www.paypal.me/cedartree. Info: alarkaexpeditions@gmail.com, 371.0347 or alarkaexpeditions.com.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • Registration is underway for the Merrell Adventure Dash, which features a series of natural and manmade obstacles along a 5K course. The event is May 26 at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. https://tinyurl.com/y8zt5hh5.

FARM AND GARDEN • The N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund will hold a workshop from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, at Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. For local government and nonprofit staff involved in protecting their communities’ agricultural lands and administering their local voluntary agricultural district

• The Original Waynesville Tailgate Market runs from 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays through the end of October at 171 Legion Drive in Waynesville.

456.1830 or vrogers12@att.net.

HIKING CLUBS • The first Blue Ridge Parkway Hike of the Week of this season is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday, May 25, to Rattlesnake Lodge. Meet at the dirt pull-off by the southern entrance of Tanbark Tunnel, Milepost 374.4.

Info: 298.5330, ext. 304.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have a five-mile hike with a 1,000-foot ascent on Sunday, May 27, at Florence Nature Preserve. Info and reservations: 516.721.6156 or karingarden@yahoo.com.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have an 8.3-mile hike with a 1,400-foot ascent on May 30 at Bridges Camp Gap. Info and reservations: 337.5845 or laurafrisbie@gmail.com.

• An eight-mile roundtrip hike is scheduled for Wednesday, May 30, to Charlies Bunion in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Leave at 7:30 a.m. from the Waynesville Recreation Center; return by 5:30 p.m. $12 for Rec Center members; $15 for nonmembers. 456.2030.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate fourmile hike on Saturday, June 2, to Kephart Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Reservations and info: 524.5298.

• A Chimney Rock Naturalist Niche Hike off the beaten path is scheduled from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, June 2. Fall Creek exploration of Hickory Nut Falls, one of the highest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River.

Strenuous. $23 per adult; $8 per annual passholder; $13 for ages 5-15 and $6 for “Rockin’ Discovery” passholders. Advance registration required: www.chimneyrockpark.com.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have a 7.5-mile hike with a 1,800-foot ascent on June 3 at the Folk Art Center. Info: 243.3630 or rhysko@yahoo.com.

• Carolina Mountain Club will have a 9.8-mile hike with a 2,264-foot elevation change on June 6 at Soco Gap Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Info: 684.8656, 606.7297 or bjdworley@gmail.com.

PRIME REAL ESTATE Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News

LEGAL NOTICES

MarketPlace information: The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

Rates:

■ Free — Lost or found pet ads.

■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads, ■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $15 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

■ $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’

92

$

20’x20’

160

$

ONE MONTH

FREE WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of MARY ANITA BEATTY, deceased, late of Haywood County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 2nd day of August, 2018, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment.

This, the 2nd day of May, 2018.

MARCIA A. COLEMAN, Executor of the Estate of MARY ANITA BEATTY 311 Second Avenue Winder, GA 30680 Heidi H. Stewart, Attorney & Resident Process Agent Suite 301, One Oak Plaza Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 225-6030

AUCTIONS

RESIDENTIAL LOTS In Seven Lakes West, NC. Online w/ Bid Center. Begins Closing 6/6/18 at 2pm. See Website for details and for Bid Center Location: www.ironhorseauction.com 800.997.2248 NCAL# 3936

AUCTION

AUCTION 160+ ACRE FARM Wednesday 5/30/2018 at 1:00pm in Lillington NC. Gorgeous farm overlooking the Cape Fear River with beautiful views, pasture & woodlands! See website JohnsonProperties.com or call 919.639.2231; NCAL7340 AUCTION Pickup Trucks, Trailers, Forklift, Pipefitting Inventory, Equipment, Metalworking Machinery, Tools and More, Rockingham, NC, Online Only, Begins Closing 5/27 12pm STORE FIXTURES, Refrigeration Units & Other Equipment - Bankruptcy Auction of Lee Roy Enterprises Inc., Online Only, Begins Closing 5/25 at 12pm, ironhorseauction.com, 800.997.2248, NCAL 3936 PUBLIC AUCTION May 27 @10am 2500 No Man's Ave, Concord, NC. Complete Liquidation of JD Raffaldt Inc, Bridge Builder/Welding Company.

Truweld Stud Welder Trailer, Lincoln Gas Welders, New Lincoln Mig Welder, Trailers, Tools. www.ClassicAuctions.com 704.791.8825 NCAF5479

CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING

CALL EMPIRE TODAY To schedule a Free in-home estimate on Carpeting & Flooring.

Call Today! 1.855.929.7756

FROG POND ESTATE SALES HELPING IN HARD TIMES

DOWNSIZING ESTATE SALES CLEAN OUT SERVICE • COMPANY TRANSFER • DIVORCE • LOST LOVED ONE

WE ARE KNOWN FOR HONESTY & INTEGRITY

828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828 Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction

828-734-3874 18 COMMERCE STREET WAYNESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA 28786 WWW.FROGLEVELDOWNSIZING.COM

CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING

ACORN STAIRLIFTS. The affordable solution to your stairs! **Limited time -$250 Off Your Stairlift Purchase!** Buy Direct & SAVE. Please call 1.855.808.9573 for FREE DVD and brochure.

ALL THINGS BASEMENTY! Basement Systems Inc. Call us for all of your basement needs! Waterproofing, Finishing, Structural Repairs, Humidity and Mold Control FREE ESTIMATES! Call 1.800.698.9217 SAPA BATHROOM RENOVATIONS. Easy, One Day Updates! We specialize in safe bathing. Grab bars, no slip flooring & seated showers. Call for a free in-home consultation: 877.661.6587 SAPA SAFE STEP WALK-IN TUB Alert for Seniors. Bathroom falls can be fatal. Approved by Arthritis Foundation. Therapeutic Jets. Less Than 4 Inch Step-In. Wide Door.

Anti-Slip Floors. American Made.

Installation Included. Call for more info 800.807.7219 and for $750 Off. HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions.

Owner/Builder: Dave Donaldson.

Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747

PAINTING JAMISON CUSTOM PAINTING & PRESSURE WASHING Interior, exterior, all your pressure washing needs and more.

Specialize in Removal of Carpenter Bees - Cedar or Log Homes or Painted or Siding!

Call or Text Now for a Free Estimate at 828.508.9727

WNC MarketPlace

BOATS FOR SALE - 1958 CHRIS-CRAFT Classic 18’ Runabout Boat.

Beautiful Mahogany Hull with Original 6-Cylinder. Great Cond.

Price Negotiable, For More Information Please Call 828.627.9789 or 252.249.1782

CARS -

www.smokymountainnews.com

May 23-29, 2018

A-1 DONATE YOUR CAR For Breast Cancer! Help United Breast Foundation Education, Prevention, & Support Programs.

Fast Free Pickup -24 Hr ResponseTax Deduction 855.701.6346

CARS GOT AN OLDER CAR, VAN OR SUV? Do the humane thing. Donate it to the Humane Society. Call 1.855.617.2024 SAPA AUTO INSURANCE Starting At $49/ Month! Call for your fee rate comparison to see how much you can save! Call: 855.970.1224 DONATE YOUR CAR TO CHARITY. Receive maximum value of write off for your taxes. Running or not!

All conditions accepted. Free pick-up. Call Now for details.

855.972.0354 SAPA

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED!!!

Top Dollar Offer! Free Towing From Home, Office or Body Shop. All Makes/Models 2000-2016. Same Day Pick-Up Available! Call Now: 1.800.761.9396

$100’s EARNED WEEKLY Selling sneakers. Send Text Now 770.910.6872 or PnnyAKickz.com SAPA

PAYING TOO MUCH FOR Car Insurance? Not sure? Want better coverage? Call now for a free quote and learn more today!

888.203.1373 SAPA

HAVE AN IDEA For an invention/new product? We help everyday inventors try to patent and submit their ideas to companies! Call InventHelp®, FREE INFORMATION! 866.783.0557

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES DISCOVER INTERNET INCOME Earn 5 Figures (+) Monthly Eliminate Traditional 9 to 5 Work Stress Opt-in To Learn More: http://get.webinnsite.com/wealth SAPA HAVE AN IDEA For an invention/new product? We help everyday inventors try to patent and submit their ideas to companies! Call InventHelp®, FREE INFORMATION! 866.783.0557 SAPA NEW AUTHORS WANTED! Page Publishing will help you self-publish your own book. FREE author submission kit! Limited offer! Why wait? Call now: 844.660.6943 SAPA

EMPLOYMENT HOUSEKEEPER YMCA CAMP Watia - General Janitorial and Housekeeping Needed at Camp Near Almond. Contact Ryan Hove rhove@ymcawnc.org for more info. Dates of Seasonal Employment: May 31st - August 4th.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY Located in Busy Downtown Waynesville. Licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Agent, or Willing to get Licensed Immediately.

Competitive Salary, Incentives, Bonuses & Benefits. Mon. - Fri. Work Week. Send Resume to: GEORGI.INSURANCEGROUP@ OUTLOOK.COM

EMPLOYMENT YMCA CAMP WATIA KITCHEN Staff - Food Services Staff at Camp Near Almond. Contact: Ryan: rhove@ymcawnc.org For more info. Dates of Seasonal Employment: May 31st-Aug. 4th AIRLINE MECHANIC TRAINING – Get FAA Technician certification.

Approved for military benefits.

Financial Aid if qualified. Job placement assistance. Call Now 866.724.5403 THE JACKSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES Is recruiting for a Social Worker in Child Protective Services. This position Investigates Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect and Provides Services to Families Where Needs have been Identified. Requires limited availability after hours and on weekends on a rotating basis. The starting salary is $41,276.54, depending on education and experience.

Minimum qualifications include a four year degree in a Human Service field. Preference will be given to applicants with a Master's or Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and/or experience providing Social Work services.

Applicants should complete a NC State application form (PD-107) and submit it to Jackson County Social Services, Attn: Dianne Cauley, 15 Griffin Street, Sylva, NC 28779 or the Sylva branch of the NC Division of Workforce Solutions (formerly ESC) as soon as possible.

CAVALIER ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

EMPLOYMENT DRIVE WITH UBER. No experience is required, but you'll need a Smartphone. It's fun and easy. For more information, call: 1.800.655.7452

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS RAILROAD IN BRYSON CITY Is Getting Ready for the 2018 Season! We are Hiring for First Class Server, Concession Staff, Parking Attendant, Ticket Agent, Reservationist, Cleaning Attendant, Show Conductor in Entertainment, Rear Brakeman in Operations & Property Maintenance Worker (year-round) Earn train passes, retail and food discounts, passes to area attractions and more!

Full Job Descriptions and Applications are Available at: www.gsmr.com/jobs If you would like to fill out an application in-person come to our Depot located at 226 Everett Street in Bryson City.

HOMES FOR SALE BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT LEASE TO OWN 1/2 Acre Lots with Mobile Homes & Empty 1/2 Acre + Lots!

Located Next to Cherokee Indian Reservation, 2.5 Miles from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.

For More Information Please Call 828.506.0578 SAVE YOUR HOME! Are you behind paying your Mortgage? Denied a Loan Modification? Is the bank threatening foreclosure? CALL 844.359.4330

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18 This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Offering 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $420.00

We Are Offering 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting From $465.00

Section 8 Accepted - Rental Assistance When Available Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS:

OFFICE HOURS:

Tuesday & Thursday 8:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.

50 Duckett Cove Road, Waynesville, NC 28786

Monday, Wednesday & Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm 168E Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

Phone# 1.828.456.6776 TDD# 1.800.725.2962

Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.735.2962

Equal Housing Opportunity

Equal Housing Opportunity

Climate Control

Storage Security: Management on site Interier & Exterior Cameras

Sizes from 5’x5’ to 10’x20’

Climate Controlled

1106 Soco Road (Hwy 19), Maggie Valley, NC 28751

Call:

828-476-8999

MaggieValleySelfStorage.com torry@torry1.com

52

Torry Pinter, Sr. 828-734-6500

Find Us One mile past State Rd. 276 and Hwy-19 on the right side, across from Frankie’s Italian Restaurant

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

HOMES FOR RENT FURNISHED 2/BR 2/BA HOUSE FOR RENT 1,500 sq. ft., In Tuckaseegee.

Furnished, Appliances Included, Creek, Pond, Mtn. Views. To MoveIn $1000/mo., First/Last/Sec. Dep. No Smoking! Call 517.375.1189, Leave Message.

COASTAL DEALS! Ocean Isle Beach, amazing rates on summer rentals. www.cookerealty.com, 1.800.622.3224. Amazing buys! Southport,N.C. New water view condominiums starting at $139,900. Stuart Cooke 910.616.1795 SAPA

Haywood County Real Estate Agents Berkshire Hathaway

PET SERVICES & SUPPLIES

www.4Smokys.com

HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329

PRIVATE CABIN 3/3, view, open floor plan $275,000 MLS#3310278

COMM. PROP. FOR RENT COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR RENT On Russ Ave., Formally Used as a Real Estate Office. 1,852 sq. ft. $2,000/Mo., Private Parking Lot, High Traffic Count, City Water, Convenient To Maggie Valley & Waynesville. For more details please call Ron at 828.400.9029

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE

Hours:

Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

USE SKIN BALM & TONEKOTE On Dogs and Cats to stop Scratching and Gnawing and Restore Luxurious Coat without Steroids.

At Tractor Supply, or visit us at: www.kennelvax.com

Call Rob Roland — 828-400-1923

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Heritage • Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com

Beverly Hanks & Associates • • • •

rroland33@gmail.com • www.robrolandrealty.com

JUDY MEYERS (828) 734-2899 jameyers@charter.net

• • • • • • • • •

beverly-hanks.com Ann Eavenson - anneavenson@beverly-hanks.com George Escaravage - gescar@beverly-hanks.com Billie Green - bgreen@beverly-hanks.com Michelle McElroy michellemcelroy@beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig - mobrig@beverly-hanks.com Steve Mauldin - smauldin@beverly-hanks.com Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com Anne Page - apage@beverly-hanks.com Brooke Parrott - bparrott@beverly-hanks.com Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither - ellensither@beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey - mikestamey@beverly-hanks.com

ERA Sunburst Realty 71 N. MAIN STREET • WAYNESVILLE remax-waynesvillenc.com

sunburstrealty.com • Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com • Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com

Keller Williams Realty

Steve Mauldin

828.734.4864

smauldin@beverly-hanks.com

kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

May 23-29, 2018

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.

Prevent Unwanted Litters!

The Heat Is On! Spay/Neuter For Haywood Pets As Low As $10.

Operation Pit is in Effect!

Free Spay/Neuter, Microchip & Vaccines For Haywood Pitbull Types & Mixes!

WNC MarketPlace

CREEKFRONT W/LOG CABIN 7.8 Acres in NC near TIEC. New 1400 sf cabin features screened porch, fpl, lg. deck, vaulted ceilings, hdwd floors. Horse Friendly. $189,900 CALL 828.286.1666

VACATION RENTALS

Lakeshore Realty • Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Home Properties 74 N. Main St.,Waynesville

828.452.5809

beverly-hanks.com

MADONNA - A BEAUTIFUL KITTY WITH DISTINCTIVE COLORING. SHE'S A SWEET, AFFECTIONATE GIRL, NOT EVEN A YEAR OLD. SHE HAS A KITTEN'S PLAYFUL SPIRIT, AND ENJOYS HER TOYS AS WELL AS NAPS AND PETTING BY HUMANS.

The Real Team DICKINSON | DONLEY HOCOTT | SCHICK

Real Experience.

Real Service. Real Results.

RE/MAX

EXECUTIVE

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management • Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

RE/MAX Executive

www.TheRealTeamNC.com

828.452.3727

• • • •

71 N. Main Street Waynesville

•

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

remax-waynesvillenc.com remax-maggievalleync.com Holly Fletcher - hollyfletcher1975@gmail.com The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com Ron Breese - ronbreese.com Landen Stevenson Landen@landenstevenson.com Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

smokymountainnews.com

AXEL - A HANDSOME POINTER MIX BOY ABOUT A YEAR OLD. HE'S A PLAYFUL PUP, BUT NOT OVER THE TOP HYPER. HE HAS A BLAST PLAYING WITH OTHER DOGS IN OUR PLAY GROUPS. AXEL WOULD LOVE TO JOIN AN ACTIVE FAMILY WITH ANOTHER DOG AND/OR KIDS TO PLAY WITH.

mountaindream.com • Cindy Dubose - cdubose@mountaindream.com

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com 53

CROSSWORD

www.smokymountainnews.com

May 23-29, 2018

WNC MarketPlace

Super

54

EIGHT LOW NOTES

71 Egg mass 72 Edible soft-shell molACROSS lusk 1 Snakebite treaters 75 Burning liquid 9 Roomy rides 76 Bowl over 15 Slowly, in music 77 Hens and heifers 20 Tie in a race 78 War group 21 Actress Wilde of 79 Bakery treats “House” 81 Mom’s treatment 22 — now and then 82 Volkswagen family 23 Taft’s foreign policy car 25 Jacket-and-tie affairs 85 Moore or Lovato 26 Look from a villain 86 Use profanity 27 Word after lo or chow 88 Very strong 28 Non-U.S. gas brand 91 Late 19th-century 30 Use a recliner, e.g. political group 31 Forward, as a mes95 De-creasing workers sage with a hashtag 97 Gallery stand 34 Grand Prix racing 98 Laugh half 37 A doc prescribes it 99 Mao — -tung 40 Imbiber’s hwy.

100 Brand of flavored offense balms in tubes 41 Half-diameters 102 Tower atop a 43 He voiced Carl in mosque “Up” 105 Hack (off) 44 Bachelor suitable for 106 Kitchen lure marriage, say 107 Actress Olin 48 Licoricelike herbs 108 Day of song 49 Novelist Ira 112 Beat poet Ginsberg 50 Margaret Mitchell’s 114 University SSE of plantation Spokane 51 African nation 119 V-formation fliers 53 — Trapp family 120 Medieval balladeer, 54 Three-card game maybe 56 Some book blurbs 121 French folk song 57 Apollo program org.

122 Snaky curves 61 The girl 123 Perplexes 62 Elderly Smurf 124 Eellike fish 63 Shifting of responsibility to another DOWN 66 Co. name abbr.

1 Tosses in 67 Golf rarity 2 Sign light 68 PayPal funds, e.g.

3 Narration 70 Lead-in to skeleton 4 Lazy type

5 Partook of 6 Always, to Donne 7 “Too cool!”

8 “Once upon — ...”

9 Gem in a ring 10 North Carolina university 11 Not so bright 12 Gardner of “Mogambo” 13 Less nasty 14 Bully’s words of authority 15 Block-filled theme park 16 Entertainer Gabor 17 Wrestling holds 18 New hire 19 Pearl makers 24 Eyes closely 29 African nation 32 Bath fixture 33 Wheaton of “Stand by Me” 34 Fruit that’s often dried 35 Like OPEC nations 36 Koreans and Laotians 37 Ott of baseball 38 High-school junior’s grade 39 Person with an exspouse 42 Crime scene material 45 — mill (bar) 46 Sicilian volcano 47 “Star Wars” creature 52 Feature 54 Royal staff 55 “Faust” and others 56 Greyhound transport 58 Signal to pilots 59 Treaded winter vehicles

60 1940s film critic James 61 Cobra sound 62 Actress Dawber 63 “Pow!” 64 Pivot point 65 Put turf over 68 Graceful street liner 69 Coral island 73 Some poplars 74 Cliff rock 75 Solo often in Italian 79 Slum abodes 80 Moseying 81 Old carrier 83 Tentacled reef dwellers 84 Fine violin 85 — Moines 86 Hits the gas 87 Dark loaf 88 Rob violently 89 Twins’ rivals 90 Overturns 92 Attention 93 Part of a dance move 94 Prefix with plop or flop 96 Glowers 101 Frank topper 103 Of birth 104 Redcap at work, often 107 Speech therapy topic 109 $20/day, say 110 Really small 111 Uses eyes 113 Suffix with 29-Down 115 Actor/comic Gilliam 116 “That guy!”

117 Suffix with pay or plug 118 Moniker, in France

answers on page 48

ITEMS FOR SALE GUNS FOR SALE! New in the Box, Browning 22 Pistol, 4 Inch Pro-Target $430; Smith & Wesson MP 2.0 Series $535; Taurus Compact 40 Cal. $390. All Guns with Warranty Cards, Unfired.

Call or Text 828.407.3666 BORING/CARPENTER BEE TRAPS No Chemicals, Poisons or Anything to Harm the Environment.

Handmade in Haywood County. 1 for $20, 2 or More for $15 each.

828.593.8321

WANTED TO BUY

FREON R12 WANTED: Certified Buyer Will Pay Ca$H For R12 Cylinders Or Cases Of Cans.

312.291.9169; www.refrigerantfinders.com

MEDICAL WELLNESS ADVOCATE mydoterra.com/blueridge wellness LUNG CANCER? And Age 60+? You And Your Family May Be Entitled To Significant Cash Award. Call 866.590.3140 for Information. No Risk. No Money Out Of Pocket.

MEDICARE DOESN’T COVER All of your medical expenses. A Medicare Supplemental Plan can help cover costs that Medicare does not. Get a free quote today by calling now. 1.877.212.8839

MEDICAL

SERVICES

FDA-REGISTERED Hearing Aids. 100% Risk-Free! 45Day Home Trial. Comfort Fit. Crisp Clear Sound. If you decide to keep it, PAY ONLY $299 per aid. FREE Shipping. Call Hearing Help Express 1.866.744.6150 SAPA

SCENTSY PRODUCTS Your Local Independent Consultant to Handle All Your Scentsy Wants & Needs.

Amanda P. Collier 828.246.8468 Amandacollier.scentsy.us apcollier1978@gmail.com Start Own Business for Only $99

UNABLE TO WORK Due to injury or illness? Call Bill Gordon & Assoc., Social Security Disability Attorneys! FREE Evaluation. Local Attorneys Nationwide 1.800.371.1734 [Mail: 2420 N St NW, Washington DC. Office: Broward Co. FL (TX/NM Bar.)]

ALWAYS PROTECT YOUR FAMILY! Final Expense/Burial Insurance $30,000 Coverage Only $1per day!

No Med Exam! Free Consult Call Today 1.877.920.7576 SAPA

PERSONAL MAKE A CONNECTION. Real People, Flirty Chat. Meet singles right now! Call LiveLinks. Try it FREE. Call now 1.888.909.9978 18+. SAPA YOUR AD COULD REACH 1.6 MILLION HOMES ACROSS NC! Your classified ad could be reaching over 1.6 Million Homes across North Carolina! Place your ad with The Smoky Mountain News on the NC Statewide Classified Ad Network- 118 NC newspapers for a low cost of $330 for 25-word ad to appear in each paper! Additional words are $10 each. The whole state at your fingertips! It's a smart advertising buy! Call Scott Collier at 828.452.4251 or for more information visit the N.C. Press Association's website at www.ncpress.com

AT&T HIGH SPEED Internet Starting at $40/month. Up to 45 Mbps! Over 99% Reliability!

Bundle AT&T Digital TV or Phone Services & Internet Price Starts at $30/month. Call 1.800.950.1469

YARD SALES ANNUAL YARD SALE Shady Grove United Methodist’ Women Annual Scholarship Fundraiser This Saturday, May 26th, 7:00am - 1:00pm. Craft Supplies & Materials, Come Find Your Treasures! Please Donate Generously. All Proceeds Benefit HCC Scholarship Fund.

INDOOR GARAGE SALE May 26, 9am-1pm. Tools, Hardware, Quilting Books, Fabric, Rulers- Mostly New Old Pryex and Corning Ware- Great Cond. & More.

Downsizing Seniors. 858 Moody Bridge Rd., Cullowhee. Apprx. 4 Miles South of WCU, Just Off of Hwy. 107

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 48

The naturalist’s corner

BY DON H ENDERSHOT

Back in the saddle have had, since 2004, one of the best gigs any bird nerd could ask for. That was when I was awarded my first U.S. Forest Service (FS) bird survey contract for three districts in the Pisgah National Forest. To say I didn’t know what I was getting into would be a great understatement. I was given some over-the-counter maps and a list of coordinates and was told all I had to do was find the points, mark them and then survey them.

Some of the obstacles: hmmmm, many of the points weren’t on any of the maps.

Heck, some of the roads the points were on weren’t on the maps. And finding the points — well finding a piece of rebar stuck in the forest floor, years ago, with descriptions and bearings to witness trees proved to be quite challenging.

I was basically a GPS “newbie,” having just taken an introductory GPS/GIS course at Haywood Community College (HCC.) And I must admit the course didn’t instill a lot of confidence. I remember spending hours with my instructor, in the woods, waiting for those survey-grade GPS units on tripods to connect to enough satellites to get

I

a reading.

However, my old trusty handheld Garmin etrex hardly ever loses a signal and thanks to HCC instructors who took the time to show me how to use the basic functions, especially the “go to,” I was able to muddle through. Believe it or not, I even found several of those pieces of rebar. Not all, of course, but enough to give me confidence in my GPS and know when it said I was at my destination that I was really close to the original point.

And, thankfully, I’ve had some wonderful FS CORs (contracting officers) to work with.

The kind of people who understand all the logistics and conundrums associated with finding and/or establishing points then revisiting them across a million acres of national forests.

So here it is spring 2018 and after 14 years of this it’s still an adventure that gets my heart pumping in the predawn darkness as I gather binoculars, GPS, notebook, etc., and head out for an avian rendezvous.

Depending on the morning I could be near Hiwassee Dam, or Jack Rabbit Campground, or Black Balsam, or the Pink Beds, or Mount Mitchell, or Roan Mountain or beneath Table Rock, etc., etc.

Cheoah District I saw one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen — a large, freshly shed yellow phase timber rattler, so bright it was almost iridescent. I have had the great fortune of encountering not one, but two broods of 17-year cicadas: brood XIV in 2008 and brood VI just last year.

“Wrong way” lady slipper The sound these insects can from Harmon Den. make in unison, by the thouDon Hendershot photo sands, can be nearly deafening.

And even wrong turns in the forest can prove rewarding. I thought I was headed back to the gate in Harmon Den a week or so ago when I encountered a huge colony of yellow lady slipper on the roadside. I was scratching my head trying to figure how I could have missed such an impressive stand of orchids for more than a decade when I came to a large tree across the road — there was no tree across the road when I entered the forest — so I backtracked and discovered I must have been daydreaming and took a “wrong” turn. their voices to greet the new day.

I have until June 15 to finish this season, But the forest is not one-dimensional. I remember standing on a point and watching wrong turns, bears, birds, snakes and all — then, if I’m lucky, I’ll awaken in the predawn mama bear, with her nose in the air, trying darkness on May 1, 2019, gather binoculars, to ascertain my location before grunting at GPS, notebook, etc., and get to do it all her babies and strolling off in the opposite again. direction. On Roan Mountain I encountered (Don Hendershot is a naturalist and a writer four whitetail bucks, antlers thickly covered who lives in Haywood County. He can be in velvet — they approached within 50 feet reached at ddihen1@bellsouth.net) before leaving the trail for the woods. In And surely birds are the main attraction.

A morning chorus from deep in the national forest can be quite stirring with hooded warblers, ovenbirds, wood thrushes, red-eyed vireos, scarlet tanagers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, northern parulas and more all raising

May 23-29, 2018 Smoky Mountain News 55

56

Smoky Mountain News May 23-29, 2018