Smoky Mountain News | August 9, 2023

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CONTENTS

On the Cover:

Founded in 1923 the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is 100 years old. Its leaders discuss its history and how it is working to help businesses navigate today’s challenges. (Page 4) Jackson Chamber photo

News

Tribal

Opinion

A call for help from veteran election officials............................................................18 And you were looking forward to adulthood............................................................19

A&E

Outdoors

D IGITAL MARKETING S PECIALIST Stefanee Sherman.

ADVERTISING SALES: Susanna Shetley.

susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley.

Sophia Burleigh.

C LASSIFIEDS: Scott Collier.

N EWS E DITOR: Kyle Perrotti. .

WRITING: Holly Kays.

Hannah McLeod.

Cory Vaillancourt.

Garret K. Woodward.

ACCOUNTING & O FFICE MANAGER: Jamie Cogdill. . .

D ISTRIBUTION: Scott Collier. . . .

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kyle.p@smokymountainnews.com

holly@smokymountainnews.com

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. smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com

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C ONTRIBUTING: Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Thomas Crowe (writing)

CONTACT

WAYNESVILLE | 144 Montgomery, Waynesville, NC 28786

P: 828.452.4251

Specializing in Regional Cuisine

Catering is Our Passion!

828-452-7837

294 N. Haywood Street Waynesville

39 Miller St., Downtown Waynesville 828.456.5559

Nutrition Facts

Ingles Nutrition Notes

written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath

QUESTION: I’ve been reading about JACKFRUIT and notice that there are many products with jackfruit at Ingles that look like meat – is this a good alternative to eating meat?

ANSWER:

Here is the nutritional breakdown of a cup of raw jackfruit: contains:

157 calories, 3 g of protein, 1 g fat, 38 g carbohydrates(31 g sugar),

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian @InglesDietitian

Leah

McGrath - Dietitian

One hundred years and counting

Jackson County Chamber of Commerce marks milestone anniversary

HANNAH MCLEOD

STAFF W RITER

This year the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is celebrating 100 years of work and involvement in its community — fostering both economic development and future leaders.

“We’re ultimately working toward the betterment of the community,” said Executive Director Julie Donaldson. “We will continue to do just that.”

The Jackson Chamber was founded in 1923. That year, the Jackson Journal reported on several occasions about the rapid growth in the county, especially in Sylva, as new buildings went up and small businesses opened all over town. That same year the county formed its Board of Education to keep up with an expanding school-age population.

Just 10 years earlier, in 1913, the Town of Sylva had won the competition for county seat, which previously belonged to Webster. In the 1880s, the Western North Carolina Railroad was built through Sylva and not Webster, initiating rapid growth in Sylva and the slow decline of Webster.

As part of that growth, in 1906, prominent Sylva physician Dr. Delos Dexter Hooper built a home on Main Street. Today it is the second oldest structure on Main Street — the Harris Building of 1898 is the oldest — predating the historic courthouse which was built in 1913. In 1986, the house was deeded to Jackson County for use as an annex to the Jackson County Library. Today it is on the National Register of Historic Places, serving as the Jackson County Visitor Center and office space for the

Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

“The history of the Chamber of Commerce, obviously, is very strong in the United States of America, but also in the south where I think there is a strong culture of working together,” said Donaldson. “I think that represents what the chamber does.”

Donaldson has served as executive director of the chamber for more than 20 years. Hired by the board in 1999, Donaldson grew up in the community and her father had served as a county commissioner, something that showed her the importance of community involvement.

“I had some understanding of how the chamber worked

“We’re ultimately working toward the betterment of the community. We will continue to do just that.”

— Julie Donaldson, Jackson Chamber Executive Director

Volunteer Rick Bryson (from left), Chamber Office Manager Belinda Bryson, Chamber Executive Director Julie Donaldson, Chamber Assistant Director Kelly Donaldson and Chamber Visitor Services Representative Tom Frazier. Jackson Chamber photo

within the county and worked with the community, I had that insight. But, really, I learned on the job,” said Donaldson.

At the time, Tamara Crisp, a previous director for the chamber, was working as economic development director for the county.

“I feel very fortunate that Tamara was, and still is, in this community,” said Donaldson. “I felt supported by her, felt like I could ask her questions and she helped lay the groundwork not just for me as a chamber director, but leadership within our county. She was one of the first female leaders that I got to interact with and see. I appreciated that.”

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce currently has 427 members. When Donaldson started in her position, there were about 250. Part of that increase can be attributed to natural growth in the community, and part to the active engagement and outreach to acquire new members. The Jackson chamber has also created a patron membership for individuals who want to stay involved with the chamber even if they are not running a business.

“They can come to events, socialize at networking events, it’s perfect for people in the community that are second homeowners, retired, maybe someone who is a caretaker for children or parents, but will want to be actively involved and engaged in some way,” said Donaldson. “This gives me the information to get out and do things. We

appreciate that because those are folks that are still contributing in some way to a healthy business climate.”

Each Chamber of Commerce operates differently, with functions that vary according to the needs of the community in which it operates.

“I think that’s part of being a good listener. Learning what the needs are within the community and seeing how the chamber can support it or fill in those gaps that are needed,” said Donaldson.

In Jackson County, the role of the Chamber of Commerce is often to support other community organizations in their aspirations, whether that be in the form of financial assistance, manpower, or verbal/written support for certain initiatives.

“We want to create economic vitality in

our communities and we feel that is an important role that we fill,” said Donaldson. “We do that through creation of events and other community outreach or engagement.”

One of the chamber’s longest-running events is Concerts on the Creek, which provides 15 Friday nights of live music, Memorial Day through Labor Day, free of charge every summer.

“I think consistency like that with a quality event provides credibility. It provides economic vitality to the area and that creates an amazing place to live and work and play. Whether you’re just visiting here for the weekend, or you have a second home here, or you live here full time and Friday night is your date night,” said Donaldson. “I love hearing from our folks in the crowd as I walk around and they’re sitting there having a

great time and maybe they’ve gotten takeout from a restaurant in Dillsboro or Sylva.”

The Town of Sylva and Jackson County Parks and Recreation both help provide financial assistance for Concerts on the Creek, but the chamber is in charge of overall production and marketing.

The chamber is also in charge of events like July 4 fireworks with the accompanying live music, and Friends Night Out during certain times of the year when Sylva isn’t as busy.

“Our merchants and our restaurants may need a little economic boost and bringing several hundred people into the core district to shop and eat and enjoy themselves, it’s very important,” said Donaldson. “Our merchants have told us our restaurants have told us that it works for them. To provide that economic boost and create that vitality, vibe and people are downtown having fun and enjoying themselves.”

As the primary Sylva highway corridor undergoes a major shift with the N.C. 107 road expansion project, the Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the county as a grant administrator for businesses that are facing relocation.

“These grant funds would be used for those businesses that are required to relocate due to this project specifically, to offset costs that are not covered by their relocation to support them in those efforts,” said Economic Development Director Tiffany Henry.

The N.C. 107 Business Relocation Grant program provides individual businesses with up to $1,000. Not all businesses that are relocating

Jackson County Chamber of Commerce members gather in 1988. Jackson Chamber photo

Chamber Executive Director Julie Donaldson (from left), former Chamber Member/Visitor Services Representatives Julia Duvall, former Visitor Services Representative Vickey Frazier, former Office Manager Sande Lolli, former Visitor Services Representative Pat Newman, former Western Carolina University intern Ronald Hedd and Chamber Assistant Director Kelly Donaldson. Jackson Chamber photo

The Town of Sylva congratulates the Jackson County Chamber on their 100 year milestone and a big thank you for all that you do for our town!

are members of the Chamber of Commerce, but this does not affect their ability to receive grant money.

“I go out and visit with the impacted businesses and provide them grant information, and help them also try to find a place to relocate,” Donaldson said. “That has been painful, but I feel like it has been very helpful and I think our business community has been responsive to that in a positive way and have been very appreciative not only of the money, but of the assistance to help them find another place.”

The Jackson Chamber of Commerce fosters leadership development through direct involvement in the chamber, and in the community.

“We feel like the best way to help develop leaders was through having them serve in roles on our board, as an ambassador or on a committee, and it’s more of a hands-on experience as opposed to a classroom setting,” said Donaldson.

County Commissioner Mark Jones is one of those leaders in the community that found a passion for leadership through involvement with the Chamber of Commerce. Jones served twice as president of the Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce and once as president of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

“They’re both very important to the community in what they provide and what they promote,” said Jones. “The chamber helped me gain leadership experience. I know it played a role in, eventually, serving as an elected official.”

Want to support the Jackson Chamber?

The first opportunity to support the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is to purchase engraved paver bricks. These bricks will be offered in three sizes (4-by-8 inches, 8by-8 inches and 12-by-2 inches), at different price points ($225, $350 and $500), with options to purchase with text only or logos and text recognizing military service, collegiate affiliation, business logos and more. There are examples of each brick size at the chamber.

The engraved pavers will be installed on the southeast side of the chamber/Hooper House lawn on Main Street in Sylva.

“Once I got into the role of elected official, [the chamber] opens up more communication with individuals regarding issues that affect their businesses and their personal lives and their community wherever they’re from.”

Another leader in the community, current Sylva Commissioner and prospective mayoral candidate Natalie Newman, has been a part of the Chamber of Commerce, serving as a volunteer and a chamber ambassador.

To celebrate its centennial anniversary, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is hosting an event on the Hooper House lawn Tuesday, Oct. 10. Additionally, the chamber and the Historic Hooper House Preservation Foundation are teaming up to raise funds for both entities by selling engraved paver bricks to be installed on the southeast side of the chamber/Hooper House lawn.

The second opportunity to help support and celebrate the chamber’s 100th anniversary is to become a Patron chamber member. This year, the chamber is offering a “100 for 100 for 100” promotion for anyone to become a Patron chamber member. The goal is to sign up 100 new Patron chamber members for a $100 annual membership fee to celebrate 100 years of the chamber.

The deadline to order an engraved paver or to become a Patron chamber member is Dec. 31, 2023.

For more information, contact the chamber at 828.586.2155, email the chamber at jacksonchamberteam@gmail.com, visit the website at mountainlovers.com, or stop by the office at 773 West Main Street in Sylva.

An undated photo shows members of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce at a ribbon cutting ceremony. Jackson Chamber photo

Tribe ends interest-only payments for gaming ventures

three members opposed: Vice Chairman Albert Rose, Yellowhill Rep. T.W. Saunooke and Big Cove Rep. Teresa McCoy. Afterward, Rose said he wished to change his vote to instead support the resolution but was told vote switching was not allowed.

McCoy said she voted against the resolution not to express her opposition to repaying principal but to show her dissatisfaction with the tribe’s commercial gaming ventures as a whole.

“I understand what Rep. Stamper is doing,” she said. “I get it. But how we can sit here and do business for the Eastern Band and not be more cautious with $20 million, it just blows right over my head. When I campaigned, I hear the need in the community, and not one person said, ‘Teresa, we need more gaming.’”

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF W RITER

With much of the conversation taking place in closed session, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council passed a trio of resolutions Aug. 3 pertaining to the tribally owned EBCI Holdings LLC. The business is currently partnering to build a casino in Danville, Virginia, and a horseracing facility in Kentucky while also running Caesars Southern Indiana Casino, purchased in 2021.

According to one of the resolutions, the Danville casino project, originally expected to cost $650 million, is now projected to carry a price tag of $675 million “due to increases in construction costs and the addition of a temporary casino facility.” On May 15, a ribbon-cutting was held for the temporary facility, with the permanent casino expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2024. In July, EBCI Holdings CEO Scott Barber told The Smoky Mountain News that the temporary facility boasts 1,000 machines and is “performing well.”

Caesars Virginia, which is the tribe’s partner on the project, obtained a Virginia gaming license in April.

Perhaps the most controversial of the three measures was a resolution submitted by Painttown Rep. Michael Stamper and Wolfetown Rep. Mike Parker establishing a repayment plan for the margin credit loan that EBCI Holdings took on to execute the projects in Indiana, Virginia and Kentucky.

The tribe is approved to take out a maximum of $230 million through the loan, said Finance Director Brandi Claxton, and still has $26 million to go to hit that maximum.

The loan is collateralized through funds in a tribal investment account, she said.

“Thus far we’ve paid only interest,” Stamper said. “We need to begin a process to start paying the principal so that interest number goes down.”

The resolution requires the tribe to pay $10 million toward the principal during the current fiscal year, to come from excess gaming funds, and to establish a recurring line item to pay down $10 million of principal annually, starting in fiscal year 2024.

The lack of principal payment on the loan and the use of tribal investments as collateral has become a flashpoint in the unfolding tribal election season. Multiple candidates have taken issue with what they describe as irresponsible spending and a complete lack of uncommitted funds in tribal coffers. But according to Claxton, the tribe’s decision to pay only interest for the time being has been to its benefit.

“This fiscal year, the interest on the debt was $10 million I believe, but the earnings that we made by having that money invested was $40 million, just this fiscal year,” she said. “So we actually earned a lot more than the interest.”

If the tribe had liquidated $230 million from its investment accounts to cover the debt, she said, it would have missed out on the $30 million it netted by paying only interest.

But that’s not how Tribal Council saw it. After a 20minute discussion during which no video was broadcast and media was not allowed in the room, the body came back into open session to take its vote. The measure passed with only

Cannabis Control Board budget approved in Cherokee

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF W RITER

The Cherokee Tribal Council has approved $946,000 in tribal dollars to go toward the Cannabis Control Board’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year starting in October.

The board is responsible for writing administrative regulations surrounding cannabis use on the Qualla Boundary and for issuing medical cannabis licenses, agent cards and patient cards. The money is necessary to allow the board to “provide for the logistical support it needs to fulfill its responsibilities,” the resolution states. The funding will be offset by application fees the board collects, and those funds will be “held

and used by the tribe in the most prudent and safe manner.”

Much of the discussion in Tribal Council Aug. 3 surrounded one line item in the budget, which totaled $1.02 million as originally proposed. The line-by-line breakdown was not provided with the public agenda, but Council members said it included $75,000 for a tribal vehicle. They questioned the high price tag, and why one of the tribe’s older or unused vehicles couldn’t be used for this purpose instead. Finance Director Brandi Claxton said the problem was that all tribal vehicles were purchased with gaming funds, and federal policy prevents the tribe from using gaming dollars to benefit its cannabis enterprise.

Next, Tribal Council approved a resolution that clears an administrative hurdle to the Danville casino project. In 2021, the body passed a resolution that included a limited waiver of sovereign immunity for EBCI Holdings related to the Virginia project, a necessary step for the tribe or its entities to engage in business with non-tribal organizations. But since then, the company has formed new LLCs underneath it to carry out the project. The tribe’s partners and lenders want to make sure that these new LLCs are also covered by the waiver.

“There’s no new money being requested or authorized by this,” said Attorney General Mike McConnell, who submitted the resolution. “This is required to move forward with the project, and it does not increase the liability of the tribe.

After a 10-minute discussion off-air, Tribal Council came back to approve the resolution unanimously.

Later in the day, Tribal Council approved a resolution that Principal Chief Richard Sneed submitted to allow EBCI Holdings to hire consultants to “establish connections and build relationships.” The entirety of this discussion occurred off-air with media not allowed in the room, lasting about 30 minutes. The resolution does not include a dollar amount for these consultant services and states that the request is due to the tribe’s need “to build relationships in neighboring states and communities.”

The EBCI has long had lobbyists in Raleigh and Washington, D.C., but now it has state-regulated gaming interests in three states outside North Carolina: Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. In August 2022, it approved one-year agreements with the firms JigSaw, Capitol Resources, McGuire Woods and Troutman Pepper. Following the resolution’s passage Aug. 3, those agreements, which had been set to expire Aug. 31, will be renewed for another year.

All three resolutions await signature from Principal Chief Richard Sneed to become effective.

Big Cove Rep. Teresa McCoy suggested that the tribe instead sell the board one of its decommissioned vehicles, though at a bargain price. Painttown Rep. Michael Stamper offered an amendment to strike the line item, taking the total budget down to $946,000.

“I don’t think that the vehicle should hinder them from being part of the budget process going forward, and they can figure out the vehicle situation afterwards,” he said.

Tribal Council members also questioned why the budget request was coming in as a separate resolution, rather than being discussed as part of the tribe’s overall budget process.

“In terms of why they weren’t included, there’s no consistency in the entities that are required to be in the budget that’s presented to Council and the ones that aren’t,” Claxton said. “Some are required to be in it by resolution, by code. There’s a couple that chose to be in it, they’re not actually required to be in it. And then there’s quite a few — it’s not just the Cannabis Control Board — there’s other ones that aren’t presented in our annual budget process.”

Multiple members of Tribal Council said they favored considering Cannabis Control Board requests during the annual budget process from here on out.

Ultimately Tribal Council unanimously adopted Stamper’s amendment and passed the resolution. It now awaits a signature from Principal Chief Richard Sneed.

A rendering shows what the casino in Danville might look like once complete. Donated image

Maggie Valley candidate denies fraudulent registration accusation

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT P OLITICS E DITOR

The upcoming race for two alderman seats in Maggie Valley is sure to be exciting, but one Republican candidate is already drawing attention after allegations by a neighbor of voter registration fraud.

“Unless they’re on vacation or we’re on vacation, I see them every day,” said Pete Doyle, of Grandview Cliff Heights. “In order to leave the mountain, they have to drive right by me, and I see them every day when I walk my dog.”

Although Doyle has a Maggie Valley address, it lies outside town limits, as does that of Yvette “Eve” Barrett, who Doyle says lives just above him on Grandview Cliff Heights.

Barrett and her husband, James, own at least two homes in Haywood County — the $880,000, 2,900 square-foot house on Grandview Cliff Heights purchased in October 2021 and a $225,000, 1,160 squarefoot house on Bridle Drive purchased in May 2017.

When Eve Barrett filed to run for a seat on the Maggie Valley Board of Alderman back in July, she listed her Bridle Drive address as her residence.

The Bridle Drive address lies within the corporate limits of Maggie Valley. Candidates for municipal elections must reside within the corporate limits of the town in which they’re running.

Doyle, who has lived at his current address for eight years, says the Barretts don’t live on Bridle Drive, and that they instead live above him on Grandview Cliff Heights.

“She runs the Cabin Fairy company and she has a car that has all that signage on it, so she drives that car and he’s a handyman, so he drives a Toyota,” Doyle said of the distinctive advertising on Eve Barrett’s vehicle.

Popular vacation rental sites, along with social media, display rental listings for the Bridle Drive property where Barrett says she lives.

Booking.com shows a listing for the house on Bridle Drive, which the Barretts

apparently call “Vast Valley Views.” The listing says the rental is for the entire house — as opposed to a single room in someone’s home — and includes guest reviews as far back as July 2022 and as recent as April 2023. When The Smoky Mountain News attempted to book the cabin on Aug. 1, the website said there was availability for Aug. 7-9.

An Airbnb listing for Vast Valley Views also showed availability of the entire home for Aug. 7-9 and uses some of the same photographs as the Booking.com listing. The Airbnb listing includes multiple guest reviews from April 2023 as well as from previous months as far back as May 2022. At least one of the reviews contains references to owners “Eve and Jim.”

A VRBO listing for Vast Valley Views likewise had availability for the entire home from Aug. 7-9 and uses the same photographs as the other two vacation rental sites. The VRBO listing also includes a review from a guest who stayed for five nights in June, but has reviews dating back to July 2017.

A Facebook page for Vast Valley Views displays the Bridle Drive address and says, “As a vacation rental owner, my husband and I love sharing our cabin. Book. Stay. Make memories.”

Barrett’s been using the Bridle Drive address on official documents for at least two years, according to Town of Maggie Valley documents and publicly available voter registration information.

On July 31, 2021, she applied to become a member of the Maggie Valley Zoning Board of Adjustment, using the Bridle Drive address. She was appointed as an alternate member to the ZBA on Nov. 18, 2021.

Nearly a year later, on April 19, 2022, Barrett registered to vote at the Bridle Drive address. It’s not known if or where she was registered to vote when she signed her application the previous July.

Eve Barrett voted in the May 2022 Primary Election as well as the November 2022 General Election from the Bridle Drive address.

In February of this year, Barrett was

appointed as a full member of the ZBA. Doyle said he’s had previous run-ins with the Barretts and said that when he and his wife were recently on vacation, the Barretts cut off the tops of some trees to improve their view. Doyle says the trees are on his property.

When Doyle called a forensic arborist to examine the trees with a drone on July 25, James Barrett called the Haywood County Sheriff’s office “about someone flying a drone outside his home,” according to the

incident report. The responding deputy found no reason to believe there was “peeping tom activity going on,” as James had alleged.

Doyle says that his current allegations against Eve Barrett have nothing to do with the dispute.

“I think that Maggie people, they should elect somebody who can actually vote in Maggie,” he said.

S EE R EGISTRATION, PAGE 10

Two seats on the Maggie Valley Board of Alderman, along with the office of mayor, are up for election this

Records from the Haywood GIS system confirm Barrett, with her husband, owns the Bridle Drive property. She admitted that the property is used as a vacation rental and told The Smoky Mountain News that her name is on the utilities, that she pays taxes on the property and that she receives her mail there.

She disagrees with Doyle’s allegations, calling them “sour grapes” related to the tree-trimming incident.

“I already called the Board of Elections,” Barrett told The Smoky Mountain News. “When I registered, they vetted me. The address on my driver’s license is 160 Bridle Drive. That is on my driver’s license. I am a registered voter and the Board of Elections said, ‘You’re vetted and you’re good,’ so I’m not sure why people are making an issue of this.”

Haywood County Board of Elections

Director Robbie Inman said that “vetting” is a strong word and that his agency is not empowered to investigate the authenticity of a voter or candidate’s residency unless and until a formal challenge is filed.

There’s an expectation of honesty above all else, Inman said, and so long as the required documentation is provided and attested to by a voter’s signature — as Barrett did when she registered back on April 19, 2022 — residency is considered true and accurate.

“We do not investigate anything as

such,” Inman said. “This is what she declared.”

A 2022-23 membership directory of the Maggie Valley Country Club Estates Property Owners Association lists James and Eve as residents of the Grandview Cliff Heights address, and lists James as the vice president of the association. James is not a North Carolina resident according to Eve, and he’s not registered to vote anywhere in the state, per state Board of Elections data.

Statutes don’t say that a person has to have the same residence as their spouse.

But there’s more to residency than just having an address on a driver’s license. State statute defines residence for the purposes of voting as that place “… in which that person’s habitation is fixed, and to which, whenever that person is absent, that person has the intention of returning.”

Eve says she returns to the vacation rental frequently.

“I have video footage of me there every single — probably every three days. You will see my car driving in and out. I am actively at my property,” she said. “I’m there. I’m not an out-of-state person trying to fraudulently get over on the voters. I can show footage, and I can show it there for two hours. So yes, I live there. Absolutely. For the record, I absolutely do, between bookings, I sleep there on a regular basis. Between bookings, I

sleep at 160 [Bridle Drive], because I like to split my time up between my homes.”

Property records from Pinellas County, Florida, show that as of Aug. 5, James and Eve Barrett have owned a house in Dunedin since at least 1996 and have claimed a homestead exemption on that property every year through 2022.

The application for exemption from the Pinellas County property appraiser’s office contains a disclaimer for those filling out the exemption form.

“When filing this application, you will affirm that you are a permanent resident of Pinellas County, Florida, and that you own and in good faith occupy this residence as your homestead to the exclusion of any other permanent residence in any jurisdiction, state or country,” it reads. “Any person who knowingly gives false information to claim homestead exemption is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to $5,000 or both.”

The deadline to apply for a 2023 exemption was March 1, and there is no exemption in place for the Barretts’ Pinellas County property for 2023.

However, the exemption — and presumably the affirmation of residency in Pinellas County “to the exclusion of any other permanent residence in any jurisdiction, state or country” — was in place for the Pinellas County home when Barrett applied to

become a member of the Maggie Valley Zoning Board of Adjustment on July 31, 2021, and when she was appointed as an alternate member to the ZBA on Nov. 18, 2021, and when she registered to vote at the Bridle Drive address on April 19, 2022, and when she voted in the Primary Election on May 17, 2022, and when she voted in the General Election on Nov. 8, 2022.

North Carolina statutes are clear that although people can have more than one address, they can only have one residence for the purposes of voting.

In North Carolina, there is a formal process outlined in statute on how to challenge the residency of a candidate. During such proceedings, the burden of proof is on the candidate, but that ship has already sailed — candidate challenges can only be filed up to 10 days after the filing period, which ended on July 21.

There’s also a formal process to challenge the registration of a voter, but the burden of proof is on the challenger and the challenge has to take place at least 25 days before the election, which in this case would be Oct. 13.

The allegations against Eve Barrett have some parallels with two recent incidents in Western North Carolina that shed light on the hazy concept of “residency.”

In September, 2020, former Congressman Mark Meadows and his wife Debbie registered to vote at a dilapidated trailer they rented on Scaly Mountain in Macon County while he was serving as then-President Donald

Paper mill logs new violation notice

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS E DITOR

Pactiv Evergreen has been issued its second notice of violation in less than a month, bringing its total since May 2021 up to 15 — more than one violation every two months, on average.

This newest violation, issued Aug. 2, states that a review of the company’s toxicity self-monitoring report forms for March show a violation of the toxicity limit in its wastewater permit.

According to the permit, the mill must perform quarterly tests to ensure that discharge from the plant doesn’t have “observable inhibition of reproduction or significant mortality to Ceriodaphnia dubia at an effluent concentration of 90%.” Commonly known as the water flea, C. dubia is a tiny aquatic invertebrate that is used as an indicator to measure water toxicity. If the species can’t survive, the water quality is likely poor.

In results posted 2019-2023, levels had been recorded as 100%, well above the 90%

limit. The only exceptions were June 2022, when the result was 97.5%, and March 2023, when the figure plummeted to 45%.

The Aug. 2 letter directs the mill, which ceased production in May, to “take whatever remedial actions are necessary to eliminate the conditions causing the effluent toxicity violation(s).” These efforts could include conducting a toxicity reduction evaluation, a site-specific study to identify what caused the toxicity, isolating the sources of the toxicity, evaluating the effectiveness of toxicity

control options and confirming reductions in effluent toxicity.

State law allows for fines to be assessed when permit limits and requirements are violated, the letter warns.

The permit in question is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which governs the quality of the water leaving the mill after going through its onsite treatment system. Following a slate of public hearings in 2021, the permit was renewed in March 2022.

Trump’s chief of staff.

It was alleged that Mark Meadows never spent a night there and that the trailer didn’t even have a mailbox. Meadows and his wife were cleared of wrongdoing in December 2022.

Last June, several residents of Graham County’s Lake Santeetlah, a vacation community with few permanent residents, leveled voter registration fraud allegations against eight people, including six who claimed to live in a house that had burned down and two others who owned a home in the Charlotte area.

The challenge against the six members of the Hutsell family was mooted when they removed themselves from the Graham County voter rolls; however, NCSBE spokesman Patrick Gannon said in February that the board was still “looking into” the situation.

Paul Cox, general counsel for the NCSBE, said last week that the board “considers the information alleged in the voter challenges to be complaints of criminal violations” and that “All complaints of criminal violations are reviewed and investigated by the State Board’s investigations division, as warranted by the evidence and the law,” but didn’t have any updates on the result of that investigation.

The challenges lodged against the other two, John and Tina Emerson, were initially found by the Graham County Board of Elections to constitute probable cause for a

full hearing. But after that marathon hearing last October, the board determined that despite evidence that the Emersons don’t actually reside at Lake Santeetlah, voters in Graham County can now establish legal residency simply by declaring their “intent” to reside in a particular place.

The challengers appealed that decision to Superior Court, and there’s been little movement of the case since then.

As in Lake Santeetlah, any registered voter within the corporate limits of Maggie Valley can challenge the right of any other person to register, remain registered or vote in that jurisdiction, although filing a fraudulent challenge is a felony.

Challenges must first be brought to the county’s board of elections, which would then schedule a public preliminary hearing, receive testimony and examine evidence.

If the board finds probable cause, it must schedule a formal, quasi-judicial hearing on the matter and the board members would vote to sustain or dismiss the allegations. The burden of proof is on the challenger.

No formal challenge to Barrett’s residency has yet been lodged. If it’s proven that Barrett does not reside at the Bridle Drive cabin listed on vacation rental sites, she could face felony charges of voter registration fraud and could see other consequences related to her ZBA application as well as the votes she cast in the 2022 Primary and General Elections. She’d also be ineligible to hold the Maggie Valley alderman seat if elected.

After 115 years, the mill in Canton stopped making paper in May. Max Cooper photo

Silers gather in Macon for 172nd ‘family meeting’

BY BOB SCOTT C ONTRIBUTING W RITER

The Silers were at it again.

For 172 years, they have held their Family Meeting in Macon County. Do not call it a reunion — although technically it is. To the Silers, it is a meeting, such as a corporation’s annual gathering of stockholders.

They came together 177 strong, for their latest.

The Siler Family Meeting is the oldest continuously held family meeting/reunion in the United States according to National Geographic, Parade Magazine and other sources, including Google, which calls it the “Oldest Family Reunion” in the United States. It’s the Methuselah of America’s family get-togethers. Nationally, an estimated 8 million Americans attend family reunions yearly. But not with the continuity of the Silers’.

The Siler name is stamped on Siler Bald (Macon County), Silers Bald (Great Smoky Mountains National Park), Joanna Bald (Graham County) and Albert Mountain (Macon County). Family legend has it that the peaks were named after Siler family members by the cartographer who roomed with the Silers when mapping Western North Carolina.

The Silers’ meetings, akin to pigeons coming to roost, are traditionally held on the first Saturday of August. They elect officers and keep minutes. The meeting is called to order with an antique hand carved family gavel. They sing, vote on motions and resolutions and eat.

And do they eat.

Everyone is urged to bring enough dinner for their family and a few others. They spread dinner out potluck style.

The Siler Family Meeting was established in 1853 and has weathered a Civil War, world wars, polio epidemics and Covid.

The family would meet at a kin folks homeplace, in the reaches of the hard scrabble coves near Franklin. The meeting has drawn as many as 300 Siler descendants from across the world and back to their Macon County home-spun roots for an afternoon of fellowship, food, business, and

fun. There is a recitation of the past year’s newcomers, births, marriages, and remembrance of those who have passed on. They spin family facts mixed with myths.

In the late 1700s, Weimer Siler and his Irish wife ventured into North Carolina from Pennsylvania, settling in what is now Siler City after hearing sweet potatoes grew well there. Sweet potatoes are still found in abundance at their meeting.

After later moving to Buncombe County, Weimer’s son, Jacob, came to Macon

County in 1817 to claim land. He then invited his brothers, William, Jesse, John and their families to join him.

In 1853, Jacob invited them all to a New Year’s celebration, thus beginning the Family Meeting tradition. The family “partook bountifully of the good things spread before them,” according to letters and minutes. Jacob was named the chair of the meeting, and speeches followed.

The Silers were noted for hiding and protecting Cherokee during the “Trail of

Tears” removal. Several Cherokees are buried in the St. John’s Episcopal Church Cemetery in Macon County’s Cartoogechaye Community.

Since its genesis, the family has migrated from meeting in homes to church yards, to camps, to school cafeterias, to event venues able to handle large crowds. The Family Meeting was moved to August during the Civil War.

In the past, when the meeting was held in the countryside, the children snuck away from the adults to a nearby spring or creek to catch tadpoles and salamanders or play cutthroat dodgeball with their cousins.

Lucy Siler, who grew up in Franklin and now lives in Charlotte, is chair of the current meeting. She reflected on the many meetings she has attended. The success and longevity of the meeting is steeped in tradition although many Silers no longer live in Macon County.

“They want to keep their hometown feeling,” Siler said when asked why the Silers and their kin continue getting together.

The meeting recognizes the youngest, the oldest, and whoever traveled the farthest to get back to their Siler roots, even if only three or four hours. Those who marry into the tribe become a F

Siler, regardless of birth or married name.

This year, the two who traveled the furthest came from Italy and London. The oldest man was 89 and the oldest woman 99. The youngest was 13 months.

There are a few speeches and music accompanied by guitars, including a solo or two. And then, of course, the family business.

In the tradition of well-run meetings, the minutes from last year’s meeting are approved before being posted. The minutes of nearly two centuries of the meeting are archived at the local Fontana Regional Library, the Macon County Public Library. The family has a website, and most all their business is shared over the internet, connecting Silers who have roamed across the world. There remains a group of direct descendants in Franklin.

Dale Neal, a former Asheville Citizen Reporter and a writer of things Appalachian, wrote about attending the 165th meeting in 2016.

“The gathering comes with the usual trappings of Southern summer gettogether with the usual array of meats, casseroles, deviled eggs, desserts and sweet tea. Nancy Siler remembers her father used to bring a leg of lamb and a cousin always had her lemon sponge cake,” Neal reported. More than one offering is a family closely held secret recipe.

Family reunions cut across rural, urban, ethnic, racial and religious lines.

“People want to reconnect with their roots. The family are the people who make

up the first important group for any individual, it’s who you are,” Neal quoted Larry Basirico, emeritus professor of sociology at Elon University.

Basirico is a noted expert in the study of family reunions. His latest book, “The Family Reunion Survival Guide,” offers practical advice for planning family reunions and avoiding conflicts.

Every year, a branch of Weimer Siler’s sons volunteer to be the hosts. It takes a team of labor to put the meeting together. The hosts volunteer two to three years in advance. The largest meeting was 300 people. The last meeting in a home was in 1972.

The Silers, although scattered, pledge to continue coming together to oversee their family business with dinner, opening the meeting with “Bless be the Tie that Binds.”

The meeting ends with the family and their guests standing, holding hands, and singing “God be with you till we meet again.”

Then the Silers drift away — until next August for their 173rd meeting.

The following is a resolution voted on and adopted unanimously at the Oct. 12, 1865 Siler Family Meeting following the Civil War.

Cartoogechaye, Macon County, North Carolina

October 12th, 1865

Preamble and Resolutions, which were unanimously adopted — (Offered by J. R. Siler)

Whereas in October 1861, while the great conflict between the North and the South, was shaking the whole fabric of our government, our family meeting defined their position by a resolution unanimously passed, by taking sides with the South.

And whereas, it is but justice to ourselves and our posterity that the records of our family meeting should show to posterity, what position we accept under the changed circumstances that now surround us.

And whereas, the four years of bloody war, in which both parties lost thousands of men and millions of treasure, evinced to the world, that notwithstanding the gallant South was forced to submit to the overpowering North, had made the United States the greatest country in the world;Therefore Resolved, That, trusting to the faithful historian to do both parties justice, we bow to circumstances as they are; and as the government offers us terms on which we claim their protection, it is our duty to bear true allegiance to the constitution, submit to the requirements of the authorities, keep down all exciting political discussions and endeavor to make good and quiet citizens of the U. States.

Resolved, That, although we have lost so many noble friends — our country is filled with widows and orphans and disabled soldiers — our servants are liberated — our currency worthless and many other things look gloomy and unpromising; yet we will not despair, but go to work, like the faithful ant, to repair the desolations already made and trust in Providence that good will yet result from it, and that we will be a great and happy people.

The Siler Family Meeting was established in 1853 and has weathered a Civil War, world wars, polio epidemics and Covid.

A call to hate: victims speak out over false allegations

BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT P OLITICS E DITOR

The biological females who visited the Waynesville Recreation Center and followed the letter of the law but were subsequently the subject of a social media firestorm that included threats of violence are speaking out for the first time about their experience.

The person called Jane Doe was confused for the couple who visited the Rec Center on the same day.

The episode started when a youth pastor named Jess Scott claimed in a July 12 post on Facebook his teenage daughter and his niece witnessed a “full grown man” changing into a bikini in the women’s locker room at the rec center.

In a rush to judgement, Scott’s post was shared multiple times, including by local leaders, business owners and Republican candidates for Waynesville’s governing board.

Some of the comments on the posts promised violent retribution.

A few days later, another woman filed a police report about the same individual being at the rec center, referred to by The

Smoky Mountain News as “Jane Doe” because they’ve yet to be identified.

That report failed to state any cause of action other than the woman’s discomfort at having to share the unisex sauna with a

transgender person.

Parallel investigations by Waynesville administrators and by the Waynesville Police Department centered on video footage of Doe’s visits to the Waynesville

Recreation Center on July 12, 17 and 18.

Waynesville Town Attorney Martha Bradley wrote in a July 23 memo that based on the video evidence, Scott’s allegations were not supported.

Two days later, a regularly scheduled meeting of the Town of Waynesville’s governing board turned into a display of unity as the LGBTQ+ community, along with cisgender allies, showed up in force to decry the hate and bigotry that the social media allegations provoked.

Speakers during the public comment session talked about their hopes, their fears, their constitutional rights and their desire for accountability on the part of those who fueled the furor.

Only one of the roughly 20 speakers that night, David Lovett of Waynesville, expressed disdain for the very existence of LGBTQ+ people — vowing to deprive them of their legal rights to access public accommodations by force if necessary.

At the end of the public comment session, elected officials took two huge steps to express solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

The first was to endorse a statement by Council Member Anthony Sutton condemning “cold-hearted, calloused and libelous attacks” on LGBTQ+ people. Sutton is Waynesville’s first openly gay member of the town’s governing board.

The second was for town government to reexamine all of its policies to ensure that there was no language, explicit or implied, that could

Ash and Eli, targeted by false allegations about indecent behavior at the Waynesville Recreation Center, are speaking about their experience for the first time. Cory Vaillancourt photo

be perceived as discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

One week later, the Waynesville Police Department announced that Scott had come forward with “additional information.” Based on the new information, another investigation was conducted by the WPD, but it yielded the same result — no unlawful activity had occurred at the Waynesville Recreation Center.

Two of the people at the center of Scott’s most recent allegations agreed to meet with The Smoky Mountain News and speak on the condition of anonymity, due to the violent threats made against them and against the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. They asked to be referred to as Ash and Eli.

SMN has confirmed that both were contacted by WPD as part of the investigation, and that they presented their drivers licenses as proof of their birth genders — both are biologically female, both outwardly present as female, both identify as nonbinary and both shared their harrowing story of feeling targeted for their identity by people they don’t even know.

“It’s been hard. I’ve been avoiding social media because of the threats,” Ash said. “I’ve been avoiding news articles because of the threats. We have protection at our house, we have surveillance cameras and other security measures, but this makes me want to do more.”

Eli was first to discover the now-deleted July 12 post made by Scott, who didn’t respond to a request for comment by SMN.

“I just remember the fear that struck through me when I read the post, and I said, ‘That is my family,’” Eli said. “I felt it in my heart. I was so fearful I started crying. I immediately worried that people were going to show up at my house, like a mob.”

Ash and Eli did indeed visit the Waynesville Recreation Center on July 12, just hours after Jane Doe did. Wearing swim clothes under their street clothes, Ash and Eli entered the women’s locker room and said there was a teenage girl, without any adult supervision, who wouldn’t stop staring at them.

The girl made Ash and Eli so uncomfortable that they went into separate changing stalls, behind curtains, and removed their street clothes there.

North Carolina law is clear on the rights and responsibilities of people using public accommodations. After a compromise repeal of HB2, commonly called the “bathroom bill,” and following subsequent court cases, people may select the bathroom, locker room or changing area that most closely aligns with their identity.

Even if they had entered into a state of

undress in the locker room — something most people would reasonably expect to encounter in such a facility — that alone would not be a criminal act.

According to Waynesville’s Police Chief David Adams, absent an overt act like assault or graphic sexual conduct, undressing in a room specifically designed for that purpose is not a crime.

Regardless, Ash and Eli discussed which facility to use before their arrival, and settled on the women’s locker room because they weren’t aware of the current status of their rights and because they could prove via drivers licenses that they’re both female.

“According to the post, it sounded like it was all indecent exposure and that [Scott’s daughter] saw this burly, full grown man come in there and that’s not what happened at all,” Eli said. “[Scott] could have filed a police report at that point. You don’t immediately just skip over everything and go straight to social media. It almost was like a call to hate.”

Ash was quick to point out that it’s an awful slippery slope to make determinations on a person’s gender or gender identity based on their appearance; a condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome can produce hormonal effects that can lead to women — even cisgender women — taking on a more masculine appearance.

Ash also said she doesn’t agree with other media outlets trying to turn Scott into a victim.

“It feels like they’re trying to turn [Scott] into the victim even though he’s the one who rushed to post on Facebook, who didn’t put in a police report, who didn’t go through all these proper channels that you would have when you actually have a concern about your daughter dealing with something as serious as seeing, like, male genitalia in a bathroom,” Eli said. “He said like, ‘I didn’t mean for it to turn into hate, I didn’t mean it for to turn into this, I deleted the comments,’ but the story was already out there. The comments were already out there. They already threatened to murder and hurt people. It’s like a slap in the face.”

Despite the terror felt by Ash and Eli over the two-week period during which the drama unfolded, they both feel buoyed by the support of Western North Carolina’s LGBTQ+ community and had especially kind words for the Waynesville Police Department, whom they say treated them with dignity and respect.

They also expressed approval for the measures town government took in the wake of the allegations.

“I feel they are doing what they can with the means that they’re given,” Ash said. “I do think it’s been a step in the right direction.”

Ash and Eli don’t want to see anyone

Candidate withdraws from Waynesville Council race

The field got just a little bit smaller in the race for Waynesville Town Council last week, as one of the nine candidates seeking four available seats withdrew.

Ronnie Call withdrew from the race on July 28. Call had unsuccessfully applied for appointment to the Waynesville Planning Board in August 2022. The form filed by Call does not list a reason for his withdrawal.

Call’s departure leaves four challengers — Tre Franklin, Peggy Hannah, Ken Hollifield and Stephanie Sutton.

All four incumbent Council Members, Chuck Dickson, Jon Feichter, Julia Freeman and Anthony Sutton (no relation to Stephanie) are up for reelection this coming November, when voters can select up to four candidates.

The General Election will be unusual

else subjected to the kind of dehumanizing ridicule and graphic threats they were subjected to — even those whose comments shook them to their core.

“I wish there was a way to give them education instead of punishment,” Eli said. “They can educate these folks that we are people, that we exist and that we are not here to harm you or your chil-

this year in that the top two finishers will earn four-year terms, with the thirdand fourth-place finishers earning twoyear terms. Those two-year terms will end in 2025, and whoever wins those seats will then be awarded four-year terms.

That regimen will set up staggered terms on the Waynesville Town Council, where two seats on Council will be up for election every two years.

Earlier this year, Council voted to set up the staggered terms to avoid the possibility that an entire board could be swept out in a single election, resulting in the loss of institutional knowledge, costly delays to ongoing town initiatives and possible staff turnover related to working with an entirely new board.

The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 7 municipal elections is Oct. 13. This year, voters must present one of several forms of valid identification to vote. To learn more about registration or voting, visit ncsbe.gov.

— Cory Vaillancourt, politics editor

dren.”

Instead, they hope the community can build on the experience, even though they sometimes still look over their shoulder when walking down the street at night.

“I feel safe with my family. I felt safe with when that crowd poured in with support. I’m feeling safe right now,” Ash said. “But that could change tomorrow.”

“I wish there was a way to give them education instead of punishment. They can educate these folks that we are people, that we exist and that we are not here to harm you or your children.”

— Eli

74 North Main Street | (828) 634-7333

At allentate.com, enter the address into the search bar for details on any property.

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A voter guide for Birdtown Tribal Council

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF W RITER

Cherokee’s June 1 Primary Election whittled the field of candidates for Birdtown Tribal Council down to four, and they will face off during the General Election Thursday, Sept. 7.

If those primary results are any indication, the contest has the potential to cause shakeup on Tribal Council. In Primary Election results, incumbent Boyd Owle and his brother Jim Owle were at the top of the pack, each receiving about 27% of the vote. Jim Owle edged Boyd Owle by only four votes.

Vice Chairman Albert Rose commanded 19.1%, coming in 109 votes behind Jim Owle — which, incidentally, is the same number of votes received by fifth-place Joi Owle, who did not survive the primary. Close behind Rose was Cyndi Lambert, at 18.4% with 244 votes.

The Smoky Mountain News reached out to all four candidates to ask their opinion on a range of issues. Lambert was the only candidate who responded for this General Election questionnaire. Information about the remaining three candidates is drawn from previous reporting by SMN. Rose had responded to a more limited questionnaire ahead of the Primary Election.

CYNDI LAMBERT

Lambert, 57, owns and operates a carwash, self-service laundromat and the Cherokee Grand Hotel in Cherokee’s casino district. She has been in private business for 28 years and began her career as a front office clerk for the EBCI Finance Department 1993-1997, where she helped get out the very first casino per capita distribution in 1995.

Top priorities if elected: Use her experience and philosophy in making sound financial decisions to help the tribe invest in town and local infrastructure to bring modernization and new developments to Cherokee, and to use its resources to bring more services and opportunities to the Cherokee people.

NCDOT seeks input for 10year transportation plan

The N.C. Department of Transportation is beginning to evaluate projects for its next 10year capital plan and wants the public to be involved.

The State Transportation Improvement

Opinion on proposed constitution: Lambert believes that the proposed constitution presented this year would have had unintended consequences for people and government, and that getting the tribe to agree on a single, comprehensive document could prove difficult at best. She pointed to England, which does not have a constitution but whose courts point to certain acts of Parliament as “constitutional” as an example of an avenue Cherokee could pursue. She said Tribal Council should formally codify the judiciary and adopt laws for tribal members’ individual civil rights and liberties, and that these provisions in tribal code should function as a de facto constitution.

Path to stabilize and grow tribal finances: The first step is to better understand where the tribe stands financially — depending who you ask, it’s either broke or doing just fine, Lambert said. Reporting, accountability and return on investments from some of the LLCs the tribe has formed and funded over the past several years are “nonexistent or severely lacking,” she said. These LLCs must be brought back under a reporting scheme to the tribe, and prescribed payback periods, with interest, must be mandated for any startup capital the tribe provided them. Most importantly, she said, the tribe must demand profit returns or seek windup of the affairs of unprofitable LLCs.

Ideas to improve economic development and quality of life in Cherokee: The tribe excels at many aspects of quality of life and economic development but is lacking in infrastructure for a healthy lifestyle and economic enticement for entrepreneurial investment and growth, Lambert said. While resolutions have been passed authorizing various projects addressing these needs, “none of these things ever get done.” Lambert proposes a large investment to incentivize new businesses to locate on tribal lands, using tax packages, lease incentives and streamlined access. Additionally, the tribe must build the proper infrastructure and lessen the burden to entice new development.

Hear the candidates

All four candidates participated in a General Election debate hosted by The Cherokee One Feather. Watch it at bit.ly/birdtowndebate23, starting at the hour and 54minute mark.

ALBERT ROSE

Rose, 51, is serving his fifth term representing Birdtown on Tribal Council. Seven years before joining Tribal Council in 2013, he retired from a 20-year career with UPS and started his own contracting firm. He received a General Contractor License in both heavy highway and commercial building. In 2019, he was certified as a minority-owned, disadvantaged and small business enterprise, and qualified for the Small Business Administration’s HUBZone program to fuel growth in historically underutilized business zones.

Top priorities if elected: Defend Cherokee identity and heritage by continuing to pressure the U.S. Department of Interior and other agencies to resist recognizing organizations falsely claiming to be tribal nations — a category that Rose believes includes the Lumbee — and to recognize tribal sovereignty; strengthen tribal assets and investments by holding investment entities accountable and ensuring promises are delivered; encourage development of business incubators and further access for capital for local businesses.

Opinion on proposed constitution: Like the rest of Tribal Council, Albert Rose voted in favor of the constitution referendum when it was proposed in April. Unlike the rest of Tribal Council, he was the sole vote against a

July resolution that rescinded April’s decision and required further work on the proposed constitution before taking it to referendum.

BOYD OWLE

Owle has represented Birdtown on Tribal Council since 2017. He graduated from Cherokee High School, and at the age of 47 he enrolled in Montreat College, receiving an associate degree in 2004. From there he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2006 and a Master of Science in management and leadership in 2009. Prior to serving on Council, Owle worked at the Cherokee Boys Club for more than 20 years, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino for 12 years and as tribal sanitation manager for eight years.

Opinion on proposed constitution: Like the rest of Tribal Council, Owle voted in favor of the constitution referendum when it was proposed in April. However, he quickly reversed his opinion as the document came under scrutiny from the EBCI Attorney General’s Office. During a June 1 Council meeting, he said he should have read the proposed document more closely before voting to pass it, saying that it was a “bad product” that was going to be “very difficult to operate under.”

JIM OWLE

Owle broke to the top of a pack of eight vice chief candidates in the 2019 race to face current Vice Chief Alan “B” Ensley in the General Election. He served on the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise, the tribe’s gaming regulatory authority, from 2014 until his removal in 2020. At that time, he was the board’s chairman.

Choices narrow for Big Cove

In a letter to the editor published in the Aug. 2 issue of The Cherokee One Feather, Police Chief Carla Neadeau announced that she was bowing out of the race for Big Cove Tribal Council.

“With much prayer and the thoughtful encouragement from many community members, I felt it is best for me to stay and serve as the Cherokee Indian Police Department’s Chief of Police,” she wrote. “I hold this position in the highest respect and honor possible. Law enforcement is engrained in my daily life. I have built a team of coworkers whom I trust, and I want to oversee their success, and the success of our tribal department, so future generations of law enforcement officers may serve with pride and dignity on our Indian land.”

Neadeau did not rule out a future run for office, saying that Big Cove is an “amazing traditional Cherokee community” and that it “would be an honor” to represent it on Tribal Council, though “now is not the time.”

Neadeau had been one of four candidates who filed for election in March. Big Cove voters will now choose two of the remaining three candidates to represent them. These candidates are incumbent Chairman Richard French, former Rep. Perry Shell and challenger Venita Wolfe.

Program (STIP) identifies construction and funding schedules for state transportation projects over a 10-year period. NCDOT is seeking project input for the STIP that will cover 2026-2035.

A 30-day public comment period will run from Aug. 1-31. Within this time frame, the public can send in comments and suggestions in a short, interactive survey, or may visit local NCDOT offices during designated, weeklong

drop-in periods to ask questions and submit comments in person.

More information on ways to provide feedback can be found on the 2026-2035 STIP webpage.

Please note that this comment period is not for maintenance-related projects, such as patching potholes, resurfacing or ditches. NCDOT uses a different method to prioritize

maintenance projects.

This initial round of public input will help produce a list of projects across all six modes of transportation that will be scored based on a data-driven process called Strategic Prioritization.

Additional public comment periods will be held prior to the first draft of the 2026-2035 STIP being released in early 2025.

A call for help from veteran election officials

BY DAVID HOOD AND BARRY CHENEY G UEST C OLUMNISTS

As two of the longest serving election officials in North Carolina, we write from Hickory with an important invitation for voters across the state — and an urgent warning.

We are Republican and Democratic officers of the Catawba County Board of Election, with 39 years of combined service. We disagree on many topics, but we are united in making the voting process work fairly and securely for our county’s citizens. In fact, having board members from opposing parties, plus partisan diversity among poll workers, provides an added dimension of security because our presence alongside each other strengthens our oaths to follow election law as it is, not as our parties wish it might be.

Here’s our invitation: come join us! Whether you think elections are full of fraud or just wonder how ballots are counted, we invite you to get deep inside the system by working as an election official in your community.

In mid-August, county boards of elections across N.C. will be appointing poll workers — we call them judges — who will be trained, paid and assigned to a polling place to help administer the 2023 and 2024 elections. You can use the State Board of Elections’ website to sign up to serve or contact your county political party or your county elections board.

By becoming poll workers, many skeptics have learned

There is room at the table for all

To the Editor:

Congratulations to the Smoky Mountain News and Cory Vaillancourt! The exceptional coverage of the recent lies targeting the Waynesville Recreation Center and our LBGT/Trans neighbors was thorough, informative and written with clarity and reason.

After reading the article and attending the Waynesville Town Council meeting on July 25, I was also newly impressed with the Waynesville Police Department; if I ever break the law, they’re the ones I want to arrest me. The Town Council? I like them, too.

Remember the story of Chicken Little, who felt an acorn fall on his head and concluded — with no evidence — that the sky was falling? With no notice of the oak tree and without self-examination as to the source of his fear, he flapped hysterically about the barnyard and soon had half the poultry population screaming in blind, unjustified terror.

Folks, the sky is not falling. Look up. If you think your Bible tells you to harm a neighbor who is doing nothing to harm you, ask yourself why you feel responsible for handling issues that God is perfectly capable of handling without your misguided, panicky interference.

Stay in your own yard and let your neighbors stay in theirs. Better yet, tear down the fear-fence, pull out the ol’ grill, and invite your neighbors over. We have much to learn from each other. There is room at the table and food enough for all.

Wanda Taylor Canton

that we have a remarkable system in North Carolina — the best in the nation — because it involves citizens from different parties working side by side with a professional staff at each stage of the process. No system run by humans is perfect, certainly mistakes can happen, but we suspect you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how many procedures are in place to safeguard a citizen’s right to vote, as well as the election’s overall accuracy.

Sadly, an epidemic of misinformation is taking a toll on people’s confidence in election security and accuracy. People hear something strange about a voting machine in Wisconsin or Arizona, true or false, and then attack our procedures and officials. Now, some legislators in Raleigh are promoting a host of election changes in the name of improving voter confidence.

Some changes would have a profound impact on your voting experience.

In a recent letter, we joined other long-serving county board members to urge legislators to talk with local election officials about the possible unintended consequences of these proposals. For example, one bill (HB772) would allow up to 12 political observers to “move freely around the voting enclosure” and make audio or video recording in various situations. As a practical matter, that level of activity would be impossible to supervise and would likely increase, rather than

LETTERS

Trans people just don’t exist

To the Editor:

Your entire article regarding the trans person at the Waynesville Recreation Center starts with a lie.

There is no mere existence of trans people. There is no existence at all of trans people. And then your article attempts to make it look like religious fanatics are the only ones opposing the transgender lies.

The biggest opposition comes from the LGB community. People who have nothing in common with the fantasts claiming to be of a different gender than the one they were born with and they will die with. The self-proclaimed trans mob attaches themselves to the LGB community in a two-fold attempt, one to try to profit from the achievements of the LGB community and the other to try to justify their lies by pretending to be a real thing.

Gino De Neef Franklin

We should not tolerate the lies

To the Editor:

A strange paradox is alive in American politics. Those who support Donald Trump either knowingly or unknowingly allow him to exert his lies on all Americans (not merely those who support him). Some claim that the gains in the Supreme Court justify their toler-

reduce, voters’ concerns about secure and secret balloting.

Another proposal (SB749) says the county board of elections director would not be hired by the board but by county commissioners – whose election the director oversees. This would put that director, and by extension all the professional staff, in an impossible situation.

Another bill (SB747) says by next fall county boards must authenticate absentee voters by matching signatures on ballot forms and old registration forms. The process is not clearly defined or funded. It would be prudent to recognize that other states have taken more time to develop safeguards so signatures (and ballots) are not wrongly rejected.

We’re very concerned that some of these proposals could harm rather than enhance confidence in our elections. We invite and need your help. Share your views with your N.C. House and Senate members, and please urge them to discuss these bills with local election officials to learn about their practical consequences.

We have a good election system in North Carolina. By working together — board members, professional staff, voters and lawmakers — we can resolve problems that arise and maintain a voting process that is accessible, secure and fair. (Republican David Hood is the secretary and former chair of the Catawba County Board of Elections, and Democrat Barry Cheney is the current board chair.)

ance because it has resulted in an abortion ban. Yet abortion is an individual choice. Under American laws and most religions each individual is accountable for his/her actions and inactions. No one will answer to a higher power for someone else’s decision to abort.

Those who profess to be Christians should know this spiritual tenet: each of us is held accountable for what we do and fail to do. No matter how noble it may appear to tolerate lies in order to get something you want it is still a moral failure, an illusion. I see nothing in the “Evangelical” Bible that urges us to tolerate Trump’s lies. Neither do I see anything

that tells the Supreme Court to deny any woman the right to decide (right or wrong ) what to do when she becomes pregnant. Where is the moral gain?

Famous songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler penned a classis song entitled “The Reverend Mr. Black.” In that song he asserts: “You’ve got to walk that lonesome valley. You’ve got to walk it by yourself. Oh nobody else can walk it for you. You’ve got to walk it by yourself.”

Please don’t tell me you tolerate Trump’s lies in order to gain something. You lose moral ground when you do so.

Dave Waldrop Webster

And you were looking forward to adulthood

Kayden’s car had “an issue,” she said. It’s an old Toyota RAV4 she inherited from her mom several years ago, the kind of car that has been fixed up and patched up over and over again, the kind of car that when she sideswiped a bollard post in a parking garage, she took one look at the caved-in, bear-scratched passenger side and said to herself, “not so bad,” certainly nothing to worry mom or dad about, and just kept on trucking for a few months before the big reveal during fall break.

“Don’t tell mom,” she said, as we surveyed the damage together in the driveway.

“You don’t think she’ll notice that your car looks like it was T-boned by a rhinoceros?” I said.

But this is something different, a kind of chug-chug-chugging that was causing the car to sputter and balk, lurch and then sputter again, making every climb up a hill a white knuckle adventure.

We took it to the same mechanic we’ve been using for years, who told us a few days later that car needed a new water pump, tensioner rod, and a new belt, about $700 worth of repairs including labor.

“You want me to fix it?” he said.

These are never the words you want to hear from your mechanic, because they are code for, “This car is on its last legs, looks like a stepped-on beer can, and probably should be parted out or taken to the nearest junkyard. But it’s your money.”

If nothing else, this would be a good opportunity to discuss the finer points of what it means to be an adult with my adultin-training daughter. When you are in your teens, you think that adulting will be a series of thrilling, very dramatic “big moment” decisions and actions, with great swaths of complete freedom between those moments to do whatever you want. You think of adulthood as a license to do virtually anything at any time with anyone for any reason.

Instead, it’s a never-ending river of stuff like this. Deciding whether to sink another few hundred bucks in a last-legs car in hopes of it getting your daughter through her last year in college, when she will graduate and take her first tentative steps toward—God bless us, every one—solvency. Either that, or we take on another car payment.

“Fix it, please.”

When you’re young, you think adulthood is going be cinematic, but it’s frighteningly

prosaic. It’s remembering to stay hydrated and avoiding eating out too much. It’s a lot of stuff like that.

It’s about finding a retired engineer on Craigslist who sells reconditioned lawnmowers for fifty bucks that run just fine for five years instead of spending five hundred for a new one.

It’s about finding the gumption to go to the grocery store on a rainy Saturday when you’d rather spend the day in your pajamas reading in bed or binge-watching “The West Wing” for the fifth time.

It’s about finding recipes that make it possible to enjoy tofu and eating your produce before it turns into green sludge in your refrigerator.

It’s about learning which snakes are poisonous and which are harmless, and what to do about a hornets’ nest or ant infestation.

Eventually, as the poet Sylvia Plath once put it, it is looking in the mirror every morning when you brush your teeth, only to find old age rising toward you “day after day, like a terrible fish.”

Adulthood is a fascinating rebellion of your body against the folly of youth, when you could eat or drink anything with little trace of a consequence. Now, a single slice of Tiramisu will push your blood sugar over 250. Half a bottle of red wine will make waking up in the morning feel like climbing out of a muddy grave.

Adulthood is shooting pains, ingrown hairs, skin tags, age spots, and hair growth migration. It’s pulling a muscle when you reach for the tin foil in the top cabinet because you couldn’t find the lid for your Tupperware container, and you want to save the rest of the soup for lunch tomorrow.

It’s being on a first name basis with your chiropractor.

It’s trying to figure out how you are going to pay for yet another crown on your left lower molar without sacrificing your beach vacation. And your son needs new tires!

“Dad, DAD! Who says I want to grow up? Isn’t there anything good about adulthood?”

Black walnut ice cream. Baseball. Miles Davis and Billie Holiday. The Stones. October sunsets. Your favorite pair of shoes. A hot bath in January with a good book. Dogs. The neighbors’ donkeys, Maisey and Daisy, waiting everyday by the fence for you to give them treats. A marriage that has been battled for year by year and inch by inch. All the Kung Pao Chicken you can eat.

But you’ll have to make your own list, and you absolutely have to have one. That’s the deal. Welcome to your life.

And eventually, you’ll drive a better car.

(Chris Cox is a writer and teacher who lives in Haywood County. jchriscox@live.com.)

Columnist Chris Cox

Burning the prairie

Grizzly Goat to play Cold Mountain Music Festival

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITOR

Formed in Provo, Utah, a decade ago, rising Americana/indie ensemble Grizzly Goat has called North Carolina home for several years now, with home base of the group located in Raleigh.

Like its geographical background, the sonic landscape of the band is a blend of the ancient tones of Southern Appalachian string music, a thick thread of that signature Raleigh indie-folk sound and a hearty helping of Rocky Mountain folk-n-soul for good measure.

“It’s a brotherhood. We get our kicks by making art as a group and are mostly impervious about the music industry,” said singer/guitarist Nate Waggoner. “Fans have gathered over the years, which has been validating and fun. But, even if we didn’t feel any progress as a band, we’d still be making music together — it’s the joy of being creative and traveling together that keeps us moving forward.”

As a teenager, Waggoner remembers being in trouble often for having a mischievous soul. It wasn’t that he was bad kid by any means, it was that he hated to be told what to do with his time by adults. And it was at this early juncture where he discovered and immersed himself in the work of the late, great country singer Johnny Cash.

“[His] songs about being a ‘hardened criminal’ just resonated for me. I wasn’t in Folsom prison, I was in detention. But

the way the song felt and the way I felt were one in the same,” Waggoner said. “As a folk singer, I’ve just been chasing that. It’s such a validating experience to have someone come up after a show and quote back my lyrics and then tell me how the lines spoke to them.”

Now 32, Waggoner has spent most of his adult life crisscrossing America with Grizzly Goat, this roaming posse of troubadours and hopeful, kind souls in search of kindred spirits through the timeless conduit of meaningful lyrical aptitude in the realm of live music.

“I don’t know how to do anything besides moving at my own pace — I think you run the risk of being disingenuous to do anything else,” Waggoner said. “As a band, we sing about what we want to sing about and play our instruments the way to want to play them. There’s no format to follow. Most of our parents were hard workers and entrepreneurs — that’s the same ethos we’ve taken in Grizzly Goat.”

With age comes well-earned wisdom about life and love, nothing and everything under the sun and moon. For Waggoner, it’s about conjuring the melodies he’s pulling from the unknown depths of his cosmic being — inspiration arising from family, friends and frolicking coast-to-coast, all while being cognizant of time and place in our infinite universe.

“Time is a hot commodity. Spending time on the wrong things has made me feel poor, spending it on the right things has made me feel rich,” Waggoner said. “As a kid, summers were endless. I no longer feel that way. [And] it makes me sad in a way. But, it compels me to be more deliberate with my time, which is a blessing.”

In this modern era of undulating digital distraction and incessant white noise, it seems the role of the songwriter in the 21st century is as important and vital as ever before. For Waggoner and his bandmates, it’s about continually aiming to connect intrinsically with the listener — whether radiating from the stage or the stereo.

Want to go?

The annual Cold Mountain Music Festival will be held on Saturday, Aug. 12, at Lake Logan in Canton. Performers will include soul/blues legend Bettye LaVette, Eddie 9V, Tyler Ramsey, Grizzly Goat, Unspoken Tradition and Scott T. Smith. Gates open at noon. Music kicks off at 1 p.m. Campsites are available. Food trucks, artisan booths and craft beer vendors will also be onsite. Proceeds benefit the programs at Lake Logan and Camp Henry. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to coldmountainmusic.org.

“Songwriter is such a broad title. There are songwriters who, in my humble opinion, are producing digital distractions and white noise, little soundbites of dopamine — that type of music has its time and place and its crowd,” Waggoner said. “My favorite songwriters are the ones who are focusing on more substantial themes. A song that causes me to reflect on where I’m at in life, look inward at my motives and my ego, look outward at the world around me — a great song is like an honest conversation with an old friend.”

Looking toward the horizon of its intent, Grizzly Goat is simply an outfit of best friends who started this journey together some 10 years ago. As with anything worthwhile in life, it’s a meandering path of bumps and wrong turns, but also that of glorious triumphs and beautifully serendipitous moments through the lens of music — created, shared and performed.

“I heard once that music triggers the same part of your brain that feels empathy. I completely buy that.

The art from a good songwriter can make me want to be a better person, lift my vision to my potential and help me see things on a greater scale,” Waggoner said. “It can help me more deeply love those around me. If we don’t stop and reflect, we miss those opportunities for growth — I hope our songs can be the catalyst for some pause and reflection.”

Grizzly Goat is a rising Raleigh-based Americana/indie act.

Donated photo

Bettye LaVette. File photo

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

‘Make another dime just to lose it in time, what's the meaning’

Exiting the elevator of the Cambria Hotel in downtown Asheville on Monday morning, I noticed the “Sunset Time” scribbled on the lobby sign said 8:29 p.m. Four minutes shorter than what I first saw when checking into the Cambria last Thursday evening.

Yet another sign of the quickly fleeting summer season. All of that time, effort and emotion to get to the heart of our favorite time of the year in Western North Carolina, only to notice it disappearing as fast as it arrived. Early August already. Have you made the most of right now?

Grab my girlfriend her usual coffee order across the street at Summit. Iced latte with oak milk, make sure to add whipped cream. For me, it’s the ole standby, iced coffee with a splash of whole milk.

Make small talk with the friendly face behind the store counter. Fetch the drinks. Walk back across the street to the Cambria. Take notice again of the “Sunset Time” sign and hit the elevator button for the 11th floor. Leave the elevator and head for Room 1106. Hand over the iced latte to the smiling face eagerly awaiting your return. Kiss on the cheek to boot.

Four nights at the Cambria in the heart of Asheville. Although we live not far down the road in Waynesville, the opportunity to “staycation” the weekend in the big city of Western North Carolina was too tempting to pass up. To be honest, besides work assignments and live music, how much do I actually get to explore this city I came to call my own some 11 years ago when I started writing for this publication?

Although it might seem like a dead horse at this point in conversation and/or observation, it’s genuinely wild and absurd to me how much Asheville has changed since I first put roots down here in August 2012, let alone when I initially made contact with the city in 2009 — a long way from home in my native Upstate New York trying to track down a ticket for a Phish show at the Asheville Civic Center. Sipping on my iced coffee with a splash of whole milk, I gazed out the 11th floor window of our room onto downtown Asheville. I can

HOT PICKS

identify most of the roofs of the buildings looking back me. But, a lot of the skyline now includes several construction cranes, with countless new apartment complexes and pristine private modern homes now dotting the mountainous ridges surrounding the city.

They say the “only constant is change,” with Asheville seemingly in a perpetual state of change — physically, emotionally, culturally and economically. A lot of money rolling into this part of the country. A lot of new faces, most of which are welcomed with open arms, the main rule I’ve always come to acknowledge with newcomers being “to complement what is already here.”

That, and the sole question to any new face, whether actually stated or somewhat implied — are you a good person or a bad person? The ethos of the question in the previous sentence pertaining to the long and arduous history of invaders, liars and thieves entering this corner of Southern Appalachia. Promises broken. Lives shattered, as well as dreams. Deep resentment echoing across generations towards the next influx of new faces and intents, for good or ill.

All of these thoughts and sentiments, these visions of the future and realities now here in real time as I sip the iced coffee and notice another construction crane in the distance, another structure of some kind to serve some purpose emerging from the ancient earth once fertile and untouched.

Progress is the name of the game they tell me, either face-to-face in interviews for articles or overheard in banter at a crowded bar on Patton Avenue. Meh, I reply. Give me the depths of Mother Nature and a quiet cabin in the woods, one filled with shelves of books with yellowed pages, a small fireplace of wood chopped earlier in the day, perhaps the ethereal sounds of Dylan LeBlanc on the record player in the corner.

Checkout time at the Cambria is quickly approaching. The plan is to catch a late breakfast at the Five Points diner on Broadway Avenue, just north of I-240. A hearty plate of bacon, eggs, toast and home fries just like they make back in the North Country. A simple meal with intrinsic meaning to this Canadian Border boy below the Mason-Dixon Line. The distance from home that much closer with each bite.

In less than a month it’ll be Labor Day

A production of “Every Brilliant Thing” by Duncan MacMillan will be held at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 11-12, 17-19 and 2 p.m. Aug. 13 and 20 on the Fangmeyer Stage at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

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The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host Very Jerry Band (Grateful Dead tribute) 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11.

Stecoah Valley Center (Robbinsville)

“An Appalachian Evening” live music series will feature The Resonant Rogues (Americana/indie)

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12.

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Meadowlark Motel (Maggie Valley) will host a “Songwriters Showcase” with Rene Russell, Heidi Holton & Bridget Gossett 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11.

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The Maggie Valley Band (Americana/indie) will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at The Gem taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville.

Weekend, onward into fall and the impending winter. Now, I don’t mean to sound pessimist or some kind of “Debbie Downer.” I just am in a constant awe of time and the way it moves. Heck, it doesn’t even exist, in essence, you know? Time is all but one moment we (you and I and you, too) all inhabit, together.

Nothing is the same, everything is the same. We all know this and, whether we actually acknowledge it consciously, our surroundings are shifting. And, even if you don’t notice it, you’re changing as well. You’re gathering information and collecting memories, hopefully good ones. You’re absorbing the essence of life, love, friendship and freedom to wander and ponder like some sponge on the high seas of existence.

Labor Day Weekend. Sheesh. Soon enough, eh? But, don’t fret. There’s plenty of summer left for shenanigans and life-changing experiences at the altar of warm sunshine and cool rivers to wade into on an otherwise quiet Tuesday afternoon. Times doesn’t exist, only a lack of ambition and lack of a curious spirit does.

Everything changes, even you. Seek gratitude. Tip your bartenders and servers. Climb that damn mountain. Fill up the gas tank and head in any direction you feel like. Embrace love. Laugh, and do so often, especially in the company of friends and family.

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

Asheville has become a national bastion of live music.

Garret K. Woodward photo

Smoky Mountain Made

Split baskets from hand-split white oak, spoke baskets from wild vines such as kudzu and wisteria and free-form weave baskets encompass Gottlieb’s work.

“Baskets are special because no baskets anywhere in the world are made by machine. They are all the products of someone’s careful handiwork,” Gottlieb said. “I enter into a conversation with each basket, where it has a chance to guide me in how it wants to be designed and constructed. This takes some inner quiet and the willingness to take advice from a plant.”

To note, Gottlieb grows many of his resources on his own land. In addition to baskets, he utilizes the heartwood and sapwood of trees to craft beautiful spoons of all sizes. Baby spoons, ladles, large serving spoons, to name a few, are sanded and finished with non-toxic raw linseed oil.

The primitive naturalist: Jackson County artisan bridges nature, history

BY KADIE SANDERS

S PECIAL TO SMN

Aa an acclaimed naturalist, educator and craftsman, what Jackson County-based artist Jeff Gottlieb makes at any given time of the year depends on the availability of materials in each season.

“In a sense, I measure out the year using the plants’ internal calendars. In late winter, I prune trees for their wood, so I do a lot of

carving. In mid spring, I cut small tulip poplar trees to peel their bark (for bark baskets). I cut large ones for big bark slabs for building wigwams,” Gottlieb said. “In early fall, I might gather tall grasses for thatching materials or for weaving mats. In late fall, I gather the newly dead dogbane stalks for making strong cordage. Of course, the patient stones just wait until I have some quiet time when I can chip them into sharp, beautiful blades, points and other traditional stone tools.”

Gottlieb’s most popular baskets are the berry baskets he makes from folded tulip poplar. He uses wild and cultivated materials to explore and make other types of baskets.

“My delight in using these spoons is that they were not made in a factory. They are made by hand using techniques that are centuries old,” Gottlieb said. “They are light in weight but strong, and they feel warm and comfortable in the hand. They never scratch the finish on your pots and they allow foods to attain their lovely wellrounded flavors.”

Gottlieb’s craftsmanship sings of his deeper appreciation for nature. He makes replica stone artifacts and traditional primitive shelters, specifically the wigwam, for nature centers and museums. An authentic experience comes with replicating the construction of how they were truly created long ago.

Gottlieb uses no power tools and shares

Smoky Mountain Made is a series of articles that focuses attention on the region’s talented visual artists. A project of The Smoky Mountain News, the series was curated

Fariello with sponsorship from the Jackson County Arts Council. Smoky Mountain News is seeking sponsors to continue this series beyond Jackson County. Contact Anna Fariello at anna.fariello@icloud.com or Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainnews.com

his process in his book, “Wigwam: Building the Traditional Northeastern Domed Shelter.” When asked why primitive tools are his top choice, the artist explains, “the simplicity of primitive tools support a brainbody connection. Primitive, as in ‘prime’ or ‘aboriginal,’ refers to the first tools, skills

and technology. It is how things were first accomplished.”

In his custom workshops, Gottlieb explores the range of primitive tools as a way of subsistence rather than survival. He has written a book of primitive skill lesson plans for children titled, “Teaching Primitive Skills to Children, An Instructors’ Manual.” This resource also includes primitive games and toys for children, in addition to Gottlieb’s philosophy on why teaching primitivity to children is important in educating them about their responsibility to our Earth.

(To learn more about Jeff Gottlieb, his crafts, books and workshops, please click on theprimitivenaturalist.com.)

by Anna

Gottlieb uses many ancient techniques in his basketmaking.

Jeff Gottlieb is a well-regarded WNC naturalist and craftsman. Donated photos

‘Concerts on the Creek’

The Town of Sylva, Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department and Jackson County Chamber of Commerce are proud to present the 14th annual season of the “Concerts on the Creek” music series.

Classic rock group TLQ+2 will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, at the gazebo in Bridge Park in downtown Sylva.

These events are free with donations encouraged. Everyone is welcome. Dogs must be on a leash. No smoking, vaping, coolers or tents allowed. Bring a chair or blanket. There will be food trucks onsite for this event.

These concerts are organized and produced by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Sylva and the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department. For more information, please contact the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce at 828.586.2155 or visit the Concerts on the Creek Facebook page. A full schedule of dates and performers can be found at mountainlovers.com/concerts-on-the-creek.

‘An Appalachian Evening’

The “An Appalachian Evening” series will continue with a performance by The Resonant Rogues at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Stecoah Valley Center in Robbinsville.

The annual summer concert series offers an ever-changing schedule of bluegrass, folk and old-time mountain music by award-winning artists — quality entertainment for the entire family.

Rich in cultural heritage, the series continues to be a favorite with locals and visitors alike. The concert will be held in the air-

Americana, indie at Boojum

conditioned Lynn L. Shields Auditorium.

Asheville-based The Resonant Rogues have been winning over audiences worldwide with their signature blend of string band music since 2013. Following their musical inspirations from the Appalachian Mountains to the Balkans, through Paris by way of New Orleans, their original songs speak to the heart with poetic lyrics and appeal to the ears with stellar musicianship and arrangement.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $10 for students grade K-12. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, call 828.479.3364 or go to stecoahvalleycenter.com.

The Maggie Valley Band will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at The Gem taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville.

A blend of old-time mountain, Americana and psychedelic indie-folk music, the Haywood County group is fronted by siblings Whitney and Caroline Miller. The duo has gone through several changes since they first set out on their

Bluegrass in Bryson City

melodic adventure several years ago.

But what remains is the unbreakable bond of sisterhood, something that’s become a stronghold — and strong suit — in what it will take to break into the next level of their promising careers.

The show is free and open to the public. For more information, click on themaggievalleyband.com.

The Marianna Black Library will continue its “Summer Music Series” with the bluegrass act Granny’s Mason Jar at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at the library in Bryson City.

Following in the footsteps of Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Clarence White and Tony Rice, Granny’s Mason Jar brings together the talents of Jared “Blue” Smith (The Blue Revue, Bluegrass Lumber Company) and Aaron Plantenberg (Commonfolk, Big House Radio) to continue the tradition of flatpicking, travis picking, and other traditional acoustic guitar styles.

The show is free and open to the public. The library is located in downtown Bryson City at the corner of Academy and Rector. For more information, please call the library at 828.488.3030 or visit fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

Folkmoot welcomes Kingsmen

Legendary group The Kingsmen Quartet will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, in the Queen Auditorium at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

For more than 65 years, no group has secured such a far-reaching legacy like that of The Kingsmen Quartet. Since 1956, this group has risen from humble beginnings in the mountains of Western North Carolina to one of the most beloved and

innovative groups in Christian music. Countless renowned artists have been a part of this great lineage, eight of which have been inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame — Eldridge Fox, “Big” Jim Hamill, Ray Dean Reese, Squire Parsons, Anthony Burger, Martin Cook, Mark Trammell and Ernie Phillips. Tickets are $20 per person. For a full schedule of events and/or to purchase tickets, go to folkmoot.org.

The Maggie Valley Band will play Waynesville Aug. 12. File photo

The Resonant Rogues will play Stecoah Aug. 12.

Cory Marie Podielski photo The Kingsmen Quartet will play Waynesville Aug. 12. File photo

TLQ+2 will play Sylva Aug. 11. File photo

On the beat

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8-10 p.m. every Thursday. Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7-9 p.m. every first and third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public. For more information, go to blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host music bingo 7 p.m. Mondays, karaoke at 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m., The Maggie Valley Band (Americana/indie) Aug. 12 and The Late Shifters Aug. 19. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.

• Brasstown Community Center will host The Lone Mountain Band (Americana/bluegrass) 7 p.m. Aug. 12. Admission is $10. Children under age 12 are free. 828.361.3040 or brasstowncommunitycenter.org.

• Cashiers Live (Cashiers) will host RCA (classic rock) Aug. 19. Tickets are $40 for adults, $12 for kids under age 12. VIP options available. Doors at 6 p.m. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to cashierslive.com.

• Concerts On The Creek (Sylva) will host TLQ+2 (rock/pop) Aug. 11 and The Get Right Band (rock/soul) Aug. 18 at Bridge Park in Sylva. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. These events are free, but donations are encouraged. 828.586.2155 or mountainlovers.com/concerts-on-the-creek.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. Thursdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Orchard Sessions” featuring Nicole Witt (singersongwriter) Aug. 24. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $25 per person. For tickets, go to oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.

• Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host The Kingsmen Quartet (Americana/folk) 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12. Tickets are $20 per person. For a full schedule of events and/or to purchase tickets, go to folkmoot.org.

• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will host Nitrograss (bluegrass) Aug. 11 and Silly Ridge Aug. 18 at Town Square on Main Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host its weekly “Tuesday Jazz Series” at 5:30 p.m., Tuxedo Junction (rock/pop) Aug. 11, Pleasantly Wild Aug. 12, Paul Edelman (singer-songwriter) 3 p.m. Aug. 13, We Three Swing (jazz/swing) 5:30 p.m. Aug. 15, Bone Evil 5:30 p.m. Aug. 17, Virginia Sweet Aug. 18, Rick

Nelson Band 5 p.m. Aug. 19 and Outlaw Whiskey (rock/country) with J.J. Hipps & The Hideaway (rock/blues) 6:30 p.m. Aug. 19 (in The Lineside: $10 in advance, $12 at the door). All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.

• Frog Quarters (Franklin) will host live music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with Melinda Pennington & Diana Chermer Aug. 12 and Charley Simmons Aug. 19. Free and open to the public. Located at 573 East Main Street. littletennessee.org or 828.369.8488.

• Groovin’ on the Green (Cashiers) will host Commodore Fox Aug. 11. Shows begin at 6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Donations encouraged. villagegreencashiersnc.com/concerts.

Aug. 18. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lineside at Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Outlaw Whiskey (rock/country) and J.J. Hipps & The Hideaway (rock/blues) 6:30 p.m. Aug. 19. Open to all ages. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to froglevelbrewing.com.

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) “Summer Music Series” will continue with Granny’s Mason Jar (Americana) Aug. 10 and Heidi Holton (blues/folk) Aug. 24. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. For more information, call the library at 828.488.3030 or go to fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

• Saturdays On Pine (Highlands) will host Full Circle Aug. 12 at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park on Pine Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host a “Celtic Jam” 2-5 p.m. Sundays, Christina Chandler (singer-songwriter) Aug. 10, Celtic Road (Celtic/jam) 4 p.m. Aug. 11, Very Jerry Band (Grateful Dead tribute) Aug. 11, Water & Bones (country/rock) Aug. 17 and TracEnd (rock/pop) Aug. 18. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.

• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.

ALSO:

• Happ’s Place (Glenville) will host Matt Stillwell (country) Aug. 11, Macon County Line Aug. 12, Doug Ramsey (singersongwriter) Aug. 17, Blake Ellege (indie/soul) Aug. 18 and Jay Drummond (singer-songwriter) Aug. 19. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. happsplace.com or 828.742.5700.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host Marshall Tucker Band (classic rock) 9 p.m. Aug. 25. For a full schedule of events and/or to buy tickets, caesars.com/harrahscherokee.

• Highlander Mountain House (Highlands) will host a Sunday Bluegrass Residency noon to 2:30 p.m. and the “Salon Series” with She Returns From War (singer-songwriter) 8:30 p.m. Aug. 24. Tickets are $25 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to highlandermountainhouse.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Trivia Night with Kirk” from 7-9 p.m. every Monday, Open Mic Night every Wednesday and Andrew Wakefield (singer-songwriter) Aug. 12. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” on Wednesdays, “YerkFest” 3 p.m. Aug. 26 and Shane Meade (indie/soul) 2 p.m. Aug. 27. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” 6 p.m. Tuesdays, trivia 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Open Mic 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host trivia 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Old Time Jam 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and Seth & Sara (Americana)

• Meadowlark Motel (Maggie Valley) will host Trivia Thursdays 6:30 p.m., “Songwriters Showcase” with Rene Russell, Heidi Holton & Bridget Gossett Aug. 11, Kim Smith (singersongwriter) Aug. 18 and Ginny McAfee (singersongwriter) Aug. 19. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to meadowlarkmotel.com or 828.926.1717.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host an “Open Mic with Frank Lee” Wednesdays and Alma Russ (Americana/indie) Aug. 25. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host Eddie Clayton Aug. 11 (solo) and 12 (full band), Big Deal Band Aug. 18, McKinney 1 p.m. Aug. 19 and Funk’n Around Aug. 19. All shows behind at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. noc.com/events.

• Pickin’ In The Park (Canton) will host live music Aug. 11 and 18. Local clogging groups will also be onsite to perform. Shows are 6 to 9 p.m. at the Canton Rec Park located at 77 Penland St. Free and open to the public. Cantonnc.com.

• Pickin’ On The Square (Franklin) will host Ourway Band (rock/variety) Aug. 12. All shows begin at 6 p.m. at the Gazebo in downtown. Free and open to the public. franklinnc.com/pickin-on-the-square.html.

• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.586.1717 or facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.

• Salty Dog’s Seafood & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host “Karaoke with Russell” every Monday, Peacock Party Aug. 11, Ginny McAfee (singesongwriter) Aug. 12, Rene Russell (singersongwriter) Aug. 18 and Bridget Gossett (singer-songwriter) Aug. 19. Free and open to the public. 828.926.9105.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host Clay Walker Aug. 25. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.

• Stecoah Valley Center (Robbinsville) “An Appalachian Evening” live music series will feature The Resonant Rogues (Americana/indie) Aug. 12 and Seth Mulder & Midnight Run (bluegrass) Aug. 19. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, call 828.479.3364 or go to stecoahvalleycenter.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host “Bluegrass Wednesday” at 6:30 p.m. each week. 828.526.8364 or theuglydogpub.com.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Blackjack County Aug. 10, Outlaw Whiskey (classic rock/country) Aug. 11, Wayne Buckner & The Shooting Creek Band Aug. 12, JR Williams Aug. 16, Blue Aug. 17, Rock Holler Aug. 18 and Carolina Freightshakers (classic rock) Aug. 19. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.

• Valley Cigar & Wine Co. (Waynesville) will host Darren Nicholson (bluegrass/country) Aug. 9 and Susie Copeland 2 p.m. Aug. 13. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.944.0686 or valleycigarandwineco.com.

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host Woolybooger (blues/folk) Aug. 11, Peggy Ratusz Duo (Americana) Aug. 12, Christina Chandler Aug. 18 and Arnold Hill (rock/jam) Aug. 19. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.743.6000 or whitesidebrewing.com.

• Yonder Community Market (Franklin) will host Kenny Roby (singer-songwriter) 4 p.m. Aug. 27. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to eatrealfoodinc.com.

‘Spark of the Eagle Dancer’

He devoted his life to supporting and encouraging Native artists, amassed an extensive collection of over 6,000 objects during his lifetime, focusing primarily on artists of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Nation and sovereign nations of the Southwest.

This exhibition brings together a selection of baskets, pottery, carving, painting, photography, and more that tell the story of the relationships Wilson built and the impact that he made by dedicating himself to this remarkable collection.

Those who live in Western North Carolina know Wilson as a respected educator and supporter of the arts. He started his collection of contemporary Native American art in the 1970s, when he was studying middle grade education as an undergraduate student at WCU.

decades forging relationships with Native artists and being curious about their process of making. With each object acquired, he learned more about the histories and traditions of each artist’s culture and took an interest in their lives.

Ultimately his impulse to collect went far beyond the material and was an expression of his love for people and community. In 2006, Wilson met his partner Jenny Holland, who shared his passion for Native art. Together they expanded the scope of the collection to include work by Native artists of the Southwest.

“Spark of the Eagle Dancer” gives visitors a glimpse into this vast collection built over 47 years and features work by 83 artists of various tribal affiliations.

The new exhibition “Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson” will be showcased through Dec. 8 in the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

The exhibit features over 140 works of contemporary Native American art from the collection of one of Western North Carolina’s most notable art enthusiasts, Lambert Wilson.

As part of an introductory art history course taught by Janie Leftwich, Wilson completed an extra credit assignment to visit the John Julius Wilnoty Eagle Dancer sculpture at Medicine Man Crafts in Cherokee. This encounter motivated him to acquire his own collection of Cherokee artwork.

From that first moment of inspiration, Wilson saw artwork as a vehicle for culture, learning and friendship. He spent

The reception for “Spark of the Eagle Dancer” will take place from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the Fine Art Museum. This event will include a gallery talk, along with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Free parking is available.

To learn more about the exhibition and reception, please go to arts.wcu.edu/spark. The Fine Art Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

• “Dreams” showcase will run through Monday, Aug. 28, at the Haywood County Arts Council in downtown Waynesville. This exhibit will showcase colorful and dreamy works by over 34 local artists in a variety of mediums including oil, watercolor, photography, needle felting, acrylic, mixed media, glass, quilting and more. The gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. haywoodarts.org.

• “Art After Dark” will take place from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, in downtown Waynesville. Each first Friday of the month (May-December), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, live music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors alike. For more information, go to downtownwaynesville.com.

• An art reception will be held for Ann Miller Woodford from 4-6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. An artist and author, Woodford’s work will be on display in the library throughout August and September. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served. For more information, go to annstree.com.

• Summer Artisan Market will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month through September at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in Nantahala Gorge. Free and open to the public. noc.com/events.

• Summer Artisans Market will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the second Saturday of the month through September at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Artisan vendors and more. For more information, go to noc.com.

• Farmer’s Market (with artisans) will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through October at 117 Island St. in Bryson City. Stop by the old barn by the river for local, homegrown produce, as well as baked goods, jellies and preserves, authentic crafts and more. Food truck, picnic tables and live music. Leashed pets are welcome. Outdoor event. 828.488.7857.

• Haywood County Arts Council (Waynesville) will offer a wide range of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. The HCAC gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information and a full schedule, go to haywoodarts.org.

• Jackson County Green Energy Park (Dillsboro) will be offering a slew of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. For more information and a full schedule, go to jcgep.org.

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. For more information on the upcoming classes and/or to sign-up, go to southwesterncc.edu/scclocations/swain-center.

‘Beetle’ is a wood carving by John Julius Wilnoty. File photo

Franklin Area Folk Festival

The 17th annual Franklin Area Folk Festival, “A Celebration of Appalachian Heritage,” will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center. Celebrating all things Appalachian, this family-friendly festival features live heritage demonstrations, Appalachian crafts, jammin’ sessions of old-time mountain and bluegrass music, heritage camp, kids activities, food, textiles and much more.

This free event is co-sponsored annually by the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County and the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center, with support from the community, local area museums, Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce, Arts Council of Macon County, NC Arts Council/Cowee School, Macon County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and others. This festival is made possible by grants from the Franklin/Nantahala Tourism Development Committee and the Tourism Development Authority of the Town of Franklin, along with funding from local businesses and individuals. For more information visit franklinfolkfestival.com or call 828.369.4080.

Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling

The Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling will be held from 7-9 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through Oct. 31 at the Oconaluftee Islands Park in Cherokee.

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.

For more information, call 800.438.1601 or go to visitcherokeenc.com.

On the stage

HART presents ‘Every Brilliant Thing’

A one-hour, one-person show, a production of “Every Brilliant Thing” by Duncan MacMillan will be held at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4-5, 11-12, 17-19 and 2 p.m. Aug. 6, 13 and 20 on the Fangmeyer Stage at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

“Every Brilliant Thing” is an unconventional comedy that serves as a moving depiction of hope, balancing the struggles of life

and all that is sweet in it. Actor Erin McCarson gently takes you into the world of a seven-yearold whose mother is struggling with depression and whose father lacks the tools to help her cope.

Her candid and compassionate portrayal grabs your heart from the very start and evokes heart ache, humor and empathy as she hopes that by making a numbered list of

“every brilliant thing” that makes life worth living, she can make her mother feel better.

The play lays bare the very definition of hope, that to live in the present you must imagine a future that is better than the past. As she takes you on her journey into adulthood she continues working on the list, aiming to accrue a million brilliant things. McCarson’s connection with the audience keeps this intriguing show from veering into depressing or sentimental territory.

Before the performance, McCarson will engage with audience members, handing out cards for them to read aloud entries from the list of brilliant things when she speaks its number on stage. She also enlists select audience members onto the stage to improvise roles, directing and playing with them in a most delightful and caring way.

The audience participation is a major part of this show’s charm, ultimately delivering a different show with every performance. But don’t fret, McCarson will only interact with audience members who are comfortable participating in the show.

There is a content warning. While this is an incredibly uplifting show, it does contain subject matter of suicide and depression.

To make reservations, call the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322 or go to harttheatre.org to make reservations online. HART Box Office hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

‘Unto These Hills’ outdoor drama

The “Unto These Hills” stage production will be held at 8 p.m. nightly throughout the summer at the Cherokee Mountainside Theatre.

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.

Pre-show entertainment begins at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 7 p.m. For more information on show dates and/or to purchase tickets, go to visitcherokeenc.com and go to the “Events” tab.

ALSO:

• Blue Stage (Andrews) will host a “Comedy Night” at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18. Featuring Sonya White, Kevin Shockley and Beth Tompkins. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 828.361.2534 or gm@thebluestage.com.

Shadow Woods subdivision, 1 level living, breathtaking views, privacy, fully renovated, large covered deck with Pella sliders.

Pamela Penny Williams RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL BROKER ASSOCIATE

Brittany Allen EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/CONTRACT COORDINATOR

Erin McCarson will appear onstage at HART. Donated photo

On the shelf

Truths of the imagination are still needed

“The Novel, Who Needs It?” (Encounter Books, 2023, 152 pages) is the latest work by Joseph Epstein, master of the essay, author of 31 books, 86 years old, and still going strong.

To this short meditation on the novel and its place in our lives Epstein brings a lifetime of reading. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Dickens, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather — throw in scores of other novelists, male and female, old writers and moderns, and you have a man who is a walking library.

Several of Epstein’s books and many of his hundreds of essays have also focused on fiction with appreciations and criticisms. In addition, he served a long stint as editor of “The American Scholar,” the quarterly of Phi Beta Kappa, and taught for three decades in the English Department at Northwestern University.

“The Novel, Who Needs It?” brings many of these writers into play. Mixed in as well, as in his other books, are enlightening asides and brief personal sketches. This combination makes for lively and entertaining writing.

Epstein spends well over half of his book pointing out the various and often unique benefits derived from reading the serious novel: its allowance for the reader’s emotional engagement, the truths it speaks out of the realm of the imagination, its psychological insights, its ability to inspire us to become better than we are. Epstein attempts to make the case that in many respects the most profound of novels offer us unique gifts among the arts. He writes, “The genre, unlike any other literary genre, provides truths of an important kind unavailable elsewhere in literature or anywhere else.”

Later in his examination, Epstein considers the transformative effects on readers living alongside the characters in the best of novels, the ways their experiences interact with our own: “What a novel can do, by presenting a life or lives different from, sometimes foreign to, one’s own, is to expand one’s sympathies (sometimes), alter one’s taste (often), widen the lenses of one’s own experiences (always), and take one outside of oneself (if one is lucky).”

Somewhat oddly, Epstein only defines with precision, or with as much precision as is possible, what he means by “serious novels” in the book’s final pages. “By “serious,” he writes, “I mean novels and stories that possess a certain unmistakable gravity — fiction that implicitly asks the right questions … they take human nature as the great puzzle it is … they put the breath of life into their characters, and through these characters they explore the conundrums life poses for us all.”

Epstein also raises a decades-long debate on the novel’s viability. For many years, as he says, some critics and commentators have pointed out that the novel is dead or dying: “the funeral announcement for the novel is an old standby for the gloomy minded.” Here, by the way, he isn’t referring to the best-sellers and the thousands of stories that every year find their way into print, but once again to those novels that comprise “the

novel. Citing Philip Rieff’s 1966 book, “The Triumph of the Therapeutic,” Epstein writes, “In his book, Rieff contended that we are no longer living in a culture where honor and dignity, courage and kindness, are primary, but instead in one in which self-esteem and self-gratification are the chief goals.”

Although he gives a nod to the benefits of psychotherapy and pharmacology for those suffering real trauma, like schizophrenia and bipolar disease, Epstein notes that “psychobabble is the order of the day” and that “Great literature is about the role of destiny and moral conflict. The therapeutic culture is about individual happiness… Under the reign of therapy triumphant, the goal of self-esteem has replaced the longing for strong character.”

richness of human experience.”

Yet he himself fears that this often-predicted death may now be at hand. Like some bedside physician of literature, he takes the temperature and pulse of his ailing patient, and finds several pathogens that have “put the fate of the novel in peril.” These include the internet and digital culture that place speed and brevity above books and long thoughts, the political correctness that already harnesses the instincts and liberties of so many writers, the hundreds of creative writing programs that tend to produce writers long on style and short on experiences outside of the academy, and contemporary publishing, where profit rather than art is the bottom line.

Of all these debilitating causes, however, Epstein identifies our therapeutic culture as the principal suspect in the demise of the

The confessional mode that figures in so much of today’s literature, including fiction, and the quest for self-fulfillment that forms the central plot in so many novels bear out Epstein’s arguments. The stories told by some modern writers — I’m thinking here of Mark Helprin’s “A Soldier of the Great War” — still espouse such character values as honor, dignity, courage, and suffering, but in so many more novels the characters have only happiness as the most desirable of ends.

As to where he stands on the serious novel’s importance for the human soul, Epstein’s last sentence in his book leaves us in no doubt: “To turn to the question put by this book’s title, ‘The Novel, Who Needs It?’ the answer is that we all do, including even people who wouldn’t think of reading novels — we all need it, and in this, the great age of distraction we may just need it more than ever before.”

If you enjoy reading books about books, as I do, or if you’re interested in the novel as an art form and its value for our hearts and minds, Epstein’s your man.

(Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” minick0301@gmail.com.)

Writer Jeff Minick

Face-to-face with fish

ic insects that are under those rocks and in that sand, and you’re kicking up little things, and they’re just like, ‘Wow, this is a big scary person. But look at all the food they’re kicking up,’” Meador says. “And so they’re going to be right there in your face.”

Coming out of an abnormally warm July, the water is pleasantly cool and almost warm as I wade out toward the middle, stepping slowly to keep my footing on the uneven bed of rocks. I secure the mask, bite down on the snorkel mouthpiece, and lie down in the water.

The current carries me more quickly than I’d expected when viewing the lazy river from land. I barely have time to take in the underwater forest of waving riverweed before it’s gone, replaced with a miniature canyon formed by two facing rocks. A recent rainstorm has left a fair bit of sediment hanging in the water, and what looked clean and clear from above is actually a bit murky. I can’t see far, and I certainly can’t see any fish.

Then I remembered the second bit of advice Meador had dispensed before releasing the group to go play in the river.

“Because of our size compared to their size, you just want to stay put for a second,” he said. “Sometimes they’re going to scatter, but then they’ll come right back to you.”

I make a few adjustments to my mask and snorkel, move closer to the bank where the slower current is more conducive to staying put, and try again.

celebrates kickoff

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS E DITOR

The Little Tennessee River isn’t deep as it flows through the patchwork Needmore Game Lands near the Macon-Swain county line. Like many mountain rivers, in most places it comes up only mid-calf at best, the clear water running over a bed of rock and

gling to the side. The Little Tennessee is a far cry from the blue Caribbean waters that snorkeling usually brings to mind.

But Jason Meador, aquatics program manager for Mainspring Conservation Trust, promises the group of roughly 20 people assembled on the banks of Mainspring’s Queen Branch property that they’re in for a treat. This stretch of river is known as the Noah’s Ark of the Little Tennessee, he says.

“It’s the only stretch that is still free-flowing and has all the fish that we believe have always been here, with the exception of perhaps the American eel,” he says.

The Little Tennessee is designated as a Native Fish Conservation Area, and it’s home to more than 100 species of native fish, 10 species of native mussels and a dozen crayfish species — including 35 species considered rare at either the federal or state level. While not every species is present at the particular

Go snorkeling

1. Gather your equipment. You’ll need a snorkel, mask or swim goggles, a swimsuit and river shoes.

2. Head out to one of the stops on the Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail, listed at ncfishes.com/blue-ridge-snorkel-trail/siteinformation. It’s safest to snorkel when the water is clear.

3. Put on the mask and snorkel, being sure the mask is sealed properly to prevent water

As such, it’s a natural fit for the Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail, a first-of-its kind effort in the Southeast that aims to set up public-access snorkeling sites in 24 Western North Carolina counties, as well as parts of northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee. The first phase in this joint venture from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, MountainTrue and Mainspring is the debut of 10 pilot sites, one per county. The event at Queen Branch, held Wednesday, Aug. 2, inaugurated Macon County’s stop on the snorkel trail.

Meador gives the rundown on how to use the snorkel equipment, how to stay safe and how to see fish. Fish usually face upstream, he says, waiting for the current to bring them food and oxygen. When snorkelers swim up behind them, the fish sense that something big is coming near, and they scatter. You see more if you look down the river, he promises.

“Most of these fish are eating those aquat-

getting into your eyes and nose.

4. Be safe in the water, and go with a group. Be careful of your footing while walking on slick rocks.

5. Breathing through your mouth using the snorkel, get in the water, facing downstream, with your head tilted forward. Find a spot, stay stationary for a bit, and see what you find.

6. Leave the river the way you found it. Learn more about responsible use of the outdoors at lnt.org. Learn more at ncfishes.com.

The effect is almost immediate. As before, I open my eyes to a deserted riverbed, but this time I grab onto the rocks below me, bracing myself against the current, and within seconds a collection of small, sliver fish has convened. They swim under and in front of me, close enough to touch, unbothered by the looming presence of my comparatively massive frame. It is — there’s no other word for it — enchanting.

I took several more dips after that, each time submerging, anchoring myself to a rock, and waiting for the fish to find me. The last dip was the longest, a magical interlude during an otherwise stress-filled week. The only sound was that of my own breathing, loud and bubbly under the water, and the occasional bit of muffled speech percolating down from the invisible world above. I watched the fish come and go, and the river brighten and dim in concert with the sun’s faraway dance with the clouds. I no longer cared whether I looked silly, lying belly-down in this shallow mountain river, entranced by a world invisible to anyone who wasn’t looking at it the way I was now.

Once they stopped bobbing in the water, the event’s other participants said much the same. Ranging in age from seven to 77, they smiled as they spoke.

Visiting from Houston with her parents and little brother, Raelyn Gililung, 7, hopes to be a dolphin trainer when she grows up. While the fish of the Little Tennessee are quite a bit different than dolphins, they still presented a fascinating variety F

Maury Wahtera, of Franklin, snorkels with her son Henry, 8, during an event Aug. 2. Holly Kays photo

A typical snorkel mask costs about $25-35.

Holly Kays photo

of color, shape and size.

“It was cool, because I saw a lot of fish,” she said.

Franklin resident Marsha Luczak, who has seven decades on Gililung, also had a great time. She’s snorkeled on cruises before, but it never occurred to her to try it out in the mountains.

“I never thought about it, but why not?” she said. “There’s water — why not? I’d just like to see a hellbender someday.”

Henry Wahtera, 8, also had fun and spotted lots of fish. He’s old hat at mountain snorkeling — over the years, he’s dipped his head in the water plenty of times along with his sister Lander, 11, and mother Maury, all of Franklin.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on the river, paddling, floating,” said Maury Wahtera. “It’s really neat to see what is underneath the water, what makes it home.”

With the launch of the snorkel trail, that underwater world will be open to even more people. August is a big month for the trail, featuring launches for sites in Marion, Stone Mountain State Park, East LaPorte and

Snorkel Bryson City

Snorkel with a biologist 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 26, at Island Park in Bryson City.

A limited amount of snorkel gear will be available for loan, or bring your own to discover

Help Blue Ridge Parkway communities plan their strategy

A series of meetings this month in seven communities along the Blue Ridge Parkway will help formulate an action plan for Blue Ridge Rising, a regional planning effort uniting gateway communities along the Parkway. The schedule includes meetings at 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, at Lake Junaluska in Waynesville, and Thursday, Aug. 17, at The Collider in Asheville.

together to determine strategies that have wide-ranging benefits for the region’s communities. The initiative is organized by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, with primary funding provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

During the meetings, community members will select the top priority strategies for action in a drop-in style format. Attendees can come anytime during the two-hour window and are invited to stay afterward for an optional social hour to meet other community leaders in the region.

Bryson City in addition to the event at Queens Branch. Events have yet to be announced for sites in Graham and Cherokee counties. Sites in Canton, Mills River and Black Mountain opened in June and July. Some events drew more than 60 people.

And that’s just the beginning.

This effort marks the first time in Parkway’s 87-year history that all 29 Parkway-adjacent counties in North Carolina and Virginia have engaged

Register to attend at blueridgerising.com/registration. Anyone who needs special assistance to participate can contact the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation at 866.308.2773.

We Thank Our Sponsors!

Animal Hospital of Waynesville

Bethel House Resource Center (Karen & Richard Bates)

Betty Lou & Al Loun

Chad McMahon (State Farm)

Clair Quenzler

Connie & Steve Hewitt

Elizabeth Bowers Justice

Ellen Sither (Beverly Hanks)

Gene & Marietta Palermo

Home Trust Bank

James and Jane Barnett

Jan & Michael Kownacki

Jean & Bob Larsen

Jere & Bonnie Smith

Jerry Stambaugh

Judy Vail

Kevin FitzGerald & Cyn Slaughter

“This is obviously successful, and folks have been participating in this year’s events,” Meador said. “We just want to give them more opportunities to get them in the creek. There will be more sites added for next year.”

the fish and other wildlife that live in the Tuckasegee River. Youth under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Hosted by MountainTrue, Mainspring

Kip Scharlow

Larry & Dana Foerster

Laura & Brian Sheldon

Maggie & Scott Hickle

Mel & Jennifer Wilson

Melissa & Jason Helmer

Mountain Dreams Realty

Paul & Trudy Kern

Randy & Sydney Klocke

Ron & Chrissy Hill

Rosanne Asbell

Scott Maclay & Yvonne Holton

Conservation Trust and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Free, with registration required at mountaintrue.org/event.

Raelyn Gililung, 7, and her dad, both of Houston, splash in the Little Tennessee River. Holly Kays photo

Jason Meador gives the group some snorkeling tips. Holly Kays photo

The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway passes through 29 counties. File photo

Bear scratches

Smokies visitor, causing road closure

Rich Mountain Road in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closed to all traffic until further notice after a bear scratched a visitor over the weekend.

The bear had become habituated to people and vehicles. The visitor, who was inside their vehicle and did not contribute to the bear’s habituation, experienced minor scratches after encountering the animal. The road closure aims to give bears in the area a chance to eat and forage undisturbed.

“By closing Rich Mountain Road, we are protecting people and bears,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “When people intentionally attract bears with human food or pet food, it can lead to a dangerous situation for visitors, local com-

munities, and the bears.”

August is a critical time of year for bears when berries, acorns and other food sources are not in season. Bears will often approach vehicles in search of food, and once someone throws food or leaves it on the ground for the bear, the animal becomes conditioned to expect food in that situation. Over time, food-conditioned bears may become bold and aggressive in their attempts to obtain human food, approaching vehicles and people. A female bear will teach that inappropriate and dangerous behavior to her cubs.

To stay safe and ensure the future of black bears, never intentionally approach, feed or leave out food or trash for a bear. Don’t stop along the roadside when bears are near, and always stay 50 yards or more away. Photographers should use telephoto lenses.

To learn more about living safely with bears, visit bearwise.org. To report a bear incident or unusual bear activity in the Smokies, call 865.436.1230.

E. coli testing yields mixed results in Little Tennessee, Hiawassee watersheds

Halfway through the season for its weekly E. coli sampling program in Western North Carolina swimming holes, MountainTrue reported 11 sites in the Hiawassee and Little Tennessee river basins that passed all seven tests and six locations that failed all tests.

In the Little Tennessee River Basin, three sites passed all seven tests when results were compared with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria for recreational purposes. Three sites failed all tests, including what locals refer to as “Redneck Beach,” located along the Little Tennessee River on Sanderstown Road.

In the Hiawassee River Basin, eight locations — including three lake sites — passed all tests, while three locations failed all tests. The Nottely River Meeks Park II canoe/kayak launch has seen notable improvement compared to the last two years, passing for safe swimming in more than 70% of samples. It failed only the secondary recreation criteria once after heavy rain. Sampling results for sites throughout the region are posted weekly through Labor Day at theswimguide.org.

Wish Haywood Waterways a happy 25th birthday

Help Haywood Waterways Association celebrate its 25th birthday with trivia and reminiscing 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at BearWaters in Waynesville.

Haywood Waterways became a nonprofit member corporation on Sept. 23, 1998. With help from volunteers, Haywood Waterways has gathered baseline water quality data for the Pigeon River Watershed since 1996 and currently has 25 monitoring stations across Haywood County, and it continues to conduct micro-invertebrate sampling throughout the watershed, as it has done since the late 1990s.

Since its inception, Haywood Waterways has collaborated with numerous organizations on projects across the Pigeon River Watershed and French Broad River Basin. These partnerships have resulted in the Pigeon River Watershed Action Plan and successful projects from more than $12 million in grant funding. Since 1997, the annual Kids in the Creek program has provided an immersive learning experience for more than 16,500 eighth graders since 1997.

The Aug. 19 event will include a chance to learn more about Haywood Waterways and share experiences — with drink deals available for members.

Harrowing MST maintenance project complete

Four years ago, the Carolina Mountain Club identified the “forgotten 14” as an unsafe section within its 155-mile maintenance responsibility on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

This portion runs 14 miles from the Old Bald and Haywood Gap access and travels 500 feet below and up to a mile away from the Blue Ridge Parkway, making maintenance access very difficult on this remote section. The first 6 miles of it were mainly tread, as opposed to logging road, but had some very rocky sections that were narrow and slanted, with dangerous root ball tearouts up to 6 feet deep. The remaining 8 miles are on an old logging road and has a lot of wet spots.

CMC’s Friday and Wednesday crews took on the challenge, creating two new maintenance access portals and one improved portal. Using these access portals, the crews steadily crept along the 6 miles and improved it one rock and root at a time over four years. On July 21, the Friday crew finished the 6 miles of rough trail and climbed out for the last time in a while, carrying all the tools which had been stored down there over the four years of work. All told, dozens of trips have been made on this project totaling over 2,700 hours — or more than 1.3 person-years. Crews have made 37 work trips to the area to complete this project, including more than 100 people.

This area needs section maintainers to preserve the work and is closest to people living in Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Sylva and Cullowhee.

July finishes hot for N.C.

Following two months of cooler-than-average temperatures, July came in hot in North Carolina. According to the N.C. State Climate Office, it was the state’s 20th warmest July since 1896.

The hottest weather hit in the final week of the month as the Bermuda high pressure system crept close to the coastline, putting North Carolina under a dome of heat and humidity. For much of the state, it was the warmest weather in more than a year.

In the mountains, Asheville climbed to 92

Bird Buck Springs

degrees on July 27, while Cullowhee had three consecutive days at 92 degrees July 28-30. The last time they were that warm for that many days in a row was in July 2012.

Globally, July was set to finish as the hottest month on record since 1940, with record-breaking heat waves in China, Europe and the southwestern United States. This isn’t a fleeting phenomenon. The North Carolina Climate Science Report notes that heat index values are very likely to continue increasing due to both warming temperatures and higher absolute humidity levels caused by climate change.

Read more at bit.ly/3OIQwZC.

Go birding at Buck Spring along the Blue Ridge Parkway with an expedition meeting 8 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at Jukebox Junction in Bethel.

Howard Browers will lead the walk. Loaner binoculars are available. Cost is $10. Sign up at bit.ly/haywoodrec.

Church Volleyball League forming

Registration closes Aug. 31 for the Church Volleyball League in Jackson

County.

Games will be played Monday nights at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. Register at rec.jacksonnc.org or contact Andrew Sherling with questions at 828.293.3053, ext. 6, or andrewsherling@jacksonnc.org.

In a 2022 photo, bears eat dog food a person intentionally placed on the ground to attract them, a behavior that causes danger to both humans and bears. NPS photo

Eighth-graders check out aquatic creatures during the annual Kids in the Creek event. HWA photo

Rehab Sam Knob

Help the Carolina Mountain Club rehabilitate the trail to the Sam Knob summit during a workday Saturday, Aug. 19.

The group will meet at 9 a.m. at the Black Balsam Knob parking lot, with a carpool option available at the French Broad Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 8 a.m., returning by 3 p.m. No experience is necessary, as new volunteers will be paired with experienced maintainers. Participants should wear sturdy boots and long pants, and bring work gloves, lunch and plenty of water. Tools and hard hats will be provided. Register at carolinamtnclub.org/eventform.cfm. Contact Les Love with questions at lesrlove55@gmail.com.

Be prepared outdoors

Learn how to stay safe in the woods with a course 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at Standing Rock Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Search and rescue trainer Steve Kuni will

teach what hikers should always have in their pack and what to do to keep yourself safe and alive when you find yourself out in the woods after dark. The course will include a hands-on outdoor portion.

Register at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

Get schooled in the Smokies

Catch a doubleheader in mountain education with a pair of programs offered through the University of Tennessee Smoky Mountain Field School Saturday, Aug. 19.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., “Plant Diversity of the Smokies” will teach participants how to identify trees, shrubs and wildflowers, meeting at Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The class will explore different forest types to discover the diversity of flora for which the Smokies is famous and discuss elevation impacts, plant ecology, natives versus non-natives and the future of our trees. Participants should come prepared for a short hike.

From 2:30-7:30 p.m., naturalist Esther Blakely will give a guided tour to Cataloochee Valley during “Historic Cataloochee Valley, Smoky Mountain Elk and More.” After meeting at Lake Junaluska, the group will travel back in time to one of the most beautiful and remote parts of the park. The day will be spent exploring the rich natural and cultural history of the early settlers to the valley and the formation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with an emphasis on the elk reintroduction.

Registration for either program is $69, and participants must be 18 or older. Register or view the entire Smoky Mountain Field School schedule at smfs.utk.edu.

Assessment referendum coming up for tomato growers

The N.C. Tomato Growers Association will conduct an August referendum on assessments per harvested commercial tomatoes.

The proposed assessment continues the rate of $20 per acre and would last for six years, starting with the 2023 crop. All commercial tomato producers in North Carolina, including farm owners, tenants and sharecroppers are eligible to vote. Funds generated by the assessment would support research, education and programs to promote Tar Heel tomatoes. The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences would collect the assessment and turn the money over to the N.C. Tomato Growers Association to be administered by the board of directors.

Ballots will be mailed to growers on Aug. 21, and those who have not received ballots by Aug. 29 have 10 days to apply for one.

Kids science program expands to Cherokee

A Cherokee Preservation Foundation grant awarded in March is allowing the N.C. Arboretum’s ecoEXPLORE program to deliver monthly environmental programming for kids at locations throughout Cherokee. The new programming launched in June and includes presentations by artisans, storytellers and EBCI Natural Resources staff. The $17,500 grant allows the programs to be offered free of charge. The funding also allows for 10 new ecoEXPLORE “HotSpots” to be activated. These are areas where youth can participate in observational community science by posting photos of plant and animal species they spot in their area, which will then be used by EBCI natural resources professionals to better understand the surrounding environment.

Developed by the arboretum, ecoEXPLORE is a science program for children in kindergarten through eighth grade that combines science exploration with kid-friendly technology to foster a fun learning environment for children, while encouraging them to explore the outdoors and participate in community science.

This grant-funded programming continues the arboretum’s progress in building educational relationships in Cherokee. Project EXPLORE, a teacher support initiative designed to encourage outdoor learning, has been working alongside educators since 2014, and arboretum educators have more recently been privileged to be involved in the 2022 Honoring Long Man Day, hosting activity stations there and coordinating a tree planting day for youths and adults.

Learn more about ecoEXPLORE at ecoexplore.net or Project EXPLORE at ncprojectexplore.org.

Ballots must be postmarked by 5 p.m. Sept. 26 to be counted. The assessment must pass by a two-thirds majority. For more information, contact Ellen Moss at ellen_moss@yahoo.com or 828.685.3989.

A loaded tomato vine comes ripe. File photo

Children get an up-close look at some native creatures during Honoring Long Man Day in 2022.

N.C. Arboretum photo

BY B URT KORNEGAY

‘It’s a Wild World’

Ihiked up the ridge behind our house early one July morning and saw an eastern box turtle with a millipede in its mouth. The millipede was one of the big, black and gold “Carolina millipedes” that you occasionally see crawling along in the woods. If you pick it up — scaring it — you get a yellow liquid on your hands that smells like almonds. I’ve been told the liquid is organic cyanide and that millipedes make it to repel predators. But from what I saw on the ridge, the box turtle didn’t mind it.

The turtle was standing in the middle of the trail and it had the millipede by the head. The millipede, around 2 inches long, was sticking straight out from the turtle’s mouth, and it was upside down, its pale belly and two rows of yellow legs turned up to the sky. The turtle froze when it saw me, its four legs planted on the trail. There was something bull-headed about its stance, and for some crazy reason, the sight of it clamped down on that millipede brought to mind a photo I’d seen of Winston Churchill, known to be bull-headed also, with a cigar stuck out of his mouth.

Although the turtle had the millipede by the head, the creature wasn’t dead. Its legs were moving in rhythmic waves, and it kept curling its body towards the turtle. Stick out your index finger and curl it towards you. That’s the movement.

I squatted on my two legs to watch, and the turtle stared back at me on its four. Between us was the millipede with its dozens of legs. When I picked the turtle up, it started pushing against my fingers with its scaly feet and claws, and I thought I heard it say, “Let me go!” The turtle didn’t actually say anything, of course, because its mouth was full of millipede.

To determine its sex, I turned the turtle upside down. Female box turtles have flat belly shells or plastrons; males have plastrons that are concave, making it easier for them to mate. Also, males have reddish eyes, which might indicate their desire to mate, while female eyes are brown. This one was female.

When I put the turtle back on the trail, it walked about a foot away and stopped. Then it began to chomp on the millipede’s head, trying to sever it from the body. The turtle chomped and chomped, then finally put out a front foot and pushed against the milli-

pede until it ripped off the body. Having secured a mouthful of head, the turtle began to chew.

I was struck by how methodically it chewed. It made me remember how my mother lectured me at the supper table when I was a boy. I can hear her now: “Burt, chew your food 100 times before swallowing.” Mom was an old-time grammar teacher, and that included the grammar of eating. One hundred chews meant the food would be well masticated. It also meant I’d be eating like an educated human being, not bolting food down “like an animal,” as she put it. And though I’d lose count of the chews, Mom never did. She’d sit at the table looking at me and counting, moving her jaw determinedly up and down to set a proper example. She’d have given that turtle an A.

Then I saw something that Mom would have given an F. Some of the millipede’s legs, detached from its body, were plastered on the side of the turtle’s mouth. The turtle might have chewed 100 times before it swallowed, but they were messy chews.

Early the next morning I hiked up the ridge again. The turtle was gone, but there was the millipede’s headless body on the trail. Either the turtle didn’t like the almond taste of millipede brain and crunchy helmet, or my stares had made it lose its appetite.

I picked the millipede up and saw there was nothing left but the empty shell. Obviously, something liked the taste of millipede—probably ants or yellow jackets. I’ve seen both emerge from millipede shells.

When I got back down to the house, I woke Becky up to tell her what I’d seen, and I heard her mutter from the depths of her pillow, “It’s a wild world out there.”

(Burt and Becky Kornegay live in Jackson County.)

Jon Ogburn came across these eastern box turtles mating in his driveway. The male’s concave belly shell makes mating easier, but even so it’s a precarious position. Jon Ogburn photo

COMMUNITY EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The Jackson County Farmers Market meets every Saturday November through March 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and April through October 9 a.m. to noon at Bridge Park in Sylva, 110 Railroad St. Special events listed on Facebook and Instagram.

VOLUNTEERS

• The Green Energy Park is seeking artists to demonstrate/ provide kid-friendly activities, as well as musicians to perform, for the Youth Art’s Festival slated to take place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park. If interested, contact Chelsea Seaman at chelseamiller@jacksonnc.org or call the office at 828.631.0271.

H EALTH AND WELLNESS

• Mountain Area pregnancy Services and the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor work together to provide a casual support group for prenatal and breastfeeding individuals from 1-2 p.m. on Tuesdays at Mountain Area Pregnancy Services, 177 N Main St. Waynesville, NC. All are welcome, registration is recommended. For more information, please call 828.558.4550.

CLUBS AND M EETINGS

• The Western Carolina Cribbage Club meets every Monday at 6 p.m. An eclectic group of young and old, male and female. The group supplies boards, cards, pegs and are always willing to help those still learning the finer points of the game. Contact kei3ph@bellsouth.net for more information.

• The Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library Creative Writing Group meets 10:30 a.m. to noon on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. For more information, email Jennifer at jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2561.

• Knit Night takes place at 5:30-7:30 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month at The Stecoah Valley Center. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP is recommended: 828.479.3364 or amber@stecoahvalleycenter.com.

• Sylva Writers Group meets Wednesday mornings at City Lights Books. If interested contact sylvawriters@gmail.com.

AUTHORS AND B OOKS

• David Joy will speak on his new book “Those We Thought We Knew” during at event at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, at the Fangmeyer Theater at HART in Waynesville. Hosted by Blue Ridge Books, tickets are $10. Purchase from Blue Ridge Books.

• Ron Rash will speak on his new book “The Caretaker” during an event at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville. Hosted by Blue Ridge Books, tickets are $10. Profits will be donated to the Pigeon Center.

K IDS AND FAMILIES

• Wiggle Worms Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Tuesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children 2-6 years old. For more information contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.

• Next Chapter Book Club Haywood is a fun, energetic and highly interactive book club, ideal for individuals

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com

with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The group meets every second and fourth Monday of the month. For more information, email Jennifer at jennifer.stuart@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2561.

• Toddler’s Rock takes place at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Macon County Library. Get ready to rock with songs, books, rhymes and playing with instruments. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• Culture Talk takes place at 2 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month at the Macon County Public Library. Travel the world from inside your library. This event features guest speakers and food sampling from the location being discussed. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• Art afternoon takes place at 3:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Macon County Public Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

A&E

• The Resonant Rogues will be in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at Stecoah. Tickets are $18 and are available by calling 828.479.3364 or online at stecoahvalleycenter.com/artists/rogues.

• The 17th Annual Franklin Area Folk Festival will take place 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center. The event is free. For more information call 828.369.4080.

• The Dazzling Dahlia Festival will take place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, in Highlands. There will be Dahlia and native plant vignettes all over Highlands, as well as a single bloom competition at the Bascom. For a full schedule of events visit highlandshistory.com.

• Trivia Night is hosted 6:30-8:30 p.m. every Thursday evening at the Meadowlark Motel in Maggie Valley. For more information visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• Paint and Sip at Waynesville Art School will be held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7-9:30 p.m. To learn more and register call 828.246.9869 or visit PaintAndSipWaynesville.com/upcoming-events. Registration is required, $45.

• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood St. in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods. Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.

• Smoky Mountain Event Center presents Bingo Night with doors opening at 4:30 p.m. and games starting at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. For more information visit smokymountaineventcenter.com.

F OOD AND D RINK

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every

Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• Take a trip around the world with four different wines every Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 11a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Bryson City Wine Market. Pick from artisan Charcuterie Foods to enjoy with wines. 828.538.0420

• Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS

• A four-week Feldenkrais class series focusing on the arms, shoulders and ribs begins at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center, in conference room A1. Feldenkrais uses gentle movement and directed attention to promote reduction of pain, increase range of movement, improve flexibility and coordination. Cost $60 for the series, $20 per class for walk-ins. To register email Annallys at eetm2023@proton.me or call 505.438.9109.

• Chess 101 takes place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. every Friday in the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. No registration required, for more information call 828.648.2924.

• Wired Wednesday, one-on-one technology help is available at 3-5 p.m. every Wednesday at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Library. For more information or to register, call 828.648.2924.

• Uptown Gallery, 30 East Main St. Franklin, will be offering Children’s Art Classes Wednesdays afternoons. Adult workshops in watercolor, acrylic paint pouring, encaustic and glass fusing are also offered. Free painting is available 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday in the classroom. A membership meeting takes place on the second Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. All are welcome. Call 828.349.4607 for more information.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES

• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. 828.349.4607 or pm14034@yahoo.com.

Outdoors

• A hike from Sheepback Knob to Hemphill Bald will be led Wednesday, Aug. 9, by guides Jamie and Ruffin, hosted by Haywood County Recreation and Parks. Meet at the Ghost Town parking lot at 9 a.m. Registration is $10, sign up at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

• The last Zahner Conservation Lecture of the year will focus on the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area of neighboring South Carolina at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at the Highlands Nature Center in Highlands.

• Learn how to live safely with black bears during a program at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Those present will be entered to win a raffle valued at $20. The presentation is offered by the Nantahala Hiking Club. Membership not required to attend.

• The Carolina Mountain Club will rehabilitate the trail to Sams Knob summit during a workday Saturday, Aug. 10. The group will meet at 9 a.m. at the Black Balsam Knob parking lot with a carpool option available at the French Broad Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 8

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com

n Complete listings of local music scene

n Regional festivals

n Art gallery events and openings

n Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers

n Civic and social club gatherings

a.m. Register at carolinamtnclub.org/eventform.cfm. Contact Les Love with questions at lesrlove55@gmail.com.

• A two-day course on fly fishing casting will be offered 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, Aug. 11 and 18, on Richland Creek in the Waynesville Recreation Park. No fishing license is required and loaner rods are available.

Registration is $10, hosted by Haywood County Recreation. Sign up at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

• Hike the westernmost section of the Art Loeb Trail Saturday, Aug. 12. Led by guides Tara and Steve, hikers will meet at Jukebox Junction in Bethel at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $10, sign up at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

• Learn how to pack for an overnight on the trail with a class offered noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at REI in Asheville. Cost is $20 for REI members and $40 for non-members. Space is limited. Registration required at rei.com/events.

• Go birding at Buck Spring along the Blue Ridge Parkway with an expedition meeting 8 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at Jukebox Junction in Bethel. Howard Browers will lead the walk. Loaner binoculars are available. Cost is $10. Sign up at bit.ly/haywoodrec.

• Learn how to stay safe in the woods with a course 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at Standing rock Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Search and rescue trainer Steve Kuni will teach what hikers should always have in their pack and what to do to keep yourself safe and alive when out in the woods after dark. Register at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

• Celebrate the Year of the Trail Saturday, Aug. 19, with an easy hike at Bear Pen Gap off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Led by guides Tara and Steve, registration is $10. Hosted by Haywood County Recreation and Parks, sign up at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

• Haywood Waterways will celebrate 25 years with a birthday celebration 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at BearWaters in Waynesville. There will be trivia, reminiscing, a chance to learn more about Haywood Waterways and drink deals available for members.

• The Waynesville parks and Recreation Department will hold an adult co-ed softball organizational meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, at the Vance St Park Pavilion. The purpose of the meeting is to establish the number of teams, players, schedule, rule changes, fees, format and championship bracket. For more information call 828.456.2030 or email lkinsland@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Registration closes Aug. 31 for the Church Volleyball League in Jackson County. Games will be played Monday nights at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. Register at rec.jacksosnnc.org or contact Andrew Sherling with questions at 828.293.3053, ext. 6, or andrewsherling@jacksonnc.org.

• Blue Ridge Mountain Drivers offers monthly open water diver scuba certification classes. This is the basic class needed to become a certified scuba diver. Pool sessions are held at Waynesville Recreation Center pool. Prior registration required. Register online at blueridgemountaindivers.com or call 864.710.1567.

MarketPlace information:

The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 copies across 500 locations in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, including the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. Visit www.wncmarketplace.com to place your ad!

Rates:

• $15 — Classified ads that are 25 words, 25¢ per word after.

• Free — Lost or found pet ads.

• $6 — Residential yard sale ads.*

• $1 — Yard Sale Rain Insurance

Yard sale rained out? Call us by 10a.m. Monday for your ad to run again FREE

• $375 — Statewide classifieds run in 170 participating newspapers with 1.1+ million circulation. (Limit 25 words or less)

• Boost Online — Have your ad featured at top of category online $4

• Boost in Print

• Add Photo $6

• Bold ad $2

• Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue Highlight $4

• Border $4

Note: Highlighted ads automatically generate a border so if you’re placing an ad online and select a highlight color, the “add border” feature will not be available on the screen.

Note: Yard sale ads require an address. This location will be displayed on a map on www.wncmarketplace.com p: 828.452.4251 · f:828.452.3585

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Legals

NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No. 000376

Coleman J. Ammons, Jack Austen Ammons Jr Oct 26 2023 Administrator 70 Gateway Street Waynesville, NC 28785

ATTENTION OXYGEN THERAPY USERS!

HOUND MIX, BROWN/ BLACK/WHITE — JUDITH 6 yr-old girl; friendly. Loves trail hikes and car rides, and playing with other dogs. Asheville Humane Society (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org

Real Estate

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

DIAGNOSED WITH LUNG CANCER? You

Pets

“WORKING CATS”

Asheville Humane Society has cats available who are best suited to life in a barn/farm, warehouse, etc. Fully vaccinated and spayed/ neutered. (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org

Rentals

• Billie Green - bgreen@allentate.com

• Brian K. Noland - bknoland@allentate.com

• Anne Page - apage@allentate.com

• Jerry Powell - jpowell@allentate.com

• Catherine Proben - cproben@allentate.com

• Ellen Sither - esither@allentate.com

• Karen Hollingsed- khollingsed@allentate.com

• John Keith - jkeith@allentate.com

• Randall Rogers - rrogers@allentate.com

• Susan Hooper - shooper@allentate.com

• Hunter Wyman - hwyman@allentate.com

•Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff@allentate.com

•Darrin Graves - dgraves@allentate.com

ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com

•Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com

• Randy Flanigan - 706-207-9436

• Steve Mauldin - 828-734-4864

Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com

•The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

• Ron Breese - ronbreese.com

• Landen Stevenson- landen@landenkstevenson.com

Lakeshore Realty

• Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com

• Lyndia Massey- buyfromlyndia@yahoo.com

Mountain Creek Real Estate

• Ron Rosendahl - 828-593-8700

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management

• Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

RE/MAX Executive - remax-waynesvillenc.com remax-maggievalleync.com

• The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com

• Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

•Mary Hansen - mwhansen@charter.net

• Billy Case- billyncase@gmail.com

Rob Roland Realty

• Rob Roland - 828-400-1923

Smoky Mountain Retreat Realty

• Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com

• Sherell Johnson - Sherellwj@aol.com

ANSWERS ON PAGE 34

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