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August 13-19, 2014 Vol. 16 Iss. 11
Duke LifePoint heralds ‘new day’ Page 12 Porch 40 spreads the funk in Western NC Page 24
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August 13-19, 2014
Smoky Mountain News
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CONTENTS On the Cover: Bruce O’Connell has been operating the Pisgah Inn since 1978, and he’s been through the process of renewing his contract with the National Park Service before. But this time is different. Fearing competition from big international companies that can write professional proposals and make large investments, he forked over “big bucks” for a consultant to help write the most appealing proposal possible. As he waits on a decision, O’Connell is hoping for another 10 years of employment for his people — many of whom have worked there for decades — and life atop the Blue Ridge. (Page 8)
News Hayward candidate loses property tax battle with county . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 What kind of tourists is Jackson County aiming for? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Local detergent supplier loses schools contract to national player. . . . . . . 10 Trio of hospitals celebrate Duke LifePoint deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Verizon shelves proposed Whiteside cell phone tower at last minute . . . . 15 Franklin and Forest Hill pass fracking resolutions, Bryson City’s up next . . 16 State budget does little to quell education funding debate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
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Opinion
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Is torture an aberration or a trend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
A&E Sylva funk/rock band gaining momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Outdoors
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Franklin to float ‘anything’ down Little Tennessee River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Blue Ridge Breakaway rides through WNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
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“On remand, the commission shall make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law explaining how it weighed the evidence to reach its conclusion,” the court of appeals ruling ordered. David Francis, the Haywood County tax administrator, questioned whether the county got a fair hearing initially from the Property Tax Commission. While five members sit on the commission, only three were present for the hearing on King’s protest. One of the three who voted in the case arrived late and was inattentive during the hearing, even talking on his cell phone, getting coffee and dozing off, Francis recalled. The property tax commission entered a split vote of 2 to 1 in King’s favor. The two who sided with King are no longer actively serving on the property tax commission.
THE BIGGER PICTURE When making his case, King argued that the county’s method for pegging his property value was arbitrary and “substantially exceeded the true value” of his property. The initial ruling of the Property Tax Commission would have lowered King’s
What’s a property revaluation? Property values dictate your property tax bill. The more your property is worth, the more you pay in county property taxes. Counties are required under state law to update property values on the tax books periodically. It’s intended to level the playing field — ensuring that property taxes match the true value of someone’s property. property tax bill from about $1,300 a year to $1,100 a year. But for both sides, more was at stake than the roughly $200 on King’s annual property tax bill. King has been an adversary of Haywood County commissioners for the past few years. He has publicly spoken out against their policies and decisions, including the property tax revaluation. The county spent $5,000 in legal fees to fight King’s property value protest, according to county officials. King’s supporters have questioned why the county would
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• Jan. 2011: In the countywide property revaluation, Denny King’s home on three acres in the Beaverdam area north of Canton is valued at $210,000. • Sept. 2011: King protests the property value to the Haywood County Board of Equalization and Review, which knocks the value down modestly to $205,000. • 2012: King appeals to the N.C. Property Tax Commission, claiming his property is worth only $165,000. • June 2013: The N.C. Property Tax Commission sides with King and lowers his property value to $172,000. • July 2013: Haywood County commissioners appeal the ruling to the N.C. Court of Appeals. • August 2014: The N.C. Court of Appeals overturns the decision of the N.C. Property Tax Commission. The rationale for lowering King’s property value was “inadequate,” and the property tax commission failed to explain why or how it arrived at the lower value. The case is sent back to the N.C. Property Tax Commission for a second look.
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Smoky Mountain News
August 13-19, 2014
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A timeline of the King vs. Haywood County property value dispute
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BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER challenger in the Haywood County commissioner race lost ground last week in a fight with the county over his property values, a three-year dispute laced with political overtones. Denny King claims the county incorrectly pegged the value of his home and land, which in turn determines his property tax bill. King has accused the county of mass errors in a countywide property revaluation conducted in 2011, a criticism that is a cornerstone of his campaign for county commissioner. King claims his home on three acres in the Beaverdam area north of Canton is worth only $165,000 — about $45,000 less than the property value listDenny King ed on county tax rolls. King took his case to the N.C. Property Tax Commission, which sided with King last year, pegging his property value at $172,000. But the county appealed that decision to the N.C. Court of Appeals, which has now sided with Haywood County and sent the case back to the property tax commission for rehearing. In short, the N.C. Property Tax Commission failed to offer rationale when ruling in King’s favor and failed to explain how it came up with the lower value, according to the N.C. Court of Appeals. “The commission must issue specific findings and conclusions explaining how it weighed the evidence to reach its decision … and how it determined the true value,” the court of appeals ruling stated. “In the present case, the commission did not do so. The findings and conclusions are inadequate to explain the commission’s analysis.” The N.C. Court of Appeals stopped short of weighing in on what King’s property is worth, however. Instead, it sent the case back to the property tax commission to reconsider.
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ROUND THREE: Haywood County takes on political adversary in property value dispute
spend more fighting King’s protest than it possibly stands to recoup on King’s annual property tax bill. But Francis said the decision to appeal the initial decision to the N.C. Court of Appeals was a matter of principle. Francis said county critics have waged a “misinformation campaign” surrounding the property revaluation in 2011. The state requires periodic revaluations of every home, lot and tract of land to ensure the property values on the county’s tax rolls are an accurate reflection of real estate prices. King claims the county missed the mark in the last revaluation, not only on his own home but on thousands of homes. King has criticized the formula used to appraise property. “I believe the last revaluation was flawed. I don’t know if it was intentional or a lack of knowledge concerning the economic conditions of the real estate market,” King said in an email. King’s own property value went up, which doesn’t square with the reality of a falling real estate market, he claimed. But county officials have stood by the revaluation and its method. As property values change, tax rolls are updated to reflect the real-world real estate, aligning the tax-book value of each property with what it would likely sell for on the open market. But it’s an imperfect science. There’s dozens of variables at play when trying to peg what a home is worth: the size, the location, the view, the age, the type of heat, even the life left in the roof. But at the end of the day, it’s impossible to know exactly what someone might be willing to pay for it, or what the owner’s willing to sell it for. The county’s revaluation can’t perfectly predict what the future selling price is going to be. “It is all over the place. We have dirt that’s sold above, and dirt’s that sold below,” Francis said. But on average, the sale prices lineup with the county’s appraised property values. “There is not an exaggerated picture of ‘Oh my gosh, they really missed it,’” Francis said. On average, property is selling for about 2 percent less than the county’s appraised values. In other words, the property values on the county’s tax
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And at the time, higher-end homes had come down in value substantially, while lower-end homes didn’t see the same crash. But the real estate market isn’t static. Property values continue to go up and down. “It was a snap shot in time. Things change, and by 2014, things have changed. Some neighborhoods are up and some are down,” Francis said. “That’s why we do another reval to address sales that have transpired, to capture those fluctuations in the market.”
Jackson tourism officials are courting varying types of visitors — one ad caters to those wishing to relax, while another is more adventurous. Courtesy of the Jackson County TDA
Smoky Mountain News
rolls are less than real-world sale prices — discrediting the claim that the county’s tax values are over-inflated. But King said the average is misleading. “Overall the sales to assessed ratio may be spot on, but it’s way off at the bottom and top end,” King said in an email. “Since the reval, lower end housing continues to sell well below the assessed value, and higher end homes well above the tax value.” The revaluation in 2011 was based on the real estate market at the time, Francis said.
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August 13-19, 2014
BY J EREMY MORRISON N EWS E DITOR he type of visitors being eyed by Jackson County tourism officials fall into various categories. Each one of those “types” is being targeted through different ads. There are advertisements featuring flyfishing. And gambling. Or how about kayaking or pottery? Right now, the Kick Back ad featuring a pair of Adirondack chairs couched in a setting of weathered relaxation is testing better than the Grab Hold ad, which features a zipline. “That surprised me,” George Durant, strategic marketing director with the Brandon Agency, told members of the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority’s Marketing Committee during a recent presentation. The Brandon Agency is the advertising firm handling the county’s tourism marketing campaign. The campaign centers around Jackson’s all-encompassing tourism slogan ‘Play On.’ “That doesn’t surprise me for this area,” replied Clifford Meads, chairman of the TDA’s marketing committee. “I have very few zipline friends. My friends will kick back in a chair and take it in.” Durant explained that the county should hold onto the Adirondack-chair crowd, but also focus its energy on attracting more of the zipline-variety of visitor. If not ziplining — it was pointed out that Jackson doesn’t actually have a zipline — then at least something active, or “any soft adventure that would resonate with people.” “We still believe from our research that active is better,” Durant said. Jackson’s TDA is in the process of determining what direction it wants to take its marketing campaign. During the Brandon Agency’s recent presentation to the marketing committee, the campaign’s initial months were detailed and options were discussed for future efforts. In addition to their zipline-advice, the
Jackson considers who to woo and how
their top choices: Cashiers, Cherokee, Dillsboro and Sylva. But what about Balsam, Cullowhee, Glennville and Sapphire, they wonder. “Eight?” Durant asked. “It’s kind of unwieldy in small space ads.” “It is,” agreed Meads, “but four wouldn’t be.” Some areas, agreed committee members, were just too small to make the cut. Whittier and Tuckaseegee will probably not find themselves featured on the county’s tourism logo. “Yeah, like Little Switzerland. You don’t have a hope in hell,” said Meads. The importance of cementing Jackson’s tourism brand was also discussed. Meads suggested the TDA consider earmarking some funds, maybe $30,000, to purchase marketing items such as Play On stickers and window clings. “If we’re going to make this brand come to life we’re going to have to jumpstart it. We have to have that money in our budget to do that, it’s not going to jumpstart itself,” Meads said. “I just think the time is right and we need to plant the seeds.” The Jackson County TDA operates on a budget of about $600,000 collected via an occupancy tax. The previous fiscal year’s marketing budget was $261,000.
news
Pitching ‘Play On’
Brandon Agency team also suggested that the TDA gradually shift more of its marketing efforts from print-based advertisements to Internet-based ads. And focus on Millennials — who will soon outnumber aging Baby Boomers — and women, who tend to make a family’s travel plans. Following the presentation, Mead described the path suggested by the marketing team as “a pretty good blueprint” and “probably 80 percent correct.” The full tourism authority board will decide, possibly at its August meeting, exactly what to pursue. “It’s the first swipe at the ball,” Meads said. “Now we’ll huddle up, go through it line by line and make sure it dovetails with our budget.” From March through June, the TDA spent $83,800.97 running advertisements in both print and digital media. That money generated 3,191 leads, or potential tourists, meaning that each lead costs $26.26. Online ads are run on travel sites like TripAdvisor. In print, specific demographics are targeted by placing ads in particular publications like Southern Living, Outside Magazine and Garden and Gun. For the next fiscal year, the Brandon Agency is suggesting spending $159,182 on digital marketing and $158,286 on traditional print advertising. “You’re gonna have a lot more print than we’d normally recommend,” said Durant, explaining that Jackson’s current boomer tourism base relied more on print, while a shift toward digital could be pursued once an effort was made “to start youthening our appeal in Jackson County.” The Brandon Agency team also discussed the county’s main tourism brand with the marketing committee. Currently, the brand features the Play On tag, along with mountain imagery and the words ‘Jackson, NC.’ Should it also feature specific towns within the county? “That’s the thing to do unless you have 50 towns,” Durant said. “Where’s the cut off?” Jackson County has a handful of towns, some quite small. The committee ticks off
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A concessionaire’s conundrum
brand of comfort 10 years from now. He’s waiting anxiously to hear back on a decision that will determine whether he keeps on with business as usual or starts packing up beds and tables. The inn has been part of O’Connell’s life since 1978, when he bought into the business with his parents Phyllis and Tom. His dad passed away in 1985, but his 90-year-old mother still lives in Waynesville, still takes an interest in the hotel. She and her son are now 100 percent owners of the business. For seven months a year, O’Connell, 59, works at the inn while making his home in Candler — during the off-season, he’s a scuba instructor in Mexico. “It’s fun,” he said. “I’m lucky.”
August 13-19, 2014
THE WAY OF THE DINOSAURS?
Bruce O’Connell has been involved with the Pisgah Inn since 1978. Holly Kays photo.
Pisgah Inn owner hoping NPS contract renewal yields 10 more years of local ownership
Smoky Mountain News
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER y mid-August, there’s already a chill in the air outside Pisgah Inn. Employees and experienced guests walk around in pants and long sleeves, while visitors who didn’t realize August could be this cool sport shorts and tank tops. At 5,000 feet, the panoramic view stays year-round, but autumn comes early. “This time of year, it’s full every night,” said the inn’s owner/operator Bruce O’Connell. People looking to get away from the heat of summer or see the splendor of fall on the Blue Ridge Parkway book their rooms months ahead of time, eager to take advan8 tage of the myriad hiking trails that split off
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from the 7-acre campus or just absorb the view from the rocking chairs that sit on each room’s porch, facing the sea of blue ridges. There’s a restaurant with heavily windowed walls and a store selling a variety of local crafts as well. Funnel Top, Black Mountain and Looking Glass Rock are all visible from the south-facing panorama. “How could you ask for a better place to work?” said Fran Sherlin, retail manager for the inn’s gift shop. She’s worked at the inn for 28 years, drawn to stay by “the spirit of the place, really,” along with the local crafters she gets to work with and the guests who she sees year after year. She’s planning to stay until she retires. “We have people come that had their honeymoon here 20 years ago, some 30 years ago,” Sherlin said. Or even 45 years. That’s when Jessie and Marlin Brown of North Augusta, S.C., first came to Pisgah Inn as honeymooners, and they’ve been returning ever since. “We feel very comfortable here,” Jessie said. But O’Connell isn’t so sure that visitors like the Browns will experience that same
It’s not financial hardship or waning interest that would cause O’Connell to walk away from Mount Pisgah. He’s good to go for another 10 years, but ownership of the Pisgah Inn isn’t quite as straightforward as for your typical hotel. The Inn sits just off mile 408.6 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, National Park Service property. O’Connell operates as a concessionaire of the Park Service, a complicated designation that means the Park Service gets a cut of his profits, a say in his rates and infrastructure improvements — and the opportunity to periodically cast its net for a better operator. It’s this last part of the arrangement that has O’Connell worried. “The trend throughout the National Park Service has been and is for the small independent operators like me to go the way of the dinosaurs and all these types of concessions to be run by larger corporations,” he said. The O’Connell family won contract renewal in 1984, back when the contracts worked on a 20-year cycle, and then a 10-year contract in 2004. At the end of this year, that term is up. O’Connell isn’t feeling that secure about the next 10 years. He looks at examples like Cades Cove Campground Store and Riding Stables, whose contract renewal recently went to a large company called Ortega National Parks. The concession is currently operated by a Maryville, Tennessee-based company. The owner did not return calls requesting comment. Further north on the Parkway, Peaks of Otter Lodge went in 2013 to Delaware North, a giant hospitality company that manages properties spanning the globe. The local company that managed the lodge for decades had opted not to rebid. “They are right up the road from me,” O’Connell said of Delaware North. “They just took that one over and I feel like they’re eyeballing me. And that’s only one of the larger operators that are eyeballing me.” There’s no proof of that. The bid process is a closed one — even though bid submissions for the Pisgah Inn closed last week, the Park Service can’t reveal who the contenders are — and both Delaware North and Xanterra Parks and Resorts, another large company that manages concessions in a variety of national parks including Zion and Yellowstone, declined to comment on
whether they had submitted one. Ortega did not return a call requesting comment. And Laura Nelson, concessions management specialist for the Blue Ridge Parkway, doesn’t agree with O’Connell’s assessment that larger companies are increasingly gobbling up the little guys. She hasn’t noticed such a trend in her 11 years in concessions management. “Personally, no, I have not,” she said. “Now, it is a complex process, and I think what may be happening is we’re actually getting more bidders, whereas before if you had a concession contract you would probably automatically keep it.” Today, the Park Service might get five to seven bids for any given contract, Nelson said, while 10 years ago that wasn’t really the case. Often, it’s the bigger companies that are making the bids, because operating a hotel requires some substantial up-front cash. “I am not an expert on all concessions and all parks, but I have worked in five parks and I don’t think I have generally seen that,” she said of O’Connell’s theory. “It seems like the big contracts that require a lot of initial investments go to big companies that can afford to put that money up front.”
A COMPLICATED PROCESS
O’Connell feels otherwise, though, to the point that he paid a consultant a sum he’ll only describe as “big bucks” to write his proposal for him. That’s not something he’s done before. “The last couple times I did it myself,” O’Connell said. “I sat down, wrote it, went to Kinkos, printed it out.” This time, though, it was different. Things have gotten a lot more complicated, and the questions the Park Service asks in the prospectus — a document akin to an application — require a good deal of specialized knowledge. For instance, the one for the Pisgah Inn asks for specific actions the company will take to reduce its impact on wildlife and vegetation and for a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption from vehicles, heating and air conditioning units and appliances. Answering those questions adequately requires a good bit of knowledge beyond the sphere of hotel operation. The big companies have those specialists on staff, or at least on retainer. By the time it’s all said and done, O’Connell said, you’re looking at a phone book’s worth of pages, and if you miss one question, forget one signature, the whole application gets tossed out. Big companies like Delaware North have staffers who specialize in that kind of thing, write those sorts of documents for a living. O’Connell does not. “There’s so much out there that I don’t have knowledge about that I would not be able to provide the same level of proposals that a professional would,” O’Connell said. Unlike a county’s bid for, say, a company to grade a construction site, Park Service concessions contracts aren’t awarded based on which proposal would be best for the government’s financial bottom line. Concessionaires do pay a franchise fee — a cut of gross
“The trend throughout the National Park Service has been and is for the small independent operators like me to go the way of the dinosaurs and all these types of concessions to be run by larger corporations.” — Bruce O’Connell, Pisgah Inn owner/operator
CONSULTING ON COMMITMENTS So, it was important that O’Connell make his bid as attractive to the Park Service as possible. Throughout the proposal writing process, O’Connell’s consultant would come
The Browns had heard about the contract renewal over breakfast, when another media outlet came to cover the issue. It wasn’t the first time they’d been to Pisgah Inn in the midst of heavy press attention; the couple was staying at the inn last October during the government shutdown. The shutdown closed all national parks, including concession operations like the inn. O’Connell, whose business is busiest during the October leaf season, closed for the first six days of the 16-day shutdown. After his legal team got involved, he was allowed to reopen. “They closed it down the day we left,” Marlin said. Now that his contract is up, O’Connell’s left hoping that last fall’s act of defiance won’t affect the decision this year. His employees echoed each other’s hopes that the contract award will be based purely on the merits of the applicants, not on politics, while O’Connell himself says he believes the government will keep that factor out of the decision. “I’ve had a 40-year relationship with the Park Service, and I do believe that they have enough wisdom and experience that the panel that will be reviewing all the proposals for this place — I have to believe they’re going to make the best decision,” O’Connell said. “From the Park Service point of view,” Nelson said, “We are looking for the best operator who can serve our visitors.” The panel will make its decision within the next few weeks, but before anybody — even O’Connell — hears the results, the paperwork will go up to Washington, D.C., for review. It will probably be pretty close to the end of O’Connell’s current contract, Dec. 31, before the results go public. If he gets the bid, he’ll be good to go for another 10 years. If not, he’ll have to head out, though not quite empty-handed. O’Connell owns all the personal property — beds, vehicles, kitchen equipment — inside the inn, and the new manager would be obligated to pay him some value based on the millions of dollars O’Connell has sunk into improving the property, improvements that include a recent $2.5 million renovation of one of the hotel buildings. For now, though, the hustle is over. There’s nothing to do but leap into the bustle of the coming leaf season and wait on the word. “Right now,” O’Connell said, “We’re on the wait and see mode.” 9
Smoky Mountain News
rience, but experience operating a similar enterprise a thousand miles away wouldn’t score much differently than decades spent managing the very concession up for bid. “There’s no formal preference, but you are rated on your experience,” Nelson said. “If you have experience operating this property or a similar property, you would get credit for your experience just like any job you were interviewing for.”
THE WAITING GAME
August 13-19, 2014
receipts that can range from one-half to 10 percent — and they do pay a maintenance fee, but proposals are graded on a whole host of criteria. “We’re not looking for the person to pay us the most for the contact,” Nelson said. “We’re actually looking for the entity that has the most experience and the plans that line up with what we’re looking for.” All the proposals for a particular contract go to the Park Service’s regional office in Atlanta to be scored by a group of people vetted as having no personal connection to the bidders or the park. The panel doesn’t give the current operator any preference points for being there already. Each bidder is graded based on expe-
LIKE FAMILY His key people hope so, too. For many of them, the inn is like a second home. For some, it’s the only place they’ve ever worked. Ian Drobka, the 36-year-old food and beverage manager, started working at Pisgah Inn years ago as a teenage dishwasher for the restaurant. The inn’s biggest source of visitors, it can attract up to 1,200 people per day in peak season. Drobka’s worked his way through the ranks into a year-round job at what he considers one of the most beautiful places on the planet. “Bruce and Phyllis are great people to work for,” Drobka said. “They’re like family. The mountains around here are some of my favorite places on earth.” Hotel staff are all sitting tight to see what the future holds, but they’re hoping it holds more of the same. “We’re all crossing our fingers,” said Doug Baird, a three-year employee who works in the restaurant. So are Dee and Tom Clere, a married couple from the Raleigh area who have been coming annually for the past five years. “It’s nice and relaxing. It’s relatively inexpensive because you get a complimentary breakfast and usually that’s enough to last till an early dinner. There’s a lot of hiking trails, and we enjoy that,” Dee said. “It’s just a good place and it’s so blessedly cool.” Asked her thoughts on the contract renewal, Dee was quick to say she’s rooting for O’Connell. “You get chains in and everything is so
plastic,” she said. “It’s the same whether you’re in Raleigh or Richmond. I like the local differences.” Loading up the car for a photography outing to Looking Glass Rock, the Browns expressed a similar opinion. They said they’d probably still come stay if the ownership changed, but they’d just like things to remain the same — local. “I don’t like a big chain coming in,” Marlin said. “I prefer it to be held more or less locally. Let them stay in Aspen and Colorado.” “You learn so much more with the local people,” his wife agreed. “They’re all very appreciative of this area.”
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Above: O’Connell stands in front of the panoramic view behind the inn with Ian Drobka, the inn’s food and beverage manager who has been working his way up since his first job at Pisgah as a teenager. Below: Guests to the Pisgah Inn have no shortage of views or rocking chairs. Holly Kays photos.
to him with questions, asking what changes he would be willing to make to craft a more competitive bid. “He asked me questions,” O’Connell said. “He said, ‘Bruce, would you commit to eliminate every glass bottle at Pisgah Inn?’” Then, O’Connell would look into the feasibility. He contacted his wine supplier to find out if the wines he purchases come in boxes rather than bottles, looked at how much it would cost to sell soda from a fountain machine rather than in bottled form. Then, O’Connell would go to his accountant to run the numbers, figure out if the business could shoulder the burden of paying for those changes in the timeframe laid out in the proposal. O’Connell had to show that it could. “I have to prove to the government I’m not just babbling at the mouth,” O’Connell said. “I have to prove there’s enough revenue coming in to live up to all the commitments I’m making.” O’Connell’s proposal contains 297 such commitments, from switching to LED lighting to using all biodegradable cups. He knows that keeping those promises isn’t going to make him a rich man. But he hopes that by making them, he’ll get to keep the inn for 10 more years. All he wants is to break even. “I, Bruce, have everything in the world that I need or want right now. I don’t want another house, don’t want another car. I don’t want another vacation,” he said. “I don’t have to make a big profit anymore because I don’t want anything else. I just want to make sure my key people can have 10 years of job security and make good money.”
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Bruce Johnson with Champion Supply addressed the Haywood County School Board Monday night. Becky Johnson photo
Haywood’s detergent war Schools opt for EcoLab over local supplier BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER Haywood County businessman who has historically supplied dishwasher detergent and rinse agent for Haywood County school cafeterias lost his contract for the coming school year to a major national cleaning supply company.
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Bruce Johnson, owner of Haywood-based Champion Supply, has questioned the methodology behind the decision. “If I get beat, I get beat. But I wasn’t beat on this bid,” Johnson said. “The financial analysis that was done was just not valid.” Alison Francis, the director over school cafeterias in Haywood County, said her cafeteria kitchen staff likes EcoLab products better. “They said their dishes are cleaner, they dry faster and they don’t have to use de-limer every week like they used to,” Francis said. Johnson said that can be subjective.
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would be rebid next year. Francis said the contract includes a rollover clause for up to four years. Morris asked if the contract would come back to the school board next year, or whether the rollover clause would be enacted unilaterally by staff. School Board Attorney Pat Smathers said it would come back to the board for review. But to be sure, Morris insisted on adding language to the bid vote that stipulated the cafeteria cleaning supply contract would be rebid next year and be contingent on school board approval. Champion has been the supplier of dishwasher soap and dish drying agent for Haywood Schools for years, amounting to about $25,000 in sales a year. Last school year, Francis switched to EcoLab mid-year following a trial of their dish soap and drying agent. Francis said she saved $4,000 with EcoLab over the previous year. Johnson said the mid-year switch to EcoLab had too many variables to accurately conclude that EcoLab is cheaper, however. His leftover inventory in the schools continued to be used up over the course of the year, for example. Another factor that could skew those numbers: Champion automatically restocked school kitchens, but with EcoLab, kitchen managers have to order new product as they run out, so there wasn’t as much on hand at the conclusion of the year. So the year started
“You like Coke, I like Pepsi. You like Joy, I like Dawn,” Johnson said. As long as quality is comparable, price should prevail, Johnson said, especially when it comes to cash-strapped schools. Champion’s products are cheaper, according to the pricing listed in their bids. Francis claims EcoLab’s products are cheaper, however. But she also maintained that price wasn’t the deciding factor. Johnson made a last-ditch appeal to the Haywood County School Board in recent weeks to critically analyze the bid process. The school board Last school year, Francis switched scheduled a meeting with to EcoLab mid-year following a trial Francis to explain why she wanted to buy from EcoLab instead of of their dish soap and drying agent. Champion, including fielding perceptive questions from board Francis said she saved $4,000 with members Steven Kirkpatrick EcoLab over the previous year. and Jim Francis. Johnson was not able to offer a rebuttal from the audience, however, and instead followed up with more inventory, and ended with less, lowering the volume ordered from EcoLab with written counterpoints. While Johnson believes his products are compared to past years under Champion. Three school cafeteria managers who just as good and would save the schools money, the clock has run out to make his case. work for Francis, the head school cafeteria The contract was put out to bid over the director, spoke up at the school board meetsummer, leaving just a few weeks to analyze ing Monday in support of her decision. Sandy Watts, the cafeteria manager at the bids, select a company and award the conNorth Canton Elementary, said despite havtract by the start of school. “The process was done pretty late and ing a great relationship with Champion over here we are with school starting next week,” the years, her staff likes EcoLab’s dish soap and rinse aid better. Johnson said. “Those elbow deep in the cleaning are While Johnson could have filed a formal protest over the contract award and forced an going to speak up for whatever makes their outside review, he chose not to for fear it job easier,” Watts said. Sherrie Kilby, the cafeteria manager at would be disruptive for cafeteria workers. “I do not want for them to get hurt by this Bethel Elementary School, said that Johnson process. They really care about their kids and should have bowed out after losing the conwould be upset if they had this get in their tract rather than protest publicly, and said Johnson shouldn’t have questioned Francis’ way,” Johnson said. Johnson requested that the school sys- decision or methodology. Kilby called Johnson a bully for challengtem put the cleaning supply contract out for bid again next year, but allow ample time for ing the contract decision. Francis has also said she was offended. vetting. But Johnson said he saw the bid process as “I have given hundreds of hours to the Haywood County Schools Foundation,” said flawed and was compelled to advocate for his Johnson, who has a deep resume of civic company and speak out on behalf of his involvement in the community. “I am simply employees. “As a small business man, I am proud of asking for a couple hours of your time next my employees, I am proud of our products, I spring to reanalyze this bid.” When the bid came up for a vote at the am proud of our service and I am proud of the school board meeting Monday, School board value I give to our business partners,” member Bob Morris questioned whether it Johnson told the school board.
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Western counties celebrate hospital sale
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visiting team from LifePoint Hospital network made the rounds to their newly acquired hospitals in Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties over the past week. They pledged to roll up their sleeves and get to work fulfilling the promises made when courting the community hospitals here to join their national hospital network with a growing
presence in North Carolina. The historic sale of the locally owned, independent hospitals this month may be the end of an era, but selling to LifePoint was determined to be the best way forward following a decade of growing uncertainty, heightened competition and challenging financial times that now define the healthcare landscape,
making it difficult for small community hospitals to thrive on their own. Receptions at each of the three hospitals applauded Duke LifePoint, a subsidiary of LifePoint, for offering a new trajectory of growth. For more coverage on the hospital sale, including frequently asked questions, go to www.smokymountainnews.com.
Hundreds turn out to celebrate Haywood Regional’s new owners BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ew matching blue shirts and smiling faces filled the room at the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center Aug. 8. With the long sale process giving ownership of Haywood Regional Medical Center to Duke LifePoint finally complete, everyone was ready to celebrate. “This is a joyous occasion,” said Dr. Charles Thomas, a former hospital board member and an oncologist in Haywood County. “It’s like a marriage and the birth of a child.” With plenty of tasty eats and a filled-tothe-gills room — a shuttle kept hospital employees rotating through as their schedules allowed them a few minutes to pop across campus — it certainly seemed festive. Guesstimates put attendance to the event at around 500, including dozens of community members as well as healthcare professionals. Thomas is looking forward to the stability and management skills that come with LifePoint’s large size and experience in turning small hospitals around. He’s not the only one. “I think the things I’m most excited about are the resources they bring to the table,” said Teresa Reynolds, the hospital’s chief nursing officer and chief operating officer. “Having these resources to help us when we hit a roadblock.” As part of the sale, Duke LifePoint has promised to invest $36 million in upgrades to the hospital. Part of the company’s strategy is to invest in its community hospitals up front so that they’re better equipped to compete with larger urban hospitals that try to steal patients away. “We have to do things extremely well, perhaps even better than what they’ll get somewhere else, because every small hospital fights this perception of ‘there’s something better somewhere else,’” said Jeff Seraphine, president of LifePoint’s eastern 12 group of hospitals.
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In front of a crowded room, Maurice Phillips, vice chairman of the Haywood County Hospital Authority Board, gives the intro to a program celebrating the sale of Haywood Regional Medical Center to Duke LifePoint. Holly Kays photo Seraphine is proud of the fact that in his group of 20-something hospitals, the average wait time to see a doctor in the emergency room is about 20 minutes, well below the national average. “We help you move on that journey to get things even better,” he said. That journey is already well underway. LifePoint has already taken a group of Haywood employees to LifePoint’s support center in Nashville for a patient safety conference, and a team is working on updating the hospital’s strategic plan. “We’ll be working over the next one to two months to coalesce that into an updated strategic plan,” Seraphine said. The giant MedWest letters that decked out the hill in front of the hospital were taken down the day the sale went through, leaving only the Haywood Regional Medical Center sign, and administrative staff are busy integrating into the LifePoint way of doing things. “The LifePoint people have been very supportive,” said Craig Mamelson, assistant vice president of financial operations for the hospital. The transition also includes finding a new CEO. Duke LifePoint brought in one of
“We have to do things extremely well ... because every small hospital fights this perception of ‘there’s something better somewhere else.’” — Jeff Seraphine, president of LifePoint’s eastern group of hospitals
their own, Richard Grogan, to serve in the interim. A selection process is underway, with Seraphine expecting to interview a narrowed-down pool of applicants onsite within a month. Seraphine has heard concerns that the hospital needs better scheduling and billing practices, and that it could do a better job of greeting and transporting patients as they come and go from the facility. “Those are things that resonate very strongly for us, because our communities are Haywood,” he said, later adding, “I’m sure we
won’t be perfect, but I do think we’ll get better together.” Duke LifePoint representatives said Haywood’s hospital is already excellent, and that’s what attracted them to the sale. “What a disaster that could have been,” Bill Carpenter, CEO of LifePoint Hospitals, said of the recent fire at the hospital that caused an evacuation and weeks without inpatient care. “But the way that this community and the way that your employees rose to the occasion really defines who you are and pretty much says to me that whatever comes along you guys can handle.” It showed despite the external conditions around them, Haywood’s physicians can rise above it to provide top-notch care. “The first four patients who came into your emergency department literally had life-threatening illnesses,” said Dr. Harry Phillips, Duke LifePoint’s chief medical officer — medical services, praising Haywood for the effectiveness of the temporary emergency unit it set up in the parking lot following the fire. “Fortunately, they were managed successfully.” According to Phillips, Duke LifePoint’s acquisition of Haywood Regional was really
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“We’re committed to helping you make this hospital be everything it can be. It’s in our DNA to help you grow your hospital.” — David Dill, Duke LifePoint CEO
going forward,” Heatherly said. “I’m a finance guy. In framing, I tend to look at things in dollars and cents, but it’s really not about capital, but what that capital allows us to do.” Bunny Johns, chair of the WestCare Board of Trustees, echoed that sentiment. “Duke LifePoint brings the resources to our very excellent staff to do the things that we need to do to serve our community,” she said. “We are convinced that this is the group
Duke LifePoint: a knight in shining armor for Harris Regional
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that we can work with and can work with us to move into the future.” Dr. Harry Phillips, Duke LifePoint’s chief medical officer — medical services, told those assembled in the Swain hospital cafeteria that he was “excited,” “committed” and “honored” and considered the local staff “almost rock stars around the mission.” “I particularly want to be the first one from Duke LifePoint to say welcome,” Phillips said. David Dill, the president and chief operating office of LifePoint, also took a moment to address the cafeteria. He talked about this “time of change and maybe uncertainty” and
has been a while since they have been happy.” That’s no reflection on WestCare’s CEO Steve Heatherly, a beloved leader who’s seen as savvy yet compassionate and will stay on in his top role. “Steve is well respected by the medical staff,” Anderson said. Instead, medical staff believe Harris has been hampered by its affiliation with Haywood Regional Medical Center since 2010. The Harris medical community is eager to shed the failed joint venture known as MedWest in favor of Duke LifePoint. “Physicians have been positive about switching,” said Dr. Larry Selby, a pathologist at Harris. “The last affiliation didn’t go so well. We just saw a downward trend.” But that’s in the past, Dill said. “Now there are blue skies. It is a new day,” Dill said, promising a new sign out front soon. “I asked Steve if anyone would be disappointed about a new sign and he said ‘I don’t think so.’” The Jackson County medical community rejected MedWest early in the partnership amid growing suspicions that Haywood was getting preferential treatment. Historically, Harris and Haywood enjoyed separate but equal footing. But Jackson doctors feared Haywood was being positioned as the flagship of MedWest and would gradually usurp their role in the healthcare landscape. And while Duke LifePoint now owns both — technically making Haywood and Harris more joined than ever — Dill said he doesn’t subscribe to the merger mentality. Consolidating healthcare services in the name of efficiency is usually a failed strategy for community hospitals. Instead, LifePoint aims to make each hospital as robust as
vowed to be “transparent with you.” “We’re committed to helping you make this hospital be everything it can be,” Dill said. “It’s in our DNA to help you grow your hospital.” Dill described how he found the local hospital staffs to be committed to serving the communities — “It’s very impressive, I can feel that” — and how Duke LifePoint would “work hard not to let you down.” “If you ever felt alone and by yourself, you don’t need to feel that way anymore,” Dill told the room. “Now it’s a new day, now we move forward. I don’t think it’s a finish line, I think it’s a starting line.”
possible, he said. “What’s in our DNA is to provide services close to home. That’s what we know how to do,” Dill said. “Our only motivation is to keep as many services as close to home as possible to grow this hospital.” Perhaps the biggest beef among doctors at Harris in recent years lay with the management company hired to run MedWest, Carolinas HealthCare. Selby questioned whether Carolinas was driven by its own motives, such as competitive posturing in the state’s healthcare landscape. While LifePoint is a national, for-profit company, its own interests aren’t mutually exclusive from Harris’ — in fact they are one in the same. “The way you increase the value of the hospital is to grow services and bring in more doctors to provide the services,” Selby said.
NEW DIRECTION After a three-year run under Carolinas as part of MedWest, the Harris medical community was ready for a change — even if that meant selling out lock, stock and barrel to a national for-profit company with stock exchange initials. Not too long ago, an outright sale of the hospital was considered a worst-case scenario — the nothing-to-lose nuclear option. “Doctors tend to be more independent minded. Medicine attracts that type of people,” Selby said. But Harris physicians had already given up their auton-
S EE HARRIS, PAGE 14
Smoky Mountain News
BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER uke LifePoint has moved swiftly to win allegiance of doctors and nurses at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva during its first week as the new owner. “You are the ones that make healthcare happen in this hospital. You are the ones that make the patient experience,” David Dill, president and chief operating officer of LifePoint, told 80 nurses, doctors and staff gathered in the front lobby of Harris on Monday. “We will work hard to make sure this is the place you want to be.” The medical community at Harris has been equally quick to embrace Duke LifePoint, elevating the new ownership company to hero-like status. “We are going to have to work very hard not to let you down,” Dill told the crowd at Monday’s reception celebrating the new ownership. Benefit of the doubt is squarely in their corner for now. Dr. Martha Anderson, a radiologist at Harris, said Duke LifePoint met with the doctors and staff in her radiology group even before formally taking ownership. “And they listened and they took notes. I think they really value physician input and employee input,” Anderson said. “The staff are the strength of the hospital. They want direction and they want input. When they realize they are appreciated again, they will be happy, and it
In the Swain Medical Center cafeteria LifePoint CEO David Dill told staff they needn’t feel alone anymore, that it is a “new day.” Jeremy Morrison photo
August 13-19, 2014
BY J EREMY MORRISON N EWS E DITOR veryone was wearing the new company T-shirt and enjoying punch and cookies in the cafeteria of the Swain Medical Center Monday afternoon, ready to celebrate the hospital’s sale to Duke LifePoint. But what does the sale mean? What impact will it have on the ground? “I’m not sure what it means, I’m just waiting to see,” said Dr. Valerie Rigg, a family practitioner in Swain County. “They say they’re going to improve our branding and make people more aware of us. I hope they put some money into advertising.” The doctor knows how she’d really like to see the sale change things in Swain. More services, more specialists. “I hope so, especially here in Swain. People have to go to Sylva when they need to see a specialist,” Rigg said. “I can think of one patient right now that needs an endocrinologist and the closest one is in Asheville.” This is in-line with how Steve Heatherly sees the future unfolding. Sitting in the back of the cafeteria, the CEO of WestCare, which oversees both Swain Medical Center and Harris Regional Hospital in Jackson County, said he expects to see the sale afford the community a deeper well of services. “Duke LifePoint was chosen for their commitment to making community hospitals realize their full potential,” Heatherly said. Duke LifePoint’s pledge of $43 million
in capital investment will bring new medical services and specialties to Swain Medical Center, Heatherly said. Now, patients have to drive to Sylva for something as simple as a routine preventativecare colonoscopy. Adding endoscopies and other same-day outpatient surgeries will be a priority at Swain. “So that they don’t have to go all the way to Sylva,” Heatherly said. When Heatherly addressed the crowd, he talked more about the benefits of the sale, about the reasons it made sense for the hospitals in the region. “Chief among them was the fact that our hospitals needed resources to best serve
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Duke LifePoint pledges to round out Swain Medical Center
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HARRIS, CONTINUED FROM 13
something akin to destiny. It was the first county hospital in the state of North Carolina back in the 1920s and later was the first to receive construction money from the Duke endowment fund. “We’re pretty excited to think how we might build on that legacy,” Phillips said. According to Susan Schneider, director of rehab and sports medicine, the patients are excited, too. She’s been fielding questions about the sale throughout the process, and she’s grateful that LifePoint’s been communicating the information she needs to keep her patients in the loop. “We’ve been able to let them know how things are going every step of the way because the communication’s been great,” she said. Part of that communication has been possible because of former CEO Janie SinacoreJaberg’s help in getting the transition going smoothly, Grogan said. “As soon as she knew I was going to be here, the communication started,” he said. “Every detail, everything I needed to know, she’s been there.” The transition means a lot of meetings, new procedures, a new sign out front — but hospital employees are optimistic about the future. “We’ve done a lot of great things, but I see greater things coming,” Reynolds said. Thomas, also, is hopeful that the trend will keep going that way after a rocky few years. “We’re on an even keel,” Thomas said, “and I hope we’re not in the news as much.”
omy under the management contract with Carolinas and the pseudo-merger with Haywood. It’s hard to say whether doctors would have agreed so eagerly to a sale to Duke LifePoint had it not been for that experience. But, it would have come eventually, one way or the other. “You can’t be just a little hospital by yourself anymore,” Selby said of the sale. “I think it puts us on more stable financial footing and hopefully it will stay that way with the expertise Duke LifePoint brings in running small hospitals.” For staff, they are all looking forward to tackling the wish-list backlog thanks to Duke LifePoint’s pledge of a $43 million capital investment at Harris and Swain over 10 years, which was inked as a condition of the sale. “We will be able to invest in new technology and create new service lines we don’t have now” said Tim Bell, the director of surgery. “They bring some really good capital to invest in infrastructure.” Duke LifePoint brings more value to the table than just a cash infusion, said Sandi Allen, a clinical informatics nurse. Allen visited a Duke LifePoint hospital in the run up to the sale and was impressed by how smoothly things ran there, and how happy staff seemed to be, which she attributes to streamlined systems and best practices WestCare will be able to borrow. For example, vital signs from monitors are
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automatically fed into electronic patient charts rather than nurses manually entering them into the computer system. “The fewer things the nurses have to do like that it frees them up to be at the bedside. It all comes back to the patient,” Allen said. During his speech at Monday’s gathering, Heatherly publicly commended the instrumental leadership of WestCare Board President Bunny Johns during a period of “difficult times,” an understatement prompting a chorus of laughter from the room. Heatherly said John’s service during a somewhat tumultuous four years was far
more than she signed on for when agreeing to serve as a volunteer board member. “Bunny, how many documents did you have to sign?” asked Dr. Harry Phillips, Duke LifePoint’s chief medical officer — medical services, attending the reception. “I’m still signing them,” Johns quipped back. Johns answered a question she has been asked many times about the WestCare board’s decision to sell. “Why Duke LifePoint? They are committed to working with us to achieve good health outcomes for our communities,” Johns said.
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2014 The Best of Intima Awards lenges faced by Native American children. The Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act would establish a commission within the Office of Tribal Justice of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The bill would require the commission to conduct a comprehensive study of federal, state, local and tribal programs that serve Native children, identify models of successful initiatives and make recommenKay Hagen dations on federal policy to improve the current system by building on the strengths of Native communities. “We can and must do better for our kids,” Hagan said, explaining that the Commission on Native Children would conduct an intensive study into the issues facing children and actions needed to ensure children have a shot at academic and economic success.
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August 13-19, 2014
U.S. Senator Kay Hagan visited the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation Aug. 6, meeting with Chief Michell Hicks, Vice Chief Larry Blythe and members of the Tribal Council to receive an update on the reservation and discuss her advocacy on behalf of Western North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. “I am so honored to have the opportunity to visit Cherokee today, a place so deeply tied into the history and fabric of our state. Cherokee continues to be a vital part of our tourism economy in North Carolina,” Hagan said. “Every year, people from all over come to visit the unique cultural and historic sites of the western North Carolina mountains, whose beauty is unmatched anywhere in the world.” Hagan, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Children & Families, also toured the Birdtown Recreation Center and visited with local children. Hagan is cosponsoring legislation to address the unique chal-
among the natural surroundings of Whiteside. A public hearing before the Jackson planning board was slated for Thursday night in Cashiers; that planning board meeting, sans hearing, will now be held in Sylva. Craig Pendergrast, whose property borders the proposed tower site, was among those voicing their concerns to Jackson officials this summer. He said he was “pleased” that Verizon’s application has been pulled. “If it had not been withdrawn then it should have been denied,” Pendergrast said. Schulz said that Verizon will continue to “look for options in this area.” The company does not have a timeline for the search. “We will look to find an alternate place to meet these capacity needs,” Schulz said. “There’s still significant capacity need in this area. Our engineers are going to go back to the drawing board.” — Jeremy Morrison, News Editor
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he cell phone tower proposed for the Whiteside Cove area is off the table for now. Verizon has “indefinitely suspended” plans to locate a tower in the area after requests from Jackson County planning officials that various issues be addressed in the company’s application, chiefly that the design incorporate a camouflage-style tower instead of the originally-proposed monopole design. Karen Schulz, Verizon spokesperson, said that the requested changes — primarily disguising the tower as a tree — would not allow the company to accomplish its goal of expanding capacity in the area. “Once we made these adjustments there were significant changes to the antenna and the signal,” Schulz said. Verizon’s proposed tower has generated a lot of community input, largely negative. Nearby residents took issue with the possibility of a telecommunications pole situated
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BY J EREMY MORRISON N EWS E DITOR wo more local governments in Western North Carolina have passed resolutions opposing fracking this month. Franklin and Forest Hills are the most recent to formally oppose the natural gas exploration method green-lighted by state legislators earlier this year. “This whole thing about fracking just doesn’t smell right,” said Franklin Mayor Bob Scott. Scott authored Franklin’s resolution, borrowing from resolutions passed by other Bob Scott local governments such a Webster, Sylva and Swain County. The town board passed the resolution unanimously — “there were no questions from anyone” — in front of a full house. “That’s the first time of my 10 years of being on the board and my six months being mayor that I’ve had people come and give us a standing ovation,” Scott said. “It was very heartfelt. People do not want fracking.” Scott said that he decided to propose the resolution because he disagrees with aspects of this year’s state law that allows for hydraulic fracturing. In particular, the mayor doesn’t care for the fact that state legislators have barred local government from prohibiting fracking. “I really got upset with the General Assembly,” Scott said. Forest Hills passed its fracking resolution on a 3-2 vote. Mayor Kolleen Begley broke the tie on the town board. “I heard from several of our own residents that they would like to see this resolution passed. One of those residents showed up at the meeting to speak to the board asking them to pass it. I didn’t hear from anyone in the public asking this not be passed,” Begley explained. “In this case, I felt it important to join the communities who have chosen to err on the side of caution. As written throughout and summarized at the
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The Smoky Mountains Veteran Stand Down will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, August 21, at the Macon County Community Facility Building in Franklin. This community event aims to serve the veteran community, particularly those that are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless, or who cannot afford proper
end of the resolution, none of this is worded to be ‘against’ natural gas, but rather ‘for’ further investigating valid concerns of the adverse effects of the extracting process.” Critics of hydraulic fracturing contend that the process is environmentally risky, citing issues such as groundwater contamination. Proponents point to improved technologies and argue that the method — which involves pumping water and chemical into the ground in order to push natural gas out — is safe. State geologists will be testing areas on Western North Carolina in order to determine if fracking would be fruitful in the region. It is suspected that the western portion of the state will not be particularly attractive to the natural gas industry. That doesn’t matter to Franklin’s mayor. He’s glad the town got on the record — “I’m very proud of this board for standing up and supporting this” — and doesn’t like even the slim chance of fracking in the area. “Even if it’s a tiny percent of a possibility that it’s here and fracking were to come in here,” Scott said, “I just don’t see where it’d be any good for Western North Carolina.” Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor recently brought up the issue of fracking at a town board meeting. While the mayor will be writing a letter to the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission, the town is not inclined to pass a resolution formally taking a position on fracking. “Because quite frankly it doesn’t mean anything,” said Highlands Town Manager Bob Frye. “We can’t stop it from happening.” That doesn’t bother Bryson City Mayor Tom Sutton. “That doesn’t mean we can’t put our opinion on record,” Sutton said. “Sitting there and not saying anything means you kind of agree.” The Bryson City town board has previously discussed passing a fracking resolution and plans to consider such a measure during its Aug. 18 meeting. “We’re concerned about its impact on water quality. We have a resolution being smoothed out right now,” Sutton said.
care. Veterans will be able to get haircuts and tend to dental and optometry needs. They will also find assistance dealing with veteran’s benefits, education, legal issues, housing, medical and mental health needs, as well as religious issues. A hot meal will also be offered. Rides to this event are available for those with transportation needs. For a ride, veterans in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties should call 828.456.0601; veterans in Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties can call 828.837.7407.
August 13-19, 2014
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The Western Carolina University community is making preparations to welcome what is expected to be a record number of students for the start of fall semester classes on Monday, Aug. 18. “Indicators are pointing to another all-time high in student enrollment, and we should exceed last year’s record enrollment of 10,107. Also, we anticipate that we will surpass last year’s first-year student enrollment of 1,614, and we could even see an entering class of 1,700 or more,” said Phil Cauley, WCU’s director of student recruitment and transitions. Of the more than 10,000 students taking WCU courses, fewer than 8,000 will set foot on WCU’s campus in Cullowhee this year. Nearly 2,000 students are solely taking classes on line, known as “distance learners.” Another 500 attend WCU’s satelite campus in Biltmore Park. That leaves about 7,750 students who will be attending class on Cullowhee’s campus, according to Cauley. The official fall enrollment will be established Friday, Aug. 29, which is the 10th class day and the census date as specified by the Nearly 2,000 University of North Carolina General students are Administration. Most freshmen solely taking will move into their classes on line. rooms on campus Friday, Aug. 15, Another 500 and upperclassmen attend WCU’s will return that weekend. satelite campus A week of activities has been in Biltmore planned to welPark. That come all the students for the 2014leaves about 15 academic year, including WCU’s 7,750 students annual Valley attending class Ballyhoo celebration Saturday, Aug. in Cullowhee. 16. More than 5,000 WCU students typically attend Valley Ballyhoo each year to enjoy the festivities and visit information tables hosted by campus and community organizations. New on campus this fall will be Which Wich and Moe’s Southwest Grill, dining venues opening in the food court at Courtyard Dining Hall. Also, the Catamount Clothing and Gifts store located in A.K. Hinds University Center has moved and rejoined the WCU Bookstore at the recently remodeled bookstore location. In addition, a parking lot at the center of campus near the Alumni Tower and Coulter and Forsyth buildings has been converted to a metered, pay-bythe-hour parking lot. Beginning Aug. 18, the parking lot will be open to anyone, including visitors, and will cost $3 per hour between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Two multi-meters in the lot will accept credit cards, debit cards and Cat Cash, which is money preloaded on WCU Cat Cards. The multimeters will not accept cash.
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State budget provides raise for teachers Critics say raise is ‘phony’ BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER t took nearly two months of conferencing, but a state budget bill is finally passed and signed. At the heart of that drawn-out process was education funding. Specifically, what state Republicans are hailing as the largest raise in history for North Carolina teachers. “The priority for our budget this year was for education and to put more money in K through 12 and to get beginning teachers up to speed salary-wise,” said Sen. Jim Davis, RFranklin. “We tried to give everybody a raise, but our emphasis was on teachers. We believe the most important person in the school is the kids and the second most important is the teachers.” The new budget gives beginning teachers a 7 percent jump in salary from their current levels, bringing the starting salary for North Carolina teachers from $30,000 up to $33,000. Republican lawmakers have said they want to get that starting number up to $35,000 next year. But this decision doesn’t exactly have educators jumping up and down. In fact, Macon
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County teachers are planning a demonstration in front of the county courthouse Wednesday (Aug. 13) to showcase their displeasure. “We’re upset about the phony pay raise,” said John deVille, a social studies teacher at Franklin High School and president of the Macon County chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators. “They’re taking our longevity pay and giving it back to us and saying they’re giving us a raise.” Decades ago, the state decided that teachers who have taught in the state for 10 years or more would get some additional pay, based on a percentage of their salary, to recognize the value of their experience on the job. The percentage varies by number of years’ experience, but as a reference, a teacher who has worked in the state for 24 years would receive an additional 3.25 percent. At 25 years, that rate increases to 4.5 percent. The new budget counts longevity as part of a teacher’s base salary, so a teacher who is already earning a hefty longevity rate doesn’t wind up with much extra money. “If you’ve got 20 years or more, you’re not getting a very big raise at all,” said Mike Murray, superintendent of Jackson County schools. “There’s mixed feelings out there among the troops.” “The way one of the teachers explained it for me is it’s like telling your child you’re going to give them a raise in their allowance but
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Sen. Jim Davis (R-Franklin) meets with Macon County teachers in June to discuss education issues. File photo you’re going to take it out of their piggybank,” added Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville.
SIZING UP THE SALARY SCHEDULE Under the new salary schedule, a teacher with 30 years of experience would only make 0.3 percent more than he did in 2013-14. Previously, teachers had been paid on a 37step schedule, with each step representing one year. The new schedule shrinks that down to six steps, so that first- through fifth-year teachers earn the same salary, with pay jumping at year six and again at years 11, 16, 21 and 26. Teachers with 30 or more years of experience get the salary and longevity combo they had in 2013-14 plus a $1,000 bonus. “It makes it a lot simpler and allows teachers a lot less complicated pay raise,” Davis said of the new six-step scale. Bill Nolte, associate superintendent of Haywood County Schools, isn’t so sure. “I don’t really see any benefits on the operational side,” Nolte said. “There may be some monetary savings they can explain, but right now we have a lot of employees who, other than a 1.2 percent pay raise right before the last big November election, they essentially make the same amount of money whether they’ve been working for one year or six or seven years. That is hard to explain to them.” When the recession hit in 2008, legislators froze the pay scale so that an individual teacher’s salary stayed where it was in 200708. Under the new schedule, Nolte pointed out, teachers would have to wait again for a good several years for their next raise rather than receiving small bumps along the way, as in the old schedule. When deVille compares the 2007-08 schedule and the new pay plan crafted in this budget, he doesn’t even see a raise at all. “The day the budget got released I did a calculation,” he said, comparing his new salary to what he would be earning had his
compensation increased step-by-step according to the 2007-08 schedule rather than remaining frozen at 2008-09 levels. What he found is that his new annual salary was actually $997 less than that amount. And that’s not adjusting for inflation. But the recession was hard for everyone, and the bottom line is that this budget increases teachers’ paychecks, Davis said. He doesn’t have much sympathy for teachers who complain that the hike isn’t big enough. “If they want to keep their longevity pay, they can go back to the previous pay scale. They don’t have to take their raise,” he said. “I’m getting really frustrated with these people. You can never make them happy.” Giving teachers a boost was a big priority for the legislature, he said, and though the move to a six-step system has caused plenty of criticism, he sees it as a first move toward a more lofty goal: instituting a pay-for-performance system in which teachers whose students make the biggest gains from the beginning of the year to the end make the most money. “A teacher that’s been there 25 or 30 years is not necessarily the best teacher,” Davis said. “Experience is valuable, but it’s not everything.” But putting aside any debate about the pros and cons of a pay-for-performance system, Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, said there’s no guarantee that such a system will be layered onto the salary schedule recently created. As of now, the dollars posted on the new schedule are the only ones teachers can count on. “They had not delivered any substantive administrative plan to do that,” Queen said. “That is just rhetoric.”
QUESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE The funding mechanism for this year’s raises are a problem in themselves, Queen said. He explained that about $25 million of the increase comes from non-recurring funding — money that won’t necessarily be there next year — and $48
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After a rocky road of legislation and litigation, the school voucher program known as the Opportunity Scholarship Program got a boost from the new state budget. The budget releases an additional $840,000 to give students from lowincome families help purchasing a private education. The program had initially been funded at $10 million. “My hope and my desire is this is not the first time we’ll be seeing these kind of increases here,” said Darrell Allison, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina. The program allows scholarships of up to $4,200 for students whose family income qualifies them for free and reduced lunch. The students must be current public school students, and they can take the funds with them to use toward tuition at a private school. The program had met lawsuits from the North Carolina Association of Educators and the North Carolina School Boards Association, which claimed that it illegally provided public funds to private entities and could lead to discrimination-
based admissions decisions. In March, N.C. Supreme Court Judge Robert Hobgood issued a preliminary injunction against the law, preventing the state from implementing the program until litigation concluded, but that was lifted in May. Now the program is moving forward, but plaintiffs are hoping to have the case heard and won before funds are released to private schools this fall. According to Allison, the injunction made it more challenging to get the program off the ground because administrators lost time while the program languished in purgatory. Meanwhile, applications were piling up, far over the funding limit of 2,300 students. The extra funds boost enrollment capability to 2,800. “It was a matter of, man this is real challenging now,” Allison said. “We have, obviously, oversubscription of the program. It will be hard to get [private] schools to register.” The debate surrounding the voucher question is heated and complex, but as far as this new development goes, it boils down to one simple question: “The question is where are they taking the money for the vouchers,” said Bill Nolte, Associate Superintendent of Haywood County Schools. According to the legislature’s conference report, the money is seated under the budget for the University of North Carolina, which holds $2.6 billion total.
— Bill Nolte, associate superintendent of Haywood County Schools
$10,000, and the state will no longer fund driver education. At-risk student funding will go down 3 percent, about $30,000. “At this point I’ve not seen my budget increasing anywhere,” Murray, the Jackson superintendent, said. “I’ve seen the raises go into place but we still have a lot of line items that are going to get reductions.” Another thing that’s up in the air is what the budget bill means for future school years. A last-minute conference addition says that schools will no longer get funding on a per-student basis, meaning that legislators would have to approve increased funding based on population growth, rather than it happening automatically according to a formula. That’s a provision that many lawmakers and education leaders are just finding out about, so no one is quite sure what it will mean down the road. “We really don’t know what it means until numbers arrive to us on paper,” Nolte said. “Sometimes even when the numbers arrive there are corrections that need to be done and the state will pass a technical correction bill. Until someone hands us a piece of paper with real numbers on it, we’re probably guessing.”
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million will come from eliminating 3,300 teaching assistants or 1,500 teachers statewide. “You can always give those that remain a raise if you cut enough of them out of the ranks,” Queen said. But Davis tells a different story, one in which public schools receive an additional $282 million in funding and the only expense to local school districts is matching the raises for teachers paid with local Joe Sam Queen dollars. When local school districts don’t feel that state funding provides enough teachers to do the job right, they can hire their own. But when they do that, they have to cover any raise the legislature passes for state employees out-of-pocket for those funded locally. According to Gwen Edwards, financial officer for Jackson County Schools, the system is seeing some cuts come through for the coming school year. Transportation funding will go down 1 percent, the equivalent of
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“Right now we have a lot of employees who, other than a 1.2 percent pay raise right before the last big November election, they essentially make the same amount of money whether they’ve been working for one year or six or seven years. That is hard to explain to them.”
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Opinion
Smoky Mountain News
Is torture an aberration or a trend?
Cell towers, fracking, and food trucks
To the Editor: First, kudos to Gerald Green and the Jackson County Planning Council for requiring Verizon to use cell tower designs that do not ruin our beautiful views. I applaud their continued work to ensure Verizon conforms to permit application requirements. Yes, we can have technology and beauty! Second, I am appalled that our legislature passed a bill allowing fracking and then Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law while most of us didn’t even know it was under consideration. The bill was sponsored and strongly supported by Rep. Jim Davis, R-Franklin. And the chairman of the Jackson County Commissioners doesn’t think fracking will go any further than drilling some test wells and that makes the law OK? Excuse me? Oh, yes, and it’s now illegal to publish the names of the chemicals used in the fracking mix. Is that suspicious or what? And last, the state says it’s illegal for any “county, town, or local entity to prohibit fracking.” Are you kidding me? Let’s take that one
and his top advisers, on the wisdom, propriety, and legality of inflicting pain and torment on certain prisoners in our custody.” This suggests a disturbing shift in our national culture and values that bears close examination. If we wish to make this an aberration rather than a trend, it can be instructive to ask: “What prevented us through the first 200 years of our history from stooping to this sort of cruelty against our enemies on a regular basis?” And the corollary: “How can we keep this from happening again — and again?” In a recent article in Sojourners magazine, Professor David Gushee Columnist offers the following clues: • The prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment” in the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. • The high standard of military discipline, honor and accountability originally set by George Washington. • Reaction against British despotism in Revolutionary times that has informed our founding narrative. • U.S. participation in the founding of the United Nations and development of international law and the Geneva Conventions, which can motivate us to lead by example. • The pride we take in being “a city set on a hill” and “a light unto the nations.” • The checks and balances built into our system, based on a realistic recognition of the depths to which human behavior — and our own fallibility — can fall. • A free press and a civil society taking responsibility to call for accountability and reform. • High professional standards of medical and legal ethics, integrity and independent judgment that can motivate
Doug Wingeier
Based on actual events, the movie “The Railway Man” tells the story of how British soldiers captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore in 1942 were taken in boxcars four days north through Malaya and Thailand and forced to work under inhuman conditions on a railway line along the River Kwai in Burma. The film contains graphic scenes of beatings and torture, including the infamous technique of waterboarding. Although the film ends with a moving scene of forgiveness and reconciliation between the British lieutenant and his erstwhile Japanese torturer, it still leaves the viewer pondering the question, “What possesses human beings to dehumanize and torture one another in such brutal ways?” The sad fact is that throughout human history torture has been an all-too-common practice in war, criminal justice and relations between ethnic and even religious groups. It is practiced as a means of demonstrating power, vengeance, intimidation or coercion. It is used to break the spirit in order to extract submission, confession and information — even though these are often false and unreliable, uttered simply to stop the excruciating suffering. Unfortunately, recently declassified documents have established beyond doubt that such torture has been routinely practiced in recent times by United States military and intelligence personnel during the so-called “war on terror,” authorized at the highest levels of our government. Such was first made known to us — and shocked the world — through release of explicit photos of the torture taking place in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, which was soon confirmed by the low-level military personnel who carried it out. Brig. Gen. David Irvine, a former military intelligence officer who worked on The Constitution Project’s Task Force on Detainee Treatment, has stated: “In our previous conflicts there have been brutal acts against captives ... but there is no evidence that ever before has there been the kind of considered and detailed discussions that occurred after Sept. 11, 2001, directly involving a president
to court. And I implore the Jackson County Commissioners to join with Swain (and hopefully other WNC counties) and come out against fracking. Third, a developer is considering putting food trucks in the vacant lot in Cashiers by the second traffic light. If you haven’t seen the sample, go by and look. I for one do not want that look (multiplied by 3? 4? 5?) in our quaint town, not to mention the impact on the restaurants who serve food here every summer and live in the area. Marti Senterfit Cashiers
State gives lip service to fracking concerns To the Editor: The Johnny-come-lately public hearing on fracking scheduled by the N.C. Mining and Energy Commission (MEC) at Western Carolina University on Sept. 12 appears to be nothing more than a public relations move to appease those Western Carolina residents whose opposition to the practice has finally been acknowledged in Raleigh.
medical and legal professionals to refuse to participate in or condone abuse and brutality. • Religious traditions that emphasize human dignity, human rights and solidarity with the whole human community. I would add to these the innate respect for human life and revulsion against killing other human beings that is documented by the research on soldiers reported in the book, On Killing, by U.S. Army psychologist Lt. Col. David Grossman. The 9/11 attacks led to a weakening or disregard of these principles, motivated by fear, the need for security, and the misguided notion that leadership and courage are best shown by “acting tough” rather than being ethical and principled. Unfortunately, since then the blame has been laid to “a few bad apples” while the top government and military officials who authorized these acts of torture have not been called to account or prosecuted for human rights violations and crimes against humanity which they approved, as they deserve to be. And presumably, the military culture and training that dehumanizes other human beings and desensitizes men and women to human pain and suffering still goes on. The result is the high incidence of post-tramatic stress disorder and “moral sickness” — and resulting domestic abuse, drug addiction, homelessness and suicide among our veterans. It is time we return to the above-named ideals on which our nation was founded, recover our heritage of resistance to torture, hold accountable any and all who train for, practice or condone it — and thereby re-ignite the “light unto the nations” that has grown all-too dim. The acknowledgement of guilt, rejection of revenge, willingness to forgive, and recognition of the common humanity between former enemies that is depicted at the close of “The Railway Man” is a good place to start. (Doug Wingeier is a retired Methodist minister and theology professor. He can be reached at dcwing@main.nc.us.)
This hearing, like numerous other afterthe-fact gambits by politicians, will essentially do nothing to reverse state law on fracking which was enacted by the Raleigh crowd without a millisecond of public input. While some local jurisdictions, including town boards, are standing up to Raleigh by passing anti-fracking resolutions for environmental reasons, these are merely symbolic gestures trumped by state law. Bottom line: the state legislature has basically emasculated local governments. MEC chairman Jim Womack said recently that the Western Carolina hearing was scheduled “to give voice to the people of the west.” How noble of the MEC to allow citizens of the region to voice their concerns over fracking when, in the end, it will make little or no difference. In fairness, the hearings may have some small impact on the draft oil and gas rulebook now in place thanks to Raleigh, but a little tweaking here and there doesn’t change the basic game. Mr. Womack went on to state that local concerns, while “meaningful” are still only “symbolic” and that passage of anti-fracking resolutions is “probably not a good thing” because it might offend the industry, heaven forbid. Apparently, it doesn’t matter if the
industry is offensive to the people. Amazingly, he then suggested that voters should note those local public officials objecting to the fracking and “go the ballot box armed with that information.” So, let me try to understand this conundrum. Mr. Womack wants voters to possibly punish elected local officials who oppose fracking, but it is perfectly fine for the state legislature to ram through this legislation with no prior public input. In other words, the state has spoken (Big Brother), and any local yokels who oppose Big Brother can be voted out. Here’s a suggestion. Have people go to the ballot box armed with the knowledge that their state representative(s) supported and passed fracking legislation in record time without public input. What about that scenario, Mr. Womack? Perhaps the public comments next month at WCU will have a positive impact on how fracking is rolled out in North Carolina. After all, the three-minute comments will be recorded by the MEC. Let’s just hope the recording isn’t erased once it’s played in the sequestered back rooms of the state legislature. Gerald Soud Rabun Gap, Ga.
Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 A TASTE OF NEW ORLEANS 67 Branner Ave., Waynesville, 828.246.0885. 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., 7 days a week. Curtis Henry opened A Taste of New Orleans to cater to the locals and become the place that’s always open that you can rely on for different, flavorful dishes every day. Serving Cajun, French and Creole Cuisine in a lovingly restored space, Curtis looks forward to serving you up a delicious dish soon. AMMONS DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT & DAIRY BAR 1451 Dellwwod Rd., Waynesville. 828.926.0734. Open 7 days a week 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Celebrating over 25 years. Enjoy world famous hot dogs as well as burgers, seafood, hushpuppies, hot wings and chicken. Be sure to save room for dessert. The cobbler, pie and cake selections are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Open
Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slow-simmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts. Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily. Brown bagging is permitted. Private parties, catering, and take-out available. Call-ahead seating available. BOGART’S 303 S. Main St., Waynesville. 828.452.1313. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Carry out available. Located in downtown Waynesville, Bogart’s has been long-time noted for great steaks, soups, and salads. Casual family atmosphere in a rustic old-time setting with a menu noted for its practical value. Live Bluegrass/String Band music every Thursday. Walking distance of Waynesville’s unique shops and seasonal festival activities and within one mile of Waynesville Country Club. BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Lunch served 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner nightly from 4 p.m. Closed on Sunday. We specialize in hand-cut, all natural steaks, fresh fish, and other classic American comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available. We also feature a great selection of craft beers from local artisan brewers, and of course an extensive selection of small batch bourbons and whiskey. The Barrel is a friendly and casual neighborhood dining
experience where our guests enjoy a great meal without breaking the bank. BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday & Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. closed Sunday. Chef owned and operated. Our salads are made in house using local seasonal vegetables. Fresh roasted ham, turkey and Roast Beef used in our hoagies. We hand make our own Eggplant & Chicken Parmesan, Pork Meatballs and Hamburgers. We use 1st quality fresh not pre-prepared products to make sure you get the best food for a reasonable price. We make Vegetarian, Gluten Free and Sugar Free items. Call or go to Facebook (Breaking Bread Café NC) to find out what our specials are. We are now open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights by customer request, so come join us and find out what all the talk is about.
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A Destination Restaurant
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“Superb” Mershanda Finley Clothing Retail, Franklin, NC
“Wonderful” Michael Clark Professor Canton, NC
BRYSON CITY CORK & BEAN A MOUNTAIN SOCIAL HOUSE 16 Everett St.,Bryson City. 828.488.1934. Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 3p.m., Full Menu 3 to 9 p.m. Serving fresh and delicious weekday morning lite fare, lunch, dinner, and brunch. Freshly prepared menu offerings range from house-made soups & salads, lite fare & tapas, crepes, specialty sandwiches and burgers. Be sure not to miss the bold flavors and creative combinations that make up the daily Chef Supper Specials starting at 5pm every day. Followed by a tempting selection of desserts
T HAI SPICE 128 N. Main St. Waynesville
828.454.5400
www.thaispicewnc.com
August 13-19, 2014
CLASSIC American Faire
Flame Grilled Steaks Smoky Mountain News
Burgers and Sandwiches Salads and more Join us on Thursday nights for live Bluegrass/String Band performances.
828.452.313 303 South Main Street, Waynesville NC 253-36
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prepared daily by our chefs and other local bakers. Enjoy craft beers on tap, as well as our full bar and eclectic wine list.
FRESH MADE DAILY
SERVING BREAKFAST & LUNCH
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ITALIAN
MEDITERRANEAN
LOCALLY ROASTED ORGANIC COFFEE
STEAKS • PIZZA CHICKEN • SEAFOOD SANDWICHES
452.3881 OPEN DAILY MAIN STREET WAYNESVILLE WWW.CITYBAKERY.NET
OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK 1863 S. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.454.5002 HWY. 19/23 EXIT 98
CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley. 828.926.1401. Family-style breakfast seven days a week, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. – with eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and oatmeal, fresh fruit, sometimes French toast or pancakes, and always all-you-can-eat. Lunch every day from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Evening cookouts on the terrace on weekends and Wednesdays (weather permitting), featuring steaks, ribs, chicken, and pork chops, to name a few. Bountiful family-style dinners on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with entrees that include prime rib, baked ham and herb-baked chicken, complemented by seasonal vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and desserts. We also offer a fine selection of wine and beer. The evening social hour starts at 6 p.m., and dinner is served starting at 7 p.m. So join us for mile-high mountaintop dining with a spectacular view. Please call for reservations. CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881. Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Join us in our historic location for scratch made soups and daily specials. Breakfast is made to order daily: Gourmet cheddar & scallion biscuits served with bacon, sausage and eggs; smoked trout bagel plate; quiche and fresh fruit parfait.
We bake a wide variety of breads daily, specializing in traditional french breads. All of our breads are hand shaped. Lunch: Fresh salads, panini sandwiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck. Private room available for meetings. CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva. 828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine. Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events. Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com. THE CLASSIC WINESELLER 20 Church Street, Waynesville. 828.452.6000. Underground retail wine and craft beer shop, restaurant, and intimate live music venue. Kitchen opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday serving freshly prepared small plate and tapas-style fare. Enjoy local, regional, or national talent live each Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. www.classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter. CORK & CLEAVER 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville. 828.456.7179. Reservations recommended. 4:30-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, Cork & Cleaver has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table
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APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO
Smoky Mountain News
Lunch is Back! 11:30 A.M.-2:30 P.M. DINNER NIGHTLY AT 4 P.M. MONDAY-SATURDAY
Vegetarian & Fresh Fish Classic local American options available. comfort foods, craft beers & small batch bourbons Check out our weekly & whiskey. Join us for drink specials. Prime Rib Thursdays. Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. • Dinner Nightly at 4 p.m. • CLOSED ON SUNDAY 454 HAZELWOOD AVENUE • WAYNESVILLE Call 828-452-9191 for reservations
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828-456-1997 blueroostersoutherngrill.com
— Real Local People, Real Local Food — 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, North Carolina Monday-Friday Open at 11am
Welcome back. To 1932.
Come take a wagon ride with us, back to the very beginnings of the Ranch. In celebration of our 80th season, we’ll be serving up twice-monthly “Way Back When” dinners in an authentic re-creation of Mr. Tom and Miss Judy’s first primitive fishing camp. Just call us for reservations, then come join us on Aug. 15 for mountain trout and mountain music. And Cataloochee Ranch enjoy old-fashioned hospitality a mile high. 1 19 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC 28751 | www.CataloocheeRanch.com | (828) 926-1401
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FRANKIE’S ITALIAN TRATTORIA 1037 Soco Rd. Maggie Valley. 828.926.6216 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St. Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; Dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors. www.frogsleappublichouse.com.
J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817. Lunch Sunday noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner nightly starting at 4:30 p.m. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome. Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.
MAGGIE VALLEY CLUB 1819 Country Club Dr., Maggie Valley. 828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Fine and casual fireside dining in welcoming atmosphere. Full bar. Reservations accepted. MOUNTAIN PERKS ESPRESSO BAR & CAFÉ 9 Depot St., Bryson City. 828.488.9561. Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections. Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies. Various desserts. NEWFOUND LODGE RESTAURANT 1303 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee (Located on 441 North at entrance to GSMNP). 828.497.4590. Open 7 a.m. daily. Established in 1946 and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Family style dining for adults and children. ORGANIC BEANS COFFEE COMPANY 1110 Soco Road, Maggie Valley. 828.668.2326. Open 7 days a week 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Happily committed to brewing and serving innovative, uniquely delicious coffees — and making the world a better place. 100% of our coffee is Fair Trade, Shade Grown, and Organic, all slow-roasted to bring out every note of indigenous flavor. Bakery offerings include cakes, muffins, cookies and more. Each one is made from scratch in Asheville using only the freshest, all natural ingredients available. We are proud to offer gluten-free and vegan options.
Café
-Local beers now on draft-
Live Music
Deli & So Much More
YES WE DO TAKE-OUT!
SID’S ——————————————————
117 Main Street, Canton NC 828.492.0618 • SidsOnMain.com Serving Lunch & Dinner
236-50 253-104
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ON MAIN
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner 828-648-3838 MON-THURS 8-5 • FRI & SAT 8-8
6147 Hwy. 276 S. • Bethel
(at the Mobil Gas Station)
bbcafenc.com
Karen “Sugar” Barnes & Dave MaGill FRIDAY, AUG. 15 • 7 P.M.
RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 828.926.0201 Bar open Monday thru Saturday; dining room open Tuesday thru Saturday at 5 p.m. Full service restaurant serving steaks, prime rib, seafood and dinner specials.
DOWNTOWN SYLVA • NC Mon.-Fri. 7-4 Sat. 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
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SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville. Using only the freshest ingredients in homemade soups, salads and sandwiches. Come in and see for yourself why Smoky Mountain Sub Shop was voted # 1 in Haywood County. Locally owned and operated.
FRIDAY, AUG. 8 Karaoke w/Chris Monteith
SATURDAY, AUG. 9 Back to School Bash
Buchanan Boys featuring Arnold Hill
THAI SPICE 128 N. Main St., Waynesville. 828.454.5400. Lunch: Tuesday-Friday 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday noon to 3 p.m. Dinner Tuesday-Saturday 4:30 to 9 p.m. Closed Monday. Thai Spice, an authentic Thai restaurant, warmly welcomes you to experience a superb dinning experience. Don’t be timid, the food comes mild, medium, hot and Thai Hot. You choose. www.thaispicewnc.com
83 Asheville Hwy. Sylva Music Starts @ 9 • 631.0554
VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin. 828.369.9890. Established here in in 1998. Come to Franklin and enjoy our laid back place, a place you can sit back, relax and enjoy our 62” HDTV. Our Pizza dough, sauce, meatballs, and sausage are all made from scratch by Vito. The recipes have been in the family for 50 years (don't ask for the recipes cuz’ you won't get it!) Each Pizza is hand tossed and made with TLC. You're welcome to watch your pizza being created.
Offering a variety of lodging, restaurants, and activities within minutes of Bryson City, Fontana Lake, the Nantahala Gorge and other area attractions.
Soda Shop NOW OPEN!
Hot Dogs Ice Cream
Smoky Mountain News
Burgers to Salads Southern Favorites & Classics
www.CityLightsCafe.com
August 13-19, 2014
HERREN HOUSE 94 East St., Waynesville 828.452.7837. Lunch: Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Brunch 11 a. m. to 2 p.m. Enjoy fresh local products, created daily. Join us in our beautiful patio garden. We are your local neighborhood host for special events: business party’s, luncheons, weddings, showers and more. Private parties & catering are available 7 days a week by reservation only.
MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva. 828.586.3555. Open Tuesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Hand-tossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch. Beer and wine. Free movies with showtimes at 6:30 and 9 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Visit madbatterfoodandfilm.com for this week’s shows.
PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood (available in full and lighter sizes), thin crust pizza, homemade soups, salads hand tossed at your table. Fine wine and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, dine indoor, outside on the patio or at the bar. Reservations appreciated.
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COUNTRY VITTLES: FAMILY STYLE RESTAURANT 3589 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley. 828.926.1820 Open Daily 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., closed Tuesday. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet. Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service.
JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel. 828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner. The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.
Pretzels Smoothies & More!
11 Memory Lane • 828-454-6769 Game Room • Next to the pool
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ingredients. Executive Chef Corey Green prepares innovative and unique Southern fare from local, organic vegetables grown in Western North Carolina. Full bar and wine cellar. www.waynesvilleinn.com.
828.488.9000
WWW.NANTAHALAVILLAGE.COM
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manic pace of the drums, only to be matched by the swampy saxophone and sharp notes from a violin that, when put through a whammy pedal, acts like a lead guitar. Watching a Porch 40 performance, one can see a true grit rock-n-roll band with threads of funk, pop, hip-hop and reggae running colorfully through their tone. The sound moves across the musical spectrum like a fast-moving train, making stops at influential acts like The Black Keys, Maroon 5, Stevie Wonder, The Roots, Galactic and Red Hot Chili Peppers, amongst countless others. “We all love music, and we love what we do,” Duncan said. “Our original mission, and still is today, is to get down and make people happy with energetic dance music. I would like to make a living making people happy through something as creative as music.”
Sylva funk/rock band Porch 40 will release their debut album on Sept. 6 at The Mad Batter in Sylva. Garret K. Woodward photo
SCHOOL OF ROCK
said. “Porch 40 also represents our motto — we’re cheap and give you a good time.”
RECORDING YOUR DREAMS
With some of the band members still attending school at WCU, Porch 40 remains in Sylva, a town that not only gave them their start but also continues to be a location of creativity and encouragement. Local music venues like No Name Sports Pub and Soul Infusion were key incubators in carving out the sound of the ensemble. “This area is very inspiring and supportive of live music,” Duncan said. “It’s been an honor and pleasure to start something great in Sylva.” As the fall semester is only a couple weeks away, Porch 40 is already putting plans into motion for the release of its debut album, “Spread It Heavy.” Recorded over the past year at Reflection Sound Studios in Charlotte, the album will be released one song at a time throughout the next month online, only to culminate in a celebratory performance on Sept. 6 at The Mad Batter in downtown Sylva. “It’s different with each song. Usually Mitch, Carter and I will come up with riffs and chord progressions and melt them all
Porch 40 came to be on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, sort of. While studying abroad in Wales, Duncan and Metz crossed paths. They started tinkering around and playing music, ultimately deciding to put together a band once they returned stateside. During the spring semester of 2012, the duo moved into The The Porch 40 album release party will be Saturday, Sept. 6, at The Farmhouse, a Cullowhee Mad Batter in Sylva. The doors open at 8 p.m. and tickets are $5. residence where live music The day of the party, the “Spread It Heavy” album will be availand beer flowed from able for physical purchase for $10 and digitally on iTunes, Amazon, large-scale parties. Soon, Rhapsody and Spotify. word spread that there Porch 40 will also be performing as part of the Concerts on the would be an impromptu Creek series at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, at Bridge Park in Sylva. jam session at the house. They will also be playing with the Corbitt Brothers and Hazy Ray at 9 “Not even two weeks p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, at the Asheville Music Hall. The Concerts on the into getting back home did Creek show is free. Tickets for Asheville are $8 in advance or $10 we succeed in bringing day-of-show, and is for ages 21 and over. together a lineup of guys www.facebook.com/porch40 or www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com. that has evolved into what it is today,” Duncan said. “There was a definite date for a jam night, and together into a structured song,” Duncan Mitch and I set out to find some musicians to said. “Spencer will work together with our original rhythms to form a drum beat entirely have fun with.” The initial jam night evolved into more get- his style. When the rhythm section has pulled togethers, which organically transformed into a structured song together, the vocals are writa single entity — Porch 40. As parties at The ten, then the violin in tandem with the sax Farmhouse grew in popularity and size, so did garnish the song. Songs are rewritten all the the demand for the band and the notion of time with the more we know about dynamics making the group into something more, some- and effects increasing everyday” With the album release on the horizon, the thing with legs that could hit the ground runmembers of Porch 40 are preparing for the ning. “For us, it’s about sharing an experience,” next step — taking what they’ve learned and Metz said. “As an audience member, it’s invig- applying it to new music markets and audiorating to know that you’re an equal to the ences who will have no idea who they are and band — a variable that is crucial to the show’s where they’re from. In every show, in every success. The band is there to guide everyone town, they will have to win over fans one at a into cutting loose and giving up on the norms time, a hard-earned reality the band is well aware of, and pursues with reckless abandon. we construct society with.” “There are plenty of challenges ahead, with So, where does the name come from? “After this particular party at The writing more songs, sustaining ourselves, Farmhouse, at 4 a.m., we were mighty thirsty social media,” Duncan said. “But I think the and foraged throughout the house looking for hardest part is over and that’s finding the right something to drink. We finally succeeded when group of guys to join a band with. I love all my we found an unopened 40 ounce beer on the band mates and I feel, together, we really have porch, and it seriously saved our lives,” Duncan a shot at this thing.”
Want to go?
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER Who the hell are those guys? It’s a question constantly asked about Porch 40, a Sylva-based funk/rock outfit barreling out of the Southern Appalachian woods like a black bear on speed. “We’re like a ’69 Corvette, fire engine red, revving the V8 at the starting line, gripping the wheel and the stick, knuckles shinin’ white,” said Drew Duncan. “The light turns green and we gun the sucker, skin gathering at the back of your head.” Lead singer/guitarist and defacto leader of Porch 40, Duncan, alongside Mitchell Metz (violin), Spencer Bradley (drums), Scott Burr (saxophone) and Carter McDevitt (bass), has been bouncing around Western North Carolina and beyond with a unique style that is as catchy as it is original. “We want to play music — it’s that simple,” Burr said. “Porch 40 exists to perform and play music that gets you excited and energized, and to have a good time. We love what we do, and the magic that comes from a live band rocking out is something else.”
GOTTA HAVE THAT FUNK
Over the last year, Porch 40 has transitioned from a college act bumming around on the weekends to a well-oiled machine. At a recent show in the Essence Lounge of Harrah’s
“I think the hardest part is … finding the right group of guys to join a band with. I love all my band mates and I feel, together, we really have a shot at this thing.” — Drew Duncan
Cherokee Casino Resort, the quintet took the stage and immediately made their presence known. In an overwhelming environment of bells, whistles and blinking lights, casino patrons trickled into the lounge one-by-one, wondering who and what was attached to the mesmerizing sound echoing throughout the space. “It’s nothing but pure excitement,” Burr said. “When I’m onstage, I feel like I have a limitless supply of energy, and getting involved with the crowd and my fellow band mates only stimulate the feeling. It makes me feel like I’m on fire, like I’m being electrocuted.” And that vibrant sensation felt onstage spills onto the dance floor for all to soak in. One moment your ears pick up on a thumping bass beat going for a stroll, then there’s the
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD
“My brothers and I played [the Maggie Valley Opry] on the night of a mighty blizzard. I can still see Richard standing by the pot-bellied stove, the only heat in the building. And his smile — I will miss him.” — Peter Rowan
The Richard’s Run 5K Trail Race will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley. The race will begin at the Silverbell Lodge at Cataloochee Ranch and will follow the path up towards the Chestnut Orchard. From there, the route will lead through a gate and into The Bowl, an expansive bowl-shaped open meadow with dramatic long-range mountain views. The trail will lead runners around the perimeter, following the shape of the bowl, before plunging into a thick rhododendron tunnel that opens back into The Bowl. Next, the race will wind down towards the Way Back When base camp, then onto a shaded gravel road that winds downhill and around into a densely shaded forest. The road will go past the waterfall at Salamander Creek, crossing over the shallow creek and beginning the climb back up through the forest. Runners will pass the Evans Cove overlook then turn left for the final stretch home. The course will cross another small creek and wind around between the horse meadows to the finish line near the ranch barn. At the finish line, in addition to awards for the winners, there will be door prizes, two raffle drawings and a bluegrass performance by Eddie Rose and Highway 40. Beer, water, pizza and other goodies will also be available. Parking and check-in will be on your right as you reach the top of the mountain on Fie Top Road. Registration and signup is at 9 a.m., and can also be done online at www.richardsrun.org. Race fee is $25.
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August 13-19, 2014
He was beloved by all who Richard Coker. knew him. Donated photo Richard Coker embodied the spirit of Appalachia. As a coowner of the Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley, his warmth and hospitality radiated from the top of the mountain and shined brightly to anyone lucky enough to see his light. At age 55, Coker passed away last December after a tumultuous battle with brain cancer. By all accounts, from those who knew and loved him most, Coker was a man who seized the day, wringing every drop of opportunity and adventure from the fabric of his life. I myself only had the pleasure of meeting Coker once, and it was by chance. Legendary bluegrass/folk singer-songwriter Peter Rowan was performing at the ranch last November. Rowan is a personal friend of mine, and a musician I adore, so I headed up to the ranch. The property is a magical place, with its beauty and charm seeping into every corner of your soul. Rowan and Coker had become close friends over the Acclaimed North Carolina author Ron Rash will years, with Rowan playing the hold a workshop on his novel Serena at 5:15 ranch on numerous occasions. p.m. Aug. 20 at Western Carolina University in “When news of Richard’s Cullowhee. passing reached me, I thought of how many times we enjoyed Americana group Owner of the Sun will perform his and his family’s hospitaliat 9 p.m. Aug. 23 at No Name Sports Pub in ty, playing music, walking, Sylva. horse back riding up on Funk/rock act The Get Right Band will perform Hemphill Bald, picking at 7 p.m. Aug. 16 at BearWaters Brewing in ramps,” Rowan said. “One of Waynesville. my fondest recollections is playing the Maggie Valley The Village Square Art & Craft Show will be from Opry and swapping moon10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 22-23 at Kelseyshiner stories. Richard had Hutchinson Park in Highlands. booked the show with Raymond Fairchild. My brothMac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blue will perform at ers and I played there on the 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at the Stecoah Valley Cultural night of a mighty blizzard. I Arts Center in Robbinsville. can still see Richard standing joined us. Even though Coker was very frail by the pot-bellied stove, the only heat in the at the time, his smile never wavered. The building. And his smile — I will miss him.” table was full of conversation, storytelling The morning after the November show, and, most of all, laughter. Rowan and I sat down to breakfast. A few With all of his work at the ranch, his moments later, Coker quietly walked in and
Cataloochee, the ranch will host the inaugural Richard’s Run, a 5K trail race, on Saturday, Aug. 16. The course will roam the grounds at a mile-high altitude with Hemphill Bald as the backdrop. Proceeds from the race — raised through corporate sponsors, fundraising and individual donations — will go to Duke University’s Tisch Brain Tumor Center. “Richard is only one of many local residents who have fought this battle, and he would have been the first to hope that his death could make a difference to others in his beloved community,” said Mary Coker, Richard’s sister and a co-owner of the ranch.
arts & entertainment
This must be the place
deep love and appreciation for music and Appalachian culture, I was saddened to hear of his death — he was Cataloochee Ranch. “As a young boy, I always looked up to Richard as an adventure hero – a pretty rascally one, needless to say, but a hero nonetheless. One hour, he’d be scaling the Ranch House chimney with climbing ropes. The next, he’d be strapped to his hang glider, dodging crab apple trees. And somehow, he’d usually emerge from these escapades without broken bones,” said Ames Alexander from the ranch. In memory of Coker and his love of
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August 13-19, 2014
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A Project of Planned Giving to Benefit the Arts
TO PURCHASE ART: VISIT GALLERY 86 in Downtown Waynesville between Sept. 4-27
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TO SELL ART:
The Planned Giving Committee is seeking quality paintings and art objects to offer for sale. Especially desirable is art by local artists. Sellers will receive 70% of the proceeds; the Haywood County Arts Council will receive 30% as a seller’s commission, or the seller may choose to donate the entire proceeds of the sale to the Council.
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Bluegrass/gospel legends Dailey & Vincent will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Dailey gained national attention when he joined Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver in 1998 as lead, baritone and tenor singer. During his tenure, the band won 13 IBMA Awards — including seven Vocal Group of the Year awards and earned four Grammy and five Dove Award nominations. Dailey has also recorded with Dolly Parton, appeared on five Gaither Homecoming DVD’s, was a guest on Ricky Skaggs’ Grammy-winning Brand New Strings album, as well as dozens of other guest performances and collaborations to his credit. Vincent started singing at age three and playing music at age six as part of his family band, The Sally Mountain Show, along with sister Rhonda Vincent. As a member of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for more than 10 years, he won five Grammy Awards and eight IBMA Awards for Instrumental Group of the Year. He has performance and recording credits with dozens of artists including Dolly Parton, Nora Jones, Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Bruce Hornsby, Vince Gill and John Hartford. Tickets are $20 and $25. www.greatmountainmusic.com.
• PMA, Owner of the Sun, Johnny Hayes & The Love Seats and Porch 40 will perform at No Name Sports Pub in Sylva. PMA will play Aug. 22, with Owner of the Sun Aug. 23, Hayes Aug. 28-29 and Porch 40 Aug. 30. All shows begin at 9 p.m. Free. 828.586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com. • Bluegrass/old-time group The Leevetoppers, gypsy jazz act Resonant Rogues, Wyatt Espalin and Rye Baby will perform at Nantahala Brewing in Bryson City. The Leevetoppers play Aug. 15, with Resonant Rogues Aug. 16, Espalin Aug. 22 and Rye Baby Aug. 23. Both performances are at 8 p.m. Free. www.nantahalabrewing.com. • Guitarist Kevin Lorenz, guitarist James Hammel, guitarist Jay Brown and pianist Joe Cruz will perform at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. Lorenz will play Aug. 15, with Cruz Aug. 16, 23 and 30, Hammel Aug. 22 and Brown Aug. 29. All shows begin at 7 p.m. $10 minimum purchase. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com. • The Music on the River series continues with the A-36 Band, AM Superstars and Eastern Blue Band at the Oconaluftee River Stage in Cherokee. A-36 Band play Aug. 15, with AM Superstars Aug. 16 and 23 and Eastern Blue Band Aug. 22. All shows are at 8 p.m. Free. • Karen “Sugar” Barnes & Dave McGill, Amy Andrews and Liz & AJ Nance will perform at City Lights Café in Sylva. Barnes and McGill play Aug. 15, with Andrews Aug. 22 and Liz & AJ Aug. 23. Free. www.citylightscafe.com. • Bluegrass group Unspoken Tradition and folk-rockers Hurricane Creek will perform at Groovin’ on the Green at the Village Commons in Cashiers. Unspoken Tradition
plays Aug. 15, with Hurricane Creek Aug. 22. All shows begin at 6:30 p.m. Free. www.mountainlovers.com. • Friday Night Jazz! with The Kittle & Collings Duo will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 15 and 22 at Lulu’s on Main. www.mountainlovers.com. • Bluegrass band Tugelo Holler and singer/songwriter Michael Reno Harrell will perform as part of Pickin’ on the Square at the gazebo in downtown Franklin. Tugelo Holler plays Aug. 16, with Harrell Aug. 23. All shows begin at 6:30 p.m. Free. 828.524.2516 or www.franklin-chamber.com.
ALSO:
• Funk/rock/reggae group The Get Right Band will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at BearWaters Brewing Company in Waynesville. www.bwbrewing.com. • Craig Summers & Lee Kram will perform at 6 p.m. Aug. 14, 21 and 28 at Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville. Free. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com. • Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blues will perform as part of the An Appalachian Evening concert series at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center in Robbinsville. Cost is $15 for adults, $10 for students. Dinner services begin at 6 p.m. in the Schoolhouse Café. Next up in the series will be The Henhouse Prowlers on Aug. 23. 828.479.3364 or www.stecoahvalleycenter.com. • The Summer Live Music Series will continue with The Freight Hoppers and Natty Love Joys, 414, Antique Firearms, Local and Ogya at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in the Nantahala Gorge. The Freight Hoppers play Aug. 15, with
Natty Love Joys Aug. 16, 414 Aug. 22, Antique Firearms Aug. 23, Local Aug. 29 and Ogya Aug. 30. Live music, barbecue and craft beer. All performances are free and begin at 6 p.m. www.greatsmokies.com. • Folk/instrumental group The Barefoot Movement and Carolina Bluegrass Boys will perform at the Bryson City Train Depot. The Barefoot Movement plays Aug. 16, with Carolina Bluegrass Boys Aug. 23. Both shows are free and begin at 6:30 p.m. www.greatsmokies.com. • Bluegrass group Larry Barnett Duo, singersongwriter Randy Flack and Yasgur’s Farm will perform at the Fontana Village Resort. Barnett will play Aug. 14, with Flack Aug. 15 and Yasgur’s Farm Aug. 16. All shows begin at 7 p.m. www.fontanavillage.com. • The Sunday Concert Series of the Haywood County Arts Council will present Larry G. Davis and Sven Hoosen. A guitarist, Davis will perform classical, jazz, and other musical genres at the Canton Public Library. A mountain dulcimer player, Hoosen will play the Waynesville Public Library. Both performances will be at 3 p.m. Aug. 17. • Bluegrass/Americana group Mangus Colorado and Copious Jones will perform as part of the Saturdays on Pine concert series at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands. Mangus Colorado plays Aug. 16, with Copious Jones Aug. 23. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free. • The Johnny Webb Band and Macon Grass Band will perform as part of the Friday Night Live concert series at Town Square in Highlands. Webb plays Aug. 15, with Macon Grass Band Aug. 22. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free.
• The High Mountain Squares will host their “Club Colors Dance” from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug 15, at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin. Richard Smith will be the caller. Western style square dancing, mainstream and plus levels. 828.371.4946 or www.highmountainsquares.com.
• Singer-songwriter Wood Newton, bluesman Jim Sales and award-winning Kentuckian Alan Rhody will be performing as part of the Songwriters in the Round series from 6 to 10 p.m. Aug. 16 at the Balsam Mountain Inn. $47 per person, which includes a buffet dinner. info@balsammountaininn.net or 828.456.9498.
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arts & entertainment
• Prog-rockers Porch 40 and bluegrass/Americana group Mangus Colorado will perform at Concerts on the Creek at Bridge Park in Sylva. Porch 40 plays Aug. 15, with Mangus Colorado Aug. 22. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Free. 828.586.2155.
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• Singer-songwriters Liz & AJ Nance will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Show will be on the front porch, weather permitting, or then moved inside. Free. 828.488.3030 or www.fontanalib.org/brysoncity.
August 13-19, 2014
• Pianist Drew Petersen will perform at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. The award-winning virtuoso will bring his international talents to Western North Carolina. Sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council. $22. 828.452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org.
• Gospel/old-time group Country Memories will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. www.fontanalib.org.
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arts & entertainment August 13-19, 2014
On the stage
On the street
Masters of Illusion come to Harrah’s
Craft beer fest returns to Waynesville
The Masters of Illusion’s Believe The Impossible professional magic showcase will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, at Harrah’s Cherokee. Grand illusions, levitating women, appearances and vanishes, escapes, comedy magic, sleight of hand and beautiful dancers are just some of the events during the performance. Masters of Illusion is a huge stage phenomenon born from the multi-award winning television series “Masters of Illusion” and from the World Magic Awards, which is recognized as the International Academy Awards of Magic. One of the exciting features of this magical experience is that the entire audience participates in a mind-boggling illusion and some lucky individuals even get picked to assist with illusions onstage. The award-winning cast has been brought together to perform live to its Masters of Illusion’s huge worldwide television audience. “Masters of Illusion” will have 13 new TV episodes airing in 2014 on the CW network and in over 100 countries internationally. Tickets are $15, $24.50 and $34.50. www.harrahscherokee.com.
The Waynesville Craft Beer Faire will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at the American Legion Post 47 in Waynesville. The event will feature an array of craft beer vendors from around the region, live music and food vendors. Breweries included this year will be BearWaters, Frog Level, Tipping Point, Nantahala, Highland, HiWire, Innovation, Double Barley, Oskar Blues, and many more. Sponsors for the event are the American Legion Post 47, Mainstreet Realty, Homegrown in Haywood, Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, BearWaters, Frog Level, Tipping Point, The Smoky Mountain News and The Mountaineer. Tickets are $35 per person, with $45 VIP passes available. Proceeds will go to the American Legion, a nonprofit veteran organization that is committed to youth mentoring and
In search of the best sweet potato recipe
Here’s Your Sign ...
The 40th annual Mountain Heritage Day will be held Saturday, Sept. 27, at Western Carolina University. The event will once again feature the traditional foods competition A Gathering In, where baked goods, canned and dried foods and — this year — sweet potato recipes will vie for ribbons. The Best in the West Sweet Potato Recipe will highlight the importance of sweet potatoes in the Western North Carolina region.
Smoky Mountain News
WCU Big Birthday Bash celebrates 125 years
... and we’ve got lots of ‘em Fun, Affordable Gifts in Downtown Waynesville! Painted Ponies • Puzzles • Flags & Mailbox Covers Sauces, Rubs & Candy • Jewelry • Scarves
Affairs of the Heart
————————————————————————————— 120 N. Main St. • Waynesville, NC • 828.452.0526
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Western Carolina University’s 125th anniversary Big Birthday Bash will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the A.K. Hinds University Center lawn in Cullowhee. All alumni, friends, students, faculty, staff and members of the surrounding community are invited to take part in the festivities, including a picnic on the lawn featuring barbecue, hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, watermelon, funnel cakes, deep-fried goodies, lemonade, tea and birthday cake. Also on tap will be a variety of old-fashioned games and photo opportunities with props representative of 125 years of WCU history. The tentative schedule includes musical entertainment provided by the Dirty Guv’nahs, and partygoers will be eligible to
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A a a e p H a
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C s promoting wholesome community projects. G The event is strictly for ages 21 and over.b State identification is required for entry. TheC faire will be held rain or shine. D www.waynesvillebeer.com. D w t The weeks ahead provide plenty of time to prepare preserved entries and plan win- a ning recipes. Food entries will be accepted O at the Mountain Heritage Center at specific w times leading up to the festival. s Canned goods and heritage foods may I be dropped off at the Cordelia Camp C Building on campus between 7:30 a.m. and H 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24; baked goods a and the Best in the West Sweet Potato dish- e es (along with their respective recipes) from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26. 828.586.4009 or 828.227.7129, or embaker@wcu.edu or www.mountainheritageday.com. •
win a variety of door prizes. Student hosts will be giving guided tours of a walking trail featuring university landmarks and points of historical interest as part of a project by a • WCU history class. The university’s Cat-Tran shuttle service will be available to assist in transporting offcampus guests from designated parking areas to the site of the bash. No pets are allowed, although service animals are welcome. The final quasquicentennial event is set for Friday, Dec. 5, in the Ramsey Center, with music from the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band (which will have just returned from its appearance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade), refreshments, remarks from the chancellor and special recognition for those who will graduate dur-• ing the December 2014 commencement (the last graduating class of WCU’s 125th year). 828.227.3033 or www.celebrate125.wcu.edu.
On the street
• The 2nd annual Cowee School Celebration will be at noon Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Historic Cowee School in Franklin. Live music, food, craft vendors, storytelling, exhibits, and more. Free. 828.349.1945 or www.coweeschool.org.
ALSO:
• The Maggie Valley Summer Rally will be Aug. 15-17 at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. Live music by Sons of the South and Fine Line, bike games, hot rods, food
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vendors, and more. Gates open at 10 a.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $10 per day, per person, with children ages 5-12 $5 per day, per child. www.maggievalleyrallys.com. • The Way Back When dinner will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, at the Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley. The dinner showcases a recreation meal, music, storytelling and atmosphere of a 1930s Appalachian trout camp. $31.95 per person, which includes food and beverage. 828.926.1401 or 800.868.1401 or www.cataloocheeranch.com. • The Macon Aeromodelers will host the National Model Aviation Day Fly-In at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Otto Aerodrome. Pilots of the Macon Aeromodelers Club will put their skill on displaying flying micro and large-scale model aircraft. Admission is $5, with food available. Proceeds benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. bruners@dnet.net.
Smoky Mountain News
• The 2014 Haywood County Fair annual fish fry will be at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at the Haywood County Fairgrounds in Lake Junaluska. The fish fry features tilapia, baked beans, slaw, hushpuppies, and a drink, all for $10. Children under age 8 are admitted free. The event is a fundraiser for the Haywood County Fairgrounds. Proceeds are used to help with operating funds for the fairgrounds. 828.508.2972 or 828.456.3575.
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August 13-19, 2014
The 2014 Haywood County Fair will be held Aug. 19-24 at the Haywood County Fairgrounds in Lake Junaluska. Bingo will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, in the Apple Orchard Building. Just a few of the door prizes include restaurant and automotive gift certificates, pottery, jewelry, crafts, and silk flower arrangements. All proceeds raised will go back into the Haywood County Fairgrounds maintenance and upkeep. 828.712.3458. The New Generation Jamboree will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22. Event features performances by McKayla Reece, Productive Paranoia, Ginny McAfee, Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) and more. A K-9 demonstration with Haywood County’s law enforcement agencies will be showcased at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, in the Great Smokies Arena. K-9 units present will be the Canton Police Department, Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office, Maggie Valley Police Department and Waynesville Police Department with their handlers. Illicit items will be hidden and then the dogs will work to locate them. The County Fair Spelling Bee will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, in the Apple Orchard Event Center. The event will begin with elementary level, then middle and high school levels will follow immediately after. Interested students should contact the Cooperative Extension Office at 828.456.3575. Home-schooled and private school children, as well as public school students are all encouraged to participate. Admission is free. A cake walk will be held at 10:15 a.m.
Saturday, Aug. 23, in the Dogwood Building. The walk itself will begin at 11 a.m. and will continue until all cakes are won or until completion of the walk. Any remaining cakes will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. There will be a professional and amateur category and we will award a prize to the Best of Show. A prize will be awarded in the amateur category. Anyone may enter the walk at a cost of $1 per walk. All proceeds will benefit the Haywood County Fairgrounds. 828.627.0919 or 828.456.3575. Gospel singing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, in the Apple Orchard Event Center. Featured at that time will be Old Friends, Faith Under Fire, and The Inmans. The event is free. The Naturally Breathtaking Miss and Mister Haywood Beauty Pageant will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23. 704.798.3739 or 704.242.2601 or pageantbrats@bellsouth.net. The Youth Talent Show will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23. Children and youth of all ages are eligible to participate. Public school students, private school students, and home-schooled students are all invited to be a part of this special event. Individuals and group performances are all welcomed as is a wide and varied array of Haywood County’s youth talent. 828.456.3575 or erin_freeman@ncsu.edu. The Heritage Hoedown will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23. Performances by Whitewater Bluegrass Company, Soldier’s Heart, Hill Country Band, Ross Brothers and more. An array of clogging groups will also be performing during the shows. The Smoky Mountain Jubilee will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24. Performances by Eddie Rose & Highway 40, The Trantham Family Band and Lorraine Conard Band. www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org or 828.456.3575.
arts & entertainment
Music, animals and fun return to Haywood fair
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arts & entertainment
On the wall • The monthly meeting of the Art League of Highlands-Cashiers will be held at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at The Bascom in Highlands. A social gathering followed by a presentation of a professional artist. Free. www.artleagueofhighlands.com.
inspired many artists-in-residence to explore the concepts and aesthetics of the natural world. 828.227.3591 or www.fineartmuseum.wcu.edu. • The films “Disney’s Bears” and “Bigfoot Wars” will be screened at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. “Disney’s Bears” will run Aug. 15-17, with “Bigfoot Wars” Aug. 22-24. Screenings are at 7:45 p.m. on Fridays; 2, 5 and 7:45 p.m. on Saturdays; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $6 per person, $4 for children. Saturday morning cartoons will also be shown at 10 a.m. The “Bigfoot Wars” gala premier event will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23. Cost for the gala is $25, which includes hor d’oeuvres. 828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.
• An art talk/reception for Gary Kachadourian will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, in the Fine Arts Museum at Western Carolina University. His exhibit of work will be displayed through Oct. 17. Free. www.wcu.edu. • The Extension and Community Association presents the Sew Easy Girls at 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, at the Conference Room of Community Service Center in Sylva.
ALSO:
• An open call for crafters is currently underway for the 5th annual Balsam Crafters Arts & Crafts Show on Aug. 30 at the Balsam Fire Department. No tent needed, show is inside. 828.226.9352 or 828.269.8604.
Cherokee exhibit in Robbinsville
• Cowee Textiles will be having weaving, basket making, spinning & other textile demonstrations during the 2nd Annual Cowee School Celebration from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Macon County Heritage Center in Franklin. 828.349.3878 or bouchonnet@coweetextiles.com.
• The Village Square Art & Craft Show will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 22-23 at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands. Regional artisans, demonstrations, live music, food vendors, and children’s activities. Free. Sponsored by the Macon County Art Association and the Highlands Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center.
August 13-19, 2014
“Understanding our Past, Shaping our Future” will run through Aug. 29 in Robbinsville. Donated photo
The touring exhibit “Understanding our Past, Shaping our Future,” will be on view through Aug. 29 at the Snowbird Complex in Robbinsville. The exhibit focuses on Cherokee language and culture, using sound recordings as the basis for presenting a coherent story. It was conceived of and designed to include community input as a way to develop its content. Much of the exhibit text was excerpted from conversations originally recorded in Cherokee. A Cherokee speakers group, organized in cooperation with the Cherokee Language Program at Western Carolina University, met weekly at the Kituwah Academy. There, members were shown historic photographs and asked to comment on them. Their conversations were transcribed, translated, and included on the fifteen panels that make up the exhibit. The result is an exhibit that tells a more personal story and
• A basket weaving class will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Macon County Cooperative Extension Building in Franklin. Master weaver Joanne Nolen will instruct participants in the construction of a medium-size, multi-use Market Basket with 14” x 8”’ flat base, 6” tall sides and stationary handle. Class is for adult basket makers. No prior experience is needed. $35 fee covers materials and instruction. Pre-register by Aug. 19 with the Macon County Arts Council. 828.524.7683 or arts4all@dnet.net.
• The exhibition “FLORA: Contemporary Botanical Prints from the FAM’s Littleton Studios Vitreograph Archive” is running through Sept. 5 in the Fine Art Museum at Western North Carolina. Vitreography is a printmaking technique that uses glass matrix instead of metal, wood or stone. Littleton Studies in Spruce Pine has
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provides insight into Cherokee identity. The touring exhibit is sponsored by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in partnership with Cherokee Central Schools, Southwestern Community College, and Western Carolina University. Funding was provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Energy park open call for artists
In anticipation of the growing popularity of the Youth Arts Festival, the Jackson County Green Energy Park is seeking both new participants and returning alumni artists to assist with this year’s event, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, in Dillsboro. For any artisans willing to work hands-on with children and other members of the public, the GEP will offer a small stipend. www.jcgep.org or 828.631.0271.
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Eventually, the two boys encounter “the little seamstress” in the home of a tailor in the neighboring village, and when Luo contracts malaria, he is nursed back to health by the little seamstress. Since all medical treatment involving drugs has been abolished, Luo is treated by the local witches
Gary Carden
fter running into numerous critical references to this little novel, which has won a series of international awards and has been published in nineteen countries and made into a popular film, curiosity got the best of me, so I ordered a copy from Amazon ($4.80). When it arrived, I was especially pleased by the cover, and as soon as I could crank up my Keurig coffeemaker I was ready for an amazing journey. The novel is set in the 1970s in a remote region of China. This is Chairman Mao’s Chinese Cultural Revolution — a period that involves the “reeducation of millions of citizens who are deemed “intellectuals” and therefore dangerous to Mao’s promWriter ised utopia. In order that they may see the error of their ways, the condemned citizens are sent to mountain villages where they are sentenced to labor under privation and extreme hardship. If they are successfully rehabilitated they will eventually return to their homes, but prospects are bleak — the percentage of rehabilitated citizens is “three out of three thousand.” The novel focuses on two teenagers: one is the narrator of this tale, but he is never given a name; the second is a boy named Luo who strives to protect the narrator who is constantly getting into trouble. On their arrival in the village, their belongings are confiscated and they learn that they are under the total control of an ignorant and brutal village headsman. When the headsman seizes the narrator’s violin, calling it a useless toy of the wealthy, Luo intervenes, asking the narrator to play something. The frightened boy plays a Mozart sonata and Luo tells the headsman that the name of the musical piece is “Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao.” The villagers are charmed. Although the daily drudgery is exhausting (they work in a coal mine), the two boys quickly create a diversion that is readily endorsed by the headsman as a means of improving the village morale. They are allowed to travel to the neighboring town of Yong Jing to witness movies and on their return, they “retell” the movie to the villagers. Luo has a knack for dramatizing and the narrator sometimes plays background music. This new diversion (a kind of oral cinema show) becomes popular.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. 197 pages. with an alarming number of “cures,” and something works. The two boys tell the little seamstress their oral cinema show and she becomes fascinated by the mysterious and decadent world of “western culture.” She listens with great emotion to the sentimental stories. Eventually, she begins to dress and act in a manner that resembles the heroines in these stories. The crux of this little novel is the chance encounter of our two protagonists with another youth called “Four Eyes” (because he wears glasses). Eventually, Luo discovers that Four Eyes has a trunkful of forbidden novels which, if discovered, would result in the boy being branded an enemy of the state and imprisoned. When the trunk is finally opened, it is found to contain a collection of Balzac novels along with Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens and a dozen other authors whose works have been declared illegal and corrupting. Since Four Eyes is inept and incapable of completing work designed to get him returned to his home and a secure teaching
Smoky Mountain News
position, Luo and the Narrator develop a scheme. They will do the work, including an oral history project that involves collecting traditional work songs of the region. This is one of the most comical sections of the novel. Luo and the narrator visit an old mill keeper who knows hundreds of old ballads, but the mill keeper lives in a infested dwelling and each visit to see him requires a complicated de-lousing and a bizarre meal of “pebble soup.” In exchange for compiling the collection of ballads and presenting it to Four Eyes, the two teenagers will receive “limited” access to the forbidden books. Now, in addition to the movies, they have a rich source for endless stories. In addition to entertaining the villagers with stories about the imprisoned Count of Monte Cristo or an old knight named Don Quixote, they continue to visit the tailor and charm the little seamstress with romantic stories like Madam Bovary and Anna Karenina. The inevitable outcome is that the two teenagers fall in love with the little seamstress. Eventually, there are clandestine meetings between Luo and the little seamstress (the narrator is too shy to be an aggressive lover) and the novel is replete with erotic episodes, including a scene at a moonlit waterfall. All too soon, the little seamstress is pregnant, Luo is called home to attend to his sick mother and our narrator is left with the hapless job of finding a doctor willing to perform an abortion. In the end, he succeeds because he has learned to bargain with his “forbidden books.” He is fortunate to find a gynecologist who agrees to perform the surgery in exchange for a Balzac novel. From the day our two protagonists encounter the little seamstress for the first time, Luo had announced his intentions of “civilizing” the innocent tailor’s daughter. In the final chapter of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, it is evident that he has succeeded. She now speaks with a city accent and wears clothes that match the urban styles she has encountered in the films and stories of the two youths. On the night that she announces her departure, she says that Balzac has taught her that a woman’s beauty is “a treasure beyond price.” She seems confident and eager to “seek her fortune.” After she had departed, the griefstricken Luo burns his collection of forbidden books. For me, this is a disquieting end, for it seems to demonstrate that Chairman Mao was right in his condemnation of decadent literature and that the little seamstress, like Madam Bovary, had been corrupted by her exposure to “worldly values” of the West. It is also true that those same values are the forces that motivate all of Dai Sajie’s characters, for better or for worse. (Gary Carden can be reached at gcarden498@aol.com.)
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Coffee with the Poet welcomes Whitley The Coffee with the Poet series continues with J. Robin Whitley at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. Whitley reads from her collection More Than Knowing. Poet, painter and musician, she is also the author of In a Southern Closet, a collection of essays and poetry about the challenges of being a lesbian of faith. With her reading she will play some music and explore the idea of musical lyrics as an inspiration for poetry. She also happens to be a bookseller at City Lights Bookstore. The Coffee with the Poet series gathers the third Thursday of the month and is co-sponsored by the NetWest chapter of the North Carolina Writer’s Network. 828.586.9499.
Writer’s workshop in Sylva A writer’s workshop will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Local multi-published author Eden Glenn will host Short is the New Big, a writing workshop that will investigate the art and strategy of writing short stories, novelettes and novellas (under 30,000 words). It will be an energized presentation which covers everything you wanted to know about writing short and why. Participants will learn techniques of writing short from conception to final sale. Free. The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. 828.586.2016.
Rash to discuss Serena Acclaimed North Carolina author Ron Rash will hold a workshop on his novel Serena from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, in Blue Ridge Hall at Western Carolina University. This workshop is designed for faculty and instructors who plan to integrate Serena or the book’s themes into course work and for student peer leaders who will facilitate book discussion groups. George Frizzell, special collection curator at WCU, will also be present for the discussion. www.onebook.wcu.edu.
N.C. Poet Laureate to read at Blue Ridge Former North Carolina Poet Laureate Fred Chappell will read from his new collection Familiars: Poems at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. Chappell earned graduate and undergraduate degrees at Duke University and taught in the department of English at UNC Greensboro for 40 years from 1964 to 2004. He served as the N.C. Poet Laureate from 1997 until 2002. Chappell is the author of more than two dozen books of poetry, fiction and literary criticism. His work has been translated into many languages, including Finnish, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese and Farsi. Free.
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Outdoors
Smoky Mountain News
If you can float it, you can boat it Franklin Rotary spearheads RiverFest on the Little Tennessee BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hen Franklin RiverFest’s Anything That Floats Raft Regatta kicks off Aug. 23, Warren Cabe hopes to see the Franklin Fire Department cross the finish line first. The Macon County Emergency Services Director is holding the details of the team’s
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raft design close to his vest. “I can’t tell you,” he said. “It’s top-secret.” “The key is we don’t want to drown,” added fire department Captain Carey Patton. After a brainstorming session and some feasibility research via YouTube, the firefighters came up with a design and scared up as many barrels and scrap building materials as they could. They’re planning a test run before the big day — conducted away from prying eyes, of course, so as to preserve the element of surprise. Cabe did, however, release one big clue. “The only hint I’ll give you is that you never know what you’ll see float down the
Lake Emory. File photo
river, including a fire truck,” Cabe said. “You may even see a fire truck float down the river.” That’s the kind of enthusiasm that Lisa Leatherman, a Franklin Rotary Club member, was hoping for when she first floated the idea for a river festival in Franklin. She’d gotten the idea from a similar event in Asheville organized by RiverLink, a regional nonprofit supporting the French Broad River. She recalls seeing a “really fun” photograph of two women in an inflatable raft, all decked out for the contest, and wondering if something similar could succeed in Franklin. “We see this as having a potentially positive impact on the community, on Franklin,” Leatherman said, “draw people in and have this be an annual event the club can sustain.” This year’s event will feature a 5K run on the Little Tennessee Greenway, a duck derby race for prizes, an array of local vendors and, of course, the raft race. Contenders in the raft regatta will start off from the Tassee Shelter boat launch on Lake Emory and continue about 1.5 miles downstream. Leatherman has no idea what to expect from the entries — the possibilities are, quite literally, limitless — but she’s hoping to see a lot of creative ideas. Though any vessel can float in the race, only craft made from items not commercially sold for floating or boating will be eligible to win a prize. “We’re volunteers and we help the community, but we also enjoy the community we work in,” Patton said. “We see this as a fun activity.” And the winner’s glory won’t just go to captains of the fastest rafts. Titles up for grabs include Most Creative Vessel, Green Machine for use of recycled materials, Unique Design for best engineering and Most Entertaining Entry in addition to a prize for the first to cross the finish line. Those titles will come with prizes totaling $1,500.
When you go 8 a.m.: Registration opens for RiverFest 5K at Tassee Shelter 9 a.m.: RiverFest 5K begins at Tassee Shelter 10 a.m.: Vendors open at Big Bear Shelter 10:30 a.m.: Duck Derby begins at Town Bridge Raft Regatta registration opens at Tassee Shelter 12 p.m.: Raft Regatta begins at Tassee Boat Launch 3 p.m.: Festival ends www.franklinriverfest.com The Rotary Club is also hoping to make money on the deal , because the festival will double as a fundraiser to fund the club’s support of a slate of local and international charities. “Most of the funds will stay here in the local community, but within Rotary we do support an annual international project,” Leatherman said. That project usually focuses on providing clean water in India or Africa. Leatherman’s other goal for RiverFest is to draw some attention to the recreational resource running straight through Franklin — that is, Lake Emory and the duo of the Little Tennessee and Cullasaja rivers. That’s a goal that Cabe supports. “The Franklin Fire Department saw the opportunity to use this as a team building effort for our folks, and we think it’s a good event for the community and it will bring awareness to the resources that actually go through the town of Franklin,” Cabe said. Leatherman’s hoping to see this inaugural year, which received funding from the Franklin Tourism Development Authority and the Franklin-Nantahala Tourism Development Commission, have enough success to return to Franklin every year around this time, the fourth Saturday in August. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm around this,” she said.
“We see this as having a potentially positive impact on the community, on Franklin. Draw people in and have this be an annual event the club can sustain.” — Lisa Leatherman, Franklin Rotary Club
Grant helps Waynesville Parks and Rec get paddling A $25,000 Pigeon River Fund grant will help the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department purchase kayaking supplies to add paddling to the offerings of Base Camp Waynesville, a department program dedicated to helping town residents enjoy the outdoors. “This program will give us the opportunity to offer kayaking classes in our pool, in our local flat-water lakes and various local rivers,” said Tim Petrea, outdoor programming director for the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. “We will also offer two-hour kayak and paddle board sessions on local lakes and half-day, full-day, and overnight kayak/paddle board trips.” The resources will also be used in kids day camp programs offered during summer and other school breaks. Using the grant, the department bought 13 single kayaks, five tandem kayaks, 10 sit-on-top paddle boards and paddles, flotation devices and other accessories. The goal, Petrea said, is to encourage stronger stewardship of local waterways. By putting people in closer contact with those waterways, he hopes to accomplish that aim. 828.456.2030 or tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov.
Volunteers wait to take donations at a previous telethon. Jack Williams photo
Friends of the Smokies telethon to air Friends of the Smokies will take to the silver screen from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, for the 20th annual Friends Across the Mountains Telethon to benefit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Over the last two decades the broadcast has raised more than $2.9 million. Asheville’s WLOS Channel 13 will carry the broadcast, with the goal to raise money for Friends projects including rehabilitating
Chimney Tops Trail, suppressing hemlock woolly adelgid, supporting bear and elk management and funding Parks as Classrooms environmental education programs for more than 18,000 students. Donations can be made by calling the toll-free phone line during the broadcast, online at www.friendsofthesmokies.org or by calling 828.452.0720 for a donation form to be mailed.
Wolves: the real story
The historical documentary film Cataloochee will be shown at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Cullowhee at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 21. The documentary tells the story of the Cataloochee Valley, the settlers who lived there for a hundred years, and the movement to form the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that includes this special place. The beginning of the film includes a section on the Cherokee relationship to the land prior to white settlement. The Cataloochee settlers themselves tell the story of their time in the valley with humor and poignant memories, reflecting on how their feelings toward the national park have either changed over time to embrace the public space or remained embittered. The narrative repeats the universal themes of migration, settlement and loss of community. Historians involved in producing the film will elaborate on the film and answer questions. The documentary was a thesis project of WCU film student Katherine Bartel. 828.743.0585.
from Jackson County; Joshua Jimison, Todd Allred, Allie Dinwiddie and Sydney Schulhofer from Haywood County; Orion Holmberg from Cherokee. Teachers included Rich Harvey from Swain County. Grants from Friends of the Smokies, Alcoa and Youth Partnership Program made the program possible.
Smoky Mountain News
Cataloochee documentary to screen in Jackson
High school students from Western North Carolina get their hands dirty during a summer internship in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. NPS photo
August 13-19, 2014
Wildlife biologist Rob Gudger will present a myth-dispelling program about wolves at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Village Green Commons in Cashiers for the next monthly installment of the Village Nature Series. In addition to giving participants the chance to interact with a live wolf, Gudger’s “Wolf Tales” presentation will cover wolf habitats, social behaviors and conservation efforts. Grey wolves were hunted to near extinction over the past few centuries and red wolves are also rare, but some populations are being reintroduced. “Wolves are very gentle creatures,” says Gudger. “They even take care of old, injured and sick members of the pack. Native Americans modeled their Wolves are own family after wolf society, which social animals. they admired for its nobility.” Donated photo Free. Sponsored by the HighlandsCashiers Land Trust and The Village Green, with programs on the last Tuesday of each month through October. www.villagegreencashiersnc.com, 828.743.3434 or info@villagegreencashiersnc.com.
A handful of teachers, high school and college students recently completed a program designed to teach them about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park through six weeks of hands-on engagement. Participants were paid to perform ranger duties, assisting rangers with education programs and resource management, including wildlife biology, fisheries science, botany, forest and stream ecology, geology, Cherokee history and culture and Appalachian history. “These programs are mutually beneficial,” said Park Education Specialist Karen Ballentine. “The students and teachers get an in-depth study of resource education techniques, scientific methods and field research to enhance their skills and talents,
and, in turn, the park creates advocates through better understanding of and appreciation for the Smokies.” High school students included Alex Treadway from Swain County; Aidan Galloway, Ben Ogletree and Chace Morgan
outdoors
Summer in the park a win-win
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H A Y WO O D • C O U N T Y y Haywood Count
Fair
Fair
Tuesday, August 19 through Monday, August 25 Haywood County Fairgrounds
DuPont State Forest photo
TUESDAY, AUGUST 19 10 a.m-6 p.m.
Fair Exhibits Accepted Dogwood Center
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20 5 p.m.-10p.m. Open to the Public 5 p.m. Carnival Rides Open 6 p.m. Opening Ceremonies Followed By Community Concert 6 p.m. Animal Viewing Zoo
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21
August 13-19, 2014
9 a.m.-10p.m.
Open to the Public, Animal Viewing Zoo 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Senior Citizens Day 10 a.m.-noon Children’s Day Care Day Head Start 3:30 p.m. Military Appreciation Day 5:00 p.m. Carnival Rides Open 5:00 p.m. Variety Show 6:00 p.m. Firemen’s Competition 7:00 p.m. Bingo
FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 9 a.m.-10p.m. 9a.m.-2p.m. 4:00 p.m.
Smoky Mountain News
5:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m.
Open to the Public, Animal Viewing Zoo School Day for 4th Graders Fish Fry-$10 per person, kids under 8 eat free Carnival Rides Open New Generation Jamboree Special Persons Livestock Show K-9 Demo Sheep Show
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23 9 a.m.-10p.m. 9a.m.-10p.m. 10:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 2 :00p.m. 3:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.
Open to the Public, Animal Viewing Zoo Carnival Rides Open Spelling Bee Gospel Singing Pumpkin Decorating Contest Natural Beauty Pageant Ice Cream Eating Contest Haywood County FFA BBQ Youth Talent Show Heritage Hoedown
10:15 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.
Cake Entries Cake Walk and Auction Tractor Pull Registration Tractor Pull “Fun Day With Fido” Kids Dog Show 7:00 p.m. Horse Show 9:00 a.m. Goat Show 11:00 a.m. Feeder Calves Pen-of-Three 12:00 p.m. Beef Show Conclusion of Beef Show-Costume Class 4:00 p.m. Dairy Show
SUNDAY, AUGUST 24 11:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.
Cowboy Church Open to the Public, Animal Viewing Zoo 1:00 p.m. Carnival Rides Open 1:00 p.m. Truck Pull 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Horseshoes (1st & 2nd Prizes) 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m. Smoky Mountain Jubilee 2:00 p.m. Swine Show
MONDAY, AUGUST 25 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Pick-Up and Take Down
Subject to change Call 828.456.3575 for information www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org $2/head, $6 max/vehicle Other Attractions Tuesday-Sunday: Farm Animal Exhibit (Livestock Barn) • Mechanical Bull Paid for in part by the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority.
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www.VisitNCSmokies.com
DuPont mountain bike rides and trail runs to help the trails A Save the Trails ride and run through DuPont State Forest will be held Aug. 23 to help Pisgah Area Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association raise money to maintain trails that mountain bikers use. The event will feature four long-distance fun races — no timekeeping involved — with volunteers also needed to make everything go off smoothly. • The Epic mountain bike route will traverse 40-45 miles of single track and access roads, covering all sections of the forest. • The Advanced mountain bike route will traverse 25-30 miles of single track, with some access roads included as well as lots of ups and downs.
• The Ultramarathon will traverse 65 kilometers of single track covering all sections of the forest, as well as some access roads. Lots of climbing, stream crossings and waterfalls are included. • The Marathon will cover 26.2 miles of single track and some access roads. Registration for the rides and runs range from $50 to $70 before Aug. 21, with an extra $10 for day-of registration. Children 13 and under ride free. Space on all runs is limited, so registration can close at any time. Rain date is Aug. 24. www.pisgahareasorba.org/2014/02/sav e-the-trails-challenge-august-23rd-2014mtb-or-ultra-run
Runner jogs the Parkway to raise funds, awareness A Winston-Salem man is hoping to set a record for a good cause with his plan to run the entire Blue Ridge Parkway in nine days. Ned Erickson started his 469-mile run Aug. 9 in Cherokee and plans to finish in Waynesboro, Virginia, by Aug. 17. Along the way, Erickson is raising support and awareness for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and Carolina Point, a Young Life camp in Brevard that’s looking to make improvements to accommodate children with special needs. www.nederickson.com/werunforthem.html.
Saddle up for the Haywood fair A duo of equestrian offerings will be on tap for this year’s Haywood County Fair. n A horse show, open to all ages, will be held 7 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Great Smokies Arena of Haywood County Fairgrounds. The show will include 17 classes, such as Western, English, Gated and Games as well as four championship classes — English Pleasure, Western Pleasure, Gaited Horse Pleasure and Barrel Championship. $10 entry for championship classes with winner taking the pot; $3 fee for various classes. Registration begins 6:30 p.m. Janet Leatherwood, 828.646.9432 or www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org. n A presentation by the Mountain Dell Equestrian Group will be held at 4, 5 and 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, in the Great Smokies Arena at the Haywood County Fairgrounds,
a first for the Haywood County Fair. The show will features small pairs drill teams from the Silver Spurs 4-H Club with musical accompaniment. The presentations last five to 10 minutes, with two to six horses involved in each performance.
Waynesville Rec Center to close for work Waynesville Recreation Center members will have to put their workout routines on hold Sept. 8-14. The facility will be closed that week for routine maintenance work and to host the Building Bridges Mud Run Sept. 13, which will begin at the Recreation Center. The building will reopen at 5 a.m. Sept. 15. Members will be charged a pro-rated rate that month to account for the closure. 828.456.2030 or rlangston@waynesvillenc.gov.
The view from Mount LeConte. Micah McClure photo
Blueberry bounty Mount LeConte trip to shed light on local life A guided hike up to Mount LeConte, the highest-elevation lodge in the Eastern United States located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is on tap for
A hike to Ivestor Gap from the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Cold Mountain Overlook will give berry-lovers a chance to pick wild blueberries Aug. 17. The Carolina Mountain Club is leading the hike as part of a year-long series of outings in Wilderness Areas in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. The group will meet at the overlook at 11:40
a.m. then journey to the picking fields of Grassy Cove Top in the Shining Rock Wilderness, with an option to hike to the 6,000-foot Grassy Cove Top while the rest of the group picks. Group size is limited to 10. RSVP to Bonnie Allen, 828.645.0357, 828.707.6115 or bonnie@allencats.com. Other upcoming hikes in the Wilderness Hike Series include: n Cold Mountain, Aug. 24. Led by Brent Martin with the Wilderness Society, this hike organized by the Carolina Mountain Club will travel 10 miles from Camp Daniel Boone at the base of Cold Mountain in Haywood County to the summit. RSVP to 828.587.9453 or brent_martin@tws.org. August 30 8:30 am n East Fork of the Pigeon River, Aug. 30. An 8-mile hike along the East Fork in the Shining Rock Wilderness in Haywood County will include a dip in the myriad swimming holes or just lounging on river boulders. Organized by the Carolina Mountain Club. RSVP to 828.698.3237 or janonan@bellsouth.net.
Road improvement to close Black Balsam
A popular trail access area and jumping off point for the Shining Rock Wilderness area at Balsam Road will be closed from Sept. 2 through early October for a resurfacing project. Balsam Road, located off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Haywood County, is a high-traffic trailhead for the Sam’s Knob area and balds of Shining Rock. “We’ve received a number of complaints regarding the condition of the road. This project will address the numerous potholes and greatly improve visitor experience,” said Derek Ibarguen, district ranger for the U.S. Forest Service Pisgah Ranger District. “To avoid the highest use times and to be able to meet the requirement of resurfacing the road during warm weather, we are implementing the project just after the Labor Day weekend and before the leaf season.”
Panthertown Valley experts speak at annual gathering
outdoors
Discover Life in America’s next event. The annual trip is scheduled for Aug. 23-24, beginning with a guided hike up the Alum Cave Bluff Trail full of information about natural history, local human history, biodiversity and more. A picnic lunch, evening sunset program about the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, an effort to document every living thing in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will all be part of the plan. $275 per person, with price including lodging, dinner and breakfast. Make reservations with Todd at todd@dlia.org or 865.430.4757. Each lodge houses two guests.
Friends of Panthertown’s annual meeting from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the Cashiers-Glenville Recreation Center will feature a full slate of presentations from people who know Panthertown well. Panthertown Valley, dubbed Yosemite of the East for its rock dome formations and copious waterfalls, is a high-elevation valley and popular national forest recreation area outside Cashiers. The night will also include information about Friends of Panthertown’s current and future conservation projections, as well as recognition of key players and time for comment and discussion, plus door prizes. n Dan Pittillo, retired botany professor from Western Carolina University and Friends member, will give a short presentation on Panthertown’s plants and flowers. n Burt Kornegay, a backcountry outfitter and author of A Guide’s Guide to Panthertown Valley and founding Friends member, will be on hand to answer questions about his newly revised map and to swap stories about favorite hikes in Panthertown. n Photographer and Friends member Todd Ransom will also be around to answer questions about his recently released book Waterfalls of Panthertown Valley. 828.269.4453 or www.panthertown.org.
August 13-19, 2014 Smoky Mountain News
A million miles away is just down the road. visitnc.com
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Tailgate Market to celebrate kids’ love of watermelon
Jackson market celebrates tomatoes and 100 years of Cooperative Extension This year’s Taste of the Market celebration at Jackson County Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 16 in downtown Sylva,will feature a tomato tasting contest right next door to the 100th anniversary festivities for Jackson County Cooperative Extension. All morning, market vendors will provide samples, recipes and demonstrations, with the tomato tasting contest lasting 10 a.m. to noon. Customers will vote on the tomato varieties with the most flavor, best texture and most interesting appearance. Next door at Bridge Park, Jackson County Cooperative Extension will commemorate is 100th anniversary with music, clogging and tomato sandwiches as well as educational booths and historical photographs. The market accepts SNAP, credit and debit payments. www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org, jacksoncountyfarmersmarket@gmail.com or 828.631.3033.
Samantha Morgan checks out a watermelon in Ronald Chambers’ Bethel watermelon patch. Donated photo
Ornithologist to speak on bird-friendly yards A presentation by Kim Brand, board member of Forsyth Audubon who has a master’s degree in ornithology, will give bird-loving gardeners some tips on making their yards great places for birds to be. At 7 p.m. Aug. 18, Brand will speak at the Macon County Public Library as part of the Franklin Bird Club’s regular meeting. Advice about which shrubs to plant to yield the high-fat berries birds need to fuel migration flights, which trees host caterpillars that become bird baby food and which flowers are the best nectar-producers for hummingbirds will teach participants how to make a year-round difference for the birds. 828.524.5234.
August 13-19, 2014
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The watermelons will take over Aug. 16 at the Original Waynesville Tailgate Market’s August Kids Corner Market. From 10 a.m. until noon in the American Legion parking lot, toddlers through upper elementary children will celebrate Watermelon Day with watermelon salsa made from fresh watermelons, a seed toss, watermelon-shaped craft packets and melon samples. The event is part of a monthly series at the market designed to get children excited about growing vegetables, eating healthy foods and exercising. The activities are modeled on the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s “Growing Minds” program and is taught by volunteer Master Gardeners from the N.C. Extension Office.
FREE 1/2 DOZEN Easton Axis arrows with the purchase of a new Hoyt Carbon Spyder or Factor!
Smoky Mountain News
While supplies last
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f o r
Make a one stop shop at Bowed Up Outdoors for guns ammo archery and various sporting accessories.
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1370 Soco Rd Maggie Valley NC 28751
828.692.6178 • FourSeasonsCFL.org 36
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Breakaway breezes into year five
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Still time to register The Blue Bridge Breakaway offers four rides, with distances ranging from 25.8 miles to 105.7. Online registration is open through Aug. 14, with in-person registration 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and 6 to 7 a.m. Saturday. www.blueridgebreakaway.com.
tury or you just want to have a family ride and do the Rabbit, you know that for that one ride you’re going to be safe,” Ferguson said. Though out-of-towners make up the majority of Breakaway riders, Ferguson said, there’s also a substantial force of locals, and he’s encouraging Haywood County residents to get out and take advan-
tage of this opportunity to explore their community from a bicycle seat. “We absolutely want to encourage locals to ride it,” Ferguson said, “because it’s something we don’t get to do any other time.” Though visiting bikers are important, too. Each one comes with several hundred dollars in spending on hotels, meals and entertainment. Multiply that by 400 or 500, and it’s a pretty large dollar figure. And no numbers are needed to quantify the parkway views that come with the ride as a valuable dose of scenery. “It is something pretty spectacular,” Ferguson said.
627 N. Main Street, Suite 2, Waynesville. Shown by appointment only, Call Jeff Kuhlman
828-646-0907.
Haywood Chamber plans half-marathon
Smoky Mountain News
consultant for the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the ride. “We’re one of the few that has it and we have two, so it’s a pretty big deal.” The views from the parkway are certainly spectacular, but the road’s curves and lack of shoulder make riding it a dangerous proposition on most days. The same goes for the bulk of the roads in Haywood County, making the Breakaway a welcome opportunity for bikers to enjoy the scenery of country roads without worrying about colliding with a car. “This area is not known for having safe places to ride, so whether you’re a big heavy-duty rider that wants to ride the cen-
Nicest 1850s/f move in ready space in Haywood County!
August 13-19, 2014
Bikers pedal through the 2013 Breakaway ride. Scott McLeod photo
Building was a complete renovation and space was first built out for Edward Jones office in 2005. Space was recently occupied by Haywood Co. Insurance Health Clinic and is in excellent condition. Unit includes 2 restrooms, kitchenette and mechanical room. There is direct access to an outdoor covered patio area on the creek. The building has excellent onsite parking and is located in Waynesville only 3/10 mile North of the courthouse. Location is centrally located to all commercial areas of Way. without the traffic backups. Lease is $11.64 sq.ft. and includes exterior maintenance, taxes, water and 3’x8’ lighted sign.
outdoors
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ore than 400 riders will push off from Lake Junaluska Aug. 16 for the fifth year of the Blue Ridge Breakaway ride, their routes winding through the curvy, rural roads of Haywood County, with the two longer routes even venturing up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. One of those routes, the Trout, is new this year. Previously, the 106-mile Hawk distance had been the only ride offering a 33mile jaunt on the Parkway, but this year bikers wanting a shorter 76-mile distance will also be able to ride 33 miles atop the Blue Ridge. “There are very few rides on the whole length of the whole Parkway that have a ride up there,” said George Ferguson, media
Class A Office/Professional/Medical space, 1850 sq. ft. MOVE IN ready
The inaugural Gateway to the Smokies Half-Marathon will be held Saturday, May 2 2015, in Haywood County, giving runners a chance to stretch their legs in the mountains and competitive runners an opportunity to get a sanctioned run under their belts. The run will begin at Waynesville Middle School and go out to Hyatt Creek and Plott Creek back to Hazelwood past the Folkmoot center and country club before ending at the middle school. “It’s an area that the bike ride does not cover,” said George Ferguson, media consultant for the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, which also sponsors the Blue Ridge Breakaway.
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WNC Calendar
Smoky Mountain News
COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Haywood County is now accepting applications for boys and girls within the Haywood County area between the ages of 6 and 14 who could benefit from an approved adult mentor/role model. No cost to the family. 356.2148. • Cowee School Celebration, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Macon County Heritage Center, Franklin, featuring weaving, basket making, spinning and other textile demonstrations by Cowee Textiles. Teresa, 349.3878 or e-mail: bouchonnet@coweetextiles.com. • Help build a playground, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Cullowhee Valley School, Wisdom Drive, volunteers from Western Carolina University and the Cullowhee Valley community. To volunteer, call Cullowhee Valley School, 293.5667 or visit ourdreamplayground.kaboom.org/projects/11125-cullowhee-valley-school. • Fines Creek United Methodist Church homecoming, 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 17. Bring a covered dish. 456.9510. • Friends of Panthertown annual meeting and social event, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, CashiersGlenville Recreation Center. www.panthertown.org/membership. • $10 Fall Fix: get unfixed pets for spay/neuter and rabies vaccination for only $10 through Nov. 30, through Haywood Spay/Neuter. Pet owner must live in Haywood County and sign their pets up at the Haywood Spay/Neuter office, noon to 6 p.m. open Tuesday through Friday. 452.1329. • Inaugural Haywood County Fall Sports Tailgate Kickoff Party, noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at Smathers Square on Main Street, Canton, to promote fall sports programs for Pisgah High School, Tuscola High School and Western Carolina University. • Historic Inman Chapel Homecoming and Reunion, 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, Friendly House Road, off Highway 215 South, adjacent to Lake Logan Community Fire Department, Haywood County. Bring a covered dish, picnic supplies will be provided. Gospel singing in the afternoon. • Jackson County Board of Commissioners public hearing, 5:45 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, Smokey Mountain Elementary School Cafeteria, 884 US Highway 441 North, Whittier. Input wanted on “US 441 Ordinance Amendments.” www.jacksonnc.org/planning. • Transportation Advisory Committee of the Southwestern Rural Planning Organization (RPO), 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, Southwestern Commission office, 125 Bonnie Lane, Sylva. Philip Moore, phil@regiona.org or 339.2213. • Mountaintop Rotary Club, 7:30 a.m. every Wednesday, Highlands-Cashiers Hospital lower level Dining Room. • New support group, The Compassionate Friends of Western North Carolina, for families who have had a child die, holds monthly meetings at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month in the Dugan Classroom of Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church, Clyde. John Chapman, chapter leader, 356.6877 or tcfofwnc@gmail.com. Park at the rear of the church and enter the building across the elevated cement sidewalk that leads to the second floor room #210, which is the first door on the right. • Smoky Mountain Model Railroaders work session, 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday and public viewing session from 2 to 4 p.m. the second Sunday of the month, 130 Frazier St., in the Industrial Park near Bearwaters Brewery, Waynesville. The group runs Lionel-type 3rail O gauge trains. http://smokymountainmodelrailroaders.wordpress.com.
All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. • P.A.W.S. Adoption Days first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the front lawn at Charleston Station, Bryson City.
BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Open House, 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, The Peggy Crosby Center, 348 S. Fifth St., Highlands. • Memorial Butterfly Release ceremony, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, Angel Medical Center, Angel Medical Center campus, Franklin. 349.6639. • Back to School Bash, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Rockwood United Methodist Church, 288 Crabtree Mountain Road (Thickety Community), Canton. Free school supplies for elementary, middle and high school students. Free hot dog lunch. 648.6870. • “How to Start a Business,” 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, Southwestern Community College Macon Campus. Free. Register, 339.4211 or www.ncsbc.net <http://www.ncsbc.net. • Haywood Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Aug. 19, Laurel Ridge Country Club. Guest speaker is Marcy Breault, founder and president of the Protocol and Etiquette School. • Land of Sky Regional Council Regional Biofuels Workshop 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, Sylva. Free. Linda Glitz, 251.6622 or or linda@landofsky.org. • Free two-part business card making class using MS Word Templates, 5:45 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 20 and Wednesday, Aug. 27, Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016. • Connect Up WNC business networking meeting, 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, Sagebrush Restaurant, 895 Russ Ave., Waynesville. • Free seminar, “Alternative Financing for the Small Business Owner,” 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, Student Center, first floor, Haywood Community College. 627.4606 or visit sbc.haywood.edu to register online.
FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • National Model Aviation Day Fly-In, 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Otto Aerodrome, half mile up Tessentee Road, off U. S. 441. Admission $5. Lunch available, $5 hamburger plate, $3 hot dog plate. Presented by Macon Aeromodelers. Proceeds to benefit Wounded Warrior Project. • Haywood County Fairgrounds annual fish fry, 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, Haywood County Fairgrounds. $10. Children under eight years of age are free. Proceeds to help the Fairgrounds with operating funds. Mehaffey, 508.2972, or the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Office, 456.3575. Tickets can be purchased at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Office. • Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Yard Sale, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23 Western Carolina University Ramsey Activity Center. 586.2155. • PAWS Wine Tasting and Silent Auction, 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, Harmony Hall at Lands Creek Cabins, Swain County. Tickets, $20. 488.0418
VOLUNTEERING • Haywood County Meals on Wheels needs drivers for these routes: Fridays – Route #4 – Allens Creek; Thursdays and/or Fridays – Route #9 – Beaverdam;
Fridays – Route #19 – Cruso; Fridays – Route #21 – Saunook. Immediate need of drivers in the Cruso area. Jeanne Naber, 356.2442. • The Haywood Jackson Volunteer Center has many new openings for volunteers throughout the region. Call John at 356.2833. • Community Care Clinic of Franklin needs volunteers for a variety of tasks including nursing/clinical, clerical and administrative and communications and marketing. The clinic will provide volunteer orientation and training for all individuals. 349.2085. • Catman2 Shelter needs volunteers for morning feeding and general shelter chores, especially from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. 293.0892 or hsims@catman2.org. • The Volunteer Water Inventory Network (VWIN) is looking for people to work one to two hours every second weekend of the month at Hyatt Creek, Raccoon Creek and Jonathan Creek. Supplies provided. Volunteers pick up empty bottles, collect water samples, and return full bottles. 926.1308 or haywoodwaterways.org. Early evenings are the best time to call. • Agencies throughout Haywood County seek volunteers for many different jobs, including helping with Haywood Christian Ministries, REACH hotline and thrift shop, the Elk Bugle Corps for the National Park and many more. 356.2833. • The Bascom in Highlands seeks volunteers to help at arts center. Volunteer opportunities include office, gallery docent, benefit events, hospitality, flowers, installation, studio, library, landscaping, parking, recycling and building. 526.4949, mshambaugh@thebascom.org or www.thebascom.org/volunteer. • The Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society maintains a museum located in the historical courthouse in room 308. The HCHGS is seeking articles and objects of historical value to Haywood County that anyone would like to share. 456.3923. • Haywood Volunteer Center needs respite work, domestic violence hotline volunteers, meal delivery drivers, mediators, craft instruction, house building, foster grandparenting and office work. 356.2833
BLOOD DRIVES
Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: n Complete listings of local music scene n Regional festivals n Art gallery events and openings n Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers n Civic and social club gatherings
RECREATION & FITNESS • ISA Fall Softball League mandatory team registration meeting, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, Waynesville Recreation Center. 456.2030 or email dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov. • Fall Adult Coed Volleyball League organizational meeting, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, Waynesville Recreation Center. 456.2030 or email dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.
THE SPIRITUAL SIDE • “Tablescapes” luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Grace Episcopal Church in the Mountains, 394 N. Haywood St., Waynesville. Proceeds will benefit the Haywood Community College Foundation – Scholarship Fund. Tickets, $20, purchased at the Parish Office, 394 N. Haywood St., Waynesville, or 456.6029, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Senior trip to see the Asheville Tourists, Aug. 14. For seniors age 50 and older. Leave Waynesville Recreation Center at 5 p.m. $10 per person for members of the Waynesville Recreation Center or $12 per person for non-members. Price includes transportation and a general admission ticket to the game. 456.2030 or email tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov. • Wellness Seminar “Heart Health,” 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20. Department on Aging/Senior Center, 100 County Services Park, Sylva. Presented by Sylva Cardiology. 586.4944.
Haywood • American Red Cross Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 68 Foxwood Drive, Waynesville. 800.733.2767 or visit redcrossblood.org. • American Red Cross Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, Best Buy of Waynesville, 45 Plaza Place, Waynesville. 800.733.2767 or visit redcrossblood.org. • American Red Cross Blood Drive, noon to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 25, Masonic Lodge Waynesville, East Marshall St., Waynesville. 800.733.2767 or visit redcrossblood.org.
Jackson • American Red Cross Blood Drive, noon to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 26-27, Health and Human Science Building, Western Carolina University, Highway 107, Cullowhee. 800.733.2767 or visit redcrossblood.org. • American Red Cross Blood Drive, noon to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 27-28, Hinds University Center, Western Carolina University, Highway 107, Cullowhee. 800.733.2767 or visit redcrossblood.org.
KIDS & FAMILIES • Parents as Teachers Water Olympics, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, American Legion Field, behind Bogarts in Waynesville.
Literary (children) • Lego Club, for ages 5 and up, 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. • Children’s Story time, 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. 586.2016. • Teen Time, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. 586.2016. • BigBangWhoLock party, 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, Haywood County Public Library. For fans of the Big Bang Theory, Dr. Who and Sherlock Holmes. Come dressed as your favorite character.
Swain
• Chemistry Magic, 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, Canton branch library, with Dr. Channa R. De Silva, assistant Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry & Physics, Western Carolina University.
• American Red Cross Blood Drive. 1 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, Victory Baptist Church, 2175 Fontana Road, Bryson City. 488.7888, 800.733.2767 or visit redcrossblood.org.
Extension and Community Association (ECA) groups
ECA EVENTS
meet throughout the county at various locations and times each month. 586.4009. This month’s meetings, listed by date, include:
• 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15 and Friday, Aug. 22—ECA Craft Club Workshop – Rug Braiding, Conference Room of Community Service Center, Sylva. Call Extension Office for more information and to sign up for the workshop. • 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18 – Sew Easy Girls ECA, Conference Room of Community Service Center, Sylva. • 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19 – Overview of Extension Programs, Cane Creek ECA. Call the Extension Office for more information.
POLITICAL GROUP EVENTS & LOCAL GOVERNMENT GOP • Macon County Republican Party executive board meeting, 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, GOP headquarters, 555 Depot Street, Franklin. • Jackson County Republicans’ “Party for the Party— A GOP Cabaret” 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, Country Club of Sapphire Valley, featuring entertainers Billy Dean and Dawn. 507.0322 or email jacksonctygop@yahoo.com.
Others • Public forum: Public Education in North Carolina— Reform or Decline? 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, Tartan Hall, First Presbyterian Church, Franklin. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Macon County. Features a panel of local award-winning educators. • Jackson County Patriots meeting, featuring naturalized American and Sylva resident Rafael Rodriguez, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 21, Ryan’s Steak House, Sylva. Ginny Jahrmarkt at Box547@aol.com.
A&E • Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Fight Lab, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center, 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee. Must be 21 or older. Tickets, www.Ticketmaster.com. • Sons of the American Revolution Silas McDowell Chapter, 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, Broiler Room Restaurant, Franklin. Program, “Life in Colonial America,” presented by the Blue Ridge Mountain chapter, Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution. Ala carte dinner, 5 p.m., presentation 6 p.m. Tom Long, 321.3522, tomeaglenc@aol.com or www.ncssar.org/chapters/Silas.htm. • Dayton Duncan, who worked with Ken Burns to write and produce The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, will be the keynote speaker at 1 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Gather ‘Round the Blue Ridge, Crowne Plaza Resort Expo Center, Asheville. Tickets, $50, at www.blueridgeheritage.com/heritage/gather-round-2014.
• Game Day, 2 p.m. third Saturday of the month, Papou’s Wine Shop, Sylva. Bring cards, board games, etc. 586.6300. • Maggie Valley Summer Rally, 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15; 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 and Sunday, Aug. 17, Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. Live music by Sons of the South and Fine Line, bike games, hot rods, food vendors, and more. $10 per day, per person, with children ages 5-12, $5 per day, per child. www.maggievalleyrallys.com. • Second annual Cowee School Celebration, noon Saturday, Aug. 16, Historic Cowee School, Franklin. Music, food, craft vendors, storytelling, exhibits, and more. Free. 349.1945 or www.coweeschool.org. • Bingo, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, Haywood County Fair, Apple Orchard Building, Haywood County Fairgrounds. 100% of the funds raised from Bingo will go back into the Haywood County Fairgrounds maintenance and upkeep. Shirley, 712.3458. www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org. • Fish Fry, 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, Haywood County Fair, Haywood County Fairgrounds, Waynesville. $10, children under age 8 eat free. Proceeds to benefit Haywood County Fairgrounds. 508.2972 or 456.3575. • Mountain Dell Equestrian Group, 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, Haywood County Fair, Haywood County Fairgrounds, Waynesville. www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org. • K-9 demonstration with Haywood County’s law enforcement agencies, 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, Haywood County Fair, Great Smokies Arena, Haywood County Fairgrounds. www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org. • Cake Walk, 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Haywood County Fair, Haywood County Fairgrounds, Waynesville. $1 per walk. Any remaining cakes will be auctioned to the highest bidder. Proceeds to benefit Haywood County Fairgrounds. Gwilli Gericheck, 627.0919 or Julie Sawyer, 456.3575. www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org. • Naturally Breathtaking Miss and Mister Haywood Beauty Pageant, 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Haywood County Fair, Haywood County Fairgrounds. 704.798.3739 or 704.242.2601 or pageantbrats@bellsouth.net. www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org. • Smoky Mountain Jubilee, 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, Haywood County Fair, Haywood County Fairgrounds. Eddie Rose & Highway 40, The Trantham Family Band and Lorraine Conard Band. www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org or 456.3575. • Village Square Art & Craft Show, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 23-24, Kelsey-Hutchinson Park, Fifth and Pine streets, Highlands. 787.2021.
LITERARY (ADULTS) • The Write Ones, Adult Creative Writing Group, 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. 586.2016.
Smoky Mountain News
FESTIVALS, SPECIAL & SEASONAL EVENTS
• The Shelton House, at the corner of Shelton and Pigeon Streets in Waynesville and home to the Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts, has opened for its 35th season. www.sheltonhouse.org, 452.1551.
August 13-19, 2014
SUPPORT GROUPS • Essential tremor support group meeting, 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Alliance Bible Church, 501 N. River Road, Sylva. Presented by the International Essential Tremor Foundation. Serves Jackson, Macon, Swain and Haywood counties. Ted Kubit, 631.5543 or tkubit@frontier.com.
• “Understanding our Past, Shaping our Future,” exhibition of Cherokee language and culture, is on display at the Snowbird Complex in Robbinsville through Aug. 29. 479.6178.
wnc calendar
• Noon, Thursday, Aug. 14 – Saving Seeds, Lunch and Learn ECA, Conference Room of Community Service Center, Sylva.
• Haywood County Fair Spelling Bee, 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Apple Orchard Building, Haywood County Fairgrounds. Three bees featuring spellers from each of Haywood County’s 12 elementary schools, three middle schools, and high schools. 456.3575.
• Short is the New Big, short story workshop, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, Jackson County Public Library Conference Room. Space limited. Register, 586.2016. • Coffee with the Poet featuring J. Robin Whitley, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva. 586.9499.
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wnc calendar
• Canton native, novelist, poet and Professor Fred Chappell will read from his newest book of poetry at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, at Blue Ridge Books, 152 S Main St., Waynesville. Chappell was the North Carolina Poet Laureate from 1997 to 2002.
ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Summer Music Series featuring Liz and AJ Nance, 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, Marianna Black Library, Bryson City, 488.3030. • Music with Marshall Ballew, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, Meeting Room of the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. • Award-winning piano virtuoso Drew Petersen, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15, Haywood Arts Regional Theatre, Waynesville. Sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council. $22. 452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org. • Dailey & Vincent, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, Franklin. Tickets start at $20. www.GreatMountainMusic.com, 866.273.4615. • Mac Arnold and Plate Full O’ Blues, 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center, 121 Schoolhouse Road, Robbinsville. Tickets at www.stecoahvalleycenter.com, 479.3364 or at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center. Must be purchased three days in advance of show date. • Songwriters in the Round: Wood Newton, Alan Rhody and Jim Sales, 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Balsam Mountain Inn. $47, includes buffet dinner. 456.9498. • Unto These Hills outdoor drama, 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, through Aug. 16, Mountainside Theater, Cherokee. General admission tickets, $20 for adults, $10, children ages 6-12 and free for children under age 5. Reserved tickets available at 866.554.4557 or www.visitcherokenc.com. • Appalachian Fire, 3 p.m. Aug. 17, Swain County
Center for the Arts, Bryson City. 488.7843, www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta. • The Ubuntu Choir of the Great Smoky Mountains will perform at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Cullowhee. • Haywood Community Band free concerts, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17,Maggie Valley Pavilion adjacent to the Maggie Town Hall and and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, at the lakefront next to Lake Junaluska Assembly’s Stuart Auditorium. Rhonda Wilson Kram, 456.4880, www.haywoodcommunityband.org. • Sunday Concert Series of the Haywood County Arts Council, guitarist Larry G. Davis, 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, Haywood County Public Library, Canton branch. • Sunday Concert Series of the Haywood County Arts Council, mountain dulcimer player Sven Hoosen , 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, Meeting Room, Haywood County Public Library, Waynesville. • Gospel/old-time group Country Memories, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. www.fontanalib.org. • Gospel Singing, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Apple Orchard Event Center (Building A), Haywood County Fair, Haywood County Fairgrounds. Featuring Old Friends, Faith Under Fire, and The Inmans. Free. • Masters of Illusion, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort Event Center, Cherokee. 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee. www.Ticketmaster.com. • Single tickets now on sale for the 2014-15 Galaxy of Stars Series at Western Carolina University’s John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. 227.2479, www.bardoartscenter.wcu.edu. • The hour-long radio show Stories of Mountain Folk airs at 9 a.m. every Saturday on its home station, WRGC Jackson County Radio, 540 AM on the dial, broadcasting out of Sylva. Stories of Mountain Folk is
an ongoing all-sound oral history program produced by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia (CSA), a western North Carolina not-for-profit, for local radio and online distribution.
NIGHT LIFE • Craig Summers & Lee Kram, 6 p.m. Aug. 14, 21 and 28, Frog Level Brewing Company, Waynesville. Free. 454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com. • Friday Night Jazz! with The Kittle & Collings Duo, 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 15 and Aug. 22, Lulu’s on Main, Sylva. www.mountainlovers.com. • Karen “Sugar” Barnes & Dave McGill, Aug. 15; Amy Andrews, Aug. 22; and Liz & AJ Nance, Aug. 23, City Lights Café, Sylva. Free. www.citylightscafe.com.
• Lens Luggers of WNC Field Photography Program with Bob Grytten, 8 a.m. Wednesday mornings, Aug. 13, 20 and 27, and from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Aug. 19 and 26, Old Armory, Waynesville. $45 for the Wednesday morning shoots and $15 for the Tuesday evening class events. Register, 627.0245, bobgry@aol.com or www.lensluggerworld.com.
• Funk/rock/reggae group The Get Right Band, 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, BearWaters Brewing Company, Waynesville. www.bwbrewing.com.
• Photo editing workshop with fine-art photographer Robert Ludlow, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, Haywood County Public Library, Waynesville. RSVP required, Kathy Olsen 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.
• PMA, Aug. 22; Owner of the Sun, Aug. 23; Johnny Hayes & The Love Seats, Aug. 28-29; and Porch 40, Aug. 30, No Name Sports Pub, Sylva. 9 p.m. Free. 586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com. • Bluegrass/old-time group The Leevetoppers, Aug. 15; gypsy jazz act Resonant Rogues, Aug. 16; Wyatt Espalin, Aug. 22; and Rye Baby, Aug. 23, 8 p.m. Free. www.nantahalabrewing.com. • Cruso Circle Play & Jam, 7 p.m. every Tuesday, Cruso Community Center and Friendship Club in Canton. www.facebook.com/crusocircleplayjam.
August 13-19, 2014
• 7 p.m. Fridays, Pickin’ in the Park, through Labor Day, Canton
DANCE
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Fibromyalgia Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Adrenal Fatigue Sub-Clinical Hypothyroidism Osteo & Rheumatoid Arthritis Gout ADDHD Poor Immune System/Shingles Ulcerative Colitis Acne Pain Relief
CLASSES, PROGRAMS & DEMONSTRATIONS
• Classical guitarist Kevin Lorenz, 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15; pianist and singer-songwriter Joe Cruz, 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Aug. 23 and Aug. 30; Guitarist and singer-songwriter James Hammel, 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22; and multi-instrumentalist Jay Brown, 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, The Classic Wineseller, 20 Church St., Waynesville. 452.6000, www.classicwineseller.com.
Haywood County
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• Crafters wanted for the 5th Balsam Crafters Art/Craft Show, Aug. 30 and Nov. 29, Balsam Fire Department. No tent needed; show inside. 226.9352, 269.8604.
• Singer-songwriter Randy Flack, Aug. 15, Fontana Village Resort. 7 p.m. www.fontanavillage.com.
MUSIC JAMS
We are excited to now have Bill Morris, pharmacist & nutritionist with us full time!
• Climatic Contours, an exhibition of large scale paintings, by Craig Voligny, through Sept. 7, North Carolina Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way Asheville. www.ncarboretumregistration.org.
• Art League of Highlands-Cashiers monthly meetings, 4:30 p.m. Aug. 25, Sept. 29 and Oct. 27, The Bascom in Highlands. Guests welcome. www.artleagueofhighlands.com.
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Bill focuses on a holistic approach and specializes in:
Performing Arts Center, WCU. 227.3591 or fineartmuseum.wcu.edu.
• High Mountain Squares “Club Colors Dance,” 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, Macon County Community Building, GA Road (441 South), Franklin. Richard Smith will be the caller. 371.4946, 342.1560, 332.0001 or www.highmountainsquare.
FOOD & DRINK • Wine Dinner with winemaker and owner Steve Reynolds of Reynolds Family Winery, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, The Classic Wineseller, 20 Church St., Waynesville. $55 per person. Reservations 452.6000. • “Way Back When,” dinners at Cataloochee Ranch to celebrate its 80th anniversary: Aug. 15. $31.95 per person. Reservations, 926.1401 or 800.868.1401. Meet at ranch house at 5:30 pm, rain or shine, to board the wagon ride to the camp. www.cataloocheeranch.com.
ART/GALLERY EVENTS & OPENINGS
366 RUSS AVE | WAYNESVILLE | 828.452.0911
• Third annual fundraiser for the nonprofit Cullowhee Mountain Arts is currently underway. Tickets for the Aug. 21 artwork drawing are available for purchase, price ranges are between one ticket for $20 and 12 for $100. www.cullowheemountainarts.org.
BiLo Shopping Center Find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/kimscompounds
• “FLORA: Contemporary Botanical Prints from the FAM’s Littleton Studios Vitreograph Archive,” through Sept. 5, Fine Art Museum, John W. Bardo Fine and
• Basket weaving class, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Macon County Cooperative Extension Building, Thomas Heights, Franklin. Adults only. $35 fee covers materials and instruction. Pre-register by Aug. 19 with the Macon County Arts Council, 524.7683 or arts4all@dnet.net.
FILM & SCREEN • Disney’s Bears, 7:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15; 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, The Strand, 38 Main, downtown Waynesville. www.38Main.com. Tickets, $6 for adults, $4 for children. • Biographical drama from 1959 starring Shelley Winters, 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, Meeting Room, Macon County Public Library. • Best of Controlled Chaos Film Festival, 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, The Country Club of Sapphire Valley, featuring some of the most riveting and moving student-created films from Western Carolina University’s annual Controlled Chaos Film Festivals. Tickets, $75, can be purchased at the Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce or by calling the WCU College of Fine and Performing Arts, 227.7028 Proceeds will assist students with making senior project films. • “Cataloochee,” 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, St. David’s Episcopal Church, Cullowhee. • New Movie based on Shannon Hale novel about a woman obsessed with Jane Austen novel, 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, Macon County Public Library Meeting Room. Rated PG-13. • Musical romantic comedy featuring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, Meeting Room, Macon County Public Library.
Outdoors OUTINGS, HIKES & FIELDTRIPS • Rockin’ Naturalist Guided Hikes, 11 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, Aug. 16, 23 and 30, Chimney Rock State Park. chimneyrockpark.com.
• Franklin Bird Club bird walk, 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13, Greenway. Meet at Salali Lane. 524.5234.
• “Walking the Big Butt to Point Misery” hike with Blue Ridge Parkway rangers, 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15. Meet at the Walker Knob Overlook at Milepost 359.8. 298.5330, ext. 304. • Wild Mushroom Walks, 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15 and 19, Chimney Rock State Park. Meet at Grady’s Den. http://chimneyrockpark.com/events/month. • NC Trail Maintenance, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Shortoff Trail, Linville Gorge Wilderness. Meet at Table Rock picnic area, Grandfather District, Pisgah National Forest. www.wilderness.org. • Carolina Mountain Club Hike, 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Art Loeb, Grassy Cove Ridge to Bridges Camp. Brenda Worley, 684.8656, clworley@bellsouth.net, www.carolinamountainclub.org. • Carolina Mountain Club Hike, 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, Ivestor Gap, Blueberry Hike. Limited to 10 hikers. Reservations at Bonnie Allen, 645.0357; cell, 707.6115, bonnie@allencats.com. • Franklin Bird Club meeting, 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. “Bird-friendly Gardening” by Kim Brand, communities project coordinator, Audubon North Carolina. 524.5234. • Franklin Bird Club bird walk, 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, along the Greenway. Meet at the Macon County Public Library. 524.5234. • Biodiversity hike to Mount Le Conte, Aug. 23-24. Meals, programming, guided hike, $275 per person. Presented by Discover Life in America, coordinator of
PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS • Southern Appalachian Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society’s 28th annual Conservation and Sportsmen’s Banquet, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Crest Center & Pavillion, 22 Celebration Place, Asheville. Proceeds will be used to enhance habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other forest wildlife. Individual membership and dinner tickets are $70. Membership and spouse package for $95 (includes 2 dinners), and a junior membership and dinner ticket is $45 for those 17 and under. Banquet, Conservation, Sustaining and Gold sponsorship packages are also available. Dale Pennell, 231.7050. • Map and Compass Navigation Basics, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, REI Asheville. $30 REI members, $50 non-members. Registration required, www.rei.com/event/43656/session/96933. • Franklin Bird Club meeting, “Bird-Friendly Gardening: Your Yard Matters!” 7 p.m. Aug. 18, Macon County Public Library. Kim Brand, Bird-Friendly Communities Project Coordinator for Audubon NC, will present the program. 524.5234. • Tuckasegee Nature Series “The Mountains-to-Sea Trail—1,000 Miles Across NC, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, Jackson County Public Library’s Community Room, 310 Keener St. Sylva. 524.2711 or www.ltlt.org.
WATER SPORTS • Paddle tour of Lake Logan, 9:45 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Lake Logan. Sponsored by Haywood Waterways Association, Lake Logan Episcopal Conference Center, and Waynesville Recreation Center. Part of Haywood
Waterways “Get to Know Your Watershed.” Limited space. Register by Friday, Aug. 22 to Christine O’Brien at christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 476.4667.
COMPETITIVE EDGE • Register now for the Blue Ridge Breakaway, Aug. 16, and save $10 on registration fee. Enjoy scenic and challenging rides through areas near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Pisgah National Forest. Choose from four rides: Hawk (105.8miles), Trout (75 miles), Panther (50.8 miles), and Rabbit (26.5). Register at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp. • Relay for Life 5k, 8 a.m. registration, 9:15 a.m. race, Saturday, Aug. 16, Tassee Shelter, 877 Ulco Drive on the Greenway, Franklin. Hosted by Franklin First Citizens Bank. Forms at First Citizens Bank, WNC Sportszone, or Franklin Fitness Center. Shannon McConnell, 524.2164. • Main Street Mile, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, downtown Waynesville. Post-race party featuring music of Fireball Coma, kids’ activities, food and local craft beer. Proceeds to Shriners Hospitals for Children. Details and registration, www.communityfitnessevents.com. • Maggie Valley Moonlight Run, 7:30 p.m. new Sunset Fun Run, 8:30 p.m. traditional 8K, Saturday, Aug. 23, Maggie Valley. www.gloryhoundevents.com/maggievalley-moonlight-run. • Richard’s Run, 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, Catalooche Ranch, Maggie Valley. 5K mountain trail run crossing the mile-high ranch grounds honors Cataloochee Ranch founders Mr. Tom and Miss Judy Alexandar’s grandson, Richard Coker, who lost his battle with brain cancer in 2013. $25 entry fee. www.Richardsrun.org. • Twilight Rock n Roll 5K, 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23,
Kelsey Hutchison Park, Highlands. Registration and check-in on race day starts at 4PM. Cost is $30; $35 race day. Proceeds to benefit Highlands School running track. Michael Johnson, 526.4114 or Derek Taylor, 526.3571. www.twilightrocknroll5k.com.
FARM & GARDEN • Anyone planning to display chickens or birds at the 2014 Haywood County Fair should call Erin Freeman, NCSU, at 456.3575, no later than Aug. 15. All chickens and birds on display at the Haywood County Fair will be inspected and tested by state veterinarian Ryan Higgins from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the Haywood County Fairgrounds. The fair runs from Aug. 19-24. • Jackson County Farmers Market annual Taste of the Market, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Aug. 16, Bridge Park, Sylva. Tomato tasting contest, vendor samples and recipes. www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org. • Macon County Poultry Club monthly meeting, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, Macon County Cooperative Extension Center, 193 Thomas Heights Road. 524.2058. • Haywood County Fair Horse Show, 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, Haywood County Fairgrounds. Registration at 6:30 p.m. $10 to register, winner takes the pot. Janet Leatherwood, 646.9432 or visit www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org.
FARMERS & TAILGATE MARKETS Haywood County Canton Farmers Market and Heritage Crafts 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday through Oct. 31, municipal parking lot of downtown Canton. Robin Smith, 734.9071 or Michaelrobin07@yahoo.com.
August 13-19, 2014
We’re having fun — Come join us!
RECREATION CENTER 550 Vance St. • Waynesville • 828.456.2030
Post Race Party featuring the music of Fireball Coma, Kids’ activities, food, and local craft beer.
Smoky Mountain News
SWIM LESSONS AVAILABLE—CALL FOR DETAILS
WAYNESVILLE
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• Blue Ridge Parkway After Hours Hike “Water Knows No Boundaries, “with Parkway rangers, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14. Meet at Milepost 391, two miles south of Hendersonville Road. Learn about the Parkway’s water resources. 298.5330, ext. 304.
the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Reservations at Todd at todd@dlia.org or 865.430.4757.
MAKE SURE TO HANG OUT AFTER FOR THE BLOCK PARTY FOLLOWING THE RUN
www.townofwaynesville.org 41
Hiring Bonuses available. Call Nick Vollmer today
828.452.0010 ANNOUNCEMENTS
MarketPlace information:
SHADY GROVE UMC PRESENTS Christmas in August - Craft Fair & Bake Sale. Aug. 23. Handcrafted gifts, Christmas ornaments, carved bears, lots homemade goodies, pickles, jams & jellies; jewelry, etc. Light lunch 11 - 1pm 3570 Jonathan Valley Rd. (Hwy 276), Waynesville, NC.
The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.
DAYCO PICNIC For all former employees and spouses. Time: 11:00 a.m. til 3:00 p.m., Sat. August 23. Located at Allen’s Creek Park. Drinks will be furnished. Bring covered dish or come by and fellowship and see how we’ve matured. See you there!
Rates: n Free — Residential yard sale ads, lost or found pet ads. n Free — Non-business items that sell for less than $150. n $12 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2. n $12 — If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type. n $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad. n $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold. n $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words. n All classified ads must be pre-paid.
- YARD SALE 10 Commerce St., Waynesville Fri. & Sat.,10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Antiques, Housewares, Furniture Too Much to List, Something for Everyone! Rain or Shine!
Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 | classads@smokymountainnews.com
ARTS & CRAFTS ALLISON CREEK Iron Works & Woodworking. Crafting custom metal & woodwork in rustic, country & lodge designs with reclaimed woods! Design & consultation, Barry Downs 828.524.5763, Franklin NC
WAYNESVILLE TIRE, COO
INC.
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Serving Haywood, Jackson & Surrounding Counties
AUCTION
Offering:
MAJOR-BRAND TIRES FOR CARS, LIGHT & MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCKS, AND FARM TIRES.
Service truck available for on-site repairs LEE & PATTY ENSLEY, OWNERS
MON-FRI 7:30-5:00 • WAYNESVILLE PLAZA
828-456-5387
253-87
HARPER’S AUCTION COMPANY Summer is Here! Need some Extra Cash? How about an Auction? Estates, Collectibles, Auto, ATV’s, Antiques, Boats, Lawn Equipment, Household Goods and Lots More.. Give us a Call, 828.369.6999, harpersauctioncompany.com Debra Harper NCAL# 9659 NCFL# 9671 47 Macon Center Dr. Franklin, North Carolina. MACHINE SHOP AUCTION Saturday, August 16 @ 10am. 13 North Congress St. York, SC. Due to Owner's Death, Complete Liquidation Vertical Mills, Grinders, Lathes, Shop Tooling, more. 704.791.8825. ncaf5479. www.ClassicAuctions.com
AUCTION ABSOLUTE AUCTION 300 acre Alamance County (Gibsonville), NC Farm - August 29th at 5:30 pm. This is a beautiful working farm! There is a perfect combination of hay fields, crop land, grazing land and wooded forest. 2 homes, large barn, ponds, springs and creeks, offered in 12 tracts. Perfect for mini farms, estate properties or purchase it all! Easy commute to Greensboro, Burlington, Winston Salem, PTI Airport and minutes from Elon University. Property address 5205 NC Highway 87 North, Gibsonville, NC 24249. Auction will be held at Altamahaw Ossipee Fire Department. View land anytime at your leisure auctioneers will be on-site Sunday, August 10; Saturday, August 16; and Sunday, August 24 from 1-5 pm. The houses and barns will be open and you can ask questions about the land and auction process. See woltz.com for more information with pictures, surveys, etc. Call Woltz & Associates, Inc. (NCAL#7560), Real Estate Brokers & Auctioneers, 800.551.3588. AUCTION Huge Gun & Civil War Memorabilia Collection. Tuesday, August 19, 10:30am. Live & Online. 48 Progressive Parkway, Angier, NC. Johnson Properties. 919.639.2231. www.johnsonproperties.com NCAL7340 ONLINE ONLY AUCTION, 2009 Allegiance 42G RV, 1957 Ford Thunderbird, 2008 Montego Bay K2 Camper, 2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 & Donzi Boat, Rockingham, NC, 8/13 at 8am to 8/20 at 3pm, 800.997.2248. NCAL3936. www.ironhorseauction.com REAL ESTATE AUCTION Yadkin County, NC-Hwy 67 Jonesville-Boonville, 59+/- Acres Divided, 3-Bedroom Country Home with Barn, workshop & outbuildings. Excellent Hunting Land, Saturday, August 23rd, 10:00AM. www.HallAuctionCo.com. 336.835.7653. NCAL#4703
BUILDING MATERIALS HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.
CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING ALL THINGS BASEMENTY! Basement Systems Inc. Call us for all of your basement needs! Waterproofing, Finishing, Structural Repairs, Humidity and Mold Control. FREE ESTIMATES! Call 1.800.698.9217 DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions. Owner/Builder: Dave Donaldson. Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316 SULLIVAN HARDWOOD FLOORS Installation- Finish - Refinish 828.399.1847.
PAINTING JAMISON CUSTOM PAINTING & PRESSURE WASHING Interior, exterior, all your pressure washing needs and more. Specialize in Removal of Carpenter Bees - Cedar or Log Homes or Painted or Siding! Call or Text Now for a Free Estimate at 828.508.9727
AUTO PARTS BLOWN HEAD GASKET Cracked Heads/Block. State of the art 2-part Carbon Composite Repair! All Vehicles Foreign or Domestic including Northstars! 100% guaranteed. Call Now: 1.866.780.9038 SAPA DDI BUMPERS ETC. Quality on the Spot Repair & Painting. Don Hendershot 858.646.0871 cell 828.452.4569 office.
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CARS -
DONATE YOUR CAR, Truck or Boat to Heritage for the Blind. Free 3 Day Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing, All Paperwork Taken Care Of. 800.337.9038.
CAMPERS 25’ TRAVEL TRAILER - EXCELLENT With new awning and carpet, central heating and cooling. Queen bedroom. Everything in top condition. Sleeps 6. $9,400, Call 813.753.9626.
MOTORCYCLES ‘02 YAMAHA V-STAR 650 Vance & Hines Pipes, Saddle Bags. 12k Miles & Mechanic Owned! Like to Trade for a small pickup or boat. For more information call 828.246.0480.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES GREAT MONEY FROM HOME With Our Free Mailer Program. Live Operators On Duty Now! 1.800.707.1810 EXT 901 or visit WWW.PACIFICBROCHURES.COM SAPA
AIRLINE CAREERS BEGIN HERE Get FAA Approved Maintenance Training Financial Aid For Qualified Students. Job Placement Assistance. Call Aviation Institute Of Maintenance 1.866.724.5403 WWW.FIXJETS.COM. SAPA
AVERITT EXPRESS New Pay Increase For Regional Drivers! 40 to 46 CPM + Fuel Bonus! Also, Post-Training Pay Increase for Students! (Depending on Domicile) Get Home EVERY Week + Excellent Benefits. CDL-A req. 888.602.7440 Apply @ AverittCareers.com Equal Opportunity Employer - Females, minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
• ROOM ATTENDANTS (EXPERIENCE PREFERRED)
• JANITORIAL MUST PASS CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK AND DRUG SCREEN
Apply online at: https://application.hssstaffing.com
CALL FOR APPOINTMENT AT 828.274.4622 OR 828.390.7178 222 Wolfetown Road, Cherokee, NC 28719 BECOME A DIETARY MANAGER (Average annual salary $45,423) in eight months in online program offered by Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton. Details www.tcatelizabethton.edu, 1.888.986.2368 or email patricia.roark@tcatelizabethton. edu. DRIVERS: Money & Miles...New Excellent Pay Package. 100% Hands OFF Freight + E-Logs. Great Home Time/ Monthly Bonus. 1yr OTR Exp. No Hazmat. 877.704.3773. GORDON TRUCKING CDL-A Truck Drivers Up to $5,000 Sign-On Bonus & $0.56 CPM! Solo & Teams. Full Benefits. Excellent Hometime. No Northeast. EOE. Call 7 days/wk! 866.646.1969. GordonTrucking.com HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS HOSPITAL Positions now available: Emergency Room Registered Nurses, Clinical Coordinator, Certified Nursing Assistant, Receptionist, Dietary Aide and Maintemance Mechanic. Benefits available the first of the month following 60 days of full-time employment. PreEmployment screening required. Call Human Resources. 828.526.1376, or apply online at: www.highlandscashiershospital. org OWN YOUR OWN TRUCK! Best Lease Purchase Deal in the Country! *You can earn over $150,000 per year. *No Credit Check. *Late-model Freightliner Columbia. *Low Truck Payment. Call 866.612.2218 to talk to a recruiter. Apply Now Online @ www.joincrst.com. NEED MEDICAL BILLLING TRAINEES Doctors & Hospitals need Medical Office Staff! No Experienced Needed! Online Training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed. Careertechnical.edu/nc. 1.888.512.7122
HEAD START/NC PRE-K TEACHER Haywood County –Two PositionsMust have a Birth –K with teaching license. This position requires computer skills, the ability to work with diverse populations/community partners, 2 yrs. experience in Pre-K classroom, good judgment/problem solving skills, lead role in classroom and time management skills. Candidates will be responsible for classroom/paperwork. This is a 10 month position with full time benefits that includes health, dental, vision, short term/long term disability, and life insurance and retirement. HS LEAD TEACHER- Haywood County- This position requires a BK /BS degree in Early Childhood Education or related field, good judgment/problem, solving skills, 2 yrs. experience and the ability to work well with families of diverse population. Basic computer skills are helpful. This is a 10 month position with benefits that includes 12 paid holidays, retirement, health, dental, vision, short term/long term disability insurance. EARLY HEAD START TEACHER Jackson County- Must have an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, must also have the ability to work well with families and co-workers, 2 yrs. experience working with Birth-3 yrs. and have good judgment/problem solving skills. Prefer someone with Infant/Toddler CDA credentials and basis computer skills. This is an 11 month position with benefits. HEAD START- PRE-SCHOOL ASSISTANT TEACHER- Jackson County-Two Positions- Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education is required for this position, must also have the ability to assume responsibilities of the classroom when teacher is absent, work well with parents, community partners and coworkers, and have good judgment/problem solving skills. Basic computer skills required. Two years classroom experience preferred. This is a ten month position with benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd, Waynesville, NC 28786 or 25 Schulman St, Sylva, NC 28779 or you may go to our website www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application.
FINANCIAL
FURNITURE
BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company. SAPA
COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778. HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price! 533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240
HVAC TECHNICIANS. 4 Week Accelerated Hands On Training Program. We Offer 6 National Certifications and Lifetime Job Placement Assistance. VA Benefits Eligible! 1.877.994.9904 NEW PAY-FOR-EXPERIENCE Program pays up to $0.41/mile. Class A Professional Drivers. Call 866.291.2631 for more details or visit SuperServiceLLC.com
FINANCIAL DELETE BAD CREDIT In Just 30-day! Raise your credit score fast! Results Guaranteed! Get the credit score you deserve by calling us today 1.855.831.9712 INJURED? IN A LAWSUIT? Need Cash Now? We Can Help! No Monthly Payments to Make. No Credit Check. Fast Service and Low Rates. Call Now 1.866.386.3692. www.lawcapital.com (Not available in NC, CO, MD & TN) SAPA
PETEY LOOKS LIKE HE COULD BE A RUSSIAN BLUE KITTYY, JUST ADORABLE WITH IS SOLID GREY COAT. HE WAS A LITTLE SHY AT FIRST BUT HAS BLOSSOMED IN HIS FOSTER HOME.
ELIZABETH A GORGEOUS BLACK LABRADOR RETRIEVER ABOUT SIX YEARS OLD. SHE IS LAID BACK AND EASY GOING, FRIENDLY TO EVERYONE, AND A WONDERFUL FAMILY COMPANION DOG.
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ATTENTION: Drivers Be a Name, Not a Number. $$$ Up to 50 cpm Plus Bonuses $$$ 401k + Family Friendly. CDL-A Req. 877.258.8782. www.ad-drivers.com
$10/Hour FULL TIME POSITIONS
MATURE, SELF-MOTIVATED HANDYMan Needed. Gardening, Painting, Fencing & Misc. Must have license and reliable transportation. Min. 30hr/wk, full-time for the right person. For more information call 828.665.4445 or email to: lewisandlewis14@att.net
EMPLOYMENT WANT A CAREER Operating Heavy Equipment? Bulldozers, Backhoes, Excavators. "Hands On Training" & Certifications Offered. National Average 1822 Hourly! Lifetime Job Placement Assistance. VA Benefits Eligible! 1.866.362.6497
August 13-19, 2014
EMPLOYMENT $1,000 WEEKLY!! Mailing Brochures From Home. Helping home workers since 2001. Genuine Opportunity. NO Experience Required. Start Immediately. www.MailingMembers.com SAPA
NOW HIRING IN CHEROKEE, NC
EMPLOYMENT
WNC MarketPlace
TOP CASH FOR CARS, Call Now For An Instant Offer. Top Dollar Paid, Any Car/Truck, Any Condition. Running or Not. Free Pick-up/Tow. 1.800.761.9396 SAPA
EMPLOYMENT
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WNC MarketPlace
LAWN & GARDEN
REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT
HEMLOCK HEALERS, INC. Dedicated to Saving Our Hemlocks. Owner/Operator Frank Varvoutis, NC Pesticide Applicator’s License #22864. 48 Spruce St. Maggie Valley, NC 828.734.7819 828.926.7883, Email: hemlockhealers@yahoo.com
LEASE TO OWN 1/2 Acre Lots with Mobile Homes & Empty 1/2 Acre + Lots! Located Next to Cherokee Indian Reservation, 2.5 Miles from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. For More Information Please Call 828.506.0578
PETS
ABSOLUTE AUCTION 18 Properties - Houses - Duplexes Lots. Scotland County- Salesite: Champs Restaurant, Laurinburg, NC. Saturday August 16, 11am. Damon Shortt Real Estate & Auction Group. 877.669.4005. NCAL7358 www.damonshorttproperties.com
HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329
ON-SITE ESTATE AUCTION, Brevard, NC! Aug 16, 10am Preview Fri and Sat. Shelley's Auction (NCAL 6131) 429 N. Main St., Hendersonville, NC. J. Humphrey (NCAL6556) www.shelleysauction.com 828.698.8485.
Prevent Unwanted Litters! The Heat Is On! Spay/Neuter For Haywood Pets As Low As $10. Operation Pit is in Effect! Free Spay/Neuter, Microchip & Vaccines For Haywood Pitbull Types & Mixes!
BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor shamrock13@charter.net McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.
Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 12 Noon - 6 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville, NC.
www.smokymountainnews.com
August 13-19, 2014
RIVER PARK APARTMENTS 93 Wind Crest Ridge in Dillsboro. Social community designed for the Elderly (62 or older) or persons with disabilities, has regularly scheduled, varied activities. Energy efficient, affordable 1 BR apts. AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY! Rental Assistance Available. Accessible units designed for persons with disabilities subject to availability. $25 application fee; credit/criminal required. Call site for information 828.631.0124. Office hours are M-Th 1-3 pm or by appointment. Equal Housing Opportunity. This institution is professionally managed by Partnership Property Management, an equal opportunity provider, and employer.
REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. REAL ESTATE AUCTION Yadkin County, NC-Hwy 67 Jonesville-Boonville, 59+/- Acres Divided, 3-Bedroom Country Home with Barn, workshop & outbuildings. Excellent Hunting Land, Saturday, August 23rd, 10:00AM. www.HallAuctionCo.com. 336.835.7653. NCAL#4703
AUCTION Elk Creek, VA Lodge with 82.7± Acres Offered in 4-Tracts. Sept. 6, 12 Noon. Previews: August 16, 2324 12 Noon-2pm. AtlanticCoastAuctions.com UC-Atlantic Coast Auction & Realty VAAF#795 & UC-Collins and Associates. 540.586.0044 MULTI-PROPERTY AUCTION ONLINE- NC, VA & WV Residential Lots, Home & Boat Slips. Jax Auctioneers, d/b/a Stephen Jax & Associates NC:8879,7103, Broker,178605 VA:2907002985 WV:839, Broker-26633 www.StephenJax.com. 888.237.4252.
HOMES FOR SALE - HORSE PROPERTY Cullowhee, 3/BR 2/BA house and 3 stall center aisle barn with tack room. 6.39+/- acres. Upgraded construction. Open living /dining. Quartz counter kitchen, Master en suite custom bath, shower. Laundry/mud room. Screened back porch. Fenced pasture. Large attached double carport, 8 minutes to WCU. State maintained road. $329,000. 828.293.1064
NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400 Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available
OFFICE HOURS: Tues. & Wed. 10:00am - 5:00pm & Thurs. 10:00am- 12:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779
Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.725.2962 Equal Housing Opportunity
Pet Adoption LINDSEY - A female, 2 1/2 – 3 month old Terrier mix. Will probably be 25-30 lbs. as an adult. She is black and white with a Terrier-like coat. She is very friendly and will make a great pet. Call 877.273.5262. STELLAR - A female, Plott mix. She is about 2 years old, crate trained, 35 lbs. Has recovered from a gunshot wound. 631.1984 or 506.6311. BEYONCE - A cute, active, female Jack Russell mix. She is black and white, 2-3 months old. Call 1.877.273.5262. LIL’ BIT - A mixed, brindle Hound/Boxer. He is 7-9 months old, weighs 29 lbs. He is mostly housebroken and is dog door trained. Call 507.3248. LOOMIS - A 3 year old male terrier mix. He is black with
some white and brown. He weighs 24 lbs. He is energetic and likes to play. He is also affectionate and likes to be petted. He might do best in a home where he is the only dog. 586.5186 ARF’S NEXT LOW-COST dog and cat spay/neuter trip is in September 8th. Register in advance at ARF’s adoption site in Sylva 1-3 on Saturdays. Spaces are limited, so don’t wait until the last minute to register. You should not bring your animal to registration. Do bring address documentation and income documentation if you wish to apply for free Cullowhee dog or Sylva cat spay/neuters or other lowincome discounts. Call for more 1.877.273.5262.
ARF (HUMANE SOCIETY OF JACKSON COUNTY) Holds rescued pet adoptions Saturdays from 1:00 - 3:00 (weather permitting) at 50 Railroad Avenue in Sylva. Animals are spayed/neutered and current on shots. Most cats $60, most dogs $70. Preview available pets at www.a-r-f.org, or call foster home. DIAMOND - Pit Bull Terrier Mix dog – brown/brindle & white, I am about 3 years old and I’m a playful, outgoing girl. I really love getting treats and can be a bit protective of them, but this also makes me very trainable and I already have a very nice “sit” mastered. Adoption fees vary; if you’re interested in me, contact adoptions@ashevillehumane.org. CLYDE - Boxer Mix dog – tan & white, I’m about 2 years old, and I’m a 62-pound boy who was brought to AHS as a stray. I’m a little shy at first, but quickly warm us and reveal a very friendly, happy boy who is just
looking for a home to call my own! Adoption fees vary; if you’re interested in me, please contact adoptions@ashevillehumane.org. INDY - Domestic Shorthair cat – black & white, I am about 5 years old, and was surrendered to AHS when my owner had to move. I’m a very well mannered cat, and I’m calm and mellow. I like to hang around the household activity and just watch what's going on, but I do enjoy attention and will curl up beside you to get whatever petting you give me. I get along fine with other cats. Adoption fees vary; if you’re interested in me, please contact adoptions@ashevillehumane.org.
ASHEVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY 828.761.2001, 14 Forever Friend Lane, Asheville, NC 28806 We’re located behind Deal Motorcars, off Brevard & Pond Rd.
252-38
Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’
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$
20’x20’
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ONE MONTH
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828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828 44
REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT
Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction
Puzzles can be found on page 46. These are only the answers.
COMM. PROP. FOR SALE
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LEARN GUITAR & BANJO With Leigh Hilger. Many guitar styles. Clawhammer banjo. All skill levels welcome. Fun, relaxed teaching style for kids & adults. Located near Waynesville Library. 828.456.4435
FOR SALE 1 MAUSOLEUM CRYPT Inside Chapel on Floor Level. Located at Garrett Hillcrest. $3,100. Call for more information 828.452.2729. CHAMPION SUPPLY Janitorial supplies. Professional cleaning products, vacuums, janitorial paper products, swimming pool chemicals, environmentally friendly chemicals, indoor & outdoor light bulbs, odor elimination products, equipment repair including household vacuums. Free delivery across WNC. www.championsupply.com 800.222.0581, 828.225.1075. ENJOY 100 PERCENT Guaranteed, delivered?to-the-door Omaha Steaks! SAVE 74 percent PLUS 4 FREE Burgers - The Family Value Combo - ONLY $39.99. ORDER Today 1.800.715.2010 Use code 48829AFK or www.OmahaSteaks.com/mbfvc46 SAPA
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ENTERTAINMENT
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253-81
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Your Local Big Green Egg Dealer
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Haywood County Real Estate Agents
Mieko
Thomson
August 13-19, 2014
Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x10â&#x20AC;&#x2122; units for $55, 20â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x20â&#x20AC;&#x2122; units for $160. Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.
MUSIC LESSONS
WNC MarketPlace
APARTMENT COMPLEX FOR SALE 14 - 2/BR Units. Excellent Rental History. Sylva Area. Call Broker, Robert A. Kent, NC Broker Lic. #274102, The R.A. Kent Co., LLC 828.550.1455
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253-67
ON DELLWOOD RD. (HWY. 19) AT 20 SWANGER LANE WAYNESVILLE/MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.8778
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253-65
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smokymountainnews.com
mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com www.ncsmokies.com www.ncsmokies.com
The Sellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Agency â&#x20AC;&#x201D; listwithphil.com â&#x20AC;˘ Phil Ferguson â&#x20AC;&#x201D; philferguson@bellsouth.net 253-66
TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com 45
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August 13-19, 2014
WNC MarketPlace
Super
46
CROSSWORD
64 Depressed, as the economy 66 Perfect places 71 Tortilla treats ACROSS 1 “Take a Chance on Me” 73 Severe pang 74 Divulge band 75 Lake fish 5 Like the reading on a 79 “- Place” (1990s thermometer show) 11 “Ad - per aspera” 81 - alla Scala (Milan (Kansas motto) opera house) 16 Org. that aids start82 Med student’s handsups on workplace 19 Cut calories 84 Kind of fruit pie 20 Float event 88 “From the beginning,” 21 2007 horror film in music sequel 89 Jonathan Swift, e.g. 22 Abbr. ending a math 91 Obituary info proof 23 Surgical cleaning pad 92 Actor - Zimbalist Jr. 95 - de plume (literary 25 Near aliases) 26 Web site ID 96 Parka, e.g. 27 Uranus, e.g. 100 Totally docile 28 Meditate over 30 Greek tycoon Onassis 104 Pyromaniac 105 Hot tub site 31 Track official 32 Prized seafood catch 106 Pop singer Belinda 36 Bird feed bit 107 Regal home 37 Tool storage building 108 She-pig 38 “There’s no - sight” 109 Flip - (decide by 39 Land in le Pacifique chance) 40 Person from Madrid, 110 Write in any of this say puzzle’s eight theme 42 How soup or soda is answers? often sold 114 Before, in verse 45 Test ban topic 115 Online voice calling 49 Behaving brainlessly service 53 “V.I.P.” star Anderson 116 Region of Spain 54 Everybody in the 117 Pill bottle specificagroup, in the South tion 56 Bic Clic 118 Tetley drink 57 Record over 119 Curvy letters 58 Painter Picasso 120 “Man alive!” 61 Bartók and Fleck 121 Part of BFA 63 Kitchen plastic wrap ARRIVING AT THE POINT
DOWN 1 Evolves, say 2 Jazz singer Holiday 3 Changed into 4 Paid the penalty (for) 5 Glimpse 6 Ex-Oriole Ripken 7 - Antiqua 8 Trial subject 9 John Quincy 10 Chastising person 11 Climb up 12 Tall, swift, slender dog 13 One of 10 that go down in a strike 14 Five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre 15 Vindicating 16 Like some diamonds and jaws 17 Catcher Yogi 18 Do improv 24 The woman 29 Flip-flop’s kin 32 Pursuer of Moby Dick 33 Jay who jests 34 Take - view of 35 Armor- - (some naval vessels) 37 Org. that protects pets 40 Speechless 41 Have - (make merry) 42 “To Live and Die -” (1985 film) 43 Pal, in Nice 44 “The Voice” network 45 Tarzan’s pals 46 Actress Reid 47 Actor Epps 48 Small plateau 50 Of computers 51 1990s cardio fad 52 “- Home for
Christmas” 55 Sacks in war 58 “Dawson’s Creek” role 59 Ring-shaped island 60 Iraqi seaport 62 Single out 65 Kind of flour 67 Treasured 68 “-, Brute!” 69 Standard 70 High-hatter 72 Stuff in guns 75 Ill-behaved 76 Actress - Alicia 77 Figure on a $1 coin 78 Prop’s place 80 Preoccupy 81 Harper of “Ishtar” 83 Unsolved crime 85 With 96-Down, rum cocktail 86 Grads’ dance 87 Tree “arm” 90 Blend 92 Jetson boy and others 93 Mexico’s Calderón 94 Actress Ella 96 See 85-Down 97 Gifted talker 98 Approach and confront 99 City of ancient Egypt 100 “Plus” item 101 Bit of pollen 102 Carpet nails 103 Distrustful 104 Scottish cap 107 Little horse 111 Asian “way” 112 E-I link 113 CD- - drive
answers on page 46
SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION AIRLINE JOBS BEGIN HERE Get trained as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance. 877.300.9494. EARN YOUR High School Diploma at home in a few short weeks. Work at your own pace. First Coast Academy. Nationally accredited. Call for free brochure. 1.800.658.1180, extension 82. www.fcahighschool.org SAPA GAIN THE SKILLS You need to earn $30,000$50,000/yr in a real career for as little as $180! Train at home through a NC community college, save thousands on tuition, and gain the skills to improve your life. Visit CareerStep.com/NorthCarolina today. MONEY FOR SCHOOL Potentially get full tuition & great career with U.S. Navy. Paid training, medical/dental, vacation. HS grads ages 17-34. Call Mon-Fri 800.662.7419 BECOME A DIETARY MANAGER (Average annual salary $45,423) in eight months in online program offered by Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton. Details www.tcatelizabethton.edu, 1.888.986.2368 or email patricia.roark@tcatelizabethton. edu.
SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION NEED MEDICAL BILLLING TRAINEES Doctors & Hospitals need Medical Office Staff! No Experienced Needed! Online Training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed. Careertechnical.edu/nc. 1.888.512.7122 SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE For military and recent H.S. grads to attend FAA approved aviation maintenance program in Norfolk, VA. Apply now by calling AIM 877.205.1162.
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SERVICES KP PAVING Over 50 Years Experience. Specialize in BST (Tar & Chat) 40% Cheaper than Asphalt. We also do Grading, Blacktop Seal Coating, Private Driveways & Roadways. Free Estimates at 828.246.0510 or 828.400.5489 MEDICAL GUARDIAN Top-rated medical alarm and 24/7 medical alert monitoring. For a limited time, get free equipment, no activation fees, no commitment, a 2nd waterproof alert button for free and more - only $29.95 per month. 800.615.3868 DISH TV RETAILER. Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 1.800.405.5081 BUNDLE & SAVE On your TV, Internet, Phone!!! Call Bundle Deals NOW. Compare all companies, Packages and Prices! Call 1.855.419.5096 TODAY. SAPA
YARD SALES - YARD SALE 10 Commerce St., Waynesville Fri. & Sat.,10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Antiques, Housewares, Furniture Too Much to List, Something for Everyone! Rain or Shine!
WEEKLY SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine. Answers on Page 46
The Golden Mouse: A Children’s Poem for Adults and oak crisscrossed with strands of grapevine. From the treetops on the ridge far above the hollow a scarlet tanager sang its raspy song.
“I’m told you have come a long ways … crossing seven mountains and seven rivers,” said a woman who continued to braid the hair of a girl who looked like her daughter. “I need to ask why you bother to visit this village so far off the main-traveled way.”
“Welcome to the realm of the golden mouse,” said an old man as he emerged from woodland shadows into the light near the spring. The black-winged firebird and the mouse that lives in the trees are good friends. Few have seen him. Most have no idea that he even exists. But no one who has caught even a fleeting glimpse has ever denied he’s one of the most beautiful creatures on this earth.”
“Very well,” she said Columnist after hearing his reply. “Come with us … there’s a small cove with a spring halfway up the mountain. No need to worry but try and enter into the right frame of mind. Along the way say the names of the mountains and rivers that you crossed.”
The old man paused to listen to the tanager and then began to whistle an almost perfect imitation that lured the bird into full view.
George Ellison
Editor’s note: George Ellison’s column this week is a sort of fable based on one of the seldom-seen (almost mythical) rodent species found in the Smokies region that climbs trees with acrobatic ease and builds platforms from twigs that it rests on while watching the world go by far below.
Privet overgrown with greenbrier and multiflora rose formed dense tangles that covered the forest floor beneath a stand of hickory
BACK THEN
“I never heard the golden mouse sing,” he said. “He can’t be so easily fooled as his black-winged friend. Look up above your head for a sunstruck patch of fur or bright eyes watching … always watching … from a cluster of rhododendron leaves or a platform of twigs
fastened with strips of bark. From those vantage points he observes the world as it passes by displaying its seductive glamour for all . . .” “Glamour?” the visitor interrupted but there was no reply and the old man’s voice continued as if he was talking to himself taking pleasure at this opportunity to recite a favorite story: “When startled he moves with arboreal grace using that long tail to maintain balance as he glides from vine to vine … a circus performer dancing on a high wire. I’ve never seen it but but there are those who swear that he can fly just like the black-winged firebird … which is why they’re such good friends. See if you can find him. That’s why you came.” The visitor’s eyes moved along each branch of each tree that rose above the thicket of greenbrier and honeysuckle until after a long
while he realized he was holding his breath and exhaled. Dark eyes that seemed to be watching turned out to be mottled patterns of bark and lichens. There was movement when a breeze passed through the leaves. The insistent nasal “yank-yank-yank” calls of a nuthatch broke his concentration. When he turned around the old man and the girl were gone. The woman smiled but was silent until they were back in the village saying goodbye: “Ustali meant the surface of things as they appear to be but aren’t … like the inverse reflection of a face in a mirror. Those who see the golden mouse can pierce the world of glamour and pass through the illusory surface into the terrane at the heart of things. That’s what the old people have always believed. If you can’t see him just yet don’t worry. Go home and be true to the dreams of your youth. Each day recite the mountains and rivers of your homeland. Come back whenever you are ready and we’ll try again. Like everything else it’s just a matter of time so long as you keep trying.” George Ellison can be contacted at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 28713, or at info@georgeellison.com. 253-89
August 13-19, 2014
Opelny Dai
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Smoky Mountain News August 13-19, 2014