Smoky Mountain News | August 19, 2020 by Smoky Mountain News

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August 19-25, 2020 Vol. 22 Iss. 12

Final public input sought on Waynesvilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future Page 18 Jackson author David Joy releases latest novel Page 24

CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: The 19th amendment’s ratification in 1920 meant that, according to the U.S. Constitution, all citizens 21 or older — regardless of race or gender — had the right to vote for their leaders. But in practice, such as not the case at all. Racism and the desire of those who had political power to retain that power meant that it would be decades before all North Carolina residents were granted that vital right. (Page 6) An illustration in the Sept. 28, 1867, issue of Harpers Weekly depicts a crowd of mostly Black men waiting to register to vote in Asheville. Image from the North Carolina County Photographic Collection #P0001, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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News New billboards oppose Confederate statue ..............................................................4 Fall sports postponed at WCU, Southern Conference ..........................................5 Republicans campaign on support for law enforcement ........................................9 Haywood mourns COVID-19 losses ..........................................................................10 Labor Day flyover to replace Canton parade ..........................................................13 Cawthorn responds to sexual assault allegations ..................................................14 DA will not press charges in Sylva Zoom bomb ....................................................16 Final public input sought on Waynesville’s future ..................................................18 Education News ................................................................................................................21

Opinion

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Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Travis Bumgardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . travis@smokymountainnews.com Jessica Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessica.m@smokymountainnews.com Susanna Shetley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Hylah Birenbaum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smokymountainnews.com Sophia Burleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sophia.b@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jessi Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessi@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Hannah McLeod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hannah@smokymountainnews.com Cory Vaillancourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cory@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), George Ellison (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Susanna Shetley (writing) Boyd Allsbrook (writing), Andrew Dundas (writing)

Cawthorn’s claims about Davis are ridiculous ........................................................22

A&E Jackson author David Joy releases latest novel ......................................................24

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New billboards oppose Confederate statue BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER pair of newly erected billboards along U.S. 441 in the Savannah area are calling attention to continued opposition to the Confederate soldier statue in Sylva. “The billboards are intended to bring attention to both the monument and the need for the community to address racism,” said a press release from Reconcile Sylva, the group that paid for the billboards. Jackson County commissioners voted 4-1 on Aug. 4 to keep the statue in place — with modifications to remove pro-Confederate words and imagery from the pedestal — but in a statement issued the night of the vote Reconcile Sylva promised, “This isn’t the beginning or the end.” The two-panel display consists of mostly white lettering on a black background. The first panel reads, “Dear Community, have you talked to your children about racism? Reconcile Sylva Now,” while the second says, “Black Lives Matter. Confederate Statues Don’t.” Reconcile Sylva has the space leased for one month thanks to a donation one of its members made to cover the $950 cost. Located next to A-1 Storage on U.S. 441, the billboards will be easily visible to anyone traveling between Sylva and Franklin, but Reconcile Sylva had originally planned to locate the display much closer to the Confederate statue in question — the group wanted to put the billboards up next to the American Legion Post 104 at Mark Watson Park, just west of the courthouse hill where the statue is located. “We weren’t able to go with our original plan because the county wouldn’t approve all of the artwork, so we actually ended up going with a more expensive billboard,” said Reconcile Sylva member Natalie Newman, adding that under the original plan the billboards would have stayed up for about four months.

August 19-25, 2020

COUNTY INVOLVEMENT

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The county’s part in the billboard issue was seemingly a surprise to everyone, including to County Manager Don Adams. When Newman initially approached him about the

the racism part? Just trying to understand,” Newman wrote. Adams then replied with an email that also copied Jackson County Commission Chairman Brian McMahan, Jeff Bryson of Allison, County Attorney Heather Baker and Reconcile Sylva member Suzanne Saucier. In that message, he specified that his original statement agreeing with Allison’s handling of the situation was based on looking at the two proposed billboards as a whole but that he sees nothing wrong with the second request. “There is nothing from Jackson County or our agreement with Allison Outdoor Advertising that would prevent the words “Dear Sylva, Have you talked to your child about racism?” from being put onto the billboard,” he wrote.

GETTING OUT OF THE BILLBOARD BUSINESS Commissioners discussed the issue during a work session held

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matter, he said, he was not even aware that the county had any involvement with the billboards in question. It turned out, however, that the county leases the space to Allison Outdoor Advertising under an agreement dated Feb. 2, 1976. The agreement was for an initial term of five years and had apparently continued on a year-toyear basis ever afterward, with Allison paying the county just $50 per year for the lease. The lease is one of two such agreements the county has with Allison. The other, newer agreement is for a billboard along U.S. 441 about 3 miles north of the The billboards went up Aug. 13 along space Reconcile Sylva U.S. 441 in the Savannah area of ended up leasing, on the property where the coun- Jackson County. Reconcile Sylva photo ty’s Emergency “At this time it seems that Allison Management Office is located. Allison pays Outdoor Advertising has appropriately manthe county $2,200 per year for that space. At issue was a provision continued in the aged the billboards,” Adams wrote. “The current agreement does not address a variance lease governing the downtown location. “Allison shall not allow third parties to process. Since the billboards have been use the billboard for political ads or issues, or appropriately managed in accordance with for promotion of subjects which are political- the agreement, I do not have an avenue to ly sensitive or which might tend to imply the proceed forward.” Newman said she was surprised by the County of Jackson has taken a position in regards to a political matter,” the provision response. “I assumed they would come back and reads. When Reconcile Sylva first approached say, fine.’ Our artwork is not vulgar. It is not a Allison about renting the space, the company political issue. It is a nonpartisan human referred to that provision and denied the issue,” she said. Newman then had a follow-up conversarequest. At that point, Newman reached out to Adams via email asking for the county to tion with Allison about whether Reconcile issue a variance and allow the ad, stating that Sylva could instead display only one billthe ad should be allowed as it does not make board, to read, “Dear Sylva, have you talked to your child about racism?” and emailed reference to “any political person or idea.” Adams wrote back that this was the first Adams again to ask what specific aspects of time such an issue had been brought to his the originally proposed language violated the attention, but as best he could tell, “your pro- lease agreement. “We kind of would like to understand posed artwork does address sensitive issues that our community is currently debating and what part of the artwork the county takes issue with. Is it the Confederate Statue? Is it takes a clear position regarding the statue.”

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the provision regulating the types of messages that can appear on the billboard, and to up the rental fee substantially from the $50 per year agreed to in 1976. However, other commissioners leaned toward terminating leases for both the American Legion and U.S. 441 locations altogether. “If we keep the lease in there, is the county more or less at risk for somebody bringing a lawsuit forward on the first amendment versus if the clause is not there?” asked Commissioner Ron Mau. “I think you’d run into issues either way,” said Baker. “So, what do we want to do?” asked McMahan. “If you leave it on county property, even if Allison’s is managing it, it’s still going to always be the perception of the county, and it’s going to be a reflection on the county,” said Commissioner Mickey Luker. “If it’s on our property, let’s just eliminate it.” McMahan then took a straw poll of the other commissioners, all of whom affirmed they’d like to see the billboards go. A vote during a regular meeting will be required to make an official decision. The lease agreement requires six months’ notice prior to termination.

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Tuesday, Aug. 11, with Adams saying at multiple points that the situation had made him extremely uncomfortable. “This is a horrible position for any government official to be put in because we’re talking about speech, and at no point was I going to be perceived as someone who denied someone’s ability to send out messages about talking to your family about racism,” he told the board. Baker told the board that case law backs up a government’s ability to restrict messages on billboards because in that situation the government is conducting commerce, not county business, so legally it is not a public forum. “However, as Don (Adams) mentioned, we don’t like being in the situation where it gets back to us to have to make the decision,” she said. “That’s very awkward and very uncomfortable even though it may be allowed.” Adams recommended that the board take one of two actions. Either it should update the lease so as to prevent county staff from being involved in further discussion about content, or it should get out of the billboard business altogether. McMahan initially said he’d prefer to renegotiate the lease with Allison to remove

PERMIT

August 19-25, 2020

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER estern Carolina University will postpone all fall sports this year following an Aug. 13 decision from the Southern Conference Council of Presidents to cancel conference competitions due to COVID-19. The decision affects football, volleyball, women’s soccer and cross-country for both men and women. The conference hopes to hold competitions for these fall sports in spring 2020. “This decision was made with extensive evaluation and conversation,” Southern Conference Commissioner Jim Schaus said in a statement. “I am greatly saddened to not be able to conduct our fall conference competition. We are still hopeful that we can have these sports successfully compete in the spring. We will continue to daily monitor the COVID-19 situation in order to make prudent and necessary decisions regarding athletic practice and competition in the future.” The decision to postpone comes after multiple meetings of the league’s athletics directors and Council of Presidents, which also expressed intentions to provide opportunities for student-athletes to compete in

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Fall sports postponed at WCU, Southern Conference

the winter and spring sports seasons if public health concerns can be alleviated. “With new information being provided nearly every day over the past several weeks, we wanted to be patient in our decisionmaking and give our student-athletes every opportunity to do what they love,” said WCU Director of Athletics Alex Gary. “At the end of the day, there were too many variables that could negatively affect the health and welfare of our student-athletes. Not playing a full fall sports season at this point may be the best way to remove many of those variables.” Despite precautions, coronavirus cases had been reported among WCU student athletes as early as July 22. Of 145 tests administered at that time, seven came back positive. WCU has 351 student-athletes, of whom nearly 200 play fall sports. All student-athletes will remain on scholarship and NCAA COVID-19 testing protocols will be strictly followed for any out-of-season practices that take place this semester. Student athletes will continue to have access to department facilities, locker rooms, athletic performance and sports medicine and student-athlete support service areas, with current guidelines followed such as daily screening to access the facilities. Plans for future competitions will be announced at a later date, as will information on an initiative aimed at protecting the student-athlete experience at WCU — including protocols for football season ticket holders regarding the postponement this fall and the anticipation of a spring season. “We appreciate the continued support and understanding of our fans and we look forward to responsibly resuming competition in collegiate athletics,” said Gary.

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Suffrage was slow for Black voters

The Andrews Colored/Negro School where Ann Miller Woodford attended through eighth grade was small, with 13 children included in a photo (above) of the student body for 1961-62, the year after Woodford left. Donated photo Woodford painted this image (right) of her grandfather William Cleveland Miller in the 1960s. Ann Miller Woodford artwork BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hen the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, women throughout the nation began to vote for the first time. But for a long time, the rights granted in that amendment were realized mainly by white women. “Our ancestors, our forefathers, they were hurt because they had fought for suffrage too for the 19th Amendment, and it didn’t really do any good,” said Ellerna Forney, a Sylva native who is Black. “But they still kept fighting.”

August 19-25, 2020

‘THEY HAD TO KEEP FIGHTING’

Smoky Mountain News

Forney, now 58, was just 3 years old when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 put an end to literacy tests, poll taxes and other schemes designed to prevent Black people from voting. She’s never known a world where, as an American citizen at least 18 years old, she was not allowed to vote. But her parents knew that world, and they talked about it. Her mother always spoke of the Voting Rights Act as “something major that happened in her lifetime,” said Forney, and she heard stories of the struggle stretching back to 1920, when the 19th Amendment was ratified following decades of effort by both white and Black activists. “From what I understand, when it passed, they (Black women) actually thought they had it,” said Forney. “They had gatherings — today we would call them parties — and then come to find out they had all these obstacles in the way. They had to keep fighting down through the generations.” For a population whose ancestors arrived 6 on this continent in chains, destined for 200

years of dehumanizing bondage, struggle was nothing new — and neither were dashed hopes. Following the Union victory in the Civil War, Black people were eager to embrace their newfound freedom. In 1865 the 13th Amendment eradicated slavery, in 1868 the 14th declared that all people born in the U.S. — regardless of race — were citizens, and in 1870 the 15th stated that nobody could be denied the right to vote based on race. An illustration in the Sept. 28, 1867, issue of Harpers Weekly depicts a crowd of Black men waiting to register to vote in Asheville, with accompanying text making it clear how much their votes stood to impact Southern power structures. “The work of registration has been going on for several months past, and has been completed in several of the States; and the result shows that in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Texas the colored voters are in the majority, and, being united in opinion and policy, can easily control the elections in those States,” the article reads. “The white majority in Virginia is not great; in North Carolina it promises to be less; and South Carolina, Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi will probably be controlled by the colored vote; so that in all probability the colored voters, even without the assistance of the loyal whites, will carry in the approaching State, as well as in the future national contests, eight out of the ten unconstructed States.” This prospect must have terrified white Southerners, many of whom had just a few years earlier been in the position of buying, selling and brutally mistreating this newly enfranchised population. According to the article “The Election of 1898 in North Carolina: An Introduction” by Nicholas Graham, by the time that contest rolled

around there were “a large number of African American officeholders, some of whom had been elected and many more who were appointed to office.” “The Democrats referred to themselves as the ‘white man’s party’ and appealed to white North Carolinians to restore them to power,” Graham wrote. This appeal — coupled with increasingly overt threats of violence toward potential Republican voters in the African American community — apparently worked. Democrats won a majority in the legislature and in short order passed legislation that would serve to disenfranchise Black voters for decades to come.

EDUCATION AND ECONOMICS “I know you’re talking about the right to vote, but it’s all tied up in workers’ rights and education and oh, just social norms,” said Andrews native Ann Miller Woodford when asked about her experiences as a Black voter in Western North Carolina. “It’s all tied up in that. Black women have basically never been listened to.” Woodford, 73, is an artist, author of When All God’s Children Get Together: A Celebration of the Lives and Music of African American People in Far Western North Carolina, and founder of the nonprofit

African American community development organization One Dozen Who Care. Her life and career have taken her all over the country, but her story began in Andrews and her path eventually led back to that hometown. Poll taxes and literacy tests were so effective at disqualifying Black voters, she said, because society was set up to deny Black people access to quality education and good-paying jobs. “They didn’t have the education because it was forced away from us,” she said. “If I hadn’t gone to high school in Asheville I couldn’t have gone any further than eighth grade. That was the end of it. So, what it did is it forced African American people to work as laborers.” White children in Andrews, meanwhile, could study through the 12th grade without leaving home. “My parents, neither one were very welleducated,” she said. “My daddy went to the third grade. He could not read and write. He was a brilliant mind. He did anything from the ground up on building a house. He drove all over the region butchering hogs and cutting it up and salting it down. He could do any kind of work.” The family’s struggles came despite the fact that just one generation prior they had

S EE S UFFRAGE, PAGE 8

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER n 1930, a young man named Henry Owl traveled to the Ravensford election precinct in Swain County to register to vote. Owl was a U.S. Army Veteran, and a college graduate. He held a master’s degree, in fact, having finished the UNC Chapel Hill graduate program in history the previous year. At Lenoir College, where he began his undergraduate studies in 1925, he was elected “Most Popular Boy” and competed as a star athlete in football and baseball, earning posthumous induction to the Lenoir-Rhyne Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Owl was also Cherokee, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. He arrived at the election office with his master’s thesis in hand — titled “The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians before and after the removal” — to serve as proof, should it be required, that he was in fact literate. But Henry Owl was turned away. He was a ward of the federal government, not a U.S. citizen, he was told. He was not eligible to register.

“Native American communities had to negotiate this system that was designed around keeping African Americans out.” — Andrew Denson, professor of history at Western Carolina University

The Cherokee were not alone in their struggle. Despite the Snyder Act, Native Americans in many states had to wait years and even decades before they were allowed to cast a ballot in non-tribal elections. New Mexico and Utah were the last two states to grant voting rights to Native Americans — that happened in 1962. “There’s that gap between what the federal law and the Constitution says and how state governments and local offices are applying the law,” said Denson. “Then it also sort of speaks to the political liability that Native Americans were experiencing. If you don’t have access to formal political power, it can be difficult to force local elected officials to abide by federal laws and the spirit of the law.” For the average Cherokee person living in 1930, it must have seemed futile. If even an accomplished man like Henry Owl could be turned away, what chance did regular people have? In the U.S. — and especially in the South — race issues have always had a heavy influence on law, policy and culture. But in most cases, ‘race’ is defined in terms of black and white. “Native American communities had to negotiate this system that was designed

Henry Owl, as pictured in the Lenoir-Rhyne University yearbook from 1928, was the first Native American to graduate from a North Carolina college. North Carolina Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill photo.

around keeping African Americans out,” said Denson, “and that yielded a very strange, complicated political process if you were talking about a community that was not white but not African American and that didn’t have a lot of access to political power.”

VOTING RIGHTS AT LAST There is no landmark legislation or Supreme Court case that represented the start of permanent enfranchisement for Native Americans in North Carolina. Such legislation was on the books long before local registrars actually recognized and obeyed it.

THE 19TH AMMENDMENT Instead, the change came when Cherokee men returning from service in World War II began to demand that the country for which they had risked their lives recognize their right to vote. Led by the Steven Youngdeer American Legion Post 143, the Cherokee increased their protest efforts, and in 1946 the Boards of Election in Jackson and Swain counties finally allowed them to register — 22 years after federal law had required them to. “It’s a very odd situation that turns not so much on what’s happening in Congress or with the 1924 law, but has a lot to do with the local power structures and how under Jim Crow, local power structures dealt with the presence of substantial Native American

communities,” said Denson. Like the Snyder Act, tribal member Jeremiah Wolfe was also 22 in 1946 — he was born just under four months after the legislation was enacted. Wolfe joined the Navy on July 21, 1943, fighting in WWII and serving until his honorable discharge on Feb. 1, 1950. He was still deployed during the protests of 1946, and while his daughter Gerri Grady said he never talked about the disenfranchisement his tribe experienced during his younger years, she did say that voting was always important to both of her parents. “They always went to vote together, but (my mother) never talked about any of that kind of stuff, about being turned away,” she said. “It was embarrassing to her.” Her father, who died in 2018, was a wellknown storyteller, but Grady said it’s not surprising he didn’t talk much about his struggles with discrimination. “Even if he had been (turned away) I don’t know that he would have ever said that to me, because he was never a negative person,” she said. “Even when I would ask him things about how he was treated when he was in the military, even when he was treated poorly, he never said that. He was always very positive about his experiences in the Navy, and I know he has some really intense experiences with racism, but it never impacted how he viewed the world.” Wolfe did impact how his daughter viewed the world, though, especially as it relates to

Smoky Mountain News

The question of Cherokee citizenship has a long and unsettled history that stretches back to the Civil War. When the 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870, Jackson County’s population was 10 percent Cherokee, and local Democrats were concerned that the Cherokee vote would cause Republican candidates to get elected. The parties were more evenly divided in the mountains than in the rest of the state, where Democrats had a virtually uncontested majority. To reduce the Cherokees’ voting power, the county was divided in 1871 to create Swain County. In 1897, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Cherokee people were “wards of the state,” not citizens with full voting rights. When the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, the question received renewed scrutiny. By this time, many Cherokee women were able to read and write English well, and they passed the literacy tests, registered and cast their vote in the Jackson County elections of 1920. A good many Republican candidates won that election, angering Democrats who believed that the Cherokee votes were responsible for that outcome. “Eventually, the Jackson County Board of Elections threw out around 80 Cherokee votes based on this argument that Cherokees couldn’t be full North Carolina citizens,” said Andrew Denson, professor of history at Western Carolina University. With the votes discarded, the Democrats were put back in office.

By the time Henry Owl attempted to register, federal law had pretty well clarified the issue. In 1924, Congress passed the Snyder Act, a law that plainly stated that all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the U.S. were citizens. The 15th Amendment — ratified in 1870 — guarantees all citizens the right to vote regardless of race, and the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, includes women in that statement. One might think that by 1930, Henry Owl would have been able to register without any trouble. But such was not the case. “There were a lot of English-speaking and reading Cherokee people, but the literacy test would keep primarily Cherokee-speaking people out,” Denson said. “If that doesn’t work, the answer would be, ‘No, you can’t register to vote because you’re not a U.S. citizen. You’re a ward of the U.S. government.’”

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For the Cherokee, disenfranchisement was locally controlled

S EE CHEROKEE, PAGE 8 7

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S UFFRAGE, CONTINUED FROM 6 been landowners in Forsyth County, Georgia. But in 1912, racial violence forced them to leave after a Black man there was accused of raping a white woman. White citizens united to drive away all 1,098 Black residents — 10 percent of the county’s population. Woodford’s grandfather William Cleveland Miller was one of those displaced residents, and he eventually relocated to Andrews, where he founded the town’s Black community, called Happytop.

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They were treated much better in Andrews than they had been in Georgia, Woodford said. “This mountain area right here was not quite like it was in a lot of places,” she said. “It was better for Black people.” In fact, said Woodford, her parents were regular voters well before the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voting norms were different then than they are now. For one, it wasn’t private — everyone knew how everyone else voted. Secondly, it was a given that a wife should vote in lockstep with her husband. “When I was a child, the women voted as their husbands voted,” she said. “To me that wasn’t freedom. You couldn’t vote the way you wanted to. You had to vote for what your husband voted for. Until President Kennedy ran, my mother finally changed from Republican to Democrat voting for Kennedy.

CHEROKEE, CONTINUED FROM 7 voting. Grady said she votes every chance she gets and often serves as a poll worker. “It’s hugely important to me,” she said. “I think that we as Cherokee people cannot forget that we are not only citizens of our own community here on the Qualla Boundary. We’re also citizens of the state of North Carolina and the United States. I think it’s important to each and every one of the tribal members that are of voting age to participate on all levels of voting opportunities.”

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Ben Bushyhead, chairman of the Swain County Board of Commissioners, would agree with that statement. In Swain County, about 30 percent of the 14,000 people who were estimated to live there in 2019 were Native American. In Jackson County, that number is 9 percent of 44,000 people. However, Native Americans make up only 15 percent of registered voters in Swain County and 4.9 percent in Jackson. Additionally, Native Americans are barely represented in local government. Bushyhead, who was elected as chairman in 2018 after completing a four-year term as an at-large member beginning in 2014, is the first and only Cherokee person to have served on either the Swain or Jackson board. Bushyhead said that he would like to see more tribal members seek election to local 8 office. The tribe is a sovereign nation, but it

“What the right to vote means to me is to live in a country where you have the right to express your opinion and the right to know that it is going to be fair. No matter which way it goes.” — Ellerna Forney, Sylva

THE 19TH AMMENDMENT That was the beginning of some freedom to me, because I saw that she was strong enough to vote for Kennedy and Daddy went on and voted differently. My dad voted for (Richard Nixon) because he was for tobacco rights for people growing tobacco, and Daddy was a tobacco farmer.” While her parents voted, politics weren’t often a topic of discussion in her family. “My parents didn’t sit around and talk about politics,” she said. “They didn’t have time. Daddy worked from sunup to sundown. When he came home he sat in the chair and slept.” Forney said her parents’ experience prior to the Voting Rights Act was much different. “They just told them you couldn’t vote,”

exists within a context of federal, state and local jurisdictions — the actions those nontribal governments take do have an impact on the EBCI and its citizens, he said. “It’s important,” he said, “because if an individual is not at the table of government, then their issues and their concerns in 99 percent of the cases aren’t even being brought to the table. You have to be at the table in order in order to make your concerns known.” It can be difficult to convince tribal members to get involved in off-boundary politics, said Bushyhead, because they think such doings don’t affect them, or because those who are politically minded would rather focus their energies on tribal office instead. To many, those offices seem to more directly impact their lives, not to mention that they pay much more. A Tribal Council member makes about $80,000 per year, while a county commissioner in Swain County makes about $6,000. It’s “absolutely an understandable situation” that the council positions seem more attractive, said Bushyhead. But there are also people who simply are not clear on what their rights are. “When I first ran for commissioner, I was out campaigning on the reservation, and I had one gentleman tell me, ‘I would love to support you, but I can’t.’ And I said, ‘Well, why not?’ He said, ‘I live on the reservation. I can’t vote in Swain County,’” Bushyhead recalled. “And I said, ‘Well, if you will allow me I will explain to you that yes, you can.’” The history that leads to this present world is long and complicated. Things that

she said. Today, both Forney and Woodford say they cherish their right to speak at the ballot box. “I know that ever since I had the right to vote, I voted,” Woodford said. “I don’t think I’ve missed but one vote that I can remember. I was out of town from Andrews and I couldn’t get back in time to vote.” “What the right to vote means to me is to live in a country where you have the right to express your opinion and the right to know that it is going to be fair,” said Forney. “No matter which way it goes.” She said that, while she’s always voted, she didn’t always appreciate the importance of that act. “From what I saw where I lived it meant nothing, because the same people were in power, and lot of times it was nepotism. It was the same families,” she said. “So why would you vote when it’s not going to mean anything? I voted because I was of age and it made me feel like I was an adult and I could.” But then Forney left Sylva, got a degree from UNC Chapel Hill. Her attitude changed. “It has changed because I actually know better, and I left here and I saw better,” she said. Now 58, she sees the right to vote as a precious thing to be guarded closely. In the scheme of things, 1965 was not all that long ago. “If we’re not careful, it’s going to go back, and I think it could easily slip back,” she said. “We take a lot for granted as American citizens.”

Miller is pictured during her freshman year at Ohio University, 1965. Donated photo

In a 1943 photo, Jerry Wolfe (second from right, bottom row) is pictured with some of his fellow Navy sailors. Donated photo

“They always went to vote together, but (my mother) never talked about any of that kind of stuff, about being turned away. It was embarrassing to her.” — Gerri Grady, daughter of Jeremiah Wolfe

happened 50, 100, 200 years ago still leave fingerprints on the attitudes and actions in place today. The right to vote was an important — if long overdue — win for the Cherokee people, but it didn’t mark the end of the struggle for equal rights, representation and protec-

tion under the law. That continues today. “There’s so much history that goes into it, and people who say, ‘Boy, I didn’t pick that up in school — it’s because it’s not there,’” said Bushyhead. “It’s not there. You understand it if you live it.”

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Mark Robinson, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, speaks at a rally in Sylva on Aug. 15. Cory Vaillancourt photo

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run for the Senate seat currently held by retiring Franklin Republican Jim Davis, doesn’t think it’s strictly a partisan issue. “I wouldn’t say all Democrats are wrong,” he said. “I think more Democrats are probably opposed to rallies like this, but I will say honestly most of the Democrats support law enforcement, and support these ‘back the blue’ rallies, just like I do.” Robinson, however, had strong words for Democrats, as well as for the Black Lives Matter movement. “They’ve made it plain that they’re a Marxist organization, that’s their roots. I don’t think that agenda stands up for the American way of life at all,” he said. “They’ve made it plain that they’re an organization that’s not about really truly helping Black people or standing up for Black lives.” During his speech, Robinson asked why BLM didn’t instead target street gangs like Bloods and Crips, and drug dealers peddling their wares in America’s inner cities. “They ignore the murders that we see happing every night, night after night on streets across this nation,” he said. “They just simply ignore those numbers and quite frankly those numbers are shocking. Somebody needs to stand up and say that and do something about it.” Although the lieutenant governor’s office is largely symbolic and wields little actual power, Robinson said if elected he’d use it as a bully pulpit not only to advocate for his Second Amendment beliefs, but also to address issues facing the Black community. “The main thing we can do is stand up with some truth and address the real problems that are going on in the Black community — address fatherlessness, address the problems we have with gangs and violence, address the problems that we have with drugs, and address the fact that Planned Parenthood has targeted our communities for many, many decades,” he said. “I think once we realize those truths and bring those truths home, a lot of folks will join in with us and start fighting against those things.”

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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER allies expressing support for law enforcement officers and agencies are starting to become commonplace in Western North Carolina, but as the election draws near, Republican candidates are asserting more and more ownership of the “back the badge” movement. “It’s just a matter of standing up and making sure that law enforcement knows the general population has their back and that we still support them,” said Mark Robinson, Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. Robinson, who is Black, delivered a fiery speech to a crowd of more than 200 people on a rainy Saturday at Sylva’s Bridge Park. The event was co-billed as a demonstration of support for law enforcement as well as a rally for Robinson, who will face Raleigh Democrat and retired state employee Yvonne Holley in November. “She’s a far-left person who believes in defunding the police, who believes in all those radical crazy ideas that the left believes in,” Robinson said. “We believe in conservative principles that build states and nations.” The Aug. 15 event drew strong support from Republican candidates and elected officials, including Rep. Kevin Corbin, former Rep. and current N.C. 119 candidate Mike Clampitt, Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland, Macon County Commissioner and House candidate Karl Gillespie, judicial candidate Kaleb Wingate and congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn. “We can vote for the Democrats who want to defund our police, destroy our towns and dismantle our country and then we’ll just be left to the ash heap of history,” Cawthorn said. “That’s why I’m out here supporting the police officers, because I believe they put their lives on the line every single day. You know, Kevin Corbin has said it really well — anybody that puts a bulletproof vest on my behalf deserves my respect.” Corbin, who’s giving up his House seat to

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Haywood mourns COVID-19 losses Health leaders say rate of new cases slows BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR COVID-19 outbreak at Silver Bluff Village in Canton has resulted in 24 deaths in the last couple of weeks, bringing the virus’s devastation too close to home as families have lost their loved ones. “If you would have told me two months ago we’d have 24 COVID-19 related deaths, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Haywood County Health Director Patrick Johnson told commissioners Monday afternoon. Dr. Mark Jaben, medical director for Haywood County Public Health, said the outbreak led to 150 Silver Bluff staff and residences being infected with the virus. While that high number doesn’t seem to portray anything positive, he said there was a silver lining in the tragedy happening at the nursing home. Through trace contacting efforts, Jaben said only eight family members of those employees tested positive for COVID19. “Only eight family members were infected — what that represents is that isolation and quarantine work,” Jaben said. “Despite the pain and suffering of those who died... from a community perspective, the tragedy of Silver Bluff looks like it won’t be transmit-

ted back into the community. Some have opted out of contact tracing — we hope those people are still quarantining themselves because that is key when prevention isn’t enough.” Johnson said a majority of the cases the county is seeing are from work exposure and then they are transmitting it to their family members. Others have contracted the virus while vacationing in Florida and other hotspot areas. The most common symptoms are still chills, sweats, fever, loss of smell or

taste, headache and dizziness. A newer trend, he said, is that positive cases are taking longer to recover. However, he said the rate of new cases does seem to be slowing down and he thinks it’s because more people are wearing masks in public and taking more serious precautions.

Haywood County has had a total of 463 positive cases — 318 are recovered, 104 people are currently in isolation and 206 people are currently in quarantine. Macon County has a total of 494 positive cases — only 57 are active, 433 are recovered and four have died. Macon Public Health issued a press release Tuesday morning stating that a public health employee was isolated at home after testing positive for COVID-19. Close contacts have been notified and tested and the person’s work area has been disinfected. Macon County Schools announced Monday that a school employee had tested positive on Aug. 14 and other staff and parents could have been exposed. Unlike Haywood, Macon Public Health stated that positive cases were still increasing and advised business owners to consult with the CDC for guidance on what employees should do if they have been exposed. Alison Cochran, public health director for Swain County, gave commissioners an update on cases during an Aug. 13 board

meeting. The county has had a total of 121 positive cases — only four residents are under isolation and being monitored and there have been three deaths. Cochran said 11 positive cases have had to be hospitalized but currently there is only one hospitalization. Moving forward, she said her staff would be decreasing their updates to twice a week instead of daily because of the staff time it takes to put the data together. On a positive note, she said test results are now coming back in three to five days. “We need to get away from reporting just the numbers because that’s what everyone is focusing on — we need to look at the trends,” she said. Cochran also told commissioners the health department would be contracting with a company that could handle all of the contract tracing efforts going forward. “Once we enter the contact in the database they take it from there and will contact the person several times and that takes the burden off of us, but we will still keep track of the positive cases,” she said. Jackson County has had a total of 473 positive cases — 13 are currently in isolation and seven people have died. Looking at the state as a whole, North Carolina has had 145,516 positive tests, 980 people are currently being hospitalized and 2,384 people have died.

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Canton Labor Day events Raleigh-based Bandit Flight Team has thrilled audiences with flyovers at parades, NASCAR events and N.C. State football games. Best of all, the airshow provided by the team will come at no cost to the town, keeping Canton’s budget grounded firmly in reality — the Cruso Endowment picked up

Jackson purchases School Pass app

classroom to carline. If a parent does not have access to the app, the schools plan to have an employee at the beginning of the carline ready to check a parent in as “here.” If a student has a usual mode of transportation that needs to change for the day, the parent can use the app to inform the school that a child will, for instance, be a car rider instead of a bus rider for the day. The app also allows bus drivers to check students in as they arrive on the bus, which will notify parents that their child is on the bus that day. After school systems will also be programmed into the app for notifications of arrival. The app can also complete sex offender checks for any visitors to the schools, though JCPS says they do not expect many visitors this year. It will also handle volunteer and substitute tracking. The app will have the full list of authorized substitutes and volunteers for teachers to pull from. In the case of an emergency evacuation, once in a secure location each teacher can check-in all the students they have with them. This way administration can know who is missing, who they need to locate and who has which students with them. — Hannah McLeod

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the tab. “They’re going to form up over Hazelwood, fly around Waynesville, visit the hospital and then come to Canton for a brief air show,” said Pat Smathers, the Canton attorney who handles much of the endowment’s activity. Normally, the town would budget about $120,000 for the Labor Day festivities, but sponsorships and other revenues make up most of that; the town’s actual outlay is usually less than $20,000, but this year they won’t even need that — the budgeted revenue will remain in the town’s general fund. Mayor Smathers said announcements on additional Labor Day events would be forthcoming.

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At a special called Jackson County School Board meeting on Aug. 11, the board approved the purchase — upon final legal review — of the School Pass app for $29,000 in order to keep schools safe and streamline the pick-up, drop-off process. The app can handle daily student health and wellness checks. Parents will use the app to let schools know that students have not run a fever or been around people who have been exposed. Staff members that arrive on campus without completing a health check will be alerted by the app that they should complete a health check. The app will also alert administration if staff have come onto campus without completing a health check. The app will help Jackson County Schools streamline transportation through carline automation. Parents can use the app to checkin as “here” when they are in line to pick up their child. The app will alert the student’s teacher that someone is there to pick them up, the teacher will choose “dismiss,” which will in turn alert the staff member in charge of the carline that the student is on their way from the

Used to putting on exciting, ground-based Labor Day events, the Town of Canton this year will move that action to the air.

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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER he Coronavirus Pandemic may have left plans for Canton’s historic Labor Day festival up in the air, but a new idea launched by town officials Aug. 13 means things are looking up. “There will be a celebration in Canton, but it will be in the sky,” said Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, promising a Labor Day “like no other.” Canton’s Labor Day Festival, the oldest in the South, has been one of Haywood County’s most anticipated events each September since 1906. In recent years, the festival has experienced a resurgence, booking big-name musical acts like Joe Lasher, Yonder Mountain String Band and the Oak Ridge Boys. This year, it was to be pop country icons Diamond Rio and bluegrass legend Doyle Lawson, but as the live music industry began to experience the disruption of lockdowns and bans on large public gatherings earlier this year, Canton’s annual festival just didn’t make sense and was officially canceled in late June. But Smathers and Canton’s Board of Aldermen/women didn’t want to let residents down, so around noon on Labor Day, the skies over Canton will be abuzz with vintage prop planes. Around 25 times a year since 2012, the

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Cawthorn responds to sexual assault allegations BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER n Aug. 13 Instagram post alleges improper behavior by North Carolina Republican congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn during a date six years ago, and although Cawthorn acknowledges the incident and that his actions were inappropriate, he says his accuser is being used by Democrats as an election-year tool. “The reason I am now choosing to speak is because Madison is running for North Carolina’s 11th District seat, and is on the path to being the youngest member of Congress,” wrote Katrina Aldona, Cawthorn’s accuser. “I believe that when you choose to be in the public eye, you should also be prepared to own up to your past mistakes.” Aldona begins by saying that it has “neither been an easy nor a hasty decision” to come forward, but that she’s contemplated the experience many times in the intervening six years. “My initial thoughts then were that I was simply put in an uncomfortable situation and would learn from it in the future,” she wrote. “The severity of this situation did not come to light until many years later when I shared with close friends, and came to understand that what took place was not in any way right, nor was it an isolated incident.” Her story begins in 2014, when she was 17 years old and Cawthorn was 19. According to Aldona, she and Cawthorn were members of the same Christian homeschool community and that he’d asked her out on a date over social media. Together they drove to a secluded field, where they enjoyed a bonfire until Cawthorn allegedly

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August 19-25, 2020

directed the conversation to sexual topics, which made Aldona uncomfortable. The situation escalated when Cawthorn asked her to sit on his lap. She said she felt “pressured and unsure of how to say no,” so she complied. Cawthorn tried to kiss her, and she rebuffed his advance. Cawthorn repeated the overture, Aldona said, so she pulled away and became entangled in his chair. The evening ended, and Aldona never went out with Cawthorn again. “I remember going on that date with her,” Cawthorn told The Smoky Mountain News on Aug. 15. “I think it was about six or seven years ago. And you know, that was probably the first date I ever went on after my car accident. If I ever made her feel uncomfortable or unsafe, you know, it was never my intention. We went on a date, we had dinner. Then we went by a campfire. I think we were roasting S’mores.” Cawthorn admits trying to kiss Aldona. “I can tell you that I have respect for every single woman, I believe in the necessity of consent,” he said. “I did try and kiss her just very normal, just in a flirtatious way. As soon as I realized that she didn’t want to — I think she pulled back a little bit — the date was over and we continued to sit around the fire for quite a while. I drove her back to her car and everything was normal. I realized she didn’t want to pursue a romantic relationship and so I don’t think I talked to her very much after that.” Fast forward to February 2020. In the midst of a contentious Republican primary for the 11th Congressional District seat left vacant by former Rep. Mark Meadows, Aldona said she received a text from Cawthorn. “He began by stating that he didn’t remember all of the details of the occur-

Congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn has come under scrutiny for his behavior on a date six years ago. Cory Vaillancourt photo rence,” Aldona wrote. “He followed with an insincere apology, stating that he did remember attempting to kiss me even after I made it clear I wasn’t interested, excusing it with ‘I thought you were playing coy’ and ‘I can see in hindsight how that was over the line.’” Aldona noted that the message, which Cawthorn acknowledges, came “… 6 years after the fact, when his political career is now at stake and he faces the possibility of public scrutiny.” Aldona said she didn’t respond. “I reached out to her and said, ‘Hey, I just heard that this is how you felt,’” Cawthorn said. “Obviously if I made her feel that way, that’s something I would never want to have happen. That’s something that’s awful, so I wanted to reach out to her just to see if I could

apologize, see how she felt. And it just, it made me, made me feel sad.” Aldona said she’s questioned herself and her story, but she’s never forgotten how the experience left her feeling threatened, belittled and unsettled. “No, I was not raped. Yes, it could have been much worse,” she wrote. “I don’t feel as if I’m a victim. And perhaps that is just one result of society constantly invalidating those who choose to say anything.” In speaking to a friend about the incident recently, Aldona said she was told that “Sexual assault isn’t relative [and] it’s bad no matter what extent and should be taken seriously.” She also wrote that as she’s continued to date into adulthood

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experience with him leads me to believe otherwise,” she said. “I want anyone who may be reading this to know that no matter what you believe the severity of your experience to be, it is NEVER okay for any person to put you in a position where you feel threatened and that your consent is being revoked. I want you to know that you are valid, you are believed, and you are not alone.”

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ADDITIONAL ALLEGATIONS Shortly after this story was originally published on Aug. 16, another story appeared further documenting Krulikas’ allegations, and adding accounts by several other women who claim Cawthorn “exhibited sexually or verbally aggressive behavior toward them when they were teenagers.” The story, “Rising Republican star faces accusations from women,” was published in The World, an Asheville-based bi-weekly evangelical Christian magazine. Among the allegations made in the story is one that relates to Cawthorn’s brief stint at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia. “One PHC alumna said Cawthorn grabbed her thigh while the two talked in the school’s dining hall,” it reads. “WORLD is withholding the woman’s name because speaking to media would jeopardize her current job in the federal government.” The story also notes that Cawthorn denied repeated interview requests from The World. Blue Ridge Public Radio reporter Lilly Knoepp contributed to this story. Katrina Aldona Krulikas did not respond to multiple interview requests made by The Smoky Mountain News.

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and finds her interaction with men like Cawthorn to be the exception rather than the rule, however, “those who mark this situation off as ‘boys will be boys’ only perpetuate the very serious issue at hand … Deem this situation what you will, but there is no denying that a clear line was crossed.” Cawthorn, who is currently competing against Asheville Democrat Moe Davis in what’s shaping up to be a tight race, has questions about the timing of Aldona’s revelations. “If she had any problem with this, I don’t see why it wouldn’t have been brought up right away,” Cawthorn said. “It just seems like now that the politics are involved, she’s being used as a pawn for the Democratic Party, which is unfortunate.” The allegations come at the end of a tough week for Cawthorn, who was recently chastised on social media for displaying imagery sometimes used by white supremacist groups. He also caught backlash over an Instagram post of his own made from Adolf Hitler’s mountaintop retreat, and for allowing misinformation to persist about his rejected application from the United States Naval Academy. “I’m glad that she did state that she doesn’t feel like a victim,” Cawthorn said. “I don’t really know what she was trying to insinuate that I was trying to do, but it’s disappointing that this is coming out. I mean, on Monday I was a white supremacist. On Tuesday I was a Nazi and now, you know, I’m making some girl feel sexually uncomfortable.” Aldona summed up her Instagram post with a message of support for those who feel like they’ve ever been in a situation similar to the one she described. “While the media portrays Madison as a role model for Christian, family values, my

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The allegations come at the end of a tough week for Cawthorn, who was recently chastised on social media for displaying imagery sometimes used by white supremacist groups. He also caught backlash over an Instagram post of his own made from Adolf Hitler’s mountaintop retreat, and for allowing misinformation to persist about his rejected application from the United States Naval Academy.

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DA will not press charges in Sylva Zoom bomb State laws inadequate to address online meetings, prosecutor says BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fter a July 23 Town of Sylva meeting was cut short following a barrage of racial slurs and other offensive disruptions from some attendees, the Sylva Police Department was quick to issue a press release stating that it was investigating the incident with the goal of identifying and charging the people responsible. However, it now appears that no charges will be filed in the case, simply because nobody was able to identify a specific law that the Zoom bombers had violated. “We’ve involved everybody we could involve to try to find a way to file a charge on that, but so far we don’t have anything to work with as far as statutes go,” said Sylva Police Chief Chris Hatton. The meeting in question was held via Zoom, and commissioners were planning to vote on a resolution to request that the county move the Confederate solider statue currently occupying the steps of the historic courthouse to a location outside of town limits. However, commissioners didn’t even make it through their reports at the top of the agenda before an account named Adira Sahar broke in with a string of disjointed sentences, making liberal use of a racial slur targeting Black people and claiming to have “25 child Black slaves” and proclaiming that “Black lives don’t matter,” among other insults, slurs and profanities. Two other accounts named Katy Kenz and iPhone also broke in occasionally, and though all three users were soon ejected, attendees endured another round of intim-

August 19-25, 2020

idation when an account that named itself after the town attorney began making lewd comments in the chat and a female voice under an account named Town of Sylva began saying the names of various people in attendance in a creepy, sing-song voice. Commissioners ended up adjourning the meeting and rescheduling it for a different day. Reconcile Sylva, a group that has been vocal in its opposition to the statue, called the incident an act of “egregious overt racism.” “While we are proud of the outpouring of love we have received from community members, we cannot allow ourselves to pretend that this means hate is not present here in Sylva,” the group posted on Facebook Aug. 4, together with a clip from the July 23 meeting. “It is. Our community members of color experience hate regularly and it has only increased as talks of removing the statue have grown.” Both Hatton and Assistant District Attorney Christina Matheson said that they were extremely motivated to press charges and bring the perpetrators to justice but that state laws simply do not address an incident like the one that occurred last month. While there is an applicable federal law, “the federal government is not going to get involved in every case where there’s a Zoom bomb unless it’s a serious threat,” said Matheson. Had the outburst occurred during a physical, in-person meeting, the protocol would be clear, said Matheson. After such an outburst, the person in question would be asked to leave. If they refused to do so, they would be charged, likely with disorderly conduct — unless the speech in question threatened somebody with bodily harm, in which case different statutes could be applied. However, the disorderly conduct statute

requires that the incident occur in a “public place.” “’Public place’ has never been defined as a Zoom meeting or as a meeting that may be public but is online,” said Matheson. “And our statute is not really designed to speak to that situation.” So, she next looked to statutes dealing with computer-related crimes, but that was a dead end too. The Zoom bombers did not hack into a public computer to gain access, because the meeting and link were available to the public. They also did not

“‘Public place’ has never been defined as a Zoom meeting or as a meeting that may be public but is online. And our statute is not really designed to speak to that situation.” — Assistant District Attorney Christina Matheson

physically harm or disable a government computer in any way, and they did not access a government computer for the purpose of fraud, as required by other statutes prosecutors considered. Finally, the content of the speech, “horrifying” as it was, did not meet the legal definition of a threat, said Hatton. “If you say that (n word) out loud or you call somebody that name, it feels like it should be a crime, but the truth is you can say that word and you can say it in public, and it’s not a crime,” said Hatton. It only becomes a crime when the speech contains threats of bodily harm.

“There was no threat to anyone, even when taken at its worst,” said Matheson. “It was awful, and it was horrible, but the threat to harm someone just wasn’t part of it.” Another issue at play is the fact that you can’t charge a computer. “You have to charge the person who was utilizing the computer,” said Matheson. “So even if you’re fortunate enough to get the computer, it’s hard to know who was on the other end.” The investigation was not able to determine the identity of the individuals in question or even the location of the computers. Part of the issue, said Matheson, was that because the investigation could not identify a crime, it could not obtain a warrant to conduct the necessary searches to find that information. The incident will not result in a criminal case, but both the Town of Sylva and Jackson County have taken steps to ensure that something similar doesn’t happen again. Both entities are now limiting Zoom participants, and those wishing to observe can do so by watching the meetings on YouTube, where they are livestreamed and archived. Matheson said the incident reveals a need for action at the state level too, in the form of updated statutes. North Carolina is not the only state where prosecutors have found the laws wanting when it comes to addressing the ins, outs and implications of moving previously in-person government meetings online. “I think our legislature is going to have to look at that, because I don’t believe that Zoom meetings are going to completely go away, even if the pandemic somewhat settles down. I think this is our new norm and there will be more of the Zoom meetings,” said Matheson. “I do think the legislature is going to have to look at what they can do to stop this.”

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Republican Madison Cawthorn and Democrat Moe Davis, candidates for the North Carolina congressional seat left vacant by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have both agreed to appear at a two-day joint forum hosted by three of the district’s largest media outlets. On the evenings of Friday Sept. 4, and Saturday, Sept. 5, candidates will join moderator Smoky Mountain News’ Cory Vaillancourt and a diverse panel of guests for “Best in the West: North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District forum.” The first event, to be held at Western Carolina University’s Biltmore Park instructional site, will feature questions by Lenoir-Rhyne University Equity and Diversity Institute program developer Aisha Adams, former Asheville Citizen Times political reporter and current Mountain Xpress contributor Mark Barrett and Pete Kaliner, longtime N.C. political reporter, radio host and podcaster. Topics will include international, national, state and urban issues. The second event, to be held at WCU in Cullowhee, will include WCU political science and public affairs department chair Chris Cooper, WCU professor of economics and director of WCU’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise Edward Lopez and Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Topics will include rural issues, native issues and education. Due to venue capacity limits currently in place, events will not be open to the public, but will be livestreamed. Specific times and instructions on how to watch will be published in the coming days.

South Main buildings to be demolished

Smoky Mountain News

Three run-down properties in front of the Hazelwood Ingles were recently purchased by a firm called Hazelwood Corners LLC for just under $1 million. They had been for sale for nearly four years, inviting speculation as to the future of that area. Brian Noland, the Realtor for these properties, believes that the new owners plan to demolish the buildings as soon as possible. The buildings were formerly occupied by Jim’s Drive In and Smoky Mountain Billiards. “Then they’ll probably just sit on that land,” he said. He feels that this may be in anticipation of the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s plans to make major improvements and changes to the South Main Street area in the coming years. Notable in these are general aesthetic improvements, widening parts of South Main and the construction of a roundabout at Maynor Tire. As per the DOT plans, these unseemly properties are scheduled for eventual demolition anyways. Noland said that it wouldn’t surprise him if the properties were bought to be sold when the DOT begins construction. — Boyd Allsbrook

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Input sought on Waynesville comprehensive plan BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER he window for the public to provide input on an important planning document is drawing to a close, but given the initial response to the Waynesville 2035 plan, there may not be much more to say. “I think as always with big plans, there’s areas that could be improved, but I think as a whole, it’s a very good representation of what the town needs to be doing,” said Anthony Sutton, a Waynesville alderman who was formerly the chairman of the town’s planning board. In that previous role, Sutton spent more time on the document than almost anyone outside of the planning department. Sutton’s planning board got ahold of the draft plan about a year ago, after a year’s worth of planning and public presentations. Titled “Waynesville 2035: Planning with Purpose,” the 179-page document covers everything from agriculture to zoning and plots the path of future development in and around the town. Its predecessor, “Waynesville: Our Heritage, Our Future, Town of Waynesville 2020 Land Development Plan,” had served the same role for almost two decades, as its title suggests, however such master planning documents require regular updates and revisions to maintain relevancy. Such plans are usually a prerequisite for

August 19-25, 2020

Be heard The Town of Waynesville Board of Aldermen will accept public input on the proposed Waynesville 2035 Planning with Purpose comprehensive plan at its regular board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8. For those who can’t make it on that date, there is also a meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 25, where public input on relevant topics can be given to aldermen. Those wishing to comment by phone or email may do so by contacting Development Services Director Elizabeth Teague at 828.456.2004 or eteague@waynesvillenc.gov. Both meetings will take place at 6:30 p.m. in town hall, 9 South Main Street, Waynesville.

municipal financial transactions like grants and loans, as funders want to be sure future projects and developments are part of a well thought-out long-term plan that has significant community support, as opposed to frivolous fast-track flights of fancy.

Perhaps most importantly, the plans lay out geographical zones where the community has decided it wants growth, and where it doesn’t want growth. The 2035 plan also spells out what kind of growth the community would like to see – residential, commer-

cial or industrial – and what density that growth should aspire to. For more than a year, a number of public meetings and comment sessions were conducted in all quarters of the community, from which decisions expressed in the plan originated. A steering committee, in conjunction with consultants Stewart, Inc., JM Teague, and Chipley Consulting, compiled the input for presentation. “We came up with a consensus of what was to be put into the plan,” Sutton said. “One of the areas that we can continue to improve is where we put smart growth and how we help revitalize different areas.” Smart growth principles promote infill development at the expense of sprawl, and the preservation of spaces that make communities like Waynesville unique. At the regular Waynesville Board of Aldermen meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 11, the plan was presented to the public by lead consultant Jake Petroskey of Stewart, who discussed major concepts included in the plan and answered questions. Aldermen also entertain public comment about the plan, which was minimal. At the Tuesday, Sept. 8 regular Waynesville Board of Aldermen meeting, public comment will again be heard, and aldermen can decide to vote on adopting the plan at that time or

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The Town of Canton has made an offer to purchase the west end of a parcel on the northern border of the Chestnut Mountain tract. Haywood GIS photo

Land deal could bolster Canton’s Chestnut Mountain project

hold off if they feel changes are warranted. But it’s not a stretch to say that the robust public input period — followed by planning board study — may have resulted in the plan meeting public expectations. “I haven’t been contacted by one single individual,” Sutton said. “I do know that whenever we were in the planning session of this, when I went to all the community meetings that were held in each community and got lots of feedback, that was incorporated into the plan, but I’ve not gotten any pushback or actually even a single conversation from anyone.” Likewise, Alderman Jon Feichter said he’s happy with the result. I couldn’t be more pleased,” Feichter said. “I think that the steering committee aided by the members of the community really did an outstanding job. The thing that is most impressive to me is how well thought

out the plan is. It’s very thorough and I think that that’s necessary. What comes out of these plans, the ordinances and the building and zoning board really impacts virtually all aspects of the community. I really like how they considered comprehensively how this is going to impact the community.” And even if issues crop up in the future, Sutton stressed that the plan is always open to adaptation. “It’s very expansive, but it’s a living document,” Sutton said. “It’s a working document that gives the planning board and the town something to look forward to and work toward and strive towards. So it’s not like tomorrow the zoning and the whole town is going to change. That’s not how that works. People will always have input on zoning changes within the districts.” To view the plan, visit www.waynesvillenc.gov.

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tion was provided by the Clean Water Management Trust fund, with the idea of protecting the forested tract and the nine miles of Hominy Creek that runs through it. Several properties not part of the project remain under private ownership – mostly frontage along Route 19/23. One of those, owned by Stephen Westmoreland of Oxon Hill, Maryland, consists of 8.3 acres. On Aug. 13, the Canton Board of Aldermen/women voted in closed session to make an offer of $15,000 for the westernmost 3.3 acres of Westmoreland’s parcel. An email from Assistant Town Manager Nick Scheuer says the parcel will be used “for the purposes of providing the frontcountry area of the park, including parking, creek access, potential event lawn and other amenities.” Scheuer also said that the space could serve as parking for the future share-used path project, as well as for potential development conducive to the project – outfitters, bike shops, coffee shops or even taprooms. “Given the topographical constraints, this acquisition is incredibly important to the successful development of this amazing multi-use park,” Scheuer said.

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August 19-25, 2020

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER critical piece of the Chestnut Mountain puzzle could soon come under control of the Town of Canton after town officials voted to make an offer on a small tract of land adjacent to it. “It’s a good pickup for us,” said Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers. “It has great commercial development potential, and there are many opportunities for businesses to be part of it. I think the most important issue is that this gives the Town of Canton control of the entrance not just to the Chestnut Mountain property, but to the town as well.” Back on June 5, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy purchased a substantial parcel located just east of Canton’s town limits, on U.S. Route 19/23 near the Buncombe County line. Totaling almost 450 acres, it was originally planned as an 8,000-seat motorsports park, but that never came to fruition. The parcel’s acquisition by SAHC means it will be gifted to the Town of Canton, and soon become a substantial new addition to the list of regional recreational assets. Some of the funding for SAHC’s acquisi-

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Education

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HCC machining program gets new equipment One of the key components of preparing students for the workforce is ensuring that they have access to the most current equipment in the industry. For students in Haywood Community College’s Computer-Integrated Machining program, this access has improved greatly over the last few months. With the addition of three new pieces of equipment, HCC’s machining students will have a leg up on the competition when they finish the program and start looking for employment. In addition, it will save employers time and money to know that these students have already had experience and training on equipment that they may very well end up using every day. These new additions include a Boss Laser Engraver that allows users to engrave wood, leather, glass, metal and cardboard. With a rotary axis, students can also engrave on round stock. Using a computer program, students complete the design work and then transfer the information to the machine to see the work completed. The final new addition is a forklift that was bought for the program with proceeds from HCC Foundation’s Gala.

High school sports schedules delayed The North Carolina High School Athletic Association recently announced a schedule for school sports for the 2020-21 school year. Skill development may begin on Monday, Aug. 24. All seasons will be shortened with fewer games/matches/events as follows: football by seven; cross country, track and field and swimming by 10 and volleyball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, golf, tennis, wrestling, softball, and baseball by 14. First practice for sports seasons are as follows: ■ Cross Country and Volleyball: Nov. 4 – Jan. 8 ■ Swimming: Nov. 23 – Jan. 30 ■ Basketball: Dec. 7- Feb. 19 ■ Men’s Soccer and Lacrosse: Jan. 11- March 12 ■ Football: Feb. 8 - April 9 ■ Golf, Men’s Tennis, Women’s Soccer, and Softball: March 1- April 30 ■ Baseball, Women’s Tennis, Track, and Wrestling: April 12 - June 11 ■ Cheerleading Invitational: May 1 “This is great news from the NCHSAA,” said Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte. “COVID-19 has had a significant physical and emotional impact on all of us. This is another important step in helping our students, schools, and community return to more normal activities. We will share additional details as they develop.”

Libraries ready to help students As schools open again for both in-person and online learning, Fontana Regional Library locations have tools to help students of all ages. Libraries are open by appointment, and anyone 12 and up can call to schedule a time to come inside to browse books, use a computer, or use a study room. (Younger children are also welcome, but a parent must make the appointment.) Time slots are 45 minutes in length, although longer sessions can be allowed. Masks or other face coverings are required. Wi-Fi is available immediately

outside each building 24/7 as well as inside during library hours. Curbside pick-up service is also still available at all locations. All public school students in Macon, Jackson, and Swain Counties have access to online resources like eBooks and research databases through the StudentAccess program, which gives students library accounts automatically, without a separate card. Ask your local library for details. Visit www.fontanalib.org.

ConMet scholarship started at HCC ConMet’s local Canton plant recently established a scholarship through Haywood Community College’s Foundation for students in the college’s Computer-Integrated Machining, Industrial Systems or Electrical Engineering programs. ConMet supplies injection molded, structural foam, gas counter pressure and highly decorative plastic products in a wide range of press sizes from 250-Ton to 4,000-Ton machines. The Canton facility produces products primarily for the heavy truck industry. The scholarship will be awarded to full-time students to cover a combination of student expenses such as tuition and fees, books, childcare and transportation. Students in these business and industry programs are taught through hands-on applications and receive training on machines that mimic what they will encounter when entering the workforce. For more information, call 828.627.4544 or email pahardin@haywood.edu.

WCU revamps Title IX policies Following a recent regulatory overhaul of federal Title IX civil rights legislation by the U.S. Department of Education, Western Carolina University has revamped its Title IX-related policies and procedures. The university adopted Policy 129 “Title IX

notified SCC officials that Bestcolleges.com put Southwestern at No. 1 in its listing of “The Best Community Colleges & Trade Schools of 2020.” Although this is SCC’s debut atop a nationwide ranking, it marks the fourth time in the last 13 years that SCC has been included among the Top 10 colleges in the U.S. Washington Monthly placed Southwestern at No. 4 (in 2007) and No. 9 (in 2010), and WalletHub had SCC at No. 7 in 2015.

HCC program ranked in top 5

Sexual Harassment” on Aug. 4. Taking effect Friday, Aug. 14, the policy is designed to provide an independent policy and framework to protect employees, visitors and students from sexual harassment within any education program or activity, said Ivy Gibson, WCU’s associate general counsel and Title IX coordinator. Important aspects of the new policy include a uniform complaint and grievance hearing process, options for informal resolution when both parties agree, and a 60-day processing timeframe absent good cause for extension, such as unavailability of one or both of the parties. For more information, review University Policy 129 or contact the Title IX Coordinator Ivy Gibson at 828.227.7116 or igbson@email.wcu.edu.

Macon 4-Hers compete in state horse show While this year has been very different for Macon County 4-Hers, many have gone the extra mile to show off their show animals and projects. Natalie Owens and Courtney Weeks recently competed with equine youth from across the state in the first virtual NC 4-H State Horse Show. Competitors submitted a recorded competition riding pattern to be judged online. Congratulations to our riders for placing among 219 statewide competitors: Natalie Owens — second in Senior Hunter Showmanship, fourth in Senior Western Horsemanship, fourth in Senior Western Showmanship and third in Senior Hunter Equitation; Courtney Weeks — ninth in Senior Hunter Hack, 10th in Senior Hunter Showmanship and 10th in Senior Hunter Equitation.

SCC top national ranking from bestcolleges.com More than 1,100 community colleges currently offer education and training in the United States and one ranking service considers Southwestern Community College to be the very best. The N.C. Community College System office

According to Medicalassistantadvice.com, Haywood Community College’s Medical Assisting program has been ranked No. 5 in North Carolina for the year 2020. The ranking is based on factors such as graduation rate, full-time retention rate, admissions rate and average net price. HCC’s medical assisting program prepares graduates to be a key component in keeping busy medical offices and clinics running smoothly. Perhaps the most versatile of all allied health professionals, medical assistants have a great amount of variety in their job duties and are cross-trained to perform administrative, clinical and laboratory duties.

Scholarships awarded to WNC students The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina recently approved scholarships totaling $510,250 to 94 WNC students in 57 schools in 21 counties. MaKenzie Caldwell and Keely Cherry of Tuscola High School, Brenda Laney of Lincoln Memorial University and Zachariah Mull, Chloe Parris and McKenzie Squires of Pisgah High School were awarded. Scholarship endowments can have broad eligibility criteria or can be focused on a particular school or county, offered to students pursuing a degree in a stated field or available to those who will attend a designated college or university. Learn more at www.cfwnc.org.

Macon names ‘Teacher of the Year’ Rachel Alford has been named Macon County Schools 2020 Teacher of the Year. Alford currently teaches high school math at Union Academy. She will now move forward to the regional competition. Here are the finalists for the Teacher of the Year Award from each school in the district: Macon Middle School- Scott Burns; East Franklin Elementary School - Cieara Gregory; Highlands School - Dave Cashion; Mountain View Intermediate School - Jennifer Nation; Cartoogechaye Elementary School - Katrin Rholetter; Iotla Valley Elementary School - Sheena Hughes; Nantahala School - Jenny McMahan; South Macon Elementary School - Christy Passmore; Franklin High School - Bob Kuppers and Macon Early College - Gary Brown.

Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Cawthorn’s claims about Davis are ridiculous K

FOX not on list of reliable news sources To the Editor: Forbes magazine caters to the millionaires, billionaires, and Wall Street types whose fortunes depend on accurate information. On February 1, 2017, Forbes published an article called “10 Journalism Brands Where You Find Real Facts Rather Than Alternative Facts.” The author of the article, Paul Glader, states “One key question for any publication is this: If a reporter gets facts in a story wrong, will the news outlet investigate a complaint and publish a correction? Does the publication have its own code of ethics? Or does it subscribe to and endorse the Society of Professional Journalist’s code of ethics? And if a reporter or editor seriously violates ethical codes — such as being a blatant or serial plagiarizer, fabulist or exaggerator — will they be fired at a given news outlet? While some may criticize mainstream media outlets for a variety of sins, top outlets such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC News and the New Republic have fired journalists for such ethics violations.”

lege. He also served as an administrative law judge at the U.S. Department of Labor. He resigned his position at Guantanamo because he disagreed with the George W. Bush administration’s decision to allow testimony obtained through torture. “I stand on my record,” Davis responded. “I have a record. I’ll be 62 years old next week.” Calling Davis a racist — which is a patently absurd and unfounded accusation, by the way — also means Cawthorn is painting a large part of what would be his constituency with the same broad brush, calling them Editor racist. That may be a strategic political stance, but it also sounds like someone who will find it difficult to relate to many of those in this district and who isn’t interested in working with those with whom he holds different opinions. His ridiculous claims of racism against his opponent aren’t the only criticism Cawthorn has faced lately. Some have attacked him for surrounding himself with symbols that have

Scott McLeod

eep electing people who are ideologically too far left or right to reach across the aisle, and we’ll have the same kind of Congress we have today: divided, ineffective, laughable. So despite Madison Cawthorn trying to brand himself as a new face of conservatism, many of his statements since winning the 11th District GOP primary reveal a young man with a narrow, hard-right world view that may make him the darling of a certain segment of his party but will do little to help those in his district or help get Congress moving in a positive direction. Cawthorn — who is 25, never graduated from college and has never lived anywhere else but Western North Carolina except for one semester at a private college in Virginia — told Smoky Mountain News Staff Writer Corey Vaillancourt that his opponent in the race to replace Mark Meadows is racist. “My opponent is racist. White liberals are the most racist people I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Cawthorn told the SMN. His opponent, 62-year-old Democrat Moe Davis, is a retired Air Force colonel and a former chief prosecutor in the terrorist trials at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. He attended law school at a historically Black college and taught for four years at Howard, a prominent historically Black col-

LETTERS The article then goes on to list the top reliable news sources, and why each was chosen. In order, they are: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, BBC, The Economist, The New Yorker, Wire Services (The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News), Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, and Politico.

For runners up, he listed National Public Radio, TIME magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, The Los Angeles Times (and many other regional, metropolitan daily newspapers), USA Today, CNN, NBC News, CBS News, and ABC News. Notice anything missing? How about the No. 1 watched source of information in the U.S., Fox News? In January of this year, Fox delivered “an average total prime time audience of 2.9 mil-

become associated with the white nationalist movement. There’s the Betsy Ross flag that is often behind him when he does interviews; the Spartan symbol on the vest he’s wearing in a popular photograph of him sporting a military style rifle; and the name of his real estate investment company, SPQR, which was originally used to denote the Roman senate and its people but has been co-opted by white supremacists. Questions have also been raised about his relationships with women. There was a time not too long ago when openly accusing an individual or group of being racist would be considered an outrageous insult. In this politically charged and divisive time, however, it just seems to be accepted as blunt or tough talk. That’s too bad, but the accusation reveals more about Cawthorn than it does Davis. When someone with Cawthorn’s inexperience and youth makes this kind of charge against someone with Davis’ background and credentials, well, it’s just hard to take him seriously. If he’s wants to wrap himself in the mantle of the new conservative, he could start by not using the tired, old tropes and clichés of the worst of his predecessors. (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)

lion viewers,” and FNC shows “Hannity,” “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” “The Ingraham Angle” and“ Fox News at Night” all had their best January ratings in history,” according to the Forbes article “‘We Passed CNN … And Never Looked Back’: Fox News Hits 18 Years At #1.” What does it say about this country when the most popular news source doesn’t make it into the top 29 reliable news sources? That tells me that millions of Americans are misinformed. Our democratic republic relies on informed citizen voters, and Fox is leading us astray. If you want to actually know what is going on in the world, read news articles from reliable sources. If you want to continue to have your biases confirmed and be manipulated, watch Fox and the other biased sources. They are spoon-feeding their audience cherrypicked stories with cherry-picked facts, often out of context, denying the audience the full story. If you rely on Fox or similar sources, you aren’t getting all the facts, and often getting a lot of spin. If you want to be credible, cite sources that are reliable, not propaganda machines. “Rumor has it” may be a great band name, but it is lousy for persuading intelligent people. When in doubt, check it on Snopes. Dan Kowal Franklin

Haywood Health Board supports vaccines To the Editor: The Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency Board unequivocally supports the immunization program of the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency

and encourages all eligible persons to get vaccinated. Vaccines prevent many illnesses and have saved the lives of millions of infants, children, adolescents, teens and adults. The goal of the immunization program at the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency is to prevent disease, disability and death from vaccine-preventable diseases in children. These services help reduce the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases by assuring that individuals are age appropriately immunized. Haywood County DHHS is prepared to manage outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. They provide requested vaccines for children and adults as set forth by North Carolina Health and Human Services. Guidelines from the Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and North Carolina Immunization Program (NCIP) are followed to deliver age appropriate immunizations according to the most current recommended schedule and to assure the safe delivery of vaccines. While we recognize that some have concerns about vaccines, to date the preponderance of study confirms the overwhelming benefit to community-wide health from such an immunization approach. Vaccinations are provided Monday-Friday by appointment or walk-in to all patients who are eligible for vaccinations. All CDC recommended vaccines are available to eligible adults and children through our local Health Department. These vaccines are given by appointment. An appointment can be scheduled by calling 828.452.6675. The Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency Board supports vaccination as one of the most effective public health strategies to control and prevent disease. Sincerely, the following undersigned members of the Haywood

Pondering fences and their removal

DeVos takes money from public schools To the Editor: One provision of the CARES Act passed by Congress in March, as it is being administered by the Department of Education, could have a devastating effect on Haywood County’s public schools, students, and teachers.

The money from this Act was intended by Congress to help low-income children by narrowing the existing resource and achievement gap. Instead, Secretary Betsy DeVos (no friend of public schools) has interpreted it to mean that the billions of dollars would be shared equally with public and private schools, based on the idea that all children be served equitably no matter where they attend school. The estimated amount to be taken from public schools and given to private schools is $1.5 billion, with a proportionate transfer to occur locally. The secretary’s effort to eliminate discrimination against private school students will instead have the effect of discrimination against students in districts like Haywood County’s that serve low-income constituents. Since private schools have sources of revenue not available to public schools, the net effect will be that the richer schools get richer while students in poverty and minority areas are further deprived. Public education is a fundamental right for all children. The aim of the CARES Act was to facilitate that. Its application by the current Department of Education will only further undermine it. Our children deserve better than this. Doug Wingeier Asheville

Smoky Mountain News

County Health and Human Services Board: Paul Turner, HHSA Board Chair; Dr. Donald Buckner; Psychiatrist Member; Neil Budde; Public Member; Lowell K. Davis PhD; Consumer Member; Sarah M. Henderson, MSN, RN, Registered Nurse Member; Jon Parsons; Public Member; Dr. Elizabeth Ferguson, DDS; Dentist Member; Nita Kirkpatrick, MSN, RN; Public Member; Larry Reeves, Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Public Member; Dan Schultz, LCSW, Social Worker Member; Ann E. Geers, PhD, Public/Consumer Member; Dr. David McCracken, DVM, Veterinarian Member; Warren Sugg, Professional Engineer Member; Mollie Harrington-Weaver, MD Pediatrician, Physician Member; John Stoeckel, LCSW, Public Member/Advocate Member; Kim Ferguson, Vice-Chair/Pharmacist Member.

August 19-25, 2020

BY R ICH BYERS G UEST COLUMNIST obert Frost said that “fences make good neighbors.” I get that. I am not a sociable person. However, I do know and like almost all my neighbors. And, granted, my entire yard is fenced in. It makes it much easier to have two dogs who are sociable, sort of. Last Saturday, sitting on our porch, my wife and I heard a racket different than we had been hearing over the last year. It was wonderful. Here is the parable to ponder: There was a vacant lot cattycorner from our home which a very nice person bought some years ago. He has improved and maintained that empty lot for some time, and late last year he started building a beautiful little home here. We have talked to him several times, and we look forward to this new neighbor. But, on one border of this property there has been a six-foot privacy fence for a long time. It seems to say “Keep Out” just by its size and length. Now, this fence is owned by a wonderful young family whom we also know. Here is the thing: they bought this home a few years ago when the fence was already there. They didn’t install it. This fence was already part of everybody’s reality when they moved in.

So, last Saturday, as the young couple banged at that big fence, and panel after panel came down, our neighborhood looked more and more beautiful. We just sat in deep amazement and gratitude at what was happening. Another border gone. And then the young family went over to the new home and our newest neighbor welcomed them in to see his new house. It was such a glimpse of promise. A hope that things will get better someday. Now, we have no idea what was said between the neighbors or what started it. And, there are those who will say that I am simplifying deep unsettled issues. Agreed, you can view this as a simplistic tale. But, is there any value to a ray of sunshine today? We value every one of them as best we can. Between the increasing hateful rhetoric everywhere and the viral suffocations we endure daily, can you imagine what a wonderful joyful thing it was to see a fence come down? So, our neighborhood is just a little more beautiful. I have no idea who said what to who that resulted in opening up that space between them, but if you want me to spell it out, here it is: We all have fences somewhere, and maybe we didn’t build them. They are just there for us. But, if we can talk around the fence, if we can reach out, both sides reaching out, maybe a fence will come down. It is a wonderful thing to celebrate. Another fence down!! Thanks to our unnamed neighbors. You’re great! (Rich Byers is a retired English as a Second Language teacher and an active beekeeper. He lives in Waynesville.)

A&E

Smoky Mountain News

Surrendering yourself to the before and after

David Joy. (photo: Garret K. Woodward)

David Joy releases latest novel When These Mountains Burn BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER ituated at the corner of N.C. 107 and 281, in the Tuckasegee community of rural Jackson County, is a newly-built Dollar General. And sitting in his pickup truck in the convenience store parking lot one recent afternoon is acclaimed author David Joy. Awaiting his interview with The Smoky Mountain News, Joy signals to follow him and to “make sure you put your truck into fourwheel drive when we hit the gravel” on the first of many roads, twists and turns it takes before we arrive at his humble, picturesque cabin — purposely isolated from the outside world on a ridge high up in the mountainous depths of Western North Carolina. Unassuming in appearance, Joy sports his signature look: fishing cap, T-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots covered in patches of dried mud. It isn’t an image. It’s purely who Joy is, a person who lives simply and works simply, where anything else is either a minor detail or meaningless distraction. In the last five years, Joy has written and released four novels, with the latest highlyanticipated work, When These Mountains

Burn (Putnam), on bookshelves now. Each book is a dark dive into the harsh realities of everyday Appalachian people just trying to survive, even though — when all is said and done in life — nobody makes it out alive anyhow. Now 36, Joy is regarded as one of the current torchbearers of the southern noir (aka: rural noir) novel, a form of literature that has spawned some of America’s finest writers throughout the centuries. To which, the gritty, intricate literary style has caught wildfire in recent years, with readers (here and abroad) garnering a massive fascination with the history and culture of Southern Appalachia. Perhaps the fascination from outsiders is a deep, primal yearning to return to nature, a back-to-the-basics of a less cluttered life in this era of digital technology and fast-paced priorities. Or maybe it’s the notion that whatever is happening in Appalachia — for good or ill — is a symptom of a bigger issue in American society, in general. Regardless, Joy observes his surroundings, constantly soaking up the hard truths and hardscrabble values of Jackson County, and of whoever and whatever lies just over the next ridge. He distills what he sees, hears and feels into books aimed at finding their way into the hands of those looking to not only be captivated by Joy’s words, but to also spark a sense of urgency and compassion towards his friends, neighbors and ancestors alike.

Smoky Mountain News: With the pandemic and shutdown, I was curious about how it affected you, being someone who takes his privacy very seriously and also pursues a life of solitude in a lot of ways. David Joy: As far as affecting my day-to-day life, not that much. I don’t go many places and typically stick right around the house. Don’t travel. Hell, I got a year’s worth of food [stored already]. [Laughs]. Where it did affect me, especially right when it hit, [was that] I had a pile of stuff going on in France — a book that was supposed to come out and a book tour. I had an essay coming out in the biggest magazine in France. I had an episode on the biggest book-related television show [there, too]. All of that was set to take place in about a week when all of this hit, and they shut everything down. SMN: During “The Great Pause” right now, a lot of people are finally discovering the beauty of solitude. What is it about solitude that appeals to you? Why is that something you not only seek, but is a big part of who you are? DJ: Well, I think I’ve always been that way. I’m better off inside of my head. I have a really hard time with information overload. I quit going to the brewery [in Sylva] when there started to be more than about 10 people [in] there. It’s overly stimulating to me. I can’t pay attention and it tires me out. I’m incredibly introverted.

As far as why the average people are doing it? I think part of it’s that they’re scared. When they see that type of chaos break loose on the streets in front of them, their first instinct is to run. And if you got money to do it, it makes it really easy to run. I think it’s been particularly problematic for this place. It’s good for real estate people, I guess. But, it’s problematic culturally and environmentally, in that a lot of these people who have money are looking for places to run now. I mean, these houses ain’t staying on the market around here. They’re selling them as fast as they put them up. And it sure as hell ain’t people that are from here or people that are finding affordable housing to live here — it’s wealth coming in from the outside and buying this place up.

SMN: And that’s one thing you touch upon a lot in your work — the disappearance of Appalachian culture, past and present. What do you see now when you look at the landscape? DJ: I’ve said this over and over, but I think we’re a generation to two generations away from full cultural extinction as far as what we typically consider mountain culture. The story of [any] place is a story of displacement. It’s a story of one people being displaced by another. And that continues to be the case here. I mean, the people whose names were on the land

grants that made Jackson County? Those people are quickly disappearing, and I don’t really see any way around that.

— David Joy

SMN: So, is it too late? Should we have paid more attention to what was, and is, going on? DJ: The answer to everything is to listen.

WCU photo

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER cclaimed Appalachian writer and poet Ron Rash has made a substantial impact on American literature during his three-decade career, but one of his most enduring legacies may be the influence he’s had on a whole crop of younger writers, like Jackson County author David Joy. “I actually met him before he took a class with me,” said Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. “One of our fellow teachers, Annette Debo, had him in a class and he’d written a really good essay and she said, ‘I’d like you to read this guy’s essay.’ It was about trout fishing, and she knew I liked that. I read it and I said, wow, this is really good, I’d like to meet him.” The two bonded, and as Joy related in a recent interview, cultivated a deep friendship based more around casting lines than writing them — despite Rash breaking Joy’s fly rod one day. Rash said he ended up having Joy in one or two classes and recognized his ability even at that early stage of Joy’s development as a writer. “He knows how to tell a story and in some ways, that’s what you can’t teach. I mean, some people can tell a story and some can’t and David had that ability. He’s talked to me about his grandmother telling stories and that may have helped. He’s a very vivid writer,” said Rash. “I think with somebody such as David, you’re more of a cheerleader. You just want them to get started.” As with almost anything, talent isn’t a sure-fire ticket to success — in fact, without discipline and dedication, talent and a nickel will get you a bowl of fish and grits, and not much else. “He had something that was more important. I think sometimes talent’s overrated, but what I noticed about him was I would tell him, ‘This is a writer that might be helpful to you.’ William Gay was an example of that,” said Rash, to whom Joy

Rash’s latest work revisits ‘Serena’ The New York Times has called Western Carolina University Professor Ron Rash “one of the great American authors at work today,” and his latest book is a prime example of why. In the Valley: Stories and a Novella Based on Serena came out on Aug. 4, and revisits some of the memorable characters in his best-selling 2009 novel Serena. “I didn’t want it to be Ghostbusters 2,” Rash laughed. “I mean, I’m always a little leery of a sequel, but I had a character named Ross who was hugely important to me. He was one of the timbermen, but I knew he had a deeper story.” Rash had also been itching to add a novella to his storied body of work, which includes poetry, short stories, novels and even a children’s book. But it’s still Serena, subject of a 2014 feature film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, that most readily comes to mind when one mentions Rash. “Ross is one of the most heroic characters I’ve created, one of the characters I cheer for,” he said. “Readers who’ve read Serena and wondered what happened to Rachel, they’ll find out. We’ll see Serena for the first time without her husband, proving she’s even more ferocious. In a sense, she’s kind of like a female praying mantis, and now she’s unleashed.”

Smoky Mountain News

addressed by modernization and other people moving in. So, I don’t think it’s fully necessarily a negative thing. It just is kind of what it is — it’s not ever going to be the way that it was. The average person around here, if you didn’t inherit something or you don’t come from money, you ain’t got nowhere to buy anything. And it’s getting harder and harder to find a place to rent. As that becomes more and more the norm, those people who were traditionally tied to this place are just leaving. They can’t afford to stay here.

SMN: There’s almost an irony to that, because originally it was Appalachian culture slowly phasing out Cherokee culture, and now the balance has tipped. DJ: Yeah. And it may be in a good way. You know, if I can look at this place and see one group of people that I want to succeed more than anybody else that’d be the one, [the Cherokee]. But again, it goes back to that idea that the story of all places is a matter of displacement. And there will come a time where whatever this place becomes, that’ll be gone and then it’ll be something else. I think what makes it so personal, and what makes it so emotional, is when it’s your [identity] that’s being erased. And right now, it’s mine that’s being erased — the rural identity. I value that attachment to land. You know, when we drove from the Dollar General to here, we passed a patch of land that’s belonged to the Hooper [family] since this county was formed. And it’s still Hoopers living down there. You know, there will come a time where that’s not the case anymore. And that breaks my heart maybe more than anything.

Ron Rash.

August 19-25, 2020

“The story of all places is a matter of displacement. I think what makes it so personal, and what makes it so emotional, is when it’s your [identity] that’s being erased.”

The roots of Joy: Ron Rash and Western Carolina University

arts & entertainment

SMN: Do you have any hope that the culture can be saved? DJ: I’m pretty pessimistic anyway. So, I don’t necessarily see it as something that can be saved. I don’t envision that happening. As far as what my role is in that, I think a lot of it is documentary, [where] you go 20 years into the future [and read about what] may not be here [anymore]. And, at the same time, that’s not to say that everything that was here were good things. There was a lot of historic racism in this place. There are a whole lot of issues that really troubled this place that are being

That’s what I always go back to — we all needed to be listening a whole lot more than we were. So, with this book [When These Mountains Burn], I think a lot of what I was trying to do was this point/counterpoint juxtaposition, these two places where culture is disappearing. That’s the reason part of it takes place on the [Qualla] Boundary and part of it takes place in Jackson County. If you look at what’s happening to mountain culture in Jackson County, it’s being erased at an unfathomable rate. If you look at what’s happening in Cherokee, it’s a matter of cultural reclamation at an unprecedented scale. I mean, if you’ve been here very long at all, then you know very well that you had precasino Cherokee and post-casino Cherokee. Pre-casino Cherokee was rubber tomahawks, fake arrowheads and dream catchers. Pedal the tourists to make money just so that they could survive. Post-casino Cherokee is not doing that anymore. It’s, “We’re going to invest in our communities. We’re going to invest in community resources,” whether that be addiction services, mental health services or education. [The book is also] juxtaposing two different community responses to an opioid epidemic. The reality is that we haven’t put anything into addiction services in [Jackson] County or mental health services, so everybody in this county is out of luck. Meanwhile, the Eastern Band has done an incredible job of investing in [addiction and mental health services], though that’s not to say that it’s being fully utilized. And so, it was about juxtaposing the death of a culture versus the revitalization of a culture, and how those things are playing out by sideby-side. You go back 25 years and you had a [Cherokee] language on the brink of extinction. And now you’ve got children being raised as native speakers. So, I find hope in things like that. But, when I looked to the other side [that is Jackson County], I don’t know that any of that is going to be saved.

dedicated his latest novel, When These Mountains Burn. “I make all sorts of suggestions to students, but David read these people and to me that that showed he was very serious. That, to me, is when you know you’re dealing with a serious person — someone who’s going to be a serious writer because he knew he had to develop and the best way to develop is to read and work hard.” 25

Grassroots Arts Sub-grants The Jackson County Arts Council is now accepting applications for Grassroots Subgrants. The JCAC administers the Grassroots Arts Program Grant in accordance with current guidelines, policies, and requirements outlined by the North Carolina Arts Council. Funding for these subgrants come from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of Natural & Cultural Resources. The Grassroots Arts Program Sub-grant provides financial support for Jackson County community groups and nonprofit organizations that offer programs and projects that enhance the arts for county residents. Grassroots Sub-grants are awarded to organizations in all cultural disciplines through a competitive application and review process. The applicant organization must be based in Jackson County and produce its programming in Jackson County. Subgrants are not awarded to support fundraising activities. Grassroots grants are matching grants that must be matched dollar-for-dollar by the receiving organization. The JCAC is required to spend a set percentage of our Grassroots funding on Multicultural programming that reflects

African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American cultures. To qualify for a Grassroots Multicultural Sub-grant, the artist or presenter and the content of the art material should both belong to one of the groups listed above. Any organization can apply for multicultural funds to conduct art programs/events that meet these standards. Fill out the regular application for multicultural funding. Interested organizations can obtain application information at www.jacksoncountyarts.org or by email at info@jacksoncountyarts.org. The deadline for acceptance of applications is Sept. 15.

Cashiers Designer Showhouse The annual Cashiers Designer Showhouse will run through Sept. 5 at 144 Cove Drive in Highlands. Designers and landscapers representing the Southeastern region will bring trending design to Cashiers. Throughout the week, showhouse attendees will view the work of the talented designers; enjoy a variety of workshops, book signings and panel discussions from creatives across the country. Admission is $30. www.cashiershistoricalsociety.org/showhouse.

Smoky Mountain News

August 19-25, 2020

arts & entertainment

On the street

Real Experience. Real Service. Real Results.

828.452.3727

www.TheRealTeamNC.com

RE/MAX 26

EXECUTIVE

71 North Main Street Waynesville

The Maggie Valley Band.

Distillery welcomes Americana act The Maggie Valley Band will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at Elevated Mountain Distilling Company in Maggie Valley. The show will be a celebration of the band’s new EP, “Something New Vol. 1.” A blend of old-time mountain, Americana and psychedelic folk music, the Haywood County group is fronted by siblings Whitney and Caroline Miller. The duo has gone through several changes since they first set out on their melodic adventure several years ago. But, what remains is the unbreakable bond of sisterhood, something that’s become a stronghold — and strong suit — in what it will take to break into the next level of their promising careers. Free and open to the public. As well, Appalachian Smoke will be serving up fresh barbecue. For more information, visit www.themaggievalleyband.com.

Haywood Arts annual meeting

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will hold its annual meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, online utilizing Zoom. Attendees will be asked to complete a survey, so that the organization may have the necessary feedback for planning of the upcoming year’s activities. The annual meeting will also celebrate the 2019-2020 successes and kickoff the new fiscal year’s initiatives. The meeting is open to the public and an RSVP is required. RSVP by emailing director@haywoodarts.org or by calling 828.452.0593 to provide your email address.

• The Great Blue Farms Brunch & Blooms will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays through Sept. 12 at 1101 Briartown Church Road in Nantahala/Topton. Admission is $75, which includes a tour, brunch, all flowers, supplies and container to take home your floral masterpiece. www.greatbluefarms.com or 828.508.1502.

• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company will host The Maggie Valley Band (Americana/indie) 8 p.m. Aug. 29. Free and open to the public. www.elevatedmountain.com.

• The Haywood County Arts Council “Artist Member Show” will be held through Aug. 29 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showroom in Waynesville. Featuring 42 artists, the show is a celebration of our community, allowing locals to share their great work at the height of the summer season. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Tyson Leamon 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29 and Bona Fide Band 6:30 p.m. Sept. 4. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com. • Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Tennessee Champagne 1 p.m. Aug. 22, Silas Reed 7 p.m. Aug. 28 and Sly Sparrow 7 p.m. Aug. 29. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

ALSO:

• There will be a free wine tasting from 2 to 5 p.m every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• The “Haywood County Medical Exhibit: 1870-1950” will be held at The Shelton House in Waynesville. The showcase will run through October. Admission is $7 adults. $5 students. Children ages 5 and under free. Admission includes Shelton House. 828.452.1551 or www.sheltonhouse.org.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

High above the chimney top, that’s where you’ll find me

for 55 years. Together, they started Kavanaugh Realty in the late 1950s, and they continued to run the business until its sale to Joey Trombley in 1992 (who still owns and operates the company). Fred was an honorary life, 61-year member of Knights of Columbus Council 2366, a founding member of the Rouses Point Sportsmen’s Club, a member of the Mile Brook Sportsmen’s Club, a member of Montgomery Post 912 of the American Legion in Rouses Point and VFW Post 1418

August 19-25, 2020

n Aug. 11, my late grandfather, Frank Kavanaugh, would have turned 100 years old. But, alas, it’s been some 13 years since Fred left this world (June 9, 2007). I tend to think of him quite often, especially as I’ve gotten older and continued to wander the backroads and highways of the rollicking, undulating landscape that is the United States. Born and raised on the St. Lawrence Seaway in Alexandria Bay, New York, Fred (whose nickname was “Teen” all his life) was the grandson of “Fitz” Hunt, a well-known St. Lawrence skiff builder from Alex Bay. Fred enlisted in the United States Army on Nov. 6, 1940, with several of his highschool classmates from the Bay. After basic training, he was assigned to the 27th Infantry Regiment of the famed “Tropic Lightning” 25th Infantry Division at Scofield Barracks, Hawaii. He was present and under fire during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and served in the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal during the Pacific campaign to defeat Japan. He was discharged from active service on March 17, 1945, in New York City, with the rank of staff sergeant. Among his many awards and ribbons, he was most proud of his Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. In July 1945, Fred was appointed a U.S. Customs inspector at the Port of Entry in Rouses Point, New York (my hometown), and went on to have a 32-year career with the U.S. Customs Service, which culminated in his being named the acting port director at the Champlain Port of Entry. He retired in 1977 with 37 years of federal service. Fred married my grandmother Gloria Mitchell on Jan. 20, 1946, at St. Patrick’s Church in Rouses Point. They were married

Frank “Teen” Kavanaugh.

with an endless supply of duck, perch and deer meat to take home or throw on his grill and enjoy with a cold Coors Light in hand. As I got older, my grandfather and I became close, where I would take the time to actually sit down with the man and simply enjoy his company. We would grab a seat on the deck in front of the camps overlooking the lake. He’d ask me how high school was going and if I’d broken any school records yet in track and field. I’d ask him about World War II, what it was like to grow up in the Great Depression, and who his favorite baseball players were when he was my age. When I left for college, I ended up some 300 miles away in Connecticut. And with that, my visits back home were few and far between, usually only for Thanksgiving, Christmas and sporadic occasions throughout the summer when I wasn’t working at my Uncle Craig’s motel in Lake Placid. So, when I would find myself back in Rouses Point, like clockwork the telephone at my parents’ farmhouse would ring early in the morning. It was Fred. “Want to meet me for breakfast in a half-hour?” Breakfast always meant a trip to Ole Tymes Café in downtown Rouses Point. Although it’s now boarded up and abandoned, I drove by it recently and I could still taste the bacon, eggs, home fries (with onions) and chocolate milkshake that I’d order once in a blue moon. The last time I saw Fred in person was at Ole Tymes. It was the end of my Christmas Break during my senior year at Quinnipiac University. I was going to graduate that following spring. But, Fred wouldn’t be able to make the trip to see me walk across the stage due to his age and health. A week or so after I got home from graduation, Fred passed away peacefully in his sleep in the same house he built in the late 1940s, just after he married my grandmother. I think of that last breakfast rendezvous with Fred. He smiled when I mentioned that I made the Dean’s List again, and when I excitedly told about how I was going to be a writer, someone who will travel the world and scribble wildly about it. He told me he was proud of me and that he loved me. Those words still reverberate within my heart and soul. Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.

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in Champlain. In addition, he served on the board of St. Patrick’s School in Rouses Point and was a member of the Clinton County Board of Realtors. Aside from everything written above, my grandfather was so much more, to me and to countless others he befriended over his 86 years on this planet. I may not have known Fred when he was “Teen,” the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed soldier headed to the Pacific Theatre (as pictured). But, I did know an older gentleman who never lost that bright-eyed, bushy-tailed vibrancy for life and all its treasures. Looking back, my initial memories of Fred swirl around our summer camp on Lake Champlain, just south of the Rouses Point town line. One cabin was owned by my grandparents, the other by my greatgrandmother, Florence, who was Fred’s mother-in-law and lived to be 103 (1896-1999). Though the camps were sold not long after Fred passed away, they were the family gathering spot every weekend for almost 55 years. Being a lifelong outdoorsman, Fred was always jumping into his busted 1980s Toyota pickup (the rusted truck bed held together by chicken wire and duct tape), either headed into the woods to hunt or hooking up his old boat to go fishing in Catfish Bay near the camps. His garage fridge was constantly filled

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We are, at our core, remembering and storymaking creatures, and stories are one of the chief ways we find meaning in the flow of events.

longs to come.” Unlike some historians, McClay and McBride remind us that love and criticism are not necessarily enemies. “Love is the foundation of the wisest criticism, and criti-

All human beings are flawed, as are all human enterprises. To believe otherwise is to be naïve, and much of what passes for cynicism in our time is little more than naiveté in deep disguise.

Jeff Minick

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One of the worst sins of the present … is its tendency to condescend toward the past.

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cism is the essential partner of an honest and enduring love.” They then quote G.K. Chesterton: “Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her.” These days, some among us, particularly those who loot, burn, and even kill, who call for an end to the Constitution and regard the United States past and present as evil, lack that love. Like children throwing a tantrum and screaming “I hate you!” at the mother who has refused to buy them a candy bar, or like some rebellious teen who knows not the cause of his rebellion but turns his back on his parents, these rioters and those who are backing them seem to have lost not only their minds, but any heartfelt affection for their country. Land Of Hope salutes American accomplishments and critiques its failures, and does so with a real love of America. For those who are homeschooling, who are distance learning, or who simply want to enhance their knowledge of the history of the United States, here are two books worthy of your attention.

Author Ron Rash will be discussing his new book

August 19-25, 2020

he above thoughts appear in the introduction to Wilfred McClay’s Land Of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story, reviewed in the Smoky Mountain News last June. As stated in the review, Professor McClay’s textbook, aimed at high school and college students, is a wellbalanced and nuanced history of America, examining the failures and triumphs found in the American story. Moreover, Land Of Hope does indeed read like a story, and as I stated in my review I recommend it highly to all young people. Now the University of Oklahoma professor, along with master teacher John McBride, has given us another gem, A Teacher’s Guide To Land Of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story (Encounter Books, 2020, 395 pages). This valuable supplement is more than an ordinary guide, for in addition to helpful comments on each chapter of the text McClay and McBride offer many original documents, American songs and poems, questions for testing the students on their reading and for expanding even further their understanding of our history, and short writing assignments. Like its predecessor, this guide to Land Of Hope is a treasure trove of U.S. history. And as in the textbook, McClay and McBride go to special lengths to emphasize the importance of looking at the past through a telescope as free as possible from our own modern mores and current prejudices. Near the end of the book, they write that ideally our conception of the past should engage us in a dialogue: “That conversation, to be a real and honest one, must include the good, the bad, and the ugly, the ways we have failed and fallen short, not merely what is pleasing to our national selfesteem. But by the same token, the great story, the thread that we share, should not be lost in a blizzard of details or a hailstorm of rebukes. America is, and remains, a land of hope, a land to which much of the rest of the world

week: Having enjoyed Gen LaGreca’s novel Just The Truth, which I recently reviewed here, I raced through Noble Vision, her novel in which she looks at what might take place if New York State socialized its hospitals and doctors under a plan called CareFree. Here we meet Nicole Hudson, a star of the ballet who in a terrible accident loses her sight, and David Lang, the neurosurgeon who believes he can help her see again through experimental surgery. With the government controlling all health care, and failing in every way possible to satisfy its budget and the medical demands of its constituents, Hudson and Lang must battle enormous odds to make her surgery possible. A good read and pertinent in light of today’s pandemic, quarantines, and masks. Looking for material for another article brought me to William J. Bennett’s The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood. Best known for The Book of Virtues, here Bennett has collected several hundred stories, essays, poems, myths, and biographical profiles intended to teach readers what a man should be, the virtues he should practice, and how he should live. I took what I needed from The Book of Man — my article had to do with men under 30 — and recommend this book as a great gift to young men for the purposes of pleasure, learning, and mentoring. I’ll conclude with a mention of James Mustich’s 1,000 Books To Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List. This collection of short reviews and author biographies I open at least once a week for the sheer enjoyment of Mustich’s style and literary enthusiasm. If you’re a book-lover and your library is missing 1,000 Books To Read, I highly recommend this one. Even if you can’t or don’t read the suggested books, this volume is a delight. (Jeff Minick is a writer and teacher. minick0301@gmail.com)

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The arthropod collection includes about 10,000 specimens. Donated photos

CATALOGUING BIODIVERSITY WCU lands grant for biological collections BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER collection of 47,000 plants and animals currently tucked away in various rooms of Western Carolina University’s Stillwell building will soon have a new home thanks to a $517,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. “This is a great opportunity for our region, because we don’t have a lot of the museum resources they have in the Research Triangle area like the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. We’re creating that kind of museum resource here,” said Kathy Mathews, prin-

cipal investigator on the grant. Mathews has been an associate professor of biology at WCU for the past 16 years, and for 15 of those years she’s curated the university’s herbarium. That collection contains 36,500 plant specimens — and counting — with the university’s collection also including nearly 10,000 arthropods and 500 birds and mammals. “The Southern Appalachians region is one of the biodiversity hotspots on the planet. Our collections here at Western, believe it or not, some of them are unique,” said Mathews. “Some of them are only found here, or we have the best representatives of certain organisms that no other museums have because we’re right here, and we’ve had faculty at WCU collecting things since the early 1900s.”

thetically pleasing but not safe for long-term While the birds and mammals in the colstorage, said Mathews. The arthropods are in lection are fairly recent arrivals, coinciding “complete disarray,” tucked away uncatawith work that co-investigators Barbara logued in various cardboard boxes and cabiBallentine and Aimee Rockhill have put in nets, and many of the birds and mammals are over the past decade, the arthropod and especially the plant collections have a lot more his- stored in freezers, not yet having been prepared as museum specimens. tory behind them. Most of the arthropods Despite all that still remains to be done, date from the 1980s, when Dr. Fred Coyle collection curators have already put a substanstarted the collection, while the herbarium tial amount of effort into safeguarding the colbegan in the 1950s. “We have some specimens that are older than that, that have been gifted to us,” said Mathews. “Some of them are from the late 1800s from the old Biltmore Estate collections, but most of the herbarium specimens actually were collected during the 1970s and 80s by faculty members in botany. Dan Pittillo and Jim Horton were the two who really built the herbarium collection.” The grant’s co-investigators are Luiz Silveira, assistant professor of insect diversity, ecology and evolution; Ballentine, associate professor of evolution and behavioral ecology; and Rockhill, assistant professor of natural resource conservation and management. The application was submitted nearly a year ago, Mia Taylor, an undergraduate studying geosciences and natural in October 2019, and Mathews said the team resources, prepares a mouse specimen. was elated to find out they lections. Many of the plants were stored in made the cut. It’s a competitive grant, with old newspapers, which is a poor method for only about 45 percent of applications for the preservation, because newspaper contains National Science Foundation’s Division of acid. This causes color to leech from the speciBiological Infrastructure grants accepted. mens and makes them brittle. Mathews was “We’re very excited we got the funding,” able to get work-study students to mount the Mathews said. specimens on acid-free paper instead. The effort was timed to coincide with con“They were a bit degraded, but everything struction of the $110 million Tom Apodaca Science Building, scheduled for completion in else now is stabilized,” she said. “It’s just that 2021. The three-year project will allow the col- we don’t have any protection in case of a water leak or insect infestation. So far we’ve lections to be organized and curated, with a been able to hold off any of that happening.” rotating display prominently featured on the The arthropods are preserved in liquid, building’s fifth floor. but in many of the jars the ethanol had evapoThe first phase of the project will be to organize and label everything for relocation to rated, causing the specimens to dry out and face degradation. Silveira has been working new cabinetry storage systems designed to with students to sort and refill those containprotect against degrading forces like mold, ers. fire and insect damage. Four undergraduate In phase two, the team will create a pubstudents will be hired each year to help with licly available website called Catamount this task, and two graduate students in biology will be hired for a term of two years to help Collections that catalogues each specimen, complete with photographs. with curation and to oversee the undergrads. “I think the website will be a really good The university will work with curators from way to start opening that up to people, and the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in then if they want to come see specimens in Raleigh to prepare the birds and mammal person we have one area in the new building skins, said Mathews. where we can show people our colCurrently, the herbarium is stored in lections,” said Mathews. “I feel like “beautiful old wooden cabinets” that are aes-

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A new weekday dropoff program for children ages 6 to 9 will begin this fall at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville. Outdoor Adventure Kids — or OAK — is a safety-first approach to exploring the natural world with other kids. The Arboretum’s team of expert environmental educators will lead small groups of students through inquiry-based, outdoor learning by exploring the Arboretum’s 434-acre campus. The program offers two options. The

Sassafras Class meets three days per week — 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Sept. 8 to Nov. 19. The ecoEXPLORE Class meets Fridays only, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., Sept. 11 to Nov. 20. Safety protocols will include face covering requirements, social distancing, limited class size, outdoor instruction, equipment sanitation and more. Space is limited and registration is required at www.ncarboretum.org/education-programs/youth-familyprograms/oak-drop-off-program.

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important to keep those specimens in good we’re providing a public outreach service shape so that current and future scientists, with this project.” as well as the general public, can continue Outreach is indeed a specific goal, with to see and appreciate them. the grant also including funding to develop outreach modules so small teaching collections can be taken to area schools, showing students the various types of plants and animals in the collection. “We’re hoping to train a cohort of students on this kind of museum studies work so they could go and work for a natural history museum after they graduate,” Mathews said. “It’s to get them interested in biological collections.” The collections are many, varied and in some cases unique — or close to it. Mathews said some of her favorite parts of the collections are specimens of the plant communities found on high-elevation rock outcrops, relics of a time when glaciation forced typically northern plants and animals to move south. Her favorite insect in the collection is a rare and tiny spider called the spruce fir moss spider. “It lives in moss mats up in the high elevations, and it’s actually a miniature tarantula,” she said. “It is Some of the herbarium’s 36,500 specimens are dissuper rare because its habitat is played in a print exhibit. declining.” Habitat decline — due both to “We want people to know that we have development and to climate change — is a really special organisms here,” said real threat to many rare species found only Mathews. in this corner of the world, she said, and it’s

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Start the school year Smoky style Get schooled in the Smokies with one of the varied programs offered through the University of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Field School this fall. n Saturday, Aug. 22. Choose one of two course offerings: Sensational Salamanders or Historic Cataloochee Valley, Smoky Mountain Elk & More. n Saturday, Sept. 5. Choose one of two course offerings: Naturalist Ramble

through an Old-Growth Forest or Early Fall Wildflowers Along the Cataloochee Divide. n Saturday, Sept. 12. Plant Diversity of the Smokies. n Saturday, Sept. 26. The Mystery of Monarch Butterflies. n Saturday, Oct. 3. Bears of Our Smokies. n Saturday, Oct. 10. Choose one of two course offerings: Cherokee Plant Lore & More! or Introduction to Orienteering. n Saturday, Oct. 24. Fall Nature Photography. n Saturday, Nov. 7. Fall Colors in an OldGrowth Forest. Courses cost $69 apiece with the exception of Fall Nature Photography, which costs $99. They are led by a variety of experienced and skilled instructors. For a complete course list or to register, visit aceweb.outreach.utk.edu/wconnect/ace/ ShowSchedule. The Smoky Mountain Field School is offered by the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

Teacher Escape Weekend goes virtual

August 19-25, 2020

Tremont Institute is offering support and resources for schools this year as they prepare for teaching and learning during a pandemic. The annual Teacher Escape Weekend will this year be offered as a virtual workshop, with sessions Sept. 11-12 and Sept. 25-26 at a cost of $50 per weekend. Tremont faculty will work with educators to share resources and develop solutions to help them maximize student-centered experiential learning, whether indoor or out, virtual or in person. Register at gsmit.org/educators/teacher-escape.

Welcomes Prosthodontist Jackson Blackburn DMD MS

Smoky Mountain News

Dr. Blackburn is a dentist with specialty training in complex dental concerns including implants, dentures, full mouth rehabilitation, and maxillofacial prosthodontics. Dr. Blackburn is excited to be joining the Smoky Mountain Dentistry family. He can help you create the smile you want and deserve. We are accepting new patients, call to schedule an appointment. Dr. Jed Lambert, Dr. Elizabeth Ferguson, Dr. Robert Franklin, Dr. Jackson Blackburn

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Nancy East (left) and Chris Ford pause for a photo after summiting Mt. LeConte. Donated photo

With 900-mile challenge, hikers hope to raise $60K A pair of experienced Smokies hikers will soon embark on a 900-mile challenge in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with the goal of raising $60,000 for the park’s Preventative Search and Rescue program. Nancy “Seal Mom” East and Chris “Pacer” Ford plan to start their Tour de Smokies on Saturday, Sept. 5 and will catalogue the journey on East’s blog “Hope and Feather Travels” at www.hopeandfeathertravels.com. Along the way, they’ll show hikers what it takes to properly train and prepare for such an adventure. East and Ford are both experienced Smokies hikers, with East having completed two 900-Miler maps and Ford completing three. Completing a map means hiking all 900 miles of trail in the park.

Ranger Liz Hall, GSMNP’s first emergency manager, said East and Ford’s fundraising effort for Preventive Search and Rescue will be important for the success of the program. “The funds they are raising will be a huge help,” Hall said, who started her new role in June 2020. “Those funds will go directly to fund two seasonal rangers.” The rangers will assist with rescues and be part of the Smokies’ increased preventative efforts. They will oversee a cadre of volunteers who will hike various areas in the park to help visitors make good choices about their hiking. To donate, visit www.friendsofthesmokies.org, call 800.845.5665 or mail a check to Friends of the Smokies, P.O. Box 1660, Kodak, TN 37764.

Explore Kimsey Creek A strenuous 8-mile hike will walk Kimsey Creek to Deep Gap on Saturday, Aug. 22, in Macon County. Led by the Nantahala Hiking Club, the trek is for experienced hikers only. It includes an elevation change of 800 feet with three bridges to cross — the last is in bad repair — and the trail goes across rocks that slide into the creek. To make a reservation, contact hike leader Katharine Brown at 828.421.4178.

Hike Graveyard Fields Explore Graveyard Fields with a guided hike beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26. Kathy Odvody and Jan Jacobson will lead this moderate walk along the Blue Ridge Parkway, with a total distance of 3.75 miles and an elevation gain of 758 feet. The hike is part of an ongoing series offered by Haywood County Recreation and Parks to explore some of the county’s most beautiful areas. Free, with registration required at 828.452.6789.

Smokies resource education chief named

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash has named Stephanie F. Kyriazis as the park’s new Deputy Chief of Resource Education. Kyriazis comes to the Smokies from Marsh-Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont, and Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire, where she served as Chief of Interpretation and Education. However, she’s no stranger to the Smokies. In spring 2019, she Stephanie F. served in a threemonth detail as Kyriazis the park’s Acting Chief of Resource Education, a position that she will now fill permanently. “Stephanie brings proven leadership, expertise in her field of discipline and rich work experiences, which will be of tremendous benefit to the park’s management team and to the dedicated park educators and interpreters,” Cash said. The Deputy Chief position for Resource Education had been vacant for several years and is not frequently used in the Smokies. However, Cash decided to fill it after former Chief of Resource Education Nigel Fields was sent on a year-long detail as Superintendent of Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument. Starting the hiring process for the deputy chief position was seen as the best way to provide consistent leadership during that time. In January, Fields accepted a permanent position as superintendent of the Virgin Islands parks, and while the Smokies works to permanently fill the Chief of Education position, Kyriazis will lead the division. Kyriazis has been with the National Park Service for 15 years after starting her career as a geology intern at Bryce Canyon National Park. She served as an education ranger at Death Valley National Park and Acadia National Park, and then as Chief of Interpretation and Education at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. Her professional passions include science communication, youth engagement and equity work. “The incredible biological diversity, human stories and recreational opportunities that characterize Great Smoky Mountains National Park offer unique opportunities for education, connection and enjoyment,” she said. “I am eager to collaborate with park staff, partners, volunteers, visitors and community members to protect and share this unparalleled place.” Kyriazis holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in resource interpretation. She will move to the Smokies with her husband Justin Sochacki, who also works for the National Park Service, and their 7-year-old son. She started her new job July 19.

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Become an eco-gardener Enrollment is now open for the Eco-Gardening Certificate of Merit Program at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville, with an overview of the program planned for Thursday, Aug. 27. The program is designed to offer understanding of the complex ecological principles underpinning healthy, self-sustaining landscapes and how to apply them to the garden. Participants earn their certificates through a 120-hour program including courses in ecology, permaculture, wildlife gardening and more. Program cost varies depending on the classes chosen to complete elective requirements, as registration fees are charged per class. Arboretum members receive a discount. A one-time $75 application fee is required. To apply, visit www.ncarboretum.org/education-programs/certifications/blue-ridge-naturalistregistration.

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ago to assess trends in avian demographics in a wide range of habitats in North America. Free. The lecture is offered as the last of three webinars scheduled to replace the Highlands Biological Station’s annual Zahner Conservation Lecture Series. Hopey will give his presentation via Zoom, with registration required at www.highlandsbiological.org or by calling 828.526.2623.

Mark Hopey of Southern Appalachian Raptor Research will discuss ongoing efforts to monitor bird populations at the Highlands Biological Station at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20. Hopey will discuss the Highlands Biological Station’s newest research endeavor as it recently became home to a new bird banding station for the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship program — an initiative that began just over 30 years

Puzzles can be found on page 38 These are only the answers.

Lane closures in place on the Spur Temporary, single-lane closures are in place along the north and southbound spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park while crews perform routine maintenance operations. The closures will be in effect through Thursday, Aug. 27, from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday of each week. To ensure worker safety, the park implements temporary single-lane closures along the most heavily trafficked park roads for roadside work conducted on foot including litter patrol, tree removal, string trimming, mowing, shoulder reconditioning and culvert cleaning. For more information about road closures, follow SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter or visit

www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm.

Road closed for logging operations Courthouse Creek Road, located on the Pisgah Ranger District near Pisgah Forest, is closed to motorized use through Dec. 31. The closure is due to active timber operations involving the use of heavy equipment and large trucks. Courthouse Creek Road is narrow with a steep embankment and few turnouts, making it difficult for vehicles to pass each other safely. The area is open to non-motorized use, but hikers and bikers should be aware of the increased truck traffic. A current closure map is available at www.fs.usda.gov/internet/fse_documents/fseprd772617.pdf.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society is presenting a free pet food drive-thru event from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29. The drive-thru will take place in the parking lot of the Cashiers/Glenville Recreation Center located at 355 Frank Allen Road in Cashiers. Pet food will be distributed for two hours or until all food has been donated. For more information, call 828.743.5752 or email info@CHhumanesociety.org. • The Haywood County Arts Council will hold its Annual Meeting online utilizing Zoom at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20. The meeting is open to the public and an RSVP is required to receive a Zoom link for use on a computer, smartphone or ipad. RSVP by email to director@haywoodarts.org or phone 828.452.0593 and provide your email address. • Sarge’s reimagined 15th Annual Dog Walk is presenting a week of fun Aug. 15 - 22 for animal lovers — online, so no matter where you live, you can watch and participate. Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation is at 256 Industrial Park Dr., Waynesville. For more information visit www.sargeanimals.org, ‘Like’ Sarge’s Facebook page or call 828-246-9050. • The 2020 “Friends of the Lake 5K Road Race, Walk and Fun Run” originally scheduled to take place at Lake Junaluska at Easter and rescheduled for Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7, has been canceled due to COVID-19 and the restrictions on group gatherings. • Blue Ridge Books will hold a Virtual Author Event with Ron Rash at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25. The event will highlight Rash’s new book In the Valley: Stories and a Novella Based on Serena. To attend, purchase the book at Blue Ridge Books by Saturday, Aug. 23, provide an email address and Blue Ridge Books will email a link to join the event via zoom. There will be time for questions at the end of the reading. For more information call 828.456.6000 or visit blueridgebooksnc.com.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Award-winning professor and consultant Dr. Betty Farmer will be offering an online workshop from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m on Friday, Aug. 28, focusing on emotional intelligence. This workshop will be offered online via Zoom and taught by award-winning professor of communication at WCU and owner of Farmer Communications, Betty Farmer. Registration fee for this workshop will be $139. For more information or to register contact Julia Duvall at 828.227.7397 or email jduvall@wcu.edu. • Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering a live online Digital Marketing & Public Relations Certificate program Sept. 18 – Nov. 6 (6 Fridays) from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Registration fee for the full program is $640, individual workshops are $119 each. For more information and to register, visit pdp.wcu.edu or email Jill Thompson, WCU’s associate director of professional development at jcthompson@wcu.edu. • During the month of August, the Marianna Black Library has teamed up with the American Red Cross to offer several Virtual Red Cross Trainings on how to be prepared for a variety of emergency situations. These programs are catered to a variety of ages, though anyone can attend any program. Other programs in August will include: The Pillowcase Project (grades 3-6) at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19; Be Red Cross Ready (adult) at 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24; Youth Be Red Cross Ready (grades 7-12) at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26. For more information call the library at 828.488.3030 or visit www.fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

Smoky Mountain News

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com • Registration is underway for several sessions of a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician program through Landmark Learning. Upcoming sessions include Aug. 21-23, Aug. 29 - Sept. 6, Sept. 5-13, Sept. 18-20, Sept. 26-27 and Oct. 3-30. www.landmarklearning.org.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS • Waynesville Yoga presents a “Two Week Journey to Self Discovery” with Amber Kleid beginning Sept. 13. The program will explore setting boundaries, designing your future, your creative self, simple acts of self-care and kindness, mindful eating and more. For more information, or to register, visit waynesvilleyogacenter.com.

A&E

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Tyson Leamon 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29 and Bona Fide Band 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Tennessee Champagne 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, Silas Reed 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28 and Sly Sparrow 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.lazyhikerbrewing.com. • Elevated Mountain Distilling Company will host The Maggie Valley Band (Americana/indie) 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29. Free and open to the public. www.elevatedmountain.com. • Mountaintop Art & Craft Show (previously the Village Square show) will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 29-30 in downtown Highlands at K-H Founders Park (Pine St.) from. The FREE event features regional potters, jewelers, woodworkers, fine artists, etc. For more info call (828) 787-2021. Sponsored by Highlands Mountaintop Rotary. If the event is canceled due to COVID-19, visit www.mountaintopshow.com for a virtual craft show. • The annual Cashiers Designer Showhouse will be held Aug. 5 - Sept. 5, at 144 Cove Drive in Highlands. Admission is $30. For more information, click on www.cashiershistoricalsociety.org/showhouse. • The Haywood County Arts Council “Artist Member Show” will be held through Aug. 29 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts showroom in Waynesville. Featuring 42 artists, the show is a celebration of our community, allowing locals to share their great work at the height of the summer season. www.haywoodarts.org. • Part of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville, the Kids at HART program will offer classes in acting, directing and musical theatre dance. Registration is currently underway. Classes will run Sept. 14 through Nov. 16. To register, go to www.harttheatre.org or visit the Kids at HART Facebook page. If you need further information, email Kids at HART at kidsathartwvl@gmail.com. • Artists in all disciplines are eligible to apply for grants to support their professional and artistic development. Applications for the grants are available www.haywoodarts.org/grants-funding. The deadline is Sept. 30. Grants will range in awards from $500 to $1,000. For information or questions, contact Leigh

Forrester, executive director of the Haywood County Arts Council, at www.haywoodarts.org or 828.452.0593. • The Jackson County Arts Council is now accepting applications for Grassroots Sub-grants. The Grassroots Arts Program Sub-grant provides financial support for Jackson County community groups and nonprofit organizations that offer programs and projects that enhance the arts for county residents. Interested organizations can obtain application information at www.jacksoncountyarts.org or by email at info@jacksoncountyarts.org. The deadline for acceptance of applications is Sept. 15. Call 828.507.9820 or by email at info@jacksoncountyarts.org. • The Macon County Public Library, in cooperation with North Carolina Humanities Council, will host “Water/Ways” a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program. “Water/Ways” will be on view through Aug. 24 at the library in Franklin. The exhibition explores the endless motion of the water cycle, water’s effect on landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. For more information, visit www.fontanalib.org or call the Macon County Public Library at 828.524.3600. The library is open by appointment from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

FOOD & DRINK • The Great Blue Farms Brunch & Blooms will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays from Aug. 8 through Sept. 12 at 1101 Briartown Church Road in Nantahala/Topton. Admission is $75, which includes a tour, brunch, all flowers, supplies and container to take home your floral masterpiece. To register, visit www.greatbluefarms.com or call 828.508.1502.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • The Tanya Tucker show scheduled for Friday, Sept. 25, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort has been postponed. Harrah’s actively working to reschedule the show for a future date. Fans are encouraged to hold their tickets and they will be honored at the rescheduled show.

Outdoors

• Alarka Expeditions has launched the Pandemic Blues Series, which features four different outings into the great outdoors along with the option to purchase a Tshirt. Upcoming outings include Saturday, Aug. 22 A Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia: Readings and Explorations; Tuesday, Sept. 1 Five Miles of Silence. For more information or to register, visit www.alarkaexpeditions.com. • Jason Love, associate director of the Highlands Biological Station, will discuss the threat of microplastics in the Little Tennessee River watershed during a virtual lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20. Love will give his presentation via Zoom, with registration required at www.highlandsbiological.org or by calling 828.526.2623.

• Mark Hopey of Southern Appalachian Raptor Research will discuss ongoing efforts to monitor bird populations at the Highlands Biological Station at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20. The free lecture is offered as the last of three webinars scheduled to replace the Highlands Biological Station’s annual Zahner Conservation Lecture Series. Hopey will give his presentation via Zoom, with registration required at www.highlandsbiological.org or by calling 828.526.2623.

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: n n n n

Complete listings of local music scene Regional festivals Art gallery events and openings Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers n Civic and social club gatherings • Learn about the vital role that dung beetles play in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during a Science at Sugarlands presentation offered 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, via Zoom. Register at www.dlia.org/sas to receive the Zoom link. • Stand on the summit of Mt. Pisgah with a guided hike beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22. Lisa Cook and Jan Jacobson will lead this easy to moderate exploration along the Blue Ridge Parkway, with a total distance of 2.75 miles and an elevation gain of 958 feet. The hike is part of an ongoing series offered by Haywood County Recreation and Parks to explore some of the county’s most beautiful areas. Free, with registration required at 828.452.6789. • Enrollment is now open for the Eco-Gardening Certificate of Merit Program at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville, with an overview of the program planned for Thursday, Aug. 27. The program is designed to offer understanding of the complex ecological principles underpinning healthy, self-sustaining landscapes and how to apply them to the garden. A one-time $75 application fee is required. To apply, visit www.ncarboretum.org/education-programs/certifications/blueridge-naturalist-registration. • Tremont Institute is offering support and resources for schools this year as they prepare for teaching and learning during a pandemic. The annual Teacher Escape Weekend will this year be offered as a virtual workshop, with sessions Sept. 11-12 and Sept. 25-26 at a cost of $50 per weekend. Tremont faculty will work with educators to share resources and develop solutions to help them maximize student-centered experiential learning, whether indoor or out, virtual or in person. Register at gsmit.org/educators/teacher-escape. • A new weekday dropoff program for children ages 6 to 9 will begin this fall at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville. Outdoor Adventure Kids is a safety-first approach to exploring the natural world with other kids. The Arboretum's team of environmental educators will lead small groups of students through inquiry-based, outdoor learning by exploring the Arboretum's 434-acre campus. The program offers two options. The Sassafras Class meets three days per week — 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Sept. 8 to Nov. 19. The ecoEXPLORE Class meets Fridays only, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., Sept. 11 to Nov. 20. Space is limited and registration is required at www.ncarboretum.org/education-programs/youth-family-programs/oak-drop-off-program.

HIKING CLUBS • The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a strenuous 8mile hike, with an elevation change of 800 ft., for experienced hikers only, from Kimsey Creek to Deep Gap on Saturday, Aug. 22. The club will meet at 8:30 a.m. Call leader Katharine Brown, 421-4178, for reservations and meeting place. • The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate 6mile hike, with an elevation change of 700 ft., to Bee Cove Falls in South Carolina on Saturday, Aug. 29. The hike is limited to no more than ten people, with four people per car, wearing masks while driving and congregating. The club will meet at Cashiers Recreation Park at 10 a.m. 743-1079, for reservations.

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Employment

THE JACKSON COUNTY Department of Social Services is recruiting for a Foster Care Social Worker in Child Welfare. This position will work with foster children and provide services to families where needs KDYH EHHQ LGHQWLÂżHG Requires limited availability after hours as needed. The starting salary is $41,276.54, if fully TXDOLÂżHG 0LQLPXP TXDOLÂżFDWLRQV LQFOXGH D IRXU year degree in a Human 6HUYLFH ÂżHOG 3UHIHUHQFH will be given to applicants with a Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s or Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree in Social Work and/or experience providing Social Work services. Applicants should complete a NC State application form (PD-107) and submit it to the Jackson County Department of Social SerYLFHV *ULIÂżQ 6WUHHW Sylva, NC 28779, or to NCWorks Career Center by August 25, 2020.

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August 19-25, 2020

WNC MarketPlace

RV SPOTS $ AVAILABLE

FACES

PER MONTH

HAYWOOD

at Canton location

ONLY 4 LEFT!!!

Great Smokies

STORAGE LLC Call 828.506.4112 greatsmokiesstorage.com 434 Champion Drive, Canton, NC 28716 21 Hollon Cove Rd, Waynesville, NC 28786

The staff at Haywood Health & Human Services Left to Right: Tina Wells, RN, BSN; Nursing Supervisor Tammy Quinn, BSN, RN, NCSN; Director of Nursing Beth Parks, RN, BSN; Heidi Lowe, Medical Laboratory Technician II (ASCP); Barbara Dennis, RN, BSN, Communicable Disease Nurse

he staff at Haywood Health & Human Services have worked tirelessly since the beginning of the pandemic to provide information, resources, and case tracing for our County. When the Chamber approached Dr. Mark Jaben, Medical Director, about being the Face of Haywood after a series of webinars he presented for our businesses, he insisted on recognizing what he called â&#x20AC;&#x153;the heavy liftersâ&#x20AC;?. These five ladies have led the charge to flatten the curve in our community. You have our unending support and appreciation for all you do.

828.456.3021 HaywoodChamber.com

August 19-25, 2020 Smoky Mountain News 39

WAYNESVILLE OFFICE 74 North Main Street | (828) 634 -7333 Lake Junaluska Assembly | 5BR, 3BA | $795,000 | #3635952

Summer Place | 1BR, 1BA $68,000 | #3524295

Balsam | 1BR, 2BA $199,000 | #3564322

Waynesville | 3BR, 2BA $250,000 | #3568959

Clyde | 2BR, 1BA, 1HB $263,000 | #3553506

Roy B Mccracken | 5BR, 2BA, 1HB $369,000 | #3638086

Pinnacle Ridge | 3BR, 2BA $435,000 | #3619881

Cold Springs Ranch | 3BR, 3BA $449,000 | #3524198

Canton | 2BR, 3BA $525,000 | #3623552

Mountain Creek Estates | 3BR, 3BA, 2HB $657,500 | #3597324

Mountain Song | 4BR, 3BA, 1HB $698,000 | #3611304

Waynesville | 3BR, 3BA $699,000 | #3619401

Sylva Vista Development | 3BR, 3BA $725,000 | #3563570

Smoky Mountain News

August 19-25, 2020

Get details on any property in the MLS. Go to beverly-hanks.com and enter the MLS# into the quick search.

BEVERLY|HANKS.COM 40

CALL TODAY (828) 634|7333

Smoky Mountain News | August 19, 2020

Articles inside

Education News

Labor Day flyover to replace Canton parade

DA will not press charges in Sylva Zoom bomb

Cawthorn responds to sexual assault allegations

New billboards oppose Confederate statue

Republicans campaign on support for law enforcement

Haywood mourns COVID-19 losses