CONTENTS
On the Cover:
Bill Reck owned Canton’s WPTL for 42 years before turning the reins over to his daughter, Terryl Evans in 2020. With Evans at the helm, the station is going strong and has even hosted some new and exciting programming that has amassed fans locally and beyond. (Page 22) Donated photo
News
Waynesville arch nears fundraising goal........................................................................4
Film to highlight the ‘grit and wit’ of Gary Carden ....................................................5 Police shooting defendants reply to lawsuit................................................................6
Above the law: Sheriffs largely silent on sovereign group’s meeting ..................8
Summit breaks ground on new high school building............................................12
Exhibition celebrates Lambert Wilson’s legacy ......................................................14
Get ready for Sylva Pride ..............................................................................................16
WCU Cherokee Language Program's ECHT Project receives grant ..............17 School board approves Higdon Property lease......................................................19
Opinion
Freedom Park lifts up heroic stories ..........................................................................20 Wild nights and the bar fight..........................................................................................21
A&E
The Smoky Mountain Roller Girls’ next derby is Sept. 9.......................................17
A love story from a more innocent time......................................................................29
Outdoors
Cherokee’s next bike park to give kids, new riders a place to play..................30 Notes from a plant nerd: Maypop, may not..............................................................34
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Ingles Nutrition Notes
written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrathQUESTION: Can you eat potatoes if you have diabetes?
Answer: This is another one of those food myths that needs to be looked at a bit more closely. Potatoes are a starchy vegetable so they do have the ability to increase blood sugar.
1 medium potato (about 5 oz), cooked with skin.
Calories – 110
Carbohydrates – 26g (1 g of sugar)
Protein – 3 grams
Potatoes are also a good source of potassium and vitamin C. A potato has 620mg of potassium – this is more potassium than 1 medium banana (422 mg). A potato also has 27 mg of vitamin C which is about half the amount of vitamin C in a medium orange (51g of vitamin C).
The reason potatoes often get a bad reputation is that we often eat them fried or mashed with added cream and butter which can add more calories.
Bottom Line:
If you have diabetes, you can still enjoy eating a baked, roasted or boiled potato, as long as you take the carbohydrates into account and consider keeping preparation simple. Toss potato wedges with olive oil and seasonings and roast in the oven. Potatoes are not just a source of potato has too many carbohydrates for your meal, consider eating less of the potato and more non-starchy vegetables along with it.
Source: Idaho® Potato Nutrition Facts | Idaho Potato Commission
Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian @InglesDietitian Leah McGrath - DietitianExperience a Casual, Relaxing Atmosphere
perfect for all walks of life, from families to golf groups to ladies who lunch.We pride ourselves on using fresh ingredients from our gardens and supporting local farmers. The details are priority.
Waynesville arch nears fundraising goal
BY CORY VAILLANCOURT P OLITICS E DITORThe replica of a decorative arch that once spanned Main Street in Waynesville but was removed in the early 1970s is closer than ever to being reinstalled, after more than two years of efforts by town officials and local civic groups to resurrect it.
“It was so great in the early years having that arch up,” said Mayor Gary Caldwell. “We’re going to bring back lots and lots of memories.”
The original arch stood at the north end of North Main Street from 1933 until Aug. 30, 1972.
Caldwell said that in his younger days, whenever people would find out he was from Waynesville, all they’d want to talk about was the arch.
Although the new arch will end up on the opposite end of town, it will resemble the original in many ways, proclaiming the town to be the eastern gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains.
The new arch will feature 4-foot decorative stone pillars at its base, concealing 6foot pilings that will anchor it into the ground and enable it to withstand 110-mileper-hour winds. Atop the stone pillars, 16inch steel columns will support the 4-foottall arch, which will curve from 20 to 24 feet above the roadway.
Once the new arch is installed it will not only complement a quaint mountain hamlet’s downtown upon which much time and money has already been spent over the years, but also help rewrite the narrative of the organization responsible for nearly all of that revitalization.
“When we started this project almost two years ago, to the day, it was a little bit of a dark time for the DWA,” said Jon Feichter, a Waynesville Town Council member who has served for years on the Downtown Waynesville Association his parents helped start. “We had lost the town contract to
Want to help?
The Downtown Waynesville Association has raised nearly $152,000 toward the $180,000 cost of installing a replica of a historic arch over Waynesville’s Main Street. No town funds will be used to facilitate the installation, so donations are still needed to ensure the project’s completion. Use your phone to scan the QR code below, or visit waynesvillearch.org to learn more about how you can help.
administer the municipal service district, we had lost several members of our board of directors, and eight of us were the last people standing.”
Mismanagement led to the town assuming the duties of the old DWA in 2021, which were to administer property tax revenues and spearhead beautification initiatives as it had done since 1986. It was an undignified end to an organization responsible for much of how the core business district looks today — the absence of power lines, the lighting, the planters, trees and benches and the Church Street Art and Craft Show, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
But the DWA didn’t cease to exist as an entity when it lost its only client. It still had a substantial sum of money in its checking account and it wanted desperately to go out on a good note.
“As we come to the end of our organization, we really wanted to give a legacy gift to
the town of Waynesville as a token of our appreciation for all the support that we have received over the years,” said Teresa Pennington, renowned artist, longtime
Main Street merchant and chair of the DWA.
The DWA dumped $60,000 into the arch project, which is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $180,000. No net funding from the town will be expended in the erection of the arch.
“We are even reimbursing the town for the money that they will spend and the efforts that they will put forth to make the arch a reality, to do the drilling and everything,” Pennington said.
So far, according to Feichter, the DWA has raised more than $152,000 toward the cost of fabrication and installation.
Alex McKay, Waynesville’s foremost historian and preservationist, said that when he gives lectures or historical presentations, he gets more questions about the arch than about anything else. He’s looking forward to seeing it in person.
“I don’t remember the arch, but I was told about it so much and when you went to town, that’s what people remembered the most,” said McKay. “I hope people in the future, the next generation and the generation after that, have the same fondness for it that that I grew up with here.”
Film to highlight the ‘grit and wit’ of Gary Carden
BY C ORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITERAfilm about one of Western North Carolina’s most revered literary figures will make its world premiere in a free event at 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Jackson County library in Sylva.
“I think anybody that visits with Gary Carden finds out really quickly that he’s just engaging and fun to talk to,” said Neal Hutcheson, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. “I wanted to celebrate Gary in the way that we’re doing Saturday. I wanted him to see it. He’s well-known of course, but I wanted to expand the awareness of who he is and what he’s done.”
More than a quarter-century in the making, “Storyteller” is the brainchild of Hutcheson, who is also the author of “The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton” and producer of other well-known Appalachian titles like 2002’s “This is the Last Dam Run of Likker I’ll Ever Make” (also about Sutton) and 2004’s “Mountain Talk.”
Hutcheson first met and began filming Carden around the time he was making “Mountain Talk.” They’ve been friends ever since.
“When I started the [Carden] film, I had much more modest aims in mind. I didn’t intend for it to go on for a quarter of a century,” Hutcheson said.
Between raising kids, writing books and producing documentaries — in addition to his duties as a senior research scholar in the English Department at N.C. State University — Hutcheson intended to shoehorn the project into his busy life, and initially had support from the university until the program went kaput. Nevertheless, the project was never far from his mind.
“There’s that maxim, and this goes for almost any discipline. It’s the rule of three. It can be inexpensive, it can be fast or it can be good quality, but you can only pick two of those,” Hutcheson laughed. “So, I hope that is good quality.”
A touching tribute to the lore, folklore, superstitions and tall tales of the region, and their most enthusiastic guardian, “Storyteller” focuses on the life of Gary Carden, now 88.
Carden has been a fixture in
Appalachia’s arts scene for more than 50 years, winning numerous awards for his books and plays, including the Book of the Year Award from the Appalachian Writers Association in 2001, the Brown Hudson Award for Folklore in 2006 and the North Carolina Arts Council Award for Literature in 2012.
He’ll be joined at the premiere by Hutcheson and William Ritter, who wrote and performed music for the film, and author David Joy, whose works are rooted in the very same Appalachian culture that
Hutcheson has spent decades chronicling.
“The topic of Appalachia, as a culture, is about the people that I’ve met, and the earnest realism and the grit and the wit in the culture itself, the flavor of the language and everything,” Hutcheson said. “It’s kind of addictive and you want to be around that, especially knowing that it’s disappearing.”
The event, sponsored by The Smoky Mountain News, is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. The film is 90 minutes, with closed captioning. Carden’s public appearances have become increasingly rare, and usually reach capacity quickly. The Jackson County Library is located at 310 Keener St., in Sylva.
A forthcoming collection of Carden’s short stories is expected to be published by The University of North Carolina Press sometime next year.
Police shooting defendants reply to lawsuit
Tribal officers in Cherokee County shooting say they thought victim was armed
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF W RITERThe police officers accused of shooting an unarmed Cherokee County man as he stood in the doorway of his home during the early morning hours of Dec. 13, 2022, hands above his head, say they did so because they believed the police robot in his right hand to be a gun.
The assertion was contained in an Aug. 28 response to a 195-page lawsuit that the man, Jason Harley Kloepfer, filed in June seeking millions in damages from the Cherokee Indian Police Department, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and employees within both departments.
“Jason and Ali[‘s] lives are forever upended by these events,” reads the lawsuit. “They live in fear that the powerful government forces will finish the job, and murder them, to complete the cover up. The physical scars on Jason’s body are obvious, but the mental and emotional scars cut even deeper, and have not begun to heal.”
THE SHOOTING
Kloepfer was shot nearly six hours after a neighbor’s 911 call prompted CCSO deputies to respond to Kloepfer’s home on Upper Bear Paw Road, about 20 minutes northwest of Murphy.
The neighbor claimed she had video of Kloepfer making threats against the neighborhood and said she was concerned for the safety of Kloepfer’s wife, Ali Mahler, after hearing her scream “stop it,” followed by “a bunch of shots,” and then silence. When the deputies arrived, the lights were out, and nobody responded to their knock on the door. A search warrant wasn’t obtained until after 2 a.m., but deputies remained on the property throughout the night. Citing a potential hostage situation, the CCSO requested assistance from the CIPD, which
has a SWAT team and arrived on the scene between 4 and 5 a.m. They threw a robot drone into Kloepfer’s camper trailer to assess the scene.
Shortly thereafter, life-threatening gunshot wounds left Kloepfer bleeding on the ground.
In a statement released the next day, Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith said shots were fired after Kloepfer “engaged in a verbal altercation with officers” and confronted them as he emerged from the trailer. As a result, he faced two misdemeanor charges after his release from the hospital, which were not dismissed until March 1.
But home security video Kloepfer released Jan. 18 contradicted that story. The video shows he and Mahler asleep in bed when the robot entered their home, waking them up with its bright light. In the footage, Kloepfer, appearing drowsy and confused, scoops the robot up in his right hand and lights a cigarette in his left. Complying with commands from the loudspeaker outside, Kloepfer opens the door, still holding the robot, and then raises his hands above his head. Mahler stands behind him. “Show us your hands. Hands!” the loudspeaker says, though Kloepfer is already holding them up. Immediately afterward, the officers unleash a torrent of bullets — about 15, the lawsuit says — wounding Kloepfer and barely missing Mahler.
MOTIONS TO DISMISS
On June 20, Kloepfer filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court naming 32 defendants and listing 25 causes of action. He accuses various combinations of defendants of civil rights violations, gross negligence, malicious prosecution, defamation, unlawful detention, civil conspiracy and assault, among other claims, seeking millions in damages.
The defendants gave their first reply to
the allegations in court filings made Aug. 25 and 28, splitting themselves into five groups: the three CIPD officers who fired their weapons; former Sheriff’s Attorney Darryl Brown, who currently serves as county attorney; the insurance company covering the CCSO; the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and remaining CIPD defendants; and the remainder of the CCSO defendants.
“A lot of balls in the air,” said Ellis Boyle,
“Even if the sheriff wins on all of the points that the sheriff made, which I don’t think he will, but even if he does, I think the case will still go forward,” Boyle said. “It just may be a couple of pieces are chopped off as it goes forward.”
After Boyle files a response to those motions, a judge will rule as to how or whether the case against these defendants will proceed.
THE TRIBE’S SIDE OF THE STORY
The legal process has the potential to drag on for years, but responses from the remaining defendants offer some insight into how they may seek to defend themselves. Perhaps most notable is the assertion of the three men who fired at Kloepfer — CIPD Officers Nathan Messer, Neil Ferguson and Chris Harris — that they did so because they believed Kloepfer to be holding a weapon when he exited the camper trailer where he and Mahler resided.
Kloepfer’s attorney. “It’s my fault. I’m the one who filed the complaint, but it still gets complicated.”
Brown and the CCSO defendants both chose not to give a paragraph-by-paragraph answer to the accusations set forth in the lawsuit, but to instead file motions to dismiss.
Brown, who is named only in one of the 25 counts — defamation related to the inaccurate press release he is supposed to have authored Dec. 13 — moved to dismiss all counts against him.
“There are no allegations that Brown was present or involved in the issuance of the search warrant, investigation into the 911 call or the shooting or that he would have had any basis to supply the factual information that informed the press releases other than what was relayed to him by his client,” reads a memo supporting that motion. “There are no allegations that Brown took actions with the intent to harm Plaintiff. Rather, the allegations support that Brown acted as an attorney to the CCSD [Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department] and that the CCSD published the Subject Statement.”
The CCSO sought only a partial dismissal. According to the CCSO, six of the named defendants — Nolan Queen, Jessica Styles, J.T. Gray, Jason Hall, Don Latulipe, and Paul Fry — were not present when the shooting occurred and should be dropped from the suit. Additionally, the filing states, all official capacity claims, save two against Smith, should be dismissed, as well as a handful of individual claims.
The “weapon” in question was the robot officers had sent into the trailer minutes earlier, when Kloepfer and Mahler were still asleep, to monitor the supposed hostage situation to which they were responding. In the lawsuit, Kloepfer contends that the robot, equipped with wheels, a flashlight and a camera, sent realtime video and audio feeds to the SWAT team outside, where at least one member was actively monitoring it as the rest wore intercom headsets that enabled them to communicate as to what the video revealed.
“Every SWAT team member was aware of what was seen on the screen,” the lawsuit alleges. As such, it continues, “every SWAT team member was aware that Jason held a cigarette in his left hand and the drone in his right hand,” and that he was not holding a gun.
In their response, Messer, Ferguson and Harris say that’s not true. They deny that they knew Kloepfer did not have a gun in his hands, and while they admit that one member of the team was monitoring the video feed, they say they are “without sufficient information” to say whether the drone transmitted audio. The EBCI response takes it a step further, outright denying that the robot transmitted real-time audio. Of the three shooters, only Messer and Harris say they were wearing intercom devices inside their helmets that relayed “certain transmissions” by other SWAT team members. As to Ferguson, the response says only, “Except as expressly admitted, denied.” The EBCI, likewise, denies that “every SWAT team member” was aware of what the video showed as it came through on the screen.
After the three officers fired their weapons, Kloepfer collapsed on the ground. But to them, they say in their response, it appeared as though Kloepfer had retreated indoors to “take up a secure position.”
“Defendant Ferguson admits that, consis-
tent with his training, he continued to discharge his firearm after it appeared that Jason went back into the camper to take up a secure position inside,” the response states.
The two groups of EBCI defendants also pushed back against numerous other contentions made in the lawsuit.
For example, Kloepfer claims that, despite the Mutual Assistance Agreement executed in Smith’s office prior to the SWAT team leaving for Kloepfer’s home, no legal agreement was in place between the two organizations when the shooting took place. The MOU is signed not by Police Chief Carla Neadeau but rather by her husband, Lieutenant Detective Roger Neadeau Jr. Section 15-3 of Cherokee Code vests authority to enter into such agreements specifically with the Chief of Police. The EBCI admits that Roger Neadeau signed the agreement, not Carla Neadeau, but denies that Roger Neadeau lacked the authority to do so.
Section 15-3 of Cherokee Code also states that, “while on duty with the requesting agency, an officer shall be subject to the lawful operational commands of his superior officers in the requesting agency.” In this situation, CCSO was the requesting agency. However, in their responses, both groups of CIPD defendants admit that SWAT Commander Scott Buttery was in charge of the operation on Kloepfer’s property, not Smith or one of his employees.
Contrary to Kloepfer’s assertion that nobody from either agency knocked on his door while announcing their identity prior to opening fire, the three officers who fired stated it was their belief CCSO deputies had knocked and announced their presence before the SWAT team arrived. Further, they said, the SWAT team announced its purpose and presence on the Bearcat PA system.
SMITH WAS THERE, TRIBAL POLICE SAY
Both groups of CIPD defendants did, however, agree with one aspect of Kloepfer’s version of events that has proven central to criticism of the CCSO’s actions after the shooting — the whereabouts of Sheriff Dustin Smith as the three CIPD officers fired their weapons.
In a statement issued following Kloepfer’s release of the home security video in January, Smith said that neither he nor Chief Deputy Justin Jacobs were on the scene when the shooting occurred. According to Smith, the initial press release, which alleged that Kloepfer had confronted police and engaged in a verbal altercation with them, spurring the use of deadly force, was prepared by County Attorney Darryl Brown — who at the time was also serving on a contract basis as the sheriff’s attorney — based on information received from the CIPD. That’s not true, say the CIPD defendants. The EBCI admits Kloepfer’s claim that both Smith and Jacobs were on the property at the time of the shooting. Messer, Ferguson and Harris write that Smith and Lieutenant Milton Teasdale were both present at the church along N.C. 294 where the team assembled before riding to Kloepfer’s prop-
erty. While the two did not ride there in the same vehicle as the SWAT team, as alleged in Kloepfer’s complaint, they were present on the property, as well. Boyle said he has seen video from that night, not yet released to the public, that proves Smith’s presence on the scene.
This aligns with a radio exchange that occurred after the shooting and was previously reported by The Smoky Mountain News. In that exchange, Chief Deputy David Williams tells Smith, identified by his call number 401, that one of the tribal units is asking Smith to stand by so they can follow him back to the sheriff’s office.
“If we have anything up there, maybe some drinks or anything, they could unwind a little bit,” Williams adds. “I don’t know what we got available, but they’re welcome to anything in my office.”
“10-4,” Smith responds. “I’ll take care of it.”
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR APPOINTED
Since police nearly ended Kloepfer’s life Dec. 13, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation has been conducting an investigation whose results will be used to determine whether the officers involved should
face criminal charges. That investigation is still ongoing and has been for nearly nine months — but Darrin Wright, a retired law enforcement officer who works as a barber, thinks Smith should face consequences now.
“Any longer that he’s in office is a crime,” Wright said.
According to state law, a sheriff can be removed from office for one of six reasons: willful or habitual neglect or refusal to perform the duties of the office, willful misconduct or maladministration in office, corruption, extortion, conviction of a felony and intoxication or conviction of being intoxicated. Initiating a removal requires a petition from the county attorney, district attorney or five qualified electors from the county where the person serves, upon approval from the county attorney or district attorney. The county or district attorney must then prosecute the proceeding in superior court.
Wright wants to see Smith removed from office on the basis of maladministration and willful misconduct in relation to the Kloepfer shooting.
“Dustin lied under oath. He made false statements. He conspired, he violated his oath of office,” Wright said. “He obstructed justice by trying to cover it up.”
However, it appears Wright’s efforts to see Smith removed are going nowhere for
now. He said he met with an assistant district attorney to discuss a petition he’d sent to District Attourney Ashley Welch’s office requesting Smith’s removal, but that he was told proceeding with removal efforts now could impede the ongoing SBI investigation. A spokesperson for Welch’s office would not confirm or deny Wright’s version of events and said she would not comment due to the ongoing investigation.
The SBI investigation concerns any criminal charges that could arise from the events of Dec. 12-13, while removal from office is a civil process that does not require criminal conviction. Wright pointed to the example of former Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene, who, according to reporting from Spectrum Local News, resigned in January as District Attorney Jon David initiated proceedings to forcibly remove him. The removal proceedings were in process despite an SBI investigation remaining active.
Welch has found herself playing the role of witness in the SBI’s investigation surrounding the Kloepfer shooting due to statements CCSO employees allegedly made to her office afterward. Those statements led her to charge Kloepfer with the two misdemeanors, which were dismissed following the release of the video. In March, Welch wrote to the N.C. Department of Justice seeking to recuse herself from handling the case, given that she and her staff anticipated being interviewed by SBI investigators.
In June, a representative from the N.C. Department of Justice said the office was “unable to take the case because of capacity constraints.” However, Lance Sigmon, a special prosecutor for the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys, has since been assigned to the case. He is currently reviewing the investigation, said NCCDA Executive Director Kimberly Spahos.
Cameron Nieters, who is representing Messer, Harris and Ferguson, declined an opportunity to comment. Attorneys representing Brown, the CCSO defendants and the remaining EBCI defendants did not return requests for comment.
CCSO deputy charged with drunk driving
Adam Christopher Erickson, one of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office deputies named in the lawsuit stemming from the Dec. 13 shooting of Cherokee County resident Jason Harley Kloepfer, has been arrested for driving while impaired.
Hunter Wood, who is Erickson’s colleague in the CCSO, arrested him in the early morning hours of Thursday, Aug. 24. At 1:28 a.m., the affidavit states, Wood found Erickson “passed out at the wheel” with “red glassy eyes, slightly unsteady on feet, slurred speech, odor of alcoholic beverage about person” at Bellview United Methodist Church, located east of U.S. 19 about half a mile north of the Georgia state line. A breath test yielded an alcohol content of 0.12, 50% higher than the legal limit of .08, according to court documents.
Erickson was booked but released the
same day without having to post bond — only a written promise that he would appear for his next court date was required. He is scheduled to appear at the Cherokee County Courthouse at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Erickson was the first deputy dispatched in connection with the 911 call that led to Kloepfer’s shooting. He was sent to the property at 11:01 p.m. Dec. 12 and remained there until 5:43 a.m. Dec. 13. He was also one of only two deputies mentioned by name in the 911 call. When the dispatcher asks Kloepfer’s neighbor to send the videos allegedly showing the behavior that spurred her to call 911, she says she has already sent them to two deputies: Erickson and Daniels. Deputy Daniels was not named in the lawsuit and was not on scene that night, according to call records.
Sheriffs largely silent on sovereign group’s meeting
BY CORY VAILLANCOURT P OLITICS E DITORAcontroversial law enforcement association that holds a fringe interpretation of the Constitution and has ties to white nationalism, the sovereign citizen movement, election denial and COVID-19 conspiracy theories will host a meeting in Cherokee County this weekend, but Western North Carolina sheriffs have been largely reluctant to say whether they’ll attend.
Richard Mack, who will speak at the event, is the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, one of the organizations at the forefront of socalled “sovereign sheriff” ideology.
The CSPOA’s core tenet holds that the power of a county sheriff within their jurisdiction supersedes that of local, state or federal agencies, courts and legislative bodies, meaning sheriffs can choose which laws they deem “unconstitutional” and therefore which laws they’ll enforce.
“It goes back way back in old Anglo Saxon law way back then, the sheriff of
Nottingham, he’s always been the ultimate protector of the people,” Mack said.
“[Thomas] Jefferson called the sheriff the ultimate executive of the county, so there doesn’t seem to be really any question whatsoever that the sheriff is the ultimate authority in his county.”
The current group traces its ideological roots to the anti-government Posse Comitatus movement of the 1960s and 1970s, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Posse Comitatus was a proponent of the “county supremacy” theory that underlies the sovereign stance espoused by Mack, who served two terms as the elected sheriff of Graham County, Arizona, beginning in 1988.
In 1994, Mack initiated a suit that would ultimately lead the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a provision in the Brady Handgun Violence Act of 1993, named after President Ronald Reagan’s Press Secretary James Brady, who was severely wounded in an attempt on Reagan’s life in 1981.
The provision required sheriffs like Mack to conduct background checks on firearms purchasers until the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) could be implemented.
Mack subsequently became an indefati-
gable public speaker, advancing his thesis before white supremacist groups like America’s Promise Ministries.
Although the suit made Mack a darling of the far right, he lost his bid for a third term in 1996, by a wide margin. He blames the feds.
“Both my opponent and I, the incumbent, said the election was going to be very close. The newspaper said it was going to be very close,” Mack said. “Three days before the Primary Election — which is the election — the FBI and IRS raid my office. The big headline on the Provo Daily Herald is ‘Mack raided by the FBI.’ It was done at the perfect time, the most opportune time to do me the maximum damage where I didn’t have time to really do damage control. I lost, and I lost badly.”
The search was carried out during an investigation of Mack’s then-employer, who was later convicted of mail fraud and tax evasion in connection to a Ponzi scheme. Mack was not charged.
In 2009, Mack published his pamphlet, County Sheriff: America’s Last Hope, which is the title of the program he’ll deliver on
Sept. 9 at the First Baptist Church in Murphy. That same year, Mack was one of the founding members of the Oath Keepers along with Stewart Rhodes, who was recently sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
In 2011, while still a member of the Oath Keepers’ board, Mack founded the CSPOA, giving him a larger platform to champion his sovereign sheriff ideology.
The group’s Statement of Positions expresses strident opposition to universal background checks for gun buyers, disparages immigrants who “are not assimilating into our culture as they once did” and decries federal control of land — national parks, military bases, office buildings — within the boundaries of a state or county.
A pledge for law enforcement officers to sign is available on the group’s website and leans heavily on their oath to protect and defend the Constitution, to the exclusion of all subsequent authority, jurisprudence or legislation.
“I did not swear allegiance to a mayor or a governor or a F
“[Thomas] Jefferson called the sheriff the ultimate executive of the county, so there doesn’t seem to be really any question whatsoever that the sheriff is the ultimate authority in his county.”
— Richard Mack, founder, Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association
health department bureaucrat,” it reads. “Fidelity to my oath requires that I abstain from enforcing any edict or order from a governor, or any executive, which lacks constitutional authority.”
According to metadata on the document, it was written by Christian nationalist Michael Peroutka in June 2021. Peroutka, the unsuccessful 2022 Republican nominee for attorney general of Maryland, was endorsed by the League of the South, a white supremacist organization, in a previous run for office — an endorsement he said he was “happy” to accept from a group he’s refused to disavow.
Given its provenance, Peroutka’s pledge promises that officers will not “in any way assist” in the enforcement of then-prevalent public health policies related to the Coronavirus Pandemic, including masking protocols and the restriction of certain business activities.
There’s also a threat, to “arrest, detain and recommend prosecution” of government officials who violate the rights of the people under “the pretended [sic] authority of” whichever laws they deem to be “unconstitutional.”
The constitutionality of any law is ultimately determined by the Supreme Court, not by local law enforcement officers.
As of November 2022, Mack had stepped away from the day-to-day operations of the CSPOA, ascending to the presidency of the group’s board of directors, which includes Peroutka.
Now, Mack also serves as the director of an anti-vax advocacy group headed by physician/attorney Simone Gold, who was recently sentenced to 60 days in prison for her role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
During the pandemic, Gold spread misinformation about COVID-19, including the safety and efficacy of horse medicine as a treatment. The National Institutes of Health recommends against the use of Ivermectin for coronavirus infections.
The new CEO and national operations director of the CSPOA, Sam Bushman, runs the online Liberty News Radio station, which the Southern Poverty Law Center says airs white supremacist content.
When Mack comes to Western North Carolina, he’ll bring with him another CSPOA board member, Barry County, Michigan, Sheriff Dar Leaf.
“Good man, good sheriff,” Mack said. “Kind of a ‘Clark Kent’ sheriff. He speaks softly, he’s mild mannered. I think he came to our first training way back in 2012, maybe it was one of the next ones after that, but he got converted to this whole process and he’s been a good constitutional sheriff ever since. He’s doing his best to do a good job and we feel that he has been doing a very good job.”
In 2020, Leaf said he wouldn’t strictly enforce Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s social distancing and stay-at-home orders.
Later that year, after 13 men were arrested in connection with a plan to kidnap Whitmer — one of the leaders of the scheme got 16 years in 2022 — Leaf told a local television station that a lot of people were angry with Whitmer and opined that the whole plot may have been a lawful attempt at a citi-
zen’s arrest. Since then, Leaf has continued to maintain that the 2020 General Election was rigged for the Democratic candidate, despite a complete lack of evidence that it was.
The CSPOA has since entered into an informal partnership with True the Vote, a discredited Texas nonprofit that is being sued by the State of Georgia for failing to produce evidence of ballot harvesting claimed in the similarly discredited 2022 “documentary”
2,000 Mules.
The CSPOA’s Cherokee County event, which requires a $70 ticket, features a morning session that is open to the public and an afternoon session, which is only open to law enforcement officers and public officials. When asked how he settled on Cherokee County as the location for the event, Mack said that Sheriff Dustin Smith and local citizens invited him.
“I don’t think we’ve ever have met in person. We’ve talked several times, so I feel like I know him, but I don’t believe we’ve ever met in person,” said Mack.
Smith didn’t return multiple requests for comment from The Smoky Mountain News, but he has been busy dealing with a lawsuit related to an officer-involved shooting late last year. The suit alleges that he made false statements about the victim, about the incident and about his own whereabouts during the incident.
On Dec. 12, 2022, officers from newlyelected Smith’s office responded to a call of a disturbance in a nearby camper trailer. A neighbor had accused Jason Harley Kloepfer of making threats and discharging a firearm, possibly with a hostage present. Cherokee County deputies attempted to make contact with Kloepfer and were unsuccessful, but waited three hours to watch the complainant’s videos, which did not contain any indication that what the complainant alleged about Kloepfer was true, the lawsuit said.
“At that point, the Sheriff’s Department knows that the neighbor has no proof,” reads a suit later filed by Kloepfer. “Her original claims are false. As soon as the officers know that the neighbor’s allegations are false, all the officers should immediately leave.”
Instead, a short time later, a deputy applied for a search warrant for Kloepfer’s home. Nearly six hours after receiving the initial 911 call, the Cherokee Indian Police Department’s SWAT team shot Kloepfer when he finally answered the door.
Smith’s initial public statement about the incident made it seem as though Kloepfer was the aggressor, stating that Kloepfer had engaged in a verbal altercation with police. A month later, a home security video of the incident released by Kloepfer shows no basis for Smith’s statement.
Kloepfer isn’t heard speaking on the video as he walks out of his home with his arms in the air, clutching a cigarette in one
hand and a police department robot in the other before taking two rounds to the arm and upper body. Only then is he heard to exclaim, “What the?!” before falling back into the home, gravely injured.
Two days later, Smith issued a new statement blaming the county attorney for the incorrect information on the initial
“Neither myself nor Chief Deputy Justin Jacobs were on the scene at the time of the shooting, so we relied on information provided to us from the Cherokee Indian Police Department,” Smith said in the statement.
Kloepfer’s suit claims that’s false, and the claim is backed up by public records previously reported by The Smoky Mountain News.
Beginning on Aug. 30, The Smoky Mountain News attempted to contact via phone and email 11 Western North Carolina sheriffs, asking if they planned to attend the CSPOA event in Murphy, and what their impressions of the group might be.
Only four responded, and none of them claimed to know much about the CSPOA. Even the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association didn’t seem to have an opinion about the group’s message.
Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president
and general counsel for the NCSA, said he’d read some articles over the last several years but didn’t have any firsthand knowledge.
“The association leadership has not discussed or taken any position whatsoever on anything related to this organization or this issue,” he told SMN on Aug. 31.
Sheriff Lowell Griffin of Henderson County said he wasn’t attending and that he didn’t know enough about the group to form an opinion.
Sheriff Mark Buchanan of Clay County said he didn’t know much about the group and was going to the event just to listen.
Sheriff Bill Wilke of Haywood County said he wasn’t going, and maintained consistency with statements he made during his election about the CSPOA and the sovereign sheriff theory.
“I don’t know much about this group, and other than the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association, generally do not take an interest in organizations that attempt to exert political influence on how law enforcement organizations conduct their business,” Wilke said. “I conduct Sheriff’s Office business in accordance with the Constitution of the United States and North Carolina and am guided by state statute and the appropriate case law resulting from court decisions that further define them. This is as constitutional as I know how to be.”
Wilke, who was elected in 2022, may not be familiar with the organization but is certainly familiar with the debate over sover-
S EE S HERIFFS, PAGE 11eign sheriffs in Haywood County. In 2020, some Haywood residents demanded county commissioners pass a “Second Amendment sanctuary” resolution which, although largely symbolic, would supposedly empower sheriffs to disregard gun laws with which they do not agree.
Commissioners opted to pass a “Constitution protecting county” resolution that expressed support for the entire document, after then-Sheriff Greg Christopher told them that although he supports both the Second Amendment and the doctrine of judicial review, “Sheriffs do not possess the legal authority to interpret the constitutionality of any law.”
Two years later, the highly-respected Christopher would become among the first of more than 40 local officials to be targeted by phony writs from a sham court that accused him of treason and environmental crimes, demanding he surrender to a tribunal.
office that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, [and] support and defend the Constitution of North Carolina?” Wilke said at the time. “That doesn’t grant me extra judicial authority to enforce laws that aren’t in place, nor does it give me the ability to neglect certain things that have been ruled constitutional by courts in the past. If we operate outside those boundaries, there’s a word for that — it’s called ‘vigilante.’”
Moody was recently sentenced to two years in prison for communicating threats. Her co-conspirator, Tim Dever, got 10 years.
Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said he wouldn’t attend the Cherokee County meeting and that he’d never heard of the group, despite both of his 2022 election opponents proclaiming support for the sovereign sheriff movement.
Miller, a rare western Democrat, has proven controversial for his own sovereign stance, choosing not to honor detainers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in his county because he believes they’re not valid warrants. ICE detainers are 48-hour holds placed upon arrested persons whom ICE has probable cause to believe are removable non-citizens.
The enforcement of ICE detainers is voluntary. Haywood County and most other jurisdictions do honor them as a matter of routine, however, Miller is on the side of a rising tide in North Carolina who do not. Some, including an attorney with the Carolina Migrant Network, even think they’re unconstitutional.
The sender, Haywood County sovereign citizen Darris Moody, told The Smoky Mountain News prior to her September 2022 arrest that she supported the sovereign sheriff movement and had even given Christopher a “handbook” on how to be a sovereign sheriff.
“[Law enforcement officers] made an oath to the Constitution and in my opinion, they have failed. They bowed to the government. They bowed to the SOP [standard operating procedures],” Moody said. “They bowed to the narrative, to the propaganda, to the TV.”
During a Primary Election candidate forum hosted by the Haywood County Republican Party a few month prior to Moody’s arrest, then-chair Kay Miller asked Wilke and his opponent if they would join the CSPOA. Wilke’s opponent said absolutely. The Democratic candidate, who was not at the forum, told SMN that he’d “go by the law that’s in place.”
Wilke said he would be hesitant to join any organization because they can change ideologically. He also said that if a sheriff attempts to decide what is constitutional, that act would be unconstitutional.
“How much more constitutional does it get than when I take oaths coming into
“There are some people who believe that [ICE detainers] have no legal binding authority and therefore cannot be adhered to,” Caldwell said. “There are others that believe they do have legal binding authority and they choose to adhere to them and follow them, and there are others that believe that they do have binding authority but they exercise their discretion not to follow. Until we get a case from the Supreme Court that clearly tells us the answer to those three different opinions, then we will continue to have folks with three different opinions.”
Mack made clear he does not support Miller’s choice to ignore ICE detainers.
“That’s a legitimate assignment constitutionally delegated to the federal government and for sheriffs not to help out with that is wrong,” he said.
A Republican-sponsored bill working its way through the General Assembly would require sheriffs to cooperate with ICE. Republicans currently have a veto-proof majority, so the bill stands a good chance of passing.
Miller refused multiple requests by The Smoky Mountain News to explain his position further or to say what he’d do if the bill becomes law.
The following sheriffs did not respond to requests for comment for this story: Dustin Smith, Cherokee County; Brad Hoxit, Graham County; Doug Farmer, Jackson County; Brent Holbrooks, Macon County; Buddy Harwood, Madison County; Curtis Cochran, Swain County; and Chuck Owenby, Transylvania County.
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“I don’t know much about this group, and other than the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association, generally do not take an interest in organizations that attempt to exert political influence on how law enforcement organizations conduct their business.”
— Bill Wilke, Haywood County Sheriff
Summit breaks ground on new high school building
BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF W RITERAfter graduating its first senior class in the spring of 2022, Summit Charter School has broken ground on phase II of a high school expansion that will include a new building.
“A growing number of families desired to keep their students at Summit for high school after eighth grade,” said Head of School Kurt Pusch. “The interest among families for a Summit High School provided the impetus for Summit’s expansion, and in 2018 Summit enrolled its first-ever ninth grade class.”
Summit Charter School was established as a K-8 school in 1997 and when it opened with 110 students in 1998, it was one of the first charter schools in the state. The North Carolina State Legislature approved a law in 1996 allowing for the creation of charter schools.
Since 2019, Summit has experienced a 33% increase in student enrollment. This year it will enroll a total of 311 students, including 52 new students, with eight of its now 13 grades at full capacity.
“With Summit’s continued growth over the last four years, our current facilities have reached their capacity,” said Pusch. “In our commitment to continually strengthen Summit for our students today and for the generations that will follow, we are embarking on our next phase of expansion.”
The new high school building is expected to be operational for the start of the 2024-25 school year. It will be an entirely new space of about 15,000 square feet and will include traditional classrooms, a science lab, a learning kitchen, rooms for individualized education, an outdoor courtyard, admin offices and a large commons area.
“We aim to create the capacity to maintain the small class sizes that are distinctive to Summit’s program, and to support our enrollment and financial sustainability goals,” said Pusch. “With the addition of our new high school building, we will have the necessary classrooms to support our growing enrollment and establish the capacity for Summit’s future growth of up to 144 students in high school and 468 students across our K-12 program.”
The building will be separate from the
school’s existing facilities but still located on the school’s 33-acre property.
“The site of our new high school building is set away from our existing facilities, offering a distinctive high school experience, while still maintaining a sense of connection as a larger K12 campus,” said Pusch. “The location also offers the benefit of allowing our existing school operations to continue uninterrupted through the construction process.”
With the new facility, Summit will transition its current phase I high school building — constructed in 2019 at 6,600 square feet — into the school’s new middle school building and will add a pavilion for middle school lunch and assemblies. The project also includes a student-designed fitness center, which was funded through a student-led project and is nearing completion. Once the new building is complete, Summit will have a capacity of 468 students.
“By transitioning the middle school into our original high school building, we also open up classroom space for our lower grades,” Pusch said. “This expansion will enable us to improve our K-12 capacity, build upon our educational program, and welcome new families, all while remaining committed to small class sizes to support our students and teachers.”
So far into its high school endeavors, Summit has maintained a 100% graduation rate, with 100% of students also earning acceptance to college, including 71 offers of admission from 31 colleges and universities. Of Summit graduates who have gone on to college, 30% are first-generation college bound.
“In expanding from a K-8 to a K-12 school, we remained committed to the same principles and values that have enabled our success since our founding,” said Pusch. “The qualities of a whole-child education reflected in our mission, the goals as embodied in our portrait of a graduate and our seven virtues that form the foundation for our Summit family.”
“Further, we have long held the belief that our educational goals are best accomplished in partnership with parents and families. The belief that we — teachers, school leaders and parents — all share responsibility for our students’ success is distinctive to our Summit identity and integral to our students’ success,” he said. “Ultimately, we aspire for our students to thrive as people, which is why we remain committed to continually strengthening Summit’s education program to foster the habits, skills and character that will support their success as students at Summit and in the
lives they lead beyond.”
The whole project will cost the school $6.5 million. Because charter schools do not receive public funding for capital projects, Summit must rely on private funding for the entirety of the project. Fundraising efforts for the expansion are led by the Summit Charter School Foundation, a 501(c)3 that raises private funding for the school. The foundation is volunteerled by a board of directors that include community members, current and former parents and school alumni. So far, the foundation has raised $4.5 million toward the project, as well as $1 million in donated goods and services.
“It is an exciting time at Summit,” said Foundation Chair Sarah Jennings. “With the growth of our greater community comes growth within our school. Summit is so important to the quality of life we all get to enjoy here on the plateau and as a parent and community member, it is heartwarming to see so many individuals and businesses rally around our local children. As a foundation, we are proud to be debt-free and hope to remain that way by garnering the additional support we need for the capital campaign.”
Charter schools are public schools authorized by the State Board of Education and operated by independent non-profit boards of directors. In North Carolina, charter schools are funded primarily through state and local tax dollars that follow students as they move through the public school system. Charter schools receive funding depending on their average daily membership — the number of students attending a school in any given year — and the funding levels of the local education agency or the school district.
This year the North Carolina General Assembly proposed legislation that increased funding opportunities and would have allowed charter schools to ask local boards of commission for money for capital improvements. Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the legislation in July, after several North Carolina public school districts, including Macon County Schools, signed letters opposing the legislation.
“There is much to look forward to in Summit’s future,” said Pusch. “Most importantly, we look to continue to provide our students the highest quality of education that prepares them to be academically prepared, strong in character and engaged members of the community.”
“In expanding from a K-8 to a K-12 school, we remained committed to the same principles and values that have enabled our success since our founding.”
— Kurt Pusch, head of school
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Exhibition celebrates Lambert Wilson’s legacy
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF W RITERIn 1972, Lambert Wilson’s life changed forever. He was still a teenager then, studying middle grade education as an undergraduate at Western Carolina University, when his introductory art history teacher Janie Leftwhich offered the class extra credit in exchange for visiting the Eagle Dancer sculpture by famed Cherokee artist John Julius Wilnoty.
27-inch piece communicated a sense of movement and majesty. Wilnoty had carved the single piece of cherry wood used to make it so that the tree’s rings suggested the muscles and underlying structure of the dancer’s body. The sight lit a spark inside the young man. At that moment, Wilson decided to start his own collection of Cherokee art.
“I think when he came to Western, not only did he find the Eagle Dancer, but he found the spirit too, of the Native Americans who settled this land,” said Jenny Holland, Wilson’s partner from 2006 until his death in 2022. “I think that was part of his draw to WCU.”
Cherokee, touched many lives during his 68 years on earth — and that impact was apparent in surveying those present Aug. 30. The crowd attending “Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson” included educators, artists, tribal members and an array of community leaders.
“We knew him in different capacities, but I think we all knew him as a very passionate art collector,” said Carolyn Grosch, the museum’s curator of collections and exhibitions. “That was something he really dedicated 50 years of his life to.”
In the 120-page exhibit book, professional curator and retired WCU Research Associate Professor Anna Fariello reflects on the first time she visited Wilson’s home.
See the exhibition
“Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson” will remain on display through Friday, Dec. 8, at the WCU Fine Art Museum, located at 199 Centennial Drive on campus. The exhibit is free to visit and open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, call 828.277.ARTS or visit arts.wcu.edu/spark.
Wilson took her up on it — and was blown away by what he saw. Every detail of the
Holland spoke to a crowd of more than 200 people who came to the WCU Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center Aug. 30 for a reception marking an art exhibition showcasing Wilson’s art collecting legacy. Wilson, a Swain County native who spent three decades as an elementary school teacher and principal, served on the Swain County Board of Education and Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees and owned two motels and an art gallery in
“I can’t describe the shock of walking into his home and seeing every surface — every wall, every table, every shelf, literally everywhere — covered with Native American art,” she wrote. “I believe that Lambert Wilson’s collection is larger, more significant, than
tion space at WCU, the display celebrates not only the works themselves but also the relationship Wilson had with them and with their makers. In the display of “Chosen for Leadership” — a dramatic wooden mask standing 25 inches high and made of carved butternut wood, with a headdress of abalone shells, trade beads, rabbit fur and pheasant wings — EBCI artist Joshua Adams speaks of the affinity he had for Wilson and his mode of collecting.
“I always dreamed of doing Indian Market, and Lambert was always encouraging me to do that show,” reads a quote from Adams affixed to the display. “’Chosen for Leadership’ went on to win first place. I think Lambert showed up at four or five in the morning at my booth and said, ‘Hey I’ll buy that mask if no one buys it today.’ I had the chance to sell the mask a couple of times that day, and I didn’t because I wanted Lambert to have it. I just wanted to be part of his collection.”
“For Lambert, collecting was not simply about purchasing a work of art,” Grosch said during the reception. “And it wasn’t just about appreciating an object for its beauty, or its craftsmanship. Those were all important things to him, but I think for him, his impulse to collect really was an expression of his love for people and community.”
many at major institutions.”
The exhibition currently on display at WCU showcases more than 140 works of contemporary Native American art, spanning the gamut from baskets and pottery to photography and watercolor, in styles both traditional and modern. In her essay for the exhibition catalogue, Museum of the Cherokee Indian Director Shana Bushyhead Condill said Wilson’s collection was an important testament to the continued existence of Native people and Native culture.
“The power, then, of contemporary Cherokee art is that it is impossible to relegate us to the past when looking at work from today,” she wrote. “Lambert, as curator of that exhibition, recognized that power and made a point of featuring artists working today. Importantly, also, is he drew that thread from our past to today, illustrating with pottery how our traditions have changed over time but are still influenced by the work of our ancestors.”
Taking over all three rooms of the exhibi-
At first, Wilson focused his collection on Cherokee art. But in 2006, he met Holland, and together they expanded the collection to include artists from other tribes. They got a second home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which became his “operational base” for Southwestern artists. Despite the heat, August was his favorite time to be in Santa Fe, because that’s when the annual Indian Art Market was held.
“He loved the art, but he loved the artists more,” Holland wrote in the exhibition catalogue.
Art exhibitions are often planned years in advance, but the display at WCU opened less than 10 months after Wilson’s untimely death in October 2022. That’s thanks to hard work and collaboration from Wilson’s friends and family, artists, Bardo Arts Center staff and others at WCU and in the Cherokee community, said Denise Drury Homewood, executive director of the Bardo Arts Center.
“I thank y’all for coming,” Wilson’s sister Linda Wike told the crowd. “Thank you for what Lambert meant to you. And I thank God he chose us girls to be his sisters. And that he was the best brother in the world. My wish for everybody here is that you have a brother like we do.”
Get ready for Sylva Pride
BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITERThe third annual Sylva Pride Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva.
There will be live music, food trucks, vendors, local LGBTQ+ resources, a pride parade through Main Street, a family-friendly drag show and more. The event will be hosted by Sylva’s Beulah Land.
Attendees of Sylva Pride will also be able to access a new community resource. The Jackson County nonprofit Cornbread and Roses recently founded the Jackson County Rainbow Directory. This online resource, which can be accessed on CBR’s website, is a guide for locals and visitors to the area looking for safe and LGBTQ+ allied spaces within Jackson County.
After Sylva Pride, the Rainbow Directory will be shared regularly across multiple social media platforms and newsletters year round. Participants with a physical location will be provided a free window decal and will be included on the Rainbow Directory’s Google Map for easy locating.
When Sylva Pride hosted the first annual Pride celebration in September 2021, over 500 people, locals and visitors alike, flocked to downtown for the festivities. Since then, the event has only grown in attendance and
support.
The Town of Sylva has a particularly active and connected LGBTQ+ community relative to other small towns in Western North Carolina. It is supported and held together by several grassroots groups like Sylva Pride, Sylva Belles Drag, the nonprofit Cornbread and Roses, as well as a multitude of supportive local businesses.
These groups not only foster community for LGBTQ+ folks in Western North Carolina today, but also work alongside Blue Ridge Pride and the Western Carolina University LGBTQ archive to uncover and record stories and histories through its oral history project and archival collection.
Pride celebrations began in 1970 in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Thousands of people gathered, not only to commemorate Stonewall, but also to demonstrate for equal
rights. Since then, the tradition has grown and flourished all over the United States.
“Pride is gathering here together in this space, in this moment to show love to ourselves and our community. It’s giving voice and space to those who have felt the darkness or oppression that comes with our identities. It’s not only belonging here but staking a claim that this town and that these mountains are ours too, that we can and will hold ourselves up high and be visible in this
place,” said organizer Travis Rountree at the inaugural Sylva Pride Celebration. “We walk in the street today in celebration, but also to acknowledge all those who came before us. Let’s now move forward in tribute to them and in joyous and steadfast determination and celebration to show visibility and pride for our past present and future LGBTQ community members.”
For more information visit sylvancpride.org.
WCU Cherokee Language Program’s ECHT Project receives $64,905 grant
The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded Sara Snyder Hopkins, assistant professor and director of the Cherokee Language Program at Western Carolina University, a grant of $64,905 for her ongoing translation project, Eastern Cherokee Histories in Translation.
NEH is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States. The endowment awards grants to top-rated proposals examined by panels of independent, external reviewers. NEH announced on Aug. 15 that they awarded $41.3 million in grants for 280 humanities projects across the country.
The ECHT project also received an $11,700 donation from the John W. Heisse Fund in May. The project is a collaborative effort among Hopkins, fluent speakers Wiggins Blackfox and Tom Belt as well as WCU Cherokee Studies graduate student Barnes Powell to translate turn of the 20th century Cherokee writings from Blackfox’s great-greatgrandfather, Inoli, and Cherokee intellectual and cultural preservationist Will West Long.
With the NEH award, Hopkins can begin new steps for the project that seemed years away.
“This NEH award brings attention to this project on a national scale and is a step toward sustainability. This funding helps us pay Cherokee translators. It will enable us to prepare a publication proposal for the project and find a suitable press. It will also fund develop-
ment of a digital platform prototype where we will eventually be able to publicly share the translations,” she said.
Hopkins and Andrew Denson, professor and director of WCU’s Cherokee Studies program, recognize the importance of collaboration on this project, especially with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
“I especially want to thank the following folks for their support on behalf of our partner institutions: Chuck Thomas at WCU Hunter Library; Ellen Cushman (Cherokee Nation) with DAILP at Northeastern University; and Jakeli Swimmer (EBCI), EBCI tribal archivist and cultural resource officer,” Hopkins said.
“This is highly collaborative work, and it can only happen because Western is privileged to have strong partnerships with the Eastern Band. It can be a great example of the power and possibilities of research rooted in collaboration between Native American nations and universities,” Denson said.
“As a historian, I’m particularly excited about the translated writings of Will West Long. Long was this incredibly important scholar and public intellectual, but because he mainly worked through non-Native anthropologists, we seldom hear from him directly. With these translations, we’ll have a much clearer view of Long’s life and work. We’ll be able to hear his voice.”
The ECHT Project has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
Harris Regional Hospital & Swain Community Hospital announces New CEO
Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital, Duke LifePoint hospitals, announced the appointment of Ashley Hindman as the new chief executive officer. Hindman had been serving as the chief financial officer of the hospital system.
With a rich history in hospital management, Hindman joined Harris Regional and Swain Community hospitals as CFO in 2019. Under his financial stewardship, the network’s hospitals experienced growth and service line development.
“I am honored to step into the role of CEO and continue our journey towards providing high quality, accessible healthcare to the members of WNC,” Hindman said.” I am dedicated to upholding our commitment to our patients, staff and the broader community. By fostering collaboration and focusing on quality care, we will work together to ensure the well-being of those we serve.”
School board approves Higdon property lease
BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITERAfter months of back and forth, the Macon County School Board has approved a lease agreement for the Higdon property, purchased by the county earlier this year for use by the school system.
“We’re in a position now where the county is offering the Higdon property to us on a lease,” said School Board Chairman Jim Breedlove.
Last month, school board members saw an initial draft of the Higdon property lease, after the county had closed on the property. Earlier this summer, the Macon County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education signed an interlocal agreement to ensure the property would be available for use by the school system.
“This lease puts that property into your hands for your immediate use,” said Board of Education Attorney John Henning. “You have what we call quiet enjoyment, everyday use of that property.”
According to the lease, the school board will be able to use the property and run it as its own for a period of 40 years.
“You do have immediate need of it for things like the agricultural program that’s going to get displaced by the first phase of work at the high school in the area around the football stadium,” said Henning. “It may lend itself to lots and lots of other uses as we go on. The school system will continue to appreciate that partnership with the county to let you have the use of that property that they’ve purchased.”
Henning suggested one change to the lease to remove the possibility of undue financial requirements from the school system for use of the property. Normally, in a lease like this between the county and the school system, the school system is responsible for all systems and upkeep of a property. Because school boards cannot legally borrow money, they regularly give school property to county governments when financing school construction or renovation.
“We use this type of language for leases because it normally is yours to keep and operate, you’ve already been doing that, it’s in your budget, you’ve already figured out how to keep that school running,” said Henning. “This one’s different because the building does not immediately lend itself to use for public school purposes. It’s just not set up for ADA accessibility, energy conservation, electrical, a whole bunch of different things that are expected of a school building.”
Henning altered the lease to ensure that even though the school has not had the
chance to budget for repair and renovation of the property and does not have the means to do so right now, it will not be in breach of the lease per its terms of upkeep. The county commission did not fund the entirety of the school system’s budget request this budget cycle and the school system has limited funds available..
“What I have added and what we need to propose back to the county is, it’s understood and agreed that the board also doesn’t have the financial means to provide maintenance or repair of the building or regular mowing and landscaping the grounds surrounding the structure. We’re sort of saying it hasn’t been in your plans to have this property and take care of it,” Henning said.
He suggested that the board have a conversation with the county government about how to pay for repairs and renovation to the property that will make it ready for educa-
tional uses.
“I think if we don’t address that, theoretically you’re in violation of the lease, somebody could argue, if there’s some maintenance that doesn’t happen on this property,” said Henning.
The school board will be able to quit the lease at any time if needed and hand the land back over to the county. However, for the school board to be able to plan for the property effectively, the county cannot quit the lease at any time — unless there is a clear breach of the agreement — and is committed to allowing the school system to use the property for 40 years.
“It’s just a matter of, we have to protect ourselves, the county is extending a good opportunity to us, but we have to look out for ourselves, protect ourselves as best we can. I think John [Henning] has managed to do that,” said Breedlove.
The school system has outlined plans to use the property for the expansion of its Career and Technical Education program.
Henning suggested that the board approve the lease with the provision that the board chairman, superintendent and board attorney can further refine the lease and accept it on the board’s behalf. The board approved the lease with the provision unanimously.
COME IN!!
Have a cold beer or wine and walk down memory laneThe Higdon property is located across the street from Franklin High School. Zillow photo
Freedom Park lifts up heroic stories
The state government complex in Raleigh is home to a new park. Constructed on Lane Street between the legislative building and the governor’s mansion, North Carolina Freedom Park was designed by the late Phil Freelon of the architecture firm Perkins + Will.
A key feature of the acre-sized park is a sculpture entitled “Beacon of Freedom.” Standing 50 feet tall and lit at night, it is a “reminder that the ideals of perseverance, equality, and freedom are universal aspirations that can unite us all,” as the park website puts it.
Along the park’s walkways you’ll find 20 quotes from African-Americans with ties to North Carolina. I was particularly drawn to the words of four heroes whose stories deserve wider recognition. David Walker, for example, was born to a free woman in Wilmington in 1796. He moved to Charleston and then to Boston, where slavery had been abolished through litigation at the end of the Revolutionary War.
Walker married and ran clothing stores. But he never forgot the oppression he witnessed during his early years in the Carolinas. In 1827 he began working for a New York-based publication called Freedom’s Journal. It was the first blackowned newspaper in the United States.
Two years later, he wrote the now-famous Walker’s Appeal, which called for equal rights and the abolition of slavery. Here’s the quote you’ll find in North Carolina Freedom Park: “Now, Americans! I ask you candidly, was your suffering
‘Concerned Citizens’ won’t be silenced
To the Editor:
On a recent Thursday evening cowards wearing black masks appeared at the Buttered Biscuit restaurant in Waynesville while the “Concerned Citizens” were holding their weekly meeting. This American Nazi brown shirts subjected attendees to intimidation by spouting attendees were bigots, racists and fascists. It appeared these individuals took pictures of the building, attendees and attendees’ license plates.
The Buttered Biscuit hosts discussion and respectful debate regarding issues of common concern. Radicals such as those who descended upon the Buttered Biscuit are known to have connections with the Haywood County and Asheville Democratic party leadership. “Concerned Citizens” has tried to engage everyone in respectful debate and discussion — with the goal of bridging the political divide in Haywood County and seeking common ground — but it is apparent these radicals have no interest in discussion or common ground.
It was obvious these thugs were there to strike fear in attendees to cause attendees to fear future participation and to end “Concerned Citizens.” This act of intimidation was a direct attempt to deny attendees their
under Great Britain, one hundreth part as cruel and tyrannical as you have rendered ours under you?”
Harriet Jacobs was born in 1813 in Edenton. After her mother died, Harriet came under the care of her white owner’s daughter, who fatefully taught Harriet how to read and write. To escape her subsequent owner, a lustful and vengeful man, Jacobs hid for a while in a swamp, then in her grandmother’s attic for an astounding seven years before finally escaping to New York, where she also become a prominent abolitionist.
Her memoir, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” was published in 1861. “When they told me my newborn babe was a girl, my heart was heavier than it had ever been before,” Jacobs wrote. “Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.”
Born a slave in what is now Southport, Abraham Galloway became a skilled brick mason and joined a thriving community of black craftsmen, sailors, and activists in antebellum Wilmington. He escaped to freedom in 1857 in the cargo hold of a schooner bound for Philadelphia.
Making his way via the Underground Railroad to Canada, Galloway soon became an active abolitionist. Later, he coura-
LETTERS
First Amendment rights to free speech and to peaceably assemble. Citizen’s First Amendment rights sustain our republic’s ability to exist. These masked cowards were a direct assault on the Constitution and cannot be left without accountability.
Ted Vargo, owner of the Buttered Biscuit, has filed an incident report and will be pursuing legal action. It is incumbent upon the Waynesville Police Department and Haywood County Sheriff’s Department office to pursue these thugs to assure those who participated in this act of intimidation are held to the full extent of the law to assure it is made known that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated in Waynesville or Haywood County. We have knowledge of the insider’s description, so locating her and her masked friends should not be difficult. Failure to do otherwise will make it known that Waynesville has fallen to the lawlessness infecting cities across the country.
Those who enjoy the insightful information garnered at these meetings must not succumb to these fear tactics. We must stand solidly together and make it known we are not afraid, will not be stopped, and our meetings will continue.
LeRoy Cossette Waynesvillegeously returned south during the Civil War to work as a spy and recruiter for the Union Army. After the war, Abraham Galloway helped organize the new Republican Party in North Carolina, played a key role at the 1868 convention that drafted a new state constitution, and won election to the state Senate. “I am looking for the rising generation,” his Freedom Park quote reads. “There must be a deep foundation laid for the coming generation.”
Another black leader who helped draft North Carolina’s 1868 constitution was James Walker Hood (no relation). Born free in Pennsylvania, Hood came south in 1863 to lead the AME Zion congregation in New Bern, which was by then controlled by Union troops. Later, he served as assistant state superintendent of public instruction and a state magistrate.
Walker also led churches in New Bern, Charlotte and Fayetteville and was instrumental in founding what are now Livingstone College and Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury. “You might as well talk of the safety of a flock of sheep with a pack of hungry wolves … as to take the ballot from the colored man,” Hood wrote. “We expect to maintain the right of suffrage, at whatever cost.”
North Carolina Freedom Park is a welcome testament to the struggle for liberty in our state and beyond.
John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His latest books, “Mountain Folk and Forest Folk,” combine epic fantasy with early American history (FolkloreCycle.com).
Editor’s note: The letter below was sent to Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-Hendersonville, regional media and other leaders in the region. Below this letter, see Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Chief Richard Sneed’s reaction.
Rep. Edwards has overstepped authority
To the Editor: We are writing today in response to Rep. Chuck Edwards’ letter in the Carolina Journal insisting members of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians vote against the legalization of marijuana use. For a moment we are setting aside our disagreements with Rep. Edwards about the role of marijuana policy in reducing crime and addiction. Make no mistake, we do disagree with his policy approach, but this letter is about a different issue. This letter is about our rejection of his attempt to coerce the people of the EBCI into making the decision he wants them to make. The EBCI is a sovereign nation and has the right to govern itself and pass such laws as its duly elected government and its enrolled members see fit, without federal or state interference.
In his letter Rep. Edwards threatens to eliminate federal funds to tribal governments that choose to legalize any form of marijuana use. Rep. Edwards’ strategy reeks of the same paternalism we have seen throughout the his-
tory of federal dealings with tribal governments. This is not the action of a friend with a disagreement, it is patronizing and coercive. Rep. Edwards offers false friendship. The federal funding owed to the EBCI must never be a tool for extorting one man’s policy goals. A real friend would know that the United States of America owes a debt to the Cherokee, and making good on that debt is not dependent on disagreements over marijuana policy.
Garrett Lagan, Swain County Democratic Party Chair
Diane Snyder, Cherokee County Democratic Party Chair
Cody Lewis, Jackson County Democratic Party Chair
Sam Edney, Transylvania County Democratic Party Chair
Siyo Democratic Party Leaders,
Thank you for your words of support and understanding of the Tribe’s sovereignty and the Trust Responsibility of the United States government to federally recognized Indian tribes. In my estimation, Rep. Edwards has overstepped his authority and has made a major political blunder as a federal representative; a non-Indian, elected official telling a sovereign tribal nation how they ought to do handle their business.
Thank you for your leadership in responding to this matter.
SgiWild nights and the bar fight
“There is no such joy in the tavern as upon the road thereto.”
Cormac McCarthy, “Blood Meridian”
Mostly we avoided fights, Stewart and I did. But this one we couldn’t.
Old Boy and his buddy brought their girlfriends to Tobacco Road, a “nightclub” built out in the middle of a field that was out in the middle of a bunch of other fields, but people would jump in their trucks, muscle cars, and aging sedans and drive 20 or 30 miles to gather there every Friday and Saturday night in the 1980s.
When we were in high school, we were warned over and over about the dangers that awaited anyone foolish enough to venture there, especially young, inexperienced pups like us with our long blonde hair and scrawny bodies, so we stayed away. We weren’t old enough to get in anyway.
I went off to college, but my first stint didn’t last long, so when I came home, it wasn’t long before Stewart and I reconnected and started hitting the roads of northwestern North Carolina and southern Virginia every weekend and every Wednesday in search of new adventures.
Wednesdays were generally set aside for disco night at Grandfather’s in Galax, when we’d splash on a little extra English Leather, find our favorite booth on the second floor, and let the Gap Band rattle our bones while we sipped our beers and scouted the place for any sign of pretty and available girls. Sometimes we found them, and sometimes we didn’t.
If we did, we’d probably wind up in the back seat of a car in some dark corner of the parking lot for an hour or two, gobbling Tic Tacs and kissing kissing kissing. If we didn’t, we’d end up in line at the Burger King at 1 a.m. with the other losers in love.
We developed a circuit of clubs in different counties, which eventually included Tobacco Road. We still weren’t too sure about it, but we had made the happy discovery that each of us possessed quite the gift for bullshit — I’m sorry there’s not a prettier word for it — and that when we combined forces, this gift was multiplied exponentially.
On any given night, we had people convinced that we were wealthy venture capitalists, Olympic triathletes, co-owners of a thousand-acre ranch in Wyoming, descendants of the Vanderbilts, inventors of Super Glue, or members of the rock ‘n’ roll band Journey, just on the verge of embarking on yet another world-wide tour.
I don’t believe I have mentioned that a lot of women found Stewart to be irresistibly gorgeous. He had this kind of Rod Stewart vibe. I mean, bartenders flirted with him. Older women. Younger women. Tall women. Short women. All kinds of women. They couldn’t look away from him.
I was more like the boy next door, his wingman, the tall one with soulful eyes and a
big vocabulary. He drew them in, and I wrote them poems on bar napkins. He drew them in even when he didn’t want to.
Oh, the fight. We were in Tobacco Road that one night and quite a few pitchers of draft beer were consumed at their table and at ours. Old Boy’s girlfriend had taken quite a conspicuous liking to Stewart.
Not good, and we knew it. But let Michelob talk and it won’t shut up. She looked and looked, our tables about 15 feet apart. He wouldn’t look back, couldn’t look back, mustn’t look back.
“This is trouble coming,” he said to me.
Old Boy went to the bathroom, and that was her chance to come over and hand Stewart a scribbled note with her name and phone number.
“I can’t tonight,” she said. “But call me this week and you’ll be glad you did.”
Old Boy got back just in time to see her leaving our table and then just decided to come on over himself and force the moment to its crisis, while Stewart was looking for somewhere to put that note.
“I think me and you may need to go outside for a little chat,” he said, bloodshot, unblinking eyes trained on Stewart. The girl pulled on his arm, pleading, “It was NOTHING, Billy.”
It was raining outside, but we all filed out like we were leaving a football game. There were four or five on each side, not including the girlfriend and a couple of her friends, all of them trying to convince Billy that he had not seen what he had so obviously seen.
As soon as we got to a little clearing in the grass, Old Boy took a wild swing at Stewart and it was on, just a tangle of elbows and knees, haymakers and headlocks. The rest of us made a circle, checking each other warily.
The fight went on for a few minutes — which is a long time for a bar fight — until I saw Stewart reach for his neck, as if he were choking on a chicken bone.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “Just wait one damn minute!”
Old Boy relaxed his boxer’s stance a little and looked at him, confused.
“Wait for what?”
“I’ve lost my necklace,” Stewart said. “My mama gave me that necklace. We’ve got to find it.”
There in the pouring rain under the glare of a streetlight, we all looked around in the grass and the mud for Stewart’s necklace, including Old Boy. We looked like confused chickens pecking in the barnyard.
“Hey, here it is!” said one of the girls, plucking it out of the mud. “I found it!”
Stewart had no sooner put it in his pocket than Old Boy took another swing, this one intercepted by the cop-for-hire that worked there every weekend. He had been alerted to a disturbance outside, only to find a bunch of people looking around in the grass for some treasure lost.
“Go home, all of you.”
We did. That was always the best part anyway, the coming and the going.
(Chris Cox is a writer and teacher who lives in Haywood County. jchriscox@live.com.)
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Down home radio
WPTL celebrates 60 years on the air
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITORIn the winter of 1978, Terryll Evans was a ninth grader in Orlando, Florida. But, by March, she and her family would pack up everything and move hundreds of miles away to the mountains of Haywood County — an unknown landscape for the teenager.
“When we moved here, there was probably six inches of snow on the ground,” Evans reminisced with a chuckle. “It was the year that it snowed really bad, so the kids hadn’t gone to school most of the winter.”
For Evans, it was initially hard to leave fun in the sun for mountain adventure. But, that feeling quickly dissipated as her family assimilated itself into its new role in the small, tightknit community of Canton — running the WPTL radio station.
“We are the social hub for the community,” Evans said. “We have all walks of life and diversity in Haywood County, so we’re part of a lot of households here — in the car, in the home, wherever you can stream us online.”
Last month, WPTL celebrated its 60th anniversary on-air. Launched on Aug. 3, 1963, the call letters (supposedly) stand for “We Please the Listener,” a deeply-held ethos and attitude that remains at the core of the company this many decades later.
“We want to be part of anything that’s going on — local news, school sports, concerts, benefits, yard sales,” Evans said. “And we even do an obituary report, which is a sad time, but it’s an important part of Haywood County. We’re here for everyone and anything — we’re the continuation of the community.”
The long, ongoing journey of WPTL starts with Charles R. Price and Clay H. Cline creating the station in 1963. Originally located on Main Street in Canton, WPTL was 920 AM on the radio dial. At that time, the county had three stations: WPTL, WHCC (easy listening) and
WWIT (Top 40).
“And we’re the only ones left in Haywood,” Evans said.
Throughout the years on-air, there were several notable WPTL disc jockeys — Jimmy Haney, Chuck King, Richard Hurley, Charlie Worsham, Pat Hurley, Cliff Hannah and so forth.
By 1972, Charles R. Price Jr. sold the station to Vernon E. Pressley, only to then transfer the station to Evans’ father, William (Bill) A. Reck, in 1978, who bought WPTL with Evans’ grandfather, Myron A. Reck.
To note, the Recks owned the popular WTRR station in Sanford, Florida, from 1945
Want to go?
WPTL can be found on the radio dial at 920 AM and 101.7 FM. You can also stream the station online at wptlradio.net.
Popular programs include the “Morning Show with John Anderson” from 6-8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and “Papertown Roots Radio with Tim Surrett” from 7-10 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.
If you’d like to donate and support WPTL, you can call 828.648.3576 or email admin@wptlradio.net. WPTL is located at 131 Pisgah Drive in Canton. The mailing address is P.O. Box 909, Canton, N.C. 28716.
to 1977. When the Recks sold WTRR, they ended up in Western North Carolina due to the location of WPTL being right outside the radius of the non-compete clause the fatherand-son signed when selling WTRR.
By 1979, the Recks moved WPTL to its current location at 131 Pisgah Drive in Canton. And even though Evans left Haywood County not long after high school graduation, WPTL was always somewhere in the ether of her existence. The company was a family business, though Evans swore she’d never take over.
“I moved away in 1982 and I said, ‘I’ll never do radio,’” Evans laughed. “But, I always stayed in touch with mom and dad. I was living in Alabama when mom passed away in 2013. Not long after, dad asked me if I was interested in coming back to Canton and helping him run the station — I said I was.”
Bill Reck owned and operated WPTL until declining health forced him to retire in 2020. It was at that juncture where he handed the reins of the station over to Evans. Eventually, WPTL was able to launch an FM component, known as 101.7 FM. The station also grew its online presence in that time (wptlradio.net).
“The FM translator opened so many doors for us,” Evans said. “With AM radio, you sometimes have to power down at certain times. But, with FM, WPTL goes all the way to Franklin, Cherokee and Bryson City.”
In October 2021, Bill passed away, with Evans left at the helm to steer the WPTL ship into its next, unwritten chapter.
“My father taught me well. He was a very good professor, you might say,” Evans noted. “He was wonderful and I learned so much from him. I feel very honored to carry on the family business into the third generation. I just hope I’m doing as good of a job as he did in the past — I’m proud to continue the family tradition.”
These days, in an era of incessant white noise and mainstream media, WPTL has come
full circle in its intent — community radio for, well, the community itself. Popular broadcasts include the Christmas parades, local gatherings and happenings.
But, the king of kings on-air for WPTL remains Pisgah High School football, with each game broadcasted live every Friday night.
“We’ve tracked the numbers and we’ll have over 55,000 people listening on the internet to Pisgah football,” Evans marveled. “And there’s no way to tell how many are also listening on the radio in their cars or homes.”
Another extremely popular WPTL program is “Papertown Roots Radio.” The twice-weekly program is hosted by Canton native and musical legend Tim Surrett, most notable for his work in the award-winning group Balsam Range — a juggernaut marquee bluegrass outfit based in Haywood County.
“WPTL is the station that I grew up on listening to in the mornings,” Surrett said. “My dad would be coming in from working nights on the railroad and mom would be cooking breakfast, all of us kids getting ready for school, eating breakfast — turn on the stove, turn on the radio.”
During the 2020 shutdown, Surrett was looking for something to do since Balsam Range wasn’t able to tour and perform. Thus, amid a happenstance encounter with Evans, who Surrett went to Pisgah High with, “Papertown Roots Radio” hit the airwaves in August 2020.
There were no expectations for “Papertown Roots Radio” at first, just a slice of life radio slot during the evenings where Surrett could spin his favorite bluegrass, country and Americana artists, all while waxing poetically about his beloved town — tall tales and special guests, good tunes and hearty laughter.
“It’s been proven on my show that there’s
This must be the place
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD‘A horse is a horse, of course, of course’
The alarm on my smart phone echoed throughout the small cabin. It was 7:30 a.m. Saturday and I had to be somewhere in an hour — hopping onto a saddle for an early morning horse ride.
While my girlfriend rolled out of bed excited at the chance to go riding, I was slow to emerge from my slumber, more so questioning why I signed up for an 8:30 a.m. ride after a wild Friday night at a music festival.
But, there we were, at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival. Located on the grounds of the Tryon International Equestrian Center, the melodic gathering was this past weekend, our cabin onsite at the center. Rows of cabins surrounded by rows of RVs and primitive camping sites under a hot early September sun.
Park the truck near the General Store at the TIEC. Wait outside with a handful of other folks who were eager to ride. Sign the liability waivers. Hop into the transport van and head out down a dirt road into the isolated woods surrounding the facility. Eventually, we stopped at a small barn with several horses lined up.
It was in that moment when it dawned on me that I had not ridden a horse probably since sometime in high school. At age 38, I started to contemplate my ability in getting on the big animal and being able to control whatever may happen out on the trail.
Soon, my horse was brought over to me. Maggie. A beautiful grey and white quarter-horse. I then pulled myself onto the leather saddle and got reacquainted with the reins and how it’s all pretty much a steering wheel when it comes to directions. That, and to pull the reins back to stop, a slight kick with your shoes into the sides of the horse to get the beast moving again.
And so the hour-long trail ride began. Six riders and two leaders/wranglers. Within the first few minutes of being in forest, I started to feel comfortable atop Maggie. All of my muscle memory of riding years ago as a kid and teenager immediately came back to me, this long-lost knowledge, balance and steadiness of self.
I also started to have numerous flashbacks of past rides and interactions with horses those many years ago. Excursions with my family on horse rides in the desolation of the Adirondack Mountains and out west in Wyoming and Montana. Horses were beloved in our household. And always will
be. Nothing like a soft horse nose to pet, eh?
To note, I actually had a horse back in the day. Growing up in the rural depths of Upstate New York, horses were seemingly everywhere in the farming communities of my native North Country. It was just part of daily life in those parts.
My childhood home was an 1820 limestone farmhouse on seven acres on the outskirts of Rouses Point. The property was surrounding by endless corn and hay fields. The smell of manure and the sounds of tractors in the distance was common. It didn’t ever bother me, still doesn’t. Those things still happily remind me of home.
Our house also had a large old barn on the back of the horseshoe driveway. And for many years, we had a horse that lived on the far end of the barn. Aside from numerous cats and dogs roaming the property, Branches was a Morgan quarter-horse.
All told, Branches lived to be 37 years old. He was part of our family for 17. I knew him for a decade until his passing in 1995. Before my little sister and I arrived on the scene in the 1980s, my parents rescued Branches. My father was a U.S. Immigration officer on the nearby Canadian Border. In those days, there were horses being smuggled across the boundary illegally.
Well, in the late 1970s, a herd of smug-
HOT PICKS 1
A production of the beloved Monty Python comedy “Spamalot” will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8-9, 14-16 and 2 p.m. Sept. 10 and 17 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
gled horses were abandoned in a field on the border. The smugglers took off. The U.S. Border Patrol folks now had to figure out what to do with the animals. Always known to rescue animals (cats and dogs), my father randomly stepped up and took one of the male horses (Branches) home, the animal
The Smoky Mountain Roller Girls will host its “Barbie Bout” match against Greensboro Roller Derby on Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Swain County Recreation Center in Bryson City.
2
The “Tribute to Frank Sinatra” four-course dinner and a show will be held from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.
3
WORLD PREMIERE FILM GARY CARDEN: STORYTELLER
4
The “Thunder in the Smokies” motorcycle rally will be held Sept. 8-10 at the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds.
Singer-songwriter Wyatt Espalin will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at Yonder Community Market in Franklin.
5
now finding refuge for the better part of the next two decades in our old barn.
Throughout my childhood and adolescence, most of my daily chores were to take care of Branches, especially when my father was working long shifts and overtime on the border. Bring the hay from one side of the barn and drop it in the horse stall. Clean out the stall when it got too dirty. Make sure there are carrots in Branches’ meal bucket, etc.
As a youngster, I hated doing chores. But, I hated my father yelling at me more. So, grab the shovel and start disposing of the manure from the stall. The barn hot and humid in the summer. My nose runny and allegories flaring up from the hay. Flies zooming around and smashing into me from seemingly every direction.
But, all of those down-n-dirty things in the previous paragraph were worth it, especially with the fond, vivid memories that remain cherished and framed on the walls of my mind this many decades later.
I think of those times coming home from school, Branches’ head popping out of the top of the barn door when my mother’s car pulled into the driveway. I think of those evenings when I would be shooting hoops by myself under the barn floodlight, Branches’ watching me out of curiosity and simple fellowship.
And, mostly, I recall those lazy summer days, where the neighborhood kids and I would be tinkering around in our treehouse way out in the field behind our house, Branches emerging from the back of the barn, soon trotting along the fence line, eventually wandering by our sacred treehouse, the sounds of his hooves and playful snorting.
Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
Filmed over the past 25 years, STORYTELLER is more than just a documentary about one of Western North Carolina’s most revered literary figures — it’s a touching tribute to the lore, folklore, superstitions and tall tales of the region, and their most enthusiastic guardian. 90 minutes, with closed captioning.
Featuring: William Ritter & David Joy special guest: Neal Hutcheson
Seating is first come, first serve.
Celtic Sundays
W/The Carter Giegerich Trio - 2-5 pm
Incredible Celtic Folk - Every Sunday Scotsman Oktoberfest
September 16th - October 3rd
Celebrating German Beer and Food Fest Dinner
A guided 5 course Dinner with 11 Beer Pairings (ticketed event)
Wednesday, September 27th
Purchase tickets at the pub
Thursday September 7th
Bridget Gossett • 8pm-10pm - Blues- Rock
Friday September 8 th
Adamas Entertainment Presents A NIGHT OF BLUEGRASS
w/ The Paper Crowns Band • 8pm-11pm
T RIVIA T UESDAYS
Every Tuesday 7:30pm-9:30pm
FREE TO PLAY
Gift Certificate Prizes for 1st & 2nd Place!
still a place for community radio — there’s almost this Mayberry kind of feeling about WPTL,” Surrett said. “At this point, the station is the linchpin of our community and that feeling of togetherness. And you don’t see that much anywhere anymore, sadly, but we’re so lucky to still have that right here in our backyard.”
By the online streaming numbers, “Papertown Roots Radio” garners around 35,000 listeners each go-round. Again, this doesn’t include those listening on the couch or
On the beat
on the road.
“There’s a lot of our listenership tuning in from all over the country and across the globe — California, Long Island, Europe,” Surrett said. “And a lot of those folks used to live in Canton and Haywood County — WPTL is a way to keep connected to their hometown and what’s going on here.”
For Evans, the 60th anniversary of WPTL is not only a milestone to behold and be proud of, it’s also a moment to reflect on the two-way street of appreciation and admiration between the station and its audience — a testament to the hard work and fellowship
Hustle Souls return to Waynesville
Presented by Adamas Entertainment, popular regional funk/rock act Hustle Souls will perform at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at The Lineside, the new indoor music venue at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville.
Hustle Souls is a genre-jumping mashup of new school funk and old school vintage soul, with nods to the jamband
Haywood Choral Society concert
Directed by Don Kirkindoll, the Haywood Choral Society will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.
This season’s concert, “What Dreams May Come,” will explore dreams of the unknown future, of peace and freedom, of love and hope of new life through the music of classical and modern composers including Ralph Vaughn Williams, Johannes Brahms, Eric Whitacre, Eriks Esenvalds, Elaine Hagenberg, Dan Forrest and more.
This is the first time the 60-member choral group will perform with Kirkindoll, who accepted the position of director in late February. Kirkindoll has directed music programs/ministries and choirs of all ages in churches, schools, and community organiza-
that remains at the foundation of Paper Town.
“You know, sometimes I don’t realize the impact of the station and how many people actually tune in and listen to us,” Evans said. “My Jeep has WPTL plastered all over it. And while I’ll be sitting at a traffic light, people will just look over at us and wave. That makes me feel good — if I can touch someone’s heart during the day, that’s all that matters.”
tions for the last 25 years.
An experienced vocalist, Kirkindoll has performed in concerts from the White House to Europe and South Africa, as well as extensively throughout the southeastern United States. In August 2022, Kirkindoll became the director of Music and Worship Arts for the First United Methodist Church of Waynesville.
Founded in 1997, with a goal to help preserve an appreciation for the great classical music of the past as well as the present, the Haywood Choral Society is sponsored in part by The Junaluskans, the Haywood Arts Council and its Chorus Angels. Admission is free. Donations are welcomed. For more information, visit haywoodchoralsociety.org.
Folk, soul at Yonder
and roots worlds. While the grooves and riffs the band creates blend these elements together with precision, the songs all have a casual vibe that flows almost effortlessly. Asheville-based indie/rock outfit Cloud Circuit will open the show. Admission is $10 in advance, $12 at the door (cash/card accepted). For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to froglevelbrewing.com.
Ready for ‘Porchfest’?
The Highlands-Cashiers Center for Life Enrichment (CLE) will host its annual Highlands Porchfest Music Festival from 1-6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, in Highlands.
Over 40 musicians of various styles and genres will perform across 14 venues in the heart of downtown Highlands.
One new and notable performance included in this year’s lineup is soul and funk artist Lamont Landers. An Alabama native, Landers became an overnight YouTube sensation and went viral following his performances on the popular reality tv show “America’s Got Talent.” He has since performed twice on Steve Harvey’s “Showtime at the Apollo.”
Singer-songwriter Wyatt Espalin will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at Yonder Community Market in Franklin.
Born and raised in Hiawassee, Georgia, Espalin has been entertaining audiences since he was eight years old. A blend of Americana, bluegrass and indie-roots music, he’s a beloved fixture on the Southern Appalachian live music circuit. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to eatrealfoodinc.com. To learn more about Espalin, go to wyattespalinmusic.com.
Also returning this year is American Idol finalist and R&B singer Jerius Duncan, local legend Zorki and Asheville singer-songwriter Lindsay McCargar. The festival’s entire musician lineup can be found online at highlandsporchfest.com.
New venues this year will include Fern of Highlands, Mountain Life Properties, High Country Wine & Provisions, Art Highlands Gallery and Stubborn Seeds.
Confirmed repeat venues this year include Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park, Satulah Brewing Company, The Ugly Dog Public House, The High Dive, Town Square, The Bascom, Highlands Wine Shoppe, Highlands Smokehouse and First Presbyterian Church.
Highlands Porchfest is organized and presented by local nonprofit organization,
Highlands-Cashiers Center for Life Enrichment, which has served the community with lifeenrichment opportunities for over 30 years.
“Live music is a powerful force and a gift of displayed talents, storytelling of experiences and expression of emotions,” said CLE Executive Director and Porchfest Festival Director Fallon Hovis. “It is our honor to present this experience to our community so that everyone of all ages can experience the impact that live music can have on the mind and soul.”
Highlands Porchfest is free to attend. This is made possible by the generous contributions of sponsors and volunteers. For more information about Highlands Porchfest, visit highlandsporchfest.com, call 828.526.8811 or email info@highlandsporchfest.com.
• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8-10 p.m. every Thursday. Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.
• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7-9 p.m. every first and third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public. For more information, go to blueridgebeerhub.com.
On the beat ALSO:
• Blue Stage (Andrews) will host The Hollerin’ Frogs 8 p.m. Sept. 23. 828.361.2534 or gm@thebluestage.com.
• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host music bingo 7 p.m. Mondays, karaoke at 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m., Quickchester Sept. 9 and Sun Dogs Sept. 16. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.
• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center (Franklin) will host The Jeff Little Trio (Americana) 6 p.m. Sept. 16. Tickets are $15 for adults, $7.50 for kids 16 and under. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to coweeschool.org/music.
• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. Thursdays and Grizzly Mammoth Sept. 9. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.
• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Orchard Sessions” featuring Olivia DaPonte (singer-songwriter) Sept. 14. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $25 per person. For tickets, go to oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.
• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will host The Well Drinkers Sept. 8 and Curtis Blackwell Band Sept. 15 at Town Square on Main Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.
• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host its weekly “Tuesday Jazz Series” at 5:30 p.m., Tricia Ann Duo (rock/country) 5:30 p.m. Sept. 6, Mike Oregano (singer-songwriter) 5:30 p.m. Sept. 12, Chris Wilhelm (singer-songwriter) 5:30 p.m. Sept. 14, Different Light 5:30 p.m. Sept. 15 and Hustle Souls (Americana/indie) w/Cloud Circuit (indie/rock) at The Lineside ($10 cover charge) 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15. Free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.
• Happ’s Place (Glenville) will host Joe Owens (singer-songwriter) Sept. 8 and Blue Jazz Band Sept. 9 and 15 and Rock Holler Sept. 16. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. happsplace.com or 828.742.5700.
• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (rock) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9. For a full schedule of events and/or to buy tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.
• Highlander Mountain House (Highlands) will host a Sunday Bluegrass Residency noon to 2:30 p.m. and the “Salon Series” with Hurray For The Riff Raff (Americana/indie) Sept. 21. Tickets are $35 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to highlandermountainhouse.com.
• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Trivia Night with Kirk” from 7-9 p.m. every Monday, Open Mic Night every Wednesday, “10th Anniversary Party” noon Sept. 16 and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.
• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” on Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” 6 p.m. Tuesdays, trivia 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Open Mic 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host trivia 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays and an Old Time Jam 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• Lineside at Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Hustle Souls (Americana/indie) with Cloud Circuit (indie/rock) 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15. Admission is $10 in advance, $12 at the door. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to froglevelbrewing.com.
• Meadowlark Motel (Maggie Valley) will host Trivia Thursdays 6:30 p.m., Twelfth Fret Sept. 8, Stomper Kitty Sept. 9, Asheville Junction Duo (Americana/folk) Sept. 15 and Life Like Water (Americana/indie) Sept. 16. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to meadowlarkmotel.com or 828.926.1717.
• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host an “Open Mic with Frank Lee” Wednesdays, Mountain Gypsy (Americana) Sept. 8, George Ausman (singer-songwriter) 5 p.m. Sept. 10, Zip Robertson (singer-songwriter) Sept. 15, Frank Lee (Americana/folk) Sept. 16 and Terry Haughton (singer-songwriter) Sept. 17. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.
• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host Beer & Loathing Sept. 9. All shows behind at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. noc.com/events.
• Pickin’ On The Square (Franklin) will host
Sundown (classic rock) Sept. 9. All shows begin at 6 p.m. at the Gazebo in downtown. Free and open to the public. franklinnc.com/pickin-on-the-square
• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.586.1717 or facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.
• Salty Dog’s Seafood & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host “Karaoke with Russell” every Monday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.926.9105.
• Saturdays On Pine (Highlands) will host Steel Toe Stiletto Sept. 9 and McIntosh & The Lionhearts Sept. 16 at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park on Pine Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.
• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host a “Celtic Jam” 2-5 p.m. Sundays, Bridget Gossett (rock/blues) Sept. 7, “A Night Of Bluegrass” w/The Paper Crowns (Americana/indie) Sept. 8, Ryan Furstenburg (Americana/country) Sept. 14, Celtic Road Jam 4 p.m. Sept. 16 and J.J. Hipps & The Hideaway (rock/blues) Sept. 16. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.
• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host The ALR Trio 6 p.m. Sept. 7. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the
public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.
• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host Departure (Journey tribute) Sept. 9. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.
• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host “Bluegrass Wednesday” at 6:30 p.m. each week. 828.526.8364 or theuglydogpub.com.
• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host JR Williams Sept. 6, Blackjack Country Sept. 7, Zak Saltz Band ($5 cover charge) Sept. 8, Keil Nathan Smith & The Sudden Change Band ($5 cover charge) Sept. 9, Karaoke with Lori McDonald Sept. 13, Tricia Ann (singer-songwriter) Sept. 14, Topper ($5 cover charge) Sept. 15 and Wayne Buckner ($5 cover charge) Sept. 16. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.538.2488.
• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host Shane Meade (indie/soul) 1 p.m. Sept. 10 and Spare Parts Trio (Americana) 1 p.m. Sept. 17. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.743.6000 or whitesidebrewing.com.
• Yonder Community Market (Franklin) will host Wyatt Espalin (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m. Sept. 9 and Dalton Mills (singer-songwriter) 4 p.m. Sept. 24. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to eatrealfoodinc.com.
Franklin welcomes Jeff Little
Renowned Americana act The Jeff Little Trio will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center in Franklin.
The piano rarely plays a prominent part in Appalachian or Americana music and is seldom the lead instrument. Jeff Little is an exception — and a remarkable one.
His distinctive two-handed style, much influenced by the mountain flat-picked guitar tradition, is breathtaking in its speed, precision and clarity. In 2014, Little was inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $7.50 for kids 16 and under. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to coweeschool.org/music.
Bryson City community jam
A community jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.
Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer or anything unplugged is invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of the Sawmill Creek Porch Band.
The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or to learn old-time mountain songs. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — spring, summer, fall.
This program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment of the Arts. 828.488.3030.
On the wall
‘Youth Arts Festival’
The annual “Youth Arts Festival” will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro.
It involves children’s activities, live artisan demonstrations and much more. Food will be available for purchase. Only satellite parking will be available at Monteith Park and the Jackson County Justice Center with a free shuttle to and from the park.
The event is free and open to the public. For information, call 828.631.0271 or go to jcgep.org.
• “What’s New?” exhibit will showcase new works by members of the Haywood County Arts Council through Nov. 13 at the HCAC in Waynesville. The presentation will focus on new techniques, materials and themes from local and regional artisans. Free and open to the public. haywoodarts.org.
ideas and images at the monthly meetings. For more information, email waynesvillephotoclub@charter.net or follow them on Facebook: Waynesville Photography Club.
• Summer Artisans Market will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the second Saturday of the month through September at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Artisan vendors and more. For more information, go to noc.com.
ALSO:
• “Art After Dark” will take place from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in downtown Waynesville. Each first Friday of the month (May-December), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, live music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors alike. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, go to downtownwaynesville.com.
• Gallery Zella (Bryson City) will be hosting an array of artist receptions, exhibits and showcases. The gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, go to galleryzella.com or call 517.881.0959.
• Farmer’s Market (with artisans) will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through October at 117 Island St. in Bryson City. Stop by the old barn by the river for local, homegrown produce, as well as baked goods, jellies and preserves, authentic crafts and more. Food truck, picnic tables and live music. Leashed pets are welcome. Outdoor event. 828.488.7857.
• Haywood County Arts Council (Waynesville) will offer a wide range of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. The HCAC gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information and a full schedule, visit haywoodarts.org.
ALSO:
• “Tribute to Frank Sinatra” four-course dinner and a show will be held from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. Ron Lee will perform the special showcase “A Man & His Music.” Cost is $69.99 per person all-inclusive (drinks are extra). Reservations only. To RSVP, call 828.452.6000.
• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, go to waynesvillewine.com.
• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines. Educational classes and other events are also available. For more information, call 828.538.0420.
• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal and more. There will also be a special “Beer Train” on select dates. For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or go to gsmr.com.
• “Summer Artisan Market” will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month through September at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in Nantahala Gorge. Free and open to the public. noc.com/events.
• Call for artists and musicians for the “Youth Arts Festival” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Artists needed to demonstrate, as well as musicians to perform. If interested, email chelseamiller@jacksonnc.org or call 828.631.0271.
• Waynesville Photography Club meets at 7 p.m. every third Monday each month on the second floor of the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center in Clyde. The club is a nonprofit organization that exists for the enjoyment of photography and the improvement of skills. They welcome photographers of all skill levels to share
• Jackson County Green Energy Park (Dillsboro) will be offering a slew of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. For more information and a full schedule, go to jcgep.org.
• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. For more information on the upcoming classes and/or to sign-up, go to southwesterncc.edu/scclocations/swain-center.
• Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro will offer a selection of upcoming art classes and workshops. For more information and a full schedule of activities, go to dogwoodcrafters.com/classes.html or call 828.586.2248.
Fall into Fabulous F F a bl into all ab abulou
‘Spamalot’ will be at HART on select dates through mid-September. Donated photo
HART presents ‘Spamalot’
A production of the beloved Monty Python comedy “Spamalot” will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8-9, 14-16 and 2 p.m. Sept. 10 and 17 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.
The 2005 Tony Award-winner for “Best Musical,” Monty Python’s “Spamalot” is a musical comedy frequently quoted as being “lovingly ripped off” from the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” which tells the legendary tale of King Arthur’s quest to find the Holy Grail.
As you’d expect from Eric Idle of Monty Python fame, the musical diverts from more traditional versions of the legend, offering a highly irreverent parody of the legend of King Arthur. We can never have too much laughter and this goofy, high-
energy musical offers up more laughs than ever.
The show features now-famous songs including “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” “The Song That Goes Like This” and “Find Your Grail.”
At the start, the show begins with a miscommunication between the actors and the narrator, leading into a song about Finland instead of England. From there the show introduces a myriad of characters you’d expect to be in the legendary tale, but with many twists — from modern to absurd.
To make reservations, call the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322 or go to harttheatre.org to make reservations online. HART Box Office hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host illusionist Michael Grandinett at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. Tickets start at $24 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.
ALSO:
‘Unto These Hills’ outdoor drama
The “Unto These Hills” stage production will be held at 8 p.m. nightly throughout the summer at the Cherokee Mountainside Theatre.
This decades-old acclaimed outdoor drama traces the Cherokee people through the eons, through the zenith of their power, through the heartbreak of the Trail of Tears, finally ending, appropriately, in the present day, where the Cherokee people, much like their newly re-scripted drama, continue to rewrite their place in the world — a place based on traditional Cherokee values and modern sensibilities.
Pre-show entertainment begins at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 7 p.m. For more information on show dates and/or to purchase tickets, go to visitcherokeenc.com and go to the “Events” tab.
Come See For Yourself At The
13
Dazzling Dahlia Festival
Saturday, September 9th 10 Am to 5 pm
Beautiful Dahlia and Native Plant Vignettes All Over Highlands.
Single Bloom Competition at The Bascom.
Highlands Historical Village Will Have Bluegrass Music by Nitrograss, Gary Wein’s Talk “A Sense of Place,” Storytellers and Food.
Festival Winners to be Announced at Kelsey Hutchinson Founder’s Park, During the 6 pm Concert; Featuring Steel Toe Stiletto, Sponsored by the Dahliabolicals.
For a full schedule of events and to enter visit highlandshistory.com or scan the QR Code below
Sponsored by Visit Highlands, The Bascom and Highlands Historical Society
‘Thunder in the Smokies’
‘Roller Derby Barbie Bout’
The Smoky Mountain Roller Girls will host its “Barbie Bout” match against Greensboro Roller Derby on Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Swain County Recreation Center in Bryson City.
The team is an amateur women’s athletic roller derby league that aims to provide an outlet for fun, fitness and camaraderie among its members and develop athletic ability and teamwork. SMRG endeavors to give back to the community that supports them through community building initiatives and charitable donations of time and activity.
Doors open at 4 p.m. with the first whistle at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 presale or
$8 at the door (cash or Venmo accepted). Kids ages 11 and under are free. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit “Together We Rise.”
As well, are you interested in becoming a skater, referee or non-skating official? SMRG has open practices. No experience necessary.
Bring your own chair. For more information, go to facebook.com/smokymountainrollergirls.
The next “Thunder in the Smokies” rally will be held Sept. 8-10 at the Maggie Valley Fairgrounds.
The oldest and largest motorcycle rally in the Great Smoky Mountains, the weekend celebration will feature live music,
dozens of vendors, motorcycle shows/games, prizes and much more. For more information, a full schedule of events and/or to purchase tickets, go to thunderinthesmokies.com.
Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling
The Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling will be held from 7-9 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through Oct. 31 at the Oconaluftee Islands Park in Cherokee. Sit by a bonfire alongside a river and listen to some of Cherokee’s best storytellers. The bonfire is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 800.438.1601 or go to visitcherokeenc.com.
On the shelf
A love story from a more innocent time
Every once in a while, a novel hits me with a punch I never saw coming, perhaps even one unintended by its author.
In “If a Poem Could Live and Breathe: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt’s First Love” (St. Martin’s Press, 2023, 320 pages), Mary Calvi carries readers back to the late 1870s and drops us down into a budding romance.
New Yorker Theodore Roosevelt is a student at Harvard, and Alice Hathaway Lee is a well-educated Boston Brahman with an interest in literature.
When the two are introduced by Richard Saltonstall, Alice’s cousin, Theodore is immediately smitten, even when first gazing at Alice from a distance. “She looked fair as a maiden stepping from the pages of literature.”
The rest of Calvi’s novel paints their growing affection for each other, the turn toward romance and courtship, and their wedding day. The last chapters tell of their short marriage and Alice’s death after delivering a baby girl, her pregnancy having hidden her kidney failure. On this same day, and under the same roof, Roosevelt’s mother also died. Throughout the book, in interludes that may at first confuse the reader unfamiliar with this tragedy in Roosevelt’s life, we find him trying to recover from Alice’s death while enduring the rigors of ranching in the Black Hills of North Dakota.
This courtship with its ups and downs — the sleigh ride when Teddy and Alice first kiss, the intrigues of Alice’s cousin Rose, who adds sparks of humor to the story, the horror when Alice discovers Roosevelt engages in taxidermy of the game he has shot—is the centerpiece of this story, but along the way Calvi introduces us to other interesting people and customs. We learn a bit about the clubs at Harvard. We become acquainted with the manners of that time, the etiquette that guided formal meals and balls. Into the narrative Calvi also weaves letters exchanged between Alice and Theodore, some of which appear here in print for the first time.
We are also given an education in the clothing worn by the upper class of that era. Writers often use the weather to help set a scene, and Calvi employs that device effectively throughout the book, but descriptions of dress feature just as prominently. Here, for instance, is an account of the outfit worn by Alice as she heads off to spend an afternoon with Theodore:
“Having changed into her strolling attire after dance class, she found that her caramel-colored cool-weather walking suit, of velvet material, offered great mobility. Being two pieces, it allowed her to skip the
tight bustier, and this skirt went wide at the bottom of her ankles. The high fashion design was not in the outfit itself but in the lace flowing at the wrist and neckline. A cashmere overcoat, in a matching camel shade with twelve gold buttons down the front, completed the look.”
Such attention to detail, evidenced as well throughout the book in Calvi’s descriptions of food, room decor and customs, help bring this period and place more alive to
desires.
The contrast between then and now is what delivered a left hook to my head. The innocence found in “If a Poem Could Live and Breathe” has long gone missing from our own sex-drenched era. Today pornography reigns as emperor of the internet and in every corner of our culture — music, film, literature, art — sex makes its appearance, a demi-god to be worshipped in and of itself. We’ve stripped away all that bulky Gilded Age clothing and those tedious manners, patting ourselves on the back for our openness and our bare candor.
Of course, that time described in “If a Poem Could Live and Breathe” had its flaws and hypocrisies. Though writers like Henry James and Edith
Wharton gave us novels of drawing-room manners much like the one written by Calvi, we also know that in these Victorian times prostitution and sex trafficking existed alongside that genteel society of ladies and gentlemen.
readers.
By now, you’re probably wondering about that punch I described earlier, so here it is.
Just as Calvi has researched and reproduced this time and place in our history, so too has she given us a portrait of its ideals and practices of romance and courtship. Between Alice and Theodore feelings of affection only gradually reveal themselves, flames nourished in very gently stated terms and slow-moving advances. A touching and beautiful innocence is at play here. The etiquette, clothing, and repartee with all their formality seem designed to delightfully conceal what that age might have labeled baser
Nevertheless, while reading Calvi’s novel, I was struck not only by the innocence we have forfeited in our sea-change of the last 150 years, but also by the loss of purpose in sex itself. Alice, Theodore and their young cousins and friends are seeking in another a partner for life, a wife or a husband. For them, that quest then led to marriage and a family, and not to a one-stop overnight in the No-Tell Motel.
We may laugh at the proprieties of our ancestors, but future generations may well aim their mockery at us for destroying innocence and the mystery and beauty of love.
(Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” minick0301@gmail.com.)
Ignition point
American Rescue Plan funds, with only about $200,000 coming from tribal coffers. A Facebook post on the Fire Mountain page previewing the meeting garnered 114 comments and 223 shares.
The park is being designed by International Mountain Biking Association Trail Solutions, which is subcontracting with Velosolutions as the main builder. To date, Velosolutions has built 534 pump tracks in 50 countries. It is the “pre-eminent asphalt pump track builder throughout the world,” Hyatt said.
The park will occupy the old Tribal Transit property at 2093 Tsali Blvd., right at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With the money allocated, Hyatt expects to have an initial meeting with the contractor during the next couple of weeks, with preliminary site work taking place as soon as possible. Asphalt will start going down in early 2024, and Hyatt hopes to see the project complete by late summer or early fall next year.
“I call all these projects quality of life projects, because that’s truly what they are, and that’s truly what I hope to create,” said Hyatt.
Cherokee’s next planned bike park to give kids, new riders a place to play
BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS E DITORExcitement is building in Cherokee over plans for a new public bicycle park that will offer excitement for toddlers, teens and beyond on a 4-acre property adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“We’re super excited,” said Jeremy Hyatt, secretary of operations for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “This is the biggest bike park of this type on the East Coast, certainly in the Southeast. I have had industry folks from all over the nation that have reached out to me saying, ‘This is a true, game-changing project. You’re going to have so many people clamoring to come to this.’”
The Fire Mountain Ignitor Park will feature two asphalt pump tracks totaling 20,000 square feet connected by a 750-foot “Snake Run” connector, also asphalt. Additionally, the park will include a bicycle playground suitable for strider bikes and small children, an intermediate skills park and two flow lines, which will total about 1,300 feet in length. The skills park will offer features such as boulders, teeter totters, small drops, tunnels, elevated bridges, ladders and skinnies.
Renderings for the pump tracks show a series of rolls and berms that form a loop. Pump tracks get their name from the pump-
ing action riders used to maintain momentum, rather than pedaling or pushing as in other bicycling contexts.
“I call this the Ignitor Park because I’m hoping it will ignite the imagination and the fun in younger kids, getting them on bicycles, getting people to get their outdoor juices flowing, igniting that spark inside them that will put them on a bicycle and will create this enjoyment of this lifetime sport, the same way it has in my life,” Hyatt said.
LOWERING THE ENTRY POINT
The original Fire Mountain Trail System, completed in 2017, offers 11 miles of singletrack dirt trails about 2.5 miles away from the Ignitor Park site. The trails have gained rapid popularity over the past six years, drawing an average of 11,000 visitors each year over the past four. But they’re not for everybody. The initial ascent is steep, and while the trails cover a variety of difficulty levels, there’s nothing for very young or very novice riders.
Enter Ignitor Park.
“We wanted to lower the entry point for anybody wanting to get on a bicycle,” Hyatt said. “This is a project for our tribal citizens, for our children, our families that want to participate in outdoor recreation. And maybe they’re not ready for Fire Mountain. This is going to be something for them.”
The park will have bathrooms, as well as shade structures and seating so parents can come and read a book or hang out while monitoring their kids on wheels — that is, if
they’re not bringing bikes of their own.
While it’s being built as a bike park, Hyatt said there’s no reason that other types of wheels can’t use it, as long as no user conflict occurs. Because it’s asphalt, the pump track can be used not only by mountain bikes but also by dirt jumpers, BMX bikes, skateboards or one-wheels.
GROWING THE FAMILY
He spoke of projects in the plural, because the Ignitor Park is just the latest in a series of outdoor recreation magnets that Hyatt has helped create. Fire Mountain opened in 2017, followed by the Fire Mountain Disc Golf Sanctuary last year. The
“The whole community is just flipped over it,” Hyatt said. “I have received numerous phone calls, along with support via social media from tribal citizens and other folks in the area, other citizens in the immediate area and throughout the Southeast. People are excited about this project.”
Planning began in 2020 but was delayed by the Coronavirus Pandemic. Then, on Aug. 22, the EBCI Business Committee unanimously approved the $2.7 million project contract. Most of that cost will be covered using federal
18-hole championship-caliber course attracted more than 7,000 visitors in its first year, a number that Hyatt expects will only grow as time goes on.
With respect to Fire Mountain Trails’ 11,000 annual visitors, a rudimentary estimate conducted by Hyatt’s office yielded a conservative economic impact of $1.9 million. Through a partnership with Appalachian State University, a formal economic impact study is being conducted now, with a similar study
to be completed on the disc golf course next year.
“Fire Mountain has paid for itself 10 times over,” Hyatt said. “I guarantee it.”
Ignitor Park is a big project, and construction has yet to begin. But planning and permitting are the most difficult parts of such projects, and Hyatt already has his sights set on the future.
The planning board has already allocated an additional piece of property, located close by the Ignitor Park property below the water treatment plant, to outdoor recreation. The property is too steep for housing, and its proximity to the water treatment plant means that it would be difficult to guarantee clean water for any homes that were built there. But Hyatt thinks it will be perfect for 10-12 miles of new trail, with about half of that being gravity trails offering a challenge for advanced bikers. If Fire Mountain is a five, Hyatt said, these trails would turn the amplitude up to nine. This new trail system was originally going to be built at the same time as Ignitor Park, but post-Covid cost escalations delayed it.
Ride the trails
A weekly no drop mountain bike ride open to all skill levels takes places weekly at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays through Halloween, meeting at the Fire Mountain Trails trailhead.
The group rides together for about an hour and then reconvenes at Bryson City Outdoors on Tsali Boulevard for hot dogs, music and drinks.
For more information or updates, visit the Fire Mountain Trails Facebook page at facebook.com/fmtrails.
closer the nearby Cherokee Central Schools, allowing students to use it more.
Long-term, he hopes to see the growing family of Fire Mountain parks contribute to the ongoing revitalization of Cherokee.
“I don’t believe the idea in Cherokee is to be a smaller version of Gatlinburg,” Hyatt said. “I think we have something nobody has. And that’s our traditions and our culture, that we don’t have to exploit but we can certainly tap into and utilize as we build out our outdoor assets, as we build out our outdoor economy.”
Hyatt said there’s a “great synergy” going on right now between Fire Mountain and partners like the Cherokee Historical Association and Museum of the Cherokee Indian. To further grow its outdoor economy, he said, Cherokee needs more places for visitors to spend money after and between their outdoor adventures — food, beverage and retail outlets.
“A lot of people will come to ride Fire Mountain, and they’ll go to Sylva to drink beer, or they’ll go to Bryson City to drink beer,” he said.
Made X Mtns awards inaugural outdoor equity grants
A total of 20 organizations located across the western region have received grants from Made X Mtns in support of their work to increase outdoor recreation access and economic opportunity.
The grants are the inaugural awards from the group’s Outdoor Equity Fund, totaling $125,000 funded by the Dogwood Health Trust as part of a three-year Accelerating Outdoor Grant. Individual awards ranged from $1,000 to $10,000.
“The energy and enthusiasm for shaking up the outdoor industry and making it a more inclusive space from the applicants is inspiring,” said Outdoor Equity Fund Working Group Facilitator, Iliana Hernandez. “These proposals aren’t just about changing the outdoor economy field; they’re about deeply remembering our connection to the outdoors and redefining who gets to play and thrive in the great outdoors.”
The 20 recipients were chosen from among 44 applicants who requested a total of $333,300. Recipients include Bryson City Outdoors, MountainTrue, Latinos Aventureros, FINDOutdoors, Catalyst Sports, Riding in Color
Western North Carolina, Activated Earth, The 30th Alliance, UnSPOKEN Bond, ames Vester Miller Historic Walking Trail, The Flying Bike, Yadkin Valley Adventure, Blue Ridge Dirt Skrrts, McDowell Trail School, Christmount Adapted Programs, Aflorar Herb Collective, El Centro Brevard, Michelle Black, Issa Vibe Adventures, LLC and Color My Outdoors.
The Outdoor Equity Fund aims to empower community-led initiatives that address identified barriers to outdoor recreation and outdoor economy. Recipients are scattered across the 25 western counties and the Qualla Boundary.
“We want all populations to enjoy Western North Carolina’s natural assets and feel welcomed across the region,” said Made X Mtns Director Amy Allison. “The future of the outdoor recreation industry and the health of our public lands relies on inviting and engaging new and returning allies into the outdoor community.”
Learn more about the grantees’ projects at madexmtns.com/outdoor-equity-fund-awards.
Another future project could be a short disc golf course near the existing Disc Golf Sanctuary. While the existing course is a difficult, championship-level affair, Hyatt envisions an easier nine-hole, par-three course that would be more accessible for beginners and
But that’s starting to change. Increasingly, new businesses are popping up in Cherokee, offering both tourists and community members a place to hang out and relive the day’s adventures without leaving the Qualla Boundary.
“I can’t help but think that the Fire Mountain product, the outdoor amenities that we’re building, the outdoor infrastructure that we’re building, [is] contributing to that,” Hyatt said.
“...I think we have something nobody has. And that’s our traditions and our culture, that we don’t have to exploit but we can certainly tap into and utilize as we build out our outdoor assets, as we build out our outdoor economy.”
— Jeremy Hyatt, secretary of operations, ECBIThe intermediate skills park will let riders try their skills on a series of obstacles. American Ramp Company rendering A group organized by Latinos Aventureros take in the view. Vivianette Ortiz photo
Endangered status proposed for three mussel species
Three freshwater mussel species have been proposed for designation as endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act. The Cumberland moccasinshell, Tennessee clubshell and Tennessee pigtoe all occur in the Tennessee River Basin, while the Cumberland moccasinshell and Tennessee clubshell are also found in the Cumberland River Basin.
Workday gives nearly 400 hours of love to Sam Knob
With 54 volunteers turning out for the Carolina Mountain Club’s Quarterly Crew Day at Sam Knob last month, the group was able to check a lot of items off its to do list.
On Saturday, Aug. 19, volunteers built or
MST turns 46
The Mountains-to-Sea Trail turns 46 on Sept. 9, and Friends of the MST is offering a variety of opportunities to celebrate all month long.
• Tackle the birthday challenge by walking or paddling 46 miles of the MST between Sept. 1 and 30, or alternatively biking 146 miles or volunteering 15 hours. Those who complete the challenge will be entered to win
NCDEQ secretary chosen for national leadership role
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Elizabeth S. Biser has been chosen as the next president of the Environmental Council of States, a national association of state and territorial environmental agency leaders.
“I am honored to continue working with my state and federal colleagues in this capacity,” Biser said. “So many of the environmental issues we face today are bigger than one state, territory or region, and the partnerships fostered through ECOS are key to addressing these challenges to protect communities across the country.”
Biser, who was confirmed as NCDEQ secretary in August 2021, has been serving as ECOS vice president since April and previously served as secretary-treasurer, vice chair of the Land and Minerals Committee and state co-chair of the E-Enterprise Leadership Council.
added to eight rock staircases, restored more than 400 yards of trail, built two large cribbing walls to support the trail over steep terrain, weed-whacked the entire trail and added a large water diversion that will prevent these improvements from being washed away. In total, volunteers contributed 378 hours, valued at $11,340.
The year’s final Quarterly Crew Day is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14, also at Sam Knob. Learn more at cmc100th.org.
a prize.
• Join one of the many group hikes scheduled across the state this month.
• Donate $46 in support of the MST.
• Participate in one of the volunteer workdays scheduled throughout the month.
• Hear the stories of people who have hiked the entire MST during a Zoom conversation slated for 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12. Learn more at mountainstoseatrail.org/challenges/birthday
“The southeastern United States is home to a tremendous diversity of freshwater life, with the global center of mussel diversity being right here,” said Acting Southeast Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mike Oetker. “The state of freshwater mussels often reflects the quality of water. The listing of these mussels is a reminder of the importance of our role in keeping water clean.”
Today, there are 65 known populations of Cumberland moccasinshell, with 87 populations believed extinct; 64 known populations of Tennessee clubshell with 83 believed extinct; and 63 known populations of Tennessee pigtoe, with 51 believed extinct.
Because they are sensitive to pollution, vibrant mussel populations typically reflect a healthy stream. Additionally, mus-
sels clean water as they feed, filtering their food from the water column, and with it, sediment and other pollutants. North America is a global center of mussel diversity, holding about 300 of the world’s more than 900 mussel species, but 65% of North American freshwater mussel species are imperiled.
All three species proposed for listing prefer faster moving streams, and within those streams they prefer shallower, fasterflowing stretches with stable stream bottoms dominated by coarse sand, gravel and cobble. The Cumberland moccasinshell grows to about 2.5 inches long and lives 5-20 years, while the Tennessee clubshell and Tennessee pigtoe are larger, at around 3.5 inches long, and live 30-50 years.
The FWS consulted with species and habitat experts from state wildlife agencies and universities, and other researchers to compile and analyze all available data on the mussels and their well-being. The resulting species status assessment was then peer-reviewed.
Comments on the proposal will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. Submit comments online at regulations.gov by searching for docket number FWS-R4-ES-2023-0112. Any requests for a public hearing on the matter must be submitted in writing to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 160 Zillicoa St., Asheville, NC 28801, also by Oct. 21.
Beekeepers to swarm Bryson City
Spend time with beekeepers during the next meeting of the Smoky Mountain Beekeepers Association at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Swain County Business Education Center in Bryson City.
This is a busy time of year for beekeepers, with much to do and watch out for in the hive. During the meeting, everyone will have a chance to talk about their bees and learn what others are doing.
For more information, contact smokymtnbeekeeper@gmail.com.
Play pickup futsal
Adult pickup futsal games will be held starting 6:30 p.m. Thursdays beginning Sept. 14 at the Cullowhee Recreation Center gymnasium
Futsal, a type of indoor soccer, is
played indoors on a smaller court than traditional outdoor soccer. Cost is $3 per player, with no registration required.
Contact Andrew Sherling with questions at 828.293.3053, ext. 6, or andrewsherling@jacksonnc.org.
Grant to spur regional watershed education efforts
A $36,500 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will fuel education efforts on the wonders of the French Broad River Basin over the next several years.
The project, known as the Love Your Watershed Education and Outreach Campaign, is administered by Haywood Waterways Association in collaboration with a variety of partners, including Town of Waynesville, BearWaters Brewing Company, Ivy River Partners, Blue Ridge Resources Conservation & Development Council, Yancey County, Madison County, Land of Sky Regional Council, N.C. Wildlife
Resource Commission, New Belgium Brewing, Headwaters Outfitters, RiverLink and Pigeon River Fund. The funds were awarded to the French Broad River Partnership, along with other area environmental nonprofits, state agencies, councils of government and local municipalities.
The partners have extensive experience with stream restoration activities including streambank plantings, trash cleanups, public workshops and installing educational signage at popular locations across the basin. Moving forward, the Love Your Watershed campaign will be managed by the French Broad River Partnership. Sign designs have been completed by Spriggly Beescaping and installed by A to Z Signs, both based in Waynesville. The Love Your Watershed logo was designed by Engine House Design of Marshall.
Elementary bike club starting in Canton
A biking skills program will meet after school at Meadowbrook Elementary School in Canton on Thursdays from Sept. 14 through Oct. 5.
Instructors from Kids Cycle Club will lead the program, open to kids ages 7-10 and taking place 2:30-5 p.m. each session. Bikes and helmets are provided, with a maximum participation of 12. Sign up for the free program at bit.ly/haywoodrec.
Rec center hosts after-school program
Registration is open for an after-school program at the Waynesville Recreation Center, which will kick off Wednesday, Sept. 13.
The cost is $40 per child and $10 for each additional child, with a daily rate option of $15 per day. For more information, contact krobinson@waynesvillenc.gov.
Channel the power of pink
The 16th annual Power of Pink 5K Run/Walk/Dog Walk will raise money for early breast cancer detection on Saturday, Sept. 23, at Frog Level in Waynesville.
The race and walk begin at 9 a.m., with the route following Sulphur Springs Road to Hazelwood Avenue before turning left on Elsynia Avenue and right on Sulphur Springs to return to Frog Level. It’s a flat and fast route with only 77 feet of elevation gain. Music, refreshments and celebration with family and friends wait afterward, with theme baskets available for raffle. An additional raffle will give away a one-of-a-kind quilt made up of 16 race shirts from the race’s history. All participants will receive a race shirt. Wear your best pink, and don’t forget to dress your four-legged friends for the occasion.
Organized by the Haywood Healthcare Foundation, the race raises money for prevention and early detection of breast cancer.
Registration fee is $35 for adults $15 for youth 17 and under, $25 for a 5K team and $30 for virtual participation. Hosted by Glory Hound Events. Sign up at gloryhoundevents.com/event/power-of-pink-5k.
Notes from a Plant Nerd
BY ADAM B IGELOWMaypop, may not
Ihave a passion for wildflowers, and I hope that has become apparent to you as you’ve read these articles I’ve been writing for well over a year now. The native wildflowers of Southern Appalachia are among my favorite things in the world and bring me so much joy. I hope they (and these articles) bring you joy as well.
Among the most beautiful, intricate and oddest of the flowers that bloom in these mountains are the passionflower (Passiflora incarnata). It is also called purple passionflower to help differentiate it from its smaller relative the yellow passionflower (Passiflora lutea). The purple passionflower has a large bloom upwards of 3 inches in diameter that usually ranges from a dark purple to a light blue.
It also has a very complex floral display that is directly linked with the insects that help pollinate it, primarily carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.) and sometimes bumble bees (Bombus spp.) Both of these species of native bees have fuzzy backs that are exactly tall enough so that when they crawl around under the pollen-producing stamens, they brush off and collect pollen from the anthers and deposit it onto the stigma, helping to ensure the reproduction and continuation of this plant.
This co-evolved relationship of the plant with its pollinator is supported by the way passionflower developed both its nectar production and the shape and direction of its reproductive parts. At the base of the flower are a series of nectar-producing glands that are highlighted by long, showy, purple or blue filaments that stretch out from the center of the flower. These help to draw in the pollinating insects. The flower’s anthers are aimed downwards at just the exact height to brush pollen onto the fuzzy bee backs as the bees busy themselves with drinking the sweet nectar. The stigmas, the part of the flower that accepts pollen, are also aimed downwards and are just slightly higher than the anthers in an attempt to promote crosspollination as the bees fly in, covered with pollen gathered from another passionflower.
As the native bees forage for nectar, they circle the flower underneath the pistil and stamen, picking up and depositing pollen. I can’t emphasize this enough: they are the perfect size, and the flower parts are the per-
fect height to perform this intricate dance. Co-evolution is a powerful force, and both the flower and its pollinating insects grew up together over long, deep time. Evolutionary time. Millions of years.
Just as intricately evolved as the flower and pollination relationship, passionflowers also have a relationship with gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanilla) and variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) butterflies.
Passionflower is the host plant for these related and visually similar butterflies, who will only lay their eggs on the leaves of passionflower plants. That is the only food that their babies, i.e. caterpillars, can eat. Passionflowers are the host plant for both of those fritillary butterflies.
And caterpillars aren’t the only thing that can eat passionflowers. Both the leaves and fruits are edible and delicious. The leaves can be eaten as salad greens, or steeped as a tea where they provide a relaxing and calming effect on our nervous systems, while also tasting delicious. The fruits can be eaten raw or made into a jelly. You know the fruits are ripe when they are full, round, and make a popping sound should you happen to step on one. These plants also tend to grow and spread easily from underground stems, or rhizomes, and will pop up all around your yard in late spring if you plant some.
Both of these attributes lend themselves to passionflower’s other common name, the maypop.
(Adam Bigelow lives in Cullowhee. He leads weekly wildflower walks most Fridays and offers consultations and private group tours through Bigelow’s Botanical Excursions. bigelownc@gmail.com.)
COMMUNITY EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
• The Jackson County Farmers Market meets every Saturday November through March 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and April through October 9 a.m. to noon at Bridge Park in Sylva, 110 Railroad St. Special events listed on Facebook and Instagram.
• The Black Generational Wealth Committee of Haywood County will hold a resource fair 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Center in Waynesville. There will be food, door prizes and expert information on investments, acquiring a home, building credit and wills and estate planning.
B USINESS & E DUCATION
• #UniteNC Town Hall will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Jackson County Public Library. Residents can share their views about this year’s state legislative session and speak on issues that matter most to them. For more information about the #UniteNC Town Hall tour visit ccnc.me/UniteNC.
• REACH of Haywood County invites the public to a free event, Creating a Trauma Informed Community Response to Domestic Violence, to be held 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 5, at Charles M. Beall Auditorium in Clyde, with onsite registration 8-8:40 a.m. Visit reachofhaywood.org or call 828.456.7898 for more information.
FUNDRAISERS AND B ENEFITS
• Sarge’s 18th Annual Downtown Dog Walk will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, in Waynesville. Preregistration for walkers and their dogs will take place 12-6 p.m. Sept. 21, at Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation. On-site registration will take place at the courthouse before the parade kickoff. Registration is $25 for adults, $!5 for children. For more information visit sarges.org.
H EALTH AND WELLNESS
• Mountain Area pregnancy Services and the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor work together to provide a casual support group for prenatal and breastfeeding individuals from 1-2 p.m. on Tuesdays at Mountain Area Pregnancy Services, 177 N. Main St. Waynesville, NC. All are welcome, registration is recommended. For more information, please call 828.558.4550.
AUTHORS AND B OOKS
• David Joy will speak on his new book “Those We Thought We Knew” during at event at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, at the Fangmeyer Theater at HART in Waynesville. Hosted by Blue Ridge Books, tickets are $10. Purchase from Blue Ridge Books.
• Ron Rash will speak on his new book “The Caretaker” during an event at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville. Hosted by Blue Ridge Books, tickets are $10. Profits will be donated to the Pigeon Center.
K IDS AND FAMILIES
• The Youth Arts Festival will take place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Green Energy Park in Jackson County. Admission is free. Activities include ceramics, chalk art, sewing, wire wrapped jewelry and more. There will be demonstrations on glassblowing, blacksmithing, flame working and raku. For more information visit jcgep.org or call 828.631.0271.
• The Jackson County Public Library in Sylva will host a
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kids’ program about moon exploration on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. Randi Neff will lead these activities focused on NASA’s Artemis program, with aims to one day establish a base on the Moon. Co-sponsored by Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. For more information call 828.586.2016.
• Creative Writing Club will take place at 3:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of every month at the Macon County Public Library. The writing club is intended for ages 8-12. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
• Move and Groove Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Thursday, at the Canton branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Exciting, interactive music and movement story time ideal for children 2-6 years old. For more information contact Ashlyn at ashlyn.godleski@haywoodcountync.gov or at 828.356.2567.
• Mother Goose Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Wednesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children from birth to 2 years old. For more information, contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.
• Wiggle Worms Storytime takes place 10:30-11 a.m. every Tuesday, at the Waynesville branch of the Haywood County Public Library. Ideal for children 2-6 years old. For more information contact Lisa at lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2511.
• Storytime takes place at 10 a.m. every Tuesday at the Macon County Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
• Toddler’s Rock takes place at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Macon County Library. Get ready to rock with songs, books, rhymes and playing with instruments. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
• Art afternoon takes place at 3:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Macon County Public Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.
A&E
• The Dazzling Dahlia Festival will take place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, in Highlands. There will be Dahlia and native plant vignettes all over Highlands, as well as a single bloom competition at the Bascom. For a full schedule of events visit highlandshistory.com.
• Thunder in the Smokies will take place Sept. 8-10, at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. For more information visit thunderinthesmokies.com.
• Smoky Mountain Roller Girls invite the community to put on their pinkest outfit for a Roller Derby Barbie Bout at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Swain County Recreation Center. Tickets are $8 at the door, kids 11 and under are free. Bring your own chair. Follow SMRG on Facebook for more information.
• Haywood Choral Society, directed by Don Kirkindoll, will perform its rescheduled spring concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, at the Waynesville First United Methodist. Admission is free, donations are welcomed. For more information visit haywoodchoralsociety.org.
• Highlands Porchfest will take place 1-6 p.m. Sept. 17
in downtown Highlands. There will be free live music from 45 musicians hosted at 14 venues. For more information visit highlandsporchfest.com.
• A car show will be hosted at 10 a.m. Sept. 23, at East Sylva Baptist Church. All makes and models are welcome. Contact the church office by phone at 586.2853 to enter a car. Spectator admission is free.
• Trivia Night is hosted 6:30-8:30 p.m. every Thursday evening at the Meadowlark Motel in Maggie Valley. For more information visit meadowlarkmotel.com.
• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood St. in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods. Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.
F OOD AND D RINK
• Zonta Club of Franklin’s third annual Taste of Tuscany, a fundraising effort for Macon County student scholarships, will take place 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Lodge at Cat Creek in Franklin. There will be wine from Slanted Window Wines, beer garden with local brews, music by We Three Sing, food from area restaurants and silent and live auction. Tickets are on sale at zontafranklin.org/.
• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.
• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.
• Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.
CLASSES AND PROGRAMS
• A glassblowing class to create pumpkins will take place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, at the Green Energy Park in Jackson County. Three spots are available each hour. Cost is $65 due at registration. For more information or to register contact GEP at 828.631.0271.
• Chess 101 takes place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. every Friday in the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Public Library. No registration required, for more information call 828.648.2924.
• Wired Wednesday, one-on-one technology help is available at 3-5 p.m. every Wednesday at the Canton Branch of the Haywood County Library. For more information or to register, call 828.648.2924.
• Uptown Gallery, 30 East Main St. Franklin, will be offering Children’s Art Classes Wednesdays afternoons. Adult workshops in watercolor, acrylic paint pouring, encaustic and glass fusing are also offered. Free painting is available 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday in the classroom. A membership meeting takes place on the second Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. All are welcome. Call 828.349.4607 for more information.
ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES
• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. 828.349.4607 or pm14034@yahoo.com.
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click on Calendar for:
n Complete listings of local music scene
n Regional festivals
n Art gallery events and openings
n Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers
n Civic and social club gatherings
Outdoors
• Join the Hemlock Restoration Initiative 10-11:30 a.m. Sept. 13 for a walk around the Corneille Bryan Native Garden at Lake Junaluska to learn about the efforts to protect hemlocks from Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Sign up before the event by contacting the HRI office at 828.252.4783 or info@savehemlocksnc.org.
• Spend time with beekeepers during the next meeting of the Smoky Mountain Beekeepers Association at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Swain County Business Education Center in Bryson City. For more information, contact smokymtnbeekeeper@gmail.com.
• Adult pickup futsal games will be held starting 6:30 p.m. Thursdays beginning Sept. 14 at the Cullowhee Recreation Center gymnasium. Futsal, a type of indoor soccer, is played indoors on a smaller court than traditional outdoor soccer. Cost is $3 per player, with no registration required. Contact Andrew Sherling with questions at 828.293.3053, ext. 6, or andrewsherling@jacksonnc.org.
• A biking skills program will meet after school at Meadowbrook Elementary School in Canton on Thursdays Sept. 14 through Oct. 5. Instructors from Kids Cycle Club will lead the program, open to kids ages 7-10 and taking place 2:30-5 p.m. each session. Bikes and helmets are provided, with a maximum participation of 12. Sign up for the free program at bit.ly/haywoodrec.
• The inaugural Dahlia Ridge Trail Run will take place Saturday, Sept. 16, at Haywood Community. College. This 5k is a family-friendly walk/run event open to all levels of runners, walkers and hikers. All proceeds will benefit the Haywood Strong Scholarship for displaced mill employees. Online registration is open through Sept. 13. For more information about the race, or to register, search for Dahlia Ridge Trail Run on eventbrite.com.
• ArborEvenings at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville take place 5:30-8 p.m. every Thursday and Friday evening through Sept. 22. Visitors can stroll through the gardens, purchase food and beverages, and listen to live music. Free with standard $20 parking fee, and free for Arboretum Society members. For more information visit www.ncarboretum.org.
• The 16th annual Power of Pink 5K Run/Walk/Dog Walk will raise money for early breast cancer detection on Saturday, Sept. 23, at Frog Level in Waynesville. Registration fee is $35 for adults $15 for youth 17 and under, $25 for a 5K team and $30 for virtual participation. Hosted by Glory Hound Events. Sign up at www.gloryhoundevents.com/event/powerof-pink-5k.
• Camp with the pigs at Misfit Mountain Animal Rescue during a Community Festival 5-8 p.m. (and overnight) Saturday, Sept. 23, at the rescue center in Clyde, at 922 Incinerator Road. There will be live music, food trucks, live art demonstrations and pop-up vendors. For tickets and more information visit misfitmountainnc.org.
Market PLACE WNC
Auction
MarketPlace information:
The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 copies across 500 locations in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, including the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. Visit www.wncmarketplace.com to place your ad!
Rates:
• $15 — Classified ads that are 25 words, 25¢ per word after.
• Free — Lost or found pet ads.
• $6 — Residential yard sale ads.*
• $1 — Yard Sale Rain Insurance
Yard sale rained out? Call us by 10a.m. Monday for your ad to run again FREE
• $375 — Statewide classifieds run in 170 participating newspapers with 1.1+ million circulation. (Limit 25 words or less)
• Boost Online — Have your ad featured at top of category online $4
• Boost in Print
• Add Photo $6
• Bold ad $2
• Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue Highlight $4
• Border $4
Note: Highlighted ads automatically generate a border so if you’re placing an ad online and select a highlight color, the “add border” feature will not be available on the screen.
Note: Yard sale ads require an address. This location will be displayed on a map on www.wncmarketplace.com
p: 828.452.4251 · f:828.452.3585
classads@smokymountainnews.com
www.wncmarketplace.com
AUCTION REAL ESTATE TRACTS! Go bid on NCDOT Surplus Real Estate tracts! We have over 30 tracts covering multiple Counties in Eastern North Carolina. Call Johnson Properties, 919639-2231 http://www. johnsonproperties.com NCAL#7340
Automobiles
1993 CADILLAC DEVILLE Immaculate interior, new brake booster, new starter, 122k miles, more images on wncmarketplace.com. Text is best. PRICED TO SELL – MUST GO
(828) 989-4545
Business Opportunities
NEW AUTHORS WANTED! Page Publishing will help you self-publish your own book. FREE author submission kit! Limited offer! Why wait? Call now: 833-403-2202
Employment
ADVERTISING SALES–TWO REGIONAL MAGAZINES Smoky Mountain Living and Blue Ridge Motorcycling magazine
— both headquartered in Waynesville, NC — are
looking for a full-time advertising sales professional to sell for both magazines over a multistate area. Smoky Mountain Living (www.smliv. com) is a bi-monthly magazine covering the people, places and traditions that make the Southern Appalachians a special place. Content includes
folklore, recipes, music reviews, and more. Blue Ridge Motorcycling Magazine (www.blueridgemotorcyclingmagazine.com) is a quarterly magazine covering the two-wheeled lifestyle in the Blue Ridge region. Content includes recommended rides, gear and motorcycle-friendly experiences ranging from accommodations to cuisine. The ideal candidate will be a self-starter and capable of working independently as well as in a team setting. Regular travel is required so applicants must have a
valid driver’s license and access to reliable transportation. Mileage will be reimbursed. Salary, commission, mileage, and
401K, phone reimbursement and more. Contact greg@smokymountainnews.com
Home Goods
PREPARE FOR POWER
OUTAGES TODAY With a GENERAC home standby generator $0 Money Down + Low Monthly Payment Options. Request a FREE Quote – Call now before the next power outage: 1-844-938-0700
Land For Sale
RV/TINY HOME LOTS FOR SALE RV/Tiny Home Lots for sale. $40k-$50k/ea. Each lot comes with water, power, and septic run
to each lot. Located in Franklin, NC. Go to our web site for directions and more info. www. TinyMountainEstates. com (828) 200-0161 TinyMountainEstates@ gmail.com
Medical
DENTAL INSURANCE
From Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage for 350 plus procedures. Real dental insurance - NOT just a discount plan. Do not wait! Call now! Get your FREE Dental Information Kit with all the details! 1-844-496-8601 www. dental50plus.com/ncpress #6258
ATTENTION OXYGEN THERAPY USERS! Inogen One G4 is capable of full 24/7 oxygen delivery. Only 2.8 pounds. FREE information kit. Call 866579-0885
Advertising Sales – Two Regional Magazines
Smoky Mountain Living and Blue Ridge Motorcycling magazine — both headquartered in Waynesville, NC — are looking for a full-time advertising sales professional to sell for both magazines over a multi-state area.
Smoky Mountain Living (www.smliv.com) is a bi-monthly magazine covering the people, places and traditions that make the Southern Appalachians a special and more.
Blue Ridge Motorcycling Magazine (www.blueridgemotorcyclingmagazine. com) is a quarterly magazine covering the two-wheeled lifestyle in the Blue Ridge region. Content includes recommended rides, gear and motorcyclefriendly experiences ranging from accommodations to cuisine.
The ideal candidate will be a self-starter and capable of working independently as well as in a team setting. Regular travel is required so applicants must have a valid driver’s license and access to reliable transportation. Mileage will be reimbursed.
reimbursement and more. Contact greg@smokymountainnews.com
DIAGNOSED WITH LUNG CANCER? You may qualify for a substantial cash award - even with smoking history. NO obligation! We’ve recovered millions. Let us help!! Call 24/7, 1-866-553-5089
Pets
KITTENS!! Asheville
Humane Society has kittens available for adoption; all 2-6 months old and cute as can be! Fee includes vaccination and spay/neuter. (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org
TERRIER MIX DOG, B&W —PEACOCK 1 year old girl, 51 lbs. Loves walks and car rides. Well-mannered and sweet. Asheville Humane Society (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org
Rentals
TIMESHARE CANCELLATION EXPERTS. Wesley Financial Group, LLC Over $50,000,000 in timeshare debt and fees cancelled in 2019. Get free informational package and learn how to get rid of your timeshare! Free consultations. Over 450 positive reviews. Call 844-213-6711
LANDLORDS NEEDED!
Mountain Projects, Inc. is seeking landlords in Haywood and Jackson Counties to partner with our Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program in providing safe, decent and sanitary housing conditions for low-income families in our community. Landlords can expect regular, on time monthly payments plus 12-month lease terms. Please consider supporting our local families in need. For more information call 828.492.4115 or email asingletary@mountainprojects.org
Automotive
FREE AUTO INSURANCE QUOTES For uninsured and insured drivers. Let us show you how
much you can save! Call 855-569-1909
Classes/ Instruction
GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY - Online Degree Programs. Masters - Bachelors - Associates. Flexible schedules. Affordable tuition. Engineering, Business, Health & Science. MILITARY FRIENDLY!
To learn more, call: 888494-3350. (Mon-Fri)
Entertainment
DIRECTV SATELLITE TV Service Starting at $64.99/mo For 24 mos, Free Installation! 165+ Channels Available. Call Now For The Most Sports & Entertainment On TV! 855-401-8842.
DISH TV $64.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95. High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. Promo Expires 1/21/24. Call 1-866-5661815
Home Improvement
ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING FOREVER! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-877-649-1190
REPLACE YOUR ROOF
With the best looking and longest lasting material – steel from Erie Metal Roofs! Three styles and multiple colors available. Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer - $500 Discount + Additional 10% off install (for military, health workers & 1st responders.) Call Erie Metal Roofs: 1-855-5851815
DON’T PAY FOR COVERED Home Repairs Again! American Residential Warranty covers ALL MAJOR SYSTEMS AND APPLIANCES. 30 DAY RISK FREE/ $100OFF
ANSWERS ON PAGE 34
POPULAR PLANS Call 877-707-5518 Monday-Friday 8:30am to 8:00pm EST
BCI - WALK-IN TUBS. BCI Walk In Tubs are now on SALE! Be one of the $1,500! CALL 844-5140123 for a free in-home consultation.
WATER DAMAGE TO YOUR HOME? Call for a quote for professional cleanup & maintain the value of your home! Set
an appt. today! Call 833664-1530 (AAN CAN)
Legal,andFinancial Tax
$10K+ IN DEBT? Be debt free in 24-48 months. Pay a fraction of your debt. Call National Debt Relief 844-977-3935.
SAVE BIG ON HOME INSURANCE! Compare 20 A-rated insurance companies. Get a quote within minutes. Average savings
MEN’S SPORT WATCHES! PAYING TOP CA$H FOR Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Heuer, Daytona, GMT, Submariner and Speedmaster. Call 888-3201052
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