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September 23-29, 2020 Vol. 22 Iss. 17
Pless, Jones run to fill Presnell’s seat in the House Page 8 Against ATC wishes, thru-hikers summit Katahdin Page 22
CONTENTS On the Cover: After a 36-year run, the Folkmoot International Festival and all year-round programming were canceled this year due to COVID-19. A Folkmoot Festival might be possible in the future but it probably won’t be the same festival Western North Carolina has become accustomed to. (Page 6) Patrick Parton photo
News Jackson seeks legislative change for erosion control ..............................................4 Pless, Jones run to fill Presnell’s seat in the House ................................................8 Sen. Tillis wants Ginsburg's seat filled now ............................................................11 Hospitals, BCBS renegotiating Medicare plans ....................................................11 Tribe asks for new BIA superintendent ......................................................................12 Haywood sheriff to assume Clyde police duties ....................................................13 K-5 students to return to school in Haywood ..........................................................15
Opinion Just what is ‘appropriate” for a newspaper? ............................................................16 The power of music amidst the chaos ......................................................................17
A&E Historic Asheville building becomes musical beehive ..........................................18
Outdoors
September 23-29, 2020
Against ATC wishes, 2020 thru-hikers summit Katahdin ....................................22
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CONTACT WAYNESVILLE | 144 Montgomery, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585 SYLVA | 629 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779 P: 828.631.4829 | F: 828.631.0789 INFO & BILLING | P.O. Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786 Copyright 2020 by The Smoky Mountain News.™ Advertising copyright 2020 by The Smoky Mountain News.™ All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The Smoky Mountain News is available for free in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain and parts of Buncombe counties. Limit one copy per person. Additional copies may be purchased for $1, payable at the Smoky Mountain News office in advance. No person may, without prior written permission of The Smoky Mountain News, take more than one copy of each issue.
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September 23-29, 2020
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Jackson seeks change following erosion issues BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ackson County commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 15 to ask for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners’ support for state legislation to give counties more control over state and federal construction projects within their borders. The vote came in response to 14 months of continued environmental violations at Western Carolina University’s Millennial Campus, where the private developer Zimmer Development Corporation is under a long-term lease to build and operate student housing. Since June 17, 2019, the company has received 16 notices of violation from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, all regarding erosion issues. The most recent violation was issued Aug. 7, but just a week later, students moved into the newly completed apartments and began paying rent. Contractors have repeatedly failed to contain mud on the site, causing departing dirt to color nearby waterways various shades of brown, especially during heavy rainfall. In October 2019, runoff from the site caused a landslide that prompted evacuations at the student housing neighborhood downhill, and one of the 12 small houses located there was condemned.
Erosion issues have plagued construction of the 500-bed Husk Apartments in Cullowhee.
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Smoky Mountain News
September 23-29, 2020
BID FOR LOCAL CONTROL
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Jackson County leaders have spoken out against the violations on an ongoing basis, but local government has little power to do anything about them. Because the land is owned by the WCU Endowment Fund, it’s considered a state project — county inspectors have control only over local and private
Holly Kays photo
projects. “NCDEQ does not have the personnel to visit sites like these on a daily basis,” reads a letter the county sent to the NCACC. “Jackson County’s daily involvement in this project eventually aided NCDEQ in issuing multiple notices of violations and monetary fines. But damage to our environment has occurred during the construction period. Jackson County believes that if this project fell under our jurisdiction then our ability to enforce regulations on a daily basis could have prevented some of the environmental damage that occurred.” Currently, state law allows the N.C. Sedimentation Control Commission to delegate erosion control authority to counties for private projects, and Jackson County has held this authority since 2000. However, the law does not offer that same option for state and federal projects, something that Jackson County would like to see change. “I still maintain the problem happened
here because they (Zimmer and DEQ ) had a preconstruction meeting there in February 13 of 2019, and the next time the state was on site was in June when we got the first complaint,” said Building and Code Enforcement Director Tony Elders during a Sept. 8 work session. “I’m not picking on any person there — they’re short-staffed, they’re an hour and a half away and they cover 22 counties with about three people.” However, said Elders, if the county had the authority to inspect the work site and issue violations and stop work orders, the site would have been monitored much more closely and the problems would not have been allowed to spiral like they did. “It was so many months before they (the state) even came and looked at the one in Cullowhee,” said Commissioner Gayle Woody. “If this would pass as a resolution or change, that would address that. We would have local inspections going on, which is our goal.”
“That really would have helped up there,” Elders agreed. “The problems are well documented. The erosion control plan has a construction sequence, and that particular contractor skipped to about step number five. He cleared the entire site rather than the couple of acres at a time he was supposed to because he didn’t want to bring the stump grinder twice. That was his excuse. Once he did that, it was all over then. You can’t hardly catch up on those once you start out wrong.” The letter was sent to the NCACC Steering Committee, Legislative Goals Committee and Board of Directors. These are the three groups within the NCACC that the request will have to go through before members have the chance to vote on it at the Legislative Goals Conference in January. If the measure is adopted as a goal, it will be included in an official document presented to each member of the General Assembly as well as to the governor and other executive branch leaders.
CHANGE AT THE COUNTY LEVEL The county is taking action on the local level as well, with a public hearing slated for 5:55 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, on a proposed ordinance change that would require developers to install erosion control measures prior to receiving building permits for multifamily developments. Currently, developers can apply for building permits before they finish grading the site. “These standards are not dependent on which agency is administering or has oversight over the permit,” Planning Director Michael Poston told commissioners during the Sept. 1 meeting when the hearing was scheduled. “It simply states
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Be heard
that whatever erosion control measures are called for in the approved plans — whether the state approves the plan at the state level or whether we do that at the local level — these items must be taken care of before we’ll issue a building permit to go vertical.” The ordinance change singles out multifamily developments because those are typically the types of projects in which develop-
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A public hearing on proposed changes to the county’s Unified Development Ordinance will be held at 5:55 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, during a mixed virtual meeting of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. The proposed changes would require developer of multifamily housing projects to have erosion control measures in place before obtaining building permits. To speak at the hearing, call 828.631.2213 by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6. Comments will be accepted via phone or video. Members of the public can also send written comments to angiewinchester@jacksonnc.org. The meeting will be livestreamed via the Jackson County North Carolina Local Government channel on YouTube.
ers try to grade the site and build the structures simultaneously, Poston said. The ordinance text states that prior to obtaining building permits for multifamily developments, all building pads must be established, roadways into and throughout the development should have an initial layer of compacted stone in place, all slopes must be seeded with ground cover established and all sediment basins and erosion control devices shown on the approved erosion control plan must be in place. When commissioners first discussed the concept for the ordinance amendment during an Aug. 4 meeting, Commissioner Mickey Luker told Elders that “you can’t get the wording to us fast enough.” The Sept. 1 vote to schedule a public hearing honored that wish. While the planning board had expressed support for the measure, as of Sept. 1 it had not yet taken a formal vote, a step that usually happens prior to commissioners scheduling their own public hearing and subsequent vote. However, scheduling the public hearing ahead of the planning board’s vote saved four to six weeks on the timeline toward final approval, said Poston. When the ordinance did finally come before the planning board on Sept. 10, the body voted to recommend approval by unanimous vote.
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Ingles Nutrition Notes written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath
Hospitals, BCBS renegotiating Medicare Advantage plans
Western North Carolina voters are invited to participate in the first-ever online candidate forum featuring two candidates who are running to represent House District 120 in the North Carolina General Assembly: Karl Gillespie (R) of Franklin and Susan Landis (D) of Murphy. The forum will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 22. This online candidate forum is co-sponsored by the Public Policy Network of western North Carolina and north Georgia (PPN), in concert with Mountain True and the Hinton Center. Emcee for this event is Hayesville’s own Harry Baughn, host of “Mountain Mornings” on WJRB 95.1 and WJUL
97.7 radio stations. Candidates will have the opportunity to share their views on many issues that are critical to the voters in District 120, including access to health care; financial security (jobs, affordable housing and economic development), and the environment. Please plan to join the forum via Zoom to hear these candidates make their case for why they would be the best choice to represent the residents of western NC in the House of Representatives. The ZOOM Log-In information for the NC House District 120 Candidate Forum will be posted on both the PPN and Mountain True websites (www.publicpolicynetwork.net or (www.mountaintrue.org) on Tuesday morning, Sept. 22.
Sources: Food Industry Association FMI | Food Industry Glossary USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services Food Product Dating
Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN
Smoky Mountain News
House 120 candidates to debate online
SUPERMARKET LINGO
Every industry, including the supermarket world, has their own lingo. How many of these supermarket terms and abbreviations do you know or have you heard when you are in your local Ingles store? Best-By Date - This is the date that applies to QUALITY that a manufacturer will put on a product that indicates to the consumer that the product is "best by" that date, i.e. for the best taste/quality ...but it is NOT an expiration date. End Cap - This is the display at the end of the aisle or shelving - often where special sale or seasonal items are displayed. J-hook - a hook attached to the front of a shelf to display items. PLU - Price Look Up code this is the 4 or 5 digit number on the sticker on your fruits and vegetables. This code helps our cashiers link a product with a price when that number is entered into our registers. RTE - Ready-to-Eat a food item that is able to be consumed upon opening the packaging. (Ex: granola bar) Sell-by Date - This is a date a manufacturer will put on a product aimed for the retailer for stocking purposes to tell us that this product should be sold on or before a specific date or should be removed from sale for best quality. This is NOT an expiration date and a product in your home past that date is typically still safe to consume. UPC - Universal Product Code. This is a bar code on packaging that is uniquely assigned to a product. Use-By Date - This is a date put on a product by a manufacturer to indicate to consumers that the product should be used by a specific date. After that date the quality may be lessened. This is not a safety date except for infant formula. Wand - a hand-held code reader for price checking and ordering. (You may see Ingles associates and manager using a wand to figure out which products to order.)
September 23-29, 2020
Unless a new agreement is signed, patients with Blue Cross, Blue Shield Medicare Advantage Plans will have to pay out-of-network prices for services at Duke LifePoint hospitals beginning Jan. 1, 2021. In Western North Carolina, this would impact patients at Haywood Regional Medical Center, Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital. The hospitals contacted impacted patients a month ago about the announcement and to assist them if they wanted to find another in-network plan. HRMC issued the following statement Thursday, Sept. 17: “Haywood Regional Medical Center deeply values the trust our patients have placed in our team of caregivers. We are working with BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina’s
Medicare Advantage plans to ensure patients continue to have access to high-quality care for years to come. Our current agreement with BCBS Medicare Advantage plans runs through the end of 2020. We are working directly with BCBS Medicare Advantage patients to ensure they can continue to have in-network access to the doctors they know and trust in 2021. We encourage any BCBS Medicare Advantage patients who have questions about their health insurance options to call our free helpline at 855.582.5181. Representatives are available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.” BCBC issued the following statement Friday, Sept. 18: “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s Medicare Advantage agreement with Duke LifePoint is in good standing. Our Medicare Advantage members may continue to receive care at Duke LifePoint. If Blue Cross N.C. members have questions about their coverage, they may contact us at the number on the back of their ID card or call their local insurance agent.”
Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian
@InglesDietitian Leah McGrath - Dietitian 800.334.4936 Ingles Markets… caring about your health
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Future of Folkmoot Festival uncertain
All the international dance groups come together on Main Street in Downtown Waynesville each summer for Folkmoot’s International Day Parade. A Shot Above WNC photo
Patrick Parton photo
Smoky Mountain News
September 23-29, 2020
BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR he Folkmoot International Festival has overcome many obstacles in its 36 years of existence, but it couldn’t withstand the pressures of a global pandemic. The nonprofit’s board of directors made a tough call back in March to cancel the 2020 summer festival, which would have marked the 37th anniversary of a 10-day folk dance event that has taken place in Western North Carolina since 1983. During that time, more than 8,000 international performers from 125 countries have traveled to the Folkmoot home base in Waynesville to perform at venues from Cherokee to Hickory. After considering the costs, complications and growing consequences of the public health crisis, the board made the call to cancel on March 25 — just a week after Gov. Roy Cooper issued stay at home orders and other COVID-19 restrictions. There are a lot of logistics involved in planning and orchestrating a 10-day festival with numerous performances, a variety of venues and artists coming from around the world. Folkmoot Executive Director Angie Schwab said by the time the board had to cancel the festival, plans were already in motion. “By March, we had all of our groups lined up and we were collecting their rosters, along with promotional information. Most were prepping to purchase their flights. Folkmoot hosts groups of 20 to 30 people, and if you estimate their airfares, that’s upwards of $20,000 they had already invested in us. We were wondering at that time 6 whether the festival was still possible, but
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international travel had already become more complicated,” she said. In April, Folkmoot switched gears and started contacting U.S. ethnic groups, thinking a meaningful early-fall event could still be possible. Schwab said the condensed Folkmoot festival would have been called “All Y’all” Festival and would be a combination of international and U.S.-based performers. By May, it became clear that any kind of in-person festival wasn’t going to be possible. Even with the main event and the backup event canceled for 2020, Folkmoot is more than the summer festival. The organization has spent the last several years working toward expanding Folkmoot to offer year-round cultural programming and events for the community. The goal was two-fold — to make the organization more sustainable throughout the year and to utilize the old Hazelwood School facility — now known as the Folkmoot Friendship Center. “I was tasked with redeveloping the festival, building year-round programming and rehabilitating the building, with a very small staff. It was a huge challenge and our workers gave it their all,” Schwab said. She said staff continued to work on the year-round programming with hopes that events like the second annual Folkmalt Beer Festival and Mootenanny Appalachian heritage event could still happen in the fall. In July, the Folkmoot board voted to cancel all other programs as well, including the All Y’all Festival scheduled for Aug. 29, the Folkmalt International Beer Festival scheduled for Sept. 26, Mootenanny musical festival scheduled for Oct. 10, and the
Folkmoot Values n Folkmoot finds strength in diversity and embraces differences. n Folkmoot recognizes the importance of cultural exchange to create peace, prosperity and understanding. n Folkmoot is inclusive and does not represent any one political or religious perspective. n Folkmoot honors and celebrates creative expression. n Folkmoot preserves cultural heritage and cultivates opportunities for community education and prosperity. n Folkmoot recognizes that a community’s arts and cultural assets are a strong tool for economic development and an essential element of sustaining and improving quality of life.
Songwriters in the Round performances scheduled for September and November. “Until the end of July those events seemed theoretically possible if we implemented proper Covid protocols. However, when efforts to fight the virus faltered on the state and national levels, it became clear that those events, too, were risky,” Schwab said. After a host of festival cancellations, many of the CIOFF (International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts) partners started planning online festivals. Folkmoot has been streaming some of those events on its Facebook page, but the board of directors chose not to do their own online festival. “Canceling groups involved emails, Facebook messages and What’s App calls.
Most organizations have started to focus on 2021 and 2022, but the online collaborations are catching some momentum,” Schwab said. “We will try to keep people apprised. Many of the online events have gotten exponential attendance, but that doesn’t mean the organizations are generating ticket sales.” Now with six months in the rearview since North Carolina began shutting down, it’s clear the board made the right decision as COVID-19 restrictions are still in place. Not only would people not be able to gather for the festival, but international dance groups would not have been able to travel to the U.S. “Folkmoot’s mission is to celebrate diversity and foster cultural understanding through our festivals and programs,” Schwab said in a press release at the time. “With the ongoing risk of COVID, we can’t reasonably host any gatherings in the near future, and now we must prepare for the ramifications that come with no festival revenue. We are adjusting to this reality and will find other ways to represent our vision as an organization.” But with no festival and no ongoing programming for the remainder of 2020, Schwab wasn’t sure what her future with Folkmoot would look like going forward. The board furloughed all Folkmoot employees and offered Schwab a part-time contract for the remainder of the year, but Schwab chose not to accept the contract to stay on as a part-time director. Her last day as director was Aug. 21 and she’ll continue to do some contract work as needed. The Folkmoot board hasn’t made any formal decisions on whether there will be a festival next year. The
Rolf Kaufman reflects on Folkmoot USA
Smoky Mountain News
BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER “Dr. Border was a neighbor of mine. He called me one day in 1983 and asked me to come to his house for a meeting but didn’t tell me what it was all about.” That is the very first memory Rolf Kaufman, a member of the founding board of Folkmoot, had of what would become Folkmoot USA, the International Festival of North Carolina. As it turns out, Dr. Border had been traveling to folk festivals for 10 years by 1983. One of Borders’ patients had been the director of a local dance group. The patient said he would be traveling to England for a folk festival, and though Border told the patient he wasn’t well enough for that kind of travel, the director said it didn’t matter, he was going anyway. So, Kaufman said, Border decided he would just go with them. “He got bit by the international folk dance fever, which I later on caught,” Kaufman said. After that meeting at his neighbor’s house, the first board of directors of Folkmoot USA was formed. Kaufman said that when they had the meeting, Border had already done most of the preparatory work with the state and the county, that he was driven by a passion from what he’d seen and experienced over the course of 10 years of attending folk festivals. “What drew me in was the fact that I felt that our local population, especially the younger generation, were not sufficiently aware of the world around us. Our young people were not focused on the world around us and I felt that they needed to be broadened,” said Kaufman. Rolf Kaufman Rolf Kaufman is an immigrant. He was born in Germany and “inherited the Jewish faith, though not religious” as he puts it. His family was being persecuted by German Nazis in the 1930s. They left Germany in 1933 when Kaufman was not yet 4 years old. “We were chased about by Nazis,” said Kaufman. The family settled in Belgium, then had to flee from there. Caught in the war in Europe they ended up in hiding in France, using false identities, until arriving in the United States in 1945. It is easy to understand why Kaufman was interested in broadening the outlook of local young people. That first festival in 1983 was housed in the old school building that is now part of Waynesville Middle School. From that point on the festival grew, gaining traction and recognition. The festival is a member of CIOFF, the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts. Kaufman says his favorite aspect of being a part of the festival was the opportunity he got to travel. In 1996 Kaufman retired from full-time work. For 20 years straight, from 1996 until 2016, Kaufman attended the world congress of CIOFF every year. The CIOFF congresses were the place to build contacts in the folk festival world. From 1996 onward those contacts became the primary way of recruiting groups to attend Folkmoot USA. In 2016, the congress took place in Italy. By this time Kaufman had become handicapped. “It was a small town, but it was big enough,” said Kaufman. “There was a distance to travel every day to go to meetings and so forth and they had to push me around in a wheelchair. And that’s when I decided I wasn’t going to be able to continue doing that. So, 2016 was the last one I went to, and it was the first one Angie went to.” Folkmoot executive director Angie Schwab took over his group of contacts and continued to add to it. Official contacts aren’t the only ones made at Folkmoot. Stories abound of newfound understanding, lifelong friendships and even marriages from people meeting at the festival. “In many ways it has taught me that we all have a lot in common. That our younger generation certainly can get together and get along in a great way, under circumstances such as a festival,” said Kaufman. “We’ve never had any serious friction at the festival.” During the Cold War era groups from the Soviet Union even came and performed at the festival. Kaufman said that despite the icy political relations, there were no problems in personal relations once the groups arrived in Waynesville. “It’s a great way of bringing people together,” said Kaufman. “I think one of the best ways to minimize future clashes between nations is to recognize the international cultural heritage.” Over the years Kaufman has been a major individual contributor to the festival, not only with money, but time too. Though programming has been canceled for the rest of this year, Kaufman hopes to see the international festival return in 2022. He says he will fiercely back any effort to keep the festival alive, to keep the public aware of its existence.
September 23-29, 2020
translation online. Watching a video on YouTube will never compare to the intimate interactions that Folkmoot brought to our region. Not only do these groups bring their culture to Appalachia, but hopefully the hospitality afforded them during their visit gives them a piece of our culture to take home with them. Just as Americans have negative stereotypes of other countries, those countries have limited and sometimes negative stereotypes of us as well. As the political climate has changed in the last few years, it’s been a challenge to get international groups here. In July 2016, Folkmoot announced that two of the groups scheduled to appear — from Ghana and Romania — would not make it because the the United States Embassy said the Nkrabea Dance Ensemble was not eligible for a nonimmigrant visa to enter the U.S. because they hadn’t “demonstrated that [they] have the ties that will compel [them] to return to [their] home country” after their scheduled appearances in North Carolina. Knowing these kinds of issues would continue to happen, Folkmoot began overbooking groups assuming that a few may have to cancel at the last minute. Schwab said three groups had to cancel their trip to the festival last year because their visas weren’t approved. According to an economic impact study conducted by Tom Tveidt of SYNEVA Economics, Folkmoot USA had a $9.2 million impact on Western North Carolina in 2013. The study included the region but focused on Haywood County, showing that Folkmoot’s overnight visitors spent $6.6 million during their visit. Outside day-trippers spent an additional $89,000 in Haywood County. The economic activity generated from Folkmoot supports 100 jobs in Haywood as well as $1 million in additional tax revenues. While Folkmoot has had a major impact on summer tourism dollars flowing into the region, funding the festival each year has always been difficult. Relying on donations, grant funding and ticket sales is volatile, but somehow the organization has managed to pull it off. Folkmoot has meant so much to so many different people — locally and internationally. Friendships, relationships and even marriages have formed out of Facebook. Schwab said she will take so many great memories with her. “The rewards were the relationships, both local and international; a sense of accomplishment and of course a paycheck to do work that we loved. I will always remember the walk down Main Street in the parade of nations, feeling proud of our team and feeling appreciated by the community,” she said. “I’ll also remember the Candlelight Closings. There were lots of tears from everyone on those nights. Such a huge effort to make the international festivals happen and the sense of love, community and collaboration is palpable at the Closing. I’ll miss that a lot, because I’ve never felt community like that before.”
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planning process takes so much time that Schwab said at this point, it might be too late to have an international festival next year. However, that doesn’t mean a multicultural festival still isn’t possible. If international groups are still unable to travel to the U.S. next year because of COVID-19 restrictions, the board could decide to book ethic groups that are already located in the U.S. It’s been done before — a California-based group of dancers representing the Philippines participated in the Folkmoot Festival several years ago. A Scottish Highlands dance group that performed actually traveled from Canada. “I’m sure Folkmoot will survive COVID,” Schwab said. “The world is taking this situation one step at a time, and the Folkmoot board will have to do the same.” There’s still the question of whether a scaled-back festival would generate enough ticket sales to make the effort worth all the work. Ticket sales have been declining over the past several years even before the pandemic and grant funding has been harder to come by since Folkmoot is such a wellestablished festival. “The festival hasn’t generated grant income during my tenure as director, except for specific work with Cherokee cultural partners. However, the festival generates ticket sales, sponsorship and Friends of Folkmoot contributions that support costs,” Schwab said. “The new year-round programming and the building are the aspects of Folkmoot that have grant potential.” Over the last six months, Schwab said the staff worked on several grants that could support Folkmoot’s COVID resiliency and upgrades to the building that would help to sustain the organization financially. Because Folkmoot had been building year-round programming for several years, the staff was in a rolling process of development and design and in a good position to pivot to online programming. “At the time staff was furloughed, we had five grants in process that were due at the beginning of August,” Schwab said. “We started year-round programs in 2015. The income from those programs and events helped pay for staffing and without the programs, we were in a financial bind. The year-round programs were helping to give new dimension to Folkmoot. We were developing a new identity and bringing new audiences to the organization. I thought we had made incredible progress in that regard.” Another challenge for Folkmoot has been trying to adjust to the changing landscape over the last decade. Before the internet age, being able to witness live international dance performances in rural Appalachia would have been a rare and treasured spectacle. With the impact of globalization, 24hour global news networks and the internet, a majority of Americans now have access to other cultures at their fingertips. Yet, Schwab said, something is lost in
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A fresh start? Open seat draws competitors
BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER fter eight years in office, Burnsville Republican Rep. Michele Presnell will probably be better remembered for the things she didn’t do than the things she did. So-called “local bills” need the approval of a county’s entire legislative delegation; as Haywood County is split between two North Carolina House districts, the local delegation consists of Presnell, Sen. Jim Davis and another representative — of late Joe Sam Queen, but from 2016 to 2018 Mike Clampitt. All three must agree before a local bill hits the floor of the North Carolina General Assembly. Presnell used this veto power frequently to override the will of her Haywood constituents; she blocked a mutually-desired merger between the Lake Junaluska Assembly and the Town of Waynesville, she denied a unanimous bipartisan request by Haywood commissioners to stop electing its tax collector and she torpedoed an increase in the room occupancy tax rate requested by the overwhelming majority of Haywood’s elected officials (twice). But all that’s not to slight Presnell — she’s been effective for her conservative constituents at least, opposing higher taxes, infringements on gun rights and the removal of Confederate monuments, while also helping to eliminate vehicle emissions testing. Those constituents rewarded her with four terms, beginning in 2012; she survived what were thought to be strong challenges by Canton Democrat Rhonda Cole Schandevel in 2016 and 2018, most recently pulling more than 57 percent of the vote. At the beginning of the candidate filing period back in December, Presnell surprised many by announcing she wouldn’t seek reelection, saying on Dec. 2 that it was “time to refocus on family and other opportunities that the Lord leads.” Haywood County Republican Commissioner Mark Pless was barely a year into his first term after finishing third out of six candidates in 2018 — narrowly besting longtime Commissioner Mike Sorrells by 43 votes out of more than 11,000 cast — when he filed to run for Presnell’s seat. “We need someone in Haywood County that will fight on a conservative side that will be able to defend the rights of the people, but also be able to bring some of the finances from Raleigh to Haywood County and to Western North Carolina,” said Pless. “I don’t think we’ve been getting a lot of that. I think we’ve been kind of left over and I’d like have an opportunity to be able to better the lives of the people here, because of the tax monies that are collected. It’s going to somebody it’s just not coming to us.” Canton native Alan Jones, a Democrat, became the only other candidate to file, thus 8 ensuring the center of power in a district
Smoky Mountain News
September 23-29, 2020
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that also includes Madison and Yancey counties will now move to Haywood, regardless of which candidate wins. “I just felt like working people weren’t being recognized in the state. I felt inside that we were getting too close to these mega corporations. We’re not looking out for our small businesses and our working people,” Jones said. “I just felt that they wanted a voice, and I felt my opportunity was now to do that. I never had thought about running for public office and I saw where no one had put their hat in the ring and I said, ‘Well, somebody needs to run. We just can’t leave the position open.’”
ALAN JONES Born and raised in Canton, Jones has a long history in construction and manufacturing, studying to be a sawyer at Haywood Community College and then progressing through a number of jobs in the lumber and textile industries. It was at Enka where Jones got involved with the Iron Workers union, but he soon had the opportunity to work at the paper mill in his hometown of Canton, starting in 1999. In 2007, he was elected to the first of three terms as president of the United Steelworkers Local 507 but resigned in 2014 to take a position as a staff representative with the United Steelworkers International Union. With such a background it’s no surprise that his campaign centers around the many needs of working families. “We’re talking a lot about access to affordable healthcare,” Jones said. “A lot of that is in the federal sector, but I think there’s things in the state that we can do as well. Access to affordable healthcare is something that is very critical for us to look at.” Like many North Carolina Democrats, Jones supports Medicaid expansion — at least in part due to the opioid crisis ravaging rural America. “No one wakes up saying ‘I’m going to be addicted to opioids,’ [but] in my job as a union representative, you see it every day. You’ve got people who are very productive five years before, a year before, six months before, then all of a sudden you see a change in them,” he said. “The next thing you know, their whole lives are destroyed. Their fami-
Alan Jones Age: 47 Residence: Canton Occupation: Union official Political experience: First campaign
Mark Pless Age: 53 Residence: Canton Occupation: Insurance agent Political experience: Haywood County commissioner, 2 years
lies are destroyed. We need to find a way to help folks deal with these top addictions through treatment centers.” Securing funding for mental health and detox/rehab facilities in Western North Carolina has become an important issue in state-level races, due to the high cost of constructing and operating such facilities, but Jones is also supportive of the various harm reduction bills sponsored by Sen. Davis and Rep. Corbin and the local efforts that have
“We need someone in Haywood County that will fight on a conservative side that will be able to defend the rights of the people, but also be able to bring some of the finances from Raleigh to Haywood County and to Western North Carolina.” — Mark Pless
arisen from them — something Pless has continually questioned in his brief time on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners. “I feel they’re reasonable steps to manage the issue, because support for people is what gets them moving towards recovery. Whenever they see they have no hope, having no hope is what drives people in many different phases of addiction,” Jones said. “If we provide people with resources to give them hope, to become successful, productive citizens, I do feel those programs give people hope. I do feel they need to have accountability, but you can’t necessarily determine how many overdoses you’ve presented.” As to Jones’ union work, there are plenty of states where such an affiliation would be a tremendous campaign asset. Unfortunately for Jones, North Carolina routinely battles South Carolina for the lowest percentage of unionized workforce in the nation, making it more difficult to remind people of the victories won by organized labor on behalf of workers over the last century. “We’re very fortunate to have the 40hour work week, paid holidays, paid sick time, a voice in the workplace, and not to fear intimidation and reprisal from a supervisor,” he said. “A lot of the things that the union has brought people — OSHA and healthcare and all these different things — have been brought by people coming together and standing up for what they believe in.” Haywood County used to have the highest union membership rate in the state, but with the departure of manufacturing for foreign shores, that’s no longer the case. Still, Jones thinks there’s enough of a legacy here — especially at the mill in Canton — to help him win the seat. “I feel that there is substantial membership in this area, or at least within the district. There’s probably 3,000 to 4,000 [union]-connected families. I think people can see that I will stand up for what’s right and if it’s wrong, then I’ll also say that as well. It doesn’t matter who it is, what side it is,” he said. “I believe in doing what’s right for working people. Deep down in my heart I feel that’s what my mission is.”
MARK PLESS Pless was elected in 2018 as part of a monumental shift in Haywood County’s power structure. Not only did he join Bethel resident Tommy Long and Canton resident Brandon Rogers on the Board of Commissioners — giving the eastern side of the county substantial clout — his was an important victory for Republicans, who picked up their first-ever majority on the commission. Pless told The Smoky Mountain News back in October 2018 that he’d be a spending hawk. “Taxes have raised by 4 cents over the last four years, and property values have also increased. I believe I could cut down what the government is spending, how much they’re spending, in order to compensate for what they are wasting at this point,” he said. “I know that county government has to grow, but my personal taxes
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Jackson commission candidates to debate at SCC
have grown from around $500 to $790 over the course of four years and I don’t see that I’m getting anything out of it.” While commissioners haven’t been able to trim those tax increases back — and now, with COVID-19, it doesn’t seem to be possible next year, either — Pless has spent a lot of time vigorously questioning a fair number of spending items that have come before the current board.
facility — and I’m going to say Haywood County, because I’m a commissioner here — if we could get the facility build and get the [surrounding] counties to come together … for the funding to continue it, building the facility is the hard part, but they’re going to be able to collect money off of insurance companies. They’re going to be able to collect monies off of Medicaid,” he said. As far as actual Medicaid expansion,
JOE SAM QUEEN IS WORKING FOR OUR HEALTHCARE
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Candidates for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners will face off during a livestreamed debate at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24. Southwestern Community College students in Dr. Bucky Dann’s Social Problems class will research the issues and devise questions to pose the candidates for two open seats on the board. SCC has invited District 3 candidates Susan Bogardus and Tom Stribling as well as District 4 candidates Mark Letson and Mark Jones to participate in the debate. The District 3 race also includes one write-in candidate, Chad Jones, but he will not appear in the debate. COVID-19 continues to restrict attendance at indoor gatherings, so the debate will be available online at www.livestream.com/southwesterncc/jccdebate2020. SCC previously hosted a debate for N.C. 11 candidates Moe Davis and Madison Cawthorn. Future debates include N.C. House District 119 candidates Mike Clampitt and Joe Sam Queen on Oct. 8 and N.C. Senate District 50 candidates Victoria Fox and Kevin Corbin on Oct. 22. Both debates will take place at 7 p.m.
“I’m married to Dr. Kate Queen, so I
know just how important our rural hospitals are to our community. I’ll invest in our rural hospitals and be a voice for our rural healthcare.” -Joe Sam Queen
“I just felt like working people weren’t being recognized in the state. I felt inside that we were getting too close to these mega corporations. — Alan Jones
find us at: facebook.com/smnews
In the State House Joe Sam will, • Bring back $4 Billion paid by North Carolinians to the federal government to improve our rural hospitals • Get our healthcare workers the protective equipment they need • Bring more healthcare jobs to to Haywood, Jackson, and Swain counties
Smoky Mountain News
Pless cites a common argument against it; the federal government is currently offering to cover 90 percent of the cost of the expansion population, but there’s no guarantee that number won’t decrease over time, leaving state taxpayers on the hook for the bill. He’s not strictly opposed to the idea, but he is opposed to making a decision without greater assurances it won’t lead to fiascos in states like New York. “I don’t know that anybody at the federal level would give you a guaranteed amount,” he said. “They say they will, they’ve done it with schools. They’ve done it with a lot of different things, but as those priorities change, they decrease the funding and that’s my biggest fear. If they would give a locked in amount and it was going to be that way forever, that opens the table up for more discussion. I don’t think you’ll ever get it but, uh, that would open it up to where I would consider it.” With regard to the local bills issue, Pless told SMN last that week he’d be more representative of the district’s desires than Presnell, who has given him her endorsement. The General Election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3. However there are a number of ways to vote early in-person, or by mail. Mail-in voting is currently underway. Contact your local county board of elections to learn more.
September 23-29, 2020
He’s also cast more dissenting votes than anyone in recent memory, most recently when he opposed a measure to spend county funds on infrastructure for a vacant economic development site in hopes of luring businesses. The measure passed 4-to-1 anyway. If he’s elected, Pless said he’d do the same in Raleigh. “Yes, that’s my personality,” he said. “I’m up there to ask the questions, to find out the answers when something doesn’t sound right or when something sounds to me like we have a better option. I don’t have a lot of discussions except if we’re in open session, because if I have a question about it, the people have a question. I want to carry that to Raleigh … that takes a little bit of backbone, I guess you could say, to be willing to put yourself out there and let everybody see it.” Perhaps the most visible way Pless has done that is in his persistent demands for accountability from local harm reduction organizations, to the great irritation of some. Although there have been a number of opioid-related legislative actions from Raleigh designed to stem the tide of the epidemic, Pless sees himself advocating for state funds to establish a treatment facility in Western North Carolina. “If we could get the state to build us a
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Important voting deadlines draw near he General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and there are plenty of ways to vote early, or vote from the comfort of one’s own home, but there are a lot of deadlines and procedural steps that voters need to be aware of, to ensure their vote counts. Here’s a quick rundown on available options and processes for voting.
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REGISTRATION First, check to ensure your voter registration information is accurate and active by visiting https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/. The deadline to register to vote in the 2020 General Election is Friday, Oct. 9.
VOTING ABSENTEE BY MAIL
Smoky Mountain News
September 23-29, 2020
Any registered voter within North Carolina can request a ballot by visiting https://votebymail.ncsbe.gov. Active duty military personnel and overseas voters have different rules and deadlines, and should visit www.ncsbe.gov/voting/vote-mail/military-and-overseas-voting. Voters should allow at least 10 days after a ballot is requested to receive it by mail, but the deadline to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27. Check the status of your request by visiting https://northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter. The United States Postal Service recom-
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mends that voters request ballots as soon as possible but no later than 15 days before Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 3) to ensure sufficient time for delivery. Complete the ballot according to the instructions and be sure to sign both the ballot, and the envelope in the spaces provided. A witness signature is also required. Completed ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day to count. The USPS recommends mailing the completed ballot back at least a week before the Nov. 3 deadline. Alternately, completed ballots can be dropped off at your county board of elections office through 5 p.m. on Election Day. Days and office hours of county boards of elections can vary, so call before you go. Find yours at https://vt.ncsbe.gov/boeinfo. Only the voter or the voter’s legal guardian can deliver a ballot in person. County board of elections office locations in The Smoky Mountain News coverage area include: Haywood County 63 Elmwood Way, Waynesville 828.452.6633 www.haywoodcountync.gov/173/elections Jackson County 876 Skyland Dr., #1, Sylva • 828.586.7538 www.jcncelections.org/
…Healthcare Never Stops The Haywood Healthcare Foundation (HHF) Annual Golf and Gala event is an established tradition here in Haywood County that helps provide significant funding for Foundation initiatives. Over the last 28 years, HHF has contributed more than $14 million toward improving the healthcare in Haywood County. Last year’s HHF Annual Golf & Gala event netted $74,000, and those funds, as well as net proceeds from other HHF fund raising events, were dedicated to the expansion of Haywood Community College’s (HCC’s) Health Sciences Education Center and Programs. When the expansion is complete, HCC would serve up to 100 additional health education students per year, thus providing many necessary healthcare professionals for our communities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we regret to inform you that the “29th Annual Charitable Classic Golf & Gala” must be canceled. The safety and wellbeing of our golfers and guests is tremendously important to the Foundation. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the important role our healthcare heroes play in our community. Your support is needed now, more than ever, to ensure we can support the critical healthcare our community needs. Your generosity, will help us complete the expansion of HCC’s Health Sciences Education Center, and dramatically increase its capacity as outlined in the enclosed information. Being a part of the community, we hope you will be able to support this important initiative. The need is critical! We look forward to the time when we can all be together again for our Annual Charitable Classic Golf & Gala. Thank you for your partnership Donations can be made to: HH Foundaton, 262 Leroy George Drive, Clyde, NC 28721. Credit Card donations may be made by calling our office at 828-452-8343.
Macon County 5 West Main St., Floor 1, Franklin 828.349.2034 www.maconnc.org/board-of-elections.html Swain County 1422 Hwy 19 S., Bryson City 828.488.6177 www.swaincountync.gov/elections/elections-home.html Completed ballots can also be dropped off at voting sites during the early voting period, which runs from Thursday, Oct. 15, through Oct. 31. Again, days, hours and locations of early voting sites vary by county, so be sure to check yours at https://vt.ncsbe.gov/ossite/ before you go. Only the voter or the voter’s legal guardian can deliver a ballot in person. To ensure your completed mail-in absentee ballot was received and accepted, do not — as President Donald Trump suggested — show up at your polling place on Election Day and attempt to vote again. Voting twice incurs unnecessary risk of coronavirus exposure, makes more work for busy election officials and is a felony in North Carolina. Instead, visit https://northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter/ to track the status of your requested or completed mail-in absentee ballot.
VOTING IN-PERSON DURING EARLY VOTING Early voting runs from Thursday, Oct. 15 through Oct. 31. Early voting sites in The Smoky Mountain News coverage area will include: Haywood County • Clyde Municipal Building, 8437 Carolina Blvd., Clyde • Haywood County Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville • Canton Library, 11 Pennsylvania Ave., Canton Jackson County • Cashiers Recreation Center, 355 Frank Allen Rd., Cashiers • Cullowhee Recreation Center, 88 Cullowhee Mountain Rd., Cullowhee • Jackson County Board of Elections, 876 Skyland Dr., Sylva • Qualla Community Building, 181 Shoal Creek Church Loop, Whittier • Western Carolina University, 245 Memorial Dr., Cullowhee Macon County • Highlands Civic Center, 600 N. 4th St., Highlands • Macon County Community Building, 1288 Georgia Rd., Franklin
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VOTING IN PERSON Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voters who are in line at 7:30 p.m. will still be allowed to vote, no matter how long the line is. Voter identification is not required. Vote only at your precinct, which can be
found by visiting https://vt.ncsbe.gov/reglkup. You can also find a sample ballot listing all of the races in which you’re eligible to vote. Do not visit polling sites to determine the status of your absentee ballot. Visit https://northcarolina.ballottrax.net/voter. Registering to vote on Election Day is not an option in North Carolina. Significant measures will be taken to guard against the spread of COVID-19, including enforcement of social distancing. Masks will be provided for those who don’t bring their own.
@SmokyMtnNews
On Sunday, September 27th at 10:15AM Let’s Band Together as God’s People to Have a Day of Prayer for the Coronavirus, the Upcoming Election, the Riots & Unrest, and for Revival in the United States.
2 Chronicles 7:14
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Swain County • Birdtown Recreation Center, 1212 Birdtown Rd., Cherokee • Swain County Board of Elections, 1422 Highway 19 South, Bryson City
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Calling for Everyone to Unite in a Universal Mission of
September 23-29, 2020
BY CORY VAILLANCOURT the ballot box and North Carolinians will STAFF WRITER ultimately render their judgment on his hortly before Associate Justice of the presidency and how he chooses to fill the U.S. Supreme Court Ruth Bader vacancy,” Tillis said in a statement. Ginsburg passed away on Sept. 18 At the time of Ginsburg’s death, the U.S. after serving on the nation’s highest court was again ruled by a divided government, for 27 years, she dictated to her niece her but not a lame duck president; however, final wish: that her seat not be filled until a that her seat would be filled just six weeks new president was elected. before a highly-contested election also That meant little to Senate Republican didn’t seem to bother McConnell or Tillis, leader Sen. who in 2016 used the reasoning that eight Mitch months was too close to an election to fill a McConnell, who SCOTUS seat. wasted no time “It is essential to the institution of the in saying he’d Senate and to the very health of our repubmove to confirm lic to not launch our nation into a partisan, whatever nomidivisive confirmation battle during the very nee President same time the American people are casting Donald Trump their ballots to elect our next president,” might offer. Tillis said in 2016. It also meant Tillis has consistently trailed his little to embatDemocratic challenger, Wake County attortled North ney Cal Cunningham, in polls since at least Carolina June. Cunningham, like other Democrats, Cal Cunningham Republican Sen. opposes a nomination at the present time. Thom Tillis, “North who quashed Carolinians “They deserve that opportunity to any notion of are already fair play related have their voices heard, and then, voting and to McConnell will continue it should be up to the next blocking to do so in President Barack the coming President and next Senate to fill Obama’s nomiweeks,” he nation of said. “They the vacancy on our Court.” Merrick Garland deserve that — Cal Cunningham upon the death opportunity of then-justice to have their Antonin Scalia voices heard, back in 2016, more than eight months and then, it should be up to the next before the presidential election. President and next Senate to fill the vacancy “Four years ago, a Supreme Court vacanon our Court.” cy arose under divided government and a Look for expanded coverage of the lame-duck president as Americans were Tillis/Cunningham race in the next issue of choosing his successor. Today, however, The Smoky Mountain News, available on President Trump is again facing voters at Wednesday, Sept. 28.
The Pastor of Walnut Creek Baptist Church, Franklin, NC is news
Sen. Tillis wants Ginsburg’s seat filled now
Affairs of the Heart
————————————————————————————— 120 N. Main St. • Waynesville 828.452.0526 • affairsoftheheartnc.com
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Tribe asks for new BIA superintendent
Tribe purchases casino-adjacent property Tribal Council unanimously approved a $3.4 million land purchase in the Painttown Community during its meeting on Thursday, Sept. 3. The parcel includes 4 acres of land adjacent to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and is currently home to the Tribal Gaming Commission office as well as a large parking lot. The property neighbors the El Camino Motel and had been held by Davy Mitchell Arch. “This acreage originally was in a longterm lease — it was a 20-year lease,” Principal Chief Richard Sneed told Tribal Council. “It included the parking area down at the far end and also the land that the TGC building is on. That lease ended at least a year and a half, two years ago, and we’ve been doing an annual recurring lease on it.” The property is an “essential purchase that’s been put off a long time,” said tribal attorney Jay Gallinger. The Lands Acquisition Committee approved the purchase on Aug. 10. Tribal Council’s vote authorizes Sneed to enter into a contract for the property’s purchase on the tribe’s behalf, with the money to come from the fund balance of Endowment Fund No. 2. The tribe has not yet closed on the purchase but expects to do so soon, Gallinger said in a follow-up call. The vote was unanimous by all those present, with Wolfetown Representative Chelsea Saunooke and Big Cove Representative Perry Shell absent for the vote. Sneed has ratified the resolution.
resolution officially declaring its support for this request and sent a letter to McKee reiterating this request. However, the resolution states, in a May 13 letter to Sneed, McKee declined the tribe’s request “on the grounds that the building was essential to the activities of the Cherokee Agency.” The building has about 42 offices, with BIA employees occupying three of them. Currently, 27 tribal employees occupy 21 offices and 18 offices are vacant, the resolu-
tion states. The tribe hopes to add six more employees there under the Tribal Realty Services Office. However, the building is old with 39 identified physical deficiencies, which McKee has not made apparent attempts to correct, the resolution charges. With McKee’s encouragement, the tribe created a revised memorandum of agreement to set parameters for some tribal employees to continue to work in the building, and that MOA was delivered to McKee in May 2019. However, McKee has yet to either execute the MOA or provide a “substantive response” to it, and he has threatened to evict tribal employees from the building due to lack of a MOA, the resolu-
tion states. In addition, the tribe has asked that the vacant Cherokee Agency Building No. 5 be declared surplus property and transferred to the tribe, a request supported by a resolution Tribal Council delivered to McKee in October 2019. However, the resolution states, McKee did not send the request to the BIA Eastern Regional office until Aug. 10, nearly a year later. “In meetings with Tribal elected officials and BIA superiors, McKee has been very outspoken that he is here to ‘help the tribe,’” the resolution states. “In practice, however, he is not helpful, is inconsistent and in personal encounters he has been rude to tribal employees.” The tribe is requesting that McKee be reassigned due to its desire to “maintain a mutually helpful and productive” relationship with the BIA. “We cannot do that with Superintendent McKee,” the resolution states. “Therefore, the tribe requests that a new superintendent be appointed to the Cherokee Agency.” The resolution passed by a unanimous vote of those present — Wolfetown Representative Chelsea Saunooke and Big Cove Representative Perry Shell were absent for the vote — but it remains to be seen what action, if any, the BIA will take a result. McKee is still listed as the agency superintendent on the BIA website. A reply to an email sent to the address listed as McKee’s contact on the site referred a request for comment to the BIA’s public affairs office. An email sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s public affairs director was not returned before press time.
Smoky Mountain News
September 23-29, 2020
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is asking the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to give it a new agency superintendent following a unanimous vote from Tribal Council Sept. 3. The body passed a resolution — submitted and later ratified by Principal Chief Richard Sneed — that asks the BIA to reassign Superintendent William McKee Jr. to a different agency and bring a new superintendent to Cherokee. “The resolution reiterates a long train of grievances that we’ve had,” Sneed told Council. “The federal government does have a trust responsibility to the tribe, which is carried out first and foremost through the Bureau of Indian Affairs through their agency superintendent. We have been experiencing these issues for at least as long as I’ve been in the executive branch.” The resolution charges that McKee, who has held the superintendent post since 2016, has been “inconsistent on issues mutually important to the Tribe and the Cherokee agency, has neglected certain matters in a way that suggests disdain for the Tribe’s initiatives and Tribal employees, and has frustrated and delayed the Tribe’s movement toward self-determination.” The examples cited in the resolution center on disputes about the use and ownership of two different BIA buildings. According to the resolution, McKee had suggested that the tribe seek to have the Cherokee Agency Building, known as the Cherokee Agency Headquarters Building No. 1, declared surplus property by the BIA so that it could be transferred to the tribe as a tribal asset. Tribal Council then passed a
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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER A request by the Town of Clyde to disband its police force and contract with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office for policing services was approved by Haywood County commissioners Sept. 8. “The chief deputy, my hat’s off to him,” said Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher of Jeff Haynes’ work on the project. “He’s worked very, very hard with Joy [Garland, Clyde town administrator] to make this happen. Many hours went into this, to make sure the town of Clyde feels that they will get professional law enforcement services, and we look forward to this occurring.” Per the agreement between the town and the county, the sheriff’s office will provide the services of four deputy sheriffs and one supervisor to the town beginning Oct. 1 and ending at the end of June 2025. As a result, there will be no change in the level of policing in the town. Through next June, the town will pay $30,893 per month for the services. The next year, it’ll be $32,605 per month. The year after that, the cost rises to $40,125, before dropping down to $37,340 in the fourth year, and then finally $47,083 for the final year of the deal.
Assets of the Clyde Police Department — including weapons and vehicles — will be transferred to the county. Patrol cars will be rebranded with the HCSO livery and feature a decal designating them as Clyde Patrol. Officers currently serving the town will be given the opportunity to complete the additional training required of sheriff’s deputies. The deal is revenue-neutral for the county, meaning it won’t cost Haywood County taxpayers a dime to provide the services to the town. “I think it’s a good joint relationship and something that’s a positive change,” said Commissioner Brandon Rogers. Clyde Mayor Pro Tem Frank Lay said it was also revenue-neutral for the town, but would probably result in more and better services for basically the same cost to the town’s taxpayers. The town of Clyde regularly competes with the town of Maggie Valley for Haywood County’s smallest population; given the economies of scale, it’s been hard for Clyde to staff the positions continually. “We have had a difficult time employing and retaining good police officers, mainly because we don’t provide state benefits like most all towns across the state of North Carolina,” said Clyde Mayor Jim Trantham. Town officials including Trantham, Lay and Garland stressed the move was completely unrelated to the “defund the police” discussions currently taking place across the country, the state and the region.
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Fall decorations in Maggie Valley are a tradition that involves the entire town. This year the Town Board of Aldermen voted to donate $1,500 to the effort to decorate a 5-mile stretch of road in Maggie Valley, despite only being asked for a donation of $750. “I think this is a pretty important deal, especially this year we’re going to have a lot of people in town, going back and forth,” said Mayor Mike Eveland. “I want to make sure we put a good impact on this.” Fall decorations in Maggie Valley This is the 26th year that Maggie SMN photo Valley has been coordinating with volunteers, the town, the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority to decorate the Valley for fall. According to TDA Executive Director Lynn Collins, this year the TDA gave $7,000 toward Fall Days. Each year businesses in the town submit orders for decorations. Those orders are coordinated by Sue Pendley, owner of Maggie Mountaineer Crafts and all decorations are sourced from local merchants. “Steve at Ace Hardware was one of our merchants that supplied us with 700 bales of straw to build all of our displays. Justin Smathers grew 700 bundles of corn stalks to decorate our telephone phones. More than 1,000 pumpkins came from right inside the Tennessee line, 450 bundles of Indian corn was grown close by in Tennessee. Sloan’s Nursery in Canton grew 280 of our mums. Maggie Mountaineer Crafts ordered all the metal pumpkins for each display,” said Pendley. At a Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen meeting Sept. 8, Town Manager Nathan Clark said that orders for Fall Days decorations were down this year due to COVID, and for that reason they were seeking additional funding. “I think everybody enjoys it, even residents, and visitors, everybody loves the decorations throughout the town,” said Alderwoman Twinkle Patel. Patel later made the motion to approve a $1,500 donation for Maggie Valley Fall Days. This year there were 35 volunteers who helped decorate, without whom Pendley said, the whole thing would not be possible. “It is hard work but can be really fun too, and you can get to see your neighbors and make new friends,” said Pendley. “We have been blessed with everyone’s love to make it look great.”
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Haywood K-5 students will return to in-person learning
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Friday, Sept. 25, for middle and high school teachers, and Friday, Oct. 2, for elementary school teachers. In addition to Plan A for elementary students and Plan B for middle and high school students, a fully remote option will be available for the rest of the 2020-21 school year for any student that wants it. The superin“But what we have not done, and it’s a lit- tendent presented three plans for the tle frustrating is, plan for the governor to board’s consideragive us two plans at once: one plan for tion at the special half of our students and the other plan for called meeting. The first option was to the other half of our students.” bring all students back for Plan B — Bill Nolte starting on Monday, Sept. 28, in-person learning begins Sept. 28. as originally planned, and move elementary The board also approved the scheduling students into Plan A on Oct. 5. The second of one mandatory teacher workday for option would start elementary students back teachers before in-person learning begins. on Plan A as well as middle and high school The mandatory teacher workday will be students on Plan B, all on Oct. 5. The board
decided on the third option, to start middle and high school students on Plan B on Sept. 28 and elementary students on Plan A on Oct. 5. “All of these will work, the question is which one’s better right now, for us,” said Nolte. Ultimately, the board wanted students to get back to in-person learning as soon as possible. This was the deciding factor in choosing the third option presented by Nolte. “One of the things that has been frustrating for us as we have done our planning, we have spent a lot of time planning to do option C, and we have done it pretty well since school started. We have spent a lot of time planning for option B, and we think we can do that when we’re ready. At the last meeting we said we would do that by the 28th. We spent some time planning for option A. But what we have not done, and it’s a little frustrating is, plan for the governor to give us two plans at once: one plan for half of our students and the other plan for the other half of our students,” said Nolte. Administration had previously organized bus transportation under Plan B but are still working on a layout for Plan A. Associate Superintendent Trevor Putnam said he was certain they could figure it out by the Oct. 5 start date for elementary schools.
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BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER lementary school students in Haywood County will return to school full-time beginning Oct. 5. At a special called meeting of the Haywood County School Board Monday, Sept. 21, the board voted to approve Plan A for all elementary schools in Haywood County. This comes after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Friday, Sept. 17, that schools could choose to implement Plan A for elementary schools. Plan A is full-time, in-person learning with no restrictions on the number of children in a classroom. The plan does includes safety guidelines like face coverings for all students, teachers and staff, social distancing and symptom screening. “The social distancing is recommended at that age group [elementary] but not required. You can be closer than six feet under that plan, and you would need to be closer than six feet or they would not fit in the building,” said Superintendent Bill Nolte. In the same vote that approved Plan A for elementary schools, the board approved the plan, previously decided upon, that middle and high school students would return to partial in-person learning Monday, Sept. 28. Middle and high school students will still be on the A week, B week rotation when
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Opinion
Smoky Mountain News
Just what is ‘appropriate” for a newspaper? O
… Should a newspaper ever use that word? I usually tend to be a realist, to think it is OK to occasionally allow that kind of language in our paper. But I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, so
Vote as if the Earth depended on it To the Editor: I recently hiked to the top of Wayah Bald. Stunning views, and sobering to see the remnants of the massive fire that ran up the mountain and destroyed the fire tower. It’s been beautifully restored thanks to the Forest Service and volunteers. One of my companions recalled how her home was destroyed in the Gatlinburg fire a few years ago. And I remembered the severe drought and the smoke over Haywood county from Jackson County fires a few years ago. Fast forward to 2020 and the fires engulfing the West Coast after 114 degrees in L.A. Then think about the massive crop destruction in the Midwest from unheard-of hurricane force winds. Think about the seven named tropical storms that hit the continental U.S. before the end of August — first time ever. Now recall 2004. Seven feet of water in downtown Canton after two hurricanes stalled over our mountains and dumped 22
email me at info@smokymountainnews.com and I’ll explore the topic further in next week’s newspaper. I got written responses from 22 readers, heard from several staff members and friends, and the overwhelming response was no, don’t use that word in print. I won’t name anyone, but I do want to share a couple of the responses with you. Their thoughts say it better than I could.
Scott McLeod
ur readers have spoken. You won’t find a single case of the F-word in this article, and perhaps never again in this newspaper. If even using that reference — F-word — offends you, please stop reading. This column discusses a serious issue, but to do so we’ve got to slide into places where some people may not be comfortable. If so, again, just stop, turn the page, or toss this issue into your kindling pail for the fires that this cool weather calls for. It burns well, as many of our readers have told me. The discussion, though, is important. It seems as though in a very short time we’ve become a society where the First Amendment is not only used as a defense for language or arguments some might find offensive — flag burning, kneeling during the national anthem, the right of the KKK to hold rallies — but rather as a shield to protect vile language used in an off-handed way and coming at us from many different places. In this case, we have to look beyond what we have the “right” to say, and so the debate gets more nuanced: what language should we use in certain forums and in different types of situations and media? Really, this is about how far our society will go in defining some speech as acceptable, and in what forums we believe such words should be used. This is always an ongoing, evolving debate. If you are a subscriber to our Friday Xtra e-newsletter, you know of what I speak (if you don’t get our email Friday Xtra, go to https://mailchi.mp/smokymountainnews/xtra and sign up to get the newsletter delivered to your inbox every Friday morning). Last week, after hearing from a reader offended by our use of the word in a direct quote from a story published in the print edition of The Smoky Mountain News, here’s what I wrote:
• “When reporting on a news story accuracy is the truth. If you quote a source, cleaning it up, or omitting words, Editor alters the truth. So, I am of the opinion that when quoting, the nasty word(s) should be part of the report. It is imperative too that the reporting in any journal be exactingly accurate and use commonly understandable words to describe what’s happening to tell the story. Should young eyes see the nasty words in a quote it is the job of the parents to explain the word, it’s meaning, and to help the child understand the story.” • “The funny thing was the first time I read through it I missed the word in question! I’ve become so accustomed to seeing, hearing and saying words like it (or worse). I laughed in spite of myself as I realized that it didn’t faze me. But it got me thinking, just because I’m used to it, doesn’t mean I should like it. Just as I need to ‘be the change I seek,’ you too, as a publication, must ask yourself — what type of literature are you? Do you connect and educate? Do you shock and muck rake? Are you a little of both? As we all strive to mercilessly reveal unkindness in 2020, maybe right now is the time to be taking the proverbial higher road.” • “I did feel a personal kick in the teeth when I read the part that included the F-bomb. I really feel it looked bad, caused a lot of
LETTERS inches of rain. Not long ago I visited my old medical school in Houston. Hurricane Harvey dumped 55 inches of rain and broke all records — in 48 hours — and wreaked havoc in East Texas. By the way, this happened exactly 10 days after the Trump administration disbanded the Flood Control Task force that had been established under the Obama Administration. Climate change is not a “Chinese hoax to steal our jobs,” as Donald Trump stated. Just as the 190,000-plus deaths from Covid-19 are not a hoax or just “a bad cold” that will go away by itself, “like a miracle.” Climate change is here and will affect every county in the U.S. Our local supporters of President Trump — Sen. Thom Tillis, Mike Clampitt, and Madison Cawthorn — insult our intelligence with their endless chatter about “big government,” “socialism,” and “the science isn’t proven yet,” whether referring to the climate crisis or dealing with the pandemic. Our response to both is urgent and must be based on science and trust. Science and the decency to care for our
‘in-person negative talks’ in the community, and as a whole put SMN into a bad light. SMN is better than this.” • “… because of a general break down of social norms today, I would say maintain a level of respect for your readers in the face of this onslaught. I would suspect there will be a small percentage that approve of colorful language in your newspaper. But remember, your newspaper is read by all of your community and such language is not common. Hopefully this era will be short lived, yet we are all affected, especially news organizations, but we are not required to acquiesce.” And I’ll end with my personal favorite. In speech, sometimes it feels good; in print, no way. I mean, how can you argue with a grandma? I dare you. • “As a 52-year-old mother of one, a grandmother of two and an about-to-be grandmother of twins, I’m hardly a prude and the “F word” is, and has always been, one of my favorite words. Nothing quite relieves pain, frustration, anger, etc. like loudly exclaiming, ‘F***!’ I use variations of the word in reference to our current POTUS on a daily basis. It’s quite versatile and occasionally, very effective. “However, (sorry ... you might have known this was coming) I don’t think it’s appropriate for a widely circulated news publication to use it, even when quoting a source. I also wouldn’t want to hear it in my daily news broadcasts. In print, I think we all recognize something like, “F#@%” as a substitute for the F bomb and that all too familiar “bleep!” as an audible cover of a potential F bomb. Our POTUS is a vile, vulgar piece of work. It’s everything good parents and grandparents can do to undo the damage that he’s doing to our youth on a daily basis. Let’s at least publicly, be better than him. Thanks for reading this entire f#@$*#! email and for considering my f#@$*#! opinion.” (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)
neighbors — be they in Haywood County, Iowa, Texas or Oregon. Vote as if the Earth depends on it— it does! Stephen Wall, MD Haywood County
Cawthorn’s integrity is a problem To the Editor: Whatever categories are on a homeschooled student’s report card, “works well with others” is probably not one of them. That’s something for families to consider if a long-range goal is to be admitted to one of the nation’s armed services academies. Leadership potential is their most important criterion. Madison Cawthorn’s experience is a cautionary tale. Until he was called on it, Cawthorn, the Republican nominee for Congress in District 11, had voters believe he was bound for the U.S. Naval Academy before an automobile accident, in which he was a passenger, disabled him.
In fact, the Academy had already rejected his application. Cawthorn admitted that under oath in 2017 during unsuccessful litigation against the driver’s insurance company. His failure to be as candid with voters three years later raises a question about his integrity. Cawthorn had no explanation when the Asheville Watchdog, an on-line news site, first asked about it. But he says now that then-Rep. Mark Meadows, who was sponsoring him for the Academy, told him that “there must have been something wrong with my nomination and he would work on it.” “So I was still awaiting my acceptance at the time of my accident.” Meadows probably did say that. It’s what many a congressman might do if he wanted to let a disappointed constituent down lightly. But the problem was not likely the nomination itself. After all, the Academy would hesitate to cross a congressman over some technicality. However, Meadows knew, or should have known, that Annapolis is highly selective. Barely 8 of every 100 applicants were offered admission this year. Home-
The power of music amidst the chaos
Susanna Shetley
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schooled applicants like Cawthorn have it harder no matter who nominates them, even if their SAT scores are better than his were. According to data provided by the Naval Academy’s Public Affairs office, only 12 of the 269 home-schooled students who applied for the present plebe class of 2023 received letters of acceptance. Three of them were to the Academy’s prep school rather than to Annapolis itself. That’s an admission rate of 4 percent, less than half the 8.3 percent of applicants who were offered admission overall. “Although many home-schoolers are able to qualify academically for admission, many find their overall records relatively weak in the area of extracurricular activities,” the Annapolis web site explains. “This is the portion of the application process we use to predict leadership potential.” The Academy’ Class of 2023 “snapshot” shows that 92 percent of the new midshipmen were varsity athletes. 72 percent were captains or co-captains of their teams, 67 percent were student body leaders, 66 percent took part in dramatics, public speaking or debating, 65 percent were in the National Honor Society, and 48 percent reported church group activities. Those statistics obviously overlap. The site lists various ways for home schoolers to get equivalent experience.
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and local club sports are among them. “There are no additional requirements for home schoolers,” the Academy explains, but goes on to note that “it is sometimes more challenging to review non-traditional records.” The site details basic requirements for admission, among them “four years of math courses, including a strong foundation in geometry, algebra, and trigonometry.” It adds that “experience in pre-calculus is also very valuable, if it does not interfere with the aforementioned courses.” It goes on to stipulate “one year of chemistry, with lab if possible, and four years of course work in English “with special attention to the study and practice of effective writing.” To “further enhance” the home schooler’s chances for admission, the Academy also recommends “at least two years” of foreign language including “regular use of the spoken language” and a one-year course in physics, “with lab if possible.” Those are exacting standards but most public schools are able to meet them because their faculties comprise multiple talents. On the other hand, there can’t be many home schools where a parent is so versatile. Considering how few are admitted, it’s no disgrace to be rejected by the Naval Academy. Cawthorn should stop implying that it was Meadows’s fault. Martin Dyckman Asheville
Suckers & Losers Donald Trump Thom Tillis Madison Cawthorn “My dad’s only pre-existing condition was he trusted Trump” “Now he is dead” When they lie we die.
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LETTERS, CONTINUED FROM 16
September 23-29, 2020
hen I was a little girl we had a Victrola sitting atop the stairs in our split-level home. Occasionally my dad would gently lift the top, place a record on the turntable, wind the crank and set the needle so Hank Williams, Sr. or Johnny Cash could fill our living room with their distinctive voices. My dad would grab my sister or me and we would swing around and dance, the music part of our memories. It wasn’t just Hank and Johnny who offered a soundtrack to my childhood. It was also Waylon Jennings, Conway Twitty, Elvis Pressley, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and others. Even though my sister and I had cassette tapes of Columnist Madonna, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, it was the classic country crowd that initiated my love of music. In seventh grade I acquired an Elton John CD and became an avid fan. I was sure to be one of the only 12-year-olds in Western North Carolina to be obsessed with Elton. Then at a sleepover I met a new girl who’d just moved up from Natchez, Mississippi. Not only was she familiar with Elton John, but her parents, too, had brought her up to the likes of Waylon, Willie and the boys. She and I developed an instant best friendship that continues to this day. As life evolved, I became interested in the disco and funk genres as well as musical scores from theatre and film. I also began attending live shows, both small and large. Whether it was Dave Matthews or a small local Asheville act, it was all fun. During trying times, especially when my mom was sick and after she passed, I leaned on music for comfort. Whether it witnessed my tears or served to cheer the mood, I could not have survived emotionally without it. Some events in life are too fragile for words or human interaction, but music can offer the solace for which a heart yearns. When I met my boyfriend, Matthew, three years ago, the two of us together started attending concerts in earnest. Some of our current favorite bands are CAAMP, Trampled by Turtles, Jason Isbell, Fruition and The Wood Brothers. Our goal for 2020 was to attend at least one show per month, if not more.
In January, we attended a Lumineers show with a group of friends. In February, we saw The Devil Makes Three at the Orange Peel. On March 7, we went to Asheville Music Hall and stood shoulder to shoulder with strangers to jam out to Fruition. One week later, life as we knew it shut down, along with live music. We had a slew of concert tickets already purchased for the remainder of 2020. We even had tickets to see Trampled by Turtles and CAAMP at Red Rocks in Colorado. One by one shows were canceled, tickets refunded. The Red Rocks show has been postponed for exactly one year, but we’ll see if it a happens. For many folks like me, the lack of live music over the last seven months has been another challenging aspect of this pandemic. It’s exciting to have a concert on the horizon and to routinely check venues and websites to view tour updates or purchase tickets. With no live music, life has felt a little wonky, so when we got the news that the Grey Eagle and Asheville Music Hall would be using Haywood County acreage for live concerts starting this month, you better believe we were stoked. The two music venues are using their booking connections to host drive-in concerts at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds and Haywood County Fairgrounds. Last weekend Sam Bush played in Maggie Valley. Each car had their own square of land where they could set up camping chairs and food. The groups were adequately social distanced to ensure safety. We gathered a small group of friends, made some appetizer dishes, grabbed wings and drinks, and set up our own little viewing area. We had an absolute blast. Hearing Sam’s voice and his musical prowess, along with the rest of his band, was like medicine for the soul. Both fairgrounds have line-ups scheduled through the end of October. Two of our favorite bands, Mandolin Orange and Mt. Joy, are both slated to play. And while it would have been nice for these drive-in concerts to have started back in May or June, I’ll take what I can get. Like so many experiences during the COVID-19 era, concert viewing has adapted to our new normal. I knew that somehow live music would find a way to resurrect itself, even if it looks very different than ever before. I’m not a musician myself nor do I claim to be a musical expert, but I know how music has impacted me. Last weekend Sam Bush breathed life into every attendee at the festival grounds. It’s going to take the human race time to recover from this pandemic. For us music lovers, that’s going to happen one beat at a time. (Susanna Shetley is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for The Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living and Mountain South Media. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com)
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The art of sitting and listening inspire me, who are so good at what they do. And we all share this sort of youthful enthusiasm that what we’re doing as a team, as a sort of collective, is something far more special, impactful and enduring for Asheville than any of us would be able to do on our own sort of respective silos.
Gar Ragland
Historic Asheville building becomes musical beehive BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER n a seismic move that will further propel the Asheville and greater Western North Carolina music scene into the national spotlight, Citizen Vinyl will officially open its doors to the public on Oct. 8. Situated in the historic Asheville CitizenTimes building on O. Henry Avenue in downtown, the property will become the new home for an extensive artistic collaboration. At the helm will be Citizen Vinyl, a record manufacturing facility (the first ever based in the state) at the heart of this musical project. The collaboration will also include Session (Citizen Vinyl’s adjacent bar/cafe), Coda:
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Analog Art & Sound (an immersive art gallery and retail space) and Citizen Studios (WWNC’s former broadcast station, and now an in-house recording and mastering facility). At the core of this melodic beehive is Gar Ragland of Citizen Studios. A longtime professional musician, record producer and label head, Ragland will bring WWNC’s legendary Studio A back to life — a piece of American musical history now entering its next bountiful phase. Smoky Mountain News: With the opening of Citizen Vinyl next week, what’s the vibe going through the building right now? Gar Ragland: We’re super excited. That’s where the real fun and magic is in this project, [which] is having the opportunity to build — and help build — a project where I find myself surrounded by people who really
SMN: That also plays into one of the things I love not only about Asheville, but Western North Carolina, which is the idea of collaboration. GR: Exactly. [And] I think that this project is a great case study for that. We feel like it’s a tremendous privilege and responsibility to be doing what we’re doing in that building. Our whole team has so much reverence for it and the architecture. Our whole approach with this project has been to be as minimally invasive to the building, to our design and our concept, as we possibly can be. And frankly, it’s to our advantage because [the building] has so much to offer. Why would we mess this up and try to reconfigure it into something that it’s not? This [building] is beautiful art. Obviously, our number one goal is to be a successful business. And we want to earn the reputation nationally for being the go-to for quality record manufacturing. But, as a collective under this building, we want to symbolize — and remind people of — the deep, historic and artistic history of Asheville. SMN: Of course. I mean, two of the pillars of American music, Jimmie Rodgers and Bill Monroe, got their start in WWNC’s Studio A. GR: Yeah, exactly. And so, we have recently done a beautiful restoration of the studio. As of about three months ago, I moved my studio equipment from Echo Mountain Recording, just a few blocks away, to Studio A. [Studio A] is where Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys played live on the “Mountain
The Asheville Citizen-Times building and the WWNC studio. Donated photos
Want to go? The grand opening of Citizen Vinyl will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at the historic Asheville Citizen-Times Building. The business will hold those same hours Wednesday through Sunday. Masks will be required inside when not seated. Social distancing guidelines will also be in place. For more information, click on www.citizenvinyl.com.
Music Hour.” So, that for me is a total added bonus. It was always my dream that, with a project like this, I would have an onsite room where I could continue to do the work that I love — as a producer, a mixer and a record label guy. Also, we ended up with a building that had a history of manufacturing. The [Asheville Citizen-Times] printed the newspaper in the building. So, we’re honored to be able to bring modern-day manufacturing back to this amazing building. And not only that, but we now have a firstclass state of the art analog recording studio upstairs where we’re celebrating the history of that radio station. SMN: It’s been a very long road to this launch — a lot of logistics involved and probably a million obstacles. What’s going to be running through your head when the doors finally open? GR: The first thought that’s going to come to my mind is — are they as inspired by this place as our team has been? Are they going to embrace the passion, the love we have for this concept? How effective is this going to be to draw and inspire people, in a way that they can come and feel like they’ve gained something from the experience of spending time in this beautiful building? It’s a very intentional experience. We want people to come in and feel as included, invited, welcomed and inspired by good sound and food. It’s a multisensory celebration of life. We hope that we can be the community resource that we have built this to be. SMN: In a very endearing way, it feels like a love letter to Asheville. GR: Yeah. I mean, Asheville has been really good to all of us. This is a way of celebrating and honoring. I think all great art is created in part by a sense of gratitude and grace. And if this is it, this is the way that we are manifesting that, then that’s a wonderful thing. If we can use this project as a way to really reaffirm our [artistic] identity [as creative forces in Asheville], and to help [those] new audiences that Asheville continues to attract [learn] about our rich cultural history and manufacturing — if we can serve that role as kind of an inspiration to the creative community, kind of a landmark in that way — then we would love that to happen to the benefit of Asheville.
arts & entertainment
This must be the place BY GARRET K. WOODWARD
Ain’t it funny how the time just flies, don’t you think it’s time to get on board?
Eastern Idaho. (and everything), “Free to be anything you choose, free to wipe tables and shine shoes.” By the time I crossed into the small prairie community of Tetonia, Idaho, my old buddy, Dave, got back to me (cell service finally resumed amid civilization). Entering downtown, I stopped at the Tetonia Club and met Dave for a couple cold Olympia beers (aka: “Olys”). An hour later, I paid my bar tab at the Tetonia Club and headed for Dave’s farmhouse a few miles down the road. Creaking down the gravel road, I followed his taillights until they got bright red in front of the fence with the barking dogs and the barn floodlight in front of the house he calls home with his fiancé. Within 12 minutes sitting in chairs in his living room, Dave and I erased 12 years of my absence from Teton Valley. Laughter. Agreement. Smiles. Beers held high and saluted to days and faces long gone, but never forgotten. And here I sit at Dave’s kitchen table.
Right around 1 a.m. (mountain standard time). Somewhere in Western North Carolina, my friends and colleagues have been asleep for hours. It’s dark in here, except for the light of the MacBook Air and the sounds of whatever classic rock is on repeat within my headphones. Side note: never forget that the Faces is one the greatest things that ever happened to rock-n-roll. So, play “Debris” every so often to remind yourself that life is good (even when it sucks, it still beats the alternative). The domestic beer near my hand is still cold, even in the warmth of an Idaho farmhouse (some “120 years old,” Dave tells me). And yet, my fingers are warm and can’t keep from sliding across the keyboard, just like they did those many years ago, in 2008, in Teton Valley, Idaho, when I was 22 and thought I knew “what it all meant.” At 35, I still don’t know “what it all meant,” and I’m grateful for that realization. Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
September 23-29, 2020
Nearing midnight here in Eastern Idaho. A landscape I used to call home some 12 years ago. The faces I chase down and interact with in these parts are familiar and beloved. The same faces I befriended when I first rolled through here to put down roots as a rookie reporter in January 2008 for the Teton Valley News. Some twelve years later, I return from Western North Carolina. I return and think of what could have been and what came to pass. Wild, eh? Just one different shake of the dice and maybe I’d have never left Teton Valley. One different shake and I found myself in Southern Appalachia. No regrets. Never, ever. But, the idea of time and place always blinks brightly in the dreams that I’ll never be able to shake until I’ve found what I’m looking for — whatever and whoever that may be. Earlier this morning, I packed up my rusty, musty Toyota Tacoma in Bozeman, Montana, and said goodbye to my aunt and cousin (who live there) and my parents (who were visiting and flew home that afternoon back to Upstate New York). In the back of my truck, I meticulously put away my clothes (street casual and running), sleeping bag, pillows, towels, toiletries, acoustic guitar, ukulele, two-thirds drank bottle of Kentucky bourbon, and Coleman cooler (my late grandfather’s) filled with domestic beers and two-day-old ice (proudly held cold for over 36 hours). Exiting the Bozeman city limits, I pushed along U.S. 191 South towards Big Sky, Montana, at a steady 80 mph. Somewhere between Bozeman and Big Sky, I decided to pull off and go for a trail run/hike. I was in
need of a good run, and a good sweat. So, why not dive deep into the surrounding mountains of high elevation, hot sun and dry air? At the trailhead for Lava Lake (via Cascade Creek), I threw my bear spray canister into my running pack. With my whistle in my left hand and switchblade in my right, I tucked the pepper spray into the side pocket of my running shorts. Better safe than sorry in grizzly bear country. About three miles up the steady incline of the trail, I found myself face to face with Lava Lake. Surrounded by the Spanish Peaks (hovering over 10,000 feet), I sat atop a boulder and gazed out over the water. A hot western sun burned above. I started to sweat, but it soon evaporated. Such is life, right? But, no matter. My mind was racing in the presence of calm waters. Thinking and pondering. Nothing and everything. I wondered where those grizzly bears were right now. I wondered where that girl I once loved was, too. What ever happened to her, and to us? Bending down, I splashed some cold water onto my face. A spiritual baptism of sorts. For me, more so a moment to awaken myself into the immediate reality revealing itself before my eyes and ears. I thought of my late grandfather, wherever he was in the ether above the Spanish Peaks. I thought of my parents, wherever they were on their journey through the sky back to the North Country. Back to U.S. 191, the nose of the Tacoma aimed for Eastern Idaho. Pass through Big Sky and towards West Yellowstone. Somewhere along U.S. 20, I found myself rocketing through Island, Park, Idaho. Just below Island Park, a faint signal on my FM radio indicated the station being that of BYU-I (Brigham Young University-Idaho), as the tune “America” from the musical “West Side Story” blared oddly out of my truck speakers, the windows rolled down, echoing out into the vastness of nothing
Smoky Mountain News 19
arts & entertainment
On the street
Mountain Heritage Day virtual concert Summer Brooke & The Mountain Faith Band.
September 23-29, 2020
Waynesville art walk, live music
With Mountain Heritage Day canceled for 2020, Western Carolina University will still mark the date with a virtual concert by Summer Brooke & The Mountain Faith Band at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. The special virtual performance can be viewed from the Mountain Heritage Day Facebook page and the university’s YouTube channel, with a recorded version available Monday, Sept. 28, at www.wcu.edu. Summer Brooke & The Mountain Faith Band are perennial favorites at Mountain Heritage Day. They received the 2015 Mountain Heritage Award, given annually by WCU in honor of achievements in historic preservation and outstanding cultural contributions. The award-winning ensemble began in 2001 from their home in Jackson County, playing bluegrass-gospel. In 2015, the band appeared on “America’s Got Talent,” reaching the semifinal round, which brought national exposure. The International Bluegrass Music Association named them
Smoky Mountain News
Drive-in concert series The Maggie Valley Festival Grounds will host a drive-in concert series with beloved Americana/folk group Mandolin Orange Oct. 2 and legendary bluegrass act The Del McCoury Band Oct. 3. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. Social distancing and Covid19 protocol will be in place. Meals are available to pre-purchase. Beverages will be available for purchase onsite. Hosted by The Grey Eagle and
as the “Emerging Artist of the Year” for 2016. Also, throughout the day on Sept. 26, WCU social media platforms leading up to the concert will feature images of the 45 prior festivals, examples of local mountain residents at traditional work and play, and a sampling of vendors’ previous experiences. The daylong free, family event began as Founders’ Day on Oct. 26, 1974, at the inauguration ceremony of Chancellor H.F. “Cotton” Robinson and became known as Mountain Heritage Day the following year. More recently, it was named as a “Top 20 Festival” by the Southeast Tourism Society. Typically, around 15,000 visitors experience this one-of-a-kind event, with constant music and storytelling performances, living history demonstrations and Cherokee stickball games, with more than 140 vendors with arts and crafts and festival food for sale. Mountain Heritage Day is planning for its return in 2021.
Mandolin Orange.
Worthwhile Sounds, tickets are available at www.thegreyeagle.com.
• “On A Dream & A Wish: A Royal Celebration” will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 2-3 in the parking lot of the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Come dressed as your favorite hero or princess and join in on the opening parade, festivities and fun. Curb hop concessions will be available (cash only). Tickets are $12 and can be purchased by clicking on www.greatmountainmusic.com. 20
“Art After Dark” will continue from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, in downtown Waynesville. Each first Friday of the month (MayDecember), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors. Participants include Burr Studio, Cedar Hill Studios, Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts, The Jeweler’s Workbench, Moose Crossing Burl Wood Gallery, T. Pennington Art Gallery, Twigs and Leaves Gallery, The Village Framer, and more. It is free to attend Art After Dark. For more information, visit www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com. • The Dillsboro Art & Craft Walk will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in downtown. Find handmade treasures,
with restaurants and a brewery open to the public. www.mountainlovers.com. • The Blue Ridge Heritage Craft & Quilt Exhibit will be held Oct. 2-31 at the Haywood County Arts Council on Main Street in Waynesville. www.haywoodarts.org. • The “Haywood County Medical Exhibit: 1870-1950” will be held at The Shelton House in Waynesville. The showcase will run through October. Admission is $7 adults, $5 students. Children ages 5 and under free. Admission includes Shelton House. 828.452.1551 or www.sheltonhouse.org. • Women of Waynesville will host a Wonder Women Auction fundraising event at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Elevated Mountain Distilling Co. in Maggie Valley. Female entrepreneurs and business owners have donated a number of great auction items and proceeds will benefit Haywood Habitat for Humanity. Music will be provided after the auction by Bohemian Jean.
• There will be a free wine tasting from 2 to 5 p.m every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075. • Elevated Mountain Distilling Company will host Arnold Hill (rock/jam) 8 p.m. Sept. 26. Free and open to the public. www.elevatedmountain.com. • Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends, Will King 6 p.m. Sept. 25 and Outlaw Whiskey 6:30 p.m. Sept. 26. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com. • The Ghost Town in the Sky parking lot (Maggie Valley) will host a drive-in concert series with St. Paul & The Broken Bones (soul/rock) on Oct. 29. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. Hosted by The Grey Eagle and Worthwhile Sounds, tickets are available at www.thegreyeagle.com. • Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Andrew Thelston Band 7 p.m. Sept. 26. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.
• The Maggie Valley Festival Grounds will host a drive-in concert series with Mandolin Orange (Americana/folk) Oct. 2 and Del McCoury Band (bluegrass) Oct. 3. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. Hosted by The Grey Eagle and Worthwhile Sounds, tickets are available at www.thegreyeagle.com.
ALSO:
• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. www.nantahalabrewing.com. • The Smoky Mountain Event Center (Waynesville) will host a drive-in concert series with Mt. Joy (Americana/indie) Oct. 3, Yonder Mountain String Band (bluegrass/jam) Oct. 7 and Whitey Morgan (outlaw country/rock) Oct. 10. All shows begin at 6:45 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. www.ashevillemusichall.com.
On the shelf
DURING ELECTIONS
‘Banned Books Week’
banned in 2019. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. “Banned Books Week” (Sept. 27-Oct. 3) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journal-
“The woods were known, and familiar. The trees all had names, scientific and common ones, and all autumn they shouted at the dawning days. There were fourteen different species of Quercus, oaks, with leaves like hands, stained copper, yellow, and bright red by November. There were other yellows, too — the high-ground hickories and the poplars. And there were streamers of tangerine sourwood branches bursting from the leaning trunks of the mature twisted trees, the forest’s contortion artists, anything to find the light. The scarlet of the dogwood understory sprinkled down the slopes speaking their language too. The maples had their dialect — red as flame. And then the closer you got to the river, the sweet gums and sycamores yelled burnt-orange verbs at the dawn.”
Thomas Crowe
Join the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City during the week of Sept. 27 as it recognizes “Banned Books Week.” Each year, the American Library Association, Office for Intellectual Freedom records hundreds of attempts by individuals and groups to have books removed from libraries shelves and from classrooms. The OIF tracked 377 challenges to library, school and university materials and services. Overall, 607 books were challenged or
call “the geneology of the land” loses no ground to his former masterpiece.
scenes take place in the woods and in Mitchell Bottoms and plays out like a human pinball game with all the characters running into one another in potentially dangerous if not deadly circumstances, Lane’s individualized chapter presentations allow us to see things through the eyes of each of the major characters. While knowing from the outset what happened in the woods that day that Old Doc Pagano disappears and knowing of Jae’s innocence of any accusations of having killed Old Doc, we are led through the woods and through the minds of our characters in what becomes by the end of the book a hunting hound dog search of the hill country just north of Greenville, South Carolina. So, there’s lots of action, but even so it’s the quality of the writing by John Lane that carries the day and keeps our noses buried deep into the pages of this book. Much as in his previous novel, Fate Moreland’s Widow, which I wrote in these pages was, I thought, one of the very best Appalachian Noir novels to have come out of these hills, Whose Woods These Are, with its characterization of “the woods” that highlights what I’m going to
Meanwhile, back at the ranch and Jae’s more than humble house in the woods, he and officer Caddy are having a pointed conversation as to Jae’s innocence and what he is going to do to avoid the trigger-happy, gun-toting Paganos as well as the helicopters and the horde of local law enforcement. Jae has a Plan B in case his Plan A doesn’t pan out as the plot is ramped up with the escalation of the love story side of the storyline. No matter what the outcome of the manhunt is, in his epilogue at the end of the book, Lane sends us home with these words from a higher realm and as the naturalist that he is and has built his literary reputation around: “Some call trees in a forest a form of community. Some say they send their roots deep into soil horizons, intertwine, and communicate in ways older than we can ever understand. Some say the big woods is only standing timber wasting away, sick for a sawmill. An oak can live four hundred years or more. A man or a woman, maybe a hundred. Does this sway the way we look at the woods? Are the woods more than a backdrop for our stories.?”
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Thomas Crowe is a regular contributor to The Smoky Mountain News and author of the award-winning non-fiction memoir Zoro’s Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods. He lives in Tuckasegee in Jackson County and can be reached at newnativepress@hotmail.com ists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. This year, the library wants to encourage everyone to stop by the library to check out a challenged book. During “Banned Book Week,” the first 15 people that check out a banned or challenged book will receive their own personal “Banned Book Week” button. For more information, the Marianna Black Library can be reached at 828.488.3030.
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film script and a murder mystery plotline that is akin to Poirot meets Sherlock Holmes, our story unfolds. Most of the
September 23-29, 2020
t has been said that the best place to start a story is at the beginning. With the first page of John Lane’s new novel Whose Woods These Are (Mercer University Press, 2020, 224 pg.) we literally begin at the beginning. “The first woods grew up far back in time, ancient as the last Ice Age, back beyond any notion we would call now.” After a brief description of how a woodlands came to be formed and how it looked through the ages up until the Writer present day, we find ourselves in the western-most uplands of South Carolina and in the woods with two families who own hundreds, if not thousands, of acres of undeveloped property and living side by side. Lane takes us by the hand and into these woods, these properties, and with amazing detail of flora and fauna and lavish geographical description we find ourselves there, too, and participating in a storyline which begins as a love story between two young people from both of these families, but soon escalates into a feud based on property boundaries and an incident involving the shooting of a deer along said boundary lines. With the Mitchells and the Paganos as the two conflicting families and their two young offspring as the main characters, Jae and Caddy, and the woods as a character in and of itself, our story unfolds. Old Doc Pagano, as he is known, goes missing down in the Mitchell Bottoms. A search ensues not only to find Old Doc but to find Jae Mitchell, who the Pagano family of fourwheeling, land-rich, dope-smoking militants decides has probably murdered the patriarch of the family and hence the conflict and the action is ignited. Along with the major conflict there is also a conflict of interest, as Caddy has recently become a member of the local police force and as the officer in charge assigned to investigate Old Doc’s disappearance as well as Jae’s possible involvement as a suspect, has an ongoing romantic relationship with Jae that goes back many years. And so in what reads like an intricate
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Lost and found in the woods I
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828.452.4251 susanna@mtnsouthmedia.com
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Outdoors
Smoky Mountain News
Karly Jones takes a moment to reflect after summiting Katahdin. Donated photo
From end to end Against ATC wishes, thru-hikers summit Katahdin BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hen Karly Jones began the Appalachian Trail on Feb. 27, the weather was cold and the trail crowded. She quickly earned the trail name Jitter, short for jitterbug. “I was constantly moving to try to stay warm, so I would hop from one foot to another and rub my hands together or jump around, or anything to keep warm,” she said. As February turned into March, Jones climbed Springer Mountain, traversed Neels Gap and then Dicks Creek Gap, summited Standing Indian Mountain and made her way
W
Davey Jones sets out for an Appalachian Trail thru hike March 3. Donated photo
through the challenging terrain of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That’s when she first heard about COVID-19, from a group of pre-med students who had just been notified that their classes would be canceled for the next two weeks. By the time she reached Hot Springs, the world had changed. “That was when a lot of people were making decisions and plans to go home,” she said. “I significantly noticed it.”
NORTHBOUND IN A PANDEMIC The trail emptied out fast, but Jones decided to stay. She had started the trail before the
virus struck, so she figured she wasn’t a carrier. The A.T. felt safe to her. Besides, Jones was only 20 days into her thru hike, and she wasn’t ready to leave. At 26, hiking the A.T. was a dream she’d had since childhood, and this was her chance to do it. Her husband, a member of the military, was being transferred to Germany after being stationed in Fayetteville. Jones had quit her job early to do the trail and planned to rejoin her husband in Europe after reaching Mount Katahdin. “If I was going to do it, I wanted it to be now versus trying to come back after retirement like so many people do — which is great for them, but I don’t know if I would be strong enough to do it at that point,” she said. Jones wasn’t the only hiker to stick with the trail despite the pandemic. However, she was in the minority. In a typical year, thru-hikers report crowded shelters and populated trails. Jones, meanwhile, could go days without seeing another human being. She only camped out solo a couple nights out of the entire five months, but that’s because she made plans with other hikers to end up at the same place for the evening. If she hadn’t, she would have wound up alone most of the time. “The weird thing is I have nothing to compare it to,” she said. “This was my hike. I’m sure it was very different in past years, but I don’t know that because I didn’t hike it in past years.” While she never quit the trail, she did take a break from it — and the pandemic was responsible for that. “What I did do when I heard about it (the pandemic) was I packed a ton of extra food because I wasn’t sure what resupply was going to look like, and that in turn aggravated a hip problem I had,” she said. It was extremely painful and “kind of threw me on the ground a couple of times,” she said. The trail was empty, and she was afraid that if she fell, she’d be stuck for a long time before someone found her. “Eventually someone would come along,” she said, “but how long is ‘eventually?’”
SIGHTS ON 2021 Robbinsville native Davey Williams arrived at Springer Mountain less than a week after Jones, starting his A.T. hike on March 3. As for Jones, hiking the A.T. was a lifelong dream for 43-year-old Williams. The trail passes near his residence in Graham County, and he grew up walking the A.T. and meeting the thru-hikers who travel it. The trek took on new significance to Williams in 1996, when his lifelong visual impairment developed into a retinal detachment that left him legally blind. “I used to ride horses and camp when I was small, and once I had retinal detachment in ‘96, the doctors made me quit riding horses. So, I started hiking,” he said. Since 2015, Williams has attempted a thruhike every year, but the farthest he’s gotten thus far is to Interstate 40 coming out of the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This year’s hike was the shortest of all. He got on the trail March 3 and was home by March 4. Williams had a “little bit of a head cold” when he left home, and within 24 hours he was feeling quite sick with symptoms that closely aligned with those of COVID-19. There’s no way to know for sure if he had it — no tests were available in Robbinsville at the time — but the nephew and brother-in-law he was hiking with both turned in negative test results after getting home to the Charlotte area. Regardless of whether he had COVID, he was too sick to hike, and recovery took time. Nevertheless, Williams isn’t giving up on his A.T. dream. “One of the reasons I want to hike is because everybody says I can’t — ‘You’re legally blind; you need to be at the house sitting on the couch.’ Well then, I throw it back at them. Bill Irwin hiked,” said Williams. Bill Irwin was the first blind person to thru-hike the A.T., an adventure he describes in detail in his 1991 book Blind Courage. Williams had the chance to meet Irwin in 1990 while he was passing through Graham County. He and his dad gave Irwin a ride into town. The encounter still inspires Williams, especially since dealing with the effects of retinal detachment. As soon as he recovered from this spring’s sickness, he started walking, getting fit and strong in preparation for 2021. “Since April 1 this year till today, I have walked 2,005 miles,” he said. “I’m trying to push through to 200 more miles by the middle of October, which is the time they close Katahdin. If I do 200 more miles, it will prove I can do almost 2,200 miles in five months.”
ATC INVOLVEMENT The fate of hundreds of other Appalachian Trail adventures launched this year was decided via hundreds of individual decisions like Jones’ and Williams’ — but also through guidance from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit organization tasked with managing and protecting the trail. Since the pandemic began, the ATC has strongly discouraged thru-hikers from continuing their journeys, on March 31 announcing that any such hikers still on the trail after that date would not receive ATC recognition for completing the hike. “It just didn’t seem fair to the many people who got off and cut short their perhaps oncein-a-lifetime trip on the Appalachian Trail as thru-hikers,” said ATC Regional Director Morgan Sommerville. Many thru-hikers heeded the ATC’s advice. Results of a survey sent to hikers who registered with the ATC for a 2020 thru-hike show that 40 percent of respondents didn’t start their planned 2020 hike at all and another 41 percent had started to hike but got off before March 31. The survey had a 46 percent response rate. However, 8 percent of respondents — 74 people — said that they continued their 2020 hike despite ATC guid-
Emergency responders stage a search at Big Creek. NPS photo outdoors
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didn’t want to expose their volunteers to the virus. Many A.T. communities joined the ATC in asking the federal government to close the trail completely. Asking hikers to get off the trail wasn’t something ATC staff took lightly, said Sommerville. Sommerville is a thru-hiker himself, and he knows exactly how it feels to have a thru-hike interrupted. He’d hiked all the way from Georgia to summit Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park when he found that the park was closed due to wildfire. It was two decades before he finally completed the hike. This year, the A.T. was never closed in its entirety, but many sections, trailheads and access roads were. Some still are, and many states, especially in New England, still require visitors to quarantine upon entry. “It’s pretty difficult to comply with that if you’re thru-hiking,” said Sommerville. Therefore, the ATC continues to withhold recognition from 2020 thru-hikers and asks backpackers to refrain from crossing state lines. Backpackers are also asked to bring a trowel to bury their waste instead of using privies and to stay away from shelters, using tents or hammocks instead. It remains to be seen what 2021 will hold; Sommerville said the ATC hopes to issue an announcement by the end of the year. In the meantime, most hikers whose plans were derailed by the pandemic seem eager to resume their trek. In a survey question answered by 784 people who paused or postponed their hike this year, 58.8 percent said they plan to resume it once conditions allow. “We’re hoping for the best but planning for the worst,” Sommerville said.
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ance, and 81 percent of those respondents said that they ultimately completed the trail. Jones said that the ATC’s announcements did little to discourage her hike. If anything, they had the opposite effect. “I guess I felt like they thought they could control people based off of their recognition, and I just didn’t agree with that,” she said. “I’m disappointed in the way they handled it.” She had to get off trail for a bit to deal with her hip issue, but Jones said she made it a point to stay on until after the ATC’s March 31 cut-off — she paused her hike on April 2 and resumed it mid-May. On Sept. 10, she summited Mount Katahdin, a feeling that she can only describe as “incredible.” “I don’t think I’ve fully wrapped my head around it yet,” she said. Williams, meanwhile, said he would have gotten off the trail even if sickness hadn’t forced him to. It’s such a long hike and it goes through so many different states with so many varying levels of infection — it was probably for the best that he was forced to drop out early, he said. Sommerville said that the decision wasn’t about control — it was about safety. Initial information about the virus indicated that it could be transmitted easily via aerosol particles, through surface contamination and possibly through fecal matter. Taken together, that meant that camping — especially in shelters with privies — would be quite risky. Additionally, local trail communities were nervous about the potential of a steady stream of thru hikers to spread the virus to their residents, and trail clubs
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September 23-29, 2020
Emergency responders have found the body of a 25-year-old man reported missing at 7:36 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, after falling into the water at Midnight Hole in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials and multiple assisting emergency response agencies located Yogesh Patel of Oak Forest, Illinois, at 12:09 p.m. on Sept. 15. Rescue divers discovered him under 18 feet of water and emergency responders removed him shortly before 1 p.m. Patel was reported missing after he
reportedly fell into the water at Midnight Hole and was observed struggling. Bystanders attempted to pull Patel from the water but were not successful. Agencies assisting in the recovery operation and investigation included Haywood Country Emergency Management Agency, Haywood County Rescue Squad, Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office, Haywood County Emergency Medical Services, Fines Creek Fire Department, Jonathan Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Clyde Fire Department, Newport Rescue Squad, Center Pigeon Fire and Rescue, Henderson County Rescue Squad and Dive Team, Asheville Rescue Squad and Dive Team and Cherokee Tribal Medical Examiner’s Office.
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outdoors
Fairview teen wins national volunteer award
Volunteer Virginia Ward takes field notes while volunteering at a research site on the parkway. Donated photo
Fairview resident Virginia Ward has received the 2019 Youth Award as part of the George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service, an annual recognition of volunteer excellence offered by the National Park Service. Ward, 15, has been volunteering at the Blue Ridge Parkway for three years, assisting the Parkway’s plant ecologist Chris Ulrey with monitoring of critically imperiled plant species. She has a deep love and respect for the wild places tucked among the Parkway’s craggy rock outcroppings. “In my 21 years with the National Park Service, I have not encountered a young person that so inspired and filled me with hope about the future,” Ulrey said. “Ward’s assistance has been a welcome gift to the rare plant program on the Parkway, making it possible to complete the important monitoring work more safely and efficiently.” The VIP (Volunteers-in-Parks) program was established under NPS Director George Hartzog 50 years ago as a formal opportunity for the public to share their gifts, talents and time with the agency in support of the NPS mission. For more information about volunteering on the Blue Ridge Parkway, visit www.nps.gov/blri/getinvolved/volunteer.htm or email blri_volunteers@nps.gov.
Volunteer at Panthertown National Public Lands Day is Saturday, Sept. 26, and Friends of Panthertown is celebrating with a trail workday scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The group will meet at the Salt Rock Gap Trailhead near Cashiers and hike about 5 miles roundtrip on easy to moderate trail while doing corridor clearing and some tread and drain work, all the while learning about this special place. CDC health guidelines will be followed, and no previous trail work experience is necessary. Tools, safety gear and orientation will be provided by Friends of Panthertown. Volunteers should wear sturdy closedtoed shoes or boots and long pants, and bring water, snacks and a lunch. To sign up, email Jason Kimenker at friends@panthertown.org.
Meet the migrants Spend two days observing all the winged creatures migrating through the area this time of year 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25-26. The first day will be spent in the lower riverine habitats of Tessentee Farm on the Little Tennessee River, where a range of songbirds, waterfowl and raptors are expected. The second day will venture to the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge Parkway, where anything is fair game. Hawk migrations, songbirds and monarch butterflies could all make an appearance. The excursions are offered through Alarka Expeditions and limited to eight participants each day. Cost is $110 for both days or $65 for just one. Sign up at www.alarkaexpeditions.com/upcoming-events.
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A recently released report from the National Recreation and Park Association shows that most U.S. adults — 82 percent of them — believe that parks and recreation are essential services. The 2020 Engagement with Parks Report is based on a survey of 1,000 American adults 18 and older. It also found that during the pandemic, 3 in 5 U.S. residents have visited a park, trail, public open space or other recreation facility at least once during the first three months of the pandemic. More than half of U.S. residents maintained or increased their park, trail and open space use during those same months. On average, U.S. adults visit local park and recreation facilities more than twice a month on average. The report also found that 72 percent of U.S. adults are more likely to vote for political leaders who make park and recreation funding a priority, and that 77 percent of U.S. adults consider having a high-quality park, playground, public open space or recreation center nearby an important factor in deciding where they want to live. The NRPA Research Department publishes the Engagement with Parks Report each fall, and it’s available online at www.nrpa.org/publicationsresearch/research-papers/engagement.
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outdoors
The annual Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be held Saturday, Oct. 10, though with a new format in view of the pandemic. Instead of hosting a large gathering in Asheville, the Alzheimer’s Association is encouraging participants to walk as individuals or in small groups on sidewalks, tracks and trails across Buncombe and surrounding counties. Time-honored components of the annual event will be replicated, however. On Oct. 10, an online presentation will feature an opening ceremony with local speakers and presentation of Promise Flowers to honor all the personal reasons participants join together to fight dementia. Then, everyone will walk in their own neighborhoods with family and friends, and the Alzheimer’s Association will create the iconic Promise Garden in a view-only format. New features are being added to the Walk to End Alzheimer’s app to help the community connect. The walk is one of 19 the Alzheimer’s Association is hosting across North Carolina. Money raised will go toward care and support for families battling Alzheimer’s and for critical research into treatment and prevention of the disease. To register as a walker or team captain, or to learn more about becoming a sponsor, visit act.alz.org/asheville.
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outdoors
Start the school year Smoky style Get schooled in the Smokies with one of the varied programs offered through the University of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Field School this fall. n Saturday, Sept. 26 — The Mystery of Monarch Butterflies n Saturday, Oct. 3 — Bears of Our Smokies n Saturday, Oct. 10 — Cherokee Plant Lore & More n Saturday, Oct. 24 — Fall Nature Photography
n Saturday, Nov. 7 — Fall Colors in an Old-Growth Forest Courses cost $69 apiece with the exception of Fall Nature Photography, which costs $99. They are led by a variety of experienced and skilled instructors. For a complete course list or to register, visit aceweb.outreach.utk.edu/wconnect/ace/sh owschedule. The Smoky Mountain Field School is offered by the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Stand on Standing Indian
Smoky Mountain News
September 23-29, 2020
The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a hike from Deep Gap to Standing Indian Mountain on the Appalachian Trail during a 4.5-mile outing on Saturday, Sept. 26. The excursion is rated as moderate to strenuous with an elevation gain of 1,100 feet. Pets on leash are welcome, and the group is limited to 10 people. The group will meet at 8:30 a.m. in Franklin and carpool to the trailhead. Due to COVID-19, masks are required while driving, and cars are limited to four people apiece with windows down for air circulation. To join, RSVP to hike leader Katharine Brown at 828.421.4178.
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Race a trout The annual Trout Race in support of Haywood Waterways Association will be held virtually this year, slated for 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11. Entries are $5 apiece or five for $20. The trout will be released to “swim” down Jonathan Creek toward the finish line, with an array of prizes including a Tommy Thomas Bamboo Fly Rod, Publix gift cards worth $200 or $300, a youth bike, rain barrel, cash prizes and more. For prize updates or to view the race, visit the Haywood Waterways Association event on Facebook. All proceeds will support Haywood Waterways’ work to protect and improve Haywood’s streams, rivers and lakes. Purchase entries online at haywoodwaterways.org/membership-donations-and-conservationgoods. For more information, call 828.476.4667 or email info@haywoodwaterways.org.
Puzzles can be found on page 30
Youth Deer Hunting Day coming up
These are only the answers.
Youth Deer Hunting Day is Saturday, Sept. 26, offering youth ages 17 and younger the chance to use any legal weapon to hunt deer of either sex on both public and private lands. Youth who have completed a hunter education course need not be accompanied by an adult. Hunters 18 and older with a valid hunting license may use only the weapon that is legal for the season open in their county on that day, and all hunters — even those using archery equipment — must wear blaze orange Sept. 26.
During the remainder of the season, youth 17 and younger may use only the legal weapon for the open season in the area where they are hunting. Youth Hunting Day was established in 2015 to increase interest in deer hunting among youth, increase their success at hunting and highlight the need to engage youth in hunting. Report big game harvests by calling 800.446.8662, visiting www.ncwildlife.org/ igotone or visiting the nearest Wildlife Service Agent location. Hunters 16 and older must purchase a license with a Big Game Harvest report card by calling 1.888.248.6834, visiting www.ncwildlife.org or visiting a Wildlife Service Agent.
WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • There will be a Haywood Health Authority Board meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, via Teams conference call. The number to call is +1.423.680.7437, the conference ID number is 504 813 177#. • The next curbside Grocery Giveaway will be held from 12:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Sunday Oct. 4, 2020 at Live Forgiven Church, 45 Crown Ridge Road Sylva. This is free and open to anyone who can use a little extra help. For questions, email Chris and Crystal, FoodMinistry@LiveForgiven.Life. • Dogwood Health Trust will hold its first annual meeting, virtually, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. The Annual Meeting is open to the public and will cover updates about Dogwood’s work over the past year. To learn more, please visit www.dht.org.
BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Western Carolina University’s Culturally-Based Native Health Program will hold a free webinar on Native American and indigenous peoples’ health issues noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, as a lead-up event for the rescheduled Rooted in the Mountains symposium. The theme is “Ama: The Sacredness of Water.” Registration links for the webinar and rescheduled Rooted in the Mountains symposium at https://www.wcu.edu/experience/conferenceservices/rooted-in-the-mountains.aspx. • The Small Business Center at Haywood Community College will offer a free webinar series for those looking to start or pivot a small business. The series will include virtual learning opportunities on key topics ranging from writing a business plan and choosing a legal entity to marketing and bookkeeping. “Marketing Your Business” will be held from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24. “Basics of Bookkeeping” will be held from 2-4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5. “How to Find Your Customers” will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. Visit SBC.Haywood.edu or call 828.627.4512 for additional information or to register today. • Southwestern Community College is hosting two virtual job fairs this fall. The Healthcare Job Fair will be held from 9 a.m. – noon on Wednesday, Sept. 30. A general job fair will be held from 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Employers who’d like to reach a large number of qualified job-seekers can sign up by contacting Mike Despeaux, SCC’s Director of Career Services, at m_despeaux@Southwesterncc.edu. • Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering a live online Digital Marketing & Public Relations Certificate program Sept. 18 – Nov. 6 (6 Fridays) from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Registration fee for the full program is $640, individual workshops are $119 each. For more information and to register, visit pdp.wcu.edu or email Jill Thompson, WCU’s associate director of professional development at jcthompson@wcu.edu.
FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Haywood Pathways Center (HPC) and The Community Kitchen (TCK) will hold their first Unified Charitable Golf Outing to be held on Friday, Sept. 25 at Springdale at Cold Mountain. Registration may be completed online at www.haywoodpathwayscenter.org or at Haywood Pathways or The Community Kitchen.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS • Waynesville Yoga studio presents a four-week series, “Introduction to the Chakras.” The series will be hosted
Smoky Mountain News
n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com by Leigh-Ann Renz from 8:30 to 10 a.m. each Sunday in October at the Waynesville Yoga Center. For more information, or to register, visit www.waynesvilleyogacenter.com. • Waynesville Yoga Center presents a series about chakras four through seven. The series is hosted by Leigh-Ann Renz and will take place over four classes between Sept. 20 - Jan. 31. For more information, or to register, visit www.waynesvilleyogacenter.com. • Waynesville Yoga Center presents “Calm Kids Yoga,” a 30 day at-home yoga program. The program will take place from Oct. 19 – Nov. 17 with Zoom calls at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19 and Tuesday, Nov. 17. Each week will focus on a theme to cultivate feelings of calm within, and every day participants will receive an email with an activity or idea on how to engage their child in a yoga or mindfulness practice. All of which are available to keep to use as a resource any time and any place. For more information, or to register, visit www.waynesvilleyogacenter.com.
a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in downtown. Find handmade treasures, with restaurants and a brewery open to the public. www.mountainlovers.com. • The Blue Ridge Heritage Craft & Quilt Exhibit will be held Oct. 2-31 at the Haywood County Arts Council on Main Street in Waynesville. www.haywoodarts.org. • The Maggie Valley Festival Grounds will host a drivein concert series with Mandolin Orange (Americana/folk) Friday, Oct. 2 and Del McCoury Band (bluegrass) Saturday, Oct. 3. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. Hosted by The Grey Eagle and Worthwhile Sounds, tickets are available at www.thegreyeagle.com. • The Smoky Mountain Event Center (Waynesville) will host a drive-in concert series with Mt. Joy (Americana/indie) Saturday, Oct. 3, Yonder Mountain String Band (bluegrass/jam) Wednesday, Oct. 7 and Whitey Morgan (outlaw country/rock) Saturday, Oct. 10. All shows begin at 6:45 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. Hosted by the Asheville Music Hall, tickets are available at www.ashevillemusichall.com. • The Ghost Town in the Sky parking lot (Maggie Valley) will host a drive-in concert series with St. Paul & The Broken Bones (soul/rock) on Thursday, Oct. 29. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m. Hosted by The Grey Eagle and Worthwhile Sounds, tickets are available at www.thegreyeagle.com.
ART SHOWINGS AND
A&E
• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Andrew Thelston Band 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.
GALLERIES • An art exhibit featuring works inspired by the American red wolf is on display at Buckner Gallery in Waynesville through Oct. 9. The art exhibit is organized by Defenders of Wildlife. All pieces displayed are for sale, with at least 45 percent of proceeds benefiting the Defenders of Wildlife red wolf fund. The gallery is located at 20 Galloway Street in Waynesville.
• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company will host Arnold Hill (rock/jam) 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. Free and open to the public. www.elevatedmountain.com. • Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Will King 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 and Outlaw Whiskey 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com. • With Mountain Heritage Day cancelled for 2020, Western Carolina University will still mark the date with a virtual concert by Summer Brooke & The Mountain Faith Band at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. The special virtual performance can be viewed from the Mountain Heritage Day Facebook page and the university’s YouTube channel, with a recorded version available Monday, Sept. 28, on the www.wcu.edu website. • The Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will recognize “Banned Books Week” during the week of Sept. 27. For more information, the Marianna Black Library can be reached at 828.488.3030. The library is located in downtown Bryson City at the corner of Academy and Rector. • “On A Dream & A Wish: A Royal Celebration” will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 2-3 in the parking lot of the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Attendees are encouraged to dress as their favorite hero or princess and join in on the opening parade, festivities and fun. Curb hop concessions will be available (cash only). Tickets are $12 and can be purchased by clicking on www.greatmountainmusic.com.
Outdoors
• National Public Lands Day is Saturday, Sept. 26, and Friends of Panthertown is celebrating with a trail workday scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. To sign up, email Jason Kimenker at friends@panthertown.org.
• Spend two days observing all the winged creatures migrating through the area this time of year 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25-26. The excursions are offered through Alarka Expeditions and limited to eight participants each day. Cost is $110 for both days or $65 for just one. Sign up at www.alarkaexpeditions.com/upcoming-events. • Youth Deer Hunting Day is Saturday, Sept. 26, offering youth ages 17 and younger the chance to use any legal weapon to hunt deer of either sex on both public and private lands. Hunters 16 and older must purchase a license with a Big Game Harvest report card by calling 1.888.248.6834, visiting www.ncwildlife.org or visiting a Wildlife Service Agent.
• “Art After Dark” will continue from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, in downtown Waynesville. It is free to attend Art After Dark. For more information, click on www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.
• Steve Winchester will lead an excursion to Dan Cook Cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Cataloochee Valley on Saturday, Sept. 26. The group will meet at the trailhead at 9 a.m. and the hike will conclude by 2:30 p.m. Space is limited. Sign up with Christine O’Brien at christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 828.476.4667, ext. 11.
• The Dillsboro Art & Craft Walk will be held from 10
• Take a kayak on Bear Creek Lake in Jackson County
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Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: n n n n
Complete listings of local music scene Regional festivals Art gallery events and openings Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers n Civic and social club gatherings with a trip offered 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. The excursion is organized through Jackson County Parks & Recreation, with online registration at www.rec.jacksonnc.org. Cost is $30. • Tremont Institute is offering support and resources for schools this year as they prepare for teaching and learning during a pandemic. The annual Teacher Escape Weekend will this year be offered as a virtual workshop, with sessions Sept. 11-12 and Sept. 25-26 at a cost of $50 per weekend. Tremont faculty will work with educators to share resources and develop solutions to help them maximize student-centered experiential learning, whether indoor or out, virtual or in person. Register at gsmit.org/educators/teacher-escape. • The annual Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be held Saturday, Oct. 10, though with a new format in view of the pandemic. Instead of hosting a large gathering in Asheville, the Alzheimer’s Association is encouraging participants to walk as individuals or in small groups on sidewalks, tracks and trails across Buncombe and surrounding counties. To register as a walker or team captain, or to learn more about becoming a sponsor, visit act.alz.org/Asheville. • The annual Trout Race in support of Haywood Waterways Association will be held virtually this year, slated for 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11. Entries are $5 apiece or five for $20. Purchase entries online at haywoodwaterways.org/membership-donations-and-conservationgoods. • Get schooled in the Smokies with one of the varied programs offered through the University of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Field School this fall. Programs will be held on Saturdays until Nov. 7. Courses cost $69 apiece with the exception of Fall Nature Photography, which costs $99. Register at aceweb.outreach.utk.edu/wconnect/ace/ShowSchedule.
HIKING CLUBS • The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a hike from Deep Gap to Standing Indian Mountain on the Appalachian Trail during a 4.5-mile outing on Saturday, Sept. 26. The group will meet at 8:30 a.m. in Franklin and carpool to the trailhead. To join, RSVP to hike leader Katharine Brown at 828.421.4178.
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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!
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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.
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GOT LAND? Our Hunters will Pay Top $$$ to hunt your land. Call for a FREE info packet & Quote. 1-866-309-1507 BaseCampLeasing.com SAVE YOUR HOME! Are you behind paying your MORTGAGE? Denied a /RDQ 0RGL¿FDWLRQ" ,V WKH bank threatening foreclosure? CALL Homeowner’s Relief Line now! FREE CONSULTATION 844-359-4330 PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise ‘any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination’. Familial status includes children under 18 living with parents or legal guardians and pregnant women. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate in violation of this law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.
• Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com
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Lakeshore Realty
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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
September 23-29, 2020
TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com WNC MarketPlace
29
SUPER
CROSSWORD
COUNTY EXTENSION ACROSS 1 Singer Judd 6 1960s war zone 9 Old Glory’s country 12 Morse click 15 For each 18 City-related 19 He played Lou Grant 21 Haifa native 23 "Alfie" singer 25 Boasted of 26 Idyllic spot 27 City east of Syracuse 28 Not inert 29 See 71-Down 31 Longtime porcelain brand 35 Hitter Ripken 38 Fish-fowl link 40 Some linens 41 Desires 42 Typeface option 44 Gave birth to 47 Put -- show 48 Outer: Prefix 51 City on the eastern shore of Lake Erie 55 Pouch near a kettle 60 Aid in crime 61 Mix up 62 "It’s my guess ..." 64 Workshop 65 Ending for opal 66 "Quantico" network 68 Overwhelm 69 Be inviting to 70 Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist 75 Belt holders 77 They often show DOBs 78 -- chi
79 80 83 85 87 88 89 94 96 97 98 99 103 106 108 109 114 116 117 119 123 124 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135
Not-so-great grade Greek "H" Zagreb native Part of a flight of steps Aesir god Walk shakily Follower of James Buchanan Energize, with "up" Dawn deity You, in Germany Piano exercise Optimal Provide with a new outfit Not-so-great grade La. neighbor Laurel and Hardy film "Woof!" Effective use of language Lascivious guys Cuba’s Castro Spanish dances in 3/4 time Race held every May Let go "Being Julia" star Bening Diglyceride, e.g. Some inserts Steered Topiary tree Suffix with shepherd English county (it can be added to the ends of this puzzle’s seven longest answers)
DOWN 1 Unclad 2 Bone-dry 3 Certain woodwind 4 Divine food
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 20 22 24 28 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 39 43 45 46 49 50 52 53 54 56 57 58 59 63 65 67
B&B, e.g. Pond dweller "Robin --" (Irish ballad) Senator Rubio Bi- less one Min. division La. neighbor Very varying Designer Mizrahi Fight stopper Pint-size Nine and two Bill add-ons Vacillates Restless Irish money Decompose "To Live and Die --" (1985 film) Sailor’s call Joker Jay Put on Plotters’ plot Caribbean island Vital factor Zimbabwe, before 1979 Astern Plus Postpones Hub: Abbr. Grow incisors, e.g. Nation Jack of "Dragnet" Fuzzy fruit Voyaging Feeling blue Energize, with "up" Figure out Written with a #2, say Foot arch Loin or chop
68 71 72 73 74 75 76 81 82 84 86 87 90 91 92 93 95 99 100 101 102 104 105 107 110 111 112 113 115 118 120 121 122 124 125 126 127
Watchdog breeds With 29-Across, new Apple product of 2013 Author O’Brien Coins or bills Pop singer Halliwell PC monitor type Jorge’s gold Diacritical squiggle Attach Great anger Friend in France Mo. #10 Paul Anka’s "Eso --" Butter-and-flour mixture "Dream on!" -- -do-well Glorified Diva Streisand Resounded Turtles’ tops Private pupil "That kinda thing": Abbr. Rich cake "Piece of cake!" Virtuous It isn’t poetry Travel plan Body tubes Smart-alecky Barely earns, with "out" Intro painting class, maybe Rival of Lyft Old stringed instrument Singer Starr Suffix with ethyl Florida-to-Indiana dir. Moines lead-in
ANSWERS ON PAGE 26
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SUDOKU
Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, Answers on 26 the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!
sation you deserve! Call 30
www.smokymountainnews.com
September 23-29, 2020
WNC MarketPlace
September 23-29, 2020
Smoky Mountain News
31
The Haywood Ministry's Annual Charitable Golf & Gala Dinner has been cancelled for 2020. However, your continued support is vital to meet both the crisis and daily needs of the less fortunate in Haywood County. 100% OF FUNDS DONATED GO TO CLIENTS AND FAMILIES. Therefore, we ask you to consider a donation to HCM. SPORSORSHIP LEVELS: $5000 + UNDERWRITER $500 + GOLD
$2500 + PLATINUM $350 + SILVER
$1000 + DIAMOND $250 + BRONZE
For golfers who regularly play in our tournament, we suggest a donation of the normal golf tournament entry fee of $150. As our way of thanking you for your valued support of HCM, Sponsor level donors will receive two (2) non-transferable Gift Certificates for a round of golf w/ cart, while donors of $150 will receive one (1) nontransferable Gift Certificate for a round of golf w/ cart.
September 23-29, 2020
Course options are Laurel Ridge Country Club or Waynesville Inn Golf Resort
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, HCM ceased routine services in March to become an authorized food pantry for FEMA and Manna Foods. • Food was provided to 40,387 people from March-August 2020 • Food pick up averaged 104 cars and 3+ buses daily (1 vehicle/3+ minutes) • HCM has earned designation as the #1 food distributor in Western NC The food pantry continues to provide food to those in need weekdays from 9-4. NOBODY TURNED DOWN! Each car receives FEMA emergency provisions. Basic services are again available. The Thrift Store reopened September 2. Please use this form for your donation to Haywood Christian Ministry and mail to: HCM, 124 Branner Ave., Waynesville, NC 28786
Smoky Mountain News
Donation amount (payable to HCM) $ Donations may be made by check as well as online at www.haywoodministry.org by credit card or PayPal. Name Email
Phone Number
Mailing Address City
State
Zip Code
The above information must be completed to validate your non-transferable golf Gift Certificate, which you will receive by mail. NOTE: HCM offer valid thru September 30, 2020 — Golf Gift Certificate valid thru June 30, 2021.
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Haywood Christian Ministry: 828-456-4838 • Thrift Store: 828-452-2909 • 150 Branner Ave., Waynesville, NC
