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Western North Carolina’s Source for Weekly News, Entertainment, Arts, and Outdoor Information

December 6-12, 2017 Vol. 19 Iss. 28

WCU expresses gratitude for Belcher’s leadership Page 10 Art of Music Festival gets boost from tourism agency Page 12

CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: The Smoky Mountain News’ Cory Vaillancourt takes a firsthand look into the resources available for the homeless in Haywood County by spending three days over the Thanksgiving holiday walking more than 50 miles to find shelter, food and a hot shower. (Page 3) Frost lingers on a set of railroad tracks behind the Pathways Center in Waynesville. Cory Vaillancourt photo

News All hands on deck to address opioid epidemic ........................................................ 9 WCU overflows with gratitude for Belcher’s leadership ......................................10 Art of Music Festival gets boost from tourism agency ..........................................12 TDA makes funding decisions for Haywood zip codes ........................................13 Term ends for Jackson TDA chairman ........................................................................14 Ramsey Center to get new skin ..................................................................................17

CLASSIFIEDS: NEWS EDITOR: WRITING:

ACCOUNTING & OFFICE MANAGER: DISTRIBUTION: CONTRIBUTING:

Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Travis Bumgardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . travis@smokymountainnews.com Chloe Collins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . chloe.c@smokymountainnews.com Robin Arramae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . robin.a@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Hylah Birenbaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smliv.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jessi Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessi@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Cory Vaillancourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cory@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), George Ellison (writing), Gary Carden (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Susanna Barbee (writing).

CONTACT

Opinion Sexual violence and the workplace ............................................................................18

WAYNESVILLE | 144 Montgomery, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585

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SYLVA | 629 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779 P: 828.631.4829 | F: 828.631.0789

A conversation with Margo Price .............................................................................. 22

Outdoors Asheville hiking legend reflects on cross-state hike ............................................ 34

CORRECTION

INFO & BILLING | P.O. Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786 Copyright 2017 by The Smoky Mountain News.™ Advertising copyright 2017 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.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

In a pair of stories covering Western Carolina University’s effort to build a new radio tower published Nov. 22 and Nov. 29, The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly reported the university radio station’s new frequency will be 98.3 The correct frequency is 95.3. SMN regrets the error.

December 6-12, 2017

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Homeless in Haywood for the holidays

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER

don’t really want to go into the domestic circumstances that led up to it, but even though I had no car, no money, no work and now, nowhere to live, I walked down our darkened driveway in the middle of the cold starry night with little more than the clothes on my back.

I

WORKING AND WALKING

EXILE ON MILL STREET Maggie Valley at night is a wondrous spectacle, especially at this time of year. Most all the leaves have fallen, revealing previously unseen homes nestled halfway up some mountain or another. With their far off porch-lights, they look like stars — stars on the ground.

Westbound down Soco Road, the small, mostly seasonal tourist town was bathed in

Smoky Mountain News

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017, I walked out my front door and ventured off into that narrative, armed only with a pen, a notepad and a cell phone, determined not to return until I’d fully explored how a reasonable adult thrust into an all-toocommon circumstance might fare — homeless, in Haywood County.

Online employment website CareerBuilder said in an August report that 8 out of 10 Americans live paycheck to paycheck, meaning a disaster of even a few hundred dollars could be catastrophic for most.

In Haywood County, where the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the unemployment rate is just 4 percent but the U.S. Census Bureau says the poverty rate is 17.6 percent, the paycheck-to-paycheck poor but one step from homelessness are numerous, especially given the region’s well-documented affordable housing crisis.

To boot, the supposed increases in the need for social services during the holidays are no myth, according to Patsy Davis, execu-

black, but for that remote and comforting glow just below Orion’s scabbard low in the southern sky.

On the ground, it was 34 degrees. My iPhone told me so.

I’d brought the contraption with me to document the miles I’d walk, and to photograph the things I’d see. I wouldn’t use it to search the internet for resources or maps, nor would I use it to call ahead for information or help, because in a region where connectivity is spotty but poverty is not, the luxury of a smartphone is assumed but far from assured.

This presented an immediate challenge when I faced the first of many husks of what used to be pay phones at the Sunoco on Soco; perhaps an operator could have connected me to some toll-free resources in my area.

Perhaps not. Regardless, it wasn’t and wouldn’t be an option.

Eastbound down Soco Road, the isolation gradually gives way to Waynesville’s brightly lit and burgeoning Russ Avenue commercial district, where the town’s latest economic development victory will soon occupy the former site of an aging motel.

The Russ Avenue strip, bordered at the near end by the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway and at the far end by a set of railroad tracks veering toward the southwest, is

A DOOR OPENS High ceilings capped with stamped white tin and baby blue walls sporting ruddy brown burlap panels could let the airy, sunshineflooded space at 32 Commerce Street in Frog Level pass for some trendy new Asheville bistro. But it’s not.

“We are a ministry of Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church,” said Perry Hines, executive Director of Open Door Ministries.

“We are a Christian ministry, so what we do, we do to exalt the name of Christ and reach out to people in His name.”

Founded in 1996, Open Door runs on a budget of about $250,000 per year, 70 percent of which comes from the organization’s social enterprise, Second Blessing Thrift Shop, located next door. Almost all the rest comes from individual donors.

Open Door provides a range of assistance to those in need, and in 2016 doled out more than $33,000 in cash assistance, 88 haircuts, 479 showers, laundry service for 461 and food boxes for 1,232. They also served 34,367 meals.

Through October 2017, Open Door was on pace to provide almost 25 percent more food boxes than in 2016, but almost 10 percent fewer meals.

Seeking one of those meals, I hopped back on the mainline into a deserted Frog Level that brilliant Thanksgiving morning and arrived at Open Door around noon.

Navigating a mostly-full room of people dining at large plastic tables, I walked up to the counter and did the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life.

“I heard I could get a meal here,” I told the woman behind the counter sheepishly.

“Absolut-“ she offered, cut off by a man beside her, red plastic plate in hand, spooning squash onto it.

“Here we go!” he said, without hesitation.

Once that plate was passed around behind the counter, I was handed a small mountain of turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, a biscuit and a piece of pumpkin pie.

As I ate, I looked around and saw old and young, black and white, people who looked better off than me, and people who looked far worse. I cleaned my plate shortly after 1 p.m. and was the last diner there.

Back at the counter, volunteers were cleaning up. I inquired as to whether there’d

December 6-12, 2017

Worse than the dearth of resources, I had no social support structure, and with no real knowledge of the resources available to someone in a short-term housing crisis, there I was, standing in a Maggie Valley gas station mere moments into Thanksgiving Day, in a short-term housing crisis.

At least, that was my story.

tive director of local human services agency Mountain Projects.

“I do see that, and I think that the people that come through our doors live from one paycheck to the next. It doesn’t take much to come off the rails,” said Davis. “That increases during the holidays.”

All of these factors — low-wage employment, high housing costs and increasing domestic discord — conspire with rural topography, oft-dangerous weather and a distinct lack of public transportation to create a uniquely challenging set of circumstances for those suddenly thrust into homelessness in rugged Western North Carolina.

Granted, this isn’t the type of homelessness that most people associate with the term.

Mental illness, substance abuse and criminal convictions complicate chronic homelessness tremendously. Without a social support system those individuals so afflicted can sometimes be left out in the cold, literally and figuratively.

For the sake of the story, I had no social support system, either. No nearby family, no couches to surf, no one to call.

Mine was simply a short-term housing crisis; I’d just hit a rough patch and only really needed three hots and a cot for a few days, or weeks.

Without assistance, I might be forced into vagrancy and end up in jail, but with a little help, I could get back on track because I could still work, and I could still walk.

My working hypothesis was that I’d probably confront a discouraging scene and come upon deep divisions between the “they” and the “we.”

My walking conclusions, however, were startlingly different.

probably the most vibrant commercial corridor in the county.

I followed those tracks through Waynesville, Frog Level and Hazelwood to a small knot of big box stores out near the expressway.

After exploring the surrounding area for a few hours while dancing around a sherriff ’s deputy who was patrolling the parking lots, I found what I thought was a pretty good spot for some shuteye, and as the first rays of the new rising sun became visible in the east, I tried to sleep.

Sitting up on cold concrete while holding your knees to your chest and shivering is not sleep.

Nevertheless, I woke from it around 11 a.m., on Thanksgiving Day, bright sun blazing.

I guess it was a good spot.

S EE HOMELESS, PAGE 4 3

HOMELESS, CONTINUED FROM 3

Thanksgiving lunch at Open Door. news

be dinner that night or not, but learned there wouldn’t be. Open Door serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday, dinner on Saturday, and lunch and dinner on Sunday.

“You heard of Pathways?” said a man cleaning a dish.

I later learned that man was Hines himself, and that dish was but one of about 90 cleaned that afternoon.

“No, I haven’t.”

“You know where the Sheriff ’s Office is?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You know where the new Hazelwood Ingles is?” he said, pointing in the general direction.

“I sure do,” I said, shifting my weight from one sore knee to the other.

“What we do, we do to exalt the name of Christ and reach out to people in His name.”

December 6-12, 2017

— Perry Hines, executive director of Open Door Ministries

Help for the holidays lthough nonprofit organizations can always use volunteers and donations every day of the year, the need increases during the holiday season. If your holiday plans include donating to one of the very worthy organizations mentioned in this story, here’s how to do it:

A

Smoky Mountain News

Open Door

4

• Mail: 32 Commerce St., Waynesville, NC 28786 • Phone: 828.452.3846 • Online: www.opendoor-waynesville.org • Greatest needs: “With the exception of financial contributions, Second Blessing Thrift Shop needs new or gently used items,” said Perry Hines, executive director of Open Door. “We take resell them, and that’s a wonderful way for us to make profit. People can also give of their time and be a volunteer. Truthfully, there’s just almost any imaginable way they can help.

Service providers, like hairdressers, lawyers, they can help.”

Pathways • Mail: 179 Hemlock St., Waynesville, NC 28786 • Phone: 828.246.0332 • Online: www.haywoodpathwayscenter.org • Greatest needs: “We always need hygiene supplies,” said Mandy Haithcox, executive director at Pathways. “Underwear and socks are good, but we have a list on the website that we update, so if we get inundated with socks, we’ll take socks off for a while.”

Community Kitchen: • • • •

Mail: P.O. Box 513, Canton, NC 28716 Phone: 828.648.0014 Online: www.cantoncommunitykitchen.org Greatest needs: “Our greatest need other than cash is cash,” laughed Open Door Operations Director Allison Jennings. “We have staples that we do run out of a lot and there are items that we end up having to buy, which are sugar, tea, coffee, mixed vegetables, canned green beans, carrots Sloppy Joe sauce, and ranch dressing.”

Back down the tracks, again. Next stop, Hazelwood, again. I’d passed the Pathways Center twice already, and then for a third time as I headed back to my previous sleeping spot under temperate fall skies and light winds. At some time approaching 3 p.m., I nodded off for a few hours and at dusk woke disoriented in a world I scarcely recognized.

The sun had succumbed to violet hues from behind Wolfpen Mountain as a waxing crescent moon frowned down upon the preBlack Friday big box store shopping mania.

The sidewalks were full of people and every spot in the lot was full of car. This year’s Black Friday shopping mayhem actually started at 6 p.m. Thursday, and it was game on for those looking for deals.

Back up the tracks, again. Next stop, Pathways, again. I walked the short distance over to Brown Avenue and queried an EMT taking a break outside the Haywood County Emergency Services building on Hemlock Street. Had he heard of something called Pathways?

“It’s around back.”

RESTORATION, RECOVERY, REDEMPTION Walking in to what turned out to be the dining hall of the Haywood Pathways Center shortly after 6 p.m. and again navigating a mostly-full room of people dining at large plastic tables, I gingerly walked up to the counter.

“I heard I could get a meal here,” I told the lady.

Soon a mountain of turkey, stuffing, creamed corn and green beans crowned my red plastic plate. Grabbing a Sierra Mist, I sat at one of about 60 seats, placed my plate atop the plastic floral-print tablecloth, and began to eat my Thanksgiving dinner.

Looking up between mouthfuls, I saw about 30 others doing likewise in the former

minimum-security prison; I saw happy laughs and smiles on faces dark and light, some rippled with age, some taut with youth — including a newborn being passed around to universal adoration.

Several volunteers on their way out made it a point to stop, offer their hand, and wish me a happy Thanksgiving as I comingled my stuffing and creamed corn. Splashing down the last of my soda, I cleaned my plate and used the men’s room.

It was just past 7 p.m. when I approached a woman who seemed to be in charge.

“I heard I could get a bed here,” I told her, learning after the fact that there were 26 for women and 32 for men.

“Yeah, sure, maybe,” she said. “Hang on just a minute and have a seat while I go find Louis.”

The dining room had emptied, but for a small crew of people cleaning tables and sweeping floors. I took a seat for a moment until a slim giant of a man lumbered over and extended his hand.

Originally from Virginia, Louis Williams never planned on working in social services.

He expected to be a carpenter or a contractor, but in 2005 heard a radio commercial for a shelter in Wilmington, North Carolina that was looking for staff.

“I just kind of said, ‘God, is this for me?’” the soft-spoken Williams told me in a Frog Level coffee shop days after our initial meeting.

For eight years it was, until Providence, he said, and the love of a woman brought him to Haywood County and to Pathways, where I first encountered the imposing yet kindly Williams that Thanksgiving night.

Taking a seat next to me as residents continued cleaning around us, he introduced himself.

“I’m Louis,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“Lawrence,” I replied, hoping to avoid being recognized as The Smoky Mountain News’ city/county government reporter.

He asked if I had been a resident of Haywood County for 90 days, and walked off to make a photocopy of my ID, which reads “Cory Lawrence Vaillancourt.”

Returning a few minutes later holding a blue rubber glove, a disposable plastic cup with two sealed pouches in it, a few pieces of paper, a pen and a small zippered clutch, Williams set them all in front of me on the plastic floral-print tablecloth as chairs were being turned up on tables nearby.

“What kind of work do you do?”

“Just, like, labor. Paint. Whatever.”

“Everyone here works to the extent of their ability,” he said, explaining that I’d have to pay the lesser of 10 percent of my income or $25, each week.

He later told me in that coffee shop that the employment rate at Pathways is quite high, compared to other shelters and thinks that says a lot about a community willing to give people a chance.

“I don’t got no work right now though.”

“We’ll talk about that soon,” he said, proceeding to pepper me with a long list of short questions: You identify as white, I take it?

Age? Social Security number? Are you on any prescription medications? Any convictions? Pending legal

F

“Men can be victims, too, you know.”

For the first and only time on this journey, I offered up a small portion of my carefully rehearsed backstory — an unspecified domestic incident that didn’t involve law enforcement, but did involve me suddenly being thrust into a short-term housing crisis with no resources or social support structure.

From there the questions only became more personal. Williams was respectful and

HOMELESS IN HAYWOOD received funding from any government entity; it’s $330,000 annual budget comes largely from individual donors and churches, along with some small grants, the largest of which was $15,000.

Eight full-time and five part-time workers have since December 2016 alone served more than 26,000 meals, helped 188 find jobs, helped 94 find housing, and helped 71 find salvation.

Of those who were released from the detention center in 2016 and utilized Pathways, 53 percent of men and 32 percent of women became recidivists; in a 2014 interview before Pathways opened, Christopher said general recidivism in the detention center was above 80 percent.

According to Christopher, it costs taxpayers $73 a day to house someone in the Detention Center. Pathways does it at almost no cost to taxpayers for about $36 per person, per night.

Exhaling a bluish-gray cloud of smoke into the cold black mountain air, the man paused and faced me.

“Welcome aboard.”

Impatiently pacing near a cold concrete bench, I asked him how long one could feasibly stay.

“If you want to work and follow the rules, you can stay up to six months,” he said, noting that there were lots of stipulations one

S EE HOMELESS, PAGE 6 Smoky Mountain News

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December 6-12, 2017

actions? Do you use any recreational drugs?

How much do you drink? Are you currently going through alcohol or drug withdrawals?

Any allergies? HIV positive? Hepatitis A, B or C? Bedbugs, lice, fleas or ticks?

It all sounded like a song he’d sung many times.

“Have you been a victim of domestic abuse or violence?” he asked.

I hadn’t.

right now, they’re completely away from their family for whatever reason, and have nobody else to reach out to. A lot of times, especially during this cold weather, we’ll find that when they leave here, they will actually go out and commit a crime just to come back for another meal and another bed.”

Tired of arresting the same people again and again, Christopher partnered with Next Step Ministries, Open Door and the Haywood Christian Emergency Shelter in a communitywide effort to raise funds and renovate a former minimum-security prison facility next door to the detention center, just before another cruel winter could grip the region.

Executive Director of Pathways Mandy Haithcox said that the organization has never

news

Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher (above) is working to reduce recidivism.

Pathways staffer Louis Williams (below) says he’s trying to foster unity at the shelter and in the community. Cory Vaillancourt photos

treated me with dignity, but was also looking out for the safety of staff, residents, guests, neighbors and volunteers.

“Are you a registered sex offender?”

I’m not, and I told him so, well aware of a July decision to prohibit sex offenders from Pathways.

“Do you have a spiritual background?”

“Not really,” I said. “Christian, I guess.”

Pathways’ mission and vision are thick with religious motivation; it’s a self-proclaimed Christ-centered program “for the lost, lonely and least of Haywood County” that seeks to feed and shelter the hungry and homeless while guiding them along a path to self-sufficiency, decreasing recidivism in the process.

“Well, that’s a start,” Williams smiled, unzipping the small zippered clutch.

Inside was a digital breathalyzer. Upon inserting the plastic mouthpiece, I blew steadily until I heard the double beeps and Williams showed me the double zeros.

“Very good, that’s what we like to see. I’m also going to ask you to fill that,” he said, glancing at the plastic cup.

Williams followed me into the men’s room and stood nearby. After a minute of deafening silence, I sensed nothing was going to happen.

“Hang out and drink some water. I should have told you when you came in, but I didn’t know you were looking for a bed, I just thought you were here for a meal.”

I pounded several large glasses of tapwater and left the dining room for the designated smoking area — a small outdoor space situated between the men’s dorm, the women’s dorm and the dining room where concrete tables and benches offer a stunning northfacing view of Eaglenest Mountain.

For almost an hour I stood there, drinking water, walking, waiting, until from among the comers and the goers sat an older man who struck up a match and a conversation.

“You new here?”

“Yep.” Pathways itself is new here, so to speak.

Founded in late 2014, it came together largely through the vision of Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher, who earlier that year watched two men walk out of jail with nowhere to go.

“They have no hope,” said Christopher.

“So many of these people that are in our facility [the Haywood County Detention Center]

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“The opportunity that we have at Pathways is not just to get people back into the community, but to change the community.”

— Louis Williams, Haywood Pathways Center

Question:

Smoky Mountain News

December 6-12, 2017

My husband and I are really frustrated. We have been trying to lose weight but it doesn't seem to be working. We have been on a diet for a while but we are gaining weight instead!

6

Answer: Here are a few questions/ideas for you: 1. Are you getting any regular exercise? A tool like a fitness tracker (e.g. Fitbit) may help you keep track of your steps. Trying to get at least 10,000 steps per day is a good idea. Do you have access to a gym, YMCA or YWCA or recreation center for classes, use of equipment, pool or walking track? Is there a school nearby that has a walking track where you could walk? Do you have any equipment at home like a stationary bike that you could use?

2. Have you tried tracking your food and beverage intake to see how many calories you are getting?

You can use a tool like the Supertracker from the USDA My Plate www.choosemyplate.gov/toolssupertracker that has meal planning and calorie goals. You can also keep a written food diary and write down your food and beverage intake. There are also free apps for your phone like My Fitness Pal. 3. Have you talked to your physician to make sure there are no medical reasons for your weight gain? Or are you on any medications that could effect your weight loss?

HOMELESS, CONTINUED FROM 5 had to follow so as not to run afoul of staff.

Quiet time at 9 p.m., lights out at 10, up at 6 a.m., breakfast at 7, hit the bricks by 8:30, dorms re-open at 4:30 p.m., dinner at 6, roll call at 7, snack meeting at 8.

And there were more; according to the rules, I couldn’t just lay around and get room and board for $100 a month. I had to see a caseworker in three days, and begin to overcome whatever had brought me to Pathways in the first place — unemployment, drug addiction, lack of education, whatever.

“The opportunity that we have at Pathways is not just to get people back into the community, but to change the community,” Williams later said. “In larger communities, people see homeless people and disregard them utterly. Then they go back out and do the same thing over and over again.”

If able, I was to apply for 15 jobs each week, with verification, as well as donate 10 hours each week to community service with a registered nonprofit. I’d also have to pitch in with upkeep of the facility. In return, I could stay for three days, and then if all went well, up to six months.

“They treat you pretty good here,” said the man, stuffing his cigarette down one of those obelisk-esque receptacles before meandering back to the dining hall.

The mandatory 8 p.m. snack meeting had cut our conversation short, and when I walked in, already seated were nine women and 18 men, plus a staffer or two and Williams, who was lecturing the group about the importance of finishing up chores.

“How you live in here is how you’ll live out there,” he told us as I continued to sip water.

Once we were dismissed, I loitered and listened to the residents who’d remained opine offhand about getting clean and staying clean, about getting employed and staying employed, about getting out and staying out.

I was still hoping just to get into this place that would both give me a fish, and, if I so

needed, teach me to fish.

More than an hour later, probably due to mild dehydration, physical exertion and two large, filling meals in the last eight hours, my body finally had some fluid to spare.

Based on the results of my seven-panel drug screen, I’d be admitted as one of about 40 lodgers that night and subject to random drug tests at any time. As long as they continued to come back clean after 30 days, Williams said I’d have no problems and fewer tests.

He then took me outside to a supply closet and issued me two hotel-sized conditioning shampoos, a bar of soap, a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.

I broached the possibility of a shower.

“You’ll have that opportunity,” he said, showing me the laundry room while explaining that I’d have to sign up for a 90-minute time slot once a week and remain present with my laundry the entire time. He also explained that the women’s dormitory — and the sidewalk around it — is off limits to men, and vice versa. Even married couples.

On the way in to the men’s dorm, he stopped, turned, and told me that a Bible study course was central to the Pathways program.

“It’s as important as anything else we do.”

The modestly appointed dorm consisted of a lounge with a worn but comfy leather couch, a computer with an internet connection, lots of reading material and a small television tuned to The History Channel, but as Williams showed me where the towels were kept and handed me a set of bedsheets, all I could think about was that shower.

“All of your belongings have to fit in these two clear plastic tubs,” said Williams, guiding me into the barracks area of the dorm.

Shower?

“You’re in bunk number three,” Williams said. “A prized bottom bunk.”

Shower?

“It should look like that in the morning,” he said, pointing to an example of proper bed-making procedure.

Shower?

HOMELESS IN HAYWOOD

Walking up to the counter behind which stood seven or eight volunteers, I said for what I hoped would be the last time in my life the hardest thing I’d ever said in my life.

“I heard I could get a meal here.”

“Have a seat and we’ll bring it to you right away,” she said.

Almost before I could sit down at one of six long, rectangular tables, someone put a Styrofoam plate in front of me.

Founded in 2006, the Community Kitchen has been doing just that around 50 times a night, every night, for more than 10 years. The organization receives donations daily from Food Lion and on weekends from Walmart, and also offer baked goods, groceries and about 220 food boxes a month to the hungry, all on a budget of just over $100,000 a year.

The organization is also supported with donations and volunteers from a list of local churches so long it’d probably be easier just to name the Haywood County houses of worship that don’t contribute — if there even are any.

The volunteers who served me two huge pancakes and two links of sausage and the ice water that night were from Sulphur Springs Baptist Church in Waynesville.

“I wish we weren’t needed,” said Community Kitchen Board Chairman Chris Jennings when I caught up with him and other staffers a few days later. “That would be the ultimate goal, that we’re not needed, but there are nights that there will be almost 90 plates that are served.”

When the kitchen first opened, Jennings said, it wasn’t uncommon to see few people eating. But since then, the need has consistently grown in Canton; there is no shelter

A RETURN TO THE ALTAR Although it resembled a military barracks but for the 16-inch rust-colored ceramic tile and vividly painted walls, there would be no Gunnery Sergeant Hartman-style reveille, no billy clubs banging metal trash cans at the break of day.

The 6 a.m. wakeup call on Friday, Nov. 24 came with a hushed, “Good morning, gentlemen,” as the TV and lights came on but the skies were yet dark.

It wasn’t Williams who’d awakened us, however, it was another Pathways staffer who couldn’t have been more of a contrast to him.

Shorter, whiter and more vocal, Daniel prowled the dorm ensuring all would heed his hushed call.

“Good morning, gentlemen.”

Some Pathways residents had left earlier, for jobs; I lazed for a few minutes, but recalling Williams’ discussion the night before about rules, responsibilities, teamwork and consequences, I put on those same dirty clothes, got up, got myself together, and walked the short distance to the dining room.

Grabbing a cup of coffee, I caught the WLOS morning newscast on the TV, and went back out to the designated smoking area. Looking over the Plott Balsams, it was apparent that a thick, hoary frost had set in overnight, which would have made sleeping outside much more dangerous.

The morning shadows receding from the peaks, though, suggested a warm, inviting portrait, even if framed by chain link and razor wire.

At 6:45 a.m. the dining room began to fill up with Pathways residents waiting for the 7 serving. It was obvious by the way they sat together and talked to each other that this whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

Once we’d all been seated with biscuits, gravy and sausage, Daniel began to speak.

“We have a new member of the community. Everybody say hi to Lawrence,” he said, pointing at me. “Help him out. Show him the ropes.”

Everyone in the room looked directly into my soul. Weary-eyed, I waved back until one woman seated across the room locked eyes with me.

“Welcome home,” she said.

Looking down at my biscuit, I fought back tears. Days later, looking down at my keyboard, I lost that fight.

Thanksgiving, they’d remain open all day.

Nonetheless, once I sopped up every last bit of gravy, I put my plate on the pile, and by 7:30 a.m. had walked back out to the tracks, where the cold steel rails shimmered white in the 34-degree morning air.

AS IMPORTANT AS NOURISHMENT It was almost 10 a.m. when I made the 1.8 miles from Hazelwood back to Frog Level, the fourth time I’d traversed the span.

Having recognized a regular traffic flow between Pathways and the Open Door — breakfast and dinner are served at the former, breakfast and lunch at the latter — I decided to continue northbound along the tracks until they curved east, briefly embracing the shoulder of Lake Junaluska for a half mile until again crossing the Great Smoky Mountain Expressway.

Frog Level, Hazelwood and Waynesville lie at the center of Haywood County; to the west, there’s not much in the way of resources in Maggie Valley, and no other shelters before Murphy, in Cherokee County. The eastern end of Haywood County, however, was thus far terra incognita.

Piercing the heart of Clyde and then following Carolina Boulevard until it becomes New Clyde highway, the tracks crest a slight hill before looking down on the imposing

here, and Community Kitchen is the only place around to get a plate. Operations Director Allison Jennings said they’d just seen their busiest Thanksgiving ever.

“During the holidays, food box distribution goes up but meals go down, because it’s one of the few times a year that those without housing might find themselves invited to share a holiday meal in the home of a family member or friend,” she said. “But then the next day, they’re right back here.”

Administrative Director Bill Brown pointed out something I’d noted while dining that night — among the 20 or so eating at the time were a higher proportion of elderly folks than anywhere else I’d been.

Often, Chris Jennings explained, these are people who have homes, but are without power, or running water, or companionship — a need of all humans as important as nourishment.

Then there are the 10 or so regulars he says are truly homeless. They, too, show up for more than just the pancakes.

“We have one that likes the way he’s treated here. He’s made to feel special,” he said, adding that as the only outpost on the eastern end of Haywood County, lack of transportation makes the trip to and from Pathways impractical for most and impossible for some.

“To leave here means he loses that. For him to think, ‘OK, I’ve got something special here, I’ve got people that are kind to me and treat me well. Will I leave that to have a bed to sleep in? Or do I manage something else?’”

I would certainly have to manage something else for the night; there was no way to cover the 12 miles back to Pathways by 7 p.m. roll call.

Walking back down Pisgah Drive around dusk that Friday evening, I turned left and hit the tracks again, watching wispy padparadscha-white clouds float silently through the steadily darkening yet still baby blue western sky.

Finding a safe place to crash for the night earlier in the day — just off the tracks, in Clyde — I returned to it by 9:30 p.m. and went to sleep in the pleasant 40-degree night air.

Awake and with a full head of steam by 7:30 a.m., I returned to my home in Maggie Valley right around 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25.

EPILOGUE As I said at the beginning, that was my story.

And I stuck to it, for more than 50 miles on foot and almost 60 hours on the streets, except for eight precious hours of respite in a bed at the Pathways Center on Thanksgiving night.

But as also noted earlier, I didn’t really need to put so much time into my fictional backstory. Not once, when I asked for help, did anyone ask me why I needed it; as in the Gospel of Matthew, I was hungry and they gave me something to eat. I was a stranger and they invited me into their home.

That was only one way my experience differed from what I’d expected going into it.

I’d expected to learn of an utter lack of resources along with abuse, neglect, filth and

Smoky Mountain News

Evergreen Paper complex about 4 miles further on up the road. From Blackwell Drive, it was only another half mile to the Community Kitchen on Pisgah Drive in Canton.

After walking all day in temperatures near 60 degrees, I arrived at five past five and didn’t even have time to again navigate a mostly-full room of people dining at large plastic tables.

Just two steps in the door, a boy of about 10 ran up to me.

“What would you like to drink sir?”

“Huh?” I was startled by the unexpected young waiter and, perhaps, by a full day without even the slightest basic human contact.

“Oh, uh, water. Ice water. Please.”

December 6-12, 2017

Daniel proceeded to talk about conflict resolution, citing Matthew 5:23 — if in bringing your gift to the altar of the Lord you remember that your brother has a grievance against you, first reconcile with your brother and then return to the altar.

“This is a difficult time of the year for a lot of us, probably everyone in this room, myself included,” he said. “Don’t be hot and blow up, don’t be cold and give up, be cool and in control — of yourselves, and of your actions.

Don’t react, respond.”

Although the dorms usually close from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, Daniel announced that this being the day after

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He handed me a copy of the rules, then left me there by my bunk. I signed up for the last shower slot of the evening and took the best shower ever, but only for my allotted 10 minutes.

Once dry, I brushed my teeth, put on the same dirty clothes I’d been wearing for the last 30 hours and 23 miles, made up my bunk, took those dirty clothes off — except for underwear — put them in a clear plastic tub and shoved the whole lot under my creaky iron bunk.

Pulling out my notepad and pen planning to take down some notes, I rolled over into my rack and before my head even hit the pillow fell into a deep, hard sleep punctuated only by having to get up and pee every 45 minutes for the next four hours.

S EE HOMELESS, PAGE 8 7

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“That would be the ultimate goal, that we’re not needed, but there are nights that there will be almost 90 plates that are served.”

December 6-12, 2017

— Chris Jennings, Community Kitchen board chairman

Top: Community Kitchen organizers Chris Jennings (from left), Allison Jennings and Bill Brown serve meals 365 days a year. Perry Hines (above) has been executive director of Open Door Ministries for much of its 20-plus year history. Cory Vaillancourt photos HOMELESS, CONTINUED FROM 7

Smoky Mountain News

degeneracy, danger, drugs and death at every turn.

I learned of no such things.

Instead I learned that from one end of Haywood County to the other, caring volunteers, attentive staff and a generous community provides on average about 80,000 free meals a year, funded to the tune of about $700,000.

Aside from some very small grants given to some of these organizations by some municipalities, the entire time I was out there the vast majority of the assistance that kept me alive came directly from the hearts and homes of Haywood County churchgoers.

“There’s no way that I can literally express how grateful that I am as the sheriff of this county — and personally as well — that so many people would give like they have to the Pathways Center,” said Sheriff Greg 8 Christopher. “What this tells me is that peo-

ple have a heart of generosity and that people do care about their neighbor, that being one of the foundations of the Bible and the Ten Commandments.”

The system, as it were, seems to be operating fairly well, meeting an incredible amount of need rather efficiently, and helping as many as can be helped each year.

But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

I soon learned that I would be hot and sweaty and cold and sweaty and damn thirsty from walking all the time, and that there’s really nowhere to sit in this entire county.

I also learned that while you were rushing in to Walmart on Thanksgiving for an extra case of beer or that jar of pumpkin spice you’d forgotten to buy earlier, there were likely people sleeping unseen in very close proximity.

Because I was one of them.

Waynesville’s Police Chief Bill Hollingsed said that in his 19 years in town, homelessness, whether long term or short term, isn’t going away.

“It certainly hasn’t declined,” said Hollingsed. “I’d say it’s remained steady.”

Pathways Executive Director Mandy Haithcox said that last month her facility notched all-time highs in terms of guests who stayed at least one night, and in terms of meals served.

Community Kitchen’s Chris Jennings said that a small community of homeless has recently sprung up in Canton.

“We do need homeless help here — badly,” Jennings said. His kitchen could use some help too — a new 7,000 square-foot facility on Champion Drive they purchased outright will soon allow the Community Kitchen to close its current 1,100 square-foot rental space and expand its programming, but some kinks in the building’s HVAC system have delayed the move and increased the cost.

Central Haywood County still needs help too — since the demolition of The Lodge, a motel on Russ Avenue in Waynesville that was recently razed to make way for a new Publix grocery store — finding hotel rooms has been challenging as well.

Open Door’s Perry Hines said that he’s made a partnership with another such establishment, but hotels unable to work with his clientele or his financial limitations are more the norm.

Hines’ partnership is indicative of how these organizations work together, and is today especially crucial, considering children aren’t currently allowed at the county’s only homeless shelter.

“When we inherited the prison, physically there was just a men’s dorm and a women’s dorm, so there wasn’t a way for us to help anyone that has children,” said Deb Isenberg, a community liaison at Pathways.

But in October, Haywood County Commissioners gave their blessing to Pathways for a new two-story, 5,300-squarefoot, $625,000 modular home right behind the existing women’s dorm with up to 10 rooms to accommodate women with children. Haywood County owns the land upon which Pathways sits.

As usual, no county funds will go toward the tab and Pathways is out fundraising, hoping to open this summer. Until then, women with children are directed to Open Door and Hines’ generous, accommodating, anonymous benefactor.

That leaves only homeless men with children and registered sex offenders nowhere to go. While homeless men with children are rare, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation says there are at least 51 registered sex offenders living within a five-mile radius of Waynesville’s Main Street.

“The community was not happy that there were registered sex offenders here, so the county said that needed to end,” Haithcox said. “With a couple folks left, we compromised on a time frame and got most of them into housing, so we know where they are.”

It’s understandable, especially since the Hazelwood-Frog Level corridor traveled by many homeless people runs right through more than a few back yards, and right through Waynesville Middle School’s campus along Brown Avenue.

When a resident complained to Haywood Commissioners during a meeting June 19

about seven sex offenders in residence at Pathways, the decision was made.

Now, should any of those 51 registered sex offenders become homeless, they won’t be under the watchful eye of Pathways anymore.

Instead they’ll likely end up at one of the three homeless camps I stumbled upon during my journey, or the two more camps I learned about after my journey had ended.

Or maybe they’ll end up at Hotel Christopher — the county jail — for $73 a night, billable to John and Joan Q. Public.

Where they probably won’t end up is Buncombe County, where Sheriff Christopher believes there may be shelters that accept them.

With no real public transportation available in Haywood County, Buncombe County might as well be British Columbia to these folks; Mountain Projects does run a small fleet of vehicles as Haywood Public Transit, but due to a lack of funding, they’re anything but convenient.

HOMELESS IN HAYWOOD “Currently, we have what’s called a demand-response kind of system,” said Mountain Projects Executive Director Patsy Davis. “It requires that we put as many people in the vehicle as we can.”

It also requires reservations, if possible a day before and only runs Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

“I have a dream of a route that would run 12 hours a day, two vehicles, and it would do nothing but ride a circular route [around the county] and pick you up and drop you off at all points,” Davis said.

Uber hasn’t yet infiltrated these parts and may never, taxi cabs are exceedingly rare and both are prohibitively expensive as a lifestyle; unless and until matching funding can be procured from the county for a more robust transportation system that would also open up economic development and employment opportunities, residents of Pathways can look forward to an upcoming partnership with Bicycle Haywood that may soon get them rolling.

They are far from hopeless, Haywood’s homeless, but as we watch Christmas approach we know that things are likely to get harder for them.

Except as Pathways staffer Louis Williams sees it, the “they” and the “we” really aren’t all that different — a thought with which I must concur, after finding myself homeless in Haywood for the holidays.

“What I’m hoping to foster in the shelter is a sense of unity among the guests and residents, so they take that message out into the community,” Williams said. “We as a society have bred an innate division between color, economics, what school you went to, how much money you make, what kind of house you live in — we need to find all the reasons that make us one, and we can rally around that.”

Donations were made by The Smoky Mountain News to Community Kitchen, Open Door and Pathways in excess of the cost of services provided to our writer.

All hands on deck to address opioid epidemic Editor’s note: This is part four of an ongoing series on mental health issues in Western North Carolina. Visit www.smokymountainnews.com to read previous stories. Check out next week’s paper for a closer look at how opioid addiction is impacting our communities.

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“You really can’t talk one without talking about the other — if someone has a mental health issue the next thing they may start doing is these kinds of drugs.”

— Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher

the family stories shared over and over again.

We have to get everyone engaged.”

Meadows just introduced the Opioid Abuse Deterrence, Research and Recovery Act to place limitations on opioid prescriptions.

The legislation would limit opioid prescriptions to seven days with exceptions for patients with cancer, chronic pain, end-of-life care or based on a doctor’s recommendations.

North Carolina also recently received a $31 million federal grant through the 21st Century Cures Act to go toward opioid addiction. The grant will be used to increase access to prevention, treatment and recovery supports, reducing unmet treatment need, and

reducing opioid-related overdoses and deaths.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the grant to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The funds will serve 1,460 individuals in the first year and 1,520 in the second, providing services to a total of 2,980 over the two-year span. This would represent an 18 percent increase in the number of patients currently being served in the state’s 54 private and publicly funded opioid treatment programs.

“The opioid crisis is one of the biggest challenges we face across our state,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. “This grant will help further our commitment to fight this epidemic that is destroying families and lives across our state.

This is a problem we must solve for the safety and well being of our citizens. Our families, friends and neighbors need our help.”

Cooper announced North Carolina’s Opioid Action Plan during a summer Opioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention Summit.

The 42-page document outlines a detailed strategy to reducing opioid deaths by 2021.

“North Carolina is losing lives to opioids, an addiction that ravages physical and mental health, hurts families and communities, and holds back our economy,” Cooper said.

“This plan gives us a path to reduce these deaths and turn the tide on this crisis.”

On the local level, providers like Meridian Behavioral Health Services and Appalachian Community Services are working to offer more early intervention services and treatment programs for addiction. Several nonprofits and community action groups are working to raise awareness in the community. Law enforcement agencies are hiring more officers and are providing more training to meet the growing demand. Law enforcement officers are now armed with Narcan — an opioid overdose reversal drug that can easily be administered to save someone’s life.

New opioid legislation to limit prescriptions

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seven days after they are first prescribed.

Meadows and Renacci took to Facebook recently to discuss the difficult process of crafting such a piece of legislation. Despite the limit on opioid prescriptions, Meadows emphasized that the bill would still give physicians the flexibility they need to help their patients.

“It’s very complicated — these things are in place to alleviate pain and none of us want to endure pain,” he said.

Mark Meadows “But we’re trying to craft legislation to allow doctors to continue to be a doctor — that was critically important. It’s tough to make sure the real need gets met but the abuse gets addressed in a meaningful way.”

Renacci, who represents a state that is No. 1 in the country for opioid addiction and

overdoses, said he and Meadows worked closely with a number of medical associations, law enforcement agencies and families of those who suffer from addiction to find a balance between restricting opioids without stepping on others’ rights.

“We worked with physicians and associations to put this bill together — it doesn’t trump states rights,” Renacci said during a Facebook live interview. “It allows states to decide more or less than seven days. This gives them a standard and lets the states make their own decisions.”

Meadows said the bill doesn’t address all the issues surrounding opioid addiction but does provide a good start. The bill directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to continue to work with stakeholders to encourage the development of opioids with abuse-deterrent properties. It also directs the Commissioner to conduct a study on the feasibility of replacing the pre-

Opioid-related deaths by county • • • • • • •

2005 2015 Graham....................1....................2 Haywood .................8....................8 Jackson....................4....................3 Macon......................2....................4 Swain .......................2....................1 Buncombe ...............29..................29 N.C. total..................642................1,100 (73 percent increase)

N.C. Opioid action plan 2017-2021 Strategies in the plan include: • Coordinating the state’s infrastructure to tackle the opioid crisis.

• Reducing the oversupply of prescription opioids.

• Reducing the diversion of prescription drugs and the flow of illicit drugs.

• Increasing community awareness and prevention.

• Making naloxone widely available.

• Expanding treatment and recovery systems of care.

• Measuring the effectiveness of these strategies based on results.

scribing limits in the Controlled Substances Act with evidence-based clinical guidelines for opioids.

The bill also calls for the Government Accountability Office to study and report back on any policy changes that may have contributed to the opioid epidemic.

Meadows pointed out a provision in the Affordable Care Act that grades doctors on how well they treat their patients’ pain levels, which in turn encourages doctors to write longer pain prescriptions.

In the end, Meadows said, the six-page legislation doesn’t include every possible solution — it’s just a start to what needs to be done to address the epidemic on many fronts.

“The Government Accountability Office is putting together some real statistics on how to address this issue — that’s one thing that’s not in there,” Meadows said about the bill. “It was just recommended this morning perhaps we need to make sure other opioid alternatives get reimbursed through Medicaid and Medicare so people are not looking for alternatives.”

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Smoky Mountain News

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR ongressmen Mark Meadows, RAsheville, and Jim Renacci, R-Ohio, introduced the Opioid Abuse Deterrence, Research and Recovery Act last week with hopes of tackling opioid addiction at the source.

The legislation would place more parameters on initial opioid prescriptions for acute pain in order to limit the risks of addiction. It would place a limit on a patient’s first opioid prescription for acute pain to no more than seven days, except in cases of traumatic injury, chronic conditions, cancer care, endof-life care, palliative care or based on a physician’s recommendation.

The proposed limitation to seven days stems from research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows the risks for addiction to prescription opioids dramatically increases around

• Total number of opioid pills dispensed in 2016 — 555,916,512.

• From 1999-2016 more than 12,000 North Carolinians died from opioid-related overdoses.

• In 2016, opioid-related deaths in North Carolina were up by 20 percent from the previous year.

• If that rate continues, by 2021 North Carolina would expect to lose more than 1,500 additional lives per year to opioid overdose.

• According to CDC estimates, the cost of unintentional opioid-related overdose deaths in N.C. totaled $1.3 billion in 2015.

December 6-12, 2017

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR t’s impossible to talk about the mental health system in North Carolina without also discussing substance abuse and how the opioid crisis is impacting resources within the system.

Mental health and addiction are tied so closely together it becomes a chicken and egg conundrum — did the mental illness cause the addiction or did the addiction cause the mental illness?

“You really can’t talk one without talking about the other — if someone has a mental health issue the next thing they may start doing are these kinds of drugs or it might be the other way around — the drugs or alcohol can cause them to have mental health issues,” said Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher.

“And if we have somebody already having a mental health and illicit drug issue — what happens is not only are they affected but their entire family is affected and may need to seek mental health help. It tears families apart.”

Substance abuse — especially opioid addiction — is a multi-faceted issue that requires a multi-faceted solution. It’s destroying many young lives, devastating families and increasing law enforcement and medical costs for taxpayers.

Leaders on the local, state and federal levels are taking measures to tackle the opioid

epidemic, which is responsible for 12,000 deaths in North Carolina since 1999. The devastation isn’t limited to North Carolina though — 90 Americans dying per day from opioid abuse, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“I’ve been surprised how it affects every community. We used to think about addiction as only being in one area of town, but no — this affects every single community and now it’s created a heroin epidemic,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville. “Now we’re seeing just because opioid addiction and the cost — they’re moving off that and into a heroin addiction. It hurts my heart to hear

Opioid Epidemic in North Carolina

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Multi-frontal assault tactics

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Beyond words WCU community overflows with gratitude for Belcher’s leadership

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER usiness as usual was a difficult thing to achieve at the Western Carolina University Board of Trustees meeting Friday, Dec. 1.

Four days earlier, Chancellor David O. Belcher had announced that his fight with brain cancer was prompting him to step down from the position effective Dec. 31, and comments from trustees, faculty and staff alike made it clear that his departure would be an emotional one for all.

“Thank you,” Chairwoman Pat Kaemmerling told Belcher, welling eyes forcing her to pause before continuing her comments.

“Chancellor Belcher has shown us extraordinary leadership for the last sixand-a-half years,” she said a moment later.

“He has changed the culture of our university in so many positive ways. And his leadership has enhanced not just Western Carolina, but our community and our region. He has led with strength and integrity and passion, and a wonderful sense of humor. And we will always be grateful for what he has brought to us and for us. He will leave an indelible mark on this space, and on all of us.”

December 6-12, 2017

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THE CHANCELLOR’S CHARGE Belcher first announced he’d been diagnosed with a small brain tumor on April 21, 2016, undergoing surgery the following month at Duke University Hospital. The procedure seemed to be a success, with Belcher beginning an 11-month round of radiation and chemotherapy treatments after he recovered from the surgery. However, he announced Aug. 1 that the cancer had returned and that he would embark on a new treatment regimen.

Last month, he informed the university community that the treatment was no longer working, and that he would step down as chancellor. Though he will continue to live at the chancellor’s residence, Belcher will go on medical leave effective Dec. 31 and doesn’t expect to return to the university when his leave expires.

“I have been honored beyond words to lead this university,” Belcher said as the board came to the part of the agenda earmarked for the chancellor’s report. “It’s an incredible place, and for (my wife) Susan and for me it has just been a joy. We can’t wait to see what you’re going to do.

“However, it’s time to pass the responsibility for WCU on to other people. But with your oversight and with the UNC system and campus leadership, I know that Western Carolina will be well cared for. I am confident in your collective ability to shepherd this university as it moves forward. Indeed, as I’ve said before, I trust you to do this.

“I trust you to do this,” he repeated.

The tumor has affected parts of Belcher’s brain that deal with speech and finding the right word for the right occasion. As he launched into his prepared remarks, he spoke slowly and sometimes struggled to phrase his thoughts, deferring to his staff to give the more in-depth reports on fundraising, enrollment and the like. But as he moved further into his reflections on leaving WCU and hopes for its future, his words crystallized into the same trademark conviction and optimism

Diane E. Sherrill, Attorney

Is a Will Enough?

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Chancellor David Belcher remains seated as a roomful of university leaders, including Trustees Chair Pat Kaemmerling (right) and Assistant to the Chancellor Claire Collins, give him a standing ovation. Holly Kays photo that have marked his time as chancellor.

Belcher expressed confidence in the leadership team he’s put in place, charging them to continue enabling campus leaders to inspire the WCU community into the “excellence, integrity and passion” that makes the Catamount nation what it is. The university must also pay close attention to the shifting world of state and federal policies, he said, helping to create an environment that will “sustain Western Carolina University’s ambitious and focused trajectory to long-term achievements and short-term milestones.”

“I am truly sad that I can no longer walk this path with you, but know that I am relieved and glad that our university will be in such good hands. Your hands,” he said. “I am so proud of the many wonderful things that we have accomplished together, and I am comforted by thoughts of the brighter future to come for Western Carolina University.

“Remember always that we — that you — are in the business of changing lives. And with your continued passion, support and commitment to this university, there is no

limit to what you can accomplish.”

That conclusion was met with a standing ovation from everyone crowded into the chancellor’s boardroom, with Belcher remaining seated with a tight-lipped almostsmile in the midst of it all.

ACROSS-THE-BOARD GRATITUDE In her comments, Kaemmerling to recognized Belcher’s wife Susan, pointing out her immense contribution to the university alongside that of her husband.

Susan “has worked tirelessly for Western and found her own path and left her own mark on this university,” Kaemmerling said.

“There are not enough words to express our appreciation and admiration and affection for the two of them.”

Kaemmerling’s remarks were followed by a reading of a proclamation from the WCU Faculty Senate, presented by Senate Chairman Brian Railsback, who is an associate professor in the English Department.

The proclamation recognized

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Missed our Open House in August?

Want to shop for holiday gifts made by local artisans?

Join us to check out the space, get your holiday shop on – and sip hot chocolate by our cozy library fireplace. We’d love to show you all the cool new developments with the building since our grand opening and have you meet some of our team. We’ll have snacks + hot chocolate – and fun art projects for kiddos.

In our main studio, you’ll find jewelry, ornaments, LulaRoe Yoga Wear – and other homemade gifts from local vendors, including our in-house line of bath salts, lip balms, scented rollers, and gift baskets of all sizes.

December 16 · 1 to 4 p.m.

To make sure we have enough noshes, please RSVP: 828.246.6570 or hello@waynesvilleyogacenter.com

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Write the chancellor a note

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December 6-12, 2017

Shetlar has informed Spellings that she doesn’t plan to apply for the permanent position.

“I will help her (Spellings) in any way to select the best possible successor for Chancellor Belcher,” Morrison-Shetlar said.

“My experience serving as primary officer-incharge when Dr. Belcher is away for extended periods of time will help provide a natural and smooth transition during this difficult time. I know the campus and community join me in sending warm thoughts and prayers to David and Susan.”

Spellings plans to work closely with Trustees Chair Kaemmerling to plan the search process for Belcher’s replacement, with details of that search process to be shared soon. In the meantime, Belcher said, he’s confident that Morrison-Shetlar will do an outstanding job in service of the Catamount community.

“I am very grateful to Alison (MorrisonShetlar) for her willingness to act in my stead while I am on medical leave,” he said. “I know that she shares my commitment to ensuring that students at Western Carolina University receive a high-quality education and a lifechanging experience. She understands our instituChancellor David Belcher (center) stands with his wife Susan as tional values and mission, Faculty Senate Chair Brian Railsback presents them with a procla- and she has the passion mation recognizing their service to the university. Holly Kays photo necessary to keep this university focused on its primary purpose — our students and their success — during this time of transition.”

During his years as chancellor at Western Carolina Morrison-Shetlar University, David Belcher has touched countless lives in his purarrived at WCU in January suit of success for WCU and the region it serves.

2014 from Elon As he prepares to step down, the university is collecting Universtiy, where she had memories and well-wishes from the entire Catamount Nation to served as dean of the be bound into a book for Chancellor Belcher. Those wishing to College of Arts and contribute a note can do so at www.wcu.edu/discover/ Sciences since 2010. A leadership/office-of-the-chancellor/personal-message.aspx. native of Scotland, Morrison-Shetlar holds a Staff Senate Chair Mandy Dockendorf, doctorate in biomedical science from Dundee assistant director of fitness and wellness at College of Technology, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry.

WCU, echoed those sentiments.

“I think it’s the theme of today, but In the U.S., she received a management and Chancellor Belcher’s leadership has really leadership in higher education certificate from helped us grow,” she said. “Staff members are the Graduate School at Harvard University.

Carol Burton, associate provost for underreally proud to be working at Western Carolina. They know they are valued in the graduate studies, will serve as acting provost work that they do on a daily basis. Thank you while Morrison-Shetlar takes over the chancellor’s job — Burton will also serve as acting Chancellor Belcher for leading that.”

“You’re catalyzing a new generation. vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Burton holds bachelor’s and master’s You’re leaving a legacy. You are a legacy,” added Robin Pate, president of the WCU degrees from WCU, with a doctorate from N.C. State, and has held her current position Alumni Association Board of Directors. since 2007.

“I am proud and humbled to continue to LANS FOR NEW LEADERSHIP support WCU’s ongoing excellence, albeit in Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar will lead a more challenging role,” she said. “Our comthe university as the new year begins, but she munity is a reflection of the strong leadership and participatory membership already in won’t fill the role permanently.

UNC System President Margaret Spellings place, and I look forward to our continued announced Morrison-Shetlar’s appointment as success in serving our faculty, staff and stuacting chancellor Nov. 28, but Morrison- dents in my new capacity.” the “amazing progress of the institution in terms of enrollment, retention, facilities, advancement and overall reputation,” under Belcher’s leadership, pointing out the $1.23 million scholarship pledge that the Belchers have made as a couple and the “untold hours as a team” that David and Susan Belcher have worked to “tirelessly advance the cause” of WCU, exemplifying “the best core values of the institution through their art, dedication, compassion, enthusiasm, humor and generosity.”

“Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Faculty Senate applauds the vision, leadership and effectiveness of the Belcher administration and the wonderful team of David O. Belcher and Susan Brummel Belcher and the resulting inspirational legacy that they have created for Western Carolina University,” Railsback read.

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Art of Music Festival gets boost from tourism agency

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR alsam Range will be beefing up its annual Art of Music Festival next year thanks to a $35,000 grant from the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority.

The second annual multi-day bluegrass festival, which sold out both nights last weekend at Lake Junaluska’s Stuart Auditorium, has had great success. But Balsam Range singer and fiddler Buddy Melton has a larger vision in mind. He came before the TDA board last week to ask for funds to help push the event to the next level.

“The purpose of this grant is to help us meet the goal and vision to grow this festival countywide — to stimulate the economy during a low occupancy time,” Melton said. “We feel like music is a powerful tool, but we need that extra cherry on top to get people to come here and stay here.”

The $35,000 funding request from the TDA’s 3 percent occupancy tax fund would allow the event organizers to secure a nation-

Smoky Mountain News

December 6-12, 2017

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ally recognized headlining musical act for next year’s festival, which in turn should make it easier to secure larger sponsors for the event.

With two successful years under its belt, Melton said the festival has the potential to be a nationally recognized event that could put Haywood County on the map.

“We want artists to want to come here,” he said.

While the festival has been held on a Friday and Saturday at Lake Junaluska, Melton said he’d like to see the festival run from Wednesday to Sunday so musicians and attendees stay in Haywood County for several nights and performances could be spread throughout the county.

In addition to the performances at night, Melton wants to develop the Art of Music Institute to bring highly qualified music instructors to the festival to lead master classes to festival participants. Ideally, those students can incorporate what they learn into the festival.

Balsam Range leads an instructional class during the second annual Art of Music Festival at Lake Junaluska. Donated photo Melton said now is the time to take the festival to the next level. The event sold 1,400 tickets during its first year and was sold out this year, reaching the 1,800-spectator capacity at Stuart Auditorium Friday and Saturday nights. The first two years exceeded expectations and the festival is in a good position to really make an economic impact on the county in the gap between the leaf looking season and ski season.

“I grew up here and raised my family here and I feel like I want to give back,” Melton said. “The TDA is the most important piece and player right now to make this work. I feel like we have a limited window for the Art of Music Festival to have the quality needed to be a national event to stand on its own.”

While the $35,000 grant is for next year’s festival, the money needs to be spent in this year’s TDA budget to secure headliners and instructors.

“Where’s the money going to come from?” asked TDA Board member Mike Eveland, who also serves as a Maggie Valley alderman.

TDA Executive Director Lynn Collins said the TDA had $25,000 available in the current budget for the grant but would have to pull $10,000 from the fund balance to award $35,000 in the current budget cycle.

Eveland said he had concerns about pulling the money from fund balance and the precedent being set by awarding such a large grant for the festival.

“It’s $35,000 this year but how much will it be next year and the year after? We won’t have that much money every year to give without taking from fund balance,” Eveland said.

Melton said he considers this year’s request as seed money instead of an ongoing sponsorship. Ideally, the ramp up in entertainment, instructional classes and marketing will help land large sponsorships to help fund the festival’s expansion in the coming years. The goal is to also keep ticket prices steady for a few years to give people a great deal and encourage them to spend money elsewhere in the county.

“It can become one of these events like the Savannah Music Festival — it started the same way and now takes over Savannah for a month during a time nothing else is going on,” Melton said. “The TDA has a responsibility to stimulate the economy and that’s our goal.”

County Commissioner Michael Sorrells, who also serves on the TDA board, said he was in favor of helping to facilitate the growth of the festival.

“Not too long ago we had a situation where we were talking about establishing a program like this and it didn’t really go anywhere. Now we have local people very willing to do something. I’ve been following this thing and I see what it could potentially be,” he said.

Eveland said he supported the festival idea, but still had concerns about the funding requests in the future.

“We’d be naive to hand over $35,000 and think they’ll need less money next year to make it bigger and better,” he said.

TDA Board member and Lake Junaluska representative Ken Howle said Balsam Range and the event organizers are aware the TDA’s goal is to help build up events but not sustain them in the future.

“We’re sending a clear message right now that we want to build events but not keep them going,” he said.

Melton said the impact from the festival is already being realized with every room at Lake Junaluska, Cataloochee Ranch and other motels in Maggie Valley already booked solid for the second annual event.

“We could keep doing what we’re doing and not grow it and we’d be fine, but for the sake of the county I think we can do more,” he said. “If I didn’t see the growth and economic impact I wanted to see, the last thing I’d want to do is take taxpayer money when it’s not doing anything for the taxpayers. But we’re taking money to put right back into the local economy.”

The TDA board approved the $35,000 funding request with Eveland being the only opposition.

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The Mountaineer newspaper’s request for $26,400 to use toward an “Experience Waynesville” co-op advertising project was denied. The funding would have been used for a digital marketing campaign to increase winter, mid-week overnight stays and day trips through The Mountaineer’s websites and social media outlets.

Lake Junalsuka received $6,155 of its $13,500 request for its Fourth of July celebration.

Folkmoot USA requested $12,000 from the 1 percent fund to put toward the purchase of a 60-by-90-foot tension tent, but the TDA referred it back to the 3 percent fund.

Folkmoot Executive Director Angie Schwab told the board she was looking for community partners to share the cost of the $33,000 tent.

Due to a last-minute venue cancellation this summer, Folkmoot had to change plans for its opening gala. Instead of holding it at Eagle Nest in Maggie Valley, Folkmoot had to pay an unexpected $9,000 to rent a tent to hold the gala outside the Folkmoot Center in Hazelwood. Schwab said Folkmoot intends to keep the gala at the same location next year and also use the tent for other yearround programming at the center.

Schwab’s proposal was to allow other organizations to use the tent at a discounted rate for contributing to its purchase. It still costs about $1,000 or more for a crew to set up the massive tent. The life expectancy for the tent is about 10 years.

TDA Chairman Lyndon Lowe said the board would have to take more money from the fund balance to fund the tent in the current budget and asked if Folkmoot could wait for the next budget cycle.

“For us to get ahead and market the festival, it’s hard to wait for the spring — I’ll do whatever you suggest, but it’s better for us to order the tent now,” Schwab said.

The board referred the issue back to the finance committee for January.

Lastly, the TDA board approved a reallocation for The Strand at 38 Main in downtown Waynesville. The TDA previously approved $5,000 for The Strand to use for its live music events, but The Strand is now unable to host live music events. Ironically, the TDA also approved about $4,000 last year for The Strand to install a new projector system that could show first-run digital movies and now movie licensing giants like Disney and Sony have informed owners of the theater that they can’t host live concerts and run their movies.

The Strand then asked for the $5,000 to be reallocated to put toward the cost of installing permanent theater seating in the venue.

A couple of TDA board members had a problem with paying for capital projects for a private business, but approved the reallocation in the end. Lowe said the finance committee also had a long discussion about the issue and decided to recommend approval even though it would not even be considered if it weren’t a reallocation of funds already awarded.

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December 6-12, 2017

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR fter receiving recommendations from the 1 percent subcommittees, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has made final decisions on which projects will receive grant funding.

Maggie Valley has about $89,000 available in the 1 percent fund to allocate for projects and the TDA received about $150,000 worth of grant requests.

The town of Maggie Valley asked for $5,000 to amp up its Fourth of July fireworks celebration; $10,000 for Miss Maggie public art statues; $20,000 for Mary Rathbone Rich Park; and $18,000 for a temporary ice-skating rink.

The TDA board didn’t approve any funding for Rathbone Rich Park or for the Miss Maggie statues, but did OK the $5,000 to amp up the fireworks and $28,500 to pay for the ice-skating rink and add additional components to the project.

“The ice-skating project been a football thrown around for close to 10 years,” said TDA Chairman Lyndon Lowe, owner of Twinbrook Cabins and RVs in Maggie Valley.

“We decided that they needed to move forward and give it the best shot possible.”

The Maggie Valley Co-op — a marketing collaboration between the town, Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce and Maggie Valley Hospitality Plus — was approved for $55,000.

The Waynesville zip codes have about $43,000 available in 1 percent funding pool, but organizations made $126,000 worth of funding requests.

The Frog Level Merchant’s Association requested $8,750 for the Whole Bloomin’ Thing Festival and received $3,000.

The Waynesville Public Arts Commission requested $10,000 toward the Plott Hound public art statue project, but was only approved for $5,000.

The Waynesville co-op — a marketing collaboration between the Haywood Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Waynesville Association, Waynesville Gallery Association, Folkmoot and Visions Waynesville — received $19,600 of its $47,388 request.

The DWA requested $2,905 for the Appalachian Lifestyles Festival; $16,650 for directional and public parking signage; $1,825 for street dances; $5,450 for Winter Smokies Style and $3,432 to revamp DWA’s website. The TDA approved the entire request for Appalachian Lifestyles and a new DWA website; $1,325 for street dances and $4,000 for Winter Smokies Style. The TDA didn’t fund the request for directional signing because $25,000 is coming out of the countywide 3-percent fund to begin a wayfinding project throughout the county.

Leap Frog Tours requested $2,600 for marketing materials and promotional items throughout the county, but the request will come out of the Waynesville co-op money.

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TDA makes funding decisions for Haywood zip codes

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Jumper guided Jackson organization through formative times

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fter leading the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority through what will likely become four of the most formative years in the organization’s history, Robert Jumper’s term on the board has ended.

“We’ve done a lot of building and constructing and organizing, and it’s going to be a little sad not being part of that anymore, but it’s good to have a break,” Jumper said.

When Jumper, who is employed as editor of The Cherokee One Feather, was appointed to an unexpired term on the TDA board in the spring of 2013, the TDA was a fledgling organization that had been in existence for mere months, with no staff and no framework as to how it should be run.

Jumper was named chairman in December 2013, and in the years since he’s guided the TDA from a hodgepodge organization run on volunteer labor to an organized and established board with an executive director to take on the day-to-day tasks of running it.

“Really the best thing about Robert was he brought a very fair, rational approach to leadership,” said Nick Breedlove, the TDA’s exec-

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December 6-12, 2017

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Term ends for TDA chairman

said. “He’s left big shoes to fill.”

Jumper’s workload as TDA chairman has been substantially larger than that likely to be required of future chairmen. Before utive director since the position was estab- cy tax charged on these accommodation sales Breedlove’s hire, Jumper said, the TDA’s more lished in January 2016. “At these meetings we — correspondingly that budget has increased active members — all of whom have demandhave a lot to accomplish, and he kept us on from $750,000 in 2013-2014 to a projected ing jobs in addition to their board responsibilities — were putting in as many as 20 hours track every time. The amount of work we had $1.08 million by the end of 2017-2018.

In recognition of this leadership, the TDA per week in volunteer labor. Jumper said he’d as a board to consider at every meeting was average five to 10 hours in a typical substantial, and he guided us week, reaching the 20-hour mark through that process, helped us sometimes as well. make the best decisions for Since hiring Breedlove, that’s Jackson County. And I think that’s dropped to something more like pretty remarkable.” two or three hours per month.

The short list of TDA accom“Nick has taken on the complishments under Jumper’s leaderplete load of work as a full-time ship includes completing a strateemployee,” Jumper said. “His gic branding process, bringing workload now is between 40 and Rawle Murdy on board as 60 hours a week, and that’s a sigJackson’s new ad agency, hiring an nificant load off of the volunteer executive director, promoting susboard.” tainable tourism by incorporating Vick Patel, general manager at “leave no trace” messaging, the Best Western Plus River Escape launching a new website, completInn in Dillsboro, is now serving as ing a Jackson County photo shoot, the TDA’s new chairman. Patel was generating increased media pubfirst appointed to the board in licity, instituting data-driven decision-making and streamlining the Outgoing TDA Chairman Robert Jumper (left) and Executive Director December 2012, serving a threeTDA board by reducing it from 15 Nick Breedlove stand with a plaque recognizing Jumper’s year term and appointed to a secto nine members. contributions as chairman. Cherokee One Feather photo ond three-year term starting in December 2015.

Unified marketing efforts have “He’s got a great deal of experience in the resulted in a tangible increase in overnight presented Jumper with a plaque during his last stays, Breedlove said. Accommodation sales board meeting, an “Appreciation of hotel industry, and we think he’ll do the job have skyrocketed from $18.75 million in fis- Leadership” given “in recognition of strategic very well,” Breedlove said. “He’s also got a great cal year 2013-2014 to projected collections leadership as Jackson County TDA chairman.” familiarity with the organization’s history “Anyone you’ll talk to who knows Robert being on the board since the very beginning, so topping $27 million by the end of 2017-2018.

The TDA budget is derived from an occupan- knows his strength as a leader,” Breedlove he’ll guide us very well going forward.”

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Habitat to host blood drive news

American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Haywood Habitat for Humanity ReStore located at 331 Walnut St., Waynesville.

To make an appointment, call 828.246.9135 or visit www.redcrossblood.org.

Flu shots still available The Jackson County Department of Public Health wants to remind the community that it is not too late to get a flu vaccine.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. It can range from mild to severe, and at times can result in death. The best way to prevent the flu is to receive an annual flu vaccine.

The Jackson County Department of Public Health offers flu vaccines from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. JCDPH has the flu vaccine appropriate for those 3 years and older for $30; the agency has the ability to bill insurance.

In partnership with the Jackson County Department on Aging, the Health Department will be offering flu shots at the Department on Aging from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 12. Bring your insurance card and meet in the lobby of the Department on Aging.

Call 828.586.5494.

"Hope on the Mountain," a benefit concert in gratitude for the Hope Women's Cancer Center, will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, at the First United Methodist Church in Franklin.

The concert will feature Summer Brooke & the Mountain Faith Band. A "love offering" will be taken in lieu of admissions cost and seating will be limited. For more information, call 828.524.3010.

Walking trail temporarily closed

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Things we want you to know: U.S. Cellular received the highest numerical score in the North Central region in the J.D. Power 2016 V2, 2017 V1 (tie) and 2017 V2 (tie) U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Studies.

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The Francis Asbury trail at Lake Junaluska will be closed for improvements from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13.

The Francis Asbury trail is one of the oldest parts of the Lake Junaluska Walking Trail and spans the area between the butterfly garden and the bridge over the dam.

A charitable gift for improving the Francis Asbury portion of the walking trail was given

by Grace and her late husband David Stallings of Cairo, Georgia.

A dead tree will be removed and the remaining areas will be cleared. These will be the final improvements provided for by the Stallings’ gift.

An alternate route for navigating the loop of the walking trail is available. People walking the path should detour along Hagood Road and N. Lakeshore Drive past the Lake Junaluska Cross.

Requires Total Plan with Unlimited Data, new customer port-in or upgrade eligibility, credit approval, Device Protection+ and qualified Smartphone turn-in for Samsung Galaxy S8. Comes via monthly bill credit on a 30-month Retail Installment Contract plus a $100 U.S. Cellular® Promotional Card. Taxes, fees and additional restrictions apply.

December 6-12, 2017

Church to host benefit concert

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December 6-12, 2017

every gift makes a difference.

Your support helps a family help themselves.

There is a tremendous need for the work of Haywood Habitat for Humanity in our community. 21% of Haywood County residents are living in housing that isn’t safe or affordable. No matter who we are or where we come from, we all deserve to have a decent life. We deserve to feel strength and stability day after day.

We deserve to know we have the power to take care of ourselves and build our own futures. At Habitat for Humanity, this is what unites us. Through shelter, we empower.

Please make a donation today to help Habitat homeowners achieve the strength, stability and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and their families. Your support is a gift to our community.

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By Mail: P.O. Box 283, Waynesville, NC 28786 Make checks payable to: Haywood Habitat for Humanity

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Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the NC State Solicitation Licensing Section at 919-807-2214. This license is not an endorsement by the State.

he black glass Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center is an iconic structure on the Western Carolina University campus, but it will soon have a much different look following the WCU Board of Trustees’ Dec. 1 endorsement of a $3.9 million project.

“A year or so ago we replaced the roof. It was leaking badly and a continuation of that project as funds have become available is to replace the — for lack of a better word — skin on the building,” Mike Byers, vice chancellor for administration and finance, explained to the board during a Nov. 30 committee meeting.

The roof replacement wrapped up in December 2016, but water was still getting into the building from the gaskets between the existing aluminum frame and the glazing on the Ramsey Center’s exterior.

The new façade will replace the existing glazing system and is being designed as a “rain-screen” system with a composite thermal break attached to the existing aluminum framing system. This will serve to make the Ramsey Center more energy-efficient. The new façade will also allow for an increase in

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Ramsey Center to get new skin vision glass, providing a better view into and out of the building than presently exists.

Normally, the trustees would not be asked to approve a waterproofing project such as this, but the resurfacing will do more than exclude water from the building — it will transform the Ramsey Center from an all-black structure to a brick-colored one offset with sections in a neutral color yet to be determined.

“We knew that was going to change the look of the building,” Byers told the trustees.

“For that reason we bring it to this board so you can have a better look at what we have in mind.”

The trustees were careful to consider the implications of the color choice before approving the project.

“So what is that color, Joe? It looks kind of like Tennessee orange to me,” joked Chairwoman Pat Kaemmerling to Facilities Director Joe Walker.

“It’s tough to do in an architectural rendering, but it will be a brick color,” Walker assured her.

The new façade will match up as closely as possible with the color of brick, with the

The new façade will make the building more waterproof and energy efficient, and will also drastically change its appearance. Watson Tate Savory rendering design including neutral-colored segments.

The project will also include redoing the entrances to do away with the sloped canopies there now.

“If you look at that building, it looks very modern architecturally with the black glass,” Trustee Kenny Messer said of the Ramsey Center. “This building is 30 years old. Even though it may look somewhat new, a 30year-old building — things happen even with the best construction.”

That’s true, Walker said, and it doesn’t help that the Ramsey Center was not built with the best construction.

With trustees’ approval, design work will move forward and is expected to wrap up in May, with bidding to take place in the spring as well. Once started, construction will take about 12 months.

“I think from an athletic standpoint that this is going to be a nice upgrade for sure from where we’re at,” Messer said.

A contemporary Christmas play Takes place in Holly Berry’s Christmas Shoppe

December 6-12, 2017

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS... JESUS

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First Baptist Church, Maggie Valley

Log on. Plan a trip.

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Where did Holly put the baby?

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Sexual violence and the workplace

LETTERS Send lawyers and rubles

BY B UFFY QUEEN G UEST COLUMNIST “Sexual violence is a societal issue that requires systemic change. Sexual violence does not occur in a vacuum. It is influenced by our larger social systems, including the workplace.”

(National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Sexual Violence & The Workplace, 2013) It started with a word. “Sweet!” he exclaimed.

Followed by a wink and grin.

What a joker, Mackenzie, 23 and a single mom of an 8-month-old, thought to herself. He was her new (married) boss at a job she had finally found in a very tight job market. She was wearing a colorful, trendy top she had just bought with her second paycheck, her one tiny splurge to celebrate being able to support her baby.

Over the next few weeks, though, she noticed whenever her boss talked with her, in the hallway or when he stopped by her desk, he lowered his voice so she had to lean in to hear him. His eyes were like laser beams, scanning her up and down, and made her feel uncomfortable. But no one else noticed and his reputation with the other employees seemed good. Maybe I’m overreacting, she thought.

One day, right before the office closed, he paused at her desk and asked her to stay a few minutes afterwards. He wanted to discuss a project with her. “Something,” he whispered, “you would be perfect for…”

Mackenzie watched everyone else gather their things and head out. She called her mom to pick up her baby from day care then took her tablet with her to his office for notes, excited that he had noticed her hard work.

When Mackenzie walked into his office, it was empty. Then she heard the toilet flush in his private bathroom and water running. He opened the door and walked out, his jacket off and tie gone. “Oh, hi!

Have a seat, hon, get comfortable … this is gonna take a minute.” She began the voice recording on her tablet to not miss a single instruction. Her boss walked over to a cabinet behind his desk and poured himself a drink. He turned to look at her over his shoulder. “It’s after five, right?” he laughed.

“What’s your pleasure?”

Mackenzie hesitated, trying to remember some drink names from her largely non-drinking college days. He didn’t wait for her reply but poured her a double. He brought it over to her then sat on the edge of his desk, directly in front of her.

“So, Mackenzie,” he began, “I need to get to know you better, if we’re going to do this project together.” He winked at her, set his drink down, then walked around

To the Editor: Special counsel Robert Mueller has uncovered more Russian characters mingling with Trump campaign officials than are found in a Tolstoy novel.

For months and months, Trump and his minions have claimed they had nothing to do with Russians during the 2016 campaign. “Fake news,” Trump groused.

I guess the Trump folks forgot about the June 9, 2016, meeting in Trump Tower— a meeting that included Donald Trump Jr., Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign manager Paul Manafort — all of whom met with a Russian attorney to “get dirt” on Hillary Clinton.

I guess they forgot about a March 31, 2016 meeting, which included Trump and now Attorney General Jeff Sessions, where a campaign adviser — George Papadopoulos — said he had Russian connections through a London professor and could potentially arrange a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So far, Mueller’s investigative path appears to be following at least one simple technique: Follow the rubles, comrade.

The Trump crew appeared, in the past, to have a penchant for obtaining rubles from Russians.

Getting “dirt” from Russians on Clinton was a logical extension.

Does the president’s steadfast refusal to release his tax filings have anything to do with Russian money and loans co-mingling with his finances and real estate holdings? Hmm. Perhaps Mueller will find out.

Multiple-count federal indictments were handed down a few weeks ago against campaign manager Manafort and his aide, Rick Gates, who also worked on the Trump campaign. One of the charges was “conspiracy against the U.S.” Indeed, make America great again.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about his Russian contacts in exchange for an apparent plea-bargain arrangement to avoid imprisonment.

Papadopoulos, whom Trump called an “excellent guy,” was on the presidential candidate’s National Security Commission and was present in the March 2016 meeting, where he reportedly advised Trump and Sessions he had contacts who could possibly arrange a Putin meeting.

There’s a widely circulated campaign photo taken at the March meeting of Papadopoulos seated at a table with the commission, along with Trump and Sessions. So far, Trump hasn’t claimed the photo is a fake.

As an aside, it appears Sessions’ testimony, taken under oath during his Senate confirmation hearings earlier this year, is raising questions about whether the then-AG candidate lied about any Russian connections during the campaign.

Sessions had testified there was no Russian contact, or at least he couldn’t remember any.

behind her chair and began massaging her shoulders.

Mackenzie’s heart started racing. This can’t be happening. She tensed up, the minute he touched her. “What type of project?” she asked.

“Darlin’,” he calmly said, his hands by now moving down her back, “you’re a smart, beautiful girl. You’ve got a great future ahead of you here. Let me be your … mentor … and I’ll be sure you get every opportunity I can throw your way. But you’ve got to learn to relax, honey.”

Mackenzie was frozen. She was scared that anything she did would cause her to be fired. She heard him unzip his pants and start to walk around her chair. This time she didn’t hesitate. She started screaming.

••• Powerful men sexually pressuring employees or potential employees who are in some way dependent on them — this type of scenario is so frequent it is almost a cliché. What begins with just a flirtatious word or gesture, often ends in uncomfortable, pressured actions at the least or sexual assault at the worst. One study of employed women found that “38 percent had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace” (Potter & Barnyard, 2011).

In traditionally male-dominated industries, including the military, sexual harassment of and violence toward women are even more common. Women who are working poor, immigrants, are transgender, is bi-sexual, of color and/or are between 16 and 24 years old are particularly vulnerable.

Sexual assault is any unwanted, forced sexual activity, without the person’s permission or knowledge. It is not about passion but violence. It is not about how “cute” someone is, because anyone can be sexually exploited. As with all abuse, it is action used to gain control or power over someone or to hurt someone. It can range from sexual harassment that creates a hostile work environment — for instance, showing lewd pictures or telling off-color jokes in the break room that knowingly make someone uncomfortable — to outright physical assault. And it is all illegal.

Sexual violence, including what happens in the workplace, is almost always done by someone the victim knows: a boss, a manager, a fellow employee, which is what makes it so devastating. When someone is attacked by a stranger, (less than one-third of rapes are stranger rapes), as horrible as that is, the victim can take some comfort in the randomness of it — “wrong place, wrong time”. But when it’s someone the survivor knows and trusts, works with on a regular basis, is counting on for his

good will, then that acquaintance assault destroys the sense of safety in the workplace to which every employee is entitled.

Some common characteristics of sexual assailants: • Most are repeat offenders, with an average of six victims/offenses.

• Most have a “typical” M.O. (modus operandi) and use the same tactic over and over — think of Weinstein’s unwanted massages or Cosby’s drugging his victims.

• Most are Caucasian (57 percent).

• They tend to lack a social conscience.

• They engage in manipulative, immature, irresponsible and exploitative behaviors.

Survivors of workplace sexual assault are affected in different ways: job loss, seniority shattered, work interrupted, financial decline, loss in productivity, time off due to PTSD and/or therapy and general stress and anxiety as a result, which can lead to long-term unemployment, homelessness and even suicide (13 percent of female rape survivors will attempt suicide).

Where do sexual abusers in the workplace get the idea that this heinous behavior is OK? Perhaps they saw their bosses do it and get away with it. Perhaps they think that is just one of the unnamed “perks” of the job. Perhaps they have done it before and never suffered any consequences. For whatever reason, due to the availability of social media now to expose these serial abusers, (#MeToo), women and men of good will have the means to “out” abusers and call for a stop to this oppression and illegal activity.

As for Mackenzie and her boss?

Someone from next door heard her screaming and came to her aid. Mackenzie’s boss was “laid off ” the next day, so he could collect unemployment. Unfortunately, Mackenzie was so traumatized by the attempted assault, she gave her notice, unable to face walking into the office without terror. Once word got out, four other women confirmed that her former boss had tried the same thing with them. Mackenzie found another job six weeks later, at lower pay. She started drinking alone at night, trying to wipe out the memory. Her boss?

He moved across the country and got a 20 percent bump in salary at his new company.* (*This is a fictional story, with elements introduced to reflect the reality of sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace.)

Queen is the Community Educator for REACH of Haywood County, which is the domestic violence/sexual assault/elder abuse prevention and intervention agency. Contact them by phoning 828.456.7898 or at reachofhaywood@att.net. Facebook: REACH of Haywood.

S EE LETTERS, PAGE 19

Susanna Barbee

G

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Smoky Mountain News

We’ve made it a tradition to attend the Waynesville Christmas Parade with the same two families every year. This year will be the fifth year we’ve attended as a group.

We sit in the same spot and all seven kids sit beside one another on the curb under a blanket to watch lighted floats and firetrucks and listen to the high school bands play Christmas carols.

My older son has only recently mentioned he would love to be in the parade.

Those opportunities will come but right now, it’s fun to watch their bright Columnist eyes as the parade goes down Main Street. Soon enough, he’ll be on a float with his swim team or marching in the band.

Last Saturday, the boys’ dad and I took them to see Santa Claus at Biltmore. This is the third year we’ve visited Santa on the Estate. It’s a beautiful setting to see the big man himself. My five-year old practiced his list over and over until the minute he walked up to Santa, ensuring he had everything correct before he started talking.

On Christmas Eve we attend the candlelight service at Long’s Chapel. This is another ritual the boys remember and ask about each year. At the end of the service, the lights dim and everyone holds a candle and sings Silent Night. It’s very powerful. I feel it’s important to embrace the quiet and expectancy of the evening before baking cookies for Santa and putting out reindeer food.

Traditions are integral, primarily for children. They offer comfort and experiences they’ll remember for a lifetime. I especially feel like traditions are important during times of change. They provide an anchor, a sense of security when life is feeling uncertain or different.

As I sit here and think about my family traditions growing up, I’m overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia. My own happy memories propel me to continue holiday traditions for my boys.

Whatever your traditions are with your family and friends, hold onto those. As they say, it’s hard to comprehend the impact of a moment when you’re in the middle of it.

But later, when those moments become memories, we’ll be grateful we took the time to honor and nurture them.

(Susanna Barbee is a digital media specialist for Mountain South Media and writes for The Smoky Mountain News and Smoky Mountain Living. Susanna@smliv.com.)

December 6-12, 2017

rowing up in Weaverville and living in Waynesville, I’m very comfortable with small town Christmases. I wouldn’t know how to do Christmas in a big city, although I love the thought of trying.

Traditions are a big part of anyone’s holiday, but in small-town America where visions of Norman Rockwell permeate the psyche, traditions seem paramount.

Over Thanksgiving break, we drove by numerous vehicles with trees tied on top.

This got my little boys talking and asking, “When are we gonna get our tree?” I’m already a little anxious about this being the first Christmas with their dad and me separated, so I’m trying extra hard to make it feel special and normal.

In the past, we’ve often waited until the first or second week in December to get our tree, but this year, we got it the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We didn’t have time to trek up a mountain like we’ve done before, but the boys didn’t seem to care about that part. We stopped at Boyd’s satellite lot on Soco Road in Maggie Valley, grabbed a tree and spent the next couple evenings adorning it with lights and ornaments.

Decorating the tree this year got me thinking about the origin of “trimming the tree.” My grandpa once told me his family would go find a tree in the woods and drag it in on Christmas Eve, spend Christmas Eve together trimming the tree and enjoy its glory for one night only. The wondrous brevity and simplicity of that makes me smile.

When I was a little girl in the 1980s, we had an artificial tree that my sister and I would tacky-up with big colored lights, tons of tinsel and handmade ornaments. We even strung popcorn around it several times.

As we got older, we wanted the smell of a live tree in our home. We never went to a tree farm. Our tradition was purchasing a tree from the Optimist Club who set up a tree lot in the parking lot of Roses. After choosing a tree, we’d head back to the house, put on a Christmas movie, drink hot chocolate, untangle lights and dig through boxes and crates of ornaments.

Parades are another small-town tradition. My sister and I were baton twirlers and dancers growing up. We were at some sort of practice every night of the week, so whether we were leaping down the street with our dance group or twirling our batons, we were always in the Weaverville and Asheville Christmas parades. I don’t ever remember sitting on side as a kid watching a parade.

Things are different with my boys.

Between press reports and federal court documents, it appears at least 10 people associated with the Trump campaign — including his son, Donald Jr. and son-in-law, Kushner — had direct contact or knowledge of contacts with the Russians to “get dirt” on Clinton.

Manafort and adviser Gates are now under house arrests and wearing GPS ankle bracelets.

According to court documents, the pair allegedly laundered part of the $75 million received from a pro-Russian lobbying group that supported the Russian armed incursion into Ukraine.

Is it a strange coincidence that the GOP platform was changed at the 2016 Republican National Convention — when Manafort was in charge — to drop the support of sales of U.S. weapons to Ukraine to fight the Russians.

The move contradicted years of GOP opposition to anything Russian on the party’s platform. Remember President Reagan in Berlin: “Tear down this wall!”

Putin certainly didn’t want to arm Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian incursion. Hmm. Follow the rubles from the Russian Fat Cats and Mobsters to the offshore banks in Cyprus. Court papers allege Manafort used offshore bank accounts to buy millions in cars, clothing from California and New York, home landscaping and nearly $1 million in oriental rugs.

Hot damn! Mueller is just getting cranked up. Fired Trump NSA adviser Michael Flynn, who failed to register as a foreign agent for his lobbying activities with Turkey, and lied to Trump and Vice President Pence about his Russian contacts, has pled guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with ueller.

Would Clinton have won without Russian involvement in 2016? Probably not. She was an awful candidate with more baggage than a Delta airliner.

But 17 U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies said Russia interfered in the last election and appeared to be helping Trump. It’s worth investigating to determine ways to stop further Russian interference in U.S. elections.

If someone broke into your house and stole your stuff, you’d want to know how and why. You’d want the cops to tell you the details of what they discovered about the suspect. You’d want to know how to prevent break-ins in the future. You’d want justice. Wouldn’t you?

If I were Trump and his staff I’d be concerned about what additional findings Mueller uncovers. The “fake news” is turning into federal indictments and could eventually reach family members and the president himself. It’s the lying to investigators — not the actual colluding — that will make them culpable to prosecution and the Trump crew seems to have trouble with the truth.

James Budd Bryson City

opinion

Holiday traditions are worth their weight in gold

LETTERS, CONTINUED FROM 18

Closed Sunday & Monday 454 Hazelwood Ave • Waynesville Call 828.452.9191 for reservations 19

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Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 APPLE ANDY’S RESTAURANT 3483 Soco Road, Maggie Valley located in Market Square. 828.944.0626. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Serving the freshest homemade sandwiches, wraps, and entrees such as country fried steak and grilled flounder. Full salad bar and made from scratch sides like potato salad, pinto beans and macaroni and cheese.

BLOSSOM ON MAIN 128 N. Main Street, Waynesville.

828.454.5400. Open for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Mild, medium, to hot and spicy, our food is cooked to your like-able temperature.

Forget the myth that all Thai food is spicy.

Traditional Thai food is known to be quite healthy, making use of natural and fresh ingredients, paired with lots of spices, herbs, and vegetables. Vegetarians and health conscious individuals will not be disappointed as fresh vegetables and tofu are available in most of our menu as well as wines and saki chosen to compliment the unique flavors of Thai cuisine.

BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slow-simmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts.

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

Brown bagging is permitted. Private parties, catering, and take-out available. Call-ahead seating available.

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Lunch daily 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner nightly at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Wine Down Wednesday’s: ½ off wine by the bottle. We specialize in handcut, all natural steaks from local farms, incredible burgers, and other classic american comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available.

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Family-style breakfast from 8 to 9:30 a.m. – with eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and oatmeal, fresh fruit, sometimes French toast or pancakes, and always all-youcan-eat. Lunch menu from 12 to 2 p.m. with fresh salads, homemade soups and sandwiches. In the evening, social hour begins at 6 p.m.; dinner is served at 7 p.m., with entrees such as seared salmon, oven-roasted chicken and cast-iron skillet pork chops, complemented by locally-sourced vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and desserts. We also offer fine wines and local craft beer.

Please call for reservations and join us for mile-high mountaintop dining with a spectacular view.

CHEF’S TABLE 30 Church St., Waynesville. 828.452.6210.

From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday dinner starting at 5 p.m. “Best of” Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator Magazine. Set in a distinguished atmosphere with an exceptional menu. Extensive selection of wine and beer. Reservations honored.

CHURCH STREET DEPOT 34 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.246.6505. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Mouthwatering all beef burgers and dogs, hand-dipped, hand-spun real ice cream shakes and floats, fresh handcut fries. Locally sourced beef. Indoor and outdoor dining. facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot, twitter.com/ChurchStDepot.

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine.

Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events.

Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

THE CLASSIC WINESELLER 20 Church Street, Waynesville.

828.452.6000. Underground retail wine and craft beer shop, restaurant, and intimate live music venue. Kitchen opens at 4 p.m.

Wednesday through Saturday serving freshly prepared small plates, tapas, charcuterie, desserts. Enjoy live music every Friday and Saturday night at 7pm. www.classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

COUNTRY VITTLES: FAMILY STYLE RESTAURANT 3589 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley.

828.926.1820 Winter hours: Wednesday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet.

Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service.

FERRARA PIZZA & PASTA 243 Paragon Parkway, Clyde.

828.476.5058. Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 12 to 8 p.m. Real New Yorkers. Real Italians. Real Pizza. A full service authentic Italian pizzeria and restaurant from New York to the Blue Ridge. Dine in, take out, and delivery. Check out our daily lunch specials plus customer appreciation nights on Monday and Tuesday 5 to 9 p.m. with large cheese pizzas for $9.95.

FILLING STATION DELI 145 Everett St., Bryson City, 828.488.1919.

Open Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sundays (in October) 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Locals always know best, and this is one place they know well. From the highquality hot pressed sandwiches and the huge portions of hand-cut fries to the specialty frozen sandwiches and homemade Southern desserts, you will not leave this top-rated deli hungry.

FRANKIE’S ITALIAN TRATTORIA 1037 Soco Rd. Maggie Valley.

828.926.6216 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St., Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; Dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors. www.frogsleappublichouse.com.

J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817.

Open for dinner at 4:30 to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome.

Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel.

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner.

The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

LOS AMIGOS 366 Russ Ave. in the Bi-Lo Plaza.

828.456.7870. Open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 10 p.m. for dinner Monday through Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy the lunch prices Monday through Sunday, also enjoy our outdoor patio.

MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva.

828.586.3555. Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Sunday brunch 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Handtossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch.

Beer and wine. Free movies Thursday trought Saturday. Visit madbatterfoodfilm.com for this week’s shows.

MAGGIE VALLEY CLUB 1819 Country Club Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

Open seasonally for lunch and dinner. Fine and casual fireside dining in welcoming atmosphere. Full bar. Reservations accepted.

MOUNTAIN PERKS ESPRESSO BAR & CAFÉ 9 Depot St., Bryson City. 828.488.9561.

Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections. Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies. Various desserts.

NEWFOUND LODGE RESTAURANT 1303 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee (Located on 441 North at entrance to GSMNP).

tasteTHEmountains 828.497.4590. Open 7 a.m. daily.

Established in 1946 and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Family style dining for adults and children.

PATIO BISTRO 30 Church Street, Waynesville.

828.454.0070. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Breakfast bagels and sandwiches, gourmet coffee, deli sandwiches for lunch with homemade soups, quiches, and desserts. Wide selection of wine and beer. Outdoor and indoor dining.

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley 828.926.0201 Home of the Maggie Valley Pizzeria. We deliver after 4 p.m. daily to all of Maggie Valley, J-Creek area, and Lake Junaluska.

Monday through Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. country buffet and salad bar from 5 to 9 p.m. $11.95 with Steve Whiddon on piano.

Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 to 8 p.m. 11:30 to 3 p.m. family style, fried chicken, ham, fried fish, salad bar, along with all the fixings, $11.95.

Check out our events and menu at rendezvousmaggievalley.com

SMOKEY SHADOWS LODGE 323 Smoky Shadows Lane, Maggie Valley 828.926.0001. Check Facebook page for hours, which vary. Call early when serving because restaurant fills up fast. Remember when families joined each other at the table for a delicious homemade meal and shared stories about their day? That time is now at Smokey Shadows. The menus are customizable for your special event. Group of eight or more can schedule their own dinner.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4

p.m Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville. Using only the freshest ingredients in home-made soups, salads and sandwiches. Come in and see for yourself why Smoky Mountain Sub Shop was voted # 1 in Haywood County.

SPEEDY’S PIZZA 285 Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.3800.

Open seven days a week. Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Family-owned for 30 years. Serving hand-tossed pizza made to order, pasta, subs, gourmet salads, calzones and seafood. Also serving excellent prime rib on Thursdays. Dine in or take out available.

Located across from the Fire Station.

MON.-SAT. 11 A.M.-8 P.M.

34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 Mtwitter.com/ChurchStDepot C facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot

WAYNESVILLE PIZZA COMPANY 32 Felmet Street, Waynesville.

828.246.0927. Open Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 9 p.m.; closed Tuesdays. Opened in May 2016, The Waynesville Pizza Company has earned a reputation for having the best hand-tossed pizza in the area. Featuring a custom bar with more than 20 beers and a rustic, family friendly dining room. Menu includes salads, burgers, wraps, hot and cold sandwiches, gourmet pizza, homemade desserts, and a loaded salad bar. The Cuban sandwich is considered by most to be the best in town.

Closed Tues.

Sun. 12-9 p.m.

Sandwiches • Burgers • Wraps 32 Felmet Street (828) 246-0927

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WINE WALK

Thursday, Dec. 7 • 6-8 p.m.

Food & Wine Samples from downtown businesses

TICKETS: $45

$5 OFF with a donation of a non-perishable food item to the Community Table

FRIDAY, DEC. 8 @ 7:15PM Kevin Lorenz: guitar Jazz, Pop, Ragtime

SATURDAY, DEC. 9 @ 7:15PM Jingle Bell Bash Shelia Gordon - Sing Along

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828.926.1820

Smoky Mountain News

Country Vittles RESTAURANT

Saturday 12 p.m.-10 p.m.

SUNDAY BRUNCH

TAP ROOM BAR & GRILL 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

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Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, the Tap Room Bar & Grill has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Full bar and wine cellar. www.thewaynesvilleinn.com.

VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin.

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Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

December 6-12, 2017

SAGEBRUSH STEAKHOUSE 1941 Champion Drive, Canton 828.646.3750 895 Russ Ave., Waynesville 828.452.5822. Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Carry out available.

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

ALL AMERICAN MADE

A conversation with Margo Price

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER Catch her if you can.

In the last two or so years, the name “Margo Price” has overtaken brightly lit marquees across the country and late night television programs around the world.

It’s no surprise, seeing as the singer-songwriter has brought the country music industry slowly to its knees, begging Price and her musical colleagues (Isbell, Cook, Stapleton, Lane, Simpson) forgiveness for the error of its sugar-coated ways, for ever doubting the original formula that made the genre so grand in the first place: great songwriting + intricate musicianship + a real, honest stage presence = country gold.

In her latest album, “All American Made” (Third Man Records), Price takes one step forward creatively, one giant leap ahead in terms of her purpose. Where she originally came to be nationally and internationally known for her backstory, a rollercoaster tale of heartbreak and ragged company she’s somewhat tired of retracing, she has since shed that skin, though always keeping the memories on the shelves of her mind.

Now that’s her critically acclaimed debut album, “Midwest Farmer’s Daughter,” has gathered a little dust, Price sees the importance of that initial foundation, and career path, the recording provided. But, for her at least, it’s time to move on, where there’s only so much midnight oil to burn until dawn, and each great lyric not written down and recorded is a moment quickly fleeting into the abyss — forever lost, or forever cherished if you were lucky enough to capture it.

It’s not that the story of Margo Price is any different — or unique in nature — than that of what we each may face in our own personal and professional trials and tribulation. But, what stands out is the surreal magic and pure splendor of her ultimate intent and sonic tone, one which resides in that mere fact that her story is just like yours, and mine, and all y’all who think you might be alone in this all too big and mysterious universe, perhaps wallowing in your thoughts and questioning your journey.

It’s what Margo Price does, and does with such brilliant ease — bringing hard to face truths and hard fought redemption into the light, out of the shadows of the tragic beauty that is the human condition.

Smoky Mountain News: You grew up in a small town in Illinois. I identify a lot with that.

I grew up in a small town on the Canadian bor-

Margo Price.

Cameron Gott photo

Warren Haynes Christmas Jam Margo Price will perform during the 29th annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville. Alongside performances by Haynes and his band Gov’t Mule, there will also be appearances by Ann Wilson (of Heart), Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB, The Avett Brothers, Les Bros., Blackberry Smoke, Kevn Kinney, Marcus King, and many more.

Though the event itself is sold out, those interested can subscribe to a live webcast of the event by going to www.nugs.tv. All proceeds from the event go to benefit the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. For more information, visit www.xmasjam.com.

“It’s the ability to tell an entire story in three and a half minutes, that’s something that’s always been so appealing. You can write just between the lines without ever even having to say it.”

— Margo Price

der. Whenever you go back, do you still identify with that place?

Margo Price: Yeah, I have a sweet spot in my heart for hometowns that are small. And I definitely enjoy going back to visit. But, I always felt I didn’t fit in there. Even when I go back now, I feel like I don’t fit in there. But, because I spent so much time there, it’s romantic to go back and feel that angst to want to get out. It’s surreal to go back and to see things change. I feel like it gets smaller and smaller, more and more people move away, businesses close down. It’s always changing, but usually not for the better.

SMN: When you were there, was there a time you thought maybe would just blend into the landscape, or did you always have a plan to get out?

MP: I think I always knew I wasn’t going to stay there. When I was real young, I told my mom I was going to live in the backyard in my little treehouse. She laughed, I think she always knew I would move. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I thought I’d be an actress or something, a dancer, I just knew I wanted to be onstage.

SMN: What is it about that style of music, singer-songwriters and country, that speaks to you?

MP: I just have always loved the stories of it.

Country is blues, is gospel, all those things coming together, even rock-n-roll — the roots of it really isn’t that far off. It’s the ability to tell an entire story in three and a half minutes, that’s something that’s always been so appealing. You can write just between the lines without ever even having to say it.

SMN: What’s the biggest misconception about Margo Price?

MP: I think, lately, and thank you for not doing this, is that everybody wants to talk about the narrative of my life. Obviously, that is kind of what attracted people to my story — I’m an underdog, I’ve been working at it for so long, all these things went bad, I turned my life around. It’s a positive thing. While, yes, I think that’s a huge part of my identity, sometimes the music gets overlooked.

SMN: What has this life in music taught you about what it means to be a human being?

MP: I think to be human is to feel pain, always wondering why we’re here. The nice thing about music is you get a friend, all those feelings, and I get to experience those feelings with people every night. And hopefully they take something away from it. Even when I’m performing, it’s like I’m going through a minitherapy session with everybody, talking about my problems — they laugh and relate, and enjoy our company.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

‘I been a workin’ man dang near all my life…’

The Old-Time and Bluegrass Series at Western Carolina University continues the Haywood Ramblers at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in Cullowhee.

The Haywood County Arts Council annual show, “It’s a Small, Small Work,” will be held through Dec. 23 in HCAC Gallery & Gifts in Waynesville.

Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” with The Blues Revue (bluegrass) at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9.

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Smoky Mountain News

Those exact words above were uttered this past weekend by a Western Carolina University’s School of Music ranking member of our Congress will present the comic opera “The Hotel to a reporter at the Des Moines Casablanca” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in Register. The statement was in the recital hall of the Coulter Building. reference to the estate tax being eliminated from the current The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Republican tax bill, which looks its Jingle Bell Bash w/Sheila Gordon like it will land on President (piano/vocals) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9.

Trump’s Oval Office desk for his signature into law any day now.

Along the entire spectrum of this tax bill Aimed to offer “massive” tax cuts and resides contradictions and hypocrisy from reforms “for all Americans,” the bill itself appears to be more of a lingering, slow disas- the GOP, who supposedly champion the “working man and woman,” which makes ter for lower- and middle-class families up a large part of the party’s base. And yet, I rather than the uplifting economic stimulus still can’t get Grassley’s asinine comment out they had hoped their elected politicians of my head. would bring to them as a last-minute His words ricocheted around my thoughts Christmas present. this past Monday night while I conducted Politics aside, the audacity of Grassley’s statement exposes an enormous gap between “Episode 8” of our “Smoky Mountain Voices” the senator and, well, reality. The fact that he series. Held twice a month at Nantahala Brewing in Bryson City, I sit down, in front of equates being poor or in the lower income brackets as a result of frivolous spending and a live audience and Facebook live streaming camera, with another interesting member of habits/addictions shows just how out of the community, someone doing big things in touch he truly is with the American people. the small mountain town.

Not to mention how the real frivolousness My guest Monday evening was Melissa lies in the new tax bill allowing for exempBarker, executive director of the Swain tions for folks who own private jets, while at County Family Resource Center in Bryson the same time the bill would repeal tax City. A nonprofit that provides an endless deduction for student loan interest.

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“I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing. As opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.”

— Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa)

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I Show You Step By Step What To Do arts & entertainment

This must be the place

array of critical services for families in need, Barker spoke at length about the widespread nature of childhood poverty and hunger, and also adult financial traumas, that the organization aims to assist in either helping directly or pointing people in the right direction.

We’re talking food/coat/shoe drives, gas/electric assistance, counseling, and so forth.

Did you know the national average for childhood hunger is 1-in-8 kids, and that Swain County clocks in around 1-in-3? And did you know the center does any and everything in its power and resources to solve these ongoing and ever-present social problems?

And as Barker talked about Swain County, she emphasized the fact many of these families are hardworking folks who have either fallen on hard times in an instant or have struggled to emerge from the depths of generational poverty. She said it’s common to see hardworking members of the community come in for food or assistance, many because they cannot connect their income to what it costs to not indulge, but simply keep their families fed and under a warm roof.

To say all of those who are struggling financially are a result of their own choices is ignorant. Many of these families, of which I’ve witnessed first-hand in similar situations, are some of the most driven, compassionate individuals you’ll ever cross paths with.

But, that disconnect — from where they are and where they want to be — resides in the mere notion they didn’t get the advantages and opportunities that others may have gotten right out of the gate towards safe passage along the journey of life. And many of these societal gaps can be bridged through continued education, childcare classes or just a helping hand in the midst of crisis, all of which the center offers with open arms.

I walked away from my conversation with Barker not with a new sense of self. As a regional journalist, I’m well-aware of what she talked about, and have been for a longtime. But, what I walked away with was a true sense of just how big of a mountain these issues are on top of each other, and how this one organization is working tirelessly, chipping away at it every single day.

It’s a determination and deep desire each of us should consider in our daily ponderings — what is it I’m doing to help others?

Christmas, and the holiday season in general, isn’t about buying the “next best thing” in technology or following up on any opportunity to celebrate. It’s about being truly thankful — more like grateful — that you entered this world with at least some semblance of a “chance,” where others came into existence at the bottom of the barrel.

Yes, plenty of folks do crawl their way out of poverty or their initial circumstance. But, many either feel helpless or too prideful to ever ask a favor of someone, anyone.

Be that “someone, anyone” this holiday season. Remember, every little bit matters.

For more information on how to receive assistance or to make a donation of an unused/unwrapped toy, monetary or nonperishable food donation to the center, you can call Barker at 828.488.7505 or 828.736.0860.

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

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23

On the beat arts & entertainment

Traditional music series features Haywood Ramblers

Do you like moonshine, country music?

December 6-12, 2017

Local country singer Ryan Perry will host the “Under The Moonshine” single release party from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 7, at Elevated Mountain Distilling in Maggie Valley.

Fatbellys Food Truck will be onsite at 6:30 p.m. Waynesville Soda Jerks will also be serving artisan beverages.

Donations will be accepted for the Haywood County Animal Shelter. www.elevatedmountain.com.

The 2017-18 First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Series at Western Carolina University continues with a concert featuring the old-time band the Haywood Ramblers on Thursday, Dec. 7, in Cullowhee.

The group’s 7 p.m. performance in the

ground-floor auditorium of H.F. Robinson Administration Building will be followed by an 8 p.m. jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate.

Led by two of Western North Carolina’s longtime traditional musicians, Cary Fridley

and Travis Stuart, the Haywood Ramblers perform a mix of fiddle and banjo tunes, Baptist spirituals, traditional ballads, Carter family songs and regional compositions.

Raised in the mountains of Virginia, Fridley previously was a member of the critically acclaimed old-time band the Freight Hoppers. She has been performing in the region for more than two decades and is an adjunct member of the fine arts faculty at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

Stuart began playing the banjo as a teenager in Haywood County and learned from old-time music masters such as Red Wilson, the Smathers Family and Snuffy Jenkins. For the past 13 years, he has led the Junior Appalachian Musicians Program in Haywood County and also has been an instructor in the bluegrass program at East Tennessee State University.

Sponsored by WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center, the First Thursday concerts and jam sessions will continue through next spring, with programs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. The next event will feature Keith Shuler on Thursday, Feb. 1.

The concerts and jam sessions are free and open to the public. Pickers and singers of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in the jam sessions, which also are open to those who just want to listen.

For more information, call the Mountain Heritage Center at 828.227.7129.

annta Claus is

Smoky Mountain News

SATS & SUNS • 12PM5PM

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FREE E PHO OTOS S!

On the beat

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host an acoustic jam with Main St. NoTones from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 14 and 28. Free and open to the public. www.blueridgebeerhub.com.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Kevin Lorenz (singer-songwriter) Dec. 8, Jingle Bell Bash w/Sheila Gordon (piano/vocals) Dec. 9, Bob Zullo (guitar/vocals) Dec. 15 and Joe Cruz (piano/pop) Dec. 16. All shows are free (unless otherwise noted) and begin at 7 p.m. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

ALSO:

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host Black Mountain City Limits (bluegrass) Dec. 9 and Troy Underwood (singer-songwriter) Dec. 16.

All shows are free and begin at 7:30 p.m. www.curraheebrew.com.

• Derailed Bar & Lounge (Bryson City) will have music at 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

828.488.8898.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night Dec. 6 and 13, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo Dec. 7 and 14. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Heidi Holton (blues/folks) Dec. 8, The UpBeats (rock) Dec. 9, Troy Underwood (singer-songwriter) Dec. 15 and The Ram Cats (blues) Dec. 16. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

A community music jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of Grampa’s Music in Bryson City.

The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn old-time mountain songs. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — year-round. This program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment of the Arts.

828.488.3030.

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• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Liz Nance & Friends (Americana/folk) Dec. 9 and 16. All shows are free and are from 6 to 9 p.m. www.mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• The Oconaluftee Visitor Center (Cherokee) will host a back porch old-time music jam from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 16. All are welcome to come play or simply sit and listen to sounds of Southern Appalachia.

• Pub 319 (Waynesville) will host an open mic night from 8 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday with Mike Farrington of Post Hole Diggers. Free and open to the public.

• Salty Dog’s (Maggie Valley) will have Karaoke with Jason Wyatt at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, Mile High (classic rock) 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and an Open Jam with Rick 8 p.m. Thursdays.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic with Susan at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and live music on Friday evenings. 828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.

• Sneak E Squirrel Brewing (Sylva) will host line dancing every Friday at 7 p.m. and contra dancing every other Friday at 8 p.m.

828.586.6440.

Smoky Mountain News

• Isis Music Hall (Asheville) will host Ian Ethan Case 7 p.m. Dec. 6, David Ramirez 8:30 p.m. Dec. 6, John Doyle 7 p.m. Dec. 7, The Collings Trio 8:30 p.m. Dec. 7, Jacob Johnson 7 p.m. Dec. 8, Christine Garvin & Liquid Sirens 8:30 p.m. Dec. 9, Anthony da Costa w/Kimber Ludiker & Christopher Paul Stelling 5:30 p.m. Dec. 10, Peggy Ratusz & Friends 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 and Aoife Clancy & Bill Elliott 7 p.m. Dec. 13. For more information about the performances and/or to purchase tickets, visit www.isisasheville.com.

Bryson City community jam

December 6-12, 2017

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Hunter Grigg (singer-songwriter) Dec. 8, Sarah Tucker Dec. 15 and Marc Keller (singer-songwriter) 5:30 p.m. Dec. 16. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. There will also be a Community Rhythm Circle every Tuesday at 7 p.m. with free drum circle lessons at 6:30 p.m. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

arts & entertainment

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” with The Blues Revue (bluegrass) Dec. 9, Andrew Chastain (singer-songwriter) Dec. 16, Pressley Girls (Americana/bluegrass) Dec. 23 and Alma Russ (Americana/bluegrass) Dec. 30. All shows are free and begin at 5 p.m. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• The Strand at 38 Main (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic” night from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. 828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host a “Toys for Tots” benefit Dec. 9. All shows begin at 10 p.m.

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arts & entertainment

On the street

Gift-wrapping for a good cause

the donations go towards taking care of the homeless dogs and cats in Sarge’s care.”

Mast General Store shoppers can bring their purchases to the gift-wrapping table in the store lobby and volunteers will box and wrap the holiday gifts for a donation to Sarge’s.

To sign up, visit: www.signupgenius.com/ go/508094DA8A72BA7FB6-gift.

Sarge’s mission is to save healthy homeless dogs and cats in Haywood County. Since Sarge’s beginning in 2006, the group has saved more than 8,000 animals. Visit www.sargeanimals.org.

• Wine shops, cafes and cocktail lounges have teamed up for the inaugural “Downtown Sylva Wine Walk” at 6 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 7. Guests will enjoy samples of food and wines at eight venues. Tickets cost $45 or $40 and a donation of a nonperishable food item for The Community Table.

Tickets available at participating businesses. Responsible transportation arrangements are strongly encouraged.

ALSO:

• The Swain County Genealogical & Historical Society will host its holiday party and silent auction at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Swain County Business Education Center. To donate items, drop them off at the SCGHS library.

• “Laughing Balsam Sangha,” a meeting for

Mindfullness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, meets will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays at 318 Skyland Drive in Sylva. Included are sitting and walking meditation, and Dharma discussion. Free admission. Call 828.335.8210, and “Like” them on Facebook.

• Sneak E Squirrel Brewing (Sylva) will host the Jackson County Corn Hole Association on Monday evenings ($5 buy in, 100 percent payout), Karaoke with Captain Moose from 7 to 11 p.m. on Tuesdays, Trivia at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and a Guitar Hero Tournament at 7 p.m. on Thursdays.

828.586.6440.

• There will be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 9 and 16 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Dec. 9 and 16 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.631.3075.

• Free cooking demonstrations will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays at Country Traditions in Dillsboro. Watch the demonstrations, eat samples and taste house wines for $3 a glass. All recipes posted online. www.countrytraditionsnc.com.

December 6-12, 2017

Those looking for a good place to do holiday shopping — plus have the gifts wrapped — will be happy that Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation is doing its annual gift-wrapping project for shoppers at Mast General Store on Main Street in Waynesville.

Sarge’s will be wrapping holiday gifts during regular store hours through Dec. 24.

Organizers are in need of donated wrapping materials and volunteers to work three-hour shifts at Mast.

“Help save an innocent pet’s life,” said Tish O’Connor, co-coordinator of the giftwrapping project. “One hundred percent of

• The “Feast of the Seven Fishes” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, in Harmon’s Den Bistro at the Haywood Art Regional Theatre in Waynesville. The event is part of the Italian-American Christmas celebration, which is traditionally on Christmas Eve. Seven courses with wine pairings and intermezzo. Cost is $100 per person, all-inclusive. To reserve your table, call the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322 or email harttheater@gmail.com.

Smoky Mountain News

Holiday Shopping Party & Wine Tasting

26

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December 6-12, 2017

arts & entertainment

On the wall Regional Artist Project Grantees announced The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC), administrator of this year’s Regional Artist Project Grant (RAPG), is pleased to announce grantees selected for the 2017-18 fiscal year.

This Regional Artist Project Grant is a program of and supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. It is awarded to qualifying individual artists with funds from Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson and Macon Counties and matching funds from the North Carolina Arts Council.

Awarded artists were selected in a competitive scoring process by a panel of artists and administrators representing counties in the consortium. This year, requests totaled more than $15,000, and the panel was able to award almost $5,000 in grant funds. Congratulations to the following artist winners, who received either full (five artists) or partial funding (three artists) for their work: • Quashona Renee Antoine, Macon County — Discipline: Music • Carter Giegerich/Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (band), Jackson County — Discipline: Music • Kelly LaForte, Clay County — Discipline: Metalwork • Karen W. Martin, Macon County — Discipline: Creative Writing • Susan Pepper, Jackson County — Discipline: Music • Matthew Shirey, Jackson County — Discipline: Blacksmithing • Becky Smith, Haywood County — Discipline: Jewelry

• Jodie Zahner, Macon County — Discipline: Ceramics/Floral The Regional Artist Project Grant program provides the opportunity for regional consortia of local arts councils to award project grants to artists in their regions.

These grants support professional artists in any discipline and at any stage in their careers to pursue projects that further their professional development.

Applications for the 2018-19 grant season will be made available in late summer or early fall of 2018. Announcements will be made at www.haywoodarts.org/grants.

Want to make a glass ornament?

There will be glass ornament workshops held Dec. 7 and 9 at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Sylva.

With the assistance of one of our resident artists, participants will work with molten glass to create a unique and beautiful piece of glass art.

The glass blowing sessions last 30 minutes. In each session, you’ll learn the basics of working with glass, some of the history of glass blowing, and important safety guidelines.

Ages 13-18 may participate with parent present. Dress in cotton clothing (no polyester); wear closed shoes and long pants.

Glass artwork available for pickup 48 hours after class.

Walk-in's are welcome, but space is limited. Payment due at registration.

Time slots are a half-hour. Each slot is $30 per person. For more information on the class schedules and to register, call 828.631.0271 or visit www.jcgep.org.

Team Breese

has moved to Main Street Waynesville Smoky Mountain News

Please come in and see our new office and say hello.

Teri Leigh Teed has been selected as a featured artist for the Burrell Center Gallery at Southwest Community College in Sylva. Teed’s exhibit, “Season of Light,” will run through Dec. 31.

“Season of Light” is Teed’s newest series of fine art photographs taken in the Nantahala Forest from the morning of the Autumn Equinox and leading up to Thanksgiving. Her photographs are accompanied by stories and poetry written by Teed that reflect on the physical and spiritual light of the season.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Teed is a multi-dimensional, award-winning artist based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina near Sylva. Along with her visual artwork, Teed is also a songwriter of folk music and the author of “Seasons of the South, the Original Homegrown and Musical Storytelling Show,” which raises awareness for regenerative agriculture.

“Healing Spirit Art” has been the name of Teed’s artwork since 2005. She blends fine

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‘Light of Peace, Nantahala Forest’

by Teri Leigh Teed. art nature and landscape photography, stories, poetry, and songs with positive, inspirational and healing thoughts and energies.

Her logo features a mountain laurel branch, which represents her love for the western North Carolina mountains she calls home.

To join the community of Love, Peace and Goodwill and share #HealingSpiritArt with the world, visit www.terileighteed.com.

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On the stage

On the season

HART presents ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’

its triumph of good over evil, is a true celebration of life.

Tickets are just $10 for adults and $5 for students. Reservations can be made at www.harttheatre.org or by calling 828.456.6322.

Just in time for the holidays, the classic tale of “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” will hit the stage at 2 p.m. Dec. 910 and 16-17 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

With a cast of over 40, featuring elaborate costumes and sets, this production is sure to delight young and old.

Dramatized for the stage by Joseph Robinette, this play closely follows the classic tale by C.S. Lewis, and faithfully recreates the magic and mystery of Aslan, the great lion, his struggle with the White Witch, and the adventures of the four children who inadvertently wander from an old wardrobe into the exciting, never-to-be-forgotten Narnia. This story of love, faith, courage and giving, with

Lake Junaluska’s ‘Appalachian Christmas’ WCU students rehearse a scene from ‘The Hotel Casablanca.’

The pianist for the performance is Ann Tiner, a member of the music staff.

Costumes are being provided by the Flatrock Playhouse and WCU’s Costume Shop, with coordination and fitting by Joy Hutcher, a senior from Franklin. Sets are being provided by Aaron’s of Sylva and WCU’s School of Stage and Screen. Set decoration for the production is being done by students from a class taught by Erin Tapley, director of the School of Art and design.

For more information, contact Bauer at 828.227.3275 or mkbauer@wcu.edu.

• Auditions for “Sense and Sensibility” will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday Dec. 16 and 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday Dec. 17 in the Fangmeyer Theater at HART in Waynesville.

The production will run April 27-May 13. Anyone unable to attend should contact HART at 828.456.6322 to arrange a special audition time. Roles are available for five men and five women of various ages. All actors in this adaptation play multiple roles. The production opens HART’s 2018 Main Stage season in April. Audition for all of HART’s remaining 2018 productions will be held in February.

ALSO:

All are invited to Lake Junaluska Dec. 89 for “Appalachian Christmas,” a holiday concert weekend including a local craft show.

The Lake Junaluska Singers will return, under the direction Mary Huff and Associate Director Kathy Geyer McNeil, to perform Handel’s Messiah at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 8, in the Stuart Auditorium.

Handel’s Messiah is a baroque-era music composition by George Frideric Handel, composed in 1741-1742 and the Lake Junaluska Singers will perform alongside a regional chorus and area musicians.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to conduct Messiah again and to have the Lake Junaluska Singers back to participate,” said McNeil. “For me, it’s very special to conduct Messiah at Lake Junaluska because it’s a part of the tradition of this wonderful place that I call home,” said McNeil.

The “Appalachian Christmas Craft Show” will include more than 40 artisans exhibiting all hand-crafted items. The show is run by the Junaluska Woman’s Club and the profits go toward scholarships the Woman’s Club puts together for Lake Junaluska staff members every summer. All are welcome to attend the craft show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in the Harrell Center.

The Cockman Family, will perform at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in the Stuart Auditorium. The group is known for their signature bluegrass-gospel sound, warm family atmosphere and an instrumental proficiency that will delight the audience.

“Appalachian Christmas” festivities wrap up with a Christmas concert by the Lake Junaluska Singers at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 9, in the Stuart Auditorium.

Members of the 16-voice ensemble will

Christmas in Appalachia s the temperatures drop in Western North Carolina, the fun only heats up. The holiday season here is filled with events and activities aimed to celebrate the best way we know how — with friends, family and visitors alike.

Families can partake in wagon rides, iceless skating, craft sales and art demonstrations, all the while enjoying authentic mountain music, clogging and parades through several downtowns. These are just some of the innumerable activities to be had.

Within every date, time and place found amid this section, the communities around the region once again opens their arms to share in the winter festivities.

It’s a winter wonderland out there.

It’s yours for the taking, so reach out and enjoy all Southern Appalachia has to offer.

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Smoky Mountain News

senior from Jacksonville; Christine Reeder, sophomore from Asheboro; and Jessica Nash, senior from Charlotte. Two other students, props mistress Mickey McCabe, sophomore from Lawndale, and assistant director Catarina Sanchez, sophomore from Charlotte, are providing technical help, Bauer said.

December 6-12, 2017

Students and faculty from Western Carolina University’s School of Music will present the comic opera “The Hotel Casablanca” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in the recital hall of the university’s Coulter Building.

Admission is free for the show, which will be performed in English and features a rural Texas setting complete with singers in cowboy hats and boots.

Written by American composer Thomas Pasatieri, the opera tells the story of Tom and Tallulah Carter, owners of the Double T Ranch. Tom and Tallulah are trying to toughen up Charles Carter, their nephew from New York City.

When Tom’s suspenders arrive in the mail from the seedy Hotel Casablanca, what ensues is suspicion, love, passion, dancing and general hilarity, said Mary Kay Bauer, an associate professor in the School of Music who is producing and directing the performance.

The part of Tallulah Carter will be sung

by Michelle Lang, a sophomore from West Palm Beach, Florida, majoring in choral music education, while the part of Tom Carter will be sung by Matthew Brooks, a junior from Holly Springs majoring in jazz guitar. Jay Bowman, a junior from Waxhaw majoring in commercial and electronic music, is singing the part of Charles Carter.

Other student members of the cast are Keely Smith, senior from Charlotte; Jacob Plaisted, senior from Charlotte; Lilly Davis, freshman from Asheboro; Wesley Walker,

arts & entertainment

WCU’s comic opera ‘The Hotel Casablanca’

return from across the country to perform at “Appalachian Christmas.” Carols with audience participation, “Appalachian Christmas” songs, and poignant readings will round out the evening.

“We’ll be singing Christmas favorites like Ding, Dong, Merrily on High, The Holly and the Ivy, The Little Drummer Boy, O Holy Night, and Carol of the Bells,” said Mary Huff, director of the Lake Junaluska Singers.

Concert tickets are available for $23 reserved, $18 general admission. Call 800.222.4930 or visit www.lakejunaluska.com/christmas to buy tickets. Lodging packages are also available. 29

Smoky Mountain News

December 6-12, 2017

arts & entertainment

On the season BRASSTOWN • The John C. Campbell Folk School Craft Shop showcases finely made gifts from over 300 talented craftspeople. The Craft Shop offers 15 percent off all items through Dec. 23.

The Folk School will offer an inviting lineup of free seasonal events in the Keith House Community Room. On Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., Bob Grove will delight the audience with his dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Decked in period costume, Bob will adopt all characters’ voices, lending an authentic tone to his delivery. At 8 p.m. that night, the colorful Brasstown Morris Dancers will take the stage for a lively holiday dance performance.

To round out this festive week, the Brasstown Ringers community handbell group will present its much-loved holiday concert. Set for Dec. 8 at 7 p.m., the ensemble’s performance will include classic Christmas favorites and brand-new selections. Donations are welcome.

The Folk School’s Holiday Kids’ Party always attracts a spirited group of young revelers. Planned for Dec. 16 from 1 to 3 p.m., this popular event includes holiday music and dancing, children’s activities, and a special visit from Santa Claus. At 8 p.m. that evening, local residents are invited to gather for the Holiday Contra & Square Dance Party.

Singles and couples are welcome, including beginners. This free event features talented local musicians and callers, and dancers are invited to bring holiday desserts to share.

Free admission. 800.FOLK.SCH.

BRYSON CITY • A stage production of “A Christmas Story” will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 8-9, 15-16 and 18, and 3 p.m. Dec. 10 and 17 at the Smoky Mountain Community Theatre. For ticket information, call 828.488.8227 or visit www.smctheatre.com.

• The “Polar Express” will depart on select dates throughout December from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot. For more information on departures or to purchase tickets, click on www.gsmr.com.

• “Letters to Santa” will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 23 at the Swain County Heritage Museum. Drop a line for Santa. Materials provided. Call the museum for Santa appearances: 800.867.9246.

CASHIERS • The annual “Christmas On the Green” celebration will run through New Year’s Day at The Village Green. The 13-acre park in the heart of Cashiers will feature thousands of twinkling lights. For more information visit www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

CHEROKEE • The Cherokee Christmas Parade will be Saturday, Dec. 16, in downtown.

30 828.359.6490.

Children wear costumes as they enter the elf village at Tom Sawyer’s chooseand-cut Christmas tree farm, where a visit with Santa awaits. Jessi Stone photo

• Cherokee Lights & Legends will be held Dec. 15-17 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. 828.359.6490.

CULLOWHEE • The Western Carolina University College of Fine and Performing Arts, the WCU School of Stage and Screen, and the WCU Bardo Arts Center presents “The Santaland Diaries” by NPR comic genius David Sedaris at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7-9 in the Bardo Arts Center Studio Theatre.

Each production includes a pre-show reception at 6:30 p.m. with hors d'oeuvres, two free drinks, and a special “parents night out” opportunity.

This outrageous holiday comedy is based on David Sedaris’ beloved humorous and autobiographical essays, The Santaland Diaries, which have been adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello. The play stars Crumpet, a rebel without a “Clause” who recounts the true-life tale of an out-of-work writer’s stint at a Macy’s Department Store, working in Santaland for the holiday season, as a reluctant, but relentlessly cheerful, elf.

“Crumpet” shares his observations from one chaotic December in Santaland featuring aggressive parents and drunken Santas, to flirtatious actors, poor hygiene, and the racially charged hazards of being a “Pointer Elf.” Tickets are $30 each and include a preshow reception with hors d’oeuvres and two free drinks. Also available each night of the performance is our “Parents Night Out” opportunity — bring your children to the performance and drop them off with the

WCU School of Art and Design’s Art Education Club for an evening of holiday themed art (marble/stamped wrapping paper, wreaths, reindeer head busts) and tasty treats. This opportunity is only $15 per student and is available for up to 40 students per evening.

For tickets and further information, visit arts.wcu.edu/santaland.

DILLSBORO • The annual “Lights & Luminaries” will return to the streets of downtown Dec. 8-9.

Experience the magic as the entire town is transformed into a winter wonderland of lights, candles, laughter and song. Over 2,500 luminaries light your way to shops and studios. Horse and buggy rides available each night. Shopkeepers provide live music and serve holiday treats with hot cider and cocoa. Carolers sing and children visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Live Nativity at Jarrett Memorial Baptist Church.

Free shuttle service from Monteith Park.

For more information, visit www.visitdillsboro.org.

FRANKLIN • Overlook Theatre Company will present “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at 7 p.m. Dec. 8-9 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is adapted from a book with the same title written by Barbara Robinson in 1971. It tells the story of Imogene, Claude, Ralph, Leroy, Ollie,

and Gladys Herdman, six delinquent children who surprise everyone when they go to church for the first time after finding out the church offers snacks. Despite many protests, the children were given roles in the Christmas play. The misfits end up telling the Christmas story in a very nonconventional way which, surprisingly, helps everyone rediscover the true meaning of Christmas.

Tickets are $12 each. To purchase tickets, visit www.greatmountainmusic.com or call 866.273.4615.

• Holiday gift making time for kids from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dec. 16, 22-23 at The Art Room. $15 per child, which includes materials. Ages 8 and up. Preregister at 828.349.3777 or www.artroomsupplies.com.

HIGHLANDS • The Highlands Cashiers Players will present their annual free holiday program at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

For this year’s 22rd program, the theme is “Have A Holly, Jolly Christmas” as the evening will include a funny holiday quiz for the audience and several amusing holiday stories, read by HCP actors. Holiday songs interspersed with the readings will be performed by a special 12-voice ensemble from the 50-voice Mountain Voices regional chorus, directed by Beverly Barnett of Franklin.

And to top off the evening’s entertainment, hot cider along with cookies and other refreshments will be served after the performance for the audience and performers in the PAC reception room. And all of it is free

On the season

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Bookstore FRIDAY, 12/8 • 6:30 P.M.

Norma Watkins presents her new memoir SATURDAY, 12/9 • 3 P.M.

Denise Kiernan presents The Last Castle

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828/586-9499 • citylightsnc.com

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December 6-12, 2017

• The Western Carolina Civic Orchestra will present the seventh annual “Community Christmas Concert” on Tuesday, Dec. 12, on the steps of the Jackson County Public Library.

The Jackson County Arts Council will be serving refreshments and the Jackson County Genealogical Society and the Jackson County Historical Society will welcome visitors.

The musical celebration will begin at 6:30 p.m. with caroling on the library steps, led by Gayle and Phil Woody. The Western Carolina Civic Orchestra strings, conducted

by Dr. Damon Sink, will begin the concert at 7 p.m., with a Trio Sonata by Corelli. Young flutists who study with Lori Richards, at The Music Village in Cullowhee, will play a set of carols. A new ensemble of local musicians will play some unusual carols arranged for hammered dulcimer, flutes, recorder, penny whistle, violin, viola and Bedouin drum. The members of the group are Bess Crider, Linda Metz, Suzanne Hosch and Cathy Arps.

Then the orchestra will be joined by area students who study violin and cello with Cathy Arps and Elizabeth Butler. The Western Carolina Civic Orchestra is sponsored by the Jackson County Arts Council from a Grassroots Grant, supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This program is free of charge. For more information, call 828.586.2016. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library. www.fontanalib.org.

WAYNESVILLE TIRE, INC.

arts & entertainment

of charge — it’s the Players Christmas gift to the community, co-sponsored by HPAC. www.highlandscashiersplayers.

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Begins: December 1, 8 a.m. | Ends: December 31, 5 p.m.

Monday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. | Sundays, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Christmas Eve, 8 a.m.–12 p.m. | Closed Christmas Day

Smoky Mountain News

• “Twelve Days of Christmas” will be Dec. 13-24 in downtown. Merchants offer specials throughout the holiday celebration.

• “A Night Before Christmas” will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 9 and 16 in downtown.

Main Street welcomes luminaries, holiday carolers, live music, artisan demonstrations, Santa & Mrs. Claus, and more.

• The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce “Holiday Chamber Cheer” celebration will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at Laurel Ridge Country Club. Tickets are $40 per person. Cocktails, silent auction, hors doeuvres, and more. www.haywoodchamber.com.

WEBSTER • “Toy Jam Seven” will a live performance by Tribe Called Praise will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Webster Baptist Church. Refreshments, fellowship, and more. Admission is a new unopened and unwrapped toy.

645 Tsali Blvd., Cherokee, NC | QuallaArtsAndCrafts.com | 828.497.3103 31

Books Looking beyond headlines to where news originates E 32

Smoky Mountain News

of their slanders. They take a quotation out of context and run it as a headline or even as the gist of an article. Just yesterday, for example,

Jeff Minick

very once in a great while, I come away from a book like some near-sighted fourth-grader who has just put on his first pair of glasses. The math problems on the whiteboard leap out at him; the words in his Open Court Reader are no longer a blur; the dimple in Jeannie Godine’s cheek is as fetching as her voice. I can see, the kid says to himself. I can really see.

Sharyl Atkisson’s The Smear: How Writer Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote (Harper, 2017, 304 pages) is that book. After finishing the last page, I felt as though some ophthalmologist had worked her laser magic, burning away cataracts and giving me new eyes.

Unlike my fictional fourth-grader, however, I was appalled and sickened by what I saw, which was Attkisson’s intention. Horror fiction has never appealed to me, but Atkisson’s dissection of political manipulation and fake news left me far more creeped-out than any Stephen King novel. Grim as it was to read, The Smear left me with a resolution: I will never again accept any story from any online or national news source at face value.

In this investigative triumph, Attkisson rips away the mask of what passes for news today, revealing how those in power or with an agenda spend billions a year to vilify opponents and dupe the rest of us. Corporations, political groups, think tanks, nonprofits, super PACs and various online sites deal out lies and half-lies, and if necessary, invent rumors that will fly from New York to Los Angeles before the truth has gotten out of bed.

These smear artists practice many tricks.

They pack debate halls with their candidate’s supporters. They set up barriers between their candidates or sponsors to conceal the source

wildly excited reporters told us that the head of our nuclear forces would refuse to take launch orders from President Trump. Today we learned that the general had said no such thing, that he correctly said he would refuse

Reading Rover Bookmobile

Fontana Regional Library’s Reading Rover Bookmobile recently received grants of $2,500 from the Macon County Community Foundation and $1,370 from the Jackson County Community Foundation. Last summer, the Swain County Community Foundation also awarded $1,000 to support Rover services to area children. All three county Community Foundations are affiliates of the North Carolina Community Foundation but make their own funding decisions.

The grants will help sustain the Rover’s storytime visits to

illegal orders to launch nuclear missiles, and that the “reporters” had taken his remark out of context, entirely changing his meaning.

As Attkisson makes abundantly clear, and as most who follow online news know, such fabrications occur daily on the Internet. In The Smear, we learn that these mendacities are deliberate.

Thousands of people and billions of bucks work hard to make these mudpies, hoping to enhance a candidate or a cause by slinging dirt at the opposition. David Brock of Media Matters, painted here by Attkisson as the king of sleaze, takes the heaviest of her cannonades, but many others, operatives in both progressive and conservative camps, come into her sights.

Especially disheartening is Attkisson’s examination of papers like The New York Times and The Washington Post.

We expect the nuts, cranks, and liars on the Internet, but once upon a time we could open a major paper or turn on the television and find real journalism. Reporters double-checked sources, tracked down leads, made telephone calls,

preschools and daycare centers in Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties. The money will be used to purchase books and materials for the Rover, as well as help with vehicle maintenance and fuel costs.

The Reading Rover “takes the library” to child care centers and family child care homes. The service brings quality materials, such as storytelling kits, books, puppets, puzzles and educational games, songs and music to each location, where they may be borrowed from and returned to the Rover at monthly visits.

A visit from the Reading Rover includes a 15-20 minute storytime program for the children (with teachers/caregivers observing),

talked to the people involved in the story.

Now, as Attkisson points out, many reporters not only skip these requisites, but some of them concoct their stories from the same online resources read by the rest of us.

We see this technique at play everywhere today. In just the past two weeks — I am writing this column on November 20, 2017 — various politicians, candidates for office, journalists, and Hollywood figures have come under fire for sexual assault, with some of the charges dating back 30 years. Rather than abiding by the idea that we are innocent until found guilty, a mob of baying pundits is demanding the accused withdraw from public life and don ashes-and-sackcloth in repentance. The accusations, true or not, gain credence. Repeat the lie often enough, and the lie becomes the truth.

In analyzing these smears, Attkisson takes an even-handed approach. She gives us details, citing sources and naming names, offering a screed against neither the left nor the right, but instead demonstrating that both sides have sticky fingers and dirty hands.

Attkisson also shows us the fate of some of the victims of the smear. They are ostracized, dismissed from their posts, regarded awry by their friends. Julian Assange of WikiLeaks; Neil Clark, a British journalist of the left now smeared by the left; a fraternity at the University of Virginia: these and many others have suffered from lies and distortions.

In the USSR, savvy Russians understood that the main newspaper, Pravda (Truth), routinely distorted the news. They learned to “read between the lines” to dig out the real truth. At the end of The Smear, Attkisson calls on Americans to do the same with our own media. She writes, “… one thing you can count on is that most every image that crosses your path has been put there for a reason. Nothing happens by accident. What you need to ask yourself isn’t so much Is it true, but Who wants me to believe it — and why?”

An early New Year’s resolution: I intend to remember this book every day before visiting my usual news sites. Every day.

involving interactive book sharing, songs, storytelling, finger plays, rhymes and puppets. These activities encourage the development of essential pre-reading skills as well as other school readiness skills.

“Keeping Rover on the road providing service to preschoolers and their teachers is a priority for Fontana Regional Library,” said Regional Director Karen Wallace. “This grant will help us meet our goal of sharing the world of books and reading with the youngest residents of our region.”

For more information about Fontana Regional Library or the Reading Rover, visit www.fontanalib.org or call 828.488.2382.

• City Lights Bookstore in Sylva’s 19th annual “Giving Tree” program is now underway. They have partnered with local service agencies who have offered anonymous lists of children in need this holiday season. You can help by providing that child with the gift of a good read. Come by the store and select an ornament from the “Giving Tree” and match-up a book for the age, gender and language listed. They will collect all the books and give them to the agencies in time for the children to receive books for Christmas. All “Giving Tree” purchases will receive a 20 percent discount. For more details, call 828.586.9499.

ALSO:

Journalist releases debut novel

New York Times Bestselling author Denise Kiernan will present her new book The Last Castle at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

The Last Castle chronicles the Biltmore family and the history of the Biltmore Estate.

Kiernan is also the author of the bestselling The Girls of Atomic City and has been published in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications.

To reserve copies of her books, call City Lights Bookstore at 828.586.9499.

December 6-12, 2017

Book covers Biltmore history

books

Set amid the windswept prairies of Wyoming and rounded mountains of southwest Virginia, Shadows of Flowers is a debut novel about love, loss and the power of place from award-winning journalist Holly Kays.

It follows the story of Virginia native Dana Stullman, whose world turns upside down when her boyfriend dies in a car accident. At 22, she finds herself moving across the country to escape reminders of the tragedy and the life that preceded it. Becoming lonelier than she could have imagined, Dana finds solace in an unexpected friendship, but her life remains paralyzed until a crisis in the wind-swept Wyoming wilderness forces her to confront the past and choose her path into the future.

Kays is a writer and journalist who makes her home in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Having earned more than 20 state and national awards during her news reporting career thus far, she is a reporter with The Smoky Mountain News and explores the area’s many hiking trails with her four-legged best friend whenever possible.

Originally from Williamsport, Maryland, she is a graduate of Virginia Tech’s creative writing program and began her reporting career at small newspapers in Idaho and Wyoming.

Shadows of Flowers retails for $12 and is available online at www.paypal.me/hollykays for $16, which includes shipping. No orders will be sent until the first printing arrives, by Dec. 12. www.facebook.com/shadowsofflowers.

Consequences of exile Smoky Mountain News

Norma Watkins will present That Woman From Mississippi at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

The book is a sequel to her first memoir. She will have a conversation about the book with Jean Forrister. The first book, The Last Resort, describes coming of age in the civil rights movement, with the book ending when she leaves Mississippi.

The sequel explores the consequences of exile. The nurturing mother is our model, and society does not easily forgive a woman who leaves her children. Humorous and discerning, the book shows how excruciating it is for women to do what men take for granted: find a harmony in love, work and parenting.

To reserve copies of her books, call City Lights Bookstore at 828.586.9499.

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34

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Embracing the season Cross-state trek presents challenge and reward for Asheville hiking legend

Jennifer Pharr Davis stops for a view during the mountain section of the trail. Donated photo

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER t 34, Jennifer Pharr Davis has conquered her fair share of long-distance hikes, and then some. Her 2011 hike of the Appalachian Trail set a speed record that stood until 2015. She’s completed the Pacific Crest Trail, the Bartram Trail, the Colorado Trail and a seemingly endless list of other trails scattered across six continents.

But in some ways, her 2017 hike of the North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail was the most challenging — and most rewarding — of all the routes she’s walked.

“It is so different than any other trail I’ve hiked and really caught me by surprise in that way,” she said. “My mindset starting out was, ‘Well if I had my way I’d probably wait until it was a completed trail.’ What I found was the complete opposite. I thought it was so incredible to walk a trail that was still being built.

You feel like you’re part of something.”

The 1,175-mile trail stretches from the western border with Tennessee at Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park east to the Outer Banks and its terminus at Jockey’s Ridge. Of those nearly 1,200 miles, only about 700 travel along actual trail. The remaining 500 use rural roads as temporary routes until dedicated trails can be built.

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A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHALLENGE Pharr Davis embarked on her three month adventure at the request of the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, who saw the trail’s 40th anniversary was coming up and wanted the celebrated long-distance hiker to catalogue her experiences along the trail to help raise awareness and funds for its continued construction. However, when Friends of the MST suggested the trek two years ago, Pharr Davis’ life was in a much different place than in previous years, when she ran on a constant cycle of saving money and then disappearing to hike.

Pharr Davis was married, living in Asheville with her husband and a 2-year-old daughter who would turn 4 by the time the hike began. And, in the midst of hike planning they decided to have another child. Their son was 11 months old when Pharr Davis set off from Clingmans Dome in August.

“I’ve done a lot of hard hikes, and I found this one to be emotionally toward the top of challenges I’ve faced on a long-distance hike,” she said.

Completing the hike was a team effort between Pharr Davis and her husband Brew Davis. He’d keep the kids during the day, meeting up with Pharr Davis for picnics or short day hikes, and then again at the end of

the day. Sometimes they camped, but mostly they stayed with friends or contacts through Friends of the MST. While they love camping, Pharr Davis said, managing it with two small children and a tight schedule added too much time to be feasible day-in and day-out.

“During this hike, we were just in different places in our lives than all the miles I had hiked in the past,” she said.

While they prioritized the hike to be their main focus, she and Brew — who are both self-employed — still had work issues to deal with, loose ends to be tied up around the edges of the day. At the beginning of the trek, Pharr Davis was still nursing the baby a few times a day — typically, she’d get up, take care of the kids, hike 18 or 20 miles, and spend the evenings doing work and being with the family.

“Kids don’t really care if you’ve hiked 20 miles and you’re exhausted,” she said. “They still need your attention.”

CROSS-STATE CONNECTIONS It was hard. But it was also amazing.

“We loved the MST. We loved seeing our kids grow up and mature along this journey,” she said.

One of her favorite memories from the trail came on the coastal section, after the kids had visited a sea turtle rescue center with their father while Pharr Davis hiked. When they rejoined her on the trail, Pharr Davis noticed her daughter picking up trash as she walked along the beach. For a kid who still had to be talked into picking up her toys after she was finished playing with them, that was surprising, so Pharr Davis asked her about it.

“She just looked at me and she said, ‘I want to protect the turtles. I want to help the turtles,’” Pharr Davis recalled.

Her daughter wasn’t the only child to get an immersive nature experience as a result of Pharr Davis’ hike. Along the way, Friends of the MST had arranged for various groups to join Pharr Davis for pieces of the trail, among

From salamanders (pictured) to elk, wildlife was a regular feature of the trail. Jennifer Pharr Davis photo

them athletes with Special Olympics, inner city kids and a diabetes prevention group.

Four other hikes open to anybody from the public were offered as well.

For Pharr Davis, these interactions with

The fundraising effort As Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail stepped into the trail’s 40th anniversary year, the goal was to raise $200,000 for new trail signs, bridges, maintenance tools and trail awareness.

As of now, the organization has raised $265,000.

“It’s hard to pull out what exactly she (Jennifer Pharr Davis) was responsible for, but she throughout the course of the year did so much to raise awareness for the trail and involve people,” said Friends of the MST Executive Director Kate Dixon. “She was just fabulous.”

Through various events planned along Pharr Davis’ three-month, 1,175-mile hike, she met close to 1,000 people and connected with many more through her blog and Facebook posts, Dixon said, with a Friends gathering earlier this year featuring Pharr Davis as a speaker drawing about 100 more people than the previous record.

During a board retreat planned for January, Friends of the MST will set its fundraising goal for 2018 and continue talking about how to shift the 500 miles currently routed along roads onto trail instead. There’s a lot of potential there, Dixon said, with community leaders in many trailside towns excited about the trail coming through their area.

“The trail is just so much better known, and more people are hiking it,” she said.

“There’s so much that’s going really well, and we just want to continue that momentum.”

Read more about Pharr Davis’ hike and donate to the MST at www.mountainstoseatrail.org/mst40th/jpd-hikes-themst/read-jens-blogs-and-posts.

people were as much a part of the trail as the geography and the views. Those interactions are also much of the reason that she loved spending her evenings with host families along the trail.

“It made it a more full experience for us,” she said. “I feel like we really got to know not just the trail but the people who live right beside the trail.”

In parts of the state where there was no trail, that aspect of knowing the people became even sharper. As she walked along the road, not a day went by when somebody didn’t stop to ask if she was OK, if she needed water or maybe a ride.

“For the most part, people are just really good, regardless of whether they’re liberal or conservative, or Duke or UNC fans,” she said.

And, as the road stretched flat in eastern North Carolina, she found herself smack in the middle of farm country, meeting face-toface the farmers who grow all that food.

Count the birds

Disc golf tournament raises money for nonprofits A recent disc golf tournament in Waynesville earned nearly $2,000 to support Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood County Special Olympics.

Held Sunday, Nov. 19, the Blind Hog Thanksgiving Hybrid Harvest brought in 71 disc golfers from seven states to enjoy a temporary disc golf course designed by Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department Program Supervisor Tim Petrea and located at the Waynesville Inn Golf Resort and Spa. Players competed in seven different divisions during two rounds, enjoying the course and the challenges of water, high winds and out-of-

bounds areas.

The tournament was a joint fundraiser and awareness event for Haywood Waterways and Special Olympics, with players greeted by Special Olympics Gold Medalist Morgan Bieleck and Haywood Waterways Executive Director Eric Romaniszyn. The tee signs also displayed quotes about the heavy need for Special Olympics coaches in Haywood County and the importance of protecting clean water.

Taylor Ford and Lisa Ferguson of Edward Jones Financial provided awards and golf carts. The event was sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association.

with Don Hendershot at ddihen1@bellsouth.net or 828.646.0871 n Saturday, Dec. 23, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The circle includes the Cades Cove area and is 80 percent within the park. All available routes are hiking trails, with Cades Cove itself well covered. Sign up with Susan Hoyle, hoyleshrike@gmail.com.

A map of all CBC circles is available at www.audubon.org/join-christmas-bird-count.

December 6-12, 2017 Smoky Mountain News

experience because it’s not just my experience. There are a lot of feelings at the end.”

She and Brew are glad they did the trail, but also glad it’s over, Pharr Davis said. And they probably won’t attempt anything similar for a while.

In the process, though, she learned something about herself and the ways she’s changed since her former lifestyle of nearly continuous hiking. She still loves long-distance hiking as much as she ever has, but it’s no longer the most important thing in her life.

“The thing that changed is The Davis family pauses during I really love my life off-trail one of their many meet-ups too. My life off-trail is more along the trail. Donated photo important to me now than doing long-distance hikes,” she said.

That’s not to say that she has a hard time getting outside. Now living in Asheville, Pharr Davis is the founder of Blue Ridge Hiking Company, with a job description that involves plenty of hiking and camping. And when it comes to her young family, she’s Hospitality from members of Friends of the found that she can derive Mountains-to-Sea Trail helped make Pharr many of the same benefits she Davis’ hike especially enjoyable. used to get from long-distance Jennifer Pharr Davis photo hiking by consistently doing day hikes with the kids and short sections solo. you’re not going to see as much of that.”

“I was so aware that I was at a different As with any trail ending, completing the season of life, and it wasn’t better or MST brought on a flurry of emotions. worse,” she said. “It was just different, and I “You’re proud. You’re happy. You’re sad felt like I just need to embrace the season it’s over,” she said. “I felt like it had been I’m in right now.” hard on my husband, and that changed the “It really gave me a connection to where the food is grown in North Carolina and how it’s harvested and the way of life there,” she said. “I just felt like if you’re on a trail,

Birders across the globe are gearing up to celebrate the season with the 118th annual Christmas Bird Count, and the Smokies region is no exception.

Each CBC circle is 15 miles in diameter, and participants are tasked with finding as many bird species in that area as possible during the single-day count. All counts are held between Dec. 14 Hermit thrush. and Jan. 5. Data gleaned Warren Bielenberg photo from the yearly count goes into what is now a massive citizen science database.

Counts in Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are: n Thursday, Dec. 14, near Franklin. Groups will begin at 8:30 a.m. and finish at 4 p.m., with the circle divided into five different zones and a group assigned to each one. Most groups will travel by car throughout the zone with some walking at specific locations. At the end of the day, counters will meet at a local restaurant to eat and tally results. Organized by the Franklin Bird Club. RSVP to Rita St. Claire, rstcl10609@aol.com. n Friday, Dec. 15, near Highlands. The group will meet at 7:30 a.m. and count until about 1 p.m. Organized by the Highlands Plateau

Audubon Society. RSVP to Brock Hutchins, brockhutchins@bellsouth.net or 404.295.0663. n Sunday, Dec. 17, near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. About half of the circle is located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with the rest outside the park on the Tennessee side. RSVP to coordinator Warren Bielenberg, 865.681.7884. n Friday, Jan. 5, near Waynesville. Sign up

outdoors

A competitor tosses a disc during the Blind Hog Thanksgiving Hybrid Harvest event. Donated photo

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outdoors

Land protected at Highlands of Roan Land conservation in the Highlands of Roan area got a boost with the Southern

The protected acreage is rife with high-quality salamander habitat.

Donated photo

Appalachian Highlands Conservancy’s purchase of 142 acres at Upper Roaring Creek Valley.

“The land has been in my family close to 100 years,” said landowner Chris Hughes. “I believed that the SAHC would be a good route for us to go, and would preserve what to me is a sacred mountain for future generations long after we all are dust. This is my heritage, it is in my very genetic code, and no one can possibly know how much this place means to me.”

The contiguous tracts in Avery County contain exceptional water resources as well as undeveloped forestland that adjoins Pisgah National Forest. Rising to an upper elevation of 4,700 feet, the forested acreage can be seen from public recreation areas such as the Appalachian Trail and the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail. About one-third of it lies within the Audubon Society’s Roan Mountain Important Bird Area.

The acquisition builds upon SAHC’s conservation work across the Roaring Creek Valley and Roan Highlands. Over the past several decades, SAHC and its partners have worked to conserve tens of thousands of acres in this area.

Crafts for conservation

December 6-12, 2017

A fundraiser benefiting the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy will be held noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at Addison Farm Vineyard in Leicester.

Local crafters will display their wares, with proceeds helping SAHC conserve more farmland in the future. Learn more about SAHC’s conservation efforts at appalachian.org. www.addisonfarms.net.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is in the midst of an effort to restore structures in the historic Elkmont area. Donated photo

Explore Elkmont A walk in the woods Tuesday, Dec. 12, will provide opportunity to explore the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park while also getting some Christmas shopping in at Sugarlands Visitor Center.

Led by hiking expert Danny Bernstein, this Friends of the Smokies hike will feature 7 miles of flat topography via the Little River and Cucumber Gap Trails. A stop at the historic Elkmont district will highlight four recently restored cabins in the Daisy Town area, including the Levi Trantham Cabin, Mayo Cabin, Mayo Servants’ Quarters and Creekmore Cabin. The park is in the mist of a restoration project to preserve 19 historic structures in the early

1900s community.

“Elkmont’s history is so different from the rest of the park. After logging, the area was built up with private resort homes. The last person did not move out until June 30, 2001,” Bernstein said. “Much of the hike is along Little River; it’s so peaceful and beautiful — no wonder families wanted to spend their summers there.”

Hike is $20 for members and $35 for nonmembers, with one-year membership included. Meeting locations will be available in Waynesville, Asheville and at the trailhead. Proceeds benefit the Trails Forever program, which funds rehabilitation of high-priority Smokies trails.

Register at hike.friendsofthesmokies.org.

Get certified in hunter safety A hunter safety course resulting in a certification that’s valid in every North American state and province will be offered 6-9:30 p.m. Dec. 18-19 at Haywood Community College in Clyde.

In addition to firearm safety, instruction includes ethics and responsibility, conservation and wildlife management, identification, survival, first aid, specialty hunting and tree stand safety.

Free through a partnership of HCC’s Department of Arts, Sciences and Natural Resources and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. No minimum age, but classes are taught at the sixthgrade level and participants must take a test without assistance. Attendance to both sessions required, with classes located in room 3322 of building 3300.

Pre-registration required at www.ncwildlife.org.

Smoky Mountain News

New trail opens in Murphy

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The first phase in construction of a new trail system is now complete with the opening of the Piney Knob Trail System near Murphy Saturday, Nov. 18.

The 7 miles of dirt single-track trails are open to hikers and mountain bikers, with plans to eventually expand the trail system to 22.3 miles. The new trail meets International Mountain Bike Association standards.

The Piney Knob Trail System is a project of the town of Murphy and developed by the Southern Appalachian Bicycle The ribbon is cut on the Piney Association on a 700-acre tract of land Knob Trail System. Donated photo that’s conserved through Mainspring Conservation Trust. The watershed on the property provides water to the town, and Mainspring staff monitor the easement annually. www.pineyknobtrails.com.

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December 6-12, 2017 Smoky Mountain News 37

Dive into Christmas past

Smoky Mountain News

December 6-12, 2017

outdoors

A festival featuring old-time mountain music, crafts, singing and a living history walk will be held 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at Sugarlands Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“Around Christmas time, people gathered in churches, homes and schools where they celebrated the holiday through music, storytelling and crafts,” said North District Resource Education Supervisor Stephanie Sutton. “The Festival of Christmas Past allows us to pause and remember some of these traditions.”

The 41st annual Festival of Christmas Past program will begin with shape-note singing at 9:30 a.m., followed by old-time mountain music with Lost Mill and the popular Christmas Memories walk at 11 a.m. Costumed interpreters will lead this short walk from the visitor center to talk about life in the mountains during Christmastime.

The event will also include old-time music with Boogertown Gap at noon, a presentation from the Smoky Mountain Historical Society at 1 p.m. and Appalachian Christmas music and storytelling with park

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staff at 2 p.m.

Free through a sponsorship from the

Summer Wegworth and Garrett Soehn participate in an old-time Christmas tradition. NPS photo

Great Smoky Mountains Association. Hot apple cider will be served throughout the days, and visitors can participate in handson activities at make-and-take craft stations.

Find the future of farming A documentary showcasing the extraordinary changes taking place in America’s food system will be screened at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Haywood County Public Library in Waynesville.

“Farmers for America: A Documentary to Celebrate, Inspire and Support Young Farmers,” features 21 farmers to reveal the next generation ready to take over an industry where the average age is 60, looking at the practices they’re championing and the obstacles they must overcome.

A discussion about the film and the future of agriculture in Western North Carolina will be held after the 75-minute showing. Free, with refreshments provided by Friends of the Library. Sponsored by the N.C. Grows initiative of WNC Farm Link & Stanberry Insurance.

Environmental research to get public airing Insight from a semester spent at Highlands Biological Station will be presented during an event 2-5 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the Highlands Nature Center.

In August, 12 students from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill arrived at the biological station for a semester-in-residence program, completing a variety of environment-focused coursework and an internship research experience. During the Dec. 13 program, they’ll present the

results of that research.

Each student conducts his or her research with the help of mentors from local conservation organizations. Projects are diverse, stemming from partnerships with Kanuga Conferences, Inc., Green Energy Park, Orianne Society, Chattooga Conservancy, Western Carolina University and the North American Land Trust.

Students also completed a group capstone project — this year’s focus was “Health of the Headwaters,” with students examining issues through their coursework relating to Blue Ridge Escarpment headwater streams and groundwater dynamics.

Free. Refreshments provided.

828.526.2221 or www.highlandsbiological.org.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Town of Sylva and the Sylva Public Art Committee invite artists or artist teams to submit qualifications for an artist to develop a mural concept and for installation of mural by artist(s) on the wall of Ward Plumbing & Heating on Mill Street in downtown Sylva.

Deadline for submission is 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15.

Applications and materials must be received by this date and time to be considered. 586.2719 or townmanager@townofsylva.org.

• Folkmoot is organizing a trip to Greece that will depart Dec. 26 and return on Jan. 3. To register or get more info: http://folkmoot.org/Greece or 452.2997.

• Cruise in Maggie Valley event is held from 1-5 p.m. every Sunday at 2771 Soco Road. Vendors: $10 per space. Cruising@MaggieValleyAntiques.com.

• Qualla Boundary Historical Society meets at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Everyone is welcome.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Registration is underway for the spring semester at Haywood Community College. Classes start Monday, Jan. 8. 627.4500 or haywood.edu.

• A Hunter Safety Course will be offered from 6-9:30 p.m. on Dec. 18-19 on the Haywood Community College Campus, Building 3300, Room 3322, in Clyde.

Participants must attend both nights to receive certification from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

Preregistration required: www.ncwildlife.org.

• A social media marketing summit for small business owners will be offered from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Haywood Community College campus in Clyde. Seminars include “Instagram Made Easy,” “Facebook Made Easy” and “Tools for Social Media.” For info or to register: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• A TED talk discussion on “How to Spot a Liar” will be offered on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m., at the Waynesville Library. 15-20 minute talk followed by discussion. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• Concealed Carry Handgun Classes will be offered from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Jan. 20 and Feb. 17 at Bethel Grocery Hunting & Fishing at 5692 Pigeon Road in Waynesville. 648.5797 or bethelgrocery@gmail.com.

• Small business owners can find materials and services to support business growth at Fontana Regional Library’s locations in Macon, Jackson and Swain Counties. Computer classes and one-on-one assistance also available. 586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.

• A meeting of current and former employees of the Waynesville plant of Champion/Blue Ridge/Evergreen is held at 8 a.m. on the first Monday of each month at BoJangles near Lake Junaluska’s entrance.

• One-on-one computer lessons are offered weekly at the Waynesville and Canton branches of the Haywood County Public Library. Lesson slots are available from 10 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Canton and from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Waynesville Library. Sign up at the front desk of either library or call 356.2507 for the Waynesville Library or 648.2924 for the Canton Library.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Addison Farm Vineyards will host an event featuring local crafters from noon-5 p.m. on Dec. 9 in Leicester.

Fundraiser benefits Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy Farmland projects. www.addisonfarms.net.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• Hope on the Mountain concert featuring Summer Brooke & The Mountain Faith Band is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Dec. 10 at First United Methodist Church in Franklin.

Benefit concert for the Hope Women’s Cancer Center. Love offering will be taken in lieu of admissions cost.

• City Lights Bookstore (Sylva) 19th annual “Giving Tree” program is now underway. The program collects books and gives them to the agencies in time for the children to receive books for Christmas. All “Giving Tree” purchases will receive a 20 percent discount.

586.9499.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS • The Good Samaritan clinic of Haywood County seeks volunteers to help uninsured patients receive medications, vision care and other health and spiritual-related services in Waynesville. Clinic is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Friday. 454.5287 or crocco@gcshaywood.org.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking volunteers to assist rangers with managing traffic and establishing safe wildlife viewing areas within the Cataloochee Valley area. To register for training or get more info: karl_danforth@nps.gov.

• Haywood Regional Medical Center is seeking volunteers of all ages for ongoing support at the hospital, outpatient care center and the Homestead. For info and to apply: 452.8301, stop by the information desk in the lobby or volunteer@haymed.org. Anyone interested in becoming a hospice volunteer can call 452.5039.

• STAR Rescue Ranch is seeking volunteers to help with horse care, fundraising events, barn maintenance and more at the only equine rescue in Haywood County.

505.274.9199.

• Volunteer Opportunities are available throughout the region, call John at the Haywood Jackson Volunteer Center today and get started sharing your talents. 3562833 • Phone Assurance Volunteers are needed to make daily or weekly wellness check-in calls for the Haywood County Senior Resource Center. 356.2816.

HEALTH MATTERS • HIV and syphilis testing will is offered during normal business hours at Jackson County Department of Public Health in Sylva. 586.8994.

• A support group for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), family, friends and caregivers will meet at 5:45 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Jackson County Public Library conference room in Sylva.

293.2503.

• The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from noon-4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Haywood County Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Waynesville. For an appointment: 246.9135, 800.733.2767 or redcrossblood.org.

• An opportunity to learn about your Affordable Care Health Insurance options will be offered from 1-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Waynesville Library.

Appointments: 452.1447. Walk-ins welcome.

• The December Ladies Night Out Program is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 in the cafeteria of Angel Medical Center in Franklin. Topic is “Food Safety,” presented by Lisa Browning of Macon County Public Health’s Environmental Health Section. For ages 13-up.

Proceeds go to Toys for Tots.

Smoky Mountain News

• A support group for anyone with MS, family & friends meets monthly at 6:45 p.m. on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the conference room of Jackson Co. Library in Sylva. No Fee, sponsored by National MS Society. Local contact: Gordon Gaebel 828-293-2503.

• “Laughing Balsam Sangha,” a meeting for Mindfullness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, meets will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays at 318 Skyland Drive in Sylva. Included are sitting and walking meditation, and Dharma discussion. Free admission.

335.8210, and “Like” them on Facebook.

• A “Walk With A Doc” program is scheduled for 10 a.m. each Saturday at the Lake Junaluska Kern Center or Canton Rec Park.

MyHaywoodRegional.com/WalkwithaDoc. • Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families (ACA) meets at noon on Saturdays at the First United Methodist Church Outreach Center at 171 Main St. in Franklin. 407.758.6433 or adultchildren.org.

• Western Carolina University’s student-run, Mountain Area Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic will be open from 6-8:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. 227.3527.

• The Haywood County Health & Human Services Public Health Services Division is offering a Night Clinic from 4-6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of every month in Waynesville. Services include family planning, immunizations, pregnancy testing, STD testing and treatment. Appointments: 452.6675.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health will offer a general clinic from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 587.8225.

• A Food Addicts Anonymous Twelve-Step fellowship group meets at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays at Grace Church in the Mountains in Waynesville. www.foodaddictsanonymous.org.

• Big Brother/Big Sister, a one-evening preparation class for children who are about to greet a new baby into their family, is offered for children ages 3-10 at Haywood Regional Medical Center. 452.8440 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses.

• Mothers Connection, an ongoing social gathering for mothers and their babies, meets from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Thursdays excluding holidays at Haywood Regional Medical Center. 452.8440 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses.

• A support group meeting for those with Parkinsons Disease and their caregivers will be held at 2 p.m. on the last Wednesday of the month at the Waynesville Senior Resource Center.

• A support group for anyone with Multiple Sclerosis, family and friends meets twice each month: at 2 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month in the Heritage Room at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva and at 5:30 p.m. on the second Thursday at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Info: 293.2503.

• Dogwood Insight Center presents health talks at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.

• Free childbirth and breastfeeding classes are available at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva. Classes are offered bimonthly on an ongoing basis. Register or get more info: 586.7907.

• Angel Medical Center’s diabetes support group meets at 4 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the AMC dining room. 369.4166.

• A free weekly grief support group is open to the public from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursdays at SECU Hospice House in Franklin. Hosted by Four Seasons Compassion for Life Bereavement Team. 692.6178 or mlee@fourseasonscfl.org.

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Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings • A monthly grief processing support group will meet from 4-5:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the Homestead Hospice and Palliative Care in Clyde.

452.5039.

• A free, weekly grief support group will meet from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursdays at the SECU Hospice House in Franklin. 692.6178 or mlee@fourseasonscfl.org.

• “ECA on the Move!” – a walking program organized

by Jackson County Extension and Community Association – meets from 9-10 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. It’s an effort to meet the American Heart Association’s recommendation of 10,000 steps per day. 586.4009.

• A Tuesday Meditation Group meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • A fitness class entitled “Efficient Movement Through Anatomy” will be offered from 8:45-9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Led by Abel Wellness of Franklin. www.abelwellness.com.

• Pickleball, a cross between tennis, badminton and ping-pong, will be offered from 9 a.m.-noon on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Old Hazelwood Gym in Waynesville. $3 per visit, or $20 for a 10-visit card.

452.6789 or iansmith@haywoodcountync.gov.

• Yoga is being offered at the Fitness Connection in Waynesville. First class is free. Info: 476.0179 or 550.1640.

• ZUMBA! Classes, are offered from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays, at the Canton Armory. $5 per class. 648.2363 or parks@cantonnc.com.

• Tai chi is offered from 10:45-11:45 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center. It’s also offered from 1-2 p.m. on Thursdays. Taught by Bill Muerdter. For info about the classes or HRHFC memberships and offerings, call 452.8080 or visit MyHaywoodRegional.com/Fitness.

• Ultimate Frisbee games are held from 5:30-8 p.m. on Mondays at the Cullowhee Recreation Park. Organized

by Jackson County Parks & Recreation. Pick-up style.

293.2053 or www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• The Wednesday Croquet Group meets from 10 a.m.noon at the Vance Street Park across from the shelter.

For senior players ages 55 or older. 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Pickleball is from 1-3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday nights at First Methodist Church in Sylva. $1 each time you play; equipment provided. 293.3053.

• Cardio Lunch class will meet from noon-1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center. For ages 16 and above. Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

wnc calendar

• Flexible Fitness class will meet from 4:30-5:15 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center. For ages 16 and above. Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Pump It Up class will meet from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center. For ages 16 and above. Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

• The Canton Armory is open to the public for walking from 7:45-9 a.m. on Monday through Friday unless the facility is booked till spring. 648.2363. parks@cantonnc.com.

• Pickle ball is offered from 8 a.m.-noon on Mondays through Fridays at the Waynesville Recreation Center.

456.2030 or www.waynesvillnc.gov.

SPIRITUAL • Toy Jam Seven featuring Tribe Called Praise and special guest Emily Franklin is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at Webster Baptist Church. Message, music, refreshments and fellowship. Admission: new, unopened and unwrapped toy.

December 6-12, 2017

• The Haywood Ramblers will perform a mix of Baptist spirituals, traditional ballads, Carter family songs and regional compositions in a concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17, at Western Carolina University’s H.F. Robinson Administration Building in Cullowhee. Jam session will follow. 227.7129.

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • Norma Watkins will present That Woman From Mississippi at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. To reserve copies of her books, please call City Lights Bookstore at 586.9499.

• New York Times Bestselling author Denise Kiernan will present her new book The Last Castle at 3 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 9, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. To reserve copies of her books, please call City Lights Bookstore at 586.9499.

• Blue Ridge Books will celebrate publication of “Lift Every Voice! African-American History in Haywood County: Volume 1” at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15 in Waynesville. First-hand recollections of lives spent in the area.

•The “Coffee with the Poet” series gathers at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva the third Thursday of each month and is co-sponsored by the North Carolina Writers Network. 586.9499.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • The Mexican Train Dominoes Group seeks new players to join games at 1:30 p.m. each Tuesday at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 926.6567.

• Registration is underway for Lake Junaluska’s winter youth retreat with Jeremy Steele (speaker) and Jeremy Atkins (worship band), which starts Dec. 29. Register or get more info: 800.222.4930 or www.lakejunaluska.com/winteryouth.

• Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina – an effort to help area residents commit to a healthier lifestyle, will meet from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.

• Registration is underway for the Interfaith Peace Conference, which is Thursday through Sunday, March 1-4, in Lake Junaluska. Topic centers around communicating with civility and respect while upholding core values and religious traditions. Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders will offer lectures, worship, music, prayer and meditation. $150 per person. $60 for students. $10 for CEU credits. www.lakejunaluska.com/peace or 800.222.4930.

• A Silver Sneakers Cardio Fit class will meet from 1011 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center. For ages 60 and above. Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Book Club is held at 2 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800

POLITICAL • An info session with Phillip Price, who’s running for Congress, is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 at Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in Franklin. 659.7000 or www.price4wnc.com.

• “Price 4 WNC” is hosting a rally in support of net neutrality rules at 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 at Vance Monument in Asheville. 659.7000 or phillip@price4wnc.com.

• Tickets are on sale for the 25th annual Charles Taylor Holiday Dinner, which is Saturday, Dec. 16, at the

Smoky Mountain News

Crown Plaza Resort in Asheville. Taylor is the longestserving Republican U.S. Representative in WNC history (1991-2007). Tickets: $60. Checks can be mailed to Charles Taylor, P.O. Box 7587, Asheville, NC 28802.

Info: 243.2187 or tasmothers@yahoo.com.

• Senior croquet for ages 55 and older is offered from 9-11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Vance Street Park in front of Waynesville Recreation Center.

Free. For info, contact Donald Hummel at 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2813.

• 43rd annual Cashiers Christmas Parade is at noon on Saturday, Dec. 9. http://tinyurl.com/y94jp8yd.

• Hearts is played at 12 p.m. on Wednesdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.

356.2813.

• “Letters to Santa” will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 23 at the Swain County Heritage Museum in Bryson City. Drop a line for Santa. Materials provided. Call the museum for Santa appearances: 800.867.9246.

• Mah Jongg is played at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.

356.2813.

KIDS & FAMILIES • Holiday gift-making time for kids is scheduled for 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Dec. 16 and Dec. 22-23 at Art Room Main Street in Franklin. $15 per child. Make a hairclip, polymer clay pen and cards and ribbon pins.

For ages 8-up. Register: 349.3777 or www.artroomsupplies.com.

• A Holiday Kids Party is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. http://folkschool.org or 837.2775.

• Kids at HART will hold open auditions for “Madagascar Jr.” at 4 p.m. on Dec. 19. Open to grades 3-12. 456.6322 or srsumpter@charter.net. www.harttheatre.org.

• A kids’ nature discovery program will be offered to ages 3-5 and kindergarten through third grade through the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department.

Younger ages will meet at 4 p.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 20) at Cullowhee Recreation Center. The older ages meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 20). $10 per child.

Pre-register: www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• A “Youth Art Class” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon every Saturday at the Appalachian Art Farm on 22 Morris Street in Sylva. All ages welcome. $10 includes instruction, materials and snack. For more information, email appalachianartfarm@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.

KIDS FILMS • “Coco” is playing Dec. 6-7 at 7 p.m. in Waynesville at the Strand on Main. See website, 38main.cc for prices.

• “Despicable Me 3” will be playing at the Mad Batter Food & Film on Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. and Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

• A family movie will be shown at 10:30 a.m. every Friday at Hudson Library in Highlands.

• Pinochle game is played at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays

Puzzles can be found on page 46.

A&E HOLIDAY • Canton Christmas Parade is at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7 in downtown Canton.

• The annual “Lights & Luminaries” will return to the streets of downtown Dillsboro Dec. 8-9. www.visitdillsboro.org.

• Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation will have its annual gift-wrapping project for shoppers during regular stores through Dec. 24 at Mast General Store on Main Street in Waynesville. Organizers need wrapping materials and volunteers to work three-hour shifts.

Sign up: http://tinyurl.com/yco6ssdo. www.sargeanimals.org.

• Very Merry Market, a healthy, handmade holiday popup is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 1902 South Main Street in Waynesville. Featuring doTerra Essential Oils, Stonehouse Pottery, drinking glasses by Jennifer Mathis, watercolor prints by Ami Pruett Art, handcrafted jewelry by Vella Creative, felted wool creations by Erin Boyd and artisan tea gift baskets. Register: http://tinyurl.com/y7zb5jdu.

• The Brasstown Ringers will present their “Bells of Christmas Past” Christmas Concert at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the John C. Campbell Folk School’s Keith House Community Room in Brasstown.

• Appalachian Christmas at Lake Junaluska is Dec. 710. Live music, meals and artistry. Includes performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” Lake Junaluska Singers Christmas Concert, Cockman Family performs and Appalachian Christmas Craft Show. www.lakejunaluska.com.

• A performance of Handel’s Messiah is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Lake Junaluska. www.lakejunaluska.com.

• Overlook Theatre Company will present “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at 7 p.m. Dec. 8-9 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are $12 each. To purchase tickets, visit www.greatmountainmusic.com or call 866.273.4615.

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• Luminaries will be placed on the old Jackson County Courthouse steps and down historic Main Street Sylva on the evenings of Dec. 8-9. Luminaries will be placed by the First Presbyterian Church of Sylva.

• The Appalachian Christmas Craft Show is from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Lake Junaluska. Live music, meals and artistry. www.lakejunaluska.com.

• A Hand & Foot card game is held at 1 p.m. on Mondays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• Senior Sale Day is on the third Friday of every month at the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore. Patrons 60 and older get 20 percent off all purchases. Proceeds benefit the Sylva Library.

• Tickets are on sale for the N.C. Arboretum’s Winter Lights event, which runs through Dec. 31. Tickets: $18 for adults; $12 for children and $15 per person in groups of 20 or more. Members get a $2 discount per ticket. www.ncwinterlights.com.

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iday cards during Night Before Christmas from 6-9 p.m. on Dec. 9 at Twigs and Leaves Gallery in Waynesville. http://twigsandleaves.com or 456.1940.

• Cherokee Lights & Legends is Dec. 9-17 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. 359.6492.

• A Night Before Christmas is happening Dec. 9 and 16 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Waynesville.

Lights, luminaries, wagon rides, music, Santa, shopping and so much more. www.visitncsmokies.com.

• The 41st annual Festival of Christmas Past celebration is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at Sugarlands Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Activities, walk and music. www.nps.gov/grsm.

• An Appalachian Family Christmas is scheduled for 4-10 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Historic Shelton House Barn in Waynesville. Children can make ornaments, visit Santa and have a photo taken. info@sheltonhouse.org or 452.1551.

• A Christmas concert featuring Yona Wade, soloist, will be presented from 6-7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, in the Jackson County Library Community Room in Sylva. He’ll be accompanied by pianist Tracey Bailey and guest artists Kitty Brooks and Kathy McConnell. info@jacksoncountyarts.org or 507.9820.

• The Western Carolina Civic Orchestra will present the seventh annual “Community Christmas Concert” on Tuesday, Dec. 12, on the steps of the Jackson County Public Library. The musical celebration will begin at 6:30 p.m. with caroling on the library steps, led by Gayle and Phil Woody. The Western Carolina Civic Orchestra strings, conducted by Dr. Damon Sink, will begin the concert at 7 p.m. 586.2016. www.fontanalib.org.

• “Twelve Days of Christmas” will be Dec. 13-24 in downtown. Merchants offer specials throughout the holiday celebration.

• A Christmas Spectacular Show will be offered for all ages at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 15-16, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Put on by EPIC, the library’s performing arts group. A comedic show putting a spin on the Lawrence Welk Show that was popular from 1955-71.

• The “Feast of the Seven Fishes” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, in Harmon’s Den Bistro at the Haywood Art Regional Theatre in Waynesville. The event is part of the Italian-American Christmas celebration, which is traditionally on Christmas Eve. Seven courses with wine pairings and intermezzo.

Cost is $100 per person, all-inclusive. To reserve your table, call the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322or email harttheater@gmail.com.

• New Year’s Eve Fireworks will be launched on Dec. 31 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds. 359.6492.

FOOD & DRINK

• Local country singer Ryan Perry will host the “Under The Moonshine” single release party from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at Elevated Mountain Distilling in Maggie Valley. Fatbellys Food Truck will be onsite at 6:30 p.m. Waynesville Soda Jerks will also be serving artisan beverages. Donations accepted for the Haywood County Animal Shelter. www.elevatedmountain.com.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Kevin Lorenz (singer-songwriter) Dec. 8, Jingle Bell Bash w/Sheila Gordon (piano/vocals) Dec. 9, Bob Zullo (guitar/vocals) Dec. 15 and Joe Cruz (piano/pop) Dec. 16.

All shows are free (unless otherwise noted) and begin at 7 p.m. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• The Cockman Family will perform a concert at 2 p.m. on Dec. 9 at Lake Junaluska. www.lakejunaluska.com.

• The Lake Junaluska Singers will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 at Lake Junaluska. www.lakejunaluska.com.

• “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” will be on stage at 2 p.m. on Dec. 9-10 and Dec. 16-17 at HART Theater in Waynesville. Tickets: $10 for adults; $5 for students. www.harttheatre.org or 456.6322.

• The Highlands Cashiers Players will present their annual Holiday Program at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center in Highlands. Theme is “Have A vae aHHolly, Jolly Christmas” with a holiday quiz and stories ready by HCP actors.

• Auditions for “Sense and Sensibility: will be held from noon-3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, and from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, in Fangmeyer Theater at HART in Waynesville. Production will run April 27-May 13. Five roles each for men and women.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • The Swain County Genealogical & Historical Society will have a holiday party and silent auction at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Swain County Business Education Center, which is at 45 East Ridge Drive in Bryson City.

• Glass Ornament classes will be offered on Thursday, Dec. 7 at Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. $30 per time slot. Each time slot is 30 minutes; slots available from noon-2 p.m. Pre-register: 631.0271. Ages 13-18 may participate with parent present. www.jcgep.org.

• Tickets are on sale for the Downtown Sylva Wine Walk, which is at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7. Sample food and wines at eight venues. Tickets: $45 or $40 and a donation of a nonperishable food item for the Community Table.

• A community music jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — year-round. 488.3030.

• The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce “Holiday Chamber Cheer” celebration will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at Laurel Ridge Country Club.

Tickets are $40 per person. Cocktails, silent auction, hors doeuvres, and more. www.haywoodchamber.com.

• The Haywood Community College Professional Crafts program will host a holiday craft sale from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, in the Mary Cornwell Gallery of the Creative Arts Building in Clyde. Preview is available from 5-7 p.m. on Dec. 7. www.haywood.edu.

Smoky Mountain News

• The Brasstown Ringers will present their “Bells of Christmas Past” Christmas Concert at 5 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the First Baptist Church in Robbinsville.

• “The Santaland Diaries” will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 7-9 by David Sedaris at the Western Carolina University Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee.

Tickets: $30. Tickets and info: arts.wcu.edu/santaland.

December 6-12, 2017

• The Highlands Cashiers Players’ Holiday Program is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center. Stories and chorus.

• Students and faculty from Western Carolina University’s School of Music will present the comic opera “The Hotel Casablanca” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in the recital hall of the university’s Coulter Building. Admission is free for the show, which will be performed in English and features a rural Texas setting complete with singers in cowboy hats and boots.

227.3275 or mkbauer@wcu.edu.

wnc calendar

• Cherokee’s Christmas parade is at 2 p.m. on Dec. 9 in Cherokee. 359.6491.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • A dramatic reading of “A Christmas Carol” will be presented by Bob Grove at 7 p.m. on Dec. 6, followed by a performance by the Brasstown Morris Dancers at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. Info: http://folkschool.org or 837.2775.

41

wnc calendar

• Learn how to make your own glass paperweight in a 30-minute class on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Time slots are available between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Reservations: 631.0271. Walk-ins welcome. Info: www.jcgep.org.

• A class on making kombucha at home is scheduled for 3-4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, at the Waynesville Library. Kombucha is a fermented beverage made of tea and sugar. Functional, probiotic. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild will host a “former First Lady” during its Christmas Luncheon at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, at Tartan Hall in Franklin. Muriel Pfaff will represent Frances Cleveland, wife of President Grover Cleveland. www.smokymtnquilters.org.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • “Season of Light,” an exhibition of photographs by Teri Leigh Teed, is on display through Dec. 31 in the Burrell Building lobby on Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. www.terileighteed.com.

• Linda Dickinson’s display of black-and-white photography is being displayed at the Canton Public Library Meeting Room in Canton. Show is entitled “Waynesville and Environs, a Black & White Perspective.” 648.2924.

• A showcase of artwork from Justin Moe will be on display through the month of November at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. artbyjustinmoe.weebly.com or www.facebook.com/artbyjustinmoe.

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center will host the exhibit “WCU Collects: Recent Acquisitions” through Jan. 26. 227.3591.

Smoky Mountain News

December 6-12, 2017

• Gallery 1 in Sylva is featuring small works of art for sale by its artist members. The exhibit will run through Nov. 30. Opening hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tuesday through Saturday. www.gallery1sylva.com, www.facebook.com/artinthemountains

42

• In the WCU Fine Art Museum main gallery through Dec. 8 is the nationally traveling exhibition “Return from Exile: Contemporary Southeastern Indian Art,” curated by Tony A. Tiger, Bobby C. Martin, and Jace Weaver. This exhibition showcases a selection of artworks recently given to the museum and includes a number of artists not previously represented in the collection. www.wcu.edu.

• The Haywood County Arts Council annual show, “It’s a Small, Small Work,” will be held through Dec. 23 in HCAC Gallery & Gifts in Waynesville.www.haywoodarts.org or 452.0593.

• Free movies are shown every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva.

Madbatterfoodfilm.com.

Outdoors • The Asheville Winter Bike League offers structured group rides at 10 a.m. every Saturday through Jan. 28. https://tinyurl.com/ycgp8a4s.

• Section hiking of the Appalachian Trail will be discussed from 6:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at REI in Asheville. Led by instructor Patrick Wright. Register: www.rei.com/learn.html.

• An astronomical look at the star of Bethlehem will be offered at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in Rosman. Optional dinner at 5:30 p.m. $20 per adult (or $35 including dinner), $15 for seniors/military (or $30 including dinner) or $5 per child (ages 6-10, or $13 including dinner). Under five is free. Register and pay: www.pari.edu or 862.5554.

Info: cblythe@pari.edu.

• The last Haywood Spay/Neuter transport is Dec. 13.

Pets must be registered by the day before the event, paperwork must be completed and ID and proof of income must be provided to determine the fee.

452.1329 or www.haywoodspayneuter.org.

• Highlands Biological Station will hold the closing ceremony of its 2017 Institute for the Environment program where students will present their research from 2-5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Nature Center in Highlands. www.highlandsbiological.org or 526.2221.

• Highlands Plateau Audubon Society will have its annual Christmas Bird Count at 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 15 at Founders Park in Highlands. www.highlandsaudubonsociety.org or 526.1939.

• A Spay/Neuter Clinic is offered from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays at 182 Richland Street in Waynesville. As low as $10. 452.1329.

• A weekly nighttime mountain bike ride is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Mondays from the Ledford Branch Trailhead at Bent Creek in Asheville. Organized by Motion Makers Bicycles. 633.2227.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club holds a Saturday Work Hike on the fourth Saturday of each month. 369.1983.

FARM AND GARDEN

• New artist and medium will be featured every month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• “Farmers for America: A Documentary to Celebrate, Inspire and Support Young Farmers” will be presented at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Waynesville Library.

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at the Bardo Arts Center is pleased to present the exhibition “WCU Collects: Recent Acquisitions” through Jan. 26 in Cullowhee. go.wcu.edu/wcucollects or call 828.227.3591.

• Haywood County Extension is accepting applications for the 2018 Master Gardener class, which will be held Tuesday mornings from Jan. 9-April 24. 456.3575 or sarah_scott@ncsu.edu.

FILM & SCREEN • “Logan Lucky” will be playing at the Mad Batter Food & Film on Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Sylva. Free.

586.3555.

• “Farmers for America: A Documentary to Celebrate, Inspire and Support Young Farmers” will be presented at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Waynesville Library. Film is 75 minutes.

• “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” will be playing at 7 p.m. on Dec. 14, 7 p.m. and 9:55 p.m. on Dec. 15, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m., 9:55 p.m., on Dec. 16, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m., on Dec. 17, and at 7 p.m. on Dec. 18-21 at the Strand on Main in Waynesville. See website for tickets and pricing. www.38main.com.

• Local farmers can stop by the Cooperative Extension Office on Acquoni Road from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every fourth Friday to learn about USDA Farm Service Agency programs in the 2014 Farm Bill. Info: 488.2684, ext. 2 (Wednesday through Friday) or 524.3175, ext. 2 (Monday through Wednesday).

• The Macon County Poultry Club of Franklin meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Cooperative Extension Office on Thomas Heights Rd, Open to the public. 369.3916.

HIKING CLUBS • The Nantahala Hiking Club will take an easy-tomoderate hike with an elevation change of 680 feet on Saturday, Dec. 9, to Chinquapin Mountain near Highlands. Reservations and info: 524.5298.

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Rates:

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■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads, ■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

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If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS PUBLIC NOTICE Mountain Projects, Inc. is planning to submit a proposal to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Economic Opportunity for a one year grant under the Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) Program. Public input is requested to utilize funding.

The public hearing will be held in Haywood County at 11:00a.m. on December 21, 2017 at the Mountain Projects office on 2251 Old Balsam Road, Waynesville, NC 28786 and Jackson County 1:30p.m. on December 21, 2017 at the Mountain Projects office on 25 Schulman Street, Sylva, NC 28779.

ANNOUNCEMENTS MOUNTAIN PROJECTS INC. Notice Of Intent To File An Application For 2018-2019 Community Services Block Grant Funding.

Mountain Projects, Community Action Agency is completing an application for the Community Services Black Grant Program for funding in 2018-2019, Mountain Projects is requesting $214,681.00 for the Central Intake and Referral programs in Haywood and Jackson County.

A small amount of funds will be used to support the GED program within Jackson County.

The review and approval of this application is scheduled January 23, 2018.

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www.smokymountainnews.com

EMPLOYMENT

SEEKING AN INDIVIDUAL To Provide Direct Client Services for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence, to Create and Support a Fundraising Plan for Jackson County Victim Services, and to Develop and Implement Education, Marketing, and Outreach Materials. If Interested, Please Submit a Resume to REACH of Macon County, PO Box 228 Franklin, NC 28744 or Send to: reach@reachofmaconcounty.org FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Respiratory Therapy Clinical Instructor (Part-time Raleigh Area).

For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal at: https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.comHuman Resources Office Phone: 910.678.7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu An Equal Opportunity Employer

MOON PIE - A GORGEOUS BLUETICK COONHOUND FEMALE. SHE HAS A LOVELY "VOICE" TYPICAL OF HER BREED, BUT SHE USES IT ONLY WHEN NECESSARY TO GET YOUR ATTENTION. SHE IS A LOVING, AFFECTIONATE GOOFBALL AND SHE'LL BE A TON OF FUN FOR HER NEW FAMILY. BLAZE - A YOUNG ORANGE TABBY MALE. HE IS A SWEET, CONFIDENT LITTLE GUY WHO ADORES RECEIVING HUMAN ATTENTION, ESPECIALLY NECK SCRATCHES. HE'LL BE A TERRIFIC FELINE BUDDY TO HIS LUCKY ADOPTER.

COMPLETE HOME INSPECTION SERVICES

Moving or Buying?

Let Us Help You.

HAYWOOD HOME INSPECTIONS

44

EMPLOYMENT FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Practical Nursing Instructor, PC Support & Services/Database Management Instructor & Part-time Construction Observer. For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal at: https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.com Human Resources Office Phone: 910.678.7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu An Equal Opportunity Employer

828.734.3609 | haywoodhomeinsp@gmail.com

CENTER SUPERVISOR KNEEDLER CHILD DEVELOPMENT - WCU Must have BS Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field and Administrative Level III Credentials, basic computer knowledge, 2-3 years’ experience in NC Day Care regulations, 2-3 years supervisory experience and good judgment skills.

Full-time with benefits.

Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd, 25 Schulman St or you may go to our website: www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application on line. Pre-Employment Drug Testing is Required.

EOE/AA.

FINANCIAL

BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

OVER $10K IN DEBT? Be debt free in 24-48 months.

Pay a fraction of what you owe.

A+ BBB rated. Call National Debt Relief Now 844.235.9343. SAPA

FURNITURE

COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778.

HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

LAWN & GARDEN

AIRLINE MECHANIC TRAINING Get FAA certification to fix planes.

Approved for military benefits.

Financial Aid if qualified. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 866.441.6890

SAWMILLS From only $4397.00 - Make & Save Money with your own bandmillCut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship! FREE Info/DVD: NorwoodSawmills.com 1.800.578.1363 Ext.300N

FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Collision Repair and Refinishing Technology Instructor & Mathematics Instructor. For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal at: https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.com Human Resources Office Phone: 910.678.7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu An Equal Opportunity Employer

BORING/CARPENTER BEE TRAPS No Chemicals, Poisons or Anything to Harm the Environment.

Handmade in Haywood County. 1 for $20, 2 or More for $15 each.

828.593.8321

CAVALIER ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

HEMLOCK HEALERS, INC. Dedicated to Saving Our Hemlocks. Owner/Operator Frank Varvoutis, NC Pesticide Applicator’s License #22864. 48 Spruce St. Maggie Valley, NC 828.734.7819 828.926.7883, Email: hemlockhealers@yahoo.com

PETS HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329

Prevent Unwanted Litters!

The Heat Is On! Spay/Neuter For Haywood Pets As Low As $10.

Operation Pit is in Effect!

Free Spay/Neuter, Microchip & Vaccines For Haywood Pitbull Types & Mixes!

Hours:

Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT LEASE TO OWN 1/2 Acre Lots with Mobile Homes & Empty 1/2 Acre + Lots!

Located Next to Cherokee Indian Reservation, 2.5 Miles from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.

For More Information Please Call 828.506.0578 SAVE YOUR HOME! Are you behind paying your MORTGAGE? Denied a Loan Modification? Is the bank threatening foreclosure? CALL Homeowner’s Relief Line now for Help 844.359.4330 SAPA

NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Offering 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $420.00

We Are Offering 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting From $465.00

Section 8 Accepted - Rental Assistance When Available Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS:

OFFICE HOURS:

Tuesday & Thursday 8:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.

50 Duckett Cove Road, Waynesville, NC 28786

Monday, Wednesday & Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm 168E Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

Phone# 1.828.456.6776 TDD# 1.800.725.2962

Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.735.2962

Equal Housing Opportunity

Equal Housing Opportunity

——————————————

GEORGE

ESCARAVAGE BROKER/REALTOR

—————————————— 28 WOODLAND ASTER WAY

ASHEVILLE, NC 28804

828.400.0901

Committed to Exceeding Expectations

Marilynn Obrig

Residential Broker Associate

(828) 550-2810

GESCAR@BEVERLY-HANKS.COM

mobrig@Beverly-Hanks.com

BEVERLY-HANKS.COM

www.Beverly-Hanks.com

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

HUNT YOUR OWN LAND Or Build Dream Cabin 68 acres on Hwy. 21 Alleghany & Wilkes Co., NC Selling: Sat, Oct. 14 @ 11am NCAL#685 336.789.2926 RogersAuctionGroup.com

HOMES FOR SALE - FOR SALE BY OWNER 3/BR 1/BA with detached studio.

Charming older home in residential area, walking distance to Downtown Waynesville. 1500+ sq. ft. includes updated kitchen with appliances; fireplace, carport, basement and open air front porch. Excellent school districts. Move-in ready! Detached Studio w/ Screened-in Porch. Potential for rental income (short or long-term), or a place for family and guests to enjoy. Asking $195,000. Call 828.246.0107 or 340.473.8617 for appointment.

BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT

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Your Agent. Your Neighbor.

WAYNESVILLE OFFICE:

Great Smokys Realty

828-564-1950 www.4smokys.com

36 S. Main St. Waynesville

SFR, ECO, GREEN

Haywood County Real Estate Agents Berkshire Hathaway • • • • • • •

berkshirehathawayhs.com Ira Atkins Margie MacDonald Kaye Matthews Donna Miano Robert Sales Jay Spiro Bill Thagard

Beverly Hanks & Associates 147 WALNUT STREET • WAYNESVILLE

828.506.7137

aspivey@sunburstrealty.com

www.sunburstrealty.com/amy-spivey

LUNG CANCER? And Age 60+? You And Your Family May Be Entitled To Significant Cash Award. Call 866.590.3140 for Information. No Risk. No Money Out Of Pocket.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

beverly-hanks.com Ann Eavenson - anneavenson@beverly-hanks.com George Escaravage - gescar@beverly-hanks.com Billie Green - bgreen@beverly-hanks.com Michelle McElroy - michellemcelroy@beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig - mobrig@beverly-hanks.com Steve Mauldin - smauldin@beverly-hanks.com Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com Anne Page - apage@beverly-hanks.com Brooke Parrott - bparrott@beverly-hanks.com Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither - ellensither@beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey - mikestamey@beverly-hanks.com

ITEMS FOR SALE

ERA Sunburst Realty

BORING/CARPENTER BEE TRAPS No Chemicals, Poisons or Anything to Harm the Environment.

Handmade in Haywood County. 1 for $20, 2 or More for $15 each.

828.593.8321

sunburstrealty.com • Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com • Rick Boarder - sunburstrealty.com

Mike Stamey

mstamey@beverly-hanks.com

828-508-9607

COMMERCIAL RESTAURANT EQPT. For Sale: Imperial Electric Convection Oven, Globe 20 Qt. Mixer, Bavier 72” Sandwich Unit, 74” Tor Rey Refrigerated Display Case, Glass Front Dry 48” Display Case, Globe Deli Meat Slicer, Plus Lots of Smalls (Scales, Choppers, Etc.), 8- 2Top Tables & 2- 6Ft. Tables. Call 828.646.0303 For More Information & Prices.

Serious Buyers Only Please.

BRUNSWICK 8 FT. REGULATION POOL TABLE 10 CUE STICKS & 1 BRIDGE

$1,000 - Pick Up Only

kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

Lakeshore Realty • Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Home Properties 74 NORTH MAIN ST. • WAYNESVILLE, NC

www.beverly-hanks.com

mountaindream.com • Cindy Dubose - cdubose@mountaindream.com

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management • Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

RE/MAX

RE/MAX — Mountain Realty

EXECUTIVE

Ron Breese Broker/Owner 2177 Russ Ave. Waynesville, NC 28786 Cell: 828.400.9029 ron@ronbreese.com

www.ronbreese.com Each office independently owned & operated.

Al Rasi 828.421.5472 - Franklin, NC.

Keller Williams Realty

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

• • • • •

remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com Holly Fletcher - hollyfletcher1975@gmail.com The Real Team - the-real-team.com Ron Breese - ronbreese.com Landen Stevenson - Landen@landenstevenson.com Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

smokymountainnews.com

GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

mydoterra.com/blueridge wellness

“Any agent can show you a house — I will find you a HOME.”

December 6-12, 2017

SOUTHPORT, N.C. FOR SALE, Waterfront resort hotel condominiums. Pre construction prices.

Amazing views. Private fishing pier. Full kitchens. Waterfront swimming pool. Cooke Realty 910.616.1795 contactcooke@gmail.com

WELLNESS ADVOCATE

Kaye Matthews 828-421-1724

WNC MarketPlace

LAND FOR SALE? Reach buyers across the state in over 100 newspapers for only $375. Call this newspaper or Wendi Ray at NC Press Services, 919.516.8009.

MEDICAL

Rob Roland Realty • Rob Roland - rroland33@gmail.com

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com 45

www.smokymountainnews.com

December 6-12, 2017

WNC MarketPlace

Super

46

CROSSWORD

STICKING TO THE GOAL ACROSS 1 Roman god with a bow 5 Knotting craft 12 Move like a kangaroo 15 Overquick 19 Be a wanderer 20 Moral 21 Actress Gasteyer 22 Comical Kett 23 Jack London novel 26 Dumbfound 27 Flynn of films 28 Prone (to) 29 Big name in credit cards 30 Cake coater 31 Writer Verne 33 Easy targets to attack 36 Lacking a musical key 38 Writer Bellow with a Nobel 40 Mystery novelist -Stanley Gardner 41 Relative of soul 46 Infuse with oxygen 50 Sphagnum, e.g.

51 Cookie with a “Thins” line 52 One-masted sailboats 54 Chic, ‘60s-style 55 Really, really quick 59 Drive off 63 Pretty low grades 64 “That is -- ask” 65 “Picnic” playwright William 66 With 13-Down, giant in internet service 69 Sports org. with the eight teams featured in this puzzle 71 Trip to a rain forest, maybe

73 Vicious 74 Eban of Israel 77 Foreboding 80 Shimon of Israel 81 2011 Jim Carrey comedy 86 Head sweller 87 Tie up again, as shoes 88 Don’t skip, as an event 89 Oaf’s cry 93 Waters off Eritrea 95 2007-13 pickup truck model 99 Clearasil treats it 101 Designer Saarinen 102 Old TV tube 103 Be engulfed in fire 109 Ate 110 Writer Bret Easton -111 Know -- fact 112 Actor’s help 114 The blahs 117 Rake feature 118 Hawaiians and Tongans 122 Tennis’ Lendl 123 TV producer 124 In a very angry way 125 Filmdom’s -- Lund Laszlo 126 Bird setting 127 Sinuous fish 128 Vilify 129 Gambol DOWN 1 Johnson of “Laugh-In” 2 Comic actor Jay 3 Elates 4 Tells in detail 5 Ex-Giant Ott 6 Gazetteer shelfmate 7 Hew

Boston 8 Falling-out 68 Brother in Genesis 9 Masquerade 70 Pre-O trio 10 -- -jongg 72 Mil. missions 11 Chosen few 75 Bric-a- -12 Papa Doc’s place 76 Yiddish writer Sholem 13 See 66-Across 78 Actress Samantha 14 Inflate falsely 79 Italian for “new” 15 Hero, often 16 Top-floor storage site 82 Summary 83 16th letter 17 Reeked 84 “Don’t make -- habit” 18 With 56-Down, surfs 85 Nick of “Warrior” like a pro 89 Potato chip topping 24 God, in Islam 90 Singer Helen or actor 25 Clever type Jerry 30 Most lazy 91 Univ. award 32 “St. -- Fire” (1985 92 Envision film) 94 Wise 33 Hero in a deli 96 22nd letter 34 Fluish, say 97 “Indubitably” 35 Shown with explicit 98 “Grease” actress Eve detail 100 Erase 36 It has biceps 103 Gain entry 37 However, informally 104 Drab color 38 Golf’s Sam 39 -- of one’s own medi- 105 Forelimb bones 106 Close-by cine 107 “Exodus” protagonist 42 Dog cry 108 Don’s group 43 Naval vessel abbr.

109 Cuts down, as a tree 44 Fitzgerald of song 112 Refer to 45 Loam, e.g.

113 Tech support seeker 47 Key of “Fuer Elise” 115 Bear, celestially 48 Mouth organ 116 “By Jove!”

49 Lawn care tools 118 Adolescent leader?

53 Eye creepily 119 Taxing org.

55 -- Baba 120 Beret, e.g.

56 See 18-Down 121 Senate vote 57 “... woman who lived in --” 58 Evening, casually 59 Rear-ending car, e.g.

60 Arise 61 Natural legume case 62 Cube maker Rubik 67 Peninsula northeast of

answers on page 40

WANTED TO BUY FREON R12 WANTED: Certified Buyer Will Pick Up And Pay Ca$H for R12 cylinders or cases of cans. 312.291.9169; www.refrigerantfinders.com

PERSONAL MAKE A CONNECTION. Real People, Flirty Chat. Meet singles right now! Call LiveLinks.

Try it FREE. Call Now 1.888.909.9978 18+. SAPA YOUR AD COULD REACH 1.6 MILLION HOMES ACROSS NC! Your classified ad could be reaching over 1.6 Million Homes across North Carolina! Place your ad with The Smoky Mountain News on the NC Statewide Classified Ad Network- 118 NC newspapers for a low cost of $330 for 25-word ad to appear in each paper! Additional words are $10 each. The whole state at your fingertips! It's a smart advertising buy! Call Scott Collier at 828.452.4251 or for more information visit the N.C. Press Association's website at www.ncpress.com

SERVICES DISH TV. 190 channels. $49.99/mo. for 24 mos. Ask About Exclusive Dish Features like Sling® and the Hopper®. PLUS HighSpeed Internet, $14.95/mo. (Availability and Restrictions apply.) TV for Less, Not Less TV! 1.855.419.7188 SAPA CHANGE THE WAY YOU WATCH TVGet rid of cable and get DIRECTV! You may also qualify to receive $100 VISA gift card when you sign up today- Limited time Only.

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CALL NOW 1.800.950.1469

SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION

INDEPENDENCE UNIVERSITY. Offering Associate’s, Bachelor’s & Master’s Degree Programs. Study online around your schedule!

Healthcare, Business, Technology, Graphic Arts, more! Financial Aid for those that qualify! Call 877.551.2679 for info! Accredited member, ACCSC. FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Security Officer. For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal at: https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.com Human Resources Office Phone: 910.678.7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu An Equal Opportunity Employer

WEEKLY SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Answers on Page 40

The naturalist’s corner

Lazy Ross’s goose at Maggie Valley Golf Course, grazing as it rests. Don Hendershot photo

BY DON H ENDERSHOT

A long time coming ome time around mid-September I added tic number 207 to my 2017 bird list. It was a merlin I saw one afternoon along the Blue Ridge Parkway while I was watching migrating broad-winged hawks.

Then — nothing; nothing for a long time.

Not that there weren’t some great birds around like stilt sandpiper, white-rumped sandpiper red-necked phalarope and others at Hooper Lane in Henderson County after some of the early autumn rains. There was also a Bell’s vireo at Warren Wilson College and a long-tailed duck (formerly old squaw) at the Mills River treatment plant. But as I’ve mentioned before the planets have to be in alignment and my chakra has to be attuned to the particular geographic-avian cosmic magnetic field emitted from that particular avian entity at that particular geographic location for me to chase. Either that or it doesn’t fit into my courier, writer, school/athletic taxi, grocery-delivery and p.m. cook schedule.

So, I was thrilled last week when Bob Olthoff called me to say there was a Ross’s goose hanging with a herd of Canadas on the Maggie Valley Golf Course — I didn’t

S

have to check my zodiac or the astrological charts. I simply dropped the girls at school and then took a short detour by the MV golf course on my way home and — bingo!

— there, lounging, swimming and feeding with a large group of Canada geese was the Ross’s.

Ross’s is a small white goose. It looks, basically, like a miniature white-phase snow goose with it’s all white body, except for black primaries. But there are some pretty straightforward ID characters that can get you to Ross’s if size is hard to distinguish (and it often is) in the field. The Ross’s has a shorter neck and a much shorter (stubby) bill than a snow goose. Besides being shorter, the Ross’s beak lacks the large dark “grin patch” of the snow goose. And, also — where the beak meets the cheek — on the Ross’s there is a straight line of demarcation, whereas on the snow goose the beak curves around the cheek.

It’s easy to tell Ross’s from snows in flight, during migration — they fall in line in the Vs like the rest of the gang but they’re about half the size. So if you’re watching flocks of migrating snow geese and recording numbers, as I did while interning last century at Rockefeller Refuge in Cameron

Parish, Loosiana, you go, big goose, big goose, big goose, little goose, big goose, little goose — they’re easy to pick out.

I was feeling pretty good about getting to add a species to my year list as time is running out, when a couple of days later Bob called again and said that he and other birders were looking at a white-winged scoter on Lake Junaluska. Once again, no time-consuming prep; no begging or lame excuses, just drop the kids at school and cruise by lake J on the way home. And there, just as described, was a group of waterfowl on the lake consisting of 12 horned grebes and one first-year female surf scoter. There are three

species of scoters — surf, black and whitewinged. All three nest in fresh water but are generally found in large flocks in coastal waters in winter and believe it or not all three have been recorded at lake Junaluska.

The year is winding down and my list now stands at 209. When I started this enterprise, I figured I should wind up somewhere between 200-220 species for the year and that’s where I am. It might be interesting to narrow the scope and see how many species I can record in one year at Lake J? (Don Hendershot is a naturalist and a writer who lives in Haywood County. He can be reached at ddihen1@bellsouth.net)

December 6-12, 2017 Smoky Mountain News 47

2017 CHRISTMAS

DECEMBER 8 & 9

DECEMBER 14

DECEMBER 16

DECEMBER 22

Smoky Mountain News

December 6-12, 2017

2018 Lineup

48

Atlanta’s Most Wanted............................................................................ January 13 Tracy Lawrence....................................................................................... January 26 Zach Williams & Citizen Way.....................................................................February 3 The Diamonds....................................................................................... February 10 Laura Story........................................................................................... February 16 James & The Giant Peach..........................................................................March 2, 3 The Nelsons: Ricky Nelson Remembered.....................................................March 16 The Day He Wore My Crown.................................................................. March 23, 24 Anthem Lights.............................................................................................April 13 The Midtown Men........................................................................................April 21 Popvich’s Pet Comedy Theater...................................................................... April 28 Tanya Tucker...................................................................................................May 4 Tim Hawkins................................................................................................ May 18 Taylor Mason................................................................................................. June 8 Leader of the Pack, the Musical .................................................. June 22, 23, 29, 30 Isaacs Musciation Nation with Ricky Skaggs.....................................................July 6 Isaacs Musication Nation with Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers..................... July 7 Mountain Voices........................................................................................... July 13 Folkmoot...................................................................................................... July 26 The Sock Hops...............................................................................................July 27 Slippery When Wet: The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute...................................... August 3 The Swon Brothers................................................................................... August 11 Jeanne Robertson.................................................................................... August 17 Four Freshmen.....................................................................................September 1 The Foreigner, the hilarous stage comedy........................... September 14, 15, 21, 22 The Willis Clan........................................................................................ October 13 Mark Twain’s The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaverus County............ October 19, 20 The Bellamy Brothers.......................................................................... November 16 A John Berry Christmas........................................................................November 24 Elf, The Broadway Musical................................................................. December 6 - 8 A Rocky Mountain Christmas ............................................................... December 21

& So Much More To Come!

THANK YOU TO OUR

2017 SPONSORS

From all of us to all of you: A Very

Merry Christmas & Blessed New Year!

Sponsored By:

Charles Thun (828) 634-0015