Smoky Mountain News

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Dec. 18-24, 2013 Vol. 15 Iss. 29

Teacher raises pose unwanted conundrum Page 6

Health care navigators: we’re here to help Page 19

December 18-24, 2013 Smoky Mountain News

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Smoky Mountain News

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CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: A feature documentary chronicling the rich heritage of Cataloochee Valley explores the changing relationships to the Appalachian landscape and the ultimate transformation into a national park. (Page 8)

News State’s selective teacher raises create more trouble than they’re worth. . . . 6 Vance Hardware says goodbye after a long run in downtown Sylva. . . . . . 12 Cherokee eyes specter, albeit remote, of casino competition . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Budget cuts pull plug on federal court in Bryson City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Sylva salutes its favorite librarian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Health care navigators help steer the public through exchange . . . . . . . . . 19

A&E Mahogany House flourishes as new haven for artists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Outdoors

CLASSIFIEDS: MANAGING EDITOR: WRITING & EDITING: 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 Emily Moss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . emily@smokymountainnews.com Whitney Burton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . whitney@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Hylah Smalley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smliv.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Susanna Rodell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . susanna@smokymountainnews.com Becky Johnson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . becky@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), Jake Flannick (writing), Paul Clark (writing).

CONTACT

Boarders and skiers kick up tricks on Cataloochee slopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

WAYNESVILLE | 34 Church Street, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585

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CORRECTIONS A story in last week’s paper quoted a WCU professor saying faculty have not gotten a raise in five years. However, WCU faculty got a 1.2 percent raise last year from the state, plus the university awarded certain faculty a 0.5 percent merit-based raise.

A story in last week’s paper stated that four of the six Sylva town board members are on the board by appointment. While four of the board members initially got their seat via appointment, they have since run and been elected by voters.

December 18-24, 2013

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news

School leaders frustrated by teacher pay raise plan

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER nder normal circumstances, Mike Murray would be thrilled to pass out raises to the hard-working teachers in Jackson County.

But the round of raises coming down the pike for teachers next year is far from normal — so abnormal in fact that Murray would rather ship them back to Raleigh with a note reading “return to sender.”

U

shouldn’t print what she has to say about the raises.

So what could be so bad about teacher raises?

The state has allotted raises for only 25 percent of public school teachers and left each school system to figure out which 25 percent will get them — and the other 75 percent who won’t be getting anything.

There are other stipulations as well. The raises are only for $500 a year — before taxes

But scrounging up money to give only 25 percent of teachers a raise is worse than no raises at all in the eyes of superintendents, principals and even the teachers themselves.

Some teachers are already planning to decline the raise if they are chosen for one.

“A lot have indicated they will be opting out if it is offered to them,” said Baldwin, based on the scuttlebutt from teachers in Macon County.

Murray heard the same thing from Jackson teachers after holding an open meeting last week to talk about the raise dilemma. About 100 teachers showed up.

“I had several teachers email me afterward telling me they were almost insulted by this carrot and stick approach,” Murray said.

“A lot of teachers feel their tenure rights aren’t for sale.”

But Murray implored teachers not to judge those who do take the raise.

“We are a school family. Don’t allow this to be divisive. Don’t let there be hard feelings against those who do decide to take it,” Murray told teachers. “We have people who haven’t gotten raises in six years and who are struggling and working two jobs.”

December 18-24, 2013 Smoky Mountain News

“I’ve equated it to the ‘Hunger Games’ of incentive packages,” said Murray, the superintendent of Jackson County Schools. “Or the ‘eeny, meeny, miny, moe’ approach to raises.”

Murray isn’t alone in his distaste for the raises.

But school systems don’t have the option of politely declining, said Dr. Bill Nolte, the assistant superintendent in Haywood County. Or impolitely declining, as the case may be. Haywood County School Board Member Lynn Milner, a retired principal, quipped that the newspaper probably

— and expire after four years. Teachers who take the raise have to give up tenure. And to be eligible, they have to have been in the same school system for at least three years.

“We have a lot of great teachers in our system who aren’t part of the eligible pool because they haven’t been here three years,” Murray said.

Lawmakers conceived of the plan after catching flak for yet another year without raises for public school teachers. North Carolina now ranks 48th in the nation in teacher pay, thanks to years of stagnating salaries.

Baldwin said.

“But at the end of the day, I am going to be legislated to provide a list of 69 people who are eligible for a $500 raise. That list will be made public and 210 people’s names aren’t going to be on it,” Baldwin said.

“When that day comes, they are going to be disappointed and angry and they are going to place that somewhere.”

The worst fear among superintendents is the potential for ill will and hurt feelings among those who don’t make the 25-percent cut for the raises.

“This has the potential of having people working against each other,” Nolte said.

The selective raise system undermines what school systems try to encourage — teachers sharing ideas and strategies and working together as a team to educate students, school officials said.

“If you have people competing then that could be very divisive,” Murray said.

Baldwin also fears creating animosity between individual schools in Macon County. He hopes to apply the raises on a school-by-school basis, so that 25 percent of the teachers at each school get the raise instead of just 25 percent system-wide.

For now, teachers realize the impossible situation superintendents are being placed in and realize the system is inherently unfair,

Ultimately, who to dish out the raises to is up to each superintendent. But it’s not a job they cherish. Instead, they are reaching out to principals and teachers themselves to help come up with a list — or rather the criteria that would in turn determine the list.

In Haywood County, the school system has named a committee to tackle the raise conundrum.

“It is impacting teachers so we want them to be part of this process. We want to develop a sound, reasonable process and then implement it,” Nolte said.

Unfortunately, the schools can’t just put names in a hat and drawn them out. That would be ignoring the intent of law.

Murray sent out a survey to every teacher in Jackson County after the public meeting he held last week to get their input.

“What I am asking is, help me determine evaluation criteria,” Murray said.

Should the school system go by student test scores? Which teach-

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North Carolina will pass out raises to 25 percent of teachers next year, leaving it up to each school system to decide which teachers get it and which don’t. To be eligible, a teacher must have worked in the district for three years. Here’s what the raises will look like by county.

■ Haywood: 101 teachers will get a raise out of 408 in the eligible pool.

■ Jackson: 67 teachers will get a raise out of 275 in the eligible pool ■ Macon: 69 teachers will get a raise out of 278 in the eligible pool

HOW TO CHOOSE

BAD FOR MORALE A rally in Haywood County this fall called on legislators to place a higher value on the state’s teachers.

Raises by county

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BY BECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER aywood County commissioners are going through the motions of selling Haywood Regional Medical Center to a national hospital chain with little in the way of pomp and circumstance.

No one from the community showed up to a public hearing on the hospital sale this week at the county commissioners meeting.

While there were 20 or so people in the audience, they were all there in their official roles as hospital officials and board members.

There was just one speaker, but she was also there in an official capacity as the head of the hospital’s nonprofit foundation.

But it’s not surprising that the process playing out with county commissioners is attracting so little attention.

While county commissioners have the final say on selling the hospital, they have already signaled their unanimous support for selling it to Duke LifePoint.

Now, it is simply a matter of going through the motions.

Since Haywood Regional was founded as a public, county-owned hospital, the county commissioners must approve its sale. The county must follow statutory requirements for public input and public disclosure, including waiting periods between the announcement of the sale, the first public hearing and a second public hearing. The waiting periods, intended to give the public a chance to weigh in on the possible sale of the public hospital, mean the formal vote by commissioners won’t happen until February.

The Haywood Regional Medical Center board of trustees voted unanimously in favor of the sale last month. The hospital board is following the same statutory requirements as the county commissioners,

although in a parallel but separate process.

The hospital’s public hearing drew a crowd of more than 200 people, a stark contrast to the one held by county commissioners, who are being viewed somewhat as a rubbe stamp on the hospital’s decision.

The hospital and Duke LifePoint are now in a due diligence phase, however, with

ers have master’s degrees? Which have worked for advanced certifications?

Like Murray, Baldwin has also sent an email to all teachers in Macon County asking for their input on what criteria to use.

School systems already have a process and criteria in place already for evaluating teacher performance. To suggest schools are starting with a blank slate would be misleading. There’s a plethora of annual test scores that track students’ academic growth and success under specific teachers, for example. But that isn’t a complete picture.

What about teachers for special needs students? Or teachers in kindergarten, first and second grades, where students don’t take tests yet?

“To compare an elementary teacher to a high school teacher to determine which is a better teacher, it would be a completely dif-

ferent criteria,” Baldwin said.

But the biggest problem for schools is coming up with performance measures that arrive exactly at the magic number of 25 percent.

In Macon County, it comes out to 69 teachers.

“Let’s say the criteria you decide on gets you to 75. What criteria could you keep adding?” Baldwin said.

As they try to winnow the number further, however, the next layer of criteria could take the number down to 50, again failing to hit the 69 mark, this time on the low end.

Most likely, it will be impossible to slice and dice the criteria to arrive exactly at 69.

“So at some point we would have to have a lottery,” Baldwin said. “It is going to put us in a tough position.”

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plans to finalize the transaction by the end of March.

Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva and Swain Medical Center are also being bought

by Duke Life Point.

The official name of Haywood Regional Medical Center was changed to MedWestHaywood four years ago when the hospitals in Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties forged an operating partnership. MedWest was tacked on the front of each hospital’s name in an attempt to link the hospitals under a single brand in the public’s mind.

But it didn’t go over very well. The public largely rejected the new nomenclature of MedWest-Haywood and MedWest-Harris. It is now likely the hospitals’ former names will once again be their official name of record.

Duke LifePoint almost never changes the names of the hospitals it buys unless there is a serious perception or public image problem.

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news

The Cataloochee exodus

v

Story of picturesque valley’s transformation captured in new film

BY B ECKY JOHNSON • STAFF WRITER

Smoky Mountain News

December 18-24, 2013

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8

aymond Caldwell was 15 years old when he hitched up a team of horses to a wagon with 30 bushels of corn in tow, leaving the only home he and his ancestors had ever known in the idyllic Cataloochee Valley.

“I drove the wagon all over the farm, but that was the first time I ever drove it out of there,” said Raymond. It was a high stakes assignment, since the load represented the fall corn harvest and needed to last the family and livestock through the winter at the new farm they were heading to across Haywood County.

The family’s milk cow was tied to the back of the wagon to boot.

“She followed us all the way out of there,” Raymond said.

“She didn’t have a choice but follow you, did she?” quipped his younger brother Harley Caldwell.

Now 90 years old, Raymond will see his own childhood and Marshall, Raymond and Harley, from the Cataloochee Valley Caldwell clan, were uprooted from their Appalachian home places the hardscrabble existence of his ancestors come to life in a when the national park came along, but they never lost their memories or forgot their heritage. Below: Katherine Bartel two-hour feature documentary. Called simply “Cataloochee,” worked alone in the park to complete the shooting in 2012. Becky Johnson photo (above) • Footage by Bartel (below) the movie traces the people, culture and history intertwined with this remote corner of the “I was looking for the question they would take and run Southern Appalachian landscape, a with,” said Womack. picturesque valley cradled by the “Losing their land to the They soon began wishing for a way to disseminate and towering peaks of the Smoky share the vast store of recordings they’d collected.

Mountains. park was a real loss of “Initially, all we wanted to do was preserve these oral hisHarley only has one regret tories, what people remembered about Cataloochee so it when he reflects on the four-year relationships that they would be kept,” Womack said. “Then we thought we needed a project to produce the documenfeel to this day.” way to boil all this raw video down into something that would tary “Cataloochee.” be viewable.”

“We should have done it 20 — Katherine Bartel, filmmaker Enter Katherine Bartel, a film student at WCU. years ago,” Harley said. “Too many Bartel wasn’t the traditional college student. She was semipeople were lost.” retired from a career as an art professor at a university in “We should have done this 30 Illinois. She had moved to Western North Carolina with her to 40 years ago,” countered his husband after he got a professorship in the teaching college at cousin Marshall Caldwell, 84.

WCU. Bartel put her own time to use going back to school in “Isn’t that the truth,” Harley WCU’s Film and Television Production program. said. “We lost so many in that When the group of Cataloochee descendents told the time.”

Mountain Heritage Center they wished there was a way to edit What began as an oral history and package all the footage they’d collected, they were pointproject to document the memories ed to Bartel. of Cataloochee old-timers evolved, “As a film student I did some work for the Mountain somewhat by happenstance, into a Heritage Center and they got to know me and got to know my full-blown feature length documenwork,” Bartel said. tary. The film traces the evolution She needed a senior film project anyway, so the timing was of Cataloochee from the time of the Cherokee to the first set- footage from 32 old-timers. Nearly all the living Cataloochee tlers to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National natives who were contacted were open to the project. A few opportune. Ultimately, her senior thesis turned into a Park, when hundreds of mountain families were forced to leave couldn’t participate due to health reasons. Only two actually marathon three-year project.

“It takes a long time. It is like writing a novel. You lay down their farms and homesteads there. declined to be interviewed, mostly because they were uneasy the story line once and then you go back through and rework But it began as a far more humble undertaking, a mission about being on camera. to collect interviews with every Cataloochee native who was “Many felt like they didn’t have anything to say, but of it and rework it and cut things and move things around until living. course they did,” said Patrick Womack, a Cataloochee descen- you finally have a cohesive novel,” Bartel said.

The documentary was finished in the spring, but has been The Cataloochee Council, an offshoot of the Haywood dent involved in the project. “They were eager to contribute.

County Historical Society, took their idea to the Mountain They want to preserve this history. I heard these stories grow- through a painstaking review process, including screenings with those who appear in the film to verify facts and dates and names.

Heritage Center at Western Carolina University, which in turn ing up and it is worth preserving.”

“We wanted to show it to the Cataloochee natives the local lent them the recording equipment they needed.

Womack, the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in It took nearly a year, but the small team of Cataloochee Hazelwood, was roped in to being the interviewer for the historians to make sure there weren’t inaccuracies and to get feedback,” Womack said. descendents eventually amassed dozens of hours of raw project.

Documentary showing set for Dec. 20

meant clearing land in order to have fields,” said Bartell, who lives in Haywood County. “They worked very hard at that.”

But by 1920, logging companies were devouring the Smokies’ forests and closing in on Cataloochee.

“For them, land was to be exploited,” Bartel said of the timber barons.

The massive and destructive clearcutting ultimately ignited the wilderness movement.

“For them land is to be preserved,” Bartel said.

But it came at the expense of Cataloochee’s settlers, who become collateral damage in the creation of the Katherine Bartel Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“So there are all these wonderful themes and conflicts in the story,” Bartel said.

The documentary captures the heartache of Cataloochee residents when they were forced to leave their family farms to make way for the park. They loaded their wagons with their possessions and drove their livestock to new homes and farms across the mountains, but they could never reconstruct the life they once knew in the secluded and picturesque Cataloochee Valley, Bartel said.

“They were such a close-knit community. Losing their land to the park was a real loss of relationships that they feel to this day,” Bartel said.

The documentary doesn’t end there, however.

Cataloochee descendents are still drawn back to their roots by the shared bond of both ancestry and land, witnessed by

S EE CATALOOCHEE, PAGE 10

the large reunion held every year back in Cataloochee. The film drops in to their annual Sunday afternoon picnic, where a few hundred people congregate at a white clapboard church still standing in the valley, preserved by the national park as an artifact of the past but still used for weddings and gatherings by today’s descendents.

The national park, in the end, actually helped preserve Cataloochee’s heritage — or at least the memory of it — which has been frozen in time thanks to the uncorrupted landscape.

“The second generation has had the benefit of hindsight. Several people in the movie talk about the park being a good thing in the long run. Most of them have come to that conclusion,” Bartel said.

The documentary began as an oral history project by Cataloochee descendents with the Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society, but it evolved into a two-hour, professional-quality film thanks to a partnership with Western Carolina University.

The rights to the documentary belong to the Haywood County Historical Society. They plan to sell copies of the DVD for $25. A slideshow of historical family photos from Cataloochee is included in the DVD as a special feature.

After paying back the upfront costs incurred in the production, the proceeds from DVD sales will be spent preserving the history of Cataloochee, such as a restoration of historic buildings or improved interpretive displays in the park.

“Hopefully we can put every penny back into Catalooch,” said Harley Caldwell, a Cataloochee descendent who spearheaded the project.

Smoky Mountain News

A free, public screening of the new feature-length documentary “Cataloochee” will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, at the Haywood Community College auditorium.

The documentary chronicling the rich heritage of Cataloochee, an enclave of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has been more than three years in the making.

Likened to the sweeping epic on national parks by Ken Burns — the blockbuster documentary series that chronicles the trials and triumphs behind our iconic American landscapes — the powerful storyline of “Cataloochee” is just as sweeping and just as epic as what Burns tackled on the national level.

While it’s a daunting comparison for the “Cataloochee” filmmaker Katherine Bartel, she’s gotten used to the analogy whenever she tells people about the project. It’s Bartel first full-scale documentary, but she couldn’t have asked for a better gold mine.

“It was really rich ground. I really loved the universal themes in the story. The story provides a wonderful way to look at our relationship with land,” Bartell said.

The documentary begins with the time of the Cherokee, followed by the arrival of European hunters and trappers, and then white Appalachian settlers in the early 1800s.

“They have to survive. They have to feed their family. That meant growing crops and growing corn especially, and that

— Patrick Womack, Cataloochee descendent

other descendents then helped her match up the recordings with the right old photos.

The documentary also includes original footage of President Roosevelt’s famous dedication speech made from Newfound Gap, anointing the Great Smoky Mountains as the newest edition to the national park system in the 1930s. The Haywood County Historical Society had to pay $1,200 in licensing fees to NBC for permission to use the historic clip.

But it was worth it, Harley Caldwell said.

“It made it, it really did. It had to be in there,” Harley said.

Mountain music has a starring role in the documentary. It is laced with old recordings of mountain music, but also fresh tracks laid down by three Cataloochee brothers, all born in the valley, and one of their sons. Known as the Hannah Family, the group of musicians spent a day in the recording studio at WCU. But the documentary also has an original score, written and arranged by WCU music professor Damon Sink to fill the voids.

“We went through the entire film, minute by minute and said, ‘OK what does this part need?’ And he wrote all the bridges, underscores, and emotional notes in the movie,” Bartel said.

The real gems of the documentary, of course, are the stories about daily life in Cataloochee and the life the people carved from the land.

“We grew everything we ate,” said Raymond Caldwell, 90, who was one of eight children. “There was enough, my mother saw to that.”

Caldwell described stringing beans with a needle and thread and hanging them in the sun to dry, harvesting honey from the two dozen or so bee gums and cooking molasses

December 18-24, 2013

“[People] were eager to contribute. They want to preserve this history. I heard these stories growing up and it is worth preserving.”

liaison behind the project, is the youngest of the Cataloochee natives. He was just 11 months old when his family moved away from the valley, and is now just 76 — a whippersnapper compared to most who are well into their 80s and 90s. But even Caldwell doesn’t use a computer.

Instead, he totes a briefcase of spiral notebooks, legal pads, steno pads and paper files. A tiny pad and a handful of pens and pencils are never further than his shirt pocket.

The relationship between the Cataloochee descendents and Bartel was a symbiotic one, however.

Bartel spent untold hours visiting them in their homes, poring through their collections of family photos, scanning them and getting them properly labeled and identified. A photo slideshow is included as a special feature on the DVD of the documentary.

They could point her in the direction she needed to go, and she could make it happen.

For example, a Smithsonian oral historian famous for his early recordings of Appalachian music had passed through Cataloochee. Bartel was able to track them down and use the original audio of songs and stories collected by Joseph Hall in Cataloochee back in 1939. Harley and the

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The Cataloochee descendents behind the original oral history project never imagined the path the project would take when they were first introduced to Bartel.

“We just wanted someone with time, expertise and equipment to edit the interviews,” Womack said. “Her vision was something grander, something that would be a UNC-TV, PBS quality documentary. She wanted to tell the bigger story.”

Bartel had to start over from scratch collecting the interviews with Cataloochee natives. She needed more professional, highdefinition video and audio than the volunteers had collected with the handheld camera they’d been loaned for their oral history project.

“We weren’t thinking professional quality. We just wanted to record the stories,” Womack said.

For her part, Bartel has stumbled into a gold mine of material for a wannabe documentary producer.

“It was really rich ground,” Bartel said.

But Bartel discovered the real treasure trove, more so than the archetypal storyline, was the people. The old-timers spent untold hours with Bartell, sharing their memories, their artifacts and photos.

Being from Illinois, she encountered some expected cultural barriers.

“We had to learn to communicate with each other. Sometimes we would be talking past each other a little bit but we figured out how to work through it,” Bartel said.

But she was never shunned for being an outsider.

“They are such open, generous people,” Bartel said.

Technology gaps were the biggest hurdle for Bartel when working with the Cataloochee descendents.

Harley Caldwell, the main coordinator and

9

news December 18-24, 2013 Smoky Mountain News 10

Jarvis Palmer with his son, Linton, on their mule in Cataloochee.

Raymond Caldwell tells a story about Jarvis Palmer getting his check from the Park Commission in the mail, and narrowly escaping losing it all to a bank failure in 1933. Photographer unknown.

“They are all truth. That is one thing we made sure of,” Harley said of the stories. from the sorghum cane.

Even Paul Woody’s story about the time his father “You talk about how we did it? Well, everybody tackled a calf while driving his herd down Main Street worked,” Raymond said. “You put out an acre of Irish in Waynesville. It was during the great migration out of potatoes, that’s a lot of Irish potatoes. You put out a Cataloochee after the coming of the national park. quarter-acre sweet potato patch, that’s a lot of sweet Woody’s father was driving the family’s cattle across potatoes.” the county to a new farm in Bethel, and Main Street Still, Raymond recalls the clothes having patches was the only route through town. over the top of patches, they would get so worn out.

A calf saw its reflection in a store window, got In the winter, Raymond’s father would make him spooked and started to charge. leave for school early to start a fire in the woodstove at “All he could think about was he was going to have the two-room schoolhouse. to pay for that window and he “I was third in my class. reached out and grabbed the “You talk about how we Think about that — an old calf in a bear hug,” Woody country boy being third in his recounts in the documentary. did it? Well, everybody class,” Raymond said proudly Stories of leaving worked.” of his school years in Cataloochee are some of the Cataloochee. “The only other most poignant in the docu— Raymond Caldwell, 90 two in my class were my mentary. cousins.”

Family heritage and tradiAs for the stories, some might sound like tall tales. tion was deeply intertwined with the land itself. So Like the time Marshall Caldwell’s mother was given giving up their farms and homesteads was like giving an herb by a Cherokee man to help treat his childhood up part of themselves. asthma. His mother made a tea from it and Marshall Harley was just 11 months old when the family drank it, as did his older brother. moved away from Cataloochee. He doesn’t remember Soon, they were swooning on the floor. It was anything himself — only the stories he was told. And night, and Marshall’s father was away working in a so despite the work he put into the documentary projCivilian Conservation Corp camp. Scared the children ect, he doesn’t appear in the movie himself. were ill, their mother bundled them up and set off His cousin, Marshal Caldwell, however, was seven down the mountain with a lantern in hand to see kin- when they had to move out, and claims he remembers folk who had a car and took them into Waynesville to plenty. see the doctor.

“Have we got all evening?” Marshall replied, when “He said there’s not a thing in the world wrong asked how much he recalled from his short boyhood with them except they’re drunk,” Marshall recounted. in Cataloochee. “For someone taken from their home Turns out, his mother was supposed to have him place as a young child, as they grow up it becomes inhale the smoke from the herb, not drink it. more fonder to them.”

CATALOOCHEE, CONTINUED FROM 9

T

“Beginning at the Bottom,” which is a tribute to the small-town library of her childhood.

Byer congratulated all the graduating students and new alumni on their accomplishments, and also expressed gratitude to WCU’s English majors and Department of English faculty — “people who still believe, in a time when reading is in decline, in the well-made sentence.”

“Thank you for believing that language still matters — that loving it and encouraging others to love it is a calling worthy of a lifetime’s devotion,” she said. “I salute you brave English majors who face the challenge of texting, Twitter and Instagram. Your challenge to the larger community will be to turn off the laptop and open a book. Resist

are and we are better people because of them.”

McClain told the commencement audience that she was first introduced to her new definition of success by Peter Nieckarz, WCU associate professor of sociology, who “completely turned my world upside down” with his interactive lectures. For their last assignment in Nieckarz’ class, students were told to write a narrative of their lives and describe how their noteworthy successes “consisted of the influences of others, certain societal factors, or just downright luck coupled with motivation and talent,” McClain said. The class helped her to acknowledge that “sometimes I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” she said.

“This awareness is the kind of honest consciousness Western Carolina University affords its students, instead of the happy-golucky version of reality that doesn’t prepare you for the obstacles you’re soon to face,” she said. “Western Carolina University offered us avenues to learn about ourselves, to think for ourselves and to learn about others; through these, I discovered who I am and who I want to be, and I know I am not alone.”

Belcher delivered the chancellor’s charge to the graduating students and new alumni.

He told them that this is their moment to celebrate, but the moment “belongs to others as well.”

“I daresay that not one graduate here today has reached this point without support in one form or another – from parents,

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multi-tasking, which is a myth anyway. Sit down with a book — a good book — a great book. Just do it.”

Commencement speaker McClain, a sociology and psychology major from Stony Point in Alexander County, is a dean’s list student who is enrolled in WCU’s Honors College. She began her address by announcing her intention to “talk about what it means to be a graduate of Western Carolina University.”

McClain said her experience at WCU has allowed her to learn a new definition of success. “Success is a collaboration of individuals striving to promote each other and understanding that no one succeeds alone,” she said. “Western taught me to look directly at the role we, as a society, play in defining success and to challenge it because success is not about wealth or even happiness — it’s the realization that none of us is exceptional because we are all exceptional. We are all individuals with dreams and passions, and although we do not fully expect those dreams to become realities or those passions to make us millionaires, they define who we

a spouse, children, grandparents, other family members and friends. This is their moment, too,” Belcher said. The same holds true for everyone on WCU’s campus, from the faculty members who taught the students in the classroom to the grounds crew “who make this campus a showplace,” he said.

Belcher told those dressed in caps and gowns that regardless of whether they have their futures mapped out or they are uncertain what is coming next, they have the minds and skills to chart their own courses in life. “As you look toward your future, I charge you to hold tight to your grounding at Western Carolina University and the values for which it stands, to remain firm in your commitment to excellence and high standards, and to continue learning, whether in formal settings or on your own,” he said. “As you pursue your careers and making money — as you do well — remember to do good.”

A complete list of WCU’s new graduates will be announced following the posting of grades from final examinations.

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he fall semester came to a close at Western Carolina University on Dec. 14 as commencement exercises were held in Ramsey Regional Activity Center to recognize the university’s newest graduating class and a group of WCU alumni who were awarded degrees in August.

WCU’s fall class includes about 700 students who have recently completed academic requirements to receive their degrees, and approximately 600 of those students took part in WCU’s commencement. Another group of 195 graduates who completed degree requirements during summer school, and who already have been conferred degrees, also joined in the ceremony.

WCU Chancellor David O. Belcher presided over commencement and delivered the charge to the fall semester degree candidates and summer graduates.

Commencement activities included an address delivered by graduating student T’Shana Marie McClain and the awarding of an honorary doctor of letters degree to Cullowhee poet Kathryn Stripling Byer in recognition of her literary body of work and service to the university.

A Georgia native, Byer earned a bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga., and a master’s degree in fine arts at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro before joining the WCU faculty as an English instructor in 1968. Her other roles at the university over the years have included serving as poet-in-residence from 1990-1998.

Reading from the honorary doctorate citation, Belcher noted that Byer released the first volume in her series of award-winning poetry collections, The Girl in the Midst of the Harvest, in 1986. “In the nearly three decades since then, you have illuminated the lives of strong Southern Appalachian women and reflected on topics as diverse as death, race and the events of September 11, 2001, with a series of critically acclaimed books of verse that have solidified your status as one of the preeminent poets of our time,” Belcher read.

Byer served as North Carolina’s first female poet laureate from 2005-2009.

Belcher said that Byer, in that role, “established a new standard for activism and education by taking poetry into schools and communities throughout the state” and by connecting with readers through her web blogs. “Your actions as the state’s poet laureate are indicative of the great generosity you have exhibited throughout your writing life in introducing the public to the wondrous realm of poetry and in your support and mentorship for emerging authors across the state,” said Belcher, still reading from the citation. “In 2012, your place in North Carolina’s rich literary heritage, the magnitude of your artistic talents and the enduring value of your body of work were recognized when you were inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.”

After being presented with the honorary doctorate, Byer thanked university officials for the honor and read a poem she wrote,

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Closing of Vance Hardware is an end to an era

BY S USANNA RODELL The business has been good to them. “We MANAGING E DITOR were able to put three children through college n the first day of Vance Hardware’s going- — two daughters and a son,” Willetta said. out-of-business sale, someone bought the At one time, R.O. pointed out, there were key machine. “I think that hurt him six independent hardware stores in town. worse than anything,” Willetta Vance said.

“We’re the last hometown hardware store,” Her husband, known he said. to friends and customers Did competition from “Uncle Jimmy used as R.O., took pride in the national chains hurt to say that R.O. being the best key maker their business? “Not realin Jackson County. ly,” said R.O., “because we could fix anything But R.O. Vance was had things — personal much more than that. A but a broken heart.” service — that they didn’t self-taught mechanic, he have. We wanted to know — Willetta Vance sold and fixed appliances all our customers as individuover the county for 50 years, als. And our customers maintained summer homes for their owners have been real loyal to us over the years. and — until last week — ran the last surviving They’ve stuck with us.” independent hardware store in Sylva.

In fact, if a key replacement was too diffiSitting in their small office in back of the cult, Walmart and Lowe’s would send a cusMain Street store last week, the Vances remitomer to R.O. “If it was a broken key, he nisced about the last half-century. “We came could fix it,” Willetta said. here as two young people, and we’re going out But six months ago, R.O. had to give up as two senior citizens,” Willetta Vance said. doing the service work. “I’ve had some pulBack in the 1960s, R.O.’s dad was the monary problems,” he said. “I couldn’t carry manager of Farmers Federal Insurance in the equipment and tools any more.” They Sylva. His brother worked in the office too, made the tough decision to give up their and introduced R.O. to Willetta, who got a lease, leaving downtown Sylva without one job there after finishing high school. They of its anchor businesses. were married at 18 and 20.

He speaks with pride about his mainte-

O

R.O. and Willetta Vance closed their independent hardware store on Main Street in Sylva Saturday after 50 years in business. Susanna Rodell photo nance work. “I always winterized the houses for the people from Florida and elsewhere,” he said. “Then I’d open them in the spring. I did 30 houses each year.”

The store itself specialized in galvanized ware — tubs and buckets — and appliance parts, pressure cookers and canners, Hotpoint appliances and Zenith televisions and stereos.

“We started thinking about closing in September,” R.O. said. “Our health was starting to fail, and we’d had the business up for sale for about a year.”

Now the shelves are nearly bare, the front windows covered in giant pink signs advertising their final sale.

Asked for a favorite memory, R.O. tells how the radio announcer, Uncle Jimmy Childress, used to sing the store’s jungle on WRGC, Sylva’s local radio station. When R.O. would show up at a house to repair an appliance, “The kids would sing the jingle,” he said.

Willetta added: “Uncle Jimmy used to say that R.O. could fix anything but a broken heart.”

Smoky Mountain News

December 18-24, 2013

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No dice for Catawba’s casino bid Cherokee can rest easy, for now at least

BY COLBY DUNN CORRESPONDENT hen it comes to Vegas-style gaming, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort has hedged its bets on being the only game in town ‌ in the region ‌ in the state ‌ in the surrounding five-state area.

Now the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians faces the remote prospect of competition from another tribe that’s eyeing the cash cow of tribal gambling in North Carolina.

The Catawba Indian Nation, a federally recognized South Carolina tribe, has floated a proposal for a 220,000-square-foot casino with two hotels and an “entertainment complex� employing 3,000 people and contributing millions to the local economy.

While the tribe is based in South Carolina, a casino is a non-starter with lawmakers there.

The Catawba instead set their sights on North Carolina, where there’s already a precedent for tribal gambling in the state.

Specifically, it wants to put a casino near Kings Mountain, N.C., just 40 miles west of Charlotte and short hop from I-85 and I-26.

With such a strategic location, a casino there could pull the economic rug from beneath Cherokee’s feet.

With ground on a second Cherokee casino in Murphy freshly broken, it’s a particularly inopportune time to see the specter of competition on the eastern horizon. Tribal officials are being fairly tight-lipped about a Catawba casino.

Cherokee Chief Michel Hicks put out a statement citing his “concerns� about the proposal, but the statement’s language is understated, and the tribe hasn’t taken on

Smoky Mountain News

December 18-24, 2013

W

Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Resort has posted a bigger profit this year than ever before, funding a plethora of tribal health, education, welfare, housing, tourism, cultural and quality of life initiatives, which would be hurt by competition from another Indian tribe casino. File photo any public lobbying at the state or national level just yet. “We are greatly concerned that this development will negatively impact job growth and revenue at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and for the western region of North Carolina,� said Hicks, and continued on to say that they were monitoring the situation as it unfolds.

Perhaps the Eastern Band is reserving harsher judgment because it knows what a long road the Catawba casino must travel before a dime of gambling money falls into its coffers.

A majority of North Carolina lawmakers are against it — 102 legislators out 120 serving in the General Assembly signed a letter to the Secretary of Interior in September opposing the Catawba’s bid to expand its land holdings in the state.

N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, was one of the signatories. “I just think that allowing one opens the door to everybody that wants to open a casino in North Carolina to come,� said Davis. “The Catawba Indians are based in South Carolina.

Are we then going to allow the Iroquois to come in? I just think that it’s a federal issue.�

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A LONG ROAD AHEAD

The Catawba tribe appears undaunted by the political challenge it faces wooing North Carolina lawmakers into their corner. The tribe has even commissioned drawings for a proposed casino.

But the first hurdle Catawba faces is in fact a geographical one — because despite lending its name to a raft of North Carolina landmarks, the Catawba Indian Nation is a South Carolina tribe. To build a North Carolina complex, the 16-acre tract of land it is eyeing must be deemed part of the tribe’s federal trust lands by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It is an arduous process that can take years, if it even meets the criteria.

Supposing the Catawba did successfully leap that hurdle, and the proposed tract was added to their tribe’s official land holdings, the next obstacle facing them is the North Carolina General Assembly.

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Davis said that he doubts the measure will get any traction at all in the General Assembly, and indeed, the list of legislators who signed the opposition letter draws from both sides of the aisle.

However, a Catawba casino isn’t entirely without supporters.

It’s not fair to allow one tribe to have a casino and not another, according to a statement

by N.C. Rep. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover. “It is not the role of the General Assembly to pick winners and losers,� Goolsby said.

Either allow it for all federally-recognized tribes in the state, or shut down the casino in Cherokee, but “the state cannot have it both ways,� he said.

Goolsby also pointed out the economic boon for the area.

Initially, Gov. Pat McCrory held meetings with the Catawba, but has since joined the opposition camp. He’s concerned, his office says, about the loophole it would open for other tribes with ancestral connections to North Carolina to besiege the state with gambling enterprises. “I’ve seen no argument to justify it what-

soever,� was McCrory’s simple response, and many of his colleagues are on the same page, at least their signatures are.

It doesn’t hurt that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a political powerhouse in the state.

In 2012, the Eastern Band of Cherokee made campaign contributions to 86 current members of the House and Senate, and pitched in $4,000 to Gov. McCrory’s campaign.

Still, the threat, however slim, of competition is probably unnerving one for the tribe.

When Cherokee was negotiating with the state to add live dealers and table games two years ago, the tribe agreed to give the state a cut of its revenue if the state in turn promised no other casinos would be allowed anywhere in North Carolina.

The state countered that was too big a territory. The state went back and forth with Cherokee, narrowing down the tribe’s claim to exclusive casino territory to west of I-95, then west of I-77, and finally arrived at only west of I-26.

Davis recalls the years Cherokee spent negotiating permission to add live dealers. “We really had to work hard for that,� said Davis. “It just shows that there are a lot of hurdles that the Eastern Band had to go through.�

He doesn’t see the door swinging open for Catawba anytime soon.

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Michael Caldwell, property manager with the General Services Administration office in Asheville. “We’ve made all the federal agencies within a 100-mile radius of Bryson City aware of the building.”

That includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or Bureau of Indian Affairs, or even the U.S. Marshals Service.

But if there are no federal takers, “We are in line for it,” said King. But, “I don’t know where we are in line.”

Of course, it depends on the price.

“They may come back and say, ‘We’ll give it to you for a million bucks.’ In that case we’re not gonna take it,” King said. “In January we will probably sit down and assess what we could do. It’s not a big building, but it would be good for some county services. We do think it can be used.”

King said the county contacted Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, and asked for his support in getting the space.

Two other federal buildings in the state have been disposed of in recent years: one in Wilkesboro and the old Internal Revenue Service building in Greensboro, according to In Greensboro, the city eventually took over the IRS building, the last one disposed of by the federal government.

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The tribe’s numbers were dwindling, and it didn’t have federal recognition or any of the money that goes along with it. But with the resources the tribe had left, it began to mount a lawsuit, trying to reclaim the thousands of acres taken over the centuries.

In the end, the tribe settled to the tune of $50 million in 1993. The Catawba put the money to use buying 300 acres of land for a reservation in Rock Hill, S.C., building housing, a government and a better life for its 2,800 members.

But the federal settlement came with some strings attached. In return for the money, the tribe signed away its rights to run gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Thus, in Catawba’s case, it would need state permission to operate a casino.

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any gaming by the Catawba in North Carolina.

Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be the case. Thanks to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a state can’t stop a federally-recognized tribe from operating a gambling operation on its own land. It would technically only need permission for live-dealer style table gaming.

The Catawba Nation, however, find themselves in a much more restrictive situation.

Historically, the Catawba did stretch across both of the Carolinas, which is why many landmarks in both states still bear the tribe’s name. But over time, as was the case with many Native American tribes, their land was taken or sold off piecemeal to settlers, explorers and opportunists, and by the mid20th century, the Catawba were down to a beleaguered stretch of land in South Carolina.

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The last day of federal court in Bryson City will be Dec. 31.

Starting in 2014, all legal federal matters will be shipped to Asheville. The closure of the federal court in Swain County has been a prospect for more than a year, and comes as the federal government seeks to cut costs associated with maintaining far-flung properties.

Meanwhile, Swain County is eyeing the space to relieve overcrowding of its own court system.

“There are not enough courtrooms, not enough parking or offices — we’re lacking in everything,” said Swain County Manager Kevin King. “We’ve already put our name in the hat to see if we can acquire it.”

The federal building in Bryson City houses other government offices aside from the federal courtroom, from county to state to federal agencies. The county leases five other office spaces in the federal building already.

As for the soon-to-be-vacated court space, it would be offered to other federal agencies first.

“Any surplus federal property, from office furniture to buildings, we have to offer to other federal agencies first,” said

Give Your Loved one a Gift that Keeps Giving

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Swain County eyes federal courthouse

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Fly Fishing the South

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serving size : ab out 50 p ag es Am ount per Serving Calories 0

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Two locations to serve you ASHEVILLE 252.3005

WAYNESVILLE 251.9721

www.hunterbanks.com

Representatives of the Community Services of Swain County (CSSC), Inc., recently gave $2,500 to the Student Success Campaign at SCC. (from left) Mike Treadway, CSSC treasurer; Ken Mills, CSSC president; Ann Marie Wright, CSSC secretary; Mary Otto Selzer, director of SCC Foundation; and Charles Wolfe, Student Success Campaign chair.

Swain group makes donation to SCC Foundation Citing a desire to maximize their donation through a federal challenge grant, representatives of the Community Services of Swain County (CSSC) recently gave $2,500 to Southwestern Community College’s Student Success Campaign.

An effort to bridge the gap between scholarship need and availability, the Student Success Campaign is the most ambitious fundraising effort to date by the SCC Foundation. Mary Otto Selzer, director of the SCC Foundation, said the campaign aims to raise more than $1 million before Sept. 30, 2014.

The challenge grant, through the U.S. Department of Education, matches every dollar (up to $300,000) given to the cam-

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December 18-24, 2013

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Smoky Mountain News 16

paign.

“The leverage of the federal matching program is the main incentive for us,” said Ken Mills, president of CSSC. “When we give $2,500 toward student scholarships, it instantly doubles and does that much more good. That’s exciting for us. Our organization was formed with the purpose of doing everything we can to make our communities better. We are thrilled about the growing partnership between our communities and SCC.” For more information about the Student Success Campaign and the SCC Foundation, visit southwesterncc.edu or contact Selzer at m_selzer@southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4241.

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BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER tanding on the balcony of the historic Jackson County Courthouse and Library, high above downtown Sylva, Dottie Brunette begins pointing.

“I used to work down there, and over there I sang,” she said. “And over there is my childhood home, that white building with the steeple roof. Do you see it?”

As she looked around Sylva from the picturesque perch and discusses her career, Brunette was as embracing a personality as she was sentimental and inquisitive about her community. On Dec. 31, after a 27-year career, she will retire as Jackson County Librarian.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished, but now it is time for me to retire and get some new blood in here,” she said.

On Dec. 11, the library held a celebration for Brunette, a bon voyage of sorts for a lady who has brought much joy and hard work to her profession. Dozens of people from every corner of the community attended with smiles and teary-eyed glances sliding down both sides of the conversation.

“The staff, the patrons here — that’s what I love,” she said. “Seeing people with looks on their faces when something really excites them, joyful looks — that’s what I’m here for.”

A Sylva native, Brunette has had a love of the library as far back as she can remember.

“I was a latchkey child. When my mother couldn’t find me — and that was no fault of hers — she always knew I’d be at the library sitting on the floor with books,” the 65-yearold said. “The library provided me with security and peace. I tell the kids today it’s the only place you can go anywhere in the Universe just for yourself. It is just that important of a place.”

Brunette eventually majored in geology at Emory University in Atlanta, which coincidentally was home to the first library school in the South. She said she felt somewhat burned out from her geology pursuits and soon found herself working in the Hunter Library at Western Carolina University. After a couple of weeks, something clicked in her head.

“My mother was a librarian and I had been pushed since I was a small child to become a librarian,” she smiled. “I knew then this was exactly what I should be doing. So, when I went home and told my mother, she just laughed because she knew it all along.”

After graduating from WCU, Brunette then received her master’s of library science degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. From there, she started at Hunter Library in 1986 and remained there until she entered the Fontana Regional Library system in 1996. She moved around and through the Macon County branch, onward to Cashiers, then finally back home to Sylva in 2007. At the Jackson County Public Library, she oversaw the long-overdue relocation and construction of the new library at its current location in the historic hilltop courthouse.

news

Sylva librarian closes book on career S

“[The library is] the heart of the community. It’s something open for each and every person in the community. It’s knowledge at your fingertips. You can find pretty much anything you want.”

Garret K. Woodward photos

— Dottie Brunette

storyteller Gary Carden was grateful for her service to Western North Carolina. He pointed out how Brunette would helped him apply for and receive grants from the North Carolina Humanities Council to produce his plays, not to mention offering the library space to perform the pieces.

“She has an aggressive personality, and she gets things done,” he said. “She and I go way back. Dottie struck a deal with me to allow me to have a place to do my plays, which was in the library. All of those plays were done with her help.”

A few feet away, Ruth Shuler of the Jackson County Genealogical Society shared a laugh with Brunette. The two have worked closely over the years.

“She’s been an integral part of our organization,” Shuler said. “Dottie is a wonderful

person and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed visiting and working with her. We will miss her.”

With her final day at the library quickly approaching, Brunette said she plans to stay active in the community. She’s looking forward to cleaning her house and perhaps doing some volunteer work with the local bookstore.

So, what does 27 years in the library system mean to her?

“It means that when I decided to have a career in libraries, I set out to do it and I did it. It was the right choice,” she said.

During the celebration, Brunette felt overwhelmed by all of the love and support.

“It’s a little bit mind-boggling, but at the same time, it’s incredibly gratifying,” she said. “And when I go home today I’ll bawl my eyes out, if I don’t do it beforehand.”

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Smoky Mountain News

“We came up with an excellent use of this space for the library and other community organizations,” she proudly stated.

In an age of information and Internet at your fingertips, many might view the library as obsolete. But not Brunette. Beyond the innumerable community workshops held in the building, the library also hosts a wide array of children’s and artistic programs for any and all to attend.

“We offer free Internet and wifi access for everybody, and we teach a lot of computer programs,” she said. “Someone may not be that into reading, but we can offer them something else they’re interested in, and that’s what we’ve always aimed to do, to relate to the people. Then, maybe we’ll hook them in to pay attention to books.”

And to that point, Brunette feels the library is as important to Sylva as it was back when she was a child.

“It’s the heart of the community,” she said. “It’s something open for each and every person in the community. It’s knowledge at your fingertips. You can find pretty much anything you want.”

Wandering the retirement celebration, people from every direction pulled Brunette aside for a few kind words and best wishes.

Standing nearby, acclaimed Appalachian

December 18-24, 2013

After 27 years of service in the Fontana Library system, Dottie Brunette, librarian at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva, will retire on Dec. 31. On Dec. 11, a retirement celebration was held for Brunette at the Jackson County Public Library.

news December 18-24, 2013

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For subscription information, call 866.452.4251 or visit online every week at www.smokymountainnews.com.

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Health care navigators are helping to walk people through the process of enrolling for plans through the new federal health care exchange all over Western North Carolina, including this session in Franklin. Jacob Flannick photo

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without Internet access, paper applications for enrollment are available.

The grant money is expected to run out next August. After that, it’s uncertain how much help will be available to those trying to find insurance in the far western region.

In the short term, though, the navigators have been rushing to encourage people to enroll, in order to get their health plan processed by the first of the year.

BEATING THE DEADLINE

For specific questions, or to schedule an appointment to enroll, contact the closest enrollment counselor.

• Swain, Julia Buckner 828.550.7908 jbuckner@mountainprojects.org • Haywood, Jan Plummer 828.400.3222 jplummer@mountainprojects.org • Haywood, Vicky Gribble 828.400.8678 vgribble@mountainprojects.org • Jackson, Rebecca Mathis 828.400.7012 rmathis@mountainprojects.org • Macon, Cynthia Solesbee 828.400.4177 csolesbee@mountainprojects.org And the rocky start added to that wariness, including initial glitches with the website and the fact that some people with existing policies lost coverage despite assurances by the president that the federal mandate would not affect them.

Some have expressed their displeasure to Mountain Projects. Employees have received several unpleasant phone calls and messages in recent months, said Patsy Dowling, the director of the organization, which has offices in Waynesville and Sylva.

She believes such critics might view the group’s push to enroll people under the new health law as a kind of political stance, but Dowling said the group does this only out of a sense of responsibility.

“It’s a law that we have to comply with,” she said, adding that the number of such calls has since decreased.

ISOLATION: THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE That is the message Julia Buckner has sought to spread in Graham and Swain counties, across whose gorges and towns she has rushed to give presentations and keep appointments since earning her certification as a Mountain Projects navigator a couple of months ago.

The two counties are among the poorest in the state, with Graham having the third-highest unemployment rate, according to the N.C. Employment Security Commission. “When you’re here in the middle of nowhere,” said Buckner, access to the Internet is limited.

And although the new law likely will bring lower premiums to the region’s working poor, she has encountered anxiety over the cost.

So she replies with numbers, saying that of the some 40 people she has helped enroll so far, a handful have qualified for health plans costing less than $2 per month.

The following question, usually, is uttered with a note of relief: “Is that price for real?”

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Smoky Mountain News

“I’m just trying to get as many people enrolled as possible,” said Jan Plummer, a navigator with Mountain Projects who has spread word about the new law around Haywood — from fire departments to a Maggie Valley pancake house — since she earned her certification in September.

Those who fail to sign up for a health plan before March 31, 2014, will draw a federal fine. The Internal Revenue Service has said it will withhold the fine from tax refunds, unless the unenrolled are facing major changes in their circumstances, including marital or job status. Some individuals and married couples can apply for exemptions based on other factors, such as bankruptcy or a claim that the law — which subsidizes birth control — violates their religious liberties.

The law exempts businesses with fewer than 50 employees from offering coverage to employees.

These efforts by people like Solesbee and Plummer are crucial in North Carolina.

The state refused earlier this year to expand Medicaid, the federal program that gives health coverage to low-income people.

The new law offered to pay states to include more people in the program. North Carolina’s refusal to accept the expansion left at least 500,000 people unable to apply for health benefits they would have qualified for, according to the N.C. Division of Medical Assistance.

Medicaid currently covers about 1.8 million people in North Carolina, including those under age 18, people with disabilities, some pregnant women, low-income parents and elderly.

Get help:

December 18-24, 2013

BY JAKE FLANNICK SMN CORRESPONDENT ince she started spreading the word about the new health care law, Cynthia Solesbee has encountered many questions — and opinionated remarks — about a sweeping change affecting tens of thousands of people without insurance across the far western part of the state.

It is perhaps one of the few certainties in her busy schedule as a kind of health care messenger in Macon County.

Without an office, she has conducted a flurry of presentations at libraries and health departments, along with arranging appointments, including on weekends, over the past couple months.

“I feel like I need to clone myself,” Solesbee said. Her reach extends from Franklin and Highlands to the rural community of Nantahala, where she is helping uninsured people to select insurance policies mandated under the new health law. “We’re really, really busy right now,” she said.

Solesbee is one of seven so-called “health care navigators” dispatched through the seven western counties to help people sort through the new health insurance exchange, figure out their options and enroll.

Federal grants are funding these health care navigators all over the country, usually through existing nonprofits and social agencies. Here, Mountain Projects, a nonprofit social service agency, got $360,000 in federal funding to hire a team of health care navigators for the region.

Legal Aid, a service that offers legal services to low-income people, is also providing health care navigator services in the region although on a much smaller scale than Mountain Projects, with only one part-time navigator compared to Mountain Projects’ eight.

The navigators are trained to guide the people the new health law will affect — most uninsured adults under age 65. They can help them shop for a new plan in the online federal insurance marketplace, or determine whether they qualify for subsidies based on their household income and family size. For those

Whatever the attitudes, counselors have recalibrated their approach in recent weeks, making it a point to dismiss misconceptions about the new health law “so that people aren’t afraid of it,” Plummer said.

Many remain unaware, the navigators say, that they might qualify for subsidies.

Others have considered not paying for insurance until they encounter health problems. But counselors point out that enrolling in a new plan would offer preventive care and that premiums are not affected by preexisting conditions. Why delay coverage?

At a presentation at the Macon County Public Library on a recent weekend morning, Solesbee, the navigator there who is a former tax professional, used the moment to try to offer a sense of assurance to the small group that turned out.

A handful of people, no more than 10, riffled through the table of brochures and handouts and dutifully listened to Solesbee’s presentation.

With several of these public sessions under her belt by now, Sollosbee had perfected the art of boiling down health care reform.

She started with a 10-minute animated video, laced with ocassional humor, about what the affordable health care law means in layman’s terms.

Then she began running through a list of the most frequently asked questions the navigators get.

The small audience didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic.

The only comments from the audience were from a lady who clearly had a bone to pick. She posed antagonistic questions to the presenter and other audience members, frequently interrupting and blurting out negative comments.

Two people in the audience were there to gather information for their uninsured adult children.

An uninsured middle-aged couple was also in the crowd, but declined to share their name.

“It’s a complex law,” Solesbee told them.

“And we have answers.”

news

Health care ‘navigators’ rush to enroll residents before deadline

Nearly 9,000 people across North Carolina have enrolled in a health care plan through the exchange as of last week, according to federal officials, though they make up only a tiny fraction of the one million expected to shop for one under the new federal law.

It is unclear how many of them live in the seven counties in the far western part of the state.

Here, the percentage of uninsured — nearly one-fourth of the population, or 30,000 people, according to 2012 data by the Census Bureau — is slightly higher than in other parts of the state, said Jane Harrison, a navigator covering Haywood and Jackson counties for Mountain Projects. About 20 percent of the population in North Carolina, or more than 1.5 million, were uninsured in 2012.

Navigators in this region have to go to great lengths to spread awareness about the new law, particularly due to the mountainous terrain and limited Internet access. More than 2,200 people have been helped since October, whether through public presentations or personal appointments.

But the thought of such a law, under which younger generations and middle- and higherincome earners generally will pay more to help subsidize insurance for those with lower incomes, remains alarming to many in more conservative parts of the state.

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Business

Smoky Mountain News

Ambassadors work to extend reach of Jackson County Chamber

The Ambassadors of Jackson County recently elected new officers: Chairman Tommy Dennison, Business Counselor with the Small Business and Technology Development Center at Western Carolina University; Vice Chairman John Hagdorn of Highlander Self Storage; and Secretary Karen Walston, the Bug Lady of WNC. Known for their red jackets, the Ambassadors are the outreach and goodwill arm of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

“While all the Ambassadors work and have their own careers and businesses, they graciously give of their time to assist others in the business community. Our Ambassadors warmly greet new business owners and offer to help in any way they can,” said Julie Spiro, executive director of the Jackson County Chamber.

Other members of the Ambassadors Committee are Carroll Smith from Smith Insurance; Ina Ustich from Smoky Mountain Getaways; Amy Ammons Garza, Catch the Spirit of Appalachia and Fun Things to do in the Mountains; Michele D. Smith, attorney; Dana Smith of Jack the Dipper; Beth Bell of Morris Broadband; and Sande Hagdorn of Highlander Self Storage.

828.243.9318.

Props for WCU Professor Chris Cooper

Chris Cooper, associate professor and head of the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs at Western Carolina University, has been named the 2013 “Professor of the Year” in the state of North Carolina by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

“This award simply confirms what his students and colleagues already know — Chris Chris Cooper Cooper is a gifted teacher who fires his students’ imaginations and love of learning through his infectious passion for political science and his sincere dedication to their success,” said Richard Starnes, dean of WCU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Cooper is among faculty members from 36 states who were selected from more than 350 top professors nationally for this year’s awards.

Cooper earlier this year was named one of the best teachers in the UNC system by the UNC Board of Governors, was the 2011 winner of WCU’s Distinguished Scholar Award and a 2007 winner of WCU’s Chancellor’s Award for Engaged Teaching.

Festival gives WCU students experience in hospitality industry

Western Carolina University faculty member Carroll Brown (center) and WCU students (from left) Ellen Anderberg and Savannah Macias helped with the Dillsboro Lights and Luminaries festival. WCU photo For Carroll Brown, an associate professor in the hospitality and tourism program at Western Carolina University, there’s nothing like taking her classroom to the streets. For the past five years, she and her students have helped decorate the town for Dillsboro’s Lights and Luminaries Festival.

“There’s no better teacher than experience,” said Elizabeth Kilmer, a junior from Concord majoring in hospitality and tourism and marketing. “Taking part in setting up the Lights and Luminaries festi-

Copper Pot & Wooden Spoon hosts open house Copper Pot & Wooden Spoon, which sells artisan, local, specialty foods, will host a Christmas Open House from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 19, at its new store in Waynesville. Try samples of pickles, jams, holiday cookies and warm cider.

Located at 449 A Pigeon St. 828.593.0501.

Cool shades idea wins business competition Jackson County resident Peter Moyle won first prize and $1,000 in the SiteDart Awesome Business Idea Competition last month for his idea for affordable sunglasses made for the avid kayaker and snowboarder.

The contest gave aspiring entrepreneurs 90 seconds to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges. The contest was held in Franklin, but was open to competitors from surrounding counties. In his pitch, Moyle addressed the problems the market currently has and how

val taught me more than any textbook could have. Helping out Dillsboro when they needed a few extra hands was so rewarding.”

The students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the experience. “Having the students help out during our Lights and Luminaries festival has been a great blessing for the town of Dillsboro,” said Susan Leveille, co-owner of Dillsboro business Oaks Gallery. www.visitdillsboro.org/specialevents.html.

From zero to $50,000 in two years

All Jason Wilson needed was a little perspective. After years of low-paying jobs and layoffs, the 1996 graduate of Smoky Mountain High School decided to give Southwestern Community College a try. Bingo. This week he begins work as an industrial technical maintenance technician with a starting salary of $50,000-plus. He graduated last week. His degree? Electronics engineering technology. “I had figured out that life in this country without education beyond high Jason Wilson school wasn’t going to be good,” he said last week.

Through the North Carolina Employment Security Commission’s career-readiness certificate program, he arrived at SCC’s campus. He tested well and was offered a last-dollar scholarship through the Workforce Investment Act, which included books and gas money.

But what to major in? “This was a tough decision. I knew this was a one-time opportunity and I had to get it right. I had to pick a major that I would enjoy, something interesting that would lead to a secure future with a good income. I chose electronics engineering technology because it combined my interests with some of my work experience.”

Going to college wasn’t always easy, he said, but SCC gave him the support he needed.

“I never thought I would have a job like this, let alone get hired before I graduated,” said Wilson.

his product would be an improvement on A $5,000 Business Plan Competition is also what is currently offered on the market. underway in Macon County, including semiMacon County resident Cheri Clay won the nars, workshops and assistance crafting a busisecond place prize of $500 for her idea of Baltic ness plan. www.maconedc.org.

Amber and Hazlewood necklaces for teething babies.

Cherokee County resident 11-year-old Isley Johnson impressed the judges with her polished pitch and idea for a germ awareness smartphone app for kids and won third place.

Patients at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva who show signs of stroke can now be evaluated by Mission Hospital health specialists in Asheville, thanks to a Telestroke robot.

Mission Health doctors use a rolling robot and live, two-way, audio-video to have live If you have a great business plan, it could bedside interaction with patients, families be worth $5,000. The Dillsboro/WCU and care providers.

Partnership Committee and Southwestern Mission’s Telehealth system connects Community College are hosting a business physicians and patients at 10 rural hospitals plan competition designed to help local entre- with specialists at Mission Hospital in various preneurs who want to start a new business. medical situations.

The grand prize is $5,000, but the competition Telehealth eliminates geographic transport will provide applicants the chance to work barriers and allows improved outcomes for with various mentors and complete a compre- patients through faster treatment and 24/7 hensive business plan with the help of a series bedside access to Mission Health experts, said of free seminars. 828.339.4211 or Jonathan Bailey, MHA, Vice President of t_henry@southwesterncc.edu.

Operations at Mission Hospital.

Harris connects to Telehealth system

Get help with a business plan in Dillsboro

Business Notes • Limited resources and duplicate services elsewhere have forced Mountain BizWorks to cut staff and refocus its purpose in order to better serve its clients and stay viable. The non-profit community development financial institution has reduced its staff to seven employees, and the CEO has stepped down from a fulltime role and will now serve as a consultant. It is also phasing out programs and instead focusing its limited resources on its capital lending services.

Sr., Carolina West Dental; Rowan, Small and Associates; Senn Dunn Insurance; the Evergreen Foundation; the Architectural Studio; Webbco; Haywood Vocational Opportunities; United Community Bank; Claire and Jesse Patmore; Richard and Meg Reeves; Phyllis Prevost; and Jim and Karen McGovern.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort donated $10,000 to the Western Carolinas Muscular Dystrophy Association chapter for the organization’s programs and services, including the MDA summer camp.

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• The National Alliance on Mental Illness has started a new club at Haywood Community College in Clyde. The group is open to any student with a mental illness and advocates for access to services, treatment, support, and research for people with mental illness.

Holly Springs Community in Macon County won the Calico Cat Junior Award for improving its existing community center.

• WNC Communities awarded more than $33,000 to community groups with innovative approaches to addressing community needs. Bethel Rural Community and Fine’s Creek Community Association, both in Haywood County, garnered the program’s highest honor, Communities of Distinction, which came with a cash award of $2,000.

• The SafeKids USA/Blue Dragon Taekwondo School has opened in Clyde with a mission to provide students from preschoolers to adults with educational safety programs and basic self-defense training through the use of Takewondo, the ancient Korean fighting art.

828.627.3949 or bluedragontkd.net.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort donated $3,000 to Hope for Families, a non-profit in Robbinsville that provides services to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel provided the key sponsorship of $1,500 for The Arc of Haywood County’s “Arc”toberfest. Other sponsors were the Town of Waynesville, Gary Small

• Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva has installed two new hyperbaric oxygen chambers in its Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center, which will be used to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a specialized treatment for wounds that are difficult to heal.

AMC's Denise Hoyle, with Logan Mann holding infant son Logan Mann Jr., and Susan Huggart, right.

• Angel Medical Center volunteer Susan Huggart made and donated 40 purple baby caps to all babies born at AMC last month in support of the hospital’s Period of Purple Crying campaign. Period of Purple Crying focuses on teaching parents to recognize normal crying habits of infants in an effort to reduce the chance of infant abuse, primarily shaken baby. www.angelmed.org.

• Sunburst Market on Main Street in Waynesville now carries Bellanina Skin Care and offers monthly educational events with Nina Howard, artist, licensed esthetician, massage therapist, polarity therapist, national skin care educator and creator of Bellanina Skin Care. www.sunburstmarket.com.

CALL NOW!

Authorized Agents Floyd & Susan Rogers

828-452-2243 susanr@haywoodins.com

Smoky Mountain News

• Angel Medical Center’s Lori Smith, Director of Radiology, was awarded $250 by Mission Health System for her idea of system-wide automated temperature monitoring for all refrigerated supplies. Mission issued a challenge to its employees to submit ideas that would create a better and safer environment for patients. Angel, in Franklin, is part of Mission’s hospital system.

• Highlands-Cashiers Hospital has received a $184,046 grant from The Duke Endowment to expand dental services in Western North Carolina. The funds will be directed for use by the Blue Ridge Free Dental Clinic to benefit Macon, Jackson and Transylvania counties.

December 18-24, 2013

• Southwestern Community College has inducted 46 seventh-graders into its New Century Scholars program. The students are from throughout SCC’s service area and will receive last dollar tuition assistance at SCC as long as they fulfill program obligations throughout middle and high school.

• Judy Michaud, owner of Meadows Mountain Realty in Highlands, will serve as a panelist for the business plan competition presented

by Macon County Certified Entrepreneurial Community Leadership Team and Southwestern Community College.

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Healthcare is people, not logos JOHN B ECKMAN COLUMNIST he discussions and debates regarding health care on both the local and national levels have been going on for years as people everywhere have tried to come to grips with rapidly rising costs, a huge number of uninsured people and loss of benefits from providers. The volume of the discourse has risen to screaming new levels since the passing of the national Affordable Care Act and the botched launch of the website enrollment in recent weeks. The controversy has given rise to many instant geniuses on both sides with much of the opinion being offered short on fact, insight or applicability to the real world the rest of us inhabit.

What seems to be missing in all this is addressing the underlying question: How does our great nation get health services to those who need it in an affordable, efficient, ethical manner?

Like most, I dodged everything about health care through my mid-20s by being young and invincible, getting by with a few stitches or some ice and aspirin when injuries happened, until I married a health care professional who insisted that I get health insurance as a prelude to “I do.” She knew firsthand the consequences of living without a health care provider in case of emergency and saw the effects everyday at the hospital. I was young and in love so I agreed.

For the past 26 years we have dutifully paid those monthly premiums, which only rise in costs. During those decades we’ve probably had claims of around $5,000, most of which occurred more than 20 years ago. With premiums averaging around $500 per month during that time, I calculate we’ve paid in around $170,000 to our insurers, enough to buy a nice little house, for cash.

We’ve tried to live fairly healthy lifestyles by getting a lot of exercise, eating right and largely shying away from hazardous diets and activities whenever possible, which has allowed us to live without prescription meds, obesity, high blood pressure or any of America’s most common health disorders.

Even so, our premiums continue to rise, now exceeding $600 per month with limited coverage for dental, vision, pregnancy and a host of other ailments and injuries, coupled with a $7,500 annual deductible that we pay out of pocket before insurance kicks in. So who needs heath insurance at those prices, right?

How else could American families use that $600 per month?

One month ago I found out more than I ever desired about healthcare and local hospitals when a stack of lumber shifted the wrong way and came down on me, shattering my wrist in 12 places. I could tell you that it hurt a lot, but suffice it to say that I headed to Sylva’s emergency room for an assessment of

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the twisted wreckage and something strong from the pharmacy. I handed them my insurance card, gave them my information, and a wonderful, caring staff did everything possible to make me comfortable while we waited for Dr. Senicki to arrive. Thank goodness he did in short order, and before to long I was headed from the ER to the OR to have four long screws and a steel rod installed on my forearm to stretch my bashed wrist back into place. They called my wife at work to let her know that she could pick up her husband around 5 p.m. at the recovery room, and she could only assume there was a good explanation waiting for her when she arrived.

For the foreseeable future I would be a pain-wracked, one-armed semiinvalid in need of a lot more care than I did just a few hours ago. Ten days later I was back to get an MRI (a very cool digital 3-D video of my wrist from all angles) and a meeting with Dr. Gates, the upper extremities guy, for discussions about the MRI and the upcoming surgery to put this thing back together. With just a basic understanding of anatomy and skeletal structure, the MRI was revealing and confirming in a frightening way.

The breaks were significant and pieces were scattered. I believe the non-medical term he used was “dusted,” which didn’t sound all that rosy to me. We discussed the surgical process, which rang as significantly complex and at least a little scary. I told him that I would like to get a second opinion before setting up the surgery, which he agreed was a prudent next move given this complex situation.

My personal study of American health care was headed deeper and seemed to be only looming larger for me to experience “single-handedly,” so to speak.

My wife recommend I visit Dr. Paul Cutting over at Med-West Haywood whom she had heard speak to her department there and knew that he had done some of his training in Afghanistan, treating trauma and warrelated injuries in addition to sports and accidental-type surgery. I made the appointment and saw him two days later. He reviewed the

MRI and likened my injury to a wound from an AR-15 bullet through the wrist he had treated while at war. He urged me not to delay much longer in getting the surgery done, regardless of who performed it, for best healing and results, and described in detail how and where the steel plates would be attached to the newly-configured jigsaw puzzle of a wrist I owned. I listened closely to this dedicated professional who convincingly conveyed that he truly had my best interests at heart, and I pictured him parachuting out of a plane with his medical bag to patch up the troops,

and I was in the platoon. He checked his schedule and said he could do the surgery tomorrow at 3 p.m. and I automatically replied “Let’s do this.”

On the Friday before Thanksgiving and the day before the arrival of our first holiday guests, I was prepped and wheeled into the OR for the second time in recent days. Again I was struck by the caring, compassionate and dedication of the staff who kept me informed and engaged amidst the flurry of screens, devices, lights and apparatus of haunting description. The anesthesiologist came in and worked his magic while I bid them all good luck and goodnight. After three hours on the slab they closed up the skin and I was off to recovery, again. It now being nearly 7 p.m., the doctor ordered me a night at the hospital for monitoring and pain management, and — not to be outdone by the surgical team — the second floor staff equally impressed me with their efforts to no end as I lay in my electric bed with a giant splinted appendage beside me.

Nurse Mark worked the 7 to 7 shift and let me know he’d be with me all night, which

he was, and I could not have asked for better care. Everyone down to the cleaning staff seemed to try extremely hard to care for me, putting the “care” back in health care, far from the rants and yelling on the streets, in the halls of Congress and blanketing the nightly news.

We’re a month since that split-second incident that changed everything and everyday seems to be a little bit better, which makes me optimistic since it will be many months, until I’m close to where I was before. Dr. Cutting, whom I deeply admire and respect, informed me that I will likely have some permanent loss of range of motion and possibly arthritis issues, but both of us remain guardedly optimistic for a useable wrist for the rest of my life. Not having a right hand for the past month has forced me to do just about everything differently and to again understand how easy it is to take convenience for granted. Just for fun, try putting your favored hand firmly at your side unable to be moved and make coffee, get dressed, shave, take a shower, plug in your smartphone, put on your socks, brush your teeth. When you’re comfortable doing that, try washing dishes, make dinner, drive your truck, pick up some groceries and clean the messes off the floor you made trying to do all this. Loss of use of an arm, a leg or an eye or anything else can give a person reason to stop and think about a lot of things — including health care and whether you or anybody else really needs it.

I’ve watched the health care/hospital reshuffle here in WNC for the past 15 years and have been kept informed of the complicated details through the continuing work of this newspaper, who I thank for their in-depth research and reporting. I hope that the latest agreements with Duke Lifepoint in managing the region’s health care lead it to the best that it can be, but after my recent experiences I’m convinced that it is the staff and the teams working together that make our region’s healthcare work, not the logo hanging over the door or on every billing form and communiqué.

I’m more than a little disappointed in our lawmakers in Washington slinging mud and insults at any effort to address national health care issues for political gain rather than working to craft a plan that really works for the people that they supposedly represent. The current debate reminds me not of the Constitution where “all are equal under the law,” but George Orwell’s 1945 novel Animal Farm where “some animals are more equal than others.”

What we need is not jaded, shouting special interests but good people dedicated to providing quality health care to the best of their ability in order to develop a truly workable, unbiased solution. It is my hope that maybe the nation can learn something from the great health care talent and dedication we have here in WNC. (John Beckman is a farmer and building who lives in Cullowhee. He can be reached at beckmanmtn@frontier.com.)

tasteTHEmountains Closed on Sunday. We specialize in hand-cut, all natural steaks, fresh fish, and other classic American comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available. We also feature a great selection of craft beers from local artisan brewers, and of course an extensive selection of small batch bourbons and whiskey. The Barrel is a friendly and casual neighborhood dining experience where our guests enjoy a great meal without breaking the bank.

AMMONS DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT & DAIRY BAR 1451 Dellwwod Rd., Waynesville.

828.926.0734. Open 7 days a week 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Celebrating over 25 years.

Enjoy world famous hot dogs as well as burgers, seafood, hushpuppies, hot wings and chicken. Be sure to save room for dessert.

The cobbler, pie and cake selections are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Tuesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (takeout only 5 to 6 p.m.) Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Serving Mediterranean style foods; join us for weekly specials. We roast our own ham, turkey and roast beef just like you get on Thanksgiving to use in our sandwiches. Try our chicken, tuna, egg and pasta salads made with gluten free mayo. Enjoy our variety of baked goods made daily: muffins, donuts, cinnamon buns and desserts.

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. Dinner nightly from 4 p.m.

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Family-style breakfast seven days a week, from 8 to 9:30 am – with eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and oatmeal, fresh fruit, sometimes French toast or pancakes, and always all-you-can-eat. Lunch every day from 11:30 till 2. Evening cookouts on the terrace on weekends and Wednesdays (weather permitting), featuring steaks, ribs, chicken, and pork chops, to name a few. Bountiful familystyle dinners on Monday, Tuesday and

Thursday, with entrees that include prime rib, baked ham and herb-baked chicken, complemented by seasonal vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and desserts. We also offer a fine selection of wine and beer. The evening social hour starts at 6pm, and dinner is served starting at 7pm. So join us for milehigh mountaintop dining with a spectacular view. Please call for reservations.

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.

CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881.

Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Join us in our historic location for scratch made soups and daily specials. Breakfast is made to order daily: Gourmet cheddar & scallion biscuits served with bacon, sausage and eggs; smoked trout bagel plate; quiche and fresh fruit parfait. We bake a wide variety of breads daily, specializing in traditional french breads. All of our breads are hand shaped. Lunch: Fresh salads, panini sandwiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck.

Private room available for meetings.

opinion

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

Café

Deli & So Much More Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

219-59

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE We will be closed Dec. 24-31

6147 Highway 276 S. Bethel, North Carolina (at the Mobil Gas Station)

bbcafenc.com 828.648.3838

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30

Tu-F 8-6 (takeout only 5-6) • Sat 8-3

December 18-24, 2013

HORS D’OEUVRES BUFFET 9 P.M.-MIDNIGHT

MIDNIGHT CHAMPAGNE TOAST

Smoky Mountain News

MUSIC BY SMOKE RISE BAND DANCING & PARTY FAVORS MIDNIGHT BREAKFAST BUFFET INCLUDING LUCKY NEW YEAR’S FOODS

$5995/COUPLE PARTY ONLY

OR

$9995/COUPLE INCLUDES ROOM

Single Rates Available Reservations Recommended

70 Soco Road • Maggie Valley Reservations: 828.926.0201

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ITALIAN

MEDITERRANEAN

STEAKS • PIZZA CHICKEN • SEAFOOD SANDWICHES OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK 1863 S. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.454.5002 HWY. 19/23 EXIT 98 UPCOMING EVENTS

Winter Weekend Party

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20: with the Carribean Cowboys SAT. DEC. 21: BOBBY SULLIVAN

219-57

83 Asheville Hwy. Sylva Music Starts @ 9 • 631.0554

tasteTHEmountains 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.

BRYSON CITY CORK & BEAN A MOUNTAIN SOCIAL HOUSE 16 Everett St.,Bryson City. 828.488.1934.

Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 3p.m., Full Menu 3 to 9 p.m. Serving fresh and delicious weekday morning lite fare, lunch, dinner, and brunch. Freshly prepared menu offerings range from house-made soups & salads, lite fare & tapas, crepes, specialty sandwiches and burgers. Be sure not to miss the bold flavors and creative combinations that make up the daily Chef Supper Specials starting at 5pm every day.

Followed by a tempting selection of desserts prepared daily by our chefs and other local bakers. Enjoy craft beers on tap, as well as our full bar and eclectic wine list.

CORK & CLEAVER 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

828.456.7179. Reservations recommended.

4:30-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, Cork & Cleaver has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Executive Chef Corey Green prepares innovative and unique Southern fare from local, organic vegetables grown in

December 18-24, 2013

Cheers to the

New Year

Smoky Mountain News

New Year’s Eve Dinner & Party!!

Dine Ala Carte or take advantage of our All-Inclusive Three Course Special.

NYE Party featuring live music by Crocodile Smile.

Western North Carolina. Full bar and wine cellar. www.waynesvilleinn.com.

locations right across from the train station & pet friendly.

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

828.926.1820 Open Daily 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., closed Tuesday. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet. Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service.

FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St. Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mondays. 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. Come for the restaurant’s 4 @ 4 when you can choose a center and three sides at special prices. Offered Wed- Fri. from 4 to 6. frogsleappublichouse.org.

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

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

Tuesday-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 FRYDAY’S & SUNDAES 24 & 26 Fry St., Bryson City (Next To The Train Depot). 828.488.5379. Frydays is open; but closed on Wednesdays. Sundaes is open 7 days a week. Fryday’s is known for its Traditional English Beer Battered Fish & Chips, but also has burgers, deep fried dogs, gyro, shrimp, bangers, Chip Butty, chicken, sandwiches & a great kids menu. Price friendly, $3-$10, Everything available to go or call ahead takeout. Sundaes has 24 rotating flavors of Hershey's Ice Cream making them into floats, splits, sundaes, shakes. Private seating inside & out for both

HERREN HOUSE 94 East St., Waynesville 828.452.7837.

Lunch: Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Brunch 11 a. m. to 2 p.m.

Enjoy fresh local products, created daily. Join us in our beautiful patio garden. We are your local neighborhood host for special events: business party’s, luncheons, weddings, showers and more. Private parties & catering are available 7 days a week by reservation only.

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

Lunch Sunday noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner nightly starting at 4:30 p.m. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome.

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

Christmas Day Brunch Buffett 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM Adults $29.95* Young at Heart $19.95* Children 6 – 12 $14.95* Children Under 5 - Free

Reservations: Opentable.com or

828.456.3551, Ext. 366

Reservations required.

Buy One Entrée, Get One Free 828.926.4848 www.MaggieValleyClub.com

of equal or lesser value Expires 12/30/2013. Must purchase two beverages.

Must present coupon. Not valid on holidays or with other discounts or promotions.

176 Country Club Drive

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*Excluding 7% NC Sales Tax & 21% Service Charge

JOEY'S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Winter hours; Friday through Sunday and Mondays, 7 a.m. to noon. Joey’s is a family style restaurant that has been serving breakfast to the locals and visitors of Western North Carolina since 1966. Featuring a large variety of tempting pancakes, golden waffles, country style cured ham and seasonal specials spiked with flavor, Joey's is sure to please all appetites. Joey & Brenda O’Keefe invite you to join what has become a tradition in these parts, breakfast at Joey’s.

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

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner. The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

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 BAKERY & CAFÉ Located on the WCU Campus in Cullowhee.

828.293.3096. Open Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Earth-friendly foods at people-friendly prices.

Daily specials, wraps, salads, pastries, breads, soups and more. Unique fare, friendly service, casual atmosphere and wireless Internet. Organic ingredients, local produce, gourmet fair trade and organic coffees.

MOONSHINE GRILL 2550 Soco Road, Maggie Valley loacted in the Smoky Falls Lodge. 828.926.7440.

Open Thursday through Sunday, 4:30 to 9 p.m. Cooking up mouth-watering, wood-fired Angus steaks, prime rib and scrumptious fresh seafood dishes. The wood-fired grill gives amazing flavor to every meal that comes off of it. Enjoy creative dishes made using moonshine. Stop by and simmer for a while and soak up the atmosphere. The best kept secret in Maggie Valley. themoonshinegrill.com MOUNTAIN PERKS ESPRESSO BAR & CAFÉ 9 Depot St., Bryson City. 828.488.9561.

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

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

828.497.4590. Open 7 a.m. daily.

Established in 1946 and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Family style dining for adults and children.

PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood (available in full and lighter sizes), thin crust pizza, homemade soups, salads hand tossed at your table. Fine wine and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, dine indoor, outside on the patio or at the bar. Reservations appreciated.

PASQUALINO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT 25 Everett Street, Bryson City.

828.488.9555. Open for lunch and dinner everyday 11:30 a.m.-late. A taste of Italy in beautiful Bryson City. Exceptional pasta, pizza, homemade soups, salads. Fine wine, mixed drinks and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, reservations appreciated.

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 828.926.0201 Bar open Monday thru Saturday; dining room open Tuesday thru Saturday at 5 p.m. Full service restaurant serving steaks, prime rib, seafood and dinner specials.

SOUL INFUSION TEA HOUSE & BISTRO 628 E. Main St. (between Sylva Tire & UPS).

828.586.1717. Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon -until. Scrumptious, natural, fresh soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. 60+ teas served hot or cold, black, chai, herbal. Seasonal and rotating draft beers, good selection of wine.

Home-Grown Music Network Venue with live music most weekends. Pet friendly and kid ready.

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.

VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin.

828.369.9890. Established here in in 1998. Come to Franklin and enjoy our laid back place, a place you can sit back, relax and enjoy our 62” HDTV. Our Pizza dough, sauce, meatballs, and sausage are all made from scratch by Vito. The recipes have been in the family for 50 years (don't ask for the recipes cuz’ you won't get it!) Each Pizza is hand tossed and made with TLC. You're welcome to watch your pizza being created.

CityLightsCafe.com

219-53

219-14

at the

Bed & Breakfast and Restaurant

BOOGIE NIGHTS

Ring in the New Year with a murder mystery!

3 course dinner with wine

Tuesday, Dec. 31 • 7 pm $55/person + tax & gratuity

94 East St. • Waynesville 828-452-7837 www.herrenhouse.com Serving Lunch Wed-Fri 11:30-2 & Sunday Brunch 11-2

ARTISAN BREADS & PASTRIES

STOP BY NOW AND PLACE YOUR ORDERS FOR

CHRISTMAS Cinnamon rolls, biscuits and more for Christmas morning.

Cakes, Pies,Yule Logs and more for Christmas Dinner.

Fair Trade Coffee & Espresso

Live Music on the Patio Tues.-Fri.

18 North Main Street Waynesville • 452.3881

Call to see who’s playing.

117 Main Street, Canton NC

Cataloochee Ranch 219-687

S PRING S TREET, D OWNTOWN S YLVA CREPES, PANINIS, SOUPS, SALADS, GOURMET PASTAS WINE & BEER

218-01

-Local beers now on draft-

Serving Lunch & Dinner

ERIC HENDRIX & FRIENDS

Smoky Mountain News

Burgers to Salads Southern Favorites & Classics

MON.-THURS. 11 A.M.-9 P.M. • FRI. & SAT. 11 A.M.-10 P.M. SUNDAY BRUNCH 11 A.M. TO 2:30 P.M.

SATURDAY, DEC. 21 •7PM

THE WINE BAR 20 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.452.6000. Underground cellar for wine and beer, served by the glass all day. Cheese and tapas served Wednesday through Saturday 4 p.m.-9 p.m. or later. info@classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

We’ll feed your spirit, too.

828.492.0618 • SidsOnMain.com

WYATT ESPALIN

December 18-24, 2013

LUCIO'S RESTAURANT 313 Highlands Road, Franklin.

828.369.6670. Serving Macon County since 1984. Closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.

Lunch Wednesday-Friday 11:30 a.m. until.Dinner Wednesday-Saturday 5 p.m. until. Owned and operated by Tanya and Dorothy Gamboni. Serving authentic Italian and continental cuisine including appetizers, pastas, poultry, veal, seafood, steaks and homemade deserts. Selection of wine and beer. Lunch and Dinner menus. Wednesday and Thursday nights only. 1 appetizer and 2 selected entrées with unlimited salad and Lucio’s famous garlic rolls for $24.95.

Winter Special: half-off house wines, Friday and Saturday only. luciosnc.com

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

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

FRIDAY, DEC. 20 • 7PM

68585

tasteTHEmountains

119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC 28751 | www.CataloocheeRanch.com | (828)926-1401

MON-FRI: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

SAT: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. SUN: 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

ASHEVILLE: 60 Biltmore Ave. 252.4426 & 88 Charlotte St. 254.4289

25

A&E

Smoky Mountain News

26

WNC ARTISTS FIND NEW HOME AT

Mahogany House

Woodworker Bob Luciene at The Mahogany House working studios.

Garret K. Woodward photo

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER ouncing around her gallery like a rubber ball, the energy of Teri Siewert is contagious.

“The ambiance here is something you can’t buy or make. It’s either there or it’s not, and it’s definitely here,” she said.

Siewert is the owner of the The Mahogany House art gallery and studios in the Frog Level Teri Siewert district of Waynesville.

She opened the business on Oct. 8 to provide a location for established and emerging artists to create, collaborate and cultivate the energy and culture of Western North Carolina and beyond. With more than 50 local artists under her umbrella, the structure is a living, breathing studio.

“We’re an incubator for amazing working art and amazing artists,” she said. “I did it because I love art, I love artists, and I wanted a place where we could bring all of that together.”

B

Following Siewert through the 4,000square-foot space, one begins to feel the buzz she talks about so passionately. Zigzagging through the building, she points out every artist displayed, why their work is unique, and why they need to be supported by the community.

“Everything evolves. The community evolves, people evolve, your life evolves, where you can take it in one direction or another,” she said.

“And I think art takes it in the right direction.”

HEAD FOR THE HILLS Born in California, Siewert was raised in Florida by her mother “who was part gypsy,” she said. She dabbled in art her entire life, a trait her father and grandfather also possessed.

That gene and creativity bug resided inside her, waiting to be nurtured. By the 1970s, looking for a career, she found herself in nursing. For the next 27 years, she worked in healthcare, but the artistic side of her never died. On a chance trip to the River Arts District in Asheville, something inside Siewert roared to life.

“I visited the River Arts District, fell in love

with encaustic, came up here for workshops, in your studio, but here, you’re out and meetwent back to Florida, had a midlife crisis, told ing people, seeing those who buy your work, my husband I had to get to the mountains, and that’s priceless. It’s magical here, very and then we moved here,” she chuckled. warm and wonderful.”

An ancient art form using heated beeswax In one of the working studios at the back of and damar resin and molding it into layered artthe gallery, acclaimed woodworker Bob works, encaustic became the ideal creative medi- Luciene is busy on his latest project. Stopping um for Siewert. She fell in love with the medium for a moment, he looks up with a welcoming and knew that was what she wanted to do. smile. Luciene feels having a working studio in “I was a nurse for 27 years, but my heart Waynesville is a great addition to the commuwas to be an artist,” she said. “When I came to nity, where patrons and the curious alike can Waynesville, it was the perfect crossroads in see and interact with the artisans they support. my life — I had to do it now or it was never “I think the public likes to come in and going to happen.” watch us do our trade. It helps sell the prodWhile a nurse in Florida, Siewert started a uct, but you also meet a lot of nice people,” he decorative arts business. For 12 years, it said. “Art gives people something to talk scratched her creative itch. She slowly weaned about. You get to know people and the works herself out of healthcare and put more energy into the business. In 2011, she took the leap and headed for Waynesville, dreams and ambition in hand. Taking a page from the onsite artist gallery/studios of the River Arts District, she knew Waynesville would be the ideal place to set up shop.

“It doesn’t have to be a lot to start, The Mahogany House art gallery and studios houses more than 50 local but it could grow artisans. The space is also a working studio, where artists create on with time. I feel very site. Classes for the public are also available. Garret K. Woodward photo strongly that I would succeed at this. I’m one of “Everything evolves. The community evolves, those people that will do it even if it people evolve, your life evolves, where you kills me,” she laughed. “I love can take it in one direction or another. And I what they have in think art takes it in the right direction.” the River Arts District, the work— Teri Siewert, owner of The Mahogany House ing studios and galleries. So why can’t are the history of a community.” we bring a little piece of that to Haywood Luciene also likes the opportunities for colCounty and Waynesville?” laboration with other artists at The Mahogany PEN FOR BUSINESS House.

“We’ve kind of gotten away from visiting with one another,” he said. “Here, you’re Within the large building, the gallery/stutogether, you talk, you work together, pass on dio offers wall and display space for artists, as well as individual work/retail tables and class- ideas, and sometimes the trades cross over.”

Standing at her personal workspace, es for the general public. For $100 to $300 per Siewert pauses for a moment and scans the month, artists inhabit their own space, with enormous building, once empty but now filled many amenities like electricity and marketing with an intoxicating air of creativity amid a included. For $5 an hour or $25 per day, you hearty sense of community. can also have a temporary workspace. The “It’s important to feel part of something, idea with all of this is housing artists of all different backgrounds together with an emphasis to get energized and motivated, to be excited about tomorrow, to be excited about today, on cross-pollination — the more creative about something purposeful in your life,” she energy in a room, the better. said. “You can sit there or stay actively “This is a synergy area, a symbiosis involved, mentor people, be that spark that between different mediums and different sets the fire, and that’s all I want to be — that artists, where we see each other and support spark that starts the fire.” one another,” she said. “You’re in your house,

O

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Balsam Range. Garret K. Woodward photo

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Smoky Mountain News

ext week will mark my second Christmas in Western North Carolina. And, like last year, I won’t be making it back home to Upstate New York A preview screening of the “Cataloochee” for the festivities. This has documentary will be Dec. 20 at Haywood also been the case for Community College.

Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. The Nutcracker Ballet hits the stage at the Smoky And, as much as that Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in would bum out some, I take Franklin on Dec. 20-21. it in stride. I’m supposed to be here. Southern Comedian Dave Stone performs at BearWaters Appalachia is where I’m Brewing in Waynesville on Dec. 21. doing bountiful work amid unparalleled natural beauty.

Until I cross paths with my The “Alepocalypse Now” customer appreciation family again, which will day at Tipping Point Brewery in Waynesville will be hopefully be soon, I’ve also Dec. 21. acquired another family — every one of you.

Gary Carden’s “Foxfire Christmas” storytelling will Throughout my year be Dec. 20 at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. and a half living here, I feel truly blessed by all of the wonderful people, places and things I come across each day. There are over Western North Carolina. so many incredible experiences to be had in • Rolling Stone Burrito and Mad Batter these parts, and I wake up every day ready Bakery & Café in Cullowhee. Tragically, both to encounter the next one. of these businesses were lost in a recent fire With that said, I decided to take this at Western Carolina University. But while week’s column and give a handful of shout they were open, each provided a true sense outs to all of those that make me proud to of community, not to mention all of the live here, folks and locations making this great food they make, too. They will be region the shiny southern gem it is. greatly missed, but all of us remain hopeful • Mary Harper, bartender and music they will return. promoter for No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) • Donnie at the Frog Level bridge in and the Water’n Hole Bar and Grill Waynesville. Drive through there on any day, (Waynesville). Want to know why so many and he’s out there, waving and smiling to great bands from all over the country find every vehicle. It may just be a smile and a themselves performing in our backyard? wave, but for many, including myself, it Mary. Simply put, she is a true music lover, reverberates throughout the community. which means her passion lies just as much in Thanks, Donnie. the sound as in sharing it with others.

• Nantahala Brewing Company in Thanks, Mary, for getting shakin’ legs all Bryson City. Beyond their delicious craft

lore he’s passionately written about for decades. I’m thankful for his friendship, and his ability to give me a good chuckle when we cross paths.

• Local music. To Soldier’s Heart, SmokeRise, The Petticoat Government, Mile High Band, Porch 40, Balsam Range, Dylan Riddle, Positive Mental Attitude, Liz & AJ, Darren Curtis & The Buttered Toast, etc. All of you are making melodies and taking great pride in doing so. Everywhere I turn, you’re playing, and that’s great — the more, the merrier.

• Craft breweries. To the Tipping Point, BearWaters, Frog Level, Heinzelmannchen, Innovation and Nantahala. Western North Carolina is now a craft beer destination for the world. Keeping experimenting and keep loving what you do — because we do.

• Harrah’s Cherokee and Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Just in my time here, Harrah’s brought in The Black Crowes, Willie Nelson, Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert, with ZZ Top for New Year’s Eve, while the SMCPA has presented Merle Haggard, Dr. Ralph Stanley and soon Loretta Lynn. Big city entertainment right in our backyard. How lucky are we, eh?

• And to you readers out there. None of my dreams as a journalist would come true if it weren’t for all of our loyal readers. The support, encouragement and ideas presented to me on a daily basis make me feel truly grateful to be able to write and play in the paradise that is Western North Carolina. Thank you, and here’s to 2014. Happy holidays.

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

beer (Noon Day IPA for life), the business is all about revitalizing its community.

Whether it be hosting local events or consistently helping out on beautification and “Trail Magic” efforts on the nearby Appalachian Trail, the crew is top notch. As well, when the brewery found out I wasn’t going home for Thanksgiving, they immediately invited me to their gathering.

Needless to say, I was grateful to sit at a table of new friends, fresh brew and a plate full of hot food on Turkey Day. • John and Judy Stringfield of Waynesville. Thank you for also taking in this reporter for Thanksgiving, to feel truly part of your lovely family with bellies full of food, drink and laughter.

• Balsam Range. Proud sons of Haywood County, the bluegrass phenoms won the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Association award for “Album of the Year” — a huge honor in the music industry. On top of that, the group always gives back to its community. You’ll see them play any and all benefits, barbeques or celebrations. They are the true embodiment of Appalachian culture and the definition of southern hospitality as they continue to be ambassadors for the area.

• The folks at City Bakery and Earthworks Gallery in Waynesville, who provide me with fresh coffee and hearty conversation each morning as I ready myself for the day.

• Gary Carden of Sylva. The feisty writer/storyteller is a barrel of monkeys with his charm and wit. The 2012 North Carolina Literature Award winner, Carden has become as iconic as the Appalachian

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arts & entertainment

On the beat • Natty Love Joys, Downslave and Darren Curtis & The Buttered Toast will be performing at No Name Sports Pub in Sylva. Natty Love Joys performs Dec. 19, Downslave on Dec. 20 and Curtis, Dec. 21. All shows are free and begin at 9 p.m. 828.586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com.

CANDLELIGHT SERVICE, CHRISTMAS MUSIC PLANNED IN WAYNESVILLE

• The Papertown Country/Dance Holler will be from 7 to 10 p.m.

Dec. 20-21 at 61½ Main Street in Canton. The dances will continue each Friday and Saturday from this point forward. $8. 828.736.8925.

ALSO:

A candlelight Christmas Eve choir service with be held at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 24 at the Francis Cove United Methodist Church in Waynesville. The cantata, “The Gift Goes On,” is under the direction of choir director Sherri Myers. Candlelit luminaries will light the walkway and front entrance to the service of worship that evening.

828.452.9791.

• Productive Paranoia, Wilhelm Brothers and NC 63 tap into Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville. Productive Paranoia performs Dec. 20, with the Wilhelm Brothers Dec. 27 and NC 63 Dec. 28. All shows are free and begin at 6:30 p.m. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Wyatt Espalin and Eric Hendrix & Friends will play City Lights Café in Sylva. Espalin performs Dec. 20 and Hendrix Dec. 21. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m.

828.587.2233 or www.citylightscafe.com.

December 18-24, 2013

• Jay Brown will perform at 7 p.m. Dec. 27 at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. $10 minimum food, drink or merchandise purchase.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

Bryson City community jam

Holiday music at City Lights

A community music jam will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 19, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, or unplugged instrument is invited to join. Singers are also welcome 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 music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month, year-round.

Free. 828.488.3030.

The Shepherd of the Hills String Band will play some favorite songs of the holiday season at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Dec. 21 marks the winter solstice and the last Saturday before Christmas as patrons are asked to come and celebrate this special time of year. While taking in the concert, shoppers can find a book in the holiday catalog sale and receive 40 percent off on another instock book of equal or lesser value.

Free. 828.586.9499.

“This is the best era of craft beer in North Carolina’s history. The quality and sheer availability are unbelievable right now.”

Tipping Point celebrates anniversary

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER n Dec. 21, Tipping Point Brewing in downtown Waynesville will be celebrating its third year in operation with a “Customer Appreciation Day.” Starting as a restaurant/tavern, the business has grown into an acclaimed brewery in the bustling Western North Carolina craft beer scene.

Titled “Alepocalypse Now,” the anniversary celebration will include live music, food/drink specials, as well as the release of the “Alepocalypse Pale Ale.” The Smoky Mountain News recently caught up with Tipping Point co-owner Jon Bowman. He spoke of the evolution of the establishment, how 2013 was a milestone year for the business and what makes WNC a special place to set up shop.

— Jon Bowman, Tipping Point co-owner

Smoky Mountain News

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Smoky Mountain News: How did 2013 shape up for you?

Jon Bowman: 2013 was a great year for us. Highlights would be the inaugural

North Carolina?

JB: This is the best era of craft beer in North Carolina’s history. The quality and sheer availability are unbelievable right now. Never has the consumer had such quality and so many choices.

Tipping Point Brewmaster Scott Peterson supervises another batch of handmade craft beer.

The brewery’s “Customer Appreciation Day” is Dec. 21. Garret K. Woodward photo Waynesville Beer Fest, winning medals at the N.C. Beer Championships and the N.C. Brewers Cup with the “Ryeway 74” collaboration beer.

SMN: What’s the next step?

JB: Pretty much to just keep on rolling.

We’ll be adding more kegs and cold storage to increase production slightly. We’ll have a Valentine’s Day beer coming out and a few other special brews later in 2014.

SMN: What do you see as the current climate for the craft beer scene in Western

SMN: What makes the brewery so special?

JB: We cannot thank our customers enough. I know it may sound cliché, but we wouldn’t be here without y’all. Our local regulars are the biggest factor in our success and our customer appreciation day is really about thanking them. We’re also seeing plenty of repeat tourists. Once they find us, they’ll come in the next time they visit the area. It’s just great to know we have created something special in downtown Waynesville. We’ve made a difference creating a “tipping point,” if you will.

On the stage

219-37

‘Unto these Hills’ hosts local auditions

The Cherokee Historical Association will hold two auditions for the 2014 season of “Unto these Hills” from 2 to 6 p.m. Jan. 11 and March 22, at 564 Tsali Blvd. across from the museum.

Those interested must come prepared with a monologue, a headshot and a song (if you sing). If you can’t audition in person, you can send an electronic format piece. Please include a monologue (two min. max), 16 bars of a ballad, 16 bars of an up-tempo (if you sing) and a short movement clip if you’d like to be considered for a dancer contract or a fighting role. Please attach a resume and headshot and send to cherokeecasting@gmail.com or snail mail info to P.O. Box 398, Cherokee, N.C. 28719. If you’re interested in a tech position, pick up an application at the CHA office.

828.497.3652 or 828.497.1125.

The Nutcracker ballet comes to Franklin

Perhaps it’s the hustle And bustle of life.

Perhaps it’s the hassle and troubles and strife…

That demand most of all that we slow down and take time …

To comtemplate passage with A glass of wine.

A “Holiday Homecoming” will be Dec. 21 at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Donated photo

National Park hosts Holiday Homecoming The Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host a Holiday Homecoming from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Children and adults will have an opportunity to learn about and experience some of the traditions surrounding an Appalachian Christmas. Park staff and volunteers will provide hands-on traditional crafts, activities and host the monthly acoustic old-time jam session.

“Musical expression was and still is often a part of daily life in the southern mountains, and mountain music is strongly tied to the Smokies’ history and culture,” said Lynda Doucette, supervisory park ranger. “This month our music jam will focus on traditional holiday tunes. We would like to invite musicians to play and our visitors to join us in singing traditional Christmas carols and holiday songs as was done in the old days.”

The visitor center will be decorated for the holiday season and will include an exhibit on Christmas in the mountains. Hot apple cider and cookies will be served on the porch and a fire will be lit in the fireplace. Support for this event is provided by the Great Smoky Mountains Association.

Free.

828.497.1904.

On the streets Healing and Wellness Coalition potluck

• “Christmas On the Green” will run through Jan. 6 at the Village Green in Cashiers. The park will be brighter than ever with thousands of twinkling lights and mirthful decorations. While strolling the

park pathways, guests can enjoy a Festival of Trees. www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

• Storyteller Donald Davis will spin his tales at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. www.fumc-waynesville.com.

ALSO:

• The Polar Express train excursion continues its journey to the North Pole through Dec. 29 at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad train depot in Bryson City. Ticket prices begin at $40 for adults and $26 for children ages 2-12 years. Children 23 months and under ride free. Crown Class ticket prices start at $50 for adults, $36 for children 2-12 years, $10 for 23 months and under. 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

Vineyards can last years, great vintages even more.

Bottles in the cellar mark time with a snore.

Perhaps then we should learn from our vinous friends, Is there any great rush to get to the end?

So as the New Year approaches let us resolve to do less.

Smother our alarm clocks Banish the stress.

Invite some friends over, let the fire die slow.

Let a fine conversation add a perceptible glow.

Next year will be here We need not rush in.

Pull the cork slowly as There is no race to win.

Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season Cheers

THE CLASSIC

Smoky Mountain News

The Cherokee Healing and Wellness Coalition is sponsoring a Snow Moon (Usgiwi) celebration and potluck lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Cherokee Youth Center.

The event will honor retired Cherokee educators for their years of service and the legend of the Red Cedar Tree will be shared. Attendees are asked to bring a traditional Cherokee food dish for the potluck lunch along with a beverage.

Such dishes may be made with wild berries or grapes, persimmons, field apricots, corn, beans, squash, mushrooms, wild greens, ramps, potatoes and succotash. Traditional breads are made with chestnuts, beans, sweet potatoes, flour

corn and hominy. Possible meats are bear, deer, fish, raccoon, turkey, squirrel, rabbit or wild game birds. Nuts are hickory nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and butternuts.

The Cherokee Healing and Wellness Coalition is committed to enhancing the lives of people by honoring and reclaiming the seven Cherokee core values, especially in the promotion of clean, wholesome, healthy life styles. The seven core values are: spirituality, harmony, education, sense of place, honoring the past, strong character, and sense of humor.

828.421.9855 or 828.554.6222.

For it is with wine most of all That gives short shift to Clock.

It will not be hurried Neither by tic nor by toc.

December 18-24, 2013

The Nutcracker ballet will be performed Dec. 20-21 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

On a very special Christmas Eve, a young girl named Natasha receives a beautiful gift in the form of a nutcracker. Through dreams and magic, Natasha is rescued from the evil Rat King by the nutcracker and taken on an exciting adventure to the Snowflake Forest and Land of Sweets where she meets many new friends. Set to the music of Tchaikovsky, this heart-warming holiday classic is perfect for the entire family.

Tickets are $7 for students, $11 for adults.

866.273.4615 or www.greatmountainmusic.com.

How is it possible--this slippage of time?

Should things not be slower now That I am no longer nine?

arts & entertainment

…. the night before Christmas Two thousand thirteen More years have passed Since last Century’s end

classicwineseller.com UPS approved alcohol shipper We will send it where you need it

828-452-6000

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arts & entertainment

On the wall ‘Appalachian Toymaker’ in Bryson City The “Appalachian Toymaker” will do craft demonstrations from 4 to 10 p.m. every day through Dec. 24, at the Storytelling Center of the Southern Appalachians in Bryson City.

Watch the Toymaker craft Appalachian wooden toys by hand and hear the story of why oranges mean Christmas in the mountains. See and smell frankincense and myrhh while the Toymaker tells the story of the first Christmas, and listen to sleigh bells as the story of St. Nicholas is told.

828.488.5705 or www.greatsmokies.com.

Zedler, ‘Small Work’ regional art and ‘Toys for Tots’ at Gallery 86 Painter Matthew Zedler and others will be featured during a Gallery 86 showcase “It’s a Small, Small Work” through Dec. 28, at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 in Waynesville.

The showcase features artists from the

Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and the Qualla Boundary. Requirements for the show are that all works must be no larger than 12 inches and that the price doesn’t exceed $300.

Zedler is a modern/contemporary fine artist with a studio and gallery in downtown Marshall. His gallery has been open to the public since early 2008, but his involvement in the arts and fine arts extends throughout his entire life. His repertoire includes a variety of abstract-expressionist contemporary and geometric-linear-cubist paintings.

His work is currently featured at NewZart Gallery & Studio in Marshall, the clubhouse at the Hendersonville Racquet Club, the Madison County Visitors Center, Nelson Fine Art Gallery in Johnson City, and Salon Blue Ridge in Flat Rock.

828.452.0593 or info@haywoodarts.org or www.matthewzedlerfineart.com.

• “Come Paint with Charles” kids program will be at 5 p.m. Dec. 18, at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City. Workshop includes materials and a snack. $18.

828.538.2054.

ALSO:

Smoky Mountain News

December 18-24, 2013

Neff painting exhibit at WCU

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Work by painter Edith Neff will be on exhibit through Jan. 31 in the Fine Arts Museum at Western Carolina University.

Neff ’s figurative paintings capture moments from mythological stories that are repurposed with contemporary settings and attire.

By modernizing mythological tales, Neff helps the audience to relate to these more readily as ordinary occurrances, rather than as fiction. This exhibition features a selection of her works from the permanent collections of the Asheville Art Museum and the WCU Fine Art Museum. www.wcu.edu.

Painter Edith Neff will be showcased at the WCU Fine Arts Museum through Jan. 31. Donated photo

WCU annual holiday video greeting is unveiled Western Carolina University has unveiled its third annual holiday video greeting card, “Moments to Remember” and hosted at the website www.seasonsgreetings2013.wcu.edu.

Quilters present work to National Guard

Donated photo

The Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild of Franklin, together with members of Misty Mountain Quilters Guild from Blairsville, Ga. and the Cashiers Guild, presented Quilts of Valor on Dec. 8 to members of the North Carolina National Guard’s 210th Military Police Company during their company’s Christmas party in Sylva.

The men and women, who came from all over North Carolina and several adjacent states, were able to choose a quilt from more than 80 on display. Following the presentation ceremony, guild members wrote the name of each recipient on their quilt, wrapped them in their quilt and thanked them for their service, sacrifice and

valor. About one third of the Guard’s members have been deployed overseas, some with multiple deployments. Another 30 members are currently in Afghanistan and will return in the spring, when they will receive their quilt. The national Quilts of Valor Foundation was started by Catherine Roberts when she made a quilt for her son after he was deployed to Iraq. She decided the next step was to get a group of friends together to make quilts for other people in his unit, eventually expanding the foundation to the worldwide movement it is today.

The Western North Carolina group is approaching the 400-quilt mark and has around 25 participants.

Cataloochee documentary to be screened at HCC

Society, in cooperation with Western Carolina University and under the direction of Katherine Bartel, the film documents the valley’s rich heritage spanning centuries, from the time the Cherokee hunted there to the coming of the park. The documentary shares the stories told by the last remaining people who were born there and tells how this remote valley became part of a national park. Beautiful footage, family photos and rare audio recordings are woven together with historical research and interviews to produce a film that is both informative and entertaining.

Free.

The new documentary “Cataloochee” will be shown in a special preview at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, in the Charles M. Beal Auditorium at Haywood Community College in Clyde.

Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is well known for its elk and scenic beauty and its rich history. A new two-hour documentary — three years in the making — tells the story. Produced by the Haywood County Historical and Genealogical

Created by WCU’s Office of Communications and Public Relations, this year’s greeting card is patterned after the popular “Good Morning America” segment “Your Three Words,” in which viewers submit videos expressing themselves in three words.

The concept for the video is to share highlights from 2013, both personal and university-wide in scope, while also looking toward the year ahead and the celebration of the

125th anniversary of WCU’s founding, said staff writer and editor Teresa Killian Tate, who proposed the idea for this year’s holiday greeting.

The video was shot and edited by staff videographer Joseph Hader, who also enlisted the assistance of students from WCU’s Film and Television Production Program. The website housing the video was designed by Zack Keys of the Office of Creative Services.

BY B ECKY JOHNSON

L

too much.” Spread out on the living room floor, all in one place and one time, it will seem a bit ridiculous.

So my husband and I will pick through it, weeding out a few things to save for the children’s birthdays, or to divert to a cousin we don’t have anything for yet, or that, honestly, would really be more age-appropriate a year from now anyway — and thus next Christmas’

“What if one child has more than the other?

What if some of it isn’t as good as I thought at the time? There’s only one solution: we need more stuff.”

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December 18-24, 2013

HarrahsCherokee.com H a r r a h s C h e r o k e e.co m stash will already be born, 365 days away.

Besides last-minute shopping, there are a few final Christmassy activities this weekend.

You can catch the Polar Express movie at The Strand movie theater in downtown Waynesville, with evening shows and Saturday matinees. Wear your PJs! 38main.com.

And the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City is still running its special Polar Express theme train. Or, catch the Nutcracker at the Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts in Franklin on Friday night. greatmountainmusic.com.

Lastly, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the annual holiday homecoming will explore traditions of Appalachian Christmas with crafts and activities (and hot cider!) from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 21 – the first day of winter.

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Smoky Mountain News

ike many of you, I’ve been amassing Christmas presents for months now — stocking up at consignment sales, cruising craigslist for good deals, and slipping irresistible stocking stuffers into the shopping basket when the kids aren’t looking.

There’s something slightly exhilarating about shepherding bags of future presents into the house undetected and squirreling them way on the top shelves of cupboards and in corners of the basement.

I justify my periodic toy-buying sprees as an insurance policy against holiday sticker shock, spreading the capital outlay of Christmas over several months instead of taking one big hit in December.

But somehow, it always backfires.

A week or so before Christmas, I start to get nervous. Do we have enough? Enough to fill the stockings and spread out on the hearth from Santa, and still have a decent showing of wrapped presents under the tree from mom and dad?

With gifts secreted away here and there, I can’t visualize all of it. What if one child has more than the other? What if some of it isn’t as good as I thought at the time?

There’s only one solution: we need more stuff.

And so I’m once again on the official present buying trail. Instead of hitting the malls, the internet or big box stores, though, I’m trawling the local shops, prowling not just for the kids but for grandpa, sister, the mother-in-law — whatever I find that works for anyone on the list. It’s the sort of leisure shopping that our own moms’ generation thrived on, when buying presents wasn’t merely another chore but a recreational outing.

Inevitably, come Christmas Eve, as I hunt the nooks and crannies of the house raiding the hidden stockpiles of presents, my fears of “not enough” will turn into “way

FREE APPETIZER OR DESSERT

arts & entertainment

Mountain momma

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

Conroy’s memoir reveals much about his troubled upbringing he times in which we live may someday be celebrated for our advancements in medicine, technology and education, but surely some future historian will designate our voluble times as the Age of Revelation.

What better name for this epoch of chat, Twitter and tweet, of Facebook and LinkedIn, of Oprah and Springer, of politicians, generals and ministers daily confessing their latest peccadilloes?

Restraint is dead, privacy is murdered, and the public square is now the place where Writer we parade our emotions and thoughts as nakedly as the emperor who wore no clothes.

In this respect, our country has become a gigantic kindergarten, where show-and-tell is the order of the day.

Which brings us to Pat Conroy’s recently published memoir, The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son (ISBN 978-0385-53090-3, $28.95).

Those familiar with Conroy’s previous works, novels like The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, and Beach Music, or his nonfiction volumes like The Pat Conroy Cookbook and My Losing Season, know that Conroy, like his early literary hero Thomas Wolfe, mines his troubled childhood in everything he writes. Always behind the man, now one of America’s best-known and most beloved authors, stands the boy who suffered verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his father, a Marine Corps pilot who drank to excess and who took out the savagery boiling inside his heart on his wife and children. The

Jeff Minick

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shadow of this complicated man haunts every page Conroy has ever written.

In The Death of Santini, Conroy returns once again to the man, the family, and the past that so heavily influenced him as a writer.

The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and Son by Pat Conroy. Nan A. Talese, 2013. 352 pages.

This time, rather than conceal these people and events behind the curtain of fiction, Conroy gives us an unadorned view of his parents and siblings. He begins with a prologue that introduces readers once again to the trau-

Canton history book signing is Dec. 21 Give the gift of hometown history this Christmas with a book about Canton.

Writer and historian Michael Beadle will be available at Hometown Hardware in Canton from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, to autograph copies of a new book he has written about the history of Canton.

More than 200 historic photographs of Canton and its surrounding communities have been compiled in this 128-page book, which includes images and history about the town, its paper mill, churches and schools, local businesses, and special events that helped shape this mountain town for more than a century.

Beadle has authored or co-authored several Haywood County history books and worked two years on this Canton book project,

ma he suffered as a boy, and then reveals in subsequent chapters the slow changes worked by time and circumstance on his mother and father, and the effects of these changes on the rest of the family. He does give us thumbnail sketches of his time at The Citadel, his battles with depression, his marriages and divorces, the thrills and concomitant agony of writing and publishing his books.

Yet the focus of the book is on his family. Though much of the story about his father, Don Conroy, will be familiar to discerning readers, we do have the pleasure of watching an emotionally stunted man break down the walls that he had built around his heart and transform himself into a loving father and grandfather. In many ways, The Death of Santini is actually more a story of a resurrection, of a man nearly dead to his wife and family who comes to life again. Don Conroy remained a Marine to the end of his days — when Pat Conroy asks his father what he would do if the U.S. government ordered him to fly over New York City and drop a nuclear bomb, Col. Conroy’s answer is a stoic “Boom” — but by the time of his death he has dropped the iron mask of earlier years.

Readers will learn much more about Conroy’s mother, his siblings and his His extended family. Several members of the family suffered breakdowns, including Conroy; and his youngest brother, Tom, eventually committed suicide by leaping from a 14-story building. His account of his sister Carol Ann, a poet and the rebel-heretic of the family, and her wild antics at the funerals of both her mother and her father, are both devastatingly humorous and deeply sad.

researching and gathering old photos and history from local residents, the Canton Historical Museum and Champion archives. Many of the photographs in the book have never before been published.

The Canton book is on sale now at local bookstores and Canton businesses for $21.99.

‘Sharing Christmas Poems’ at City Lights The “Coffee with the Poet Series” continues at 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, Dec. 19, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Folks are encouraged to bring favorite Christmas poems to share with the group. Whether it is a poem personally penned or a wellloved classic, patrons are welcome to share. The Coffee with the Poet Series gathers every third Thursday of the month and is co-sponsored by the NetWest chapter of the North Carolina Writers Network.

(I have often loved Conroy’s prose, his lush, moving sentences, but found his plots farfetched at times. After reading this memoir, I have considerably revised my opinion).

The Death of Santini will certainly bring laughter and tears to many readers, and a good many of these same will, I suppose, relate to Conroy’s descriptions of his family’s quarrels, madness, and ruptures. Healing — or at least a better understanding of our own families — can come from reading such a personal, intense memoir.

Yet a part of me recoiled from this book.

What Conroy once concealed, however poorly, behind his fiction he now openly reveals. Is it really necessary to air the family’s secrets this way? Do we really need to know about Carol Ann’s crazy behavior at her father’s funeral? (At one point during the funeral she goes down between the pews, shoots her brother the middle finger again and again, and accompanies those gestures with words to match her finger’s meaning, causing one friend to remark: “You Conroys sure know how to put on a show.”) Do we need an account of Conroy’s failings with his brother Tom, the suicide? What sort of catharsis does the author hope for in describing the various kooks among his relatives, the sort of misfits and eccentrics found, as Conroy himself writes, in most families? (Interestingly, Conroy tells us he suffered several breakdowns during his life, but withholds the details he lavishes on the rest of the book.)

Ours is the Age of Revelation, and outrageous revelation sells books. Certainly The Death of Santini will interest Conroy’s fans, among whom I count myself, and may draw new readers to him. Still, I finished the book thinking about restraint, and those old-fashioned tight-lipped men and women who once carried their joys and sorrows, their pain and their wounds, to the grave without feeling the need to dump them out onto the rest of the world.

(Jeff Minick is a teacher and writer. His novel, Amanda Bell, and a book of essays, Learning as I Go, are both available at regional bookstores and at Amazon. He can be reached at minick0301@gmail.com.)

828.586.9499.

Gary Carden’s ‘Foxfire Christmas’ Storyteller Gary Carden will spin up Appalachian Christmas tales at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

The writer will talk about old rituals still practiced and some of his own childhood memories of Christmas in the mountains, including some of the leaner years during World War II when rationing was at its peak. He will also talk about some of the stories featured in Eliot Wiggington’s Foxfire Christmas.

Carden is an award-winning Appalachian author, playwright and folklorist. He has written several books, including the recent Appalachian Bestiary, which details some of the creatures featured in Appalachian lore.

828.586.9499.

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Maylynn Oswald, riding one of the ramps during the Cat Cage Rail Jam, said her “favorite thing about the Terrain Park crew is the diggers’ commitment to making the rails proper.”

Luke Sutton photos

‘EPIC’ First-ever rail jam at Cataloochee attracts 50 competitors What is rail jam?

Rail jam competitions are scored in what is known as a “jam” format. This means that competitors can take as many runs as possible in the allotted time. Cataloochee provided a warm-up period, then had two 45minute sessions. Finalists were chosen after the first heat and winners after the second.

BY LINDSAY WERTZ CORRESPONDENT fter hours of work and preparation, six terrain elements sparkled imposingly under the lights on Cataloochee Ski Area’s Rabbit Hill Run last Friday night in preparation for the inaugural Cat Cage Rail Jam. The Maggie Valley’s resort first-ever rail jam — where boarders and skiers do as many freestyle rail tricks as possible during an allotted time frame — attracted more than 50 competitors of all ages and skill levels. The rails and boxes were arranged by skill level and resembled features used in the popular X Games.

A

F

Spectators on the new deck at Cataloochee Ski Area had a prime viewing spot at the first-ever Rail Jam competition.

took home the title, the winner in the men’s snowboarding competition. With the title came a Scott Stevens CAPiTA snowboard.

“I love snowboarding. Being with all my friends and hanging out up here is my favorite thing about Cat. Big thanks to Travis, Luke, the Cat Cage guys and everyone,” said Haberstock.

Sean Panella came away with second place and a set of Union bindings. Third place and a pair of DC Rogan boots went to Colby Baker. Panella said that his best trick of the night was a “Front Blunt 270,” while Baker said his favorite feature was the “Donkey Kinked Rail.”

In the men’s skier category, Aaron Riedal’s “Blind Swap 270” made enough of a splash with the judges to secure him the win. Sydney Shoulhofer won the women snowboarders’ division and Nico Pipitone triumphed for the under-14 snowboarders.

Sydney Lankford took first place in women’s skiing.

“Being that it was the first jam and that it

Logan Lankford (right) rides a rail during the Rail Jam at Cataloochee Ski Area.

Participants gathered (below) in a show of camaraderie after the competition.

Old Town Bank The Business and Economic Development Committee of the Haywood Chamber presented the December Business of the Month to Old Town Bank. The committee reviewed the nominations and selected Old Town based upon the following criteria: · Must be a Haywood Chamber member for one year · In Business at least two years · Considered successful by peers · Sales growth/profit growth/ and expansion of employees · Outstanding public service contribution · Implementation of sustainability and green practices Old Town either met or exceeded requirements in all areas.

In addition to meeting the criteria Old Town has passion for what they do and believes in giving back to the community. They continually give of their time and resources to various organizations in the community by serving on boards and volunteering for various initiatives.

28 Walnut St. Waynesville | 828.456.3021 | haywood-nc.com

December 18-24, 2013

was brought together so quickly, hopefully it will bring some publicity to the mountain. We would love to have some more women skiers and riders out here next time,” Lankford said.

Cataloochee Ski Area staff faced a major time crunch in planning, promoting, getting sponsors, and building rails and boxes. In only two weeks, they put Cataloochee on the terrain park map. Simmons was thrilled about the outcome.

“It was a great success, the conditions were excellent, and we are looking forward to our next one,” he said, throwing out kudos to General Manager Chris Bates and to the entire park and lift crew for digging out snow for rails and building ramps.

A million miles away is just down the road.

Smoky Mountain News

of riders began to overshadow the field. A 10-minute warning blast let riders know their time was almost up, and DJ Side Three helped amp the spectators who cheered loudly as competitors threw out one gravitydefying stunt after another in a last chance to impress the judges.

Awaiting the judges’ final tally after the jam ended, camaraderie flourished and highfives were exchanged as competitors recapped their performances and congratulated one another.

“It was an epic experience, long overdue,” said Jared Lee after he deliberating with his fellow judges.

Finally, Simmons appeared at the DJ booth with the results. Cory Haberstock

Business of the Month!

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outdoors

After a brief warm-up period on a night where temperatures were around 35 degrees, competitors gathered at the top of the slope.

Terrain Park and Lift Manager Travis Simmons went over the format of the competition. Their collective gaze riveted on the crest of the slope, supportive friends and family watched the contestants emerge with a shotgun start to begin the first 45-minute freestyle jam session.

Seated off to the left of the terrain park elements, judges Alex Gragg, Jared Lee and Ben Sutton immediately began scribbling down bib numbers of the contenders performing the most impressive moves. Some riders paraded their aerial tricks and shredding skills with precision while others careened wildly off to the side of the rails.

As the first heat came to a close, the three judges narrowed the field of snowboarders to their 15 favorites. Because of the limited number of entries, all skiers and women riders made it into the finals.

Halfway through the final heat, a handful

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outdoors December 18-24, 2013

Area agency, citizens honored by Haywood Waterways Haywood Waterways Association passed out its annual awards this month to water quality heroes.

■ The Big Creek Award for Partner of the Year went to the Haywood County Environmental Health Department for helping to repair 75 failing septic systems, which were leaching raw sewage, household chemicals, soap, medicines and anything else that people pour down the drain into Richland Creek. Bacteria levels dropped significantly following the septic repairs.

■ The Lake Junaluska Award for Volunteer of the Year was given to Richard T. Alexander, one of Haywood Waterways’ founders and longtime board member. He volunteers as a water quality sampler and monitor, with litter pickup efforts and other civic projects.

■ The Pigeon River Award was given to the Bethel Rural Community Organization for its significant contribution to protecting land and water resources — including assisting private landowners with eight conservation easements totaling 268 acres, promoting the Voluntary Agricultural District, and hosting public workshops to promote rural land and water conservation. Accepting the award for the Bethel Community Organization were Bill Holbrook, Ted and Pat Carr, Evelyn and Dick Coltman, Steve Sorrels and George Ivey.

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Smoky Mountain News

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Environmental groups push forest service to scale back logging below Devil’s Courthouse Conservation groups reached a compromise with the U.S. Forest Service over a controversial logging project in the Courthouse Creek area, which is visible to the south of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Devil’s Courthouse.

The forest service agreed to reduce the size of the logging project overall and withdraw its plans to log significant ecological areas and steep slopes along creeks.

“I could go on about how important the area is ecologically. The bottom line is people in Western North Carolina understand that some places are just too special to log and develop,” said Josh Kelly, biologist with the Western North Carolina Alliance. “We’ve been asking the Forest Service to leave this area alone for years. Today we made important steps towards protecting this Significant Natural Heritage Area.”

The forest service made concessions in the logging project after the Southern Environmental Law Center filed an appeal on behalf of the Wilderness Society, Wild South and the Western North Carolina Alliance.

“We are pleased to find a way forward that protects the integrity of this special place,” said D.J. Gerken, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The

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The view from Devil’s Courthouse.

Aspects of the project focusing on ecological restoration, habitat creation and old growth designation remain intact.

One of the most controversial aspects of the project involved logging in a state-recognized Significant Natural Heritage Area.

Now logging previously planned for those areas will be significantly reduced.

A key piece of the agreement involves decommissioning about five miles of Forest Service road that ran through the State Natural Heritage Area. The road will be returned to a more sustainable state by

Ramos selected as acting superintendent of the Smokies

removing culverts and artificial stream crossings, re-grading the road to a more natural contour and seeding the roadbed.

“Roads are one of, if not the primary, cause of water quality problems on the forest,” said Hugh Irwin, conservation planner with the Wilderness Society.

“Decommissioning the road just makes sense. It saves the Forest Service money by reducing the size of its road system, protects important trout habitat around Courthouse Creek, and ensures that this road stops causing environmental damage.”

lor of science in 1990. He began his federal career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Administration, in Vermont. In 2001 Ramos transferred to the National Park Service as Administrative Officer at Big Cypress National Preserve. In The National Park Service has selected 2005 he was named Deputy Superintendent Pedro Ramos to serve as the acting superinthere and devoted much of his time to tendent of Great Smoky establishing Mountains National Park for strong com90 days, effective Jan. 12. munity relaRamos has been the superintionships with tendent at Big Cypress National its many partPreserve in Florida since 2009. ners in South Ramos is replacing Dale Florida. His Ditmanson, who announced career has also plans to retire on Jan. 3 after 36 included actyears with the National Park ing superinService. Ditmanson has served tendent as superintendent since May assignments 2004. at Jimmy “We are very pleased that Carter and Pedro has agreed to step in as Andersonville the acting superintendent at National the Smokies,” said Stan Austin, Historic Sites regional director for the in Georgia, Southeast Region. “He has and San Juan great experience as a superinNational tendent and is very knowledgeHistoric Site Pedro Ramos able in protecting resources in Puerto and taking care of visitors. We Rico. know he will do a superb job as we conduct Great Smoky Mountains National Park a search for a permanent superintendent.” is one of the largest protected land areas Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ramos east of the Rocky Mountains, with more attended the University of Massachusettsthan 500,000 acres of forests and more than Amherst, where he graduated with a bache2,000 miles of streams.

BY DON H ENDERSHOT

Slow day at Lake J

around it. Then I took a short trip below the dam — I was gone about 20 minutes and got back just in time to see the gulls leaving.

There was a similar incident with a Ross’s goose a few Sundays ago. It came in with some Canadas and when it was seen phone calls went out. A few nearby birders made it to the lake in time to see it before it and the Canadas picked up, and much like today’s gulls, disappeared. It was on the lake for only a couple of hours. And one day last week an American avocet showed up. It didn’t stick around long either. American avocets nest in the western U.S. and southwest Canada. They winter from the southern U.S. south to Guatemala. The avocet

American avocet-winter plumage. Dan Pancamo photo

Haywood ‘Master Gardener’ class The Haywood County Cooperative Extension is accepting applications for the 2014 Master Gardener class. Training sessions will be held Tuesday mornings from Jan. 7 through April 22.

Topics include lawns; ornamental trees and shrubs; insect, disease, and weed management; soils and fertilizers; vegetable gardening; plant propagation; home fruit production; flowering plants; composting and landscape design principles.

In exchange for this training, participants agree to volunteer at least 40 hours during the following year in various activities. Call 456.3575 to reserve a spot.

Smoky Mountain News

may be a new species for Lake Junaluska, but I’m not sure — I haven’t updated my list in years.

I also got great looks at an immature red-shouldered hawk. The bird stayed perched for a good long look because it didn’t want to get airborne. There was a crow perched on the other side of the tree, just waiting.

So it may have been a slow day by Lake J standards, but there was still plenty to see and only takes one whirr of wings or one splashdown to make a slow day an exceptional day at the lake this time of year.

(Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached a ddihen1@bellsouth.net.)

December 18-24, 2013

I believe Lake Junaluska has spoiled local birders like me. I spent about an hour and a half poking around the lake and nearby areas last Sunday morning. I ran into a few other birders and we were all of the same opinion — the lake was dead, not much going on. But then I got home and looked at my list. Twenty-seven species for an hour and a half of birding in midDecember is not a terrible showing.

Waterfowl numbers were low but there were a dozen or more buffleheads bobbing up and down like corks. These beautiful little ducks are cavity nesters. They nest near lakes and ponds in the boreal forests of Alaska and Canada. They depend almost exclusively on cavities created by their metabiotic host, the northern flicker.

I found a couple of wild (migrant) mallards near the recently created wetlands and ruddy ducks are still abundant.

American coots and piedbilled grebes were also present.

A spin down below the dam turned up a belted kingfisher and a great blue heron. A quick stop across Hwy. 19 along Richland Creek produced yellow-rumped warbler, house finch and goldencrowned kinglet, among others.

The morning provided a great lesson on just how hit-or-miss looking for migrants can be. After poking around a little below the dam I decided to drive back by the lake.

Rounding a curve, I saw a white speck in the middle of the lake. When I got to a place I could stop, I saw it was a gull on the water with a small flock circling above it. By the time I got out of the car the gull on the water had joined the others, and they began to circle steadily higher and higher. As best I could tell there were about 15 and they all looked to be ring-billed gulls. They continued to rise in the sky and drift in a southerly direction and soon they were gone. The gulls weren’t on the lake when I first drove

outdoors

The Naturalist’s Corner

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WNC Calendar

Smoky Mountain News

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • A special showing of “Elf,” for people with autism, 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co., 675 Merrimon Ave., North Asheville. Tickets, $3; ticket sales and donations to benefit Autism Society of North Carolina (ASNC) in Western North Carolina. Simone Seitz, 236.1547.

• “Understanding our Past, Shaping our Future” through Dec. 20, Cherokee Central Schools, Cherokee.

Cherokee language and culture, using sound recordings as the basis for presenting a coherent story in words and text.

• The Compassionate Friends group, 7 to 8:30 p.m. the first Thursday of the month, Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church, Waynesville. For anyone who has experienced the death of a child in the family. Run by those who have lost a loved one. John Chapman, 400.6480.

• Smoky Mountain Model Railroaders work session, 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday and public viewing session from 2 to 4 p.m. the second Sunday of the month at 130 Frazier St., in the Industrial Park near Bearwaters Brewery, Waynesville. Lionel-type 3rail O gauge trains. http://smokymountainmodelrailroaders.wordpress.com.

• The Town of Canton will pick up bagged leaves through Dec. 20. Schedule a pickup. 648.2363.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Computer Class: Pinterest, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016.

• Business plan competition through spring 2014, offered by Macon County Certified Entrepreneurial Community (CEC) Leadership Team. Grand prize is $5,000. www.maconedc.com, SCC’s Small Business Center, 339.4211 or t_henry@southwesterncc.edu.

• Open House, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., ribbon cutting, 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, Copper Pot & Wooden Spoon, 449 A Pigeon St. (one half mile down from Main Street).

Jessica@copperpottraditions.com or 593.0501.

• Substance abuse treatment certificate, one semester, Southwestern Community College. Registration deadline, Jan. 6; classes start Jan. 7. Sarah Altman, saltman@southwesterncc.edu. 339.4319.

• Nursing Assistant I class, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays, starting Jan.17, Haywood Community College. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-nursing-assistant.htm. 565.4145 or email sfischer@haywood.edu.

• Business plan competition for entrepreneurs in Dillsboro, through spring 2014. Winner will receive a $5,000 grand prize. Finalists will be announced during the week of March 31, winners the week of April 7.

Tiffany Henry, 339.4211 or t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or Tommy Dennison, 227.3459.

BLOOD DRIVES Jackson • Lowe’s 2257 Sylva Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 20, 1716 North Main St., Sylva.

• MedWest Harris Sylva Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 9, 68 Hospital Drive, Sylva. www.redcrossblood.org, keyword: Harris, or call 800.RedCross.

Haywood • MedWest Haywood Blood Drive, 1 to 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 75 Leroy George Road, Clyde.

800.733.2767.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• MedWest Haywood Blood Drive, 1 to 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 75 Leroy George Road, Clyde.

800.733.2767.

• WNC Community Credit Union Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, 65 Eagles Nest Road, Waynesville. 800.733.2767.

• Waynesville Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27, 68 Foxwood Drive, Waynesville. 800.733.2767.

• Center Pigeon Fire Department Blood Drive, 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30, 2412 Pisgah Drive, Canton.

Jennifer, 231.6511.

Macon • Lowe’s 0717 Franklin Blood Drive, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23, Georgia Highway, Franklin.

349.4654.

• Angel Medical Center Blood Drive, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 3, 120 Riverview St., Franklin. 369.4166 or www.redcrossblood.org, keyword: Angel.

HEALTH MATTERS • Nina Howard, creator of Bellanina Skin Care, will give a lecture and demonstration titled “All I Want for Christmas is Lifted, Glowing Skin,” from 6 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 19, at Sunburst Market, 142 N. Main St., Waynesville. $10 admission includes one glass of wine and hors d‘oeuvres and a $5 discount on any purchase of Bellanina products on the evening of the seminar.

RSVP to Katie Hughes, Manager, Sunburst Market, 452.3848 or Katie@sunbursttrout.com, www.sunburstmarket.com.

• The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has started a club at Haywood Community College for students with mental illness. The student-led group meets twice a month. 627.4504.

RECREATION & FITNESS • New Zumba Toning class, 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.

Thursdays, Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. Free to members of the Waynesville Recreation Center or daily admission for non-members.

456.2030 or recprograms@townofwaynesville.org.

• Learn to Ski/Snowboard class, Jan. 12 and 26 and Feb. 2, 9 and 23. Ages 8 years old and older. Cost is $170 for lift, rental and lesson; $135 for lift and lesson, or $85 for a season pass holder with own equipment.

456.2030 or email recathletics@townofwaynesville.org.

• Learn to Ski/Snowboard class, Jan 12 and 26 and Feb. 2, 9 and 23. Ages 8 and older. $170 lift, rental, lesson; $135 for lift, lesson; $85 for a season pass holder with own equipment. Ages 8 and older. Jackson County Recreation Department, 293.3053.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • “Local Artisan and Bed and Breakfast Tour for Seniors,” 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, Waynesville. Leave the Waynesville Recreation Center at 8 a.m. $20 for members, $23 for non-members. Lunch at the Herron House. 456.2030 or recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

• Foster Grandparents needed in Head Start. Must be 55 or older. Torrie Murphy, Mountain Projects, 356.2834.

• New Memory Café, 10 a.m. to noon, second Thursday of each month, Mission and Fellowship Center, First

Baptist Church of Sylva. For people who suffer with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or other memory disorders, and their caregivers.

• Free wood carving opportunity with Fred and Mike Morey, 10 a.m. every Monday, Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville. Tools and know-how available. 452.2370.

• Senior Resource Center Brain Gym, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday through Friday, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville.

Open to the public. 452.2370.

• Laughter Yoga Club, 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville.

Suzanne Hendrix, certified Laughter yoga leader. Wear comfortable clothing. 452.2370.

• For information on resources for older adults in Haywood County, call 2-1-1, or by cell phone 1.888.892.1162; www.nc211.org or www.haywoodconnections.org. 452.2370.

KIDS & FAMILIES • Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department Winter Day Camp, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 23, 26, 27, 30 and 31, Waynesville Recreation Center, for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. Geocaching, snow tubing, field trips, swimming, movies and more. Price varies. Space limited. Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department, 456.2030, recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

• Registration open for Jackson County Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) classes. Semester II classes will run January through May 2014, Thursdays at Cullowhee Valley School. $100 per student. Dusk Weaver, JAM director, 497.4964 or weaverdusk@gmail.com or Heather Gordon, 4-H Agent, at 586.4009 or heather_gordon@ncsu.edu.

• Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department open house for home school parents for the new Base Camp Waynesville, 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, Waynesville Recreation Center. Tim Petrea, 456.2030 or email recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

• SafeKids USA/ Blue Dragon Taekwondo (TKD) School is now open in Clyde. 627.3949 or sabumnimhale@bluedragontkd.net.

• Cool Kids Do Science Club, 5:30 p.m. second Thursday of the month, Canton Branch Library. Elementary- and middle-school-aged kids are invited to perform fun and educational science experiments.

648.2924.

Literary (children)

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

POLITICAL GROUP EVENTS & LOCAL GOVERNMENT • The Macon County Democratic Party has opened a permanent office at 251 Sloan Road in Franklin. The office will be open from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays. 634.7737.

SUPPORT GROUPS Haywood • Recovery educational support classes for those with substance abuse/co-occurring disorders, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesdays, 1210 South Main St., Waynesville. $50 fee for book and materials payable at the first class attended. Scholarships available. Jane, 400.5851.

• Support classes for friends and family of those with substance abuse/co-occurring disorders, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Mondays, 1210 S. Main St., Waynesville. $50 fee for book and materials payable at the first class attended.

Scholarships available. Jane, 400.5851.

• Men’s Only Grief Support Group, 9 to 10:30 a.m. the second Tuesday of each month, First Presbyterian Church, 305 Main St., Waynesville. John Woods, facilitator. 551.2095 or jhwoods55@yahoo.com.

• Grief and Beyond, a grief support group, 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursdays, room 210, Long’s Chapel UMC, Waynesville. Facilitated by Jan Peterson, M.S. 550.3638 or Long’s Chapel UMC, 456.3993, ext. 17, Tim McConnell.

• Haywood County Aphasia Support Group, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., second Monday of each month in the Haywood Regional Medical Center Fitness Center classrooms.

227.3834.

• Haywood County offers an HIV/AIDS Support Group, 4 p.m., first Tuesday of each month at the Health Department. Anonymity and confidentiality are strongly enforced. 476.0103 or haywoodhiv@yahoo.com.

• Mary Ann’s Book Club, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• AA meetings, 7 p.m., Saturdays, Maggie Valley United Methodist Church, 4192 Soco Road. 926.8036.

• Toddlers Rock, 10 a.m.; Science 503 Club, 3:30 p.m., Family Evening Story time: Paws 4 Reading, Thursday, Dec. 19, Macon County Public Library.

• Al-Anon, a support group for families and friends of alcoholics, 8 p.m., Tuesdays, Grace Episcopal Church, 394 N. Haywood St. Use Miller St. entrance. 926.8721.

• The Jackson County Public Library will have no programming from Dec. 19-25. The library will be closed Dec. 24-26.

• Alzheimer’s Association, 4:30 p.m., fourth Tuesday of each month, First United Methodist Church, Waynesville and 2:30 p.m., third Thursday of each month, Silver Bluff Care Center in Canton. 254.7363.

• Children’s Christmas movie, 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• Macon County Library closed, Dec. 24-26.

• Games for Kids,1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• Children’s Christmas movie, 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

• Rockin’ and Readin’ New Year’s Eve Luau, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 31, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. Come dressed Hawaiian style. No adventure club meeting.

• Celebrate Recovery, 6 p.m. every Thursday, Long’s Chapel UMC, Waynesville. A Christ-centered 12-step recovery ministry open to all adults with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Childcare available. 456.3993, ext. 32.

• Diabetes Support Group, second floor classroom, MedWest Health & Fitness Center, 4 p.m. on the second Monday of each month. 452.8092 • Grandchildren/Grandparents Rights of N.C., 7 p.m., first Thursday of each month, Canton Library. 648.5205.

• HOPEful Living: Women’s Cancer Support Group, third Tuesday of each month from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Haywood

Regional Medical Center, Fitness Center, Health Educ.

Room, Waynesville. 627.9666 or riggs_sandi@msn.com or 627.0227.

• Recovery from Food Addiction, a 12-step recovery program for individuals suffering from food addiction, 5:45 p.m. Wednesdays, Friendship House, Academy St. beside Waynesville’s First United Methodist Church, 400.7239.

• Single Parents Networking Group, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays, First United Methodist Church, 566 S. Haywood St., Waynesville, free, dinner and child care provided in fun, informal setting. 456.8995 ext. 201.

• WNC Grief Support Group is for families who have lost a child. 7 p.m., third Thursday of each month, Clyde Town Hall. 565.0122 or e-mail hotstraitcountry@aol.com.

• WNC Lupus Support Group 7 p.m., first Tuesday of each month, Home Trust Bank in Clyde. 421.8428 or countrygirl351@bellsouth.net.

Jackson • New chapter of Co-Dependent’s Anonymous, 6 to 7 p.m. Mondays, Dogwood Wellness, Dillsboro.

Connie, 477.4380 or e-mail seascat@gmail.com.

• Harris Monthly Grief Support Group, 3 to 4 p.m. every third Tuesday of the month, Chaplain’s Conference Room, MedWest-Harris, Sylva. 586.7979.

• Al-Anon Family Group meets every Monday evening from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Sylva Methodist Church. A support group for family and friends whose lives are affected by someone else’s drinking.

• Breastfeeding support group, 9:30 to 11 a.m., first Monday of each month at the First United Methodist Church (park in back and use rear entrance) Sylva. smokeymtnmamas@yahoo.com or 506.1186.

• Anxiety, nervousness and/or panic disorders support group meets at 7 p.m. on Fridays in the basement of Highlands United Methodist Church. 526.3433.

• Al-Anon meetings are held at noon every Thursday at the First Presbyterian Church at Fifth and Main in the community room in Highlands. All are welcome.

• Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the Macon Co. Department on Aging. 369.5845.

• Angel Medical Center’s Diabetes Support Group meets at 6 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month in the Center’s dining room.

• Chronic Pain Support Group meets at 7 p.m. the fourth Monday of every month in the dining room of Angle Medical Center. 369.6717 or 369.2607.

• Circle of Life support group meets 10 a.m. to noon Fridays at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital. The group is for those who are dealing with any loss or grief.

526.1462.

• Healthy eating/weight control classes are held every Tuesday at noon at the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service Office, 193 Thomas Heights Rd. 349.2048.

• Overeaters Anonymous meets at 5 p.m. on Sundays at First United Methodist Church at 86 Harrison Ave in Franklin. 508.2586

Swain

• Christmas Eve candlelight services, 6 p.m. sanctuary, 11 p.m. chapel, Tuesday, Dec. 24, First Baptist Church, 100 Main St., Waynesville.

• Christmas Eve service, 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24, Clyde First Baptist Church.

• “The Gift Goes On,” Christmas Cantata and candlelight service, 6:30 p.m. Francis Cove United Methodist Church, the intersection of Pigeon Street (276 S.) and Crymes Cove Roads, Waynesville. 452.9791.

Other Christmas activities • Reduced prices on Christmas books for adults and children through December at The Friends of the Library Used Book Store in Sylva. Proceeds support the Jackson County Public Library.

• Holiday Homecoming, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, Oconaluftee Visitor Center, Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Highway 441), two miles north of Cherokee. Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Crafts, traditional holiday tunes, hot cider and cookies. 497.1904.

• Arts and Craft Show by authentic local crafters, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, Old Armory, 44 Boundary St., Waynesville. 456.9207.

• “Glory in the Highest,” Christmas Cantata, 11 a.m.

Sunday, Dec. 22, Clyde First Baptist Church.

• A warm clothing and food drive for Haywood County students. Drop off at the Health and Fitness Center at MedWest Haywood, 75 Leroy George Drive, Clyde, through Dec. 23. Need are gently used winter clothing in sizes 4T to 2X in updated styles, as well as non-perishable food such as peanut butter, tuna, soup, macaroni and cheese, etc. Food with a ‘pop-top’ is preferred.

Janet Medford, 452.8372. MedWestHealth.org.

• “Appalachian Winter” Christmas Cantata, presented by the Sanctuary Choir and Instrumental Ensemble, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22, First Baptist Church, 100 S. Main St., Waynesville.

• Haywood County Arts Council Toys For Tots donation box in the lobby of Gallery 86, 86 N. Main St., downtown Waynesville, through Dec. 18.

• Christmas on the Green, through Jan. 6, The Village Green, Cashiers.

• Haywood County Public Library is collecting food through Dec. 18 for local residents. 452.5169.

CONVENIENT CHEROKEE LOCATION

• Women’s 12-Step Medicine Wheel Recovery Group meets Tuesdays at 5 p.m. at A-Na-Le-Ni-S-Gi in Cherokee.

• Circle of Parents, support group for any parent, meets at noon on Thursdays at the Swain Family Resource Center.

• Grief Support Group meets from 7 to 8 p.m. each Monday night at the Cherokee United Methodist Church on Soco Road. 497.4182.

Smoky Mountain News

• Angel Medical Center Hospice offers three bereavement support groups for people who have lost loved ones. Two Women’s support groups both meet on the third Wednesday of each month at the Sunset Restaurant on Highway 28 at 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. A Men’s Support Group meets the first Monday of each month also at the same location at 11:30 a.m.

369.4417.

• Live holiday music with The Shepherd of the Hills String Band, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva. 586.9499.

• Christmas Eve services, 4 p.m. family oriented service, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. open communion, 11 p.m. candlelight contemporary service, Tuesday, Dec. 24, First United Methodist Church, 566 S. Haywood St., Waynesville.

December 18-24, 2013

• Cashiers Cancer Care Group for cancer patients, survivors, spouses and caregivers offers support, encouragement, hope and understanding. 7 p.m., first Thursday of the month, Grace Community Church.

743.3158.

Macon

• Gary Carden’s Foxfire Christmas, 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, City Lights Bookstore. Hear Appalachian Christmas tales about old rituals still practiced and some of his childhood memories of Christmas in the mountains. 586.9499.

• Live nativity, 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, Clyde First Baptist Church.

• Weight Watchers meet each Tuesday at the Peggy Crosby Center in Highlands. Weigh in is at 5:30 p.m. with the meeting beginning at 6 p.m.

• Weight Watchers meets at 8:30 a.m. every Monday at Grace Christian Church in Cashiers. 226.1096.

Christmas services, musicals, concerts and performances

• Miracles Happen group of Overeaters Anonymous meets at 5:30 p.m. each Thursday and 5 p.m. each Sunday in the downstairs chapel of First United Methodist Church. 349.1438.

• Al-Anon Meetings are held at 4 p.m. Tuesdays at Grace Community Church. The meetings bring hope for families and friends of alcoholics. 743.9814.

• Look Good, Feel Better is for women dealing with the appearance related side effects that occur with cancer treatments. A trained volunteer cosmetologist shares expertise in dealing with hair loss and skin change. 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Harris Regional Hospital. Sessions are offered bimonthly on the first Monday. RSVP required, 586.7801.

HOLIDAY EVENTS

• “Glory in the Highest,” Christmas Cantata, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 22, Rockwood United Methodist Church, 288 Crabtree Mountain Road (Thickety Community), Canton.

• NAMI Appalachian South (National Alliance on Mental Illness), the local affiliate of NAMI NC, meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month at 7 p.m. at the Community Facilities Building, Georgia Road Contact Ann Nandrea 369.7385.

• Jackson County Alcoholics Anonymous, 7:30 p.m., Mondays, Sylva First Presbyterian Church, Grindstaff Cove Road.

• Haywood County Tourism Development Authority Big John promotional videos can be found at www.visitncsmokies.com/galleries/.

• Highlands-Cashiers Cancer Support Group meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month at First United Methodist Church of Highlands. Meetings are confidential.

• Men’s discussion circle, 7 p.m. Mondays, The Center in Sylva. Join an open circle of men to discuss the challenges of life that are specific to men in a safe environment of confidentiality. $5. Chuck Willhide, 586.2892 or e-mail chuckwillhide@hotmail.com.

• Food Addicts In Recovery Anonymous, 7 p.m., Mondays, Harris Regional Hospital in the small dining room, Sylva. 226.8324.

tive retrospective of the 1960s, 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, concourse of Ramsey Regional Activity Center. qep.wcu.edu.

wnc calendar

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) chapter, 7 p.m., third Thursday of each month, Asbury Sunday School Room, First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. 400.1041.

• Angel Medical Center offers a monthly Diabetes Support Group the last Monday of each month. The group meets in the Angel Medical Center dining room beginning at 4 p.m. Pre-registration is required by calling 369.4181.

A&E FESTIVALS, SPECIAL & SEASONAL EVENTS • Snow Moon (Usgiwi) celebration and potluck lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, Cherokee Youth Center, Cherokee. Sponsored by the Cherokee Healing and Wellness Coalition to honor retired Cherokee educators; the legend of the Red Cedar Tree will be shared. Bring a traditional Cherokee food dish for the potluck. Beth Farris, 421.9855 or Carol Long, 554.6222.

• CWCU Magical Mystery Tour, walkthrough, interac-

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Cherokee - Across from the casino (open 24 hours) 828.554.0431

39

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â&#x20AC;˘ Polar Express, through Dec. 29, the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad train depot in Bryson City. 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

NEW YEARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EVENTS â&#x20AC;˘ New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve Gala, Tuesday, Dec. 31, Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. 7:45 p.m. reception at Smoky Mountain Trains Museum, Bryson City; 9 p.m. train leaves Bryson City depot, returns at midnight. Gourmet buffet, dancing, and live music. Adults 21 and over only. Dinner train tickets, $135 per person (gratuity not included). 800.872.4681 or WWW.GSMR.COM.

LITERARY (ADULTS) â&#x20AC;˘ Coffee with the Poet: Sharing Christmas Poems, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, City Lights Bookstore. Bring favorite Christmas poems to share. 586.9499.

Commitment, consistency, results.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT

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828.734.4822 Cell â&#x20AC;˘ www.carolynlauter.com carolyn.lauter@realtyworldheritage.com

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ROKER

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â&#x20AC;˘ Kool and The Gang, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, Harrahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cherokee Event Center, Cherokee.

Tickets at www.Ticketmaster.com. â&#x20AC;˘ ZZ Top, 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, Harrahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cherokee Event Center, Cherokee.

Tickets at www.Ticketmaster.com. â&#x20AC;˘ Auditions for the 2014 season of Unto These Hills, the long-running, outdoor drama in Cherokee, 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11 and Saturday, March 22, 564 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, across from the museum. Come prepared with a monologue, a headshot and a song (if you sing). Marina Hunley-Graham, 497.3652 or Linda Squirrel, 497.1125. â&#x20AC;˘ Tickets on sale for REO Speedwagon, 9 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 14, Harrahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cherokee Event Center, 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee. Must be 21 years old or older. Tickets start at $75. www.Ticketmaster.com. â&#x20AC;˘ Tickets on sale for Robin Thicke with special guest Jessie J, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, Harrahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cherokee Event Center, 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee. Tickets start at $58. www.Ticketmaster.com.

NIGHT LIFE

BEST PRICE EVERYDAY

10-5 M-SAT. 12-4 SUN.

â&#x20AC;˘ Wyatt Espalin, 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, City Lights, Sylva. 587.2233. â&#x20AC;˘ Eric Hendrix & Friends, 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, City Lights, Sylva. 587.2233. â&#x20AC;˘ Smoke Rise, 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, Lucky Jakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Maggie Valley. $5.

JAMS â&#x20AC;˘ Community Music Jam, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 19. Marianna Black Library, downtown Bryson City. Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer - anything unplugged - is invited to join. 488.3030.

DANCE 40

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a.m. Saturdays through April, 171 Legion Drive, Waynesville. Cost is $2. Refreshments provided. Bring your own gun; a few house guns are available.

â&#x20AC;˘ Papertown Country/Dance Holler, 7 to 10 p.m. Dec. 20-21, 61½ Main St., Canton. The dances will continue each Friday and Saturday from this point forward. $8. 736.8925.

â&#x20AC;˘ Local Audubon Society weekly Saturday birding field trips. 7:30 a.m. Highlands Town Hall parking lot near the public restrooms, or at 8 a.m. behind Wendyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s if the walk is in Cashiers. www.highlandsaudubonsociety.org or 743.9670.

â&#x20AC;˘ Western Style Square Dance Lessons, 7 to 8:45 p.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 8 through April 16, Jackson County Recreation Department. $65 for 15-week session. 296.3053. â&#x20AC;˘ Pisgah Promenaders â&#x20AC;&#x153;Snowflakeâ&#x20AC;? Square Dance, 6:45 to 8:45 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 11, Old Armory Recreation Center, 44 Boundary St., Waynesville. Plus and Mainstream dancing with caller Ken Perkins. 586.8416 or 586.6995.

ART/GALLERY EVENTS & OPENINGS â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Small, Small Work,â&#x20AC;? through Dec. 28, Gallery 86, 86 N. Main St. Waynesville. No works larger than 12 inches or cost more than $300. â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Land Of The Crooked Waterâ&#x20AC;? works by artist Joshua Grant will be on display through January 2014 at Macon County Public Library, Franklin. â&#x20AC;˘ Green Biennial Invitational Exhibition featuring nine new sculptures, through Dec. 31, the Village Green Commons, Cashiers. www.villagegreencashiersnc.com, 743.3434.

FILM & SCREEN â&#x20AC;˘ Cataloochee, A Motion Picture Documentary, public preview, 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, Charles Beal Auditorium, Haywood Community College, Clyde. Free. â&#x20AC;˘ Polar Express, 7:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, The Strand, 38 Main, Waynesville. Wear your PJs. â&#x20AC;˘ Family movie, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, Marianna Black Library, Bryson City. Set in Cold War-era 1988, Big Miracle tells the true story of a small-town news reporter and a Greenpeace volunteer who enlist the help of rival superpowers to save three majestic gray whales trapped under the ice of the Arctic Circle. 488.3030.

â&#x20AC;˘ Jerry Butler and the Blu-Js, 7:45 p.m.

Thursday, Dec 19, The Strand, 38 Main, Waynesville.

â&#x20AC;˘ Live music at Alley Kats in Waynesville.

456.9498 or 734.6249.

Your Local Big Green Egg Dealer

Gainesville, Ga. will be the caller. Western Style Square Dancing, main/stream and plus levels. 371.4946, 342.1560, 332.0001 or www.highmountainsquare.org.

â&#x20AC;˘ High Mountain Squares Christmas Dance, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, Macon County Community Building, Georgia Road, 441 South, Franklin. Richard Smith from

Outdoors OUTINGS, HIKES & FIELDTRIPS â&#x20AC;˘ Franklin Bird Club bird count, Jan. 4, to count birds for annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count.369.1902 to participate. â&#x20AC;˘ Tuckasegee Chapter of Trout Unlimited meeting, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, United Community Bank meeting room in Sylva. dick.sellers@frontier.com. â&#x20AC;˘ Great Smoky Mountains National Park is moving toward its winter schedule, when several roads will close, some campgrounds and lodges will be shuttered and visitor centers will close or have reduced operating hours.

For details, go to www.npswww.nps.gov/grsm, call 865.436.1200 and follow the prompts, or Twitter at SmokiesRoadsNPS. â&#x20AC;˘ Sons of the American Legion turkey shoot, 9

â&#x20AC;˘ The Gorges State Park is looking for volunteers to assist in maintaining existing trails and campgrounds in the park on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., weather permitting.

Bring gloves, water and tools supplied.

Participants need to be at least 16 years old and in good health. Registration not required.

Meet at 17762 Rosman Highway (US-64) in Sapphire. 966.9099.

PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS â&#x20AC;˘ National Park Service wants your thoughts on how the Appalachian Trail should be managed. Submit your feedback to www.parkplanning.nps.gov/appafoundation by Jan. 9.

COMPETITIVE EDGE â&#x20AC;˘ Run in 2014 5K Run, Walk, & Fun Run, 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1, Jackson County Recreation Center. $20, pre-registration; $25, race day. First 100 registered receive a long sleeve, wicking shirt. www.imathlete.com, (search Run in 2014). â&#x20AC;˘ 4th annual Assault on Black Rock (ABR), 9 a.m. Saturday, March 22, Jackson County. A 7mile trail race from the parking lot of Sylvaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pinnacle Park to the 5,810-foot Black Rock summit on the spine of the Plott Balsam Mountains.

Proceeds to benefit the Community Table.

Register at www.CommunityTable.org, â&#x20AC;&#x153;event calendar.â&#x20AC;? Online registration at Active.com, but an extra $3.25 fee is included. Brian Barwatt, 506.2802 or barwatt@hotmail.com.

FARM & GARDEN â&#x20AC;˘ Haywood County Extension is accepting applications for the 2014 Master Gardener class. Training sessions will be held Tuesday mornings from Jan. 7 through April 22.

456.3575 to reserve a spot.

FARMERS & TAILGATE MARKETS Sylva â&#x20AC;˘ Jackson County Farmers Market Jackson County Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Community Table in downtown Sylva near Poteet Park and accepts SNAP benefits. Contact Jenny McPherson for more information 631.3033 or visit www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org

HIKING CLUBS â&#x20AC;˘ Carolina Mountain Club hosts more than 150 hikes a year, including options for full days on weekends, full days on Wednesdays and half days on Sundays. Non-members contact event leaders. www.carolinamountainclub.org â&#x20AC;˘ High Country Hikers, based in Hendersonville, plans hikes Mondays and Thursdays weekly. Participants should bring a travel donation and gear mentioned on their website: main.nc.us/highcountryhikers.

808.2165

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MarketPlace information: The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

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■ Free — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $12 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

■ $12 — 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.

■ $35 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR Fri. & Sat. from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

NOT TO BE MISSED! 50% Off All Christmas Decoration 20% Off All Furniture!

Antiques, Furniture, Art, Home Decor and so Much More!

We are Frog Pond Downsizing & Estate Sale. Located at 255 Depot St., Waynesville. Look for the Frog on the Side of Building and You’ve Found Treasures & Bargains from the Original Estate Sale Company

Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 | classads@smokymountainnews.com

AUCTION REAL ESTATE AUCTION 219.21+/-Beautiful Rolling Acres Divided into 19 Homesites, Prospect Hill, NC, Caswell Co., 1/4/14 at 10am, Auction at Prospect Hill Volunteer Fire Department. Iron Horse Auction Co., Inc., 800.997.2248. NCAL3936. www.ironhorseauction.com

WAYNESVILLE TIRE, COO

INC.

Offering:

MAJOR-BRAND TIRES FOR CARS, LIGHT & MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCKS, AND FARM TIRES.

Service truck available for on-site repairs LEE & PATTY ENSLEY, OWNERS STEVE WOODS, MANAGER

MON-FRI 7:30-5:30 • WAYNESVILLE PLAZA

456-5387

AUCTION Hefti Automotive, 1463 Concord Pkwy N, Concord, NC 28025. Saturday, Dec. 21 at 10am. Vehicle Lifts, Hunter Align Machine, Rack, Hunter Wheel Balancer, Bosch Tire Changer, Yale 5000 LB Forklift, Dove Tail, 2 Axle Tilt Trailer w/Winch, Brake Lathes, Sandblaster, AC Equipment, Air Compressors, Shop Tools, Office Equipment. www.parkauctionrealty.com, www.auctionzip.com ID#14226.

Listing, Pictures.

336.263.3957.

NCAFL#8834.

BUILDING MATERIALS

219-25

CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions.

Owner/Builder: Dave Donaldson.

Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316

AUTO PARTS DDI BUMPERS ETC. Quality on the Spot Repair & Painting. Don Hendershot 858.646.0871 cell 828.452.4569 office.

CARS - DOMESTIC DONATE YOUR CAR Fast Free Towing 24 hr. Response Tax Deduction United Breast Cancer Foundation Providing Free Mammograms & Breast Cancer Info888.759.9782. SAPA

HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

DONATE YOUR CAR Fast Free Towing. 24 hr. Response.

Tax Deduction. United Breast Cancer Foundation, Providing Free Mammograms & Breast Cancer Info 855.733.5472

CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING

DONATE YOUR CAR, Truck or Boat to Heritage for the Blind. Free 3 Day Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing, All Paperwork Taken Care Of. 800.337.9038.

SULLIVAN HARDWOOD FLOORS Installation- Finish - Refinish 828.399.1847.

MAY THE MESSAGE OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

R

DI

SC OV ER E

ATR

PE

Serving Haywood, Jackson & Surrounding Counties

AUCTION LENOIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE In Kinston offers an auctioneering class on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Jan. 2. Cost is $180. To register call 252.527.6223, ext.

714.

And the Magic of ‘Giving’ Fill Your Heart & Home This Holiday Season!

Join Us for Christmas Cheer: Sat. Dec. 21st @ 6 p.m. AND Friday Dec. 27th @ 6 p.m.

Book Signing: Author, Leslie Reifert, With a Program on Her Book - LOL “Little Old Laddies Laughing Out Loud” (Humorous Verse) Location: Dodie’s Auction, Main Street, Downtown Sylva. 828.226.3921, 828.735.4790 Auctioneer: Dodie Allen Blaschick NCAL# 341

TOP CASH FOR CARS, Call Now For An Instant Offer. Top Dollar Paid, Any Car/Truck, Any Condition. Running or Not. Free Pick-up/Tow. 1.800.761.9396 SAPA

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES BE YOUR OWN BOSS! Own a Dollar Store, Dollar Plus, Big Box Dollar, Mailbox, Party, Teen Clothing, Yogurt or Fitness Store.

Worldwide, 100% Financing, OAC. From $55,900 Turnkey!

800.385.2160 www.drss3.com HELP WANTED!!

Make up to $1,000 a week mailing brochures from home! Genuine Opportunity! No experience required.

Start immediately! BrochureMailers.com (Void In Arkansas)

R

PETS

PETS

EMPLOYMENT

WNC MarketPlace

HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329

BOOTS AN ADORABLE GIRL WITH HER LITTLE BLACK NOSE AND PRETTY BLACK AND WHITE MARKINGS! SHE'S ABOUT 6 MONTHS OLD, LOVES TO BE PETTED AND LOVED ON. TAYLOR A VERY HANDSOME, 7 WEEK OLD CHIHUAHUA PUPPY. HE IS MOSTLY WHITE WITH BLACK AND TAN ACCENTS. HE LOVES TO SNUGGLE AND GIVE KISSES. HIS ADOPTION FEE IS $200.

Prevent Unwanted Litters! $10 Fix All for Dogs and Cats, Puppies & Kittens!

Operation Pit is in Effect!

Free Spay/Neuter, Micro-chip & Vaccines For Haywood Pitbull Types & Mixes!

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 12 Noon - 5pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

EMPLOYMENT DRIVERS: DEDICATED. Regional & OTR. Start up to $.44/mi. + Excellent Benefits.

401K + Bonuses. Excellent Home Time! CDL-A 6 mos. exp.

877.704.3773.

12 PRO DRIVERS NEEDED. Full Benefits + Top 1% Pay. Recent Grads Welcome. CDL-A Req. 877.258.8782. or go to: www.ad-drivers.com 1500+ RGN LOADS From Clayton, NC to multiple destinations. Accepting Contractors with their own RGN's or pull Company trailers AT NO COST. 1.800.669.6414 or go to: www.dailyrecruiting.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Training Program! Become a Certified Microsoft Office Professional!

NO EXPERIENCED NEEDED! Online training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED Program disclosures at careertechnical.edu/nc 1.888.926.6057.

AIRLINE CAREERS BEGIN HERE Get FAA Approved Maintenance Training Financial Aid For Qualified Students - Housing Available Job Placement Assistance. Call Aviation Institute Of Maintenance 1.866.724.5403 WWW.FIXJETS.COM. SAPA

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

OWNER-OPERATORS Lease Purchase - run SE-TX- off weekends - 4500.00 weekly, dedicated dry van, miles and money, Paid WEEKLY - NO Holds NO Escrow 1.888.246.2251 SAPA HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS HOSPITAL Positions now available: ER and Med/Surg Registered Nurses, Medical Labaratory Technologist, Medical Records Manager, and CNA. Benefits available the first of the month following 60 days of full-time employment. PreEmployment screening required.

Call Human Resources.

828.526.1376, or apply online at: www.highlandscashiershospital. org NEED MEDICAL OFFICE TRAINEES! Train to become a Medical Office Assistant at CTI! No Experienced Needed! Online Training at CTI gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed.

Careertechnical.edu/nc.

1.888.512.7122

HOUSING SPECIALIST/INSPECTOR - Jackson County- High School diploma/GED mandatory, Associate Degree preferred, must have computer and math skills, and the ability to calculate formulas to determine rent payments.

Candidate will be responsible for learning and following federal regulations. This position requires that you work effectively with the public and diverse populations. Must be able to inspect housing units. Valid driver’s license with a clean driving record required. This is a full time position with benefits.

Applications will be taken at 2251 Old Balsam Rd, Waynesville, NC or 25 Schulman St, Sylva, NC. Or you may go to our website www.mountainprojects.org and download an application.

Pre-employment drug testing required.

EOE/AA

219-32

Great Smokies Storage

www.smokymountainnews.com

December 18-24, 2013

10’x20’

42

92

$

20’x20’

160

$

ONE MONTH

FREE WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT

828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828 Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction

Puzzles can be found on page 45.

These are only the answers.

EMPLOYMENT

Head Start Assistant Teacher Haywood County- An Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education is required for this position, must also have the ability to assume responsibilities of the teacher when absent, work well with parents and co-workers, good judgment/problem solving skills. Basic computer skills and 2 yrs. experience in Pre-K classroom preferred. This is a 10 month position with full time benefits.

Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd, Waynesville, NC or 25 Schulman St, Sylva, NC. Or you may download an application at www.mountainprojects.org Pre-employment drug testing required. EOE/AA. REACH READERS ACROSS North Carolina for only $330. Run your 25-word classified line ad in 99 newspapers with one call to this newspaper or call NCPS 919.789.2083.

TANKER & FLATBED COMPANY. Drivers/Independent Contractors!

Immediate Placement Available.

Best Opportunities in the Trucking Business. Call Today 800.277.0212 or www.driveforprime.com TOP 1% PAY & CSA FRIENDLY EQUIP. Full Benefits + Quality Home Time. No slip seating - Take Truck Home. CDL-A Required.

1.888.592.4752. www.addrivers.com SAPA

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Training Program! Become a Certified Microsoft Office Professional!

NO EXPERIENCED NEEDED! Online training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED Program disclosures at: careertechnical.edu/nc 1.888.926.6057.

ARE YOU HIRING? Place your employment ad in 99 North Carolina newspapers for only $330 for a 25-word ad. For more information, contact this newspaper or call 919.789.2083.

DRIVERS HOME Weekly & Bi-Weekly. EARN $900$1200/Wk. Major Benefits Available. Class-A CDL & 6 Mos. Exp. Req. No Canada, HazMat or NYC! 877.705.9261

FINANCIAL $$$ACCESS LAWSUIT CASH NOW!!

Injury Lawsuit Dragging? Need fast $500-$500,000? Rates as low as 1/2% month. Call Now! 1.800.568.8321. lawcapital.com Not valid in NC SAPA BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

SAPA

REAL ESTATE AUCTION 219.21+/-Beautiful Rolling Acres Divided into 19 Homesites, Prospect Hill, NC, Caswell Co., 1/4/14 at 10am, Auction at Prospect Hill Volunteer Fire Department. Iron Horse Auction Co., Inc., 800.997.2248. NCAL3936.

HOMES FOR SALE BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor shamrock13@charter.net McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

APT. FOR RENT UNFURNISHED CLEAN UNFURNISHED APRTMNT. For rent in Hazelwood area of Waynesville. 2/BR, 1/BA, refrigerator, stove, washer/dryer, carpet, good views. $650 per moth, security deposit required.

No pets. Move In Ready Oct. 15th 828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828.

NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400 Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Tues. & Wed. 10:00am - 5:00pm & Thurs. 10:00am- 12:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

219-01

Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.725.2962

Ann knows real estate!

Equal Housing Opportunity

Cleaner, Clearer and Healthier water at every tap in your home

219-38

FURNITURE

CRS, GRI, E-PRO

HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

ann@mainstreetrealty.net An EcoWater Water System can remove

ALL REMAINING FURNITURE Lumber Must Go! $3,250 Cherry, Walnut & Butternut.

For more info 828.627.2342 COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778.

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT GEORGIA INVESTMENT PROPERTYLimited Inventory Available! Renovated homes, low taxes & insurance, Low cost of living. Great for homeowners or Investors earn 15% ROI! Starting at $29,000. CALL OWNER 1.404.550.6900. SAPA

Ann Eavenson

Lease to Own

Bad Taste & Odors Iron/Rust Sediment/ Silt Bacterias Harmful Chlorine Balance pH

828.452.3995 | www.americanwatercareinc.com

506-0542 CELL 219-17

101 South Main St. Waynesville

MainStreet Realty

(828) 452-2227 mainstreetrealty.net

smokymountainnews.com

SOLO & TEAM CDL-A DRIVERS! Excellent Home Time & Pay! $3000 to $5000 Sign-on Bonus. BCBS Benefits. Join Super Service!

866.291.2631 DriveforSuperService.com

EARN $500 A-DAY: Insurance Agents Needed; Leads, No Cold Calls; Commissions Paid Daily; Lifetime Renewals; Complete Training; Health/ Dental Insurance; Life License Required. Call 1.888.713.6020.

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis.

219-33

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

December 18-24, 2013

Head Start Pre-K Teacher Jackson County- A BS or Birth-K Degree in Early Childhood Education is mandatory for this position. Also required for this position: computer skills, responsible for classroom paperwork, the ability to work with diverse population/community partners, 2 yrs. experience in Pre-K classroom and good management skills.

This is a 10 month position with full time benefits.

CDL-A DRIVERS: Looking for higher pay? New Century is hiring exp. company drivers and owner operators. Both Solo and Teams. Competitive pay package. Sign-On Incentive. Also looking for experienced drivers willing to train. Call 888.903.8863 or apply online at: www.drivenctrans.com

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

WNC MarketPlace

EARLY HEAD START TEACHER Haywood County- An Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education is required for this position. Candidates must have the ability to work well with families and co-workers, 2 yrs.experience working with birth-3 years and have good judgment/problem solving skills. Prefer someone with Infant/Toddler CDA credentials and basic computer skills.

This is an 11 month position with full time benefits.

EMPLOYMENT

find us at: facebook.com/smnews 43

WNC MarketPlace

LOTS FOR SALE

Haywood County Real Estate Agents Beverly Hanks & Associates — beverly-hanks.com • • • • • • •

Michelle McElroy — beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig — beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey — beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither — esither@beverly-hanks.com Jerry Smith — beverly-hanks.com Billie Green — bgreen@beverly-hanks.com Pam Braun — pambraun@beverly-hanks.com

LAWN & GARDEN

2.819 ACRE TRACT Building Lot in great location.

Build your 2nd home log cabin here. Large 2-story building near HCC, was a Work Shop. $66,500.

Call 828.627.2342.

VACATION RENTALS NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS Start a family tradition for the Holidays! Cabins, Vacation Homes, Condos. Pets welcome! Boone, Banner Elk, Blowing Rock. Foscoe Rentals 1.800.723.7341 or go to: www.foscoerentals.com SAPA

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT

ERA Sunburst Realty — sunburstrealty.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.

Haywood Properties — haywoodproperties.com • Steve Cox — info@haywoodproperties.com

Keller Williams Realty kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • Rob Roland — robrolandrealty.com • Ron Kwiatkowski — ronk.kwrealty.com

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

MEDICAL CANADA DRUG CENTER Is your choice for safe and affordable medications. Our licensed Canadian mail order pharmacy will provide you with savings of up to 90 percent on all your medication needs. Call Today 1.800.265.0768 for $25.00 off your first prescription and free shipping.

SAPA MEDICAL GUARDIAN Top-rated medical alarm and 24/7 medical alert monitoring. For a limited time, get free equipment, no activation fees, no commitment, a 2nd waterproof alert button for free and more - only $29.95 per month. 800.983.4906 SAPA

Mountain Home Properties — mountaindream.com

VIAGRA 100mg & CIALIS 20mg!

40 Pills + 4 FREE for only $99. #1 Male Enhancement, Discreet Shipping. Save $500! Buy The Blue Pill! Now 1.800.491.8751 SAPA AFFORDABLE DENTAL PLANS. 10-60% savings! 30 plans Available. Enroll online NOW (using code 41168.dp) to get 3 Extra months FREE! dpbrokers.com/41168.dp or Call Today: 1.800.219.7473 (give coupon code 41168) IF YOU USED THE MIRENA IUD Between 2001-present and suffered perforation or embedment in the uterus requiring surgical removal, or had a child born with birth defects, you may be entitled to compensation. Call Johnson Law and speak with one of our female staff members.

1.800.535.5727 ATTENTION SLEEP APNEA Sufferers with Medicare. Get CPAP Replacement Supplies at little or NO COST, plus FREE home delivery!

Best of all, prevent red skin sores and bacterial infection! Call 1.877.763.9842.

FOR SALE

• Sammie Powell — smokiesproperty.com

WRAP UP YOUR HOLIDAY Shopping With 100 percent guaranteed, delivered-to-the-door Omaha Steaks!

SAVE 67 PERCENT - PLUS 4 FREE Burgers - Many Gourmet Favorites ONLY $49.99.ORDER Today 1.800.715.2010 Use code “4937 CFW” or go to: www.OmahaSteaks.com/holiday33 SAPA

Main Street Realty — mainstreetrealty.net December 18-24, 2013

MEDICAL

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management • Bruce McGovern — shamrock13.com

Preferred Properties • George Escaravage — gke333@gmail.com

Prudential Lifestyle Realty — vistasofwestfield.com

WANTED TO BUY CASH FOR UNEXPIRED Diabetic Test Strips! Free Shipping, Friendly Service, BEST prices and 24 hour payment! Call Mandy at 1.855.578.7477, or visit www.TestStripSearch.com Espanol 1.888.440.4001 SAPA

NOTICES BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

SAPA

PERSONAL 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 HAVE FUN AND FIND A Genuine Connection! The next voice on the other end of the line could be the one. Call Tango 1.800.984.0160. FREE trial!

SAPA MEET SINGLES RIGHT NOW! No paid operators, just real people like you. Browse greetings, exchange messages and connect live. Try it free. Call now 1.888.909.9978. SAPA 219-08

219-07

Realty World Heritage Realty

ROB ROLAND

realtyworldheritage.com • Carolyn Lauter

828-564-1106

realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7766/

RROLAND33@GMAIL.COM

• Thomas & Christine Mallette realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7767/

Find the home you are looking for at www.robrolandrealty.com

www.smokymountainnews.com

RE/MAX — Mountain Realty • • • • • • • • •

remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com Brian K. Noland — brianknoland.com Connie Dennis — remax-maggievalleync.com Mark Stevens — remax-waynesvillenc.com Mieko Thomson — ncsmokies.com The Morris Team — maggievalleyproperty.com The Real Team — the-real-team.com Ron Breese — ronbreese.com Dan Womack — womackdan@aol.com Catherine Proben — cp@catherineproben.com

www.selecthomeswnc.com Residential and Commercial Long-Term Rentals

Jerry Smith 828-734-8765

jsmith@beverly-hanks.com

The Seller’s Agency — listwithphil.com • Phil Ferguson — philferguson@bellsouth.net 219-09

74 N. Main St. • Waynesville

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 44

828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com

Full Service Property Management 828-456-6111

218-26

(828) 452-5809

www.Beverly-Hanks.com

ENTERTAINMENT

DISH TV RETAILER. Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 1.800.351.0850 SAPA

SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION

SERVICES * REDUCE YOUR CABLE BILL! * Get a 4-Room All Digital Satellite system installed for FREE and programming starting at $19.99/mo.

FREE HD/DVR upgrade for new callers, SO CALL NOW. 1.800.725.1835. SAPA DISH TV RETAILER Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 1.800.405.50813

EARN YOUR H.S. DIPLOMA At home in a few short weeks.

Work at your own pace. First Coast Academy. Nationally accredited.

Call for free brochure.

1.800.658.1180, extension 82. www.fcahighschool.org SAPA

MEDICAL GUARDIAN Top-rated medical alarm and 24/7 medical alert monitoring. For a limited time, get free equipment, no activation fees, no commitment, a 2nd waterproof alert button for free and more - only $29.95 per month. 800.615.3868

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Training Program! Become a Certified Microsoft Office Professional!

NO EXPERIENCED NEEDED! Online training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED Program disclosures at: careertechnical.edu/nc 1.888.926.6057.

MY COMPUTER WORKS: Computer problems? Viruses, spyware, email, printer issues, bad internet connections - FIX IT NOW! Professional, U.S.-based technicians. $25 off service. Call for immediate help. 1.888.582.8147 SAPA

HD CABLE TV DEALS Starting at $29.99 a month!

Qualify for a $250 Gift Card. Call Now! 1.800.287.0603 SAPA HIGH-SPEED INTERNET Is available where you live today with HughesNet! Get SUPERFAST internet available anywhere for only $39.99 per month with FREE installation! Ask about our NEW phone service! Call Today!

1.800.266.4409 or go to: www.probroadbandsolutions.com SAPA

YARD SALES CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR Fri. & Sat. from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

NOT TO BE MISSED! 50% Off All Christmas Decoration 20% Off All Furniture!

Antiques, Furniture, Art, Home Decor and so Much More!

We are Frog Pond Downsizing & Estate Sale. Located at 255 Depot St., Waynesville. Look for the Frog on the Side of Building and You’ve Found Treasures & Bargains from the Original Estate Sale Company

WEEKLY SUDOKU

Super

CROSSWORD

NOW ZEE HERE

physician?

72 Walking so as not to ACROSS make a peep 1 Place 73 Hither and 7 Installs in advance, as 75 Cambodian leader Lon software 76 Safecracker 15 Using ink, as a signa77 Critic Shalit ture 78 Baltimore ball team 20 Really stuck 81 Massage response 21 Its capital is Bogotá 83 Investment option, for 22 Dewy-eyed short 23 Plate a World War II 85 Investment options, for battleship with a certain short metal?

87 Pigskin-passing actor 25 Iron emission Efron?

26 Downed 91 Juice, as a goose 27 Sea dogs 94 Units of GIs 28 Biology subj.

95 Glowing with light 29 Actor Guy 96 Corp. name ender, often 30 Fuzzy image 97 Enthusiast 31 Woman on “Friends” 99 Sushi eggs being fervent?

100 Huge meals 34 Long guns 101 Place where injured 37 Grassy turf animals are brought to 38 “- that time” recuperate?

39 “Boy oh boy!”

107 Pre-’91 world power 40 Disquietude 108 Garments 41 Commercial forest area 109 Hit tune by the Kinks 46 “The Grapes of Wrath” 110 Having a tiff migrants 111 Flip - coin 48 African warrior answer- 114 Basel’s river ing to a captain?

115 Witty remark belted 50 “Put - Happy Face” out without instrumental 51 Summer, in Montréal backup?

52 NYPD rank 119 Uses a Nook or a 53 Advanced study group Kindle 55 Gibson and Brooks 120 Gave birth to 59 “My life - open book” 121 Trick-taking card 62 Chew the game 64 Notes after dos 122 Young’s partner in 65 Dye anew accounting 67 Put lollipops in the 123 City near Los Angeles microwave?

124 Varieties of trapshoot70 Greek god who’s a ing games

DOWN 1 Ms. Minnelli 2 Doing the job 3 Sugar type 4 One side in the Pro Bowl: Abbr.

5 Least large 6 Very tired 7 Toxic chem. pollutants 8 French “king” 9 High trains 10 Willy of “Death of a Salesman” 11 Dweller in Muscat 12 Bric- 13 Decrees 14 Hefty’s Cinch 15 Ripe 16 Birth-related 17 Potato-filled dumpling 18 Bolter before a hurricane, perhaps 19 Archenemies 24 Be off target 29 Rat, to some 30 Cordon 31 Forenoon 32 Playwright Clifford 33 “Invader” on Nickelodeon 34 Regulation 35 Set in motion 36 Boon on “Wheel of Fortune” 37 Plaza figure 42 Weizman of Israel 43 Was irate 44 Writer Lurie 45 Part of RBI 47 Ini - of reggae 49 One of a making-out couple 50 Filled cookie

54 Schoolroom for painting and sculpting 56 Mourns in verse 57 Ed Asner TV series 58 Sophs., two years later 60 Viewpoint 61 Filbert, e.g.

63 Get sober 66 Have a bawl 67 Veer back 68 Talks sweetly 69 - eclipse 71 Crude 74 Roman tyrant 79 Mensa stats 80 Cache 82 12 1/2 and 20 1/2, say, in women’s clothing 84 Isn’t idle 86 Rid of trees 88 Heroic verse 89 Pool ball striker 90 Old Chrysler 91 Strange 92 One after 93 Nova - (certain Canadian) 94 German link 98 Is, pluralized 102 Chances on 103 Foil giant 104 Castle protectors 105 Greek letter 106 Stared in amazement 107 Stage star Hagen 110 Pierce player 111 Brutish sort 112 “Star Wars” character Boba 113 God of war 115 Crank (up) 116 Afore 117 Cager Bias 118 No, in Fife

answers on page 42

Answers on Page 42

smokymountainnews.com

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.

December 18-24, 2013

AIRLINES ARE HIRING Train for hands on Aviation Career.

FAA approved program. Financial aid if qualified. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance. 877.300.9494.

DISH TV RETAILER - SAVE! Starting $19.99/month (for 12 months.) FREE Premium Movie Channels. FREE Equipment, Installation & Activation. CALL, COMPARE LOCAL DEALS! 1.800.351.0850.

SAPA

SERVICES FROG POND DOWNSIZING Helping Hands In Hard Times.

Downsizing - Estate Sales - Clean Out Services. Company Transfer Divorce - We are known for Honesty & Integrity! Jack & Yvonne Wadham, Insured & Bonded.

18 Commerce Street, Waynvesville, NC. 828.734.3874

WNC MarketPlace

SCOTTISH TARTANS MUSEUM 86 East Main St., Franklin, 828.584.7472. www.scottishtartans.org. Matthew A.C. Newsome, GTS, FSA, SCOT., Curator & General Manager, Ronan B. MacGregor, Business Assistant.

45

The Best Deal in the Mountains!

CLASSIFIED ADS 50 WORDS OR LESS ARE (Pre-pay only)

PER WEEK

FREE: Residential yard sale ads, lost or found pet ads FREE: Non-business items that sell for less than $150 $35: Non-business items, 25 words or less, 3 months or until sold

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Call Classifieds Manager Scott Collier â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 828.452.4251 or email classads@smokymountainnews.com

Smoky Mountain News

December 18-24, 2013

68793

46

Shagbark hickory among the most interesting in WNC

T

George Ellison

he walnut family is relatively small, but it contains some of the more interesting and valuable tree species found in Western North Carolina. In WNC there are only two genera, the walnuts (Juglans) and the hickories (Carya).

Ash trees, which belong to the olive family, have leaves that are divided into leaflets in a fashion similar to those in the walnut family.

Note, however, that ash leaves are arranged opposite to Columnist one another, while walnut and hickory leaves alternate on the branches.

The two walnut species in WNC are black walnut (J. nigra) and butternut or white walnut (J. cinera). Black walnut provides some of the finest cabinet wood and their nuts are utilized by wildlife and humans. Butternut wood is not as valuable as black walnut since it is less strong and durable. The nut kernels, however, are quite sweet and much easier to get at than those concealed within the harder-than-brick shells of black walnut.

Hickory trees are, of course, renowned for their use as firewood, for making tools

BACK THEN and implements, and to cure hams, sides of bacon, and other meats. There are five hickory species in our region: bitternut (C. cordiformis), pignut (C. glabra, which includes two variant forms), mockernut (C. tomentosa), sand (C. pallida), and shagbark (C. ovata).

The first three species are by far the most common, occurring in bottomlands and dry woods in virtually every mountain county.

Telling them apart, however, can be tricky.

The most exciting hickory species to encounter, for me, is the shagbark. It’s aptly named for the unmistakable smoke-gray bark, which peels off the tree in long, vertical strips (6 to 8 inches in width) that are often unattached at either end. Be careful.It is easy to misidentify several variant forms of other hickory species that are “somewhat shaggy” as shagbark hickory.

In A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central America (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1950), Donald Culross Peattie observes that for “everyone with a feeling for things American, and for American history, the shagbark seems like a symbol of the pioneer age, with its hard sinewy limbs and rude, shaggy coat, like the pioneer himself in fringed deerskin hunting shirt.”

The early North Carolina explorer and

observer John Lawson called it “flying bark’d hiccory,” and the tree does resemble an unkempt bird about to take flight.

George Ellison wrote the biographical introductions for the reissues of two Appalachian classics: Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees. In June 2005, a selection of his Back Then columns was published by The History Press in Charleston as Mountain Passages: Natural and Cultural History of Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains. Readers can contact him at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 28713, or at info@georgeellison.com.

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