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Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015 Vol. 16 Iss. 31
Alcohol-related crashes rise in Jackson County Page 13 Ultra running, stand up paddling surging in popularity Page 28
CONTENTS
STAFF
On the Cover: It’s over. Now that 2014 is in the history books, it’s time to look back at the year’s news with a sense of humor and have some fun. The Smoky Mountain News has compiled its annual list of “award” winners for those individuals and issues that graced our pages in 2014. If you made the list, congratulations are in order; if you missed out, don’t worry. 2015 could be your lucky year. (Pages 4-2) Illustration by Micah McClure
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Alcohol-related automobile accidents rise in Jackson County . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 ACCOUNTING & OFFICE MANAGER: DISTRIBUTION: CONTRIBUTING:
Opinion The only lesson may be that there is no lesson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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 Birenbaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smliv.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jessi Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessi@smokymountainnews.com Becky Johnson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . becky@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@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).
CONTACT
A&E Looking back at the top arts and entertainment news of 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
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Books The long literary history of the Fool Killer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Outdoors Which recreational activities are gaining in popularity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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2014 is all but in the rearview mirror now, and all the stories reported over the last 12 months are headed for the history books or perhaps a less-lofty final resting place. But lest we forget just what made 2014 such a great year for news, here’s our annual tongue-incheek awards, a tribute to those people and events that held our interest for at least a few moments during the past year.
Bullet holes pocked the Waynesville Verizon store after a middle-of-the-night drive-by shooting. Becky Johnson photo
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? AWARD
intent to protect and provide emergency services should some disaster occur. Even those with bunkers — known as “preppers” due to the food stores and survival gear they amass in the event of mass calamity — felt the emergency management ordinance could be wielded to seize their property should society disintegrate into every man for himself.
Lawrence Martin’s anger got the best of him when he shot up the store front of Verizon Wireless in Waynesville in the middle of the night this year. The shooting spree (no one was hurt, thankfully) followed a countywide outage of cell phone service in May. Thousands of people in Haywood County were without cell phone, TV and Internet for several hours due to some sort of line mishap affecting Verizon and Charter. To show his frustration, Martin, 65, shot 15 rounds from a high-powered rifle into the Waynesville Verizon Wireless store windows at about 4 a.m. Martin then led officers on a high-speed chase through downtown Waynesville before crashing his vehicle into a tree in front of the Haywood County Justice Center. Martin’s son and roommate had called law enforcement to warn them of Martin’s deranged state and plans to shoot up the Verizon store, as well as threats to target the Waynesville Police Department. He believed the outage was an orchestrated plan carried out by corporations and the government to control society. Police said Martin had been drinking heavily that night and also had fired off rounds in his own home in Balsam before the Verizon drive-by. Because of the early hour, no one was injured during the shooting and car chase.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals gets this one for its intervention at Osborne Farms, a small dairy farm near Clyde. After an employee of the dairy sent off photos showing cows wading through kneedeep feces, sporting sores and lameness from prolonged exposure to the waste, PETA sent in a staffer to take some video. The organization posted the video online and shipped it out to multiple state and county regulatory agencies. Inspectors flocked to the farm but noted no evidence of animal cruelty on their reports. In addition, some cast doubt on the veracity of the PETA video. However, PETA stood by its video and the whistleblower, Gna Wyatt, told The Smoky Mountain News emphatically that “it was really like that.” All that publicity appears to have broken up the farm. Just one month after the video’s release, Osborne Farms sold off its cattle, likely either to a slaughterhouse or to another dairy farm.
BOOGEY MAN AWARD
THE BEAR GRYLLS AWARD
“The boogey man is not coming to get you.” This memorable line came from Haywood County Commissioner Mike Sorrells, trying to assuage fears that the county would raid the food and ammunition stockpiles of private citizens in the event of societal collapse. The county’s emergency management ordinance gives the county’s top leaders authority to take draconian measures in the case of natural disasters such as floods or landslides, including the right to go on private property without permission and assume control of the supply chain for the distribution of vital resources. Obviously, the law was written with the
The three South Carolina men who get this award could have used some of Grylls’ survival know-how when they set out to do a 10-day backpacking trip through Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the middle of the winter. Jonathan Dobbins, 21, Steven White, 28, and Shawn Hood, 32, all of Gaffney, South Carolina, didn’t even make it through the first night. Temperatures plummeted into the teens the night of Jan. 2 and the afternoon rain turned to blowing snow. The men’s cotton clothing and summer sleeping bags didn’t do much against the elements, and once they were able to make a call for help, a
THE HOMEWRECKER AWARD
THE JOHN HANCOCK AWARD
Kim Bishop, erstwhile director of the Macon County Board of Elections, allegedly had plenty of chances to develop a signature on par with that of the founding father as she wrote — and pocketed — money from 37 checks totaling $50,000. The funds were supposedly needed to pay outside contractors for their work with the election board, but that $50,000 figure is far higher than the typical sum required during a slow election year. Not to mention that the women named in the checks never received the funds or submitted a W9 form, or that the election board members whose names appeared on the check request forms said they’d never actually signed them. Bishop resigned her post in May, but a State Bureau of Investigation probe is ongoing. No charges have yet been filed.
the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen for two years. He was filling a vacant seat and then ran to keep the seat in 2013 but lost. Matthews also has a history of not paying his taxes and has even had his wages garnished twice by the county to collect on taxes he owed.
ROMAN EMPIRE AWARD All roads once led to Ghost Town in the Sky, the kingpin of tourism not only in Maggie Valley but throughout the region. Tens of thousands flocked to the amusement park for a chance to ride the chairlift all the way to the top of Buck Mountain and experience the old West with gunfights, saloon girls and rides. The local economy depended on Ghost Town to rake in the tourists to fill up the motel beds and restaurant chairs, which it did handedly for three decades. But Ghost Town’s supreme reign began to crumble in the late 1980s. Its long-time
$28,000 for an underground, automated irrigation system to keep the grass green. The expense was approved 4-to-1 with Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick opposed. Chairman Mark Swanger thought the irrigation system was worth the price because the courthouse lawn is the “face” of the county, a public commons so to speak. However, Kirkpatrick said it shouldn’t be a priority considering all the other county expenses. And besides, Western North Carolina is not suffering from a drought and doesn’t experience scorching hot summers to dry out the grass.
sank the effort. Lake Junaluska property owners overwhelmingly expressed support to join the town of Waynesville but were denied state approval for the second year running, due in large part to opposition from N.C. Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville. With Presnell once again headed to Raleigh after winning the fall election, it’s unclear whether lake residents will bother to mount a third attempt.
THE OPEN [CHECK] BOOK AWARD
A citizen uprising in Jackson County fought and won a battle for the mountainsides, a rare instance when public outcry actually carried the day. The revolt didn’t target a nasty, oppressive dictator. There were no fist-pumping chants from throngs of unruly mobs burning things in the street.
Cherokee Tribal Council meetings got explosive this fall after word got out that members had voted themselves a $10,000 pay raise — as well as backpay checks for as much
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rescue mission launched that would eventually involve roughly 30 people. A group of rangers hiked through the night to find them and keep them warm till morning, and by noon a helicopter had arrived to take the men to safety. None of the men suffered any lasting injury, but hopefully they’ll actually do some planning before once again traipsing off into the largest wilderness area in the East during winter.
ARAB SPRING AWARD
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD
WTF! AWARD
owner didn’t invest in the park’s maintenance or modernization. Visitation declined as the park not only deteriorated but also failed to keep pace with modern amusement park expectations. It eventually closed in the 2000s, was bought and sold a couple of times, and was even in and out of bankruptcy. Alaska Presley bought the park in 2012 out of foreclosure with the hope of restoring it to its original glory, but it has been an uphill battle as she has dealt with expensive upgrades, failed inspections, environmental impact fees and bad reviews from returning visitors who expect Ghost Town to be what it was 30 years ago. Rome wasn’t built in a day and it surely can’t be rebuilt in a couple of years. Presley is still determined to rebuild the mountain in her vision.
BETTER HOMES AND GARDEN AWARD After being chastised by the public last year for cutting down all the trees on the Haywood County Courthouse lawn, the county commissioners approved spending
A packed house at the steep slope public hearing in Jackson County prompted commissioners to table a rewrite of mountainside building rules. File photo as $22,000 for the years when the raise supposedly should have already been in effect. Principal Chief Michell Hicks claimed that the raises were “adjustments” to bring salaries into compliance with a 2004 ordinance, a view accepted by the majority of the council. But many tribal members decried them as illegal, saying they violated a section of the tribe’s Charter and Governing Document that stipulates that any raises council receives can take effect only after the next elected council is seated. As pushback swelled, councilmembers started qualifying their support of the salary increases during council discussions. At the same time, tribal government became sensitive to media coverage of the issue. In its December meeting, tribal council asked police to escort a Smoky Mountain News reporter from the councilhouse in addition to denying members of other media outlets admission to the council chamber.
DEAD IN THE WATER AWARD Lake Junaluska began the year with a fresh pitch and renewed case to merge with Waynesville. But state legislators once again
This revolt was a little more low key, led by professorial types wielding Power Points as weapons. The extent of their activism was submitting written comments or showing up to a public hearing, politely taking turns at the mic and dutifully obeying the threeminute time limit. The most radical display was by an Appalachian songwriter who penned an original ballad and sang it a cappella style decrying the denigration of the mountains in the name of the almighty dollar. Nonetheless, the crowd that appeared at the public hearing was big enough and the written comment voluminous enough the planned rewrite of the county’s steep slope rules were tabled. At stake: whether to water down the county’s steep slope development rules, considered overly arduous and restrictive by some while others thought the protections were much-needed. Jackson County commissioners could have barreled ahead with the changes despite the public outcry. But it was a willingness to let the democratic process play out and actually take public input into account that prompted leaders to change course. 5
Smoky Mountain News
That is what many people said or thought when they saw that Mike Matthews was elected as Haywood County’s new tax collector. Matthews didn’t spend money on a big campaign and he wasn’t seen at any public functions where other candidates were schmoozing with hopeful constituents. With his filing Mike Matthews fee paid for, Matthews agreed to run against tax collector incumbent David Francis, but the effort to win was minimal. Matthews would be the first to tell you that he didn’t think he had a shot at winning. He was equally as shocked when the election results rolled in on Nov. 4 — Matthews beat Francis by 230 votes. County commissioners decided on a $410,000 liability bond for Matthews but he wasn’t sworn in as scheduled at the beginning of December because he had yet to get bonded. However, he beat the odds again — got the bond and was sworn in on Dec. 8 at the courthouse. Before running for tax collector, Matthews served on
Alaska Presley has been working to bring Ghost Town back to its former glory. File photo
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
f Clyde is typically a quiet town that rarely makes the news, but this year was an exception when the Clyde Police Department bustfed up a prostitution ring that was disguised as a pet shop on Carolina Boulevard. The pet shop, Wild Things Plantation, utilized social media to attract customers in other states. While prostitution was allegedly happening behind the scenes, the storefront sold ducks, chickens and goats.
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WRENCH IN THE WORKS AWARD Mike Clarke tried his best to derail landuse planning efforts in Cullowhee over the past year. After landing a seat on the Cullowhee planning task force, he got right to work trying to unravel it. He wrote a letter to the editor publicly condemning the mission of the committee when it was barely out of the gate — using adjectives like “lame,” “overbearing” and “outrage” to describe his views toward land-use planning — and continually spoke out against the effort at every meeting and forum that came along, issuing a rallying cry to turn out other opponents. But the committee stuck to its charge: to study the conundrum of unbridled growth in Cullowhee and develop solutions to guide future development patterns. Clark finally resigned from the Cullowhee planning committee last month. In his parting words, he said the planning effort had been “hijacked by a group of government thugs.”
FUEL TO THE FIRE AWARD The Elvis impersonators who gathered at Harrah's in Cherokee made the Guiness Book of World Records. Becky Johnson photo
Smoky Mountain News
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
DOUBLE-AGENT AWARD Smoky Mountain News reporter Becky Johnson stops at nothing to get a story. This year, she even went undercover — sort of. Johnson was hoping to get in to a Haywood County GOP meeting to witness an attempted coup of the local party leadership by a radical faction. She was told earlier that day by the coup leaders that only Republicans would be allowed in to the meeting that night. So Johnson promptly marched down to the county election office and changed her voter registration to Republican. At the start of the GOP meeting, she was outed as not being a Republican. Despite presenting paperwork to prove her new Republican status — “seven hours and counting” — she was voted out of the meeting anyway. For the record, she changed her voter registration back to unaffiliated a few days later.
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE AWARD
When a film crew came knocking for permission to shoot a documentary on Judacalla Rock, Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten was, as he put it, “in a bind.” America Unearthed, a History Channel show billed as unlocking the secrets of America’s past by riddling out archaeological mysteries, hoped to feature Judacalla Rock in an episode. The ancient petroglyph carved into a giant soapstone slab near Cullowhee has been a mystery since its discovery. Wooten had the power to green light or 6
deny the filming because it was on county land. He initially said OK but was soon besieged with pleas to stop the filming. Critics feared the sensational host, who fancies himself a modern-day Indiana Jones, would make a mockery of the prehistoric rock art. A gander at the show lineup is rife with pseudo-science — including episodes on underwater Aztec pyramids in Wisconsin, Mayan settlements in Georgia and Biblical artifacts in the Grand Canyon. With the film crew already in motion, however, Wooten let them come on. The Judacalla episode, titled “The Appalachian Giant,” aired in November. We regretfully missed it. If you caught it, or better yet recorded it, let us know.
GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS AWARD This one goes to all the Elvis fans in the house, or at least the 895 diehards who turned out at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino for a bold attempt to break the world record for the most Elvis impersonators ever gathered under one roof. The Elvis impersonators came from all walks of life — including quite a few grannies in wheelchairs who nonetheless managed to suit up in the free Elvis costume, wig included, that was handed out at the door. The catch to a new world record: all must be in costume and sing an Elvis song in its entirety. Despite a headcount reduction for those whose wigs came off during the song, victory was sealed with 200 more than the previous record holder, held by a casino in Vegas, by the way.
Haywood Regional Medical Center was just about to sign on the dotted line, cementing a sale of the cash-strapped hospital to Duke LifePoint following months of negotiations, when a small electrical fire forced the hospital to close for several weeks. Even though the generator kicked in when the power went out, the air conditioning didn’t come on — something that is essential during the sweltering summer months. The hospital could only accept emergency patients through a mobile unit set up in the parking lot. The hospital was fully recovered and re-opened after about three weeks once repairs were made and the hospital given the go-ahead from N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation.
entrapment. At a recent hearing before the state panel, the phrase “clustermess” was coined by speakers to describe the train wreck they claim unfairly targeted innocent hunters.
GRASSROOTS AWARD
When the call went out to old-timers to part with precious family heirlooms and artifacts that tell the story of Swain County’s history, the response was overwhelming. For two years, volunteers collected, amassed and sorted the outpouring of donations, from old church pulpits to farm implements to photographs. The project came to fruition this year with the opening of the Swain County Heritage Museum, housed in the historic courthouse. The evolution of the museum mirrors the story of Swain County itself — one of resolve, spirit and small-town pride. The Swain Heritage Museum was an all-local, all-volunteer affair to create a museum from whole cloth. Supporters consciously chose not to hire an outside museum consultant or curator specialist to do it for them, but instead tapped local expertise and talents to tell the county’s unique story.
TEFLON AWARD
Despite a small band of Tea Party-esque critics who dish out frequent verbal lashings and email assaults against the five Haywood County commissioners, the local government gurus have an uncanny ability to deflect the onslaught.
STILL BREWING AWARD Nearly two years after wrapping up an undercover sting targeting alleged bear poachers in the mountains, Operation Something Bruin is still boiling over. Around 50 hunters from Rutherfordton to Robbinsville were charged for a litany of hunting violations, including hunting bears out of season, spotlighting, leading guided trips without permits and not properly registering bear tags. But the cases quickly unraveled. In many instances, the undercover officers committed the hunting crimes themselves, be it shooting underage bears, transporting bear parts or baiting bears, and then charged those who were present for being accomplices. In other cases, the charges appeared to be fishing expeditions, lacking solid evidence but hoping to root out informants. After striking out in state court and seeing nearly all the charges dismissed, the cases were then refiled by investigators in federal court, but they’ve garnered mixed results and a spotty conviction rate. State legislators have opened an investigation into whether wildlife officers engaged in
Monroe Miller is a frequent critic of Haywood County commissioners during the public comment period at meetings. Donated photo
The constant needling — including an online newsletter and YouTube videos dedicated to commissioner meetings — hasn’t budged them from their seats. The current board has enjoyed more stability and less turnover than any set of county commissioners in history. The five have a combined tenure of 44 years, with three of them just sealing four more years in this year’s election. When one of the leading activists accosted County Manager Ira Dove at a swearing-in reception for local officials this month and asked Dove why he hadn’t replied to the latest bout of attack emails, Dove, who was manning the tea pitchers at the refreshment table, simply replied “Sweet or unsweet?”
TRAILBLAZER AWARD
MACON OUT LIKE A BANDIT AWARD Though Macon County’s going for a “revenue-neutral” budget when its new property values kick in for the 2015 tax year, most people are going to see a change in their taxes due. People with modest homes whose values haven’t changed much since the real estate bust will find themselves with a more expensive bill, and those with more expensive homes, well — they’ll receive this award. Their tax bills are likely to take a dip. Though maybe that’s fair, seeing as Macon County homeowners have all been paying taxes based on their pre-recession home values of 2007. High-end homes have come down the most in value, so their owners will now be paying based on what they’re actually worth now. Maybe the savings will be enough for a second inground pool.
Answer:
One of the key recommendations of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is: "Reduce daily sodium intake to less than 2,300milligrams (mg) and further reduce intake to 1,500 mg among persons who are 51 and older and those of any age who are African American or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease." This reduction is supposed to be over time but it may be a pretty dramatic recommendation for some so it is important to understand some of the words.
Sodium - Sodium is an element or ion (Na+) that is present in all living cells including our own. The sodium referred to in the recommendation is the type that is ADDED to products in the form of salt (NaCl), monosodium glutamate or sodium in other additives or flavoring agents. Salt - Salt can be iodized, kosher or sea salt and beyond what you have on your table or in your cupboard the real culprit is what manufacturers, restaurants and fast-food businesses add to your food. Low Sodium - An item is "low sodium" if it has less than or equal to 140mg of sodium per serving.(Be sure and read the MILLIGRAMS or mg written and not the % Daily Value-DV). Reduced Sodium - The amount of sodium present is less than what was present in the original formulation of a processed item. This does not mean the item is low sodium! No added salt or salt-free - The product has not had salt added but it still may have sodium in some other form and it may not be low sodium. To achieve the goal of 1500mg per day of sodium you will need to:
1. Read labels and select packaged items that have less than 140mg/serving of sodium. 2. Limit the fast-food or restaurant foods you eat unless you can request that they do not add salt. 3. Take your salt shaker off the table or counter and use herbs, spices and salt-free seasonings to flavor your food when cooking or eating meals.
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THE SHERLOCK AWARD The Huffington Post earned this one when it threw up an article, which quickly went viral, showcasing images from videographer Jordan Liles’ trip to the Smokies. While there, he stumbled upon the long-lost town of Elkmont in the middle of the forest.
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Ben Bushyhead’s campaign for change in the Swain County commissioner election was a notable one. The most obvious: Bushyhead is the first enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to get elected as a Swain commissioner. But that wasBen Bushyhead n’t the backbone of his campaign, nor his impetus for running. Bushyhead’s platform advocated for reform of the business-as-usual approach of county government, insistent that Swain County commissioners should be more responsive and inclusive of the public, be more proactive in advancing the county’s economic status and be more deliberate in the decision-making process. Most challengers are lucky just to pick off the lowest incumbent on the totem pole. But Bushyhead sailed from underdog status in the starting lineup to become top vote-getter in both the primary and general elections. The refrain of change resonated with Swain voters. Challenger Danny Burns ran on a similar platform, sharing similar views on the need for a new direction, and was the second highest vote-getter. Two incumbents were ousted to make way for the two newcomers on the board.
QUESTION: I have high blood pressure and have been told to cut down on salt and sodium. What should I be looking at on the label?
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
KETCHIKAN AWARD Jackson County can claim its very own version of the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska, a costly but questionable project that became a synonym for wasteful federal spending. Jackson County earmarked $1 million for a foot bridge over the Tuckaseigee River this year to provide a second jumping-on point for a short greenway in Cullowhee. Technically, the 1.2-mile greenway could function without the bridge. But you could only get on at one end. The other would deadend at the river. The foot bridge means you can get on at one end and off at the other, without backtracking the 1.2 miles to the starting point. But the vast majority drive to the greenway and have to backtrack anyway to get back to their car, bridge or no bridge. The $1 million bridge cost three times more than the greenway itself, which was just $325,000. The bridge was originally supposed to be $600,000 but came in $400,000 more than budgeted. Preliminay design estimates failed to account for soil type, which was on the soft side and needed extra shoring up around the bridge footers. The preliminary design also failed to account for a sewer main that runs along the river and had to be worked around. When presented with the cost overrun, commissioners had the chance to pull out, but instead bit the bullet and ponied up the extra dough. A state grant covered $450,000 of the greenway project in all, and the remaining $1 million came out of earmarked county recreation funds.
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MUSICAL CHAIRS AWARD
There were so many lawyers representing so many parties in a lawsuit stemming from a 2010 landslide in Maggie Valley, there weren’t enough chairs for them. On the opening day of the trial this summer, three of the lawyers took off down the hallway and returned a moment later, each wheeling an extra chair. Once they were settled, a row of seven lawyers snaked around the defendants’ table and along the wall, hemmed in by mounds of boxes filled with case files and exhibits brought it on hand trucks. A couple whose home was in the path of the landslide sued a bevy of parties they claim were responsible: five different engineers and builders who had a hand in the faulty retaining wall blamed as the culprit in the slide, plus the former manager of Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park, where the retaining wall was located. Such a deep bench of people being sued meant a lot of lawyers. The lawyers oscillated in their legal tactics. On one hand, they deployed a circlethe-wagons strategy — joining forces to mount a shared defense that the landslide was no one’s fault but merely an act of God. But they also resorted to a fingerpointing defense, entailing a series of cross-claims, third-party suits and counter claims to the cross-claims that blamed the other engineers and builders for any fault, if fault was to be had. In the end, the case was settled out of court hours before a jury trial was slated to commence.
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Ron Haven brought plenty of paperwork to a board of elections hearing questioning his residency. Becky Johnson photo Or so the post read. The only problem was that Elkmont isn’t exactly lost. It’s right off the road near a popular campsite and frequented by park visitors, a fact that Liles, who never claimed to have discovered the town, knew full well. A quick call either to Liles or Great Smoky Mountains National Park would have cleared everything up, but Huff Post is apparently a solo sleuth. Hats off.
Smoky Mountain News
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
THE GOOD BOY AWARD This one goes to Beck, the K9 drug dog who stuck to his training and failed to alert to the presence of the drugs he was trained to recognize — marijuana, cocaine and heroin — during a traffic stop initiated by Cherokee police. The police, however, did not mind their own training so closely. Beck’s handler, Graham County Deputy Matthew Cox, told officers that the dog had alerted, resulting in the arrest of a pair of Florida women who, though traveling without the three drugs Beck knew, were later found to have thousands of prescription pills in their Cherokee apartment. The incident was one of multiple questionable decisions in the handling of the case, which was eventually thrown out of federal court this year. “Such an ends-justifying-the-means approach does not manifest good faith adherence to constitutional principles,” U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger’s opinion said of the officers’ conduct.
THE BAND OF BROTHERS AWARD
The teachers of Western North Carolina get this one for their collective stand against a directive from the Legislature that school districts select exactly one-fourth of their teachers to receive a small raise. Teachers and administrators decried the raises as unfairly pitting educators against each other in competition for a small increase while requiring those who accepted the raises to sign away their tenure, a benefit the legisla8 ture had decided to phase out by 2018.
Above: Despite one national news report, Elkmont cabins in the Smokies have always been well-known to park visitors. Below: Teachers across North Carolina were almost overwhelmingly against a plan to single out 25 percent of their co-workers for a raise. Jordan Liles photo • Holly Kays photo
Demonstrations were staged and teachers swore to reject the raise even if offered it. Jackson and Macon counties even signed on with a list of other school districts from across North Carolina to bring a lawsuit against the state, an effort joined by the N.C. School Boards Association and the N.C. Association of Educators. North Carolina educators gave a collective cheer in May when Wake County Superior Court ruled the 25 percent raises — and the termination of tenure for those who already had it — unconstitutional. But the fight wasn’t over for North Carolina teachers. Their plight — salaries had been frozen since 2007-08 while funding for teaching assistants and materials was slashed — was the target of much political maneuvering during the 2014 election season. Education-themed political bumper stickers dominated the highways, and teacher pay dominated the headlines. When the Legislature passed its budget in August, it included a raise for teachers trumpeted by Republican leaders as the largest in the state’s history that didn’t come with a tax hike. However, skeptics called the raise “phony,” pointing out that veteran teachers didn’t really benefit at all from the sliding scale raises and that for many teachers, salaries were still lower than they would have been if the state had followed the salary
schedule all along rather than freezing wages when the recession hit. No word on whether this particular war will make it to the big screen.
tournament complex Macon County Commissioners approved in February. The hope is that it will soon pay for itself, bringing in teams from across the region to play tournaments on the fields, stay at local hotels and spend money on food and shopping in Franklin. The county estimates the economic impact at $8 million. Right now, the only tournament-level baseball field west of Asheville is the Crow Complex in Cherokee, though a group in Enka is now raising money to build a facility there. By the time summer rolls around, the 48acre Parker Meadows property is expected to be fully online, sporting eight baseball and softball fields, courts for tennis and pickleball, a soccer field, picnic facilities and a ninehole disc golf course.
THE WIZARD OF OZ AWARD
Nikwasi Mound gets this one for its remarkable ability to remain stationary amidst a tug-of-war for ownership between the Town of Franklin and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The tribe and town have been quarreling over the mound since 2012, when an ill-fated landscaping decision caused all the grass on the historic mound to die, raising the ire of the Cherokee. This year, the two governments passed dueling resolutions, with the Cherokee Tribal Council decreeing that ownership of the mound should pass to the tribe while the Franklin Board of Aldermen affirmed the town’s right to continued ownership, though allowing that Cherokee could take over maintenance if it so desired. But through it all, the mound has stayed put, patiently awaiting an end to the dispute over who, exactly, should own it.
Just like Dorothy, Ron Haven had to go through some turmoil this spring in order to return in peace to the place he calls home. A challenge to Haven’s re-election campaign for Macon County Commissioner had pointed out that while Haven’s listed address — an apartment at a motel he owns — does fall within the district for the Franklin commissioner seat he held, his wife and children live in a house at Mill Creek Country Club. The challenge, largely written by then-chair of the Macon County Democratic Party Corey Duvall, had questioned whether Haven in fact spent more than half of his nights at the Budget Inn, as required to run in the district. The board ultimately sided with Haven, voting unanimously to dismiss the challenge, but Haven wound up losing his bid for reelection. The two Franklin seats went to sitting commissioner Ronnie Beale and to challenger Gary Shields. Shields had also had a residency challenge filed against him, but it was withdrawn following Haven’s hearing.
THE FIELD OF DREAMS AWARD
THE BIG CATCH AWARD
“Build it and they will come” was the idea behind the $3.8 million baseball and softball
Cherokee — and the anglers who love to fish its waters — expects to reel in a big one
THE HOMEBODY AWARD
THE STICKING TO THEIR GUNS AWARD
This one goes to the Macon County Commissioners for standing by their unanimous July decision to pass a resolution opposing additional wilderness recommendations in the new forest management plan for the Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest. Commissioners found themselves partial to the Ruffed Grouse Society’s view, presented
by member Jim Gray at the July meeting, that designating any additional wilderness would be harmful for wildlife and for recreational use of the forest. Their position came under fire from wilderness supporters and those who simply felt commissioners had not gathered enough information from multiple sides of the issue before arriving at a conclusion. Franklin Mayor Bob Scott felt strongly enough about it to write a letter urging commissioners to rescind their resolution. That letter precipitated another round of discussion on the topic at the commissioners’ December meeting, with arguments presented from The Wilderness Society and the Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Committee as well as The Ruffed Grouse Society. In the end, though, commissioners stuck with their initial philosophy and maintained that, ultimately, wilderness designation is not their decision anyway. “That’s made by Congress,” Commission Chairman Kevin Corbin said. “I’m really a little taken aback by the questioning of our opinion.”
THE LEAD FOOT AWARD This one goes to Southwestern Community College for their realization that, while discussing how best to mine 60 tons of accumulated lead bullets from their shooting range berm, it might be a good idea to find out whether any of that lead had leached into the surrounding soil or nearby Tuckasegee River. As an active shooting range, SCC is not required to test its soil for lead unless it abandons the site. But after its request for county funding to remodel the range led to questions about what was up with the lead, the college asked the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to come test the soil. The results put SCC squarely in the market for some lead abatement: though contamination was contained on-site, lead levels in the surface soil were 73 times higher than the goal set by the state.
THE OFF THE GRID AWARD A proposal from Verizon to locate a cell phone tower in the Whiteside Cove area of Jackson County got a lot of attention this summer — mostly negative. Though some people were in favor of the tower and increased cell service it would bring, many opposed the construction of a new tower in the area and made that opinion loud and clear to the planning board. The restrictions that the planning board, in turn, said Verizon would have to follow if it built the tower caused the company to pull its
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Jackson County voters got this one for facing the tough choice meeting them at the ballot box during primary elections this year: selecting one of nine candidates to become the new sheriff. After former Sheriff Jimmy Ashe announced that he would not be running for re-election, sheriff seat hopefuls flocked to the ballot, sounding off on issues such as drug problems, and Sheriff Chip Hall transparency school security. Of the six Democratic candidates, thenChief Deputy Sheriff Chip Hall came out on top, but the three Republicans came out within just 43 votes of each other, prompting a runoff race between the top two. Come Election Day, Hall trounced Republican Curtis Lambert and assumed his new position Dec. 1.
THE CINDERELLA AWARD The old Hazelwood prison gets this one for its rags-to-riches transformation into Haywood Pathways Center, a convergence of three Christian nonprofits where those in
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JANUARY 10 WOMEN vs. MERCER — 2PM MEN vs. UNCG — 4:30PM
THE SCANTRON SHEET AWARD
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE
application, earning Whiteside Cove residents this award. At the time, Verizon said it would continue assessing other potential tower locations.
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with the Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians. The museum, which will memorialize fly fishing stories, techniques and equipment from West Virginia down to Georgia, has quickly gathered support among the fly fishing community, the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It will be located in downtown Cherokee in a building shared with the Chamber on a rent-free lease from the tribe. Right now, the museum is gathering exhibits and working toward a May 1 opening date.
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THE NEVER-ENDING STORY AWARD
Ty Pennington came to Haywood County and put the icing on an effort transform the old Hazelwood prison into a homeless shelter, halfway house and soup kitchen. Holly Kays photo
Smoky Mountain News 10
toward the project and help from celebrity carpenter Ty Pennington in rallying the community. More than 700 people came out to help on what Waynesville decreed to be Ty Pennington Day. The support didn’t stop there. The Haywood Pathways folks have been hard at work securing grants and putting an influx of individual and business donations to use in getting the property renovated and running. On Nov. 15, the shelter accepted its first guests, and 2015 will likely bring plenty more landmarks for the fledgling center. Here’s hoping pumpkin time doesn’t come any time soon.
“Mean Mary” to Perform Sat., Jan. 3rd in Waynesville Mean Mary James, singer-songwriter, and master of 11 instruments isn’t really all that mean. Hank Williams, Jr. even calls her a “sweetheart.” The youngest of six kids, James was a child prodigy who read music before she read words, and cowrote songs at age five.
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Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
need can find a warm meal, a place to sleep and help getting out of homelessness or transitioning from prison to life on the outside. The story began back in January, when representatives from Haywood Christian Emergency Shelter, The Open Door and Next Step Ministries, spurred on by Haywood Sheriff Greg Christopher, approached Haywood County Commissioners about leasing the abandoned prison. Commissioners gave the OK, and the community quickly got behind the idea. In a landslide victory, Haywood Pathways won a nationwide voting contest to score $50,000
Known internationally for lightning-fast fingers, haunting vocals, and intricate story songs, Mean Mary travels the genres of blues, bluegrass, and folkrock with banjo, fiddle, and guitar. Mean Mary performs New Year’s Weekend at the Classic On Saturday, January 3, Wineseller. www.meanmary.com 2015 at 7pm, enjoy alluring story songs, incredible instrumental prowess, and the rich vocals of Mean Mary James at the Classic Wineseller, 20 Church Street, Waynesville, NC. Tickets are $10 per person. Advance ticket purchase is recommended by calling 828-452-6000. The Wineseller’s full food and drink menu will be available during the show. Seating is limited. Visit www.classicwineseller.com for information on events.
Admittedly, the saga of the forest management plan for the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests will end sometime, but it won’t be for a while. The process has been going on for two years and will likely go on for two more. Seventeen public meetings in, a draft plan hasn’t even been written yet — that’s slated to come in June. So far, meetings have gathered some heated opinion about the direction the plan should take and shared a preliminary look at what that might be. For many, the central issue is whether the plan should focus on preserving as much land as possible for wilderness or whether it should favor treatments such as timber cuts and prescribed burns to boost populations of species that prefer young forest habitat. The end of this story is still a long ways off.
THE GOLDEN BULLHORN AWARD A lot of people weren’t happy when the state legislature decided to allow hydraulic fracturing — known as fracking — in North Carolina, and they let it be known. This award goes to them. With the passage of Senate Bill 786, antifracking groups sprang up and letters to the editor flooded opinion pages throughout Western North Carolina and the rest of the state. And that’s nothing compared to what happened at the public hearing on the Mining and Energy Commission’s proposed rules to govern fracking. The hearing, scheduled after environmental groups protested the lack of a fracking hearing in the western part of the state, drew the biggest crowd of any of the four hearings held statewide. An estimated 564 people attended, with 107 signing up to give a three-minute version of their comments on the rules. Of the 80 people who made it to the mic, not one spoke in support of fracking. The MEC reviewed those comments and created a revised draft of the rules, which it will present to the Legislature for approval this session.
LET’S PRESS REWIND AWARD For the past 30 years, Canton police officers have used a firing range located on property owned by Evergreen Packaging for yearly qualification training. The need for a new range arose when Evergreen decided to build a new landfill cell on the current location. The proposed range would be built on the town’s old landfill on Dutch Cove Road, a busy thoroughfare for the Gibsontown community. Although the Canton board looked at the new proposed property as the most logical place for the range based on possible modern uses for the old landfill, residents of Gibsontown viewed it as another community problem again pushed onto their primarily black neighborhood — an area already buffered by two landfills.
Despite reassurances that the town was only in an exploratory phase, and not locked into any plans on the proposed range, Gibsontown residents remained skeptical at a June budget meeting. Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss then referred to the property as “undesirable,” in that it currently has no other use for the town. But, those words caused an uproar with Gibsontown residents in the audience, who angrily asked the board if that meant their neighborhood was also looked upon as “undesirable.” “The voice of this community is going to be heard. We’re not going to sit back and take it anymore,” Gibsontown resident Ken Smith said. “This ain’t the 1960s, you can’t do this to us anymore. You bring this [firing range] to a white neighborhood and see what will happen — they won’t let it happen.”
LAZARUS AWARD
On Nov. 21, 2013, a large fire burned down the Mad Batter Bakery & Café, Rolling Stone Burrito and Subway in the commercial strip at Western Carolina University. Following the blaze, the café reopened in downtown Sylva as Mad Batter Food & Film.
A fire at a block of private businesses on the Western Carolina University campus forced The Mad Batter to relocate to downtown Sylva. Mark Haskett photo
“We’ll be starting out with Mad Batter favorites, with an emphasis on popular items from the past menu,” said Jeannette Evans, owner of Mad Batter. “We do hope — that because the new kitchen is larger — to expand the menu and have more variety.” WCU announced on Feb. 5 that it had decided “to demolish the buildings damaged by the fire and notify all endowment fund tenants, including those not affected by the fire, that lease terms expiring in May will not be renewed, except on a month-to-month basis. In addition, after a competitive process determined by the university, the board will select a private developer to build the mixeduse facility with a goal of occupancy in August 2016. All structures currently located along the commercial strip will eventually be removed.” Evans said that beyond the new location in Sylva, WCU has also granted Mad Batter permission to have a food truck parked in the old location. “We’re actively looking into a food truck,” she said. “And as soon as we find the appropriate 12-foot step van, we’ll be in business.”
ETERNAL OPTIMIST AWARD
On May 8, Don and Toni Davidson got the ball rolling on fundraising efforts for the
WHAT IN THE TOM HILL AWARD Singer Gladys Knight and her husband, Canton native William McDowell, have purchased the old Reynolds School and plan to turn it into a community center. Garret K. Woodward photo
Built in 1930, Reynolds High School is located in the Gibsontown community of Canton. Originally an African-American school during the times of segregation, the building became abandoned in the 1960s when segregation in the district ended and Pisgah High School was formed. A Canton native and former student at Reynolds, William McDowell is currently married to legendary Motown/R&B singer Gladys Knight. Though he’s well vested in the entertainment industry on the West Coast, he’s never forgotten his roots in Haywood County. And with that, McDowell recently purchased the abandoned the school in an effort to transform the property into a com-
With a price tag of $1.2 million, more than $670,000 had been raised by this summer for the second stage at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. The end-ofyear fundraising goal is expected to exceed $900,000. “The only solution for our ability to grow is to have a second performance space,” said Steven Lloyd, executive director of HART. “Everything is growing at a level now where it can be secured for the future.” The flagship main stage theater is 11,000 square feet with 250 seats. The second venue
ON WITH THE SHOW AWARD
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BOTTOMLESS PIT AWARD It doesn’t matter how deep it gets buried, the mess at the Francis Farm Landfill keeps resurfacing for county commissioners — and at great cost to taxpayers. Even though the landfill was closed for business in 1993, the county is still paying the price for lingering underground contamination. The landfill pre-dated the most recent environmental standards, meaning it wasn’t lined, and now methane gas is leaking out and contaminants could be leaching into the groundwater. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight as commissioners just approved spending $850,000 on adjacent land to create a larger buffer around the landfill site and estimate it will cost another $5 million over the next few years to mitigate the contamination and meet current environmental regulations.
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
FROM MOTOWN TO HOMETOWN AWARD
munity center for any and all residents and visitors to use. “It’ll be a good thing for the interactions in the community,” he said. “People will take more pride in where we are because you’ll be coming to our home. A lot of people don’t know that school is there, and for me, what I want to see is not just the school coming up another level, but also the entire community.”
This award goes to Tom Hill, D-Zirconia, for his run against incumbent Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, for the 11th District Congressional seat. Hill wasn’t as visible on the campaign trail as Meadows, but a debate at Western Carolina University gave the public a chance to see just who Tom Hill was as a candidate. This was the second time Hill ran for Congress and failed — perhaps because of his less than popular stances on foreign policy and Obamacare. As a retired aerospace physicist, there’s no doubt Hill is an intelligent man, but some of his ideas were too farfetched for the moderate to right-leaning voters in Western North Carolina. For example, Hill said during the debate that the U.S. should form an alliance with Russia to help with some of the U.S. involvements in the Middle East. “I would call up [Russian President Vladamir] Putin and say, ‘Would you like to take our place in Afghanistan? If you would we’ve got some equipment over there we can give to you,’” Hill said during the debate. Meadows won re-election with about 63 percent of the vote.
MR. CONGENIALITY AWARD It’s been smooth sailing for Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher this year. Since Haywood Democrats chose him to fill the seat left vacant by Bobby Suttles in early 2013, Christopher has been making friends and influencing people with ease. In the 2014 election, no one ran against him. Nearly every club, church and civic organization in the county has given Christopher an award for something he has done during his short tenure. No one can seem to find one negative thing to say about the new sheriff in town, and how could they? He’s gotten the county commissioners to give his officers a much-needed raise, he was instrumental in getting the former Hazelwood prison converted into transitional Greg Christopher housing and a soup kitchen, and he helped get the 911 center consolidated under one roof, just to name a few. Christopher is active in the community and never misses the chance to show his support for a worthy cause. He seems to show a genuine interest in bettering the community by not only taking a hard stand against drugs and crime, but by trying to rehabilitate inmates once they leave his detention center.
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new Swain County Public Library by donating 9 acres of land and a check for $50,000 towards the future facility. The property sits between the high school and downtown on Fontana Road. “The ball is rolling, but there will still be more challenges that will have to be met,” Don said. “Hopefully, with this, there are people in the right places that will rally together and overcome those challenges.” But, based on studies done for what the county needs, a new library is estimated to cost around $5.9 million. That figure can be compared to the already-constructed cost of the libraries in Jackson ($7.4 million) and Macon ($4.6 million) counties. Until the recent land and monetary donation, the library system had only studies and structural designs. And though the Swain County Board of Commissioners has yet to officially contribute funds due to severe budget constraints, talks continue to be in the works to make this long-held dream a reality.
is planned to be 6,000 square feet, which would hold between 150 and 180 attendees, depending on what’s being presented. Currently, the theater has an economic impact on Haywood County of around $2.4 million per year. Ticket sales in 2013 exceeded 10,000 for the main stage and 2,000 for the black box studio. And with a new facility, those numbers could potentially double. “This new facility will expand what we do, have more people involved, and will have a greater footprint for the arts in Haywood County,” said John Highsmith, a board member at HART. “This just makes Haywood a better place to live all the way around, with the economic impact, cultural opportunities and bringing in something to better the county as a whole.”
Call Fred Alter at 828.564.1260 for more information.
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Several of the newcomer candidates gave incumbents a run for their money in the 2014 midterm elections, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Jane Hipps, D-Waynesville, came close to unseating incumbent Sen. Jim Davis, RFranklin. She received the majority of votes in Haywood, Jackson and Swain, but when the final results came in, Davis won out with almost 54 percent of the votes. Dean Hicks, a Democrat from Yancey County, ran against Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, but Presnell won re-election with 51 percent of the vote. Republican Mike Clampitt of Swain County ran against Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Sam Queen of Waynesville for a second time and lost a second time by 1,154 votes. In the race for U.S. Senate, Tom Tillis defeated incumbent Kay Hagan by a narrow margin. Tillis received 48.82 percent of the vote while Hagan received 47.26 percent.
FOOT IN MOUTH DISEASE AWARD This award goes to Sen. Jim Davis, RFranklin, for the feathers he ruffled during a debate against Jane Hipps, D-Waynesville, at Western Carolina University. Davis was speaking to a packed room full of students and educators and both candidates spoke in detail about issues with public education funding. When Hipps discussed how the teacher pay raises approved by the legislature this year weren’t enough, Davis’ frustration became directed at teachers. “Teachers are a privileged group,â€? Davis said. “They’ve received a bigger raise than any other state employee ‌ If any teacher is offended by their pay raise, tell them to send it back. I’m so frustrated at these teachers that are never happy.â€? The audience retaliated with boos and jeers but that didn’t stop Davis from being direct about his stance. When asked about the Racial Justice Act, a Democratic initiative he is against, Davis talked about the percentage of black males being incarcerated in correlation with the number of black children born to unwed mothers. “And consequently, when you have a break down of the home, these young men don’t grow up with a father figure so they are more inclined to be a burden on the education system, on public safety and public health. That’s a real problem,â€? Davis said.
Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, speaking at a forum held at Western Carolina University in the lead-up to the 2014 election. Becky Johnson photo There was a gasp from the audience. Some thought the statement was racist at worst and poor communication at best.
FREEDOM FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENT AWARD
As a Republican, Rep. Michele Presnell is supposedly a supporter of local government control, but there were several instances this year in which Presnell worked against the will of the people in Haywood County. Similar to 2013, Presnell worked against the majority support for passing a local bill to increase Haywood’s occupancy tax from 4 percent to 6 percent. The increase would have Michele Presnell generated an additional $450,000 for new tourism related infrastructure, but Presnell wouldn’t get on board with increasing the tax. Presnell also held up a local bill that would allow Lake Junaluska to annex into the town of Waynesville. Even though the Assembly and the town of Waynesville worked for years to make sure the annexation was ideal for both parties involved, Presnell wouldn’t support it. Local bills do not get passed without the support of the local legislators. Lastly, Presnell attempted to introduce a bill during the short session to de-annex Joe Maniscalco from the town of Maggie Valley even though the town board of aldermen did not support the measure.
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Crash course Numbers up in Jackson for alcohol-related crashes
A
One factor? Possibly the passage of countywide alcohol in Jackson County back in May 2012. Before then, alcohol could be sold only inside town or city limits. After the ban on county sales was lifted, many established businesses began selling alcoholic beverages, and some new ones sprang up as well. “I think it’s certainly a contributor,” Wike said of countywide alcohol sales’ effect on crash numbers. “Is it the sole contributor? No. “You can look at a lot of different things that can impact the amount of alcohol that’s being consumed, but being more widely
By the numbers ■ 29 percent more alcohol-related crashes in 2012 in Jackson County than in Western North Carolina ■ 34 alcohol-related crashes in the first 11 months of 2014 in Jackson County, up from 22 in the first 11 months of 2011. ■ 32 alcohol-related crashes in Haywood County in both 2012 and 2014, with a dip to 29 in 2013. Source: N.C. State Highway Patrol
alcohol rules. Tuck’s Tap & Grille and Cullowings both offer alcoholic drinks in addition to their food menus. At the same time, WCU’s enrollment was on the rise. Between 2011 and 2013, the school added 521 resident students, increasing enrollment from 7,700 to 8,221. Counting online enrollment, 2014 enrollment is at 10,382, up a full thousand from 9,352 in 2011 according to the university’s website. Wike points to growth in the university as another possible factor in the increase of alcohol-related crashes. Any kind of population growth would, by default, serve to boost any statistic, but college students are especially likely to contribute to this particular category. “That is a high alcohol-consuming age group,” Wikes said, though cautioning that he isn’t able to break down the statistics to know the university’s impact for sure. The county’s population also grew dur-
Rates of alcohol-related crashes are higher in Jackson County than in the region or state, according to Jackson’s 2014 State of the County Health Report. Jackson County graphic ing the same time period, though more modestly. In 2010, 40,271 people lived in Jackson County, a number that grew to an estimated 40,919 by 2013, according to U.S. Census data. Wike also postulated that an uptick in the economy could have spurred more people to partake at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort, resulting in accidents in the county. In September 2011, unemployment was at 8.5 percent in Jackson County but has been steadily sinking, hitting 4.8 percent in September 2014 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “We do occasionally see a lot of trafficrelated instances that are directly related to the people that are traveling to and from the casino,” Wike said. “It has an impact on our traffic picture.” Not all those people are Jackson County residents. “When you look at the volume of people that are traveling to the casino, I’d say a large percentage of those are passing through Jackson County coming from Georgia or coming from South Carolina,” he said. However, Wike noted, while alcoholrelated traffic crashes are up, arrests for driving while impaired don’t seem to be trending in any one direction. Jackson County saw 81 in 2012, a spike to 98 in 2013 and 79 as of Dec. 23 this year. “There’s all kinds of things that contribute to the crash picture and alcohol consumption picture,” Wike said. Having these numbers in hand, however, provides the county — and its residents — a starting point. “It’s really helpful for them and for us whenever we do program planning to see what areas need more focus and what areas we’re doing well in,” said Melissa McKnight, health education specialist for Jackson County.
The increase in alcohol-related crashes, McKnight said, might deserve to be an area of focus for the future. “Maybe we need to form some coalition around that,” McKnight said. “It might be a good way to combat some of our issues in Jackson County.”
Stay safe For a lot of people, ringing in the New Year right requires more than just a sip of midnight champagne. But driving after imbibing is a dangerous proposition, so those who plan to partake should make a plan beforehand, said Sergeant Matthew Wike of the N.C. State Highway Patrol. “The mature decision and the responsible decision is to choose not to drive, and don’t ever think that one or two drinks is acceptable,” Wike said. For drivers over 21, the legal limit is 0.08 blood alcohol content but for commercial drivers, for whom the limit is 0.04. As to how many drinks it takes to reach that point — that depends on a variety of factors such as weight, gender, how much you’ve eaten, how quickly you’re drinking and what you’re drinking. It’s quite possible to feel like you’re safe to drive when, according to the law, you’re not. “Your decision to drink and drive doesn’t just impact you individually, but it impacts the others on the highway and exposes your passengers to danger,” Wike said. Rather than getting in a situation in which drinking and driving seems like the only option, Wike said, it’s best to either appoint a designated driver or arrange lodging at the same place you’ll be celebrating. “Be conscious and aware in your decision-making when it comes to how you choose to celebrate the New Year,” Wike said. “If alcohol’s going to be a part of it, don’t couple that with highway travel.”
Smoky Mountain News
REASONS WHY
available than it was prior to 2011 and additional business coming online to distribute alcohol, it makes the sale and purchase — and ultimately the consumption — of alcohol more readily available.” Perhaps most notable was the surge in alcohol availability in Cullowhee. Not incorporated as a city or town, businesses there hadn’t been able to sell alcohol before the ban was lifted, despite the fact that a large contingent of potential consumers lives right there, in student apartments and on the campus of Western Carolina University. After the ban was lifted, however, several existing restaurants — Sazon, Rolling Stone Burrito which has since closed and Mad Batter Food & Film, which has since moved to Sylva — began to sell alcohol. Beer and wine also appeared on the shelves of stores such as Bob’s Mini Mart and Catamount Travel Center. And by the time classes began for the fall 2013 semester, a pair of brand new establishments had opened, capitalizing on the new
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER lcohol-related traffic accidents are on the rise in Jackson County, with rates outstripping those of both North Carolina as a whole and Western North Carolina in particular, according to Jackson’s 2014 State of the County Health Report. The report, an interim update to the county’s community health assessment, compares health trends in the county to those in the state and region. In Jackson County, 7.1 percent of traffic accidents were alcohol-related in 2011, while 7.5 percent were in 2012 according to the report. That’s compared to 5.1 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively, in North Carolina and 5.8 percent both years in Western North Carolina. A slight jump, maybe, but the increase appears to be continuing past 2012, said Sgt. Matthew Wike of the N.C. State Highway Patrol. Wike’s data runs through November of 2014, so counting crashes from the first 11 months of each year since 2011, he sees an overall increase in the number of alcoholrelated crashes. Excluding December, for which he does not yet have comparable 2014 data, there were 22 alcohol-related crashes in Jackson County in 2011, 28 in 2012, a slight dip downward to 24 in 2013 and a surge up to 34 in 2014. “In order to establish that as a trend, then I’m going to need more time to review the data, but there is a noticeable increase from 2011 to today, and it shows to me that alcohol-related crashes are on an uptick,” Wike said. It’s not a pattern repeated in the other county Wike covers, Haywood. Though Haywood’s numbers jumped slightly to 39 in 2013, the 2014 level of 32 alcohol-related crashes is the same as it was in 2012.
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Health
Smoky Mountain News
Hospital labs receive accreditation Laboratories at Harris Regional Hospital and Swain County Hospital received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists based on results of a recent on-site inspection. Harris has received CAP accreditation since at least 1990 and Swain has received accreditation since 1998. Inspectors examine the laboratory’s records, quality control of procedures for the preceding two years, laboratory staff qualifications, equipment, facilities, safety program and record and overall management.
Heart Center makes top 50 list Mission Heart has been named one of the nation’s Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics, a leading authority on clinical quality. Mission Heart is the only hospital in the Carolinas to receive this recognition. This marks the ninth time Mission has been named to this list. The study evaluated general and applicable specialty, short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals treating a broad spectrum of cardiology patients.
Hospitals help residents sign up for health care Harris Regional Hospital and Swain County Hospital will host free events in Sylva and Bryson City in January providing education on the National Health Insurance Marketplace and offering free assistance to those wishing to sign up for coverage. • The Sylva event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 at Smoky Mountain High School. • The Bryson City event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce. The Marketplace is open for enrollment through Feb. 15. 828.631.8924. www.healthcare.gov.
Hospitals limit visitation to prevent spreading flu Area hospitals are limiting visitors in an effort to prevent the spread of the flu to patients, visitors and staff. Restrictions apply at Haywood Regional Medical Center, Mission Health, Swain County Hospital, Harris Regional Hospital, Angel Medical Center and HighlandsCashiers Hospital.
Due to the rising number of Influenza cases in the community, visitors under 12 years old are not allowed. Other visitors should not have symptoms of respiratory illnesses such as: fever, cough, sore throat, sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, headache, nausea or vomiting. Should the flu activity level increase, further restrictions may be recommended or implemented. To help prevent spreading the flu, clean your hands with alcohol hand sanitizer, put on a mask when entering the facility or hold a tissue over your mouth and nose at all times and sit at least 3 feet from others.
Mission contracts with The Blood Connection The Blood Connection will now be the sole provider of blood for Mission Health after the two parties signed a new contract agreement. The Blood Connection, based in Greenville, South Carolina, will also conduct local blood drives in all areas where Mission Health is present. This new partnership replaces Mission’s previous arrangement with the American Red Cross. The new agreement guarantees all blood donations will stay local. The Blood Connection is a community blood center that collects, processes and dis-
tributes blood products and services for local and regional hospitals. www.thebloodconnection.org. 828.213.2222.
Mission joins national incentive program Mission Health Partners has joined on to a national pilot program aimed at lowering federal Medicare costs though a coordinated care strategy. Doctors, hospitals and healthcare providers under Mission have established Accountable Care Organizations to provide coordinated care for patients, which in turn is aimed at slowing the rise in healthcare costs while improving health care outcomes. Hospitals and provider groups participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program get to keep a share of the savings if they meet targets for high quality care. Patients can continue to see the doctor or provider of their choice. Mission is one of 405 healthcare systems nationwide participating in the initiative, known as the Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations. It has been in place since 2012, with more hospital systems jumping on board each year. Mission is one of 89 health care systems in the latest wave.
Merry M Mer Me ry CCh ry Christmas hrisisstm mas as &H Healthy ealtlthy ea New N e Ye ew YYear eeaaar Haymed.org 262 Leroy George Drive | Clyde, NC
Business
Smoky Mountain News
Major tool manufacturers attracted to SCC student’s patented invention
The Vandal-Resistant/Psychiatric Station can be located in the room with an intercom, and the key switch is located outside of the ward. Turning the key in the key switch turns on the call button on the staff station, turns on associated staff emergency switches, places an enabled call at the centrally located master station and turns on a purple dome light in the hallway.
The new line of vandal-resistant stations for the TekTone nurse call system allows detention and psychiatric environments to have worry-free emergency communications. Donated photo
TekTone designs controlled call system for psych wards
Stanley Kingsberry, a student in Southwestern Community College’s Automotive Systems Technology program, holds prototypes of the Kingsberry Magnetic Wrench System for which he now owns a published U.S. patent. Donated photo Southwestern Community College student Stanley Kingsberry has landed a patent for his invention of a magnetic wrench system. Though offers to buy his invention are streaming in from companies across the nation, he’s holding out for a bid in the nine-figure range. Kingsberry said he hopes to make a firm decision by March on whether to lease the idea to tool manufacturers or sell it outright. Kingsberry got the idea nearly five years ago, while working at a mechanic shop outside of Fayetteville. He was underneath a Volvo diesel truck one day, when a nut he’d just loosened fell and struck him square on the forehead.
Annoyed, he asked fellow mechanics if anyone had a magnetic wrench. No one in the garage had ever heard of such a thing, but someone did have a question that would ultimately change the course of Kingsberry’s life: “What are you going to do about it?” His patented system includes three potential methods manufacturers can use for magnetizing wrenches. His original sketches and prototypes feature three magnets, each drilled into a strategic location on the inner face of the wrench. www.magneticwrenchsystems.com/ 828.339.4000.
The latest product from TekTone, an intercommunication manufacturer in Franklin, allows safer entry into secured buildings. The new line of vandal-resistant stations for the TekTone nurse call system allows detention and psychiatric environments to have worry-free emergency communications.
HCC celebrates 30 years of small business support
The Small Business Center Network of the N.C. Community College System is celebrating 30 years of providing support to small businesses and start-ups across North Carolina. Small Business Centers are located at each
HCC releases spring Small Business Center seminar schedule
The Haywood Community College Small Business Center has released the spring 2015 seminar schedule for current and prospective small business owners. More than 20 seminars and workshops are now available for registration online via SBC.Haywood.edu. Seminars are free and cover topics including QuickBooks for Business Owners, How to Price your Product or Service, Marketing for Success, A Guide to Selling on Etsy, REAL Professional Crafts, Ideation, Strategic Marketing for Nonprofits, among many others. 828.627.4512 or kgould@haywood.edu.
HUNTING & OUTDOOR GEAR FIREARMS • ARCHERY After Christmas
Specials
Highlands Chamber releases new tourism app The Highlands Chamber of Commerce has a new mobile app featuring lodging, dining, cultural arts, outdoor activities and shopping information, as well as directions, calling, photo sharing and other native device features. The goal of the app is to provide visitors anywhere/anytime access to resources about the Highlands area and merchants, thus creating a better experience during their visit to the Highlands area. The phone-based app will enable a portable version of the printed Visitors Guide, while additionally reducing paper/printing usage to protect the mountain environment and leveraging mobile native technology.
& BLOWOUT SALES
Bowed Up Outdoors has now joined the Sheds Hunting Supply family
Visit Us in Sylva or Maggie Valley of the state’s 58 community colleges. Each year, the centers assist in starting an average of 650 businesses and help create and retain more than 3,000 jobs. Haywood Community College’s SBC provides free, confidential, oneon-one counseling services customized to meet the needs of any venture. The SBC offers seminars and workshops designed to meet the needs of business owners and entrepreneurs. sbc.haywood.edu or 828.627.4512.
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828.926.3244
828.339.3300
1370 SOCO RD. MAGGIE VALLEY
472 E. MAIN ST. SYLVA
Opinion
Smoky Mountain News
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The only lesson may be that there is no lesson
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She spoke her mind. She loved to laugh and loved the people around her. Afterward, back in our car and continuing a 1,000-mile Christmas road trip visiting family in a couple of different states, I thought about those character traits. I also thought about how as a parent we try to cultivate and nurture that attitude toward life in our children. We want them to be daring and outgoing, but how do you temper those traits by encouraging them not to take undue risks? It’s a delicate balance all parents Editor face. I thought of my other daughter, Megan, who wasn’t safely in the car with Lori and my other two children on this holiday trip. She’s spending the year in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, teaching kindergarten and first grade. Many of our friends outwardly cringed when they heard she was going to an Arab country to live and work. Then a few weeks ago a foreign teacher was killed in a shopping mall in Abu Dhabi, a city in the same country. When I heard that, my frantic Internet searching confirmed a fear I didn’t really know was there. Another jetliner crashed in Malaysia a couple of days ago.
Year End Up to 60% OFF Select Items! Dec. 31 ‘14 thru Jan 5 ‘15
Lake Junaluska Bookstore and Café 710 North Lakeshore Dr. 828-454-6777 267-05
Across from the Terrace Hotel in the Harrell Center
www.lakejunaluska.com/bookstore
Scott McLeod
ne of my wife’s childhood friends lives near Wilmington. Her daughter, a senior at Appalachian State, died last week in a tragic car accident. We went to the service two days after Christmas. One of the young lady’s sorority sisters had the courage and strength to speak, but could only do so with six or seven of her friends surrounding her, literally helping her keep standing and keep talking at times when she was overcome. When they got to the podium — most of them in tears — it was as if the grief, already overwhelming, was multiplied by 10. Drawing strength from that sorrow, the young lady delivered one of the most eloquent eulogies I’ve ever heard. My own 19-year-old daughter, a sophomore at the same college, was seated between Lori and me. Throughout the service, the urge to keep my arm around Hannah while also resting my hand on Lori’s shoulder was overwhelming. Her eulogy was nearly 15 minutes long, and the speaker wandered back and forth between grief and celebrating the life of a very special young woman. As she described Mandie, what struck me was how she talked again and again about someone who was all out in everything she did. Whether it was working on a political campaign, helping others study, singing very loud and often off-key, or just being a friend, they described someone who always seemed to live in the moment and didn’t care what others thought.
Right now, Megan is traveling in Thailand, which borders Malaysia. She’ll be flying out of Bangkok and back to Dubai this week. As parents, most times we never give voice to that nagging fear inside as your children explore the world and look for adventure. But my friends just lost their daughter, a young lady who was about to graduate from college and embark on her own life of adventure and exploration, a life that would have likely taken her to exotic locales and likely required some degree of risk-taking. That makes me very conscious of the risks my own children take in their day-to-day life. Those without children may not understand what I’m talking about, but every parent knows. This young lady lost her life on a rural highway that she had driven for years. My daughter may be off seeing the world, but she is a seasoned traveler and keeps her wits about her. I N trust her judgment. Perhaps I should worry more about my 16year-old son when he is out driving around Haywood County and I haven’t heard from him in a couple of hours. I’m not sure what the lesson is here, or if there is one. The truth, I guess, is that tragedy usually strikes without warning. Take life in big gulps rather than measured sips, and every chance you get tell those you love exactly how you feel. (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com.)
Time for appointed tax collector in Haywood To the Editor: As we approach the year 2015, I appeal to the decision makers of Haywood County to take a progressive, positive action with a request to fix an obvious problem with a local bill which would fix this by next election. As a private senior citizen, I believe it is time for a local bill to our state legislature for changing the method of selecting the county tax collector. If the remaining 99 counties of North Carolina choose to appoint a tax collector by training, experience, qualifications and references, it would behoove Haywood County to do likewise. Now is the time to make changes by changes in local election practices. Ernestine E. Upchurch Maggie Valley
Time to eschew meat products To the Editor: It’s time for New Year’s resolutions, particularly those about our health. Although gun violence remains the leading cause of death among young people, our most dangerous weapon is still our fork. Forty-five times as many die of chronic diseases linked to a diet containing animal products, sugar and salt. Hardly a month goes by without another study linking consumption of animal products with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. No reputable study has ever shown an opposite result. But times are changing. Hundreds of schools, colleges, hospitals and corporate cafeterias have embraced Meatless Monday. According to a Gallup poll, 22 percent of American consumers are avoiding meat and 12 percent are avoiding dairy products. Harris Interactive claims that 47 percent of American consumers are reducing consumption of animal products. Accordingly, plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products are growing explosively, propelled by investments from Microsoft, Paypal and Twitter founders. Fast-food chains like Chipotle, Subway and Taco Bell are rolling out vegan options. Let this New Year’s resolution be about exploring the rich variety of plant-based entrees, lunch meats, cheeses, ice creams and milks in our supermarket. The Internet offers tons of recipes and transition tips. Weston Madrigal Waynesville
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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; slowsimmered 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. BOGART’S 303 S. Main St., Waynesville. 828.452.1313. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Carry out available. Located in downtown Waynesville, Bogart’s has been long-time noted for great steaks, soups, and salads. Casual family atmosphere in a rustic old-time setting with a menu noted for its practical value. Live Bluegrass/String Band music every Thursday. Walking distance of Waynesville’s unique shops and seasonal festival activities and within one mile of Waynesville Country Club.
REEKSIDE COYSTER HOUSE & GRILL
BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Lunch served 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner nightly from 4 p.m. 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. BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Sat. & Sun. Chef owned and operated. Our salads are made in house using local seasonal vegetables. Fresh roasted ham, turkey and roast beef used in our hoagies. We hand make our own eggplant and chicken parmesan, pork meatballs and hamburgers. We use 1st quality fresh not pre-prepared products to make sure you get the best food for a reasonable price. We make vegetarian, gluten free and sugar free items. Call or go to Facebook (Breaking Bread Café NC) to find out what our specials are. BRYSON CITY BAKERY AND PASTRY SHOPPE 191 Everett St., Bryson City. 828.488.5390 Offering a full line of fresh baked goods like Grandma used to make. Large variety to choose from including cakes, pies, donuts, breads, cinn-buns and
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Full Bar • Creekside Dining Specialty Sandwiches Crafted Beer & Moonshine
WEDNESDAY: AYCE Fish & Shrimp THURSDAY: AYCE Crab Leg FRIDAY: Surf-N-Turf Special SATURDAY: Seafood Trio Special 828.586.1985•OPEN WED.-SAT.
438 Skyland Drive • Sylva
www.CityLightsCafe.com
CATERING & GROUP LUNCHES/DINNERS AVAILABLE Call: 828.587.2233
DOWNTOWN SYLVA • NC Mon.-Fri. 7-4 Sat. 8-4
Exit 85 to Skyland Dr., two blocks from McDonalds
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APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO
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— Real Local People, Real Local Food — 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, North Carolina Monday-Friday Open at 11am
Smoky Mountain News
If you want to know about these events and activities, you can tune in to The Canary Coalition YouTube Channel. Other things we’ve done is enter into alliances with organizations of common interest who are confronting the same and similar kinds of obstacles. A primary example of this would include the influence of corporate money in politics and the regulatory process. The Canary Coalition has also joined hands with civil rights organizations, teachers, students, labor organizations, the religious community and healthcare advocates in the Moral Monday/Forward Together Movement. I cite all these activities and past accomplishments in order to pose a question: “So what is it that the Canary Coalition needs and why are you writing this article?” We need help from individuals, businesses and organizations that feel a kinship with what the Canary Coalition has been doing for the past 15 years. Volunteers are always needed for office work, helping staff information tables at events, photography, video recording and other tasks. And there is an ongoing need for individuals willing to take on the responsibilities of board membership. At the top of our priority list at the moment is the need to raise money for the ongoing operation (and if possible, expansion) of The Canary Coalition. Because we do not take money from any organization or individual whose work and efforts it opposes, its potential outside financial sources are very limited. That, coupled with the alarming results of the mid-term elections (which seems to have supported and elected climate change deniers and pro-fracking constituents), makes the work of the CC more important now than ever. So, we are searching for donors of all kinds and at all levels — to participate, to step up to give our organization a big boost in order that we may accomplish our goals. Our executive director, Avram Friedman, is always available to speak to groups, organizations and individuals about the work we are doing or that we intend to do. Those of us here at the Canary Coalition who have made a commitment to seeing an improvement in our regional and national environment would love to hear from you and to meet and talk with you about how you can contribute not only to this active and innovative organization, but to the health and welfare of our region and its overall sustainable future. (Anyone interested in The Canary Coalition and its mission can contact the office at 828.631.3447, email info@canarycoalition.org, or visit www.canarycoalition.org. To make a donation, send it to: The Canary Coalition, PO Box 653, Sylva, N.C., 28779. Or donate online at the website.)
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
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
BY THOMAS CROWE G UEST COLUMNIST n case you didn't know it, right here in our midst we have a gem of an organization — an organization that has been fighting for clean air and water for all of us here in Western North Carolina since 1999. As a founding board member, while I know that many folks have probably heard of the Canary Coalition (think “canary in the coal mine”), there are many that may not be aware of what it does to raise public consciousness about environmental issues and to influence public policy. In 2002 we played a major role in developing and promoting the passage of the North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act, a law that has been used as a model by other states in addressing poor air quality. This Act resulted in the installation of modern emission control systems in the coal-burning power plants in North Carolina, which account for more than 60 percent of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution in the state. Ultimately the Tennessee Valley Authority submitted to similar upgrades when North Carolina’s attorney general sued them as required by the same law. We are committed to carry forward the activist tradition of the Canary Coalition and continue reaching out to work with groups throughout the state and nation to phase out the use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy while promoting the growth of energy efficiency and safe, clean, renewable technologies that harvest sunlight, wind, geothermal energy, ocean waves and tides. This also includes addressing the issues of mountaintop removal coal mining, coal ash ponds and piles, fracking, nuclear accidents and waste, air and groundwater contamination, the destruction of our forests and farmlands and many other environmental and public health concerns. The Canary Coalition has taken on and continues to engage the big industries, elected public officials and regulatory agencies — when necessary — without backing off. One reason we can do this has to do with the strict funding policy of the organization. The Canary Coalition refuses to take money from polluting industries or any funding source that might serve as a conflict of interest. We as elected board members of the organization are motivated purely by our goals, as stated in our mission statement, of protecting public health and the environment and creating a sustainable future. I and my Canary Coalition cohorts, as part of our public educational program, have been building our REAL NEWS Project over the last few years — to help spread the word about our work and the work of other grassroots organizations. This new project has included events, hearings, public forums, demonstrations, debates and discussions not often covered by conventional news media.
tasteTHEmountains
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Canary Coalition works to help WNC
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RINGING IN 2015
NEW YEARS’ EVE Karaoke no cover charge FREE Champagne Toast
83 Asheville Hwy. Sylva Music Starts @ 9 • 631.0554
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
your friendly, local blue box — smoky mountain news
tasteTHEmountains much more. Also serving Hershey Ice Cream. Open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
with a spectacular view. Please call for reservations and more dining information.
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.
CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881. Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 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.
CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley. 828.926.1401. We serve three meals a day on Friday and Saturday, and some Sundays. Join us for family-style breakfast from 8 to 9:30 am – with eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and oatmeal, fresh fruit, sometimes French toast or pancakes, and always all-you-caneat. Lunch from 12:00 till 2. In the evening, social hour begins at 6:00pm. Dinner is served at 7:00 pm, 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. So come enjoy mile-high mountaintop dining
CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva. 828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine. Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events. Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com. THE CLASSIC WINESELLER 20 Church Street, Waynesville. 828.452.6000. Underground retail wine and craft beer shop, restaurant, and intimate live music venue. Kitchen opens at 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday serving freshly prepared small plate and tapas-style fare. Enjoy local, region-
al, or national talent live each Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. www.classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter. 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. FILLING STATION DELI 145 Everett St., Bryson City, 828.488.1919. Open Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sundays (in October) 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Locals always know best, and this is one place they know well. From the highquality hot pressed sandwiches and the huge portions of hand-cut fries to the specialty frozen sandwiches and homemade Southern desserts, you will not leave this top-rated deli hungry. FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St. Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; Dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses
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Let your smartphone be your guide! • Find restaurants nearby • Read descriptions and explore menus • View photos and interactive maps It’s that simple! An online dining directory for Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: 866.452.2251 18
tasteTHEmountains on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors. www.frogsleappublichouse.com. 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. 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. MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva. 828.586.3555. Open Tuesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Hand-tossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch. Beer and wine. Free movies with showtimes at 6:30 and 9 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Visit madbatterfoodandfilm.com for this week’s shows.
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. 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. ORGANIC BEANS COFFEE COMPANY 1110 Soco Road, Maggie Valley. 828.668.2326. Open 7 days a week 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Happily committed to brewing and serving innovative, uniquely delicious coffees — and making the world a better place. 100% of our coffee is Fair Trade, Shade Grown, and Organic, all slow-roasted to bring out every note of indigenous flavor. Bakery offerings include cakes, muffins, cookies and more. Each one is made from scratch in Asheville using only the freshest, all natural ingredients available. We are proud to offer gluten-free and vegan options. PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Classic Italian
R Restaurant estaurant
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.
Holiday Hours: Though January 2nd We will be Open Daily 7-12 Closed Thursdays
SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville. Using only the freshest ingredients in homemade soups, salads and sandwiches. Come in and see for yourself why Smoky Mountain Sub Shop was voted # 1 in Haywood County. Locally owned and operated. TAP ROOM SPORTS BAR & GRILL 176 Country Club Dr. Waynesville 828.456.5988. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Enjoy soups, sandwiches, salads and hearty appetizers along with a full bar menu in our casual, smoke-free neighborhood grill.
Maggie Valley (828) 926-0212 Reservations Accepted
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LLIVE IVE M Music usic
Burgers to Salads Southern Favorites & Classics -Local beers now on draftMEDITERRANEAN
LI LIVE VE Music Music W Weekend eekend F Friday, riday, Ja Jan. n. 2 @ 7 p pm m Craig Craig N Neidlinger eidlinger - Folk, Folk, rock, rock, p pop op
Sa Saturday, turday, Ja Jan. n. 3 @ 7 p pm m “Mean “Mean Mary” Mary” - Blues, Blues, bluegrass, bluegrass, folk-rock, folk-rock, o originals riginals ((tkts tkts $ $10) 10) Reservations Reservations Recommended Recommended 828-452-6000 828-452-6000 classicwineseller.com classicwineseller.com 20 20 Church Church Street, Street, Waynesville, Waynesville, NC NC
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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.
Cataloochee Ranch 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC 28751 | CataloocheeRanch.com | (828)926-1401
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Smoky Mountain News
2014
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT IN REVIEW
BY GARRET K. WOODWARD • STAFF WRITER
Another one is in the books. With each passing year, I find myself digging ever deeper into what it truly means to reside and thrive in Western North Carolina. Week in and week out, I cross paths with innumerable people, places and things that capture my attention and mesmerize my imagination. And 2014 was no different. From the backwoods of rural Swain County to the cosmopolitan downtown of Raleigh, The Smoky Mountain News was there, for all of you, to record and partake in the events that mattered most to us.
Balsam Range accepting the award for Entertainer of the Year. Alane Anno photo
BALSAM RANGE WINS BIG AT THE IBMAS
There was no bigger story in WNC entertainment this year than Balsam Range winning “Entertainer of the Year” at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards in Raleigh. On the heels of winning the “Album of the Year” in 2013, the Haywood County group was unsure of its chances this time around. But, by the end of the evening, the band also collected “Vocal Group of the Year” and “Male Vocalist of the Year” (Buddy Melton). “You surround yourself with good people,
great things will happen,” Melton said afterward. “Life is so funny, you just never know what’s coming. Sometimes it’s challenging, sometimes it’s rewarding. It just shows you to push forward and keep believing that good things are going to happen.”
WCU MARCHES IN THE BIG APPLE The members of Western Carolina University’s marching band, the Pride of the Mountains, strolled down the streets of Manhattan as one of the featured acts during
scene,” said Joe Frank McKee of Tree House Pottery. “But, the niche for us is that we have more professional craftspeople here, and with that, we hope to build the town back, bring back a steady customer base.”
WAYNESVILLE WELCOMES BREWERY NO. 4
WCU’s Pride of the Mountains band prepares for primetime. Garret K. Woodward photo the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Filled with floats, balloons, music groups and Broadway productions, the televised parade is one of the most beloved and watched spectacles each year, with upwards of 44 million viewers tuning in. “This is a band director’s dream to do this parade and a band member’s dream to be part of this,” said Director of Athletic Bands David Starnes in a practice before the event. “On Thanksgiving morning, you’ll get to do something you’ll remember for the rest of your life. You’ll tell your kids about this. You’ll be on the world’s stage and it’s got to be perfect.”
EAGLENEST REOPENS IN MAGGIE VALLEY Located in the heart of Maggie Valley’s commercial district, the $3.5 million, 18-acre property has loomed empty since 2011, a lost opportunity of what could have been and what could be. Behind the building, there’s also a natural outdoor amphitheatre able to hold upwards of 2,000 people. Simply put, if run properly, it could be a game-changer for the town’s economy. The venue will reopen on New Year’s Eve with a special performance by legendary banjoist Raymond Fairchild. “I think it really needs to be open. I think the community needs it, and I think it’s better for the theater,” said Eaglenest owner Grier Lackey. “Things tend to depreciate sitting dormant. Though we’ve kept everything well manicured, the building is better opened than closed.”
DILLSBORO CELEBRATES 125 YEARS In what has become a premier pottery establishment in Southern Appalachia, Dillsboro celebrated its 125th birthday on Sept. 6, with many businesses in the community reflecting on a storied past, an uncertain present and a hopeful future. “The big difference between what Dillsboro was and what it is now, is that before Dillsboro was the art gig for Jackson, Swain and Haywood counties, and now all those towns have built their own gallery
A testament to the emerging strength of the craft beer industry outside of the Asheville city limits, Boojum Brewing Company became the fourth location of its kind in Waynesville. Add that to new breweries in Sylva, Bryson City, Highlands and soon in Franklin, and you have more fuel to the fire that is the WNC craft beer explosion.
From left: Kelsie Baker, Keller Fitzpatrick and Ben Baker. Garret K. Woodward photo
“It’s been a lot of hard work over the last year to get to this point, and to be brewing our first batch today is amazing to us. We’re just so happy to come in here and see all of this going on,” said Boojum co-owner/brewer Kelsie Baker on Nov. 15. “We have 15-barrel system and three 15-barrel fermenters, which y will turn over every three weeks depending on the beer. With the three fermenters we could do a little over 2,000 barrels in a year. But, we’ll see. We’ve got it set up right now to add more fermenters quickly if we need to, and the demand is there.”
CANTON SCHOOL TO BE REBORNy Haywood County native William McDowell and his wife, acclaimed Motown/R&B singer Gladys Knight, purchased the abandoned Reynolds High School — a boarded up, dilapidated structure in the heart of Canton that once served as an allblack school for the town. Their hope is to transform the property into a community center for any and all residents and visitors to use. “It’ll be a good thing for the interactions in the community,” McDowell said. “People will take more pride in where we are because you’ll be coming to our home. A lot of people don’t know that school is there, and for me, what I want to see is not just the school coming up another level, but also the entire community.”
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The Bug Lady of WNC, Inc. PEST CONTROL CALL KAREN
arts & entertainment
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young mother and her two sneezing toddlers filled the other two seats in my row. The father was right behind, and a little irate, seeing as he was seated elsewhere in the plane, nowhere near his family. I stood up and offered to switch seats with him. No big deal. With the situation resolved, the stewardess thanked me and offered to put me in first class, seeing as there was one empty seat up yonder. First class? Never been there before. So, like something out of a Seinfeld episode, I gained access to the land of endless legroom and free adult beverages. It was when I got comfortable with my large seat and Heineken that I first met Peggy Davis. With a Bloody Mary held high, she saluted me when I cracked open my beer and I wished her a Merry Christmas.
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We started talking. She’s 89 years old and grew up in Detroit. A retired kindergarten teacher, she spent her life traveling the world and raising a family with her late husband. We chatted about living in Southern Appalachia (she lives in Eastern Tennessee), our separate experiences around Europe, how Detroit went from the “Motor City” to a barren wasteland, and how sparking a conversation with a stranger is one of the pleasures of life. She smiled and paused for a moment when I asked her what she thought about turning 90. “What’s the point of living life if you aren’t going to live it?” she said. “When I turn 90 next year, I’m going to tether a hot air balloon in my front yard and ride in it.” And with that we clinked glasses to another day amid the beauty of the cosmos. We ended up conversing for the rest of the flight, and when we parted ways, she gave me her address and invited me to her upcoming birthday. “I’ve always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon,” I said. “Well, now you can,” she responded, shaking my hand goodbye. I headed down the terminal ramp and out of the airport to meet my friend who was picking me up. And as I stood there, a sea of travelers, shuttles and taxis swirling around me, I thought of all those strangers within my vicinity, how each has a story as unique and incredible as the next. I thought of Peggy Davis, and I smiled. Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all.
Bookstore
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
The stewardess handed me a cold Heineken. The skyline of Boston in the distance, the beauty of a city I hold so damn close to my heart. The Balsam Range “Winter Concert Series” It’s horrifically beautiful watching (bluegrass/Americana) will continue with the all of the cars, people and lights Jeff Little Trio at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 at the down there. Those endless streets Colonial Theatre in Canton. of traffic, countless homes and PMA (rock) will have a New Year’s Eve Bash businesses. Where are all these at 8 p.m. Dec. 31 at Innovation Brewing in people going? What are they saySylva. ing in those sand grains of vehicles seen from high above? What are Legendary banjoist Raymond Fairchild & they listening to? Are they happy? Friends will perform at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at Why so quiet? It freaks me out Eaglenest in Maggie Valley. seeing all of that. All of that humanity. I find it mesmerizing, Superstar comedian Jeff Foxworthy will hit the but overwhelming, awe-inspiring, stage at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 at Harrah’s yet gluttonous. Cherokee. I get anxious when I fly. Humps & The Blackouts (psychobilly/rock) Always have. Not bad anxiety, just will perform at 9 p.m. Jan. 1 at No Name that thought process of, “Well, if it Sports Pub in Sylva. all ends today, are my ducks in a row?” There’s an acute spiritual awareness that comes with being 20,000 feet port, I awaited my flight to Boston on Christmas Eve. I sat, sipping on an overin the air, hurtling through the sky at 500 priced Coors Light, staring blankly at the miles an hour. It’s that feeling of knowing glowing box in the upper corner, which was you’re a tiny dot amid billions of dots, all crashing into and bouncing off of each other. airing the “Best Sports Plays of 2014.” I tried to make small talk with those You are a pebble in an ocean of life, your around me. Nobody was really having it. presence a ripple that echoes infinitely. They seemed too occupied about getting And with that, I also revel in the airline home, too stuffed up and full of sniffles, or experience. Especially during the holidays. simply were like a lot of people these days — All of those anonymous faces, loved by peonot interested in talking to a stranger. Faceple I’ll never know, rushing around in the to-face communication is a lost art in our chaos of traveling, heading home, wherever time, and yet I strive every day to resurrect that may be, to see the beloved faces and that craft with those around me. familiar places of their past. Boarding the plane, I found my seat. Last All of those people, trying to get from row. Next to the bathroom. Oh well, at least Point A to Point B, in due time. Sitting at it was only a two-hour or so flight. Soon, a Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar in the Charlotte air-
“What’s the point of living life if you aren’t going to live it? When I turn 90 next year, I’m going to tether a hot air balloon in my front yard and ride in it.”
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arts & entertainment
On the beat • Balsam Mountain Inn will host a New Year’s Eve “Songwriters in the Round” at 6 p.m. Dec. 31. Performers include Marshall Chapman, Thom Bresh, Casey Kelly and Leslie Ellis. Tickets are $85 per person, which includes a buffet dinner and New Year’s celebration. 828.456.9498. • BearWaters Brewing (Waynesville) will have Josh Wager (singer-songwriter) at 7 p.m. Jan. 3 and Brushfire Stankgrass (bluegrass/Americana) at 8 p.m. Jan. 9. www.bwbrewing.com or 828.246.0602. • Cherokee High School will have a special New Year’s event at 7 p.m. Dec. 31. Live music by Archie Watkins & Smoky Mountain Reunion, Walking By Faith and The Primitive Quartet. $10 donation at the door. 828.667.0612 or 828.506.5588. • City Lights Café (Sylva) will have Andy Sneed at 6 p.m. Jan. 10. www.citylightscafe.com. • Classic Wine Seller (Waynesville) will have “Mean Mary” James (singer-songwriter/Americana) on Jan. 3 and Joe Cruz (piano/pop) Jan. 10. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Tickets for James are $10. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com. • Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will have Craig Summers & Lee Kram at 6 p.m. Jan. 1 and 8, and Helena Hunt at 7 p.m. Jan. 9. Free. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com. • Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have a New Year’s Eve Bash with PMA (rock) at 8 p.m. Dec. 31 and an Open Mic night at 8 p.m. Jan. 1 and 8. www.innovation-brewing.com. • Lost Hiker (Highlands) will have Porch 40 (funk/rock) at 10 p.m. Dec. 31. Free. • Mad Batter Food & Film (Sylva) will host a New Year’s Gala with Local and The River Rats (blues/rock) at 7 p.m. Dec. 31. Buffet, live music and champagne toast. Tickets are $25. 828.586.3555 or www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com. • No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will have Humps & The Blackouts on Jan. 1, The Low Counts Jan. 2, Urban Pioneers Jan. 3, Andrew Chastain Jan. 8 and Nathan Kalish & The Last Callers Jan. 9-10. All shows are free and begin at 9 p.m. 828.586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com. • Tipping Point Brewing (Waynesville) will have DJ Shane at 9 p.m. Dec. 31, ‘Round The Fire (Grateful Dead tribute) at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 2 and James Stinnett at 8 p.m. Jan. 9. Free. • Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will have Humps & The Blackouts (psychobilly/rock) at 9 p.m. Dec. 31. $5 pre-ticket, $7 at the door.
Shearin brings Americana to Wine Seller
Singer-songwriter Dan Shearin will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at The Classic Wine Seller in Waynesville. Shearin has been an active member of several popular bands in the area such as Uncle Mountain, River Whyless and Now You See Them as well as performing regularly as a solo artist. He will play and sing a mix of folk, rock and world music on finger-style acoustic guitar and harmonica. 828.452.6000 or j www.classicwineseller.com.
Smoky Mountain News
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
ALSO:
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Dan Shearin will play Waynesville on Jan. 9. Donated photo
Balsam Range welcomes Jeff Little Trio Renowned bluegrass/gospel group Balsam Range “Winter Concert Series” will continue with the Jeff Little Trio at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, at the Colonial Theatre in Canton. Balsam Range, winner of the 2014 International Bluegrass Music Association award for “Entertainer of the Year,” will perform, with Little opening the show. Much influenced by mountain flat-picked guitar tradition, Little’s style is breathtaking in its speed, precision and clarity. He is conversant with traditional jazz, old-time, country, bluegrass, rockabilly and blues. “We try to get our own musical heroes and influences to the shows,” said Balsam Range mandolinist Darren Nicholson. “We want our hometown folks to enjoy the artists that we admire and who inspire us. Plus, these are guest artists who don’t get to play in this area very often.” The Balsam Range Winter Concert Series is sponsored by Amy
Spivey of ERA Sunburst Realty, The Waynesville Inn Golf Resort & Spa and Smoky Mountain Roasters Coffee Shop. Tickets are $22. 828.235.2760 or www.balsamnation.com.
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2014, CONTINUED FROM 20
RON RASH RELEASES
A renowned Southern Appalachian writer, Rash embodies this mysterious and majestic region. Since the publication of his short story collection The Night The New Jesus Fell to Earth in 1994, his career has been a slow burn of success, a flame glowing brighter every year. With a handful of bestsellers under his belt, his highly acclaimed novel “Serena” recently hit the big screen featuring Hollywood starlet Jennifer Lawrence and leading man Bradley Cooper. A two-time winner of the O. Henry Prize, Rash also received the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award in 2010 and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2007 and 2009. In 2014, Rash released Something Rich and Strange, which serves as a collection of short stories, new and old. “What makes a short story work is conflict. I don’t bring violence into my work to just shock or titillate the reader, but it’s only in moments of extreme situations that people reveal who they really are,” he said. “I like to put my characters in these extreme situations because then the mask they might wear in everyday life falls away and they reveal who they really are, as people do in real life.”
CARROLL BEST RECORDINGS UNCOVERED
An Academy Award-winning actor/director, Kevin Costner also fronts a country/blues band called Modern West. On April 24, he and the band performed at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Costner is one of the more recogniz-
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Kevin Costner with members of Modern West. Garret K. Woodward photo
able pop culture icons of the last 25 years. He was Ray Kinsella in “Field of Dreams,” Lt. John J. Dunbar in “Dances with Wolves” and Crash Davis in “Bull Durham,” just to name a few of the actor’s well-known portrayals. “It’s as good of a feeling as you might get. It’s like a big wave. You can sit out there on the ocean on your board and all of a sudden this wave comes and picks you up,” Costner said about performing onstage. “No matter how bad you’re feeling, once the guitars start and the drums kick in, I swear my face just grows into a big smile.”
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
Regarded as one of the all-time great and influential banjoists, Best, a Haywood County native, was known for his signature “fiddle style,” which was a melodic, synco-
COSTNER HITS THE STAGE IN FRANKLIN
A GUARANTEED GRE AT NIGHT OUT
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NEW BOOK
ty given only to few,” said Marc Pruett, Grammy Award-winning banjoist of Balsam Range. And that unique sound echoing from Best’s fingertips was captured on a reel-toreel tape by storied “song catcher” Joseph S. Hall during two recording sessions in 1956 and 1959. Those recordings were recently dusted off and released as a 37-song collection by the Great Smoky Mountains Association.
BRYSON BREWERY OWNER NAMED ABA PRESIDENT
pated three-finger stroke he evolved and perfected. “Carroll was a gifted, regional banjo player who influenced national musicians. He was among the first banjo players to move three-finger hillbilly ‘pickin’ toward jazz and melodic melodies requiring a sophisticated ear and independent dexteri-
Smoky Mountain News
Carroll Best. Donated photo
Co-owner of Nantahala Brewing Company in Bryson City, Joe Rowland was elected president of the Asheville Brewers Alliance. Created in 2009, the group consists of over two dozen breweries in Asheville and Western North Carolina. Rowland is the first member to be elected whose brewery resides outside of the city of Asheville. “I believe it reflects that our organization has grown to represent all of the brewers in the mountains of Western North Carolina,” he said. “I’ve been participating as [an ABA] board member for over three years, and have made it my goal to include the concerns of our members outside of Asheville. I feel honored that my peers felt I have the skills and dedication to help the organization continue to grow.”
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A Dillsboro book artist and adjunct instructor at Southwestern Community College, Frank Brannon has been selected for the first Mary B. Regan Residency Grant for a project to revitalize the Cherokee language through his artistry as a letterpress printer. Brannon’s one-year project is based on his work with a program he supports at SCC’s Swain Center, near Cherokee, where students are learning the art of printmaking by printing materials using the Cherokee syllabary. The 85-character syllabary was developed in 1821 by Sequoyah — a silversmith, blacksmith and artist — making it possible to read and write the spoken language of the Cherokee. Working with translations from the Cherokee Studies Program at Western Carolina University, Brannon uses manual printing techniques to preserve the language and its original Cherokee syllables. In a series of public workshops, members of the surrounding communities will produce prints that will culminate in an edition of handmade books. The workshops will be held at the Southwestern Community College printing studio as well as Brannon’s own studio in Dillsboro. “Like many languages around the world, the Cherokee spoken language is struggling to continue as there are fewer and fewer speakers,” Brannon said. “As a book artist, I thought about how we might print in Cherokee in this way to support Cherokee language revitalization.” His MFA thesis was “Cherokee Phoenix: Advent of a Newspaper,” which focused on the historical 19th-century newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, which was printed in both English and Cherokee. The Mary B. Regan Residency is a oneyear community artist grant named in honor of former N.C. Arts Council Executive Director Mary B. Regan’s 39 years of service to the arts and artists of North Carolina. The $15,000 grant, supported by donations, will allow Brannon to focus on revitalizing the
Frank Brannon. Donated photo
Cherokee language in partnership with students and the wider community in Swain and Jackson counties. “When I think of myself as a community artist, I think about the ability of a person to use art to support or transform a community, and combined with visual arts, I expect my artwork to be a catalyst for change using a visual approach,” he said. Brannon focuses his work on three areas: hand papermaking, hand bookbinding and letterpress printing. He has an MFA from the Book Arts Program at the University of Alabama. His work is in almost 50 library collections, and he has been in four solo exhibitions and an exhibition that traveled to six venues in the Southeast. He is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Southeastern College Art Conference and a past board member of Hand Papermaking, Inc. www.speakeasypress.com or www.ncarts.org or www.southwesterncc.edu.
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Oil painting demo in Bryson
sons. He and his wife moved to Franklin in 1996 and reestablished Houglum Fine Art Studio & Gallery that is currently located at the Macon County Heritage Center at the Historic Cowee School. Sponsored by the N.C. Arts Council, Swain County Center for the Arts and Swain County Schools, anyone who is interested is invited to attend the demonstration free of charge. This program received support from the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the department of Cultural Resources. Free. 828.488.7843 or www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta.
Oil painter Jon Houglum will demonstrate “Oil Painting Techniques in a Portrait” for the Art League of the Smokies at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City. Houglum’s masterful and accurate rendering of his subjects, whether landscape, still life or portrait of an animal or a person, begins with composition, then drawing and finally painting the subject in the traditions of the Old Masters. He will demonstrate the stepby-step process he uses to complete a portrait in oil paint. He begins with a raw umber drawing of the subject using a photo for reference while keeping the elements and principles of design in mind. Then, he blocks in what he calls the “step one colors,” followed by the “step two” finishing of the portrait. A native of northern Minnesota, Houglum is a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1969. He received his bachelor’s degree in art education in 1972 from Moorhead State University. He then studied under Antonius Raemakers, a Dutch Master in Martinsville, Indiana, followed by two years of classes on portraits and figures at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis. Houglum Fine Art Studio & Gallery was estabJon Houglum will demonstrate his oil painting lished in August 1980 in Safety Harbor, techniques on Jan. 8 in Bryson City. Donated photo Florida, where he taught private art les-
• “Before I Disappear” (indie/comedy/drama) will be shown through Jan. 7 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. $6 per person, $4 for children, with free daytime showings. The horror/thriller “The Babadook” will also be screened Jan. 2-3. Saturday morning cartoons will also be shown at 11 a.m. www.38main.com or call 828.283.0079. • “Captain America 2” (Jan. 2) and “Frozen” (Jan. 3) will be screened at the Mad Batter
ALSO:
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SCC instructor named Regan Residency Grant recipient
Smoky Mountain News
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
arts & entertainment
On the wall
Food & Film in Sylva. Screenings are free and begin at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com. • A figure drawing class with Knight Martorell will be offered Jan. 7, 14, 21 and 28 at The Bascom in Highlands. aalig@thebascom.org or 828.787.2865. • The “Come As You Art” Gathering will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Hospice House of WNC in Franklin. Social event for performing, literary and visual artists. 828.524.7683 or arts4all@dnet.net.
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On the wall
In the North Carolina SilverArts competition, Ann Squirrel of Maggie Valley won a silver medal in the Visual Arts acrylic painting division and George Kenney of Waynesville won a bronze medal in the Heritage Arts stained glass division as well as a bronze for his stand-up performance “George Kenny Live” in the Performing Arts comedy/drama division. Other locals who competed in the 2014 State Senior Games that deserve recognition include Ernestine Upchurch of Maggie Valley
for literary arts and Joy Teetsel for literary and visual arts. SilverArts is a celebration of the creative expression of seniors in North Carolina, a major component of the traditional athletic competition of North Carolina Senior Games. In a philosophy that strives to keep
arts & entertainment
Haywood artisans win at SilverArts
seniors healthy, active and involved, SilverArts unites the athlete and artist in a program that recognizes the similarities of both endeavors: discipline, dedication and pride in one’s accomplishments.
On the street New Year’s Eve at Harrah’s
• The Cherokee Lights and Legends Christmas will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. through Jan. 3 at the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds. Interactive displays of Cherokee legends, ice skating, carnival rides and more. An Elvis impersonator will perform at 7 p.m. Dec. 31. Tickets for the celebration are $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-12 and free for children under age 5. www.visitcherokeenc.com. • A wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 3 and 10 at Papou’s Wine Shop & Bar in Sylva. 828.586.6300. • Western Style Square Dancing Lessons will be offered from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays from Jan. 12-April 20 at the Recreation Center in Cullowhee. $65 per person. Register at the center. • A New Year’s Eve Bash will be held at 5 p.m. Dec. 31 at Fontana Village Resort. The celebration includes a dinner buffet by Chef Tracy Williams in the Mountview Restaurant, a party with live music featuring the Aaron Tracy Band and a champagne toast to ring in the New
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
The Casino Royale New Year’s Eve Party will be at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, at Harrah’s Cherokee. With the theme “Shaken Not Stirred,” the Cherokee Event Center transforms into the hottest dance club with drinks and DJ Josh Carl. There will also be drawings for $1 million at noon, 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. There is a general admission cover charge of $25 for the party. Admission and VIP package reservations are available at www.ticketmaster.com or 800.745.3000.
Year at midnight. Dinner will run from 5 to 9 p.m., with beverages available at the Bears Den Lounge until 12:30 a.m. The party package is $25.95 for adults and $11.95 for children, with special room rates available. www.fontanavillage.com. • New Year’s Eve Fireworks will be at 8 p.m. Dec. 31 at the Cherokee Acquoni Expo Center. • The inaugural Franklin Ruby Drop will start at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at the Motor Company Grill.
ALSO:
Smoky Mountain News
Superstar comedian Jeff Foxworthy will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 at Harrah’s Cherokee. Foxworthy is one of the most respected and successful comedians in the country. Widely known for his redneck jokes, his act goes well beyond that schtick to explore the humor in everyday family interactions and human nature, a style that has been compared to Mark Twain’s. Tickets start at $53. www.harrahscherokee.com.
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Books
Smoky Mountain News
The fascinating evolution of the fool killer ne of the oldest traditional folktales, ‘Godfather Death,’ exists in all cultures; however, the tone of the stories may vary from bleak and grim invocations of death’s certainty to humorous tales of tricksters who scheme to avoid death’s coming. Death becomes personified as a shadowy figure who comes to collect “his due.” Along the way, Godfather Death has inspired memorable creative works: film (“The Seventh Seal,” “On Borrowed Time”) and even Appalachian folk tales (“Soldier Jack, the Man Who Caught Death in a Sack”). However, one of the most provocative variations is “The Fool Killler.” In these tales, Death has been transformed into a terrifying agent of divine justice. The Fool Killer first appears in the years following the Civil War. In fact, he might be considered a product of that conWriter flict. He is always described as a hulking figure that shambles drunkenly down the moonlit roads of rural America. In the early versions, he is armed with a great knotty club, but eventually his weapon of choice is an axe. If he is, indeed, a product of the Civil War, there is considerable confusion regarding “which side he fought on.” One of his identifying features is a facial scar — a great livid furrow that runs across his forehead from ear to ear. The implication is that it is a battle wound. In the Helen Eustis novel, The Fool Killer, the author creates a fascinating character, Milo Bogardus, an amnesiac vagrant who has escaped from a hospital. He tells George Mellish (the 15-year-old runaway who narrates this novel who goes by the name Milo Bogardus, but that is not really his name) “That name belongs to a dead man. When they found me on the battlefield, all my clothes had been blown off in an explosion, so they never knew if I was Confederate or Union. They brought me to the hospital and gave me a dead man’s name.” For a while, Milo and George become friends and talk about going to see the Pacific Ocean. However, their hobo life is sometimes interrupted by Milo’s seizures, which originate from his head injury and cause him to suffer a mindless rage that will send him crashing through the forest. He is often gone
Gary Carden
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for days at a time, and when he returns he has no idea where he has been. Often, he returns covered with blood. In time, young George discovers Milo’s secret. He is the Fool Killer. But George remains confused about what a fool is and how Milo knows them when he finds them. In one significant scene, George hears Milo whis-
dark mood as “Night of the Hunter,” another black and white classic. Back when Works Progress Administration projects were operating in Appalachia, a group of writers in Tennessee edited a collection of folklore titled God Bless the Devil. One of the tales collected was a Melungeon folktale entitled “Fool Killing Shep Goins,” and suggests that the traditional story of the Fool Killer was a vital part of Melungeon folklore. In this dark, humorous tale, Old Master (the Melungeon version of God) visits Shep Goins one night and tells him that he has become disillusioned in the Hebrews and no longer considers them his “Chosen People.” Instead, the “Portughee” (Melungeon people) in East Tennessee and North Carolina will now become “the blessed people.” However, Old Master has noted that some of the Portugees living in Tennessee are fools and have become a constant embarrassment to him. Consequently, Old Master orders Shep to practice his markmanship for a few weeks and then begin a purge. He is requested to kill all of the fools in East Tennessee. Although Shep is newly married to a feisty little woman named Vandy, he takes his religion seriously and informs his newlywed wife that he will be gone for a few months carrying out Old Master’s wishes. Shep has The Fool Killer by Helen Eustis. Doubleday, 1954. 219 pages. befriended a local red-headed minister named Puddlefoot tle a strange, sorrowful tune. It is a tune that and asks the preacher to look out for his bride he whistles on the road at night and when while Shep is away. Old Master has cautioned others hear the tune, they are filled with an Shep about the fact that the rapid growth of overwhelming sadness. Milo’s victims seem fools in east Tennessee is largely due to the incapable of escaping and they wait resignedly opening of schools and colleges (which are foolfor the shadowy figure with his axe. making factories), and he needs to get busy. The Eustis novel was made into a film starShep has no trouble identifying fools (he ring a young Tony Perkins, and for reasons claims he can smell them), and after several that remain unclear, the film was withdrawn months he returns home and informs Rev. after a few limited showings. A clip from the Puddlefoot and Vandy that his work is done, movie is currently on YouTube and in addihe has killed all the fools in East Tennessee tion, I now own a copy. The film has the same and he can hunt down the survivors at his
leisure. However, Puddlefoot immediately inquires about the fools in North Carolina. Shep says that Old Master had only asked that he kill the fools in Tennessee. Puddlefoot insists that North Carolina had to be cleansed as well and urges Shep to go to the Old Master in prayer. However, when Shep attempts to do so, he invariably goes to sleep while praying. However, eventually he wakes one night to find a sheet-draped figure in his bedroom that demands that he go to North Carolina. Shep reluctantly agrees and, after stocking up with ammunition and guns, he sets out again. This time, he encounters a great deal of resistance and receives several injuries from North Carolina fools who are both defiant and courageous. However, after 11 months, he returns home and goes immediately to Rev. Puddlefoot to tell him he has done as Old Master requested. However, when he finds the minister he is packing a wagon to go tend his dying mother in west Tennessee, but he tells Shep that Vandy has just delivered a baby. Shep is perplexed. How could that be? He has been gone for 11 months. Puddlefoot informs Shep that the baby was originally to be born about six months ago, but that Puddlefoot has asked Old Master to put Vandy on hold. According to Puddlefoot, Old Master postponed the birth until Shep returned home. So, seeing that Shep was home, Old Master allowed the baby to be born this very morning. So saying, Rev. Puddlefoot drove away in his wagon. Shep continued on to his home where he found Vandy on the front porch with her new baby. Her new red-headed baby. Poor Shep. He pulled a gun and shot himself in the head since he had missed one big fool in Tennessee. Gradually, during the last century, the characters of the Fool Killer and Godfather merged. By the time that Stephen Vincent Benet wrote Johnny Pye and the Fool Killer in 1939, the axe had ceased to be the Fool Killer’s weapon of choice. The end of life is noted by an admonition much like that given to Everyman in the old medieval play. In fact, there is little difference in Godfather Death in the Appalachian Jack Tale, “Soldier Jack” and the Fool Killer in broadway musical, “Johnny Pye and the Fool Killer” in 1993. Instead of axes and sythes, death’s messenger brings a stern reminder, simply noting that it is “time to go.” In fact, the firm touch that stops Johnny/Jack’s heart may actually be a blessing to a body crippled by age and sickness.
books
Whoo… Who’s Who’s Ready Reeady Health l th & Fun? for Hea ? Free Health Carnival! Saturday, January 10, 2015 10:00 a 10:00 amm- 2:00 pm m At the th he Haywood Hayyw Ha wo wo ood od County C unt Cou nty ty Health Hea He l th & Human Huma Hum Hu man n Services Servic Se Ser vices ice ces Agency Age Ag gency cy 157 P Pa Paragon ara ragon Pa P Parkway, arkw kwa kway, way, Suit Suite ite te 800 in Clyd Cly Clyde lyd de
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Food, games, health screenings, health insurance information, and fun! This event will feature information and assistance in signing up for health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace Need more information or assistance in getting health insurance for you and your family? Haywood Regional Medical Center can help! Call our Health Insurance Exchange help line toll free at: 1-888-982-9144 today. This T Th h his is ev event vent nt is sponsor sponsored reed re d by:
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Outdoors
Smoky Mountain News
Trending in nature
WNC outdoors enthusiasts talk about trends in outdoor rec BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hen Jim Brendle put together the first Smoky Mountain Relay in 2009, it was a pretty small affair. With only 48 runners representing six teams, the 200-plus-mile foot race didn’t draw a lot of attention. A lot has changed since then. “It’s grown to where this year if we don’t have 50 teams, I’m going to be really upset,” Brendle said. The race route takes in 212 miles of trail and road in Western North Carolina, starting at Pink Beds Picnic Area near the Cradle of Forestry in America in Pisgah National Forest and finally ending at Nantahala Outdoor Center, outside of Bryson City. Teams of six or 12 complete various legs of the race. Some of the race’s growth is just a natural result of spreading the word about a new race. With 26,000 feet of elevation change, Brendle bills it as the most challenging overnight relay race in the world and has “some extremely impressive runners running this race” — but some of it is a tied to a much bigger trend. Between 2011 and 2013, adventure racing was the fastest-growing outdoor sport in the nation, boasting a 28-percent uptick in participation, according to the Outdoor Industry Association’s 2014 Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report. The report, released annually, based its analysis on 19,240 interviews representing Americans ages 6 and older.
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Brendle postulates that part of the adventure race craze is a nationwide desire for fitness, combined with the attraction of overcoming daunting physical challenges in beautiful places. “People that are between their 20s and 70s now, seriously that age group are all into longevity and to not only live life, but living life to the fullest,” said Brendle, an avid racer himself. The other side of the coin has to do with demand. It’s only recently that 100-mile races have started popping up across the country. One of the first, Brendle said, was the Hood to Coast race in Oregon, whose route reaches from 11,000-foot Mount Hood to the Oregon coast. That race launched in 1982. “Hundred-mile races, I’d suspect there are at least 20 across the United States, probably more like 40. There haven’t been races like this in the past,” Brendle said, adding “There’s supply and demand. There’s always been a demand for people who want to do more, but supply is catching up.”
COMING TO THE WATER Supply is also ramping up for a pair of water sports that have been catching on in a big way lately: kayak fishing and stand up paddle boarding. Kyle Fronrath, owner of Fontana Guides in Bryson City, has been incorporating both into his fishing trips. He bought his first kayaks three years ago
Fast stats ■ Adventure racing, off-road triathlons, stand up paddle boarding and kayak fishing are some of the fastest-growing outdoor sports. ■ Running, jogging and trail running comprise the most popular category of adult outdoor activities, enticing 16.2 percent of adults for an average of 81 outings per participant in 2013. The same goes for youth ages 6 to 24, 29.3 percent of whom engaged in these activities an average of 82 times in 2013. ■ The 2013 outdoor participation rate is down slightly from 2012 — 49.2 percent as opposed to 49.4 percent — but higher than the 2008 figure of 48.6 percent and on par with the 2006 figure of 49.1 percent. ■ Some winter sports are on a downward trend, with participation in downhill skiing seeing an 11 percent decrease between 2010 and 2013. In the same time period, snowboarding decreased by 7.7 percent, cross-country skiing by 8.9 percent and snowshoeing by 6.6 percent. Source: Outdoor Industry Association’s 2014 Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report.
and added paddleboards just one year later. “It started out as kind of a personal interest and everything kind of steamrolled,” Fronrath said of the kayaks. “We got a lot of attention from clients and people asking about it.” Between 2012 and 2013, the Outdoor Industry Association report said, kayak fishing saw a 28-percent increase in participation. Pretty dramatic, but to Fronrath the fascination makes sense. “It’s a different feel,” he said. “There’s no sound of the motor. You’re real quiet, real stealthy, so it’s an overall great experience. Every trip feels like an adventure in a kayak.” Kayaks allow anglers to fish places they never would be able to otherwise, and you don’t have to fill the vessels with gas or oil like
you do a drift boat. There’s a physicality to handling a kayak that is lost with a drift boat, Fronrath said, but kayaks are becoming increasingly stable and easy for even first-time fishermen to stand up and cast a fly line. Still, they’re not for everybody. Drift boat and wading trips far outstrip those conducted on kayaks or paddle boards, though demand for the last two has been steadily increasing. “It just depends,” Fronrath said. “The people that are older and not as active, they’re more suited for drift boats. It seems like it’s more the younger crowd that wants to get into the kayaks.”
THE SUP CRAZE The same goes for stand up paddle boards, which Fronrath also uses for fishing trips. As far as fishing, paddle boards and kayaks have many of the same benefits and draw interest from a similar group of people, he said. “It’s definitely fitness-oriented,” Fronrath said of the uptick in kayak and paddle board trips. “You’re getting a good workout, you’re having fun and you’re not having too much of an impact on the environment. I think all those things hand-in-hand are driving the sport of paddle boarding and kayaking, and the fishermen are right there.” Stand up paddleboards aren’t only for anglers, though. In fact, their versatility is one of the alluring things about them said Charles Conner, marketing manager for Nantahala Outdoor Center. “A lot of people do yoga on their stand up paddle boards,” Conner said. “You can fish off of stand up paddle boards, you can go snorkeling off of stand up paddle boards, you can go backpacking. You can basically throw whatever gear you want on the stand up paddle board and go out and do it.” Between 2012 and 2013, stand up
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Stand up paddle boards are surging in popularity both in Western North Carolina and the country as a whole.
Racers hand off the baton during a previous Smoky Mountain Relay.
Pat McDonnell photo
Donated photo
Special ski rates for homeschoolers outdoors
Starting Jan. 6, homeschoolers will get discounted rates on lift tickets, lessons and rentals at Cataloochee Ski Area every Tuesday during ski season. To get the discount, students need only present homeschool credentials at the ticket center on the lower level of the lodge — no signup is required. Rates are $20 for lift tickets; $30 for lift and rental and $45 for lift, lesson and rental. 828.926.0285.
Races kick off for skiers and boarders A 76-acre tract near Carvers Gap is now protected through the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. Donated photo
Roan Mountain viewsheds protected by land trust pists, as well as through grants from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, provided partial funding for the purchase. However, SAHC had to take out a loan to finance the purchase and is still trying to raise funds to pay it off. During the summer of 2013, more than 3,500 people visited the grassy balds in the Roan area by accessing the A.T. from Carvers Gap. The recently protected, bowlshaped property is highly visible from the A.T. at Jane Bald and lies approximately 900 feet south of the trail at Engine Gap, surrounded by Pisgah National Forest. It’s part of the Audubon Society’s Roan Mountain Important Bird Area, and Carver Gap Creek, which the N.C. Division of Water Quality classifies as Trout Waters and High Quality Waters, originates on the property. www.appalachian.org
SKI PROGRAM at Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley Shuttle runs Tuesdays & Thursdays in January & February and will leave the Waynesville Recreation Center at 4 pm and return at 9 pm. COST PER SESSION:
$23 per session Non Members: $25 per session Members:
Smoky Mountain News
paddle boarding saw more growth than any People aren’t just flooding the markets with sport, gaining 29 percent in participation. whitewater kayaks, because they’re so speOver the three years from 2010 to 2013, the cific.” sport had the third highest percentage In short, Conner said, stand up paddle growth rate, garnering a 24-percent increase boards are “really awesome.” in participation. “In my personal use, the thing I have “We’re very dialed in to the outdoor found really interesting about them is that industry associations, so we kind of knew kids really love them,” he said. “They’re that this was going to be a popular trend,” kind of like a little floating dock. Kids can Conner said. “I still think it’s been even play on them and do jumps off them.” more popular than we thought it would be.” Kyle Fronrath of Besides the board’s verFontana Guides pulls satility, Conner said, he a trout out of the believes its simplicity is water during a kayak also an attraction. With fishing trip. Donated photo just two pieces of equipment — a board and a paddle — you can be on your way to the water. There’s no spray skirt to buy, no boat to drain. And while some uses can be harder to learn, such as whitewater paddle boarding, it’s usually a pretty easy sport to take In the end, though, it’s about personal part in. preference, because outdoors enthusiasts “It’s easy and it’s affordable, and I think are really only looking for one thing. that’s part of what makes it a really accessi“For the outdoors lovers,” Fronrath said, ble sport,” Conner said. “That’s one of the “it’s just another way to get out there and things holding back whitewater kayaking. enjoy the outdoors.”
BASE CAMP WAYNESVILLE
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
A 76-acre tract along the Appalachian Trail on Roan Mountain has been permanently protected thanks to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, safeguarding scenic views and wildlife habitat. The tract is half a mile from Carvers Gap, a popular access point for the AT and the Roan Highlands near the Tennessee line. It is a highly visible tract fronting the state road that snakes up and over Roan Mountain, making it prime acreage at high risk for development. “This tract has been a priority for SAHC for over 40 years, and we are thrilled to be able to conserve it,” said Carl Silverstein, SAHC’s executive director. “We are so pleased that the landowners chose to sell to SAHC so that the land — and hiking experiences along the AT — will be preserved for the future.” Gifts and loans from private philanthro-
It’s race season again at Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley. Race schedules give adult skiers and snowboarders the chance to compete against the clock while also providing opportunities for middle and high school students to show their stuff. ■ The Cataloochee Challenge Cup Race Series has adult races at 7 p.m. every Thursday from Jan. 8 to Feb. 19. Racers ski or board against the clock on a modified giant slalom or slalom course for the better of two runs, and the top three challengers in categories separated by age and gender will win prizes. Racing lasts until all racers have had two runs or until 8:30 p.m., whichever comes first. Cost is $15 for race only or $35 for race and night lift ticket, good Cataloochee Ski Area Photo from 6-10 p.m. ■ Student races will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesdays from Jan. 6 to Feb. 24 for middle schoolers and at 6 p.m. Wednesdays from Jan. 7 to Feb. 25 for high schoolers. Finals for both age groups will be Sunday, March 1. Cost is $175 for the entire season or $30 per night for race entry and lift ticket. www.cataloochee.com/race.
Rentals and lessons are also available For more info or to register, please call:
WAYNESVILLE
PARKS AND RECREATION 828.456.2030 or email tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov
273-230
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outdoors
Fly Fishing the South
Editor’s note: The following is a submission from Haywood Waterways Association reflecting on the organization’s work to protect and improve water quality in Haywood County.
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Smoky Mountain News
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
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Haywood Waterways does good work
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ince 1998, Haywood Waterways Association has instructed thousands of children, written more than a hundred successful grant applications and partnered on projects that directly improve water quality. But what do the Kids in the Creek program or stabilizing stream banks actually mean for water quality in Haywood County? “They mean a lot,” said Eric Romaniszyn, the organization’s executive director. A survey about Kids in the Creek, the organization’s most popular education program, found that 81 percent of students said it helped them better understand what they learned in class. The survey also found that, for those students with limited or no environmentally responsible behaviors, 67 percent changed their minds about taking care of or valuing natural resources, while 68 percent said they were more likely to take action to preserve or protect the environment. Haywood Waterways’ restoration projects have also reduced sediment and pollutants in Haywood County’s waters. The restoration projects have resulted in reductions in nitrogen (344 pounds per year), phosphorus (32 pounds per year) and soil loss (2,360,000 pounds per year). Since 2006, 81 failing septic systems have been repaired. These have stopped almost 30,000 gallons of untreated wastewater from flushing into streams each day and resulted in a 100 percent reduction in bacteria, pathogens, nutrients, household chemicals and pharmaceuticals at each repair. Haywood Waterways also works to combat stormwater, the number one cause of water quality issues. Rain barrels sold by HWA capture about 110,000 gallons of stormwater each year and will capture 3.3 million gallons over their 30-year life span. By keeping stormwater onsite, the barrels filter atmospheric nutrients, decrease water temperatures and help reduce high stream flows that erode stream banks.
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Brookie license plate ready to order With more than 50 years of angling under his belt, Western Carolina University art professor Jon Jicha believes caring for the environment is a “self-evident responsibility.” Several years ago he started wondering why, of all the myriad special interest license plates in North Carolina, none depicted the state’s two most celebrated fish. He asked N.C. Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, to sponsor a bill advocating for a native brook trout specialty plate. The state OK’d the specialty plates – one for brook trout and one for red drum, native to Eastern North Carolina.
To combat the trash issue, Haywood Waterways started the Adopt-A-Stream program. Since 2009, adopting organizations have removed 16 tons of trash from local waterways. The ultimate result of their work is improved water quality. “A great example is Hyatt Creek, which was considered one of the worst streams in
Recognizing heroes Haywood Waterways Association honored four heroes for their work to protect and improve Haywood County’s rivers, streams and reservoirs at the organization’s membership dinner Dec. 4. ■ Bill Eaker earned the Pigeon River Award for his long history of contribution to HWA. One of its founding members, he served on the board of directors for 17 years, including two years as president, and currently chairs the fundraising committee. He initiated the group’s annual Polar Plunge, volunteers with the Water Information Network Program and was one of the original volunteers on the water chemistry monitoring program, launched in 1996. ■ Alric “Ric” Clay received the Lake Junaluska Award for Volunteer of the Year, having served on the board of directors from 2010 to 2014, including service as vice president. A strong advocate for clean water and education, Clay helped HWA develop and
Christine O’Brien, project assistant for Haywood Waterways, works on an invasive species removal project along Richland Creek in Waynesville. Holly Kays photo
“Fish are transformative animals that offer us a vehicle to a mysterious world, and the brook trout and red drum are magnificent,” he said. “And North Carolina is very fortunate to have both as native residents.” And Jicha got to be the one to design them. Other than looking good on your bumper, the plates reinforce the necessity of maintaining the state’s natural resources — especially those that tend to get caught and eaten in large numbers — and to raise money to conserve them through plate sales. “With these plates,” Jicha added, “It was an opportunity to inject awareness and fundraising for two of our most important agencies – N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and N.C. Department of Environment and Natural
Western North Carolina,” Romaniszyn said. “Through partnerships, community outreach and installing watershed best management practices, water quality improved and the stream was removed from the state list of impaired waterways.” HWA relies on three key partners for much of its work: Southwestern Resource Conservation & Development Council, improve its programs through his experience working for international organizations, both nonprofit and for-profit. ■ The Town of Clyde and Lake Junaluska Assembly both received the Big Creek Award for Partner of the Year. Clyde actively promotes actions to reduce stormwater impacts and protect floodplains, including the new addition of River’s Edge Park. The town also supports the Adopt-A-Stream clean-up program, Kids in the Creek youth education program and Polar Plunge Benefit. The Lake Junaluska Assembly has stabilized shorelines and streambanks, restored wetlands, created a Stormwater Management Plan, removed thousands of tons of sediment and trash that would otherwise move downstream into the Pigeon River and invested heavily in building improvements that increase energy and water efficiency. They also host Haywood Waterway’s Polar Plunge Benefit for Kids in the Creek & Youth Education.
Haywood Soil & Water Conservation District and Haywood County School System. However, many other supporters are involved, and all hands on deck are needed to further improve and protect the waterways of Haywood County. “By completing these projects, by spreading the word about water quality, by getting people outside to enjoy Haywood County’s natural resources, we hope to inspire the community to take responsibility for our water,” Romaniszyn said. “After all, we are a headwaters county, meaning all our water starts here and we are the only ones who can take care of it.” www.haywoodwaterways.org or info@haywoodwaterways.org.
Resources – and their ongoing efforts to maintain our natural resources.” Plates can be ordered at local Department of Motor Vehicles offices or online at www.ncdot.gov/dmv/online.
Maggie rec needs get public hearing A public hearing at 6 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2015, at Maggie Valley Town Hall will help inform the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen on public opinion regarding the town’s recreational needs. A survey went out earlier this year to start the evaluation process. Oral and written comments will be accepted.
A Cullowhee-based forest management group was recently recognized for its work by Root Cause, a regional iniRob Lamb. file photo tiative to raise awareness of sustainable forestry industries. Forest Stewards, a nonprofit that crafts custom forest management plans for tracts large and small, won the 2014 Award for Sustainable Forestry in the second annual round of Root
Cause Awards. Rob Lamb, the director of Forest
Quadrantid meteor shower kicks off 2015 Though most meteor showers are caused by debris from comets, some like the Quadrantids originate from asteroids. The Quadrantids will make an appearance in the night sky in early January, predicted to reach a peak of about 120 meteors per hour at 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3. However, a full moon will keep fainter meteors invisible. The shower originates from the asteroid 2003 EH1, which is highly inclined to the orbit of Earth.
Mysteries of space discussed at PARI Black holes and wormholes will be the topic of discussion at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute near Brevard. Learn how scientists can detect black holes — matter so dense no light can escape, rendering them invisible — and the theoretical idea of wormholes. “Wormholes are theoretical passages through space-time that could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe,” said Pam Khurana, Pisgah who will give Astronomical the talk. Research “Although Institute. they are still hypothetical, wormholes have been popularized in a number of Hollywood films, including the recent box-office smash ‘Interstellar.’ We will discuss the theory behind wormholes and what they might mean for humans as we push deeper into space.” After the presentation, participants will take a campus tour and trip to the exhibit gallery and observing station. RSVP required. $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and military and $10 for children under 14. www.pari.edu or 828.862.5554.
outdoors
Forest Stewards honored for conservation forestry
Stewards, follows the principles of what he calls “positive impact forestry.” “A legacy of resource exploitation has left many forests degraded,” Lamb said. “We implement forest management toward restoring the condition of our forests while making them more resistant to current and future stresses.” As a nonprofit, Forest Stewards provides technical expertise at cost, removing the potential for conflicts of interest from profit motives. Forest Stewards has developed land stewardship plans for over 200 clients representing over 100,000 acres, from family landowners to land trusts to timberland investors. It provides forest management oversight for the 9,000-acre watershed for the town of Waynesville and is developing a landscape-scale forest plan for the 49,000 acres that encompass the Qualla Boundary. The group collaborates with land trusts, helping landowners with high-value conservation properties protect them for the long term and engages with students and professors to increase understanding of the forests. The organization has guided two carbon offset projects. www.foreststewards.net or www.wncforestproducts.org.
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
THANK YOU!
Foundation for the Carolinas Development Authority The Swag Mountaintop Nantahala Outdoor CenterInn Donald Davis Storyteller Wellcome licenseBurroughs plate owner helps theFund Smokies.
Each NC Friends of the Smokies Thank you to 20,000+ NC Friends Last year more than $400,000 was brought in through the more than of the Smokies license plate owners 20,000 plate purchases. Thank you Friends!
$1,000 & Above $5,000 & ABOVE Ken & Deborah Wilson BorgWarner Turbo Systems Foundation Duke Energy N.C. State Employees Mast General Store Combined Campaign Montreat College Warren Wilson College Wells Fargo$2,000 & ABOVE
$250 & Above Champion Credit Union $500 & ABOVE Dewolf Architecture Bank Club French BroadHomeTrust River Garden Ingles Mitchell and Dorothy Intentional Growth Center Kostro Family Foundation Brewing Company Town ofNantahala Waynesville Triangle Community Foundation Appalachian Trail Conservancy Waynesville Inn Golf Resort & Spa Wild Wing Cafe $500 & Above Dental Care AppalachianAsheville Trail Conservancy $100 & Above Community Foundation of Western North Carolina $250 & Tours ABOVE Clark & Leatherwood Cataloochee Valley Construction Haywood Co. HotelValley & Tours Cataloochee Nantahala Outdoor Center Combined Federal Campaign Motel Association Champion Credit Union $1,000 & ABOVE WNC Hemlock Inn Hemlock Inn Bank of America HomeTrust Bank Nantahala Brewery Lakeside Restaurant Johnson, Price,Center Sprinkle, CPA Intentional Growth Silver-Line Plastics StateMagazine Employees Combined Campaign RapidN.C. River Steve Whiddon Band Smoky Mountain Living Magazine Ultimate Ice Cream Co. Richie Family Foundation Sustainability For Generations to Come Walnut Free Will Baptist Church Wells Fargo Windover Inn
who’ve raised more than $402,000 Smoky Mountain News this year to support Great Smoky Mountains National FRIENDS OFPark. THE SMOKIES • 160 S MAIN WAYNESVILLE, 452-0720 Friends ST, of the Smokies 160 SNC Main•St,(828) Waynesville, NC 28786• WWW.FRIENDSOFTHESMOKIES.ORG (828) 452-0720 www.friendsofthesmokies.org
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$20,000 & Above Friends of Great Smoky Blue Ridge National Mountains National Park Heritage Area recognizes andCarolina thanks these These North businesses and organizations GlaxoSmithKline Foundation preservation partners generously gave back for last year to(N.C.) help preserve and protect their cash, in-kind gifts of The Swag Mountaintop Inn our Great Smoky Mountains National Park. goods and services, and event $5,000 & Above sponsorships of $100 or more REI $50,000 & ABOVE Cherokee Preservation last year to help preserve Mast General Store Foundation and protect Great Smoky $2,000$20,000 & Above & ABOVE Mountains National Park. Haywood Co. Tourism
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COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Flea Market is set for 7 a.m.-2 p.m. on Jan. 3 at the Haywood County Fairgrounds. Haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org or 400.1704. • “What trends and predictions do you see for 2015?” will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in Franklin. Anyone interested in an open exchange of ideas (dialogue not debate) is welcome 371.1020. • A going-away reception for Richard Grogan, Haywood Regional Medical Center’s interim CEO, will be held from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9, in Café Side B. Cake and punch will be served. • “The Tannery, Armor, Mead, and Jackson Paper: A History of Industry in Jackson County” is the topic for Jackson County Genealogical Society’s January program, which is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8 in the community room of the historic Jackson County Courthouse in Sylva. Free. Community is invited to attend and bring photos and/or stories to share. 631.2646. • Public Hearing will be conducted by the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen at 6 p.m. on Jan. 12 in the Town Hall Boardroom to accept public comment on the town’s parks and recreational needs. Oral or written comments accepted. • A community meeting to discuss development standards for Cullowhee will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13, in the Ramsey Center Hospitality Room at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. 631.2255, planning@jacksonnc.org or www.jacksonnc.org/planning.html. • Tourism grant-funding workshops that are mandatory for entity seeking a tourism grant from the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15, in Room 202 of the Harrell Center at Lake Junaluska. haywoodcountytourismdevelopment.com/grants-info/.
BUSINESS & EDUCATION • A creative living class on “Reverse Mortgages” will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. Registration required. 356.2800. • Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina will hold a free job search workshop from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Haywood County Public Library. Free. Registration required: 648.2924 or at library’s front desk.
HEALTH MATTERS • A wellness education event on healthy eating and fit lifestyles will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, in the main lobby of Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva. 586.7734 or www.westcare.org/tuesdaystothrive. • A Red Cross Blood Drive will be held from 10 a.m.2:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 at First United Methodist Church in Franklin. • A Red Cross Blood Drive will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Jan. 2 at Waynesville Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. • A Red Cross blood drive will be held from 10 a.m.3:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 at Westcare Health in Sylva. • Franklin Lions Club will celebrate its 75th year with a free vision screening for children on Jan. 10 at K-Mart in Franklin. 349.6639 ellen.mccall@msj.org. · Harris Regional Hospital and Swain County Hospital will host free information sessions on the National
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 Health Insurance Marketplace, offering free assistance to those wishing to sign up for coverage. The Sylva event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 at the Smoky Mountain High School. The Bryson City event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce. 828.631.8924. www.healthcare.gov.
POLITICAL CORNER • The Haywood County Republican Party Executive Committee will hold a business meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 at the Organic Bean in Maggie Valley. Senior activities • A creative living class on “Calligraphy” will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. $10. Registration required. 356.2800. • A creative living class on “Beginning Crochet” will be held at 1 p.m. on three consecutive Tuesdays starting Jan. 13 at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. $5. Registration required. 356.2800. • A creative living class on “Calligraphy” will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. $10. Registration required. 356.2800. • A fitness class designed specifically for seniors will meet from 11 a.m.-noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting Jan. 5 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.
KIDS & FAMILIES • The Smart Start basketball program “Biddy Ball” will be held for ages 3-6 starting Jan. 17 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. $40 registration fee. Registration deadline is 5 p.m. on Jan. 3. Seven one-hour sessions. 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov. • A “Frozen” New Year’s Eve Party will be held from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Macon County Library. Books, games, music and snack. A special dropping of a star at noon. 524.3600. • Youth Golf Lessons will be offered for grades 6-8 at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 29-31 at Smoky Mountain Country Club. $150 per golfer. • Art classes for children and adults will be offered by Western Carolina University’s Office of Continuing and Professional starting Monday, Jan. 19, with an “Arts of Metallica Art Day” from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee. $25 cost includes lunch. Conferences.wcu.edu or 227.7397. • Kids trip for 5th-through-8th grades will take place on Jan. 19 through the Jackson County Recreation Center to Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park and ice skating in Greenville, S.C. $40 includes transportation, entry fees (including skate rental) and lunch. Register by Jan. 14. 293.3053 or jenniferbennett@jacksonnc.org. • Six weeks of unusual art projects for adults and children (age 8 and up) start Jan. 26 at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee. Conferences.wcu.edu or 227.7397.
• A community breastfeeding information and support group is held from 10:30-noon on the first Saturday of each month in the main lobby of the Smoky Mountain OB/GYN office in Sylva. Free.
Ongoing kids activities and clubs • Saturday morning cartoons play for free at 11 a.m. at the Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. 283.0079 or www.38main.com. • A Lego Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 3:30-5 p.m. at Waynesville Library. 452.5169. • A Lego Club meets the second Thursday of the month at 4 p.m.- 5:30 p.m. at the Macon County Public Library. 526.3600. • A Lego Club meets the second Tuesday of the month at 4 p.m. at Jackson County Public Library. 586-2016. • A Lego Club meet the second Wednesday of the month at 5 p.m. at Cashiers Community Library. 743.0215. • Explorer’s Club for kids will be held on the third of each month at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Intended for all ages, with a special emphasis on cultural learning for children. Each Explorer’s Club will feature special guests, snacks and crafts that all are pertinent to the theme for that month. 586.2016. • Smoky Mountain Model Railroaders holds public viewing session from 2 to 4 p.m. the second Sunday of the month, 130 Frazier St. off Russ Avenue in Waynesville. The group runs Lionel-type 3rail O gauge trains. smokymountainmodelrailroaders.wordpress.com. • Teen time Thursdays, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Waynesville Library. A program for teens and tweens held each week. Each week is different, snacks provided. 356.2511
All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. food from different countries and cultures. Macon County Public Library. 524.3600. • Crafty Kids on the second Wednesday of each month at 4 p.m. Children from Pre-K to fifth grade will meet after school and hear stories, share about what they are reading, play games and get creative with a craft. Canton Library. 648.2924.
Kids movies • “Captain America 2” will be screened on Jan. 2 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Screenings are free and begin at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com. • “Frozen” will be screened on Jan. 3 at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Screenings are free and begin at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com. • Free family movies are shown at 3:30 p.m. each Tuesday at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Disney, Hallmark and other family-oriented movies. Popcorn is provided by Friends of the Library. Each attendee receives one free movie check-out. 488.3030. • Family movie time, 4 p.m. Mondays at Jackson County Public Library. Call for title of movie: 586.2016. • Family movie time Thursdays, 3:45 p.m at Albert Carlton, Cashiers Community Library. Free with popcorn. Call for title 743.0215 • Children’s craft time, 4th Wednesday, 3:45 p.m. at Cashiers Community Library. 743.0215
• Homework Help, 3-5 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays for students in grades two through six, Canton Branch Library. Former schoolteacher-turned-Youth Services Librarian Katy Punch offers homework help on a firstcome, first-serve basis. 648.2924. •Teen Advisory Group, first Wednesday of each month at 4 p.m. For ages 13-18. Teens can enjoy snacks while discussing popular young adult books, help plan events and displays for children and teens at the library, and participate in community service projects. Canton Library, 648.2924.
A&E NEW YEAR’S EVE
• The American Girls Club meets at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. The club meets one Saturday a month, call for details. Club is based on a book series about historical women. Club members read and do activities. Free. 586.9499.
• Balsam Mountain Inn will host a New Year’s Eve “Songwriters in the Round” at 6 p.m. Dec. 31. Performers include Marshall Chapman, Thom Bresh, Casey Kelly and Leslie Ellis. $85 ticket includes a buffet dinner and New Year’s celebration. 456.9498.
• Teen Time, 1st, 3rd, and 4th Tuesdays at 4 p.m. for ages 12 and up. Spend time with other teens talking about and sharing with each other. Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016.
· A special performance by legendary banjoist Raymond Fairchild & Friends at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at Eagle’s Nest Entertainment on Soco Road in Maggie Valley. Fairchild will be joined by an array of television entertainers including Leroy Troy (“Marty Stuart Show”), Roni Stoneman (“Hee Haw”), Mark & Ray Grooms (“Moonshiners”), Cowboy Caward (from the film “Deliverance”), The Hatcher Boys, the Southern Appalachian Cloggers, and more. 828.273.6074 or opryhouse@charter.net.
• Games for kids on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 4:30 p.m. at the Jackson County Public Library. Play a variety of games including AWE After School Edge Computers, board games and other fun activities. 586.2016. • Projects and activities after school Fridays, 3:30 p.m. for school age kids at Jackson County Public Library. Get your hands dirty with science experiments, discovering animals and making easy recipes. 586.2016. • Adventure Club on Tuesdays 3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. for grades K-2 at the Macon County Public Library. 524.3600. • Book Club on Wednesdays 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Books and hands-on activities for grades 3-6. Macon County Library. 526.3600. • Culture Club on the first Wednesday of the month, 1 to 2 p.m. Guest speakers, books, photos, crafts and
• A New Year’s Eve Reception and Gala on an excursion train will be offered on Wednesday, Dec. 31, by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Info at www.gsmr.com or 800.872.4681. • New Year’s Eve fireworks will light up the skies over Cherokee starting at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at the Acquoni Expo Center. • The inaugural Franklin Ruby Drop will start at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at the Motor Company Grill. A Family Friendly New Year’s Eve Celebration with Live Entertainment, Assorted Games, and Inflatable Bouncy House. Food & Drink (Alcoholic and non-alcoholic) Just before midnight
• A Casino Royale New Year’s Eve party will start at 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Harrah’s Cherokee. $25 general admission cover charge. Tickets: ticketmaster.com or 800.745.3000. Info: HarrahsCherokee.com. • A New Year’s Eve Celebration will begin with a buffet at 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Fontana Village Resort in Fontana Dam. $25.95 includes dinner, live music featuring Aaron Tracy Band and champagne toast for adults. $11.95 children. www.fontanavillage.com or 498.2211. • Cherokee Lights & Legends, an opportunity to stroll under the lights at Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds, will be held Wednesdays through Saturdays until Jan. 3. 59 p.m. on Wednesday through Thursday; 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 5 p.m.-12:30 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. $5 adults; free for kids under 5. Skates for synthetic rink: $3/30-minute session. www.visitcherokeenc.com. • The Polar Express-themed train by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City runs through early January. Event features hot cocoa, Santa Claus and caroling. www.gsmr.com or 800.872.4681.
ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Grammy Award nominee and best-selling author Jeff Foxworthy will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 3 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. Ticketmaster.com. mfisher@cherokee.harrahs.com. • Balsam Range will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 3 at the Colonial Theatre in Canton. Balsamrange.com or 235.2760.
• Greg Allman, founding member of the Allman Brothers Band and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, will play Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center on Friday, Jan. 16. Ticketmaster.com or mifisher@cherokee.harrahs.com. • Elvis impersonator Travis Ledoyt will perform the music and moves of Elvis Presley (circa 1954-1959) as part of the Galaxy of Stars Series at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31 at WCU’s Bardo Center in Cullowhee. Single-show tickets are $21/adults; $16/WCU faculty and staff; $7 students and children. 227.2479 or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.
• Multi-instrumentalist “Mean Mary” James will be at the Classic Wine Seller at 7 p.m. on Jan. 3 in Waynesville. James lays 11 instruments and is an author and star of Nashville TV Show “Never-Ending Street.” $10. Classicwineseller.com or 452.6000. • Daniel Shearin will be at the Classic Wine Seller at 7 p.m. on Jan. 9 in Waynesville. Classicwineseller.com or 452.6000. • Joe Cruz will perform at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 at the Classic Wine Seller in Waynesville. Classicwineseller.com or 452.6000. • Andy Sneed will be at City Lights Café at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 in Sylva. 587.2233. • A game day will occur from 2 to 9 p.m. every third Saturday of the month at Papou’s Wine Shop & Bar in Sylva. Bring dice, cards or board games. 586.6300.
Apparel, footwear & gear
for the outdoor lifestyle
CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • An introductory class to Movie Maker will be offered at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, in the Jackson County Public Library’s computer lab in Sylva. 90 minutes. Free to first 16 who register. 586.2016. · Adult Writing Group will meet at 6 p.m. on Jan. 8 at the Jackson County Library. Class consists of exercises, group readings and writing mechanics. 586.2016. • “Oil Panting Techniques in a Portrait,” a demonstration by oil painter Jon Houglum of Franklin, will be held at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, at Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City. Sponsored by NC Arts Council, Swain County Center for the Arts and Swain County Schools. Free. Info on Houglum at www.houglumfineart.com. Info on Art League of the Smokies: 488.7843.
Downtown Sylva • 828.631.4453 (HIKE) Monday - Thursday 9:30 -6:00 • Friday-Saturday 9:30 -7:00
Great Selection. Great Prices. Great Service ... Great People
• Western Style Square Dance Lessons will be offered from 7-8:30 p.m. Jan. 12-April 20 at the Jackson County Recreation Center in Cullowhee. $65 per person. No experience or partner required. Registration underway at Jackson County Recreation Center in Cullowhee. 293.3053 • Art classes for children and adults will be offered by Western Carolina University’s Office of Continuing and Professional starting Monday, Jan. 19, with an “Arts of Metallica Art Day” from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee. $25 cost includes lunch. Conferences.wcu.edu or 227.7397. • Six weeks of unusual art projects for adults and children (age 8 and up) start Jan. 26 at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee. Conferences.wcu.edu or 227.7397.
(828) 452-5111 Shop us online @ www.taylorfordonline.com
RESIDENTIAL HOUSECLEANING
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
• Elemeno Pea will be performed from Friday through Sunday, Jan. 16-18, in the Feichter Studio at HART Theatre in Waynesville. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m.; the Sunday show will be at 3 p.m.
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• New Year’s Eve in Cherokee, featuring performances by Archie Watkins & Smoky Mountain Reunion, Walking By Faith and The Primitive Quartet, will start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at Cherokee High School. $10 donation at the door. 667.0612 or 506.5588.
• ‘Round the Fire (Grateful Dead tribute) will play at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 2 at Tipping Point Brewing in Waynesville.
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there will be a countdown and lowering a large lighted Ruby from a crane. 524.0099.
ART SHOWINGS AND NIGHTLIFE
GALLERIES • Art by library patron Jeannie Welch will be displayed in the Meeting Room of the Macon County Public Library during December and January.
• New Year’s Gala featuring Local and The River Rats (blues/rock) is set for Dec. 31 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Tickets: 586.3555. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com.
• The Appalachian Pastel Society Juried National Exhibition will be held through Jan. 4 at The Bascom in Highlands. www.thebascom.org.
• New Year’s Eve celebration is set for Dec. 31 at No Name Sports Pub in Sylva. Free. 586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com.
FILM & SCREEN
• DJ Shane will play at 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Tipping Point Brewing in Waynesville. Free.
• “Before I Disappear” (indie/comedy/drama) will be shown Dec. 26-Jan. 7 at The Strand in Waynesville. $6 adults, $4 children for evening shows, with free daytime showings. www.38main.com or 283.0079.
• Humps & The Blackouts (psychobilly/rock) will play at 9 p.m. Dec. 31 at Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville). $5 pre-ticket, $7 at the door.
• A classic 1938 movie starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant will be shown Friday, January 2, at Macon County Public Library. 524.3600.
• Craig Neidlinger performs at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2 at the Classic Wine Seller in Waynesville. Classicwineseller.com or 452.6000.
• The Mad Batter Food & Film shows feature films, 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays, downtown Sylva location. Special kids’ matinee at 2
Serving Haywood County
Smoky Mountain News
• PMA (rock) will be featured in A New Year’s Eve Bash starting at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Innovation Brewing in Sylva. Free. www.innovation-brewing.com.
Call today for a free estimate—828-734-0671 BONDED & INSURED
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wnc calendar
p.m. Saturdays. Free. Movie listings and information, www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com. 586.3555.
MUSIC JAMS AND GROUPS • Old-time music jam from 1-3 p.m. the third Saturday of the month at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on U.S. 441 outside Cherokee. 452.1068. • Cruso Circle Play & Jam, 7 p.m. every Tuesday, Cruso Community Center and Friendship Club in Cruso. www.facebook.com/crusocircleplayjam. • Signature Brew Coffee Company holds Sylva Open Jam nights on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. Shop provides the instruments, you provide the talent. Chris Coopers’ Fusion band hosts. • An open jam session is held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. each Thursday at Heinzelmannchen Brewery in Sylva. All skill levels and instruments welcome. 631.4466 or www.yourgnometownbrewery.com • Golden Aires singing group meets at 10:30 a.m. every Thursday at the Golden Age Senior Center in Sylva. Secular and religious music. Performances given at area nursing homes. Singers need not be seniors to join. goldenagecenter1@verizon.net. • Karaoke is held at 7 p.m. every other Friday at the American Legion Post 47 in Waynesville. Open to all members and their guests. 456.8691. • Men Macon Music, canella singing, meets at 5:30 p.m. every Monday in the Chapel of First Presbyterian Church, 26 Church St., Franklin. Visitors welcome. 524.9692.
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
• Mountain Dulcimer Players Club meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of each month at the Bryson City United Methodist Church. Knowledge of music not required, tablature method used. 488.6697. • Pick and Play Dulcimer Group of Sylva meets at 1:30 p.m. on the first, third and fifth Saturday of every month in the fellowship hall of St. John’s Episcopal Church. 293.0074.
• The WNC Fiber Folk Group meets weekly from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursdays in the Star Atrium of the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at WCU. 227.2553 or ddrury@wcu.edu. • Thursday Painters meet at the Uptown Gallery in Franklin every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring your project and a bag lunch and join us for a day of creativity and fun. All artists are welcome. 349.4607. • Rug Hooking Group, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Jackson County Public Library. Beginners welcome. 631.2561. • Jackson County Arts Council meets at 5:30 p.m. the first Monday of each month at the Jackson County Library Complex conference room. 293.3407.
Outdoors • “Run in 2015,” a 5K run, walk & fun run, will be held on Jan. 1 starting at the Jackson County Recreation Center in Cullowhee. Pre-registration ($20) accepted until Dec. 30; race-day registration ($25) begins at 9:30 a.m. Race starts at 11 a.m.; Fun Run starts at 11:45 a.m. 293.3053, jeniferpressley@jacksonnc.org, or www.imathlete.com. • A line-up of “First Day” hikes will be held in state parks to celebrate the New Year on Jan. 1. The hikes include: ■ a moderate hike starting at 2:30 p.m. from the Bearwallow Picnic Shelter in Gorges State Park. 966.9099. ■ an easy hike starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Gorges State Park visitor center. 966.9099.
• The Franklin Early Music Group meets every Monday at 9 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. 369.5192.
■ a moderate hike starting at 1 p.m. on the Hickory Nut Falls Trail at Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park. 625.1823.
• The Nikwasi Dulcimer Players meet every Thursday afternoon from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Franklin. All are welcome. 524.1040 or 524.2294.
■ a moderate hike starting a 3 p.m. at Rumbling Bald Climbing Access area at Chimney Rock State Park. 625.1823.
• A community music jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of each month at the Marianna Black Library in Downtown Bryson City. Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer – anything unplugged – is invited to join. Singers and listeners are also welcome.
• The Franklin Bird Club will hold its bird count early on Saturday, Jan. 3. 524.4707.
ARTS GROUP MEETINGS Smoky Mountain News
Church on N.C. 107. Bring your machine and whatever quilt you are working on.
• Blue Ridge Mountain Quilt Guild, 6 to 9 p.m. fourth Thursday, January through October, and third Thursday, November and December in Canton. 316.1517 or on Facebook at Blue Ridge Mtn. Quilt Guild. • Smoky Mountain Knitting Guild meets every Wednesday from 1-3 p.m. Blue Ridge Books, Waynesville. 246.0789. • A basic knitting class will be offered from 10 a.m.noon each Tuesday at the Jackson County Senior Center. Free. Bring yarn and needles if you have them. 586.4944 or stop by the Jackson County Department on Aging and Senior Center in Sylva. • Nifty Needles group, which meets at First United Methodist Church in Sylva, is seeking new members to help knit and crochet warm, useful items for those in need. Supplies (yarn and needles) and lessons provided. • The Tuesday Quilters meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
34 every Tuesday at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran
• Eco-Forum: Planning your Spring Garden will be the topic of an Eco-Forum from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 4 at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin. Bring a covered dish to share at noon. 524.3691. • Beginning ski and snowboard lessons start Jan. 5 at Cataloochee Ski Area. $49 for a 1-3/4-hour lesson. Offer valid on non-holiday Monday through Friday in January. Register online: www.learntoskiandsnowboard.org. • A presentation on and discussion of black holes and wormholes will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9, at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in Rosman. Presentation will be made by Dr. Pam Khurana. Reservations required by 3 p.m. on Jan. 9. $20 adult; $15 seniors/military; $10 children under 14. Includes campus tour, trip to exhibit gallery and observing session. www.pari.edu, 862.5554 or cwhitworth@pari.edu. • The N.C. Bowhunters Association will host its annual measuring day from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Jan. 10 at Headwaters Outfitters in Rosman. 877.3106 or headwatersoutfitters.com.
SNOW SPORTS • A learn-to-ski series organized by Waynesville Parks and Recreation will be held 4-9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in January and February. Prices per trip for
All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. rec center members are $23 for lift ticket only; $35 for ticket and rentals; $7 for helmets and $10 for lessons. Prices for non-members are $25, $38, $7 and $10, respectively. 828.456.2030 or tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov • A six-week training program for females entitled “Women on Wednesdays” will start at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at Cataloochee Ski Area, and will run each Wednesday. Ski and snowboard lessons. www.cataloochee.com/downloads/wow-reg.pdf or 926.0285. • A learn-to-ski series, organized by the Jackson County Recreation Center and held at Cataloochee Ski Area, will be held over five weeks starting Jan. 11. Lessons are from 1:30-3 p.m. on Sundays. For ages 8 and up. $175 for lift, lesson and rental; $140 for lift and lesson; $90 for lesson alone (available only to season-pass holders with their own equipment). 293.3053. • Ski races for middle school and high school will start Jan. 6 at Cataloochee Ski Area. Races start at 6 p.m. every Tuesday for middle school and every Wednesday for high school. Season ends Sunday, March 1 for both. $30/night or $175/season – nonpass holders; $75/season pass holder with own equipment. www.isalessite.com/cataloochee/catalog/ticket. • The Cataloochee Challenge Cup Race Series will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, at Cataloochee Ski Area. Races are held at 7 p.m. ever Thursday through Feb. 26. Age categories are 18-20, 21-29, 30-39, 4049 and 50-over for both men and women. $15/race only; $35/race and lift ticket (6-10 p.m.). Helmet and goggles required; available for rental. Register between 6-7:30 p.m.
FARM & GARDEN • A training class for Haywood County’s 2015 Extension Master Gardener Volunteer program will be held from 9 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays from January through April. 456.3575. $120. Must complete class and participate in 40 hours of volunteer efforts through extension center. • The Jackson County Farmer’s Market has moved indoors for the winter. It is held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Community Table, located in downtown Sylva off Central Street between the playground and pool. 399.0290 www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org.
HIKING CLUBS • A Carolina Mountain Club “Sunday Halfday” hike of Jones Mountain will take place on Jan. 4. 667.5419 or bobbipowers23@gmail.com. • A Carolina Mountain Club hike in Pinnalce Park in Sylva with a 1,900 foot ascent will take place on Jan. 11. 587.9453, 371.0347 or brent_martin@tws.org. • Nantahala Hiking Club based in Macon County holds weekly Saturday hikes in the Nantahala National Forest and beyond. www.nantahalahikingclub.org • High Country Hikers, based out of Hendersonville but hiking throughout Western North Carolina, plans hikes every Monday and Thursday. Schedules, meeting places and more information are available on their website, www.highcountryhikers.org. • 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 • Mountain High Hikers, based in Young Harris, Ga., leads several hikes per week. Guests should contact hike leader. www.mountainhighhikers.org.
OUTDOOR CLUBS • Cold Mountain Photographic Society is a camera/photography club for amateurs and professionals who want to learn about and share their knowledge of photography with others. Must be 18 or older to join. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the conference room of MedWest Health and Fitness Center, 262 Leroy George Drive in Clyde. More information at www.cmpsnc.org or info@cmpsnc.org. • The Cherokee Runners meets each month on the 1st and 15th of the month (if the first falls on Sunday, the group meets on the 2nd), at the Age Link Conference Room. Group runs are being held each Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. starting at the Flame. www.cherokeerunners.com. • Small RV Camping club is seeking additional members. We camp one weekend per month March through November. All ages are welcome. No dues, no structured activities. Just an enjoyment of the outdoors, fellowship, good conversation, potluck dinners and a roaring campfire. Contact Lillian for more details lilnau@aol.com or 369.6669. • Mountain Wild, the local chapter of the N.C. Wildlife Federation works to preserve and increase wildlife and wildlife habitat of the region. Free programs and guest speakers held periodically at the WNC Nature Center in Asheville. Call 338.0035. • Free Fly Fishing Classes are offered at River’s Edge Outfitters in Cherokee every week. Participants of all ages and skill levels are welcome and encouraged to attend. Classes will be approximately an hour and half long. For more information contact Rivers Edge Outfitters at 497.9300. • The Jackson-Swain Master Gardeners’ Association meets at 9:30 a.m. every second Wednesday at the Jackson Community Services Building on Scotts Creek Road in Sylva. Mike Glover at 736.2768 or lmgofish@gmail.com. • Pigeon Valley Bassmasters Club will meet at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at J&S Cafeteria, Enka, Exit 44 off I-40. 712.2846. • Macon County Horse Association meets at 7:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the Macon County Fairgrounds Alumni Building. Education program and business meeting. ddoster@fs.fed.us. • The Macon County Beekeepers Association meets at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the extension office located on Thomas Heights Road next to Jim Brown Chrysler on Highlands Road. New members welcome. • Haywood Bee Keepers Association meets at 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the NC Ag center on Raccoon Road. hcbees.org. • Smoky Mountain Beekeepers meet at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of every month at the SCC Swain Center in Bryson City on Almond School Road. Open to anyone interested in honeybees. 554.6935. • The Franklin Walking Club meets at 10 a.m. every Saturday (weather permitting) at the Tassee picnic shelter on the Greenway at the corner of Wells Grove Road and Ulco Drive. All fitness levels are welcome, call Linda at 421.7613. • Swain County Trail Runners. Long run group meets 8 a.m. Saturdays at the Deep Creek Trailhead Parking Area in Bryson City. All runs are on trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Tsali Recreation Area. All distances, paces, ages welcome. More information at 399.0989, 488.6769 or wdtreern@yahoo.com. • The Sylva Garden Club meets at 9:30 a.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Presbyterian Church. hooperteresa@yahoo.com. • WNC Sportsman’s Club meets at 6:30 p.m. the first Monday night of each month at the Juke Box Junction Restaurant located in Bethel at the junction of US 276 and N.C. 110 wncsportsmansclub.com
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REACH READERS ACROSS North Carolina for only $375. Run your 25-word classified line ad in 99 newspapers with one call to this newspaper, or call NCPS at 919.516.8009.
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ARTS & CRAFTS ALLISON CREEK Iron Works & Woodworking. Crafting custom metal & woodwork in rustic, country & lodge designs with reclaimed woods! Design & consultation, Barry Downs 828.524.5763, Franklin NC
Rates: ■ Free — Residential yard sale ads, lost or found pet ads. ■ 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. ■ $50 — 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.
AUCTION HARPER’S AUCTION COMPANY Friday Jan. 2nd @ 6:00 p.m. Join Us for Start of the New Year. We Will Have Great Deals For Everyone; Loads of Furniture, Glass, Jewelry, Antiques and Much More! 47 Macon Center Dr. Franklin,NC 828.369.6999. Debra Harper, NCAL #9659, NCFL #9671. harpersauctioncompany.com
Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 | classads@smokymountainnews.com
WAYNESVILLE TIRE, COO
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Serving Haywood, Jackson & Surrounding Counties
AUCTION: Tractors, Tools, Forklift, Boats, Shop & Power Equipment, Specialty & Plumbing Tools, Fiberglass Equipment - Online Only Auction, Jones County, NC. www.HouseAuctionCompany.com 252.729.1162 NCAL#7889
Offering:
MAJOR-BRAND TIRES FOR CARS, LIGHT & MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCKS, AND FARM TIRES.
Service truck available for on-site repairs 273-261
LEE & PATTY ENSLEY, OWNERS
MON-FRI 7:30-5:00 • WAYNESVILLE PLAZA
828-456-5387
AUCTION Construction Equipment & Trucks, Richmond, VA. Excavators, Dozers, Dumps & More. Accepting Items Daily thru 12/5. Motleys Asset Disposition Group, 804.232.3300 x.4, www.motleys.com/industrial, VAAL#16. PUBLIC AUCTION 201 S. Central Ave., Locust, NC. Selling Tax Seized, Repo & Estate Vehicles, Heavy Equipment, Trucks, ATVs, Tools, Equipment, '65 Mustang 2+2 Fast Back, Street Rods, Pickup, Cars, Track Loader, Box Trucks. 704.791.8825. ncaf5479. www.ClassicAuctions.com
BUILDING MATERIALS HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.
CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING ACORN STAIRLIFTS. The Affordable solution to your stairs! **Limited time -$250 Off Your Stairlift Purchase!** Buy Direct & SAVE. Please call 1.800.291.2712 for FREE DVD and brochure. ALL THINGS BASEMENTY! Basement Systems Inc. Call us for all of your basement needs! Waterproofing, Finishing, Structural Repairs, Humidity and Mold Control. FREE ESTIMATES! Call 1.800.698.9217 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 SAFE STEP WALK-IN TUB. Alert for Seniors. Bathroom falls can be fatal. Approved by Arthritis Foundation. Therapeutic Jets. Less Than 4 Inch Step-In. Wide Door. Anti-Slip Floors. American Made. Installation Included. Call 800.807.7219 for $750 Off. SULLIVAN HARDWOOD FLOORS Installation- Finish - Refinish 828.399.1847.
AUTO PARTS BLOWN HEAD GASKET Cracked Heads/Block. State of the art 2-part Carbon Composite Repair! All Vehicles Foreign or Domestic including Northstars! 100% guaranteed. Call Now: 1.866.780.9038 SAPA
CARS *CASH TODAY* We’ll Buy Any Car (Any Condition) + Free Same Day Pick-Up. Best Cash Offer Guaranteed! Call for FREE Quote: 1.888.858.5835 SAPA 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. 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 DISABLED VETERAN Is in need of Cheap Transportation for tri-weekly VA Hospital Commute If you can help please call Jeff at 828.316.8930.
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Haywood County Real Estate Agents
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Beverly Hanks & Associates beverly-hanks.com • • • •
Jerry Smith
Michelle McElroy — beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig — beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey — beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither — esither@beverly-hanks.com
828-734-8765 jsmith201@kw.com
ERA Sunburst Realty — sunburstrealty.com
273-255
2562 Dellwood Rd. Waynesville
(U.S. Hwy. 19)
Haywood Properties — haywoodproperties.com
Between Russ Ave. & Maggie Valley kellerwilliamswaynesville.com
• Steve Cox — info@haywoodproperties.com
214-64
Keller Williams Realty
273-257
kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • Ron Kwiatkowski — ronk.kwrealty.com MOUNTAIN REALTY
Mieko
Mountain Home Properties — mountaindream.com
Thomson
• Sammie Powell — smokiesproperty.com
ROKER/R /REALTOR EALTORÂŽÂŽ BBROKER
Main Street Realty — mainstreetrealty.net
Cell (828) 226-2298 Cell
www.smokymountainnews.com
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
McGovern Real Estate & Property Management
mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com www.ncsmokies.com www.ncsmokies.com
2177 Russ Avenue Waynesville NC 28786
• Bruce McGovern — shamrock13.com
Emerson Group 273-01
• George Escaravage — gke333@gmail.com
Prudential Lifestyle Realty — vistasofwestfield.com Realty World Heritage Realty realtyworldheritage.com • Carolyn Lauter realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7766 • Martha Sawyer realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7769 • Linda Wester realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7771
Full Service Property Management 828-456-6111 www.selecthomeswnc.com Residential and Commercial Long-Term Rentals
RE/MAX — Mountain Realty • • • • • • •
remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com Brian K. Noland — brianknoland.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
Your Local Big Green Egg Dealer
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10-5 M-SAT. 12-4 SUN.
ON DELLWOOD RD. (HWY. 19) AT 20 SWANGER LANE WAYNESVILLE/MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.8778
The Seller’s Agency — listwithphil.com • Phil Ferguson — philferguson@bellsouth.net
272-187 273-226
TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 36
828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com
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EMPLOYMENT HEAD START PRE-SCHOOL ASSISTANT TEACHER- Jackson County- Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education is required for this position, must also have the ability to assume the responsibilities of the classroom when the teacher is absent, work well with parents, community partners and co-workers, and have good judgment/problem solving skills. Basic computer skills required. Two years classroom experience preferred. This is a 10 month position with benefits. HEAD START CENTER DIRECTORJackson County - Must have an AA Early Childhood Education degree; prefer someone with a BS Early Childhood Education/related field. Must have Administration levels I & II, basic Word use/e-mail use, good judgment/ problem solving skills, experience in classroom and the ability to work with diverse families. Prefer someone with two years supervisory experience; will be responsible for supervision of daily operations with a staff of 5. This is a 9 month part-time position. HEAD START PRESCHOOL TEACHER- Haywood CountyMust have BK or BS in related field. This position requires computer skills, the ability to work with diverse populations/community partners, 2 yrs. experience in classroom, responsible for classroom/paperwork and have good judgment/problem solving skills and time management skills. This is a 10 month position with benefits. HEAD START NC PRE-K TEACHER- Haywood County-Must have a Birth-K with teaching license. This position requires computer skills, the ability to work with diverse populations/community partners, 2 yrs. experience in Pre-K classroom, good judgment problem solving skills, lead role in classroom and time management skills. Employee will be responsible for classroom/ paperwork. This is a 10 month position with benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd, Waynesville, NC 28786 or 25 Schulman St, Sylva, NC or you may go to our website www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application. Pre-Employment drug testing is required. AA/EOE. ABUNDANT FREIGHT IN NC To multiple destinations for Steps & RGNs. Come with your own Step/RGN or pull ours AT NO COST! www.dailyrecruiting.com or 1.800.669.6414
EMPLOYMENT ATTN: Drivers-$2K Sign-on Bonus Keep your Motor Running in New KW $55 per/yr! Quality Home Time Free Health Clinics CDL-A Req 1.888.592.4752. www.addrivers.com SAPA DRIVERS: *New Year - New Opportunities* Looking for: Better Pay? Better Home-time? Better Equipment? Better Compensation??? CDL-A 1yr. Exp. 877.704.3773. 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. ADMINSTRATIVE ASSISTANT Appointment coordination, event and meeting planning, make travel arrangements, record, monitor expenses, raise monthly invoices. Send your resume and salary expectations to: ffwn90@gmail.com AIRLINE MECHANIC CAREERS Start Here - Get FAA Approved Maintenance Training. Financial Aid For Qualified Students. Job Placement Assistance. Call Aviation Institute Of Maintenance 1.866.724.5403 WWW.FIXJETS.COM. SAPA JOIN OUR TEAM! Guaranteed pay for Class A CDL Flatbed Drivers! Regional and OTR. Great pay/benefits/401k match. CALL TODAY 864.299.9645. www.jgr-inc.com NEED MEDICAL BILLING TRAINEES! Doctors & Hospitals need Medical Office Staff! No Experienced Needed! Online Training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed. Careertechnical.edu/nc. 1.888.512.7122 OWN YOUR OWN TRUCK! Best Lease Purchase Deal in the Country! *You can earn over $150,000 per year. *No Credit Check. *Late-model Freightliner Columbia. *Low Truck Payment. Call 866.612.2218 to talk to a recruiter. Apply Now Online @ www.joincrst.com. CAN YOU DIG IT? Heavy Equipment Operator Training! 3 Week Program. Bulldozers, Backhoes, Excavators. Lifetime Job Placement Assistance with National Certifications. VA Benefits Eligible! 866.288.6896 COMPUTER CERTIFICATION Online! Train at home to become a Help Desk Professional or MCSA certified! No Experience Needed! Call CTI for details! 1.888.734.6712. Visit us online at MyCTI.TV
EMPLOYMENT
ATTN: DRIVERS $2K Sign-On Bonus. Keep your Motor Running in New KW! $55K per/yr! Quality HomeTime. Free Health Clinics. CDL-A Req 877.258.8782. www.addrivers.com AVIATION MANUFACTURING Careers- Get started by training as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance. 877.300.9494.
FINANCIAL
WE ARE LOOKING FOR A Full Time, Experienced Kitchen Manager. Resumes can be emailed to: 2014employmentopportunity@ gmail.com Interested & Qualified Personnel For More Info Can Contact 407.509.7882 or 407.509.7879 WELDING CAREERS Hands on training for career opportunities in aviation, automotive, manufacturing and more. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call AIM 888.205.1735. GET PAID WEEKLY! FT and PT mail work from home. For full details visit: www.750weekly.com or call 512.827.0060 (24/7) 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 INJURED? IN A LAWSUIT? Need Cash Now? We Can Help! No Monthly Payments to Make. No Credit Check. Fast Service and Low Rates. Call Now 1.866.386.3692. www.lawcapital.com (Not available in NC, CO, MD & TN) SAPA SOCIAL SECURITY Disability Benefits. Unable to work? Denied benefits? We Can Help! WIN or Pay Nothing! Contact Bill Gordon & Associates at 1.800.371.1734 to start your application today!
FURNITURE COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778. HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price! 533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240
PETS ADOPTIONS HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329
ICHABOD IS ABOUT 3-1/2 MONTHS OLD. HE'S A FEISTY, HIGH ENERGY KITTEN WHO LOVES TO PLAY WITH TOYS. HE'S ALSO VERY LOVING AND LIKES TO BE PETTED AND CUDDLED.
REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT LEASE TO OWN 1/2 Acre Lots with Mobile Homes & Empty 1/2 Acre + Lots! Located Next to Cherokee Indian Reservation, 2.5 Miles from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. For More Information Please Call 828.506.0578
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. All dwellings advertised on an equal opportunity basis.
BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor shamrock13@charter.net McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.
STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT BULLFROG STORAGE Convenient Location 19/23 Between Clyde and Canton
5 x 10 = $25 10 x 10 = $40 10 x 20 = $75 • NO CONTRACTS • Nobody Beats Our Rates
828.342.8700
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
BANNER ELK, NC 10 acre tract adjoining National Forest, huge panoramic views of Grandfather Mountain & access to 2 lakes & 9 parks! Taking a loss, $49,900. 877.717.5263, extention 691.
Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.725.2962 Equal Housing Opportunity
Great Selection. Great Prices. Great Service ... Great People Prevent Unwanted Litters! The Heat Is On! Spay/Neuter For Haywood Pets As Low As $10. Operation Pit is in Effect! Free Spay/Neuter, Microchip & Vaccines For Haywood Pitbull Types & Mixes! Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 12 Noon - 6 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville
(828) 452-5111 Shop us online @ www.taylorfordonline.com
These are only the answers.
Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’
92
$
20’x20’
160
$
ONE MONTH
FREE
smokymountainnews.com
273-252
Puzzles can be found on page 38.
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
ANNA A VERY LOVELY, 2 YEAR OLD LAB MIX. SHE IS A FRIENDLY, SWEET AND HAPPY DOG WHO WOULD LIKE TO INTERVIEW SOMEONE TO BE HER VERY BEST FRIEND FOREVER.
REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT
WNC MarketPlace
25 DRIVER TRAINEES NEEDED! Become a driver for Stevens Transport! No Experience Needed! New drivers earn $800+ per week! PAID CDL TRAINING! Stevens covers all costs! 1.888.748.4137 drive4stevens.com
EMPLOYMENT
WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT
828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828 Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction
37
www.smokymountainnews.com
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
WNC MarketPlace
Super
38
WRIGLEY FIELD
CROSSWORD
69 Possesses 70 Discoloration ACROSS 71 Bug a lot 1 March day to 72 Rte. suggestions “beware” 73 Like the Greek letter 5 Does nothing psi 10 18-hole game 76 Antlered deer 14 Made inquiries 78 Rosie’s bolts 19 Actor Green 79 Tennis shot 20 Sends via the USPS 80 U-Haul rival 21 Verbalized 82 Talk laryngitically 22 Dane’s neighbor 86 “- My Heart in San 23 Revolution around Francisco” the moon 87 Ownership 25 Yellow car 89 Shimmer with rain26 Smell, taste or touch bowlike colors 27 Inspecting individual 91 Banned fruit spray 28 Truck and SUV maker 92 Flower-to-be 29 Feather-fixing bird 93 Like a real treat 31 Existence like Riley’s 96 First game in a series 35 Naval Academy frosh 99 Flaky dessert 39 Camcorder button 100 “À - santé!” abbr. 101 1990-2011 sport 40 Join the Navy, e.g. compact car 41 M20 rocket launcher 108 Adolescents’ sup46 Finished in the lead port group 47 Russian gymnast 109 Unsound Korbut 110 Uppercase letters 51 “Hugo” director 115 Poison Martin 116 Critic Siskel 52 Not bottled, as beer 118 Apt activity while 54 The “P” of the S&P solving this puzzle? 500 120 Olympics unit 55 Zap, as a suspect 121 PC image 56 “The Rachel Maddow 122 Aired a second time Show” airer 123 “... - the whole 59 Pit bull’s warning thing!” 60 Lemon, lime or 124 Grasslike marsh orange plant 61 Enterprise counselor 125 Proboscis Deanna 126 Feelers 63 1970s Cincinnati 127 Make tracks team nickname 66 Ocean east of Mass. DOWN
1 Atoll part 2 Two, in Paris 3 Erupter in Sicily 4 Pillowcase 5 “- roll!” (casino cry) 6 Risktaker 7 Cuba - (rum drink) 8 Certain Ivy Leaguer 9 JFK jet, once 10 “No idea!” 11 Seer’s site 12 Permissive 13 Abrupt policy reversal 14 Appraise 15 What candy satisfies 16 Rogers or Loggins 17 Ford fiasco 18 Plowmaker John 24 Spud sieves 28 Small lizard 30 Restraint 32 Move to and 33 Early U.S. auto 34 Not external 35 Discreet “Looky here!” 36 - Brasi (“The Godfather” enforcer) 37 Poetic saga 38 Artsy cap 42 Grieves over 43 Chip in 44 Japanese Buddhist sect 45 More mad 48 Loughlin and Petty 49 Pig’s sound 50 Donkeys 53 In vogue 54 “- card, any card!” 57 Air rifle ammo 58 Quoteworthy 60 Excursion in an auto
62 Clark Gable’s Butler 64 Interval 65 Cheapskates 66 Chambers of the heart 67 Diva’s shake 68 - lie (be someone you’re not) 74 Thawing out 75 Neighbors of swing sets 77 Painter El 81 Day, to Julio 83 “Same - ever was” 84 Injury vestige 85 Soccer legend 87 Finding a radio station 88 Kick out 90 Prepare for eating, as a shrimp 92 Neuwirth of “Frasier” 94 Muscle jerk 95 Faith: Abbr. 97 “Mambo king” Tito 98 Protected pachyderms 101 Aussie pals 102 “How do - thee?” 103 Took a toll on 104 Actress Graff or Kristen 105 Bakery tools 106 Play with as a puppy might 107 Gyrates 111 Nine-to-fiver’s cry 112 “(I’ve Got - in) Kalamazoo” 113 Sitar, e.g. 114 Captain Hook’s pal 117 - -warrior 118 PC screen 119 Bray syllable
answers on page 37
STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT CLIMATE CONTROLLED STORAGE UNITS FOR RENT 1 Month Free with 12 Month Rental. Maggie Valley, Hwy. 19, 1106 Soco Rd. For more information call Torry
828.734.6500, 828.734.6700 maggievalleyselfstorage.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.
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SERVICES 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 DIRECTV! Act Now- $19.99/mo. Free 3Months of HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME & CINEMAX. FREE GENIE HD/DVR Upgrade! 2014 NFL Sunday Ticket included with Select Packages. New Customers Only. IV Support Holdings LLC- An authorized DirecTV Dealer. Some exclusions apply Call now for more details 1.800.849.3514 ENJOY 100 PERCENT GUARANTEED, Delivered-to-the-door Omaha Steaks! SAVE 74 percent PLUS 4 FREE Burgers - The Family Value Combo - ONLY $39.99. ORDER Today 1.800.715.2010 Use code 48829AFK or visit us online at: www.OmahaSteaks.com/mbfvc46 SAPA
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WEEKLY SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine. Answers on Page 37
It’s the ‘other information’ that makes almanacs interesting
N
George Ellison
ow is the time to make resolutions, order seeds for the coming year’s garden and buy an almanac for 2015. Just doing those things will make you feel better. My almanac of choice this year is titled “Harris’ Farmer’s Almanac for the use of farmers, planters, mechanics and all families for the year of our Lord 2015 being the first year after the bissextile, or leap year, and until the Fourth of July, the 237th year of American Independence containing the astroColumnist nomical calculations for Northern, Southern and Middle States, weather forecasts, planting tables and a variety of matter useful and entertaining.” I picked it up in the magazine section of the Ingles store here in Bryson City. My checkout person didn’t have anything to say while ringing up my cheese, ground turkey, pasta, crunchy peanut butter, blackberry jam, or Red Hook beer, but when she happened upon the almanac, she said: “You believe in that stuff?” “Absolutely,” I said. “How can they predict the weather so far
BACK THEN ahead of time?” she said. “Beats me,” I said. “Did you know that the first printed almanac was published in 1475?” “No,” she said. “Debit or credit?” Actually, I don’t ever look at the weather predictions or follow the seed-planting advice. But late at night when I can’t get to sleep an almanac provides just the sort of reading material you need. Modern-day almanacs are of several types. The traditional survives in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which has been continuously published in the United States since 1792. But the bestknown type is now a vast compendium of statistical, historical and other information. It’s the “other information” that interests me. Did you know that the term “Dead Man’s Hand” refers to the cards Wild Bill Hickok was supposedly holding when Jack McCall shot him at Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon in Springfield, Missouri? Did you know that “The southern Argentine region of Patagonia takes its
name from mythical human giants, but real giant dinosaur fossils have been found there? The largest is named Argentinosaurus. His nickname is “Argie.” The skeletal restoration displayed at Dr. Coria’s Museum in Patagonia measures 130 feet in length. It’s estimated that “Argie” weighed somewhere between 60 and 110 tons when he roamed the earth about 95 million years ago. Did you know that “The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan, boasts the longest porch in the world at 660 feet in length”? Did you know that the first transcontinental telephone line — stretching from New York to
San Francisco — required 130,000 poles? Or that the hole for the last pole was dug in Wendover, Utah, in 1913? Did you know that the primary ingredient in “funeral pie” is raisins because — unlike fresh fruit — they were available year-round? Did you know that the Library of Congress is the largest institution of its kind in the world, containing “158-million items stored on 838 miles of of bookshelves, 36 million books written in 470 foreign languages, the papers of 23 presidents, including George Washington’s, 3.5 million recordings, 13.7 million photographs, 5.5 million maps, 6.7 million pieces of sheet music, and 69 million manuscripts”? And so on — exactly the sort of “other information” one is looking for when suffering from insomnia late at night. 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.
Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2015
A
bi-monthly magazine that covers the southern Appalachian mountains and celebrates the area’s environmental riches, its people, culture, music, art, crafts and special places. Each issue relies on regional writers and photographers to bring the Appalachians to life.
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Author Denton Loving on one of life’s greatest questions The Chattanooga Zoo works to preserve hellbenders Historical and harrowing tales of snowstorm survival Carroll Best’s banjo legacy
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