Smoky Mountain News | January 1, 2020

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

January 1-7, 2020 Vol. 21 Iss. 31

A&E Editor picks best albums of 2019 Page 20 Wisdom, humor found in outdoors quotes Page 28

CONTENTS On the Cover: As we count down the last days of 2019, the year just wouldn’t be complete without The Smoky Mountain News’s annual spoof awards and Fake News Freakout. After such a busy year of covering the most important news in Western North Carolina, we enjoy taking a lighthearted look back — finding the humor and ridiculousness in the headlines and honoring those who have made their mark. So take a break, share a few laughs and get ready to wipe the slate clean for 2020. Congratulations to our winners, and if you didn’t get an award don’t worry. There’s always next year.

Opinion

STAFF EDITOR/PUBLISHER: ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: ART DIRECTOR: DESIGN & WEBSITE: DESIGN & PRODUCTION: ADVERTISING SALES:

CLASSIFIEDS: NEWS EDITOR: WRITING:

Sixty snuck up and smacked me ..................................................................................16 Twelve commandments for the New Year ..................................................................17

ACCOUNTING & OFFICE MANAGER: DISTRIBUTION: CONTRIBUTING:

A&E

CONTACT

Editor’s choice: Best albums of 2019 ........................................................................20

Books Memoir of illness full of gallantry and wit ..................................................................27

Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Travis Bumgardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . travis@smokymountainnews.com Jessica Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessica.m@smokymountainnews.com Susanna Barbee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Hylah Birenbaum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jessi Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessi@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Cory Vaillancourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cory@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), George Ellison (writing), Gary Carden (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Susanna Barbee (writing).

WAYNESVILLE | 144 Montgomery, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585 SYLVA | 629 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779 P: 828.631.4829 | F: 828.631.0789 INFO & BILLING | P.O. Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786

Outdoors Wisdom, humor found in quotes ..................................................................................28

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Back Then

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Smoky Mountain News

January 1-7, 2020

Start planning the gardens now ....................................................................................39

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SUBSCRIPTION:

1 YEAR $65 | 6 MONTHS $40 | 3 MONTHS $25

FAKE FAKE NEWS NEWS FREAKOUT!!!!!!

FREAKOUT!!!!!! FOUR FOUR

Cory Vaillancourt photo illustration

decides to actually print “fake news,” and remember, if you read something in our paper at any other time of the year, it’s not fake news (even that one about the meth bear).

SMN Staff Writer/Outdoors editor Holly Kays contributed to this fake news report, which is fake.

NCGOP ROLLS OUT LOVABLE MASCOT TO PROMOTE GERRYMANDERING After suffering the indignity (twice!) of being forced to redraw election maps that a North Carolina court deemed unconstitutional racist gerrymanders, officials in North Carolina’s Republican Party have decided to mount a charm offensive reminding the public just how adorable gerrymandering was, is and could still be.

“Gawsh, folks! All this kerfuffle over lil’ ol’ Gerry?” said Gerry, the Magical Gerrymandering LizardTM recently unveiled

Fake News FREAKOUT!! as part of a multi-county multimedia marketing push set to begin later this month.

Gerry explained that in the past, Democrats had loved and cared for him for more than a century, when their legislative dominance allowed them to sustain him with naught but the collective power of friendship. Once Gerry passed to a new master, the Republicans, they loved him too, nurturing him and even updating his appearance to reflect the changing times. But then, “ … the mean ol’ Wake County court got involved and gawsh! Now nobody loves ol’ Gerry,” said Gerry the Magical Gerrymandering LizardTM, wiping tears from his adorable googly eyes staring through your very soul.

“Nobody.”

SYLVA TO DECIDE FUTURE ELECTIONS BY ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS For the second time in three election cycles, a Sylva municipal election ended with a tie and a coin toss. This prompted town leaders to pass an ordinance that in the future will allow the town to forego the electoral process, which has traditionally struggled with low participation and lackluster ratings, to instead decide town board seats through rock, paper, scissors tournaments.

“I had a great time flipping that silver dollar during this year’s tie, but it’s not fair for me to have all the fun,” said Jackson County Board of Elections Chairman Kirk Stephens. “Rock, paper, scissors is unquestionably the way of the future. With turnout consistently in the teens, the results currently represent only a small minority of voters.

Smoky Mountain News

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT FAKE N EWS E DITOR t’s the most wonderful time of the year!

That’s right, it’s time for our annual installment of the Fake News Freakout, in which we take stories that sprout from a small grain of truth, harvest them, and then process them into a multi-layered cake of mockery and silliness frosted with fraud.

Please note that this is the only time of year we do this. That’s right, we get letters and comments throughout the year calling certain stories “fake,” but they’re actually not. In fact, when I started this little holiday feature four years ago, I thought it would be a one-off, a flash in the pan, a convenient way to make light of just how difficult it is for some people to tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

Unfortunately, there still seems to be some lingering confusion over what is fake news (the stories below) and what is not fake news (things you don’t agree with).

So take these stories with a grain of salt, but do take them as examples of what happens when The Smoky Mountain News

I

January 1-7, 2020

Gerry, the Magical Gerrymandering LizardTM.

See FAKE NEWS, P.4 3

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FAKE NEWS, continued This method will keep elections competitive while also ramping up voter interest by reimagining civic duty as a spectator sport.”

The town’s next step is to lobby the state for a change to campaign finance laws that will add rock, paper, scissors coaching as an acceptable expenditure category. Other plans include building an addition to town hall that can serve as a stadium for those who wish to view the elections proceedings.

OBAMACARE TYPO HOLDS UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES While much of the nation continues to focus on the debate over socialized medicine, an overlooked typographical error in the 906page Affordable Care Act of 2010 — commonly known as Obamacare — promises to get some patients on the road to recovery, and fast. “I want my Obamacar,” said area man Lance Rockwell. “It says right here I’m entitled to a free Obamacar.” Upon discovery of the error an online Obamacar Exchange was hastily constructed, featuring an array of attractive but unaffordable models including

Our subterranean reptilian overlords approve of Waynesville’s new waste treatment plant.

Smoky Mountain News

January 1-7, 2020

Cory Vaillancourt photo illustration

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Ford’s 1974 Pinto at just $394 a month for the rest of your life. Somehow, government intervention in the used car market hasn’t gone tremendously well, nor has Obamacar coverage become anything remotely resembling universal. In fact, the Obamacar program has been met with nothing but opposition from conservatives who have sought to water down the expansive entitlement by offering scooters or pay-as-you-go bicycles as a stopgap measure, or by just simply kicking needy Americans to the curb.

BIGFOOT FACES METH DISTRIBUTION CHARGES Investigators have determined that a woods-dwelling primate best known by the street name “Bigfoot” is to blame for the methamphetamine found in the system of a bear euthanized for aggressive behavior in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The bear was initially thought to have received its fix through the morbid method of feeding on the body of a man who died in the park as the result of a meth overdose.

However, further investigation revealed that the bear much prefers to snort its meth and had a longtime distribution arrangement

with Bigfoot, who is well known for his ability to avoid detection and maintain the type of secrecy that is key to successful drug dealing.

There is now a warrant out for Bigfoot’s arrest, but bringing him in could prove challenging. He is notoriously difficult to track or trap, but the investigative team expects to receive help from some well-known experts in evasion and subterfuge. Santa Claus, who has recently entered his annual off-season, will join in the effort, as will the Easter Bunny, who expects the task to be completed well in advance of crunch time for egg preparation.

Bigfoot could not be reached for comment.

NEW WAYNESVILLE SEWAGE PLANT GETS FINAL OK Although much of its planning was undertaken during former Mayor Gavin Brown’s administration and project completion will still take place under the oversight of newly elected Mayor Gary Caldwell, Waynesville’s new multi million-dollar waste treatment plant received final approval last week from the supreme legitimate authority, our subterranean reptilian overlords.

“This design pleases us,” said a spokeslizard whose true name is unpronounceable to the crude, non-forked human tongue. “As your subterranean reptilian overlords, we have watched from the shadows for eons and we don’t want you shitting up our highly-evolved underground utopian world like you’ve done to your own.”

Our subterranean reptilian overlords have dabbled in the primitive, child-like affairs of humankind for millennia by rightfully utilizing their unquestioned mental, physical and spiritual superiority to select our leaders, foment wars, control interest rates and induce various plagues and famines — which our inferior society rightly deserves — but in recent years our subterranean reptilian overlords have had to exercise increased scrutiny over longstanding, short-sighted, selfish decision-making that is destroying the only known planet home to our noble, omnipotent subterranean reptilian overlords, explained the spokeslizard.

“Also, Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself.”

Note: It is the official policy of The Smoky Mountain News and its employees, contractors and worldwide distributors to enthusiastically support without reservation the legitimacy, supremacy and ultimate agenda of our subterranean reptilian overlords.

MICKEY LUKER TO ATTEND

What is the

CELEBRATION PLANS FOR 2020 BANNIVERSARY The year has only just begun, but planning has already started for The Smoky Mountain News’ observance of the second anniversary of its banishment from Tribal Council chambers.

Dubbed the “Banniversary Bash,” the event will take place on Sunday, April 5, two years after Tribal Council’s 2018 vote to exclude all media representatives from its chambers, aside from those working for the tribally owned Cherokee One Feather.

imply, it is the Church founded by Jesus Christ, established by the Apostles, and handed down through the centuries to today. oly Resurrection Orthodox Church is a canonical mission Church meeting in Waynesville. Our services are in English, all are welcomed to worship with us, and we have a special outreach to the poor and the lost, and to those who seek to love God by loving others.

H

Interested? Contact us at 828-775-9122 or Orthodoxwaynesville.org

Waynesville's Own

Indie Bookstore The latest in high-def TV technology will bring the televised Banniversary Bash to life. Micah McClure illustration SMN will celebrate with cake, ice cream and balloons, inviting the entire community to share in the festivities via a high-definition livestream to be set up in the parking lot. This plan was developed following careful consideration of the risks and benefits of allowing attendees carte blanche access to the party chambers. It was determined that, while the Banniversary Bash is of course a

Fake News FREAKOUT!! community event, there is no compelling reason to release the cake’s specific flavor profile to the general public.

The determination was made easier in light of the fact that the livestream, to be permanently archived online, will be extremely high-definition with multiple camera angles, and ultimately more useful than in-person attendance to those wishing to accurately document the event.

“Details such as cake texture, icing color and degree of ice cream melt will be more accurately captured through the high-definition livestream than when viewed in person,” said SMN Publisher Scott McLeod. “It is a well known fact that those who encounter cakes on an in-person basis are often tempted to eat them before properly observing their attributes, but this approach will ensure that does not happen. This will result not only in better information for the community at large, but also in more cake for me. I’ve requested carrot cake with extra icing, and I’m really looking forward to having a huge slice.”

The Banniversary Bash is scheduled for 4

to 6 p.m. at SMN headquarters in Waynesville but will probably be rescheduled without notice.

Cozy Up With a Good Book!

MEDIA GIANT GANNETT MISTAKENLY BUYS PAPER IT ALREADY OWNED News of yet another local newspaper acquisition by lamestream corporate media boogeyman Gannett was met with confusion last week when it was revealed that Gannett had in actuality owned The Quahog Informant, of Quahog, Rhode Island, since 2004. “It was an honest mistake,” said Mary Sue Frothingslosh, a spokesperson for the company. “It’s really hard to keep track of them all.” Further confusion ensued when Gannett learned that the Informant didn’t really exist in physical form and was instead merely a pool of Florida-based graphic designers and a single lowly stringer no one had ever actually met named simply, Doug.

It’s not yet clear where, exactly, the $4 million asking price for the Informant went, but the day after the deal was formalized, Doug stopped filing stories and hasn’t been heard from since. Gannett announced plans to fill the space with wire stories about a cantankerous pair of kittens caught in a tree in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Finding A Way Forward Through Grief Join us for support starting at

12:00 noon

Friday • January 3 Lunch & bereavement program provided free of charge.

OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY for more information call

828.452. 5039

LAWYERS FOR THE ESTATE OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN

Smoky Mountain News

SMN ANNOUNCES

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January 1-7, 2020

In response to backlash surrounding his frequent use of speakerphone to attend meetings of the board to which voters elected him, Jackson County Commissioner Mickey Luker has announced plans to implement an innovative solution in the new year.

Luker has not graced the commissioners’ meeting chambers with his presence since August, and while he has been able to clear time from his busy schedule to call in to about 38 percent of the subsequent meetings, this method has the obvious drawback of using up way too many minutes on the commissioner’s phone plan. Recognizing the issue, Luker has spent much of the past few months attending regular sessions with his personal medium in order to evaluate the potential of a supernatural solution to the y problem.

“Election results show that in 2016, I was s y able to win the hearts and minds of voters and earn a seat on the county commission, r but what’s better than winning hearts and minds? Well, actually occupying them, of course,” said Luker.

For the remainder of his term, Luker — with the help of reputed medium Gabriella Psychadella — will attend meetings via telepathy. Using this method, Luker will be privy to all public documents and public comments as they occur but without the burdensome task of keeping the phone line open during these proceedings. The telepathy method will also grant him the ability to read the minds of those members of the public who opt not to make official statements to the board but have strong opinions nevertheless. This will have the effect of making him an even better barometer of community sentiment than the four commissioners who rely on old-fashioned attendance methods.

“Though I may be distant in body, in spirit I will be closer than ever,” said Luker.

“In 2020 I will be able to understand my constituents’ priorities and concerns in a way that my colleagues can only dream of.

And actually, thanks to Gabriella Psychadella, they won’t even be able to dream about it as well as I can. Hang on, incoming call, gotta go.”

news

Orthodox Christian Church?

COMMISSIONER MEETINGS VIA TELEPATHY

ANTICIPATE BUSY YEAR Just weeks after learning of a proposed resort that appears to be heavily influenced by

See BOBBINS, P.65

HAYWOOD HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE 43 Bowman Dr., Waynesville

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Elk are wild animals, and getting this close to them is extremely dangerous.

But with visitor centers closed and staff furloughed, there was nobody around to remind visitors like this family to keep a safe distance during the shutdown. Holly Kays photo

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

A

Smoky Mountain News

January 1-7, 2020

s we ring in the New Year, The Smoky Mountain News likes to look back and reflect on the last year of news.

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The headlines that have graced our pages in 2019 have had an important impact on the people of Western North Carolina, and our staff has taken its job of reporting and analyzing those issues seriously.

However, just before those news stories become part of this region’s history and before we head into a new decade, we like to look back at the year and highlight some of the humor in the stories we’ve reported on all year.

Our annual Spoof Awards and Fake News Freakout pay tribute to the people, places and events that have rounded out 2019.

Congratulations and condolences to those who have earned an award this year. We appreciate the laughs and hope you can find the courage to laugh at yourselves as well. If you didn’t make the cut in 2019, there’s still plenty of time in the coming year to leave your mark.

THE OVERFLOWING TOILET AWARD The federal government gets this one in the wake of a 34-day government shutdown that included most of January.

Despite the lapse in pay for all federal employees — though not for lawmakers — and furlough of all “nonessential personnel,” the national parks remained open to visitors.

In fact, more people visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the shutdown than during the same period in 2018 when all services were running.

Included under the umbrella of nonessential personnel were the employees who clean and maintain bathroom facilities throughout the park. While government funding may have ceased for the month of January, nature’s call did not. Visitors still came to the park, and they still found themselves in need of a particular type of relief during their stay. An uptick in the presence of human feces at popular park locations prompted Friends of the Smokies and the Great Smoky Mountains Association to donate money to keep the restrooms open, with federal funds from the Federal Land and Recreation Enhancement Act kicking in about halfway through the shutdown.

After beginning Dec. 22, 2018, the shutdown finally ended on Jan. 25. Since then, the Smokies has kept on track for another recordbreaking year, by the end of November recording 11.8 million visits — more than the 11.4 million logged over the entirety of 2018, which was also a record-breaking year.

THE GREEK TRAGEDY AWARD A man, Aristotle said, does not become a hero until he sees the root of his own downfall.

Aristotle was one of the first and perhaps best to define the literary concept of a tragic hero, and one can’t help but notice a striking correlation to the political career of Gavin Brown.

Brown’s a seven-decade resident of Waynesville, and had served multiple terms as both alderman and mayor. That ended this past November when he was voted out of office — convincingly — in favor of longtime Alderman Gary Caldwell. The resolution of Brown’s character arc wasn’t surprising to anyone who’d been following along, however.

Despite being largely responsible for a number of Waynesville’s great victories in recent years, including holding down taxes in the aftermath of a recession, successfully opposing an NCDOT project that would have decimated one of the town’s most historic neighborhoods and shepherding the town’s new waste treatment plant into being, Brown’s personal and professional life eventually began to overshadow his political life.

In 2018, Brown was indicted for forgery after using a notary’s stamp and falsifying a signature on an otherwise mundane deed transfer. When asked why he’d done it, Brown told SMN that “the Greek word ‘hubris’” was what led him to do the deed. Hubris, explains Aristotle, is the fatal flaw that often leads to the downfall of the tragic hero.

BYE, FELICIA! It might appear that Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, has had it out for Haywood County, but electorally she’s been more popular here than she has been in her home county of Yancey, even though she singlehandedly blocked a proposed Haywood County municipal merger that was overwhelmingly supported by all of the parties involved, and singlehandedly blocked an increase in Haywood County’s room occupancy tax rate that was overwhelmingly supported by all of the parties involved, and singlehandedly blocked a proposed change in how Haywood selects its tax collector that was overwhelmingly supported by all of the parties involved, and sin-

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Rep. Michele Presnell isn’t seeking reelection to her seat this year. news

Cory Vaillancourt photo

Cherokee children help celebrate the new joint ownership of the Nikwasi Mound in Franklin. Jessi Stone photo

TOO BIG FOR THEIR BRITCHES AWARD

Interim UNC President Bill Roper, who selected Brown’s name to send to the Board of Governors for consideration. In a unanimous vote, the board elected Brown to the position during a special session Thursday, April 25.

Brown, 60, most recently served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Georgia College & State University, Georgia’s public liberal arts insti-

THE BETTER LATE THAN NEVER AWARD This one goes to the UNC Board of Governors, which this April elected Kelli R. Brown as Western Carolina University’s 12th permanent chancellor — after leaving the position vacant for more than a year.

Brown, who began her new job July 1, succeeded former Chancellor David O. Belcher, who stepped down from the post at the end of 2017 and passed away in June 2018 after a two-year battle with brain cancer.

After Belcher announced in November 2017 that he would be leaving the chancellor’s office, WCU formed a search committee in hopes of having a new leader in place for the fall 2018 semester. Trustees approved a list of three potential chancellors in June 2018, sending the names on to then-UNC President Margaret Spellings, who selected one of the three to forward to the Board of Governors for approval.

But a reportedly contentious closed session meeting in July ended without a vote on the selection, and the candidate withdrew from consideration. Then-Chairman Harry Smith said the board wanted to review the chancellor search process to “refine and improve” it, implying this should be done before WCU resumed its search. However, after a two-month hiatus the search relaunched in September using the same process as the previous round. On March 1, trustees voted to endorse another list of three candidates, forwarding the names to

Chancellor Kelli R. Brown tution, and has more than 30 years of higher education experience. However, her professional journey had a humble beginning — her first post-secondary pursuit was an associate’s degree in dental hygiene, a program that landed her a job at a dentist’s office in Toledo, Ohio. She now holds a doctorate in education and is the first woman to take the top job at WCU, at least on a permanent basis — former Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar served as interim chancellor during the lengthy search process.

THE GRASS IS GREENER AWARD They say the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but you’ll never know unless you take a chance and climb over the mountain to take a look.

The town of Franklin has been maintaining the Nikwasi Mound in the middle of Main Street for more than 70 years — mostly just keeping the grass mowed around the sacred native ground — but this year the town council decided to get outside of its comfort zone and see if the grass is greener on the other side by giving someone else a chance to take over ownership.

The town has been approached before by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians about taking back ownership of the mound, but past leaders haven’t been willing to discuss the option. It’s been a source of contention between Macon County and the tribe for years. To the town’s credit, it has had the deed since 1947 when the people of Macon County pitched in money to buy the property to save it from being developed and handed it to the town for safe keeping.

But this year a new community nonprofit made up of members representing the county, the town, EBCI and Mainspring Conservation Trust — Nikwasi Initiative — asked the town to turn over the deed to the organization so that more efforts can be made to preserve the mound and educate the public about its history.

You would have thought the group had asked for a sacrificial virgin the way some residents reacted to the request. Obviously the mound isn’t going anywhere and who better to take care of it than a group that represents everyone’s interests? And EBCI has money to invest in their sacred lands, while the town does not.

In the end, the town board unanimously

Smoky Mountain News

Parents really need to stop telling their kids they can grow up to be anything they want to be because the number of inexperienced politicians coming out of the woodwork is getting a bit ridiculous. Just because your mommy loves you and tells you you’re smart and special doesn’t mean you have the qualifications to run for higher office. Maybe it’s not just too many hugs from mom — the fact that America is being run by someone who is also inexperienced in policy and politics might be the culprit behind all these overly confident old white men suddenly finding their calling for public office.

We once had homegrown politicians who would only consider running for state representative or senator after years of serving in their own communities and building up a reputation and local knowledge — Republican Jim Davis spent years as a county commissioner in Macon before running for N.C. Senate. Republican Kevin Corbin served on the Macon County Board of

Education and then as the commission chairman for years before running for representative. We used to have leaders with no other ambitions but to serve their community, but now we have people who’ve barely served one term as a county commissioner running for state office. Who the hell do they think they are? I guess if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

January 1-7, 2020

glehandedly blocked an increase in Haywood County’s room occupancy tax rate that was overwhelmingly supported by all of the parties involved, again.

Perhaps the only fair thing she did for Haywood County in her four terms in office was announce her retirement right at the outset of the candidate filing period — we’re looking at you, Mark Meadows — so that people of all political persuasions could give thoughtful contemplation to a bid for her seat.

Two candidates have emerged — firstterm Haywood County Commissioner Mark Pless, and United Steelworkers official Alan Jones, of Canton — but regardless of who wins, the tiny sliver of Haywood County that lies within House District 118 may finally have a voice in Raleigh.

S EE 2019, PAGE 8 7

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Judicial candidate Jim Moore (left) chats with Rep. Mark Meadows in Swain County this past fall. Cory Vaillancourt photo

Antony Chiang was hired as Dogwood Health Trust's first chief executive officer.

Jessi Stone photo

2019, CONTINUED FROM 7

Smoky Mountain News

January 1-7, 2020

approved signing the deed over to Nikwasi Initiative along with safeguards that allow the mound to revert back to town ownership if something unforeseen happens. We hope the grass will be greener for everyone in the coming years as more attention is placed on preserving the mound.

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES AWARD Forrest Gump’s mama said it best. Stupid is as stupid does. This award goes to North Carolina legislators who thought it was a good idea to cut another $9 million in mental health funding from Western North Carolina for 2019-20 while at the same time claiming they are working hard to address the opioid epidemic.

How can the state fight the growing number of people addicted to drugs when Republican legislators can’t see the correlation between mental health and addiction?

We could also talk about how Republicans don’t want to expand Medicaid to cover more people with addiction and mental health issues, but that’s a whole other award. In the last four years, the state legislature has cut $48 million from Single Stream Funding to Vaya Health, the provider that doles out mental health funding to local providers in 23 western counties. In the meantime, some of these same western counties are experiencing the highest rates of overdose deaths in the state. Way to cut off your nose to spite your face.

THE GOLDEN GOOSE AWARD No one was crazy about the idea of Mission Health, the last nonprofit hospital network in the region, selling to a for-profit health care giant like HCA, but if there’s one 8 good thing that has come out of that transac-

tion already is the creation of the Dogwood Health Trust.

Proceeds from the sale went toward establishing a new health care foundation to serve Western North Carolina, which means the new nonprofit — operating outside of Mission’s scope — will have $1.5 billion to put toward worthy programs that will improve the overall health of WNC communities.

The health foundations that previously supported Mission’s network of hospitals have also had to find a broader mission since they can no longer just give money to the hospital. These legacy foundations will be receiving $15 million over the next several years and will also be awarding health-related grants to community organizations.

That is an unheard of amount of money being invested in a region that is in desperate need of resources, especially as the state battles the drug epidemic and the state continues to cut mental health services. From what we’ve seen so far from DHT, the board’s priorities seem to be on track — they hired an innovated new CEO with the experience needed to lead this new venture and they seem to understand the underlying causes of poor health in our region. It’s not just about people being uninsured, though that’s part of the problem, but they also understand to be healthy people need an affordable place to live, a secure living wage job, access to fresh fruits and vegetables, mental health and addiction resources and so much more.

The next few years presents a golden opportunity to change this region for the better — let’s not mess it up.

PUT UP OR SHUT UP AWARD Politicians are good at talking the talk but not walking the walk. Well, Macon County Commissioners have put their money where their mouths are in 2019. While county governments have been complaining about the state’s lack of action when it comes to funding

education and infrastructure in the far west — Macon County included — Macon commissioners decided to do something about it.

Yes, it’s unfair the state hasn’t been funding education or broadband infrastructure like it should, but they realized nothing will get done if it’s not done — or at least started — at the local level. Commissioners first approved a property tax increase to be able to make up the public schools’ budget shortfall.

Usually raising taxes can be political suicide, but commissioners did what needed to be done. In October, commissioners approved spending $678,000 over the next two years to help two broadband projects move forward.

Commissioners approved $500,000 for the Town of Highlands broadband project over the next two years and $178,000 for the Little T Broadband project to bring coverage to Scaly Mountain and Otto.

Good for Macon County for knowing they ought to have skin in the game if they expect the state to step up to the plate.

WHO ARE YOU KIDDING AWARD Good lord! Would someone just elect Jim Moore to something already? He’s run for just about every office he’s eligible for in the last four years — district attorney, clerk of court and now he’s running for District Court judge. Not that Moore isn’t well qualified for those positions — he’s been a well-respected lawyer in Haywood County for many years.

He’s also a well-known Democrat and ran as such in his pursuit of DA and clerk of court, which is why it was such a shock when he announced he’d be running for District Court judge on the Republican ticket. OK, well maybe he had a good reason. Maybe he’ll be honest and say running in the primary against lesser known lawyers would increase his shot of winning. Nope. When interviewed about his change of party, Moore said he had realized how much the Republican Party had done for members of his family and how his friends commented that he’s more conservative than liberal when it comes to law and order. Not that political affiliation should have anything to do with running for a place on the bench, but since the race is partisan these days, we hope Moore knows he’s not fooling anybody. Maybe it will help him at the ballot box, but probably not with three other Republicans on the ballot.

THE ‘CARPETBAGGERS GONNA CARPETBAG’ AWARD

French-born Floridian Mark Meadows made a fortune in real estate before seizing upon an open U.S. House seat in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District back in 2012, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that after he parlayed his dominance of a racially gerrymandered Republican-drawn map into eight years of national prominence he packed up his bag and left.

Alas! Mark Meadows, we hardly knew ye.

Seriously. Meadows hadn’t held a debate or a town hall in his district since at least 2017, right about the time he stopped doing conference calls with local radio, television and print media. He routinely refused requests for comment on issues large and small, and made only sporadic, unannounced visits to his district.

Meanwhile, as leader of the influential House Freedom Caucus Meadows became a darling of the

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Without using every superlative in the thesaurus, it’s hard to put into words the d heroic deeds of 21-year-old Waynesville native Riley Howell, who was tragically killed in a school shooting at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte on April 30, 2019.

Howell, however, refused to be merely another victim like the other 486 killed and

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THE HOMETOWN HERO AWARD

1,642 others wounded during the course of 409 mass shootings that took place in the United States in 2019.

When a gunman entered his classroom and began firing, Howell resisted the urge to flee and instead did what his morals, his upbringing and his caring nature told him to do — he ran headlong towards the gunfire.

One bullet couldn’t stop him. Nor could a second. The third finally did, but not before he tackled the shooter, ending the killing and saving untold lives in the process.

Despite his bravery and his sacrifice, no one from his hometown was the least bit surprised. “That sounds like something he would do,” said his teachers, his preachers, his family, his friends.

Once Howell’s deeds became more widely known he garnered international acclaim, but as 2019 drew to a close it was revealed that his fame had transcended international to become intergalactic.

LucasFilm, purveyor of the enduring Star Wars saga, reached out to the Howell family seeking their permission to immortalize Riley by including him as canon in its epic story of good versus evil. When the Star Wars Visual Dictionary was released earlier this month, it included an entry for Ri-Lee Howell, Jedi master, archivist and historian.

Rest in power, Master Howell — like the Force itself, your spirit now flows through every living being in the universe.

January 1-7, 2020

national TV talker circuit and spent more - time tweeting about Democrats and New d York real estate billionaire/President Donald d Trump than he did talking about the issues faced by his poverty-stricken rural North Carolina district. t Accordingly, his constituents first learned t about his Dec. 19 decision from a D.C.-based national media outlet, Politico. That came with less than 36 hours left in the filing period, initiating a mad scramble by 11 Republicans — seven of whom have packed their bags to come from outside the 11th District. They’re joined by five Democrats, a Libertarian and a Green Party candidate.

So what will Meadows do with his all his g free time now? Write a tell-all? Collect dinosaur bones? Finish up his degree? k Probably not. Speculation persists that Meadows is not simply looking to move on, he’s looking to move up — he may take a position in the Trump administration or Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, and may also end up seizing upon an open U.S. Senate seat (Burr) in 2022.

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January 1-7, 2020

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THE HOCUS POCUS AWARD For the performance of a magic trick that turned $36,268 of taxpayer money into a $1,853 payment to a private organization, this year’s “Hocus Pocus” award goes to the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority and the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Back in 2017, the town and the TDA approved plans for a temporary, outdoor, portable, artificial ice rink — a dubious proposition what with the unpredictable mountain weather in February — to be called “Maggie on Ice” and managed by the Maggie Chamber.

The town fronted the cost, more than $36,000, with the assurance that it would be reimbursed up to $35,000 by the TDA, an organization charged with collecting the county’s 4 percent room occupancy tax and spending it in hopes of attracting visitors from outside the county, state and region.

Per anecdote, the rink was a colossal failure, but when The Smoky Mountain News asked Maggie Valley Town Manager Nathan Clark for records and receipts from the illfated misadventure, he said the records were being maintained by the Maggie Chamber.

When SMN asked Maggie Chamber president Theresa Smith for the records, she said she didn’t have any records. A few days later, during a meeting with Clark, SMN was provided the records in the form of an email from Smith to Clark that was dated weeks before SMN’s initial request of Clark.

Upon review, it’s clear why Smith lied — the numbers aren’t pretty, and everything that was left went to the Maggie Chamber.

The rink was supposed to be open for 10 days, but was partially or totally closed four of those days. In the end, just 754 skaters forked over the $6.50 admission.

Smoky Mountain News

Not everything is shiny at Shining Rock Classical Academy. File photo

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The overwhelming majority of them were from Haywood County, and only 35 roomnights were purchased in conjunction with the attraction. Never mind that the rink needed to host 99 skaters an hour just to break even, it grossed a little over $4,300 but after expenses — advertising, wristbands and the like — less than $2,000 was left, payable to the Maggie Chamber. Hocus pocus, Alakazam — the Maggie Valley ice rink was a total sham!

THE BEST IMPERSONATION OF AN ACTUAL SCHOOL AWARD Over the past four years, Shining Rock Classical Academy’s unelected governing board has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars to educate its students to a level far below the award-winning public schools of Haywood County, but fiscal responsibility and academic integrity aren’t the only way in which the school has become the laughingstock of the region.

The unelected governing board has repeatedly violated the basic legal obligations of public boards that use taxpayer money, especially in regard to transparency. In 2015, a land acquisition matter wasn’t disclosed, in violation of North Carolina law. In late 2017, the school’s director was made to resign in an unusual Sunday evening meeting, in violation of North Carolina law. In 2018 Shining Rock rescheduled another public meeting, in violation of North Carolina law.

Those crimes, however, pale in comparison to the school’s cavalcade of calamity in 2019, including a trio of grievances filed against Head of School Joshua Morgan for improperly disciplining students. Those grievances were dismissed by the school’s own attorney during a secret meeting, in violation of North Carolina law. The unelected board also revealed that it hadn’t been keeping proper meeting minutes, in violation of North Carolina law.

Then, in a moment of unbridled hubris, the school held an illegal closed session to discuss expansion (seriously!) and then refused to provide public records pertaining to that expansion to The Smoky Mountain News, in violation of North Carolina law.

When enrollment totals for that year came in, they were far below projected numbers (shocking!) so the unelected board scuttled the expansion after wasting probably tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on fanciful renderings and now-worthless surveys.

Half a year later, the unelected board still hasn’t provided the public documents requested by SMN, in violation of North Carolina law, but it did provide SMN with a bill for $1,537.50 to produce the documents, in violation of North Carolina law.

THE LONG LEAF PINE AWARD Since 1963, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine has stood as the highest civilian honor a North Carolinian can achieve for exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments in the state and community. Many have been awarded this honor in the decades since, but perhaps none is more deserving than the silver dollar whose services were required for the solemn task of deciding who should hold the third open seat on the Sylva Town Board.

It’s not the first time that a coin has been instrumental in deciding a Sylva town board race. Of the last three election cycles, two

Jackson County Board of Elections Chairman Kirk Stephens flips his 1921 silver dollar to decide the winner of the Sylva town board race. Cory Vaillancourt photo

have required a coin toss to do what voters could not — decide the election.

It first happened in 2015, when Greg McPherson and Charley Schmidt each finished with 112 votes, tying for the third open seat. McPherson won the coin flip, took a seat on the board, and won re-election in 2019, this time with no coin flip necessary.

But a trusty 1921 silver dollar owned by Jackson County Board of Elections Chairman Kirk Stephens was called in to decide the winner of the third open seat, a race that this time ended in a tie between Carrie McBane and Ben Guiney, who both drew 108 votes.

Stephens tossed the coin for a best-out-ofthree contest, and while McBane called tails to win the first round, her next two calls were incorrect.

The seat went to Guiney, who was sworn in for a four-year term on Thursday, Dec. 12, along with returning commissioners McPherson and David Nestler. They join mid-term Commissioners Mary Gelbaugh and Barbara Hamilton, together with midterm Mayor Lynda Sossamon, whose seats will be up for election in 2021.

THE GONE FISHING AWARD This award goes to Greg Wozniak, who already has the perfect burgundy tackle box to use for the many fishing trips he’ll have time to take now that he’s no longer employed as Pisgah District ranger for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The burgundy tackle box made a memorable appearance in public documents on June 12, 2018, when Wozniak retrieved it from his vehicle and threw it over a highway overpass following a traffic accident in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to a police report. Wozniak and the driver of the other vehicle both claimed to have a green light, and no witnesses were present, so police could not determine who was at fault.

However, they did retrieve the tackle box and discovered that it

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— Wozniak and the tackle box will now have plenty of time to work on reeling in some fish stories.

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THE CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW AWARD

Greg Wozniak appears in a 2009 photograph following his selection as chief ranger of Saratoga National Historical Park. File photo

Commissioner Mickey Luker explains his reasons for favoring the controversial consolidation of Jackson County’s health and social services boards — now reversed — to members of that consolidated board during its August 2018 meeting. Holly Kays photo Few are more deserving of the ‘Mr. Congeniality’ award than former Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed.

Cory Vaillancourt photo

January 1-7, 2020

MR. CONGENIALITY AWARD This has become one of the most prestigious awards given out by The Smoky Mountain News, not necessarily every year, but only when someone truly meets the qualifications.

To be considered for Mr. Congeniality, one must be ridiculously well liked in the community. Candidates get bonus points if they are in a position that sets them up to be well hated or at least be a fairly controversial figure since they’re often in the spotlight. Past recipients have included Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher, WCU thenChancellor David Belcher and Lake Junaluska Assembly’s past director Jack Ewing.

This year’s Mr. Congeniality Award goes to Bill Hollingsed, who retired as

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contained 10.1 grams of marijuana, 6.1 grams of mushrooms and six THC edibles.

For a law enforcement officer whose job description includes arresting people who violate the law and testifying when those cases make it to trial, illegal drugs are serious business. Wozniak was booked on two charges of drug possession, and his law enforcement commission was suspended.

While he retained the title and pay of a district ranger, he was not allowed to perform any law enforcement duties while the National Park Service investigated and resolved the matter.

Wozniak admitted to Park Service investigators that he had taken “a couple hits” of marijuana within four hours of getting behind the wheel and consumed “a beer or two” after the marijuana. However, while the traffic report stated that Wozniak had been drinking, no field sobriety test was ever performed or DUI charge pressed. Furthermore, a Knox County judge dismissed the charges that were brought forward, and those charges were later expunged from the record — documents pertaining to the case are no longer public records.

The Park Service’s internal process to resolve Wozniak’s commission status was a long one. The incident occurred on June 12, 2018, and it wasn’t until March 6, 2019, that a Board of Inquiry hearing was held to arrive at a recommendation for the future of Wozniak’s law enforcement commission. On March 15, the board delivered its opinion that the commission should be permanently revoked, which would mean Wozniak would no longer fit the job description for his position. The Park Service concurred with the recommendation and revoked the commission on April 29, 2019 — but Wozniak continued to hold the $88,050-per-year district ranger title through October.

The Park Service would not comment as to whether Wozniak’s employment ended due to firing or resignation. However, 2019 marked his 20th year working law enforcement for the Park Service. Law enforcement employees can retire at age 50 with 20 years of service. Wozniak is 46.

Regardless of the semantics of his separation from the Parkway, one thing is certain

“Can you hear me now,” a phrase most often associated with Verizon commercials, has been a central question at Jackson County Commissioners meetings over the past several months, earning Commissioner Mickey Luker this award.

Sometime over the summer, Luker seems to have decided that physically going to meetings of the board he was elected to join is overrated, opting instead to attend via speakerphone, or not at all. He has not been to a meeting in person since Aug. 20, and has not even phoned in since Nov. 25, despite three additional meetings — including one held in his home district of Cashiers — occurring since that date.

On the occasions when Luker has called in, connection quality has at times been an issue.

At the end of the Oct. 15 meeting, which featured public comment from Cashiers residents calling for Luker’s removal or resignation, The Crossroads Chronicle responded to commissioners’ usual end-of-meeting call for questions from the press with a query aimed at Luker — “Do you intend to resign?”

When there was no answer, Chairman Brian McMahan said, “Commissioner Luker, did you hear the question?” Again, there was silence. “Commissioner Luker?” said McMahan. “We seem to have lost him.”

On Nov. 7, Luker had just cast his vote to terminate the county’s contract on the Cooper property along Haywood Road when the line went dead, resulting in a loud dial tone filling the chambers. Staff rang him back, and Luker’s voice came on to say brightly “Mickey Luker!”

“Hey Mickey, we lost you for a second,” said McMahan, only to be interrupted by a robotic-sounding woman’s voice saying, “Please record your message.”

They tried back again, and this time Luker picked up, asking — what else? — “Can you hear me?”

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2019, CONTINUED FROM 11 Waynesville’s police chief this year. For the past 20 years, Hollingsed has helmed the police department, building it into a department of distinction modeled after his own pursuit of professional and ethical excellence.

The chief scored major points for this award because of his tireless work in the community, his focus on educating the community about the drug epidemic, his dedication to having a professional and highlyskilled staff and the respect he’s earned from people in the community and all the way to Raleigh.

As he takes on a new role as executive director of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, there’s no doubt Hollingsed will continue to serve Haywood County.

THE NANCY PELOSI AWARD

Smoky Mountain News

January 1-7, 2020

The Cherokee tribal government’s response to media requests for its proposed budget this year was strangely reminiscent of the California Congresswoman’s famous and widely mocked statement about Obamacare — “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it” — earning it this award.

Principal Chief Richard Sneed delivered his proposed budget to Tribal Council in July, and responded to The Smoky Mountain News’ request for the document by saying that his office would not release the initial proposed version but would provide the document, as well as supporting materials, after Council adopted it. While he couldn’t deliver the document just yet, Sneed said, it was certainly something to be proud of, touting the 2019-20 budget as the “most fiscally conservative in over a decade,” basing expenditures on just 80 percent of casino projection.

Tribal Council approved the budget during its Sept. 12 meeting, but it did so narrowly, by a weighted vote of 45-36, with 19 votes absent. Following the vote, Sneed’s office again declined to provide the document, stating that it wasn’t final yet — Sneed had not ratified it. Ratification didn’t come until Oct. 2, one day after the fiscal year began Oct. 1.

Ratification did not result in the document’s release. In contrast to his initial statements to SMN, on Oct. 18 Sneed said in an email that, while the budget is considered a public document, the tribe’s public records act does not apply to people who are not tribal members, including members of the media.

“While the Eastern Band is happy to answer specific questions regarding the EBCI budget, the EBCI will not be providing the entire budget due to the fact it contains details that are not considered public information,” Sneed’s statement read.

A follow-up email asking for some specific figures, including the size of the overall budget and of the operating budget, among others, did not receive a response.

Now that the budget has been passed, perhaps the coming year will offer a glimpse into 12 what’s inside it.

THE LAZARUS AWARD

Teresa McCoy.

A check the University of Alabama cut to former Tribal Council Member Teresa McCoy in 1996 gets this award because, like the biblical figure who was miraculously raised from the dead, this document got a second — and even a third — life during the 2019 election season.

McCoy, who was on Tribal Council in 1996 and has run in every election since then except for 2017, received $1,500 for a consultation fee and travel expenses relating to a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act consultation she attended.

The payment came under scrutiny at the time due to the fact that she had also received a $432 travel advance from the tribe for the same trip — critics said she shouldn’t have been reimbursed twice for the same expenses.

However, the Tribal Council sitting at the time held a meeting in June 1997 to consider the matter and declined to deliver any discipline. Two months later McCoy was the top vote-getter in the race to represent Big Cove on Tribal Council.

However, this year the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Board of Elections declined to certify McCoy to stand for election, stating that her acceptance of that 1996 check amounted to defrauding the tribe. McCoy challenged that decision, first in a hearing before the board and then in an appeal before the Cherokee Supreme Court. The court ordered the board to certify her in an April 29 decision that came just two days in advance of the deadline to make Primary Election ballots available for absentee voters.

The apparently invincible check rose to life once more, when tribal member Robert Saunooke filed a protest of McCoy’s candidacy on May 2, after the board had complied with the court order to certify her. His protest trod much of the same ground covered in the initial denial. In an order issued on Friday, May 17, the Cherokee Supreme Court granted a writ of prohibition from McCoy, preventing a hearing on the matter and allowing the election to move forward.

All that resurrection does not appear to have hurt McCoy’s performance in the Primary Election, in which she finished first out of five candidates, edging incumbent Principal Chief Richard Sneed by 15 votes.

However, her performance flagged in September, when Sneed won the General Election with 55 percent of the vote.

THE HAMLET AWARD To be or not to be on the bench was the question for Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts this year, and arriving at the final answer

Bradley Letts required more than a simple monologue.

Letts won re-election to an eight-year term in November 2018, but on Feb. 26 he announced that he planned to retire from his seat by the end of the day Feb. 28, in a press release saying that he planned to “enjoy family and friends, and continue my involvement in civic and community boards.”

However, just two minutes before the end of the workday Feb. 28, Letts reversed the decision, distributing a second press release stating that he wished to “continue in my seat and serve the citizens of Western North Carolina as their judge.”

Letts didn’t elaborate on the reasons behind his decision or its reversal, though rumors had been circulating that he was resigning ahead of a planned run for EBCI principal chief. While he told both The Smoky Mountain News and the Cherokee One Feather following his Feb. 26 announcement that he was not planning to seek tribal office, public records obtained later said otherwise.

On Feb. 20, Letts sent Gov. Roy Cooper a letter declaring his intention to retire, and he was clear about his reason for doing so, writing that “the outpouring of encouragement from friends and community leaders in Cherokee asking me to submit my name as a candidate for the Office of Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians merely confirms the correctness of my decision.”

However, Letts appears to have thought better of that plan, ultimately deciding to be a judge, and not to be a candidate for tribal office.

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WTF?! AWARD

This award goes to Joan Weeks, Swain County’s elections director, for finally receiving the retirement benefits she’s earned throughout the years.

It’s not easy to be a state employee basically working for the county and having to fight your bosses to get the retirement money you know you’re entitled to, but

Weeks never gave up. Weeks has been the elections director in Swain since 1983, but she didn’t start accumulating her retirement benefits until 1992 when the position was considered to be full-time. She’s been trying to get the back pay from the county for at least the last 10 years with no luck. In 2017, she felt forced to file a lawsuit in an attempt to get the money, and this year a judge finally ruled that the county did in fact owe her the retirement benefits. While the county is still trying to figure out exactly what the total amount will be, at least Weeks can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

SMALLPOX AWARD Like Smallpox, the spread of Dollar Generals in this region has reached the level of a public health crisis. At this point, the small retail chain is outpacing Smallpox as one of the most infectious diseases in the world.

Even the smallest, most isolated plots of land in the most rural parts of the region are not safe from being turned into a shiny metal building with bright yellow lettering on the front. Sure, the sickness may bring an exciting sense of convenience for nearby residents, but at what cost? And with only one person staffed at each store, how convenient is it to wait 20 minutes in line to purchase your milk and eggs?

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but the CDC is closely monitoring the situation.

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SHOW ME THE MONEY AWARD

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January 1-7, 2020

This award goes to President Trump’s administration for trying to shut down CCC Job Corps Centers across the country, including three in Western North Carolina.

The program — modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps established during the Great Depression — was part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty and Great Society initiatives back in 1964. To date, it has trained and educated more than 2 million students at more than 100 Job Corps centers across the country.

It’s actually a federal program that works — one of the few — why would you want to shut it down? These youth get a second chance at life, learn valuable skills, help fulfill our workforce needs in the region, are trained in wildfire fighting and leave with a better respect for our national forests and natural resources.

The announced closures just didn’t make any sense to anyone. Trump’s administration tried to say the program’s performance was lackluster and wanted to shut down many sites while privatizing other sites.

Performance might be struggling at some centers, but that wasn’t the case for LBJ in Franklin or Oconaluftee in Cherokee.

In the end, Congress put pressure on Trump to keep the centers in their districts open and the closure announcement was reversed for now.

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Opinion

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Sixty snuck up and smacked me

Trump’s mental health issues a problem To the Editor: Mr. Waldrop, as always, nails the truth to the sticking-place in his last letter to The Smoky Mountain News. Fellow citizens, are you not beyond sick of having your mind constantly invaded by President Trump’s hatefilled, childish insults even to his own appointees? By his obsession with money alone? By his complete inability even to understand basic morality? By his enraged face?

No wonder over 20,000 psychologists and psychiatrists wrote Congress explaining that his behavior is so flagrant, so public, that it is unquestionably that of a dangerously mentally ill person? And just this month over 700 historians have petitioned Congress to

and strangers I come into contact with?

All those emotional and sentimental gauges aside, age does force one to measure how our body is holding up. I made it to 50 without breaking a bone or having surgery. In the last 10 years there have been ankle breaks, quadricep tears, a dislocated finger and more that have required four orthopedic surgeries. I’ve become adept at using crutches on stairs, sleeping and showering with ankle and leg braces, and even removing my own cast when the doctor called to delay and deny me that small measure Editor of freedom (wine and stubbornness, taken together, are a powerful force).

As fate would have it, a letter arrived 10 days after my 60th and four days before the new year from the general practitioner noting slightly elevated cholesterol from my recent labs. No medications necessary, but a not-so-gentle recommendation to eat healthier, continue exercising, cut out the cigars and generally take better care of myself. Good timing.

By one important measure — love — I’ve been luckier than most. I’ve never felt alone for too long. From my earliest memories, I knew my mother’s love was strong, fierce and allconsuming. She had three marriages, and I was with her at age 12 and then at 17 when the two of those unions went south. As she struggled in her personal life, she was unwaver-

Scott McLeod

I just turned the big 6-0. Sixty. What the hell?

I’ve been reading essays on reaching this point in life, and I don’t seem to be taking this as philosophically as some.

Unlike others, I don’t think I’ll be posting up on a barstool or relaxing in an easy chair and waxing poetic regarding the wisdom attained over so many years, or professing to be at the stage of life where I am perfectly satisfied, confident and content in being the person I want to be and where my life is.

That’s what so many essays on aging seem to prioritize.

No, the sugarcoated witticisms on reaching such a monumental milestone or the jokes that living this long is much better than the alternative aren’t my style. Truth is, I feel like 60 snuck up from behind and jumped me before I had a chance to turn and fight, a baseball bat smacking me on the side of the head and knocking me out cold, waking up to something I have no idea how to cope with: mortality.

One is forced to ask just what is a life well-lived and whether this path I’m on is the right one? Have I made the right choices? I’m reminded of a quote from author Edith Wharton in one of those essays on aging I read: “Perhaps — perhaps — but all things are perhaps, and either way there lies a doubt, you know.”

Doubts. Yes, most us have them, and those who don’t are probably much too full of themselves. At 60, I still wrestle with them. How does one measure whether a life is lived to its fullest? What portions of love, adventure, wonder, and purpose should we seek? What about honesty and integrity? Am I doing right by my family, my friends, those acquaintances

ing in her devotion to me and my brothers. The tough and tender love I got from her also emanated from an extended family of aunts and uncles and cousins. Lucky indeed.

And there’s my love affair and marriage to Lori. Not enough space here to describe the fire with which it started, the adventures we’ve shared and the passion that still remains. We’ve mourned the loss of a child, a tragedy that destroys many marriages and an emotional mauling I wish on no person. But it made us stronger, encouraged us to move to a small town in the mountains and devote ourselves to our family. Our three children — all adults now — have shown me again and again what real love is. I’ve tried to be there for them, and truth be known they’ve been there to prop me up more than they likely know. So on this count, I’ll consider myself richly blessed.

And those doubts I alluded to earlier? Well, perhaps it’s more an appreciation for life lived a bit on the edge, learning to embrace a measure of uncertainty rather than seeking security. At 39, I had a vision of just what my professional life might look like for the next 25 years. It horrified me. It also convinced me to take the leap and go into business for myself with this newspaper and our growing media company. It’s given me that measure of purpose I craved while also forcing a constant reinvention as this particular industry changes at a breakneck pace.

So 60 is here, but what’s next? I have a few ideas, but truthfully I just don’t know. And that’s the way I like it.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)

LETTERS impeach, explaining how the president is a grave threat to national security? Their letter was quoted in Forbes Magazine Dec. 17 and elsewhere.

The president’s mental state, regardless of politics, has clearly been abnormal since way before the 2016 election. Psychiatrists at Johns Hopkins Medical School and Yale even wrote books explaining in detail the nature of Trump’s escalating mental illness, so extreme that it makes him unfit to hold any public office. Twenty-seven mental health professionals contributed articles to another book explaining how his behavior shows him to be unquestionably mentally.

Never mind politics, people. This man should resign for reasons of ill health.

Mary Curry Cullowhee

Air the laundry. The Smoky Mountain News encourages readers to express their opinions through letters to the editor or guest columns. All viewpoints are welcome.

Send to Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainnews.com or mail to PO Box 629, Waynesville, NC, 28786

Susanna Shetley

W

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Add, Don’t Eliminate!

This time of year there seems to be a lot of talk about eliminating foods. How about if instead we let talk about ADDING more food from plants to our meals this is actually the recommendation of the US Dietary Guidelines and My Plate!

Breakfast - Add some chopped fresh or frozen vegetables to your scrambled eggs or omelets. Toss some fresh or frozen berries into your hot or cold breakfast cereal or yogurt. (Time Saving Tip: Get your fruit and vegetables pre-cut and washed in the Ingles Produce section or from the Ingles Salad Bar.) Lunch - Load up that sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and onion. Enjoy a pre-made salad or make your own at the Ingles Salad Bar with protein like grilled chicken, tuna, salmon or hard boiled eggs. Have a vegetable based soup or chili with beans. snacks - Snack on snow peas, baby carrots, celery or grape or cherry tomatoes or whole or cut fruit.

Dinner - Make sure you balance out your dinner bowl or plate with whole grains and vegetables.

Dessert - Have fresh, frozen or canned fruit if you need bit of sweetness after dinner.

Smoky Mountain News

last week and she reminded us of her 12 commandments, which are: 1. Be who you are.

2. Let it go.

3. Act the way you want to feel.

4. Do it now.

5. Be polite and be fair.

6. Enjoy the process.

7. Spend out.

8. Identify the problem.

9. Lighten up.

10. Do what ought to be done.

11. No calculation.

12. There is only love.

I’ve read the list before, but this year it seems especially relevant. Several of these commandments touch on core personality traits of mine that drive me crazy, such as perseverating, overthinking, being too serious and procrastinating. Items #9 and #10 are especially relevant. It’s exhausting to be pensive all the time or worried about what may or may not happen in the future. “Do what ought to be done” helps me focus on the here and now. What’s the next right thing? Figure out what that is and do it; don’t worry about a month from now or a year from now.

Though Rubin’s commandants seem varied, there is an important theme that ties everything together. If we can strip away the clutter, whether it’s physical, emotional or mental, we open up room for positivity to enter. I plan to read the 12 commandments every day so it becomes something of a mantra.

Sometimes the road to happiness is simpler than we think. And almost always, we have the people and tools in our lives to make it happen. We just get in our own way. I think back to my little hand holding that champagne flute full of grape juice.

With big eyes, I would pronounce to the world all the things I wanted to achieve, and fully believed I could make it happen.

Though we may never feel the innocent wonder of our childhood selves, perhaps we can garner at least some of that thrill and enthusiasm that comes along with new beginnings and possibilities. Wherever you are in life, here’s to a wonderful 2020!

(Susanna Shetley is an editor, writer and marketing specialist with The Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living and Mountain South Media. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com)

January 1-7, 2020

hen I was a little girl, my dad would make huge snack trays on New Year’s Eve and pour sparkling grape juice in crystal flutes for my sister and me.

He and my mom had their own flutes brimming with champagne. Once we watched Dick Clark count down in Times Square, we’d clink glasses, spin noisemakers and state our resolutions for the coming year.

This tradition was so engrained in my psyche that I continued making resolutions year after year well into adulthood. Eventually, I realized it was chalColumnist lenging to accomplish overzealous resolutions. Though other things would get accomplished and dreams pursued, if my stated resolution was neglected, a sense of failure would ensue, and no one likes to feel like a failure.

After a while I started creating goals as opposed to resolutions. A resolution is a clear, finite action while goals are more malleable. After doing that for a while, I hopped on the “word of the year” bandwagon where one chooses a word like “mindfulness” or “spontaneity” on which to focus for the entire year. That failed to work because life’s curveballs often make it hard to maintain a singular theme for 365 days. Unlike a pithy New Year’s statement on Facebook, reality is tricky and convoluted.

Though resolutions and the word of the year fail to produce, I continue to feel a sense of energy and excitement each New Year’s Eve. That adrenaline inspires me to tackle dreams and live a happier, fuller life.

A while back, I stumbled upon the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

It synthesizes wisdom of the ages with modern research to help readers create more happiness in their lives. For instance, Rubin talks a lot about the concept of “outer order, inner calm.” Formal and anecdotal evidence indicates that when a person can get their home, car, finances, etc. organized and tidy, it produces a significant inner peace.

I love Rubin’s work and the fact that it’s action-focused. I received her newsletter

opinion

Twelve commandments for the New Year

Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News 828 | 452 | 4251

17

tasteTHE mountains

Happy New Year! from all of us at

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Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slow-simmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts.

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

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

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.

BOOJUM BREWING COMPANY 50 N Main Street, Waynesville.

828.246.0350. Taproom Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday & Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Gem Bar Open Tuesday through Sunday 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Enjoy lunch, dinner or drinks at Boojum’s Downtown Waynesville restaurant & bar.

Choose from 16 taps of our fresh, delicious & ever rotating Boojum Beer plus cider, wine & craft cocktails. The taproom features seasonal pub faire including tasty burgers, sandwiches, shareables and daily specials that pair perfectly with our beer. Cozy up inside or take in the mountain air on our back deck."

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

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

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

CHURCH STREET DEPOT 34 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.246.6505. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday

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

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

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

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

Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

THE CLASSIC WINESELLER 20 Church Street, Waynesville.

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

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

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

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

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

EVERETT HOTEL & BISTRO 16 Everett St.,Bryson City. 828.488.1934.

Open daily for dinner at 4:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday Brunch from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner from 4:30-9:30 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. 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.

FERRARA PIZZA & PASTA 243 Paragon Parkway, Clyde.

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

FIREFLY TAPS & GRILL 128 N. Main St., Waynesville 828.454.5400. Simple, delicious food. A must experience in WNC. Located in downtown Waynesville with an atmosphere that will warm your heart and your belly! Local and regional beers on tap. Full bar, vegetarian options, kids menu, and more.

Reservations accepted. Daily specials. Live

music every Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m.

Open Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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

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

Monday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St., Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving dinner 5 to 9 p.m.

Tuesday through Thursday. 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors.

Reservations accepted. www.frogsleappublichouse.com.

HARMON’S DEN BISTRO 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville 828.456.6322. Harmon’s Den is located in the Fangmeyer Theater at HART. Open 5:309 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday (Bistro closes at 7:30 p.m. on nights when there is a show in the Fangmeyer Theater) with Sunday brunch at 11 a.m. that includes breakfast and lunch items. Harmon’s Den offers a complete menu with cocktails, wine list, and area beers on tap. Enjoy casual dining with the guarantee of making it to the performance in time, then rub shoulders with the cast afterward with post-show food and beverage service. Reservations recommended. www.harmonsden.harttheatre.org HAZELWOOD FARMACY & SODA FOUNTAIN 429 Hazelwood Avenue, Waynesville.

828.246.6996. Open six days a week, closed Wednesday. 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast until noon, old-fashioned luncheonette and diner comfort food.

Historic full service soda fountain.

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

Open for dinner at 4:30 Tuesday through Sunday. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads.

All ABC permits and open year-round.

Children always welcome. Take-out menu.

Excellent service and hospitality.

Reservations appreciated.

JOEY'S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Open seven days a week! 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Joey’s is a family-friendly restaurant that has been serving breakfast to locals and visitors of Western North Carolina for decades. 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. Join us for what has become a tradition in these parts, breakfast at Joey’s.

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

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3

tasteTHE mountains p.m. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner.

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

KANINI’S 1196 N. Main St., Waynesville.

828.452.5187. Lunch Monday-Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., eat in or carry out. Closed Sunday. A made-from-scratch kitchen using fresh ingredients. Offering a variety of meals to go from frozen meals to be stored and cooked later to “Dinners to Go” that are made fresh and ready to enjoyed that day. We also specialize in catering any event from from corporate lunches to weddings. kaninis.com MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva.

828.586.3555. Open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with Sunday Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Handtossed pizza, house-ground burgers, steak sandwiches & fresh salmon all from scratch.

Casual family friendly atmosphere. Craft beer and interesting wine. Free movies Thursday through Saturday. Visit madbatterfoodfilm.com for this week’s shows & events.

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sagebrush features hand carved steaks, chicken and award winning BBQ ribs. We have fresh salads, seasonal vegetables and scrumptious deserts. Extensive selection of local craft beers and a full bar.

SALTY DOG'S SEAFOOD & GRILL 3567 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

828.926.9105. Open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Full service bar and restaurant located in the center of Maggie Valley.

Featuring daily $6 lunch specials and daily dinner specials such as $1 Taco Tuesdays and 45¢ Wednesday Wings.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A

Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville.

Using only the freshest ingredients in 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.

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

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

Located across from the Fire Station.

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

828.456.3551. Open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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

VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin.

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

WAYNESVILLE PIZZA COMPANY 32 Felmet Street, Waynesville.

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

828-246-6996 429 Hazelwood Avenue Waynesville Monday, Tuesday Wednesday Thursday, Friday Saturday Sunday Brunch

7:30am to 4pm Closed 7:30am to 4pm 8am to 4pm 9am to 3pm

AT BEARWATERS BREWING Tue-Thurs 12- 9 p.m • Fri-Sat: 12- 10 p.m.

Sunday: 12- 9 p.m. • Monday: Closed

101 PARK ST. CANTON 828.492.1422 PIGEONRIVERGRILLE.COM

Wine • Port • Champagne Cigars • Gifts

828-452-6000

20 Church Street Downtown Waynesville

classicwineseller.com MONDAY - SATURDAY

10:00AM - 6:00PM

Smoky Mountain News

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

Mon/Wed/Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Friday/Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Closed Tuesday

Sunday 12-9 p.m.

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

MON.-SAT. 11AM–8PM

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde

828-456-1997 blueroostersoutherngrill.com Monday-Friday Open at 11am

January 1-7, 2020

MAGGIE VALLEY RESTAURANT 2804 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

828.926.0425. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Daily specials including soups, sandwiches and southern dishes along with featured dishes such as fresh fried chicken, rainbow trout, country ham, pork chops and more.

Breakfast all day including omelets, pancakes, biscuits & gravy. facebook.com/carversmvr; instagram @carvers_mvr.

PIGEON RIVER GRILLE 101 Park St., Canton.

828.492.1422. Open Tuesday through Thursday 3 to 8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Southerninspired restaurant serving simply prepared, fresh food sourced from top purveyors.

Located riverside at Bearwaters Brewing, enjoy daily specials, sandwiches, wings, fish and chips, flatbreads, soups, salads, and more. Be sure to save room for a slice of the delicious house made cake. Relaxing inside/outside dining and spacious gathering areas for large groups.

Real Local Families, Real Local Farms, Real Local Food

34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 twitter.com/ChurchStDepot

THANK YOU, HAYWOOD COUNTY,

FOR VOTING US

#1 BURGER! facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot

19

20

A&E

Smoky Mountain News

In search of the sound THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2019 Tom Pearo.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER

icking your favorite albums of any given year is a wholeheartedly subjective endeavor. You’re drawn to what immediately captures your attention — whatever that song, record or genre may be.

And, to that point, you find yourself sharing your musical discoveries with anyone who will listen to the sounds that have tugged at your restless heart and provoked thought in your wandering soul throughout the days, weeks and months on the calendar.

Below are some key releases that have serendipitously found their way into my life — artists and melodies that illuminate truth and compassion within. Hopefully, the perceptive lyrics and mesmerizing tones of these albums will do the same for you.

P

DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS: ‘AMERICAN LOVE CALL’ Initially coming together while students at Indiana University, the soul/R&B group has been overtaking stages across the country and around the world in the last few years. Though first impressions of the band lean toward Motown and beloved 1960s horn section ensembles, Jones & Co. have conjured a presence that finds itself at a unique crossroads of timeless vocal stylings and innovative musicianship — the word “nostalgia” never once entering the conversation.

KEY TRACKS: “Don’t You Know,” “Morning in America”

LANA DEL RAY: ‘NORMAL FUCKING ROCKWELL’ Arguably the finest release of the last 12 months, the California pop star has offered up

Tyler Childers.

CARA LOUISE: ‘FRAGILE HEART’ Hailing from St. Louis, the Americana/indie songbird brings forth an impressive five-song EP of sorrow and splendor. It’s a captivating mix of engaging lyrical prose, shoe-gaze guitar licks and orchestral string arrangements. The selections pull the listener out of a current state of being and transports you into this sense of time and place, leaving you in a perpetual state of deep thought about nothing and everything.

KEY TRACK: “Turn Tears Into Rain,” “Nothing to Prove”

IAN NOE: ‘BETWEEN THE COUNTRY’

Lana Del Ray. a modern-day masterpiece. With the mind of a poet and the sultry attitude of a jazz lounge singer, Del Ray has set herself apart from the rest of the Hollywood music elite by making the statement of her career. Simply put, she has broken the sugary, plastic mold of what a pop act can do — artistically and commercially.

KEY TRACKS: “Mariners Apartment Complex,” “Cinnamon Girl”

The surprise folk breakthrough of recent memory, the Kentucky singer-songwriter falls into the same rich, vibrant vein of Bert Jansch, Jim Croce and John Prine. Noe’s tunes are heartfelt, mischievous and rugged, an uplifting sense of self where all seems possible, just so long as you never forget where you came from, where you are, and where you want to go.

KEY TRACK: “Letters to Madeline,” “Irene (Ravin’ Bomb)”

TOM PEARO: ‘I AM A MOUNTAIN’ The Vermont guitarist has transcended into a sonic guru, one of meditative forces through free-flowing sound and intrinsic contemplation. Though the EP is only two songs, the opening track “I Am a Mountain” clocks in around 39 minutes. It’s a rollicking instrumen-

Cara Louise.

tal opus, one which takes the listener on a cosmic journey to once again find the single voice that matters most — their own.

KEY TRACK: “I Am a Mountain,” “Ascension”

MANNEQUIN PUSSY: ‘PATIENCE’

A seamless, yet raucous, blend of 1990s indierock and modern pop sensibilities, “Patience” has broken the Philadelphia act into the Nashville and New York City mainstream.

Think of it as if Dinosaur Jr. was fronted by a millennial who isn’t afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve, even if the makeup is smeared from tears shed in the face of heartache and mistakes each of us have experienced in our own quest for compassion.

KEY TRACK: “Drunk II,” “Who You Are”

TYLER CHILDERS: ‘COUNTRY SQUIRE’

The fiery backwoods Kentucky troubadour has taken the 21st century country music torch previously held by Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price and added more gasoline to the flame. Where Childers debut album “Purgatory” was filled with radio gems, this sophomore release is a complete statement, a melodic novel about the trials and tribulations of Southern Appalachia — hell, of any corner of the country and of the human condition.

KEY TRACK: “House Fire,” “All Your’n”

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5

Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” at its Calaboose location with Joey Fortner (Americana/folk) at 6 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 3.

The Haywood County Arts Council annual show, “It’s a Small, Small Work,” will be held through Jan. 4 in HCAC Gallery & Gifts in Waynesville.

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Smoky Mountain News

t was around midnight when I crossed the MasonDixon Line. With There will be a special “Pottery & Pints” class Maryland now in the rearview held by Viva Arts Studios from 6:30 to 8 p.m. mirror, I pushed into rural Thursday, Jan. 9, at the Innovation Station in depths of south central Dillsboro.

Pennsylvania. It was The Franklin Open Forum will be held at 7 p.m.

Christmas Eve and the temMonday, Jan. 6, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & peratures had dropped to Pub in Franklin. around freezing, a far cry from the sunshine felt earlier Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host A. Lee that day in Western North Edwards (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m. Saturday, Carolina.

Jan. 4.

My smartphone rang. It was my mother. I figured she was calling to see how much longer I had left and Aunt Bev (2017), there are now only five left. It’s a surreal thing to be in this phase of on the drive back to my native Upstate New one’s existence where relatives start to disapYork for Christmas.

Instead, her voice was somber. She told me pear into the ether, more so at an increasing rate lately. that my Aunt Bonnie had passed away (on And yet, I’ve been around these kinds of Christmas Eve). So, now I was returning home things since I was a kid. I grew up in an older for not only the holidays, but a funeral, too.

Though we had known about her deterio- family, where my father was 43 when I was born (I’m the oldest at 34, my little sister rating health for the last few years, the news being about two years younger). still came as a shock. At 69, Aunt Bonnie So, when I came onto the scene, most of should have had many years left to live, my extended family was already in middle many more memories to make with family, age. By the time I was 4, both my dad’s parfriends and loved ones. ents had passed on. When I was 14, my 103My father’s sister, she was one of eight year-old great-grandmother on my mom’s siblings on the Woodward side of things. side headed out into the heavens, too.

With the passing of my Uncle Scott (2016)

FRANKLIN

January 1-7, 2020

Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road

ON MAIN arts & entertainment

This must be the place

I remember my great-grandmother Florence well. A feisty woman who was born in 1896, our time together spent watching “The Price Is Right” and eating tomato soup in her kitchen was straight out of the 1940s.

She would tell stories (told in a thick French accent) of being a kid at the turn of the 20th century riding cargo ships along the St. Lawrence Seaway, seeing the first automobile arrive in her town, and what being a kid was like back then.

By high school, my grandmother had passed away unexpectedly after a short illness, only to lose my grandfather the week after I graduated college. So, by the time I was 22, I had no grandparents left. And this doesn’t even include all of the dear friends I’ve lost to car accidents, drug overdoses and suicides — too many to count, sadly.

Thus, I’ve made amends with death years ago. It’s something I do have the utmost respect for, but I also see it for what it is — the natural cycle of things. Death brings urgency to life, and to making sure your time on this earth is well-lived.

The oddest thing is how I’ve become the “eulogy guy” in all of this. Most folks fear public speaking, let alone keeping it together at a memorial service in front of those who know you the best and love you the most. But, I’m glad to stand up there and speak truth to the grandeur of a particular human being.

At my Uncle Scott’s funeral, I spoke of the idea of “time” and how we find ourselves grieving through the loss of a loved one. For many, there are three things that cause sadness through mourning — you feel cheated out of time, not telling that person you loved them enough, or you never righted the wrongs between the two parties.

But, you must remember that we all have a finite amount of time on this earth and within the presence of those we couldn’t imagine living without. So, what does one do?

Well, if you make sure to wake up every day and are aware of those three things above, then you’ll be better equipped to not only reinforce or rekindle love with those you care about, you’ll also have a keen sense of your place in the cosmos we often ignore or don’t appreciate the grandiose nature of.

As I continued to make my way back to the North Country on Christmas, I found myself on Interstate 88 between Binghamton and Albany, New York. The early morning sun pierced through the frigid night I’d been traveling through for several hours.

I thought of my Aunt Bonnie, and of my Uncle Scott and Aunt Bev, too. Memories of my childhood and being embraced by their love and support, something that carried into my adulthood. I was lucky to have them in my family — same goes for the rest of that wild and crazy tree of immediate and distant relatives.

Be aware of your family. Embrace them.

Honor them. Take the high road and set aside the differences. The blood you share is the common ground by which a foundation of a relationship has been set in stone those many generations and centuries ago. Track down those familiar faces and listen to their stories — the pain and struggles, happiness and dreams.

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

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ISISASHEVILLE.COM 828.575.2737

21

arts & entertainment

On the beat Joey Fortner (center).

Americana, folk at Andrews Brewing

Smoky Mountain News

January 1-7, 2020

Popular Haywood County singer-songwriter Joey Fortner will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3, at Andrews Brewing in Andrews.

Formerly of Soldier’s Heart and Through the Hills, singer/guitarist Joey Fortner is striking it out on his own with this rollicking new formation, one of rock melodies and poignant ballads.

The show is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” at its Calaboose location with Joey Fortner (Americana/folk) Jan. 3, Scott Stambaugh (singer-songwriter) Jan. 4, Alma Russ (Americana/folk) Jan. 10 and Wyatt Espalin (singer-songwriter) Jan. 11.

All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host an acoustic jam with Main St. NoTones from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 2 and 9. Free and open to the public. www.blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing Company (Waynesville) will host a bluegrass open mic every Wednesday, an all-genres open mic every Thursday and semi-regular music on the weekends. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.boojumbrewing.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Elysium Park Jan. 4 and Alma Russ (Americana/folk) 4 p.m. Jan. 5. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night Jan. 3 and 10, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo Jan. 4 and 10. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m.

unless otherwise noted. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host A. Lee Edwards (singer-songwriter) Jan. 4 and Frances Eliza Jan. 11. All events are free and begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Isis Music Hall (West Asheville) will host Tuesday Bluegrass Sessions w/Darren Nicholson Band 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7, Justin Ray Big Band (jazz) 8:30 p.m. Jan. 8, Stevie Tombstone (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m. Jan. 9, Cassidy & The Music (Americana/folk) 7 p.m.

Jan. 10, Big Throwback Dance Party (rock/soul) 8:30 p.m. Jan. 10, Tall Tales (folk/world) 7 p.m. Jan. 11, “Women in Music” series 8:30 p.m. Jan. 11 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12, Tuesday Bluegrass Sessions w/Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14, Andrew Hibbard & Paul Decoster (Americana/folk) 7 p.m. Jan. 15 and Cashavelly Morrison & Tina Collins (Americana/folk) 8:30 p.m. Jan. 15. www.isisasheville.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host an open mic night at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday and The Pony Express Band Jan. 3. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Legends Sports Grill (Maggie Valley) will host music semi-regularly on weekends.

828.926.9464 or www.facebook.com/legendssportsgrillmaggievalley.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host the “Stone Soup” open mic night every Tuesday. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

ALSO:

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host Captain Midnight Band (rock/soul) 8 p.m. Jan. 10. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• Pub 319 (Waynesville) will host an open mic night from 8 to 11 p.m. every Wednesday.

Free and open to the public. www.pub319socialhouse.com.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host singer-songwriters Fridays and Saturdays. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. www.rathskellerfranklin.com.

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

rock) 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, and a Trivia w/Kelsey Jo 8 p.m. Thursdays.

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

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

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host Bluegrass Thursdays w/Benny Queen at 6:30 p.m. 828.743.3000.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host Bluegrass w/Nitrograss Wednesdays at 7 p.m. 828.526.8364.

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic Night” on Mondays, karaoke on Thursdays and semi-regular music on Fridays and Saturdays. All events at 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

828.456.4750.

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host semi-regular music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.743.6000 or www.whitesidebrewing.com.

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On the street arts & entertainment

‘Remembering Hol Rose and Babe Burnett’

MUSIC

C U LT U R E

FOOD+DRINK

Hol Rose. trials and strong local sympathy for Burnett will also be part of the discussion as well as the story of the marriage of Babe Burnett’s son Verlin to Hol Rose’s daughter, Ima, who met during Babe’s first trial.

Don Casada will lead the presentation assisted by Brenda Gordon, a great-granddaughter of Hol Rose, and Gary Reece, grandson of the Brownings.

Conversation and refreshments will follow the presentation. This is free and open to the public.

• The Franklin Open Forum will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in Franklin. “What were the most important events of 2019 and what are your predictions for 2020?” will be the topic.

Franklin Open Forum is a moderated discussion group. Those interested in an open exchange of ideas (dialog, not debate) are invited to attend. For more information, call 828.371.1020.

Smoky Mountain News

The next meeting of the Swain County Genealogical & Historical Society will host a presentation, “Remembering Hol Rose and Babe Burnett,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center in Bryson City.

With the possible exception of the building of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, no event in Swain County in the first half of the 20th century had broader exposure than the death of U.S. Prohibition Agent Hol Rose at the hand of “Babe” Burnett.

Rose died as the result of a gunshot blast in 1920 near the Burnett Barn on upper Brush Creek. Burnett, wounded by either Rose or law officer Charlie Beck, fled the scene and eluded pursuers by crossing the ridge to Lakey Creek. Initially, he hid out near the home of cousin Etta Browning. In May 1921, Burnett turned himself in.

This presentation will review the life and death of Hol Rose and information about Rose’s extended family including Hol’s uncle, Quill Rose. Babe Burnette and his family, along with developments connected with the

January 1-7, 2020

ADVENTURE

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On the wall arts & entertainment

Innovation ‘Pottery & Pints’

Fall leaves art workshop A special class with artist Maryellen Tull will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, at the Macon County Art Association in Franklin.

Students will create stunning paintings on fall leaves. Students will design with

acrylic paint and a variety of tools for some spectacular results. Students might want to bring a multi-mat picture frame to mount these in for years of enjoyment.

Bring a paint shirt. Libations and snacks are also welcome. All painting supplies and leaves included.

To register, contact the gallery at 828.349.6704 or stop by the gallery at 34 West Main Street.

The Viva Arts Studio in Sylva currently offers several weekly and monthly pottery and painting classes alongside other artisan mediums.

For a full calendar of classes, visit www.vivaartsschool.com, call 828.506.6067 or simply take a gander at the full schedule posted on the large garage door of the studio at 456 West Main Street.

‘It’s a Small, Small Work’ exhibit

• Stonehouse Pottery (Waynesville) will be doing an Open Studio Tour and Sale the first Sunday of each month to help support local nonprofits. Each month highlights a different artist and that artists chooses his or her nonprofit. Stonehouse Pottery and the artist then give a portion of the proceeds as a donation to that nonprofit.

The Haywood County Arts Council annual show, “It’s a Small, Small Work,” will be held through Jan. 4 in HCAC Gallery & Gifts in Waynesville.

The 2019 exhibit will feature 60 artists and almost 240 individual works of art for sale. The show provides a unique opportunity for budding artists to exhibit their work, as well as the opportunity for more seasoned artists to test their boundaries.

All pieces submitted are exactly 12” or smaller in every dimension, including base, matting, and frame. All artwork is for sale, priced at $300 or less, and must have been created in the last two years. Commission will be the gallery’s usual 60 percent (artist) to 40 percent (HCAC) split.

The Haywood County Arts Council’s small work show was launched in 2008 to demonstrate that original artwork is affordable and fun. Most businesses, homes and apartments can accommodate smaller works of art — and the show promotes buying local and regional work to help support artists in Western North Carolina. www.haywoodarts.org or 828.452.0593.

January 1-7, 2020 Smoky Mountain News 24

There will be a special “Pottery & Pints” class held by Viva Arts Studios from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at the Innovation Station in Dillsboro.

Cost is $25.50 per person. For more information and/or to register for the workshop, go to Facebook, search “Viva Arts Studio” and click on the “Events” tab for the ticket link.

mobile technology to help you get a lot less mobile.

Log on. Plan a trip.

And start kicking back.

• A showing of new works and a series of prints by Jenean Hornbuckle is currently on display at the Rotunda Gallery in the Sylva library. The show will be up through Jan. 7.

The gallery is open library hours, Monday through Saturday. For more information, contact the Jackson County Arts Council at info@jacksoncountyarts.org or 828.507.9820.

• The Weekly Open Studio art classes will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville.

Instructor will be Betina Morgan. Open to all artists, at any stage of development, and in the medium of your choice.

Cost is $25 per class.

There will also be a Youth Art Class from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. on Wednesdays. Cost is $15 per class. Contact Morgan at 828.550.6190 or email bmk.morgan@yahoo.com.

ALSO:

• The Museum of the Cherokee Indian’s exhibit, “People of the Clay: Contemporary Cherokee Potters,” features more than 60 potters from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Cherokee Nation, and more than one hundred works from 1900 to the present.

The exhibit will run through April.

• A “Beginner Step-By-Step” adult painting class will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. There is also a class at 6:30 p.m. on the last Wednesday of the month at Balsam Fall Brewing in Sylva. Cost is $25 with all supplies provided. For more information on paint dates and/or to RSVP, contact Robin Arramae at 828.400.9560 or wncpaintevents@gmail.com.

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• A free wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 2 and 9, and 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 4 and 11 at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva.

828.631.3075.

• Free cooking demonstrations will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays at Country Traditions in Dillsboro.

Watch the demonstrations, eat samples and taste house wines for $3 a glass. All recipes posted online. www.countrytraditionsnc.com.

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January 1-7, 2020

Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host an array of wine tastings and small plates throughout the week.

• Mondays: Free tastings and discounts on select styles of wine that changes weekly.

• Thursdays: Five for $5 wine tasting, with small plates available for purchase from Chef Bryan’s gourmet cuisine in The Secret Wine Bar. • Wednesday-Saturday: The Secret Wine Bar will be open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Fridays: The Secret Wine Bar will be open for drinks and small plates from 5 to 9 p.m.

• Saturdays: Champagne cocktails from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Secret Wine Bar will be open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will also be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m.

Dog friendly patio and front garden open, weather permitting. For more information and/or to RSVP for ticketed events, call 828.452.0120 or email info@waynesvillewine.com.

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• There is free comedy improv class from 7 to 9 p.m. every Thursday at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. No experience necessary, just come to watch or join in the fun. Improv teacher Wayne Porter studied at Sak Comedy Lab in Orlando, Florida, and performed improvisation with several groups. Join Improv WNC on Facebook or just call 828.316.8761.

Smoky Mountain News

On the stage

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25

arts & entertainment January 1-7, 2020 Smoky Mountain News

Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive - Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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W W W. b l u e r i d g e m o t o r c y c l i n g m a g a z i n e . c o m

Books

Smoky Mountain News

27

Memoir of illness full of gallantry and wit years. In ten. Is Jim there?’ I closed my eyes. Jim was there. He was always there. If I lived in a mud pit, life would be fun with Jim. As our ses-

“She looked at me through her thick-lensed glasses. ‘Close your eyes. Picture yourself in five

small box containing his deceased mother’s engagement ring, dropped to one knee, and asked Jeannie to marry him.

“And that’s how Jim steamrolled my life. And I let him. The oldest of nine children (Jeannie), the ultimate caregiver, marries the youngest of six (Jim), the ultimate care-getter. A match made in codependent heaven.”

Jeff Minick

“It was crazy. The surgeon told me the tumor was the size of a pear, which is scary but also confusing. I was like, ‘Did he go to med school or farmer’s market?’”

That’s part of comedian Jim Gaffigan’s bit on YouTube about his wife Jeannie’s brain tumor.

In When Life Gives You Pears: The Healing Power of Family, Faith, and Funny People (Grand Central Publishing, 2019, 305 pages), Jeannie tells the story of her battle with a Writer brain tumor that was indeed the size of a pear. Diagnosed in 2017, Jeanne endured an emergency operation and then spent months in recovery, unable to swallow, fed by tubes, enduring various physical therapies. Mother of five young children, a comedic writer in partnership with her husband, hooked into a hectic schedule, Jeannie saw her busy life grind to a standstill, forced as she was by her illness to spend months in bed or a chair.

In this memoir, Jeannie describes the challenges of those long months, frustration battling with hope, conversations with her children before entering the hospital and the sadness of being separated from them during her prolonged stay there, the importance of her religious faith — her husband in one of his performances describes her as a “Shiite Catholic” — and the outpouring of love and support given her by family and friends.

She also explores her past, especially her life with Jim. Here again she blends humor with drama.

She recounts, for example, seeking counsel from a therapist when she had trouble committing to marriage with Jim. After telling the therapist she was afraid Jim might “steamroll” her life, Jeannie shares with readers what happened next:

sion ended, she handed me an illustrated cartoon of a woman sitting on a bench. She was covered in cobwebs and had the face of a skeleton. The caption below said, ‘Waiting for the perfect man.’”

This wry humor runs throughout her account of her illness as well.

Just before the operation, for instance, Jeannie and Jim have less than a minute “to make the ‘pull the plug’ decision.” If she is brain dead, Jeannie tells Jim, he has her permission to take her off life support, but then adds “one caveat before I signed my name: If Jim got remarried to some climbing, comedy fan-girl skank, my vengeful and capricious ghost would haunt him forever.”

Because she was forbidden to take any food by mouth — she could easily aspirate it — Jeannie became obsessed with eating. On her first venture out of her room Jeannie saw a large photograph of various fruits hanging on the wall in the hallway. Her reaction?

Her take on Jim’s proposal is equally humorous. When he came to her parents’ house to meet her family at Christmas, after all the gifts were opened Jim pulled out a

“Saliva began to pour from my mouth. I was attached to the IV, but the suction tube was back in the room. Drool was running down the front of my gown. Whose idea was it to hang a giant

Book chronicles Smokies characters, history Journalist and author Holly Kays has released a new work, Trailblazers & Traditionalists: Modern-day Smoky Mountain People.

The book is a compilation of 33 feature stories written previously published in the weekly newsmagazine The Smoky Mountain News, where Kays works as a journalist. The book offers an intimate look into the lives of some of the diverse and fascinating people who call this mountainous region home.

Kays makes her home in the mountains of Western North Carolina. In 2017, she published her debut title, a novel called Shadows of Flowers.

Having earned 30 state and national awards during her journalism career thus far, Kays covers a range of topics for the regional newsmagazine The Smoky Mountain News and is a regular contributor to Smoky Mountain Living Magazine. Originally from Williamsport, Maryland, she is a graduate of Virginia Tech’s creative writing and natural resources programs.

Trailblazers & Traditionalists retails for $15.95, with $19.95 covering shipping, fees and taxes. It is published by The Smoky

photo of succulent fruit in the ICU hallway?

Adolf Hitler?”

But there is more than humor in Jeannie Gaffigan’s account of her ordeal, and we can see it in the above quotations. She is a woman of spirit and courage whose battle for recovery taught her many life lessons: a deepened sense of patience, an expanded belief in God, a greater love and appreciation for her family and friends, and perhaps hardest of all, to release control of her life and responsibilities to others. Those of us who suffer some illness, even something as minor as a bad cold, know well the frustration inactivity can bestow.

Jeannie shares that frustration and sometime pessimism throughout her account. In her “Introduction,” she writes, “I wish I could say that through this journey I always saw the opportunity in the crisis, and that I faced adversity with optimism and a positive can-do attitude, but that’s not what happened. I needed a lot of people to help me make pearade.”

When Life Gives You Pears is an invaluable guide from a patient’s perspective of what to expect from major surgery. Jeannie tells us what it’s like to be intubated (torturous), how the Intensive Care Unit is filled with “the methodical beeping of the medical machinery with flashing numbers and graphs that you are tethered to by IVs and tubes,” how slowly the time passes, how much she admires some of the doctors and nurses. She includes a list of rules for family members helping in the hospital, including such admonitions as “Don’t silently check your email for hours,” “Don’t say ‘It’s not so bad,’” “When the patient walks, Don’t push them,” and a raft of others. (My favorite: “Don’t make a rules list about your family and publish it in a book.)

Jeannie Gaffigan’s inspirational memoir on family, illness, hospitals, and setbacks serves as a powerful reminder of what is truly meaningful in life.

Highly recommended.

(Jeff Minick is a writer and teacher. minick0301@gmail.com.)

Mountain News. Order the book from Kays’ Facebook page, www.facebook.com/hollykaysauthor, send $19.95 to paypal.me/hollykays or mail a check made out to “Holly Kays Writing” to 144 Montgomery Street, Waynesville, NC.

• Monthly Poetry Reading at Panacea Coffeehouse in Waynesville.

Last Saturdays every month at 2 p.m. Bring your poetry, essays and writings to share. Be sure to order drinks and snacks and tip the staff of Panacea. For more information, contact Morella Poe at poevampyre@gmail.com.

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28

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Sylva Public Works Director Jake Scott said this after a killdeer bird decided to nest in the gravel parking lot at Bridge Park — just in time for the town’s flagship festival Greening Up The Mountains. Once alerted to the bird’s family planning decision, the town took immediate measures to ensure that the festival wouldn’t cause it to abandon the nest. A volunteer-staffed Bird Guard was established to ensure festivalgoers kept a safe distance, and the killdeer family remained in place.

MAY/JUNE

The year in quotes

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

It’s often been said that there’s wisdom to be found in the rhythms of nature, and that’s certainly true. But there’s also wisdom — and humor as well — in the words of those who spend their time outdoors, soaking those rhythms into their souls. Some of their words are featured here among The Smoky Mountain News’ favorite quotes from 2019’s outdoors section.

JANUARY

— and he gambles on the fact that crop’s going to come to fruition and make some money.

Sometimes you win, and sometimes you don’t.”

This quote came from cattle farmer Zac Guy, who is raising his sons with an exposure to agriculture that just may help them grow up to become the exception to an everstrengthening rule that farming is an old man’s game. In 1945, the average North Carolina farmer was 46.6 years old, farming 64.8 acres for a statewide total of 18.6 million acres. By 2012 those figures had shifted to an average age of 56.9, with a statewide total of 8.4 million acres of farmland and an average farm size of 168 acres.

MARCH “I can’t have my thumb on everybody. We have to empower them to lead amongst themselves. I’d like to be a leader of leaders rather than a leader of followers.”

Lisa Hendy was hired this spring as the Smokies’ new chief ranger, making her the first female to hold the position. She came to the country’s most-visited national park following an impressive career that included stops at Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Big Bend national parks. In 2007 she received the Intermountain Region Exemplary Service Award for saving a life at Grand Canyon, and in 2011 she was the sole recipient of the prestigious Harry Young National Park Ranger Award, a peer-nominated honor for all-around service open to rangers nationwide.

APRIL “I just can’t help but laugh at the timing a little bit. It’s the town’s biggest annual festival, and 10 to 12,000 people turn out for this thing, and it’s a bird that probably weighs less than a pound. It sent a shock wave through the entire plan. You have to laugh at the irony a little bit.”

“He certainly is a man of contradictions. He is sometimes portrayed as this lonely figure, but he had this wonderful circle of friends who were amazingly supportive of him. He was often indebted yet he was incredibly generous with his friends when he had money. I think that those sorts of contradictions make him an interesting person to try to research.”

Janet McCue, who co-authored Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography with George Ellison this year, spoke to what fascinated her about Kephart’s nearly mythic profile in Smokies history. The book won this year’s Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.

JULY

In his 33 years of handling wolves, Maggie Valley resident Rob Gudger has had a total of 10 of the canines. He’s developed a respect and devotion for them, taking the wolves to a variety of educational events to help people better understand what they are — and are not.

Carolyn Ward, CEO of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, said this during the 34day government shutdown that lasted from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 25 of this year. Unlike during the 2013 shutdown, this time the national parks remained open. In fact, visitation at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was actually higher in January 2019 than during the same month in 2018.

“If you want to talk to a gambler, talk to a farmer, the world’s biggest gambler. He puts everything he’s got into it — time, heart, money

Jackson County resident Jeff Carpenter was a Bigfoot skeptic — until he wasn’t. Now an official investigator for the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organizations, Carpenter spoke to a packed room at the Jackson County Public Library this spring about his experiences and the evidence he’s seen for the native primate’s existence.

“They always look like they’re thinking. Well, they are thinking. They very rarely do things just on the spur of the moment. And they are protective of each other and their pups. As far as me, they’re not protective of me. I kind of wish they were sometimes.”

“It’s sort of like having a restaurant and saying, ‘The restaurant needs to close for whatever reason, but we’re not going to close. We’re going to leave the restaurant open and we’re going to leave the food in here and turn the grill on and you all go at it.’ It’s a little bit insane.”

FEBRUARY

“It would be like if you looked over there and there was Jesus standing in the door. It’s not supposed to be there. You’ve been told it’s not supposed to be there. It’s a shock when you see one. It’s actually a shock.”

AUGUST Lisa Hendy became the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s new chief ranger in April. Donated photo

Jeff Carpenter shows a crowd of nearly 200 people in Sylva a footprint cast he believes to have been made

by Bigfoot. Holly Kays photo

“We probably go overboard in telling the story of the white Appalachian settlers to this area. We do a better job of telling the stories of the Cherokee, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement. But then when it comes to the African-American story, we know that we are failing there.”

Land added to Haywood’s Parkway section

A young Riley Howell (third from right) stands at the finish line of a race with three of his siblings and Davis King, far left. Donated photo

SEPTEMBER “He was a mighty kid. He was a big kid. What he did in Charlotte was pretty mighty as well.”

OCTOBER “These things connect us. They connect us not only to our own people in the past, but they connect us to that time, the element of time, and it makes it all then like we’re still here.

We’re still here and we never left.”

Tom Belt, a member of the Cherokee Nation and retired coordinator of Western Carolina University’s Cherokee language program, told attendees at this year’s Rooted in the Mountains Symposium, held

NOVEMBER

10’x10’

“I didn’t want any more houses on that mountain. We’ve got enough houses on our mountains around here now.”

$

Joe Morrow grew up farming the property near the Haywood Fairgrounds where he still lives today with his wife Sue, but over the years 54 of the original 107 acres have been subdivided into residential lots.

Morrow didn’t want to see that happen to the remaining 53 acres and placed that land in a conservation easement that is now Haywood Community College’s newest teaching forest.

ONLY

65

PER MONTH

DECEMBER “Every park has its culture, and that’s just a part of the Smokies’ culture, that it’s free.

Although, people don’t think about what that costs the Smokies in the long run.”

As long as it’s been around, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been free to enter. But Dan Pierce, a professor at UNC Asheville who specializes in Smokies history, is one of a growing number of people who are realizing the challenges that situation creates for the park. While it is one of a minority of large national parks without an entrance fee, the Smokies is the nation’s most-visited national park, and more visitation means a higher price tag to keep the park operating smoothly and safely.

Great Smokies

STORAGE Call 828.506.4112

Smoky Mountain News

Thomas Howell, father of hometown hero Riley Howell, spoke about the creation of the inaugural Mighty Four Miler, which will be held April 4 in Waynesville together with the Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon. The 4-miler will raise money for the Riley Howell Foundation Fund, which benefits victims of gun violence. Riley was killed this April when he rushed a school shooter at UNC Charlotte, where he was a student. Riley’s actions prevented the shooter from taking more lives.

in October, why the ancient markings at Judaculla Rock are important to him.

January 1-7, 2020

Susan Sachs, the park’s acting chief of resource education, spoke during an August public forum in Waynesville hosted as part of an ongoing effort to better understand and tell the story of the African-American experience on the land that is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Tom Belt speaks during a Rooted in the Mountains Symposium trip to Judaculla Rock.

outdoors

Rob Gudger receives a friendly lick from his wolf Wayah. Holly Kays photo

Carolina’s natural and cultural heritage.”

The Blue Ridge Parkway is now 53.3 Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent acres bigger thanks to the Conservation J.D. Lee lauded the donation as protecting Trust for North Carolina’s recent dona“critical high-elevation forests so that they tion of the Pinnacle Ridge tract in may be studied and enjoyed for years to Haywood County. come.”

Pinnacle Ridge is located at milepost Funding for the land’s acquisition and 440 near the Waynesville and Village of donation was provided through a donaSaunooke overlooks. Prior to its inclusion tion from Fred and Alice Stanback of in Parkway lands, the property shared more than 4,000 feet Work from land trusts has been of boundary with the National Park instrumental in preserving the Blue Service unit, includRidge Parkway’s sweeping views in ing adjacency to the Western North Carolina. Holly Kays photo 110-acre Richland Creek Headwaters property that CTNC transferred to the Parkway in 2011.

“Conserving the Pinnacle Ridge tract is an investment in the scenic value, environmental benefits and economic vitality of the surSalisbury, a grant from The Pigeon River rounding region,” said Rusty Painter, land Fund and reserves from CTNC’s Parkway protection director for CTNC. “Adding Preservers Fund. this property to the Blue Ridge Parkway is Conservation Trust for North Carolina another great example of CTNC’s longhas now conserved 69 properties on the standing partnership with the National Blue Ridge Parkway, totaling 34,591 acres.

Park Service. Public-private partnerships Conserving Carolina and Southern like ours continue to strengthen the conAppalachian Highlands Conservancy also servation community as we work toward a conserve land in Haywood County. shared vision of conserving North

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29

outdoors January 1-7, 2020 Smoky Mountain News

Appalachian Farm School returns to Sylva

Kudzu co-op opens online store The Asheville-based cooperative Kudzu Culture has launched an online store offering locally harvested kudzu products.

Kudzu Culture aims to put the invasive plant to use by making it into a variety of products, thereby helping to keep kudzu in check within our native ecosystems. The vigorous vine has been present in the Southeast for over a century and in that time has woven itself deep into the culture and environment.

Most people are aware that it’s a problematic, invasive species, and that it has Zev Friedman some agricultural uses. processes kudzu But many are roots. File photo surprised to learn that kudzu had a long history as a highly important plant in the places it grew before it landed on U.S. soil in 1886.

“The whole plant — flower, leaf, vine and root — is useful in a variety of ways, and each use is significant and relevant to our culture and economy here in the South in the 21st century,” said Justin Holt, one of three co-founders of Kudzu Culture. “From medicine for treatment of addiction and diabetes, to high-protein leaves as a perennial vegetable, to beautiful and durable textile fiber, to a highly-productive root crop for medicinal and culinary starch called ‘kuzu’, kudzu has played an important role in east Asia for millennia and still has so much to offer.”

Kudzu Culture is a distributed ownership organization and works to bring as many farmers, harvesters and producers as possible into the fold, said co-founder Zev Friedman.

The newly launched online store currently offers tinctured cold extract kudzu root, dehydrated kudzu root, fine kudzu vine fiber and fresh kudzu root — which is only available seasonally — for sale. Purchase products at the organization’s Etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/kudzucoop.

Dive into nature observation and journaling with a course offered Saturday, Jan. 11, through Alarka Institute in Franklin.

The morning will be spent reviewing various nature journalists and artists, with a few creative classroom exercises mixed in. Afterward, the group will head to the great outdoors, leaving the day inspired by the world around and ready for a life of record-keeping and observation.

Cost is $55. Sign up at www.alarkaexpeditions.com.

Business of Farming Conference returns to Asheville The annual Business of Farming Conference will return to Asheville Saturday, Feb. 22, giving farmers of all experience levels a chance to learn more about the business side of agriculture.

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Tiffany Henry, director of Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center, talks with participants during a previous Appalachian Farm School. SCC photo

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An eight-week training course for anyone interested in operating an agriculture-based business will kick off Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Southwestern Community College in Sylva.

About to enter its sixth year, the Appalachian Farm School is a pioneering program aiming to teach participants the business aspects of farming so they can be successful doing what they love. Topics include: business planning, farm evaluation, goal setting, marketing, pricing, understanding the numbers, rules and regulations, resources and funding options. In addition to learning about business, participants will also have the chance to learn about resources available to them within the region and to talk to subject-matter experts who can provide the tools and confidence needed to be successful.

Sessions will be offered 6-9 p.m. each Tuesday from Jan. 14 to March 3, in SCC’s Burrell Building. Free, with registration required at http://bit.ly/AFS2020SBC. Contact Tiffany Henry with questions at t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4426.

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The conference will offer more than a dozen workshops led by farmers and regional professionals, with topics including achieving financial goals, developing a farm brand, selling to restaurants and more. The popular grower-buyer meeting will give farmers a chance to meet with buyers, and farmers will also receive individual support on legal, tax, labor, recordkeeping and marketing issues during an extended lunch.

For the second year, the conference will

include a free summit and leadership training for farmers market managers as well as a new farmers market fundraising forum.

The conference is organized by Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project with support from a long list of sponsors. Registration is $75 through Feb. 1 and $95 afterward, with a discount for farm partners registering together.

Register at www.asapconnections.org or call 828.236.1282.

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outdoors

Hike Turkey Pen in fine shape having lots of new gravel. Due to light use, the trail itself is covered with un-mashed leaves but there are very few rocks, roots or acorns under the leaves so this is not really a problem. The total elevation change for the entire route is 2,015 feet so you will need some energy. The last 0.7 miles going down to the river descends 735 feet — quite steep so two poles are strongly recommended.”

Meeting places are planned in Asheville and at the trailhead. Visitors welcome, but RSVPs requested to hike leader Richard Zimmerer, 828.785.9593 or dd1zz@yahoo.com.

January 1-7, 2020

A strenuous 4.7-mile hike on the Vineyard Gap Trail in the Turkey Pen area of the Pisgah National Forest will embark on Sunday, Jan. 5, led by the Carolina Mountain Club.

This scenic trail is located in the warmer Turkey Pen area with no water crossings.

There is a one-third-mile steep part near the river just before turning around but could be skipped for those who want to. Poles are recommended for the steep section.

“This is a fine winter half-day hike although not as easy as the measured 4.7 miles would imply,” reads a scout report from CMC. “The gravel Turkey Pen road is

Hit the pool An aqua fitness class will be held 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at Reid Gym Pool on Western Carolina University’s campus, beginning Jan. 13 and running through the end of the semester.

Participants will enjoy a variety of aqua exercises designed to increase cardiovascular endurance. Water aerobics exercise every muscle and joint in the body simultaneously, with less strain and stress than other forms of exercise.

A non-refundable $65 registration fee covers the entire semester. Register at swim.wcu.edu or call 828.227.7397.

Registration is now open for the 2020 Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail gathering, slated for March 26-29 in Surf City.

The weekend will include the annual Friends meeting on Saturday as well as plenty of excursions to showcase the treasures along the Coastal Crescent route of the MST. A series of hikes will be scheduled progressively along the Coastal Crescent Trail during the drive in on Thursday, March 26, and again during the drive out on Sunday, March 29. Participants will have

a chance to tour Camp LeJeune, which is a conservation leader in restoring natural habitat and protecting endangered species in the Onslow Bight.

A reception and casual dinner will be held Friday evening at the Missiles and More Museum and Assembly Building, and Saturday will include a variety of hikes and tours in addition to the annual meeting.

Friends of the MST is a nonprofit with a mission to support continued development and maintenance of the 1,175-mile crossstate trail.

Register at conta.cc/36RgwcG or learn more about Friends at mountainstoseatrail.org.

a website to take you to places where there are no websites.

Smoky Mountain News

Gather with Friends of the MST

Log on. Plan a getaway.

Let yourself unplug.

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32

WNC Calendar

Smoky Mountain News

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • "What were the most important events of 2019 and what are your predictions for 2020?" will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6 at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub, located Downtown at 58 Stewart Street, Franklin. Those interested in an open exchange of ideas (dialog, not debate) are invited to attend.

• The Juvenile Crime Prevention Council will hold a regular meeting at noon on Jan. 9 at the Justice & Administration Building, 401 Grindstaff Cove Rd., Room A227, in Sylva.

• Bingo Night is at 6 p.m. on the second Saturday at the Fines Creek Community Center. 25 cents per game.

Info: www.fb.me/finescreekorg or 593.7042.

• Jackson County Planning Board: 6 p.m. second Thursday of the month. Heritage room at the Department of Aging, 100 County Services Park in Sylva. 631.2261.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health is seeking input from the community: http://health.jacksonnc.org/surveys. Info: 587.8288.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Registration is underway for a QuickBooks Summit that will be offered through Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, in Building 200, Room 203 in Clyde. For info or to register: 627.4512 or SBC.Haywood.edu.

• Registration is underway for the spring semester at Haywood Community College in Clyde. www.haywood.edu, hcc-advising@haywood.edu or 627.2821.

• Haywood Community College’s Workforce Continuing Education Department is offering a wide variety of courses. For a complete listing: www.haywood.edu. Info: 627.4669.

• The African-American Business Association Workshop & Meetup is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month at the Arthur R. Edington Education & Career Center in Asheville.

• Evening classes for anyone wanting to obtain a high school equivalency diploma are offered from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays at Haywood Community College in Clyde. 627.4648.

• The Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at the HF Robinson Auditorium at the Western Carolina University Campus in Cullowhee.

• Concealed carry handgun is offered every other Saturday 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. starting at Mountain Range indoor shooting range. Lunch provided. Class $60.

452.7870 or mountainrangenc@yahoo.com.

• Small business owners can find materials and services to support business growth at Fontana Regional Library’s locations in Macon, Jackson and Swain Counties. Computer classes and one-on-one assistance available. 586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.

• A meeting of current and former employees of the Waynesville plant of Champion/Blue Ridge/Evergreen is held at 8 a.m. on the first Monday of each month at Bojangles near Lake Junaluska’s entrance.

• One-on-one computer lessons are offered weekly at the Waynesville and Canton branches of the Haywood County Public Library. Lesson slots are available from 10 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Canton and from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

Waynesville Library. Sign up at the front desk of either library or call 356.2507 for the Waynesville Library or 648.2924 for the Canton Library.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Stonehouse Pottery (Waynesville) will be doing an Open Studio Tour and Sale the first Sunday of each month to help support our local nonprofits. Each month highlights a different artist and that artists chooses his or her nonprofit. Stonehouse Pottery and the artist then give a portion of the proceeds as a donation to that nonprofit.

• A Spay/Neuter Clinic is offered from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays at 182 Richland Street in Waynesville. As low as $10. 452.1329.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS • REACH of Macon County will hold a two-day volunteer training from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 7-8. The training location will be emailed to those who are registered prior to the training dates. Call David at 828.369.5544 to sign up.

• Feline Urgent Rescue is seeking volunteers and sponsors. Info: 422.2704, www.furofwnc.org, www.facebook.com/furofwnc or 844.888.CATS (2287).

• Senior Companion volunteers are being sought to serve with the Land of the Sky Senior Companion Program in Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania and Madison Counties. Serve older adults who want to remain living independently at home in those counties.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking volunteers to assist rangers with managing traffic and establishing safe wildlife viewing areas within the Cataloochee Valley area. To register for training or get more info: Kathleen_stuart@nps.gov or 497.1914.

• Haywood Regional Medical Center is seeking volunteers of all ages for ongoing support at the hospital, outpatient care center and the Homestead. For info and to apply: 452.8301, stop by the information desk in the lobby or volunteer@haymed.org. Anyone interested in becoming a hospice volunteer can call 452.5039.

• STAR Rescue Ranch is seeking volunteers to help with horse care, fundraising events, barn maintenance and more at the only equine rescue in Haywood County.

828.400.4940.

• Volunteer Opportunities are available throughout the region, call John at the Haywood Jackson Volunteer Center today and get started sharing your talents. 3562833 • Phone Assurance Volunteers are needed to make daily or weekly wellness check-in calls for the Haywood County Senior Resource Center. 356.2800.

HEALTH MATTERS • Parkinson’s Support in the Mountains will meet at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, in the Heritage Room of the Jackson County Department on Aging, 100 County Services Park in Sylva. The meeting is open to everyone interested in learning more about the disease.

• A class on how to lose weight in a healthy sustainable way will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at Above Sassy Girls Shop, 280 Marsh Lily Ln, Sylva.

Meetings are free and open to public.

• A monthly grief support group will meet from noon1:30 p.m. on the first Friday of each month, with com-

plimentary lunch provided, at Haywood Hospice Office, 43 Bowman Dr., in Waynesville. 452.5039 or Melanie.seeger@lhcgroup.com.

• Al-Anon, a confidential support group for friends and family members of alcoholics, meets at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays at Grace Episcopal Church in Waynesville.

440.724.5994.

• Haywood County Health & Human Services Agency will hold a monthly night clinic from 4:30-6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at 157 Paragon Parkway in Clyde next to Tractor Supply. Annual exams, birth control, child health, lab testing, immunizations, STI/STD exams and counseling. Appointments: 452.6675.

• Co-Dependents Anonymous, a support group for those wishing to create more fulfilling relationships with themselves and others, will meet from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Friendship House, 566 S. Haywood St., in Waynesville. http://coda.org.

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 Waynesville. Services include family planning, immunizations, pregnancy testing, STD testing and treatment. Appointments: 452.6675.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health will offer a general clinic from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 587.8225.

• The Haywood Chapter of Survivors of Suicide Loss meets from 6:30-8 p.m. on the first Monday of each month at the Fellowship Hall of Hazelwood Presbyterian Church in Waynesville. Info: 910.528.0169.

• A Food Addicts Anonymous Twelve-Step fellowship group meets at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays at Grace Church in the Mountains in Waynesville. www.foodaddictsanonymous.org.

• The WNC Ostomy Support Group will meet from 6-7 p.m. every second Monday at the Jackson County Center Cooperative Extension’s Meeting Room, 876 Skyland Dr., Suite 6, in Sylva. Group is for people living with a urostomy, ileostomy, colostomy or a continent diversion.

Facilitated by Certified Ostomy Nurses.

• Big Brother/Big Sister, a one-evening preparation class for children who are about to greet a new baby into their family, is offered for children ages 3-10 at Haywood Regional Medical Center. 452.8440 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses.

• Gentle Yoga for Cancer is offered from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Haywood Breast Center in Waynesville.

Info: MyHaywoodRegional.com/YogaforCancer or 452.8691.

• Mothers Connection, an ongoing social gathering for mothers and their babies, meets from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Thursdays excluding holidays at Haywood Regional Medical Center. 452.8440 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses.

• “Nourishing You” – an introductory “Yoga for Cancer” class, is offered from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Haywood Breast Center in Waynesville. Taught by Kim Mulholland, Mindful Yoga for Cancer Duke Integrative Medicine Trainer. Info: 452.8691 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/YogaforCancer.

• A support group meeting for those with Parkinsons Disease and their caregivers will be held at 2 p.m. on the last Wednesday of the month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• “Riding the Waves of Cancer” meets from 2:30-4 p.m. on Thursdays at the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center. Physician referral from an oncologist or cancer doctor is required: Myhaywoodregional.com/yogaforcancer. 452.8691.

• Free childbirth and breastfeeding classes are available at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva. Classes are offered bimonthly on an ongoing basis. Register or get more info: 586.7907.

• Codependents Anonymous (CoDA) meets at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Friendship House on Academy Street, behind and adjoining the First United Methodist Church of Waynesville. Group of persons desiring healthy and fulfilling relationships. 775.2782 or www.coda.org.

• Community First Aid and CPR classes are offered from 6-10 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Info: 564.5133 or HCC-CPRraining@haywood.edu.

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) holds a support group for family, friends, and those dealing with mental illness at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month in the 2nd floor classroom at Haywood Regional Medical Center.

• “Laughing Balsam Sangha,” a meeting for Mindfullness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, meets will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays at 318 Skyland Drive in Sylva. Included are sitting and walking meditation, and Dharma discussion. Free admission.

335.8210, and “Like” them on Facebook.

• Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families (ACA) meets at noon on Saturdays at the First United Methodist Church Outreach Center at 171 Main St. in Franklin. 407.758.6433 or adultchildren.org.

• The Haywood County Health & Human Services Public Health Services Division is offering a Night Clinic from 4-6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of every month in

• Dogwood Insight Center presents health talks at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.

• Angel Medical Center’s diabetes support group meets at 4 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the AMC dining room. 369.4166.

• A free weekly grief support group is open to the public from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursdays at SECU Hospice House in Franklin. Hosted by Four Seasons Compassion for Life Bereavement Team. 692.6178 or mlee@fourseasonscfl.org.

• “ECA on the Move!” – a walking program organized

by Jackson County Extension and Community Association – meets from 9-10 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. It’s an effort to meet the American Heart Association’s recommendation of 10,000 steps per day. 586.4009.

• A Tuesday Meditation Group meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • Registration is underway for Aqua Fitness that will be offered from 5:30-6:15 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays during the spring semester, starting Jan. 13, at Reid Gym Pool on Western Carolina University’s campus in Cullowhee. Registration fee: $65 for the semester. Info or to register: swim.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• An hour yoga class is offered at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays at the Maggie Valley Wellness Center. $15

for a single class, or $55 for a package of four classes. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• Tai Chi & QiGong classes are being offered at 7 p.m. on Mondays at Angie’s Dance Academy in Clyde.

450.3741 or paul@pcasper.net.

• A Tai Chi for Arthritis, Level 1, class is being offered at 11:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Angie’s Dance Academy in Clyde. 450.3741 or paul@pcasper.net.

• A Tai Chi for Arthritis, Level 2, class is being offered at 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Angie’s Dance Academy in Clyde. 450.3741 or paul@pcasper.net.

• Tai Chi for Beginners is offered at 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Angie’s Dance Academy in Clyde.

450.3741 or paul@pcasper.net.

• The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department is now offering pickleball on four indoor courts from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Equipment provided; free for members or daily admission for nonmembers.

456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• A Canasta card game is set for 1 p.m. on Mondays at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

A new project every week. $20 per child, with includes lesson, materials and snack. To register, call 828.538.2054.

• Pickleball is from 1-3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday nights at First Methodist Church in Sylva. $1 each time you play; equipment provided. 293.3053.

• A Parkinson’s Support Group is held at 2 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• A program called “Imagine,” an art program for children 8-12 meets at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Jackson County Public Library. Program contains art, writing, and drama. 586.2016.

• The Canton Armory is open to the public for walking from 7:45-9 a.m. on Monday through Friday unless the facility is booked till spring. 648.2363. parks@cantonnc.com.

POLITICAL • Tickets and corporate table reservations are available for the Annual Awards Banquet and Franklin Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, which are at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 16, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Info and reservations: 524.3161.

• The Jackson County NAACP meets at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday each month at Liberty Baptist Church in Sylva.

• Down Home Haywood holds its monthly community meetings at 2:30 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month at Canton Presbyterian Church. Tackling issues like healthcare, wages, housing and more. chelsea@downhomenc.org.

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • A poetry reading is held at 2 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month at Panacea in Waynesville.

Bring poetry, essays and writings. poevampyre@gmail.com.

• ZUMBA is offered at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville on Thursdays at 6 p.m. with Patti Burke. Check Facebook page Patti Burke Zumba Students for additional information such as holiday or weather related cancelations. $5 per class.

• The North Carolina Writers' Network-West will sponsor The Literary Hour at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month. at the Keith House on the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. This reading is free of charge and open to the public.

• There will be several ballroom and Latin dance classes offered on Sundays and Mondays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Classes for beginners, intermediate and all levels. $10 per class. For more information, click on www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Canton Book Club meets at 3:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month, at the Canton Library.

648.2924.

• Flow + Center Yoga is offered from 9-9:55 a.m. on Wednesdays at Maggie Valley Wellness Center.

944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• Gentle Vin Yin Yoga is offered from 9-9:55 a.m. on Fridays through November at Maggie Valley Wellness Center. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• The Safekids USA/Blue Dragon Taekwondo School is offering self-defense classes from 9-10 a.m. on Saturdays. $5 per class. For females 14-older. Classes are at 93 Jones Cove Road in Clyde.

• Karaoke is happening at 8 p.m. on Saturdays at Harmon’s Den Bistro at HART Theatre in Waynesville.

• A wide variety of yoga classes are offered daily through the Waynesville Yoga Center. For updated, current listings, visit: http://waynesvilleyogacenter.com/class-schedule.

• Yoga classes designed specifically for those who have experienced trauma are being offered at the Fitness Connection in Waynesville. www.sonshineyoga.com.

• Tai chi is offered from 10:45-11:45 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center. It’s also offered from 1-2 p.m. on Thursdays. Taught by Bill Muerdter. For info about the classes or HRHFC memberships and offerings, call 452.8080 or visit MyHaywoodRegional.com/Fitness.

• Ultimate Frisbee games are held from 5:30-8 p.m.

• Waynesville Book Club at 5:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month at Waynesville Library Meet to discuss books, which are chosen by each member (taking turns) and provided by the library. New members are welcome. For more information, 356.2507.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • The Mexican Train Dominoes Group seeks new players to join games at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• Book Club is held at 2 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800 • A Hand & Foot card game is held at 1 p.m. on Thursdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• Senior Sale Day is on the third Friday of every month at the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore. Patrons 60 and older get 20 percent off all purchases.

Proceeds benefit the Sylva Library.

• Pinochle game is played at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• Mah Jongg is played at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• The Canton Branch Library will host a “Parent Child Workshop (123 Play with Me)” from 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. on Wednesdays, Jan. 8-Feb. 5. For parents of children ages six months to three years old.

Deanna.lyles@haywoodcountync.gov or 356.2563.

• Registration is underway for the 2020 Region 8 Western Regional Science fair, which is set for Thursday and Friday, Feb. 13-14, in the Ramsey Regional Activity Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Thursday’s event is for grades 3-5; Friday is for grades 6-12. Info: sciencefair.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• Sign-ups are underway for “Mardi Gras in the Mountains,” a children’s costume contest, pet costume contest and pantomime music parade that will be held on Feb. 22. Proceeds benefit Appalachian Animal Rescue Center in Franklin. For details on participation, sponsorships and volunteers: 369.0092.

• Mother Goose On the Loose early childhood curriculum will be featured in a Reading Adventures Storytime program that’s offered at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Blends rhyming with movement, storytelling, simple songs, music and sensory play. 488.3030.

• Waynesville Art School offers the Young Artist Program in the afternoons for 5-6 year old, 7-8 year old, 9-12 year old. Intro to Printmaking and Evening studies in arts is offered for 13-19 year old.

Waynesville Art School is located at 303 N. Haywood Street. Info: 246.9869, info@waynesvilleartschool.com or visit WaynesvilleArtSchool.com for schedule and to register.

• Mountain Wildlife offers wildlife education programs for schools and organizations in Western North Carolina, free of charge. If you are interested in having them visit your group contact them at blackbears66@gmail.com, 743.9648 or visit the website at www.mountainwildlifedays.com.

ONGOING KIDS ACTIVITIES AND CLUBS • A Lego club will meet at 4 p.m. every fourth Thursday of the month, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Library provides Legos and Duplos for ages 3 and up. Free. 488.3030.

• A “Youth Art Class” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon every Saturday at the Appalachian Art Farm on 22 Morris Street in Sylva. All ages welcome. $10 includes instruction, materials and snack. For more information, email appalachianartfarm@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.

• The Canton Library offers a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) program each month. At 4 p.m. on third Tuesday. Children ages 612 are welcome to attend. Please call 648-2924 for more information.

• “Art Beats for Kids” will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. on Thursdays at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City.

• Crafternoons are at 2:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at Hudson Library in Highlands.

• Library Olympics will be held at 2 p.m. on Fridays at Jackson County Public Library. Children age 5 and up get active through relay races, bingo, mini golf.

586.2016.

• Family Story Time is held on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. at the Canton Public Library. Ages 0-6. Stories, songs, dance and crafting. 648.2924.

• Storytimes are held at 10 and 10:40 a.m. every Thursday at Hudson Library in Highlands.

• After-School Art Adventure will be on from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. on Tuesdays at The Bascom in Highlands.

For ages 5 to 10, Art Adventure is a class that explores the creative process of drawing, painting, printmaking, clay, sculpture, fiber art, and crafts by utilizing a variety of media. The students will investigate some of the most popular techniques and theories in art history and will be exposed to contemporary as well as folk art traditions. Tuition is $40 for a fourclass package. www.thebascom.org.

• Wednesdays in the Stacks, "WITS", a new program for children in grades 3-6, on the third Wednesdays of the month from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Macon County Library. WITS will include lots of fun games, prizes, and hands-on activities. This club replaces book club previous held on the third Thursdays of the month. 526.3600.

• Fun Friday, everything science, is held at 4 p.m. on Fridays at Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016.

• Teen Coffeehouse is at 4:30 p.m. on the first, third, and fourth Tuesday at Jackson County Public Library.

Spend time with other teens talking and sharing. 12 and up. 586.2016.

• Rock and Read is at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays at Jackson County Public Library. 586-2016.

• WNC Martial Arts will hold karate classes from 67:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at the Old Armory in Waynesville. For more info, contact Margaret Williams at 301.0649 or mvwilliams39@gmail.com.

• Michael’s Kids Club will be held for ages 3-and-up from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturdays at Michael’s in Waynesville. $2 per child for 30 minutes of creative crafts. 452.7680.

• A Lowe’s Build and Grow session for ages 3-and-up is scheduled from 10-11 a.m. on Saturdays at the Sylva (586.1170) and Waynesville (456.9999) Lowe’s stores. Free.

• Art classes are available for kids 10 and older from 4:15-5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Bascom in Highlands. $15 per class. 787.2865 or www.thebascom.org.

• Art Adventure classes are taught for ages 5-10 from 3:30-4:45 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Bascom in Highlands. Theme: metal. Instructor: Bonnie Abbott. $20 per month. 787.2865.

Smoky Mountain News

• The Maggie Valley Wellness Center is offering two yoga classes from 9-9:55 a.m. on Wednesdays through March: Gentle Flow with Candra and Gentle Vin Yin with Jamie. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• Cookin’ the Books will be held at noon on the last Wednesday of the month at the Waynesville Public Library. A book club focused on cookbooks. All members choose a recipe from the book and bring it to share. The group will discuss the good and bad aspects of the chosen cookbook. 356.2507.

• Smoky Mountain Skateway in Waynesville will be hosting two New Years Eve Parties — a Kid's New Year's Eve 2020 Celebration from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31 and a NYE party from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. The kids party will feature skating, inflatables, a balloon drop, games and prizes for $8 a person. The late night party will feature a balloon drop and a chance to win $1,000 in cash and prizes. Unlimited pizza and drinks at 11 p.m. Toast and sparkling cider at midnight. $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

• Rompin’ Stompin’, an hourlong storytime with music, movement and books, is held at 11 a.m. on Fridays at the Canton Library. For ages zero to six.

648.2924.

January 1-7, 2020

• ZUMBA! Class with Monica Green, are offered from 6-7 p.m. on Monday & Wednesday, at the Canton Armory. $5 per class. 648.2363 or parks@cantonnc.com.

KIDS & FAMILIES

wnc calendar

• Dance Tonight Haywood offers weekly evening classes Foxtrot or Tango (Mondays 6) and Carolina Shag (Mondays 7), Salsa (Tuesdays, Beginners 7 p.m. & Advance 8 to 10 p.m.), Swing (Wednesdays, Beginners 7 p.m. & Advance 8 p.m.) and Waltz (Thursdays, Beginners 7 p.m. & Advance 8 p.m.), Open Ballroom (Fridays, 7 p.m. & practice dance from 8 to 9:30 p.m.), and Argentine Tango Practica/Tea Dance (Sundays, 2 to 5 p.m.) at 61 ½ Main Street in Canton.

For times, prices and to RSVP, call 316.1344.

on Mondays at the Cullowhee Recreation Park.

Organized by Jackson County Parks & Recreation.

Pick-up style. 293.2053 or www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Free, weekly, after-school enrichment classes are offered by the Bascom and MCAA from 3-5 p.m. on Thursdays at Macon Middle School through a grant from the Jim McRae Endowment for the Visual Arts. To register, contact Bonnie Abbott at 743.0200.

•A community breastfeeding information and support

33

wnc calendar

group meets from 10:30 am.-noon on the first Saturday of each month in the main lobby of the Smoky Mountain OB/GYN Office in Sylva. Free; refreshments provided. For information, contact Brandi Nations (770.519.2903), Stephanie Faulkner (506.1185 or www.birthnaturalwnc), or Teresa Bryant (587-8223).

• Science Club is held at 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month for grades K-6 at the Macon County Public Library. 524.3600.

• Macon County 4-H Needlers club, a group of youth learning the art and expression of knitting and crochet crafts, meets on the second Tuesday of each month. For information, call 349.2046.

• A Franklin Kids’ Creation Station is held from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturdays at uptown Gallery in Franklin.

Snacks provided. $20 tuition. 743.0200.

• SafeKids USA Blue Dragon Tae Kwon Do School offers defense training with after-school classes Monday through Friday and Saturday mornings.

627.3949 or www.bluedragontkd.net.

• A Lego Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 3:30-5 p.m. at Waynesville Library.

452.5169.

as nature walks, garden exploration, stories, crafts and visits from classroom animals $7 cost per child; $3 more for each additional child in a family. Register at: www.ncarboretum.org/education-programs/youthfamily-programs/wee-naturalist

KIDS FILMS • “Jumanji: The Next Level” will be showing through Jan. 2 at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza. Visit www.fandango.com or http://smokymountaincinema.com/ for showtimes, pricing & tickets.

• “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” will be showing through Jan 2 at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza. Visit www.fandango.com or http://smokymountaincinema.com/ for showtimes, pricing & tickets.

• “Spies in Disguise” will be showing from through Jan. 2 at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza. Visit www.fandango.com or http://smokymountaincinema.com/ for showtimes, pricing & tickets.

• A family movie will be shown at 10:30 a.m. every Friday at Hudson Library in Highlands.

• A Lego Club meets the fourth 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 fourth Thursday of the month at 4:30 p.m. at Jackson County Public Library. 5862016.

• A Lego Club meet the second Wednesday of the month at 5 p.m. at Cashiers Community Library.

743.0215.

January 1-7, 2020

• Teen time 3:30-4:30 p.m. Thursdays at Waynesville Library. A program for teens and tweens held each week. Each week is different, snacks provided. 356.2511.

• 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.

• Crazy 8 Math Adventure Club on Tuesdays 3:30 p.m.

- 4:15 p.m. for grades K-2 at the Macon County Public Library. 524.3600.

• Culture Club on the second Wednesday of the month, 1 to 2 p.m. for K-6 graders. Guest speakers, books, photos, crafts and food from different countries and cultures. Macon County Public Library.

524.3600.

• Children’s craft time, fourth Wednesday, 3:45 p.m. at Cashiers Community Library. 743.0215

Smoky Mountain News

• The Wee Naturalist program, which is for children ages 2-5 (with a parent or guardian), is held from 1011:30 a.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays at the North Carolina Arboretum. Age-appropriate activities such

A&E • New Year’s Eve, there will be a special performance

by Darren Nicholson and Bohemian Jean, titled “Uptown Downhome,” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, in the Queen Auditorium at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

• Boojum Brewing Company (Waynesville) will host “The Great Gatsby” New Year’s Eve Party at 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 31.

• Sounds from the season will ring through the sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Waynesville at 6 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 4 with a second performance at 4 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 5. Fourteen pianists from Haywood County will play favorite Christmas songs and carols on four grand pianos and a pipe organ. Free concert.

A love offering will be received for the benefit of the “heat fund” of Haywood Christian Ministry.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • Don Casada and friends will present “Remembering Hol Rose and Babe Burnett” at the Jan. 2 meeting of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society.

Group meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center in Bryson City.

• Asheville’s chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino will hold a session from 7-8:30 p.m. on

Puzzles can be found on page 38 These are only the answers.

Monday, Jan. 6, at REI in Asheville to offer info about exploring the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Chris Slater and Rebecca Weston will present “Camino 101” covering the history, different routes, how to get there and accommodations available. Future sessions set for same time on Jan. 28 and Feb. 3. Registration required: www.rei.com/events.

• A nature observation and journaling course will be offered through the Alarka Institute on Saturday, Jan. 11, in Franklin. Cost: $55. Sign up: www.alarkaexpeditions.com.

• The Macon County Art Association will hold a class for creating paintings on fall leaves from 1-3 p.m. on Jan. 12 in Franklin. With artist Maryellen Tully.

Register: 349.6704 or stop by the gallery at 34 W. Main Street in Franklin.

• Western North Carolina Cribbage Club meets at 6:30 p.m. every Monday. Info: 926.3978.

• The Weekly Open Studio art classes will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville, Instructor will be Betina Morgan. Open to all artists, at any stage of development, and in the medium of your choice. Cost is $25 per class. There will also be a Youth Art Class from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. on Wednesdays. Cost is $15 per class. Contact Morgan at 550.6190 or email bmk.morgan@yahoo.com.

• Friends of the Canton Area Historical Museum will meet at 11 a.m. every third Tuesday at the museum, 36 Park Street in Canton.

• Encouraging art classes for beginning through advanced adults are offered by the Inspired Art Ministry at the following times and dates: Drawing classes from 1-4 p.m. on Mondays; painting classes from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdays. Info: 456.9197, charspaintings@msn.com or www.iamclasses.wbs.com.

• Waynesville Art School offers “The Joy of Drawing”, Still Life in Color: Acrylic & Pastel and “Relief Printmaking” classes for adults at 303 N. Haywood Street. Info: 246.9869, info@waynesvilleartschool.com or WaynesvilleArtSchool.com.

• Uptown Gallery will offer free open studio times from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Thursdays at 30 E. Main Street in Franklin.

349.4607, franklinuptowngallery@gmail.com or www.franklinuptowngallery.com. required: 631.0271. Info: www.JCGEP.org.

• Open Studio Wednesdays are from 6-10 p.m. at Waynesville Art School, 303 N. Haywood Street. $15 per session. Embrace your creativity while making art alongside other artists. Registration required: 246.9869 or WaynesvilleArtSchool.com.

• Indoor Flea Market is set for 7 a.m.-2 p.m. every third Saturday at the Old Armory in Waynesville.

456.9207.

• Jackson County Public Library in Sylva is hosting craft therapy. This get-together will be the first

Tuesday of each month from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It will take place in the Atrium at the library. Craft therapy is an evening of up-cycle crafting at the library. Drop in for the whole session or as long as you would like.

Each month will have a different theme the library will supply tools and materials that you may need to create something within that theme. If you have anything craft/art related to donate, please bring it by the library or call them at 586.2016, dduffy@fontanalib.org and www.fontanalib.org.

• A variety of dance classes ranging from foxtrot and waltz to rumba and cha cha – as well as East Coast Swing and Salsa – are taught at multiple times and days weekly at Folkmoot Center and Waynesville Wellness. $10 per activity per person. No partner or experience necessary. For dates and times, and to RSVP, 316.1344 or dancetonightwaynesville@gmail.com.

• Watercolor classes are set for 1:30 p.m. every third Saturday at the Creative Thought Center on Pigeon Street in Waynesville. Cost: $25 or $20 if you bring your own equipment. theHouseArtist@gmail.com.

• The Dave Drake Studio Barn offers a variety of ceramic and raku classes by appointment as well as weekly drawing, writers and community knitters groups. Info: 787.2865.

FILM & SCREEN • The Second Tuesday Movie Group meets at 2 p.m. in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. For info, including movie title: 452.5169.

Outdoors • An opportunity to learn about winter hikes and waterfalls in Western North Carolina will be offered from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2, at REI in Asheville. Registration required: www.rei.com/events.

Class repeats at the same time on Thursday, Feb. 20.

• The Tuckaseigee River Chapter #373 of Trout Unlimited will meet Tuesday, Jan. 7, at the United Community Bank 1640 E. Main Street, in Sylva. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. A handcrafted fly rod by fellow chapter member Jim Mills will be raffled. The speaker this month is Callie Moore from Mountain True.

• Landmark Learning will offer courses in Wilderness First Responder Registration is also underway for Jan. 14-12 class in Asheville, Jan. 18-26 in Brevard and Feb. 8-16, March 7-15 and March 14-22 in Cullowhee.

Info: www.landmarklearning.org.

• Landmark Learning is offering several options to take a Wilderness First Responder Recertification class, starting with a Jan. 10-12 in Brevard.

Congratulations to NAI Beverly-H Hanks’

BILL LY Y CASE

Awarded Aw

CCIM Designatiion

Certified Commercial Investment Member The CCIM designation is awarded to commercial real estate professionals upon successful completion of a graduate-level education curriculum annd presentation of a portfolio of qualifying experience. CCIMs are recognized experts in commercial real estate brokerage, leasing, asset management, valuation, and invesstment analysis.

Billy Case, CCIM (828) 508-4527 | billycase@naibeverly-hanks.c com

34

Registration is also underway for courses on Feb. 28 in Cullowhee and March 1 in Brevard. www.landmarklearning.org.

• Public Comment is now open for proposed changes to N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission rules with a public hearing planned for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Southwestern Community College’s Myers Auditorium in Sylva. View proposed changes: www.ncwildlife.org/Proposed-Regulations.

Send comments to regulations@ncwildlife.org or Rule-Making Coordinator, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, 1701 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699.

• Registration is underway for the Landmark Outdoor Educator Semester, which is offered May 14-June 30, through Landmark Learning. www.landmarklearning.org.

• The Asheville Winter Bike League will offer structured group rides at 10 a.m. every Saturday through Jan. 25. $5 donation requested. Sign up required: https://tinyurl.com/yx5byb8h.

• Sons of the American Legion will present a Turkey Shoot at 9 a.m. every Saturday through April at 171 Legion Dr. in Waynesville. $2 per round; refreshments provided. Weather permitting. 456.8691.

• The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Hatchery Supported Trout Waters is open from 7 a.m. until one-half-hour after sunset until last day of February. https://tinyurl.com/yae8ffqn.

• An easy cycling ride aiming to help people ease into a healthier lifestyle through cycling is offered in the Canton area, typically covering 8-10 miles. Road bikes are preferred, and helmets are required. Nobody will be left behind. A partnership of Bicycle Haywood N.C., the Blue Ridge Bike Club and MountainWise. For specific start times and locations: mttrantham@hotmail.com.

• Volunteers are being sought to help re-pot native azaleas from 9 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays through Thursdays at the Southern Highlands Reserve in Lake Toxaway. For info, and to schedule a shift: anorton@southernhighlandsreserve.org.

• A cycling ride leaves at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, with alternating starts at Smoky

• A weekly nighttime mountain bike ride is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Mondays from the Ledford Branch Trailhead at Bent Creek in Asheville. Organized by Motion Makers Bicycles. 633.2227.

• Starting in June, a cycling ride will leave at 8 a.m. on Saturdays from South Macon Elementary School in Franklin. Routes vary with distances typically 15-25 miles. Road bikes only. A no drop ride. Organized by Smoky Mountain Bicycles, 369.2881 or info@smokymtnbikes.com. Check the “Macon County Cyclists” Facebook page for updates.

• A 25-mile cycling ride covering the back roads from Sylva to Balsam leaves at 6 p.m.

Tuesdays from Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva. The route includes 1,600 feet of elevation gain. Organized by Motion Makers, 586.6925.

• An easy cycling ride aiming to help people ease into a healthier lifestyle through cycling is offered Thursday mornings in the Canton area, typically covering 8-10 miles. Road bikes are preferred and helmets are required.

Nobody will be left behind. A partnership of Bicycle Haywood N.C., the Blue Ridge Bike Club and MountainWise. For specific start times and locations: mttrantham@hotmail.com.

• A beginner-friendly social cycling ride for women will begin at 6:15 p.m. on Mondays from the Bent Creek Ledford Parking Lot, covering 5-to-8 miles of mountain bike trails.

Start back in the fall. Organized By Motion Makers Bicycle Shop. 633.2227.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club holds a Saturday Work Hike on the fourth Saturday of each month. 369.1983.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting volunteers to assist the Trails Forever trail crew for a rehabilitation project on the Rainbow Falls Trail from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. every Wednesday. Sign up or get more info: 497.1949, Adam_Monroe@nps.gov or https://friendsofthesmokies.org/trailsforever/v olunteer.

• A Spay/Neuter Clinic is offered from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays at 182 Richland Street in Waynesville. As low as $10. 452.1329.

• North Carolina residents are invited to participate in the “NC’s Candid Critters” – the largest camera trap survey ever. Residents of Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties can participate in a brief online training process then borrow a camera trap from any Fontana Regional Library location. Info: NCCandidCritters.org or www.fontanalib.org.

• The Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Council meets at 10 a.m. every second Tuesday in Franklin. Contact Kristina Moe at

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL PROFESSIONAL

bknoland@beverly-hanks.com

• Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center is offering its sixth annual “Appalachian Farm School” from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesdays from Jan. 14-March 3 in the Burrell Building of SCC’s Jackson Campus in Sylva.

For anyone interested in growing vegetables, fruits, other crops and livestock as a sustainable business. Preregistration required: http://bit.ly/AFS2020SBC. Info: t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4426.

828.734.5201

74 North Main Street Waynesville, NC 28786

828.452.5809

• Registration is underway for the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s annual Business of Farming Conference, which will be held from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Feb. 22 at the AB Tech Conference Center in Asheville. Cost: $75 if registering by Feb. 1 or $95 after. asapconnections.org or 236.1282.

• Garden workdays are held from 3 p.m. until dusk every Wednesday at Cullowhee Community Garden, 65 S. Painter Road.

Weeding, mulching, general garden maintenance. 587.8212.

• Local farmers can stop by the Cooperative Extension Office on Acquoni Road from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every fourth Friday to learn about USDA Farm Service Agency programs in the 2014 Farm Bill. Info: 488.2684, ext. 2 (Wednesday through Friday) or 524.3175, ext.

2 (Monday through Wednesday).

• The Macon County Poultry Club of Franklin meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Cooperative Extension Office on Thomas Heights Rd, Open to the public.

369.3916.

HIKING CLUBS • Carolina Mountain Club will take a 4.5-mile hike with a 1,400 foot ascent on Sunday, Jan. 5, on Vineyard Gap Trail. Info and reservations: 785.9593 or ddlzz@yahoo.com.

• Carolina Mountain Club will hold an eightmile hike with a 2,200 foot ascent on Sunday, Jan. 5, from Buckwheat Knob to Coontree Loop. Info and reservations: 676.0255, 699.8857 or lsbernhardt50@gmail.com.

Climate Control

Storage 48 SECURITY CAMERAS AND MANAGEMENT ON SITE

Call:

828-476-8999

MaggieValleySelfStorage.com torry@torry1.com Torry Pinter, Sr. 828-734-6500

Mike Stamey 828-508-9607

74 NORTH MAIN ST. • WAYNESVILLE, NC

www.beverly-hanks.com

• Carolina Mountain Club will take a 4.5-mile hike with an 880 foot elevation gain on Sunday, Jan. 12, at the N.C. Arboretum. Info and reservations: 667.4519

• Hike of the Week is at 10 a.m. every Friday at varying locations along the parkway. Led by National Park Service rangers. www.nps.gov/blri or 298.5330, ext. 304.

Find Us One mile past State Rd. 276 and Hwy-19 on the right side, across from Frankie’s Italian Restaurant

mstamey@beverly-hanks.com

• Carolina Mountain Club will take a sevenmile hike with a 900 foot ascent on Sunday, Jan. 11, on the sunny side of Bent Creek. Info and reservations: 505.0471, 860.798.9905 or mwbromberg@yahoo.com.

• Nantahala Hiking Club holds monthly trail maintenance days from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on every fourth Saturday at 173 Carl Slagle Road in Franklin. Info and to register: 369.1983.

Climate Controlled

1106 Soco Road (Hwy 19), Maggie Valley, NC 28751

• Carolina Mountain Club will take a ninemile hike with a 2,400 foot elevation gain on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Sassafras Mountain.

Info and reservations: 505.2815, 989.8755 or jwilcox@unca.edu.

• Carolina Mountain Club will take a 9.8-mile hike with a 1,300 foot ascent on Sunday, Jan. 12, at Corn Mills Shoals. Info and reservations: 458.1281, mcornn@aol.com, 458.1281 or katherinekyle@gmail.com.

Sizes from 5’x5’ to 10’x20’

RE/MAX

EXECUTIVE

Ron Breese Broker/Owner

Smoky Mountain News

• A cycling ride exploring the Fire Mountain Trail System in Cherokee will be offered at 6 p.m. every other Thursday. Participants will divide into a beginner group and a nonbeginner group, with 60 to 90 minutes on the trail each time. Organized by the Nantahala Area Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, with an event page at www.facebook.com/NantahalaAreaSORBA/. nantahala.area.sorba@gmail.com.

• A group road cycling ride will leave at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays through the end of October from Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva to tackle a 40-mile “race” to the Balsam Post Office, climbing 1,600 feet of elevation gain.

Organized by Motion Makers, 586.6925.

FARM AND GARDEN

Brian Noland

January 1-7, 2020

• A cycling ride exploring the Western Carolina University mountain bike trails will be offered at 6 p.m. every other Thursday in Cullowhee. Participants will meet at the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching and divide into a beginner group and a nonbeginner group, with 60 to 90 minutes on the trail each time. Organized by the Nantahala Area Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, with an event page at www.facebook.com/NantahalaAreaSORBA/. nantahala.area.sorba@gmail.com

• A no-drop relaxed cycling road ride will roll from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesdays through the end of October from Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva. Routes vary and are open to cyclists of all levels. Organized by Motion Makers, 586.6925.

kmoe@fontanalib.org for location.

Franklintraildays.com.

wnc calendar

• Registration is underway for several options to take a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician program through Landmark Learning, starting with a class from Jan. 4-31 in Cullowhee. Other options include May 23June 19, July 11-Aug. 7 and Oct. 3-30. www.landmarklearning.org.

Mountain Bicycles and South Macon Elementary School in Franklin. Routes vary.

Road bikes only. A no drop ride. Organized by Smoky Mountain Bicycles, 369.2881 or info@smokymtnbikes.com. Check the “Macon County Cyclists” Facebook page for updates.

71 North Main Street Waynesville, NC 28786 Cell: 828.400.9029 ron@ronbreese.com

www.ronbreese.com Each office independently owned & operated.

35

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Haywood Co. Real Estate Agents Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/Great Smokys Realty - www.4Smokys.com Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate- Heritage â&#x20AC;¢ Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com Beverly Hanks & Associates- beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Ann Eavenson - anneavenson@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Billie Green - bgreen@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Michelle McElroy- michellemcelroy@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Steve Mauldin - smauldin@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com â&#x20AC;¢ Anne Page - apage@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Brooke Parrott - bparrott@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Ellen Sither - ellensither@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Mike Stamey - mikestamey@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Karen Hollingsed- khollingsed@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Billy Case- billycase@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ Laura Thomas - lthomas@beverly-hanks.com â&#x20AC;¢ John Keith - jkeith@beverly-hanks.com

Christieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ivester Jackson Blackstream â&#x20AC;¢ George Escaravage - george@IJBProperties.com

ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com â&#x20AC;¢ â&#x20AC;¢ â&#x20AC;¢ â&#x20AC;¢

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Jerry Lee Mountain Realty Jerry Lee Hatley- jerryhatley@bellsouth.net Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com â&#x20AC;¢ Scott Easler - seasler@kw.com â&#x20AC;¢ The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com â&#x20AC;¢ Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff@kw.com

Lakeshore Realty â&#x20AC;¢ Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com Mountain Home Properties mountaindream.com â&#x20AC;¢ Cindy Dubose - cdubose@mountaindream.com McGovern Real Estate & Property Management â&#x20AC;¢ Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com RE/MAX Executive - remax-waynesvillenc.com remax-maggievalleync.com â&#x20AC;¢ Holly Fletcher - hollyfletcher1975@gmail.com â&#x20AC;¢ The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com â&#x20AC;¢ Ron Breese - ronbreese.com â&#x20AC;¢ Landen Stevenson- Landen@landenstevenson.com â&#x20AC;¢ Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com â&#x20AC;¢ Mary & Roger Hansen - mwhansen@charter.net â&#x20AC;¢ Judy Meyers - jameyers@charter.net â&#x20AC;¢ David Rogers - davidr@remax-waynesvillenc.com â&#x20AC;¢ Juli Rogers - julimeaserogers@gmail.com Rob Roland Realty - robrolandrealty.com

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The Smoky Mountain Retreat at Eagles Nest â&#x20AC;¢ Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com â&#x20AC;¢ Sherell Johnson - sherellwj@aol.com

WNC Real Estate Store â&#x20AC;¢ Jeff Baldwin - jeff@WNCforMe.com

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37

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ANSWERS ON PAGE 34

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38

www.smokymountainnews.com

January 1-7, 2020

WNC MarketPlace

Start planning the gardens now Editor’s note: This column first appeared in a January 2006 edition of The Smoky Mountain News.

H

George Ellison

ave you started making your gardening plans yet? It’s time. The garden catalogs started arriving in the mail several weeks ago: Johnny’s, Burpee’s, Pine Tree, Park’s, Shumway’s, Seeds of Change, etc. Folks have been studying these sorts of publications with pleasure for decades.

Among the earliest seed companies were Burpee’s, founded in 1876, and D. M. Ferry, founded in the 1880s. For their 100th anniversary in 1976, Burpee’s issued Columnist centennial place mats featuring color reproductions from historic, lithographed catalog pages. Those old-time catalogs had a special look and feel, one that R.W. Shumway’s Garden Guide still attempts to replicate, unsuccessfully in my opinion.

During the 1970s into the early 1980s, my wife, Elizabeth, and I were fairly serious home gardeners. We maintained a quarteracre plot in a level, cleared area up the creek from the house. Our family, which included

BACK THEN three children, pretty much depended on that garden for vegetables year-round.

Elizabeth canned tomatoes, green beans, and similar fare. Every evening during the winter months, we ate pies made from either butternut or acorn squash. Those pies were awfully good — and they were filling, which was equally important with five mouths to feed. The seeds for those gardens were ordered via various catalogs, primarily Burpee’s, as well as from Clampitt’s Hardware in Bryson City.

Then, for various reasons, we got away from gardening on that scale for a number of years. We cut back to dabbling around in the yard with ornamentals. Elizabeth maintained a small area alongside the house for spring greens, tomatoes, peppers, fall greens, and several other items.

As of now, however, it looks like we’re headed back to gardening on a grander scale.

One of our daughters, Quintin, established a homestead last year on property just up the creek from us. Quintin has always enjoyed fooling around with plants, both vegetables and flowers. And she had always wanted a greenhouse. So, I went halves with her on one that we ordered and erected on a flattened area up above the barn.

We didn’t get it up and running until last April, so this year will be the first full season.

We are finding that there’s more to greenhouse gardening than we’d supposed. A good deal of planning is required, in addition to the specific care each sort of plant requires.

Quintin and her mother are to be in charge of vegetable and fruit gardening.

To date, I have overheard discussions regarding lettuce, spinach, spring onions, Swiss chard, sugar snap peas, pole beans, cucumbers, eggplant, kohlrabi, various peppers, okra, Irish and sweet potatoes, rutabaga, tomatoes, turnips, various winter squashes, fall greens, berries, and two persimmon trees (one female and one male). Other items have doubtless been discussed of which I am not presently aware.

That should make for some good eating, with little or no effort on my part.

I’m in charge of flowers for the yard and the containers situated on the deck. So far, I’ve checked off agastache, cathedral bells, Siberian blue dianthus, purple coneflower, gallardia, cardinal climber, black-eyed Susan vine, fountain lobelia, melampodium, green-eyed rudbeckia, pincushion flower, Mexican sunflower, Stokes’ aster, and tall verbena. Once I add up the cost for those items, I’ll probably have to trim the list before placing my order.

In the meantime, I’m thoroughly enjoying just sitting inside the house, doing absolutely nothing except perusing seed catalogs.

Subconsciously, I understand that any orders I make will mean work in the months ahead. But as of now it’s clear sailing, just thumbing the pages and placing an occasional check mark, being an armchair gardener.

(George Ellison is a writer and naturalist who lives in Bryson City. info@georgeellison.com)

January 1-7, 2020 Smoky Mountain News 39

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Smoky Mountain News January 1-7, 2020