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January 9-15, 2019 Vol. 20 Iss. 33

SBI investigates threats to Swain sheriff, deputies Page 4 Student succeeds with Heart & Sole program Page 36

CONTENTS On the Cover: Tourists are still visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the latest government shutdown — which has continued for more than two weeks — and some people are even taking it upon themselves to help keep it clean while rangers are furloughed. (Page 6) A farther and son take in a view from U.S. 441 just south of Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Holly Kays photo

News SBI investigates threats to Swain sheriff, deputies ..................................................4 Clyde trailer park without water for a month ..............................................................9 Boojum, Evergreen seek development incentives ..................................................11 County wrestles with Haywood Schools’ office dilemma ....................................12 Financing decisions finalized for SCC health building ..........................................13 Tribe considers ginseng regulations ..........................................................................14 WCU athletics on the upswing ....................................................................................15 It’s election season again, already ..............................................................................16 Haywood swears in new county attorney ................................................................18 Education News ................................................................................................................21

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Catamount student succeeds with running program ............................................36

January 9-15, 2019

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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).

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SBI investigates threats to Swain sheriff, deputies

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR wain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran recently called upon the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to investigate alleged threats against himself and several other law enforcement officers.

According to a SBI search warrant, the home of Gerald Laschober, owner of Cooper Creek Trout Farm outside of Bryson City, was raided by SBI agents on Dec. 16, after Swain County deputies received a tip that Laschober had plans to blow up the sheriff ’s home and have several other deputies and law enforcement officers killed.

SBI investigators seized firearms, documents, computers, cell phones, floppy disks, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs and any other evidence against Laschober that could be related to alleged violations of conspiracy to commit felony first-degree murder, solicitation to commit felony first-degree murder and solicitation of malicious use of explosives. After being interrogated for several hours by SBI agents, Laschober was released from custody and is back at home on the trout farm.

The search warrant contained a probable cause statement explaining how the sheriff ’s department received information about Laschober’s supposed plans to commit such crimes from Kyle Huskey, a 22-year-old Bryson City man with a lengthy criminal record. His past charges involve marijuana possession, resisting officers, expired registration and tag, not wearing a seatbelt, misdemeanor larceny, speeding, driving without a license, reckless driving and underage drinking.

On Dec. 15, 2018, Swain County Sheriff ’s Lt. C.R. Robinson and Deputy A.R. Holland arrested Huskey at a Lower Alarka Road residence for possession of a firearm by a felon, felonious restraint, assault on a female, resisting a public officer, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

According to a sworn statement from SBI Special Agent S.R. Ashe, the officers told him they were escorting Huskey to the patrol vehicle when he told Holland some “bad shit” was going to happen. When asked what he meant, Huskey allegedly said, “he knew a guy that wanted to pay him $10,000 to $15,000 and the guy had a hundred pounds of explosives and that Doug Woodard, Aaron Ammons, Curtis Cochran and Charlie Robinson was on the list.” When asked who this guy was, Huskey said, “Cooper’s Creek Gerry.”

Huskey then apparently asked to speak to Holland and Robinson away from the dash camera. Huskey was placed in the patrol car and then told Holland if he “would help him out with the charges that he would help law enforcement out because it was going to get bad and this guy was serious.” Huskey also told the officers that Laschober knew where all of them live.

Woodard and Robinson are Swain Sheriff ’s deputies and Ammons is a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper.

Huskey has also done some work at the trout

Smoky Mountain News

January 9-15, 2019

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farm for Laschober in the past.

When Lt. Robinson interviewed Huskey at the detention center, according to the sworn affidavit from Agent Ashe, Huskey told him that the first person he was to “take out” was Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran and that Laschober told him he had a hundred pounds of explosives that he would be able to get his hands on within the next two weeks.

“Huskey was to place a pig’s head in Lt. Robinson’s wife’s vehicle within the next two weeks,” the search warrant states. “Huskey stated he was to get anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 to blow up the Sheriff ’s house and Laschober had previously shown Huskey how to get in the back way to the Sheriff ’s house.”

Huskey also described for the officers what Robinson’s house looked like and told them he knew Robinson had a wife and a child. According Curtis Cochran to Huskey, Laschober hates all four law enforcement officers, but the sheriff was the first person to be taken out. He also said Laschober told him if he told anyone about their plans that he’d have Huskey killed.

Huskey told officers he had several text messages from Laschober that would back up his story, including a text from him the night before about the explosives. Robinson also interviewed Huskey’s girlfriend Nerissa Woodard who also said she saw a text on Huskey’s phone from a Gerry about explosives. Huskey gave officers permission to search his cell phone but the screen had been badly damaged during the dispute and they weren’t able to download the information from his phone.

Robinson stated that he had run into Laschober about two weeks prior at the Swain County Courthouse and Laschober asked him about the range on his shotgun.

Robinson told him the range was 50 to 100 yards and Laschober responded by saying his rifle had the capability of taking someone out at a quarter of a mile.

A special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also came in Dec. 15 to interview Huskey about the alleged explosives Laschober said he was going to get soon. Huskey told the agent Laschober had a friend who could get Composition 4 (C-4) — an explosive material that resembles white clay — and Detonation Cord (Det-Cord) and it would be arriving in about two weeks for Huskey to use to blow up Cochran’s house.

Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts signed a search warrant for officers to search Huskey’s cell phone records through Verizon Wireless to look for the text messages between Huskey and Laschober, but the results came up empty. Nerissa Woodard told officers Huskey used an application called “TextNow” to communicate via text, which

led officers to search Verizon records for communications between other cell numbers.

That search proved fruitful. A text was sent from what is believed to be Laschober’s cell phone to Huskey’s cell on Dec. 13 saying, “100lbs is possible within 2 weeks time.”

Huskey replied saying, “I’m lost” to which the respondent replied, “What we talked about.” Huskey replied with, “Perfect.”

Verizon confirmed Dec. 16 that the other cell number was registered to Laschober.

An SBI spokesman out of the Asheville office did confirm an investigation was requested by the sheriff and did involve Gerry Laschober, but he would not provide any other specific details of the case. Sheriff Cochran and District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch also declined to comment on the pending investigation.

When reached for comment, Laschober said there’s a lot more to the story than what’s in the SBI warrant, but at this time he’s not going to comment on the investigation while his attorney Rusty McLean works on the case.

PREVIOUS INCIDENTS According to incident report documents obtained from the sheriff ’s office, the sheriff ’s department has responded to Cooper Creek Trout Farm on many occasions dating back to 2007 for one reason or another.

Laschober has had repeated problems with his neighbors hunting dogs wandering around on his property — one incident report from 2015 shows where he called the sheriff saying his neighbor was trespassing on his property trying to retrieve his dogs and Woodard was the responding officer.

Again in June 2017, deputies were called when the neighbor’s dogs were somewhere on the trout farm property and the neighbor claimed Laschober refused to return the dog.

Laschober allegedly told the neighbor he’d return the dog for $50. Lt. Robinson was the responding officer on that call.

Laschober also has pending charges stemming from being pulled over during a traffic checkpoint in 2017. He’s appealing the charges for failure to heed a light or siren and resisting a public officer and is due in court again Feb. 11.

DISPUTE WITH SHERIFF Convinced of corruption within the sheriff ’s office, Laschober has also tried other ways to get Sheriff Cochran out of office. He tried to appear as a witness before a Swain County Board of Elections hearing when Cochran’s candidacy for sheriff was challenged earlier this year by another Swain County man Jerry Lowery.

In his challenge, Lowery claimed Cochran wasn’t eligible to run for office because he was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Marines in 1975. Cochran said he wasn’t dishonorably discharged — he had just completed boot camp and was getting ready to ship off from Parris Island

when he had to take leave to be with his infant son who was about to undergo surgery on his eye. While on leave, Cochran claims he received a letter from the military stating they’d release him from service if he waived his rights to any future benefits, which is what he did.

Lowery wanted Cochran to produce his DD-214 form — a document all military members receive when they’re discharged — but Cochran said he didn’t have one.

That was confirmed by the National Personnel Records Center in Missouri.

When the board of elections held a hearing on the matter, Cochran’s lawyer David Sawyer claimed people who serve less than 90 days don’t receive a DD-214 form.

Lowery tried to disprove Sawyer’s assertion by calling Laschober as a witness since he served less than 90 days in the military due to an injury and still received the discharge form. However, the board of elections wouldn’t allow him to testify saying it was irrelevant to the case. After the local board dismissed the challenge against Cochran, Laschober traveled to Raleigh with Lowery to appeal the matter before the state board.

It was dismissed once again.

As the 2018 election grew closer, Laschober threw his financial support behind Cochran’s challenger for sheriff Rocky Sampson. According to campaign finance reports, Laschober made several separate donations to Sampson’s campaign — $1,000 on March 12, $1,000 on July 16, $1,000 on July 24, $1,525 on Aug. 16 and $400 on Oct. 1.

Laschober said he thought it might be easier to fight Cochran’s administration at the ballot box instead of in the court system, but Cochran was re-elected in November.

Laschober has reached out to many lawyers, the SBI, the state Attorney General’s Office and even the FBI trying to seek justice against what he calls deep corruption within the sheriff ’s office, but he’s been told there’s not much anyone can do since the sheriff is an elected position without much oversight.

Now, Laschober has found himself under investigation.

Huskey is still being detained at the Swain County Detention Center on a $150,000 secured bond and is due back in court Jan. 10 on a number of charges, including misdemeanor larceny for stealing several of Cochran’s large political signs in September. At the time, Huskey told him Rocky Sampson had hired him to steal the signs.

“They gave up valuable information as to who had conspired with them, amazing what desperation will provoke in some people,” Cochran wrote in a Facebook post Sept.

9. “I guess the old adage is true, there is no honor among theives (sic). These 2 were charged and, if their information proves to be true, then the person they disclosed will be charged with conspiracy.”

Sampson adamantly denied the claims he’d hired Huskey to do anything and never faced any charges.

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some institutions like the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian were funded in December or are still using monies from last year to operate.

A televised speech from President Trump on the wall and, presumably, the shutdown, was slated to air after The Smoky Mountain News went to print the evening of Jan. 8, and a number of continuing resolutions that could fund certain departments were scheduled for a vote on Jan. 9; if neither of those efforts bear fruit, the shutdown of 2018-19 could quickly become the nation’s largest, and costliest.

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in the House, led by House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich. That shutdown lasted three days.

President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, also tangled with Gingrich when he vetoed a Republican-crafted appropriations bill that led to a five-day shutdown in November, 1995. That led to another shutdown, this one for 22 days from mid-December through Jan. 6, 1996.

House opposition to the Affordable Care Act in 2013 caused a 16-day shutdown during the Obama administration, the last until President Donald Trump took office in January 2017.

The first shutdown of the Trump era came a year later when the Senate rejected a spending bill over the lack of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) funding, resulting in a three-day shutdown.

A subsequent shutdown lasted only a few hours, overnight, in early February 2018, so government services weren’t affected and workers weren’t furloughed.

As of press time, Clinton’s second shutdown in 1995-96 remains the longest on record and will remain so unless something happens in regard to the current situation before the weekend of Jan. 11.

The current shutdown began at midnight on Saturday, Dec. 22, when the Democrat-led House passed a stopgap measure to continue government funding. The Republican-led Senate ignored the proposal because it didn’t have the roughly $5.7 billion President Trump wants to fulfill a controversial campaign pledge — his Mexican border wall.

Last September, two appropriations bills were passed by Congress that supplied most of the government with most of what it would need to operate through early December.

On Dec. 6, another continuing resolution was passed that would keep things moving through Dec. 21 and also give House Speaker-

Last September, two appropriations bills were passed by Congress that supplied most of the government with most of what it would need to operate through early December.

January 9-15, 2019

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER here are plenty of misconceptions about the federal government shutdown — what it is, who it affects, how it happens, and why — but what is clear is that both parties have engaged in the tactic for almost 45 years, and as time goes on, shutdowns are becoming longer, and becoming more commonly used as a policy tool.

Enacted in 1884, the Antideficiency Act prevents the federal government from executing a contract that isn’t fully funded. In effect, that prevents expenditures and even the accrual of charges. Since the mid-1970s, that act has been interpreted to mean that when funding bills aren’t ratified in a timely manner, federal departments and agencies begin to shut down to avoid incurring expenses.

For example, so-called “essential employees” like TSA agents, the military and air traffic controllers must still report to work, but have no indications of when they’ll be paid.

Non-essential employees, like U.S. Park Service personnel, are furloughed.

Usually, shutdowns occur when either the House, the Senate or the President doesn’t like what is or isn’t in an appropriations bill.

Those revenue or expense issues usually come down to a matter of policy.

The very first time a federal agency had to shut down due to a lack of funding was during the Carter administration in 1980, when the Federal Trade Commission was shut down for a day.

A Ronald Reagan veto of a spending bill — because spending cuts weren’t extensive enough for his taste — shut down the government for a day in 1981; similar circumstances produced another shutdown in 1984 and in 1986, but both lasted less than a day.

In 1990, then-President George H.W. Bush’s abandonment of his “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge led to massive opposition

Clouds settle over a view from U.S. 441 just south of Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Holly Kays photo

Internal Revenue Service will still accept filings, returns could be delayed and benefit programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Food Assistance) could see drastic cuts come March.

National Parks, monuments and museums are mostly closed or functioning with a skeleton crew of staff, or even volunteers, but

news

The lowdown on the shutdown

elect Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer time to negotiate with Trump over his wall demand — something vehemently opposed by Democrats.

But that was before a contentious televised meeting — called “combative” by the New York Times and “heated” by the Washington Post — between the three on Dec. 11, the result of which signaled there would be little compromise on the wall.

“I’m proud to shut down the government over border security,” Trump said.

A week later, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell predicted the shutdown would be averted and said that Trump might be willing to budge on his demand, but after another meeting with Dem leaders — this time, behind closed doors — no progress was made.

A few days after that, on Dec. 22, Congress went into recess for the Christmas holiday, practically ensuring the shutdown’s continuation through the new year.

Complicating matters, new members of Congress were subsequently sworn in Jan. 3.

Another meeting held shortly after the new Congress was sworn in seemed to indicate a step backward from any sort of resolution — Trump said the shutdown could last “months or even years,” according to reports from the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, AFP News reports that almost 400,000 federal workers have been furloughed while another 400,000 are working without pay.

The consequences of a prolonged shutdown could have a more far-ranging impact than any previous shutdown; although the

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‘Borrowed time’

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January 9-15, 2019

Community steps up to care for parks during shutdown

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER The National Park Service is closed.

Sort of.

When the clock struck midnight on Dec. 22, 2018, the latest continuing budget resolution expired and the federal government’s failure to agree on a spending bill resulted in the suspension of all “non-essential” government services — including most services associated with operating the national parks.

Of 24,681 National Park Service employees nationwide, only 3,298 are working during the shutdown, with just 326 for the entire Southeast region.

But unlike in October 2013, when an Obama-era impasse resulted in a 16-day shutdown, the gates to national parks across the country have remained open. Parking lots aren’t barricaded and trailheads aren’t blocked. People on vacation from Florida or Alabama, or even just enjoying a day off from work in local communities like Gatlinburg or Cherokee, can still hike Alum Cave and Big Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, or take in the view from Newfound Gap. It’s not business as usual, though.

Parkwide, bathrooms are locked tight and visitor centers are closed. While a skeleton crew of very busy law enforcement rangers is around to provide some measure of security, nobody is helping visitors plan a day on the trail, leading interpretive programs or reminding visitors of park rules vital to protecting natural resources and ensuring safety.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is gated, but that’s because snow and wind in December closed it along its route through the mountains before the shutdown occurred. With no park staff working to clear downed limbs or check conditions, the sections that were closed then remain closed now. According to Carolyn Ward, CEO of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the section of the Parkway running through Asheville between the Folk Art Center and the N.C. Arboretum is the only one that’s open.

TWO SHUTDOWNS, TWO APPROACHES

In Ward’s view, the Parkway’s current inaccessibility is the best thing for it. She takes issue with the directive from Washington to keep parks open while suspending visitor services.

“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.

6 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,” she said.

While the Parkway and Smokies have largely been spared, that alleged insanity has played out in dramatic fashion at many of the country’s National Park units, with overflowing trash bins and piles of human feces showcased in news stories nationwide.

Former President Barack Obama was criticized for locking down the national parks during the shutdown that took place under his administration, with detractors saying that he used one of the federal government’s most popular functions as a cudgel to get his

“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.”

— Carolyn Ward, CEO of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation

way in negotiations with Congress. In the Smokies, for example, U.S. 441 through the park was kept open but trailheads and overlooks were blocked off to prevent people from stopping to take a hike or photograph a view.

The Blue Ridge Parkway was ungated but amenities were closed.

But President Donald Trump’s administration gave a different set of directives. The Park Service was told that “park roads, lookouts, trails and open-air memorials will remain generally accessible to visitors” and that “visitors in campgrounds will not be asked to leave.” However, no visitor services such as restrooms, trash collection, maintenance and public information will be provided. That approach has also drawn criticism from those who say that the open-doors policy will create lasting environmental damage in the country’s most beautiful places.

In 2013, the shutdown took place over what is the busiest season of the year for parks across the nation, including the Parkway and the Smokies. Businesses and nonprofits that depend on leaf season revenues for their livelihoods took a big hit, costing the region millions in tourism dollars.

The Great Smoky Mountains Association, for example, lost more than $1 million in revenue in 2013, a year when it was projected to make a total of $7 million, according to

Franklin resident Mike Walker is a frequent Smokies hiker and decided to give back during the shutdown by picking up trash. Holly Kays photo GSMA Executive Director Laurel Rematore.

The current shutdown affects the national parks much less evenly, but for the Smokies the stretch between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a pretty important time. However, it appears that the park staying open has benefited tourism-dependent businesses.

According to CeCe Hipps, executive director of the Haywood Chamber of Commerce, lodging establishments have not been complaining of cancellations or a lack of reservations and retail shop owners have said that business over the past two weeks has been “amazing.” However, she said, that could change if the shutdown continues. Likewise, Swain County Chamber of Commerce Director Karen Wilmot said that the shutdown has not significantly impacted lodging reservations, but many people are calling to ask if the park and its trails are still open.

With government services lapsing just as the holiday season began, GSMA saw the writing on the wall — people would come, facilities would be locked and chaos would ensue. So, the organization decided to do

something about it.

GSMA donated more than $50,000 to fund 15 rangers working information desks, cleaning bathrooms and collecting trash at the Oconaluftee, Sugarlands and Cades Cove visitor centers from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1.

Rematore said that the park was hopping during that time, and that visitors were quick to express their appreciation to GSMA for keeping the facilities open.

“It was definitely the right decision, because even with the periodic road closure (of U.S. 441) due to the wind events and snow that we had, even with that people were here.

It was really, really busy,” she said.

ADJUSTING TO THE SHUTDOWN

But with the dawn of the new year, that funding expired. The buildings were locked and the rangers went home, but the visitors

S EE S HUTDOWN, PAGE 8

news The Blue Ridge Parkway (left) is closed for most of its route through the mountains. Touching wild animals (right) is dangerous and prohibited under park rules. Visitors from Florida (below) make a snowman in the Newfound Gap parking lot. Holly Kays photos

Cruising the Smokies under shutdown

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January 9-15, 2019

was closed. Today, on their way to Cherokee, they’d found themselves unable to use the bathroom at Newfound Gap like they planned.

But Lisa Thornton, 50, said that while the shutdown had prevented her family from getting the experience they wanted while vacationing from Auburndale, Florida, the warm, rainy weather was even more of a disappointment. There hadn’t been any snow at all, so her grandkids were busy building a snowman with leftover snow in the Newfound Gap parking lot.

“We didn’t get to do some of what we wanted to do because of the shutdown,” she said. “We’ll be back next year. There’s too much here not to come back.”

A few miles down the mountain, the Alum Cave and Chimney Tops trailheads were abuzz with activity, parking lots full of cars and vehicles spilling out to line the roadsides.

Over at Alum Cave the bathroom was locked but the trail clear of litter and the hikers overwhelmingly positive about their experience

— though some did note the lack of rangers.

“I haven’t noticed any trash, but it’s always nice to know the park rangers are around,” said Austin Clark, 35, visiting with his wife and son from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. “Whether you see them or not it’s nice to know they’re here.”

While it might be easy to forget about the shutdown while walking a trail in remote backcountry, reality hit hard for Knoxville resident Peter Rubacha, 62, who had parked at the Sugarlands Visitor Center around 10 a.m., along with 40-some other people from the Happy Hikers Hiking Club. When they returned from their hike, it was to find the parking lot roped off with yellow police tape and orange traffic cones, blocking them in.

“It just seems like the politicians from either side will choose the things that hurt people the most to get their point across,” said Rubacha. “When they puff their chest out they’re just hurting the normal people who are trying to pay their bills.”

7 Or, go on a hike.

Smoky Mountain News

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER t’s just after 11 a.m. on a weekday, and while a road sign at the Cherokee entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park alerts travelers “All facilities closed for govt shutdown,” visitors are still arriving.

At the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, 11 cars are parked. Even though the bathrooms and visitor center are locked tight, occupants are g unloading to look at maps posted on outo door kiosks, wander through the Mountain Farm Museum or walk down to the Oconaluftee River, where two bull elk lock horns on the opposite bank as a female o roams nearby. , The shutdown hasn’t put a damper on t the experience at all, said Betty Baxley, 63, of e Augusta, Georgia, who’s driving through . with her 17-year-old granddaughter Taylor g Baxley for a long weekend in Pigeon Forge. k It’s an annual tradition for the two of them. r “I can’t tell any difference,” Baxley said.

“It seems the same. It hasn’t affected us any.” , Not everybody knows how to safely intere act with wildlife, though. With no visitor w centers operating there’s nobody to brief vis. itors as they arrive, and with limited law enforcement there’s nobody to break up situations like the one that occurred around 4 p.m. that same day — a group of visitors approached a female elk sitting alongside the road at Oconaluftee, going so far as to stroke its head and side while the cluster of t people grew. When the first group left, d another visitor moved in to pet the elk. s Four miles north, only one site was occupied at Smokemont Campground — a large RV that likely didn’t have to rely on the

campground’s now-suspended restroom services. Under normal circumstances, it’s likely more people would have been around.

According to a report from January 2018, 160 tents and 19 RVs camped at Smokemont that month, an average of 5.8 visitors per day.

Josh and Bethany Jackson, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, were at the campground with their 7-month-old daughter in search of a trailhead, having pitched their tent for the week at a campground in Cherokee. The shutdown didn’t have them worried at all.

“I can say it really hasn’t affected us at all,” said Josh, 36. “Even out here there’s not any services we would use normally.”

A survey of dumpster and trash can levels at Smokemont showed a satisfyingly low volume at play, with little to no litter around, but that changed on the drive up toward Newfound Gap, with cans, bottles and other garbage making an appearance on the roadside.

“You can tell the parking lots haven’t been picked up,” said Richard Speir, 33, who was taking in a view downhill from Newfound with his 6-year-old son. “I wish people wouldn’t put it there.”

About 50 cars crowded the parking lot at Newfound Gap, with people gaping at the view, pausing for selfies along the rock wall, playing in languishing piles of snow and walking nearby trails.

For Ana Chavez, a first-time park visitor from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, visiting with her husband and two children, the shutdown had caused some trepidation.

“I knew that there was a government shutdown, but I didn’t know that it actually affected the parks,” she said while stopping at the Newfound Gap overlook, where she’d been told her kids might be able to see snow.

“I was a little afraid to know that there isn’t a lot of people working, but whatever, you know, we’ll just take a chance.”

Jennifer Gonzalez, 42, said that the shutdown had frustrated her plans with her husband and two kids on their visit from Miami, Florida. They’d wanted to go to Cades Cove the previous day, but the road

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Visitors cluster around the rock wall and marker at Newfound Gap (left) for photos. Alum Cave Creek (right) flows under a bridge along the trail. Holly Kays photos S HUTDOWN, CONTINUED FROM 6

Smoky Mountain News

January 9-15, 2019

did not. Cars bearing license plates from across the country continued to caravan along Newfound Gap Road, filling up trailheads and overlooks — and in some cases, finding less-than-advisable ways to deal with the no-restroom issue.

After park rangers found human waste outside bathrooms at Newfound Gap and Cades Cove, the park asked another one of its partners, Friends of the Smokies, if it could help fund those services. Friends stepped up, announcing that it would spend $15,000 to $18,000 to pay the salaries of five employees over the next two weeks. Those workers will clean the bathrooms at Newfound Gap and Cades Cove and pick up trash around those facilities. If help is still needed after two weeks, Friends said, it will do what it can to pitch in.

The Park Service itself has also taken some action attempting to help parks quell the flood of garbage and waste threatening to damage some of the nation’s most unique places.

On Saturday, Jan. 5, Department of the Interior Acting Secretary David Bernhardt signed a memorandum allowing parks to bring on staff to clean bathrooms, haul trash and patrol parks, according to reporting from The Washington Post. These functions would be funded using revenue from park entrance fees, which is typically set aside to provide maintenance and upgrades for the areas where it originates. Fees are not intended to defray operational expenses such as trash service and bathroom maintenance.

“After consultation with the Office of the Solicitor at the Department of the Interior, it has been determined that these funds can and should be used to provide immediate assistance and services to highly visited parks during the lapse in appropriations,” P. Daniel Smith, deputy director of the National Park Service, said in a statement released Jan. 6.

“We are taking this extraordinary step to 8 ensure that parks are protected, and that vis-

itors can continue to access parks with limited basic services.”

It remains to be seen how those funds will be divvied up. Neither the Smokies nor the Parkway, two of the most-visited parks in the country, collect entrance fees. According the Park Service’s updated contingency plan, parks that collect these fees will be able to use them for “basic visitor services.” However, the plan also states that for parks that don’t collect them, “the Director will determine whether available national or regional recreation fees will be allocated.”

The longer the shutdown continues, the more severe the impacts could be, and not just as it relates to resource protection and visitor experience. The national parks are chronically underfunded, meaning that nonprofit partners like GSMA, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and Friends of the Smokies are vital to providing the parks with the resources needed to fulfill their mission.

But these organizations rely on collaboration and input from park staff to plan projects, apply for grants and organize volunteer activities.

This week, Friends of the Smokies will miss a deadline to apply for a grant from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation because park staff wasn’t around to provide input.

CPF may extend the deadline, but that wouldn’t necessarily resolve the issue — nobody knows just how long the shutdown will last, and at some point funding decisions must be made.

“I rely heavily on certain park rangers’ responses to the questions I need,” said Anna Zanetti, North Carolina director for Friends of the Smokies. “It’s complicated. I can’t ask for them to work right now. I can’t ask for this information. It just pushes things back and prolongs the process and possibly has us miss these deadlines.”

Volunteer groups like the Nantahala Hiking Club, which maintains the Appalachian Trail through the park, are also affected.

“Under of our agreements with the Forest

Service and the National Park Service when we go out as A.T. maintainers we are covered if any accident occurs. During a government shutdown we are not covered and we have been instructed by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to cease any work on the A.T. and side trails,” said Paul Dyer, trail manager for NHC. “We are missing some wonderful good weather days for January. We normally go out every Wednesday, but we’re not allowed to go out until the shutdown is resolved.”

A COMMUNITY EFFORT A drive through the park on Thursday, Jan. 3, certainly revealed a larger-than-normal amount of trash on the roadside, as well as visitors breaking various park rules that a ranger probably would have weighed in on had the shutdown not been in effect — for example, a family huddled around a female elk to take turns petting it would likely have been informed that elk are wild animals, that they can be dangerous and that it’s never wise to get within 50 yards of a wild animal, much less touch it.

But unlike what’s been reported at parks like Joshua Tree and Yosemite out west, trash cans were not overflowing and there was no latent stench of human waste in the air. In fact, trash cans from Oconaluftee to Sugarlands were nearly empty, as though they’d been changed much more recently than Dec. 22 or even Dec. 31, when GSMA funding ended.

That’s because the park has a pre-existing contract with a private company to empty dumpsters and trash cans. That contract is still active, so trash is still being removed.

However, that’s not necessarily common knowledge, and Smokies enthusiasts have been stepping up to the plate as well — to change trash bags but also to pick up roadside litter.

“It’s been a community effort, more than just one group,” said Kristi Parsons, of Knoxville, who is a member of the group

Smoky Mountain HikerTrash. “We all have a deep love for the park and mountains. We care for them in smaller ways each time we’re there, but this past week we wanted to rise above and set an example for other parks across the country.”

On Sunday, Jan. 6, more than 10 people from the HikerTrash group cleaned a 12-mile stretch from Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area to the Sugarlands Visitor Center, collecting more than 15 30-gallon trash bags full of myriad items including hub caps, diapers, a lottery ticket good for $5, way too many pieces of gum and cigarette butts and three unopened bottles of moonshine. That wasn’t the first time that week hikers had banded together to clean trash — multiple days that week hikers from HikerTrash as well as Hiking the Smokies and Hike the Smokies picked up trash and changed trash bags on both the Tennessee and North Carolina sides of the park.

There are some vigilante litter collectors at work too, such as Mike Walker, 55, of Franklin. A frequent hiker at Cades Cove, Walker reacted to the shutdown by driving out to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center with a reflective vest, trash grabber and roll of trash bags to do what he could to clean up the roadside.

“I think it’s the right thing to do as much as we use the park and as free as this is. It’s one of the few there’s no charge,” said Walker, pausing his pickup Jan. 3 to talk to a reporter.

“I don’t mind giving back. It’s a beautiful park. It’s ours — I take care of my house, I’ll take care of the park.”

It’s been wonderful to see people stepping up to protect their park, said Rematore, but it’s important to remember that with the holidays winding down we’re now in a “spectacularly slow” time for park visitation. The closer it gets to Martin Luther King Day weekend, she said, the more important it will be for the government to reopen and rangers to return to work.

“We’re OK right now,” she said, “but we’re on borrowed time.”

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not regulated by the commission is to call their local government officials and see if they can put some pressure on the district to reconnect their service.”

M&M Trailer Park isn’t within the Clyde city limits but it is located in the town’s ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction).

When reached for comment Monday, Clyde Mayor Jim Trantham hadn’t heard about the water issue yet, but said the Clyde Board of Aldermen probably wouldn’t be getting involved.

“We have our own municipal water system — that’s Junaluska’s issue,” he said. “I feel bad for them but they’ll have to work it out with the owner of the property. If it was me personally, I’d try to round up all the folks in the trailer park and try to pay that bill and then subtract it from my rent money.”

So far, no one has been able to locate Miller even though the sanitary district has sent him multiple notices before shutting off service. A sign at the edge of the trailer park includes two telephone numbers — one number goes directly to a message saying the number has calling restrictions and can’t connect and the other goes to someone else’s voicemail.

Miller, 37, has had multiple encounters with Haywood County law enforcement. He was arrested in December 2017 on drug possession charges and his prior record includes assault, child abuse, assault on a female and resisting a public officer.

Williams and Brennan said the trailer park has been overrun with drug addicts and drug dealing in the last two years.

Paul said Miller told them all a few months ago he might be going to jail or to rehab soon and was trying to get someone else to take over the trailer park. On Tuesday afternoon, she said the property manager Richard Cagle — a friend of Miller’s who lives at the park — was walking around trying to collect $35 from everyone at the park to make a payment but said they were still about $500 short of getting the bill paid.

“It’s still up in the air but we hope it gets turned back on today,” she said.

By 3:30 p.m. the water district sent an email stating the bill had been paid.

January 9-15, 2019

the bill, but it’s uncertain how much it we have been catching rain water and boilwould take. ing it,” Paul said.

Josh Nickol, general manager and Williams said the problems at M&M go finance officer for Junaluska Sanitary far beyond having reliable water — tenants have also had no luck getting Miller to make District, did not return messages or an email seeking comment on the issue. much-needed repairs. There’s also been a The Haywood County Health horrible rat problem and trash piling up that Department said it’s not something they’d hasn’t been addressed. Miller lives on Hyatt regulate either since it’s not a facility the Street in Waynesville and is rarely seen at environmental health division would reguthe trailer park off Lee Road in Clyde. larly inspect.

“I’ve lived here 12 years and when Sam Watson, general counsel and direcJimmy’s father owned it he was a good landtor of the North Carolina Utilities lord, but since he took over it’s been a Commission, said the commission does not mess,” Williams said. regulate local water and sewer districts nor “I’ll never live in another trailer park again,” said Holly Brennan, Williams’ girlfriend who also lives with him and his mom. “But it’s so hard to find another place to live around here.”

Other tenants have heard Miller is trying to sell the trailer park property and assured them the bill Residents at M&M Trailer Park in Clyde have been without water for nearly would get paid a month after their landlord didn’t pay the bill. Jessi Stone photo by the new owner once the does it regulate mobile home parks in which property closed, but it could just be another tenants’ water costs are included in the rent. rumor.

There have been some efforts in the past to Williams said they found out the water get the commission to regulate local diswas going to be turned off again at the tricts, but so far the General Assembly beginning of December — the same time hasn’t been willing to do it. rent was due — so he chose not to pay When asked what recourse the tenants December’s rent. had in trying to get their water turned back Unfortunately, Paul said her rent is paid up until March, which didn’t leave her much on, he said there’s not much they can do other than reach out their elected officials money to help with the past due water bill. and get a lawyer.

Even though the water service is in “I spoke with someone at the Attorney Miller’s name, residents were advised that General’s office and they said the usual the district would reconnect the service if recourse for folks like that served by utilities someone came in and paid off a portion of

news

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR he residents at M&M Trailer Park in Clyde were without water for nearly a month after the Junaluska Sanitary District shut off service for failure to pay.

But it wasn’t the tenants not paying the water bill — the tenants’ water cost is included in their rent and the landlord is responsible for paying the total water bill to the district. The owner of the trailer park, James Miller, was apparently several months behind on the bill and owes over $1,000 to the sanitary district. As per the district’s policy, water is cut off to customers after 60 days of non-payment.

The past due bill finally got paid Tuesday afternoon and crews were working to reconnect the water around 4 p.m., but it might not be the last time the tenants have to worry about it being disconnected again.

Travis Williams, 27, has lived at M&M for 12 years along with his mother. He said it’s certainly not the first time the water has been shut off because Miller didn’t pay the bill but it’s probably the longest it’s stayed off. The last time it was shut off was in September, but it came back on after a few days.

“They shut it off in early December. It made Christmas really hard — I had to bring water home from work to be able to cook and clean for the family,” he said.

He said he was grateful that a local church came by a couple of days ago and dropped off 200 gallons of water for the neighborhood to use.

While Williams said he saw at least three different moving trucks at the trailer park in the last couple of weeks as people find another place to live, there were still many families living there trying their best to get by without, including an older couple who has a hard time getting around and a young mom with an infant.

Katlyn Paul, who lives at the trailer park with her girlfriend, said it’s the second time the water has been shut off in the four months they’ve been there.

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an impact on the current state of Haywood County than almost anyone alive today.

“Chip actually was the first attorney that hired me, for my first job 24 years ago,” said Kirk Kirkpatrick, longtime commissioner and Waynesville attorney. “He brought me into a firm when a couple of the others weren’t so sure about doing that.”

Kirkpatrick eventually became law partners with Killian, but had to dissolve that partnership once he was elected commissioner, as Killian had been and would continue to be the county attorney for some time.

“I certainly appreciate the mentor that he has been to me all those years,” Kirkpatrick said.

“I started practicing land surveying in 1985,” said Chairman Kevin Ensley. “Chip was the county attorney then, and he was also a real estate attorney. Being a land surveyor, I deal with a lot of real estate. Chip was always a pleasure to work with and he definitely served the county with honor and integrity all those years.”

Killian had already been county attorney for five years when Queen, the new county attorney, returned to Waynesville with his newly-minted law degree.

“I got to know him personally, and I got to know him as a professional,” said Queen.

“I’ve admired him more than any other lawyer that I have ever practiced with or ever known in this state, and I appreciate the opportunity to step into his shoes [for] 46 years and 364 more days so I can equal his term of service.”

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Haywood swears in first new county attorney since Nixon administration

ings — as well as document prep and review, coordination with sheriff ’s and DSS’ counsel and other duties will cost the county $80,000 a year, payable monthly, in advance.

Special projects that are assigned by elected officials or town administration will be budgeted based on complexity, duration and scope.

Killian’s original five-year agreement, dated Oct. 5, 2015, began at $100,000 but increased to $125,000 plus health insurance and payments into the retirement system.

That agreement was amended by commissioners on July 16 of this year, and directed Killian to reduce his hours by 20 percent, in line with a 20 percent reduction in salary back to $100,000. It also shortened the term of the contract to Dec. 31, 2018. In the amended contract, it also states Killian’s desire to remain through the original Oct. 5, 2020 date.

Killian said Jan. 8 he was proud of some of his more recent accomplishments.

“The homeless shelter [Pathways] in Hazelwood was a major accomplishment,” he said. “And the animal shelter is also major asset for the county.”

He added he’s in a state of semi-retirement, saying he probably wouldn’t practice much law, but was “open to invitations for whatever,” likely short-term projects.

“My wife assures me I’ll be bored in short order,” he said. “To tell you the truth I’m taking it one day at a time.”

Killian wasn’t at the meeting Jan. 7, but Queen and commissioners lauded the service of a man who has probably had more of

New Haywood County Attorney Frank Queen (right) sits with County Manager Bryant Morehead during a meeting Jan. 7. Cory Vaillancourt photo

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“I want to take one second to say how much I appreciated the service of Chip Killian. Chip has served with distinction, with energy, with competency — everything that a client could hope to have from an attorney.”

the corporate world, especially EEOC and Federal Wage and Hour complaints, and he’s also served as president of the local bar and director of Legal Services of North Carolina, which provides indigent legal assistance in civil matters. The Martindale-Hubble attorney peer review directory has Queen listed under its highest rating.

Queen’s contract proposal, approved unanimously by commissioners Jan. 7, favored a two-pronged approach similar to others in the field.

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— Frank Queen, Haywood County Attorney

INDOOR FLEA MARKET AT THE OLD ARMORY

January 9-15, 2019

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER ot for nearly half a century has anyone been able to say, “Haywood County has a new county attorney,” but now that an era has ended, everyone will have to get used to hearing it.

“I want to take one second to say how much I appreciated the service of Chip Killian,” said Frank Queen upon taking the oath to succeed him. “Chip has served with distinction, with energy, with competency — everything that a client could hope to have from an attorney.”

The Waynesville native Queen is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s law school who has practiced in Waynesville since 1977.

He served for two years as Waynesville’s town attorney, providing advice to elected officials and town staff. Queen also served as outside counsel for Old Town Bank, working on “troubled loans,” loan collections and foreclosures, but for more than a decade he’s been outside counsel for the local memberowned utility cooperative Haywood Electric Membership Corporation.

One of his more recent responsibilities is that of outside counsel to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Office of Internal Audit and Ethics. Accordingly, Queen helped draft and revise the new tribal government ethics code.

His private practice focuses mainly on

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Commissioners wrestle with Haywood Schools’ office dilemma

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER fter a minor delay due to the concerns of a newly-elected commissioner, Haywood County has again decided to move forward with the redevelopment of the Historic Haywood Hospital by granting Landmark Services a purchase option on the property, but the looming issue of what to do with its current occupants remains unresolved.

“At the last meeting we talked about this option and one of the things we came away with was trying to make it cleaner, and simpler, and address the concerns that Mr. Pless had about the lease for the Haywood County school system,” said David Francis, a program administrator for the county. “[County Attorney] Mr. Queen and I sat down and I think he did an outstanding job of making it a lot easier to read.”

North Carolina Housing Finance Authority regulations require that a developer have control of the development site before applying for tax credits. Those credits are crucial to the financial feasibility of the site, and the purchase option on the 3-acre hospital property in the amount of $225,000 gives Landmark that control.

This is the third time the county has

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notified in mid-August.

On Dec. 17, Francis said that if Landmark’s application was successful, the hospital’s redevelopment would not impact the school district’s lease, because Landmark said it would honor the school district’s lease.

During that same meeting, Commissioner Pless insisted that the Haywood County Schools hopes to vacate the Historic Haywood option include a more Hospital by 2021 regardless of whether it’s redeveloped or not. solid assurance that the File photo school district, which leases the building for granted Landmark such an agreement, which use as its central administration office, gives Landmark the right to buy the property wouldn’t be forced out unexpectedly before during the option period, which ends Sept. the lease runs out in 2020, and a provision in 19. Landmark also has the opportunity to pay the contract explicitly states that “the buyer $7,000 for one 90-day extension to the closing will honor that lease through its expiration deadline, and then pay another $7,000 for date of Dec. 31, 2020.”

Pless got what he wanted, but correctly another extension, which could push the clospointed out that the school district’s future ing well into 2020.

Presumably, Landmark would only pur- office site — with or without Landmark’s purchase the parcel if the tax credits are award- chase — was still just a can being kicked ed. Typically, recipients of the credits are down the road.

“If I read this correctly, we still have to figure out what to do with them,” he said.

“We’re still under the same timetable of two years.”

School district officials have indicated that they would prefer not to sign another lease on the property — which isn’t exactly in the best of shape — once theirs runs out at the end of 2020.

“At that point in time, we have no obligation to provide them a place for administrative offices — no legal obligation,” said Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick. “However, they don’t have the money to renovate or build a facility for an administrative office.

Regardless of whether we have the legal liability, we’re going to have some obligation to work with them at that point in time, or at some point in time, to assist them with administrative offices, wherever that may be.”

Haywood is the only county in the state that has such an arrangement with its schools.

“We’re already kind of out front of most counties in what we do, so assisting them will be above and beyond what most counties do,” said Chairman Kevin Ensley.

Because the school board does not have the authority to levy taxes, “we do want to take care of our school system and assist them in finding a building, like Kirk was saying,” continued Ensley. “I think we’ve kind of looked, but not really. We need to get serious about finding them a space.”

The application process for the credits includes a preliminary submission by Jan. 18, 2019, and a final application due in May.

January 9-15, 2019

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Smoky Mountain News

oversight fees, $374,785 for engineering, $30,000 for administration and legal costs, $121,238 for AV and network costs and $941,300 for contingency.

Those funds will be paid with a $10 million loan to be serviced through sales tax proceeds as well as using $5.4 million from Connect N.C. Bond money, $2 million from the EDA grant and $3.2 million from sales tax proceeds gleaned since the county began collecting the tax in 2016.

To secure the loan, Jackson County needs to have some claim on the property in question. Therefore the county has leased the 0.885 acres where the building will be located for a term that will end 30 days after the final payment on the $10 million loan and no later than Dec. 31, 2040. The county will pay $10 for the lease, and SCC will conduct its educational functions as normal during the lease term.

The Michigan-based Christman Company, which has a regional office in Knoxville, Tennessee, will be constructing the building, which will house the college’s existing 14 health sciences programs as well as three new ones. Those programs are currently housed in The Balsam Center, which was built in the 1980s when SCC had only four health programs.

Every year, SCC has more qualified students apply for its health programs than it has space to accommodate. In the first year following completion of the new building, the college will be able to admit 144 additional students to its 14 health programs and could increase health sciences enrollment by 288 in the third year once the three new programs are added. According to SCC President Don Tomas, nearly 90 percent of SCC graduates remain in Western North Carolina after graduation, meaning that the building will be a boon to the local economy as graduates go on to earn higher salaries than they otherwise would have.

Construction is expected to begin in spring and to finish in 2021, with classes offered for the fall 2021 semester.

SCC will post information and updates about the project online at www.southwesterncc.edu/newhealthsciencesbuilding.

January 9-15, 2019

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER uarter-cent sales tax money in Jackson County will be available sooner and in greater quantities than previously planned due to a $2 million grant the county received for the Southwestern Community College Health Sciences Building and a decision to take out a 20-year loan for the project rather than a 15-year loan.

“The EDA (Economic Development Administration) grant, what it basically did is instead of us having a conversation about how do we come up with an extra million out of the sales tax or cut the project, it’s made an extra million accessible to us,” said County Manager Don Adams in a December work session.

The quarter-cent sales tax was adopted through a referendum vote in 2016, and the revenue it raises was earmarked for capital projects in the county school system as well as SCC. Under the original plan the SCC health building would be getting all of the sales tax money for the first several years before Jackson County Schools could have a piece of the pie. The grant will allow new projects to be funded sooner than originally anticipated.

Commissioners also decided to finance the $10 million loan the county is taking out for the project over a 20-year term instead of a 15-year term. The 15-year term would have carried an interest rate of 3.67 percent while the 20-year term carries a 3.81 percent rate.

Commissioners picked the higher rate because spreading the payments out over a longer period of time will free up an additional $200,000 per year.

“I would definitely be in favor of doing the 20 years one if it’s that little difference (in interest rate),” Commissioner Mickey Luker said when Adams brought the issue up at the work session. “Is that what you recommend?”

“I think it would be,” responded Finance Director Darlene Fox. Commissioners passed an ordinance formalizing the financing plan during a Dec. 17 meeting. The project is expected to cost $20.68 million in total, with construction accounting for $17.66 million of that. Other costs include $1.55 million for design and

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Tribe considers ginseng regulations

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER n alarming decrease in the population of ginseng on Cherokee tribal land is prompting the tribe to look at cracking down on ginseng theft.

The conversation started with a resolution that tribal member Pete Taylor introduced in Budget Council on Tuesday, Dec. 4, looking to establish a season and permit system for ginseng gathering and fines for gathering the plant without a permit.

“I have a bag of ginseng. It’s almost a pound and five years ago it went up to $1,800 for this much,” Taylor told Tribal Council, holding up the bag of ginseng. “So that’s why a lot of people start before the season. They sell to pawn shops before the season starts. On my property where I’ve been gathering for years there’s not as much anymore because people is getting it before it can seed.”

Taylor’s resolution would have established that ginseng season lasts from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1 and that any Cherokee person caught gathering without a permit would be fined $200, while every non-Cherokee person caught gathering without a permit would be fined $500.

Taylor said that the place on his property where he’s traditionally gathered the plant no longer has any ginseng due to people trespassing and taking what they want. He postulated that the uptick in ginseng theft could be drug-related, since it can be a quick way to make money.

Ginseng has a history of medicinal use stretching back centuries, in both America and in Asia. The root’s alleged effects include boosting the immune system, improving concentration and learning and treating a spectrum of medical conditions.

However, ginseng is a slow-growing plant,

January 9-15, 2019

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requiring a specific type of environment and more than five years to grow from seed to a harvestable size. That, combined with its high-dollar market value, makes it vulnerable to impacts from poaching.

“I’m in full support of being better stew-

Ginseng is prized for its roots, but poaching and irresponsible harvest has caused populations to dwindle. SMN photo

Mike Lavoie, supervisory biologist for the tribe said his department surveyed more than 300 plant plots on tribal reserve land and found ginseng on less than 1 percent of them. ards and protectors of ginseng in particular,” said Mike Lavoie, supervisory biologist for the tribe. “Some of the work we’ve done this summer is a little bit concerning.”

Lavoie said his department surveyed more than 300 plant plots on tribal reserve land and found ginseng on less than 1 percent of them.

Diane E. Sherrill, Attorney

Smoky Mountain News

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“Ginseng is — along with other species like ramps and sochan — being utilized and they’re not being managed and enforced as adequately as needed right now,” he said.

While better regulation for ginseng gathering is a good idea, Taylor’s resolution isn’t

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the best way to accomplish that, said Principal Chief Richard Sneed. First of all, the regulations should be encoded in tribal law as an ordinance, not a resolution.

Secondly, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is working on a larger overhaul of environmental regulations, and new laws pertaining to ginseng and other

plants should be included in that conversation.

“We’ve got regulations for hunting and fishing but nothing for harvesting,” said Sneed, adding jokingly, “Also, Pete (Taylor) has his concealed carry, so if anybody is thinking about mugging him for his ginseng they better watch it.”

Taylor ended up withdrawing his resolution in order to work with the Office of the Attorney General on an ordinance. That ordinance is on the agenda to be read and tabled at Council’s Jan. 10 meeting and could be voted on in February. The proposed ordinance is far less detailed than Taylor’s original resolution, making no mention of a permit system. It simply states that taking ginseng from someone else’s property is illegal and carries a maximum punishment of three years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

However, additional ginseng regulations could be on the way as Lavoie’s office works on its ordinance overhaul.

“It’s really a bit too early to provide any substantive comment on regulatory actions regarding ginseng from our office’s perspective,” Lavoie said. “I can say that we are working on comprehensively revising natural resource-related tribal codes including plant gathering, but it will be a lengthy process.”

Lavoie expects to have a draft out by the summertime. In addition to potential limits on ginseng harvest, it will include a “broad array of regulations related to natural resources including water quality, animal disease, hunting and fishing and brownfields.” The tribe is still waiting for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to approve its newly developed water quality standards, which Lavoie counts as the department’s “largest step forward” in 2018.

The Smoky Mountain News inadvertently published the incorrect Ingles advertisement on Page 1 of the January 2-9 issue.

We regret the error.

Matt Halverson drives to the basket against Chattanooga in Cullowhee Jan. 3. Mark Haskett photo

With graduation rates and budgets solid, program to focus on winning

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January 9-15, 2019 Smoky Mountain News

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER andy Eaton isn’t a fortune teller, but the Western Carolina University athletic director sees a winning future for WCU teams.

“I don’t go to bed worried about kids academically anymore like I did my first couple of years here,” said Eaton, who has been on the job since December 2011. “We’ve been able to fix a lot of the things that needed to be fixed before we started looking at winning.

This year and the next few years we will be in a position to help some of the sports be more competitive.”

Every new leadership job tends to come with a “welcome basket,” Eaton told WCU Trustees during a Dec. 6 meeting, and his was a student-athlete graduation rate of 44 percent, a faltering budget, stagnant scholarships and nearly nonexistent academic support.

Seven years later, the graduation rate is roughly 75 percent, Catamount Club fundraising has more than tripled, 32 scholarships have been added this year alone and academic support has grown from one halftime position to serve all 350–plus student athletes to six full-time positions operating a center that’s open 10 hours per day, six days per week. To top it off, sports medicine has increased from six full-time positions to 10 and strength and conditioning has doubled from two full-time positions to four.

Eaton said that his goal is to achieve a student-athlete graduation rate that’s 10 to 15 percent higher than that of the university as a whole. In the last cohort for which statistics are complete, the freshmen of 2011 — the federal graduation rate tracks how many students graduate from the institution where they first enrolled within six years — the student-athlete rate was 66 percent and the WCU rate was 59 percent. There are only about three students in the 2012 cohort whose May graduation could impact the rate

for that year, so Eaton expects the 2012 number to settle in the mid-70s.

For Eaton, the work to achieve those results begins with recruiting and continues all the way up to graduation.

“I basically said, ‘We’re not going to recruit bad kids, not for the sake of just winning a game.’ We’re not going to bring bad people onto campus. The second thing we’re going to do is we’re going to graduate our kids,” said Eaton.

That meant a “heightened focus” on the resources put into academic support and holding student athletes to firm standards.

While 75 percent is a pretty great graduation rate — according to the National Center for Education Statistics the nationwide graduation rate for the 2010 cohort was 59 percent at public institutions — Eaton said that figure is a bit deceptive. In reality, more than 75 percent of the student athletes who enter as freshmen graduate from college — just not from WCU. “We lose very, very few (to academics),” said Eaton. “Out of 350 kids a year we might lose one or two. A bad year for us might be five that we lose to them flunking out of school.”

Rather, most of the losses are due to students beginning their career at WCU and then transferring elsewhere. Those students may well graduate within the six-year window, but because it’s not at WCU it counts against Eaton in the graduation rate. The NCAA developed a tool called the student athlete graduation success rate that counts students who transfer to graduate elsewhere, and by that metric WCU had an 86 percent graduation rate last year compared to 66 percent under the federal graduation rate.

The mountain lifestyle is hard on some kids, Eaton said.

“We lose a lot of those students because they come here and they need a mall every Saturday night,” said Eaton. “We don’t have a mall.”

African-American students in particular seem to have a difficult time with the cultural realities of Western North Carolina. In the 2011 cohort, 76 percent of student athletes who identified themselves as white graduated

there’s more funding for scholarships and support functions like sports medicine, nutrition, and strength and conditioning. This year alone, the athletics program added 32 scholarships.

The N.C. Promise Tuition Reduction Plan has helped that effort, reducing the cost of each scholarship provided and therefore allowing athletics to recruit more students with the same budget.

“We were ready to start investing. We kind of knew this was going to be the year.

Then out of the blue comes N.C. Promise,” said Eaton. “So it really compounded the positive things we were going to start doing. It allowed us to shift some more money around that maybe we wouldn’t have been able to.”

With academics up to standard and finances on solid ground, the next step is to start winning. Instead of finishing in the bottom third each time, Eaton wants to see his teams in the top third, with each team able to have a shot at winning the championship once every three or four years.

It won’t happen overnight, though.

“Scholarships are like turkey — they aren’t ready to go year one,” he said.

“Seventeen and 18-year-olds are competing against 22-, 23-year-olds. You’ve got to give them time.”

But he’s certain that victory is on the horizon.

“Now we’re going to find out if our coaches can coach,” he told trustees. “Any coach that has had competitive success can coach, because they did not have the resources that their peers did.”

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WCU athletics on the upswing

from WCU in six years, while only 52 percent of those who identified themselves as black did so. But the gap gets narrower when examining the graduation success rate that includes students who transfer — by that metric, 90 percent of white students and 78 percent of black students graduated.

“When we recruit African-American student athletes, there’s no place in Jackson County for an African-American to get their hair cut,” said Eaton. “They have to drive to Asheville or go home. So it makes it even more difficult at times to recruit those kids or retain those kids.”

It’s also not uncommon to have a sizable exodus whenever there’s a change in coaching. For example, said Eaton, the 2007 cohort logged a graduation rate of only 44 percent, but in that case there was a change of both football and volleyball head coach. Of the 27 football and volleyball players in that cohort, only seven or eight graduated from WCU. Eaton has also been working to get the athletic department’s finances back on track.

When he took over, he found that WCU had been paying athletic staff with university money, which state law explicitly forbids.

Eaton’s charge was to move those positions into the athletics budget while also working to add staff and scholarships.

To meet the challenge football played multiple money games each year, for several years. Eaton also doubled the fundraising staff at the Catamount Club, adding $150,000 in salaries but resulting in an additional $1 million in fundraising. Now football no longer has to play those money games, and

15

news

It’s election season again, already

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER hat’s right. It may seem like election season just ended, but it’s also just beginning, and in less than 300 days voters in every Haywood County town will again head to the polls to choose from candidates seeking a spate of municipal offices.

Last November, North Carolina voters elected mostly county, state and federal candidates to commission boards, the N.C. General Assembly and U.S. House, but in odd-numbered years, local governments elect mayors, aldermen and alderwomen.

Non-partisan municipal candidate filing begins on Friday, July 5, at noon and ends two weeks later on Friday, July 19, at noon.

Absentee ballots become available Friday, Oct. 6, and the deadline to register to vote in the election is Friday, Oct. 11. Early voting is slated to begin Wednesday, Oct. 16 and end Saturday, Nov. 2. Absentee ballot requests must be made by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

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district’s representative in the N.C. League of Municipalities because she wants to see Haywood County — and women — better represented in the League.

If she’s chosen for the post in May, Banks

CLYDE The ballot in Clyde is slightly more complex this

January 9-15, 2019

MAGGIE VALLEY Smoky Mountain News

Three of five Maggie Valley seats are up this year, including those of Mayor Saralyn Price, Alderman Dr. Janet Banks and Alderman Phillip Wight. Price and Banks are Democrats, and Wight is a Republican.

The biggest question in Maggie Valley was whether or not Price would run again, but she made her position clear by phone Jan. 6.

“No, I do not plan on running, and it would take a whole lot to change my mind,” she laughed. “I feel like, I was an alderman for about 10 years and then mayor for like five, so I kinda feel like I’ve done my time, and it’s time for other people to step up.”

Alderman Banks, a Democrat, has been mentioned as a candidate for mayor, but says she’s thrown her hat in the ring to 16 replace Mayor Bob Scott of Franklin as the

would depend on whether or not the sentiments of his supporters would outweigh those of silver screen gumshoe “Dirty Harry.”

“I am a fan of Harry Callahan,” said Brown. “One of my favorite lines is ‘Well, you’re a good man, lieutenant. A good man always knows his limitations.’ I take great pride in my 20 years on the board. Without exception, all of my fellow board members have made decisions solely on their vision of a better Waynesville. I have had the opportunity to work with unbelievable employees and four exceptional town managers. I am not a supporter of term limits, but all human endeavors must have a closing scene.

“No, I do not plan on running, and it would take a whole lot to change my mind.”

— Saralyn Price, Maggie Valley Mayor

CANTON On that day, voters in Canton will choose whether or not to reelect Alderwoman Gail Mull and Alderman Dr. Ralph Hamlett; both told The Smoky Mountain News Jan. 5 that they plan to run.

Canton resident Carl Cortright, who narrowly lost out to now-Alderman James Markey during the 2017 election, said it was “very doubtful” he would run.

“I support both of them [Hamlett and Mull], and don’t want to run against them,” Cortright said.

Mayor Zeb Smathers, Alderwoman Kristina Smith and Markey were all elected in 2017, so their seats aren’t up until November 2021. Everyone on the current board is a Democrat but for Markey, who is registered as an unaffiliated.

The bottom line: There are no open seats in Canton but both Hamlett and Mull can be contested.

unaffiliated, finished fourth of five in his 2017 bid for one of the alderman seats currently held by Davis and Eveland. He plans to run for alderman again this year.

The bottom line: The mayor’s seat will be open, and there could be anywhere from zero to two open seats depending on what Wight decides to do and what happens to Banks with the League of Municipalities.

says she’ll run for reelection to her alderman seat because she doesn’t want to juggle mayoral duties and League responsibilities at the same time. If she’s not selected, she said she’d consider running for mayor.

Unaffiliated Alderman Mike Eveland’s seat isn’t up this year, but he’s also been mentioned as a potential candidate for mayor.

“I’m looking at that possibility but obviously a lot could happen between now and June,” Eveland said. “It’s a good possibility, but I’m still looking at it.”

Eveland’s support in the business community and Banks’ support in the residential community could make for an interesting matchup if both were to run; Eveland, however, could run and lose but still retain his aldermanic seat, while if Banks runs and loses, she’s out for at least two years.

Like Eveland, Democratic Alderman Clayton Davis was elected in 2017 and will serve until 2021, but said he’s not interested in running for mayor.

Alderman Phillip Wight, who came in sixth out of six in last November’s county commission election, said it was still “too far out” to comment.

Local hotelier Allen Alsbrooks, registered

year due to the passing of two longtime public servants.

Democratic Alderman Frank Lay isn’t up until 2021, but Mayor Jim Trantham, Alderman Dann Jesse and two recent appointees, Diane Fore and John Hemmingway, are.

Trantham was an alderman but assumed the mayorship upon the death of thenMayor Jerry Walker; Walker’s term would have expired this year. Trantham said he’s running again.

Hemmingway, a Democrat, came into office in 2018 to fill the remainder of the term of Alderman James Mashburn, who passed away in May. That term, too, expires this year, and Hemmingway said he’d seek reelection.

Jesse, a Republican, said that as of press time he planned on running.

Fore, a Democrat, was appointed in 2017 to fill Trantham’s term, which also would have expired this year, and said she planned to seek reelection.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it,” Fore said.

“It’s been quite a learning experience.”

The bottom line: There are no open seats in Clyde, but all three alderman seats and the mayor’s seat may be contested.

WAYNESVILLE Waynesville, the largest town in Haywood County, plays host to elections that are usually the most high-profile, but that’s also due to another reason — unlike all other towns in Haywood, Waynesville’s terms aren’t staggered, meaning that every four years, every single seat is up for election.

Mayor Gavin Brown left the door open to a potential reelection bid, which he said

If my family, friends and supporters see me playing a role in Waynesville’s future, I would consider seeking another term as mayor or alderman. That decision will be based solely on the best interests of Waynesville. Irrespective of that decision, I will continue to say ‘I am the mayor of the best town in North Carolina.’”

Alderman Jon Feichter, a Democrat, said he’s not ready to run for mayor — yet.

“I’ve had a few people encourage me to run, and would be interested at some point for sure,” said Feichter. “Although I’ve learned a lot in the last three years, there’s a lot more I need to know to do that job.

Unless something crazy happens, I hope for another term as alderman.”

Democratic Alderman Leroy Roberson said he was adopting a “wait and see” attitude, but was leaning towards not running for alderman or mayor.

“I ran for mayor once and got whooped pretty good,” Roberson said. “So I’m not anticipating running for mayor.”

The board’s lone Republican, Julia Boyd Freeman, said that like Roberson, she has no plans to run for mayor.

“I do intend on running again for alderman,” said Freeman, “and I have no intention at this time to run for mayor in this year’s election.”

Alderman Gary Caldwell, however, said he’s ready to throw his hat in the ring.

“This is the time I need to do this, if I’m going to do it,” said Caldwell, who turns 65 in May. Caldwell’s served as an alderman for 24 years, and as mayor pro tem for probably 20 of those years, dating back to the administration of Mayor Henry Foy. Last year, he filled in for an ailing Brown for several months.

The bottom line: there could be anywhere from zero to two open alderman seats, and the mayor’s seat may or may not be open, however all five positions may be contested in the election.

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January 9-15, 2019

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Boojum, Evergreen seek county development incentives

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER pair of public hearings for a pair of local businesses — one old, one new, one small and one huge — will solicit citizen input on economic development incentives proposed for Evergreen Packaging and Boojum Brewing.

“We redid our economic development package, as [county Program Administrator] David [Francis] said, a few years ago, and we wanted to attract smaller business and help smaller business and not just the big business,” said Chairman Kevin Ensley. “What’s interesting about these two incentives is that we have a new, emerging business that is just starting and hasn’t been here that long so we’re applying it to that, and then we have an old business that’s really a century-old business, big business, which is usually what you think these incentives are supposed to be for … it’s a good cross-section of businesses.”

And the two couldn’t be more different.

“This is one of the first companies that [former county manager] Ira Dove and I first went to, to discuss the new incentive plan back in June of 2017,” said County Program Administrator David Francis of 11th Hour, the parent company of popular Main Street attraction Boojum Brewing. “Their growth [has] exceeded all expectations. Part of our incentive plan that we developed in 2017 was that we lowered the guidelines down to create new small business attraction and expansion.”

A

Budget season begins for Haywood County The Haywood County Board of Commissioners will kick off budget season with a work session intended to create discussions on the fiscal year 2019-20 county budget. The meeting is typically attended by commissioners, department heads and various administrators, and is open to the public.

Time: 10 a.m.

Date: Friday, Feb. 1 Location: Haywood County Health & Human Services Agency training room, 157 Paragon Parkway, Clyde.

Boojum’s expansion came at its cannery, located on Dayton Drive in Waynesville; Francis said the expansion was worth more than $960,000, and that the company had added two employees as of the beginning of this year.

Property taxes can’t be waived or reduced in North Carolina, but pursuant to N.C. General Statutes, they can be given back to companies in the form of a rebate, once they’ve already been paid.

In this case, the county would reimburse 11th Hour 40 percent of property taxes for the next five years, but in the case of Evergreen, it’ll be 50 percent through 2025.

Evergreen Packaging.

The public hearing for Evergreen, however, won’t really factor in to whether or not the company will get tax rebates for improvements made at its Canton complex.

“This is a formality,” said Francis. “We agreed to back this in 2014, but per the statutes we have to go through the public hearing.”

What he’s talking about is the $50 million JMAC (Job Maintenance and Capital Development) grant awarded to the company — then Blue Ridge Paper — a few years ago. That helped the company pay for pollution controls and also better wages, to assist with job retention.

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Smoky Mountain News

“Part of our cooperation with that retention plan was to give up to $20 million in value,” he said. “In 2017, they did roughly about $17.4 million dollars and since then they’ve added another $1.9 [million].”

Currently, Evergreen pays taxes on a depreciated value of $16.5 million, per county documents, plus taxes on the additional $1.9 million. That’s a tax bill of about $108,000 a year, of which the county will rebate approximately $54,000 through 2024.

The public hearing will take place at 5:30 p.m. during the regularly scheduled Jan. 22 meeting of the commission in the Haywood County Historic Courthouse.

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Harris hospital welcomes first 2019 baby

Weigh in on N.C. 107

The Town of Waynesville had a discharge of partially treated wastewater from a single sanitary sewer line in one location — on the premises of the wastewater treatment facility located at 566 Walnut Trail.

The sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) began at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3. A leak was found near the pump building. The total spill amount is estimated at 45,000 gallons that flowed onto the ground and into Richland Creek. The discharge ended when the leak was discovered and the pipe was repaired.

The area has been contained and affected areas were cleaned and limed.

Maintenance activities have been per-

The Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority Finance Committee will hold a called meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the TWSA main office located at 1246 W. Main St., Sylva.

The meeting has been called to review and discuss the Water and Sewer Consolidation & Transfer Agreement; a recommendation to establish a procedure for future fund balance transfers for debt services and discuss TWSA finance officer and auditor recommendations.

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Planned giving series through WCU Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering a Planned Giving Implementation Series Jan. 25, Feb. 8 and Feb. 22, at the university’s Biltmore Park instructional site.

Alex Comfort, a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) with over 32 years of experience, will serve as workshop instructor.

“Planned Giving is essential to the success of nonprofits,” said Comfort. “There are lots of road blocks nonprofits face when trying to create an effective program; we will eliminate all of them.”

The workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day with two weeks in between each workshop to allow for homework and to recruit volunteer leaders.

Participating organizations will need their board director to attend the first workshop and their executive director and development director to attend all three workshops.

Registration fee per organization is $2,000. There will be limited seating in order to maximize the training benefit.

There are only five available slots for nonprofit organizations interested in attending.

Contact Jill Thompson, associate director of professional development at WCU, as soon as possible to secure your spot at 828.227.7397 or jcthompson@wcu.edu.

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Wastewater spill in Waynesville

TWSA committee to meet

We are pleased to announce the opening of our third location in Haywood County at 33 Bennett Street in Waynesville. We are located just off Brown Ave below Hazelwood Tire and beside Pioneer Supply. Thanks to our customers, we are the largest self storage provider in Haywood County.

January 9-15, 2019

Public input on the N.C. 107 project in Sylva is wanted, with a meeting planned for 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

During the meeting, volunteer planners with the Asheville Design Center will be looking to hear what the community wants and needs in a new road so they can incorporate those wishes into a plan. The town of Sylva decided to accept the ADC’s offer of pro-bono services to develop an alternative plan after preliminary plans from the N.C. Department of Transportation drew widespread disapproval. The preliminary plan released in spring 2018 forecasted the relocation of 54 businesses, five residences and one nonprofit along the corridor, about onesixth of Sylva’s entire business community.

On Jan. 29, ADC representatives will hold a workshop with Sylva and DOT officials to discuss the feasibility of various improvements to existing plans. That workshop will also be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the library and will be open to the public, though there will be no opportunity for public comment. The ADC planning process will also include a second public comment meeting in which the ADC will present draft recommendations.

For more information about the N.C. 107 project, click on the link at sylvanc.govoffice3.com.

formed to identify and correct the issue to prevent overflows in the event of future failures in the infrastructure.

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Harris Regional Hospital is ringing in 2019 with the year’s first bundle of joy. Weighing 8 pounds and measuring 19.5 inches, Owen Smith was born to Anna and Brett Smith, Monday, Jan. 1, at 5:30 a.m.

“We were so excited to meet Owen.” said mom, Anna.

“The physicians, nurses and staff at Harris Regional Hospital all helped to make this such a special and memorable experience for us as we welcomed our sixth child into the world. The family approach was so appreciated and we are grateful that we understood what was going on every stop of the way.”

The New Generations Family Birthing Center at Harris Regional Hospital offers a state-of-the-art labor and delivery unit, newly completed mother/baby rooms, infant level II nursery and caesarean suite that was built to better accommodate expecting mothers and their families.

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Smoky Mountain News

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Education

Smoky Mountain News

New Century Scholars inducted

December Mustangs of the Month Smoky Mountain High School students Loretta Ensley (freshman), (from left) Benjamin Dills (senior), Courtney Thomas (junior), and Jose Reyes (sophomore) were chosen as Mustangs of the Month for December. The award is presented to students who best exemplify the spirit of Smoky Mountain High School. Students who exhibit strong school spirit, good character and attitude, citizenship, leadership and responsibility, and who demonstrate strong class participation and a good work ethic can be nominated for the honor which is presented once a month during the school year.

Steen joins SCC board as student rep Stephen Steen of Cullowhee was sworn in as a student representative to Southwestern Community College’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Nov. 27, in the Burrell Building on SCC’s Jackson Campus.

A second-year student in SCC’s Human Services Technology program, Steen is pursuing a certificate in Substance Abuse Treatment as well as an associate degree.

“Stephen is determined to make a difference in our world, and we’re proud to have him join the Board of Trustees as our student representative,” said Dr. Don Tomas, SCC President. “In an era when the opioid crisis dominates the headlines and threatens to further infect our nation, Stephen is fighting back on the front lines.”

During his time at SCC, Stephen started the Collegiate Recovery Club that meets weekly. He’s also started the NC RAW (Recovery All Ways) podcast, which continues to draw a growing audience.

FBLA raises awareness for Alzheimer’s Macon County’s Future Business Leaders of America will be doing their Community Service Project on Alzheimer’s awareness.

FBLA will be having a “Go Purple Day” next Friday, Jan. 11, and will be selling Alzheimer’s awareness T-shirts in sizes Small to 2XL. Short sleeve will be $10 and long sleeve will be $15. If you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt, contact Michelle Brooks at michelle.brooks@macon.k12.nc.us FBLA also announced that country music singer Jay Allen will be at the Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts in Franklin on Saturday, Feb. 22, for an Alzheimer’s awareness concert. The concert is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are

21

only $10 for students and $20 for adults. Jay’s mom was diagnosed at age 51 with early onset Alzheimer’s. He wrote a song “Blank Stares” that has been viewed over 125 million times.

Purchase tickets from Michelle Brooks at Franklin High School, any FBLA member or directly through the Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts.

WCU hosts science, engineering fair The 2019 Region 8 Western Regional Science and Engineering Fair will be held Wednesday, Feb. 20 and Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center on Western Carolina University’s Campus in Cullowhee.

This is the largest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) event held in Western North Carolina. Grades 3-5 will compete on Feb. 20 and grades 6-12 will compete on Feb. 21.

Students who are not submitting projects are welcome to come both days to enjoy the speaker session, participate in the scavenger hunt, view projects and stay for the award ceremony at no charge.

For more information and to register, visit camps.wcu.edu and click on “Science Camps and Programs” or call 828.227.7397.

Swain students collecting tabs Clayton Beaver is a funny, outgoing, lively second grader in Mrs. Cutler’s class East Swain Elementary School, but he also has scoliosis.

Often, he needs to return to the Shriner’s Hospital to get a new brace as he grows. These braces are very costly. Clayton makes it his mission to collect soda tabs wherever he sees them.

He’s spoken to several classes at school and got-

ten students to collect them from home and from their own drinks in the cafeteria.

“Luckily this visit is just a follow up, but this is his third brace. We are very blessed for the doctors at The Shriners Hospital. We can’t always pay the bill and they never mention it,” said Clayton’s mom Jennifer Beaver. “Clayton loves to collect the tabs because they recycle them and that helps with the costs. Thank you for sharing and supporting.”

If you have any you’d like to donate to Clayton’s cause, contact the school at 828.736.2215.

Jackson schools receive grants The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina has awarded grants to Jackson County schools from the Learning Links grant program.

The grants provide local teachers with funding for activities designed to make required coursework engaging and relevant for their students.

Three Learning Links grants totaling $2,399 were made to classrooms Jackson County School of Alternatives. Funds will support a book club that includes art projects, weather collecting equipment for students’ participation in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program and a project combining aerodynamics, physics and history through the history, science and building of WWII airplane models.

The goal is to increase students’ enthusiasm for learning and school. The grants are made possible by the Ben W. and Dixie Glenn Farthing Charitable Fund, the Cherokee County Schools Endowment Fund and the Dr. Robert J. and Kimberly S. Reynolds Fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. This year, 70 grants were awarded totaling $95,736.

For more information, call 828.254.4960 or visit www.cfwnc.org.

Forty-two seventh grade students from Jackson, Macon and Swain counties were inducted as New Century Scholars recently at Southwestern Community College.

New Century Scholars, a program that helps provide full tuition assistance to the selected students, is awarded once a year to local seventh graders and provides resources and support to them as they navigate middle and high school, so that they may be successful in college and not have to worry about cost.

“Being able to relieve the financial burden of college tuition from families in the community is an amazing thing,” said SCC President Dr. Don Tomas. “The best part is that this program is solely funded from community donations, so it is a true representation of how we partner with our community to change young lives through this scholarship.”

In addition to working toward their high school diplomas, New Century Scholars are required to participate in community service activities that encourage leadership skills and explore potential future career options.

Donations may be made payable to New Century Scholars and sent to the SCC Foundation, 447 College Drive; Sylva, NC 28779. For more information, email a_hansen@southwesterncc.edu.

Belcher recognized for advocacy work The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees presented one of the university’s highest honors to Susan Brummell Belcher in recognition of her ongoing contributions as an ambassador for WCU during the seven years her husband served as chancellor, her support unwavering even after his passing last June.

Belcher became just the 14th person in WCU history selected to receive the Trustees’ Award. The Trustees’ Award is presented only on rare occasions in recognition of exemplary service to the university. During her time as WCU’s first lady, Belcher had an impact that ranged from transforming the Chancellor’s Residence into a “warm and welcoming environment” to joining her husband as the Catamounts’ most vocal cheerleaders at WCU sporting events. She has built bridges between the university and the communities and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She also supported the arts by sharing her talents as a professionally trained opera vocalist and by sharing her time as a volunteer for WCU’s Friends of the Arts organization.

Belcher said that her husband, during his final days, repeatedly asked her this question: “What are you going to do?” She told him in reply: “I will do my best to carry your work forward. I will try to continue to help people have the opportunity for a great education and a better life.”

22

Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

We gym rats have our own little cliques W

they are both seen and heard. The Roosters will generally work out together, drinking jugs of water laced with creatine, or eating protein bars that cost four bucks a pop. They take turns on the bench press lifting huge amounts of weight, grunting as if they are giving birth. Eventually, they will spend thousands of dollars seeking sweet relief from the chiropractor, or pondering the pros and cons of shoulder surgery. But right now, they are forever young.

• The Lonely Hearts Club — These folks use the gym as much for socializing as they do for working out. They spend much more time there than anyone else, even the Roosters. They Columnist will do a set, and then talk to anyone in the gym that they know for at least 10 to 15 minutes before doing the next set, which drives everyone else in the gym completely wild with irritation, especially if the gym is busy and people are waiting to get on the machine they are unwittingly monopolizing. Some members of the Lonely Hearts Club are looking for love — or at least a date — scanning the room every so often for new faces, or for the faces of regulars who are rumored to be newly single. In this case, they may overlap slightly with the next group.

• The “Periscope Up” Group — These members are hyper aware of even the smallest bit of attention directed their way.

They may or may not be seeking anything more than attention, which is like a drug. The more they get, the more they want. Their periscopes may be up for different reasons, but the symptoms are basically the same. Their need for attention is almost palpable, almost a fragrance.

• The “Periscope Down” Group — The rarest of birds, these people are there only to work out, not one thing more and not one thing less. They go about their business with a fierce singularity of purpose that is almost freakish. Even if you know them outside the gym, they may not speak or even notice you if you walk right past them. Their workouts are efficient, meticulous, and no-nonsense. They could not care less who notices them. In fact, they are oblivious to it. Leave them alone.

• The Pundits — These people are there to comment on the day’s events, their conversations almost always centering on politics. They have Very Strong Opinions, and they share

Chris Cox

hen I was in my teens, I was so skinny that people winced when they saw me. The local druggist offered to buy me a cheeseburger if I would eat it in front of him. Imagine if God had left the making of humans to a fourth-grade science class supplied with nothing but a box of coat-hangers and a bag of hair. That was me, all sharp angles and a mop of light blonde hair. I looked like a walking geometry problem.

I tried eating more, but no matter how many times I loaded my plate with spaghetti, or mashed potatoes and roast beef, or chicken and dumplings, I just could not “fill out.” I messed around some with weightlifting in physical education class, but I was so weak, I could barely lift the bar by itself, let alone with any plates on it, even the small ones.

Luckily, the PE teacher was more absorbed in reading the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue to pay much attention to what we were doing, so I got by just milling around the weight room during gym period, spotting other people on the bench press or the military press, which turned out to be pretty simple, or by stretching on the wrestling mat to “work on my flexibility.”

A couple of years after graduation, I bought some secondhand weights and a fairly rickety but functional bench press from a guy who posted them in the classified ads in the local paper. Every night, I would play AC/DC at full volume and do three sets of bench presses, three sets of pull-ups, three sets of curls, and three sets of military presses, gradually adding weight in very small increments. The first time that my dad noticed that my arms were getting a little bigger was, to that point, the proudest moment of my life.

I was so inspired, I began concentrating more and more on curls for the next several months until my arms were nearly as big around as my thighs. It never occurred to me how odd that might look. My legs still looked like chopsticks, but my biceps were the size of navel oranges. I wore tank tops all the time. I joined the local gym.

Since then, I have been a member of at least half a dozen gyms in the different towns where I have lived. In those years, I have learned a few things about gyms and the different types of people you see in them. For example, although every gym has a distinct culture, every gym also has familiar types, as follows: • The Roosters — usually (but not always) guys, who spend most of their time in the gym strutting around, making sure

them loudly with other Pundits so that everyone within a 100foot radius will be sure to be enlightened, or put on notice if they have different opinions.

• The Old-timers — Most likely charter members of the health club, they form a small core of people in the gym who have been there forever and seen it all. They have been trudging into this gym day after day, week after week, for 20, 30 years, while hundreds or even thousands of other people have come and gone. Unless there is a nuclear holocaust, they will be there, year after year, doing their three miles on the treadmill, their leg lifts, their lunges, their crunches. Death alone will stop them, and nothing else.

• The Tourists — Alternately known as “The New Year’s Resolution Gang,” these folks were either gifted gym memberships by hopeful spouses, or have resolved to lose a certain amount of weight, or reduce their blood pressure or blood sugar to a certain level, or to look good in their bathing suits for that beach trip, or to just feel better, damn it. Nervous and intimidated by all of the people who crowd into the gym this time of year, as well as all of the hulking machinery, which seems so foreign and so remote, they are like immigrants in a new country, worried that they will never speak the language, never assimilate. They are discouraged by how hard it is when their bodies are shocked by sudden exercise, how painful it is for the first couple of weeks, how out of place they feel, how inferior and how alien.

They do not know that the soreness they feel now will gradually go away, replaced by endorphins that will eventually produce feelings that are actually pleasant, invigorating, satisfying. They do not know that no one is judging them for not knowing how to work the lat machine, or that they will make friends and learn the language if they will only immerse and allow enough time to find their tribe. Only a very tiny percentage will persevere.

Every January, the gym is swarming like a beehive. By Valentine’s Day, most of the bees will have retreated to more familiar hives, leaving the other groups to resume as they were. After spending some time in residence in several of these groups, I guess I’m an old-timer now, though in my head I am still 27, part of the Denial Tribe, whose existence I can neither confirm nor deny.

(Chris Cox is a writer and teacher who lives in Haywood County. jchriscox@live.com)

Build the wall at all costs To the Editor We must save the Trump Presidency. Build the Wall!

Never mind that it mortgages our children’s future.

What’s another $5 billion? We must keep our priorities straight. It doesn’t matter what is best for our country, and Texas is a big state; they can handle the environmental destruction. What counts is saving the Donald. Git ‘er done!

Joanne Strop Waynesville

LOOKING FOR OPINIONS:

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., fax to 828.452.3585, or mail to PO Box 629, Waynesville, NC, 28786.

I

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

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

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

BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997.

Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slowsimmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts.

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

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

BOGART’S 303 S. Main St., Waynesville.

828.452.1313. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Carry out available. Located in downtown Waynesville, Bogart’s has been long-time noted for great steaks, soups, and salads. Casual family atmosphere in a rustic old-time setting with a menu noted for its practical value. Live Bluegrass/String Band music every Thursday. Walking distance of Waynesville’s unique shops and seasonal festival activities and within one mile of Waynesville Country Club.

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 hand-

Country Vittles RESTAURANT

& GIFT SHOP

Featuring a Full Menu with Daily Specials PRIVATE DINING ROOM AVAILABLE FOR EVENTS

January 9-15, 2019

Monday-Sunday 7:00-2:00pm Closed Tuesday

3589 SOCO RD. MAGGIE VALLEY

828.926.1820 APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

Smoky Mountain News

t is bringing out the best in some and the worst in others. I’m talking about the government shutdown.

Come this Friday, around 800,000 federal workers won’t get a paycheck, which means many won’t be able to pay their bills.

That’s everyone from Secret Service agents and federal prison guards who daily put their lives on the line to rangers in our national parks.

Visitors to the national park that is the crown jewel of our tourism industry in Western North Carolina will continue to flood into its boundaries. They’ll break park rules, leave trash where it doesn’t belong and perhaps take risks they wouldn’t if there were rangers around to provide guidance. It’s a precarious situation, deciding to leave the park open, but mostly un-staffed.

And all because of a manufactured crisis about border security by President Donald Trump and the inability of those in Congress to come to an agreement on funding the government.

When our reporter Holly Kays visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last week to report on the shutdown’s effects, she witnessed visitors petting a female elk who was sitting near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Those of us who report on the park know that a female elk can weigh up to 500 pounds and be dangerous if provoked. Neither children nor adults should be anywhere near these wild animals, as a passive posture can suddenly and without warning turn dangerous.

There are so many aspects of this shutdown that are just maddening. Trump and his media cohorts began orchestrating this during the campaign back in October and November. That’s when the totally sensationalized story about the “caravan” of illegals heading to the southern border became Trump’s and the conservative media’s obsession.

Now, two months after losing the House to Democrats, many conservative leaders have encouraged Trump to stand firm in demanding funding for his border wall. Our own Rep. Mark Meadows — instrumental

in the 2013 government shutdown — once again is playing a key role.

A temporary compromise spending bill had passed the Senate — a bill without wall funding — and House GOP leaders were twisting arms to get a similar bill passed in the House before Democrats took over in January. Meadows, according to various media outlets, called Trump and encouraged told him to stand firm and not sign any bill that did not have funding for the wall. Trump at one point was reportedly ready to sign and end the Editor shutdown. But the sycophants like Meadows swayed him, and Trump once again showed that his backbone is made of jelly.

And here we are nearly three weeks later. Not to mention that Meadows also said that going without pay is something federal workers sign up for. “It’s actually part of what you do when you sign up for any public service position,” Meadows told reporters as the shutdown was beginning.

“It’s not lost on me in terms of the potential hardship. At the same time, they know that they would be required to work.”

Meadows may believe that, but I don’t think most Americans agree. Some have argued that perhaps this is the last gasp for hard-line conservatives like Meadows, who will certainly lose their clout as Democrats take control in the House and try to work with the moderate side of the GOP to move bills through a divided Congress. Meadows and his Freedom Caucus colleagues will be on the outside looking in.

This shutdown is on Trump, Meadows and all the other hard-liners who think a wall is some kind of panacea for immigrations problems that have bedeviled this country for decades. Wall funding won’t solve the problems and, hopefully, it won’t pass Congress.

Meanwhile, we have people like Mike Walker. He loves his national park. He and hundreds of other volunteers and many nonprofits are expending money, energy and planning time to protect our national treasures. In the best of times, they would be an inspiration to the clowns in Washington. But right now is certainly not the best of times for this country.

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

Scott McLeod

“I think it’s the right thing to do as much as we use the park and as free as this is. It’s one of the few there’s no charge. I don’t mind giving back. It’s a beautiful park. It’s ours — I take care of my house, I’ll take care of the park.”

— Mike Walker of Franklin, a frequent Great Smoky Mountains National Park user, who was picking up trash near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center during the shutdown.

tasteTHE mountains opinion

Hard-line conservatives own this shutdown

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde

@SmokyMtnNews

828-456-1997

blueroostersoutherngrill.com Monday-Friday Open at 11am

Real Local Families, Real Local Farms, Real Local Food

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tasteTHE mountains cut, 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.

January 9-15, 2019

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.

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.

DELLWOOD FARMHOUSE RESTAURANT 651 Dellwood Rd., Waynesville.

828.944.0010. Warm, inviting restaurant serving delicious, freshly-made Southern comfort foods. Cozy atmosphere; spacious to accommodate large parties. Big Farmhouse Breakfast and other morning menu items served 8 a.m. to noon. Lunch/dinner menu offered 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Come see us. You’ll be glad you did! Closed Wednesdays.

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.

PINT NIGHT & PAIRING Tues., Jan. 15th, 6pm Real New Yorkers.

Real Italians. Real Pizza.

An Authentic Italian Pizzeria & Restaurant from New York to the Blue Ridge.

Just to serve you!

243 Paragon Parkway | Clyde

828-476-5058

172 Sylva Plaza | Sylva

828-492-0641

Daily Specials: Soups, Sandwiches & Southern Dishes

Featured Dishes: Fresh Fried Chicken, Rainbow Trout, Country Ham, Pork-chops & more

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.

GUADALUPE CAFÉ 606 W. Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.9877.

Open 7 days a week at 5 p.m. Located in the historic Hooper’s Drugstore, Guadalupe Café is a chef-owned and operated restaurant serving Caribbean inspired fare complimented by a quirky selection of wines and microbrews.

Supporting local farmers of organic produce, livestock, hand-crafted cheese, and using sustainably harvested seafood.

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

Breakfast : Omelets, Pancakes, Biscuits & Gravy!

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Breakfast served all day!

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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.

MAGGIE VALLEY RESTAURANT

Dine-In ~ Take Out ~ Delivery

Smoky Mountain News

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.

828.926.0201 At the Maggie Valley Inn • 70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley

Meetings, Events, Parties & More Sun.–Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

1941 Champion Dr. • Canton 828−646−3750 895 Russ Ave. • Waynesville 828−452−5822

tasteTHE mountains 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 8 p.m.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Breakfast until noon, old-fashioned luncheonette and diner comfort food. Historic full service soda fountain.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. Catering special events is one of our specialties.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sunday: 12pm-6pm Tue-Thurs 3pm-8pm Fri-Sat: 12pm-9pm Monday: Closed AT BEARWATERS BREWING

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Smoky Mountain News

WAYNESVILLE’S BEST BURGERS

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

January 9-15, 2019

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 and supporting the local food and local farm-to-table program. 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. Menus created to fit your special event. kaninis.com

madbatterfoodfilm.com for this week’s shows & events.

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

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Smoky Mountain News

years we’ve changed, but we’ve been so damn busy doing those shows [with Steve].

SMN: Do you know 2019 marks 10 years with Steve?

GS: Yeah. It’s amazing. Steve’s part of the band now — he’s our boy. It’s been a hell of a ride, and we’re not stopping playing with Steve by any means. Steve will be the first one to say, “When y’all need to do your own thing, do your own thing.” And he’s said that for a while. Next year we’re going to take his advice and do it. I think it would be a good thing for all of us to kind of step away from it for a little bit. I remember vaguely what it feels like to have your band working multiple times a week. Earl Scruggs said at one point, “You’ve got to be playing together five times a week to sound like a band.” And we haven’t done that in years — it’s going to feel good. It’s weird to say, after you’ve been doing it long as we have, that this year is critical for the band — but, I think it is.

Steep Canyon Rangers. Shelly Swanger photo

Out in the open Steep Canyon Rangers to play homecoming show

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER djusting his baseball cap, Graham Sharp leans forward and takes another sip of coffee. It’s late morning at the Tastee Diner in West Asheville. The constant traffic buzzes by the small restaurant bordering Haywood Road.

Banjoist/singer for the Grammy-winning Steep Canyon Rangers, Sharp is part of one of the marquee acts in string music today. The Western North Carolina group isn’t bluegrass.

It isn’t Americana. It’s isn’t folk or indie, either.

It’s all of the above, which is something Sharp and his bandmates have purposely set out to present to the listener.

With the acclaimed 2018 album, “Out in the Open,” the sextet painted a clearer picture of where they’re headed — anywhere they want, to be honest. The songs felt a little more

A

laid back and free-flowing than in past releases, where the musicians simply went wherever the creative energy of the lyrics took their instruments while recording live in the studio — a signature approach of “serving the song” that remains at the core of the Rangers unique sound and steadfast attitude.

And this year marks a decade that the Rangers have collaborated with the legendary Steve Martin. The comedian, actor and musician has traveled the globe with the Rangers backing his variety show alongside fellow funny man Martin Short. Between sold-out performances seemingly every night to national television appearances, it feels like the Rangers are only getting started as the ensemble approaches 20 years together.

Smoky Mountain News: Where are the Rangers right now? You had a pretty banner year…

Graham Sharp: We had a really busy year with Steve and Marty. Red Rocks. The Grand Ole Opry. But, I think this next year we’re going

Want to go?

The Steep Canyon Rangers will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville.

Tickets start at $27.50 per person.

Americana/indie-rock act Hiss Golden Messenger will open. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to www.steepcanyon.com. VIP upgrade are available. If you have any questions about the upgrades, you can all the box office at 828.259.5736.

to have half as many dates with them and about twice as many dates with the band, which we hadn’t really done in 10 years — get out there and hammer it.

SMN: Does that mean that you’re trying to be aware of the health and identity of the band?

GS: Yeah, totally. I think it’s time to restamp our identity on the public’s consciousness. Because when we started with Steve, we were a traditional bluegrass band. And that’s how a lot of people got to know us. Over the

SMN: So, on the flip side of that, you’re coming up on the 20th anniversary of the band...

GS: It’s been crazy, man. It’s a hell of an achievement. It’s hard to keep a band together 20 years, especially with as solid of a lineup as we’ve had. We were talking as we’re approaching this next album — songs, the music — and people are more excited about it now as we’ve ever been. And I take that as a really good sign, when people are willing to actually spend their time to think about stuff, working on stuff, and bringing stuff in.

GKW: But, the band has always remained elusive, in terms of being labeled. Is that subconscious or conscious?

GS: I think it’s subconscious. You know, there was a while there, early on, where we were focused on being able to go to these [bluegrass] festivals. The whole thing was, how do you put a set together to be able to perform in front of Doyle Lawson or the Lonesome River Band? At that point, we were like, “How do we do this?” And you see things shift. Ten years ago, [bands were] still catching the wake of [the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”] and a lot of the world of Americana music had that bluegrass tinge to it. And now, it’s soul music that’s the touchstone of that world. It’s always moving. Musicians and bands are human, you react to what you hear a lot. You’re always a product of your influences. For us, it’s not worth it just to have something that sounds like a good bluegrass song — it’s got to stand on its own no matter what settings it’s in.

Editor’s Note: If you would like to listen to the complete audio of this conversation, go to YouTube and search “Graham Sharp Garret Woodward.”

“We were talking as we’re approaching this next album — songs, the music — and people are more excited about it now as we’ve ever been. And I take that as a really good sign, when people are willing to actually spend their time to think about stuff, working on stuff, and bringing stuff in.”

— Graham Sharp

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

—

That time the trees all came falling down

The Great Ice Storm of 1998.

Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host PMA (reggae/rock) w/Center of Motion at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 12.

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his week marks just over 20 years since The Great The Founders Brewing “Beer Dinner” will be Ice Storm of 1998. In early held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, at Mad January of that year, I was 12 Anthony’s Taproom & Restaurant in Waynesville. years old and a seventh-grader The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will living on the Canadian Border host Doyle & Merrell (variety) at 10 p.m. of Upstate New York.

Saturday, Jan. 12.

Like any kid that age, I was all excited about Christmas Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host Break. Some free time to build the “Lounge Series” at its Calaboose location snowmen, maybe go skiing at with Blue Revue (Americana) 6 p.m. Saturday, nearby Jay Peak, presents Jan. 12. under the tree and warm woodstoves on cold winter evenings, ”Pints for a Purpose” will be held from 5 to 9 f hot cocoa in hand in front of p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Frog Level the TV watching some munBrewing in Waynesville to raise funds for Society dane teenage drama or sitcom. of American Foresters.

And as the 1997 gave way to 1998, I was eager to get back As expected, school got cancelled on to school and see my friends who lived in Monday, Jan. 5. The roads were simply too other towns. As Benjamin Franklin once slick and dangerous for the school buses. said, “Fish and visitors smell after three days,” and I was ready and roaring to get out But, the freezing rain kept falling, and with no end in sight. For more than 80 hours it of my house and back in the classroom folfell, coating the entire North Country in elowing that extended break. inches of ice. You couldn’t open car doors (if e But, then came Sunday, Jan. 4, 1998. The you could even make it down the driveway), ”day before we were supposed to go back to school. The meteorologist on our local TV sta- you couldn’t even chip it away to get to the tion said freezing rain would fall overnight, so door handle it was so thick.

We lost power, as did everyone else in “it may slippery out there in the morning.”

Upstate New York and northern New No biggie we all thought. This is the North England, all the way up along the border Country, our daily lives in the winter is being into Maine and New Brunswick. Our old in constant survival mode in the midst of farmhouse was now an ice cube. We closed freezing rain, heavy snowfall and temperaup the French doors of our living-room and tures dropping to 20 or so below zero.

January 9-15, 2019

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arts & entertainment

This must be the place

huddled around the woodstove. My parents, little sister and myself.

We had a generator in our barn to run sporadically during the day. There was enough food in the pantry to go around for a few days until we could emerge and seek shelter elsewhere. And I remember my handheld battery-operated radio atop the windowsill, the echoing sounds of the latest news reports from outside in the depths of this once-in-a-lifetime storm.

At night, you could hear the horrific sounds of our old maple trees succumbing to the weight of the ice. The branches would snap and crash to the ground, just outside our windows, so close you felt one would just blow through and take out your entire family. It was terrifying, and something that happened for several days. Those sounds are forever etched in our minds.

In the mornings, my father and I would carefully traverse down the street to check in on our neighbors. Everyone seemed to be holding up, a sense of neighborly love and community camaraderie wafting through the tangled mess of fallen trees and downed power lines.

Soon, days turned into weeks. By the end of the first week, we were able to drive over to my aunt’s in the tiny village of Rouses Point (we lived on the edge of town surrounded by cornfields). She had power and hot water. Most of Rouses Point (population 2,200) was still cut off from the rest of the world at that point, the roads impossible to maneuver for the better part of two weeks until crews from all over the United States and Canada were able to clear a path. At one point, I even got to ride in a military Hummer, the National Guard bringing my dad and I to the nearby gas station to get milk and bread.

By the end of it all, that old farmhouse went without power for 21 days. It wasn’t until the end of January when we returned to school, just over a month since we left for Christmas Break. And it would several months before all the power lines and poles would be resurrected, many of which left dangling along the roadside through the spring and early summer of that year.

Even today, whenever I do get back up to my hometown, the scars of that infamous Ice Storm of 1998 are still visible, especially on the old maples in folks’ front yards or along tree lines in distant cornfields along rural backroads.

And the people I grew up with still remember. We all do, sharing our personal stories with each other whenever the topic gets brought up during an early morning at a diner or a late night at the local watering hole.

But, I think, even to this day, that the biggest take away from that experience was how we all came together in a moment of sheer uncertainty. In our daily existence nowadays, one filled with seemingly endless division and arguing, we tend to forget what neighborly love means, or actually looks like. It’s that simple notion we lose sight of so damn easily, only to vividly face and embrace it when the time comes to help one another.

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

743 HAYWOOD RD • WEST ASHEVILLE

ISISASHEVILLE.COM 828.575.2737

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arts & entertainment

On the beat

Water’n Hole welcomes Dirty Soul Revival Popular rock/blues act The Dirty Soul Revival will hit the stage at 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.

“Music is to me the single greatest thing man has ever done. To be a part of that in any way is a great thing to us,” Abe Anderson, singer/guitarist for The Dirty Soul Revival, told The Smoky Mountain News. “You can be the most skilled musician, or the most talented singer, but without putting yourself out for the world to see, it really doesn’t amount to much. What I respond to in music — and I think most people do — is not skill or talent. It’s when you genuinely feel that they are letting you in on something personal.

Letting you be a part of an experience that they had. Whether it is sad, or triumphant or shameful. It’s when somebody really bares their soul to the world that really powerful music is made.”

Admission is $5. For more information, click on www.facebook.com/thedirtysoulrevival.

The Dirty Soul Revival.

Reggae, rock at Innovation Station

January 9-15, 2019

Jackson County reggae/rock group Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Innovation Station in Dillsboro.

“Our music is full of inspiration from these mountains. Water, mountain landscapes, nature, trails. They all take part in the inspiration process for us. We are proud to call Sylva home and our sound could not be what it is without this town,” said guitarist Miller Watson. “It’s also really cool to see the similarities in bluegrass music and reggae and how they took shape from the development of African banjo. It’s also nice to bring a touch of reggae to these mountains.”

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/pmamusic or www.innovation-brewing.com.

Smoky Mountain News

Positive Mental Attitude (PMA). Garret K. Woodward photo

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On the beat

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host John Emil (singer-songwriter) 8 p.m. Jan. 25. All shows are free and open to the public. www.balsamfallsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host an acoustic jam with Main St. NoTones from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 10 and 17. Bona Fide (acoustic) will perform from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 19. Free and open to the public. www.blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing Company (Waynesville) will host a bluegrass open mic every Wednesday and an all-genres open mic every Thursday. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.boojumbrewing.com.

ALSO:

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host live music on Fridays and Saturdays. All shows are free and begin at 7:15 p.m.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

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• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host an open mic night at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday, Social Insecurity Jan. 11, Twist of Fate Jan. 12 and Alex Culbreth (singer-songwriter) Jan. 19. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Mad Anthony’s Taproom & Restaurant (Waynesville) will host Hillbilly Diamonds Jan. 12, Life Like Water Jan. 18 and Doyle & Merrell (variety) Jan. 26. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host the “Stone Soup” open mic night every Tuesday, Twelfth Fret (Americana) Jan. 12 and Somebody’s Child Jan. 19. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.mountainlayersbrewingcompany.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.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night Jan. 9 and 16, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo Jan. 10 and 17. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• 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.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host Tim McWilliams Jan. 11, PMA (reggae/rock) w/Center of Motion Jan. 12, Prophets of Time Jan. 19 and Scott Low Jan. 26. All events are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.innovationbrewing.com.

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

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic Night” on Mondays, karaoke on Thursdays, Doyle & Merrell (variety) Jan. 12, Dirty Soul Revival (blues/rock) Jan. 18, Chelsea Lovitt & The Boys Jan. 25 and Whiskey River Band Jan. 26. All events at 10 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

828.456.4750.

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Smoky Mountain News

• Harmon’s Den Bistro at HART (Waynesville) will host karaoke and an open mic at 8 p.m. on Saturdays. www.harttheatre.org.

• 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.

• Isis Music Hall (West Asheville) will host Threadbare w/Brooke & Nick (folk/singersongwriter) 7 p.m. Jan. 9, Bob Sinclair & The Big Deals (Americana/western) 7 p.m. Jan. 10, Zach & Maggie (folk/rock) 7 p.m. Jan. 11, Robin & Linda Williams (Americana/folk)

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• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Clark & Cole Jan. 12. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

8:30 p.m. Jan. 11, “Opus One” Great Piano Quartets (classical) 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12, Frank Vignola’s Hot Jazz Guitar Trio 8:30 p.m. Jan. 12, Sam Bush Band (newgrass) 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13, Zoe & Cloyd (bluegrass) 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 15, Nick Gonnering & Nicholas Raymond (folk/rock) 7 p.m. Jan. 16 and Caitlin Canty w/Oshima Brothers (Americana) 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 16. www.isisasheville.com.

arts & entertainment

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” at its Calaboose location with Gabe Myers (singer-songwriter) Jan. 11, Blue Revue (Americana) Jan. 12, Chris West (singer-songwriter) Jan. 18 and Alma Russ (Americana/folk) Jan. 19. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

1819 Country Club Drive Maggie Valley, NC

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On the table arts & entertainment

from 5 to 9 p.m.. Gourmet food, and a great wine & beer menu. • Jan. 12/19: There will be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 828.452.0120 or visit www.waynesvillewine.com.

Are you a chili fanatic?

• “Pints for a Purposeâ€? will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. The event will benefit the Society of American Foresters. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

ALSO:

Bosu’s tastings, small plates

Smoky Mountain News

January 9-15, 2019

Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host an array of wine tastings and small plates from Chef Stacy’s gourmet cuisine, available at The Secret Wine Bar within the shop. Dog friendly patio and front garden open, weather permitting. • Jan. 10/17: Five for $5 Wine Tasting from 5 to 9 p.m. Come taste five magnificent wines and dine on Chef Stacy’s gourmet cuisine. • Jan. 11/18: Secret Wine Bar Night

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a “Winter Beer Tap Takeoverâ€? all day Friday, Jan. 11. For more information, visit www.blueridgebeerhub.com. • A free wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 12 and 19 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.631.3075. • Free cooking demonstrations will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays at Country Traditions in Dillsboro. Watch the demonstrations, eat samples and taste house wines for $3 a glass. All recipes posted online. www.countrytraditionsnc.com.

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The “Winter Arts Smokies Style & Chili Cook Off � will be held from noon to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Haywood County Arts Council in downtown Waynesville.

There will be three categories: “Winning Restaurant,� “Winning Merchant� and “Overall People’s Choice Winner.� The “Winter Arts Smokies Style� will be from 3 to 6 p.m. inside the HCAC gallery, which will feature an array of local art for purchase, live music and other activities.

Complimentary shuttles provided by Leap Frog Tours will run between Main/Miller Street, Frog Level and Hazelwood. For more information, visit www.haywoodarts.org.

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The Founders Brewing “Beer Dinner� will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, at Mad Anthony’s Taproom & Restaurant in Waynesville.

Four Founders craft beer selections will be paired with four chef-created courses prepared by Chef Matt Kuver. All attendees will receive a 20-ounce Founders “Canadian Breakfast Stout� mug and gift pack.

Tickets are $75, which includes tax and gratuity. Only 50 tickets available. Tickets are available for purchase at Mad Anthony’s. For more information, call the taproom at 828.246.9249.

On the street arts & entertainment

WWI exhibit at Mountain Heritage Center

Robert Burns dinner

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Smoky Mountain News

The Friends of the Scottish Tartans Museum will host its annual Burns Night Dinner at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, in the Tartan Hall at the First Presbyterian Church in Franklin.

Although many poets and musicians have won awards, there is only one person who has a world-wide celebration every year from Canada, United States, Europe, South Africa, to Australia. That is Robert Burns, national poet of modern Scotland.

Robert Burns is credited with saving the folk music of Scotland. He was born just a few years after England conquered Scotland in 1746. The English were intent on destroying the clan system. Edicts of Proscription were issued forbidding the remaining Scottish people from wearing tartans and speaking Gaelic upon removal or threat of death.

Scottish leaders and their families were hunted down. The lucky ones escaped and came to America and Canada. Not many decades passed before the old language, except in the darkest dells of Scotland, was lost.

Burns was a poor farmer in Ayeshire,

Scotland, but became an accomplished poet.

He began to compose a collection of poems about familiar country characters and legends. To make the subjects more human, he wrote in the Broad Scots dialect that was used for storytelling.

You do not have to have a Scottish heritage or a certain dress to attend this event.

Anyone is welcome. The evening starts with a roll call of clans and districts, moves on to a five course Scottish dinner menu, interspersed with Burns’ poems and songs and concludes with singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

Common practices in all Burns Night celebrations are a calling of the clans, presentation of the Haggis, ode to the haggis, Selkirk grace, a witty toast to the Lads and Lassies, the immortal memory of Robert Burns, a toast to the bard, and “Auld Lang Syne,” which Scots sing to welcome a new year.

Tickets for the five-course dinner and celebration are available for purchase at the Scottish Tartans Museum, First Presbyterian Church and the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. Sponsored by the Friends of the Scottish Tartans Museum. www.scottishtartansmuseum.org.

Find Us On

January 9-15, 2019

Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center is currently hosting an exhibit to commemorate World War I and the centennial of the end of hostilities in the “war to end all wars.”

“I Want You! How World War I Transformed Western North Carolina” is on display in the museum’s first floor gallery, located in Hunter Library. It features wartime images and artifacts, as well as examples of propaganda used to build support for the war effort. It highlights local individuals who served, such as Ransom Coward, a Jackson County soldier, and Lula Owl Gloyne, a mem-

ber of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who served as an Army nurse and a commissioned officer.

World War I took place from July 1914 until November 1918, with the U.S. involved in the European military action beginning in April 1917.

The exhibit was created by Mountain Heritage Center staff with support from the Library of Congress, WCU’s Special Collections and the “Defining America” theme committee on campus, as well as the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. It will be on display through Friday, April 26.

This month, the exhibit will be supplemented by elements from the “North Carolina in the Great War” exhibit from the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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

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31

arts & entertainment

On the wall HCAC ‘Juried Artist Exhibit’ The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) in Waynesville will be kicking off the new year with a variety packed show filled with the original art of 28 local artists.

The “2019 Juried Artist Exhibit” will open Jan. 11 and run through Feb. 23. Each of the exhibiting artists went through an extensive jury process and are delighted to have their work in the gallery.

Artists included in this exhibit: Nancy Blevins, Barbara Brook, Grace Cathey, Melba Cooper, Wendelyn Cordwell, Velda Davis, Mary Decker, Helen Geltman, Nina Howard, Jo Ridge Kelley, Gregg Livengood,

Susan Livengood, Francoise Lynch, Betsy Meyer, Betina Morgan, Melissa Moss, Cayce Moyer, Nathan Perry, Sue Reynolds, Denise Seay, Jennifer Sharkey, Maureen Simon, Melissa Enloe Walter, Christina Weaver, Rod Whyte, Haidee Wilson, Annelle Woggon and Russell Wyatt.

The “Juried Artist Exhibit” was launched in 2018 in order to feature juryselected artists who specialize in a wide variety of mediums — oil, acrylic, clay, watercolor, forged steel, cold wax, collages, wood, glass, fiber, jewelry, egg tempera, photography and mixed media.

The HCAC believes that original art by local artisans can be both affordable and collectable. For more information, visit www.haywoodarts.org.

WCU School of Art and Design Faculty Biennial Exhibition

Architectural and interior design by Erin Adams. Matthew Turlington Photography

Smoky Mountain News

January 9-15, 2019

‘Flamingo Sleeping’

by Milly Honeycutt

New Franklin art exhibit There will be a showcase for painter Milly Honeycutt through the end of January at the Macon County Public Library.

“I started out doing ceramics in a shop in the neighborhood where I lived in Florida. I never did any kind of art when I was in school other than what they call shop class. We did metal, wood, leather and ceramics,” Honeycutt said. “When I moved here, I was in my 70s and a friend talked me into taking an oil class at the art gallery downtown with teacher Jon Houglum. I’ve been with him about 12 years now.” www.fontanalib.org.

• The “Artist’s Breakfast” will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 12, at Balsam Ridge Gallery in Waynesville. A gathering of artists and art lovers over coffee.

Held the second Saturday of each month.

Free and open to the public. 828.234.1616.

• “Paint-N-Pour” will be held from 7 to 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Balsam Falls Brewing in Sylva. Cost is $20 per person. All materials provided. RSVP at Balsam Falls Brewing’s Facebook page. For more information, visit www.balsamfallsbrewing.com.

• A “Beginner Step-By-Step” painting class will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursdays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. 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 paint32 nitewaynesville@gmail.com.

• The Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) Campus Theme, the “Defining America” exhibit brings together artists with different perspectives on the concept of “America” and asks visitors to reflect on the values, definitions, and assumptions attached to this concept. The exhibition will be on view through May 3 at the Bardo Arts Center.

Regular museum hours at the BAC are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursdays until 7 p.m. For information, call 828.227.ARTS or visit bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

ALSO:

• Haywood Community College (Clyde) Continuing Education Creative Arts will host “Introduction to Bladesmithing” March 1819, as well as the “Smoky Mountain Hammer-In” March 21-24. For more informa-

The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center is pleased to present the School of Art and Design Faculty Biennial Exhibition 2019, on display from Jan. 15 through May 3. There will be a reception on Jan. 17.

Outside of the classroom, faculty members in the School of Art and Design are active artists and scholars that make significant contributions to the arts. They regularly exhibit in venues across the globe, from New York to Los Angeles to Japan and speak at major conferences in their fields.

The School of Art and Design Faculty Biennial Exhibition provides students and the public an opportunity to view recent work created by these distinguished faculty members whose primary research output is studio based.

Exhibiting School of Art and Design

Faculty: Erin Adams, Tom Ashcraft, Heather Mae Erickson, Jon Jicha, Justin Morgan Kennedy, Kevin Kirkpatrick, Ron Laboray, Mary Anna LaFratta, Matt Liddle, Susan Alta Martin, Greg McPherson, Leigh Ann Parrish, Nathan Perry, Laura Sellers, Erin Tapley, and Richard Tichich The faculty in the WCU School of Art and Design bring to the studio and classroom a commitment to the process of innovation and skill-building as well as their range of experience as makers, collaborators, and researchers. Collectively, the faculty have received support from Fulbright, National Endowment for the Humanities, and National Endowment for the Arts.

All WCU Fine Art Museum exhibitions and receptions are free and open to the public. For further information, visit arts.wcu.edu/biennial or call 828.227.3591.

tion, visit creativearts.haywood.edu or call 828.565.4240.

public. Membership not required. For information, call 828.349.4607.

• Mad Batter Food & Film (Sylva) will host a free movie night at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For the full schedule of screenings, click on www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com.

• The Waynesville Fiber Friends will meet from 10 a.m. to noon on the second Saturday of the month at the Panacea Coffee House in Waynesville. All crafters and beginners interested in learning are invited. You can keep up with them through their Facebook group or by calling 828.276.6226.

• “Thursday Painters Open Studio” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at the Franklin Uptown Gallery. Bring a bag lunch, project and supplies. Free to the

• 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.

• Free classes and open studio times are being offered at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Join others at a painting open studio session from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays.

For information on days open, hours and additional art classes and workshops, contact the gallery on 30 East Main Street at 828.349.4607.

On the stage

Anna Netrebko as Adriana Lecouvreur.

HPAC ‘Live via Satellite’

JANUARY 19

DWIGHT YOAKAM MARCH 9

The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre will hold its annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the theatre in Waynesville.

The public is invited. Wine and cheese will be served. The meeting will highlight the many

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Smoky Mountain News

HART annual meeting, volunteer appreciation

changes at HART this past year and feature highlights from the 2018 season. Volunteers and actors will be recognized for their many hours of help that made the past year so successful.

HART Executive Director Steve Lloyd will also be providing details of the upcoming 2019 season. For more information, visit www.harttheatre.org.

ALSO:

Y O U R T I C K E T T O A G R E AT N I G H T

AIR SUPPLY

Haywood Arts Regional Theatre.

• There is free comedy improv class from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday in Maggie Valley.

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 to RSVP for directions.

January 9-15, 2019

The Highlands Performing Arts Center will present “Live via Satellite” the MET Opera’s production of “Adriana Lecouvreur” at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12. There will be a pre-opera discussion at 12:30 p.m.

For the first time at the Met, Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur, the great 18th-century actress in love with the military hero Maurizio, sung by tenor Piotr Becza a. Gianandrea Noseda conducts Cilea’s tragedy, in a new staging by Sir David McVicar, with the action partially set in a working replica of a Baroque theater.

The cast also features mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as the Princess of Bouillon, Adriana’s rival for Maurizio’s affections, and baritone Ambrogio Maestri as Michonnet.

Tickets are available at www.highlandspac.org, at the door or by calling 828.526.9047.

The Highlands Cashiers Players will be holding double auditions for its next two stage productions.

“The Dinner Theater” play is scheduled for six performances: March 21-23 and March 28-30. The full length play “Calendar Girls” by Tim Firth, directed by Ricky Siegel, is scheduled for eight performances: May 23-26, 31 and June 2.

Both auditions will be held at 3 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 13, and 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, at Highlands Performing Arts Center located at 507 Chestnut Street. “The Dinner Theater” auditions will be held downstairs, with “Calendar Girls” auditions upstairs. Actors are welcome to audition for both productions.

Scripts of “Calendar Girls” may be read in the Hudson Library in Highlands and in the Cashiers Library, but may not be checked out. Director Ricky Siegel has a few extra scripts to lend to individuals upon request. Also, the movie of “Calendar Girls”

will give potential actors a good idea of what to expect in the play, which requires ten women of varying ages and four men.

Scripts are not available to read prior to auditions for the four short humorous plays that will be presented at “The Dinner Theater.” These short plays present a wonderful opportunity for new actors. They’re lots of fun to act in and don’t require learning a huge number of lines. There are parts for three or four men, ages 30 to 60s, and four or five women, ages 25 to 70s.

For more information, visit www.highlandscashiersplayers.org.

arts & entertainment

Open call for actors

@SmokyMtnNews 33

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

35

A master in our midst ichael Revere grew up here in these mountains. He went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He hung out with the elite literati there in the 1960s, had a book of his poems published by a press in the Triangle and then hit the road Kerouac style as a rock and roll drummer and headed west.

His life story is an adventure worthy of a biopic that resulted in his eventual return to his geographic roots where he has been now long enough to raise a couple of children who are now approaching middle age. During all this time he has maintained his allegiances to his first two loves: Writer poetry and his wife Judith. Hence the title of his new book of poems just out by Milky Way Editions titled Hey Jude in honor of his wife and after the Beatles song of the same name.

Michael Revere has been on the poet’s journey his whole life. Since returning to the Southern Appalachians he has published several books of poetry and had his work published in many literary journals and anthologies. His literary archives are now being collected by UNC Chapel Hill. For the past year or so he has been on a tear, writing a poem a day — the majority of which comprise the new Hey Jude book, with a few earlier gems pitched in for good measure. Having been familiar with his earlier work, my take on this new collection of poems is: that it just may be the best and the longest lasting collection of his life in terms of his legacy.

Dedicated to his wife Jude (as he referred to her in life as in his poems) , Revere combines strong poems of spirituality, sociology and love. “Soulmate silk/strong as love/miracles and sunshine” he writes in the poem “Dawn.” And in “Lonesome Soul” he writes, “The coldest winter of my life/was not for lack of blankets/heat or fire/the freezing fact of the matter is/i was not with you.” And in “Love” he writes “Love is a liberty bell that won’t crack.” And in the title poem he writes in homily “Jude went to Heaven/on April 18, 2018/We were together for forty years./ I can-

poems of political and social insight and concern. Poems on everything from gun regulations to honoring our military veterans (of

and dedication is rarely witnessed with such surrender and intensity.

But Hey Jude is not just an homage to his recently deceased wife, but contains, too,

which he is one) can be found in this volume.

In the poem titled “Without End” which he dedicates to the novel Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, he writes emotionally yet with con-

Thomas Crowe

M

not stop crying .... Jude is an angel who was sent to Earth ... I will be with you soon./I will love you forever.” Such impassioned devotion

viction: “Human reptiles/blood-stained snow/Nowhere to go/Deep-rooted pain,/erupting nightmare,/mother nature wounded/beyond repair/Madness ruling all life forms/from core of earth/to blazing sun/Purple crows laughing/the feast is on/midnight to dawn/Please pass black ketchup/before we say grace/and beg for mercy.” But then he adds in a short section of haiku-like poems: “There is always light/at the end of the tunnel/we just can’t see it.”

Last, but not least Hey Jude is also an expression of his spiritual faith. In this case in reference to God and the person of Jesus, who he considers his spiritual mentor. Here he professes his faith in no uncertain terms in poems such as “Universal Family” when he writes “We are all God’s children/be they red, yellow, brown/black or white/Every man on earth/is my brother/Every woman on earth/is my sister/Love everybody/Love is the duct tape of life.” And in “Straight From Heaven” he writes “Love directed/by Almighty God/to earth/We do not need eyes/to see his presence/nor hands to feel/his holy spirit/of goodness and peace/for his children/on planet Earth/Amen.”

Put in the cliched terms of modern vernacular, Michael Revere is the” real deal.” There is nothing else but integrity in his life, which is a mirror of his work. And we who read and know him are recipients of these gifts.

This book is a celebration. A hopeful human heartbeat for his generation and those to follow. I truly believe that Hey Jude and its heartland will be with us for a very long time. In the end of this book, he writes “I will go down dancing.” And I believe that he will.

Copies of Hey Jude by Michael Revere are currently available at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Thomas Crowe is a regular contributor to the Smoky Mountain News. His latest poetry collection is a book of love poems titled Learning To Dance. He lives in Tuckasegee and can be reached at newnativepress@hotmail.com

36

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Jaylyn Logan, an eighth-grader at the new Catamount School in Sylva, approaches the finish line of the Girls on the Run 5K race with her teammates in December. Donated photo

Running toward her goals Catamount student succeeds with Heart & Sole program

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR orn with cerebral palsy, Jaylyn Logan’s nana Marvellia Ross knew that her granddaughter’s life would have limitations. However, a new program at the Catamount School has shown them that just about anything is possible when you push yourself and have others rooting for you.

Jaylyn amazed her teammates, her family and herself in December when she not only completed her first 5K race but even ran to the finish line.

“Jaylyn is my oldest grandchild — I’ve raised her her entire life and carried her around off and on until she was 7 years old,” Marvellia Ross said. “Doctors said Jaylyn wouldn’t ever be able to do any kind of physical activity or sport, so she reached a goal she was told she couldn’t do. It was amazing.”

Being a teenager is hard and middle school years for girls in particular can be trying, which is why Girls on the Run of Western North Carolina created a curriculum-based program specifically for middle school girls called Heart & Sole. Just like the GOTR program for elementary-aged female students, Heart & Sole is an after-school extracurricular program that trains young girls throughout the semester for a 5K race. Along the way, the program also teaches the girls about selfesteem, team building, empathy, setting boundaries and other important life skills.

Looking for new extracurricular activities for the brand new Catamount School last year, Enrichment Coordinator Katy Elders dis-

B

covered the Girls on the Run program. It’s such an easy-to-implement program and as an avid runner herself, Elders knew it was something she could take on as a coach and mentor for the girls on the team.

“I love running and the adventurous part of the curriculum,” she said. “It’s such a tough age no matter where you come from, but this program brings all these girls together and helps them set goals and reach for them.”

Ross said she was a little hesitant to let Jaylyn participate in the program knowing how shy her granddaughter is about people seeing her walk and how cruel other students at school can be toward someone who is different.

“People can be pretty mean in public schools and Jaylyn’s had a hard time with that, so we changed schools to Catamount last year,” she said. “But she met Katy and came home

asking if she could do it so I told her she could if she’d go to all the practices and the race.”

Elders said Jaylyn came to practices and began training just like the other seven members of the team. She mostly walked the laps, but with the encouragement of her teammates she began to run during practices as well. It’s exactly the encouragement she needed from her peers, and it built up her confidence enough that she didn’t care as much about how she looked while doing it.

“Her whole team was cheering her on and rooting for her and then they all took a slower lap to run with her,” Elders said.

Jaylyn set a realistic goal for herself to complete half of the 5K race that happens in Asheville at the end of the semester with all the other Girls on the Run teams across the region.

“That’s still a mile and a half and more than

Jaylyn Logan is pictured with her grandmother Marvellia Ross, (from left), Girls on the Run Coach Katy Elders and her Aunt Gigi after the race. Donated photo

what she completed all semester in practice, so it was a great goal for her. Her running buddy stayed with her and she just kept going,” Elders said. “At the end of race all Jaylyn’s teammates that had finished walked back a mile and finished it together with her. I was crying — it was awesome. I’ve never seen a 13-year-old more proud of herself and it’s translated at school. She reaches out to other girls more and there’s a new seating arrangement at school — she’s a whole new eighth-grader.”

Ross was also crying tears of joy watching her granddaughter fight to finish the race.

Even though that last mile was the hardest, she said the encouragement and support from her teammates kept her going.

“They ran to the finish line together and when they put that medal around her neck we were all crying happy tears,” she said. “Even though she’s my oldest grandchild it’s as if she’s my daughter — I was so overwhelmed.”

Now that she’s accomplished such a big goal for herself, Jaylyn says she wants to do another 5K and keep pushing herself. Another goal she has is to play softball on the school team.

“I have goals just like every other girl out there — just because I thought I couldn’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t,” she said. “She (Elders) made me overcome my fears and she made me stronger — I have a lot of strength in me.

At first I wouldn’t run but my teammates said, ‘come on, run it out!’ and they made me do it. It was so sweet how they acted to coach me on.”

Ross is also extremely grateful for Elders’ encouragement that pushed Jaylyn to realize her strength. They both knew Jaylyn had it in her; she just needed to believe in herself.

“After her surgery when she was 7, she toughened up and she was determined nothing would stop her, and then in less than three months later she was getting up and down with the cast up and down her thighs. She’s always tried to be independent,” Ross said.

“But with Heart & Sole, she learned to do team work and that not everyone is the same and that’s OK. There are always going to be people that are rude and other people who are happy and positive. Girls on the Run gave her a positive attitude and built up her selfesteem. Katy had enough faith in her to get her to try it.”

While there is a cost to participate in Girls on the Run, Jaylyn and many other girls in WNC receive scholarships that help cover their expenses. Jaylyn said she’s excited about staying involved with Girls on the Run by mentoring younger girls even after she goes on to high school. She said the program has also taught her the importance of supporting nonprofit causes like GOTR and breast cancer.

“With Girls on the Run and breast cancer — a lot of people are fighting for these things like my Aunt Gigi who had cancer and she overcame it just like I overcame my fears,” she said.

To learn more about Girls on the Run of WNC or to make a donation, visit www.gotrwnc.org/support-us.

Proposed wildlife regs open for comment

Lincoln Park Zoo photo

Red pandas arrive in Asheville Red pandas are coming to Asheville with the opening of an exhibit featuring Leafa and Phoenix at the WNC Nature Center on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

The pandas arrived in November, have passed the required quarantine period and are being slowly introduced to their new habitat.

“We want them to have plenty of time to acclimate to their new surroundings, so the next couple of months will be a time for settling in out of view of the public,” said Nature Center Animal Curator Erin Oldread.

The pandas are the first species to be introduced as part of the Nature Center’s new Prehistoric Appalachian project. Red pandas are currently endangered with several thousand remaining in the wild — Leafa and Pheonix are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Program.

The exhibit will have a soft opening in early February before the Feb. 14 opening, with donors giving $250 allowed two tickets and $1,000 allowing four tickets. www.wildwnc.org.

Get lower prices on garden seeds by ordering through the Jackson County Farmer’s Market and Cullowhee Community Garden at Group Seed Order Day 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at The Community Table in Sylva.

Seeds will come from Fedco and Johnny’s Selected Seeds, onion plants will come from Dixondale Farms, organic seed potatoes from New Sprout farms and sweet potato slips from George’s Plant Farm. Garden supplies are available from Johnny’s.

Ordering as a group allows gardeners to access the bulk prices and discounts the suppliers offer. However, not all varieties are available through bulk pricing. Catalogs will be available onsite and are also online at the companies’ websites.

Seed pickup is planned for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at The Community Table, with a seed swap and farmers market offered as well. Onion plants and seed potatoes will arrive in early March and sweet potato slips in early May.

The Nature Conservancy’s work to promote sustainable forestry in Western North Carolina has been recognized with the organization receiving one of this year’s Root Cause Awards, which celebrate achievement in local forest products and sustainable forestry.

The Nature Conservancy, led in WNC

by Program Director Megan Sutton, won the Sustainable Forestry Award for its work to prevent wildfire through education and prescribed burning. There is little debate that years of fire suppression have contributed to the dense vegetation buildup that feeds wildfires, and Sutton has demon-

strated her commitment to work collaboratively with other organizations to address this issue, especially through her support of multi-use management in the NantahalaPisgah National Forest planning process.

Other Root Cause winners included Asheville-based Navitat Canopy Adventures — which received the Support of Local Forest Products Award for its efforts in promoting zip-lining, an unconventional forest product — and Asheville woodworker Mike Hester, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award for welcoming customers to his woodworking shop for more than 40 years.

Root Cause is an initiative committed to raising sustainable forestry awareness in the Southern Appalachians. This is the sixth year the organization has issued its annual awards.

Smoky Mountain News

Sustainable forestry awards announced

A full list of proposed regulations is available at www.ncwildlife.org/ProposedRegulations. Submit comments online at www.ncpaws.org/paws/wrc/publiccomments/p ubliccomments.aspx, email them to regulations@ncwildlife.org with name, phone number and mailing address included; or mail them to Rule-Making Coordinator, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, 1701 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1700.

January 9-15, 2019

Get ready to garden

outdoors

Leafa lounges in a tree.

A slate of proposed changes to N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission regulations are up for public comment through Friday, Feb. 1, with a public hearing to be held at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Haywood Community College in Clyde.

Proposed regulations cover everything from hunting to fishing to land management. If the regulations are passed: n Elk, alligators and feral pigs would be added to the list of species that can be taken during archery season. Hunting permits are not available for elk, which still have a small population following their 2001 reintroduction, but the Wildlife Commission has been paving the way for a future elk season. Previously, the Commission passed a season structure for elk but is not yet issuing any hunting permits. n Deer of either sex could be taken on the Cold Mountain Game Lands during the first Saturday of the season for deer with visible antlers. Introductory Gun Either-Sex Deer Season dates were shifted to the beginning of the season during the 2018-19 regulation cycle, and the introductory season open date on game lands was moved to the first open Saturday of gun season, but this change was not captured in rules for Cold Mountain. n Bear sanctuary rules would be clarified and county locations of existing bear sanctuaries updated. Two bear sanctuaries in the eastern part of the state would be renamed to align sanctuary names with the names of

existing game lands. n The lower boundary of Delayed Harvest Trout Waters on the East Fork French Broad River in Transylvania County would be modified, removing 0.9 miles from Public Mountain Trout Waters. The change would more accurately reflect the portion of the stream that is stocked and accessible to the public. n A temporary rule prohibiting the importation of cervid carcasses and carcass parts — cervids include deer and elk — from outside the state would be made permanent.

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Explore Canton’s Rough Creek Watershed with an 8-mile hike Wednesday, Jan. 16, starting at 9 a.m.

This loop hike will include an uphill walk using largely grass roads to a ridgeline with longdistance views, with Rough Creek Watershed offers some lunch on rocks remarkable winter views. Donated photo overlooking a beautiful valley. The downhill return will cross Rough Creek on a bridge.

The hike includes 1,800 feet of elevation gain and is organized by the Carolina Mountain Club.

Visitors welcome, but no dogs. The group will carpool with meeting places in Asheville and Haywood County. RSVP to George Shepherd, 405.596.2632 or shepherdgeorge@att.net.

The annual Region 8 Western Regional Science and Engineering Fair will be held Feb. 20-21 at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center at Western Carolina University.

The largest STEM event in Western North Carolina, the fair is open to grades 3 to 12 with registration open through Feb. 2. Even students who don’t submit projects will find it worthwhile to attend, with the event including a speaker session, scavenger hunt and chance to view a variety of projects. The event typically draws about

600 students from across the region.

Fifth-grader Liam Tormey won multiple awards last year for his project on water quality in the Tuckasegee River near the Cullowhee Dam. WCU photo To register, visit camps.wcu.edu or call 828.227.7397.

Winter Lights a success

A moderate 7-mile hike will explore the Standing Indian Loop in the Nantahala National Forest near Franklin, beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 13.

The route, which features an elevation gain of 500 feet, will start at the backcountry parking lot, take Forest Service Road 67 to Hurricane Creek Road and then Blackwell Gap horse trail to Long Branch Trail to return to the parking lot.

The hike is organized by the Nantahala Hiking Club, and participants will meet in Franklin to carpool. Visitors welcome, but no dogs. RSVP to Katharine Brown at 828.421.4178.

Winter Lights at the N.C. Arboretum had a record-setting season, drawing nearly 40,000 guests over the course of its six-week run ending Dec. 31.

Proceeds from the event, which features about 500,000 lights as well as Christmas music, crafts and other activities, will support upcoming projects and Arboretum offerings in the year ahead. And planning for next year’s show is already underway — dates will be Nov. 22 through Jan. 4, with tickets going on sale in August.

MUSIC

C U LT U R E

ADVENTURE

FOOD+DRINK

Bear tests positive for rabies A black bear found dead in Hyde County in Eastern North Carolina has tested positive for rabies, the first known case of a rabies-positive black bear in the state, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

Fairfield resident Johnny Dale contacted the Commission on Dec. 17 after finding the yearling male bear dead at his game feeder.

Dale said that he saw the bear the previous day and that it was alive but lethargic and unable to move. Since the cause of death wasn’t obvious Commission personnel did an initial necropsy and sent the bear off to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia for further testing. On Dec. 21, the SCWDS

informed the Commission that the bear had died of rabies.

Rabies is a fatal disease that can affect all mammals, but it is “extremely rare” in wild black bears, according to the Commission’s black bear biologist Colleen Olfenbuttel — it has been documented only four times in the lower 48 states since 1999, she said. Rabies is contracted only through direct contact with the saliva, tears or nervous tissue of an infected animal.

Never handle or eat any animal that appears to be sick or acting abnormally.

Never handle dead animals with bare hands, allow pets near them or handle the brain and spinal cord more than necessary.

Contact the N.C. Wildlife Helpline with any information about dead bears or bears exhibiting disease symptoms at 866.318.2401. On weekends, call 800.662.7137 instead.

Record turnout for First Day hikes

MAGAZINE 38

Gear up for the science fair

Hike Standing Indian

Smoky Mountain News

January 9-15, 2019

outdoors

See Rough Creek in winter

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A record 3,859 people rang in the New Year at North Carolina State Parks by participating in one of the 57 First Day Hikes offered at parks statewide.

Mild, dry weather made the hikes more attractive than those in 2018, which were marred by rain and snow. Hundreds of dogs, two llamas and a goat joined their human companions — who ranged in age from newborn to 95 — on various hikes. Cliffs of the Neuse State Park set a record by drawing 300 participants.

“I was thrilled to see so many North Carolinians in our parks, particularly the record number at Cliffs of the Neuse,” said state parks Director Dwayne Patterson, who grew up near Cliffs of Neuse.

“These hikes were a great start to the year for people of all ages, and I look forward to millions more people enjoying healthy outdoor recreation activities at our beautiful state parks throughout the year.”

First Day Hikes is part of a nationwide program from America’s State Parks and the National Association of State Park Directors, with more than 400 hikes scheduled in state parks around the country. In North Carolina, Eno River State Park began the tradition more than 40 years ago and all N.C. state parks have participated since 2012.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Registration is underway for the Region 8 Western Regional Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 20-21, at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. The largest STEM event held in Western North Carolina. For grades 3-12. For info and to register: http://camps.wcu.edu (click on “Science Camps and Programs”) or 227.7397.

• Cashiers Area Chamber is seeking feedback to improve visitors’ experiences to the area. Take the survey at: tinyurl.com/y6w4uqyo.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Registration is underway for an educational event featuring biologist James Costa, Ph.D., from 3-6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Alarka Institute in Cowee.

Discussion on Alfred Wallace, Charles Darwin and the evolution of understanding evolution. $25 fee includes wine, tea and cheese reception. www.alarkaexpeditions.com.

• Registration is underway for an online beginning German Language course, which will be offered through Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and enrichment from Jan. 14-March 8. Cost: $79. For info and to register: learn.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• Registration is underway for a “Powerful Presentation Skills for Women Workshop” that will be offered from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18, at Western Carolina University Biltmore Park in Asheville. Led by Dr. Betty Farmer, professor of communication at WCU. $119 (includes catered lunch). Register or get more info: pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• Registration is underway for a customer service workshop for hospitality industry professionals, which will be held from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, at Western Carolina University’s Biltmore Park location in Asheville. Registration: $119. Info and reservations: pdp.wcu.edu or jcthompson@wcu.edu.

• The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority’s Finance Committee meets at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the TDA Office/Visitor Center.

• Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will offer a Planned Giving Implementation Series from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Jan. 25, Feb. 8 and Feb. 22, at WCU’s Biltmore Park instructional site in Asheville. Registration fee per organization: $2,000. Register: 227.7397 or jcthompson@wcu.edu.

Info: pdp.wcu.edu.

• Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment is accepting registrations for a “Better Communication Through Creative Play for Marketing and Sales Professionals” that will be offered from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15, at WCU’s Biltmore Park location in Asheville. $99 (includes lunch). Register or get more info: pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• 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 or rgmassie@haywood.edu.

• Balsam Mountain Business Matters meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Great opportunity to network with other business owners. Meeting is held in the clubhouse of Balsam Mountain apartments located at 17 Wilkinson Pass Ln in Waynesville. lgaddy@balsammountainapartments.com.

• The African-American Business Association Workshop & Meetup is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on the

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. 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 8:30am-5pm starting at Mountain Range indoor shooting range. Lunch provided. Class $60.

452.7870 or mountainrangenc@yahoo.com.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Altrusa International of Waynesville will hold its annual “Soup and Cornbread” fundraiser from 11 a.m.6:30 p.m. on Jan. 22, at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. Tickets: $10 for adults; $5 for 11-under.

Proceeds fund Haywood County Schools Foundation for Altrusa Scholarships. Info: 301.5737 or waynesvillealtrusa.org.

• Karaoke for animals is set for 6-10 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville. Funds support Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation and its fund for special needs. Tickets: $20 in advance (starting Jan.14) or $25 at the door. Follow Sarge’s on Facebook, visit sargeanimals.org or call 246.9050.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS • HART Theatre’s annual meeting and volunteer appreciation event is at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 250 Pigeon Street in Waynesville.

HEALTH MATTERS • The Creative Thought Center will host a “How to Speak Science of Mind” class from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Sunday Jan. 13, at 449 Pigeon Street in Waynesville.

Aim is to heal lives of discord, fear, superstition, guilt and sense of lack. Info or to sign up: 734.0843 or 201.988.0852. www.creativethoughtcenter.org.

• A “Preparation for Childbirth” class will be offered from 7-9 p.m. on Thursdays from Jan. 10-31 at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Waynesville. Preregistration required: MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses or 452.8440.

• Macon County Public Health will offer a Hepatitis A Vaccination Clinic from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 10, at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building at 1288 Georgia Road in Franklin. 349.2466.

• Registration is underway for a yearlong Diabetes Prevention Program for Jackson County residents, offered by the Jackson County Department of Public Health. Starts on Jan. 17. Register or get more info: 587.8238.

• Jackson County Department of Public Health is offering diabetes self-management education as well as medical nutrition therapy. Info: 587.8240 or http://health.jacksonnc.org/wic.

• The Haywood County Senior Resource Center holds a dementia caregivers support group from 4:30-6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday each month in Waynesville.

356.2800 or www.haywoodseniors.org.

• “Riding the Waves of Cancer” meets from 2:30-4 p.m.

Smoky Mountain News

on Thursdays at the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center. Physician referral from an oncologist or cancer doctor is required: Myhaywoodregional.com/yogaforcancer. 452.8691.

• 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.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • Registration is underway for “Dance Tonight Waynesville” upcoming classes in Waltz and fox trot.

Classes are held from 6-7:30 p.m. on Mondays throughout February at Folkmoot. Cost: $10. RSVP: 316.1344.

• Registration is underway for “Dance Tonight Waynesville” upcoming classes. Classes are held from 3-3:50 p.m. (rumba, salsa); 4-4:50 p.m. (foxtrot, single-time swing); and 6-7:30 p.m. (waltz and foxtrot) on Tuesdays throughout February at Laurel Ridge Country Club. Cost: $10. RSVP: 316.1344.

• Registration is underway for “Dance Tonight Waynesville” upcoming classes in “East Coast Swing.”

Classes are held from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays throughout February at Waynesville Wellness. Cost: $10.

RSVP: 316.1344.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will host a “Pop-Up: Power Core Yoga” class from 5:45-7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 11, in Waynesville. Cost is $14. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will host a “Rock Your Resolutions Master Class Series” class on Power Flow, Arm Balances and Inversions from 2-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, in Waynesville. $20. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will host a “Meditation Series for the New Year” class from 7:15-7:50 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 14, in Waynesville. Cost is $15 for one class or $45 for the entire series. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will offer a “Pop-Up: Level 3 Vinyasa Flow” class from noon-1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, in Waynesville. $14. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will host a “Rock Your Resolutions Master Class Series” class from 2-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21 in Waynesville. $20. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will host a “Meditation Series for the New Year” class from 7:15-7:50 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21, in Waynesville. Cost is $15 for one class or $45 for the entire series. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• High Mountain Squares will sponsor Modern Western Square Dance classes from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21, at the Environmental Resource Center, 1624 Lakeside Drive in Franklin. 787.2324, 706.746.5426 or 332.0001.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will host a “Pop-Up: Power Core Yoga” class from 5:45-7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25, in Waynesville. Cost is $14. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will host a “Rock Your Resolutions Master” class from 2-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, in Waynesville. Topic is Buti Yoga Burn. Cost is $20. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.com.

• Waynesville Yoga Center will host a “Meditation Series for the New Year” class from 7:15-7:50 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 28, in Waynesville. Cost is $15 for one

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Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings class or $45 for the entire series. Register or get more info: 246.6570 or WaynesvilleYogaCenter.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.

• ZUMBA! Class with Monica Green, are offered from 67 p.m. on Monday & Wednesday, at the Canton Armory. $5 per class. 648.2363 or parks@cantonnc.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.

• 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.

• Line Dance Lessons will be held on Tuesdays in Waynesville. Times are 7 to 8 p.m. every other Tuesday.

Cost is $10 per class and will feature modern/traditional line dancing. 734.0873 or kimcampbellross@gmail.com.

• 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.

• 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.

• Line dance lessons will be offered from 7-8 p.m. every other Tuesday in Waynesville. $10 per class.

Modern/traditional line dancing. 734.0873 or kimcampbellross@gmail.com.

like healthcare, wages, housing and more. chelsea@downhomenc.org.

wnc calendar

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

• Pickleball, a cross between tennis, badminton and ping-pong, will be offered from 9 a.m.-noon on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Old Hazelwood Gym in Waynesville. $3 per visit, or $20 for a 10-visit card.

452.6789 or iansmith@haywoodcountync.gov.

• Yoga 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. on Mondays at the Cullowhee Recreation Park.

Organized by Jackson County Parks & Recreation.

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

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

• Cardio Lunch class will meet from noon-1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center. For ages 16 and above. Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members.

456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

January 9-15, 2019

• Flexible Fitness class will meet from 4:30-5:15 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center. For ages 16 and above. Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Pump It Up class will meet from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center. For ages 16 and above. Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

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

POLITICAL • A member-exclusive Elected Officials Reception will be held by the Haywood Chamber of Commerce from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17, at the Wells Events & Reception Center in Waynesville. Cost: $20; Hors D’Oeuvres provided; cash bar available.

Smoky Mountain News

• 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

• 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.

• 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.

• Professor Whizzpop will be doing his magic show at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 at the Made Batter Food & Film in beautiful downtown Sylva. $1. 586.3555.

• 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.

• Play with cardboard event will be held at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 12 at the Jackson County Family Resource Center in Webster. Cardboard City is a free play event for kids and caregivers of all ages, where cardboard and tape is provided, and attendees are free to build or imagine anything! For more information, visit https://playsanctuary.wordpress.com/2018/12/19/3rdannual-cardboard-city/.

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

• 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.

• Registration is underway for Lake Junaluska’s Winter Youth Retreats, which are held from through February in Haywood County for middle school and high school youth groups. Two-night events start at $186 per person; three-night events start at $249 per person. To register or view schedule, including speakers, band and entertainers: www.lakejunaluska.com/winteryouth. Register: 800.222.4930.

ONGOING KIDS ACTIVITIES AND CLUBS • 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.

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

• A program called “Imagine,” an art program for children 8-12 meets at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays at the

Quality Trailers, Quality Prices

• 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 6-7:30 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.

• Story time and kids can make their own piece of art from 10 a.m.-noon every Saturday during the Family Art event sponsored by the Jackson County Arts Council at the Jackson County Farmers Market located at the Community Table, downtown Sylva. On the first Saturday of each month, there is a scavenger hunt with prizes. 399.0290 or www.jacksoncountyfarmermarket.org.

• 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.

• 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 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 meets at 4 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Legos and Duplos provided for ages three and up.

488.3030.

• 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.

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

KIDS FILMS • Macon County Public Library will show the children’s movie “Aladdin at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28, in Franklin.

Puzzles can be found on page 46 These are only the answers.

pricing starting at $499

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KIDS & FAMILIES • The Haywood County Arts Council will hold a JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) for fourth through sixth graders from 3:30-5 p.m. on Tuesdays from January through May at Shining Rock Classical Academy. Cost: $85. 452.0593 or bmk.morgan@yahoo.com.

Jackson County Public Library. Program contains art, writing, and drama. 586.2016.

Trailer Center

financing available, ask for details

HaywoodBuilders.com 828-456-6051 | 100 Charles St. | Waynesville

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

KIDS STORY TIMES HAYWOOD • Mother Goose Time, a story time for babies and toddlers (5 months to 2 years) and their parents/caregivers, is held at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays at the Waynesville Library. 452.5169 • Family Story Time, 11 a.m. Wednesdays at the Waynesville Public Library. Stories, songs, crafts.

452.5169.

• Movers and Shakers story time is at 11 a.m. every Thursday at the Waynesville Library. For all ages.

Movement, books, songs and more. 452.5169.

• Family story time for ages zero to six years old is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. each Tuesday at the Canton Library. 648.2924.

JACKSON • Baby Storytime is at 11 a.m. on Thursdays at the Jackson County Public Library. Songs, fingerplays and stories for infants through toddlers. 586.2016 • Kid’s story time Saturdays, 11 a.m., all ages at City Lights in Sylva 586.9449.

• Kids story time, Fridays 11 a.m., Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. at Jackson County Public Library. Story time includes books, puppets, finger plays, songs and crafts. 586.2016.

• Rock and Read storytime, 11 a.m. on Tuesdays at the Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016

SWAIN

MACON • Toddlers Rock, Mondays, 10 a.m., Macon Public Library. Music, movement and instruments (Designed for children 0-24 months, but all ages are welcome).

• Family Story Time is held at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

524.3600.

• Family Story Time for ages 0 to 7 years is held at 10 a.m. on Thursdays at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

A&E FOOD & DRINK • Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a “Winter Beer Tap Takeover” all day Friday, Jan. 11. For more information, click on www.blueridgebeerhub.com.

• “Pints for a Purpose” will be held from 5 to 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. The event will benefit the Society of American Foresters. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host a Secret Wine Bar Night from 5- 9 p.m on Jan. 11 and Jan. 18.

Gourmet food, and a great wine & beer menu.

452.0120 or www.waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Jan. 12 and 19 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. www.papouswineshop.com or 631.3075.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Jan. 12 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.waynesvillewine.com or 452.0120.

• “Brown Bag at the Depot” – an opportunity to gather with neighbors – is at noon every Friday at Sylva’s newest park at the corner of Spring and Mill Street along Railroad Ave. For info, contact Paige Dowling at townmanager@townofsylva.org.

• Graceann’s Amazing Breakfast is 8-10 a.m. every Tuesday in the Sapphire Room at the Sapphire Valley Community Center. $8.50 for adults; $5 for children.

Includes coffee and orange juice. 743.7663.

• Free cooking demonstrations will be held from 5-7 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.

• A game day will occur from 2-9 p.m. every third Saturday of the month at Papou’s Wine Shop & Bar in Sylva. Bring dice, cards or board games.

586.6300.

• A wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

Free with dinner ($15 minimum). 452.6000.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night on Jan. 2, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo on Jan. 10. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host Chris West (singer-songwriter) Jan. 18. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Clark & Cole Jan. 12. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host Tim McWilliams Jan. 11 and PMA (reggae/rock) w/Center of Motion Jan. 12. All events are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• The Highlands Performing Arts Center will present the MET Opera’s production of “Adriana Lecouvreur” live via satellite at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, in Highlands. Tickets: highlandspac.org, 526.9047 or at the door, 507 Chestnut Street.

• The Founders Brewing “Beer Dinner” will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 14, at Mad Anthony’s Taproom & Restaurant in Waynesville. Founders craft beer selections will be paired with four chef-created courses prepared by Chef Matt Kuver. All attendees will receive a 20-ounce Founders “Canadian Breakfast Stout” mug and gift pack. Tickets are $75, which includes tax and gratuity. Only 50 tickets available.

Tickets are available for purchase at Mad Anthony’s.

246.9249.

Smoky Mountain News

• Paws 4 Reading, a family story time, will be held from 3:30-5:30 p.m. every Tuesday at Hudson Library in Highlands. Children (grades K-6) practice early reading skills by reading to a canine companion. Info: www.fontanalib.org, www.readingpaws.org or 526.3031.

• Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host five for $5 Wine Tasting from 5 to 9 p.m. on Jan. 10 and Jan. 17.

Come taste five magnificent wines and dine on Chef Stacy’s gourmet cuisine. 452.0120 or www.waynesvillewine.com.

January 9-15, 2019

• Preschool Story time, Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m., Marianna Black Library. After a book or two is read, the children participate in games, songs, finger plays, puppet play and make a craft to take home.

488.3030.

• The “Winter Arts Smokies Style & Chili Cook Off” will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Haywood County Arts Council in downtown Waynesville. www.haywoodarts.org.

wnc calendar

• The Highlands Biological Foundation will offer a series of nature-themed films and documentaries shown at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of March in Highlands. For info on each show, call 526.2221.

• The Highlands Cashiers Players will hold double auditions for their next two productions at 3 p.m. on

41

wnc calendar

Sunday, Jan. 13, at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 14, at Highlands Performing Arts Center in Highlands.

Productions are a dinner theater with performances scheduled for March 21-23 and 28-30; and the fulllength play “Calendar Girls” by Tim Firth, set for May 23-26 and May 31-June 2. Scripts for Calendar Girls may be read in the Hudson Library in Highlands and Cashiers Library but may not be checked out. Scripts for the dinner theater plays won’t be available to read prior to auditions. Highlandscashiersplayers.org.

• Voices in the Laurel Youth Choirs will host auditions from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, at First Baptist Church of Waynesville. Rehearsal and audition on Monday, Jan. 14. For first through 12th grades. www.voicesinthelaurel.org or 564.3310.

Cruso Community Center and Friendship Club in Cruso. www.facebook.com/crusocircleplayjam.

• “Paint-N-Pour” will be held from 7 to 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Balsam Falls Brewing in Sylva.

Cost is $20 per person. All materials provided. RSVP at Balsam Falls Brewing’s Facebook page. For more information, click on www.balsamfallsbrewing.com.

• Men Macon Music, canella singing, meets at 5:30 p.m. every Monday in the Chapel of First Presbyterian Church, 26 Church St., Franklin. Visitors welcome.

524.9692.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host an open mic night at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday, A. Lee Edwards & Angela Faye Martin (Americana) Jan. 14 and Rats Sabbath (Black Sabbath tribute) 7 p.m. Jan. 15. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• A “Beginner Step-By-Step” painting class will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursdays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Cost is $25 with all supplies provided.

For more information on paint dates and/or to RSVP, contact Robin Arramae at 400.9560 or paintnitewaynesville@gmail.com.

• Elysium Park Band will perform “alternative ‘eclectic’” tunes from 7-9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18, at Frog Level Brewery in Waynesville. www.basementjukebox.com.

• Tickets are on sale now for National Theater’s production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Room,” which will be screened as part of the Bardo Arts Center’s Sunday Cinema Series at 3 p.m. on Jan. 20 in Cullowhee. $15 for adults; $10 for WCU faculty/staff and seniors and $5 for students. Arts.wcu.cinema or 828.227.ARTS. • Tickets are on sale now for National Theater’s production of “Hamlet” which will be screened as part of the Bardo Arts Center’s Sunday Cinema Series at 3 p.m. on Feb. 10 in Cullowhee. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch. $15 for adults; $10 for WCU faculty/staff and seniors and $5 for students.

Arts.wcu.cinema or 828.227.ARTS.

Smoky Mountain News

January 9-15, 2019

• Pub 319 (Waynesville) will host an open mic night from 8-11 p.m. every Wednesday. Free and open to the public. www.pub319socialhouse.com.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • An art show featuring oils and mixed media by Milly Honeycutt is on display through Jan. 31 in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin.

524.3600.

• The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) in Waynesville will be kicking off the new year with a variety packed show filled with the original art of 28 local artists.

The “2019 Juried Artist Exhibit” will open Jan. 11 and run through Feb. 23. Each of the exhibiting artists went through an extensive jury process and are delighted to have their work in the gallery. The HCAC believes that original art by local artisans can be both affordable and collectable. www.haywoodarts.org.

• 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.

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center is pleased to present the School of Art and Design Faculty Biennial Exhibition 2019, on display from Jan. 15 through May 3. Reception is on Jan. 17. All WCU Fine Art Museum exhibitions and receptions are free and open to the public. For further information, visit arts.wcu.edu/biennial or 227.3591.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and live music on Friday evenings. 482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center will have a yearlong exhibition on “Defining America” through May 3 in Cullowhee. Info: 227.ARTS or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host an open mic night every Thursday. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• “mid90s”, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

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

283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• “Mission: Impossible Fallout”, will be shown at 7 p.m. on Jan. 12 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva.

Free. 586.3555.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host live music on Fridays and Saturdays. All shows are free and begin at 7:15 p.m. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• Free movies are shown every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. See website for listings and times at madbatterfoodandfilm.com.

• Boojum Brewing Company (Waynesville) will host a bluegrass open mic every Wednesday and an all-genres open mic every Thursday. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.boojumbrewing.com.

• Harmon’s Den Bistro at HART (Waynesville) will host karaoke and an open mic at 8 p.m. on Saturdays. All are welcome. www.harttheatre.org.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • The “Artist’s Breakfast” will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 12, at Balsam Ridge Gallery in Waynesville. A gathering of artists and art lovers over coffee. Held the second Saturday of each month. Free and open to the public. 234.1616.

• The Western Carolina Community Chorus will begin rehearsals at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 13, in Room 357 of the Coulter Building on the WCU campus in Cullowhee. For ages high school and up. Info: 42 506.5951 or holquistbstn@aol.com.

FILM & SCREEN

• Karaoke is held at 7 p.m. every other Friday at the American Legion Post 47 in Waynesville. Open to all members and their guests. 456.8691.

• Mountain Dulcimer Players Club meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of each month at the Bryson City United Methodist Church. Knowledge of music not required, tablature method used.

488.6697.

• Pick and Play Dulcimer Group of Sylva meets at 1:30 p.m. on the first, third and fifth Saturday of every month in the fellowship hall of St. John’s Episcopal Church. 293.0074.

• The Franklin Early Music Group meets every Monday at 9 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. 369.5192.

• The Nikwasi Dulcimer Players meet every Thursday afternoon from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Franklin. All are welcome.

524.1040 or 524.2294.

ARTS GROUP MEETINGS • Blue Ridge Mountain Quilt Guild, 6 to 9 p.m. fourth Thursday, January through October, and third Thursday, November and December in Canton. 316.1517 or on Facebook at Blue Ridge Mtn. Quilt Guild.

• Smoky Mountain Knitting Guild meets every Wednesday from 1-3 p.m. Blue Ridge Books, Waynesville. 246.0789.

• Nifty Needles group, which meets at First United Methodist Church in Sylva, is seeking new members to help knit and crochet warm, useful items for those in need. Supplies (yarn and needles) and lessons provided.

• Old-time music jam from 1-3 p.m. the first and third Saturday of the month at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on U.S. 441 outside Cherokee. November through April is just the third Saturday. 497.1904.

• A community music jam will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of each month at the Marianna Black Library in Downtown Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer – anything unplugged – is invited to join.

Singers and listeners are also welcome.

• Cruso Circle Play & Jam, 7 p.m. every Tuesday,

• NASA Family Science Night is from 5-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

• The Asheville Winter Bike League offers rides weekly at 10 a.m. on Saturdays through Jan. 26. Structures, long winter road training rides. Bit.ly/2qS3YP8.

• A weekly fly-tying class is held from 6-8 p.m. every Wednesday at Outdoor 76 in Franklin. 349.7676.

• Registration is underway for a winter-tree identification workshop that will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, in Clayton, Ga. Cost: $55. .

• Registration is underway for an educational event about lichens that will be held on Saturday, Feb. 2, and offered through Alarka Institute in Cowee. Cost: $65 (includes lunch). www.alarkaexpeditions.com.

• Registration is underway for the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s annual Business of Farming Conference, which is from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the AB Tech Conference Center in Asheville.

Cost: $75 before Feb. 1; $95 after. Register: https://asapconnections.org or 236.1282.

• Registration is underway for a winter-plant identification workshop that will be held on Saturday, Feb. 29, at Macon County’s Serpentine Barrens. Cost: $65 (includes lunch). www.alarkaexpeditions.com.

FARM AND GARDEN

• The Tuesday Quilters meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church on N.C. 107. Bring your machine and whatever quilt you are working on.

• The Jackson County Farmers’ Market and Cullowhee Community Garden will hold a Group Seed Order Day from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Jan. 12 at the Community Table in Sylva. Catalogs available at the ordering meeting. Pickup day will be Feb. 9.

• The WNC Fiber Folk Group meets weekly from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursdays in the Star Atrium of the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at WCU. 227.2553 or ddrury@wcu.edu.

• Haywood County Extension is accepting applications for the 2019 Master Gardener class with training sessions scheduled for Tuesdays mornings from January through April. 456.3575 or mgarticles@charter.net.

• Thursday Painters meet at the Uptown Gallery in Franklin every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring your project and a bag lunch and join us for a day of creativity and fun. All artists are welcome. 349.4607.

• 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).

• Rug Hooking Group, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Jackson County Public Library. Beginners welcome.

631.2561.

MUSIC JAMS AND GROUPS • Golden Aires singing group practices at 9:15 a.m. every fourth Wednesday of the month at Jackson County Department on Aging/Senior Center in Sylva.

Secular and religious music. Performances given at area nursing homes. Musical instruments also welcome. 586.5494.

• Proposed changes to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission regulations are up for public comment through Feb. 1 with a public hearing to be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Regulations would cover hunting, fishing and land management issues. Full list available at www.ncwildlife.org/Proposed-Regulations.

Submit comments: https://tinyurl.com/ychgt4hs, regulations@ncwildlife.org or mail to: Rule-Making Coordinator, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, 1701 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1700.

Outdoors • A recreational racing program for skiers and snowboarders of all abilities will run from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on non-holiday Saturdays through the end of the season. Cost: $10 for two runs or $20 for unlimited pass.

Lift ticket or season pass required. Register: www.nastar.com.

• Cataloochee Ski Area will hold night racing from 78:30 p.m. on Thursdays from Jan. 10-Feb. 14 in Maggie Valley. Open to ages 18-up. $15 to race; $35 for race and 6-10 p.m. lift ticket. www.cataloochee.com.

• A work day on the Burnt Mountain Trail will be held at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, in the DuPont State Recreational Forest. RSVP: llbmwb@gmail.com.

• The Macon County Poultry Club of Franklin meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Cooperative Extension Office on Thomas Heights Rd, Open to the public. 369.3916.

HIKING CLUBS • The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate-tostrenuous, seven-mile hike with an elevation change of 1,000 feet on Saturday, Jan. 12, on Trimont Loop.

Reservations and info: 524.5298.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate, seven-mile hike with an elevation change of 500 feet on Sunday, Jan. 13, on Standing Indian Loop. Info and reservations: 421.4178.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate-tostrenuous, six-mile hike with an elevation change of 1,300 feet on Saturday, Jan. 19, to Big Sam Knob. Info and reservations: 456.8895.

• Sign-ups are underway for an evening of insight into hiking the Appalachian Trail, which will be offered from 6:30-8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25, at REI in Asheville. Led by Gary Sizer, who hiked the 2,000-plusmile trail in 2014. www.rei.com/event-cart.

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REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18 This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

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PUBLIC NOTICES/ LEGAL ADS

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smokymountainnews.com

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE'S NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE OF REALTY PROPERTY THIS ACTION BROUGHT PURSUANT TO THE POWER AND AUTHORITY Contained within that certain Deed of Trust executed and delivered by Spencer J. Tilley dated March 9, 2007 and recorded on March 19, 2007 in Book 698 at Page 1901 in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Haywood County, North Carolina. As a result of a default in the obligations contained within the Promissory Note and Deed of Trust and the failure to carry out and perform the stipulations and agreements contained therein, the holder of the indebtedness secured by said Deed of Trust made demand to have the default cured, which was not met.

Therefore, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will place for sale that parcel of land, including improvements thereon, situated, lying and being in the City of Clyde, County of Haywood, State of North Carolina, and being more particularly described in the heretofore referenced Deed of Trust.

Said sale will be a public auction, to the highest bidder for cash, at the usual place of sale at the Haywood County Courthouse, Waynesville, North Carolina, on January 15, 2019 at 10:00 AM. Address of property: 29 Chantilly Court, Clyde, NC 28721 Tax Parcel ID: 8647-84-1275 Present Record Owners: Spencer J. Tilley The terms of the sale are that the real property herein before described will be sold for cash to the highest bidder. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. The successful bidder will be required to pay revenue stamps on the Trustee's Deed, any Land Transfer Tax, and costs for recording the Trustee's Deed.

The real property hereinabove described is being offered for sale "AS IS, WHERE IS" and will be sold subject to all superior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, and other encumbrances. Other conditions will be announced at the sale. The sale will be held open for ten (10) days for upset bids, as by law required. The sale will not confirm until there have been ten (10) consecutive days with no upset bids having been filed.

If for any reason the Trustee is unable to convey title to this property, or if the sale is set aside, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the bid deposit. Furthermore, if the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the Trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit, may declare the sale to be void and return the bid deposit. In either event, the purchaser will have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Mortgagee's attorney, or the Trustee.

Additional Notice Required for Residential Real Property with Less Than Fifteen (15) Rental Units: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

Albertelli Law Partners North Carolina, P.A., Substitute Trustee By: David W. Neill Albertelli Law Partners North Carolina, P.A. David W. Neill, Esq. NC State Bar No. 23396 205 Regency Executive Park Drive, Suite 100 Charlotte, NC 28217 Tel: 704-970-0391 A-4679638 01/02/2019, 01/09/2019

Haywood Co. Real Estate Agents

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TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com 45

WNC MarketPlace January 9-15, 2019 www.smokymountainnews.com 46

SUPER

CROSSWORD

THIS IS REALLY BIG ACROSS 1 He drew “Li’l Abner” 7 Stands up to 13 Disdainful lip-curler 20 Roving vacuum cleaner 21 Delphi diviner 22 Lilting song syllables 23 Big mollusk of Antarctic seas 25 Birds such as emus 26 Box gently 27 Golf stroke 28 Ending for enzymes 30 Cue or clue 31 From quite a distance 32 Big tree of California 37 Per routine 41 Super-slow 42 Red-haired biblical twin 43 Big dissimilarity 46 Rarely 51 “Bam!” chef Lagasse 52 Choler 53 Nashville’s Grand Ole -55 Gutter place 56 Work over 57 Big fuss 58 Trump’s wife after Ivana 60 One laying down asphalt 61 Big project 66 “I’ve got it!”

69 Motor oil brand 70 Actress Meyers 71 W-2 org.

72 Boise-to-Las Vegas dir.

73 Big military counterstrike 80 Author Loos

81 Revolt 82 Cloud setting 83 Jazzy singer -- James 87 Coke, e.g.

88 Deviate 89 Boxing legend 90 Knocks off 92 -- Nevadas 94 Big job 98 “Nay” caller 100 Slaughter of baseball 101 Categorizes 102 Big pickup in an exhibition 107 Pot builder 108 See 86-Down 109 Yank’s home 110 Nativity scene trio 111 Gulf country 115 Facial looks 118 Big home loan 123 Hillary’s peak 124 Kindle 125 More greasy 126 Snuggles 127 Robbing jobs 128 Requisite DOWN 1 Pop-up paths 2 Lariat end 3 Coke, e.g.

4 Love, in Peru 5 “NewsHour” network 6 Two-choice grading system 7 Melancholy 8 Once, in the past 9 E-help sheet 10 Hosp. section 11 Drug mogul Lilly 12 Biggish car 13 PTSD part

14 Big D.C. lobby 15 Dig into 16 Former state secretary Root 17 Secant, e.g.

18 1985 Kate Nelligan drama 19 Worshiper of Jah, in brief 24 “Two and -- Men” 29 Church part 31 Q7 carmaker 32 “Friday the 13th” staple 33 Eisenhower, informally 34 Objectivist Rand 35 Unhurried 36 “-- Sera, Sera” 37 State firmly 38 Unaltered 39 Well-trodden 40 Thurmond of politics 41 Ross of politics 44 Classic canine name 45 Power strip attachment 47 Plumbing problem 48 Bette of film 49 Cakes bake in them 50 Form a union 54 Infrequently seen thing 57 Coulomb per second 58 Big wall painting 59 Deep blue dye 60 El --, Texas 62 Big continent 63 “Scream” network 64 Totally dislike 65 Prefix with oxide 66 Heap up 67 Capital northeast of Vientiane 68 Parenthetical remark

74 Symbol on many flags 75 Gives off again 76 River in Spain 77 Rizzoli’s TV partner 78 Similar (to) 79 “Nifty!”

84 Russian ruler of yore 85 PSAT part 86 With 108-Across, demands much (of) 88 Fan blade 89 Hectically 90 Skillet alloy 91 Apart from that 93 Squealer 95 Opposite of old, in Ulm 96 Pop’s bro 97 Dance that “takes two” 99 Believes (in) 102 Master 103 Antipasto bit 104 Snouts, e.g.

105 Opening 106 Kingly Indian 107 Willie of “Charles in Charge” 110 Over half 111 Stare at rudely 112 -- of honor 113 “A Death in the Family” writer James 114 Uncool type 116 Salon stuff 117 Suffix of dialects 119 Ending with script 120 Me, to Fifi 121 Greyhound fleet unit 122 Game draw

ANSWERS ON PAGE 40

PUBLIC NOTICES/ LEGAL ADS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

TO PROVIDE TEMPORARY SHELTER SERVICES AND CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES TO THE HOMELESS POPULATION GROUP IN JACKSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA Jackson County, North Carolina is soliciting Request for Proposals from qualified entities to provide services to the homeless population in Jackson County.

Responders to this RFP should have direct knowledge and expertise in dealing with the homeless population.

Responders should also be able to demonstrate their capacity to operate and manage budgets and complex operations.

Potential applicants must register with Jackson County Manager’s office to receive all RFP documents and to be eligible to submit a proposal.

Registration and questions may be addressed to: jcfitzgerald@jacksonnc.org or 828-631-2295. Submission of proposals will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 29, 2019.

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Mountain lion lore

I

frequently hear from people who have spotted a mountain lion in Western North Carolina. Or at least they think that’s what they saw. I’d guess that about 95 percent of these sightings are of something else. But the other 5 percent seem to be pretty reliable.

Several years ago in this column, I noted my opinion that any mountain lions living in this region today probably aren’t descendents of the ones that were originally here.

My supposition is that they are ones that have wandered into the eastern mountains from Florida or the western states; or, more likely, that they are ones trapped elsewhere (probably in the west) and deliberately released. Whatever the instance, I’m reasonably certain that we do have mountain lions in the Smokies region, although I’ve never seen one.

Panthers — also called mountain lions, panthers, and, in the Southern Appalachians, “painters” — can range anywhere between 70 and 105 inches long, including the tail, which averages about 32 inches in length. Their body weight ranges from 100 to 220 pounds. They were common enough well into the 19th century

BACK THEN throughout Western North Carolina.

According to Donald W. Linzey’s notes in Mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (UNC Press, 1995), the last mountain lion killed in the Great Smokies was in the early winter of 1920.

My primary interest in this column lies in taking a look back at the panther in Cherokee lore. In Cherokee Fold Zoology: The Animal World of a Native Columnist American People, 1700-1838 (Garland Publishing, 1990), Arlene Fradkin noted that the animal they knew as “tlvdaji” was given “the power to see and be active at night” after it displayed the “ability to remain awake the first seven nights of creation.”

Accordingly, it could easily “prey upon birds and mammals for sustenance.”

In one of their sacred formulas, the Cherokees sang a song for the cure of frostbite titled “This, Whenever Their Feet Are Frost Bitten, Is The Cure.” A translation in The Swimmer Manuscript: Cherokee Sacred Formulas and Medicinal Prescriptions

George Ellison

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in a March 2006 edition of The Smoky Mountain News.

(Government Printing Office, 1932) by James Mooney and Frans M. Olbrechts reads: Thou art living, indeed. (Four times.)

There thou art living, indeed.

Thou art living, indeed. (Three times.)

Thou wizard, red Mountain Lion, Thou art living, indeed.

The song was addressed to the panther because it supposedly had power over the ailment, its feet never being frostbitten. The “red” indicated power. The actual treatment consisted of the application of melted snow water to the patient’s frostbitten parts by the

medicine men.

Deer were the panther’s primary prey, and, in one of the Cherokee myths a hunter and a panther collaborated in killing a buck.

This story was collected in the late 1880’s in the Big Cove community of the Qualla Boundary (present-day Cherokee) by anthropologist James Mooney, who included it in his Myths of the Cherokee (Bureau of American Ethnology, 1900). Titled “The Underground Panthers,” it is, in my opinion, one of the most hauntingly beautiful of the ancient Cherokee stories.

(George Ellison is a naturalist and writer.

He can be reached at info@georgeellison.com.)

January 9-15, 2019 Smoky Mountain News 47

48

Smoky Mountain News January 9-15, 2019