Smoky Mountain News | February 14, 2024

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February 14-20, 2024 Vol. 25 Iss. 38

Trial term set in Cherokee County police shooting Page 5 Forest therapy offers opportunity for restoration Page 22

CONTENTS On the Cover: There’s been plenty of buzz over the nutritional benefits of honey in recent years, but as the superfood’s popularity has soared, the market for counterfeit products has boomed. Just a few miles over the North Carolina-Tennessee border, a civil suit illustrates how it can happen, as beekeepers around the Smoky Mountains voice their frustration with how fraudulent honey has undermined the market. (Page 6)

News Waynesville zoning member opposes subdivision of lot ..........................................4 Trial term set in Cherokee County police shooting lawsuit......................................5 Sylva passes panhandling ordinance ............................................................................8 Canton glimpses the future of fire, police, town hall buildings ............................10 Bacterial concentrations prompt new violations for Canton mill ........................10 Swain commission primary nears..................................................................................12 King named Jackson County manager........................................................................13

Opinion

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Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Jessica Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessica.m@smokymountainnews.com Jack Snyder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jack.s@smokymountainnews.com Stefanee Sherman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . stefanee@mtnsouthmedia.com Susanna Shetley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . amanda.b@smokymountainnews.com Sophia Burleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sophia.b@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Kyle Perrotti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kyle.p@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Hannah McLeod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hannah@smokymountainnews.com Cory Vaillancourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cory@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Jamie Cogdill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Thomas Crowe (writing)

CONTACT

Why humanity needs heroes and villains ..................................................................14

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A talk with Grammy winner, banjo phenom Kyle Tuttle ..........................................15 Blackberry Smoke returns to Harrah’s ........................................................................19

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

February 14-20, 2024

Forest therapy offers opportunity for restoration ......................................................22 Up Moses Creek: Coyote howl ....................................................................................28

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news

‘What ... shortage?’

Waynesville zoning member’s opposition to subdividing lot delays final vote

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR relatively straightforward request to subdivide a single lot and build an affordably priced long-term rental duplex on it was withdrawn by the applicants after opposition from a lone member of Waynesville’s Zoning Board of Adjustment.

“What is the affordable housing shortage?” asked Henry Kidder, vice chair of the ZBA, during a Feb. 6 hearing.

“Have you read the papers lately?” Chair George Escaravage shot back.

The exchange came in the context of a hearing on the request of two developers, Dennis Downey and Gene Sandlin, who are working with SECU*RE Inc., a subsidiary of Southeastern Credit Union that in 2020 bought the foreclosed 0.32-acre parcel on Fifth Street, just off Sulphur Springs Road.

The southeastern half of the parcel is currently occupied by a small single-family home built in 1935. The northwestern half used to host an accessory structure and a mobile home, both of which became dilapidated and were recently torn down and removed.

Developers want to split the lot in two and construct a duplex where the mobile home used to be.

A 2021 study by the Dogwood Health Trust estimated a 1,445-unit rental housing deficit in Haywood County at that time.

Unfortunately for the developers, the minimum lot size in the Sulphur Springs Neighborhood Residential zoning district is one sixth of an acre, which works out to a minimum size of 7,230 square feet. Splitting the parcel would create two lots, each approximately 305 square feet below the minimum lot size.

Sulphur Springs is one of Waynesville’s oldest neighborhoods; as such, there are already several legally nonconforming “grandfathered” parcels even smaller than the two that the developers sought to create — three on Fifth Street, and three more on Seventh Street.

Currently, the SS-NR zoning district has one of the highest allowable development densities in town, with up to 10 units per acre or 16 with a special use permit.

The Town of Waynesville’s 2035 Comprehensive Land Use Plan describes the character of the area as “ideal for high quality dense development” because that’s been the character of the area for nearly a century.

Kidder, who was first appointed to the ZBA on June 23, 2015, said he wasn’t familiar with the existence of a comprehensive plan. The plan was adopted by the Board of 4 Aldermen on Sept. 8, 2020 to replace a long-

standing predecessor plan.

“Could I ask about this — first I’ve heard of it — what is it, this 200-page ‘future plan 2035?’” he said.

North Carolina’s General Statutes stipulate that as a condition of being allowed to adopt and enforce zoning regulations, local governments must “maintain a comprehensive plan or land-use plan.”

vote from the four members that were present.

Before polling the board on their opinions, Escaravage offered his own.

“The fact that if they subdivided the lot, they’re making it 0.16 [acres] or within 300 square feet. I mean, it’s minuscule. Does that make a difference? I think it does,” he said. “I mean, I don’t personally have a problem with that.”

Board member George Hermann appeared supportive, but for a different reason.

Smoky Mountain News

February 14-20, 2024

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Haywood County property records still show the dilapidated trailer and accessory structure that have since been removed from a parcel at 55 Fifth St. in Waynesville. Haywood County photo “That’s not a law, that’s a plan, right?”

Kidder continued. “So we shouldn’t consider that. We should only consider the [town’s land development standards].”

The standard of review for a variance includes four main categories, the last of which explicitly states that in order to approve a variance, the ZBA must find the proposal “consistent with the spirit, purpose and intent” of the regulation.

The Comprehensive Plan, adopted after more than two years of heavy media coverage, public hearings and input from community members is the document that expresses the spirit, purpose and intent of the regulation.

Throughout the hearing, Kidder asked tough questions of town staff and the applicants, suggesting he might be disinclined to vote for the variance. At one point, he even suggested developers turn it into a park and give it to the town.

Per state law, variances require a fourfifths majority of voting members for approval, but since ZBA member Joshua Morgan was absent without explanation, the developers couldn’t afford to lose a single

“Understanding that there was a previous structure occupied on that same property, the subdivision of this [parcel] does not bother me at all,” Hermann said.

“In fact, it makes it more practical.”

Judi Donovan, an alternate to the board, concurred with Hermann and noted that as a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, she was familiar with the neighborhood through recent restoration work on the town’s nearby Sulphur Springs Park.

“Knowing that there had already been an existing home there that at some point somebody lived there, there’s two driveways, which clearly denote access. I think it offers an improvement to the area,” Donovan said. “And again, the affordable housing is the number one topic in Haywood County, in all aspects, whether it’s new apartments coming or something like this, that can be beneficial in the neighborhood.”

With a potential 3-1 vote looming — which wouldn’t have been sufficient to

grant the variance — Escaravage deferred to the applicants, asking them if they wanted to move forward with the vote.

Ron Sneed, the ZBA’s attorney, advised the applicants that if their variance request was voted down, they wouldn’t be able to apply again for some time. Sneed said he couldn’t remember the exact waiting period, but that it was maybe six months to a year.

“If you’re turned down tonight, can you come back and make this request again before this board? It’s doable,” Sneed said. “But there’s a fairly large time before you’re allowed to do that.”

However, if the applicants were to rescind their application, they could reapply immediately — and hopefully be heard before a full board, where they could afford to lose a single vote and still get their variance.

After a brief conference in the hallway, applicants Downey and Sandlin returned and informed Escaravage of their decision.

“We would like to rescind the application,” Downey announced.

After the meeting, Downey told The Smoky Mountain News that they made the decision due to the absence of the fifth board member.

“It wasn’t a full board, and although we had good vibes all the way through, we felt that it was best to have at least one more member present to make sure that our vote went through,” Downey said.

Downey and Sandlin were hired to split the parcel and develop it by Toby Hartzell, who is the senior vice president of SECU*RE for a region that spans from Burke County to Cherokee County. SECU*RE owns 1,800 homes in that region, all of them long-term rentals. Haywood County property records show SECU*RE owns 15 properties in Haywood County as of January.

Hartzell said on Feb. 10 that they plan to reapply for the variance in short order.

It could end up back on the ZBA agenda next month.

“Our mission is to serve the needs of our members and right now we know that adding additional long-term rentals, there’s a great need for that,” he said. “We can make this lot useful right now, as opposed to it not really serving a purpose.

Most of that market is fixated on Airbnbs and that’s affecting the housing market.”

Hartzell added that they could put a mobile home right back on the parcel where the previous one was — without going through the ZBA — but that such a structure wouldn’t appreciate in value over time the way a traditional home might and wouldn’t necessarily help with the affordable housing crisis.

Since some homebuyers have no need for two separate dwellings on one lot, splitting the parcel and putting new construction on it would also increase the chances that SECU*RE could one day sell the lot, perhaps to the renter.

“We want to turn renters into homeowners,” Hartzell said.

Jason Harley Kloepfer stands at the door with his hands up one second before officers fired. news

Photo from Kloepfer security video

Trial term set in police shooting lawsuit

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to take eight days to adjudicate and is scheduled for the first available session beginning on or after Aug. 4, 2025.

The shooting, which took place on Dec. 13, 2022, occurred after a neighbor called 911 claiming she was concerned that Kloepfer had hurt his wife, Alison Mahler, and threatened the whole neighborhood.

Citing a potential hostage situation, the Cherokee County Sheriff ’s Office requested assistance from the Cherokee Indian Police Department’s SWAT team, which arrived in the early morning hours. Despite the CCSO’s initial statement to the contrary, home security video shows Kloepfer coming to the door with his hands up, in compliance with police orders. However, as he stood there, three CIPD officers fired their weapons at him, severely injuring him and narrowly missing Mahler. In their responses to the complaint, the officers who fired claimed they did so because they believed the police robot Kloepfer held above his head in his right hand — a robot the police had sent inside to assess the scene — to be a gun.

The discovery process will involve a plethora of people and documents, including information that would typically remain confidential. Metcalf issued an order allowing investigative reports as well as personnel records of both CCSO and EBCI defendants to be produced as part of the discovery process — but in a manner that respects their confidentiality. Such material will be filed under seal, and absent a court order to the contrary, it may not be disclosed to members of the general public.

With the shooting now more than a year in the rearview, the civil process is well underway. However, as of yet the only criminal case stemming from the incident has been the charges that were initially filed against Kloepfer before District Attorney Ashley Welch dropped them following release of home security video showing the sequence of events. A State Bureau of Investigation probe has been completed, and the resulting report is on the desk of Special Prosecutor Lance Sigmon, who will determine whether any criminal charges are warranted against CCSO and EBCI personnel.

February 14-20, 2024

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER man who was severely injured in a 2022 police shooting at his home in Cherokee County won’t see a resolution to his civil suit until August 2025 at the earliest, according to a recent filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

The lawsuit, filed in June 2023, named 31 defendants representing the Cherokee County Sheriff ’s Office and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Cherokee Indian Police Department. A December ruling whittled that list of defendants down to 29 people or entities who are together facing more than 200 claims that could be worth millions of dollars.

On Feb. 8, U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf issued a scheduling order that lays out a timeline toward the lawsuit’s conclusion. Reports from expert witnesses are due on Aug. 30 for the plaintiffs and Oct. 25 for the defendants, with discovery to be complete by Feb. 4, 2025, and mediation by Feb. 21, 2025.

Should the case go to trial, it’s expected

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news

Dodging the honeypot

having knowledge it wasn’t. An exhibit entered into evidence as part of the first suit outlines results of tests conducted November 2018 and October 2019 that analyzed Strange Honey’s product. Those tests indicated that the honey came from Vietnam and contained a sugar syrup of some kind.

According to the latest suit, while Strange Honey marketed its product as “100% raw honey from Tennessee,” that was demonstrably false. It also claims that the honey is heated, which makes packaging easier but also breaks down some of the enzymes, rendering it no longer “raw.” It further alleges that Strange Honey purchases some of the honey it ultimately sells from Vietnam and adulterates it with corn syrup.

This label appears on products the North Carolina Beekeepers Association has certified. ncbeekeepers.com photo

February 14-20, 2024

Fred Crawford shows how bees build cells in a hive. Kyle Perrotti photo

Local beekeepers feel the sting of counterfeit honey

Smoky Mountain News

BY KYLE PERROTTI N EWS E DITOR t a time when natural foods and medicines are becoming more prevalent, the popularity of honey has soared to record levels.

As demand for honey increased by 73% in the last 10 years, the world now consumes an estimated 238,000 tons annually. The United States, where people consume 1.3 pounds per person, imports 70% of its honey. Those driving the demand are onto something — not only is honey a healthier replacement for sugar, but it is also rich in enzymes and antioxidants that boost immunity and allergy resistance.

However, this spike in demand has outstripped the supply, and many grocers and honey distributors have turned to the international market to satisfy Americans’ sweet tooth.

Local beekeepers said that in North Carolina, visitors and residents alike ask mostly for two kinds of honey — tupelo, which usually comes from the eastern part of the state, and sourwood, which is produced in the mountains. While that demand leads plenty of distributors to label their honey as one of those products, it’s nearly impossible to make that claim, beekeepers say, since most hives produce honey from a variety of sources.

But that’s a far more banal form of fraud than what has pervaded the international market. With the soaring demand, bad actors have seized an opportunity to make an easy buck and will often cut their products with sugar from the likes of corn and rice syrup.

Honey has been among the world’s most forged foods for years now, and the chief culprit behind much of the counterfeit supply is China. While entities in that country made a 6 killing for decades selling adulterated honey, in December

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2001, the U.S. Department of Commerce determined that Chinese honey was undercutting the market and subsequently imposed anti-dumping duties based first on the reported price and then on weight that have exceeded 200% of the product’s value.

Chinese sellers quickly found ways to circumvent the antidumping duties by mislabeling the product to skirt regulators. In June 2011, an undercover agent assumed the role of director of procurement at a honey distributor that by then was cooperating with a federal investigation. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice charged two companies and five individuals for avoiding antidumping duties amounting to over $180 million. Around that time, China also began shipping its honey to other countries, including Vietnam, India and Malaysia, which then send it to the United States, thus avoiding the anti-dumping duties.

THE STRANGE CASE Informal accusations and gossip point to several regional beekeepers and distributors that may sell counterfeit honey with varying degrees of knowledge and culpability. However, because current laws make it tough to actually seek damages and even harder to seek criminal fraud charges, not a lot has been done. However, 100 consumers recently filed a class action lawsuit against Strange Honey out of Del Rio, Tennessee, just across the border from Western North Carolina. Also named were several outlets that sold the honey in question. Their products can be seen on shelves in grocery stores, farmers markets and produce stands across the region.

An initial suit was filed in December 2019 but was voluntarily dismissed just a few months later; a new suit was filed in June 2020 that levied the same accusations. Strange Honey allegedly said its honey was locally produced despite

The suit against the associated grocers was ultimately dismissed due to the plaintiffs’ failure to “identify a single, discrete instance of intentional misrepresentation.” Basically, because they couldn’t specify a specific date that misrepresentation occurred, the judge agreed that the complaint failed to satisfy the requirements for the case to continue.

Likewise, the suit against Strange Honey was dismissed for a similar reason. Critics of the ruling who spoke with The Smoky Mountain News said they don’t necessarily hold the judge accountable for the ruling despite their belief that Strange Honey has been and continues to be adulterated, but rather they espoused the belief that the laws weren’t specific or strict enough to allow such a suit to succeed.

In an interview with SMN, owner Gary Strange denied the allegations of the suit and pointed to the dismissal as evidence of no wrongdoing.

“We don’t use foreign honey or Chinese honey or Vietnamese honey,” he said. “People see there’s a suit and they automatically assume you’re guilty. We get tested by the state and federal government. They come pull a sample and tell us, ‘If something’s wrong, you’ll hear from us.’ We never hear from them.”

However, this denial comes despite the fact that the multiple test results entered into evidence and an analysis commissioned by VICE for a 2020 article indicated otherwise.

Strange said the problem with those tests is that people can adulterate the samples before submitting them to ensure the results convey whatever may satisfy their agendas.

“I can go to the store get a jar and put whatever I want in it and then send it off and say check,” he said.

Strange said that while he has about 1,200 hives on his Del Rio, Tennessee property, he also buys honey from independent beekeepers, both regionally and from down in Florida. He said that when he buys a product from another beekeeper he doesn’t know, he gets it tested, although he thinks those test results can sometimes be flawed. Strange claimed that part of the problem is that smaller beekeepers can create animosity toward larger operations like his within the beekeeping community.

“Most beekeepers are good people, but you’ve got some that got two or three or even 10 or 15 hives and think they know everything in the world,” he said. “They think they have the best honey in the world, so when they hear something, they believe it. You’ve got a lot of jealousy that comes into play.”

BEEKEEPING 101

David Zachary (left) and Allen Blanton are two of Haywood County’s many enthusiastic beekeepers. Kyle Perrotti photo own food? Good. But then you have to learn about the plants, and you have to get out there and weed every day. You also have to be proactive.”

STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP

Fred Crawford offers a glimpse inside a hive.

Kyle Perrotti photo

Smoky Mountain News

While the federal government hasn’t officially stated that counterfeit honey creates any immediate public health concerns, and the folks interviewed for this story didn’t think there was a significant environmental impact, the fact that the product can be adulterated so cheaply undermines the worldwide market, which affects beekeepers big and small, including the ones around Western North Carolina.

“Adulterated or fake honey depresses the price for real honey, making honey production unprofitable,” Kelvin Adee, president of the American Honey Producers Association, said in a 2020 Business Insider story. “Beekeepers have to turn to other sources of income such as packing and retailing honey themselves, raising queens/hives for sale or pollination services.

Honey production by itself is not a sustainable option.”

And counterfeit honey affects more than just beekeepers. Bob Binnie runs Blue Ridge Honey, one of the region’s largest distributors located in Clayton, Georgia, that sells products from several Western North Carolina beekeepers. Binnie, who has 1,400 hives of his own, is known in the industry as a paragon of integrity and reliability and also has a YouTube channel aimed at improving the knowledge of beekeepers at all levels. Binnie, who’s passionate about getting adulterated honey out of the market, said he doesn’t buy from anyone he doesn’t “know and trust.”

“I would never buy honey from outside the country,” he said.

Binnie lamented the current laws in place that allow people to continue to profit off fraudulent products. He said there should be better avenues for civil recourse, as well as criminal fraud prosecution.

“What they get away with is criminal,” he said. “These laws don’t properly define these things, and now we have to compete with this cheap honey.”

February 14-20, 2024

Crawford said membership in the beekeeping association he now heads up has been vital to his continued growth in the science.

“There’s nothing better than having someone who knows this area and has hives, and just following them around and seeing how they go into their hives,” he said.

Among Haywood County’s many avid beekeepers are Allen Blanton and David Zachary.

Blanton became intrigued with the unique world by watching his grandfather, but it wasn’t until more recently in 2014 that he dove in and earned a master beekeeper certification.

Zachary got into beekeeping a couple of years later in August 2016 when he visited his brother up in Michigan and saw his apiary.

“I saw the enthusiasm and said, ‘I need to be doing this,’” Zachary recalled. “So, he looked it up and said, ‘You have a club within 2 miles of your house.’ I went to the October 2016 meeting when Brother Allen was president. That’s how the Lord works.”

Now, Zachary teaches a beekeeping course at Haywood Community College.

Along with tending to their hives, Blanton and Zachary, an Army veteran, also tend to flocks in their roles as pastors. Zachary said the two passions go together like peanut butter and honey.

“The inventor of the Langstroth beehive, Lorena A look at a shelf at Blue Ridge Honey in Clayton, Georgia. Blue Lorenzo Langstroth, was a Ridge Honey photo Methodist minister back in the 1850s,” he said. “She Bees require year-round monitoring. invented the box that’s still primarily used by Throughout the seasons, they are at the mercy beekeepers in America.” of mother nature. For example, heavy spring Like Crawford, Zachary said he enjoys the rains can wash away valuable pollen, leaving attention to detail required to run an apiary bees scrambling. But adapting and overcoming and stands firm in his opinion that it’s far more is part of the draw for beekeepers like of a science than an art or a hobby, but as a Crawford. pastor, he also employs the power of prayer.

“That’s one of the things I really enjoy “In life, if the Lord don’t have it in the about beekeeping,” Crawford said, “it forces plans, it’s not going to work out, and beekeepyou to pay attention to the natural world and ing is kind of similar,” he said. “It’s like keeping what’s going on.” a garden. You want to garden and raise your

news

Fred Crawford is the president of the Smoky Mountain Beekeepers Association, which covers Swain County but also has some members who live in Jackson and Graham. The retired land surveyor’s wife is from Western North Carolina but met her future husband in Texas. Like so many others, once Crawford came to Western North Carolina, he was hooked, and that’s where the couple decided to retire. On several acres outside Whittier near the Swain-Jackson line, he and his wife enjoy hobbies that help cultivate a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Surrounding a wide-open lea is a chicken coop, a honey house and a workshop, among other small outbuildings, in addition to a large garden. Near the wood line on one end of the property are eight hives.

“After tending to the garden, we heard about the county extension office and saw they offered classes, so I went to class for mushrooms, then for blueberry bushes,” Crawford said. “And they offered a beekeeping class. I thought, what the heck, might as well check it out. So now I’m a beekeeper.”

Crawford sells his honey to Bryson City Bakery.

“I’m just now getting started with that aspect,” he said.

He recalled what it was like embark on his beekeeping journey. The setup for a hive costs about $300, and that’s before buying a “package” of bees, 3 pounds, tens of thousands of bees — including a queen — needed to start a colony. He harvested no honey during the first year as the bees needed all the energy they could get while building their new home.

Crawford barely touches his hives during the winter since the bees need whatever honey they may have on hand to make it through the winter. He said beekeepers can lose entire colonies over the winter. But come summer, he “robs” the hives of their honey. Now that things are moving, the yields have improved, and Crawford said he got about 140 pounds of honey from six hives last year.

However, the North Carolina Beekeepers Association has a Certified Honey Producer Program and even maintains a database of apiaries and distributors that make the grade.

“That helps us to market our honey, because you know that we are agreeing to a standard,” Blanton said. “If that label’s on there, it’s guaranteed that it is what they say it is.”

Crawford said he tries to determine what types of honey go into his jars by analyzing properties such as taste, color and thickness, as well as the time of year they’re harvested.

However, he admitted that there is no way to know for sure. Blanton said consumers should be wary whenever they see any honey marketed as 100% sourwood — or 100% anything — considering it’s impossible to know where every bee in a hive is collecting pollen and nectar.

“I never market my honey as 100% any particular flora,” he said. “I just say ‘mountain honey.’”

The methods of testing honey include pollen analysis to determine the origin of the honey as well as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, which can identify what sugars may be present based on the number of carbon isotopes. Newer analyses can determine if the bees gathering the honey have been given antibiotics or may have been exposed to pesticides. The nearest testing lab is at a U.S. Department of Agriculture facility in Gastonia that is funded by user fees, meaning beekeepers and distributors have to come out of pocket to prove or verify that their products are the real deal.

All the beekeepers interviewed for this story recommended that aspiring beekeepers join a local club to improve their knowledge and skills while also testing their products frequently. Zachary and Binnie added that if consumers want to do what they can to make sure they’re buying and consuming real honey, they should come to know local beekeepers and buy directly from them. Basically, everyone should know exactly where their product is coming from.

“I invite my customers out all the time,” Zachary said. “I try to educate people who buy from me, so they know they’re getting real honey, and once you start doing that, you can taste the difference.”

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Sylva passes panhandling ordinance

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER he Town of Sylva passed an ordinance addressing panhandling last week by a narrow margin after extensive and contentious discussion on the topic.

“I can’t vote for an ordinance that is based on hatred and disgust for people who are trying to make a living and live in this town,” said Natalie Newman, one of two council members opposed to the ordinance.

The board held a public hearing on the topic during the Feb. 8 board meeting during which two members of the public voiced their opinion, one in favor of the ordinance and another against.

spoke out in opposition to the measure.

After his election to the board in November, Mayor Johnny Phillips brought the topic of panhandling back before the board this January and directed staff to create a draft ordinance for review.

The ordinance passed by a split vote with Mary Gelbaugh joining new council members Mark Jones and Blitz Estridge to vote in favor, and council members Brad Waldrop and Natalie Newman voting against. While the mayor may add items to the agenda and participate in discussion on a topic, he does not have a vote on regular agenda items.

Waldrop primarily voiced concern over the ways that the ordinance could be inadvertently infringing on a person’s right to free “I can’t vote for an ordinance that is speech. based on hatred and disgust for “I don’t believe the ordinance, as written, is people who are trying to make a constitutional,” said Waldrop. “You cannot be living and live in this town.” restricting someone’s — Natalie Newman speech based on what they’re saying. And when I This was the second time in just over a read this ordinance, that’s pretty much preyear that the board had considered such an cisely what it’s doing, saying you can’t say ordinance. In November 2022 it considered these things in these locations.” a proposal to address panhandling, but ultiWaldrop argued that because the ordimately decided against it after a majority of nance is only restricting someone from saythe board and several members of the public ing specific things, like asking for money, in

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February 14-20, 2024

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certain places, this constitutes regulating the content of someone’s speech. Someone could stand within 20 feet of an operating business, or an ATM, and say anything they want, except ask for money, Waldrop noted.

“I believe that is a content-based restriction of someone’s speech as that applies to the first amendment,” said Waldrop. “So, I do not believe that the ordinance as written is constitutional.”

Newman and Waldrop both questioned whether this ordinance actually addresses the issues their fellow board members raised. Newman pointed out that with the ordinance in place, people would still be allowed to panhandle.

area.

“Until someone’s done something to pose a safety risk, I don’t believe that there should be an ordinance addressing their behavior,” said Waldrop. “Because someone panhandles, to me it doesn’t represent a safety risk. I understand that other things happen and sometimes accompany that behavior, but at face value, standing saying ‘I need money’ is not criminal, should not be criminal.”

Gelbaugh asked Hatton whether the ordinance would be another tool for officers or a pain. Hatton told the board that the ordinance will not apply to a lot of situations in the town.

The Town of Sylva now has a solicitation ordinance. A Shot Above photo

“I am really disgusted at the way we have discussed unhoused people in this community, and I can’t vote for [the ordinance]. I can’t vote for it, and I will not vote for it,” said Newman. “If we had approached this in a different way and it had been about the behaviors, and about solicitation and not just ‘we don’t want to see poor people,’ then you’d have me on board. That’s not what we’re talking about here. And we can pretend like we’re talking about something different, but we’re not.”

“If there is specific behavior that we want to curtail, then we should consider ordinances that address that specific behavior. Whereas, saying that someone can’t basically say, ‘I need money’ in certain locations, I believe that is a contentbased restriction of speech,” Waldrop said.

“Just saying … that you need money, is not a public safety risk, in my opinion.”

Phillips argued that while the ordinance may not address all panhandling, it does deal specifically with the issue of people asking for money within close range of an ATM. With the new law, if Chief of Police Chris Hatton or his officers respond to a call of someone asking for money within 20 feet of an ATM, they can tell that person that this ordinance exists, and it is illegal for them to ask for money in that

“For us, it will be used as a deterrent,” said Hatton. “We say, there’s a rule here, you can’t do this. You can do this, but you can’t do that.”

Mark Jones again brought up what he sees as safety concerns with panhandlers and the road construction that is planned for N.C. 107. He has previously expressed the view that panhandlers on N.C. 107 pose a safety risk to themselves and others.

The issue of women being scared to walk on Main Street for morning exercise was brought up again, something Phillips pointed out in previous discussions. However, board members agreed that this ordinance would not solve or even address that issue.

Gelbaugh asked Jones to amend his motion for an opportunity to have further discussion on the issue. However, Jones and Phillips both said there had been enough conversation and wished to move forward with the motion to approve the ordinance.

Estridge did not voice his opinion on the issue one way or the other but voted in favor of the ordinance.

Sylva did not previously have a panhandling ordinance, but there are some stipulations already laid out in state law about loitering and soliciting on roadways. The state ordinance also says that local governments “may enact ordinances

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Every five years, the Main Street Sylva Association’s Board of Directors creates an economic development plan, and this year, the focus is on downtown’s Mill Street.

The board is imagining improvements to the Mill Street business district that would activate empty spaces, help with building and “sitescape” improvements and employ some placemaking strategies in order to help it become as vibrant as the town’s Main Street.

The plan includes façade improvement renderings for all Mill Street facing buildings, a façade grant program for property owners, a technical assistance grant program to help building owners activate inactive spaces in their buildings, a new streetscape design plans and additional public art.

Many initiatives are already underway or have been completed, including façade improvements, murals and the new downtown public restroom.

Once the Mill Street façade renderings are completed, the Main Street Sylva Association will host a business and property owner meeting to unveil them and the details of the façade grant program.

“I don’t believe the ordinance, as written, is constitutional. You cannot be restricting someone’s speech based on what they’re saying.”

— Brad Waldop

appeal of the decision by the police chief shall be made to the town manager, who shall have final authority over the matter.

Hatton expressed his intent to use the ordinance as a tool to inform people of the ways they can and cannot solicit in Sylva, and not as a tool to fine people who do not have enough money to get by in the first place.

However, Newman brought up the concern that this ordinance will outlive Hatton and could be implemented and used in different ways by future police forces.

“We work hard to treat people as good as we can treat them and still do our jobs. A different police chief, a different time, could be different.”

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— Chris Hatton, Sylva Chief of Police

“We need to make sure that we’re not passing ordinances just for this board or this police chief or this town manager, and for the people that are here now. If we pass this ordinance and Chief Hatton’s not here tomorrow and we get another chief in there and he enforces this based on however he interprets it, do we end up sued because we’re arresting people just simply because they’re panhandling? I think this opens us up for a lot of issues,” said Newman. “We should look at this not just for what we see today, but for the future as well. I don’t want to pass an ordinance that could be misconstrued by future boards or by future police chiefs or by their officers.”

Hatton agreed with Newman that things could change with another police chief.

“We work hard to treat people as good as we can treat them and still do our jobs. A different police chief, a different time, could be different,” said Hatton. “But I can tell you with my leadership how we’re going to do it.

With ordinances, it’s an educational thing, almost always.”

Brian K. K NOLAND 828.734.52 201

RESIDENTIAL & COM MMERCIAL

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restricting or prohibiting a person from standing on any street, highway, or right-ofway excluding sidewalks while soliciting, or attempting to solicit, any employment, business, or contributions from the driver or occupants of any vehicle.”

The approved ordinance, entitled “public solicitation and begging upon the streets and sidewalks regulated,” will amend section 30 of Sylva’s code of ordinances that addresses streets and sidewalks.

It prohibits anyone from soliciting or begging by accosting another, or forcing oneself upon the company of another; within 20 feet of any financial institution; 10 feet of any bus stop or other transportation hub; 20 feet of any commercial establishment that is open for business; while the person being solicited is standing in line waiting to be admitted to a commercial establishment; by touching the person being solicited without that person’s consent; by blocking the path of a person being solicited or blocking the entrance or exit to any building or vehicle; following the person who has been solicited after that person has declined the request or walked away; by or with the use of threatening, profane or abusive language, during the solicitation or following an unsuccessful solicitation; by or with the use of any gesture or act intended to cause a reasonable person to be fearful of the solicitor or feel compelled to accede to the solicitation; and during nighttime hours from dusk to dawn.

As already outlined in North Carolina General Statutes, the ordinance states it is unlawful to solicit or beg while intoxicated, by using false or misleading information, or by indicating that the solicitor or any member of their family suffers from a physical or mental disability when such information is false.

Violation of the ordinance is punishable by a $50 fine. It is a civil ordinance, so there is no possibility of arrest if a person is only in violation of this ordinance. Appeals or protests of the fine can be made in writing or in person within 30 days of issuance to the Sylva police chief, who shall have full authority to decide and render a decision. Further

44 & 54 LEGACY LANE, CULLOWHEEE, NORT RTH CAROLINA 287 723

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Main Street Sylva Association creates Mill Street revitalization plan

brian noland@ brian.noland@ @allentate.com lentate com 74 N. Main St.,, Waynesville, NC

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Canton glimpses the future of fire, police, town hall buildings

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS EDITOR rchitects selected by Canton’s governing board to plan renovations on a pair of buildings purchased to replace those damaged in deadly 2021 flooding presented recommendations and cost estimates to officials last week — a major milestone that keeps the town moving on the road to recovery with an eye on the future.

When a wall of water cascaded down the Pigeon River into Canton’s central business district on Aug. 17, 2021, a number of homes, businesses and town facilities were damaged and haven’t been used since.

Those facilities included two historic town-owned buildings, the Armory and the Colonial Theater, as well as the police headquarters, fire department and town hall buildings all co-located on Park Street.

The new police department will be located at the corner of Main and Academy streets, in a former bank previously owned by Champion Credit Union.

The new town hall will be located just up Academy Street, also in a former bank previously owned by CCU. A site for the new fire department has not yet been located, however the town did purchase both CCU parcels, with adjacent parking lots, for $3.4 million in January 2023.

CCU will consolidate its operations at a massive new facility currently being built on the eastern edge of town, near Food Lion.

In February 2023, the town selected South Carolina-based Craig Gaulden Davis Architecture to oversee work on the Armory and the Colonial Theater, while simultaneously selecting Charlotte-based Creech and Associates to handle work on the police, fire and town hall projects.

That May, Creech presented a 14-month timeline for the planning phase, which included the space needs assessment they presented Feb. 9.

“This is a very exciting agenda item to have on here because it represents the next step,” said Canton Town Manager Nick Scheuer.

On behalf of Creech, Michael Supino and Peter Wasmer outlined the condition of the newly purchased buildings, suggested repairs, mapped out usable square footage, projected future space needs based on population growth and also took a stab at cost estimates.

“So, as we look at the future town hall … this building is in relatively good shape,” Supino told Canton’s Board of Aldermen/women, referencing 12 categories that listed the quality of structural, mechani-

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square feet, but 20-year estimates put the need at 13,310 square feet. It would take a parcel at least 2.8 acres in size to site the building and its apparatus support, along with administrative, fitness and residential components. The total rough cost, without real estate, tops $5.3 million.

Fire Chief Kevin Wheeler, who was in attendance for the presentation, said he thought it was a great project but expressed concern that a dramatic change in location could affect response times.

“Where we’re at now is perfect,” Wheeler said. “You move a half a mile, a mile, that throws everything off. So, finding that perfect

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS EDITOR pair of new environmental violations issued this month brings the total for Canton’s shuttered paper mill up to seven since it closed last June and 22 since May 2021 — an average of 1.3 violations every two months.

might appear on paper.

“That’s going to help us quite a bit,” said Sluder. “Plus, we’re centrally located downtown, we’re highly visible, we’re right there where we’re accessible to the community so there’s a lot of good things that are going to come out of that building.”

Once the town gives the approval to proceed, any or all of the future police, fire and town hall projects will take around 36 months to complete.

Natalie Walker, Canton’s CFO, said that what remains of an $8.3 million allocation from the General Assembly used to purchase the future town hall and police department

Once renovations are complete, Canton’s new town hall will have enough space to cover anticipated growth over the next 20 years.

Cory Vaillancourt photos

Canton’s new police headquarters will require substantial renovation.

spot, it’s tough.”

Police Chief Scott Sluder was also in attendance, and commented on how inefficiently space was used at the old police station and at the old town hall. The 11% increase in proposed space for his new police headquarters, therefore, will be more beneficial than it

High bacterial concentrations prompt two new violations for Canton mill

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cal, electrical and plumbing systems, as well as doors, windows and indoor air as “good” or “very good.”

The future town hall’s ADA accommodations will need an update, but the presence of asbestos and lead paint also presented concerns.

At 10,222 square feet, the building comes very close to serving the town’s space needs over the next 20 years of projected growth.

The Creech assessment projects the town should have 10,671 square feet to meet that need. The unusable former town hall on Park Street had 8,437 square feet of space.

Notably, there are plans to retain the bank’s vacuum-tube drive-through for use in customer service at the future town hall.

Architectural and engineering costs associated with the renovations come to $344,000. The cost of the actual renovations themselves tops $1.2 million, including a $161,000 contingency budget as well as a 4% escalation estimate of $31,000.

The future police station, however, will be a different story altogether.

“It is a beautiful building, a historic building,” Supino continued. “We do a lot of historic renovation at our firm. This one, being a building from the 1920s, has shown its age.

There’s been several renovations over time, some of the items have been upgraded, some have stayed as-is. You’ll notice on this one that a lot of the marks for the different categories are definitely well below the ‘good’ mark.”

Only doors and windows were rated as “good” by Creech. Nearly every other aspect of the building is rated as “fair.” The roof is failing, hazardous materials are present and all structural components in the building must be removed and replaced in conjunction with the complete demolition of the interior — essentially, rebuilding the entire structure inside its historic shell.

Over the next 20 years, the town is projected to need 8,600 square feet of space for the police department. Like the future town hall, the police station comes close, with 8,200. The former police headquarters on Park Street, located inside the town hall building, had 7,400.

Creech estimates the architectural and engineering costs at $2.3 million with renovations an additional $4.2 million, including a contingency and escalation budget of more than $650,000.

Despite not yet having acquired a lot to build the new fire station, Supino also offered some opinions on what it would need, and what it would take.

The current fire station comprises 5,688

The most recent violations, issued Feb. 2 and Feb. 6, followed fecal coliform concentrations in discharge from the mill’s wastewater treatment plant that came in 50% over the state limit on Oct. 4, Oct. 10 and Nov. 2, 2023.

Fecal coliform is a group of bacteria that includes disease-causing species such as E.coli. While most coliform

will just about cover the projected costs of their renovation, along with an additional $2.6 million from FEMA. Walker also said that while funding for the future fire department as well as the land needed for construction has not yet been definitively identified, talks are in the works.

bacteria do not cause disease, some strains of E.coli cause serious illness. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, swimming, diving or wading in water contaminated with fecal bacteria can result in diarrhea, vomiting, respiratory illness and other health problems.

Skin, ear, eye, sinus and wound infections can also be caused by contact with contaminated water.

An N.C. Department of Water Resources

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February 14-20, 2024

was gradually adjusting its process as it cut down on production but postulated that perhaps the shutdown had been “more sudden and disruptive” than that.

“But I would not have predicted that the violations that would occur would be increased toxicity or increased bacterial problems,” she continued. “Those are odd violations to have occurred in my mind and my understanding of wastewater treatment.”

The April 2022 fecal coliform violation was related to issues with the process the Town of Canton uses to pretreat its waste before sending it on to the mill’s wastewater treatment plant. The violation prompted the town to start constructing infrastructure improvements to address the problem. While the town does have other sewer-related infrastructure improvements in process, Town Manager Nick Scheuer said that he’s not aware of any existing issues that would impact fecal coliform and toxicity issues at the mill.

“If the pre-chlorination needs change or if there are things that are needed to successfully treat the municipal side, we’re always open for open conversation,” he said.

It’s unclear exactly why these violations continue to occur. One possibility, said Taylor, could be that town customers are introducing toxic substances into the wastewater, which are showing up more prominently in the form of failed toxicity tests now that they’re not diluted by high volumes of papermaking waste. Canton would not be unique in facing that issue, she said.

“In many cases we found that wastewater treatment plants were stuck with influent discharge from local businesses and industry that were causing their process to fail,” she said of Clean Water for North Carolina’s past work.

The toxicity could also be related to leachate from the mill’s landfill, Taylor said.

Leachate is the liquid formed when rainwater filters through the waste stored in a landfill, drawing out the chemicals and constituents they contain. The resulting liquid is toxic and must be handled carefully.

Leachate from Pactiv Evergreen’s landfill is collected in ponds and pumped to the wastewater treatment plant for processing.

“I know that landfill leachate is treated in wastewater treatment plants in a number of places,” Taylor said, “and quite frankly, sometimes that leachate could contribute to the toxicity.”

A more detailed picture of the paper mill’s environmental impact over its 115 years of operation is likely to emerge in the coming months. In September, Pactiv Evergreen contractor EnSafe collected water samples that were analyzed for a host of chemicals and contaminants. That analysis is complete but is going through a quality review process from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality prior to being released to the public.

Additionally, a research project from the N.C. Collaboratory headquartered at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, announced in October, aims to investigate contamination levels outside of the mill’s property line.

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spokesperson said the department “has been in communication” with mill owner Pactiv Evergreen to address these violations, and that the mill has informed DWR that it installed new chlorination equipment at the head of its wastewater treatment plant to prevent future contamination.

Chlorination is the process the plant uses to disinfect incoming waste, ensuring that biological organisms like fecal coliform don’t make it through the treatment process. There are several opportunities for that process to go wrong, said Clean Water for North Carolina Executive Director Hope Taylor, who has been involved with environmental issues at the mill for decades and has an academic background in chemistry.

“It could be a problem with the quantity of chemicals that was used for the disinfection,” she said. “If there was an unusually high amount of organic matter, that can use up more of the chlorine, and so the net result is there’s less available to actually oxidize the bacteria and kill them off. So a number of factors can come into play and have the disinfection not working. It’s almost certainly something to do with the disinfection process itself being not carefully controlled.”

This is not the first time that Pactiv Evergreen has been cited for violating fecal coliform standards. It received similar violations for exceedances on Aug. 30, 2023, less than three months after the mill’s closure, and on April 5, 2022, nearly a year before the closure was announced.

The mill has racked up other recent violations related to operations at its wastewater treatment plant. Pactiv Evergreen is required to perform quarterly tests to ensure the plant’s discharge is not toxic to living things, and it has failed three such tests in a row: for March, June and September 2023. The most recent such violation, stemming from September’s failed test, was issued Dec. 22.

Taylor said she’s not surprised by the mill’s initial struggle following the closure to meet state standards at its wastewater treatment plant, which was built to handle a large volume of discharge from daily operations at the mill. Since paper production ceased in May 2023, that volume has decreased dramatically, with wastewater from the town of Canton now accounting for nearly all of the waste processed there.

An agreement dating back to the 1960s requires the mill to continue treating the town’s wastewater for at least two years following closure. While the mill was still operating, allowing it to process Canton’s wastewater was “almost a favor to the mill,” Taylor said. Papermaking waste has a high carbon content and needed nitrogen — like that found in sewage — to balance it out.

Eliminating papermaking waste throws that balance off.

“I would have expected there to be some problems adjusting their treatment to only handling the town’s waste,” she said. “I mean, the treatment plant for the mill is huge for treating waste for a small city. And so things had to have changed very significantly.”

Taylor said she had assumed the mill

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Swain commission primary nears; lone unaffiliated candidate seeks spot on ballot

BY KYLE PERROTTI N EWS E DITOR wo seats are open on the Swain County Board of Commissioners in 2024, and while three Republicans squaring off in the Primary Election are probably treating this like a General Election since no Democrats filed, one unaffiliated candidate is trying to muster enough support to appear on the November General Election ballot.

While current Vice Chair Roger Parsons did not file to run, there is one incumbent, Kenneth Parton, who will wrap up his second term this year.

Running against Parton in the Republican primary are youth pastor Tanner Larson and Eric Watson, who has worked for a decade and a half in Cherokee at Kenneth Parton either the casino or for Qualla Enterprises. While it may be the that the primary election will serve as the general because no Democrats filed, unaffiliated Bryson City Councilman Ben King is in the last push of an

TANNER LAWSON Lawson, 31, moved to the area when he was just 5.

He has been on the staff at Victory Baptist Church for 11 years, first as a “gopher,” among other things, before being named the youth pastor in Tanner Lawson 2019.

He has also served on various local boards, including a six-year stint as chairman of the Recreation Park Advisory Board. He has also served on the Youth Center Grassroots Committee and the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Board and worked for several years at the county’s chamber of commerce/tourism development authority.

“I know the tourism side well,” he said.

While Lawson admitted the town will face

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effort to obtain the nearly 400 signatures needed to force a General Election contest.

While Parton declined to comment for this story, Lawson, Watson and King spoke to The Smoky Mountain News.

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affairsof thehear tnc .c om

some tough questions regarding money that may need to be spent on things like hiring fulltime firefighters, he said he wants to get into the seat and learn more about the issues before he’d start talking about raising taxes.

He did, however, say that one change he’d want to see would be better communication between the board and the community it serves. Lawson also said he wants communication and cooperation among board members to be strong.

Ultimately, Lawson said he has the heart and the experience to serve.

“I’m also willing to listen and take ideas and honestly say, ‘hey, how can we help this group of people out on either side of the spectrum aisle,’” he said.

ERIC WATSON Watson, 41, was raised in Swain County. He served in the Air Force from 2002 to 2008 and also wanted people to know he’s a proud kidney donor. Since his discharge from the military, he’s Eric Watson worked in various capacities for Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, moving up through various technician roles until recently when he became a facilities/project supervisor for Qualla Enterprises.

Watson said that over the years, he’s talked with other Swain County residents about local issues and once COVID began and tourism — including Airbnb — boomed, his interest was piqued.

“There are no homes to rent,” he said. “And when there are, they want $1,800 a month for 900 square feet. Who can actually afford to live here?”

Like Lawson, Watson said he didn’t want to commit to a position when it comes to potentially raising taxes to provide vital services, adding that he wanted to take time to learn from those who are in the know while also exploring all other options, including grants.

Watson also spoke about the importance of keeping good teachers and ensuring Swain County children get a good education.

“I hear it all the time; we can’t keep teachers around,” he said. “This is a place for beginner teachers, but I will say we want them to stay here and live here.”

Watson said that prioritizing keeping taxes steady — or at least reasonable — while providing valuable services and good homes for working class residents is all about taking the burden off families.

He said the campaign process has been interesting and he’s learned plenty, but as a relatively talkative “people person,” he’s enjoyed it.

“I’m a very outgoing person,” he said. “I

like to talk to people and I like to hear people’s thoughts. And that will carry over. I will always listen to what voters think about issues, because they’ll have ideas we might not think of. Also, there will be five guys on the board, and I want to work with everybody and also hear their ideas.”

BEN KING King, 34, has served on the Bryson City Board of Aldermen for six years and is now the mayor pro tem. His company, Bryson City Outdoors Inc., owns Bryson City Outdoors locations in Ben King both that town and Cherokee, as well as the MRKT on the Square building in Bryson City and Bryson City Bakery, as well as the Big Laurel food truck.

At a time when some unaffiliated voters, and even some Democrats, around the region have changed their registration to Republican prior to announcing a run for public office, King, who grew up in Bryson City, said he wants to embrace his unaffiliated status, something he’s maintained since he’s been old enough to vote.

“It’s my prerogative to stay that way,” he said. “In this county in particular, it’s easier to get elected as a party candidate, but I would like to be part of changing that in the future.”

As an alderman, King said he’s familiar with the key issues in both Bryson City and Swain County that need to be addressed. He added that in his six years of serving the town, he feels like he’s seen improvements, and he hopes to affect the same positive change at the county level. He addressed the prospect of raising taxes, also saying he wouldn’t want to commit to a position on that issue before taking office.

“Everybody knows Swain County has historically low property taxes, but that’s not reason in itself to raise those taxes,” he said. “I want to get invested in what is going on in the county with the budget and figure out the dayto-day and year-to-year.”

But for now, King is focused on getting the signatures of 5% of Swain County’s registered voters to fulfill the statutory requirement to appear on the ballot in November against the two winners of the Republican primary. He said having friends and family volunteering to cover the county and get those signatures has been a tremendous gift in his effort.

“Honestly, the hard part is just explaining the fact that you’re not signing this sheet to agree to vote for me,” King said. “It’s just saying I can appear on the ballot like other candidates. Most people are open to it.”

King needs to secure 390 signatures by Primary Election Day on March 5 to run in November, and at this point he has about 160 that have been approved by the Swain County Board of Elections, although he said there are plenty more that are simply pending that approval. Either way, he plans on keeping his foot on the gas to make sure he doesn’t come up short.

King named Jackson County manager the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

“I’d like to congratulate Mr. King on becoming Jackson County’s new county manager,” said Commissioner Tom Stribling. “I think we’ve made the right choice.”

King is also a Board of Trustees member for the North Carolina County Commissioners Association County Risk Group, which helps manage workers compensation and property and liability insurance for 70 North Carolina counties.

“This is my third opportunity to be part of the group that selected the county manager,” said Commissioner Mark Jones. “It was a difficult decision. Of all the times that I’ve been a part of the selection committee, this was the toughest. We chose an excellent candidate to take Jackson County to our next level.”

As county manager, King will direct and supervise the administration of all departments, which collectively encompass Jackson County’s 438 full-time employees.

His first official day is April 8.

“I’d like to thank everyone that applied and interviewed,” said Commissioner Todd Bryson.

Previous County Manager Don Adams announced his resignation late last year, which went into effect Dec. 31. Since that time, Finance Director Darlene Fox has been serving as interim county manager.

“I want to thank Ms. Fox for her help in the interim as well as balancing both the upcoming budget and her work as interim county manager,” said Jones.

Thursday, Feb. 15 marks the start of North Carolina’s 13-day early voting period, when voters can appear at local polling places to cast their votes in person through Saturday, March 2. Same-day registration will also be available for those who haven’t yet registered. Hours and locations vary by county, but generally run from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Some locations will be open on Saturdays, but not all locations offer hours on every Saturday during the early voting period. For specific questions about days, hours, registration or voting, contact your county’s board of elections. Search for early voting sites by visiting vt.ncsbe.gov/evsite.

Smoky Mountain News

In-person early voting begins Feb. 15

HaywoodBuilders.com 100 Charles St. WAYNESVILLE

February 14-20, 2024

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER The Jackson County Board of Commissioners has hired Kevin King as the new manager for Jackson County.

“He is more than qualified, he is a Jackson County resident, and we look forward to all the wonderful things that he is going to bring to the table and hopefully lead this county in the right direction.” said Chairman Mark Letson. ” King is currently working as manager of Swain County. He has over 27 years of public service experience, with 20 years of work as a county manager. He has also worked as a budget officer, finance director, human services director and board clerk.

“This is a very exciting day for Jackson County and all its citizens and employees.

The board has worked incredibly hard along with great assistance from Kathleen Breedlove and HR. Terrific pool of candidates really made it difficult,” said Board Attorney Deborah Bechtel.

King holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University in business law and a master’s in business administration with a concentration in public administration from Columbia Southern University. He is a current member of the North Carolina County Manager’s Association, International County Manager’s Association and a State Advisory Council Member for NCSU Cooperative Extension Service representing Jackson, Swain and Macon counties and

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Why humanity needs heroes and villains M

Our Constitution is under attack To the Editor: Our Constitution was formulated by our Founding Fathers with the purpose of making America a nation free of the oppression and tyranny they had endured under the rule of an English king. This Constitution was intended not only to protect America’s Godgiven rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but to radiate hope to all other peoples of the world.

These noble intentions of our Constitution are struggling to hold any semblance to what the Founding Fathers had envisioned for the United States. Under the agenda of the Washington elitists and their followers, these noble intentions are evaporating as they push the United States ever deeper into a nation of oppressed people.

The Constitution of the United States, as written by the Founding Fathers, once represented our Judeo-Christian values and great American cultural heritage. The Constitution has now become an instrument no longer being adhered to by Washington’s politicians, causing it to rapidly lose its place as the legal means by which “We the People” are guaranteed our God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without infringe-

brains continue to function in a similar fashion. Consider politics, for example. No matter which side of the aisle is preferred, one political leader is viewed as a hero and another as a villain. Let’s also consider famous athletes. For many young people, sports stars like LeBron James, Lionel Messi or Simone Biles are viewed as heroes. And though I’m sure some of you are sick of hearing about Taylor Swift, there’s no denying she is an empowering hero to millions of girls and young women.

Columnist And then there are villains. There have been innumerable villains throughout history, but let’s discuss a relatively recent situation. The majority of the world looked upon Vladimir Putin with disgust over his actions in Ukraine because it went against “tribal norms.” He acted out against another tribe solely for selfish reasons, which in our primal brains is abhorrent.

Here’s the really interesting part, though. Even though we look upon villains with disgust, we’re also curious about them. Curiosity is another ancestral element to our neural wiring that continues to affect our choices and experiences.

We are naturally curious about other people and their actions, and we are especially curious about villains or those acting differently from the norm. We wonder, “Why are they acting that way?” “Why did she do that?” “What’s going on in his mind?” And so on.

Heroes make us feel safe, but villains keep us on our toes, and if you think about it, we need to feel both ways in order to survive and evolve. Take a moment to ponder your everyday life, whether it’s work, family, community or just people you

Susanna Shetley

any of us at The Smoky Mountain News have written novels, are in the process of writing a novel or plan to write one in the future, so novel writing is often a topic of conversation among the staff and we like to share resources. My colleague, Hannah McLeod, recently recommended the book “The Science of Storytelling” by Will Storr.

It was recommended to her by our publisher, Scott McLeod.

It’s a fascinating read in the way that Storr offers researchbased insight into the human psyche and why we think and act the way we do. Fiction writers can create more compelling characters and stories if we know what captures the reader’s interest and holds their attention. One such insight involves the reasoning behind people’s obsession with heroes and villains.

Storr states, “Humans have evolved to respond in certain ways to tales of heroism and villainy because doing so has been critical for our survival. This was especially true back when we were living in hunter-gatherer tribes. We’ve spent more than ninety-five percent of our time on earth existing in such tribes and much of the neural architecture we still carry around today evolved when we were doing so. In this twentyfirst century of speed, information and high technology, we still have Stone Age brains. As powerful as culture is, it cannot cancel out or transform these deeply embedded primal forces, but only modulate it.”

He goes on to talk about how we as a species view selfless behavior as heroic and selfish acts as evil. We had to perceive the world in this way to survive. Our ancestors did not have police forces, per se, but within each tribe, they developed their own type of judicial system and were steadfast in punishing those who acted selfishly and rewarded those who acted in protection or in honor of the tribe.

With all of that being said, it’s not surprising that our

ment by our government.

It is being replaced by the dictums of a small group of radical elitists and billionaires.

Not since the Civil War have we faced such a great force bound and determined to bring down our way of life, to divide and separate “We the People.” Our nation’s peril is currently in the hands of wickedly treacherous elected and unelected officials who so easily fall to misleading demands for change in our established and tried governing system, sometimes made under the pretense of reform, sometimes masquerading as justice. Therefore, the highest and most patriotic goal each of us can consider is to understand the fundamental principles of our constitutional heritage and to defend and protect them with our very lives.

Defend them against those who would narrowly restrict our God-given constitutional rights and those who would destructively expand them.

L.E. Cossette Waynesville

How can religion not guide politics?

To the Editor: A recent opinion written in this publication proclaimed: “One role of the church is charity — politics is not and should not be.”

know in your city or town. I’m sure you can come up with a handful of “heroes” and a handful of “villains.”

Evolutionary psychologists also argue that we have two driving forces. The first is to connect with others and the second is to dominate. Put another way, we have two hard-wired ambitions — to get along with other people so they like us but also to get ahead of other people so we can reach a certain status. This ongoing internal conflict is what drives most of human behavior and fuels a range of complicated emotions.

In my opinion, while our brains haven’t changed much from those of our cave-dwelling ancestors, we have one major advantage over them and that is awareness. Modern humans have the gift of metacognition and the simple act of knowing what drives us can be helpful in creating a more relaxed and peaceful existence. Those who came before us acted in a true state of fear because they were constantly having to figure out how to survive. This helps us understand why we’re often worried or fearful about irrational things and knowing that it’s simply residue from relatives who were being chased by lions or frantically searching for their next meal can help alleviate or lessen modern anxiety.

I started reading Storr’s book so it would strengthen my novel-writing and character development skills. While it’s certainly helping me do that, it’s also providing deep insight into the living human beings all around me. Each day I learn more and more why they say “truth is stranger than fiction.” If one wants to write a great story, one must create characters and plot curves that are at least equivalent to what’s happening in the real world.

(Susanna Shetley is a writer, editor and digital media specialist with The Smoky Mountain News and Smoky Mountain Living magazine. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com.)

LETTERS The author outlined why the church should not be involved in politics due to IRS tax exemption rules.

As to churches engaging in politics as it relates to paying taxes, let’s quote from The Church Law Center: “IRS guidelines indicate that a church can still engage in nonpartisan political activity without violating these rules. For example, a church can distribute nonpartisan voter information (such as a collection of statements by different candidates). A church can also host debates among candidates. A key focus in these examples will be whether a particular candidate is shown favor, or if the activity is truly neutral.”

But let’s dig deeper into the conclusion of the aforementioned opinion — that politics should not be a role of the church. I entirely disagree for this reason: the “church” is composed of individual people, some of whom are true Christians who view the Bible as God’s living inspired word and follow — to the best of their ability — the instructions contained in it. In other words, it represents Basic

Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE).

Many verses in the Bible encourage followers of Jesus to rely on His indwelling Holy Spirit as their very own holy counselor, guide and teacher to make decisions in their everyday lives Here is one example: In Proverbs 3 verse 6 the Lord says, “In all your ways

acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Frankly speaking, how can someone exclude their political decisions from that command?

Kitty Brendell Iron Duff

Smoky Mountain News

Feb 7 The Citadel – 7 pm Feb 10 Mercer – 3 pm Feb 17 ETSU – 4 pm Feb 28 Furman – 7 pm

February 14-20, 2024

Feb 15 Mercer – 3 pm Feb 17 Samford – 7 pm

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

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Kyle Tuttle will play the Asheville Music Hall Feb. 16.

Jay Strausser photo

Labor of lust

A talk with Grammy winner, banjo phenom Kyle Tuttle

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR hen it comes to bluegrass banjo, you’d be hard-pressed to find as vivacious and voracious a picker-n-grinner than Kyle Tuttle.

“One major thing that sets bluegrass music apart from other genres is that many of the listeners are pickers themselves — bluegrass music sounds even better on the front porch than it does on a big stage,” Tuttle said. “And there’s a canon of songs and tunes that everyone knows and plays together, on and off stage — bluegrass fans are truly a part of the music.”

Hailing from the backwoods of Cumming, Georgia, Tuttle was, at least initially, a punk rocker and metal-head, one where the six-string electric guitar was his obsession from an early age. First playing guitar at age five, his grandparents handed him a banjo on his 17th birthday.

“By then, I had gotten into bluegrass on guitar and was picking with buddies,” the 37-yearold said. “But, the banjo really just lit a fire under me. By [age] 21, I had put down the guitar and considered myself a banjo player.”

With a hardscrabble DIY ethos and “never surrender” attitude from his teenage punk days, Tuttle parlayed those sentiments into the sonic scope of the “high, lonesome sound.”

“I’ve always done things my own way, not usually on the beaten path. No need for the big machine,” Tuttle said. “That’s what I loved about

W

music from the beginning — the idea you can create music and then create a whole aesthetic around that music, too. Once I’ve decided how I’m going to do a thing, good luck changing my mind. And I do believe that has been to my advantage professionally.”

Beyond starting and touring with his own bands throughout the early chapters of his musical odyssey, Tuttle eventually landed in Nashville, Tennessee, some 12 years ago.

Bouncing around the live music circuit from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Tuttle also held a threeyear stint in the famed Jeff Austin Band.

“The community of artists [in Nashville] is not only the best in the business, but it’s actually very supportive and inviting,” Tuttle said.

“Also, you’re not going to get the last-minute call to play the [Grand Ole] Opry if you don’t live in Nashville.”

And through that vast landscape of musicians in Music City, Tuttle crossed paths with the likes of guitar virtuoso Molly Tuttle (no relation). Molly soon brought Kyle into the fold of her renowned band Golden Highway — a rocket ship of sound and presence, this fusion of bluegrass, Americana and indie-folk.

To note, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway recently won the Grammy Award for “Best Bluegrass Album,” the group’s second in that category in as many years. The ensemble also received the 2023 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) honors for “Album of the

Year” and “Song of the Year.”

“Time has felt like a whirlwind lately. [It] has been a wild ride since our very first [Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway] show two years ago,” Kyle said. “I think we knew from the start this band would be something special, But, I could never have known that it would be like this. It feels very much like family and, in a lot of ways, it feels like we are just getting started.”

When not hitting the road extensively throughout the year with Golden Highway, Tuttle has managed to carve out some time for his own melodic endeavors. What has resulted his new album, “Labor of Lust,” which falls under the banner of the Kyle Tuttle Band.

A snapshot of where Tuttle currently is artistically, it spotlights not only his bluegrass and folk talents, but also his genuine sense of self — this heart-on-your-sleeve, devil-may-care musi-

Want to go?

A rising bluegrass/indie-folk act, the Kyle Tuttle Band will hit the stage at 11 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at the Asheville Music Hall.

An official Billy Strings after-party, doors open at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person.

Ages 21 and up.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to ashevillemusichall.com.

cian simply wandering this big, crazy ole world in search of human interaction through the catalyst of his trusty five-string banjo.

“It’s the connection and shared human experience that keeps me getting back in the van, plane or bus. Each show is another chance to share an important chunk of time with other human beings,” Tuttle said. “Often, it’s joyous, but sometimes it’s sorrowful. It’s really both all the time. Somebody at the show is on top of the world. Somebody else is going through something really tough in their life. A love of music has brought all three of us there — for a few hours we raise our voices together.”

And through his continued journey — of the banjo, the open road and life itself — Tuttle can’t help but reflect on his time with the late, great Jeff Austin. The former Yonder Mountain String band founder and lead singer, Austin passed away tragically in 2019. But, not before Tuttle was able to witness and immerse himself in the legend and lore that was Jeff Austin. “[Jeff] was the ultimate showman. He could get a crowd so amped up, [this] ‘take-no-prisoners’ energy about the way he played,” Tuttle said.

“I try hard to carry that energy with me onstage now, every time. I learned about connecting to a crowd and creating an experience together. Each night is its own event and unique [in itself] — just because a song went one way last night, doesn’t mean it has to go that way tonight.”

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

‘To laugh at the impossibilities which are here always after we are not’ The Hayford Road is in Champlain, New York.

Garret K. Woodward photo

TRIVIA TUESDA AY YS Every Tuesday 7:30pm-9:30ppm

FREE TO PLAY Gift Certificate prizes for 1st & 2nd place teams

Thursday, February y 15th Bobby G Live aatt The Scotsman Blues • 8pm to 10pm

Saturday, February y 17th Muddy Guthrie Trio Americana • Rock • Classic Rock • Blues 8pm to 10pm

Friday March 15tth Sunday March 17 7th THE SCOTSMAN’S 2ND ANNIVERS SARY AND ST PATRICK’S DAY WEEKEN ND Live Music • Food and Drink Speciaals Opening at 11am on St Patrick’ at ’ss Daay

ScotsmanPublic.ccom • 37 CHURCH STREET • DOWNTOWN WAYNESVILLEE @thescotsmanwaynesville h lle

M-Th:4PM-12AM Fri-Sat:12PM-12AM Sun:11 1 AM-12AM

HOT PICKS Featuring “Asian Soundscapes” created by Min Xiao-Fen, Folkmoot USA will present “An Evening of Eastern Culture” at 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

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The Nashville Children’s Choir’s Touring Choir will perform at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19, in Memorial Chapel at the Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center.

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A special production of “A Month of Sundays” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16-27, 23-23 and 2 p.m. Feb. 18, 25 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

3

As the first showcase of the year, the “Love” exhibition will run through March 3 at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville.

4

The “Chili Chowdown” fundraiser will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at the First United Methodist Church, located at 77 Jackson St. in Sylva.

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Wine i Port Beer Cigars Champagne Gifts Areas Best Wine Selection

RETAIL WIINE NE TA ASTINGS STINGS & WIINE NE DIINNERS NNERS

Smoky Mountain News

Maybe smaller. Four walls, with one wall ice cold at night when the frozen winds from beyond the Canadian Border would lick and fog up the single window above the small mattress in the corner.

I was 22 and looking for full-time work as a writer. I’d take anything in the realm of the written word, in the journalism industry, so long as it was far from the starting line of the North Country, so long as it become a vehicle, literally and figuratively, to meet strangers soon to become fast friends, to have wild adventures and stories to share.

Eventually, I ended up in Driggs, Idaho, working as community reporter for the Teton Valley News. Population (at that time) was around 800, mostly cattle ranchers and ski bums. Oh, and a slew of rich folks from just over the Teton Pass in Jackson, Wyoming.

Whatever didn’t fit in my 2001 GMC Sonoma didn’t come with me. Leaving home on Dec. 26, 2007, it was a 2,247-mile trek across the country. First time driving through the Midwest, too. Unpacking the trash bags of clothes, boxes of books and vinyl records and bins of kitchenware in Idaho, I pulled the Seattle “Garrett” mug out.

Peeling away the newspaper used to wrap and pack the mug, I placed the coffee cup on top of the all-in-one kitchen in the studio apartment. Rent was $500 a month, which was attached to an abandoned trailer a few houses down from the intersection of Route 33 and 31 in Victor, Idaho. Over 600 inches of fallen snow that winter, one of the snowiest winters on record for that area.

That Victor apartment was home until I left to return to Plattsburgh on Sept. 15, 2008, my departure date the same exact day Wall Street collapsed. Truck all packed up, the Seattle mug wrapped and secured in old Teton Valley News pages. I landed in Miles City, Montana, that first night back to the East Coast. Flick on the television in the quiet Motel 6 room, the news blaring about Lehman Brothers and what despair may lie ahead for America.

With the United States economy in tatters and in limbo for the next few years or so, I returned to the farmhouse. Hustling at the local newspaper for $45 an article.

Celtic Sunday ys W/The Carter Giegerich Trio - 2-55 pm Incredible Celtic Folk - Every Sunday Relaxation along with your Guinness! n

February 14-20, 2024

Saturday. Late morning. The Waynesville apartment was quiet save the occasional motorcycle roaring along nearby Russ Avenue. My girlfriend had already gotten up and was at work by 10 a.m. I slept in a little bit, though my restless soul wouldn’t let the day fade.

Slowly peel myself out of bed and mosey on over to the coffee pot in the small kitchen where too many cooks in it would be the two of us. Her half-full coffee mug was cold. Not enough time to finish the caffeinated liquid.

Can’t be late for work. Out the door in a flash.

I rinse her cup out and reached for my special mug atop the sink. It was the only souvenir I purchased on a trip to Seattle, Washington, back when I was 22 years old (39 now) and pondering a post-college move from New York to the Pacific Northwest. See the Space Needle. Drink the rich coffee.

Smell the salty air. It still remains a dream.

The name on the mug is spelled wrong: “Garrett.” But, no matter. I was just happily surprised to see my name, or some semblance of my name, on a souvenir. All y’all named Ashley, Michael, Brittany or Rick wouldn’t understand. Same goes for you, too, Scott.

I bought the mug to take home to my native North Country to be a constant reminder of a place I wanted to live, more so a notion to keep living and to never stop. It’s like that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” says: “Well, I don’t know but I’ve been told, you never slow down, you never grow old.”

The mug used to sit atop the sink at my parents’ 1840 brick farmhouse in my hometown of Plattsburgh, New York. I had just gotten out of college and I had no damn clue as to what to do or where to go or who to ask about the previous two queries. Who cares?

Follow your instincts. Stay true to yourself.

That’s it, really.

In those days during the end of the Bush administration (2007-2008), I was living in a tiny storage closet in the farmhouse. I didn’t want to use one of the guest rooms. I just wanted some privacy, surrounded by shelves of books and a bitchin’ stereo system.

The closet was tucked away in the back of the farmhouse. A space no bigger than probably the broom closet at your job.

EVENTS

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

Substitute teaching at my former high school (Seattle mug within reach) for an additional $65 a day. I managed to float myself in some way or another until I landed this gig at The Smoky Mountain News in August 2012.

It’s Feb. 10, 2024. I sip from the Seattle “Garrett” coffee cup and stare out the window onto the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains cradling Waynesville and greater Haywood County. The liquid is warm and sweet with the oak milk creamer my girlfriend prefers.

I’ll take whatever milk I can get to chop down the bitterness. Just give me that caffeinated goodness.

There’s talk of she and I heading over the ridge into East Tennessee for a friend gettogether tonight to celebrate some upcoming nuptials in May. We’ll see how it all shakes out when she gets home in an hour from work. Stay or hit the road. I could go either way, truth-be-told.

Part of me keeps leaning towards a nice meal together, just the two of us, in Waynesville or Asheville before the kickoff of spring and impending writing assignments coast-to-coast start to fill up the planner she keeps in the right drawer of my mid-century modern desk that faces out onto Russ Avenue for natural light and inspiration.

Sip the Seattle mug. Think of all the memories and moments that have erupted, unfolded and led to the here and now. It’s pretty astounding when you think about it.

Your journey and trajectory. The decisions made and outcomes experienced. It’s as incredible and overwhelming as the person sitting next to you has also felt.

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

DOWNTOWN WAYNE Y SVILLE 17

arts & entertainment

On the beat

‘An Evening of Eastern Culture’ Min Xiao-Fen is a world-renowned musician. File photo

• Angry Elk Brewing (Whittier) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. All shows are free and open to the public.

828.497.1015 or facebook.com/angryelkbrewingco.

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8-10 p.m. every Thursday.

Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7-9 p.m. every first and third Thursday of the month. Free and open to the public. For more information, go to blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host music bingo 7 p.m.

Mondays, karaoke 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, trivia 7 p.m. Thursdays, open mic night 10 p.m., Parlor Organ Trio Feb. 17 and Mike Rhodes Fellowship Feb. 24. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.

ALSO:

February 14-20, 2024

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host “Music Bingo” 7 p.m. Thursdays, “Oyster Roast” with Lil’ Stingrays noon Feb. 17 and Chris Gulleg (singer-songwriter) Feb. 17. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.634.0078 or curraheebrew.com.

Smoky Mountain News

Featuring “Asian Soundscapes” created by Min Xiao-Fen, Folkmoot USA will present “An Evening of Eastern Culture” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

Prepare yourself for extraordinary performances by Min Xiao-Fen on the Chinese pipa, Mari Ohta on the Japanese koto, Thom Nguyen on percussion and the Warren Wilson College Gamelan Ensemble with classical Javanese dancer Dr. Siti Kusujiarti.

Few artists have done more to both honor and reinvent the 2,000-year history of the pipa than soloist, vocalist and composer Min Xiao-Fen. Classically trained in her native China, she served as a principal pipa soloist at Nanjing Traditional Music Orchestra and was an in-demand interpreter of traditional music before relocating to the United States and forging a new path for her instrument alongside many of the leading lights in modern jazz, free improvisation, experimental and contemporary classical music.

NPR Weekend Edition lauded Min as “one of the world’s greatest virtuosos” and JazzTimes hailed her as “a pioneer in integrating her ancient instrument with modern jazz and improvised music.” The New York Times raved that her singular work “has traversed a sweeping musical odyssey.”

Doors will open at 6 p.m. As well, the Iron Wok food truck will be onsite.

Tickets are $20 per person. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to 18 folkmoot.org.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host the “Fireside at the Farm” sessions on select weekends. For more information, go to oldedwardshospitality.com.

• Folkmoot Friendship Center (Waynesville) will host “Min Xiao-Fen: An Evening of Eastern Culture” 7 p.m. Feb. 22. For a full schedule of events and/or to purchase tickets, go to folkmoot.org.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host its weekly “Tuesday Jazz Series” at 5:30 p.m., Justin Moyar (singer-songwriter) Feb. 16, Shane Meade (indie/folk) Feb. 18 and Syrrup Feb. 23. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.

• Frog Quarters (Franklin) will host live music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays with Paul Linser & Charlie Simmons Feb. 17 and Jim Austin’s Classic Country Band Feb. 24. Free and open to the public. Located at 573 East Main Street. littletennessee.org or 828.369.8488.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host Blackberry Smoke (southern rock) 9 p.m. Feb. 16 and Little River Band (classic rock) 9 p.m. Feb. 23. For a full schedule of events and/or to buy tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

• Highlander Mountain House (Highlands) will host “Blues & Brews” on Thursdays, “Sunday Bluegrass Residency” from noon to

2:30 p.m. and the “Salon Series” w/Stephen Wilson Jr. (country/folk) Feb. 22. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to highlandermountainhouse.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host “Trivia Night w/Kirk” from 7-9 p.m. every Monday, David Cheatham (singer-songwriter) Feb. 17 and Liz Perry (singer-songwriter) Feb. 24. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” on Wednesdays and semiregular live music on the weekends. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Karaoke on the second/fourth Friday of the month, The V8s Feb. 17. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host “Music Bingo” 6:30 p.m. Mondays, Blue Jazz Feb. 16. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Meadowlark Motel (Maggie Valley) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to meadowlarkmotel.com or call 828.926.1717.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host an “Open Mic w/Frank Lee” Wednesdays, Zip Robertson (singer-songwriter) Feb. 17, Wyatt Espalin (singer-songwriter) Feb. 23 and Bird In Hand (Americana/indie) Feb. 24. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends.

Free and open to the public. 828.586.1717 or facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.

• Salty Dog’s Seafood & Grill (Maggie Valley) will host “Karaoke w/Russell” every Monday and semi-regular live music on the weekends.

Free and open to the public. 828.926.9105.

• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host a “Celtic Jam” 2-5 p.m., Bobby G. (singersongwriter) Feb. 15, Muddy Guthrie Trio (Americana) Feb. 17, Blended Hemp (Americana/acoustic) Feb. 22, Celtic Road Jam 4 p.m. Feb. 24 and Ben & The Borrowed Band Feb. 24. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will semi-regular live music

On the beat

Unplugged welcomes Jon Cox Jon Cox will play Bryson City Feb. 17.

Wayne Ebinger photo

Blackberry Smoke will play Cherokee Feb. 16. Andy Sapp photo

Blackberry Smoke returns to Harrah’s

Nashville Children’s Choir to play Lake J

on the weekends. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to smokymountainarts.com or 866.273.4615.

• Stecoah Valley Center (Robbinsville) will host a Community Jam 5:30-7:30 p.m. every third Thursday of the month and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, call 828.479.3364 or go to stecoahvalleycenter.com.

Country star comes to Highlands

“Death Cab For Country,” he draws upon indie rock, grunge and country to create a distinct sound that is influenced by artists as diverse as The National, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Nirvana.

Wilson was raised by a single father who was a boxer and had him boxing from age seven through adulthood as an Indiana State Golden Gloves finalist. The self-taught guitarist moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a degree in Microbiology at Middle Tennessee State University, where he started indie rock band AutoVaughn after finishing his degree.

After five years of touring the world as lead guitarist with AutoVaughn, Wilson turned his creative focus toward songwriting and singing. Following that band, Wilson relied back on his education where he worked for several years as an R&D scientist at Mars until signing a publishing deal with BMG Nashville in 2016.

Wilson’s songs were soon recorded by acts like Caitlyn Smith, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, MacKenzie Porter, Sixpence None the Richer and Leigh Nash.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, go to highlandermountainhouse.com.

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Rising Americana/outlaw country star Stephen Wilson Jr. will hit the stage at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Highlander Mountain House in Highlands.

Wilson is a singer/songwriter from rural Southern Indiana. Self-described as

Smoky Mountain News

The Nashville Children’s Choir’s Touring Choir will perform at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19, in Memorial Chapel at the Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center.

The Nashville Children’s Choir is a regional choir program for young singers that is committed to the rehearsal and performance of quality choral music in a positive and affirming setting.

The program will include four sequenced choirs for choristers in grades 2 through 12. The choirs are in residence at Belmont University and are part of Belmont Academy, a pre-college music program.

The concert is free and open to the public. The event is part of the choir’s spring tour. If community concert attendees wish to donate toward the choir’s scholarship fund, there will be an opportunity to do so.

For more information about the choir, visit nashvillechildrenschoir.org.

No. 1 on the Billboard Country album charts in modern history. “Like An Arrow” followed in 2016, again putting them at No. 1.

Most recently, in 2019, Blackberry Smoke released “Homecoming: Live in Atlanta,” a recorded performance from their annual show in the band’s hometown. It also debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk sales charts.

Tickets start at $59.50 per person. For tickets, go to caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee or go to blackberrysmoke.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host “Bluegrass Wednesday” at 6:30 p.m. each week. 828.526.8364 or theuglydogpub.com.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Valentine’s Day Disco Party Feb. 14, Tricia Ann (singer-songwriter) Feb. 15, Mile High Band (classic rock, $5) Feb. 16, Jon Cox (country/rock, $5) Feb. 17, Mountain Gypsy (Americana, free) Feb. 22, Rock Holler Feb. 23 and Topper Feb. 24. All shows are $5 at the door and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.538.2488.

February 14-20, 2024

Regional country/rock act Jon Cox will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Unplugged Pub in Bryson City.

The Asheville singer-songwriter rolls through an array of classic country gold and rock melodies. Known as “high-energy outlaw music,” Cox is a rising voice in Western North Carolina.

Admission is $5 at the door. For more information, call 828.538.2488.

Southern rock juggernaut Blackberry Smoke will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.

Since their debut in 2004, the Atlanta, Georgia-based band has independently released six full-length albums and toured relentlessly, building a strong and loyal community of fans. The band has also had unparalleled success with sales of each of their last albums.

In 2015, Blackberry Smoke released “Holding All the Roses,” which was the first independently released record to hit

Stephen Wilson Jr. File photo

On the table

On the wall • “Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson” will run through June 28 in the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

This exhibition brings together a selection of baskets, pottery, carving, painting, photography and more. To learn more about the exhibition and reception, please go to arts.wcu.edu/spark. The Fine Art Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

arts & entertainment

Haywood Arts celebrates ‘Love’ • “Battle of the Beans” chili cook-off will be held from 6-8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Sylva. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• “Love at First Bite” wine dinner will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the J.R. Chophouse in Franklin. Featuring the wines of Tommasi Family Estates, Chef James invites you to a romantic and memorable evening of fine dining paired with great wines by Sommelier Jennifer Smathers. Menu priced at $79.99 per person, with a $35 advance deposit required. For more information, call 828.369.3663 or go to jrchophouse.com.

Lindsay Keeling is a featured artist at the HCAC ‘Love’ exhibit.

February 14-20, 2024

ALSO:

• “Chili Chowdown” fundraiser will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at the First United Methodist Church, located at 77 Jackson St. in Sylva.

Presented by the Rotary Club of Sylva, the suggested donation is $10 and includes chili, all the fixings and a drink.

Local nonprofit organizations will be present with information on their services. Organizations include the Center for Domestic Peace, Circles of Jackson County, Disability Partners, Life Challenge, Mountain Projects, Rolling Start NC, Uncomplicated Kitchen, United Christian Ministries and Vecinos.

Smoky Mountain News

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, go to waynesvillewine.com.

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• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturday at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines. Educational classes and other events are also available. For more information, call 828.538.0420.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City.

Full service all-adult first class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. There will also be a special “Beer Train” on select dates. For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or go to gsmr.com.

Donated photo

As the first showcase of the year, the “Love” exhibition will run through March 3 at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville.

Through a diverse range of mediums such as paintings, glasswork, ceramics, quilting, jewelry and more, HCAC artists skillfully conveyed their personal interpretations of love.

This event not only marks the opening of an extraordinary exhibit, but also serves as the launch of the “Give a HeART” project. Dedicated artist members generously donated their time and art supplies to create unique pieces of art on wooden panel hearts.

These exquisite hearts will be available for purchase in the gallery until the end of February, with all proceeds directly benefiting the HCAC. The HCAC gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information, go to haywoodarts.org.

• CRE828 (Waynesville) will offer a selection of art classes and workshops at its studio located at 1283 Asheville Road. Workshops will include art journaling, watercoloring, mixed media, acrylic painting and more. For a full list of classes, go to cre828.com. For more information on CRE828, email dawn@cre828.com or call 828.283.0523.

• Gallery Zella (Bryson City) will be hosting an array of artist receptions, exhibits and showcases. The gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m.

Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, go to galleryzella.com or call 517.881.0959.

• Waynesville Photography Club meets at 7 p.m. every third Monday each month on the second floor of the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center in Clyde.

The club is a nonprofit organization that exists for the enjoyment of photography and the improvement of one’s skills. They welcome

photographers of all skill levels to share ideas and images at the monthly meetings. For more information, email waynesvillephotoclub@charter.net or follow them on Facebook: Waynesville Photography Club.

• Haywood County Arts Council (Waynesville) will offer a wide range of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors. The HCAC gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information and a full schedule, go to haywoodarts.org.

ALSO:

• Jackson County Green Energy Park (Dillsboro) will be offering a slew of classes, events and activities for artisans, locals and visitors.

For more information and a full schedule, go to jcgep.org.

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of workshops for adults and kids. For more information on the upcoming classes and/or to sign-up, go to southwesterncc.edu/scclocations/swain-center.

• Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro will offer a selection of upcoming art classes and workshops. For more information and a full schedule of activities, go to dogwoodcrafters.com/classes or call 828.586.2248.

On the stage HART presents ‘A Month of Sundays’ A special production of “A Month of Sundays” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16-27, 23-23 and 2 p.m. Feb. 18, 25 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

“A Month of Sundays” is a play that promises to take audiences on a captivating journey filled with laughter, authenticity and heartfelt moments. This thought-provoking production will also mark the reopening of HART’s Feichter Studio, which has been closed since March 2020.

The story plot revolves around Cooper and Aylott, best friends who live in a retirement home in upstate New York. The show takes an honest look at what aging is like, adjusting to a new environment in old age, facing the realities of aging, and repairing relationships with family. The show is a

‘A Month of Sundays’ will be at HART on select dates in February. Donated photo great mix of comedy and wit while tackling difficult subject matter in a touching and heartfelt way.

To make ticket reservations, go to harttheatre.org or call the HART Box Office at 828.456.6322.

On the shelf

Thomas Crowe

R

world and, in fact, the universe, is connected.

While each of the 26 short chapters in this book are full of first-hand experiential information related to the topics I’ve mentioned above, the most useful section of each chapter may be what comes at the end of each chapter in the form of a Q&A in which Brewer asks the questions and supplies the proper and useful responses. This is more conversational reading and can almost be seen as a kind of interior book in itself — in case, for the average reader, the tech-speak writing in the earlier part of the chapter becomes too much detail to easily retain.

For example: “Discussion Question #1 — What are the key functions and roles of bioregional learning centers?

A: It is quite likely that there are already things, like gardening clubs, retreat centers that host workshops and events, and small pockets of people who have built up their own regenerative projects. Hold these things in your mind as though they were a bioregional learning center, and you’ll see that a lot of groundwork has already been done.”

Brewer’s dialogue with himself continues until we, the reader, are engaged and seeing where we live as a bioregion (in this region of the Southern Appalachians there has already been a bioregion created by some of us in the 1980s and 1990s called the Katuah Bioregion that has been documented in a bioregional journal called “Katuah Journal:A Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians” which is archived at Appalachian State University in Boone in their Special Collections Library at (omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/sho w/79).

So, I think the best way to end this review is to leave you with a short meditation practice which appears at the very end of Brewer’s book:

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I call into awareness the Earth that anchors my body to this place where I now sit.

A breath inward of nourishment. A breath outward of gratitude.

I call into awareness the Sky that elevates my being to flow with all that is alive.

A breath inward for strength. A breath outward for service.

Thank you Gaia. You are me. I am you.

Together we are We.

Smoky Mountain News

munity economics (for the benefit of all members of the community, working together); inclusiveness and respect of Indigenous nations; pro-social behavior, raised consciousness and active ethics; holistic landscape management (interconnected networks of eco-systems) and other essential ingredients and work that Brewer cites and that needs to be done.

In “The Design Pathway For Regenerating Earth,” Brewer has created a defined outline for each and all of us to participate in in order to restore a viable and sustainable life for all life on the planet.

“Live simply, so that others may simply live,” he writes. And goes on to say: “All sustainable human cultures in the past were organized as bioregions. A Great Remembering is called for to embed us in the continuity of indigenous worlds — of which there are many.” In a time when things are going wrong, we look for leaders.

Those in the know and with experience to guide us out of crisis and to a more hopeful and sustainable future. During this period of climate and social crisis, Brewer has emerged and become visible and vocal regarding the climate crisis and the hope for human survival and sustainability.

On a more personal level and in regard to the kind of trauma that many people may be experiencing these days, Brewer emphasizes the idea that “the best medicine for grief or trauma is to practice the healing arts for something that you love.” And that the most essential regenerative work we do may well be inside of ourselves. “Learning to adapt and manage when things are beyond our control is just as crucial to the cultivation of trust, generosity, cooperation and goodwill toward others as restoring landscapes together is,” he writes. In this sense, Brewer’s perspective reminds me of the Earth First organization and movement during the 1960s and 1970s, which was an important movement for my generation and all about building consciousness and community with regard to and respect for the natural world. In this respect, he says “Humans have the ability to feel pain on behalf of the Earth.” This goes hand in hand with the idea that everything in the natural

February 14-20, 2024

ecently, I was told about a book titled “The Design Pathway For Regenerating Earth” (Earth Regenerators Press, Barachara, Columbia, 2021, 219 pages) by author Joe Brewer. Brewer is a transdisciplinary scholar weaving insights from scientific study and earth system science. He is affiliated with the Center for Complex Systems Research at the University of Illinois, the Cultural Evolution Society and the Evolution Institute. Or, as he himself states: “My mission is to secure Writer the existence of a complex thriving global civilization in 100 years. The task I now undertake is to launch a global research center on culture design by sharing best practices, building a global network of collaborators, and securing financing for the next generation of cultural research and design.”

So, what we have with this book is a personalized text for the future of both the planet and humanity.

Or, in more dramatic terms, “This is a book about what will need to happen if humanity is to intentionally avoid extinction. It is a disturbing truth that our current trajectory includes the real possibility that we could fail to meet this objective — and as a result, bring about our own demise.”

While this book isn’t an all-positive scenario for the future and not without scientific evidence to the contrary, it is, however, something of a playbook for where and how we humans have to go no matter how the future plays out related to the effect of climate change and what is seen by big business as economic and technological “progress.” In his book, Brewer focuses on many of the issues that will have to be addressed, such as creating regenerative Bioregions (organized by communities and constructed ecosystems); education (taught from a biological world perspective); com-

arts & entertainment

Creating health for the earth and humanity

(Thomas Crowe is a regular contributor to The Smoky Mountain News and author of the multiaward-winning non-fiction nature memoir “Zoro’s Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods.” newnativepress@hotmail.com.)

Letters From the Smokies Great Smoky Mountains National Park librarian/archivist Michael Aday will present his book, a collection of correspondences, “Letters From the Smokies” at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Within the archives of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, a wealth of knowledge is tucked away in more than a million time-worn documents. This book makes some of the most salient of its letters readily accessible. Voices spanning three centuries, not often heard, are collected and contextualized to offer a unique perspective on the development of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

To reserve copies of “Letters From the Smokies,” call City Lights Bookstore at 828.586.9499.

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Feeling the forest

around you.”

Forest therapy, which originated as shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” in Japan in the 1980s, is still fairly young in the United States. When Ellison began leading walks in 2012, it was nearly unheard of. But the idea connected with something he’d learned about himself back in the late 1980s as a student at Western Carolina University. Ellison had never hiked much before enrolling at WCU, when he started taking solo walks in the woods.

“I just enjoyed the way I felt when I went out in nature that way,” he said. “But I also noticed, when I came back, I was able to think more clearly. I was better able to focus. And then my grades started improving.”

Research supports Ellison’s anecdotal experience. According to Harvard Health Publishing, a walk in the forest has been shown to decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Other research has shown an increase in the number of immune cells among people who spent three days and two nights in a forest, and improved self-reported health and well-being among people who spend at least two hours each week in nature.

GAINING STEAM Forest therapy trails in Japan often have various structures like this one that support the forest bathing experience. Mark Ellison photo

Forest therapy offers opportunity for restoration

grateful for this moment within an otherwise harried day to do nothing but simply be part of creation.

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS E DITOR ith my eyes closed, I can’t see the patchwork of brown leaves and fallen twigs covering the forest floor before me, the pale green lattice of lichen peppering the trunks of upward-reaching trees, or the waters of Fisher Creek rushing over a bed of weathered rocks. But I can feel where I am. A light breeze teases my right cheek, the cool air not quite masking the scent of decaying leaves and bright mountain water.

“Notice the variety of sounds,” says Mark Ellison, a certified forest therapy guide, as he stands a short distance away. “The distances — near, far. And patterns. Try to find the rhythms in the sounds around us and how they interact with each other.”

I listen, noting how the creek’s upstream rumble plays against the higher-pitched crystal of the rivulet in front of me, a musical track that continues into infinity.

Ellison continues, speaking slowly through a 10-minute invitation that offers an opportunity for each of the senses to experience this familiar piece of trail as though it is brand new.

“What did you notice?” Ellison asks as I open my eyes — restored, refreshed, and

SLOWING DOWN

W

Normally, this exercise would be just one portion of a two-hour experience Ellison offers at Pinnacle Park in Sylva, which is home to one of the globe’s 20 certified forest therapy

A member of an October 2023 forest therapy tour in which Mark Ellison participated gestures toward a scenic view in Japan. Mark Ellison photo

trails. Today, he’s offering a taste of a tool that’s fascinated him since he first learned about it in the early 2000s, while researching his Ph.D. in adult education and human resource development.

“Forest therapy is about slowing down,” he said. “It’s not about covering a distance or about exercising. Conversely, it’s about disconnecting and stopping, and just being able to notice with all your senses everything that’s

When Ellison first stumbled across the concept of forest therapy as a student at N.C. State, it was a concept without name recognition in the United States. A 2014 article in Oprah Magazine helped change that, and since then it’s continued to gain traction.

“I think it’s very much taking off,” Ellison said, comparing its trajectory to that of yoga, which began gaining popularity in the United States in the 1970s. Today, it’s mainstream — many people do it, and most people have at least heard of it.

In recent years, forest therapy has garnered increasing levels of interest and recognition. A quick Google search pulls up articles from publications such as National Geographic, The LA Times and CBS News.

“I think it’s going to continue to [grow] as people are looking to find ways to maintain mental health,” Ellison said. “This is a great way to disconnect from the things that can bother us now. Getting away from being on the internet all the time, getting away from all the noise, getting away from all the distractions and being able to connect with things are nurturing to us.”

Ellison has been involved with the U.S. forest therapy movement since its inception, collaborating with Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Founder Amos Clifford as well as “The Nature Fix” author Florence Williams within his first year or so of leading walks. By 2022, he’d worked with the Town of Sylva to get the half-mile trail at the bottom of Pinnacle Park certified as an official forest therapy trail — one of only 20 such trails worldwide.

The Pinnacle Park trail offers self-guided options to reap the

F

Ellison prepares a tea ceremony featuring white pine tea on the forest therapy trail at Pinnacle Park.

The report updates a previous inventory released in 2022 and can be used by policymakers and planners to understand greenhouse gas emissions in North Carolina and as a baseline to evaluate and develop mitigation options. The full report is available at deq.nc.gov/ghginventory.

February 14-20, 2024

benefits of forest bathing, in the form of paper brochures and a QR code at the trailhead. Visitors are encouraged to practice sensory awareness through both stillness and taking a slow and purposeful walk.

They’re asked to find a tree that draws them in, find a spot to sit and be present and touch the waters of Fisher Creek.

But for those seeking a more intensive experience, there’s the guided option. Many people who hire Ellison to lead them through have undergone some kind of trauma.

“I’ve had several families come out as a way to remember someone who’s passed,” he said. “A woman who came out here as a way to remember her husband who loved nature. This was a way for her to feel connected to him. A mother who lost her son, and another mother who’d lost her daughter. They felt like this was a way they could reconnect and remember them.”

In October 2023, Ellison was one of about 20 forest therapy guides to join the first-ever tour of shinrin-yoku trails in Japan, a joint event of the U.S.-based Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and Japan-based Future with Forest.

“That was one of the best experiences of my life,” Ellison said.

He elaborated on that sentiment in a blog post describing the trip.

“There was so much about this experience that pushed my edges, challenged my thinking, opened my eyes,” he wrote. “It changed me. I was expecting that visiting the

Net emissions of greenhouse gases have fallen 38% between 2005 and 2020 in North Carolina, according to the latest update of the N.C. Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

The inventory, released last week by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, contains detailed estimates of greenhouse gas emissions in key source categories from 1990 to 2020, the most recent year for which historical data are consistently available. It also projects File photo emissions through 2050.

The report concluded that greenhouse gas emissions fell 28% between 2005 and 2020, or 38% if accounting for carbon sequestered within the state to offset that output. During the same timeframe, the Gross State Product grew by 20% and 23%, respectively.

The transportation sector continues to have the largest carbon footprint, accounting for 36% of gross emissions in 2020. Meanwhile, emissions from electricity generation and use are nearly half what they were in 2005, representing the largest greenhouse gas emission decline.

Forests, natural lands and agricultural lands sequestered an estimated 34% of the state’s

gross emissions in 2020, a much higher amount than previously reported.

While emissions fell drastically in 2020 compared to levels prior to the pandemic, the data projected that 2021 emissions, while higher than 2020, remained below 2019 levels.

By 2050, North Carolina is projected to see a 48% to 64% decrease in gross and net emissions, respectively, compared to 2005. This projection does not include all reductions that can be expected due to the lack of methods/data for modeling the impacts of the most recently enacted policies and federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Fisher Creek cascades along the Forest Therapy Trail at Pinnacle Park. Holly Kays photo forest therapy trails would be impactful, but more so it was the people … Returning home I visited one of my favorite trails to hike. I was noticing things I had not in a long time.

Things seemed different in a place I have been hundreds of times. The journey recharged, inspired and touched me in a way that has not happened in a very long time.”

828.452.3727

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Holly Kays photo

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Smoky Mountain News

Real Experience. Real Service. Real Results.

Mark Ellison has been leading forest therapy walks since 2012.

outdoors

Holly Kays photo

Greenhouse gas emissions continue to fall in N.C., report finds

71 North Main St. Waynesville 23

outdoors

Talk trout at BearWaters Justin Pilat of Tuckaseegee Fly Shop will discuss the shop, waters they fish and hosted travel trips at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, at BearWaters Brewery in Waynesville.

A Haywood County native,

Pilat has worked in the fly fishing industry for seven years, the past two at Tuckaseegee Fly Shop. The talk is offered as part of Trout Unlimited Cataloochee’s regular monthly meeting. In addition to Pilat’s talk, the evening will feature a drawing and swap table, with the meeting wrapping up by 8 p.m.

Plant trees at Tessentee The Virginia big-eared bat is capable of hovering and swift flight.

Michael Durham/durmphoto.com photo

Bat conservation plan out for public comment A draft conservation plan for the federally endangered Virginia big-eared bat is out for public comment through March 1.

In North Carolina, the species is found primarily in Avery and Watauga counties. It has been federally listed since 1979 due to habitat loss, vandalism of caves and increased human visitation to maternity roosts and hibernation areas. The plan out-

Smoky Mountain News

February 14-20, 2024

Get ready for Base Camp

lines long-term protections to encourage population growth, calling for continued monitoring and research of the species, maintaining its caves, and active protection of the bat’s foraging habitats through land acquisition, partnerships and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Conservation Land Program for private landowner participation.

Submit comments at bit.ly/3wdIH7C. Contact biologist Katherine Etchison with questions at katherine.etchison@ncwildlife.org.

File photo

Parent interest meetings for Basecamp Summer Camp in Waynesville will be held nightly at 6 p.m. Feb. 14-16 at the Waynesville Recreation Center.

These meetings will deliver all the information parents need before registering their child for the summer camp program. Parents need only attend one of the available meetings. Additionally, the hiring process for summer camp counselors has begun.

Contact Hannah Jones with questions at hjones@waynesvillenc.gov.

Documentary starring Haywood SAR Team now online

“Safe and Found,” a documentary featuring the Haywood County Search and Rescue Team, is now available to stream online after its premiere Jan. 20 in Clyde.

The film, produced by Jester Wallis Productions, shows what it’s like to serve on this all-volunteer team in the most remote areas of Western North Carolina, shares how to stay safe while hiking and features accounts from people the team has rescued and from a daughter who lost her mother to a hiking accident.

Watch the film at safe-and-found.com.

Support the Haywood County SAR Team by donating to its partner nonprofit, the WNC Wilderness Safety Fund, at wncwilderness24 safety.org.

An image from the ‘Safe and Found’ documentary shows the Haywood County Search and Rescue Team in action.

Jester Wallis Productions photo

Help transform an old cattle pasture into a wildlife haven 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 24, at Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in Otto.

In 2023, volunteers planted a variety of trees and shrubs on this 40-acre retired cattle pasture, and this next round will increase diversity by adding chestnut oaks, sumacs and river birches along the Little Tennessee River and Tessentee Creek.

Snacks and tools provided, with no prior experience necessary. Event is weather-dependent. Volunteers may be able to take home extra saplings. Sign up at mainspringconserves.org/events.

New program aims to protect farmland as older farmers age out

leveraging land protection to facilitate successful, affordable land transfer. Over the next four years, AFT will train three dozen land protection organizations and their staff to serve as “Navigators” in communities across the country, using a collaborative, capacity-buildNearly 300 million acres of American farm- ing approach. land is expected to change hands over the next The Southern Appalachian Highlands 20 years, and a new program from the Conservancy is one such program, and the American Farmland Trust called “Land organization’s Farmland Protection Director Transfer Navigators” aims to help farmers and Jess Laggis is hopeful about the potential landowners retire with confidence as they help impact. new farmers access land.

“We sit at kitchen tables with our farmers, discussing their hopes and dreams for their land as we work together to secure their conservation legacies,” Laggis said. “Farm transfer is a natural progression of that conversation, and a critical next step to ensure protected lands stay in production.”

The project will also offer regional support for landowners and land seekers, building and expanding communities of practice for service providers ranging from attorneys to appraisers Jess Laggis of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy who specialize in agristands with a landowner on one of the many farmland culture. AFT staff and conservation projects the nonprofit has worked on. SAHC photo Navigator partners will work directly with “Farmland is most at risk of conversion landowners and land seekers, as well as disduring generational transition,” said John tribute grants to farmers, ranchers and Piotti, AFT’s president and CEO. “With the landowners to help them develop and implewave of land transfer that is coming, we risk ment farm transfer plans. An online “Land converting far too much farmland into lowTransfer Resource Hub” will become a onedensity housing, subdivisions and strip malls. stop shop for resources helping landowners Land Transfer Navigators aims to build and land seekers in the earliest stages of the bridges between exiting and incoming farmers, transfer process.

Fish hatchery planning process moves forward Great Smokkyy Mouuntains National Park librariaan-archivist

Michael Aday A ay will present nt his book, b a collection of corresppondences,

Letters rs Fr From the Smokkies

Satturd daay, Febru ruar aryy 17th at 3 pp..m.

In fall 2023, 67,000 pounds of hatchery-raised trout were stocked in North Carolina. NCWRC photo built in the late 1950s by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and turned over to the Wildlife Commission in 1983, with a major renovation in the mid-1990s. Currently, the hatchery produces and stocks more than 600,000 catchable trout each year in 13 Western North Carolina counties.

Trout fishing in North Carolina has an economic impact of $1.38 billion, said Wildlife Commission Executive Director Cameron Ingram, and is enjoyed by more than 300,000 state residents — plus many

828/586-9499 • more@citylightssnc.com 3 EAST JACKSON STR RE EET • SY YL LVA

more visitors from out of state. Most stocked trout in North Carolina originate from the hatchery.

The objection period is open for 45 days following the publication of a notice in the Asheville-Citizen Times. To access the recently completed Environmental Assessment, draft decision notice and finding of no significant impact, or to find out how to file an objection, visit fs.usda.gov/project/nfsnc/?project=596 57.

Explore Fontana Dam

Catch a sight of migratory birds at 8 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 17, at Lake Junaluska.

The lake is draining for maintenance, making it a great time to see the migratory birds that spend wintertime in Western North Carolina. Guide Howard File photo Browers will lead the excursion. A limited number of loaner binoculars are available.

The outing occurs amid the Great Backyard Bird Count, a worldwide event Feb. 16-19 during which participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes or as long as they wish, and then to submit their observations for researchers to analyze. Learn more about the Great Backyard Bird Count at birdcount.org.

The cost for the Feb. 17 outing is $10, with registration open through Feb. 16. Sign up at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

Take an easy 5-mile hike along Lakeshore Trail at Fontana Dam Thursday, Feb. 22, with the Partners of Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness.

The group will meet at the Fontana Dam Visitor Center Parking Area at 10 a.m., and then hike across the dam and onto the trail. The excursion will explore some of the old homesteads that were abandoned when the dam was built.

Hikers should wear hiking shoes and bring water and snacks. Contact Cindy Mease at 919.624.8850 with questions.

Slow, Gentle Interpretive Wildflower Walks for Groups & Individuals, Ecological and Horticultural Consultations, Plant Surveys, Invasive Plant Removal, and a Variety of Lectures & Workshops!

Fontana Dam. File photo

February 14-20, 2024

Available Year-Round /bigelows_botanical_excursions/ /BigelowBotanicalExcursions 828.226.0398 • bigelownc@gmail.com

Smoky Mountain News

Learn how to grow plants from seed with a program slated for 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Center in Waynesville.

Intended for home gardeners of all experience levels, the program will cover how to select seeds, increase germination rates, create the proper environment for growing and the correct time to start seeds and move plants into the garden. Techniques are applicable to annual and perennial flowers as well as spring and fall vegetables.

Certified N.C. State Extension Master Gardener volunteer Bonnie Refinski-Knight

will teach the program. Following the lecture, participants will be able to practice seed starting and leave with planted seeds for the garden. Participants are welcome to bring their own supply of seeds and any clean seedling pots from last year.

The class is the first in a series of “Learn to Grow” classes, with “Gardening in the Mountains” planned for March 13 and “Lifelong Gardening Techniques and Equipment” April 3. Future classes planned for the Canton library include “Seed Starting” March 7 and “Square Foot Gardening” April 9.

Pre-registration is required for the seed starting class at go.ncsu.edu/haywoodgardeningclasses or by calling 828.456.3575.

Cost is $10, to be paid at the door by exact cash or check.

Adam Bigelow

Offers

Go birding

Start seeds with confidence

outdoors

The U.S. Forest Service has completed its review of proposed renovations at the Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard and determined that current environmental regulations allow the project to move forward. An objection period is now open during which anybody who had previously submitted public comment on the plan may participate.

The hatchery was severely damaged during flooding from Tropical Storm Fred in 2021. Renovations will replace dated and failing infrastructure to ensure that the hatchery can continue to operate, while also increasing operational efficiency, maximizing fish production and making the water supply more reliable. The project will increase the capacity for fish production and include improved restroom facilities.

Renovations are expected to improve the quality of water used at the hatchery and flowing downstream in the Davidson River.

Located on 44 acres of national forest land, the hatchery operates via a special use permit the Forest Service has granted to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. It was

your friendly, local blue box — smoky mountain news File photo

25

outdoors

WAYNESVILLE TIR RE, INC. • Tires • Brakes • Alignment • Tractor Tirres

BY B URT KORNEGAY

Coyote howl

Authori h ized Motor Flee l t Management Main a tenance

Smoky Mountain News

February 14-20, 2024

SNOW REPO ORT

26

Up Moses Creek

15 of 18 8 Slopes Op pen 3 Aerial A i Lifts i 2 Su urface Liftss 18 to 60 6 Inch Base WEEKDAYS: Y 9:00AM – 10P PM WEEKEND DS: 8:30AM – 10PM

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

was hiking in the woods above our house at sunrise when coyotes began to howl behind me, and they howled and howled.

I couldn't see them, but they were close.

Then I came on a white-tailed doe moving through the trees. She was heading in the same direction I was, up towards a dense growth of rhododendron on the ridgetop — and away from the howls.

I wondered if she was one of the three does I often see on my morning hikes. They move so nimbly on the steep slopes that I call them the Three Graces.

Where were the other two? The doe stopped and stared at me, clearly nervous; but I fancied that she was relieved to see I didn't have four legs, a snout and fangs.

When I reached the ridgetop, even more coyotes began to howl — in front of me this time, a second batch.

The first were still going at it too, downslope on my left. I couldn't see the new ones either, but to judge by the sound they were right there, just past the rhododendrons the trail snaked through. I hiked on into the thicket but didn't see anything when I came out the other side.

Suddenly they — or perhaps a third batch of coyotes — began howling to my right, down the side of the ridge on our neighbor’s land. I could distinguish different “voices” at once in this band, yelps and high-pitched tremulous wails and lower-sounding howls. Wildlife biologists say coyotes rarely attack humans, and no doubt the statistics they quote are right. But I wasn’t thinking about statistics that morning. I was standing on the ridge surrounded by devilish shrill squalls.

I wondered if a large pack had divided up to hunt the doe, and if my hike had taken me to the spot where the predators planned to come together with her in the middle. I remembered a couple of years earlier when coyotes ravaged a fawn in our yard. And once Becky, in the garden, had a coyote go right past her in hot pursuit of a rabbit.

Now, hearing coyotes howling around me, I couldn’t help but wonder what might happen if they were to switch to new "game.”

Earlier Becky had told me about a news report she’d heard about coyotes biting 19 people in Montreal in a year. Then an article came to mind I’d read a few years back. It was about two coyotes that had mauled a young woman to death in New England as she hiked in the snow.

I walked on, stout hiking stick in hand.

Our son, Henry, had made it for me when he was in Alaska out of tough “Alaskan birch.” I was glad to have the stick. I was glad to be male, old and stringy. I was glad I didn't

I

have fawn spots or rabbit ears.

All of a sudden, the howling stopped. But this doesn't mean it grew quiet. Every dog down in the valley was now going at it — some barking at the coyotes, some howling with them — along with two roosters crowing and a raucous pileated woodpecker that was not to be outdone. It struck me that the woodpecker’s yucka-yucka-yucka cry was the only truly native sound I’d heard that morning, since according to biologists, coyotes themselves are recent invaders of our mountains from Canada and the West.

A coyote suddenly realizes he’s been spotted by a human. Christian Alessandro Perez photo I was heading back down the trail when I came on the solitary doe again — or a doe, at any rate. She was just a few feet away when I stopped. The doe had already seen me, of course. We stood and looked at each other. Then she slowly raised and lowered her white tail repeatedly. It reminded me of the way a phoebe raises its tail when perched. I pulled out my white handkerchief, slowly raised and lowered it. That really got the doe focused on me — big ears, black eyes, glistening nose and all. She trotted a short ways off then looked back at me, tail now down.

Becky was at the door when I reached the house. She’d heard the coyotes and knew I was on my morning walk. Henry was there too. He said that if I’d started yelling, he was going to head up through the woods to chase the varmints off.

(Burt and Becky Kornegay live in Jackson County. To see more photographs by Christian Alessandro Perez, visit alephrocco.com.)

February 14-20, 2024

Smoky Mountain News

27

Market WNC PLACE Legals

MarketPlace information:

The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 copies across 500 locations in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, including the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County.

Visit www.wncmarketplace.com to place your ad!

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p: 828.452.4251 · f:828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com www.wncmarketplace.com

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF HAYWOOD IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION FILE NO 24 CVS 107 Alliance Finance, Inc. v.

Guerry Jason Wardell, et. al. NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION to: GUERRY JASON WARDELL, KYLE WARDELL, and ANNA WARDELL TAKE NOTICE that a pleading seeking to quiet title of 38 Hamilton Ct. Maggie Valley, NC 28751 (PIN: 7696-26-0271) has EHHQ ¿OHG 3ODLQWLII VHHNV to extinguish all claims of interest that you may have in the property. You are required to answer the Complaint no later than April 15, 2024. Upon failure to do so, the party seeking relief against you will apply the court for relief sought. 02/14/2024 Jennifer Cloud, Esq. Attorney for Plaintiff P.O. Box 12257 Rock Hill, SC 29731 NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No.2024 E 000015 Andrew Parker, having TXDOL¿HG DV WKH $Gministrator CTA of the Estate of Rose H Scott of Haywood County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before Apr 24 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment.

Administrator CTA 622 Vision Road Canton, NC 28716

NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No.2023 E 000755 Carla Dombrowski, KDYLQJ TXDOL¿HG DV WKH Administrator of the Estate of Victor W. Varnadore of Haywood County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before April 24, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment.

Administrator 10939 Cruso Road Canton, NC 28716 NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No.2024 E 000105 Donna Messer Hunter, KDYLQJ TXDOL¿HG DV WKH Administrator of the Estate of Maggie ParaLee Messer of Haywood County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before May 14 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment.

Administrator 368 Dolan Road Waynesville, NC 28786 NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION Case No.2024 E 000062 Cody M Parton, having TXDOL¿HG DV WKH $GPLQistrator of the Estate of Doris Ann McCarter of Haywood County,

February 14-20, 2024

North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before Apr 30 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment.

Administrator 64 Connies Way Clyde, NC 28721

Announcements HAYWOOD DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRECINCT MEETINGS Haywood County Democrats will hold annual precinct meetings on Zoom on February 17, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. All registered Democrats are welcome to attend, learn more about their precincts and how to turn NC Blue in 2024. (828) 508-4336 Haywooddemocrats@ gmail.com GOT AN UNWANTED CAR? DONATE IT TO PATRIOTIC HEARTS. Fast free pick up. All 50 States. Patriotic Hearts’ programs help veterans ¿QG ZRUN RU VWDUW WKHLU own business. Call 24/7: 844-875-6782.

Employment CERTIFIED APPLICATION COUNSELOR-HAYWOOD COUNTY Are you an outgoing person with a passion for equitable access to healthcare in rural Western NC? Mountain Projects, Inc. is immedi-

ately seeking a full-time &HUWL¿HG $SSOLFDWLRQ Counselor for Haywood County. This is a grant funded position. Job Duties: • Conduct education and outreach to uninsured individuals and community partner agencies • Share information regarding the Federally facilitated Marketplace, including: • Eligibility requirements for federal tax subsidies and cost-sharing subsidies.

(OLJLELOLW\ IRU 4XDOL¿HG Health Plans on the FFM, Medicaid and North Carolina’s Health Choice and KRZ WR HQUROO LQ TXDOL¿HG health plans, Medicaid, and Health Choice on the marketplace website. • Meet with individuals and facilitate plan selection based on the needs of the individual/family or the small business seeking health insurance coverage, assess tax implications and premium and cost-sharing requirements, application submission, renewal, and disenrollment processes.

• Help people understand how premium tax credits work and their SRWHQWLDO ¿QDQFLDO LPSDFW • Facilitate eligibility deWHUPLQDWLRQV IRU TXDOL¿HG health plans, Medicaid, and Health Choice and premium tax subsidies.

• Provide referrals to appropriate agencies, including the North Carolina Department of Insurance for applicants and enrollees with grievances, complaints, questions, or need for other social services.

4XDOL¿FDWLRQV &DQGLdates applying for this position should have the IROORZLQJ TXDOL¿FDWLRQV

WNC MarketPlace

• Bachelor’s degree. • Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously. • Ability to work autonomously and with other team members. • Experience with Medicaid, VA, Medicare, Individual health insurance and safety net health care providers • Prior experience assisting clients. • 3UR¿FLHQF\ LQ 0LFURVRIW Excel. • Strong writing VNLOOV 3UR¿FLHQF\ LQ Microsoft outlook • Public Speaking experience • Willingness to travel up WR %HQH¿WV LQFOXGHG in this position: 37 Hour work week. Health Insurance with Mountain Projects paying 85% of the monthly premium. Dental and Vision coverage.

Short/Long term disability and life insurance paid

by Mountain Projects.

Matching Retirement Plan 13 paid holidays a year Annual and sick leave To be considered please apply at www.mountainprojects.org AA/EOE CERTIFIED APPLICATION COUNSELOR-MACON COUNTY Are you an outgoing person with a passion for equitable access to healthcare in rural Western NC? Mountain Projects, Inc. is immediately seekLQJ D IXOO WLPH &HUWL¿HG Application Counselor for Macon County. This is a grant funded position.

Job Duties: • Conduct education and outreach to uninsured individuals and community partner agencies • Share information regarding the Federally facilitated Marketplace, including: • Eligibility requirements for federal tax subsidies and cost-sharing subsidies.

(OLJLELOLW\ IRU 4XDOL¿HG Health Plans on the FFM, Medicaid and North Carolina’s Health Choice and KRZ WR HQUROO LQ TXDOL¿HG health plans, Medicaid, and Health Choice on the marketplace website. • Meet with individuals and facilitate plan selection based on the needs of the individual/family or the small business seeking health insurance coverage, assess tax implications and premium and cost-sharing requirements, application submission, renewal, and

disenrollment processes.

• Help people understand how premium tax credits work and their SRWHQWLDO ¿QDQFLDO LPSDFW • Facilitate eligibility deWHUPLQDWLRQV IRU TXDOL¿HG health plans, Medicaid, and Health Choice and premium tax subsidies.

• Provide referrals to appropriate agencies, including the North Carolina Department of Insurance for applicants and enrollees with grievances, complaints, questions, or need for other social services.

4XDOL¿FDWLRQV &DQGLdates applying for this position should have the IROORZLQJ TXDOL¿FDWLRQV • Bachelor’s degree. • Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously. • Ability to work autonomously and with other team members. • Experience with Medicaid, VA, Medicare, Individual health insurance and safety net health care providers • Prior experience assisting clients. • 3UR¿FLHQF\ LQ 0LFURVRIW Excel. • Strong writing VNLOOV 3UR¿FLHQF\ LQ Microsoft outlook • Public Speaking experience • Willingness to travel up WR %HQH¿WV LQFOXGHG in this position: 37 Hour work week. Health Insurance with Mountain Projects paying 85% of the monthly premium. Dental and Vision coverage.

Short/Long term disability and life insurance paid

by Mountain Projects.

Matching Retirement Plan 13 paid holidays a year Annual and sick leave To be considered please apply at www.mountainprojects.org AA/EOE HUMAN RESOURCES COORDINATOR Manage WKH VWDI¿QJ SURFHVV including job posting, recruiting, interviewing, hiring and onboarding. Coordinate human resources activities and staff of the organization.

Work with management team on orientation for new hires. Work with emSOR\HHV RQ EHQH¿W SDFNage. Address employee relations issues, such as harassment allegations, work complaints or other employee concerns and report those to the Executive Director. Administer

www.wncmarketplace.com

HPSOR\HH EHQH¿W SODQV Conduct background checks on all potential new hires. Schedule pre-employment drug screen for potential new hires. Monthly random drug screens-maintain OLVWV VXEPLW WR ¿UP SXOOLQJ randoms, coordinate with managers on scheduling the random’s and complete related form. Provide ongoing support and updates to the Management Team and Agency Supervisors to assure compliant, fair, and consistent supervision. File all work related accidents to Worker’s Compensation Company. Three to ¿YH \HDUV LQ D 3HUVRQQHO or HR setting with an Associate’s in a related ¿HOG RU EDFKHORU¶V GHJUHH in human resource or reODWHG ¿HOG ZLWK WZR \HDUV relevant experience. %HQH¿WV LQFOXGHG LQ WKLV position: 37 Hour work week. Health Insurance with Mountain Projects paying 85% of the monthly premium. Dental and Vision coverage.

Short/Long term disability and life insurance paid

by Mountain Projects.

Matching Retirement Plan 13 paid holidays a year Annual and sick leave To be considered please apply at www.mountainprojects.org AA/EOE (828) 452-4097 jcook@ mountainprojects.org

Land For Sale TINY HOME LOTS FOR SALE Tiny Home Lots for sale. $30k-$45k/ ea. Each lot comes with water, power, and septic run to each lot. Located in Franklin, NC. Go to our web site for directions and more info. www.

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BROOKE

PARROTT

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828.734.2146

“WORKING CATS” Asheville Humane Society has cats available who are best suited to life in a barn/farm, warehouse, etc. Fully vaccinated and spayed/ neutered. (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ ashevillehumane.org LAB MIX DOG, BLACK&WHITE — ZOEY 5 year old spunky girl; enjoys hiking, swimming, and playing with toys.

Likes other dogs.

Asheville Humane Society (828) 761-2001 adoptions@ashevillehumane.org ST.BERNARD FEMALE, FRANKLIN 15 months, micro-chipped, spayed. Very smart.

Needs rehoming due to parent Alzheimer’s and am FT caregiver. Call/text Kathy 941.592.6801 Important WR ¿QG D JRRG FDULQJ home. Byhisgraces33@ yahoo.com

February 14-20, 2024

WNC MarketPlace

29

Real Estate Announcements STORYBOOK SENTIMENT ACROSS 1 Auxiliary professor 8 Nickname for baseball great Ruth 15 Cultural value system 20 High-fashion clothing 21 Knows someone at the company, say 22 Reluctant (to) 23 “Wait, my rant isn’t finished ...”

25 Private, as desires 26 Agnus -- (lamb figure) 27 “Cool beans!”

28 Down dinner 30 Look lewdly 31 2018 war documentary directed by Peter Jackson 38 Composer -- Sebastian Bach 40 Hamilton/Burr confrontation 41 Era upon era 42 Turndowns 43 Stati -- (America, in Italian) 44 Stage design 47 La -- Tar Pits 49 Gp. opposed to leather 51 Made a habit of taking risks 54 Actress Cuthbert 57 French for “summers” 58 Bible book after Micah 59 Dwell at 61 --Ops (CIA mind games) 62 Coffee holder 63 In love 67 Big name in candy wafers 68 2011-13 Fran Drescher sitcom

71 Give it -- (try) 74 Paris’ Champs- -75 Certain scanning device: Abbr.

76 St. crossers 79 First book section 81 Former U.N. chief Boutros Boutros- -83 Stool or pew 84 Milk container 85 Just a tiny bit 90 Op-ed writer Maureen 91 Art of Erte 92 Once existed 93 Eldritch 94 Links gp.

96 Canon camera brand 98 -- part (role-play) 100 1996-2002 sports sitcom 101 Song phrase following “See you later, alligator” 107 Amazes 108 Daddy’s boy 109 Prague citizen 110 Victor’s hand gesture 113 Prefix with type or plasm 115 What’s spelled out by the starts of six answers in this puzzle 121 Lot units 122 Countering an attack by missile, e.g.

123 Pundit Huffington 124 Hockey feints 125 Fill with more inventory 126 Like soon-to-beunveiled tech DOWN 1 Mil. school 2 Finished

3 She won a Tony for “Hurlyburly” 4 Stage actress Hagen 5 Pious sister 6 Actor Hume of “Cocoon” 7 Heads, to Henriette 8 Iota preceder 9 Novelist Robbins 10 N.Y. hours 11 Cranky cry 12 Singer DiFranco 13 Stanford- -- test 14 Occupy 15 -- Lilly & Co. 16 Until this time 17 “Just one moment” 18 Verdi opera 19 Tears to bits 24 “Told ya so!”

29 Recurring themes 32 Detests 33 Author Blyton 34 Oil, informally 35 Dweeb’s kin 36 Cassini of 20-Across 37 Quick quip 38 Minty Kentucky Derby drink 39 -- last legs (about to collapse) 44 Biting turtle 45 Ordinal suffix 46 Like so, informally 48 Correo -- (Spanish airmail) 50 -- over (satisfied for the moment) 52 “Movin’ --” (sitcom theme song) 53 Tube prizes 55 Brand of fruit drinks 56 Year, in Brazil

60 Signs up 62 Multilevel structure for Fluffy 64 Suffix with chlor- or fluor65 Model Cheryl 66 “ER” or “CSI” 68 Get a move on 69 Lead-in to “So sue me!”

70 Caesar’s 202 71 N.C. State’s NCAA div.

72 “-- Na Na” 73 Toiling away 76 Fetching 77 Certain surrealist paintings 78 Eye maladies 80 Funds 82 Sly -- fox 83 Tortoise’s top 86 Calf product 87 Caesar’s “Behold!”

88 Campus mil. program 89 Singer Halliwell 94 Underside of a dog’s foot 95 Liftoff stress 97 Hebrew horn 99 With 106-Down, North Pole surrounder 100 Cling (to) 102 Perfumer Lauder 103 Absurd 104 Missouri’s -- Mountains 105 Toon pic 106 See 99-Down 111 Kin of -ette 112 Novelist Jennifer 114 Pre-CIA gp.

116 “-- a girl!”

117 Fabric dye brand 118 Retired NBAer Ming

ANSWERS ON PAGE 34

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 18 living with parents or legal guardians and pregnant women.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate in violation of this law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

ATTENTION PROPERTY OWNERS I BUY HOUSES AND MOBILE HOMES WITH LAND. ANY CONDITION. ANYWHERE. 704-285-0452

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30

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February 14-20, 2024

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Home Improvement SECURE YOUR HOME With Vivint Smart Home technology. Call 855-6215855 to learn how you can get a professionally installed security system with $0 activation.

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WATER DAMAGE CLEANUP & RESTORATION: A small amount of water can lead to major damage and mold growth in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family and your home’s value! Call 24/7: 1-888-290-2264 Have zip code of service location ready when you call!

PEST CONTROL: PROTECT YOUR HOME from pests safely and affordably. Roaches, Bed Bugs, Rodent, Termite, Spiders and other pests. Locally owned and affordable.

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STALLED any size.

Labor and window included. 5 window minimum. Lifetime warranty.

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HATTERAS WINDOWS Hatteraswindowsanddoors@gmail. com 252-256-8531.

ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING FOREVER! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off Entire Purchase.

Call 1-877-649-1190

Legal, Financial and Tax

REPLACE YOUR ROOF With the best looking and longest lasting material – steel from Erie Metal Roofs! Three styles and multiple colors available.

Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer $500 Discount + Additional 10% off install (for military, health workers & 1st responders.) Call Erie Metal Roofs: 1-855-585-1815 REPLACEMENT WINDOWS. $279 IN-

www.wncmarketplace.com

$10K+ IN DEBT? Be debt free in 24-48 months. Pay a fraction of your debt.

Call National Debt Relief 844-977-3935.

SAVE BIG ON HOME INSURANCE! Compare 20 A-rated insurance companies. Get a quote within minutes. Average savings of $444/year! Call 855391-2786! (M-F 8am-8pm Central) SAVE YOUR HOME! Are you behind paying your MORTGAGE? Denied a /RDQ 0RGL¿FDWLRQ" 7KUHDWened with FORECLOSURE? Call the Homeowner’s Relief Line now for Help! 855-721-3269

February 14-20, 2024

WNC MarketPlace

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Smoky Mountain News February 14-20, 2024