Smoky Mountain News | February 10, 2021

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February 10-16, 2021 Vol. 22 Iss. 37

Sylva police chief argues for more officers Page 12 Disc golf course proposed in Franklin Page 13

CONTENTS On the Cover:

For the first time since 2010, the wastewater permit for Canton’s paper mill is up for renewal through the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.

MountainTrue discusses the changes it would like to see made to the new permit while Evergreen Packaging talks about much progress has been made when it comes to environmental protections. (Page 30) A Shot Above photo

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Tribe to explore indoor sports facility ............................................................................4 Council overrides veto claiming Charter violation ....................................................5 Jail expansion project enters critical phase ................................................................6 Cost-saving bill could lead to less gov’t transparency ............................................7 WNC schools adhering to state recommendation ..................................................8 Jackson gets influx of vaccine doses ..........................................................................10 Sylva police chief argues for more officers ..............................................................12 Disc golf course proposed in Franklin ........................................................................13 Macon budget remains agile through pandemic ....................................................16 Health News ......................................................................................................................23

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news February 10-16, 2021

Tribe to explore indoor sports facility

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER he Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is moving toward construction of an indoor baseball and softball facility following a Feb. 4 vote from Tribal Council.

During the meeting, Council approved a resolution introduced by Yellowhill Representative Tom Wahnetah directing the tribe’s project management team to develop a proposal for an indoor facility with batting cages, pitching areas, a team skills area and a rest area.

“I just think it would be a great asset for this tribe for our children who want to play at the next level,” Wahnetah said.

Before discussing the proposal, Council members heard from three young softball players who told them that an indoor facility would be a big win for local ball players who currently have to drive to Asheville if they want to practice indoors.

Though the vote to pass the resolution was split, Council members were united in their conceptual support of the proposal.

However, several of them felt that more discussion was needed before passing it.

“I think it needs a little more study, a little more workmanship on it,” said Birdtown Representative Boyd Owle.

Chairman Adam Wachacha noted that, while the resolution calls for construction of a new facility on property adjacent to the

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Yellowhill Community Club, the tribe has some existing gymnasiums that are underutilized and could perhaps be repurposed for an indoor facility like the one proposed. Taking that route would cut both the cost and the timeline.

“We have some gymnasiums that aren’t even really being used right now,” said Wachacha. “Maybe we could reallocate one of those to something more specific.”

Wachacha also proposed that the project include a multipurpose field that could be used for a variety of sports and feature a retractable cover allowing protection during the wintertime. Wolfetown Representative Chelsea Saunooke agreed with that sentiment.

“I love the thought of helping our athletes, but at the same time, we also have lots of kids that skate too,” she said. “They’re affected by the weather as well. They can’t get out there and skate — or shouldn’t — if it’s snowy or icy. I think this is bigger.”

Wahnetah said that, while the ordinance mentions softball and baseball specifically, the plan is to build a facility that accommodates a wide range of sports.

“I wanted this for our children, to help them stay busy so they won’t fall into the path of drug use or anything like that,” he said. “I just think it’s needed and it will not be just for softball and baseball. We’re going to design it where any team can use it.”

Saunooke said that if that was the inten-

tion, then the resolution should be amended to reflect it.

“If you’re wanting to sell it as being broad, then can we take ‘baseball and softball’ out and say ‘sports training facility,’ or whatever you want to call it?” she asked.

However, no such amendment was made to the resolution. Wolfetown Representative Bo Crowe said that even with an affirmative vote that day, the finished plan would have to come back to Tribal Council for final approval.

“I know it does speak a whole lot about baseball and softball in here, but it’s still leaving it up to project management for the proposal back to Tribal Council,” he said. “That’s when we can add all the different sporting events, how it needs to be laid out to accom-

modate all different athletes.”

Ultimately, Council held two votes on the matter — one to table, and the second to pass. The vote to table failed, and the vote to pass prevailed.

In favor of passage were Painttown Representatives Tommye Saunooke and Dike Sneed; Big Cove Representative Richard French, Snowbird Representative Bucky Brown, Birdtown Representative Albert Rose, Wahnetah and Crowe. Opposed to passage were Vice Chairman David Wolfe, Big Cove Representative Perry Shell, Chelsea Saunooke, Wachacha and Owle.

The resolution requires a signature from Principal Chief Richard Sneed to become effective.

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why it’s there. For instance, the Principal Chief could not come forward and say, ‘I just don’t like this thing. I’m not going to sign it.’

The reliance would be if it complies with the other checkboxes for tribal contracts, then he would be obligated to sign it and if he or she did not potentially there would be some remedy for that.”

Legislative Counsel Carolyn Ward disagreed with McConnell’s assessment, saying that, as keepers of the purse, Tribal Council is well within its rights to control spending decisions within its own branch of government.

“The court has stated on several different occasions that executive and legislative are two totally separate branches of government,” she said. “In 2016 Council took the action to have Legislative Branch be stronger,” she said. “You created the Tribal Operations Program. You have your own employees. You have your own branch that’s fully functional. To say that everything has to go through the executive for a signature, that’s crazy.”

Sneed took exception to that perspective.

“The Charter says what it says,” he said.

“I disagree wholeheartedly with Miss West’s analysis that Council can essentially do whatever Council wants.”

The Dec. 3 discussion ended with a unanimous vote to table the ordinance, and when it reappeared on the agenda Jan. 14, the vote was once more unanimous, with Council this time opting to pass it. The version of the ordinance attached to the Jan. 14 agenda did not include McConnell’s suggested revisions.

Sneed vetoed the ordinance, in his letter to Council reiterating the arguments McConnell had made Dec. 3, stating that the ordinance violated the Charter.

None of what appeared to be a lengthy discussion on the veto issue was conducted in open session. Rose moved to go into closed session immediately after Sneed’s veto letter had been read into the record, and Council approved the move by a unanimous vote. The body went off-air for 80 minutes before coming back to vote.

Tribal law requires that any motion to go into closed session must cite one or more of the permissible reasons to do so listed in Sec. 117-13 of the Cherokee Code. However, no reason was cited prior to the start of the closed session.

Voting to override Sneed’s veto were Painttown Representatives Tommye Saunooke and Dike Sneed; Wolfetown Representatives Bo Crowe and Chelsea Saunooke; Big Cove Representatives Richard French and Perry Shell; Yellowhill Representative Tom Wahnetah; Snowbird Representative Bucky Brown; and Rose. The three votes opposed to the override came from Chairman Adam Wachacha, Vice Chairman David Wolfe and Birdtown Representative Boyd Owle.

February 10-16, 2021

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ollowing an 80-minute closed session discussion, Tribal Council voted 9-3 last week to override Principal Chief Richard Sneed’s veto of an ordinance the body passed Jan. 14 changing how contracts for Legislative Branch functions are executed.

Under tribal law, any contract worth $50,000 or more must be approved by the Business Committee — which is composed of six of Tribal Council’s 12 members as well as the principal chief and vice chief — and then signed by the principal chief before becoming effective.

The ordinance Sneed vetoed states that contracts over the $50,000 threshold do not need to go through the Business Committee or receive the chief ’s signature if they stem from the Principal Chief Legislative Branch.

Richard Sneed Such contracts must be signed by the Tribal Council chairman or vice chairman instead.

When he introduced the legislation during the Dec. 3 council meeting, Birdtown Representative Albert Rose said it was in response to past instances in which a chief had withheld his signature from legislative contracts.

“All this is stating simply is it will give the chairman and vice chairman the authority to sign off on contracts that this body needs,” said Rose.

However, Attorney General Mike McConnell cautioned the body against approving the ordinance.

“I don’t think you can do what you want to do,” said McConnell. “I think it violates Section 20 of the Charter. I do respect what you want to do, and I want to suggest that I’d like to find a different way to get there.”

Section 20 of the tribe’s Charter and Governing Document states simply that “no money shall be paid out except upon warrant of the Principal Chief as authorized by an act of the Council.”

McConnell suggested that the ordinance instead be amended to state that, while the chief ’s signature is still needed to execute a contract, the chief cannot withhold approval “unreasonably.”

Additionally, he suggested, the ordinance could be amended to state that no contract over $50,000 approved by Tribal Council would need to go through the Business Committee, because Business Committee is primarily composed of Tribal Council members.

“The problem is with the word ‘unreasonably,’” he said. “But as you work through the law, sometimes you have to rely on that word, and the attorneys dealing with it know

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Council overrides veto claiming Charter violation

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Jail expansion project enters critical phase

Smoky Mountain News

February 10-16, 2021

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR pponents of Haywood County’s proposed $16 million jail expansion project are ramping up pressure on county commissioners to consider alternative proposals that would devote more resources to keeping people out of jail.

“Before we actively ruin peoples’ lives with a jail, we have to address these drivers of incarceration,” said Jesse Lee Dunlap, an organizer with local grassroots advocacy group Down Home North Carolina. “We want some focus on keeping people out of jail. We have, right next door, the example of Swain County where they recently expanded their detention center but because they did not address the drivers of incarceration, they are already full and having to ship inmates to other counties.”

Back on Nov. 2, 2020, Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Haynes presented the results of a needs assessment report on jail capacity to commissioners.

Haynes said that in 2015, the average daily population of the jail was 116.7 inmates per day, and that inmates would typically stay for almost two weeks. After a slight decline in population in 2016, jail population rebounded to 117.6 in 2018, and then to 124.3 in 2019.

Projections for 2021 suggest that number could increase 5 percent by 2025, and by as much as 20 percent through 2045.

Given that the current rated capacity of the jail is 149 inmates, if those increases come to be it would leave the jail nearly full every day.

But full utilization of all 149 beds is rare, due to something called operational capacity. An example of operational capacity given by Moseley Architects, the firm that prepared the initial schematics of what the expansion could look like, is when a woman occupies one bed in a two-bed cell. If a male comes into the jail, that empty bed obviously can’t be used for the male inmate. Operational capacity of the jail is about 75 percent of its rated capacity.

Between 2015 and 2019, the average daily population of the jail exceeded both rated and operational capacity more often than not.

When that happens, inmates must be shipped off to other jails, at the county’s expense.

That data is what led to the proposal of a jail expansion project that would up the rated capacity of the jail to more than 240 inmates, depending on the final floorplan.

The proposed expansion would cover more than 30,000 square feet, at a finished cost of $375 per square foot. Additional costs including renovation, site work, the demolition of the existing annex and an $875,000 recreation yard put the cost at $14.5 million.

Adding in furnishings, and contingency appropriations put the final price tag at $16.4 million.

Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead said during the November meeting that the county remains in a very strong financial position and has been paying off existing debt at a fast clip, but the expansion would likely still cost 2.5 to 3 cents on the 6 county’s current property tax rate. Staffing

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the expansion would add to that tab, to the tune of another cent or two in property taxes.

During the Nov. 2 presentation, an ambitious timeline for the project was outlined to get the expansion opened by late 2023 after an 18-month build process. Commissioners hoped to award a contract to an architect in early January of this year, but Morehead explained that COVID-19 and cold weather had delayed that.

Four architectural firms responded to the county’s RFP. The top two firms were interviewed, but a contract hasn’t yet been awarded because a geo-tech firm is still taking core samples at the proposed building site to ensure the ground can support the new structure. Once that’s complete — maybe two weeks from now, according to Morehead — the county can choose an architectural firm to design the building and award the contract. Morehead thinks that could ultimately happen around mid-March.

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lthough some of the forecasted growth in Haywood’s jail population can be attributed to the county’s increasing population, resistance to the proposed jail expansion project formed almost immediately because it does not address the growing opinion that many of those people shouldn’t be in jail in the first place.

Pretrial incarceration can be economically devastating to people who haven’t even been convicted of a crime. In 2018, 32 percent of Haywood’s inmates were in jail awaiting their day in court. A further 65 percent of people in jail that year were being held on misdemeanor charges.

But perhaps the biggest problem with the expansion, according to Down Home NC, is that what many people need isn’t incarceration, it’s rehabilitation — especially substance abuse treatment.

“Jail does nothing for the people in jail, which also means it also does nothing for the citizens of Haywood County,” said Hazelwood resident Crystalyn Jackson, a member of Down Home who spoke at a press conference before a commission meeting on a frosty January morning just two months after the proposal was brought to commissioners.

“There’s no rehabilitation help in jail. Even if it was just a class or two, it could help get things started.”

Jackson said she’d served three separate sentences in prison due to drug-related charges — none of which helped her recalibrate her life into a productive one on the outside.

That’s why members of Down Home are crafting what they call an “alternative budget” that they intend to present to commissioners possibly as early as next week.

The budget lays out a number of programs that are intended to ameliorate the root causes of incarceration, including licensed clinical social workers in middle and high schools, reopening the 24/7 Urgent Care unit at the Balsam Center, opening a day center and funding in-patient rehabilitation, among other things.

Tentative plans for a jail expansion in Waynesville have generated spirited debate. File photo Those items, however, aren’t without a price tag of their own. Hiring seven social workers, for example, would cost at least $360,000 a year per Down Home’s protections, and in-patient rehabilitation services can run upward of $20,000 per individual.

Funding them would also create government competition with private rehab centers like Red Oak Recovery, in Leicester.

As presented to The Smoky Mountain News, the alternative budget would run upward of $1 million a year if not much, much more.

Still, said Dunlap, the long-term staffing costs of the proposed jail expansion project would dwarf the $16.4 million construction cost. According to a 2015 publication by New York-based Vera Institute of Justice, construction accounts for just 10 percent of the lifetime cost of operating a jail — the bulk of the bill will come in payroll. By extrapolation, that could mean that Haywood’s $16 million jail expansion would end up costing more than $160 million over the life of the project.

Services provided by other county agencies for administration of the jail — like finance, human resources and information technology — adds another 10 percent to the cost.

“We object to this exorbitant expenditure before first considering less expensive ways to improve the lives of all Haywood County residents at a much lower cost,” Dunlap said. “If we don’t address the drivers of incarceration, this situation will come up again and again and again. If we look at the real cost of this jail, what we are asking for is much less than that.”

Kevin Ensley, longtime Haywood commissioner and current chairman of the board, says he thinks the county and opponents of the jail expansion are actually closer on the issue than they both realize, and that no one wants jail to become a revolving door for Haywood County citizens and taxpayers.

“We’re doing these things now. They may

not be secular programs, but we’re doing it with faith-based programs,” Ensley said, of efforts to keep people out of jail. “When you look at counties of like size as Haywood County, we’re doing a pretty good job of fighting recidivism. I feel like Down Home maybe isn’t giving us credit for the good that we have done.”

As examples, Ensley cited existing diversionary programs by Super Court Judge Brad Letts as well as the Haywood Pathways Center, a brainchild of Haywood Sheriff Greg Christopher that serves to equip former inmates — and potential future inmates — who may struggle with homelessness, substance use disorder and/or employability issues.

Ensley further stated that he’d also talked with architects to see if the demolition of the underutilized, outdated annex couldn’t be scaled back so that some space could be devoted to further programming that would address the root causes of incarceration. He added that he’d certainly be open to listening to Down Home’s recommendations, once they’re made.

“I believe in diversionary programs,” he said. “I feel we’ve done a god job with that, and that our numbers prove that.”

However successful diversion and substance abuse treatment programs may become in Haywood County, however, Ensley still believes the expansion project is a necessity.

“These programs won’t totally replace the jail,” he said. “Because of our population growth, I think this is something we’re going to be happy we have down the road.”

The next meetings of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners will take place at the Historic Haywood Courthouse in Waynesville on Monday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 p.m. and on Monday, March 1 at 9 a.m. Meetings are also televised, and available online. Visit www.haywoodcountync.gov for more information.

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et cetera,” said McQueen-Dunn of her Montgomery Herald. “Additionally, we do some investigative reporting. In general, if it is related to Montgomery County, we will cover it, though it is harder and harder with such a small staff, which is four full-time and two part-time.”

McQueen-Dunn said that if the bill does pass, her 134-year-old newspaper that serves about 5,000 readers could be in line for a revenue cut of around $25,000 a year.

“That is a significant hit for a business such as ours and not one that could be made up in other areas,” she said. “Any amount at this point jeopardizes the future of Montgomery Herald’s sustainability. We have some businesses that are very supportive of the newspaper and realize the impor-

Local spending on public notices in 2020 Haywood County Town of Canton Town of Clyde Town of Maggie Valley Town of Waynesville

$13,989 $2,172 $589 $1,415 $8,252

Jackson County Sylva

$12,635 $1,038

Swain County Bryson City

$10,294 $2,079

House Bill 35 is just one of many new bills introduced in the current General Assembly session. File photo times two hot spots just for students to attend virtual school. Additionally, it should be noted that even with that, there were some areas that still could not receive internet service.”

Montgomery County may lie east of Charlotte, but it appears to have many issues in common with small counties in Western North Carolina. Jim Buchanan, editor of the Sylva Herald, mentioned the same problems with internet access, as well as with the realities of keeping citizens informed as a small-town newspaper.

“It certainly wouldn’t close the doors,” Buchanan said of a revenue hit that would be above $13,000, “but we are a tourism economy and tourism has taken it on the chin. Restaurants, not happening. Big events, not happening, Western Carolina Football, not happening. Every penny counts. It certainly wouldn’t close our doors, but at some papers, it probably would.”

That, Buchanan said, isn’t good for anybody.

Smoky Mountain News

tance of having one in a community but overall, especially with young people and the lack of educational civics, they do not realize what is at stake. We simply cannot take any more hits and continue to survive. I worry about the future of news delivery for our community and the many others like us.”

Forcing readers to navigate a countyowned website to search for public notices would present other challenges; racial, economic and geographic disparities in rural internet access continue to be an issue that’s been in the spotlight during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

“We are rural and it is often not feasible for companies to run cable in certain areas, which is understandable,” said McQueenDunn. “Much of Montgomery County is a poor community and affordability is an issue as well. With the CARES funding, the county purchased over 1,000 hot spots for students to use due to no internet at home.

This translated to 706 households with students that required at least one and some-

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he bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Harry Warren, R-Rowan, was quick to highlight the purported benefit of HB35 to local governments.

“I don’t think there’s a town, city or county in the state that hasn’t been had their revenue stream affected by the COVID protocols we’ve had to put in place and the shutting down of the economy,” Warren told The Smoky Mountain News. “This gives us an opportunity to reduce some of their cost of operations and providing services.”

Warren stressed that his bill isn’t a mandate but instead merely grants an option to local governments. He’s also perfectly OK with the impact it would have on smaller newsrooms.

“I think what it gets down to again is local control and a local decision,” he said.

“The question has to be asked, where is that revenue stream going to facilitate the most service to the most constituents? Do you subsidize a newspaper that might be reaching 3,000 people or 6,000 people out of 150,000 in the community, or do you abate the cost of providing a service countywide affects everybody? It’s a local issue that’s going to have to be resolved and if it forces a conversation between the local newspapers and the county commissioners, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Warren’s bill, as filed, only applied to 14 of the state’s 100 counties, including Cabarrus, Catawba, Currituck, Davidson, Forsyth, Montgomery, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford and Stanly counties. In the far west, the original bill also included Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties, as well as all municipalities therein.

Republican Rep. Mark Pless was a Haywood County commissioner just three months ago, but now he represents Haywood, Madison and Yancey counties in the General Assembly. He called the bill a mistake.

“I do not feel this is in the best interest of the residents of my counties,” said Pless. “I feel from my experience as a commissioner in Haywood the county website doesn’t have get enough visitors to adequately serve as a public notice site. As for the reason behind this, I have no clue.”

Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, was originally supportive of the idea as a savings to local governments, however he said he now plans to introduce a committee substitute bill that removes Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties from the bill. As to his change of heart, it all comes back to the state’s pesky internet deficiencies.

“It had a lot to do with broadband internet accessibility,” Clampitt said. “The process didn’t go as well as I anticipated and hoped it would, getting and bringing broadband and internet to the area. That swayed me in the direction that we need to have some way to communicate and not everybody’s going to be able to communicate with without having internet.”

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February 10-16, 2021

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR bill in the North Carolina General Assembly that would allow local governments to stop publishing mandated legal notices in newspapers may save cash-strapped local governments a small amount of money in advertising expenses each year, but could also lead to citizens missing out on critical information while also damaging local newsrooms.

“I do feel that many legislators feel this is a way to punish newspapers,” said Tammy McQueen Dunn, Editor of the Montgomery Herald. “Newspapers are watchdogs for the community. That is how the founding fathers intended it to be. We are the eyes and ears of the public and it is our duty to keep the public informed, especially in areas such as Montgomery County where we are the only source of news. Newspapers also have an obligation to be fair and accurate in their reporting.”

In North Carolina, as in many states, there are all manner of public notices that must by law be published by local governments in local newspapers — delinquent property taxes or zoning hearings, for example.

If passed, House Bill 35 would allow some local governments to publish those notices on county-owned websites instead.

The way it would work is that a governing board would need to adopt an ordinance permitting the online advertisements in addition to or in lieu of traditional print advertisements. Once that ordinance is passed, all boards appointed by that governing board would also be free to publish their notices in a similar way.

It’s not the first time such a bill has been considered by the General Assembly. In 2017, a similar measure applying to just two counties, Guilford and Wake, passed the General Assembly.

Not surprisingly, the state’s largest trade association representing news publishers, the North Carolina Press Association, has stood in opposition to such bills.

A notice in the NCPA’s latest newsletter, dated Jan. 29, says that publishers in affected counties have asked to be removed from the current iteration of the bill. The notice also says that the NCPA will track the bill through its committees, meet with committee members and continue communicating with House leaders, allies and members of the Press Association.

The amount of attention focused on the bill by the NCPA speaks to the multi-faceted problems it could cause for newspapers that are often the only source of local news in rural areas.

“We provide the type of coverage that most community newspapers provide, news, all town, county and school board meetings, community events, sports, schools, features,

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Cost-saving measure could lead to less government transparency

“This bill is presented as a money-saver, but would be a huge pain to the average citizen,” he said. “They could wake up one day with Dollar General next to them and say, ‘Well, where did that come from?’”

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WNC schools already adhering to state recommendation In-person instruction still presents challenges

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER ast week, North Carolina officials recommended that all schools return to in-person learning as soon as possible.

In a letter sent to school board members and superintendents in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper, Superintendent of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt, Secretary of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Mandy Cohen, and Chair of State Board of Education Eric Davis, jointly said they “strongly recommend that all public schools provide in-person instruction using the safety protocols outlined in the NC Strong Schools Toolkit.

“We’ve learned much more about this virus and now it’s time to get our children back in the classroom,” Cooper said during a Feb. 2 press conference.

While some school systems in the eastern part of the state are not happy with the recommendation, which came without loosening any of the COVID-19 related restrictions for schools, school systems in Western North Carolina have already been offering in-person instruction to students since September.

Haywood County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte and School Board Chairman Chuck Francis were very clear that this bill, if passed as it has been proposed in the Senate would not make any changes for Haywood County Schools moving forward.

“That was an announcement for the 25 school systems in the state that have not done any in-person learning,” said Nolte. “It was, I think, a very well-intended move, to get school systems who had not done in-person to do it with some pressure. But the message was for those districts and not districts like ours that have been doing the work for months. They changed nothing that would allow us to have Plan A, as our elementary schools do, for middle or high.”

Because the new bill does not change any of the guidelines for social distancing in classrooms at the middle school or high school level, nor the guidelines for social distancing on school busses, Haywood County Schools is not able to send more students to school than are currently attending on a daily basis.

“We don’t have enough busses, we don’t have enough bus drivers, we don’t have enough space at Tuscola, we don’t have enough space at Pisgah, and it goes right on down to Waynesville Middle School, Canton Middle School and Bethel Middle School,” said Francis. “If they would lift that restriction on social distancing, that would open it all the way up in my opinion.”

Francis also said that staff availability could be a limiting factor for middle and high school going back full-time, in-person, but they couldn’t know for sure until that opportunity arose. So far, the only known

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February 10-16, 2021

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“When you compare our numbers and what we have accomplished to others in WNC and across the state, it really is amazing how well JCPS has done. Without the support of our staff, parents and students, this would not have been possible.”

— Jacob Buchanan, Jackson County Assistant Superintendent

COVID-19 spread within Haywood County Schools has been among teachers, not among students.

“The other thing that would have been really nice, if they would have put the teachers in that first group of people to get vaccinated, I think they were as much essential as anybody,” said Francis. “If they wanted it, I’m not gonna tell somebody to get a vaccine. But it would have helped tremendously if they would have been moved up the list.”

At this point, guidelines and requirements for social distancing in schools and on school busses would have to change before middle school and high school students could move toward more in-person learning.

The North Carolina Association of Educators has opposed the bill, with President Tamika Walker Kelly stating, “we encourage local school boards to continue to make decisions that protect students and educators based on local conditions.”

Kelly has also said that in order for all schools to return to in-person learning safely, the Governor and the State should work towards vaccinating all teachers.

A press release from Jackson County Schools said that the Feb. 2 press conference probably created confusion across the state regarding what — if anything — had

changed. Many families were unsure if the comments indicated a mandate from the state to bring students back to school on a regular schedule.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Tony Tipton explained that Jackson County Public Schools already makes every effort within existing state guidelines to offer each student an option for in-person learning at least two days per week. Currently, 77 percent of the district’s total enrollment have chosen the option for in-person learning.

“Nothing changed in the requirements that schools must meet,” Tipton said. “The governor and state superintendent were simply encouraging districts to open up as fully as possible across the state.”

All schools in North Carolina must follow the Strong Schools NC Public Health Toolkit (K-12) from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

“We had hoped the six feet distancing requirement for grades 6-8 would be changed to align with the requirement for grades K-5 so we could add middle school students to the four-day week,” Tipton said.

“Since that did not occur, JCPS will continue with the current operating arrangements.”

Assistant Superintendent Mr. Jacob Buchanan offered further clarification

regarding the comments made by state officials at the Feb. 2 press conference.

“The governor was encouraging some districts across the state that have been remoteonly for much of the school year to begin more face-to-face learning, which is what Jackson County Public Schools have been doing for most of the school year,” Buchanan said.

Tipton agreed and credited JCPS staff, students and parents for being flexible and supportive as the district has adapted to changes in state requirements as well as a spike in positive COVID-19 cases following the holidays.

“I will compare what JCPS has done this school year with any district in the state,” Tipton said. “Every time the guidelines have changed and allowed more students to be in school, we have changed with them.”

Tipton and Buchanan are proud that Jackson County Public Schools have maintained a low rate of COVID-19 infection compared to many other school districts. As of Feb. 5, only 54 staff members and 104 students had reported positive COVID-19 test results.

“When you compare our numbers and what we have accomplished to others in WNC and across the state, it really is amazing how well JCPS has done,” Buchanan said. “Without the support of our staff, parents and students, this would not have been possible.”

Swain County Schools has also been offering in-person instruction since the beginning of the school year whenever possible, with students in Group A and Group B alternate days for in-person instruction and remote learning. However, keeping enough staff and teachers in the classroom has been a challenge at times and all learning has had to be fully remote at certain times.

“We were struggling all last week to keep enough teachers and assistants in classrooms,” Superintendent Mark Sale told Swain commissioners in mid-January. “We had a total of 58 staff quarantined last week for at least a day or more. And that’s not all teachers — we have 193 instructional staff members between five schools — 45 of those were quarantined at least one day.”

Some weeks, Sale said, the schools are trying to operate with 77 percent of the staff, which is problematic at the high school where there is only one qualified teacher to teach a certain subject.

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are attending school virtually, most of the school systems in North Carolina are actually already in-person, as is Macon County,” said Baldwin. “Macon County is currently providing the maximum amount of in person instruction that we can provide under the current toolkit for reopening schools.”

According to Curriculum Coordinator Josh Lynch, teachers are putting in a lot more time, across the district, to serve students’ needs, both in-person and virtual.

During a special called meeting on Feb. 4, Baldwin asked Macon County Public Health Director Kathy McGaha when it was likely that teachers would be able to receive vaccines, as this would make a big difference in the ability to return to more in-person learning.

McGaha informed the school board that teachers fall into group three, as frontline essential workers. Currently the county is vaccinating groups one and two, which have to be completed before moving on to group three. McGaha said that if the supply does not increase it would be numerous weeks before the county could move on to group three.

“If our school staff were vaccinated, that would certainly reduce the likelihood that there would be quarantine and have to stay home and possibly not only be able to provide virtual instruction. So the sooner we can get our staff vaccinated, the sooner we can return, safely, to in-person instruction for all our students,” said Baldwin.

Jessi Stone contributed to this report.

Benefit-t-t-ting Kids in the

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Macon County Schools will see no changes in response to proposed Senate Bill 37.

“The one component of Senate Bill 37 that was of most interest to me was that this bill would require local boards to provide an inperson plan A or plan B option for all students that are in grades k-12. Local boards may opt for Plan A, all Plan B, or a combination thereof. So this bill wouldn’t have an impact on what we’re currently providing in Macon County,” said Superintendent Chris Baldwin.

Currently, K-4 students in Macon County are operating under plan A, with minimal social distancing required. Students in grades 6-12 are operating under plan B, with moderate social distancing required. (Fifth grade students at Mountain View Intermediate are operating under plan B, because the school also serves higher grades, while other fifth grade students in the county are under plan B.) Under plan A, students are not required to be six feet apart while in the classroom, under plan B, six feet of social distancing is required in the classroom.

In Macon County, Nantahala School, Union Academy, Macon Early College and Highlands School can have all students on campus and still maintain six feet of social distance. Mountain View Intermediate, Macon Middle School and Franklin High School are operating under plan B, but do not have the space to have all students on campus at once and maintain six feet of social distance.

“While the majority of students in NC

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Jackson gets influx of vaccine doses Second doses increase

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ackson County is still lagging behind surrounding counties when it comes to the percentage of its population that’s received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but it will have the chance to catch up after the health department received an allotment of 1,200 first doses this week — quadruple the number provided last week.

As of Feb. 8, only 3,064 Jackson County residents had received a first vaccine dose, equal to 7 percent of the county’s population according to 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimates. By comparison, 8.9 percent of Macon County residents, 10.3 percent of Swain County residents and 11.6 percent of Haywood County residents had received a first dose by that same date. In addition, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians had given 1,751 first doses by Feb. 8 through a separate allocation from the federal government.

The tribe has about 16,000 enrolled members, though they don’t all live in Western North Carolina.

In addition to the health department’s 1,200 doses, Harris Regional Hospital received 100 doses. Blue Ridge Health is distributing the vaccine in several counties including Jackson and Haywood, and an ultra-cold freezer from the University of

Smoky Mountain News

February 10-16, 2021

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North Carolina System is on its way to Western Carolina University, where it will be used to store vaccine doses for a public clinic that will be offered there.

In preparation for that clinic, the WCU Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning has created a website to solicit volunteers for the vaccination effort.

The university is also working to hire staff, both clinical and administrative, to supplement the volunteers. The clinic aims to administer at least 500 vaccines per day.

More information about employment at the clinic is available at www.jobs.wcu.edu, and information about volunteer opportunities is online at www.wcu.edu/learn/academicenrichment/center-for-service-learning/vaccination-resources.aspx.

Vaccination by the numbers County Haywood Jackson Swain Macon Statewide

Jan. 25 First doses 5,105 2,400 950 2,245 630,774

Percent population 8.2 5.5 6.7 6.4 6.0

Feb. 8 First doses 7,206 3,064 1,472 3,101 970,162

Percent population 11.6 7.0 10.3 8.9 9.3

*Dose numbers from NCDHHS. Data do not include doses administered through the federal longterm care facilities program and may be subject to a 72-hour reporting lag. Population figures based on 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

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Jackson County has been assured a baseline allocation of 200 first doses for at least one more week — though it could receive additional doses above that baseline, as hap-

pened this week — and Harris Regional has likewise been told to expect 100 doses per week. Jackson is still vaccinating Groups 1 and 2, which includes healthcare workers, staff and residents at long-term care facilities, and adults 65 and older.

Haywood County is also in the midst of vaccinating older adults and had been offering appointments only to those 75 and older but is moving to the 65 and older age group this week. The health department received 300 first doses this week, Haywood Regional Medical Center received 100 and Blue Ridge Health received 100. The same amounts are expected next week as well.

The EBCI is now vaccinating adults 40 and older who are tribal members or who qualify for primary care services at the Cherokee Indian Hospital. Swain County and Macon County are vaccinating adults 65 and older.

Counties are also beginning to work on administering second doses. As of Feb. 8, Haywood County had administered 1,237 second doses, or 1.99 percent of the population; Jackson County had administered 430, or 0.98 percent; Macon had administered 339, or 0.95 percent; and Swain County had administered 206, or 1.44 percent. The EBCI had administered 590 second doses.

Statewide statistics are updated at www.covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard/vaccinations.

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February 10-16, 2021

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR When Macon County Commissioners met on Jan. 12, health department staff was having a difficult time meeting the demands of the COVID-19 Pandemic, but the county departments have since come together in a joint effort to streamline their processes for vaccinations and testing.

The influx of calls to the health department to make appointments for testing and vaccinations became so overwhelming that it shut down the county’s phone systems and left the health department with 700 voicemails to answer.

“We’ve had call centers operating since Jan. 16 and we’ve returned all 700 voicemails,” Roland reported during a Feb. 4 meeting. “We’ve gotten the call time wait from 45 minutes to an average of 4 seconds.

Instead of four to five people manning phones, we have 15 people manning phones.”

Roland said he’s pulled employees from multiple departments, including DSS, the tax office, sheriff ’s office and recreation to assist in the efforts and also hired five parttime employees who started Jan. 18.

On Jan. 21, Macon County started holding a drive-thru clinic five days a week to offer COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, which has allowed the county to use up it’s weekly allotment of 200 vaccines quickly.

The county was also sent National Guardsmen, who have been helping with data entry.

Roland said the county figured out it could administer 2,200 vaccines a week if given the supply from the state, but that extra supply didn’t come through as the state prioritized vaccines for a massive vaccination event in Charlotte. Since that time, Roland said he’s been told by the state that counties will begin to be notified of their weekly allotments three weeks at a time instead of one week.

“I was told we’d be getting 300 doses a week for three weeks,” he said. “I was informed we’d get 400 doses next week instead of 300.”

Health Director Kathy McGaha said as of Feb. 4, Macon had administered 1,900 first doses of the vaccine. A Highlands vaccination event administered another 980 doses thanks to HCA Healthcare and Pardee Hospital transferring some of their doses to the event.

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Macon steps up COVID response

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‘Something’s got to give’ Sylva police chief argues for more officers

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER very year, Sylva’s department heads have a chance to tell town commissioners what they need — and what they want — in the next year’s budget. During a Jan. 28 work session, Police Chief Chris Hatton kept his list short and to the point.

“My needs are real simple,” he said. “Two officers is what I’m asking for. To be honest, the numbers would justify more.”

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EXPLODING DEMAND

Smoky Mountain News

February 10-16, 2021

The Sylva Police Department employs 14 sworn officers, a level that has remained constant since 2008, even as calls for service have doubled.

Hatton made a similar argument during last year’s budget talks in 2020, telling commissioners that call volumes had risen more than 30 percent between 2016 and 2019, with total arrests more than doubling in the same period.

Over the past year, the situation has escalated. The number of officer actions and calls for service increased by 64.7 percent between 2019 and 2020, shooting up from 8,199 in 2019 to 13,500 last year.

“We thought we’d hit 13,000 calls by 2024,” Hatton told commissioners. “Well, we hit that and surpassed it last year.”

Officers responded to 130 different types of situations, everything from speeding complaints to wellness checks to 911 calls.

Interestingly enough, said Hatton, actual crime is down. Officers took fewer incident reports and did fewer investigations in 2020 than the previous year, but spiking calls for other types of situations more than compensated. In particular, Hatton’s department saw an increase in calls related to illegal drug use, mental illness and poverty or homelessness.

In 2020, they saved 11 lives using Narcan to reverse overdoses.

“I wish we could rename our profession, because we’re called law enforcement but actually a small portion of our job is spent on enforcing laws,” he said. “They should call us community problems solvers.”

While Hatton said he anticipates the numbers going down some in 2021 as the pandemic eases, he said he doesn’t expect them to fall very much. He needs more officers, he told commissioners.

It’s not just about calls for service. As it is, Sylva relies on help from other jurisdictions to staff special events, because the town doesn’t have enough officers to close down Main Street on its own. When somebody goes on vacation or travels for a training course, another officer must work on what would otherwise be a day off to cover those shifts.

“Something’s got to give, because they are asking more and more from our staff, and we 12 don’t have it to give,” said Hatton. “The frus-

number of items or cluster them all around a smaller number of items of particular importance to them. Additional officers received more votes than any of the other priorities trating part for me as the chief is, I see situalisted, with 28 votes for hiring one additional tions that are happening where we could realofficer and 23 votes to fill Hatton’s entire ly do a better job, but because we’re so busy request for two officers. we’re not able to sink in and dig in on that The second-place pick, with 19 votes, was problem.” a new Polaris vehicle for use in Pinnacle Park, a $19,000 price tag. That request came from Public Works Director Jake Scott but would EIGHING THE PRICE TAG be a shared asset with the police department.

Currently, Scott’s crew uses town trucks While the list was short, Hatton’s request to get up the trail for maintenance, a steep was the most costly on commissioners’ final and rocky drive that is extremely hard on the list of departmental needs and wants. Salary vehicles and allows for access to only a small and benefits would cost $59,000 for each portion of the 1,529 forested acres under hire, plus additional needs like uniforms and town ownership — crews haven’t done any equipment. A fully equipped police car costs maintenance on the newly acquired about $44,000. During the meeting, commisBlackrock Creek property because it is so sioners discussed delaying the surplus of an inaccessible. Scott wants to buy an off-road existing police car if just one additional offivehicle that will fit up to six crew members cer were hired but buying one new car if two within a 6-foot footprint. The model he hopes were hired. to buy would also have a roof and a windshield to allow crews to get out of the weather should a storm come up while they’re out working.

Hatton applauded that ask, telling commissioners about a recent call his department had about overdue hikers at Pinnacle Park. It was around 5:30 p.m. on a night when temperatures were predicted to fall below freezing, and the missing group included some small children.

“We used Jake’s guys’ trucks, and it did not go smoothly at all trying to get to some of those places,” he said.

“Thank goodness we got there to start looking for these folks and they came out. That was wonderful, but we’re going to have situations Sylva’s police officers saw a spike in demand for services over the last year. Sylva graph where folks actually get lost out there.”

Commissioners’ New officers will receive the same basic third budget priority, with 15 votes, was The police department is already the biggest ticket item in the town budget, which training that current officers had upon being $13,000 for a part-time sanitation employee in fiscal year 2020-21 clocked in at $4.16 mil- hired. But Hatton said he makes it a priority to help out with the explosion of solid waste lion all told. Of that, the police department to seek opportunities to get his officers Scott’s department has been dealing with. In trained in “the modern topics everyone is 2019, crews picked up 1,056 tons of municimade up $1.4 million, or 33.7 percent.

“The police department is such a big part interested in.” This year, he said, his officers pal solid waste, and in 2020 that figure shot of our budget for our town, and I feel like we are taking classes on decision-making for law up to 1,293.5 tons.

Next was $7,000 to research the feasibility should be having a whole session on just talk- enforcement and de-escalation tactics. of a public bathroom downtown, with 14 ing about policing and the police departvotes, and then a $7,000 boom-mounted ment,” said Commissioner Ben Guiney.

UDGET PRIORITIES mowing head with 12 votes. Tied with 11 Commissioners recognized the challenges Hatton’s department is facing but had quesDespite the request’s hefty price tag, votes were improvements to Bryson Park, tions about the request. Commissioner David board members ranked hiring additional offi- Bridge Park improvements and new town Nestler pointed out that Sylva has more offi- cers as their top priority for the 2021-22 entrance signs. All other listed priorities cers per thousand town residents than sur- budget. received fewer than 10 votes. rounding towns such as Waynesville, Franklin The board’s next planned budget discusEach board member received 24 votes to and Bryson City. Why, he wanted to know, affix to any of the 15 budget wants and needs sion will occur at 10 a.m. Thursday, March was the department still so overloaded? identified during the work session — mem- 25, when they will work with staff to priori“Sylva is a small population on paper, but bers could spread the votes out over a large tize needs and objectives for the coming year.

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our traffic volume is through the roof,” Hatton replied. “Our main intersection here sees the same amount of traffic as Tunnel Road (in Asheville). We have a lot of people coming through our town who don’t necessarily live here.”

Nestler also asked how much of the increase in officer actions was due to technology that makes it easier for officers to log activities during their shift. Hatton said that’s a consideration that could be inflating the numbers somewhat but that his department is still seeing “a heck of a spike.”

Commissioner Greg McPherson questioned Hatton about the type of training the new officers would receive. Would they receive training that reflects “the 21stCentury evolution of the police department?” he asked.

“Our training for police officers is not something that just happens and it’s over,” Hatton replied. “We have mandatory training we do every year.”

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Smoky Mountain News

BY J ESSI STONE sive recreational and/or cultural use would N EWS E DITOR indeed be the best use of the property based he Whitmire property on East Main on a list of factors the board asked the conStreet in Franklin could soon become a sultants to consider. Disc golf was listed as a public disc golf course. suggested usage, but there hasn’t been Jacob Reiche and Kyle Ledford — both much discussion about the property since members of the Franklin Disc Golf Club — that presentation was made to the board in appeared before the town board during a early 2018.

Feb. 1 meeting to discuss the possibility.

The board has also discussed the possiWhile the board has been hesitant to allow bility of selling the land to a developer, anything permanent to be set up on the something Councilmember Joe Collins has property, Reiche said disc golf would be a supported, but again, no decisions have flexible use because it could be easily been made. The consultants actually advised removed in the future if the town decided to against selling the property since the town do something else with the property or sell it. owned the property outright. With little “It would be a great use for the property property available for recreation within the — it’s non-invasive, it’s temporary if need town limits, the consultant said the be, and if at any time council decides Whitmire property is a rare find that shouldWhitmire is a good use for something else, n’t be sold without a lot of consideration. by all means, we can take up the course and remove it pretty easily,” Reiche said.

Town Manager Summer Woodard said she’d discussed the proposal with the maintenance department and looked over potential costs. The property is already being mowed regularly, so installing a disc golf course wouldn’t require any The town of Franklin purchased the Whitmire additional town mainteproperty in 2005 with plans to build a new municipal nance. As for costs, purcomplex, but that never happened. File photo chasing the equipment needed and the installation would cost an estimated $8,000.

Also, the town wouldn’t have much say over Since the town didn’t host its annual how the property is developed if sold to a Pickin’ on the Square summer concert series private entity. in 2020 due to the pandemic, Woodard said At the Feb. 1 first meeting, Council memthe recreation budget still had funding availbers Mike Lewis and Jack Horton said they able that could fund the project. were in favor of the disc golf course.

“You could use the $8,000 and still be “It’s low impact and if we sold it in the able to continue with Pickin’ this year,” she future, we could pick it up and relocate the said. “If Pickin’ started back Memorial Day equipment somewhere else,” Lewis said. “It’s weekend, that’s more than enough in the a good use and lets taxpayers have use of Pickin’ budget.” that property.”

Several proposals to use the Whitmire Councilmember David Culpepper agreed property have come before the board in the the proposal was “a hole in one” and could last few years, but council hasn’t made any lead to future recreational use on the properdecisions on how to utilize the 13 acres of ty, including picnic tables, a pavilion and green space. perhaps even an outdoor amphitheater The town purchased the property in down the road.

2005 for $1.5 million, with tentative plans to Councilmember Dinah Mashburn said it build a new town hall complex. However, sounded like a good plan, but she would still those plans fell through and the town has like to table the issue for a month so she can been sitting on the property ever since. have time to think about it and give anyone The board shot down a proposal to host else in the community time to offer feedback a large-scale music and beer festival on the or make other proposals. Collins agreed he’d property back in 2017 because the town was like to take a month to consider. concerned about safety and liability issues.

Reiche said it would take a month for the The town then decided to spend $14,000 on equipment to arrive once it was ordered and a study to assess the best use for the proper- another two weeks to install it. ty. The assessment from WR-Martin The board will bring the issue up again at Management Consulting found that a pasits March meeting.

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Smoky Mountain News

February 10-16, 2021

434 Champion Drive, Canton, NC 28716 21 Hollon Cove Rd, Waynesville, NC 28786

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“We will continue to monitor and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, work closely with the NPS Office of Public Health to use the latest science to guide our decision making, and continue to evaluate operations and make appropriate modifications to visitor services as needed.”

— Leesa Brandon, Parkway spokesperson

Thursday February 25

at Grace Church in the Mountains Waynesville MEAL & BOWL PICK-UP 4:30-7:30pm

ARNOLD HILL

Facebook Live Concert 6-8PM

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upporters pre-select a bowl handcrafted by local WNC artists and enjoy a “flight of soups,” bread and dessert provided by local restaurants.

Pick up your meal and enjoy in your own home while listening to the fantastic sounds of Arnold Hill!

The bowl guests take home serves as a reminder of all of the empty bowls in our community as well as the warm hearts that work to fill them.

TICKETS All are Advance Purchase Only VIP Supporter (Exclusive Choice of Bowls): $40 General Supporter: $25 • Soup Only (No Bowl): $15

Smoky Mountain News

However, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy — a nonprofit organization that works to protect and manage the trail — is asking hikers to wear a mask while passing others on the trail or when visiting a crowded location. It’s also advising hikers to plan outings close to come and asking long-distance hikers to hold off until 2022, or until the CDC has deemed the pandemic to be under control and/or a vaccine or effective treatment is widely available. The ATC does not have the power to enforce these recommendations, however.

The U.S. Forest Service has not made an agency-wide announcement about the mask mandate analogous to the Park Service’s.

National Forests in North Carolina Spokesperson Adrianne Rubiaco said that masks should be worn when physical distancing can’t be maintained but did not yet have information from national headquarters about potential penalties for failure to comply.

“Our focus is on encouraging the safe enjoyment of the outdoors,” she said. “Masks should be worn when physical distancing cannot be maintained.”

Empty Bowls

February 10-16, 2021

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER n Jan. 20, President Joe Biden issued an executive order requiring coronavirus prevention protocols — including mask-wearing — on all federal lands and buildings. Now, management teams at National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service lands are deciding how to implement the new requirement locally.

The National Park Service issued a Feb. 2 press release announcing an agency-wide mask requirement while inside NPS buildings and facilities, and while in outdoor areas where physical distancing can’t be maintained — including narrow or busy trails, overlooks and historic homes. The order applies to everybody age 2 and older.

Prior to the mandate, both the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway had strongly encouraged guests to wear masks, but park rangers could not enforce that recommendation through fines or citations. Biden’s executive order changes that.

“To implement the executive order, individual parks are updating their compendiums in order to enforce the mask requirement in federal building and on federal lands,” said Parkway spokesperson Leesa Brandon.

Each park has its own Superintendent’s Compendium that summarizes park-specific rules, such as areas closed for public use, activities requiring a special use permit or reservation, and public use or resource protection regulations pertaining to that specific park.

Once those updates are complete, rangers will be able to issue citations for people who violate the masking requirement. However, said Smokies spokesperson Dana Soehn, citations are far from the only tool a ranger has to pull from when witnessing a violation, and the park’s first priority will be to let visitors know that the new requirement exists.

“Our first priority will be to educate visitors about the requirement and provide guidance on how they can safely experience the park,” she said. “We’re working on installing signage and providing information on our website and social media sites to help spread the word.”

Once the compendium update is complete the mask requirement will be enforceable just like all other park regulations. Upon witnessing a violation, rangers can choose to make an educational contact or to issue a verbal warning, written warning or citation with fines. Any citation qualifies as a misdemeanor and comes with a $50 fine. If the citation includes a mandatory court appearance,

Haywood Pathways Center’s 3rd Annual

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Masking rules take effect on public lands

the presiding judge can increase the fine to $5,000 or require jail time.

In the Smokies, masks are required inside visitor centers, cabins, churches, restrooms and administrative buildings, as well as in busy outdoor spaces where physical distancing can’t be maintained. Hikers must use a mask while passing others on the trail or standing within 6 feet of other visitors.

On the Parkway, specific requirements are forthcoming.

“Many seasonal facilities are currently closed,” said Brandon. “As we prepare for the 2021 season, we will continue to monitor and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, work closely with the NPS Office of Public Health to use the latest science to guide our decision making, and continue to evaluate operations and make appropriate modifications to visitor services as needed.”

The Appalachian Trail is also a NPS unit, but because it is a narrow corridor without its own law enforcement personnel, it mostly follows the regulations of the lands through which it passes, mainly national forest and Park Service properties.

Visit haywoodpathwayscenter.org to purchase tickets.

For questions or to donate, please contact us at 828-246-0332 or david@haywoodpathways.org 15

February 10-16, 2021

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Macon budget remains agile through pandemic

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR espite dire predictions of how local governments would be financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Macon County has fared well so far. Still, County Manager Derek Roland recently ensured commissioners that he’d continue to manage the budget conservatively moving into the 2021-22 fiscal year.

“We had no idea when we sat here a year ago that in a matter of days our lives would change forever,” Roland told commissioners during a Feb. 4 meeting. “When we grew closer to the budget time in June, COVID-19 cases were rising across the country.”

Listening to the local government experts, Roland said everything pointed to another recession and budgeting guidelines were given for counties to follow. One of those predictions said that counties could expect to see up to a 50 percent decrease in sales tax revenue, something that would have devastated counties in Western North Carolina that rely on those tourist dollars to support their operational budget.

However, Macon County Finance Director Lori Hall reported that so far, Macon County’s sales tax revenue is 16 percent higher than it was this time last year — halfway through the fiscal year. This same time in 2020, the county had seen an 8.6 percent increase over 2019, so a 16 percent increase

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during a pandemic is an incredible feat. The state as a whole has seen an 11-percent increase in sales tax revenues.

“We had no idea last year what the impact would be, but so far so good,” she said.

Roland had budgeted sales tax revenues to be 5 percent less during the 2020-21 budget, but after seeing a 16 percent increase for this year so far, he told commissioners he’d be increasing the projections for the rest of the budget year (June 30, 2021).

Sales tax isn’t the only revenue stream that’s been on the rise in the past year — Roland reported increases to motor vehicle tax, register of deeds, wastewater and well inspections and building inspection fees.

“These revenue increases have resulted in our ability to largely close the budget gap we faced to begin the fiscal year — getting us to a level that is almost as if COVID-19 had never happened,” he said.

Because of these unexpected revenue increases, Roland requested an amendment to the current 2020-21 budget for $1.7 million, which would be used to restore capital funding to education and public safety — Macon County’s top funding priorities. It will also allow the county to start making adjustments to its pay scale for employees — something that was put on the backburner in the original budget because of the pandemic.

With the amendment, the school system would be able to complete infrastructure

projects outlined in the original 2020-21 spending plan and the sheriff ’s department will be able to purchase new vehicles that were in the budget before COVID hit.

Lastly, it will allow the county to restore full funding for the nonprofit community pool fund, which was cut 50 percent in the original budget from $70,000 to $35,000.

With so many local nonprofit organizations providing much needed social services during the pandemic, Roland said he wanted to continue to support their efforts.

“I think the additional revenue gain from what I will call a booming but still fragile economy enables us to restore capital funding to our priority areas of public safety and

education,” he said. “It’s going to enable us to begin working to identify and make recommendations for addressing inadequacies in our pay scale, to be addressed in the coming fiscal year.”

Roland said the budget amendment would still leave Macon County in an agile position to take realistic measures to reduce the budget if needed as the pandemic drags on into the year without adversely impacting county employees and services.

Commissioner Gary Shields said he supported the budget amendment to restore funding to these important areas, especially the nonprofit community funding pool.

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Commission Chairman Jim Tate also said he supported the budget amendment and trusted Roland’s ability to “steer the ship” in the right direction.

“We give you direction, but you are the captain of the ship and we have to trust that you studied this, and your team studied this,” Tate said. “I personally like and respect your decision here and I’m in favor of this. I think you’re doing a fantastic job.”

Commissioner Ronnie Beale agreed, saying that the 2020-21 budget was one of the most difficult and uncertain ones he’s been through and that’s including the 2008 recession.

“I don’t see nothing on this list that’s frivolous. This is money that was in the original budget and it’s just trying to catch us back up,” he said.

The $1.7 million budget amendment passed unanimously.

Macon County’s sales tax revenue is 16 percent higher than it was this time last year.

February 10-16, 2021 Smoky Mountain News

With that passed, the commissioners will soon begin the process of working on the 2021-22 fiscal year budget. As Roland begins that process with his staff, Tate offered more guidance. Other than keeping the tax rate flat for another year, Tate said he wanted to work on cleaning up the county’s appearance.

“We have a lot of new people coming in and money being spent. We’re obviously in a an extremely desirable place that people want to buy a second or third home, or they make this their primary residence, or they want to move to Macon County,” he said. “I want to make sure Macon County is clean, our buildings are up to par, our grounds, like Parker Meadows, are being taken care of to the best of our abilities. I want to make our government welcoming and not necessarily an eye sore.”

There’s a lot to consider moving into the new budget year, Roland said. The county has a completed Space Needs Analysis before them that prioritizes the need for major renovation projects at the courthouse, jail and senior center. The county is also in the process of getting bids for a major renovation project at Macon Middle School and has plans to renovate the old armory building before leasing it to Southwestern Community College for its public safety program. That project will also include constructing a new burn building for fire safety training.

If the county is able to purchase some property in the Nantahala community, those residents might finally get the new community center and library they’ve been wanting for the last several years.

“We’re in the due diligence period for a piece of property in Nantahala — a property purchase that could potentially be the new location for a community center and library,” Roland said.

Other priorities include continuing broadband expansion in Macon County as well as improvements to the county’s recycling centers.

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Smoky Mountain News

February 10-16, 2021

The Kitchen Shop • 5 N Main St • Waynesville • 828.452.7672

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ale Walksler, the founder and curator of the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, passed away peacefully, with his wife by his side, at home on Feb. 3, after a courageous four-year battle with cancer.

In 1967, at the age of 15, Walksler built his first motorcycle, sparking a life-long love affair with American Motorcycles and their history. At 22, he established a Harley/Davidson franchise in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, — Dale’s Harley-Davidson. His signal success as a dealer grew to include the decades-long work that would define his life — the creation of the museum everyone now knows as Wheels Through Time.

As the museum collection grew, so too did Walksler’s vision for the museum, his reputation, his mechanical and curatorial skills, and a goal of always exceeding expectations of customers and guests.

In 2002, he opened the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley. From humble beginnings in a small Illinois town, one of the world’s premier collections of rare and vintage American motorcycles, automobiles and memorabilia emerged. Wheels Through Time became an Iconic American Institution and known internationally.

Those who have visited Wheels Through Time know that Walksler’s passion was not just something to be observed but rather experienced. Whether it was listening to his vast knowledge and stories of transportation history or watching him start a motorcycle, his was a passion that was infectious. It inspired in many, that same desire to preserve and celebrate American motorcycle history. His genius rested on the latter portion of the Wheels Through Time logo, “The Museum That Runs.”

Walksler’s vision was not just one of preserving the past but was also focused on the future. In that regard, he made

Board of Directors, where she served representing Haywood County Schools. At the meeting Monday Feb. 8, the board voted unanimously to appoint Ronnie Clark as her replacement to the Mountain Projects board of directors.

HRMC lifts zero visitation policy Haywood Regional Medical Center is transitioning from a zero-visitation policy to a limited visitation policy as of Feb. 9.

New guidelines will allow one visitor per day for inpatients, the emergency room (ER) and Outpatient Care Center, as well as outpatients within the main hospital. General visitation hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The updated restrictions have been implemented effective immediately.

“We understand how important visiting loved ones is for patients and guests alike,” shared Greg Caples, HRMC CEO. “We have been monitoring the COVID-19 positivity rate in Haywood and feel more comfortable in opening up our facility given the recent downturn. However, we will continue to monitor the region and adjust accordingly. We urge continued caution in the community as COVID-19 is still prevalent.”

Again, part of the updated visitor restrictions, inpatients, outpatients, and ER patients are now allowed one well visitor per day, including continued allowance of one support person for obstetric patients. Exceptions are made for loved ones who are gravely ill. Visitors with signs/symptoms of respiratory illness will not be permitted to visit under this exception.

Visitors/parents/guardians may be allowed when a patient requires mobility assistance, is a pediatric patient, is incapacitated or mentally incompetent. Note that patients in isolation are not permitted visitor under these guidelines.

All visitors must be 18 years of age or older, will be screened upon entry and are required to wear a mask or cloth face covering (and should bring their own from home). A dated armband (provided during screening) is also required while in the facility.

P.O. Box 790, Maggie Valley, NC 28751.

All donations will be dedicated to ensuring the continuance of the legacy that Walksler created far into the future and to giving museum visitors historical insight into the vital role that transportation has played in American history.

Visitors who do not pass the screening at entry will be asked to reschedule their visit until they are symptom-free.

HRMC continues to screen everyone who enters the facility for symptoms consistent with COVID-19, per CDC guidelines. For additional updates on how the hospital is working to maintain a safe and supportive environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit myhaywoodregional.com.

WCU seeks volunteers for COVID clinics Western Carolina University, as a regionally engaged institution, shares the concerns and challenges that have faced local communities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In support of the region and the communities that surround campus, WCU wants to do its part in providing the support that is needed.

An identified need is COVID-19 vaccine distribution. To that end, WCU has been asked to serve as a regional COVID-19 vaccination site. WCU also is partnering with local health providers through its Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning to support their efforts in administering the vaccine.

The center has established a webpage to solicit volunteers to assist in community vaccine efforts, as well as supplement WCU’s regional vaccination clinic.

WCU has been challenged to open the vaccination clinic as quickly as possible and will be hiring staff, both clinical and administrative, that will be supplemented with volunteers. It is the goal of the clinic to provide a minimum of 500 vaccines per day.

The clinic also will offer opportunities for full and part-time temporary employment for those displaced in area hospitality or other industries due to COVID-19.

To learn more, visit https://jobs.wcu.edu. To learn more about volunteer opportunities, visit www.wcu.edu/learn/academic-enrichment/center-for-service-learning/vaccination-resources.aspx.

Smoky Mountain News

The Haywood County School Board agreed unanimously to pay up to $120,000 to keep the athletics departments at the high school and middle school level solvent. The numbers were discussed in length at the work session Thursday, Feb. 4. The costs include payment for officials, transportation, helmet and padding reconditioning and an emergency services standby squad for high school sporting events. Middle school events do not require an ambulance squad to be on standby.

The total projected cost for middle school and high school sports came to $108,662 plus the additional $3,200 for standby ambulance squads. The board decided to fund up to, but not exceed $120,000. The extra amount is intended to assist in unforeseen costs.

“The goal is not to offset ticket sales that have been lost, the goal is not to pad athletic accounts in any way, form or fashion.

The hope will be that any costs they’ve incurred this year in those three areas, that we will pay those costs for the schools so that at a worst case, when they get to the end of the year they will have as much money as they started the year with. We’re simply trying to make them solvent,” said Associate Superintendent Dr. Trevor Putnam.

• The board also decided on a contract to broadcast the Pisgah Tuscola game this year, partly due to the fact that there will be limited capacity allowed in the stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions. The board gave the contract to Sinclair Broadcasting Group in exchange for a $500 donation to the Athletics Department at Pisgah High School.

“That gives us an opportunity for good quality broadcast coverage of that very big game,” said Putnam.

• With the retirement of Ann Barrett from the Haywood County School Board came a vacancy on the Mountain Projects

great strides to ensure that the museum and his legacy would carry on for generations to come.

A celebration of his life will be announced at a later date.

At this time, the family asks for privacy as they mourn his passing. At Walksler’s request, in lieu of flowers, please send any donations and condolences to Wheels Through Time,

February 10-16, 2021

Haywood School Board talks sports

Dale Walksler. Donated photo

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Wheels Through Time founder dies of cancer

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Reparations, Six Months Later: So Far, Empty Promises Asheville’s Dwindling Black Population Remains Skeptical

BY BARBARA DURR AND PETER H. LEWIS ASHEVILLE WATCHDOG ix months ago, as part of a reckoning on racial injustice, the City of Asheville and Buncombe County both passed resolutions to consider reparations to the Black community as a way to begin making amends for slavery and generations of systemic discrimination. The votes were hailed as “historic” by The Asheville Citizen Times, and ABC News asked, “Is Asheville a national model?”

Since then, local officials concede, little has been done. Some in the Black community see zero progress.

“From my understanding, they’ve done nothing,” said Rob Thomas, community liaison for the Racial Justice Coalition.

Despite the fanfare they received at the time, the reparations resolutions are in limbo, still as lacking in specific remedies as they are in financial commitment or engagement with the Black community. The Asheville resolution called for the creation of a Community Reparations Commission to begin drafting recommendations. Six months later there is no commission, nor even any agreement on who should be on it.

No city or county funds have been set aside.

The resolution also mandated that the city manager provide biannual progress updates. City Manager Debra Campbell pledged last week to report by late February.

Now, as the pandemic has local governments struggling to meet basic needs, let alone fund new initiatives, and after Asheville voters replaced three of the seven city council members who voted for reparations, it’s unclear how the community plans to make good on its promises.

The slow pace threatens to further undermine the credibility of leadership when it expresses concern about racial inequality.

Smoky Mountain News

February 10-16, 2021

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STARK RACIAL IMBALANCES

To many people in Asheville’s shrinking population of Black residents, the reparations resolutions are simply the latest in a chain of empty promises stretching back to the Reconstruction era.

“I never got my 40 acres and a mule,” Andrea Clark, a noted photographer and playwright in Asheville, said, referring to the government’s first promise of reparations to formerly enslaved Blacks. Near the end of the Civil War the Lincoln administration ordered land to be confiscated from white Confederate slaveholders and redistributed, in 40-acre parcels along with the use of a 20 mule, to newly freed slaves.

The promise was broken just months later, following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, by President Andrew Johnson, who ordered the land returned to white owners. “This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men,” Johnson wrote in 1866.

A century and a half Andrea Clark later, the scars of slavery are still visible.

Records and data analyzed by Asheville Watchdog confirm stark racial imbalances in Asheville and Buncombe County, in home ownership and affordable housing, in educational achievement and opportunities, in the availability of jobs, in business ownership, in arrests and incarcerations and other facets of the judicial and social justice systems, and in healthcare.

‘NOT AN EASY PLACE FOR BLACK PEOPLE’ Asheville, a fixture on national lists of “best places to live” year after year, by many measures appears to be less appealing to people of color.

For example, Blacks have largely been priced out of the housing market either for home ownership or rentals. The combination of rising real estate prices and fewer opportunities for well-paying jobs has forced many Blacks to look for homes elsewhere, said Sandra Kilgore, a member of Asheville’s City Council.

“This is not an easy place for Black people to live,” said Nicole Cush, the principal of the

Asheville High School of Inquiry & Life Sciences. She said Asheville’s Black community is “dwindling,” and census numbers confirm her assessment.

Although the city’s total population has grown 42 percent since 1980, its percentage of Black residents has declined. African Americans were 21.3 percent of the city’s population in 1980. Today, the estimate falls in a range of 12.8 percent to 11.2 percent, according to Heidi Reiber, senior director of research at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Asheville and Buncombe County are home to far fewer Black people proportionally than the state as a whole.

Statewide, people of Nicole Cush African descent make up 21.5 percent of the overall population, according to the U.S Census Bureau. In Buncombe County, the number is 6.4 percent.

One-fourth of Asheville’s approximately 12,000 Black residents lives in poverty, nearly double the percentage of white residents, according to census figures. Studies have linked current levels of poverty and wealth inequality in the Black community to the lingering effects of slavery, Jim Crow laws, redlining, and other forms of systemic discrimination.

SIX MONTHS, NO MONEY, NO COMMISSION The reparations proposals adopted by Asheville and Buncombe County do not call for direct payments to descendants of enslaved African American people.

They do, however, promise new investments aimed at “increasing minority home ownership and access to other affordable housing, increasing minority business ownership and career opportunities, strategies to grow equity and generational wealth, closing the gaps in health care, education, employment and pay, neighborhood safety and fairness within criminal justice.”

A key provision of the Asheville resolution is the creation of a Community Reparations Commission to make short-, medium- and long-term recommendations on how and where to invest city and county funds. The commission is to include participation from community groups and other local governments, including Buncombe County.

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer acknowledged the time lag in forming the commission, which must be constituted within a year of the resolution’s passage, but she said the Council knew at the time that “it would take a while.”

“It’s clear to me that not everyone understands this the same way,” she told the Asheville Watchdog. “The question you must answer for people is: What does this look like? Is it a bond issue? A prioritization of our resources? Right now, it’s amorphous.”

The mayor said she and other city officials have been consulting with academic experts and working on staff research, adding that the city plans to hold a detailed working session for the Council — which will now include three new members — to discuss preparations more deeply. However, that working session has yet to be scheduled.

“We need guidance, help and time,” the mayor said. “We are talking about being more strategic.”

Kilgore, elected to the Asheville City Council in November 2020, disputed the idea that the slow progress raises questions about the city’s credibility and commitment toward reparations.

The reparations resolution “has definitely been at the forefront of each discussion, and funding is always at the top of the agenda,” she said.

“Reparations is something that people have been working on for years,” Kilgore said.

“You can’t expect to turn it around in six months or a year. It’s not gonna happen.”

OTHER CITIES MOVE FASTER Even so, the slow pace over six months raises contrasts to progress in other communities.

Evanston, Illinois, set aside $10 million in tax revenue from recently legalized marijuana sales to provide housing assistance for African American residents. Evanston’s Black population is about 13,000, compared to Asheville’s 12,000, according to census figures.

Kansas City, Missouri, levied a new sales tax to help finance its reparations goals.

Charlottesville, Virginia, directed $4 million to its reparations resolution. Providence, Rhode Island, began its reparations process quickly with a community truth and reconciliation commission.

Keith Young, the principal champion of reparations on the Asheville City Council before he lost re-election in November, tried

LONG HISTORY OF NEGLECT Doubts about what the city and county are willing to do for the Black community have a long history.

Dwight Mullen, a retired professor at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, led his students every year to prepare a report called “The State of Black Asheville.” And every year, Mullen said, city and county officials ignored the data on discrimination in housing, education, employment, and other areas.

“We were publicly presenting every year, and every year, brows would get furrowed and folk would get upset,” he said. “Then in a week or two, they would not talk about it anymore.”

Mullen said the protests of last spring and summer increased pressure for systemic change.

While Black Asheville citizens are deeply skeptical about the reparations policies of the city and county, some offered thoughts on what might help their communities.

“From my understanding, they’ve done nothing.”

BLACKS ARE ‘BEING PUSHED OUT’ For Andrea Clark, a key matter is education and job training. “Why not give the kids

One potential source of reparations funding that the city is eyeing is the Ashevillebased Dogwood Health Trust, the charity formed with $1.5 billion in proceeds from the sale of Mission Health System in 2019. With as much as $75 million to invest in the “social determinants of health” in western North Carolina every year, the Dogwood trust has identified housing, education, jobs and employment, and health and wellness as its four strategic priorities.

Last June, the Buncombe County Health and Human Services board declared structural racism to be a public health crisis. About the same time, the Dogwood Trust committed $5.5 million specifically to support organizations led by and primarily serving people of color.

A spokesperson told The Watchdog last week that no one from the Dogwood Health Trust had been invited to sit on the Community Reparations Commission or been contacted by the city or county to discuss possible funding for the reparations proposals.

Susan Mims, a physician and the interim chief executive of Dogwood Health Trust, said, “Any entity that shares our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion — whether nonprofit or governmental — opens up a possibility for collaboration, and we welcome those discussions.”

Public Works Technician: The Town of Maggie Valley is currently accepting application for a Public Works Technician. This is a full time position. Minimum qualifications include a high school diploma or equivalent, a valid driver’s license and at least 2-3 years’ experience operating construction/maintenance equipment. Applications can be obtained in person at Maggie Valley Town Hall at 3987 Soco Road Maggie Valley, NC 28751 or electronically at maggievalleync.gov. The position is open until filled; with first applicant review scheduled for Monday February 22, 2021. Hiring Range DOQ/E. Salary Range: $26,103-$41,113. The Town of Maggie Valley is an equal opportunity employer and offers a comprehensive benefits package including health and dental insurance, 401(k) plan and membership in the North Carolina Local Government employees’ retirement system.

Qualified candidates should submit a resume and town application to Nathan Clark, Town Manager at nclark@maggievalleync.gov.

Senior Public Works Technician: The Town of Maggie Valley is currently accepting application for a Senior Public Works Technician. This is a full time position. Minimum qualifications include a high school diploma or equivalent, a valid driver’s license and at least 2-3 years’ experience operating construction/maintenance equipment. This position performs a variety of work in the construction, maintenance, buildings, grounds and municipal properties. Applications can be obtained in person at Maggie Valley Town Hall at 3987 Soco Road Maggie Valley, NC 28751 or electronically at maggievalleync.gov. The position is open until filled; with first applicant review scheduled for Monday February 22, 2021. Hiring Range DOQ/E. Salary Range: $30,218-$47,592. The Town of Maggie Valley is an equal opportunity employer and offers a comprehensive benefits package including health and dental insurance, 401(k) plan and membership in the North Carolina Local Government employees’ retirement system. Qualified candidates should submit a resume and town application to Nathan Clark, Town Manager at nclark@maggievalleync.gov.

Police Officer The Town of Maggie Valley is currently accepting applications for the full-time position of Police Officer. This position performs intermediate protective service work enforcing laws, investigating criminal activity, ensuring safety of public, collecting evidence, testifying in court, maintaining files and records, preparing reports, and related work as apparent or assigned. Applicants must have a valid N.C. Driver’s License, High School Diploma or GED and a Basic Law Enforcement Training Certification. The position is open until filled; with first applicant review scheduled for Monday February 22, 2021. Hiring Range DOQ/E. Salary Range: $30,218-$47,592. The Town of Maggie Valley is an equal opportunity employer and offers a comprehensive benefits package including health and dental insurance, 401(k) plan and membership in the North Carolina Local Government Employees Retirement System. A full job description can be found at www.maggievalleync.gov. Qualified candidates should submit a resume and Town Application to Nathan Clark, Town Manager at nclark@maggievalleync.gov.

Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Example of Duties: Operates the wastewater plant • Inspects plant equipment for proper operation • Inspects contractor work on collection system • Works on collection system • Makes & installs sewer taps • Operates back-hoe, skid steer, and dump truck • Adjusts process to ensure permit compliance • May serve as a trainer of new personnel on operation and maintenance of plant equipment and in safety procedures • Prepares various reports and forms related to operations and health and safety compliance by regulatory agencies; identifies problems and makes corrections • Keeps records and makes reports • Briefs ORC and Back-Up ORC on performance or maintenance issues Performs related work as assigned. Physical Requirements: Work in this class is medium to heavy work requiring exertion of in excess of 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or in excess of 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or in excess of 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Employee must have the visual acuity to prepare and analyze data and figures, perform extensive reading, conduct visual inspection of small defects or parts, operate a machine, use measurement devices, and to assemble parts at distances close to the eyes. Qualifications: Graduation from high school or GED equivalency and three years experience in the operation and maintenance of water reclamation plant processes; or, any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Possession of an active current Class II Wastewater Operator’s License & an active current Class II Collections Systems License; candidates without current license may be considered with demonstrated ability to obtain within first twelve (12) months of employment. Ability to operate a backhoe. Possession of a valid and appropriate North Carolina driver's license. The position is open until filled; with first applicant review scheduled for Monday February 22, 2021. Hiring Range DOQ/E. Salary Range: $31,728-$47,592. The Town of Maggie Valley is an equal opportunity employer and offers a comprehensive benefits package including health and dental insurance, 401(k) plan and membership in the North Carolina Local Government Employees Retirement System. A full job description can be found at www.maggievalleync.gov. Qualified candidates should submit a resume and completed Town Application to Nathan Clark, Town Manager at nclark@maggievalleync.gov

Town of Maggie Valley • 828-926-0866 • 3987 Soco Road • Maggie Valley

Smoky Mountain News

Three community collectives — Black Asheville Demands, the Racial Justice Coalition, and Just Us — are pushing for the city to provide funds to research what Black communities across Buncombe County want and need from reparations.

Black Asheville Demands insists that communities most impacted by systemic racism must be represented on the commission. Among other issues, the group advocates creating spaces for young people to be active and engaged.

Land is a top remedy for Priscilla Ndiaye Robinson, a researcher of the urban renewal period that wiped out thriving Black neighborhoods and displaced some 1,600 families from the late 1950s to the 1970s, and Rita Lee, a real estate agent. They would like to see city-owned land taken during urban renewal returned to the Black community.

“For those whose property was taken, they should give them lots,” Robinson said.

“Put it back in the family.”

Lee concurred. The city should “be able to offer that land back to the families so that they can build on it,” she said.

RACISM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS

The Town of Maggie Valley invites you to come join our team! The Town has an outstanding strategic plan that includes goals and objectives, a clear vision, and a culture of collaboration.

February 10-16, 2021

— Rob Thomas, community liaison for the Racial Justice Coalition

college tuition? Give them something that means something,” she said.

Reginald Robinson, a local sports official, advocates a program for summer jobs for young people. He noted that jobs, especially well-paying jobs, are important “so they can become self-sufficient citizens.” He also said free daycare should be a priority.

Sasha Mitchell, the former chair of the Asheville Buncombe County African American Heritage Commission, said Blacks “are being pushed out of existence in this area” by racist policies and gentrification.

“The city should quantify the wealth that’s been lost by the African American community,” using records kept at the University of North Carolina Asheville, Mitchell said. “Use the data to have an idea that can be Sasha Mitchell tied to facts, because it’s very emotional. You can’t measure the trauma,” she said.

A “social, economic and environmental justice lens” will be applied to the city’s 20212022 budget, according to City Manager Debra Campbell’s plan for “Advancing Racial Equity in Asheville.”

Campbell cited equity efforts by the city over the last year, such as the city’s new Business Inclusion Policy to support minority training and recruitment. She did not respond to an Asheville Watchdog question about whether the plan will directly address Asheville’s reparations commitment.

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unsuccessfully to get the city to back the resolution with $4 million. The request was later pared back to $1 million, which was rejected without discussion by Mayor Manheimer at Young’s final council meeting Nov. 10.

Young said recently he is disappointed with the lack of progress on reparations.

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2020 FORD F-150 XL & XLT 1.9% APR for 60 mos. + $1,500 Bonus Cash

February 10-16, 2021

$1,500 Bonus Cash (PGM #13892). Not all buyers will qualify for Ford Credit financing. 1.9% APR financing for 60 months at $17.48 per month per $1,000 financed regardless of down payment (PGM #21212). Not available on Raptor. Residency restrictions apply. For all offers, take new retail delivery from an authorized Ford dealer’s stock by 3/31/21. See dealer for qualifications and complete details.

Smoky Mountain News

2020 FORD EXPLORER & FUSION 2020 FORD EXPEDITION, EDGE & ESCAPE 0% APR for 60 Months

Not all buyers will qualify for Ford Credit financing. 0% APR financing for 60 months at $16.67 per month per $1,000 financed regardless of down payment (PGM #21212). Residency restrictions apply.

For all offers, take new retail delivery from an authorized Ford dealer’s stock by 3/1/21. See dealer for qualifications and complete details.

I-40 EXIT 31, CANTON, NC

833-680-1155 www.kwford.com

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0% APR for 72 Months

Not all buyers will qualify for Ford Credit financing. 0% APR financing for 72 months at $13.89 per month per $1,000 financed regardless of down payment (PGM #21212). Residency restrictions apply. For all offers, take new retail delivery from an authorized Ford dealer’s stock by 3/1/21. See dealer for qualifications and complete details.

Health

Smoky Mountain News

HRMC recognized for maternity care Haywood Regional Medical Center has been recognized by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina with a Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) for Maternity Care designation, as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

Racial and ethnic disparities are persistent and widespread across maternal healthcare, primarily driven by socioeconomic status, geographic location, and implicit provider bias. Compared to similarly developed countries such as Canada, Germany, and Australia, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate at approximately 17.4 deaths per 100,000 live births, with the MMR steadily increasing since 2000. According to the CDC, non-Hispanic Black women are two to three times more likely to die from preventable or treatable pregnancy-related complications compared to white women.

To help address these gaps in care and to help ensure the better health of mothers, The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association enhanced its quality evaluation for the Maternity Care program to address key factors driving the United States’ maternal health crisis, such as preventable or treatable pregnancyrelated conditions, high utilization of Caesarean sections, and racial and ethnic disparities in maternal healthcare.

For more information, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.

Andria Smith, (left) director of Women’s Care Services and Rachel Hyatt, childbirth educator, at Haywood Regional Medical Center.

Harris hires nurse midwife Harris Regional Hospital recently hired certified nurse midwife Emilee Lazo to Harris Women’s Care with locations in Jackson, Swain, and Macon counties.

Lazo completed her master of science in Midwifery at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing after receiving a bachelor of arts degree in French and International Studies at Berry College. She is fluent in Spanish. Most recently, Lazo practiced at Alivio Medical Center in Chicago.

Harris Regional Hospital is the only facility in the counties west of Jackson providing labor and delivery services. Lazo also serves as the women’s care provider at the Macon County Health Department for high-risk OB and OB patients.

For an appointment with Lazo or any of the providers, contact Harris Women’s Care at 828.631.8913 or visit www.myharrisregional.com.

New family provider at HRMC Haywood Regional Medical Center recently hired Dr. Benjamin Stepp to join its staff. He will be offering services in family medicine to patients throughout Haywood County and beyond.

Stepp has been providing care in Western North Carolina for the last seven years and is now part of a great team of hospital-affiliated caregivers. He joins HRMC from Asheville, where he

served a variety of patients and families.

“As a family practice physician, I get to do a bit of everything,” he said. “I enjoy working with elderly patients and managing chronic health conditions such as hepatitis C, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and more. On the flipside, I also enjoy seeing pediatric patients as they grow and develop.”

Stepp graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, then completed his residency at the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville.

Stepp will be seeing patients at his offices at Haywood Family Practice – Canton beginning in February. Appointments may be made by calling 828.235.3023.

voiced a commitment to support organizational and community capacity building as identified by nonprofit and governmental service providers facing and/or addressing these focus areas.

For more information about Nantahala Health Foundation’s mission to work with nonprofit service providers and governmental agencies and their effort to improve social determinants of health throughout the region or to offer input about regional needs related to social determinants of health, visit nantahalahealthfoundation.org or connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.

Health foundation updates priorities

Individuals throughout Western North Carolina have a new opportunity to enroll in health insurance for 2021 on HealthCare.gov, but only for a limited time. This new COVID-19 open enrollment period starts Feb. 15 and ends on May 15.

With job losses continuing to mount amid the COVID-19 resurgence, and millions of people having lost their job-based health insurance since the start of this public health and economic crisis, the Biden Administration has opened up HealthCare.gov to give people who need health insurance a new opportunity to get covered, but they must act quickly.

Individuals enrolling in a plan on HealthCare.gov are guaranteed to receive comprehensive coverage with no preexisting condition exclusion or markups. All of the plans available through ACA cover essential benefits, including

Nantahala Health Foundation’s Board of Directors recently announced a comprehensive update to the organization’s funding priorities.

With these newly defined priority areas in place, Nantahala plans to launch its next grantmaking initiative on March 1. Nonprofit and local government leaders working to build a healthy, thriving community are encouraged to share their ideas by applying at NantahalaHealthFoundation.org.

Nantahala’s priorities include Access to Healthcare, Education priority area and Employment and Economic Security.

To that end, Nantahala Health Foundation has

ACA enrollment begins Feb. 15

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doctor and hospital visits, prescription drugs, behavioral health treatment and maternity care.

Consumers who sign up for coverage also receive free preventive care services such as immunizations and health screenings. Testing and treatment of COVID-19 are considered essential benefits and are covered by all HealthCare.gov plans.

People can get free help to assist them in choosing coverage that fits their needs. Call Blue Ridge Health at 828.692.4289 and schedule an appointment with a Certified Application Counselor before the May 15 deadline.

Gastroenterology services expanded Haywood Regional Medical Center welcomes Amanda Morgan, MSN, NP, and Andy Steele, MSN, AGACNP-BC, who have joined its staff and will be offering gastroenterology services to patients throughout Western North Carolina.

Specialties include gastrointestinal disorders, constipation and diarrhea, liver disease, pancreatitis and more.

Morgan received her master of science in nursing from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She’s happy to move back home and serve the patients here in Haywood County.

Steele received his master of science in nursing, specializing as an Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Morgan and Steele are now accepting patients at Mountain Medical Associates. Appointments may be made by calling 828.452.0331.

Hospice hires new Haywood coordinator Stephanie Jones, RN, is the new care transition coordinator for Haywood Hospice & Palliative Care.

“We are excited to have Stephanie into this new role, stated James “Chip” Wheat, Haywood Hospice & Palliative Care’s Executive Director. “Having the Hospice (comfort care) conversation is never easy.

Stephanie has worked in comfort care for over three years, and now she is working with our hospitals and physicians to assist their patients dealing with chronic and terminal illnesses.”

Both Hospice and Palliative Care are comfort plans of care, meaning they are not intended to cure but to provide physical, emotional and spiritual comfort in the last stages of life. However, studies show that most Medicare beneficiaries do not utilize hospice until the last possible moment and so they do not benefit from the entire hospice team.

Jones is hoping to change this mindset.

“My goal is to give our physicians, patients, and their families a better understanding of the Hospice Comfort Care program. So many caregivers today do not know where to turn for help with their loved ones. I can help triage patients and find the best plan of care to keep them at home with their families at end of life,” she said.

To find out more or to schedule a consultation, contact Haywood Hospice & Palliative Care at 828.452.5039.

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Persistence pays off in rebel mascot issue

Hatred is a human flaw To the Editor: We all probably hate something. It could be a certain vegetable, a hard or distasteful task like doing laundry, going to the dentist, or even some kinds of weather. It is even not unusual to hate a person which in the case of the hate of Donald J. Trump turned into a derangement.

In 2015, the minute Donald Trump announced as a candidate for president, he was hated. When he was elected president in 2016, that hate escalated to excessive proportions in media, with lefty voters, politicians and especially the bureaucrats known as the “deep state” in Washington, D.C. He was hated to the point of continual attempts to rid the country of President Trump. Many, like me, could not understand such hate. Some hated his personality or style, others hated the fact that he won an election from Hillary Clinton. Besides those reasons, such colossal hate remains a mystery to many.

But the hate of Donald Trump is now over…. it has morphed into hatred a much more dangerous emotion. We have seen hatred often in our world. Hatred of a race, ethnic group, religion, individual, region or countries across the globe has unfortunately been prevalent throughout history. This kind of hatred, still found in our world, is dangerous, vicious, vile and often unexplainable. It

parents encouraged their daughter to speak out, and both were present 19 years ago when I interviewed their daughter in the school cafeteria.

“If she can get people thinking more deeply about it, it can lead to change,” said David McCord, her father, in 2002.

“Opening the doors to discussion is more effective than any kind of belligerent stance …. People who support the rebel aren’t racist. I don’t think they intend any offense to AfricanAmericans. To me that is beside the point. Whatever the intent is, it is offensive to a lot of people.”

Besides the support and encouragement of her parents, there was Editor another inspiration for the young Annie to take on this battle way back then. Universities, like Western Carolina, are supposed to be institutions of learning, enlightenment and growth — not just job training centers as some want them to become. Annie had visited WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center and seen an exhibit that examined the issue of Native American images as the names of sports teams. It inspired her to examine her own school’s mascot.

Back then — as now — Annie got a lot of pushback.

Here’s an excerpt from the 2002 story from an adult who did not agree with removing the rebel: “I will not stand by and let a person trample on what I believe is right .... There has been a constant badgering of us Southerners, and I am sick of it.”

In fact, her mother, Melanie Smathers, told me this week that Annie and the family even got death threats back in

Scott McLeod

W

hen I read that Annie McCord-Wilson was among those leading the charge to have the rebel removed as the mascot of her daughter’s elementary school — Cullowhee Valley — I almost couldn’t believe it.

In 2002 when The Smoky Mountain News was only three years old and trying to establish itself as an information source for the region, I read a fantastic letter to the editor in the Sylva Herald. It was written by then-eighth-grader Annie McCord, and I was astonished at her maturity. Here’s an excerpt from that letter discussing the use of the rebel as a mascot: “People say it represents our heritage, and we should honor and respect it .... But there is much about our heritage I am not at all proud of. It is time to shed this unfortunate image of the past and to select a new mascot with positive imagery and associations.”

Back when I had few sources and was always hustling to find stories with some depth, I recognized this would get some traction if I could talk to Annie. I started asking around and got in touch with her father, who is a professor at Western Carolina University. He and his wife agreed to let me interview their daughter, and so we ran the story the next week. In it, the then-superintendent of Jackson County Schools had this to say: “While I am pleased at her intelligence to confront this issue, I don’t want to see adults hammering at her. I’m not sure that her and her parents are prepared for this.”

Well, it seems Annie and her parents were very prepared for this. Annie’s mom was a teacher at Cullowhee Valley back then — and still is — when her daughter took on the issue, so no doubt she probably heard from many people. Still, her

LETTERS brings on acts designed to destroy, hurt, marginalize and harm the subjects of hatred.

That is what hatred is doing now to Donald Trump. It is revengeful, ruthless, malicious and vindictive. It causes some who we thought to be ordinary citizens, politicians, celebrities, businesses, corporations to turn into nasty, malevolent, rancorous uber-haters set out to use any and all methods to not only destroy a President of the United States but to destroy a man, his family and his livelihood.

If you have only heard one side of the story, the anti-Trump story, you will probably think all of the above is OK. There is another side of that story. For instance, the latest reason for the rampant hatred is that Donald Trump encouraged a violent breach of the U.S Capitol. The other side of that story is Donald Trump did no such thing. His exact words were for supporters make “a peaceful and patriotic” march to the Capitol. Even before a final investigation of who the Capitol attackers were, a vengeful Democrat majority House of Representatives went right ahead to impeach President Trump. Funding to help those who have been greatly damaged by Covid-19 business closings and lock downs took months …. but not the impeachment of President Trump. They got that done in two days!

Hatred is a serious human flaw that does

2002. That’s the main reason they gave up on their efforts, that it was not worth Annie getting hurt. Now, as then, she’s a proud mother.

“This is a great example of the kind of person Annie is,” said Smathers. “As an adult, with a daughter at CVS, she realized it was time to stand up for her values again. With grace and dignity, she started a campaign to replace the rebel with a mascot in which every student would feel comfortable.”

Indeed, Wilson and a dedicated group of supporters kept fighting. I asked Annie what she hoped — as a mother — this would mean for her daughter and other children attending Cullowhee Valley: “Firstly, I hope this shows students that it is important to consider perspectives other than their own and their family’s. Though many people do not see the problem with such a mascot, we must be thoughtful about the experiences of others and have empathy. Many students and families have been hurt by this symbol in the past, and the decision to retire the rebel will save future families from this particular pain.”

And so it will. After almost a year of letters and work by many alumna and community members, the Jackson County School Board voted unanimously decision to ditch the rebel and let the school choose a new one. Nineteen years after first raising the issue, Annie McCord-Wilson — and the whole community — will get to see their elementary school retire a controversial mascot.

Editor’s Note: To contribute to the fundraising effort to cover costs associated with retiring the old mascot and coming up with a new one, please visit Retiring The Rebel’s Go Fund Me page: www.gofundme.com/f/retiring-the-rebel (Scott McLeod can be reached at info@smokymountainnews.com)

nothing but harm to the haters and those that receive the hate.

Shirley Slaughter Cashiers

Dental health helps children learn To the Editor: Since 1963, Blue Ridge Health (BRH) has provided essential healthcare to residents with the greatest need in Western North Carolina (WNC). This care includes dental services for our youngest community members. Since February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, I want to highlight an important partnership between BRH and the Dogwood Health Trust. BRH recently received a grant from Dogwood to restart our mobile dental clinic after a temporary COVID-19 grounding. The grant will be used to provide dental services in the rural counties we serve throughout Western North Carolina.

As a region, WNC has a rate of childhood caries that is 10% higher than the state average of similar aged children. By no fault of their own, children with dental caries are more likely to fall behind their peers when reaching academic and social milestones. We have to do better. To this end, our mobile dental clinic is equipped to effectively educate and treat pediatric patients throughout the region. Our

goal is to help WNC children achieve oral health that all children deserve.

We accept Medicaid and private insurance as well as patients without insurance who pay on a sliding scale based on their income. No patient is turned away for inability to pay. In addition to adults, the grant we received will help us further our mission to expand these dental services to more children in our service area. We are enormously grateful to the Dogwood Health Trust for their support of our important work.

Ben Cozart, DDS (Dr. Cozart is Dental Director at Blue Ridge Health, and serves on the WNC Oral Health Collaborative and the UNC Adams School of Dentistry Alumni Board.)

When will N.C. ratify ERA? To the Editor: In January 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state needed for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). First introduced in 1923, the ERA finally received bipartisan congressional approval in 1972. It then went to the states for ratification. The required three-quarters of the states (38) have finally ratified, making the ERA qualified to

S EE LETTERS, PAGE 25

Broken wrist presages my new reality

I

Susanna Shetley

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

@SmokyMtnNews WOOD FIRED

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IN STOCK! they wont last long... come see for your self.

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wake-up call that I’m no longer full of youth, sprite and strong bones. I spoke with my orthopedic doctor who I know very well since my 12-year-old has broken two bones this year. Yes, it’s been a rough year for us orthopedically. The doctor said I’m in a category with low bone density because I’m female, Caucasian and over 40. Moreover, my mom had severe osteoporosis so it’s probably something I should be concerned about. The doctor suggested I begin taking a calcium/vitamin D blend and to possibly wear wrist guards when snowboarding in the future.

This past year has been bizarre in a number of ways, and the fact our family has had three broken bones is par for the course. I’m hoping things really do happen in threes. At least the third broken bone was mine and not my child’s.

On the way home from Beech Mountain, I contemplated if I should ever strap into a snowboard again. It’s really not advantageous to have broken bones at my age.

Last weekend was Super Bowl Sunday. I know a lot of people were pulling for Patrick Mahomes and the underdog team, but as I sat there in my 41-year-old body with a broken wrist, I felt myself rooting for the 43-year-old Tom Brady, even though I’ve never been a Patriots or Brady fan, per se. I thought, “If he can still suit up, play football and get tackled, then I can get back on the slopes and continue snowboarding.”

It would be easy to quit. In fact, I have felt pretty depressed over the past week because I’ve been unable to carry on as usual. We had plans for a couple more snowboarding/ski weekend trips and days at Cataloochee, but I won’t be able to participate in those. I had also just gotten back into shape as a runner and was about to register for a race, but I haven’t run in over a week and won’t be able to until my wrist is more stabilized.

At the end of the day, I’m still grateful.

This injury could have been worse.

Sometimes we stubborn humans need a reminder our bodies are fragile. They eventually start deteriorating like all good machines. While I won’t let this injury keep me from the slopes indefinitely, I’m going to approach them with more caution and reserve. It’s hard to accept getting older but being grumpy about it does nothing.

I’m learning each phase of life holds its own joys and challenges. Here’s to aging with confidence and wisdom and to not letting a broken bone dampen my spirits.

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

become the 28th Amendment.

Now it sits on the desk of the National Archivist, who was instructed by the previous administration not to certify Virginia’s ratification stating the “deadline had expired.” Congress extended the deadline for the ERA in 1978. Congress can do it again. Despite the delay, ERA proponents expect our new pro-equality administration to publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment in 2021.

And, yet, here sits North Carolina!

Our lawmakers filed bills in the General Assembly to ratify the ERA in the late 70s only to be thwarted by an Illinois outsider and anti-ERA activist, Phyllis Schlafly.

Our own Sen. Sam J. Ervin Jr. allowed Schlafly’s STOP-ERA group to use his name in its mailings. Indeed, the antiERA movement specifically targeted Southern states which had not ratified the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. That remains women’s only right in the U.S. Constitution.

North Carolina did not ratify the vote for women until 1971, 51 years after it had become part of the Constitution.

N.C. lawmakers have filed bills to ratify the ERA every year since 2015, but no bill has been brought to the floor for a

vote or even allowed a committee hearing.

When a state does not ratify an amendment, it sends a powerful message to its citizens and to other states, whether it’s voting to abolish slavery, giving AfricanAmerican men the right to vote, or giving women equal rights.

In the case of the ERA, that message is: “We do not believe that the 4.2 million women in N.C. deserve full constitutional equality,” a noticeably clear directive to businesses thinking of locating in North Carolina as well as to women and men considering a college or a career in our state. It feeds an inequality mindset laying bare two cultural Americas for women in ERA-ratified and non-ratified states.

When the Equal Rights Amendment is published as the 28th Amendment, upon which side of history will North Carolina be standing? Will we wait another 50 years as we did to ratify women’s right to vote, or will our legislators finally affirm their belief in the full constitutional equality of more than half our citizens? NCGAplease do not let any more time pass before ratifying the ERA. Our daughters deserve the same protections under the law as our sons!

Leila Tvedt Hyde Member, ERA-NC Alliance Bryson City

February 10-16, 2021

started snowboarding when I was 15.

Even though neither of my parents were athletes, especially skiers or snowboarders, I joined my flock of teenage friends and braved the mountain to learn this popular winter sport. We lived a mere 15 miles from Wolf Ridge and I knew, even then, it would be silly not to take advantage of the proximity. Not everyone gets to grow up close to ski resort.

My first time on a snowboard, I fell a million times. It was a painfully endless day. I almost gave up, but a more experienced friend told me that everyone falls repeatedly on the first day and that Columnist improvement was sure to come on day two. I went back the second day. My friend was right. Improvement came each day.

From then on, I had fun snowboarding all throughout the mountains in North Carolina, Canada and Colorado. I was never fearful, always ready to try a jump or a black diamond. I guess that’s how the young are. Youth breeds invincibility.

Fast-forward many years. That young girl is now 41. She really wants her two young boys to learn how to snowboard since they too live near a ski resort, Cataloochee. It doesn’t make sense for kids who live within miles of a ski resort to grow up not snowboarding or skiing. After a couple years in training mode, she and her boys, along with her boyfriend and his kids, went to Beech Mountain for a weekend getaway. On the final run of the final day, the 41-year-old fell and broke her right wrist. It was not the way she wanted to end the trip.

Trying to navigate the world as a writer and a mother and a very busy person with a broken wrist is very challenging. I cannot open jars or doors, wash my hair, use a bobby pin, put my pants on easily, walk the dog, carry groceries, and so on. I am suddenly grateful for particular things like a push start in my car and the fact that it’s an automatic. I’m thankful for great kids and a boyfriend who have been very helpful through all of this. I’m also thankful that I can still type on a keyboard since writing is my career.

I have to admit I feel defeated. Old, brittle and defeated. As many times as I fell as a teenager and young adult, I never broke a bone or even worried about breaking a bone. Further, the fall that caused my broken wrist didn’t even seem like that bad of a fall.

Breaking my first bone in my 40s was a

LETTERS, CONTINUED FROM 24

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Smoky Mountain News

May your belly be full, your cup runneth over Amici’s brings fine Italian to Waynesville

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER t’s 8:45 a.m. and 28 degrees outside of Amici’s in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Waynesville. The sidewalk has been shoveled, while the roof of the fine Italian restaurant is still covered in a fresh blanket of snow that had fallen the night before.

Sitting at a table in the dining room is Amici’s owner Mary Anne Perrone, going through the books and food orders, making sure everything is in order before she unlocks the front door. Just around the corner in the kitchen is Frankie Perrone (Mary Anne’s father), prepping the countless ingredients for the day’s intricate dishes and impending customers.

“Working and running a restaurant? It’s in my blood. This is what I’m passionate about,” Mary Anne said. “It’s the customers, just to see them coming in with a smile, knowing the food is great, that they received good service, where they leave happy and fulfilled — that’s what makes me happy.”

Opened this past November, Amici’s (Italian for “friends”) took over the commercial space on Hazelwood Avenue that was formerly occupied by Bourbon Barrel Beer & Ale. In just a few short months, the new restaurant has already become a word-of-mouth hit among foodies, locals and tourists alike.

“We don’t want to be like every other Italian restaurant with the same dishes and same style,” Mary Anne said. “For us, it’s about

I

the menu. It’s not about being fancy or overkill on the presentation, it’s about traditional Italian food. It’s also keeping the décor simple and quaint, to not overdue the room — focus on the food, make sure everyone feels welcome who comes in.”

“You’ve got to the let the customer know that you’re here for them,” Frankie added.

“When a customer sits at my table — which is their table — from the time they sit down, that’s now their dining room.”

Now 75, it’s a full circle thing for Frankie to spend his life and career next to his children in the same industry he was raised in. With Mary Anne operating Amici’s and his son, Louis, running the massively popular Frankie’s Italian Trattoria in Maggie Valley, he now has two children at the helm of culinary establishments in Haywood County.

“It means the world to me knowing he’s here every day, prepping and helping with whatever needs to get done,” Mary Anne said.

“This is where he wants to be. This is what makes him happy.”

“All these years in the restaurant business, I never went golfing or fishing, and I never wanted to retire, I’d get bored easily,” Frankie chuckled. “It was always about looking for fresh ingredients and meats for the dishes, always trying to make each restaurant better — and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

In 1964, when he was 17 years old, Frankie came over to America from the southeast of Italy, east of Naples to be exact. Landing in Miami, he immediately started working in a restaurant alongside his father.

Those humble beginnings transitioned into

Frankie and Mary Anne Perrone. the extended Perrone family owning and operating several successful culinary establishments around South Florida, most notably Doria’s Italian Restaurant and Frankie’s Pier 5 — both in Hallandale Beach, just a stone’s throw from each other.

“And both restaurants did great business. I mean, real business. We were a friendly competition. ‘Who was going to do a better job?’

The people loved it,” Frankie said. “Frankie’s [Pier 5] in Florida didn’t have a liquor license, so people would go to my brother’s [at Doria’s], have a cocktail and walk over to Frankie’s for dinner. My brother would say, ‘At least bring the glasses back.’ (Laughs).”

But, one question remains. Regardless of time and place, opening a restaurant is one of the riskiest business ventures someone could ever take on. And yet, in the middle of a pan-

A young Frankie Perrone at the helm of his former restaurant Doria’s in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

demic, shutdown and economic collapse, why would anyone even attempt to launch a new food spot?

“To me, you can’t swim in the ocean during a hurricane. You swim when everything is calm,” Frankie said. “So, I figure the shutdown won’t last forever, and we feel the waters are calm enough to keep going — you cannot stop.

Maybe you go slow, but you’ve got to keep going.”

“And I’m still envisioning what more we can and will do in here. I’m only just beginning what I’ve set out to do,” Mary Anne added. “The support from the community already has been overwhelming and so appreciated. It means a lot to us. And at the end of the day, even when we’re so busy, I can put my head down and smile, because we’re doing what we love.”

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Bein’ a decrepit old bag of bones, that’s what’s ridiculous, gettin’ old

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some sense of “normalcy” during “all of this.”

Hoist the beer. Forget the deep scratch. Move on and strum the chords that make the distance from here to back home seem that much closer, at least melodically-speaking.

No more horizontal sitting. Pick up yourself and kick back the footrest. Pull aside the faded window tapestry. Tack it up against the wall, but only after you feel how thin and worn it is in doing so, at least for a moment.

Covered in elephants, I had to buy it at a Phish festival in Maine, alongside an old girlfriend I haven’t talked to in years.

Back then, I was 18 when I handed the street vendor at the festival a shabby $20 earned from my front desk job at my uncle’s motel in Lake Placid, New York. I was high as a kite — on weed, booze and life — and “just had to have” the tapestry with the elephants. It too has followed me around this country, just like good old Jack, still looking back into my eyes whenever I gaze in his general direction.

Look at the window. No cars or people wandering about on Russ Avenue, not this time of night, and especially in the here and now of where we stand as a people, a society trying to come to grips with what to do next, all while that the age-old question remains (more so now): “Are you living the life that you so choose?”

Outside sits the rusty, musty pickup truck. Just begging to be driven somewhere, anywhere. Always waiting for the next adventure. Always teasing me to “jump in and see where the road takes me.” There’s a full tank of gas, so why not, eh?

My fingers roll along the keyboard with ease right now. It’s 1:16 a.m. and here I sit in the recliner. Netflix and the half-full lukewarm beer next to the chair have both lost my interest. I lean back into a horizontal position and take inventory of my apartment, the humble abode that I’ve called home going on nine years now.

Life is beautiful, grasp for it y’all.

February 10-16, 2021

ate Thursday night. I’m sitting in my recliner. Netflix and the half-full lukewarm beer next to the chair have both lost my interest. I lean back into a horizontal position and take inventory of my apartment, the humble abode that I’ve called home going on nine years now.

The first thing my eyes gravitate toward is the wrinkled and ripped Jack Kerouac poster on the wall nearest my front door.

Purchased my freshman year of college in Connecticut, the large piece of printed paper has followed me throughout my entire adult journey thus far, just like the words do of the author whose face looks directly at mine when I walk outside each and every day.

Always looking. Always judging, perpetually posing the age-old question, “Are you living the life that you so choose?”

Just above Jack are several license plates that have come into my possession over the years. Two are from my youthful collection of license plates: Alaska and British Columbia, both destinations that haunt my dreams to someday step foot into. One is from North Carolina, from my old truck that’s somewhere in a junkyard in Kentucky, rusting away, probably wondering why I sold 10 years of road-weary memories for $300 of scrap metal.

One plate is from New York with “Pearl Harbor Survivor” across it, the remaining physical memory I have of my late grandfather, a World War II veteran who was there in the Army on Dec. 7, 1941. It’s been about 14 years since he left this earth. And I miss him immensely, though I feel his presence from time to time, especially in the midnight hour when I’m cruising along some lonely highway to destinations unknown.

The last plate hails from Massachusetts, the only remaining physical memory of a

woman I once loved when she first landed in Haywood County. She was once the center of my universe, and yet now I know nothing about her: is she happy? Where is she sleeping tonight? Could I have done more to keep the relationship alive and flourishing, to where she’d still be sitting on the couch across the room like she always used to do when we shared the humble abode (and the bills)?

Above the love seat couch is a painting of a foliage scene, most likely from New England. That girl now long gone picked it out with me one summer day, from the dusty frame bin at the thrift store a couple of blocks from the humble abode. It triggers memories of my native North Country, the ever-present and ongoing muse, at least in my corner of the written word.

Surrounding the foliage scene are posters hung symmetrically from concerts so far gone in memory, I’d dare to even speculate on what was played in those venues in Tennessee, North Carolina and Vermont, let alone remember who was even with me on those nights when I pulled them off the walls and stuck them in the back pocket of my jeans; you know, for posterity purposes.

Across the room to the fridge. A couple photographs under magnets of my 6-yearold niece, a thousand miles away back in my Upstate New York hometown. Next to the photos is the looming electric bill and a tattered ticket from a Phish show in North Charleston, South Carolina, from December 2019: when live music was (not by me) taken for granted, so was social interaction and the unlimited possibilities of meeting someone — anyone — in the midst of the irresponsible enlightenment not spent (not by choice, at least) in the humble abode.

Circle back to the recliner. Lean back and reach for the six-string acoustic guitar, somewhat new, but with a lone (deep) scratch underneath the sound hole from an overzealous musician who I handed it to when we held a small gathering during the shutdown: a bonfire and beers sort of thing, just to feel

Smoky Mountain News 27

arts & entertainment

On the street WCU to stream ‘Code of the Freaks’ When asked to name a major film that they like featuring a person with a disability, the subjects of the documentary film, “Code of the Freaks,” respond with “No, I can’t name any” and “Yeah, that’s a pretty short list.” Playing a character with a disability, no matter how unrealistic or demeaning the portrayal, may be the quickest way for an actor to win an Oscar.

“Code of the Freaks,” directed and produced by Salome Chansnoff, imagines a cinematic landscape that takes people with disabilities seriously. Bardo Arts Center presents an opportunity to watch this dynamic documentary on-demand from Feb. 21-24, watching details below.

From 1932’s “Freaks” to “Forrest Gump,” Hollywood has propagated persistent tropes about characters with disabilities. But now,

people with disabilities who have historically been excluded from the industry are increasingly being seen and heard by mainstream audiences. “Code of the Freaks” features their voices in interviews with activists, educators, as well as those who work in front of and behind the camera.

The documentary is available to watch on-demand from Feb. 21-24. Once you begin watching, you have 24 hours to finish. Watch on a browser or through the EventiveTV App. Learn more and pre-order your free ticket at arts.wcu.edu/codeofthefreaks.

This event is made possible through the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, a South Arts program. Since its inception in 1975, Southern Circuit has brought some of the best independent filmmakers and their films from around the country to communities throughout the South. The program is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. www.wcu.edu.

February 10-16, 2021

HCC arts and crafts business webinar The Small Business Center at Haywood Community College will offer a free Arts & Crafts based business virtual learning series from 9 to 11 a.m. Feb. 17 and March 10.

The two-part series, designed by speaker Martin Brossman, will address the challenges faced by current and prospective craft artist business owners.

Arts-based businesses are unique ventures and require special business planning methods. Learn skills and get answers on starting, growing and marketing an arts and crafts business.

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

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

Smoky Mountain News

• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. www.elevatedmountain.com.

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• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

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

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Scott James Stambaugh Feb. 13 and North Georgia Sound Feb. 20. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Bridget Gossett (singer-songwriter) Feb. 12 and North Georgia Sound Feb. 19. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free

How to Start and Grow Arts and Crafts will be held Wednesday, Feb. 17.

During this webinar, attendees will learn how to present themselves as an artist both on and offline to build relationships and market their work.

Increasing Art Sales Through Strategic Marketing will be held Wednesday, March 10. Apply marketing basics to build a marketing plan to successfully reach, convince and close sales.

Visit sbc.haywood.edu or call 828.627.4512 for more information or to register. and open to the public. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• There will be a free wine tasting from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva.

828.631.3075.

• The Haywood County Arts Council’s “Winter Member’s Show” will be held March 5-27 in the Gallery & Gifts showroom at the HCAC in downtown Waynesville.

Original work for 24 local artisans. Free and open to the public. www.haywoodarts.org.

ALSO:

• “This & That Market” will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Canton Armory. Vendors and artisan crafters.

• The Bethel Christian Academy will be hosting the “Papertown Spring Market” fundraiser on March 13. There will be booths for local vendors to set up and sell their products: boutique clothing, home decor, handmade items, jewelry, and more.

If you have any questions or would like to set up a booth, call 828.734.9733.

Appalachian Women’s Museum.

Jackson County art grants The Jackson County Arts Council has awarded $50,250.06 in business interruption grants to local nonprofit arts organizations, other organizations with art programming, and individual artists through the North Carolina CARES for the Arts grant program.

In September, The North Carolina General Assembly designated $9.4 million federal CARES Act funds for arts councils and arts organizations to mitigate business disruptions caused by COVID-19.

The North Carolina Arts Council distributed these funds on a per-capita basis to all North Carolina counties with a population of less than one million people. In many counties, local arts councils received the funds and sub-granted a portion of the county allotment to eligible recipients.

Art organizations and artists have suffered a tremendous financial hardship during COVID-19. Many have had to shut their doors and have lost much of their private funding and income. Funding from this grant is meant to help offset business disruption and/or expenses incurred due to COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Dec. 30, 2020.

The Jackson County Arts Council was eligible to keep up to 50 percent of the funding awarded but elected to regrant 80 percent of the funding to community organizations and artists.

The Jackson County Arts Council received an allotment of $50,250.06 for distribution and had $283,409.25 requested from community

organizations and artists, far exceeding the amount for distribution. After careful examination and due diligence of all applications, the organization determined $72,448.34 were eligible expenses to receive this grant. All applicants who met eligibility requirements set forth by the North Carolina Arts Council received a portion of the funds available.

The following expenses were considered eligible: paid salaries and benefits (including contractors), on-going operating expenses, costs associated with canceling programs and creating virtual programs, and COVID-related safety and cleaning measures. Applicants were required to provide documentation as evidence for expenses.

Awards were granted to the following organizations: • The Jackson County Arts Council • Blue Ridge JAM • Full Spectrum Farms • HIGHTS, Inc • Appalachian Women’s Museum • Jackson County Genealogical Society • Glenville Area Historical Society • Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau (Cashiers) • Jackson County Visual Arts Assoc (Gallery One) • Dogwood Crafters • Art By Pam (Pam Haddock) • James Smythe To learn more about the Jackson County Arts Council, visit www.jacksoncountyarts.org.

All aboard the ‘Valentine Train’ The “Valentine Train: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will run from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 13, departing from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot in Bryson City.

Specialty train experience riding in a full-service, all-adult first class car with a private attendant and plush, well-appointed dining seating. A narrator will be onboard to discuss each pairing of four wines with a meal that includes an exclusive sampling of local cheeses, a surf-n-turf meal prepared fresh, and a chef-inspired dessert perfect for the season.

All passengers also receive souvenir stemless wine glasses. Age 21 and over only. For more information and ticket prices, call 800.872.4681 or click on www.gsmr.com.

On the shelf fight the approaching enemy, but has lost his cognitive skills to do so, and spends much of his time watching newsreels in the theater in which even then the fascist regime is promising victory. On his return home from the front, Max spends hours in bed, eats like a bird, wanders through the town, and like a maddened Cassandra, utters prophecies no one understands. After serving some time at the Hitler Youth camp,

both at home and in the military services, the multiple homes in the Huber’s town where fathers and sons are absent or dead, killed while fighting the Russians, the Americans, and the British.

In one scene, for example, Etta has sprung Max from the mental hospital where the state had incarcerated him and is leading him home when the bombers strike the town.

Jeff Minick

“They beat against their chests and gasped. They crouched low against the cobblestones and scratched like cats.

The air rose all at once. It bucked up and rose to meet the flames, and it bore people upward as if making an offering …. People lay outside the buildings and on the riverbank and in the squares of the old town. They lay on their backs and on their sides, and some of them looked upward toward the sky with eyes wide open, and the ash fell over them all and covered them.”

Volunteer for

HAYWOOD HOSPICE

& PALLIATIVE CARE 43 Bowman Dr., Waynesville

Call 828.452. 5039 for more information

“Eat an entire

box of Chocolates?

That's a stomachache.

Binge read

a New Book

and finish it all in one sitting?

That's something worth

bragging about. ”

-Sadie Trombetta

Smoky Mountain News

NC State Poetry Contest

The annual NC State Poetry Contest is a free literary competition open to all North Carolina residents, including out-of-state and international students who are enrolled in North Carolina universities. It remains one of the largest free-to-enter poetry contests in the South.

This year’s guest judge is award-winning poet Kayleb Rae Candrilli and features a grand prize of $500.

No emailed entries are accepted. Please mail entries to: N.C. State Poetry Contest, Department of English, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 8105, Raleigh, NC 27695-8105. The postmark deadline is March 1, 2021.

Due to volume, we cannot contact each contestant or return your poems afterward. Winners and honorable mentions will be contacted directly. There will not be a public ceremony this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results will be posted on our website.

For more information, visit go.ncsu.edu/poetrycontest.

February 10-16, 2021

Georg escapes and spends most of the novel trying to make his way back to his family.

Binder is not only a fine writer — her prose is crystal clear, and her characters and plot well developed — but she has also done both literature and history a great service with The Vanishing Sky. She lifts the curtain on Hitler’s totalitarian regime, showing us more than the hatred and fanaticism that drove the Nazis. She gives us the common people forced to live in those circumstances, some of them true believers in a state seeking complete control of its citizens, others accommodating that state while despising it, and a few who do what they can to thwart that dictatorship.

The Vanishing Sky also reveals the horrors of war: the bombings, the lack of food

The Vanishing Sky stands as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism and about the brutality of war.

One of my mother’s favorite sayings was “Be careful what you wish for.”

Those today who wish for even more government control of our citizenry, who are willing to give up rights and liberties for some cause or ideology, and those who wish to shoot those opposed to their ideas or who deem some of their fellow citizens as deserving of repression and death, are not fictitious characters in a story.

They are real, perhaps fewer in number than the majority, but they are nevertheless human beings made of flesh-and-blood who regard themselves as wise, certain of their righteousness, and who look at their fellow Americans with contempt and regard them as sub-human. They are the ones — and their political affiliations don’t matter — who want power and control.

To them I would say: Be careful what you wish for.

(Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, Amanda Bell and Dust On Their Wings, and two works of nonfiction, Learning As I Go and Movies Make the Man. minick0301@gmail.com)

arts & entertainment

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bout 10 years ago, I was standing in the checkout line at my local Ingles. The clerk, age 19 or 20, tattooed and pierced, was telling a customer, clearly an acquaintance, that she couldn’t wait until society fell apart and we’d all be forced to survive by our wits and resources.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

That kid looked soft and out of shape, and I thought to myself, “You’d last about a day.” As for me, I’d be lucky to live two days before I was also lying in the dirt.

I suspect that girl watched “The Hunger Games” one too many times, and I’ve heard others, some of them grown Writer adults, offer up the same wish. They pile up a supply of food and other supplies, buy a gun or two, stock up on ammo, and then tell me a shooting war would be better than the “cold civil war” our divided country is now waging. I suspect they’ve read books like William Forstchen’s One Second After and see themselves among the heroic survivors of that post-apocalyptic disaster instead of joining the multitude of dead.

For these people, I have nothing but pity and scorn. Pity, because they have never seen a war or apparently even read much about them. Scorn, because that attitude is about as selfish as you can get. An example: I have a platoon of grandchildren. Why would I want to see them endure such a time of evil and cruelty?

In The Vanishing Sky (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020, 278 pages), L. Annette Binder takes readers into Nazi Germany when it’s on the verge of collapse. She tells her story through the Huber family: Etta, a mother doing her best to keep her family safe and together; her husband Josef, who served in the First World War and who becomes increasingly nationalistic as his country burns; and their sons, Max, a gifted young man who has returned as a mental wreck from the Eastern Front, and Georg, whom the state has sent to a Hitler Youth school.

The novel’s plot is fairly straightforward.

Etta spends much of her time worrying over Max and Josef, trying to keep food on the table, and visiting friends. Josef wishes to enlist in the brigade of old men drafted to

heart Have a

A look inside a Nazi family

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

it seems so much better, we don’t want there to be backsliding now,” she said. “We don’t want leniency to develop. People get lulled into thinking that everything is OK and it’s always going to be OK, but part of the reason it is OK now and better now is because organizations and people and churches and even state governments in the case of Tennessee have gotten involved with these permitting processes and made sure that the limits on the plant were going to make things better.”

The mill believes the permit should be issued as written, citing years of work with state and federal regulatory agencies since submitting its renewal application on Dec. 31, 2014.

“Besides the economic impact to Western North Carolina, the Canton Mill is a critical part of a supply chain that provides renewable packaging for milk, juice and other beverages,” said mill spokesperson Erin Reynolds.

“We are proud of our environmental performance and remain committed to both the community and the environment.”

Paper and the Pigeon

At issue Temperature

Evergreen Packaging in Canton runs a paper mill that has been in operation since 1908. Evergreen Packaging photo

Canton mill’s wastewater permit up for renewal

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER s a college student in the 1990s, Callie Moore would frequently find herself driving along the Pigeon River on Interstate 40 as she traveled between school in Cullowhee and home in Tennessee. She remembers that dirty water well.

“The river at that time was absolutely jet black,” said Moore, now the western regional director for MountainTrue. “There would often be big, huge blocks of foam floating on it.”

That pollution was due to Blue Ridge Paper in Canton, a paper mill currently owned by Evergreen Packaging. In operation since 1908, it employs about 1,500 people.

The factory receives pine and hardwood chips via train and truck shipments and processes them into pulp for paper or paperboard production.

The river looks a lot better these days than it did when Moore was a college student.

Since 1990, Evergreen Packaging has spent more than $500 million on environmental improvements, reducing its total discharge by one-third and color discharge by more than 90 percent. Fish consumption advisories, which had previously been the rule rather than the exception, were lifted one by one in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, and now not a single fish consumption advisory is in effect

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on the Pigeon River.

The mill’s wastewater discharge permit has been an important mechanism for moving that positive change forward, and this year the permit is set to be renewed for the first time since 2010.

The 2010 renewal was a controversial process that resulted in a lawsuit from the Southern Environmental Law Center, filed on behalf of five different environmental groups and the government of Cocke County, Tennessee. The suit was settled in 2012 with no admission of guilt from Evergreen but with some new terms added to the permit.

Discharge permits must be renewed every five years, but it’s now been nearly six since the mill’s last permit expired. The delay was the result of holdups on the regulatory end of things, said N.C. Division of Water Resources spokesperson Anna Gurney — the mill submitted its application for permit renewal within 180 days of the 2010 permit’s expiration date as required, meaning that the existing permit remains valid until a new one is issued.

The permit’s complexity required extensive negotiations between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the mill, and recent changes to variance regulations meant that the department had to learn and follow a new process, Gurney said.

Additionally, the pandemic caused delays.

The public hearing was originally scheduled for Jan. 20 — the same day as the presidential inauguration — but got pushed back to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, with the window for written comments open through April

Be heard An online public hearing at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, April 14, will take input on terms of a proposed wastewater permit for Blue Ridge Paper in Canton.

The permit, expected to be issued in May, would be in effect through at least May 2026.

Due to delays with the regulatory agencies, the mill has been operating on an extension of its current permit, issued in 2010, since 2015.

Citizens can give oral comments during the April 14 meeting and also have the option of submitting written comments before the April 30 deadline.

For more information, including registration for the April 14 hearing and links to the proposed permit, visit bit.ly/cantonpermit.

30. The hearing was delayed at the request of the State of Tennessee because their legislators would not have been able to attend Jan. 20, Gurney said. Due to federal and state public notice requirements, April 14 was the earliest opportunity to reschedule. The department expects to issue a new permit in May. The mill has come a long way since the ‘90s, Moore said, but MountainTrue’s priority is to ensure that environmental quality remains on an upward trajectory. She believes that the permit’s proposed requirements won’t accomplish that goal.

“The main message is now that things are quasi-good, people are rafting on the river and

When water is discharged from the mill after production and treatment, it is generally warmer than the naturally cool water of the Pigeon River, whose mountain headwaters originate in the same county as the mill itself.

Aquatic organisms depend on a certain temperature range to survive, so allowing mill discharge to heat the river too much would damage the ecology.

Since 1985, the mill has been operating under a variance — approved by the EPA — that allows it to discharge water at higher temperatures than would otherwise be allowed. According to a fact sheet from the DWR, the variance was granted after data showed that loosened limits would still keep the water cool enough for the river’s fish, shellfish and wildlife to survive and propagate.

The 2010 permit tightened existing temperature restrictions on the mill, reducing the allowable temperature difference between upstream and downstream monitoring locations from 25 degrees Fahrenheit to 15.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Following the 2012 settlement, the mill agreed to make that calculation based on a weekly average rather than using a monthly average, as it had before.

MountainTrue is calling for the state to require a daily average instead.

“There was a big fish kill in the summer of 2007 from an extremely hot discharge from the mill, and it wasn’t actually a permit violation because their limits rely on a monthly average,” said Moore. “And so, that allows for you to have a really hot temperature day.”

Since 2007, the allowable temperature difference has been tightened, the average has moved from a monthly to a weekly average, and there haven’t been any major fish kills. However, said

Dioxin sampling

Evergreen Packaging graph

years, the mill would have to continue monitoring its discharge for dioxin on an annual basis. Dioxin has not been detected in the mill’s discharge since 1989, she said.

The mill is responsible for bearing the cost of monitoring activities required under the permit. Fish tissue dioxin sampling involves catching fish in Waterville Reservoir, packing them in ice and sending them to a lab for analysis — each round of sampling costs about $50,000.

“EPA did intensive high-volume sampling of the water in the Pigeon River and the lake in 2014 and did not find any dioxin in excess of allowable limits in the Pigeon River,” said Reynolds.

Chloroform The proposed permit would loosen the limit on discharge of chloroform in order to mirror current EPA guidelines. A chemical that easily dissolves in water, chloroform can affect the central nervous system, liver

“The main message is now that things are quasi-good, people are rafting on the river and it seems so much better, we don’t want there to be backsliding now.”

— Callie Moore

and kidneys, with potential but unproven links to reproductive issues, birth defects and cancer.

The 2010 permit allowed chloroform discharges of up to 5.1 pounds per day as a monthly average or 8.6 pounds per day as a daily maximum — the proposed 2021 permit would increase those limits to 6.27 pounds per day as a monthly average or 10.5 pounds per day as a daily maximum.

“If the plant has been able to meet — and it’s our understanding that they have been meeting — the stricter limits, why should we change them?” asked Moore.

However, said Gurney, it’s important to point out that chloroform discharge from the mill is already well below the existing standard. The water quality limit for chloroform is 60 micrograms per liter, and typically the mill has been discharging less than

Permit violations Over the last 10 years, the mill’s record on adhering to the terms of its permit has not been perfect, especially when it comes to limits for fecal coliform, a group of bacteria that includes E. coli.

Between August 2013 and September 2018, the mill received 14 notices of violation for exceeding the fecal coliform standard, with MountainTrue’s record review turning up at least 25 such violations over the past decade — sometimes in excess of 250 times the safe limit.

“They’ve been violating their current permit in terms of fecal coliform, and the wastewater treatment plant needs upgrades,” said Moore. “And so we’re just taking this opportunity to say to the state, ‘Hey, you need to work on this and stay on this and not let them keep violating the fecal coliform standard.”

The state is working on it, said Gurney, and so is the mill.

Reynolds said that the fecal coliform contamination comes from Town of Canton wastewater, which the mill treats at no charge — an unusual arrangement stemming from Canton’s origin as a company town — and that recent changes to the system should reduce future contamination.

Violations were due to issues with Canton’s pretreatment chlorination system, said Reynolds, and the town has hired engineers and consultants to improve the chlorination system’s performance.

“In 2020, Blue Ridge Paper completed a project to change the flow of a wastewater stream, which should improve the performance of the Town’s chlorination system and significantly reduce occurrences,” she said.

“Responding to and addressing fecal col-

Color Under the proposed permit, the state would remove a color variance that has since 1988 allowed the mill to impact the river’s color more than would otherwise be allowed under state law. That’s a change to applaud, said Moore.

“This is one of the ways where the mill really has improved over time,” she said.

“The color is 100 percent better than it used to be.”

Since 1990, the mill has spent $526 million on environmental process improvement, and this has significantly reduced its impact to the river’s color. While in 1988 the mill emitted 380,000 pounds per day in average color loading, today that number is 36,000 pounds per day. A unique technology the mill developed called the bleach filtrate recycling process, which removes color from discharge, was a major accomplishment. Equipment to implement the technology was installed in 1998 at a cost of $30 million.

Currently, the mill’s color variance imposes a limit of 50 color units at the North Carolina-Tennessee state line, located about 40 river miles below the discharge.

However, monitoring between 2014 and 2018 showed that the site was averaging 21 color units and that the river at Fiberville Bridge, which is 0.4 miles below the mill’s discharge, averaged 41 color units.

Based on this information, the mill determined it would be able to comply with normal state rules regarding color and did not need the variance anymore. With the variance removed, the mill will be required to keep the average difference in color units between Fiberville Bridge and the state line to 50, as long as the river flow is at or above 129 cubic feet per second.

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Smoky Mountain News

sampling would be triggered if the initial sample showed a violation of the standard.

“There’s still dioxin in fish tissue, and so we don’t think that three times in five years is onerous,” said Moore. “They’re proposing to just reduce it to one time in five years, and until we’re not detecting any dioxin in fish tissue, let’s not reduce the sampling level, is our position.”

Moore also pointed out that, while the draft language would require sampling to occur once during the five-year permit period, the 11-year gap between the 2010 permit and the current process shows that the single sample could have to suffice for significantly more than five years.

“There could be many times when we go for years without data,” said Moore.

While the proposed permit would require fish tissue sampling just once in five

3.5 micrograms per liter with an average chloroform concentration in the discharge of 1.75 micrograms per liter, she said.

“The Canton Mill intends to comply with the regulatory limits in the permit,” said Reynolds. “The wastewater treatment plant and state certified operators who run the plant will continue to manage mill and City of Canton wastewaters to within permit limits, including a factor for safety.”

February 10-16, 2021

For years, Blue Ridge Paper used a chlorine-based bleaching process that resulted in dioxins, a group of chemicals that are highly toxic to people and animals, being released to the river. The mill has been chlorine-free since 1990, and the fish consumption advisories placed in the late 1980s due to dioxin contamination have been lifted.

But the toxins still persist, albeit at much-reduced levels. That’s why MountainTrue opposes a provision of the proposed permit that would reduce the amount of required dioxin sampling from three times per five-year permit period to once in five years. An additional round of

Color loading from the paper mill has decreased dramatically since the 1980s.

iform exceedances at this facility necessitates a collaborative approach coupled with an in-depth understanding of wastewater chemistry and engineering,” Gurney added.

“DWR has applied a tiered enforcement strategy in response to the fecal coliform exceedances and violations.”

It has now been about two years since the last fecal coliform violation, which occurred in February 2019.

Four other permit violations occurred between August 2013 and September 2018 — one for violating the biochemical oxygen demand limit, one for violating the total suspended solids limit and two for violating the color limit.

“The mill from time-to-time experiences upset conditions as a result of such things as power disruption, upset operations, equipment failure, weather and other nonnormal conditions, not unlike a household or other businesses,” said Reynolds.

“Occasionally these situations result in violations to the permit. When these occur, we immediately report these to the agency and take steps to minimize the impact to the community and the environment. We are constantly reviewing and improving our systems to minimize these types of conditions from impacting our process and thus our potential for non-compliance situations.”

outdoors

MountainTrue’s French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson, the proposed permit conditions would not prevent such a kill from happening again, given the “perfect storm” of heat and drought.

“There will be another drought for sure in the future,” he said. “When that happens, it would definitely be a ripe opportunity for that to happen again.”

Reynolds disagrees.

“Blue Ridge Paper believes the weekly average is protective of aquatic life in the river,” she said.

Gurney added that Blue Ridge Paper’s wastewater does not fluctuate significantly in temperature and pointed out that a 2014 University of Tennessee study indicated that the portion of the river below the plant contains a “balanced and indigenous population of fish and macroinvertebrates.”

outdoors

Become nature’s timekeeper

Hooker Falls. Donated photo

Projects prompt parking closures at DuPont

Volunteers are wanted to help track nature’s calendar in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with virtual training sessions planned for 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 18, and 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 20.

Recruits will adopt a monitoring plot within the park, most of which are located near parking areas, and will visit once or twice each month from the first leaf bud in the spring to the final leaf drop in the fall.

Most plots will require less frequent monitoring in June and July. On each visit, they’ll

collect information such as flowering dates and the presence of migratory birds to help scientists better understand how changing weather patterns affect our diverse ecosystem.

The virtual training workshop will include topics such as identification tips for trees, fruits and flowers as well as data collection protocols. Volunteers must attend one of the two training days.

No experience necessary. To sign up, email grsm_phenology@nps.gov. www.usanpn.org.

Several parking areas in DuPont State Recreational Forest will be closed the next few months due to N.C. Forest Service maintenance and repair projects, beginning with the Hooker Falls access area.

The Hooker Falls access area is closed as of Monday, Feb. 8, as crews start to repair and renovate the heavily used site. The work will include improvements to degraded infrastructure, parking lot visitor safety and water quality.

Other parking areas that may be affected by upcoming repair projects are the High Falls and Lake Imaging access areas. Visitors planning to access trailheads from these parking access areas may encounter closures that will require them to adjust their plans.

Current information on closures in the state forest is available at www.dupontstaterecreationalforest.com.

Honor Small Farms Week with a food donation

Smoky Mountain News

February 10-16, 2021

A food drive in honor of Small Farms Week is now underway through Feb. 15 to collect donations for the Haywood County Schools food pantry that benefits students in need.

COVID-19 has resulted in heightened food insecurity throughout the state, and Haywood County Cooperative Extension wants to share the agricultural community’s harvest with those in need. Bring donations to the Extension Center on Raccoon Road in Waynesville weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Feb. 15.

Volunteers collect data. NPS photo

Study the wild side In-person and online wildlife education courses are available this month at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard.

In person • A Casting For Beginners course is planned for 1 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, open to ages 12 and older.

• An Introduction to Fly Fishing Class will be held 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 27, open to ages 12 and older.

Pitch in with Panthertown Help keep the trails at Panthertown Valley clear during a workday slated for Saturday, Feb. 20.

No previous trail work experience is necessary. Participants will get a guided tour of the valley and meet others who also love Panthertown.

To sign up, visit wwww.panthertown.org/volunteer.

A volunteer takes a break to admire Granny Burrell Falls from above. Krista Robb/Friends of 32

Panthertown photo

Virtual • Wild Woodlands will be offered for ages 5 and up 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23.

• Raising Trout will be offered for ages 5 and up 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16.

• Endangered Species will be offered for ages 5 and up 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 25.

Pre-registration is required for all classes by calling 828.877.4423 or visiting www.ncwildlife.org/learning/educationcenters/pisgah.

outdoors

Volunteers clean the shoreline during the 2020 event. Lake Junaluska photo

Join the Lake Cleanup area.

Another change from previous years is the registration process. Instead of waiting in line to sign up at a central location on cleanup day, preregistration will take place online.

Participants should dress warmly, wear a pair of gloves, and bring an extra pair of shoes in case conditions are muddy.

Helpers of all ages are welcome to be part of the cleanup, but adult chaperones must accompany youth.

The event is organized by the Junaluskans, a volunteer organization of Junaluska residents and people who love the lake, with support from Lake Junaluska staff and Haywood Waterways Association.

Jim Pearson is available at 502.419.3035.

Register at www.lakejunaluska.com/cleanup.

February 10-16, 2021

The annual Lake Cleanup at Lake Junaluska will be held over the course of four days this year, taking place Feb. 19-20 and 26-27 in order to allow added safety precautions in light of the pandemic.

The event will be hosted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on two Fridays and two Saturdays to enable volunteers to come at different times and more easily socially distance as they pick up trash and debris along an assigned part of the lakeshore.

The challenge for this year’s cleanup organizers was to eliminate the social gathering aspect of the cleanups in past years, said Jim Pearson, coordinator of the lake cleanup. For 2021, volunteers will go directly to their assigned areas, where trash bags and litter pickup sticks will be waiting for them. Once they are finished, all bags and pickup sticks are simply left in the assigned

Count the birds Smoky Mountain News

The Great Backyard Bird Count will return this year, with experienced and novice birders alike encouraged to spend at least 15 minutes birdwatching between Feb. 12-15.

Apps like Merlin Bird ID and eBird help participants identify the birds they see and can be used to submit results.

The Great Backyard Bird Count has been going on since 1998, encouraging participants to count birds for as little as 15 minutes or for as long as they wish over one or more of the four days, completing those counts in their backyard or anywhere in the world. Each checklist submitted helps researchers learn more about how birds are doing and how to protect them.

Learn more at www.birdcount.org or pick up printed instructions at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. The

library is also encouraging bird lovers to join the group at www.facebook.com/groups/backyardbirdc ount and post pictures of their finds.

33

outdoors

N.C. Parks reach a quarter million acres October 2019, the Foothills Conservancy of The N.C. State Parks system has crossed N.C. secured the first acquisition for Bob’s the 250,000-acre mark thanks to recent Creek State Natural Area with 2,200 acres acquisitions at Deep River and Salmon in McDowell County along 5 miles of Creek. streams that drain to North and South In recent years, several land acquisitions were made possible by the authorization of new Several land acquisitions, including state trails and natural for the Wilderness Gateway State areas by Gov. Roy Trail, have allowed the N.C. State Cooper and the N.C. Parks system to grow to more than General Assembly, fund250,000 acres. Donated photo ing from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, and strong partnerships with land and water conservation organizations and donors across the state.

Recent acquisitions include 230 acres for the Deep River State Trail and 300 acres for the Salmon Creek Natural Area.

In September 2019, Muddy Creeks.

900 acres were added to Hanging Rock Late last year, 180 acres along the Jacob State Park and more than 1,000 acres were Fork River were purchased for the added to Morrow Mountain State Park in Wilderness Gateway State Trail, and a May 2019 as part of the ALCOA smaller, 29-acre acquisition was made for Corporation’s Federal Energy Regulatory the Deep River State Trail.

Commission relicensing agreement. In

February 10-16, 2021

Become an apple grafter Learn the art of apple grafting from an experienced horticulturist during a workshop offered 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at Cowee School in Macon County.

Grower and naturalist Jack Johnston will teach this Alarka Expeditions course, which will be held outdoors as participants learn the basics of keeping treasured apple trees going forward for future harvests and enjoyment.

Cost is $35. Register at www.alarkaexpeditions.com/upcoming-events.

Smoky Mountain News

Registration open for online vegetable growers conference

34

Puzzles can be found on page 38

A two-day conference and virtual trade show featuring a variety of topics to help growers will be held online Feb. 24-25.

Topics will include tomato hybrid field trials, herbicide carryover and drift injury, weed control, thrip management, tomato disease management, hybrid tomato vari-

eties and progress in breeding for resistance to verticillium and bacterial spot.

Representatives from agricultural companies and other businesses that support the industry will be on hand during live virtual breakout sessions, and attendees will be eligible for N.C. Pesticide credits.

Cost is $40, with registration available at http://bit.ly/36Oc5S9. Scholarships are available from Empowering Mountain Food Systems for all regional farmers and food producers. Apply for a scholarship at http://bit.ly/2N0rZle.

These are only the answers.

Get ready for grass season Learn about turfgrass and weed management during a Zoom class offered 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Offered through Haywood County Cooperative Extension and taught by extension agents and experienced Master Gardener volunteers, the course will cover lawns — including how to start one, warm versus cool season grasses, maintenance and pest/disease management — and weeds in lawns and landscape, including weed ecology, monocots versus dicots, control methods and identification tools.

The class is part of a series aimed at home gardeners. Sign up by emailing mgarticles@charter.net or by visiting www.eventbrite.com/e/gardening-the-mountains-series-lawnsand-weeds-tickets-126975871249. Cost is $10 per class.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The Jackson County Board of Commissioners will hold a regular meeting at 1 p.m. Feb. 16, at the Justice & Administration Building, 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Room A201, Sylva, North Carolina.

Smoky Mountain News

35

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com

• Haywood County NAACP will be meet at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, via Zoom. To join the meeting contact Katherine Bartel in advance at bartelkatherine@gmail.com. All are welcome.

will receive a concession box to enjoy during the evening. Couples are asked to sign up online at Register@sylvafumc.org. Call 828.586.2358 for more information. The church is located at 77 Jackson Street in downtown Sylva.

• This and That Market will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at Canton Armory, 71 Penland Street. There will be over 25 local vendors and food on site.

• The Haywood County Arts Council’s “Winter Member’s Show” will be held Feb. 5-27 in the Gallery & Gifts showroom at the HCAC in downtown Waynesville. Original work for 24 local artisans. Free and open to the public. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Papertown Spring Market will take place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at Bethel Christian Academy, 100 Park St. There will be local vendors and food. Admission is free. For vendor information contact Jessica Jones 828.734.9733.

• Macon County non-profit organizations have until Feb. 26, to apply for county funds through the Macon County Community Funding Pool (CFP).

Application forms and instructions are available on the Macon County website, www.maconnc.org. Hard copies are available at Macon County Public Library on Siler Farm Road in Franklin, the Hudson Library on Main Street in Highlands, and the Nantahala Public Library on Nantahala School Road.

• The Main Street Sylva Association (MSSA) is organizing a Spring Sylva Sidewalk Sale from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 in downtown Sylva. There will be live music on Main Street from 12:30-2:30 p.m., provided by the jazz trio "We Three Swing." There will also be live music at the Jackson Arts Market (JAM) in the parking lot adjacent to the Sylva Herald.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Scott James Stambaugh Feb. 13 and North Georgia Sound Feb. 20. All shows begin at 7 p.m. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• The Special Liberty Project, which serves Veterans, Gold Star Families and active-duty/veteran Suicide Spouses with nature-centric programs, retreats and peer support, is hosting two Volunteer Days at the organization’s new Farm and Retreat Center in Franklin from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 20 and March 6. Lunch will be provided. To RSVP or for more information, call 619.726.9240 or email Jessica@speciallibertyproject.org.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

• Waynesville Yoga Center will honor Black History as our Nation’s History this month during Black History Month. Community members are invited to read a selection of poems and come together to discuss at the end of the month. The community gathering and discussion will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Yoga Center. The event is free, but space is limited due to social distancing guidelines. Register or learn more at waynesvilleyogacenter.com.

A&E

• The “Valentine Train: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will run from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, departing from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad depot in Bryson City. All passengers also receive souvenir stemless wine glasses. Age 21 and over only. For more information and ticket prices, call 800.872.4681 or go to www.gsmr.com.

• Bardo Arts Center presents an opportunity to watch the documentary “Code of Freaks” on-demand from Feb. 21-24. Once you begin watching the documentary, you have 24 hours to finish. Watch on a browser or through the EventiveTV App. Learn more and pre-order your free ticket at arts.wcu.edu/codeofthefreaks.

• Sylva First United Methodist Church will host a Father Daughter Drive-In Movie Night at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in the church parking lot. Due to copyright laws, the name of the movie cannot be announced. Each couple

esither@beverly-hanks.com (828) 734-8305

Jerry Powell Cell: 828.508.2002

jpowell@beverly-hanks.com

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Bridget Gossett (singer-songwriter) Feb. 12 and North Georgia Sound Feb. 19. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8 to 10 p.m. every Thursday. Free and open to the public. www.balsamfallsbrewing.com.

FOOD AND DRINK

• There will be a free wine tasting from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS

• The Annual Meeting of STEP Western North Carolina, a home repair and firewood ministry, will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 27 at The Depot at 390 Railroad Avenue in Brevard. Anyone is welcome to join the free, outdoor event that will include boxed meals starting at 11:30 a.m. (while supplies last), music and information about STEP WNC. The organization is in need of volunteers at this time. Email riverss@stepwnc.org or carolyns@stepwnc.org.

Ellen Sither

Outdoors

• The Great Backyard Bird Count will return this year, with experienced and novice birders alike encouraged to spend at least 15 minutes birdwatching between Feb. 12 and Feb. 15. Learn more at www.birdcount.org.

• Learn about turfgrass and weed management during a Zoom class offered 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17. The class is part of a series aimed at home gardeners. Sign up by emailing mgarticles@charter.net or by visiting www.eventbrite.com/e/gardening-the-mountains-series-lawns-andweeds-tickets-126975871249. Cost is $10 per class.

• The annual Lake Cleanup at Lake Junaluska will be held over the course of four days this year, taking place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 19, 20, 26 and 27 in order to allow added safety precautions in light of the pandemic. For more information contact Jim Pearson at 502.419.3035. Register at www.lakejunaluska.com/cleanup.

74 N. Main St., Waynesville

828.452.5809

Michelle McElroy BROKER ASSOCIATE (828) 400-9463 michelle@beverly-hanks.com Haywood County Real Estate Expert & Top Producing REALTOR®

A Top Listing Agent & A Top Producer

Ready to Serve You

• Help keep the trails at Panthertown Valley clear during a workday slated for Saturday, Feb. 20. No previous trail work experience is necessary.

Participants will get a guided tour of the valley and meet others who also love Panthertown. To sign up, visit wwww.panthertown.org/volunteer.

• Learn the art of apple grafting from an experienced horticulturist during a workshop offered 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at Cowee School in Macon County. Cost is $35. Register at www.alarkaexpeditions.com/upcoming-events.

• Volunteers are wanted to help track nature’s calendar in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with virtual training sessions planned for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, and 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20.

No experience necessary. To sign up, email grsm_phenology@nps.gov.

• A two-day conference and virtual trade show featuring a variety of topics to help vegetable growers will be held online Feb. 24-25. Cost is $40, with registration available at http://bit.ly/36Oc5S9. Scholarships are available from Empowering Mountain Food Systems for all regional farmers and food producers. Apply for a scholarship at http://bit.ly/2N0rZle. • The Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard is now offering virtual education programs for students in public, private and homeschool.

The free programs are tied to the N.C. Essential Standards for Science curriculum and led by an education specialist from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Class dates and times are flexible to meet classroom needs.

To schedule a program, educators can contact 828.877.4423.

Call for FREE HOME VALUE EVALUATION

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WEIRD WARDROBE ACROSS 1 Ill will 7 Accepted blame humbly 14 Creatures 20 Mafia code of silence 21 Person of the hour 22 Bill Clinton's #2 23 Formalwear imparting a pleasantly optimistic feeling?

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37 Unwanted plant growth 38 "Oh, sure!"

39 Neckwear making people unable to move?

44 ICU tubes 45 Burnt residue 48 Yellow hue 49 With 72-Across, 1920s'30s design style 50 Royal flush card 51 A Marx brother 53 -- Zedong 54 Ukraine city 57 Toadstool-shaped headwear?

60 Kilt wearer 62 Stew sphere 63 Moral errors 64 Actress Perlman 65 Women's wear encircling a magazine?

71 72 73 74 76 80 82 83 84 85 86 88 89 90

94 96 97 98 102 104 108 109 110 111 112 114 117 118 119 120 121 122

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Weasels' kin Looked scornfully Messenger of the gods Rains cold pellets Mean rulers Big bother

DOWN 1 Boulders 2 Oven brand 3 Sherpa land

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 24 29 32 33 34 36 37 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 50 51 52 55 56 57 58

Deep fissure An Amerind Brit. mil. fliers Get -- of (obtain) Implements Closing parts Homer Simpson cry Rusty color Avenged Singer -- Marie Sheep's call "Rum Punch" novelist Leonard "Yeah, makes sense" Nick of film Heartache Scorches "Angie" star Davis "Tommy" actor E-I linkup Royal flush card They're shot from air rifles Modest reply to kudos Comical sort Scots' toppers Many Apples Paperless novel, e.g.

Turkic language Bit of lifting lingerie I, to Freud Curved line Mani offerer Quick trip Helper: Abbr.

Gardening implements Stock up on As is fitting Grabs the attention of suddenly Cut to bits Counteract

59 61 63 66 67 68 69 70 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 85 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 98 99 100 101 102 103 105 106 107 110 111 113 115 116

Buckeye State sch.

A bit drunk Plaintiff Regretted deeply Lysol target Jon who played Napoleon Dynamite Join together Studio prop Earring part "I'm Real" singer's nickname Pixie Deteriorate Kiss go-with, often Stupefy Seal schools Mel who wore #4 Helpers in crime -- Mahal Painter's studio Used a sofa Elected (to) Platform for Apple devices Biceps, e.g.

Brunch dish Thin Slightly off Regional Hush money Slide on a sled, say Polyphonic choral piece Opinion pieces Lysol target It's gathered in recon "Pippin" director Bob Mend, as socks Mets' former stadium Ending for lion or seer -- culpa "Zip it!"

ANSWERS ON PAGE 34

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SUDOKU

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, Answers on 34 the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

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Smoky Mountain News February 10-16, 2021