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

March 8-14, 2017 Vol. 18 Iss. 41

Cherokee impeachment efforts will continue Page 14 Dillsboro park would boost visitation, tax revenues Page 34

CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin’s main commercial thoroughfares are getting a makeover in the coming years that could reshape the fabric of these communities for decades to come. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has plans to change the five-lane drags into boulevards to improve safety and ease congestion. (Page 6) Becky Johnson photo

News New apartment complex received in Sylva ..................................................................4 Economic diversification continues in Canton ............................................................5 Space, funding limited for Haywood Early College growth ................................ 13 Cherokee impeachment efforts will continue .......................................................... 14 Calvary Street lots to become Waynesville park .................................................... 16 Education News ................................................................................................................ 19

WAYNESVILLE | 144 Montgomery, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585

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SYLVA | 629 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779 P: 828.631.4829 | F: 828.631.0789

Outdoors Dillsboro river park would boost visitation, tax revenues ......................................34

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Back Then ‘Doc’ Bennett was truly a man of the mountains .................................................... 47

March 8-14, 2017

ACCOUNTING & OFFICE MANAGER: DISTRIBUTION: CONTRIBUTING:

Perhaps school board has learned a lesson ............................................................ 20

Duo explores, shares lore of American roots music .............................................. 24

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STARTS 9 A.M. THURSDAY MARCH 9

101 N. Main Street • Waynesville

New apartment complex received in Sylva Subdivision applications on the rise in 2017

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Increased need prompts change in shelter management Correction: In the March 1 issue, The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly reported that Jackson Neighbors in Need requested funding from the Jackson County Commissioners. The Southwestern Child Development Commission is the entity that requested the funding, as management of Jackson’s homeless shelter has transitioned from Neighbors in Need to the SWCDC. SMN regrets the error.

Smoky Mountain News

Increased homelessness has led Jackson Neighbors in Need to exit the cold-weather shelter business, transitioning those duties to the Southwestern Child Development Commission.

The two organizations have a history of collaboration, with the SWCDC handling application and administration of the grant funding that supports the shelter’s case management position. This year, the Evergreen Foundation awarded the organization $20,000 to fund the position through the end of March.

However, need for shelter exploded over the last few months, testing the ability of Neighbors in Need to keep itself running. As of Feb. 20, the shelter had served 67 people — 24 of them children — over the winter, making this a record-breaking season. By the time the shelter

closed up shop at the end of March last year, 60 people had been served over the entire fivemonth season. In 2014, 66 people used the cold-weather shelter for 1,074 nights, costing a total of $24,300.

As of Feb. 20, Neighbors in Need had spent $51,600 on the cold-weather shelter this winter.

“The decision was made (to transition shelter management to the SWCDC) because we housed the case manager and we were trying to centralize the funding so everything was coming out of one place,” said Marilyn Chamberlain of the SWCDC. The funding issue is also the reason a task force has not yet been formed to develop a longterm plan for shelter efforts. County commissioners and shelter advocates had agreed to do so promptly during a meeting last fall.

“We were in the process of putting a task force together, and in the middle of that process funding became crucial, so we kind of switched gears to figuring out the funding question for the remaining part of the season,” Chamberlain said.

Commissioners allocated $23,400 to the shelter in February. Since then, a change in the hotel used to shelter homeless people has made things somewhat easier, with per-room prices falling from $70-75 to about $50. Of those sheltered this year, about 80 percent have received permanent housing, Chamberlain said.

To donate to or volunteer for the shelter, call Chamberlain at 828.586.5561.

— By Holly Kays, staff writer

March 8-14, 2017

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER 48-unit apartment complex could be built along Savannah Road in Sylva if town commissioners give the green light at their meeting Thursday, March 9.

Plans for The Bluffs call for two threestory apartment buildings to be constructed on a 3.5-acre parcel just a five-minute walk from Harold’s Super Market, with the development also including a clubhouse featuring computer, laundry and multi-purpose rooms.

“This just seems like this is a great thing for that spot there,” said Sylva Planning Board member Ben Guiney during the board’s Feb. 22 meeting. “It seems like it kind of fits.”

Town Manager Paige Dowling added that she’d heard from several neighbors who said they were fine with the development going in and that the existing light at Savannah’s intersection with West Main Street makes it “kind of an ideal for traffic.”

“Actually it’s the best-case scenario for a situation like this,” added John Jeleniewski of the Jackson County Planning Department, which contracts with Sylva for planning services.

Jeleniewski recommended just a few stipulations be placed on the existing application — construction of a connector sidewalk from the apartment buildings to Savannah

Drive, lighting in the parking areas and clustered together here the first of the year, other public spaces, and final reviews of the especially right now, but with the calls we’ve plans before construction commences. been getting it seems like there’s more The board voted unanimously to recominterest out there. Things seem to be rampmend that commissioners approve the ing up with people looking at properties to application with those stipulations in mind, see what they can do.” noting that Sylva’s need for new housing — Of the two applications Sylva has especially for people on modest incomes — received this year, one was denied and the is a real issue for the town. The tax base has second — The Bluffs — won’t be heard barely grown in recent years, and rental until March 9. Of those received by Jackson options for folks not in a position to purCounty this year, one was approved and chase a $200,000 home are few and far one was denied pending revisions — between.

Jeleniewski expects to see that application, However, if the last few months are any for a 108-unit apartment complex on indication, those options could be set to Walter Ashe Road in Sylva, return to the expand. In 2014 and 2015, Sylva didn’t planning board once the developer makes receive any conditionaluse permit applications for housing developments.

During 2016, it received Plans for The Bluffs call for 48 units to be constructed along Savannah Road in Sylva. only one Donated graphic application.

But with only two months of 2017 in the some adjustments to it. rearview, two such applications have been A 2016 proposal to construct a 54-unit received. apartment complex behind the old Nick Subdivision applications reviewed by and Nate’s Pizza building would have the county planning board show a similar catered to working families at the lower end pattern. In 2014, no applications were of the income scale. But the project, named received. In 2015, two were received and in the Village Overlook Apartments, stalled 2016 one was received. So far, two have been received in 2017.

“There’s definitely more activity in there,” Jeleniewski said. “They have all been

when an initial application for funding through the state’s Workforce Housing Loan Program was denied. However, Jeleniewski said the developer has reapplied to the program.

“If that gets approved they’ll probably go forward with what they were approved for initially,” he said.

Town leaders were enthusiastic about the project when it first came before the board in April 2016, saying they were impressed with the plans and that the development would address a real need.

In addition to housing complexes geared toward working families in Sylva, Jeleniewski predicts there will be a growth in student housing in the Cullowhee area. N.C. Promise, a state program that will result in $500 per semester tuition for in-state students at Western Carolina University, is expected to increase demand for admission to the school, which could translate to overall growth in the Cullowhee area.

“We’re getting a lot of interest with that,” Jeleniewski said of student housing.

“I think it’s the trickledown effect with N.C. Promise.”

The increase in interest from developers coincides with what Jeleniewski’s hearing from real estate brokers. In the Cashiers area, for instance, the value of homes sold in 2016 was 25.8 percent higher than the value in 2015, which was 13.3 percent higher than the value in 2014. The recession looks to be on the retreat in Western North Carolina.

“We’re just riding that wave again, it seems like,” Jeleniewski said.

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Economic diversification continues in Canton

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER anton is the archetype of a small southern mill village: the river running through it helps churn the gears of industry while shaded streets host quaint homes where generations of Cantonians have embraced the red, white and blue-collar culture typical of many Western North Carolina towns.

The heart of that blue-collar culture comes from Evergreen Packaging, the 108year-old paper mill situated on the banks of the Pigeon River.

The mill’s passed through ownership changes over the years, but the town of Canton has still fared far better than most other mill towns.

When the basket containing all their eggs — that one mill, factory or shop in town that provided plenty of living-wage jobs — broke, those other towns dried up.

Canton’s major industry hasn’t yet fallen prey to globalization or rising healthcare costs and somehow survived the Great Recession, but town officials have still been relentless in their efforts to lure new businesses to town in an attempt to diversify their economy and put a few eggs in different baskets.

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RETAIL RENAISSANCE

Smoky Mountain News

March 8-14, 2017

Canton’s cozy downtown business district is finally beginning to flourish again, attracting retail tenants who are in the midst of transforming the Main Street corridor from a ghost town to a bustling retail environment offering everything from soaps and scents to eats and treats to Lando Calrissian figurines.

Not So Old Toys and Comics at 129 Main St. is where one can find those Landos, as well as He-Man toys, comic books and a host of vintage collectibles.

“You may not believe this, but when we came here every storefront was practically empty,” said Emma Rogers, whose son Justice owns the shop.

“Canton is starting to grow on me,” she said. “I love it in this little town. I grew up in Swannanoa and Black Mountain; when Beacon Manufacturing closed, that was the end of Swannanoa. Canton reminds me of Swannanoa, but it’s good to see the businesses coming back.”

Philadelphia native Scott Thompson came back as well.

“Seven years ago, I came looking through Canton, and from then until now, it’s been a great change,” he said.

Thompson opened the Bryson City Bakery 13 years ago, but sold it in 2009. He now owns Our Daily Bread Bakery at 2 Church Street, which opened last November.

Thompson hopes to add pizza, covered outdoor seating, cappuccino, espresso and free Wi-Fi soon.

“You get a good value for the area,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunity in here in Canton, plain and simple. Stores are moving in, and there’s buildings getting rented all up 4 and down the strip here.”

Right across the street from Thompson, two Texas businessmen who recently happened upon this town of less than 4,200 residents did just that.

Austin Bassett and Wayne Moore were returning to their Maggie Valley home from Asheville one day last fall when Moore proposed a detour.

“We pulled onto Main Street,” Moore said, “and he said, ‘I love this town.’”

Moore said that the freshly paved Main Street, with accompanying streetscaping and plantings, contributed to their affinity for the place.

“It’s a very, very cute little main street,” he said.

“The openness and willingness of staff to help someone interested in finding a location in Canton is a key factor.”

— Jason Burrell, assistant town manager

Spying a “for rent” sign at 137 Main Street, the two immediately knew they would soon locate their Verbena Soap Company in the vacant spot.

“We looked in this window and thought, ‘What a great location, with the built-ins and this historic building!’ so we called the gentleman whose number was on the window,” Moore said. “He said he could meet us in a couple of hours, so we went to the Southern Porch and had something to eat. He met us, and he shook our hand. And that was it.

Everything was done on a handshake.”

WHY CANTON? Assistant Town Manager Jason Burrell also serves as the town’s economic development director, which makes him a very busy man.

“Every week I have at least two calls from someone interested in doing business and locating in Canton, particularly the downtown,” said Burrell, who also said that Canton’s location has a lot to do with it.

“I think Canton is obviously located well, adjacent to Asheville and also the first entry into Haywood County on I-40,” he said.

Last summer, Western Carolina Freightliner chose to relocate its leased Asheville facility off I-40’s exit 44 in Buncombe County to the former An-Ton Chevrolet Dealership in Canton at I-40’s exit 31 in Haywood County.

“Basically we’re landlocked with no room to expand, but we want to stay in the Asheville area,” President and General Manager of WCF Rick Gibson said in August.

Gibson said that he’d looked “up and down” the interstate for six months, before

S EE CANTON, PAGE 5

Spray paint marks the spot of future improvements on Main Street in downtown Canton.

Cory Vaillancourt photo

Canton businesses rebound from crash

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER lot is going right in Canton these days, but a driver going left — right into a downtown building — hasn’t dampened downtown’s bustling mood.

A 90-miles-per-hour police chase that began in Buncombe County ended on the streets of Canton Feb. 17 when a fugitive wanted on armed robbery charges crashed his SUV into a parked car and building near the intersection of Main and Church streets.

No one was injured in the pursuit except for the driver and an unidentified passenger in the fleeing vehicle, but the windows at nearby Verbena Soap Company

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were shattered, and the façade of the building next door suffered extensive damage.

Ruslan Adam Thompson, 26, of Asheville was apprehended at the scene after causing extensive damage to a building at 131 Main Street, which has been condemned as a safety measure to prevent occupancy until the building can be stabilized.

“We’re going to do everything we can to help property and business owners ride this out,” said Canton Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss the next day.

Verbena reopened within days, citing an outpouring of community support that reinforced owners Austin Bassett and Wayne Moore’s decision to locate in Canton.

“We could have gone to Waynesville, could have gone to Asheville,” Moore said.

“But we knew Canton was the place for us.”

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The BearWaters Brewing production facility and taproom is adjacent to the West Fork Pigeon River. Cory Vaillancourt photo CANTON, CONTINUED FROM 4

“Seven years ago, I came looking through Canton, and from then until now, it’s been a great change.”

— Scott Thompson, Our Daily Bread Bakery

Thursday, March 23rd · 3 to 6 pm Meet local food entrepreneurs and sample products!

Here are just a few that will be there:

Ally’s Bars

Mimi’s Mountain Mixes

Asheville Pretzel

Munki trail mixes

Brasstown Beef

New Sprout Organic Farm

City Bakery

Postre Caramels

Crooked Condiments

Unicoi Preserves

Elijah's Xtreme Hot Sauces

Roots Hummus

Firewalker Hot Sauce

Smiling Hara Tempeh

Flat Rock Cider

Sunburst Trout

Local Folks Foods

Unicoi Preserves

Smoky Mountain News

er],” O’Neil said. “Seth is really the one who started it all. Canton immediately reached out to us, they wanted us here, and they are bending over backwards to accommodate us and our needs, because they know we’ll be somewhat of a linchpin for other businesses to come.”

BearWaters isn’t scheduled to open until spring, but another Waynesville staple — Smoky Mountain Sub Shop — plans to open in the coming weeks, after putting extensive rehab efforts into their new Main Street Canton location.

Even two years ago, the thought of spending a lazy afternoon strolling around downtown Canton to visit a craft brewery, grab a sandwich, buy some comic books, pick up a dozen cookies and some scented candles was pure fancy; but as this small southern mill town with that red, white and blue-collar culture continues to mature and diversify economically, word is getting out.

“Canton is an up-and-coming town,” Verbena’s Moore said. “There’s hope in Canton. And it‘s coming to life.”

Ingles Markets 630 Champion Dr., Canton

March 8-14, 2017

purchasing the Canton property for $1.75 million.

“I think the commercial and residential market here is very attractive, especially for someone wanting to own their own building or home,” said Burrell.

Once they’re interested, Burrell said, a little customer service goes a long way.

“The openness and willingness of staff to help someone interested in finding a location in Canton is a key factor,” he said. “I feel Canton staff go above and beyond to help a potential business owner by guiding them through the opportunities and making the process of finding a site, moving, renovating, and opening up as comfortable as it can be.”

Burrell and town officials indeed helped lure WCF by contributing $45,000 in economic development funds for improvements to the parcel. Haywood County also chipped in to the tune of $200,000.

Both governments anticipate a quick return on their investments. Mark Clasby, executive director of economic development in Haywood County, said that the WCF dealership — which would also offer parts and service — would eventually bring 35 “goodpaying jobs” to the area.

Eventually, with those jobs will come workers who will live in those quaint homes on shaded streets and whose families will become the next generation of red, white and blue-collar Cantonians.

Alderman Zeb Smathers said such businesses have a ripple effect on the local economy as a whole because they create a “permanent need” for related services.

Art O’Neil, co-owner of BearWaters Brewing, might be one of those related services. Town officials wooed BearWaters from Waynesville when the owner of their building sold it. O‘Neil said they’d received “a couple” of matching grants from Canton related to interior improvements and signage.

“We really hadn’t thought of Canton as a possibility until we remembered a conversation Kevin [Sandefur, co-owner] had with Seth [Hendler-Voss, Canton’s town manag-

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Death of the five lane, birth of the boulevard Across the region, middle-turn lanes to be jettisoned for medians

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER aynesville, Sylva and Franklin’s main commercial thoroughfares are getting a makeover, reshaping the fabric of these communities for decades to come.

In all three towns, the five-lane drags clogged with fast-food joints, strip malls, bigbox stores and stop lights will tear up their middle suicide lanes for the latest darling in road design: the boulevard concept.

It’s been a long time coming. Just ask Jason Kimenker, who was pushing for the concept long before it was en vogue with mainstream transportation planners.

For more than a decade, Jackson County residents were locked in a bitter battle with the DOT over what to do about congestion on N.C. 107. DOT wanted to build the Southern Loop, a new cross-country highway. But residents rallying under the banner of the Smart Roads Alliance fought for a redesign of 107 instead. Now, they’ve finally won.

“Our children and grandchildren will be enjoying the fruits of the labor we have put in,” Kimenker said.

The happy ending makes it easier to look back at the long haul with a positive spin.

“The DOT are members of the community, too,” Kimenker said. “I never felt like we were fighting a bypass as much as creating community engagement.”

Across the Balsams, Elizabeth Teague is watching the same story play out in Waynesville.

“It’s not just here in North Carolina, but across the United States. DOTs across the country are trying to eliminate these five-lane designs to make them safer,” said Teague, Waynesville’s development services director.

For decades, the five-lane drag has been the workhorse of commercial districts. From the five o’clock rush and lunch hour errands to grocery runs and Friday night pizza takeout, the five-lane is the main thoroughfare for heavy trucks, summer tourist throngs and locals just trying to get home.

“They kind of take on a flavor of Main Street, but they weren’t designed as main streets,” Teague said.

Five-lane drags went hand-in-hand with suburban sprawl in decades past. As strip malls and fast food chains engulfed the edges of small town American, a sparkling five-lane became the new front porch of the community.

“They were once on the outskirts of town.

But development has grown up all around them,” Teague said.

Setting the stage for commercial growth was in many cases the main purpose of the five lane.

“The folks that supported those five-lanes wanted growth and development to occur and 6 it was done in the name of jobs and it worked.

Smoky Mountain News

March 8-14, 2017

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Waynesville’s Russ Avenue is more visually appealing than most five-lane commercial drags, but will be even more so after a major redesign. Becky Johnson photo They are loaded, just like folks wanted them to be,” said Joel Setzer, the former head of a 10-county DOT district based in Sylva.

But as they’ve gotten more and more crowded, they aren’t working so well, and are increasingly dangerous.

“It comes to a point that people are getting hurt. We need jobs but we also need to live getting to and from places to shop. So I think the focus has shifted since these fivelanes were built,” said Setzer, who now works as a private transportation consultant.

The five-lane makeovers in Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin are a creative solution to ever-increasing traffic.

“It was essentially a case where the congestion was so great and the number of accidents was so high that the public and local officials recognized that something needed to be done, that the status quo was not acceptable,” said Brian Burch, DOT project development engineer based in Sylva. “The fivelane did work at one time, but with the increase in traffic it gets to a point where it starts to fail.”

LONG-TIME COMING Smart growth planning advocates have decried the sprawl-inducing middle-turn lane as bad road design for two decades. The oldschool DOT mantra was that bigger roads equaled better roads, but in the early 2000s transportation reformists in Waynesville and Sylva hosted a visiting Smart Roads expert to teach them about new-fangled design concepts like pulling up middle turn lanes, putting in sidewalks and street trees and making businesses share parking lot entrances.

“He schooled us on modern techniques for traffic calming and he had an arsenal of ideas for managing traffic,” recalled Jeanette Evans, an early voice in the Smart Roads Alliance in Jackson County. “They really made sense.”

But the ideas were considered avant-garde at the time, and weren’t recognized as a viable alternative the DOT, which saw more lanes or new roads as the cure-all. It was unclear whether the community at large would have bought in to the scheme until the past few years.

“I don’t know if the alternatives for access management would have been as well received the level of congestion may not have been to the point where we are today — to where it is unacceptable to local governments and property owners,” Burch said.

IN TRANSIT Even a few years ago, the idea of replacing middle turn lanes with medians was met with skepticism by business owners. They feared they would be passed over by motorists on the other side of the road if they were sequestered by a median.

But that’s not the case.

“There has been research performed on businesses who claim they are going to suffer as a result of traffic not being able to get to them,” said Mike Reece, a congestion management expert for the DOT’s western region.

“What research has shown at the state and national level is that businesses tend to thrive after completion.”

Deep within the DOT, Reese has been helping to lead the paradigm shift away from five-lanes.

“A lot of times the thinking is the only way to solve our congestion problems is to build our way out of it,” Reese said. “Two of the common philosophies I hear is ‘We need more lanes’ and ‘We can build our way out of congestion.’”

Reese has been chipping away at the onesize-fits-all approach since 2000 as part of the DOT congestion management team. And he’s seen the ideas take root and prove their mettle.

Reese recently convinced highway engineers and the public to pull up a lane on a congested stretch of interstate.

“It tends to be counter-intuitive.

Normally you think we need more lanes, but it was creating so much turbulence,” Reese said of the one-lane-too-many.

Roundabouts are a classic example of new concepts being embraced. The first roundabout was built by the DOT in the late ‘90s.

“Now we have well over 200 roundabouts in the state,” Reese said.

Incidentally, Waynesville was one the first towns in the state to get a roundabout. It was a hard-fought battle with the DOT to go the roundabout route as part of the Old Asheville Highway widening project 15 years ago, rather than a tried-and-true stop light. But the town won, and the roundabout proved its worth, melting its critics instantly.

To Reese, the same could be said for the super street design today. (See super street article on page 9) “Trying to have your cake and eat it too can be very challenging,” Reese said. “The super street balances the need to get traffic back and forth and the need to provide access to businesses through the corridor.”

There was another motivator spurring DOT to rethink its toolbox. The recession took a bite out of DOT budgets nationwide.

“So we took a different philosophy and said how can we handle the existing volume of traffic without having to do widening with additional lanes or build a new facility?”

Burch said.

Since the mid-1990s, the DOT advocated a new highway dubbed the Southern Loop as the solution to 107 traffic. Too many cars on 107? Build another highway to divert them.

But it would have cost more than $150 million to build a bypass around 107 over virgin countryside. And it was questionable how many would use the bypass, if they had to hit the store on the

also in beautification with an emphasis, too, on the pedestrian components and other modes of transportation.”

DOT’S OWN MAKEOVER

TRADE-OFF

Despite the appeal of less congestion, it can be a hard sell to convince businesses along five-lanes to forgo a middle turn lane.

“I imagine you are going to get questions from business owners ‘How is this going to impact my business?’” said Rich Price, Jackson County’s economic development director.

Teague agreed that’s a common concern.

“Property owners adjacent to the road say ‘I want people to get to my property from any direction.’ But as the road gets more crowded, the more difficult it actually becomes for someone to get to any particular property,” Teague said.

Reese said the proof ’s in the pudding.

“There has been research performed on businesses who claim they are going to suffer as a result of traffic not being able to get to -them,” Reese said. “What that research has ashown is that businesses tend to thrive after completion.”

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SENSE OF PLACE

to multiple destinations,” Teague said. “If someone parks at the bank, but then they want to run over to the Hallmark store, well unfortunately you can’t do that if these streets aren’t designed right, so you get in your car and drive 100 yards. It doesn’t make any sense. The pedestrian space is absolutely critical to the overall function of the corridor.”

The five-lane redesigns being rolled out by the DOT are the result of years of stage setting by local communities like Waynesville, Teague said.

“If people think these ideas and concepts are coming out of the void, the town has been working toward this day for years,” Teague said.

Waynesville commissioned its own corridor study of Russ Avenue in 2010 to lay out a vision for what the corridor should become.

The idea was to get ahead of the DOT and

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DOT spares part of Walnut Street, for now

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public meetings, resolutions were also passed by the Waynesville Board of Aldermen and its Historic Preservation Commission prior to the end of the public comment session Jan. 13.

The town’s resolution asked DOT generally to “take as little private property as possible” across the scope of the project, and specifically to conduct “road, storm drainage, gutter and sidewalk improvements to U.S. 276 east of the railroad bridge on Walnut Street within the existing rights of way and that no taking of property be undertaken on improved parcels.”

While changes by Calix and DOT aren’t yet final, there appears to be a consensus in at least one regard.

“One thing we’re all in agreement on,” Austin said, “was that there will be no bike lanes past Branner Avenue.”

Coming next week Transportation projects like the redesign of Sylva’s commercial artery are currently underway across the region, but those projects aren’t exactly on cruise control; the give-and-take between the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the municipalities it works with can slow progress but ensures community buy-in.

• Expansion on Waynesville’s busy Russ Avenue commercial corridor is much needed and long overdue, but public concerns about several segments of the project in conjunction with opposition from the town and preservationists foreshadow a bumpy ride until construction begins in 2022.

• U.S. 441 through Franklin is also scheduled for a redesign with construction anticipated to begin in 2020. The middle turn lane will be done away with on the five-lane highway and will be replaced by a raised, grassy median to provide safer navigation for motorists.

Plans presented to the public by DOT Dec. 6 showed a widening of approximately 17 feet on Walnut Street that would result in the removal of a century-old brick wall and several trees on Walnut Street.

Property owners like Charles McDarris, who owns historic structures at 28 and 52 Walnut Street, were incensed, insisting it would change the character of the neighborhood and diminish the Spread Out Historic District itself, which overlays much of the

Smoky Mountain News

o e cBY CORY VAILLANCOURT sSTAFF WRITER message sent by opponents of the Russ g Avenue widening project’s Walnut n Street segment appears to have been received loud and clear by state transportadtion officials. e North Carolina Department of hTransportation administrators met with ”project engineering firm Calix on March 2 to review opinions received during a lengthy dand energetic public comment period meant sto gauge public opinion on the expansion. n “These inputs have been reviewed, and there have been some changes to the plan,” 0said DOT Project Manager Wanda Austin.

-“At this point, we’re looking at some ideas to wminimize the impact.”

In addition to public comments given to DOT by email, mail, phone or in person at

make a statement about what the towns wanted, rather than wait and see what the DOT came up with on its own.

“Russ Avenue is a gateway into our community. We want it to be safe. We want it to look nicer. We want it to be bicycle and pedestrian friendly. How do we do that? It has been carefully thought out,” Teague said.

“It worked. They used it as a guiding principal. That planning process is coming to fruition now.”

Sylva got ahead of the DOT train, as well, by commissioning a corridor plan for N.C. 107 in 2011.

“We realized this is our main artery of town and wanted to know what are the options for making it safer and a more desirable place for business and residents,” said Sylva Town Manager Paige Dowling. “It was focused on traffic congestion and safety, but

March 8-14, 2017

Community planners versed in smart wgrowth see another downside to the ubiqui-tous five-lane. They undermine a sense of place and create an auto-centric society. s The retrofit of five-lane drags in Waynesville, Sylva and Franklin will hopefully tcreate a more walkable community by includsing sidewalks and pedestrian safe harbors. e “People want to be able to park and walk e

It’s a new day at the DOT, with the public riding shot-gun on road design and a greater willingness to try innovative techniques. Brian Burch, a lead project engineer for the DOT in Jackson County, and Jason Kimenker of the Smart Roads Alliance, talk 107 at a recent public input meeting in Sylva. Becky Johnson photo

What’s phenomenal is that DOT listened.

“DOT has come a long way in the past 10 years in terms of being more sensitive to the towns that their roads go through,” Teague said. “It was kind of a sea change.”

Burch admitted the same.

“A lot of times Raleigh vision superseded the local vision,” Burch said. “There is more of a collaborative and cooperative process now.”

Jack Debnam, a former Jackson County commissioner and statewide DOT board member, has been part of that change.

“They listen more to the public now,” Debnam said.

Waynesville saw the leading edge of that change over a decade ago and was astute enough to jump on the bandwagon.

“It put a burden on towns saying ‘Look, if you want us to respond as our road comes through town, then you have to give us something to respond to,’” Teague said. “So Waynesville was one of the first towns that came in with a corridor study.”

Waynesville leaders were pleasantly surprised in 2015 when they got a call from the DOT asking for input before the design team for Russ Avenue put pencil to paper. In the past, DOT floated its own design options first, and the public was pigeonholed into commenting on what was put in front of them.

This time, the DOT wanted to know the town’s preferences before they even got started.

“For the last two years it has become part of what we do in the division. We seek that input before we start, to make sure what we are tasking our consultant with delivering is the vision desired by local governments and the communities,” Burch said.

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way home. Critics questioned whether it would do the job.

“The solution is not necessarily to bypass those areas,” Burch said. “You want the same volumes of traffic to get through efficiently and more safely and still have access to those businesses and still have a viable commercial district.”

Walnut Street Area.

“We always take public input into account,” Austin said. “We meet with local officials, and include all stakeholders.”

Removing the bike lanes would only shave about 5 feet from that 17-foot proposal, thus it’s clear the fight to preserve the historic corridor isn’t over; another public hearing is scheduled for the project sometime this summer, hopefully with updated plans for Walnut Street.

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A windshield tour of the new 107 Top talking points: N.C. 107 redesign

This hypothetical artist rendering depicts a boulevard design with a median in lieu of a middle turn lane. While elements seen here will be part of the new N.C. 107, it won't look this pretty along the whole route. Image by HDR Transportation consulting firm

• What: A redesign of the five-lane commercial drag in Sylva that replaces the middle turn lane with islands and medians, improves visual appeal and reduces congestion, plus an aesthetic makeover of the West Main approach to downtown.

• Where: Four-mile section of N.C. 107 from town all the way out past Ingles, plus one-third mile of the Old Asheville Highway from McDonald’s to the intersection with 107. Lastly, a short section of West Main heading toward downtown Sylva as far as the fire department (would only be four lanes).

• How much: $35.5 million, including $14.6 million in right-ofway and utilities, $18.6 million in construction and $2 million in design.

• Traffic: 32,400 vehicle trips per day on peak days • Status: Currently in the planning phase, with public comment through March 23. After design refinement, a final round of public input will be held. Right-of-way purchase slated for 2019 and construction in 2021-2023. Email comments to sjwilliams@ncdot.gov.

March 8-14, 2017

BY B ECKY JOHNSON • STAFF WRITER

Years in the making, design options for a new N.C. 107 in Sylva were recently unveiled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The ball is now in the public’s court to weigh in on what they want. Intersection patterns, sidewalks, bike lanes and landscaping plans will make or break how the redesign is executed. Here’s a guide to the top features and decision points along N.C. 107.

PICTURE PERFECT

Smoky Mountain News

Amid a sea of complicated engineering maps, one idyllic image in particular caught the public’s eye when the 107 redesign was unveiled by the DOT two weeks ago: a lush, green boulevard with a grassy median, cyclists tooling along with the cars and pedestrians strolling a shady, tree-lined sidewalk.

But the picture was hypothetical, and only a few stretches of the new 107 might actually look like this.

“It is not indicative of what would be out here on 107,” said Brian Burch, DOT project development engineer based in Sylva.

Roughly half the length of 107, the median would be concrete. Around every intersection and U-turn, the median tapers down to allow for a turn lane. The median becomes concrete when it starts tapering, and given all the intersections, the median is in one of these concrete phases half the time.

The trees along the side of the road could be hit or miss, as well.

“We wouldn’t always have enough width to do a tree planting,” Burch said. “This is a heavily commercialized area, so depending on how much room we have beyond the sidewalks, that determines how much plantings 8 and aesthetic improvements we can do.”

IN TRANSIT And there might not be enough money to plant trees the length of the whole project anyway. DOT’s policy caps landscaping to 0.75 percent of the total construction cost — in 107’s case, that comes out to roughly $140,000 to spend on trees, bushes, ornamental grasses and flowers along the 4.5mile project.

If the community wants more landscaping than the budget allows, local government must come up with the money itself, Burch said.

Some local residents are already talking about ways to make that happen.

“Maybe we can start a community effort or get a community grant,” said Jeanette Evans. “The drawing looks beautiful but it won’t be effective if we don’t do it right.”

a planting buffer, the new 107 will clock in at 110 feet wide — 10 to 30 feet wider than the existing right-of-way.

The final design will be refined over the coming year, and right-of-way can be shifted to one side of the road or the other to preserve as many businesses as possible.

BUSINESSES TAKEN

WEST MAIN GATEWAY

An unknown variable is how many businesses will be wiped out by the wider road footprint. The short answer is “not very many.” The long answer: it’s too soon to know which ones for sure.

Between wider vehicle lanes, curb and gutter, bike accommodations, sidewalks and

The 107 makeover will also give Sylva a facelift.

“It’s going to improve the feel and the aesthetic of Sylva. That’s a big part of it,” said Jack Debnam, a former county commissioner who sits on the statewide DOT board.

The redesign will extend down West

Sylva town leaders and other Jackson County officials queried the N.C. DOT during a Q&A session after the unveiling of the new 107 plans. Becky Johnson photo

Main into downtown Sylva as far as the fire station. It will only be four lanes along here, like it is now, but with the addition of sidewalks, spruced up curb-and-gutter and hopefully landscaping. But Sylva town board member Greg McPherson hopes to seize the opportunity.

“That’s a gateway into town. In terms of economic development that entry way needs to be something that aesthetically shines,” McPherson said at a meeting between the DOT and local leaders two weeks ago. “I would like to throw out the idea of some aesthetic improvements along that corridor.”

S EE WINDSHIELD, PAGE 10

So long middle turn lane

IN TRANSIT and get on the road,” Buchanan said. “It is dangerous to cut across anyway.”

A marked increase in accidents on 107 has been attributed to the middle turn lane.

“It’s a suicide lane now,” said Harold Hensley, a Sylva town board member whose brother was rear-ended on 107.

Local resident Jim Montsinger relayed a staggering statistic among the seven homes in his subdivision off 107.

“Four of us have had accidents at that intersection and all of our cars were totaled,” said Montsinger.

Official data backs up the rampant anecdotes.

“The crash average is much higher than any other road in Jackson County. Essentially one a week on this road, mostly rear-ends and side swipes,” said Brian Burch, DOT project development engineer based in Sylva.

Jack Debnam, a former county commissioner and statewide DOT board member, has long favored redesigning 107 sans middle turn lane.

“A lot of it is common sense,” Debnam said.

There is a con, however.

“It takes some time to get folks used to it,” said Mark Reese, a congestion management expert with DOT. But it’s worth it, he said.

“There’s a component of having a sense of place along the corridor and having a more aesthetic environment, as well as safer and more efficient traffic flow,” Reese said.

Mike Reece, a congestion management expert with the DOT, makes the case for the super street as a solution to five-lane log jams.

More than 200 people turned out for a public input meeting to get a glimpse of the new designs being unveiled for 107, but the jury is still out whether the public will go all in with the super street concept. Becky Johnson photo

To super street, or not to super street?

street is only moving roughly 20 minutes out of every hour,” Reese said.

But with a super street, your green time on the main road doubles. And that’s how to get 107 moving, Reese said.

“Without having to add any lanes,” Reese said. In fact, adding lanes wouldn’t really help anyway, because it’s the stoplight time that turns 107 into an accordion.

Reese has spoken about super streets and led congestion management workshops for other DOTs all over the country. But the hardest sell can be convincing locals to try something different.

“I get called crazy. People ask ‘Where did you get this idea? Why are you making me turn right when I want to turn left? This is out of my way,’” Reese said. “When I go back out

and hear from the people after the project has gone on the ground, they say ‘You know what, it works.’”

While there are still only a few super street conversions in the state, Reese doesn’t see it as an experiment. He has no doubt it would work.

“Teaching the public how to drive these innovations is a key part,” Reese said.

And that’s where some are skeptical of the full-on super street design.

“The select few I talked to at the public meeting agreed something had to be done, but most preferred the option that was most familiar to them,” said Brian Burch, DOT engineer in Sylva. “It was more of a comfort level of ‘We know how that operates. We have seen that.’ The conventional design is not as efficient but it is the one that is most familiar to people.”

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Smoky Mountain News

Both options for a 107 redesign forsake the middle turn lane for a median, differing only by degree.

One option called a “super street” goes all in with limiting left turns — even cutting out left turns at some major intersections and side streets.

- We checked in with the DOT’s super street oexpert and congestion management brain trust Mike Reese to explain the concept. e A super street has shorter stoplights and ,fewer of them. How? By getting left turns out -of the mix at intersections, you don’t have to -wait for all the side streets to cycle through dthe green left-turn arrow. e “All that traffic is stopped with red lights while it waits for all the other movements to foccur,” Reese said. “Everyone is fighting for ythat one small amount of signal time. Waits yare compounded because you have to have a gpause to clear the intersection as you go from oone signal phase to another.” e Get caught on the yellow? It can take 2 to g3 minutes before your light turns green again.

“Two-thirds of the time, thru traffic is stopped to give green time for all the other movements to occur. Thru traffic on the main

March 8-14, 2017

This map of a potential 107 redesign depicts the so-called super street design with shorter stop light waits and fewer of them, but the trade-off is more U-turns that the traditional median design. Design by HDR Transportation consulting firm

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The frustrating middle turn lane will be torn up and replaced with medians and islands under every option the DOT shared.

“I am pretty excited they all had the boulevard concept,” said Jeanette Evans, a longtime community voice in transportation planning in Jackson County.

For 15 years, Smart Roads advocates like Evans have preached the virtues of the boulevard design on 107, but axing the middle turn lane was a new-fangled idea met with skepticism.

At first blush, it seems inconvenient.

Drivers hankering for a burger, donut or taco on the other side of the road won’t be able to shoulder their way across lanes of oncoming

traffic anymore. They’ll have to overshoot their mark, do a U-turn and double back.

Once they have their fries and Coke in hand, they’ll be forced to turn right even if they want to go left, head in the wrong direction for a spell, then make yet another U-turn.

But Michael Buchanan, who owns commercial property on 107, thinks a median will ultimately be beneficial rather than detrimental.

“From what I’ve read, it tends to help business,” said Buchanan.

His brother, Johnny Buchanan, said the Uturn system couldn’t be any worse than the current waiting game.

“It would be worth it to me. Sometimes I have to sit there for five minutes to turn left

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Over and out: a Southern Loop retrospective

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER ith a redesign of N.C. 107 officially in the works, the controversial Southern Loop appears to be toast.

“It is not a project that anyone in DOT is working on nor is it a project anyone expects to be working in in the next 10 years,” said Brian Burch, DOT project development engineer in Sylva.

The Southern Loop has been struck from the long-range road building to-do list, and would face a long and rigorously vetted process to get back on the list again.

For two decades, a battle brewed over whether to build a cross-country bypass skirting 107 to siphon traffic off the congested five-lane. It often seemed like an uphill battle to convince DOT to simply retrofit N.C. 107 instead. But Jeanette Evans, a long-time voice with the Smart Roads Alliance, said she was always hopeful a redesign of 107 would prevail.

“I guess I felt like the odds were even. I felt like it could go wither way. There were a lot of people that came out,” Evans said. “I felt like traffic wasn’t so bad that a lot of smaller solutions would fix the problem.

Also, it was just the money. It would be hard to justify spending that kind of money.”

The new road around 107 would have cost upward of $150 million, five times

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more than a 107 redesign.

Joel Setzer, the public face of the Southern Loop during the long-running controversy, is now retired from the DOT. But he spent years thinking about 107 during his daily commute from Cullowhee to the regional DOT office in Sylva.

“My last conclusion on the whole traffic 107 problem was that both things would be needed long-term, and I still see it that way,” Setzer said.

“The DOT that I worked for, and the DOT that I understand is out there today, works for the citizenry.”

— Joel Setzer

Setzer said the idea for the Southern Loop dates back to the early 1990s, when it emerged in a long-range transportation plan endorsed by local government officials.

“When N.C. DOT began to execute that long-range plan that everybody had agreed to, that’s when citizens began to say ‘This is going to be a big change for Jackson County. Are we truly ready for it?’” Setzer recalled.

March 8-14, 2017

For example, instead of a utilitarian concrete bridge over Scott’s Creek — which is getting replaced anyway — how about some stacked stone, McPherson said.

It’s doable, but Sylva would have to pay for it, replied DOT engineer Brian Burch.

“That is considered a betterment and it would be a pass-along cost,” Burch said.

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But turning the DOT in those days was like turning an aircraft carrier. It took years of studies and counter studies, competing traffic models and dualing experts to slow the Southern Loop train down.

While the DOT was a lightening rod at times, Setzer saw the debate over 107 as a philosophical give-and-take between government and citizens, a model of democracy that he embraced and never shied away from.

“The DOT that I worked for, and the DOT that I understand is out there today, works for the citizenry.

“Whether they feel like they are fighting or just expressing, you listen,” Setzer said.

“In the end, if there is divisiveness in a community over a project — and this happens all the time, every day in government — then government has to try to make a decision that’s in the best interest of a majority.”

Finally, in the late 2000s, DOT gave credence to the idea of redesigning 107. But instead of dropping the Southern Loop, Setzer decided to do both.

It was now a horse race to see which could be done first.

Jack Debnam, a former county commissioner, was integral to turning the tide. The

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year he was elected in 2008, DOT had just rolled out a new, more objective process for ranking road projects.

In the old days, DOT officials had wide discretion over what roads got built. And the Southern Loop had an inside track thanks to Conrad Burrell, a Jackson resident and Southern Loop fan who served on the state DOT board.

But the new process for ranking road projects was based on a scoring rubric that quantified the rationale for a project — and that also gave bona fide weight to local input.

Debnam convinced fellow commissioners to go big or go home. They plunked their entire point bank into the 107 redesign and gave the Southern Loop a big fat zero.

“Let’s put our points where they can do some good,” Debnam recalled of his strategy.

When the points were tallied, even though DOT officials had ranked the Southern Loop higher, the points assigned

by Jackson commissioners tipped the scales.

The 107 redesign edged out the Southern Loop by one point, winning it a spot on the DOT’s road list. The rest is history.

Debnam is pleased the redesign of 107 will get its day in the sun.

“I think this project will help heal some wounds in this community,” Debnam said.

sion or a DOT decision if it might make sense to make that just one driveway?”

The DOT officials replied that some duplicate curb cuts could be closed off, but didn’t say how aggressive they would be in doing so. Also, DOT can’t force adjacent businesses to combine parking lots and share a driveway onto 107 instead of each having their own. That would be up to town land-use planning ordinances.

TIGHTEN IT UP BIKE LANE OR MULTI-USE PATH While the median down 107 will stop left turns across oncoming traffic, there is still an inordinate number of parking lot entrances.

Even when limited to right turns in and out of parking lots, the sheer volume breaks up the road’s continuity.

Sarah Thompson, Jack Debnam director of the Southwestern Regional Commission, wonders whether some of those duplicate curbcuts could be eliminated.

“It creates constant stops to have a car slowing down to make a 90-egree right turn and the next car slowing down to use the driveway 20 more feet down the road. It seems like an excessive amount of turning options,” Thompson said during a Q&A session with DOT officials. “Is that a town deci-

The redesign posed two options for bikes: an extra-wide outside lane that would give bikers some birth to share the lane with cars or a designated and striped bike lane.

But several members of the public wanted door number three instead. Instead of a bike lane on the road, they want wider sidewalks to serve as a multi-use path for both bikes and pedestrians.

“It is only your really hard-core bikers that would feel comfortable riding a bike even with a bike lane with that much traffic,” said Sarah Thompson with the Southwestern Commission.

“I wouldn’t want my child so close to traffic going 35 miles per hour,” agreed Christina Smith, a mom who came out to see the plans.

DOT is willing to pay for a 5-foot bike lane. And DOT is willing to pay for a 5-foot sidewalk.

So what about combining those two into a single 10-foot-wide multi-use path,

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Thompson asked.

“It is a creative solution given our restraints. Would DOT be amenable to paying for that?” Thompson asked.

Unfortunately, the answer was no, at least for now.

Ironically, combining the 5-foot bike lane with the 5-foot sidewalk to create a single multi-use path would be cheaper for the DOT. Getting rid of the bike lanes would make the road 10 feet narrower, and while the sidewalks would be wider, sidewalks are cheaper to build than bona fide roadway.

And there is less ongoing cost from asphalt paving.

“However, we are not by policy allowed to make those trade-offs,” said Brian Burch, DOT project development engineer based in Sylva. “The policy would have to be revised to allow those decisions to be made.”

Burch said if enough people ask for a multi-use path that combines the sidewalk and bike lane widths, it could make the case for a policy change.

“If we see there are issues outside the policy, we could go to Raleigh and say ‘Here’s where our policy prevents us from doing something the local community and local government desires.’ Then that would lead to a discussion of whether the policy needs to be changed,” Burch said.

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March 8-14, 2017 Smoky Mountain News

The 107 redesign calls for 5-foot sidewalks on both sides of the road, but getting there will require the town of Sylva to pitch in some dough.

Everywhere there are existing sidewalks, DOT will replace them. But in sections where there’s no sidewalk currently, the town has to foot 20 percent of the cost of sidewalk construction.

The various pass-along costs to the town of Sylva will force town leaders to make tough choices. A prettier bridge over Scott’s Creek, continuous sidewalks, full-scale landscaping, a multi-use path in lieu of bike lanes — all of these are non-standard in the DOT’s book and thus Sylva would have to pay for them.

Jason Kimenker, a long-time Smart Roads advocate, said the community needed to raise its voice and keep asking to get the road it wants.

“It’s not acceptable to require the town of Sylva to put that kind of money in,” Kimenker said. “If they are calling them additives or accouterments or whatever, we aren’t asking for anything that isn’t part of transportation.”

This is no time to settle, Kimenker said.

He suggested the community advocate to raise the money to get what it wants if it has to.

Another thing missing from the plan was an on-street bus stop. Given WCU’s growth, a bus from Cullowhee to Sylva isn’t necessarily a long shot by the year 2030.

“It would be nice to have a place where a public transit vehicle could pull off and safely load and unload passengers,” said Sylva town board member Greg McPherson.

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Space, funding for growth is limited

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER collaborative program designed to help students overcome the familial, financial and social obstructions of attending college lacks room to grow and is chronically underfunded, which may hamper efforts to serve more of the county’s most promising students.

Haywood Early College — a non-traditional high school operated in partnership with North Carolina New Schools and Haywood Community College — offers a five-year curriculum to incoming freshmen that eventually graduate with high school diplomas and associate degrees.

Haywood Early College Principal Jeff Haney estimates 60 percent of his students are the first in their family to go to college.

“We’ve been in existence for 10 years and we still have that,” Haney said. “We have lots of financial and social barriers.”

HCC President Dr. Barbara Parker echoed Haney’s sentiments when she said that many students in Haywood County don’t realize that college is within their grasp.

But that grasp is tenuous at this point.

HCC will receive about $2.8 million from the

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Connect NC bond referendum to make infrastructural improvements, but the HEC facility didn’t make the top priority list.

Meanwhile, enrollment has grown steadily from 136 students in 2011 to 180 today.

Over that same span, HEC has issued 72 associate degrees and this year expects to issue 39 more to its students — almost half of which are on free or reduced lunches, and almost 10 percent of which are homeless.

Haywood Early College does not charge tuition to its students. Haney said HEC receives funding from several sources; teachers are state-funded through the county, grants fund support personnel and books, and the county contributes about $4,000 a year for incidentals and supplies.

Almost 70 students have graduated from HEC since 2012 and 31 are set to graduate this year, including Levi McCracken of Canton. McCracken is nearing the end of his fifth year at the school and is president of the student government.

“It’s an opportunity for students who want to go to college to start earlier,” he said.

McCracken is finalist for the prestigious Morehead-Cain scholarship and hopes to study business at UNC-Chapel Hill, but

Heat on the blink? Frozen Pipes? Power Issues?

rise, much faster than the cost of living is, so this gives you an opportunity to jump start that at a more economic level,” he said.

Once McCracken leaves HEC, he’ll do so as a 19 year old with an associate degree in arts, an associate in science, a certificate in business administration and a high school

diploma.

“Chapel Hill is $26,000 a year, and I have approximately two years’ worth of credits,” he said. “So that’s $52,000.”

HCC and Haywood County School board members recently held a joint meeting Feb. 23 and toured the HEC facilities on campus.

During that meeting, HCC Board Member Dr. Tom McNeel took the podium to discuss the importance of HEC. He explained that he was passionate about the early college perhaps because he could see his younger self in many of the students enrolled in the program.

“It is because I was one of those economically disadvantaged children,” he said.

Growing up in a West Virginia town of 50 people, McNeel graduated high school in a class of 12.

“I tell people I graduated in the top 10 of my school,” he laughed.

McNeel eventually became a teacher and superintendent, and currently serves as the chair of HCC’s building and grounds committee.

He went on to lament the college’s ability to fund renovations at Building 400, and suggested the county itself might find a way to expand HEC’s capacity to serve more students like Levi McCracken.

“Early college is a hidden gem in Haywood County,” McCracken said. “It’s an opportunity you can’t resist.”

March 8-14, 2017

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wherever he ends up he’ll have a significant advantage over many of his peers, academically and financially.

“The cost of attending college is on the

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Cherokee impeachment efforts will continue Council shuts down veto, two protests of decision to impeach

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ome tribal members are saying their rights were violated after three pieces of legislation that would curtail impeachment proceedings against Principal Chief Patrick Lambert were denied last week in successive votes during which no discussion was allowed.

It took council mere minutes to power through a veto from Lambert and two protest resolutions — one from Councilmember Teresa McCoy, of Big Cove, and one from tribal member Janell Rattler, of Snowbird. Each item went to a vote with a no-discussion rule strictly enforced by Council Chairman Dennis “Bill” Taylor, of Wolfetown.

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Lambert’s veto of the impeachment resolution was first on the agenda. The resolution seeking his impeachment, passed Feb. 2, had actually already been signed — but

by Vice Chief Richie Sneed, not by Lambert.

The impeachment resolution had included a provision giving Sneed the power to ratify it, as Lambert had “a conflict of interest in this matter.”

Lambert, meanwhile, contended that the provision violated the law, as the tribe’s Charter and Governing Document explicitly states that it’s the chief prerogative to ratify or veto legislation. His veto letter stated that he had “committed no impeachable offences” and said that the more Tribal Council moved forward without allowing him to state his case, “the more it looks like a witch hunt.” He criticized council for “hav[ing] us all spinning wheels in a losing battle” rather than working for the best interest of the tribe.

His letter was read, and a vote taken. The vote mirrored that taken on Feb. 2, with only Councilmembers Tommye Saunooke, of Painttown; Richard French, of Big Cove; and McCoy opposing impeachment.

Then Rattler’s protest came before council. It contained a brief cover letter informing council that the 37 Snowbird community members whose signatures were attached protested impeachment and requested that council schedule a hearing accordingly. It included a resolution that, if passed, would have rescinded the impeachment resolution.

The resolution was never read, however.

After the cover letter was read into the record, Taylor called that one of two moves be made — to hear the protest or to deny the protest. If council voted to hear the protest, a

separate session would be scheduled for the protesting parties to make their case.

McCoy began to ask that anybody who wanted to say something be given the chance to speak, but Taylor cut her off.

“You know the process,” he said, banging his gavel. “The process has always been the same, Teresa (McCoy). The letter is read into the record and at that point in time there are two moves that can be made, to either approve the protest or one to deny.”

“Can you show me where we don’t discuss that?” McCoy asked.

“We’ve done it every time we’ve been in here, you know that,” Taylor responded.

Saunooke moved to hear the protest, with McCoy as a second. And Councilmember Travis Smith moved to deny the protest, with a second from Vice Chairman Brandon Jones.

“Will y’uns at least read the ordinance?” asked Rattler.

“No,” said Taylor.

Then Lambert came up to the podium.

“Mr. Chairman, I’d request we go into closed session and receive legal advice on what you’re about to do,” he said.

“No, we’re going to move on, Chief,” said Taylor.

“I think it’s important that this tribal body hear from their legal council,” Lambert replied.

“Chief, we’re going to move forward,” said Taylor. “I’ve got two moves on the floor.”

“Mr. Chairman, I’d move that —” Taylor cut McCoy off with the bang of a gavel.

“We’ve got two moves on the floor, and we’re going to vote on them,” he said.

Council voted overwhelmingly to deny the protest, with only McCoy, Saunooke, French and Councilmember Bo Crowe, of Wolfetown, voting to hear it.

Many members of the audience called out in anger. When they quieted down, council moved on to the next protest, McCoy’s, which also sought to rescind the impeachment resolution. McCoy’s resolution went a step further, however, asking for formal investigations into a whole host of issues covering conduct by a variety of council members.

Once more, the letter was read, the resolution was not, and council voted without discussion to deny the protest, in a vote that mirrored that taken on Rattler’s protest.

REACTION FROM TRIBAL MEMBERS Tribal members stuck around for the remainder of the meeting, which finished more than an hour ahead of schedule.

During breaks, they gathered in the parking lot or on the council house porch, and they weren’t shy about giving their opinion on what had transpired inside.

PROTEST HEARINGS

The Feb. 2 vote to begin impeachment proceedings against Principal Chief Patrick Lambert followed the Jan. 18 release of an investigation into contract executions and human resources decisions under Lambert’s administration.

The report listed five contracts whose amounts had exceeded the amount approved or that had been executed without proper approval from the Business Committee. It also listed nine areas in which policies, procedures or laws pertaining to human resources decisions had not been followed — though the paragraphs explaining the violations found in five of those nine areas were completely

blacked out in the publicly released copy.

Nine of the 12 Tribal Council members felt that the findings warranted calling for an impeachment hearing. However, Lambert said that he had done nothing wrong and had solid explanations for every one of the supposed violations — if Tribal Council would be willing to hear them. He said impeachment is retaliation for his efforts to expose alleged criminal wrongdoing in the tribe that’s carried over from the prior administration.

In fact, on the very day that council voted to begin impeachment, 26 FBI agents showed up to raid the Qualla Housing Authority, which is the subject of investigation. Of the 12 councilmembers, six sit on the Qualla Housing Authority board.

Sitting in the audience, Ashley Sessions (left) raises her hand in a symbolic vote to hear Teresa McCoy’s protest, which was ultimately denied. Brandon Jones and Travis Smith (right photo, named left to right) vote to deny Janell Rattler’s protest. Holly Kays photos to potentially bring impeachment on those who have violated the law or been an accomplish (sic) to breaking the law,” he wrote. “I will use every bit of my authority, legal education and experience to ensure the voices of our Cherokee people are heard in their Council Chambers.”

The right to protest decisions of council is clearly outlined in the tribal code. The code states that any party who disagrees with a decision of council or its committees “shall have the right to one protest of the decision.”

The code lays out the timeline for submitting protests and states that each protest should include a written resolution outlining the action sought upon approval. No decision involving multiple parties may be heard or decided until “a hearing is scheduled and all interested parties are provided reason-

able notice of that hearing.”

The code does not, however, lay out the process that Tribal Council has used when dealing with protests — namely, holding a vote to deny or hear the protest upon initially receiving it and scheduling a hearing only if the majority of council elects to do so.

While it is possible that other written policies exist governing the protocol for hearing protests, a request to Legislative Attorney Carolyn West for copies of those policies was not fulfilled as of press time.

In Lambert’s view, however, the law was violated when council shut down the discussion. He believes the section dealing with protests involving multiple parties most definitely applies here, as Rattler’s resolution includes the signatures of 37 tribal members and McCoy submitted her resolution follow-

Taylor based his enforcement of the no-discussion rule for protest resolutions on the premise that protests had always been handled that way. But a review of several recent protests brought before council shows that’s not necessarily the case.

ing a meeting of about 50 tribal members from the Big Cove community.

“No where (sic) in this law does it allow the Chairman to shut out our elders and members from having the right to speak and be heard! This is simply a violation of our rights as members of this Tribe. Yet what happened? The Chairman absolutely refused to hear any elders or other members and forced a quick vote to shut it down … I think the question is valid to ask, why not file another protest and demand to have a hearing as is allowed under the law.

Let this Council vote again to violate the law,” Lambert wrote on his public Facebook page.

For his part, however, Taylor is focused on the fact that the outcome of last week’s meeting means the impeachment process against Lambert will proceed. Tribal Council must first approve articles of impeachment, and then a hearing will take place at the council house with an outcome decided at the end of the proceedings.

“It is expected the hearings will be concluded in one day,” Taylor said in a statement. “As of today, no date has been confirmed for the impeachment proceedings.” 15

Smoky Mountain News

Taylor based his enforcement of the nodiscussion rule for protest resolutions on the premise that protests had always been handled that way. But a review of several recent protests brought before council shows that’s not necessarily the case.

On May 5, 2016, council received a protest of its approval of Joseph Arch Conseen’s will. The protest letter, from Joseph’s widow Lorraine Conseen, said she hadn’t received notice that the issue was coming before council.

After the protest letter was read, council proceeded to have a full 13 minutes of discussion on the topic, covering everything from applicable sections of tribal law to customs pertinent to such situations.

“Any other moves? Any other discussion?” Taylor asked at one point before the

The backstory

March 8-14, 2017

WHAT THE LAW SAYS ABOUT

vote was taken.

Council heard a protest letter the previous month as well, on April 7, 2016, filed by McCoy. That protest, which dealt with the licensure of Dora Reed Children’s Center, resulted in a six-minute discussion before coming to a vote.

Lambert believes that council violated the law by curtailing discussion on last week’s protests. In a Facebook post, he said that he didn’t expect his veto to be upheld but that preventing tribal members from speaking on their protest resolutions was “inexcusable and a clear violation.”

Lambert sees this as further proof of his belief that if any current tribal official deserves impeachment, it’s not him.

“I am proceeding to build grounds on their violations of the Charter and our Code

news

“They should have called a special meeting when discussing an issue like this, and they didn’t do that. They made a decision without the people’s knowledge,” Rattler, author of the first protest resolution, said in an interview outside the council house.

Before deciding to move forward with the impeachment vote, she believes, her councilmembers should have called a special meeting of the Snowbird Community Club to gather input.

“Today it upset them that they weren’t heard,” she continued. “It was like they didn’t care what the people wanted.”

“I think the things they’re doing ain’t right,” said June Welch, a 51-year-old Cherokee man who lives in Whittier. “Just like I said in there, we’re one people. We’re supposed to stand behind each other. When one of us falls, we’re supposed to pick them up and help them. That’s why I’m here.”

Birdtown community member Ashley Sessions, 28, also expressed opposition to how council had been conducting business.

But at least the protests were read in council, even if no discussion was allowed and the resolutions themselves didn’t see the light of day, she said. At the beginning of the meeting, McCoy invited Sessions to the podium to ask council why a resolution she’d submitted hadn’t been added to the agenda.

“They didn’t even read my resolution,” Sessions said during a follow-up interview.

“They just completely turned me away and that’s why I wanted to address them and ask them why. I never got anything in writing, so I wanted to know why.”

During council, Taylor told Sessions that her resolution wasn’t something council could handle — it dealt with alleged intimidation on the part of Councilmember Smith and needed to go to the Office of Internal Audit, which is charged with enforcing the ethics code Sessions believes Smith broke.

“They informed me I needed to take it to Internal Audit, so that’s why I’m going to do,” Sessions said.

In a text message, Smith said he has not read Sessions’ resolution and reiterated that Internal Audit, not council, is the proper place for it to be heard. He did not comment on the allegations themselves.

news

Calvary Street lots to become Waynesville park

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER new park in Waynesville’s Pigeon Street community can finally move forward thanks to an agreement reached between Haywood County and the town of Waynesville.

“I think it’s great,” said neighborhood resident Phillip Gibbs. “This will give the community something to look forward to, and to name after our heroes.”

The agreement, ratified by the town on Feb. 28 and the county on March 6, will convey to the town three parcels located on Craven Road but straddling Calvary Street and backing up to the Mountain Projects Head Start facility.

Assessed at $27,300, the parcels serve as home to a decaying, unsecured former church that has drawn increased criminal activity to the historically African-American neighborhood that is currently the subject of a survey as a possible National Register historic district.

Under terms of the agreement Waynesville will pay $1 for just over threefourths of an acre, which it is to develop into a park, picnic area, playground and parking lot over the course of about five years.

To date, the county has spent around $20,000 in the acquisition of the property through the foreclosure process; Waynesville Town Manager Rob Hites said he estimates

Smoky Mountain News

March 8-14, 2017

A

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cleanup costs to be around $5,000 and eventual costs for the full development of the park to be in the $60,000 range.

Vines ensnarl a decaying building that will soon be demolished.

Cory Vaillancourt photo

Also stipulated is that the town will remove the building and clean the site within six months. If the town fails — or at any point in the future fails to use the property for a park — ownership would revert back to the county, which acquired the lots through foreclosure.

But early in the process, another man hoped to buy the parcels from the county to

turn the area into an “events center.”

Residents were concerned that such usage would simply continue to draw unwanted traffic and commercial activity to the property, and said as much at public hearings before both the town and the county earlier this year.

Gibbs was one of several community members who spoke in support of the park idea and had previously said he hoped the park would be named “ObamaKing Park.”

Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown has steadfastly maintained the need for that the park outweighs the perpetual loss in taxable value of the property, calling it “addition by subtraction” and Waynesville’s Police Chief Bill Hollingsed has also voiced support for

the elimination of what has become a problem area for his officers.

The town’s acquisition of the land also helps to ameliorate another minor municipal shortcoming; Assistant Town Manager Amie Owens pointed out the dual benefit the town would realize from turning the land into a park.

“It’s a goal that we’ve had for a while — to increase neighborhood parks and have other facilities available for citizens to use,” Owens said. “So this will be a welcome addition to the Pigeon community.”

A consultant from Chicago-based Alfred Benesch and Company who helped work on Waynesville’s comprehensive recreation plan said that towns of Waynesville’s size usually have about 10 acres of recreational property per thousand residents, meaning that Waynesville should have about a hundred acres; currently, it owns 52.

Although the Calvary Street lots won’t make a huge dent in that number, the forthcoming park is a good sign for residents of the Pigeon Street community, many of whom were upset when a 2016 effort to rename Pigeon Street after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. encountered harsh opposition.

“I don’t care who you are or where you’re from, we all need something to uplift us,” Gibbs said. “Right now, that area is a rat hole that just brings you down.”

Democratic Women to discuss HB2 news

The Haywood County Democratic Women will meet Thursday, March 16, at Angelo’s Family Pizza and Pasta, 166 Walnut St., in Waynesville.

All women who vote Democratic, including those who are members of Progressive Nation WNC, are invited to meet at 5:30 p.m. for dinner and/or 6:30 p.m. for discussion of the topic “OMG! Is that a man in the bathroom?” which will cover talking points of the HB2 bill.

Guest speaker is Attorney Sybil Mann who will present the legal issues of this bill.

For more information, call Judy Russell, president, at 828.648.2809.

Project SEARCH hold open house Instructors in Southwestern Community College’s one-year internship program are looking for even more high-potential students to enroll this fall by holding an open house for young adults with disabilities and goals of competitive employment.

The informative event is scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, in the main lobby of Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva. Potential students and their families are invited to attend and learn more about Project SEARCH, a national nonprofit program that partners with businesses to create internships for young adults with disabilities.

828.339.4486 or devonnej@southwesterncc.edu.

Swain Republicans to hold precinct meetings

Applicants sought for advisory committee

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Smoky Mountain News

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners is seeking applicants to fill a position on the Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee.

Application forms may be downloaded from the Online Services section of the county website, www.haywoodnc.net; or picked up from the County Manager’s Office, Haywood County Courthouse, Third Floor, 215 North Main St., Waynesville. Completed applications may be returned to the County Manager’s Office or attached to an email to Candace Way, ecway@haywoodnc.net by 5 p.m., Friday, March 31. 828.452.6625.

HIDDEN FEES

March 8-14, 2017

The Swain County Republican Party will hold precinct meetings and its annual county convention on Saturday, March 25, at the Swain County Training Center on Buckner's Branch Road, Bryson City.

Registration for the precinct meetings will begin at 11 a.m. and meetings will begin at 11:30 a.m., and the convention will follow. Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, will be speaking.

The agenda for the convention will include adoption of a County Plan of Organization and election of delegates to the district and state conventions.

Refreshments will be served. All Republicans are encouraged to attend.

KNOCK

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Smoky Mountain News March 8-14, 2017

news

Education Waynesville Rotary awards scholarships Waynesville Rotary Club awarded scholarships to five Haywood Community College students with each scholarship amounting to $500.

Recipients were Emily Gaddy, Associate in Arts; Garrett Jones, Associate in Science; Isaiah Lunsford, Associate in Arts; Madison Sugg, Associate in Arts; and Sagan Thacker, College Transfer Pathway.

Register for kindergarten in Macon

Smoky Mountain News

Nathan Lowe (from left) and Becca Swanger were recently crowned king and queen at the ninth annual Mardi Gras Ball. Competing king and queen candidates helped raise $65,000 to benefit the Haywood County Schools Foundation, which provides scholarships to graduating seniors and classroom grants for teachers.

Make plans to attend one of the following registration days for kindergarten in Macon County: n 9 a.m. Friday, April 28, at Cartoogechaye Elementary School n 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 28, at East Franklin Elementary School n 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 14, Highlands School n 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 19, at Iotla Valley Elementary School n Noon to 3 p.m. Friday, May 5, at Nantahala School n 9:15 a.m. Friday, April 21, at South Macon Elementary School

and her mother, who is currently battling cancer.

Brittany placed her own touch on the T-shirt by hand drawing the panther paw. A few members of the volleyball teams presented a check in the amount of $1,200 to the Watson family.

SCC’s Upward Bound students give back

WCU listed among Colleges of Distinction

High school students from throughout Southwestern Community College’s service area gave their time to be a part of two service projects.

The first project these students in SCC’s Upward Bound program participated in was making thank you cards that were sent to local firefighters. The second project was wrapping small toiletry items that were donated to the Jackson County Department of Aging.

Upward Bound is a college preparatory program funded by the United States Department of Education as a TRIO program. It is designed to encourage academic success in high-potential students. This program serves students from Cherokee, Franklin, Smoky Mountain and Swain High Schools.

828.339.4281 or akesgan@southwesterncc.edu.

Western Carolina University has been recognized as one of America’s Colleges of Distinction for 2017 by a national guidebook and online resource, citing WCU as where students go “to learn, to grow and to succeed” in an environment that prioritizes faculty-student mentoring and outstanding teaching as well as diverse academic and co-curricular programs.

For WCU’s profile, visit www.collegesofdistinction.com/school/western-carolina-university.

Pisgah High receives athletic award Pardee Hospital recently announced Pisgah High School has received the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Safe Sports School Award.

The award recognizes secondary schools that provide safe environments for student-athletes and reinforces the importance of providing the best level of care, injury prevention and treatment. Emmylou Wilson with Pardee Sports Medicine provides athletic training services at Pisgah High School.

Franklin teams donate for cancer awareness Franklin High School JV and Varsity Volleyball teams sold T-shirts to raise money for Miss Brittany Watson

• Electronics engineering technology student Jesse Moore was recently chosen as the recipient for the NC/NASA Space Grant Scholarship. This is a $2,500 scholarship for community college STEM students for the spring 2017 semester only. Moore plans to continue his education in Western Carolina University’s electrical engineering program.

Jessi Stone photo

Donor leaves HCC nursing funds Haywood Community College got a boost to the Rubye B. Bryson Scholarship with money earmarked by longtime donor Rubye Bryson in her estate.

Bryson was a former board of trustees member at the college and spent her career in public health nursing. In 2003, she started the scholarship to help nursing students break down barriers to fulfill their career goals.

For more information about HCC’s Foundation, call Pam Hardin at 828.627.4544 or email pahardin@haywood.edu.

Farm Bureau scholarships available Haywood County Farm Bureau scholarship applications are now available in the Farm Bureau office, 1520 Asheville Rd., Waynesville.

Students must be graduating seniors, currently enrolled in a Haywood County School, or enrolled in a

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two or four-year school and a resident of Haywood County. Students must have a 2.5 GPA or better and must be planning to enroll in an approved post-secondary program and provide clear evidence of financial need and significant community service. The applicant must be studying some form of agriculture.

WCU grant to help prepare principals Western Carolina University is the recipient of a grant from the North Carolina General Assembly that will help prepare educators to become school principals and, in turn, strengthen the quality of educational leadership in public schools.

The two-year grant is providing WCU with $400,561 for its North Carolina School Executive Leadership Program. The General Assembly established the competitive grant program in 2015 to provide funds for preparing and supporting highly effective school principals and assistant principals in the state. WCU was one of five institutions selected for funding.

To apply, visit https://www.wcu.edu/learn/departments-schools-colleges/ceap/humanserv/ed-leadership/msa.aspx.

828.227.3325 or email droyer@wcu.edu.

Smoky Mountain named STEAM winner Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva has been named the North Carolina state winner in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest, a program that encourages teachers and students to solve real-world issues in their community using classroom skills in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM).

Smoky Mountain High School is among the nation’s 51 state winners (representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C.) and will receive $25,000 in technology with a chance to become one of the 10 national finalists.

Each state winner will receive an ATIV Book 9 laptop to create a video showcasing their proposed solution to the local problem — all with a share of $2 million on the line.

• Shea Browning, associate general counsel at Western Carolina University since September 2010, has been appointed to serve as the university’s top legal adviser, effective March 1.

Browning succeeds Mary Ann Lochner, who has served as the university general counsel since August 2010 and who is retiring.

ALSO:

• The second annual Mountaineer 2-Miler road race to be held at 10 a.m.

Saturday, March 18, at Waynesville Middle School.

All profits made from the race will go toward supplies, materials and technology for Waynesville Middle School.

Register at www.RunSignUp.com/mountaineer2miler.

• John Brooks, a tenth-grade student at Highlands School, received the distinction of being designated as a Judge’s Choice by the North Carolina Reading Association. The theme this year was “Step Outside: Writing About the Natural World.” Local and state winners are invited to attend the Young Author’s Celebration in Marc and the state YA celebration in Raleigh.

• Jamie Temples Raynor, director of development at Western Carolina University since August 2015, has been appointed to the position of assistant vice chancellor for development and alumni engagement for the university.

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Perhaps school board has learned a lesson S

zens down in the way they handled this one.

This is one of these cases where there should have been a plan to involve citizens, where they should have been provided the information regarding financial issues and enrollment challenges, where outside ideas should have been gathered — and then a decision made.

I’m not arguing that Central should have been kept open.

Editor But the school board and the administration botched the process. And there’s ample evidence from work session tapes that the public was misled.

This is a case study in how not to close a beloved community school and how to ignore one’s constituents. And who knows, had a better process been followed, we may have had a different outcome.

Scott McLeod

ince it is, after all, the Haywood County School Board, I can only hope they’ve learned a lesson.

Last week it was announced that a settlement has been agreed upon in the lawsuit filed by Waynesville attorney Mark Melrose against the school board for the way it closed Central Elementary School. The settlement mandated that neither party discuss the particulars, but here’s part of the 57-word statement that was released: The school board “does not admit it violated the law or its own policies, but agrees it would have been preferable if circumstances had permitted to have provided more advanced public notice of its intention to vote on January 11, 2016, to study the possible closure of Central Elementary School.”

Remember, the board informed citizens of its intent to close the school in January and then voted on it in February. That vote to close came after a “public input” session in late January 2016 that was almost insulting since the closing decision had already been made. In other words, the decision to close the school had been made without the input of one single citizen or parent.

The point to remember here is that the public schools do not belong to the administrators in the central office or the members of the school board. They belong to us — citizens and parents — and so we should play a part in making these important decisions.

Yes, school board members are our elected representatives, but they let Haywood’s citi-

HB2 AND THE STATE BRAND I had planned to write about the recalcitrance and stubbornness that has rooted itself in the General Assembly and prevented a resolution to the HB2 mess that has cost the state millions of dollars.

Instead, I’m going to point out how another writer already did that job for me.

Former Raleigh News and Observer

Trump’s rise has some similarities to Hitler To the Editor: Among the many sources available to explain current events in Washington is an excellent recent book that looks provocatively into the past rather than the present or future.

Titled Hitler: Ascent 1889-1939 by the German author Volker Ullrich, it explains in well-documented detail how history's most evil man came to murderous power and, more importantly, why Germans let it happen.

Though Ullrich doesn’t touch on the comparisons between Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump — whose election came after the book's publication last year — they should be obvious to any Americans who don’t depend on Fox “News,” Rush Limbaugh or Breitbart for what they mistake as information.

Hitler was a racist demagogue who lied without restraint or remorse, and so is Trump. Neither ever won a majority vote in a fair election. Hitler's megalomania, craving for adulation and intolerance for criticism owed to a deeply rooted personal insecurity. So, it seems, do these conspicuous flaws in Trump’s character.

Both gave clear warning to how they would make life hell for scapegoated minorities. Trump's view of a free press as the “enemy of the people” eerily matches Hitler’s own.

Hitler was made chancellor by politicians who thought

columnist Rob Christensen is among the most astute observers of Tar Heel politics.

Christensen recently wrote a column where he argued that the state’s brand is taking a beating even in the conservative South, not just from Democrats or liberal business leaders.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe recently gave his state of the commonwealth speech and had this to say: “As we begin our work together this session, our neighbor North Carolina remains mired in a divisive and counterproductive battler over laws its legislature passed that target the rights of the LGBT citizens. As we have seen in that state and others, attacks on equality and women’s health care rights don’t just embarrass the states that engage in them, they kill jobs.”

McAuliffe is a Democrat, so some HB2 supporters might not consider his words important. But nearby GOP leaders have also distanced themselves from HB2-like bills, recognizing that they are akin to economic suicide pills.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia last year vetoed a bill to curtail the rights of LGBT community: “I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which I and my family have been a part.”

Here’s former GOP Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina: “I don’t believe (a bathroom bill) is necessary. There’s not one instance that I’m aware of. When we look at our situation, we’re not hearing of anybody’s religious

LETTERS they could manage him better if he were inside the government rather than screaming at it from without. Most of the Republicans in our Congress are practicing the same sort of reckless opportunism.

But, to compare America today to Germany in the time of Hitler, is to appreciate the strengths in our country that were tragically lacking there, notably our powerful traditions of free speech and dissent. The Weimar Republic, Germany's experiment in democracy, was only 14 years old when Hitler fulfilled his ambition to destroy it. Anti-Semitism and authoritarianism were embedded in the culture.

“It was astonishing not just how quickly, but how easily Germany was turned on its head,” Ullrich writes. Even Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, was astonished how quickly Germany fell into line. “Now, everyone is a Nazi,” he said with contempt.

Here, however, the mass anti-Trump demonstrations and the torrent of protests to Congress bespeak a majority of Americans who are not prepared to fall into line. The question is whether we can keep it up. The answer is simple: We must.

And that extends to fighting like the devil to keep Trump, Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions from populating the federal courts with right-wing toadies. North Carolina’s progress in fighting gerrymandering and voter suppression depends on that.

The most astonishing dissimilarity is painfully ironic.

liberties that are being violated, and we’re again not hearing of any citizens that are being violated in terms of freedom. Like it or not, South Carolina is doing really well when it comes to respect and when it comes to kindness and when it comes to acceptance. For people to imply it’s not, I beg to differ.”

Christensen points to process as part of the problem. HB2 — which says everyone must use the bathroom of their birth gender and prevents localities from passing laws outlawing discrimination against LGBTs — was passed in one day by the General Assembly and signed by the governor that same night.

No committee hearings, no public input, no debate.

“Acting out of hubris, the legislature did not want a proper airing,” Christensen writes.

A proper vetting might have revealed that nearly 200 cities and community across the U.S. have passed bills similar to the Charlotte ordinance that was the supposed catalyst for the legislature’s hasty actions, might have revealed that passing such a law would be a disaster for the state’s economy and reputation.

As I’ve written before, history will prove that North Carolina is on the wrong side of this issue. No matter what else happens in this state, HB2 is now the state’s brand and will be until the jackasses in the General Assembly learn that the art of compromise — not stubborness — is the lifeblood of democracy.

(Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainews.com)

Germans knew almost nothing about Hitler’s personal life before or after he became chancellor. He took pains to conceal his mistress, Eva Braun, from the public “to maintain the myth of the Führer sacrificing himself day and night for his people.” Apart from selling his art work, he had no record in business, no trail of cheated workmen and contractors, no “Hitler University,” no bankruptcies, no boastful claims to the right to sexually assault women, and no massive tax evasion, although he would exempt himself entirely later.

In candidate Trump, on the other hand, Americans perceived a mountain of sleaze, much of it from Trump’s own mouth. How was he elected despite all that? It means that the minority who voted for him — and they were a minority — were more interesting in throwing bombs than in building bridges. An assortment of highly personal motives — resentments, hatreds, disappointments, or selfish desires—matte r ed more to them than the character of the leader of our country and of the free world.

But for the intervention of a foreign enemy and FBI director James Comey’s October surprise, Trump likely would have lost the Electoral College too. Fixing that anachronism, which has now crowned a less popular candidate five times, must be an urgent national priority. A democracy like ours doesn’t deserve a loser like Trump.

(Martin Dyckman is a retired associate editor of the Tampa Bay Times. He lives in Asheville. This article is condensed from an oped on the web site Florida Politics. dyckmanm@bellsouth.net)

A

WOMEN IN BUSINESS The Haywood Chamber of Commerce and its Women’s Initiative is proud to announce the first luncheon of 2017.

JOIN US AS WE WELCOME WLOS ON-AIR PERSONALITIES

Katie Killen & Holly Headrick Katie Killen is the Morning News Traffic Anchor and Breaking News Reporter. This is a return to News 13 and the mountains of Western NC for Katie.

She helped launched the weekend morning newscast in 2011.

Holly Headrick is also

a native of Western N.C. Everyone in the mountains can wake up to Holly as she anchors News 13 Weekday Mornings and you can watch her on News 13 at Noon.

The Women in Business series consists of luncheon meetings with topics of current interest for both men and women in the areas of business, leadership, entrepreneurship, and economic development.

MEDIA SPONSORS:

Smoky Mountain News & The Mountaineer

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

HOST SPONSOR:

Wells Events & Reception center

WELLS EVENTS & RECEPTION CENTER

Tuesday, March 14 • 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. $25/Chamber Members

$35/Non-Members

March 8-14, 2017 Smoky Mountain News

s near as I can tell, the readers of this newspaper are pretty evenly divided on whether I should continue writing columns about President Donald Trump. I get emails, letters, Facebook messages and comments from readers I bump into at church or in the grocery store who assure me that I am contributing something meaningful to our democracy and urge me on, as a member of the much-maligned free press doing my best to speak truth to power. At the very least, those of us in the media who are willing to take on Trump are providing some measure of relief or catharsis to those who feel threatened, disgusted or alienated by the president.

On the other hand, I get a lot of vivid suggestions on other types of columns I could or should be writing, with some readers going to the trouble of recommending hobbies I might take up (jumping off of cliffs, or hurling myself into heavy traffic), places I might go (hell is the current frontrunner, with a smattering of Middle-Eastern countries also in the mix), and people with whom I might have sex (myself, overwhelmingly).

I have been writing columns a long time now, so I’ve seen my share of angry letters over the years. I’ve been upbraided by members of the school board, chastened by Ethan Allen (the furniture chain) and threatened by a grand cyclops from the Ku Klux Klan. Fine. But a few of the ones I have been receiving of late are of a different species entirely, especially the anonymous ones, which are particularly mean-spirited and personal, making references to my wife and kids, as well as how unpopular I am at the fitness center where I go to exercise.

Apparently, there is a group of “conservative men” there who would like to spit on me while I am there working out, only they have “too much class.”

Look, I can be as defiant as the next person and could write about Trump every other week since he is a fountain of column material, though I much prefer writing human-interest stories about my kids getting braces, the dawn of a new baseball season, or the agony and the ecstasy of the squirrel population in my backyard and our ongoing battle over the birdfeeder. Those columns are more fun to write, and they keep my blood pressure at an acceptable level.

I really would like to write about something other than President Trump, anything else, anything at all. The problem is that he won’t let me. Before I can go two weeks without writing about the president, he first has to get through more than two days without saying, tweeting or doing something that is so reckless, so outrageous and so dangerous that it demands not only comment, but as much collective correction as we all can possibly muster.

Chris Cox

Trump tweets himself back into the muck

I thought last week might be a turning point of sorts. The president delivered a speech to Congress that was so well-received that even Anderson Cooper called it “one of his best speeches ever.” He struck a much more positive tone and stayed on message, which is easier to do when you are reading a prepared and well-rehearsed speech from a teleprompter. Still, the media ate it up and spent the evening fawning over how “presidential” the President suddenly seemed.

But the honeymoon was over almost before it started. A few short days later, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigation — present or future — into Russia’s influence on the 2016 election and contact Columnist between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials, which sent the president into a tizzy.

An even bigger bombshell came two days later when Trump tweeted his accusation — without a single drop of evidence — that former President Obama had wiretapped his phones prior to the 2016 election.

“How low has President Obama gone to tapp [sic] my phones during the very sacred election process,” Trump wrote. “This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!”

Read those words. Let the import of what our president is suggesting sink in. We have a sitting president accusing a former president of committing a crime (since the president does not have the authority to wiretap anyone), or seeking a court order to conduct surveillance of a private citizen, which raises the question of what probable cause the court might have found to authorize a wiretap in the first place?

The former president has flatly denied the charges. In the meantime, FBI Director James Comey apparently sought through his staff to reach out to the Justice Department to push back against Trump’s allegations.

Eventually, the Justice Department will be forced to respond. Inevitably, there will be an investigation, not only into Russia’s interference into our election and any ties it may have had to the Trump campaign, but Trump’s own charges that former President Obama had him wiretapped.

If it turns out that Trump’s allegations are not true, he should resign. It was one thing when he led the “birther movement,” a malicious lie that former President Obama was not born in the United States. It was another thing when he lied that he would have won the popular vote if not for millions of people voting illegally, another allegation made without a shred of evidence.

Whatever credibility this administration has left is riding on the outcome of this latest allegation. It should be clear now that the “kinder, gentler” Trump was a mirage. By the end of the week, the real Donald Trump stood up. And then he sank back into the muck, because that is his natural habitat.

(Chris Cox is a writer and teacher. jchriscox@live.com)

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FOOD • FILMS • FUN Lunch, Dinner & Sunday Brunch

Free Movies Thurs-Sat

Scratch-made Locally Owned

SALADS PIZZAS BURGERS VEGETARIAN

828.586.3555 • Downtown Sylva MadBatterFoodFilm.com

Visit Us and Discover MEDITERRANEAN & ITALIAN CUISINE 1863 S. Main Street • Waynesville 828.454.5002 Hwy. 19/23 Exit 98 LUNCH & DINNER TUES. - SUN.

March 8-14, 2017

www.pasqualesnc.com

Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Saturday 12 p.m.-10 p.m.

Closed Tues.

Sun. 12-9 p.m.

Sandwiches • Burgers • Wraps 32 Felmet Street

tasteTHEmountains Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 AMMONS DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT & DAIRY BAR 1451 Dellwwod Rd., Waynesville.

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

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

The cobbler, pie and cake selections are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

APPLE ANDY'S RESTAURANT 3483 Soco Road, Maggie Valley located in Market Square. 828.944.0626. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Serving the freshest homemade sandwiches, wraps, and entrees such as country fried steak and grilled flounder. Full salad bar and made from scratch sides like potato salad, pinto beans and macaroni and cheese. www.appleandys.com BLOSSOM ON MAIN 128 N. Main Street, Waynesville.

828.454.5400. Open for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Mild, medium, to hot and spicy, our food is cooked to your like-able temperature.

Forget the myth that all Thai food is spicy.

Traditional Thai food is known to be quite healthy, making use of natural and fresh ingredients, paired with lots of spices, herbs, and vegetables. Vegetarians and health conscious individuals will not be disappointed as fresh vegetables and tofu are available in most of our menu as well as wines and saki chosen to compliment the unique flavors of Thai cuisine.

BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slow-simmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts.

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

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

BOGART’S 303 S. Main St., Waynesville. 828.452.1313.

Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Carry out available. Located in downtown Waynesville, Bogart’s has been long-time noted for great steaks, soups, and salads. Casual family atmosphere in a rustic old-time setting with a menu noted for its practical value. Live Bluegrass/String Band music every Thursday. Walking distance of Waynesville’s unique shops and seasonal festival activities and within one mile of Waynesville Country Club.

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Lunch served 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Monday through Saturday. Dinner 5 to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Closed on Sunday. We specialize in hand-cut, all natural steaks from local farms, incredible burgers, and other classic american comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available.

BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Chef owned and operated. Our salads are made in house using local seasonal vegetables. Fresh roasted ham, turkey and roast beef used in our hoagies. We hand make our own eggplant and chicken parmesan, pork meatballs and hamburgers. We use 1st quality fresh not pre-prepared products to make sure you get the best food for a reasonable price. We make vegetarian, gluten free and sugar free items. Call or go to Facebook (Breaking Bread Café NC) to find out what our specials are.

BRYSON CITY CORK & BEAN A MOUNTAIN SOCIAL HOUSE 16 Everett St.,Bryson City. 828.488.1934.

Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 3p.m., Full Menu 3 to 9 p.m. Serving fresh and delicious weekday morning lite fare, lunch, dinner, and brunch. Freshly prepared menu offerings range from house-made soups & salads, lite fare & tapas, crepes, specialty sandwiches and burgers. Be sure not to miss the bold flavors and creative combinations that make up the daily Chef

Supper Specials starting at 5pm every day.

Followed by a tempting selection of desserts prepared daily by our chefs and other local bakers. Enjoy craft beers on tap, as well as our full bar and eclectic wine list.

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

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

CHURCH STREET DEPOT 34 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.246.6505. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Mouthwatering all beef burgers and dogs, hand-dipped, hand-spun real ice cream shakes and floats, fresh handcut fries. Locally sourced beef. Indoor and outdoor dining. facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot, twitter.com/ChurchStDepot.

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

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

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

Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

THE CLASSIC WINESELLER 20 Church Street, Waynesville.

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

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

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

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

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

Smoky Mountain News

(828) 246-0927

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

WAYNESVILLE’S BEST BURGERS

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde

828-456-1997 blueroostersoutherngrill.com Monday-Friday Open at 11am 22

Real Local Families, Real Local Farms, Real Local Food

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

34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 Mtwitter.com/ChurchStDepot C facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot

tasteTHEmountains FERRARA PIZZA & PASTA 243 Paragon Parkway, Clyde.

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

FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St., Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; Dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors. .

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

Open 7 days a week at 5 p.m. Located in the historic Hooper’s Drugstore, Guadalupe Café is a chef-owned and operated restaurant serving Caribbean inspired fare complimented by a quirky selection of wines and microbrews. Supporting local farmers of organic produce, livestock, hand-crafted cheese, and using sustainably harvested seafood.

JOEY'S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Winter hours: 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Joey’s is a family style restaurant that has been serving breakfast to the locals and visitors of Western North Carolina since 1966. Featuring a large variety of tempting pancakes, golden waffles, country style cured ham and seasonal specials spiked with flavor, Joey's is sure to please all appetites.

Join us for what has become a tradition in these parts, breakfast at Joey’s.

MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva.

828.586.3555. Open Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Handtossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch.

Beer and wine. Free movies with showtimes at 6:30 and 9 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Visit madbatterfoodandfilm.com for this week’s shows.

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Sunday. Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood (available in full and lighter sizes), thin crust pizza, homemade soups, salads hand tossed at your table. Fine wine and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, dine indoors, outside on the patio or at the bar.

Reservations appreciated.

PATIO BISTRO 30 Church Street, Waynesville.

828.454.0070. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Breakfast bagels and sandwiches, gourmet coffee, deli sandwiches for lunch with homemade soups, quiches, and desserts. Wide selection of wine and beer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Featuring daily $6 lunch specials and daily dinner specials such as $1 Taco Tuesdays and 45¢ Wednesday Wings. Backyard Bar is open every weekend thru October. Join us for every NFL game.

SMOKEY SHADOWS LODGE 323 Smoky Shadows Lane, Maggie Valley 828.926.0001. Check Facebook page for hours, which vary. Call early when serving

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville.

Using only the freshest ingredients in homemade soups, salads and sandwiches. Come in and see for yourself why Smoky Mountain Sub Shop was voted # 1 in Haywood County.

Locally owned and operated.

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

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

Located across from the Fire Station.

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

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

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

TRAILHEAD CAFE & BAKERY 18 N Main Street, Waynesville.

828.452.3881 Open 7 days a week MondaySaturday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. You will find a delicious selection of pastries & donuts, breakfast & lunch along with a fresh coffee & barista selection. Happy Trails!

VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin.

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

WAYNESVILLE PIZZA COMPANY 32 Felmet Street, Waynesville.

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

Friday, March 17th

ST. PATTY’S DAY SPECIAL MENU

Reuben Paninis, Irish Stew & $5 Flights of Local NC Beers.

Join us for lunch or dinner!

3 E JACKSON ST. • SYLVA, NC

www.CityLightsCafe.com

Real New Yorkers.

Real Italians. Real Pizza.

Dine-In ~ Take Out ~ Delivery

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

Just to serve you!

Featuring: Calzones · Stromboli Subs · Pasta and More

Smoky Mountain News

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

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner.

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

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

Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot.

Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections. Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies.

because restaurant fills up fast. Remember when families joined each other at the table for a delicious homemade meal and shared stories about their day? That time is now at Smokey Shadows. The menus are customizable for your special event. Group of eight or more can schedule their own dinner.

March 8-14, 2017

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

Open for dinner at 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Worldfamous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome. Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

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

NOW OPEN SUNDAYS NOON to 8 P.M. Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

243 Paragon Parkway | Clyde

828-476-5058

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

Through the fingertips, echoes the history Duo explores, shares lore of American roots music

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER ou know, history becomes personal,” Reggie Harris said to a silent auditorium last Sunday afternoon. “These are our stories, and our history — black and white — on this long road of broken dreams and possibilities.”

Sitting onstage at the Swain Arts Center in Bryson City, Harris was joined by Scott Ainslie during their “Black and White and Blues” program, which received support from the North Carolina Arts Council.

The duo, both folk singers, scholars and historians, weaved through the origins of the music of the American South. It’s European.

It’s African. It’s also a hybrid, filled with the sounds of the blues, bluegrass, folk and mountain music. It’s as dark as it is uplifting. And the wisdom these melodies conjure is as vital nowadays and it was hundreds of years ago when this country was in its infancy.

“It’s always a pleasure to come here into the mountains of Western North Carolina because there’s so much history and culture still here, still preserved,” Harris told the audience numbering around 50. “The arts remind us of who we are, the spirits that keep us in touch with each other.”

Ainslie is the author of the best-selling Robert Johnson At The Crossroads. Over the years, he’s been awarded the “Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award” from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College, an “Indie Award” from The Independent in Durham and a “Living Heritage Award” from the National Slide Guitar Festival.

Harris is steeped in the storytelling traditions of his mentors, who range from Pete Seeger to Harry Belafonte to Bernice Johnson Reagon. He’s also a founding artist in the John F. Kennedy Center’s “Changing Education Through the Arts” program, and currently serves as musical education director and is a board member of the UU Living Legacy Project, an organization committed to increasing the knowledge of the modern Civil Rights movement.

“We are all given a role to play in life. And I’m just optimistic enough to think that if we simply perform our duties in the world with kindness and compassion, aiding those in need, afflicting those who abuse us or others, and generally putting our hands carefully on the wheel and giving it a shove in the direction of peace and justice, then the world will get better,” Ainslie said. “A portion of this is sorting out the difference between our heritage, which is filled with violence and racism, and our legacy, which is what we pass on. We can choose to not pass on the hatred, the violence, the racism

“Y

Musicians and historians Scott Ainslie (left) and Reggie Harris (right) presented their “Black and White and Blues” program in Bryson City on March 5.

Garret K. Woodward photo

“These are our stories, and our history — black and white — on this long road of broken dreams and possibilities.”

— Reggie Harris

and bigotry that so easily comes to citizens of this country. But, it will be a struggle within and without ourselves to do so. I can actually think of no more worthy struggle.”

Watching Harris and Ainslie bounce off each other with stories and songs, amid a wealth of musical knowledge and sheer stage presence, you found yourself soaked in the horrors and quest for redemption that still haunt the ashamed or forgotten chapters of our nation’s past. Images start rolling through your mind of lynch mobs, water cannons, barking dogs and signs that say “Whites Only,” the faces of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Medger Evers, the voices of Charlie Patton, Son House and Odetta.

“You can’t understand the present, or formulate the future, without knowing the past.

America has been very good at erasing its history and replacing it with weak, baseless bromides. The country was founded as a slave nation bent on genocide when it came to Native peoples,” Ainslie said. “By forgetting our history of repression and violence, we

Want to know more?

For more information on the “Black and White and Blues” program, visit www.kimandreggie.com (Reggie Harris) or www.cattailmusic.com (Scott Ainslie). The Swain Arts Center can be reached at www.facebook.com/swainartcenter. chain ourselves and our society to that past and prevent it from realizing a future that could be fairer, less lethal to people of color, and economically better off. The nation is dragging slavery and racism around like a ball and chain around its feet. The very first step toward progress involves admitting you have a problem. We, as a nation, are no closer to transcending our past and race than it was in the mid-19th century, largely because we are in denial about what our nation has done and continues to do.”

A thick air of sadness wafted through the auditorium when Harris spoke of tracking down the plantation right outside of Richmond, Virginia, where his family worked as slave labor, and how the ghosts of one’s ancestry are always alongside one’s own personal journey. It was as if you could feel the beads of sweat rolling down your face, the sound of whips cracking, the tears shed in anger and confusion as to why you are there, in the depths of a day-in-day-out hell.

“We have, as a culture, become less adept at

acknowledging the struggle and celebration of life in the simple way that the blues makes relevant. People are used to complaining about their lot in life, but I feel that collective sense of being connected to a universal humanity has diminished,” Harris said. “Telling that story, blues style, is a great way of pulling people into the common frame of shared ups and downs that help us to feel each other’s pain and unite in our shared journey while also being able to state our personal story.”

If there’s one thing you could take away from the “Black and White and Blues” program, it would that where we stand today isn’t too far from where we stood at the turn of the 20th century, let alone the turn of the 19th century. If there were two things you could take away from the program, it would be that, and also the glimmer of hope projected by Harris and Ainslie — a black guy and a white guy, side-byside, walking towards a better tomorrow.

“Within the current political and social climate, there is, obviously, a deep sense of unrest and of people feeling disconnected and unrepresented — history tends to be cyclical,” Harris said. “So, the issues and the ways that people address them, with adaptations and generational changes, are important to note and pass on. I see a rise in the energy around using music, visual arts and other forms, which would include forms made possible in the virtual world, to advance the cause of justice, freedom and community engagement. We are singing again in old and new ways to deal with the issues of a changing world.”

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Tsali Recreation Area.

on to the actions you think need to be made — in high school, college and in adulthood.

I find in my own endeavors, it’s been cathartic, and also scary, when trying to figure out just who you are, making sense of why you are the way you are, and what specific moments put you on this trajectory.

It’s OK, though, for why would you not want to dust off those forgotten, disregarded or “Do Not Open” boxes in the closet of your mind?

It’s a funny thing to look at those old photos, haphazardly taken with a disposable camera, before smart phones and second chances at a symmetrical, flattering image.

There is smiling and innocence, a lack of responsibility and obligations, all before you stepped out into the “real world,” as they say. Those smiles and that sense of innocence are still there, within all of us, but we tend to forget or disregard it as adults simply because you feel you either don’t deserve happiness or it seems like some far-off thing that’s unattainable or unrealistic.

That Sunday afternoon, I went for a long, quiet trail run through the Tsali Recreation Area just west of Bryson City. The sounds of my feet crunching along the dirt trail, heavy breathing while striding joyously up steep hills, where your legs feel like a muscle car with a full tank of gas to burn. Life is a lot like that run. You know it may hurt, but you attack those hills with everything you’ve got, only to stand atop the ridge, rewarded with one of the most serene and picturesque views — yours and yours alone.

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

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

she had chosen another path. Would she be happier, perhaps more sure of herself and her endeavors? Sure, her child is the center of her universe. Of course. But, the ole “what if ” tends to rear its ugly head when you find yourself in unfamiliar territory. You start to question your moves in that great chess game that is life, questioning your ability to corner and checkmate your dreams.

I find the further I push down the road of life, it’s the strange things (which are good things) that are what becomes normal, and what was once normal becomes odd and, perhaps, uncomfortable, which I think means you’re ultimately honing in on your true and beautiful self. Who doesn’t think about the past and say “what if ”? It’s one of the great mysteries of the universe, looking back at the paths that led you to the here and now, wondering if there was another, more bountiful route.

But, there isn’t, in essence. Who you are today, all of those incredible people and things you’ve been able to experience, was (is) only possible by you taking this exact line on the map of your existence. Warts and all, even in the darkest of times, you’re still alive, still aware of the emotions running through your soul. And of which, your true colors emerge in how you react, where you’re not defined by what happened, but by how you stand up, brush off your shoulders, and keep moving forward.

I think the beauty of getting older is digging deeper within your soul. You spend so much time keeping your eye “on the prize” while growing up, sometimes with blinders

Garret K. Woodward photo

The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host a special dinner evening with The Russ Wilson Duo (jazz/swing) at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 11.

It came out of the blue.

Sunday morning. My smart ”The Nile Project” will be presented at 7:30 phone dinged next to my bed. I p.m. Monday, March 13, in the Bardo Arts groaned, rolled over and reached Center at Western Carolina University. for it. One eye open, my blurry vision tried to make out the Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host The Get sender in the message. It was a Right Band (rock/funk) at 8 p.m. Saturday, name I hadn’t spoken to in severMarch 11. al years, more than a decade since we’d seen each other in person.

The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will It was an ex-girlfriend of host The Dirty Soul Revival (rock/blues) at 9 mine. From way back in the day, p.m. Friday, March 10. so far back, it was a time when I A “BBQ & Brews Dinner Train” will be didn’t sport a beard or have any departing at 7 p.m. Friday, March 17, at the inclination of being a writer.

Great Smoky Mountain Railroad depot in There was never any animosity or Bryson City. ill will between us in the breakup, more of a blindsided decision And within this process of relocating amid the distractions of youthful transgrescame her inner desire to peel back the layers sions and the unknown road in front of you of her past, to make sense of just why and — so much time ahead, so why get tied how she found herself at this moment in down now, you know? time, all the way back to the starting line. So, After years wandering around America throwing caution into the air, she reached and abroad, she recently moved back to our native North Country. Going through a sepa- out and spilled the beans of her trials and tribulations, all in an effort to find some ration, here she is with her young kid, trying kind of footing in her current physical and to start over from scratch after years of emotional landscape. building a life together with someone, or at She wondered what life would be like if least trying to.

POISON

LEE BRICE

OLD DOMINION

B I L LY C U R R I N G TO N

M A Y 12

M AY 6

J U N E 10

M AY 19

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March 8-14, 2017

I remember you, the one in the dusty photos

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On the beat ‘Mouth of the South’ returns to Classic Wineseller

The sounds of the Nile

The Russ Wilson Duo (jazz/swing) will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

Known as the “Mouth of the South,” Wilson is one of the most renowned jazz, swing and gypsy jazz singers in Southern Appalachia. Tickets are $22.99 per person, which includes dinner.

For reservations, call 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

The Russ Wilson Duo will play Waynesville on March 11. Donated photo

“The Nile Project” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 13, in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. There will also be a performance at 10 a.m. March 13 at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

The event is a collaboration with universities across the state, which will bring music from 11 countries in east Africa — all connected by the Nile River — to North Carolina for a series of musical celebrations. A cross-cultural collaboration, the project features artists who develop new songs drawn from the rich diversity of one of the oldest places on earth, home to more than 450 million people.

AMERICANA AT HART

March 8-14, 2017

Americana act The Jane Kramer Duo will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at Harmons’ Den Bistro at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Dinner, wine and beer available for purchase. $5 cover charge. www.harttheatre.org.

j • Andrews Brewing Company will host Heidi Holton (blues/folk) at 2:30 p.m. March 18 during their “One-Year Anniversary Celebration” and open house (2 to 5 p.m.) at the downtown production facility. All shows are free. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• The Canton Armory will host “Winter Pickin’ in the Armory” at 7 p.m. every first and third Friday of the month. The event includes mountain music, vintage country, clogging and dancing. Doors open at 6 p.m. Free. www.cantonnc.com.

Smoky Mountain News

“The Nile Project” uses its music to inspire, inform, and connect Nile citizens to help them work together on cultivating the sustainability of their river. Instruments from the Nile’s sources in East Africa and Ethiopia to the deltas in Sudan and Egypt come together creating new musical styles, supporting vocals in more than 10 languages.

Tickets for the Cullowhee show are $8 forj students, $24 for the general public and $20 for WCU faculty/staff. www.wcu.edu.

Tickets for the Waynesville show are free for WCU students, $3 for Haywood County School Students and $5 for the general public. www.folkmootusa.org.

• CJ’s Grille (Bryson City) will host a St. Patrick’s Day party at 7 p.m. March 17.

828.488.9880.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Joe Cruz (piano/pop) March 10 and 18, and Bohemian Jean (pop/acoustic) March 17. There will also be a special dinner evening with The Russ Wilson Duo (jazz/swing) March 11, with tickets $22.99 per person. All events begin at 7 p.m.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host Frogtown (bluegrass/blues) March 17 and Ryan Sheley (singer-songwriter) March 18.

Both shows are free and begin at 7:30 p.m.

26 www.curraheebrew.com.

• Derailed Bar & Lounge (Bryson City) will have music at 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

828.488.8898.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Good Direction (classic rock) 7 p.m. March 11 and Mindframe (rock) 7 p.m. March 17. All shows are free. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night March 8 and 15, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo March 9 and 16. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

ALSO:

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Karaoke with T&J March 10, The Get Right Band (rock/funk) March 11 and Frogtown (bluegrass/blues) March 18. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. 828.349.2337 or www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lee’s at the Depot (Dillsboro) will host a St. Patrick’s Day celebration March 17. Food and drink specials all day. Live music by Jeremy “Wineaux Jones” Sims at 7 p.m. www.facebook.com/leesdillsboro.

• No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host The Orange Constant (rock) March 10, Swinging Tire Drinking Choir (bluegrass/roots) March

11, Log Noggins (rock/funk) March 17, The Colby Deitz Band (Americana/rock) March 18 and Devils Cut w/St. Christopher Western (Americana) March 20. All shows are free and begin at 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.nonamesportspub.com.

• The Oconaluftee Visitor Center (Cherokee) will host a back porch old-time music jam from 1 to 3 p.m. March 18. All are welcome to come play or simply sit and listen to sounds of Southern Appalachia.

• The Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host Heidi Holton (blues/folk) March 10, The Ozone Spiders (Americana) March 11, St. Patrick’s Day celebration March 17 and Corporate Square March 18.

All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.rathskellerfranklin.com.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic with Jimandi at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays, “Funky Friday” with Bud Davis at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Isaish Breedlove (Americana) at 7 p.m. on Saturdays. 828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.

• Sneak E Squirrel Brewing (Sylva) will host Jangling Sparrows at 8 p.m. March 11 and Heidi Holton (blues/folk) 8 p.m. March 18.

There will also be line dancing every Friday

at 7 p.m. and contra dancing every other Friday at 8 p.m. 828.586.6440.

N

• The Strand at 38 Main (Waynesville) will N host bluegrass/folk-roots act The April Verch Band will perform at 6 p.m. March 12.

Tickets are $15 per person. There will also be an “Open Mic” night from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. All are welcome. 828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host Andalyn (rock/country) at 8 p.m. March 10. www.theuglydogpub.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host High 5 (rock) March 11 and Tea 4 Three (rock) March 18. All shows begin at 9:30 p.m.

828.526.8364 or www.theuglydogpub.com.

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host The Dirty Soul Revival (rock/blues) March 10, Post Hole Diggers album release party March 17 and Taillight Rebellion March 18. All shows begin at 9 p.m. 828.456.4750.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host flutist William Bennett at 7:30 p.m.

March 13, Faculty Recital 7:30 p.m. March 14, “Music for All” concert 7:30 p.m. March 16 and Woodwind Concert 4 p.m. March 17 in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building. www.wcu.edu.

On the beat Celtic music in Bryson City Bean Sidhe will perform their 9th annual Celtic concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Smoky Mountain Community Theatre in Bryson City.

Join Bean Sidhe (pronounced: ban-shee) for a lively evening of traditional music from the British Isles. The group began as a means for members to explore the connections linking traditional music from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales with its contemporary American counterparts, especially in the bluegrass, country, and folk genres.

Admission is $6 per person.

828.736.3921 or 828.488.8227 or www.greatsmokies.com.

Bryson City community jam

Dirty Soul at the ‘Hole

Andrews get the blues Andrews Brewing Company will host Heidi Holton (blues/folk) at 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 18, which will be during their “One-Year Anniversary Celebration� and open house (2 to 5 p.m.) at the downtown production facility. Free. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

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Smoky Mountain News

The Dirty Soul Revival (rock/blues) will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, March 10, at the Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.

The band has been rolling their way through every sticky floor barroom and back alley dive in Southern Appalachia with their hard edge brand of rock. Think of a more darker, dirtier version of The Black Keys, or perhaps, if The Allman Brothers leaned more towards Steppenwolf, all with a steadfast motto of “no compromise.�

828.456.4750 or www.thedirtysoulrevival.com.

S Banking... Simplified

March 8-14, 2017

A community music jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen.

The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of Grampa’s Music in Bryson City.

The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn old-time mountain songs. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — year-round.

This program received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment of the Arts.

828.488.3030.

Find us on Facebook. Federally Insurred by NCUA

27

On the street

March 8-14, 2017

Civil War Round Table The Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table will host “The Life Line of The Confederacy: Blockade Runners” presentation on Monday, March 13, at Western Carolina University’s H.F. Robinson building auditorium.

The evening will begin with an optional dinner at Bogart’s in Sylva for the meet-n-greet with the speaker at 5 p.m. They will then move to the auditorium at 6:30 p.m. for a lightrefreshment social mixer prior to Jeff Bockert’s presentation.

Foremost and essential to this strategy would be the blockade, General Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan, which would constrict access to and trade from those states in rebellion. To execute this policy, it would involve massive and extensive maritime and riverine operations, and as illprepared for the task as the Federal government may have been, the South was more so.

More importantly the proximity of North Carolina generally, and Wilmington (also the southern terminus of the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad) specifically, would provide excellent logistics for any European manufactured goods arriving via Bermuda. Therefore, blockade runners with a North Carolina destination would provide imported materiel to the military departments of both North and South Carolina as well as Virginia and its Army of Northern Virginia.

Slow in developing, a blockade-runner fleet would eventually number 60 plus and would be a hodge-podge of Confederate and privateer owned vessels. They would take trade goods, primarily cotton, out and return with military, manufactured and consumer goods sorely needed in the South without legitimate access to Northern markets. The cost, hyper-inflation and black markets would add to Southern future economic turmoil, and over half of the fleet would be captured, sunk, or run aground before war’s end.

When Fort Fisher fell in the winter of 1864-65, closing the last major port of the Confederacy, there would be no further help from abroad.

Bockert began his 20-plus year career in public history and currently serves as the associate curator of education for the North Carolina Division of Historic Sites based in Kinston.

For further information, call Richard Smith at 828.293.5924 or Paul Turner at 828.648.2488.

Cherokee Heritage Day The Museum of the Cherokee Indian will host “Cherokee Heritage Day” on Saturday, March 11.

The museum is offering a day of activities free of charge to the public, sponsored by the North Carolina Arts Council and the museum. Activities are suitable for all ages and will be happening from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This is the third in a yearlong series that will offer free cultural activities on the second Saturday of every month, each with a different theme. March is Anvyi, the Strawberry Moon, so activities will celebrate the appearance of the first leaves of plants. All presenters are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. American Indian food will be available 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Nikki Crisp, including fry bread and Indian tacos.

The day provides hands-on activities, demonstrations, and will end with sessions of storytelling and traditional dance. If you would like to bring a group to the event, please contact bduncan@cherokeemuseum.org.

• Workshops and cultural demonstrations will happen throughout the day. At 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., kids (and grown-ups) can learn to make traditional Cherokee pottery in a workshop with Jarrett Wildcatt. Workshops will be limited to 15 participants, and sign up will begin on the day of the workshop.

• At noon and 2 p.m., Jerry Wolfe will show the film “Plants and the Cherokee” and discuss it. He and other Cherokee elders are featured in the film, which was produced by the North Carolina Botanical Garden, Longleaf Press, and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

At 1 p.m., another tribal member will share information on plants.

• At 3 p.m., master storytellers including Kathy Littlejohn will present Cherokee stories. Littlejohn will tell stories related to food, like the “Origin of the Strawberry.”

She has performed at the Cherokee Bonfire, at Colonial Williamsburg, and throughout the Southeast. Her stories

are featured in the book Living Stories of the Cherokee, available in the Museum Store, and are available on CD. • At 4 p.m., the Cherokee Friends will lead Cherokee dances including the Bear Dance, Spring Frog Dance, and more. Audience participation is encouraged. Cherokee Friends’ activities are made possible by a grant from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

• Throughout the day, Cherokee Friends will demonstrate cultural traditions in the Museum Lobby. Richard

Saunooke will demonstrate moccasin making and wampum belt making.

• Activities for Cherokee Heritage Day are free. The Museum’s exhibits are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and include “The Story of the Cherokee People: 13,000 Years” and “Emissaries of Peace: 1762 Cherokee & British Delegations.”

Admission to museum exhibits is $11 for adults, $7 for children ages 6-13 and free for children age 5 and under.

Discounts are available for AAA, AARP, military, and groups.

For more information, call 828.497.3481 or go to www.cherokeemuseum.org.

Smoky Mountain News

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On the street

Get on the craft beer, barbeque train

A “BBQ & Brews Dinner Train” will be departing at 7 p.m. Friday, March 17, at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad depot in Bryson City.

The dinner features slow-cooked barbecue prepared fresh and beer tastings showcasing Innovation Brewing Company in Sylva.

The train travels to the Fontana Trestle and then arrives back to the depot at 9 p.m. The event is ages 21 and over. Tickets are $70.

For more information or to purchase tickets: 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

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Kakalak Journal Reception

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3 EAST JACKSON STREET • SYLVA

828-646-0907.

SATURDAY, MAR. 11 · 3 P.M. 828/586-9499 • citylightsnc.com

• There will be a “St. Patrick’s Day” dance fundraiser at 7 p.m. Friday, March 17, at the Qualla Community Building in Whittier. Free dance lessons at 6 p.m. $10. All proceeds go to benefit the Qualla Community Development Club. 828.788.0502.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host “Yoga in the Brewhouse” with Jen McIntee (of Beyond Bending) at 11 a.m. March 11. Free to the public. www.curraheebrew.com.

• There will be a free “Cooking Healthy Food” workshop from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 9, at the Pigeon Community Center in Waynesville. haywoodgleaners@gmail.com.

ALSO:

• A wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m.

March 11 and 18 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. $5 per person. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.586.6300.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host a wine tasting on Wednesdays and a craft beer tasting on Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. There will also be tapas from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. www.classicwineseller.com.

• Free cooking demonstrations will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays at Country Traditions in Dillsboro. Eat samples and taste house wines for $3 a glass. All recipes posted online. www.countrytraditionsnc.com.

Smoky Mountain News

• There will be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m. March 11 and 18 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. The will also be a “BYOB Dinner” with Chef Jackie Blevins ($60 all inclusive five courses, bring your own beer or wine) 7 p.m. March 16. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

March 8-14, 2017

• The Jackson County Genealogical Society’s “The Appalachian Women’s Museum, A Bright Future!” presentation will be on Thursday, March 9, at the Historic Jackson County Courthouse in Sylva. A “Meet & Greet” will open the evening at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m. All JCGS events are free of charge and the public is welcome. For more information, visit them on Facebook or call 828.631.2646.

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arts & entertainment

On the wall Film on incarcerated poets, playwrights

WCU fine art, crafts workshops

Western Carolina University’s Arts and Cultural Events series will present a free screening of the film “I Come From” at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 14, in the theater of A.K. Hinds University Center.

A documentary from the Southern Circuit Film Series, “I Come From” focuses on incarcerated poets and playwrights who use the power of creativity to change the direction of their lives in the country that imprisons the largest percentage of its population, the U.S. For more information contact Brandon Lokey at 828.227.7206 or by email at bklokey@wcu.edu.

Western Carolina University’s Arts and Cultural Events Committee is partnering with the university’s Art Education Club and Fine Art Museum to present a hands-on workshop series for students and local residents.

The workshops will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. one Thursday each month in Room 150 of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. They are offered to students free of charge.

Space is limited, and attendees are required to pre-register. Students can register by emailing Talitha Bowers at tcbowers1@catamount.wcu.edu and local residents can register by contacting Bobby Hensley at hensley@wcu.edu.

Materials and instruction are being provided courtesy of the Fine Art Museum, Arts and Cultural Events, and the Art Education Club.

Workshop themes are constructed to reflect concurrent exhibits in the Fine Art Museum. Participants are encouraged to attend artists’ talks and receptions from 4 to 6 p.m. at the museum and then come to Room 150 for a hands-on activity that will generate pleasing art and crafts.

• Thursday, March 16, with an opening reception and performance by animator and designer Miwa Matreyek. During the activity “Creating an Animated Film,” participants will walk through a tutorial about animating simple designs via Flash computer programming.

• Thursday, April 20, with a reception for the 49th annual Juried Undergraduate Exhibition. In “Spring Watercolor Painting,” participants will create watercolor paintings of the region’s spring landscape and flora.

For more information about the series, contact Brandon Lokey at 828.227.7206 or by email at bklokey@wcu.edu.

Smoky Mountain News

March 8-14, 2017

Photography secrets of layers and masks The Sylva Photo Club will host a presentation on layers and masks by Tim Lewis at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 11, in the Cullowhee Methodist Church at Western Carolina University.

Layers and masks are integral features of image editors and today’s photography. They give flexibility in what is shown and what is hidden without erasing any pixels of the original photograph and will produce a final image with many elements included.

“Show and Tell” will follow with the theme of “Blossoms.” Bring up to six photos representing this theme or any other you want to share. Please download pictures on a USB drive for sharing.

Cost for this program is a $5 donation for visitors (applied to membership).

Membership to the Sylva Photo Club is a $20 donation, $10 for students per year. sylvaphotoclub.wordpress.com or sylvaphotoclub@gmail.com or 828.226.3840.

• Paint Nite Waynesville will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Sign up on the Paint Night Waynesville Facebook page (search event: Brush N Brew) or call Robin Smathers at 828.400.9560. paintnitewaynesville@gmail.com.

• The High Country Quilt Guild will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the First Methodist Church in Waynesville. Members will share quilts and needlework from other cultures. The group meets the third Thursday of each month. Newcomers welcome. highcountryquilters.wordpress.com.

• “Arts Night Out” will be from 5 to 9 p.m.

March 16. Participating restaurants will donate 10 percent of their sales to the Jackson County Arts Council. For more information, visit www.mountainlovers.com.

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• The Franklin Uptown Gallery will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, March 13, at 30

East Main Street. Food and friendship at noon followed by the general meeting at 1 p.m. Carol Conti, award winning artist and instructor, will give a presentation on freeform and relieve sculptures created from repurposed materials found in your home. All are welcome. For information, call 828.349.4607.

• The “Animal Magnetism” art exhibit will run through April 1 at the Haywood County Art Council’s “Gallery & Gifts” showroom in downtown Waynesville. The exhibit celebrates our fellow creatures with animal-inspired artwork. www.haywoodarts.org.

• There will be a “Thursday Painters Open Studio” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at the Franklin Uptown Gallery. Bring a bag lunch, project and supplies. Free to the public. Membership not required. For information, call 828.349.4607.

• “I Come From,” a documentary in the

Portrait of WCU’s Belcher unveiled

Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher and first lady Susan Belcher take a look at his portrait painted by Virginia artist Steve Craighead.

A future addition to Western Carolina University’s gallery of presidential portraits was recently unveiled for the first time as the WCU Board of Trustees got a sneak peek at the recently completed likeness of Chancellor David O. Belcher.

Belcher’s portrait eventually will be displayed in WCU’s Hunter Library along with the portraits of previous presidents and chancellors of the university.

A resolution approved by the Board of Trustees in 1981 established as university policy that a portrait of each WCU chief executive officer be commissioned and added to the gallery. It is up to each chancellor to decide when his or her portrait will be added to the gallery; it is Belcher’s preference that his portrait not be included in the gallery while he is in office.

The Belcher portrait is the work of Steve

Southern Circuit series, will be screened at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, in the University Center theater at Western Carolina University. It focuses on incarcerated poets and playwrights who use the power of creativity to change the direction of their lives in the country that imprisons the largest percentage of its population, the U.S. For tickets, visit bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or call 828.227.2479.

ALSO:

• The “Vintage Inspired Easter Shadow Box” workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 16, at the Jackson County Extension Office in Sylva. Instructor Sherri Roper will be teaching this class using small boxes and embellishments to create one-ofa-kind shadow boxes. You may want to bring your own tiny treasures, keepsakes, or heirlooms to include in your unique project. The cost is only $10 and all supplies are provided. To register, 828.586.4009.

Craighead, an award-winning artist whose works have won numerous honors at Portrait Society of America competitions. Based in Manassas, Virginia, Craighead has completed portraits for leaders in the corporate, political, business and educational sectors. Among his subjects are former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore and Tom Ross, former president of the University of North Carolina system.

The portrait commission process was guided by three members of the WCU staff – Mark Haskett, director of photography and videography services; Denise Drury Homewood, executive director of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center; and Terry Welch, former assistant to the chancellor, who retired last August.

The portraits are paid for through private donations. No state funds are used for artist commissions or expenses.

• Sneak E Squirrel Brewing (Sylva) will host art openings with Rebecca Lind March 9 and Tyler McKinney March 23. Both events begin at 7 p.m. 828.586.6440.

• The Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild members will share their creativity and workmanship in a “My Favorite Quilt” presentation at 9:30 a.m. Monday, March 13, at the Tartan Hall in Franklin. Both new and experienced quilters will find inspiration in the guild’s handmade quilts and discussion. All interested in the art of quilt making are welcome to attend. For more information, visit www.smokymountainquiltersguild.org.

• The Western North Carolina Woodturners Club, Inc. will be meeting at 6 p.m.

Thursday, March 9, at the Blue Ridge School in Glenville. The school is located on Bobcat Drive. Drive to the back of the school to the woodworking shop. Visitors are always welcome. The club meets the second Thursday of every month.

On the stage arts & entertainment

Simon comedy at HART The Neil Simon comedy hit “Prisoner of 2nd Ave” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. March 10-11 and 2 p.m. March 12 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

The play premiered on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on Nov. 11, 1971, and closed on Sept. 29, 1973, after 798 performances and four previews. Directed by Mike Nichols, the cast featured Peter Falk and Lee Grant starring as Mel and Edna Edison, and Vincent Gardenia as Mel's brother Harry.

Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for students. The Harmons’ Den Bistro will be open for dining before the evening performances and for Sunday Brunch. Patrons do not have to be attending the performance to dine in the bistro.

To make reservations for the play or for dinner, call the HART box office at 828.456.6322 or go online to www.harttheatre.org.

Dinner and a play

www.highlandscashiersplayers.org or call the box office number at 828.526.8084.

‘Charlotte’s Web’ to hit the stage A production of “Charlotte’s Web” will be performed at 7 p.m. March 17-18 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

E.B. White’s beloved children's tale is brought to life on stage in this faithful adaptation, which finds the young farm pig, Wilbur, attempting to avoid a dire fate. Of all the barnyard creatures, Wilbur's most treasured friend is Charlotte, a thoughtful spider who devises an intriguing plan to keep the gentle little swine out of the slaughterhouse.

Although Charlotte’s efforts, which involve words written in her delicate web, seem farfetched, they may just work.

Presented by the Overlook Theatre Company. Tickets are $12. www.greatmountainmusic.com.

is an audience participation, interactive show. www.smctheatre.com or 828.488.8227.

• The Highlands Performing Arts Center will continue the “Live via Satellite” series with the MET Opera’s production of “La Traviata”

by Verdi at 12:55 p.m.

Saturday, March 11.

There will be a preopera discussion led by Beverly Wichman at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www.highlandspac.org, at the door or by calling 828.526.9047.

ALSO:

• There will be an improv show at 5:30 p.m.

March 15 in the Niggli Theatre at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

To find investing-life balance, work with a professional You know what you want retirement to look like, and leaving a comfortable legacy for your loved ones is a priority. But free time feels a lot less free when you spend more time than you’d like managing your investments. Working with a professional portfolio manager can help you find the right balance between living life and investing for the future.

Call for a complimentary portfolio consultation.

Larry East CFP® First Vice President – Investments 52 Walnut St., Suite 6 Waynesville, NC 28786 Office: (828) 456-7407 larry.east@wellsfargoadvisors.com https://home.wellsfargoadvisors.com/larry.east

Granville Younce , CFP® Financial Advisor 52 Walnut Street, Suite 6 Waynesville, NC 28786 Office: (828) 456-7407 granville.younce@wfadvisors.com www.home.wellsfargoadvisors.com/gran

Larry East CFP® First Vice President – Investments 52 Walnut St., Suite 6 Waynesville, NC 28786 Office: (828) 456-7407 larry.east@wellsfargoadvisors.com https://home.wellsfargoadvisors.com/larry.east

Granville Younce , CFP® Financial Advisor 52 Walnut Street, Suite 6 Waynesville, NC 28786 Office: (828) 456-7407 granville.younce@wfadvisors.com www.home.wellsfargoadvisors.com/granville.younce

Investment and Insurance Products: NOT FDIC Insured NO Bank Guarantee MAY Lose Value Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. © 2016 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. All rights reserved.

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The Smoky Mountain Community Theater in Bryson City is will be holding auditions for “An Awesome 80s Prom” at 6 p.m.

March 20-21.

Each actor will be given a script and monologue. There will be some improv involved. No theater previous experience necessary. Those with a dance background are encouraged. Also volunteers who would be interested in stage management, costume, make up and props are encouraged to come.

Those auditioning must be 14 years or older.

No headshots or resumes required, but encouraged if available. This is not an age exclusive production. They require a large cast. They are seeking 12 males and eight females for roles. It

(828) 452-4747 WWW.SSS-TOPS.COM

Smoky Mountain News

Open call for actors

Solid Surface Specialists

62 Communications Dr., Waynesville • Appointments Suggested

March 8-14, 2017

The Highlands Cashiers Players will host a dinner and a play with the production of “Middletown USA” on March 9-11 at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Highlands.

In the play, the life stories of two couples, who have been friends for 33 years, are told with both laughter and tears as the couples share each other’s joys and sorrows. Four of HCP’s talented and experienced actors will portray the two couples: Michael Lanzilotta, Adair Simon, Ralph Stevens and Lauretta Payne. Ellen Greenwald is directing.

The audience will be seated at tables that accommodate eight. Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner served at 6:30 p.m., play presented without intermission at 7:45 p.m. Dessert after the play will conclude the evening. Wine will be available at a cash bar.

The play is the third play of the season subscription series with no extra charge.

Other tickets are priced at $32 for dinner and play. For reservations, contact HCP online at

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

Burke’s writing shines in The Jealous Kind n The Jealous Kind (Simon and Schuster, 2016, 400 pages, $27.99), novelist James Lee Burke drops his readers into Houston, Texas, in the 1950s: drive-in restaurants, jukeboxes, duck-tailed punks, jacked-up cars, and teenagers discovering the tangled Writer moral code of the adult world into which they are about to enter.

Burke tells his story through one of these teens, Aaron Holland Broussard, age 17 and a rising high school senior.

One evening, Aaron breaks up a quarrel at a drive-in theater between the beautiful Valerie Epstein, a Jewish girl his own age whose father is a leftist ideologue and whose mother was murdered by Nazis, and Grady Harrelson, a spoiled, older man-boy whose father is a racist and anti-Semite with ties to the Mob. Aaron’s interference in this quarrel between Grady and Valerie draws him into a web of lies and crimes, including drugs and murder. His foul-mouth, hilarious best friend Saber accompanies Aaron as events drag them deeper into the criminal underworld.

As the novel unfolds, we come to see that Grady, like his father, is tied to some high-powered criminals, men associated with big-time mobsters like Bugsy Siegel, evil men who made their bones by drugrunning, extortion, gambling, and murder. Aaron, Valerie, Saber, and their families soon find themselves fighting for their lives against a combination of renegade Mexican dealers, corrupt police, and shadowy Mafia hit men.

James Lee Burke is regarded as one of today’s best suspense writers, and The Jealous Kind reminds us why he wears that accolade. His characters live and breathe on the page. Aaron is the quintessential insecure teenager, uncertain of whether he has the courage to face up to the enemies he accrues throughout the story. His father, a functioning alcoholic and World War I veteran who five times charged over the top against the Germans, offers Aaron wisdom and guidance during his ordeal. Though the pranks of Aaron’s friend Saber seem a little much at times, Saber does remind us of that kid we knew in high school who

Jeff Minick

I

Pat Conroy, Burke possesses a near magical talent for vividly describing landscape and weather. In his novels of Dave Robicheaux, a private detective living near New Orleans, we feel the humidity of Canal Street, taste the jambalaya, catch the scent of the bayou.

In The Jealous Kind, Burke recreates the Houston of 60 years ago, the heat of the summer, the energy of the streets, the cheap diner food, the way the Texas sky looks at sunrise.

In addition, Burke demonstrates, as he did in his other novels, an awareness of the past and the part history plays in our lives.

William Faulkner once said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” an axiom Burke has certainly taken to heart. Not only are all of his characters driven by their own past, but Aaron’s father, who is compiling a history of the family’s involvement in the Civil War, reminds us through those writings and through Aaron’s contemplaThe Jealous Kind by James Lee Burke. Simon and tion of them of the meaning Schuster, 2016. 400 pages. of heroism. Compared to his ancestors, his father, and Valerie’s father, Aaron considers himself thugs, in particular Vick Atlas, whose less than heroic. Through Aaron, The father is head of a powerful criminal Jealous Kind raises the question: What machine, bring believable elements of exactly is a hero? terror and disgust to the story. Cisco Finally, the quality of the writing in Napolitano, a woman caught up in The Jealous Kind, as in all of Burke’s novdrugs, prostitution, and the Mob, and els, make reading this book a true pleaswho takes a liking to Aaron, is so finely ure. His timing and rhythm in his sendrawn a character that we can undertences are impeccable. Here, for examstand Aaron’s attraction to her. ple, is one declaration by a much older Burke also captures the era of the Aaron regarding love: Korean War, McCarthyism, and “There is a certain kind of love that’s forEisenhower. He gives us the cars people ever. It’s not marked by a marital vow, or loved and drove, the way those same social custom, or gender identity, or the age people dressed, the restaurants they of the parties involved. It’s a love that would have visited, the gritty underside doesn’t even need to be declared. Its presence of those days not only for blacks and in your life is as factual as the sun rising in other minorities but for poor whites as the morning. You do not argue in its defense well. Television’s “Happy Days” gave us or try to explain or justify it to others. The the idyllic picture of the 1950s; Burke other party moves into your heart and gives us the dark side of the same coin, remains with you the rest of your days. The the impoverished struggling to make bond is never broken, any more than you can ends meet, the gangsters who built Las separate yourself from your body or soul.”

Vegas and brought heroin into the counA great read from a wonderful writer. try, the swift, hard, and sometimes vioJeff Minick is the author of several books. lent transition from youth to adulthood. minick0301@gmail.com.

Like Charleston’s recently deceased was always pushing the limits, who saw through anything bogus or false and challenged it. Burke’s vicious, perverted

Recipe collection to raise funds for autism The Perrone family of Maggie Valley has been serving Italian comfort food to friends and family in American restaurants for more than 40 years. Now they’re putting all of that experience into a fund-raising effort as part of National Autism Awareness Month.

During April, Frank and Louis Perrone, award-winning father and son chef/proprietors of Frankie’s Trattoria in Maggie Valley, will be sharing their legendary recipes in a cookbook titled Frankie’s Libro di Cucina — Reminiscing and Cooking with Frank “The Kid” Perrone.

All proceeds from sales of the book will help fund Richie’s Alliance for Autism and support the Olsen Huff Center of Mission Children’s Hospital in Western North Carolina.

Pre-order forms will be available at www.frankiestrattoria.com in March for signed copies to be delivered beginning in mid-April.

• Contributors from Kakalak will read their selections featured in the journal at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. Kakalak is an annual publication of poetry and art

by North and South Carolina writers and artists. All work is selected through an annual contest which has a May deadline. Main Street Rag publishes Kakalak. To reserve copies of the journal, call City Lights Bookstore at 828.586.9499.

ALSO:

• Spoken word artist Carlos Andres Gomez will perform at 8 p.m. March 17 in UC Illusions Room 309 at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

Superhero sequel release Western Carolina University alumnus and author Tyler Cook will present his fourth book Vigilante at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

It’s been a year since Aluria appeared as the hero of Canton.

He’s become a myth to many, a hero to some, and a threat to others. Among those who think he is an outlaw are those working at the Major Case Squad, who fear he will go too far and become the villain the vigilante hopes to rid the city of.

This fear escalates when people are found murdered with a blade shaped like Aluria’s insignia. Could this new hero really be to blame, and if not, can he clear his name and find the person who is behind everything?

Released in 2016, Aluria has been named the No. 1 bestselling superhero on www.amazon.com multiple times, as well as reaching their overall bestseller list.

Contact Cook at moonshinepressnc@gmail.com or visit www.tylermcook.com.

Book club celebrates Edgerton The Canton Library Adult Book Club will meet at 3:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 16, at the library.

The March book club selection is any book by North Carolina author Clyde Edgerton. He is the author of 10 novels, a book of advice, a memoir, short stories, and essays.

He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and five of his novels have been New York Times Notable Books. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and is the Thomas S. Kenan III Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UNC Wilmington.

He lives in Wilmington with his wife, Kristina, and their children.

828.648.2924.

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Smoky Mountain News

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

River park would boost visitation, tax revenues A LONG TIME COMING Public hearing The river park idea isn’t merely an off-theconcept that Custer’s tossing to see if it planned on proposed cuff will float. It’s the result of years of discussion and study from leaders across the county. development Even back in 2013, before the 17.6-acre

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER elly Custer has been a lifelong lover of the outdoors, from playing sports as a kid to mountaineering adventures in farflung regions of Bolivia and Peru as an adult.

Now, the Jackson County businessman is hoping to get others exploring Western North Carolina’s outdoor opportunities — specifically, those afforded by the stretch of the Tuckasegee River flowing through Dillsboro.

Last year, Custer formed the company Western North Carolina Outdoor Development with an eye to bid on a piece of property that’s been publicly owned since 2013, when Duke Energy turned it over to Dillsboro following removal of the Dillsboro Dam. Dillsboro sold it to Jackson County for $350,000 in 2014, and ever since the county’s been looking for a way to turn the undeveloped tract into a win for economic development.

If county commissioners approve the deal following a public hearing at 5:30 p.m.

Monday, March 20, then Custer’s company will purchase 7 acres for development of an outdoor adventure park, billed as a family-oriented, multi-purpose adventure center offering rafting, retail and primitive cabins and campsites for paddling enthusiasts and fishermen. The finished park could also include such diverse activities as zip lines, ropes courses or climbing walls. The larger share of the property is located along Mockingbird Lane across the river from the C.J. Harris Access Area, with a smaller portion adjacent to the access area along North River Road.

This wouldn’t be Custer’s first foray into the world of outdoor-centric business. He founded Sheds Hunting Supply in 2014, and in 2015 he purchased Blackrock Outdoor Company, adding the Orvis Fly Shop to that endeavor. This year, Blackrock opened an outpost store on the Western Carolina University campus. Custer also owns Current Medical Services and Current Dermatology.

However, this type of service-oriented business would represent a branching out for Custer, and he said he’s excited to take on the challenge.

“Our county is a gateway to some of the best and most visited tourist attractions in the whole country,” he said. “Many folks pass right by Dillsboro and through Jackson County on their way to the (Great Smoky Mountains National) Park or Cherokee. We want to provide reasons for these tourists to stop and visit us and hope to convert them to returning customers as a result of their experience with us. “

K

property was officially deeded to Dillsboro and a year before it came under Jackson County’s possession, the concept of a riverfront park was discussed and deemed a frontrunner possibility for the property’s future.

For the past two years, Jackson County

plain study for a total investment of $926,000.

However, Custer would have some responsibilities as well. The agreement requires him to create at least 10 full-time jobs at or above Jackson County’s prevailing wage and a seasonal workforce of 50 to 80 workers. He’d have to provide the county with monthly and quarterly data on the salary and wages of all vendors and allow public access to any greenway constructed.

“At certain intervals there’s a measurement taken to determine whether or not they have met the requirements they were required to

with NOC, Western Carolina University economics professor Inhyuck Steve Ha, Ph.D., produced an analysis projecting how many visitors such a development might attract and what the resulting economic impact and tax revenue might be.

By the end of 10 years, the study said, the park would be attracting 33,000 people per year, 60 percent of whom would stay overnight. This would result in $5.8 million of direct spending, $8.6 million in multiplied spending and $372,000 in yearly sales and property tax revenue.

The county’s projected numbers for Custer’s proposed development appear to be of a similar magnitude. By the end of 10 years, the county expects to see $931,000 in total property, sales and occupancy tax revenue, as well as $60 million in multiplied spending and visitation increases of 25,000 to 40,000 per year.

If approved, construction could begin as early as April with the park operational in 2018 and complete by 2019.

BOOSTING A SMALL-TOWN ECONOMY

The undeveloped land shown to the far right and far left could become an outdoor adventure park if a proposal before the Jackson County Commissioners is approved. Holly Kays photo Economic Development Director Rich Price has been working to make that idea a reality, talking with multiple companies in hopes of working out a deal. In February 2016, the Sylva Herald reported that outdoor retail giant Nantahala Outdoor Center was in negotiations for the property, discussing a 10-year lease in which it would pay $1 per year for the first three years and a percentage of the revenues thereafter. NOC was set to finalize the deal in a special-called meeting, but the meeting was cancelled after the negotiations were made public, and it was never rescheduled.

It was around that time that Custer formed WNC Outdoor Development and began his own negotiations with the county.

The deal they worked out, released Feb. 21 when the public hearing date was set, would sell 7 usable acres of the 17.6-acre property — only about 10 of those acres are usable, due to the remainder sitting in the riverbed — for $50,000. That’s far less than its $791,000 market value or the $350,000 purchase price, and the county would also provide a water and sewer extension, site preparation and a flood-

Be heard The Jackson County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposed river park development at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 20, in room A201 of the Jackson County Justice and Administration Center.

A draft of the proposed agreement and a slide presentation on the project are online via links posted to the lower right-hand corner at www.jacksonnc.org.

meet, and if not they either have to pay a certain amount of money or the property reverts back to the county,” said Commission Chairman Brian McMahan. “So there is very real pressure to make sure they do what they say they’re going to do.”

Beyond the basic act of building a river park, what Custer has truly been charged with is creating a family-friendly tourism destination that will be an economic boon to Dillsboro and to the county as a whole.

Last year, when the county was in talks

That would be a good thing for Dillsboro, which has been struggling ever since the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad relocated its headquarters from Dillsboro to Bryson City in 2008. The train used to bring hundreds of visitors per day to downtown Dillsboro, and they’d wander around town before and after their train rides, buying meals and souvenirs from local businesses. The train’s departure hit the town hard, and though things have improved significantly in the last couple years, some see the river park proposal as a way to take that improvement even farther.

“I believe it will be a boon for the whole area, not just Dillsboro,” said Dillsboro Mayor Mike Fitzgerald.

People will come through Dillsboro to raft, Fitzgerald said, but many of them will make it into a multi-day stay, heading through Cherokee to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, searching for waterfalls in Cashiers or sampling craft brews in Sylva.

“We’re known for outdoor recreation, and this will greatly add to and enhance what we currently offer,” said the county’s tourism director Nick Breedlove.

The NOC is located just half an hour away outside Bryson City, but the proposed river park is expected to add a different dimension to river recreation in the area. The Tuck is a calm, slow-flowing river on that stretch through Dillsboro, making it a good fit for families with kids looking for that first introduction to water-based adventure.

Fitzgerald is hoping that the emphasis on family-friendly recreation will cause the river park to work its way

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Run for cystic fibrosis research

Planned closing date announced at Cataloochee The snowmaking team at Cataloochee Ski Area is back in action after a spate of warmweather days, with snowmaking planned as temperatures allow through March 11.

The ski area plans to close for the season on March 26. That’s about the same time as Cataloochee has been closing over the past several years. However, this winter’s season contained some stop-and-go as warm temperatures sometimes impeded snowmaking.

Season passes are already on sale for next season. 828.926.0285.

into many families’ regular traditions.

“I’m looking forward to a lot of families being in the area,” he said. “And as kids grow older, those kids will have memories and they’ll be bringing their kids one of these years.”

Mark Singleton, executive director of American Whitewater, says that’s a good thing.

Kelly Custer and his wife Current smile during a trip to Glacier National Park. Donated photo

PLANNING FOR TRAFFIC

cycling destination,” agreed Ken Howle, director of advancement at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, who has been involved with the Breakaway since it was just a concept.

The Breakaway is one of four signature events that the Chamber sponsors each year, and the other three are still on. One of those is the Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon, planned for Saturday, May 6, and this year including a 4-mile race as well. Sign up at haywoodchamber.com/events-calendar/signature-events/gateway-to-the-smokies-halfmarathon.

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Smoky Mountain News

Both Price and McMahan said the feedback they’ve been getting from the public has been overwhelmingly positive, though Price said he’s heard some comments from folks wanting to be sure that the development will be a good neighbor to residences and businesses and that public access to the river will be preserved.

“I think they’re concerns that our agreement addressed quite fairly,” Price said.

T.J. Walker, who owns the Dillsboro Inn just a few blocks from where the proposed park would go in, is one person whose enthusiasm for the project is tempered with caution. He welcomes the development but believes concerns about traffic congestion and pedestrian connectors must be taken

Bikers zip through the finish line at the Blue Ridge Breakaway. Donated photo

March 8-14, 2017

“Anything that connects people with the river and provides opportunities for individuals to interface with the river through whatever their chosen recreational tool is — whether it’s hiking or biking or ziplines or paddling — that’s all good,” he said. “It all translates to some kind of economic development opportunity for the community.”

seriously.

“This is a recreation park project. It looks to be fun. So long as the traffic is managed, I look forward to it being a fun project and bringing people here,” he said.

Walker compares North River Road to a “NASCAR off-road course,” with rampant speeding and little speed limit enforcement.

It’s a narrow road that might be difficult to expand, he said, and he’s concerned that the plans don’t include a pedestrian connector to Dillsboro.

“The merchants of Dillsboro have done such a good job of hanging in there the last five or six years since the railroad left and the economy took a downturn, and they need respect,” he said. “There needs to be a connector from this project to the merchants of Dillsboro.”

Price said he’s been working with the planning department to come up with a conceptual idea for a pedestrian connector, but there’s no telling when that would be built, or even whether it would come in the form of a greenway extension or of a new sidewalk. The feasibility of construction and funding is still unknown.

As to the traffic issue, Fitzgerald believes it won’t be a problem. Dillsboro has handled volume before, back when the train was running at full steam.

“We handled masses of people before that way, so that’s nothing new,” he said.

However, Walker pointed out, the train was located in downtown Dillsboro with most people arriving via U.S. 441 or U.S. 23 — not along the winding and narrow North River Road. So traffic-wise, the challenges could be different this time around.

If approved, the particulars of the plan may still need some working out. But when it comes to the basic concept, excitement appears to be high and support widespread.

“It’s certainly a big step in the right direction,” Price said. “We’ve got a solid project that I think Jackson County will be very proud of.”

The Blue Ridge Breakaway, which would have celebrated its eighth year in August, has been canceled for this year with the possibility of disappearing altogether following a review for the 2018 season.

After researching the ride’s feasibility for 2017, the Haywood Chamber of Commerce’s finance and executive committees decided to postpone the 2017 event and review it for 2018, according to an email Chamber Director CeCe Hipps sent to Breakaway supporters.

“This was an emotional decision not only for me but, for the Board of Directors, many whom have been a part of the event for the past seven years,” Hipps wrote.

Decreased ridership, increased event expenses, loss of revenue, competition from other events and challenges related to sponsorship monies, Tourism Development Authority guideline changes and staff time were cited as contributing factors.

Hipps emphasized the positive contributions that the Breakaway has made to the area over the seven years of its existence. The ride offered routes of 25 to 100 miles that explored the back roads of Haywood County as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“We can all be very proud of seven wonderful, fun, exhausting years of a good ‘ride’ with this event,” Hipps wrote. “The efforts, time and dedication to bringing cyclists to

Haywood County were productive, appreciated and acknowledged throughout Haywood County and beyond. We have made many lasting friendships, assisted riders in distress and felt pride to showcase our beautiful county that we all love.”

“The Breakaway leaves a great legacy of wonderful experiences for the participants, economic impact for Haywood County and helping to establish Haywood County as a premier

outdoors

A 5K to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Otto Community Development will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 18, at the Otto Community Center.

The Go Tell it On the Mountain 5K Run/Walk and 1-Mile Walk will ascend a 260-foot elevation change from start to finish. $30 pre-registration at www.active.com. 828.342.5047.

Blue Ridge Breakaway off for 2017

Visit HARRA AHSCHEROKEEJOBS.CO OM or call 828.497 7.8778 for a complete listing off jobs.

If you have already submitted your application, it will be considered active for 6 months from the da ate of application. To To qualify, qualify, applicants must be 21 years or older (18-21 yea ars eligible for non-gaming positions), must successffully pass an RIAH hair/drug test and undergo an investigation by Tribal Gam ming Commission. Preference for Tribal members. Th his property is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Indians, manag managed ged by Caesars Entertainment Entertainment. The Ta Talent alent Acquisitio Acquisition on Department accepts applications Mon. - Thur Thur.. from 8am - 4:30pm. Call 828.497.8778, or send resume to the Ta Talent alent Acquisition Department, 777 Casino Drive, Cherokee, NC 28719 or fax resume to 828.497.8540.

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March 8-14, 2017

outdoors

A.T. programs underway in Macon This year’s slate of library programs celebrating spring on the Appalachian Trail is underway at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin, showcasing thru-hikers’ stories and celebrating environmental education. n Nantahala Hiking Club members will share stories and slides of their hiking adventures at 7 p.m. Friday, March 10. n A new biographical documentary, “Trail Magic: the Grandma Gatewood Story” will be screened at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 23. n The new movie “Pete’s Dragon” will be screened at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 30. n A.T. hiker and storyteller Nancy Reeder will present the book Grandma Gatewood’s Walk at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31. n The documentary “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 6. n Bill Van Horn, a past president of NHC, will present on A.T. hikes in Macon County at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 6. n The new dramatic thriller “Deepwater Horizon” will be screened at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 13. n Summit Charter School’s environmental education program will be on display at 7 p.m.

Friday, April 14. n A family science night will be offered at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 20.

n The new documentary “Dispatches from the Gulf” will be screened at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 27.

All programs are free and located at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

828.524.3600.

N.C. Arboretum upgrades facilities, increases parking fee The N.C. Arboretum in Asheville recently completed several upgrades to its facilities, including conversion to LED lights in all indoor fixtures. These lights consume 80 percent less energy than conventional light bulbs. The majority of the campus’s indoor lighting has been converted to LED bulbs as well.

In addition, a new front gate system has been installed to allow faster access for visitors and members. The restrooms in the Baker Education Center have been renovated, and six new call boxes have been installed along the trails so that visitors can more quickly access campus police in case of emergency.

These upgrades will cause the arboretum to increase its per-vehicle parking fee from $12 to $14. However, rates for passenger vans, motor homes and commercial buses will remain unchanged and the arboretum will continue to offer half-price parking the first Tuesday of every month for personal vehicles.

Pedestrians, bikers and N.C. Arboretum Society members will continue to have free access. www.ncarboretum.org.

Smoky Mountain News

Camping season is coming, and a smattering of programs is in the offing to help you get ready. n Nail down the basics of backpacking 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 11, at Balsam Mountain Trust in Balsam.

The program will serve as a primer on the gear that’s needed for an enjoyable overnight Backpackers explore in the the trails of Western woods.

North Carolina.

Gear will Micah McClure photo be available for demonstration, but participants should bring their own if they have it.

Free. RSVP by March 9 at www.balsammountaintrust.org or call Michael Skinner, 828.631.1062. n Decide whether your trip is best served by a tent or a tarp during a program 1-4

p.m. Saturday, March 18, at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. The afternoon will cover the various types of tents and tarps, how to set them up and how to care for them, with equipment available for practice. $5. Register at rec.jacksonnc.org. n The backpacking experts at REI will conduct personalized fittings for boots and backpacks 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at REI in Asheville. Bring your equipment to the store for advice on getting the best fit possible, or shop for something new.

Samples of backcountry food will be available all day.

Free. n Tricks and tips for all aspects of hiking will be offered 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, at REI in Asheville. The program will cover trip planning, essential items, equipment, safety and local hiking resources. Free, with space limited. Sign up at www.rei.com/learn.html.

Fly fishing schools offered The 3rd Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon follows nearly the exact same course as previous years, begining on Main Street in beautiful downtown Waynesville and winding through neighborhoods & scenic farmlands to finish in Frog Level, a revitalized railroad district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

New this year is the 4-Miler, which starts and finishes at the same place as the Half Marathon.

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Conquer the camping season

For anyone who’s interested in learning a little more about fly-fishing, two opportunities this spring are available to get acquainted with the sport. n The Cataloochee Trout Unlimited Fly Fishing School will be held May 26-28 at Lake Logan Conference Center in Haywood County. Expert instructors will teach the basics of the sport, with classes covering trout species, basic fly methods, gear, entomology, reading the waters and more, with ample fishing time and personalized attention. $850 includes all meals and lodging. Register at https://goo.gl/jrJpyf. n The Pisgah Chapter of Trout Unlimited’s Annual Fly Fishing School will be held Saturday, April 29, at Harmon Field in Tryon. The day includes instruction, lunch and a half-day of fishing with a mentor. Cost is $100-150, depending on age. www.pisgahchaptertu.org/Fly-Fishing-School.html.

Explore Rough Creek watershed A hike through the Rough Creek Watershed in Canton will explore the area’s ecology 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 18.

Eric Romaniszyn of Haywood Waterways Association will lead the 5.5mile hike, covering the Road Bed and Cherry Cove trails. Blair Bishop, a certified forester and Haywood Community College instructor, will come along to help discuss winter tree ID, the ecology of Southern Appalachian forests and the role those forests play in water quality.

The event is part of Haywood

Waterways’ “Get to Know Your Watershed” series of outdoor excursions designed to highlight Haywood’s water resources and teach the importance of protecting them.

The 870-acre Rough Creek Watershed is located just north of Canton and is currently the town’s backup water supply. Since 2002 it’s been protected in a conservation easement, and it contains a diverse plant and animal community similar to what exists in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Free for Haywood Waterways members with a $5 donation for nonmembers. No pets. RSVP by March 15 to Christine O’Brien, christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 828.476.4667.

Diane E. Sherrill, Attorney outdoors

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Celebrate the Strawberry moon outdoors

Exxceptiioonall Saving n s on Year-Round n Sple lend ndoor!

A lineup of free activities celebrating Cherokee traditions will take over the Museum of the Cherokee Indian Saturday, March 11, in Cherokee, with offerings including a variety of artistic and horticultural traditions.

At noon and 2 p.m., Beloved Man Jerry Wolfe will show the film “Plants and the Cherokee,” with another tribal member sharing more information on plants at 1 p.m.

The film features Wolfe and other Cherokee elders and was produced by the N.C. Botanical Garden, Longleaf Press and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

At 3 p.m., master storyteller Kathy Littlejohn will tell a variety of food-related Cherokee stories, including “The Origin of

6 60

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Your Annual Pass provides unlimited daytime admission, children 16 and under admitted free, exclusive sa s vings, and d special upcomingg events includ dingg: S Desig ned fo for Drraama: Fa Fashion fr from the Classics Exhibition

the Strawberry.” Littlejohn has performed throughout the Southeast, and her stories are featured in the book Living Stories of the Cherokee.

The event is the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. third in a yearlong series offering free culMax Cooper photo tural activities on the second Saturday of the month, each with a different theme.

March is Anvyi, the Strawberry Moon, so activities will celebrate the appearance of plants’ first leaves. All presenters are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

From pottery workshops to dances, the day will be full of activity from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Activities are free, with regular admission charged for museum exhibits. $11 for adults and $7 for children 6-13. 828.497.3481 or www.cherokeemuseum.org.

S Biltmore Blooms

Healthy cooking workshop to include taste tests Roasted veggies and cucumber salad will be on the menu during a workshop on healthy cooking, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 9, at the Pigeon Community Center in Waynesville.

The workshop will cover the basics of preparing healthy, fresh produce and include a chance to taste the delicious results of hands-on participation.

Free, and offered by the Haywood Gleaners. Space is limited. RSVP to haywoodgleaners@gmail.com.

O F F E R VA VA L I D N OW– M A RC H 31 March 8-14, 2017

Purchase your new Biltmore Annual Pass for $99 + tax at BILTMORE.COM/P / AS A SOFFER or call 800-742- 6150 and mention PAS A S OFFER.

Grow your grafting skills A hands-on class on grafting fruit trees will be offered at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 14, at the Macon County Environmental Resource Center in Franklin.

The course will cover grafting principles and techniques, and then students will graft apple rootstocks with several available varieties. Each person will leave with three grafted apple trees and the know-how they’ll need to graft others. $10, with registration required at the Macon County Cooperative Extension Center, 828.349.2046.

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newsdesk crafts

Smoky Mountain News

Savings based on regular $159 B i l t m o r e A n n u a l Pa s s .

Some res t ric tions may apply.

Ashe eville, NC

Polar plunge raises $30,000 education

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# 314 - free hat

The 2017 Polar Plunge Benefit-t-t-ting Kids in the Creek and Environmental Education surpassed its goal to raise $30,600 this year, with 145 people braving Lake Junaluska’s chilly waters Feb. 4 to participate.

It was a balmy 17 degrees when volunteers arrived at 8 a.m. and warmed up to 40 by the time the plunge began — with no wind, sun and a couple of raging bonfires, it may have been the warmest plunge yet.

The top fundraisers in each category were Seth Early, Shining Rock Classical Academy and the Maggie Flyers. Haywood County Schools alone raised more than $3,000.

The best costume awards went to Mary Roderick and Tanya Poole, who dressed as mayflies; Carol Adams, a cat; and Scott

Andrew Bowman (left) and Scott Nielsen (right) cheer after taking the plunge. Andrew Wantz photo Nielsen, Batman.

The event, organized by Haywood Waterways Association and hosted by the Lake Junaluska Assembly, raises money for Haywood Waterways’ environmental education efforts. Next year’s event will be Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Southwestern Community College’s Project SEARCH® program is holding an open house from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on March 14 at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva.

339.4486 or devonnej@southwesterncc.edu.

• Applications are being accepted for the Haywood County Farm Bureau Scholarship. Students must be graduating seniors, currently enrolled in a Haywood County school or enrolled in a two- or four-year school and a resident of Haywood County. 2.5 GPA or better.

452.1425 or Karen_greene@ncfbssc.com.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health is seeking input from residents who have used its services or who have thoughts on the health needs of Jackson County. http://health.jacksonnc.org/surveys.

• Volunteers will be available to assist area residents of all ages with federal and state income tax preparation and filing through April 14. Hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. every Friday and Monday at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva and from 3-6:45 p.m. on Tuesdays or by appointment at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. For appointments: 586.2016. For tax preparation assistance in other counties, visit: www.aarp.org.

• Western North Carolina’s NPR station, WCQS, has expanded with more news and options for listeners. The growth is reflected in a new name, Blue Ridge Public Radio, which is the home for both WCQS — with news and classical music — and its new, all-news, sister station, BPR News. www.bpr.org.

• Progressive Nation WNC meetup is held from 5:30-8 p.m. each Monday at the Folkmoot Friendship Center on Virginia Avenue in Hazelwood. For like-minded progressive and Democratic activists wanting to share ideas and action steps. Amber.Kevlin@aol.com.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • A seminar entitled “Effective Fundraising with the Help of Your Board” will be presented by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center from 9 a.m.-noon on March 8, at SCC’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. Led by Amanda PEARCE, CFRE and owner of Funding for Good, Inc. Register: www.ncsbc.net. Info: 339.4211 or t_henry@southwesterncc.edu.

• “NC Sale and Use Tax – Keys to Success Workshop” will be offered from 2-4 p.m. on March 9, at Southwestern Community College in Sylva. Register: http://tinyurl.com/hns4cgb.

• “The Appalachian Women’s Museum, A Bright Future” is the topic of the upcoming program of the Jackson County Genealogical Society, which meets at 6:30 p.m. on March 9, in the Community Room of the historic Jackson County Courthouse in Sylva. 631.2646.

• Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center will offer a seminar entitled “HR Basics for Small Business” from 6-9 p.m. on March 9, at the HCC Regional High Technology Center in Clyde. Register or get more info: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• A Writing Workshop for Political Action will be led by Chris Cooper from 3-4 p.m. on March 11, at the Waynesville Library. RSVP: 400.2625.

• Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center will hold a seminar entitled “Using WordPress to Blog for Your Business” from 4-7 p.m. on March 13, in Building 200, Room 203, on the main campus in Clyde.

Preregistration required: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• “Entrepreneurship & Applications,” part three of the Applications, Interviews & Resumes for Teens series, is scheduled for March 13, at the Canton Library.

Registration required. 648.2924.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• A program entitled “Marketing Your Business” will be presented by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on March 13, at the Jackson Campus. Registration required: www.southwesterncc.edu/sbc. Info: 339.4211 or t_henry@southwesterncc.edu.

• “Your Small Business Taxes” is the topic of a seminar offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 10 a.m.-noon on March 14, at the Small Business Center, Room 5108. 627.4512 or SBC.Haywood.edu.

• The Haywood Chamber of Commerce and its Women’s Initiative will present the first luncheon of 2017 featuring Ingrid Allstaedt and Holly Headrick of WLOS from 11:10 a.m.-1 p.m. on March 14 at Wells Events and Reception Center. Register: http://tinyurl.com/zs3jlhd.

• A “Searching for Jobs Online” class will be offered at 5:55 p.m. on March 15, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Sign up: 586.2016.

• “Marketing Your Business” is the topic of a seminar offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from -9 p.m. on March 16, at the Small Business Center, Room 5108. 627.4512 or SBC.Haywood.edu.

• Registration is underway for Local Business Sunday, a reception and learning opportunity offered by Biltmore Church Franklin Campus at 10 a.m. on March 26.

Michelle Myers will offer a brief presentation on successful strategies for social media marketing. RSVP deadline is March 17. franklin@biltmorechurch.com or 651.6133.

• A program entitled “Business Taxes” will be presented by Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on March 20, at the Jackson Campus. Registration required: www.southwesterncc.edu/sbc. Info: 339.4211 or t_henry@southwesterncc.edu.

• Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center will hold a seminar entitled “Using WordPress to Build a Website for Your Business” from 4-7 p.m. on March 20, in Building 200, Room 203, on the main campus in Clyde. Preregistration required: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • The “Bowl for Kids Sake” fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters is from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 11, at Sky Lanes Bowling Alley in West Asheville. 273.3601.

• A St. Patrick’s Day Dance fundraiser is scheduled for 7 p.m. on March 17 at the Qualla Community Building in Whittier. Line-dance lessons at 6 p.m. $10 per person. Proceeds benefit the Qualla Community Development Club. Info: 788.0502. Must be 13 years old.

• Tickets are on sale for the AWAKE Children’s Advocacy Center’s “Pop-A-Cork” fundraising event, which is from 2-6 p.m. on March 26 at Lees at the Depot Restaurant in Dillsboro. Heavy hors d’oeuvres from local restaurants paired with wines or local craft beers. Tickets: $50. 586.3574 or awakecacenter@awakecacenter.org.

• During April, Frank and Louis Perrone, award-winning father and son chef/proprietors of Frankie’s Trattoria in Maggie Valley, will be sharing their legendary recipes in a cookbook titled Frankie’s Libro di Cucina — Reminiscing and Cooking with Frank “The Kid” Perrone. All proceeds from sales of the book will help fund Richie’s Alliance for Autism and support the

Smoky Mountain News

Olsen Huff Center of Mission Children’s Hospital in Western North Carolina. Pre-order forms will be available at www.frankiestrattoria.com in March for signed copies to be delivered beginning in mid-April.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS • Vendor application is March 14 for the Folkmoot Festival and its Many Cultures Children’s Carnival (July 22) and International Festival Day (July 29). Makers and producers of handmade arts, crafts, nonprofit organizations and food vendors. Download application packet at Folmoot.org or call 452.2997.

• Greening up the Mountains Festival is seeking artists, mountain crafters, environmental and food vendors to apply for a booth in its 20th festival, which is from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 22. Applications available at www.greeningupthemountains.com, or call 631.4587.

• Town of Dillsboro will be hosting three arts and craft shows open to vendors from the surrounding region. First show is June 17 — The 3rd annual “Front Street Arts & Crafts Show.” Application due April 1. Vendors may apply for these shows by downloading an application from the town’s website, www.visitdillsboro.org. Connie Hogan at 586.3511 or festivals@visitdillsboro.org.

HEALTH MATTERS • Acupuncture clinic for Haywood County veterans is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on March 8, in the Waynesville Wellness Classroom. First come, first served. 539.0440, www.blueridgenaturalhealth.com.

• A support group of the International Essential Tremor Foundation will have a meeting at 2 p.m. on March 15, at the Jackson County Senior Center, Room 135. Learn how to cope with essential tremor. 736.3165 or tkubit@frontier.com.

• An “Advance Directives” program is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. on March 21, at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 452.5039 or 452.2370.

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Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings • The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 1:30-6 p.m. on March 13 at Andrews United Methodist Church in Cherokee County. redcrossblood.org or (800.733.2767).

RECREATION AND FITNESS • Registration for a spring golf league has begun through the Jackson County Recreation Department. $10 fee to enter and $20 per week to golf course. League is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Smoky Mountain Country Club.

Register at www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Registration is underway for a PDGA-sanctioned disc golf tournament, which will be held on Sunday, March 12, at the Waynesville Disc Golf Course at Vance Street Park in Waynesville. Register for the “Blind Hog Day Light Savings Throw Down” at https://www.discgolfscene.com/tournaments/Blind_Hog_Day_Light_Savings _Throw_Down_2017. Info: 456.2030 or tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov.

• A “Creating an Animated Film” workshop will be offered from 6-8 p.m. on March 16, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Free for students; $20 for community members. Pre-registration required for students (tcbowers1@catamount.wcu.edu) or community members (hensley@wcu.edu).

• The Haywood County Health & Human Services Public Health Services Division is offering a Night Clinic from 4-6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of every month in Waynesville. Services include family planning, immunizations, pregnancy testing, STD testing and treatment. Appointments: 452.6675.

• A Tent or Tarp program will be offered from 1-4 p.m. on March 18, at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

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

• An Intro to Cherokee Spirituality will be offered March 7-12 at various locations in Cherokee. Info: 497.9498.

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

• The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 9 at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva. redcrossblood.org or (800.733.2767).

• The Macon County Cancer Support Group meets at 7 p.m. on March 9, in the cafeteria of Angel Medical Center in Franklin. Guest speaker is Dr. Charles Barrier, gastroenterologist with Western Carolina Digestive Consultants.

• The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 10 at First United Methodist Church in Sylva. redcrossblood.org or (800.733.2767).

• The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on March 10 at Lowe’s in Franklin. redcrossblood.org or (800.733.2767).

• The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 7:30 a.m.-noon on March 11 at Crabtree United Methodist Church in Clyde. redcrossblood.org or (800.733.2767).

SPIRITUAL • A new mindfulness group will meet from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursdays through March 16 at 166 Branner Ave., Suite C, in Waynesville. Cost: $25 per person or $40 per couple per session. Registration required: 703.609.9107 or dchristiano@yahoo.com.

POLITICAL • Haywood Democrats will have a roundtable at 10 a.m. on March 11, at Democratic Headquarters.

• The Haywood County Republican Convention is at 1 p.m. on March 11, in the Haywood County Historic Courthouse in Waynesville. Must be a registered Republican as of Jan. 31.

• Bryson City 3 precinct organizational meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on March 13 at Swain County Democratic Headquarters. Attendees will elect delegates to the Swain County Convention, which is April 4 at Swain County Seniors Center.

• The Jackson County Republican Party precinct meetings will be held at their annual convention, which starts with registration at 5 p.m. on March 17. At the Jackson County Department on Aging’s Heritage Room in Sylva. Reservations and info: 743.6491 or jacksonctygop@yahoo.com.

wnc calendar

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • Western Carolina University alumnus and author Tyler Cook will present his fourth book Vigilante at 6:30 p.m. March 10, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. moonshinepressnc@gmail.com or visit www.tylermcook.com.

• Canton Book Club meets at 3:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month, at the Canton Library. March selection is any book by North Carolina author Clyde Edgerton. 648.2924.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Registration for the Smoky Mountain Senior Games opens on March 13. Fee is $15. Games are April 24May 19. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

KIDS & FAMILIES • A Dr. Seuss birthday party is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on March 2 at the Waynesville Library.

March 8-14, 2017

• Youth Mental First Aid is from noon-4 p.m. on March 7 and March 14 at the Canton Library.

• Registration is underway for Youth Volleyball Clinics for girls through the Jackson County Recreation Department. $40. Clinics are Thursdays from March 9April 13 at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. Grades 48. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• Kindergarten registration is at 10 a.m. on March 14, at Highlands School.

• Construction Zone! Is at 4 p.m. on March 14 and March 22 at the Canton Library.

• Fines Creek storytime is at 10:30 a.m. on March 15 at the Fines Creek Library.

• Registration has begun for Youth Spring Soccer through the Jackson County Parks & Recreation Department. Open to players born between 2003-12. $55. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

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

Smoky Mountain News

• Second Tuesday Movie Club is at 2 p.m. at the Waynesville Library.

• Contributors from Kakalak will read their selections featured in the journal at 3 p.m. March 11, at City Lights Bookstore in SylvaTo reserve copies of the journal, call City Lights Bookstore at 586.9499.

• Entries are currently being accepted for the 2017 North Carolina State University Poetry Contest. The contest is open only to residents of North Carolina (including out-of-state students who are enrolled in North Carolina universities). Submit all entries in hard copy to: NCSU Poetry Contest, Campus Box 8105, English Department, NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8105.

Postmark deadline is March 13. Due to volume, they cannot contact each contestant or return your poems afterwards.

• Registration is underway for Homeschool P.E. through Jackson County Parks & Recreation Department. $20. Classes will meet at 10 a.m. every Tuesday starting Jan. 31 for 10 weeks. For ages 5-15. www.rec.jacksonnc.org.

• A Tuesday Library Club for ages 5-12 meets at 4 p.m. each Tuesday (except for the fifth Tuesday on months that occurs) at the Canton Library. Hands-on activities like exercise, cooking, LEGOs, science experiments and crafts. 648.2924 or kpunch@haywoodnc.net.

KIDS MOVIES • “Moana” is being shown at Mad Batter Food & Film on March 10 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., March 11 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and March 17 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. in Sylva.

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about an Irishman who comes face-to-face with magical little people and captures the King of the Leprechauns, who must grant him three wishes.

488.3030.

• A family movie will be shown at 3:30 p.m. on March 14, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Movie is

A&E FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS • Cherokee Heritage Day is from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on March 11, at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee. Activities, demonstrations and American Indian food. bduncan@cherokeemuseum.org. Info: 497.3481 or www.cherokeemuseum.org.

FOOD & DRINK • There will be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m.

March 11 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. The will also be a “BYOB Dinner” with Chef Jackie Blevins ($60 all inclusive five courses, bring your own beer or wine) 7 p.m. March 16. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

• A “BBQ & Brews Dinner Train” will be departing at 7 p.m. March 17, at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad depot in Bryson City. Tickets are $70. 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • The Highlands Cashiers Players’ “dinner-and-aplay” will be offered March 9-11. Play is “Middletown USA.” Doors open at 6 p.m.; dinner is at 6:30 p.m., and play is presented without intermission starting at 7:45 p.m. $32 for dinner and play. highlandscashiersplayers.org or 526.8084.

• Americana act The Jane Kramer Duo will perform at 8 p.m. March 11, at Harmons’ Den Bistro at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. Dinner, wine and beer available for purchase. $5 cover charge. www.harttheatre.org.

• Joe Cruz (piano, vocals) performs the music of Elton John, James Taylor and more on March 10, at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. 452.6000 or info@classicwineseller.com.

• Neil Simon’s “Prisoner of 2nd Ave” will be presented March 10-12 at HART Theatre’s Feichter Studio in Waynesville. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on March 10-11 and at 2 p.m. on March 12. $10 for adults; $7 for students. Reservations: 456.6322 or www.harttheatre.org.

• “La Traviata” (Verdi) will be streamed live via satellite from the MET opera at 12:55 p.m. on March 11, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center in Highlands. highlandspac.org or 526.9047.

• Russ Wilson Duo (featuring Hank Bones; guitar, percussion, vocals, jazz standards) will perform on March 11, at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. 452.6000 or info@classicwineseller.com.

•Bluegrass/folk-roots act The April Verch Band will perform at 6 p.m. March 12, at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. Tickets are $15 per person and are available at www.38main.com.

• The Jane Cramer Duo (acoustic singer songwriters) will perform at 8 p.m. on March 11, at HART’s Fangmeyer Theater in Waynesville. Dinner is served starting at 5:30 p.m. at Harmon’s Den. • “The Nile & African Identity” – a discussion and music demonstration with Nile Project musicians, is scheduled for 10-11 a.m. on March 13, at Folkmoot in Waynesville. Free for students; $5 for the public.

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• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will host flutiest William Bennett at 7:30 p.m. March 13, Faculty Recital 7:30 p.m. March 14, “Music for All” concert 7:30 p.m. March 16 and Woodwind Concert 4 p.m.

March 17 in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building. www.wcu.edu.

• “The Nile Project” will be presented at 7:30 p.m.

March 13, in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. “ Tickets are $8 for students, $24 for the general public and $20 for WCU faculty/staff. www.wcu.edu. A matinee performance is available for students in the third through eighth grades from 10-11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 14. $1 per student; chaperones and teachers are free. 227.2479.

• Western Carolina University’s ACE Committee, the Student Art Education Club and the university’s Fine Art Museum will present “I Come From” –a documentary in the Southern Circuit series, at 7 p.m. on March 14, in the University Center theater in Cullowhee.

Focuses on incarcerated poets and playwrights. Free for students; $20 for others. Pre-registration required: tcbowers1@catamount.wcu.edu (students) or hensley@wcu.edu (all others).

• There will be an improv show at 5:30 p.m. March 15 in the Niggli Theatre at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

• Spoken word artist Carlos Andres Gomez will perform at 8 p.m. March 17 in UC Illusions Room 309 at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

• A production of “Charlotte’s Web” will be performed at 7 p.m. March 17-18 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Tickets are $12. www.greatmountainmusic.com.

• Auditions for the first show of the season of Smoky Mountain Community Theater’s season will be held at 6 p.m. on March 20-21, in Bryson City. Show is “An Awesome 80s Prom.” Must be 14 or older.

March 8-14, 2017

• Tickets are on sale now for “The Price is Right Live!” show at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 18, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. http://tinyurl.com/zo7jzdk.

• Rodney Carrington returns to The Event Center at Harrah’s in Cherokee on March 25 at 7:30 p.m.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • Tim Lewis will offer a presentation on layers and masks in photography at the Sylva Photo Club Meeting at 2 p.m. on March 11, at Cullowhee Methodist Church. $5 donation for visitors, which can be applied to $20 annual membership ($10 for students). http://sylvaphotoclub.wordpress.com, sylvaphotoclub@gmail.com or 226.3840.

Smoky Mountain News

• Franklin Uptown Gallery holds its monthly meeting at noon on March 13, at 30 E. Main Street. Info: 349.4607.

• The Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table is at 6:30 p.m. on March 13 at Western Carolina University’s H.F. Robinson Building auditorium in Cullowhee. Presentation by Jeff Bockert is “The Life Line of the Confederacy: Blockade Runners.” Dinner is at 5 p.m. at Bogart’s.

• The Franklin Uptown Gallery will hold its monthly meeting on March 13, at 30 East Main Street. Food and friendship at noon followed by the general meeting at 1 p.m. Carol Conti, award winning artist and instructor, will give a presentation on freeform and relieve sculptures created from repurposed materials found in your home. All are welcome. 349.4607.

• There will be a “Thursday Painters Open Studio” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at the Franklin Uptown Gallery. Bring a bag lunch, project and supplies. Free to the public. Membership not required.

349.4607.

• Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild will share a “My Favorite Quilt” presentation during their regular meeting at 10 a.m. on March 13, at Tartan Hall in Franklin.

Social time starts at 9:30 a.m. www.smokymountain42 quiltersguild.org.

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings • A “Vintage Inspired Easter Shadow Box” workshop will be offered from 9:30 a.m.-noon on March 16.

Register: 586.4009.

• A spoon-making workshop is scheduled for 6:30-9:30 p.m. on March 16, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center at 161 Hunter Library in Cullowhee. Preregistration and $5 fee required.

227.7129.

• High Country Quilt Guild meets at 6:30 p.m. on March 16, at the First Methodist Church in Waynesville.

Group meets third Thursday of each month. Share needlework and quilts from other cultures. http://highcountryquilters.wordpress.com.

sculptor Nelson Nichols (www.nicholssculpture.com) will be displayed at this event. Executed in stone, bronze, and wood, Nichols’ sculptural body of work reflects his unique style, Spiritual Expressionism, encompassing anatomical/figurative pieces in classical realism, a series of abstract interpretations, a series illustrating universal/spiritual concepts, and an environmentally inspired series including sculptures of endangered/threatened species.

Admission is by donation; $7 is suggested. arts4all@dnet.net or 524.ARTS (2787).

FILM & SCREEN • “Logan” will be shown on March 8-9 at 7 p.m. at The Strand on Main in Waynesville. www.38main.com.

• “Shack” is being shown at the Strand on March 810 at 7 p.m., March 11 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m., March 12 at 1 p.m. and March 13-16 at 7 p.m. in Waynesville. www.38main.com.

• “Hacksaw Ridge” is being shown at Mad Batter Food & Film on March 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Sylva.

• “Moonlight” is being shown at Mad Batter Food & Film on March 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Sylva.

• “Passengers” is being shown at Mad Batter Food & Film on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Sylva.

• Postcard art is being accepted for the Haywood County Arts Council’s 40th anniversary exhibition: “A Ruby Anniversary Show.” Proceeds support the arts in Haywood County. Show is in May. Submissions (at least 3-1/2 inches high X 5 inches long; no larger than 4-1/4 inches high by 6 inches long) accepted through April 10. Questions: info@haywoodarts.org or 452.0593.

Outdoors

• The Waynesville Public Art Commission is sending out a “Call for Artists” for a new piece dedicated to the Plott Hound. aowens@waynesvillenc.gov.

• An exhibit chronicling the history of dugout canoes in the Americas will be on display through May 2 at the Baker Exhibit Center of the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • The Hudson Library is displaying work from Catherine Christie, founder of Studio Alive, in Highlands.

526.3031.

• The Haywood Arts Council’s exhibit “Animal Magnetism” is on display through April 1 at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts at 86 N. Main Street in Waynesville.

452.0593, info@haywoodarts.org or HaywoodArts.org.

• Through the end of March there will be a display of the Studio Alive Artist exhibition, which will feature founder Catherine Christie at the Hudson Library in Highlands. These exhibitions will continue throughout the year displaying works of one Studio Alive artist at a time in the community room. Studio Alive is a group of artists that meet weekly at the Hudson Library.

• “Soft Diplomacy: Quilting Cultural Diplomacy in Liberia” is on exhibit through May 5 at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center in Cullowhee. 227.3591.

• An exhibition by Atlanta-based photographer Chris Aluka Berry will be on display through March in the Rotunda Gallery of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Info: info@survivalpride.com or art@affrilachiastudio.com.

• The “Women Painters of the Southeast” exhibition will run through May 5 in the Fine Arts Museum at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

• A showcase on the life and times of Horace Kephart will be on display through March 31 in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. The Mountain Heritage Center’s Kephart Collection is composed of 127 objects, including Kephart’s tent, sleeping bag, backpack and the writing desk. The exhibit will display many of these objects in a campsite setting. 227.7129.

• As part of the Arts Council’s Integrated Arts initiative, a sampling of works by renowned Macon County

• Balsam Mountain Trust will offer a “Beginning Backpacking” program from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. RSVP by March 9: www.balsammountaintrust.org or 631.1062.

• A preview of the night skies will be offered at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 10, at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in Rosman. $20 for adults; $15 for seniors/military. Children 10 and under get in free.

Register: www.pari.edu or 862.5554. Info: schappell@pari.edu.

• The Macon County Horse Association will have its annual Coggins Clinic at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 11, at the Macon County Fairgrounds in Franklin.

369.3903.

• The Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Council meets at 10 a.m. on March 14 at Rathskeller Coffee Haus in Franklin. Topic will be Franklin Trail Days celebration events. http://franklintraildays.com.

• Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation will hold its annual meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14, at the Shelton House Barn in Waynesville. 246.9050 or www.sargeanimals.org.

• Learn about “Spring Wildflowers of Southern Appalachian” with Adam Bigelow in a six-week course that will be offered in two separate sessions: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Mondays from March 20-April 24 or on Tuesdays from March 21-April 25. Cost is $150 for the series. Single-day rates available. Info or to register: bigelownc@gmail.com.

• A public hearing on Jackson County’s proposed conveyance of a tract of land to WNC Outdoor Development, LLC, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 20, at the Justice & Administration Building in Sylva.

• A turkey hunting seminar will be offered to all ages and skill levels (16 and under require parental permission) will be offered by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission from 6-9 p.m. on March 22 at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Preregistration required: www.ncwildlife.org/sbs.

• The Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Council meets at 10 a.m. every second Tuesday at Rathskeller Coffee Haus in Franklin.

FARM AND GARDEN • The “Square Foot Gardening” approach will be presented by Master Gardener Volunteer Hughes Roberts from 2-3 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, in the Waynesville Library’s Auditorium.

• A “Creating a Monarch Garden” class will be offered from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, at the Canton Library.

• An apple grafting class is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 14, at the Macon County Environmental Resource Center in Franklin. Offered by the Macon County Center of NC Cooperative Extension.

Preregistration required, including $10 materials fee, at the Macon County Cooperative Extension Center.

349.2046.

• A workshop on cooking healthy food will be offered at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 9, at the Pigeon Community Center in Waynesville. Roasted vegetables and cucumber salad. RSVP: haywoodgleaners@gmail.com.

• “Planning a Small-Space, Low-Labor Garden” will be presented by Master Gardener Volunteer Hughes Roberts from 5:30-6:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 16, at the Canton Library. 648.2924 or http://haywoodlibrary.libguides.com/givinggarden.

• The Haywood County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association plant sale is accepting orders through March 17. Edibles are available on April 8; native plants on May 20. Order forms available at the Cooperative Extension Office on Raccoon Road, by calling 456.3575 or by writing mgarticles@charter.net.

Proceeds support education-related horticulture projects in Haywood County.

• The Macon County 4-H Plant Sale is accepting orders through March 17. Pick up is April 5-6. Orders: macon.ncsu.edu. For an order form, call 349.2046.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • The Feeding America 5K Walk/Run will raise money for the nonprofit Feeding America 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Runners can begin this noncompetitive 5K at any point during the two-hour window, with stopwatches available to keep time. Every $1 raised translates into 11 meals for people suffering from hunger in the United States. $15. Organized by the WCU Student Association of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Register at www.active.com.

• Go Tell It On the Mountain 5K Run/Walk and one-mile walk will be held to benefit the fight against Cystic Fibrosis and the Otto Community Development starting at 8 a.m. on March 18, at the Otto Community Center in Otto. Info: Check out Otto Community Development on Facebook or call 342.5047.

• Registration is underway for the Mountaineer 2-Miler, which is at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, starting at Waynesville Middle School. All profits go toward supplies, materials and technology at the school.

Sponsorship info: mountieparents@gmail.com.

Register: www.RunSignUp.com/mountaineer2miler.

• Registration is underway for the Assault on Black Rock, a seven-mile trail race scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, in Jackson County. $25 pre-registration; $30 on race day. www.raceentry.com ($2.49 fee for registering online). Info: 506.2802 or barwatt@hotmail.com.

HIKING CLUBS • Nantahala Hiking Club members will share stories and slides of their hiking adventures at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 10, at Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

PRIME REAL ESTATE Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News

MarketPlace information: The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

Rates:

■ Free — Lost or found pet ads.

■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads, ■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $15 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

■ $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

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MAD BATTER A Growing Business in Downtown Sylva is now hiring for Kitchen Help. Come by to submit an application, Tueday - Friday Between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.

AIRLINE MECHANIC TRAINING Get FAA certification to fix planes.

Approved for military benefits. Financial Aid if qualified. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 866.441.6890 HOUSEKEEPING STAFF NEEDED Jonathan Creek Inn in Maggie Valley is Currently Hiring for Housekeeping. Year-round Position, Background Check Req. Must be able to Work Weekends.

1 Supervisory Position Available.

Apply in Person - 4324 Soco Rd., Maggie Valley, NC.

THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS Is Looking for a Graphic Designer to Work up to 25 Hours per Week on a Regular Schedule. We Need Someone Proficient with Mac-Based Design Programs, Specifically Adobe Creative Suite and QuarkXpress. Job Duties Include Producing Ads for Our Newspaper and Other Print Products. The Ideal Candidate Would also Possess Good Layout Skills and be Able to Help with Various Niche Magazines Produced In-House. Hourly Rate Commensurate with Experience. Email Resumes to:

March 8-14, 2017

micah@smokymountainnews.com

SERVICE SPECIAL OIL CHANGE $ 95

www.smokymountainnews.com 44

Residential · Land · Commercial

PART-TIME PERSON Experienced with Farming in WNC. Develop small accessible garden and demonstrate use of ergonomic tools. Schedule Gardening Events and Trainings.

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FINANCIAL BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

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SAVE YOUR HOME! Are you behind paying your Mortgage? Denied a Loan Modification?

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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18 This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

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NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Offering 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400 Section 8 Accepted - Rental Assistance When Available Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday 12:30pm - 4:00pm & Friday. 8:00am- 4:00pm 50 Duckett Cove Road, Waynesville

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REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

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FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Computer Programming &Development/Database Instructor For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.com Human Resources Office Phone: 910.678.7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu An Equal Opportunity Employer

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SPANISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR (PART TIME) Haywood County: Mountain Projects Head Start. Must be Fluent in English and Spanish (written and verbal) must have Valid Driver’s License, Reliable Transportation, a Clean Driving Record and Scheduling Flexibility; Mileage will be Reimbursed. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects: 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786, or 25 Schulman St., Sylva, NC 28779. or go to our website: www.mountainprojects.org AA/EOE

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HOMES FOR SALE

BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

LOOKING FOR A MINI FARM? This rustic house and land is located in the Henson Cove Area of Canton, NC. Includes a Barn, 2 Acres, 2 Streams, a Pond and a Forest of Bamboo. Asking $195K. For more info or to preview house and property, call Alesia at 828.400.9943

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT CLIMATE CONTROLLED STORAGE FOR YOU 1 Month Free with 12 Month Rental. Maggie Valley, Hwy. 19, 1106 Soco Rd. For more information call Torry

828.734.6500, 828.734.6700 12X28 STORAGE UNIT FOR RENT In Tuckaseegee, Half Mile Down Hwy. 281. $130/mo. For More Info Call 828.450.0534.

COMM. PROP. FOR RENT

SFR, ECO, GREEN

Haywood County Real Estate Agents

147 WALNUT STREET • WAYNESVILLE

828.506.7137

aspivey@sunburstrealty.com

www.sunburstrealty.com/amy-spivey

• • • • • • • • •

PROFESSIONAL MEETING SPACE Located in Waynesville, Holds up to 90 People. Suitable for Seminars, Family Gatherings, Worship, Ect. Kitchen Area, Wifi/ Screen. For More Information and Rates for ROOM 1902 Call 828.454.7445 or 828.551.8960

• George Escaravage - george@emersongroupus.com

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ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com • Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com • Rick Boarder - sunburstrealty.com

Commitment, consistency, results.

Carolyn Lauter Broker/ABR 1986 SOCO ROAD, HWY 19 • MAGGIE VALLEY, NC 28751

828.734.4822 Cell • www.carolynlauter.com carolyn.lauter@realtyworldheritage.com

kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff.yourkwagent.com • Yvonne Kolomechuk - yvonneksells.yourkwagent.com • The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

Lakeshore Realty • Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Home Properties mountaindream.com • Sammie Powell - smokiesproperty.com

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management

• Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

Realty World Heritage Realty

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realtyworldheritage.com • Carolyn Lauter realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7766 • Martha Sawyer realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/7769

RE/MAX — Mountain Realty

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remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com Holly Fletcher - hollyfletcher1975@gmail.com Judy Meyers - jameyers@charter.net Mieko Thomson - ncsmokies.com The Real Team - the-real-team.com Ron Breese - ronbreese.com Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com

smokymountainnews.com

SELA - A SHORT-HAIRED KITTEN WITH A STRIKING BLACK AND WHITE COAT, ABOUT 8-9 WEEKS OLD. HE HAS BEEN IN A FOSTER HOME WITH HIS SISTER, SAUCY,THEY BOTH ARE STARTING ENJOY PETTING AND HUMAN ATTENTION, AFTER STARTING LIFE OUTDOORS WITH LITTLE SOCIAL INTERACTION.

Haywood Properties - haywoodproperties.com • Steve Cox - info@haywoodproperties.com Keller Williams Realty

MORTON - A PUREBRED BASSET HOUND ABOUT 11/2 YEARS OLD. HE IS HANDSOME FELLOW, BUT A BIT UNDERWEIGHT, SO WE'VE GOT HIM ON EXTRA GROCERIES UNTIL HE GAINS A FEW POUNDS. MORTON IS A LITTLE TIMID, AND WILL NEED NEW OWNERS WHO WILL GIVE HIM LOTS OF TLC AND HAVE PATIENCE W/ HIM AS HE LEARNS TO TRUST HUMANS

beverly-hanks.com Ann Eavenson - AnnEavenson@beverly-hanks.com Randy Flanigan - RandyFlanigan@beverly-hanks.com Michelle McElroy - MichelleMcElroy@beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig - MarilynnObrig@beverly-hanks.com Brooke Parrott - BrookeParrott@beverly-hanks.com Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither - EllenSither@beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey - MikeStamey@beverly-hanks.com Pamela Williams - PamelaWilliams@beverly-hanks.com

Emerson Group

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maggievalleyselfstorage.com

GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

WNC MarketPlace

BEAUTIFUL 4/BR 2/BA HOME 15 Boxwood Terrace, Canton, NC. Ready to move in with 2,300 sq. ft., Newly renovated with Master Suite, Laundry & Walk-in Closet.

Adequate Storage & Lots of Character. Walking Distance to Library & Main Street. $274,000 Call Alesia for more info 828.400.9943

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT

Rob Roland Realty MOUNTAIN REALTY

• Rob Roland - rroland33@gmail.com

26 N. Main St. • Waynesville

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com 45

www.smokymountainnews.com

March 8-14, 2017

WNC MarketPlace

Super

46

CROSSWORD

72 Luau guitar, for short 73 Ocean filler 74 Driver’s 180 ACROSS 75 Horse riders’ activity 1 British Derby town in an Asian island coun6 — apso (terrier) try?

11 Billy’s bleat 81 Insult, hip-hop-style 14 Time and — 84 “— a Grecian Urn” 19 Name on a mower 85 Actor Davis 20 Greek letters 86 Rebuke to Brutus 21 Raised RRs 87 Rhea’s kin 22 Storybook elephant 23 Cheer up the singer of 88 Bill or Hillary 90 Suffix with joy or “Galveston”? humor 26 Cowboy rope 93 Slim fish 27 “Aw, quit — belly94 Big primate achin’!”

95 Slugger Griffey 28 Frozen cubes 96 Officer in charge of 29 Puck, for one soft packing material?

30 Lack of law 102 Tycoon Onassis 32 Rice fields whose workers love a frothy pas- 104 Two, to Jose 105 Take it on the — try filling? (escape) 38 With a very sharp 106 Woes image, for short 107 NFL announcer John 40 Ipanema site, briefly acting up?

41 Drink in many a 58115 Typical Across 116 Crude stuff 42 Corp. VIP 117 Stud’s place 43 Scottish boys testify118 Pay a visit to ing in court?

49 Fr. woman with a halo 121 Municipal 52 “As I see it,” to a tex- 122 Deliver a craze follower into custody? ter 128 Up in the air 53 “Science Guy” Bill 129 Nero’s “I love” 54 Turkey Day tuber 130 Spirits in bottles 55 Artistic users of acid 131 — -car (Avis service) 58 Pub barrel 132 Hopes to get 59 Farm fowls 133 “Fresh Air” airer 61 Food grinder 65 “Zapped!” actor Willie 134 Artery-opening tube 135 Letters of plurals 66 GQ staffers 67 Threw one’s ordinary existence into confusion? DOWN 71 Sky’s color, in Salerno 1 All nerves ADD CAMPAIGN

2 Brazilian soccer hero 3 Sniffers in rescue operations 4 O’Hare airport code 5 Army doc 6 Tablecloths, e.g.

7 Ad — committee 8 “I’m — loss” 9 Froot Loops toucan 10 In line with 11 Hybrid meat 12 Completely 13 Like — in the face 14 Wear away 15 Beehive, e.g.

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39 Called 44 Aid for an asthmatic 45 Looked at amorously 46 Wire, e.g.

47 Stone of film 48 Word 49 Interstate rig 50 Not kosher 51 Nero’s “to be” 56 Cruel Roman emperor 57 Physically fit 60 Aspersions 62 Linear, for short 63 Weigh down 64 As — (usually) 68 Squeezes (out)

69 Arnaz of TV 70 Her niece is Dorothy 71 Weed — (lawn care brand) 75 Foot coverer 76 Be inactive 77 “No, Hans” 78 Charlie Chaplin’s last wife 79 Era after era 80 Agenda part 81 Envy and lust 82 Urge to act 83 Plaintiffs 89 In arrears 91 Wrinkly citrus fruit 92 Flip through 97 34th prez 98 Show respect (to) 99 “Because — so!”

100 “Wow!,” in an IM 101 Not a one 102 Going with the flow 103 Strikes back, say 107 Kind of parrot 108 Teresa’s city 109 English county 110 “Borstal Boy” author Brendan 111 Many YouTube uploads 112 Prove apt for 113 Little battery 114 Rapper with six Grammys 119 Villa d’— 120 Greek letters 123 Rock blaster 124 Pooch’s doc 125 Propyl ending 126 — Tin Tin 127 Arles article

answers on page 41

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WEEKLY SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Answers on Page 41

‘Doc’ Bennett was truly a man of the mountains

B

RYSON CITY — Sorry folks, no more ice cream cones, milkshakes, or sundaes at the marble-topped counters and tables. No more old-fashioned hospitality at the drug counter. No more advice on what to do for a foundered horse or poison ivy.

Bennett's Drug Store — a landmark in Western North Carolina for nearly a century — recently closed its doors for the last time when pharmacist Mary Alice (Bennett) Greyer decided to retire.

The closing marks the end of a single family’s century-long medical service in a rural mountain county, and brings back memories of a remarkable man in that family whose influence extended far beyond his profession as a pharmacist.

Situated just north on the town square on Everett Street, Bennett’s Drug Store was founded in 1905 by Greyer’s father [in the storefront now occupied by Calby’s

BACK THEN Antiques and Gifts].

Kelly Bennett (1890-1974) was certainly one of the most influential and civic-minded citizens in Swain County history. His father, Dr. A.M. Bennett, was registered as a pharmacist by the state of North Carolina in 1888 and initially set up his practice in Whittier. Kelly Bennett was registered in 1912. His daughter, Mary Alice, was registered in 1936, being the first woman pharmacist in North Columnist Carolina.

Accordingly, three generations of the Bennett family served Swain County as pharmacists for over 100 years, with 86 of those years being from the same location.

For his part in promoting the movement which culminated in the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Kelly became known as “The Apostle of the Smokies.” That, however, was a somewhat limited designation, as he was in fact one of the foremost advocates of the entire region, being instrumental in bringing good roads to the mountains.

George Ellison

I have files in my computer containing articles I’ve forgotten that I wrote until, by chance, I run across them while looking for something else.

This one appeared in the Smoky Mountain Neighbors, a weekly tabloid published in the late 1980s into the 1990s by the Asheville Citizen-Times in the counties west of Asheville.

It will interest those old enough to remember when Bennett’s Drug Store in Bryson City was the place you went to for drugs and just about anything else you might require.

He was for 5 years on the North Carolina board of pharmacy and in 1954 was named pharmacist of the year; for 14 years Bryson City’s mayor; for 20 years a member of the Swain County Board of Education; for 5 terms a state senator; for 2 terms a state representative; for 7 years on the N.C. Hospital Board of Control; a founder of the Cherokee Historical Association; and so on.

A dedicated gardener, fisherman, hiker and camper, “Doc” Kelly was also an accomplished photographer. He left behind a photo file of over 8,000 black and white negatives and 5,000 or so color slides. Many of his photographs were published in the Asheville Citizen-Times, as well as in magazines.

With his friend Horace Kephart, Bennett was one of the major forces behind the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Shortly after his death, a peak just north of Bryson City in the park was named Mount Bennett. Another friend, Lamar Gudger, then a member of the U.S.

House of Representatives, spoke at the dedication ceremonies, saying: “We have come together to dedicate a peak for Kelly Bennett, not the highest peak, but certainly one which had much meaning for in the life of both Kelly and his beloved Tela. This was the mountain on which they would look each afternoon as the sun set in the Smokies. You had to know Kelly to understand that the mountains were the love of his life, that despite his services to his profession, to the government by his election to the state general assembly, he was first and foremost a mountaineer.

“Gazing at his peak from here, I recall the words of my own home county’s motto: ‘Give us men to match our mountains.’ You in Swain County had such a man in Kelly Bennett. I personally want to thank you for sharing him with the rest of the state, indeed the rest of the nation and world.”

If something took place in Swain County during “Doc” Kelly's lifetime, there was more than an even chance he either started it or had a hand in supporting or opposing it. A billboard sign in Bryson City that read “Ask Bennett, He Knows” was more often right than wrong.

The closing of Bennett's Drug Store marks the end of an era.

(George Ellison is a naturalist and writer.

He can be reached at info@georgeellison.com.)

March 8-14, 2017

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Smoky Mountain News

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