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March 19-25, 2014 Vol. 15 Iss. 42

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CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover A Cullowhee school is making a name for itself by training people in backcountry emergency medical techniques, whitewater rescue and other skills needed to help those who may be far away from civilization when a mishap occurs. (Page 28) Holly Kays photo

News Maggie Valley votes for room tax hike; county GOP opposes move . . . . . . 4 Canton still searching for a new manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Pigeon Community Center struggles to survive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Maggie Valley sues concert promoter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sylva mulls two-way traffic downtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Jackson officials OK filming at Judaculla Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Rumble-strip study makes use of Swain cyclists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Jackson sheriff candidate fired from Sylva PD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Brewer makes offer to locate in old Franklin town hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Jackson planners to take another look at steep slope proposal. . . . . . . . . 14

Opinion What do you do when someone is wrong?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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CORRECTION

March 19-25, 2014

CLASSIFIEDS: WRITING & EDITING:

Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Travis Bumgardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . travis@smokymountainnews.com Emily Moss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . emily@smokymountainnews.com Whitney Burton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . whitney@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Hylah Smalley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smliv.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Becky Johnson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . becky@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Jeremy Morrison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jeremy@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Melanie Threlkeld McConnell Amanda Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), George Ellison (writing), Gary Carden (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Jake Flannick (writing), Paul Clark (writing).

A&E

The Smoky Mountain News incorrectly described Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, as losing by a “rather wide margin” to N.C. Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, in 2012. In fact, the spread was 1,117 votes, which was a margin of about 3.5 percent.

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Maggie roller coaster over, but stars still aren’t aligned for Haywood room tax hike

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER fter oscillating on the issue last year, Maggie Valley town leaders have now endorsed a room tax hike in Haywood County that would raise more money for tourism projects, but its chances of passing muster with the N.C. General Assembly this year remain slim.

Maggie’s new official stance in favor of the room tax hike is symbolic. Until now, the Maggie town board was split on the issue. But two newly elected aldermen have tipped the scales in favor of the increase.

A vote this month came out 4-to-1, reversing the previous vote on record of 2-to-2.

Every other town in the county — Waynesville, Canton, Clyde — plus the county commissioners had unanimously endorsed the room tax already, over a year ago, in fact.

Maggie’s support was seen as a missing piece of the puzzle needed for the room tax hike to win the blessing of the General Assembly, where its passage has been hung up for the past year.

“Local people are electing local leaders, and if those local leaders are trying to accomplish something locally, why should the state second guess that?” said Maggie Mayor Ron DeSimone.

But the new majority support from Maggie may not be the linchpin the county’s tourism leaders were hoping for. To take effect, it must be passed in both the N.C. Senate and N.C. House of Representatives.

On the Senate side, N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, RFranklin, is back on board, despite temporarily withdrawing his support last year amidst the wrangling in Maggie.

On the House side, however, N.C. Rep. Michele Presnell, RBurnsville, still has misgivings and isn’t willing to green light the room tax hike.

Michele Presnell “This is a very controversial bill. That is a fact,” Presnell said. “It is still controversial.”

Presnell said the General Assembly won’t take up controversial local bills during the abbreviated legislative session this spring, the so-called “short session” that occurs in evennumbered years.

Presnell said she doesn’t know what or who decides whether a local bill is controversial, thus making it a non-starter during the short session. Presnell presumably plays a large role herself, however, in setting the tone for the bill, since she is Haywood’s representative in the N.C. House.

DeSimone said sentiment is clear and overwhelming from his perspective. Maggie voters had a choice in the election last fall, with candidates on both sides of the room tax issue on the ballot.

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Maggie Valley recently endorsed a room tax hike in Haywood County that would go from 4 to 6 percent.

The bill has yet to be voted on by the N.C. General Assembly. The tax money currently helps fund county tourism initiatives. Margaret Hester photo

What’s the room tax?

Anyone staying at a hotel, inn, resort, lodge, bed and breakfast, rental cabin or the like in Haywood County pays a 4 percent tax that’s tacked onto their room bill.

It currently brings in about $1 million a year, which goes toward tourism marketing campaigns, advertising, visitor center operations, travel brochures and web sites, festivals and sundry initiatives aimed at luring more tourists to Haywood.

A proposal would hike the tax to 6 percent, bringing in an additional $500,000. It would be earmarked specifically for tourism-related capital projects, such as tourism attractions and venues.

“The three candidates that got elected ran on the fact that they supported the occupancy tax. They were vocal about that,” DeSimone said.

Maggie Alderman Philip Wight, who opposes the room tax increase, said he isn’t exactly the lone voice he’s made out to be. He pointed to a resolution by the Haywood County GOP opposing the room tax increase, which was passed at the party’s annual convention last weekend.

“The Republican Party Platform supports free enterprise, less government regulation, lower taxation, and reduced government spending — all of which are contrary to a 50 percent increase in taxes on area lodging businesses and patrons,” the resolution states.

But Commissioner Mike Sorrells, a Democrat, said the resolution does not necessarily reflect the mainstream views of local Republicans.

“I wonder if it’s truly a Republican Party resolution,” said Sorrells.

Commissioner Kevin Ensley also suggested a small faction of the party was behind the resolution, rather than the party as a whole.

“They’ve kind of taken over the GOP,” said Ensley, who is a Republican himself.

Ensley doesn’t have a problem with a small tax paid by overnight tourists, given the costs incurred by the county when visitors

require emergency services, citing motorcycle accidents and skiing injuries.

IN THE NAME OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?

A year ago, Haywood tourism leaders called for a tax increase on overnight lodging from 4 to 6 percent, which would bring in an additional $500,000 annually.

It would be earmarked to build new tourism attractions and venues, or upgrade and expand existing ones. Examples run the gamut from a civic center to a tournamentcaliber sports complex to grants for commercial attractions or nonprofit museums.

It was endorsed almost instantly by town boards and county commissioners after the county tourism board floated the idea. But pushback soon materialized from a contingent of motel and rental unit owners in Maggie.

Critics questioned whether the county’s tourism budget is being wisely spent as it is.

The existing 4 percent room tax already brings in nearly $1 million, which funds tourism marketing, initiatives and events — all in the name of attracting more tourists.

“One of the things I asked was what are you doing with almost the $1 million in occupancy tax you are get-

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The Canton town board remains undecided about who will take over as town manager. The board was expected to choose between three finalists at its March 13 meeting, but two members pushed for a delay until at least the next meeting.

“The search is coming to a close, but we’re not there yet. It’s still ongoing,” said Alderman Zeb Smathers.

Smathers said the board may have its decision wrapped up by the end of the month. The search for a new town manager began 15 months ago, when former town manager Al Matthews put in his retirement notice. The town board spent months going through applications and narrowing down the pool, only to reopen the process with a call for more applications in August. A decision still wasn’t reached by November’s town election, when all four Canton aldermen stepped down.

The new town board began anew in December, sifting and weeding through the applications, including holding meetings on Saturday and Sunday to work on the search.

MedWest hosts community meetings

— Ron DeSimone, Maggie Valley mayor

ting now?” Presnell said. “I needed more information.”

Wight, the lone elected official in the county who is against the room tax hike, said he has several reasons for opposing it. He fears any tourism attractions built with the money could end up being a drain on local taxpayers down the road.

Further, Maggie should be in control of its

own room tax dollars — instead of putting them in a countywide kitty to be parceled back out, he said.

“If we are supposed to give our money away at the county level and then turn around and beg for projects, at some point, it will pit municipalities against each other,” Wight said.

Maggie will be outnumbered, and will see the room tax dollars collected from its motels snatched up for tourism attractions to be built elsewhere in the county, Wight said.

DeSimone said Maggie can no longer act like an island but must integrate with the rest of the county. Maggie’s tourism stature has slipped over the past decade while Waynesville’s has grown, the mayor noted.

“Maggie is trying to be a good team player with the rest of Haywood County,” DeSimone said. “What is good for Maggie is good for the county at large, and vice-versa.”

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Smoky Mountain News

“The three candidates that got elected ran on the fact that they supported the occupancy tax. They were vocal about that.”

meet expectations, because if we don’t know about it we can’t fix it. We are here for one reason only; to provide safe, excellent care to our community. And it’s important to me that I get out and hear what people have to say.”

The first meeting will be held from 6 to 7 p.m., April 2 in the auditorium at the Haywood Community College. A second meeting will take place from noon until 1 p.m., April 8, at the MedWest Haywood Health and Fitness Center. The third meeting is scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m., May 1 at the town hall in Maggie Valley.

The final meeting will take place from 6 to 7 p.m., May 5 at the Colonial Theater Annex in Canton.

Community members may R.S.V.P. by calling 828.452.8883 or emailing katherine.crocker@haymed.org.

Your Diamond

March 19-25, 2014

MedWest Haywood will hold another series of community meetings in April and May. Feedback collected from the community during an initial round of public meetings last spring will be shared during the upcoming events.

Last year, Medwest Haywood Health System hosted meetings in an effort to learn how it might better serve the community.

“I continue to be interested in knowing how our community thinks we are doing, because this is their community hospital,” said MedWest President and CEO Janie Sinacore-Jaberg. “I want to know the good as well as the cases when maybe we didn’t

The three finalists they came up with include: • Jason Burrell, who is the current interim town manager for Canton and lives in Asheville.

• Vincent Wong, a senior budget/system analyst for the City of Gastonia.

• Seth Handler-Voss, the park planning/development manager for the City of Asheville.

The town board held a public forum in January so that aldermen might hear from the public about what they were looking in a new town manager. Town officials also held a meet-and-greet for the public to interact with prospective finalists on March 1.

“We’ve gone to great lengths to incorporate what people in our community desire in a town manager,” Smathers said. “I’ve heard the most important thing people are looking for is experience. We’ve been working very hard on this and have been working in a very transparent way.”

— By Garret Woodward

news

15 months and counting, Canton delays decision on town manager again

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From Segregation to Saturation Pondering the Pigeon Center’s Future

BY JEREMY MORRISON NEWS EDITOR radled in a slight curve of U.S. 276, the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center has rested near the edge of Waynesville for many years. First as a segregated school, then as a community center.

“It’s gonna be cold,” said Lin Forney, as she walked towards the building’s doors on a recent gray afternoon. “Sometimes colder in here than it is outside.”

Forney has a long relationship with this property. Her grandparents were active proponents in getting a new facility built for African-American students.

“I started kindergarten in this building,” Forney recalled.

In addition to serving as a place of education, the property also served as a focal point for the black community.

“It was the hub of the community then,” Forney said. “That’s where families came, not just for school functions, but for a polling center for voting and just for general gatherings.”

In 2002 — after having changed hands from the local school board to Haywood County — the building was leased to the Pigeon Community Development Club for 20 years for the amount of $1. Since then, efforts at the community center have focused on serving under-privileged families. The Pigeon’s staple offerings are its always-popular summer program for school-age youth and an afterschool program during the academic year.

But not this year. Not since September.

“Basically, we’re not in the space right now,” explained Forney, who serves as cochair of the center’s board of directors. “It’s not a friendly place to be in right now.”

Outside the Pigeon community center, ghosts of pumpkins decay into fading bales of hay. Inside, stains on the ceiling hint at the needed repairs, while collections of receptacles — buckets, a trash can, a kiddie pool — catch leaking water as it seeps into the building.

Forney’s office, awash in blue plastic in an effort to keep things dry, hasn’t been occupied in a couple of years. At times, she’s had to make several trips a day to the center in order to empty out a round of full buckets.

“You can see all the buckets in here,” she said, opening her office door. “I haven’t been in here in a while because of all the mess, the mildew and the mold.”

The community center is in dire need of repairs. Maybe more than repairs.

“We’ve got to do a major new roof,” Forney said. “It’s been patched. Patching isn’t working. It’s got to be a new roof.”

The building has been wanting for a while — “we had to do some repairs last summer just to make sure that kids could get in there 6 without water leaking on their heads” — and

Smoky Mountain News

March 19-25, 2014

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the needed repairs helped push it into effective hiatus in September.

But maintenance isn’t the only problem plaguing the Pigeon. Funding is also proving to be an issue. The center exists on a mix of grants and grassroots fundraising efforts.

Both fronts have been rather bleak the past few years.

“As the economy kind of crunched out, grant sources dwindled as well,” Forney noted.

Last fall, it got particularly bad. The Pigeon Community Center almost slipped

It was at one such fish fry last fall that Upton decided to lend a hand.

“It was not an unusually cold day, but it was a little chilly,” the pastor said. “They had a kerosene heater, trying to heat the inside.

The smell was bad.”

Upton soon learned that the center was employing the kerosene heater because of the great expense of filling up its 10,000-gallon oil boiler in the basement.

The pastor was able to locate a smaller tank and has also helped with some patch-

Aiyana Bryant, 7, plays with a Hula Hoop as her mother speaks with Lin Forney at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center.

Jeremy Morrison

away.

“In October,” Forney recalled, “we were almost like ‘shut the doors, it’s not going to happen.’”

A collection of churches and businesses came to the center’s aid, donating the funds needed to keep the building humming.

Among the rescuers was Bill Upton, pastor of Francis Cove Methodist Church.

“It’s a very important part of the community and deserves to be supported,” said Upton, who has since agreed to join the center’s board of directors.

The center was able to raise about $8,000 last fall. That kept the lights on through the end of the year. Then in January a $20,000 Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation grant came through.

“And we’re riding off that now,” Forney said.

The school’s operating budget last year was about $115,000. That covers basic monthly expenses, any scholarships the center is able to offer and supplements the summer and after-school programs. In addition to any grants, the funds are raised in large part through a series of fish fries held throughout the year.

work repairs to keep the building limping along. But he describes the building as “functionally obsolete” and understands that maintaining the site is an uphill climb.

“You know, if the county had a use for the building, they’d just tear it down and start over,” Upton said.

Forney is not unfamiliar with such a gloomy assessment. She knows the building has issues.

“We have people say to us, ‘It’d be cheaper for us to tear this building down and build a new one,’” she said. “But the history for this community is in this building, not in a new building.”

Currently, Haywood County has $35,000 set aside for the Pigeon Center. According to Interim County Manager Ira Dove, the budgeted funds are based on a 2012 quote and are to be used for roof repairs; the county is currently working with the center to find a contractor and assess its current repair needs.

But Forney said the Pigeon center may benefit the most if Haywood County simply deeded the property to the community group.

She cites the uncertainty that rests beyond the current 20-year lease, and contends it is scaring away potential funders.

“They do not want to sink a lot of funds into that space and then have it taken away or whatever when the lease is up,” Forney said.

The director feels that funders would be more comfortable if they knew the center was owned by the community group and would continue operating as such.

“People would know this is our building,” she said. “The building’s not going anywhere, we’re not going anywhere.”

Forney said that the Pigeon’s board of directors has already held discussions along these lines. County officials, too, may be open to a conversation.

“I’d have to wait and see what they’re presenting us with,” said Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick.

The commissioner — who stepped onto the board just after the county leased the community center in 2002 — said that he would need to consider factors such as the building’s fair market value before considering deeding the property over.

“You always want to do something good, but every time you do that you have to realize you’re giving something away,” said Kirkpatrick.

Commissioner Michael Sorrells said he has been approached previously about the chances of deeding over the community center.

“I told them I would definitely listen,” he said.

Commissioner Kevin Ensley compared the possibility of deeding the Pigeon community center to the recent handover of an old elementary school in Hazlewood to the Folkmoot Friendship Center. He said deeding over such property is sometimes advantageous because of the costs involved with demolition of the property.

“Just to tear that building down would be expensive,” Ensley said. “That might be the same with this building,” If the commissioners were to decide to hand off the Pigeon center, the arrangement could look something like the recent Folkmoot deal. It would likely include a reversal clause that stipulates the property must be used for a public purpose.

“If Folkmoot ceases to exist,” explained Kirkpatrick, “then it’s going back to the county.”

Keeping the center alive and open for the public is exactly what the folks at the Pigeon center would like to do. Forney, in particular, is intent on seeing the historic property continue to serve the community.

“The school has been a hub for the community for a long time, and we envision it continuing to be,” she said.

Conversations about historical hubs or property deeds likely hover well over the head of Aiyana Bryant as she Hula Hoops in a patch of sunlight streaming through a classroom window at the Pigeon center. Her mother, however, is completely aware of what it would mean to lose such a community asset.

“I’d be in trouble with my kids,” said Ashley Robinson.

A single mother, Robinson said that she would “struggle” without the center.

Robinson also credits the Pigeon center’s programs with helping to ease Aiyana out of her shell.

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“Aiyana is comfortable here,” Robinson said. “She’s made friends here.”

The mother described her daughter as shy, and she talked excitedly about her performance of “Lean On Me” at the center.

“Last year she sang a song in front of everybody,” Robinson smiled.

Forney is hoping the little girl has the

chance to return to the Pigeon’s summer program again this year. She’s planning on having the doors open by then. She’s just not sure how.

“By the grace of God, that’s how it is — that’s exactly how it is,” she said. “It’s definitely by the grace of God for us to be open in June.”

T

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is now in its 15th year of operation with the last 7 being in the Waynesville area.

George has been responsible for the Haywood Chamber of Commerce website for the past 5 years as well as many other sites, a sample of which can be found in the portfolio on his site gfgraphics.com.

Smoky Mountain News

also hired more security than the concert needed.

“Me being naïve,” Meadows said, “I didn’t ask what the town had spent.”

Chuck Dixon, Maggie’s town attorney, disagreed.

“Charlie was pretty aware of what the costs were,” Dixon said.

The contract, which the town made Meadows sign the day before the festival, didn’t specify a specific dollar amount that had been spent by the town, nor the dollar amount Meadows would be responsible for.

That does make it somewhat more difficult to enforce.

“Certainly there is more proof involved when the dollar amount is not spelled out,” Dixon said.

Meadows said early estimates from Hager predicted ticket sales, alcohol sales and sponsorships would cover the costs. But less than 500 tickets were sold — a quarter of what was hoped for.

Meadows is perturbed that the town pocketed about $4,000 made on alcohol sales at the concert. He thought money from alcohol sales would go toward his tab for the festival, but the town took that off the top.

Meadows is the former owner of Lucky Jake’s bar, Charlie’s Wing House and the Sweet Briar Motel, which is across the street from the festival grounds. He shut it all down and went back to Florida this winter, however.

“I moved out of Maggie because of the politics,” he said. “If you don’t fit in that clique, the rumor mills start talking and turning.”

Meadows ran for town board last fall but lost. He claims the lawsuit is partly political retribution by the aldermen he campaigned against.

“It was a political year, and that’s why they blew it out of proportion,” he said.

Meadows said he will fight the lawsuit and drag it out, hoping the town decides the legal costs of trying to collect aren’t worth it.

“I don’t want our town to spend $10,000 to try to collect $10,000,” said Alderman Philip Wight.

Dixon said that is always a factor when weighing legal recourse.

“There are two things about lawsuits: one, you have to win and, two, you have to collect,” Dixon said.

But DeSimone said simply writing off the bill wasn’t an option.

“The people of the town at large have been asking, ‘What are we doing to get this money?’” the mayor said.

March 19-25, 2014

BY BECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER he town of Maggie Valley has ramped up its efforts to collect $10,700 it fronted to help a local bar and motel owner put on a concert at the town’s festival grounds last summer.

The town has filed a lawsuit against concert organizer Charlie Meadows, demanding he pay the town back for the costs it incurred — including the booking fee for country musician Matt Stillwell and promotional advertising.

Meadows had enlisted the help of the town festival director, Audrey Hager, in putting on the concert. Hager used town funds to pay for festival expenses, based on a promise from Meadows that he would pay the town back for any losses not covered by ticket and alcohol sales.

But costs associated with the festival skyrocketed, and ticket sales were lackluster.

That left Meadows with a steeper bill than he bargained for.

Town aldermen condemned Hager’s decision to pay for the festival costs in the first place.

“That is not something the board would have approved of had it come to the board,” Maggie Mayor Ron DeSimone said. “It should have never gotten to that point.”

Hager was ultimately fired. Former Town Manager Tim Barth also took the fall for the ill-fated decision and resigned.

The question for the town now, however, is how far it should go to recoup the money.

DeSimone said the town owes it to taxpayers to try to collect by any means possible, thus the lawsuit.

“I wouldn’t want to tell the general public that we made no effort to collect other than to send the man a bill,” DeSimone said. “A lawsuit is the natural progression of what would happen. Somebody owes you money, they don’t pay, they say they won’t pay due to some contesting of the bill, so you file a lawsuit.”

Meadows said he plans to fight the lawsuit, however. He claims he wasn’t aware of the mounting costs Hagar was racking up for the festival and never agreed to be on the hook for that much money.

“The money she spent did not go through me. I didn’t know nothing about it,” Meadows said. “She took an open check book, the town’s, and spent like there was no tomorrow.”

Hager spent more than $8,000 on promotional advertising, which is far more than Meadows anticipated. Meadows said Hager

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Maggie Valley pushes ahead to recoup concert money

When asked, Mr. Ferguson said that his approach to business is very simple, to offer services and marketing advice to help others succeed.

28 Walnut St. Waynesville | 828.456.3021 | HaywoodChamber.com

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Sylva board talks downtown traffic fixes

Lunch and Learn

Some Sylva businesses are pushing for the town to consider turning the one-way section of Main Street into a two-way road. Mark Haskett photo

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Two-way travel on Main Street suggested

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ver the past half-century, traffic patterns in downtown Sylva have prompted a repeated cycle of complaint, remedy and return to the status quo. Now, the town is at the crest of another wave of request for change. The Sylva Board of Commissioners is considering looking into a request from some local businesses that they restore Main Street to a two-way traffic pattern.

“Safety is the underlying issue,” said Town Manager Paige Roberson. “The economic development side of it is another key point.”

Under the current pattern, traffic travels eastbound on Main Street in two lanes, with westbound traffic splitting off to go down Mill Street. The two-lane thoroughfare on Main Street encourages faster driving, and when combined with downtown’s diagonal parking spots, that can get dangerous. With cars getting bigger over recent decades, the back ends of larger vehicles often protrude into the street, meaning people driving smaller cars have to back out blind to oncoming traffic.

“It’s something we face now that we didn’t face 30, 40 years ago,” Roberson said.

The suggested change would take Main Street to a two-way pattern, slowing down traffic to reduce the chance of collision with vehicles trying to leave — and giving westbound traffic a view of the often-photographed historic courthouse. Mill Street, meanwhile, would go from two lanes to one. The closed lane would be repurposed as parking.

“The idea is you’re driving toward the courthouse, which is one of the prettiest areas,” Roberson said. “It would help parking on Mill Street, so hopefully businesses there would benefit. Hopefully, having two-way traffic on Main Street would force drivers to slow down.”

Smoky Mountain News

March 19-25, 2014

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But the concept is as far from final as it can get. The board has not cast any votes, scheduled any public hearings, looked into any costs or outlined the process for moving forward. Right now, the idea hasn’t progressed farther than a discussion at a Feb. 20 budget work session. Some local business owners had broached the subject to members of the board, who felt they deserved to at least have their ideas discussed. The concept is still in its infancy.

“On this one, the press is ahead of the process,” said Mayor Maurice Moody.

The town board of commissioners welcomes public comment of any kind at its regular meetings, held on the first and third Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. and 9:15 a.m., respectively. The board will schedule a public hearing before making any vote pertaining to moving forward with the concept, Moody said.

If, after hearing from the public and looking into cost, the board still wants to consider the project, it will likely hire a traffic consultant to look into variables such as traffic signals, loading zones and types of parking spaces. The town did do a similar study in 1996, but it’s likely things have changed enough in the intervening 18 years that a new one will be required, Roberson said.

“If the board wants to fund the study, we won’t contract with anyone to do the study until the new budget year in July,” Roberson said.

In the meantime, the board and the town have plenty of questions to consider. Should they stick with diagonal spaces, move to safer but less space-efficient parallel parking or use a mixture of the two? Would slower traffic be a safety blessing or a congestion curse? How much might the fix cost? Are there any better ideas out there?

“It is truly too early to predict what is going to happen,” Moody said, “other than if we do consider it, everybody involved will be included in the discussion.”

Film crew granted access to Judaculla Rock A

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Local decisions make lending...

March 19-25, 2014

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER film crew with the show “American Unearthed” will arrive in Jackson County this week to film an episode on Judaculla Rock, despite fears that a mockery will be made of the prehistoric rock art.

“The potential fallout from sensationalized, unscientific programming could be very negative,” cautioned Scott Ashcraft, an archaeologist with the U.S. Forest Service in the region and an expert on rock art.

Ashcraft’s words of caution were not alone. Jackson County officials received multiple requests to deny the filming.

According to the official legend of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Judaculla Rock — an elaborate petroglyph in Cullowhee — is a warning. Legend holds that the petroglyph is the handiwork of a mythological giant, Judaculla, who also made lightening and thunder.

The soapstone boulder was easy to carve, but also easily eroded, so the inscriptions have worn away over the centuries. Archaeologists have concluded the markings on the rock were made over a period of many centuries, some time between 1,000 B.C. to 1,000 A.D. But there are also other theories. Wild theories. There are claims of mystical powers, ancient secret codes, paranormal activity and even alien origins.

“Already, some groups have placed online absurdities about Judaculla and the Rock, encouraging visits to the Rock by some weird or unstable folks,” Keith Parker, whose family owned the Judaculla rock site for decades, wrote in an email to the county.

Critics of the cable program Band of Cherokee to render an “American Unearthed” say it is official opinion. prone to sensational, pseudo-sci“If they told me they didn’t ence conspiracy theories. It has agree with it and didn’t support an audience of 1 million viewers, it, I would have not signed the with a prime time slot of 9 p.m. permit,” Wooten said. But by the on Saturday nights on History end of last week, and just a few Channel 2. days before filming was to begin, “America Unearthed” purports he hadn’t gotten an official stateto investigate alternative versions ment from the tribe and went of history and portrays the host as ahead with the permit. a “real-life Indiana Jones.”

Wooten added that given the Episodes have aired on subjects show’s audience, it could lead to like underwater Aztec pyramids in some positive publicity for the Wisconsin, Southwest petrocounty as a travel destination. glyphs holding the key to Biblical Lorie Hansen, with Blue Ridge artifacts’ final resting places, and Archaeological Consultants and a The Parker family donated the Judaculla site to Jackson County secret societies behind events in volunteer for the N.C. Rock Art and has played an integral part in its preservation. Project, suggested a committee American history.

Above: Milas Parker, 1930s. Donated photo be formed in the future to vet the The county has owned the one-acre Judaculla site since the authenticity and motives of any 1960s, giving the county power to approve or and have refused to be part of the show. media groups seeking access to this site, and “In hindsight, I realized they were pur- other prehistoric sites for that matter. deny the filming request. County Manager Chuck Wooten ultimately approved the film- posely under-informing, misleading, and Wooten welcomed that idea and suggesting application last week, although it was a misdirecting me along the way,” Ashcraft ed appointing a panel that could be called on wrote in a warning email to county officials should a situation like this arise again. difficult decision, he said.

“I was in a bind, to be honest,” Wooten said. last week. “It took me this long to push Dr. Tom Belt, a Cherokee culture and lanOpposition to the show came at the 11th through their veil of misinformation.” guage expert at Western Carolina University, Parker, whose family looked after the rock said the filming is indicative of a larger issue: hour. The film crew already had their wheels in motion. Wooten felt uncomfortable chang- for decades before it was deeded to the coun- who should be the interpreter and keeper of ty, also pulled out of the project. ing course and denying the permit.

Cherokee’s “culturally-fragile gifts?”

“As I learned about the group, looked up “It was less than two weeks before they “From the Cherokee perspective, were supposed to be here that everyone start- some of the controversies, lawsuits, and Judaculla Rock is a cultural validation of who mockeries they had made of some peoples we are as a people. We cannot allow our idened bailing,” Wooten said.

The show’s producers had reached out to and history, I cannot take part,” Parker wrote tity to be defined by someone else,” Belt several experts on Judacalla Rock in recent in an email to the county. wrote in an email to the county. “Correct and Wooten weighed the opinions about the conscientious stewardship of these gifts is a weeks, including Ashcraft, Cherokee tribal archaeologists, Cherokee cultural experts and show’s content, and fears over what direction moral responsibility to those who have it may or may not take. But, the county manag- passed and to those yet to come.” landowners around the site.

Most of them initially offered to be part of er said he isn’t a history expert and didn’t have Committee Films, the company producwhat they thought was a documentary on the knowledge to assess the claims either way. ing the show, did not return a request for Wooten said he turned to the Eastern comment.

Judaculla Rock. But they since cut off contact

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Concerns raised about direction of documentary

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Buckle up, baby! Seat safety clinic planned in Macon

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A free car seat safety clinic will be offered in Macon County April 5. Local law enforcement is teaming with Angel Medical Center and Safe Kids NC to offer parents the opportunity to have their child’s safety seat checked.

The event, dubbed Buckle Up, Baby!, will be held at two locations — The Franklin Fun Factory and the Highlands Hudson Library — from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to checking child seats, local law enforcement officers will also be providing demonstrations of how to correctly install a child’s car seat.

828.369.6767.

North Carolina officials to speak on senior issues

Smoky Mountain News

March 19-25, 2014

Director of the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services Dennis Streets will be the guest speaker at the annual meeting of Haywood County’s Senior Advocacy Network.

As governmental agencies feel the budgetary impact of the current economic environment, Street will speak about issues facing seniors in North Carolina and the changes pertaining to such issues at the state level. The Senior Advocacy Network’s annual meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m.

Friday, March 21. The event will take place at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.

The Division of Aging and Adult Services works to promote independence among North Carolina’s older adults. It also focuses on preparing younger generations for their later years and working to ensure that government is planning for the state’s changing demographics.

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‘Inequality For All’ screening in Sylva

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There will be a free screening “Inequality For All” at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

The 2013 Robert Reich documentary focuses on the growing economic inequality in the United States. In the film, Reich — a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley — explores the economic well-being of the average American.

“Their debt obligations are staggering, yet (if lucky enough to have a job), they’re working harder and longer than ever before,” argues Reich. “People need to understand what’s happening to them.”

Reich is the author of 13 books and served as secretary of labor in the Clinton Administration.

“Time Magazine has recognized him as one of the most effective cabinet secretaries of the 20th century.

The screening is sponsored by Jackson County’s Issues Roundtable.

“The film received an award at the 2013 Sundance Festival but has seen limited public distribution in our region,” explained Penny Smith, Issues Roundtable facilitator. “We wanted to bring it to Jackson County, because we believe the economic argument it makes is relevant to citizens here.”

The documentary will be screened at 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 27.

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the rumble strips, cyclists have complained to transportation officials that there is still not enough room to maneuver through.

“If you’re going at a high speed, 12 feet is not enough,” Moore said.

So, in 2012 Moore proposed a study focusing on the space between rumble strips. He wanted to know if cyclists would fare better at higher speeds if that space was increased.

The study was approved and handed to Sarah O’Brien, bicycle and pedestrian program manager for the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at North Carolina State University.

“Bicyclists don’t like rumble strips,” she said. “They’re extremely uncomfortable and potentially dangerous and can cause a crash.”

O’Brien’s team invited cyclists to a stretch of N.C. 28 in Swain County over a recent March weekend. They replicated rumble strips, leaving varying distances in-between

“I just think it’s great that they’re even thinking about multi-use. We’ve been so car-centric in this nation.”

— Diane Cutler, on transportation officials’ consideration of cyclists

Democrats host candidate forum A Democratic candidate forum is slated for Jackson County March 20. The forum will include candidates for Jackson County sheriff, clerk of court, county commissioners, register of deeds, district attorney, North Carolina’s District 50 senate seat and North Carolina House of Representatives District 119.

The forum — sponsored by the Democratic Women of Jackson County and the Jackson County Democratic Party — will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Jackson County Courthouse.

would likely be served just as well by rumble strips interspersed with gaps larger than 12 feet.

“That’s probably a subject of debate among our traffic engineers,” he said. “I’ve tried to drive a car though a 12-foot gap and I couldn’t do it. I think up to 20 feet would be fine.”

Also important to the rumble strip study was the grade of the hill. The faster the cyclists were going, the worse the effect of the rumble strips.

“That’s when they’re the most dangerous to cyclists,” said Parham, author of several books, including Road Bike the Smokies. “If you’re going over 20 mph they can cause you to go out of control and crash.”

Parham estimates he was going between 35 and 40 mph during his rumble strip experiment runs. He points out that such a speed might be considered typical for a cyclist on a downhill.

“It’s not like you’re out there being a daredevil,” Tarham said. “That’s just your cruising speed.”

In real-world conditions, Parham tends to avoid rumble strips as much as possible.

“I might actually move out into the traffic lane more than I normally would,” he said.

The cyclist also noted that the amount of shoulder available on the other side of rumble strips is another factor to consider when dis-

Local NAACP chapters to meet Two newly-formed local NAACP chapters will be holding a pair of meetings this month.

The Jackson County chapter will hold a meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at the Liberty Baptist Church in Sylva.

The Haywood County chapter will next meet at 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 29, at Harris Chapel A.M.E. Zion in Canton.

Those interested in joining these branches can download a membership form from the statewide NAACP website.

cussing safety issues. The shoulder area is often limited or otherwise unattractive to cyclists.

“Rocks and wires and glass and all kind of stuff over there,” Tarham said. “It’s not a good place to be riding a bicycle.”

That’s something Cutler said she hears from riders at the shop in Bryson City.

“Larger shoulders, I think that’s the number one thing I’d like to see on all our roads,” she said. “It’s scary to ride. Especially with how curvy and winding the roads are.”

Cutler also suggested that the rumble strips be placed along the edge of the driving lane, as opposed to down the middle of the shoulder. But she’s also glad that transportation officials are taking cyclists into consideration at all.

“I just think it’s great that they’re even thinking about multi-use,” she said. “We’ve been so car-centric in this nation.”

Once the data collected during the N.C. 28 experiment is assessed, Moore is hoping that the findings feed into the science of rumble strips. That information gleaned during the downhill rides in Swain County can be used by transportation officials across the state and beyond.

“I’m hoping this can be used as a toolbox feature,” Moore said.

Affordable Care Act workshop in Jackson A basic overview of the Affordable Care Act will be provided beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 25 at the Jackson County Public Library. Melissa Orr, an ACA navigator from Mountain Projects will provide the overview and discuss programs available to consumers.

Attendees will learn how to access the healthcare marketplace and will also cover topics such as enrollment, exemptions, cost savings and tax credits, as well as dates and deadlines. 828.586.2016.

Smoky Mountain News

“We’d be shuttled to the top of a nice hill,” explained Cutler, who participated in the study. “We did some practice runs just to get comfortable with the hill, to figure out what our speeds should be.”

The experiment involved about 20 cyclists. Researchers used radar to collect speed data. Participants were not informed of the particulars.

“It was all blind to us,” Cutler explained.

“They’d set up a series of rumble strips, then a space, then rumble strips.”

The gaps actually varied from 12 to 24 feet, in two-foot intervals. Researchers looked at a cyclist’s speed, as well as the interval at which they felt comfortable crossing.

Moore said he estimates motor vehicles

Volunteer Jim Parham making a run during the rumblestrip study. Photo courtesy of Mary Ellen Hammond

March 19-25, 2014

BY J EREMY MORRISON N EWS E DITOR hen drivers veer off the road, they’re often alerted to the error by a vicious vibration caused by an ingrained groove laid into the asphalt. That groove is known as a rumble strip.

Reuben Moore, a division planning engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, has felt the vibration of the rumble strips. Not in a motor vehicle, but on a bicycle.

“I got out on one road and tried’em out,” Moore said. “It was extremely uncomfortable. It basically vibrated the handlebars right out of my hands.”

Rumble strips are cut a half-inch deep and run about a foot across. Studies and statistics show them to be a lifesaver for motorists.

Cyclists, however, have a different perspective.

“I think that they’re absolutely necessary for motorists, they’re great to keep you from running off the road and that kind of thing,” said Swain County cyclist Jim Parham. “For cyclists, it’s the exact opposite.”

Instead of gently jarring reminders to stay on the road, cyclists tend to view rumble strips as teeth lying in wait for someone to rattle across them.

“You’ve got teeny little tires,” noted Diane Cutler, owner of Bryson City Bicycles.

Moore, also a cyclist, wondered if the rumble strips might be better designed to accommodate bicycles. Historically speaking, traffic officials had not taken bicycles into account when considering how best to place rumble strips on roadways.

“Bicycles weren’t on our radar,” Moore said.

The NCDOT official pointed to a 1999 Arizona Department of Transportation study that recommended leaving 12-foot gaps between sections of rumble strips to allow cyclists a space through which to cross. Such a gap was an improvement, as the sections typically featured no breaks.

“In 2007 or so we were putting in rumble strips without any gaps at all, and we were getting some immediate feedback from cyclists that this was a screw-up,” Moore said.

But even with 12-foot gaps interspersing

news

Swain cyclists help DOT in rumble strip study

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Still on the job No repercussions for officers involved in dismissed drug case

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hree months after lies on a search warrant and a fabricated drug dog alert prompted a federal judge to throw out a Cherokee drug trafficking case, it appears that the officers involved are still at their jobs, with no change in status or salary. The case involved officers and detectives from Swain, Jackson and Graham counties, as well as from the Cherokee Indian Police Department.

“There will be a full review of the suppression hearing to determine what steps, if any, need to be taken,” Cherokee Police Chief Ben Reed said in a statement, adding that he will be working with the State District Attorney, the Tribal Prosecutors and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Reed did not definitively state whether any of the Cherokee officers have been disciplined in any way in connection with the case, but his statement indicated that they have not.

“There have been public statements made that are only clouding the real issues,” Reed continued. “I want to assure the community and our officers that we will handle this situation prudently, while taking measures to be transparent to ensure our public that we will continue to provide them the best police service possible.”

March 19-25, 2014

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Smoky Mountain News

“It is undisputed that Beck never gave his trained indication,” the court opinion reads.

However, Detective Cox continues to hold his job with Graham County, and Sheriff Mickey Anderson said he has no plans to make any change to that arrangement.

“I don’t know about that,” he said of the judge’s opinion. “I wasn’t there at the case. I think he [Cox] got misconstrued somehow.”

A strip search of the two women revealed that they were carrying prescription drugs, so, on the basis of the dog alert that never happened and what the defense called “more layers of hearsay “There have been public than one would see in most wedding cakes,” Cherokee officers had statements made that are only Jackson County Detective Patrick McCoy write up a search warrant clouding the real issues. I want to get in the women’s apartment. to assure the community and our “If they’d just of followed the proper procedure like any other officers that we will handle this law enforcement agency would have, there would have been no situation prudently, while taking problem,” said Rich Cassady, who measures to be transparent to represented Raymond. “But they decided to cut corners.” ensure our public that we will “These girls were found with continue to provide them the 11,000 pills in their apartment,” he said. “What’s my defense going best police service possible.” to be to that?”

Cassady does not foresee the — Cherokee Police Chief Ben Reed case turning into a civil suit, but he believes its outcome is just a Smith asked Wilson and Raymond to exit the symptom of a larger problem in the Cherokee car, according to court documents. justice system.

The only problem was that the dog did “I quit going over there about two years ago not, according to video taken from a camera because I couldn’t stomach what was going on on one of the patrol cars, alert. In fact, he was over there,” he said. “It’s just a kangaroo court.” not even trained to recognize prescription Cherokee police did not return repeated drugs, so there is no way oxycodone could requests for comment beyond their prepared have elicited an alert. statement.

Sheriff candidate fired from Sylva police force Lambert claims no basis, explores appeal options

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ackson County sheriff candidate Curtis Lambert no longer has a job with the Sylva Police Department, but he says his firing last week isn’t throwing cold water on his campaign.

“The sheriff ’s race is very much on my mind, and I think going through this situation and how it affects families, it’s important to understand how it affects people,” he said.

Lambert, who is one of three Republican candidates in the ninemember sheriff ’s race, was terminated from his post as a Sylva officer on March 3. He had been employed with the department since January Curtis Lambert 2013, but had worked there from 1995 to 1998 and from 2007 to 2011 in between stints working in private sector security and at the Jackson County Sheriff ’s Office.

According to Town Manager Paige Roberson, Lambert was fired for good reason.

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Reed did not return requests for comment to clarify what those “real issues” are.

The officer from Swain County was no longer employed on the force at the time the case was heard, and neither of the Graham or Jackson county detectives involved have experienced any change in employment status.

It is a case with origins nearly two years old, beginning when Cherokee police launched an investigation into oxycodone trafficking that, by September 2012, led them to Florida resident Eudine Wilson. Wilson was staying in an apartment in Cherokee, and police soon identified her vehicle.

Shortly thereafter, Detective Jeff Smith saw Wilson enter the vehicle as he was conducting surveillance on the home and contacted his colleague, Officer David Velez, to “try and find reasonable suspicion to pull the black Mazda over and identify the driver,” according to court documents. Velez pulled Wilson over for not wearing a seatbelt — he later testified she had, in fact, been wearing it — in order to learn her name, according to court documents.

In October, Cherokee police located Wilson’s car again, and Smith called in a total of six law enforcement officials from three different agencies to help in case he was able to pull the car over, according to court documents. Trailing Wilson and her passenger Marie Raymond from the apartment, Swain County Detective William Reed, Smith and Velez followed in their respective vehicles for about 2 miles before Reed pulled them over, supposedly for weaving left of the yellow center lines on the highway three times.

“Crossing the yellow line here is a fantastic example of really pushing the boundary of what you should be stopping people for,” said Al Kopak, criminology professor at Western Carolina University. “In these mountain roads, I cross the yellow line every day.”

But that’s not the reason for the case’s dismissal. It was largely because of what came next.

Within two minutes, Graham County Detective Matthew Cox had released Beck, a drug dog, to sniff around the car. When Cox told Smith that the dog had alerted to the presence of drugs,

“It was not to do with budget,” she said. “It was to do “There was a verbal complaint filed. That absolutely with job performance.” was not the basis for his firing. That was the final straw,” But Lambert said he was blindsided by the news and Roberson said. “And he knows that. He has been talked to can’t think of anything he’s done wrong. The day after his repeatedly.” termination, he sent Roberson a letter requesting his entire Lambert has retained a lawyer and said that he is personnel file. As of press time, Lambert’s attorney had not exploring several options for an appeal, also informing finished reviewing the file, but Roberson in a letter that he plans to Lambert said he has nothing to hide exercise his due process rights.

“I can tell you he was and plans to eventually release the With Lambert’s firing coming in information. amidst a crowded sheriff ’s race, in not relieved of his duty “I’ve done nothing illegal, which he’s competing against Sylva immoral or unethical,” Lambert said. police officer and Democrat Douglas because of anything “If you keep turning the rocks over, Farmer, questions of politics have political.” there’s nothing there.” arisen.

Roberson maintains that According to Roberson, politics — Paige Roberson, Sylva Lambert was given a reason for his are the only reason the story has gartown manager termination, but Lambert said that nered any media attention at all. In all he’s been told is that his dismissal the past year, several people have is connected to a verbal complaint someone filed against been laid off from the sheriff ’s department, she said, him. though all but one of those people were in their probation“They won’t tell me who filed the complaint,” he said. ary period.

“They say it’s a verbal complaint. I think being fired over a “The only reason this is getting any traction is because verbal complaint is pretty harsh.” he’s running for sheriff,” Roberson said. “I can tell you he Roberson, however, said that while a verbal complaint was not relieved of his duty because of anything political.” was filed against Lambert, it was not the sole basis for his Lambert, however, isn’t so sure. termination. Job performance, she said, was the overarch“By no means am I saying it’s political, but you keep ing reason. connecting the dots, and it sure does feel that way,” he said.

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Behind the Big Gun in Clyde

March 19-25, 2014 Smoky Mountain News

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ranklin could soon get its first taste of microbrew beer. An offer to lease the old town hall building and turn it into a brewery is currently on the table.

“We would love to be on the south end of the Asheville Ale Trail,” said Ken Murphy, co-owner of the proposed brewery, “And we think having the business downtown would provide some vibrancy and energy to downtown.”

Murphy is hoping the brewery, called The Lazy Hiker, garners the Franklin Board of Aldermen’s blessing. It won’t be the first time officials have considered their options for the old town hall, with this proposal becoming the third offer in six months.

Perhaps, this time will be different. The aldermen have called a special session for Tuesday night to consider the offer.

“Whether that’s unanimous, I can’t say, but we’ve had good feedback from the board about our business locating there,” Murphy said.

The draft proposal would have the brewery paying $1,250 rent per month for the first year and double that amount afterward.

In addition, they would be required to invest $185,000 in improvements to the downtown building during the first 18 months of the lease. The proposal also includes an option to buy the property for $325,000.

That’s a better offer than the company made the town board in January, when it proposed buying the building outright for $200,000.

“The taxpayers have money invested in that building, so we have to make sure we make a return on their investment,” said Warren Cabe, Franklin town manager.

The building, which was constructed in the 1950s and used as Franklin Town Hall until 2009, was appraised at over $1 million in 2008. But since the real estate crash its value has dipped down to the 2013 value of $725,000.

Of course, the agreement is far from final. Even if the board votes in favor of it — Tuesday’s meeting had not commenced as of press time — it will be some time before Franklin residents can stroll downtown for a glass of fresh-brewed beer. The sale would require an upset bid process and a final vote, likely given at the board’s April meeting, to approve, and after that both parties would have to go through the closing process.

“You’re probably looking close to July by the time we go through the closing process,” Cabe estimated.

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Back to the drawing board Jackson County Planning Board reconsiders rewrites

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER proposal to loosen steep slope development rules in Jackson County is headed back to the drawing board.

A large and vocal crowd opposing the rollback of mountainside protections in Jackson County packed a public hearing earlier this month. Given the outcry, the Jackson County Planning Board decided to reconsider some of its initial recommendations.

But how to go about it, and whether to take a break before diving back into the tedious and drawn-out revision process, was the subject of pointed discussion at a planning board meeting last week.

“I would like to make a motion that we table this for 120 days,” said Joe Ward, a planning board member who doesn’t agree with the rewrite in its entirety.

“No way. Short answer, no way,” replied Clark Lipkin, a planning board member who likes the rewrite as it is. “I was hoping we could iron out the problems.”

Ben Bergen, a planning board member who supports the revisions, feared the time and energy put into them so far would be “thrown away” if they tabled the ordinance and had to start completely over.

“We need to keep talking about it and working on it,” Bergen said.

Planning board member Sarah Graham, who opposes the revisions, questioned whether continuing to go over it would produce a different outcome.

“Are you going to agree to change some things?” Graham asked. “Otherwise I think we are at a point where we have ideological

Smoky Mountain News

March 19-25, 2014

A

Planning board members listen as speakers spoke out against the proposed rewrite of the steep slope revisions. Photo courtesy of Jason Kimenker differences.”

“If you are saying you think the board will just rubberstamp what we had two months ago, you should give us a chance,” replied Lipkin, who personally supports the revisions but is willing to make some concessions.

The debate often returned to a 500-pound gorilla at the table: at least three brand new members would be joining the planning board in April. Term limits are forcing three of the current members off, with replacements to be named by county commissioners.

“I believe taking a breather and getting the board established is a wise thought,” Graham said.

“Since I have been on the board it seems like there is always some kind of continual

shifting of one person on and one person off.

That’s the way it has always been and always will be,” Lipkin replied.

Ultimately, the idea of tabling the ordinance for four months was defeated.

But once the board decided to proceed, it had to figure out how, exactly, to proceed.

Planning Board Member Dickie Woodard suggested picking the “top three” most contentious items to review.

• Whether to allow building on ridgetops.

• Whether to limit the number of homes per acre on steep slopes, a.k.a. density.

• Whether aesthetics or viewshed considerations should come into play.

Bergen was ready to get started right away

and launch into the “top three” list that night rather than wait for the next meeting.

“If we talk about ridgetop tonight, is anybody going to change their mind?” Graham asked.

The current ordinance bans ridgetop building, but the planning board proposed doing away with that ban. Lipkin, the most vocal advocate of ridgetop building, came armed with a few compromises in that department — although none of his compromises would actually preserve the ban on ridgetop building.

But some of the planning board members weren’t satisfied with the “top three” list.

Some planning board member had questions about water recharge, engineering standards, landslide risks and sustainable development recommendations.

“Golly, we could be starting totally over again. We got to keep moving,” Bergen said.

“Can we just agree on what the top three issues are?”

“There are probably six to eight issues that need to be discussed in the revision,” Graham replied.

“So you are going to relive it?” Woodard asked, envisioning a replay of the entire process.

Graham said she would be willing to relive it if it resulted in a better ordinance.

FIRING BACK

A rewrite of Jackson County’s steep slope development rules has been in the works for 14 months. The line-by-line revisions eliminate or weaken mountainside protections. Whether they were too restrictive in the first place and needed loosening, or whether they should remain intact, is the question of the hour.

While the majority of planning board members want to loosen the current rules, four of the 10 planning board members said they disagreed with revisions being proposed, in whole or in part.

Planning board members took turns saying their piece at a meet-

F

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way, Koenig said.

“You waited until we worked through everything and then had all the public comment come in,” Koenig said. “It would have been better if we would have had a heads-up before we worked on this.”

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NEXT STEPS County commissioners have the final say over the steep slope rewrite. Commissioners were keen on the planning board taking one more crack at the revisions before handing them off for a vote.

“Based on the comments that were received last month, they feel the ordinance is not ready,” said County Planner Gerald Green, referencing discussions he had with commissioners.

With an election year looming, and three of the five commissioner seats on the ballot in November, the timing is politically inconvenient. The rewrite will likely land on the commissioners’ desk sometime this summer — smack in the middle of the politically charged election climate. Commissioners will also have to hold a public hearing on the revisions before they vote on them.

Commissioner Chairman Jack Debnam, who is up for election, said he will not secondguess whatever the planning board comes up with. They will have spent nearly a year-anda-half on it by the time they are done, which makes them the experts on the finer points of the steep slope rules, Debnam said.

But, Debnam is glad the planning board will take a final look at the steep slope ordinance and identify some areas to compromise on before passing them up to the commissioners.

The controversial mountainside development rules were put in place seven years ago amid intense and heated debate.

Critics decried them as too restrictive, fearing they would harm the building and real estate industry, and thus the county’s economy as a whole.

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March 19-25, 2014

ing last week. Several responded defensively to the stiff criticism they had received at the public hearing two weeks prior.

“I was disappointed with a lot of the comments, especially the ones insulting the integrity of the board. It was offensive,” said Lipkin. “It makes me want to listen a lot less, and that’s a shame for you and for me.”

Woodard agreed the comments pigeonholed the planning board.

“If it is a good guy-bad guy mentality, I am not going to be a part of that. I would like to see some gray in there,” said Woodard.

Planning Board Member David Brooks said he was offended by the personal accusations leveled at planning board members during the hearing, particularly those that questioned the scruples and motives of planning board members who work in the real estate and building industry.

“For somebody to put us down like you guys did, that is a bunch of bull crap,” Brooks said. “Do you want a dentist or something trying to figure the slope of a mountain? I figure you would want people who have been out there all their lives doing this. I don’t see how that is a stacked deck.”

Brooks said those who spoke at the hearing should have won an Oscar.

“Because that was one good stage act, all you guys coming in here and doing that.

Cause I know it was pre-planned,” Brooks said.

But Graham said organized involvement from the public should be commended.

“I like a good, peaceful dialogue and active community members. It is important for us in this type of work to hear from the public,” Graham said.

Zac Koenig, a planning board member who is a builder, said the planning board was “blind-sided” by the vehement outcry.

Monthly emails were sent to nearly 200 members of the community with an interest in the steep slope revisions, keeping the public apprised of the rewrite as it went. There was plenty of opportunity to weigh in along the

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Dealing with those who are just ‘wrong’

R

Politics does make strange bedfellows

To the Editor: Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. The recent edition of The Smoky Mountain news said this: “Carla Miller, the chair of the Macon County Republican Party, admits there is a right-wing faction of the party, but said that faction does not represent the party as a whole. Miller specifically cited the Freedom Works (sic) group as being outside the mainstream of the local party.”

Curiously, unless I am mistaken, Miller and her husband have attended at least the last three FreedomWorks meetings, and I’m sure they are welcome and encouraged to continue.

Evidently, they felt attending so worthwhile they invited Commissioner Jimmy Tate to attend the most recent meeting, which he did.

FreedomWorks exists to provide conservative ideas in contrast to the Republican Party,

pleases or helps our kind of folks, and what is approved and modeled by the groups we belong to — family, political, religious, ethnic, cultural, geographical. We like to belong, be accepted, be praised, be promoted. So what our group affirms as nice, acceptable, praiseworthy, exemplary — that’s what we adopt as the standard for our beliefs and behavior. And that’s what we expect or demand of those outside our group. There are rules and laws, ways of doing things and lines of thinking, that our group has defined as right and proper.

Those who abide by them can be our friends; those who don’t are to be avoided or rejected.

• The think-it-over stance. When we venture beyond our own individual experience and the supportive protecColumnist tions of our in-group, we encounter a world of diversity and relativity. We become aware that, because of their varied backgrounds, beliefs, cultures, and experiences, people think and behave differently from us. And, when we are honest, we recognize that there is merit to some of these contrasting views.

Our assumptions are challenged; we are forced to question what we’ve always considered to be true and reliable. This can be painful, but at the same time unexpectedly stimulating. Rather than jumping to conclusions based on previously unquestioned authorities, rules, and viewpoints, we find ourselves swimming in uncharted seas. We consider, reflect on and evaluate what we see and hear, and compare it with what we’ve always accepted as the “tried and true.” We are challenged to become open to listen, to learn, and perhaps to change. This starts us moving toward developing principles rather than laws, flexibility rather than certainty, openness rather than rejection, dialogue rather than debate.

We acknowledge in all this is that it is very difficult for those of us taking the right-wrong, in-group, or think-it-over stance to understand and empathize with persons in the other groups. We are so used to assuming the “rightness” of our view that we simply cannot see why anyone could be so “wrong” as to think differently. We can start, however, by recognizing what we all have in common: we are all human beings, made in

Doug Wingeier

ecently my wife and I attended the showing of a documentary film on animal rights. When the floor was opened for comments after the film, two members of the audience made the point that, while the cruel treatment of animals in laboratories and factory farms depicted in the film was deplorable, not all farmers and scientists should be “tarred with the same brush.” Immediately, they were jumped on by several vegans and animal rights activists in the crowd — to the point that one of the dissenters fell silent while the other stormed out in an angry huff, charging that he was being treated disrespectfully.

No dialogue took place. No understanding was gained.

Respect for animals was being advocated; but respect for each other as fellow human beings was absent.

In these days of political alienation and religious division, represented in attack ads and shouting matches, such confrontations seem to have become the norm rather than the exception.

Part of the reason for such standoffs is our lack of understanding of the range of ethical/emotional orientations we come from. Basically, there are three of these: • The right-or-wrong stance. Here we look at things primarily in terms of their effect on me as an individual. If something pleases or rewards me, it’s good. If it harms or offends me, it’s bad. The bad should be punished; the good rewarded. What is fair or good is what works for me; what is unjust or bad is what is hurtful to me. Because we place ourselves at the center of things, we assume others are affected the same way we are, so ought to react as we do.

Our views of right and wrong have come from the authority figures in our lives, and in turn we assume authority over others. We observe what gets punished, either physically or socially, so avoid or reject it. And, we affirm and adopt what gets rewarded by those we respect, fear, and/or obey. Our personal experience or exposure becomes the yardstick by which we judge others. We can’t really enter into the experience of others or see things from their point of view. We defer to those we regard as having legitimate power and authority, while rejecting those we consider weak or untrustworthy — often simply because they are different from us.

• The in-group stance. What is right and good is what our group values, teaches, upholds, lives by. Good behavior is what

which seems to have strayed from the reservation. I became a registered Republican in 1956 and have voted Republican in every election, national and local, since. Shortly after arriving in Macon County, I was asked to run the Republican Party Men’s Club, which I was pleased to do. Later, I was elected Chairman of the Macon County Republican Party.

Sometime after I served my term, the principles of the party changed to the extent that I felt compelled to start the Macon County Chapter of FreedomWorks.

Further quoting the SMN, concerning the challenge of Gary Shields’ residency: “I see this as being the Freedom Works (sic) people retaliating against moderate Republicans and Democrats, saying you are not going to take away our one candidate.” This statement was made by Corey Duvall, Macon County Democrat chair. I am curious how a Republican lodging a challenge against a Republican involves the Democrats in any way. I guess the wisdom of a 22-year-old is

God’s image, persons of worth — and as such deserving of our respect and effort to hear and try to understand where others are coming from and why they are as they are.

When meeting and talking with each other, here are some suggestions for trying to put this into practice: • Moderate our voice. Shouting puts others on the defensive. Being loud doesn’t make us right.

•Avoid insults, accusations, name-calling, put-downs, interruptions. This only provokes a response in kind — and the discussion gets nowhere.

• Don’t let ourselves get hooked. Recognize where our hotbuttons are and resist the temptation to become argumentative when they are pushed.

• Stick to the subject. Don’t get flustered or detoured into sidetracks aimed at confusing the issue.

• Listen before we speak. Rather than thinking of our next rejoinder while the other is talking, be ready to formulate in our words what the other is saying, thereby indicating that they have truly been heard.

• Don’t avoid controversial subjects. Instead, invite discussion with something like, “Tell me what you think about that; I want to learn from you.”

• Affirm the other’s right to be different. Be willing to “agree to disagree,” and thus stay in relationship.

• Know when to change the subject. Say something like: “Let’s put a semicolon in this conversation, and get back to it another time after we’ve thought more about it.”

• Try to remember that no one has all the truth. “We see through a glass darkly.” Our individual, in-group, or think-itover view of “the truth” might just need some jogging, patching, or expanding from those we tend to write off.

Whether the issue be animal rights, marriage equality, health care, school vouchers, right to life, immigration, food stamps, climate change, scripture interpretation, gun control — or tattoos, March Madness, or the relation of Lake Junaluska to Waynesville — let’s try to respect, listen to and learn from one another. As Thomas Jefferson put it long ago, let’s “not [be] afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any ‘error’ so long as reason is left free to combat it.”

(Doug Wingeier is a retired seminary professor and minister. He can be reached at dcwing@main.nc.us.)

beyond my understanding.

I like Gary Shields. We have been more or less friends since I came to Macon County 20 years ago. I hope we continue to be on good terms. I like him and respect him. We just differ in our politics. He describes himself as “purple,” I describe myself as “red.”

Don Swanson Franklin

Robinson will support education, teachers To the Editor: As I discuss the upcoming District 50 senatorial campaign with my neighbors, it is becoming clear to me that they are deeply troubled by the current senator from Franklin.

They are especially disappointed in his unwillingness to support our public schools. They know that the tactics being used by Republicans in the North Carolina legislature

now are part of a long-range plan to privatize education. Almost all local school systems recognize this fact and realize they must steel themselves for a struggle against these illadvised attacks.

Ron Robinson is a voice of reason. He knows that our public schools face great challenges. He wants to work to meet those challenges rather than run from them. He knows that the latest technology must be made available to our students. He knows it is wrong for vouchers to bleed money out of the public schools for which they are constitutionally mandated.

Ron pledges to work with a proven system of public education. He will make every effort to raise all teacher salaries to at least the national average. He will push to restore due process and, thereby, provide a sense of security for them when political changes come about.

I urge you, your friends and family to vote for Ron Robinson in the upcoming election.

Dave Waldrop Sylva

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tasteTHEmountains Burgers to Salads Southern Favorites & Classics -Local beers now on draft-

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Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 A TASTE OF NEW ORLEANS 67 Branner Ave., Waynesville, 828.246.0885. 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., 7 days a week. Curtis Henry opened A Taste of New Orleans to cater to the locals and become the place that’s always open that you can rely on for different, flavorful dishes every day. Serving Cajun, French and Creole Cuisine in a lovingly restored space, Curtis looks forward to serving you up a delicious dish soon.

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.

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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.

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BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Dinner nightly from 4 p.m.

Closed on Sunday. We specialize in hand-cut, all natural steaks, fresh fish, and other classic American comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available. We also feature a great selection of craft beers from local artisan brewers, and of course an extensive selection of small batch bourbons and whiskey. The Barrel is a friendly and casual neighborhood

dining experience where our guests enjoy a great meal without breaking the bank.

wiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck.

Private room available for meetings.

BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Monday Through Friday a.m to 5 p.m. (takeout only 5 to 6 p.m.) Closed Saturday and Sunday. Deli and so much more. We roast our own ham, turkey and roast beef, just like you get on Thanksgiving. Come try our new burger menu with topping choices from around the world.

Enjoy our daily baked goods: cinnamon & sticky buns, cakes, pies and cookies.

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.

BRYSON CITY BAKERY AND PASTRY SHOPPE 191 Everett St., Bryson City. 828.488.5390 Offering a full line of fresh baked goods like Grandma used to make. Large variety to choose from including cakes, pies, donuts, breads, cinn-buns and much more. Also serving Hershey Ice Cream. Open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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.

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Mile-high mountaintop dining with a spectacular view. Join us for plentiful buffet-style dinners on Fridays and Saturdays, and long winter holiday weekends.

Dinner is served from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in winter and includes pot roast, Virginia ham or herb-baked chicken, complemented with an assortment of seasonal vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and desserts. We also offer a fine selection of wine and beer. Lunch is served on the same days from 12 to 2 p.m.

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.

CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881.

Winter hours: Sunday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday & Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Join us in our historic location for scratch made soups and daily specials. Breakfast is made to order daily: Gourmet cheddar & scallion biscuits served with bacon, sausage and eggs; smoked trout bagel plate; quiche and fresh fruit parfait. We bake a wide variety of breads daily, specializing in traditional french breads. All of our breads are hand shaped. Lunch: Fresh salads, panini sand-

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CORK & CLEAVER 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

828.456.7179. Reservations recommended.

4:30-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, Cork & Cleaver has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Executive Chef Corey Green prepares innovative and unique Southern fare from local, organic vegetables grown in Western North Carolina. Full bar and wine cellar. www.waynesvilleinn.com.

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

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

Tuesday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com FRYDAY’S & SUNDAES 24 & 26 Fry St., Bryson City (Next To The Train Depot). 828.488.5379. Frydays is open;

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tasteTHEmountains but closed on Wednesdays. Sundaes is open 7 days a week. Fryday’s is known for its Traditional English Beer Battered Fish & Chips, but also has burgers, deep fried dogs, gyro, shrimp, bangers, Chip Butty, chicken, sandwiches & a great kids menu.

Price friendly, $3-$10, Everything available to go or call ahead takeout. Sundaes has 24 rotating flavors of Hershey's Ice Cream making them into floats, splits, sundaes, shakes. Private seating inside & out for both locations right across from the train station & pet friendly.

phere. Full bar. Reservations accepted.

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. www.frogsleappublichouse.com.

ORGANIC BEANS COFFEE COMPANY 1110 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

828.668.2326. Open Monday through Thursday 7a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Happily committed to brewing and serving innovative, uniquely delicious coffees — and making the world a better place. 100% of our coffee is Fair Trade, Shade Grown, and Organic, all slow-roasted to bring out every note of indigenous flavor.

Bakery offerings include cakes, muffins, cookies and more. Each one is made from scratch in Asheville using only the freshest, all natural ingredients available. We are proud to offer gluten-free and vegan options.

HERREN HOUSE 94 East St., Waynesville 828.452.7837.

Lunch: Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Brunch 11 a. m. to 2 p.m.

Enjoy fresh local products, created daily.

Join us in our beautiful patio garden. We are your local neighborhood host for special events: business party’s, luncheons, weddings, showers and more. Private parties & catering are available 7 days a week by reservation only.

JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel. 828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday through Saturday. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner. The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Fine and casual fireside dining in welcoming atmos-

100 Organic Coffe

1110 SOCO RD, MAGGIE VALLEY

(828) 668-BEAN

8 AM – 6 PM

232-62

ORGANICBEANSCOFFEE.COM

Caribbean Cowboys SATURDAY, MARCH 22ND

SmokeRise

232-07

Café

Deli & So Much More 6147 Hwy 276 S. • Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station)

bbcafenc.com • 828.648.3838 Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • Closed: Sat. & Sun.

232-03

83 Asheville Hwy. Sylva Music Starts @ 9 • 631.0554 232-09

ITALIAN

MEDITERRANEAN

STEAKS • PIZZA CHICKEN • SEAFOOD SANDWICHES OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK 1863 S. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.454.5002 HWY. 19/23 EXIT 98

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 828.926.0201 Bar open Monday thru Saturday; dining room open Tuesday thru Saturday at 5 p.m. Full service restaurant serving steaks, prime rib, seafood and dinner specials.

TAP ROOM SPORTS BAR & GRILL 176 Country Club Dr. Waynesville 828.456.5988. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Enjoy soups, sandwiches, salads and hearty appetizers along with a full bar menu in our casual, smoke-free neighborhood grill.

THE WINE BAR 20 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.452.6000. Underground cellar for wine and beer, served by the glass all day.

Cheese and tapas served Wednesday through Saturday 4 p.m.-9 p.m. or later. info@classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

Smoky Mountain News

LUCIO'S RESTAURANT 313 Highlands Road, Franklin.

828.369.6670. Serving Macon County since 1984. Closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Lunch Wednesday-Friday 11:30 a.m. until.Dinner Wednesday-Saturday 5 p.m. until. Owned and operated by Tanya and Dorothy Gamboni. Serving authentic Italian and continental cuisine including appetizers, pastas, poultry, veal, seafood, steaks and homemade deserts. Selection of wine and beer. Lunch and Dinner menus.

Wednesday and Thursday nights only. 1 appetizer and 2 selected entrées with unlimited salad and Lucio’s famous garlic rolls for $24.95. Winter Special: half-off house wines, Friday and Saturday only. luciosnc.com

PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. 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 indoor, outside on the patio or at the bar.

Reservations appreciated.

100%% Committedeto

FRIDAY, MARCH 21ST

March 19-25, 2014

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

Lunch Sunday noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner nightly starting at 4:30 p.m. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome.

Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

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

Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections.

Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies. Various desserts.

UPCOMING EVENTS

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.

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

Shooting for dreams

African-American men and women who have played college basketball and earned degrees.

“It’s a blessing to be able to share this message with the world,” Majic said. “It’s something you can’t even dream about because you don’t even know it exists, that each night I perform I know God is helping me make a difference in all of these communities.”

Over their tenure, the Ambassadors have performed in all 50 states and in 23 countries, with a typical season tallying upwards of 220 events.

And at the center of the multi-talented team is the key ingredient of children. Throughout the year, they work with thousands of kids, showing them useful skills to use on the court and off.

“A lot of people say these kids today are a lost generation,” Majic said. “They’re not lost, they’re looking to be found, and it’s up to us as adults to extend a helping hand to them.”

TAKING THE COURT

being connected to your entire community.

I’m proud to be from Macon County. I went to Franklin High School, to Western Carolina University, and now I teach here.”

So, has Brooks been practicing leading up to the game?

“No, I haven’t picked up a basketball in a while,” she laughed. “I’m a little rusty, but I’ll be OK. I’m just glad to see a great crowd come out.”

Observing his town team, coach Gary Shields, a former principal at the high school and current member on the Macon County Board of Education, looks at having the Ambassadors in his backyard as a way to perpetuate a message of hope and opportunity.

“This is what our community is about, working with our young people and helping them,” he said. “It’s part of our responsibility to bring a wholesome message into our communities, and we do that via our schools.”

Did Shields give his team any advice for the game?

“I told them, ‘Don’t embarrass yourself, don’t embarrass your family and you’ve got to win,’” he said.

Standing courtside at the exhibition game, Franklin Chamber of Commerce Special Events/Marketing Director Cindy Cavender was all smiles as hundreds of parents and kids filed into the gymnasium. The chamber hostET THE GAME BEGIN ed the event as a fundraiser for their organizaWith the tipoff, it was immediately clear tion. They co-sponsored the evening alongside how talented the Ambassadors actually are. the Franklin High School Athletic Booster Before the Dribblers could even break a Club, with concession funds going to the club for scholarships and travel costs for the school sweat, the high-flying cosmopolitan athletes soared into the air, dunking over the local district’s sports teams.

“It’s great for the kids to have somebody to players, weaving around them, and blocking their shots. Before you knew it, the look up to, positive role models who are as Ambassadors had logged a hefty amount of nice and genuine as they can be,” Cavender points on the board. said. “The community is so great in supportBut all wasn’t lost for the Dribblers. They ing events like this in our town.” eventually figured out their This wasn’t the v strategy and strengths Ambassadors first time in amongst their players.

Macon County. In 2009, Passes between each other they did a similar event in were crisp, with a handful Highlands that attracted of shots making it into the over 800 people. This past hoop, not to mention a week, the team held assemkeen attention to offensive blies and performances rebounding and secondaround Western North chance points.

Carolina, with stops in And within the play Bethel and again in were numerous staged interHighlands. Cavender pulled ruptions by the out the roster for the Ambassadors, where they v Franklin team, dubbed the found ways to include mem“Dribblers.” It included local bers of the audience, kids law enforcement officials, and parents alike, in their principals, coaches, teachantics. There were prizes ers, the town attorney, and Harlem Ambassadors Coach given out, along with overeven the mayor, who served Lade Majic. Garret K. Woodward photo the-top theatrics that as “team photographer.” blurred the line between “This is a show, so if [the sports and a circus. Laughter echoed around town players] are coming in to play hard basthe gymnasium, while seemingly endless smiles ketball, I think they’ll be a little disappointcould be found on children in every direction. ed,” Cavender laughed. “I hope it’ll be fun for By halftime, the score was a 31-15 them. We’re looking forward to tonight.”

Ambassador lead. Getting a snack at the conWarming up at the far end of the court, cession stand, 6-year-old Jaydison Hurst Bekah Brooks, a teacher and volleyball coach seemed to love watching the Ambassadors. at Franklin High School, was ready for the “I like watching all of the tricks,” he said. impending tipoff.

“I really like the dribbling.”

“I expect a lot of basketball, and a lot of comedy, which is right up my alley,” she said.

“To me, the biggest thing about tonight is S EE DREAMS, PAGE 23

L

The Harlem Ambassadors, a nonprofit basketball team, recently performed at Franklin High School.

The team played against local officials and educators, with proceeds from the event benefiting the Franklin Chamber of Commerce and the high school’s athletic Booster Club. Garret K. Woodward photo

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER n a crowded, frenzied gymnasium, Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland was just trying to not embarrass himself.

“I haven’t touched a basketball in years,” he chuckled. “I’m trying to not look as dumb as possible.”

Holland participated in an exhibition game on March 11 at Franklin High School that pitted local officials and educators against the Harlem Ambassadors — a nonprofit organization that combines basketball skills and a positive community message: “Stay in School, Stay off Drugs.”

“This is exciting. It’s great to encourage the kids to have fun and see us out there having

I

fun, instead of being in the positions that we hold,” Holland said. “And it’s also about getting to see your local elected officials get made a comedy show of.”

BIG CITY DREAMS Formed in 1998, the Harlem Ambassadors was created by managing/marketing executive Dale Moss and Lade Majic, an accomplished women’s basketball player. The duo aims to provide communities around the world with a playful, fun outlet to put across important ideals, many of which surround the notion that you can achieve your dreams with hard work and by not falling to the temptation of drugs and alcohol. The team is comprised of young

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Jackson County native Brad Boulet (center) and his band Owner of the Sun. Garret K. Woodward photo

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5 The Darren Nicholson Band will perform at 7:45 p.m. March 27 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

The Liar’s Bench will hit the stage at 7 p.m.

March 20 in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

Americana/roots group Owner of the Sun will perform at 9 p.m. March 22 at the Water’n Hole Bar and Grill in Waynesville.

The film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” will be screened on March 21-22 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

Country act The Zac Brown Band will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. March 29 at Harrah’s Cherokee.

SMN: What’s the philosophy of Owner of the Sun? BB: I think we all believe there’s a place for folk instruments and sounds in songs they’re not supposed to go with. You could walk into a show at one point and call us a bluegrass band, then walk back in 10 minutes later and swear you’re listening to a country band, then come back 10 minutes later and get unmistakably rocked.

SMN: You’re a Jackson County native.

What does it mean to you to be able to perpetuate Appalachian music and its everevolving history?

BB: I guess I grew up thinking every kid got to go listen to Harry Cagle play the fiddle on his porch. It ain’t so. Mountain music is unique and known the world over. When I tell people in Atlanta I grew up in WNC, it’s very common for them to bring up the music of the region. I like how Appalachian music is evolving. No longer is it mandatory to stand stoically and play a banjo the way it’s “supposed” to be played in order to represent and pay homage to mountain music.

SMN: What do you want folks to feel leaving your show?

BB: That we just gave them everything we had. I think too much comparison happens in music. There are certainly varying levels of musical talent which can be recognized, but we’re all guilty of saying what’s “better.” I think people appreciate passion and energy as much as musicianship — sometimes more. If folks leave our show feeling like we were honest, then we’re doing it right.

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Smoky Mountain News: How did you get started playing music?

Brad Boulet: My family, mainly my dad, made music a huge part of my life from such an early age I couldn’t say where it started.

Dad routinely used lyrics to convey messages about life to me as a kid. A method he went on to use for years as a school counselor. I played harmonica in the band, but the most vivid memory I have is of playing Fiddler’s Grove. Our upright bass player was sick and couldn’t make the trip. It was determined bass was more integral to the performance than harmonica, so I learned the bass part for our song in a station wagon on the way to the festival. I recall that experience evoking extreme terror.

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March 19-25, 2014

The right place at the right time.

We’re all aware of that notion, and most of us have experienced it at one moment or another. For Brad Boulet, it was standing in the mud at the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta last spring. Beside him in the downpour was Caleb Burress, lead singer of Haywood County Americana outfit Soldier’s Heart.

The two began talking and quickly found out they had much more in common than a love for music.

Turns out Boulet was born and raised in Jackson County, the Town of Webster to be exact.

Turns out they ran around in similar music circles, too. The duo quickly connected, with Boulet coming up to Haywood from Atlanta seemingly every weekend to collaborate with Soldier’s Heart and their extended family of Appalachian musical cohorts.

Boulet also fronts the band Owner of the Sun. A blend of folk, bluegrass and backwoods stompin’, the sextet has been making their rounds in Western North Carolina to raucous crowds. And it’s the admiration from both sides of the microphone that justifies the melodic passion shared in this area, one that has recently provoked Waldrop to return to his hometown.

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arts & entertainment

On the beat The Malpass Brothers bring alt-country to Highlands Americana/country act The Malpass Brothers will be performing at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 29, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

As authentic as country ham and red-eye gravy, The Malpass Brothers are gaining momentum within the country music industry. The duo has made festival appearances in Northern Ireland and The Shetland Islands, and the title cut video from their album “Memory That Bad” topped the chart at number seven in CMT’s Pure Country.

The brothers have shared the stage with artists including Ray Price, Willie Nelson,

Smoky Mountain News

March 19-25, 2014

Audio Adrenaline

22

Christian rock comes to Franklin Highly-acclaimed Christian rock bands Audio Adrenaline, Kutless, Finding Favour

Zac Brown Band to play Harrah’s Cherokee The Malpass Brothers Rhonda Vincent, Marty Stuart, Doc Watson and more. They perform the work of artists they treasure while also creating new music and making their own mark in the lineage of a rich cultural heritage.

Tickets are $20 per person. www.highlandspac.org or 828.526.9047.

and Shine Bright Baby will perform at 7 p.m.

Friday, March 21, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Audio Adrenaline formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University. In 1999, their third album “Bloom” was certified gold. Soon after, they were asked to open for DC Talk on their Jesus Freak World Tour in 1999. The group co-founded a venture called the Hands and Feet Project. As part of this organization, Audio Adrenaline helped build an orphanage in Haiti.

Kutless has sold over three million records worldwide and released their most current album, Believer, in 2012. Believer debuted at number one on the Billboard Christian Albums chart.

Tickets start at $15 each. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

WCU clarinet students to present concert The School of Music will present an evening of music for clarinet ensembles at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 31, in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.

The concert will feature students from the clarinet studio of faculty member Shannon Thompson performing repertory for clarinet duo, trio and quartet. The program will include a variety of transcribed classical music by wellknown composers such as Haydn, Mahler and Scott Joplin, as well as original music for clarinet ensembles.

Free.

828.227.7242.

Concert fundraiser at WCU to feature A.W. Duo The acclaimed classical music duo of Alyona Aksyonova and James Waldo will be featured at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 24, in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.

The concert is a benefit for the United Christian Ministries of Jackson County and the WCU Honors College’s student study abroad fund. A reception will be

The Zac Brown Band hits the stage at Harrah’s Cherokee on March 29. Donated photo Renowned country group the Zac Brown Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at Harrah’s Cherokee.

The southern rock/country act has nine hit singles, two platinum-selling records and has sold out arenas around the world. Their latest album “Uncaged” debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. From traditional country (“The Wind”) to Caribbean rhythms (“Jump Right In”) and even slinky bedroom R&B (“Overnight”), the ensemble runs roughshod over genre boundaries and brings its audience along for the ride.

Tickets are $54.50 or $74.50.

800.745.3000 or www.harrahscherokee.com.

held following the evening concert.

Aksyonova, a pianist from Russia, and Waldo, an American cellist, met and began playing together while attending graduate studies at Mannes College in New York City. Based in Manhattan, the duo is beginning its second season of professional engagements this spring, including performances at the Piccolo The A.W. Duo will perform Spoleto Festival in at WCU on March 24. Charleston, the HighlandsDonated photo Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, and appearances in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The program for the concert will include works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Ayumi Okada, Alexander Scriabin, Chandler Carter and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Funding for the A.W. Duo’s appearance at WCU is being provided by Dr. Mark Whitehead and his wife, Kathy Whitehead, both members of the Honors College’s Advisory Board from Highlands.

Prior to the March 24 performance, Aksyonova and Waldo will present a workshop focusing on the business

aspects of their artistic lives at 4 p.m. in the Catamount Room of WCU’s A.K. Hinds University Center. The workshop is open to the public.

Tickets are $5 for students and $15 for all others.

828.227.7383 or beam@wcu.edu.

WCU presents instrumental jazz concert Guitarist Steve Wohlrab will be joined by three faculty colleagues for a performance of unique jazz instrumentals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University.

Wohlrab is the associate professor of commercial and electronic music in the Western Carolina University School of Music. His concert will focus on compositions from the early jazz-fusion period of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Drawing upon seldom-heard material from artists such as Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny and Keith Jarrett, the group will explore the improvisations and textures associated with the landmark label ECM. The European record company was associated with a style of music that broke down boundaries between genres such as jazz, classical, rock and folk.

Free.

828.227.7242.

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g a l

s p p s A s b a v

k t i a

A p t

On the beat

• The High Mountain Squares will host their Spring Dance with “Little Joe” from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 21, at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin. Western style square dancing, mainstream and plus levels. 828.371.4946 or 828.342.1560 or 828.332.0001 or www.highmountainsquares.com.

ALSO:

• Pianist Jacob Crabtree will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22 at Papou’s Wine Shop and Bar in Sylva. 828.586.6300 or www.mountainlovers.com.

• Flutist Eldred Spell will perform at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 22 in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University. Free.

828.227.7242 or www.wcu.edu.

• Leo Johnson will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, March 28, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. $10 minimum purchase on food, drink or merchandise. 828.452.6000.

• A “Spring Fling” will be held from 6 to 8

• Ashli Rose, Ginni McAfee, and Steve Whiddon will perform at the Maggie Valley Rendezvous. Rose will play on March 21, with McAfee March 28 and Whiddon every Thursday. All shows are free. 828.926.0201 or www.maggievalleyhotel.com.

• Owner of the Sun, Darren & The Buttered Toast, and Swamp Candy will hit the stage at the Water’n Hole Bar and Grill in Waynesville. Owner of the Sun plays March 22, with Darren & The Buttered Toast March 28 and Swamp Candy March 29.

828.456.4750.

• WCU’s Got Talent featuring Porch 40 will be from 7 to 11 p.m. Thursday, March 20, in the UC Central Plaza at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

• The “Winter Pickin’ in the Armory” will be at 7 p.m. Friday, March 21, at the Canton Armory. Mountain music, vintage country, clogging and dancing. Featured performers will be the Smokey Mountain Stompers and Stoney Creek Cloggers, with live music from the Black Mountain Ramblers. Every first and third Friday of the month. www.cantonnc.com.

• The Freestylers will play at 7 p.m. March 22 at City Lights Café in Sylva.

828.587.2233 or www.citylightscafe.com.

• Piano/cello act The Waldo Duo will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 22 in the Coulter Building at Western Carolina University. $5 for students, $15 for all others. www.wcu.edu.

DREAMS, CONTINUED FROM 20

Franklin High School teacher/coach Bekah Brooks and Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland. Garret K. Woodward photo need to stay in school, stay off drugs and have a positive attitude.”

Scanning the gym, Simpson is baring witness to the fruits of his labors.

“Whether you’re black, white, Asian, Puerto Rican, it doesn’t matter, we can come together through these events and have fun being one,” he said.

“Everybody has a gift and although you can do anything, there’s one thing you can do with your talents and that’s to make a difference in your community,” Majic added.

Smoky Mountain News

Does Hurst want to be a professional basketball player when he grows up?”

“Yeah,” he shyly said.

“It’s great for the kids, and supports a good cause,” Jaydison’s mother, Tiffany, added. “Seeing his smile here is worth a million dollars.”

The Dribblers didn’t fair much better the second half, as the Ambassadors slowly pulled away on the scoreboard. But the points didn’t matter because the fun never stopped for both the players and audience.

At one point, the game came to a standstill so the teams could have an impromptu football match, with a foam football spiraling around the gym. The Ambassadors emerged victorious as the final seconds ticked away.

With the bleachers clearing, dozens of kids stuck around to meet the players, get their photos taken with them and also share in the positive energy radiating from all in attendance.

“I love working with kids,” said Ambassador player Nicholas Simpson. “It’s priceless working with them. I just want kids to know that there is a way out, that they

March 19-25, 2014

• Ethan Morse, Liz Nance Trio, Dylan Riddle & Friends, Swamp Candy, and Porch 40 will be performing at No Name Sports Pub in Sylva.

Morse will play March 20, with Nance March 21, Riddle March 22, Swamp Candy March 27-28 and Porch 40 March 29. All shows are free and begin at 9 p.m. 828.586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com.

p.m. Friday, March 21, at the First Baptist Church of Sylva. www.fbcsylva.org.

arts & entertainment

• Darren Nicholson Band will be performing at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, March 27 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. $12.

828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

23

On the street

arts & entertainment

On the stage

Open call for Greening Up the Mountains artists, vendors

Liar’s Bench returns to Mountain Heritage Center A celebration of Appalachian storytelling, music and drama, The Liar’s Bench will hit the stage at 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 20, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

The 17th Annual Greening Up the Mountains festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in downtown Sylva.

The festival planning committee is continuing to accept applications for vendors, demonstrators, crafters, and environmental groups.

Daylong events will be held on Main Street and in the Bridge Park, beginning with a 5K race sponsored by the Jackson County Recreation/Parks Department. Children’s activities, demonstrations, a youth talent contest and live performances by a wide variety of Jackson County musicians will be featured throughout the day.

The event centers on the theme of supporting local businesses, providers and residents as the best way to create a sustainable economy, and invites demonstrations, booths and educational displays from environmental groups, green initiatives and those focused on learning and sustaining traditional mountain crafts and arts.

Applications will be accepted through April 15. www.greeningupthemountains.com or greeningupthemountains@gmail.com or 828.226.8652.

Smoky Mountain News

March 19-25, 2014

Gary Carden Storyteller Gary Carden will begin the program with his opening monologue, followed by singer and instrumentalist Paul Iarussi and Cherokee storyteller Lloyd Arneach. Carden will then present a preview of his new play, “Tuckasegee Rising.” The staged reading, which expands upon the material presented at the Mountain Heritage Center last June, will feature narrator Tom DeWeese, as well as Newt Smith in the role of the Pied Piper, with additional commentary by Carden and Dave Waldrop.

This dramatic work-in-progress owes its origin to the historical account of the drowning of 19 African-American chaingang laborers in the Tuckasegee River on December 30, 1882. The event took place while they were working on the Cowee Tunnel, a vital component of the newly constructed Western Carolina Railroad, which marked the 19th century onset of industrial development in the Appalachian region.

Free.

828.227.7129.

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Bookstore We survived the Ides of March... ...now it's time to get up-to-date almanacs, gardening books, wildflower guides, etc.

The Greening Up the Mountains festival is currently seeking artists and vendors. Mark Haskett photo

Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration seeks artists, vendors The Downtown Waynesville Association is seeking heritage-themed vendors for the Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration to be held on Saturday, June 14.

In the interest of protecting and preserving Appalachian traditions, this event will be a celebration of traditional mountain craft, food and entertainment. Exhibit space will be made available to vendors demonstrating and selling handmade Appalachian art and crafts such as blacksmithing, leatherworking, quilting, weaving, pottery, wood working/carving and painting.

In addition to craft vendors, the event is seeking demonstrators for Appalachian life skills such as lumberjacking, butter churning, soap making, storytelling, native plants, bee-

Applications accepted until April 18.

828.456.3517 and www.downtownwaynesville.com.

• “Bowling Four Paws” will be at 6 p.m.

March 22 at Franklin Lanes. Proceeds go to the Macon County Humane Society. Door prizes and 50/50 drawing. $15 for three games. 828.524.4588.

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The Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration is currently seeking artists and vendors. keeping and food preservation. Vendors interested in exhibiting personal collections of antique items such as tools, household items, quilts, tractors, wagons, pre-1940s cars, etc. are also being sought for participation. Downtown businesses are also being sought to host artisan demonstrations.

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828/586-9499 • citylightsnc.com

62 N. Main St., Waynesville, NC

828-454-1004 www.PinkRegalia.com

• The World Series of Poker will hold a circuit event April 3-14 at Harrah’s Cherokee.

The competition is open to anyone. Prizes include two seats to the WSOP Circuit National Championship in Atlantic City.

There will be an exclusive ladies’ World Series of Poker event on April 13. Buy-ins range from $65 to $1,675, and all registration will take place at the event. 800.CAESARS and mention code WSOP14.

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A class on decorating Easter eggs will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at KJ’s Attic in Dillsboro.

Kathy Wilson, a long-time craftsperson in the area, will lead the class. Participants are asked to bring six plastic eggs for decorating with napkins, glue and glitter. All the materials, except the eggs, will be supplied. Cost for the class is to be determined.

828.586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com.

Artists sought for Gallery 86 exhibit

The Haywood County Arts Council Gallery 86 has an open call to artists in the Western North Carolina region for an upcoming exhibit. Selected artists will be asked to have three pieces for the showcase which runs April 30 to May 31.

The HCAC is joining with the Haywood County Master Gardeners Volunteer Association. The 2014 theme for the June 21 garden tour is “Forests, Flowers and Food”.

One of the stops on the tour will be an elementary school teaching garden. This is an opportunity for artists working with paint, clay, glass, metal, wood, sculpture or fabrics to create works featuring gardens or objects that can

be used to enhance gardens, decks or patios.

Interested artists should email photograph samples (72 dpi) of their work to info@haywoodarts.org by March 20.

828.452.0593.

• The films “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “Frozen” will be screened at The Strand, 38 Main in Waynesville. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” will be shown March 21-22, with “Frozen” March 28-29. Screenings begin at 7:45 p.m.

Friday and 5 and 7:45 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $6 per person, $4 for children.

828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

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arts & entertainment

Easter egg decorating class

Specials & Sales Throughout the Month 136 N. Main St. Waynesville NC 28786 828-456-7400 Follow us on facebook

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• An open call for vendors is currently underway for the Whole Bloomin’ Thing Spring Festival, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in the Frog Level District in Waynesville. Joycebr65@yahoo.com.

• The Dillsboro Fine Arts & Crafts Fair is currently seeking artists for Colorfest, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 4. 828.506.8331 or www.visitdillsboro.org.

• “Come Paint with Charles Kidz Program” will be held at 5 p.m. March 20 and 27 at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City.

Refreshments as you paint. All materials provided. $18 per child. 828.538.2054.

March 19-25, 2014

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Music: Guest Recital, Waldo Duo, cello/piano MAR. 25 | TUE. 7:30PM | COULTER BUILDING

Music: Faculty Recital: Steve Wohlrab Trio

MAR. 27 | THU. 7:30PM | COULTER BUILDING

Music: WCU Percussion Ensemble

Smoky Mountain News

MAR. 28 | FRI. 7:30PM | TC ROBERSON HS

Music: Wind Ensemble Concert

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March 19-25, 2014

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

27

Finding elusive love in the modern world of dating

Jeff Minick

“Chick-lit” is, of course, the slang expression for those books appealing especially to women. Though not politically correct, most men and women use this moniker when thinking of romance novels, most Christian fiction, books that address feelings (Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus), many self-improvement books and even diet books. The alltime classic chick-lit novel is undoubtedly Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a book that many women Writer treasure and which wise men wishing to better understand women read.

Patience Bloom’s Romance Is My Day Job: A Memoir of Finding Love at Last (ISBN 9780-525-95438-5, $26.95) might well epitomize modern-day chick-lit, for Bloom not only writes of her love life over a period of 20 years, but has also worked for 16 years at Harlequin, the publisher extraordinaire of romance novels.

We begin our journey through Patience Bloom’s many loves — that name, by the way, is near perfect for a fan of romance novels — when Bloom is in a private high school. There she first becomes enamored with romance novels. There, too, under the spell of these novels, she commences her search for a romantic hero who will someday sweep her off her feet, carry her off to bed and seek her hand in marriage. After her first real date ditches her at a school formal, a student named Sam with a wild reputation asks her to dance. For a short part of the evening, she feels a surge of affection for the young man, but eventually he returns to his own date and the moment passes.

Throughout the rest of the book, we follow Bloom from city to city, job to job and man to man. In college she dates a wild, often-drunken student inclined toward suicide; in France she flirts with waiters; in Colorado she teaches, works on a higher degree and suffers more broken relationships. Finally, she returns to

Manhattan where, while working as a temp, she wins a job at Harlequin. Having never lost

receives an invitation on Facebook to accept Sam as a friend, the young man she had briefly loved so long ago. They began chatting, and then skyping — Sam is teaching in Israel — and soon they become attracted to each other. With his teaching obligations at an end, Sam flies to New York to meet the girl he had danced with so many years ago. To say more than this would spoil the conclusion of the book.

In Romance Is My Day Job, Bloom has given readers a courageous book.

Despite her excellent education and sophistication — she spent a good part of her childhood in France and was raised in a world of high academics — Bloom readily admits her deep desire for real love and for marriage. Though disillusioned at times, she views dating and relationships, at least in some ways, as mirroring the situations found in Romance Is My Day Job: A Memoir of Finding Love at Last by Patience romance novels. She Bloom. Dutton Adult, 2014. 320 pages. confesses her yearning for a man, her love of romance novels, she now finds her- admits to various relationships that explode self in her dream job. in her face, and takes pride in the work she Past 40, still unmarried but always encour- does at Harlequin, a firm publishing books aged by various friends as well as her mother that serious publishers and critics scorn. and her brother Patrick, Bloom one day From her many experiences, Bloom also

beomes a keen observer of the dating scene.

She dates all sorts of men and reports on the consequences by comparing her adventures, often humorously, to the heroes of the romance novels she adores. Her informal, straight-up style enhances these descriptions.

Here, for example, she describes a train ride into Manhattan with “Superman,” an extremely attractive lover who, as she well knows, will break up with her when they reach their station: “This would be nice — a hero who tries to woo me back into love — but usually this hero reactivates his dating profile immediately.

Superman can’t possibly be dateless for long. I will savor these last few minutes. I steal glances at him, snoring away openmouthed as the train whisks us along more breathtaking vistas. Even in deep slumber and with a hint of drool off the side of his mouth, he is hot. Thick fisherman’s sweaters. Jeans. Perfect hair. Towering over me even in a train seat.”

Romance Is My Day Job does have its flaws. Bloom’s story bogs down in the middle of the book, and she relates so many tales of different dates that they soon blend together.

Her use of various romantic figures from the fiction she edits as a counterpoint to real-life men sometimes becomes confusing.

She more than makes up for these weaknesses, however, when she relates her growing attraction to Sam. She reveals to us — men, take note — how much effort she puts into her appearance before she and Sam first meet, from the color and size of her dress to the makeup on her face. By these descriptions, she creates suspension about this meeting, and her planning once again reveals that many women, if a man has attracted their interest, approach the first date, and subsequent dates as well, with the care and planning of a general embarking on a major campaign.

In the end, Romance Is My Day Job reminds us that love and romance are real, that they often arrive unexpectedly, and that the willingness to risk being hurt can sometimes portend love and affection.

Carden brings newest work to Waynesville Acclaimed writer Gary Carden will present his latest work, Appalachian Bestiary, at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at the Waynesville Library Auditorium.

Meet the characters Belled Buzzard, Slide Rock Bolter and Hoop Snake. The oral traditions of the southern mountains contain these mythical creatures and many others. Carden will be performing and reading from his book. Copies will be on hand for sale.

828.356.2507

28

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Climbing to the top

Local school a hub for outdoor training

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER t’s a chilly day on the Tuckasegee River. Air temperature is in the mid-40s, and the water isn’t much warmer.

Eric Johnson struggles to stand upright, bracing his paddle on the river bottom as a chain of four fellow college students leans on him to traverse the Dillsboro Drop rapid.

It’s a futile effort. The kayak is nowhere in sight, and the current drags across the students’ feet, legs and, finally, waists as the water deepens. Eventually, its whitewater strength intensifies enough to bust the group apart, sending two swimming downstream.

The onlookers, a passel of fellow students and trip leaders, just laugh. And so does Johnson.

“It’s refreshing,” quips teammate Max Carrillo as water streams from his wetsuit.

“Like a Fanta on a hot summer day.”

It’s an easy comedown because, while the skills learned during that whitewater episode may one day help save a life, for now the students visiting from Virginia Tech and Radford University are in the midst of a purely educa-

I

tional venture, and a thrilling one at that.

“It’s about having different tools, so when one tool fails you have another one,” said Justin Padgett, instructor for the swift water rescue course and co-founder of Landmark Learning, the Cullowhee-based outdoor training school administering the course. “A lot of what we do is to help our students develop judgment, and they develop judgment with experience.”

It’s that attitude that has caused Andy Borak, outdoor programs coordinator for Radford, to work with Landmark time after time.

“I think it’s the hands-on experience,” he said.

From backcountry camping trips to realfeeling medical emergency scenarios to tipped-over kayaks in whitewater rapids, experience is a linchpin of the Landmark education. The school offers a variety of outdoor certification programs with a vision of becoming the leading education resource for outdoor recreation professionals spanning a multitude of disciplines.

Students get some paper-and-pencil instruction hours, sure, but at least half the

time, they’re outside, busy practicing the skills that fall under the course title. That was a relief to Olivia Klein, who has spent the past few years leading rock climbing and mountain bike trips. She took Wilderness First Responder training at Landmark’s Cullowhee base last week.

“Spending 8 to 5 in a classroom all day is kind of hard,” said Klein. “Especially when you’ve been out of high school for a while. You go, ‘Oh my gosh, how?’”

BEYOND THE SCHOOLHOUSE

selves, though a couple of seasonal teachers pitched in, too — an apartment that doubled as an office and a first-year roll of 46 students.

At that point, they were just a young couple trying to make a go of it. Now, they have built a 40-acre campus in the woods near Cullowhee, a veritable outdoor training empire replete with campsites and bunkhouses, a 1,200-square-foot classroom and trails for running, biking and hiking. More than

The Landmark adventure Trail description: Outdoor training school based in Cullowhee offers professional development courses spanning a plethora of outdoor recreation and emergency medicine fields.

Length: 18 years old and counting.

But while Padgett never wants to change the hands-on focus of the school, he does Duration: 4 hours to 3 weeks, depending on certification. want to change the perception that an institution has to Elevation gain: From a starting elevation of 46 students and two offer reading, writing and instructors, it now climbs to 2,100 students per year and 22 ‘rithmatic to be a school. instructors.

“We want to be seen by all Key features: Wilderness First Aid, Emergency Medical Technician, the colleges and universities Essentials of River Safety and Rescue, Leave No Trace Master that we are like them,” Educator and numerous others. Founded in 1996 by a pair of Padgett said. “We are not a Western Carolina University students. The only outdoor training subcontractor or an outfitter school in the United States to have earned a national education or any of those things. We are accreditation. a school.”

It’s a bold declaration Trailhead directions: Heading toward Cullowhee on N.C. 107, born from an even bolder make a left onto Old Cullowhee Rd and another on Cane Creek Rd. move that Padgett and his Drive 1.3 miles until the road dead-ends into a parking lot. wife Mairi made in 1996, the www.landmarklearning.edu same year they married.

That’s when they founded Landmark with a staff of two — namely, them- 2,000 students per year take courses with Landmark, which now employs 30 people. In addition to their headquarters, Landmark also has several satellite locations, including sites in Boone, Knoxville, Charlotte, Asheville and Atlanta, and they take their courses to more than 100 locations nationwide, even crossing national boundaries to teach in Ecuador, Columbia and Canada.

But that’s not a stopping point. In December, Landmark became the first outdoor school in the country to earn a national education accreditation, given from the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training. It’s a distinction that took three years of research, onsite evaluations, paperwork and waiting, and that, Padgett said, “was probably one of the hardest things I’ve done, ever.”

The end result is both a rubber stamp to Landmark’s educational excellence and a tool that will allow the company to ramp up its collaboration with colleges and universities around the globe.

Accreditation makes it easy for students to earn college credit for the courses they take, and it helps Landmark funnel the students who first experience the outdoor recreation profession through their classes into the appropriate university programs. The idea is to be a middleman between students, colleges and the outdoors, furthering the interests of all three entities.

“I think it’s about ratcheting it up to a level of professionalism that has been Eric Johnson tries to concentrate as he wades with his group through chest-high rapids. Holly Kays photos our goal since 1996,” Padgett said.

F

SPREADING THE WORD

press down,” he barked to the student he’d selected to demonstrate how to “teach” CPR. “I need you to count to 30. I can’t hear you.

Count to 30!”

“Some of the scenarios feel really real,” said WFR student Jessie Nosworthy, a counselor in Jackson County Schools whose program for at-risk students often involves outdoor activities.

REACHING THE LIMITS And that’s the point. Prepared as you might be, there’s always a limit to what you can do, especially when all the forces of nature are involved. So, while Landmark courses aim to teach and equip students to come out of those overwhelming situations victorious, they’re also designed to teach limits.

“We want them to know what their limit is,” Padgett said, “so they don’t leave feeling like a superhero.”

Because superheros minus superpowers are better known as loose cannons, and cannons are dangerous. As Johnson’s crew plowed into the Dillsboro Drop on the Tuckasegee, Padgett and his co-instructor Jason Carter called after them, saying that of course they could do this, keep going, come on, just hold on.

“We want to be seen by all the colleges and universities that we are like them. We are not a subcontractor or an outfitter or any of those things. We are a school.”

— Justin Padgett, Landmark Learning

All the time, though, the instructors knew the inevitable outcome: the current would strengthen, the students’ line would break and they’d fly downstream until hitting calmer waters.

“They have to have some moderate success, some moderate failure and we have to connect that for them,” Padgett said.

So, once the wetsuit-clad group of Virginians stood safely on shore, Padgett debriefed them on all those things that determine whether a rapid is or is not wadeable — principally, depth, type of river bottom and the speed of the current.

It’s through a grounded understanding of the seeming minutia of outdoor proficiency that Landmark seeks to raise up the next generation, both of outdoor professionals and of economic drivers for Western North Carolina.

“What we seek to do is have our students believe that what we do is a business,” Padgett said. “Outdoor recreation is a business, and it needs to be business-minded. In the U.S., the amount of money that’s spent on outdoor recreation is epically ridiculous.

Recreation is what funds Western North Carolina.”

In the end, though, Landmark’s success comes from its effort to serve the individual, its commitment to meet its students where their skills end and then give them the tools to go further.

“They put students first,” Payton said.

“It’s very big into ‘what is the student walking away with?’ That’s what’s important.”

For more information about Landmark Learning, including course offerings, visit www.landmarklearning.edu.

29

Smoky Mountain News

Having a quality staff is key to making it all work, Padgett said. When he and Mairi founded Landmark, one of their goals was to assemble a staff of talented, dedicated people who would stick around for the long haul, rather than moving on after a year or two.

They’ve got that now, Padgett said,

Phillip Bell of Columbia, S.C., spend an afternoon perfecting his CPR skills in the Wilderness First Responder class.

Justin Padgett demonstrates proper whitewater swimming technique to his swiftwater rescue class. (below)

March 19-25, 2014

ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE

outdoors

Because, while a recreation professional’s office more often takes the form of a backcountry trail or craggy cliff than it does a cubical, Padgett believes it’s a career in which professional skills and attitudes are just as important as they are to a lawyer, a store manager or a teacher.

“We never want to have people get hurt or sick,” said Rob Barham, filling up on soup back at headquarters in Cullowhee. Another session with his Wilderness First Responder class would begin soon. “But the better prepared we are for it, the more we can mitigate negative outcomes.”

Outside the building, 16 students aged 18 to 50 lounged in the sun, waiting for day six of the nine-day WFR course to resume.

Unlike the Virginia college students gearing up for swiftwater rescue training a few miles away in Dillsboro, the ranks of the wilderness medicine course had come from places as distant as Texas, Ohio and Florida — and as close as Landmark’s backyard.

“We’re out there every day working in the forest, usually in a backcountry setting, an hour away from medical help, so it’s just knowledge I’ve been wanting to gain for a while,” said Sylva resident Dan Bryson, a forest technician for the National Park Service.

Whether you live in Carolina or Columbia, you never know when a routine excursion can turn serious. Maybe that’s why Landmark’s reach extends that far. Their instructors travel from Louisiana to Florida to Maine, and sometimes even to Columbia and Ecuador. Barham believes that scope is partly due to Landmark’s growing reputation as a clearinghouse for outdoors training of all varieties.

“Landmark offers this kind of depth and breadth of certification training that’s kind of available through one institution,” Barham said. “That’s not what you’d normally find.”

The more typical scenario is for an organization to offer a singular type of training, whether it be swiftwater rescue or Leave No Trace ethics. Often, instructors are trained in just that one field. Landmark instructors, by contrast, are often cross-trained in multiple outdoor disciplines.

“Our teachers are super-knowledgeable, and they’re really fun and really energetic, and they also work really well together,” said Klein, a student in the WFR course.

Landmark’s got that part of it down to the point that they’re even able to offer an entire semester of outdoor courses, a sixweek bonanza of seven certification courses that kicks off for the second time in midMay. Students who complete it can earn up to nine transfer credits.

pulling staff members from the school’s evergrowing network of alumni and also just from out of the blue.

One of last week’s wilderness responder instructors, Dan Payton, was a former student. He moved to Western North Carolina last year as soon as the opportunity came up, but Barham was one of those out-of-the-blue hires.

Padgett first met him in Ecuador, where he was teaching a course with Landmark.

Barham was there on a kayaking trip, but malaria had grounded him on a hammock in the Amazon Basin. The class came over to get some real-life experience assessing a malaria case, and once they got to the point that pleasantries were possible, Padgett discovered that Barham was from Bryson City.

“That’s how we find most of our people,” Mairi said of the many avenues by which staff find Landmark. “Well, they’re usually not suffering from malaria.”

Since then, Barham has become one of Landmark’s 22 full-time instructors, helping the school meet its mission of students-first education.

“One of my favorite parts of teaching is the variety of people I interact with,” he said.

“I feel like I actually get to know these people.”

That’s important, because each student is coming from a different place, with a different reason for taking the course.

Some need the certifications required for work, others are planning backcountry excursions and want it for their own use, and still others want it as a back-pocket tool in case of emergency or as a gateway to a longer career in outdoor recreation.

So, the instructors pause frequently to call on raised hands and clarify the points most relevant to their students’ specific situations. In-between calling out instructions and spitting facts and guidelines to their class, of course. One minute in class with Landmark staff, and it’s clear they know their stuff.

“What if they don’t know CPR?” one student asked as Payton set up a scenario in which two people alternate administering CPR to an unresponsive person.

“You teach them,” Payton replied promptly. “Put your hands on his chest and

Paddlers emerge for first big race of the year A major paddling race will be held on the Nantahala River March 22 and 23, with around 60 of the country’s top slalom paddlers coming from as far away as Colorado, Texas and Washington.

“The U.S. Open is one of the few events in the United States where all the best slalom athletes participate and is the first indication of how well the athletes are prepared for the season,” said U.S. National Team Coach Silvan Poberaj.

Featuring both slalom and wildwater races, the U.S. Open is hosted by the Nantahala Racing Club.

The race carries even more weight for slalom paddlers age 23 and under, as it will solidify the final line-up for 2014 U.S. National Team.

As the first national-level race of the year, the U.S. Open offers a welcome reprieve from “the doldrums of winter training” for wildwater athletes like John Pinyerd of Atlanta. Pinyerd, who competes in the C-1 Masters class. He looks forward to racing against his biggest competitor at the U.S. Open: himself.

“At this point in my life, I am racing my old times and results,” said Pinyerd, who has been participating in the annual event for “as long as NRC has had them.”

Though many U.S. Open paddlers are elite athletes who train year-round for whitewater sport, Nantahala Racing Club also offers recreational classes in both wildwater and slalom disciplines to encourage participation amongst recreational paddlers and enthusiasts.

The event is free to spectators, with competition beginning at 10 a.m. both days. For more info, go to NantahalaRacingClub.com/events.

Parking, dining, shopping and restrooms are available at Nantahala Outdoor Center’s all-inclusive outdoor recreation resort on the Nantahala River.

outdoors

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NOC elite athlete Michal Smolen, a U.S. Olympic hopeful who grew up paddling on the Nantahala River, at the 2013 U.S. Open. NOC photo

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting volunteers to rove the Oconaluftee River Trail, Mountain Farm Museum and fields along Newfound Gap Road near Oconaluftee Visitor Center at the main N.C. entrance to the park outside Cherokee.

The area is home to an elk herd frequently seen in the fields along the road and attracts a large number of sightseers. Volunteers will educate the public about wildlife viewing etiquette and safety. Volunteers will also tell visitors about the cultural heritage sites at the Mountain Farm Museum and natural resources along the Oconaluftee River Trail.

Volunteers are needed from mid-April through mid-November.

A mandatory volunteer training will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 4, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 828.497.1914.

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Outdoor programming planned in Macon A lineup of outdoor-themed programs, from rafting the Grand Canyon to natureinspired art by kids, will be held at the Macon County library in Franklin over the next couple of weeks. The series of outdoor talks happens every year at this time to commemorate the arrival of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers in the region.

■ “A Journey Through Time” with Doug Woodward will recount a month-long Grand Canyon river adventure on the Colorado with his son. 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25.

■ “Wilderness Survival” with Jeff Gottlieb will cover how to stay safe and survival tips should emergency strike in the woods. See

NPS photo

March 19-25, 2014

Roving volunteers needed in the Smokies

improvised tools fashioned from natural materials and try your hand at survival skills. 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27.

■ “Nature Inspired Student Art Reception” sponsored by the Nantahala Hiking Club, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Macon County Schools. 5:30 p.m. Monday,

March 31.

■ “Our Appalachian Trail Journey” with Bill and Sharon Van Horn of the Nantahala Hiking Club will feature their eight-year journey of section hiking the 2,185.9 miles of the A.T. 6:30 p.m. Tues. April 1.

■ A screening of “Forever Wild: Celebrating America’s Wilderness” in honor of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act, with local reps from The Wilderness Society. 4:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2.

■ A screening of “Cataloochee,” a documentary that tells the story of Cataloochee Valley, the settlers who lived there, and the movement to form a national park that includes this special place, will include a Q&A with film maker and Cataloochee old-timer. 6 p.m. Thursday, April 3.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office reminds the public that gathering ginseng on the Nantahala National Forest without a permit is illegal.

U.S. Forest Service lands in Western North Carolina have been severely affected by ginseng poachers. Once abundant throughout the eastern mountains, American ginseng populations have been severely reduced because of repeated poaching.

The roots poached in the Nantahala

Explore the Waynesville watershed

An advanced hike in the preserved Waynesville Watershed will be held on Sunday, March 23.

The 8,000-acre protected tract outside Waynesville, which is the source of the town’s drinking water reservoir, is usually off-limits to the public except through guided group hikes like this one.

Space is limited, so reserve a spot by calling 828.456.2030 or email recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

Birding and tree climbing for families

A new outdoor recreation program for kids in third through sixth grade will be held on Thursdays from 4:30 to 7:45 p.m. for the remainder of March by the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department.

Meet at the Waynesville Recreation Center and travel by van to explore a nearby hiking trail.

Cost $5 per person for members of the Waynesville Recreation Center or $8 for nonmembers. Space is limited. 828.456.2030 or recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

Two free spring activities for families will be held at the Waynesville Recreation Park on Saturday, March 22.

A birding workshop will be held at 9:30 a.m. with expert birder Don Hendershot.

Learn how to identify birds, begin a bird habitat, and follow birds in our area.

A workshop on climbing trees with ropes will begin held at 1 p.m.

Meet at the Waynesville Recreation Center. 828.456.2030 or recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

National Forest are usually young, between 5 and 10 years old, and have not yet

Cheap greenhouse space for up for grabs Get an early start on this year’s garden by renting a space for seed flats in the greenhouse at the Old Armory in Waynesville.

Plant your seed trays and then bring them to the greenhouse, where they will be watered daily. Fetch your sprouted seedlings to take back home come planting season.

The cost is $5 per tray with a maximum of five trays per person. Space is limited.

Reserve a spot by March 24.

Stop by the armory Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. or Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

828.456.9207 or email recprograms@townofwaynesville.org.

March 19-25, 2014

Afternoon hike series for kids in Haywood

reached their full reproductive capacity. In time, the plant’s populations could recover if poaching ceased.

Permits to collect ginseng root in national forests are issued through the U.S. Forest Service in early September. Permits are not available in National Park lands such as the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where even the possession of American ginseng is prohibited.

To report illegal harvesting activities of American ginseng call 257.4200.

outdoors

Permit needed to harvest ginseng

SEE

Jeff Miller IN CONCERT

Saturday, March 22 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Jackson students win environmental contest

Interactive activities for kids have been installed along a 1.3-mile section of trail at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville, which has officially joined the network of Kids in Parks TRACK Trails.

“The TRACK Trail provides an educational experience for families that can be accomplished at their own pace,” said Jonathan Marchal, the arboretum youth education manager. “Opportunities for kids to explore their natural world and get their hands dirty are essential, and that’s what the TRACK Trail provides.”

Kids hike with the help of Turtle Tales,

which lets them experience the trail from the point of view of Shelly, an eastern box turtle.

A grand opening for the trail will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 22. There will be a pond exploration, scavenger hunt for soil invertebrates, backyard bird watching advice, butterfly hunt and a tour of the EcoLab classroom.

There are several other kids’ TRACK Trails in the region, developed by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation with funding from a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation grant.

Brochures with suggested adventures and activities are available for each trail, and children can earn prizes for TRACKing their hikes in online nature journals on the Kids in Parks website.

20

% OFF

SELECT ITEMS

SCARVES • JEWELRY CANDLES • BOOKS Lake Junaluska mustards, dips, dressings Crafts from local artists and much more!

Smoky Mountain News

Kids can get trekking with TRACK trail network

232-65

The Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District has announced the winners of its annual poster and essay contests.

Third- through sixth-grade students participated in the poster contest while the essay contest was open to sixth-grade students. About 200 students participated. This year’s theme was The Living Soil. The first-place poster winner advanced to the Area 1 contest in Waynesville, where they will compete against 15 other Soils and Water Conservation Districts of Area 1.

710 North Lakeshore Dr. 828-454-6777 Across from the Terrace Hotel in the Harrell Center

OPEN MON-SAT 8 A.M.-6 P.M.

www.lakejunaluska.com/bookstore 31

32

WNC Calendar

Smoky Mountain News

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Haywood County Meals on Wheels needs drivers.

Jeanne Naber, 356.2442.

• Annual meeting of Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 20, Shelton House Barn, 49 Shelton St., Waynesville. 246.9050.

• A “Spring Fling,” 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 21, First Baptist Church of Sylva. www.fbcsylva.org.

• Volunteer training for REACH of Haywood, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 22 (rescheduled from March 8), 627 N. Main St., Waynesville. 456.7898 • Affordable Care Workshop, 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 25, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Macon County Board of Health Rabies Public Forum 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25. 349.2437, www.maconnc.org.

• Melissa Orr, Affordable Care Act Nagivator from Mountain Projects, 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 25, Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016.

• Panel discussion on Gloria Steinem, 4 p.m.

Wednesday, March 26, A.K. Hinds University Center, Western Carolina University. 227.3839 or mchamber@wcu.edu.

• Jackson County’s Issues Roundtable will sponsor a free showing of Robert Reich’s “Inequality for All,” 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27, Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library Complex in Sylva.

• NAACP meeting, 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, Harris Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, Canton. Election of officers at 3 p.m.

• Nursing Education Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, WCU’s instructional site at 28 Schenck Parkway, Suite 300, Biltmore Park Town Square, Asheville. No registration required to attend. nursing.wcu.edu or 654.6506.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, Haywood Community College, Student Center. 627.4512. Sponsored by HCC’s Small Business Center.

• 2014 NCCAT Literacy Festival for teachers and school administrators, 5:30 to 7 p.m. March 24–27, Cullowhee. www.nccat.org or contact Deb Teitelbaum, 293.5202 ext. 1103 or deborah.teitelbaum@nccat.org. Sign up online at http://bit.ly/1bJpg6X. • Two free classes for small business owners, 9 a.m. to noon on cash flow, and 2 to 5 p.m, Tuesday, March 25.

“Fastest Path to the Money Your Business Needs, with Tim Dannelly, professional speaker and author, Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus.

Tiffany Henry, director of SCC’s Small Business Center, t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 339.4211.

• Wedding Show, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 22, Maggie Valley Club. 926.4848.

• Free seminar, How to Write a Business Plan, 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 20, Haywood Community College Student Center. 627.4512. Sponsored by HCC’s Small Business Center.

• iPad Users Group, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 20, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• North Carolina Bike Safe, a motorcycle safety seminar, for all business owners, 5:30 p.m. March 20, Maggie Valley Town Hall Pavilion, hosted by the Maggie Valley Police Department. 926.0867.

• “Business Planning for Business Success,” 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 20, HCC Student Center, first floor. Small Business Center, 627.4512 or email tbrown@haywood.edu.

• Southwestern Community College Job Fair, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 20, SCC Jackson Campus, Burrell Building, 447 College Drive, Sylva. Snow date, March 27. More than 50 employers from throughout the region. Patty Kirkley, 339.4212; www.southwesterncc.edu • Western Carolina University Open House, Saturday, March 22. www.openhouse.wcu.edu or call Office of Undergraduate Admission, 227.7317 or toll-free, 877.928.4968.

• Smoky Mountain Chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association meeting, noon, Saturday March 22, Lambuth Inn. Program presented by John Chicoine, executive director of the Haywood County Senior Re-source Center.

• Free seminar, How to Price your Product or Service, 6

• Eco Explorers: Casting – 1 to 3 p.m. March 21, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, near Brevard in Transylvania County. For 8-13 years old. 877.4423 or ncpaws.org/reservations/pisgah/CalendarView.

• Register for Spring Youth Tennis Lessons in Jackson County. Lessons run Tuesdays and Saturdays, April 29May 24, at Mark Watson Park, Sylva. $40. Register at Jackson County Recreation Center. No phone registration.

• Free mask-making workshop for ages K-2, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, Children¹s Story Time Room at the Jackson County Library. 507.9820 to make a reservation.

• Buckle Up, Baby! a free car seat safety clinic, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 5, Franklin Fun Factory, Franklin, and the Hudson Library, Highlands. Brittney at brittney051888@yahoo.com or 508.3003.

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 forming. Members from Swain and Macon counties welcome. Download membership forms at https://donate.naacp.org/page//images/memberform.pdf (Indicate on the form you wish to join the Jackson County branch). Or contact The Canary Coalition, in Sylva, info@canarycoalition.org, 631.3447.

• Occupy WNC General Assembly, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 25, Room 246 Jackson County Justice Center, Sylva.

Literary (children)

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Pancake Breakfast, 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 29, Maggie Valley United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 4192 Soco Road, Maggie Valley. All-you-can-eat pancakes, bacon, sausage, coffee, milk and orange juice. $8 for adults and $3 for children under 12. Proceeds will support MVUMC mission programs and ministries.

Tickets at the door and in advance. 926.8036.

• Booth space available for WNC’s 24th annual Largest Indoor Yard Sale, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 12, Ramsey Center, Western Carolina University. Sponsored by the Jackson County Arts Council. $35 for one space, $30 for two or more. Free admission. Sylvia Smythe, 507.9531, www.jacksoncountyarts.org.

BLOOD DRIVES BUSINESS & EDUCATION

• Nature Nuts: Bobcats – 9 to 11 a.m. March 21, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, near Brevard in Transylvania County. For 4 to 7 years old. Free.

877.4423 or sign up online at ncpaws.org/reservations/pisgah/CalendarView.

• Franklin Community Blood Drive, 12:30 to 5 p.m.

Thursday, March 20, First Baptist Church of Franklin, 69 Lotla Street, Franklin. www.redcrossblood.org, keyword: Franklin or call 1 800 RedCross.

HEALTH MATTERS • A Discussion on Self Care and Caring for the Injured, 3 p.m. Saturday, March 29, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva.

Featuring Deborah Schlag author of Becoming the Healer, a book that reveals her own struggle in overcoming traumatic brain injury. 586.9499.

• Homework Help, 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Homework Help, 3 p.m. Thursday, March 20, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Family Night: Spring Has Sprung, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 20, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Children’s Storytime: Spring is Here! 11 a.m. Friday, March 21, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Children’s Storytime: Poems of Spring, 3:30 p.m.

Friday, March 21, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Children’s Storytime: How Does It Grow? 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 22, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Children’s Storytime: Rotary Readers, 11 a.m. Monday, March 24, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Homework Help, 3 p.m. Monday, March 24, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Children’s Storytime: Delightful Donuts, 11 a.m.

Tuesday, March 25, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Homework Help, 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, Jackson County Public Library, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Teen Time, 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Library Closed for yearly training, Wednesday, March 26.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Community Pot Luck Luncheon noon Wednesday, March 19, Senior Resource Center of Haywood County, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville. Bring a dish to share.

Nancy Haber, 246.2819.

• Dennis Streets, director of the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services, will speak at 10 a.m.

Friday, March 21, at the annual meeting of the Haywood County’s Senior Advocacy Network, Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville.

KIDS & FAMILIES • New outdoor recreation program for boys and girls in third through sixth grade, 4:30 to 7:45 p.m. Thursdays.

Meet at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Hike location determined day of event. $5 per person for members of the Waynesville Recreation Center or $8 for non-members. 456.2030 or email recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

SUPPORT GROUPS • Parkinson’s Support Group, 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, Haywood Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville. Speaker is Waynesville psychologist Dr. Lynne Barrett.

POLITICAL GROUP EVENTS & LOCAL GOVERNMENT Dems • Jackson County Democratic Party Forum, 6 to 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 20, Community Room, Jackson County Courthouse Library Complex, Sylva.

GOP • Jackson County Republican Convention and Precinct meetings, Friday, March 21, Jackson County Senior Center Heritage Room, Sylva. Registration for the county’s 14 precinct meetings begins at 5 p.m., meetings at 5:30 p.m.; opening ceremonies at 6:45 p.m. 743.6491, www.jacksoncountygop.com.

Others • Jackson County branch of the NAACP, 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22, Liberty Baptist Church in Sylva. New branch

A&E ART/GALLERY EVENTS & OPENINGS • Pottery from the private collection of Joan Byrd and George Rector will be on display through Friday, May 9, at the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University.

An artist’s talk and reception is set for 5 p.m. Thursday, March 20. 227.3591.

• Nature Inspired Student Art Reception,” 5:30 p.m.

Monday, March 31, Living Room of the Macon County Public Library.

CLASSES, PROGRAMS & DEMONSTRATIONS • Art classes through Haywood Community College’s Workforce Continuing Education Department in the Creative Arts Building: Updated class times and dates at www.haywood.edu.

• Beginners water color class, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Thursday, March 20, Jackson County Cooperative Extension in Sylva. Instructor Pat Mikula. $3. Register at 586.4009.

• Baked Tater Bag and Mug Rug Workshop, 1 to 4 p.m.

Friday, March 21, Jackson County Extension Office. $5.

Register at 586.4009.

• Easter egg decorating class, 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 27, Dogwood Crafters and KJ’s Attic in Dillsboro.

586.2435 or email junettapell@hotmail.com by March 24.

FILM & SCREEN • “Blow-Up,” a 1966 film that centers on a photographer who believes he may have taken photographs of a

murder,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 20, theater of A.K. Hinds University Center, Western Carolina University.

Free. 227.2324 or jsholder@wcu.edu.

• “Girl Rising,” a feature film inspired by the true stories of nine girls from nine countries, 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, Western Carolina University on the lawn of A.K. Hinds University Center; rain location at the University Center Multipurpose Room. Free. Sarah Carter, sacarter@wcu.edu, or John Whitmire, jwhitmire@wcu.edu.

FOOD & DRINK • French wines class, 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 21, Papou’s Wine Shop and Bar, Sylva. Presented by Wendy Dunn. 586.6300.

• Cherokee Dance Group, Warriors of AniKituhwa, 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, UNC Asheville’s Main Quad. 251.6674 or cesap.unca.edu.

• Auditions for the 2014 season of Unto These Hills, the long-running, outdoor drama in Cherokee, 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 22, 564 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, across from the museum. Come prepared with a monologue, a headshot and a song (if you sing).

Marina Hunley-Graham, 497.3652 or Linda Squirrel, 497.1125.

• Melange of the Mountains Culinary Weekend, April 10-13, Laurel Ridge Country Club. 456.3021 or chipps@haywoodchamber.com.

• Unique jazz instrumental concert, featuring WCU School of Music faculty, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, recital hall of the Coulter Building on the WCU campus. Free. 227.7242. Concert will focus on compositions from the early jazz-fusion period of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

• Bakers wanted for 15th annual Taste of Chocolate, 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 19, Maggie Valley Club. $12 in advance, $15 at the door. John, 356.2833.

• Clarinet ensembles concert, 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 31, recital hall of Western Carolina University’s Coulter Building. Free. School of Music, 227.7242.

• Mountain Cooking Club with Chef Ricardo Fernandez, former co-owner and head chef of Lomo Grill, class 0405, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 5, and class 0419, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 19, Fines Creek Community Kitchen, 192 Fines Creek Road, $50 per person, 627.6751 or chefricardos@gmail.com.

LITERARY (ADULTS) • Coffee with the Poet featuring Terry Michelsen, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 20, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva. Michelsen’s latest collection of poetry is If After You are Gone. 586.9499.

• J.C. Walkup will read from her novel, Partners, at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 29, Blue Ridge Books, 152 S. Main St., Waynesville. 456.6000.

• Ashli Rose. Ginni McAfee, and Steve Whiddon will perform at the Maggie Valley Rendezvous. Rose will play on March 21, with McAfee, March 28 and Whiddon every Thursday. Free. 926.0201 or www.maggievalleyhotel.com.

• Dylan Riddle, March 22, No Name Sports Pub in Sylva. 586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com, 586.2750.

• Owner of the Sun, March 22, Water’n Hole Bar and Grill in Waynesville. 456.4750.

• The Freestylers, March 22. 7 p.m., City Lights Café, Sylva. 587.2233 or www.citylightscafe.com.

• Caribbean Cowboys, March 21; SmokeRise, March 22; and the Impostors, March 28.

• Gary Carden will read from his new book Appalachian Bestiary at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, Haywood County Library, Waynesville.

• Darren Nicholson Band 7:45 p.m. March 27 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. $12. 283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• 12th annual Spring Literary Festival, March 31-April 4, A.L. Hinds University Center, unless otherwise noted, Western Carolina University, featuring established and emerging authors of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction will discuss and read from their works. Free. Schedule of speakers at www.litfestival.org, 227.3926.

• Pianist Jacob Crabtree, 5 to 7 p.m. March 22, Papou’s Wine Shop and Bar in Sylva. 586.6300 or www.mountainlovers.com.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Change A Life Tour with Christian rock bands, Audio Adrenaline and Kutless, and special guests Finding Favour and Shine Bright Baby, 7 p.m. Friday, March 21, Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, Franklin. Tickets: $15. www.GreatMountainMusic.com or 866.273.4615.

OUTINGS, HIKES & FIELDTRIPS • Outdoor Exploration Day, starting at 9:30 a.m.

Saturday, March 22, Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. Birding workshop with Don Hendershot at 9:30 a.m. and tree climbing with ropes workshop at 1 p.m. Free and open to people of all ages. 456.2030 or email recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org • Nantahala Hiking Club, moderate-to-strenuous 7.5 mile hike, 9 a.m. Saturday, March 22, Sweat Heifer Trail-Kephart Prong in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Meet at 9 a.m. at Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Keith Patton, 456.8895.

• Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy Guided Hike to Snowball Mountain, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 22, near Craggy Gardens picnic area.

Directions sent upon RSVP. Moderate-to-difficult, hike. Anna@Appalachian.org or 253.0095 ext. 205 • Advanced hike to the Waynesville Watershed, 12:30 p.m. Sunday, March 23. Leave from Waynesville Recreation Center. Rain or shine. Limit of eight hikers. $3 per person for members of the Waynesville Recreation Center or $5 for nonmembers. 456.2030 or email recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

• Nantahala Hiking Club, easy one-mile hike, Sunday, March 23, Rufus Morgan Trail. Meet at 2 p.m. at Westgate Plaza in Franklin. Jean Hunnicutt, 524.5234.

• A Journey Through Time, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, Program Room of the Macon County Public Library, with Doug Woodward, who will recount his recent month-long Grand Canyon adventure in slideshow.

• Wilderness Survival with Jeff Gottlieb, 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 27, Meeting Room, Macon County

• SMIE Macro-Invert Monitoring – Training (for fishermen/women, biology-oriented folk), 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, March 29, St. Francis Church, Cherokee. www.WATRnc.org.

• 6th annual April Fool’s Trail Days, Saturday, March 29, downtown Franklin, an official Appalachian Trail Community. Celebrate Appalachian Trail and its hikers. www.aprilfoolstraildays.com.

PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS • Bike clinics, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 22 and 29, Colonial Theater, Canton; 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 12, Clyde Elementary School, Clyde. For ages 15 and up. Teenagers must be accompanied by an adult. Must pre-register, 452.6789.

• 17th anniversary of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) Conference, presented by Discover Life in America (DLIA), March 20-22, Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Keynote speaker will be world renowned bat specialist Merlin D. Tuttle, founder and president emeritus of Bat Conservation International.

865.430.4757 or visit www.dlia.org.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • U.S. Open slalom and wildwater races, 10 a.m.

March 22-23, Nantahala River, Nantahala Outdoor Center. Hosted by Nantahala Racing Club. Free to spectators. www.NantahalaRacingClub.com/events.

• 4th annual Assault on Black Rock (ABR), 9 a.m.

Saturday, March 22, Jackson County. A 7-mile trail race

• Leo Johnson, 7 p.m. Friday, March 28, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. $10 minimum purchase on food, drink or merchandise. 452.6000.

• Ethan Morse, Liz Nance Trio, Dylan Riddle & Friends, Swamp Candy, and Porch 40 will perform at No Name Sports Pub in Sylva. Morse will play March 20, with Nance March 21; Riddle, March 22; Swamp Candy, March 27-28; and Porch 40, March 29. Shows start at 9 p.m. 586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com.

MUSIC JAMS • “Winter Pickin’ in the Armory,” 7 p.m. Friday, March 21, Canton Armory. Mountain music, vintage country, clogging and dancing. www.cantonnc.com.

• Western Carolina University Professor of flute Eldred Spell, accompanied by current and former WCU students at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 22, recital hall of the university’s Coulter Building. Free. School of Music, 227.7242.

• Monthly Ballroom Dance, 7:30 p.m. dance review, 8 p.m. dance starts, Friday March 21, Angie’s Dance Academy, Clyde. $10. Ron @734.8726.

• Comedian Gabriel Iglesias, 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

March 22, Harrah’s Cherokee. Tickets are $24.50, $34.50 and $54.50. 800.745.3000 or www.harrahscherokee.com.

• High Mountain Squares Spring Dance with “Little Joe” Goins , 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 21, Macon County Community Building, GA Road (441 South), Franklin. 371.4946, 332.0001 or

• Acclaimed classical music duo Alyona Aksyonova

www.highmountainsquare.com.

DANCE

Smoky Mountain News

• WCU’s Got Talent featuring Porch 40, 7 to 11 p.m.

Thursday, March 20, UC Central Plaza, Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

Outdoors

• Nature Inspired Student Art Reception,” 5:30 p.m.

Monday, March 31, Living Room of the Macon County Public Library. Sponsored by the Nantahala Hiking Club, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Macon County Schools.

March 19-25, 2014

• Author Event Leanna Sain will read from Wish, her first novel for young adults, at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 22, Blue Ridge Books, 152 S. Main St., Waynesville.

456.6000.

NIGHT LIFE • WCU’s Got Talent featuring Porch 40, 7 to 11 p.m.

Thursday, March 20, UC Central Plaza at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

Public Library, Franklin.

wnc calendar

• Movie Night, 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 24, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

and James Waldo, 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 24, recital hall of WCU’s Coulter Building. Tickets are $5 for students and $15 for others and available in advance or at the door. Reception will follow. Advance tickets, 227.7383 or beam@wcu.edu.

33

INSIDE

Now Hiring jobs.bayada.com

828.452.0010 ARTS & CRAFTS

MarketPlace information:

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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.

BUILDING MATERIALS

Rates:

HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

■ Free — Residential yard sale ads, lost or found pet ads.

■ Free — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $12 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

■ $12 — 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.

■ $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.

CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING ALL THINGS BASEMENTY! Basement Systems Inc. Call us for all of your basement needs! Waterproofing, Finishing, Structural Repairs, Humidity and Mold Control.

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Specialize in Removal of Carpenter Bees - Log Homes or Siding! Call Now for a Free Estimate at 828.508.9727.

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CARS - DOMESTIC 1984 MUSTANG GT Complete Restomode! Too Much to List. Sacrifice at $13,000.

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1.727.232.2442 - Florida All Others 1.855.844.8771 SAPA

FURNITURE COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778.

FURNITURE: Oak Bedroom Set; Oak Dining Table/1 Leaf/ 4 Armchairs; Sofa; Oak Wine Cabinet; Armoire, Hope Chest; File Cabinet ect.; Mountain/Lodge Decor. For more info 828.631.2675

FURNITURE HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

LAWN AND GARDEN HEMLOCK HEALERS, INC. Dedicated to Saving Our Hemlocks. Owner/Operator Frank Varvoutis, NC Pesticide Applicator’s License #22864. 48 Spruce St. Maggie Valley, NC 828.734.7819 828.926.7883, Email: hemlockhealers@yahoo.com

AUCTION HARPER’S AUCTION COMPANY March 21st @ 6:00 p.m.

Time for Spring: Great Deals up for Grabs; Arbour, Catyak, Ammo and Lots of Items for Outside, Great Box Lots and Much More!

harpersauctioncompany.com For Online Bidding 47 Macon Center Dr, Franklin, NC 828.369.6999, Debra Harper NCAL# 9659 NCFL# 9671 AUCTION 1450+/- Acres in 52 tracts in Gatesville. March 25 @ 6pm. Buy 1 tract or Combination. 1-300 acres.

Call now 919.545.0412. www.RogersAuction.com NCFL7360. United Country Rogers Auctioneers.

LAKE GASTON Building Lot Auction- Thursday, Mar. 27 at 6pm. Kahill's Restaurant, 1791 N. Mecklenburg Ave., South Hill, VA. 22 waterfront & 5 interior lots. 434.955.0708. www.nichollsauction.com TOTAL BUSINESS Liquidation Auction - Saturday, March 29, 9am, Virginia Refrigeration. 11191 Hopson Road, Ashland, VA. Equipment, Welders/Generator, Machinery, Tools, Shelving, Vehicles & more! www.GrindstaffAuctions.com.

804.301.2488.

VAAF612.

R

MAD BATTER Now located in Downtown Sylva, is looking for friendly faces. Lunch & Dinner servers, line cooks, bartenders & dishwashers. Pick up & drop off application outside of our new location 617 W. Main St. CAN YOU DIG IT? Bulldozers, Backhoes and Excavators. 3 Week Hands On Training Provided. Become Nationally Certified. Lifetime Job Placement Assistance. GI Benefits Eligible.

1.866.362.6497

$1000 + PER WEEK. Experience Pays - Up to 50 cpm.

Free Onsite Doc + Quality Hometime. CDL-A Required. Call now 1.866.717.9899 or go to: www.ad-drivers.com SAPA NC PRESS SERVICES Sales Director - North Carolina Press Services, an information solutions/media placement agency, seeks a strategic thinker and proven sales professional to oversee and execute our overall sales strategy - from cold call to on-site call, from fresh ideas to excellent execution after the sale. We need someone to identify advertisers who want results - who want their ads to win over newspaper readers with a growing print product line and state-of-the-art digital products, and for related media outlets.

Sales experience and a proven track record are a must; strong background in digital sales and social media marketing is a definite plus. We offer great pay, excellent benefits, and a fun, creative working environment. To apply, send an online cover letter, resume and any samples to NCPA Executive Director Beth Grace at beth@ncpress.com NEED MEDICAL OFFICE TRAINEES! Become a Medical Office Assistant at CTI! No Experienced Needed!

Online Training gets you job ready!

HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed. Careertechnical.edu/nc.

1.888.512.7122 NEW PAY-FOR-EXPERIENCE Program pays up to $0.41/mile.

Class-A Professional Drivers Call 866.291.2631 for more details or visit: SuperServiceLLC.com NURSING CAREERS Begin here- Get trained in months, not years. Small classes, no waiting list. Financial aid for qualified students. Apply now! Centura College Norfolk 888.893.3477 TANKER DRIVERS Solo/Team: Up to $5,000 Sign-On Bonus! Up to 60cpm plus additional for pump offs, mileage bonuses!

1-year OTR required. Call 888.799.4873. www.oakleytransport.com

HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS HOSPITAL Positions now available: Patient Account Representative, Foundation Office & Database Assistant, C.N.A.’s, C.N.A./Unit Clerk, Inpatient Coder, and Medical Records Manager.

Benefits available the first of the month following 60 days of full-time employment. PreEmployment screening required.

Call Human Resources.

828.526.1376, or apply online at: www.highlandscashiershospital. org CLEAN SLATE COALITION A Sylva-based nonprofit organization seeks a part time contractual admin. assistant and bookkeeper.

Approximately 1-12 hours per week including on-site and work at home. Must have experience and training in administrative and bookkeeping work, with a preference for those with Quickbooks experience. Contact Marsha at 828.506.4221 and or email resume to: marshacrites52@gmail.com DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE For Carolina Public Press (parttime). The Development Assistant will implement fundraising strategies in support of Carolina Public Press, a non-profit online news service providing WNC with unbiased, in-depth and investigative reporting. Includes leading and assisting with donor-development programs and corporate, small business and organizational sponsorship programs.

Details at: carolinapublicpress.org/careeropportunities AIRLINE CAREERS BEGIN HERE Get FAA Approved Maintenance Training Financial Aid For Qualified Students - Housing Available Job Placement Assistance. Call Aviation Institute Of Maintenance 1.866.724.5403 WWW.FIXJETS.COM. SAPA ATTN: DRIVERS 24/7 Support! $$$ Up to 50 cpm $$$. Full Benefits + Pet & Rider.

CDL-A Req. 877.258.8782. www.ad-drivers.com

An EcoWater Water System can remove Bad Taste & Odors Iron/Rust Sediment/ Silt Bacterias Harmful Chlorine Balance pH

Lease to Own

828.452.3995 | americanwatercareinc.com

Fred Alter

ph. 828-564-1260 fred.alter@sothebysrealty.com Asheville | Waynesville | Naples

2992 MEMORIAL HWY., PO BOX 225 • LAKE LURE NC

www.PinnacleSIR.com 232-63

Ann knows real estate!

Ann Eavenson CRS, GRI, E-PRO

ann@mainstreetrealty.net

506-0542 CELL 232-18

CASHIERS-GLENVILLE YEAR-ROUND HOME

101 South Main St. Waynesville

.

1BR/1BA • 4± acres Ample Parking Bold Stream • Wooded Lot Spacious Deck New Appliances

MainStreet Realty

(828) 452-2227 mainstreetrealty.net

smokymountainnews.com

CDL-A DRIVERS: Looking for higher pay? New Century is hiring exp. drivers, both Solo and Team Operations. Competitive pay package. Sign-On Incentive.

Pets Welcome! Call 888.903.8863 now or apply online at: www.drivenctrans.com

Cleaner, Clearer and Healthier water at every tap in your home

EMPLOYMENT

March 19-25, 2014

HOME IMPROVEMENT AUCTION Saturday, March 29 at 10am, 201 S. Central Ave., Locust, NC. Cabinet Sets, Doors, Carpet, Tile, Hardwood, Bath Vanities, Windows, Lighting, Patio Sets, Name Brand Tools. NC Sales Tax applies. www.ClassicAuctions.com Call Now 704.507.1449.

NCAF5479

JOB VACANCY: AWAKE Part-time Case Manager/Victim Services Coordinator for 24-28 hrs. per week, year-round at the AWAKE Children’s Advocacy Center. This is grant-funded and is subject to availability of funds in the future. Qualifications: BS or BA degree in a Human Services field plus 2 years experience in a children’s service field, preferably with child abuse and/or victim advocacy or case management. Applicants must have valid NCDL and a vehicle available for transportation. Job responsibilities include a variety of advocacy services and interventions for child abuse victims and their non-offending family members or caretakers. Applicants must be able to relate positively with AWAKE staff, the Board of Directors, service providers, volunteers and other community members, and provide positive support and advocacy for AWAKE clients. Basic computer skills and good oral and written skills required. Background and reference checks will be conducted on the top applicant. Resumes will be accepted until the position is filled. Please mail them to AWAKE, Inc. PO Box 755, Sylva, NC 28779. No phone calls or drop-ins please.

EMPLOYMENT

WNC MarketPlace

ESTATE SALES SERVICES CARE PARTNERS ESTATE SALES This weekend’s Mega Sale will be located at 105 Fairview Road Asheville, NC 28803. Just below the ScreenDoor And 12 Gerber Road, behind AAC. Wed. March 19, Through Sat. March 22, 9:00-5:00 each day This very large sale includes 32 estates from across Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina.

This Mega Sale includes Early Pine Paint Decorated Settle bench, Unusually Large Oak Hall Tree, Wicker Furniture, Haywood Wakefield Bedroom Furniture, Frankl Rattan Sunroom Furniture, Walnut Banquet Table, Student and Executive Desks, Golden Oak Side Board, Windsor Style Dining Chairs, Queen Anne Style High Boy, Bible stand, French Arm Chairs, Large Quantity Blue Ridge Pottery, Breakfront China Cabinets, Fire King, Pyrex, Jewel Tea, Large Selection of Decorator Pillows, Silver Plate, Cut Glass, Pattern and Pressed Glass, Country Pitcher Selection, Stangl Pottery, Milk Glass, Globe on Stand, Aladdin Lamps, Oil Lamps, Country Chairs, Aluminum Ware, Globe Warnicke 4 and 5 Stack Book Cases, Great Decorator Mirrors, Hepplewhite Style Brandy Board, Several High Quality Sofas, Lipstick Chair and Ottoman, Duncan Phyfe Mahogany Dining Table, Large Round Bed, Hand Dove Tailed Blanket Chest , Lipstick Chair and Ottoman, Pine 4 Drawer Cottage Chest, Teak Patio furniture, Hand Made Pine Wash Stand, Chocolate Stand, Early Rope Bed, Large selection Collectible Plates, 2 Mid Century Modern Chests, Midcentury Console, Custom Made Mahogany Side Board with Fan Inlay, Pair Chippendale style Sofas, Mahogany Sideboard, Entertainment Centers, Carpets, Patio Furniture, Large Selection of Shabby Chic , Barn Fresh and Contemporary Furniture as found.

There will be something for every taste and every budget, Dealers Welcome. Saturday is Discount Day. For additional information please log onto www.cpestatesales.org or call 828.277.6840

EMPLOYMENT

232-05

AUCTION

Adjoining 1.4± Ac. Lot Also Available Commercial or Residential • 100+ ft. Frontage on N. Hwy. 107

$65,000 • MLS#77763

CALL 828-743-1046

find us at: facebook.com/smnews 232-56

35

WNC MarketPlace

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

ARE YOU A COMPASSIONATE Certified nurse assistant looking for part-time hours? BAYADA Home Health Care is currently hiring certified nursing assistants to give reliable and compassionate care to our clients. We have an immediate need for part time CNA's call 828.452.0010 today.

EMPLOYMENT

DRIVERS: Are you tough enough to wear Wylie? Regional Drivers Wanted!

Home Weekly! $2,000 Sign-On Bonus! Great Pay & Benefits!

888.336.6820 www.Drive4EWWylie.com

WORKING AS A CERTIFIED Nursing assistant for BAYADA means being treated with the respect and recognition you deserve. Employee recognition awards, training, scholarships, competitive pay, and benefits are available for all employees. We have an immediate need for full time CNA's call 828.452.0010 today.

REGIONAL CDL-A DRIVERS Great Career w/weekly hometime!

888.362.8608. For paid training, apply online at AverittCareers.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer. Females, minorities, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

TANKER & FLATBED COMPANY. Drivers/Independent Contractors!

Immediate Placement Available.

Best Opportunities in the Trucking Business. Call Today 800.277.0212 or www.driveforprime.com

FLATBED PROFESSIONALS Run Regional only. West of Interstate #73/74. Top Pay Program.

Great Benefits Plan. *Home Every Weekend* reqs clean CDL-A/MVR For more information call us at 1.800.543.9198 x 118, or visit us at: www.homeruninc.com

THE NAVY IS HIRING Top-notch training, medical/dental, 30 days vacation/yr, $ for school. HS grads ages 17-34.

Call Mon.-Fri. 800.662.7419

HEAVY EQUIPMENT

AT BAYADA HOME HEALTH CARE, Our employees are our greatest asset! Come see why we treat our home health aides as the home care heroes they are! To join our team of compassionate caregivers, call 828.452.0010 today.

DRIVERS: OTR & Regional, Home Weekly/Bi Weekly Guaranteed! Paid Weekly + Monthly Bonuses, 90% No Touch/ 70% Drop & Hook, Paid Loaded & Empy/Rider Program BC/BS, Rx, Dental, Vision, 401K etc...

877.704.3773.

OPEN DECK High Mileage Expedited Fleet.

Clean, predictable freight. Heavy Haul and Specialized also available. Company Trailers AT NO COST. Details at www.dailyrecruiting.com or 1.800.669.6414 THE PATH TO YOUR Dream Job Begins With A College Degree. Education Quarters offers a free college matching service.

CALL 1.800.893.6014

PETS

SAWMILLS FROM ONLY $4897.00 Make & Save Money with your own bandmill. Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship.

FREE Info/DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills.com. 1.800.578.1363, Ext. 300N.

PETS HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329

Prevent Unwanted Litters!

The Heat Is On! Spay/Neuter For Haywood Pets As Low As $10.

Operation Pit is in Effect!

Free Spay/Neuter, Microchip & Vaccines For Haywood Pitbull Types & Mixes!

BELLA A BEAUTIFUL STAFFIE MIX WITH A SOFT, TAN AND WHITE COAT AND BEAUTIFUL EYES. BELLA LOVES TO PLAY, GETS ALONG WELL WITH OTHER DOGS AND ADORES PEOPLE. WE THINK SHE IS ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD. LILLIAN A PRETTY DILUTE CALICO GIRL WITH GREY, CREAM AND WHITE MARKINGS. SHE'S ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD, SWEET AS CAN BE, AND READY FOR HER FUREVER HOME.

Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 12 Noon - 6 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

231-29

Great Smokies Storage

www.smokymountainnews.com

March 19-25, 2014

10’x20’

36

92

$

20’x20’

160

$

ONE MONTH

FREE WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT

828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828 Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction

Puzzles can be found on page 38.

These are only the answers.

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

20 ACRES Only $119/month, $0 Down, Owner Financing, No Credit Checks! Near El Paso, Texas. Beautiful Mountain Views! Money Back Guarantee.

1.866.882.5263 Extension 81. www.SunsetRanches.net SAPA

MOUTAINS OF NCCharming & affordable 1328sf new log cabin on 1.39 pvt wooded acres. $135,900 hdwd floors, stone fpl, spacious deck, level driveway.

828.286.1666. Call Us Now, Won't Last Long!

APT. FOR RENT FURNISHED FULLY FURNISHED 1 OR 2 BR Efficiency Aprtmt. Large Covered Porch w/ Great View of Smoky Mtns Includes Electric, Water, Cable & Internet. $850/mo. Available Now! Non Smokers Only! For more info 828.776.6273.

APT. FOR RENT UNFURNISHED CLEAN UNFURNISHED APRTMNT. For rent in Hazelwood area of Waynesville. 2/BR, 1/BA, refrigerator, stove, washer/dryer, carpet, good views. $650 per moth, security deposit required.

No pets. Move In Ready By April.

828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828.

COMM. PROP. FOR RENT COLONIAL SQUARE Premium Office Building Located in Sylva. 2-Story, 1320 sq. ft. per Floor, Wired for Internet, Plenty of Parking. Reasonable Rates per Building or per Floor. For more info call Camp Wynn at 864.370.0737 or send email: campwynn@colonialgroup.com

COMM. PROP. FOR SALE IN FRANKLIN, NORTH CAROLINA Convenient Location. Two Buildings, Approx. 5,000 sq. ft. of Storage and Offices. 17 Roll-up Doors. A Four Room Office with Bathroom; A Two Room Office with Bathroom Plus Shower; One Large Office with Bathroom.

Ideal for Small Businesses (Plumbing, Electrical, AC/Heat, Salesroom, Etc.) Owners Motivated. 828.342.3170.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

VACATION RENTALS CAVENDER CREEK CABINS Dahlonega, GA. GAS TOO HIGH? Spend your vacation week in the North Georgia Mountains! Ask About Our Weekly FREE NIGHT SPECIAL! Virtual Tour: www.CavenderCreek.com Cozy Hot Tub Cabins!

1.866.373.6307 SAPA

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT CLIMATE CONTROLLED STORAGE UNITS FOR RENT 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 maggievalleyselfstorage.storageunitsoftware.com/customers GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x10â&#x20AC;&#x2122; units for $55, 20â&#x20AC;&#x2122;x20â&#x20AC;&#x2122; units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

MEDICAL NEED MEDICAL OFFICE TRAINEES! Become a Medical Office Assistant at CTI! No Experienced Needed!

Online Training gets you job ready!

HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed. Careertechnical.edu/nc.

1.888.512.7122 NURSING CAREERS Begin here- Get trained in months, not years. Small classes, no waiting list. Financial aid for qualified students. Apply now! Centura College Norfolk 888.893.3477

MEDICAL GUARDIAN Top-rated medical alarm and 24/7 medical alert monitoring. For a limited time, get free equipment, no activation fees, no commitment, a 2nd waterproof alert button for free and more - only $29.95 per month. 800.983.4906 SAPA VIAGRA 100mg and CIALIS 20mg!

40 Pills + 4 FREE for only $99. #1 Male Enhancement, Discreet Shipping. Save $500! Buy The Blue Pill! Now 1.800.491.8751 SAPA

Your Local Big Green Egg Dealer

BEST PRICE EVERYDAY

10-5 M-SAT. 12-4 SUN.

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE John Deere X300 Riding Mower.

Recommended up to 3.5 acres, 17 Horsepower, Fuel SystemGasoline 3.5 Gallon, Hydrostatic Transmission, 42â&#x20AC;? Mowing Deck.

Price $1,500. For more info call 828.452.2811

232-54

ON DELLWOOD RD. (HWY. 19) AT 20 SWANGER LANE WAYNESVILLE/MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.8778

SAFE STEP WALK-IN TUB. Alert for Seniors. Bathroom falls can be fatal. Approved by Arthritis Foundation. Therapeutic Jets. Less Than 4 Inch Step-In. Wide Door.

Anti-Slip Floors. American Made.

Installation Included. Call 800.807.7219 for $750 Off.

Commitment, consistency, results.

WRAP UP YOUR Holiday Shopping with 100 percent guaranteed, delivered-to-the-door Omaha Steaks! Save 67 Percent Plus 4 Free Burgers - Many Gourmet Favorites ONLY $49.99.ORDER Today 1.800.715.2010 Use code â&#x20AC;&#x153;4937 CFWâ&#x20AC;? or www.OmahaSteaks.com/holiday33 SAPA

1986 SOCO ROAD, HWY 19 â&#x20AC;˘ MAGGIE VALLEY, NC 28751

Carolyn Lauter Broker/ABR 828.734.4822 Cell â&#x20AC;˘ www.carolynlauter.com carolyn.lauter@realtyworldheritage.com

232-14

Ellenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clients said it best!

Wa y n e s v i l l e O ff i c e 2 0 1 2 R a v i n g F a n Aw a rd

WANTED TO BUY CASH FOR Unexpired Diabetic Test Strips and unopened WOUND CARE ITEMS! Free Shipping, Best prices, 24 hour payment! Call 1.855.578.7477, or visit www.TestStripSearch.com Espanol 1.888.440.4001 SAPA

esither@beverly-hanks.com

Ellen

Sither

828.734.8305

beverly-hanks.com

232-11

Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400

7DNH 9LUWXDO 7RXU WR DSSUHFLDWH

Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Tues. & Wed. 10:00am - 5:00pm & Thurs. 10:00am- 12:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.725.2962 Equal Housing Opportunity

Full Service Property Management 828-456-6111 www.selecthomeswnc.com Residential and Commercial Long-Term Rentals

232-49

smokymountainnews.com

NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS

2.819 ACRE TRACT Building Lot in great location.

Build your 2nd home log cabin here. Large 2-story building near HCC, was a Work Shop.

Reduced - Reduced $64,750 Call 828.627.2342.

MEDICAL CANADA DRUG CENTER Is your choice for safe and affordable medications. Our licensed Canadian mail order pharmacy will provide you with savings of up to 90 percent on all your medication needs. Call Today 1.800.265.0768 for $25.00 off your first prescription and free shipping. SAPA

March 19-25, 2014

REAL ESTATE AUCTION Dates: 3/8, 3/11, 3/15, 3/18, 3/20.

36 properties- duplexes, houses, building/lot, 30-unit apartment complex. Archdale & High Point, NC. www.hughesauction.com Richie Hughes Auction & Real Estate.

336.847.7472.

NCAL6206/NCRBN202693.

BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor shamrock13@charter.net McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

LOTS FOR SALE

WNC MarketPlace

PUBLISHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise â&#x20AC;&#x153;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 discriminationâ&#x20AC;? 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. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis.

HOMES FOR SALE

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Super

70 URL opener 71 Politician Lott 72 “Adios!”

ACROSS 75 Labor Day’s mo.

1 Nylon woven so that 77 Hens 78-Across on tears won’t spread 8 Disputed Asian region them 78 Brood, with “on” 15 Arrive, as the night 79 Utter vocally 20 Before 21 Embrace, as a cause 81 A Disney princess 83 Cola, e.g.

22 Alkaline compound 84 Southern U.S. forage 23 1972 Glen Campbell plants hit 25 Starbucks menu item 87 Permeate with a spirit 26 Store safely 90 Memo start 27 Supper crumb 93 - -pah 28 Day, to José 94 Cry of magic 29 Vented vociferously 96 Lacking any luxury 30 Capital in the Andes 99 Ring-shaped head 32 “Oh, woe is me!” ornament 35 Be adjacent to 100 Cages 39 African outings 101 California coastal 41 1999-2007 House city speaker Dennis 104 Writer Seton 42 Atlantic-Pacific 106 Dahl of film linkup 44 Fed. loan agency for 107 Millions of years 108 Extra-big tub mom-and-pops 109 Brief sleeps 46 Bygone U.S. gas 113 Exhausting name 114 Gomez’s mother in 47 Capital of the an old sitcom Republic of China 119 Slowly, to a conduc48 Brand of hot sauce tor 50 Bro’s counterpart 120 Northern and south52 Three-note chord ern lights 54 Light, playful pas121 Disentangle sages 122 Hair lock 56 Lilted syllable 123 Trendy 59 1993 Texas standoff 124 Specialty brew city 61 Clothing edges 64 Actress who starred DOWN 1 Abbr. on a dashboard in “Alien vs. Predator” 2 Roth - (bank plans) 66 Indifferent 3 Pub quantity 68 Gens.’ inferiors

Smoky Mountain News

March 19-25, 2014

FOR APARTMENT 5A

38

CROSSWORD 4 Arty NYC area 5 Dragged fishing net 6 Mel of the old Giants 7 D.C.’s river 8 Clark of the Daily Planet 9 Invite 10 Healthful resort 11 Accord and Civic 12 Part of MTV 13 Singer Chris 14 Apartment, e.g.: Abbr.

15 Soups’ go-withs 16 Radiates 17 Iotas 18 Crying 19 Can’t help but 24 Yasir of the PLO 29 Stranded cell stuff 31 Bible book after Song of Solomon 32 Saudis, say 33 Purple bloomers 34 “I’ve got it!”

35 On-target 36 Sheep peep 37 Price per pound, e.g.

38 Certain plant anchor 40 Doña - County, New Mexico 43 Travis Tritt’s “Tell Was Dreaming” 44 Odors 45 Sodium - (cleanser) 49 Bygone Iranian ruler 50 It’s between fa and la 51 “Space - a premium” 53 Decompose 55 Frank of satirical rock 56 17th-century London theatre 57 Pealed 58 Hill builders

59 Toddlers’ cries 60 Jai 62 Tiny country in Europe 63 Alpine event 65 Stuff oozing down a trunk 67 Burkina 69 Blizzard fall 73 Street guide 74 Live-in nanny 76 Postwar pact 80 Winger or Messing 82 Neighbor of Ill. and Mich.

83 Omens 85 Missile path 86 Respectful deep bow 88 Caterer’s dispenser 89 - Vegas 90 Blitzkrieg 91 Less dense 92 Evidence of sunning 93 Off - tangent 95 Mythical horse-man 97 “It takes two” dances 98 “Honest” Lincoln 99 Is unable to 102 Air anew 103 Sows’ mates 105 Tennis great Agassi 108 Ming piece 110 Very little, as of salve 111 Get concrete results on?

112 Peter Pan pursuer 114 Moo goo - pan 115 Alcohol-free 116 Bad, to Henri 117 - and all 118 Camera type, in brief

answers on page 36

PERSONAL WHITE MALE, NON-DRINKER, Looking for a live-in girlfriend for companionship & light housework. Any age, kids okay. 2/BR in a nice neighborhood. For more info call Donnie at 706.335.6496 or write to PO Box 411, ILA, GA 30647.

YOUR AD COULD REACH 1.6 MILLION HOMES ACROSS NC! Your classified ad could be reaching over 1.6 Million Homes across North Carolina! Place your ad with The Smoky Mountain News on the NC Statewide Classified Ad Network- 118 NC newspapers for a low cost of $330 for 25-word ad to appear in each paper! Additional words are $10 each. The whole state at your fingertips! It's a smart advertising buy! Call Scott Collier at 828.452.4251 or for more information visit the N.C. Press Association's website at www.ncpress.com A UNIQUE ADOPTIONS, Let us Help! Personalized Adoption plans. Financial assistance, Housing, Relocation and more. Giving the gift of life? You deserve the best CALL US FIRST! 1.888.637.8200. 24 hour HOTLINE. SAPA ARE YOU PREGNANT? A childless married couple seeks to adopt. Will be Hands-On Mom/ Devoted Dad. Financial security.

Expenses PAID. Call/TEXT Jessica & Adam. 1.800.790.5260. (FL Bar #0150789) SAPA

SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION AIRLINE JOBS BEGIN HEREGet trained as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Housing/financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance.

877.300.9494.

EARN YOUR High School Diploma at home in a few short weeks. Work at your own pace. First Coast Academy. Nationally accredited. Call for free brochure. 1.800.658.1180, extension 82. www.fcahighschool.org SAPA

ENTERTAINMENT SCOTTISH TARTANS MUSEUM 86 East Main St., Franklin, 828.584.7472. www.scottishtartans.org. Matthew A.C. Newsome, GTS, FSA, SCOT., Curator & General Manager, Ronan B. MacGregor, Business Assistant.

SERVICES *REDUCE YOUR CABLE BILL* Get a 4-Room All-Digital Satellite system installed for FREE! Programming starting at $19.99/MO. FREE HD/DVR upgrade for new callers. CALL NOW 1.800.795.1315 SAPA DIRECTTV 2 Year Savings Event! Over 140 channels only $29.99 a month.

Only DirecTV gives you 2 YEARS of savings and a FREE Genie upgrade! Call 1.800.594.0473

SERVICES DISH TV RETAILER Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 1.800.405.5081 DISH TV RETAILER - SAVE! Starting $19.99/month (for 12 months.) FREE Premium Movie Channels. FREE Equipment, Installation & Activation. CALL, COMPARE LOCAL DEALS! 1.800.351.0850.

SAPA DISH TV RETAILER. Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 1.800.351.0850 SAPA MEDICAL GUARDIAN Top-rated medical alarm and 24/7 medical alert monitoring. For a limited time, get free equipment, no activation fees, no commitment, a 2nd waterproof alert button for free and more - only $29.95 per month. 800.615.3868 DIRECTV $0 START COSTS! 150+ Channels $7.50/week! FREE HBO/Cinemax/Showtime/Starz!

FREE Whole Home HD/DVR! FREE Installation! Local Installers!

Hurry Ends Soon Call Now 1.866.248.2451.

SAPA

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 36

The naturalist’s corner

BY DON H ENDERSHOT

Time to get your Green on

N

o, I’m not late. I’m not talking about puking green beer or waking up with Leprechauns — I’m talking about green with a capital “G.” Wild South will present its 6th Annual “Green Gala” in honor of 2013’s Roosevelt-Ashe Conservation Award winners at The Orange Peel, in Asheville starting at 7 p.m. Friday March 21.

Wild South was created in 2007 with the merger of The Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project, a regional nonprofit based in Asheville focused on defending and restoring the native biodiversity of the Southeast and Wild South, a grassroots environmental group created in 1991 in Moulton, Ala., dedicated to protecting the forests of Alabama and across the South.

Wild South is headquartered in Asheville with offices in Moulton.

The Roosevelt-Ashe awards began in 2008. They are named for two giants in conservation: Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, who established five national parks — Crater Lake,

Wind Cave, Platt, Sullys Hill and Wind Cave — and established the U.S. Forestry Service.

Ashe was the first forester hired by the state of North Carolina and figured prominently in the creation of national forests across the East.

According to Ben Colvin, development director at Wild South, “We believe it’s vital to recognize and celebrate the incredible work being done to unite voices for environmental protection, to promote conservation science and education, to advocate for wildlife and to protect cultural heritage on public lands.”

Nominees were selected in five categories — Outstanding Journalist, Outstanding Business, Outstanding Conservationist, Outstanding Educator and Outstanding Youth. To see who the nominees, are please go to www.wildsouth.org/wild-southannounces-conservation-award-finalists/ as there is no way I could dedicate the space it would take to review all of these deserving nominees. You can Google any of them to learn more.

I want to use what little space I have left to talk about what I consider to be a wonderful innovative change at the Green Gala. For the first time, the general public is welcomed

Wild South’s Green Gala under the big tent. Tickets are available for $35 at https://org.salsalabs.com/o/1919/p/ salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=8 1478.

Just the food, provided by The Green Sage and featuring Hickory Nut Gap Farm, Smiling Hara Tempeh and Earth Fare plus craft beer from the French Broad Brewing Company, wine from Sour Grapes and live music are more than worth admission. But the event is so much more, and I applaud Wild South for making it more accessible.

These nominees are surely conservation heroes, but they are also members of the community: they are business owners, teachers, scientists, students, environmentalists, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. They are people just like you and me, with a passion for the wild and a vision that our universe is as Thomas Berry said, “… a communion of subjects, not a collection of

objects.”

Maybe you’re an entrepreneur looking for ways to make your business greener, or a teacher looking for innovative ways to interest students in the environment, or a parent whose child has been asking, “What can I do to help the environment?” Can you think of a better place to network — to watch and listen — to learn how other citizens have been able to channel their passions?

Or maybe you are there to lend your voice; your support; your appreciation to these dedicated citizens — show ‘em you got their back — because that is of great importance to those heroes and to the causes they champion.

And, by all means, feel free to deck out in your best forest green, but don’t worry; no one will pinch you if you don’t.

(Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached a ddihen1@bellsouth.net.)

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