SMN 03 23 16

www.smokymountainnews.com

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

March 23-29, 2016 Vol. 17 Iss. 43

Food truck fight coming to Waynesville Page 4 Cherokee implements drug recovery programs Page 14

CONTENTS

Mountain Radiance

Medical Spa

On the Cover: Leaders from the creative realms in Western North Carolina gathered together at Western Carolina University last week to discuss the challenges facing the creative arts industry. Participants left with a better sense of unity and an eye toward future collaboration to keep arts and culture alive in the region.

(Page 24)

News Food truck fight coming to Waynesville ........................................................................4 Mountain voters buck trend in presidential primary ..................................................6 Field narrows in county commissioner races ..............................................................7 Schandevel win sets the stage for heated House race ..........................................8 Clampitt and Queen on for round three in November ............................................8 N.C. voters pass infrastructure bond ............................................................................9 Corbin sails to primary victory ......................................................................................10 Canton Fire Department earns better insurance rating..........................................11 Jackson Schools wants donations for new football field ......................................12 Cherokee implements drug recovery programs ......................................................14

Opinion Let’s get the ‘dump Presnell’ train rolling ..................................................................19

Outdoors Mountain bikers explore Tsali trails ..............................................................................34

Back Then Time for spring migrants in the mountains..................................................................47

March 23-29, 2016

STAFF EDITOR/PUBLISHER: ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: ART DIRECTOR: DESIGN & WEBSITE: DESIGN & PRODUCTION: ADVERTISING SALES:

Smoky Mountain News

CLASSIFIEDS: NEWS EDITOR: WRITING:

Botox SPECIAL PRICE! $9/unit From Monday through April 2nd!

828.627.2711 44 Haywood Park Drive | Clyde RIGHT NEXT TO COFFEE CUP CAFÉ

2

ACCOUNTING & OFFICE MANAGER: DISTRIBUTION: CONTRIBUTING:

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 Birenbaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smliv.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jessi Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessi@smokymountainnews.com Becky Johnson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . becky@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), George Ellison (writing), Gary Carden (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Susanna Barbee (writing).

CONTACT WAYNESVILLE | 144 Montgomery, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585 SYLVA | 629 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779 828.631.4829 | F: 828.631.0789

P:

INFO & BILLING | P.O. Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786 Copyright 2016 by The Smoky Mountain News.™ Advertising copyright 2016 by The Smoky Mountain News.™ All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The Smoky Mountain News is available for free in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain and parts of Buncombe counties. Limit one copy per person.

Additional copies may be purchased for $1, payable at the Smoky Mountain News office in advance. No person may, without prior written permission of The Smoky Mountain News, take more than one copy of each issue.

SUBSCRIPTIONS SUBSCRIPTION:

1 YEAR $65 | 6 MONTHS $40 | 3 MONTHS $25

March 23-29, 2016

Smoky Mountain News

3

Food truck fight coming to Waynesville

Thursday, Mar. 24th Ingles Markets — Hendersonville, NC Howard Gap Road — 3 to 6 p.m.

Meet local farmers, vendors that supply Ingles: • Annie’s Breads (Asheville)

A discussion on food trucks brought out a packed house for the Waynesville planning board meeting Monday night. Becky Johnson photo

• Appalachian Sustainable Development (Abingdon, VA) • Ardenne Farm (Mills River) • Biltmore Gourmet Foods (Asheville) • Brasstown Beef (Brasstown) • Crooked Condiments (Woodfin) • Firewalker Hot Sauce (Asheville) • Hickory Nut Gap Farm (Fairview)

Smoky Mountain News

March 23-29, 2016

• Milkco (West Asheville) • Mimi’s Mountain Mixes (Hendersonville) • New Sprout Organic Farms (Swannanoa) • Postre Caramel Sauce (Woodfin) • Roots and Branches (Swannanoa) • Sunburst Trout (Canton) • Sunny Creek Farms (Tryon)

Got Back Pain?

CALL THE SPECIALIST

Let us help you relax Book online at:

4

MassageWaynesville.com APPOINTMENTS: 9AM-6PM OFFICE 10AM-5:15PM Haywood Square | 288 North Haywood Street | Waynesville, N.C.

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER he sticky wicket of food trucks and food carts have taken center stage in Waynesville, with a public debate in full swing on where food trucks should be allowed to set up shop and for how long.

Food trucks and food carts have soared in popularity as a hip culinary trend nationwide, often catering to younger crowds and selfavowed foodies, creating a vibrant street scene.

But food trucks have been labeled a double-edged sword. Opponents fear unfair competition from fly-by-night food trucks would shutter bona fide restaurants, hurting the economic fabric and ultimately making it a less vibrant community.

Waynesville, like many towns across the nation, is grappling with how to blend the new food truck culture with the community’s existing character and established restaurant industry.

“We have recognized there is a need to address food trucks in our local ordinances and right now, we don’t,” said Elizabeth Teague, Waynesville’s development services director and town planner.

How the town will handle food trucks is still in flux, but the latest development coming out of a town planning board meeting this week would open the door for an unlimited number of food trucks and food carts to set up shop anywhere throughout town. The only caveat is they can’t go in residential neighborhoods and have to stay on private property.

It was great news to Alex Still, who wants to start-up a hotdog stand in the parking lot of Bob’s Sports Store across from Walmart during the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. lunch hour.

“I’m working two jobs and trying to provide a living for my family,” Still said of his hot dog cart venture.

T

In downtown Waynesville, Robert Harvey is also working two jobs to make a living. The owner of Rob’s Hot Dogs, being a restaurant owner in a seasonal tourist town can be tough, so he works as a paramedic as well.

He fears a fleet of food trucks around town will undermine the storefront restaurants, which would in turn lead to economic decline.

Harvey said restaurants have much larger overhead and more regulations to meet — from paying property taxes to having handicapped restrooms. But food trucks don’t play by the same rules and have an unfair advantage.

“They do have some overhead but nowhere near the amount the restaurant business owners have,” Harvey said. “They basically have no rules to go by, they are just out there freelancing.”

Harvey fears storefront restaurants would be replaced with fickle food trucks that lack loyalty to the community.

“They can fold up their doors and move on. If they have run the brick and mortar folks out of business then what are we going to have left?” Harvey asked.

However, to Kevin Donochod, a professional 30-something in town, food trucks would actually add to the town’s economic vitality by appealing to young people.

“I think that is part of the missing link in Waynesville,” said Donochod.

Amanda Brown, 35, doesn’t believe food trucks will cut into restaurants’ customer base. Food truck patrons either can’t afford a regular restaurant, or they would hit a food truck one night and go to a restaurant another — one would not be in lieu of the other, she said.

“People are still going to want a sit-down restaurant experience,” Brown said.

The price point for food trucks makes them

Miller thinks food trucks operating as a permanent fixture should have to play by the same set of rules. But as for the competition, Miller isn’t particularly worried.

“It is not like a big city where you grab a sandwich and stand there and eat it on the curb while talking to your friends,” Miller said. “I personally don’t feel challenged by one of these guys.”

David Young, the owner of Mad Anthony’s Bottle Shop & Beer Garden in downtown Waynesville, wants to make a food truck a permanent onsite addition to his property. He said the fear of food trucks putting restaurants out of business is unfounded.

“You’ve had food trucks all across this country for decades, but you have no town with all food trucks and no restaurants,” Young said.

news The Waynesville planning board debated whether limits on food truck operations in town should be lifted at their meeting Monday night. Becky Johnson photo

Coming next week Mad Anthony’s Bottle Shop & Beer Garden in downtown Waynesville is at the forefront of the food truck fight in Waynesville. It lacks an onsite restaurant, but he hopes to make a food truck a permanent addition to the parking lot. See next week’s edition for an article on the tug-of-war playing out between the town building inspections department and Mad Anthony’s.

PLANNING BOARD DISCUSSION The town planning board discussed the food truck issue at a meeting Monday night.

The meeting was packed with supporters of Mad Anthony’s.

Up until now, food trucks were lumped into the town’s catch-all regulations for temporary uses — a miscellaneous permit category that includes everything from street fairs to yard sales to seasonal Christmas tree lots.

Temporary permits are only good for 30 days at a whack and capped at 180 operational days in a calendar year at a given location.

Teague proposed a compromise that would make it easier on food trucks.

They would still be capped at 180 days in a calendar year on any given site, but could get a permit laying out their operating schedule for the whole year in one fell swoop rather than having to renew it every 30 days.

“If somebody for example wanted to have a food truck show up every Saturday night at their place, we could accommodate that,” Teague said.

Essentially, the town could craft the permit for any combination of days over the course of a year, as along as it didn’t exceed 180 days at one spot.

“Who would be responsible for enforcing the 180 days?” asked Danny Wingate, a planning board member.

It would largely be on the honor system unless town enforcement staff got wind to the

contrary, Teague said.

“We really don’t want to be nickel and diming people on their 180 days,” Teague replied.

But several planning board members didn’t agree that food trucks should be capped at 180 days within a calendar year.

“You guys are going to make this so complicated. Just strike the 180 days in a calendar year,” said Robert Hermann, a planning board member.

Several planning board members agreed, suggesting food trucks be allowed to renew their permit consecutively for 180 days at a time. The continuous roll over of their permit would be allowed as long as they weren’t causing problems.

Teague asked what the criteria would be to determine whether the permit should roll over or get denied when the 180-day renewal came up.

“That does put staff in a bit of a bind. We can’t just say ‘Well the neighbors don’t like it so we aren’t going to renew,’” Teague said.

“There needs to be some guidelines of

what quantitates denial,” agreed McDowell.

“I think you are trying to avoid that perception of picking on somebody.”

The idea of a temporary food truck permit that continuously rolls also over begs the question of whether these food trucks really meet the definition of food trucks, or whether they are in fact a permanent restaurant masquerading under temporary rules.

“Is that really temporary? When is something temporary and at what point does it become permanent?” Teague said.

Some food trucks are true to form — a mobile trailer that rolls into a microbrewery’s parking lot on Friday and Saturday nights to sling barbecue from a window.

But others are more akin to stationary restaurants housed in trailer. Despite their permanent nature, they would be exempt from many rules and regulations that otherwise apply to traditional restaurants.

Food trucks and food carts would still have to meet health codes for sanitary food preparation and would also need a vehicle permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The proposed rules would limit food trucks to private property in commercial and industrial districts, and prohibit them within 50 feet of a residence.

Teague cautioned the planning board that despite its proclivity to lift barriers for food trucks, the decision will ultimately rest with the town board of aldermen.

A public hearing on the issue would be held by the planning board first, and then another public hearing would be held by the town board of aldermen before a final decision is made.

www.fordoutlets.com

(828) 524-2156

Smoky Mountain News

Franklin Ford agrees to sell every new Ford at actual dealer factory invoice cost!

March 23-29, 2016

a more likely competitor in the fastfood arena, competing with places like Papa John’s and Zaxby’s rather than locally-owned restaurants.

“I’m not at all worried,” said Jon Bowman, owner the Tipping Point Tavern in downtown Waynesville.

Theoretically, the latest planning board proposal in the food truck evolution would allow an unlimited number of makeshift food trucks operating in private parking lots all over town. But Patrick McDowell, chair of the town planning board, doesn’t anticipate an explosion of food trucks all over town.

Consumer demand will naturally limit the number that come to fruition, he said.

“It will reach an equilibrium,” McDowell said.

McDowell said the idea of capping food trucks to prevent competition runs counter to free market economics. McDowell also isn’t convinced food trucks hurt the established restaurant industry.

“I don’t think there is any empirical proof that the number of restaurants in Asheville has diminished as a result of food trucks,” McDowell said.

Anthony Sutton, another planning board member, believes the effect would be just the opposite.

“When you have more food, you draw more people,” Sutton said.

Not everyone with a good burrito recipe will be able to open a food truck. There are still start-up costs and hurdles to clear, from health department regulations to fire codes.

They would also need to find a private property owner willing to give them space.

However, food trucks don’t pay property taxes, don’t employ as many people and aren’t community anchors the way bricksand-mortar restaurants are.

Richard Miller, the owner of The Classic —Wine Seller and Church Street Depot, a new hamburger joint in downtown Waynesville, said there are a lot of unanswered questions in his mind before the town opens the flood gates for food trucks.

“Is the private property where they are housed going to be liable for anything that happens? Will food trucks pay business personal property tax?” Miller asked.

In addition to the standard health department inspections, new bricks-and-mortar restaurants have to pay $250 for a floor plan inspection. Will food trucks have to do that, Miller asked.

5

news

Mountain voters buck statewide trend Haywood commissioner in Democratic Presidential primary

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER n interesting anomaly played out in the mountains in the Presidential primary last week.

While Hillary Clinton easily won North Carolina, a swath of 14 counties in the mountains voted for Bernie Sanders. The band of counties in the mountains voting for Sanders runs from Swain to Watauga.

Aside from his mountain sweep, Sanders won only three other scattered counties in the whole state.

Along with his win in 14 mountain counties, Sanders was very close in another six mountain counties — coming within 1 percent of Clinton, often falling short by less than 50 votes.

Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, hypothesized the variation came down to race.

“Nationally, Sanders has done much better in places with smaller African American populations. I think that is what you are seeing,” Cooper said.

Elsewhere in the state, Clinton had an advantage by capturing the African American vote. But that advantage simply didn’t apply in the mountains. To Cooper, the absence of a minority voting bloc seems like the only common denominator in mountain counties where Sanders won compared to the rest of the state where Clinton won.

On one hand, Sanders is more liberal than Clinton. But mountain Democrats are not exactly at the liberal end of their party’s spectrum. So it’s unlikely mountain voters backed Sanders on the grounds of ideology, Cooper said.

“I think it is a more boring story, one of demographics,” Cooper said.

Sanders also does better among younger voters.

But once again, mountain Democrats aren’t exactly younger than their counter-

Smoky Mountain News

March 23-29, 2016

A

6

New candidates allowed to sign up in congressional race

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS EDITOR orth Carolina will hold a separate election on June 7 for the congressional primary, which means it’s not too late for new candidates to throw their hat into the ring.

A new sign-up period is now open through Friday, March 25, for candidates interested in running for the District 11 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, is currently serving his second term in the seat and

N

Clinton won, showing larger margins for Clinton in counties with larger African American populations.

Sanders won by the most in Jackson, Buncombe and Watauga. Sanders pulled in 62 percent of the vote in Buncombe, 68.5 percent in Watauga and 57 percent in Jackson — far above his statewide results of just 40 percent of the vote.

Those three counties have all three characteristics of Sanders’ voters. They share the same lower minority population, but DEMOCRAT.........BERNIE SANDERS .....HILLARY CLINTON also have a younger, more liberal Swain.................831 (51.1%) .............666 (41%) demographic. A testament to Jackson .............3,021 (57%) .............2,022 (38%) their more liberal leanings, Haywood ...........3,883 (46%) .............3,762 (44.5%) Obama did better in Buncombe, Macon ...............1,428 (44.1%) ..........1,548 (47.8%) Jackson and Watauga in 2012 Statewide..........460,507 (40.7%)......616,861 (54.6%) than anywhere else in the mountains. And they have younger REPUBLICAN .....DONALD TRUMP........TED CRUZ populations than their mounSwain.................621 (46%) ................449 (33%) tain counterparts — all three are Jackson .............1,624 (39.5%) ..........1,434 (35%) home to universities.

Haywood ...........3,095 (39.8%) ..........2,964 (38.1%) “The anti-establishment Macon ...............2,870 (45%) .............2,004 (31.3%) messaging and the issues he is Statewide..........458,480 (40.2%)......418,978 (36.8%) focused on resonate with younger people,” Cooper said. * Percentage of votes don’t add up to 100 percent due In the Republican presidento other candidates on the ballot garnering a small tial primary, mountain voters number of votes. did not summarily buck the statewide voting pattern, but parts in the rest of the state. If anything, they largely backed Donald Trump over Ted are older on average. So that likewise didn’t Cruz. seem like a logical explanation for why One notable trend was that unaffiliated Sanders won so many mountain counties, voters — who can chose which primary they Cooper said. want to vote in — were more likely to chose To quantify his theory that race was the a Republican ballot at the polls. This doesn’t key variable behind Clinton’s lower per- necessarily mean that unaffiliated voters formance in the mountains, Cooper lean Republican, but is more indicative of graphed the primary results for all 100 coun- the heightened national attention surroundties alongside their African American popu- ing the Republican presidential primary. lation.

“The Republican race was more interestConsistently, the lower the African ing and more competitive. People are going American population, the better Sanders to chose the more interesting and competidid. This even held true in counties where tive ballot if given the choice,” Cooper said.

Aside from his mountain sweep, Sanders won only three other counties in the whole state.

Presidential primary

signed up to run for a third term.

A Democratic primary was originally scheduled for March 15 along with the other local, state and Presidential primary elections, but a federal court order forced North Carolina to reschedule it for June 7.

The change is a result of four lawsuits working their way through the courts challenging the state’s districting maps that were redrawn in 2011 and used during the 2012 and 2014 elections. The lawsuits claim Republican legislators gerrymandered the maps. The state Supreme Court upheld the maps twice but federal judges threw out the 1st and 12th congressional districts on Feb. 5.

The state then received a federal trial court order to suspend the current congressional election, and on Feb. 19 the North Carolina Senate passed legislation estab-

lishing the new date for the congressional primary. The additional primary election will cost N.C. taxpayers about $9 million.

Tom Hill, D-Zirconia, and Rick Bryson, D-Bryson City, were the only candidates signed up to run in the primary for a chance to replace Meadows in November, but more candidates may now sign up. As of press time, no other candidates had registered to run for District 11.

Bryson said moving the primary to June has created confusion for voters since the congressional candidates still appeared on the March 15 ballot.

“A lot of people feel that they’ve already voted, and are wondering if or why they should do it again,” he said. “If they do not vote on the June primary, obviously they are not going to have their voices heard

field narrows

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER he primary for Haywood County commissioner showed clear and overwhelming support for a single frontrunner from each party, and both are political newcomers.

On the Republican ticket, the top candidate came in 1,300 votes ahead of the second highest vote-getter. On the Democratic ticket, the top vote-getter also came in 1,300 votes ahead of the second-place finisher.

Two candidates from each party will advance to the general election in November, with two of the five seats on the county board up for election.

“I know I had a lot of supporters and people saying they would vote for me but I never imagined I would do as well as I did,” said Brandon Rogers, the owner of Rogers Express Lube and Tire in Canton, who led the Republican ticket. “I was real humbled by the support I received.”

Kevin Ensley, a Republican commissioner who’s served for 12 years, came in second behind Rogers.

Ensley said the reason Rogers did so well, first and foremost, is because he’s a solid candidate, a great guy and well-liked and respected in the community.

As for why Ensley trailed by such a wide margin, Ensley said several controversial issues on the commissioners’ plate over the past several months likely hurt his vote total.

Rogers doesn’t have any of the baggage that sitting commissioners are saddled with simply by virtue of being in the hot seat, Ensley said. He also cited a national anti-incumbent climate right now trickling down from the presidential election.

Steve Brown, the top vote-getter in the Democratic primary, attributed his win in large part to his active

T

F

with respect to their choice for the House of Representatives.”

Even though the change is inconvenient and expensive, Hill said it was necessary given the unconstitutional gerrymandering done by the Republican-dominated legislature. He said it should be outlawed at the federal level.

Voter rolls are also open once again, meaning new voters can still register and current voters can change party or other registration information for the June 7 primary. Unaffiliated voters who selected a partisan ballot in the March 15 primary will be permitted to select a different party on the June 7 ballot.

For additional information and to see an updated list of candidates, visit www.ncsbe.gov.

I

• 40 percent of registered voters in Macon County cast a ballot DISTRICT 2 • Karl Gillespie ...........3,151 (56.5 percent) • Ron Haven................2,424 (43.4 percent) DISTRICT 3 • Paul Higdon .............2,618 (45.6 percent) • Manny Carrion .........1,719 (29.9 percent) • Greg Boyer...............1,400 (24.4 percent) Democratic challenger Charlie Leatherwood, who served as a commissioner before. While he was on the Republican ticket last time he ran for election in 2010, Leatherwood signed up to run as a Democrat this time around. He is also a former Macon County Schools educator and served on the Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees.

who voted in the Democratic primary voted only for one commissioner instead of two.

WHAT NOW? With the field narrowed to four candidates, the race is now considered wide open as it heads toward the general election in the fall.

It’s widely considered a toss-up at this point.

The candidates all said the November election will be a close one and difficult to predict. That’s due in large part to a high level of cross-over voting, with Democrats and Republicans mixing and matching candidates, making the race a tough one to call.

“I’ve had a lot of Democrats saying ‘Hey I couldn’t vote for you in the primary, but we’ll get you in November,’” Rogers said.

Meanwhile, Brown said many Republicans have told him they couldn’t vote for him in the primary but plan to in the general election.

Ensley has a long track record of garnering support from Democratic voters during his 12 years in office. And Black, a selfdescribed conservative Democrat, is also poised to pick up cross-over votes.

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS EDITOR wain County commissioner incumbents Steve Moon and David Monteith received the vote of confidence in the Democratic primary election.

Moon received 27 percent of the vote while Monteith was close behind with 26.5 percent of the vote. The other three candidates running in the primary received 18 percent or less of the votes cast.

As the top vote-getters out of five candidates, Moon and Monteith will now move on to run in the general election. Moon and Monteith will be competing against Republican challengers Carolyn Bair and Lance Grant in November to keep their seats. Since Swain County holds at-large commissioner elections, the top two votegetters in November will win the seats.

Monteith, a 69-year-old retired market manager at Ingles who is now a Swain County school bus driver, is currently serving his fifth term as commissioner. He considers himself a hands-on commissioner and hasn’t spent much time or money on campaigning for another term because he feels like his accomplishments speak for him.

“I’m just anxious to get started back to work — that’s what I’m after,” Monteith said. “Helping Swain County is my top priority.”

He says he wants to try for another term so he can see some current projects through to fruition, including the settlement of the North Shore Road money owed to Swain County by the federal government.

When the road leading out of Bryson City was flooded in the 1940s to construct

S

Haywood commissioner primary • The top two candidates from each party will advance to the fall election.

REPUBLICAN • Brandon Rogers ..............................4,913 • Kevin Ensley.....................................3,724 • Greg Burrell.....................................2,240 DEMOCRAT • Steve Brown.....................................4,702 • Robin Black .....................................3,400 • Charles Boyd ...................................3,201 • Terry Ramey ....................................2,235 Black said she believes the independent voters — which account for around a quarter of all registered voters in the county — will be the deciding factor in the race.

“I hope they base it on the issues and vote for the people who share their beliefs,” Black said.

Lake Fontana, the federal government promised to build back the road and never did. The county finally agreed on a $52 million cash settlement but has received only $12.8 million to date. The rest of the money continues to be held up in the National Park Service budget. Time is quickly running out because the settlement agreement expires in three years.

Moon, a 65-year-old retired tire shop owner, has served as a county commissioner for 10 years and served as a school board member for six years before becoming a commissioner. He is also hopeful the current board can get the North Shore Road settlement from the federal government in the next three years.

Democrat primary, Swain commissioners race • 30 percent of registered voters in Swain County cast a ballot • Steve Moon...........................744 (27%) • David Monteith..................725 (26.5%) • David R. Anthony...............507 (18.5%) • Wayne Dover...................449 (16.39%) • Boyd Andre Gunter ...........315 (11.5%) Bair, a 67-year-old retired fast-food worker from Whittier, ran for commissioner in 2014 when all four seats were up for grabs. She was the lowest vote-getter out of six candidates. The 2014 election was the last year all commissioners were up for election at the same time, and now commissioners serve staggered four-year terms.

Grant, a 43-year-old engineer, ran for commissioner in 2014 but didn’t garner enough votes to get one of the four open seats.

Black and Rogers, who are from the Canton area, are poised to do well in the east side of the county. Brown, meanwhile, is the only candidate from Waynesville, the county’s heaviest population center.

The candidates all agreed on one point: everyone who made it past the primary would be a good commissioner if they got in.

“In the fall we have four good candidates to chose from,” Ensley said. “That’s why I decided to run again, to make sure we have good candidates in the fall and we do. I think the county will be well served no matter who wins.”

“I think the citizens of Haywood County have four good candidates to chose from,” Brown agreed.

“The other three candidates are good ones and will be hard to beat,” Rogers concurred.

“I think we have some good candidates in this field,” Black added. “While everyone brings different opinions, they all would conduct themselves in a way that would make Haywood County proud and would want to do what’s best for Haywood County. I don’t believe it is anybody’s goal to divide Haywood County out of those running.”

7

Smoky Mountain News

community and civic involvement over the years.

“I was obviously humbled and honored to be selected as a finalist in the general election,” Brown said.

Robin Black, an accountant from the Canton area and former school board member, came in second behind Brown on the Democrat ticket, narrowly edging out the third-place candidate, Charles Boyd.

Black said she expected Brown to lead in the primary and knew it would be tooth and nail between her and Boyd for the second slot.

“I am very excited about moving on to the general,” Black said.

Mark Swanger, a long-time Democratic commissioner, did not run for re-election this year.

An interesting dynamic in the commissioner race was the large number of voters who cast a ballot for just one candidate, despite being able to chose two.

Over half those who voted in the Republican primary chose only one commissioner candidate, rather than picking their top two choices. Around one-third of those

Republican primary, Macon commissioners race

Incumbent commissioners win Swain primary

March 23-29, 2016

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS EDITOR ncumbent commissioner Paul Higdon and political newcomer Karl Gillespie will move on to the general election after winning the primary in Macon County.

In the District 3 commissioner race, Higdon received 45 percent of the Republican vote while his challengers Manny Carrion and Greg Boyer received 30 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

“I’m very appreciative that the voters had enough confidence in me to support me and give me another shot,” Higdon said. “I’m ready — it takes a while to learn the nuances of the commissioner role, but now I feel a lot more informed about how the process works and how it should work.”

Two candidates were seeking a chance to fill the District 2 commissioner seat, which will be up for grabs since Commissioner Kevin Corbin decided to run on the Republican ticket for the District 120 House seat.

Businessman Karl Gillespie received 56 percent of the vote for the District 2 seat while his challenger Ron Haven received 43 percent of the vote.

The Macon County Board of Commissioners is currently made up of one Democrat and four Republicans. Higdon says he has the most consistent record of voting against more regulations and spending. He is often the lone opposition on the board when it comes to those types of decisions. Depending on the November election results, the board makeup in Macon County could see some major changes.

Higdon said he feels good about his chances in November though, given his primary support and the fact that Macon County is still a predominately conservative community.

Similar to what Corbin’s philosophy has been while serving on the board, Gillespie considers himself a fiscally responsible conservative — someone who understands the need for spending when it’s an investment in the future.

Higdon will now face off against Democratic challenger Bobby Kuppers in November to try and reclaim his seat for a second term. Kuppers — a Franklin High School teacher and football coach — served one term as a commissioner for District 3 until he was ousted by Higdon in the 2012 election.

Higdon said he only spent $300 campaigning prior to the primary election and doesn’t plan to do much more than continue to discuss the issues with members of the community.

Gillespie will now go on to face

news

Higdon, Gillespie move forward in Macon commissioner race

news March 23-29, 2016 Smoky Mountain News

Schandevel’s win Clampitt and Queen on for round three in November election sets the stage for competitive House race A

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fter taking home 59 percent of the vote in last week’s election, Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, is looking toward a November contest against incumbent Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, for the N.C. House District 119 seat.

“I believe that maintaining the House majority will be an asset in my race, to have an effective representative for Jackson, Swain and Haywood counties,” Clampitt said.

According to Clampitt, Queen has been “very ineffective” during his two terms in the House because, as a Democrat in a Republican-run legislature, he’s found little support for legislation he’s wanted passed.

Queen, meanwhile, said it’s time for a wholesale change in state leadership, and voters are ready to make that happen.

“I think the choices are clear for North Carolina,” Queen said. “We can continue with obstructionism and trickle down or we can have the North Carolina we all grew up in — a progressive state moving forward with opportunity for all.”

It won’t be the first — or even the second — faceoff for Queen and Clampitt. The two first met in the 2012 General Election, and then again in 2014. Clampitt lost both times, garnering 48.3 percent to Queen’s 51.7 percent in 2012 and 47.4 percent to Queen’s 52.6 percent in 2014. Queen, an architect and businessman, is in his second term in the House, having previously served three terms in the Senate.

Clampitt is counting on the high turnout expected with the presidential election to bolster his poll numbers come November.

But Aaron Littlefield, R-Cullowhee, who had been Clampitt’s opponent in this primary election and in 2014, feels Clampitt should do some thinking about his message as well.

“I think my message of Raleigh not necessarily prioritizing Western North Carolina resonated,” Littlefield said. “ I think that if Mr. Clampitt plans to secure the people that opted not to vote for him in the primary, it would be wise of him to see

which part of our message resonated and incorporate that into his message.”

If voters feel like the ballot gives them no choice outside the status quo, Littlefield said, they may just vote for president and leave the House contest blank.

Littlefield and Clampitt are certainly about as different as two candidates of the same party

Republican primary, N.C. House 119 ENTIRE DISTRICT Mike Clampitt .........................59.2 percent Aaron Littlefield ......................40.9 percent Ballots cast .......................................6,670 JACKSON Mike Clampitt .........................54.8 percent Aaron Littlefield ......................45.2 percent SWAIN Mike Clampitt .........................71.8 percent Aaron Littlefield ......................28.3 percent HAYWOOD Mike Clampitt .........................58.8 percent Aaron Littlefield ......................41.2 percent Clampitt will run against Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, to represent Jackson, Swain and part of Haywood County as the N.C. House 119 representative. can get. Clampitt is a 61-year-old Bryson City native and sixth-generation mountaineer who retired 11 years ago from a career with Charlotte’s fire department. He largely agrees with how the Republican-led legislature has run. Littlefield, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old graduate of Western Carolina University who calls Jackson County home. He substitute teaches in its public schools but grew up in Concord and has taken some positions outside of the typical Republican platform.

Littlefield said he hasn’t ruled out a 2018 run, though any decision would come later and be made jointly with his wife, as elections place the whole family under scrutiny. In the meantime, he plans to stay active in local politics and support Clampitt’s candidacy in November.

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER aywood County Democrat Rhonda Schandevel will pose a formidable challenge in her bid for the N.C. House of Representatives this fall if her overwhelming victory among Haywood voters in the primary is any indication.

Schandevel hopes to unseat N.C. Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Spruce Pine, come November, but had a Democratic primary to clear first.

Schandevel pulled out a resounding primary win over her opponent Reece Steen from Madison County, thanks to voters in her home county supporting her by a 3-to-1 margin.

“It sends a strong message we are going to win our district back,” Schandevel said. “The support I have in Haywood is overwhelming, and that will carry through to November. I am putting Michele Presnell on notice I will be this district’s next representative.”

The House seat held by Presnell is considered one of the most vulnerable for Republicans, who currently control the legislature. There’s a lot riding on whether Democrats can take the seat back.

Democrats hope to pick up enough seats in the House to undermine Republicans’ vetoproof majority. That way, if Democratic candidate for Roy Cooper unseats Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, Cooper can veto Republicans without being overridden.

The House seat in play spans three counties: Yancey, Madison and part of Haywood (essentially everything other than Waynesville and Lake Junaluska.)

Schandevel won Haywood with a whopping 74 percent of the vote. Schandevel tied her primary opponent in Yancey and lost in Madison, but was carried to an overall victory with 58 percent of the vote thanks to her big win in Haywood.

The results followed a consistent pattern: the candidate who wins Haywood wins the

H

district. No successful candidate for House 118 has won without winning Haywood.

SO GOES HAYWOOD, SO GOES THE RACE?

Haywood is the biggest prize in the House race. Haywood voters accounted for 42 percent of the ballots cast in the three-county House race in 2014.

Presnell has been in office four years, with two elections under her belt.

Both times Presnell won, she lost in Madison and Yancey but was carried by a large win in Haywood.

“Haywood is what pulled her through,”

Democratic primary, N.C. House 118 Rhonda Schandevel HAYWOOD 3,267 MADISON 1,417 YANCEY 1,265

Reece Steen 1,143 1,864 1,304

Rhonda Schandevel, a dental hygienist in Haywood County and member of the local school board, prevailed in the Democratic primary and will take on N.C. Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Spruce Pine, in the race for N.C. House seat 118. It includes all of Madison and Yancey counties and part of Haywood, namely a horseshoe shape that runs from Maggie Valley up through Crabtree, across Beaverdam and Canton, and around to Bethel and Cruso — essentially everything except Waynesville and Lake Junaluska.

said Kenneth Henson, chair of the Haywood County Republican Party.

Presnell has never faced a Democratic challenger from Haywood. In 2014, Presnell carried Haywood by 55 percent of the vote but won overall by just 51 percent — a lead of less than 700 votes.

It’s not a huge number of votes to pick up, but Schandevel will nonetheless need to convert voters to her column who have supported Presnell in the past.

Democratic Party leaders who recruited Schandevel believed in would take a candidate with a home turf

F

The best prices everyday!

Gel Nails & Spa Pedicures

Come get your feet ready for spring Flexible Hours

WNC's Largest Selection of Granite & Quartz.

16 years experience Owner: Medea Sharp

8

3330 Broad St Clyde | 828.734.5334

Solid Surface Specialists

62 Communications Dr., Waynesville • Appointments Suggested

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

ON DELLWOOD ROAD (HWY. 19) AT 20 SWANGER LANE WAYNESVILLE/MAGGIE VALLEY 10-5 M-SAT. 12-4 SUN. 828.926.8778 tupelosonline.com

N.C. voters pass infrastructure bond A

ment in the future of their state by supporting their public university and community college systems, as well as other state infrastructure needs,” said WCU Chancellor David Belcher.

Haywood Community College will receive $2.83 million for renovations and Southwestern Community College will receive $7.17 million for renovations and/or new construction on its three campuses.

Connect NC bond • 35 percent of registered voters cast a ballot for or against the referendum • 66 percent voted for it • 34 percent voted against it

motivated by a candidate’s ideology over geographic affiliation, said Chris Cooper, a political analyst and director of the Western Carolina University Public Policy Institute.

Cooper questioned the theory that a conservative-leaning voter would choose a Democratic candidate from their own county over a Republican from a different county.

“Party I.D. is a much stronger and more reliable indicator than which county you live in,” Cooper said.

Cooper said county-of-residence could be a factor for the truly independent voter, but there are very few of those. Most voters registered as independents actually lean one way or the other.

But Schandevel’s campaign believes her name recognition in Haywood is critical.

Presnell’s opponent two years ago didn’t have any name recognition in Haywood, but Schandevel not only grew up in Haywood but has served on the school board four years.

“I knew in my heart the people of Haywood County would support me,” Schandevel said.

Schandevel said that she has already seen a surge in donations following her big win in the primary.

“They saw that I am the candidate to win,” Schandevel said.

In addition to funding for community colleges and universities, the bond will also provide $100 million for expansions and improvements to state parks and zoos, $179 million for agriculture, $78.5 million for public safety and National Guard facilities and creates a $312.5 million pool of grant funding for rural water and sewer projects.

Chimney Rock State Park in Rutherford County and Grandfather Mountain State Park in Watauga County will both receive $1.5 million and Mount Mitchell State Park will receive $600,000.

Akroyd said the bond funding for water and sewer infrastructure would be available through an application process similar to other grant programs.

“Our funding programs have funding rounds in the fall and spring and bond funds will be incorporated into the normal funding rounds,” she said. “Bond funds will be targeted to rural systems and State Reserve Funds will be targeted toward medium and larger systems.”

For a complete list of bond projects, visit www.connectnc.gov.

ON SALE MARCH 23RD - 30TH SPRING BREAK DAY CAMP APRIL 4TH - 8TH

all parents must set up a meeting with the camp director in order to register for camp, unless they came to an open house

For more information, call the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department at 456-2030 or email tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov

Smoky Mountain News

advantage in Haywood to have a chance at beating Presnell.

Schandevel was widely viewed as the party’s favored candidate in the primary.

Although parties refrain from officially backing one candidate over another in a primary, Schandevel garnered widespread endorsement behind the scenes from party leaders as the candidate most likely to beat Presnell.

“I think Haywood County is very ready to mobilize behind Rhonda,” said Myrna Campbell, chair of the Democratic Party in Haywood.

Presnell wouldn’t predict whether Haywood voters will stick with her now that they have a candidate from their own county on the ballot.

“I think I will let the voters decide on that.

I feel like I have done a very good job,” Presnell said.

Whether the loyalty of Haywood voters to Schandevel in the Democratic primary will translate to the general election in November remains to be seen, of course.

“I think that is wishful thinking,” Henson said.

Henson said he thinks voters will weigh the issues, not a candidate’s home county.

At the end of the day, voters are indeed

HIGHER ED LEADERS REJOICE

NEXT STEPS According to a memo to state department heads from State Budget Director Andrew Heath, a cross-agency working group has already begun coordinating project construction timelines so the infrastructure improvements can begin as soon as possible.

“This group is already working to schedule projects and anticipates the first bond issuance coming as early as July 2016,” Heath wrote. “The Office of State Budget and Management will lead the execution of bond projects in order to ensure that the State is fully accountable to citizens and taxpayers with the use of bond proceeds.”

Getting these projects off the ground is still probably years away, but WCU and the

OTHER PROJECTS

March 23-29, 2016

Western Carolina University had the most to gain by the passing of the bond. The university will receive $110 million for a brand new science technology building on the Cullowhee campus.

“Through their endorsement of this bond proposal, the voters have indicated their willingness to make a significant and wise invest-

HCC President Dr. Barbara Parker said the Board of Trustees has not yet decided on which renovation projects will be completed with the bond money. However, she said there is a good chance the funding will go toward renovations to a 36-year-old building that houses biology and other science classes.

Southwestern Community College, which has campuses in Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, is slated to receive $7.1 million to begin tackling infrastructure needs. During the past two years, SCC has developed facility master plans for all three campuses that include more than $54 million worth of improvement needs. While the $7 million will just scratch the surface of the college’s needs, it’s a good start. The SCC Board of Trustees has not yet made any decisions on which projects will be completed with the bond funding.

SCC President Don Tomas said he was very pleased with the bond outcome.

“I am proud to live in a region of our state that recognizes and highly values the importance of education, safety, natural resources and infrastructure in our region and across this great state,” he said. “Our Board of Trustees, administrators, faculty and staff will work together to prioritize our most critical needs as identified through our master plans.”

If SCC or any other community college decides to use any of the allocated funding for a new construction project, the bond legislation requires that the county government match a quarter of the cost. But all those details are still left to be determined.

news

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR majority of North Carolina voters approved a significant investment in the state’s future economy during the primary election by voting in favor of the Connect NC bond referendum.

Passed with 66 percent of the vote, the infrastructure bond will distribute $2 billion across the state for a number of projects, including new construction and renovations for universities and community colleges, state parks, water and sewer and public safety.

Republican Gov. Pat McCrory initially put forth the bond last fall, and it garnered bipartisan support among state legislators and local governments. Not only will the bond money go toward much-needed infrastructure projects, but it will fund those needs without raising taxes and without increasing the state’s debt. Legislators who supported the bond said the state was paying off debt at such a rapid speed that this $2 billion wouldn’t make much of a difference and should be paid off within six years.

Many complain that the western region of the state always seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to funding, but a large percentage of the bond funding will be heading this way.

community colleges are moving forward with planning.

Cathy Akroyd, public relations officer for the Department of Water Infrastructure, said the bonds would begin to be sold in July and project recipients would soon thereafter begin receiving funding on a monthly basis as they incur expenses for their projects.

WAYNESVILLE

PARKS AND RECREATION 828.456.2030 or email tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov

337-71

9

news

Corbin sails to primary victory Macon commissioner wants to replace retiring Rep. Roger West

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER y the time polls closed March 15, Kevin Corbin’s soles were feeling the pain from 12 hours of standing on pavement outside polling places in Robbinsville, Murphy and Hayesville.

But as results rolled in, it became clear his campaigning would be worth it. Corbin, RFranklin, took 73.4 percent of the vote, with his opponent Elliott Southworth, R-Murphy, pulling in only 26.2 percent.

“We are all extremely pleased with the outcome,” Corbin said. “Of course we went into it with a plan to win, but I don’t think we expected quite the percentage that we got.”

Corbin, who now sits as chairman of the Macon County Commissioners, was tapped to run for the seat by Rep. Roger West, RMarble, after the 17-year representative decided not to run for another term representing N.C. House District 120. Corbin attributes that endorsement, as well as the endorsements of 17 of the 20 county commissioners in the district, as having an effect on the election outcome. He also sees the results in Macon County as a positive referendum on

Smoky Mountain News

March 23-29, 2016

B

10

Republican primary, N.C. House 120 ENTIRE DISTRICT Kevin Corbin, R-Franklin............73.9 percent Elliott Southworth, R-Murphy.....26.2 percent Ballots cast.........................................13,578 MACON Kevin Corbin...............................81.6 percent Elliott Southworth ......................18.4 percent GRAHAM Kevin Corbin...............................82.3 percent Elliott Southworth ......................17.7 percent CLAY Kevin Corbin...............................68.3 percent Elliott Southworth ......................31.7 percent CHEROKEE Kevin Corbin..................................64 percent Elliott Southworth .........................36 percent the county commission board as a whole.

Corbin received 81.6 percent of the vote in Macon County, the most populous county in the district.

“Our board collectively has done a wonderful job, made good decisions, kept taxes low, made economic improvements, and I think people recognized that,” Corbin said. “I think I was the beneficiary of the success we’ve had there.”

He also pointed to what he called the “negative campaign” run by Southworth as a positive for the campaign. Southworth had called Corbin a “career politician” with an “uber-progressive agenda” who should have “a blue R after his name instead of a red one.” He’d criticized Corbin’s board’s ties to the Southwestern Commission, a regional planning commission, saying the Southwestern Commission is Agenda 21-driven — claims Corbin called “so disingenuous it’s not funny.”

“I think I got a 10-point bump because of those comments he made,” Corbin said.

Southworth, however, said he is not disappointed with the results and doesn’t regret any of the charges he made during the campaign — “I don’t think it’s negative to tell the truth,” he said. He very well may run again in 2018.

“I’ve been contacted a number of times by people higher up the food chain in the Republican Party that I ran a good campaign,” Southworth said. “I’m sitting here with a smile on my face.”

Southworth said he has not yet decided whether he will support Corbin over the Democratic candidate in November.

“I don’t have any ill will toward Kevin,” Southworth said. “Kevin is probably a fine individual, but I think he’s very wrong on several issues.”

It’s not an “Obama’s enemy list-type

thing,” Southworth said, but any decisions Corbin makes in the legislature will be “something I and others need to watch carefully.”

Corbin’s path to Raleigh is not yet complete, however. In November Corbin, 54, will face opposition from Democrat Randy Hogsed, a real estate broker from Andrews.

Hogsed, 53, has lived in Andrews his whole life save four years spent in the Army, when he was based in Fort Bennings, Georgia.

Corbin was tapped to run for the seat by Rep. Roger West, R-Marble, after the 17-year representative decided not to run for another term.

Hogsed takes issue with changes to tax laws made during Republican leadership, believing they favor the wealthy and hurt working families. If elected, he said, his priority would be to make Western North Carolina a priority in Raleigh.

“Roger (West) spent 17 years in the state legislature, and Roger has never voted against his party,” Hogsed said. “Kevin (Corbin) is proud of all the politicians that are supporting him. That tells me he is going to represent the politicians and the Republican Party. I’m not a politician, and I don’t want to be politician. I want to be a representative and I want to represent us.”

Clark Communications, a seasoned firm in the field of printing and marketing technologies, has the right solutions to meet your needs for quality, quantity, customization, and turnaround time. Our commitment to customer service with personal attention and innovative leadership has earned international recognition and numerous industry awards.

PRINTING

Offset, Digital, Variable Data and Bindery

MAILING SIGNAGE AND DISPLAYS STRATEGIC MARKETING

variable print, emails, personalized URLs, social media, analytics & reporting

Visit us online and discover all of our creative communication solutions:

www.oneclearchoice.com A Waynesville native, Gary has a solid reputation for maintaining long-term relationships with clients. With the closing of Cornerstone Printing, Gary has joined the Clark team and is committed to customer satisfaction and growth.

Gary Caldwell 828/226-8876

gcaldwell@oneclearchoice.com 2 Westside Dr. | Asheville, NC 28806 | 828/254.1432

March 23-29, 2016

Classifications range from 1 to 9 — Class 1 Now that the North Carolina representing the most standards met.

Department of Insurance issued the Canton The Canton Fire Department, under the Fire Department a Class 4 rating this week, leadership of Chief Derek Littlejohn, Canton homeowners should see a little savworked tirelessly to prepare for the July ings on their fire insurance premiums.

The department previously held a Class 5 rating but a July inspection by the Office of the State Fire Marshal resulted in a better rating. The lower rating will likely result in lower Canton Fire Department staff Lt. Mark Pace, (from left) Chief Derek Littlejohn, fire insurCaptain Tim Carver and Lt. Kevin Wheeler, were instrumental in getting the ance premidepartments’ fire insurance rating down to a Class 4. Donated photo ums for homeowninspection and their efforts paid off. ers and commercial property owners within “I would like to thank all fire departtown limits as well as those who live in the ment personnel, the town manager, all town West and East Canton fire districts. officials and personnel, and all fire departThe Office of the State Fire Marshal conments and county personnel that assisted ducts inspections of all fire departments to with the inspection,” Littlejohn said. ensure compliance with criteria established “I couldn’t be prouder of Chief by the Department of Insurance. Factors Littlejohn and his team for looking beyond that determine a coverage area’s fire insurthe present and stretching themselves to ance rating include adequate staffing, suffireach a new level of excellence,” said cient equipment and communications capaCanton town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss. bilities. This criterion dictates a minimum “Maintaining a Class 5 rating would have level of fire protection and qualifies homebeen an achievement in and of itself. owners throughout the state to be eligible Achieving a 4 is transformative.” to receive reduced insurance premiums.

news

Canton Fire Department earns better insurance rating

Creature Comforts open Automotive students under new ownership visit shops in area The Automotive Systems technology Program at Southwestern Community College visited Passion Performance and Cashiers Service Center in the CashiersHighlands area late last fall.

“Our students gained valuable information on performance applications,” said David Myers, coordinator of SCC’s automotive systems technology program.

After touring the facilities, students learned about after-market performance and observed tuning of a vehicle. Passion Performance is the nearest high-performance shop west of Asheville.

Myers plans on returning to Passion Performance every semester to give students the opportunity to gain new experiences with high-performance vehicles.

828.339.4237 or d_myers@southwesterncc.edu.

Smoky Mountain News

Creature Comforts, a pet care facility in Haywood County, is now under new ownership.

Nancy Davis, Sherry Hickman, and Cathy Nelson purchased the old Junaluska Baptist Church off County Road near Lake Junaluska 20 years ago and opened Creature Comforts. Now they have sold the business to Jeff and Michelle Stewart, formerly of Milford, Massachusetts.

“Although this decision is bittersweet, it is time for Sherry and I to move into another stage of our lives,” said Davis. “We are excited about Jeff and Michelle’s ideas, and plan to use Creature Comforts’ facilities and services for our own pets in the future.”

Davis and Hickman plan to continue to use the facilities for training classes under the name of Dog Awesome Dog Training.

828.452.0160.

11

news

Holding out their hat Jackson Schools look for community donations to fund football field

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER n the quest to replace the football field at Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva with artificial turf, Jackson County Schools is going public in the search for funds to finance its field of dreams.

“This is not an act of desperation for me,” Superintendent Mike Murray told the Jackson County Commissioners last week. “It is an act to Mike Murray try to look at this field as not just artificial turf and not just a football field but as an athletic facility that you will be proud of for years to come.”

According to Murray, the artificial field is a unifying goal for a cross-section of school, athletic, government and community stakeholders. But he met some vocal opposition when he spoke to commissioners.

“We have enough problems with our schools without spending any more money on a football field. I’m asking you all not to

THE COST TO BUILD Planning for the field began when Jackson Schools landed a competitive grant from the NFL that would contribute $200,000 toward construction of an artificial turf field. It seemed like a worthy investment to the district administration and to much of the school board, the selling point being that an artificial field could be used over and over by everyone from football teams to marching bands to soccer leagues without getting run down like a grass field would.

But artificial fields cost a lot more than $200,000. Murray had given his word that if the total price tag for the project ran over $715,000, he wouldn’t go through with it.

As it turns out, however, the project will cost more like $894,000.

Technically, the estimate came in well below the budget, with the low bidder giving a base bid of $324,000. Even when adding in the $58,000 engineer’s study the district had done before bidding the project, the cost would have come in well below

March 23-29, 2016

I

spend it,” said Robert Medlen, of Tuckasegee.

“Use it somewhere else. Use it wisely.”

“Resod the football field,” agreed Denny Wood, of Sylva, who’s been an opponent of the artificial turf idea since the beginning.

“Leave it as it is. Is football more important than any other sport?”

The Smoky Mountain High School Mustangs take to the field. Mark Haskett photo the $715,000 limit.

But, Murray said, “The landscape of this project changed when we started addressing the health concerns. For the board’s peace of mind and for the community’s peace of mind, they felt like the organic fill was the safer way to go.”

Artificial fields are typically built using rubber infill, and often “crumb rubber” — ground-up used car tires — is the most economical choice. Though causation has not been proven, there have been widespread

Smoky Mountain News

F

Excellent, affordable veterinary emergency care for your pets.

It is Haywood Animal Emergency’s mission to provide after hours and emergency services to the community and its pets with a caring environment.

Treating both clients and patients with compassion, kindness and respect.

• emergency & critical care

• overnight nursing care

• digital radiology

• ecg monitoring with cardiology consult available

• in-house lab

Opening Monday March 28th

• ultrasound • endoscopy • surgical services • communication with family

• accepts all major credit cards,care credit and icare financial

3248 Asheville Rd., Waynesville NC 28786

828.452.1478 HaywoodAnimalER.com 12

concerns that playing on fields using this type of infill could cause cancer down the road. So, the school board began looking at organic alternatives to crumb rubber — more expensive, but without any link to health issues.

“From talking with people and trying to listen to both sides, it felt like it was better to be on the safe side and use organic material if it was possible,” said Chairman Ken Henke.

But organic infill — a combination of zeolite and walnut — is a lot more expensive than rubber. The low

Dr. Janet Crawford, DVM University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Lilian Herron DVM Oregon State University

Mon. - Fri. 5:30pm - Midnight • Sat. & Sun. 8:30am - Midnight

JOIN US FOR ARTS EVENTS AT WCU MAR. 28| MON. 7:30PM | COUL COULTER TER | FREE

news

“The landscape of this project changed when we started addressing the health concerns. For the board’s peace of mind and for the community’s peace of mind, they felt like the organic fill was the safer way to go.”

Guest Recital: Recital: ecital Thomas Jostlein, Horn

— Mike Murray, Jackson County schools superintendent

MAR. 29| TUES 5-6PM | BAC 130 | FREE bid, from Lexington-based Sports Construction Management, would cost $836,000. Add the cost of the engineering study, and that’s $179,000 over the $715,000 cap.

A SPLIT VOTE

To donate toward an artificial turf field for Smoky Mountain High School, mail a check made out to Jackson County Public Schools, with “turf project” in the memo line, to the Central Office at 398 Hospital Road, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

If the $200,000 needed to complete the project is raised, all donors will receive an IRS tax deduction form. If the project is not completed, donations will be returned.

Donors giving $1,000 and more will receive a season pass for two to SMHS athletic events. Those giving $10,000 and up will receive a lifetime family pass for four to SMHS athletic events.

828.586.2311.

“The biggest problem you’d have if you put that field in is you’ll have to get you a good organizer because there will be so many people using that thing,” Dietz said.

That’s exactly why Murray’s been coming out swinging in support of the field.

“I have lost sleep over this. I have worked extremely hard on this because I know for a fact it won’t be just one Friday night we’ll be performing. It will be nonstop,” Murray said.

“I’m passionate because of the multi-use.”

Murray and Henke both said they’re optimistic that the fundraising will be successful.

“Before I even got back to my car (after the commissioners meeting), I had four individuals text me or write me immediately saying they would donate a thousand dollars each,” Murray said.

Before launching the campaign, Murray said, he’d spoken with Transylvania County Superintendent Jeff McDaris, who went through a similar situation and wound up fundraising half the cost of the field. That was encouraging.

“At this point,” Henke said, “I keep getting more and more positive than I do negative about the money being presented.”

APR. 5 | TUE. 7:30PM |COULTER COULTER | FREE

Concert: Smoky Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet APR 7 | THUR 5PM | FINE ART MUSEUM | FREE

Reception: Reception: eception Color + Theor Theoryy

SAVE THE DATE: APR 14-16, 7:30PM & APR 17, 3PM | BARDO ARTS CENTER | $

GYPSY GYPSY THE MUSICAL VISIT THE FINE ART MUSEUM FOR ONGOING EXHIBITS | FINEARTMUSEUM.WCU FINEARTMUSEUM.WCU.EDU .EDU

EVENTS ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE COLLEGE OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS AT AT WCU. JOIN FRIENDS FRIENNDS OF THE ARTS TODAY! TODAAYY!

828.227.7028 | ARTSCALENDAR.WCU.EDU

331 Walnut Street Waynesville CELEBRATING 1 YEAR AT OUR NEW LOCATION! AN ENTIRE WEEK OF ANNIVERSARY SAVINGS

MARCH 29TH - APRIL 2ND

GET A 20% OFF COUPON WHEN YOU DROP OFF A DONATION 268-267

FOOD TRUCK ON SITE FRIDAY, APRIL 1ST

SHOP DONATE VOLUNTEER

Smoky Mountain News

A DELAYED INVESTMENT? Commissioner Boyce Dietz, a former football player and coach on that very field, is well aware of the field’s sentimental value. And often, when discussing capital projects, Dietz will be the one to tell the rest of the board to hold its horses on the spending. But he gave a lengthy speech in favor of the field after hearing what everyone else had to say.

Lend a hand

Artist TTalk: aalk: al Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, painter & writer

March 23-29, 2016

The board voted to move forward with the project anyway — provided that they can fundraise $200,000 from the community by April 15. If they don’t make a decision by then, they’ll risk paying a $20,000 penalty to the company for delaying the contract.

The school board decision was not unanimous. Margaret McCrae, a former classroom teacher, voted against the other four school board members, opposing the project.

“We basically agree on everything we do, and this is the first time that I have just objected to something,” said McRae. “And f it’s nothing personal. It’s not against anybody or anything — I just don’t feel comfortable doing that.”

McRae, who represents the Cashiers area, said she didn’t feel it was right to endorse such an expensive athletic project when there are so many unfunded needs in the classrooms.

“I just felt like that was something that, representing my district, I did not need to do,” she said.

Murray, meanwhile, emphasized that the dollars that go to teacher pay and textbooks come from a different pot, and in fact commissioners are taking steps to finance some of the much-needed building repairs in the school system.

“If (this strategy) could be used to help that situation I would apply it,” he said of teacher salaries, “but I can’t so I’m not going to lose the emphasis on moving forward on this, even though I don’t think the state is moving forward as much as they should on salaries.”

McRae isn’t the only one who feels the bill is coming in too high.

“Take care of my money,” Wood told commissioners last week. “Build the stuff that needs to be built. Take care of the rest of it.”

The football field at Smoky Mountain is “holy ground,” Wood said — tearing it up to put artificial turf in is just plain disrespectful.

“This school system and this county has spent so little on athletic facilities throughout the years to be so successful, it is unreal,” Dietz said. “We wanted it all for nothing, but we wanted everybody to win a championship … this is the type of money we haven’t spent on athletics through the years.”

Athletics are “the best drop-out prevention program in North Carolina Schools,” Dietz said, forcing kids to show up to school and get passing grades to stay on the team.

And the field won’t just serve the football players, but also the soccer players and the marching band and the cheerleading squads and the Special Olympics.

828.246.9135 HaywoodHabitat.org OPEN TUESDAY - SATURDAY 10:00AM - 5:00PM

13

news

Beginning again Cherokee implements full-circle rehabilitation for drug recovery

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER t’s been a while since the old Mountain Credit Union building in Cherokee saw foot traffic from people looking to deposit checks or get financial advice, but its doors still swing open and closed with regularity — though for a much different purpose.

“When I first got here, I talked to some clients who said they could never go back to Cherokee because they can’t live here, because everybody they know uses and they feel like it’s not a place that’s safe for them to be,” said Doug Trantham, director of behavioral health for the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority. “I would like people to say Cherokee is the place to be if you want to live a healthy life.”

The Recovery Center, which sits behind the Bureau of Indian Affairs office where the credit union used to be, offers a range of services for people who need help battling an addiction. Peer support specialists — people who are practicing recovery after dealing with behavioral health issues — offer counsel. An employment specialist is available to help people in recovery find work. A full schedule of classes offers emotional support, life skills, cultural connections and yoga, among other resources.

“What we see ourselves doing everyday is helping people get restarted, get back on track, get a new start,” Trantham said.

Since opening on Dec. 1, 2015, the Recovery Center has been nothing if not well used. Dozens of people pass through its doors every day with 29 people attending 178 classes in the first three months.

Trantham and the rest of his division are excited about its impact, but the center is far from the only change coming to the way the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians handles substance abuse issues.

March 23-29, 2016

I

Smoky Mountain News

ATTACKING THE ISSUE In June 2015, Tribal Council approved a 15-point plan to combat substance abuse from prevention to rehabilitation, allotting $16 million for facilities and $2.2 million annually for operations.

“We have the resources to address it is really why it’s at the forefront now,” said Lynn Harlan, public relations officer for the hospital and a tribal member. “Before it was like, we don’t want to talk about a problem we can’t address.”

As casino profits have rolled in and the tribe has become more able to make and fund its own decisions, Harlan explained, the Cherokee people have addressed their most pressing needs one by one. High dia14 betes rates and the landing of a state grant

led to a push to build community gyms. An opportunity came up for property to accommodate a new school system, so that came next. An $18 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice paved the way for construction of a new justice center and jail.

Now, with drug abuse prevalent and the effects bolstering crime rates and leading young adults to early graves, the time has come to combat the issue head-on. It’s made frequent appearance in Tribal Council chambers in recent months, and programs are ramping up to attack it from a health standpoint.

But substance abuse is not a Cherokeespecific problem, Harlan emphasized.

“Our problems aren’t any more significant than other communities,” Harlan said.

“It’s just that we, unlike many governments, are able to address issues that affect

Get connected Cherokee people looking for help with substance abuse issues can find it at the Analenisgi Recovery Center, which is always open to walk-ins. The center provides an extensive range of services, including therapy, employment services and a full schedule of classes to assist with recovery.

The center is located on 375 Sequoyah Trail behind the Bureau of Indian Affairs office and open weekdays from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 828.497.9163 ext. 7550. us personally.”

No good data exists on use and abuse rates on the Qualla Boundary, so it’s impossible to compare prevalence on and off tribal land. But Trantham agrees that substance abuse, especially prescription opiates and heroin, are issues across Western North Carolina and in the nation as a whole.

“Opiates have really exploded all across the country, and it’s really the case here,” he said.

Of 14,700 enrolled members, about 11,000 have been patients at the hospital. In 2012, 1,530 of those 11,000 patients received

The Snowbird Recovery Center is expected to be a one-of-a-kind facility when completed in 2017. Donated graphic

Tribal employees and contractors engaged in the Snowbird project — including Kristi Case, recovery services manager (second from right), and Forest Parker, engineering director (far right) — visit the remote Graham County site. Doug Trantham photo a diagnosis related to substance abuse.

That’s roughly 14 percent of hospital patients or 10 percent of enrolled members.

Rates are high elsewhere in the region.

Every year, about 15 people in Haywood County die from prescription drug overdose, a rate several times higher than deaths from automobile accidents. In Jackson County, 72,000 prescriptions for abuse-prone drugs were written for 22,000 people in 2014.

The goal for Cherokee’s program, called Analenisgi Behavioral Health, is to attack the causes of those numbers on the boundary and turn addicts into healthy and productive members of society. That’s a multi-faceted goal with a lot going on surrounding it.

“Literally, we could water board you with information,” Trantham said.

Perhaps, but the summary of Analenisgi is in the name itself. Analenisgi means “they are beginning” in the Cherokee language.

The name was chosen carefully by a group of

Cherokee speakers to underscore the program’s purpose.

“A lot of what we’re doing here is we are helping people begin again,” Trantham said.

IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN The tribe has the beginning and the end of that cycle mostly in place. The Recovery Center is there to help people who need outpatient help and encouragement to stay sober. And people in need of intensive detox can go to the hospital for care as the drugs leave their system. But the resources to bridge those two extremes are still in progress.

This summer, the tribe hopes to have a halfway house for men in recovery up and running in Whittier, just off the U.S. 74 exit for Cherokee. They’ve purchased the property and secured a Conditional Use Permit from Jackson County.

F

treatment center will be the jobs it will provide to the area, Harlan said. A staff of 10 to 15 will be required to run it.

“Everything on the news about Graham County is jobs leaving, so the Snowbird center is a huge opportunity,” she said.

The center is expected to open sometime in 2017, with the timeline largely depending on permitting. The land itself is trust land owned by the Eastern Band, but access will require building a road through land managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Diane E. Sherrill, Attorney

Is a Will Enough?

FREE LUNCHEON SEMINAR

April 13 & May 11 11:30 AM

CONNECTING MIND AND BODY

Best Western River Escape Inn Dillsboro • Reservation Suggested

828.586.4051

nctrustlawyer.com

337-10

28 Maple St. • Sylva

NEED A RIDE? Get to Work, College, Medical Appointments, Shopping and more for as low as

2

$

Operational Hours Mon-Fri 6am - 5:30 pm Reservations are required — Call 24 hours in advance

828.565.0362

All trips are coordinated with others while in the general area.

We are not a last minute taxi service! Wheelchair Services are available.

EOE Haywood Public Transit will not discriminate against anyone based on race, color, gender, religion, or natural origin.

Smoky Mountain News

Getting you there is what we do.

March 23-29, 2016

Though the planned continuum of care progresses from hospital detox to the rehabilitation center to the halfway house to continued contact with the Recovery Center, not every person will follow that same path.

Not everyone will need to. And not everyone who is touched by the ramped-up behavioral health efforts will actually be seeking out help.

For example, the Analenisgi program includes a fulltime therapist who works in the jail, treating a population that’s often overlooked but includes high proportions of people with behavioral and mental health issues. The program addresses prevention, too, working in Cherokee Central Schools.

And the integrated care model at the new hospital is also being put to work to combat the stigma that can come with seeking help for mental and behavioral health.

The new hospital is organized into “integrated care teams,” teams of medical professionals representing a diversity of specialties. The idea is that they collaborate and share responsibility for This home on Banjo Lane in Whittier is expected to be ready for each patient in an effort use as a halfway house for recovering addicts sometime this to address the whole person. The teams include a summer. Holly Kays photo psychologist.

“No one knows bly not worth the cost of renovation. whether you’re getting your blood pressure Currently Analenisgi is investigating the cost medicine or having a mental health checkof building a new facility. It’s hard to say up,” explained Harlan. exactly when that project might be finished.

“It very much normalizes behavioral The flagship of the Analanisgi program, health,” Trantham said. however, will be the Snowbird Recovery The connection will get even stronger Center, a facility that now exists only on down the road when the hospital completes paper. Accounting for $13.5 million of the its plan to renovate space for the behavioral $16 million Tribal Council promised for health program in the old hospital building, facilities, the center would accommodate now empty. both men and women in need of intensive “That’s basically saying there isn’t some rehabilitation. great separation between the mind and the The Snowbird Recovery Center would body,” Trantham said. “Everything is conoffer everything from medical services to nected.” family engagement to connection to That’s a mantra that Harlan is happy to Cherokee culture, a one-of-its kind facility repeat. using the same environmentally themed “This is a project that is a step in taking design principles as the new hospital. care of our community, and there will be “There’s not anything like this facility,” another issue that comes up that we address Trantham said. “There won’t be anything next,” Harlan said. “This will help us have like it in North Carolina, certainly not west more healthy individuals to work toward of Asheville.” what the tribe believes is important, and Located in economically struggling that’s keeping us strong as a culture and Graham County, another boon of the new keeping us strong as a nation.”

337-18

news

Now they’re just waiting on contractors to return bids to renovate the 1960s brick structure. The 4,400-square-foot home would house eight men as they work on life skills and reach the stability they’ll need to safely reintegrate to the community.

While living there, Trantham said, the men will stay busy with work or volunteering or treatment, but they’ll be safe while doing so.

“A lot of our folks do not have a place to live here in Cherokee that is safe for them — safe from the standpoint of being free of triggers,” Trantham said.

Plans are in the works for a similar facility for women, designed to accommodate their children as well. But that project will take a little longer. The folks at Analenisgi have their eyes on the property that used to house the Cherokee Children’s Home, behind the Ginger Lynn Welch Complex.

The location is perfect, within walking distance of the library, a coffee shop, two daycares, a recreation center and multiple playgrounds. That’s basically ideal for mothers who may or may not have access to a car.

“It’s close to a lot of things, but when you’re there it feels very residential,” said Kristi Case, recovery services manager for Analenisgi.

The construction, however, is problematic. The existing buildings are old and proba-

facebook.com/smnews 15

news

Woman gets 70 months for trafficking meth Jamie Lynn Swartz, 36, formerly of Sylva, will serve 70 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on drug conspiracy charges.

According to filed court documents, from about August 2013 to March 2015, Swartz engaged in a drug conspiracy and was responsible for trafficking crystal methamphetamine to Jackson County and surrounding areas. Swartz was utilizing a source of supply in Atlanta, Georgia, for larger quantities of crystal meth.

Court records show that Swartz made frequent trips to Atlanta and purchased the drugs from her co-defendant, Lisa Keith Jenkins.

Swartz pleaded guilty in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. She has been in federal custody since August 2015 and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

“This year’s Champions represent Main Street board members and volunteers, nonprofit leaders, downtown developers and small business owners, elected officials, city employees, and boy scouts,” said Liz Parham, director of the N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center. “These individuals give 110 percent to their community and then ask, ‘what’s next.’”

Open forum to be held in Franklin “Angry Americans: Reality-based or Media Creation?” will be the topic for the next Franklin Open Forum to be held at 7 p.m.

Monday, April 4, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub, located Downtown at 58 Stewart Street, Franklin. (Below and behind Books Unlimited.) Franklin Open Forum is a moderated discussion group. Those interested in an open exchange of ideas (dialog not debate) are invited to attend.

828.371.1020.

Evergreen Foundation Police chief honored as to host grant workshops ‘Main Street Champion’ The Evergreen Foundation will be hosting

March 23-29, 2016

Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed was one of 37 people recently honored by the North Carolina Department of Commerce as a Main Street Champion for his commitment to downtown improvements and strong communities.

information sessions in each of the seven western counties for organizations interested in submitting a grant proposal. The Foundation, which focuses on improving the lives of individuals who have behavioral health, intellectu-

Macon Commissioners honor Sunshine Week In the spirit of celebrating Sunshine Week, the Macon County Commissioners announced a decision to support and encourage transparency and open government.

Beginning in April, all Macon County Board of Commissioner meetings will be broadcast live online and the meetings will be recorded and available for later viewing on the county website.

“Government always functions best when it operates in the open,” said Commission Chairman Kevin Corbin. “After talking with county leaders across the country at the National Association of County Officials last month, we wanted to make sure the citizens of Macon County have full access to everything we do as elected officials.”

Sunshine Week, which was held March 13-19 this year, is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance al/developmental disabilities, or substance abuse issues, will be accepting 2016-2017 grant proposals through May 31. Grant priorities include proposals focusing on infrastructure of the private provider network; start up and service provision; scholarships to enhance the quality of the provider network; public awareness/education; and advocacy on behalf of consumers and the provider network.

To register or for additional information, email Denise Coleman at dcoleman@evergreennc.org or call 828.421.7483. The follow-

;Y` :VTL[OPUN +PɈLYLU[

Banking...

of open government and freedom of information.

“We understand that it isn’t always easy for people to attend our monthly meetings and oftentimes get calls from citizens wanting to know about things that happened,” said County Manager Derek Roland. “By installing cameras in the board room and having the county’s excellent IT staff manage the recordings, we will be able to record and store county meetings not just in the interest of transparency, but to have those records on file for the county as vital resources for the future.”

Macon County commissioners hold their regularly scheduled meetings at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month in the third-floor boardroom of the Macon County Courthouse. www.maconnc.org.

ing sessions are scheduled: • Bryson City — 1:30 p.m. April 5 at Marianna Black Library, 33 Fryemont St. • Franklin — 10 a.m. April 13 at Thomas Heights Profession Building, 100 Thomas Heights Rd. • Sylva — 1 p.m. April 13 at Jackson County Public Library, 310 Keener St. • Waynesville — 3 p.m. April 13 at Haywood County Public Library, 678 S. Haywood St. www.evergreenfoundationnc.org

Maggie Valley First Baptist Church presents

An evening with

MountainJoy

Smoky Mountain News

Gospel Group

Sun. April 3rd · 6pm in the Sanctuary Find us on Facebook. Federally Insured by NCUA

16

Admission is free, love offerings are welcome.

3436 Soco Rd. · Maggie Valley

828-926-0065

Business

Smoky Mountain News

• The Small Business Center at Haywood Community College will offer a free seminar entitled, “Financing Your Business,” from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, March 23, in Room 201 on the college campus in Clyde. sbc.haywood.edu or call 828.627.4512.

MENtoring program takes shape at SCC Richie Sneed (second from left), Vice Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, visited Southwestern Community College on Feb. 17 to discuss the college’s Native American MENtoring program. He also gave students in SCC’s automotive systems technology program the opportunity to check out his Tesla vehicle.

Sneed has agreed to be a mentor for SCC’s Native American MENtoring program, which was launched in December.

“As an educator and a pastor, I have seen firsthand the impact that having a mentor has in the life of a young person,” Sneed said. “I also recognize the negative effects that arise when there is a lack of guidance in young people’s lives. Because I want our Cherokee young men to succeed, I felt that it was important that I be involved in the process.”

Swain Chamber banquet tickets on sale Early bird tickets are now on sale for the Swain County Chamber of Commerce Annual Membership Banquet scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at the Fryemont Inn. Any Chamber member purchasing the early bird special will pay only $30 per person as compared to the $35 week of charge. The annual membership banquet includes dinner, entertainment and recognition of the Business Citizen of the Year, the Duke Energy Service and Citizenship Award.

828.488.3681 or chamber@greatsmokies.com.

Nominations open for Young Entrepreneur award Nominations are now open for the 2016 Macon County Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for outstanding performance in the field of entrepreneurship.

Online nominations for the award are now being accepted and the winner will be announced at the annual The Macon County Economic Development Commission BizWeek Banquet on April 21.

To submit a nomination, visit www.maconedc.com. Nominations close March 25. 828.369.2306.

OnTrack WNC receives State Farm grant State Farm announced a $30,000 grant for OnTrack WNC Financial Education & Counseling, which will support the agency’s weekly radio program, Money Matters, the Women’s Financial Empowerment Center and the annual Financial Literacy Awards Luncheon.

The State Farm Good Neighbor Citizenship grants fund programs that build safer, stronger, and better-educated communities.

OnTrack WNC’s first State Farm Good

Neighbor Citizenship Grant was in 2010 to support the weekly Money Matters radio program. In 2013, State Farm expanded its support to include the Women’s Financial Empowerment Center.

“State Farm has been incredible with annual grant support that has truly sustained these important programs,” said Celeste Collins, Executive Director of OnTrack WNC.

U.S. Cellular builds new tower in Haywood A new cell tower site in Haywood County will increase U.S. Cellular’s coverage in downtown Waynesville area and is one of more than 593 sites U.S. Cellular has built across the state.

“At U.S. Cellular, we focus on providing the best wireless experience for our customers in Haywood County through a high-quality network with national coverage along with the latest 4G LTE devices,” said Nathan Waddell, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in western North Carolina.

For more information about coverage in the area, visit uscellular.com/coverage-map.

17

• Apple Creek Café, formerly located off of North Main Street, has now relocated to downtown Waynesville in the former Nick and Nate’s pizzeria location. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner every day excluding Mondays. 828.456.9888.

Workplace, from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 19.

A workshop, “How to Create Your Message Map,” will be presented from 2 to 5 p.m.

Wednesday, April 20.

The week concludes with the annual BizWeek Banquet at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at Bloemsma Barn. The keynote speaker will be Secretary of Commerce John E. Skvarla, III. All events are free, but seating is limited.

Registration is required at www.maconedc.com or by calling 828.369.2306.

SCC job fair March 31 Southwestern Community College will hold a job fair from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, March 31, at the Jackson County campus.

More than 50 employers have committed to attending the event, which is in its 22nd year.

The job fair is open to the general public as well as SCC’s students and alumni. There is no charge for employers or job seekers.

The job fair will feature employers representing a wide range of industries including insurance, law enforcement, banking, healthcare, grocery stores, restaurants, tourism, hospitality, recreation and more.

828.339.4212 or m_despeaux@southwesterncc.edu.

Macon EDC announces BizWeek 2016

Franklin Chamber awards

Macon County Economic Development Commission’s annual BizWeek 2016 will feature a number of free workshops for small business owners.

BizWeek kicks off with several small business workshops and events, presented by the Small Business Center of Southwestern Community College. All will take place on the Macon Center campus of SCC in Franklin.

A Women’s Business Networking Luncheon with guest speaker Sharon Oxendine will be held at noon on Monday, April 18.

From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. April 18, a workshop, “Strengthening Leadership Ability by Improving Emotional Intelligence,” will be presented.

The Small Business Center of SCC will present the workshop, Supervision in the

The Franklin Chamber of Commerce recently held its 2015 Annual Banquet and Award Banquet and presented several awards to local businesses.

The Chamber Member of the Year award went to BiLo; the Club/Organization of the Year award went to Holly Springs Community Club; Youth Rising Citizen award went to Miranda Williamson; the Duke Energey Citizenship & Service award went to Dave Linn and the Citizen of the Year award went to Macon County Schools bus driver Alice Bradley.

Distinguished Service awards were given to Sgt. Michael Langley Sr., Cpl. Jonathan Phillips, and deputies Blake Buchanan, Anthony Hopkins and Audrey Parrish.

• Innovation Brewing, a seven-barrel brewery located in Sylva, and Copper Pot & Wooden Spoon, a Waynesville company that handcrafts seasonally produced jams, pickles, and artisan foods, were selected to participate in Mountain BizWorks’ ScaleUp WNC program. The initiative aims to provide these businesses and fellow WNC entrepreneurs with intensive growth strategy development, mentorship, access-to-capital support, and a rich network of peer business owners.

ALSO:

• WCQS News Director David Hurand is set to retire March 31 after 30 years of service. WCQS will begin a nationwide search for a news director immediately.

• Dosher Physical Therapy Associates recently opened a new branch located at 555 Depot Street in Franklin. Dosher is an independent, therapist-owned practice that emphasizes the most advanced and effective treatments with a friendly, professional environment.

828.349.0110 or www.dosherphysicaltherapy.com.

• Commerce Street Mercantile recently opened in the Frog Level area in Waynesville. The shop carries vintage clothing, accessories and unique gifts. The shop is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

• Mountain Credit Union, based in Waynesville, presented a $10,000 grand prize each to two Asheville members based on random drawings from entries given for each $25 deposit in a savings program known as “Save to Win.”

news

Custom Homes Built On Your Land

Smoky Mountain News

March 23-29, 2016

Build The Home You’ve Always Imagined

Franklin Building Center 335 NP & L Loop, Franklin, NC 28734 Across from Franklin Ford on Hwy 441 18

(828) 349-0990

Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

19

Let’s get the ‘dump Presnell’ train rolling L

diverted that money to other uses.

So, let Rep. Presnell and others tout the education funding increases all they want, but the truth is that the increases have not kept up with the rising costs. Schools are having to do more with less.

On top of this, Rep. Presnell has not admitted that the funding increases actually mean less money to use in classrooms. In fact, she continues to make statements like this: “Fault lies with Haywood County School Board Editor members for their gross mismanagement of resources.”

“Gross mismanagement?” Perhaps she disagrees with spending choices made by the school board — and that’s OK — but to call it “gross mismanagement” borders on ridiculous.

Please take me to a school and show me “gross mismanagement or resources,” Rep. Presnell.

Where else has Rep. Presnell been on the wrong side of helping Haywood County? Two stand out: she has blocked the merger of Lake Junaluska and Waynesville (despite the fact that her district does not include either) and she shot down a proposed tourism room tax increase that was widely supported by local leaders.

And just to point out how ideologically off the rails Rep.

Scott McLeod

et the campaign to unseat Rep. Michelle Presnell begin.

During her two terms in office Presnell has been an obstructionist and a demagogue who has blocked progress in Haywood County on several fronts.

Presnell, a Republican from Yancey County who represents the 118th District, will face Democratic primary winner and Haywood County School Board member Rhonda Schandevel in the Nov. 8 general election.

It’s hard to find a single issue to start with — there are so many — in asking voters to turn Rep. Presnell out. That said, let’s start with the planned closing of Central Elementary School. Rep. Presnell misled constituents about education funding and used some pretty damning language in describing the local school board.

Rep. Presnell says Haywood County has gotten more education funding since she was elected. She’s right. However, what she always fails to point out is that the increase — and more — went for relatively small step increases in salaries, so there is less to spend in the classroom.

Here’s the facts, and I’m using Rep. Presnell’s numbers. In the last four years, teacher salaries in Haywood have risen by $1.6 million. State increases in funding over those four years amounted to $600,000. That leaves $1 million less to spend in the classroom. That’s what we used call simple math when I was in school. Additionally, the county’s share of the lottery proceeds has dropped by nearly $500,000 as legislators have

Presnell is, don’t forget that back in 2013 she co-sponsored a measure that would have allowed North Carolina to declare an official state religion. I guess she just forgot about the First and Fourteenth amendments? Sounds almost too preposterous to be true, but google HB 494 and Rep. Presnell and read about it for yourself.

The Smoky Mountain News very rarely endorses candidates (I think four in the 16 years we’ve been in business). We write extensively in our news section about the issues important in each election. We don’t, however, follow up those stories with an opinion piece citing our choice for whom we think is the best candidate. Instead, we leave that up to the voters.

The tradition of endorsing candidates has a long history in American journalism, and I’m perfectly OK with papers that continue that practice. Going all the way back to the Revolutionary War era, newspapers were often mouthpieces for one political party and devoted their coverage to convincing voters that their party was the right choice.

We’ll never do that, but we will always support reasoned, thoughtful legislators who value the hard work and on-theground knowledge of local leaders over their own political ideology. That means don’t vote for Rep. Presnell, but instead vote for Rhonda Schandevel come November. Let’s get this train rolling early.

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

Wilderness and recreation areas are good for WNC

S

ing. National Recreation Areas are typically open to a wider variety of activities, such as mountain biking, roads, active game management and more. Uses in National Recreation Areas are determined by local communities to reflect their interests. It’s all in the language of the legislation that Guest Columnist would ultimately be required. As the name implies, NRAs emphasize recreation over other potential uses, such as resource extraction, energy development or any kind of high-impact activity that would harm the recreational resource.

Both Wilderness and NRAs can only be recommended by the Forest Service, and this happens during a forest planning process such as the one we are currently undergoing for the 1.1 million acre Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest. This process, which is now in its third year here, is a public one, and everyone is invited to participate and voice their opinion on what they feel the future of this forest should be.

A coalition of 42 Western North Carolina organizations and businesses support a proposal for 109,000 acres of new Wilderness and for two NRAs that total

Brent Martin

etting aside a modest portion of the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest as Wilderness and National Recreation Areas (NRAs) would deliver huge benefits for a wide variety of user groups and for our local economy. So it is baffling to witness county after county in western North Carolina passing resolutions opposing the idea.

These anti-wilderness, anti-recreation resolutions, proposed by some hunting groups and passed by county commissioners, push the argument that such land designations will harm game management activities like clearcutting forest land, which creates early successional habitat favored by deer, turkey and grouse for browse and cover.

But this is not an either-or situation.

There is enough forest to accommodate a variety of uses. I support game management and believe logging can be done on the national forest in a sustainable way, particularly when it supports ecological restoration. It is also clear that Wilderness and National Recreation Areas are suitable designations for a high-recreation demand forest where the number one uses are hiking, nature viewing, mountain biking, and other forms of recreation.

Wilderness — which does not allow logging, roadbuilding, motorized access, or mountain biking — does allow hunting, as well as horseback riding, camping and fish-

151,000 acres for this new forest plan. This coalition includes mountain bike and hiking clubs, watershed and fishing associations, outdoor retailers, conservation organizations, among others. This proposal has been submitted to the Forest Service and is a modest request to protect approximately 25 percent of the more than 1 million acres that make up the NantahalaPisgah, the second most visited national forest in America. .

In the years ahead, recreational visits will only continue to grow here. So with forward thinking to conserve and protect a part of this forest as Wilderness and NRAs, we can insure that these visitors and future generations in North Carolina will have high-quality protected places to enjoy far into the future. These designations permanently protect forest land, support local economic development, and help ensure that Western North Carolina will forever be the great place to live that it currently is.

For more information on the proposal mentioned above, visit www.ncmountaintreasures.org. Additional information and a full report on Western North Carolina’s recreational demands and uses can be found at http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3793 009.pdf.

(Brent Martin is the Southern Appalachian Regional director for The Wilderness Society in Sylva.)

Sometimes you wonder why To the editor: I wonder: • Why do people in the so-called “Bible belt” seem to trust guns more than God? • Why does the “right to life” that protects babies in the womb disappear when these babies enter a classroom?

• Why does my freedom to carry a gun “trump” my brother’s freedom from the fear of gun violence?

• When did the playground ethic I learned as a child — that I had the right to swing my fist freely around in the air so long as it did not collide with another person’s nose — get “trumped” by the Second Amendment?

• Why were the citizens of Australia — where church attendance is among the lowest in the world — able to pass a National Firearms Agreement that banned the importation, sale and possession of automatic rifles, shotguns, and handguns, and to enact a compulsory gun buyback scheme, while last year alone, here in the U.S. — where church attendance is high — mass shootings occurred 372 times, killing 475 and wounding 1,870?

• Why do “Bible-believing” churches put up signs, “Guns Welcome Here” and have pastors who carry guns into the pulpit, seemingly rejecting admonitions like “they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Mt.26:52); “the war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save” (Ps .33:17); and “thou shalt not kill” (Ex.20::13)?

• Why are politicians who preach hate and fear able to amass a following among people who believe in a Bible that proclaims: “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1Jn.4:18) and “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind” (2 Tim.1:7)? Will wonders never cease?

Doug Wingeier, Waynesville

Call today to learn more about your specific coverage

828.456.3211 smokymtneye.com

March 23-29, 2016

NOW’S THE TIME TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

Enter the 2016

Smoky Mountain News

Business Plan Contest & win up to

10,000

$

INFO: 456.3021 DEADLINE: MAY 12

SUPPORTED BY: Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, Haywood Economic Development Council, Haywood Community College Small Business Center, Haywood Advancement Foundation.

20

Me and your pet rabbit can now share a meal few weeks ago, I suddenly developed a thirst that I could not seem to quench.

No, this is not a metaphor. For days, I drank water by the quart — and probably a gallon of orange juice — but no matter how much liquid I consumed, in less than an hour, I would be thirsty again. Of course, this led to several sleepless nights, as my body became a living, breath recycling plant. I was exhaustColumnist ed, but I was up and down all night at the mercy of my relentless thirst.

I also realized I couldn’t see straight.

Again, not a metaphor. Everything had become blurry, as if I had forgotten to put on my glasses. With or without them, I could no longer read road signs. The characters and backgrounds on our high definition television softened and bled into each other like little pools of colored ink. I kept cleaning my lenses to no avail.

There were a few other symptoms as well. I got tired walking up a flight of stairs, and I had lost about fifteen pounds over the past few weeks, which I naively attributed to a few lunches at Subway instead of the Chinese buffet. After two consecutive nights of very little sleep, I typed my symptoms into Google and there it was, instantly, big and obvious and definitive.

Diabetes. Type 2. Judgment Day had come at last. At least that is how it felt. Of the Seven Deadly Sins, gluttony, for me, must rank at or near the very top.

I’ve got my reasons. As a youth, I was built like an exclamation point, skinny and emphatic. A local druggist, overcome with compassion, once offered to buy me a hamburger if I would only eat it. Because my body looked like a bag of coat hangers, he thought I was starving. He could not have guessed that I ate everything I could find that was not green — hamburgers, hot dogs, fish sticks, fried chicken, breakfast cereal and Pop Tarts, mashed potatoes and gravy, ice cream by the box. For me, a box of ice cream consisted of exactly two servings — the first eaten out of a medium-sized mixing bowl, the second out of the box itself. I am surprised that my mother did not have to take on a second job to pay for my addiction to Fudge Royale ice cream.

No matter what I ate, I did not — could not — gain weight. My Nana said I had a tapeworm. I loathed being so skinny, vowing one day to be as big and muscular as the behemoths in my professional wrestling magazines. I guess I figured I was “immune”

A

Chris Cox

opinion

We are proud to accept insurance plans from these local employers:

to food. I could eat whatever I wanted and it didn’t make any difference.

Did I mention that I have always loved to eat? If you own a restaurant that features allyou-can-eat Chinese food, sushi, crab legs, or ribs, I am not the guy you want to see walking in your door on a Friday night. The pyramid of bones or broken shells left on the table when I am finished — at last — will look like the ruins of some ancient civilization.

Over the years, I have put on more and more weight, but I have also exercised — at least intermittently — figuring that as long as my chest was bigger than my waist and I could jog around the lake without collapsing, I was more or less in decent shape. That health plan, it turns out, is not as a sound as it might first appear.

After I fetched the depressing news from Google, I made a doctor’s appointment.

When the results from my blood panel came back, I discovered that my blood was about 75 percent maple syrup. In fact, all of the numbers were alarmingly high. The doctor prescribed some medication and informed me that I would need to start monitoring my blood sugar on a daily basis, which meant pricking my finger every morning.

I was also referred to a dietician, an impossibly cheerful and vibrant young lady who patiently explained that my new diet would need to be radically overhauled, if I wanted to recover my health and thrive. I said I did, and then practiced putting together a series of simulated 45-carbohydrate meals, which I would be allowed to eat every three hours.

“I know that does not look like very much meat,” she said, nodding at the tablespoon-sized portion of rubber salmon on my plate. “But look at how many leafy green vegetables you get!”

Seeds, berries, unsalted nuts, broccoli, beans, and kale. Lots and lots and lots of kale. I went to the grocery store and explored new territories, bought food that looked like ferns. Open our refrigerator, find a greenhouse. Open our pantry, find a small army of nuts and seeds. I am eating like a giraffe. I am eating like a goldfinch. I am eating like a squirrel.

The good news is that I feel fantastic, the most energetic and clear-headed I have felt in years. My fingertips are like little pin cushions, but at least I can see them.

I just hope no one sees me lunching on sunflower seeds and arugula, takes pity, and offers to buy me a hamburger and a milkshake.

(Chris Cox is a writer and teacher who lives in Haywood County. He can be reached at jchriscox@live.com.)

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

tasteTHEmountains Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 APPLE ANDY'S RESTAURANT 3483 Soco Road, Maggie Valley located in Market Square. 828.944.0626. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Serving the freshest homemade sandwiches, wraps, and entrees such as country fried steak and grilled flounder. Full salad bar and made from scratch sides like potato salad, pinto beans and macaroni and cheese. www.appleandys.com APPLE CREEK CAFE 111 N. Main St., Waynesville.

828.456.9888. Tuesday through Thursday 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 10:30 a.m. to midnight. Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. We are excited to be on Main St. serving lunch and dinner with a full bar. Our menu includes items such as blackberry salmon, fettuccine alfredo, hand-cut steaks, great burgers, sandwiches, salads and more.

Join us for live music every Friday and Saturday nights. Friday 6 to 9 p.m. live piano music. Saturday 6 to 9 p.m. live jazz music. No cover charge.

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

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

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

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

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

BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Chef owned and operated. Our salads are made in house using local seasonal vegetables. Fresh roasted ham, turkey and roast beef used in our hoagies. We hand make our own eggplant and chicken parmesan, pork meatballs and

hamburgers. We use 1st quality fresh not preprepared products to make sure you get the best food for a reasonable price. We make vegetarian, gluten free and sugar free items.

Call or go to Facebook (Breaking Bread Café NC) to find out what our specials are.

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

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

CHURCH STREET DEPOT 34 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

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

CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881.

Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 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

Family-Style

Waynesville BREAKFAST HOUSE Not Just For Breakfast!

Monday - Saturday 11am - 2pm Lunch Buffet

4pm - 6pm Dinner Buffet

Friday & Saturday Breakfast Buffet

Sunday 10am - 4pm Brunch Closed from Saturday Evening to Tuesday Morning for

Easter Weekend

67 BRANNER AVE. WAYNESVILLE

828-246-9881

12.95

Easter Dinner

March 23-29, 2016

$

PER PERSON *Does not include drink, tax or tip

11:30-3 PM

Enjoy our famous fried chicken, ham, fried fish, vegetables & salad bar

LIVE MUSIC TUESDAY NIGHTS!

“The Piano Man”

Reservations are recommended

7-9 P.M. Upcoming Bands:

828.926.0201

MARCH 29: Tonology APRIL 5: Mile High Band

Open till 9PM serving regular menu.

Smoky Mountain News

Music by Steve Whiddon

SAGEBRUSH OF CANTON 1941 Champion Dr. Canton

Located at Maggie Valley Inn 70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley 828.926.0201

828-646-3750 Sun-Thur 11 AM - 10 PM Fri-Sat 11 AM - 11 PM

www.maggievalleyhotel.com 337-66

21

337-75

NOW HIRING

REEKSIDE COYSTER HOUSE & GRILL CREEKSIDE DINING CRAFT BEER & FULL BAR

WEDNESDAY SPECIAL All You Can Eat Fish & Popcorn Shrimp. $17.95

Serving Food until 10 p.m. Weekdays & until 11 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Closed Mondays

828.586.1985

438 Skyland Drive • Sylva

a wide variety of breads daily, specializing in traditional french breads. All of our breads are hand shaped. Lunch: Fresh salads, panini sandwiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck. Private room available for meetings.

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine. Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more.

Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events. Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

THE CLASSIC WINESELLER 20 Church Street, Waynesville.

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

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

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

828.926.1820 Open Wednesday and Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet. Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many

Smoky Mountain News

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

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

Monday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com 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.

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

Winter hours: Thursday through Dunday 12 to 4 p.m. for lunch and 4 p.m. to closing for dinner. Daily luncheon special at $6.99.

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.

JOEY'S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Winter hours: Friday-Monday 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Joey’s is a family style restaurant that has been serving breakfast to the locals and visitors of Western North Carolina since 1966. Featuring a large variety of tempting pancakes, golden waffles, country style cured ham and seasonal specials spiked with flavor, Joey's is sure to please all appetites. Join us for what has become a tradition in these parts, breakfast at Joey’s.

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

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner. The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

THE LUNCHBOX CAFE 100 Spicewood Dr., Clyde, 828.246.6296 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Serving up scrumptious breakfast, lunch and dinner all made with care in a welcoming environment. Subs, salads, sandwiches and more.

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

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

Beer and wine. Free movies with showtimes

Happy Easter

337-35

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Easter Brunch 11:30 AM — 2:30 PM Reservations: 828.456.3551

Adults: $29.95* • Young at Heart Age 70+: $21.95* Ages 6-12: $12.95* • Under Age 5: Free *Prices Do Not Include Tax & Gratuity.

Further Discounts Do Not Apply to Young-at-Heart Price

176 COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE, WAYNESVILLE, NC 828.456.3551 22

refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service.

— Real Local People, Real Local Food — 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, North Carolina Monday-Friday Open at 11am

828-456-1997 blueroostersoutherngrill.com

newsdesk crafts

March 23-29, 2016

Exit 85 to Skyland Dr., two blocks from McDonalds

tasteTHEmountains

✁

3.

2.

1.

4.

#193 - free table leveler

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

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

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

PAPERTOWN GRILL 153 Main St., Canton. 828.648.1455 Open 7 days a week 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Serving the local community with great, scratch-made country cooking. Breakfast is served all day.

Daily specials including Monday meatloaf, chicken and dumplings on Thursdays and Friday fish.

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

Reservations appreciated.

PATIO BISTRO 30 Church Street, Waynesville.

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

desserts. Wide selection of wine and beer.

Outdoor and indoor dining.

337-55

tasteTHEmountains Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville.

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

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 828.926.0201 Open Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m and Sunday 7:30 a.m to 9 p.m. Full service restaurant serving steaks, prime rib, seafood and dinner specials.

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

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

ROB’S HOT DOG SHACK 42 Montgomery St., Waynesville 828.707.7033. Open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Rob’s serves gourmet hot dogs and has homemade side items. Outdoor and indoor dining, café style restaurant. Locally owned and operated.

SAGEBRUSH STEAKHOUSE 1941 Champion Drive. Canton 828-6463750 Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Carry out available. Sagebrush features hand carved steaks, chicken and award winning BBQ ribs. We have fresh salads, seasonal vegetables and scrumptious deserts.

Extensive selection of local craft beers and a full bar. Catering special events is one of our specialties. Local acoustic music on Tuesday nights.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A

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

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

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

42 Montgomery St. Waynesville 11-3 Monday-Saturday

CALL IN YOUR ORDER:

BREAKFAST & DINNER DAILY SUNDAY LUNCH by reservation

TWIN MAPLES FARMHOUSE 63 North Hill Street, Waynesville.

828.452.7837. Open for Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Located just two blocks from downtown Waynesville, Twin Maples is available for weddings, receptions, family reunions, birthday parties, showers, luncheons, corporate meetings and retreats.

456.9498 • www.balsaminn.net

1863 S. Main Street • Waynesville 828.454.5002 Hwy. 19/23 Exit 98 LUNCH & DINNER TUES. - SUN.

www.pasqualesnc.com

337-06

Breakfast Sandwiches Served All Day Daily Specials!

100 SPICEWOOD DR. CLYDE Behind Mountain Medical 828.246.6296 Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm

337-72

MEDITERRANEAN & ITALIAN CUISINE

March 23-29, 2016

nchbox Café The Lu

Visit Us and Discover

Smoky Mountain News

337-37

EVERY THURSDAY: $1 off all Pints & Wine by the Glass.

plus Blue Grass & Country Jam

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

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

Andrew Danner

337-28

Friday, March 25 • 7 p.m.

Live Music with

Cataloochee Ranch

3 E JACKSON ST. • SYLVA, NC

www.CityLightsCafe.com

23

24

A&E

Smoky Mountain News

State of the ARTS WCU holds art summit for WNC creative leaders

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER n an effort to bring together the artistic hearts and minds from around Western North Carolina, the “LEAD:Arts” summit was hosted last week by Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

“The arts and artists are essential elements for a healthy community,” said moderator George Brown, dean of WCU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts. “Art improves the quality of life. Artists make good neighbors. This conference will go beyond discussion of the role of arts in the community. Western Carolina University and Western North Carolina will come together through art to take action and foster a better tomorrow for the region.”

And go beyond it did. With dozens of art council directors, museum curators, studio artists and academic administrators in attendance, several WNC counties were represented, from Cherokee to Henderson, Buncombe to Macon, Haywood to Clay, and seemingly everywhere in-between.

“In my six years of service in the region, this is the first time a regional summit, specifically designed for arts administrators, practitioners, and supporters has ever been convened,” said Denise Drury, director of the Fine Art Museum at WCU. “This alone is a huge achievement. For our field, a meeting like this is oftentimes seen as a luxury of time that Denise Drury many of us can’t afford.”

And with the opportunity to compare notes and pick each other’s brains, Drury emphasized the critical importance of the conference.

“The fact that this summit was packed to the gills with colleagues wanting to connect and collaborate says a lot about the state of the arts,” Drury said. “The arts in WNC are at a tipping point. Our reputation for being an art, music and craft nexus is growing on a national scale. It’s time for us to come together and make a plan on how we can all work to capitalize on our collective successes to sustain and grow our current organizations and nurture the next generation of artists.”

Drury’s sentiments were equally shared by other organizations around the area.

“Our region is known for music and arts, so that piece is in place,” said Angie Schwab, executive director of Folkmoot USA, the international music and dance festival based in Waynesville. “I think there is an opportunity for our industry to focus our resources on

I

Gathered around several roundtables, each group was asked to discuss and determine just what are the strengths, weaknesses, threats and solutions to the preservation and perpetuation of the arts in Western North Carolina.

“There were several good and useful issues looked at and identified as collectively important or important to individual art organizations represented, like a regional economic impact study,” said David Vowell, executive director of the Cherokee County Arts Council in Murphy. “I liked the frequent note that educating young people with the arts and educating communities and community leaders about the arts’ importance. I would love to see the latter educational need pursued with the intent of sharing known solutions or developing new and better solutions.

A blacksmithing student at the John C. Campbell Folk School I saw that as part of the in Brasstown. Garret K. Woodward photo nature of a meeting that is aimed at collective effort building a culture that understands the eco- — regional strategies will tend to dominate, nomic impact of arts and cultures, and that and in the long run the value of that bigger picwelcomes and nurtures arts organizations, arts ture is undeniable.”

In terms of strengths, the groups noted the and music education, and that focuses on arts rich fabric of history and heritage in Western entrepreneurships.”

Arriving mid-morning on March 17, atten- North Carolina, where music, writing and the dees, many of which were meeting for the first visual arts tell the story of these mountains and time, were encouraged to sit at tables with those who reside proudly in them. Programs those they didn’t know, as to truly get out of like the Junior Appalachian Musicians and Folkmoot were lauded, as their comfort zone and to ultimately provoke was the mere notion of their brainstorming potential. how Main Street USA in “My hopes were that the arts organizations our backyards are made attending would network and find interesting up of well-supported art ways to collaborate on ideas and projects,” said walks, galleries, studios Claire Collins, executive director of the Jackson and craft co-ops.

County Arts Council in Sylva. “It’s always inter“The arts are so esting to see what other entities are doing in incredibly vital to a qualitheir counties and how they address issues regarding educating their communities on the Kari Rinn ty of life, smart business and the health of a comimportance of the arts.”

“As a newcomer to Western North munity. The arts teach us to appreciate beauty Carolina, I wanted to meet colleagues from to make visible our thoughts, ideas and inspiother arts organizations, to get an overview of rations and to continually problem solve,” said the opportunities and challenges facing the Kari Rinn, director of Creative Arts at sector and get involved,” added Teresa Osborn, Haywood Community College in Clyde. “These executive director of The Bascom Center for are important life skills that apply to every aspect of community, family and business. The the Visual Arts in Highlands.

survival of the arts is paramount to our happiness and also our innovation.”

“What is remembered about civilizations is their art — visual, literary, musical,” added Osborn. “Throughout the ages, the arts are what has bound people together, and what has reflected the times. I have committed my professional life to doing what I can to ensure that the arts are brought to all, without barriers to access. When communities care about the arts, foster the arts, support the arts, there is an undeniable quality of life that exists.”

In terms of weaknesses, all fingers pointed back at the always-present elephant in the room — funding. With year-afteryear cuts in local, state Teresa Osborn and federal art grants and tax exemptions, organizations are finding it harder and harder to financially keep their creative ships afloat.

“I had some specific issues I hoped to find resources for — how to persuade local government bodies to tangibly support the work of their local arts council, grant sources currently searching for programming entities to support, volunteer recruitment and retention methods,” Vowell said.

The groups did all agree that many strengths were also weaknesses, and vice versa. Where some communities have thriving arts councils, others don’t even have one to call home (like Swain County). And while some downtowns put a vested interest in the arts (festivals and gallery strolls), others have to get their local government’s teeth pulled to budge even an inch.

“In my thoughts, the arts flourish in pockets, pockets of high intensity art activity coupled with art resources,” Vowell said, noting the immensely popular John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown.

“The arts in WNC are amazing, visual and performing,” added Mary Adair Leslie, executive director of the Martin-Lipscomb Performing Arts Center in Highlands. “The arts continue to grow, despite economic transitions, because the artists and art advocates are so passionate.”

Threats hovered around bridging the gap between youth programming and older folks who are keeping the light on for a lot of these organizations. Of course, many of those people between ages 25 and 50 are raising families and pursuing careers, where time and money are foreground issues, but who will take over in the next generation? The question of how to engage younger generations, to encourage participation and perhaps volunteering, bounced around the discussion numerous times. Not to mention the importance of arts education in the school system.

“The arts are so important, where many studies show that exposure to the arts can help children creatively learn critical thinking and problem solving skills,” Collins said. “I can’t imagine a world without art, it makes every-

S EE ARTS, PAGE 26

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

f

—

Art After Dark in downtown Waynesville.

Garret K. Woodward photo

f

337-67

CUSTOM RUBBER STAMPS

“My massages by Candra

have been an exceptional healing & stress-relieving experience.” – Gary Neal 461 MOODY FARM ROAD • MAGGIE VALLEY

828.944.0288 MAGGIEVALLEYWELLNESS.COM

HAZELWOOD

No Need to go to a Big Box Store.

We Have Lower Prices, Higher Quality and Experienced Staff.

4FMG *OLFST t )BOEMF 4UBNQT t %BUF 4UBNQT /PUBSZ 1SPGFTTJPOBM 4FBMT t 4JHOBUVSF 4UBNQT 4UBNQ 1BET *OLT t -PHP 4UBNQT t &OHSBWFE 4JHOT /BNF #BEHFT &OHSBWFE BOE 'VMM $PMPS t %FTL 1MBUFT

EVENT CENTER THE PRINT HAUS INC. GROUP Since 1982

R

Authorized ShipCenter

YOUR HOMETOWN PRINT, COPY, DIRECT MAIL, SHIPPING & SIGN SHOP

641 North Main Street, WAYNESVILLE, NC (3/10 (3/10 Mile Mile North North of of the the Courthouse) Courthouse)

828-456-HAUS (4287)

509 Asheville Hwy., Suite B, SYLVA, NC (Located (Located in in the the NAPA NAPA Auto Auto Parts Parts Center) Center)

828-586-HAUS (4287)

Smoky Mountain News

www.ThePrintHaus.com

March 23-29, 2016

with no craft beer by mad scientist brewers around the corner, eager to give cheers to another great day in paradise. Blank walls without paintings hanging, waiting to be interpreted and admired by those looking for a splash of color in their black and white existence. Lonely shelves without books to read, ready to take you on the adventure of a lifetime with each turning page.

As they say, Earth without “art” would just be “eh.”

My life revolves around art, and has since I was first aware of the world around me. I was lucky enough to be raised by parents who believed in the unwavering support of the arts community in my hometown. They knew and appreciated the value of creativity, especially when it came to the vitality of a time and place, and people.

Why do you think I took this gig at the newspaper? I didn’t do so because it was the only position left. I accepted it, excitedly, almost four years ago because I knew just how uniquely beautiful the art and cul-

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

Why should we care?

That was the question ricocheting around my head as I participated in the recent “LEAD:Arts” summit at Western Carolina University. The conference aimed to bring together the creative minds of Western North Carolina. Folks who genuinely live, breathe and strive everyday to make sure the artistic flare of this region never falters, that someone, somewhere around here, is tending to the eternal fire within our souls.

And as the arts/entertainment editor for The Smoky Mountain News, I posed this question of “Why?” as I sat there at the summit, listening to the concerns of my colleagues. I didn’t ponder it out of a dislike or spite or even out of curiosity. I mulled the question over while I played devil’s advocate.

What would our daily lives look and sound like without the arts in our field-of-vision?

Well, to be blunt, it would suck. A whole lot. Silence while driving without music on the radio, melodies to put a kick in our step and a song in our heart. Empty pint glasses

catching the ancient rhythms of a timeless bluegrass band at the Stecoah Valley Arts Center way out in Graham County. It’s children’s painting workshops at the Charles Heath Gallery in downtown Bryson City.

It’s seasonal ales utilizing local ingredients at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Franklin. It’s blacksmithing classes at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. It’s poetry readings in the depths of City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. It’s guest lectures by artists from across the country and around the globe at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. It’s international music and dance acts showcased at Folkmoot in Waynesville. It’s the next generation of torch bearing artists being shaped and polished at Haywood Community College in Clyde.

It’s all of this, and so … much … more.

I walked away from the “LEAD:Arts” summit with a The Jackson County Arts Council will host a renewed sense of self, and pur“Trashion Show” at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2, in pose. Recently, I’ve been thinking the Community Room of the Jackson County about what it is I do, and what it Public Library in Sylva. is I can do for those around me.

The North Carolina Symphony, led by Associate As a member of the media who is Conductor David Glover, will perform a program art focused, I take pride in what I get up each morning and do — of classical favorites at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, share the arts with all of our April 6, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the readers, far and wide.

Performing Arts in Franklin.

And just when I thought, Four-time Grammy Award winner David Holt perhaps, that I’d had run will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 26, through all my story ideas withat the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in in the arts community, the conWaynesville. ference threw more logs onto the fire of my intent and dreams. I Nantahala Brewing Company (Bryson City) will realized I’ve only scratched the host The Get Right Band (rock/funk) at 8 p.m. surface of the creative beauty, Saturday, March 26. endless artistic depth and invaluable academic resources Student poet Holly Cian and noted local poet that walk among us.

Brent Martin will read from their work on at So, I put it to you (and you, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the too!) reading this — are you Community Room at the Jackson County doing enough to support the arts Public Library in Sylva. in your community? Are you keeping tabs on what’s going on in your town? Are you ensuring the future of Carolina, I’ve crossed paths with artistic beauty either forgotten, yet to be discovered, the people, places and things that make up the true identity of our beloved Western or held up to the societal light in awe.

North Carolina?

It’s strolling the serene, rolling fields of Life is beautiful, grasp for it, y’all. the John C. Campbell Folk School in (Editor’s Note: If you’d like to reach Brasstown, which is so far into rural Garret K. Woodward, email Cherokee County some might see it as the garret@smokymountainnews.com.) ends of the earth, but also the rainbow. It’s ture of Southern Appalachia has been for centuries. And I wanted to dive down as deep as I could to find the essence of what sparks the creative flame of those who headed for the hills — in search of Mother Nature, in search of their potential, in search of themselves.

I’ve always believed the litmus test of the strength of a community resides in how well its art scene is supported. You give me a town that personally cares, and is well vested, in the arts, and I’ll give you a location that is pulsating with activity, with love and passion, intellectuality and enthusiasm for the unknowns of tomorrow — bring it on.

And in my time running around the back roads and highways of Western North

BOOK NOW FOR YOUR FAMILY GATHERINGS, SHOWERS, BIRTHDAY PARTIES & MORE REASONABLE RATES

828.734.7157

25

Band, Haywood Regional Arts Theatre (HART), Voices in the Laurel, HCC and WCU. thing so much more colorful and beautiful. Usually, the opportunity for shared funding is What would we do without music, theater or the driver for collaboration, but we need to art museums to visit? I think it is so impor- get in front of the opportunity with clear purtant for children to be exposed to the arts. pose and a shared vision.”

“The concept of a regional strategic plan They are so imaginative and creative, having ways to express their imaginations and cre- for the arts that truly represented the far ativity is so important to their growth — art western counties of the state west of Asheville resonated strongly with me,” added Drury. “A touches our lives in so many ways.” plan that would clearly “Though STEM (science, technology, engiarticulate areas of need neering and mathematics) is often spoken of, and set a course to tackcreating STEAM by including arts in educale those needs within a tion is paramount to cultivating the next genspecific timeline. It eration of creative thinkers,” said Lindsey would focus the region Solomon, executive director of the Haywood in a way that all arts County Arts Council in Waynesville. “The arts partners would be on in our Haywood County community not only the same page, so to enhance quality of life for our residents, but they enhance tourism and drive sales for Lindsey Solomon speak. I imagine this plan would tackle many artists and arts businesses. However you approach the arts in our community, from the of the issues discussed at the summit such as aesthetic, educational, or economic, the sum communication among organizations and to our audiences, art education in and out of total of the power of the arts is huge.”

When asked for key issues to focus on and schools in WNC, and audience cultivation.”

With the conference coming to a close take away from the conference, “collaboration” and a “regional strategic plan” overtook several hours later, one thing was for sure: the the discussion. All agreed that county bor- first step in getting any traction had already ders need to be erased, with healthy and stim- occurred — getting everyone in the Western North Carolina arts community together to discuss the “state of the arts.” Mission accomplished, and yet, the games have only begun in terms of what can and will happen as the synergy has now been put into motion between organizations, their goals, ideas and resources.

“I think the fact that the summit happened was important,” Osborn said. “But what will be of lasting importance is that we continue to convene, continue to discuss, continue to collaborate for the larger issues facing the arts — that will truly bring about lasting change.”

“The fact that so many of us see the same problems and are willing to discuss those challenges is very important. I think there is value in collective acknowledgement so that we can move forward together toward solutions,” Solomon added. “What I really took away from the summit is an even stronger commitment to Acclaimed potter Zan Barnes of Riverwood Pottery partnership and collaboration. in Dillsboro. Garret K. Woodward photo We all see the need and I think we all have the desire to work ulating cross-pollination between organiza- together, but it’s about figuring out the what tions pushed into the collective minds of any and how. I look forward to continued conversation with those at the summit in the future.” and all within the arts community.

“Arts people are stronger together.

“For instance, Folkmoot has a 40,000square-foot building that has the potential to Personally, I felt happy that the arts wasn’t be a multi-stakeholder arts and culture cen- marginalized and wasn’t a subheading to ter. To do this, we will need to build capacity, something else. That’s the way it is in most find grant funding, collaborative partners education and economic development converand make a concentrated effort to build an sations,” Schwab went on to say. “It was eneraudience for the center,” Schwab said. “Our gizing to be around others who have the same partners are likely to be the Haywood County goals and who have a similar values around Arts Council, the Haywood Community creativity — we made a lot of progress.”

arts & entertainment

ARTS, CONTINUED FROM 24

W WCU CU SCHOOL SCHOOL OF NURSING NURSING

EDUCATION EDUCA ATION T FAIR FAIR A SATURDAY, SA AT TURDAY, APRIL 2

Smoky Mountain News

March 23-29, 2016

10 a.m. – 2 p p.m. .m.

WCU WCU at Biltmore Biltmore Park Park 28 Schenck P Parkway arkway ATTENDING A TTENDING PROGRAMS: PROGRAMS: UNDERGRADUAT UNDERGRADUATE TE • • • • • • • •

BSN Pre-Licensure Pre-Licensure Accelerated Accelerated BSN RN to to BSN RN to to MS(N) WCU/A-B T eech C C RIBN WCU/A-B Tech CC WCU/Blue WCU/ Blue Ridge CC CC RIBN WCU/Isothermal WCU/ Isothermal CC CC RIBN WCU/ Southwestern C WCU/Southwestern CC C RIBN

GRADUATE GRADUATE T • • • • • • •

MS(N) Family Family Nurse Pr Practitioner actitioner MS(N) Nurse Anesthesia MS(N) Nurse Educator Educator MS(N) Nurse LLeadership eadership Post-Master’s Post-Master’s C Certificate ertificate Options Doctor Practice Doctor of Nursing Pr actice (DNP) Primary Care Care Certificate Certificate

828.654.6499 NURSING..WCU.EDU NURSING.WCU.EDU 26

On the stage

Entries sought for Taste of Chocolate

Waynesville historical speakers series

An open call for entries to the 17th annual Taste of Chocolate Plus is currently underway.

The event will take place Saturday, April 23, at the Maggie Valley Country Club. f This year’s categories are Amateur, Bed and Breakfast, Professional and Bakers Choice.

The Taste of Chocolate Plus is a fundraiser for the Haywood Jackson Volunteer Center with all proceeds going to connect volunteers in the community and assist seniors with the NC SHIIP program. Sponsored by First Citizen Bank.

To enter, contact John Chicoine at 828.356.2833 or jchicoine@mountainprojects.org.

Spiritual awareness fworkshops

Open call for Whole Bloomin’ Thing

• A car show for “Operation Christmas Child” will be at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 2, at Franklin High School. All money raised will go to the OCC. Entry fee is $15 per car.

In Lenoir last weekend, the All Boys Competition Crew and the Mini, Junior,

337-50

Memories should last a lifetime.

• A fish fry dinner will be held on Friday, March 25, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville. The dinner begins at 11 a.m. and serves as a fundraiser for the center’s operating expenses. $8 per dinner. Eat or carry out. Call ahead for large orders. 828.452.7232.

ALSO:

We have supplements to support brain health & memory.

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

March 26 and April 2 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. $5 per person. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.586.6300.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. March 26 and April 2 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.waynesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

• A wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.

March 23 and 30 at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. Free with dinner ($15 minimum). 828.452.6000.

• There will be a “Tasty Tuesday: Winter Seasonals” at 7 p.m. March 29 and April 5 at Mad Anthony’s Bottle Shop & Beer Garden.

828.452.0911 kimsrx.com kimswellnessinfo.org

Smoky Mountain News

The 14th annual Whole Bloomin’ Thing festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, May 7, in the Frog Level district of Waynesville.

The festival serves as Haywood County annual spring kickoff. The event features numerous local growers, area artisans and a variety of nature-related professionals.

Patrons can find fresh garden starts, ornamental plants and Mother’s Day gifts. There will also be local musicians, dancers, foods and kids activities.

The event is looking for local growers, nature-related artists and crafters, health and wellness professionals, and alternative energy and eco-friendly vendors. Deadline to apply is March 28. Contact Joy Simmons, joy.b.simmons@outlook.com.

• The workshop “Dream A BIG Dream” will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, March 25, at the Spiritual Light Center in Franklin. Discover your true purpose, and get on a proven path to deep fulfillment and meaning. There are secrets that the greatest inventors and thinkers knew about and used successfully.

All you need to do to improve your life is access these same Universal Laws and principles. Hosted by transformational coach Judy Stepp. Free. www.judystepp.com.

TTPAA students win big

Teen and Senior Competition Groups of Triple Threat Performing Arts Academy in Sylva competed against dozens of dance studios from the southeast for prestigious top honors at Showstopper, the largest dance competition in the country.

Sixteen soloists competed, earning top awards, and several placed in the Top Ten of their categories. Eight group routines placed in the overall awards, and the production number, “Hand Jive,” won First Overall. TTPAA received four Double Platinum awards, 11 Platinum Awards, and 12 Gold Awards. This qualifies them to return to the Showstopper National Finals in Myrtle Beach this summer to defend their title as the 2016 National Champions. www.ttpaa.com.

March 23-29, 2016

There will be two upcoming spiritual and meditation events at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Franklin.

• “Mindful Meditation Group” will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 26.

• A seminar on “Practicing Resurection” will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Sunday, March 27. Professor emerita of Clemson University, Holley Ulbrich will hold a seminar on personal rejuvenation.

828.736.3674 or melissa.junkin@gmail.com.

Spectators are asked to bring donations for shoeboxes, such as soap, toothbrushes, paper, pencils, toys, and more. 828.371.7503 or www.franklin-chamber.com.

The Town of Waynesville Historic Preservation Commission will begin hosting a series of speakers to inform the public on the fascinating stories behind some of the historic places within the community.

The goal of “Haywood Ramblings” is to entertain and inform all ages on some of the interesting aspects of Waynesville’s long history. Talks will be held at 4 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Town of Waynesville Board Room at 9 South Main Street. There will be time for questions and light refreshments will be provided.

The programs are as follows: • “Growing up in Hazelwood” by Mary Ann Enloe, April 7.

• “The Old Ways: Dowsing, Healing, and Knowing the Signs” by Ann Melton, May 5.

For more information contact Elizabeth Teague or Byron Hickox at the Town’s Development Services Department at 828.456.8647.

arts & entertainment

On the street

366 RUSS AVE. • WAYNESVILLE (BiLo Shopping Center)

27

arts & entertainment

On the beat

Holt brings Appalachian music to HART Four-time Grammy Award winner David Holt will perform at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 26, at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Holt is a musician, storyteller, historian, television host and entertainer, dedicated to performing and preserving traditional American music and stories. He plays ten acoustic instruments and has released numerous award-winning recordings of traditional mountain music and southern folktales. In 2002, Doc Watson and Holt won two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional

Folk Recording for “Legacy,” a three-album collection of songs and stories reflecting Watson’s inspiring life story.

An evening with Holt offers tales, ballads and tunes told, sung and played on the banjo, slide guitar, guitar, harmonica, bones, spoons and jaw harp. His audiences are constantly involved, learning to play the paper bag, applauding the vitality of his clog dancing, listening to the haunting sound of a 122 year old mountain banjo, or being spellbound by a ghost story.

The songs and tales Holt has collected have become a part of the permanent collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. He was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to learn the unique music from the South’s last traditional hammered dulcimer player, Virgil Craven.

Tickets are $25, with proceeds going to support the theatre’s Stage II building fund. www.harttheatre.org or 828.456.6322.

Smoky Mountain News

March 23-29, 2016

Bluegrass legend David Holt will play Waynesville on March 26.

28

Dietz Family Band to play Sylva The Dietz Family Band will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

The group lives on Tathams Creek in Jackson County on land their family settled around 1820. Down through the years various members of the family have collected and performed mountain folk music. Brothers and band mates Bill and Joe learned much of their music from their father David Dietz who played the pump organ and harmonica, and from their uncles J.C. and Wayne Cabe who played guitar and mandolin.

In 1974, Bill and Harry Cagle, a distant cousin, formed a band called Harry Cagle and the Country Cousins. For about 18 years the Country Cousins performed at events around the area including the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in Asheville, Bascom Lumsford Festival at Mars Hill College, John C. Campbell Folk School, and other festivals and benefit programs. In 1975, the group performed at the first Mountain Heritage Day program at Western Carolina University and have performed at every subsequent program.

Harry Cagle had a stroke in 1990 and the group continued to perform as The Dietz Family. In 1992, The Dietz Family played at the first Picking On The Square program in Franklin and was associated with that program for about 10 years. For some 20 years they made music at the annual Savannah Fire Department Ramp Dinner. They played for

N.C. Symphony to play Franklin

j

The North Carolina Symphony will be in Franklin on April 6. www.ncsymphony.org The North Carolina Symphony, led by Associate Conductor David Glover, will perform a program of classical favorites at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Thrill to your favorite light classics, including Rossini’s Overature to William Tell, the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss, Jr., Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy Overature from Romeo and Juliet and Rachmaninoff ’s most-beloved Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini performed by pianist Kiffen Loomis, the winner of the NC Symphony’s Kathleen Price and Joseph M. Bryan Youth concerto Competition.

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony gives more than 175 performances annually to adults and school children in more than 50 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the orchestra employs 66 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor, Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry and Associate Conductor David Glover.

Event tickets are free and will be available at the theatre box office beginning at 10 a.m. the day of the concert. www.greatmountainmusic.com.

many benefit programs in Jackson County organized by Lymon Powell, Jackson County and Webster Historical Society programs organized by Joe Rhinehart, and for the Balsam Bluegrass Jamboree programs organized by Terry Crisp (Terry sometimes plays the washtub bass with the group). In 2006, The Dietz Family received the Mountain Heritage Award at Western Carolina University, This program is free and open to the public. The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. www.fontanalib.org or 828.586.2016.

Balsam Range ‘Winter Concert Series’ Renowned bluegrass/gospel group Balsam Range will continue its sixth annual “Winter Concert Series” with “The Studio Dream Team” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Colonial Theatre in Canton.

Balsam Range, winner of the 2014 International Bluegrass Music Association award for “Entertainer of the Year,” will also welcome The Studio Dream Team on April 2.

“We try to get our own musical heroes and influences to the shows,” said Balsam Range mandolinist Darren Nicholson. “We want our hometown folks to enjoy the

Balsam Range.

artists that we admire and who inspire us. Plus, these are guest artists who don’t get to play in this area very often.”

In addition to the 2015 IBMA “Vocal Group of the Year” award, Balsam Range was also honored with the “Song of the Year” for “Moon Over Memphis.” The milestone year for the band also included honors by the House and Senate of the state of North Carolina, as well as the band being inducted into the “Order of the Long Leaf Pine,” the highest civilian honor presented by the Governor of the State of North Carolina.

Tickets available at the box office or by calling 828.235.2760. www.balsamrange.com.

On the beat

Western Carolina University’s School of Music will host Thomas Jostlein, associate principal horn with the St. Louis Symphony, for a recital and a masterclass on campus Monday, March 28.

Jostlein will instruct the masterclass from 12:20 to 2:15 p.m., while the recital begins at 7:30 p.m. Both events are in the recital hall of the Coulter Building and are free and open to the public.

During the recital, he will perform on alphorn and natural horn, in addition to the modern valved horn, and will be joined by WCU faculty members and students on some compositions. The faculty

slated to join him in select pieces are Travis Bennett on horn, Zsolt Szabo on trombone, Mario Gaetano on percussion, Michael Schallock on tuba, and Lillian Pearson on piano and organ.

Jostlein was a member of New York Philharmonic from 2007 to 2009 and performed on three major tours, including the historic live broadcast from North Korea in 2008. As a composer, he has had numerous works published and appeared on several recordings, notably Tony Bennett’s “Duets II” album. In his horn career, Jostlein previously was with the Honolulu, Omaha, Richmond and Kansas City symphony orchestras, and performed in summer festivals in Oregon, Ohio, Colorado and North Carolina. www.wcu.edu or 828.227.7242.

Seasonal Loans Now Available

• The Cut Cocktail Lounge (Sylva) will host a “Honky Tonk Angel Contest” with the Honky Tonk Players all night on March 24. Sponsored

by Pabst Blue Ribbon. 828.631.4795.

BORROW UP TO $1,200 12 MONTH TERM 6% APR* This offer available for a limited time only!

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

7 Locations Serving you in Western North Carolina

• Sagebrush Steakhouse (Canton) will host Tonology (rock/acoustic) March 29 and Mile High Band (rock) April 5. All shows begin at 7 p.m. 828.646.3750.

• Salty Dog’s (Maggie Valley) will have Karaoke with Jason Wyatt on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Mile High (rock) at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Andrew Rickman (rock/acoustic) will also perform on Saturdays. All events begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Joe Lasher Jr. (country/rock) March 26. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Tipping Point Brewing (Waynesville) will host Kevin Fuller (singer-songwriter) March 25, LaRue Allegretro (Americana) March 26 and Scott Stambaugh (singer-songwriter) April 1. www.tippingpointtavern.com.

• Nantahala Brewing Company (Bryson City) will host Ben Sutton (singer-songwriter) March 25, The Get Right Band (rock/funk) March 26, Jon Stickley Trio (Americana) April 1 and Black Arts Ensemble (rockabilly/gypsy jazz). All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will host Honey & Houston (blues/gypsy) March 25, Log Noggins April 1 and Little Lesley & The Bloodshots April 2. All shows are free and begin at 9 p.m. www.nonamesportspub.com.

828.252.8234

Candler

■

828.667.7245

3533 US 441 North

■

Whittier

3270 Hendersonville Rd. 746 East Main St. ■

■

828.497.6211

■

Fletcher

Franklin

■

30 Highway 107 721 N. Main St.

■

Sylva

■

Waynesville

■

828.684.9999

828.524.4464

■

828.586.0425 ■

828.452.2216

We want to be your financial partner for life. *APR=Annual Percentage Rate. Normal application & approval process applies.

This is not a commitment to lend.

Learn more when you visit our website: mountaincu.org

• Tuck’s Tap & Grille (Cullowhee) will host College Night with DJ Alex Prince at 10 p.m.

March 31.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host Lyric (rock/funk) March 26. All shows are at 9:30 p.m. There is also a weekly Appalachian music night from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays with Nitrograss.

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host PMA (jam/rock) March 25, Universal Epitaph March 26, Little Lesley & The Bloodshots April 1 and Andrew Rickman (rock/country) April 2. All shows begin at 9 p.m.

A GUAR ANTEED G R E AT N I G H T O U T MAN IN THE MIRROR

A TRIBUTE TO THE KING OF POP

APRIL 30

HALESTORM

WITH L ACUNA COIL A N D C I LV E R

MAY 14

CHRIS YOUNG MAY 7

CH I PPEN DAL ES JUNE 11 TWO SHOWS

Visit ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000 to purchase tickets.

Smoky Mountain News

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

• The Maggie Valley First Baptist Church will host “An Evening with Mountain Joy Gospel Group” on April 3. Free. 828.926.0065.

■

■

■

289-80

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night March 23 and 30, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo March 24 and 31. There will also be a performance by Colby Dietz (Americana/folk) March 26. All events begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

ALSO:

Asheville

1453 Sand Hill Rd.

March 23-29, 2016

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will have Laura Thurston (Americana/folk) March 25, Mark Keller (singer-songwriter) March 26 and Shawn Hagan (Americana) April 1. All shows are free and at 7 p.m. unless otherwise listed. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• The Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host Somebody’s Child (Americana) March 25, Heidi Holton (blues/folk) March 26 and Twelfth Fret April 2. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.rathskellerfranklin.com.

337-53 329-1 297-48

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

219 Haywood St.

• Andrews Brewing Company will host Andrew Chastain (singer-songwriter) March 26 and April 2, and Troy Underwood (singer-songwriter) April 1. Both shows are free and begin at 5 p.m. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

Apply Today!

arts & entertainment

St. Louis Symphony horn player at WCU

29

arts & entertainment

On the wall ‘Trashion Show’ returns The Jackson County Arts Council will host a “Trashion Show” at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

This fundraiser will be a fashion show with clothing and accessories made of recyclable material along with a Couture collection donated from local businesses. Prizes will be awarded. www.jacksoncountyarts.org or 828.507.9820 or info@jacksoncountyarts.org.

Is your pet Haywood’s next top model?

Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation is now accepting digital photographs for its 10th Annual Pet Photography Contest.

Categories for this year’s judging are Best in Show, Dog, Cat, Puppy, Kitten and Photographers under the age of 12. Photos

Film showing, talk with Armenaki The Jackson County Arts Council will sponsor a film showing and talk with Arledge Armenaki at 7 p.m. Thursday March 31, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Library Complex in Sylva.

Armenaki is an Associate Professor of Cinematography at Western Carolina University. His film, “Surrendering in a Champions World,” “was created as an image-laden exploration of narcissism and competition in contemporary culture. The work is highly visual and provocative, incorporating all the theatrical elements: choreography, set design, lighting, and costumes.

This film showing will be followed by a question and answer session with Armenaki about the filmmaking process.

This event is free and open to the public. www.jacksoncountyarts.org or www.facebook.com/jacksoncountyartscouncil or 828.507.9820.

Smoky Mountain News

March 23-29, 2016

SCC to screen Cherokee documentary

must be the original work of an amateur photographer. Size should range from 4x6 to 8x10 inches. Please do not frame or mat the photos. Photos, entry forms and a $7 fee should submitted online at www.sargesanimals.org. More than one photo can be submitted but a completed entry form and $7 fee must accompany each photo.

Beth Brown of Beth Brown Photography will be joining Ellen Schattie to judge the entries. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 16, at Sarge’s Adoption Center in Waynesville.

Entry forms and full contest rules are available at www.sargesanimals.org. Deadline for all entries is Friday, April 1. Winners will be announced on Friday, April 8.

828.246.9050 or www.sargesanimals.org.

Are you a Jackson County artist?

Jackson County Arts Council thinks that artists count. To make their point, the arts council is counting artists. Any practicing visual artist living in Jackson County is wel30 come to participate in a countywide effort to

A screening of the documentary “First Language: The Race to Save Cherokee” at 1:30 p.m. Monday, March 28, at Southwestern Community College’s Macon Campus in Franklin. It will also be shown at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at SCC’s Jackson Campus in Sylva.

The film is about current efforts to revitalize the Cherokee language, a vessel of knowledge and identity for the Cherokee people. This film won the Best Public Service award at the 2014 American Indian Film Festival. The screenings will be hosted by Dr. Walt Wolfram, executive producer of the documentary and The William Friday Distinguished Professor of English Linguistics at N.C. State University.

The events are open to the public, with lunch provided. To register, email m_ellison@southwesterncc.edu or call 828.339.4229. collect data about the visual arts community.

“Artists Count” aims to provide detailed documentation of county artists as a first step in creating an artist directory and expand online access to local talent.

For an application, contact: artistscount@gmail.com. Deadline for submitting materials is April 15. Jackson County Arts Council can be reached at info@jacksoncountyarts.org or 828.507.9820. Participation is limited to professional visual artists over 18 years old. Students are not eligible.

“Artists Count” is supported by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council.

Want to own a quilt block?

If you have ever wondered what those giant, colorful blocks are on the sides of buildings and other structures throughout Haywood County, now is the perfect time to learn.

They are called Quilt Blocks and are part of a rapidly growing attraction in Haywood County. The blocks make up the Haywood County Quilt Trail (HCQT) and each one is unique in itself as it represents a special story about the area it is located. There are almost 50 total blocks on the HCQT and you can now enter to win your very own that will be added to this beloved trail.

The Haywood County Tourism

• There will be a bake sale from 1 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, April 2, in front of the Scottish Tartans Museum and Heritage Center in Franklin. The bake sale will benefit Breacan Clann, the living history group of the museum.

• There will be an armor construction workshop held by blacksmith Brock Martin from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 2 at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Fee is $255 (materials included). There is a 10-percent discount for Jackson County residents. www.jcgep.org.

ALSO:

• An “Introduction to Wool Applique” will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 24, at the Dillboro Masonic Lodge.

Hosted by the Dogwood Crafters Co-op, Claudia Lampley will teach the class.

Participants will learn the basics of wool applique while making a paper clip bookmark. Those attending should bring scissors and embroidery needles. Cost of class is $11. To register by March 21, call 828.586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com.

• There will be an artist talk by Molly Zuckerman-Hartung at 5 p.m. March 29 in

Development Authority, which manages the trail, is excited to announce the kick off of a raffle program where you can enter to win your very own 4x4 foot quilt block.

The designated block is the “Gateway to the Smokies” spring edition that features a trio of trillium blossoms and two bear paws situated below the mountains and an arch, representing the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains.

Raffle tickets can be purchased through the Haywood County TDA by calling 828.452.0152 or by stopping by the TDA visitor center at 44 North Main Street in Waynesville. The block is currently on display at the visitor center as well. The cost is $25 per ticket or five for $100 and are capped at a total of 10 tickets per person.

The drawing will be held on Friday, May 6th as part of the weeklong celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week.

The TDA does want to emphasize that because the block will be featured on the Haywood County Quilt Trail, it is required to remain in the county and must be installed on a building or structure that can be accessed or viewed by the public year-round. If you’ve been considering a quilt block for your business, barn, or other structure, the TDA highly encourages you to contact them to purchase tickets.

All proceeds from the raffle will go to benefit the future development and enhancement of the Haywood County Quilt Trail, which means the addition of more blocks and merchandise to promote this popular trail. To learn more about the trail, visit www.haywoodquilttrails.com.

the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

• The “Come Paint with Charles Kidz Program” will be at 4 p.m. March 24 and 31 at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City. $20 per child. Materials and snacks included. 828.538.2054.

• A community art group meets at 10 a.m. every Wednesday at the Hudson Library in Highlands. 828.526.3031.

• The film “Room” will be screened at 7 p.m.

March 23-25 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2” will be shown at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 26, 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

March 27, 7 p.m. March 29-April 1, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 2 and 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. April 3. There will also be a free screening of “The Good Dinosaur” at noon and 2 p.m. March 26. www.38main.com.

• The films “Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2” (March 24-26, April 2), “Carol” (March 31) and “Daddy’s Home” (April 1) will be screened at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva.

Screenings are at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. with a special 2 p.m. matinee on Saturdays.

Free. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com.

On the season

DILLSBORO

• The Swain County Easter Egg Hunt will be at 5:30 p.m. March 24 at the Swain County Recreation Park. Hunt for prizes among hundreds of brightly colored eggs. For ages 1-8. www.greatsmokies.com.

• The Peanuts Easter Beagle Express Train will be at 11 a.m. March 25-26 at the Bryson City Train Depot. Enjoy the characters of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and crew. Easter Egg Hunt, crafts, snacks, and more.

800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

• The Swain County Chamber of Commerce will host the Easter Bunny from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at the Downtown Caboose at the corner of Everett and Mitchell streets. Photos with the Easter Bunny are free of charge. www.greatsmokies.com.

• The 28th annual Easter Hat Parade celebration will be held on at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 26, in downtown. The day begins with an Easter Egg Hunt at 10:30 a.m. on Webster Street, followed with hat making also at 10:30 a.m. at Dogwood Crafters, all while the Easter Bunny will be in attendance for photos. The parade will be at 2 p.m. at Town Hall. 828.506.8331 or www.visitdillsboro.org.

• There will be an Easter Tea held by Dogwood Crafters at the Historic Jarrett House on Saturday, March 26. Seatings will be at 1 and 3 p.m. English style finger sandwiches, sweets and tea. $15 per person, with prepaid reservations only. To secure a seat, call 828.586.2248.

CANTON

FONTANA

• The annual Town of Canton Easter Egg Hunt will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 26, at the Canton Recreation Park. The ages for participating in the Easter Egg Hunt are ages 1-5 years old and 6-12 years old. Sponsored by the Town of Canton and the Canton Police Department. 828.648.2376.

• The Bethel Baptist Church will perform an Easter Drama at 7 p.m. March 25-27. There will also be a sunrise service at 6 a.m. at Riverside Baptist. www.bethelbaptistcanton.org.

• The Easter Family Festival weekend will be March 25-27 at Fontana Village Resort. A full weekend of fun including scenic lake tours, sunrise church service, history films, corn hole tournament, egg dying, water balloon toss, scavenger hunt, campfire, marshmallow roast, and more, including an Easter feast at the Mountview Restaurant.

800.849.2258 or www.fontanavillage.com.

CASHIERS • The sixth annual Easter Egg Hunt will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 26, at the gazebo at The Village Green. Thousands of eggs will be scattered around the park. The Easter Bunny will also be available onsite for photos. Bring your own basket and camera. The event is sponsored by S’More Kids Klothese.

828.743.3434 or www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

• An Easter Sunrise Service will be held at 7 a.m. Sunday, March 27, at the gazebo at The Village Green. Music and scripture. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair.

MAGGIE VALLEY • An Easter Sunrise Service will be held at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, March 27, in the Maggie Valley Pavilion. There will also be a free pancake breakfast following the service. All welcome. Sponsored by the Maggie Valley Civic Association.

WAYNESVILLE • An Easter Egg Hunt will be held at 4 p.m.

Thursday, March 24, at the Waynesville Public Library. For children of all ages. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held in the downstairs children’s area.

Refreshments, crafts and other surprises will also be offered. 828.356.2512 or lhartzell@haywoodnc.net.

SUNDAY, MARCH 27

Celebrate Easter at Lake Junaluska All are invited to attend Lake Junaluska’s Easter weekend events. The conference and retreat center offers a number of family-friendly activities, including a children’s Easter egg hunt, a sunrise service overlooking the lake and a 5K road race and walk. Easter weekend lodging is also available at The Terrace, a hotel at Lake Junaluska.

SATURDAY, MARCH 26 • Friends of the Lake 5K Road Race and Walk — The Easter festivities kick off with a 5K road race and walk at 9 a.m.

Join runners and walkers of all ages and skill levels for this popular annual event around the Lake Junaluska Walking Trail.

As a charitable event, 100 percent of the proceeds go toward supporting recreational opportunities at the lake. Registration is required. To register, call 828.454.6680 or visit www.lakejunaluska.com/run.

• Easter Egg Hunt — Join the Easter bunny to hunt for more than 10,000 eggs. All children ages 12 and under are invited to join the hunt, located near Stuart Auditorium. The eggs are filled with candy and special prizes. There will be three separate hunts according to age, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Please dress your children appropriately for the weather and for outdoor play, bring a basket or bag for

• Sunday Morning Sunrise Service — Begin your Easter Sunday with a powerful sunrise service at the amphitheater below the Lake Junaluska Cross. The service, which begins at 7 a.m., features a brass ensemble with special music. The sun peeking over the mountains and the waters shining with morning dew adds a level of intimacy to this already moving worship experience. In the event of rain, the sunrise service will be moved to Memorial Chapel. Rev. Susan Giles, dean of Memorial Chapel, will preside.

• Breakfast Buffet — All are welcome at Lambuth Inn for an Easter breakfast buffet from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tickets are available at the front desk of Lambuth Inn on Sunday morning, or by calling 828.454.6662 or visiting the Bethea Welcome Center.

• Long’s Chapel Easter Service — Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church will host their annual Easter service at Stuart Auditorium, starting at 10:30 a.m. They encourage everyone to be in their seats by 10:15 a.m. Childcare is provided for children 5 and under. Children older than 5 are encouraged to join their families in worship.

• Easter Lunch Buffet — Bring your family for a special Easter lunch buffet at The Terrace. The menu includes fresh salads, chef carved roast beef, baked ham, chicken Florentine, delicious fruit and vegetables and homemade desserts.

Reservations are required. Call 828.454.6662 or visit the Bethea Welcome Center to make your reservation. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

March 23-29, 2016

BRYSON CITY

arts & entertainment

Easter in WNC

collecting the eggs and arrive 15-20 minutes before your child’s designated time.

Ages 1-3 at 11:30 a.m., ages 4-7 at 11:45 a.m. and ages 8-12 at noon.

For additional information about Easter at Lake Junaluska, please visit www.lakejunaluska.com/easter or call 800.222.4930.

Bookstore Saturday, 3/26 • 3 p.m.

Smoky Mountain News

337-27

Ann Melton

Waynesville author will sign her latest book, From Whence Cometh My Help, A Journey through Grief

3 EAST JACKSON STREET • SYLVA

828/586-9499 • citylightsnc.com

31

32

Books

Smoky Mountain News

Tragedy at Frank Lloyd Wright’s house In this story, I am God. — Frank Lloyd Wright he title of this nonfiction work, Death in a Prairie House, is misleading since it suggests that it is the latest offering from a crime fiction writer. While the title is appropriate, the actual subject discussed by William R. Drennan is much more. It is one of the most provocative Writer mysteries in the history of American crime: the murders of seven people on August 5, 1914, in Frank Lloyd Wright’s famed “love nest, “Taliesin” in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

The name, Frank Lloyd Wright, the famed architect evokes images of startling design: Falling Waters, built in 1935, remains one of the most famous structures in America; the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, and the Midway Gardens in Chicago — all attest to Wright’s genius.

However, there are other reasons for Wright’s reputation as one of the most well known men in the world. His lifestyle shocked his neighbors. Wright gathered a kind of “artist colony” around him and his notorious parties and heedless disregard for public opinion made him front-page news. Wright was frequently condemned from the pulpit (Wright abandoned his Baptist Church and became a Unitarian) and often voiced his opinion that marriage was an obsolete concept. He frequently applauded the principles of “feminism” and spoke in defense of “free love.”

At the turn of the century, the general public knew Wright through his publicized personal life. He had abandoned his wife and six children to run away with his neighbor’s wife, Mamah (pronounced “may-muh” Cheney.

Gary Carden

T

It turns out that Wright and Mamah have much in common. Mamah has acquired a bit of attention for heir translations of the works of Ellen Key, a Swedish feminist, and Wright decides that Key’s advice regarding marriage is “realistic.” He and Mamah decided get divorces and live together until such time as they choose make a commitment to each other for the future.

Both divorces prove to difficult and the two lovers found themselves frustrated due to legal delays. However, Wright’s solution is that he will construct a specially designed place for Mamah that he chooses to call Taliesin in honor of an ancient Welsh bard.

Wright tells his friends that this new home is a hegira, or safe place, but the public quickly names it a “love nest” where Wright can live with Maymah without benefit of marriage.

During the next two years, Taliesin becomes a gathering place for the wealthy and famous. Although designed to be a self-supporting farm, it functions as an estate complete with a staff ... including a kitchen manager and his wife. There are accommodations for visitors and cultural entertainment. Poets, actors and noted writers come and go.

Julian and Gertrude Carlton (allegedly

Death in a Prairie House by William R. Drennan. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2015. 219 pages. married) were fairly new employees at Taliesin. They said they were from Chicago, both African-American and had been employed the previous June by Wright. They were also the only black employees at Taliesin and for miles around. Julian claimed that he was from Barbados; however, his death certificate gives his birth place as Alabama.

Ironically, Wright considered Julian to be an excellent cook and often praised him, noting

Poetry reading at Sylva library Student poet Holly Cian and noted local poet Brent Martin will read from their work at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the Community Room at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

Martin is the author of three chapbook collections of poetry — Poems from Snow Hill Road, A Shout in the Woods, and Staring the Red Earth Down. He is also a co-author of Every Breath Sings Mountains with authors Barbara Duncan and Thomas Rain Crowe.

Cian grew up in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina where she received her B.A. in English with a concentration in creative writing. She is currently an M.A. student at Western Carolina University and teaches in the writing, rhetoric, and critical studies program. She lives in Asheville, where she has participated in the Great Smokies Writing Program and has had work published in The Great Smokies Review.

This program is free and open to the public. The event is co-

that Julian had come with excellent recommendations from John Vogelsang Jr., a prosperous Chicago caterer and restauranteur.

The massacre at Taliesin on August 5, 1914, occurred around noon. Guests had just been seated for lunch. Later, when the series of events were reconstructed, the police concluded that Julian Carlton, dressed in his white servant’s jacket, murdered seven people with a shingling hatchet, striking with both the hatchet’s blade and hammer. The first victim was Mamah, who has struck from behind as she sat at a table, her skull shattered.

Afterwards, Julian killed Mamah’s son, John. Martha, Mamah’s daughter, witnessed the murders and ran screaming from the room into the courtyard when Julian caught her and killed her and turned immediately to the workman’s dining room next to the kitchen.

Julian returned to the kitchen and picked up a pot of soup, which he carried to the dining hall where he served the waiting men. While they were eating, Julian locked the door from the outside. Then, he emptied several cans of gasoline under the locked door; after it ran through the small dining room, Julian lit his pipe and then dropped the match into the gasoline. The room was immediately turned into an inferno. The trapped men rose as flaming torches and began to crash into the locked door. Julian waited patiently on the other side, clutching his bloody hatchet and puffing his pipe.

Several workers managed to crash through windows and fall outside. One of them, Emil Brodelle, seemed to be singled out by Julian as someone who must not be allowed to escape. When Brodelle, his clothes on fire, attempted to run, Julian killed him with a single blow.

Much of this horror was witnessed by Herbert Fritz, a worker who crashed through a window and although badly burned, survived. He witnessed the murder of Brodelle

sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library.

828.586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.

Reception for Words on Works Celebration The Jackson County Arts Council will host an artist reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the atrium of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

This reception is to celebrate the visual artists whose work is displayed in the Rotunda Gallery. These artists have all had art exhibits in the gallery over the last few years. The artists are: Norma Hendrix, Jon Jicha, Susan Martin, Gayle Woody, Jim Smythe, Joe Meigs, Tim Lewis, Erin Tapley, Doreyl Ammons Cain, Clint Hardin, Tim Jacobs, Dawn Behling, Greg McPherson and Matt Liddle.

and saw Julian return to the house where he murdered three more people and, carrying containers of gasoline, set fire to the house and poured additional fuel on the corpse of Mamah and her son.

Then he vanished. He was found the next day inside Taliesin’s furnace which was lined with asbestos. He intended to survive the fire. In jail, he attempted suicide by swallowing acid. The attempt failed, but damaged his throat, making it nearly impossible to speak. He died shortly afterwards, leaving some unanswered questions.

This book contains additional information regarding this tragedy. However, it fails to answer the question that that has haunted historians and Wright biographers since. Why did he do it? Why did Julian Carlton descend like an avenging angel on Taliesin?

The easy answer is that he was insane. Yes, quite likely, but we need a better answer. Did he murder these people who were, in the eyes of God (or the people who disapproved of Frank Lloyd Wright’s sexual misconduct) sinners who deserved their fate? One theory is that he did it because both he and his wife had been fired and they felt that they had been mistreated. Another theory holds that he was a black man surrounded by wealthy white people, and his isolation turned him into a psychopath.

One thing is certain. As grotesque as the incident was, it did not hinder Frank Lloyd Wright from fulfilling his wishes. He rebuilt Taliesin, married again and went on to build an astonishing number of structures which, in Wright’s mind, resembled “frozen music.” His autobiography notes that he considered suicide after Mamaw’s death, but was deterred by his unfulfilled dreams.

Note: Another troublesome question, but one that is easily answered. Where was Wright on the night of the massacre? He was in Chicago completing plans for the Midway Gardens project — possibly his greatest success.

This reception will be followed by the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poetry series with Brent Martin in the Community Room at 6:30 pm. Hosted by the Jackson County Library.

The Words on Works exhibit is part of the Jackson County Arts Council’s 40th anniversary celebration. The arts council is holding poetry workshops to encourage community members and writers to write poetry based on the artwork displayed in the gallery.

Upcoming workshops will be held at the Jackson County Senior Center with writer Thomas Rain Crowe at 10 a.m. April 11, 18 and 25. On April 16, writer Brent Martin will lead a workshop at Evolution Wine Bar in downtown Sylva at 4:30 p.m.

The celebration will culminate at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 during the Jackson County Arts Council’s membership meeting.

There will be a public reading for anyone who has a Words on Work poem or short piece to share.

For more information, visit www.jacksoncountyarts.org or 828.507.9820.

Easter Activities at Lake Junaluska Children’s Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, March 26 at 11:30a.m.

Children ages 12 and under are invited to join us for our annual Easter Egg Hunt located near Stuart Auditorium.

Free and open to the public.

5K Road Race & Walk

Easter Breakfast Buffet

Saturday, March 26 at 9a.m.

at Lambuth Inn

100 percent of proceeds go to Lake Junaluska. Kids Fun Run starts at 10 a.m.

Sunday, March 27 at 7:30 - 9a.m.

Morning Sunrise Service

Easter Lunch Buffet

Tickets available at the Lambuth Inn front desk on Easter morning.

Sunday, March 27 at 7a.m.

at The Terrace

A powerful Sunrise Service at the Amphitheater near the Cross.

Sunday, March 27 at 11:30a.m. - 2:30p.m.

Call 828-454-6662 to make a reservation.

For more information, visit lakejunaluska.com/easter 828-452-2881

We can help you build a custom nutrition plan at the Family Care Center.

Smoky Mountain News

Take Control of Your Health

March 23-29, 2016

THE FAMILY CARE CENTER

Call 828-554-5565 to make an appointment.

77 Painttown Road (Hwy. 19) • Cherokee, North Carolina

33

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

34

Feeling the vibe Mountain bikers converge in WNC to learn, network and explore Tsali trails

Bikers sail down the trail at Tsali Recreation Area. Sae Smyrl gathers the crowd of mountain bikers in preparation for a group ride along Tsali trails. (right) Holly Kays photos

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER he parking lot at Tsali Recreation Area was full of bikes Friday evening — more than 100 of them, strapped to the backs of sedans and SUVs, tied into beds of pickup trucks, license plates running

T

the gamut from Florida to Virginia to Mississippi. Gears were spun, wheelies popped, hoorahs yelled as mountain bikes shot down the trail or gathered in a shiny metal line to await the start of the group ride.

“I’m kinda excited,” said Rob Burgess, prepping his bike in the parking lot. “Tsali is

Fake it till you make it

“So, are you here as a reporter or as a biker?” asked one of the 100-plus shorts-wearing, bike-bearing people converged on Tsali Trailhead last Friday.

It was a fair question. I had a camera and a notebook. I also had a mountain bike — borrowed, but nobody had to know that.

“How about as a reporter who’s pretending like she knows how to mountain bike?” I replied.

I’d never been mountain biking in my life save a brief foray on the Gary Fisher I’d been given secondhand a few years ago. I didn’t much like it that time — mountain biking always seemed to me an unduly terrifying way to enjoy the outdoors. I’ll stick to my hiking boots and cross-country skis, thank you.

But when news came out that the Southern Mountain Bike Summit would be rolling into Bryson City March 18-19 — the twicea-year conference had never been held this far west in North Carolina — I began to consider the possibilities. The forecast for Friday afternoon was sunny and 70. And while I had no technical

one of the epic trails.”

Burgess, who’s from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, had found himself and his bike at the remote trailhead for the same reason as the other 150 mountain bikers converging in Bryson City that weekend — the Southern Mountain Bike Summit, held each spring and fall in some different corner of the southern U.S. This was its first time coming to Bryson, hosted by the local Nantahala chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association.

“It’s spectacular,” said Andy Zivinsky, president of Nantahala SORBA and co-owner of Bryson City Bicycles. “Amazing people show up, talk about cool stuff — and then we get to ride bikes.”

Nearly 150 people registered for the summit, which brought more than 200 people into town total when counting families and friends of those registered.

“It brings people to our area during the offseason, which is an economic benefit to us,” said Diane Cutler, membership coordinator for Nantahala SORBA and Zivinsky’s partner in life and business.

The daytime hours of the two-day summit were full of presentations — information on everything from the rules and regulations that govern the U.S. Forest Service’s decisionmaking about mountain bike use to the science behind bike trails’ impact on the environment. It took some serious effort to set up all those chairs and get all the ducks in a row for showtime, but according to Burgess, that effort was worthwhile. President of a newly formed biking chapter, Burgess was there to learn and network. He said he found the perspective from the Forest Service especially helpful.

“The Forest Service is there for everybody,” he said as his takeaway from the presentation. “Mountain bikers are just one spe-

skills, I was in good shape and had plenty of experience with other forms of cycling. I could cover the ride, spend a beautiful afternoon out on a trail and call it work. Sold.

So, there I was Friday afternoon, snapping photos and asking reporter-ish questions at the trailhead while also fitting in a query or two as to which of these trails might be the least likely to result in death or maiming.

Thankfully for beginners like me, there was an organized ride that required only that I lineup at the trailhead and follow the leader.

Easy enough. I started pedaling, and my mood shifted from apprehension to blissful excitement. This wasn’t hard or scary at all — this was freedom. The wooded trail whooshed along beneath me, the tread smooth and wide and blessedly absent of giant rocks and drops.

That freeloading downhilling soon ended.

Rocks appeared with increasing frequency, as did root-laden dips and a grueling series of uphills. I was sure it all looked tame to these avid mountain bikers sharing the trail with me, and that was fine for them. I, however, could choose to walk my bike over those more hair-raising sections. And I did.

cial use group of many.”

He hopes to put what he’s learned to use in the effort toward getting more trails and opportunities for bikers back in Hattiesburg.

“It’s kind of to unite the community,” said SORBA president Dan Zaffuto, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida. “We all get to share what we go through as local chapters. It seems no matter what state you’re in, you have the same challenges. It’s all about preserving trails and putting more trails on the ground.”

And, getting more people invested in those trails. That’s partially what the clinics offered by Sue Haywood, a former world champion racer, aimed at doing. Throughout the weekend, she offered sessions to help bikers of all skill levels gain confidence and improve their technique, including one for women only.

“It went really well,” she said of the Friday

clinic while preparing for her evening trail ride. “I’m always surprised at people’s willingness to listen and try stuff that really scares them — and to get up after they crash and try it again.”

As mountain biking trails go, Tsali has some of the tamer options available — as Tyson Carter, of Dothan, Alabama, said, it “flows” well, offering relatively wide turns, a good mix of ups and downs and few places where a less confident rider might feel the need to walk. For an advanced rider, it’s pure bliss — “just

F

Before long, I found myself at the back of the pack. But that was OK. A pair of experienced riders rotated as sweep, making sure everyone reached the trailhead safely and dispensing tips a newbie like me needed to hear. Downshift before the uphill begins. Raise the seat to give more power to each pedal. And, by all means, come back later and ride again.

I did have to pull off a few times to pant like a dog while my heart slowed down its race. Certainly there were moments when I wondered if I were about to lose control, if that bike was seconds away from toppling with me on it. But what I found myself thinking more than anything is that I now understand why people do this.

Because surrounding the trail and the sweat and that familiar feeling of unity between me and the bike and the air through which we shot was everything else that I love — trees and sun and rhododendron thickets that made even this pre-spring adventure a green one. It was a good feeling.

Maybe it’s time to give that Gary Fisher the TLC it deserves — and another chance to hit the trail.

— By Holly Kays, staff writer

Friends of the Smokies gets new director former director Holly Demuth, who had been director of the organization for sixand-a-half years, left for a job as development director with MountainTrue, an Asheville-based environmental nonprofit that works throughout Western North Carolina.

Friends of the Smokies is a nonprofit that supports the park through fundraising and grants, raising nearly $50 million over the past 20 years.

outdoors

Friends of the Smokies has a new North Carolina director after Anna Lee Zanetti took the reins this week.

Zanetti has worked as the organization’s outreach and development associate for two years, doing everything from grant writing to public relations to organizing Friends of the Smokies’ monthly hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The change in leadership comes after

Fracking and geology to be explained Get the low-down on hydraulic fracturing with a presentation at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building in Franklin.

Petroleum geologist Ed Dibble will give a talk titled “What’s the real story about fracking” during the regular meeting of the Gem and Mineral Society of Franklin.

Free, with light refreshments served. George Fritz, 828.524.4936.

Assault on BlackRock crosses the finish line Saturday dawned chilly and foggy at Pinnacle Park in Sylva, but that didn’t stop 73 people from completing the strenuous

women’s side, Sarah Briggs, 42, of Asheville took first with 1:29:40, followed by Jennifer Watkins, 39, of Asheville with 1:36:01 and Alexa Lampasona, 26, of Atlanta, with 1:40:28.

Twenty-five people finished under the 101-minute cutoff to earn a belt buckle.

The annual race benefited Jackson Neighbors in Need and Clean Slate Coalition, Sylva-based organizations to help people in crisis get back on their feet. More than $2,100 was raised.

being at peace,” as Zivinsky said — but the ride brought out a mix of ability levels.

Angie Coleman, for example, had never ridden a mountain bike in her life. She was along for the ride from northern Georgia with her boyfriend Luke Garland, who’s been biking for about 15 years, and she figured she might as well give the trail ride a try. It was certainly tough, leaving her breathless with hands rattled numb from the vibrating handlebars.

But she’d do it again.

“I’m not scared about getting hurt,” Coleman said. “If I could go downhill 100 miles an hour all day, I would.”

The experience was awesome, she said, a sentiment echoed again and again from riders coming off the trail, clicking through their gears, and loading up for an evening of revelry with this assembly of people who share their passion for life on two wheels.

“So awesome to see so many people come out here who love Tsali,” Zivinsky said. “They could feel the vibe.”

Snow and fog were the name of the game at Blackrock last week.

Alexa Lampasona photo

Smoky Mountain News

Assault on BlackRock, an annual race that covers 7 miles and more than 2,000 feet of elevation gain.

Josh Marcus, 29, of Mill Spring, took first in the men’s category with a time of 1:16:43, followed by Elliot Morgan, 23, of Black Mountain with 1:17:10 and Eli White, 24, of Cullowhee, with 1:17:26. On the

A baseball program targeting children who are still developing their basic motor skills is starting up in Waynesville this month, open to children who were 4 or 5 as of April 1.

A parent meeting for Smart Start baseball will be held at 5:30 p.m. April 12, with one-hour sessions held 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Tuesdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center for six weeks.

The $45 registration fee includes a ball and bat set, glove, two koosh balls and a sports development participant manual.

Smart Start Sports Development is a national sports program teaching children the skills they’ll need to participate in organized youth leagues.

Registration deadline is March 29.

828.456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

March 23-29, 2016

Youngsters to get an early start in baseball

35

outdoors

Celebrate the A.T. season Every year, trail towns and businesses in Western North Carolina anticipate the influx of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers that stream through the area between late March and late April. Take a look at what’s planned to celebrate this year’s crop of thru-hikers.

make and serve chili and hand-made desserts, as well as to bring fresh fruit and assist with set-up and cleanup. Organized by the Nantahala Hiking Club. Bill or Sharon Van Horn, 828.369.1983.

March 23-29, 2016

FRANKLIN Franklin’s Appalachian Trail celebration will span the space from March 19 to April 23, spreading Appalachian Trail-related events across the season of highest thruhiker traffic. ■Information about trail systems in Macon County and a primer for planning your next hike will be given from 6 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 23, at Outdoor 76 in downtown Franklin. 828.349.7676. â– Easter on the Trail, an annual event to hand out goodies to thru-hikers around Franklin, will take place Saturday, March 26.

Volunteers are needed. Organized by the Nantahala Hiking Club. 828.369.8915. â– An afternoon walk along the Little Tennessee Greenway will be followed by yoga at the Macon County Library at 2 p.m.

Wednesday, March 30. Jennifer McIntee will lead the event. ■Thru-hiker Jamy Suminski, of Franklin, will share her A.T. adventures in a presentation titled “Trail Magic,� at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, at the Macon County Library. ■A.T. 2,000-miler Bill Van Horn, of Franklin, will lead a workshop for people thinking about backpacking the A.T. at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the Macon County Library. ■Thru-hikers will get a hefty meal with the Thru-hiker Chow Down 2016, slated for noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Lazy Hiker Brewery. Volunteers are needed to

â– A lunch supporting the Class of 2016 Warrior Hikers will be held at 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, April 2, at the American Legion.

Donations requested. www.warriorhike.org. ■An art show case of nature-inspired student art will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at the Macon County Library. Cohosted by Nantahala Hiking Club. ■A guided hike to Gabby Mountain will leave at 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 8, from the Macon County Library. Led by Debra Jenkins. ■Nancy Reeder, who has hiked the A.T. and the Pacific Crest Trail, will share her experiences at 7 p.m. Friday, April 8, at the Macon County Library. Co-hosted by the Nantahala Hiking Club. ■An A.T. Celebration featuring music from Porch 40 — known for its blend of funk, southern rock, blues and jazz — will

start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at Lazy Hiker Brewing Company. ■A documentary about pollinators, “Wings of Life,� will show at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, April 13 and 2 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at the Macon County Library. ■The Franklin Gem and Mineral Society will offer a program at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at the Macon County Library. ■“Salt of the Earth,� a documentary of photographer Sebastiao Salgado’s work documenting deprived societies worldwide, will screen at 2 and 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, at the Macon County Library. ■A presentation from The Wilderness Society, given by Regional Director Brent Martin and Outreach Coordinator Michelle Ruigrok, will be offered at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at the Macon County Library. ■Hiking guide Danny Bernstein will discuss her new book, Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey through the National Parks of the South at 10 a.m. Friday, April 22, at the Macon County Library. ■A celebration of spring will fill the day Saturday, April 23, at Outdoor 76, including a presentation on trail systems in Macon County by the N.C. Bartram Trail Society and the Nanthala Hiking Club and lunch served by Smoky Mountain Bicycles to benefit a proposed Macon County Bike Park. At 5 p.m. “Beer. Bluegrass. BBQ� will begin to benefit MainSpring Conservation Trust.

828.349.7676 or www.outdoor76.com. â– A presentation by fossil collector and paleontologist Richard Hightower will be given at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at the Macon County Library.

For more information about library programs, contact 828.524.3600.

BRYSON CITY The annual Trail Magic Festival at Nantahala Outdoor Center will be held April 8-9, featuring everything from hiking-

themed games to educational lectures to karaoke.

The event will kick off with a hikingthemed movie night at 6 p.m. April 8, with the next day starting up with a gear repair and vendor fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A cornhole tournament will be held at 3:30 p.m., and a hiker’s feast at 4:30 p.m.

Karaoke will start up at 6 p.m., and a bonfire will light up at 8 p.m.

Free. NOC is located along U.S. 74, about 14 miles from Bryson City.

FONTANA DAM A weekend full of outdoor and educational activities will celebrate Appalachian Trail season March 28-30 at Fontana Village Resort. Activities include free disc golf lessons, educational presentations, karaoke, campfires, $1 movies and popcorn, and plenty else besides. 828.498.2211 or info@fontanavillage.com.

HOT SPRINGS Trailfest will return to Hot Springs in Madison County April 15-17, with events including everything from a hiker talent show to a class on medicinal plants to a climbing wall.

The event will kick off with a spaghetti dinner, 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 15, at the Hot Springs Community Center, and on Saturday the schedule will come alive with a camp stove cook-off and ice cream eating contest at 1:30 p.m., the fourth annual Talent Show at 2 p.m. and the Trailfest Parade at 4 p.m.

Freebies offered from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. include a climbing wall, bungy jumping, low ropes course, bike tune-ups, gear repair and face painting. The event will wind up Sunday with a pancake breakfast 8-10 a.m. and community soccer game at 10 a.m.

For a full schedule, visit www.hsclc.org/newsevents/trailfest.html.

+DUULV 0HGLFDO $VVRFLDWHV +DUULV 0HGLFDO $VVRFLDWHV

Smoky Mountain News

8&-$0.&4 8&-$0.&4 (SBZ &SMBDIFS . % (SBZ &SMBDIFS . % /PX PGGFSJOH TBNF /PX PGGFSJOH TBNF EBZ BOE OFYU EBZ EBZ BOE OFYU EBZ BBQQPJOUNFOUT QQPJOUNFOUT $BMM GPS $ BMM GPS BBO BQQPJOUNFOU O BQQPJOUNFOU )BSSJT .FEJDBM 1BSL %PDUPST %SJWF 4VJUF 4ZMWB /$ 36

‚ª Â&#x;Š ¨›—¢¢¯ ›Ž™Â&#x;ÂŞÂ&#x;¤Â? ÂœÂĽÂ¨ £› ÂŞÂĽ ™¼£› ‚ª Â&#x;Š ¨›—¢¢¯ ›Ž™Â&#x;ÂŞÂ&#x;¤Â? ÂœÂĽÂ¨ £›

ÂœÂŤÂ˘Â˘ ™Â&#x;¨™¢› Â˜Â—Â™ÂĄ ÂŞÂĽ ªž› ž¼ŠŒÂ&#x;ª—¢ —¤š ÂœÂŤÂ˘Â˘ ™Â&#x;¨™¢› Â˜Â—Â™ÂĄ ÂŞÂĽ ªž› ž¼

™¼££¤Â&#x;ÂŞÂŻ ªž—ª Â?—› £› ÂŁÂŻ Šª—¨ª

™¼££¤Â&#x;ÂŞÂŻ ªž—ª Â?—› £› Â&#x;¤ £›šÂ&#x;™Â&#x;¤› ¯›—¨Š —Â?ÂĽ —Š — Œ¨› Â&#x;¤ £›šÂ&#x;™Â&#x;¤› ¯›—¨Š —Â?ÂĽ £›š Šªš›¤ª —ª Â?›Šª›¨¤ |—¨¼¢Â&#x;¤—

£›š Šªš›¤ª —ª Â?›Šª›¨ Ž¤Â&#x;›¨ŠÂ&#x;ÂŞÂŻ ÂŒÂ&#x;¤™› ªž›¤ ‚ › ž—š Š¼

Ž¤Â&#x;›¨ŠÂ&#x;ÂŞÂŻ ÂŒÂ&#x;¤™› ªž›¤ ‚ £—¤¯ Â?¨›—ª ›ŽŒ›¨Â&#x;›¤™›Š —¤š ›š™—ªÂ&#x;¼¤—¢ £—¤¯ Â?¨›—ª ›ŽŒ›¨Â&#x;›¤™›Š —¤š

¼ŒŒ¼¨ª¤Â&#x;ÂŞÂ&#x;›Š  —¨¨Â&#x;Š ‹›Â?Â&#x;¼¤ ¼ŒŒ¼¨ª¤Â&#x;ÂŞÂ&#x;›Š  —¨¨Â&#x;Š ‹›Â?Â&#x;¼¤—¢  ¼ŠŒÂ&#x;ª—¢

ž ž›¢Œ›š £—¥› ªž—ª Œ¼ŠŠÂ&#x;Â˜Â˘Â› ›¢Œ›š £—¥› ªž—ª ÂŚ

——¤š ¤š ¤ ¤¼­ ‚ —£ Â?Â¨Â—ÂŞÂ›ÂœÂŤÂ˘ ž—› ªž› ¼­ ‚ —£ Â?Â¨Â—ÂŞÂ›ÂœÂŤÂ˘

¼ŒŒ¼¨ª¤Â&#x;ÂŞÂŻ ÂŞÂĽ Â?Â&#x;› ¼ŒŒ¼¨ª¤Â&#x;ÂŞÂŻ ÂŞÂĽ Â?Â&#x;› Â˜Â—Â™ÂĄ ÄŠÄŠ

/ /FFE B 1IZTJDJBO FFE B 1IZTJDJBO $BMM PVS 1IZTJDJBO 3FGFSSBM -JOF BU %0$4 $BMM PVS 1IZTJDJBO 3FGFSSBM -JOF BU %0$4

Ski season ending at Cataloochee

$199

Physician-supervised weight loss program

I N C LU D E S W E I G H T LO S S CO N S U LTAT I O N W I T H P H Y S I C I A N , 3 0 - DAY S U P P LY O F P R E S C R I PT I O N & SUPPLEMENTS, 4 SUPERC H A R G E D B 1 2 , L A B S & E KQ

Complete Laser Clinic BRYSON CITY, MURPHY

completelaserclinic.com

828-482-5030

Protect your world

Call me today to discuss your options.

Some people think Allstate only protects your car. Truth is, Allstate can also protect your home or apartment, your boat, motorcycle - even your retirement and your life. And the more of your world you put in Good Hands®, the more you can save.

David Mesimer (828) 452-2815

Auto ~ Home Life ~ Retirement

283 North Haywood St. Waynesville david.mesimer@allstate.com

Insurance subject to terms, qualifications and availability. Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Co., Allstate Indemnity Co.. Life insurance and annuities issued by Lincoln Benefit Life Company, Lincoln, NE, Allstate Life Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL, and American Heritage Life Insurance Company, Jacksonville, FL. In New York, Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York, Hauppauge, NY. Northbrook, IL. © 2010 Allstate Insurance Co.

20,000 reasons spring fishing

Annual Opening Day

Smoky Mountain News

An overview of Western North Carolina’s mountain biking assets is on tap for a two-hour program at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 24, at REI in Asheville.

One of the store’s specialists will speak about the particulars of the area’s various mountain biking destinations, and information about local advocacy and stewardships groups will be available — as well as the chance to meet other riders. Free, with registration required at www.rei.com/learn.html. Open to ages 15 and up.

March 23-29, 2016

With warm weather becoming the norm, Cataloochee Ski Area is planning to close for the season after Saturday, March 26.

The closure would bring the ski area’s total number of open days for the season to 114, substantially less than last year’s 141 but above the 10-year low of 101 in 2010-11.

Since 2003, open days have ranged from 90 in 2004-05 to 149 in 2012-13.

Get the low-down on WNC mountain biking

outdoors

Stomach bugs, possibly norovirus, have been reported among Appalachian Trail thru-hikers in Georgia and the Great Smoky Mountains this season.

To stay healthy, it’s important to wash hands frequently with soap and water — this method works better than alcoholbased sanitizers — and to prepare drinking water by either boiling it for at least one minute or using a chemical disinfectant.

Most filters do not remove viruses. In addition, it’s recommended to bury human waste in at least 8 inches of soil and 200 feet away from water, and avoid sharing personal items such as water bottles and utensils.

Norovirus outbreaks have been reported among A.T. hikers the past several seasons as well. Symptoms generally occur within one or two days of exposure and commonly include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain.

Knowing when and where people first develop symptoms is also key in reducing the spread of norovirus. Report illnesses to stomachbug@appalachiantrail.org.

LOSE UP TO 25 LBS IN 1 MONTH

76023

Stomach illness reported on the A.T.

37

outdoors

Give your garden a head start by renting greenhouse space Gardeners can get a jump on the growing season by renting greenhouse space at the Old Armory Recreation Center in Waynesville.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, March 28, trays will be available to rent for $5 each, with a maximum of five trays per person.

However, only 200 trays are available and reservations must be made in person at the facility. Dirt and regular water are included with the cost.

Gardeners can pick up their trays for $5 each, take them home, fill them with soil and seeds and bring them back once their seedlings have sprouted.

828.456.9207 or recprograms@townofwaynesville.org .

Take your pick of garden programs Growing season is here at Haywood County’s libraries with gardening programs planned for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at both the Waynesville and

Canton branches.

■ Learn how to make your own squarefoot garden and grow fresh food in a small space with Master Gardener Hughes Roberts at the Canton Library. The program is offered at the Giving Garden, a plot at the library used for programs throughout the year with the resulting veggies going to those in need.

Kristy Sartain, 828.648.2924.

■ Starting plants from seed will be the focus of a program taught by Master Gardener Volunteer Jim Janke at the Waynesville Library. The program can also give a boost to those wanting to start using the branch’s seed library, a resource that offers free heirloom vegetable seeds on the condition that farmers return seeds in the fall when their crop is harvested.

Kathy Olsen, 828.356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

Learn to can like a pro A class on food preservation will be offered 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, April 1, at Jackson County Extension Center in Sylva.

Pressure canning, water bath canning, freezing and dehydration will be covered. $18, with registration required with Sherrie Peeler, 828.586.4009. Class size is limited.

Boots-on-the-ground graders and excavators wanting to learn more about erosion prevention and sediment control will have an opportunity with a A contractor learns workshop offered 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at how to install a Southwestern Community fiber check dam.

College in Sylva.

Donated photo The training will give participants marketable experience in understanding why erosion prevention and sediment control are necessary, as well as the tools to help when disturbing land. The morning session will stick to the classroom, covering rules, regulations, permitting and best management practices, while the afternoon will include site tours of local projects and hands-on demonstrations.

Free, with lunch, materials and snacks included, but space is limited. RSVP to 828.452.2519. For more information call 828.476.4667 or 828.488.8418.

Hosted by Southwestern N.C. Resource Conservation & Development Council, Jackson County Commissioners, Haywood Soil & Water Conservation District, Haywood Waterways Association and Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River.

March 23-29, 2016

Learn how to protect your farmland A workshop to help people protect their community’s farm land will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thursday, March 24, at the Western North Carolina Regional Livestock Center in Canton.

The program will cover the the state’s Voluntary Agricultural Districts Program. Organized by the N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. Free, with registration required at www.ncadfp.org.

Prep for turkey season

Smoky Mountain News

The event begins on Main Street in beautiful downtown Waynesville & winds through neighborhoods & scenic farmlands to finish in Frog Level, a revitalized railroad district listed on the National Register of Historic Places

38

Erosion training for graders offered

facebook.com/smnews

Workshops to teach new turkey hunters the ropes and give advanced hunters the know-how they’ll need to up their game will be offered in Clyde and Murphy this month, with each session running from 6 to 9 p.m.

■ An intro class Monday, March 28, and an advanced class Tuesday, March 29, will be offered at Tri-County Community College in Murphy.

■ An intro class Wednesday, March 30, and an advanced class Thursday, March 31, will be offered at Haywood Community College in Clyde.

The intro classes will cover turkey biology, hunting methods, calls and decoys, firearm and ammo selection, camouflage clothing, turkey cleaning and cooking techniques. The advanced classes will focus on advanced biology and more complex hunting tactics, including strategies for dealing with stubborn, hard-to-hunt gobblers.

The classes are part of a statewide schedule of 24 classes offered by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the National Wild Turkey Federation in anticipation of

spring turkey season.

Free, with pre-registration required at www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/SkillsBasedSe minars.aspx.

Teacher training offered for chicken hatching curriculum Teachers can learn about hands-on curriculum for teaching students about the life cycle of chickens with a program offered at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Center.

Open to public, private and home school teachers, the program will walk participants through the 4-H School Enrichment Embryology Curriculum kits developed by North Carolina State University, designed to match second-grade Common Core and essential standards about animal life cycles. The teacher training counts as continuing education units.

Free, with registration required at 828.456.3575. Offered through Haywood County 4-H.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • A legal aide clinic will be held from 2:30-4 p.m. on March 24, at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva.

Free. 586.5494.

• Input is being sought for the Southwestern Rural Planning Organization Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting, which is set for 5 p.m. on March 28, at the Boiler Room Steakhouse in Franklin. Input on top transportation priorities to be considered for future NCDOT funding may be submitted by mail (Rose Bauguess, 125 Bonnie Lane, Sylva, NC 28779) or electronically (rose@regiona.org).

• The Smoky Mountains Satellite WNC-MOAA satellite chapter will meet from noon-2 p.m. on March 28, at Rendezvous Restaurant in Maggie Valley. 452.4783 or bramsey4783@bellsouth.net.

• Southwestern Community College will host a job fair from 1-4 p.m. on March 31, at the college’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. 339.4212 or m_despeaux@southwesterncc.edu.

• A special ceremony honoring Scottish Americans will be held to celebrate National Tartan Day for the U.S. and Canada at 1 p.m. on April 6 at the downtown gazebo in Franklin.

• Help with income tax preparation for seniors over age 60 will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center through March in exchange for donation to the Senior Resource Center. By appointment only 356.2800.

• Free tax preparation will be available through April 15 at the Jackson County Public Library and Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva. Library hours are 3-6:45 p.m. on Tuesdays or by appointment (586.2016). Senior Center hours are from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays on a first-come, first-serve basis. No charge.

• Heating assistance is available for those who qualify through the Jackson County Department of Social Services, which has almost $90,000 in LIEAP funding.

Applications will be taken daily between 8 a.m.-4 p.m. through March 31 at Jackson County Department of Social Services in Sylva. 586.5546.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • A free Quickbooks Series will be offered by the Haywood Community College Small Business Center from 6-9 p.m. on consecutive Tuesdays from March 22April 6. Register or get more info: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• “Financing Your Business,” a free seminar, will be offered through Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 4-6 p.m. on March 23 in Room 201 at the college’s campus in Clyde. SBC.Haywood.edu or call 627.4512.

• A hands-on computer class on using cloud storage is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on March 23, in the Computer Lab of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Free; sign-up required. 586.2016.

• A free Customer Service Training Session will be held from 6-9 p.m. on March 23 at the Swain Chamber of Commerce in Bryson City. Register: Contact Rob Hawk at 488-3848 or email robert_hawk@ncsu.edu.

• A program on “Library E-Resources: E-Magazines and Flipster” will be offered at 11 a.m. on March 28, at the Canton Library. 648.2924.

• A workshop on erosion prevention and sediment control will be offered from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on March 29 at Southwestern Community College’s Burrell Building in Sylva. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Free; morning refreshments, lunch and training materials provided.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

Reservations required: 452.2519, apowell@haywoodnc.net. Info: 476.4667 or 488.8418.

• The Swain County TDA’s next board meeting is at noon on March 30, at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce in Bryson City.

• A four-week course in “Conversational Spanish” will be offered from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesdays, March 30April 20, in Room 139 of Western Carolina University’s Cordelia Camp Building in Cullowhee. Cost: $79. Info and register at converences.wcu.edu. 227.7397.

• A free Social Media Marketing Summit will be offered by the Small Business Center at Haywood Community College from 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on March 30, in Clyde.

Seminars include “Twitter Made Easy” (8 a.m.); “Facebook Made Easy” (10:30 a.m.); “Instagram Made Easy” (1 p.m.) and “Tools for Social Media” (3:30 p.m.).

All seminars are in Room 203 on the HCC Campus.

SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• Breacan Clann, the living history group of the Scottish Tartans Museum, will perform a reenactment from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 2, in front of the town hall in Franklin.

• A launch event for the Student Success Campaign’s second phase entitled “March to a Million” will be held at 4 p.m. on April 5, in the Burrell Building on Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus in Sylva. Donor board will be revealed, recognizing contributors of $1,000 or more. SCC Foundation’s goal is to reach $1 million toward supporting student success, primarily through scholarships. 339.4241 or b_woods@southwesterncc.edu.

• A Job Interview Skills Workshop will be offered from 10 a.m.-noon on April 5, at the Waynesville Library.

Free; sign-up required: 356.2507.

• Tickets are on sale for the Swain County Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Membership Banquet, which is from 6-9 p.m. on April 21, at the Fryemont Inn in Bryson City. Advance tickets are $30 per person; $35 on week of event. Stop by the Chamber to purchase tickets.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Submissions are being accepted for Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation Annual Pet Photo Contest. Digital entries are being accepted. Each photo has a $7 fee.

Entries are due by April 1. Payment accepted through PayPal link on Sarge’s website. Entry forms at www.sargeanimals.org/tenth-annual-pet-photographycontest or by email at sargesanimalrescuefoundation@gmail.com. Info: 246.9050.

• The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, who manages the Haywood County Quilt Trail (HCQT), is excited to announce the kick off of a raffle program where you can enter to win your very own 4x4 foot quilt block. The designated block is the “Gateway to the Smokies” spring edition which features a trio of trillium blossoms and two bear paws situated below the mountains and an arch, representing the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains. Raffle tickets can be purchased by calling 452.0152 or by stopping by the TDA visitor center at 44 North Main Street in Waynesville.

The block is currently on display at the visitor center as well. The cost is $25 per ticket or five for $100 and are capped at a total of 10 tickets per person. The drawing will be held on May 6th. www.haywoodquilttrails.com.

• A Food Drive is being held throughout the month of March, which is National Nutrition Month, by the Nutrition Education Center at Haywood Regional Health

Smoky Mountain News

39

& Fitness Center in Clyde. 452.8092 or http://myhaywoodregional.com/services/nutritioneducation.

• A car show for “Operation Christmas Child” will be at 8 a.m. April 2, at Franklin High School. Entry fee is $15 per car. Spectators are asked to bring donations for shoeboxes, such as soap, toothbrushes, paper, pencils, toys, and more. 371.7503 or www.franklinchamber.com.

• A bake sale is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. on April 2, in front of the Scottish Tartans Museum and Heritage Center in Franklin. Benefit Breacan Clann, the living history group of the museum.

• A seed money fundraiser is underway to benefit the new Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. The library furnishings fund receives 50 percent of sales receipts for each packet sold directly or 25 percent sold at SowTrueSeed.com; use the code MBL2016. 488.3030, ext. 128, jdelfield@fontanalib.org.

VENDORS • Greening Up the Mountains Festival is seeking artists, mountain crafters, environmental and food vendors to apply for booths in the upcoming 19th annual event, which is April 23 in Sylva. www.greeningupthemountains.com, 586.2719 or at Sylva’s Town Hall. Info: 631.4587.

• The Downtown Waynesville Association is seeking heritage themed vendors for the 6th annual Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration that will take place Saturday, June 11, on Main Street. 456.3517 to request an application or visit the event calendar at www.downtownwaynesville.com. Applications accepted until April 18.

• The 14th annual Whole Bloomin’ Thing festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 7, in the Frog Level district of Waynesville. The event is looking for local growers, nature-related artists and crafters, health and wellness professionals, and alternative energy and ecofriendly vendors. Deadline to apply is March 28. Contact Joy Simmons, joy.b.simmons@outlook.com.

• The town of Dillsboro will be hosting three arts and craft shows open to vendors from the surrounding region. June 18 — “Front Street Arts & Crafts Show.”

Application due April 1. Vendors may apply for these shows by downloading an application from the town’s website, www.visitdillsboro.org or directly from www.visitdillsboro.org/specialevents.html. For more information, call Connie Hogan at 586.3511.

• Folkmoot is seeking professional artists and community craftspeople to host booths at the 33rd Annual International Festival Day that will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 30 on Main Street in downtown Waynesville. Application packets can be downloaded or entered electronically at www.folkmootusa.org or by mail, call the office at 452.2997. The deadline for applications is March 31.

HEALTH MATTERS • A free education program about tired leg/varicose vein is scheduled for 4-5 p.m. on March 24, at Haywood Regional Medical Center. RSVP required: 452.8346.

• Registration is underway through March 31 for team members for Relay For Life in Haywood County.

Carrie.shuler@cancer.org.

• A free Lunch and Learn event about arthritic knees and knee replacement will be held at noon on April 4, at the Medical Park of Franklin.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • The first cornhole qualifying event for the 2016 Championships of Bags (COBS) will be held on March

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 26. It’s part of a Qualifying Series for players to earn points and automatic bids into big cash tournaments.

Other dates in the Qualifying Series are April 23, May 21 and June 11. The championship events are July 2124 with a minimum guaranteed prize pool of $50,000.

Info: www.iplaycornhole.com/cobs or info@iplaycornhole.com.

• Greenway Yoga, part of the Macon County Public Library’s “Walking with Spring” series, is scheduled for 2 p.m. on March 30, on the Greenway. Beyond Bending Yoga’s Jennifer McIntee will lead. Free. http://beyondbendingyoga.com. 524.3600.

• Registration is underway for Appalachian Dance Class 101, which will be offered at Folkmoot in Waynesville. Instruction on square dance formation and basic flat-foot and clogging styles unique to Haywood County will be provided by Kim Rose, director of the J. Creek Cloggers. Four-week classes cost $40 and are offered from 6-7 p.m. at the Folkmoot Community Center. Classes start April 19 for ages 6-up; and May 17 for Ages 16-up. Register: 452.2997 or elizabeth@folkmoot.org.

THE SPIRITUAL SIDE • Holy Week activities at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Canton will continue with Maundy Thursday Service at 7 p.m. on March 24 and a 7 p.m. Good Friday Service on March 25. Holy Saturday service is at 10 a.m. on March 26, followed by Proper Liturgy for Holy Saturday and Great Vigil of Easter at 9 p.m. Easter Day Service is at 10:30 a.m. on March 27. An Easter egg hunt for children will follow.

• First United Methodist Church of Sylva and First Baptist Church will jointly hold a Maundy Thursday and Tenebrae service at 7:30 p.m. on March 24, in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church. 356.2358.

• A Mindful Meditation Group will meet from 10-11:30 a.m. on March 26, in the Celebration Hall at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin.

Melissa.Junkin@gmail.com or 736.3674.

• A fast-paced, informative workshop entitled “Dream a BIG Dream” will be offered at 6 p.m. on March 25, in the Fellowship Hall of the Spiritual Light Center in Franklin. www.JudyStepp.com, JudyWFH1@gmail.com or 371.8139.

• “HIS STORY” – an Easter Drama – will be presented at 7 p.m. on March 25-27 at Bethel Baptist. Free.

648.4106.

• A seminar on “Practicing Resurrection” is set for 11 a.m. on March 27, at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Franklin. Melissa.Junkin@gmail.com or 736.3674.

• An Easter Sunrise Service is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. on March 27 at the Maggie Valley Pavilion. Free pancake breakfast will follow the service.

• Easter March 27, with a powerful sunrise service at the amphitheater below the Lake Junaluska Cross. The service, which begins at 7 a.m., features a brass ensemble with special music. In the event of rain, the

sunrise service will be moved to Memorial Chapel. www.lakejunaluska.com/easter or call 800.222.4930.

wnc calendar

• Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church will host their annual Easter service, March 27, at Stuart Auditorium, starting at 10:30 a.m.

• Easter services will be held at 7 a.m. (sunrise), 9 a.m. (contemporary) and 10:55 a.m. (traditional) on March 27 at First United Methodist Church of Sylva.

586.2358.

Fresh Eggs • Amish Butter • Local Honey

828-400-6579

Brown Ave. Waynesville Just below Ingles in Hazelwood

• Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church will hold its Easter services at 10:25 a.m. on March 27, at Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska. www.longschapel.com; www.facebook.com/LongsChapel; or 456.3993.

• Community Easter Sunrise Service is scheduled for 7 a.m. on March 27, at The Village Green. 734.3434 or www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

POLITICAL • The Jackson County Republican Party’s monthly meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on March 28, at Ryan’s in Sylva. Meal at 6 p.m.743.6491 or jacksonctygop@yahoo.com.

50

Save $

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • The Coffee with the Poet series is cosponsored by the Netwest program of the North Carolina Writers Network and gathers the third Thursday of each month at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 586.9499.

• Waynesville author Ann Melton will sign her latest book From Whence Cometh My Help, A Journey through Grief at 3 p.m. March 26, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 586.9499.

March 23-29, 2016

• Student poet Holly Cian and local poet Brent Martin will read from their works at 6:30 p.m. on March 29, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Free. 586.2016.

• Author Charley Pearson will read from his new book “The Marianated Nottingham and Other Abuses of the Language” at 3 p.m. on April 2, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. 456.6000 or www.blueridgebooksnc.com.

Become a ppassholder Become assholder to to enjoy ennjoy a year year of of unlimited daytime admission, exclusive benefits p g and special events including:

• “Angry Americans – Reality based or media creation?” will be the topic for the Franklin Open Forum at 7 p.m. on April 4, at the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub in Franklin. 371.1020.

• FASHIONABLE FASHIO ROMANCE: Wedding Gowns in Film exhibition, hibition,

• A Legal Aide Clinic is scheduled for 2:30-4 p.m. on March 24, at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva. Free. 586.5494.

through July 4 • BILTMORE BLOOMS, March 19–May 26

Offer Valid NOW–March 31

Smoky Mountain News

Purchase your new Biltmore Annual Pass for $99+ TAX at

40

BILTMORE.COM/PASSOFFER

or by calling 800-742-6150.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • A Silver Sneakers Cardio Fit class will meet from 10-11 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Waynesville Recreation Center. For ages 60 and above.

Cost is regular admission fee to the rec center or free for members. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Book Club is held at 2 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800 • Senior croquet for ages 55 and older is offered from 9-11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Vance Street Park in front of Waynesville Recreation Center.

Free. Donald Hummel at 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

Mill: 497.1906 or florie_takaki@nps.gov. For Oconaluftee, info: 497.1914 or Kathleen_stuart@nps.gov.

• The “Come Paint with Charles Kidz Program” will be at 4 p.m. March 24 and 31 at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City. $20 per child. Materials and snacks included. 538.2054.

• The Nantahala Racing Club Whitewater U.S. Open is scheduled for March 25-27 at Nantahala Outdoor Center. NantahalaRacingClub.com.

• A “Nature Nuts: Wood Ducks” program will be offered for ages 4-7 from 9-11 a.m. on March 28 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• An “Eco Explorers-Fish Tales” program will be offered for ages 8-13 from 1-3 p.m. on March 28 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Learn about fish anatomy, how and what they eat, how and why they grow scales and how they eat. Free. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• A Kids’ Introduction to Fly Fishing class for ages 815 is scheduled for 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 29 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• An archery class will be offered for ages 8-and-up from 10-11:30 a.m. on March 31 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free.

Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• A BB Gun Shooting range will be open to participants ages 8-15 from 1-2:30 p.m. on March 31 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Learn firearm safety and shooting from experienced center staff. Free. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• “Nature Nuts: Frogs and Toads” will be offered for ages 4-7 p.m. on April 4 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Learn differences between these amphibians. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• Eco Explorers: Canids will be offered for ages 8-13 from 1-3 p.m. on April 4 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Learn about teeth, paws, claws and other qualities of this group that includes wolves, coyotes and foxes.

Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• Mountain Youth Talent Contest at the Sun Trust Lot on Main Street on April 23 starting at 9:30. Music will be held throughout the day at both the Main Street stage and at the Bridge Park gazebo on Railroad Avenue. heather_gordon@ncsu.edu

KIDS MOVIES • There will also be a free screening of the The Good Dinosaur at noon and 2 p.m. March 26 at The Strand on Main. www.38main.com.

• A family movie will be shown at 3:30 p.m. on March 29, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Free.

Movie is a computer-animated fantasy set in a world where dinosaurs never went extinct. 488.3030.

A&E

KIDS & FAMILIES

Purchase your new Biltmore Annual Pass for $99, plus tax. Savings based on regular $149 Biltmore Annual Pass. Some restrictions may apply.

• Volunteer training sessions are scheduled for a variety of sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For Oconaluftee Visitor Center and from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 29 at the Sugarlands Visitor Center. For Mingus Mill, training is from 9 a.m.-3p.m. on March 31, at Oconaluftee. For Oconaluftee Visitor Center, training is from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 5, at Oconaluftee. Info for Clingmans Dome and Mingus

EASTER EVENTS • An Easter Egg Hunt will be held at 10 a.m. on March 24 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. For ages 0-10. 524.3600.

• The Swain County Easter Egg Hunt will be at 5:30

Bunny will be in attendance for photos. The parade will be at 2 p.m. at Town Hall. 828.506.8331 or www.visitdillsboro.org.

• An Easter Egg Hunt will be held at 4 p.m. March 24, at the Waynesville Public Library. For children of all ages. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held in the downstairs children’s area. Refreshments, crafts and other surprises will also be offered.

356.2512 or lhartzell@haywoodnc.net.

• There will be an Easter Tea held by Dogwood Crafters at the Historic Jarrett House on March 26. Seatings will be at 1 and 3 p.m. English style finger sandwiches, sweets and tea. $15 per person, with prepaid reservations only. To secure a seat, call 586.2248.

• The Easter Family Festival weekend will be March 25-27 at Fontana Village Resort. A full weekend of fun including scenic lake tours, sunrise church service, history films, corn hole tournament, egg dying, water balloon toss, scavenger hunt, campfire, marshmallow roast, and more, including an Easter feast at the Mountview Restaurant. 800.849.2258 or www.fontanavillage.com.

• The Peanuts Easter Beagle Express Train will be at 11 a.m. March 25-26 at the Bryson City Train Depot.

Enjoy the characters of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and crew. Easter Egg Hunt, crafts, snacks, and more.

800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

• Easter Bunny will appear from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on March 26 at the Downtown Caboose in Bryon City. Free photos taken with Easter Bunny.

• An Easter Egg hunt is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on March 26, at Lake Junaluska. All children ages 12 and under are invited to join the hunt, located near Stuart Auditorium. The eggs are filled with candy and special prizes.

• The Town of Canton’s Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for 10 a.m. on March 26, at Canton Recreation Park.

For ages 1-12. 648.2376.

• The 28th annual Easter Hat Parade celebration will be held on at 10 a.m. March 26, in downtown. The day begins with an Easter Egg Hunt at 10:30 a.m. on Webster Street, followed with hat making also at 10:30 a.m. at Dogwood Crafters, all while the Easter

• The sixth-annual Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by S’More Kids Klothes, is scheduled for 11 a.m. on March 26, at the Village Green in Cashiers. 734.3434 or www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

• Easter breakfast buffet at Lambuth Inn located at Lake Junaluska from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on March 27.

Tickets are available at the front desk of Lambuth Inn on Sunday morning, or by calling 454.6662 or visiting the Bethea Welcome Center.

• Family Easter lunch buffet at The Terrace at Lake Junaluska on March 27. The menu includes fresh salads, chef carved roast beef, baked ham, chicken Florentine, delicious fruit and vegetables and homemade desserts. Reservations are required. Call 454.6662 or visit the Bethea Welcome Center to make your reservation.

• A fish fry dinner is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Good Friday, March 25, at Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville. $8 dinner includes fried fish, baked beans, cole slaw, hushpuppies, drink and dessert. 452.7232.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Western Carolina University will host Old-Time and Bluegrass Jam concerts and jam sessions through the spring at the Mountain Heritage Center from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. The performance of bluegrass and mountain music will be followed by an 8 p.m. jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate. 227.7129.

• The Deitz Family Band will perform mountain folk music at 7 p.m. on March 24, in the Community room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Free.

586.2016.

• Four-time Grammy Award winner David Holt will perform at 7:30 p.m. on March 26 at HART Theatre in Waynesville. Tickets are $25; proceeds support the theater’s Stage II building fund. Purchase tickets at www.harttheatre.org or at the box office, which is open from 3:30-5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 456.6322.

• Thomas Jostlein, associate principal horn with the St. Louis Symphony, will perform a recital and present a masterclass on Monday, March 29, at Western Carolina University’s Coulter Building in Cullowhee.

Free. Masterclass is from 12:20-2:15 p.m.; recital is at 7:30 p.m. 227.7242.

• Renowned bluegrass/gospel group Balsam Range will continue their 6th annual “Winter Concert Series” with guests The Studio Dream Team at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 2, at the Colonial Theatre in Canton.

235.2760.

• The North Carolina Symphony, led by Associate Conductor David Glover, will perform a program of classical favorites at 7:30 p.m. April 6, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Event tickets are free and will be available at the theatre box office beginning at 10 a.m. the day of the concert. www.greatmountainmusic.com.

• Haywood Ramblings speaker series is held at 4-5 p.m. on “Growing up in Hazelwood” by Mary Ann Enloe, April 7 & “The Old Ways: Dowsing, Healing, and Knowing the Signs” by Ann Melton, May 5 at the Town of Waynesville Board Room. Snow date is the following Thursday. Light refreshments. 456.8647.

• Tickets are on sale for a Sandy Patty concert, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 16 in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska. http://lakejunaluska.com/sandipatty.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • The Jackson Rangers Camp 1917 will hold monthly meetings (except July) at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Barkers Creek Community Center. Members are being sought to participate in honor guard graveside events and honor Confederate soldiers. The Confederate Rose, a ladies auxiliary group that supports active members, meets at the same time and location. 736.6222 or jrcamp1917@hotmail.com.

wnc calendar

p.m. March 24 at the Swain County Recreation Park.

Hunt for prizes among hundreds of brightly colored eggs. For ages 1-8. www.greatsmokies.com.

• A Wool Applique workshop will be offered by Dogwood Crafters from 10 a.m.-noon on March 24, at the Dillsboro Masonic Lodge. Make a paper-clip bookmark. $11 cost; bring scissors and embroidery needles. Register by March 21: 586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com.

• Dogwood Crafters will hold its annual Easter Tea, English style at 1 p.m. on March 26, at the Historic Jarrett House in Dillsboro. Cost: $15 by prepaid reservation only. 586.2248. Easter Hat Parade to follow at 2 p.m.

• Penland School of Crafts is offering upcoming oneweek sessions at half-tuition to area residents. The first session, with spaces in photography and printmaking, runs from March 27-April 2. The second, with space available in a printmaking workshop taught by Aimee Joyaux, runs from April 10-16. www.penland.org or 765.2359, ext. 1106.

• A chip-carving demonstration with Bill Johnson will be held from 1-3 p.m. on March 29, at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva. Free. 586.5494.

• A workshop on stitching a pine-needle basket is scheduled for 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 5, at the Masonic Lodge in Dillsboro. Registration deadline is March 29.

Cost: $26. Register: 586.2435 or junettapell@hotmail.com.

• A chip carving demonstration will be held from 1-3

314-22

will n eed Did Did you you know know that that 3 o out ut o off every every 4 people people will need Long Long T Term e erm C Care are aatt ssome point ife? ome p oint iin n ttheir heir llife?

Don’t Don’t d delay elay e exploring xploring y your our op options tions b by y c calling alling o our ur o office ffice ttoday oday tto o llearn earn mor more. e.

SOCKS Edgy quotes combined with elegant imagery for those daring, funky ladies and guys with a good sense of humor.

Helping those in Western NC secure their retirement since 1995.

Eric Gaddy, CRPC ®

Affairs of the Heart 120 N. Main St. • Waynesville, NC • 828.452.0526

461 East Main Street Sylva, NC 28779

Smoky Mountain News

Grow your money while you work.

Secure it when you retire.

—————————————————————————————

March 23-29, 2016

JUST IN...

(828) 505-3340 www.EthosWealthGroup.com Affiliated with Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC. Securities offered through Capital Investment Group, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. 100 E. Six Forks Road, Set. 200, Raleigh NC 27609 (919)831-2370. Investment products are subject to risk and may lose value. There are no assurances that strategies will meet their objectives.

41

wnc calendar

p.m. on March 29, at the Jackson County Senior Center in Sylva. Free. 586.5494.

• The Gem and Mineral Society of Franklin will meet at 6:30 p.m. on March 31, at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building on US 441 South. Meeting features a presentation entitled “What’s the Real Story About Fracking?” by Ed Dibble, a petroleum geologist.

524.4936.

• There will be an armor construction workshop held by blacksmith Brock Martin from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 2 at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro.

Fee is $255 (materials included). There is a 10-percent discount for Jackson County residents. www.jcgep.org.

• Jackson County Arts Council is counting artists; participating visual artists living in the county is welcome to participate in this effort to collect data about the visual arts community. ArtistsCount@gmail.com.

Deadline is April 15. info@jacksoncountyarts.org or 507.9820.

• Cullowhee Mountain ARTS, a nonprofit organization hosting artist and writer workshops and retreats located near Asheville, will be hosting its second annual retreat with artist workshops on April 16-22 at the Mabel Dodge Luhand House in Taos, New Mexico. The local commuter price is $950. 342.6913 or norma@cullowheemountainarts.org or www.cullowheemountainarts.org.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • The Stecoah Artisans Gallery is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, throughout March.

• An exhibition entitled “This is a Photograph: Exploring Contemporary Applications of Photographic Chemistry” is on display at Penland School of Crafts near Spruce Pine. Reception is set for 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. 765.6211 or penland.org/gallery.

March 23-29, 2016

• There will be an artist talk by Molly ZuckermanHartung at 5 p.m. March 29 in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University. www.wcu.edu.

• The Jackson County Arts Council will host a “Trashion Show” at 2 p.m. April 2, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. This fundraiser will be a fashion show with clothing and accessories made of recyclable material along with a Couture collection donated from local businesses. Prizes will be awarded. www.jacksoncountyarts.org or 507.9820 or info@jacksoncountyarts.org.

Brennan (painter) are exhibiting their work through March 31 at the Haywood County Public Library in Canton. Simon’s photography shows life on the streets of New Orleans (www.ofifoto.photography). Brennan’s work features expressionist land and seascapes (www.rbrucebrennanfineart.com). HaywoodArts.org.

FILM & SCREEN • The film “Room” will be screened at 7 p.m. March 23-25 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2” will be shown at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 26, 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. March 27, 7 p.m. March 29-April 1, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 2 and 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. April 3. www.38main.com.

• There will also be a free screening of the The Good Dinosaur at noon and 2 p.m. March 26 at The Strand on Main. www.38main.com.

• The films “Hunger Games: Mockingjay 2” (March 2426, April 2), “Carol” (March 31) and “Daddy’s Home” (April 1) will be screened at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Screenings are at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. with a special 2 p.m. matinee on Saturdays. Free. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com.

• The Cherokee documentary “First Language: The Race to Save Cherokee” will be shown from noon-1:30 p.m. on March 28, at Southwestern Community College’s Macon Campus in Franklin and from 12:30-2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29, at the SCC Jackson Campus in Sylva. Register at http://bit.ly/1ouvG0Z or email m_ellison@southwesterncc.edu.

• A classic movie will be shown at 2 p.m. on April 1, at the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room.

Starring Anthony Quinn and Silvana Mangano, the movie is about Barabbas, the criminal that Pontius Pilate induced the populace to vote to set free.

524.3600.

• New artist and medium will be featured every month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 926.7478.

• The artwork of Cherokee sculptor John Julius Wilnoty is on display through March 25 at Western Carolina University’s Fine Art Museum in Cullowhee.

Digitalcollections.wcu.edu or 227.7211. fineartmuseum.wcu.edu.

• Artists Maureen Simon (photographer) and Bruce

Smoky Mountain News

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings

• A Fly-Fishing Skills class entitled “Casting for Beginners” is open to participants ages 12 and older and will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 24 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• Cherokee’s schedule of fishing tournaments will kick off with the Opening Day Fishing Tournament on March 26-27. Tagged fish will be specially stocked into the Qualla Boundary’s rivers for the event; caught ones can be redeemed for cash prizes – with a total of $20,000 in play. Entry fee is $11; open to all ages and legal fishing methods. Register anywhere fishing licenses are sold. 788.0034 or www.fishcherokee.com.

• Haywood County 4-H will offer 4-H School Enrichment Embryology program to Haywood County teachers at 4 p.m. on March 29, at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Center. Free for teachers from public, private and home school groups. Learn to care for and learn about the life cycle of chickens. Sign up: 456.3575.

• “Trail Magic,” a presentation about Jamy Suminski’s 2015 thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail, will be offered as part of the Macon County Public Library’s “Walking with Spring” series at 7 p.m. on March 30. 524.3600.

• “Thinking About Backpacking on the A.T.??” will be presented by Bill Van Horn, an Appalachian Trail 2000 miler, as part of the Macon County Public Library’s “Walking With Spring” series at 7 p.m. on March 31. http://appalachiantrail.org.

• Turkey hunting seminars will be presented from 6-9 p.m. on March 30-31, at the HCC Auditorium. The Wednesday seminar is introductory; the Thursday seminar is advanced. Preregistration required: http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/SkillsBasedSeminar s.aspx.

• “Reading the Water” will be offered for ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 1 at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County. Free.

Enhance your fly-fishing experience by improving your understanding and approach to catching trout.

Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• Feline Urgent Rescue of WNC will hold its annual meeting at 3 p.m. on April 2, at the Waynesville Public Library. 421.1290 or info@furofwnc.org. www.furofwnc.org.

Outdoors

• “Spring Fever: Mating and Dating in the Animal Kingdom” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on April 2, at Highlands Nature Center. Game-show mashup is an opportunity to test your knowledge, trivia and acting abilities. Desserts and drinks offered along with prize for the top couple $10 per person; registration required: 526.2623.

• The Nantahala Outdoor Center Raft Guide School will teach participants how to be raft guides during five-

• “Introduction to Fly Fishing” will be offered for ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 5 at the Pisgah

Center for Wildlife Education in Transylvania County.

Free. Registration required: http://tinyurl.com/jq4r6x3.

• A public hearing will be held by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission at 7 p.m. on April 5 at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Hearing purpose is to accept comments on proposed temporary rules regarding black bear hunting in North Carolina.

• “Wild Survival” exhibit featuring the return of North America’s wolves and peregrine falcons will be on display through May 8 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville.

Open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. inside the Baker Exhibit Center. Free; non-member guests are required to pay $12 parking fee. www.ncarboretum.org.

FARM AND GARDEN • A Voluntary Agricultural Districts and Farmland Preservation Workshop will be offered from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 24 at the WNC Regional Livestock Center in Canton. The workshops are free and open to the public, but registration is required. www.ncadfp.org.

• The Old Armory Recreation Center Greenhouse will open at 8 a.m. on March 28 in Waynesville. Trays are available for $5 apiece with a maximum of five trays per person. The armory provides dirt and water.

456.9207 or recprograms@townofwaynesville.org.

• A free workshop entitled “Starting Plants from Seed” will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on March 29, at the Waynesville Library Auditorium. 356.2507 or kolsen@haywoodnc.net.

• A Square Foot Gardening program will be presented by master gardener Hughes Roberts at 5:30 p.m. on March 29, at the Canton Library. 648.2924.

• Master gardener volunteer Jim Janke will present a program on “Starting Plants from Seed” at 5:30 p.m. on March 29, at the Waynesville Library. 356.2507.

• The Agriculture Advisory Board will meet to discuss farmland preservation at 7 p.m. on March 31 at the Savannah Fire Department. Contact Rob Hawk at 4883848 or email robert_hawk@ncsu.edu.

• Food Preservation 101 will be offered from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 1, at the Jackson County Coooperative Extension Center in Sylva. 586.4009.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • The Easter festivities kick off with a 5K road race and walk at 9 a.m. Join runners and walkers of all ages and skill levels for this popular annual event around the Lake Junaluska Walking Trail. Registration is required. To register, call 454.6680 or visit www.lakejunaluska.com/run.

• Registration is underway for the sixth annual Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon and 5-K, which is April 2.

Fees are $60 for the half marathon and $25 for the 5-K if registering by March 29 at http://halfmarathon.wcu.edu. More info: valleyofthelilies@wcu.edu.

337-42

Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’ $

92

20’x20’ $

160

ONE MONTH

FREE WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT

828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828

42

day courses that are offered March 27-April 1 and April 3-8. $450 fee includes lodging, meals and equipment.

Must be 18 years old.

Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction

Puzzles can be found on page 46.

These are only the answers.

PRIME REAL ESTATE Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News

ANNOUNCEMENTS

MarketPlace information:

MOM MOVED TO ASSISTED LIVING Selling contents of 2/BR House.

Furniture, Antiques, Housewares, Linens & Much More!

Thurs & Fri. 10 - 4pm. 71 Iris Lane, Canton. Off 276 & Harley Creek.

Presented by Frog Pond Estate Sales and Downsizing

The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

Rates:

■ Free — Lost or found pet ads.

■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads, ■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $15 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

■ $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

AUCTION AUCTION Decoys, Hunting Memorabilia - Roy Willis Lifetime Collection - Online Only Bidding - Ends March 29, Antique & Vintage Decoys, Old Shotshell Ammo & Boxes, huntingsporting & rare coastal memorabilia. HouseAuctionCompany.com.

252.729.1162. NCAL#7889.

Classified Advertising:

AUCTIONS, Residence/Guest House & Office Building in Troy, NC & Residential Lot at Uwharrie Point, Furniture, Kitchen Accessories, Outdoor Furniture & More, Auction Begins Closing 3/30/16 at 1pm for Real Estate - Online w/ Bid Center & 3pm for Personal Prop. - Online Only, www.ironhorseauction.com, 800.997.2248, NCAL3936

Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

WAYNESVILLE TIRE, COO

INC.

R

Di

sC Ov ER E

ATR

PE

Serving Haywood, Jackson & Surrounding Counties

ONLINE ONLY AUCTION, The Winning Collection Retirement Auction, Race Car, Vehicles, Fabrication & Shop Equip., Tools & Much More, Asheville, NC, Buncombe County, Begins Closing 3/29/16 at 12pm. www.ironhorseauction.com, 800.997.2248, NCAL3936

Offering:

MAJOR-BRAND TIRES FOR CARS, LIGHT & MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCKS, AND FARM TIRES.

Service truck available for on-site repairs LEE & PATTY ENSLEY, OWNERS

MON-FRI 7:30-5:00 • WAYNESVILLE PLAZA

828-456-5387

337-59

ROLLING STOCK AUCTION City of Charlotte & Mecklenburg Co. Apr 16th, 10am, 5550 Wilkinson Blvd. Bldg A., Charlotte, NC 336.789.2926. RogersAuctionGroup.com NCAL#685. 5% Admin Fee. TAX SEIZURE AUCTION Wednesday, March 30, 10am. 1639 Spring Garden Street, Greensboro, NC. Liquidation of Southern Photo Print & Supply by NC DOR Unpaid Taxes. Surveyors Equipment, Transits, etc. Print Shop & Art Supplies.

704.791.8825. NCAF5479. www.ClassicAuctions.com.

BUILDING MATERIALS

HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING ACORN STAIRLIFTS. The Affordable Solution to your stairs! **Limited time -$250 Off Your Stairlift Purchase!** Buy Direct & Save. Please call 1.800.291.2712 for Free DVD and Brochure.

ALL THINGS BASEMENTY! Basement Systems Inc. Call us for all of your basement needs! Waterproofing, Finishing, Structural Repairs, Humidity and Mold Control.

Free Estimates! Call 1.800.698.9217 DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions.

Owner/Builder: Dave Donaldson.

Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316 FIND THE RIGHT CARPET, Flooring & Window Treatments. Ask about our 50% off specials & our Low Price Guarantee. Offer Expires Soon. Call now 888.546.0135 SAPA 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.

PAINTING JAMISON CUSTOM PAINTING & PRESSURE WASHING Interior, exterior, all your pressure washing needs and more.

Specialize in Removal of Carpenter Bees - Cedar or Log Homes or Painted or Siding!

Call or Text Now for a Free Estimate at 828.508.9727

CARS -

A-1 DONATE YOUR CAR For Breast Cancer! Help United Breast Foundation education, prevention, & support programs. Fast Free Pickup - 24 Hr Response - Tax Deduction 855.306.7348 SAPA DOES YOUR AUTO CLUB Offer no hassle service and rewards? Call American Auto Club (ACA) & Get $200 in ACARewards! (new members only) Roadside Assistance & Monthly Rewards. Call 800.867.3193. SAPA DONATE YOUR CAR, Truck Or Boat To Heritage For The Blind. Free 3 Day Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing, All Paperwork Taken Care Of. CALL 1.800.416.1496 SAPA JUNK CARS FOR CASH ($1,000+) Cash Paid Same Day! Instant Phone Quote! All Cars; Any Condition, No Title OK! 1.866.526.6410 SAPA WE BUY DAMAGED VEHICLES! Top Dollar Offer. From Anywhere.

All Makes/Models 2000-2015 Wanted. America’s Top Car Buyer!

Call Now: 1.800.761.9396 SAPA

MOTORCYCLES CRAZY BOB’S BIKER STUFF Jackets, Chaps, Vests, Helmets, Rain Gear, Saddlebags, Sissy Bar Bags, Tool Bags, Stickers, Patches. We also got you covered with 50 Sizes of Tarps: Heavy Duty Silver, Brown & Green, Blue & Silver, Blue & Camo.

1880 Dellwood Rd., Waynesville 828.926.1177

FINANCIAL

BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

SAPA SELL YOUR STRUCTURED Settlement or annuity payments for CASH NOW. You don't have to wait for your future payments any longer! Call 1.800.316.0271.

R

WNC MarketPlace

EMPLOYMENT - HOUSEKEEPING Full Time or Part Time: Maggie Valley Cabin Resort Seeks an Energetic & Experienced Housekeeper. Valid Driver’s License Required. Call 828.926.1388 ATTN: DRIVERS $2K Sign-On Bonus $$ RECENT PAY INCREASE $$ Make Over $60,000 your first year! Newer KW T660 and T680's. CDL-A Req 877.258.8782. drive4melton.com

HAYWOOD & JACKSON COUNTIES OFFICE SUPPORT STAFF Immediate openings in Jackson & Haywood counties for support staff positions including billing, reception, and phone engagement. A customer oriented “people-person” who can multi-task and has 2 years of clerical/office experience, is detail oriented, has strong oral and written communication skills, and is proficient with the computer.

HS/GED, M-F, 830-5, benefits.

Apply now at www.meridianbhs.org

www.smokymountainnews.com

March 23-29, 2016

CAN YOU DIG IT? Heavy Equipment Operator Career!

We Offer Training and Certifications Running Bulldozers, Backhoes and Excavators. Lifetime Job Placement. VA Benefits Eligible!

1.866.362.6497.

JONATHAN CREEK INN In Maggie Valley, is searching for dependable, friendly Housekeepers. Baic cleaning skills & Valid Driver’s License Req. Weekends are a must as is the ability to pass a background check.

Apply in person at 4234 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley.

MAINTENANCE/HANDYMAN Full or Part-Time - Duties include Carpentry, Repairing Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical Eqpmt., Servicing & Maintaining Small Engines, Commercial HVAC, Kitchen & Laundry Eqpmt., and Repairing Buildings: Drywall, Floors and/or Stairs. Call 828.586.0251 to Schedule an Interview.

EMPLOYMENT HAYWOOD/BUNCOMBE COUNTY VOCATIONAL SPECIALIST – ACTT Meridian is seeking a Vocational Specialist to work on our Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) in Haywood County. This position offers a unique opportunity to work with individuals and businesses supporting people returning to the workforce.

Bachelor’s degree, valid driver’s license and reliable transportation required. Apply at: www.meridianbhs.org FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Assistant Director of Student Financial Aid Services. Director of Customized & Industry Training.

Director of Financial Aid. Mail Distribution Clerk-Plant Operations.

Programmer/Analyst I. Senior Network Communications Technician.

For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal at: https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.com/. Human Resources Office. Phone: 910.678.8378 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu.

An Equal Opportunity Employer.

HEAD START CENTER SUPERVISOR- HAYWOOD COUNTY Must have an AA Early Childhood Education Degree; prefer someone with a BS Early Childhood Education or related field. Must have Administrative Levels I & II, basic Word/Email use, good judgment/problem solving skills, experience in classroom and the ability to work with diverse families. Prefer someone with two years Supervisory Exp.; will be responsible for supervision of daily operations for two centers.

This is a full time position with benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786 or 25 Schulman St., Sylva, NC 28779 or you may go to our website: www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application.

Pre-Employment drug testing req EOE/AA

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

HEAD START PRESCHOOL TEACHER - JACKSON COUNTY A BS or Birth-K Degree in Early Childhood Education is Mandatory for this Position. Also required for this position are: computer skills, responsible for classroom paperwork, good judgment/problem solving skills and time management skills. Candidate must have the ability to work with a diverse population and community partners. Two years classroom exp. is preferred. This is a 10 month position with full time benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville 28786 or 25 Schulman St., Sylva 28779 or you may go to our website: www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application.

Pre-Employment Drug Testing EOE/AA

MOUNTAIN PROJECTS Is Seeking Estimates for Mowing/ Lawn Care at 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville. Must Have Liability Insurance and Work Compensation. For more info call 828.452.1447 or visit: mountainprojects.org - Bids and Procurement. Submit Estimates in Writing to: Alice Ensley, Mountain Projects, Inc. 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville, NC 28786 by April 1, 2016.

MAPLE TREE VETERINARY Hospital is hiring a FT Client Care Coordinator (receptionist). Accepting Resumes & Meeting Applicants on March 30th from 12:30-1:30 pm Submit name to: staff@mapletreevet.com if planning to attend.

Do Not email Resumes, Please.

IMMEDIATE OPENING FOR SHELTER MANAGER PAWS Animal Shelter is a no kill animal shelter located in Bryson City. Prior animal medical care experience required and animal behavioral training skills a plus.

Responsible for management of daily operations of the shelter, including supervision of shelter staff and volunteers, animal intake, medical treatment, adoptions, and foster program. The manager provides staff and volunteer training/recruitment, along with community education about the organization, spay/ neuter programs, and responsible pet ownership. Salary up to $32K, depending on experience.

Send resume to PAWS, PO Box 1814 Bryson City, NC 28713 or email to: pawsbrysoncity@yahoo.com No phone calls please.

NEED MEDICAL BILLING TRAINEES! Doctors & Hospitals need Medical Office Staff! No Experience Needed! Online Training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed. Careertechnical.edu/nc.

1.888.512.7122 CENTER SUPERVISOR KNEEDLER CHILD DEVELOPMENT - WCU Must have BS Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field and Administrative Level III Credentials, Basic Computer Knowledge, 2-3 yrs. Exp. in NC Day Care Regulations, 2-3 yrs.

Supervisory Exp. and Good Judgment Skills. This is an 11 month position with benefits. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd., Waynesville or 25 Schulman St., Sylva or you may go to website: www.mountainprojects.org and fill out an application online Pre-Employment drug testing req EOE/AA

EMPLOYMENT AVIATION GRADS Work With Jetblue, Boeing, Delta And Others - Start Here With Hands On Training For FAA Certification.

Financial Aid If Qualified. Call Aviation Institute Of Maintenance 1.866.724.5403 SAPA

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18 This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised on an equal opportunity basis.

NOW HIRING Class A CDL Drivers! Free Healthcare! Regional & OTR positions open. Pay starting at 40cpm. 1yr. experience required. Call 864.649.2063 or visit Drive4JGR.com. EOE.

HOMES FOR SALE BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT LEASE TO OWN 1/2 Acre Lots with Mobile Homes & Empty 1/2 Acre + Lots!

Located Next to Cherokee Indian Reservation, 2.5 Miles from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.

For More Information Please Call 828.506.0578 MOUNTAIN CABIN Near Asheville, NC. $154,900 2 bed/2 bath cabin on 1.68 acres w/stone fpl, lg. deck, mtn views, loft. 828.286.1666 broker.

REAL ESTATE WANTED TO BUY WANTED: OLD BARN, HOUSE, OR Other Building to Salvage, or Tear Down, for Lumber/Building Materials; Terms Negotiable.

Licensed & Insured. Call or Text John 828.380.1232 or email: john@ashevillepropertyservices. com

NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS

HEAD START CENTER SUPERVISOR- JACKSON COUNTY Must have an AA degree in Early Childhood Education; prefer someone with a BS Early Education or related field. Must have Administration levels l & ll, good judgment/problem solving skills, experience in a classroom and the ability to work with diverse families. Prefer someone with two year supervisory experience; Part time 29 hours of less must be flexible. Applications will be taken at Mountain Projects, 2251 Old Balsam Rd, Waynesville or 25 Schulman St, Sylva, NC or www.mountainprojects.org EOE/AA

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400 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

335-40

The Real Team

JOLENE HOCOTT • LYN DONLEY MARLYN DICKINSON

Real Experience.

Real Service. Real Results.

828.452.3727

ROB ROLAND

828-400-1923

SFR, ECO, GREEN

RROLAND33@GMAIL.COM

Find the home you are looking for at www.robrolandrealty.com

147 Walnut Street • WayneSville

828.506.7137

www.The-Real-Team.com

MOUNTAIN REALTY 1904 S. Main St. • Waynesville

aspivey@sunburstrealty.com 337-04

44

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

www.amyspivey.com

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT

LAWN & GARDEN

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

MEDICAL A PLACE FOR MOM. The nation’s largest senior living referral service. Contact our trusted, local experts today! Our service is FREE/no obligation. CALL 1.800.319.8705 SAPA

maggievalleyselfstorage.com GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

GOT KNEE PAIN? Back Pain? Shoulder Pain? Get a pain-relieving brace at little or NO cost to you. Medicare Patients Call Health Hotline Now! 800.480.7503

EMERSON ——————————————

MEDICAL

KILL BED BUGS & THEIR EGGS! Buy Harris Bed Bug Killers/KIT Complete Treatment System.

Hardware Stores, The Home Depot, homedepot.com STRUGGLING WITH DRUGS Or Alcohol? Addicted to PILLS? Talk to someone who cares. Call The Addiction Hope & Help Line for a free Assessment. 800.511.6075 SAPA 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 800.701.9850 for $750 Off. SAPA

STOP OVERPAYING For your prescriptions! Save up to 93%! Call our licensed Canadian and International pharmacy service to compare prices and get $15.00 off your first prescription and FREE Shipping.

1.800.265.0768 SAPA LIFE ALERT. 24/7. One press of a button sends help FAST! Medical, Fire, Burglar.

Even if you can't reach a phone!

FREE Brochure. Call 800.316.0745.

VIAGRA!!

52 Pills only $99.00! The Original Little Blue Pill, your #1 Trusted Provider for 10 years. Insured and Guaranteed Delivery. Call today 1.888.410.1767.

SAPA

Dan Womack 243.1126

828.

George Escaravage BROKER/REALTOR |

46 SOUTH MAIN STREET

george@emersongroupus.com

XARELTO USERS Have you had complications due to internal bleeding (after January 2012)? If so, you MAY be due financial compensation. If you don’t have an attorney, CALL Injuryfone today! 1.800.531.0529 SAPA

FURNITURE COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778.

HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

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!

Hours:

Tuesday-Friday, 12 Noon - 6 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

$GM GMMD DFHQ QW WR :D :D\QHVVY YLOO OOOHH &RX XQWU\ QWU &OXE X 9LLLVVX 9LVXDO 9 XDO D 7 7RRXU DW 7RXU D VVKDPUR VKDP KDPURFN FRP RRFN FRP

0/6 0 / 6

WAYNESVILLE, NC 28786 | WWW.EMERSONGROUPUS.COM

828.400.0901 • 828.456.7705

VIAGRA & CIALIS USERS! Cut your drug costs! SAVE $$! 50 Pills for $99.00. FREE Shipping!

100% Guaranteed and Discreet.

Call 1.800.290.0314 SAPA

PETS

BROKER

GROUP

PO BOX 54

MEDICAL

WNC MarketPlace

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

CLIMATE CONTROLLED STORAGE FOR YOU

MEDICAL

MOUNTAIN REALTY

26 N. Main St. • Waynesville, NC • 828-564-9393

%UXFH % U//RFDOO\ XRFFDOHOO\\ 22ZQHG 0F*RYHUQ 0 F*22SHUDW RSHSUYDWHHGUQ ZQHG 2S

3ULY 3 U L Y D WWHH (V ( WWDDDWH W H RRUU ' 'HYHO H Y H O RS R S PHHHQW QW

PFJ P F J R YH Y HUQSURSHU U S UR SH UQ S UUWW \ P PJW#JPDLO FRP JW#JPDLO RP

JJames ames Guerriere, M.D.

WELCOMES

Pediatrician

Areas of Service

March 23-29, 2016

Haywood Hayw ood Regional Reeggional Medical M Medical Center Center

$FFUH UHV LLQQ &LWW\\ / /LP LPLWV

Personal

Appointments may be made by calling 828.452.8878.

MEDICAL SCHOOL University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia, SC

RESIDENCY University of Alabama Children’ss and W Women’s Children’ omen’s Hospital Mobile, AL

^ ^^^ TV\U[HPUWLKPH[YPJ JVT ^^ TV\U[HPUWLKPH[YPJ JVT

smokymountainnews.com

Now seeing patients at:

45

www.smokymountainnews.com

March 23-29, 2016

WNC MarketPlace

Super

46

CROSSWORD

WHERE IN THE WORD?

Ed 80 Agent’s take ACROSS 81 Malia and Sasha 1 NFL standout 84 Cap for a bagpiper 7 Treat kindly 85 ACRE 15 Costumes 89 Allan- - (“Robin 20 Like forests Hood” narrator) 21 Tangles 90 “- Little Teapot” 22 Be nuts over 91 Chop 23 RED 92 Nimble deer 25 Entertainer Zsa Zsa 93 SEA 26 - -Caps (candy) 96 Fuzzy fabrics 27 Great Lakes’ - Locks 98 One who has regrets 28 First full mo. of 99 Sonny & Cher’s “autumn You Babe” 29 Spurring (on) 100 SLAT 30 ELLE 108 Illusory 36 Russian ruler of yore 109 “... bug - feature?”

39 German car make 110 Biceps’ place 40 “- to say this, but ...” 111 Actress Charlotte 41 SAGE 114 Lab vial 46 - -Z (thoroughly) 115 HUM 47 Low-value wallet 121 Like a prebirth wad body position 51 Pop lover 122 One who quaran52 Want badly tines 53 RAN 123 Señor’s nap 56 Luau bowlful 124 Account 57 In the second-best 125 “Cagney & Lacey” category co-star 59 Insect-catching tool 126 Peddled 60 Having some benefit 61 Filmmaker DOWN Preminger 1 Shoemaking tools 63 Critical hosp. area 2 Money to be paid 64 Empire until ‘91 back 66 Places of learning, 3 Wacky in French 4 Chop-chop 67 PORT 5 Get more mileage 72 Frosh’s cap from 74 Plane feature 6 “- a Grecian Urn” 75 “Not a word!”

7 Honey maker 76 Watch sound 8 Objective 79 Lou Grant portrayer 9 Abbr. stamped on a

bad check 10 Suffix in some pasta names 11 Camp craft 12 Swedish king between John I and Canute II 13 Hang-up for an optometrist?

14 -Kosh B’Gosh 15 Flock of geese 16 Old saw 17 Redbreast 18 Horse to be busted 19 Suit fabric 24 Turn bad 29 “Daniel” singer John 30 - -Magnon 31 Relaxes 32 Corrodes, in a way 33 - Mae Brown (psychic in “Ghost”) 34 Pear-shaped fruits 35 “... could - horse!”

36 Musical rate 37 Stuck-up type 38 Entry 42 U.S. media watchdog 43 Illinois city on the Mississippi 44 Some rescue ops 45 A long time in the past 47 Decide not to join in 48 Super-suspenseful 49 Author - Stanley Gardner 50 Beatified Mlles.

54 Smart-alecky 55 “Yowie!”

58 Interring individuals 62 Very testy 65 Amtrak stop: Abbr.

66 Surround with a

saintly light 68 Suffix with zillion 69 “I - lot to you” 70 Dancer Duncan 71 “Holy cow!”

72 Low voice 73 Favorite son of Isaac 77 Wee role 78 Rival of Target 80 Have bad flu symptoms, say 82 Swiss city on the Rhine 83 Mo. in which autumn starts 86 What hungry wolves do 87 Ungulate feature 88 Actress Hatcher 94 Neighbor of Hung.

95 One, in Ulm 96 Feeble 97 Pulpit speech 100 Bits of wind 101 Coastal arm 102 Poetic Muse 103 Hotelier Ritz 104 Actor Clark 105 Present label 106 Like Dublin denizens 107 “- vincit amor” (“Love conquers all”) 111 Hazard 112 Poker post 113 “Holy cow!”

115 Collide with 116 Young fellow 117 LGA datum 118 Ty-D- 119 Suffix with witch or trick 120 Unlike reruns

answers on page 42

FOR SALE BORING/CARPENTER BEE TRAPS No Chemicals, Poisons or Anything to Harm the Environment.

Handmade in Haywood County. 1 for $20, 2 or More for $15 each.

828.593.8321

WANTED TO BUY CASH PAID For Unexpired, Sealed Diabetic Test Strips - Highest Prices! Shipping prepaid. 1 Day Payment.

1.888.366.0958. www.Cash4DiabeticSupplies.com SAPA WANT CASH For Extra Diabetic Test Strips? I Pay Top Dollar Since 2005! 1 Day Fast Payment. Guaranteed Up to $60 Per Box! Free Shipping! www.CashNowOffer.com or 1.888.210.5233 Get Extra $10 Use Offer Code: CashNow! SAPA

PERSONAL 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 MAKE A CONNECTION. Real People, Flirty Chat. Meet singles right now! Call LiveLinks. Try it FREE. Call now 1.888.909.9978 18+. SAPA

SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION 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 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

SERVICES 19.99/mo. DIRECTV HD Channels + Genie HD DVR + 3 months Free HBO, SHOW, MAX & STARZ + FREE NFL Sunday Ticket!

Call Now 888.437.6598 SAPA AT&T U-Verse Internet starting at $15/month or TV & Internet starting at $49/month for 12 months with 1-year agreement. Call 800.992.1743 to learn more.

(Not Valid in Virginia). SAPA

SERVICES SWITCH TO DIRECTV And get a $100 Gift Card. FREE Whole-Home Genie HD/DVR upgrade. Starting at $19.99/mo.

New Customers Only. Don’t settle for cable. Call Now 1.800.371.5352 SAPA DISH NETWORK New customers save up to $1000!

Free Hopper Upgrade. TV starts at $19.99/mo. Bundle Internet & Save! Call Today 888.283.8693 SAPA EMERGENCIES CAN STRIKE At any time. Wise Food Storage makes it easy to prepare with tasty, easy-to-cook meals that have a 25-year shelf life. FREE sample.

Call: 800.621.2952 SOCIAL SECURITY Disability Benefits. Unable to work? Denied benefits? We Can Help! Win or Pay Nothing! Contact Bill Gordon & Associates at 1.800.371.1734 to start your application today!

YARD SALES MOM MOVED TO ASSISTED LIVING Selling contents of 2/BR House.

Furniture, Antiques, Housewares, Linens & Much More!

Thurs & Fri. 10 - 4pm. 71 Iris Lane, Canton. Off 276 & Harley Creek.

Presented by Frog Pond Estate Sales and Downsizing

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 42

Time for spring migrants in the mountains

T

he cove we live in has been alive with birds for several weeks now. As alive with birds as it’s ever been — and we’ve lived at the same place for 40 years.

Most of these are common “residents”: goldfinches, cardinals, song sparrows, towhees, blue birds, Carolina wrens, whitebreasted nuthatches, Carolina chickadees, titmice, phoebes, etc.), although we’ve had an inordinate number of pine siskins, which I suppose could be quantified as “winter residents” that occasionally breed in the southern Appalachians.

Some of what I categorize as “shortrange” migrants (brown thrashers, catbirds, red-wing blackbirds, etc.) have already arrived back in the mountains or will do so soon. As a matter of fact, not all of these leave the mountains except during very cold winters, when they slip down into South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama for a brief respite.

Several of the “middle distance” migrants have arrived from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the most notable being tree swallows and blue-headed vireos, which we heard singing along the ridge line above the cove last week.

Birds, especially “long-distance” migrants from Central and South America, are creatures of habit. They have to be; otherwise, they could never arrive on their win-

BACK THEN

George Ellison

tering or breeding grounds at the right time.

Every year purple martins, the first of the “long distance” species to arrive, appear in Bryson City on or about March 15.

We have for years used Arthur Stupka’s Notes on the Birds of Great Smoky Mountains Park (University of Tennessee Press, 1963) for reliable information on earliest spring arrival and fall departure dates.

(Unfortunately, this Columnist book is now out of print, but multiple used copies are often available via www.bookfinder.com. and similar Internet vendors). Marcus Simpson’s Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains (UNC Press, 1992) is also useful in this regard, as is Fred Alsop’s Birds of the Smokies (Great Smoky Mountain Association, 1991).

The days between now and the first of April will bring chimney swifts, whip-owills, black-and-white warblers, and Louisiana water-thrushes (a warbler). The early and middle days of April will bring northern parulas (a warbler), palm warblers,

and ruby-throated hummingbirds. The hummers are as punctual as the martins, except they come a month later on or about April 15.

Then in late April and early May the floodgates will open with warblers, thrushes, orioles, tanagers and other “long distance” species arriving here to breed or

Blackpoll Warbler. Donated photo passing through headed for more northerly breeding grounds — in some instances, so far north as the Arctic.

Mel Baughman’s Reference to the Birds of North America (National Geographic, 2003) provides descriptions and maps for the spring and fall migration routes of many species. One of the most remarkable migrations — not only for birds but for the

entire animal kingdom — is that of the blackpoll warbler, which will pass through Western North Carolina from very late April into Mid-may having already traveled from wintering grounds in northeastern South America and the Caribbean on its way to breeding grounds in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska.

Many species make a flight of a few hundred miles over the Gulf of Mexico to return to South America in a day or so. The blackpoll warbler opts for a trans-Atlantic flight of more than 1,700 miles.

After breeding they return to the east coast of Canada or New England, where they gorge themselves so as to nearly double their body mass. From here they lift off from the continent and fly southeast over the Atlantic toward Bermuda. Somewhere hundreds of miles off the southeastern coast of the United States they catch winds that carry them with a minimal expenditure of energy back to their wintering grounds.

I haven’t done the math except in a rough fashion, but some of these birds that breed as far west as Alaska must log up to 3,000 miles round trip.

(George Ellison is a naturalist and writer.

He can be reached at info@georgeellison.com.)

OFF Exit 100 off U.S. 74

Indian Motorcycle & Victory Motorcycles Apparel* Miss Me, Grace in LA & Affliction Jeans* Fulmer, Bell & Outlaw Helmets*

Smoky Mountain News

15%- 45%

March 23-29, 2016

HUGE

82 LOCUST DRIVE | WAYNESVILLE | NC

SMSH.CO FOR OUR FULL INVENTORY

828.452.7276

Hours: Tuesday - Friday 9:00 - 6:00 Saturday 9:00 - 5:00

*NON-CURRENT MERCHANDISE ONLY

47

Campbell Woods - 3BR, 3BA, $285,000 #3149290

Forest Park - 3BR, 2BA, 1HB, $289,000 #3146155

Mountain Lake Forest - 3BR, 3BA, 1HB, $325,000 #3153367

Brannon Forest - 3BR, 3BA, 1HB, $339,900 #3149971

Sunset Cove - 2BR, 2BA, 1HB, $350,000 #3150229

Sylva Vista Development 3BR, 3BA, $390,000 #3145666

River Ridge Estates - 3BR, 3BA, 1HB, $417,500 #3152683

Waterrock Estates - 3BR, 3BA, 1HB, $429,000 #3155245

Sanctuary Cove - 4BR, 4BA, $439,900 #3152704

Summer Walk - 3BR, 2BA, 1HB, $449,900 #3148649

Dunroy On Rutledge - 4BR, 3BA, $525,000 #3148940

Smoky Mountain News

March 23-29, 2016

Newfound - 3BR, 2BA, 1HB, $279,500 #3153084

48

Laurel Ridge Country Club 4BR, 5BA, $997,000 #591858 337-13

LIVE

THE

LIFE

You C

HOOSE

Villages Of Plott Creek 3BR, 3BA, $999,000 #569234 Waynesville Office 74 North Main Street (828) 452-5809

beverly-hanks.com for details on any property, enter the MLS # into quick search