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

March 25-31, 2015 Vol. 16 Iss. 43

Haywood charter school secures location Page 17

Former Swain clerk charged with embezzlement Page 19

CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: After a long awaited release, “Serena,” a major motion picture based on the bestselling novel by Ron Rash, is finally hitting select theaters.

Several lousy reviews shouldn’t keep locals from seeing it and deciding for themselves. (Page 6-9) Donated photos

News Paper mill products in high demand ......................................................................4 Evergreen clinic, pharmacy receive extension ....................................................5 Macon makes last landfill expansion ..................................................................11 Jackson steep slope ordinance on back burner .............................................. 12 Jackson declares war on litter ..............................................................................14 Waynesville rethinking proposed smoking ban ................................................15 Jackson Justice Center restricted to one entrance ........................................16 Haywood charter school secures location ........................................................17 Former Swain clerk charged with embezzlement ............................................19

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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).

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Opinion New leaders of Haywood GOP must prove their mettle................................24

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All in the family ..........................................................................................................28

Outdoors Grit and wonder........................................................................................................40

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Mountain waterways and their Native American names ................................55

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March 25-31, 2015 Smoky Mountain News

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Haywood’s paper mill emerges as the blue-collar mainstay

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER here’s good news in the marketplace for Evergreen Packaging paper mill in Canton.

Americans’ love affair with fancy coffee has led to new demand for the stiff, coated paperboard that the mill is known for.

Evergreen has become a market leader in the paperboard line used to make hot cups — and paper cups found at some of the nation’s leading coffee retailers are now being made right here in Haywood County.

And there’s more good news. Styrofoam is on the outs due its bad rap ecologically, creating even more demand for paper hot cups.

“Ours is recyclable and renewable. It gives us an environmental advantage,” said Dane Griswold, the Evergreen plant manager in Canton. Griswold shouted to be heard over the rumble of the turning axles inside the mill as he walked the length of the board paper machine. Slabs of paper blurred past him, like giant fan belts whizzing through a maze of drums more tangled than an M.C. Escher drawing, before eventually winding onto a massive roll at the end of the line where men in hard hats were waiting to dispatch them.

From here, the rolls go to the Waynesville sister facility, where the paper is coated, and then up the chain to more plants where they are cut, rolled, glued and molded into cups, cartons and trays.

The Canton paper mill was historically known as the carton champion. Its thickcoated board paper was found in the orange juice and dairy aisles of grocery stores across America.

“We still make a lot of that,” Griswold said. A few hundred tons a day, in fact.

But carton demand has declined slowly over the decades as plastic screw-top bottles edge out the folding gable-top cartons.

Meanwhile, the sky-rocketing demand for paper coffee cups has come on like a shot of adrenaline.

And it’s predicted to grow even more.

McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts have announced they’re quitting Styrofoam. New York City has even banned Styrofoam.

“The paper industry has been gearing up for this move away from foam,” said James McLaren, a pulp and paper analyst with RISI, a data firm that monitors the global forest products industry.

The Canton mill now makes more paperboard for hot cups than it does cartons.

Another sector on the upward swing: food trays found in frozen dinners. More are now being made out of stiff coated paper instead of plastic. About 9 percent of the Canton mill’s board paper line now goes to frozen dinner trays.

Evergreen’s website bills its paperboard

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March 25-31, 2015

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packaging as a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to both plastic and Styrofoam.

The “mix shift” as Griswold calls it — the ascension of the mill’s hot cup line to surpass the carton line — didn’t happen overnight. It’s come about slowly, and not without effort. Evergreen had to work at it, courting new markets and tightening up its game.

“I can’t be sloppy and have that kind of product. I have to be competitive,” Griswold said, holding a sleek white paper cup prototype in his hand.

Coffee cups are part of an intimate consumer experience. Coffee drinks — especial-

and safety for Evergreen.

THE WHITE PAPER LINE A proven player in the burgeoning hot cup market, the paper mill is likely in the best shape its been in over a decade when it comes to the board paper production.

But board paper accounts for only half of the paper mill’s operation. The other half is regular paper — the kind used for printer paper, office paper, photocopier paper, envelopes and junk mail.

“Junk mail? What are you calling junk mail?” Griswold joked. Touché, bring on the junk mail.

By the numbers ■ 870 tons: daily production volume of stiff board paper ■ 800 tons: daily production volume of regular paper ■ 900 employees: on the payroll at the Canton mill ■ 200 employees: on the payroll at the Waynesville mill ■ $75,000: average mill salary including benefits ■ $525 million: net market value of annual product

duction,” McLaren said.

The overall drop in paper supply propped up the market for the rest of the mills still in production. But international competition is still a threat.

And the decline in paper use isn’t over yet.

“Eventually that decline in demand will

From where Plant Manager Dane Griswold stands, the future for Evergreen Packaging’s paper mill in Canton looks bright.

ly when you pamper yourself with the $5 variety — are usually nurtured and nursed, sipped and slurped. They have to feel smooth in the hand, void of imperfections, and slide easily in and out of cup holders.

“The large coffee retailers are a very demanding customer and rightfully so. You have to learn to meet those demands,” said Mark Hubbard, an Evergreen spokesperson with McGuireWoods Consulting firm in Raleigh.

And only the most high-quality board paper can keep the lip intact around the rim despite contact with liquids.

“You would not believe how difficult that little rolled rim is to make,” said Matt Claypool, director of environment, health

Unfortunately for the mill, paper use has plummeted in the American workplace, schools and halls of government.

“It is secular decline. Demand is just withering up,” McLaren said.

Phone books are only being passed out on request, rather than dumped on doorsteps ubiquitously. The IRS printed fewer paper tax forms this year than ever.

Even newspapers are collectively printing fewer copies as circulation declines, The Smoky Mountain News being an exception, however.

But there is a silver lining, McLaren said.

International Paper closed a massive mill in Alabama last year.

“That took a lot of capacity out of pro-

catch up with capacity,” McLaren said.

You just hope your mill to be one of the last ones standing.

NOT FOR SALE Rumors circulating last year that the mill was for sale sent shock waves through Canton. The rumor was real, according to industry experts, but it’s not for sale anymore.

“Evergreen was technically being put up for sale by Rank. But then they said they were going to keep Evergreen,” McLaren said.

The paper mill has been a

F

Evergreen Packaging Family Pharmacy and Family Medical Center in Canton announced that it has received an extension to stay open through the end of April.

Evergreen announced in January that it would close the employee clinic and pharmacy at the end of March because of declin-

ing use. However, Haywood Regional Medical Center is in discussions with the clinic and pharmacy owners to keep the facilities open.

The pharmacy is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and the clinic is open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The clinic serves employees of the Evergreen Packaging plant in Canton, employee dependants and mill retirees.

When the closing was announced clinic users mounted a public campaign to save it.

QUESTION: When something is USDA certified organic does it mean the farmer doesn’t use pesticides on their crops or orchards?

ANSWER: This is not a yes/no answer. How farmers manage their crops depends on the crop, the climate, the land , and the pressures (rainfall, insects, weeds) during the growing season.

The National Organic Program issues the USDA organic seal that corresponds with specific guidelines for farmers and producers. Like many of their conventional farmer neighbors; farmers that comply with the National Organic Program focus first on prevention of weeds and insects.

For organic farmers in the National Organic Program, should those methods not be sufficient or effective they can only use specific nonsynthetic pesticides that are approved by the National Organic Program: “Biological or botanical substances or materials ….may be used only if preventative practices are not adequate to prevent or control pests, weeds or diseases.” (Source: www.extension.org/pages/18349/nationalorganic-program-summary#.VRBOpmc5BgV)

It is important to remember that many farmers may utilize organic methods but may not be certified organic.

To find out more about pesticides and fruits and vegetables please see www.SafeFruitsandVeggies.com and check out the pesticide calculator.

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pany in the world, in fact. The single largest mainstay of the economic and social landcustomer for Evergreen’s board paper is its scape in Haywood County for a century. own sister companies, which buy its paper, The mill nearly closed in the 1990s, but convert it into folded cartons, cups and the workers rallied to keep it open, partnertrays, and sell it to the end user. ing with a venture capitalist to form an employee-owned mill known as Blue Ridge Paper.

Workers bootstrapped the mill back to solvency, but the venture capitalists soon wanted out, and the mill was back on the market, this time bought up by New Zealand billionaire with major international interests in the wood products, pulp, paper and packaging industry. The holdings are collectively held under the name Rank Limited, with spin-off subsidiary lines, and even more subsidiaries under those.

A huge increase in retail The Canton mill is coffee consumption, part of Ranks’ Evergreen witnessed by the bumping line, which operates a Starbucks inside the Canton host of paper mills, coatIngles, has fueled demand ing facilities and folding for paper board to make hot facilities — including one cups, and the same time in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Styrofoam is on the outs. where Griswold was the plant manager before Griswold said people should feel good coming here. about the mill’s future in Haywood.

So far, it’s worked to the mill’s advan“We are profitable and competitive. We tage to be in Rank’s portfolio. It’s part of a support investment in the community,” vertically integrated food packaging compaGriswold said. ny, the largest foodservice packaging com-

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Evergreen clinic, pharmacy open for another month

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The logging legacy unchained

Appalachian writer Ron Rash takes on a giant with his best-selling novel Serena, which depicts the colliding forces of the Smokies logging era. Mark Haskett/WCU photo

In Serena, Rash lays bare the real story of the Smokies timber boom Editor’s note: The long-anticipated release of the movie “Serena” is a verified flop, but the best selling namesake novel by Appalachian writer Ron Rash was anything but. This week, we checked in with Rash to revisit the inspiration behind the 2008 bestseller and its historical underpinnings.

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER t’s been nearly a century since the logging boom swept across Appalachia, but the story is timeless, forever engraved on the landscape and in the psyche of mountain people.

“It permanently and irrevocably changed the entire face of Western North Carolina,” said Jason Brady, a special collections librarian at Western Carolina University.

It was inevitable that Appalachian writer Ron Rash would eventually wade into the rich and sweeping storyline.

The Appalachian landscape is Rash’s fabled literary canvas, and Serena is no exception. Like in his other five novels, landscape is an indomitable force in Serena that not only drives the plot and molds the characters but is the stage for an epic battle of colliding worlds.

The moneyed timber moguls from the North descend upon Appalachia, exploiting its massive forests and impoverished people for their own profit, destroying the landscape and exacting a human toll as well.

The clash rages on, as political foes of the timber barons try to halt the carnage and create a national park from the ashes.

Of all Rash’s novels, Serena was perhaps most difficult because this story really happened, to real people in real places. The infamous logging era of the Smokies is so rooted in the Appalachian history books, so well chronicled that readers would tolerate only a small measure of poetic license.

“I think it is my most ambitious book.

There is no doubt about that. This is probably my big book, in terms of ambition and length,” said Rash, who teaches at WCU and holds the John Parris Chair in Appalachian Studies.

It was the first time Rash ever truly dabbled in the genre of historical fiction. And he did it well, witnessed by the bestseller lists and sundry accolades heaped on Serena.

Nonetheless, it had to be cloaked in the trappings of a good novel: mystery, romance, murder, double-crosses and, ultimately, philosophical introspection.

“We got 100 books back here about logging,” said George Frizzell, the head of Western Carolina University’s special library collections. “But he really wanted to capture the time and the spirit and the people — that’s why people read works of literature. He 6 created living characters and personalities.”

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March 25-31, 2015

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Rash clearly sympathized with those trying to stop the timber barons and save the Smokies by creating a national park. But in true Rash form, the real heroes were the rural Appalachian people.

“It was always a way of honoring the people who created the park, but also the loggers who were doing these incredibly tough jobs to help their family,” Rash said. “One of the roles of literature and what I want to do in a book like this is honor those people in the region.”

Those people are, of course, Rash’s own people, his roots steeped in the Western North Carolina mountains.

But Rash’s Appalachian characters in Serena don’t exactly prevail — they barely persevere. They were burdened with hard luck and had no choice but to play out the hand they were dealt until the bitter end, which for many came sooner and more suddenly than expected.

But the Appalachian characters demanded respect.

Rash forsakes the stereotype of mountain people naively duped into the deadly work of felling their own forests, trading their precious landscape for a pittance while the timber barons walked away with a fortune, only to realize their mistake in hindsight.

To the contrary, the mountaineers who went to work in the logging camps realized the damage they were doing and knew they were culpable in it.

“That to me is the tragic part,” Rash said.

“These men would have been aware of this.

They were aware of what it was doing to the streams, that the trout were dying, what the runoff was doing, but they were stuck in this terrible dilemma.”

The book follows a logging crew through its daily travails, seeing the events through their eyes. Toward the end of the book, the crew reflects on the wasteland of slash and stumps “where not a single live thing rose,” the mountains likened to a “skinned hide.”

The men looked out on “what was in part their handiwork” as the following dialogue unfolded: “I had my part in the doing of it.”

“We had to feed our families.”

“Yes we did. What I’m wondering is how we’ll feed them once all the trees is cut and the jobs leave.”

“At lest what critters are left have a place they can run to.”

“The park you mean?”

“Yes sire, trouble is they ain’t going to let us stay in there with them.”

“Running folks out so they can run the critters in. That’s a hell of a thing.”

This final banter among loggers is about as preachy as Rash gets. That’s by design.

“I think that is respecting your reader. And also I would view myself as more of a witness than an advocate,” Rash said. He is capturing the events, not staking out right from wrong.

Rash places readers in the trenches alongside one rag-tag crew of loggers as they soldier into the deadly woods season after season. The story faithfully returns to the crew, deploying a clever literary device in the process.

“Of course, they were the Greek chorus.

They were a cross-section of Appalachia, and they stand on the sidelines and talk about what is going on,” said Gary Carden, a writer and historian from Sylva. “I thought he did a beautiful job on it.”

That’s a lot coming from Carden, an expert on Appalachian culture and heritage who isn’t easily pleased and doesn’t take well to misrepresentations.

But Rash captured the complexity of it all, Carden said.

“Appalachian people went to work for the people destroying the country,” Carden said.

“If you were hungry and had the kids at home you took the work. But that employment was temporary. When the trees ran out they had

no work. After you are through destroying everything it is time to move on and destroy something else.”

Rash sees contemporary parallels to the logging era, like mountaintop removal coal mining, which sacrifices landscape for shortterm economic survival. And he can’t help but wonder, what happens when the last coal is removed?

THE LAST WITNESSES

Rash hoped to capture life in the logging camps from the proletarian perspective — the men and boys who went into the high mountains, squatting in make-shift labor camps to do battle against the forests of their homeland.

There are mountains of historical papers on the logging era. He mined various record repositories diligently, but Rash needed to hear about camp life firsthand.

He was nearly too late. It was 2005 when he began researching Serena. By then, most who had worked in the logging camps of the 1910s and 1920s were dead.

But he managed to find a few old-timers, then in their 90s, who remembered the lumber camps and agreed to be interviewed.

Coming next week

Rash was so impressed by this table at Lake Logan Center, made from a massive slab of polished wood from a 250-year-old tree, he created one just like it in Serena.

Ashley T. Evans/WCU photo

Serena a thrilling mix of history and fiction for locals in the know

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER Little bits of local lore riddle the pages of Ron Rash’s Serena.

“As a fiction writer I know I am going to get things wrong, but you do the best you can to get those details as correct as possible,” Rash said. “If we can get enough things right, I think it allows the reader to stay in the dream. Very specific, authentic details allow the reader to believe everything else that is being made up.”

Rash never claimed Serena to be a historical account. It’s set in a real time and a real place: Haywood County in the logging boom of the 1920s and the epic battle over the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

But Rash mixes and mashes, borrowing place names from here and there and swirling them around, or placing historical figures in imagined scenes.

The liberties are few, however. Serena is strikingly accurate and rife with cultural nuances and historical references. Despite being lost on the majority of readers who catapulted Serena to the New York Times bestseller list — how many of them picked up on the reference to the famed breed of bear dogs, the Plott Hound — the locals can appreciate them.

We’ve cataloged some of the prevailing historical references in Serena.

WITH A NOD AND A WINK A supporting character in the novel named R.L. Frizzell paid tribute to George Frizzell, the institutional rock star of

Western Carolina University’s special library collections — the hands-down expert on allthings historical about the region.

The Frizzell in Serena was a professional photographer of the day, and if the fictional Frizzell had in fact been real, the photos he took would have later been curated in the collections of the real Frizzell.

Rash said it was his way of honoring a “very valuable source.”

The real Frizzell said he was indeed honored.

The historical accuracy of Rash's dramatic retelling of the 1920s logging era got a seal of approval from George Frizzell, the head of WCU’s special library collections and an expert historian. WCU photo “I didn’t know about it in advance, much like a surprise party,” Frizzell said.

“That was a real treat.”

THERE FOR THE TAKING Rash’s books are laden with real last names from the region he’s writing about.

Serena, set in Haywood County, has Campbells, Harmons, Nolands, Buchanans, Galloways and so on.

“I think it is one of those little things

Smoky Mountain News

killed or maimed as a logger. A tree falling on you was just the beginning. The loggers in the book met every fate imaginable. They were poisoned by rattlesnake bites, drowned in splash ponds, struck by lightening, impaled by axes, beheaded by snapped cables, frozen in snow storms, toppled from ledges and crushed by machinery.

One of the best anecdotes Rash gleaned from the old-time loggers he interviewed was the dreaded “widow-makers.” When a tree toppled, its limbs would snag in the canopy of neighboring trees and remain there, suspended, threatening to crash down on a hapless soul without warning.

“Most of all, the sharded limbs called widow-makers that waited minutes or hours or even days before falling earthward like javelins,” Rash wrote in Serena.

The widow-makers not only had a rich name but were a perfect metaphor for the impending doom that hung over the loggers, for the inescapable tragedy that defined Appalachian people in Rash’s books.

Carden agrees Rash didn’t exaggerate the danger.

“When I used to go to family reunions, I was always seeing someone on crutches or

TOUGH AS NAILS Rash has often recounted how the story of Serena unfurled around a bold and bewitching image of a woman on horseback riding along a mountain ridge, and how that image would become the novel’s central character.

“She ends up being the destructive forces that destroyed Appalachia,” Carden said. “She is bigger than life. She is terrifying because in a sense she is invulnerable. You can’t defeat her. She has too many weapons. She’s got that goddamn eagle. She is like the mafia.”

Rash noted that Serena’s character was not intended to vilify every timber baron.

“I am not saying every camp was like the one in the book, in terms of the kind of people that ran it,” Rash said.

There’s another female lead in the book: an Appalachian woman who bears the illegitimate son of Serena’s husband and becomes the unfortunate focus of her wrath after Serena learns she is unable to bear children herself.

It’s through this character, Rachel, that Rash offers a glimpse into the life of a subsistence farmer in Appalachia, trailing Rachel as she chinks the chimney on her cabin with a putty of mud and horse droppings or digs ginseng roots to sell. Like Serena, Rachel is tough as nails.

“Serena had tremendous reserves of energy. It is perfectly logical that an Appalachian woman would have the same qualities and she uses them to survive,” Carden said. “It is duality.”

Rash’s plots are haunted by an Appalachian fatalism: life is hard, so hard it sometimes beats you, and try as you might, escape isn’t always possible.

“It’s a hard place this world can be. No wonder a baby cries coming into it. Tears from the very start,” Rash wrote in Serena, spoken by a granny woman named Widow Jenkins.

It sounds an awful lot like a line Rash heard from his own grandmother, who lived on a farm near Boone.

“She told me late in her life ‘We worked so hard just to survive that I never knew if we were happy or not,’” Rash recalled.

Carden said the only complaint he hears about Rash is the intrinsic tragedy that beguiles his characters, an underlying darkness.

“My response is ‘Good, because it is dark.’

If you are going to talk about my culture, talk about it warts and all, don’t try to make it pretty for me. There are some people who say ‘Just lie to me.’ Ron won’t do that,” Carden said.

But Rash does give readers a dab of satisfaction to cling to at the end.

“The chickens come home to roost. It is attribution. It may be a century in coming, but justice does come. Finally,” Carden said.

March 25-31, 2015

Felling a massive tree with hand tools and dragging it down a mountain with a team of horses is a remarkable feat, but nearly a lost skill. Next week, hear from oldtimers who still remember how it was done and join local historians as they journey back in time to the days of the early logging towns.

with one arm,” said Carden, an Appalachian native. “The logging industry was dangerous and you didn’t have any insurance either.”

Lines of fresh workers were always at the ready, jumping off the train cars and loafing about the commissary steps, waiting to claim the jobs of those injured or killed.

“There were all these men ready to replace them,” Rash said. “It was almost like going into battle and reinforcements coming in.”

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“They were very generous in telling me,” Rash said.

“I asked them the question ‘What did you fear the most on the job?’ and there were plenty of those.”

Death and injury loomed large for the loggers in Serena.

“It was incredibly dangerous work. I don’t think I exaggerated it. I could let the reader decide that but the thing that struck me was how incredibly dangerous it was,” Rash said.

There was a litany of ways you could get

S EE H ISTORY, PAGE 9 7

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Hollywood take on novel a flop?

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER Just because something looks good on paper doesn’t mean it’ll work in method.

Case in point, the new Hollywood film “Serena,” which is a silver screen adaptation of the Ron Rash novel of the same name. The book, a Great Depression-era murder drama amid the Western North Carolina logging industry, was a New York Times bestseller, with the film roping in two of the hottest stars in modern day cinema — Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

And yet, why haven’t most folks, even die-hard fans of the searing onscreen chemistry between Academy Award nominee Cooper and Academy Award winner Lawrence (as seen in the mega-hits “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle”), heard of this potential blockbuster success?

“Unfortunately, this third time around is a marketer’s nightmare: ‘Serena’ is a colossal bore that wastes the talents of its two costars,” said critic Bruce Kirkland of the Toronto Sun in a recent review. “As a married couple in the film, they also have zero sexual chemistry on-screen, so their love scenes are squirmy embarrassments for the audience…As a result, ‘Serena’ the movie looks authentic to its period. But that effect does not carry us very far. The rest of the 109-minute running time is an ordeal.”

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Smoky Mountain News

March 25-31, 2015

SCREEN

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Written in 2008, Serena was a fictional bestseller, one that pushed Rash, a Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, further into the national spotlight as one of the finest Southern writers of his time. And within the history of cinema lies the age-old saying, “the book was better than the movie,” an adage that is applying more to “Serena” as the bad film reviews roll in.

“I’ll let the people decide for themselves on what they think about the film,” Rash said this past week.

Even though Rash wrote the book, once he sold the movie rights, the story, and its fate, was out of his control.

“I haven’t seen it or really kept up with it.

I haven’t even read the screenplay. I stayed out of it. It’s hard enough to write a good story, so I just concentrate on that,” he said in an interview with The Smoky Mountain News this past December.

Set right after the Wall Street Stock Market Crash of 1929, the story takes place in Waynesville, where timber tycoon George Pemberton (Cooper) and his newlywed wife Serena (Lawrence) find themselves amid a once-profitable Southern Appalachian industry falling into hard times just as the United States government eyes the vast landscape for the eventual creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s a tale of greed, murder, love, jealousy and seemingly everything else in-between. Quite simply, the words on the page read for Hollywood

cinema gold.

But, it seems a perfect storm of problems converged, turning a possible Oscar-contending film into another “straight to DVD” release with only around 75 theaters participating in the nationwide film release on March 27 (the movie originally premiered in London last October).

For starters, the book itself is an intricate, detail-rich piece of prime literature, with a massive operation undertaken to be able to distill it into a 109-minute film, and yet still keep the storyline respectful to the novel. The landscape seen onscreen is not that of the Great Smoky Mountains; rather it is portrayed by the peaks of the Czech Republic — an overseas location that is more cost-effective and easier to adjust to time periods (lack of industrial development and less societal infrastructure interference) than in America. Add in post-production delays, editing issues, a moving target for a release date, a heap of bad reviews and a lack of marketing and promotion, and you have yourself a $30 million Hollywood production falling through the cracks of 21st century pop culture.

LET IT ROLL So, now what? On with the show, as they say.

“We still plan to show it, but will consider it more in context of the novel and create supporting events around it, rather than expect attendance for the movie’s sake alone,” said Lorraine Conard, co-owner of The Strand at 38 Main. “Even a less-than-perfect silver screen version of a successful novel creates a wonderful opportunity for engagement around different aspects for the adaptation and the topic in general.”

Upon viewing the film, one is easily lost in the plot points, where rather large segments of the story are often rushed through to get to the next scene. Characters are thrown into and out of the film as if a tornado rolled through the screenwriting process.

And those main actors that do put the film on their shoulders barely scratch the surface of the people they portray. Granted, the cinematography and mountainous landscape are beautiful, but that is all too easily dismissed with simple dialogue, a cheesy panther attack that appears to be computer generated, and not to mention the bear hunting scene, which shows a grizzly being shot at (an animal not native or documented to have existed in Western North Carolina).

“The scenery is certainly evocative of Western North Carolina — the beauty of our area is portrayed and positively represented. I think local folks will feel the difference, but for people unfamiliar with the area, it’s still visually compelling,” Conard said. “Ultimately, the film is about our area, the book it’s based on by a local author. We want to make sure our community has the opportunity to experience the film in our community.”

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has similar sentiments.

“The fact that it is a story that encompasses the characters that were written in Ron Rash’s novel is what should be looked at,” said Becky Seymour, video production manager for the TDA. “There will always be positive reviews and negative reviews and it is up to the individual to judge the film.

Either way, it is a good marketing tool for Western North Carolina, like any film that mentions or was shot in our area.”

Seymour also heads the Haywood County Film Commission, a branch of the TDA that aims to attract film productions to shoot locally, to embrace the unique people and landscape of Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains. Take in mind, too, that another legendary book about Haywood County, Charles Frazier’s bestseller Cold Mountain that became a box office hit in 2003, was filmed in Romania, though its popularity, in both book form and cinema, still positively affects the tourism of our region.

“Depending on the context used to represent Western North Carolina and Haywood County in these productions, the exposure is a great thing,” Seymour said.

“The fact of the matter is, the real location is what people need to focus on. A lot of these movies are supposed to be the Great Smokies, but are really filmed in another country. It’s my job, along with the TDA, to continue to use these films as a marketing tool but still push the real adventure and experience that visitors can have, outside of the camera lens.”

A LOST OPPORTUNITY? How could a plot this rich be squandered? There was romance, murder, exploits, and mystery. There were larger than life characters, a sweeping period setting and a clash of worlds amid the falling forests of Southern Appalachia.

“What happened to this potential Academy Award-winning story? Who messed it up? How did they ruin it?” pondered Gary Carden, a Sylva-based writer and winner of the North Carolina Literature Award, who is also a friend of Rash.

Then again, is it really such a surprise?

“The best thing that can happen to you is Hollywood will buy your book and never make the movie,” Carden said. “Because if they film it they will mess it up.”

Still, it’s got be disappointing to Rash, even though he won’t say so publicly. Serena was his masterpiece, and even during the writing of it, he saw it as prime material for a feature film.

“Ron has wanted a movie for a long time. He has written a few books hoping they would become movies,” Carden said. “[But] what he could not control was Hollywood.”

Critics be damned, I’m watching it anyway

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER There are plenty of Ron Rash fans who have been waiting — and waiting — for “Serena” the movie to come out, and they won’t let all those bad reviews rain on their parade.

Subconsciously, they know every movie reviewer in America can’t be wrong. But in the end, who can resist seeing their hometown depicted on the big screen? So the curious and loyal will bite the bullet and tune in to “Serena,” as an academic exercise if nothing else.

How well does it capture the mountain dialect? Or Appalachian life in the 1920s? Does it follow Rash’s plot line? Does it accurately portray the historical tug-of-war between timber barons and national park proponents?

A ray of hope in the reviews: the costuming is well done at least.

The historical backdrop for Serena is one of the most pivotal in Southern Appalachia, a brief yet irreparable era that not only took its toll on the Appalachian landscape but forever altered its people and demographics.

“It has epic proportions to it. It is captivating,” said George Frizzell, the lead historian and curator of WCU’s special library collections. For the record, Frizzell was referring to the book’s narrative, not the movie, which he hasn’t seen, yet.

Last year, the much-acclaimed bestselling novel Serena was assigned as summer reading for every incoming freshman at Western Carolina University, where Rash is a professor of Appalachian Studies.

The timing no doubt seemed clever to the book selection committee, anticipating a frenzy when the movie came out later in the school year, but now it seems the forethought was for naught.

Nonetheless, Frizzell thought a little context was in order.

He dove into WCU’s special collection archives to piece together an armchair tour of the historical relevance of Serena, and the resulting presentation attracted a house of nearly 500 students and faculty in the fall.

“The goal was to show them that ‘Yes indeed, Ron was able to capture a wonderful portrait and representation of life in this time period,’” Frizzell said.

H ISTORY, CONTINUED FROM 7

A SEAT AT THE TABLE In the aristocratic quarters of Serena’s timber barons, a massive dining table ringed by captain’s chairs was made from a single polished slab of wood — a symbol of the opulence derived from the destruction of the timeless forests. That table was inspired by a real one Rash saw at Lake Logan Retreat Center, in the heart of the former Sunburst logging territory.

“There is a table up there that is very similar to the one in Serena, made from a single piece of yellow poplar. I was just stunned by it,” Rash said.

The real table has more than 230 growth rings on it, a sapling in the late 1600s that was eventually cut in the early 1900s.

notebook in his hand, they surely suspected he was more than an astute tourist.

“I paid my money, so they couldn’t run me out,” Rash said.

REAL PEOPLE, FAKE SCENES The cast of characters in Serena included several appearances from real life historical figures, like Charles Webb, the editor of the Asheville Citizen who opined tirelessly in favor of the park.

One scene depicts the director of the National Park Service, Horace Albright, traveling to the region to meet with George and Serena Pemberton in hopes of negotiating a buy-out of their land holdings for the park.

The most notable figure is Horace Kephart, a famous writer and adopted son of the Smokies who championed the park on the national stage. In the book, Kephart was

the morals of logging and the national park “nonsense.”

“There were people who had a lot to lose if Kephart got his way. Those people were very real and that’s what Serena represents,” said Jason Brady, a librarian with WCU’s special collections.

By the way, Kephart historians are well aware that the story surrounding the deadly car crash that killed Kephart is full of holes and incongruities. Rash was wondering if anyone picked up on or shared his theory of Kephart’s death. Rash surmises Kephart was dispatched by Serena, who had a knack for staging deadly accidents, like so many of her other foes.

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that make the book truer. It makes the book more real to the reader,” Rash said.

Rash uses real place names as well: Clingmans Dome, Deep Creek, Rough Fork, Balsam Mountain, Mount Sterling, Noland Mountain, Cove Creek. With so many rich place names to pick from, why bother making any up?

landings where logs were staged, clearings where camps were built, even the scars of old skid trails. Artifacts — twisted metal rails, coils of cable, even spent boilers — likewise litter the woods.

While writing Serena, Rash stumbled on a man named Ron Sullivan who was on a mission to map every forgotten railroad spur constructed by loggers in Haywood County.

“He occasionally came in to Waynesville and we would meet,” said Sullivan, who was in the midst of his own research at the same time Rash was writing Serena.

Through Sullivan’s boots-on-the-ground sleuthing of old railroad spurs, he became a self-educated expert on what it took to mount a massive timber operation.

“You got to build a mill, you got to lay all the tracks, you have to have skidders and log cars and engines. You had some in the shop at any given time because there were a lot of derailments. You got a ton of folks out in the

AN IMAGINARY MAP Anyone who reads Serena and knows Haywood County has a hunch which logging town Rash used for the setting. None

REAL LIFE POLITICAL DRAMA

Trains played a pivotal role in the logging boom, with spur lines, inclines and trestles snaking for miles to penetrate remote stands of hard-to-reach timber.

The signs of the logging era are still hidden in the woods. You can walk the old logging roads and rails. You can find signs of

woods you got to pay,” Sullivan said. “You would very carefully design where am I going to cut, where you are going to put the railroad, what equipment do I have, what do I need to buy or lease.”

A TRIP TO THE BILTMORE A scene in Serena plays out in the halls of the Biltmore Estate at a dinner party hosted by Biltmore heiress Cornelia Cecil.

The timber barons George and Serena Pemberton spar with the editor of the Asheville Citizen, Charles Webb, a proponent of the park.

Rash’s descriptions of the Biltmore Estate even include specific portraits and prints on the walls of different rooms. Aside from researching the type of parties the Cecils held, Rash treated himself to a day at the Biltmore to soak up the ambience and let his mind wander.

“I spent a day at the Biltmore House just kind of taking it in, taking notes and also getting a feel for the place,” Rash said. He didn’t announce himself when he went, but after loitering about the great hall for an hour with a

“Very specific, authentic details allow the reader to believe everything else that is being made up.”

— Ron Rash

equated to a modern-day Thoreau and the Smokies’ version of John Muir.

But Rash even worked in Kephart’s shortcomings, which only a few Kephart scholars would have picked up on.

“To me he is such a fascinating character.

I did make up the scenes but I hope I caught something of him,” Rash said.

George Frizzell, the head of special library collections at WCU, said Serena wouldn’t have been complete without Kephart.

“You need a character who personifies the movement for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Kephart does that perfectly,” Frizzell said.

Encounters between Kephart and Serena are loaded with verbal barbs as they debate

are still left, of course, although the marks they left on the landscape will take centuries to heal, if ever.

Some say it’s Sunburst, which is now part of the Shining Rock Wilderness. Some say it must be Crestmont, the logging town set in the Big Creek area that became part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Still others put their bets on Quinlantown, now ensconced by the preserved Waynesville watershed.

But of all the real place names Rash drags into his stories, there’s three you won’t hear in Serena: Sunburst, Crestmont or Quinlantown.

He borrows elements from all of them, yet set the book in none of them. Even though the Pemberton’s empire in Serena becomes part of the park — which would most closely align it with Crestmont in the Big Creek area — some of the geographic references don’t add up. But you can’t take a jaunt from Big Creek to Bryson City, which the characters in the book did when paying the fabled Horace Kephart a visit.

“I shifted the geography around a little bit sometimes,” Rash said.

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Smoky Mountain News

LIFE ON THE LINE

A crew of weary loggers gathered on their day’s haul (left). The trees felled by hand in the logging era (right) were nothing like the forests we know today, where even the biggest trees today are babies compared to the old-growth that once covered the Southern Appalachians. Donated photos

March 25-31, 2015

The creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was born out of the logging devastation, but it was a race against time. Timber barons were intent on denuding every stand to stumps and slash before they were stopped, while the park proponents battled to save the final vestiges of the old-growth forest from destruction.

The tension mounted as the forces collided, with the local people passively watching the tug-of-war over their landscape play out around them.

Rash captured this pivotal moment in the nation’s history alongside his invented characters. Rash slips in the names of real logging companies from the day, how much they got for their acreage when selling out to the park, and even the saving grace of the Rockefellers’ philanthropy to make the land purchase for the park possible.

The political maneuvering over the creation of the park is woven gingerly into the plot line — from the campaign to win the hearts and minds of local people to the bullying and bribing by timber barons trying to stop the park.

“There was this big political hoopla with all these money people trying to fight this,” said Anne Melton, a historian in Waynesville who’s published a book on the logging town history of Haywood County. “They were trying to get the locals to fight this thing by telling them they would be out of a job.”

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Smoky Mountain News March 25-31, 2015

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Macon to purchase additional landfill property M

How do other counties dispose of trash?

JACKSON COUNTY • Hauls waste to Waste Management R&B Landfill in Homer, Georgia, 90 miles one way.

• Hauled about 27,337 tons in 2014 • Total transporting costs for 2014 were $1,142,393 SWAIN COUNTY • Hauls waste to Waste Management Landfill in Homer, Georgia.

• Hauled about 7,970 tons in 2014 • Total transporting costs for 2013-14 were $390,749 HAYWOOD COUNTY • Contracts with private company, Consolidated Waste Services • Hauls waste to county landfill in White Oak Community • Total costs is $315,000 for hauling from the convenience centers to White Oak.

Public gets chance to weigh in on noise proposal

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potential or future problems.

“I think we’ve achieved the goals the board gave us,” Mason said, adding that the ordinance should be an evolving document as problems arise.

The planning board worked closely with Sheriff Robbie Holland and County Attorney Chester Jones.

The proposed “Macon County Nuisance Ordinance” prohibits nuisances that result from loud, unnecessary and disturbing noise. The ordinance further defines loud, unnecessary and disturbing noise as “any noise intentionally created which because of its volume level, duration and/or character annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, health, peace, or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities in the county.”

Mason said the word “intentionally” was deliberately used to limit the nuisance ordinance. Also, tailoring the ordinance to only

Macon County’s proposed nuisance noise ordinance would exempt noise created by: • Legal operations of any industrial operation, commercial business, nonprofit organization, or governmental facility or function.

• Normal maintenance and operations of residential and commercial property.

• Agricultural and horticultural operations.

• Authorized emergency vehicles.

• Military, law enforcement activities, or educational institution.

• Any bell or chime from any building clock, school or church.

• Lawful fireworks on holidays and at religious ceremonies.

• Any public recreational event or public entertainment activity.

• Firearms while being used in a lawful and safe manner. prohibit nuisance noise made by people ensures noise made by domestic animals is not included in the ordinance.

“There were a lot of questions that came

PUBLIC COMMENT Although no one is happy to see a landfill expanding near his or her residence, there was little public comment throughout the process.

The town of Franklin held a public hearing Jan. 5 to receive input before rezoning the Pannell properties for the landfill expansion.

Angela Moore said she was in favor of the rezoning because the property should have never been residential any way with the landfill in place.

Susan Schlatter, a Pannell Lane resident, didn’t have any opposing comments — she only asked how big the buffer would be.

“We don’t want to drive down Pannell Road and see the landfill every day,” she said.

up about dogs,” Mason said.

Planning Board Chairman Chris Haners said he also heard concerns about the ordinance prohibiting shooting guns, loud music in neighborhoods, dogs and nonprofit activities. He said he feels like all those concerns were addressed with the exemptions portion of the ordinance.

The sheriff would be responsible for enforcing the ordinance and any person violating the ordinance would be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The fine would not exceed $500.

Commission Chairman Kevin Corbin thanked the planning board for its work on the issue. He said he had received calls from people who thought the proposed language was too strict and from those who thought it wasn’t strict enough.

“I think we should go ahead and put it on the agenda in another six months to see how it’s working and make any deletions or corrections needed down the road,” he said.

Commissioners agreed to hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, during their regular meeting.

The board will also discuss future tasks for the planning board during the March 31 11 meeting.

Smoky Mountain News

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR acon County commissioners appear to be amenable to the planning board’s proposed plan to deal with nuisance noise, but the public will have one more chance to voice its opinions before the board takes a final vote.

The planning board was tasked with drafting a noise ordinance in September to address complaints from residents regarding noisy neighbors. The complaints were about neighbors maliciously making noise at all hours to disturb the peace.

After holding a number of meetings, including three in January, Planning Director Matt Mason presented a draft to commissioners. Many members of the planning board had different ideas of what should be included, but ultimately it came down to following the commissioners’ specific directives — address the problem, not

Exemptions

was almost $1 million a year by expanding,” he said.

While that is just an estimate, Stahl feels certain that as the county better manages its waste and recycles more, the savings could be more and the landfill could last longer than anticipated. About 30,000 tons of waste a year is going into the landfill and about another 8,000 tons is being recycled.

“The variables with transporting out are beyond our control,” he said. “Those variables are likely to rise.”

The county might be able to find capacity at a landfill in Georgia for the next several years, but transportation costs will continue to increase as the county has to keep driving farther to find available space.

“Potentially we won’t be burying trash forever,” he said. “There are new technologies on the horizon and hopefully it won’t be that expensive in 60 years.”

March 25-31, 2015

preservation issues and another had a road cutting through the middle of it.

The current landfill, which is adjacent to the property being purchased by the county, is estimated to reach capacity by the end of 2016. The landfill is 22 acres and has been permitted since the mid-90s. While the county is spending $1.5 million to purchase 23 acres, Stahl said only 10 acres would be actual landfill space.

Since the Little Tennessee River runs

along the property, Stahl said the landfill buffer would be expanded as well. He said the landfill had to be 300 feet away from the river or any wetlands near the river and 500 feet from any residence.

Stahl expects the additional land will accommodate the county’s waste needs for at least another 60 years. He said it could be longer if recycling continues to increase and if new technologies are made available in the next 40 years.

Commissioners weren’t thrilled about expanding the landfill, but they said it was something that had to be done.

Commissioner Paul Higdon motioned to move forward with closing on the property and it passed unanimously.

“It’s something we have to do — let’s bite the bullet and pay for it,” he said.

Stahl said many counties in North Carolina are buying capacity at other waste facilities and hauling their waste out of county or even out of state to Georgia and Tennessee, including Swain and Jackson counties. Haywood County still has a landfill but a private company is now managing it.

Stahl said the county looked into hauling its waste to another site, but it would cost more than expanding the landfill. Stahl said a financial analysis was done last year to see if expansion or hauling was a better option.

Hauling costs are difficult to predict on a long-term basis since diesel fuel prices fluctuate regularly. As available space decreases at other landfills, demand increases along with the tipping fees to dump trash.

“When we ran an analysis for the whole life of the facility — 60 years versus transporting for 60 years — the savings for the county

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BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR acon County is taking the final steps to expand its landfill life expectancy by 60 years, likely the last expansion before the county will have to figure out a new plan for disposing waste.

Commissioners recently approved purchasing two tracts of land that will enable the county to expand the current MSW Landfill on Pannell Lane in Franklin. For a total of about $1.5 million, the county plans to purchase 14.5 acres from Donald Burling at 256 Pannell Lane and 8.3 acres from Charles and Wendy Dalton at 198 Pannell Lane.

Solid Waste Director Chris Stahl presented the alternative site analysis to commissioners, which determined the Pannell Lane properties were most suitable for the landfill expansion out of 17 possible sites.

Commissioner Ronnie Beale asked Stahl if he found anything surprising during the site analysis process.

“The big take away was that I’m pretty confident this will be the last landfill ever built in Macon County,” he said.

Fortunately for the county, the Daltons and Burlings were willing to sell their property. Otherwise, the county would have had a hard time finding a suitable location — and even if it did — it would have cost millions more to build all new infrastructure, including a scale house, recycling facility and a convenience center.

After examining the alternative sites, Stahl said all the others had some sort of flaw that would make it impossible to construct a landfill or make it extremely costly. One site had a fault line, one was restricted by historic

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Sidelined rewrite of steep slope rules not going anywhere fast

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER stalled rewrite of Jackson County’s steep slope development rules will remain stalled for months, or even longer.

The fate of the county’s steep slope rules — whether they would be loosened a lot, a little or left alone — has been up in the air since this time last year. The direction largely hinged on the outcome of the county commissioner election last fall.

That election is now in the rearview, but steep slope rules still aren’t something commissioners will address in earnest until much later in the year, according to newlyelected Commission Chairman Brian McMahan.

“It is not going to be on our plate for quite some time,” McMahan said.

McMahan said the commissioners haven’t really discussed it. They have a queue of more pressing planning issues in line ahead of the steep slope rewrite — Cullowhee land-use planning, cell tower rules and fracking.

Steep slope rules were on the verge of being loosened this time last year. The planning board had finally reached the finish line of a lengthy rewrite making the slope rules substantially weaker. The rewrite was shipped on to commissioners for final approval, but then sidelined by public outcry.

With a commissioner election looming, the politically charged climate wasn’t conducive to rational dialog — so claimed then-commissioner Jack Debnam. So the rewrite was shipped back to the planning board and tabled until after the election.

The make up of the commissioners flipped in the election. The new majority were never fans of the rewrite, at least as proposed.

But County Planner Gerald Green said some parts of the rewrite have merit and should eventually be considered. The rewrite cleaned up ambiguous language, for instance. And while the new board of commissioners may not endorse a major rollback of steep slope rules, they may be amenable to some modest loosening.

Still, it’s been difficult for those who worked so hard on the rewrite to let it go.

“I don’t want to see all the work the previous board has done, the previous board from a year ago, has done. The board had a reason for doing the revisions it did. I don’t want to see it thrown out and start from scratch,” Clark Lipkin, a surveyor and champion of the original rewrite, said at a March planning board meeting.

Green replied that the rewrite simply 12 wouldn’t fly now, given the new political

things to compromise on and ship a new version back out.

Here’s an excerpt from that discussion last March: “Golly, we could be starting totally over again. We got to keep moving,” said Ben Burgin. “Can we just agree on what the top three issues are?”

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

“So you are going to relive it?” Dickie Woodard asked, envisioning a replay of the 18-month rewrite up to that point.

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

Smoky Mountain News

March 25-31, 2015

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dynamic among commissioners after the election.

Complicating matters, there has been turnover on the Jackson planning board since the initial rewrite. Those wanting to roll back the steep slope rules dominated the planning board during the yearlong rewrite.

But just as the rewrite got to the finish line, a spat of new appointments altered the makeup.

Three new members came on the board last April, tempering the pro-rewrite camp.

The planning board is now more or less split into three equal groups: those who favor strong slope regulations, those who favor weaker rules and those somewhere in

sioners,” Green told the planning board.

Although McMahan said commissioners wouldn’t get around to steep slope revisions anytime soon, the planning board cracked open the steep slope ordinance this month anyway and began tackling some of the lowhanging fruit.

One of those was the contentious issue of so-called housing density on slopes.

The original steep slope rules had a sliding scale — the steeper the slope, the fewer the houses. But the rewrite stripped the steep slope rules of the density restriction.

Now, the new majority on the planning board wants to keep some sort of density restrictions. And that didn’t sit well with those who previously fought to get rid of them.

“As I recall, we chose to eliminate the density standards,” Lipkin said at the March planning board meeting. “There were reasons, for those of you not on the board at the time.”

Green said keeping density standards was simply the reality.

“I am trying to find something that will get approved by the commissioners. That will not,” Green said.

A clear signal that the scales on the planning board have tipped since the initial rewrite days, the majority of the new board voted to keep density standards. However, they proposed a new sliding scale that isn’t as strict.

Sarah Thompson, a planning board member who served during the rewrite but was against most of it, hopes to restore the spirit of the steep slope rules, which were lost in the rewrite.

“At the macro level we are trying to manage risk — risk to the environment, risk to the homeowner and risk to the homeowners above them and below them,” Thompson said. “I recommend we back off and look at that and say ‘Have we actually helped manage risk?’”

GET IN LINE the middle.

“I believe it is more balanced now. We have pretty good give and take there. It is not all give or all take,” said Burt Kornegay, one of the new members to come on the planning board who favors mountainside protections.

The planning board will change even more later this year. Two chief proponents of the rewrite will be forced to step down from the planning board, having served the maximum number of terms. As vacancies come up and the new commissioners name replacements, the planning board will gradually shift to more closely mirror the views of the new commissioner board.

A FALSE START? A planning board discussion at the March meeting had a ring of deja vu to it.

The planning board seems to be in nearly the same boat now as it was last March. The planning board was trying to regroup after the public shot down its rewrite. They had to decide whether to start over or pick a couple

Thompson was outnumbered then, and the planning board decided to soften the rewrite in a couple places to make it more palatable, and then ship it back out. That’s when the commissioners called for a timeout until after the election.

Now, the planning board is once again looking at reliving some of the old discussion.

The question is what should serve as a template: should the laxer rewrite be the jumping off point for that discussion, or should the planning board default back to the original as its working template?

David Brooks, a planning board member, prefers to pick up where they left off.

To planning board members like Brooks who led the initial rewrite, it’s frustrating to see the rewrite picked apart by newer members who parachuted onto the field at halftime.

Green said he has defaulted to the original, stricter steep slope rules, but will mine the rewrite for the sections worthy of salvaging.

“I will bring up the things that I think will be acceptable to our board of commis-

The steep slope rules are fourth in line, as McMahan sees it.

There are more pressing issues in the planning arena the county needs to address first.

• Cullowhee development guidelines are in the final stage of being passed, but aren’t out of the woods yet.

• A revamp of cell tower rules has been drafted, but has to move through the public vetting process and consideration by commissioners.

• Fracking regulations are the next priority. Planning board chair Sarah Thompson announced to the planning board in March that they had a directive from commissioners to explore what regulations were at the county’s disposal to try to regulate fracking.

One planning board member questioned why that’s the county’s business, since fracking is a state issue.

“I am not going to vote for that,” said David Brooks, a planning board member with an anti-regulation bent, who doesn’t want to wade into the fracking fray.

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Maggie Valley United Methodist Church will hold its sixth annual pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 28, in the MVUMC fellowship hall.

All-you-can-eat pancakes will be featured, with bacon, sausage, coffee, milk and orange juice. Cost is $8 for adults and $3 for children under 12.

Proceeds from this fundraiser will help support church missions and ministries. Maggie Valley United Methodist Church is at 4192 Soco Road in Maggie Valley. Tickets will be available at the door and in advance. Call 828-926-8036.

Early Swain settlers program is April 2 “Land and the Early Settlers of Swain County: Who Lived Where and Where They Went” will be the program presented by Mary Wachacha at the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society at 6:30 p.m.

April 2 at the SCGHS Library, 200 Main St., Bryson City. Networking and refreshments after the presentation.

Learn the science of beer

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Smoky Mountain News

But the planning board is not a free agent, and can only work on issues the commissioners charge them to work on — and it appears fracking is one of those.

“We have been directed by commissioners to address that,” Thompson said.

McMahan said in an interview that he wants to put whatever protections the county has at its disposal in place as soon as possible, before the fracking floodgates open.

“We passed a resolution that stated our philosophy, that we opposed fracking as a practice,” McMahan said of the commissioners. “Are there other things we can do to help offer protections and enhance the safeguards?”

McMahan said that discussion will likely lead to a larger overhaul of a county ordinance regulating mining and other high-impact, heavy-polluting industries.

Green chimed in that he would like to update the language in the county’s junkyard regulations at some point, too.

“They are taking one thing at a time now,” Green said.

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March 25-31, 2015

A conference on the fermentation of beer will be held Thursday, April 9 at Western Carolina University’s A.K. Hinds University Center.

The biannual “Molecules in the Mountains” conference, part of the N.C. Biotechnology Center’s “Science in the Mountains” series, will be offered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Ray Daniels of the Siebel Institute of Technology and the Cicerone Certification Program. Daniels is an expert in the brewing industry and has extensive experience in the formulation of recipes for brewing beer. Free and open to the public. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Register by April 2. moleculesinthemountains.weebly.com.

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Maggie Valley UMC pancake breakfast to be March 28

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Declaring war on litter Jackson County residents gear up for assault against unsightly roadsides

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER f Lisa Muscillo has a superpower, it’s probably her ability to zero in on roadside litter, no matter how well it’s hidden or how high the speed limit.

“I see the litter in high definition,” she said. “Every little piece sticks out to me. I can drive at 70 miles an hour. I see every little pin, every everything.”

If she had a second superpower, it would Lisa Muscillo probably be the tremendous energy with which she attacks those unnatural problems she sees while zooming along the highway. To Muscillo, litter isn’t just a minor annoyance. It’s an evil, an unrighteous wrong scarring the face of her home, Jackson County.

“I’m totally obsessive-compulsive, and this has become like an addiction with me,” she said. “I feel like a crackhead. All I think about is litter.”

Muscillo had resolved to “give it my all”

Smoky Mountain News

March 25-31, 2015

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between the first of the year and April, when things typically start picking up at her Cashiers-based cleaning business. She’s been going out at least three times a week, filling bags with everything from McDonald’s wrappers and plastic bags to beer cans and needles.

Part of that cleanup has been in conjunction with the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River, which with its partners has picked up 2,400 pounds since January.

“When I say ‘2,400 pounds since January,’ much more has been picked up than that,” said Roger Clapp, WATR’s executive director.

“That’s just the little bit that I’ve chased behind and put in my truck.”

The stuff he hauls himself he has weighed before dumping it, while the orange bags left for the N.C. Department of Transportation to pick up aren’t counted in the figure.

With those numbers, it’s undeniable that litter is a problem in Jackson County, Muscillo and Clapp said. That’s why they enlisted some state-level expertise in the form of Mike Causey, DOT Adopt-A-State-Highway coordinator. Causey came to talk trash with a gathering of concerned citizens at the Jackson County Administration Building last week.

“Twice a week I take garbage bags, boxes and pick up all the beer cans thrown on the highway,” County Commissioner Charles Elders, who lives along a main road, told the gathering. “I have been mowing, watching as I go and — kathung — a can or two will

Bags of roadside litter await pickup from the N.C. Department of Transportation. Donated photo

Give a hand Want to help fight the war against litter in Jackson County?

• Enlist. Contact Lisa Muscillo at zeus71700@yahoo.com or 828.331.8626.

• Report. If you see someone littering, call in the license plate number to the N.C. Department of Transportation at 1.877.368.4968 (DOT.4YOU). www.ncdot.gov/doh/operations/dp_chief_eng/roadside/beautification/litterbug/ • Train. Learn more about litter and prevention efforts at www.keepncbeautiful.org. land right in front of or behind me, so it is a problem.”

In addition to representatives from the county, Sylva, Dillsboro and Webster, the meeting drew a smattering of private citizens, mangers from Ingles stores in Sylva and Bryson City, Adam Bigelow of the Tuckaseigee Trash Mob, Barbara Hart of Swain Clean and Sarah McVeigh of the local Adopt-a-Highway program.

“I thought the meeting was excellent,” Clapp said. “I think we’ve still got a long way to go to enlist the kind of broad support we need to really make a dent into the trash.”

Mike Causey Causey talked about some different ways to do that.

Keep N.C. Beautiful, an organization supporting litter education programs, is one way to go, as is further support of the Adopt-aHighway program in which individuals or groups take responsibility for keeping a 2mile stretch of road in their community clean. In Jackson County, there are 69 unclaimed sections.

A lot of the trash comes from uncovered pickups, blowing out accidently as the vehicle gathers speed on the road. In Sampson County, Causey said, commissioners decided to address that issue by instituting a $25 fine for trucks that came to the dump without a tarp covering their load. The ordinance didn’t quite work as planned.

“Whatever you do there’s going to be a kickback. There’s unintended consequences,” Causey said. “The kickback was some people said, ‘I’m not paying the fine’ and they dumped their trash on the side of the road.”

To catch those people, there’s always the option of effective though expensive camera traps, and the state also has a Swat-aLitterbug program, which allows citizens to

call in the license plate numbers of people they’ve seen littering. Though the state can’t levy a fine from those reports, it can send an intimidating-looking letter letting the person know they’ve been seen and advising them of what could have happened had they been caught by an officer.

“Now that I have a smartphone, I’m really increasing my Swat-a-Litterbug,” Hart commented, advising Causey that she was probably the person who’d been blowing up their phone lines in the western counties.

Everyone in the room agreed that litter was a problem, and though Causey was clear that it’s an issue everywhere, not just in Jackson County, the group was adamant that the status quo isn’t acceptable for their home.

But what to do about it?

“We need to work at a number of different — scales,” Clapp said.

Encouraging people to adopt one of the unclaimed sections of state highway would do a lot, and coordination with Swain Clean, the anti-litter group Hart is part of, would probably help both groups. Having a presence at events such as Sylva’s Greening up the Mountains and Western Carolina University’s Tuck River Clean Up would help.

But as well as worker bees, Clapp would like to see more leaders come to the forefront so he can go back to focusing on litter and other issues in streams, rather than hopping over the banks and up to the roads.

Shaking up the masses is always quite a job, but going forward Muscillo and Clapp can expect some support from the county as well.

“We’re willing to look at allocating some funds in the budget to assist with this problem, and I think we would very much like to look at it from an education perspective,” Wooten said, adding that Keep N.C. Beautiful and programs in the schools might be a good place to start.

“We have to have a mindset change in folks,” he said. “They have to take pride in their community.”

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The 32nd annual Haywood County Senior Games will be held April 21 – May 21 throughout the county.

Registration is open through April 10, at the Haywood County Recreation & Parks office located at 63 Elmwood Way, Suite B

in Waynesville. Participants get the opportunity to compete in a variety of athletic events, including shuffleboard, cornhole, pickleball, horseshoes, bowling and track and field events.

Registration is $10. The fee includes a T-shirt, breakfast at the Opening Ceremony and AARP Ice Cream Social on April 29.

828.452.6789 or www.haywoodnc.net.

Reservations Required Call 828-454-6662 or purchase tickets at the Bethea Welcome Center, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

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Business of the Month!

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Smoky Mountain News

Seniors prepare for annual Senior Games

Tickets:

March 25-31, 2015

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER parking enforcement ordinance in Sylva is making an appearance in the state Legislature.

“After the town board passed the ordinance, we received an email from a downtown business owner asking when the General Assembly authorized us to use wheel locks,” said Town Manager Paige Dowling. “As the town attorney [Eric Ridenhour] and I were looking into it, we realized that some towns in North Carolina have authorization from the General Assembly to use them. Others don’t.”

The town passed the ordinance in January to give police a tool to enforce town-parking rules, a challenging task.

At the time, Police Chief Davis Woodard told the town board that they were sitting on $7,500 worth of Downtown Sylva. unpaid parking tickets Max Cooper photo issued since 2011, and some of the people to The need for state action stems from the whom they were issued had told him outright they had no plans to pay. The ordi- fact that North Carolina, like 40 of the 50 nance allowed police to put wheel locks on states, is a Dillon’s Rule state, said Sen. Jim violators’ cars — if they’d already been Davis, R-Franklin, who introduced the bill issued a parking ticket that had gone unpaid rubberstamping Sylva’s ordinance. Dillon’s — and charge a $25 unlocking fee. If the Rule, named for a chief justice of the Iowa money wasn’t paid within 24 hours, the ordi- Supreme Court in the late 1800s, basically nance said, the car could be towed at the says that local governments can do only what the state has expressly authorized them to do owner’s expense.

In the writing of the ordinance, Dowling and when questions arise puts the benefit of said, town staff looked at 10 or 15 different the doubt with the state rather than with the wheel lock ordinances and saw how com- local government.

Davis isn’t a fan of that way of doing mon of an ordinance it was. It never occurred to them it would require state things — he said it was “really disturbing to action to enact, and Dowling is still not com- me” when he first got into politics — but said he’s glad to offer his support. The bill has pletely sure that it is.

“We couldn’t find whether it was a passed the Senate and gone through a first requirement or not and we didn’t want to reading in the House. As of Tuesday afteroverstep the general police powers listed in noon, it was awaiting hearing in the Committee on Local Government. general statutes,” Dowling said.

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Sylva parking rules land in the Legislature

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The Jackson County Justice Center will soon be restricted to a single entrance. Holly Kays photo

Front-door security coming to Jackson Justice Center

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ecurity upgrades are on the way at the Jackson County Justice Center, but commissioners have decided to hold off on any expansion of the lobby area — at least for now.

“I think it’s a good start,” said Commission Chairman Brian McMahan. “I think it shows a good-faith effort on our part to adhere to what the judge’s request was.”

The request in question had come from Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts and was not so much a request as a mandate that the county upgrade a justice center that is squeezed for space and, more importantly, quite lax on security. Currently, there is no screening to get in the building and no security personnel present except at the courtroom doors.

Earlier this month, commissioners voted unanimously to make the changes necessary to restrict the justice center — which also houses a variety of county administrative departments — to a single point of entry, the most pressing of the changes Letts had asked for.

The approval covered $130,000 in upgrades, with costs including security equipment such as a bag scanner and magnometers, alarm system coordination, a door to secure the judges’ chambers and additional security fencing around the building. The county will fund the project from contingency.

That price tag is a high-ball amount, County Manager Chuck Wooten told commissioners.

“It could very well be less than this,” he said. “We know it won’t be any more expensive than this.”

However, the project will likely include

Smoky Mountain News

March 25-31, 2015

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another $80,000 cost, according to estimates presented by architect Odell Thompson last week. Thompson showed commissioners a drawing featuring new doors and façade at the entrance, new partitions in the lobby area and changes to the heating and cooling system to serve what will essentially become a separate room in the building. If commissioners approve the construction, the work will likely be done by July, Wooten said.

The upgrades will include security equipment such as a bag scanner and magnometers, alarm system coordination, installing a door to secure the judges’ chambers and installing additional security fencing around the building.

The project will also mean a hike in the sheriff ’s budget, which will soon be responsible for providing security at the entrance. The new positions will likely cost about $140,000 annually in salaries and carry a $57,000 onetime equipment and vehicle cost.

Next up, potentially, is a covered waiting area outside the doors. Letts had told commissioners that the existing lobby won’t be big enough to hold everyone coming to court if there’s a backup to be screened before entering the building. But with cost estimates for the portico hovering around $350,000, commissioners said they wanted to spend some time investigating just how many people come through the doors, and when, to determine whether that’s a worthy investment.

For now, Wooten said, “we could not justify that amount of money just to have a covered area for people to wait in.”

Charter school finds a home

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Shining Rock plans to break ground in May and set up the modulars in June in anticipation of the first day of school Aug. 19.

The Challenge Foundation Academy, a nationwide network of charter schools of which Shining Rock is one, will foot the upfront costs of starting the school, which Shining Rock will pay back later.

While a charter school is a public school, it operates more like a business than the typical public school in that new charters have to pay for all their facilities and other start-up costs before receiving money for their first students. Parents choose whether to enroll their students there rather than in their neighborhood school, and public funds travel with each student.

Charter schools are able to cap their enrollment and, while their students do have to take state end-of-grade and end-of-course tests, they don’t have to follow the state curriculum or learning standards, and not all teachers must be state-certified. Currently, North Carolina has 148 charter schools.

Shining Rock’s initial facilities will consist of four modular buildings, three for classrooms and one for administration, Butler said. Each of the classroom buildings will contain 8,000 square feet spread over nine classrooms. Altogether, the buildings, parking area and athletic fields will probably take up about 7 acres, though the configuration won’t be certain until Shining Rock finishes working on its site plan.

Also uncertain is the number of children who will actually enroll in Shining Rock. As of Monday afternoon, the school had received 251 applications for 308 spots in advance of the application deadline May 1.

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BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fter signing a five-year lease for a 29-acre property on Ratcliffe Cove Road, just past the traffic circle in Waynesville, Haywood County’s first charter school will soon be able to move somewhere a little bigger than the single-room office it now rents downtown.

“What initially we loved about it was the location and the fact that it offers a variety of terrain so when the kids get out of the classroom, they’re not just on flat ground,” said Ben Butler, director of Shining Rock Classical Academy.

The lowlands will house athletic fields and modular buildings, but the property also boasts a stream, forested land and a peak with about 250 feet of elevation gain from top to bottom. The school — which will teach its first classes in August — will place heavy emphasis on experiential education, Butler said, so natural amenities are important.

“We hope to eventually purchase the property,” he said.

Shining Rock will pay about $5,400 per month the lease the land, moving to a lump sum payment of $65,000 per year in October, and average $6,000 per month for the modulars it will use, with that fee working on a sliding scale. To help the start-up school manage the payments schedule a little easier, the company — M-Space Modular — agreed to charge $3,000 per month at the beginning of the five-year term and inch the cost up to $7,500 by the end of the fifth year.

On May 15, a lottery will be held to draw for any overenrolled classes, and those students will receive enrollment packets with information about immunization records, transcripts and such. But because a charter school is a public school, students don’t have to put down any kind of deposit to ensure their arrival.

“As far as who shows up at school, you know that when people show up,” Butler said.

However, he’s optimistic.

“I fully expect by the time we get to May 1, we’ll probably be full in several of our grades,” he said.

Shining Rock fans stand on ground that will soon house the school. Anna Eason photo

School fundraiser gets family hiking Nancy East, a member of Shining Rock Classical Academy’s board, has rallied her family to an experience-full fundraiser to gather dollars for the school’s planned focus on experiential learning.

The family, which includes East, her husband Larry and their three children, has set out to hike 1500K for Shining Rock — equivalent to 932 miles —and ticked off 85.5 miles toward the goal with a first-place finish in the Smokies Scavenger Hunt at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. The 25-hour event ranges over trails and roads park-wide, assigning point values for a whole list of questions that teams must hike to answer.

1500K for Shining Rock has raised $300 so far with pledges for just over $10,000 more, plus a $5,000 matching donation from the East family. The fundraising goal is $25,000.

East is recording the adventure on her blog, www.hopeandfeatherdays.blogspot.com.

Checks made out to Shining Rock Classical Academy can be mailed to 222 Methodist Drive, Lake Junaluska, N.C., 28745, or given online at www.crowdrise.com.

March 25-31, 2015 Smoky Mountain News 17

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Smoky Mountain News March 25-31, 2015

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BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR ormer Swain County Clerk of Court employee Rita Robinson Walls has been charged with embezzling $33,283 from the state in 2014.

A grand jury indicted Walls, 56, of Bryson City, in Swain County Superior Court on March 9 on 13 charges of embezzlement. The alleged theft occurred between April and May 2014 — not long before Walls resigned from her position as bookkeeper.

According to the indictments, Walls knowingly took money from state accounts she had access to as an employee and transferred funds into her personal accounts.

Between April 8 and May 28, she allegedly made transfers ranging from $900 to $5,330 on a semi-regular basis.

The N.C. State Bureau of Investigations is investigating the charges. District Attorney Ashley Welch said she couldn’t comment on the pending case other than to say she would not be asking another DA office to handle the case.

“A Swain County assistant DA will be prosecuting the case,” she said.

Hester Sitton, Swain County Clerk of Court, said she couldn’t comment on the pending investigation and referred all questions about Wall’s employment and the case to Sharon Gladwell, communications director for the North Carolina Administrative

Office of the Courts in Raleigh.

Gladwell provided details of Walls’ employment but would not comment on how the embezzlement was discovered or any other details.

According to state records, Walls was

Waynesville to drop back and punt on no-smoking zones

cern,” Onieal said.

In the close quarters of downtown, for example, smoking outside, even on private property, spills over onto public sidewalks.

And it’s particularly problematic during parades and festivals, where people are captive to the smoke around them, Onieal said.

The first version — and the one technically on the table at Tuesday’s public hearing — banned smoking in commercial districts within 50 feet of any main entrance to a business.

While that might make sense in the downtown district, it made less sense when thinking about the gas stations, fast-food joints and laundromats on the outskirts of town, where a 50-foot no-smoking buffer zone around entryways would make it nearly impossible to smoke anywhere on the property.

Likewise, completely exempting private property would thwart the whole purpose of the ban in places like downtown, where the high volume of foot traffic would still be exposed to unwanted smoke.

“There are many different types of tobacco ordinances across the state that restrict tobacco use in public places. We need to take the time to review those different models and hear from the public,” Onieal said.

The ban would apply to other forms of tobacco and tobacco substitutes.

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Rita Robinson Walls, former Swain County Clerk of Court employee, has been charged with 13 counts of embezzlement. According to a grand jury indictment, the alleged thefts occurred on these dates in 2014: April 8 — $3,219 April 9 — $3,146 April 15 — $1,154 April 17 — $2,491 April 22 — $1,166 April 23 — $2,910 April 25 — $3,761 May 2 — $1,102 May 16 — $900 May 21 — $5,330 May 23 — $4,584 May 27 — $2,454 May 28 — $1,065

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hired as a deputy clerk Oct. 1, 1993 at a salary of $16,560. She was promoted to deputy clerk/bookkeeper in December 2002 with a salary of $29,895. She remained in that position until Jan. 1, 2009, when her title changed to assistant clerk.

She was making $46,087 when she resigned May 29, 2014.

Walls is scheduled to appear in Swain County court at 10 a.m. May 27.

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March 25-31, 2015

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER A public hearing on whether to ban smoking in public spaces in Waynesville — including outdoors — was held Tuesday night (March 24), after the newspaper’s press deadline.

A turnout on both sides of the issue was expected.

The town floated the idea of a smoking ban a couple of months ago, but the initial language was only a trial run. A new public hearing on a new version of the ban is already in the works for April.

“We never anticipated adopting the first draft of the ordinance,” Waynesville Town Manager Marcy Onieal said. “We expected this ordinance would be tweaked before a final version is adopted.”

But it’s been tough to come up with wording that bans smoking in public spheres without over reaching into the realm of private property.

“It has not been our attempt to regulate smoking on private property, except where there is an overwhelming public health con-

Looking closer

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(828) 452-3611

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Health

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Highlands-Cashiers Hospital receives new beds

Mountain Regional OB/GYN expands in Bryson, Franklin The physicians of Mountain Regional OB/GYN are expanding services to Bryson City and Franklin.

Dr. Mila Shah-Bruce and Dr. Megan Metcalf will see patients in Franklin at WestCare Medical Park of Franklin, 55 Holly Springs Drive, every other Wednesday and in Bryson City at Swain Community Hospital, 45 Plateau Street, every other Tuesday. Bruce and Metcalf practice in Sylva alongside Dr. James C. Smallwood at Mountain Regional OB/GYN located on the third floor of Harris Medical Park, 98 Doctors Drive.

828.631.8913.

Highlands-Cashiers Hospital staff (from left) Ashley Owens, Shelly Clark, Kathy Crist, Rita Garland, Jessica Brooks, Karen Hendricks, Wolfgang Straufe, and Ruffin Johnson with one of five new beds that was generously donated to the hospital. Donated photo Highlands-Cashiers Hospital has received a generous contribution to purchase five stateof-the-art beds that improve the care for patients at the local hospital.

The gift was made possible by the Tarver Family Foundation Charitable Trust. The new beds are Hill-Rom Accumax Quantum beds with continuous care for safe skin.

Harris to host stress management event “Tuesdays to Thrive” session, a workshop focused around stress management and mental health, will be offered through Harris Regional Hospital, in partnership with the Jackson County Department of Public Health, from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, in the main lobby of Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva.

Featured speakers include Greta Metcalf with Jackson Psychological Services and Kate Glance with Smoky Mountain Center. Participants will also practice stress management techniques through Tai Chi, led by Glenn Kastrinos, Western Carolina University instructor.

828.586.7734.

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Betty Anne Mincey Mincey is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

She earned her medical degree from The Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Jacksonville, Florida.

The WCMS Preferred Vendor Program is dedicated to offering competitive prices and discounts to WCMS members on various products and services designed to accommodate the business needs of physicians.

Hospice volunteer training will be offered through Haywood Regional Medical Center’s Hospice & Palliative Care program.

Patient care training will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, Monday, May 4, and Tuesday, May 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Must attend all three training sessions as well as orientation.

New volunteer orientation will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon Monday, April 27.

All sessions will take place at the Waynesville Senior Resource Center, located at 81 Elmwood Way in Waynesville.

828.452.5039.

• Mission Health’s Heart Center has received the Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure GOLD Achievement Award from the American Heart Association. This recognition signifies that Mission Health has reached an exceptional goal of treating heart failure patients. www.heart.org./quality.

Current Medical Services in Sylva has been recognized by the Western Carolina Medical Society as a Preferred Vendor.

Dr. Lopez-Stratton joins Haywood Family Medical

Dr. Anna LopezStratton has joined Mission Haywood Family Medicine, a practice of Mission Medical Associates.

Dr. Lopez-Stratton earned her medical degree from the Anna University of Texas Lopez-Stratton Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. She completed her residency in family medicine at The School of Medicine of East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

828.456.9006.

Dr. Betty Anne Mincey joins Angel Primary Care WCU opens pro bono physical therapy clinic Dr. Betty Anne Mincey, MD, has joined

Haywood Regional to host hospice volunteer training

Current Medical Services recognized as Preferred Vendor

21

ALSO:

A free physical therapy clinic has been started by the College of Health and Human Sciences at Western Carolina University to provide services to underserved and underinsured populations of Western North Carolina.

The clinic, operated by students in WCU’s doctoral program in physical therapy under the supervision of faculty members, is open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. It is located in Carolina West Sports Medicine clinic space on the first floor of the Health and Human Sciences Building on Little Savannah Road on WCU’s West Campus.

828.227.3527 or MAPPTClinic@wcu.edu.

interventional radiology and vascular surgery specialists.

• “Healing Touch,” an energy-based approach to health and healing, will be taught from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 28-29 at Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus. Cost is $365. www.southwesterncc.edu or 828.306.7001.

• Western Carolina Digestive Consultants has joined the Highlands-Cashiers Hospital team to provide gastroenterological services at the hospital. The gastroenterology office will be located in Suite 301 of the Jane Woodruff Clinic.

828.200.8000.

• Personal Lab Services is now open in Franklin at 555 Depot Street, next to Mulligans Bar & Grill. Personal Lab Services is a committed lab team that provides many quality lab services at affordable costs. 828.371.2888 or www.plsga.com.

• Mission Hospital has been named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by Truven Health AnalyticsTM, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of healthcare. This marks the seventh time Mission Hospital has been recognized with this honor.

• Mission Health and Asheville Radiology Associates are now collaborating to improve patient access to state of the art, high quality, highly efficient imaging centers close to home, and to more than 40 ARA physicians, including diagnostic radiology,

• Those with leg pain and other vein problems are encouraged to attend a free tired leg/ varicose vein educational program from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center, 75 Leroy George Drive in Clyde. 828.452.8346.

news

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Education

Smoky Mountain News

SCC to give scholarships at open house

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include wife, mother, Girl Scout leader, softball coach and friend to many. She also volunteers to deliver food for Meals on Wheels and participates in the Senior Games.

Everson finished the program at HCC this past fall and plans to start classes again soon at HCC. The program is available for students who are at least 16 years of age at no cost.

828.565.4182 or 828.627.4648.

Emily and Timothy Campbell. Donated photo

Jackson Paper employees establish WCU scholarship

Meg Petty, director of SCC’s radiography program, looks over X-rays with student Brittany Maney of Hayesville. Donated photo

Free food, giveaways and the opportunity to win scholarships and other prizes will be a part of Southwestern Community College’s 50th-anniversary open house celebration from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, April 10, at the Jackson campus.

Barbecue and t-shirts will be available

while supplies last, and visitors will have a shot at scholarships of $1,000 or more and gift certificates to the SCC bookstore through a scavenger hunt. Grand prize drawing at 5:45 p.m. at the Bradford Hall Gazebo. If needed, a rain date has been set for April 17. www.southwesterncc.edu.

Brett Woods named SCC Foundation director

for the Student Success Campaign.

Prior to joining SCC on Feb. 23, Woods served as director of development for Western Carolina University from 2003-08 and again from 2012 through February of this Brett Woods year. From 2008-12 he held the same title at the University of South Florida. b_woods@southwesterncc.edu.

Brett Woods has been hired to serve as director of the Southwestern Community College Foundation.

Woods brings more than 15 years of higher education fundraising experience to SCC. He replaces Mary Otto Selzer, who retired earlier this year after helping the foundation achieve its Phase I goal of maximizing a federal match

HCC offers $500 scholarships

Haywood Community College is dishing out $500 scholarships to any student in this year’s crop of high school graduates in Haywood County to attend HCC this fall.

The scholarships are funded by the HCC Foundation in honor of the college’s 50th anniversary this year. Additional scholarships are available. 828.565.4170, email emvaughn@haywood.edu, or visit haywood.edu/foundation/scholarships for eligibility requirements.

Riverbend Elementary receives $115,000

Riverbend Elementary School in Haywood County received $115,693 as a Title I “Reward School” in North Carolina.

There are over 1,250 Title I schools in North Carolina, but

Bank honors retired CEO with scholarship HomeTrust Bank and Ed Broadwell, recently retired CEO, have joined forces in an effort to provide scholarship assistance to

The employees of Jackson Paper Manufacturing of Sylva recently surprised company owner Timothy Campbell and wife Emily by announcing an initial gift of $25,000 to establish an endowed scholarship fund at Western Carolina University in their honor.

The scholarship fund will provide support to a WCU student demonstrating financial need who is from Haywood, Jackson, Macon or Swain counties, with preference given to children of employees of Jackson Paper Manufacturing and its subsidiaries.

828.227.7124 or give.wcu.edu.

Diploma possible at any age at HCC Betty Everson, 77year-old Haywood Community College Adult High School graduate, is proof that it’s never too late to get a diploma.

Some of the titles she has carried throughout the years

only the top 10 percent of Title I schools are designated as reward schools when there is sustained high academic performance in schools with an economic disadvantage rate of over 50 percent among the students.

The award money will go toward instructional resources and staff training at the school. None of the award funds may be used to supplant or offset current operational costs.

Betty Everson

Ed and Donna Broadwell. Donated photo deserving graduates of public high schools in Western North Carolina who want to attend Western Carolina University.

Through matching gifts totaling $110,000, the new scholarship is designed to provide financial support to WNC students whose parents earn too much money to receive grants yet still struggle to pay the full cost of educational expenses.

The Ed and Donna BroadwellHomeTrust Bank Scholarship Fund will award a $5,000 scholarship to a WCU undergraduate student who is a graduate of a WNC public high school.

828.227.7124 or give.wcu.edu.

• Several scholarships are available to Haywood County students through the Haywood County Community Foundation.

Eligibility requirements and applications for the different scholarships can be found at www.nccommunityfoundation.org and at the high schools. 800.201.9532 or slelievre@nccommunityfoundation.org.

• The business administration and law degree program offered through Western Carolina University’s College of Business is now being offered online. 828.227.7397 or businesslawonline.wcu.edu.

• The Judy Moore Memorial Scholarship Endowment Committee is accepting scholarship applications for 2015. Applicants must have completed their first semester in a nursing program and submit an application by June 10. www.nccommunityfoundation.org or 828.524.6564.

• A free Explore Cosmetology Day will be held Saturday, March 28, at Haywood Community College. The morning session will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and the second will be from noon until 4 p.m. Both sessions include free lunch. Call to register: 828.627.4522.

• Haywood Community College is seeking nominations for the Outstanding Alumni Award, which is given annually to an HCC alumnus who has attained distinction and success in his or her career field or through community service. Nominations are due

by March 31. 828.627.4679 or dconard@haywood.edu.

ALSO:

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

New leaders of Haywood GOP must prove their mettle he dissension among Haywood County Republicans took a decisive turn last week at the party’s convention, signaling a new era for the GOP in Haywood. The question many are now asking is just how the new group will lead. One thing for certain is they won’t be leading from the center, not this group.

Or, to steal an assessment our reporter heard one GOP stalwart mutter at the convention, “The dog has caught the car.

Now what?”

It’s hard to come up with appropriate labels to define the two groups who have been jockeying for control of the Haywood party, but let’s just say the Republicans who previously led the Haywood GOP have been defeated for control of the party appa-

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I don’t want to smell smoke on Main Street To the Editor: Regarding the letter titled, “Waynesville smoking ban just a bad idea” printed in the March 18-24 issue of your excellent publication, I have several thoughts to share.

In case Mr. Nowakowski hasn’t noticed, smoking has been proven to cause all kinds of lung disease, not least of which is cancer.

Sadly, I was one of those who knew smoking was harmful but chose to do it anyway for close to 30 years. This resulted in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, etc. Fortunately, I had the brains to stop some 20 years ago and have gone on to attempt a healthy lifestyle. It sure makes running difficult with my poor lung capacity, however!

The fact that smoking has become socially unacceptable is an awesome thing. The habit stinks and the majority of us who no longer smoke don’t want to walk down the Main Street of Waynesville having to smell it.

Those of you who choose to continue smoking, God bless you, but please do it on your own property. Mr. Nowakowski’s threats to not bring his family and friends into town make him sound like a 4-year-old, although I think most 4-year-old kids know that smoking is unwise. Get over it.

Sarah Sherman Bethel

Too many weighing in on annexation issue To the Editor: I was disturbed by the article by Becky Johnson regarding the annexation of Lake Junaluska into the town of Waynesville. It stated that all the neighboring towns and county commissioners had passed resolutions supporting it. Excuse me, but why are they supporting something that has as

ratus. The political ideology of the victors is hard to pinpoint, but it is certainly more anti-government, more conservative and less likely to favor any compromises with moderates.

Personalities aside, it’s not surprising that there is a perfectly legitimate divide forming between the old-school GOP and those who embrace a much more conservative agenda. It’s a challenge Republicans have been dealing with since Ronald Reagan — perhaps even as far back as Barry Goldwater — Editor and some of the same issues are playing out at the state level.

Gov. Pat McCrory worked for Duke Energy and is considered a middle-of-the-road, pragmatic, business-oriented Republican who worked well with Democratic colleagues when he was mayor of Charlotte.

Scott McLeod

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world ….

— The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats

nothing to do with them, and really is none of their business. They are not the ones that are going to be paying additional taxes with seemingly less services. Can I send my tax bill to them? Not everyone here at the lake supports the annexation.

Also I resent being labeled as a “stable (horses or cows) of well-educated affluent residents.” It sounds as if Lake Junaluska residents are a commodity that Waynesville would like to add to its tax base, and I can assure you we are not all “affluent” as we were referred to.

What really bothers me is that an important issue that should decided between the residents of Waynesville and Lake Junaluska — since we are the ones it concerns — has now been thrown open to all the neighboring towns and the county.

Gretchen Branning Lake Junaluska

Fracking potential leads to need for education To the Editor: Last week I attended a really good workshop in Swain County on landowner rights that was sponsored by the N.C. State Cooperative Extension and the Rural Advancement Foundation International, USA. Even though I intellectually understood that recent bills and regulations passed by the General Assembly governing the exploration and production of oil and gas using hydraulic fracturing favored the oil a gas companies, it really hit home during the workshop.

It is your decision as to whether you want to lease your oil and gas rights, but either way no one is going to protect your rights, or get you the best deal except you. You need to know how to do a survey to see if you even own your subsurface rights. You need to know what to do if a landman approaches you, how to check his background, how to negotiate a contract. If you don’t want to lease your sub-

The leader of the Senate and the most powerful legislator in the state is Sen. Phil Berger, R-Eden, from rural Rockingham County. He has opposed some of McCrory’s attempts to move toward the political center. Berger is, for all intents and purposes, the leader of what many have called North Carolina’s conservative revolution. He is as far right a leader as you’ll find in any statehouse in the country.

Haywood County’s new GOP leadership must prove its mettle come the next general election when it’s time to assemble a slate of candidates. Go too far right and the party will be divided, Indepenents will flee, and the election will be handed to the Democrats. Or perhaps an uprising will play out in the primary election as GOP candidates from different camps square off.

Politics, in the end, is about winning. As we move toward the next big races in 2016, we’ll see how Haywood’s GOP stacks up.

As a political junkie, I can’t wait.

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

surface oil and gas rights, or don’t own them but get forced into a drilling unit through forced pooling, you need to again know your rights to make agreements to protect what happens on the land surface you do own.

These are all things you can learn in the workshop. Other industries might contact you for your mineral rights or sand and gravel rights. How would you react? There have been mines in times past in our area.

Due to another new law, anyone selling a home or land has to sign a mineral and oil and gas rights mandatory disclosure statement before the purchaser makes their offer.

A Realtor in the workshop said they don’t know how to advise people on filling it out, but the workshop speaker did. If you want a landowner rights workshop in Haywood County, contact the Cooperative Extension Service at 828.456.3575, or contact James Robinson of RAFI at james@rafiusa.org, and tell them you want this workshop. You need to know your rights so you can protect them. No one in the federal or state government is going to protect them for you Donna Dupree Jackson County

Constitution protects people, not corporations To the Editor: On behalf of the Western Carolina Affiliate of the National Move To Amend and We the People of Jackson County, I’d like to profoundly thank the Jackson County Commissioners for passing the resolution to call on our state’s General Assembly to join with other states to petition the U.S. Congress to create the People’s Amendment that will reverse the Supreme Court’s decision on Citizen’s United vs. the U. S. Board of Elections.

In summary, the amendment declares that human beings only are afforded the constitutional protection of inalienable rights and that corporations and other artificial entities are

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not persons and have no such protection. The amendment further declares that the unbridled spending of money to influence elections is not First Amendment-protected free speech and can be regulated by national, state, and local governments.

In passing this resolution, our commissioners are leading the way for other North Carolina legislative bodies to join with over 500 other community and state legislative bodies around the nation who have already passed such resolutions to create a movement to bring forth the People’s Amendment.

Beyond legislative bodies taking these actions, hundreds of ballot initiatives on this issue have been brought before voters throughout the country, in both liberal and conservative states and districts. In every single initiative, without exception, the people have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a constitutional amendment to end corporate personhood and money as free speech.

Move To Amend is endorsed by hundreds of organizations from progressives such as the American Institute for Progressive Democracy to the more traditional like Veterans for Peace.

Endorsers come from grassroots organizations such as the Family Farm Defenders and historically established organizations such as the National Lawyer Guild. Included among the many endorsers are the NC AFL-CIO, Kentucky Education Association, and numerous churches and interfaith alliances.

It is clear, Americans know that corporations and other artificial entities are not persons. They also know that the massive influx of corporate money into politics distorts and corrupts our electoral process. Americans know that these two judicial, not legislated, doctrines negate the basic fabric of our democratic republic by undermining the hallowed principle of one-person, one-vote. I wholeheartedly thank our county commissioners for standing as proud patriots in the ongoing battle to preserve a democratic republic governed by, of, and for We the People.

Allen Lomax Sylva

285-38

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ON MAIN

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828.586.1985•OPEN WED.-SAT.

828.492.0618 • SidsOnMain.com Serving Lunch & Dinner

Exit 85 to Skyland Dr., two blocks from McDonalds

438 Skyland Drive • Sylva

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Benedicts on the Lawn

Lunch, Dinner & Sunday Brunch Free Movies Thurs-Sat

Phillys Pizzas Wraps Steaks

BENEFIT BRUNCH FOR W.O.W. ———————————————

Sunday, March 29 • 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

LIMITED SEATING CALL FOR RESERVATIONS 63 N. HILL ST.

828.452.7837

285-52

Scratch-made, local organic ingredients

Check out this week's movies at madbatterfoodandfilm.com

www.MadBatterFoodandFilm.com

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

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.

AMMONS DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT & DAIRY BAR 1451 Dellwwod Rd., Waynesville.

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

Enjoy world famous hot dogs as well as burgers, seafood, hushpuppies, hot wings and chicken. Be sure to save room for dessert. The cobbler, pie and cake selections are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Lunch served 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner nightly from 4 p.m.

Closed on Sunday. We specialize in handcut, all natural steaks, fresh fish, and other classic American comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available. We also feature a great selection of craft beers from local artisan brewers, and of course an extensive selection of small batch bourbons and whiskey. The Barrel is a friendly and casual neighborhood dining experience where our guests enjoy a great meal without breaking the bank.

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; grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade 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

opinion

-Local beers now on draft-

285-24

BREAKING BREAD CAFÉ 6147 Hwy 276 S. Bethel (at the Mobil Gas Station) 828.648.3838 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday 9 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,

828.586.3555 617 W. Main St. Sylva NC

March 25-31, 2015

PIN HIGH Easter Brunch Buffet th

for our

Easter Brunch Buffet from 11:00am-3:00pm reservations are required

Weste Savor ina’s Carol uring North lent d a t ty y r pecial culina d of S n e k , s e mo a we rs, De .

Dinne irings a p gs & n i t s a t

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KICKOF F EVEN T Culinar y Gala T

hursday , March 26 5:30 to 7 :30 Laurel R pm idge Country Club Waynes ville NC TICKET S Haywoo d Cham ber Member s: $35 Non-me mbers $ VIP: $60 40

Smoky Mountain News

Join us Sunday April 5

n at | Su Fri | S 27-29 h Marc rn

828-926-4848

1819 Country Club Drive, Maggie Valley, NC W W W . M A G G I E VA L L E Y C L U B . C O M 285-49

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tasteTHEmountains pork meatballs and hamburgers. We use 1st quality fresh not pre-prepared products to make sure you get the best food for a reasonable price. We make vegetarian, gluten free and sugar free items. Call or go to Facebook (Breaking Bread Café NC) to find out what our specials are.

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

6306 Pigeon Road Canton, NC

(828) 648-4546

Hours:

MON-SAT: 7 A.M.-8 P.M. SUN: 8:30 A.M.-3 P.M.

Smoky Mountain News

March 25-31, 2015

jukeboxjunctioneat.com

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

Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 3p.m., Full Menu 3 to 9 p.m. Serving fresh and delicious weekday morning lite fare, lunch, dinner, and brunch. Freshly prepared menu offerings range from house-made soups & salads, lite fare & tapas, crepes, specialty sandwiches and burgers. Be sure not to miss the bold flavors and creative combinations that make up the daily Chef Supper Specials starting at 5pm every day.

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

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. It’s winter, but we still serve three meals a day on Friday, Saturday and long holiday weekends. Join us for Breakfast from 8 to 9:30 a.m.; Lunch from 12 to 2 p.m.; and Dinner buffet from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with entrees that include pot roast, Virginia ham and herb-baked chicken, complemented by seasonal vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and desserts. We also offer a fine selection of wine and beer. And a roaring fire in the fireplace. So come enjoy mile-high mountaintop dining with a spectacular view.

Reservations are required.

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

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

CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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. Friday and Saturday serving freshly prepared small plate and tapas-style fare. Enjoy local, regional, or national talent live each Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. www.classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

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

828.926.1820 Open Daily 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., closed 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

Country Vittles RESTAURANT

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.

Lunch Sunday noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner Thursday - Sunday starting at 4:30 p.m.

World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome. Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated.

Retail Retail

Restaurant Restaurant

LIVE LIVE Music Music

& GIFT SHOP

Featuring a Full Menu with Daily Specials PRIVATE DINING ROOM AVAILABLE FOR EVENTS Mon. - Sat. 7 A.M. - 8 P.M. Sun. 8 A.M - 3 P.M. Closed Tuesday

3589 SOCO RD. MAGGIE VALLEY 26

FILLING STATION DELI 145 Everett St., Bryson City, 828.488.1919.

Open Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sundays (in October) 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Locals always know best, and this is one place they know well. From the high-quality hot pressed sandwiches and the huge portions of hand-cut fries to the specialty frozen sandwiches and homemade Southern desserts, you will not leave this top-rated deli hungry.

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

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

CORK & CLEAVER 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

828.456.7179. Reservations recommended.

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

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828.926.1820

This This W Weekend’s eekend’s M Music usic Friday, Friday, Ma Mar. r. 2 27 7@7p pm m James James H Hammel ammel - g guitar, uitar, vo vocals cals Saturday, Saturday, Ma Mar. r. 2 28 8@7p pm m Joe Joe Cruz Cruz - p piano, iano, vo vocals cals Paid in part by Haywood County T o ourism www .visitncsmokies.com Tourism www.visitncsmokies.com 828-452-6000 828-452-6000 classicwineseller.com classicwineseller.com 20 20 Church Church Street, Street, Waynesville, Waynesville, NC NC

UPCOMING EVENTS

tasteTHEmountains

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

828.586.3555. Open Tuesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Hand-tossed pizza, steak sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts. All made from scratch. Beer and wine. Free movies with showtimes at 6:30 and 9 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Visit madbatterfoodandfilm.com for this week’s shows.

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

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

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

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

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

PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Open for lunch and dinner, 7 days a week. Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood

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Deli & So Much More

Now Serving FRIDAY, MAR. 27

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.

Karaoke w/Chris Monteith

SATURDAY, MAR. 28

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.

Hunter Grigg

Every Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

83 Asheville Hwy. Sylva Music Starts @ 9 • 631.0554

6147 Highway 276 S. Bethel, North Carolina

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

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

Monday - Friday 8-3 Sunday 9-3 (at the Mobil Gas Station)

bbcafenc.com • 828.648.3838

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MEDITERRANEAN

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SUB SHOP 29 Miller Street Waynesville 828.456.3400.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. A Waynesville tradition, the Smoky Mountain Sub Shop has been serving great food for over 20 years. Come in and enjoy the relaxed, casual atmosphere. Sub breads are baked fresh every morning in Waynesville. Using only the freshest ingredients in home-made soups, salads and sandwiches. Come in and see for yourself why Smoky Mountain Sub Shop was voted # 1 in Haywood County. Locally owned and operated.

Sunday Brunch

ITALIAN CUISINE

STEAKS • PIZZA SEAFOOD CHICKEN & SANDWICHES

www.CityLightsCafe.com Friday, March 27 • 7 p.m.

PAINTED GIANTS Saturday, March 28 • 7 p.m.

THE FREESTYLERS

1863 S. Main Street • Waynesville 828.454.5002 Hwy. 19/23 Exit 98

DOWNTOWN SYLVA • NC Mon.-Fri. 7-4 Sat. 8-4

LUNCH & DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK

Family-Style

Easter Dinner

11.95

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PER PERSON *Does not include drink, tax or tip

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

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

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

Music by Steve Whiddon

Smoky Mountain News

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“The Piano Man” Reservations are recommended

828.926.0201 828-456-1997 blueroostersoutherngrill.com

March 25-31, 2015

ORGANIC BEANS COFFEE COMPANY 1110 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

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

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

(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.

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JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel. 828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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

Café

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

Located at Maggie Valley Inn 70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley 828.926.0201 www.maggievalleyhotel.com 285-15

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

ALL IN THE FAMILY The journey to Maggie Valley for the Parrones began in the early 1960s, when Louis’ father, Frankie, emigrated from southern Italy to Hollywood, Florida, to join his father and brother in working at a restaurant there named Doria’s. After a few years, the family purchased the Italian restaurant, only to purchase and revamp a second establishment, a seafood spot called Pier 5 (then changed to Frankie’s Pier 5) just down the road.

“The whole family always got more and more involved,” Louis said. “With those

Frankie’s Italian Trattoria owner Louis Perrone alongside his father, Frankie. The Maggie Valley restaurant will be at the Melange of the Mountains culinary gala on March 26. Donated photos

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER Louis Perrone loves being part of an Italian family.

“I come from a big family — always a reason to celebrate, always a reason to eat,” he smiled.

Owner of Frankie’s Italian Trattoria in Maggie Valley, Louis heads one of the finest well-oiled culinary machines in Haywood County. Specializing in made-from-scratch Italian “comfort” cuisines, Louis wants to make each patron feel not only welcomed in his establishment, but also full, of food and gusto, when they leave.

“We consider all the people that walk through our doors as guests, we don’t consider them customers,” the 41-year-old said.

“Because a guest is invited into our home and that’s how we perceive that. Our guests drove by a lot of different restaurants to get here, so when they come to our front door, we want to do our absolute best to make their experience great.”

Opened in June 2011, Frankie’s is the next chapter of a family that has worked their way from the bottom rung of the restaurant industry into a multi-generational career path and deep passion for the culinary arts.

“We want our guests to know that this place isn’t just somewhere that a food truck shows up to unload and reload,” Louis said. “We are trying to keep the family influence on what we do as much as possible. It’s all about that next step quality, which we aim to achieve.”

Want to go?

The 11th annual Melange of the Mountains culinary weekend will be March 26-29 around Haywood County.

The event is the county’s premier culinary kickoff for the spring tourism season. It is a uniquely local epicurean partnership of innovative chefs, sustainable producers, crafty microbrewers and local farms. The culinary gala will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 26 at Laurel Ridge Country Club in

restaurants, you had my sister, my cousins, my uncle, my extended family.”

As a teenager, Louis got his start dishwashing and being a valet parking all the nice cars that would roll up to the storied restaurants.

After high school graduation, he decided to forego college and culinary school to dive into more responsibility with the family businesses. Louis wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, which also meant acquiring the knowledge and respect for the craft of hands and food in the kitchen.

“My dad is a tough, stern Italian guy — everything has got to be a certain way,” Louis said. “And that’s the greatest thing, which is that, ‘It’s not because I say so, it’s because there’s a real reason, and if you want to know

Waynesville. As well, there will also be an array of special restaurant events and tastings March 27-29.

Participants include the Balsam Mountain Inn, Blue Rooster Southern Grill, Bosu’s Wine Shop, Boojum Brewing, Cataloochee Guest Ranch, City Bakery-Waynesville, Copper Pot & Wooden Spoon, Cork & Cleaver at The Waynesville Inn, Frankie’s Trattoria, Frog Level Brewing, Haywood Smokehouse, Lake Junaluska, Laurel Ridge Country Club, Moonshine Grill, Selu Garden Café/Room Service/Lobby Café

the reason I’ll give it to you.’ I understand the reasoning now, in preparing food and running a business — I see what it was all for.”

After Louis got married, he started coming to visit Maggie Valley, seeing as his in-laws had visited the area for years. His wife’s grandfather purchased a home here in 2001, with his in-laws then opening Hughes Lighting & Home Furnishing Center (now the current location of Frankie’s).

“My dad then bought into the lighting business, and things were great, for about five years, but then the housing market collapsed — the need for building crashed, the need for lighting and home accessories crashed,” Louis said. “But, my dad said since day one that if the lighting business didn’t work then a restaurant would.”

Thus, Louis took a chance and renovated the building into a restaurant. Although it seemed a potentially risky gamble to open restaurant in a tourismbased town, Louis took his father’s confidence and applied it to the vision for Frankie’s. Though the opening night in June 2011 was pure chaos for Louis, in getting every process streamlined and perfected, the support by their “guests” has only increased.

“We did over 80 guests that first night, then 99 the next day, and 140 the day after that — it just kept growing and hasn’t stopped,” he said.

And though day-in and day-out it may be overwhelming and challenging to feed and satisfy innumerable folks in search of a great meal, Louis is proud to be the one to do so. For him, his father, and his business, warming the soul with fresh, made-fromscratch Italian dish is what it’s all about — friends, family and food.

“When everything winds down at the end of the night, we’re ready to do it all over again tomorrow,” Louis said. “This place is a gift from God for us. We truly feel blessed to be here in Maggie Valley, and to have the support from the locals and visitors — we’re really fortunate.”

Editor’s Note: Frankie’s Italian Trattoria will one of the many participants at the Melange of the Mountains culinary gala on Thursday, March 26, at Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. www.haywood-nc.com.

at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, Sunburst Market, The Classic Wine Seller, Tipping Point Tavern and Waynesville Soda Jerks.

Tickets for the gala are $35 for chamber members, $40 for nonmembers and $60 for VIP. For more information on the gala and about other culinary events throughout the weekend around Haywood County in celebration of Melange of the Mountains, click on www.haywood-nc.com.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD Garret K. Woodward photo

heart. I was surrounded by faces I did not know three years ago, faces that, now, I could never imagine not knowing, or calling for in times of celebration and times of desperation. These folks I turn to when I need advice, encouragement, or simply someone to grab the other red paint bucket and hit the town with me.

I’ve spent 30 years trying to figure out who I am in this world. That clarity I grasp for is ever-so-carefully revealing itself to me in my time here. Life, at least a life well lived, is a slow burn. I’d rather stroll a rugged path of beauty than drive down a paved road of boredom. Maybe it’s just me getting older.

Maybe it’s the ways of the universe exposing its secrets to those who push hard enough for internal and external truths. Yet, at the end of the day, what matters most is who you surround yourself with, for those smiling faces and friendly handshakes are a mirror reflection of your soul.

As I finished that second cup of coffee, looking out once again at the essence of creation staring right back me, I shook my head in awe. How did I get here? How did I get so lucky to be in this situation? I smiled and readied myself for another unknown day.

Funny, in the almost three years that I’ve been here in Southern Appalachia, I’ve never felt the need to scratch once.

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

FRIDAY, 6:30 P.M.: Nevada McPherson will present her two graphic novels, Uptowners and Piano Lessons SATURDAY, 3 P.M.: Liza Wieland will read from her novel Land of Enchantment SUNDAY, 1 P.M.: Mississippi author Jamie Kornegay will introduce his stunning debut novel to Sylva 3 EAST JACKSON STREET • SYLVA

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Fly Fishing the South

Smoky Mountain News

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5

Bookstore

March 25-31, 2015

As I took the first sip of my second cup of coffee, my shoulders began to relax.

Sitting on the cabin balcony, deep in heart of the Great Smoky BearWaters Brewing (Waynesville) will have Mountains this past weekend, I The Get Right Band (funk/folk) at 8 p.m. gazed out over an ancient and March 27. mystical landscape, one that has captivated our souls since the A beer and cheese pairing with dawn of mankind. The morning Heinzelmannchen Brewery and Looking Glass cloud cover slowly burned off, Creamery will be from 6 to 8 p.m. April 1 at ultimately revealing the endless City Lights Café in Sylva. mountain ridges, like ripples in a silent pond, as if God himself Daniel S. Pierce, author of Real NASCAR: threw a pebble into the waters of White Lightning, Red Clay and Big Bill possibility and chance.

France, will give a presentation about the And that mesmerizing nature history of NASCAR on at 5:30 p.m. March 31 of this region is only amplified by at the Canton Library. the people who inhabit it. When I No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will have Pony moved to Western North Named Olga (Americana/punk) at 9 p.m.

Carolina in 2012, I didn’t know a March 27. single person in Southern Appalachia. Being someone who Nantahala Brewing (Bryson City) will have has uprooted and relocated Rye Baby (country/blues) at 8:30 p.m. numerous times before, and who March 28. has never met a stranger, the idea starting a whole new life every-sofew dollars in my pocket and an air matoften has always appealed to me. I’ve never tress in the truck bed. really been able to sit still. Sure, I’d find When I took this position at The incredible places to live and thrive in, but, Smoky Mountain News, I was in dire need like clockwork, I would get the six-month of work. All of my writing gigs dried up in itch. After that time period, I’d start thinkNew York and I applied to any and every ing about my next move. How I would end journalism job I could find. Did I want to my current chapter in this life? Where cover the oil boom in North Dakota? Town would I begin the next? That itch brought politics in Reno? Crimes and courts in me to stints in the Adirondack Mountains, Baltimore? Small town life on the Maine Connecticut, Ireland, Idaho and endless coast? The beauty of it was I had no idea nights cruising the glorious and unforgivwhat I was going to do. The terrifying ing open road of this country with only a

I’ve crossed paths with innumerable people, places and things that stop me in my tracks, grab my attention, and leave an eternal imprint of generosity, sincerity and tranquility on my soul.

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arts & entertainment

This must be the place

thing was I had no idea what I was going to do.

When I got hired by this newspaper, I figured I’d give it a year and see what happens.

Maybe I’ll like it. Maybe I’ll be able to save some money in preparation of the next move in this ongoing game of chess between me and the cosmos above. Hell, if anything, I needed the work and here it was — writing and reporting in the South.

Thus, Waynesville became my home.

And for the better part of the last three years I’ve roamed seemingly every highway and bi-way, back road and dirt path of this majestic region. I’ve crossed paths with innumerable people, places and things that stop me in my tracks, grab my attention, and leave an eternal imprint of generosity, sincerity and tranquility on my soul. I finally found the missing pieces of myself and of my purpose along this organized chaos of a journey in journalism around Western North Carolina and beyond.

And this past weekend justifies every one of those things I’ve experienced. Our cabin was filled with joyous voices, hearty laughter, priceless camaraderie and a sense of place only found by those with pure intent of the

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Two locations to serve you ASHEVILLE 252.3005

WAYNESVILLE 251.9721

www.hunterbanks.com

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Acclaimed gospel act to hit Franklin stage Gospel singers Jeff & Sheri Easter will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

For the couple, gospel music is genetically programmed into their DNA. Jeff ’s father is one of the Easter Brothers and Sheri’s mother is a member of The Lewis Family. Jeff and Sheri have been honored by multiple industry award nominations and have won many, including six Dove Awards.

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

“An Appalachian Evening,” a summer bluegrass/Americana weekly concert series, will return to the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center in Robbinsville.

The 2015 series will include The Special Consensus on June 27, Buncombe Turnpike July 4, Town Mountain July 11, The Snyder Balsam Range will perform on Aug. 1 as part of the ‘An Family Band July 19, The Appalachian Evening’ series in Robbinsville.

Walking Roots Band July 25, Balsam Range Aug. 1, Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’Blues Aug. 8, The Jeff Little $150, with separate show ticket prices varying. www.stecoahvalleycenter.com or Trio Aug. 15, Henhouse Prowlers Aug. 22 and The Kruger Brothers Aug. 29. Season tickets are 828.479.3364.

Jeff & Sheri Easter will play April 3 in Franklin.

HART welcomes Student Honors Recital

March 25-31, 2015

Young pianists, instrumentalists and vocalists will perform at 3 p.m. March 29 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Through the years an impressive parade of young performers have delighted audiences. Sometimes the selections will be major classics by Beethoven or

CALEB JOHNSON ALL AGES SHOW S AT UR D AY, M AY 2

Smoky Mountain News

Mozart, but more often there will be clever compositions to challenge beginners. Musical skills develop gradually over several years, and part of the training is public performance. The Student Honors Recital has provided a world-class experience, with a wonderful performance hall and a concert grand piano to complete the venue.

This event is sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council. www.haywoodarts.org.

A GUARANTEED GRE AT NIGHT OUT

WINNER OF AMERICAN IDOL

JAY L E NO S AT UR D AY, M AY 3 0

‘Appalachian Evening’ tickets on sale

First Thursday bluegrass with Chandler Old-time/bluegrass musician Nick Chandler will perform as part of the First Thursday concert series at 7 p.m. April 2 in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University.

The concert will last an hour and will be followed by an open jam session during which traditional musicians of all skill levels are invited to participate. The First Thursday series of concerts and open jams include some of the region's best old-time and bluegrass musicians. The events align with "North Carolina: Our State, Our Time" programs given across WCU that explore historical, social and cultural impacts that have shaped the state.

Free. www.wcu.edu.

The PETER ROWAN Bluegrass Band

Tuesday, April 21 Photo by Bill Harbin

arts & entertainment

On the beat

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On Tuesday night, April 21, Grammy winner Peter Rowan will appear with his Grammy-nominated bluegrass band in a special performance at Cataloochee Ranch. This will be the legendary singer-songwriter’s fifth appearance at the Ranch, and the performance is expected to be a sellout.

So come join us for a memorable evening of music, food and fun, with dinner at 6 pm and music beginning at 7:30. Tickets for dinner and the show are $60, and reservations are required.

To reserve your space for this not-to-be-missed event, just call the Ranch at 828-926-1401.

Cataloochee Ranch 30

119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC 28751ɄɄƌɄɄwww.CataloocheeRanch.com

On the beat

Acclaimed guitarist Brad Richter and cellist Viktor Uzur will perform a program of traditional and contemporary works at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the Historic Chapel of First Presbyterian Church in downtown Franklin.

Hailed as “one of the most exciting duos on the scene today” (Guitar International), the duo performs exciting, often surprising arrangements of classical and contemporary works, from Bartok to the Beatles, and from • BearWaters Brewing (Waynesville) will have The Get Right Band (funk/folk) 8 p.m. March 27, Ryan Cavanaugh Duo (jazz/bluegrass) 8 p.m. March 28 and Steph Stewart & The Boyfriends (Americana/folk) 7:30 p.m. April 3. www.bwbrewing.com or 828.246.0602.

• Canton Armory will have “Pickin’ in the Armory” will continue with live music with clogging by Southern Appalachian and Fines Creek Flatfooters on March 27, and Rick Morris Band, Dixie Darlings and Mountain Traditions April 3. Both events begin at 7 p.m. www.cantonnc.com.

ALSO:

• Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will have James Hammel (jazz/pop) March 27 and Joe Cruz (piano/pop) March 28. Shows begin at 7 p.m. www.classicwineseller.com.

• Colonial Theatre (Canton) will have Balsam Range (bluegrass/gospel) as part of their Winter Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. April 4.

Jeff Collins, David Johnson and Tony Creasman will open. www.cantonnc.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night March 25 and April 1, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo March 26 and April 2. All events begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Lost Hiker (Highlands) will have Dustin Martin (singer-songwriter) March 28 and Mangas Colorado (Americana/bluegrass) April 4. www.thelosthikerbar.com.

• Nantahala Brewing (Bryson City) will have Rye Baby (country/blues) March 28,

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Productive Paranoia (bluegrass/Americana) 8 p.m. April 3 and Steph Stewart & The Boyfriends (Americana/folk) April 4. All shows are free and begin at 8:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will have Pony Named Olga (Americana/punk) March 27. All shows are free and begin at 9 p.m.

828.586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com.

• Oconaluftee Visitors Center (Cherokee) will have an old-time music jam from 1 to 3 p.m.

April 4. All skill levels welcomed.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub (Franklin) will have Jazz Mountain March 27 and Gary Carter March 28. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.rathskellerfranklin.com or 828.369.6796.

• The Strand at 38 Main (Waynesville) will have Linda McRae (Americana/roots) at 7:30 p.m. March 26 ($18 in advance, $20 at the door). www.38main.com or 828.283.0079.

• Tipping Point Brewing (Waynesville) will have ‘Round The Fire (Grateful Dead tribute) at 8:30 p.m. March 27. Free.

• Tuck’s Tap & Grille (Cullowhee) will have DJ Flash March 26, Mangas Colorado (Americana/folk) and Homemade Wine (alternative/country) March 27, and The Freeway Revival (Americana) March 28. All shows begin at 10 p.m.

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grille (Waynesville) will have Tonology (metal/hard rock) March 27.

All shows begin at 9:30 p.m.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will have a Percussion Ensemble at 7:30 p.m.

March 26 and Alec Neal Senior Recital 1 p.m. March 29, New York Philharmonic’s Leelance Sterrett at 7:30 p.m. March 30 and an Upperclassmen Trumpet Recital at 7:30 p.m. April 6 in the Coulter Building. There will also be a Vaughan Williams Choral concert at 3 p.m. March 29 at the Bardo Arts Center. A Battle of the Bands will be from 6 to 11 p.m. April 6 in the University Center Grand Room. www.wcu.edu.

Smoky Mountain News

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will have Craig Summers & Lee Kram (singer-songwriter) at 6 p.m. March 26, April 2 and 9.

Free. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

TAXIDERMY “Rhapsody in Blue” to “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Richter and Uzur appear frequently on NPR’s “Performance Today,” and have been featured on PBS’s “WoodSongs.”

They each bring intensive training from two of the world’s most prestigious music institutions — The Royal College of Music and The Moscow Conservatory, respectively.

Richter is a former U.S. National FingerPicking Champion and has won numerous prizes for performing and composing. Uzur is former principal cellist and soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and a prizewinner at many competitions.

Admission is by donation.

828.524.ARTS or www.artscouncilofmacon.org.

March 25-31, 2015

• City Lights Café (Sylva) will have The Freestylers (Americana) March 27 and Chris Emerson & Ty Bennett (singer-songwriter) April 3. Both shows begin at 7 p.m. www.citylightscafe.com.

The best prices everyday! arts & entertainment

Renowned duo combines contemporary, traditional music

A WildLife Tradition

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arts & entertainment

Haywood Waterways sincerely appreciates the tremendous community support for the 3rd Annual

Polar Plunge Benefit-t-t-ting Kids in the Creek & Youth Education.

Over 43 municipalities, businesses, community organizations and individuals helped raise $25,000 for our youth education programs.

Haywood County Environmental Health

&

March 25-31, 2015

Main Street Realty

• AESC Utility Cloud • Animal Hospital of Waynesville/ Dr. Kristen Hammett • ARS Construction Services • Asheville Elevator Company • Canoe Branch Arms • Greene Brothers Well & Pump • Land Stewardship Consulting Lee Barnes • Mike Gillespie, DDS • Mountain Environmental Services • Mountain Radon Mitigation • Pigeon Valley Septic and Grading • Precision Safe Sidewalks • Price Well and Pump • Rabbitskin Enterprises • Representative Joe Sam Queen • Rhinehart Fire Services • Rippling Waters Creekside RV Park • Sheppard Insurance Group • Smoky Mountain Excavating • Smoky Mountain Valve • VC3 • Waynesville Properties/ Boyd Family • WEBBCO, Inc. • WNC Advocacy Group • WOW – Women of Waynesville

We’re Opening Wide And Saying

Thank you.

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haymed.org

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On the street

tatives of the brewing industry.

The conference is open to everyone and registration is free. Lunch and refreshments will be provided at no charge. The deadline for registering is Thursday, April 2. www.moleculesinthemountains.weebly.com.

Battle of Waynesville presentation

‘Mastering Your Energy’ in Sylva

Daniel Asnip will lead a discussion about the Battle of Waynesville at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 28, in the Waynesville Public Library.

Asnip is a recent UNC-Asheville graduate who researched the Battle of Waynesville for his senior thesis. He will present a program about the battle and the impacts of the Civil War in Haywood County. Attendees will also learn about the plans for commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the last shot fired in the Civil War east of the Mississippi, an event that occurred during the Battle of Waynesville in May 1865.

The event is presented by the Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society.

828.476.0048.

A “Mastering Your Energy” class with Laura Elliott will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

This class encourages you to become the master of your energy through movement and sound, using body and voice as instruments for healing. Attendees will learn movements of qigong and tai chi, plus methods of vocal toning to relieve stress and restore balance.

As a holistic therapist, Elliott’s passion is to inspire the health of body, mind and spirit.

This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library.

Free.

828.586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org.

Margaret Hester photo

An open call for entries to Taste of Chocolate Plus is currently under way.

The event will take place April 18 at the Maggie Valley Country Club.

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.

Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door and can be purchased at Maggie Valley Club, Chocolate Bear, Blue Ridge Books and Quilters Quarters and The Better Bean Coffee House.

828.356.2833 or jchicoine@mountainprojects.org.

Open call for Chocolate Cook-off There is currently an open call under way for the 8th annual “Chocolate CookOff ” to be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, April 25, at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce in Bryson City.

The Friends of the Marianna Black Library will host this event to help raise money for the library. In the past, proceeds have gone to help pay for the Summer Reading Program, new equipment and new books. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for children ages 6 to 16 and Friend’s Members.

Applications can be found at www.fontanalib.org/node/180 or 828.488.0480.

• A beer and cheese pairing with Heinzelmannchen Brewery and Looking Glass Creamery will be from 6 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, April 1, at City Lights Café in Sylva. Tickets are $15 until March 31, $20 thereafter. Limited to 25 people. www.yourgnometownbrewery.com.

• The Balsam Mountain Junior Roller Derby home opener bout against the Attack Pack from Florida will be held at 10 a.m.

Saturday, March 28, at the Smoky Mountain Sk8way in Waynesville. $3, free for children ages 7 and under. 828.246.9124.

ALSO:

• The presentation “Land and the Early Settlers of Swain County: Who Lived Where and Where They Went” will be held at 6:30 p.m. April 2 at the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society in Bryson City. Presenter will be Mary Wachacha. Networking opportunities and refreshments will be served.

• There will be another LEGO Club meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. The library will provide Legos and Duplos for ages 3 and up. The only thing area children need to bring is their imagination. This month’s theme will be amusement parks.

828.488.3030.

• A teen pizza party will take place at 4:30 p.m. March 31 at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Games, food and fun, with the input sought from the teens as to what they’d like to see the library provide. Free. 828.586.2016.

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Smoky Mountain News

Did you know that 1,700 abused and neglected children in North Carolina need a volunteer’s voice in court? You can help. Become a Guardian ad Litem.

March 25-31, 2015

A conference with a special focus on fermentation science will be held by the Western Office of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in the A.K. Hinds Center at Western Carolina University.

The biannual “Molecules in the Mountains” conference, part of the N.C. Biotechnology Center’s “Science in the Mountains” series, will have keynote speaker Ray Daniels of the Siebel Institute of Technology and the Cicerone Certification Program. Daniels is an expert in the brewing industry and has extensive experience in the evaluation, presentation and proper treatment of beer for the maximum benefit of the consumer.

A series of talks will be delivered throughout the day by faculty members and represen-

Entries sought for Taste of Chocolate

arts & entertainment

Conference focuses on fermentation sciences

MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.ncgal.org or call 1-800-982-4041 33

arts & entertainment

On the egg

REGISTER NOW FOR 2015 SUMMER & FALL CLASSES REGISTER NOW THRU APRIL 24 TWO YEAR DEGREES. ONE YEAR DIPLOMAS. CERTIFICATES.

haywood.edu Questions? Schedule an appointment today.

Call 828.627.4500 HCC counselors are available to assist you with the enrollment process. Career counseling services are also available to guide you as you choose a major and career path. For more information regarding enrollment, programs of study, RU Ă&#x20AC;QDQFLDO DLG FDOO 828.627.4500.

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March 25-31, 2015

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Easter in Western North Carolina With the celebration of Easter around the corner, below are several events in communities around our region, from church gathering to Easter egg hunts, brunch to live music.

BRYSON CITY â&#x20AC;˘ The Peanuts Easter Beagle Express Train will be at 11 a.m. April 3-4 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.

CASHIERS â&#x20AC;˘ The 5th annual Easter Egg Hunt will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 4, at the gazebo at The Village Green. Hundreds of eggs will be scattered around the park. There will also be an Easter bonnet contest for girls. 828.743.3434 or www.villagegreencashiersnc.com. â&#x20AC;˘ An Easter Sunrise Service will be held at 7 a.m. Sunday, April 5, at the gazebo at The Village Green. Music and scripture, with attendees encouraged to bring a lawn chair.

Saturday, March 28, at the Macon County Rec Park. Admission is one canned food item donation, benefitting CareNet. â&#x20AC;˘ Pictures with the Easter Bunny will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at The Factory. There will also be magic tricks and balloon animals by Professor Whizzpop. There will also be a kids crew member game deal for $10. 828.349.8888 or www.thefactory.bz. â&#x20AC;˘ Eggstravaganza will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 3 at The Factory. The $13 kids crew member pass includes a pizza buffet, ice cream bar, face painting, gaming bonus and an â&#x20AC;&#x153;eggcellent scavenger hunt.â&#x20AC;? There will also be photos with the Easter Bunny.

828.349.8888 or www.thefactory.bz.

HIGHLANDS â&#x20AC;˘ An Easter Egg Hunt will be held at 2:30 p.m.

Friday, April 3, at the Eckerd Living Center.

All are welcomed to attend.

LAKE JUNALUSKA â&#x20AC;˘ The annual Lake Junaluska Easter weekend will include childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities egg decorating contests starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 4, at the Harrell Center Auditorium.

CULLOWHEE â&#x20AC;˘ An Easter Egg Hunt will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at the Jackson County Recreation and Parks Department. 828.293.3053.

DILLSBORO â&#x20AC;˘ The Easter Hat Parade celebration will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 4 in downtown. The day begins with an Easter Egg Hunt at 10 a.m. on Webster Street, followed with hat making at 10:30 a.m. at Dogwood Crafters, then the parade at 2 p.m. at Town Hall. 828.586.5391 or www.visitdillsboro.org. â&#x20AC;˘ There will be an Easter Tea held by Dogwood Crafters at the Historic Jarrett House on Saturday, April 4. Seatings will be at 1 and 3 p.m. English style finger sandwiches, sweets and tea. Proceeds will go to Dogwoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building fund. $15. 828.586.2248.

FONTANA â&#x20AC;˘ The Easter Family Festival weekend will be April 3-5 at Fontana Village Resort. Among the numerous events, there will be an Easter Eggstravaganza from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

April 4 and an Easter Buffett from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 5, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt at 3 p.m. www.fontanavillage.com or 855.974.5302.

FRANKLIN â&#x20AC;˘ An Easter Egg Hunt will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at the Bethel United Methodist Church. Games, activities and crafts. Open to all ages. â&#x20AC;˘ An Easter Egg Hunt will be at 10 a.m.

Egg hunts for various ages will then follow at 11 a.m. near the Stuart Auditorium. There will be Easter sunrise services at 7 a.m.

Sunday, April 5, at the Lake Junaluska amphitheater and cross, with a breakfast to follow from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Lambuth Inn, a Longâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chapel service at 10:30 a.m., and a lunch buffet at 11:30 a.m. in the Terrace Hotel. For more information, tickets and reservations, click on www.lakejunaluska.com/easter or 828.454.6662.

STECOAH â&#x20AC;˘ An Easter Egg Hunt and duckie race will be at 11 a.m. April 4 at the Stecoach Valley Center. Visit by the Easter Bunny, bonnet contest, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities, and more. www.stecoahvalleycenter.com.

SYLVA â&#x20AC;˘ The annual Easter Bunny Brunch will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. March 28 at the First United Methodist Church. There will also be Easter crafts, a photo booth and egg hunt. Free, with donations accepted for the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vacation Bible School.

828.586.2358.

On the stage

Comedian Glenn Singer will perform March 27 at Western Carolina University.

Ventriloquist, comedian to hit WCU stage Ventriloquist Lynn Trefzger and comedian Glenn Singer will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 27, in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University.

Patrons will be treated to Trefzger’s vocal illusion talents, when they may meet a drunken and lovable camel, a grumpy old man, a feisty little girl, and audience members who are brought up for the action. As well, Singer is, quite simply put, a man who rides a horse-of-a-different-color onstage.

The event is part of WCU’s Galaxy of Stars series. Tickets are $21 for adults, $16 for WCU faculty and staff, and $7 for students and children.

828.227.2479 or www.wcu.edu.

Deering to spin comedic tales Comedy storyteller C.J. Deering will tell her all too true tall tales of life, recovery and survival during her show “Jobs I Had For Only One Day” at 7:30 p.m.

March 27-28 and April 3-4 and at 3 p.m.

• Comedian Glenn Singer will perform at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. Tickets are $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 12 and under. www.38main.com.

ALSO:

• Auditions for the comedic production of “The Carol Burnett Show Skits” will be held at 6:30 p.m. March 26-27 at the Smoky Mountain Community Theatre in Bryson City. Adult and crew roles available, with no child spots offered. Performance dates are the weekends of May 22 and 29.

828.488.8227 or 828.488.8103.

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Smoky Mountain News

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March 25-31, 2015

BEAT

A Black History Readers’ Theater program will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at the Jones Temple AME Zion Church in Waynesville.

Members of the Jackson County NAACP will share the program following the business meeting of the Haywood County NAACP. Consisting of four segments which address African American experiences and contributions throughout the history of the United States, the program includes illustrations of African beginnings in the New World, the First Reconstruction and its aftermath, the Second Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement and the Third Reconstruction for a hopeful future.

All people of good will are invited and encouraged to participate. forwardtogetherhaywood@gmail.com.

March 29 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Deering’s credits include tout manager for the Jethro Tull, as well as working with the Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Neil Young, and Jackson Browne. As a DJ doing late night rock-n-roll she was “CJ the DJ.” She also worked as an airline stewardess, a professional cheerleader and a dog walker. This show continues a life story of ups, downs, sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, of what happened, and what it’s like now.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for students.

828.456.6322 or www.harttheatre.org.

arts & entertainment

African American history remembrance

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Find us on Facebook. Federally Insured by NCUA *$100,000 will be divided between the public school systems in Haywood, Buncombe, Henderson, Jackson, Swain, Macon, Graham, Madison, and Transylvania Counties based on the number of students per system. **Loan approval based on JYLKP[^VY[OPULZZ *LY[HPU YLZ[YPJ[PVUZ HWWS` (WWSPJHISL [V SVHUZ ILPUN YLÄUHUJLK MYVT HUV[OLY SLUKLY )` \WSVHKPUN `V\Y picture to our social media pages, you give Champion Credit Union permission to use it in future promotions.

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Smoky Mountain News March 25-31, 2015

arts & entertainment

On the wall

Progress made on new HART theatre The roof trusses went up on the new Daniel and Belle Fangmeyer Theater on March 21 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

The building is expecting to be completed sometime this summer and will give HART a second main stage performance space. The flagship main stage theater is 11,000 square feet with 250 seats. The second venue is planned to be 6,000 square feet, which would hold between 150 to 180 attendees, depending on what’s being presented.

The possibilities range from small plays to dinner theater, drama camps to acting classes, cabaret to wedding receptions. It seems the avenues of potential are endless.

Perhaps most importantly, the second theater will allow productions to run back to back. Actors and set crews will have a place to prepare one show while another is running on the main stage.

The project has an estimated construction price tag of $1.2 million, with most of that cost already being gathering through an ongoing fundraising campaign by HART.

Grants available for arts organizations

Contemporary artist and instructor in painting, drawing and mixed media, Billie W. Shelburn will demonstrate creative watercolor techniques for Art League of the Smokies at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, at the Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City.

Shelburn will paint from images in her mind rather than from direct resources as she uses subliminal images to create abstract realism through the use of lights and darks, shapes and moods. The demonstration painting will be reminiscent of our natural surroundings in the Appalachian Mountains.

She’ll demonstrate how she uses the elements and principles of design to build her composition and color as a technique for definition of space. Oriental paper collage will also be applied to the painting.

Shelburn was inducted into the National Organization for Women in the Arts and has served on the executive boards of several watercolor societies and ART Station in Georgia. She is also currently serving as the Resident Artist in Painting, Drawing and Mixed Media for John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, a position she has held for the last 18 years.

Sponsored by Swain County Center for the Arts and Swain County Schools. Free.

828.488.7843 or www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta.

There will be an array of upcoming art classes at the Cowee Pottery School in Franklin.

• Kids Clay in the Garden, a four-day class, will begin April 3 and conclude April 10. Instructors Claire Suminski and Julie Taylor have several projects planned for youngsters. Each class is 10 a.m. to noon. $56, plus clay costs.

• Fanciful Vases and Boxes, a handbuilding class taught by Hank Shuler, will be from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday and Thursday evenings April 13-30. $126, plus clay costs.

• Small Casserole Dishes, taught by Carmen Holland, will be from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays April 15-May 13. Cost is $105, plus clay and tools. www.coweeschool.org.

• Create your own tumbler or vase from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 28 and April 4 at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Each class that day is 45 minutes. $45 per person. 828.631.0271 or www.jcgep.org.

ALSO:

• There is currently an open call for artists from the Front Street Arts & Crafts Show that will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, June 20, in Dillsboro. Application deadline is April 1. 828.506.8331 or www.visitdillsboro.org or www.mountainlovers.com.

• “The Hobbit” (March 26-27, 6:30 p.m. only), “Into The Woods” (March 28), “Imitation Game” (April 2) and “Interstellar” (April 3-4) will be screened at the Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva.

Screenings are free and begin at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. There is also a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturdays. www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com.

• The “Come Paint with Charles Kidz Program” will be at 4 p.m. March 27 at the Charles Heath Gallery in Bryson City. $20 per child. Materials and snacks included.

828.538.2054.

• “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” will be screened through March 26 at the Highlands Playhouse. Showtimes are at 2, 5 and 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and also 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $9. 828.526.2695 or www.highlandsplayhouse.org.

• “Imitation Game” (through April 1) and “Dark Summer” (March 27-28) will be screened at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. For screening times, click on www.38main.com or call 828.283.0079.

• Disney’s “The Aristocats” musical will be screened at 7:30 p.m. March 27-28 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. $12. www.greatmountainmusic.com.

Smoky Mountain News

In order to receive a sponsorship, organizations must engage highly qualified artists.

Activities that will be funded include performances, exhibitions, and artist residencies in schools, classes, workshops, festivals, after school arts programs, and art camps.

The JCAC will hold an informational meeting about these changes at 7 p.m. March 26 in the arts council office, located at the Jackson County Library Annex in Sylva.

There was also a March 17 meeting, and those interested organizations should have a representative attend one of these meetings.

The JCAC is the NCAC Grassroots Designated partner for funding art programs in Jackson County. It has for many years been a source of sub-grant funds that supported local organizations in offering high-quality arts programs benefiting a broad cross-section of the county’s citizens of all ages.

Watercolor technique demo by Shelburn

Cowee Pottery School art classes

March 25-31, 2015

The Jackson County Art Council Board of Directors has decided to offer sponsorships to the nonprofit organizations that offer quality programs, which will deepen the council’s partnership with the local arts organizations and arts projects.

Contact the Jackson County Arts Council for sponsorship applications at info@jacksoncountyarts.org or 828.507.9820.

The deadline for applying will be June 30 of each year.

arts & entertainment

Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. Donated photo

• An arm knitting class will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 28, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. The yarn will be provided, but space is limited to six people. 828.586.2016 or www.fontanalib.org. 37

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

A story that makes one look differently at life ike some other readers I know, my taste in books these last 20 years or so has shifted from fiction to non-fiction, especially history, biography, and literary studies.

I still follow certain novelists — Anne Tyler, Pat Conroy, James Lee Burke, and others — and still review novels for this paper, but find that works of fiction simply don’t appeal as much as when I was in my twenties and thirties, when I read stacks of novels and poetry.

Yet every once in a while a story will find its way into my hands Writer whose voice and plot and characters whisk me back to those days when the novel for me was a magical realm. When this happens, when some beguiling literary sorcerer throws golden dust into my eyes, I push aside work and sleep, and fall again under the spell of the novel.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2014, 260 pages, $24.95 hardcover, $14.95 paperback) bewitched me for two days during a week of February snow.

Here Gabrielle Zevin tells the story of A.J. Fikry, a curmudgeon on the cusp of middle age, a man whose wife has recently died, whose Alice Island bookshop is going bellyup, whose most valuable book, a first edition of Poe’s Tamerlane, has been filched. In short, A.J. Fikry’s closest companions when we meet him are gloom and despair.

Nevertheless, A.J. has some guardian angels watching over him: his sister-in-law Ismay, wife of a philandering novelist who tries again and again to get A.J. to reengage with the community; Police Chief Lamiase, who watches over A.J. and eventually becomes a friend; and Amelia, the new book rep, who begins to break through the protective shell A.J. has built around him.

But it is the arrival of a special gift that first begins to work a change in A.J.’s spirit.

Jeff Minick

L

Well, first I need to tell you that I am a sucker for literary stories, particularly for stories set in a bookshop. Having once owned a bookshop or two, and having loved bookshops my entire life, I was entranced

by Zevin’s descriptions of the shop, its customers, and its eccentricities. Her love of literature shines on every page.

There are numerous discussions of authors, and Zevin begins each chapter with some literary observations by A.J. written to a person he loves. (One of the more humorous parts of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry occurs when A.J. inspires Chief Lamiase to become more of a reader, and the Chief then founds a book club for the police department).

Next, throughout the book Zevin again and again brings a whimsical humor to the story, an old-fashioned brand of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Algonquin Books, 2014. humor without 260 pages. today’s snarkiness. At one point, for examTo describe the gift would spoil the story for ple, A.J describes Flannery O’Connor’s bloodsome, but with this event A.J. gradually realchilling short story “A Good Man Is Hard To izes that life has more possibilities and more Find” as a “family trip gone awry.” promises than he had ever realized.

There is also much wisdom to be found as So, you may ask, where’s the charm? well in The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. At a wedWhere’s the magic? ding, one of Amelia’s friends reads this pas-

sage from The Late Bloomer, a fictitious book both Amelia and A.J. loved: “It is the secret fear that we are unlovable that isolates us, but it is only because we are isolated that we think we are unlovable. Someday, you do not know when, you will be driving down a road.

And someday, you do not know when, he, or indeed she, will be there. You will be loved because for the first time in your life, you will truly not be alone. You will have chosen to not be alone.”

In On Moral Fiction, a book which caused a literary war 30 years ago, John Gardner wrote that “the traditional view is that true art is moral: it seeks to improve life, not debase it.

It seeks to hold of, at least for a while, the twilight of the gods and us.”

And this is the final enchantment of Zevin’s story. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry makes readers see that they too are living storied lives. This is a novel that makes the reader see the world a little differently, that inspires a sense of goodness without a whit of excess sentimentality, that pushes us to become better people.

Highly recommended.

••• Recently a friend gave me Jan Karon’s Patches of Godlight: Father Tim’s Favorite Quotes: The Mitford Years (Penguin Books, $17). Though I am not a follower of the Mitford series — I read the first long ago and recently reviewed the latest, Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good — Patches of Godlight is a collection of quotations from philosophers, theologians, poets, and humorists collected under the guise of the fictional Episcopalian priest, Father Tim Kavanagh.

(The occasional comments penned by Father Tim are amusing).

This collection, which includes many adages and quotations unfamiliar to me, would make a fine gift for a graduation.

(Jeff Minick is a teacher and writer. His novel, Amanda Bell, is available at local bookstores and at Amazon. minick0301@gmail.com.)

New teen space at Canton Library Thanks to the generous support of the Haywood County Friends of the Library, the Canton Library now features a space within the library that local teenagers can claim as their own.

The new teen area features a diner-style booth for group or individual work, a modern and flexible seating area with chairs that include built-in outlets, a technology bar with outlets for devices and new shelving for the Young Adult collection of books and books on CD. The Friends of the Library also funded the purchase of new tables and chairs for the computers in the main area of the library.

Teenagers are also invited to join our Teen Advisory Group, which meets the first Wednesday of each month at 4 p.m. to discuss YA books and teen program ideas. For more on upcoming teen events, visit Haywood County Public Library’s teen page at http://haywoodlibrary.libguides.com/teen.

828.648.2924.

two graphic novels: Uptowners, a dark comedy set in contemporary New Orleans, and Piano Lessons, a gay teen romance set in the 1950s rural South.

McPherson received a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English-Creative Writing and a Master’s of Fine Arts degree in Screenwriting from Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge.

828.586.9499.

Poet, memoirist and novelist Joseph Bathanto will read from his most recent poetic prose at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Some of his work includes The Life of the World to Come, Half of What I Say is Meaningless: Essays and Concertina: Poems. Bathanti’s reading will launch the celebration of National Poetry Month.

Established in 1996, National Poetry Month is held every April and is the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, pubDaniel S. Pierce, author of Real lishers, libraries, booksellers and poets celeNASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay and brating poetry’s vital place in culture.

Big Bill France, will give Bathanti is a fora presentation about • The Sylva Friends of the Library Used mer North Carolina the history of NASCAR Bookstore has a large collection of books on at 5:30 p.m. poet laureate. Over for homeschoolers the last 35 years, he Tuesday, March 31, at on display. All are has helped people of the Canton Library. reasonably priced. all walks of life Pierce is Professor The store is open express themselves of History, Chair of the seven days a week and is located at 536 department, at UNCthrough writing from West Main St. across from the Sylva prison inmates, to Asheville. He earned Herald. All proceeds go to support the college students, and his Ph.D. at the Sylva Library. even to war veterans.

University of He is currently a creTennessee, where he ative writing profesworked with distinguished Southern histosor at Appalachian State University. rian James C. Cobb. He is also the author of 828.586.9499.

Corn From a Jar: Moonshining in the Great Smoky Mountains, as well as The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park.

Pierce has had his work published in The New York Times, Southern Cultures, Smokies Life, and numerous encyclopedias Lin Stepp and Elise & Phil Okrend will including the New Encyclopedia of offer new works at Blue Ridge Books in Southern Culture. He has appeared on Sylva.

NPR’s Talk of the Nation, The History Stepp will present her novel Making Channel, North Carolina People with Miracles at noon Saturday, March 28. Set in William Friday, North Carolina Bookwatch, Tennessee’s postcard-perfect Smoky and the South Carolina ETV Emmy Award Mountains, the book is an inspiring tale winning program Take on the South. that reveals why love and forgiveness are Free. most important just when they seem most 828.648.2924. impossible.

The Okrends will present their coffee table book Message to the Heart — Reflections of Beauty and Truth at 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 4. Elise, a pastel painter and Phil, a writer and professional life coach came together to produce and release the Liza Wieland will present her novel inspiring book.

Land of Enchantment at 3 p.m. Saturday, 828.456.6000 or www.blueridgebookMarch 28, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. snc.com.

The story weaves the lives of three extraordinary women artists, beginning with a half-Navajo woman in the 1980s New Mexico, an assistant for the aging Georgia O’Keefe, and concluding in a stunning connection to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Wieland is the author of three novels, three Nevada McPherson will read from her collections of short fiction, and a volume of two graphic novels, Uptowners and Piano poems. Her work has been awarded two Lessons, at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 27, at Puchcart Prizes, a National Endowment for City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. the Arts grant, and the Michigan Literary McPherson has written over a dozen feaFiction Award. ture-length screenplays, one short screen828.586.9499. play that she made into a short film, and

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Grit and wonder

Celebrating the AT Every year, trail towns and businesses in Western North Carolina anticipate the influx of 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.

2015’s thru-hikers reflect on trail hardships and thrills

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER f the stack of boxes piling up on the counter of the outfitter store at Nantahala Outdoor Center is any indication, thru-hiker season is coming fast.

The parcels of food, reminders of home and creature comforts are welcome diversions from the travel-light lifestyle on the Appalachian Trail, where miles are many and luxuries are few.

“A lot of people ask about what you’re thinking about [on the trail],” said Youngblood, an 18-yearold hiker whose off-trail name is P.J. Coleman, as he sorted through his just-opened box of mail drop goodies. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, you’re thinking about food.”

His buddy Gadget, 20, who’s also known as Robert Smith, holds up a hard-candy caramel in shiny gold wrapping. Those individually wrapped sugar rushes are the key to making it up the hard hills, he says. For his part, Youngblood has a stash of Now-and-Laters and Sour Punch Straws.

Don’t forget the coffee, peanut butter and trail mix, chimed in Jessica “Lemon” Romain, who was taking a zero day to recover from a rolled ankle. And also, those reminders of home. Mom’s cookies, a handwritten note, anything with a personal touch.

“A mail drop just reminds me I have people at home who support me,” said Youngblood, who chose to do the trail rather than going straight to college.

“That’s what keeps me going.”

Shane Shelley, who works at the outfitter shop,

I

has seen that sentiment play out again and again. He recently handed a package to a girl who opened it to find, in addition to the food she herself had packed, some postcards from her mom. The find made her teary.

“Something to get in their stomach but also to get in their heart,” Shelley said of the boxes. That day alone, they’d gotten 14 boxes delivered and will probably work up to 40 by the time thru-hiker season peaks.

PEANUT BUTTER OSTRICH Daniel “Sticks” Condon, 22, wasn’t expecting to find any mail as he descended the trail to NOC. He’d decided not to do the mail drops, deeming them “more complicated than it needed to be.” But after spending miles craving a hot shower and a candy bar, he conceded he might be wrong about that. Trail miles are hard miles, especially when the spring rain keeps coming down, and a boxful of minor luxuries can do wonders for motivation.

That’s not to say that Sticks has gone entirely without edible novelties. His sister met up with him the week before to celebrate his birthday, bearing gifts of “weird meat.”

“I think I’m the first person to ever try peanut butter with ostrich,” he said.

It’s a meal with calories, and that’s a plus. But during a recent foray into Franklin, Sticks found out the hard way that not all calories are good for making miles.

F

P.J. “Youngblood” Coleman sorts through the goodies in his just-picked-up mail drop at Nanatahala Outdoor Center. Holly Kays photos

Franklin Franklin will try something different this year from its usual April Fools Trail Days event, spreading Appalachian Trail-related events from March 27 through April 25 rather than clustering them all together on a single weekend. The change came from a desire to compliment the events that businesses were planning throughout hiker season, said Bill Van Horn, cochair of the Franklin Appalachian Trail Communities Committee.

■ March 26 — Off-trail hiker Jenny Bennett will share her novel The Twelve Springs of LeConte and discuss her experience climbing the mountain via each of the springs that drains it, 6 p.m. at the Macon County Public Library.

■ March 27 — Bob Plott — and one of his hounds — will share the story of the Plott family and hound, a tale with roots entrenched in North Carolina history and culture, 10 a.m. at the Macon County Public Library.

■ March 27-28 — The 11th annual April Fool Hiker Bash at the Sapphire Inn will feature food, live music, a hiker talent show, backpacking education and games. Activities begin at 6 p.m. each night. Ron Haven, 828.524.4431. www.hikerfoolbash.com ■ March 28 — Three Eagles Outfitters will hold an anniversary celebration and AT appreciation day featuring sales and free drinks. 828.524.9061.

■ March 28 — Outdoor 76 will host an information session on the various trail systems in Macon County, noon to 2 p.m. “The AT, a Local Treasure” will help participants plan a great next hike with friends and family. 828.349.7676 ■ March 28 — Lazy Hiker Brewing Company will host the Thru-Hiker Chow Down, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the Nantahala Hiking Club as a cosponsor to feed the hikers. The meal will include chili dogs, chips and homemade goodies — but no beer, as the brewery is not yet open. 828.369.1983.

■ April 1 — A documentary sharing highlights from the career of legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold and illustrating his vision of a community that cares about land and people will be

screened at 6 p.m. at the Macon County Public Library. “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time” will be provided by NHC. ■ April 2 — A 50-minute National Geographic documentary, “Appalachian Trail,” will take viewers off the beaten path of the well-traveled ridgetop route in screenings at 2 and 6 p.m. at the Macon County Public Library.

■ April 4. Outdoor 76 will host Thruhiker Appreciation Day, inviting townies to rub shoulders with trekkers as they step off the trail en route to Mount Katahdin in Maine.

828.349.7676.

■ Through April 11, First Baptist Church will host free pancake breakfasts for hikers, 7:30-8:30 a.m.

828.369.9559

Nantahala Outdoor Center Nantahala Outdoor Center will celebrate thru-hiker season with a two-day bash April 3-4 for long-distance and local outdoors lovers alike.

The weekend will kick off with a 7 p.m. showing of “The Long Start to the Journey” by Chris Gallaway, an Asheville filmmaker who thru-hiked in 2013.

Saturday will begin with a gear repair and vendor fair, which will run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The OBOZ Hiker Olympiad will be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a Leave No Trace game, corn hole and camp games will be held at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. respectively. The day will conclude with music and a spaghetti feed for hikers. www.noc.com/events/at-foundersbridge-festival

Hot Springs Hot Springs will hold its annual Trailfest April 17-18. The full lineup of events for the weekend includes all-youcan-eat spaghetti and pancake meals, a climbing wall and low ropes course, a talent show, live music, a bonfire and drum circle to close out the weekend — and plenty more. A full schedule is online at www.hsclc.org/newsevents/trailfest.html

Fontana Dam Fontana Village will hold its Hiker Haze “weekend” March 25-26, and a dedication ceremony March 26 will commemorate Fontana Dam’s designation as an Appalachian Trail Community.

Games, karaoke, music, speakers and a guided hike will all be part of the activity. www.appalachiantrail.org/ or www.fontanavillage.com.

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Smoky Mountain News

Weather that’s sunny and 70 pretty much always makes the hike better, said Jon “Navigator” Labi, taking a break from a strenuous uphill near Standing Indian Campground on Saturday. The Tallahassee resident had gotten his fill of rain since starting the trail 19 days earlier and was happy to see the sun rise that morning.

“It makes you appreciate days like this, for Hikers share advice and experiences in a sure,” Labi said of the journal left at the Rufus Morgan Shelter, just rain.

0.8 miles south of Nantahala Outdoor Center.

But hikers are quick to clarify that rainy days aren’t necessarily bad days.

“I don’t think I’ve had a bad day so far,” said Scott “Slavedriver” Solomon, 42, resting under cloudy skies at NOC with Youngblood and Gadget. “Every day is uplifting.”

In the course of six homemade cupcakes, hardboiled eggs and months on the trail, you’re bound to catch beef jerky to tired hikers. A welcome gift, the some rain and cold with the warmth and group at NOC said, especially the proteinsunshine. It’s all part of the trail’s packed eggs. thumbprint, opposing sides of an insepara“It does restore your faith in humanity,” ble coin.

Gadget said.

Long.

Navigator had a similar experience at Beautiful.

Tray Gap, near Hiawassee, Georgia.

Hard.

“I was craving a Mountain Dew, and Priceless.

“You get into a zone and you’re going one damned if they didn’t have a Mountain Dew sitting right there,” he said. foot in front of the other,” said Gadget, “and Coffee, too. What else could a hiker need? you get to that view, that vista.”

“It gives you the motivation to keep “I think I’ve been learning a lot more here going,” Navigator said. than I would in college,” Youngblood said.

There is lots of going still to do. About two weeks in, thru-hikers passing through RAIL TEACHERS North Carolina are just at the beginning of The elements are worthy teachers, but their 2,189-mile journey. Those coming into much of the trail experience comes from the Franklin and NOC have yet to pass through people who travel it and surround it. the elevation undulations of the Great “All day you’re just hoping you’ll see the Smoky Mountains National Park, make it friends that you’ve made, but even if not through the sticky heat of July in the midyou’re going to meet so many more people,” Atlantic or navigate the steep ascents and Youngblood said. “I think it’s really the peorocky descents of the White Mountains in ple that make this trail.”

New Hampshire.

The hikers keep each other company, Injuries will take some out of the running, share food, bestow trail names, help with while the mental challenges will get others. injuries and pass advice – as, for instance, in But when asked whether he planned to make the case of a diagram that hiker “Code Red” it to Katahdin this fall, Navigator’s answer sketched in the leather journal at the Rufus came quickly: “Come hell or high water.”

Morgan Shelter, 0.8 miles from NOC. Because, along with the challenges still to “The roof leaks in at least two spots — come are the pinnacle moments — the perchoose your sleeping space carefully,” the fect views, the personal epiphanies, the note beside the diagram reads. “There were unwavering camaraderie. And those are only two of us so we slept like this and moments worth sticking around for. stayed dry. Luckily we didn’t find this out “I feel like the trail breaks you down into the hard way!” your true essence,” said Youngblood, “makes The AT is both an exercise in self-suffiyou into the person you were already meant ciency and a lesson in interdependence. Yes, to be.” thru-hikers carry their world on their backs, At the end of the trail, he hopes, that permust keep putting one foot in front of the son will be there, waiting to start exploring other to move it further down the path. But the future.

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“That was the day I learned that while one beer can make a hike a little better, three or four beers don’t,” he said.

sometimes they need help — a burst of sugar, a word of encouragement, a reason to keep going.

That’s where “trail magic” comes in, the hiker term for the random acts of kindness that pepper the trail with surprising frequency.

“The kid was 13. He was there with his parents,” Gadget said, recalling a recent appearance of magic at Wayah Bald. “His parents had attempted the AT in 2009 and they’d got to Virginia and the husband’s knee blew out, so they stopped.”

But their commitment to the AT didn’t end with a blown-out knee. They were there with their son to hand out goody bags of

76023

AT, CONTINUED FROM 40

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

41

The battle against the hemlock wooly adelgid in North Carolina will continue with help from a bevy of grants from the Hemlock Restoration Initiative, a grant pool set up to fund promising research in the fight against the invasive aphid-like insect that kills hemlocks.

The Hemlock Restoration Initiative is spearheaded by N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and funded through the state’s multimillion dollar legal settlment with the Tennessee Valley Authority stemming from a federal air pollution lawsuit.

Without intervention, adelgid infestations can kill trees within just a few years. Hemlocks are ecological staples of Appalachian forests, cooling stream temperatures, storing water and providing food and habitat for wildlife.

■ National Park Service work crews will suit up to chemically treat hemlock trees located along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Haywood, Transylvania, Avery and Watauga counties, funded through a $25,000 grant awarded to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

■ Southwestern N.C. Resource Conservation & Development Council received $25,000 toward its work to create a hybrid hemlock species that will resist the aphid-like insect. The project, based at the Mountain Research Station in

Waynesville, involves identifying resistant trees and testing their progeny throughout 17 eligible counties.

■ The Blue Ridge Resource Conservation and Development Council received $25,000 to release predator beetles that feed on the adelgid. The beetles, Laricobius nigrinus, are winter predators that must be wild-caught during their active period from April to May.

Friends of the Smokies got its largest-ever fourth-quarter check from sales of the Smokies bear license plate, accruing $105,080 for projects on the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Canton Middle School students celebrate a first place win. Donated photo

The North Carolina plates have now raised more than $3.9 million for the park. They are available from the Department of Motor Vehicles for $30, with a portion of the sale going to Friends of the Smokies. www.friendsofthesmokies.org/plates.html

Smoky Mountain News

Teams of middle and high school students from across Western North Carolina went head-to-head over their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management March 13, with students from Haywood, Swain and Macon counties all representing at the Area 1 Envirothon Competition.

The Canton Middle School team, “O’possum my possum” took first in the middle school competition, and the Mountaineer Mayflies from Waynesville Middle School took fourth. Haywood County teams also took fourth, ninth, 10th and 12th places out of 15. The Canton and Waynesville teams will advance to the State Envirothon April 24-25 in Burlington.

Transylvania County swept the high school competition, taking four of the top five places, but Haywood teams took ninth, 10th, 12th, 13th and 19th. Swain County took 14th and 15th, and Macon County teams took 16th and 17th out of the 20 teams.

The Envirothon is an annual competition in which teams of three to five students use their training and problem-solving skills to come out on top in five categories — soil and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and environmental issues. In Haywood County, the program is funded through a grant from the Pigeon River Fund to the Haywood County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Bring butterflies to the classroom

MAY 2, 2015 7:30 am START The inaugural Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon starts in beautiful downtown Waynesville and finishes three blocks away in the historic Frog Level community in front of Frog Level Brewing Co. Sponsored by the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, this race wanders through the neighborhoods of Waynesville and onto scenic rural roads before finishing in Frog Level.

smokieshalfmarathon.com

42

WNC teens strut environmental know-how

Sales strong for Smokies plates

March 25-31, 2015

outdoors

Grants awarded to fight hemlock adelgid

Presented by Haywood Regional Medical Center

A pair of free curriculum trainings will give Haywood County teachers the tools to teach their classes about butterfly and bird egg development.

■ An embryology training at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 16, will walk teachers through showing their students how the egg of a cornex quail develops.

■ A butterfly training at 4 p.m. Monday, April 20, will train teachers to show their students the butterfly lifecycle.

The curriculum matches Common Core and essential standards for second-graders, and the trainings count as continuing education units for teachers.

828.456.3575.

Bear encounter causes camping restrictions Graveyard Fields is closed to overnight camping following a bear break-in to a tent in the popular recreation area, and the U.S. Forest Service is also requiring campers to use bear canisters in adjacent public lands.

According to a U.S. Forest Service press release, the bear entered the tent and took a hiker’s backpack. Though no injuries resulted, the potential was there.

That’s not the only bear-human interaction that’s been reported to the Forest Service recently. They’ve fielded numerous calls about bears getting food from backcountry campers, so commercially made bear canisters are now required in the adjacent Shining Rock Wilderness, Black Balsam, Sams Knob and Flat Laurel Creek areas.

“In springtime bears are opportunisti-

cally looking for food that campers and trail users bring on their trips,” said Pisgah District Ranger Derek Ibarguen. “Black Donated bear photo attacks on people are rare, but when we do have encounters we do our best to break the cycle of success so the bears do not become habituated to humans — protecting both our visitors and the bears.”

Over the next few weeks, the Forest Service will monitor the area — located at mile 418 of the Blue Ridge Parkway between the intersections with U.S. 276 and N.C. 215 — and decide when it’s safe to reopen the area to overnight camping. Day use is still allowed.

Read up on bear safety online at www.fs.usda.gov/main/r8/recreation/safety-ethics. 828.877.3265.

outdoors

Give a hand to Panthertown A trail work day in Panthertown Valley near Cashiers Saturday, March 28, will help improve trails leading to Wilderness Falls and Frolictown Falls.

Volunteers will meet at 10 a.m. and should supply their own lunch, water and good shoes, but tools will be provided in this Friends of Panthertown event.

RSVP to 828.269.4453 or friends@panthertown.org.

Volunteers needed to help with park guests People interested in roaming the frontcountry of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are needed as the park starts up its roving volunteers program for 2015.

Volunteers typically work one four-hour shift per week, informing visitors about park rules, helping with crowd control around the elk and telling visitors about their areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultural and natural resources.

Wilderness Falls in Panthertown Valley.

Ken Lane photo

Volunteers work at the Oconaluftee River Trail, Mountain Farm Museum and in the fields at Newfound Gap Road and Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

A five-hour training session beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 1, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center will kick off this season, which runs mid-April through midNovember.

Kathleen Stuart, 828.497.1914.

Economic development program dishes about loans and grant opportunities

Help out at Clingmans

Road widening project starts on White Oak

Smoky Mountain News

A training session for people interested in helping out at the Clingmans Dome visitor information center will be held 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Friday, March 27, in Gatlinburg.

Volunteers help educate visitors about the high-elevation spruce-fir forests at the site and provide logistical information during a fourhour shift each week through the end of November.

Florie Takaki, 828.497.1906 or florie_takaki@nps.gov.

March 25-31, 2015

A meeting to get Jackson County residents up to speed on the resources available to them as one of the U.S. Department of Agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s StrikeForce counties in North Carolina will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, March 30, at First Baptist Church in Sylva.

StrikeForce aims to leverage community resources in rural communities with persistent poverty to lift up the economy. The meeting will include information on USDA loans, grants and technical assistance programs.

Pamela Hysong, pam.hysong@nc.usda.gov.

Road work on White Oak Road will stall traffic through the bulk of the year but result in a newly widened, paved section where it crosses through a piece of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park between Interstate 40 and Cataloochee.

The goal of the project is to improve access for emergency and over-sized vehicles to local residents of the White Oak area.

The N.C. Department of Transportation will start work by April 15 and finish by Dec. 31, primarily affecting local residents. Delays should be expected weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

43

Clingmans Dome Information Center.

Donated photo

outdoors

Breakaway bikers line up at the starting line at Lake Junaluska. SMN photo

Are you ready for spring time grillin’ and chillin’?

Blue Ridge Breakaway registration open Early registration is open for the Blue Ridge Breakaway, a multi-distance bike ride based in Haywood County.

In its sixth year, the Breakaway will be held Aug. 15 and features 26-, 51-, 76- and 106-mile routes, two of which take in more than 30 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The ride brings hundreds of bikers into

Turn your grill into an oven, roaster, and a smoker

Haywood County each year.

Early-bird rates are $41 for the 26-mile route through Aug. 1 and $46 for the other three through May 31.

Sponsored by the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce. blueridgebreakaway.com or 828.456.3021.

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Tour de Cashiers puts the pedal to the metal Registration is open for the 23rd annual Tour de Cashiers Mountain Cycling Experience, a challenging mountain ride exploring the byways of Western North Carolina.

On the May 2 ride, cyclists will follow one of three routes of up to 100 miles across Jackson, Macon and Transylvania counties. Steep climbs and fast descents combine to more than 10,500 feet of elevation change, all wrapped up in views of granite-faced mountains, flowering valleys and running rivers. Sponsors being sought. www.tourdecashiers.com

Mountain biking groups look for new members The International Mountain Bike Association is offering incentive to join or renew in the form of a chance to win a fullsuspension bike or VIP trip for two.

New or renewed memberships to IMBA or the Southern Off-Road Bicycling Association qualify through March 31.

Local chapters are Nantahala Area SORBA and Pisgah SORBA. www.imba.com/join.

Run into Easter Lake Junaluska will celebrate Easter with a 5K and fun run beginning 8:30 a.m.

Saturday, April 4, at the Nanci Weldon Gymnasium.

The Friends of the Lake 5K, Family Walk and Fun Run will start with the 5K races at 8:30 a.m. followed by the 5K Family Walk directly afterward. The half-mile Kids Fun Run will start at 9:30 a.m., open to children 10 and under. An awards ceremony will be held when the races conclude, with awards given to the top three male and female winners in each age category, and door prizes will be distributed as well.

Register for “Friends of the Lake 5K” at www.imathlete.com. www.lakejunaluska.com/events/worship/easter/run.

Winter ends for Cataloochee Cataloochee Ski Area closed for the season Sunday, ending 141 days of open slopes for 2014-15.

The season outstripped the ski area’s average 126 days per season, but closure came slightly earlier than last season’s March 27 ending. However, the resort saw its best season ever in terms of visitor numbers, logging a 3 percent increase over the 2013-14 season.

“We attribute a lot of that increase to our continued work in bringing new participants to winter sports with programs like our Slide in 5 package, afterschool programs and other learning programs and packages,” said Tammy Brown, spokesperson for Cataloochee. “This type of programming helps us create new skiers and snowboarders who we hope will grow with us and return to ski or ride with us in the future.” www.cataloochee.com

Brookies get a boost in the Smokies Brooke trout. SMN photo

Since 1986, the park has restored brook trout to 27.1 miles in 11 different streams.

Hundreds of volunteers and groups such as Trout Unlimited, Federation of Fly Fishers and Friends of the Smokies participated in the efforts.

Of the park’s 2,900 miles of streams, about 20 percent are large enough to sup-

port trout. Brook trout only occupy 8.6 percent of these, browns are found in 4.6 percent and rainbow trout in 15.2 percent.

Fisheries biologists have determined that recreational fishing won’t harm the population of brook trout. www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/upload/f ishing-study.pdf

Stocked fisheries set to open More than 1,000 miles of hatchery-supported trout waters will open for anglers in the 25 western counties at 7 a.m. April 4, with the season running through Feb. 29, 2016.

These waters are stocked from March to August each year, many of them monthly, to improve the experience for anglers fishing them. On Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters, anglers can harvest a maximum seven trout per day, with no minimum size limit or bait restriction.

Stocking dates and locations are posted at www.ncwildlife.org/fishing/hatcheriesstocking/ncwrcstocking.aspx.

March 25-31, 2015

HUNGRY?

A recently awarded $200,000 grant will pay for two years of work to improve water quality and raise public awareness of clean water for Richland Creek in Haywood County.

The N.C. Division of Water Resources Grant will pay for the Richland Creek Restoration Project to stabilize 5,100 feet of stream bank to reduce erosion, repair 10 failing septic systems to prevent water contamination and construct rain gardens and cisterns to capture and treat stormwater from 65,000 square feet of hard surfaces.

Restoration efforts at Richland Creek began in 2006, combating the impacts of sediment and bacteria that had landed Richland Creek and its tributary Raccoon Creek on the state list of impaired waterways.

A laundry list of organizations — local, state and national — have footed the bill, and the partners are providing $140,000 in matching support for this next phase of the project.

Haywood Waterways Association, 828.476.4667 or info@haywoodwaterways.org.

outdoors

Following a seven-year brook trout restoration project, Lynn Camp Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now open to fishing.

It marks the first time since the park’s establishment in 1934 that fishing has been allowed in all park streams.

Lynn Camp Prong was targeted for brook trout reintroduction as part of the Smokies’ long-range habitat restoration of the embattled species, which retain less than 5 percent of their native range in the Southeast.

The work entails eradicating all the rainbow and brown trout from the stream, and then reintroducing brook trout.

Rainbows and browns were introduced to mountain streams in the early 20th century after logging impacts caused brook trout to lose 75 percent of their former range. The introduced trout then outcompeted and displaced many remaining brook trout, with acid rain and warming stream temperatures further reducing trout population in higher elevations over the last 30 years.

Richland Creek restoration expands with new funding

Learn more about these great local restaurants

MountainEats.com

Smoky Mountain News

Blue Rooster Southern Grill • Breaking Bread Café • Chef’s Table Herren House B&B • Maggie Valley Club • The Rendezvous O’Malley’s • Pasquale’s Pizzeria & Tapas Bar • The Waynesville Inn

An online dining directory for Western North Carolina presented by Smoky Mountain Living magazine.

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: 866.452.2251 45

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outdoors March 25-31, 2015 Smoky Mountain News 46

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WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Free tax preparation by trained volunteers certified by the IRS and under guidance of the AARP Foundation will be available from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 25-26 at the Cashiers Senior Center. Linda Buchanan at 745.6856 for an appointment.

• The Jackson County Arts Council will hold an informational meeting at 7 p.m. on March 26 in the arts council office at the Jackson County Library Annex in Sylva.

Topic will be changes to the organization’s approach to sponsorships. Interested organizations should have a representative at one of the meetings. info@jacksoncountyarts.org or call 507-9820.

• Southwestern Community College will host its 21st annual Job Fair from 9 a.m.-noon on Thursday, March 26, at the Jackson Campus. Patty Kirkley at 339.4212 or p_kirkley@southwesterncc.edu.

• A free public “News Exchange” meeting to discuss indepth and investigative news across Western North Carolina will be held from 12:30-1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 27, at City Bakery in downtown Waynesville.

Organized by Carolina Public Press. www.carolinapublicpress.org or Angie Newsome at 279.0949.

• An inaugural Women’s Leadership Conference will be held Friday and Saturday, March 27-28, at Western Carolina University. 227.2276 or ica@wcu.edu.

• An evening with three women who serve on the N.C. Supreme Court will be held from 7:15-8:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, in the Grandroom of A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Open to the public. John F. Whitmire Jr. at 227.7262.

• A program titled “Land and the Early Settlers of Swain County: Who Lived Where and Where They Went,” will be presented by Mary Wachacha at 6:30 p.m. April 2 at the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society in Bryson City.

• ReptiDay Asheville, a one-day reptile event featuring vendors offering reptile pets, supplies, feeders, cages and merchandise as well as live animal seminars and raffles, will be held from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, at the Western North Carolina Agriculture Center in Asheville. www.reptiday.com/asheville.html or 863.268.4273.

• Tours and informative sessions about Barium Springs, which merged with Grandfather Home for Children, will be held at noon on April 6 and April 20 at Hawthorn Heights in Bryson City.

• “Your Police Department,” a brown-bag discussion that’s part of the “Whee Safe” series, will be held at noon on Tuesday, April 7, in the multipurpose room of A.K. Hinds University Center in Cullowhee. police.wcu.edu or call 227.7301.

• Southwestern Community College will host its 50th anniversary open house celebration from 4-6 p.m. on Friday, April 10, at the Jackson Campus. Scholarship giveaway/scavenger hunt contest; free food and t-shirts while supplies last; exhibitions from SCC’s 80-plus programs; and free cruise-in for cars, trucks and bikes.

Tyler Norris Goode at 339.4394 or t_goode@southwesterncc.edu.

EASTER • Bethel United Methodist Church is hosting an Easter Party at 10 a.m. on March 28. Games, Easter Egg hunt and a visit from the Easter Bunny.

• An Easter Bunny Brunch for children of all ages will be held from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on March 28, at First United Methodist Church of Sylva. Food, Easter crafts,

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 photo booth and Easter egg hunt. Free; donations accepted to benefit church’s Vacation Bible School.

586.2358.

• Children’s Easter Celebration at Sunny Point Baptist Church in Canton on March 28, from 2:00-4:00p.m.

Snacks, games, prizes, a devotion, and an egg hunt at 3pm. 648.7246.

• An Easter Egg Hunt and fun day for preschool through fifth grade will be held from on March 28 from 1-4 p.m. at the Historic Bethel Presbyterian Church in Waynesville. Free hot dogs, bouncy house and slide, pony rides, face painting, egg decorating and more.

Presented by Encouraging Word Baptist Church. Rain or shine.

• An Easter Egg Hunt will be held at 10 a.m. on March 29 at the Macon County Rec Park. Admission is one canned food item, which will benefit CareNet. Pictures with the Easter Bunny as well as a visit by Professor Whizzpop (magic & balloon animals) will be from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at The Factory.

• An Easter Egg Hunt will be held at noon on March 29, at the Jackson County Recreation Park in Cullowhee.

Early arrivals can get a photo with the Eastern Bunny and participate in Easter hat and egg-decorating contests. For Children 10-under. Info: 293.3053 or recjacksonnc.org.

• An Easter Egg hunt will be held during Family Story Time at 10 a.m. on March 31 for ages 0 to 5 years at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

• An Easter Egg hunt will be held during Adventure Club at 3:30 p.m. on March 31 for grades K-2 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

• An Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on April 3, at Eckerd Living Center at the HighlandsCashiers Hospital.

• An Easter egg hunt and other holiday activities will be held April 3-5 at Fontana Village Resort in Fontana Dam. www.fontanavillage.com.

• Dogwood Crafters will hold Easter Tea seatings at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on April 4, at Historic Jarrett House in Dillsboro in conjunction with the Annual Dillsboro Easter Hat Parade. A fundraiser for Dogwood’s Building Fund. Reservations can be made by calling 586.2248. $15, by reservation only.

• A weekend of Easter activities and worship services will be held April 4-5 at Lake Junaluska. Activities include Friends of the Lake 5K, Easter egg hunts, eggdecorating contests and a sunrise service. Detailed schedule at www.lakejunaluska.com/easter. Tickets for Easter lunch are available at the Bethea Welcome Center or 454.6662.

• The Village Green in Cashiers will host an Easter Egg Hunt at 11 a.m. on April 4, and a Community Easter Sunrise Service at 7 a.m. on April 5. 743.3434 or www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

• A scavenger egg hunt will be held on the first weekend that the Jackson County Farmer Market’s returns to the outdoors on April 4 at the market’s Bridge Park location. The market will be open from 9 a.m.-noon.

Smoky Mountain News

Scavenger hunt is from 10 a.m.-noon. Info: jacksoncountyfarmersmarket@gmail.com or jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org.

• Dillsboro’s Easter festivities will be held on April 4. An Easter Hat Parade starts at 2 p.m. at Town Hall. Easter hat making workshops begin at 10 a.m. for children at Dogwood Crafters. Easter egg hunt for children under ten starts at 11 a.m. Visit with the Easter Bunny.

506.8331.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals group will meet from 8-9 a.m. March 26 at the Lake Junaluska Bookstore and Café.

• A free Explore Cosmetology Day will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and from noon-4 p.m. on March 28, at Haywood Community College. Each session includes a free lunch. Participants learn about the program by being paired with an advanced student. To reserve a spot or get more info, call 627.4522.

• Southwestern Community College’s Small Business will host business plan presentations for participants of its recent NC REAL Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) sessions from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on March 30 at the SCC Jackson Campus. Reservations required: www.ncsbc.net. Tiffany Henry at 339.4211 or t_henry@southwesterncc.edu.

• Entrepreneurs and owners of existing small businesses will have the opportunity to vie for a share of $7,000 in prize money to help start up or grow their businesses when Western Carolina University hosts the inaugural LEAD:Innovation conference from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on April 22, in the Health and Human Sciences Building in Cullowhee. innovation.wcu.edu or Ed Wright at 278.8CEI. The submission deadline is April 1.

• A downtown Bryson City merchants meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on April 2, at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce. 488.3681 or chamber@greatsmokies.com.

• “Getting Paid to Talk,” a single-evening introduction to the world of voice overs, will be offered by Southwestern Community College from 5:30-8 p.m. on April 2, at the Macon Campus. www.southwesterncc.edu, 306.7001, or j_williams@southwesterncc.edu.

• Free tax preparation by trained volunteers certified by the IRS will be offered every Tuesday through April 14 at the Jackson County Public Library (3-6:45 p.m.) and the Jackson County Senior Center (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) - both in Sylva. For info, contact Donald Selzer (293.0074), Senior Center (586.4944) or library (586.2016).

• A series of free lunch-and-learn workshops about the Cherokee language and current efforts to increase its use in North Carolina will be held from noon-1 p.m. on Tuesdays through April 21 at SpeakEasyPress in the Riverwood Studios/Oaks Gallery in Dillsboro. Learn about the Cherokee writing system. frank@speakeasypress.com.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • The Evergreen Foundation will host a grant information session at 10 a.m. on March 25 at the Clay County Courthouse in Hayesville. Denise Coleman at dcoleman@evergreennc.org or 456.8005 or www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

• The Evergreen Foundation will host a grant information session at 1 p.m. on March 25 at the Cherokee County Courthouse in Murphy. Denise Coleman at dcoleman@evergreennc.org or 456.8005 or www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

• The Evergreen Foundation will host a grant informa-

47

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. tion session at 10 a.m. on March 26 at the Swain County Administration Building in Bryson City. Denise Coleman at dcoleman@evergreennc.org or 456.8005 or www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

• The Evergreen Foundation will host a grant information session at 1 p.m. on March 26 at the Community Building in Robbinsville. Denise Coleman at dcoleman@evergreennc.org or 456.8005 or www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

• A training session for anyone interested in serving as a Great Smoky Mountains National Park volunteer at Clingman’s Dome will be held from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 27 at the Sugarlands Center training room near Gatlinburg, Tenn. Florie Takaki at 497.1906 or florie_takaki@nps.gov.

• The first event in the “Dinner Around the World” cultural and fundraising series will feature Ethiopian cuisine and is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on March 27, at Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville. Tickets are $10 per person; donations are welcome. For reservations, call 400.5475.

• A pancake breakfast is set for 8 a.m.-noon on March 28, at the Maggie Valley United Methodist Church’s fellowship hall. $8 for adults; $3 for children under 12.

Proceeds support church missions and ministries.

926.8036.

• A pancake breakfast sponsored by the Bethel Rural Community Organization will be served from 8-11 a.m. on March 28, at the Breaking Bread Café at the Mobil Gas Station in Bethel. $8 adult donation; $4 child donation. Proceeds support the BRCO Food Pantry.

Janes575@gmail.com.

• Jackson County Arts Council Day will be held at lunch and dinner on March 28 at Soul Infusion Tea House. A percentage of the day’s sales will be donated to the arts council to help support arts programming in Jackson County. 507.9820.

• The Evergreen Foundation will host a grant information session at 10 a.m. on March 30 at the Thomas Heights Professional Building in Franklin. Denise Coleman at dcoleman@evergreennc.org or 456.8005 or www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

• The Evergreen Foundation will host a grant information session at 12:30 p.m. on March 30 at the Old Courthouse in Sylva. Denise Coleman at dcoleman@evergreennc.org or 456.8005 or www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

• The Evergreen Foundation will host a grant information session at 3 p.m. on March 30 at Wells Fargo Bank’s Conference Room in Waynesville. Denise Coleman at dcoleman@evergreennc.org or 456.8005 or www.evergreenfoundationnc.org.

• A barbecue fundraiser to benefit the Southwestern Community College Foundation’s student emergency fund will be held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on March 31 at SCC’s Macon Campus. $5 per meal. RSVPs are encouraged: 306.7001.

• An orientation and training session for anyone interested in serving as a volunteer to assist Great Smoky Mountain National Park visitors will start at 10 a.m. on April 1 at the Oconaluftee Multi-Purpose Room adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee.

Kathleen Stuart at 497.1914.

• Clyde Elementary PTO is selling Asheville Tourists baseball tickets for $6 each. This is a discount of $2/adult and $1/child. Clyde Elementary gets $3 for each ticket sold. No limit on how many tickets can be

wnc calendar

bought. Tickets can be used at all games except for Thursday games, June 23, July 3rd and playoff games. ptoclydeelementary@gmail.com or 627-2206.

• A barbecue fundraiser to benefit the Southwestern Community College Foundation’s student emergency fund will be held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 7 at the SCC Jackson Campus. $5 per meal. RSVPs are encouraged: 339.4227 or k_posey@southwesterncc.edu.

• A 5K Zombie Run benefitting Relay for Life of Franklin will be held April 8 starting at the Frog Headquarters and ending at Southwestern Community College’s Macon Campus. $15 entry fee.

• The Eighth-Annual Chocolate Cook-Off will be held April 24, at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce.

Fundraiser for Friends of the Marianna Black Library.

Application deadline is April 10; http://fontanalib.org/node/180.

• The third-annual “5KARE” 5K and Fun Run will be held at 9 a.m. on April 25 in downtown Waynesville. $10 for ages 12-under, $20 for all other ages who preregister by April 11; $25 after April 11. Info: 456.8995.

Register at www.Karehouse.org/2015-5kare.html.

Proceeds benefit KARE. • A Bubble Bunny 5K Fun Run/Walk will be held April 11, in The Village of Forest Hills. Proceeds support Mountain Discovery Charter School’s athletic, music and theater programs. $20 registration fee includes goody bag, light refreshments and water. Check-in at 8:30 a.m.; race starts at 9:30 a.m. www.active.com or www.mountaindiscovery.org.

HEALTH MATTERS

March 25-31, 2015

• “Healing Touch,” an energy-based approach to health and healing, will be taught from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on March 28-29 at Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus. Evidence-based practice that offers 18 continuing education contact hours for nurses and massage therapists. $365 cost includes Level 1 notebook (professional discounts may apply). www.southwesterncc.edu, 306.7001 or j_williams@southwesterncc.edu.

• Free hearing Screenings will be offered on March 29, at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. Free, appointment needed: 356.2800.

• A listening session to learn more about the issues affecting those living with mental illness in Macon County will be held at 6 p.m. on March 30 at the Sunset Restaurant in Franklin. Dinner provided.

• “Mastering Your Energy,” a free class that teaches movements of qigong and tai chi and more, will be offered at 6 p.m. on March 31, in the Community Room of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

586.2016.

Smoky Mountain News

• A Red Cross Blood Drive is scheduled from 9 a.m.1:30 p.m. on April 1 at Haywood Regional Medical Center Health and Fitness Center Classrooms in Clyde.

• A Red Cross Blood Drive is set for 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on April 2 at Cashiers Baptist Church in Cashiers.

• A Red Cross Blood Drive will be held from 1:30-6 p.m. on April 2 at Macon Middle School in Franklin.

• An event focused on stress management will be offered from 6-7 p.m. on April 7, at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva. www.westcare.org or Melanie Batchelor at 586.7734.

• A Red Cross Blood Drive will be held from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on April 7, at the Junaluska Fire Department’s station. 456.9934 or 800.733.2767.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • A free demonstration of the TRX suspension trainer will be offered from 4-5 p.m. on Thursdays by appointment at the Fitness Connection in Waynesville.

421.8566.

48 • Registration period for the Smoky Mountain Senior

Games will be from March 16-April 10. Fee: $10 through March 27 or $15 from March 30-April 10.

Games are scheduled for April 24-May 15. For everyone ages 50-up. Info: 293.3053, recjacksonnc.org.

• Registrations for a spring golf league are being accepted through April 14 at Smoky Mountain Country Club in Whittier. Fee: $10 to enter and $20 for each week (includes nine holes and a cart). League starts with a meeting at 5:15 p.m. on April 14. Info: 293.3053, recjacksonnc.org.

• Pickleball is played from 2-4:30 every Monday and from 9 a.m.-noon every Friday at the Armory in Sylva. $1 each time you play to help buy equipment, which is provided.

POLITICAL CORNER • “Up for Discussion: Women in Politics” – a conversation with Jane Hipps and Ashley Welch – will be held from 4-6 p.m. on March 30, in the auditorium of the Haywood County Public Library in Waynesville.

Hosted by Jon Ostendorf of the Asheville Citizen-Times.

• The Haywood County NAACP meets at 2 p.m. the fourth Saturday of each month. Location varies around the county for each meeting. Call for info. 400.5475.

THE SPIRITUAL SIDE • Palm Sunday services will be presented at 10:30 a.m. on March 29 at First United Methodist Church in Sylva. 586.2358.

• First United Methodist Church of Sylva will observe Maundy Thursday and Good Friday with a service at 7 p.m. on April 2. 586.2358.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • A Creative Living class entitled “It’s a Marshmallow World” will be held at 9:30 a.m. on March 31, at the Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. $10. 356.2800.

• Registration is underway through April 10, for participation in the 32nd Annual Haywood County Senior Games. Events include shuffleboard, cornhole, pickleball, horseshoes and more – as well as a SilverArts event that includes categories including visual arts, heritage arts, literary arts and performing arts. $10 fee includes most events, t-shirt, light breakfast at Opening Ceremony (April 21) and AARP Ice Cream Social on April 29. 452.6789 or www.haywoodnc.net.

• Cornhole for seniors will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. on the third and fourth Wednesdays of each month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center.

452.6789.

• A fitness class designed specifically for seniors will meet from 11 a.m.-noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Waynesville Recreation Center.

456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

KIDS & FAMILIES • Due to poor weather conditions earlier this month, the “Under the Stars” program presented by the Asheville Astronomy Club has been rescheduled due to 6:30 p.m. on March 26, at the Macon County Public Library. Consequently, Science Club that day will be held at 7 p.m. (instead of 3:30 p.m.). 524.3600.

• Registration for spring youth tennis lessons for ages 5-13 through Jackson County Parks/Recreation Department is now till March 27. 293.3053.

• Western Carolina University’s School of Art and Design will host art class entitled “Inside Out” for youth ages 8-and-up from 9:30-2:30 p.m. on March 28, in Room 150 of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee. artclasses.wcu.edu or call 227.7397.

• A pizza party for teens will be held at 4:30 p.m. on March 31 at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Free. 586.2016.

• A beginning baseball program for 3-4 year olds will be offered from 5:30-6:30 p.m. for seven consecutive Thursdays starting April 16 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Donald Hummel at 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Baby Storytime is at 11 a.m. on Thursdays at the Jackson County Public Library. Songs, fingerplays and stories for infants through toddlers. 586.2016 •A Lego club will meet at 4 p.m. every fourth Thursday of the month, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Library provides Legos and Duplos for ages 3 and up. Free. 488.3030.

• Science Club is held at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month for grades K-6 at the Macon County Public Library. 524.3600.

KIDS CAMPS • Registration for “Fun 4 Kids Day Camp” will be at 8 .m. on March 28 at the Cullowhee Recreation Center.

Numbers will be given out starting at 7:30 a.m. $625 ($25 off for second child). Space limited to first 30.

Info: 293.3053, recjacksonnc.org.

• Kids Clay in the Garden, a four-day class for youngsters during Spring Break, will be held by the Cowee Pottery School from 10 a.m.-noon on April 3, April 6, April 8 and April 10, at Macon County Heritage School north of Franklin. $56 plus clay and tools. 524.7690 or coweepotteryschool1@gmail.com.

• A spring break camp for students from pre-K to seventh grade is set for the week of April 6-10. Camp is from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. each day at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Focus is on water and paddle safety. $95 for members; $110 for non-members.

Registrations accepted at Waynesville Recreation center. 456.2030 or tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Registration for summer camp at Waynesville Parks and Recreation has started with early bird registration which ends April 30. Camp dates are June 8-Aug. 14 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. 456.2030 or write tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov.

• A TetraBrazil Soccer Camp will be offered for Academy, Challenge or Classic Level players from ages 8-15 from June 22-26 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

KIDS MOVIES • Oscar winner Animated Feature Film, Disney’s “Big Hero 6” will be screened at noon and 2 p.m. every Saturday in March at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. Free. Show times at www.38main.com or 283.0079.

brate the arrival of the Spring season with the annual Rainbow and Ramps Elder Meal from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on March 28 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds.

Free. Meals are $10. 800.438.1601 or travel@nccherokee.com.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Guitarist Brad Richter and cellist Viktor Uzur award-winning, classically trained artists – will perform traditional and contemporary works at 7 p.m. on March 26, in the Historic Chapel of First Presbyterian Church in Franklin. 524.ARTS or artscouncilofmacon.org.

• Auditions for “The Carol Burnett Show Skits” will be held at 6:30 p.m. on March 26-27, at the Smoky Mountain Community Theatre in Bryson City. Toby Allman at 488.8227 or 488.8103.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will have Percussion Ensemble 7:30 p.m. March 26 in the Coulter Building. www.wcu.edu.

• Linda McRae (Americana/roots) plays at 7:30 p.m. on March 26, at the Strand in Waynesville. Tickets: $18 in advance; $20 on show day. www.38main.com or 283.0079.

• Comic C.J. Deering will perform “Jobs I Had For Only One Day” the next two weekends in the Fleichter Studio Theater at HART in Waynesville. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on March 27, March 28, April 3 and April 4 and at 3 p.m. on March 29. 456.6322 or visit www.harttheatre.org.

• Ventriloquist Lynn Trefzger and comedian Glenn Singer perform at 7:30 p.m. March 27, at WCU’s Bardo Center in Cullowhee. 227.2479 or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• A family-friendly performance by comedian Glenn Singer – “El Gleno Grande” – is set for 5 p.m. on March 28, at the Strand in Waynesville. Tickets: $12 adults/$6 for children 12 and under. www.38main.com or 283.0079.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will have Alec Neal Senior Recital 1 p.m. March 29 in the Coulter Building. www.wcu.edu.

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee) will have a Vaughan Williams Choral concert at 3 p.m. March 29 at the Bardo Arts Center. www.wcu.edu.

• Balsam Range’s Winter Concert Series resumes with a 7:30 p.m. show on April 4 when the group will be joined by Jeff Collins, David Johnson and Tony Creasman at Colonial Theater in Canton.

Balsamrange.com or 235.2760.

• A children’s movie will be shown at 1 p.m. on March 27 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin in lieu of the games for kids program. 524.3600.

• Legendary country-music artist Loretta Lynn performs at 7:30 p.m. on April 11, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee. Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800.745.3000.

• Saturday morning cartoons play for free at 11 a.m. at the Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville. 283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• Pat Donohoe plays at 7:30 p.m. on April 16, at the Strand in Waynesville. Tickets: $18 in advance; $20 on show day.www.38main.com or 283.0079.

• Free family movies are shown at 3:30 p.m. each Tuesday at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Disney, Hallmark and other family-oriented movies.

Popcorn is provided by Friends of the Library. Each attendee receives one free movie check-out. 488.3030.

• Vocalist Michelle Berting Britt, accompanied by a seven-piece Nashville band, re-create the sound of the Carpenters in “We’ve Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered” at 3 p.m. on April 26, at WCU’s Bardo Center in Cullowhee. 227.2479 or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• Family movie time, 4 p.m. Mondays at Jackson County Public Library. Call for title of movie.

586.2016.

A&E FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS • The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will cele-

NIGHTLIFE • Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night at 8 p.m. on March 25 www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have jazz night at 8 p.m. on March 26 www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Tuck’s Tap & Grille (Cullowhee) will have DJ Flash at 10 p.m. on March 26.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will have Craig Summers & Lee Kram (singer-songwriter) at 6 p.m.

• Tipping Point Brewing (Waynesville) will have ‘Round The Fire (Grateful Dead tribute) at 8:30 p.m. March 27. Free.

• Tuck’s Tap & Grille (Cullowhee) will have Mangas Colorado (Americana/folk) and Homemade Wine (alternative/country) at 10 p.m. on March 27.

• BearWaters Brewing (Waynesville) will have The Get Right Band (funk/folk) at 8 p.m.

March 27. www.bwbrewing.com or 828.246.0602.

• James Hammel performs jazz, pop, and original music at 7 p.m. on March 27, at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

• City Lights Café (Sylva) will have The Freestylers (Americana) at 7 p.m. on March 27. www.citylightscafe.com.

• No Name Sports Pub (Sylva) will have Pony Named Olga (Americana/punk) at 9 p.m. on March 27. Free. 828.586.2750 or www.nonamesportspub.com.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub (Franklin) will have Jazz Mountainat 8 p.m. on March 27. Free. www.rathskellerfranklin.com or 369.6796.

• Joe Cruz (piano, vocals) plays the best of the Beatles, James Taylor, Elton John and Sting at 7 p.m. on March 28 at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

• Rye Baby plays at 8:30 p.m. on March 28, at Nantahala Brewing Company in Bryson City.

• Tuck’s Tap & Grille (Cullowhee) will have The Freeway Revival (Americana) at 10 p.m. on March 28.

• Lost Hiker (Highlands) will have Dustin Martin (singer-songwriter) March 28. www.thelosthikerbar.com.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus and Pub (Franklin) will have Gary Carter at 8 p.m. on March 28.

Free. www.rathskellerfranklin.com or 369.6796.

• Jay Brown (guitar, piano, harmonica, vocals) plays bluegrass, blues, American roots, pop and originals at 7 p.m. on April 1, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

452.6000.

• The Chapel Hill-based Americana string band Steph Stewart & the Boyfriends will play from 7-9 p.m. on April 3, at BearWaters Brewing Co. in Waynesville. Free.

• Joe Cruz (piano, vocals) plays The Beatles, Elton John and James Taylor at 7 p.m. on April 4, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

452.6000.

BOOKS & AUTHORS • Jenny Bennett will read from her novel titled “The Twelve Streams of LeConte at 6 p.m. on March 26, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. jennybennett.net or call 524.3600.

• Lin Stepp will read from her Smoky Mountain novel Making Miracles from noon-1 p.m. on March 28, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. 456.6000 or blueridgebooksnc.com.

• A presentation about the history of NASCAR will be presented by UNC Asheville professor Daniel S. Pierce at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, at Canton Branch Library. Pierce wrote “Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay and Big Bill France.” Free. 648.2924.

• Elise and Phil Okrend will present their coffee table book, Messages to the Heart, Reflections of Beauty and Truth, at 3 p.m. on April 4, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. 456.6000 or blueridgebooksnc.com.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • The Jackson County Arts Council will hold an informational meeting at 7 p.m. on March 26 at the Jackson County Library Annex in Sylva. For sponsorship applications, info@jacksoncountyarts.org or 507.9820.

• A “Creating Community” workshop on arm knitting will be held at 11 a.m. on March 28, in the Genealogy Room of the Jackson County Public Library. Learn quick, easy way to make an infinity scarf. Yarn provided. Limited to six people. 586.2016.

• The Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society will meet at 10 a.m.

March 28, at the Waynesville Branch Library. The guest speaker will be Daniel Asnip, a recent UNC-Asheville graduate who researched the Battle of Waynesville for his senior thesis. 476.0048.

• Creative Watercolor Techniques will be demonstrated at 6:15 p.m. on March 31, at the Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City. Free. Award-winning artist Billie Shelburn will paint. Jenny Johnson at 488.7843 or visit www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta.

• The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department will offer a trip to Asheville to ride the Lazoom Comedy Bus on April 1. The group will leave the Waynesville Recreation Center at 3:30 p.m. For ages 20 and older.

Cost is $30 per person. 456.2030 or tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov.

• History of Extension, a Jackson County Extension and Community Association craft club workshop, will be held at 9:30 a.m. on April 2, in the Conference room of the Community Service Center in Sylva. 586.4009.

• A workshop covering the basics in pastel painting will be held by Catch the Spirit of Appalachian at 2 p.m. on April 4, at Nature’s Home Preserve in Tuckasegee. $36 materials

• A pair of ballroom dance classes will be offered in April and May through the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. A Cha Cha class is at 7 p.m. on Mondays from April 6-May 11 while “the Hustle” is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesdays from April 8-May 13. $60 per person per set of six one-hour classes.

456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

101 South Main St. Waynesville, NC 28786

(828) 452-2227 • (800) 467-7144 (828) 456-6836 FAX

• Rag Wreath, a Jackson County Extension and Community Association craft club workshop, will be held at 6 p.m. on April 7, at Tuckasegee Wesleyan Church. 586.4009.

|

info@mainstreetrealty.net

mainstreetrealty.net

285-70

285-72

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • “Ends of the Earth,” a photographic display of images taken in Antarctica by Martyn Lucas, is on display through March 29 at the Bascom in Highlands. Free. www.thebascome.org or 526.4949.

•An exhibition of paintings entitled “Tracking time” by Anna Jensen of Asheville and Karen Ann Myers of Charleston, S.C., is on display at Western Carolina University’s Fine Art Museum in Cullowhee through March 27. www.fineartmuseum.wcu.edu or 227.3591.

MOUNTAIN REALTY

Mieko

Thomson ROKER/R /REALTOR EALTOR®® BBROKER

Cell (828) 226-2298 Cell

mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com www.ncsmokies.com www.ncsmokies.com

2177 Russ Avenue Waynesville NC 28786

• A photography exhibit entitled “Seeing with New Eyes” by Sharon Mammoser will be on display through April 19 at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. www.ncarboretum.org or sharenaturemore@gmail.com.

CALL FOR VENDORS / SPONSORS • The Downtown Waynesville Association seeks heritage-themed vendors for the fifthannual Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration, which is June 13. Applications are accepted until April 17. 456.3517 or www.downtownwaynesville.com.

• Applications are being accepted through April 15 from fine artists, mountain crafters and food vendors who want booth space at Greening up the Mountains Festival on April 25 in Sylva. www.greeningupthemountains.com or 631.4587.

283-295

The Real Team

JOLENE HOCOTT • LYN DONLEY MARLYN DICKINSON

• The Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking financial sponsorships for its 23rd annual Tour de Cashiers Mountain Cycling Experience, which is set for May 2. http://tinyurl.com/qjpm8d5.

Real Experience.

Real Service. Real Results.

828.452.3727

• A “Front Street Arts & Crafts Show” will premiere on June 20 in Dillsboro. Vendors can apply at visit dillsboro.org or www.visitdillsboro.org/specialevents.html. 954.707.2004.

www.The-Real-Team.com

MOUNTAIN REALTY 1904 S. Main St. • Waynesville

FILM & SCREEN

BROOKE PARROTT BROKER ASSOCIATE

• “Dark Summer,” rated R, will screen at 9:30 on March 27-28 at The Strand in Waynesville.

Runtime: 1:21. www.38main.com or call 283.0079.

828.734.2146

• “The Imitation Game,” rated PG-13, will be shown on March 25 and March 27-28 at The Strand in Waynesville. . Screentimes are 7 p.m. each day. www.38main.com or 283.0079.

bparrott@beverly-hanks.com Visit beverly-hanks.com/agents/bparrott

to see what others are saying!

• Ron Rash’s novel turned to movie “Serena” will be shown starting March 27 at The Strand at 38 Main in Waynesville.

Show times at www.38main.com or call 283.0079.

Smoky Mountain News

• Sean Bendula (piano, vocals) plays FolkAmericana, pop and originals at 7 p.m. on April 3, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville. 452.6000.

• Liza Wieland will read from her novel Land of Enchantment at 3 p.m. on March 28, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. She will sign copies after the reading. To reserve copies, call 586.9499.

M) Street Realty

March 25-31, 2015

• Ryan Cavanaugh Duo (singer-songwriter, jazz/bluegrass) will perform at 8 p.m. on March 28 at BearWaters Brewing in Waynesville. www.bwbrewing.com or 246.0602.

• Nevada McPherson will read from her graphic novels Uptowners and Piano Lessons at 6:30 p.m. on March 27, at City Lights bookstore in Sylva. To reserve the books, call 586.9499.

fee covers all art supplies. www.facebook.com/MuralistDoreyl or Doreyl Ammons Cain at 231.6965.

wnc calendar

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grille (Waynesville) will have Tonology (metal/hard rock) at 9:30 p.m. on March 27.

• Touching the Face of History: The Story of the Plott Hound, North Carolina’s Official State Dog is the title of a presentation set for 10 a.m. on March 27, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. bobplott.com or 524.3600.

284-28

March 26. Free. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

49

wnc calendar

• “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time,” a full-length, high-definition documentary film about an environmental legacy, will be shown at 6 p.m. on April 1, in the Meeting Room of the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. For more about the film, visit greenfiremovie.com.

• “National Geographic: Appalachian Trail,” a documentary, will be shown at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on April 2, in the Meeting Room of the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 50 minutes. Unrated.

• A classic movie will be shown at 2 p.m. every Friday in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room.

524.3600 or www.fontanalib.org/franklin.

• A movie will be shown at 2 and 6 p.m. on Thursdays in the meeting room of the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. For movie title call: 524.3600.

Outdoors • Spring Wildflower walks are offered every Friday through May 15 (except April 3) by the Recreation Center in Cullowhee. $5 per person. 293.3053, recjacksonnc.org.

• A tour of an alpaca farm will be held at 6 p.m. on March 25, at Meritt Farm in Otto, as part of the Macon County Public Library’s “Walking with Spring” series in partnership with the Nantahala Hiking Club and the Franklin Appalachian Trail Community. 524.3600 or alpacasofmerrittfarm.com.

• REI will provide a free overview of planning, preparation and gear for backpacking in the Blue Ridge Mountains from 7-8:30 p.m. on March 26.

Registration required: http://www.rei.com/event/65220/session/110997.

687.0918.

• A ceremony marking the official designation of Fontana Dam as the newest Appalachian Trail Community™ will begin at 11 a.m. on March 26. Free.

Larry Barnett Duo will perform. A short guided hike starts at 2:30 p.m. www.appalachiantrail.org.

• A Fish Fest Youth Fishing Clinic will be offered from 1-4 p.m. on March 28, by Haywood Community College’s Wildlife Club at the college’s Millpond. A fish fry and fishing tournament follows from 4-6 p.m. Free for ages 6-12. Tournament open to adults and kids with entry fee of $8. Grand prize is a $100 Bass Pro Shop gift certificate. Fish dinner is $7 for non-registered youth. For info or to register, call 627.4560.

• A Spring Trail Work Day hosted by Friends of Panthertown is set to begin at 10 a.m. on March 28.

Volunteers will meet at the western entrance to the Panthertown Valley at the Salt Rock Gap trailhead in Cashiers. RSVP at 269.4453 or friends@panthertown.org. www.panthertown.org/volunteer.

• The Annual Ozone Season kickoff and press conference will be held from 8:30-11 a.m. on March 31 at the Land of Sky Regional Council office. Air quality officials will present on current air quality conditions, trends and programs to improve air quality. Free; limited seating. Register at http://tinyurl.com/l73cj8g.

• The biannual “Molecules in the Mountains” conference, part of the N.C. Biotechnology Center’s “Science in the Mountains” series, will be offered from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on April 9, in WCU’s A.K. Hinds University Center.

Register by April 2 at moleculesinthemountains.weebly.com.

• Pisgah-area SORBA will hold its Spring Fling April 3-5, celebrating the last day before seasonal trails close to mountain biking. The event is family- and dog-friendly with group rides and camping. To regis-

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 ter, visit: http://www.meetup.com/Pisgah-AreaMountain-Biking-Asheville-Hendersonvillebrevard/events/219455209/.

• A stocking event for the West Fork Pigeon River will be held starting at 10 a.m. on April 6 starting at the Waynesville Recreation Center’s upper parking lot.

Bring a friend and two clean five-gallon buckets.

Clean-up, trash pick-up will follow the stocking.

• An RV camping club, the Vagabonds, camps one weekend per month from April through November. All ages welcome. No dues or structured activities. For details, write lilnau@aol.com or call 369.6669.

COMPETITIVE EDGE • The Nantahala Racing Club’s Whitewater U.S. Open be held March 27-29 at Nantahala Outdoor Center.

Elite slalom paddlers and wildwater racers will compete, and spectators are welcome to watch them battle the rapids from the U.S. Forest Service walkway along Nantahala Falls. Slalom races start at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on March 28-29 with demo runs at 5:30 p.m. March 27 and 5 p.m. March 28. The wildwater sprint will start at 11 a.m. March 28, and the wildwater classic will begin at 11:45 a.m. March 29. www.nantahalaracingclub.com/events/us-open.

March 25-31, 2015

• Western Carolina University’s fifth annual Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon and 5K will be held on March 28. Fees are $60 for half marathon and $25 for the 5K. Info: http://halfmarathon.wcu.edu or valleyofthelilies@wcu.edu.

• Lake Junaluska will celebrate Easter with a 5K beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 4, at the Nanci Weldon Gymnasium. The half-mile Kids Fun Run will start at 9:30 a.m., open to children 10 and under. www.imathlete.com • Smoky Mountain Overnight Relay will be held on April 17-18. Registration is open through April 10.

Teams comprised of six or 12 runners cover 212 miles of trails and country roads. 545.8156 or gavin.young@noc.com

Smoky Mountain News

•Registration for Greening Up the Mountains 5K Run & Walk has begun. The event is April 25. Register at www.imathlete.com or at the Recreation Center in Cullowhee. $15 includes a short sleeve shirt.

293.3053, recjacksonnc.org.

• A 5K Open Water Swim is set for July 12 at Lake Chatuge in Hiwassee, Ga. Register before early season pricing changes on April 1. Register at active.com.

389.6982

FARM & GARDEN a website to take you to places where there are no websites.

Log on. Plan a getaway. Let yourself unplug.

50

• A six-week spring wildflower class is being offered from 9 a.m.-noon on Wednesdays through April 29 at Southwestern Community College’s Jackson Campus.

Teaches fundamental techniques for identifying wildflowers using ID guides and keys. Jenny Williams at 339.4497 or j_williams@southwesterncc.edu.

• A crash course in beekeeping will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on March 28, at the Southwestern Community College Swain Center. Covers equipment, bee biology and how to locate, manage and harvest honey from hives. Weather-permitting, students will watch a beekeeper inspect a nearby hive. $15 for preregistration or $20 at the door with discounts for couples and families. Bill Williams at 488.1391 or wlwilliams@frontier.com.

• A “Strikeforce” meeting, providing information for Jackson County residents about USDA Loans, Grants and Technical Assistance programs, will be presented by the Rural Development (RD), Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) March 30 at 9 a.m. (RD), 10 a.m. (FSA) and 11 a.m. (NRCS) at the First Baptist Church Mission and Fellowship Center in Sylva.

• The Macon County Community Garden Committee is now taking applications for garden space in the 2015 Community Garden. $25 per spot. 349.2046.

• A fruit tree workshop will be held from 9-11 a.m. on March 31, at the Jackson Extension Center in Sylva.

586.4009.

• A fruit tree workshop will be held from 2-4 p.m. on April 1, at the Swain Extension Center near Bryson City. 488.3848 or christine_bredenkamp@ncsu.edu.

• A workshop on how to mix, press and plant seed blocks will be held from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 4, at Dovecote Porch and Gardens in Cashiers. $25. mpdargan@dargan.com or 743.0307. Light lunch provided. http://dargan.com/dovecote-events.

• The Jackson County Poultry Club will hold its regular meeting on the last Thursday of each month at the Jackson County Cooperative Extension Office. The club is for adults and children and includes a monthly meeting with a program and a support network for those raising birds. 586.4009 or heather_gordon@ncsu.edu.

HIKING CLUBS • Hiker Haze Week is March 25-28 at Fontana Village Resort in Fontana Dam. Activities include free disc golf lessons, educational presentation, karaoke, campfires, $1 movies and popcorn and more. http://www.fontanavillage.com/events/pdfs/hikerhaze2015.pdf.

• The 11th annual April Fool Hiker Bash on March 2728 at the Sapphire Inn will feature food, live music, a hiker talent show, backpacking education and games.

Activities begin at 6 p.m. each night. Ron Haven, 524.4431. www.hikerfoolbash.com • Three Eagles Outfitters in Franklin will hold an anniversary celebration on March 28 and AT appreciation day featuring sales and free drinks. 524.9061.

• Outdoor 76 in Franklin will host an information session on March 28 from noon to 2 p.m. about the various trail systems in Macon County. “The AT, a Local Treasure” will help participants plan a great next hike with friends and family. 349.7676 • Lazy Hiker Brewing Company will host the ThruHiker Chow Down on March 28 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the Nantahala Hiking Club as a cosponsor to feed the hikers. The meal will include chili dogs, chips and homemade goodies. 369.1983.

• A free class on how to garden with earth boxes is set for 5:30 p.m. on March 26, at the Canton Branch Library in Canton. 648.2924.

• Great Smoky Mountains Association invites members and anyone interested in a national park experience to go on a “Porters Creek Hike” with naturalist and former park ranger Carey Jones on March 28. $15 for members; $35 for nonmembers. For more information including meeting times and places visit the “Branch Out” webpage at www.SmokiesInformation.org or call 888.898.9102, Ext. 325, 222 or 254.

• A seminar on establishing and maintaining a strawberry and caneberry (raspberry and blackberry) patch will be held from 2-4 p.m. on March 26, at the Jackson Extension Center in Sylva. 586.4009.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will hold the Thru Hiker Chow Down for hikers on the Appalachian Trail, serving chili dogs and sweets from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on March 28, at the Lazy Hiker. David Sapin at 369.2628.

PRIME REAL ESTATE Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News

ANNOUNCEMENTS

MarketPlace information: The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

Rates:

■ Free — Lost or found pet ads.

■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads, ■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $15 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

■ $12 — If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

■ $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

COO

DI

SC OV ER E

ATR

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MON-FRI 7:30-5:00 • WAYNESVILLE PLAZA

828-456-5387

LIVE SIMULCAST BANKRUPTCY Auction Case 13-10157, Hayes Iron & Metal, Inc. Office Bldg., Metal Frame Bldgs, Workshop, Shop Equip., Tools, Office Furnishings & Equip., Providence, NC. 3/26/15 at 10am. Auction at The Institute Conference Center Barkhouser Auditorium, Danville, VA. 800.997.2248, NCAL3936/VAAL580. www.ironhorseauction.com

ARTS & CRAFTS

PUBLIC AUCTION Saturday, March 28 @ 10am. 199 S. Cherry Rd., Rock Hill, SC. Selling Vehicles, Trucks & Equipment from City of Rock Hill, SC. Chevy Impalas, Crown Vics, Vans, Garbage Trucks, Dumps, Backhoes, Tractors, Pickups, Service Trucks, Bucket Trucks, UTV's Mowers.

704.791.8825. Tony Furr.

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CONTEMPORARY ESTATE Home AUCTION: 185 Nanzetta, Lewisville, NC. High-End Tres Chic.

WILL SELL > $500K! APR 18. Mike Harper 843.729.4996 (NCAL8286). www.HarperAuctionAndRealty.com for details.

Offering:

Service truck available for on-site repairs

SEALED BIDS FOR MOWING Time - Year of 2015 Contact - Juanita Metcalf Phone - 828.734.6249, 828.627.8529 - Contact Either # To View Area to be Mowed.

Bids Must be Received by 5pm, on March 30th, 2015. Mailing Address - 32 Rail Fence Rd., Clyde, NC 28721. Or They May be Given to any Board Member.

AUCTION

INC.

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Serving Haywood, Jackson & Surrounding Counties

AUCTION Complete Liquidation. Injection Mold Machine, 5 Mowers, Floor Cleaning Machines, Trucks, Vans & More! Bid 3/17-3/24, Newport News, VA. Motleys, 804.232.3300x.4, www.motleys.com/industrial, VAAL#16.

ALLISON CREEK Iron Works & Woodworking. Crafting custom metal & woodwork in rustic, country & lodge designs with reclaimed woods! Design & consultation, Barry Downs 828.524.5763, Franklin NC

WAYNESVILLE TIRE, 285-78

AUCTION

REQUEST FOR AUDIT PROPOSALS Mountain Projects, Inc. is seeking proposals for audit services for the 2015 to 2019 years from qualified CPA’s. Fiscal year ends June 30. Due date for proposals is April 30, 2015 at 3:00 pm. For additional information call the CFO at 828.452.1447, Ext. 104.

HARPER’S AUCTION COMPANY Earn Some Extra Cash!!!

Always Accepting Consignments, Call for an Apt. 828.369.6999 Check out our Website for Auction Schedules and Online Bidding. harpersauctioncompany.com Debra Harper, NCAL #9659, NCFL #9671.

ROLLING STOCK AUCTION. Live & Online Auction. CharlotteMecklenburg County. Vehicle & Equipment Surplus. April 18th, 10am. Preview April 17th, 8am4pm. Rogers Realty & Auction Co., Inc. 336.789.2926. RogersAuctionGroup.com NCAL685

BUILDING MATERIALS HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

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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.

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Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316 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.

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TRUCKS FOR SALE 99-2000 GMC SIERRA SLT/Z71 For Sale by Owner - 3-Door, Great Work Truck, Runs Strong, Never Wrecked, Toolbox, Bedliner, Rail Guards. Highway Miles, NC-FL 20k/yr. 1-Owner, $3,800. For More Info Call 828.736.7000.

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PETS

March 25-31, 2015

HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329 BAJA APPEARS TO BE A BLEND OF SIBERIAN HUSKY AND POSSIBLY BORDER COLLIE. HE IS ENERGETIC, SMART, AFFECTIONATE AND PLAYFUL, AND WOULD LOVE TO BE PART OF A FAMILY WITH AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE. BIANCA A BEAUTIFUL TEENAGE KITTY, QUITE PETITE AND DELICATE. SHE HAS JUST A TOUCH OF CATITUDE, AND LOVES TO BE PETTED AS LONG AS IT IS ON HER TERMS.

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:

www.smokymountainnews.com

Tuesday-Friday, 11 - 5 pm or by Apt. 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

EMPLOYMENT

FINANCIAL STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS! Say good-bye to student loan debt!

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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18 This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised on an equal opportunity basis.

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285-61

Puzzles can be found on page 54.

These are only the answers.

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TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com

53

www.smokymountainnews.com

March 25-31, 2015

WNC MarketPlace

Super

54

CROSSWORD

OUT OF THE ORDINARY ACROSS 1 It may begin “Here lies ...”

8 Like fables with morals 15 Sprayed like a firefighter 20 Composer SaintSaëns 21 Maui tourist town 22 Wash away 23 Like overly harsh punishment 25 Consolidate 26 Suffix with prophet 27 Calc prereq 28 Hosiery hitch 30 Transmission option 31 Coil of yarn 33 1985 hit for Sheila E. 37 Female graduates 40 Middle: Abbr.

41 Cello bow rub-on 42 Monkey of kid-lit 46 Upholstered footstool 50 Country singer Travis 51 Inits. on a navy vessel 52 Neighbor of Ger. 54 Apple pie - mode 55 Just makes, with “out” 56 1965 Marvin Gaye hit 63 Dial-up alternative, for short 64 Fall away 65 Cube inventor Rubik 66 Feeble 67 Noncircular paths around bodies 72 Homeland, affectionately 75 Big name in dog food

7 Units of inductance 76 108-card game 8 Chug- - (guzzle) 77 Toque or fez 9 Suffix with Caesar 80 1967 hit for the 10 Mu - pork Doors 11 Western treaty inits.

85 Infrequent 12 Pope before Gregory 86 “Star Trek” rank: XIII Abbr.

13 More nonsensical 87 Pilfer from 14 Prison, informally 88 Singer Yoko 15 - and haw 89 Leaks slowly 16 Pizza herb 90 To no extent 17 More irritated 94 Mismatched collec18 Rocker Winter tion 99 Knife of old infomer- 19 Plow pioneer 24 Noisy clamor cials 29 Basic idea 101 - Kippur 102 Stream of electrons 31 Actor Jimmy 32 Granny, e.g.

103 Witches in 33 At - of (priced at) “Macbeth” 107 Cantaloupe or hon- 34 Item in a P.O. box 35 Part of NATO: Abbr. eydew 36 Acne spot 108 Body gel additive 37 Performed on stage 109 “There’s - haven’t 38 Lies in wait heard!”

39 Apocryphal archangel 110 - prayer for 111 Univ. Web site suffix 43 With 115-Down, nervous and apprehensive 114 Beach hills 44 Part of i.e.

116 “77 Sunset Strip” 45 “... wife could - lean” actor, familiarly 47 Injure badly 122 Mrs. Bunker 48 Jai 123 Use an umbrella, 49 DEA agent say 53 “Shape - ship out!”

124 Posts again 56 Alphabet opener 125 Hunter’s lure 57 “May - of service?”

126 Fusible alloys 58 Burglar’s job 127 Bad-mouth 59 Missile’s path 60 “Deathtrap” star DOWN Michael 1 “Lo!,” to Livy 61 “For - us a child is 2 Golf norms born” 3 Don of radio 62 Guitarist Paul 4 Deadlock 64 “Green” sci.

5 100% 67 Sci-fi power 6 Tableland

68 Robert De 69 1990s exercise fad 70 Bldg. units 71 Virus, e.g.

72 Not closed 73 Jay of NBC 74 Biblical verb 77 Belittling frat brother 78 Circus venue 79 Touchy 81 Bohemianism 82 Meanders 83 Question’s opp.

84 Turndowns 85 Like Brutus 89 Prince - von Bismarck 91 Go along with 92 Christie’s cry 93 - many words 95 Coloring stuff 96 Caméra 97 Ones toeing the line 98 Tag anew 100 In the habit of 103 Crossed a ford 104 Get by 105 Like a charged atom 106 Cyclical, at the beach 107 - tai (drink) 110 “The - the limit!”

111 Markey of Tarzan films 112 Nixing mark 113 Stalin’s land 115 See 43-Down 117 English dramatist Thomas 118 Lyrical verse 119 Bruin Bobby 120 Peru’s Sumac 121 Campaigned

answers on page 52

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WEEKLY SUDOKU Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Answers on Page 52

Mountain waterways and their Native American names Correction: The author of the volume titled Great Smoky Mountains Folklore referenced in the Back Then column for March 10 is Michael Ann Williams, not Martha Ann Williams.

C

George Ellison

reeks and rivers are quite literally the lifeblood of our mountains here in Western North Carolina. We identify with them in intimate ways.

We locate ourselves in the universe by their names, thinking of ourselves Columnist and our families as being residents of Fires Creek, Greens Creek, Lands Creek, Jonathan Creek, Barkers Creek and so on.

And our major rivers form the large watersheds that to a great extent define our communities and counties. Murphy is in the Hiwassee watershed. Robbinsville is in the Cheoah watershed. Franklin is in the Little Tennessee watershed. And so on.

I’m often surprised to find that even lifelong residents of various watersheds with which they identify don’t know the origins of the names of “their” rivers. Hence this column devoted to aquatic nomenclature for the river systems from Murphy to Asheville.

BACK THEN • “Hiwassee” is the anglicized form of the Cherokee word “ayuhwas-si,” which means “a meadow” or “lush open area.” The name of the town in north Georgia is spelled “Hiawassee.”

• “Cheoah” is the anglicized form of the Cherokee word “cheeohwa,” which means “otter.”

• The Little Tennessee River is, of course, a major tributary of the Tennessee River.

“Tennessee” is the anglicized form of the Cherokee word “Tanasi,” the name of an important Cherokee village once situated on the Little Tennessee. The Little Tennessee has two major tributaries. I’ve read at least 20 different versions of what “Nantahala” means, but it seems best to stick with the well-known “Land of the Noonday Sun.” • The “Tuckasegee” (also spelled “Tuckaseigee”) is said to be the anglicized form of the Cherokee word “tsiksitsi,” which reportedly means “crawling terrapin.” But the Cherokee names for water turtle (“saligugi”), terrapin (“daksi”) and softshell turtle (“ulanawa” or its lexical variant “klanawa”) don’t seem very applicable in this context.

• “Chattooga” is the anglicized form of the Cherokee word “chatawga,” which means “chicken.” I don’t know when the Cherokees

The Tuckasegee river. SMN photo

first laid eyes on a chicken. Maybe DeSoto brought a few with him in 1541? And I certainly don’t know why they would name a river after a domesticated fowl.

• I assume that the “Pigeon” is so named after the native passenger pigeon (now extinct) rather than the domesticated rock dove, which is also commonly known as a pigeon.

• “Swannanoa” is the anglicized form of the Cherokee word “Suwali-nunna,” which means “trail of the Suwali tribe.” The anthropologist James Mooney noted that

this trail ran from Cherokee lands “to the Suwali tribe living east of the mountains.”

They were also known as the Sara Indians.

• And last but not least, we come to “French Broad.” Many visitors to the region are disappointed to learn that the term refers to “a wide river that leads to the French territories.”

George Ellison wrote the biographical introductions for the reissues of two Appalachian classics: Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees.

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Smoky Mountain News

March 25-31, 2015

268-267

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56