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CONTENTS On the Cover: Multiple periods of slow, steady rain have led to an increase in landslides in Western North Carolina, but the region lacks a cohesive landslide response plan. (Page 8)

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News Cosmetology programs balance student, workforce demand . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Casino profits, tribal dividends on the rise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ghost Town amusement park plans Memorial Day weekend opening . . . . 11 Duke, environmentalists war over utility policy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Franklin residents question legitimacy of panhandlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Jackson may separate fire tax from property taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Macon, Jackson battle over ‘lowest tax rate’ title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Sylva storeowner gets permission to shoot guns in town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Haywood school board nixes resource officer request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Swain narrows problems to tackle with grant funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Opinion Writer’s arguments collapse amid self-scrutiny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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news May 15-21, 2013

Cosmetology students at Haywood Community College stand elbow-to-elbow, practicing haircutting techniques on mannequins. Caitlin Bowling photo

The long and short of it Space crunch leads to cosmetology waiting lists

Smoky Mountain News

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER bout 30 cosmetology students stand at their individual workstations cutting, coloring and chatting; they are elbowto-elbow and back-to-back, cramped as they cater to paying clients in the small salon room at Haywood Community College.

“If a student is working on a client, her feet are hitting the next student,” said Janette Banks, HCC’s cosmetology program manager.

Because of physical space constraints, the cosmetology programs at HCC and Southwestern Community College are limited in how many students they can admit. They only have so much floor space for workstations.

That in turn limits the crop of cosmetologists entering the area workforce each year.

In Western North Carolina, there is a demand in the cosmetology field, not just 6 from students who want to earn a cosmetol-

A

ogy license but also from salon owners who need to fill chairs left empty by a revolving door of employees.

“It is hard to find a good quality stylist, and there are always people coming in and out of the area,” said Courtney Ammons, owner of The NTH Degree Salon in Sylva.

Both community colleges are looking to expand to accommodate student and job demand in cosmetology.

TURNOVER CREATES DEMAND A jobs report for the seven westernmost counties calculated that there will be about 57 unfilled positions for hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists from 2013 to 2016. The Southwestern Commission released the report, which encompasses Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties.

“There is a big demand. There is always job openings,” Banks said.

And the number of jobs in the field in WNC is also increasing. This year, there were 499 hairdresser, hairstylist and cosmetologist positions in the region. That number is estimated to increase to 528 by 2016, according to the report, meaning there are plenty of jobs to go around for recent and future cosmetology school graduates.

Anyone going into cosmetology, which includes basic hair cutting, must have a state license.

And although HCC and SCC collectively churn out about 60 new cosmetologists a year, it can still be difficult for salon owners to find employees.

“It is very hard to find people who meet up to our standard,” Ammons said.

It is not uncommon for salons to have apprenticeships for anyone who just graduated from a cosmetology program.

“You are teaching your new employee essentially how you like things to be done,” said Randy McCall, the cosmetology program manager for SCC. “You are assuring quality control.”

Requiring in-salon training for new graduates may also make workers think twice about jumping ship after a year or two.

“Sometimes over there always looks better than here,” McCall said.

Similar to other service jobs, cosmetology tends to have a higher rate of turnover than other professions. People switch salons, move out of the area or stop working in that field altogether.

“You’d be surprised how many people you lose in the first year and five years,” said Sharon Walls, owner of Beau Monde Salon and Spa in Waynesville. “It is amazing how many people go through the school and how many people are still in the job market.”

Walls said she is lucky to have one woman who has worked at her salon for 20 years and another who patronized the business as a young girl and has now worked there for 10 years.

MORE SPACE NEEDED In order to meet the regional market demand for cosmetologists, both HCC and SCC are planning future expansions. Neither has ground breaking dates for the upgrades.

However, work at SCC could begin as early as this summer.

At HCC, six cosmetology instructors are crammed into an roughly 200-square-foot office. When a fellow teacher needs to consult with a student, the others have to leave because of a lack of privacy. And since there is no room for a copy machine or storage, they are scattered around the building in classrooms or lining the hallway.

“We just learn how to deal,” Banks said.

Banks said leaders have talked about expanding the cosmetology building since she arrived in 1997. And now more than 15 years later, the structure is in more desperate need of renovations.

It has problems with its heating and air conditioning system, as well as a shortage of electrical power. Teachers regularly find themselves having to flip the breaker.

“Too many hairdryers at one time,” said Bill Dechant, director of campus develop-

ment. “We are about maxed out as far as electrical services.”

The program has outgrown its space, which is the reason why HCC leaders want to expand the current building — an estimated cost of $1.2 million.

“It’s not a bad space; it’s just small,” Dechant said.

The college has not formally requested any money for the cosmetology expansion at this time. HCC made a $1.4 million budget pitch to county commissioners for campus construction and remodeling in the coming year, but the cosmetology expansion wasn’t on it. Instead, cosmetology was on the longrange to-do list for future years.

SCC’s current space is also limiting its enrollment numbers.

SCC averages about 40 students, beginner and advanced, each year, and about 10 high school students who are taking cosmetology courses as an elective. McCall said the program could have as many as 60 students at a

“You’d be surprised how many people you lose in the first year and five years. It is amazing how many people go through the school and how many people are still in the job market.”

— Sharon Walls, owner of Beau Monde Salon and Spa

By the numbers In the seven westernmost counties in North Carolina, there are nearly 500 jobs for hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists.

Below shows the number of jobs by county: Haywood...................................................181 Jackson ......................................................79 Macon ........................................................94 Swain.........................................................30

time if it had the room.

“We can only have as many students as what we have stations for,” McCall said.

The demand is there. By the beginning of the fall semester, the community college will have more than 20 people on a wait list for the cosmetology program.

Similar to HCC, SCC wants to expand and remodel is cosmetology space as well. It has made it one of its top priorities and included on its campus wishlist in a funding request to the county for the coming year.

Specifically, SCC is eyeing a 6,600-squarefoot, $1.5 million renovation of Founder’s Hall, which includes the expansion of the cosmetology department as well as the addition of study lounges, a café and more restrooms. The additional space would eliminate the need for a student waiting list two years after it’s completed.

Cherokee casino hits earning milestone

Recession slump now in the rearview with record profits predicted

H

Harrah’s profits declined for three years during the recession, bottoming out in 2010.

Since then, they have come back — a

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BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER arrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort’s bottom line is improving steadily each year as the nation continues to recover from the recession and as the casino expands its offerings.

The secret to success was two-fold. A multi-year $633 million expansion elevated the casino to a destination resort. And the recent addition of table games with live dealers, such as blackjack, poker and roulette is drawing new clientele. Previously, the casino only had electronic gambling.

Although revenues at the tribally owned casino rose substantially the second half of 2012 after table games were added, the increase was mitigated somewhat by the initial cost of setting up its table games operation. Harrah’s hired and trained 500 new employees and purchased the equipment needed for the table games themselves.

“Financially, we have done well with table fgames, but the expense was high,” said Lumpy Lambert, a general manager at Harrah’s.

Half of the casino’s profits are paid out in dividends twice a year to tribal members.

The other half goes to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to fund tribal operations and programs.

Last year, dividends were around $7,700 for each of the tribe’s 15,000 enrolled members.

That amount will go up thanks to table games coming on line, but due to start-up costs, the increase will seem more modest at first, Lambert said.

Tribal members will get the first of two dividend checks for the year on June 3 —

$4,023 (before taxes) compared to $3,785 last June.

“It may not seem as dramatic as everybody wants,” said Tribal Council member Bo Taylor of Big Cove. But, Taylor pointed out, the amount is up 6 percent from the previous June.

The tribe is anticipating a more considerable increase during the second half of the year from the table games.

“We are looking at a pretty good increase, double digit increases,” said Adele JacobsMadden, director of finance at Harrah’s.

Casino profits declined when the recession hit and Americans cut back on leisure spending and travel. If the financial prediction holds true, casino earnings in 2013 will finally return to pre-recession levels — plus some.

After this year ends, however, the initial bump from table games will start to level off, and the casino will eventually go back to seeing organic growth of 2 to 4 percent a year, Madden said.

The casino dividends tribal members get in June are based on earnings from the second half of last year — and table games hadn’t fully ramped up for most of that period.

They launched in August, but weren’t at full tilt at first. “(We) really didn’t promote the product to make sure we could meet the demand,” Lambert said.

It began its big advertising push, aimed at gamblers within a 150-mile radius, in October.

“We have hit it hard,” Lambert said.

Harrah’s has 124 table games and plans to add 10 or 12 more tables by Memorial Day weekend.

news

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort added table games with live dealers to its gambling repertoire in August, and also hosted a World Poker Tour tournament (above) this spring.

Increases were modest so far, but revenues from table games are expected to increase by double digits this year. Andrew Kasper photo

rebound no doubt due partly to the econodotal evidence for 2012 suggested that revmy in general but also partly to the new enue numbers kept rising as the economy undertakings at the casino. got better, as tribes invested in their casino Harrah’s gaming revenues increased by operations, and as casinos expanded their 8 percent in 2011, compared to a 11 percent gaming options. decline in revenue over 2009 and 2010, Adding live table games, for example, according to an annual study by an induscan draw a new type of customer, broadentry trade group that analyzes tribal casino ing a casino’s revenue base. market trends nationwide. The Casino “There are some people who really enjoy City’s Indian Gaming Industry Report the social environment and interaction with ranked North Carolina fourth out of 28 the dealers at live table games, and you canstates for gaming revenue growth rate in 2011 — a big jump from just the year before Half of the casino’s profits are when it came in 23rd and saw paid out in dividends twice a year negative growth.

There is no one or two reato tribal members. The other half sons why a casino sees a jump in goes to the Eastern Band of revenue, while another sees a decline.

Cherokee Indians to fund tribal “There can be a variety of reasons,” said Alan Meister, author of operations and programs. the industry report and an economist with Nathan Associates.

The report tied an overall national rise in not really get that at electronic table games,” gaming revenue in 2011 to an improving Meister said. economy, witnessed by increases in gross Although table game players tend to domestic product, disposable personal throw down the most money during a visit, income and employment. table games are not the biggest payoff for And things were only expected to tribally owned casinos. improve in 2012. However, industry-level “Slot machines generally generate the data for that year is not available yet. vast majority of gaming revenue at Indian Early performance numbers and anecgaming facilities,” Meister said.

Fred Alter fred.alter@sothebysrealty.com ph. 828-564-1260

Highlands | Cashiers | Waynesville | Naples 188-60

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news

Will Holder Branch hold?

Double landslides make residents uneasy

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER wice in one week, the mountainside along Holder Branch Road in Canton slid away — and that was twice too many for 34-year-old mother of three Dara Parker.

“We are too scared to drive down this road,” Parker said.

After the first slide, engineers with the N.C. Department of Transportation inspected the slide, pushed aside the wall of dirt and fallen trees blocking the road, and deemed it safe for residents to return.

But less than 48 hours later, it slid again. It underscores the often imperfect nature of landslides in the mountains. DOT officials knew the slide site wasn’t entirely stable, but the ground was too wet to fix it right away. They had a choice: advise residents not to go back to their homes indefinitely until the site could be shored up, or accept the risk that it wasn’t an altogether perfect situation.

“Safety is a relative term. We did deem the road was safe to reopen, and we believe that the decision that it was relatively safe was accurate at the time,” said Joel Setzer, head of a 10-county division of the DOT in the mountains. “We believe the road to be as safe, if not safer, as our other roads in the mountains.”

While residents might be gun shy after back to back slides last week, Setzer said the second slide actually went a long way toward making the whole situation safer.

Essentially, the unstable portion of slope has now finished sliding. Plus, drier conditions allowed the DOT to do some stability work in the interim.

The first landslide occurred Monday, May 6. Along with large quantities of dirt, the slide carried trees and even a storage building down the mountainside and plopped them in the middle of a switchback in the road, trapping 40 people in homes above the site of the slide.

DOT officials arrived and cleaned up the mess, pushing the debris to the sides of the roadway to allow vehicles to pass. A geotechnical engineer assessed the slide.

“The slide area had indicators that additional sliding may occur, and the risk for additional sliding was very much associated with the amount of additional rain that might be received,” Setzer said.

But it was too wet to do anything about it.

“It was determined that we did not need to have equipment on the unstable area until dryer conditions,” Setzer said.

In the meantime, DOT put a monitoring schedule to place to keep an eye on the slide site.

Come Wednesday morning, DOT crews were on-site again after more debris

Smoky Mountain News

May 15-21, 2013

T

8

S EE HOLDER B RANCH, PAGE 9

Landslide protocol: a muddied affair

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER he tragic death of a railroad worker investigating a fresh landslide along a rail line last week highlighted the hidden, yet inherent, risks for workers who are first on the scene in the aftermath of a slide.

Joseph Drewnoski, 33, of Waynesville, was buried and killed by a landslide in the middle of the night while surveying tracks for storm damage near Black Mountain following a weekend of unrelenting rains. Norfolk Southern Railway got a report of a landslide on the tracks in the middle of the night and sent Drewnoski and another worker to check it out.

Drewnoski headed down the line in a specialized rail-running truck. It was about 2 a.m. and still raining when Drewnoski arrived at the slide. He got out of the truck to take a better look when the landslide tumbled some more. His co-worker was still in the truck, which was thrown from the track by the slide, but Drewnoski was buried.

The fatal incident has sparked an investigation by Norfolk Southern as well as the Federal Railroad Administration, which is standard policy when a railroad worker is killed.

The agency would not release any information about the ongoing investigation but will make the results public when it is finished. That could be anywhere from a few months to a year, according to Mike England, a spokesperson with the Federal Railroad Administration.

Inspecting tracks was part of Drewnoski’s job, including checking out slide reports, according to Robin Chapman, a spokesperson for the railroad.

Chapman would not elaborate on the railroad’s policies for handling slides or whether those were followed, citing that as part of the ongoing investigation.

“Suffice it to say there are protocols,” Chapman said. “Our engineering department is prepared for all eventualities and one of those is a mudslide or landslide, and they would have procedures for responding to those.”

Landslides have become a more common occurrence in the mountains in recent years.

But there is not a cohesive or consistent response plan followed by the region as a whole, nor a singular training protocol to guide workers who find themselves on the front lines.

“Anytime you are around unstable ground it is tricky, particularly when it is still rainy or it is dark,” said Rick Wooten, a landslide expert with the N.C. Geological Service based in Asheville. “Landslides are predictably unpredictable. It is good to be very cautious at the beginning until you get a feel for what kind of landslide it is. It is very difficult to do if you can’t see it.”

When there’s a major slide, Wooten is the go-to expert in the region to assess whether the ground is stable or still at risk of sliding more. He approaches any fresh slide with caution.

T

“You look at it and think, ‘If it fails, it is going to come this direction so you approach it from the side or the top,” Wooten said.

Before actually lacing up his boots, he consults terrain maps and soil data to get an idea of what to expect. Once on site, he looks for telltale signs that the slide could still be active.

“You get an idea for how the whole hillside is working. Are there cracks in the ground?

Are things still really wet? How steep are they? Are they nearly vertical?” Wooten said.

Photo courtesy of Marc Pruett

“Landslides are predictably unpredictable.

It is good to be very cautious at the beginning until you get a feel for what kind of landslide it is. It is very difficult to do if you can’t see it.”

— Rick Wooten, N.C. Geological Service

But even as a geotechnical expert, it’s not a perfect science.

“There is still a lot of guesswork involved.

You hope you are seeing the things you need to see and make the right call,” Wooten said.

In the aftermath of a landslide, emergency responders have to check their natural instincts to rush toward the source of danger.

“We don’t just drive up the road with the rocks tumbling around us. That’s how you get first responders hurt. We treat it more like a hazmat,” said Greg Shuping, emergency services director in Haywood County. “Instead of rushing into a burning building like you would on a fire or a cardiac arrest, we put our heads together and put together a plan. We

will not jeopardize our own safety in lieu of using an organized approach.”

STOP, WATCH AND LISTEN

When it comes to landslide response, Haywood County likely has the most finely tuned and well-honed protocols — partly because Haywood is the landslide leader in region, witnessing more of them in recent years than any other county. But that wasn’t always the case.

“When we first started having landslide issues several years ago, I said, ‘Wow we don’t have a plan for this,’” recalled Shuping.

Thus, Shuping set out to fix that.

“When I am making a new plan, the first thing I try to do is plagiarize from another community. The smart thing to do is not to reinvent the wheel but to take what other communities have,” Shuping said.

But Shuping discovered no one else had one either.

“We couldn’t find a local example of landslide response that I could steal from to get good ideas,” Shuping said.

Instead, he turned to slide prone areas out West in California and Oregon.

“A lot of our experience at the beginning came from the other side of the country,” Shuping said. “We stayed on the phone for hours with them talking about this.”

Shuping discovered Haywood County had a secret weapon when it came to landslides.

He enlisted the county’s soil and erosion inspector Marc Pruett as an honorary emergency responder. When there’s a landslide, Pruett gets dispatched right along with Shuping.

“The 911 center calls Marc just like he was a firefighter,” Shuping said.

In the years since, Shuping and Pruett have spent many a day — and night — wading through ankle-deep mud in their rain slickers to size up slide sites together.

Shuping said many counties don’t have their own in-house soil and erosion specialists.

“We at least have a front-line person who has some expertise beyond that of an emergency responder,” Shuping said.

Most slides originate from road banks or excavated slopes that posed trouble in the past.

“Before we even get there, Marc is calling me saying, ‘Oh yeah, I know that road, or I remember that spot.’”

Wooten said Haywood County has one of the best protocols for landslide response.

“They know if it is dark to do what they need to do to get people out and then wait until morning to go take a look at it. Don’t take any more risk than absolutely necessary,” Wooten said.

Still, someone has to be the first one in, the first one to lay eyes on a landslide.

“It is hard to write a manual where someone can look it up and say, ‘OK, we are alright.’ It is always going to fall back to a judgment call. Even if you have a policy, you have to interpret the policy,” said Joel Setzer, the head

F

HOLDER B RANCH, CONTINUED FROM 8

Art Hartzog photo

trees or put up road blocks around washed out bridges.

Setzer recalls the infamous blizzard of 1993, when road crews working to salt and plow the roads ran the danger of wrecking themselves, prompting questions over when they should just throw in the towel in the name of their own safety, Setzer recalled.

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS

“The rain triggers it. I would argue that is not the cause. The rain knocks down the dominoes, but it didn’t set them up,” Wooten said.

In the Pacific Northwest, one railroad outside Seattle has seen 200 landslides hit its tracks this season alone — a frequency that easily makes it the leading expert on landslides in the rail world, albeit the title isn’t exactly worn with pride.

Most of them don’t start on railroad property, but instead come from uphill slopes where construction altered the terrain.

“We are caught on the other side with a shovel,” said Gus Melonas, spokesperson for BNSF railway.

Most of the slides are what Melonas called “nuisance slides.” It’s just a matter of clearing a pile of mud, trees and rocks. But 85 slides actually landed on tracks. When that happens, BNSF shuts down passenger service on that section of the line for 48 hours to ensure the threat of slides has abated. But workers don’t get that same pass. The railroad doesn’t have the luxury to wait until daylight or when it stops raining to start clearing the tracks.

On more significant slides, the railroad calls in geotechnical consultants.

But given the frequency, the railroad’s track inspectors and engineers are versed in sizing up and responding to landslides.

“It is so routine, it is part of the work process,” Melonas said. “They work in these conditions regularly. They are trained for 9 safety and recognize the lay of the land.”

Smoky Mountain News

Unfortunately, landslides come in rashes.

When heavy rains drag on, soils reach a saturation tipping point and slides start coming down. There can be a few dozen landslides in a few hours across the mountains.

When there are lots of landslides, DOT workers often act like smokejumpers, moving from one to the next and triaging which are most critical, Setzer said.

It can be taxing for the handful of landslide experts to them quickly to render expert opinions. The state once had a team of seven landslide experts housed in the Asheville office of N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Their day job was creating landslide hazard maps for each county in the mountains. When actual landslides hit, they could quickly mobilize to boots on the ground to help emergency responders size up fresh slides.

But the landslide mapping project was axed by the state legislature two years ago, and most of the landslide team was laid off

before they could complete the landslide risk database. Now, there are only two geologists besides Wooten.

The chain of command for landslide response usually starts with a 911 call. If deemed an emergency, a local dispatcher will call it in to the state emergency operations center — a standard protocol anytime a county needs to marshal extra disaster assistance, whether it’s a flood, tornado, forest fire or what have you.

If it’s a landslide emergency, the state contacts the head of the state geological service, who in turn would call Wooten. But in reality, county emergency management directors probably have already called Wooten directly.

Norfolk Southern isn’t a stranger to landslides on the track. Building railroad tracks through the mountains meant cutting into the hillsides, often leaving steep banks above or below the tracks and thus candidates for slides.

“It is not unusual when you have heavy rains. It is something that can happen and does occasionally. We are certainly alert to the possibility,” Chapman said.

While an occasional slide happens on completely virgin ground, the vast majority originate on mountainsides that have been dug into. Excavating makes slopes less stable, setting the stage for a slide.

“It takes less water to push that over the brink,” Wooten said.

Rain is often blamed as the cause of landslides, but there’s an important nuance.

May 15-21, 2013

of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s 10-county mountain region.

Since many landslides involve roads, DOT road maintenance crews regularly find themselves in that frontline role.

Setzer said he was very saddened to hear about the landslide that claimed the life of the railroad worker.

“That hit close to home for us. I thought about some of the work we do out at night,” Setzer said. “How do we respond to protect the citizens and at the same time protect the people responding? How do you know if it is going to slide again? Anytime someone is hurt or injured on the job it is certainly a good question to ask or look into it.”

The DOT has in-house geologists who assess major slides.

“If there is one where we aren’t sure how it fis going to behave, we want geologists’ opinion,” Setzer said.

By virtue of working in the mountains, however, slides go with the territory. So road maintenance crews have acquired institutional knowledge of what signs to look for, Setzer said.

Workers know to listen as well as look. The sound of rushing water in cracks is no good, and just before a rock slide, you can sometimes hear popping or cracking, Setzer said.

Landslides aren’t the only hazard road crews contend with, however. From flooding to ice storms, road maintenance crews are often out battling the elements to clear fallen

N.C. Department of Transportation employees worked into the evening Wednesday, May 8, on a temporary fix for Holder Branch Road after a second slide blocked the road.

nent solution. Now, the road has once again been termed “safe.”

“We believe the road is now even safer since the additional area wanting to slide has fallen, and the overburden on top has been removed, which we did on a dryer day,” Setzer said.

Although Parker is fearful anytime she drives down Holder Branch now, she said she just has to deal with it until DOT can make time to complete the long-term repairs.

“We don’t really have anywhere else to go. We don’t have a choice,” Parker said. “We stressed to them the importance of doing it the right way.”

DOT already has a backlog of landslide sites that still need to be fixed after a steady barrage of rainfall back in January, not to mention the recent rash from last week’s heavy rains, so Holder Branch will just have to wait in line. While DOT geotechnical engineers can make a quick trip to advise on emergency repairs, finding the time for a lasting fix is difficult, given the workload they have, Setzer said.

“I think where they will be stretched is when they have to go to these sites and recommend permanent repairs,” he said.

Until then, the department will keep a close eye on Holder Branch Road.

“We established that we wanted to check it every 24 hours during dry conditions, and during and after rains, we want to check it every six hours depending on the intensity of the rain,” Setzer said.

While Parker is keeping her fingers crossed that the mountainside above the road will stay in place, DOT officials are hoping for a sustained period of sunshine that will give them the opportunity to mark off some items on its ever-growing todo list.

“What we really need is a nice long period of dry weather,” Setzer said.

An older woman who lived at the foot of the Holder Branch slide was evacuated briefly as crews worked Wednesday. Although officials have declared the mountainside safe once again, she decided to find alternative housing for the foreseeable future because she is does not yet feel comfortable enough to return, said Greg Shuping, director of Haywood County Emergency Management.

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slid down the mountain, blocking the road once again. The second slide originated higher up on the mountainside, but followed a similar path as the first. f “We have been stuck all day,” Parker said Wednesday.

And for the second time in a week, her three children missed a day of school because they could not leave their house.

“These kids really needed to go to school today,” she said.

Parker and others who live on Holder Branch went down to the site of the slide Wednesday to find DOT employees taking ice cream scoops out of the mountainside and packing down dirt to prevent further damage. The second slide had created a vertical wall of loose soil, Setzer said.

“There is no soil that will stand vertically. It will fall,” Setzer said.

A geotechnical engineer was again on hand and this time devised a temporary fix to shore up the slide site in the hopes that no other slides occur before DOT is able work on a perma-

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Ghost Town comeback

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Smoky Mountain News

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER host Town in the Sky amusement park is scheduled to kick off its 2013 season Memorial Day weekend, thanks to the grit, passionate and determination of its new owner and longtime champion Alaska Pressley, who has slogged ahead with her dream despite hoops and hurdles.

Pressley purchased the troubled mountaintop amusement park in Maggie Valley out of foreclosure last year. Ghost Town, which was popular in the heyday of cowboys like John Wayne, fell out of favor with tourists in the 1990s.

After years of prolonged decline from its peak years, it eventually closed in the early 2000s. It was bought twice, and twice reopened by investors hoping to revive it, but twice it failed. That is when Pressley, a longtime Ghost Town lover and Maggie Valley champion, decided to resurrect it for the enjoyment of tourists and locals alike.

“The joy is going to be the feel that I have touched a lot of lives and made them better,” Pressley said.

Where past efforts failed, Pressley not only has an undying passion to bring Ghost Town back but also has the financial resources to sink into it. Pressley has vast financial resources thanks to numerous business and real estate ventures in Maggie Valley over the decades.

She is putting all her own money into the mountain and has vowed not to take out any debt — which seemed to be the downfall of previous owners.

Pressley bought Ghost Town for $2 million. Since then, she said she has invested a good $1.5 million or more in repairs to the park and expects to spend at the very least another $1.5 million.

“I am trying to be frugal,” she said.

Ghost Town had a soft opening last summer with a limited slate of attractions.

Visitors could take a chairlift up the mountain and visit a museum with Ghost Town memorabilia for a discounted ticket price.

But the signature mock-up Wild West town, home to staged gunfights and cancan saloon dancers, needed too much work to get open last year. None of the rides were open.

“I didn’t have that much to offer,” Pressley said.

This year, however, Ghost Town visitors will be have more to entice them. There will be a few kiddy rides and games, shows at the Wild West town, chairlift rides and food on two of the park’s three levels. Adult tickets will cost $24.50, and children pay $14.95, with those under five getting in free.

Pressley said she didn’t want to out price her customer base.

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Beloved amusement park brought back to life one piece at a time

“It’s a big difference, isn’t it?” Pressley said.

Pastor Bobby Rogers, who is advising Pressley, agreed that the mountain looked much improved compared to last year.

“It’s already a marked transformation,” Rogers said.

Dee and Steve Hurley, owners of Hurley’s Creekside Dining and Rhum Bar in Maggie, are leasing three of Ghost Town’s restaurant spaces — The Stagecoach, The Wagon Wheel and a building called The Emporium — all of which will open the same day as the park.

They will hire at least 12 employees to work in the three restaurants.

The Hurleys are supporters of Pressley and were looking to branch out beyond their current venture.

“It’s always good to branch out and grow,” said Dee Hurley.

“We like the challenge of it, too.”

The Emporium will be a sitdown restaurant with a menu similar to the current Hurley’s restaurant. It will be open all day, along with The Stagecoach and The Wagon Wheel, but will Ghost Town in the Sky is scheduled to open Saturday, May 25, in time for the Memorial Day Weekend. stay open later on Thursday, Opening day will include performances by Christian groups the Porter Family and Providence Quartet. Friday and Saturday nights. The Refreshments will be provided. Caitlin Bowling photo Stagecoach will offer hamburgers, hotdogs, fries and a variety “It still needed to be cheap,” she said. “I As for the rewiring, Pressley said electriof sandwiches. The Wagon Wheels’ menu would rather have volume than too high of cians should finish working by the end of includes pizza and sub sandwiches. prices.” this week.

Pressley bit off a monumental task when NCORPORATING HRIST she bought Ghost Town. The list of repairs, MARKED TRANSFORMATION let alone general sprucing up, was daunting Plans are underway for the top level of due to years of neglect and the harsh highJust a year ago, the Wild West Town, Ghost Town, which is tentatively called elevation elements. where actors once recreated a gunfight, runResurrection Mountain — a completely new Although Pressley has made strides, there ning around the street and rolling off roofs, concept and personal passion for Pressley. is still more work to do before Memorial Day was dilapidated. During periods of being The section of the park will focus on weekend. Water needs to be hooked up. The shut down, the mock town fell victim to Christian teachings and pay homage to the rides and chairlift need to be inspected by the harsh mountaintop weathering and vandals Bible. It has been part of Pressley’s vision state. Electricians need to complete rewiring who broke windows and doors and sprayed since the beginning. the park. But Pressley said everything would Pressley gathered around her kitchen be done by the time the first visitors are table Friday with a group of five men who standing in the amusement park’s ticket line. are helping her move forward with the reno“Ms. Alaska has a vision.

“It has been a challenge, but we are going vations of Ghost Town and creation of It is bringing the Bible to make it,” Pressley said.

Resurrection Mountain, which is still in the Pressley is working with Maggie Valley’s design phase. to life.” water district to get water up to the park.

“It’s going to be awesome, and hopefully, When she bought Ghost Town last year, it will be one of the busiest things in our — Pastor Bobby Rogers, Pressley purchased a $20,000 water pump to area,” Pressley said.

Dellwood Baptist Church push municipal water up the mountain. But However, once complete, the third level the town water district employees told her will include a giant cross on top of the she might have better luck digging wells to fire extinguishers in the buildings. Grass and mountain, an area marked as Jesus’ tomb supply water to the park. weeds had overtaken the mountaintop, and other features that draw on stories from However in the end, Pressley will hook to adding to its bedraggled look. the Bible, such as Noah’s Ark. Pressley town water after all. She estimated that the Things had “kind of went to pot,” already owns a kiddy boat ride that sways park would have water access this week.

Pressley said. passengers back and forth that she plans to As for the rides and chairlift, the North Last week, electricians were rewiring the use as the child’s ark ride.

Carolina Department of Labor must inspect buildings, such as the saloon and general “Ms. Alaska has a vision. It is bringing them every year before the park opens. store, in the Wild West Town. The buildings the Bible to life,” said Pastor Bobby Rogers.

Amusement parks owners must submit a were repainted; new windows were installed; Rogers takes yearly trips to Israel and has request for inspection with the department the mock-up storefronts were stocked with headed Dellwood Baptist Church for seven 10 working days prior to allow time for period pieces; and the gunfighters have been years. He is lending Pressley his expertise as she inspectors to schedule them. As of Tuesday practicing their routines in preparation for works on the layout for Resurrection Mountain. afternoon — nine working days before the Memorial Day weekend.

“We want to create a spiritual experipark’s scheduled opening — Pressley had The grounds have also been mowed and ence,” Rogers said. “A place where (people) not submitted any requests. weeded, and new flowers planted. can grow in their joy.”

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Duke rate hike beats the drum of fossil fuel power production

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER Well raise my electric bill … again.

Duke Energy is looking to hike its rates by nearly 10 percent. It marks the third in a spate of rate increases the company has requested from the N.C. Utilities Commission, the state’s regulating body, during the past five years. The most recent increase went into effect February 2012, and now the company wants the next round of price hikes in place within a year.

If Duke Energy gets what it wants this time around, the average household electric bill will go up by another 14 percent or so while its commercial and business customers will see a lesser increase. The company serves about 1.9 million households and businesses in the state.

Duke’s biggest argument for the rate hikes is so it can build new coal and gas power plants. The money raised by the rate hikes would pay for the new electricity plants.

“They are now in an era of building new construction,” said Sam Watson, general counsel to the commission. “So they’ve been coming in every few years adjusting the rates to be able to earn a return on the initial investment.”

About 90 percent of the $446 million per year Duke would get from the latest round of proposed rate increases will go toward covering the cost of two new plants, one coal plant

and one natural gas plant.

Duke said its new coal plant will replace older ones coming off line. Some of Duke’s power plants being phased out have been online since WWII, said Lisa Parrish, a spokeswoman for the company. She quoted the Duke Energy website and likened the upgrades to trading in a 1950s Pontiac for a Toyota Prius — today’s coal plants are cleaner.

“We’re modernizing our system,” said Parrish, a spokeswoman for the company.

“Now that the plants are operating and serving our customers we are asking the commission to allow us to recover the cost to build them.”

However, one local environmental advocate sees the direction Duke is taking as anything but environmentally friendly. Avram Friedman, executive director of the environmental organization Canary Coalition based in Sylva, said funding the construction of more and more power plants allows for more and more energy use.

“We’re following a policy of greater and greater, endlessly increasing energy consumption,” Friedman said. “Instead of promoting more energy consumption, they should promote policies that reduce energy consumption.”

He said that approach by Duke does not address the real energy situation in the

Smoky Mountain News

May 15-21, 2013

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request has drawn scrutiny because it diverts more revenue to shareholders. As a Western North Carolina residents will speak their minds regulated monopoly, the and Duke Energy officials will make their case as the first of state caps things like profits a series of public hearings on the company’s proposed rate and shareholder returns. hikes kicks off 7 p.m. May 21 at the Macon County The company wants to Courthouse in Franklin. The N.C. Utilities Commission will raise the cap placed on stakehold five public hearings across the state to solicit input on holder returns to 11.25 perDuke Energy’s requested rate increase of nearly 10 percent. cent from 10.5 percent, a And, public testimony will be considered by the commission number that was set by the in making a final decision in the rate case. utility commission in the last Duke made the proposal to increase rates in February rate increase case and is at the and the commission is expected to make a final decision on center of the order by the the case sometime this fall following the round of public Supreme Court. hearings and an evidentiary hearing in Raleigh July 8, when Progress Energy requestindustry groups, environmentalists, Duke Energy representaed an identical increase on tives and public advocates each pitch their case. investor returns for its rate The commission can decide to approve all, none or some increase, now under review of Duke’s request. by commissioners.

This latest request marks the third Duke Energy rate But a Duke spokeswoman increase case to come before the commission since 2009, claimed the company seeks with the company looking to fund a slew of fossil fuel power to strike a balance between plant construction projects it has completed in the state. customer rates and returns to The commission approved a seven percent rate increase in investors. The better the 2009 and a five percent increase 2011. return, the more confidant Or send in comments via email to statements@ncuc.net. the stakeholders.

“The return must be reasonably sufficient to assure long-term. confidence in the financial soundness of the Progress Energy is no exception either. The utility,” Parrish wrote in an email. “It’s a balother main power company in the state, a sub- ance.” sidiary of Duke Energy following a merger of However, not all are onboard with the the two, is awaiting a final decision by the util- increases. ity commission on its first major rate increase “I think it’s safe to say we’ll be recommendrequest since the 1980s. ing something substantially below that,” said Residential ratepayers could see their bills James McLawhorn, director of the Electric go up by about 14 percent or so if approved, Division of the N.C. Utilities Commission and much of that extra revenue is slated for Public Staff, the public advocacy arm of the power plant construction. commission.

Friedman expects many residents to come McLawhorn and the public staff work to out in mass for an upcoming public hearing in represent the interests of North Carolina resiFranklin to protest the proposed increases dents in cases coming before the commission. from an economic standpoint. Macon County They play a part in the negotiations with Duke has an unemployment rate of less than 12 per- and hearings before the commission, as do a cent, according to recent economic numbers. slew of other special interests groups repreAnd many western counties are slow in recov- senting every cause from Walmart’s light bill ering from the downturn. to renewable energy initiatives to the Attorney “You’ll see a parade of people complaining General, who brought the last case before the about the higher cost of energy in hard eco- state Supreme Court. nomic times when they can’t afford it,” Sometimes the public staff can negotiate Friedman said. “You can expect there to be a and reach an agreement with Duke and some packed house.” of the shareholders and present it to the comFurthermore, Friedman feels like the move- mission to consider. Other times that is not the ment to resist Duke’s repeated rate increases case. McLawhorn said the public staff will pubhas gained a little steam from a recent N.C. licize its stance on the latest increase request Supreme Court decision. The court ordered by early June, after the meeting in Franklin. the commission to provide further justification Apart from the power plant construction, for approving Duke’s latest increases rates in Duke is looking to increase revenue that goes February 2012. The case could ultimately go to tree trimming and a storm damage fund. either way, with the court upholding or strik“We’re reviewing the application from ing down the increase, but Friedman feels it at Duke and the items they identified that is drivleast places a little more emphasis on the ing the need for the increase,” McLawhorn. process this time around.

“It’s the third of three rate increases Duke has One major aspect of Duke’s increase requested over five years.”

Meeting in Franklin

Merchants to host open business gathering The Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association will hold an open business meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, at the Cedar Creek Racquet Club in Cashiers.

Speakers will include Julie Spiro from the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Jeff Heilbrun, general manager from Wade Hampton Golf Club, and Scott Handback from Cedar Creek Racquet Club. Cash bar and hors d’oeuvres. The meeting is open to all.

828.743.8428 or info@visitcashiersvalley.com or www.visitcashiersvalley.com.

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER group of folks allegedly raising funds on behalf of an out-of-state church have sparked complaints and questions from Franklin residents puzzled, and sometimes troubled, by the troupe’s origin and tactics.

The group in question can be found periodically at a busy intersections in town wearing traffic vests and soliciting donations for a charitable cause. They approach motorists stopped momentarily at the red lights at busy intersections with five gallon buckets asking for spare change or bills to help the needy.

Although their approach must be successful enough to prompt them to return time and time again, reports vary as to where they’re actually from. While some motorists have questioned the fundraisers, the answers they have received are apparently divergent.

“We were told some of the folks were from some church in Virginia,” said Alderman Billy Mashburn. “Then someone said they thought they were from South Carolina.”

Other second-hand accounts cite Florida and Kentucky.

Their presence sparked numerous phone calls to town hall and pushed some Franklin leaders to take up the issue.

While the town regulates certain fund-

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raising activities, there are exceptions for charitable causes and endeavors by certain organizations and faith-based groups.

However, at a town meeting last week, leaders discussed apparent loopholes and how they could change or better enforce the ordinance.

Vice Mayor Verlin Curtis said he suspects the group is well versed in the local laws of the region and perhaps travels around to towns that don’t require special permits and temporarily sets up shop to collect money.

“They could be a traveling outfit,” Curtis said. “I would submit that’s what they’re doing. But I don’t know how many towns they go to.”

Curtis said requiring some sort of permit seven days in advance of conducting an organized fund-raiser in public would deter any sort of abuse. Also if the group were to apply for a permit, it would allow the town to find out who the group is and if it’s charitable cause is legitimate. However, Curtis guessed the solicitors would just stop coming back, ending what has been more than a year of fund-raising visits from the mysterious group.

But whoever they are, with their makeshift collection buckets and handwritten signs, Curtis acknowledges their dedication.

“Last time, it was pouring rain, and they were out there in the middle of the

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Drawing the line between panhandling and charity at Franklin’s intersections

say they’re with a church working for a charitable cause and they have taken proper traffic safety precautions, Franklin Police Chief David Adams’ investigation is thwarted. He said under current language of the town ordinance, the door is left open for any determined fundraiser, no matter what the motive. street,” Curtis said. “Even out there in the “We don’t really have anything to stop pouring rain.” them,” Adams said. “You could go up there Curtis said the town lawyer is looking with a bucket and throw on a traffic vest.” into possible solutions, and the issue has However, he said the group of solicitors is been tabled until the board’s June meeting. not a problem in his eyes and isn’t very high But some lawmakers feared a blanket soluon his unsolved cases’ list. In general, Franklin tion — such as enforcrarely has a problem ing a ban on solicitawith panhandlers — if Franklin Police Chief tion at intersections or that’s indeed what the requiring permits — David Adams said under organized syndicate of would likewise hinder out-of-town fundraisers current language of the the ability of local are — apart from the groups to raise money. occasional intoxicated town ordinance, the “When you get into local asking for spare something like this door is left open for any change. In that and start doing regulainstance, swift action determined fundraiser. tions, you might cut is taken. out somebody who is “You might have a collecting for Shriner’s or Boy Scouts,” said wino who asks for money in front of Ingles or Alderman Carolyn Pattillo. “It’s a delicate sit- a convenience store.” Adams said. “And we uation in a way.” ask them to leave or something like that.”

Pattillo said she passes by them when she Adams said the group’s presence amounts sees the solicitors of unknown origin and to a nuisance for some people at most, and at doesn’t stop to interact with them. the very least provides an insight into the Nevertheless, she doesn’t judge others who passerby who toss some change or a dollar contribute money. bill into the buckets.

“That’s a privilege,” Pittillo said. “If some“One thing I noticed, the people of one wants to give them money, that’s their Macon County are very generous,” Adams business.” said. “Or they wouldn’t keep coming back So as long as the handful of fundraisers every month.”

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Fire department funding debate heats up in Jackson

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER ackson County commissioners may be looking to change how fire departments are funded.

Currently, the county gives each fire department money out of the general budget. Under the new plan, fire department’s would raise their own money through a separate fire tax.

The fire tax would be tacked on to people’s property tax bill. Each fire department would set its own tax rate, determined by an elected board of directors.

Jackson is the one of only a few counties in the state that funds fire departments outright rather than having separate fire taxes.

But the threat of change is getting a mixed reception among the fire chiefs. Some are in favor because of the extra money it would bring their departments. Others wary it may mean a property tax increase for their districts.

County officials are now testing the waters to see how fire departments and residents react to the idea.

From the county’s standpoint, fire departments would no longer run to the county with hat in hand. If they want a new truck, a new fire station, or more money for training, they would have to get approval from their own fire department board, elected by residents of that fire district.

It would essentially take the county government out of the equation.

“It’s another one of the situations where we are caught in the middle,” Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten said. “We don’t want to be in the situation of telling you how to run your department.”

Commissioners can end up in the hot seat when it comes to splitting the $1.4 million per year that goes toward fire protection in the county. With seven fire departments all asking for money for equipment and building projects, along with general operations, commissioners are stuck choosing which department gets extra funds and which doesn’t.

And there are several big projects coming down the request line — Cullowhee is in the planning stages of building a new $3.9 million fire station, the Glenville substation wants $100,000 in renovations and the Savannah Fire Department wants to put a $400,000 substation in the Greens Creek community.

Currently, each of the departments gets roughly an equal amount for operations every year — a baseline of $86,000 and an additional $15,000 given for each substation in that district. No extra is given to fire departments that are busier than others.

“In my opinion, there are some inconsistencies now as to how we fund them,” Wooten said. “We give everybody the same amount of money not based on the number of calls they do.”

with higher priced property values, namely Cashiers and Cullowhee, would see a tax decrease. The areas with lower property values would see an increase to maintain their fire services.

In the Canada fire district, where the total property value is about 25 times less than what it is in Cashiers and Glenville, it would take a fire tax of 5.3 cents to raise the $300,000 it gets now from the county.

Balsam Fire Chief Johnny Nicholson worried that if a tax is implemented, the fundraising and donations might take a hit because people will feel they are already paying their part. The solution to that problem would be to raise the local district tax rate even more, which concerned Nicholson.

“The only thing that bothers me are the elderly people in the community on a fixed income,” Nicholson said. He also questioned whether it would sit well with the volunteers at his station. “You got to remember we got to pay this tax, too.”

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NO MORE BOOT DRIVES? Furthermore, the county money doled 14 out only covers a portion of each district’s

CHANGE IS NEEDED Cashiers-Glenville Fire Chief Randy Dillard (L) and Cullowhee Fire Chief Tim Green look over hypothetical fire tax figures should the county change how it funds fire departments. Jackson County is one of the only counties in the state the doesn’t have a separate fire tax. Andrew Kasper photo actual budget, leaving some fire department’s grossly underfunded. Wooten estimates that for most of the seven fire districts, county funds only cover about half their actual budget.

The rest is made up through fundraisers and other sources.

The Cashiers-Glenville Fire Department gets just under $200,000 per year from the county, but its actual budget is more in the neighborhood of $500,000, according to Randy Dillard, fire chief. The district touts upwards of 500 calls per year and an average response time of seven minutes.

Dillard said his volunteer firefighters do annual mailings to solicit donations as well as boot drives for dollars and change. He doesn’t think its fair to have to scrape together a budget each year to provide a vital need to the community.

“Me and my guys do not deserve to stand on the side of a road with a boot in our hands begging for someone to pay for the excellent service we provide,” Dillard said.

However, Dillard’s district is situated in a unique part of the county. Cashiers’ highdollar homes mean the fire tax there could be just a cent or two added to property tax rate and bring in a ton of money. Other districts with less pricey property would have to have much higher fire tax rates to bring in the same amount they are getting from the county now.

Commissioner Doug Cody said the county would most likely drop the countywide property tax rate if there’s a shift to fire taxes.

The county property tax rate could come down by 1.4 cents per $100 of property value — which is currently the amount that’s spent on fire departments. Overall, the two districts

“Me and my guys do not deserve to stand on the side of a road with a boot in our hands begging for someone to pay for the excellent service we provide.”

— Randy Dillard, Cashiers-Glenville

Changes in the fire tax Currently, 1.4 cents of the property tax rate in Jackson County goes to fund fire departments. The county may drop that from its overall property tax rate and instead let fire departments impose their own fire taxes.

Below are county estimates as to what the new taxes in each district might look like to raise the same amount of money they are now getting from the county.

Balsam............................................3.5 cents Canada ...........................................5.3 cents Cashiers-Glenville...........................0.3 cents Cullowhee.............................................1 cent Qualla..............................................2.8 cents Savannah...........................................4 cents Sylva................................................2.5 cents

At a meeting last week between county officials and representatives from each of the fire departments, there was loose consensus that something needed to be done in regards to funding fire safety.

Cullowhee Fire Chief Tim Green said more than two decades ago, the county built the first fire substation in Glenville and appropriated $15,000 annually to fund it.

That’s still the going rate to fund a substation, Green said.

“That tells you how far behind we are,” Green said “We’ve spun our wheels here. It’s to the point where we’ve got to do something.”

He said cookouts, boot drives and mailings aren’t cutting it anymore.

But changing the tax system for funding fire safety will be contingent on gaining public support for it. Ultimately, the issue would be put to a countywide referendum vote, as soon as May 2014, before any changes are made.

If the vote passes, individual fire departments will propose their desired tax rates to commissioners for approval and hold public hearings in their respective districts. Also towns like Dillsboro, Webster and Sylva, which have special fire taxes, will have to decide to keep carrying that tax or not. The soonest changes would be made would be in July next year, Wooten said.

But before the process moves further along, commissioners are looking to hear back from local districts as to how they stand on the issue. Following the meeting last week, Dustin Nicholson, chief of the Canada Fire Department, said he would discuss the issue with his crew of firefighters back at the station. He said he hadn’t made his mind up either way as to whether it would be a good or bad change.

“It’s a mixed bag,” Nicholson said. “To raise more money, we would have to raise more taxes.”

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JACK

“Macon County likes to claim they have the lowest tax rate.

But if you add their fire tax to the countywide tax, they have it higher than Jackson County.”

— Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten

Smoky Mountain News

CHUCK

Horton said. “Our goal wasn’t to have the lowest tax rate in the state; it just turned out that way.”

Several years ago, Macon’s tax rate was even lower, 3.4 cents lower to be exact. But the county enacted a couple of property tax hikes to pay for school construction.

And going back decades, Horton said he remembers reading a newspaper report in the 1970s while living in Swain County that said Macon had the lowest tax rate in the state.

However, the exact streak is hard to pin down, especially if you throw a little bit of contention into the mix.

“Macon County likes to claim they have the lowest tax rate,” said Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten.

“But if you add their fire tax to the countywide tax, they have it higher than Jackson County.”

What Wooten likes to point out is that about 1.4 cents of Jackson’s property tax rate funds fire departments. In Macon County, each fire department has its own tax, on top of the base property tax rate.

The fire tax in Macon ranges from .9 cents in Highlands to an additional 8 cents in Cowee. Those numbers don’t appear in the countywide tax rate. If they did, Jackson would in fact be lower, Wooten points out.

The playing field could soon be leveled.

Jackson plans to quit funding fire departments from the county budget and instead make each fire departments have its own fire tax. If that happens, Macon’s title might be stripped based on a technicality.

How important is beating out your neighboring county for fractions of a penny? Jackson County Commissioner Doug Cody said it might not actually be that big of a deal. But, for the record, proper recognition for his county would only be fair.

“We do have the lowest tax rate in the state of North Carolina,” Cody said. “If you figure everything in.”

But the title is the title, asterisk or not, according to one Macon County commissioner.

May 15-21, 2013

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER ho has the lowest tax rate in the state — Macon County or Jackson County? The answer is both, it just depends on who you ask.

“We did this year,” said Macon County Manager Jack Horton. “But I think Jackson County is right close to us.”

And Horton is more or less right — at least by 1/10th of a penny.

According to a report from the N.C. Department of Revenue, Macon ranks at the very bottom — or very top depending how you look at it — for property tax rates.

Macon sits at 27.9 cents per $100 of property value. Jackson is a measly one-tenth of a cent higher, at 28 cents.

Horton claims Macon chose its tax rate of 27.9 cents by coincidence. The fact that is a mere tenth of a cent lower than Jackson has absolutely nothing to do with the ongoing rivalry between the two counties for the claim to fame of having the lowest property tax rate in the state.

But it nonetheless kept Macon in the top spot, years running, and was proof enough for Horton that his county knows how to manage its budget.

“It is a distinction having the lowest,”

SECRET WEAPON There’s a secret to Macon and Jackson’s low tax rates — which are three times lower than some of the highest counties in the state.

It’s all the expensive, high-valued homes and property in Highlands and Cashiers, which lie in Macon and Jackson respectively.

With a slew of multi-million homes on its tax rolls, a low tax rate can still bring in big bucks.

The friendly property tax feud will probably rage on for years to come between the two counties, but the question remains: would anybody choosing between Cashiers or Highlands to buy a home really be concerned about the incremental differences in taxes?

According to Jackson County Commissioner Charles Elders, they’re more fixated on other things, including the good climate, expansive views and low crime.

“I believe it’s the other factors that catches the eye of people,” Elders said. “They want out of the big city life, and they like the atmosphere of the good, clean mountain living.”

news

Macon and Jackson locked in a friendly feud th over 1/10 of a cent

“I think in reality Jackson County is actually lower than Macon County,” said Macon County Commissioner James Tate. “But technically, for now, we are winning.”

Tate pointed out that what residents in each county actually pay differs by only $10 or so on an modest home. But when it comes to the expensive homes found in his district in Highlands, those small rates can start to accumulate.

“There’s not a whole lot of difference,” Tate said of the difference in the tax rates.

“But it can add up on a $1 million home.”

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Luke Smith, of Tuscola High School, competes at a high school welding competition where he took second. Patrick Parton photo

Tuscola dominates WNC welding competition Tuscola High School students placed first and second in the Western High School Welding Competition May 11 at Tuscola. Keith Wyatt placed first, earning himself a full tuition scholarship to Tulsa Welding School, which has campuses in Florida and Oklahoma. Just below Wyatt on the podium was Luke Smith who earned a half-tuition scholarship. They also were awarded welding gear prizes.

The contestants were judged on their ability to perform vertical, horizontal, flat and overhead welds. In addition, they also were judged on their ability to read and follow blue prints.

Michael Milner of Joeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Welding Service in Waynesville judged the competition.

Smoky Mountain News

May 15-21, 2013

Explore the intercultural Swain County United super highway Gift Fund awards grants

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Stiles will talk about the benefits of venturing outside oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comfort zone to relate with people from a different culture. Stiles is a native of Jackson County and has traveled to 70 countries on all seven continents and gives his talk as universities around the world. This will be the first time he gives his talk in Jackson County.

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The award money was raised from donations from individuals as well as businesses.

800.201.9532 or www.nccommunityfoundation.org.

MedWest-Haywood to host celebration and remembrance service

Spring rabies clinics in Haywood

MedWest-Haywood Hospice and Palliative Care will host the annual Service of Celebration and Remembrance at the Lake Junaluska Memorial Chapel at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, in memory of lost loved ones.

The service will include music, a candle lighting, naming of those who have died, sharing of favorite memories, a place for displaying photographs, and the lighting and release of sky lanterns. The service is open to the public.

828.452.5039.

If you have pets that need a rabies vaccination in Haywood, mark your calendars for the week of May 20-24.

The clinics will be held from 5-6:30 p.m. at Jonathan Valley School and Old Fines Creek School on May 20; Canton Middle School on May 21; Hazelwood Elementary School on May 22; Riverbend Elementary School on May 23; and Bethel Middle School on May 24. Cost is $9.

Most veterinary hospitals will also offer rabies shots for the same cost during normal business hours on each of the clinic days as well.

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER Sylva gun storeowner was given special permission to fire weapons in the town limits by town leaders this month.

Typically, firing rounds in Sylva is a surefire way to get ticketed — Sylva like most towns don’t allow guns to be shot in the town limits. But Tuck’s Gun and Ammo owner John Prentice can now test his weapons out right near the store, in an enclosed ballistics chamber that is.

The 500-pound bullet trap filled with ballistics rubber wrapped in Kevlar can withstand a variety of pistol and rifle rounds, absorbing 90 percent of the sound and all of the noxious gases emitted from the barrel — as well as the shock of the bullet.

Prentice said the model he is buying, made by the company Bullet Bunker, is one of the best on the market.

“This is by far the safest,” Prentice said.

“You can actually take a fully automatic weapon and unload it into this thing.”

Prentice was holding off on purchasing the $1,500 apparatus until he got approval

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from the town’s police chief and board members to discharge weapons in town.

Prentice’s pitch was given the green light at the board’s last meeting.

The exception will save him from having to load up the truck with guns every weekend and haul them out to the nearest shooting range, at Moss Knob in the Nantahala Forest. There, rain or shine, he would have to test fire and tweak them to make sure they’re safe and working properly.

Anytime repairs were made to a gun, it had to be test fired; anytime someone wanted to return a gun claiming it didn’t work, it had to be test fired; and anytime new models were brought into the store; they were most likely test fired.

Now, all that can be done at a shed a few feet from the store on East Main Street.

“It saves a lot of running around,” Prentice said.

Not only did they have to load up and drive to the outdoor shooting range, if he or the gunsmith forgot to pack the right tool it was another trip to town and back.

Since opening last year, Prentice said his

“This is by far the safest. You can actually take a fully automatic weapon and unload it into this thing.”

— John Prentice, owner of Tuck’s Gun and Ammo

news

Sylva gun shop brings Bullet Bunker online

A row of guns at Tuck's Gun and Ammo in Sylva must be repaired and test fired before being returned to customers. After buying a new enclosed firing apparatus, owner John Prentice can now do the shooting in his store and save the trip to the firing range. Donated photo business has been growing, and he will soon expand into another retail space next door.

And as business continues to grow he said the only thing that would be better than the Bullet

Bunker is an indoor shooting range in Sylva.

“I’d love to have an indoor range,” Prentice said. “An indoor range in town would be the best.”

May 15-21, 2013

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Smoky Mountain News

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news

In-town shooting ranges weighed in Franklin Franklin Town Board members have decided to put off action on whether to allow an indoor shooting range in town limits. The request came in April from gun dealer and former Macon County commissioner Bob Simpson.

The town board was considering an exemption to the local ordinance that prohibits firing a gun in the town limits in Franklin to allow permitted indoor firing ranges. However, upon closer examination, Town Planner Derek Roland pointed out at the board’s meeting May 6 that allowing gun ranges in town may open a can of worms.

Once allowed, indoor gun ranges could potentially be classified as indoor recreation facilities under the zoning ordinances. That would allow shooting ranges to be located at a large number of sites in the town, not just one old factory site on Ulco Drive where Simpson was hoping to put one.

“When you permit it, you’re not only allowing just it in (the industrial sectors) but in a lot of other places around town,” Roland told town board members.

The board also discussed making prospective shooting ranges go through a special permit process but instead decided to table the item until the next meeting, citing that it wasn’t urgent. Simpson had expressed his interest in opening the gun range sooner rather than later but hasn’t purchased the property yet.

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Remembering Fontana’s sacrifice

Smoky Mountain News

May 15-21, 2013

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The Proctor Revival Organization is hosting its third annual month long remembrance and celebration of the Proctor, Judson, Bushnell and Japan communities, which were flooded during the creation of Fontana Dam during World War II. The power generated at Fontana Dam was needed for the nation’s war effort, but also forced 6,000 residents to relocate as the waters rose and flooded their farming villages and Appalachian towns. In remembrance of their sacrifice, the Proctor Revival Organization has planned a number of events.

• Each Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., people can meet local authors and artists and hear stories told by fascinating mountain folks. Bobbie Jayne Curtis will be performing Gary Carden’s one-woman play “Birdell” at 3 p.m. June 1 on the porch of the Historic Gunter Cabin at Fontana Village Resort. The play is a heartwarming and uplifting story about the life of a mountain family pre-WWII. • On May 24 from 6-9 p.m., the Kennesaw State University Swing Dance Association will teach an instructional dance course. Then, the following day from 7–9 p.m. Asheville Gentleman Swing Band will play as people dance. Held at Fontana Village Resort.

• The Fontana Marina will have various historical lake tours and hikes throughout the month.

• There will three educational exhibits on display until June 2 at Fontana Village Resort. The Chestnut Room located at town hall in Fontana will host two WWII exhibits contributed by Kennesaw State University, including “Remembering Ravensbrück: Women and the Holocaust” and “Beyond Rosie: Women in World War II”.

The Historic Gunter Cabin will be home to the Plott Hound Exhibit, contributed by the Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center. This exhibit tells the story of how North Carolina’s state dog came to be. www.proctorrevival.com or 828.498.2150.

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“We are asking for things to make our schools safe.

We are being told that it is our fault [if taxes go up].”

— Rhonda Schandevel, Board of Education member

“We always present our budget every year,” said Superintendent Anne Garrett.

“They have never asked for a tax increase.”

School board members agreed that they did their job by presenting the school system’s budget to the commissioners, and it was up to county leaders now to decide what to fund and how to fund it.

“We are asking for things to make our schools safe,” said Board of Education member Rhonda Schandevel. “We are being told that it is our fault [if taxes go up].”

When school leaders went before commissioners the following week on May 6 to talk about the request a second time, School Chairman Chuck Francis said that technically, the request presented to the county by the school superintendent hadn’t officially been voted on by the school board. Francis said the formal vote would not be held until this week (May 13).

Commissioners said the school board’s ditherThe members of the Haywood County Board of Education have abandoned a request for more school resource ing surprised them. officers and guidance counselors that they initially said were needed to ensure school safety. Caitlin Bowling photo “It’s been a frustrating experience,” said County Commission Chairman Mark Swanger. “They have to step up and If the school system dipped into its fund dren and resident filled the Education tell us what they think.” balance for some one-time expenses rather Center for the school board meeting County revenues will remain pretty flat than bringing them to the commissioners, Monday, but by the time talk about the next year, meaning there is little or no then the county’s money might stretch farschool resource officers rolled around, no money for extras like the $500,000 yearly ther and make some room for expenses such one remained in the audience. Earlier in the cost of the eight new employees. The only as the school resources officers, commission- meeting, only one person, Andrew Jackson, way to pay the annual expense is with a ers said. got up to oppose the tax increase. property tax increase, according to com“We pay enough,” Jackson said. missioners.

He also informed the school board about “The money can’t fall out of the sky,” a vote of the Haywood County Republican “Make sure everything is Swanger said. But as soon as a tax increase Party Executive Board. The board voted 24looked at before we look was mentioned, “they start running for the to-1 against the increase. hills.”

Kirkpatrick has repeatedly questioned at a tax increase.”

Prior to mention of a tax increase, school whether more school resource officers are board members spoke about the need for worth the investment, considering the — Commissioner Bill Upton more school resource officers to be shared remote chances that a school shooting would on a roving basis among elementary schools. occur — particularly at elementary schools, Currently, only the middle and high schools Both Swanger and Upton suggested that which are the only county schools without at have officers. the school system use some of its $3.8 milleast a part-time officer.

But at their May 13 meeting, most school lion fund balance to pay for safety-related “You have a much better chance of your board members indicated that the need for capital improvements to schools, such as child being killed or harmed on the way to school resource officers was not great the installation of new locks or possibly a school,” Kirkpatrick said. enough to warrant a property tax increase. swipe entry system for students and “It is going to take a lot to convince me “I want to make sure our schools are safe, employees. The fund balance is often called that those SROs are the answer to the probbut I am not in favor of a tax increase,” said a rainy day fund. lem,” he added later.

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Smoky Mountain News

“If they are not going to put themselves on the line to ask for that, then how can we as commissioners?” asked Commissioner Kevin Ensley.

For the last week, the school board and county commissioners have played a heated game of finger pointing. The commissioners want the school board to stand confidently behind its request for new positions.

Meanwhile, the school board members think county leaders are trying to force them into taking any blame for a tax increase.

“They are trying to pin us to the wall,” said Steven Kirkpatrick, a school board member. “They are the county commissioners, and they raise taxes, not us.”

School leaders say they were caught off guard when commissioners tied the request for school officers to a tax increase during a budget discussion on April 30.

Both commissioners and school board members have said both entities need to review their budgets and see if there isn’t some way to at least partially fund the school system’s appeal for more officers and counselors without a tax increase.

“Make sure everything is looked at before we look at a tax increase,” said Commissioner Bill Upton.

May 15-21, 2013

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER he Haywood County Board of Education has concluded that the cost of putting officers in elementary schools is not worth raising property taxes.

The board voted 6-to-2 Monday to kill a pending request with the county for more school resource officers and guidance counselors in elementary schools. The school board and county commissioners have been playing a game of hot potato with the issue for a few months now.

School leaders never stood firmly behind their request to the county, and instead left the ball in county commissioners’ court. It irked commissioners that school leaders weren’t willing to take ownership of the request.

County leaders had told school officials that they didn’t have an additional $500,000 to fund four additional cops and four additional guidance counselors without raising property taxes.

So county commissioners finally forced the school board’s hand. Commissioners told the school board to make a formal declaration, an up or down vote, on whether they were or weren’t asking for the budget increase.

SHARPENING THE PENCIL

“This might be the rainy day,” Upton said.

Based on the limited amount of feedback county residents have provided, most are against the idea of raising taxes.

“It seems like the emails I have got have been negative towards it,” Ensley said, adding that in face-to-face conversations, people are more amenable to paying more for resource officers. But “I think there is probably more opposition.”

Fellow commissioners Kirk Kirkpatrick and Mike Sorrells remarked that of the few comments they’ve received, most express anti-tax sentiments as well.

“Most that I am getting are not sure that SROs are the answer,” Sorrells said.

A crowd of more than 80 parents, chil-

news

Tax hike phobia trumps school request for officers, counselors

Jim Harley Francis, a school board member.

Schandevel and Jimmy Rogers were the only two school board members who wanted to go forth with a formal request to the county for officers and guidance counselors.

news

Thanks to a mighty big carrot, Swain sets its sights on the future

BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER ut of all the problems each county faces, how do you one narrow them down to focus on just three?

That is what Swain County leaders and residents have been working on since last year when the Golden LEAF Foundation awarded the county $2 million in one-time grant funding — a targeted initiative to lift some of the state’s most economically

O

organization created a rigorous new program that helps the poorest counties in North Carolina by giving each the chance to tackle a few inherent problems that plague them. The counties can receive up to $2 million without going through the typical competitive grant application process.

Swain County started the program last year with general public meetings to create a master list of things in need of improvement. From there, participating residents

Want to weigh in?

Golden LEAF Foundation representatives will meet with Swain County leaders, business owners and residents at 5:30 p.m. May 23 at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center on Buckner Branch Road.

The meeting is open to the public.

Focuses were narrowed. Goals were set.

Next, participants must brainstorm ways to achieve those goals. The final step will be actually applying to Golden Leaf for the money to pull it off. Leaders at the nonprofit will critique the projects and pick which to fund.

Smoky Mountain News

May 15-21, 2013

JOB TRAINING

Many jobs in Swain County are seasonal, tied to the comings and goings of tourists.

Like other tourism-centric counties, Swain’s unemployment numbers jump up during the off-season months. deprived counties. After several rounds of focus groups and public meetings, community stakeholders have settled on these goals: lowering the unemployment rate, decreasing the number of high school dropouts, and expanding and improving Bryson City’s water system.

“Those are good targeted problems that we need to address,” said Swain County Manager Kevin King.

The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit that gives grants to economically distressed or rural communities. In 2007, the

and leaders looked at what problems were most pressing.

“They are continuing to have to make tough decisions,” said Pat Cabe, vice president of programs, community assistance and outreach with Golden LEAF. “There is so much that people want to get done.”

One of the strings attached to the cash is benchmarks to measure improvement.

“You want to set forth those aspirations and goals and then begin to look at those projects that help you get there,” Cabe said.

And that is where Swain County is now.

Summer camp time is near From art to nature to sports, there’s an array of summer day camps across the mountains for every kid’s interest and every age group. The Smoky Mountain News’ calendar at the back of the paper has a complete listing of summer days camps to browse. A few are highlighted in more detail here.

Also see the Arts and Entertainment section for more information on art camps.

••• Lake Junaluska Day Camp will run from June 6 to Aug. 9.

Children 24 months through rising sixth graders will participate in a wide variety of activities, including taking rides on the Pontoon boat, taking trips on the Trolley, swimming in the Lake Junaluska pool, producing a vegetable garden, taking in swim lessons and enjoying walks around the lake. Daily classroom time

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As of March, unemployment in Swain County was 16.7 percent — double the national unemployment rate. While unemployment elsewhere is creeping down, it’s remained stubbornly high in Swain.

“Any unemployment is too high,” Cabe said.

Because Swain County’s main commodity is tourism, jobs fluctuate with the time of year. Seasonal employees will only work six to nine months out of the year, causing the county’s unemployment rates to shoot up in the winter.

But, Golden Leaf meeting attendees want to see that change. Within the next five years, they want to see a 10 percent growth in jobs, a greater variety of jobs and more local opportunities for skills training.

The county is already working toward the latter with the recent opening of the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center, which leaders see as a place for businesses to host employee training and Southwestern Community College to teach continuing education courses and workforce development.

will also include interactive games, circle time, centers, art projects, Bible Stories and music.

Registration forms are available online. www.lakejunaluska.com/children or lkrekelberg@lakejunaluska.com or 828.454.6681.

••• Western Carolina University will offer a variety of summer camps and programs for kids and teens.

• Summer Reading Adventures will be held from 8 a.m. to noon June 17-28. The program will help rising first-, second- and third-grade students maintain their literacy levels through reading aloud, shared writing experiences, workshops and small guided reading groups. Cost: $125.

• Rocket to Creativity will be held for rising second- through ninth-graders from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 24-June 28. Interest groups include Crime Scene Investigation, The Inventors Club,

Also by increasing the different types of jobs, more young adults who grew up in the county may choose to stay there. Currently, only about 5 percent of college graduates return to Swain County.

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

Going hand in hand with increasing job prospects is an expansion of Bryson City’s current water system toward the western part of the county. Water is a necessary amenity for businesses looking to locate in a certain area. Economic development officials could use new water lines to draw in companies.

“You are just hoping you are making your area more attractive,” said Bryson City Mayor Tom Sutton.

In addition to expanding the water system, Golden Leaf participants want to improve what is already in place. It is well known that Bryson City has a water loss problem due to leaks. The system is old; some pipes were installed in 1920s and are in desperate need of replacement.

“There is a lot of just age,” Sutton said.

While the water pumped into the system w is good, about 25 to 30 percent of it is lost, and the town must eat that cost. But that number is actually down. At its height, the town’s water loss rate topped out at 50 percent, Sutton said.

With help from the Golden Leaf funds, town and county leaders want to see the water loss rate drop to 10 percent or below.

Sutton called the goal “optimistic.”

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KEEPING KIDS IN SCHOOL

The high school dropout rate in Swain County is already down to 3.7 percent from 6 to 7 percent in prior years, but those attending the Golden Leaf meetings want to make further strides and try to reduce the N number of dropouts by 10 percent each year.

By getting students more involved in school and community activities, the group hopes to see dropout rates decline. At a meeting in February, attendees said a decrease in dropouts would translate to fewer incarcerations.

Also listed as goals are to increase the literacy rate to 90 percent or above and ensure more students have access to computers.

Robotics, Spy and Espionage, Clown Around with Animation and Pirates of the Caribbean. Cost: $130.

• The Robotics with Legos Camp for rising sixth- through eighth-grade students will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 811 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, June 12. Students will explore the technology behind robotics while building and programming with Lego building sets. Cost: $149.

For info on any of the WCU camps, visit www.learn.wcu.edu or call 828.227.7397.

••• Southwestern Child Development Center in Waynesville will run a summer day camp for kids this year. The camp will be held from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, June 3 to Aug. 28 at Hazelwood Early Education and Preschool. The program is for children ages 5-9 and costs $500 a month. Subsidies are accepted. Meals and snacks are provided. 828.456.2458.

Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

21

This time I’m sure of it; at least I think so

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State GOP decimates public education

To the Editor: North Carolina’s once proud public education system is under siege by the radical Republican gang in control of state government. Thanks to the last round of budget cuts, North Carolina ranks 48th in per pupil spending and teacher salaries, below South Carolina.

The gang is now working on even more diabolical legislation to privatize education. Senate Bill 337 sets up a separate charter school board, removing these schools from regulation by the State Board of Education. It also takes funding and facility space from public schools, eliminates requirements for charter school teachers to be certified, and makes criminal background checks optional. This is another step on the road to privatize public education in N.C..

House Bill 944 is even more blatant. It diverts $90 million from already underfunded public schools to private schools for vouchers.

While this will be devastating to public schools, availability of vouchers has not been shown to improve student achievement. In Milwaukee, the oldest voucher program in the U.S., study after study has shown no improvement in performance of students receiving vouchers.

Florida voters defeated an amendment to channel public funds to private schools. And this month, by a bipartisan vote of 103-43, the Texas legislature (not exactly a hot bed of liberalism) voted against using taxpayer money to fund private education. Numerous organizations have come out against HB 944, including the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Rural Education Association.

ly to most who write, I lost my inspiration and was sweating out every word, every sentence. And so the column collapsed like a souffle whose center will not hold. It might be revived for another edition, but tonight I surrender.

As I admitted that fact, I thought of my daughter Hannah. She was recently working on an English paper about the characters in John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden. I remember talking about it on a couple of occasions as she was plainly sweating out her conclusions and supporting arguments. She ended up doing well on the paper, but it also brought Editor back vivid memories of composition classes in both high school and college. I remember teachers admonishing everyone to make very clear, very concise arguments. Write with authority and clarity. Those lessons have helped me as a reporter and columnist.

But writers often do combat with self-doubt. It’s easy to carry on with paragraph after paragraph when one is bubbling with fervor or venom, but the task becomes Sisyphus-like once the bravado has a few holes shot in it. Want to ruin my day? Come in to our office on any Wednesday, the day The Smoky Mountain News publishes, and tell me we got something wrong

Scott McLeod

hen I sat down to write a piece for this week’s paper my topic was already chosen. I was going to criticize the current legislative leadership in Raleigh and what that group is doing to our state. I’ve been following the bills that have been introduced and are moving toward passage, have read about the shenanigans going on concerning committee votes, had made notes and was ready with plenty of fodder.

I also had my ending already in my head, which is a great start for writing anything: that the GOP leadership was doing absolutely nothing to encourage any shared sense of responsibility among those of us willing to admit that they inherited a mess. Instead of working together to find common ground, however, the super majority is ignoring democratic principles and even its own ideology as it stumbles along like a bull in a china shop. Legislative leaders are pushing unfunded mandates down to counties, usurping powers of local governments, and pushing ahead with measures that will hurt small businesses.

But all those ideas were pre-hands on keyboard, before I had written more than a sentence or two. As I slogged through the beginning of the column, I kept shooting holes in my own arguments. My confidence was bogging down like a tadpole slithering through muddy shallows. I disagree with what’s going on in Raleigh, but on this night as I sat in front of the empty computer screen I couldn’t call up the attack dogs. As happens occasional-

I would normally urge you to contact your GOP state legislators and beg them to support public education, but this is futile. They are in control now and will do as they please, answering only to the wealthy and corporations. They will continue to siphon taxpayer money to the wealthy and corporations who will fund their reelections. The only way to save North Carolina is to vote them out in 2014.

Carole Larivee Waynesville

Predator beetles work for all hemlocks To the Editor: Congratulations to the National Park Service for getting the word out about the predator beetles being used to protect our hemlocks in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

However, there is a factual error in this article in the assertion that the origin of the Sasajiscymnus tsugae beetle is “northern Japan.” In fact, the origin location for this predator beetle is the Osaka area in southern Japan, the same origin as our hemlock wooly adelgid [HWA] “import.” So this beetle is a native predator for our HWA. It is good to know that the massive USDAfunded HWA predator beetle releases on public hemlock lands (about 500,000 per year for more than 10 years) are being recognized as effective. But what about the hemlocks on private lands?

The good news is that the Sasi (Sasajiscymnus tsugae) predator beetle has also been shown effective on privately-owned hemlock lands, both woodland and residential. And

in a story or that my column completely missed the point or how I misinterpreted the information at hand. My conviction shrivels like grapes turning to raisins.

That self-doubt can also come speeding back when re-reading some of my own columns from old newspapers. Writers are our own worst critics, and I can see clearly across the passage of time where I worked too hard to formulate a neat conclusion from a fragile, still-evolving mess. It’s the opinion writer’s natural inclination to do just that despite the fact that the issue at hand, quite possibly, is still being shaped into its final form.

It’s no wonder columnists occasionally get these feelings.

Opinion makers all over print media, the television and the blogosphere go about their business with that air of authoritative expertise, some literally shouting their ideas over the voices of their cohorts in the same studio. In truth, all of them should include this caveat: I could be mistaken.

But it just doesn’t happen. The truth is that when we throw opinions out there, we’re not suggesting that the proposal should become totalitarian law. My ego might enjoy that kind of thinking, but it just isn’t so. Columns and essays, more often than not, are jumping off points for discussion and debate.

That’s their real power. I’m certain of it. At least I think so.

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

there is a noncommercial source to obtain information about bio-control of HWA on private lands (www.savinghemlocks.org <http://www.savinghemlocks.org/), as well as a commercial source for private landowners to purchase these predator beetles (www.TreeSavers.com, http://www.Tree-Savers.com/).

But while USDA is releasing large quantities of HWA predator beetles on public lands, they and their colleagues at USFS and N.C. Extension typically advise private landowners against using the same USDA-approved predator beetles on private lands. The rationale for this misinformation campaign is unclear. But what is clear is that hemlock areas in WNC that don’t receive biological control assistance for HWA will have little or no prospect for long-term hemlock survival or recovery.

So unless you want your only access to our eastern hemlocks to be on state and national park and forestlands, you should consider an HWA biological control strategy for hemlocks on your own property.

Patrick Horan Sapphire

PCs for grads program thanks supporters To the Editor: A little over a year ago, the concept of annually awarding donated and refurbished PCs to Haywood Community College’s GED graduates started to evolve. A small group of dedicated faculty, staff and students overcame a tremendous amount of organizational work, limited resources, and no knowledge of where the inventory for refurbishing would come from —

let alone what condition it would be in. As elements fell into place, the program got its first PC in June of 2012. To date, over two dozen individuals and one corporation have made hardware donations, either through our standard drop off point at the HCC library or at special on-campus events like Jammin’ at the Mill Pond and the recent WNC EcoFest.

To all who were even remotely involved with the first-ever PCs for GED computer awards give-away at HCC’s 2013 GED graduation ceremony, on Friday, May 3, I wish to offer our heartfelt gratitude. Please know that your meaningful contributions of hardware, time, talent, and even monetary donations to the program through the HCC Foundation have already enriched the lives of the 10 graduates who applied for and received a refurbished PC. It is hard to describe the vibe in the air while helping these accomplished graduates load their computers into their vehicles. Because of all of you in the greater Haywood County area who stepped up, you enabled us to meet 100 percent of the demand for these worthy graduates. You have done an amazing thing given that this is only the first year of the program.

Gratefully, our local media has recently picked up the story as the program has had the opportunity to complete what it set out to do — for this year. Now it is time to work toward sustaining the PCs for GED graduation award events in the years to come. Thankfully, many generous people in our surrounding area have contributed beyond expectation. With your continued support, we look forward to providing future GED graduates with one of the best tools to aid them as they further their education.

Marc Lehmann On behalf of the PCs for GED Program

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

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

117 Main Street, Canton NC 828.492.0618 • SidsOnMain.com Serving Lunch & Dinner

MON.-THURS. 11 A .M. TO 9 P.M. • FRI. & SAT. 11 A .M. TO 10 P.M. SUNDAY BRUNCH 11 A .M. TO 2:30 P.M. 188-08

ANTHONY WAYNE’S 37 Church St, Waynesville. 828.456.6789.

Open for lunch Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; open for dinner Thursday-Saturday 5 to 9 p.m.; and Sunday brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exceptional, new-American cuisine, offering several gluten free items.

May 15-21, 2013

BLUE RIDGE BBQ COMPANY 180 N. Main St., Waynesville.

828.452.7524. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. TuesdayThursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Blue Ridge BBQ is a family owned and operated restaurant.

The BBQ is slow hardwood smoked, marinated in its own juices, and seasoned with mountain recipes. All menu items made from scratch daily. Featuring homemade cornbread salad, fresh collard greens, or cornbread and milk at your request. Old-fashioned homemade banana pudding and fruit cobbler of the season. Catering, take-out, eat-in. blueridgebbq@gmail.com.

Nutrition Facts serving size : ab out 50 p ag es Am ount per Serving Calories 0 % Daily Value * Tot al Fat 0g

0%

Reg ional New s

100%

Op inion

100%

Outd oors

100%

Art s

100%

Entert ainm ent

100%

Classified s

100%

Smoky Mountain News

* Percent Weekly values b ased on Hayw ood, Jackson, M acon, Sw ain and Buncom b e d iet s.

BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997.

Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slowsimmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts.

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

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

BOGART’S 35 East Main St., Sylva. 828.586.6532.

Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Serving classic American food and drink in a casual environment. Daily lunch and dinner specials. Children’s menu available.

Call for catering quotes. Private room available for large parties. Accepts MC/Visa, Discover and American Express.

HERREN HOUSE 94 East St., Waynesville 828.452.7837.

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

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

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Mile-high mountaintop dining with a spectacular view. Join us for cookouts on the terrace on weekends and Wednesdays (weather permitting) and familystyle dinners on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Social hour starts at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m. Our bountiful family-style meals include prime rib, baked ham, and herb-baked chicken; cookouts feature steaks, ribs, chicken and pork chops, to name a few.

Every dinner is complemented with an assortment of seasonal vegetables, homemade breads, jellies and desserts, and we offer a fine selection of wine and beer.

Breakfast is also served daily from 8 to 9:30 a.m., and lunch from 12 to 2 p.m.

CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881.

Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 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 salmon 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, panni sandwiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck.

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.

CORK AND BEAN 16 Everett St., Bryson City. 828.488.1934.

Open Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy organic, fair-trade, gourmet espresso and coffees, a select, eclectic list of wines, and locally prepared treats to go with every thing. Come by early and enjoy a breakfast crepe with a latte, grab a grilled chicken pesto crepe for lunch, or wind down with a nice glass of red wine. Visit us on Facebook!

CORK & CLEAVER 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

828.456.7179. Reservations recommended.

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

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

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

Tuesday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com FRYDAY’S & SUNDAES 24 & 26 Fry St., Bryson City (Next To The Train Depot). 828.488.5379. Spring hours: 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wed., Thur. & Sun. 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fri & Sat. Fryday’s is known for its Traditional English Beer Battered Fish & Chips, but also has burgers, deep fried dogs, gyro, shrimp, bangers, Chip Butty, chicken, sandwiches & a great kids menu. Price friendly, $3-$10, Everything available to go or call ahead takeout.

Sundaes has 24 rotating flavors of Hershey's Ice Cream making them into floats, splits,

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• Hors d'oeuvre Hour Nightly • 4-Course Dinner Nightly • Wednesday Gourmet Picnic Lunch • Thursday Night Cookout • Sunday Brunch • Backpack Lunches for Hiking Award-winning country inn at 5,000 feet Reservations required

2300 SWAG ROAD WAYNESVILLE

828.926.0430 • TheSwag.com

ITALIAN

MEDITERRANEAN

STEAKS • PIZZA CHICKEN • SEAFOOD SANDWICHES ————————————

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

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

OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK

Bring your own wine and spirits.

LOCATED OFF JONATHAN CREEK RD/HWY 276 & HEMPHILL RD 188-42

JOIN US FOR SPRING ON THE PATIO 1863 S. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.454.5002 HWY. 19/23 EXIT 98

THURSDAY MAY 16TH • 8PM Adam Bigelow & Friends

FRIDAY MAY 17TH • 8PM Singer/Songwriter Night with George Reeves Tues.- Fri. 11a-9p & Sat. 12 noon - ‘til

628 E. Main Street • Sylva 828.586.1717 • soulinfusion.com

tasteTHEmountains sundaes, shakes. Private seating inside & out for both locations right across from the train station & pet friendly.

FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St. Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mondays. 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. Come for the restaurant’s 4 @ 4 when you can choose a center and three sides at special prices. Offered WedFri. from 4 to 6. frogsleappublichouse.org.

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

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

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

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

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

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

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

OLD STONE INN 109 Dolan Road, off Love Lane.

828.456.3333. Classic fireside dining in

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

Reservations appreciated.

Try our New Panini & Sandwich Lunch Menu! 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

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6306 Pigeon Road Canton, NC

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.

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

SOUL INFUSION TEA HOUSE & BISTRO 628 E. Main St. (between Sylva Tire & UPS). 828.586.1717. Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon -until.

Scrumptious, natural, fresh soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. 60+ teas served hot or cold, black, chai, herbal.

Seasonal and rotating draft beers, good selection of wine. Home-Grown Music Network Venue with live music most weekends. Pet friendly and kid ready.

Prime Time - Prime Rib Available through May 26, 2013 Our famous 6 oz prime rib with soup/salad and side $14.99

Available Wednesday - Sunday 4:30-5 pm; 8-8:30 pm Wed and Thurs; 8-9:00 pm Fri and Sat Not valid with any other coupons or promotions

828-926-1817

Highway 19 v Maggie Valley jarthurs.com

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(828) 648-4546

Hours:

MONDAY-SATURDAY: 7 A.M.-9 P.M. SUNDAY: 8:30 A.M.-3 P.M.

THURSDAY MAY 16 • 7PM

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WINE TASTING & A MOVIE THE CHÂTEAU MEROUX

FRIDAY MAY 17 • 7PM

LIZ & AJ NANCE THURSDAY MAY 23 FLIGHT NIGHT • 5, 5 OZ. FOR $5 LOCAL DRAUGHT BEERS OUR NEW FLIGHT PADDLES ARTISAN BREADS & PASTRIES

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.

S PRING S TREET, D OWNTOWN S YLVA

CREPES, PANINIS, SOUPS, SALADS, GOURMET PASTAS WINE & BEER

CityLightsCafe.com

THE WINE BAR 20 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

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

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

JOIN US FOR THE

BLOCK PARTY!

SATURDAY, MAY 25 OPEN LATE AND SERVING OUR FULL MENU!

BREAKFAST • LUNCH TAKE-OUT • EAT-IN • CATERING

Scratch-Made Fresh Daily

VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin.

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

Breads • Biscuits • Bagels Cakes • Pies • Pastries Soups • Salads • Sandwiches

Smoky Mountain News

MILL & MAIN 462 W. Main St., Sylva. 828.586.6799.

Serving lunch and dinner. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Noon to 4 p.m.

Sunday. Pizza, pasta, outstanding homemade desserts, plus full lunch and dinner menus. All ABC permits. Take-out menus available.

an historic mountain lodge with cozy, intimate bar. Dinner served nightly except Sunday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Signature dinner choices include our 8oz. filet of beef in a brandied peppercorn sauce and a garlic and herb crusted lamb rack. Carefully selected fine wines and beers plus full bar available. Open year round. Call for reservations.

May 15-21, 2013

MAD BATTER BAKERY & CAFÉ Located on the WCU Campus in Cullowhee.

828.293.3096. Open Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Earth-friendly foods at people-friendly prices. Daily specials, wraps, salads, pastries, breads, soups and more. Unique fare, friendly service, casual atmosphere and wireless Internet. Organic ingredients, local produce, gourmet fair trade and organic coffees.

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Fair Trade Coffee & Espresso

18 North Main Street Waynesville • 452.3881 MON-FRI: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

SAT: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. SUN: 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

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Smoky Mountain News

HEART OF THE MATTER

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER

closer and closer as the years wear on. His ancestors have been in Western North Carolina for generations. He aims to bridge the connection between his ancestors and himself through the vocals he pushes through the microphone.

This year is shaping up to be a cornerstone time for Burress.

Besides the recent formation of the band last summer, he’s also marrying his longtime girlfriend and landed a spot as a character on the Discovery Channel reality show “Hillbilly Blood.” The show’s hosts are two survivalist experts from Western North Carolina who encounter trials and tribulations, as well as other local people, throughout each episode.

Besides Burress appearing on the show with his father as blacksmiths, Soldier’s Heart was also filmed performing at a party held for the show. The sextet also provides the music for the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority’s latest marketing video.

For Soldier’s Heart, the journey is long and bountiful, and there’s still plenty more to do before all is said and done.

It’s the sound of the ancient mountains, the unique people and rich culture of Southern Appalachia.

It’s the sound of Soldier’s Heart.

Filled with the musical attitudes of bluegrass, old-time country and early rock-n-roll, the band is influenced as much

by Bill Monroe as The Band, as much by Johnny Cash as The Grateful Dead. It’s about creating something bigger than yourself, about embracing the deep roots of mountain music, incorporating it into modern times, and sharing it with those family and friends you care about most.

“It’s half heritage, half cutting edge,” said banjoist Joey Fortner. “It’s the culmination of the modern Appalachian mountains meeting the mountains of the old days. This area is the greatest place on Earth, and this music is deeply rooted in its history.”

Alongside Fortner is Caleb Burress (vocals/acoustic guitar), Chance Kuehn (electric guitar/mandolin), Jeff Mendenhall (fiddle), Rick Shore (drums) and Zack Edwards (bass). Each member is a resident of Haywood County, each as passionate and determined to spread the serene sounds of a landscape that mesmerizes its inhabitants.

The ensemble will be making its public debut at 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 18, at Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville. The performance is free and open to the public.

“Our music is real. It’s a machine and it’s well-oiled right now,” Fortner said. “This is the greatest group of musicians I’ve ever played with. We’re all focused. The musical roots are deep in these parts and we’re one part of this big wheel of Appalachian music.”

At the center of the group is Burress, 29, a well-known singer in the regional music scene. He has the look and swagger of someone destined for greatness, a notion that seems

Soldier’s Heart is (from clockwise at the bottom right) is Zach Edwards, Chance Kuehn, Jeff Mendenhall, Rick Shore, Joey Fortner and Caleb Burress. Garret K. Woodward photo

Garret K. Woodward photo

“The musical roots are deep in these parts and we’re one part of this big wheel of Appalachian music.”

— Joey Fortner, banjo

Smoky Mountain News: How did Soldier’s Heart come about?

Caleb Burress: Joey and myself have known each other for 15 years and hadn’t really done anything together. Soon, we noticed we had similar musical tastes and decided to get together on the porch and see what we could do. That was a year ago. It really kind of just fell together and has congealed ever since then.

SMN: How would you describe the sound?

CB: We want to make music that sounds the way your grandmother’s cooking tastes, comfort music, something that is comfortable and embracing.

SMN: Where does the name come from?

CB: Soldier’s Heart is an Antebellum (Civil War era) term for posttraumatic stress disorder or shell shock. It’s a tender way to talk about something awful. It kind of ties us to the past, and we are aware of our roots. It’s love and war, happy and sad, melancholic. The last shot fired in the war of Southern independence was shot in this area (Sulphur Springs in Waynesville). My dad still has my great-great-grandfather’s drum he beat for the 62nd North Carolina. He was captured at Cumberland Gap, spent two years at a prison camp on the south side of Chicago, came back, cut both sides of the drum, nailed some tin to it and made it a grain measurer.

The hoop is still up at my father’s house.

F

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Weekly bonfires will be held during the summer season in Cherokee. Donated photo

828.454.1990 Fax scott@wncjustice.com

Cherokee bonfire opens for summer Community Cherokee bonfires will kickoff for the summer season on Friday, May 17, at Ocoaluftee Island Park in Cherokee.

Spend an evening with the Cherokee people by a roaring fire on the bank of the Oconaluftee River in downtown Cherokee for a unique and entertaining experience. The bonfires run from 7 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays starting this week, and will also be held on Thursdays starting in June.

Listen as Cherokee storytellers in period dress from the 17th century spin tales of days gone by, myths and mysteries passed down through the ages and talk of the history. Learn Cherokee survival skills and experience the dance. Marshmallows for roasting are provided.

Free. 800.438.1601 or 828.554.6490 or travel@nc-cherokee.com.

Western North Carolina will be wined and dined as part of the Collective Spirits Fundraiser from May 16–18 at The Bascom in Highlands.

The non-profit arts and cultural center hosts art gallery exhibits, art classes, adult and youth workshops, and artist-in-residency programs year round.

The wine weekend features two educational tasting seminars from 1 to 3 p.m.

Friday in the classrooms at The Bascom.

Friday evening will include a VIP Wine

SMN: The band was asked to perform for “Hillbilly Blood.” What was that experience like?

CB: I was worn out. I was a character on the show, picked up a week of work as a member of the build crew, and then we did the band thing for one of the episodes. We had to play the two songs for the party for half an hour, just kept playing them. I think the experience will open up some doors for us, and the fact the show will air after we’ve played some shows live. It’ll definitely be a feather in our cap.

SMN: Thoughts on your debut at Frog Level Brewing?

CB: We’ve been working hard for a year.

A lot of people are excited about it. We’re excited about it. We’re ready to get this out there and drive it around a little bit.

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SMN: Why is this project different from past musical endeavors of yours?

CB: I’ve got some older songs I’ve written from other projects that I feel are better represented in this project. It’s more about how the song feels and the mood it creates, and that’s really at the center of all of this. It shows a lot more of those roots. Instead of just playing rock ‘n roll music, why don’t we play something that’s more true to this area? Everybody thinks of this area as bluegrass, but it’s part of the equation and not all of it.

Tasting of rare and collectible restaurantonly wine-list wines, followed by the “Stock Your Cellar Wine Market and Tasting” on the Terrace at 6 p.m. at The Bascom. Tickets are $100 per person.

A seated dinner and gala will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Highlands Country Club, which will culminate in a live auction.

Tickets are $275 per person.

On Thursday evening, an exclusive benefactor dinners featuring renowned chefs and notable wines at private residences in Highlands and Cashiers, with benefactor packages starting at $2,500. www.collectivespirits.com or 828.787.2896 or www.thebascom.org.

May 15-21, 2013

Highlands wine fundraiser for the arts

for All Generations

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Bookstore DERSHIE MCDEVITT will read & sign,

Just Holler Bloody Murder Friday, May 17th at 7 p.m.

ANN MELTON will present I Will Lift Up My Eyes Saturday, May 18th at 3 p.m.

3 EAST JACKSON STREET • SYLVA

828/586-9499 • citylightsnc.com

Family craft workshop in Waynesville A free family craft workshop with an “Under the Sea” theme will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86 in downtown Waynesville.

It correlates with a new exhibit in the gallery featuring underwater photography by Dr. John Highsmith.

The workshop is for a maximum of 15 children. Parents with children ranging in ages 4 to 7 years old are encouraged to stay during the workshop.

828.452.0593 or www.haywoodarts.org.

“Under the Sea” will be the theme of a family-oriented craft workshop that is designed to correlate with Gallery 86’s current exhibit.

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A “Beginning Crochet Class” will be held at 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, at Dogwood Crafters in Dillsboro.

Wayne Wingett, a member of Dogwood Crafters, who has been crocheting for 50 years, will be teaching the course. Register by May 17. $10 per person.

828.586.2435

Senior Games takes the stage in Franklin Singing, dancing, comedy, poetry, instruments — you name it — local seniors will share their talents on stage during the Macon County Senior Follies held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 17, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

The follies are the performing arts category of the Senior Games run by the Macon County Recreation Department, open to Macon residents over the age of 55. The winner of the gold medal has the chance to perform at the state level. $5 per person. www.greatmountainmusic.com or 866.273.4615.

$12. 866.273.4615 or www.greatmountainmusic.com.

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Open call for art grants in Jackson County

A tea tasting will introduce both novice and veteran pallets to the finer points of tea at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville.

The teas include Ancient Emerald Lily Green Tea, Golden Assam Black Tea, Pu-Erh Blood Orange, Vanilla Mint Pu-Erh, Chocolate Chai and Jamaican Rooibos. There will also be people on hand to answer any questions you have on tea brewing and the world of loose leaf tea. www.blueridgebooksnc.com or 828.456.6000.

Learn the secret of home cooking The Taste of Home Cooking School will demonstrate live recipes and cooking tips on stage at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

The culinary specialists will show step-bystep instructions on how to create satisfying

and flavorful dishes to enjoy at home or while entertaining. Additionally, everyone will receive a gift bag full of recipes, coupons and sample products. Door prizes include the featured dishes of the evening created on stage that night.

Taste of Home is America’s leading cooking school program, traveling to 300 events across the country each year.

The Jackson County Arts Council is offering mini-grants for creative arts and cultural projects, community programs, education and events. Applications for Grassroots Grants are due by June 30.

The public schools may apply to support cultural enrichment programs in the schools.

Colleges and universities may apply for funding if the proposed program will serve the broader countywide population. The council encourages applications that emphasize cultural diversity.

A grant application assistance day will run from 10 a.m. to noon and 3 to 5 p.m. May 28 at the Jackson County Library Annex. The applications are available at www.jacksoncountyarts.org.

Funding for these grants is contingent upon the Jackson County Arts Council receiving funding from the North Carolina Arts Council and matching funds from Jackson County commissioners.

828.507.9820 or 828.354.0253.

Help jailbirds post their bail in Highlands

Community leaders will be “arrested” and have to raise money for the Highlands Playhouse in order to bail themselves out from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18.

The funds raised will help support the playhouse to continue the tradition of pro-

MAKE A DATE FOR MUSIC AT CATALOOCHEE Jeanne Naber (left) will be performing at Cataloochee Ranch near Maggie Valley on Wednesdays this summer. Sitting around the campfire, Naber plays a variety of folk and country melodies from the 1960s and 1970s. The show begins for guests after dinner at the ranch. For dinner reservations, call 828.926.1401. www.cataloocheeranch.com. tar). Bill Pruett sings, plays the banjo and adds the bluegrass/Gospel knowledge that he has acquired through the years.

Individual ticket prices are $10 (adult) and $5 (student, K-12). www.stecoahvalleycenter.com or 828.479.3364.

Jaime Kyle will be performing at the Balsam Mountain Inn on May 18 as part of the “Songwriters in the Round” series. She will be joined by Wood Newton and Jim Sales.

The Wilson Family Faith Hill, which was number one for four weeks — unprecedented for a debut single at the time. $45 per person, includes dinner.

800.224.9498 or www.balsammountaininn.net.

fessional theatre. Community support is the driving force that enables the playhouse to continue providing high quality professional entertainment. Jailbirds will be revealed in the Highlands town square on May 18 and then taken to the playhouse until they can post their “bail.” To nominate a community leader that you would like to see “do time” call 828.526.2695. www.highlandsplayhouse.org.

Several summer youth art camp workshops will be held by the Cullowhee Mountain ARTS at the Fine Arts Building at Western Carolina University.

“Around the World in a Week” features young artists having fun packed days of art making focused on world cultures. They will be able to experience a different medium each day including drawing, painting, collage, sculpture and printmaking. They will also take time to discover the culture, folklore, history and even the food from each these special places. Prices include materials and snacks. Ages 5 to 8 will run from 9 a.m. to noon June 17-21 at $125 per

A bluegrass festival will showcase the sounds and tastes of Southern Appalachia at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Stecoah Valley Center in Robbinsville.

Arts and craft vendors will be onsite.

Dinner will be available in the Schoolhouse Cafe. The headliner will be a 7:30 p.m. concert by The Wilson Family.

The Wilson Family of Brasstown have been singing together as a group for about eight years. The band consists of Jimmy (vocals/guitar), Karen (vocals/bass), Jessica (vocals/mandolin) and Anna (vocals/gui-

child. Ages 9 to 12 will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 2428 at $225 per child.

“Garden Party” will be incorporating science and art and embracing what is blooming in the summer. Featured projects include making terrariums and wind chimes.

Prices include materials and snacks. Ages 5 to 8 will run from 9 a.m. to noon July 17-18 at $50 per child.

“Nature Fest” will explore outside and identify birds, butterflies, and bugs and will come back into the classroom to illustrate them with painting, mixed media, sculpture and clay. Prices include materials and snacks. Ages 9 to 12 will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 15-16 at $90 per child.

“You Other Self ” is a weeklong workshop that lets your alter ego run wild. Make masks that express your imagined self: a super hero, animal, insect or diva. Make clothes, jetpowered sneakers, a hoop skirt, armor, whatever costume your invented self needs - even a vehicle to cruise in, fly,

Enjoy an evening of music featuring keyboardist daMon and singer Marsha DuPree at 8 p.m. May 23-25 and 2 p.m. May 26 at the Highlands Playhouse.

The show features some of America’s favorite songs written by George and Ira Gershwin and sung by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Then jump 50 years forward and dance to pop songs by Burt Bacharach, which were made famous

by Dion Warwick and Tom Jones.

DuPree is a jazz vocalist based in Atlanta.

Tickets are $30 for adults, $12 for children up to 12.

828.526.2695 or www.highlandsplayhouse.org.

float, or zoom. Each day will be a different focus, using a wide range of materials and techniques. Ages 13 to 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 14 – 19 at $275 per child.

“Clay Works” will spend five days teaching the basics of clay. Projects include pinch pots, pinch animals, coil building, slabs and wheel throwing. Price includes all materials and a glaze firing. Age 9 to adult will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 8-11 and from 10 a.m. to noon July 19 at $225 per person) Saturday Morning Family Art are all ages classes that explore new and exciting techniques during these Saturday morning family art classes. Sessions include “Paint Sunflowers in the Manner of Van Gogh” on July 13, “Create a Mosaic Planter” on July 20, and “Make Colorful Marbled Papers and Paste Papers” on July 27. Price includes all materials. Each class is $15 per person and runs from 10 a.m. to noon. www.cullowheemountainarts.org/youth

Smoky Mountain News

Art camps conjure creativity in WNC youth

Stecoah Valley bluegrass celebration

Gershwin melodies come to Highlands May 15-21, 2013

“Songwriters in the Round” at the Balsam Mountain Inn will feature the songwriters behind various country hits from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 18.

Wood Newton has been a Nashville performer and songwriter since the 1970s and is best known for number one hits he helped write in the 1980s for Razzy Bailey and the Oak Ridge Boys. He is also known for Kenny Rogers’ hit “Twenty Years Ago,” which reached number two on the country charts in 1987, and for songs he wrote for Conway Twitty, Alabama, Charley Pride, Tracy Byrd and others.

Jim Sales has scored several cuts by various artists including a quadplatinum Country Music Association album of the year cut by Randy Travis entitled “Tonight We’re Gonna Tear Down the Walls.”

Jaime Kyle has been singing and writing rock music since she first hit the scene with hits like “Stranded,” recorded by the rock group Heart, and the history making number one song “Wild One,” recorded by

arts & entertainment

Singer/songwriter series showcased at Balsam Inn

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arts & entertainment

Japanese glass artist to demonstrate in Dillsboro Glass artist Tadashi Torii will be teaching and demonstrating his skills during the week of May 19 at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro.

He will be teaching a 40-hour mini-semester class for a select group of WCU students, with members of the public welcome to drop in at anytime and watch.

Torii is a celebrated glass artist originally from Osaka, Japan, who now resides in Western North Carolina and practices his art at the Green Energy Park. His work can be found in numerous private collections and public spaces, such as The Four Season Hotel, the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage in Georgia, the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Alabama, the Albany Museum of Art in Georgia, and the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. www.jcgep.org or www.tadashitorii.com.

Glass artist Tadashi Torii will offer classes and demonstrations beginning May 19.

Watercolorist/painter Susan Lingg will be one of the Caney Fork artists featured as part of the Cullowhee Studio Tour on May 25-26. The event also includes Don Stephens and William Rogers.

Artists open their studios in Caney Fork

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Pottery demonstration Symposium to explore at Mud Dabbers Cherokee history Potter Cory Plott will be giving a craft demonstration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 18, at Mud Dabbers in Balsam.

The event is part of an ongoing series of artists at Mud Dabbers Pottery who offer demonstrations every Saturday this May. Basket weaver Sandra Bowling will be on May 25.

All demonstrations are free, family friendly and open to the public.

828.456.1916 or www.facebook.com/muddabbersbalsam.com.

newsdesk crafts

Smoky Mountain News

May 15-21, 2013

The Cullowhee Studio Tour will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. May 25-26 in the Caney Fork community of Jackson County.

Several artists are again opening their private studios to the public to learn more about their work and techniques. A selection of work will be on display and for sale. Studios include watercolorist/painter Susan Lingg, carpenter/woodcarver Don Stephens, and blacksmith William Rogers.

This tour is sponsored by Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor, Jackson County Arts Council, North Carolina Arts Council, and the Caney Fork General Store.

The weekend is free and open to the public. www.jacksoncountyarts.org.

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Some of the region’s leading experts on Cherokee history will take part in an all-day symposium hosted by the Cashiers Historical Society from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at the High Hampton Inn. “The Cherokee: Ancient Trails, Talking Leaves, Broken Treaties” will include talks by Tom Belt, Robert Conley, Eddie Swimmer, Ben Steere, Anna Fariello and Davy Arch. $50 per person. Includes lunch based on traditional Cherokee recipes. 828.743.7710.

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Wedding Day chaos in Bryson City The wild romantic comedy “Perfect Wedding” will hit the stage at 7 p.m. May 2427 and May 31-June 2 at the Smoky Mountain Community Theatre in Bryson City.

A disastrous situation happens on the day of Bill and Rachel’s wedding. Bill finds himself in the honeymoon suite with another woman. Scrambling to get rid of her, Tom, the best man, tries to solve the situation for Bill by claiming her to Rachel. However, Tom mistakes a chambermaid for the girl.

Confusion and mayhem ensue when lines of communication get crossed.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 5-17.

828.488.8227 or www.smctheatre.com.

The play “Perfect Wedding” will stage on May 24-27, 31 and June 1-2.

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Highlands to showcase Ephron play The romantic comedy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Love, Loss & What I Woreâ&#x20AC;? will take the stage this month at the Martin-Lipscomb Performing Arts Center in Highlands.

Performances are May 23-26 and May 30-June 2 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday nights and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.

The play is humorous and charming, an insightful drama of monologues and ensemble pieces in which several contemporary women remember moments and people in their lives â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and of course also clothes that they wore, from prom dresses and wedding outfits to bras, purses and shoes. Clothing evokes memories for women and is part of the story of their lives.

Written by the late legendary storyteller Nora Ephron and her sister Delia. $20. 828.526.8084 or www.highlandscashiersplayers.org.

Reclaim Your Own Unique Piece of History.

Sony gifts state-of-the-art camera to WCU

Special Pricing for a Limited Time.

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Smoky Mountain News

Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher (right) applauds as Lou Gershenson from Sony joins him on stage to celebrate the gift from Sony to WCU of an F65 camera (left).

Sony representatives will return to campus to host a learning session related to the camera when it is outfitted and look forward to hearing from students about how they are using the F65 to create films and the details of their experiences with the equipment.

828.227.2324 or jsholder@wcu.edu.

May 15-21, 2013

The film program at Western Carolina University scored a professional $100,000 motion picture camera from Sony, presented during the recent Controlled Chaos Film Festival featuring student productions.

The F65 CineAlta camera offers cuttingedge technology and a higher resolution than any other digital motion picture camera available today. Sony had roughly 400 pre-orders for the camera worldwide when the company began shipping the F65 in January 2012, and this year gifted less than a dozen to up-and-coming film programs across the nation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are thrilled to be selected to receive one of these cameras, which are designed to shoot major feature films to be projected in the biggest and best theaters in the world,â&#x20AC;? said Jack Sholder, director of WCUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Motion Picture and Television Production Program. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This camera will help us better prepare our students to work in the industry and to understand and gain experience with some of the most high-end equipment there is.â&#x20AC;?

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Books

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Dobyns novel reveals small town underbelly tephen Dobyns has written 20 novels and more than 10 volumes of poetry; however, he is difficult to “classify.” His writing is praised by big league names as varied as Francine Prose and Stephen King, but he is most famous for a “sexual harassment” charge brought against him while he was teaching at Syracuse University (allegedly, he was overheard making Writer “salty and crude” comments at a party).

After reading a complete account of his “crime” that was recently published by Francine Prose, I decided I liked him even more than before.

Dobyns often writes about small towns — especially those that have fallen on hard times. In this instance, the town is Brewster, N.J. Once a community with a thriving economy, the town has gradually lost its industry as well as its farming/fishing resources.

Unemployment is high and the local citizens seem resigned to the fact that “the good life,” like Interstate 95, has passed them by. For Dobyns, towns like Brewster are crucibles in which a few random ingredients when mixed together could easily ignite a chain reaction which could produce disaster. Are you ready? Here we go!

When a nurse at the local hospital returns from a sexual encounter with a doctor (they meet each night in an empty room in the cardiology ward), she discovers that a new baby has vanished. In its place, she finds a six-foot red and yellow snake. The nurse goes into hysterics. Peggy Summers, the mother of the missing child, seems relieved that the baby is missing. When questioned, she admits that she has no idea who the father is since he wore a mask. “He could be the devil,” she says. An insurance adjuster named Hartmann

Gary Carden

S

shows up at the local coffee shop, the Brewster Brew, asking questions about Native American artifacts and witches. Shortly after, the adjuster turns up dead near the local swamp. He has been stabbed and scalped. The local police chief (acting) Baldy Banaldo is bewildered and clueless.

Suddenly, the town is invaded by coyotes. No, seriously, the coyote population has been growing in the mid-Atlantic area and local vets have noted that they are becoming “more aggressive” and seem to be larger than

The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns. Blue Rider Press, 2013. 464 pages. the average coyote. There has been an alarming increase in the reports about missing cats and dogs. A local eccentric, Ronnie MacBride vanishes. MacBride has a penchant for sleeping in doorways in his sleeping bag. As word

WCU dean’s novel to raise money for mission trip Brian Railsback, dean of Western Carolina University’s Honors College, has released his new novel, A Going Concern.

Railsback is directing proceeds from the sale to his daughter’s upcoming mission trip through the World Race organization.

A fan of post-apocalyptic movies and literature, Railsback was inspired to write the book after pondering what would happen if most of the human population were finished but the rest of the world was fine. He had put the writing project aside until his daughter, Cadence, shared her interest in participating in the “World Race.” Adventures in Missions, a Christian organization, sends “World Racers” in squads to 11 countries in 11 months. To participate, his daughter will need to raise at least $15,000.

spreads about the missing baby, local speculation becomes increasingly irrational. There is talk about Satanists, Wiccan covens, Native American ghosts and human sacrifice. Carl Krause, an unstable psychopath, has quit taking his medication and is wandering the street growling and giving his neighbors hostile stares. Could all of these events be related?

Local ministers wonder if it is “the Latter Days.”

At the heart of this surreal novel, Dobyns has placed a collection of delightful characters that provide ballast for the action. The two young boys, Hercel McGarty and Baldo Banaldo (notorious for their shenanigans and pranks), serve as a kind of counter balance to the darkness and brutality in The Burn Palace.

Baldo, the son of the acting police chief, has been banned from the library and suspended from school because of his prize possession, a “fart box” which he occasionally activates just to “liven things up.” Hercel owns the colorful snake that ends up in the maternity ward (he didn’t put it there). In addition, Hercel has recently discovered that he has the ability to make small objects move by staring at them.

Carl Krause is his new stepfather, and Carl hates Hersel. The tension builds and everyone spends a lot of time listening to the yipping of coyotes at night.

Out of the excessive number of characters in this novel, I will mention two more. Woody Potter and Bobbie Anderson. Both are state troopers. As they attempt to deal with the bizarre details surrounding the theft of a baby, their lives are changed. Woody, divorced, lonely, depressed and shy begins a torrid love affair with Jill Franklin, a reporter from the local paper.

Ah, but wait! I haven’t explained the significance of the title, The Burn Palace. Just outside Brewster is a crematorium that the local wits call “the burn palace.” Eventually, Woody and Bobbie learn that it is doing an impressive business. Corpses flow at a steady rate from the local hospital and Brewster’s

Railsback’s previous works include the novel The Darkest Clearing. Awards for his writing include the Prose for Papa (Hemingway) award, which was bestowed in 2006 for his short story “Clean Break.”

828.227.2101 or brailsba@wcu.edu.

Novel overtakes Barrier Islands Author Dershie McDevitt will read from her book, Just Holler Bloody Murder, at 7 p.m. Friday, May 17, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Vacationing often to the South Carolina coast, McDevitt draws her story from her love for Charleston’s Barrier Islands. Set on an island, the novel takes the reader to a world where murder, mystery and romance mix to create an entertaining and quirky read.

828.586.9499.

retirement community, Ocean Breeze. People couldn’t be dying at such an alarming rate unless ... they had help! Now, Dobyns adds a new ingredient to bizarre mix. Body brokers — people who sell body parts to medical schools. There are even a few spin-offs, like people who “harvest” items like pacemakers, gold teeth and jewelry. When the two troopers get permission to exhume some recent interments, they find coffins containing a mix of mannequins and leftover body arts. Before the final chapters, the action has become outrageous and over-the-top. As Samhain (Halloween) approaches, the town of Brewster resembles a convention center as wiccans, satanists, CNN, baby-brokers, pimps and drug-pushers all come to town. Dobyns manages to add an amazing number of dogs, both genial and dangerous, and including golden retrievers, German Shepherds and Bouviers.

What else? Carl Krause finally begins to kill.

He starts with a cat, then kills his wife and goes looking for more victims. Then, it begins to snow ... one of those heavy ones that closes Brewster down. Oh, my, the coyotes are getting louder.

If you are a devotee of a type of fiction that blends the supernatural and the murder mystery, you will enjoy The Burn Palace, which pays tribute to such classics as Stephen King’s Carrie (telekinesis) and Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. At times, Baldo and Hercel resemble some latter day version of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. This novel is heavily seasoned with black humor and has a generous supply of colorful characters, including an opera-singing trooper named Bingo, an exceptionally foulmouthed policewoman with a penchant for emerald-green pants suits and Vultura, the Satanist, who threatened to turn Baldy Banaldo into a to Occasionally, the reader may wonder what became of the kidnapped baby and the snake. Never mind.

Discard your disbelief, strive to accept the bizarre and unexpected.... and enjoy.

Author presents inspirational book on power of God Writer Ann Melton will discuss her book, I Will Lift Up My Eyes, at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

“In this book you will read true stories of God’s unlimited power, which is beyond imagining,” Melton said. “You can see that He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or dream.”

For more than 50 years, Melton kept a journal of the things God has done in her life and the lives of family and friends alike.

“Some of the stories in the book are stories that I and others would rather have forgotten, but I believe that it is in our mistakes, heartaches, sorrows, and victories that we learn some of our most valuable lessons,” Melton said.

828.586.9499.

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Segway tours make debut in Waynesville

BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER he train was the first to arrive in Waynesville back in 1886; then, the rise of the automobile; but, this spring, there’s a new human transporter in town: the Segway.

The owners of a bed and breakfast began offering guided and narrated Segway tours last month, allowing visitors or locals to see town from a new perspective on the upright, two-wheeled people movers.

The agile scooters have been around for just over a decade. But after taking a Segway tour in Asheville in February, Carolyn Gendreau and Dina Giunta, owners of Brookside Mountain Mist Inn, decided it was time to bring them to sleepy Waynesville. Their hope is Segway Tours of Waynesville will provide an

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extra activity around town, in addition to the staple pastimes of shopping and eating downtown.

“It’s just one more reason to stay here in Waynesville,” Gendreau said. “You can only do so much shopping and eating.”

And, a Segway tour is somewhat of a rite of passage to becoming a bonified tourist destination, and is especially outstanding for a place that doesn’t even have a bowling alley. Segway Tours of Waynesville puts the town on the same list as other Segway tour cities such as Chicago, Florence and Budapest, and the makes it the North Carolina town furthest west of Asheville to carry the service.

Carolyn Gendreau, of Segway Tours of Waynesville, takes first-time Segway rider Elisa Obregon on a tour around town. Being able to boast Segway tours is a rite of passage for tourist destinations.

Gendreau thinks the Segway tour is even a better fit for Waynesville — with its mountain views, Civil War history and less crowded sidewalks — than Asheville.

Although those aspects could be enjoyed via a walking tour, there’s something special about riding a two-wheeled, gyroscope machine that is just one step below the hovering skateboards in the film “Back to the Future Part II.” “Sure you could do a walk-around tour in Waynesville but where’s the fun in that?” Gendreau said.

The inn has a 2.5-hour Segway tour route with a focus on the area’s past — including a stop at the Greenville cemetery for a gander at its noteworthy grave stones and stunning views — and passing by several local historic sites like the Shelton House, the historic courthouse downtown and the monument commemorating the last shots fired of the Civil War. For about $60 anybody can hop on one of the inn’s Segways and tag along.

The tour is guided and includes narration on the town’s history. But Gendreau promised to go light on the history lesson if a group of locals want to take the tour and are less interested in historical anecdotes and more inclined to simply ride the Segways. A Segway costs more than $6,000, so to ride one for $60 is surely a bargain, she said.

Although Segway incidents have been known to grab headlines in the past — President George W. Bush was photographed toppling over on one, and a British businessman who bought the company that makes Segways tumbled over a cliff to his death on a Segway — the vehicles are quite intuitive and user-friendly. It goes only how fast you want it to go.

“The only time it’s going to move rapidly is if you move rapidly,” Gendreau said.

The inn’s tours are open for first-time Segway-ers and begin with a training session. Those that give it a try but begin to feel uncomfortable zig-zagging between orange cones in the B&B’s parking lot can opt out of the tour and receive a refund.

Riding the Segway is a mental game, learning to trust the apparatus and relax.

Even the most uncoordinated and awkward people can master the human transporter. The concept is simple: the rider leans forward and the Segway goes forward; lean back and the scooter stops.

The handlebar acts as a big joystick for turning.

Gendreau said she has never been a skateboarder or a surfer, yet she felt at ease on the Segway the first time she powered one up.

Take a Segway tour of Waynesville Segway Tours of Waynesville takes residents, visitors and anyone interested in riding a Segway on tours to historic and noteworthy spots around town. The price is between $55 and $65 and trips last about 2.5 hours, departing from the Brookside Mountain Mist Inn near on Country Club Drive. The tours are open for 16 years and older weighing between 100 and 240 pounds. All tours begin with a Segway training and safety session. Further details can be found on the tour’s website.

828.456.6793 or www.brooksidemountainmistbb.com/segwaytour.htm.

It typically takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get the hang of one. However, she understands some people never quite get the hang of it, and so she decided to offer the refund. There is also the option of starting out on some of the residential streets near the Waynesville Country Club before heading onto more complicated city terrain.

“I don’t want anybody out on that tour who is not going to enjoy themselves,” Gendreau said. “And you’re not going to enjoy it if you’re in fear for your life at every moment.”

Since buying the Segways from a dealer in South Carolina, Segway Tours of Waynesville has given a couple of rides. A rainy spring has kept the tours from ramping up into high gear (which is 12 miles per hour for a Segway), but Gendreau is hoping the interest will pick up as word gets out.

The Segway can go 24 miles in a single charge, doesn’t have emissions and is whisper quiet, Gendreau said. The combination makes it perfect for tours and even running errands around town. Already, Gendreau’s and Giuntu’s best marketing tactic is using the new Segways to go to the post office and grocery store (you may have seen them scooting down the sidewalk on their weekly errands), while carrying a stack of informative fliers along.

They say it’s hard to go anywhere on the techy-looking scooters without getting looks, questions and comments. But they never get tired of taking them out for a spin, whether for personal use or leading a tour group.

“I though after while I’d get tired of it,” Gendreau said. “But every time I get to go out on them I get excited. When somebody books a tour I say ‘Yay, I get to go out on a tour.’”

“Sure you could do a walk-around tour in Waynesville but where’s the fun in that?”

— Carolyn Gendreau, Brookside Mountain Mist Inn

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BY DON H ENDERSHOT

Find Everything FOR YOUR Lawn & Garden

outdoors

The Naturalist’s Corner

Vegetable Sets & Seeds • Fertilizers • Mulch • Fruit Trees Berry Bushes • Flowering Plants, Shrubs & Shade Trees

A record-breaking weekend (part one)

NEW: Gifts & Decorative Accessories!

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8-6 MON.-FRI. • 8-5 SAT. • 828.586.5515 HWY. 441, 3 MILES SOUTH OF DILLSBORO

This least sandpiper found in a puddle in a vacant lot in Bryson City may have been an omen for this year's count. Ed Kelley photo May 15-21, 2013

much more — like cliff swallow, purple martin and all the rest of the swallows one would expect to find here, yellow warbler, orchard and/or Baltimore orioles and more.

The picnic at Collins Creek gives us a chance to add wood warblers, like blackburnian, hooded, ovenbird and others.

Then we race to the top of Heintooga hoping for golden-crowned kinglets, Canada warblers, brown creepers, veerys, ravens and other high-elevation species. After Heintooga its back down — to Kituwah (formerly Ferguson fields) and a shot at lower elevation migrants like blue grosbeak, yellow-breasted chat, eastern kingbird, etc.

The next day it’s on to Nantahala and Tulula Bog and a shot at any wood warblers we may have missed plus Swainson’s warblers and maybe Kentucky and sometimes golden-winged and prairie warblers.

Tune in next weekend for an abridged blow by blow of the outing!

(Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached a ddihen1@bellsouth.net.)

Smoky Mountain News

What could be more fun than a weekend of fellowship and great birding? Maybe setting a new record for total number of species recorded during the annual Great Smoky Mountains Birding Expedition?

This year was the 29th installment of the Great Smoky Mountains Birding Expedition, a Western North Carolina tradition initiated in 1984 by author-naturalist George Ellison, Asheville birder Rick Pyeritz, M.D., who at the time (1984) had a practice in Bryson City and is now medical director/university physician at the University of North Carolina in Asheville and Dr. Fred Alsop, field guide author and ornithologist at East Tennessee State University.

I don’t remember the date of the first GSMBE I participated in, but it was in the early 2000s. It was such a great trip that I became one of the faithful. But then in 2004 I was awarded a bird-point contract with the USDA Forest Service and my springbirding calendar was filled. I did, however, save one Saturday in 2004 when I heard that Dr. Alsop was going to join the group for GSMBE’s 20th Anniversary. I believe that Saturday ended with 104 species. The Sunday morning wrap-up (that I did not attend) produced 6 more species to set the record at 110 species.

The first thing I did this spring when it became evident that I wouldn’t be awarded any FS contracts was put my name on the list for the GSMBE. I was thrilled when friend, photographer and birding enthusiast Ed Kelley and I arrived at the Ellison’s studio and office Saturday morning (5/10) to find out that Dr. Alsop and his wife, Jo An, would be in attendance. Birding with good birders is the best way to hone your skills, and Dr. Alsop and Rick Pyeritz are two of the best I know.

The route for the annual GSMBE is basically the same as it was in 1984 with perhaps the addition of Tulula Bog, which was created in the late 1990s. As I understand them (and I may not), the logistics go something like this: the group birds around Bryson City Saturday morning, heading to Collins Creek picnic area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for lunch,

then up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Heintooga Road, then back down to Kituwah along U.S. 19 to finish up Saturday. The Sunday half-day begins at the Nantahala Outdoors Center and proceeds to the Nantahala put-in and on to Tulula bog.

It’s a good, diverse mountain route that provides the opportunity for common urban-suburban birds (rock pigeon, starling, house sparrow, mocking bird, etc.) that you need to pad your list. But Bryson City, with the river flowing through and the proximity to the mountains, always adds

Summer bird talk in Highlands Chris Graves, an instructor in natural resources at Haywood Community College, will be speaking about bird conservation at 7:30 p.m. May 20 at the Hudson Library in Highlands. The talk is the first of the season in an eight-week series sponsored by the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society. Graves will also focus on local bird conservation projects, including habitat improvement projects with local students, and what is needed to improve conditions for birds in Western North Carolina. Graves worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture before beginning as an instructor at HCC in 2006. The program will begin with refreshments at 7 p.m.

Discover the state you’re in.

1-800- V I S I T

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outdoors

A book that aims to make hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park fun and educational for kids, Scavenger Hike Adventures by Kat and John Lafevre, is on Smokies visitor center bookshelves now. The book features 13 hikes, seven are relatively easy, three are moderate and three are extreme. All are set up like scavenger hunts and lead to discoveries within the park, most of which are missed by casual hikers and other visitors.

In addition to the hikes, points for finding important park features and scavenger hunts, the book goes into detail about conservation, black bear tips and the park’s cultural history. The park’s plant and animal life also receive attention, with extra points awarded for finding and identifying things like hemlock trees, black-bellied salamanders and quartz boulders.

The book can be purchased online, over the phone or in park stores. www.SmokiesInformation.org or 888.898.9102, ext. 226.

Chestnut Tree Tours at Cataloochee Ranch The American Chestnut Foundation is working to restore the American chestnut tree to its native environment and past vigor.

Cataloochee Ranch in Haywood County is one of the pilot sites for American chesnut reintroductions. The public is welcome to take an informative self-guided tour any day or guided tours are available on Wednesdays at Cataloochee Guest Ranch starting at 11 a.m.

Cost is $15 and includes lunch after the tour.

Reservations are suggested.

828.926.1401.

Smoky Mountain News

May 15-21, 2013

Book turns hikes into scavenger hunts

A biological journey through history down the Little Tennessee A guided trip down the Little Tennessee River aims to teach paddlers about the area’s cultural and biological history and follow the route of William Bartram, a naturalist who traveled the river in 1775. The trip will depart at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, June 15, from the Great Smoky Mountain Fish Camp and Safari in Franklin and end at 5 p.m.

The excursion will be led by Brent Martin, historian, naturalist and regional director of The Wilderness Society, and Patricia Kyritsi Howell, herbalist and author of Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians.

Along a seven-mile stretch of the river, north of Franklin, the duo will talk about local plants, herbs, the Cowee mound and other Cherokee sites. The section of river winds through miles of riparian forests and farmland. There will also be stops along the way and opportunities to swim. The trip is suitable for those with some recent paddling experience. The cost is $100 per person and space is limited so registration is required.

706.746.5485 or www.wildhealingherbs.com.

The Cowee mound is one of many Cherokee sites along the Little Tennessee River.

Ralph Preston photo

Star gazing event at Purchase Knob The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is hosting a star gazing event at 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 31, at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center on Purchase Knob in Haywood County.

At 5,000 feet in elevation, with a 260-degree, unobstructed view of the sky, Purchase Knob provides one of the best places in the park for star viewing. The Astronomy Club of Asheville will guide the viewing and visitors can expect to see the planet Saturn and the moon.

There will also be an indoor educational session on the night sky, which will be held rain or shine. The program is limited to 60 people so reservations are required and can be made by phone. Fills quickly. Purchase Knob is located off U.S. 276 near Maggie Valley.

828.926.6251.

Members of the Astronomy Club of Asheville set up before a star gazing event at Purchase Knob in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Where everyone is treated like family.

New Ray-Bans are here!

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1078 N. Main Street • Waynesville • 828.456.3211 www.smokymtneye.com

NPS photo

Fly fishin’ fever hits Highlands outdoors

The Three River Fly Fishing Tournament is coming May 16 and 17 to the Highlands area. The tournament is open to anglers of all skill levels, and entails fishing on several different streams in the area as well as other activities over the course of the weekend.

This is the third year the tournament has been held.

The cost to enter a two-person team is $500, which goes to scholarships for Highlands high school graduates. The entry fee also includes various fishing clinics, an opening night reception and a closing night winners’ dinner. Limited to 50 teams. www.highlandsthreeriver.com or 866.526.5841.

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PPÉTIT Y’A A N LL O B

Bass tournament hosted by the Pisgah Valley Bassmasters

Free fishing days for the children

Congratulations to our

2013 Graduates -Haywood Community College-Pisgah High School-Tuscola Senior High School-

Open at 11 a.m. • Closed Saturday • 828-456-1997 207 Paragon Parkway • Clyde, North Carolina

Smoky Mountain News

The U.S. Forest Service and the N.C. Wildlife Commission are hosting Kids Fishing Days events across the mountains in early June. The free events are geared for children and their families and focus on education and activities revolving around fishing. Equipment will be provided.

Registration starts at 8 a.m. with the event running from 9 a.m. to noon.

■ Haywood County: June 8 at Max Patch pond.

■ Highlands: June 1 at Cliffside Lake.

■ Graham County: June 1 Rattler Ford on Cheoah Lake.

■ Asheville: June 1 at Lake Powhatan.

Participants from across the state will be entered into a drawing to win prizes such as two lifetime fishing licenses and other fishing-related prizes such as tackle boxes and fishing poles.

828.524.6441.

–Locally Grown Cuisine –

May 15-21, 2013

A bass tournament will be held by the Pisgah Valley Bassmasters Association on May 25 on Lake Chatuge near Hayesville to raise money for scholarships for high school students. The competition will begin at 6:30 a.m. and last until 3 p.m. from the Ledford’s Chapel boat ramp. The event is limited to two fishermen per boat and fivefish with artificial bait only. The tournament costs $100 per boat and the top prize will be around $500, with total cash payouts of $2,500. There will also be hot dogs and soft drinks after the tournament. The tournament is in honor of Terry Stamey, a Canton native who helped run a foster home in Haywood County and died on New Year’s.

828.506.2034 Bryan.Yates@haywoodemc.com.

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outdoors

Youth soccer camps The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department is offering British and Brazilian soccer camps for youth this summer.

The Brazilian soccer camp, called TetraBrazil, is for advanced players ages 10 to 18 and will run from July 8 to July 12 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. The cost is $145 for the half-day camp and $195 for the full-day camp. Players who sign up before May 24 will receive a free jersey.

Waynesville will also be hosting a British soccer camp from July 22 to July 26 at Vance Street Park. Each day players will practice individual skills and team tactics. Players who register by Friday, June 7 receive a free jersey. There are camps for a variety of age groups starting at age 3, and registration costs vary from $80 for an hour of instruction each day to $175 for the full-day camp.

828.456.2030 or recathletics@townofwaynesville.org ••• The first annual Summer Soccer Camp sponsored by Tuscola High School will be held from 8 a.m. to noon June 10-14 at Weatherby Stadium in Waynesville.

The camp will focus on skills training and game play to help players improved ball handling, passing and tactical skills for offensive and defensive play. Regional school and club coaches will lead the camp.

Contact Coach Chris Douthit via Tuscola High School at 828.456.2708.

Runners dart for the coveted ruby gem prize at the Ruby Run in Franklin.

Win a gem at the Ruby Run The Ruby Run 5K and 10K will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 1, in Franklin. The annual race that pays homage of the town’s title of gem capital of the world. The winner will take home a 5.5 carat red ruby.

The run will head out from the parking lot of Franklin High School. Cost of registration is $20 for the 5K and $25 for 10K until after May 15 when an extra $5 is tacked on for signing up. The run is sponsored by the Franklin Daybreak Rotary and benefits several local charities.

Participants can register online. www.active.com.

The Mountain Lakes Race comes back to Highlands After a hiatus of several years, The Mountain Lakes 5K race and walk is returning to Highlands Saturday, June 1.

The scenic course passes through gently rolling hills and two lakes. A short portion of the course is on a gravel road. The race will finish beside First Citizens Bank on Laurel Street. Race-day registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the lobby at the Highlands Recreation Park, with the race starting at 8:30 a.m.

The race is sponsored by the Mountaintop Rotary Club. Proceeds from the race will benefit the Wheelchairs for Bolivia Project, in which wheelchairs are donated to people with disabilities in the third-world Latin-American country. The race is open to both runners and walkers of all ages. The entry fee is $15. www.mountaintoprotary.net or 828.421.2548 or mtntoprotary@gmail.com.

May 15-21, 2013

Cattle selling just got easier in WNC As part of an outreach initiative for cattle farmers, the Western North Carolina Regional Livestock Center has opened satellite cattle pick-up stations in the region. Farmers looking to sell their cattle at the livestock center in Canton but who can’t make the trip can drop their cattle off between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday at one of the select locations.

The cattle will then be shipped to the livestock center for the weekly sale at 12:30 p.m.

Monday. The cost of the service is free. The WNC Regional Livestock Center is owned and operated by the beef and dairy producers of WNC. It is located at exit 33 off I-40 and is in its second year of operation.

■ For Macon County contact Jim Ledford. 828.421.0866.

■ For Jackson and Swain counties contact Glen Bradley. 828.269.2310.

Smoky Mountain News

Volunteers needed at Clingmans Dome

A million miles away is just down the road. visitnc.com

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A training session will be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Friday, May 17, for volunteers to work at the information center at Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The center sits at an elevation of 6,300 feet on a popular, high-trafficked summit in the Smokies and home to a look-out tower.

Volunteers are needed through November educating visitors about the park and providing trip planning and directions. The center also sells guides and maps, outdoor apparel and other products.

Volunteers will work alongside park employees and each volunteer is asked to work at least one four-hour shift per week. About 12 new volunteers are needed to fill all days of the week, but especially Friday through Sunday. The hours are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Interested persons will be provided orientation and training before beginning.

Volunteers must sign up for the training in advance.

828.497.1906 or Florie_Takaki@nps.gov.

WNC Calendar BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Free 90-minute computer class- Basic Microsoft Word, 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. Space limited. 586.2016.

• Intercultural SuperHighway with Dr. John Stiles, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, Jackson County Public Library, 586.2016.

• Haywood County Chamber of Commerce Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, 11 a.m. Thursday, May 23, Cook’s Abbey Carpet and Flooring, 168 S. Main St., Waynesville. 456.3021 • Young Professionals of Haywood volunteer opportunity, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23, Haywood Habitat for Humanity House that Love Built event, Winchester Creek Country Club, 566 Walker Road, Waynesville. 456.3021 • Issues & Eggs, 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 5, Gateway Club, Church St., Waynesville. Speaker is Stephen King, director of the Haywood County Recycling and Solid Waste Management.

• Foundations in a Day, three one-day workshops for entrepreneurs, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 7, Sylva; Thursday, June 13, Bryson City; and Thursday, June 20, Hayesville. Presented by Mountain BizWorks. Ashley Epling, 253.2834 x 27 or ashley@mountainbizworks.org. www.mountainbizworks.org.

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Relay for Life of Franklin is selling Luminarias during May, buy one, get one free, in honor of mothers and other loved ones. $10 buys two. Kerri Nye, luminary chairperson, peewee9653@gmail.com.

• Introduction to Emotional Freedom Technique training 10 to 11:30 a.m., Saturday, May 18, Haywood County Library auditorium, Waynesville. Taught by Vicki O’Connor, master EFT practitioner and trainer, 768.4252, www.destinationstressfree.com.

• Haywood Hospice and Palliative Care Service of Celebration and Remembrance, 5 p.m. Sunday, May 19, Lake Junaluska Memorial Chapel. Participatory celebration with music, singing, candle lighting, naming of those who have died, and the lighting and release of sky and water lanterns.

• Last Relay for Life of Franklin’s Team Captain’s meeting, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday May 21, The Factory, 441 South.

Tammy Dills, 371.1868.

• Spring rabies clinics, 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 20, Jonathan Valley School and Old Fines Creek School; Tuesday, May 21, Canton Middle School bus parking lot; Wednesday, May 22, Hazelwood Elementary School; Thursday, May 23, Riverbend Elementary School; and Friday, May 24, Bethel Middle School. $9 per vaccine.

Haywood County Animal Services, 456.5338 or the county Environmental Health Department, 452.6682. www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/rabies/ or www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/.

• Memorial Day Ceremony, 10 a.m. Monday, May 27, Historic Courthouse, Waynesville. Haywood County Veterans Office, 452.6634.

• Tickets on sale for The Mountain Challenge, a charity exhibition match between retired professional tennis players Andy Roddick and Jim Courier, Saturday, July 27, Cedar Creek Racquet Club, Cashiers. Includes a Mountain Dinner Gala and a Saturday morning VIP breakfast with Roddick and Courier. Reserved seat tickets $100. Details at Cashiers.com.

• Sarge’s Foster Pet Adoption, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, May 25, PetSmart, 321 Town Center Loop, Waynesville. Photos of pets available for adoption can be seen at www.sargeandfriends.org. 246.9050.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation Adoptions, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 25, Waynesville Industrial Park, off Old Asheville Highway. Pet photos available online at www.sargeandfriends.org or www.petfinder.com or 246.9050.

• P.A.W.S. Adoption Days first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the front lawn at Charleston Station, Bryson City.

BLOOD DRIVES Jackson • MedWest Harris Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 16, 68 Hospital Drive, Sylva.

Melissa Southers, 586.7130.

• Southwestern Community College Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23, Burrell Building, 447 College Drive, Sylva. Amanda Pressley, 339.4305.

• Landmark Realty Group Blood Drive, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, May 30, 49 Frank Allen Road, Cashiers.

Alan Rhew, 743.0510.

Haywood • North Hominy Community Center Blood Drive, 2 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 20, 2670 Newfound Road, Canton.

Janice Liner, 648.3220.

• Senior Resource Center Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville.

Suzanne Hendrix, 356.2816.

Macon • Mountain View Intermediate School Blood Drive, 2 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 20, 161 Clarks Chapel Road, Franklin. Sandy Keener, 349.1325.

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

Thursday, May 23, First United Methodist ChurchFranklin, 69 Lotla St., Franklin. 369.9559.

• Junaluskee Lodge #145 Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Friday, May 24, Church St., Franklin. Scott Montieth, 421.3026.

HEALTH MATTERS • Free information booth regarding speech/language/swallowing issues and services 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, May 16, MedWest Harris West Entrance.

Refreshments will be served. Free 15 minute screenings for speech/language/swallowing concerns will be offered with prior appointments made by calling 586.7235.

• Live and Learn Committee of Lake Junaluska, 2 p.m.

Thursday, May 16, Bethea Welcome Center, Lake Junaluska. Featured speaker, Craig Summers, volunteering and marketing specialist at MedWest Haywood Hospice. 452.7802.

• When Sugar Met Salt, Balance the Salt You Eat & Help Steady Blood Sugar Too!, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, Macon County Health Department, 1830 Lakeside Drive, Franklin. Register by Tuesday, May 14, 349.2425.

• Free hearing screening, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, May 17, Haywood Community Connections. Suzanne Hendrix, 452.2370 or Kim Reed, hard of hearing services specialist, 665.8733 or Kim.Reed@dhhs.nc.gov.

• Free Stroke Screening, 8 a.m. to noon, Monday, May 20, Jackson County Department On Aging, 100 County Services Park, Sylva. Register by calling 213.9961.

Smoky Mountain News

• Health Screening, 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, May 22, Jane Woodruff Clinic. Must register by calling 526.1435 or by visiting the Hospital’s website at www.highlandscashiershospital.org.

• Ladies Night Out program, Osteoporosis, 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, Angel Medical Center cafeteria, Franklin. Guest speaker, Dr. Ladson GaddyDubac, Angel OB/GYN. Dawn Wilde Burgess, 349.2426.

RECREATION & FITNESS • Registration for Haywood County Recreation & Parks Adult Summer Soccer Leagues through May 17, Haywood County Recreation & Parks office, 1233 N. Main St. (Annex II Building), Waynesville. All players must be 18 years old or older. 452.6789 or email recreation@haywoodnc.net. www.haywoodnc.net.

THE SPIRITUAL SIDE • Creation Calls Concert, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, Cashiers United Methodist Church, featuring Christian praise and worship music and world class nature photography. Pastor Randy Harry of Cashiers United Methodist Church will provide scriptures and inspirational comments. John Edwards, 743.9648.

• Fashion Show and Luncheon to benefit United Christian Ministries of Jackson County, noon Saturday, May 25, Sylva First Methodist Church. Tickets are $14 and are available at Krismart.

• Stone Soup Gathering, 5 p.m. Sundays, Fellowship Hall, Bryson City United Methodist Church. Free.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Haywood County Senior Games, through May 21, throughout Haywood County. Ice Cream Social, May 15, and dinner at the Closing Ceremony, May 21. Haywood County Recreation & Parks office, 452.6789 or visit www.haywoodnc.net.

• Covered dish luncheon for seniors noon to 1 p.m.

Thursday, May 16, Waynesville Recreation Center. Free to members of the Waynesville Recreation Center or $5 per person for non-members. Tim Petrea, 456.2030 or email recprogramspecialist@townofwaynesville.org.

• Free hearing screening, 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Friday, May 17, Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville. Register at 452.2370 • Parkinson/MS monthly meeting, Wednesday, May 22, Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville.

452.2370.

• Seniors trip to the Andrew Johnson House and Farmer’s Daughter Restaurant, Friday, May 24, Greeneville, Tn. Leave Waynesville Recreation Center at 8 a.m.; return by 5 p.m. Johnson was the 17th President of the United States. $20 per person for members of the Waynesville Recreation Center; $24 per person for nonmembers. Price is for transportation only and does not include lunch. Bring lunch money. 456.2030 or email recprogramsupervisor@townofwaynesville.org.

KIDS & FAMILIES • Free pre-participation sports physicals for Haywood County student athletes, Thursday, May 30, MedWest Health & Fitness Center, MedWest-Haywood. Times: 5:45 p.m. Canton and Bethel middle school students; 6:30 p.m. Pisgah High School students; 7:15 p.m.

Waynesville Middle School and Haywood Christian Academy, and 8 p.m. Tuscola High School students.

MedWest Sports Medicine Hotline, 452.8077.

Day Camps • Elementary School Summer Day Camp, ages 6 to 12,

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Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings Cullowhee United Methodist, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 3 to Aug. 2. 293.9215 or visit http://www.cullowheeumc.org/summer-camp-2013/.

• Preschool Summer Day Camp Cullowhee United Methodist Church, ages 3 - not yet attended kindergarten, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 3 through Aug. 2. 293.9215 or visit http://www.cullowheeumc.org/summer-camp-2013/.

• Nature Center Summer Day Camps at the Highlands Nature Center, Tuesday through Friday, June through August. 526.2623 or www.highlandsbiological.org.

• Summer Day Camp, Southwestern Child Development and Hazelwood Early Education and Preschool, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Fridays, June 3 through Aug. 28. Ages 5 to 9. $500 per month. Subsidy accepted.

456.2458.

• North Carolina Arboretum’s 2013 Discovery Camp, pre-kindergarten through high school. Scholarships available. 665.2492 or visit www.ncarboretum.org.

• Day Camps at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, 227.7108 or www.wcu.edu/academics/edoutreach/conted/camps-and-programs-for-kids/index.as • 22nd annual Crossfire Basketball Camp 1 to 4:30 p.m.

July 1-5, at the Waynesville Recreation Center. Details at 456.2030 or email recathletics@townofwaynesville.org.

• TetraBrazil Soccer Camp 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 4 p.m., July 8-12, Waynesville Recreation Center. Sign up

by May 24 and receive a free jersey. Camp is for advance players only who play at the Academy, Challenge or Classic level. Details at 456.2030 or email recathletics@townofwaynesville.org.

• British Soccer Camp, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.

July 22-26, Vance Street Park, Waynesville. Register by Friday, June 7 and receive a free soccer jersey. Details at www.challengersports.com or call 456.2030 or email recathletics@townofwaynesville.org.

• Basketball Camp, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 15-18, Waynesville Recreation Center. Offered by Kevin Cantwell, current head coach at Carolina Day School and former assistant coach at Georgia Tech. $135 per camper. Each camper responsible for bringing his or her own lunch and snack. Checks payable to Kevin Cantwell. 770.490.6580 or email academy7@live.com.

Science & Nature • Self-guided tours of American Chestnuts, 11 a.m.

Wednesdays, Cataloochee Guest Ranch. $15, includes tour with lunch afterward. Reservations, 926.1401.

• SciGirls Passion for Pixels, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute campus, Pisgah National Forest. Monthly SciGirls programs are co-hosted by PARI and Transylvania County 4-H, and affiliated with the national effort to engage girls in science sponsored by Twin Cities Public Television. $10 per student. Details at www.pari.edu. Register at www.pari.edu/programs/students/scigirls. http://pbskids.org/scigirls.

• Great Smoky Mountains National star gazing event, 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 31, Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob. Led by the

wnc calendar

Astronomy Club of Asheville. Wear warm clothes. Rain or shine. Reservations required. 926.6251 for reservations and directions. GPS or an internet map service not recommended to find Purchase Knob.

• Nature Center Summer Day Camps at the Highlands Nature Center. Filling up fast. Find complete schedules, costs, and other information, at www.highlandsbiological.org or call 526.2623.

FOOD & DRINK • Second annual Dogs and Suds fundraiser for Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation, 6 to 9 p.m.

Thursday, May 16, Frog Level Brewing Company, 56 Commerce St., Frog Level, Waynesville. Music provided by the Celtic Knot Band.

• Collective Spirits Premier Wine & Food Event, May 16-18, The Bascom, 323 Franklin Road, Highlands.

Details at www.collectivespirits.com or 787.2896.

Claire Cameron, events manager, 787.2882 or ccameron@thebascom.org.

• Free tea tasting, 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19, Blue Ridge Books, 152 S. Main St., Waynesville, 456.6000.

• Gathering Table, 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, at The Community Center, route 64, Cashiers. Provides fresh, nutritious dinners to all members of the community regardless of ability to pay. Volunteers always needed and donations gratefully accepted. 743.9880.

POLITICAL GROUP EVENTS & LOCAL GOVERNMENT Dems

May 15-21, 2013

• Beginning June 6, the Haywood County Democratic Executive Committee will meet at 5 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at Democratic Headquarters, 286 Haywood Square, Waynesville. 452.9607 or www.haywooddemocrats.org.

GOP • Special meeting of the Haywood County Republican Party Executive Committee, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, 303 N. Haywood St., Waynesville. Final selection of candidates for the County Board of Elections will be made. May 23 meeting cancelled. Pat Carr, carr4pat@aol.com.

SUPPORT GROUPS Haywood • Essential tremor support group, 1 p.m. Saturday, M ay 18, Alliance Bible Church 501 North River Road, Sylva. Hosted by the International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF). The group serves individuals in Jackson, Macon, Swain and Haywood counties. RSVP to Ted Kubit, 631.5543 or tkubit@frontier.com.

Jackson • MedWest-Harris WNC Breast Cancer Support Group, 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, Harris Medical Park conference room, 98 Doctors Dr., Sylva. Mary E. Mahon, RN, 631.8100.

A&E FESTIVALS, SPECIAL & SEASONAL EVENTS • Cherokee bonfire and story tellers, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Friday and Saturday nights beginning May 17, and Thursdays through Saturdays, beginning June 6, through Aug. 31. Oconaluftee Island Park adjacent to the Island Indian Market (across (Tsali Blvd/441) road from KFC. 800.438.1601 or 554.6490 travel@nc-cherokee.com.

• Strawberry Festival, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds, Cherokee. Free admission. Featuring strawberry pancakes and strawberry shortcake.

• Craft Fair to fund renovations of the Pisgah High School Cafeteria, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 25, Pisgah Cafeteria, 1 Black Bear Drive, Canton. Rachael Lauziere, 648.2709.

• Blues, Brew and BBQ Festival, rain or shine, 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 25, the village green, Cashiers. Family-friendly event featuring Mac Arnold and Plate Full O’ Blues. Bring lawn chairs or blankets.

Pre-festival poker run to benefit Wounded Warrior Project starts at 10:30 a.m. with registration at 9 a.m.

VisitCashiersValley.com or call 704.458.7686.

• The Haywood Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for artists and crafters – as well as craft demonstrators – for the 25th annual Haywood County Apple Harvest Festival, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct.19 on Historic Main Street downtown Waynesville. Deadline for applications is August 30. Booth space assignments for the festival will be announced after October 4. Applications available at HaywoodAppleFest.com or by calling 456.3021.

• Granny’s Box Stories with Lara Chew, noon Saturday, May 18, Rickman Store, Cowee-West Mill Historic District, northern Macon County. Music Jam afterwards. 369.5595 or visit Friends of the Rickman Store in Facebook.

• The Storytelling Center of the Southern Appalachians, 7:30 p.m. May 21-23, downtown Bryson City. 488.5705, www.psalmsofthesouth.com.

• Great Decisions 2013 Edition Discussion Group, 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays through May 23, auditorium Haywood County Public Library, Waynesville. $20, cost of Great Decisions, 2013 Edition. Leader, David E. McCracken, National Associate with the FPA. 550.5980 or dem32415@aol.com or www.fpa.org.

• Jan Wyatt Symposium, The Cherokee: Ancient Trails, Talking Leaves, Broken Treaties, 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 23, High Hampton Inn. Presenters include Tom Belt, Robert Conley, Eddie Swimmer, Ben Steere, Anna Fariello, and Davy Arch. $50 dollar per person, includes luncheon of traditional Cherokee recipes served outdoors on the grounds of High Hampton Inn. Reservations, 743.7710.

• Hunger Games Fan Tours - Walking Tours June 8, July 6, Aug.17, & Aug. 31, DuPont State Forest (between Hendersonville and Brevard). $59 per person. www.hungergamesfantours.com.

LITERARY (ADULTS) • Registration now open for the 2013 Squire Summer Writing Residency, July 11–14, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee. Poetry with Kathryn Stripling Byer, fiction with Elizabeth Lutyens, and creative nonfiction with Catherine Reid. Admission limited to the first 50 registrants who sign up for one of three threeday workshops. www.ncwriters.org.

• WNC resident and author Dershie McDevitt will read from her mystery novel, Just Holler Bloody Murder, at 7 p.m. Friday, May 17, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva.

586.9499.

• Author Ann Melton will read from her book, I Will Lift Up My Eyes, at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva. 586.9499.

• Authors Fair, featuring local authors and illustrators, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, Canton Library. Lisa Hartzell, 648.2924 or 452.5169.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Liars Bench, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, Mountain Heritage Center, Western Carolina University, featuring guest performer, storyteller Marilyn McMinn McCredie and Gary Carden’s popular “Appalachian Bestiary”

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series. No admission charge, but the hat is passed at each performance to provide a token payment for the performers. 227.7129.

• The Lottery, directed by Richard Fish, 6:15 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. performance, May 17-18, The Vine of the Mountains Church, Frog Level, Waynesville. Featuring home schooled students from Deep/Young Academy.

Tickets for dinner and show are $25, adults, $10, students and can be purchased via PayPal at www.deepyoung.com or by calling Clint Matthews at 400.5674.

• Smoky Mountain High School Musical, 7:30 p.m.

May 17-19, WCU Bardo Arts Center, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee. 586.2177.

• Highlands Playhouse Lock-up, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 18. Community leaders will be “arrested” for having a big heart. Proceeds go to Playhouse.

526.2695, www.highlandsplayhouse.org.

• Songwriters in the Round, 6 to 10 p.m., Saturday, May 18, Balsam Mountain Inn. $45. 800.224.9498 • Thea & The GreenMan, 7 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Swain County Center for the Arts, Bryson City. http://www.theaandthegreenman.com.

• Haywood County Arts Council’s Sunday Concert Series presents Pyramid Brass, 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19, Haywood County Library, 11 Pennsylvania Ave., Canton. Free. www.haywoodarts.org for more information.

• Love, Loss and What I Wore, by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, May 23-26, May 30-June 2, Martin Lipscomb Performing Arts Center, 507 Chestnut St., Highlands. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Directed by Ronnie Spilton. Tickets, $20. 526.8084.

• Aaron Lewis, Friday, May 24, Harrah’s Cherokee. www.aaronlewismusic.com.

• Ring Of Fire, Celebrating the music of Johnny Cash, 7:30 p.m. May 24-25, 31, and June 1, 7-8, 14-15; 3 p.m. Sunday, May 25, June 2, 9 and 16, HART Theater, Performing Arts Center at the Shelton House, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. Tickets, $24 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $12 for students/teachers. Special $6 discount tickets for students and teachers for Thursday and Sunday performances. 456.6322 or www.harttheatre.com.

• Grace Noon Concert Series, noon, third Thursdays of the month through June 20, Grace Church in the Mountains, 394 Haywood St., downtown Waynesville.

Featuring the Signature Winds. 456.6029.

• The hour-long radio show Stories of Mountain Folk airs at 9 a.m. every Saturday on its home station, WRGC Jackson County Radio, 540 AM on the dial, broadcasting out of Sylva. Stories of Mountain Folk is an ongoing all-sound oral history program produced

by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia (CSA), a western North Carolina not-for-profit, for local radio and online distribution.

ART/GALLERY EVENTS & OPENINGS • Photographer Barbara Sammons’ Dusty Roads and More, a collection of 18 photographs of old cars and

• Fifth annual Spring Cashiers Arts & Crafts Fair, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 25-26, Cashiers Village Green.

Spring juried event. Artisans interested in participating in this show email artsandcrafts@cashiersrotary.org.

• Cullowhee Artists’ Studio Tour, 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26, starting at Caney Fork General Store, highway 107 between Sylva and Cashiers. wingedgriffinstudios@hotmail.com.

• HomeSchool/Afterschool Creativity Classes, (for children ages six to 12): 1 to 2 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m., Wednesdays, Claymates, 460 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 256.9595; Thursdays, Claymates, 31 Front St., Dillsboro, 631.3133. $10 per child if prepaid. www.claymatespottery.com/ • Regional fine artists are invited to show and demonstrate their art form at ColorFest, Art & Taste of Appalachia in fall 2013. The selected artists’ artwork will be displayed in Dillsboro from Sept. 5 until the culminating art festival on Oct. 5 and on colorfestartblog.com. Applications available at spiritofappalachia.org or 293.2239 for more information.

CLASSES, PROGRAMS & DEMONSTRATIONS • Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild meeting and Quilting Flea Market, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 20, Tartan Hall, First Presbyterian Church, 26 Church St., Franklin. Public welcome.

• Western North Carolina Carvers monthly meeting, 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 26, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Road, Asheville. Bruce Dalzell, 665.8273.

• Dogwood Crafters Class, embossed floral birthday card, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, Dogwood Crafters, 90 Webster St., Dillsboro. $5.

586.2248 or email: junettapell@hotmail.com.

• Drawing Lessons for Adults, by Char Avrunin, 1 to 4 p.m. Mondays. www.iamclasses.webs.com or contact Char at 456.9197 orcharspaintings@msn.com.

• Painting Lessons for Adults, by Char Avrunin, 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays. www.iamclasses.webs.com or contact Char at 456.9197 orcharspaintings@msn.com.

• Private Art Lessons by Char Avrunin, www.iamclasses.webs.com or contact Char at 456.9197 orcharspaintings@msn.com.

• Movies at the Macon County Library. New movies, documentaries and foreign films every Monday at 3:30, Wednesday at 4:30 and again at 7 p.m., and Classic Matinees at Fridays at 2 p.m. Movies and donations free; donations welcome. 524.3600.

• Beginning knitting class 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 18 and Saturday, May 25, Professional Arts and Crafts/Instructional Facility, Haywood Community College. $38 each class. Register one week before class by visiting Student Services or visiting http://www.haywood.edu/continuing_education.

565.4240.

• Haywood Dancers monthly dance, 8 p.m. Friday May 17, Angie’s Dance Academy, 115 Glance St, Clyde.

Admission is $10; free refreshments. Everyone invited.

Ronnie, 734.8726.

• Beginning crochet class 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, May 16 and Thursday, May 23, Professional Arts and Crafts/Instructional Facility, Haywood Community College. $38 each class.

Register one week before class by visiting Student Services or visiting http://www.haywood.edu/continuing_education. 565.4240.

• Comic Stripped: A Revealing Look at Southern Stereotypes in Cartoons, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, through Tuesday, May 14, Mountain Heritage Center, Western Carolina University. 227.7129.

• Art classes with Dominick DePaolo, 10 a.m. to noon on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the Old Armory Building, 44 Boundary St. in Waynesville and from 1 to 3 p.m. every Friday at Mountain Home Collection at 110 Miller St., Waynesville. Watercolor classes will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon every Monday and oil painting classes from 1 to 3 p.m. every Monday at the Uptown Gallery in Franklin.

Registration requested. For Armory classes call 456.9918; for Home Collection classes call 456.5441; for Franklin classes call 349.4607.

• The Smoky Mountain Knitting Guild offers free Learn to Knit classes for adults and children at the Waynesville Library on Tuesdays. The adult class meets from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Children (boys and girls ages 8-12) meet from 5 to 6 p.m. Pre-registration required. 246.0789.

FILM & SCREEN

• Beginning Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom, 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays beginning May 21 through June 25, Haywood Community College Creative Arts Building. $105 plus supplies. To register, visit Student Services. www.haywood.edu, 565.4240.

• New movie, 4:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, meeting room, Macon County Public Library, 149 Siler Farm Road, Franklin, 524.3600. Rated PG for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril.

• Quilt Art exhibition by the Shady Ladies, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 2, Lake Logan Episcopal Center in southern Haywood County. $5 admission charge will be donated to Lake Logan’s Summer Camp Program. Purchase chances to win a quilt, Dresden Plate Special, with all proceeds going to Haywood County charities. Jane Cole, 456.8885. For directions, www.lakelogan.org.

• Movie Night, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. 586.2016.

• Southwestern Community College is offering several pottery classes this summer at the Swain Center, 60 Almond School Road, Bryson City. For a complete schedule, visit www.southwesterncc.edu/finearts or call 366.2000.

• Rug Hooking Group, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Jackson County Public Library. Beginners welcome.

631.2561.

• Taking Control of your Digital Photography – From Camera to Computer, by Ed Kelley, for Intermediate & Advanced Students, 1:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays. www.iamclasses.webs.com or contact Char at

• Family movie days at Marianna Black Library, Bryson City, are at 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Classic movies are shown at 1 p.m. the second and fourth Friday.

Other films also shown. Free movies and popcorn.

488.3030 or www.fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

• Classic movie, 2 p.m. Friday, May 17, meeting room, Macon County Public Library, 149 Siler Farm Road, Franklin. Starring Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster. 524.3600.

• Stop motion animation classic, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, Marianna Black Library, Bryson City, featuring a London high-society mouse named Roddy who gets flushed down the toilet by Sid, a common sewer rat.

488.3030.

• New movie in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, Macon County Public Library, Franklin. Rated R for language. 524.3600. mentalhealthamerica.net.

• Classic movie starring Debbie Reynolds, 2 p.m.

Friday, May 24, Macon County Public Library, Franklin.

524.3600.

• Movies at Jackson County Library, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursdays. Free. 586.2016.

DANCE

• Pisgah Promenaders Memorial Day square dance, 6:45 to 8:45 p.m. Saturday, May 25, Old Armory Recreation Center, 44 Boundary St., Waynesville.

586.8416 Jackson County, or 452.1971 Haywood County.

• Ballroom dance class, 6 to 7 p.m. Mondays through June 17, Breese Gym, Western Carolina University. $59 ($49 for WCU students, faculty and staff). Register at learn.wcu.edu and select the “conferences and community classes” tab or call Office of Continuing Education, 227.7397.

• Beginner clogging classes, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the NC Cooperative Extension, 60 Almond School Road, in Bryson City, in the SCC building.

488.3848 to register.

• The Diamond K Ranch in Maggie Valley offers live music Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays are ladies nights. 926.7735.

• Social dance classes, including ballroom, Latin, country, swing and blues meets Mondays from 7 to 8 p.m. and 8 to 9 p.m. at the Old Armory Recreation Center in Waynesville. No partner needed. michael@michaelthomas.com or lauraroberts@charter.net or 734.2113.

• The Black Horse Dance Hall, 4027 Socco Road, Maggie Valley, has social dance class Thursdays, no partner needed; line dance class 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Tuesdays, $5 cover charge; line dance class, 7 to 8 p.m., open dancing, Saturdays. Doors open at 6 p.m. $5 cover. No alcohol. Wood dance floor. lauraroberts@charter.net or call/text 734.1587 or lauraprice@yahoo.com, 243.2626.

MUSIC JAMS • Back Porch Old-Time Music, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Bring an acoustic instrument and join in on this old-time jam.

• Community music jam, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16, Marianna Black Library auditorium, downtown Bryson City. 488.3030.

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

• Season tickets on sale for An Appalachian Evening Concert Series at historic Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center. Performances for the 2013 season will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, June 29 through Aug. 31.

General seating $120 adults, $40 students (K-12); season reserved seats are $50 rows A through E and $25 all others. www.StecoahValleyCenter.com or call 479.3364.

• Norma Bradley (fiber) and Rebecca Kempson (mixed media), May 11 through June 30, Folk Art Center Focus Gallery, milepost 382 Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville. 298.7928, www.craftguild.org.

• Children’s Art Classes, by Scottie Harris, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Tuesdays. www.iamclasses.webs.com or contact Char at 456.9197 orcharspaintings@msn.com.

• Movies at the Cashiers Library. The library shows movies on the first and third Thursdays of each month at 3 p.m. The movies and popcorn are free, but donations are appreciated. For titles and times, visit www.fontanalib.org/cashiers.

May 15-21, 2013

• Perfect Wedding, 7:30 p.m. May 24-27, 31, and June 1-2, Smoky Mountain Community Theatre. 488.8227 or visit smctheatre.com.

• Family craft workshops, 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Gallery 86, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville. Free.

Space limited. Correlates with Under the Sea exhibition, a series of underwater photographs by Dr. John Highsmith. Haywood County Arts Council, 452.0593. www.haywoodarts.org.

456.9197 orcharspaintings@msn.com.

wnc calendar

• Senior Follies, 7 p.m. Friday, May 17, Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, Franklin.

Tickets, $5. GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615.

tractors, wildlife and scenography, through July 31, Canton Branch Library, 11 Pennsylvania Avenue, Canton. Barbara Sammons, 707.4420. www.barbarasammons.com.

OUTINGS, HIKES & FIELDTRIPS • Franklin Bird Club weekly bird walk, 8 a.m.

Wednesday, May 15, along the Greenway, led by Karen Lawrence. Meet at the Macon County Public Library parking area. 524.5234.

39

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188-38

Full Service Property Management 828-456-6111 www.selecthomeswnc.com Residential and Commercial Long-Term Rentals

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MOUNTAIN REALTY

Mieko Thomson

Thomson ROKER/R /REALTOR EALTOR®® BBROKER

May 15-21, 2013

mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com mthomson@remax-waynesvillenc.com www.ncsmokies.com www.ncsmokies.com

2177 Russ Avenue Waynesville NC 28786

• Nantahala Hiking Club 13-mile strenuous hike, Sunday, May 18, to Mount LeConte, from Grotto Falls on the Trillium Gap Trail and descending via Rainbow Falls Trail. Meet at 8 a.m. at Dillsboro Huddle House to carpool. Don O’Neal, 586.5723. No pets.

• Nantahala Hiking Club 2.5 – mile easy hike Sunday, May 19, Kimsey Creek Trail. Meet at 2 p.m. at Westgate Plaza, Franklin. Kay Coriell, 369.6820. No pets.

• Audubon Society bird walk, 8 a.m. Saturday, May 18, Lonesome Valley, Sapphire. Meet at 7:45 a.m. in parking lot of new Cashiers Community Center to carpool. Michelle Styring, 743.9670 or visit www.highlandsaudubonsociety.org.

• Highlands Plateau Audubon Society bird walk, 7:30 a.m. Saturday, May 25, Highlands.

Led by Brock Hutchins, assisted by Michelle Styring and Pat Strickland. Meet at the parking lot behind Highlands Town Hall.

Ellen’s clients said it best!

• Nantahala Hiking Club, 6.5-mile moderate hike, 9 a.m. Saturday, May 25, Little Cataloochee. Meet at Waynesville Ingles. Keith Patton, 456.8895. No pets.

Wa y n e s v i l l e O ff i c e 2 0 1 2 R a v i n g F a n Aw a rd

• Nantahala Hiking Club 2-mile moderate hike, 10 a.m. Saturday, May 25, Whiteside Mountain Loop Trail. Meet at Bi-Lo in Franklin.

Joyce Jacques, 410.852.7510. No pets.

esither@beverly-hanks.com

Smoky Mountain News

• Nantahala Hiking Club four-mile easy hike, Friday, May 17, Little Tennessee River Greenway from Tassee Shelter to the Library Loop and back. Meet at 6:30 a.m. at the Tassee Shelter on Ulco Dr. in Franklin with binoculars for bird-watching. Kathy Ratcliff, 349.3380. No pets.

• Highlands Plateau Audubon Society Tuesday outing, Tuesday, May 21, Southern Highlands Reserve atop Mount Toxaway. Reservations at must. Call Romney Bathurst, 526.1939, to sign up. $20 donation.

Cell (828) 226-2298 Cell

Sither

• Franklin Bird Club weekly bird walk, 8 a.m.

Wednesday, May 22, along the Greenway. Led

by Paula Gorgoglione. Meet at Salali Lane.

Parking is off Fox Ridge Road. 524.5234.

• Chris Graves, 7 p.m. Monday, May 20, Hudson Library, Highlands. Graves, of Haywood Community College will discuss landscapelevel research to improve habitat for birds in western North Carolina. Hosted by Highlands Plateau Audubon Society. www.highlandsaudubonsociety.org.

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Ellen

• Franklin Bird Club bird walk, 8 a.m. Friday, May 17, Queen Branch, off highway 28, seven miles north of Sanderstown Road. Led by naturalist Jack Johnston. 524.5234.

828.734.8305

beverly-hanks.com

• Local Audubon Society offers weekly Saturday birding field trips. Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the Highlands Town Hall parking lot near the public restrooms, or at 8 a.m. behind Wendys if the walk is in Cashiers. Binoculars available. www.highlandsaudubonsociety.org or 743.9670.

• The Gorges State Park is looking for volunteers to assist in maintaining existing trails and campgrounds in the park on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., weather permitting.

Bring gloves, water and tools supplied. 16 years old or older. Meet at 17762 Rosman Highway (US-64) in Sapphire. 966.9099.

PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS 40

• Self-guided tours of American Chestnuts, 11 a.m. Wednesdays, Cataloochee Guest Ranch. $15, includes tour with lunch afterward.

Reservations, 926.1401.

• Introduction to Fly Fishing, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wednesday, May 15, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, U.S. 276 south of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Transylvania County. Bring a lunch and non-slip shoes or waders if you have them. Limited to 6 participants. Ages 12 and up. 877.4423.

• 2013 Southeastern Fly Fishing Festival, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 17-18, Ramsey Center arena, Western Carolina University. Daily admission is $5 for individuals, $10 for families. SoutheastFFF.org.

• Bird watching for Beginners, 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 18, Balsam Community Center, Cabin Flats Road, Balsam. Open to anyone over the age of 10, family participation is encouraged. Larry Thompson, instructor. $20.

Preregistration required at 452.5414 or email lvthompson@earthlink.net.

• Nature Nuts: Snakes, 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, May 18 and Wednesday, May 22, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, U.S. 276 south of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Transylvania County. Ages 4 to 7. Story time, crafts and a hike. 877.4423 • Eco Explorers: Archery, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, U.S. 276 south of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Transylvania County. Ages 8 to 13. Learn to use a bow and arrow safely. 877.4423.

Wildlife Education, U.S. 276 south of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Transylvania County. For advanced beginner, focuses on equipment and techniques. Wear sturdy shoes and bring a camera capable of manual control and extra camera batteries. Ages 14 and up. 877.4423.

• Cross Training for Outdoor Fitness, 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 23, REI Nature Gym, Asheville.

Free. Registration required, www.rei.com/event/48557/session/71489.

• Fly Fishing Skills: Wild Trout, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, May 24, Looking Glass Creek, Pisgah National Forest. Practice fly-fishing under the supervision and experienced eyes of our fly-fishing instructors. Equipment and materials provided. Bring non-slip wading shoes or waders. Ages 12 and up. 877.4423.

• Fly Fishing Skills: On the Water, 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, May 28, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, U.S. 276 south of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Transylvania County. Practice fly-fishing skills under the supervision and experienced eyes of our fly-fishing instructors.

Bring non-slip wading shoes or waders.

Equipment and materials provided. Limit 6 participants. Ages 12 and up. 877.4423.

COMPETITIVE EDGE

• Bluebird Workshop, 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19, Asheville Wild Birds Unlimited. 687.9433

• Third annual Three River Fly Fishing Tournament, May 16-17, Highlands area. Taxdeductible $500 entry fee secures a spot for a two-person team. Proceeds benefit scholarships for Highlands High School graduates.

Register at www.highlandsthreeriver.com or call Highlands Visitor Center, 526.5841.

• Chris Graves, lead Fish and Wildlife Management instructor at Haywood Community College, will speak about bird conservation programs, at 7:30 p.m. (7 p.m. refreshments) Monday, May 20, at the Hudson Library in Highlands. Presented by the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society.

• Benefit Bass tournament, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 25, Lake Chatuge on May 25. Two fishermen per boat; five fish limit; artificial bait only. Proceeds go to two $1,000 scholarships for two seniors at Pisgah High School, in honor of Terry Stamey. $100 per boat. Details, Bryan Yates, 506.2034.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park South District Spring Interpretive Programs:

• Mountain Lakes 5K race and walk, 8:30 a.m.

Saturday, June 1, Highlands. Race-day registration, 7:30 a.m. lobby at recreation park.

Proceeds to benefit Wheelchairs for Bolivia Project. $25 with t-shirt for adults ($15 without shirt) and $15 with shirt for students.

• Festival Camping Basics, 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 18, REI Asheville. Free.

Registration required at http://www.rei.com/event/50749/session/70895.

• Mingus Mill Demonstration, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily, one-half mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on US 441 (Newfound Gap Road), Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• Mountain Farm Museum, dawn to dusk, daily, adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

• Longing for the Good Old’ Days, 2 p.m.

Sundays, through May 15. Join a ranger on this walk at the Mountain Farm Museum to learn what life was like on an Appalachian mountain farm.

• Oconaluftee River Trail Treasures, 2 p.m.

Fridays through May 15. Meet at the trail head adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Easy, one mile trail. Discover its treasures.

• Coffee with a Ranger, 10:30 a.m. Saturdays, through May 15, porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Join a Ranger for a cup of coffee and find out what’s happening in the park.

Coffee provided. Bring a cup if you have one.

45 minutes.

• Back Porch Old-Time Music, 1 to 3 p.m.

Saturday, May 18, porch of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Bring an acoustic instrument and join in or just sit back and enjoy traditional Appalachian music.

• Return of the Elk Ranger Program, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, May 21, Rough Fork Trailhead in Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• Close-Up Outdoor Photography, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, Pisgah Center for

Registration forms are available at the front desk of the Highlands Recreation Park and on line at www.mountaintoprotary.net. Skip Taylor, 526.4280, Victoria Ingate, 421.2548, or email mtntoprotary@gmail.com.

• Fourth annual Blue Ridge Breakaway, Saturday, Aug. 17, Haywood County. Pre-register online at www.BlueridgeBreakaway.com.

HIKING CLUBS • Carolina Mountain Club hosts more than 150 hikes a year, including options for full days on weekends, full days on Wednesdays and half days on Sundays. Non-members contact event leaders. www.carolinamountainclub.org • High Country Hikers, based in Hendersonville, plans hikes Mondays and Thursdays weekly.

Participants should bring a travel donation and gear mentioned on their website: main.nc.us/highcountryhikers. 808.2165 • Nantahala Hiking Club based in Macon County holds weekly Saturday hikes in the Nantahala National Forest and beyond. www.nantahalahikingclub.org • Mountain High Hikers, based in Young Harris, Ga., leads several hikes per week.

Guests should contact hike leader. www.mountainhighhikers.org.

PRIME REAL ESTATE

INSIDE

Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News

UPBEAT ADS

MarketPlace information:

$2,000 REWARD Wall Curio Cabinet with Skeleton Key. Was sold at Lake Junaluska Elementary Yard Sale 3 or 4 years ago. Valued at $200. I am restoring house back to original.

Please call Vicki with any info 828.452.9253

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.

CLASSES

Rates:

LEARN THE ART OF FLY FISHING Jonathan Creek School of Fly Fishing. Fly Fishing - Fly Tying.

Private Instruction! www.JonathanCreekSchool ofFlyFishing.com

■ Free — Residential yard sale ads, lost or found pet ads.

■ Free — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $12 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

■ $12 — If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad.

■ $35 — 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.

ANTIQUES SPRING ANTIQUES FESTIVAL Sat. May 18th, 9:00 a.m. 20 Dealers Featuring: Antiques, costume jewelry, furniture, buttons, glassware, cast iron, Indian jewelry, toys, tools, lots of treasures, fishing, advertising & Fresh Produce!

Antique Antics, 1497 S. Main St., Waynesville. SPACE AVAILABLE! 828.452.6225

Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 | classads@smokymountainnews.com

ARTS & CRAFTS

WAYNESVILLE TIRE, COO

INC.

AUCTION

R

DI

SC OV ER E

ATR

PE

Serving Haywood, Jackson & Surrounding Counties

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

Offering:

MAJOR-BRAND TIRES FOR CARS, LIGHT & MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCKS, AND FARM TIRES.

Service truck available for on-site repairs LEE & PATTY ENSLEY, OWNERS STEVE WOODS, MANAGER

MON-FRI 7:30-5:30 • WAYNESVILLE PLAZA

456-5387

188-56

622.8+/- ACRES (14 TRACTS).

Rolling hills, streams. Working cattle farm in town limits. Water & sewer. Hillsville, VA. Absolute Auction. June 1. www.countsauction.com. 800.780.2991. VAAF93 ABSOLUTE AUCTION 1904 Grist Mill on 4.5 Acres & Mill Pond, Danbury, NC - Stokes County - Saturday, May 18th - 12Noon.

ALL early milling machinery operational, includes Sawmill. www.HallAuctionCo.com.

336.835.7653. NCAL#4703 622.8+/- ACRES (14 TRACTS).

Rolling hills, streams. Working cattle farm in town limits. Water & sewer. Hillsville, VA. Absolute Auction. June 1. www.countsauction.com. 800.780.2991. VAAF93

AUCTION ANTIQUE AUCTION SATURDAY AT 5:00 P.M. Victorian & English Furniture and smalls. Slant top desks, bookcases, tables, court cupboard, vanities, rockers, chairs, dressers, Sterling Silver, pocket watches, pipes, servers & buffets, spinning wheel, music cabinet, armoire, brass bed, settle bench, needlepoint stools, tapestry, original art work, neon Chevy/Ford tailgates, flatware & China. Too much to list! Preview at: www.ReminisceAntiques.com Reminisce Auction, Franklin, NC 828.369.6999 Ron Raccioppi NCAL#7866 GOING, GOING, GONE! Promote your auction with a classified ad published in 100 North Carolina newspapers with over 1.3 million circulation. A 25-word ad is only $330. For more information, call NCPS at 919.789.2083 or visit www.ncpsads.com.

LAND AUCTION Greenbrier County, WV. 1,894+/acres pasture and timber land offered in 24 tracts. Barns & out buildings for cattle operations.

One tract has a beautiful 8 bedroom house with indoor pool. Open and wooded land with magnificent views. Auction Thursday, May 30 in Lewisburg, WV. Woltz & Associates, Inc., Roanoke, VA, Real Estate Brokers & Auctioneers (WV#1000).

Go to www.woltz.com or call 800.551.3588 for property and auction details.

BUILDING MATERIALS HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

WHITE PINE, HEMLOCK, POPLAR Lumber and Timbers, Any Size!

Rough Sawn or S4S, Custom Sawing. Smoky Mountain Timber, 3517 Jonathan Creek Rd., Waynesville, NC. 828.926.4300.

CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions.

Owner/Builder: Dave Donaldson.

Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316 SULLIVAN HARDWOOD FLOORS Installation- Finish - Refinish 828.399.1847.

PAINTING EXPERIENCED PAINTER Interior/Exterior, will help you or work alone. $12/hr. 20 yr. Resident of Waynesville with references.

828.550.5522 JAMISON CUSTOM PAINTING & PRESSURE WASHING Interior, exterior, all your pressure washing needs and more.

Call Now for a Free Estimate at 828.508.9727. Ask about our Senior Citizens Discount

REAL ESTATE AUCTION Tuesday, May 21, 3:30 & 5:00 p.m.

8.45 acres, commercial, zoned IL, 1412 Old Oxford Rd., Durham.

18.75 acres, residential, 2 lots, John Jones Rd., Bahama. Grady Park, 336.263.3957. www.parkauctionrealty.com.

NCAFL#8834

BOOTH ELECTRIC Residential & Commercial service.

Up-front pricing, emergency service. 828.734.1179. NC License #24685-U.

BANK LAKE PROPERTY Liquidation! Smoky Mountains Tennessee 1-8 Acres Starting $12,900 w/boat slip access! Last Absolute Public Sale! Preview 5/25-5/26, Sale 6/1-6/2. Map/pricing 1.800.574.2055 ext. 108.

DDI BUMPERS ETC. Quality on the Spot Repair & Painting. Don Hendershot 858.646.0871 cell 828.452.4569 office.

ELECTRICAL

AUTO PARTS

R

WNC MarketPlace

CAMPERS COOL SUMMERS ON JONATHAN CREEK. 35’ Park Model For Sale, 25’ Covered Porch, Furnished, 32” Flatscreen TV, Fireplace Heater, Separate Washer/Dryer, On Leased Lot in RV Community 352.223.9497 2004 DUTCHMAN SLIDE-OUT With Hook-up, Haywood county area. 26’ long, brand new tires, excellent condition, bedroom in back and kitchen in front with storage underneath. $4,900.

For more info call 828.506.8106.

CARS - DOMESTIC DONATE YOUR CAR Fast Free Towing 24 hr. Response Tax Deduction United Breast Cancer Foundation Providing Free Mammograms & Breast Cancer Info 888.759.9782.

SAPA DONATE YOUR CAR, Truck or Boat to Heritage for the Blind. Free 3 Day Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing, All Paperwork Taken Care Of. 800.337.9038.

CARS - DOMESTIC SAVE $$$ ON Auto Insurance from the major names you know and trust. No forms. No hassle. No obligation.

Call Ready For My Quote now!

CALL 1.855.834.5740.

TOP CASH FOR CARS, Call Now For An Instant Offer. Top Dollar Paid, Any Car/Truck, Any Condition. Running or Not. Free Pick-up/Tow. 1.800.761.9396 SAPA GOT A JUNK CAR? Get it towed FREE today! Get paid today! Fair Market price. ALL Makes-ALL Models! Fully Licensed Tow Drivers. Call NOW! Get $1,000 worth of FREE Gift Vouchers.

1.888.870.0422 Visit TODAY: www.JunkYourCarToday.com SAPA

EMPLOYMENT AIRLINES ARE HIRING Train for hands-on Aviation Maintenance Career. FAA approved program. Financial Aid if Qualified Housing available. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance.

1.866.724.5403. SAPA

EMPLOYMENT AVERITT Offers CDL-A Drivers a Strong, Stable, Profitable Career. Experienced Drivers and Recent Grads.

Excellent Benefits, Weekly Hometime. Paid training.

888.362.8608. AverittCareers.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer.

AVIATION CAREERS Train in advance structures and become certified to work on aircraft. Financial aid for those who qualify. Call aviation institute of maintenance 1.877.205.1779.

WWW.FIXJETS.COM SAPA CDL-A DRIVERS: Hiring experienced company drivers and owner operators. Solo and teams. Competitive pay package. Sign-on incentives.

Call 888.705.3217 or apply online at www.drivenctrans.com DRIVER One cent raise after 6 and 12 months. $0.03 Enhanced Quarterly Bonus. Daily or Weekly Pay, Hometime Options. CDL-A, 3 months OTR exp. 800.414.9569. www.driveknight.com

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

MAPLE TREE VETERINARY Hospital is looking for an experienced Technician. Please send resume and references to: kbirthright@mapletreevet.com

DRIVERS Apply Now! 12 Drivers Needed. Top 5% Pay. Class A CDL Required.

877.258.8782 www.ad-drivers.com DRIVERS: Home Weekends. Pay up to .40 cpm Trucks equipped with APU’s. 70% Drop & Hook. CDL-A 6mos. Exp. 888.406.9046.

MEDICAL CAREERS BEGIN HERE Train ONLINE for Allied Health and Medical Management. Job placement assistance. Computer and Financial Aid if qualified. SCHEV authorized. Call 1.800.494.2785 or visit CenturaOnline.com SAPA

FOLKMOOT STAFFING 30th Folkmoot Festival seeks guides, bus drivers, cafeteria staff, housekeeping staff, sound techs, and interns for marketing/event management. Volunteers welcome!

Must be available days, evenings, weekends, July 15 - 29, 2013. For applications call 828.452.2997 or email: dgarrett@folkmoot.com

OWNER OPERATOR: Experienced CDL-A Owner Operators Wanted. $2,000 Solo Sign-On Incentive & $5,000 Team Sign-On Incentive. Long Haul Freight.

Competitive Pay Package. Paid loaded and empty miles. Also hiring Company Teams. Call 866.937.7803 or apply online at www.drivenctrans.com

NOW HIRING! National Companies need workers immediately to assemble products at home. Electronics, CD stands, hair barrettes & many more. Easy work, no selling, any hours. $500/week potential. Info 1.985.646.1700 DEPT NC - 4152 (Not valid in Louisiana) SAPA

TANKER & FLATBED COMPANY. Drivers/Independent Contractors!

Immediate Placement Available.

Best opportunities in the Trucking Business. Call Today.

800.277.0212 or go to: www.primeinc.com

MEDICAL OFFICE TRAINEES! Become a Medical Office Assistant! No Experienced Needed!

Online Training gets you job ready!

High School Diploma/GED & Computer needed.

Careertechnical.edu/nc.

1.888.512.7122 TRUCK DRIVERS WANTED Best Pay and Home Time! Apply Online Today over 750 Companies!

One Application, Hundreds of Offers! www.HammerLaneJobs.com SAPA WANTED: LIFE AGENTS. Potential to Earn $500 a Day. Great Agent Benefits. Commissions Paid Daily. Liberal Underwriting. Leads, Leads, Leads. Life Insurance, License Required. Call 1.888.713.6020.

GYPSUM EXPRESS. Regional Hauls for Flatbed Company Driver Terminal in Roxboro. Ask about Performance Bonus coming April 1st & more.

Melissa, 866.317.6556 x6 or www.gypsumexpress.com

188-45

Puzzles can be found on page 49.

May 15-21, 2013

These are only the answers.

Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’

92

$

20’x20’

160

$

ONE MONTH

FREE WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT

828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828

www.smokymountainnews.com

Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction

42

ARABELLA - A 2-3 year old Catahoula/Feist. She weighs 25-30 lbs. She is grey and white. Arabella needs tender, loving care. Call 1.877.ARF.JCNC. PANTUFLE - A handsome male, young dog. He is most likely a Retriever mix. He is very good with dogs and people and is learning cats. He will make a lovely family pet. Having beautiful leash manners and being housebroken, he will be ready to go as soon as he is neutered. Call 828.399.0125.

SHADOW - A male, blond, Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix. He is about two years old. Shadow will make a loving housedog. He will need a fenced yard, however. Working on housebreaking, he is good with

cats and dogs. 828.226.7766.

CADY - A lively, little Beagle mix. Just under 1 year old.

Mostly housebroken.

1.877.ARF.JCNC. HOMER - A little, male Beagle.

He is 3 years old, 17 lbs., and white and liver colored.

Housebroken and good with other dogs. Call 1.877.ARF.JCNC. RASCAL - A cute Terrier/Corgi mix who is just 3 years old. He is housebroken, current on all shots, not a lapdog, but is a good porch dog to alert when visitors arrive. Call 1.877.ARF.JCNC. ARF’S next low-cost spay/neuter trip will be June 10th. Register and pre-pay at ARF’s adoption site on Saturdays from 1-3.

Spaces are limited.

ARF (HUMANE SOCIETY OF JACKSON COUNTY) Holds rescued pet adoptions Saturdays from 1:00 - 3:00 (weather permitting) at 50 Railroad Avenue in Sylva. Animals are spayed/neutered and current on shots.

Most cats $60, most dogs $70.

Preview available pets at www.a-r-f.org, or call foster home. have a lot of energy, but also love to just lay on the couch and chill out. I love toys, other dogs, and belly rubs. $125 adoption fee, Animal Compassion Network 828.274.3647 or animalcompassionnetwork.org.

LEXIE - Domestic Shorthair cat – black & white, I am about 3 years old and was brought to ACN with 5 kittens, who I successfully raised and have now found new homes. I am gentle and sweet, and now ready to find a special forever home of my own. $100 adoption fee, Animal Compassion Network 828.274.3647 or animalcompassionnetwork.org.

NEED A NEW HOME

ANIMAL COMPASSION NETWORK Pet Adoption Events - Every Saturday from 11a.m. to 3p.m. at Pet Harmony, Animal Compassion Network's new pet store for rescued pets. Dozens of ACN dogs, puppies, kittens and cats will be ready to find their permanent homes. The store also offers quality pet supplies where all proceeds save more homeless animals. Come see us at 803 Fairview St. (behind Province 620 off Hendersonville Rd), visit www.animalcompassionnetwork.org, or call 828.274.DOGS.

$$$ ACCESS LAWSUIT CASH NOW!!

Injury Lawsuit Dragging? Need $500-$500,000++ within 48/hours? Low rates. Apply Now By Phone! 1.800.568.8321. wwwlawcapital.com Not Valid in CO or NC. SAPA

LAWN & GARDEN

BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

SAPA EVER CONSIDER A Reverse Mortgage? At least 62 years old? Stay in your home & increase cash flow! Safe & Effective!

Call Now for your FREE DVD! Call Now 888.418.0117.

SAPA

HEMLOCK HEALERS, INC. Dedicated to Saving Our Hemlocks. Owner/Operator Frank Varvoutis, NC Pesticide Applicator’s License #22864. 48 Spruce St. Maggie Valley, NC 828.734.7819 828.926.7883, Email: hemlockhealers@yahoo.com

PETS

ENGLISH 2-PIECE OFFICE DESK Mahogany - Mini - 36” wide.

Secret Drawers - $8,500.

Call for more information 828.627.2342 HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

Schulhofer’s Junk Yard

BIG MULCH

Best prices in town.

Accepting stumps & brush.

We deliver.

As always, paying top dollar for your scrap metal.

SALE

188-54

Talk to your neighbors, then talk to me.

HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329 ®

See why State Farm insures more drivers than GEICO and Progressive combined. Great ser vice, plus discounts of up to 40 percent.* Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

CALL CALL FOR FOR QUOTE QUOTE 24/7.

24/7. ®

FURNITURE COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778.

816 HOWELL MILL ROAD WAY • 456-9408 WAYNESVILLE

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!

Chad McMahon, A gent 3 4 5 Wa l n u t S t r e e t Waynesville, NC 28786 Bus: 828 - 452- 0567 chad.mcmahon.r v37@s t atef arm.com

1001174.1

*Discounts var y by states.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company State Farm Indemnit y Company, Blooming ton, IL

Your Local Big Green Egg Dealer

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 12 Noon - 5pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

BEST PRICE EVERYDAY

188-43

Sour Dough - Is playful, friendly and affectionate.

This 10 month old kitty absolutely loves head scratches. She would make a great addition to a loving home.

10-5 M-SAT. 12-4 SUN.

ON DELLWOOD RD. (HWY. 19) AT 20 SWANGER LANE WAYNESVILLE/MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.8778

Ann knows real estate!

Asher - Has a beautiful golden coat with some blue on his muzzle and white on his chest and paws.

Asher has a moderate level of energy and gets along well with other dogs. However, his favorite activity is sitting by your side.

Ann Eavenson CRS, GRI, E-PRO

ann@mainstreetrealty.net

LEOPARD ALUMINUM & REMODELING, INC. Bathrooms • Kitchens Screen & Glass Rooms Decks • Floors Carports • Additions

250

$

40 Years Exp. • Lic. & Ins. Free Estimates ENDS SOON www.llc.vpweb.com • 828.246.0136

OFF WITH AD!

188-58

506-0542 CELL 188-50

smokymountainnews.com

For your pet? Animal Comp Net provides a re-homing service! that includes neutering, microchipping, and food – all FREE to you! You'll bring your pet to our adoption events and we'll find them a loving new home! For details, call us at 828.258.4820

RED OAK LUMBER AVAILABLE 12 Boards, 11 ft. x 14 inches x 5/4. $125. Old Chestnut Boards Available $500. For more info 828.627.2342

May 15-21, 2013

MOXIE - Terrier/Pit Bull Terrier Mix dog – black & white, I am an adult girl who was adopted from a shelter into a multi-pet household, but it turned out I should really be an only pet. I am one of the most loving, loyal dogs you’ll ever meet, and I’m smart and obedient. I love to snuggle and give kisses, and riding in the car is one of my favorite activities. I am mediumenergy and enjoy taking hikes, and would be a great companion for an active household. I have never shown any aggression toward humans, and I am cratetrained. Animal Compassion Network 828.274.3647 or animalcompassionnetwork.org; MOXIE'S ADOPTION FEE IS SUBSIDIZED BY A GENEROUS DONOR AT A REDUCED COST. EBONY - Labrador Retriever Mix dog – black, I am about 2 years old and was found living in the woods with my sister (Eve). I’m very sweet and playful; shy and a bit timid at first, but once I get to know you I warm up quickly. I

FURNITURE

WNC MarketPlace

Pet Adoption

FINANCIAL

101 South Main St. Waynesville

MainStreet Realty

(828) 452-2227 mainstreetrealty.net 43

WNC MarketPlace

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

Haywood County Real Estate Agents Beverly Hanks & Associates — beverly-hanks.com • • • • • • •

Michelle McElroy — beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig — beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey — beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither — esither@beverly-hanks.com Jerry Smith — beverly-hanks.com Billie Green — bgreen@beverly-hanks.com Pam Braun — pambraun@beverly-hanks.com

ERA Sunburst Realty — sunburstrealty.com Haywood Properties — haywoodproperties.com • Steve Cox — info@haywoodproperties.com

Keller Williams Realty kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • Rob Roland — robrolandrealty.com • Chris Forga — forgarentalproperties.com

Mountain Home Properties — mountaindream.com • Sammie Powell — smokiesproperty.com

May 15-21, 2013

Main Street Realty — mainstreetrealty.net McGovern Real Estate & Property Management • Bruce McGovern — shamrock13.com

Prudential Lifestyle Realty — vistasofwestfield.com Realty World Heritage Realty realtyworldheritage.com • Carolyn Lauter — realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/1701

www.smokymountainnews.com

RE/MAX — Mountain Realty • • • • • • • • •

remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com Brian K. Noland — brianknoland.com Connie Dennis — remax-maggievalleync.com Mark Stevens — remax-waynesvillenc.com Mieko Thomson — ncsmokies.com The Morris Team — maggievalleyproperty.com The Real Team — the-real-team.com Ron Breese — ronbreese.com Dan Womack — womackdan@aol.com Bonnie Probst — bonniep@remax-waynesvillenc.com

The Seller’s Agency — listwithphil.com • Phil Ferguson — philferguson@bellsouth.net 188-40

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 44

828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com

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. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free at 1.800.669.9777.

BANK LAKE PROPERTY Liquidation! Smoky Mountains Tennessee 1-8 Acres Starting $12,900 w/boat slip access! Last Absolute Public Sale! Preview 5/25-5/26, Sale 6/1-6/2.

Map/pricing 1.800.574.2055 ext. 108.

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT FSBO NEAR ASHEVILLE, NC. 1200+sf 2bd/2ba cabin with open flpn on almost 2 acres, $132,900.

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Super

CROSSWORD

13 Teeming 14 Designer Geoffrey 15 Enters, as computer data ACROSS 16 Relaxing time on 1 Palm Sunday shout the slopes 8 Spots on the boob 17 Coverers of some tube bald spots 13 Father of Isaac 18 Get long in the 20 Actor Carroll tooth 21 Official helpers 19 Pre- - (undergrad 22 Oozing liquid study) 23 Start of a riddle 24 Like sound record25 Grew tired ings that aren’t sharp, 26 Test-driven car for short 27 “Here, pigs!”

28 RR bldg.

28 Wood smoother 30 Wise mentor 29 Circular rubber 32 Leon Uris’ “- 18” gasket 33 S - “Sam” 31 Riddle, part 2 34 Blocks up 37 Sprinter Bolt of the 35 “This way” signs 2008 Olympics 36 One charring some40 Imam’s religion thing 41 Grenoble’s river 38 Impertinence 42 Fleet head 39 Sporty Italian car, 46 Award for an ad for short 47 Turkish capital 42 A long way off 48 Riddle, part 3 43 Carpentry groove 53 Novello of old films 44 Married Fr. women 54 Former capital of 45 Old Aegean Sea Yemen region DOWN 55 Capital of Yemen 46 Went in pursuit of 1 “- you spell relief?”

56 Haughty type 47 Put in - word for 2 Earthy tone 58 Lamb’s mother 49 12 inches 3 “Ditto” 59 Entertainer 50 Skin eruption 4 Author Chekhov O’Donnell 51 Judicial hearing 5 Mobile-to-Memphis 61 Double curves 52 Verb go-with dir.

64 Je ne sais 57 Lose steam 65 Defunct Russ. state 6 Rejections 7 Guitar-toting Guthrie 60 “Enchanted” girl of 66 Riddle, part 4 film 8 Hoodwink 71 Bit of a circle 62 Do wrong 9 LP plastic 74 Joker Jay 63 Largo 10 Busyness 75 Impelled 67 “Bad” Brown 11 Lawn moisture 76 Atelier stand 68 Getting - years 12 1040 info 80 Prizm maker, once

STAR WHO NEVER TUMBLED

81 “What -!” (“How hilarious!”)

83 Mae and Adam 86 Axis-vs.-Allies conflict 87 Architect Jacobsen 89 Riddle, part 5 93 Nicely warm 95 “Well, old chap!”

96 Son of Agamemnon 97 Equine 98 Caesar’s robes 100 Hourglass, e.g.

102 End of the riddle 105 Rupture 110 Jailbird 111 Green patch in a desert 114 Lecher 115 Like Mussolini 117 Riddle’s answer 121 Friendly pact 122 Newswoman Zahn 123 Gave fizz to 124 Spy’s file 125 Awards for soap operas 126 Steady hum producers

69 Subcompact from Chevy 70 Sailboat varieties 71 Christie of mysteries 72 Put a new top on, as a building 73 Super dupers 77 “M*A*S*H” actress Loretta 78 Berlin article 79 Tells a falsehood 82 Leg part 84 - McAn (shoe brand) 85 Parched 88 Hearts 90 Morales of Hollywood 91 French city 92 Belgrade citizen 94 Ends of railroad lines 98 Rip to bits 99 Suffix of sugar names 100 Sparkly crowns 101 - -bitsy 103 Detritus 104 Pious 106 From the city 107 Highway, e.g.

108 More positive 109 Gravitates 112 “If - my way ...”

113 Fortuneteller 115 Grazed (on) 116 Portuguese for “year” 117 Orangutan, for one 118 “- the Walrus” 119 Pirate’s drink 120 Play-for-pay athlete

answers on page 42

Answers on Page 42

smokymountainnews.com

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.

May 15-21, 2013

AIRLINES ARE HIRING Train for hands on Aviation Career.

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SCHOOLS/ INSTRUCTION

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45

A

bi-monthly magazine that covers the southern Appalachian mountains and celebrates the area’s environmental riches, its people, culture, music, art, crafts and special places. Each issue relies on regional writers and photographers to bring the Appalachians to life.

In this issue: On the trail of Cherokee’s marker trees The last scream of the Virginia Creeper Winding along the Blue Ridge Parkway Postcards’ role in attracting early tourists PLUS ADVENTURE, CUISINE, READING, MUSIC, ARTS & MORE

SUBSCRIBE: www.smliv.com OR

Smoky Mountain News

May 15-21, 2013

188-09

46

866.452.2251

Identifying birds

A

George Ellison

BACK THEN houettes, flight patterns, and distinctive markings. One area of bird identification that is particularly rewarding is learning — where possible — to recognize males and females of the same species when their appearance differs. Perhaps a third of the common birds in WNC are clearly dimorphic. It’s interesting how many identifications you can make in a given day of both the male and female of a species.

Cardinals, rufous-sided towhees, rosebreasted grosbeaks, indigo buntings, house finches, red-winged blackbirds, and numerous other species are a piece of cake. You won’t have any doubt which you’re seeing.

Others — like the numerous warblers — will be more of a challenge. Sometimes the differences in coloration or marking between the two will be very slight. Sometimes the differences will be remarkable.

The male and female orchard orioles that breed in WNC are notable in this regard.

The male orchard oriole is black with deep chestnut underparts. The female is olive brown with underparts that are yellowish.

Almost everybody can identify a male scarlet tanager (crimson bode with black wings) … but would you recognize the female if she landed on your shoulder?

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.

In June 2005, a selection of his Back Then columns was published by The History Press in Charleston as Mountain Passages: Natural and Cultural History of Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains. Readers can contact him at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 28713, or at info@georgeellison.com.

May 15-21, 2013

lthough bird identification can be perplexing — baffling at times for even the most accomplished birders — the principles of identification are relatively simple. We recognize birds by their visual appearances and by their vocalizations.

Birds have two basic kinds of vocalizations. Call notes are given by both males and females of the same species year-round in order to stay in touch with one another or express alarm. For instance, the rufoussided towhee (a common permanent resident in Western North Carolina) seems to whistle its name “tow-heee” in all seasons. Then during the breeding Columnist season, the male will emit the vocalization we call song in order to establish a breeding territory, attract a female, and warn all other males out of that territory. In the male towhee’s case, this song sounds like“drinkyour-tea” to human ears.

The phrases birders associate with specific calls and songs for various species are known as “mnemonic devices.” These allow one to readily identify a bird without ever seeing it at all. In the world of bird identification, seeing and hearing a bird have equal value.

You can find the mnemonics for most species in a good field guide, and the various bird tapes and CD’s now available will allow you to hear them again and again. But nothing beats going out with local birding groups to learn the mnemonics for the species in your area.

Visually, we recognize birds by their sil-

Smoky Mountain News

Male and female scarlet tangers.

47

188-16

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