Smoky Mountain News | July 20, 2022

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

July 20-26, 2022 Vol. 24 Iss. 08

Waynesville Inn construction muddies waters Page 10 A new generation of birders rises up Page 30

CONTENTS On the Cover: Amid a nationwide push toward police reform, a bipartisan bill passed last year in North Carolina created what many are calling a new level of accountability and transparency from police departments and sheriff’s offices across the state. See what law enforcement leaders around WNC think. (Page 6)

News Blue Ridge Books celebrates 15 years ........................................................................4 New Sylva business aims to provide ‘self-sufficiency’ ..............................................5 Waynesville Housing Authority’s new director searches for solutions ................8 Waynesville Inn construction muddies waters ........................................................10 Maggie receives grant for wastewater treatment repair ........................................12 Haywood strengthens flood response capabilities, nearly one year on............14 School board races set ..................................................................................................16 Trends are becoming more apparent in regional housing market ......................17 Education briefs..................................................................................................................19

Opinion Breaking down walls and sharing some magic ........................................................20 Lessons learned from superheroes ..............................................................................21

A&E Franklin community market bridges food, music ......................................................22 Pride, ignorance and high tech equal disaster ........................................................29

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

July 20-26, 2022

A new generation of birders rises up ..........................................................................30 Native plant conference returns to WCU ..................................................................32

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Blue Ridge Books celebrates 15 years HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER n this day and age of Amazon, Kindles, big box bookstores, streaming services and social media that fight for more of our attention everyday, local, independent bookstores are in constant competition with these heavy hitters. And yet, those like Blue Ridge Books seem to weather it all. So what’s the secret?

For Jo Gilley and Allison Lee, the secret lies in the community they serve, which in turn has sustained Blue Ridge Books through thick and thin for 15 years.

“The best thing we have is knowing our customers, loving our customers and loving the books,” said Lee. Lee and Gilley aren’t your typical business partners. They had known each other and worked together for about six months when they decided to take on ownership and management of Blue Ridge Books from its previous owners Robert and Betsy Baggett. But 12 and a half years later, they are relishing in the community support as they celebrate the business’s 15th anniversary.

person, trying to help them, that relationship,” said Lee. Those relationships don’t only extend to the readers. Gilley and Lee have built some pretty impactful relationships with authors throughout their years in the business.

“We have a number of those authors, who when we ask them to do things, when we’ve collaborated with other organizations, they are always on board,” said Lee. Events and book signings help to get people through the door, connect, move merchandise and generally get people excited about a book. And while Gilley and Lee have done readings and events with a wide variety of authors, they are particularly invested in local authors. They always take the chance to point visitors toward the local section, a large shelf near the front of the store.

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erhaps the most valuable part of this business for the co-owners is the cultivation of community. It has shown up with great force several times throughout the bookstore’s history.

In 2017 Gilley and Lee relocated to the spot in Hazelwood they still inhabit. In doing so they have been a big part of the area’s renaissance. The move was going to be a huge undertaking, and the two women had planned a whole month of in-between to get it all done. However, Manager Mary Skelton balked at that notion. An entire month? She said they could get it done in two days. Sure enough, Skelton employed the help of the Blue Ridge Books community and so many people showed up to help that many volunteers didn’t even have work to do.

During the shutdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, people from around the region, and across the country that had visited the store at some point, did what they could to help the bookstore stay in business.

Some people prepaid on their account to help

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July 20-26, 2022

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Co-owners of Blue Ridge Books, Allison Lee (left) and Jo Gilley (right) are celebrating 15 years in business. Hannah McLeod photo with cash flow, and then picked up books as needed throughout the pandemic.

“Some of them are still buying things now, from what they paid back then,” said Gilley. “During COVID we really saw how much community we had.”

Local authors also played an important role in helping get through covid. David Joy posted on social media asking people to order his new book “When These Mountains Burn,” from independent bookstores in the region.

“People ordered from all over the country, it was amazing. It helped a lot,” said Gilley. or Gilley and Lee, books and reading have always been a core piece of their lives. However, that doesn’t mean you’ll find them reading the same books.

“For a long time ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ was the one book we had in common,” said Lee. For two avid readers, that’s saying a lot.

But they understood this as a strength. Their knowledge and interest in literature spanned as wide as it could for two people.

“There were so many times when books

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changed what I had always thought or what I had always known,” said Lee. “I think everybody feels safe and comfortable in a bookstore,” said Gilley. “They come in here and, I mean, I kid, I tell everybody we’re like a bar, you know, we listen to your problems as we’re cleaning off the bar. It’s just a safe place. We don’t have to agree with everything they say, but they know they can say it.”

This type of customer care is central to cultivating the community that sustains a local bookstore. There is a rule among book sellers, a universal one that will garner knowing nods and sly smiles from those in the business. The rule is no pointing. And while you may have been pointed in the direction of the biography or mystery/thriller section at a big-box store, you’ll likely never experience that in an independent bookstore. These booksellers know that you stick with a customer, walk them over to a shelf or a section of the store and help them find exactly what they’re looking for, or even better, the answer to “what do I read next?”

“It’s all about matching the book to the

avigating the constantly shifting environment of the book world is a challenge that Gilley and Lee are more than willing to face. They know that if they keep up with their customers, and the going on of the literary beat, they will succeed in bringing people what they need.

Do these two booksellers have a favorite book? Hardly. It shifts as often as they consume new material and delve into exciting new worlds, priming them for new suggestions every day. But there are those titles that have stuck with them ever since they closed the cover.

What are their hopes for the business over the next 15 years?

“I hope it’s surviving and to see another generation come up that we’ve watched grow,” said Gilley. “I want to be relevant to the community.”

“Being able to be supportive of our schools is very important to us,” said Lee. “We’re always trying to figure out things to do, to be supportive of the schools, and I’d really like to continue to do that. Because I think there is a population of kids in school that are not reading and they’re not reading books that reflect who they are and those are important things. Whoever you are and whatever your situation is, there is a book that can speak to you.”

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‘Self-sufficiency is resistance’

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The idea that “self-sufficiency is resistance” is at the core of Julie Jones' new store. Hannah McLeod photo

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Ingles Nutrition Notes written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath Should You Avoid MSG (MonoSodiuM GlutAMAte)?

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July 20-26, 2022

· Despite reports from individuals who claim that MSG caused physical symptoms, research in the 1990’s could not replicate these reactions when individuals consume meals with small amounts of MSG. Bottom Line: If you do experience a reaction when you consume a meal that you know or believe has MSG, you could be especially sensitive to MSG and those symptoms should be short-lived, but this is not a true allergy. Certain symptoms could indicate that the culprit may be another ingredient in the meal or even a food safety issue.

Source: Questions and Answers on Monosodium glutamate (MSG) | FDA

Smoky Mountain News

BY HANNAH MCLEOD “These mountains have a history of being STAFF WRITER rebellious,” says Jones. “From the Cherokee ulie Fox Jones’ family has been in resisting removal to the hardscrabble immiCullowhee for at least 100 years, probagrants resisting persecution, to moonshiners bly even longer. Naturally, as a kid growresisting taxation. This area is a hotbed of ing up here, all she wanted to do was leave. fierce independence.”

Get out of town. What she didn’t expect was Though Jones is noticeably humble and that once she’d made it out, all she would grateful for the place she’s in, it’s not hard to think about was how to get home. see that fierce independence lurking behind “I started daydreaming about how I her smooth veneer. That Appalachian attiwould come back home; I knew it would tude helped her get where she is today. involve a career change, and this is what I Leaving a career in construction manageended up with,” said Jones, motioning to the ment, where she worked all over the wide open interior of her new storefront on Southeast, to open a store in Sylva was not Main Street in downtown Sylva. an easy transition. It took a lot of work to get By “this,” Jones means Wildkitchen to be able to open the doors to her store this Supply — a store for everything you can do summer. Jones encountered a steep learning in a kitchen — which officially opened its doors [We stock] items to help people with June 30. Jones’ goal was to create a place where their crafts in the kitchen. Whether people could come for all that’s home canning ... or learning new their kitchen needs. Not just baking and grilling, things like how to make your own but also preparation, preservation, foraging, sourdough or your own kombucha.” crafting and tools for just — Julie Fox Jones about any other foodrelated need one might have. She has built a kitchen store that caters curve, one her strength, independence and to the type of kitchen she grew up in — an passion for self-sufficiency and Appalachian Appalachian one where a whole lot more culture helped her to navigate. goes on than just cooking.

More than anything, Jones is eager to “This is a kitchen store specifically for the share what she has created with the communipeople of Western North Carolina,” said ty. That’s why Wildkitchen Supply will not Jones. “That includes both people like me only be a place for supplies, but also inspirawho are from here and also the kind of peotion, education and connection with local ple that this area attracts. And so it’s not so artists and creators. Jones plans to be an outlet much fine dining and silverware as it is where local artists of all sorts can display their items to help people with their crafts in the works and gain visibility. In addition, she is kitchen. Whether that’s home canning, planning several classes and demonstrations that’s been done around these parts for a that will give the community an opportunity long time, or learning new things like how to to learn and trade methods, tips and tricks for make your own sourdough or your own all things that might go on in the kitchen. kombucha.”

Jones has created a place where residents As you walk into Wildkitchen Supply, and visitors to the area can expect to find a you’ll notice the words “self-sufficiency is plethora of tools for the kitchen, education resistance,” sprawled across the wall to your and community. To find out more visit wildright. This idea is at the core of Jones’ new kitchensupply.com or visit the store in perbusiness. son at 567 West Main Street in Sylva.

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian

@InglesDietitian Leah McGrath - Dietitian Ingles Markets… caring about your health

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Police reform inches forward in WNC

BY KYLE PERROTTI N EWS E DITOR he conversation around police reform has cooled down slightly over the last year, but that doesn’t mean law enforcement agencies around the state aren’t quietly implementing new policies — policies that came on the heels of the movement that gained steam after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020.

In North Carolina, the most notable changes came as a result of last year’s Senate Bill 300.

The bill did several things, from requiring state agencies to investigate deaths that result from a use of force to requiring officers to be fingerprinted to better identify those with a criminal history.

While many departments had already mandated a “duty to intervene” meaning an officer must prevent another officer from using excessive force, if possible, S300 requires a duty to report excessive force used by a colleague to a superior. Mental health awareness among officers was also a key provision of the bill, which mandated continuous training in that area.

In addition, the bill created a series of changes not directly related to how officers carry out their duties. It allows for the transportation of patients who’ve been involuntarily committed to be done by family or friends, when approved. Previously, those transports would only be done by sheriff ’s deputies and could take them to the far reaches of the state.

S300 also changed the waiting period between a defendant getting booked into jail and their first hearing from 96 hours to 72.

Heads of several agencies in Western North Carolina indicated that some things to limit use of force, like banning certain restraint tactics, were already in practice.

“Some of the things they implemented we do anyway, but we’re in the process of going through that now to make sure we’re doing it all right,” said Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland.

The most impactful changes aim to ensure a greater degree of law enforcement transparency and accountability. Former Waynesville Police Chief and current Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police Bill Hollingsed — who worked with legislators to develop S300 — welcomes those changes.

“We are fully cognizant that there are people in this profession that don’t need to be,” Hollingsed said. “They don’t need to have a badge and a gun. Nobody hates a bad cop worse than a good cop. It affects all of us.”

Smoky Mountain News

July 20-26, 2022

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A BIPARTISAN EFFORT The bill was signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper back in September of last year and had bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

Hollingsed put in a good deal of work 6 compromising with other stakeholders to

Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland said his agency had already implemented several things that were mandated

by S300, and now his office is working to ensure compliance with the rest.

File photo

help craft S300. It wasn’t just a matter of legislators cooperating — independent law enforcement advocacy groups, not all of which always have the same agenda, came together.

“They worked hand-in-hand with the chief ’s association, with the sheriffs’ association, with the conference of district attorneys to kind of formulate a bill that was all-encompassing and reached a lot of the areas that we were probably short on as a profession,” Hollingsed said. “We weren’t all doing this on our own, but now the Bill Hollingsed legislature has now mandated that we do.

And to be honest with you, we think that’s a good thing in a lot of these areas.”

In a press release from Cooper’s office that also mentioned the signing of two other “criminal justice reform” bills, the governor highlighted disparities in interactions between law enforcement and different communities.

“We have seen that the criminal justice system doesn’t always treat everyone the same — and too often the differences are disproportionately felt by people of color,” said Gov. Cooper. “This legislation will take us one step further toward a more equitable and just North Carolina for all.”

In addition, law enforcement advocacy

groups supported its passage.

“This legislation will enhance the criminal justice system and the law enforcement profession,” a press release from the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association stated.

However, some advocacy groups that take a more progressive stance toward police reform thought it didn’t actually do much to ensure officers will be held to a higher standard. In a press release issued by the ACLU of North Carolina, Director of Policy and Advocacy Daniel Bowes expressed his frustrations with shortcomings he identified in the bill.

“The law enforcement training and oversight provisions in S300 rely on and perpetuate the falsehoods that the failings of the criminal legal system are the result of ‘a few bad apples’ and that the police can police themselves,” he said in the release. “Powerful law enforcement special interest groups, including the NC Conference of District Attorneys and the NC Sheriffs’ Association, have used all of their resources to prevent crucial criminal justice reforms from advancing in North Carolina in SB 300 and many other bipartisan bills this session. It’s a shame that politics and special interests prevent our state from making the transformative changes that our communities desperately need.”

In a story from NC Policy Watch, Dawn Blagrove, executive director of criminal justice nonprofit Emancipate NC, expressed similar sentiments.

“SB 300 makes important strides for first

appearances in misdemeanor cases but does little else to create much needed equity or advance the level of accountability for law enforcement the people need,” she said.

KEEPING TRACK OF THE ‘BAD APPLES’ One highlight of the bill was that it created several databases to track law enforcement officers who use deadly force, face certain disciplinary actions and more.

“It really allows law enforcement to hire the best and brightest and weed out a few ‘bad apples’ that we do have,” said bill sponsor Sen. Danny Britt (R-Robeson) during an interview last year.

The databases use information collected to form an “early warning” system that can identify officers who display concerning trends. Hollingsed said that while some bigger departments already had early warning systems, he wanted to see that kind of tool exist everywhere. To do that, his organization partnered with the UNC School of Government to formulate and implement those systems in a manner that they can be tailored to any department.

“Now it’s every agency, whether you’re a five-man police department or you have 1,800 officers,” Hollingsed said.

Hollingsed said it’s important for law enforcement heads to realize that the early alert system isn’t meant to ruin an officer’s

through, Hollingsed said he did still lean on CALEA as a baseline.

“We were not going to completely reinvent the wheel; we’ve got a good national accreditation standard to start with,” he said.

“We tailored it to meet North Carolina needs and requirements such as the mandates through S300.”

The state studied six departments — three that were nationally accredited through CALEA and three that weren’t to see the differences in how they operate to determine how the process may best work in North Carolina. Now, there are six pilot programs at departments from the mountains to the sea to see how the state’s accreditation program works in the real world.

Of the six law enforcement organizations selected for the pilot program, only one — The Black Mountain Police Department — is in WNC. Waynesville Police Chief David Adams said his department applied to be in the pilot program.

While it wasn’t selected, David Adams he noted that he still plans on pursuing accreditation for his department.

“I think can be beneficial,” Adams said.

Specifically, according to Hollingsed, it can reduce insurance rates by 10-15%.

“The other thing is it shows the community that your agency is operating under best practices and standards at a statewide,” he said.

Christopher, who is set to retire at the end of his current term, said his office isn’t accredited, but he hopes to see whoever fills his shoes pursue that path.

“When I was on the highway patrol, we worked through the accreditation process, and it was it was very time consuming to get where we needed to be,” he said. “But once we got there, it paid dividends for us.

Hopefully all of our agencies in North Carolina will be accredited at some point and held to that standard. Whenever you have this accreditation process, you also have somebody coming in to check on you to hold you accountable. Everybody needs accountability.”

Bryson City Police Chief Charlie Robinson said smaller departments in Western North Carolina like his will have issues with accreditation simply because of the money and time required — in addition, things like diversity requirements can be tricky in such a homogeneous area.

“For smaller departments, it’s harder to meet the criteria,” Robinson said.

Hollingsed said he hopes to see most agencies in the state accredited within 10 years, although he admitted it won’t be mandatory. But that may be a tough sell for some folks, considering no agencies west of Asheville are. But for now, he and his fellow stakeholders are still in the process of getting through the pilot phase and considering what works best for the diverse array of law enforcement agencies in the state.

“It’s a learning curve for us as well,” Hollingsed said.

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Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher (right) said he hopes that upon his retirement, whoever fills his shoes will strive to get that office accredited at the state level. File photo database through the Department of Justice, the Giglio orders now factor into the early warning system.

“If a chief in Manteo was looking to hire someone from Murphy, there was no central repository as far as whether we were eligible to even see those, whether an officer had been issued a Giglio letter by a local district attorney,” Hollingsed said. “Now there is.”

MATTERS OF SEMANTICS

THE NEXT FRONTIER While many progressives have long called for an end to qualified immunity for law enforcement officers or even cutting police funding, that may be farther off.

Hollingsed said his next priority is getting as many North Carolina agencies accredited as possible.

Hollingsed is one of two representatives from the Association of Chiefs of Police on the Executive Committee for North Carolina Law Enforcement Accreditation. In fact, he currently chairs that committee.

“It’s my goal as a chairman of the accreditation committee to see 515 police departments and sheriff ’s offices accredited in this state,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re a sixman agency or a 6,000-man agency, you are utilizing best practices in your policies and procedures to provide the best service to not only your people, but the communities you serve.”

Previously, departments could gain national accreditation through CALEA, but that can be expensive and requires reaccreditation every three years. While he’s long wanted to create a separate system in North Carolina agencies can gain accreditation

Smoky Mountain News

While law enforcement heads in WNC seem to like or at least tolerate the mandates of S300, there have been some kinks.

Christopher and Haynes noted that some definitions could be tricky. Perhaps the toughest thing to nail down is simply the definition of “use of force.”

The bill defines a critical incident involving use of force as one that results in “death or serious bodily injury.”

“In the continuum of force, just presence alone is one use of force,” Haynes said. “And it goes all the way up to deadly force.”

Hollingsed agreed.

“People have different definitions of what serious injury is. Some people say, ‘oh, he got his hand cut, so that’s a serious injury,’” he said. “Some would say, ‘well a broken bone isn’t life threatening’ … Some of our smaller agencies, like maybe campus agencies, say, ‘if we cuff somebody, we kind of consider that a use of force,’ but some departments do that every day and wouldn’t consider it that.”

Similarly, Hollingsed said different district attorneys have their own standards for issuing a Giglio order.

“Each individual elected district attorney defines what Giglio means to them,” he said.

But Hollingsed said he and his fellow stakeholders are working diligently to get everyone on the same page with consistent definitions and upholding the same standards via a series of training webinars. He said that while some bigger departments may have legal and policy implementation teams, smaller ones don’t — that’s where the greatest need is.

“We can go in and give them example policies of best practices and help these smaller agencies develop and implement these systems,” he said.

Christopher said he thinks it’s important that the training regarding new reforms is ongoing to ensure that chiefs and sheriffs continue to understand crucial definitions as they may evolve over time. Like with anything else, everyone could use a refresher once in a while.

“It is important that we continue to hold people’s trust,” he said. “Law enforcement is not effective if your community doesn’t trust you, so I would like to see us continue giving as much attention from a training standpoint for each one of these matters that Senate Bill 300 projects … I think this is a good accountability piece for us.”

July 20-26, 2022

career. In fact, it’s meant to create intervention points that could save an officer’s career.

He added that it isn’t only a means for documenting trends of misconduct; it could identify something like excessive use of sick time indicating a personal issue or problem at home — essentially, it can be another tool to see developing mental health concerns in officers before they manifest on the job.

Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher and his chief deputy, Jeff Haynes, said they worked to implement everything mandated by S300 well before last year’s deadlines. However, like Sheriff Holland, Christopher was also quick to point out that they were doing many of those things to begin with. For example, Haynes came up with a form used to track critical incidents — defined in the bill as a use of force, citizen complaint, vehicle collision or discharging a firearm.

“We already had established a use of force board some years ago, and now we have a checklist that’s in everybody’s personnel file,” Christopher said, adding that one thing he wants to see is a standardized form that could be used at all of the state’s 100 sheriff ’s offices so that when someone transfers from one agency to another, the new agency will be able to easily understand the kind of deputy they may be getting.

Like many others, the Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office uses an Excel spreadsheet to log those incidents and easily determine trends. While Christopher and Haynes said that system hasn’t been in use long enough to determine trends, they believe it will be soon.

“It’s just too early,” Christopher said. “I would say in 18 months if you look back at it, you probably are gonna see some trends where maybe, maybe a deputy or a police officer has had two or three patrol collisions, for example, or maybe his or her use of force reports are a lot more than the average across the office.”

S300 also requires that any law enforcement officer who has received a Giglio Order must report and provide a copy of that notification to the Criminal Justice Standards Division within 30 days of receiving the notification.

A Giglio order is issued by a district attorney, United States attorney, or judge when a law enforcement officer has lost the faith of an official to deliver credible testimony in court. This means an officer who’s been issued a Giglio order can’t be effective in patrol or investigations because they can’t testify. For example, as The Smoky Mountain News reported in 2018, District Attorney Ashley Welch issued a Giglio Order for thenCherokee County Sheriff ’s Deputy Eric Giles.

According to SMN’s coverage, Welch’s letter stipulated that Giles had misrepresented his duties as a law enforcement officer on multiple occasions and the DA’s office had a constitutional obligation to disclose any information that could be used to impeach the testimony of a prosecution witness, including instances of untruthfulness and potential bias.

Hollingsed praised the state’s move to develop a central repository of all officers affected by a Giglio order within the Criminal Justice Standards Division. While there was a

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Waynesville Housing Authority’s new director searches for solutions

July 20-26, 2022

Tina Okenfuss brings a wealth of experience to the Waynesville Housing Authority. Cory Vaillancourt photo

Smoky Mountain News

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR he’s only been here for three months, but Missouri native Tina Okenfuss is already looking to make a big impact on Western North Carolina’s affordable housing crisis as the new executive director of the Waynesville Housing Authority.

“I’ve seen six- and seven-figure income people end up having to apply for housing,” Okenfuss said. “One hit with the stock market and they lose everything. One severe medical issue can wipe a person’s financials to nothing, and I’ve seen that happen. Having a housing authority and having it run to where it’s decent and it’s safe for your people is a benefit.”

Founded in 1962, the Waynesville Housing Authority manages 100 units in four separate locations. Usually brick, single-story duplexes, there are eight in Chestnut Park, 12 near Pigeon Street, 20 off Boyd Avenue and 60 in Ninevah. Currently, 20 are studios, 24 are one-bedrooms, 25 are two-bedrooms, 23 are three-bedrooms and 7 are four-bedrooms.

Rents for the units are in line with the 30% rule — renters who spend more than 30% of their adjusted income on housing costs are considered burdened by those housing costs, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Affordability has been a persistent issue in Haywood County. Driven by a red-hot real 8 estate market, skyrocketing prices for new

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and existing homes drive rents higher.

Finding available rentals in Haywood County is a challenge unto itself. According to Zillow, there were only 14 as of press time and the cheapest was still 25% higher than fair market.

The median income for an individual in Haywood County is less than $31,000.

Minimum rents for WHA properties start at $50 a month but can go up to 80% of the HUD fair market rent figure for the county.

At the Waynesville Tower, a 62-unit facility on Church Street, there are 52 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom units.

Occupancy, generally for the elderly, is consistently near 100%, but when a unit does become available it’s quickly snatched up, as there is a waiting list.

The tower’s maximum rent is set by HUD, and can vary greatly after considerations not only for income but also for childcare costs and medical expenses.

The WHA operates on an annual budget of around $1.5 million, of which around $550,000 comes as income from rent, $515,000 comes from HUD and another $500,000 or so comes from HUD for capital improvements and projects.

The local governments of Waynesville and Haywood County don’t contribute anything.

All told, in this growing county of 60,000 people there are only 162 public housing units that can truly be called “affordable housing.”

“I’m willing and I know my board will support partnering with whoever to get that moderate to lower-income housing here, because there definitely is a need.”

— Tina Okenfuss

Although it does ensure some semblance of security for the county’s most vulnerable residents, the public housing supply does not nearly meet the demand from other vulnerable individuals or make it any easier for working families to put a roof over their heads. If the WHA is to have an impact on the affordable housing crisis in Haywood County, Okenfuss will have to work within a siloed affordable housing ecosystem to address the supply issue.

But first, she’ll focus on the WHA itself, to ensure those 162 units remain available. ach year, physical property inspections are conducted across the nation by HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center for each property insured, owned or subsidized by HUD.

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According to HUD, around 20,000 inspections are conducted every year to verify the units are sanitary, safe and generally in good repair. The inspections are then scored on a 0100 scale.

The lowest scores, all in the single-digits, belong mainly to housing authorities in Brooklyn, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey.

The highest scores were recorded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Stamford, Connecticut, along with 19 others cities that all notched a perfect 100. Representing North Carolina, New Hanover also earned a perfect score.

The Waynesville Housing Authority scored a 79. Out of 6,524 scores recorded, Waynesville ranked 4,366th, placing it near the top of the bottom third.

“There’s a financial end of that, and a management and occupancy [section], and all of that works together just like a report card for a final score,” Okenfuss said. “Right now, [the WHA is] a standard performer. It’s kind of stale at the moment because as with every housing authority, we’ve been through the COVID thing, where they could not get into the units for two years.”

Waynesville’s last inspections were last conducted on Nov. 6, 2019 — just before the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

“When I came here and I looked at these units, I thought that for the age of it, it’s in very good shape,” Okenfuss said.

Okenfuss credited Beth Kahl, interim executive director for the past two years, with leading the maintenance team through a difficult time.

“If you can imagine not being able to get into those units for two years, now housing authority staff is having to go in and go, ‘You know, we really gotta get this kicked up and get going and get it back to where it should be,’” Okenfuss said. “So that’s kind of where everybody’s at right now. We haven’t had [a new HUD inspection] yet, but it will be Aug. 4.”

With the inspection looming, Okenfuss doesn’t plan on being caught flat-footed.

“What I’ve always done is, I’ve had an independent contractor come in and go in every unit to make sure that we’re ready for that official HUD score. We just had that done and we had a couple problem areas, but not bad,” she said. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we do very well, or at least somewhere in the middle. I don’t want those lower scores, you know?”

Although far from failing, the WHA can certainly stand some improvement.

Okenfuss’ experience makes her a solid candidate to do just that.

Okenfuss grew up in southeast Missouri and began her housing career at the housing authority in Jefferson City, the state’s capital.

From there, it was on to St. Louis, and then to a small housing authority in St. Genevieve, where she served as executive director.

“It was actually designated as one of the worst housing authorities in the United States,” she said. “I had come from Jeff City, which was a big housing authority with real problems, and I thought, ‘What’s the problem? You don’t have really bad stuff here.’

When I got there, they would score between like the 30s and

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COLLEGE BOUND?

County Efficiency 1 br.

2 br.

3 br.

4 br.

Buncombe..............$1,188.............$1,209.............$1,378.............$1,879.............$2,359 Cherokee ................$579................$583................$767................$1,000.............$1,151 Clay........................$668................$721................$821................$1,015.............$1,296 Graham..................$547................$550................$724................$895................$1,143 Haywood.................$637................$822................$937................$1,165.............$1,422 Henderson..............$1,188.............$1,209.............$1,378.............$1,879.............$2,359 Jackson ..................$626................$637................$726................$1,030.............$1,146 Madison .................$1,188.............$1,209.............$1,378.............$1,879.............$2,359 Macon ....................$660................$695................$811................$1,003.............$1,388 Swain .....................$575................$579................$724................$986................$1,143 Transylvania...........$706................$711................$935................$1,156.............$1,364

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Source: huduser.gov

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kenfuss isn’t just concerned with maintaining WHA’s supply of public affordable housing — she’s also keen to do what she can to increase the supply, be it public, private or public-private partnerships.

“The board that I work under right now, one of the things that they want to bring to the area is affordable, moderate and lowincome housing,” she said. “Whatever we need to do in order to do that, I mean, I’m willing and I know my board will support partnering with whoever to get that moderate to lower-income housing here, because there definitely is a need.”

Patsy Davis, longtime director of local social services agency Mountain Projects, said she’d love to pull together a project with multiple partners.

“United we’re stronger,” Davis said. “I like to work with nonprofits with the same mission.”

Much of the recent development in Waynesville and outlying areas doesn’t

include affordable housing units, but rather consists mostly of workforce housing or market rate housing.

Although there’s a theory that building any new housing allows some people to “move up” thus creating vacancies in cheaper housing units, Davis doesn’t totally buy it.

“As new units come on the market, I haven’t seen it lessen the burden on those we serve,” she said. “I haven’t seen that as much as I would like to. I think that’s because we lose a lot to short term rentals.”

Right now, Davis said she’s working with the Givens Estate, an Asheville-based senior living community that developed the Great Laurels of Junaluska.

“They focus a lot on senior housing,” she said. “They bring so much knowledge and expertise. I’ve been partnering with them and trying to find some property.”

When she does, she’ll have the operating capital to help with construction costs. In January, an anonymous donor gifted Mountain Projects with a 137-acre tract in Panther Creek worth roughly $2 million.

Although the land isn’t exactly suitable for the higher-density type of development affordable housing developers need — it lacks sewer and water connections — the staggering act of generosity will still have a substantial impact on Davis’ work.

Two weeks ago, the land was sold. Davis didn’t disclose the arrangements, but did say that some of the purchase price would be owner-financed to ensure a steady stream of operating capital in the future.

Additionally, Davis said there are currently two pending applications in at the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency — the same entity that helped fund redevelopment of the historic Haywood Hospital into senior living apartments through tax credits.

Davis said she was encouraged by the progress being made to provide affordable housing in Haywood County, and that she’d welcome more cooperation between all the players in the affordable housing ecosystem to help move things along.

“There’s a lot happening,” she said. “It’s just not happening very fast.”

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July 20-26, 2022

40s. The management just wasn’t there.”

Within two years, Okenfuss led the authority to become a high performer with perfect scores. She stayed for 15 years.

During that time, she earned a master’s degree in clinical counselling. After a few more moves and another master’s degree, this one in professional counselling, she worked briefly in the corrections industry in South Carolina but wanted to return to housing. She’s about to receive her third master’s degree, this one in criminal justice.

“So I’m highly educated,” she said, “but I also have common sense.”

Okenfuss says that Waynesville has one of the better housing authorities she’s seen in her 25-year career.

“Housing authorities, there’s a lot of problems with them — mental health issues, drugs, violence. All of that goes with low income, no income and poverty. That’s a breeding ground for criminal activity and the larger it is, usually the worse it is,” she said.

“So these smaller housing authorities are able to focus a little bit more on the residents and on keeping our housing authorities safe.”

SAFE! SMART! PREPARED!

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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fair market rents, 2022

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Grant helps businesses relocating for NC 107 expansion

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER ackson County Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce have created the N.C. 107 Business Relocation Grant program for businesses that are forced to move due to the N.C. 107 expansion project.

“These grant funds would be used for those businesses that are required to relocate due to this project specifically, to offset costs that are not covered by their relocation to support them in those efforts,” said Economic Development Director Tiffany Henry.

The grant of $50,000 will go to the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce which will administer the funds. Each business having to relocate due to the N.C. 107 project will be eligible for up to $1,000.

“This is a good opportunity to move forward and try to work with these multiple businesses that are impacted,” said County Manager Don Adams. “This program can be distinguished from other programs in the sense that, I’m not aware of any other major DOT project that’s had such a significant impact on multiple operations and so I do believe this does warrant a potential special program.”

At this point, there are at least 35 businesses that will need to relocate due to the widening of N.C. 107. According to Jacob Day, senior right of way agent for Division 14 of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, 14 businesses have already closed or relocated due to the project. Those that have already moved are still eligible for this grant money. There is a possibility that several more businesses will be required to move as a section of the project, between Walmart and Lowes, is still undetermined.

“At the end of the day we do want them to know that we’re supportive of them, this is something that is outside of their control, but we want them to feel the support of the resources that exist, and this is a way that we can help them feel that support,” said Henry.

According to Julie Donaldson, executive director of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, not all the businesses that will have to relocate are part of the chamber, but this will not affect their ability to receive grant money.

Smoky Mountain News

July 20-26, 2022

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At least 35 businesses will have to relocate due to the N.C. 107 expansion project. Holly Kays photo “It doesn’t matter one way or the other, we’re still going to go visit with them in person and see them and potentially provide them this offer,” said Donaldson. “We’re meeting with them either way. But many of them are [part of the chamber]. Those that aren’t, it’s a great opportunity for me, but also, more importantly, a great opportunity for us to meet with a business owner that may need resources they may not be aware of through SBTDC, through the small business center, the chamber, Mountain West Partnership, many others. It’s a great opportunity for us to see folks face to face and hear what their needs are.”

“I would like to thank Tiffany Henry and all the partners that have come together,” said Commissioner Gayle Woody. “In talking to some of those business owners, they have expressed to me that you have reached out to them and they don’t feel like they are totally isolated and victims of the situation, they feel like they are being supported, and that’s so important.”

The money being granted to the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is coming from the Economic Development Fund, which is budgeted each year through the county’s general fund for economic development.

“Both Tiffany and I, in talking about it, think this is supporting our businesses,” County Attorney Heather Baker told the county commission during its July 12 meeting. “Keeping jobs in the county by supporting the businesses moving is really the closest we’re going to get to the intention of this money. That’s why we feel comfortable recommending that you do this with the $50,000 from the Economic Development Fund.”

The county cannot administer the money, but the chamber can. Because the chamber has a small staff, it may need to extend some of its part-time staff to be able to do this work and some of the money may go towards administering the funds.

The conversation for this grant started with stakeholders trying to figure out how to assist businesses affected by the N.C. 107

Waynesville Inn construction muddies waters

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR orkers performing construction activities at the Waynesville Inn and Golf Club are in hot water this week after a complaint about mud in a creek drew the attention of town officials and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

“My understanding is there’s a notice of violation being produced,” said Josh Kastrinsky, a public information officer with the DEQ’s division of water resources.

The historic Waynesville Inn was sold for nearly $9 million in April, 2021 to Raines Company, a South Carolinabased hospitality development firm.

At the time, managing partner Grey Raines told The Smoky Mountain News that the group would spend mil-

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lions more on rehabilitating the 95-year-old, 165-acre Waynesville institution, including the 111-room hotel and the 27-hole golf course.

Work on the massive project has proceeded fairly rapidly since then, but it hasn’t been without problems — in December of 2021, residents became concerned when smoke from burning debris blanketed the town.

Last week, a downstream neighbor contacted Waynesville’s planning department, concerned about an unusual amount of mud in Farmer Branch, which feeds into Richland Creek.

Town officials were initially hesitant to provide further details, referring questions to the DEQ until finally admitting they had indeed investigated the situation.

“The town received a complaint by an individual proper-

project. Aside from moving expenses, businesses will have to deal with a whole host of permitting fees for their new location.

“The county has a long-standing policy that we don’t release things like solid waste fees and things like building permit fees and things of that nature,” said Adams. “This is really a way to approach and try to help with those types of expenses, without really altering the way we have to charge for our services.”

“We can’t waive those permitting fees; how can we help them feel like we’re not trying to double charge them for something that they paid for when they got established to begin with?” said Henry. “What does that look like as they move forward? So this was a way for us to sort of circumvent not waving the fee, but then also show them that we’re trying to help them.”

The chamber will work with their grant committee on creating an application for businesses to apply and will reach out to all businesses that are having to relocate.

ty owner. The town staff made an investigation on site,” said Olga Grooman, a Waynesville town planner.

Grooman said that she and Byron Hickox, the town’s land use administrator, visited the site and observed turbidity and silt fence issues. They then contacted the contractor and notified the local DEQ office.

“Due to the size of their activities, the country club got the state land disturbing permits for several projects there, not local,” Grooman said. “That is why the NC DEQ is handling the violation of the permit that they issued.”

On July 15, Kastrinsky confirmed to SMN that a notice of violation was being prepared and would be delivered.

Kastrinsky said that once DEQ was satisfied that the appropriate parties had received the notice of violation, the notice would become public.

The Smoky Mountain News has requested a copy of the notice for whenever it becomes available. An email to the club’s membership office was not returned.

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The Team

Graphic Designer Jessica Murray (from left), SMN News Editor Jessi Stone, Staff Writer Hannah McLeod, Digital Media Specialist Susanna Shetley and Amanda Singletary (not pictured)

Summer Succotash

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·SUSANNA SHETLEY

created this recipe on a whim, and it ended up being absolutely delicious. It’s not complicated, but it is fresh, fresh, fresh. It tastes like summertime on a fork. It also stores well and can be eaten for several days after the initial batch is made. Enjoy!

• Cut the vegetables in large, bite sized pieces. It’s not totally necessary, but if you don’t have time to let the succotash marinate, flash steam the asparagus by blanching in hot water for about one minute. You want it to be bright green but still crisp. (If using fresh sweet corn, blanch before removing from the cob. Frozen corn does not need to be cooked as it’s blanched before it’s frozen.)

• Add the veggies to the oil and vinegar mixture and season well with salt and pepper. Mix well, covering all the vegetables evenly with the seasoned marinade.

• Allow the succotash to “set” by sitting on the counter or in the fridge. On the counter in room temp, allow about two hours. In the fridge, the succotash can set up over night. This allows the flavors to meld and the acid from the lemon and vinegar to soften the vegetables.

• Serve room temperature or cool; this dish pairs well with white fish and ancient grain or rice. It can also be served as a cold salad for lunch.

mountain

s uth media

Smoky Mountain News

• 2 yellow squash • 2 zucchini • 1 bunch asparagus • 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half • 1 ½ cups corn (cut fresh from the cob or frozen) • 1 bunch green onions • 1 small lemon, juiced • 1 tsp minced garlic • 3 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed from the stem • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil • ¼ cup red wine vinegar • 2 tbsp white cooking wine • Freshly ground sea salt and pepper

• In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and garlic. Finely dice the rosemary and green onion, stir in to the oil and vinegar. Set aside.

July 20-26, 2022

Ingredients

Directions

Rumble is a weekly e-newsletter created by women, for women and about women. It is published by The Smoky Mountain News and delivered to your inbox each Thursday. The goal is to offer readers a beautifully curated email that will inspire and motivate women to live their best lives. By hearing the challenges and successes of other women, we hope you will find an opportunity to live, love, learn and grow in your own unique way.

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news July 20-26, 2022 Smoky Mountain News 12

Former Sylva Police officer charged with misdemeanor assault On Feb. 15, 2021, the Sylva Police Department became aware of an allegation of excessive force by then SPD Officer Patrick “Eli” Trantham involving an arrestee.

According to a Sylva Police Deparetment press release, upon learning about the accusation, Chief Chris Hatton called for two investigations into the alleged incident — an administrative investigation and a criminal investigation. The administrative — or internal — investigation was conducted by members of Sylva Police Department’s leadership. The goal of this investigation was to determine if any department policies were violated during this situation. The second investigation requested by Hatton was a criminal investigation. The goal of this investigation was to determine if any violations of criminal law occurred, which was looked into by the State Bureau of Investigation.

On Feb. 16, 2021, the Sylva Police Department continued to complete the appropriate investigative steps and gather facts about the situation. Chief Hatton met with Trantham. Trantham was suspended during the pre-disciplinary meeting. The administrative investigation was concluded on this date, and a final disciplinary meeting was scheduled with Trantham for the next day.

On Feb. 17, 2021, Trantham resigned his employment in the morning hours before the scheduled meeting. The release notes that the meeting would have resulted in the termination of Trantham’s employment with the Town of Sylva. Trantham began employment with the Town of Sylva on Oct.29, 2019, and had not been the subject of any previous complaints or investigations.

Chief Hatton issued the following statement: “The leadership of the Sylva Police Department took this matter serious from the minute it came to light. We believe being held accountable should be a critical core value for all law enforcement agencies, including our own. The Sylva Police Department requested the external investigation by the NCSBI, and we fully cooperated with every step of this investigation. We acted with urgency to assure this incident was handled properly, without delay, and by the appropriate agency. Our community can trust their police department to do what is right when accusations such as this are made. My staff and I appreciate the hard work of both the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office and the NCSBI in this matter.”

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Maggie Valley purchases land for Festival Grounds

BY HANNAH MCLEOD of our largest commercial investments in the STAFF WRITER town which is the festival grounds,” said he Maggie Valley Festival Grounds are Clark. continuing to grow after the town purThe Maggie Valley Festival Grounds is chased a tract of land connected to the scheduled to hold 23 events in 2022 from grounds last week.

April through October. The events them“The Board of Aldermen is always lookselves are held by individuals or entities who ing for opportunities to improve our stratelease the grounds from the town. This not gic position at the Maggie Valley Festival only provides operating costs to the town, Grounds, and we were presented with an but also brings in visitors to a town where opportunity over the last couMaggie Valley recently purchased a tract of land adjacent to ple of months,” said Town Manager Nathan Clark. the Festival Grounds. HCTDA photo That opportunity came from Donald and Mary Jane Ferguson, who owned a 1.03acre parcel of land between the main entrance to the grounds and the Comfort Inn to the east. The parcel has frontage on Soco Road, and the back of the property borders the festival grounds. The town voted to approve purchase of the property for $430,000.

The lot is currently home to several single-story apartment buildings. No plans have been made regarding use for the property, and the board has not determined whether the building will remain or be many businesses rely on tourism. demolished.

This is the second major investment the “The board will start planning and town has put into the festival grounds over visioning for what this site will be in the the past two years, with another to come future, but it will definitely add value to one later this summer. In February of last year,

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the town purchased the 1.05-acre lot located directly across Soco Road from the entrance of the Festival Grounds for $185,000. The lot had been vacant for many years but was previously home to the Sweet Briar Motel. The plan was to turn this lot into a paved parking area for the festival grounds.

This year, the town will spend $250,000 to pave the lot and make it suitable for parking. The town also applied for grant money

from the Haywood County TDA special project fund to help with costs and was awarded $96,131. This is just over 75% of the town’s request and will go towards creating 90 new parking spaces for the Festival Grounds. The

Maggie receives grant for wastewater treatment repair HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER n Tuesday night, the Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen accepted a grant from North Carolina Emergency Management to repair the levee of its wastewater treatment plant.

The town’s grant from the Emergency Management Disaster Relief and Mitigation Fund has been approved and fully funded for approximately $360,000. Maggie Valley will have to spend the money on the project from its general fund before grant funding from emergency management can reimburse the town.

Like most wastewater treatment facilities, Maggie Valley’s plant is located within the 100-year floodplain, or the special flood hazard area. It is located adjacent to Jonathan Creek, just before it converges with the Pigeon River. In order to protect from flooding, wastewater treatment plants are insulated from water sources by levees.

Before Maggie’s last wastewater treatment plant expansion in 2009, one of the

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plant’s levees dated back to 1984. When new flood maps were adopted in 2012, that levee was not considered compliant and therefore not shown on updated maps.

“It was scrubbed out because of the type of construction process that was used,” said Town Manager Nathan Clark. “So at that point the town had to make a critical decision, whether we just let the levy exist the way it is, or do we actually go and try to get this levy certified. In doing so we would remove our wastewater treatment plant from the special flood hazard area by 100%.”

Following staff recommendation at that time, the board decided to go ahead and make the investment, work with the state flood mapping agency and engineers to get the levee certified and up to date in order to provide full protection to the wastewater treatment plant.

Since 2012, the amount of critical rainfall in Haywood County has eroded the toe of the levee, in an area that was outside the scope of work done in 2012.

“It’s eroded into an area that we’re growing concerned about and want to stabilize before it threatens the levee as a whole,” said Clark.

The project is expected to take around six months, during which time there will be no disruption to town services. The levee that will be under repair is outside the confines of the plant and construction can be complete without interfering in its operations.

The Maggie Valley wastewater treatment plant is a million-gallon-per-day facility serving Maggie Valley and the Jonathan Valley area. The Town services about 2,000 separate sewer customers with a combined customer population of approximately 4,600. In 2020, the facility treated an average daily flow of 407,000 gallons per day.

Once the grant funding is approved by the board and sent back to Raleigh, the scope of work and services will come before the board, likely next month, to get the levee repair project started.

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Kickoff Fundraising Gala and “SummerFeast” Dinner Folkmoot Friendship Center Live Ticketed Events ~ 2pm & 7pm Folkmoot Summerfest International Day Street Festival Downtown Waynesville ~ 10am-5pm Maggie Valley Festival Grounds Live Ticketed Event ~ 7pm Maggie Valley Festival Grounds Live Ticketed Event ~ 2pm

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Nearly one year on, Haywood strengthens flood response capabilities

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR leven months to the day after Haywood County awoke to unprecedented flood damage along the Pigeon River resulting from torrential rains the day before, Emergency Services Officer Zack Koonce and Director Travis Donaldson told commissioners they’d secured grant funding to bolster reporting and warning systems.

“Our mission at Emergency Services is to provide the citizens with preparedness, incident management and quality medical care,” Koonce said during a commission meeting on July 18. “During the heavy rainfall events, one preparedness tool that we lacked is early situational awareness about how fast rain is falling in relation to how fast the rivers were rising.”

During an Oct. 18, 2021 meeting, commissioners approved a resolution to pursue grant funding for additional rain and river gauges that could communicate with early warning systems.

That came after the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred lingered over Haywood County on the afternoon and evening of Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Rains over the previous week-

July 20-26, 2022

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end saturated soils and by 1 p.m. that day, a gauge on the East Fork Pigeon River about a mile upriver from Jukebox Junction had begun to rise.

By 6 p.m., the East Fork had set a new record, more than 3 feet above the previous 13-foot mark. Around that time, water had reached the mountain mill town of Canton, spilling into downtown homes and businesses.

A flash flood warning was issued by the National Weather Service around 3 p.m.

Shortly after 4 p.m., Haywood Emergency Services issued a flash flood alert, but for some upriver residents like Natasha Bright, it was already too late.

Bright, her brother and their pets had been trapped for several hours, holding on for dear life atop a bunk bed in her floodedout house by the time the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency warning around 8:30 p.m.

Waters receded below flood stage by 10 p.m. on the East Fork and around 12:30 a.m. in Canton, but as dawn broke on Wednesday residents were appalled by the damage they found.

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A map shows potential locations for new rain gauges (in red) and river gauges (purple) across southeastern portions of the county. Haywood County photo

Initial reports listed dozens of people as missing. Six people lost their lives, some swept away from a campground as a wall of water proceeded down the East Fork.

Almost 600 homes were damaged, 160 were destroyed, landslides choked roads, cell towers and electricity failed, trucks and trail-

ers were tossed about like toys and thousands upon thousands of pounds of produce was stripped from stalks, cast downriver only to end up littering roads, bridges and anywhere else the water went.

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July 20-26, 2022

ty’s emergency notification system, known as Everbridge, to transmit notifications to residents at risk.

The siren system would work in conjunction with the rain and river gauges and “provide an audible way to notify the entire community to seek higher ground or evacuate,” according to the county’s grant application.

Donaldson compared the sirens to the type that are often found in tornado-prone areas and said they’re also comparable to an existing siren located at the Clyde fire department.

Like the rain and river gauges, the sirens will offer some redundancy so they can remain functional during natural disasters.

The timeline for the project is estimated at less than 24 months and will also include a public education component designed to let residents know what to do when they hear a siren.

The entire effort to enhance they county’s flood preparedness came as the result of a question posed at a campground during a meeting in the immediate aftermath of the flooding.

At the meeting, attended by Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Franklin), Rep. Mark Pless (RHaywood), Sheriff Greg Christopher and Commissioner Brandon Rogers, residents asked if it would be possible to explore early warning options.

Rogers took that to heart, and had conversations with County Manager Bryant Morehead about the possibility.

Commissioners unanimously approved two MOUs with NCEM to accept the grants.

“If we had something like this when this flood happened, we might not have had six people that passed away, possibly, who knows,” Rogers said. “I think it’s great to have it. Can’t sit back and not doing nothing. And then, to get it on a grant I think it an awesome thing, too.”

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grant, procured by Koonce and EMS grant specialist Cody Grasty, will allow the county to purchase and install four rain gauges and seven river gauges in areas that currently lack reporting capability.

The instruments will provide live data on how fast rain is falling and how that rain is affecting river levels, and should be in place within 12 to 18 months.

Previously, EMS and fire officials had to ride up and down the river by road and physically check for water levels. Had the flooding occurred later in the evening, it’s likely the death toll would have been far higher.

The county will be responsible for maintenance on the solar-powered devices, through quarterly visits.

The plan is to put the rain gauges near the headwaters of major streams near High Top, Twelve O’clock Top and Dick’s Creek. The river gauges are slated for Cruso, above Canton and possibly in the Upper Hominy/Asheville Highway corridor just east of Canton. Homes and businesses on Hominy Creek, leading into Asheville, also suffered damage during the flood.

Data from the gauges is transmitted to Raleigh via UHF signal and will be available instantaneously on the N.C. FIMAN (Flood Inundation Mapping and Alert Network) website, however that wouldn’t have helped many residents of Cruso, most of whom were cut off from communications networks during the flooding.

To that end, another grant — this one for $1.525 million — will help the county install up to three siren warning systems in Cruso, Lake Logan and Bethel.

“We can’t help anybody if we can’t actually warn them that they need to take cover and take care of their own,” Donaldson said.

During the flooding, Haywood EMS was hampered when power to cellular systems was lost, thus limiting the ability of the coun-

Haywood Pathways Center receives donation from Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation

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Haywood Pathways Center has received $2,500 from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to help feed neighbors in their time of need. Haywood Pathways Center will use the gift to supplement its food supply as the organization continues to provide almost 8,000 meals per month on campus as well as through Holy Cow Food Truck.

“This is such a valuable, timely and much-needed gift. Food insecurity continues to increase given the rising costs of everything and we are thankful to have this support to help meet the need.” said Neil Ravenna, Haywood Pathways Center’s Food Services Director.

“Feeding the hungry” is an integral part of the center’s mission. Meeting this most basic of human needs is often the first step in building rapport with neighbors and an opportunity to “share in the grace of the table” as individuals work to lift each other up and work to build community.

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation is committed to supporting families facing food insecurity across its 10-state footprint. Established in 2001, the foundation provides financial support for programs and organizations dedicated to feeding local neighbors in the communities it serves. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $15 million in grants.

71 North Main Street Waynesville 15

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School board races set HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER andidates have filed and the races are set for school board elections this November.

Races for local Boards of Education have become hotbeds for political and cultural issues, many of which have little to do with day-to-day classroom instruction — critical race theory, LGBTQ rights, religion in schools, parental oversight and more.

What’s more, Rep. Mark Pless (RHaywood) recently introduced a bill that would make school board and municipal elections partisan in Haywood County.

While the bill has fallen short for now, there is a possibility it could be taken up by the General Assembly this year, or reintroduced next year. Of the Smoky Mountain News’ four county coverage area, only Swain County currently has a partisan election for its school board.

Jackson County already held its school board elections and is currently in the midst of a runoff for its district two seat between incumbent Abigail Clayton and newcomer Lisa Buchanan. That Election Day will be July 26.

The filing period for school board races in Haywood, Macon and Swain counties ended July 15. Those races will be decided during November’s General Election.

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HAYWOOD The Haywood County school board is made up of nine members serving four-year terms. This year, seats for the Bethel, Clyde, Crabtree-Ironduff and Fines Creek districts

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are up for election. Both Jimmy Rogers in Clyde and Steven Kirkpatrick in Fines Creek will run unopposed, as no one filed to compete for their seat.

The Macon County school board is made up of five members. This year, seats for district two, which covers Franklin, and one of the county-at-large seats are up for election. Members are elected for four-year terms.

Incumbent Tommy Cabe is running for

reelection in district two. Billy Handley, Stephanie Laseter and Danny Reitmeier have all filed to run against Cabe, who previously served as chairman of the board.

In district four, one of the county-at-large seats, incumbent Carol Arnold has filed to run for reelection. Arnold was appointed to the board in 2020 when Fred Goldsmith resigned. She is a lifelong educator, who worked in Macon County for a large portion of her career. Diedre Breeden has filed to compete for the seat.

SWAIN The Swain County Board of Education is made up of five members. All seats represent the county at large. Three Democratic candidates and four Republican candidates are vying for two seats on the board.

Members serve staggered four-year terms.

Incumbent Democrat Travis Hyatt is running for reelection. He was elected to the board in 2018. Democrats Jamie Fisher and Stacy Pegg placed second and third respectively behind Hyatt in the primary election and will compete in the general this fall.

Current board member Kim Carpenter is not running for reelection. Lisa Stoltzfus, Robert Lowe, Joshua Oliver and R.L Taylor are running on the Republican side. Taylor was the highest vote getter of any Republican or Democratic candidate for school board in the primary election vote with 320 votes, closely followed by Stolzfus, then Oliver and then Lowe.

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Jimmy Rogers has been on the Haywood County School Board for 22 years and is currently serving on the Policy and Building and Grounds Committees. Steven Kirkpatrick has been on the board for 20 years. He currently serves on the Building and Grounds Committee and is chairman of the Special Issues Committee.

In the Bethel district, Mike Graham has filed to run against incumbent Larry Henson, who has been on the board for 12 years. Henson currently serves on the Finance Committee.

The Crabtree-Ironduff district will see a newcomer to the board and the sole female on the board regardless of which candidate wins the election. Current board member Bobby Rogers did not file to run again, however, Brooke Haynes and Marla Morris both filed to compete to fill the seat.

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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR tarved for supply, realtors in the Asheville region are listing fewer homes than at this time last year as pricing continues to climb.

“Sales activity and buyer demand is falling largely because of rising mortgage rates, inflationary pressures and continuing price increases,” said Kim Walker, a research and media relations specialist for Charlottebased Canopy Realtor Association.

Monthly data published since January by the Canopy Realtor Association for the greater Asheville region — which includes Buncombe, Burke, Henderson, Jackson, Haywood, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey counties — make two things absolutely clear.

The first is that both the average list price and the average sale price of homes in the

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greater Asheville market are still rising.

“The median sales price has risen largely because the supply of homes, particularly homes priced below $350,000, have been absorbed quickly over the past few years, leaving higher-priced homes in inventory,” Walker said. “Those higher-priced homes included in inventory now, and the lack of supply, is causing the median sales price to rise faster.”

In January of this year, the average sale price across the region was $447,000, up 14% over January 2021. By early June of this year, it had risen by almost $100,000.

Haywood County was an outlier in that regard; in January, the average sale price was $382,000 but in June, it was relatively flat at $380,000.

A conventional 30-year fixed mortgage for $380,000 at 6.5% would result in a monthly payment of about $2,406, meaning an individual in Haywood County would have to earn

at least $96,000 a year to make payments comfortably. The median income for an individual in Haywood County is less than $31,000.

Over that same January-June period, the average sale price in Jackson County has exploded from $276,000 to more than $525,000. As of 2020, the median income for an individual in Jackson County was $22,000.

The second truth apparent from Canopy’s data is that since at least January of this year, the number of new listings has dropped as compared to the same months in 2021 — sometimes by double-digits, except for a brief uptick in May. Accordingly, the number of pending sales has also dropped.

“Realtors are hopeful that the Asheville region and points closer to metro Asheville will start to see more seller activity in the form of increased new listings,” Walker said.

“In other Canopy MLS markets (Charlotte and the Hickory-Lenoir regions), as well as markets across the country, sellers sense their opportunity to capitalize on the hot housing market may be declining, and so we are seeing more new listing activity come on slowly and positively impacting inventory, causing it to increase.”

Second-home sales drove the market during the Coronavirus Pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, Walker said.

“Certainly, affordability has declined dramatically, and this affects millennials coming of age who are ready to purchase, as well as first-time buyers and workforce buyers like nurses, teachers, police and firefighters, medical technicians and retailers,” said Walker.

If more inventory hits the market during the second half of this year, it could be enough to moderate the huge pricing increases.

In May 2022, Haywood County’s new listings ticked up 5% year-over-year, good for 1.7 months of supply. As of July 18, supply in Haywood had inched up to 2.4 months.

Walker said a balanced market is considered to have six months of supply, but the additional inventory in Haywood does signal a move in the right direction.

“Even as mortgage rates increase, they are still at a historic low,” she said. “The National Association of Realtors recently noted that home buyers who purchase a home today are still likely to see rising property values and increased home equity. That’s because supply is still relatively low compared to buyer demand, so home prices are likely to keep rising, although at a slower pace. When you couple fixed mortgage payments with the fact that rents are still increasing at record levels, it makes more financial sense to own a home and gain the equity.”

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Trends are becoming more apparent in the greater Asheville regional housing market

Real estate sales activity in the Asheville region*, 2022 January February March April May June New listings (year over year %)..................752 (-17%) ...................888 (-14%) ...................1,303 (-4%) ..................1,355 (-9%)...................1,591 (+5%) .................1,604 (-6%) Pending sales (year over year %)...............950 (-13%) ...................1,003 (-4%) ..................1,258 (-2%) ..................1,191 (-9%)...................1,253 (-2%) ..................1,178 (-5%) Average list price (year over year %).........$447,000 (+14%) .........$469,000 (+16%) .........$477,000 (+3.3%) ........$536,000 (+15%) .........$561,000 (+21%) .........$537,000 (+21%) Average sale price (year over year %) .......$418,000 (+13%) ........$432,000 (+17%) .........$449,000 (+14%) .........$449,000 (+10%) .........$489,000 (+14%) .........$499,000 (+17%) Days on market...........................................36..................................38..................................37..................................29 ..................................24..................................21

Haywood offers COVID guidance amid surge

available for everyone ages 6 months and up.

Most people 5 and up are eligible for boosters five months after finishing the primary series. Some exceptions apply, check your booster eligibility here: cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/boostershot.html#when-you-can-get-booster.

New drone technology will help emergency responders save lives in Haywood Haywood County Emergency Services has a new tool in the form of a state-of-theart flagship drone, which will be deployed starting this month under the Emergency Management department.

For several years, Haywood County has benefitted from the assistance of volunteer drone pilots brought in on a case-by-case basis. Now with its own unmanned aerial system, Emergency Management drone pilots can respond more quickly to disasters with a full complement of tools at their disposal.

The new drone is a DJI M30T, capable of 41 minutes of flight time on full batteries. It is equipped with a wide-angle lens, a 200X digital zoom lens, a high-resolution thermal camera, and a first-person view camera.

The drone also has the capability to carry a spotlight and speaker which can be used to communicate with people on the ground.

It is also weather-proof, capable of withstanding rain, dust, dirt and a wide range of temperatures.

“This drone brings new capabilities to Emergency Services that we believe will save lives in the future,” said Emergency Manager Zack Koonce. “It has everything on our wish list and will be used in lifesaving missions, as well as for emergency management tasks such as mapping and damage assessment.”

The drone will also be available to provide services to other departments and agencies through mutual aid agreements.

“We see this new tool as a huge benefit, not only to our department but to the county and to its citizens. In the past, such technology was out of reach, being too cost-prohibitive. As technology improves and prices come down, we anticipate tools like dronemounted thermal cameras will be essential to emergency response,” said Koonce.

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Smoky Mountain News

Over the past two months, Haywood County has seen a sustained high number of new COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations and deaths are up again as well, though fortunately not at the levels we’ve seen in past surges.

As we navigate this latest surge, here is some practical guidance from Haywood County Health and Human Services: • If over 50 years old, get a booster.

Those with two booster doses had a four times lower risk of serious illness or death, compared to those with one booster dose.

People will still be eligible for an Omicronspecific booster this fall. Whatever someone’s age, protection against infection is close to zero if it’s been a while since infection and/or last vaccination.

• If high-risk and infected, talk to your doctor about taking Paxlovid. This medication has been shown to markedly reduce the risk that someone will need hospitalization, but it must be started within five days of symptom onset.

• Do not rely on the CDC community levels to estimate risk of infection. They indicate the risk of regional hospitals becoming

overwhelmed due to COVID, not when it’s time to take action for individual protection, especially in crowded, indoor spaces.

• Increase ventilation. The concentration of virus in the air is what matters. That’s why indoors is riskier, especially when it’s hot and houses are closed up running air conditioning. Run a fan, keep exhaust fans running, add a portable HEPA filter-anything to keep the air moving.

• Use antigen tests properly. Don’t trust a single negative test. Repeat in 48 hours to be sure. If someone is infected, they shouldn’t leave isolation until you are well and test negative, even if that takes longer than the CDC guideline of five days. Up to 50% of people will remain infectious after five days.

• If you must go out, wear a well-fitting N95 or KN95 until well and test negative.

• If you have no symptoms and want to visit someone high risk or go to a gathering, test 48 hours before the event and again the morning of. If both are negative, you can feel comfortable proceeding.

• Vaccination appointments are available by appointment only, Monday through Friday from 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m.

Please call 828.356.2019 to schedule.

Primary doses of Pfizer OR Moderna are

July 20-26, 2022

Source: Canopy Realtor Association Note: The Asheville region consists of Buncombe, Burke, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey counties.

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Smoky Mountain News July 20-26, 2022

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Education

Smoky Mountain News

School of Nursing combines experiential learning with community service A makeshift clinic of folding chairs and tables, separated in clusters by curtains and canvas tents, has been set up inside a steel girder building in Clarkston, Georgia.

Clarkston is home to a sizeable community of international refugees, enough so to sometimes be referred to as the “Ellis Island of the South.” This is where, more often than not, the process of assimilation begins for these immigrants. The new residents come with hopes for a new life.

They also come with basic human needs.

This provides an opportunity for volunteers from the School of Nursing at Western Carolina University. For five nursing students, one faculty member and two alumni, the day has been given over to assisting Great Faith Vision, a national Christian mission group, in operating the pop-up medical clinic, which for the time being will offer free vision care for young and old.

The building has become a functioning optometry office, staffed with three optometrists and 40 volunteers. There will be vision and glaucoma tests, lens prescriptions, frames and lenses as needed, as well as other general health screenings.

Cheryl Clark, an adjunct assistant professor, helped organize the trip.

“Today we’ll primarily see people with origins in Thailand,” she said. “This community is home to a resettlement program that has accepted over 40,000 displaced persons from so many backgrounds and I think about different 50 countries. Some speak English or have some insight into American culture, in all its many forms. But many don’t.

“Regardless, a warm welcome and compassionate care is here for them. And for our nursing students, this is another way of learning and growing professionally, giving them the sort of hands-on experience Western is known for.”

SCC’s eighth annual gala is Sept. 24 Generous supporters made sure the Southwestern Community College Foundation’s last two fundraisers were successful, even though the actual events had to be canceled.

This fall, at last, it’s time to celebrate live and in-person with the eighth annual “Boots, Blue Jeans and Bling” gala. Set for 6 p.m. on Sept. 24, this year’s event will be held in the brand-new Harrah’s Cherokee Convention Center Ballroom.

Table sponsorships start at $1,500, and individual tickets are $150. All proceeds support student scholarships through the SCC Foundation.

Scheduled to perform is the versatile Asheville-based dance band Crocodile Smile. All attendees will enjoy a meal crafted by Harrah’s chefs along with a drink specially curated for the evening.

Handmade crafts and vacation packages will be just some of the items up for bid in the silent auction, and the wine pull features several labels that are valued at four times the ticket price of $25.

Guests can also play cornhole and participate in “Best-Dressed” and “Best Boot” contests.

Through a significant rise in endowed funds

and growth of the annual gala, the SCC Foundation has been able to provide a record amount of scholarship funding each of the past few years.

However, there is still a large number of students who need assistance.

“Our goal is to be able to provide assistance to every deserving student who needs a hand up,” said Dr. Don Tomas, SCC’s President. “We have come a long way, and events like our annual fundraising gala are a tremendous help as we make progress toward our goal.”

To sponsor a table or individual tickets, visit www.southwesterncc.edu/gala or contact Kathy Posey – SCC’s Institutional Development Associate – at 828.339.4227 or k_posey@southwesterncc.edu.

New food options coming to campus this fall Students that frequent Western Carolina University’s Brown Hall will have two new options for their eating pleasure this fall. But that’s not all.

Those passing by the retail spaces in Noble Hall will notice a new restaurant this fall, as well — The Reading Room, a new concept designed

specifically for college students. Both places are scheduled to open in August.

The space that was previously occupied by Steak ‘n Shake will now be shared by two new concepts – Blue Ridge Burger and 1889 Bistro.

“The intent of these is to modify the servery in Brown so that people have more options besides getting in the serve room line,” said Robert Walker, WCU director of auxiliary services. “We think it’s going to be a pretty good option. We struggle with the servery in Brown with the line at dinner. It gets pretty intense up there. We’re hoping this helps create a better experience for (students) and gives them some more options.”

As you enter the area where Steak ‘n Shake was located, Blue Ridge Burger will be the first station. Its menu features high-quality burger options, including a vegan burger, as well as a fish sandwich, Philly steak and a hot dog. It will also be a late-night option for those living in upper campus, staying open until 11 p.m. seven days a week.

1889 Bistro will be to the far left and will feature sandwiches such as Reuben, roast beef, submarine, grilled cheese and a portobello mushroom sandwich.

The hours of operation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The tentative opening date is Aug. 15.

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Those interested in a barista, cook or management position can apply at readingroomcullowhee@gmail.com.

HCC offers introduction to bladesmithing Haywood Community College is offering an American Bladesmith Society (ABS) Introduction to Bladesmithing class July 25 through August 5.

This class is for beginning knifemakers and will be taught by ABS Master Bladesmith Scott McGhee.

According to his website, McGhee learned the art at the age of 17. His handcrafted knives are beautiful, functional and extremely durable. To see examples of his work, visit guineahogforge.com.

Students will be introduced to the concepts and techniques needed to make a knife.

Participants will be taught metal selection and blade function. Different blade designs will be discussed. Hand forging to shape, normalizing, heat treating, grinding and tempering will all be taught. The semi-finished blades will be tested for their cutting ability, edge holding, hardness and flexibility. Students should be able to make a blade that will pass the equivalent of a Journeyman Smith Performance Test.

Successful completion of this course will reduce the required three-year waiting period as an ABS Journeyman Smith judging in two years.

This two-week class will be held July 25 through August 5, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is $1,381.25. Registration ends soon. For more information, please call 828.565.4152, email alross@haywood.edu or visit creativearts.haywood.edu.

Workshops to help students prepare for healthcare programs The prospect of entering any of Southwestern Community College’s 16 Health Sciences programs can be a bit intimidating.

To help ease the application process, SCC is offering a pair of TEAS Exam & Health Science Student Success workshops this fall.

The first of these will be held on Mondays from Sept. 12 to Nov. 7 in Room 302 of the Health Sciences Center on Southwestern’s Jackson Campus.

The other will be on Tuesdays from Oct. 4-Nov. 29 in Room 204 of the Groves Center on SCC’s Macon Campus.

All sessions for both workshops are scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The workshops help guide prospective Health Sciences students through the application process and help them know what to expect on the TEAS Exam, which is required for entry into almost all healthcare career fields.

To learn more about the Health Sciences programs that SCC offers, visit southwesterncc.edu or contact April Fouweather at a_fouweather@Southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4305.

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Breaking down walls and sharing some magic “… I hear Mariachi static on my radio And the tubes they glow in the dark And I’m there with her in Ensenada And I’m here in Echo Park ….”

—Warren Zevon, “Carmelita” hen we walked into The Captains Bar, a tiny pub on a side street a few steps from our room on Southbridge Road in old Edinburgh, the duo were in mid-song. She was on guitar and he on banjo for that first tune. As they finished a melody that sounded ancient — exactly what we’d hoped to find — he picked up the guitar and started to play and sing solo.

He was wearing black boots, had his head shaved save for some dreadlocks in back, and was wearing a ripped T-shirt and an old kilt, tattoos all over.

“I don’t do happy very well, I do sad. I do sad really well,” he said to the eight customers, including us, who were there.

And with that he broke into one of my favorite Warren Zevon classics about a heroin addict. “Carmelita” is a melancholy song with a haunting chorus. Here I was in a tiny hole in the wall in what’s become one of my favorite cities and this guy absolutely killed one of my favorite songs. He did indeed do “sad” exceptionally well.

As the bar filled and we listened to more songs, tongues loosened and we began talking to the musicians — Linda Larking from Sweden and James Stewart, a Brit — and other patrons. I commented on his very old looking banjo, and he said he had built it himself because he couldn’t afford one but wanted to learn to play. He taught himself the clawhammer style of picking. He was exceptional, could play melodies fast and smooth using his thumb and a couple of fingers while keeping a cadenced strumming.

Music was a constant on this trip through Scotland. We had originally planned to attend a Paolo Nutini concert in Glasgow, but it sold out before we could get tickets. So as we drove our rental — a manual transmission, super-small coral pink Fiat 500 with the steering wheel reversed and the stick operated with my left hand — around the country, we fell into a pattern: sightseeing throughout the day, back to the room and then dinner somewhere, followed by a stroll around whatever village or town we were in to see if we could use our

phones or just pure luck to find live music. As it turns out, we had pretty good luck.

Oban is one of those small, charming towns on Scotland’s West Coast that sits on Loch Etive, or, as the loch turns into open sea, what’s referred to here as the Sea of the Hebrides,

School board race has important choices To the Editor: On Tuesday, July 26, there will be a runoff election for school board in Jackson County.

Early voting has already begun.

School board elections have become increasingly important in recent times because of an aggressive push to introduce radical ideas into children’s education with little transparency. Increasingly, across the country there are conflicts arising due to what is called critical race theory, in substance if not in name, and transgenderism and explicit sexual topics brought before children at an inappropriate age and without parental knowledge.

In an earlier time not too long ago, there was general agreement among people regardless of religion that it was unacceptable to look down on people because of their skin

Scott McLeod

W

Editor

basically the North Atlantic. It’s become a jumping off point for tourists heading to the Ben Nevin — Scotland’s highest mountain — or to any of the many islands off the West Coast. That means in July it’s full of tourists from all over Europe and the states.

So we prepared ourselves for the real possibility that it would be too busy and crowded to find some locals playing good music. But we got lucky as we squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder into the waterfront Oban Inn — fire codes be damned in this 230-year-old stone structure — and thanks to good timing secured a tiny table Lori ran to grab as another couple departed. A guy with a fiddle case was standing by the bar and was looking around for a seat after he got a beer. We invited him to share our table. Turns out Steve is a Brit who had bought a house nearby and comes to the Oban Inn and Bar for jam sessions. He was worried no one

LETTERS color and that talking to young children about sexually explicit subjects was corrupting youth or perhaps contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The prevailing spirit of the age made it easier to go along whether or not one had any strong convictions.

Today the zeitgeist has shifted and the winds are blowing contrary and only those with settled convictions are going to be able to buck the sociological tide. The fact that racism is bad and the gender binary is settled science has not been changed because of some relatively recent notions concocted in alleged centers of higher learning.

The schools here in Jackson County have not been affected as much as in some other parts of the country but we have not been untouched. We need to make sure that it doesn’t get worse. There is too much academic work to concentrate on to

would show for the Wednesday night weekly session because of the tourists.

But they did. Eventually a guitarist/whistle player and a mandolin player showed up, and the three of them they played for hours as another guitarist showed up later. We met folks from all over as everyone laughed and sang together. Lots of post-Covid pent-up energy in that bar (I know Covid’s not over, but the shutdowns and huge number of deaths are).

Edinburgh is an artistic city. We didn’t know it, but we came during its annual Jazz and Blues Festival. Most shows were already sold out, but we secured tickets to see Noushy 4Tet, an up-and-coming trombonist-singer who graduated from the Edinburgh’s music conservatory. The Jazz Bar was like something from New York City, a dark basement with rock walls and what appeared to be a sophisticated audience.

We’re not aficionados, but the music — a quartet with drums, bass, keyboards and Noushy — was phenomenal. We loved it.

And so it went. Another night in Edinburgh it was The Royal Oak — pronounced with two syllables, “the rool oak” — where we met some young Scots from Glasgow and their dates who also sought out live music. They loved to banter about the rivalry between Scotland’s two largest towns, Glasgow and Edinburgh. That’s a constant in Scotland, so Lori got a big laugh when she told them the one we had already learned from the Glasgow-born driver of our day tour to Hadrian’s Wall: “A Glasgow funeral is more fun than an Edinburgh wedding.”

They burst out laughing, but then one of them quieted down and gave us a serious look: “But that’s no joke, mate, that’s just fact.”

Music does that, doesn’t it. Breaks down barriers, opens hearts and mouths, and let’s us share some of what’s good about humanity. Cheers to that.

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

Lessons learned from superheroes

have these sideshows even if they weren’t as destructive as they are. Who can say that students’ proficiencies in math, reading, science and history are what they should be?

These should be the main focus, not hot button social issues that are consuming academia and destroying faith in those institutions. We need school board members that will be vigilant to keep students uppermost

in mind and not be taken captive by the latest fad and who want parents to be fully aware of what the board is doing.

In order to improve transparency, focus on academics, and prevent ideological indoctrination, please vote for Lisa Buchanan on July 26.

David Parker Sylva

Susanna Shetley

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the capital of North Carolina,” and he has to think really hard, but ask him to tell me about Tony Stark and his eyes light up as goes into a 15-minute monologue full of specific details and accurate information.

I’m curious about anything that makes my child’s eyes shine.

This past week, we’ve had a bit of a superhero movie marathon. My boys have already seen almost every modern superhero movie, but I have not. We pulled a selection from the very lengthy list and settled on The Dark Knight, Justice League, Batman vs. Superman, Thor: Ragnarok and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Further, I humored my younger by watching all the Spiderman movies in a short time frame. This included the Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland versions (eight movies total).

Admittedly, I liked all of them.

If asked, I would say Wonder Woman is my favorite superhero for obvious reasons, which were magnified further when Gal Gadot played the part in recent adaptations, but if I had to choose a second favorite, I’d say Spiderman or Batman, although Batman doesn’t actually have any powers, per se, other than being wealthy, intelligent and skilled at fighting and using gadgets. True comic enthusiasts may scoff at my obvious choices as favorites but again, I’m learning.

It took me a long time to really listen to my younger son as he passionately talks of his favorite superheroes. Previously I just nodded and offered the occasional “oh, cool” and “wow” and “that sounds neat,” but this summer has been different. I’ve started fully hearing what he is saying, asking questions, watching short videos and very long movies. The experience has been nothing but enjoyable and offered an additional connection between my child and me.

For a myriad of reasons, Americans, especially young ones, continue to be obsessed with tales of freakishly gifted beings pursuing justice while battling darkened vigilantes. Gen Z has even been coined “The Superhero Generation.” As the mom of boys, I’m completely fine with my children looking up to superheroes who are trying to save the day and master their natural abilities to help others. In fact, I wish more adults could do the same.

(Susanna Shetley is a writer, editor and digital media specialist with The Smoky Mountain News. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com.)

July 20-26, 2022

n a previous column, I talked of my personal challenge to undergo “The Great Susanna Reset” this summer. One of my goals is to be more playful and to remember the little girl that still lives deep inside my hardened womanly shell. Interestingly, superheroes have become a part of my journey.

An infatuation with superheroes is uniquely American.

Why is that? As part of my metamorphosis, I did a little research.

America was at a crossroads during the early years of World War II. Women’s roles were Columnist changing due to their involvement in the war effort and hundreds of thousands of European immigrants were fleeing to America to escape destruction in their native lands. This integral period of upheaval was fertile ground for many artists, but it was particularly pivotal for comic book writers who found inspiration to create such heroes as Captain America, Wonder Woman and Superman. At that time, these patriotic superheroes defended America against the Axis powers.

In the 1960s, Marvel comics rose to dominance because Stan Lee was in tune with the era’s zeitgeist. It was the height of the Civil Rights movement. Lee recognized this and wove political elements into his themes and storylines. By the 1970s, Marvel had introduced Black, Latino and female superheroes.

Diving into comic books as a form of escapism during wartime, using them for propaganda purposes or as political advocacy platforms makes perfect sense, but how have superheroes not only stood the test of time but evolved to meet the needs of modern society? One way was by moving the medium away from print and onto the big screen.

I’m not a superhero expert by any stretch. I’ve actually turned away from them until recently simply because I’m more of an indie film, psychological thriller type of movie goer. That being said, my 10-year old son and his friends are extraordinarily knowledgeable when it comes to superhero/villain origin stories, plot lines, conflicts, power acquisition and family strife.

Ask my son a simple question like, “What’s

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Alan and Hannah Edwards. Rock legend Tommy Stinson (right) performing last week on the side lawn of Yonder Community Market in Franklin. (photos: Garret K. Woodward)

Obstacles are opportunities

Franklin community market bridges food, music

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITOR ith a hot mid-July sun falling behind the mountains last Thursday evening, rock legend Tommy Stinson strapped on his Gibson acoustic guitar and stood behind a microphone on the side lawn of Yonder Community Market in Franklin.

Facing Stinson were a few dozen concertgoers sitting in lawn chairs and at small wooden tables, each there to witness a rare, intimate solo gig by a founding member of alt-rock icons The Replacements, who also had a 16year run as part of Guns N’ Roses.

“We want to create a place of good vibes, and to be good hosts to whoever plays here, to whoever finds themselves here to listen to the music,” said Hannah Edwards, co-owner of Yonder. “We’re always looking at different ways to expand our vision and to find new ways to bring the community together.”

Alongside her husband, Alan, the couple is at the helm of Yonder, a multifaceted property of local food, live music, cozy lodging and genuine connectivity just outside of downtown Franklin on the corner of Georgia Road and Hillcrest Avenue.

“Whether we realized it or not at the time, everything that’s happened has been a true blessing,” Hannah said. “Opportunities are still presenting themselves, and we’re trying to stay positive, all with success in our minds — this is where we want to be and what we want to be doing.”

W

Originally from Cartersville, Georgia, Alan crossed paths with Hannah when he relocated to her native Charlotte several years ago. He was a longtime musician and owned a small business, while she was headlong into the hospitality and restaurant industry. Not long after they married, the duo started realizing the city life wasn’t for them, where the noise and distraction was too much — solitude and a slower pace was the remedy.

Soon, they’d find themselves meandering around the mountains of Western North Carolina, ultimately taking the scenic route through Macon County to visit family in Cartersville. In 2017, almost serendipitously, they found a cabin tucked into the woods in the area known as Otto.

“And we made this giant move to leave Charlotte and move to Macon full-time,” Hannah said. “When we came here, I knew my true passion was in the hospitality world. I love cook and entertaining, and both of us are really passionate about eating well — being able to offer people food that’s local and not processed.”

That keen philosophy of local provisions parlayed itself into the launch of the Yonder restaurant in March 2018. Located on Georgia Road, the establishment was a labor of love, with Hannah making everything from scratch — handmade with local ingredients, no compromises.

“Our motto is ‘real folks, real food,’” Hannah said. “It’s not just a tagline, it’s a way of life that we want people to embrace and be educated about — to eat real food and not the corporate-run food that’s everywhere.”

Though Yonder held steady and began to flourish in those early days, the pandemic and ensuing shutdown of 2020 decimated restaurants worldwide, with the business (as it was initially presented) eventually falling victim to

Yonder Community Market specializes in a wide selection of local provisions.

Want to go?

Yonder Community Market is located at 151 Hillcrest Ave. in Franklin. Offering local provisions, hours of operation are noon to 6 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, call 828.200.2169 or click on eatrealfoodinc.com.

Yonder will be showcasing an array of local, regional and national touring acts, including John Duncan (Americana/traditional) 7 p.m. Friday, July 22, and Hannah Kaminer (singer-songwriter) 2 p.m. Sunday, July 31.

Concerts are free and open to the public (unless otherwise noted). Donations encouraged. Bring your own lawn chair. To learn about other upcoming happenings, go to facebook.com/realfolksrealfood and click on the “Events” tab.

the closure of public spaces.

Not to be deterred, the Edwards transitioned all of their local meat, produce, cheese and beverage connections into an online community market where folks could pre-order items each week. And what was seen as a temporary financial solution for the Edwards — and also the local providers still in limbo during the shutdown — kicked off the next chapter of Yonder.

“Everything was so uncertain. We were in survival mode, but we were able to keep the community fed,” Hannah said. “And we were able to keep our small farmers paid, our bread makers paid, our local dairy farms paid — it was incredible.”

With the success of the online service, the couple bought an abandoned property on Hillcrest Avenue and began renovating the old garage into a curbside pickup for local provisions, the building itself taking shape into a walk-in community grocery store once COVID mandates were lifted.

“All of the money spent here is not going to outside corporate interest; our money is staying inside our local economy,” Alan said. “We believe strongly that small communities need micro-economies — the more a community supports itself and supports each other, imagine how transformative that is for all of us.”

And as society has begun to reopen and reconvene, Yonder as it stands today is a testament to the never-give-up attitude and community-minded ethos of the Edwards. The property is a beehive of humanity, hosting live music and yoga sessions regularly. There’s also an onsite AirBnB, with plans currently in the works to expand the store, build an outdoor stage, and offer more activities.

“I still can’t believe that we’ve gotten to this point — it’s been a long journey,” Alan chuckled. “In my life, and in our lives, you say you’re grateful or thankful for what has come to be.

But, I’ve never really understood what it meant completely until these past couple of years — we’re grateful and appreciative.”

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Trailhead of Fork Ridge Overlook. (photo: Garret K. Woodward)

It's all I got to get, it's really all there is

I

Concerts On The Creek will host The Caribbean Cowboys (oldies/variety) 7 p.m. Friday, July 22, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

1 2

Saturdays On Pine will host The Russ Wilson Big Band (swing/jazz) at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands.

3 4 5

Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Grizzly Goat (indie/folk) at 6 p.m. Friday, July 22.

The Marianna Black Library will present the traditional music and storytelling of Lee Knight at 7 p.m.

Thursday, July 28, in Bryson City.

Rumours (Fleetwood Mac tribute) will perform at 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 22, at Moss Valley in Franklin.

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that happened to her — and she was one of the good ones, you know? — then what does that mean for the rest of us left behind?

The burden of the human spirit and condition is that we overanalyze nothing and everything, and always through the prism of our own life experiences and path to the here and now, for good or ill. Yeah, I was that close to becoming a nihilist leaving the ICU and driving away in a head fog.

And yet, over a month later, I’m starting to circle back to my old, eternally optimistic self. Now, I’m not religious by any means, even though I was raised in the Catholic church. Even if I went to a hardcore Catholic school on the Canadian Border, one filled with nuns, priests and numerous cold stone

with author

July 20-26, 2022

t’s 9:58 a.m. Tuesday. Downtown Waynesville. Back at the office, this week’s newspaper is being edited and proofed before it heads to the printer, onward to newsstands around the region tomorrow morning.

I’ve already been in the newsroom this morning, looking over the arts and entertainment section. But, right now, it’s an iced coffee and breakfast sandwich at nearby Orchard Coffee. That, and my attitude, more so vibe, it a far cry from what it was coming into last weekend.

I’ve been in a mental fog lately, and have so for the better part of the last month, especially if you’ve read any of these here columns within that timeframe. With the recent, tragic passing of an old friend in June, I’ve been kind of going through the motions/stages of grief — of what it all means in this sometimes-cruel world.

When people ask about her passing, I find myself having flashbacks of walking into the ICU, hugging her family and friends, pushing the elevator button to the fifth floor, walking down the hallway to her room, holding her hand, and saying goodbye, mere hours before they took her off life support.

“You know, I was that close to becoming a nihilist when I walked out of that hospital,” I find myself responding to those with queries about why I’m so quiet and distant lately, where I acknowledge — in unforced matterof-fact tone — that I was really that close to believing “nothing means nothing.”

But, alas, one can’t think way. You can’t, for if you do then comes the onslaught of things crossing your mind. Why do I even get out of bed in the morning? What’s the point of rent or paying bills or even driving to work?

Does anything I do even matter? I mean, if

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This must be the place

statues of Jesus Christ half-naked and bleeding from his ribs.

But, what am I? Deeply spiritual, where immersion in Mother Nature, music (especially when performed live), abstract art, and in-depth conversation are my altars. My theory is that I don’t think genuine beauty in this world — in whatever form you may see it — is coincidental. Not by any means.

John Coltrane’s musical masterpiece “A Love Supreme” isn’t by accident in the universe, nor is the rambling prose of Jack Kerouac, standing side stage in the midst of a Futurebirds performance in some far away city, the way I feel when I jump into a freezing cold river after a hot and sweaty trail run, or the sincere connection between two souls over strong coffee in a diner booth (nowhere to be but here, and with you).

Thus, yesterday, I knew I needed something to finally knock me loose from this mental funk, to try and put the sad, sorrowful feelings of the past/present into meaning, ultimately placing those sacred sentiments, emotions, actions and thoughts onto the shelves of my memory for safe keeping.

Shake it out and return to yourself.

Remember the beauty in your everyday life, and hold onto that. Nothing is guaranteed — time, love, success — but you can emerge into each day with a renewed sense of self, more so an appreciation and focus on the good things you’ve either planted, grown, cultivated or crossed paths with in your own dealings and endeavors.

So, with Monday afternoon winding down, I got done with my writing assignments, and just as a huge rainstorm rolled into Western North Carolina. No matter, I like the rain, especially when it comes to frolicking in it. Felt the urge for a trail run/hike. Jumped into the truck and headed down the road, not knowing if I was going to turn left or right — let instinct and intuition take the wheel.

Turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway right as heavy raindrops and dark clouds appeared.

Eventually, I felt like pulling over and jogging/hiking whatever trail appeared next.

Turned out to be the Fork Ridge Overlook Trail, which meanders up a ridge to Waterrock Knob. Parked and hit the trailhead. Nobody around, had the whole place to myself.

Rain trickling through the thick tree canopy. My trail shoes getting soaked as I happily trotted and splashed through mud puddles, atop roots and slippery rocks. The mesmerizing, pungent smell of ancient earth and forest amid a rainstorm. About an hour into my trek, I turned around when it started to get too dark and foggy to see the trail.

Did about four miles or so. Legs felt great, the body and soul utterly refreshed.

By the time I got back to the trailhead, I couldn't even see the Parkway when I crossed it back to the truck. Popped down the tailgate and sipped on a celebratory trail running beer, truly enjoyed in my own time and pace.

The rain clouds swirled around me as I became totally immersed in that moment while the storm passed by where I sat. It is moments like that where one genuinely feels present — this time and space of your arrival at this juncture, and not by coincidence or chance.

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

Asheville 828-274-8822 Waynesville 828-407-4034 Sylva 828-586-9333 Reynolds Mountain 828-785-5825

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arts & entertainment

On the beat

Marianna goes Americana As part of a summer series of music, the Marianna Black Library will present the traditional music and storytelling of Lee Knight at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 28, in Bryson City.

Raised in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, Lee became interested in traditional folk music as a young man and soon found himself to be an amateur folklorist. During college, he became familiar with the music and stories of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, as well as of the Adirondacks. He wanted to learn the music and stories from traditional sources — people who had them as part of their culture and community for generations.

He also collected songs and stories from other parts of the world, including England, Scotland, Central Asia, Columbia, and the Amazon region of Peru and has recently

Smoky Mountain News

July 20-26, 2022

Bryson City community jam

24

A community jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer, anything unplugged, are invited to join. Singers are also welcomed to join in or you can just stop by and listen. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of the Sawmill Creek Porch Band.

The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn old-time mountain songs.

The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — spring, summer, fall.

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

828.488.3030.

Concerts On The Creek The 13th season of Concerts On The Creek will continue with The Carribean Cowboys (beach/variety) from 7 to 9 p.m.

Friday, July 22, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

Everyone is encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. These events are free, but donations are encouraged. Dogs must be on a leash. No alcohol, smoking or coolers are allowed in the park. Food trucks will also be available.

These concerts are organized and produced by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Sylva and the

released his third album, “An Untraditional Journey.”

Knight currently works as a folk singer, storyteller and outdoor leader, performing at concerts, workshops, Elderhostels, festivals, camps and schools. He leads hikes, canoe trips and guides whitewater rafts. He plays various instruments, including the fretless five-string banjo, various guitars, the Appalachian dulcimer, the mouth bow, the Cherokee flute and the Cherokee rattle, as well as the Native American drum.

This program is free and open to the public. The library is located in downtown Bryson City at the corner of Academy and Rector.

For more information or driving directions, call the library at 828.488.3030 or visit fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department.

For more information, call the chamber at 828.586.2155, visit mountainlovers.com or Concerts On The Creek’s Facebook page.

Chamber music returns to Waynesville The Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas (CMSC), formerly the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival, returns to Waynesville after a two-year absence. The next concert will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 31 at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

Works by Beethoven, Haydn, Dvorak, Mozart, Chopin and modern artists will all be featured. The society has been a premier chamber music festival in the Carolinas for 45 years. Internationally acclaimed musicians from all over the world have come to the mountains of North Carolina each year.

In past seasons, performers included the winner of the gold medal at the International Van Cliburn competition in Dallas, a silver medalist of the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, Grammy Award winners and Grammynominated ensembles.

Taking place in small venues, the festival creates an intimate interaction between performers and audiences. The Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas is a program of Warren Wilson College.

Admission is $30. Tickets are available online or at the church. Students will be admitted with no charge.

For more information, click on cmscarolina.com, email chamber@warren-wilson.edu or call 828.400.6465.

Lee Knight.

‘An Appalachian Evening’

The Jeff Little Trio.

The “An Appalachian Evening” series will continue at the Stecoah Valley Center in Robbinsville.

The annual summer concert series offers an everchanging schedule of bluegrass, folk and old-time mountain music by awardwinning artists — quality entertainment for the entire family. Rich in cultural heritage, the series continues to be a favorite with locals and visitors alike. All concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the air-conditioned Lynn L. Shields Auditorium.

Performers include The Jeff Little Trio July 23, Aubrey Eisenman & The Clydes July 30, The Wildmans Aug. 6, Nu-Blu Aug. 13, Pretty Little Goat Aug. 20 and The Kruger Brothers Aug. 27

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, call 828.479.3364 or click on stecoahvalleycenter.com.

Indie, folk at Frog Level Americana/indie act Grizzly Goat will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, July 22, at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville.

Up-and-coming in the music industry, Grizzly Goat was formed in Provo, Utah, and is now based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The music is, as the band’s name suggests, undomesticated.

Grizzly Goat’s blend of folk-rock spans the entire breadth of the Americana genre — from soft and sincere campfire ballads to rocking electric harmonica solos on top of pounding drums and flailing banjo.

Grizzly Goat.

The show is free and open to the public. froglevelbrewing.com.

On the beat

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semi-regular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Free and open to the public. blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host karaoke at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Brother Fat (rock/jam) Aug. 6. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.246.0350 or boojumbrewing.com.

• Concerts On The Creek (Sylva) will host The Caribbean Cowboys (oldies/variety) July 22 and Shane Meade & The Sound (soul/indie) July 29 at Bridge Park in Sylva. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. These events are free, but donations are encouraged.

828.586.2155 or mountainlovers.com.

• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Tickets are $15 for adults, $7.50 for children. 828.369.4080 or coweeschool.org/music.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host Erick Baker (Americana/folk) 6 p.m. July 27.

Admission is $40 per person, which includes light bites. A cash bar is available. To purchase tickets, click on oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.

• Fontana Village Resort Wildwood Grill will host Takeout July 23 and Sarah Williams (singer-songwriter) July 30. Free and open to the public. 800.849.2258 or fontanavillage.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Sleepin’ Dogz 5:30 p.m. July 21, Grizzly Goat (indie/folk) July 22, J.J. Hipps & The Hideaway (rock/blues) July 23, June Star July 26 and Pam Taylor July 29. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.454.5664 or froglevelbrewing.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host an Open Mic Night every Wednesday, Kate Thomas (singer-songwriter) July 21, Tina

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “Music Bingo” with Hibiscus Sunshine every Wednesday, Three On The Tree 2 p.m. July 24 and Phil Thomas (singer-songwriter) 2 p.m.

July 31. All events begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

• Quirky Birds Treehouse & Bistro (Dillsboro) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public.

828.586.1717 or facebook.com/quirkybirdstreehouse.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host “Miss 1980s Something Pageant” 7:30 p.m.

July 30. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Trivia Night at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, Old Time Jam 6:30 p.m. every Thursday, Shane Meade (indie/folk) July 22 and Woolybooger (blues/folk) July 29. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or lazyhikerbrewing.com.

ALSO:

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host a Community Jam 6 p.m. July 21 and Lee Knight (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m. July 28. Free and open to the public.

828.488.3030 or fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

• Moss Valley (Franklin) will host Rumours (Fleetwood Mac tribute) July 22. Gates at 6 p.m. Show from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Free and open to the public. Food trucks and beverages available onsite. Presented by Drake Software.

• Saturdays On Pine (Highlands) will host The Russ Wilson Big Band (swing/jazz) July 23 and Bill Mattocks (blues/rock) July 30 at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park on Pine Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• The Scotsman (Waynesville) will host The Carter Giegerich Trio (Celtic/bluegrass) from 2 to 5 p.m. every Sunday and semi-regular live music on the weekends. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.6292 or scotsmanpublic.com.

• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host Skies Of Avalon July 21. All shows begin at 6 p.m.

Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host The Swingin’

Medallions (rock/R&B) 7:30 p.m. July 23.

Tickets start at $18 per person. smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.

• Stecoah Valley Center (Robbinsville) “An Appalachian Evening” live music series will include The Jeff Little Trio July 23, Aubrey Eisenman & The Clydes July 30, The Wildmans Aug. 6, Nu-Blu Aug. 13, Pretty Little Goat Aug. 20 and The Kruger Brothers Aug. 27. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

828.479.3364 or stecoahvalleycenter.com.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Cliff Williamson (singer-songwriter) 8:30 p.m. July 20 and 27. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.538.2488.

• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host Ricky Gunter (singer-songwriter) July 21, Melissa McKinney (singer-songwriter) 3 p.m. July 24, Two Armadillos July 28, ALR Trio July 30 and Catz In Pajamas 3 p.m. July 31. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.926.7440 or valley-tavern.com.

• Yonder will host John Duncan (Americana/traditional) 7 p.m. July 22 and “Songwriter Sundays” w/Hannah Kaminer 2 p.m. July 31. Free and open to the public.

Donations encouraged. Bring your own lawn chair. 828.200.2169 or eatrealfoodinc.com.

Get to know

Maggie. Between the Blue Ridge

and Great Smoky Mountains rests one of the best golf courses in North Carolina

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Open Mic Night with Ivor Sparks every Wednesday, Steve Heffker (singer-songwriter) July 22 and 30, Shane Meade (indie/folk) July 23, Wyatt Espalin (singer-songwriter) 5 p.m.

July 24, Zip Robertson (singer-songwriter) July 29 and Mountain Gypsy (Americana/folk) 5 p.m. July 31. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host Somebody’s Child (Americana) July 22, Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs (Americana) July 23, Brian Hill (singer-songwriter) July 29 and The Log Noggins (rock/roots) July 30. All shows behind at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Free and open to the public. noc.com.

• Pickin’ In The Park (Canton) will host Rick Morris & Appalachian Mountaineers July 22 and Hill Country July 29. Shows are 6 to 9 p.m. at the Canton Rec Park located at 77 Penland St. Free and open to the public. cantonnc.com.

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• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will host The Johnny Webb Band (country/rock) July 22 and Byrds & Crows (bluegrass/traditional) July 29 at Town Square on Main Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

• Pickin’ On The Square (Franklin) will host Friends (blues/country) July 23. All shows begin at 6 p.m. at the Gazebo in downtown.

Free and open to the public. franklinnc.com/pickin-on-the-square.html.

July 20-26, 2022

• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company (Maggie Valley) will host an Open Mic Night 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. 828.734.1084 or elevatedmountain.com.

Collins (singer-songwriter) July 23 and Paul Edelman (singer-songwriter) July 28. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. innovation-brewing.com.

arts & entertainment

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host an open mic from 8 to 10 p.m. every Thursday.

Free and open to the public. 828.631.1987 or balsamfallsbrewing.com.

Contact Caitlin Bledsoe at 828-926-4831 for information.

golf | fish | hike | raft | dine | play | stay 25

arts & entertainment

On the street Bookstore

PATRICIA B RANDON will present and sign her book, Rule of Life

THURSDAY, JULY 28 at 4PM 828/586-9499 • more@citylightsnc.com 3 EAST JACKSON STREET • SYLVA

Ready for the Gemboree?

The 54th annual Macon County Gemboree will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

July 29-30 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 31 at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building in Franklin.

Rough and cut gems, minerals, fine jewelry, supplies, beads, door prizes, dealers, exhibits, demonstrations, and more.

Daily admission is $3 and free for ages 12 and under. For more information, call 828.524.3161. Sponsored by the Franklin Chamber of Commerce and the Macon County Gem & Mineral Society. franklin-chamber.com.

Macon County Gemboree.

July 20-26, 2022

Calling all FOOD TRUCKS!

The Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through Oct. 31 at the Oconaluftee Islands Park in Cherokee.

Sit by a bonfire, alongside a river, and listen to some of Cherokee’s best storytellers. The bonfire is free and open to the public. There will be no bonfire events in September.

For more information, call 800.438.1601 or click on www.visitcherokeenc.com.

Rent a full-hookup lot at the new premier Franklin Food Truck Park Drive-thru, open year round.

320 Siler Rd., Franklin

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• “G&LW Wholesale Gem Show” will be held July 29-31 at the Watauga Festival Center on 6295 Sylva Road in Franklin. The trade shows are produced in many major trade centers across the United States for the convenience of wholesale buyers. For the past 44 years, G&LW’s multiple show venues have been, and continue to be, a top gem and mineral buyer destination. franklin-chamber.com.

Smoky Mountain News

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• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

your friendly, local blue box — smoky mountain news 26

Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva.

828.631.3075.

• “Take A Flight” with four new wines every Friday and Saturdays at the Bryson City Wine Market. Select from a gourmet selection of charcuterie to enjoy with your wines.

Educational classes and other events are also available. For more information, call 828.538.0420.

• The “Friday Night Street Dance” will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. July 22 in front of the historic courthouse in downtown Waynesville.

Live mountain music and clogging.

Participation encouraged. Free to attend. downtownwaynesville.com/calendar.

• “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first-class car. Wine pairings with a meal, and more. For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or click on gsmr.com.

“Watermelon Bash” will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 30, at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Food trucks, live music, vendors, bounce houses, kids activities, watermelon eating contests, karaoke, and more. For more information, email hotheadevents@gmail.com.

On the stage arts & entertainment

Dominic Michael Aquilino.

HART presents ‘The Music Man’

July 20-26, 2022

Cherokee boasts affordable fun in the form of Great Smokies hikes, incredible fishing, and 12,000 years of history to explore. And that’s just for starters.

Plan your stay at: VisitCherokeeNC.com | 800.438.1601

Smoky Mountain News

There will be a special stage production of “The Music Man” at 7:30 p.m. July 21-23, 2830 and at 2 p.m. July 17, 24 and 31 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

The audience will be transported to River City, Iowa, where they’ll meet a slew of incredible characters, from a School Board turned Barbershop Quartet to the Gossiping Pick-a-Little Ladies to an All Boys Marching Band.

“The Music Man” would be nothing without the Music Man himself: Professor Harold Hill, played at HART by Dominic Michael Aquilino. Hill is a traveling salesman who promises to save your town from the big trouble it’s in by forming a Boys Marching Band.

The only trouble is, “Professor” Hill knows nothing about music and the local Librarian, Marian Paroo, played at HART by Emily Dake, has a library full of reference books and a great knowledge of music that could expose him. Add this town of quirky Iowans and you have a night full of entertainment and delight.

Tickets range from $14 to $36 per person.

You can purchase tickets by clicking on harttheatre.org or calling HART’s Box Office at 828.456.6322.

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host legendary comedian Rodney Carrington July 23. For tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

• A stage production of the beloved tale “Alice in Wonderland” will be held on select dates throughout this spring at the Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee. The production is an original work by Havoc Movement Company that will be joining the Cherokee Historical Association for the spring season. cherokeehistorical.org/alice-in-wonderland.

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27

On the wall arts & entertainment

Open call for art grants The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) in Waynesville is now accepting applications for grants funded by the Grassroots Arts Program and has over $27,000 in funds to award.

Since 1977, the North Carolina Arts Council’s Grassroots Arts Program has provided North Carolina citizens access to quality arts experiences. Using a per capita based formula, the program provides funding for the arts in all 100 counties of the state through partnerships with local arts councils. HCAC serves as the North Carolina Arts Council’s partner in awarding grants to local organizations for arts programs in Haywood County.

In November 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a state budget that included an additional $10 million in funding for the Grassroots Arts Program. The source of the additional funds was from the American Recovery Act Plan.

“With this large infusion of additional funds, the North Carolina Arts Council

• The “Cultivating Collections” exhibit will be showcased through July 29 in the Fine Art Museum at the Bardo Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. This year’s exhibition highlights three areas of the collection — vitreographs, glass, and works by Black artists. The pieces on view convey the stories of bold innovators and speak to the importance of Western North Carolina in the history of glass and printmaking. Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and until 7 p.m. on Thursday. 828.227.ARTS or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

July 20-26, 2022

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Smoky Mountain News

• “Drive-In Movie Night” will screen “Dirty Dancing” at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Concessions available onsite. Admission is $20 per car.

You must have a parking ticket.

828.488.2376 or darnellfarms.com.

• Southwestern Community College Swain Arts Center (Bryson City) will host an array of adult workshops, including “Sketching For Wellness” 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, July 21, “Oil Painting Workshop” 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, July 21, “Etching Press Intro” 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, July 22, and “Sew A Journal Book” 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 28. southwesterncc.edu/scc-locations/swain-center.

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• Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will host “Garden Harvest Basket & Wine Tasting” class 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, July 22, at the Haywood Handmade Gallery in downtown Waynesville. haywoodarts.org.

• WNC Paint Events brings you “Paint & Sip.” This is a two-hour event, and you leave with your painting. Anyone 21 and up are wel-

made several temporary amendments to the guidelines that increased eligible organizations and projects” said HCAC Executive Director Morgan Beryl. “This is great news for Haywood County nonprofits who do some kind of art programming but aren’t necessarily considered arts organizations.”

Projects must occur between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.

“In particular, HCAC is interested in seeing applications that are multicultural in nature and benefit communities of color and underserved and underrepresented populations,” Beryl noted.

Grant application requirements and the application can be found on HCAC’s grant webpage: haywoodarts.org/grants-funding.

The application form is a fillable PDF. Applicants should download, fill out and email the final application to director@haywoodarts.org with the subject line: “Grassroot Application — Organization Name.”

All applications must be provided via email no later than 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Hard copies will not be accepted.

come. Events will be held at the following locations once a month: 828 Market on Main (Waynesville), Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva), BearWaters Brewing (Canton), Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) and the Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin). wncpaint.events.

• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. For more information, call The Uptown Gallery at 828.349.4607 or contact Pat Mennenger at pm14034@yahoo.com. franklinuptowngallery.com.

• A “Foreign Film Series” will be held at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Each month, on the second and fourth Friday, two movies from around the globe will be shown.

This program is in the Community Room and is free of charge. Masks are required in all Jackson County buildings. To find out what movie will be shown and/or for more information, please call the library at 828.586.2016. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library. To learn more, click on fontanalib.org.

• Farmer’s Market (with artisans) will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through October at 117 Island St. in Bryson City. Stop by the old barn by the river for local, homegrown produce, as well as baked goods, jellies and preserves, authentic crafts, and more. Food truck, picnic tables and live music. Leashed pets are welcome. Outdoor event. 828.488.7857.

On the shelf

Jeff Minick

A

tion with the outside world has vanished in the blasts, so that this underground government is useless. Solara, the group long charged with maintaining this facility, has command of protocol and order, and the arguments between their commander and the congressional crew are frequent and sometimes funny.

Gilstrap has aptly labeled these two novels “thrillers.” His plot and descriptions

New monthly book club The Jackson County Public Library in Sylva is starting a new monthly program.

Each month, a library staff member will be discussing some of the new book titles that the library has received. Particular attention will be paid to “under the radar” titles and authors, new releases, and other books that the staff is excited about.

All are welcome and no registration is required. For more information on when the club will meet, please call the library at 828.586.2016.

This club is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library. The JCPL is a member of Fontana Regional Library (fontanalib.org).

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drive readers from page to page, wanting to find out what happens next. Though I wondered why the townspeople of Ortho rarely brought up the radiation that was surely swirling around them, most of the situations Gilstrap creates seem realistic and wellresearched. He clearly has a knowledge of weaponry and a grasp of military tactics, and his characters are believable.

Perhaps most intriguing are the two strong female characters. Adam, age 18, is Victoria’s oldest son. His girlfriend Emma is carrying his baby, and shows grit and determination in helping the two of them reach Ortho. She’s ready to raise a weapon, stand at Adam’s side, and engage the enemy, but rarely loses her sense of humor and irony.

She’s all action when action is demanded.

Though Victoria and her husband, now deceased, taught their three boys to shoot like Daniel Boone, she impresses readers by her skills of organization and command.

She’s wise in her counsel to her sons, reminding them frequently that others may blame them if she slips up as their leader.

She knows when to be firm and when to be gentle with the people she governs, reminding all around her that individual freedom is important but that they must also cooperate if they are to survive. And she makes tough decisions, even while knowing they are unpopular.

In this last part of my review, I exchange my writing desk for a pulpit. Some of you may want to stop here and move along.

“Blue Fire” caused me to meditate a bit on our race, by which I mean the human race.

We moderns like to consider ourselves superior to our ancestors. We rightfully condemn some of them for slavery or genocide, though both still exist in our world, and smile at what we regard as their religious superstitions.

Some of us also find their beliefs about marriage, children, and the family quaint.

Yet what might they — or for that matter, our descendants — make of nations that build bombs whose use might end our race? What might they think of germ warfare? Of gain of function research with viruses? Of chemicals and toxins developed to kill multitudes of people?

What might they say about a culture where some even advocate for the extermination of humanity itself, claiming that killing off homo sapiens would benefit the planet?

No doubt I sound like a schoolboy to some, ignorant and innocent. I accept that charge, but will add: What kind of hell, I sometimes wonder, have we created?

“Blue Fire” offers a stinging reminder that advanced technology combined with human folly can be deadly.

End of homily.

(Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four of his own: two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.” minick0301@gmail.com.)

July 20-26, 2022

bout halfway through “Blue Fire” (Kensington Publishing Corp., 2022, 326 pages,) John Gilstrap’s apocalyptic novel about a worldwide nuclear war, I paused and asked myself a question: “Given the state of the world right now — the sabre rattling of nations like Iran, North Korea, and China, the war in Ukraine, the economic and cultural devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the foolish fiscal policies of our federal government — do you really want to be reading a book about hundreds of millions of people dying while many of the survivors become savages?”

Not the cheeriest Writer book on the planet.

Nonetheless, onward I went, in large part because Gilstrap kept me turning the pages.

This second “Victoria Emerson Thriller” — the first was “Crimson Phoenix” — introduces us to a large cast of characters.

Foremost among them is Victoria Emerson, a former member of Congress who flees with other members of that body to the Annex, which is essentially an underground bomb shelter for Washington bigwigs. When the guards refuse to allow her to bring two of her sons, Caleb and Luke, into the shelter, Victoria leaves and finds herself in Ortho, West Virginia.

“Blue Fire” opens with Victoria acting as a sort of mayor of Ortho. She and two exmilitary men, including her lover Major Joe McCrea, along with some longtime residents organize a defense of Ortho. They establish policies on refugee settlement, found committees to collect and distribute food and clothing, and even come up with a system of financial exchange in which bullets serve as coins.

Meanwhile, a small force of soldiers, former members of the Maryland National Guard, have become renegades who steal, loot, and kill as they see fit. Having taken over a nearby town, Appleton, they set their sights next on Ortho, recruiting and training others to launch their attack.

At the same time, we spend some time in the underground annex, where the former Speaker of the House and now president, Penn Glendale, and other congressional officeholders live relatively protected from the bloodshed and mayhem going on the world around them. Nearly all communica-

arts & entertainment

Pride, ignorance and high tech equal disaster

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

The birders… they are a’changing A new generation of birders rises up

BY DON H ENDERSHOT CONTRIBUTING WRITER ’ve been birding in Western North Carolina since I got here in the late 1980s, in my mid-thirties (yes, I’m that old.)

When I would show up for a birding trip or program, I would be one of the “youngsters.” I kept birding and kept attending events and the constant thing was, we all kept getting older. I have participated in the Balsam Christmas Bird Count since its inception in 2003, and trust me, to see a face under 50 years of age is a novelty.

Now I have heard recent soundbites that my beloved hobby is actually becoming younger and more diverse, but as I continued birding with old farts, like myself, I just didn’t see it. Well, that all changed recently when I was co-leading a birding trip for the annual (and first time in-person since 2019) Spring

I

Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

My co-leaders were two young (no, I didn’t ask their age, but definitely under 50) women, Mary Feely and Avery Young. Both women are recent graduates from University of Tennessee Chattanooga, with master’s degrees in environmental science. They are accomplished birders, all-around naturalists and enthusiastic and informative group leaders. I was so impressed by their knowledge, abilities and enthusiasm I badgered them into responding to some email questions.

I asked them about their introduction to birding. Feely said her “grandparents on both sides were in love with birds… I remember sitting with my grandmother in her living room and her exclaiming when a ruby-throated hummingbird finally came to her feeder for the first time that season. I was blown away at

how excited she was over this teeny little creature that whizzed around like a fairy.”

Young stated that she loved, “being outside and hiking around and looking at everything around me. I still like to consider myself more of a generalist naturalist. Over time, I have found that birds provide such a fun scavenger hunt while wandering around outside, and I’ve grown more and more interested in their songs and behaviors.”

Like many birders, they can still remember a particular event or incident that really jazzed them about birding. Young remembers a couple. She studied American oystercatchers at a field station in Sonora, Mexico, and said watching them guard their nests was fascinating. She also noted, “seeing western tanagers in the western conifer forests and learning their calls was always a treat in the forest, and that’s when I really started to tune into

Both recent graduates of the University of Tennessee’s master’s of environmental science program, Avery Young (left) and Mary Feely are part of a new generation of avid birders. Donated photos

other birds as well.”

Feely noted learning about how social crows were when she was in high school.

“I became fascinated by their intelligence and social structure,” she said.

I asked them if birds had been a focus of their education and/or employment.

“Yes, my master’s thesis focused on fire ecology and compared an intact eastern deciduous forest to one that burned down in 2016,” Feely said. “We visited the sites in 2018 and 2019 and found that the burned region had significantly more disturbance-dependent bird species such as the prairie warbler and yellowbreasted chat. One of my favorite memories from my thesis was the first time we drove out there. We weren’t entirely sure what we would find as neither myself or my advisor had visited the site. But the second we opened the doors, we were overwhelmed by a cacophony of rising songs as the prairie warblers made themselves known. It was definitely one of those moments where you are reminded of nature’s resilience and ability to adapt. Many of the species utilizing that site were in decline and in great need of habitat. Thus, my results were a happy reminder that what may be seen as a disaster by humans was actually a place full of abundant opportunities for birds.”

Young noted, “I worked on a capstone project in undergrad on mapping American oystercatcher and Wilson’s plover habitats in an estuary being considered for RAMSAR [Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat] designation in Sonora, Mexico.”

Since then, she has crisscrossed the country doing different birding gigs for the National Park Service — surveying for beachnesting birds and sea turtles on Cape Hatteras National Seashore, surveying in Willamette National Forest in Oregon for great gray owls, point counts for Klamath Bird Observatory in Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Redwoods National Park, plus more.

Sure, they’re serious birders and serious scientists but they come from the next generation, the generation of digital birding, instant communication and creating their own sense of birding community. I remember Feely guffawing as we hiked along School House Gap Trail, already encountering six Swainson’s warblers, saying “ebird” wasn’t believing her count.

And I found it refreshing this new generation of birders was bringing their culture along with them. I hadn’t thought much about it before; field guides often cite mnemonics, a pattern of letters, ideas or associations, in this case words that assists in remembering something as a way to remember bird songs. Most birders of a certain age have grown up with these mnemonics — “weeta weeta weeteo” sings the hooded warbler … well, not to younger ears. Feely said when she started birding the hooded warbler called “I want to rent a video.” But since videos are passé it has been updated to “I want to ‘Netflix and chill.’” Another one I was introduced to on our hike was for the Swainson’s warbler — past, “whee;

whee; whee whip-poor-will” to pooooo, pooooo, I’ve stepped in poo!” Young had a different take on the tried and true “chip off the white oak” for recognizing the whiteeyed vireo…it’s more like “pick up the beer check.”

Yes, birding is fun, but these young scientists know its importance as well. In a time when bird populations are dwindling (along with most of the Earth’s natural resources) they believe it’s important to share their knowledge and passion. Young

only 20 minutes from campus. Some said they’d never thought to go there on their own and even expressed that they planned to return outside of class. In a world that has become so urbanized and overwhelming, I think it is especially important to urge all generations to take a moment and go outdoors and just be. Once people find an appreciation in our planet — the only one we have, might I add — I think they will be more inclined to protect it. I think it is our duty as scientists and lovers of birds to disseminate information to audiences and stress the need to protect what we still have.

Future generations deserve it.”

These young birders see the big picture, and I sleep better at night knowing who’s taking the baton. But every “big picture” starts with a small picture within. Here are their pictures of birding alone at dawn: “The dawn chorus is like magic,” Young said. “I feel honored to speak the language of being able to pick out songs from a chorus and see the birds perched high, head tilted back, belting a spring song. I wish my footsteps were quieter, but I also have a sound, of course.”

“Early morning birding allows a sort of calmness inside of me that I rarely find elsewhere,” Feely said. “There’s no rush or urgency because the birds won’t allow it. I have to remain calm and quiet and live by their terms as I carefully look for species and listen to their songs. It is a beautiful reminder of how intricate our world is and how I am only a witness who cannot control it. Birding asks one to put aside their tangle of anxiety and humanworld thoughts and listen to the complexity of life. In one word, early morning birding for me could be summed up as peace.”

(Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist.

His book, A Year From the Naturalist’s Corner, Vol. 1, is available at regional bookstores or by contacting him at ddihen12@gmail.com.)

“There’s always more to see and appreciate if we start looking.”

— Avery Young

noted, “I love to point out bird songs or sights to nonbirders. I think it is eye-opening for people who have never really thought much about birds. It is easy to go through life thinking ‘birds are singing’ and never really wonder anything more. I like to engage people in the skill of observation, as many, many people shared with me along the way. Not only do I think it is important for the planet for people to be more in tuned to ecology, but I also think it is calming and rewarding to be quiet and observant in the world we live in; same for wildflowers, and fungi, and trees, and insects …

There’s always more to see and appreciate if we start looking.”

Feely believes sharing her enthusiasm is important because, “we have such a rich world full of fascinating species, but many people don’t realize that there are many opportunities to explore in their own backyards. I can’t tell you how many of my students were amazed at our local biodiversity when I would take them hiking in areas

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Smoky Mountain News

2035, the plan calls for a three-fold increase in solar energy, diversification of renewables with wind resources, growing energy storage from 3,700 to 5,900 megawatts to support renewables, and coal and natural gas elimination over time.

However, environmental groups, including MountainTrue, Creation Care Alliance, N.C. Interfaith Power and Light and The Sierra Club want to see a stronger decarbonization plan. According to MountainTrue’s Central Regional Director Gray Jernigan, the plan relies too heavily on “unproven” technologies like small modular nuclear reactors, proposes new natural gas plants and fails to use cost assumptions that reflect the market realities of the affordability of renewable energy compared to gas.

Read Duke’s proposed carbon plan at duke-energy.com/our-company/aboutus/carolinas-carbon-plan. For more about the approval process and instructions for participating in the hearings, visit ncuc.net/consumer/carbonplan.html.

— Holly Kays, outdoors editor

July 20-26, 2022

The North Carolina Utilities Commission is hosting a series of hearings this summer to take public input on the draft carbon plan that Duke Energy filed May 16. Hearing opportunities include an in-person hearing at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 27, at the Buncombe County Courthouse in Asheville, and virtual hearings at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, via Webex.

The plan, completed in response to the passage of H.B. 951, which Gov. Roy Cooper signed on Oct. 13, 2021, aims to achieve a 70% reduction from 2005 levels in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The law limits the applicability of this requirement to Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas and directs the Utilities Commission to develop a plan to achieve these reductions

by Dec. 31, 2022. The plan is to be reviewed every two years thereafter.

Duke Energy hailed its plan as a triumph of collaboration, emphasizing the more than 500 people representing more than 300 organizations who participated in the stakeholder engagement process. By

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FREE

Duke carbon plan headed for public hearing

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outdoors

Biological foundation continues lecture series Join the Highlands Biological Foundation (HBF) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 28, for the next installment of their annual Zahner Conservation Lecture Series. This free program will feature Dr. Rob Young, Director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shoreline at Western Carolina University, as he presents “Managing the Coastal Zone in a Changing

Smoky Mountain News

July 20-26, 2022

Climate: Everything We Are Doing Is Wrong”.

In this presentation, Coastal Geologist Rob Young will explore how climate change is impacting the coastal environment and coastal development in the USA. He will also discuss the grand failure of government at all levels to act on the crisis in an organized and sensible way. Instead, we have disorganized programs that cost taxpayers billions while failing to address community vulnerability and degrading the coastal environment.

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Dr. Young is a Professor of Coastal Geology at Western Carolina University and a licensed professional geologist in three states (FL, NC, SC). He received a BS degree in Geology (Phi Beta Kappa) from the College of William & Mary, a MS degree in Quaternary Studies from the University of Maine, and a PhD in Geology from Duke University, where he was a James B. Duke Distinguished Doctoral Fellow. Dr. Young has approximately 100 technical publications, serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Coastal Research and Environmental Geosciences, and is a frequent contributor to popular media outlets like the New York Times, USA Today, Architectural Record, the Houston Chronicle, and the Raleigh News and Observer, among others. He currently oversees more than $3.5 Million in grant-funded research projects related to coastal science and management.

This program is generously sponsored by Karen Patterson. All are invited to participate in HBF’s free Zahner lectures which will be held at the Highlands Nature Center (930 Horse Cove Road) on Thursday evenings through Sept. 8. To preview HBF’s full Zahner lecture lineup, please visit www.highlandsbiological.org. The Highlands Nature Center is part of the Highlands Biological Station, a multi-campus center of WCU.

An international contingent of gardening enthusiasts will converge in Jackson County. WCU photo

Native plant conference returns to WCU campus Western Carolina University will host the annual Cullowhee Native Plant Conference, bringing an international contingent of botanists and gardening enthusiasts to campus, beginning Wednesday, July 20, through Saturday, July 23.

The public is welcome to attend at no charge all Saturday programs and events, to be held at WCU’s Ramsey Regional Activity Center, with a plant sale and vendor booths from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Presentations include Katie Davis from 9 to 9:30 a.m. on “Plants of Promise,” followed by Denisha Carly and Anne Spafford with “Let’s Talk Pollinator Gardening: Plan, Plant and Maintain Successful and Beautiful Pollinator Gardens” from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. and Shelby Jackson’s “Great Native Plants for the Home Garden” at 11 to 11:45 a.m.

Paid conference events are already at capacity, with registration closed. The conference is designed to increase interest in

and knowledge of propagating and preserving native Southeastern plant species in the landscape, and includes regional field trips by vehicle, hikes and canoe, workshops and presentations. Speakers and topics scheduled include Kim Eierman on reducing pollinator decline with ecological gardening; Emily Driskill on propagation methods for native plant species; and Tommy Cabe and David Anderson on Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians native plant restoration.

Participants typically include landscape architects, commercial nursery operators, garden club members, botanists, horticulturists from state highway departments, universities, native plant societies, botanical gardens and arboretums. The agenda allows for informal sessions to exchange ideas, network and share materials.

For more information, go to nativeplants.wcu.edu or call 828.227.7397.

Deer hunting webinars offered in August

The “Introduction to Deer Hunting” webinar will cover whitetail habits and habitats, scouting techniques, essential equipment, tree stand safety, effective shot placement, tracking techniques and field dressing.

The “Practical Deer Processing: From Field to Freezer” webinar will focus on field dressing, skinning, safe meat handling and basic home processing.

Chronic Wasting Disease, which was detected for the first time in North Carolina in a deer harvested in Yadkinville last season, will also be discussed as it relates to new regulations in Yadkin County and surrounding areas.

Pre-registration for the webinars is required at ncwildlife.org/sbs. A recording of the presentation will be available to all registrants at a later date.

For additional information, contact Walter “Deet” James at walter.james@ncwildlife.org (preferred), 919.707.0059 (office) or 984.202.1387 (mobile).

The 2022-23 deer season dates are available on the agency’s website.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the N.C. Wildlife Federation will offer two free online hunting-related webinars in August.

“Introduction to Deer Hunting” will be held on Aug. 9, and “Practical Deer Processing: From Field to Freezer” will be held on Aug. 11. Both classes will run from 7 to 8 p.m. and are open to anyone interested, especially individuals who have never hunted, are new to hunting or lack social support for hunting.

“Both webinars are intended to assist novice hunters for the upcoming white-tailed deer season, which opens Sept. 10,” said Walter “Deet” James, the hunter engagement coordinator at the Wildlife Commission. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for people who may not have access to an existing hunting community of family members and friends. Each session will be followed by a question and answer session led by agency staff and volunteers.”

year along the trail was damaged by the flood.

The temporary closure continues to include Greenbrier Picnic Area, Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion, and Backcountry Campsites

31, 32, and 33. Old Settlers, Brushy Mountain, and Grapeyard Ridge Trails remain open, but hikers must access them from parking lots near the Greenbrier entrance or from other areas on the park.

For more information about temporary road closures across the park, please visit the park website at nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm.

Paddle Fontana

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Explore the Hazel Creek arm of Fontana Lake and the former town of Proctor during a 7-mile flat-water paddle at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 30, led by MountainTrue.

Proctor was evacuated and flooded to create the lake in 1944, and the town’s remnants are now part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Participants should bring walking shoes or comfortable sandals for a short hike, and swimming in the cold, deep lake will also be an option.

Participants should be in decent physical condition and bring a boat that is efficient for a longer paddle. The group will return by 4 p.m.

Cost is $10-30 depending on membership status and boat needs. Rain date is July 31.

Register at mountaintrue.org/event.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park seeks public review of the Balsam Mountain Campground and Heintooga Picnic Area Water and Wastewater Environmental Assessment (EA) through Tuesday, July 26, 2022. The park is proposing to rehabilitate the water and wastewater systems, which were originally built in 1953-1955.

Located on the North Carolina side of the park at about 5,300 feet in elevation, the campground and picnic area are open seasonally, typically mid-May through midOctober. The proposed improvements would support visitor services in this

remote location by continuing to provide safe drinking water and proper wastewater treatment and disposal, while reducing system maintenance requirements.

To minimize inconvenience to visitors and campers, most construction would be scheduled while the campground and picnic area are seasonally closed. The new systems would require construction of a short maintenance road in the developed area.

The EA is available online for public review at the link provided below. The public is invited to review the EA and provide comments at parkplanning.nps.gov/balsamheintooga2022e.

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289 Access Road, Waynesville " 452'4343 32 Asheville Hwy, Sylva " 586'8950 188 Georgia Road, Franklin " 349'4534 49 McDowell Street, Asheville " 254'7716 35 NC Hwy 141, Murphy " 835'8389

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Smoky Mountain News

Public invited to review wastewater assessment

July 20-26, 2022

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials reopened limited access to the Greenbrier area of the park. The first half mile of the Greenbrier entrance road is now open to motorists, which allows access to a couple of parking areas. Pedestrians and cyclists are allowed to use 2.5 miles of roadway beyond this point to the intersection with Ramsey Prong Road.

Pedestrians and cyclists are not allowed beyond this point due to unsafe road conditions.

The roadway sections leading to Porters Creek Trail and Ramsey Cascades Trail both received extensive flood damage. The trails themselves also suffered significant damage including the loss of footlog bridges. Ramsey Cascades Trail was previously closed for the season, Monday through Thursday each week, for a full-scale trail renovation as part of the Trails Forever program supported by Friends of the Smokies. Unfortunately, much of the rehabilitation work accomplished earlier this

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Updated Greenbrier temporary closures

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outdoors

Occupational therapy students visit Full Spectrum Farms program provides students with the tools they need to learn how to take care of those who are overcoming mobility or motorskills limitations. OTA students learn about human growth and development and practice various therapeutic activities to help people like the children at Full Spectrum Farms.

Activities on the farm included tabletop games like checkers, working in the garden to plant seeds and dig up special items, Students with the participants of the Full Spectrum Farms kid’s camp are, and a refreshback row from left: Kristen Sawyer, Elisabeth Trantham, Western Carolina ing snack University student Pierce Muth, Erin Hyde, Haley Hamrick, Amanda Canzone, time.

Leah Cody and Ashley Mull.

“It is such a joy to watch the children progress during the week of kid’s camp. This doubles as a learning expecamp,” said Walls. “It really connects classrience and also a day full of fun for both the room learning to community service. It is a students and kids. wonderful experience for everyone to be a Full Spectrum Farms is a non-profit part of a team that is dedicated to providing organization that was established in 2002. children with a camp experience that fosLocated in Cullowhee, the farm is dedicated ters their physical, social and emotional to serving those with Autism Spectrum development. The OTA students learn the Disorder. most from the children they are privileged Farm Director Erin McManus oversees to work with, and they also have the opporoperations and works with SCC’s OTA protunity to learn from Erin.” gram coordinator, Anna Walls, to get the SCC and Full Spectrum Farms have been students on the farm, working for several working together since 2016, giving OTA days with the children. students experience needed for their field of “With SCC, we have worked together study by working one-on-one with the chiland evolved this camp over many years,” dren. said McManus. “We would not be able to To learn more about Full Spectrum do our kid’s camp without SCC. Our clienFarms, visit fullspectrumfarms.org. tele get one-on-one OTA attention and can To learn more about SCC’s OTA progrow leaps and bounds within a short gram, contact Walls at a_walls@southwestamount of time with that attention.” erncc.edu or 828.339.4334.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant

Smoky Mountain News

July 20-26, 2022

In June, Southwestern Community College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program teamed up with Full Spectrum Farms to allow SCC students to work with the children during the farm’s

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Puzzles can be found on page 38 These are only the answers.

Haywood orchard hosts health symposium Head out to KT’s Orchard and Apiary in Canton 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 28, for an afternoon focused on local food and its importance to community health.

This session is part of the ongoing “Farm Fresh for Health” series from the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project that addresses real and perceived barriers that influence what we eat and ultimate health outcomes. This session will focus on wrap-around clinical health services, local food and nutrition security programs, community cooking classes and social determinants of health.

Presenters will include: KT Taylor, a nurse at Mission Hospital and farmer/owner of KT’s Orchard and Apiary; Marianne Martinez, executive director of Vecinos, and Valeria Barrera Vizcarra, who manages the organization’s Farmworker Health Program; Jenna Kranz, founder and executive director of Uncomplicated Kitchen; Nilofer Couture, a registered dietician and clinical nutrition manager at Cherokee Indian Hospital; David Smiley, program manager of ASAP’s Local Food Campaign; Mike McCreary, ASAP’s farmers market program manager; and Sarah Hart, ASAP’s communications manager.

Luis Martinez of Tequio Foods will cater.

Registration is $20. Register at asapconnections.org.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Cowee School Farmer’s Market will be held from Wednesdays from 3-6 p.m., at 51 Cowee School Drive in Franklin. The market has produce, plant starts, eggs, baked goods, flowers, food trucks and music. For more information or for an application, visit www.coweeschool.org or call 828.369.4080.

Smoky Mountain News

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com take place from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. July 27-29, at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

• “Art After Dark” will be held from 6-9 p.m. each first Friday of the month (May-December) in downtown Waynesville. For more information, go to facebook.com/galleriesofhaywoodcounty.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • The Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society’s annual Open House and 35th anniversary celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at the Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society. For more information visit chhumanesociety.org.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS • Swain County Caring Corner Free Clinic is open Thursday’s 4-9 p.m. at Restoration House (Bryson City United Methodist Church). Office hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9 a.m.-noon. Call 828.341.1998 to see if you qualify to receive free medical care from volunteer providers.

SUPPORT GROUPS • Highlands Mountain View Group holds open A.A. meetings in Highlands at the First Presbyterian Church, 471 Main St., at 5:30 p.m. on Monday and at noon on Wednesday and Friday. The Cashiers Valley Group holds open meetings at the Albert Carlton Cashiers Community Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday, 5 p.m. Friday and Sunday, and at 9 a.m. Saturday. Zoom meetings are available at noon on Monday, at 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and at 9 a.m. Saturday (ID# 921 817 2966, password CVG2020). For more information, please visit www.aawnc80.org or to speak with a member of AA 24/7 at 828.349.4357.

• The SHARE Project and RISE Resources in Support of Empowerment bring you Smart Recovery Friends and Family at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month in the Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center Upstairs Classroom.

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • Blue Ridge Books and News host an author event from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the bookstore in Hazelwood with Danita Dodson. “Trailing the Azimuth” is Danita’s first work of poetry. She will be signing her new book. For more information call 828.456.6000 or visit blueridgebooksnc.com.

A&E

• Karaoke takes place at 7 p.m. every Friday at the Meadowlark Motel in Maggie Valley. Call 828.926.1717 or visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• Appalachian Button Jamboree Show will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 17, at The National Guard Armory in Hendersonville. For more information call Julie McMahon at 616.634.8823 or email jmcmahon8@hotmail.com.

• Paint and Sip at Waynesville Art School will be held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7-9:30 p.m.

To learn more and register call 828.246.9869 or visit PaintAndSipWaynesville.com/upcoming-events.

Registration is required, $45.

• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon-4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood St. in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods.

Special events will be held when scheduled. mountainmakersmarket.com.

• Mountain Street Dances will be held July 8, July 22, Aug.12 and Sept. 30 in downtown Waynesville.

• Carringer Farms and Marie’s Custom Ornaments Trunk Show will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday, July 23 at Acorns in Highlands. For more information visit www.oldedwardshospitality.com/calendar-of-events • Dinner and dancing with the J. Creek Cloggers will take place July 30, at the Meadowlark Smoky Mountain Heritage Center. Free for motel guests and Heritage Club Members, $20 per person for guests. RSVP required for BBQ dinner. Call 828.926.1717.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host The Swingin’ Medallions (rock/R&B) 7:30 p.m. July 23. Tickets start at $18 per person. smokymountainarts.com or 828.524.1598.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Cliff Williamson (singer-songwriter) 8:30 p.m. July 20 and 27. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.

FOOD AND DRINK • BBQ and Live Music takes place at 6 p.m. every Saturday at the Meadowlark Motel. Call 828.926.1717 or visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• “Flights & Bites” will be held starting at 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Bosu’s Wine Shop in downtown Waynesville. For more information on upcoming events, wine tastings and special dinners, click on waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 6-8 p.m. every Thursday and 2-5 p.m. every Saturday at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 828.631.3075.

• Take a trip around the world with 4 different wines every Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday 11a.m.-6 p.m. at the Bryson City Wine Market. Pick from artisan Charcuterie Foods to enjoy with wines. 828.538.0420.

• Cooking classes take place at the McKinley Edwards Inn from 6-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. To reserve your spot call 828.488.9626.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort (Cherokee) will host legendary comedian Rodney Carrington July 23. For tickets, caesars.com/harrahs-cherokee.

• The Chamber Music Society of the Carolinas will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday July 31, at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville. Season and individual tickets are available online or at the church. For more information visit cmscarolina.com or call 828.400.6465.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host a semiregular acoustic jam with the Main Street NoTones from 7-9 p.m. on Thursdays. Free and open to the public. For more information, click on blueridgebeerhub.com.

• A stage production of the beloved tale “Alice in Wonderland” will be held on select dates throughout this spring at the Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on cherokeehistorical.org/alice-in-wonderland.

• Toddler’s Rock takes place at 10 a.m. every Monday at the Macon County Library. Get ready to rock with songs, books, rhymes and playing with instruments. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• Fontana Village Resort Wildwood Grill will host Takeout July 23 and Sarah Williams (singer-songwriter) July 30. Free and open to the public. 800.849.2258 or fontanavillage.com.

• A youth summer workshop “Creatures and Critters” will take place from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. July 20-22, at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will host The Johnny Webb Band (country/rock) July 22 and Byrds & Crows (bluegrass/traditional) July 29 at Town Square on Main Street. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. highlandschamber.org.

Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: n n n n

Complete listings of local music scene Regional festivals Art gallery events and openings Complete listings of recreational offerings at health and fitness centers n Civic and social club gatherings

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • Artists in Residence at Lake Junaluska will host the second annual Associates Art Show from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, on the Kern Center porch.

Musicians from the lake will also be there to entertain.

• “Thursday Painters” group will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Free and open to the public. All skill levels and mediums are welcome. Participants are responsible for their own project and a bag lunch. 828.349.4607 or pm14034@yahoo.com.

• The exhibit “Like No Other Place” is open July 16 through Dec. 31, in the Joel Gallery at the The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. For more information visit thebascom.org.

• Three Potters Symposium will take place from 10 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. July 30, at The Bascom Center for Visual Arts. For more information visit thebascom.org.

• KidStuff will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday, July 30, as part of Summerfest 2922’s International Day programming in downtown Waynesville. For more information visit folkmoot.org.

• The exhibit “Members Challenge: Place” is open July 30 through Sept. 10, in the Thompson Gallery at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. For more information visit thebascom.org.

FILM & SCREEN

• Cherokee Heritage Day with Davy Arch will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Meadowlark Smoky Mountain Heritage Center. Admission is free for motel guests and Heritage Club members, $20 per person for all others. Call 828.926.1717 or visit meadowlarkmotel.com.

• Storytime takes place at 10 a.m. every Tuesday at the Macon County Library. For more information visit fontanalib.org or call 828.524.3600.

• A youth summer workshop “Magic and Mystery” will

• Pickin’ In The Park (Canton) will host Rick Morris & Appalachian Mountaineers July 22 and Hill Country July 29. Shows are 6-9 p.m. at the Canton Rec Park located at 77 Penland St. Free and open to the public. cantonnc.com.

• SlopeSide Tavern (Sapphire) will host Skies Of Avalon July 21. All shows begin at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.743.8655 or slopesidetavern.com.

• Farm At Old Edwards (Highlands) will host Erick Baker (Americana/folk) 6 p.m. July 27. Admission is $40 per person, which includes light bites. A cash bar is available. To purchase tickets, click on oldedwardshospitality.com/orchardsessions.

KIDS & FAMILIES

• Marianna Black Library (Bryson City) will host a Community Jam 6 p.m. July 21 and Lee Knight (singersongwriter) 7 p.m. July 28. Free and open to the public.

828.488.3030 or fontanalib.org/brysoncity.

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CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • A class on still-life in oils with Gina Brown will take place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 21-22 at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

• A class for intermediate woodturning with John Tagliarini will take place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 27-29 at The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. Register at thebascom.org.

• The Jackson County Public Library is hosting a free seminar about navigating grief at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, in the Community Room. Registration is required.

Call the library at 828.586.2016 to register.

• A “Foreign Film Series” will be held at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. Each month, on the second and fourth Friday, two movies from around the globe will be shown. This program is in the Community Room and is free of charge. To find out what movie will be shown and/or for more information, please call the library at 828.586.2016.

Outdoors

• Nature and Nurture: The Voorhees Family Artistic Legacy will be on display at the Baker Visitors Center through Sept. 5. For more information call 828.665.2492 or visit ncarboretum.org.

• ArborEvenings take place from 5:30-8 p.m. at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville, Thursday and Friday evenings through Sept. 30. www.ncarboretum.org.

• The annual Zahner Conservation Lectures will take place at 6 p.m. Thursdays from July 7 to Sept. 1. To view the full lecture lineup, visit highlandsbiological.org.

• The Southeaster Permaculture Gathering will take place Aug. 5-7, in Celo, North Carolina. For more information visit skutheasternpermaculture.org.

WNC PLACE

Market MarketPlace information:

The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 copies across 500 locations in Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, including the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County.

Visit www.wncmarketplace.com to place your ad!

Rates: • • • • • • • • • • •

$15 — Classified ads that are 25 words, 25¢ per word after.

Free — Lost or found pet ads. $6 — Residential yard sale ads.* $1 — Yard Sale Rain Insurance Yard sale rained out? Call us by 10a.m.

Monday for your ad to run again FREE $375 — Statewide classifieds run in 170 participating newspapers with 1.1+ million circulation. (Limit 25 words or less) Boost Online — Have your ad featured at top of category online $4 Boost in Print Add Photo $6 Bold ad $2 Yellow, Green, Pink or Blue Highlight $4 Border $4

Note: Highlighted ads automatically generate a border so if you’re placing an ad online and select a highlight color, the “add border” feature will not be available on the screen.

Note: Yard sale ads require an address. This location will be displayed on a map on www.wncmarketplace.com

p: 828.452.4251 · f:828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com www.wncmarketplace.com

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Business Opportunities

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Employment ENROLLMENT COORDINATOR- FT Mountain Projects, Inc. Head Start Program is looking for an Enrollment Coordinator who is compassionate about the children and families in Haywood and Jackson counties. The person will be responsible for working with families who are interested in our Head Start Program to recruit and enroll their children. A degree in Human Services or a business/marketing degree is preferred.

Mountain Projects, Inc. RIIHUV IXOO EHQH¿W SDFNage to include medical DQG SUHVFULSWLRQ EHQH¿WV dental, vision, and retirement. This is a non-exempt position based out of Haywood County. A $1,000 hiring bonus will be offered along with a rate of pay starting at $16.50 based on experience. EOE/AA MEDICAL BILLING Train Online!

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A bachelor’s degree in Human Services or Social Services is preferred, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology is acceptable. Mountain Projects, Inc. offers full benH¿W SDFNDJH WR LQFOXGH medical and prescription EHQH¿WV GHQWDO YLVLRQ and retirement. This is a non-exempt position based out of Haywood County. A $1,000 hiring bonus will be offered along with a rate of pay starting at $17.00 based on experience. EOE/AA

Information and Tuition is located at CareerTechnical.edu/consumer-information.

DRIVERS NEEDED Haywood County Schools - Must be 18 with a Clean Driving Record. CDL Training Provided, Starting Pay $15/Hr., Holidays, :HHNHQGV 6XPPHUV Off! For more information contact the Bus Garage 828-456-2421, 401 Farmview Dr., Waynesville, NC. www.haywood.k12. nc.us THE JACKSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT Of Social Services is recruiting for a Social Worker in Child Protective Services. This position investigates reports of child abuse and neglect and provides services to families where needs KDYH EHHQ LGHQWL¿HG 5Hquires some availability after hours. The starting salary is $45,736.42, if

IXOO\ TXDOL¿HG 0LQLPXP TXDOL¿FDWLRQV LQFOXGH D four-year degree in a HuPDQ 6HUYLFH ¿HOG 3UHIerence will be given to applicants with a Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and/or experience providing Social Work services. Applicants should complete an application for Jackson County which is located at www.jcdss.org and submit it to the Jackson County Department of 6RFLDO 6HUYLFHV *ULI¿Q Street, Sylva, NC 28779 or the Sylva branch of the NC Works Career Center.

Applications will be taken until July 22, 2022.

DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST The Smoky Mountain News is looking for a Digital Marketing Specialist who can plan, build, and implement digital marketing campaigns across multiple channels and platforms. The ideal candidate will increase

COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills WR EHFRPH D &RPSXWHU Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain SURJUDPV IRU TXDOL¿HG applicants. Call CTI for details! 1-855-554-4616 The Mission, Program

July 20-26, 2022

WNC MarketPlace

digital awareness of our brands — which include The Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine and Blue Ridge Motorcycling Magazine — and also work with business clients to increase awareness of their company, brand, products, and services.

This person should be able to create and manage social media campaigns — mainly Facebook and Instagram — manage e-newsletters, and collaborate with our team of sales professionals, graphic designers and content creators to increase our digital sales volume. We need a self-starter capable of working independently as well as in a team setting. This person will have strong interpersonal skills, a knack for creative thinking as it pertains to digital revenue, a solid understanding of grammar and writing, and will EH SUR¿FLHQW LQ RU SRVsess the ability to learn) photography and videography. This is a full-time position with Mountain South Media, a division of The Smoky Mountain 1HZV ZLWK RI¿FHV LQ Waynesville and Sylva.

Recent college grads with appropriate skills and degree encouraged to apply. Email greg@ smokymountainnews. com for inquires or to send a resume.

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Entertainment

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BROKER ASSOCIATE

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74 N. Main St. Waynesville, NC

828.452.5809 July 20-26, 2022

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE

828.452.4251 ads@smokymountainnews.com WNC MarketPlace

37

SUPER

CROSSWORD

TB LISTINGS ACROSS 1 Affliction 7 Really shout 13 Wine vessels 20 One of the Nixon daughters 21 -- Vision (eye care chain) 22 Weird sort 23 Serious crime 24 Carol about holiday cheese?

26 Strip of weapons 27 "... or -- thought" 28 Look as if 29 Trickle out 30 Guy who can do any interweaving style?

35 Ribeye, e.g.

36 Particular mag. edition 37 Writer Anais 38 With 60-Down, BB gun 39 Sorority "T" 41 "This tastes way better than coffee, tea or ale"?

50 Toon pics 53 Suffix with southwest 54 Spring month 55 Comfortable 56 Czar who was not inordinately cruel?

62 "Look!," in Latin 63 Person being examined 64 "What kind of fool --?"

65 Set sail 68 122-Down officer: Abbr.

69 Doughnut filling that's an exchanged commodity?

74 Wane 77 Easily available 79 Petri dish site 80 Got totally used up 82 Tennis great Nastase

84 Politician Gary propping himself up against something?

89 Actress Helena -- Carter 92 Verdi's "-- tu" 93 Prefix with chic or resort 94 2010 Apple debut 95 Enigmatic clodhopper casting spells?

101 Bride's vow 102 Wye follower 103 List-curtailing abbr.

104 Anna of fashion 107 Light lunch, maybe 111 People purchasing decorative rolling car parts?

117 Israeli carrier 118 Touch on 119 Talking- -- (lectures) 120 Canine cord 121 Tall fence surrounding a pugnacious dog?

126 Improvise 127 Forms a liking for 128 Brezhnev of Russia 129 Kazakhstan's capital, until 2019 130 "It finally makes sense" 131 "The Munsters" actress De Carlo 132 Less fresh DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Peak near Tokyo: Abbr.

Concert sites Purple flowers "Put -- in it!"

Dandie -- (dog breed) "Hurray!"

Tape holder Filmdom's -- B. DeMille "Hurray!"

Be off-base Boxer Laila

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 25 27 31 32 33 34 35 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 57 58 59 60 61 66 67 70 71 poem) 72 73 75 76 78

Soccer star Lionel Shows up for Actor Sandler Aves.

Main monk Denmark's -- Islands Fictional Doolittle Streamlined Poet Hughes South Carolina river Hi- -- (stereos) Tote or duffel "-- Bravo" Nice scent Hard fat Atty.'s org.

Has no life Eye, to poets An hour past midnight Pat lightly President after Harrison Ale relative Incurred a lot of, as debt Key on a PC Tiny Quote In a dead heat Roping in High- -Ares' mother Livy's "I love" See 38-Across Pro at CPR Polar hazard Bedouin, e.g.

Doc who may scrape wax "Abou Ben --" (Leigh Hunt

81 Depilatory brand 82 "Big Blue" 83 Mauna -85 Suffix with cook or trick 86 "Totentanz" composer Franz 87 Acutely cold 88 Coveted annual prizes 90 Part of DNA 91 Irate 96 Illegal punch 97 One of 18 on a course 98 "So icky!"

99 Gambling site, for short 100 Optometrist, old-style 104 Action hero Steven 105 Like grizzlies and kodiaks 106 Hoffman/Beatty film 107 Three more than quadri108 Fake name 109 Hanukkah potato treat 110 Pulitzer winner Edward 112 Central point 113 Milan's land 114 Had a meal at home 115 One-named singer of "Royals" 116 Gossipy type 118 Choir female 122 Adm.'s milieu 123 Charge (up) 124 Aussie leaper 125 Resting place 126 Had life

Sheep cry "Li'l" guy La -- Tar Pits Longtime senator Robert Soda brand

ANSWERS ON PAGE 34

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Yard Sales

STORAGE FACILITY SALE Fri Jul 22nd, 2022 from 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM Sat Jul 23rd, 2022 from 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM Come ¿QG WUHDVXUHV DW WKH Storage 4-U Facility at 1106 Soco Rd. (Hwy 19), Maggie Valley, NC 28751, 200 Building and surroundings 2nd Building behind the Western North Carolina Visitors Center. Across from Frankie’s. Furniture, tools, household items, exercise equipment and a 1983 Harley Davidson XLS roadster.

SUDOKU Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, Answers on 34 the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

38

www.smokymountainnews.com

July 20-26, 2022

WNC MarketPlace

Great Smokies

STORAGE LLC Call 828.506.4112 greatsmokiesstorage.com 434 Champion Drive, Canton, NC 28716 21 Hollon Cove Rd, Waynesville, NC 28786

www.wncmarketplace.com

July 20-26, 2022

WNC MarketPlace

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Smoky Mountain News July 20-26, 2022