Smoky Mountain News | August 25, 2021

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

August 25-31, 2021 Vol. 23 Iss. 13

INSIDE SECTION: GREENING UP THE MOUNTAINS

CONTENTS On the Cover: Following a historic flood brought on by Tropical Storm Fred, Haywood County communities begin to sift through the remains and respond to the needs of displaced families. So far, five people have died, and one person is still unaccounted for. (Page 6) A damaged mobile home rests against a car that’s been shoved into a tree. Scott McLeod photo

News Making sense of the unimaginable ................................................................................4 How to find flood assistance ........................................................................................11 Flood survivor recounts day of destruction ..............................................................12 How to help during the aftermath ................................................................................14 Fred strips fields prime for harvest ..............................................................................16 East Fork depth readings dwarf 2004 figures ........................................................19 Haywood schools reopen despite flood damage ..................................................20 Haywood narrowly approves mask mandate ..........................................................22 Indiana approves EBCI casino purchase ..................................................................27

Opinion Devastation all around, but there is a light ................................................................28 It’s an important time to remain vigilant ......................................................................29

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August 25-31, 2021 Smoky Mountain News

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Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Travis Bumgardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . travis@smokymountainnews.com Jessica Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessica.m@smokymountainnews.com Susanna Shetley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Hylah Birenbaum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smokymountainnews.com Sophia Burleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sophia.b@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jessi Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessi@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Hannah McLeod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hannah@smokymountainnews.com Cory Vaillancourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cory@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), George Ellison (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Susanna Shetley (writing) Boyd Allsbrook (writing)

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New restaurant brings Mediterranean flare to Sylva ..............................................30 A light in our darkness: Michael O’Brien’s The Lighthouse ..................................37

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Making sense of the unimaginable

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER t’s about a mile past Jukebox Junction, down along U.S. 276 heading toward the small mountain community of Cruso, when the strong, pungent smell of mud wafts into the open truck windows and up through your nostrils.

Another mile or so past that, you start to catch wind of the odor of gasoline and propane. Gasoline from vehicles flipped upside down in driveways. Propane from large tanks tossed onto the shoulder of the debris-covered road from houses hundreds of yards away.

Flowing alongside U.S. 276 at a frantic pace, the riverbanks of the East Fork of the Pigeon are littered with furniture, car parts,

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vinyl siding from homes, windowpanes, tractor tires, buckets, children’s toys, and seemingly everything else one could imagine.

The adage “everything but the kitchen sink” doesn’t adequately describe just how much debris is scattered along this low valley shadowed by steep, high peaks. You also can’t imagine how high, fast and unmerciful the river actually was Tuesday night, at least until you see thick mud and heavy rocks atop bridges some 15-feet above the waterline at mid-day Wednesday.

Farmland now covered in mud. With harvest season right around the corner, the once-ripe crops are ripped from the earth and carelessly dropped wherever the rushing water started to recede this morning.

Turning onto Burnette Cove Road, members of the Town of Cary Water Rescue Unit, fresh from a long drive to lend a hand, are standing in a semi-circle, discussing the strategy in checking submerged buildings and automobiles, more so in search of the numerous names that are still missing —

precious minutes and hours ticking away under a hot late summer sun.

Heading up Burnette, sheds and small structures are demolished into kindling. A Chevy Suburban is crunched against a large tree, one of the few trees near the river that wasn’t snapped like a toothpick and shot downstream like a cannonball.

Further up the dead-end road, there are neighbors crossing the street to check on loved ones. Others sit on their porch and simply wait, for there’s not much else to do at this juncture of destruction and confusion.

Conversation hovers around a family a few houses down who was found clinging to a tree to escape the rising waters in the middle of the night, only to be safely rescued by neighbors who kids grew up with their kids, who trucks they would pass and wave to in solidarity on any other quiet, unassuming Wednesday.

Some talk of previous floods, where the infamous 2004 saga seems to pale in com-

parison to Aug. 17, 2021. There’s also mention of the one in the 1970s, an endless string of memories flooding the minds of those who never forgot the last time their community washed away into the unknowns of tomorrow.

One neighbor cranks up the lawn-mover and starts taming the tall grass in his front yard. Maybe he’s sticking to his intended chores for the day. Or maybe he’s just in need of a distraction from what’s just over his shoulder and down the hill. The latter seems to be the call of the day for the solemn figures standing around, questioning once again: Why do bad things happen to good people? Where to go from here? And what now?

Many can’t fathom the idea of pulling up stakes and heading for somewhere, anywhere else. This is home. And for most, it’s a valley they’ve proudly called home for generations that stretch back centuries.

The house is gone. The car is totaled.

But, at least for now, “we are safe and

Smoky Mountain News

August 25-31, 2021

Floodwaters ravage the tightly-knit mountain community of Cruso

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Ingles Nutrition Notes written by Ingles Dietitian Leah McGrath Q: Are there vitamin or herbal supplements I should be taking to prevent Covid19 or to boost my immune system?

A: While there's alot of buzz about taking supplements to prevent getting Covid19; the best way to avoid getting the virus, or at least not to become as ill, is to get vaccinated and wear a mask.

An overall healthy diet is beneficial for your immune system, but will not “boost” it, nor will supplements. This sort of language and claim about supplements is very seriously frowned on by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Companies have been warned and fined for claiming supplements can boost the immune system against Covid19.

The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) of the National Institutes of Health(NIH) has looked into many of the supplement claims. While there is promising research about some of them, particularly vitamins C & D and zinc; there are also a number of cautions about the lack of data or research to support any sorts of recommendations for prevention or treatment of Covid19.

Bottom Line: The immune system is complicated and can't be “boosted” by food or supplements. The best way you can help your immune system is to: Eat healthy meals, get enough sleep, stay active and exercise, wear a mask and get vaccinated.

Instead of wasting money on useless supplements, talk to your doctor first to see if you need them.

Source: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/covid19healthprofessional/?fbclid=iwar2fhu3qvbiojmqd4ic6dshc51hui5uqybh_c2vgkzp-zqrmqkpyo3p6ysa

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN Ingles Market Corporate Dietitian

Smoky Mountain News

Surrounding the station, there are dozens of rescuers and law enforcement officials from near and far, innumerable linemen and highway personnel — all running around in an effort to clear the roads, check the homes, and contain the tragic scene unfolding before their eyes.

Many of these rescuers are heading across a shattered bridge and into the illfated Laurel Bank Campground, quite possibly ground zero for the hardest-hit spot of the flood impact zone. A somber, dreadful feeling washes over the faces of those having to go over the bridge.

Turning back toward Jukebox Junction, the Cruso Fire & Rescue Station is now in the rearview mirror. So are all the rescuers and officials. What are they currently thinking or feeling? What else will they, sadly, uncover?

Yet again, that unanswerable, ancient question bubbles up within, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Passing back by the once-sturdy homes, broken windows and cracked doorframes are seen, the front door probably now on a riverbank somewhere. Slowly snake up U.S. 276.

Familiar faces in front yards, heads hanging low with both hands in the pockets of dirty jeans. The sound of the mighty Pigeon River across the way — once a portal for peace and serenity, now a constant reminder of a night when the rain just wouldn’t stop.

And even though you cross back through Jukebox Junction, you still can’t get the smell of mud, gas and propane out of your nose, more so your memory from this day forward.

August 25-31, 2021

accounted for.” Hug each other tight. Wipe the mud off your boots. Find a bottle of water or can of beer from the fridge, the last appliance standing in countless homes. Sip the beverages and sigh — in relief, and in sorrow.

Meandering by the Springdale Country Club, there’s a boulder the size of a king-cab truck blocking the oncoming lane. The recently renovated golf course is a mud pit.

The front-nine is ripped up. More furniture and debris strewn about the tee boxes and fairways that were pristine at this time yesterday.

Across the road, a Ford Crown Victoria is high up in a tree, the nose of the vehicle pointed downward toward the river. One can only imagine the force and magnitude of the wall of water it must’ve taken to launch the 4,100-pound vehicle several feet into the air, let alone where the Vic even originated from.

And yet, even amid the absolute destruction of this tightly-knit, iron-willed community, many count their blessings. “It could have been worse, much worse for us. I can’t even imagine how bad it was down the river,” one survivor mumbled in a humble tone of compassion and grief.

By the time the Cruso Fire & Rescue Station comes into view, you also bear witness to a mobile home slammed into a tree, mere feet from the station. Somehow, sandwiched within the mobile home and the tree, there’s a shed and a sedan smashed between the structure and the large plant, resembling some accordion that was stepped on and discarded.

@InglesDietitian Leah McGrath - Dietitian 800.334.4936 Ingles Markets… caring about your health

5

news

As deadly floodwaters recede, Haywood grapples with enormous loss

power transformer exploded, showering the area in sparkling embers just as a text alert from a river gauge flashed across her phone.

Running back into the house, Bright made an alarming discovery.

“Oh my God,” she said. “The water is coming through the floor.”

week earlier, Tropical Storm Fred had formed south of Puerto Rico and swept north through the Caribbean, weakening each time it encountered land. Fred was the sixth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season and had dragged its way across the Dominican Republic, Haiti and then Cuba.

On Saturday, Aug. 14, Haywood County Emergency Medical Services first warned of an enhanced risk of flooding for the coming week. On Sunday, Aug. 15, Fred reorganized into a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and the next afternoon made landfall in the Florida panhandle with 50 mile-per-hour winds and heavy rain.

Fred continued to work its way north all day on Monday, Aug. 16, spawning at least six tornadoes in Georgia and dumping record rainfall on Atlanta.

Earlier that morning, the National Weather Service’s Greenville-Spartanburg office issued tornado and flash flood warnings for portions of North Georgia, Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, including Cruso.

As Haywood County residents waited and watched the skies some nervously eyed the ground, still saturated with almost 3 inches of rain from the previous weekend.

That soaker had pushed the Pigeon River near Canton to minor flood level of 8 feet on Monday, more than 6 feet above the river’s normal level of less than 2 feet. The same day, the French Broad River at Rosman had risen from around 2 feet to 13 feet by 8 a.m.

Neither had fully receded by the time Fred showed up in full force on Tuesday.

Reports of sporadic flooding in Asheville began to appear on social media, as did more flash flood warnings for Brevard, Lake Toxaway and Rosman.

At 2 a.m. on Tuesday, NWS issued rainfall predictions of about 4 inches of rain for most of Western North Carolina through 8 a.m.

Wednesday, although a narrow band stretching from Franklin through southern Jackson County into Transylvania County and southern Haywood County was slated for more than 5 inches.

Eight hours later, at 10 a.m., Haywood EMS announced that the entire county was under a flash flood watch.

The rainy day wore on, and more and more warnings came out of the NWS office along with more and more social media reports of extreme weather. Tornadoes in

August 25-31, 2021

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Floodwaters from the raging Pigeon Rived decimated portions of Haywood County on Aug. 17. Scott McLeod photo

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR uddled together in the dark atop a bunk bed in a barricaded bedroom with two dogs, four cats and her brother — all staring down at the rising floodwaters — Natasha Bright knew they were in trouble.

The small log cabin she’d lived in since 2016, just off Cruso Road and a mere 125 feet from the East Fork of the Pigeon River, was inundated. They were trapped. No one was coming to rescue them.

“It was so beautiful, and it was home. And it was going to be home. It was something that was going to be home to my kids,” Bright sobbed. “I moved around a lot when I was little, and I always wanted a place that we could just stay. I always wanted that place that was going to be there always. When we moved here, that’s what I wanted this to be.”

Today, her cozy home is still filled with several inches of mud and debris.

Bright may have lost nearly everything, but she’s fared far better than the people who lost their lives as a result of Tropical Storm Fred, despite almost becoming one of them.

“I think never during this time did I really 6 feel scared. I never felt like I was going to die,”

Smoky Mountain News

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Bright said. “Looking back on it, I realize I was like this close to dying, so close to dying.

But at that moment I was just calculating, how do we get out of here? What do we do?”

Now, as the community recovers while waiting on a federal disaster declaration, many residents of Bethel, Canton, Cruso and Clyde are asking themselves that same question. rey and rainy, Tuesday dawned like any other warm, humid mid-summer morning in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Bright woke up and got her two children, ages 10 and 13, dressed and out the door for their first day at school, and then returned home.

A freelance writer, Bright sat down at her desk and began work. By the time 2 p.m. rolled around, she hadn’t finished her story, so she asked her husband Kile to go pick the kids up from school while she took a break to eat lunch.

She couldn’t know it right then, but the next time she saw her husband, the idyllic scene would be much different, much more chaotic.

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“I was looking outside and I was like, ‘Hmmm, it’s raining a lot,’” she said.

Having grown up in South Florida, Bright is familiar with natural disasters; she rattles off the names of hurricanes like they’re family members. Andrew. Charley. Frances. Opal.

By 3 p.m., Bright started to get an ominous feeling. She called her brother, Jonathan Wood, who lived on her property in a camper just yards from her desk. Wood didn’t pick up. She called again. He didn’t pick up.

Running out into the pouring rain, she banged on his door, imploring Wood and his cat to join her in the house. At the same time, she texted her husband.

You cannot come back here. It won’t be passable.

Like everyone living on the river side of Cruso Road, Bright depends on a small, single-lane bridge across the East Fork of the Pigeon River for access to her property. One way in, one way out.

The Pigeon was currently lapping at the bridge’s undersides.

Rain cascaded onto her tin roof in percussive staccato.

Amidst the sound of the roaring, rushing water Bright said she could feel in her chest, a

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“I was covered — covered with mud and that mud smelled so metallic. I still smell that mud.”

— Natasha Bright

Around the same time Bright was sheltering in her son’s bedroom, water started to make an appearance in downtown Canton.

BearWaters Brewing co-owner Kevin Sandefur posted a video of the Pigeon slipping its banks and pouring into his brewery’s basement as employees scrambled to remove riverside seating.

Flooding is particularly dangerous in Haywood County, the highest county east of the Mississippi River. Shaped like a bowl and crisscrossed with stony mountain ranges topped by relatively thin layers of soil, the county is prone to landslides after just a few inches of rain.

When that rain falls torrentially in the southern part of the county, the area that serves as the headwaters of the Pigeon River, it gets hemmed in by rock as it flows downhill.

With nowhere to go but up, local waterways swell, attempting to cram more matter into less volume until they’re squeezed to the point of behaving like the nozzle on a garden hose. Or in this case, a fire hose scouring narrow mountain passes with incredible momentum.

From Canton, the Pigeon River veers westward, running through the small town of Clyde. Clyde wasn’t spared in 2004 either, but as videos and photos emerged from downtown Canton, the residents of Clyde knew the water was coming for them, too, once again.

till barricaded in that bedroom 9 miles south of Canton, Natasha Bright and Jonathan Wood were aware that their situation was dire as they watched the cold, muddy river water rising.

“It smelled like sewage, which could have been our septic tank. It could have been the propane from our propane tank,” she said.

Bright opened another door in the bedroom leading to a small outdoor porch, which was facing north, away from the river’s swift flow. She’d hoped to get up on the roof, but an awning over the porch was in the way.

In the pouring rain and with the river still rising, Bright and Wood took turns trying to rip the awning down, pulling, pushing, beating on it. After a few minutes, they realized it was futile and began stacking furniture out on the porch — a dresser, a bookshelf, a tiny children’s workbench, anything to make a precarious stepladder upon which to climb to safety.

“It wasn’t gonna work,” she said.

Stymied and sloshing through knee-deep water in the bedroom, Bright contemplated her next move.

“My brother was like, ‘We gotta get out of here, we gotta get out of here,’ and I’m like, ‘We can’t get out of here. That is not possible right now. We cannot get out of here,’” Bright recalls.

Now nearing 5 p.m., it had been just a scant three hours since Bright was at her desk

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Trapped in a log cabin just off Cruso Road, Natasha Bright could do little more than watch as deadly floodwaters surged. Natasha bright photo

August 25-31, 2021

s the raging Pigeon River seeped up through Bright’s floor just before 4 p.m., her immediate concerns weren’t for herself, or her brother or even her home. t “The first thing that came to mind is, I need to figure out what to do with these anis mals,” Bright said. “I thought, ‘OK, what’s the highest point in this house?’ And the first thing I thought about of was my son’s bunk d bed.” t Outside, water was now 4 feet high - around Bright’s home, slapping the wins dowsills just two hours after her husband had c left to pick up the kids, and an hour after she y told him not to come back. d Piling the animals atop her son’s bunk bed — the 80-pound pit bull lift was “intery esting,” according to Bright — she noticed f that her daughter’s cat, Chloe, wasn’t on the g ark. Wood said he’d seen the cat run under a d bed that was itself now under water. o “I’m picking up the bed and trying to find e her, and I can’t hear her, all I can hear is water r and I’m calling and calling and calling and that’s the only time through the whole thing l that I got upset was when I couldn’t find that x cat,” Bright said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, d where is she? Where is she?’”

The first of many tough decisions had to l be made, and Bright told herself she needed g to attend to other matters and hope for the - best with Chloe. e Wading through the hallways of her , home, Bright searched for things that she could save. Her purse. Her computer. A safe d with birth certificates and other important e documents. Her only pair of dry shoes. f During the chaos, Wood shouted out to Bright. r “Shhhh … do you hear that?” he said. n Bright rushed into her daughter’s room to s find Chloe, sitting on the bed, looking like an , angry drowned rat, mewing loudly. n “While doing that, I saw that the water . was coming into the house through the wind dows,” Bright said. “I was like, ‘Oh no.’”

Bright and Wood barricaded themselves e inside her son’s bedroom by pushing a dresse er against the door. In the matter of a few e hours, they’d gone from being trapped on the wrong side of the river, to trapped inside their l home, to trapped inside a room in their home t — eight souls on a bunk bed in the dark look. ing down at the water steadily rising. urther down the Pigeon River sits the n town of Canton. The river bisects it, as well as its century-old paper mill. e Homes, schools and businesses lie just d dozens of feet from the river in places, but not s in as many places as they used to.

Devastating floods happened here back in d 2004, the result of a one-two punch from a e pair of hurricanes, one from the coast and one a from the gulf, both wandering inland dumpn ing huge quantities of rain in short order.

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eating her sandwich and watching the rain fall as Kile left to get the kids and Wood slept with his cat in his camper.

“And then like two minutes would pass and he’s like, ‘We’ve got to leave. We’ve got to leave,’” Bright said. “I’m like, ‘We can’t leave.

We’ve got to figure out what to do here.’”

About all they could do was remain in the bedroom as water rushed all around them.

Wood spotted a tree next to the little porch, and then a spot on the trunk where a branch had broken away, leaving a small woody nub.

“So, that was our gauge, you know? Every so often we would look at that branch,” Bright said, “and the water was still rising.”

The water in the barricaded bedroom was now almost waist-deep, not far below the top bunk where Natasha Bright and brother Jonathan Wood and four cats and two dogs had taken refuge from the raging Pigeon River’s floodwaters.

But, at that exact moment, Bright’s husband Kile was frantically trying to reach her.

He’d picked the kids up from school, dropped them off at a friend’s house, and was making his way back home, despite Bright’s warning him off two hours earlier.

He made it as far as Frank’s Grocery, a BP gas station on Cruso Road, half a mile east of Jukebox Junction but still 8 miles from home.

“He just couldn’t get any further and then that started to flood, so he had to leave and go back to the children,” Bright said.

Cell phone service in Cruso’s isolated mountain coves is spotty on a good day, and with power out, the internet wasn’t an option either. Some of Bright’s texts to her husband went through, and some didn’t. Some of Kile’s texts to his wife went through, and some didn’t.

Kile asked his wife to retrieve his backpack and several other items from a 1,000 square-foot outbuilding that served as both a workshop and a storage space.

“We built it and it kind of looked like a Swiss chalet,” Bright said, telling Kile it wasn’t possible to reach the chalet at that moment.

Still confined to the bedroom, Bright and Wood now knew that not only was there no way out, but no one was coming for them or the dogs or the cats or anything else, either.

“I just couldn’t not look outside, you know? I kept on going up to the bunk and then coming down and then going up, because from the top bunk, you couldn’t see outside,” said Bright. “I couldn’t deal with that. I had to know what was going on.”

Peering out across the yard, Bright’s eyes came to that tree next to the little porch, the one she and her brother used to gauge the furious Pigeon River’s water level.

Bright remembers when they located the woody nub by which they measured the highwater mark.

“We saw,” she said, “that it had slowly started to fall.”

Crest occurred around 5 p.m. where Bright and Wood were, nine miles down Cruso Road in a log cabin 125 feet from where the Pigeon River usually is. Without power or hope of immediate rescue they set-

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Burke, Iredell and Wilkes counties. Trees down in Fairview. Jonathan Creek roiling in Maggie Valley.

About an hour after Natasha Bright watched her bridge submerge, Haywood EMS issued a message urging people near the East Fork of the Pigeon River to seek higher ground.

S EE FLOODWATERS, PAGE 8 7

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Flooding in Clyde forced debris through a bridge’s guardrail (left) and stripped farms upriver of thousands of dollars’ worth of ripe produce. Damage to Pisgah’s football field (right) is significant. Cory Vaillancourt photos FLOODWATERS, CONTINUED FROM 7

Smoky Mountain News

August 25-31, 2021

tled in, watching the water slowly recede on their ersatz flood gauge, the tree with the woody nub.

It was still raining. However, Bright became satisfied around midnight that the danger had passed once she saw the last of the water in the room drain back out into the river.

She decided to get some rest — but first, the animals.

“We broke the door from my daughter’s closet and made a ramp with my son’s other dresser and other pieces of furniture and tried to get them to come down,” Bright said.

“That didn’t work.”

Wet, cold, drifting in and out of abnormal sleep on the part of her bed that wasn’t muddy, Bright heard the cats and dogs becoming restless and decided to try again.

This time, it did work.

Retrieving a dry blanket from the top shelf of a linen closet, Bright wrapped herself in it and again tried to sleep, but it was of little help. Nor were the newly liberated animals, who remained unsettled as they encountered an unwelcome new development.

“The whole house is filled with mud, like a foot of mud in some places,” Bright said, noting the sound of the dogs slopping around in it as she tried to sleep. “I was covered — covered with mud and that mud smelled so metallic. I still smell that mud.”

When the sun finally came up on Wednesday, Aug. 18, Bright heard that the whooshing sound of the water had been replaced by the sputtering sound of chainsaws and backhoes and tractors and people, doing what they could to begin to clear the way in and out of Cruso.

Finally walking out of the house she’d been trapped in for the past 18 hours, Bright was greeted by a portrait of utter devastation.

“Everything was gone. Our Subaru was completely gone,” Bright said. “Our two 8 trucks — one was in the middle of the field

behind my house and the other one was smashed into the trees. My husband’s chalet was gone.” ven before Bright first ventured out, the rest of the world was starting to get a glimpse of some of the things she’d seen over the past 12 hours. Bridges, washed away.

Chunks of pavement, ripped up. Roads clogged with rocks and fallen trees. Mobile homes, sheds, cars, dumpsters, toppled and tossed and pushed into places they shouldn’t be, like trees. Thick, ripe, beautiful green peppers, inexplicably everywhere.

Smoky Mountain News staff reports from Bethel, Clyde, Cruso and Canton around daybreak captured a county trying to reckon with both the destruction and with the knowledge that there was little information coming out of the hardest-hit, largely inaccessible upstream areas.

In Clyde, most surfaces were coated in a thin layer of silty mud. Debris jammed into the grill of a van parked near Central Haywood High School suggests the water was at least three feet high on Hyder Mountain Road. A waterline on the nearby Smoky Mountain Cremations and Funeral Service building echoes that suggestion.

Debris, both natural and artificial, collected under bridges — logs, branches, trees, foam coolers, basketballs, shoes, and in their furthest known downstream location, those green peppers.

River’s Edge Park, designed after the 2004 floods to be an overflow location of the Pigeon River in an area that floods regularly, performed as designed and was coated with more than 6 inches of mud.

Canton’s floodwaters had already receded, but evidence of their presence was everywhere.

In Recreation Park, Canton’s town pool was underwater. Large sections of Memorial Stadium’s chain link fencing had been peeled away from its posts before water swept under the football field’s carpet-like artificial surface, folding it up onto itself in places. A cin-

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der block baseball dugout nearby was totally destroyed. Sandbags outside town hall, the police department and the Colonial Theater did little good; the front door to the theater’s annex hung limply off its top hinge, revealing mud-splashed walls and standing water.

By 10 a.m., the West Fork Pigeon River was still high and muddy with whitewater riffles in an ordinarily placid section at the junction of Lake Logan Road and N.C. 215, debris

“We have been searching abandoned vehicles, homes and buildings for survivors and will continue to search until every community member is located or at least accounted for.”

— Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher

deposits in the parking lot of Riverside Baptist Church giving away its earlier fury.

Even worse damage waited downstream along N.C. 110, where the floodwaters had turned Accurate Auto Repair into a mud pit and covered fields full of harvest-ready vegetables with dirty water, which had since receded to leave behind a thick layer of muck.

Todd Ford, whose home is between the East and West Forks of the Pigeon River in Bethel, said the water came so fast it was scary. He said the two rivers came together just in front of his home, which is perched on higher ground.

“Sometime between 5 and 6 p.m., the rivers just started coming together. I could see water on one side, and then the two just joined together so fast I couldn’t do much,” said Ford. “Thankfully my family was already evacuated.”

Lake Logan Road was closed at its junction with U.S. 276. Just up the road, past the Jukebox Junction, N.C. 215 (Love Joy Road) remained open and heading toward Lake Logan there was little sign of the catastrophe from the night before — soggy, muddy fields and a few slow-moving trucks with windows rolled down, passengers surveying the damage.

Further up Lake Logan Road that damage was more apparent. One woman walked the edges of a garden now underwater. Lake Logan, usually the deep, blue-green of mountain lakes, was muddy brown and full to the brim, as was the water spilling into and out of the lake.

In Cruso, a couple who did not want to give their names but live in a campground near the Cruso Community Center told The Smoky Mountain News that they feared that many residents of Laurel Creek Campground may have lost their lives. They said they’d been told that residents huddling in a pavilion in the campground had been swept away by the raging waters during the storm.

Dozens of bridges and roads in the area were damaged, including several sections of U.S. 276. A mobile home was left resting on U.S. 276, and it had pushed a utility building and a car into a tree.

Another SMN report from Cruso chronicled boulders the size of trucks blocking roads, gasoline and propane wafting in the air, and a terrified family spending a harrowing night clinging to a tree for survival (see CRUSO, p. 4).

At noon, the first of what would become several press conferences took place in Hazelwood, as the greater Haywood community launched massive relief efforts that soon became regional.

“Yesterday afternoon we started getting reports about high water and at approximately 3 p.m. Haywood County Sheriff ’s Office deputies began to assist families in evacuating areas that were at risk of flooding,” said Sheriff Greg Christopher.

Specially trained water rescue units from

supplies and personnel to the area to assist with recovery efforts. The first step in the declaration process is when a state identifies a disaster. Then, an assessment of the damage is made. After further review, the state’s governor submits a major disaster declaration request, which is reviewed by the president.

Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state emergency later that day.

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S EE FLOODWATERS, PAGE 10

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MASSAGE SKIN CARE NAILS AYURAVEDA PRIVATE YOGA

August 25-31, 2021

few hours after the press conference, Natasha Bright’s husband Kile finally made it home, more than 24 hours after he left. He got as close as he could in his car, and had to walk the rest of the way. Bright knew he was coming and tried to soften the blow before he arrived.

“I didn’t tell him how bad it was, but before he got there, I told him, ‘Look, it’s bad,’” she said. “He just looked really dazed and he was looking around and I said, ‘It’s OK. We’re all alive.’”

They walked around, trying to figure out where many of their earthly possessions were, while checking in on friends in the area who told tales of RVs and campers rocketing downriver smashed to smithereens by the dozen-odd bridges that traverse the Pigeon River.

Some neighbors were unaccounted for at that moment. One spent the night in a tree.

Others were untouched.

Dazed, Bright was overwhelmed by it all and couldn’t decide whether to stay and help or leave.

“Looking around, I’m like, ‘What in the world do I even do?’ It’s all mud,” she said.

“What do you, what do you even do? You know? Like, what do you even grab?”

She grabbed some clothes for her kids, who had only the uniforms they’d worn to school the previous morning. She also grabbed a few mementoes to help lift their spirits. Then, with Kile remaining behind, she walked out of Cruso in mud-filled galoshes to find somewhere to take a shower and wash the grime out from between her toes.

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across the state, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, had been hard at work for hours searching for the 35 who were still unaccounted for at that hour.

“We have been searching abandoned vehicles, homes and buildings for survivors and will continue to search until every community member is located or at least accounted for,” Christopher said, imploring residents not to drive through standing water, and to remain at home off the roads if at all possible.

Christopher couldn’t immediately confirm any deaths, but said detectives were investigating widespread reports.

Cell phone and landline telephone service to Cruso were down, and Canton Alderwoman Kristina Smith said that boil orders had been issued in Canton and in Clyde.

“We need people to stay away so the rescuers and searchers, our Department of Transportation, law enforcement, fire departments, will be able to continue to move about in the communities as they need to in order to help these people who need us so desperately,” Christopher said.

Haywood EMS Director Travis Donaldson, speaking just before Christopher, said that the Pigeon River peaked at 19.6 feet — far above its placid 2-foot norm — and that Cruso had been closed to traffic at Jukebox Junction. More than 200 sets of boots, according to Donaldson, were on the ground at that very moment.

A temporary shelter at Tuscola High School reported 54 people had taken refuge there.

Western North Carolina’s Sen. Kevin Corbin said in a Facebook post the previous night that he and Rep. Mark Pless were working within state government to mobilize assistance to the area.

Congressman Madison Cawthorn, who appeared at the press conference, said that he and his team had been on the ground surveying damage, and that he’d sent a letter to President Joe Biden in support of a federal emergency declaration.

Such a declaration would bring funding,

Visit our website for more info on how we are being proactive to prevent the spread of Covid-19

When waters finally receded, Natasha Bright was left to survey the damage inside her Cruso home. Natasha Bright photo

828.944.0288 | MaggieValleyWellness.com 461 MOODY FARM ROAD, MAGGIE VALLEY

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FLOODWATERS, CONTINUED FROM 9

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August 25-31, 2021

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ll in all, the storm dropped more than 14 inches on Cruso in 72 hours, almost triple the National Weather Service’s Tuesday morning projection of 4 or 5 inches.

An even greater disaster in Jackson County was narrowly averted — some rain gauges notched 20 inches from Sunday morning to Wednesday morning, but all that water was divided between two separate watersheds, cutting the impact roughly in half (SEE WEATHER, p.19).

On Thursday, Aug. 19, Haywood County continued to assess damage while local officials asked for help.

“Our residents are strong. Haywood County is resilient, and we’re all North Carolinians. We’re standing strong, but we’re needing support,” said Donaldson. “We need your prayers and your thoughts.”

Donaldson led off a press conference on the grounds of Canton’s flooded-out William G. Stamey Municipal Building, but Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers was asking for more than just thoughts and prayers.

“As you can see, our town hall, our basic structures, our houses, our police department, our fire department, our emergency response — it is completely offline,” Smathers said, before leading U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis on a walkthrough of Canton’s mucky downtown, where several feet of water stood just 36 hours ago.

“What you will see on this tour, you will go through our river businesses and homes that have been affected. This storm was so intense that one of our aldermen, Dr. Ralph Hamlett, has lost his home,” said Smathers.

“The intensity of the storm literally pushed it off the foundation.”

And Smathers was there. According to a report in the Waynesville Mountaineer, Smathers ended up carrying a woman out of a home on his back through floodwaters after checking in on his sister, and on Hamlett.

Smathers said he thought this most recent flood was worse than the historic 2004 floods that slammed Canton back when his father Pat was mayor. Smathers went on to plead for a federal emergency declaration that would free up aid, especially housing resources.

In the immediate wake of the storm, 35 people were unaccounted for, but by Thursday that number had dwindled to around 20 as search and rescue operations continued.

Kevin Ensley, chairman of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners, said that more than 500 people had been displaced, and more than 225 buildings had been damaged or destroyed. The Town of Clyde reported 92 homes and five businesses damaged.

“We have probably 10 to 30 bridges out from the public safety standpoint, and education and quality of life,” Ensley said. “Folks are cut off for an extended period of time, so we’re looking to the state and the federal government to help those folks with bridge repair and with their homes.”

Sadly, the storm’s first two confirmed deaths were announced, Frank Mungo, 86, and Franklin McKenzie, 68, both of Cruso.

Mungo and his wife Charlene had been at the Laurel Bank Campground, less than a mile 10 downstream from Natasha Bright’s home.

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Later that day around 3 p.m., Smathers hosted N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper for another press conference and a tour of Cruso.

“As you know, Balsam Range, a Grammy Award-winning bluegrass band, calls Canton home. One of my favorite songs by Balsam Range is simply entitled, ‘Grit and Grace,’” Smathers said. “Knowing the character of this mill town and our community, it will be the grit and grace that will carry us through because in this mill town, it’s like 2004. We have been here before. We have been knocked down. We have been counted out. But every single time we have found a way to bounce back stronger and better and united. And we are going to do that again.”

The press conference was held at the muddy, gutted BearWaters Brewing, where employees were entering day two of cleanup efforts there.

“So today it’s just more about getting a little more organized,” said Jennifer Sechrist, who’d been with the popular Canton brewery for about a year before water flooded the riverside building. “We’ve been doing everything, really. Power washing, squeegeeing, sanitizing, picking up trash.”

During the press conference, Ensley announced that a preliminary estimate of the total tax value of affected parcels was $300 million. Determining the amount of damage is a critical component of any potential disaster declaration.

Were all the damaged parcels to be “zeroed out” — they won’t be — that would result in a worst-case loss of about $1.6 million in property tax revenue for the county, good for 2 cents on the tax rate.

Fire districts in the area that rely on property tax for funding will also see a substantial impact due to the losses.

By 5 p.m. that afternoon, Springdale resident Sandy O’Loughlin was at the end of a long and unexpected day of work. A volunteer with the Cruso Community Center for 15 years, she and her fellow volunteers from the Springdale area — who live close to the flooded areas but themselves received much more minimal damage — were eager to help.

They spent the day organizing literal truckloads of donations in the 93-year-old stone building and cooking a gigantic lasagna dinner, which they hoped would be enough to feed all the first responders and displaced residents in need of a meal that night. They know it will be much more than a one-day effort, however.

“We realize right now it looks like a lot,” she said, gesturing toward the tables full of boxed donations, “but this is going to last a while.”

Alan Fisher, captain of the Hickory Fire Department, had been out in Cruso with his crew for a little over 24 hours by the time The Smoky Mountain News caught up with him that afternoon — checking campers for survivors, putting out a small car fire, doing whatever they could to help. Fisher’s been with the City of Hickory’s fire department for 20 years, and when asked how the flooding in Cruso stacks up to his past disaster experience, his reply was unequivocal.

“I’ve never seen anything this bad,” he said.

On Friday, Aug. 20, N.C. Speaker of the House Tim Moore, became the final elected

Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers speaks during a joint press conference (above) held during Sen. Thom Tillis’ visit Aug. 19. Holly Kays photo BearWaters Brewing (below) is devastated by flood damage. Cory Vaillancourt photo

official to visit Canton. Moore was joined by Haywood’s House members Mark Pless and Mike Clampitt, in addition to Rep. Karl Gillespie, of Macon County and Rep. Charles Miller, of Brunswick County.

Miller has also served as the chief deputy sheriff in coastal Brunswick for more than 30 years and owns property in nearby Transylvania County.

“When we deal with disasters in Brunswick, we can see the water rising, and we know it’s coming. This is my first time seeing something like this in the mountains, and they really had no warning,” Miller said. “It was just a wall of water.”

According to Miller, the state’s “rainy day fund,” something championed by Sen. Kevin Corbin when he was in the House, is ready to assist.

“That’s what it’s for, and I think the Speaker said that earlier,” said Miller, who also sits on the House appropriations committee. “We’ll go through the process and get these folks whatever they need to help them.”

Late that afternoon, Canton officials cancelled all musical performances associated with the 114th annual Labor Day festivities, but hinted that the Monday parade might still take place.

On Saturday, two more victims were identified. Like the others, Judy Mason, 73, and Charline Mungo (Frank Mungo’s wife), 83, were all from Cruso. Sheriff Christopher announced at that time that four people were still missing. The next day, a fifth victim, Frank Lauer, Sr., 74, of Cruso, was confirmed, but the number of people missing had dropped to one.

or those in need of assistance, www.recoverhaywood.com is the best source for all information.

HAYWOOD HELPLINE A helpline is in place for anyone seeking assistance related to the storm. The helpline number is 828.356.2022. The hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Types of assistance available through the helpline: • Missing person information • Food, housing assistance • Special needs assistance • Volunteer or donation opportunities • Other storm-related needs Residents with immediate life-threatening needs should call 911. Otherwise use this number for all other needs.

THESE LOCATIONS ARE DISTRIBUTING ITEMS TO THOSE IN NEED:

FREE MUDSLIDES/FLOODING HOME CLEANUP HOTLINE AVAILABLE NOW

SHOWERS AND LAUNDRY FACILITIES: • Crestview Baptist Church, 3258 Pisgah Dr., Canton.

• First Baptist Church, 74 Academy St., Canton.

FOOD & CLEANING SUPPLIES • Cruso Community Center, 13186 Cruso Rd., Canton.

• Bethel Baptist Church, 5868 Pigeon Rd., Canton.

• The Outpost, Cotton’s Place, 6175 Pigeon Rd., Canton.

• Faith Community Church, 289 Industrial Drive, Waynesville.

SECTION 8 HOUSING COORDINATION (INCOME QUALIFICATION REQUIRED)

A Monday press conference offered no update on the missing person, but did offer startling insight into the vile, dishonorable nature of some humans during a time of tragedy and great sadness.

Sheriff Christopher said his office had received 10 reports of looting, with no arrests but plenty of names collected for future reference. Christopher said individuals they made contact with were told not to return, and that patrols in the area would remain vigilant.

But further remarks by Donaldson show how communities come together across racial, religious, economic, social and partisan divides — instead of being flooded with water, Haywood County was now being flooded with grit and grace, in the form of a massive outpouring of volunteers and donations.

So many donations, in fact, that they were running out of room to store it all, and asked people wanting to help to visit a new website, www.haywoodrecovers.com, to ensure their generosity could be accommodated.

Alternately, the county’s non-emergency helpline, 828.356.2022, was also staffed for the same purpose. Both stand ready for those in need, as well.

Plenty remain in need — and will — as Haywood awaits that federal disaster declaration, but Donaldson asked for patience as local government agencies and the Federal Emergency Management Administration set about the process of making their case.

“If we don’t do it accurately, we hurt ourselves. We’re really putting strong emphasis on doing it correctly, methodically and as quickly as we can,” he said. “It’s not an imme-

MENTAL HEALTH AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT • 24-hour access to a therapist at Hope 4 NC, through the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services www.hope4nc.org or call 855.587.3463.

• Therapy dog volunteers available at 828.342.2246 or wncpawsawbilities@gmail.com.

ANIMAL/FARM HELP • Foggy Mountain Mobile Vet Services is offering rescue help and assessment on a volunteer basis to get animals stabilized while sorting out other necessities. Call or text 828.593.9595.

• WNC Regional Livestock Center is offering shelter for displaced or endangered livestock.

• Missing animals? Haywood County Animal Shelter recommends if you are missing an animal, that you post it on the Facebook group “Finding My Way Home” and call the shelter at 828.456.5538 ext. 7 to have your animal added to the lost and found list.

• Tropical Storm Fred Farm Assistance Hotline: 866.645.9403 available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

LIVESTOCK, CROPS, FOOD, AND FEED SAFETY • Technical assistance available through specialists at NCDA & CS and NC diate, ‘Hey, here it is, you have a disaster, we’re gonna turn all the spigots and faucets on and help.’ There’s a lot of work in the background.” atasha Bright’s forever home — that place she’d always wanted as a child, a place of stability and serenity for her and her children — is still there, 125 feet from the now-calm East Fork of the Pigeon River, but Bright isn’t certain she’ll return to it.

“I’m not sure what we’re doing. At this point, we can’t even get anybody out there so we’re going to have to pull out the carpet.

We’re going to have to do three feet of sheetrock or floorboards or whatever, to make sure that it’s even livable because of mold,” she said. “Our bridge, I don’t even know when it’s going to be built at this point.

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RECOVERY SERVICES • Appalachian Landslide Consultants: if you are concerned about the stability of your slopes or if you have had landslides that need to be looked at to determine their safety, contact through website at www.appalachianlandslide.com.

• Rusty and Drifa’s Hauling and Moving: flood clean-up, moving, labor, junk removal, residential/commercial property clean-out • Toby’s Moving Haul: Help provide meals, transportation to medical appointments and other needs.

• WNC Flooding Home Clean Up Hotline: 828.222.3975

INDIVIDUALS OFFERING RECOVERY SERVICES • Chris Collins of Haywood County offers handyman/other services free of charge: 828.316.7937 • Andrew Wiley offers handyman services/other needs (mentions searching for lost pets as well) 435.730.3738.

• Donating excavator/saw man services for flood victims. Text 828.550.5565 with name, address and work that needs done for appropriate dispatch. Top priority: Canton, Bethel, Cruso and Clyde.

We still have to hike in through the back. I don’t know when there’s going to be electricity because no one can get to it to put the pole back up.”

Disaster relief can’t come soon enough for Bright and others in the southern and eastern sections of Haywood County, but when it does, it will be just the beginning of a healing process that will likely take years. And if that forever home does end up being habitable again, Bright will likely remain understandably reluctant.

“Even if the cabin is OK, can I really put my kids through that again?” she asked.

“What if they’re home? What if it’s worse?”

Smoky Mountain News

Call 828.222.3975 for free help from local relief agencies.

Applications are being taken over the phone from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Liz James is the primary contact, 828.492.4114 or ejames@mountainprojects.org.

United Way of Haywood County, and Mountain Projects are seeking donations to assist with rental deposits and first-month rent (and more if necessary). Requests can be made by Brooke Smith, bsmith@mountainprojects.org or Patsy Davis, pdavis@mountainprojects.org. Call 828.452.1447, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Monday through Thursday.

August 25-31, 2021

• Bethel Baptist Church: 5868 Pigeon Rd., Canton — clothing, children’s clothing, food, water, toiletries • Canton First Baptist Church: 74 Academy Street Waynesville — food, water, toiletries • Faith Community Church: 289 Industrial Drive Waynesville — food, water, toiletries Those affected by storm damage will find meals available at Bethel Baptist Church: 5868 Pigeon Rd, Canton, NC 28716.

From now through Sept. 3, several relief agencies are staffing a free hotline for debris removal and home cleanup after the recent mudslides and flooding. This hotline will connect affected residents with reputable and vetted relief agencies that will assist in chainsaw work, debris removal, drywall, flooring and appliance removal, roof tarping, and mold treatment, as they are able.

All services are free, but service is not guaranteed due to the overwhelming need.

Hotline hours may be extended to the weekend as volunteers are available to answer phones. Importantly, this hotline cannot assist with social services such as food, clothing, shelter, insurance or questions about FEMA registration.

State Cooperative Extension.

• Donated services and material available from NCDA & CS Research Station staff, Cattlemen’s Association, and Cooperative Extension • Damage assessment and recovery information available from USDA Farm Service Agency.

• A donations link has also been established by N.C. Farm Bureau for the affected farm community at www.ncfb.org.

• Emergency Hay Micro-Grants Assistance for equines impacted by the crisis. Individuals, equine evacuation centers and small rescues not receiving other assistance are eligible to apply. Apply at www.fleetofangels.org. Accepting applications through Sept. 30.

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Finding Flood Assistance F

NON-SECTION 8 HOUSING ASSISTANCE

(SMN Staff Holly Kays, Hannah McLeod, Scott McLeod, Jessi Stone and Garret K. Woodward contributed to this report.) 11

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‘We’re just lucky to be alive’ Flood survivor recounts day of destruction

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER t’s late Friday morning. With cloudy skies above and a cool breeze swirling around her, Aubrey Ford gazes out onto what’s left of her front yard and the multiple homes on her family’s property following the raging floodwaters Tuesday night. She lights a cigarette and exhales with a sigh.

“The yard was ankle-deep in water, next thing I know it’s waist-deep with how fast the river was rising — everything just happened so fast,” the Bethel resident said.

The part of the small Haywood County farming community of Bethel where Ford lives is situated at the intersection of U.S. 276 and N.C. 110. — right at the confluence of the mighty Pigeon River and Bird Creek.

Located along Max Thompson Road, just north of the intersection, Ford’s house is

Smoky Mountain News

August 25-31, 2021

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A heavily damaged home at the intersection of the Max Thompson Road and the nearby Pigeon River. (photo: Garret K. Woodward) perched a hundred yards or so from the East Fork of the Pigeon River, the homes of her parents and grandparents within earshot.

“My house looked like a boat house there was so much water,” Ford marveled. “The water level was right up to the porch. All of us got trapped and headed for higher ground until the river either went down or we got rescued.”

At about 5 p.m. Tuesday, the Pigeon River started to overtake the banks and flood the front yard. Ford ran to her home and grabbed anything she might need to

take care of her 9-month old baby (safely placed in her parents’ farmhouse up the hill behind her home).

“It was the wildest thing — the river rose and the sun was shining,” Ford said.

The water was only a few inches deep in the yard at that point. But, by the time Ford emerged from her home with the baby supplies and headed to the farmhouse, she found herself wading through the muddy water, which was quickly picking up speed.

“We all ran to the farmhouse. But, my brother and his 12-year-old son tried to get

back to his truck on the road and head for their house,” Ford said. “They made it about halfway across the yard when my nephew got swept away in the current.”

The 12-year-old was flung down Max Thompson Road (now a raging river), past the freshly demolished Accurate Auto Repair, only to swim to higher ground and get rescued by his father. The duo trudged through the mud and debris to their Chevy Trailblazer and tried to start the engine.

But, by this time, the water had reached the windows, with the SUV now stuck in the middle of N.C. 110. Unable to open their doors because of the force of the water, father and son rolled the windows down, climbed out of the vehicle and waded to safety, eventually making it back to their house uphill on nearby Sonoma Road.

“All you could hear was debris and rocks hitting the houses below, smashing through the auto repair shop,” Ford recalled. “The worst was hearing all the debris slam into the bridge. There was this big storage shed that just crumbled into the bridge. All kinds of debris and trees hitting it — it felt like it would never stop.”

Sitting right next to the old farmhouse, the bridge is currently a disaster area. Huge chunks of asphalt and concrete that once stabilized the structure now lay in nearby cornfields. The amount of force needed to move these thousand-pound objects is unfathomable.

All around the bridge and front yard are pieces of furniture, refrigerators, mattresses, bags of ramen noodles, shoes, children’s

H A Y WO O D • C O U N T Y news

Fair August 26-29

Country Nights & Carnival Lights Neighbors save a stranded baby cow atop the bridge on Max Thompson Road.

THURSDAY Bingo Night, Cow Patty Bingo, Tractor Obstacle Course

(photo: Aubrey Ford)

“You can’t replace people, you can’t replace the ones you love. We’re just lucky to be alive and that everyone in our family is OK.”

FRIDAY Pickin' with Mountain Bridge, Cake Walk, Rodeo SATURDAY Tractor Pull, Mile High Band + Cloggers, Natural Beauty Contest, Ricky Gunter Concert

— Aubrey Ford

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to see the size and scope of the wrath toys, etc. — each item from someone else’s wrought upon them and the rest of the home further upstream. And scattered in seemingly every direction are hundreds, per- Bethel community and upriver in Cruso.

Destroyed vehicles. Piles of debris from God haps thousands, of green peppers from deciknows where. The porch ripped off her mated farmland on the other side of the grandparents’ home and strewn across the community. yard. A sea of brown mud and water coverAt one point, a baby cow floated down ing the once green and lush lawn. the river and got trapped in the debris on Ford said that this flood was way worse the bridge. Neighbors ran outside amid the than the catastrophic 2004 incident, which ravaging flood and were able to save the frightened animal.

“We called 911 and they told us to keep finding higher ground until they could get help out there,” Ford said. “So, we huddled together in the farmhouse and waited it out through the night, not knowing what would happen next or if the water would stop rising.”

By midnight, the water was still extremely high and dangerous, with the The demolished bridge on Max Thompson Road in Bethel. level of the river now (photo: Garret K. Woodward) overtaking the bridge and climbing the hill, she remembers vividly, the river spilling into ultimately flooding the basement of the the same front yard those many years ago. farmhouse.

This isn’t Ford’s first flood, and it most likely “We were worried when we started to won’t be her last. She remains, as does her smell gasoline, because the gas tanks we had family. This is their home, and always will be in the basement had tipped over and spilled — come hell or high water. out when the water rushed in,” Ford said.

“Everything here is materialistic stuff. It Now several hours into the fiasco, help can all be replaced. We can start over, start did arrive. But, it wasn’t local officials. fresh and rebuild, and we will,” Ford said.

“It was the Wilmington Search and Rescue team,” Ford shook her head in amaze- “But, you can’t replace people, you can’t replace the ones you love. We’re just lucky to ment. “They evacuated us and we were able be alive and that everyone in our family is to go to my uncle’s house in Canton.”

OK. But, this isn’t necessarily the case for Returning to their home Wednesday morning, Ford and her family were now able other families along this river.”

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How to help aywood County Government urges those interested in donating time to help with relief and recovery efforts to visit www.recoverhaywood.com and click the “Volunteer” option at the top of the page for registration information.

According to the Haywood County Government, “registering to volunteer helps make sure that your talents and skills are put to use where they are most needed. It also minimizes the risk of scammers showing up unannounced and taking advantage of our neighbors when they are most vulnerable.”

H

VOLUNTEER RECEPTION CENTER There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer for storm recovery based on skills, abilities and interests.

The best way to get connected to the right opportunity is to register with the Volunteer Coordinator, John Chicoine in person at the Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville; by phone at 828.356.2022 or email jchicoine@mountainprojects.org.

POTENTIAL LANDLORDS

August 25-31, 2021

Homeowners wishing to rent to flood victims are being recruited and we are attempt-

ing to match them with victims who have requested assistance. Amber Edwards is the primary contact, aedwards@mountainprojects.org or 828.492.4115.

SERVICES/LABOR DONATION Feeding the Multitude is seeking people with trucks to take water into communities.

Send Facebook message or check in at 50 Azalea Dr. Canton from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Monday through Thursday to offer services.

Haywood County Schools: Donate to the Haywood County Schools Foundation.

Restoration has begun at Central Haywood High School (closed indefinitely) and Pisgah Memorial Stadium. If you would like to provide hands-on support, check with Pisgah High School, Tuscola High School, Canton Middle School or other schools that have damage to outside facilities.

First United Methodist Church: Volunteers needed to help organize clothes into bins by sizes to be distributed to flood victims. Contact Nicole Kott at 828.508.3420.

New Covenant Church: Looking for volunteers who want to help with flood clean-up or distributing supplies to flood victims. A community sign-up sheet has been created to help organize work groups. Pick the area you want to help with and join a work group by signing up on the list here.

Volunteers and first responders gather in Cruso on Saturday to make plans for recovery efforts after the flood Tuesday. A Shot Above WNC Faith Community Church: recruiting volunteers and care team members to aid in distribution of items and conduct small recovery construction projects. 828.734.4145

THINGS STILL NEEDED (SPECIFIC REQUESTS) • Cruso United Methodist Church 11653 Cruso Rd. Canton, NC 28716: clean-up supplies such as squeegees, plastic totes with lids, mops, buckets, trash cans, wheelbarrows, sump pumps, dehumidifiers, elbow-

high gloves, box fans, crow bars, extension cords, tools.

• Helping Haywood: cleaning supplies, work gloves, tools can be delivered to 289 Industrial Park Dr. Waynesville.

• The Outpost 6175 Pigeon Rd. Canton: rakes, drop cords, crowbars, hammers, box fans, dehumidifiers, shovels (flathead if possible), pop up canopies, batteries, tarps, boots, gloves, long rubber gloves, totes with lids, water hoses and sprayer, sheet sets (new) all sizes, paper plates, wheelbarrows, pump sprayers, any kind spray cleaner, trash cans all sizes.

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FINANCIAL DONATIONS

To help relieve the burden of those affected by the catastrophic flooding that occurred in Haywood County, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos is pledging to donate $20,000 to Helping Haywood, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to seek opportunities to help those in need in Haywood County.

Brooks Robinson, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos Regional Senior Vice President & General Manager, said the company’s strong ties to the neighboring county ignited their desire to help.

• Buy a t-shirt: Proceeds will go to local charities and first responders, tinyurl.com/38bpr6s2.

INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY FUNDRAISERS • Bright family was on Mountain Meadow Lane and lost everything. Send donations to www.paypal.me/Chelsea432.

• Mother and daughter, lost home and rebuilding.

Link to donate, tinyurl.com/jw9882ps.

• Family of Five, including an elderly woman, 5-year-old boy, 8-month-old baby, couple and pets, tinyurl.com/39pjtszs.

• Help the Smathers Family, tinyurl.com/29493v7a.

• Help the Deal Family, tinyurl.com/3n49asan.

• Parents with 6 year old child, tinyurl.com/ccted7vy.

• Kassi and Jarrett O’Neil, tinyurl.com/ctzw8w5f.

• Mark, Pam, and Ashton, tinyurl.com/ubj9x76z.

• Tad Gumuski is working hard to salvage what he can, which hasn’t been much.

Consider adding to his PayPal at Giraffe28806@hotmail.com. If you have an extra laptop he could use one.

LOST AND FOUND (all Facebook groups) • Items, tinyurl.com/57mn2y6w • Photos, tinyurl.com/w9wms5bz • Pets, tinyurl.com/422d86us

UPCOMING VOLUNTEER/BENEFIT EVENTS: • 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27: Benefit at Water’n Hole “We have strong ties to Haywood County with many of our employees or their families residing there,” said Robinson.

“The flooding that occurred is truly devastating, and we knew we needed to show our support and express to the residents of Haywood County that we are here to lend a helping hand during this difficult time.”

In addition to the monetary donation, Harrah’s Cherokee will also be donating 20 pallets of water and is currently holding a supply drive for Team Members to donate miscellaneous items to Helping Haywood.

To learn more about Helping Haywood, or to learn how to get involved in their disaster recovery process, visit www.helpinghaywood.org.

Smoky Mountain News

Harrah’s donates $20,000 in flood relief

FUNDRAISERS (THINGS TO BUY)

August 25-31, 2021

• Cash donations to the Water’n Hole • HaywoodOutdoorPantry • Haywood County’s official partner for flood recovery financial donations is United Way of Haywood County.

• A donations link has also been established by NC Farm Bureau for the affected farm community at www.ncfb.org • Our Place Inn outdoor pantry in Maggie Valley offers this Amazon Wish List, especially accessible for people outside of the area who want to provide supplies.

• Haywood County Schools: Restoration has begun at Central Haywood High School (closed indefinitely) and Pisgah Memorial Stadium. Please donate to the Haywood County Schools Foundation under Tropical Storm Fred Relief. Funds will be used for various supports: feeding restoration workers; purchasing supplies, materials and services related to restoration • Donate to this gofundme from Heather Hyatt-Packer at Mountain Murders True Crime Podcast — funds will be distributed. tinyurl.com/yxk46x5c • Donate to Helping Haywood by visiting www.faithcommunitychurch.cc/give (please select “Helping Haywood) in the drop-down menu.

• Donate to Helping Hands of Haywood at helpinghandsofhaywood.org • Donate to Feeding the Multitude on Venmo @FTM6375 or by mailing donations

to Feeding the Multitudes at 50 Azalea Dr. Canton, 28716.

• Woodland Baptist Church is accepting monetary donations. Select “Haywood Disaster Relief ” at this link, tinyurl.com/48e7paxz.

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• WNC Livestock Center (474 Stock Dr. Canton) is accepting the following from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Horse feed (senior type), goat feed, sheep feed, cattle feed, fowl feed, square bales of hay, 5 gallon water totes to tote drinkable water, 5 gallon buckets, t-posts, barbed wire, woven wire, feed pans, feed troughs, water troughs, shavings, fly spray, horse and cow halter and lead ropes, calf bottles (only need a couple), hay racks. Chicken feed is no longer needed. Don’t donate these items at other donation centers — they do not have the capacity.

• To donate backpacks/school supplies, reach out to Melissa Warwick on Facebook.

• Per Haywood County: “Please hold all [other] storm donations for now. Donation centers have more resources than they can manage right now. This is a marathon, not a race, and we’ll need resources later on, too.”

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Flood of peppers Fred strips fields prime for harvest

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ain was coming down hard as Gary Griffith surveyed his fields in Bethel, around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 17.

Harvest season was in full swing, and before he went home to Ratcliff Cove, he wanted to make sure his 15 acres of peppers and cucumbers growing along the Pigeon River would make it through the storm.

“I thought I had a glimpse that we were going to be OK, because it hadn’t flooded yet,” Griffith said.

He reached his conclusion too early. In the hour after Griffith left the farm, the river surged, covering the crops and sweeping away the tens of thousands of green peppers that would become the unofficial symbol of a historic flood. When the water receded, the peppers were everywhere — washed up on riverbanks, speared on shrubs and smashed on roads for miles.

Their sharp, earthy scent filled the air as he and his workers assessed the damage Wednesday morning.

The scent was a tangible reminder of the labor, the seed, the fertilizer and the years of expertise that went into producing a crop that Griffith will never be able to harvest. By the time Tropical Storm Fred arrived, he’d picked only about 40% of the year’s produce from his 12 acres of peppers, and about a quarter of the harvest on his 3 acres of cucumbers.

Griffith said the loss exacerbated a struggle that’s been getting worse for years, accelerating with the pandemic’s arrival.

“Since COVID started or even before that, the market price that farmers get versus what the end product is, is ridiculous,” he said. “The farmers are really in danger, because why would we want to keep going when we’re not making any money?”

A catastrophe like Fred makes the question more urgent.

Griffith has insurance that will cover some of his crop loss, but there’s also an additional $50,000 to $75,000 in damage that insurance would never cover. It’s the things people don’t see — the flooded truck that will need to be replaced, the broken stakes, the pervasive layer of mud that will have to be bulldozed away before the field can drain properly again.

Griffith is 62, and as he adds up the numbers, he’s not sure what his next move should be. Is it smart to go into debt to rebuild when retirement is so close at hand?

“To continue on, I’ve got a big outlay for next year, and the question is, why would I 16 want to do that?” he said.

Smoky Mountain News

August 25-31, 2021

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FROM TROUT TO TOMATOES, FARMERS STRUGGLE Griffith is not the only farmer making that calculation. Glen Johnson, co-owner of J.W. Johnson Tomato Company, said he works with seven tomato farmers in Haywood County, and of those seven, five saw their fields completely submerged when the floodwaters ravaged Cruso.

Some crops are flattened. Others, once the water receded, retained some mud splatters but appeared to be otherwise healthy.

But that doesn’t matter, Johnson said — if floodwater douses it, it’s unsellable.

“Even crops that might look good a day or two after, you can’t harvest them when the water gets in there because you don’t know what’s in the water, what’s in the soil,” he said. “All that stuff that’s floated downriver might have contaminated it. Everything that had a certain amount of water on it to a certain height, it’s just deemed unharvestable.”

Financially, he said, the loss will be “devastating” for farmers.

Ag hotline activated A hotline aiming to connect farmers impacted by Tropical Storm Fred with resources is now active daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1.866.645.9403.

A live operator is available at that number, offered through the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Recovery resources are also available at www.ncagr.gov/disaster.

Before beginning cleanup, farmers should take dated photographs of any damage. These images could prove useful to qualify for federal aid later.

Vegetable farmers aren’t the only growers whose operations were decimated. Sunburst Trout Farms, which supplies fresh fish to buyers across the region, lost 78,000 pounds of trout as floodwaters jumped a berm designed to protect its farm in Cruso, carrying away the trout and destroying the raceway — a complete loss.

“One of our employees got caught on Tuesday out in Cruso, because it was his turn to watch over the fish at that farm, and it happened so fast he couldn’t leave,” said Sunburst’s marketing director Anna Eason.

“We have a camper that we keep out there for when we have to watch the fish if it rains too much, but he luckily was able to pull the camper out before the water overtook the farm.”

Luckily, she said, because that’s where he ended up staying the night.

The flood didn’t destroy the business itself because Sunburst also has a trout farm at Lake Logan, which received only minor damage, as well as a third location that did not have any trout in it at the time of the flood. However, the fallout from Tropical Storm Fred will impact Sunburst for years to come. Between the fish and the cost to rebuild the farm, damage is estimated at more than $560,000, Eason said.

A layer of green peppers, likely from Gary Griffith’s farm in Bethel, covers the Pigeon River bank (above) on the downstream side of the bridge over Canton’s Main Street. Due to food safety laws, even crops like these tomatoes in Cruso (below), which look to be relatively intact after the floodwaters receded, will have to be destroyed. This is due to possible contamination in the soil and water. Aug. 19. Holly Kays photos

“That farm was pretty important to our survival,” Eason said of the Cruso location.

“The cost we estimate to rebuild it is $150,000, but it could be more because we just don’t know — because of the fact that now everybody is going to be rebuilding, and time and costs start to go up when that happens, and the lack of workers as it is in most areas.”

While farmers in Bethel, Cruso and Canton — the county’s premier agricultural district — were the hardest hit as a result of the storm, producers across the county saw their operations impacted, said Haywood County Cooperative Extension Director Bill Skelton.

“Even up on the mountainsides, culverts

were blocked and the water overwashed them and washed out fences,” he said. “It impacted a huge number of farmers across the country, not just in Bethel and Cruso.

Some were hard hit, others less so.”

HELP A ‘WAIT AND SEE GAME’ Recovery will depend heavily on what kind of assistance farmers can get to help recoup their losses and restore demolished infrastructure. And right now, that’s an open question.

“It’s a wait and see game to see what Congress passes,” said Paula Edwards, Haywood County Executive Director for the Farm Service

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Smoky Mountain News

Agency. “It’s not like the good old days of when we had ad hoc disaster programs.

Those are pretty much a thing of the past.

We are just waiting on the various designations and just going from there.”

Most federal aid is dependent on a presidential disaster declaration coupled with action from Congress to appropriate aid money. It will take some time for that process to play out. In the meantime, said Edwards, farmers affected by the storm should take dated photos of all losses and impacts before starting cleanup.

In a flood situation like this, she said, federal money will also cover some percentage of crop, livestock and fish losses — but the exact parameters depend on what program Congress passes, what is included in the current Farm Bill and a variety of other factors. There’s no way to know for certain, but Edwards has hope that Congress could roll out a major nationwide assistance program given that western states are dealing with drought and fires even as the East grapples with flooding.

Farmers are required to carry catastrophic insurance, purchased through the FSA, which covers a portion of the cost they shouldered earlier in the season to put seed in the ground and fertilize the soil. But neither catastrophic insurance nor expected federal aid aims to make up for the money the farmers hoped to reap at harvest — for many, their earnings for the entire year.

Some farmers may carry a higher level of crop insurance that covers more types of losses, but such insurance is expensive, and most farmers try to save money by gambling that they won’t need the benefits, said Randy Rogers, a retired agriculture loan officer with Carolina Farm Credit. Then, when a catastrophic event happens, those farmers aren’t able to pay back the operating loan they took out at the start of the season to cover upfront production costs. That operating loan is then rolled into a longer-term capital loan.

“The next year, when he borrows money he’s going to have to pay back that money plus one-fifth of the loss from the year before, so it really creates a burden when you have a crop loss like that,” Rogers said.

It’s a serious situation, Johnson said, and not just for the farmers whose fields were flooded.

“A lot of farmers look at each other as competition, but you can’t really look at it that way,” he said. “The more produce you have in an area the better, because then you can supply larger accounts. You can promote more. You have more trucks in the area. If you just have a few little tiny farms in the middle of nowhere, you’re not going to succeed, because you need that volume to supply a lot of these larger accounts in order to get the better pricing and the better end user business.”

But dire as Fred’s fallout may be, even farmers who saw their entire year’s earnings destroyed overnight say their story isn’t the most important one right now.

“What I’ve lost is money, and that comes and goes, but what other people lost are lives and homes and everything they’ve got,” said Griffith. “So I’m blessed and very fortunate.”

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Beyond major T

on Ashe Settlement Road in Webster.

Jackson County, especially in the northern end, has the additional buffer of the Duke Energy reservoir at Lake Glenville.

Emergency services gets a heads-up before Duke spills water from the dam.

The rains in Cruso all fell into one watershed, and the East Fork Pigeon River — which under normal conditions looks more like a creek than a river — absorbed it all.

The closest U.S. Geological Survey gauge to the ravaged communities is located about 1 mile southeast of Jukebox Junction, 5 miles from Cruso. There’s no way to track exactly how fast the water rose in the most affected areas, but the gauge gives a clue.

At that site, the water rose nearly 8 feet in two hours between 3:45 and 5:45 p.m., when it crested at an incredible 16.15 feet.

For that site, major flood stage — the stage

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FACES

OF

HAYWOOD

of the Haywood County business community “Asfora member 22 years (first with the Single Stop Stores opening in

1999, and Hometown Hardware opening in 2012), it has been an honor to join the other businesses in our mountain community to support each other as well as the citizens in Haywood County. Being born and raised in Haywood County our family roots run deep, as does our commitment to our friends and neighbors. The Chamber’s same deep commitment to our mountain community is evident in the numerous resources offered to their members. We are glad to be a part of this county and a part of The Chamber.”

Hometown Hardware's David Singleton

Smoky Mountain News

at which people should stop worrying about their property and start worrying about their lives — is 12 feet, reaching a record 13 feet in 2004.

The flood didn’t crest in Canton until hours later, at 8:15 p.m. While the reading of 19.76 feet easily surpassed the 19-foot major flood stage marker, it did not best the 22.8-foot record set in 2004. However, said Palmer, despite the 3-foot difference emergency management is reporting that the damage is just as bad as that in 2004.

“That’s telling us a lot about changes in the development across the area,” she said.

“There’s been a lot more development in the area in the past 15, almost 20 years. So there’s maybe a lot more concrete across the area. Maybe the river basin has changed.”

Now, the Weather Service is considering whether it needs to make any changes to its forecast system, such as revising flood stage markers.

“We can predict the weather, but we can’t predict people and land use,” Palmer said.

Even predicting the weather is more challenging in the mountains, where topography often blocks radar and the slopes and ridges create microclimates that complicate the forecast. Observations from the volunteer Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network — known as CoCoRaHS — help the National Weather Service better understand climate and weather patterns in these hard-to-reach places. To join the network, visit www.cocorahs.org.

August 25-31, 2021

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hough Tropical Storm Fred bears the brunt of the blame for last week’s flood, a cold front moving ahead of the tropical storm set the table for destruction.

“When the moisture associated specifically with Fred moved in Tuesday afternoon, the soils were primed. The rivers were already starting to respond,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Trisha Palmer.

The official NWS station in Asheville reported a total 3.43 inches of rain Aug. 1516, with Fred’s arrival Aug. 17 bringing an additional 3.3 inches. Prior to rains from Fred, the GreenvilleSpartanburg Forecast Office reported a weekend flash flood in Charlotte and an especially damaging one in Transylvania County Monday, Aug. 16, with the Upper French Broad at Rosman reaching major flood stage.

Between 8 a.m.

Sunday, Aug. 15, and 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18, locations across the region received 5-10 inches of rain, but along the TransylvaniaHaywood County line totals reached 10-15 inches, with the gauge closest to Cruso reporting 14 inches during that time period.

“It was an incredible amount of rain,” said Palmer.

While the Cruso area undisputedly received the worst of the flooding in Western North Carolina, it did not receive the worst of the rainfall. Multiple gauges on the Transylvania/Jackson County line recorded more than 20 inches during the same 72-hour time period, Palmer said.

However, those areas didn’t see major flood damage, because the heaviest rainfall was concentrated right along the Eastern Continental Divide. Instead of all flowing into a single watershed, some of it flowed into the Upper French Broad watershed headed toward Brevard while some flowed south toward Lake Toxaway and South Carolina.

“If it had fallen just a little bit further north or a little bit further south, it would have all fallen into one basin and been funneled down in one direction,” said Palmer.

“It would have been an incredible flood wave. It was already incredible, but it would have been even more incredible.”

As it is, Jackson County saw only minor flood damage, said Emergency Management Director Todd Dillard. One home in the Canada community received considerable damage, and there were a few minor landslides with the typical flooding

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Cruso depth dwarfs 2004 figures

828.456.3021 HaywoodChamber.com 19

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Haywood Schools reopen despite flood damage

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER ropical Storm Fred ravaged portions of Haywood County last week, including several school properties. The school board called an emergency meeting Aug. 19 to hear reports of the flood damage.

Following Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte’s recommendation, students in Haywood County returned to school on Monday, Aug. 23.

However, due to the state of damage at Central Haywood High School, those students will have returned to virtual learning.

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PROPERTY DAMAGE

Smoky Mountain News

August 25-31, 2021

“We have sustained damage, but nothing like what has been sustained in the Cruso community and other areas of our county,” said Associate Superintendent Trevor Putnam. “So I just don’t want to draw any more heaviness to what we have to discuss as compared to what many of our friends and family are suffering right now.”

According to Putnam, there was significant flooding in the parking lot of Meadowbrook Elementary, though the water did not enter the building. After waters receded, the parking lot was covered in a layer of mud that has since been cleaned out.

“We do have some things there to correct, culverts washed out and stone displaced, but with time, we can get that in order. It is operational at this time,” he said.

Water did breach the education center in Clyde, but only in one isolated area. A storage room on the back end of the building took on water, and a small portion of water made it into the board room. It has been cleaned, dried and is safe for occupancy. The parking lot of the education center was also flooded and left with a layer of mud four inches thick that maintenance staff has removed. The Town of Waynesville sent a tanker truck of water to help clear the parking lot since at the time, water was shut off in Clyde.

“Thank you, Jeff Stines, for arranging that. He was ready to help,” said Putnam.

Central Haywood High School sustained the most serious damage, though the full extent is not yet known. RestorePro, a damage repair company has evaluated the school’s interior and advised the flooring, baseboard and sheetrock be removed because it will not dry enough to be salvageable.

“We’re looking at extensive repair and replacement there for the lower floor of Central Haywood High School,” said Putnam.

Additionally, water filled the cavity beneath the school and crews had to receive environmental clearance before pumping the water out. Once the water has been removed inspectors will determine if there has been damage to supporting floor trusses/ members, walls, HVAC and other facilities.

The Pisgah football field, which was completely flooded with water during the height of flood waters, looks drastically better, according to Putnam, following environmental clearance and hard work by a number of 20 volunteers. An estimator from Astroturf will

evaluate the field and determine how much it will cost to get the field back in order.

Engineers are assessing the bleachers to determine safety and necessary repairs.

“We had an army of volunteers and help from all over the place. It was really a sight to see. The two sides of the county may be divided most of the time, but they certainly were not today. And it was very pleasant to see. We had all kinds of folks helping,” said Putnam.

Pisgah’s softball and baseball stadiums, as well as Canton middle’s softball and baseball fields, are also heavily damaged. The same crew that volunteered time to repair Pisgah football stadium also worked on the softball and baseball fields.

“To give you some idea of the force of the water, a Pepsi machine and a lock guard stand were recovered at the end of the football stadium, nearest Evergreen. So it had carried it at least a quarter of a mile. That’s how forceful the water was,” said Putnam.

ROAD DAMAGE As of Thursday evening, closed roads — or those with closed portions — included Lake Logan Road, Cruso Road, Little East Fork Road, Mundy Field Road, Burnette Cove Road, East Fork Ranch Road, Chinquapin Road, Cold Creek Road, Max Thompson

“Those of us who have been through floods like this in the past, know that we are at the beginning of a very long haul and there is a lot of work to be done by a lot of people in the coming weeks and months.”

— Haywood County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte

Road, Old Michael Road, Francis Farm Road, Sonoma Road, Henson Cove Road, Abel Road, Abbott Road, Dutch Cove Road, Turnpike Road, Chestnut Mountain Road, Groundhog Road, Asheville Highway, Worley Cove Road, Mystic Meadows, Pisgah Creek Bridge, Spring Meadows, Stamey Cove, Upper Crabtree Road, Riverside Road and Wells Road.

“All of those roads have weather impact.

They’re either closed, impassable or compromised. And so that’s what we’re contending with as we consider a school opening. Many of our roads have taken on some type of damage,” said Putnam.

Administration said they could not determine how many students are affected by road closures because many students are now staying in different locations. Many had to be evacuated from homes that were damaged or destroyed.

The rising sun paints an ugly scene at Pisgah High School’s Memorial Stadium. Greg Boothroyd photo

HOW TO HELP According to Nolte, there are two avenues for people wanting to provide support to Haywood County Schools. People can provide monetary support through the Haywood County Schools Foundation under Tropical Storm Fred Relief. That money will be used for things like feeding restoration workers, purchasing supplies, materials and services related to restoration.

“We know that if we get the FEMA designation, which we think might be coming, there will be many things that that will not reimburse us for,” said Nolte.

For people wanting to give hands-on help, Nolte recommends making direct contact with schools that have sustained damage.

PLAN MOVING FORWARD Despite damage sustained to certain Haywood County Schools properties, and roads across the county, school reopened for in-person learning at all locations except for Central Haywood High School.

“We know that that will not be a perfect endeavor,” said Nolte. “Those of us who have been through floods like this in the past, know that we are at the beginning of a very long haul and there is a lot of work to be done by a lot of people in the coming weeks and months.”

Though the school board questioned the ability of all students to return to school on Monday, members agreed with administration that a return to some sort of normalcy would be best for most students.

Administration stressed the importance of support and flexibility for students and staff that have been impacted by the flood.

Absences will be excused and missed days related to promotion will be waived.

Supplies, materials and additional tutorial

help will be available as needed.

According to Assistant Superintendent Jill Barker, the process for reopening Central Haywood High School will look different.

Because the building will be unavailable until repairs are complete, Principal Wendy Rogers plans to begin preparations for temporary virtual learning. Rogers and her staff began distributing ChromeBooks to students on Monday, Aug. 23, and began virtual instruction Wednesday, Aug. 25. Teachers will report to the education center in Clyde to provide instruction.

FEMA DISASTER DECLARATION According to Nolte, FEMA disaster declaration would be helpful in the recovery process. Both Nolte and Putnam, as well as school board members, have been in contact with U.S. Representatives and have met with Gov. Roy Cooper to urge them forward in doing what they can to garner a FEMA disaster declaration. The official request for disaster declaration must come from the governor of North Carolina.

“For those of us that unfortunately have gone through this before, back in 2004, the reality is that you have to spend the money to get reimbursed. And to spend money, you have to have money. And so that’s one thing that I really wanted us to get ahead on is the fact that for this kind of money, we would need to have some type of legislative aid in the door, some type of action from our legislative delegation,” said Nolte.

Putnam said the school system is currently working through all of its available funding sources. The department of insurance has been in Haywood County to assess the damage and preliminary reports suggest flood insurance will not cover all of the damage.

Putnam said it will also look to local, state and federal funding.

A S T FA R Y L R L L IV E IN S G

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Haywood board narrowly changes mask decision

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER t an emergency meeting Saturday, the Haywood County School Board voted 5-2 to mandate masks and enact a plan that will adjust masking policy based on the weekly averages of positive COVID-19 cases.

The decision came after a tumultuous first week of the 2021-22 school year. Due to flooding from Tropical Storm Fred, school was only in session the first two days of the week. According to Public Health Director Sarah Henderson, after just two days of inperson instruction, three positive COVID-19 cases at Tuscola High School resulted in over 60 students and staff having to quarantine.

One positive case at Waynesville Middle School resulted in 27 people quarantining, a case at Hazelwood Elementary meant 25 people in quarantine, 12 students had to quarantine after one positive case at a Kinder Camp in Clyde and as of Saturday evening, there were 19 students in quarantine from Bethel Elementary.

The board held a lengthy discussion with Henderson and Haywood County Medical Director Dr. Mark Jaben. Chairman Chuck Francis asked Henderson directly whether these high quarantine numbers could have been avoided with the requirement of a face covering.

“Yes sir. If our students were in a setting where everyone was universally masked, meaning that everybody in the class were masked, those who are positive would be isolated, but the other students in the class would not be considered close contacts. So the remainder of those classes would have been able to go back to face-to-face instruction as long as they were wearing face coverings,” said Henderson.

When masks were optional for students in Haywood County Schools, teachers were expected to make seating charts to determine where students were in the classroom, especially in relation to a possible COVID-19 positive peer, and whether or not they were wearing a mask. Because school had just begun, many teachers had not had the chance to create seating charts or get them to administration. At that point, according to Henderson, a larger swath of students had to be considered a close contact.

Smoky Mountain News

August 25-31, 2021

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“We have received some seating charts from teachers, but we’re finding that a lot of students are in classrooms where there isn’t a seating chart. At that point you have to err on the side of caution,” said Henderson.

In addition to mandating masks, the board laid out a plan that adjusts masking policy based upon weekly averages of positive COVID-19 cases, called the “Stop Slow Go” plan. The plan uses a traffic light concept with required masking on the “red” light, optional masking on the “yellow” light and mask free on the “green light.” The formula is based upon the average number of new positive cases per day on a weekly basis.

Haywood County Schools will be in the “red” when there are more than six new cases per day on a seven day rolling average.

In order to move to the “yellow,” there must be three weeks of less than six new cases per day. Schools will be in the “yellow,” meaning masks are optional, when there are less than six new cases per day on a seven day rolling average. In order to move to the “green,” there must be three weeks of one new case per day or less. Schools will be in the “green,” meaning mask free, when there is less than one new case per day on a seven day rolling average.

Board member Bobby Rogers, who previously opposed a mask mandate in Haywood County Schools, noted the importance of

Sullivan pleads no contest in fraud charges Brandy Lee Sullivan entered a plea of no contest Aug. 19 in Jackson County Superior Court to the felony charge of malfeasance of a corporate officer, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.

In a no-contest plea, the defendant does not expressly admit his guilt, but waives his right to a trial and authorizes the court to treat him as if he were guilty of the charge. Superior Court Judge Marvin Pope sentenced Sullivan, 52, to a suspended sentence of six to 17 months, along with 18 months of unsupervised probation.

Sullivan, while serving in June 2017 as chairman of the board of directors for Glenville-Cashiers Rescue Squad, used agency

having guidelines to know when masks would be required in schools, and when they would be optional.

“To me, when you’ve got yard lines and end zones and a scoreboard, it allows you to put politics aside. This is all about keeping children in school, giving them the best learning opportunity available. In that regard, I think it gives us a way to keep track, keep score and know where we’re at on the field,” said Rogers.

Currently, Haywood County Schools is at the required masking or “Mask Up” level.

When the county is at the required masking level, masks are required indoors for all students, staff and visitors. Masks are required outdoors when social distancing is not possible.

“We appreciate the work and collaboration of our public health partners in developing this case-based masking plan,” said Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte. “Using this plan should help reduce isolations and quarantines for students and staff. This should keep more of us in in-person learning which is important for academic success and social-emotional well-being.”

N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper made masks a local decision when the state mandate expired on July 31. At that time, following input from parents and a recommendation from Haywood County Health Officials that

funds to falsely inflate his company’s financial condition. He transferred rescue squad funds to his company’s bank account to meet conditions of the N.C. Licensing Board for General Contractors.

Sullivan was seeking an increase from the general contractor board in his license limitations as a general contractor. He needed an unlimited license to enter into a $1.9 million building contract with the rescue squad to construct a new building. Sullivan returned the funds to the rescue squad six days after the transfer.

“He used his position to misapply funds to perpetrate fraud,” said Andy Buckner, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case. “The fact that he returned the returned the funds to the rescue squad does not change the nature of the fraud he committed.”

The State Bureau of Investigation led the investigation.

masks be mandated, the Haywood County School Board voted to make masks optional.

Just a few weeks later, the board issued a statement strongly recommending students wear masks in school. Now, the board has officially reversed its decision and mandated masks for students and staff.

“Our first priority is the safety of our students, faculty, and staff as they continue to participate in in-person learning. We recognize that the situation is ever-changing and we have to overcome and adapt,” said Henderson. “Adopting this plan allows us to see the progress in our community and adjust as needed. This plan gives us an end goal and something to work toward.”

The decision created a rare split vote among board members with David Burnette and Larry Henson voting against the motion to require masks and enact the plan that adjusts masking policy based on weekly averages of positive cases. School board member Logan Nesbitt made the motion to require masks at this time, which was seconded by Rogers.

“My goal is to keep kids in the school and in-person learning,” said Francis. “We saw what a challenge it was to not have them in school. And this ‘stop, slow, go’ will give us an opportunity to at least have an end game to get us back to what we used to call somewhat normal.”

History presentation in Swain Henry Chambers will be presenting “The Migration and Settlement of WNC” at the Sept. 2 meeting of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society.

Chambers is a native of Clay County and a descendent of the Chambers family of Chambers Creek. Although he retired from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, he has continued to be a life-long student of the history and genealogy of Western North Carolina. He is currently the President and Director of the Northshore Cemetery Association.

The presentation will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center, 45 East Ridge Drive, Bryson City. This is free and open to the public.

Conversation will follow the presentation.

Jackson County TDA photo

Greening Up The Mountains GREENING UP THE MOUNTAINS

The 24th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival will return from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 28, in downtown Sylva.

GUTM is a heritage arts festival that celebrates the arrival of spring through traditional and contemporary forms of Appalachian art, music, food, and beverage, which honor our community and local artisans.

Music schedule at Bridge Park: • 10 to 10:45 a.m. — The Maggie Valley Band • 11 to 11:45 a.m. — The Summit Church Band • Noon to 12:45 p.m. — PMA • 1 to 1:45 p.m. — Shane Meade & The Sound • 2 to 2:45 p.m. — Ol' Dirty Bathtub • 3 to 4 p.m. — Darren & The Buttered Toast

Jackson County TDA photo

Sponsored by the Town of Sylva and the Main Street Sylva Association, GUTM enjoys crowds upwards of 12,000 attendees and has 175 vendor booth spaces.

In addition to a variety of arts, crafts, and food vendors, attendees can enjoy a 5k run, youth talent contest, beverage arts featuring local craft breweries, and live music throughout the day.

For more information visit www.greeningupthemountains.com.

PET POLICY Friendly dogs with leashes welcome.

August 25-31, 2021

Lace up your running shoes The Greening Up the Mountains Annual 5k will be held at Mark Watson Park in downtown Sylva, North Carolina. Registration is $15 and can be completed online or by completing a paper form available at the Jackson County Recreation Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

• • • •

8 a.m. Registration 9 a.m. Race Starts 10 a.m. Awards Ceremony Mark Watson Park

For additional information, please contact Jenifer Pressley at jeniferpressley@jacksonnc.org or call 828.293.3053, ext. 7.

PARKING There will be a drop off area for patrons with disabilities, as well as parking in front of the Sylva Police Station on West Main Street. You can park and walk, or ride the shuttle, to the festival from two locations. The shuttle is $1 per person, each way. No pets and masks required.

• Jackson County Justice & Administration Building 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Sylva, NC 28779 • Spill over site: Jackson Plaza 391 Jackson Plaza, Sylva, NC 28779 • Several downtown businesses and organizations are offering “pay to park” locations closer to the festival, and we encourage the patronage of these local businesses.

Two Exciting Partnerships

Smoky Mountain News

The GUTM Festival is excited to announce its continued partnership with the Jackson County Farmers Market, located in the Town Parking Lot next to the Bridge Park stage, and a new partnership with the Jackson Arts Market, located in the gravel parking lot next to the Sylva Herald on Main Street. Be sure to stop in and say hello to them on Aug. 28.

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ddmoorelaw.com · (828) 339-3900

The Maggie Valley Band

Ol’ Dirty Bathtub

A blend of old-time mountain, Americana and psychedelic folk music, the Haywood County group is fronted by siblings Whitney and Caroline Miller.

The duo has gone through several changes since they first set out on their melodic adventure several years ago. But, what remains is the unbreakable bond of sisterhood, something that’s become a stronghold — and strong suit — in what it will take to break into the next level of their promising careers.

“A man used to say to us, ‘But the songs are so sad.’ I think that was, and is, the point,” Caroline said. “There’s no point in singing about unrealistic and far-fetched ideas. It isn’t about running away from problems, but walking through the issues of life and dealing with difficult circumstances. It can be raw and haunting or it can be comforting — either way it’s not fake.” www.themaggievalleyband.com.

A beloved singer-songwriter based out of Tampa, Florida, Shane Meade & The Sound is a soul-infused folk/rock act, one with dashes of funk and jazz. Through a diverse mix of acoustic and full-band performances, the group combines infectious vocals with feel good grooves, and has the uncanny ability of turning even the largest of venues into an intimate musical experience.

The ensemble has appeared in lineups with the likes of Edwin McCain, Michael Glabicki & Rusted Root, Yonder Mountain String Band, Tim Reynolds, and Robert Randolph & The Family Band, to name a few. www.shanemeade.com.

PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) Though they’re hundreds of miles from the closest ocean, the members of Sylva-based Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) have concocted a formula of reggae/soul unique to the mountains of Western North Carolina. It’s more about an uplifting and relaxed state of mind rather than actual sandy toes and salt water.

That’s what true reggae preaches — spreading the word of inclusiveness and one-ness amid a space of different backgrounds, intents and pursuits. It’s about finding common ground within those around you. And, perhaps, letting the troubles of the day slowly fall from your current physical and emotional location, ultimately dissolving into the dirt beneath your feet.

“Our music is full of inspiration from these mountains. Water, mountain landscapes, nature, trails. They all take part in the inspiration process for us. We are proud to call Sylva home and our sound could not be what it is without this town,” said guitarist Miller Watson.

“It’s also really cool to see the similarities in bluegrass music and reggae and how they took shape from the development of African banjo.

It’s also nice to bring a touch of reggae to these mountains.” www.facebook.com/pmamusic.

Ol’ Dirty Bathtub Based out of Jackson County, Ol’ Dirty Bathtub is a rollicking musical act, one where the lines between bluegrass, folk and Americana are blurred. Part mountain heritage, part blue-collar work ethic, part cosmic wanderlust, the quintet put forth its whirlwind sounds on its debut album, “Pack Mule” (Bee Hive Records).

Like most string acts, each member of ODB has a day job (lawyer, community gardener, journalist, small business owner, etc.) with the music played — onstage at breweries or on a front porch in the backwoods — being the sweet reward at the end of another long and arduous workweek.

“We’ve always had energy when playing on someone’s porch, but on several occasions lately we have been able to replicate it live,” said guitarist Jerad Davis. “And that’s what makes this fun — people dancing, rooms getting hot, creating an atmosphere that is as fun for those listening as it is for us onstage.” www.facebook.com/oldirtybathtub.

Darren & The Buttered Toast Based of our Raleigh, Darren & The Buttered Toast have strong Jackson County roots, as lead singer-songwriter Darren Curtis went to Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Focused on a seamless blend of funk, soul, R&B and rock music, the quartet is a fiery stage act, one with a presence that radiates a sense of connectivity and passion between those onstage and in the audience. www.dbtoast.com.

August 25-31, 2021

Shane Meade & The Sound

Shane Meade & The Sound GREENING UP THE MOUNTAINS

PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)

The Maggie Valley Band

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Smoky Mountain News August 25-31, 2021

GREENING UP THE MOUNTAINS

Indiana approves EBCI casino purchase

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER he Indiana Gaming Commission has approved a deal that would put an Indiana casino in the ownership of a company held by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The Gaming Commission approved Caesars Entertainment’s sale of Caesars Southern Indiana Casino & Hotel to EBCI Holdings LLC at an Aug. 18 business meeting, and closing is now expected to occur in September.

“We are delighted to move forward with Caesars and expand our already successful portfolio,” said R. Scott Barber, CEO of EBCI Holdings, the company that will own the casino. “Not only is it a beautiful, recently renovated property, but Caesars is also a storied brand in the southern Indiana community. We’re honored carry on that legacy as we continue to elevate Caesars’ world-class guest experience.”

In a narrow decision, the Cherokee Tribal Council voted on Dec. 17 to approve up to $280 million in cash and loans for the purchase of Caesars Southern Indiana, located in Elizabeth, Indiana, right across the river from Louisville, Kentucky. EBCI Holdings

T

LLC, an entity wholly owned by the tribe, then agreed to purchase the casino operations for a base price of $250 million.

The decision was extremely controversial, both because of the decision itself and the circumstances under which Tribal Council made it. The meeting in which Tribal Council conducted its final deliberations and took a vote was announced only on Principal Chief Richard Sneed’s Facebook page at 8:27 p.m. the day before the 10 a.m. meeting. It was open only to tribal members, who had to access it via Microsoft Teams or Cherokee Cable.

Under the deal, the tribe will own the casino’s operations, but not the property — the initial lease payment for the 238-acre property is $32.5 million annually. The venture is expected to bring in $40 million each year in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Due to Indiana state laws stipulating that the LLC overseeing the casino operation can remit only 25% of profits back to the tribe each year, the EBCI expects to receive $3 to $5 million annually.

Opponents of the deal say that’s not enough to justify the large up-front purchase price. Meanwhile, proponents point out that the LLC will retain the remaining 75% of the profits, which can then be used to purchase additional commercial gaming enterprises and further diversify the tribe’s business interests. Overall, the operation is expected to yield a return on investment of 19% to 23%.

To celebrate the new ownership, Caesars plans to host an opening event after the deal closes. Details will be announced later this fall.

Pursuant to the terms of the transaction documents, EBCI Holdings will Ceasars Southern Indiana Casino is home to 1,200 continue to slot machines, as well as sports betting, poker and use Caesars’ table games. Laurencio Ronquillo photo branding for the casino and $32.5 million, and the lease will have an iniparticipate in the popular Caesars loyalty program, Caesars Rewards — the program is tial term of 15 years, with four five-year tenant renewal options. The tenant’s obligaalso used at EBCI casinos in Cherokee and tions under the lease will be guaranteed by Murphy. Additionally, subject to satisfying the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. customary background check and hiring EBCI Holdings was established earlier processes, current Caesars employees — this year to diversify the EBCI’s ventures nearly 900 people — will be able to keep within the commercial gaming and hospitaltheir jobs at the Indiana casino. ity industry. Caesars has managed the tribe’s Simultaneously with the deal closing, two existing casinos in Western North EBCI Holdings will enter into a triple-net Carolina, the first of which was established lease with a subsidiary of VICI Properties in 1997, since they opened. Caesars Inc. for the real property associated with Caesars Southern Indiana. Initial total annu- Southern Indiana is EBCI Holdings’ first acquisition outside of North Carolina. al rent under the lease with VICI will be

Referendum questions (answer yes or no)

• Do you support expanding the sales of malt beverages (beer) at retail establishments (grocery or convenience stores) within the Qualla Boundary?

• Do you support allowing the Tribal ABC Commission to operate an ABC package store to permit the sale of alcoholic beverages on tribal lands?

• Do you support expanding the sales of malt beverages and wines at restaurants, hotels and other qualified establishments within the Qualla Boundary?

Tribal Council (voters pick two for their community) Birdtown Gloria “Punkin” Griffin Cyndi Lambert Boyd Owle* Albert Rose* Wolfetown Bo Crowe* Chelsea Taylor Saunooke* Jesse Sneed Bill Taylor Yellowhill Stephanie Saunooke French T.W. Price Saunooke Tom Wahnetah* Dave Wolfe* Big Cove Patrick Hill Richard French* Teresa McCoy

Painttown Tommye Saunooke* Dike Sneed* Bentley Tahquette Cherokee County/Snowbird Bucky Brown* William A. “Billy” Brown Janell Rattler Adam Wachacha*

School Board (voters pick one for their community) Big Cove Lavita Hill Kristina Hyatt Birdtown Melanie Lambert Ashford Smith Wolftown Isaac “Ike” Long* Berdie Toineeta

Smoky Mountain News

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER Election Day is coming to Cherokee on Thursday, Sept. 2, with voters set to choose Tribal Council and School Board representatives, as well as weigh in on three alcohol-related referendum questions.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. All 12 Tribal Council seats are up for election, as are the Cherokee School Board seats representing Big Cove, Wolfetown and Birdtown. The top two vote-getters from each community in the Tribal Council race will be sworn in for two-year terms on Monday, Oct. 4.

The top vote-getter from each community in the School Board race will be sworn in for a four-year term.

In order to be considered a valid vote, at least 30% of registered voters must participate in the referendum election. If participation crosses that threshold and the majority of voters approve any or all of the referendum questions, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Board of Elections will certify the results, and they shall be deemed a binding action or law duly passed and ratified by the principal Political signs cover a chief. Any decision made by a referendum vote can corner near the Birdtown be overturned only with another referendum.

Complex in Cherokee.

If the referendum fails, however — including Holly Kays photo due to a lack of participation — the question cannot be brought back before voters for two years.

The EBCI Board of Elections is located in the Ginger Lynn Welch Complex at 810 Acquoni Road in Cherokee and can be reached at 828.359.6361.

On the ballot

August 25-31, 2021

Cherokee voters to choose representatives, alcohol regs

news

Closing for Caesars Southern Indiana expected in September

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Devastation all around, but there is a light T

The social impact of personal decisions To the Editor: Since the beginning of the pandemic I’ve heard many rationalizations to justify the decision not to get a vaccine against COVID19. One that stands out is that this decision is a “personal choice.”

At the other end of the decision-making spectrum is the concept of “social responsibility.” The problem with personal choice is that no decision made that is not isolated from potentially affecting someone else can be truly considered a personal choice. For instance, if I decide to smoke, I’m more likely to need medical services than if I didn’t smoke. Smoking in public can also affect others who are exposed to second-hand smoke.

That’s why there are (social) laws prohibiting smoking in public places and that’s why health insurance companies are justified in charging a higher premium to smokers because this activity is more likely to incur higher medical expenses.

When the COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out, everyone had a decision to make. Was it safe for me? Do I have any pre-existing conditions that make it more likely that I’d have a bad outcome? Do I trust the public health experts who have vetted it and vouched for its safety and effectiveness? These were personal decisions to make.

The social decisions were just as critical, though. For instance, do I have a responsibili-

efforts to save cars and possessions were abandoned as the water came so fast and deep and powerful that it unleashed a primal instinct to just survive and save the lives of loved ones.

Tragically, some didn’t make it, swept away in a maelstrom the likes of which few have ever witnessed.

Scott McLeod

he time stamp on the photo from my iPhone reads 7:29 a.m. It was Wednesday, Aug. 18, a mountain morning full of sunshine and a cool freshness that’s common after rain the day before. Turning onto Wells Road, which connects N.C. 215 and N.C. 110 in Bethel via a bridge across the Pigeon River, I got my first glimpse of the destruction that the river and the rain had wrought the previous night.

Our reporter Cory Vaillancourt had started texting our news staff late Tuesday evening, warning us that things were very bad in Cruso, Bethel, Clyde and Canton. We needed to hit the ground early Wednesday and start reporting on what’s now calling the Great Flood of 2021.

I wasn’t prepared for what I found. It was otherworldly. At 7:30 a.m. the river was still raging, the crops beaten down and the sun rising as mist hovered over the fields. Mud was all over the road and bridge on Wells Road, which is a good 20 feet above the Pigeon.

Heading upriver on N.C. 110 the scenes just got worse.

The workers at a rock yard right on the river were already onsite and cleaning up. The guys who run Accurate Auto Repair just across the street were also already trying to assess the damage. One, wearing a shirt from that business, said, like so many others, that “it just all happened so fast, it was a foot deep and then it was waist deep and rising.” I saw cornstalks on power lines 15 feet in the air across Max Thompson Road, mud several feet deep in low areas.

One story kept repeating itself with frightening regularity:

Editor

Already shellshocked after spending 30 minutes in Bethel, I drove up U.S. 276 and the wreckage only got worse. The valley forged by the East Fork of the Pigeon had homes, cars, outbuildings, boats, tools, furniture, toys and everything else out of place, all order seemingly gone. Huge boulders had been tossed around like they weighed nothing. Slabs of pavement from roads and drive-

LETTERS ty to help my community combat this dangerous virus? Do I have a responsibility to my family and friends not to infect them with the virus? Beyond these considerations I’d add a few more. Do I have a responsibility to my employer not to put myself and fellow employees at risk? Do I have a responsibility to my community to limit the likely financial fallout from business losses and closures caused by widespread virus activity. Would I be responsible for stresses placed on local public and private health services, and limiting or cancelling public activities such as school, concerts and sporting events? Do I have a responsibility to my health insurer to minimize the risk of exposing them to the cost of my care if I get a bad case of COVID19? Like with the smoker, this would be justification for an insurance company to charge a higher premium.

You might argue these are not issues you should need to consider when making a “personal decision” to take or refuse the vaccine.

But there is ample evidence these issues are all very real whether you consider them or not.

They can and will impact you one way or another. So, you are also making a decision about social responsibility whether or not you are consciously doing so. Your decision — combined with those of many others (the social part) — can and will impact the health and safely of your community and beyond, just as much as it will your own health and safety. When you offer your arm for the shot,

ways were stacked against splintered trees.

I heard tragic stories: a man swept from a truckbed by the water and acquaintances not knowing that morning if he had survived; campground refugees who feared for the lives of those they said were washed away while taking refuge in some sort of pavilion.

I was headed out of Cruso by 9:30 a.m. Already, scores of people were at work, the parking lots of the Cruso VFD and the East Fork Baptist Church were packed, DOT workers were already repairing roads, volunteers showing up to do whatever they could. I drove out as roadblocks were being set up to monitor who went into the areas where the devastation was the worst.

By now, the story of this flood is well known. More than two feet of rain came down in Cruso, even more in parts of Jackson and Transylvania counties (see story page 19). The Pigeon crested at 20 feet; it’s depth the days before the storm was two feet. As the river surged that afternoon and evening, the heavens oscillated between periods of torrential rain to sunshine and clear skies.

Now the aftermath. Five souls lost, hundreds of lives upended, local governments, schools, churches and businesses trying to do what they can to help with this tragedy in the midst of a raging pandemic that just won’t go away.

It’s hard to see now, but there is light at the end of this.

There just has to be.

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

you’re offering it for many others. When you don’t, you’re refusing it for others, too.

Glenn Duerr Waynesville

We should restrict lies, misinformation To the Editor: Americans have created for themselves quite a quandary trying to interpret both the literal and the intended meaning of the First Amendment to the Constitution. That portion that states: “Congress shall make no law abridging (which means to shorten or reduce) the freedom of speech” seems now to beg the question; can the ideals of free speech and social justice be in harmony?

A conflict exists between advocates of liberal principles of individual freedom and champions of traditional republicanism, which emphasizes pursuit of the common good. Civil libertarians seem to idolize freedom of expression above all other considerations while others insist that the right to selfexpression must sometimes yield to the greater good of society as a whole. Case in point: COVID-19.

Writers, journalists, newspaper editors (and the like) brood constantly whether protecting the rights of people to express themselves is compatible with reporting, factually, the events of our time. Many people believe that stating: “Views expressed are not necessarily reflective of the opinions of the publish-

er, editor or staff ” are sufficient to absolve any publication of responsibility for what’s printed within its pages. Legally, that’s probably true.

We cannot go back in time and sit with the framers of our Constitution and know for sure what was debated. However, having read the Constitution many times over, I speculate they favored telling the absolute truth at all times. I know of nothing that would disprove that assessment, although reading some letters to editors (for example, from Messrs.

Gaston, Stern, and Taylor), obviously we are not all in agreement on matters involving facts and truth. My BS detector fires off frequently with an ear-splitting clang.

I’m of two minds. As the editor-in-chief of The New Republic (Win McCormack) writes in the September 2021 issue: “One of the most compelling examples of the use of free speech on behalf of the greater good is that of Frederick Douglas, an ex-slave whose writings and oratory helped inspire the abolitionist movement.” Douglass’ views on free speech were unequivocal: “To suppress free speech is a double wrong,” he said. “It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”

The question whether to protect the freedom of the individual to speak freely disregarding the truth or misrepresentation of known facts; or whether to consider the greater good and harm that comes from spreading misinformation, will not be easily resolved. People who choose to remain unvaccinated do so believing they have the right to put other lives at risk. I don’t believe they do but rather are in

F

It’s an important time to remain vigilant wearing a face covering and being within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes of a person who is infected.

Often some of these criteria are met and others not. When not, other considerations come into play, such as indoors versus outdoors, quality of ventilation, consistency of mask wearing, community situation and prevalence, and others.

Once a close contact exposure is identified, the CDC recommendation is quarantine for 14 days, as infection can show itself any time during this period. We have seen people in Haywood County become positive as late as day 12. The recommendation also is testing 5 to 7 days after the exposure. This result does not change the quarantine period, but if a quarantined person tests positive, there may then be close contacts that need to possibly quarantine.

This has not changed.

Last year, CDC did not change the 14day length of the quarantine period, but added two options for how to manage this quarantine period. In doing so, CDC acknowledged that options 2 and 3 had more risk of a quarantined person becoming ill and contributing to community spread, even if that risk is low.

Those option are: • 14 days separated from anyone and everyone.

• Test day 5 and if negative and no symptoms after day 7, the person does not need to spend the remainder separated from anyone and everyone.

• No test, and after day 10, if no symptoms, the person does not need to spend the remainder separated from anyone and everyone.

The second and third options also include following all protective public health

measures through day 14: face covering at all times except when alone, keep a distance of greater than 6 feet from anyone, limit time around anyone else, good hand hygiene.

Right now in schools, it is extremely difficult to follow all of these.

Please be aware, CDC gives guidance; it does not make rules or laws. They look to state and local agencies to apply those guidelines. In other words, they acknowledge the best decisions are based on local conditions.

Options 2 and 3 do not shorten the quarantine period. It bears saying again — they only give options for how to manage that period. Options 2 and 3 leave open the real risk of an infected person being in school.

CDC acknowledges this in providing these options. Throughout the pandemic, the Health Department has not recommended options 2 and 3 because of that risk, even more so in the face of the widespread cases we are seeing especially in the younger child and adult age groups. There is a direct link between what’s happening in the community at home and at work and what happens at school; they cannot be separated. Adults infect kids, particularly at home; both infect others who really cannot afford to get COVID. You may do well; kids may do well.

Others do not. We all are closely intertwined as a community in this risk.

violation of the spirit and intent of the Constitution.

As COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise, especially in areas with higher levels of community transmissions and lower vaccination coverage, I personally lean heavily toward serving the greater good. If that means restricting harmful speech (lies and misinformation), or at least revealing it and condemning it in order to save innocent lives, then that is what we should do.

David L. Snell Franklin

two days of school for them to reverse their optional mask decision.

Many people are trying to understand how they made their initial decision to allow optional masking. Their first attempt was during a special meeting in June, but attorney Pat Smathers counseled them that action would defy state law. So, they waited for the law to expire.

I attended the July 27 meeting when Dr. Mark Jaben and Sarah Henderson clearly outlined the risks of optional masking. They said: • The Delta variant is highly contagious — more than twice as contagious as previous variants.

• The chances of kids carrying infection into their school are much higher than them carrying infection from school to home.

• With optional masking, 1,000 would be quarantined within the first month.

These points should have been sufficient justification for mandatory masking.

Instead, the board chose a misguided wait-

To the Editor: While I welcome the mandatory masking decision the Haywood County School Board made during its Aug. 21 emergency meeting, I’m not ready to pat them on the back and say “atta boy.” It’s shameful that it took over 100 students being quarantined after just

IS THE GOAL We all agree that the goal is to have students in person, learning in a safe environment. The goal all along been that not every case in a school can be prevented, but that one does not become 100. The framework throughout the pandemic has been to structure school in a way that everyone is not a

sions, but take the following information into consideration: Before the vote on July 27, Chairman Chuck Francis said he believes “scientific communities have fallen prey to politics.”

It’s just the opposite! Due to the politicization of the virus by the GOP and the FOX network, science has been distorted and health professionals have been demonized.

By changing his party affiliation to Republican, then appearing on the overtly partisan Fox network with board member Bobby Rogers following the July 27 board meeting, Chairman Francis has cast himself in a highly partisan mindset. Public polling validates the partisan nature of both the network and its right-wing audience.

Finally, it’s noteworthy that board members Larry Henson and David Burnette voted against the masking plan adopted during the Aug. 21 emergency board meeting.

The majority of the anti-mask speakers at the July 27 meeting reside in their districts.

Ask yourself, who do you think has fallen prey?

Myrna Campbell Haywood County 29

Smoky Mountain News

Who has fallen prey to politics?

IN-PERSON SCHOOL

close contact. Then if exposed, quarantine would not be advised. This preserves kids and staff at school. Last year, this approach worked. After two days of school this year, I am sorry the experiment to remove some of the measures that prevent close contact has not worked.

Certain families made choices about their children. And in some cases, the child did otherwise. This opened the door to the need for quarantine once exposed. The guidelines used by Health Department now are the same as applied throughout this entire pandemic. If some are just now coming to grips with the reality of COVID, it is on them and not the Health Department, which has and will continue playing its role so one case doesn’t become 100. The time to be careful and safe is before the exposure, not hoping to bend the guidelines and risk safety afterwards.

I hope every child and staff in quarantine clears their 14 days in good health; that would be fantastic. The school board made a difficult choice after much deliberation.

They appropriately pivoted in the face of accelerating cases and established a framework to pivot again when each of us has done our part. The belief of some that they were bullied is an insult to the deep care and commitment of this board to a safe, in-person school experience for all. And now going forward there is a much better chance for this to happen. How about let’s all pitch in and make it be so.

I trust this answers many of the concerns voiced this week.

For everyone in Haywood County, be well, be kind, and be careful, especially right now.

(Dr. Mark Jaben is the medical director for the Haywood County Department of Health and Human Services.)

August 25-31, 2021

BY MARK JABEN G UEST COLUMNIST Two big things are happening in Haywood County this week.

First, a tremendous outpouring of help and support from people coming here in the aftermath of the devastating flood. Already, though, one member of a group has developed COVID and is hospitalized. The first rule of incident management is don’t become part of the incident; don’t contribute to the disaster. The fact is if someone gets COVID and has to isolate, or has a close contact exposure and should quarantine, they cannot do the good work they came here to do.

And it’s not just COVID. Messing around in the muck and debris raises the risk of other diseases, like tetanus and hepatitis. A tetanus shot is only protective if immunized before the wound. So by all means, come here and help, just come prepared and safe.

Better yet, come with one of the organized groups who have experience with relief work.

While here, be careful to avoid being a close contact with anyone you work around.

The challenge of COVID has been that a person is contagious days before getting symptoms. This community is already struggling with high prevalence and a very stretched hospital and EMS system. Please come and help; you are much appreciated, just don’t contribute to the disaster.

The second big thing happening is the school board decision to pivot to requiring masks in the face of rising cases here. There are many questions about quarantining and close contact, and frankly, much misunderstanding around just what the CDC recommendations actually say.

Throughout this pandemic, the Health Department has defined close contact as not

and-see approach.

By law, the board is a nonpartisan entity, so party politics should not guide their deci-

30

A&E

Smoky Mountain News

Complementing the community New restaurant brings Mediterranean flare to Sylva

The most recent restaurant addition to downtown Sylva, Jame is a Mediterraneanthemed establishment on Main Street.

The interior of Jame.

(photo: Courtesy of Jame)

(photo: Nick Breedlove)

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITOR ince they set up shop in Sylva just about three and a half years ago, Don and Cecelia Panicko have opened a café and a speakeasy, had a child and got married, all while weathering a global pandemic and the continuing economic fallout within the restaurant industry nationwide.

And yet, most recently, they launched their latest endeavor — Jame, a fine dining experience bringing forth the essence of Mediterranean cuisine, which also includes a specialized market to boot.

“The timing is interesting, for sure. Having a kid at the same time as the pandemic and opening a restaurant — it’s been a struggle at times, but we’re here to stay,” Don said, leaning back into a chair at Jame with a humbled grin. “And there’s a lot of things that we’ve longed to do to complement the community.

We want to keep doing different things and giving people other options that aren’t here.”

To preface, the Panickos also run the White Moon café on Mill Street (with the Dark Moon speakeasy in the back of the café). Located near the corner of West Main and Walnut Street in downtown, Jame (an ancient Arabic name meaning “gatherer”) opened last month and has already become a foodie hit for locals and tourists alike.

In terms of the menu, the Mediterraneanstyle of ingredients and presentation mostly

S

focuses on herbs and vegetables (which parlays itself into several vegetarian and gluten-free friendly offerings). There are protein options, such as shrimp and chicken (lamb will be available soon).

“With the menu we have, the produce and meat is aimed at making your body feel invigorated, and not run down like you can feel when consuming processed foods,” Don said.

So, besides the fresh factor, savory ingredients and nutritional value, what is it about Mediterranean dining that really sets it apart?

“With Mediterranean food, it’s about dishes that are meant for sharing, for trying a little bit of everything with everyone at your table — it’s like a pick-your-own adventure book,” Don said. “Each dish is this flavor journey, these cooling and warming sensations all in one bite, where it’s cucumbers with chili peppers or toasted seeds with greens.”

Directly next door to Jame is “The Market at Jame,” a grab-n-go spot where you can purchase pre-made items and other ingredients found on the menu.

“We’re constantly working on what we want to sell at the market to people who work here in downtown or visitors simply passing through,” Don said. “We’re seeing what’s selling over there and making sure we are able to provide what our customers are looking for, whether it be a fresh sandwich for lunch or produce to bring home to cook for dinner.”

Sitting in Jame, one takes in the cozy, inti-

Don and Cecelia Panicko with their son, Dante.

“Each dish is this flavor journey, these cooling and warming sensations all in one bite, where it’s cucumbers with chili peppers or toasted seeds with greens.”

— Don Panicko

mate atmosphere of the establishment. It’s meant to be embracing and welcoming, but also one-on-one with that sort of “stumbled across this place by happy accident” happenstance the Panickos aim for with the word-of-mouth approach. Heck, if you didn’t notice the small neon “Jame” sign in the window, you might still continue on your way, none the wiser.

“We like it when folks just wander by and stop to look in the window. Their curiosity is sparked and they come in to see what we’re all about,” Don said. “There’s this really great energy in here of discovery and new experiences through food many folks might have never had before.”

With Jame now off and running, one can’t help but also be in awe of the rapidly rising culinary scene in the small mountain community. For a town of just under 3,000 residents, the quality and number of fine dining options in Sylva is astounding — something noted and recently taken into account by this newspaper with the opening of Ilda (fine Italian/Appalachian cuisine) a couple blocks down Main Street from Jame.

“There’s a lot of progressive-minded people in Sylva right now looking to do great things, and it all feels genuine,” Don said. “People are not only opening new restaurants, they’re doing a good job of not oversaturating the culinary scene with the same themes and menu items. Everyone is doing something different — it’s an exciting time right now in this town.”

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

A green pepper along the Pigeon River in Bethel. (photo: Garret K. Woodward)

Ode to the green peppers, ode to the people of Haywood

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The inaugural “YerkFest” will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Innovation Station and Front Street Takeout in Dillsboro.

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In response to devastating floods in Haywood County last week, there will be a benefit concert for victims kicking off at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at the Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.

The 24th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival will return from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, in downtown Sylva.

3 4

The Highlands Mountaintop Rotary Art & Craft Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 28-29 at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in downtown.

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eye — a reminder of where we were, where we are, and where we may go from this point.

I’ve also felt this deep sense of deflation during the flood coverage by our newspaper and via other media outlets. It has really shaken my personal and professional self to the core.

As a 15-year journalist, I’ve covered it all — people, places, and things — natural disasters included. And I’ve slowly meandered away from hard news coverage over the last decade, and for many reasons, most of which being the sense of deflation and helplessness that comes with covering these unexpected events.

Smoky Mountain News

Held on the grounds of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre, the “Island Escape” celebration will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, in Waynesville.

August 25-31, 2021

he green peppers. All of those damn green peppers. Throughout the coverage of this devastating flood from Tropical Storm Fred last Tuesday here in Western North Carolina, I keep seeing green peppers. Everywhere.

The mighty Pigeon River rose over 20 feet from the torrential rain, pummeling the small outlying mountain communities of Cruso and Bethel, onward through downtown Canton and beyond.

A bulldozer of fast-paced water overtaking homes, businesses and outdoor recreational locations, forever shifting the appearance of the landscape and its habitants — death, destruction, a sea of mud and water.

And yet, on the riverbank. On the road.

In front yards. In ditches. Atop bridges. And so forth: green peppers. Thousands and thousands of green peppers. I’ve seen the green peppers for miles and miles along the river and beyond. There are probably Haywood County green peppers in East Tennessee via the Pigeon by now.

I think of the farmland these green peppers were ripped from the earth. I think of the farmers who lost their entire crop mere weeks from harvest, let alone the economic hardship our local/regional agricultural sectors have faced during the pandemic. I think of the places and faces these green peppers have seen in their travels — near and far, for good or ill.

And also, I think of how we are all connected by the green peppers, this object we’ve constantly seen this week, whether as a flood survivor, law enforcement, volunteer, or journalist. As we navigate our way, whether physically or emotionally, through “all this,” there’s always a green pepper we’re stepping over, around or just out of the corner of our

HOT PICKS

arts & entertainment

This must be the place

An existential crisis of sorts always seems to rear its ugly head in moments like right now. It’s a lot more enticing to write about music, art and oddball characters (uplifting topics to promote positivity and passion) and turn your journalistic back to the dark clouds outside your front door.

It’s not that I’m ignoring everyday realities, I just found myself burned out on it years ago and never looked back. My ethos has been to champion the lightness of artistic endeavors to balance out the heaviness of hard news.

And yet, destruction in your own backyard is the hardest part of this gig, knowing you have to go into the unknown abyss, in an effort to track down other confused and shell-shocked human beings, to ask them questions with worried, empty eyes looking right back into yours.

You talk to them. Peel away the layers, only to jump into your truck, the one vehicle not covered in mud, and return to your quiet apartment in downtown Waynesville with electricity, clean water, food and beer in the fridge. This is not the case, well, back there where they sit and ponder the future as another day comes to a close.

You plop down at your desk in the apartment and go through the audio recordings.

You sift through the pages of hastily scribbled notes of where you were and what you saw. Type wildly and with purpose. Publish the article. Sit back in your desk chair. Let out a big sigh. Do it all over again tomorrow.

Although I’ve been around the block in this business several times, this most recent event has shifted a lot of my mind, body and soul. I’m shook. I’m floating, trying to figure out where solid ground is. I will never be the same after this, and I’m just on the sidelines.

Imagine those at the center of the madness.

What now? Where to from here?

None of us here will ever forget Aug. 17, 2021. It is, by far, the most destructive natural disaster to hit our beloved Haywood County. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed. Cars mangled and flipped. Homes and bridges pushed into the fast-paced river.

Lives lost. One person still unaccounted for.

And yet, it could still have been much worse had the flood happened at night or if Cruso didn’t have adequate cell service like it was notorious for lacking just a few years ago.

Now will begin a colossal cleanup effort that may take months (perhaps years) before some sense of normalcy returns to Cruso, Bethel and Canton. It was shocking and horrific.

But, also uplifting with everyone coming together to help their neighbors. My heart is heavy and filled with sorrow and compassion for the citizens of Haywood. Western North Carolina is hurting so deeply right now. And yet, the fine folks of these mountains hold steady, and will eventually transcend this tragic day.

My intent and pursuits in journalism have shifted an awful lot in the last few days.

I sit here and wonder what tomorrow will bring. We will never forget this the great flood of 2021. We will never forget seeing the green peppers. And we are, once again, reminded that we’re, truly, in this together.

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

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arts & entertainment

On the beat

Mountain Heritage Day performers announced

Doyle & Merrell.

Summer Brooke & Brayden.

Flood benefit at Water’n Hole

August 25-31, 2021

In response to devastating floods in Haywood County last week, there will be a benefit for victims kicking off at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at the Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.

Live music will be provided by Doyle & Merrell, Ginny McAfee, Lauren Sneed and Bridgette Gossett. Beer sold from the donated kegs will go to the fundraiser. There will also be $10 barbecue plates provided by Haywood Smokehouse, a 50/50 raffle, with other donated items to be auctioned off.

Supply donations will be accepted all day. There will also be a volunteer signup onsite to help with the ongoing cleanup in Cruso, Bethel and Canton. All proceeds will go to the flood victims and their families.

Ready for ‘YerkFest’?

Erica Waldrop. (photo: Quintin Ellison)

Smoky Mountain News

Celebrating the life of the late Erica Waldrop, the inaugural “YerkFest” will be held from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Innovation Station and Front Street Takeout in Dillsboro.

The showcase will directly follow the culmination of the Greening Up The Mountains festival. Live music at “YerkFest” will be provided by Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (Americana/bluegrass), PMA (reggae/soul), Woolybooger & The Ragtime Drifters (Americana/indie) and Shain Weston Lyles (singer-songwriter).

Waldrop passed away in a tragic car accident last winter.

She was a friend to many in Sylva and greater Jackson County. A shoulder to lean on. A smile to brighten your day.

Waldrop was many things to many people. Of note, she was a social justice warrior who stood proudly at any and all community marches, most recently the Black Lives Matter and Confederate statue gatherings in front of the Sylva fountain.

She was also a helping hand and the life of the party. If you were passionate not only about life, but what you wanted out of it, she was right there to amplify those aspirations into the universe. She never met a stranger, and was always connecting the dots of people, places and things within any social setting.

Free and open to the public. Donations will also be accepted for the Erica S. Waldrop Scholarship, which is given to a graduate student at Western Carolina University who are in 32 the speech language pathology program.

When Mountain Heritage Day makes a triumphant return to the Western Carolina University campus in Cullowhee on Saturday, Sept. 25, it will come with a full day of live music.

The annual festival of Southern Appalachian traditions and culture is renowned as a showcase of bluegrass, oldtime and traditional music, as well as family activities, vendors and the region’s finest arts and crafts. The 2020 festival was an abbreviated, virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have the perfect lineup for us to get back in front of a live audience. Many of our favorites are returning and we get to welcome some new artists, too,” said Christy Ashe, WCU special events director and festival chair. “We will be following COVID-19 protocols and are actively encouraging everyone to get vaccinated, so we can actually return to being together in this celebration.”

Ashe announced the schedule for the Blue Ridge Stage: • Summer Brooke & Brayden kick off the music at 10 a.m. Known for leading the IBMA award-winning Mountain Faith Band, the popular brother/sister bluegrass virtuosos graciously provided the concert for 2020’s Mountain Heritage Day virtual performance.

• When Whitewater Bluegrass Company performs at 11 a.m., it will mark a major milestone, as it will be their 25th time playing at Mountain Heritage Day. More or less founded at WCU in 1982, the band blends its own brand of bluegrass, country ballads and mountain swing with down-home humor.

• At noon, the Apple Blossom Cloggers, a dance troupe of 7 to 9 years old girls, join Whitewater Bluegrass Company for lively clogging demonstration, followed by presentation of the Mountain Heritage Awards at 12:15 p.m. to an individual and organization in recognition of work within Southern Appalachian history, culture and folklore.

• The Queen Family starts picking at 12:45 p.m. Known as master musicians and experts in regional lore, the Queen Family were honored with the 1999 “Mountain Heritage Award” and the 2001 “Brown-Hudson Award” by the North Carolina Folklore Society.

• Phil and Gaye Johnson at 1:30 p.m. play guitar and sing an acoustic blend of bluegrass, folk and favorites. The prolific songwriters and storytellers from Polk County travel across the country to perform and are among the longest running repeat performers at Mountain Heritage Day. • The Grascals, three-time Grammy nominees and two-time IBMA “Entertainer of the Year,” perform at 2:15 p.m. The Bailey Mountain Cloggers will join the Grascals at 3:30 p.m. for foot-stamping and high stepping mastery that is a perennial of Mountain Heritage Day. • At 3:45 p.m. the Merle Monroe Band will bring their mix of Bill Monroe-style bluegrass with Merle Haggard’s style of songs of the common man (hence the name) to the stage for their own brand of bluegrass, gospel and traditional country.

For more information and updates, go to www.mountainheritageday.com.

On the beat

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host karaoke at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, The High Strangeness Aug. 28 and Arnold Hill (rock) Sept. 4. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.0350 or www.boojumbrewing.com.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Bob Zullo (guitar/vocals) Aug. 28 and Russ Wilson & Hank Bones (swing/jazz) Sept. 4. All shows begin at 7 p.m. Limited seating. Reservations required. Ticket price and dinner menu to be announced.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• Concerts on the Creek (Sylva) at Bridge Park will host SKA City (ska/rock) Sept. 3. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. www.mountainlovers.com.

ALSO:

• Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.369.4080 or www.coweeschool.org.

• Elevated Mountain Distilling Company will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public.

828.734.1084 or www.elevatedmountain.com.

• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will be held at the Town Square from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Trudition Aug. 27 and Silly Ridge Roundup Sept. 3. Free and open to the public. www.highlandschamber.org.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “YerkFest” w/Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (Americana/bluegrass), PMA (reggae/soul), Woolybooger & The Ragtime Drifters (Americana/indie) and Shain Weston Lyles (singer-songwriter). from 6 to 11 p.m. Aug. 28, Shane Meade Aug. 29 and Tim Williams Sept. 5. All events are free and begin at 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends. Free and open to the public. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Lake Junaluska Conference Center will host the Haywood Community Band “Under The Big Tent” at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29. Free and open to the public.

• “Pickin’ on the Square” (Franklin) will host Outlaw Whiskey (country) Aug. 28 and Casey Clark (country) Sept. 4. All shows start at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Located on Main Street. www.franklin-chamber.com.

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. www.rathskellerfranklin.com.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com

• Southern Porch (Canton) will host semiregular live music on the weekends.

828.492.8009 or www.southern-porch.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

828.743.3000 or www.theuglydogpub.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

828.526.8364 or www.theuglydogpub.com.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.

• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

828.926.7440 or www.valley-tavern.com.

• Saturdays On Pine (Highlands) will be held at the Kelsey-Hutchinson Park from 6 to 8:30 p.m. with A Social Function Sept. 4 and Full Circle Sept. 11. Free and open to the public. www.highlandschamber.org.

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host karaoke on Thursday nights and a special benefit for flood victims at 5 p.m. Aug. 27 w/Doyle & Merrell, Ginny McAfee, Lauren Sneed and Bridgette Gossett. 828.456.4750 or www.facebook.com/waternhole.bar.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host Grains of Sand (soul/beach) at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 4. For more information and to purchase tickets, click

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

828.743.6000 or www.whitesidebrewing.com.

FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT PAWS

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Brother Aug. 28 and Arnold Hill (rock) Sept.

3. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.349.2337 or www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Prophets of Time Aug. 27, the “Two-Year Anniversary Party” at noon Aug. 29 and Colby Deitz (singer-songwriter) Sept. 3. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.349.2337 or www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Aces Down Aug. 27 and Somebody’s Child (Americana) Aug. 28. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or www.mtnlayersbeer.com.

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host semiregular live music on the weekends and Shane Meade (rock/soul) at 7:30 p.m. Sept.

17. 828.641.9797 or www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host “Bluegrass with Blue” Aug. 27 and Sept. 3, and Brown Mountain

17TH ANNUAL

Wine & Beer Tasting & Silent Auction

Smoky Mountain News

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host John Friday Aug. 27, Brad Heller & The Fustics Aug. 28, Aunt Vicki 2 p.m.

Aug. 29 and Drum Circle Aug. 31. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

A community jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, 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 — year-round.

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.

on www.smokymountainarts.com.

August 25-31, 2021

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

828.634.0078 or www.curraheebrew.com.

Bryson City community jam

Lightning Bugs Aug. 28, Hustle Souls Sept.

4 and Granny’s Mason Jar Sept. 5. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Free and open to the public. 888.905.7238 or www.noc.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 www.balsamfallsbrewing.com.

Sept. 4 • 6:30-9 p.m. • $25/advance, $30/door Lands Creek Cabins • Harmony Hall • 3336 Balltown Rd., Bryson City All Proceeds to Benefit Paws Animal Shelter

Food Catered by Raquel Moore • Live Music by The Freestylers Purchase tickets at PAWS Thrift Store or at the door on the day of the event

33

arts & entertainment

On the wall Want to paint, sip craft beer?

The “WNC Paint Night” will return to local breweries in Haywood, Jackson and Swain counties.

With step-by-step instructions, you will paint yourself a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

This is pure fun to do while you sip on something tasty at the brewery.

Events will be held at the following locations: Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 16, Oct. 14, Nov. 11 and Dec. 9; and Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 29, Oct. 27, Nov. 17 and Dec. 22; BearWaters Brewing (Canton) from 6 to 8 p.m.

Sept. 2 and 30, Nov. 12 and Dec. 23.

August 25-31, 2021

• Gayle Woody’s work is now on view through the end of August at the Rotunda Gallery, located in the Jackson County Public Library in downtown Sylva. Currently, Woody focuses her work on printmaking, ceramic tiles, and book making. Open by appointment, BarkWood Studio is one stop on the Blue Ridge Craft Trails, a new online site that promotes craft, craft artists, and cultural tourism in 25 Western North Carolina counties. www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/barkwood-studio.

• A showcase of art by Gosia Babcock will be on display in the Meeting Room through the end of August at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Visit to take a closer look, but call ahead to make sure the Meeting Room is open to the public when you plan to visit.

828.524.3600.

ALSO:

• Art by Jackson County author/storyteller Gary Carden will be on display through the end of August at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 828.524.3600.

Smoky Mountain News

• “A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art,” an exhibit at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian (located in Cherokee), features over 50 works of art in a variety of media by over 30 Eastern Band of

34

Space is limited. Reserve your seat by texting Robin Arramae at 828.400.9560. To learn more, visit the Facebook page @paintwnc or Instagram @wnc_paint_events.

HCAC ‘Artist Member Exhibit’ The “Artist Member Exhibit” will run through Aug. 28 at the Haywood County Arts Council on Main Street in Waynesville.

Featuring works from 38 HCAC artists, working in a range of mediums from fiber to photorealism paintings.

For more information, click on www.haywoodarts.org.

Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and Cherokee Nation artists. The exhibition highlights the use of the written Cherokee language, a syllabary developed by Cherokee innovator Sequoyah (circa 1776–1843). Cherokee syllabary is frequently found in the work of Cherokee artists as a compositional element or the subject matter of the work itself. The exhibition will be on view at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee through Oct. 31. Learn more by visiting www.mci.org.

• The “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 828.349.4607 or contact Pat Mennenger at pm14034@yahoo.com.

• The Haywood County Arts Council’s “Art Works @ The Library,” a collaborative program between the Haywood County Public Library system and the HCAC, is currently showcasing works by artist Cayce Moyer at the Canton Library. Moyer blends the worlds of high-brow and low-brow work. Classically trained at Savannah College of Art and Design, her portfolio includes drawing, painting, sculpture, illustration, graphic design, murals, and set prop painting for theatre and TV.

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ROTARY ART & CRAFT SHOW The Highlands Mountaintop Rotary Art & Craft Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Aug. 28-29 at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in downtown. There will be over 80 artisan vendors, featuring fine art paintings/prints, rustic furniture, home decor, blacksmithing, pottery, jewelry, sculpture, and more. Mask required. For more information, text or call 828.318.9430 or visit the Facebook page.

‘Artist Support Grants’ available The Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center in Franklin is currently seeking applications for “Artist Support Grants” for 2021–2022. The deadline to apply is Sept. 30.

These grants support artists in all disciplines with funding for projects that will have a significant impact on the advancement of their professional artistic careers.

The “Artist Support Grant” program is managed through a partnership with local arts councils to serve artists in Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. Funding is provided by the North Carolina Arts Council.

Artists at any stage of their careers, emerging or established, are eligible to apply for grants in all disciplines, such as

visual art and craft, traditional art forms, music composition, film/video, literature and playwriting, and choreography and dance.

Types of fundable projects include the creation of new work, purchase of equipment and materials, and professional development workshops.

Complete funding guidelines and applications are available online at www.coweeschool.org. Grant awards generally range from $500-$1,000.

Applications must be received by Sept.

30. This year, they will also offer an online application.

Informational workshops for interested artists will be offered online and in person. Visit www.coweeschool.org for updated workshop dates and times. For more information, contact Laura Brooks at maconheritagecenter@gmail.com or 828.369.4080.

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Smoky Mountain News

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On the stage

Smoky Mountain News

August 25-31, 2021

arts & entertainment

On the street

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HART presents ‘Island Escape’ Held on the grounds of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre, the “Island Escape” celebration will be held from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 28, in Waynesville.

You will feel the vibrations coming from the Latitude Adjustment Steel Band with Hawaiian torches lighting the way.

Then, there’s a moment when you are there for Mehealani’s Polynesian Entertainment direct from Atlanta, Georgia, featuring top Hawaiian hula, fire dancing, and much more.

This evening of music and dancing will also include a delicious “Castaway Supper” catered by Arlene Cotler of Asheville.

There will even be an auction for a specially designed hand carved piece of glass art

by Lisa Hoffman.

A well-known local artist, Hoffman’s works can be seen in the Renwick Gallery of American Art, the White House, the Robert Wyland Gallery in Hawaii and Alaska Ocean Island Visitors Center, just to mention a few. The piece to be auctioned is called “Family Reunion of Humpback Whales.”

“Island Escape” will be an indoor/outdoor event with plenty of fresh air. The

Fangmeyer Theatre doors will be open to create the feeling of being in Hawaii offering the fresh air as if you were on the beach at Waikiki.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, call 828.456.6322 or click on www.harttheatre.org.

• Mountain Makers Craft Market will be held from noon to 4 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at 308 North Haywood Street in downtown Waynesville. Over two dozen artisans selling handmade and vintage goods. Special events will be held when scheduled. www.mountainmakersmarket.com.

• 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 Street 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 a strolling musician. Leashed pets are welcome. Outdoor event. Current Covid-19 safety protocols will be followed and enforced.

828.488.7857.

ALSO:

Broadway classic at HART From legendary theatrical team Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, a production of the legendary musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” will hit the stage Aug. 27-Sept. 19 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

This show features songs that have gone on to become pop and musical theatre standards, including “Any Dream Will Do,” “Close Every Door,” “One More Angel In Heaven” and “Go Go Go Joseph.”

The biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors jumps off the page into vibrant life in this musical comedy.

Told almost entirely through song, it’s a story of family, betrayal, perseverance, forgiveness and redemption.

This beloved tale has mesmerized audiences for decades through its wide variety of musical styles, from country to calypso to rock-n-roll, as we follow Joseph and his incredible series of adventures.

Performance dates are at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27, Sept. 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, and at 2 p.m. Aug. 28-29, Sept. 5, 12 and 19.

For more information and/or to purchase tickets, click on www.harttheatre.org or call the HART box office at 828.456.6322. This show is suitable for all ages.

On the shelf

Jeff Minick

S

designs and builds a studio for him for his works of art.

Though The Lighthouse does offer stories of rescue on the high seas and ends with one particularly dramatic storm, and though the finale packs a wallop of a surprise, this is a quieter novel than most. Through Ethan we can reflect on various ideas and circum-

“Arriving at the house, Ethan thanked them all for their hospitality and made ready to leave with as little fuss as possible. But it seemed they were loath to see him go, wanted to ask a hundred more questions about being a lighthouse keeper, about daring rescues and ‘storms of the

In another part of The Lighthouse, Ethan remembers all of those from his boyhood who had encouraged him: a social worker, a teacher, a gym instructor, the manager of a supermarket where he worked, a counselor at church who held “his hands firm on the boy’s shoulders, eye to eye, saying, ‘Ethan, you’ll be a good, strong man.”

And Ethan becomes that man.

Throughout the story, though a recluse of the soul, he gives himself unstintingly and freely to those around him, both acquaintances and strangers, rescuing some from the storms at sea, rescuing others like Elsie from the storms of the psyche.

Right now our culture is torn apart by division, hatred, and despair. Politics have sliced apart family and friends. The savage arguments over the efficacy of the vaccine for COVID-19 are only the latest indication of our disordered selves.

In The Lighthouse we find the antidotes for our pain, the vaccine, if you will, against these maladies: an appreciation of beauty, sacrifice for others, kindness, mercy, love, and forgiveness.

(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)

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Smoky Mountain News

stances — solitude, loneliness, the meaning of joy, the nuances of the past. Particularly for those of us who spend a good number of our hours and days alone, devoid of human contact except by email and phone, we can find much here that speaks to our minds and hearts.

At one point on his vacation walks, Ethan enjoys a lunch with a farming family he meets and takes a walk with the children.

This description of the end of that encounter illustrates both O’Brian’s beautiful writing and Ethan’s loneliness:

century.’ The older boys were especially shiningeyed with visions as they tried to imagine his life. The girl insisted, in her little bird voice, that they would all go stay with him on his island.

The parents made him promise to come and visit if he was ever back this way. Ethan said nothing more, and shook their hands before heading down the lane.

“About a quarter mile farther along, he stopped by the side of the road, sat down on the grass, and put his face in his hands.

Unable to explain to himself why he was so overcome with emotion, he dried his eyes, got up, and continued on his way.”

When Ghosts Come Home

August 25-31, 2021

o it’s a late Thursday afternoon, and I’m sitting on the front porch finishing up a novel when my eyes prickled, and then blurred, and the old saltwater ran down my age-raddled cheeks.

Is there any sight more pathetic or even more ludicrous than an old guy weeping over a book?

Thank heavens none of the neighborhood children witnessed this spectacle. Who knows what nightmares that event might have induced?

I’ve read nearly all of Canadian Writer author Michael O’Brien’s novels. If secured with rubber bands, most of them could easily serve in the place of bricks for a street riot. Despite their obesity, however, I have always enjoyed O’Brien’s work. He’s a painter as well as a writer, and brings an artist’s eye to his prose.

His latest piece of fiction is The Lighthouse (Ignatius Press, 2020, 201pages).

Though slimmer than his other volumes, The Lighthouse again reveals the immense talents of this writer.

Here we meet Ethan McQuarry. Deserted by his father, raised by an abusive alcoholic mother, and then abandoned by her as well, Ethan drops out of school, lives for a time on the streets, works for a lumber operation, and then finds a post as the keeper of a lighthouse in Nova Scotia. His solitude and his love of the tiny island that serves as his home eventually help heal him of the wounds suffered in his childhood. He becomes an eclectic reader, rebuilds a small boat that has washed up on the rocks of the island, and turns his hand to woodcarving, using chisels and paint to make beautiful sculptures.

Ethan maintains contact with other people during his visits to the local town for some of his supplies — the state provides him with fuel and food staples — and during his annual two-week vacation, when he explores the coastline by foot and by bus. He befriends Elsie Whitty, the owner of the town’s bed and breakfast, and knows such people as the librarian and the post-mistress.

He also receives occasional visitors, most of whom are curious to see the lighthouse up close: some Japanese tourists, for example, and a beautiful young woman who breaks Ethan’s heart simply by talking with her. Of these people, only Ross Campbell, a budding young marine biologist, eventually makes a friend of Ethan. Ross helps Ethan get his refurbished boat into the water, and even

for a luncheon, reading & discussion of his new book,

arts & entertainment

A light in our darkness: Michael O’Brien’s The Lighthouse

JOIN WILEY CASH

828.452.4251 susanna@mtnsouthmedia.com

37

38

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Second fatal bear attack in Smokies history confirmed Bear caused 2020 Hazel Creek death, autopsy shows

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS EDITOR man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died due to a bear attack, making Patrick Madura’s death the second bear-related fatality in the park’s history.

The news comes following release of a final report from the N.C. Chief Medical Examiner identifying trauma from the attack as the most likely cause of death.

“Bears are an iconic symbol in the Smokies, but they are also dangerous wild animals, and their behavior is sometimes unpredictable,” said Supervisory Wildlife Biologist Bill Stiver. “There are inherent risks associated with hiking and camping in bear country. Black bears are the largest predator in the park, and although rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injury and death.”

Madura, a 43-year-old Illinois resident, was found dead on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, after backpackers hiking the Hazel Creek Trail in Swain County discovered an unoccupied tent at Campsite 82 with a single sleeping bag inside. Looking across the creek, they saw a bear dragging a human body. The hikers left quickly to find cell coverage, and dispatch received word of the incident by 7 p.m.

Law enforcement rangers and wildlife officers were dispatched to the scene immediately, arriving shortly after midnight and confirming the report of a deceased adult human male. They also observed a bear actively scavenging the remains, leading the rangers to euthanize the animal. Inside the tent, they found clothing, camping gear, personal items, and Madura’s ID, according to the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s preliminary summary of the circumstances surrounding Madura’s death.

At the time, park officials were unsure whether the bear had caused Madura’s death or whether it had come across his body after he died. In 2018, a bear was found scavenging a man’s body about 2 miles from Cades Cove, but an autopsy found the man had died due to a methamphetamine overdose, with the bear only touching the body after the man’s death.

In both instances, the park’s wildlife biologists decided that euthanization was necessary because the bear in question had already learned that human bodies can be a food

An iconic species of the Smokies, bears rarely hurt humans but on rare occasions may view them as prey. NPS photo

A

source. The animal that killed Madura was a 240-pound adult male in good health and with no abnormalities.

Park officials have no theories as to what prompted the attack, Stiver said, and rangers had no previous history with the bear responsible.

Madura had a backcountry permit for only one night at the campsite, Sept. 8, and

the chief medical examiner’s summary noted that low temperatures between Sept. 8 and Sept. 11 sat in the low-to-mid 50s, with rainfall during that period — clothing and other items in Madura’s tent were wet when rangers found them, and Madura was clothed only in a T-shirt and sneakers.

However, a July 29 autopsy report from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center conclud-

While hundreds of bear convicts are reported each year (below) most years have from none to one bear-inflicted injuries. NPS graph

ed that a bear attack, not environmental factors, was the most likely cause of death. The body had multiple puncture wounds consistent with bear claw and bite marks, some of which showed hemorrhage to the surrounding tissues — that would not be the case if the injuries had happened after Madura’s death.

“Numerous photographs and reports were reviewed for this case,” the report reads. “Per investigation, the decedent’s remains were found across a creek from his campsite.

Additionally, the decedent’s food bag with evidence of scavenging was found across the creek as well. There appeared to be an area of disturbance located near his campsite with evidence of drag marks to the creek. A necropsy was performed on the black bear that was found scavenging the remains, and contents of its gastrointestinal tract were consistent with human tissue. Given the investigative findings and autopsy findings it is most likely that the decedent died as a result of a bear attack.”

Given that the park is home to an estimated 1,900 black bears and more than 12 million annual visitors, injuries caused by bears are extremely rare, occurring only about once a year, and sometimes not even that frequently. Fatal bear attacks are even less common — Madura’s death marks only the second time in the park’s 87-year history that a person has died due to a predatory bear attack.

The first recorded instance occurred on May 21, 2000, when 50-year-old Glenda Ann Bradley, a beloved Sevier County elementary school teacher, took a walk on the Little River Trail with her ex-husband Ralph Hill. Hill went off-trail to fish, and Bradley, an experienced hiker, walked down the trail alone while she waited for him. An hour later, Hill returned to the trail to find Bradley’s backpack on the ground and two black bears — an adult female and yearling cub — mauling her body about 50 yards away.

When living in or visiting bear country, it’s important to follow BearWise recommendations to avoid experiencing a bear encounter or contributing to the likelihood that somebody else will.

Hikers should travel in groups of three or more, carry bear spray, comply with all backcountry closures, properly follow food storage regulations, and remain at a safe viewing distance from bears at all times. If attacked by a black bear, rangers strongly recommend fighting back with any object available. Remember that the bear may view humans as prey. In this circumstance, people should attempt to appear as large as possible and not run or turn away from the bear.

The park takes active measures in the backcountry to prevent human-bear conflicts, including providing aerial storage cables for backpackers to hang their gear and food, educating visitors on how to respond during a backcountry bear encounter, and closing backcountry campsites when bear activity is reportedly high in a given area.

For more information about bear safety, visit www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/blackbears.htm or www.bearwise.org.

outdoors

The Haywood County Fair will be held Aug. 26-29 in Waynesville. File photo

Fair time is here the Riding on Faith equestrian show followed by a rodeo. Other events will include a sheep show, variety show, Cowboy Circus, Hogway Speedway, and the continued carnival, petting zoo and exhibit hall. n Saturday’s packed schedule lasts from 9 a.m. into evening. Along with continuing events, the day will feature a tractor pull, goat show, baking contest judging, dairy and beef cattle shows, the Mile High Band and cloggers, an ice cream eating contest, a watermelon eating contest, a natural beauty contest and a Ricky Gunter country concert.

Don’t forget to stop by the mechanical bull. n The fair will wind down Sunday with Cowboy Church at 11 a.m., followed by a rabbit show, WNC Jeepers parade and display, truck pull, Haywood Idol contest, swine show and more.

Learn more at www.smokymountaineventcenter.org/fair-2021.

August 25-31, 2021

It’s fair week in Haywood County, with a full schedule of events planned Thursday, Aug. 26, through Sunday, Aug. 29, at the Smoky Mountain Event Center in Waynesville.

While the 48-page fair guide at www.smokymountaineventcenter.org/fair2021/fair-events has the full lineup, here are a few highlights: n Thursday will begin with a morning sneak preview for senior citizens. The lineup of afternoon and evening events starts at 4:30 p.m. with a tractor skills course competition, followed by a petting zoo, bingo night, variety shows, the Cowboy Circus, and of course the carnival and exhibit hall.

Opening ceremonies will be at 5 p.m. n Start out Friday afternoon with a cake walk at 4 p.m., then afterward head to the Special Persons Livestock Show, an open jam with the Mountain Bridge Band, and

Play futsal

Motorcycle crash causes death on Virginia Parkway An Aug. 14 motorcycle crash on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Floyd, Virginia, left a man dead.

Roanoke, Virginia, resident Craig Dickerson, 58, was driving the bike north

when it left the road near milepost 171 at approximately 5:38 p.m., ejecting him and causing him serious injury. First responders transported him by ambulance to Carillion New River Valley Medical Center in Radford and later to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death on the Parkway. For safe driving tips, visit www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/driving-safety.htm.

Smoky Mountain News

Registration is open for futsal, a type of indoor soccer, through Aug. 31 in Jackson County.

The adult league is open to players who are at least 14 years old and in high school. The cost per team is $200, with a maximum of six teams in the league. Players can also sign up to be added to a free agent team. Games will be played on Thursday nights in Cullowhee starting Sept. 16.

Register at either the Cullowhee or Cashiers rec center, or online at rec.jacksonnc.org. To sign up as a free agent, contact Andrew Sherling at 828.293.3053, ext. 6 or andrewsherling@jacksonnc.org.

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outdoors

Trailhead restrictions coming to Laurel Falls The pilot project aims to spread out use throughout the day, avoiding massive crowds such as this, which have become typical on the popular trail. NPS photo

NPS institutes mask mandate A national mask mandate is now in place across the National Park Service.

Visitors, employees and contractors are required to wear a mask in NPS buildings, transportation systems and crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status or community transmission levels.

“Visitors to national parks are coming from locations across the country, if not across the world,” said NPS Deputy Director Shawn Benge. “Because of this, and recognizing that the majority of the United States is currently in substantial or high transmission categories, we are implementing a service-wide mask requirement to ensure our staff and visitors’ safety.”

The requirement will be in effect until further notice.

From Sept. 7 through Oct. 3, the Laurel Falls Trail parking lot in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be available by reservation only.

The Laurel Falls Congestion Management Pilot Protect aims to improve visitor safety, relieve congestion, better protect park resources and enhance visitor experience on the heavily used trail. The first 1.3 miles of the trail received more than 375,000 visits in 2020, making it one of the park’s most popular trails.

Online reservations are now available for two-hour time blocks in the parking lot.

The fee is $14, and reservations can be

made at www.recreation.gov. Rocky Top Tours will also provide shuttle access to the trailhead from Gatlinburg for a fee of $5 per person. Shuttle information is available at www.rockytoptours.com. During the pilot project, no parking will be permitted in undesignated areas along Little River Road. If hikers plan to be on trail for longer than the allotted two-hour time block, they must use a different trailhead and are encouraged to contact the Backcountry Office for more information on other trail access points.

“I want to thank the public for providing great feedback throughout the process

of developing this pilot project,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “The concept was borne out of public workshops last fall and further refined after the latest public meeting as we strive to address safety and congestion challenges at this busy site.”

During more than two weeks of public comment on the pilot project, the park received 150 submissions from 18 states, with 70% coming from Tennessee residents.

The most prevalent comment, representing 42% of submissions, included concerns about the parking reservation fee amount.

The second most prevalent comment, representing 22% of submissions, expressed general support of the pilot project effort, while 6% of submissions expressed opposition.

The high level of Laurel Falls Trail use has resulted in congestion along the trail, crowding at the falls, and unsafe conditions along Little River Road. Roadside parking also impacts adjacent habitats, damages road edges, and causes erosion. Managing parking through a reservation system is expected to spread use more evenly throughout the day. On average, most hikers complete the hike in 90 minutes.

Park staff will be on hand to actively manage parking and monitor conditions during the pilot. The information learned during this pilot will help the park make more informed decisions about how to manage the area in the future.

Smoky Mountain News

August 25-31, 2021

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outdoors

Find out what bats thought of lockdown

August 25-31, 2021

Learn how pandemic lockdowns might have affected urban bat populations during a free lecture offered at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, in the Highlands Biological Station meadow in Highlands.

Rada Petric, Ph.D., will discuss a case study she performed examining bat activity patterns between weekdays and weekends, both before and during COVID-19 restrictions at four different sites in Greensboro.

Animal activity differs on the weekend when human disturbances peak, but the pandemic induced stay-at-home orders that eliminated the typical human weekdayweekend temporal patterns, providing researchers the unique opportunity to investigate the effects of human disturbance on bats. The lecture will delve into the findings of this study and explore the implications.

Petric is a field biologist with broad interests in animal behavior, neuroendocrinology and conservation, and she is the first-ever director for the Highlands Field Site, a program through UNC-Chapel Hill’s Institute for the Environment. The lecture is part of the Highlands Biological Foundation’s free Zahner Conservation Lecture Series, which wraps up for the year on Sept. 9. The Sept. 2 lecture is sponsored by the Pattersons. www.highlandsbiological.org or 828.526.2221.

Smoky Mountain News

ION OF STA IAT TE OC

STERS RE FO

Join a Blue Ridge Parkway ranger to learn about the animals that come out after dark during this week’s Fridays at the Folk Art Center session, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at the Folk Art Center in Asheville.

Learn what kinds of animals come out at night, how they survive and get ready to put your senses to the test during a fun an interactive night for the whole family.

The Folks Art Center is located at Milepost 382 on the Parkway. No restrooms will be available during this outdoor program. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on.

NATIONAL A SS

Get nocturnal on the Parkway

FO

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outdoors

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Welcoming new patients Appointments may be made by calling

828.452.4131

MyHaywoodRegional.com

Outgoing Chairman David W. Hoyle Jr (left) stands with (from left) new Chairman Monty R. Crump, new Vice Chairman Thomas L. Fonville and Wildlife Resources Commission Executive Director Cameron Ingram. NCWRC photo

Wildlife Commission elects new leadership The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has elected Richmond County resident Monty R. Crump as its new chairman, replacing Dallas resident David W. Hoyle.

Raleigh resident Thomas L. Fonville was elected vice chairman.

Crump, who served as vice chairman for the past two years, was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to a six-year term as the District 6 commissioner in 2017. He is the city manager of Rockingham and owns a small farm

New horticulture classes offered at HCC A pair of new horticulture continuing education classes will start at Haywood Community College Sept. 7, running Mondays and Tuesdays through Dec. 21.

Native Plants and Ecology will be held 10 a.m. to noon, with Landscape Design 2 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Shana Ritch, instructor for both classes, said the native plants class will help students understand the value of native plants, and will address climate change and how roads intersect ecology pathways and permaculture. Meanwhile, the landscape design class will prepare students to create a sample client proposal to include a quote and a design. Ritch graduated from HCC’s horticulture program in 2011 and has gained a range of experience in the last 10 years, including working on a 300-acre hazelnut farm in Oregon and starting a community garden in Canton.

For more information, contact 828.627.4669 or ssbrown@haywood.edu.

Smoky Mountain News

Grant to help farmers feed the hungry

42

Puzzles can be found on page 46 These are only the answers.

in Magnum with his wife Kathy. He is also a lifelong North Carolina sportsman, outdoorsman and conservationist and has been a strong advocate for the preservation and enhancement of the state’s wildlife and natural resources, particularly water management.

Fonville has been a Commission member since 2013. An avid angler and hunter, he also founded Fonville Morisey Real Estate.

A $500,000 grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation will allow the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project to expand its Appalachian Farms Feeding Families Program.

The program pays farmers to grow and deliver fresh fruits and vegetables directly to food relief sites in their own communities, serving the dual purpose of improving the quality and variety of produce available to families in need and creating new market opportunities for farms that lost sales due to the pandemic. The program now serves 56 feeding sites and 47 farms, working in 22 Western North Carolina counties. Last season, farms provided food to between

3,000 and 4,000 families.

The new grant will double local food purchasing and allow ASAP to add new sites and farms.

Rates of food insecurity have grown dramatically during the pandemic, with Feeding America projecting more than 200,000 people in WNC experienced food insecurity in 2020, a 15% increase from before the pandemic. Food insecurity among children is especially high — nearly a quarter of children in WNC experienced food insecurity in 2020, a 21% increase from 2019. Many of the feeding sites included in Appalachian Farms Feeding Families have even starker numbers. For instance, Haywood Christian Ministries in Waynesville served 12,000 people in 2019.

In 2020, it served more than 60,000 people.

So far in 2021, the site is assisting 200 to 300 people per day.

WNC Calendar FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • In response to devastating floods in Haywood County last week, there will be a benefit for victims kicking off at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at the Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS • The Vein Center at Haywood Regional Medical Center (HRMC) is holding a free vein education session from 56 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26. Interested community members are asked to register for by calling 828.452.VEIN (8346). Space is limited; RSVP required.

• The Macon County Public Library and Beyond Bending Yoga are teaming up to offer free yoga during the pandemic. All classes at the library are free to the public and will be held outdoors as weather permits. Register to help ensure safe social distancing. This class is accessible to new and seasoned yogis.

GROUPS AND MEETINGS • The Gem & Mineral Society of Franklin will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at First Christian Church in Franklin.

• Henry Chambers will be presenting “The Migration and Settlement of WNC” at 6:30 p.m. for the Sept. 2 meeting of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center. 828.488.

2932.

POLITICAL CORNER • Congressman Madison Cawthorn will be at Macon County Republican Party Headquarters at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 29, to present “Saving America’s Future.”

His talk will be followed by a presentation about election integrity in North Carolina by Major Dave Goetze.

There will be tents, popcorn and sodas. The location is 867 Highlands Rd., Franklin, at the Franklin Flea and Craft Market. Macongop.com.

SUPPORT GROUPS • Al-Anon, for families and friends of alcoholics, meets every Monday night from 7-8 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 77 Jackson St., Sylva. Enter at front of church through the door to the left of the sanctuary; meeting is first door on the right. The Church requests that you wear a mask if you are not vaccinated.

• Narcotics Anonymous meetings are back "live" in-person after a year of being on Zoom only. Local meetings are 12 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays at Sylva First United Methodist Church in downtown Sylva. Entrance at back of building.

Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. at Cullowhee Methodist Church and Saturdays 6 p.m. at Cullowhee Methodist Church.

Meetings in Haywood County, Macon County and Swain County have reopened as well. For more details visit ncmountainna.org.

A&E

• Highlands Mountaintop Rotary Art & Craft Show will be held 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 28 and 29, at the H-K “Founders” Park on Pine St. in Highlands. There will be 80 + artisans with fine art painting and prints, rustic furniture, home decor, blacksmithing, pottery, jewelry

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com and sculpture. For more information, text or call 828.318.9430.

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

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

• 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 Street in Bryson City. Leashed pets are welcome. Outdoor event. Current Covid-19 safety protocols will be followed and enforced.

828.488.7857.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host The High Strangeness Aug. 28 and Arnold Hill (rock) Sept. 4. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.246.0350 or www.boojumbrewing.com.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Bob Zullo (guitar/vocals) Aug. 28 and Russ Wilson & Hank Bones (swing/jazz) Sept. 4. All shows begin at 7 p.m.

Limited seating. Reservations required. Ticket price and dinner menu to be announced. 828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• Concerts on the Creek (Sylva) at Bridge Park will host SKA City (ska/rock) Sept. 3. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. www.mountainlovers.com.

• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will be held at the Town Square from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Trudition Aug. 27 and Silly Ridge Roundup Sept. 3. Free and open to the public. www.highlandschamber.org.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host John Friday Aug. 27, Brad Heller & The Fustics Aug. 28, Aunt Vicki 2 p.m. Aug. 29 and Drum Circle Aug. 31. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host “YerkFest” w/Ol’ Dirty Bathtub (Americana/bluegrass), PMA (reggae/soul), Woolybooger & The Ragtime Drifters (Americana/indie) and Shain Weston Lyles (singer-songwriter). from 6 to 11 p.m. Aug. 28, Shane Meade Aug. 29 and Tim Williams Sept. 5. All events are free and begin at 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.innovationbrewing.com.

Smoky Mountain News

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host Shane Meade (rock/soul) at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17. 828.641.9797 or www.nantahalabrewing.com.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host “Bluegrass with Blue” Aug. 27 and Sept. 3, and Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs Aug. 28, Hustle Souls Sept. 4 and Granny’s Mason Jar Sept. 5. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 888.905.7238 or www.noc.com.

• “Pickin’ on the Square” (Franklin) will host Outlaw Whiskey (country) Aug. 28 and Casey Clark (country) Sept. 4. All shows start at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. Located on Main Street. www.franklinchamber.com.

• Saturdays On Pine (Highlands) will be held at the Kelsey-Hutchinson Park from 6 to 8:30 p.m. with A Social Function Sept. 4 and Full Circle Sept. 11. Free and open to the public. www.highlandschamber.org.

• Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host Grains of Sand (soul/beach) at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 4. For more information and to purchase tickets, click on www.smokymountainarts.com.

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host karaoke on Thursday nights and a special benefit for flood victims at 5 p.m. Aug. 27 w/Doyle & Merrell, Ginny McAfee, Lauren Sneed and Bridgette Gossett.

828.456.4750 or www.facebook.com/waternhole.bar.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Sylva) will host Prophets of Time Aug. 27, the “Two-Year Anniversary Party” at noon Aug. 29 and Colby Deitz (singer-songwriter) Sept. 3. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host Aces Down Aug. 27 and Somebody’s Child (Americana) Aug. 28. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Free and open to the public. 828.538.0115 or www.mtnlayersbeer.com.

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 offered 6-9 p.m. Aug. 25-26 at Haywood Community College. Face masks required. Free and no age limits, though participants must pass a written test without assistance. Pre-registration required at www.ncwildlife.org. The course will repeat Sept. 15-16, Oct. 13-14 and Nov. 3-4.

• A lecture exploring human-caused changes to the Southeastern U.S. over the past century will be offered at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at the Highlands Community Building in Highlands. www.highlandsbiological.org 828.526.2221.

• It’s fair week in Haywood County, with a full schedule of events planned Thursday, Aug. 26, through Sunday, Aug. 29 at the Smoky Mountain Event Center. Learn more at www.smokymountaineventcenter.org/fair-2021.

• There will be a free wine tasting 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.

• Join a Blue Ridge Parkway ranger to learn about the animals that come out after dark during this week’s Fridays at the Folk Art Center session, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at the Folk Art Center in Asheville. The Folks Art Center is located at Milepost 382 on the Parkway. No restrooms will be available during this outdoor program. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on.

• Bryson City Wine Market will host weekly wine flight tasting events from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The market will also serve wine by the glass from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

• Hike the Palmer Creek Trail at 8 a.m. Aug. 28, with the Haywood County Parks and Recreation. Guided by Phyllis Woollen & Vickey Watson. Hikes are $10 per hike, paid at registration.

• The “BBQ & Brews Dinner Train” will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on select dates at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first class car. Craft beer pairings with a meal, and more. For more information and/or to register, call 800.872.4681 or click on www.gsmr.com.

• The first annual Great Smokies Eco-Adventure will be held Aug. 29-31 near Gatlinburg, a multifaceted fundraising event for Discover Life in America. Tickets are $950 per person and all-inclusive. Proceeds support DLiA, which coordinates the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory in the park. Buy a ticket at www.dlia.org.

• “Dillsboro After Five” will take place from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in downtown Dillsboro. Start with a visit to the Jackson County Farmers Market located in the Innovation Station parking lot. Stay for dinner and take advantage of late-hour shopping. www.mountainlovers.com.

• Registration is open for futsal, a type of indoor soccer, through Aug. 31 in Jackson County. Register at either the Cullowhee or Cashiers rec center, or online at rec.jacksonnc.org. To sign up as a free agent, contact Andrew Sherling at 828.293.3053, ext. 6 or andrewsherling@jacksonnc.org.

• The “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 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 www.gsmr.com.

• The Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard is offering a full slate of classes this month, ranging from on-the-water fly fishing tutorials to stream snorkeling.

Events are free, with registration required. Sign up at www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/EducationCenters/Pisgah/Event-Registration/PageId/Calendar

FOOD AND DRINK

• Lake Junaluska Conference Center will host the Haywood Community Band “Under The Big Tent” at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29. Free and open to the public.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Brother Aug. 28 and Arnold Hill (rock) Sept. 3. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.349.2337 or www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

43

Outdoors

• Get an inside look at the history of the Western Carolina University trail system at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, at the Team Development Course Outdoor Classroom at the beginning of the trail. An informal ride from the trailhead at the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching will begin at 5:30 p.m., so participants are encouraged to bring a bike. nantahala.area.sorba@gmail.com.

• A free hunter safety certification course will be

• A pair of new horticulture continuing education classes will start at Haywood Community College Sept. 7, running Mondays and Tuesdays through Dec. 21. Native Plants and Ecology will be held 10 a.m. to noon, with Landscape Design 2 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. For more information, contact 828.627.4669 or ssbrown@haywood.edu

Market WNC PLACE

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!

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Employment

FTCC - Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Paramedic Instructor - Continuing Education Networking, Microsoft and Cloud Management Instructor, CerWL¿HG 1XUVH $LGH ,QVWUXFtor - Cont. Ed., Military/ Veterans Recruiter, Computer Support Specialist, Senior Secretary - EMS and Health Programs, PT 6HQLRU $FFRXQWLQJ 7HFK Corporate and Cont. Ed., $VVLVWDQW 'LUHFWRU RI ,QWHUFROOHJLDWH $WKOHWLFV $Fademic Success Coach, Coordinator High School Connections. For detailed information and to apply

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ATTENTION ACTIVE DUTY/MILITARY Veterans Begin a new career and earn your degree at CTI. To learn more 833970-3466 THE JACKSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT Of Social Services is recruiting for an Income Maintenance Caseworker. This position is responsible for intake, application processing and review functions in determining eligibility for Family and ChilGUHQ¶V 0HGLFDLG $ERYH average communication, computer and work organizational skills are required. Work involves direct contact with the SXEOLF $SSOLFDQWV VKRXOG

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THE JACKSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT Of Social Services is recruiting for a ProcessLQJ $VVLVWDQW ,,, 'XWLHV will include reception, answering the telephone, FRS\LQJ ¿OLQJ VFDQQLQJ receiving and providing information to the public, data entry, and other UHODWHG FOHULFDO WDVNV $Splicants should have excellent customer service skills, good computer skills, the ability to communicate effectively in person and by telephone, a general knowledge of RI¿FH SURFHGXUHV DQG the ability to learn and apply a variety of guidelines. The starting salary is $25,847.02 depending XSRQ H[SHULHQFH $SSOLcants must have completed high school and have at least one year of clerical experience or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

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IN THE NEXT ISSUE 74 N. Main St., Waynesville

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August 25-31, 2021

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45

SUPER

CROSSWORD

CON-TRIBUTING EDITOR ACROSS 1 Puck surface 4 Transparent 9 Nick of "Weeds" 14 Urged (on) 19 Source of bean curd 20 Figure skater Sonja 21 Luau "hello" 22 Thousand: Prefix 23 Soft leather sewn over fabric tears?

26 Poker entry fee 27 Elevate 28 USMC rank 29 Tabby that's a national government's mascot?

31 Peace Nobelist Wiesel 32 Sounded like a cow 34 Antarctic penguin 35 Enticingly beautiful mugs?

40 Braininess 43 How distant stars shine 44 White-rayed flower 47 Trevor of "The Daily Show" 48 Port on the Gulf of Mexico 52 Poet Doolittle who did all of her writing in her boudoir?

55 Caspian Sea feeder 56 "Don't leave!"

59 Easily spread cheese 60 Put decorations on your phone, then dial someone's number?

66 Ticked by 71 Warrant 72 Wearing a fancy crown 74 Verdi opera 75 Maker of Galaxy phones 77 Crustacean that's most

active just before sunup?

79 "Exile" New Age artist 81 Falco with four Emmys 82 Notion, in Nantes 83 Black hole sucking in everything around it?

90 People lamenting 93 $$$ spitter-outers 94 Like clipped sheep 95 Consumers 97 Tooted 100 Smug know-it-alls shoplift?

106 Having its petroleum imported, as a nation 109 Cosmic path 110 "My treat!"

111 Subtract the cost of an adhesive roll?

115 Bruin Bobby 116 Red-eyed songbirds 118 Actress Donovan of "Clueless" 119 Shopping containers holding more sinful items?

122 Salk of the Salk vaccine 123 Modify 124 Cliff nest 125 Luau gift 126 Viewpoint 127 Insolent 128 Norwegian money 129 Reno-to-L.A. dir.

DOWN 1 Emanates 2 Duo 3 Lashes' base 4 See 87-Down 5 Shoved off 6 Rocker Brian 7 Use a fan on

8 Steinbeck novella, with "The" 9 "Platoon" war zone, in brief 10 Snowman in "Frozen" 11 Box in an opera house 12 Silents star Bara 13 Mollified 14 Mummify 15 Former New York City mayor Rudy 16 Antifreeze compound 17 Kazan of filmdom 18 By -- of (owing to) 24 God, to Henri 25 Baldwin of "Still Alice" 30 Apt., e.g.

32 Brunch quaff 33 "My man!"

36 Roman 401 37 Quirky habit 38 Brake part 39 Male title of respect 41 Smidgen 42 "-- Na Na" 45 Bawl 46 Days of old 48 Lipstick units 49 Action venue 50 Female title of respect 51 Ancient Roman lower class 52 Via automobile 53 Director Forman 54 Moor shrub 57 It blasts 58 Take -- (swim or bathe) 61 Given a hint 62 Singer Loggins 63 "Rules -- rules" 64 Worker filling a cargo hold, say

65 Spearhead 67 Great risk 68 Begin to fail 69 Bugs bugger Fudd 70 Ninnies 73 Imbiber's hwy. offense 76 P.E. places 78 Most recent 80 "Makes sense now" 83 Chitchat 84 Map no.

85 Editing 86 Adoption of a cause 87 With 4-Down, cooking reality series 88 Uno tripled 89 Prefix with spore 91 Dadaist Jean 92 Prefix with thermal 95 Toni Braxton's "-- My Heart" 96 Swizzle stick 98 Totally cover 99 Speck 101 Yank who wore #13 102 Wine stopper 103 Genuflects 104 Overplays it 105 Actress O'Shea 107 "-- the best of times ..."

108 Boxer Ali 111 -- vu 112 University in North Carolina 113 Agts.' cuts 114 Just makes, with "out" 116 Narcissistic 117 "Makes sense now" 120 Suffix with cook or mock 121 "My man!"

ANSWERS ON PAGE 42

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