Smoky Mountain News | September 1, 2021

Sept. 1-7, 2021 Vol. 23 Iss. 14 www.smokymountainnews.com

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

Rapid rehousing project underway for flood victims Page 10 Recreation impacts from Fred could linger for years Page 38

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Are you o con o cer e ned aboutt yo our heal a th?

We ar a e. e

A joint letter t f rom heal th hcare providers work o kin i g to prot o ect WNC N frro om COVID I -19 9

If you u are unvaccinated, th t e risks have neverr been more significant.

Smoky Mountain News

September 1-7, 2021

If you’ve been waiting fo or the rightt time to get vaccinated—it’s now.

IIn western t North N th Ca Carolina, li more than th 450,000 450 000 people l have h received at least the e initial dose of the vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are proven n to be safe and effective ag gainst the delta variant.

While we are seeing cases in people who are vaccinated, v most infections are mild, with very few requiring hosp pitalization. By contrast, greater than 90% of hospitalizations and a deaths since June have been among unvaccinated people.

To prevent serious illness s and hospitalization ns, we ag gree with i h the h Cente C ers fo for Disease Di C Contr roll and Prevention P (CDC) rec commendation thatt yone 12 and up gets vaccinated and every wears s mask ks s indoors in public p places where communitty y spread is hig gh.

Western North Carolina is known for its beautiful scenery and ZRQGHUIXO FDULQJ SHRSOH :H NQR RZ \RX·YH PDGH PDQ\ GLIÀFXOW FKRLFHV DQG VDFULÀFHV WKH SDVW \H HDU DQG D KDOI VR OHW·V HQG this pandemic now.

We W e can’t affford to t lose any more membe ers of our community, especia you. Please Please, get v va accinated. ccinated community ally not you Ov ver 140 health care pro oviders in the region have ve siigned this letttter.

To see the full list of na To ames, please visit ww www.wnchn.org g/HCPLetttter

If you have questions about the e va vaccines or ne need ass sistance tance ce locating ing where to get one, rea reac ch out to your do doctor octor, or call c the NC COV COVID-19 V Va ac ccine i Help Center enter at 888888-675-4567.

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CONTENTS On the Cover: It’s been two weeks since rain from Tropical Storm Fred devastated parts of Haywood County and still no emergency designation from the federal government to provide relief to Canton, Cruso and Bethel. The wait continues, as business and homeowners pick up the pieces. (Page 4) More than 70 pianos, casualties of flooding on Hominy Creek, sit in a pile on Asheville Highway outside Canton. Cory Vaillancourt photo

News Cruso residents frustrated at slow progress ..............................................................6 Rapid rehousing underway for flood victims ............................................................10 Canton Labor Day parade cancelled ..........................................................................13 Institutional donations roll into Haywood County ....................................................14 Sylva delays Allen Street funding decision ..............................................................16 New HCAC director fosters creative community ..................................................18 Tribe to expand health facilities ....................................................................................20 COVID-19 deaths continue across the region ........................................................22 Education news ................................................................................................................25

Opinion Why WNC remains vulnerable to flooding ..............................................................26 Climate alarmism is not based in reality......................................................................27

A&E Oliver Wood to perform in Brevard ............................................................................30 A quiet place: the book nook..........................................................................................37

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

September 1-7, 2021

Recreation impacts from Fred could linger for years ............................................38

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‘We’re already left behind’ Following massive floods, Cruso residents getting frustrated

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER tanding next to a debris pile as tall as he is, Steve Chaney scans up and down U.S. 276 at the countless other debris piles, one for each home in Cruso that was ransacked by the devastating floodwaters two weeks ago.

“Everybody has left us. Everybody is gone.

All the disaster relief is gone,” Chaney said in a ruffled tone of frustration and anger.

“People come by with paperwork for disaster relief and say they’ll be back to help the next day. Where are they? We’re already left behind.”

Situated up Hungry Creek Road, Chaney suffered some damage to his home. Busted spring. Flooded basement. Leaky roof. And so on. But, on Monday afternoon, he was down on U.S. 276 (aka: Cruso Road) to help his good buddy, 74-year-old Ronnie Hannah (see page 11), clean up the low-lying property.

“Ronnie had a stroke last year. He has trouble getting around. He’s lived all his life at this house. He’s alone and he has nobody to help get the mud out of the basement and make repairs to the house,” Chaney said.

“Nobody is coming down to help him. No disaster relief whatsoever — just us neighbors looking out for each other, as we always do in times like this.”

Emerging from Hannah’s basement are two other friends of his. The duo is covered in mud, scooping out five-gallon bucket after five-gallon bucket of the slick substance from down below the house. It’s an arduous process, where they never seem to make a dent in removing the elusive mud.

“This cleanup in Cruso is going to take months, probably years,” Chaney said. “All of these folks around here are on their own, sadly. Everyone outside of here thinks we’re all just a bunch of hillbillies and we’ll take care of it on our own.

September 1-7, 2021

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One of hundreds of piles of debris left on the side of the road in Cruso following the massive floodwaters two weeks ago. Idle equipment (below, left) at the base of the mudslide on U.S. 276. A lone farm tractor lying in the Pigeon River (below, right). (photos: Garret K. Woodward)

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DA TO PROSECUTE LOOTERS In the wake of the torrential rain and flooding in Haywood County, centered in Cruso community, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch has repeatedly issued stern warnings to looters and would-be looters.

“If you do this – harm these victims still more – we will come get you,” Welch has said, repeating the promise Monday night at a Republican precinct meeting at Saunook Volunteer Fire Department.

On Aug. 26, Welch joined Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and other state and local officials in viewing the devastation. Six people died, almost 550 homes suffered some sort of damage and 160 homes were destroyed, according to state assessments.

“I have seen a lot of bad things,” said Welch, who has been a prosecutor for 17 years. “But the amount of damage people suffered in this flooding is among the worst things I’ve ever seen.”

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Steve Chaney.

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Smoky Mountain News

the site of the mudslide are idle and empty.

Homes vacant. A ghost town of sorts in many sections, hence the ongoing curfew (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) to prevent looters.

U.S. 276 is up and running, as are phone and electrical lines. Swinging past the Cruso Fire & Rescue Station, there’s local fire department and North Carolina Department of Transportation folks scattered about. But, that’s about it.

“The DOT, local fire and rescue, local churches and linemen? They did an incredible job getting us power back and the main road running again — can’t get no better,” Chaney said. “But, now what? They ain’t got FEMA in here. They ain’t got no help besides getting the roads done. Where’s FEMA? Where is this disaster relief we keep hearing about?”

“Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold” warnings about food borne illness and food recalls proper food storage and cooking temperatures don’t drink raw milk or eat raw meat don’t contaminate cooked foods with raw meat or poultry wash fruits and vegetables before preparing or eating don’t eat canned food if the can is bulging, punctured or rusting

September 1-7, 2021

Well, we probably will end up doing it all ourselves because they done forgotten us in just two weeks.”

With recent flood disasters also hitting Tennessee and Louisiana, Chaney, like many Cruso residents, wonders if their small mountain community is already in the rearview mirror — cast aside and swallowed up by the sands of time.

“The national media never got into Cruso to actually see how bad it was. They weren’t allowed in and all those folks up there in Washington, D.C., never knew the extent of the damage,” Chaney said. “The real story of how bad it is never got told. It’s horrible down here and there’s nobody around to hear our cries for help — we need help. Where’s our government?”

Meandering through Cruso nowadays, there’s an eerie, somewhat deafening silence.

Piles of debris like ice cream scoops of destruction line every single road and intersection. The smell of dried mud, freshlysawed timber and waterlogged furniture going moldy permeates through the disaster area.

That Ford Crown Victoria is still up a tree across from the Springdale Country Club.

Crushed vehicles remain against trees, in ditches, and on the riverbanks. The now-infamous mobile home left in the middle of U.S. 276 by the flood is still there, just barely pushed to the side of the road.

Crazily enough, the entire scene seems more depressing and hopeless now with everyone gone — a silence of the unknown overtaking the landscape and its inhabitants.

The only sounds are that of the Pigeon River (now a babbling creek) and crickets in nearby farm fields. Construction vehicles at

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

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news

THE SOUND OF SILENCE Disaster relief now a waiting game

Smoky Mountain News

September 1-7, 2021

Some 9 tons of piano lies piled up in the sun outside Ward Piano on Asheville Highway, outside Canton. Cory Vaillancourt photo

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR s state elected leaders toured areas of Haywood County decimated by deadly flooding that killed six people last week, local agencies were busy assessing damage and compiling reports in support of a federal disaster declaration that would bring badly needed resources.

Local and state officials completed their tasks late last week after “methodical” documentation and a formal request for a declaration was submitted to the White House late last week, but with some in Cruso still sleeping in flood-damaged homes or makeshift cinder block lean-tos, local leaders are growing ever more frustrated with the silence from President Joe Biden’s administration.

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orth Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper returned for the second time to Western North Carolina on Wednesday, Aug. 25, exactly one week after much of the region awoke to flooded homes, intersections under water and bridges that had been washed away.

This time, he started on Smoky Park Highway, where Mountain Power Performance owner Alexis Giese showed him a waterline inside his diesel shop four feet high. Hominy Creek had flooded Giese’s business, as well as several others across the street from the iconic Miami Restaurant. The flooding, Giese said, was made worse by pre-existing debris in the creek that created an ersatz 8

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dam, driving water a dozen or more feet above its usual level.

From there, Cooper headed over to Haywood County, just east of Canton town limits on Asheville Highway.

There, he met with David Clark, owner of Chestnut Mountain Auto.

“Just this year, I’ve took all my life savings and bought equipment to try to get out of the automotive work so much, it’s just so hard on my body,” Clark said. “I bought a backhoe, dump truck, excavator. It all went under water. All my welders, you know. Everything that I worked so hard for over the years, it’s totally gone.”

Clark said the equipment was uninsured.

Keeta Bryson said the flooding didn’t stop Clark from trying to help his neighbors.

“This man came to my momma’s and dug out what he could with what he had left,” Bryson said, fighting back tears. “Digging out cars, whatever he could do to get my brother and my momma safe. This man, even when he didn’t have anything, he came and did it.”

During a short press conference at the scene, Cooper repeated what Haywood County officials had been saying for more than a week about the pursuit of a federal disaster declaration.

“We’ve been through a lot of these, unfortunately, in North Carolina. One thing that we have learned is that your damage assessments need to be right when you submit them to the federal government, because that greases the wheel of getting money back

Gov. Roy Cooper visited a Candler business that experienced devastating flooding.

Cory Vaillancourt photo

quicker,” Cooper told reporters. “If you ask for the declaration before you have the right kind of damage assessments, then that slows down the process toward the end, so everybody’s working as hard as they can to get these damages assessments. We’ve lost a lot of roads, bridges, businesses, public institutions, and we want to make sure that we are eligible for everything that we can get.”

Further east on Asheville Highway, motorists were greeted by a scene so surreal it almost defies description — 70 pianos, caked with mud, stacked in a huge pile like cord wood.

“And that’s not even all of them,” said Kelly Ward, who with her brother Alden

operates Ward Piano, a business started by their grandfather shortly after World War II. “It came about 3 p.m. I’m thinking 3 p.m.

I’m not really sure. Within 15 minutes, it seemed like it was just there. And then it just kept coming and coming and coming,” Kelly said. “They blocked the road and you couldn’t get through. I couldn’t get my car out. It was flooded. Our big truck was ruined.

The water was to the windows. It actually picked [the truck] up, and shifted it in the parking lot, our big box truck. That’s what the current of the water was. We just didn’t have any warning.”

Kelly and Alden Ward said they’re not even to the point of figuring out if they’ll reopen.

The next morning, during an emergency meeting, Haywood commissioners approved several contracts for debris removal and rehousing services.

Chip Patterson, of Southern Disaster Recovery, said that they’d be removing upward of 4,000 cubic yards of debris a day, segregating white goods from plant material.

More than 70 percent of trucking operations were being completed by Haywood County residents.

The county’s contract with SRD may run as high as $4 million. Another company, DebrisTech LLC, was given a $939,000 contract for monitoring services — in essence, tracking each load of debris to ensure that work that would be paid for was actually being performed, and that different types of waste were going to the correct landfills.

Like SDR, DebrisTech said it was employing a large number of locals.

The final contract, for $175,000, was awarded to nonprofit Baptists on Mission for a rapid rehousing program. Bill Martin, who spoke on the contract, said that the group rips insulation and other materials out of flooddamaged houses, along with furniture and other debris, so that residents who have safe, sanitary and secure homes can return to them.

During the meeting it was reported that 241 homes in Cruso had no damage, 232 were damaged, 140 had failed, and 164 were completely destroyed.

A total of $5 million was transferred from the county’s fund balance to pay for the services. Bryant Morehead, Haywood County manager, said this was only possible due to conservative management of fund balance.

A federal disaster declaration means the county would be see 75 percent of the cost reimbursed by the federal government, and 25 percent by the state. If a federal declaration is not issued, the state would pick up 75 percent of the tab, and the county would be on the hook for the rest.

Later that day, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson became the latest statewide elected official to visit Haywood County. Along with WNC reps Mark Pless and Mike Clampitt, Robinson spoke at a press conference at the Haywood EMS base in Hazelwood.

Robinson had spent plenty of time in the region during his 2020 campaign, but said the damage was apparent.

“This is what makes North Carolina the greatest state in the union is the way North Carolinians come to each other’s aid,” Robinson said. “When disasters like this happen, our office is going to be working around

news Left: David Clark (left), owner of Chestnut Mountain Automotive outside Canton, explains to Gov. Cooper what happened on the night of Aug. 17. Right: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (left) speaks in Haywood County as Rep. Mark Pless (center) and Rep. Mike Clampitt (right) await their turns. Cory Vaillancourt photos

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House] Speaker Tim Moore I understand has been here twice, and Gov. Cooper’s had a very sophisticated approach to getting those numbers before sending them last week to the president. I have been just amazed and I think that people should be very satisfied how non-partisan this has been.”

Despite the meticulous, back-breaking boots-on-ground nature of the documentation process, there’s still no word from Biden and the White House on Gov. Cooper’s disaster request.

With damage overwhelmingly apparent – and basic food, water and shelter needs going unmet – and Hurricane Ida moving towards Western North Carolina, officials like Smathers, Smith and Hamlett, all Democrats, aren’t happy with the silence from the Democratic administration in Washington, especially as subsequent flooding in Tennessee and Louisiana has already earned federal disaster declarations in two days and one day, respectively.

“I’m not satisfied, period,” Smathers said.

“With all due respect and prayers, and I have personally prayed for the people of Tennessee and everyone affected on the Gulf Coast, I think this has been on [the federal government’s] radar for some time. The governor’s office did exactly what they said they would do. We have the support of Sen. [Richard] Burr and Sen. [Thom] Tills. My understanding is those letters have been sent, and we are in a waiting game and every single day I receive the same question over and over again — when is FEMA assistance coming? What’s that assistance going to look like? you have people that are ready to rebuild their homes and businesses that are waiting in bureaucratic purgatory for something, uh, that is needed and well deserved. Our citizens deserve every assistance and resource entitled to them. And at this point, that has not happened. There’s no excuse for that.”

Alderman Hamlett was in agreement with Smathers.

“I’m speaking for myself and not the board. I have some disappointment with the level of advocacy from, our representative in the 11th District,” he said, of Rep. Madison Cawthorn. Cawthorn was the first federal elected official to visit Haywood County in the wake of the floods, and sent a letter to Biden around that same time.

Alderwoman Smith, like Smathers, has taken to social media to continue beating the drum for the federal disaster declaration.

“On a federal level. I’m frustrated,” Smith said. “I believe that we need to speed up this process. I think that the people of Western North Carolina, specifically Haywood County deserve better.”

Smith said she thought it was important to remain active in pushing for news from the White House, even though the declaration is now largely out of local hands.

“I believe that people need to know that we are outwardly pushing and I encourage other people to do the same. You know, these are people that are in crisis. People are without homes and we don’t know where the money is going to come from,” she said. “We can’t hope and wish that we’re going to do the best we can with our communities with what we have right now. I mean, at the end of the day, the funds and the help and the organization and the structure and the infrastructure is where the federal government really can shine. And we need them to shine right now.

And they’re not.”

When asked what she’d say to those in Cruso — and elsewhere — sleeping in moldridden campers or ad-hoc shelters constructed of storm debris, Smith was adamant that she wouldn’t relent.

“Everybody deserves better than that,” she said. “We’re failing people and these are our people, this is our community. And if I could talk to those people today, I would say, ‘I am sorry. This is unacceptable. I’m going to keep fighting, because that’s what I can do.’”

9

Smoky Mountain News

s of press time on Tuesday, it had been almost exactly two weeks since the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred began their deadly advance on the mountainous region of Western North Carolina.

Although Cruso bore the brunt of the damage, the town of Canton and its elected officials have taken a central role in coordinating disaster-related activity. Aldermen there are largely content with how local and state resources have been made available thus far.

“Am I satisfied where we are? Yes. Am I hopeful for where we may be going? Yes,” said Canton Alderman Dr. Ralph Hamlett.

“I’m well aware that it takes time to process.

You have Buncombe County hit, and parts of Transylvania, so there’s multiple requests being made on the state. Do I want more? Of course, but I think we should be patient as the process unfolds.”

Hamlett said that help was needed sooner rather than later, and commended a $50,000 donation made by Duke Energy for small business recovery (see DONATIONS, page 13).

“Our board is taking the necessary actions, passing emergency budgetary amendments to make sure that we move around the monies that we need to make sure that the work is progressing as it should understanding that reimbursements will come later,” he said. “But we need money now, so the board is taking the necessary actions we can to make sure that locally as a town we’re taking those steps to ensure that our staff, our workers, our town manager have those funds available so they can make progress towards recovery.”

Canton Alderwoman Kristina Smith expressed similar sentiments.

“I believe that on a local level, we’re doing everything we can to collaborate and I believe everybody is doing everything they can to collaborate with us on a local level,” said Smith.

“I think on a state level, they’re crossing their T’s and dotting their I’s and they’re going by the book to ensure that we can get the help that we need so desperately.”

Zeb Smathers, Canton’s mayor, has been thrust into the national spotlight for his role as the highest-ranking local official impacted by the flooding, which wiped out houses in Canton and flooded downtown, devastating businesses and wiping out town hall while temporarily diminishing police and fire protection services.

“On the local and state level, our county commissioners, our local state delegation of Rep. Clampitt, Rep. Pless, Sen. Corbin, even [Macon County Rep.] Karl Gillespie, have all been to Canton,” Smathers said. “[N.C.

September 1-7, 2021

the clock with anyone who needs any help in the relief efforts. We’re a hundred percent dedicated to doing anything we can in this effort.”

That night, the Town of Canton held its regular meeting. Town staff reported that all the mud had been removed from town buildings, and that basic services were returning.

Champion Credit Union donated office space and call center capabilities to the town, and debris pickup was slated to begin the next day.

Town Manager Nick Scheuer remarked that despite the damage, seeing the community come together in times of trouble had convinced him that the disaster was both “horrible and beautiful.”

Canton Recreation Director Ben Williams said he’d seen tremendous volunteer support at Recreation Park, and the fact that the pool was still full of water meant that the foundation hadn’t cracked. The pool would remain closed, Williams said, because if drained it might end up being pushed out of the ground by still-saturated soils. Chemicals added to the pool will prevent mosquito colonization and bacterial growth.

On Friday, less than 10 days after the disaster struck, enough documentation had been gathered by state and local officials that Gov. Cooper felt confident asking the White House for that federal declaration.

news Mountain Projects Executive Director Patsy Davis found someone living among the rubble in Cruso following the Aug. 17 flood. Donated photo

Rapid rehousing challenge underway for flood victims

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR lready in an affordable housing crisis, Haywood County agencies are now confronted with trying to find emergency housing for families displaced by the devastating floods on Aug. 17.

Mountain Projects has been meeting with flood victims in temporary housing, matching them with available resources to put them in safe, dry, clean homes. Just a week after the flood, there were more than 30 households that had applied for services, and hundreds more who were impacted by the flooding and eligible for assistance.

As of Tuesday morning, Mountain Projects Executive Director Patsy Davis said enough funding had been secured to rehab 27 houses.

Individuals, churches and other organizations have all stepped up to cover the costs.

“Our priority is to put a roof over people’s heads. That’s point one. Give people the security of having a roof over their heads so they can start to rebuild their lives,” said Davis.

“The rapid rehabilitation partnership is one of the most encouraging options we have because if the house meets the criteria, we can do the rehousing in a couple of weeks.”

The county has contracted with N.C. Baptist Builders to complete the rehab proj-

Smoky Mountain News

September 1-7, 2021

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How to help Mountain Projects is requesting the community’s assistance with two things: 1. Consider renting your home to flood victims by contacting Amber Edwards, aedwards@mountainprojects.org or by calling 828.452.1447.

2. If you are able to make a financial donation to cover rental deposits for flood victims, give to Mountain Projects’ partner, the United Way of Haywood County, here. (https://www.uwhaywood.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=2) Mountain Projects is a Community Action Agency serving Haywood and Jackson Counties. MountainProjects.org. ects. The missionary team has extensive experience with rapid rebuilding following a natural disaster, which is why they can complete projects so quickly. Not all houses will meet the criteria, but at this point, any homes that can be saved should be saved due to the county’s housing shortage.

“With the housing crunch, at least this gives people some hope that they can return to their homes,” Davis said. “I won’t say I

know what it feels like to lose a home, but I know housing is the key to starting the recovery process.”

Davis is thrilled to have enough funds for 27 homes to be repaired, but she also knows more is needed. While the number of homes lost during the flood is estimated to be 500 or more, the goals is to raise enough money to be able to do more than 100 rehab home projects. The Baptist Builders estimate that the average cost per home will be around $17,500.

For those who lost homes that are beyond repair or that washed down the Pigeon River, Mountain Projects is scrambling to offer Section 8 vouchers and providing people with assistance with paying the first month’s rent and security deposits. Finding any available housing units has been a challenge.

The nonprofit is seeking homeowners who can make homes available to flood victims.

Putting a roof over someone’s head is perhaps the most stabilizing act for disaster victims.

Without a home, victims don’t have anywhere to put donated items and don’t have a home base from which to conduct their lives.

“We’ve spent a lot of time calling everyone we know and begging people. Some people have added units to our program that haven’t worked with us before so that’s helpful, but it’s not the quantity we need,” Davis said.

It’s a big ask of a homeowner, especially those who have never worked with Mountain Projects before, and because part of the funding is drawn from the Section 8 program.

“In this case, our relief isn’t income-based, recipients come from all walks of life,” said Davis. “Some of the victims we help will be Section 8 recipients. Unfortunately, there’s a stigma around Section 8 vouchers — that these renters cause problems for homeowners. A tiny fraction do, but that small segment impacts the reputation of a strong program that helps a lot of people.”

Mountain Projects conducts a background check on all Section 8 recipients and interested landlords may also screen applicants to ensure they are comfortable with the choice of tenant.

Currently there are still about 80 people being housed temporarily at Lake Junaluska while many others are living with friends or family while they wait for a more permanent location. As time goes on, more people are going to be eager to return home or to find a new one.

For those who want to help but can’t

WNC Realtors provide $400,000 to flood relief The Board of Directors of Canopy Realtor Association and Canopy MLS, unanimously voted Aug. 26 to donate $200,000 each, for a total of $400,000 in funds to support Haywood County flood relief efforts.

“We care deeply about the people and communities that we serve and now more than ever our neighbors who have lost their homes and so much more need our assistance,” said David Kennedy, 2021 Canopy Realtor Association/Canopy MLS president.

Kennedy said that hearing from local leadership and Realtor members in the western region as to the amount of devastation this community has undergone is not only heart wrenching but a call to assist.

About 75% of the funding — $300,000 — will be allocated to the United Way of Haywood County, and the remaining 25% will be donated to Mountain Projects, for a grand total of $400,000.

Brian Cagle, a Canopy MLS and Canopy Foundation Board of Directors member and Vice President/Managing Broker of Beverly-Hanks & Associates, said, “I am simply overcome and filled with gratitude for the overwhelming support from our industry.”

Canopy Realtor Association is headquartered in Charlotte and is the professional trade association that provides Realtors in Mecklenburg, Iredell and Haywood counties with resources and services to conduct ethical, professional and profitable businesses. Haywood Board of Realtors became part of Canopy Realtor Association on Jan. 1, 2020, establishing the Western Region.

afford a full housing sponsorship, Davis encourages them to donate with the fund set up through United Way of Haywood County.

One hundred percent of funds that go into that account will be used for flood victims. To donate, visit www.uwhaywood.org.

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Ronnie Hannah in his garage in Cruso. Right: The Hannah household. (photos: Garret K. Woodward)

tors, search and rescue people. I mean, half of Allens Creek is now in Cruso with all the rocks they’ve brought over from the quarry,” Hannah said. “But, it’s pretty quiet now.

We’re all trying to just pick up the pieces and move forward.”

When asked about why he has such a calm, optimistic demeanor to him following

such a tragic experience, whether felt personally or throughout Cruso, a slight grin appears across Hannah’s face.

“It’s just one of those things, you know?

You just live with it. If you live by a river, you’ve got to expect this might happen,” Hannah said. “But, I spent years helping others with the Fire & Rescue Squad. I just wanted to help somebody. And people told me it would come back one day. And I never believed it — until now.”

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Smoky Mountain News

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER itting in a chair in an open bay of his garage Monday afternoon, Ronnie Hannah can’t help but smile knowing he’s alive following the flood that ripped through the Cruso community two weeks ago.

“The river water got all the way to the house, filled up the basement, and started to come over the porch,” the 74-year-old marveled. “My plan was if it got into the house, then I’d head for the attic. If it got into the attic, then I’d go out the window and sit on the roof. If the water got any higher than that? Well, then that was it.”

Luckily, the floodwaters never got into the house (located on a straightaway just

before the Cruso Fire & Rescue Station on U.S. 276). But, the same can’t be said for Hannah’s neighbors in Cruso, whether next door or just down the road.

Homes all along the Pigeon River were pummeled by the fast-paced, destructive force of nature. It’s also hard to imagine how Hannah, who lives alone, would be able to move around in such a disaster, seeing as he had a stroke last year, rearing him somewhat immobile.

“I know some people got washed away and drowned. And I heard horror stories of people in trees clinging for their lives,” Hannah said. “There’s a lady out here, right behind me next to the river, who grabbed onto a tree because she couldn’t get through the rising water back to her house — she stayed in that tree until the water receded.”

Hannah is no stranger to floods in Cruso.

He’s spent the entire 74 years of his existence

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in the community, in the same stone house he currently resides in. He remembers the legendary 2004 flood, and also the one back in 1977, “where a little girl got washed away and died just up the road from here.”

“But, this one? It ranks number one in being the worst that I’ve ever seen,” Hannah said. “That river was roaring by here. It was so powerful. It has destroyed a lot of this community.”

Retired for over a decade, Hannah was a 46-year employee at the Champion paper mill in Canton (now Evergreen Packaging). He was also a longtime member of the Cruso Fire & Rescue Squad, only stepping down from his duties there a month or so ago. Cruso is his home, and will remain so.

“It’s things like this flood that bring us together in Cruso — we’re even stronger now than we were before all of this,” Hannah said. “You wouldn’t believe how all of the neighbors and folks here have come out to help one another — it’s amazing.”

These days, Hannah relies on a fixed income from Social Security and his retirement from the mill. And yet, even with that, he wonders what to do now with the damage to his house atop living alone with medical issues. But, for now, he sits in his chair in the garage and ponders his next move, watching the vehicles constantly rolling by his house.

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Just hours after the premature Mountaineer story was published — apparently without consulting any Canton Alderman or Alderwoman — the entire board voted unanimously to cancel the parade.

“I struggled with what I was going to do, and you know this is a tradition, the Labor Day parade, but what has made it a tradition have been the people and it’s because of the people that we have had this tradition,” said Alderman Dr. Ralph Hamlett, who made the motion to cancel the parade. “When you think about the families who have lost so much, particularly the families who have lost loved ones — six families — it would be tone deaf. It would be wrong.”

Alderwoman Kristina Smith, who joined Hamlett in voting to cancel the parade, said she didn’t want to do it, but plenty of good reasons compelled her to cancel.

“With this storm and its aftermath, everything is evolving. We’re doing the best we can with the information we have at the time,” Smith said. “With [Hurricane] Ida coming and the potential for even more damage in our county, as well as the fact that we’re waiting on a federal emergency declaration, it just felt disingenuous to have a parade right now.”

Smith said that only about 20 entrants had applied for spots in the parade.

In fact, one of the original concerns voiced over the flood was that many of the usual entrants, including churches, were busy coordinating their own relief efforts and wouldn’t have time to think about building, transporting and staffing a float.

“It was with a heavy heart that I voted to

Even 40 years before this September, 1946 photo, Canton’s Labor Day parade had made memories for thousands of spectators in Haywood County. The Log photo cancel it, but it wasn’t going to be the parade that this town deserved,” said Smith.

Hamlett also remarked on the incongruity of holding a parade meant to honor the labor movement by asking already-exhausted first responders to help put on a celebration.

“Besides the people who have lost so much, we have had staff and police and firefighters, emergency workers in the town of Canton who have been on call ever since this happened,” Hamlett said. “And what better way to honor the tradition on Labor Day than to let these folks take a day of rest or a weekend of rest — if they can — so they can be with their families to catch their breath,

maybe refresh just a bit, not all the way, but refresh just a bit instead of having to come out and marshal the parade, and police blocking traffic, and staff cleaning up.”

Hamlett’s motion passed the board by a margin of 4 to 0, with votes from Smith, Mayor Pro Tem Gail Mull and Alderman Tim Shepard.

Mayor Zeb Smathers, who only votes in the case of a tie, said he supports the board’s decision but declined to give his opinion on whether or not the parade should have been held.

The Mountaineer’s story has since been updated to excise the inaccurate information.

September 1-7, 2021

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR anton’s elected leaders want to ensure that the public knows the last remaining element of the Town of Canton’s 114th annual Labor Day festival — Monday’s parade — has indeed been cancelled.

A story published Aug. 30 by The Mountaineer claimed the parade was still on for Monday, Sept. 6, despite everything the town has been through with flooding from Tropical Storm Fred.

However, in the immediate aftermath of the flood, Canton officials were hesitant to make such a statement, with one speaking off the record and saying it wasn’t likely going to be feasible.

Aldermen had spent lots of time over the preceding month debating the wisdom of holding the festival, believed to be the oldest in the South, because of rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in the county.

First, aldermen met for nearly three hours on Aug. 9, discussing whether or not to move forward with the events, which were to feature country superstars Diamond Rio and bluegrass legend Doyle Lawson as headliners.

Days later, after deciding to hold the festival, aldermen deliberated for two more hours on Aug. 12 and ultimately decided to cancel Lawson’s performance, along with all the others on Monday, in the name of safety.

At that time, the parade was still scheduled to take place, but then came the devastating floodwaters that inundated critical town infrastructure and displaced police and fire department employees, who were all working extra shifts to ensure public safety as relief efforts — and state and federal politi-

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Canton Labor Day parade cancelled

Waynesville’s former Gateway Club lands first major tenant

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Illinois, had traveled to the region on their honeymoon, and never forgot it. After years of running businesses in Southern California, they decided they’d had enough, and wanted to get closer to nature.

When they looked for a place to locate their new Scottish pub, they found the historic Masonic Temple, just off Main Street, and signed a lease without ever setting foot in the building, or even the town of Waynesville.

Three weeks ago, they moved to a temporary home in Haywood County, and are looking for a permanent residence, but work has already started on the groundfloor space that was formerly home to the Gateway Club.

Makyia said that demolition of the existing bar and floor layout was complete, and that extensive renovations were underway.

When it’s all done, the space will appear much like a Scottish pub, complete with pub fare, high quality scotch and bourbon, and beers from around the region, the nation and the world.

Carlton Collins Architecture, of Asheville, will be responsible for the design, and local builders Clark and Leatherwood will perform the carpentry work. Scot and Makyia, however, will have their hand in some of the finer details to accent the interior.

“Actually, this weekend we went out to Franklin to the Scottish Tartan Museum and that was kind of serendipitous too, because we didn’t realize it was also a shop.

We were planning on buying tartans for our curtains in the building. Now that we know that a lot of Scottish settlers are here in North Carolina, particular clans in like McLeod and Crawford, we’re going to pick

out our tartans based on that little bit of history,” Makyia said. “Also we’ll have our Blair tartan as well in there.”

Makyia said she’s set an “aggressive” opening timeline for late October, but cited lingering difficulty in acquiring some building materials as a reason the pub may not be able to open by then.

Combined, Makyia and Scot have more than 30 years in the restaurant industry and have operated similar businesses in California in the past, but now they’re completely focused on bringing a slice of Scottish culture to downtown Waynesville’s already-vibrant drinking and dining scene.

“This is our solo project,” she said.

“Now, we are really looking to have a slower pace of life and have one business to focus on, and make it amazing.”

Follow the progress of The Scotsman on Instagram @thescotsmanwaynesville.

Smoky Mountain News

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR n retrospect it’s odd that a region with such strong historical ties to Scotland doesn’t have a greater number of authentic Scottish pubs, but thanks to Scot and Makyia Blair, that’s about to change — at least in Waynesville.

“Asheville wasn’t quite what we were looking for because it’s still kind of a big city and we were looking for a smaller town that’s really community focused and small business friendly,” Makyia said. “Just kind of searching in the area using good old Google, we found Waynesville. We saw that it had a cute main street, that it was all mom-and-pop shops along Main Street and we just saw Waynesville as that place that kind of hit all of the boxes for us.”

Makyia, a native of Washington state, and Scot, a Marine from rural east-central

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September 1-7, 2021

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Duke Energy spokesman Jason Walls presents the Town of Canton with a $50,000 check on Aug. 26.

Cory Vaillancourt photo

Institutional donations roll into Haywood County

Smoky Mountain News

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT POLITICS E DITOR lthough Haywood County still waits for news of a federal disaster declaration that would bring much needed resources to storm-ravaged areas, some of the area’s most prominent corporate citizens aren’t waiting around to pitch in and help.

“One of the things that has been really nice to see since I moved to the region in 2013 is what makes Canton unique — outside of its people, its football games, its spirit — a lot of it has to do with small businesses,” said Jason Walls, a district manager and spokesman for Duke Energy. “I’ve seen these communities grow and it’s been a lot of fun to become intimately connected to those places.

As a company, anytime something really bad happens in a place you care about, you automatically want to help, you want to send water, you want to send in food, you want to do this, you want to do that, but every once in a while, it kind of helps to stop and to ask what the community needs.”

What Canton needs, Walls told Canton aldermen on Aug. 26, is help getting those small businesses back up and running; with that, he presented a check for $50,000 from Duke.

The contribution will be used to start a 14

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town-administered grant program available not only to residents of Canton, but to any business in the 28716 zip code, which also covers Cruso and Bethel.

“We know that $50,000 is somewhat of a drop in the bucket, but it is the single largest gift that the company has ever given to Haywood County,” Walls said. “We’re excited and delighted to be a part — albeit a small part — of the rebuilding and the recovery for a community that has been so foundational and important to the company.”

Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers said he was eager to see locals benefit from the donation.

“Even though no one in Cruso voted for us, or against us, they are part of the family.

They are part of our schools, our churches, our businesses and so this grant will allow those small businesses in Cruso to also apply and receive direct benefits. It will be up to town staff to figure what that is, but obviously, we’re very obsessed with our small grant program — it will be similar to that.”

Duke wasn’t the only group to get in on the action. A few days earlier, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino announced it was chipping in to the recovery efforts with a donation of $20,000 to Helping Haywood, a nonprofit run by the Faith Community Church of Haywood.

Although all of the donations are substantial, the Canopy Realtor Association and Canopy MLS went above and beyond, donating an astonishing $400,000 toward relief efforts.

“We have strong ties to Haywood County with many of our employees or their families residing there,” said Brooks Robinson, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos regional senior vice president and general manager. “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.”

Robinson said the company’s strong ties to Haywood County ignited their desire to help, and added that they’d also donated 20 pallets of water and had set up another program through which employees could donate.

Dr. Michael Coleman, vice president of Student Services at Haywood Community College and an organizer with Helping Haywood, lauded the donation.

“The devastation we have seen in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fred has been very difficult to comprehend,” Coleman said.

“We will certainly never be quite the same, however the outpouring of love we have witnessed from our community and surrounding areas over the past few days has been nothing short of miraculous. I would like to thank Harrah’s Cherokee for their financial gift and contributions to Helping Haywood, which will in turn go directly towards the efforts to help and support flood victims in Cruso, Bethel, Clyde, and Canton. Together, we are #HaywoodStrong.”

The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill also held a fundraiser on Friday, Aug. 27, in downtown Waynesville. Six local entities donated a keg of beer each, with sales of draft beer going towards fundraising efforts. There were also $10 plates of barbecue served by Haywood Smokehouse, and a live auction of a painting

by Waynesville artist and gallery owner Ashten McKinney brought an additional $575.

Several private citizens made substantial donations as well, but Water’n Hole owner Becky Robinson matched them all — by the end of the night, $10,000 had been raised, and Robinson doubled that to $20,000.

Although all of the donations are substantial, the Canopy Realtor Association and Canopy MLS went above and beyond, donating an astonishing $400,000 toward relief efforts.

“We care deeply about the people and communities that we serve and now more than ever our neighbors who have lost their homes and so much more need our assistance,” said David Kennedy, president of both Canopy Realtor Association and Canopy MLS. According to a release by Canopy Media Relations Specialist Kim Walker, 75 percent of the funding, or $300,000, will be allocated to the United Way of Haywood County. The remaining 25 percent, $100,000, has been earmarked for local social services agency Mountain Projects.

Haywood resident Brian Cagle serves as a director on the Canopy Foundation and Canopy MLS boards, and is also the vice president/managing broker of Beverly Hanks & Associates.

“I am simply overcome and filled with gratitude for the overwhelming support from our industry,” Cagle said.

Headquartered in Charlotte, the Canopy Realtor Association is the professional trade association that provides realtors in Mecklenburg, Iredell and Haywood counties with resources and services to conduct ethical, professional and profitable businesses.

Haywood Board of Realtors became part of Canopy Realtor Association on Jan. 1, 2020, establishing the Western Region.

Canopy MLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of Canopy Realtor Association and is the private broker cooperative used by realtors to bring buyers and sellers together with access to thousands of residential listings in a multicounty service area, including Charlotte, the mountain area of North Carolina, South Carolina and beyond.

It’s not the first time Canopy has made charitable contributions in Haywood County, or in North Carolina. The group has a long history of advocacy across the state, and has made several rounds of donations to nonprofit groups in Haywood.

For the second year running, the much-awaited Cherokee Indian Fair is canceled due to COVID-19.

The Tuesday, Aug. 31, decision came following consultation between Principal Chief Richard Sneed, Vice Chief Alan “B” Ensley and public health officials. The fair was originally scheduled to take place Oct. 5-9.

“While I know we all look forward to the many traditions, food and events that we associate with the Cherokee Indian Fair, the health and safety of the EBCI tribal citizens and our guests is our utmost concern,” said Sneed. “To protect the safety of EBCI tribal citizens and guests, the destination marketing program has cancelled the Cherokee Indian Fair after consulting with Vickie Bradley, Secretary of EBCI Public Health & Human Services.

Per statistics from the EBCI PHHS Division, it has been determined that it is impossible to safely host the Cherokee Indian Fair due to COVID-19.”

At this time, pageant activities are still scheduled to occur in a closed setting.

Other virtual components are being explored with additional information being shared as plans are developed.

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A public meeting regarding improvements to U.S. 23/74 is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 2, at the Harrell Center Auditorium at the Lake Junaluska Conference Center, 710 Lakeshore Drive.

Impacts from Tropical Storm Fred postponed the meeting from Aug. 19. The N.C. Department of Transportation encourages residents to visit the NCDOT project page and submit comments.

Proposed improvements include replacing the two bridges on U.S. 23/74 over Richland Creek, widening the two bridges over Blue Ridge Southern Railroad, and reconfiguring the interchange with U.S. 19 including the addition of a bridge to replace the existing left side entrance.

A video rendering, maps and project details are available on the NCDOT project webpage. Transportation officials will detail recent adjustments to the plans, including a drastic reduction in the time needed for detours. They will also be available to answer questions and receive comments. Interested people can attend at any time during the meeting.

People may also submit comments by calling 984.205.6615 and entering project code 2219, or by emailing Smoky-MtExpressway@publicinput.com or sending comments by regular mail to Garrett Higdon, NCDOT Highway Division 14, Project Manager, 253 Webster Road, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

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Cherokee Indian Fair canceled over virus concerns

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Sylva delays Allen Street funding decision

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ylva Town Manager Paige Dowling presented two options during the town board’s Aug. 26 meeting for funding the $2 million needed to repair landslides on Allen Street, but her ultimate recommendation was that commissioners pass on both and wait for help.

“It’s my opinion that we need to get some state or federal help to make this repair possible,” Dowling said.

A 150-foot section of Allen Street and Bryson Park have both been closed since spring 2020 due to one of the two areas of cracked pavement and vertical displacement now visible on the narrow, winding road.

The estimated price tag for the repair is equivalent to 40% of the town’s entire budget for this year. The town has already appropriated $750,000 toward the repair from fund balance and covering the remaining cost from that same account would bring the balance down to 40.73% of the town’s annual budget, well below the amount recommended for towns Sylva’s size.

“We couldn’t feasibly take all of this from fund balance,” said Dowling. “We would be in real financial trouble.”

Recent flooding in Haywood County has only emphasized that conclusion. Towns carry high fund balances percentages so that when such a catastrophe strikes, they can

Smoky Mountain News

September 1-7, 2021

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address the immediate needs and cleanup costs that follow. While state and federal aid helps with disaster relief, that aid usually comes in the form of reimbursements for previously shouldered expenses, and the money typically takes years to come through.

“That’s the reason that towns carry a higher fund balance so that you have a reserve that can cover a catastrophe like that,” said Commissioner David Nestler.

The other option Dowling presented would draw the fund balance down to a more responsible 60% but take the rest of the money — $848,000 — from the Fisher Creek Fund. That’s also an unappealing option, as a portion of that fund is restricted so that it can be used only for water quality projects. If the town used the Fisher Creek Fund to pay for Allen Street repairs, the unrestricted portion would fall

to around $1 million, and the town has been planning for on the fund to cover ongoing maintenance, planning and trail development at Pinnacle Park and adjacent conserved lands.

“That fund needs to last forever to main-

tain Fisher Creek,” Dowling said.

The town has been trying for months to get help with the road repairs, but has not yet heard back on its June 10 request for $750,000 in state funding. In a resolution passed on that date, Sylva requested $250,000 apiece from contingency funds

controlled by the N.C. House, N.C. Senate and N.C. Secretary of Transportation. As part of the request, the town pledged to match state funding with $750,000 of its own money to complete repairs that at that time were estimated at $1.5 million.

Additionally, Mayor Lynda Sossamon said Aug. 26, the town has requested funding from Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s office.

The town believes it will hear back on all four funding requests this fall. Dowling hopes to know something on the state contingency requests after the budget passes, which is expected to happen in September.

Federal funding decisions wouldn’t occur until October, Sossamon said.

Those considerations led commissioners to a consensus that they should wait another month to decide on funding. A somewhat positive report from Public Works Director Jake Scott regarding Tropical Storm Fred’s effect on the landslide also contributed to that decision. The Monday following the Aug. 17 storm, geologists went out to measure slope movement on Allen Street and found that the northern failure had moved by less than an inch and the southern failure had moved by a full inch.

That’s “a substantial amount of movement,” said Scott.

“However,” he said, “given the weather event that we went through everybody’s pretty pleased that’s all we had to deal with.”

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New HCAC director fosters creative community

BY HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER n June, Morgan Beryl took over as executive director of the Haywood County Arts Council. She has lived all over the United States and studied an array of subjects, but her love for the arts and the outdoors brought her to Haywood County.

Beryl is from Florida, where she invested in her creative self from a young age.

Growing up, she regularly acted in plays alongside her mother. Later, she attended an arts high school where she studied theater.

Around this time, her mother opened her own theater company, where Beryl learned the ins and outs of running a business centered on the arts.

“From the beginning, I had a connection to the arts and the nonprofit world through my mother,” said Beryl.

From there she went on to New York University where she studied art therapy with a specialty in ceramics. Beryl has always been a tactile learner, working in film photography before ceramics. After NYU, she went on to work for nonprofits in sustainable agriculture, while she continued her education in ceramics at different schools.

Between teaching ceramics, learning ceramics and working in sustainable agriculture, Beryl lived in Massachusetts, Tennessee, Illinois and California, where she interned at a regional planning agency.

Beryl went on to get her masters in community development, at the University of California Davis, and worked in the planning field for various governmental agencies in California and Colorado.

Like so many people who end up in these mountains, Beryl and her husband fell in love with the place. Avid hikers and all-around outdoors people, they had been interested in moving to Western North Carolina for quite some time. So when Beryl saw the opportunity at the Haywood County Arts Council, she couldn’t resist making the jump.

“Hiking is a definite passion. I love to be outside with my dog and just hearing the birds. I wake up early quite often before work and go hike the Blue Ridge, just a great way for me to start my day,” said Beryl.

There are two important reasons Beryl circled back to a career in the arts — mental health and bridging the gap between people. With a degree in art therapy, Beryl believes that having a visual, tactile way to express oneself and one’s experiences in the world helps to keep people safe, especially those who don’t have another way to express themselves.

“It’s not easy for everyone to talk about

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September 1-7, 2021

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“We want to support people’s desire to make art and share their vision with others.”

— Morgan Beryl, executive director of the Haywood County Arts Council

how they feel, or to go and exercise, to release serotonin. I think art provides another mechanism for people to have that kind of release. I also think that it can create shared experiences,” she said.

Art has a way of connecting people, of creating a shared experience between people of vastly different beliefs or backgrounds.

“We all come from these different places and different upbringings and different ways of connecting with the earth and with each other and different politics,” said Beryl. “I think if we can all look at a painting or a piece of work and feel the beauty and the effort and the thought that went into that, it’s a way of finding a common ground.”

Beryl is most looking forward to fostering community among artists in Haywood County and art lovers at large. She sees her position as a chance to really promote artists, as well as opportunities within the art scene.

Young creators are another passion for Beryl, who says she will be focusing on cultivating a lot of programs for Haywood County youth. Part of that work has already panned out in the form of the Junior Appalachian Musicians program, which offers traditional Appalachian music lessons

to all students in grades 4-12, beginning Sept. 14.

“The thing that feels really important to me is creating a safe place for kids to learn a new skill, to meet other kids that have interest in the same type of hobbies and create a healthy lifestyle,” said Beryl. “My hope is we’ll keep them on the right path, you know, always give them something to rely on when they need it.”

Haywood County Arts Council is always looking for volunteers. The storefront on Main Street is 100% volunteer run, and volunteers will be needed for the Smoky Mountain Bluegrass Festival fundraiser in October.

Artists interested in becoming an artist member of Haywood County Arts Council should contact the arts council or visit its website. The council does not turn anyone down who would like to become an artist member. There is no jury process.

“We want to create a community. We want to support people’s desire to make art and share their vision with others. And as we’re looking at our processes, I think that’s a clear goal. Of course we want high quality work, but we also have a focus on creating a community and providing opportunity,” said Beryl.

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Cherokee to expand health facilities

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER he Cherokee Tribal Council approved more than $110 million for new health facilities on the Qualla Boundary and in Cherokee County, giving unanimous endorsement to two separate projects during its Aug. 5 meeting.

The largest project, the first phase of a long-term care facility to be constructed on land adjacent to the Cherokee Indian Hospital, is expected to start construction in March with an opening date planned for early 2025.

Of the estimated $105 million cost, site work covering other phases of the project in addition to the first phase — including utilities and earthwork — is expected to cost $28 million. Permitting, planning and design will also require a significant up-front outlay — actual construction will account for only about $60 million of the $105 million total cost, Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority Director of Engineering Damon Lambert told the Health Board during a July 21 meeting.

“It’s going to be better if we do all the permitting for all of the project now, and the federal agency has made that very clear,” said Lambert.

The estimate also includes $5 million in potential cost escalation. That figure comes from the construction managers, said CIHA CEO Casey Cooper, and they are at risk for that estimate.

The $105 million figure also includes expenses such as furniture, medical and kitchen equipment, landscaping and artwork.

Once complete, the first phase of construction will add a 100-bed skilled nursing facility, a 24-bed memory care center and a dialysis facility to tribal healthcare facilities, a total of 154,000 square feet. The final project will total 300,000 square feet and also include an adult day care, 24 assisted living apartments, 18 independent living cottages and 42 independent living apartments.

It’s a plan that’s been under discussion since 2019, when Tribal Council passed a resolution directing the hospital to form a longterm plan for a new senior living campus. In that same year, the hospital hired an architecture and engineering firm and conducted community and Tsali Care input sessions to gather ideas.

“We got great information,” said Lambert. “We got a lot of good ideas from the community and the residents that are at Tsali about what they want to see in the project.”

The master plan was finalized in February 2020 and presented to the hospital’s governing board in March. After a lengthy discussion, the board selected an option from the menu presented, and Tribal Council endorsed that same option during a July 2020 work session. Since that time, hospital leaders have refined the plan and broken the project down into phases, complet20 ing pre-construction work following the hos-

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September 1-7, 2021

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October through December, with construcpital governing board’s March approval of tion planned for January 2022 through up to $125,000 for those efforts. There may January 2023, and the facility opening in still be slight changes to the design as final mid-2023. planning wraps up — geotechnical borings The resolutions for both projects state must still be completed, for instance — but that funding would come from “available major changes are not expected. sources and debt financing.” And while the Right now, the plan is to execute contribe would certainly be responsible for tracts in November and to complete construction between March 2022 and The planned long-term care December 2024, with campus would feature stunning the facilities opening views and allow residents easy in early 2025. access to the hospital next door.

However, Lambert EBCI rendering said, that schedule is a “bit conservative,” and it’s possible the project could finish faster.

“Our goal would be to do an early release package for site work,” he said. “Site work is the biggest part of the project. It will take the longest to complete.

The sooner we can get that going, the quicker the project can get done, and it will actually save us money the faster we can do it.”

The second, smaller health project Council approved last A proposed replacement month is a new $5.4 building for the current million facility for the Cherokee County Clinic Cherokee County would feature Clinic. Lambert said upgraded and he’s “pretty confident” modernized about the accuracy of facilities. the $5.4 million figure, EBCI rendering as the hospital reached out to multiple vendors for pricing and received “almost identical” responses.

“I think anyone who’s been to the Cherokee County clinic would agree it’s in desperate need of a new facility,” Cooper told Council in August.

The property that holds the existing coming up with the money for construction facility is too constrained to accommodate a costs, Cooper said he’s optimistic that the new, larger building as well, said Lambert at hospital could pay those costs back extremethe July meeting, so the plan is to build the ly quickly through leases with the federal facility on tribally owned property along government.

Tomotla Road. It’s located about 3 miles Section 105-L of the Indian Selfnortheast from the Valley River Casino. The tribe owns four parcels at the proposed loca- Determination and Education Assistance Act allows tribes and tribal organizations to tion totaling 329 acres.

“If all the regulatory requirements can be lease their facilities to the federal government to carry out government functions. met, this would be a really ideal location,” The 105-L leasing program has allowed the Cooper said.

The new facility would include two exam hospital to reimburse the tribe completely for the cost of its $80 million hospital, comrooms, three dental exam rooms, a telepleted in 2015. The 105-L leasing program is health room, an exam/procedure room and currently included in both the U.S. House a triage room. Design would occur from

and White House versions of the federal budget.

“We think the chances of qualifying for a 105-L lease for this project are very, very high,” Cooper said.

The hospital has not yet conducted an operational pro forma for the Cherokee County site to see how the operations side

might pan out financially — it is being considered as a replacement facility. However, much analysis has been conducted on the long-term care project, with a detailed pro forma concluding that “most likely scenario” would take the tribe’ annual loss on longterm care operations down to $1-1.5 million from this year’s $2.5 million. The loss could total as little as $800,000 if the proportion of Medicaid patients reaches 75% of the total beds, Cooper said.

“We think we can have a world-class facility and have an annual burden on the tribe that’s much less than what it is now,” said Cooper.

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information at the agenda setting meetings.

“We should have had time to look at this, we’re having to vote on this tonight and all this comes to me now. I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but this is just not the way we do things,” said Eveland. “If you want campgrounds, you can vote for that, just make sure everybody in the valley knows you voted for campgrounds. This should have been in the [agenda setting] meeting. There’s no way I should be sitting here looking at this now, having to make a decision on this.”

“Are we not supposed to do our homework?” asked Alderwoman Tammy Wight.

Patel noted that some of the RVs she presented in classes B and C cost over $100,000.

“Who are we discriminating against?”

Patel asked.

Planning Board Chairman Jeff Lee spoke from the floor, stating that there was some confusion about the differences between Class A, B, and C. The intent was to have high-end, nicer motorhomes.

Eveland said that some motorhomes in class B look like vans.

Frankie Wood, the Ghost Town In The Sky developer responsible for bringing the RV/ PUD issue to the board, spoke from the audience at the board meeting, stating that everything the board was discussing would be restricted by the Homeowners Association he would create for the development. The town attorney told the board that if they were going to accept comments from the public, they would need to reopen a public hearing on the issue. The board did not.

Alderwoman Patel made the motion to revise a section of the text amendment allowing PUD status for RV parks, allowing class A, B and C recreational vehicles.

Mayor Eveland opposed the motion, which passed 4 to 1.

“Developments deemed RV/PUD shall be limited to Class A, B, and C Recreational Vehicles. Recreational Vehicles are defined as a self-contained RV constructed on either a truck chassis or commercial bus chassis that typically has a flat or vertical front end with large side windows,” reads the text.

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BY HANNAH MCLEOD STFF WRITER aggie Valley Board of Aldermen voted Aug. 17 to allow class A, B and C recreational vehicles in RV Planned Unit Developments. Previously, the board had discussed allowing PUD status for RV parks, only if vehicles were restricted to class A. The town has received interest from developers who want to be able to subdivide their proposed RV parks, but the current approved density yield is cost prohibitive.

According to town ordinance, the purpose of the PUD status is to afford substantial advantages for greater flexibility and improved marketability through permit flexibility in building sites, mixtures of housing types and land use. Residential densities are calculated on a project basis, thus allowing the clustering of buildings to create useful open spaces and preserve natural site features.

When the board discussed allowing PUD status for RV parks in July, Mayor Mike Eveland asked for caution in making a change that would have implications for all of Maggie Valley.

“Keep in mind, if this was just for one individual property, that would be great. But that’s not the case, we’re changing the actual rules and the ordinance. And I don’t believe that we want to open up the door for campgrounds throughout the valley,” he said.

Following the July meeting, the board was prepared to allow PUD status for RV parks that only allowed class A vehicles.

Class A Recreational Vehicles are defined as self-contained RVs constructed on either a truck chassis or commercial bus chassis that typically has a flat or vertical front end with large side windows. These types of RVs may also feature “slide outs” which when parked allow larger internal living areas.

However, at the Aug. 17 meeting Alderwoman Twinkle Patel presented a packet of information to the board regarding other classes of RVs. Eveland chafed at the idea of presenting new information to the board at a regular board meeting saying that it would be more appropriate to discuss new

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COVID-19 deaths continue across the region STAFF R EPORTS acon County Public Health received notification Aug. 30 that a Macon County resident between the ages of 65-74 who was diagnosed with COVID-19 passed away. This death brings Macon County to 44 deaths related to COVID-19.

“This family is in our thoughts and prayers as they mourn the loss of their loved one,” said Health Director Kathy McGaha.

“Macon County residents can help protect themselves and others in our community by receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Macon County has appointments available for the lifesaving vaccine for everyone who is 12 years old and older. The more individuals who get this vaccine, the more likely that we will stop seeing COVID-19 deaths.”

Haywood County Health and Human Services received notice of two more COVID19 deaths on Aug. 24, bringing the total deaths in Haywood to 108. One individual was between the ages of 80-85 and died at Haywood Regional Medical Center on Aug. 16. The immediate cause of death was COVID-19 pneumonia.

The other individual was between the ages of 80-85 and died at Haywood Regional Medical Center on Aug. 17. The immediate cause of death was acute hypoxic respiratory failure, COVID-19.

“We at Haywood County Health and Human Services extend our deepest sympa-

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thies to the family and loved ones during this time of loss,” said Health Director Sarah Henderson. “COVID-19 is a serious and sometimes deadly illness. We ask everyone to consider the pain and loss this virus can bring with it and do everything you can to help prevent its spread.”

Between Aug. 17 and Aug. 24, Haywood County Public Health received notice of 226 new cases of COVID-19.

According to the CDC, all of North Carolina is listed as an area of high community transmission. All surrounding states are also high-transmission areas.

Mask-wearing indoors is now highly recommended in such areas. Masks are now required in Haywood County facilities, including the libraries, for employees and the public.

Parents are strongly recommended to encourage their school-age children to wear masks at school.

“Between COVID-19, severe weather, staffing concerns, and several other factors, Haywood County is faced with a critical situation. The emergency medical system is stretched to its capacity. Hospitals through-

out the region are full. Patients needing transport by ambulance are having to wait outside, sometimes for hours, in the ambulance before a bed in the emergency department is available,” Henderson said.

“Everyone needs to be aware of the seriousness of the situation and take steps to stay safe. Avoid unnecessary travel, dangerous

activities, and take all safety precautions to protect your health and wellbeing in a time when medical care options are under more pressure than usual.”

Swain County is also reporting high community transmission of COVID-19. As of Aug. 24, the county had 89 active COVID-19 cases in Swain County

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Affordable housing is in short supply in Western North Carolina. In Haywood County alone more than 29% of residents are cost burdened, meaning they are paying more than 30% of their household income for housing.

Haywood Habitat for Humanity recently announced new financial support from Dogwood Health Trust, the private foundation established through the sale of Mission Health to HCA Healthcare. The sole purpose of DHT is to dramatically improve the health and well-being of all people and communities of 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina.

Dogwood Health Trust focuses on innovative and equitable ways to address the many factors that contribute to overall health and wellness.

Thanks to DHT’s support, two more low-income Haywood County families will have the opportunity to access Habitat’s affordable housing program. Dogwood will provide the capital needed to build two of the first five energy-efficient, affordable homes for low-income families in Habitat’s 10-home neighborhood, Chestnut Park, located in Waynesville.

“In Fall 2020, in the face of the pandemic, Haywood Habitat for Humanity began construction of the organization’s largest neighborhood to date. It was a bold, but critical action for us to take at such an uncertain time,” said Habitat Executive Director Jamye Sheppard. “We are grateful for Dogwood’s commitment to help address the disadvantages created by the lack of affordable housing in our area, and for their investment in the work we do to address the problem.”

Haywood Habitat for Humanity works to make affordable homeownership possible for low income Haywood County residents that are willing to partner in the building of their homes and have the ability to pay an affordable mortgage payment.

Since its founding in 1990, Haywood Habitat has worked to improve housing for more than 300 Haywood County residents.

The organization is committed to eliminating substandard housing in the community through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. The work is accomplished through the generosity of volunteers, donors, and sales at the Waynesville ReStore. To learn more, visit www.haywoodhabitat.org.

To learn more about DHT, visit www.dht.org.

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MASKS REQUIRED IN JACKSON COUNTY BUILDINGS

@S M O K Y M O U N T A I N N E W S

Smoky Mountain News

After a three-month lapse, Jackson County has re-instituted its masking requirement for county facilities. The mandate applies when entering “interior public spaces” and being within 6 feet of another person.

The county is under a state of emergency and has been since March 16, 2020, but falling positivity rates and case numbers led to a May 17 supplementary order lifting previous requirements to wear a mask and social distance when inside county facilities. The May 17 order followed a May 14 executive order lifting the statewide mask mandate that had been in effect at

that time.

Due to rising rates of positive test results and hospitalizations for COVID-19, Jackson County reinstituted its indoor mask mandate for county facilities in an Aug. 27 amendment to the declaration of the local state of emergency, signed by County Commission Chairman Brian McMahan.

The order includes several exceptions to the masking requirement, including for people who are under age 2; are actively eating, drinking or strenuously exercising; are speaking for broadcast, to an audience or to communicate with someone who is hearingimpaired; are required to remove the mask for identification purposes or to secure government or medical services; would be at risk from wearing a face covering at work; is a child whose parent, guardian or responsible person has been unable to safely place the mask on the child’s face; is working in an interior office or protected area with a barrier such as a plastic or glass shield; or cannot wear a face covering due to medical or behavioral conditions.

Unlike in May, the order does not mirror a similar statewide order. However, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services does say that even vaccinated people should wear masks in areas of high transmission, and Jackson County currently falls in this category.

The county order does not mandate masking outdoors or in privately owned spaces.

September 1-7, 2021

and 19 deaths.

For more information on this or other vaccination sites visit: www.vaccines.gov.

Citizens who test positive for COVID-19 are encouraged to reach out to friends or family that meet the close contact criteria and encourage them to self-quarantine and get tested five to six days after their exposure to the individual who tested positive.

The end goal is to reduce community spread and keep COVID numbers on the downward trend.

Businesses need to be mindful that having quarantined employees return to work too quickly could cause a cluster of cases in the workplace.

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Education

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HCC celebrates Marshall’s service Haywood Community College Board of Trustees chairman George Marshall recently completed eight years of service on the board.

Originally appointed by the Haywood County Board of Commissioners to a four-year term in July 2013, he was then reappointed by the commissioners to serve an additional four years in July 2017.

While serving on the board, three years of this time was as board chairman. During his tenure, Marshall was instrumental in planning and completing the Public Services Training Facility, the search for and hiring of a new president, and the planning and groundbreaking of the Health Sciences building, which is currently under construction. The framed photo of the College’s millhouse was presented to Marshall at a recent reception.

Mission Health is accepting applications from throughout the community for the Kesha Young Health Careers Scholarship, with the aim of making college more affordable for minority high school seniors and college students from Western North Carolina who are pursuing careers in healthcare. Scholarship amounts range from $1,500$2,500 for the 2021-22 school year.

The scholarship is named in honor of Kesha Young, a 22-year-old, bi-racial woman who was born with mental and physical disabilities and underwent multiple surgeries at Mission Hospital.

Kesha died just months before she was scheduled to earn her high school diploma.

The application can be found at www.missionhealth.org/scholarships. The completed application, along with all additional materials, must be received by 5 p.m. on Sept. 13 for consideration.

Winners will be notified in October 2021. Any member of the WNC community who meets the qualifications is invited to apply.

Mullins awarded reading honor Marianna Black Library recently recognized participants of the Summer Learning Program for reading a total of almost 30,000 minutes this summer.

Mattie Grace Mullins, of Bryson City, read the most and collected the grand prize of an Amazon gift card.

The library is also currently planning a countywide art gallery contest for children 5-17. Ms. Allison Reid, who is an art major and also works at the library, will be working with the youth department to help make the event a success. Once all

entries are received, they will be displayed at the library for gallery night.

For more information on any of this or other services, contact the library at 828.488.3030.

WCU’s principal program receives grant Western Carolina University is a recipient of a recurring grant from the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program that will provide $4.1 million over the next six years, the University of North Carolina System recently announced.

The grant will help WCU’s North Carolina School Executive Leadership Program prepare effective principals to meet the demands of public education and administration, and to equip top tier candidates for school leadership who positively affect student learning in North Carolina.

“These annual recurring grants will be vital for our universities to help train exceptional candidates to one day become school principals,” said Andrew Kelly, UNC System senior vice president of strategy and policy. “The UNC System is proud to partner with NCPFP and would like to thank them for their continued support of education leadership training throughout the system.”

For information, contact Kim Wood, grant coordinator at woodk@wcu.edu.

Free tuition offered at HCC Haywood Community College will offer free tuition for curriculum students for the 2021-2022 school year. Through a series of funding sources, including federal, state, and local funds, HCC is in a position to remove as many financial barriers for new and returning students as possible.

“By expanding free tuition, we want to eliminate any financial roadblock keeping someone from registering,” said HCC President Dr. Shelley

• Western Carolina University Board of Trustees appointed Jamie Raynor as its new vice chancellor of advancement during a special-called meeting July 20. Raynor, who served as the interim vice chancellor of advancement for the last two years secured the position after an extensive national search. Her appointment is effective immediately.

• Macon County Schools named Mark Sutton, principal at Macon Early College as the 20212022 Principal of the Year and Christina Tallent, teacher assistant at Cartoogechaye Elementary School as the Support Person of the Year for the district.

• The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees recently elected a slate of officers for 2021-22. The board elected Robert Roberts of Asheville, regional executive vice president for First Citizens Bank & Trust Co., to serve as chair; Kathy Greeley, owner of Kathryn Greeley Designs, a full-service interior design firm in Waynesville, to serve as vice-chair, and Rebecca Schlosser of Greensboro, a WCU alumna who is a former high school teacher and current community volunteer, to serve as secretary.

• The STEAM Club program will return to Marianna Black Library in Bryson City at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14. The club focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Each session will include an exploration of STEAM materials, challenges, and activities. For more information or to register, call 828.488.3030.

ALSO:

Pictured with Marshall is HCC President Dr. Shelley White. Michelle Harris photo

Mission Health accepting scholarship applications

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White. “This is a unique opportunity that may not last beyond this year — if the cost of college has been holding you back, now is a great time to start your new future.”

Complete the college’s admission processes as directed at www.haywood.edu/getting-started/college-credit. Complete the FAFSA form at studentaid.gov. Complete the HCC scholarship application at haywood.academicworks.com. Email hccadvising@haywood.edu for more information.

Additional questions concerning eligibility can be directed to hccaid@haywood.edu.

Scholarship for SCC nursing students The call for medical students has become much more prevalent since the pandemic began.

Charles and Wanda Wolfe heeded that call by giving a gift of $18,000 for nursing students at Southwestern Community College to create the Charles and Wanda Wolfe Family Endowed Scholarship Fund.

“I was a Registered Nurse for 30 years before retiring, including several years at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva,” said Wanda Wolfe. “I experienced first-hand all that was involved in the profession and was able to personally see the difference that nurses can and do make in patients’ lives. We chose the nursing profession in part because of my career.”

Her husband, an SCC Foundation Board Member, also had a personal reason for wanting to support those joining the nursing profession. Last year he stayed at Harris Regional Hospital for nine days due to a severe case of COVID-19.

“The scholarship is a way for the two of us to express our appreciation for the committed and professional care I received while I was being treated for this illness,” Charles said. “I was greatly impressed by — and grateful for — the selflessness of the nurses who were there for me even at the risk of their own health.”

For more information about the SCC Foundation, contact Foundation Director Brett Woods at b_woods@southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4241.

South College signs agreement with EBCI South College held a signing ceremony on its Asheville campus with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians that formalized an agreement translated into the tribe’s native language to encourage tribal students to enter health care fields of higher education.

Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed and Dr. Lisa Satterfield, president of the Asheville campus, signed the translated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on July 29 in a special ceremony.

“This signing represents both a tangible and symbolically meaningful partnership with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians that will prepare Tsalagi tribal members for professional health care careers and address the urgent need for greater equity in health care services for Native Americans,” Satterfield said. “I am especially honored to sign this translated document and look forward to advancing this partnership.”

For more information about South College, visit www.south.edu.

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Why WNC remains vulnerable to flooding P

Pay close attention go these names To the Editor: Pay close attention to the following names: Darin Hoover, Rosario Pichardo, Nicole Gee, Hunter Lopez, Daegan Page, Humberto Sanchez, David Espinoza, Jared Schmitz, Rylee McCollum, Dylan Merola, Kareem Nikoui, Maxton Soviak and Ryan Knauss.

They are the names of the 13 American service members killed in a suicide bombing at the Kabul Airfield last week. Pay close attention to the detail that most of these names are not your next-door Western North Carolina neighbors. There are no Smiths, Jones, Williams, Scott, Johnsons.

The point is that they all came from diverse backgrounds. Average age 22. The commonality is they stepped up to serve and take an oath to defend the rest of us ... although Facebook is loaded with cries of

ism and “communism,” eternal bogey words to fiercely independent mountaineers.

When offered electrification as well as flood control through the TVA, North Carolina instead created its own Rural Electrification Agency. By chartering state-sponsored power agencies, co-ops to most of us, North Carolina successfully bypassed the TVA and, in so doing, insured that the western mountain counties would be kept in the dark, flood-prone, and poor for decades to come. Situated on federal landholdings, areas further to the west near Fontana and Nantahala fared better, if marginally.

Powered by relatively cheap elecGuest Columnist tricity, industrial giants like ALCOA and Eastman built sprawling plants near booming Knoxville and Newport while, just across the border in North Carolina, farming collapsed, people left, and mountain counties became Appalachian backwaters. Only a few branch factories buttressed local economies. Have you ever wondered why, for example, just across the border in Johnson City, Newport, Gatlinburg, and Bristol there are so many educational opportunities and jobs but so few in adjacent Western North Carolina? Or why Oak Ridge is near Knoxville and not Asheville? Or why it floods so much less in Eastern Tennessee?

North Carolina has more than 3,100 dams, most privately owned and regulated — if poorly — by the state. Nationally, it also has the second highest number of inadequately maintained dams built in places that could kill people. When a storm like Matthew batters the Outer Banks, be assured that severe flooding will occur in mountain counties as well.

When Hurricane Andrew swamped coastal hog farms in

Milton Ready

sst! Have you heard that remnants of Tropical Storm Fred passed over Western North Carolina last week causing extensive power outages, flash floods, several deaths, and, yes, even tornadoes. And no, it’s not just about global warming. Now which area do you think suffers more flooding, the Outer Banks, eastern North Carolina, or the mountainous area of the French Broad River Basin?

Historically, it’s a combination of geography, weather, and, not surprisingly, political indifference and ineptitude. First, WNC’s geography ensures that flooding only too easily occurs. Water falling to the east and south principally from an invisible but critical eastern continental divide flows into three rivers: the Broad, the Green, and the Pacolet, eventually emptying into the Atlantic Ocean 200 miles away.

Yet things change on the western and southern sides of the divide. There, almost every drop somehow finds its way into the French Broad, that organ of creation and genesis of much of WNC’s history, and helps turn Asheville, Fletcher, Canton, Waynesville and smaller communities into giant ponds. For reasons buried in history and governance, no Tennessee Valley Authority like dams and controls line the banks of any of these rivers. Nor will they.

Remember the New Deal of the 1930s and the Tennessee Valley Authority just across the mountains to the west? A multipurpose agency that sought not only to bring cheap electricity to rural mountain areas but also a sweeping program of damming rivers, controlling flooding, and aiding farmers in southern states, the TVA found few supporters in North Carolina. In fact, the state’s senators, congressmen, and governors largely opposed the TVA, forever suspicious of any federal program. This state’s leaders wanted nothing to do with a federal program like this, especially one with a centralized government agency given authority to relocate entire communities. They found it not only repellent but smacking of social-

1992, breaching earthen dams and sending enormous toxic “lagoons” of fecal matter foaming and fuming into coastal rivers and water supplies, much of Biltmore Village and areas along the French Broad River basin flooded. Floods in 1940, 1977, 2004, 2018, and now 2021 have devastated Western North Carolina. While some will argue the destruction of the floods of 1940, 1977, and 2004 were catastrophic, the Great Flood of 1916 nonetheless stands as Western North Carolina’s Katrina, at least for now.

Tree falls and climate change? With a typical subsoil of perhaps 18 inches, a saturated ground, two or more inches of rain, and winds above 25 mph, hundreds of trees, many in newer “weather safe” mountainous developments and on clear-cut slippery slopes, will tumble onto homes, trailers, roads, power lines, cars, and, on occasion, people. Water rescues? More occur every year. Climate change? Just think of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure burning up in 2016 and with convulsive flooding in 2018.

Yet rest assured that when the mountains have a few inches of rain, lots of flooding and trees falling, a Democratic governor with little or no power except to sign his own paycheck and a Republican senator who opposes the very notion of climate change and regulation will parachute into the mountains for a photo op and quickly depart, so politically impotent and vulnerable is Western North Carolina. Have you had a tree fall near you lately?

(Milton Ready is an emeritus professor of history from UNC Asheville. He is the author of The Tar Heel State: A History of North Carolina (2020), and an earlier edition in 2005. He has also written two books on Asheville, the last Remembering Asheville (2005), and another on Madison County and the mountains of Western North Carolina called Mystical Madison. He has also authored several other books. He currently lives in Flat Rock. milton@miltonreadybooks.com.)

LETTERS nativism—i.e., the policy of protecting the interest of native-born or established inhabitants. We are a nation of many. We have to respect that as a fact.

As an old Southern white boy, I got my first real test of broadening my misguided understanding in the belief I was significant in the great scheme of things when Sgt. Pacheco welcomed me to Fort Jackson in 1963. He saw that I was given the same green uniform as everyone else, regardless of where we were from, our name, race, or social standing.

It was an extreme wake up realization in a limited minute. I was not as special as I had supposed I was …. I was welcomed, not with open arms by somebody delighted to make my acquaintance. It was the needs of our nation that were important. Not my selfinflicted importance.

Bob Scott Franklin

Air the laundry. The Smoky Mountain News encourages readers to express their opinions through letters to the editor or guest columns. All viewpoints are welcome. Send to Scott McLeod at info@smokymountainnews.com or mail to PO Box 629, Waynesville, NC, 28786

To the Editor: The opinion pages of the August 18 edition of your excellent paper should be required reading.

Chris Cox’s editorial tells it like it is, pulling no punches. Kudos to him. Mr. Wirth’s rebuttal to Mr. Gaston’s letter of the previous week dealt with the misinformation in the aforementioned letter and echoed my own thoughts (if only I had been able to organize them as eloquently as he). Scott McLeod’s editorial was proven correct by Mr. Wirth’s letter.

Print the opposing views to stimulate discourse.

Finally, Guest Columnist Hite’s piece on the fall of Afghanistan was also right on point.

Keep up the good work.

John Acuti Maggie Valley

Maskless, unvaccinated bear a responsibility

Cawthorn should think before he speaks

The alarmist rhetoric and proclamations found in Mary Jane Curry’s recent column published in The Mountaineer, “A Life Or Death Matter,” (Aug. 15) are certainly worrisome. The good news is that they are completely detached from reality. Don’t take my word for it. Instead I encourage Ms. Curry and other climate alarmists to read Unsettled, a new book released this year by Steven Koonin, who served in the Obama administration as the undersecretary for science at the Department of Energy.

In his book, Dr. Koonin debunks the apocalyptic arguments made by activists like Ms. Curry.

As Dr. Koonin points out, heat waves are no more common today than in 1900, the warmest temperatures in the U.S. haven’t risen in 50 years, there is no detectable human impact on hurricanes, the Greenland ice sheet is not shrinking at an increasing rate, and, most importantly, the economic impact of climate change is negligible. What’s more, despite the recent high-profile fires in California and Australia, Dr. Koonin points out that wildfire activity has declined since 2003.

Ms. Curry touts solar as a cure all without acknowledging the dramatic increase in mining activity that would be required to produce more electricity from solar and wind. Nor does Curry address the fact that solar and wind energy are extremely land intensive and, as such, Guest Columnist logistically incapable of powering a modern economy.

“No amount of marketing could change the poor physics of resourceintensive and land-intensive renewables,” explains Mike Shellenberger, founder of the Environmental Progress, a Berkeley-based non-profit, who was named “Hero of the Environment” by Time Magazine. “Solar farms take 450 times more land than nuclear plants, and wind farms take 700 times more land than natural gas wells, to produce the same amount of energy.”

Ms. Curry says she wants to “stop pipelines and fracking.” Yet horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, by increasing the use of natural gas at the expense of coal, have done more to reduce carbon emissions in this century than any government program ever dreamt up by environmentalists.

Contrary to the doom and gloom spread by Ms. Curry, the fact is that climate-related deaths have plummeted over the past century, despite a rising population and emissions. For the past 100 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations rose from approximately 305 parts per million to more than 400 ppm, while global average temperatures rose by about 1°C. However, as the below chart illustrates, a person’s risk of losing their life in a weather-related disaster has declined by 99 percent during this period.

“In other words, despite there being many more people and lots more stuff in harm’s way, the relative economic impact of extreme weather is decreasing,” said Marlo Lewis, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “It is difficult to reconcile that trend with claims that ours is an ‘unsustainable’ civilization.”

Unsettled and the data displayed within highlights some uplifting facts that contradict Ms. Curry’s catastrophic narrative. This includes the fact that the number and severity of droughts are not rising, nor are the frequency and severity of tornados. A review of the data in Unsettled also demonstrates that the rate of sea level rise is not increasing, but global crop yields are.

Contrary to the environmental apocalypse predicted by Curry and others, in reality many aspects of the environment are improving, even with a growing population and economy. Ms. Curry would do well to stop scaring people and instead educate herself on the science and actual historical record. While the good environmental news listed here won’t garner attention and clicks as well as Ms. Curry’s alarmist rhetoric, it has the benefit of being based in fact.

(Patrick Gleason, a resident of Haywood County and Washington, D.C., is vice president of state affairs at Americans for Tax Reform and a senior fellow at the Beacon Center of Tennessee. pgleason@atr.org.)

Smoky Mountain News

To the Editor: For many years I served as a Child Medical Examiner for Haywood County.

I was also a founding member of KARE’s Child Abuse Task Force. Along with law enforcement, the Department of Social Services and mental health, I participated in the evaluation, investigation and at times prosecution of hundreds of cases of alleged, and actual, child abuse — physical, psychological and sexual. It was a difficult but necessary job.

So I was pretty disgusted but not really surprised when our local congressman, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, publicly denounced people who advocated that school children wear masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19. He declared they were guilty of child abuse.

I believe I know a lot more than this inexperienced young man about child abuse. There may be legitimate questions about the usefulness, safety and comfort of mask wearing for school children. But, Mr. Cawthorn owes an immediate apology to the members of the Haywood County, Henderson County and Swain County school boards and all the other public officials who have made the difficult decision to move forward with masks mandates.

Issues like masks and vaccinations should be discussed with decency, drawing upon current verifiable medical knowledge. Dragging the discussion into the gutter is unworthy of any public official.

In Mr. Cawthorn’s recent letter to The Mountaineer, he condemned a letter writer for criticizing his response to the terrible flooding in Haywood County. I agree that now is the time to pull together and help our neighbors and not make political attacks. This means we pull together whether it’s dealing with the floods or combatting the pandemic.

Child abuse is a terrible problem in our society. Accusing public figures of child abuse for considering a mask requirement is a new low. Child abuse is not an issue to misuse for making political statements to score cheap media headlines.

Steve Wall Waynesville

Climate alarmism is not based in reality

September 1-7, 2021

To the Editor: In the Aug. 11 edition, a letter from a Franklin man was posted in both print and electronic editions of The Smoky Mountain News. In addition to false information, the writer wants to absolve the unvaccinated from any accountability about the current pandemic.

The writer claims that 99.7% of those who get COVID achieve a full recovery.

This is false. The fatality rate in the US for those who get COVID is currently just under 2% according to ourworldindata.org. That means that for every 50 to 60 people who get COVID, one dies.

Also, according to several studies, between 25% to more than 30% of those who have COVID become “long haulers” who have a variety of symptoms from shortness of breath to “brain fog” for months after they supposedly recover.

Does being concerned about contracting COVID sound like fearmongering?

Then there was the contention that masks don’t work because they didn’t in 1918. This is just plain stupid. In general, the data clearly show that masks reduce spread of COVID, but not all masks are created equal. Cloth masks and bandanas are not as effective as the N95 and KN95 masks, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Then there are the unvaccinated.

They are largely responsible for the continuing spread of the virus, especially the new Delta Variant. They are the vulnerable pool of individuals susceptible to infection where the virus can mutate as it spreads. The vast majority of individuals currently spreading and getting infected are the unvaccinated who refuse to wear a mask.

The maskless and unvaccinated are not just making a “personal decision” about their own heath. They are choosing to put everyone they come in contact with at risk. No, I will not “lay off ” the unvaccinated. They are accountable for the continuation of the pandemic and its restrictions. As someone with an immunocompromising condition, they are the reason I now still need to protect myself from them by wearing a mask.

Norman Hoffman Waynesville

Patrick Gleason

SMN opinion pages are required reading

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A&E

Smoky Mountain News

Kindness is my religion A conversation with Oliver Wood

Oliver Wood. (photo: Joshua Black Wilkins)

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD ARTS & E NTERTAINMENT E DITOR hen the entire music industry shutdown for the foreseeable future in March 2020, many artists and bands didn’t know what to do with themselves. For most, all they’d known for years, perhaps decades, was rolling down the road to the next town, to entertain a raucous audience in a packed venue.

For Oliver Wood, lead singer and guitarist for Americana/indie-folk juggernaut The Wood Brothers, he decided it was high time to put down the guitar and pick up meditation.

“I started meditating every day when the pandemic started. And I’ve learned so much for that — just being forced to sit still,” Wood said modestly. “And it’s this feeling that I want to keep when life opens up again. How can I retain this feeling of stillness and being in the moment? I hope we can all remember that positive part of it, how important it is to for your quality of life to just slow down once in a while.”

Through his daily meditation sessions, Wood began peeling away the sometimesheavy layers of not only the creative spirit, but also the expectations of being an internationally known and acclaimed musician — days spent alone and away from family, nights atop stages in rooms filled with new faces, all eyes aimed at you and what melodic magic you can

W

conjure with a single chord strum or a mesmerizing lyrical phrase.

Between his meditation and down time at home with his wife and kids last year, Wood began constructing his debut solo album. At its core, “Always Smilin’” (Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers) is a celebration of life, with Wood calling up old friends to collaborate with in the studio (including the likes of Susan Tedeschi, John Medeski, and Hiss Golden Messenger’s Phil Cook).

Released in late May, “Always Smilin’” is an ode to optimism, to being present, to subscribing to the idea of “the now,” and to continuing the pursuit of people and things that spark the fire of love and possibilities within your heart and soul — onstage and off.

Smoky Mountain News: You had been working on some of these new songs before the shutdown, but would this solo record still be on the shelf if the shutdown hadn’t happened?

Oliver Wood: It’s pretty likely. I’m not a great multi-tasker. I’ve learned between tours to just try to be present, be with my family, not work too hard on other stuff.

So, although I had started some of this stuff before the pandemic, I really didn’t have a goal in mind other than to be creative outside of The Wood Brothers a little bit, just to stretch my wings and collaborate with other

Want to go?

Singer-songwriter Oliver Wood will perform at the Mountain Song Festival, which will be held Sept. 10-11 at the Brevard Music Center.

Other stage acts will include Mavis Staples, Steep Canyon Rangers, Town Mountain, Charley Crockett, and more.

For more information or to purchase tickets, click on www.mountainsongfestival.com. people. That was the goal — to connect with other people on a creative level and do it sort of for fun.

It wasn’t until the deep into the pandemic where I actually finished one of those songs and released it, finished another one [and released it]. I was like, “Oh, this is fun.” And I just thought I might release a few more. At some point, it just made sense for an album. It gave me a goal to work on while nothing else is happening. That’s kind of how it came up.

SMN: Your sound has such a thick thread of blues and gospel, obviously from your roots.

What I love about those two genres specifically is that the music can come across so sorrowful

and so sad. But, at the same time, it’s meant to uplift. It’s this weird dichotomy.

OW: Yeah. That’s something I love about music — even if it makes you sad, you want to listen to it, [where] it’s not a bad thing to feel sad. It’s more about pushing that button and it feels good.

Sometimes being sad is like connecting with something that you need to connect with, and then eventually it ends up being a good thing, a happy thing. I’m not saying there’s a bunch of sad songs on the [album], but when there is a topic that does kind of strike a nerve like that, it’s not a bad thing.

SMN: And that’s the key to your songwriting — connecting and showing solidarity to the listener.

OW: Absolutely. And you’re sharing something universal that basically just connects you [to another human being]. That’s the thing — connecting to what makes you feel good, ultimately, even if you’re connecting about something that’s depressing.

SMN: Well, and it’s that irony of the last year, you know? Even though we’ve all been so disconnected, at least physically, it really does circle back to that idea of human connection. It also justifies why we love live music — it’s not just entertainment, it’s a healing force.

OW: Absolutely. And I’ve got to say, I think about this a lot and love to mention it. I think that all musicians, after years of doing it, where kind of the charm and all the attention, all the exciting travel and whatever, all that stuff kind of wears off and some days you’re like, “What the hell are we doing out here on the road? We could be home with our families.”

And then something happens. Somebody mentions [to you] that your music has these healing qualities or that it got them through a tough time or made them happy. You realize, “Oh yeah, this is important work.” That we’re not just spinning our wheels out here because we’re tired of sitting on buses and airplanes.

SMN: You’ve had this incredible career creating music, touring and interacting with people from all walks of life. What has the culmination of that experience, thus far, taught you about what it means to be a human being?

OW: I always come back to connectedness, connection and connectedness, and I just feel like that’s what being a human being is about.

That doesn’t completely mean being connected with other people, although that’s mostly what I think keeps us sane.

But, being connected with yourself. That’s where the meditation thing has really helped me, and I’m sure I speak for a lot of people.

That’s where, if you have a little bit of discipline about it, you can sort of stay connected with yourself and it makes it a lot easier to stay connected with other people.

Ultimately, I feel like we all are at our happiest when we’re connected with other people, which is why the lack of live music and venues and people being together in small or large groups has been painful, you know?

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

Charlie Watts.

—

‘And the drummer, he’s so shattered, trying to keep on time’

The inaugural Sylva Pride celebration will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

1 2 3

Concerts on the Creek will conclude with a performance by SKA City from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

There will be a special comedy showcase fundraiser for flood victims at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

4, at Mad Anthony’s Taproom in Waynesville.

Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts (Franklin) will host Grains of Sand (soul/beach) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4.

4 5

The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host Russ Wilson & Hank Bones (swing/jazz) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4.

SCHEDULE

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Smoky Mountain News

through at a time and a place (a crossroads, if you will) of culture, politics and art (and fashion) that was so incredibly serendipitous, it’s almost mind-blowing, to be honest.

The most life-changing concert of my entire existence (and probably the foundation of why I became a music journalist) was seeing the Stones for my 18th birthday (Feb. 5, 2003), with the show on Jan. 8, 2003. The Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Growing up on the Canadian Border of Upstate New York (about 45 minutes from Montreal), I begged my mother for a ticket to the Stones. Working in the grill at the local McDonald’s at the time, I didn’t make (or have) enough money to purchase the expensive ticket.

But, there it was, right under the

YOGA ON YOUR

September 1-7, 2021

Oh, Charlie, Charlie, Charlie.

Charlie Watts. Drummer of The Rolling Stones. The backbone of rock-n-roll. Gone last Tuesday at age 80. The engine in the muscle car that is (or was, sadly) the Stones.

Teddy Roosevelt famously said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick — you will go far.” And I think that sums up Charlie Watts.

There was no better drummer. The key to the Stones was that Watts sat in the pocket, anchoring the greatest rock band ever, like a park bench with guitarist Keith Richards and lead singer Mick Jagger this whirlwind unfolding before him — as if two balloons floating in the breeze, but always safely tied to that park bench.

Watts wasn’t flashy. He didn’t have to be.

Because he had the most important thing in being a musician: groove. You could set your watch to his timing. The swagger was undeniable, the essence of cool.

In the beginning (and forever more), Watts was a jazz cat who was roped into a rock ensemble, launching the wildest adventure in rock music. My all-time favorite drummer, a founding member of my all-time favorite band. Long live Charlie Watts.

Bravo, my brother. Bravo.

In my world, the finest rock band ever will always be the Stones. Nobody even comes close. Sure, The Beatles were the greatest “band” of all-time, but the Stones were the top of the mountain in terms of real deal, nitty gritty, dark and dirty rock-n-roll.

The Stones always have and always will “do it” for me. They are my keepers of the flame of rock music — past, present, and future. They set the bar, set the tone, set the trajectory for rock since forming in 1962. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Stones rolled

HOT PICKS

’ arts & entertainment

This must be the place

Christmas tree — a Stones ticket for Montreal. My mother’s best friend had planned on going, but something had come up and she needed to unload the ticket. The melodic stars of my desires had aligned.

There I was, age 17, driving across the bridge over Lake Champlain from Rouses Point, New York, to Burlington, Vermont.

Part of the ticket purchase was a bus ride with other Stones freaks from Burlington across the border to Montreal. The whole way up and back was a ferocious, notorious North Country snowstorm. Slow and steady in the bus along the highway, eventually parked outside of the Bell Centre.

I was all alone at the gig. I didn’t know anybody on the bus and didn’t run into anyone familiar at the venue. A curious, mischievous teenager left to his own devices (hence it’s 18 and over to drink, but the beerstand folks didn’t ID me when I purchased a Molson Canadian draft). The ticket led me up stairwell after stairwell to the nosebleed seats. But, I didn’t care. I was so damn thrilled to be in the same space and bubble of energy as the Stones.

Before the band went on, I snuck by security and was able to access the uber-expensive floor seats. I kept moving further and farther along, stealthily landing around Row 5 of the floor alongside the catwalk. Just as I realized where I was, the Stones came on.

Melodic chaos. Blinding lights and sound.

Razor-sharp guitars. Keith. Mick. Charlie.

Ronnie. I was in fuckin’ heaven.

Keith then rolled down the catwalk, to which I extended my hand up and he slapped it. I was stunned. Then, Mick stood on the catwalk right in front of me and performed “Brown Sugar,” the whole massive arena going “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Woo” all around me.

Most of the show (the “40 Licks” tour) was focused on the “Exile On Main Street” album, which, to this day, remains my favorite album. Pure rock. Pure soul. A sonic and sensory overload. A true masterpiece. I walked out of there forever changed. My life had to be (and always will be) around music, especially when performed live. That Stones show was 18 years ago. And yet, I still chase the magic felt that night.

A couple years later, as a sophomore in college, I wrote an essay for my media culture class debating who was the greatest rock band. I presented an argument over several pages as to why the Stones deserved that honor. The professor gave me an A+ on the paper, saying it was “a convincing argument.” Looking back, it was the first piece I ever wrote about music. And the road goes on forever, eh?

And as I type wildly away at this column, “Exile On Main Street” is blasting from the stereo. It has stood the test of time as the rawest, dirtiest, most in your face rock-n-roll album of, well, rock-n-roll. Shit, the album is still ahead of its time. This is truth.

Every song still stands on its own. The whole chaotic back story of its creation. The recording process involved. The utter melodic beauty. The social, political and economic climate of that time and place put to vinyl. Sheesh. It’s all there, and then some. Rock on.

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

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arts & entertainment Smoky Mountain News

September 1-7, 2021

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30

Tedeschi Tru ucks k Fireside Live

Melisssa Etheridge h id

Mavis Sta aples pl

Marrgo g Price i

Le LeAnn Rimes i es

JOHNNYSWIM

Shovels l & Rope

The Milk k Cartton Kid Kids

We Banjo 3

Balsam Range

sam bushh•jim lauder dale•Paul Th orn•Charley Crockettt•amythyst kiiah• brittneyy spencer

and many more performers!

On the beat

Concerts on the Creek The 11th season of Concerts on the Creek will conclude with a performance by SKA City from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

SKA City is a British-American nine-piece collective, spreading the music of Ska, Two Tone & Trojan Rocksteady to Asheville, the Western North Carolina region, and beyond.

The group is one of the scene’s leading bands, bringing ska music to life with energy and authenticity. They are a big band with a big sound that knows how to bring the party. Whether you’re new to ska or a lifelong fan, this is the band for you.

Everyone is encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. These events are free, but dona-

Want to learn the dulcimer?

Pic’ & Play has been playing together since 1995. The more experienced members welcome new players, help them navigate their instruments, and guide them through some of the basics of tuning, strumming, and playing.

The mountain dulcimer, also known as a fretted dulcimer or a lap dulcimer, is a uniquely American instrument. It evolved from the German scheitholz sometime in the early 1800s in Appalachia and was largely known only in this region until popularized more broadly in the 1950s.

For more information, call Kathy Jaqua at 828.349.3930 or Don Selzer at 828.293.0074.

The Wobblers.

Cashiers Labor Day celebration

Reggae, soul at Frog Level The Natti Love Joys will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville.

A roots-rock-reggae band that has been playing live since 2003, the group consists of husband and wife duo Anthony “Jatti” Allen and Sonia “Marla” Allen (formerly Sonia Abel).

Jatti was previously the bassist for the reggae group The Congos, while Marla originates from the cult all female reggae group Love Joys, where she recorded two albums under the legendary Wackies label run by Lloyd Barnes (Bullwackie).

The show is free and open to the public. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.froglevelbrewing.com.

Bryson City community jam 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.

Smoky Mountain News

Natti Love Joys.

The Labor Day Weekend Concert on the Commons will feature the eight-piece pianodriven roots band The Wobblers at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, at The Village Green in Cashiers.

Based in Upstate South Carolina, the band’s many multi-instrumentalists, lead singers, and songwriters make for a diverse show emphasis on New Orleans-style

rhythms and unique instrumentation.

Tickets are now available for reserved and general admission seating on the Commons lawn. To buy tickets, visit wwwvillagegreencashiersnc.com/concerts. Tickets for center stage box seating areas may be purchased the night of the concert depending on availability at show time.

Reserved seating is $10 per person, with general admission $5 per person. Picnics and coolers are welcome. Dogs are allowed but must be on a leash and under the control of their owner at all times.

September 1-7, 2021

The Pic’ & Play Mountain Dulcimer Players will be resuming in-person jam sessions at the St. John’s Episcopal Church basement fellowship hall in Sylva.

The group welcomes all beginners and experienced dulcimer players, including mountain (lap) dulcimer and hammered dulcimer players. Songs played include traditional mountain tunes, hymns, and more modern music. The group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of every month in the basement of St. John’s.

tions are encouraged. Dogs must be on a leash. No alcohol, smoking or coolers are allowed in the park.

It is strongly that everyone obeys safe Covid-19 practices in accordance with state and county protocols in place at the time of the event.

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

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

arts & entertainment

SKA City.

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arts & entertainment

On the beat • 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.

• 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.

• Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host karaoke at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, trivia at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, 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.

• Friday Night Live (Highlands) will be held at the Town Square from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Silly Ridge Roundup Sept. 3 and Curtis Blackwell Sept. 10. Free and open to the public. www.highlandschamber.org.

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host 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.

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

September 1-7, 2021

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host semiregular live music on the weekends.

828.634.0078 or www.curraheebrew.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Kind Clean Gentleman Sept. 2, George Trouble & The Zealots Sept. 3, Natti Love Joys Sept. 4, Nick Colavito 3 p.m. Sept. 5, Syrup 2 p.m. Sept. 6, Pleasantly Wild Sept. 10, and A. Lee Edwards & The Drag Sept. 11. All shows begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.454.5664 or www.froglevelbrewing.com.

ALSO:

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will host 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.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host

FALL FLING Art & Craft Walk

Saturday ❋ September 4th ❋ 10AM-5PM

Welcoming Fall with Locally Handmade Crafts in the Shops of Dillsboro!

Smoky Mountain News

Local artists will demonstrate their crafting process in front of shops.

Live Entertainment

On the table • 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.

• “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.

• 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.

• 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.

Arnold Hill (rock) Sept. 3, Yard Karaoke 7 p.m. Sept. 10 and Dustin Martin (singersongwriter) Sept. 11. 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 Colby Deitz (singer-songwriter) Sept. 3 and Dustin Martin (singer-songwriter) Sept. 10. 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 semi-regular live music on the weekends. 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.

1PM Twelfth Fret

2PM Anna Victoria

• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host “Bluegrass with Blue” Sept.

3 and 10, Hustle Souls Sept. 4, Granny’s Mason Jar Sept. 5 and Pioneer Chicken Stand Sept. 11. 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 Casey Clark (country) Sept. 4 and Cornbread Creek (old-time) Sept. 11. 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 • 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.

• Southern Porch (Canton) will host semi-regular live music on the weekends.

828.492.8009 or www.southern-porch.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host semiregular 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 Piney Ridge Band Sept. 2 and Rock Holler Band Sept. 4. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 828.538.2488.

• Valley Tavern (Maggie Valley) will host semiregular live music on the weekends.

828.926.7440 or www.valley-tavern.com.

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host karaoke on Thursday nights and semiregular live music on the weekends.

828.456.4750 or www.facebook.com/waternhole.bar.

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

828.743.6000 or www.whitesidebrewing.com.

Restaurants & Brewery Open!

FOR MORE INFO GO TO: VISITDILLSBORO.ORG 32

Dillsboro, NC is located at the crossroads of 441 & Business 23

@SMOKYMOUNTAINNEWS

On the street friendly drag show with more music.

Break down will start at 4 p.m. Come join that night at Lazy Hiker at 8:30 p.m. for a launch party for Western Carolina’s LGBTQ archive and an adult drag show.

This drag show will be for ages 18 and over, with a $5 suggestion at the door.

RODEO RETURNS The ninth annual 7 Clans Rodeo will take place Sept. 4-5 at the Old Cherokee Elementary property at 181 Tsali Boulevard. Gates open at 6 p.m. Rodeo starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $13 in advance or $15 at the gate. Children ages 4-12 are $8 in advance, $10 at the gate. Cash only.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Cherokee Welcome Center located at 498 Tsali Boulevard. 800.438.1601.

Come celebrate pride, diversity

Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling The Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through Sept. 29 at the Oconaluftee Islands Park in Cherokee.

Sit by a bonfire, alongside a river, and listen to some of Cherokee’s best storytellers. The bonfire is free and open to the public.

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

The inaugural Sylva Pride celebration will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, at Bridge Park in Sylva.

There will be booths for local LGBTQ nonprofits and organizations, music, a family-friendly drag show, and a parade.

There will also be another adult-theme drag show in the evening.

Set up for booths will begin at 10 a.m. with bands starting at 11 a.m. There will be a Pride Parade at 12:30 p.m. down Sylva’s historic Main Street.

Afterward, there will be a family-

arts & entertainment

7 CLANS

• 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:

September 1-7, 2021

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Smoky Mountain News September 1-7, 2021

arts & entertainment

On the stage arts & entertainment

Comedy show flood benefit Featured Product

WHO WE ARE

We are a family owned business, cultivated in deep family values. A foursome from Asheville, N.C., with extensive entrepreneurial experience, hard work

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ethic, and a lot of heart behind showing the world

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 through 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. Sept. 24, 9-11, 16-18, and at 2 p.m. 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.

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Broadway classic at HART

Festival, been a finalist in the Port City Comedy Competition, and a semi-finalist in the Carolina’s Funniest Stand-Up Comic Competition.

Goff has enjoyed performing with comedians such as Joe DeRosa, Rory Scovel, Joe Zimmerman, Doug Stanhope, Tom Segura and Jarrod Harris, among others.

Admission is $5 at the door. Monetary donations will also be accepted. All proceeds will go to flood victims.

September 1-7, 2021

In response to the recent devastating floods in Haywood County, there will be a special comedy showcase fundraiser for victims at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, at Mad Anthony’s Taproom in Waynesville.

Hosted by local comedian Josh Merrell, the show will also feature Cary Goff, Cody Hughes and Peter Smith McDowell.

A beloved regional performer, Goff is a writer and comedian out of Asheville. He’s showcased in the Laugh Your Asheville Off

828.944.0686 VALLEYCIGARANDWINECO.COM

20 Swanger Lane | Waynesville Tuesday-Saturday 11-7 | Sunday 1-7

35

On the wall arts & entertainment

(Canton) from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 2 and 30, Nov. 12 and Dec. 23.

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.

Want to paint, sip craft beer?

Smoky Mountain News

September 1-7, 2021

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

36

‘A Living Language’ Cherokee exhibit

• 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 The Uptown Gallery at 828.349.4607 or contact Pat Mennenger at pm14034@yahoo.com. www.franklinuptowngallery.com.

A work by Rhiannon Skye Tafoya.

• 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. Working in traditional and mixed media, 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.

ALSO:

Featuring over 50 works of art in a variety of media by over 30 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and Cherokee Nation artists, “A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art” is an exhibit currently being showcased at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee.

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.

‘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.

On the shelf

Jeff Minick

R

water, waves, and sand, as an excellent place to break out our latest literary find.

A friend once told me that as a child her family established a “book nook” in their house, a dormer alcove roughly 4 feet by 6 feet, where anyone could escape from the household, get lost in the written word, and all with the understanding that an invisible “Do Not Disturb” sign applied. She also mentioned that the children’s tree house allowed her to spend hours on a summer day whisked off into another country or historical era without fear of intrusion or interruption.

Another 60-something friend, who leads the life of a buccaneer selling and buying stocks, reads more than anyone else I know.

In his apartment, he has fixed a chair and a

Cashiers welcomes NYT bestseller New York Times bestselling author Kristin Harmel will host a special reading at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, at The Village Green in Cashiers.

World War II ended nearly 76 years ago, yet so many stories from that period remain to be told. Harmel will present her bestselling work, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, a heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism.

A young woman uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis — until a secret from her past threatens everything.

Harmel will talk about this newest novel and sign copies of her books at the Commons Hall. She is also the author of The Book of Lost Names, The Winemaker’s Wife, and a dozen other novels that have been translated into 29 languages and are sold all over the world.

A former reporter for People magazine, Harmel has been writing professionally since the age of 16, when she began her career as a sportswriter, covering Major League Baseball and NHL hockey for a local magazine in Tampa Bay, Florida, in the late 1990s.

To reserve your spot at this live author event, call the Albert Cashiers Library at 828.743.0215. For more information visit www.villagegreencashiersnc.com/event/author-event-with-kristen-harmel.

BLUE RIDGE BOOKS INVITES YOU TO JOIN

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

When Ghosts Come Home

SEPT. 27 • 12 P.M.

Harmon’s Den @ H.A.R.T. Tickets: $30 Purchase tickets at Blue Ridge Books

your

Hometown Bookstore since2007

Smoky Mountain News

table by a window, and spends hours a day imbibing history and biography. He has built his own book nook, his quiet place where he retires from the world with all its craziness.

These and other comments on special reading spaces have sometimes brought back my own recollections of my childhood and youth. In my later years of elementary school, my father assigned my brother and me the task of feeding three horses and a pony before breakfast and school, and I often woke even earlier to read Classic Comic books while propped up on an elbow in bed. I have thought, too, of the joy I received as a high school graduate reading James Michener’s Hawaii in a lawn chair in our backyard before departing for a military

academy, somewhat like a condemned man enjoying his last cigarette.

Several years later, when my wife and I were fortunate enough to spend a month in Paris, I enjoyed reading books on a few afternoons at Shakespeare & Co. I have recollected as well those times I planned a vacation at the beach for my children and grandchildren, and would pack up a small box of books for that wonderful time removed from the worries of daily life.

These days, my favorite place to read is in the front room of my daughter’s house, for which I am the caretaker since her family moved north. Here by a window is a comfortable chair, a side table for drinks and other books, good light, and because I only use the room for reading, a refuge uncluttered by papers, unwashed dishes, and stacks of mail. Here the words of various writers lift me away from myself. Accounts of Civil War battles like Fredericksburg, revisited fiction like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon, and the latest novel of James Lee Burke or Anne Tyler inspire me, grant me a reprieve from the present and myself, and bring me knowledge, some wisdom, and a sense of peace.

The friend who mentioned her childhood places of escape through literature believes all children deserved their own special reading nooks. It might be a tent pitched in a room in the house, or even a card table covered with a cloth to make a cave, but as she noted, we should “give kids a ready nook for reading.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

Most likely, the rest of us need a nook as well. I’m too old and full of aches to read in bed, and that card table sounds to someone my age like a form of torture, but it’s a nonissue because I have that chair, table, and lamp.

How about you? Do you have a special place to read that gives you pleasure along with the book?

(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.)

September 1-7, 2021

eaders generally look for a special place to sink into their books, to escape the noise and hubbub of the household, to find that sanctuary where they can give themselves over to the reverie and escapism of stories.

Wealthy English families frequently built a private library in their homes, where, surrounded by the books they’d collected, they might sit before an open window in the summer or the fireplace in winter, a whisky or a glass of wine at their Writer elbow, and relaxing in their favorite chair while they took their pleasure from the words and visions of a favorite author.

Some of our own moneyed citizens followed their lead.

George Vanderbilt, for example, designed a magnificent library at the Biltmore House. In addition to its impressive collection of titles, fireplaces, rugs, and comfortable chairs, the library includes a secret passageway allowing guests to enter from their quarters while in their sleepwear.

Moreover, a small, concealed room, “The Den,” provided users even a greater degree of silence and privacy while enjoying one’s books.

Of course, such literary citadels are not the exclusive domain of the rich. Many bibliophiles can name their favorite places for enjoying a novel or a work of history. Some might select a café serving a favorite coffee or tea, others might prefer a bookstore or a public library, and long ago, when I lived in Boston, I noted many people riding the subway engrossed in a book or a magazine. We also associate vacations, particularly those taken at the beach, probably because of the slower, leisurely pace brought on by the salt

arts & entertainment

A quiet place: the book nook

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Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

38

Lasting damage Recreation impacts from Fred could linger for years

Log jams like this one on the upper Davidson River in the Pisgah National Forest could burst at any time, creating danger downstream. USFS photo

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER week before Tropical Storm Fred unleashed historically high floodwaters on Western North Carolina, Greg Philipp was in Washington fighting the wildfires now enveloping the bone-dry American West. Now, Philipp is the U.S. Forest Service incident commander for the aftermath of heavy rainfall that will impact favorite recreation sites in the Pisgah National Forest for years to come.

“There’s places where the entire character of the place may be different,” he said.

While other areas of the forest also saw significant damage, the biggest impacts occurred on the Davidson River corridor and the Pisgah Forest area from the Blue Ridge Parkway down to the forest entrance, as well as within the Big Ivy, Stony Fork and Coleman Boundary areas of the Appalachian Ranger District.

On Saturday, Aug. 28, formal closure orders were signed for a long list of roads and recreation sites in those areas, including Looking Glass Falls, Sliding Rock Recreation Area, the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, Setzer Fish Hatchery and more.

“We’ve had some major damage to our facilities, like at Sliding Rock, for example, one of the favorites for people to come to,” he said. “Trail bridges are washed away in some places and need to be completely replaced in others. Roads that are important to bear hunters and horseback riders and backpackers are inaccessible.”

There are more than 140 bridges in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, and a bridge engineer will have to perform assessments on each one to see if they’re still safe to

A

use.

“There’s places where there used to be culverts that there’s no sign of it,” he said.

“Roads are cut in half. We’ve had access to private residences completely severed.”

The storm downed a power line going up Davidson River Road, with power poles in the creek and the road blown out so that the power company couldn’t get vehicles out to reset the poles, said Philipp.

In press releases and Facebook posts, the Forest Service is also reminding the public about lingering danger from Fred — log jams in the rivers that could break lose at any time and underwater debris increasing the risk of returning to favorite swimming holes. So far, the Forest Service has found a dozen log jams on the popular tubing route between Coontree Picnic Area and Sycamore Flats Picnic Area, which is currently closed, and entire river channels have changed course following Fred.

Landslides and debris piles also increase the danger for outdoor recreation. It might be tempting to go and take a look at the damage, but for now, the best thing to do is to just stay away, said Philipp. There could be dangers that Forest Service crews have not yet discovered, and any accident resulting from exploration of damaged areas could result in a 911 call to rescue crews who are already stretched thin with flood recovery efforts.

“If you see storm damage, whether it be small landslides or log jams, just stay away,” he said. “Don’t go around temporary barriers or gates, because there may be cracks in the roads we’re unaware of or haven’t gotten to yet.”

Philipp fully expects that the fallout from Fred will have visible impacts for years to

come. He likens the situation to the one that occurred on the Croatan National Forest in 2018 after Hurricane Florence passed through. Some of those damages still aren’t repaired.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these fixes take in the neighborhood of two to three years to get all the way through,” he said of Fred.

As an added complication, more than a third of the people who the National Forests in North Carolina would normally tap into to work on recovery are currently out west, responding to a raging wildfire season.

Additionally, the local staff who are working to roll out projects associated with the Great American Outdoors Act are the same ones who will be instrumental in the storm recovery — moving ahead with one of those projects will mean slowing down on the other.

By far, the Pisgah National Forest was the most heavily impacted piece of public land following Fred. While the section of the Blue Ridge Parkway between N.C. 215 and U.S. 276 was closed for several days following the storm, it’s now reopened, and all associated damage was small enough for Parkway staff to clean up in-house.

That said, the strip of land managed by the Blue Ridge Parkway is quite narrow along most of the road’s length, so some sites accessed from the Parkway but managed by the Forest Service did see significant impacts, including Skinny Dip Falls, whose bridge has been swept away with the water’s path completely changed from what it used to be. The area is not closed, but the Forest Service considers access to it unsafe and is discouraging visitors from going there.

The only Blue Ridge Parkway facility that

Storm causes forest closures Formal closure orders have been signed for multiple areas in the Appalachian and Pisgah Ranger Districts of the Pisgah National Forest. Use of these areas is prohibited until further notice.

In the Pisgah Ranger District, the following closures are in effect:

• Entry of any kind is prohibited at: Looking Glass Falls Stairs, Lower Observation Deck and Pool; Sliding Rock Recreation Area; Setzer Fish Hatchery and Wildlife Education Center; Wildlife Education Center Parking Lot and the first .01 miles of FSR 475C (Horse Cove Road); Wolf Ford Horse Camp; and Davidson River Road from Cove Creek to Gloucester Gap (FSR 475) • Vehicles are prohibited at: Sycamore Flats Recreation Area, north end of the Art Loeb Trail and Little East Fork Trailhead at Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp; and Cove Creek Group Camps (upper and lower).

• The following roads are closed to vehicles, cyclists and equestrians: Davidson River Road from Balsam Grove to Gloucester Gap (FSR 475); Courthouse Creek Road (FSR 140); and Pilot Mountain Road (FSR 229).

In the Appalachian Ranger District, the following roads are closed to all uses, including camping, with hikers, bikers and equestrians allowed on the closed roads only when using an open trail that intersects with a closed road: Stoney Fork Road (FSR 63); Big Ivy Road, Coleman Boundary (FSR 74); and South Toe Road beyond Black Mountain Campground, which is open, (FSR 472).

Other areas are not closed, but may not be safe for normal recreation use. Log jams and submerged debris make swimming, tubing and boating on the Pisgah Ranger District especially, much more dangerous than it was before Tropical Storm Fred. A dozen log jams found in the popular tubing route on the Davidson River from Coontree Picnic Area and Sycamore Flats Picnic Area are one such example. Visitors should refrain from water recreation in the area and avoid any area with visible landslides or other storm damage.

For updated closure information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/nfsnc/alertsnotices. Direct questions to the Appalachian Ranger District Office at appalachianrd@usda.gov or 828.689.9694, or to the Pisgah Ranger District Office at sm.fs.pisgahrd@usda.gov or 828.877.3265.

remains closed following Fred is Price Lake, which is located near Blowing Rock. The storm damaged the gates on the dam that controls the water level, and the lake is now empty. Planning and executing repairs will take time.

Panthertown Valley, in the Nantahala National Forest near

GAF plans revised

outdoors

In lieu of its ever-popular Guest Appreciation Festival, the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Swain County will instead move to a Guest Appreciation Month of Celebration for 2021.

Throughout the month, NOC will host online sales, virtual events, giveaways and more, with full expectation of hosting the biggest and best 50th anniversary season and GAF Celebration in 2022.

Key dates include a used boat sale

kicking off Sept. 6 at store.noc.com, live music by Bluegrass with Blue Sept. 10, Pioneer Chicken Stand Sept. 11, and a scavenger hunt offering the chance to earn deals on gear Sept. 10-12. Live music acts for Sept. 17-19 and 24-26 are yet to be announced. A Build Your Own S’mores by the Bonfire night will be held as long as supplies last and a check presentation to American Whitewater are also planned.

Stay tuned for details at www.noc.com/events.

Hear Cherokee stories

Skinny Dip Falls is unrecognizable following Fred (above) compared to the view before the storm (below). USFS photos

Smokies sees two fatal accidents in one weekend Two men died while visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last weekend, one due to drowning and another resulting from a motorcycle accident.

On Friday, Aug. 27, park rangers and multiple emergency response agencies recovered the body of Stephen Musser, 73, of Roswell, Georgia, near the base of Abrams Falls.

At 2:15 p.m. that day, rangers received a report that Musser was swimming near the falls in a pool that was about 100 feet wide and up to 30 feet deep. He was

Water rushes through the now-closed Sliding Rock Recreation Area during Tropical Storm Fred.

Smoky Mountain News

caught up in the current at the base of the falls and unable to resurface. Rangers searched the area with air support from the Army National Guard, and around 9:30 p.m. divers with the Blount Special Operations Response Team recovered Musser’s body, trapped by underwater debris near the base of the falls. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and Townsend Area Fire Department also assisted in the effort, with a total of 25 emergency responders involved.

In park history, there have been 60 drownings in park streams, including 10 near Abrams Falls. While swimming is not prohibited, park streams often have

strong, unexpected currents that can hold a swimmer underwater, and streambeds are littered with rocks and sunken logs that can snag or trap a swimmer.

Swimmers and tubers should be extremely careful when recreating in park streams.

The following day, rangers responded to a fatal motorcycle accident on the Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley, near mile marker 24. At approximately 11:35 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28, David Wayne Birdsong, 57, of Fairview, Tennessee, lost control of his motorcycle and veered Abrams Falls. off the roadway into a NPS photo drainage ditch, dying as a result of his injuries.

Emergency responders from Blount County Sheriff ’s Office and American Medical Response arrived on scene first and performed CPR, with park rangers assisting before Birdsong’s transport to Blount Memorial Hospital by AMR. He was pronounced dead during transport.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident, and speed is believed to be a contributing factor. More than 40% of fatalities in the park are the result of motor vehicle accidents, with motorcycle accidents accounting for 1 in 5 of those fatalities. Speed, inattention and use of drugs or alcohol are often factor in these accidents. So far, four people have died this year in motorcycle accidents within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

For more information on driving safety in the Smokies, visit www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/trafficandtraveltips.htm.

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September 1-7, 2021

Cashiers, also saw extremely heavy rain and significant impacts, with a full trail assessment underway. Visitors should be cautious on trails and watch out for high water levels and unstable soil.

Even as crews begin to work toward recovery, Philipps is keeping an eye on the weather radar, saying in an interview last week that he has “big concerns over rains to come in the future.”

As of press time, rains from Hurricane Ida — now downgraded to a tropical depression — are falling on Western North Carolina, with some areas predicted to receive up to 6 inches of rain and even larger amounts possible in isolated areas.

“An inch of rain on top of what we’ve already had could move some of this damage into places we don’t want it, and if people are there, it could have a bad outcome,” Philipp said.

One bright spot, though, is the fact that infrastructure projects focused on climate resilience fared extremely well through the record-breaking rains. In recent years the Forest Service has completed various projects with partners such as Trout Unlimited to improve passageways for aquatic organisms, and “across the board,” those were not damaged in the flood, Philipp said.

“Water is to the east as fire is to the west,” said Philipp. “It’s just as damaging and devastating when we have these storms.

We’re trying to celebrate those successes we’ve had with some infrastructure that will stand up to the storm.”

Join a Blue Ridge Parkway ranger for an evening of storytelling during this week’s Fridays at the Folk Art Center session, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, at the Folk Art Center in Asheville.

During this 45-minute session, learn the difference between a legend and a myth, and explore the importance of storytelling among the Cherokee and how oral traditions kept their history alive for hundreds of years.

The Folk 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.

outdoors

Farm assistance available for April freeze Through April 18, 2022, farmers in six Western North Carolina counties can apply for assistance due to losses from freezing temperatures and frost April 2-21.

Henderson County was declared eligible for federal disaster assistance as a result of the freeze, with Buncombe, Haywood, Polk, Rutherford and Transylvania counties named eligible as contiguous counties.

To file for emergency loans for production losses, contact the county Farm Service Agency office.

Macon Fair calls for art submissions

Experience the Mountain State Fair

The Macon County Fair is coming up, scheduled for Sept. 23-26 at the Wayne Proffitt Agricultural Center Macon County Fairgrounds on Georgia Road in Franklin.

On Monday, Sept. 20, the Uptown Art Gallery in Franklin will receive art for a juried art show to be held at the fair. All county residents are eligible for this free show, which typically includes some 200 works of art in 17 categories.

Bring art to the agricultural center on 1436 Georgia Road from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 20. Only artwork ready for hanging with a wire (not sawtooth hangers or tabs) will be accepted. Artwork will be hung for viewing at the fair through Sunday, with awards given on Wednesday and pickup on Sunday, Sept. 26.

More information is available at www.themaconcofair.com.

The N.C. Mountain State Fair will return to Fletcher Sept. 10-19 following last year’s pandemic-induced hiatus.

With a jam-packed schedule, the fair will include favorite attractions such as live music, clogging, an ice cream-eating contest, livestock shows and the ever-popular Midway carnival rides.

New attractions include the Wild Wheels Wall of Death, a retro motorcycle thrill show; Birds ‘n’ Beats, which showcases stunning birds of prey with a wildlife conservation message; and the Great Lakes Timber Show featuring lumberjack competitions of skill and brawn.

Also new this year are youth llama and poultry egg shows.

For more information, including a complete schedule and admission prices, visit www.mountainfair.org.

Smoky Mountain News

September 1-7, 2021

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Current and former Haywood Community College students Alec Parsons (from left), Ben Knicely and Darby Hand recently competed at the STIHL Timbersports US Championships in Little Rock, Arkansas. Donated photo

HCC student wins national timbersports title A Haywood Community College student earned the 2021 U.S. Rookie Champion title at the recent STIHL Timbersports U.S. Championships in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Darby Hand, a forest management technology student, will now compete in the STIHL World Rookie Championship and qualifies for consideration to compete in the professional division next year. In 2019, Hand placed fourth overall at the STIHL Timbersports Collegiate Championship, also finishing second in underhand chop and third in the stock saw event.

Full results from the 2021 U.S. Championship competition have not yet been disclosed, but three athletes with ties to HCC competed at the elite event.

The Rookie Competition brought together the top eight athletes under the age of 25 to battle for the U.S. title. In addition to Hand, 2020 HCC graduate Alec Parsons (Fish and Wildlife Technology) also competed in the Rookie Division, with 2014 and 2015 graduate Ben Knicely (Fish and Wildlife Technology, Forest Management Technology) competing in the Professional Championships, which consisted of the country’s top 20 male athletes. Parsons, in his first STIHL competition appearance, finished sixth overall and at 23 will have two more opportunities to win the title. Knicely advanced to the competition finals, which

includes the nation’s top 12 competitors, and took eighth place.

“I have been working at it a good long time,” Hand said of his achievement. “Being a student at HCC has absolutely helped me to be able to achieve this. Having the training facility on campus is second to none and having Alex Storm as a coach has been great.”

Hand works at Paula Deen’s Lumberjack Feud in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

HCC Lumberjacks Team Manager Alex Storm said that the support students receive while on campus is an important contributor to HCC’s continual success at timbersports competitions.

“Faculty in the past and present have taken a real interest in the team, which allows students to learn the fundamental skills necessary to succeed in the sport,” he said. “The financial support of HCC for the Lumberjack team is second to none, giving more opportunities for travel to competitions and the ability to purchase equipment that allows them to compete at their highest potential. The school is also proud of the team, using it as a marketing tool, which helps bring students from far away to come and compete.”

The new J.M West Training Facility built for the HCC Lumberjacks will only increase the team’s success, he said.

N.C. Foresters to meet in Greensboro

With an overall conference theme of “Economy and Transportation,” the general session will begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29. The speaking program will focus on healthy forests, state economic and revenue outlook, transportation, international trade and growth opportunities in forestry.

Learn more at www.ncforestry.org.

The N.C. Forestry Association will hold an annual meeting Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center in Greensboro.

Clean up the Little Tennessee Volunteers can choose to work on floodplain land, riverbanks or in the water itself, with assignments depending on volunteer ages and comfort levels. Boats or paddleboats are needed for trash removal in the water.

Mainspring volunteer Guy Gooder has been organizing this event for 16 years and spends considerable time scouting locations where litter removal is most needed.

Volunteers can also contact Mainspring’s conservation outreach associate Rachel Newcomb at 828.524.2711, ext. 305, to notify Mainspring of their intent to pick up trash on their own.

outdoors

The annual Little Tennessee River Cleanup will take place Saturday, Sept. 11, in Franklin.

Volunteers are needed to work a variety of litter zones that day, but on their own schedule following supply pickup throughout the week Sept. 7-10 at Mainspring Conservation Trust’s office on 557 East Main Street in Franklin or from 9-10 a.m.

Sept. 11 on Mainspring property across the street from its office.

A dumpster on that site will receive any trash collected, and a list of roadside and vessel cleanup locations will be identified.

Volunteers take out a raft full of trash during a previous year’s cleanup. Donated photo

Real Experience. Real Service. Real Results.

828.452.3727

www.TheRealTeamNC.com

RE/MAX

EXECUTIVE

71 North Main Street Waynesville

September 1-7, 2021

Dispose of chemicals safely

tainer. Identify problem areas and use absorbent materials to contain the spread of any spill.

Contact the Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program with questions at www.ncagr.gov/pdap, derrick.bell@ncagr.gov or 919.280.1061.

@SMOKYMOUNTAINNEWS

Curves to Cure What Ails You

Smoky Mountain News

As floodwaters recede and cleanup continues, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services urges farmers and homeowners to evaluate pesticides and other chemical storage areas. Disposal assistance is available.

The Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program is revising its collections schedule based on assistance needs after Tropical Storm Fred. Dates will likely be added for the western part of the state and posted at www.ncagr.gov/pdap.

Meanwhile, when cleaning up pesticides and fertilizers in areas affected by flooding, it’s important to take proper safety measures. Wear personal protective equipment such as chemical-resistant gloves, rubber boots, protective clothing and eyewear. Do not mix chemicals, and keep solids separate from liquids and unlike chemicals apart. Do not load all chemicals into one bin or con-

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outdoors

Birds, conservation and culture headline final Zahner lecture The final installment of the Zahner Conservation Lecture Series will feature a presentation on the convergence of conservation and culture at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, in the Highlands Biological Station Meadow.

September 1-7, 2021

J. Drew Lanham, Ph.D., will give the talk using birds and his own brand of “cultural ornithology,” blending the region’s natural history with a prismed blend through culture to make conservation “fly” through both head and heart to inspire action as well as deeper thought.

Become a naturalist

ION OF STA IAT TE OC

TERS RES FO

NATIONAL A SS

A 13-week online naturalist program starts Wednesday, Sept. 15, with registration now open.

In conjunction with other government agencies and universities, N.C. Cooperative Extension offers this online webinar series to anyone interested in learning about biodiversity, ecosystems and conservation efforts in North Carolina. Class will meet 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday nights via Zoom, covering everything from climate to plant communities.

The $30 program fee includes on year of unlimited access to all course materials, including recorded sessions. Register at bit.ly/2wffjra.

Smoky Mountain News

FO

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Lanham has been a member of the Clemson University faculty for 25 years, working to understand how forest management impacts wildlife and how humans think about nature. In particular, he’s interested in how ethnic prisms bend conservation practice and perception. He Drew Lanham. holds an endowed Donated photo chair as an Alumni Distinguished Professor and is an award-winning and widely published author and poet, having been named poet laureate of his home place county of Edgefield County, South Carolina, in 2018.

The lecture is free thanks to sponsorship by Don and Suzanne Duggan, Tom and Florence Holmes, Adele and Nick Scielzo, and Ruthie and Franko Oliver. For more information on HBF’s Zahner Conservation Lecture series or to view recordings of past lectures, visit www.highlandsbiological.org.

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Puzzles can be found on page 46 These are only the answers.

See wildlife through local lenses Wildlife through the lenses of local photographers will be on display at the Macon County Public Library through the month of September.

Photos from Ed Boos, Tim Carstens, Karen Lawrence and William McReynolds feature birds, cougars, eagles and other animals. The exhibit is sponsored by the Franklin Bird Club.

Library hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A Florida panther is shown in a regal pose.

Karen Lawrence photo

Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Meet the birds of HCC Enjoy an easy 2-mile walk in search of birds starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at Haywood Community College.

Howard Browers will guide this walk offered through Haywood County Recreation and Parks.

Additional birding expeditions this fall will be offered Sept. 22 at Mount Pisgah, Oct. 13 at Lake Junaluska and Nov. 13 on the Waynesville Greenway.

Birding tours are $10, paid at registration. Sign up with Ian Smith at ian.smith@haywoodcountync.gov or 828.452.6789.

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Food Ministry at Live forgiven Church will host a Curbside Grocery Giveaway at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept.

12 at 45 Crown Ridge Road in Sylva.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS • Waynesville Yoga Center will host a Meditation Weekend Workshop Sept. 24-26. The workshop will be hosted by Lynda Saffell and will present the historical, philosophical, and fundamental components of meditation. For more information, or to register, visit www.waynesvilleyogacenter.com/event/300-hour-module-meditation/.

• 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. Please 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. The group will be holding election of officers followed by a presentation on Montana sapphires by club member Tom Parker.

• Due to the increase in the COVID virus, the Thursday, Sept. 2 meeting of the Swain County Genealogical and Historical Society is cancelled. This program will be rescheduled in the future. The status of the October meeting will be announced later in September.

POLITICAL CORNER • The Swain County Democratic Party will hold a hybrid meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, in-person (please bring a mask) at United Community Bank (rear entrance) at 145 Slope Street, Bryson City and via Zoom. The discussion will include precinct reports, future plans and goals. Please call for a link to join the virtual meeting. All are welcome. For details, call Justin Greene at 828.736.4693.

A&E

• 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.

• Fall Fling Art & Craft Walk will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 4, in Dillsboro. Shops will feature locally hand-crafted items and local artists have been invited to display their work and demonstrate the crafting process.

n All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. n To have your item listed email to calendar@smokymountainnews.com • Boojum Brewing (Waynesville) will host 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 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. Silly Ridge Roundup Sept. 3 and Curtis Blackwell Sept. 10. Free and open to the public. www.highlandschamber.org.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Kind Clean Gentleman Sept. 2, George Trouble & The Zealots Sept.

3, Natti Love Joys Sept. 4, Nick Colavito 3 p.m. Sept. 5, Syrup 2 p.m. Sept. 6, Pleasantly Wild Sept. 10 and A. Lee Edwards & The Drag Sept. 11. 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 Tim Williams Sept. 5. All events are free and begin at 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host Arnold Hill (rock) Sept. 3, Yard Karaoke 7 p.m. Sept. 10 and Dustin Martin (singer-songwriter) Sept. 11. 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 Colby Deitz (singer-songwriter) Sept. 3 and Dustin Martin (singersongwriter) Sept. 10. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public.

828.349.2337 or www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Nantahala Outdoor Center (Nantahala Gorge) will host “Bluegrass with Blue” Sept. 3 and 10, Hustle Souls Sept. 4, Granny’s Mason Jar Sept. 5 and Pioneer Chicken Stand Sept. 11. 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 Casey Clark (country) Sept. 4 and Cornbread Creek (old-time) Sept. 11. 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.

• Unplugged Pub (Bryson City) will host Piney Ridge Band Sept. 2 and Rock Holler Band Sept. 4. All shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public.

828.538.2488.

• Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host karaoke on Thursday nights and semi-regular live music on the weekends. 828.456.4750 or www.facebook.com/waternhole.bar.

Smoky Mountain News

FOOD AND DRINK • 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.

• 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.

• “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.

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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 • Learn about the history and evolution of Appalachian music with a Blue Ridge Parkway Ranger during this week’s Fridays at the Folk Art Center session, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 10, at the Folk Art Center in Asheville. The Folk 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.

• In lieu of its ever-popular Guest Appreciation Festival, the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Swain County will instead move to a Guest Appreciation Month (September) of Celebration for 2021. Stay tuned for details at www.noc.com/events.

• The annual Little Tennessee River Cleanup will take place Saturday, Sept. 11, in Franklin. Volunteer are needed to work a variety of litter zones that day, but on their own schedule following supply pickup throughout the week Sept. 7-10 at Mainspring Conservation Trust’s office on 557 East Main Street in Franklin or from 9-10 a.m. Sept. 11 on Mainspring property across the street from its office. Volunteers can also contact Mainspring’s conservation outreach associate Rachel Newcomb at 828.524.2711, ext. 305, to notify Mainspring of their intent to pick up trash on their own.

• Wildlife through the lenses of local photographers will be on display at the Macon County Public Library through the month of September. Library hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

• The N.C. Mountain State Fair will return to Fletcher Sept. 10-19 following last year’s pandemic-induced hiatus. For more information, including a complete schedule and admission prices, visit www.mountainfair.org.

• Join a Blue Ridge Parkway ranger for an evening of storytelling during this week’s Fridays at the Folk Art Center session, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, at the Folk Art Center in Asheville. The Folk 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.

• Dress up as your favorite superhero while honoring the real-life superheroes of the ongoing pandemic during the 14th annual Asheville Brewing Super Hero 5K/Super Villain 10K presented by Black Orthodontics on Saturday, Sept. 11, in downtown Asheville. The race will start and finish at Rabbit Rabbit, the new event space next to Asheville Pizza, stepping off at 8:30 a.m.

The race is capped at 1,000 participants, with online registration open through Sept. 9 or until full. Organized

by Glory Hound Events. Register at www.imathlete.com.

Outdoors

• 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. 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.

• 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.

• Join the Sylva Chapter of Trout Unlimited for dinner and a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7, at the United Community Bank in Sylva. The group will enjoy a delicious meal starting at 6:30 p.m. with a general meeting starting at 7 p.m. and ending by 8 p.m. No membership necessary to join. Kid-friendly. Located at 1640 East Main Street in Sylva.

• The final installment of the Zahner Conservation Lecture Series will feature a presentation on the convergence of conservation and culture at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 9 in the Highlands Biological Station Meadow. The lecture is free thanks to sponsorship by Don and Suzanne Duggan, Tom and Florence Holmes, Adele and Nick Scielzo, and Ruthie and Franko Oliver.

For more information on HBF’s Zahner Conservation Lecture series or to view recordings of past lectures, visit www.highlandsbiological.org.

• Hike to Frying Pan Tower with Haywood County Parks and Recreation at 1 p.m. Sept. 12. Rated as moderate with a distance of 6.2 miles, guided by Lisa Cook and Jamie Shackleford. betty.green@haywoodcountync.gov, 828.452.6789.

• Hike Beech Gap to Devil’s Courthouse with Haywood County Parks and Recreation at 9 a.m. Sept. 15. Rated as easy to moderate with a distance of 2.9 miles, guided by Kathy Odvody and Steve Szczepanski. betty.green@haywoodcountync.gov, 828.452.6789.

• Haywood County Parks and Recreation will host a beginner fly fishing course 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sept. 10, 17, 18, 24. betty.green@haywoodcountync.gov, 828.452.6789.

• Haywood County Parks and Recreation will host an intermediate fly fishing course 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sept.

10, 17, 18 , 24. betty.green@haywoodcountync.gov, 828.452.6789.

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

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Employment

CWS- OWNER OPERATORS/SMALL FLEETS CDL-A, 1yr. Driving Experience. Dedicated round trips paid per mile, regular home time. 800-8327036 ext.1626 WAYNESVILLE, NC EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES We’re Hiring!

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FULL-TIME ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT POSITION $YDLODEOH LQ WKH RI¿FH RI the Registrar on WCU’s Cullowhee Campus!

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ADVERTISING DIRECTOR- TWO REGIONAL MAGAZINES Smoky Mountain Living and Blue Ridge Motorcycle Magazine are looking for a FullTime Advertising Director. Person will sell for both magazines over a 5 state area. Sales experience necessary. Must be self-motivated, independent & persistent. Knowledge in both print and digital/ social components.

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ATTENTION ACTIVE DUTY/MILITARY Veterans Begin a new career and earn your degree at CTI. Online computer & medical training available

NOW RECRUITING FOR: Retail Sales Associate, Catering & Conference Services Mgr, Sales Mgr, Asst F&B Mgr, Banquet Captain, Banquet Supervisor, Banquet Server, Host, Server, Busser, Bartender, Sous Chef, Cook, Asst Pastry Chef, Dishwasher, Reservations, Front Desk Supervisor, Front Desk, Bellman, Night Audit, Housekeeping, Laundry, Cosmetologist, Spa Attendant, Massage Therapist, Spin Instructor, Graphic Designer, P/T Marketing Asst Apply online at oldedwardsinn.com/careers

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Search.aspx?ServerVar=eastersealsucp. appone.com (919) 8651663 katrina.boykin@ eastersealsucp.com

September 1-7, 2021

WNC MarketPlace

for veterans & families! To learn more call 833-9703466 WORK FROM ANYWHERE You have an internet connection? 13 positions available. Start as soon as today. As simple as checking your email. Complete online training provided. VisLW IRU GHWDLOV KWWSV ELW ly/2yewvor CWS- OWNER OPERATORS/SMALL FLEETS CDL-A, 1yr. Driving Experience. Dedicated round trips paid per mile, regular home time. 800-832-7036 ext.1626 MEDICAL BILLING & CODING TRAINING. New Students Only. Call & Press 1. 100% online courses. Financial Aid Available for those who qualify.

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Haywood Co. Real Estate Agents Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate- Heritage • Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com

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Livestock BRING YOUR HORSES TO HIGHLANDS NC. 4 STALLS IN FIRST CLASS BARN FOR RENT. TWO PASTURES. TRAILER PARKING. SERVICES PROVIDED. ACCESS TO MILES OF FOREST TRAILS IN BEAUTIFUL HISTORIC HORSE COVE. TXT 828.200.3217

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• Rob Roland - robroland@beverly-hanks.com

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• • • •

Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com Steve Mauldin - smauldin@sunburstrealty.com Randy Flanigan - 706-207-9436

EXP Realty • Jeanne Forrest - ashevillerealeat8@gmail.com

Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com • Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff@kw.com • Darrin Graves - dgraves@kw.com Lakeshore Realty • Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Catherine Proben Cell: 828-734-9157 Office: 828-452-5809

cproben@beverly-hanks.com

See Virtual Tours of listed homes at

MaggieValleyHomeSales.com

74 N. Main St., Waynesville, NC

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Jerry Powell Cell: 828.508.2002

Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com • Lyndia Massey- buyfromlyndia@yahoo.com

Mountain Creek Real Estate • Ron Rosendahl - 828-593-8700

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management • Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com

RE/MAX Executive - remax-waynesvillenc.com • • • • • • • • •

remax-maggievalleync.com The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com Ron Breese - ronbreese.com Landen Stevenson- landen@landenkstevenson.com Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com Mary & Roger Hansen - mwhansen@charter.net David Willet - davidwillet1@live.com Sara Sherman - sarashermanncrealtor@gmail.com David Rogers- davidr@remax-waynesville.com Judy Meyers - jameyers@charter.net

Smoky Mountain Retreat Realty • Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com • Sherell Johnson - Sherellwj@aol.com

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TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 74 N. Main St., Waynesville

828.452.5809

September 1-7, 2021

828.452.4251

ads@smokymountainnews.com WNC MarketPlace

45

SUPER

CROSSWORD

GAME TIME ACROSS 1 Ford dud 6 Like a poetic lament 13 Reggae land 20 Mucho 21 Sailing event 22 Warded off 23 Game in which groups of items are named 25 Game utilizing five dice 26 Liver spread 27 Part of TGIF 28 "That's show --!"

30 Singer Elliot 31 Game of bluffing and trivia 35 Enraged 36 Tax doc. pro 38 Filled cookies 39 Autumn mo.

40 Game involving picking fruit from trees 45 Boomers' children 46 Seal herd 47 Part of TGIF 48 Glimpse 49 Atop, in poetry 50 Game having a crossshaped playing area 53 Suggest 55 Catch sight of 59 Big arteries 61 Sports squad 62 Writer Calvino 63 Mensa figs.

65 Brunch, e.g.

67 TV host Kelly 70 Game containing 100 tiles 72 Apt word for this puzzle's theme, found by using the three letters that appear nowhere else in this entire puzzle's grid 73 Game based on jumping

and capturing 75 Burn a little 76 Eclectic mix 78 Greek vowel 79 Certain eye surgery 80 Notified 82 Dogs' jinglers 86 Glues 87 Indianan, informally 90 Game featuring war negotiation 93 Pt. of PLO 94 Male buds 96 Zodiac cat 97 "Six-pack" 98 Mass seats 102 Game whose players try to get rid of all their cards 105 Taoism's Lao- -106 "The land of cotton" 107 Acorn tree 108 Lean- -- (simple huts) 109 Game entailing sinking vessels 111 Actor Scott 114 Lead-in to propyl 115 -- Lanka 116 -- Spumante 117 Game with an unmatched penalty card 120 Game using rebounding automatons, as originally named 126 Painter's mixing board 127 Geronimo's people 128 Slur over 129 Veers 130 Toy terriers, for short 131 Lauder of cosmetics DOWN 1 High trains 2 Medico 3 Office gizmo 4 -- Unidos de America 5 Espresso quaffs

6 Blunder 7 Lower limb 8 Vain person 9 Country star Brooks 10 Inflammation suffix 11 Polished off 12 North African city citadel 13 Rap star married to Beyonce 14 Film director DuVernay 15 "Doesn't excite me" 16 Elaborately decorated auto 17 Chichen -- (Mayan ruins) 18 OK grades 19 Citrus drinks 24 Suffix with profit 29 Sacred cow 31 Be a pugilist 32 "-- you in?"

33 Portal 34 "T.N.T." band 35 Center 36 Chuckle 37 Black tea 40 User of a certain weeding tool 41 Perp nabber 42 Most spacious 43 With 52-Down, retort to "No you're not!"

44 Mined matter 46 Stipend, say 47 Prefix with thermal 50 "No --!" ("Sure!")

51 Owns 52 See 43-Down 54 Arctic coats 55 Frisbee, e.g.

56 Mark permanently 57 Bay Area city 58 Light cigars 60 Faith faction 63 Sick 64 Brit. monarch beginning

in '52 66 "Caught ya!"

68 -- -dieu (kneeler) 69 Inquires 71 "Bolero" star 74 Pottery need 77 Strange 78 "-- Beso" 81 Tripoli is its capital 83 Is inclined 84 Imitates 85 Day- -- colors 86 Mac rivals 87 Ad -88 NHL's Bobby 89 French "king" 91 Sail holder 92 Help do bad 95 Mil. figures 98 Small guns 99 Demonstrate 100 Nintendo system 101 Autumn mo.

103 Fast car, e.g.

104 "Yippee!"

105 Meditative martial art 106 One-named singer of the 1994 hit "You Gotta Be" 109 Baseball great Lou 110 Nero's lang.

111 Conks 112 -- unto itself 113 Sit in neutral 114 -- of March 115 Mark permanently 118 Safari truck, in brief 119 Suffix with Wisconsin 121 NYSE event 122 Bray starter 123 Letter #19 124 Lyrical poem 125 Letter #20

ANSWERS ON PAGE 42

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CASTILLO

PITBULL TERRIER MIX- JUDD B&W, 7 years old. Low-key guy, loves sunbathing, playing in water or with toys, being petted. Asheville Humane Society. (828) 761-2001 publicrelations@ashevillehumane.org

• Dangerous Tree Removal • Pruning • Creating Views

Real Estate Announcements

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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE All real estate advertising in this newspaper is VXEMHFW WR WKH )DLU +RXVing Act which makes it illegal to advertise ‘any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination’. Familial status includes children under 18 living with parents or legal guardians and pregnant women.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate in violation of this law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

Rentals

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SUDOKU Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, Answers on 42 the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

46

www.smokymountainnews.com

September 1-7, 2021

WNC MarketPlace

Automotive A-1 DONATE YOUR CAR, RUNNING OR NOT!! FAST FREE PICKUP. Maximum tax deduction. Support United Breast Cancer Fdn programs. Your car donation could save a life. 888641-9690

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September 1-7, 2021

WNC MarketPlace

47

September 1-7, 2021 Smoky Mountain News

UPCOMING SH HOWS:

SEPTEMBE ER 30

OCTOBER 9

1028 Georgiia Rd • Frankklin, lli NC • Locall 828.524.

828 524 1598 • T To ollll Free 86 66 273 4615 66.273.4615 48

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