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October 3-9, 2018 Vol. 20 Iss. 19

Balsam Range wins big at IBMA Awards Page 30 Poor acorn crop leads to increased bear encounters Page 42

CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: A national shortage of tradesmen is having a major impact on Western North Carolina. Skilled construction laborers, plumbers, HVAC technicians and others are needed to meet the needs of a recovering economy. (Page 3) Cory Vaillancourt photo

News State defunds local economic development agency ..............................................4 Three candidates run for Macon County Sheriff ........................................................6 Incumbent sheriff challenged in Swain County ..........................................................8 Two Dems in high-profile superior court race ..........................................................10 Deitz, Cody rematch for Jackson commissioner seat ............................................15 Important voting deadlines approach ........................................................................16 Two Republicans vie for district judge seat ..............................................................17 Health, social services changes upheld in Jackson ..............................................20 WCU resumes chancellor search ................................................................................21 Business News ..................................................................................................................23

Opinion Is this the demeanor of a Supreme Court justice? ................................................24

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

CONTACT WAYNESVILLE | 144 Montgomery, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585 SYLVA | 629 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779 P: 828.631.4829 | F: 828.631.0789 INFO & BILLING | P.O. Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786

A&E Balsam Range wins big at IBMA Awards ................................................................30

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Poor acorn crop leads to increased bear encounters ..........................................42

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Celebrate 828 Day Hall of Fame Day Mascot Day

Building on something good Educational remedies for workforce deficiencies

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER eaters that won’t heat. Lights that won’t light. Pipes that won’t pipe.

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ccording to a 2018 report by Manpowergroup, a global workforce sourcing company, the situation is already critical.

The title of the report itself — “Solving the talent shortage” — is telling, but contained in it is a laundry list of alarming statistics.

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“You’ve got framing carpenters, finish carpenters, you’ve got masonry folks involved in that, you’ve got the roofers, HVAC installers. You can run the whole gamut of these folks and there’s just an overall shortage of those folks all together.”

— Doug Burchfield, Haywood Community College Dean of Workforce Continuing Education

The Workforce Continuing Education Department of Haywood Community College will offer an introduction to homebuilding and construction class beginning Monday, Oct. 8. Classes will be held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. and led by local custom homebuilder Richard Lanning. The course will last about 16 weeks, and costs $230.

For more information, call 828.564.5128 or email hccindustrytraining@haywood.edu.

States today. North Carolina Department of Commerce statistics show that as of July, unemployment was at 3.5 percent in Haywood County, 3.9 percent in Macon and Swain counties, and a still not-too-shabby 4.2 percent in Jackson County, where Ward Plumbing and Heating is located.

Another reason could be an educational philosophy that up until recently told students from middle school onwards that they’d never make any money — and never earn any respect — if they didn’t incur crushing student loan debt in pursuit of a liberal arts degree that would have little practical use.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1950 less than 5 percent of Americans over the age of 25 had completed a college curriculum of any type. By 2012, that number was above 30 percent. The American Bar Association showed a 382 percent increase in the amount of law degrees awarded between 1963 and 2013.

Such educational attainment hasn’t been as much of a possibility in the trades.

“Unless something has changed, Southwestern Community College used to offer HVAC on demand if they could get enough students, but no plumbing,” Waldrop said. “Part of the challenge is, they can’t even find anybody to teach a plumbing class.”

Haywood Community College Dean of Workforce Continuing Education Doug Burchfield has some insight as to why, exactly, that is.

“I think the recession hurt that industry, you can point to that for a lot of it. A lot of your experience left and very few of them

came back,” Burchfield said. “Now we‘re going to have to rebuild a pool of folks for supply and demand purposes, to get folks back into those fields and interested in those fields and meet the needs of homebuilders and the community.”

He’s not just talking about plumbers, either; new construction, from the ground up, involves an array of tradespeople during all phases of the build, and all of them are in short supply.

“You’ve got framing carpenters, finish carpenters, you’ve got masonry folks involved in that, you’ve got the roofers, HVAC installers,” he said. “You can run the whole gamut of these folks and there’s just an overall shortage of those folks all together, for what it takes to build a house. They’re struggling to find subcontractors in any one of those areas, plus they’re struggling to find just regular employees to come out and help on the job site.”

Burchfield thinks the remedy for that is to begin offering a suite of classes at HCC that will prepare students to fill those roles, and fast.

“My intent with this is I’m starting off slowly, but eventually I want to work this into a kind of ‘homebuilders academy,’ where we offer most of those disciplines,” he said.

In just days, HCC will begin offering an “intro to homebuilding” class.

“When they walk onto a job site, they will understand the mentality, they will understand the lingo and they will be able to get to work and be an immediate impact for

Smoky Mountain News

One in four employers say filling skilled trade roles is harder this year than last year, and skilled tradespeople like electricians, welders and plumbers are the hardest to find — ahead of sales representatives, engineers, drivers and technicians. The reason?

It’s not the compensation; only 12 percent of employers said, “applicants expect higher pay than offered.”

However, almost 30 percent of employers did say they have a general lack of applicants, and another 20 percent said their applicants don’t have the experience necessary.

One reason for that could be the historically low unemployment rates in the United

‘Introduction to homebuilding and construction’ class

October 3-9, 2018

The modern conveniences most people have taken for granted are just that — taken for granted — until something goes awry.

And when the basement’s full of sewage, who ya gonna call?

A skilled tradesperson, that’s who. But don’t expect to see one any time soon; a critical shortage of workers in fields like carpentry and plumbing has created long waits and promises a knowledge gap that communities around the nation and around the region will grapple with now and into the foreseeable future.

Brad Waldrop manages Ward Plumbing and Heating in Sylva. The business performs both HVAC and plumbing services, and, he says, is in constant need of workers.

“There’s not really a time of the year where if somebody walked in the door and showed that they were a legitimately qualified plumber or HVAC professional we wouldn’t hire them,” said Waldrop. “If you come in here and you say that you don’t know squat, if you’ve got a good attitude, can fog up a mirror and want to learn a trade, we’re going to pay you $12 an hour.”

And that’s only the beginning. Waldrop said his company offers a relatively generous benefits package, including a retirement plan, paid holidays, paid vacation, overtime and a 75 percent contribution to employee health care.

“Even as a helper, you’re going to start to move up to $14, which is nearly double minimum wage,” he said. “And that’s still somebody who can’t claim they know a trade.

They’re just showing decent progress in learning.”

Waldrop said he gets a pretty steady flow of job applications, but is having trouble finding experienced workers, most of whom who can end up making $25 an hour or more in a fairly short period of time.

“Our reality is, I can only put so many helpers on without having skilled tradespeople with them,” he said. “Right now with plumbers, we’re running two helpers with one lead, because I’m trying to teach guys.

That’s expensive and it’s not really productive, because with most of our stuff, you can’t just keep throwing guys at it.

Somebody has to know what they’re doing.”

As these experienced workers leave the workforce within the next decade, those coming up behind them aren’t filling the gaps quickly enough to satisfy demand.

“Plumbing especially,” said Waldrop.

“You start asking people — and this is true in Haywood County too — you start asking people, ‘Who can plumb a house? Who can plumb a building?’ and they will start listing you people over 55 years of age.”

S EE TRADES, PAGE 5 3

news

Economic development agency defunded Longtime director retires, earns state’s highest honor

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR ary Ann Morgan was a one-woman show with a shoestring budget for more than 40 years but still, she managed to change the lives of hundreds of people who walked into her office without much hope for their future.

Brandy Nigh was a career waitress at 30 years old with two children. Tired of just scraping by, she wanted to go back to school to be a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) but couldn’t qualify for more financial aid.

“I was in default on my last PELL Grant — I couldn’t get approved for more so Haywood Community College sent me to Mary Ann,” Nigh said. “She said she had no problem funding my certification because she knew I’d succeed. Just having that one person to believe in me made all the difference.”

Until this summer, Morgan was the executive director of a little-known Limited Purpose Agency based in Haywood County called Western Economic Development Organization. The organization was overseen by a 15-member board and operated on an annual budget of about $140,000 a year.

The agency’s mission and programming changed a couple of times since its inception in 1975 to meet the changing needs in the community, but it was long funded by a state Community Service Block grant through the Office of Economic Development. However, the state reallocated that pot of money earlier this year, leaving WEDO without funding.

“There were only seven agencies in North Carolina when I started and over the years it got down to four, including us, but now all of them are gone,” Morgan said. “It’s a shame to see because we weren’t a hands-out agency — we were a hands-up agency giving people

Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

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the training they needed to move on with their lives.”

WEDO provided funding for students at regional community colleges to get a number of different certifications, including CNA 1 and CNA 2, Basic Law Enforcement Training, medication aid, phlebotomy, medical assistant and other vocational trades that are in high demand in our area. The organization could also help those students with the cost of tuition, books, fees, equipment, uniforms and tools needed during their program.

“After the first year of doing this program, we found out some students didn’t have gas money to get to school, so we put that in there too,” Morgan said. “We’d help pay for their state board testing, which could be $100 for the CNA certificate.”

The organization could only help students who fell below the federal poverty guidelines, but Morgan always went above and beyond to help people who would otherwise fall between the cracks. She went after donations from other nonprofit organizations like Women of Waynesville or Grace of the Mountains Episcopal Church to provide assistance to students who were just above the funding guidelines.

She still had about $2,400 in unrestricted funds when WEDO dissolved that she handed over the HCC staff to use toward students in need.

“Sandy Fisher is an instructor there and she knows the people who need the help — so now she’s taking that on instead of sending them to me like she used to,” Morgan said. “All the other money I had to send back to the state.”

Nigh said she hates to see such a successful program with such a caring director go by the wayside, especially since Morgan helped change her life for the better. Nigh recently invited Morgan to attend her pinning ceremony to speak to her graduating class, but little did Morgan know she was also there for Nigh to express her appreciation for all she’s done.

“She’s a great person — we formed a friendship. I’d go to sign a paper in her office

Mary Ann and her husband Gary Morgan pose after Mary Ann was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Donated photo and we’d talk for an hour,” Nigh said. “She’s so easy to talk to and she genuinely cares — whatever I wanted to do she’d say, ‘let’s make it happen.’”

Instead of worrying about how much tip money she’d make on a shift or relying on food stamps and Medicaid to take care of her children, Nigh now works a full-time job with health care benefits and just purchased her dream car — a 2012 BMW. “Just having Mary Ann in my ear telling me I’d succeed — we all need that one person to say I know you can do this. It gave me the confidence even on bad days,” she said. “Now I’m going on to get my nursing degree. I feel like Mary Ann was put in my life for a reason — to better myself and my kids and help other people.”

For all these reasons, it’s no surprise that upon her retirement Morgan was presented

with the state’s highest civilian honor — the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award. Yet she still remains humble about the impact she had over her long career.

“To me it didn’t seem like a job — it felt like family. Just like my kids, I’d tell them, ‘I’ll kick your butt if you don’t do it,’” she joked.

“Some of these girls just needed guidance. At some point they got into the wrong place at the wrong time and then at some point decide they need to change their life and they want to do it for their kids.”

Even though Morgan went to Raleigh to fight to keep the organization’s funding, she said it wasn’t enough. Perhaps helping 300 people doesn’t seem like a lot to legislators looking at the big picture. But the ripple effect of helping those people succeed can’t be calculated, she added.

“We probably helped over 300

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“After completing the course I signed up to take the N.C. state certification board for Nursing Assistants and I passed. I am now employed with a local nursing home, which I dearly love to take care of people, what a difference my life is now. This organization helped me when I thought all hope and help was lost. I was at my lowest point — ready to make something of myself and this agency helped me achieve my lifelong goals.”

Morgan isn’t exactly sure how she’ll handle retirement yet since she’s never been good at taking it easy. Even after a recent surgery that required her to stay at Silver Bluff for rehabilitation, she had her husband bring her work computer to her to set up appointments with some of the girls who were working there and wanted to go back to school. She had already helped some of the employees working there earn their certifications — it felt like her work had come full circle with them now happy to care for her.

“I don’t know if it’s really hit yet — I do miss it already and there’s such a need for it here,” she said. “I’ll miss the people. It’s been a blessing for me as much as it has for all the people I helped.”

juice? One of my friends is giving me a hard time because she says juice is full of sugar.

ANSWER: Short answer, No. Longer answer: 100% fruit juice has no added sugar but it does contain natural sugars. Since fruit juice comes from whole fruit is has carbohydrates as a result of the natural sugars in fruit. The biggest and most important difference is that whole fruit or pieces of fruit have fiber and the fruit juice has little or none of this.

The benefit of fiber in whole fruit is that it helps with satiety (a feeling of fullness) so your child will feel full more quickly rather than drinking large amounts of juice.

There are age appropriate amounts of fruit juice that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends: “Intake of juice should be limited to, at most, 4 ounces daily for toddlers age 1-3. For children age 4-6, fruit juice should be restricted to 4 to 6 ounces daily; and for children ages 718, juice intake should be limited to 8 ounces or 1 cup of the recommended 2 to 2 ½ cups of fruit servings per day.”

(Source: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/AmericanAcademy-of-Pediatrics-Recommends-No-Fruit-Juice-For-Children-Under-1-Year.aspx)

If your child is ill, running a fever or not eating, drinking juice may be a good option to keep them hydrated and provide some calories. Diluting 100% fruit juice or making into popsicles may help them with their fluid intake.

Putting fruit juices in sippy cups, bottles, or giving children juice boxes throughout the day is not advised because it can lead to excessive consumption which can contribute to obesity, as well as baby bottle tooth decay and cavities.

Smoky Mountain News

people get certifications — could be more — but I’m about faces and people, not numbers, but that’s what they wanted to see,” she said.

She said Melvin Williams, director of the Office of Economic Opportunity in Raleigh, wasn’t helpful and wouldn’t even accept any letters of support from the agency.

“I was fighting for the funding, but he wouldn’t even look at me. I had stacks of letters from the people who wrote them,” Morgan said.

Brittany Maney Pless, 23, was one person who tried to share her WEDO success story.

“I was a single person, on drugs, depressed, homeless, and ended up in jail.

When I found out I was pregnant, things started to change. I knew I could not take care of a baby; I couldn’t even take care of myself,” she wrote. “During this time I was trying to find a job, but nobody would hire me because I had no education and my previous background did not look good on a resume.”

She signed up to take the CNA class at HCC, which is how she found Morgan and assistance through WEDO. Morgan helped her with the application process and funded the CNA class tuition, her scrubs, supplies and books.

QUESTION: Is it bad to give my child fruit

October 3-9, 2018

the employer from the day they start,” he said.

The class will be taught by Haywood County native and custom homebuilder Richard Lanning.

“He’s probably got over 30 years of experience in the homebuilding business, that’s been his life for many, many years,” said Burchfield. “He’s made a good living out of it, he’s done well for himself, he’s got a very good reputation, not to mention he’s got a teaching background as well. He taught vocational classes once upon a time, so he understands the classroom mentality and what it takes to teach in a classroom.”

If the class goes well, Burchfield says he has the tools to add additional courses to his “academy” concept, including masonry and

HVAC. But like the employers he seeks to supply with talent, Burchfield himself is feeling the pinch.

“I’ve got to build my instructor pool as well, to make sure I have highly qualified folks that are delivering this,” he said. “I want to make sure we have industry experts.”

Enrollment in the intro class will be open up to and including the first day of class, Oct. 8.

“Even if this class doesn’t make it, and we’re not able to pull it off and get enough students, we’re going to offer it again in the spring. I’m not giving up on this,” he said.

“That will give me more time to advertise it next time and we can start building on something good from there. To me, this is very important to our community to have these folks out there.”

TRADES, CONTINUED FROM 3

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October 3-9, 2018

news

Three candidates run for Macon sheriff

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR Talk briefly about your past experience and why you are the most qualified candidate.

Carpenter: During the three years I’ve been with Graham County, I’ve earned a certification in emergency management and crime scene investigations. I became a K9 handler with my dog Boaz and we’ve been effective in countless drug seizures. As a team we’re certified through the USPCA (U.S. Police Canine Association) for narcotics detection. During the last three years I’ve also gained other certificates and certifications in the law enforcement field.

Being sheriff is something I feel led to do and I feel like I can make a positive difference in the community.

Giles: I worked as a detention officer and transport supervisor for Macon County Sheriff, I took a patrol position at Graham County and then moved to Clay County — they pay better so I spent three years there.

I decided to run for sheriff so I went in and talked to my captain and advised him of the same and that I was probably going to be leaving. Then Cherokee County came calling — I went down and seen the sheriff and he offered me a job and I’ve been there ever since — been there since December. I grew up in Macon County — my family is 10th generation Maconian. I’ve seen some troubling things since I moved home seven years ago. I’ve seen a lot of people I went to school with are addicted to drugs now. We need something different — we’re not going to arrest our way out of this problem.

Holland : For the last 16 years I’ve had the distinct honor of serving as the Macon County sheriff. Over the last 16 years I’ve had the opportunity to build relationships with many different individuals and I’ve been involved with many different organizations. We’ve built a sheriff ’s office that we like to call a proactive sheriff ’s office and I’m very proud of the men and women who serve at our office.

Smoky Mountain News

Robert Holland (Republican)

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Age: 51 Hometown: Born in Naples, Florida, but his family has been in Macon County since the 1600s. He moved back to Franklin after he graduated high school.

Education: Attended Southwestern Community College but didn’t graduate. Took numerous classes and earned his advanced law enforcement certificate through the N.C. Justice Academy.

Professional background: Worked with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office for 27 years — first as a volunteer, then as a detention officer, a patrol officer and eventually a detective and supervised the juvenile unit.

Political experience: Seeking fifth term as Macon County sheriff.

The Macon County jail is overcrowded as the region battles the opioid epidemic — what are you doing or what will you do to address these issues with limited financial resources?

Carpenter : The opioid epidemic is a problem, but I see it being more controlled by the doctors who control the prescriptions going out and how much quantity is going out. Based upon that, I would possibly have an investigator solely looking into doctor shopping. As far as on the streets, opioids will be treated as any other narcotic with people being cited or possibly arrested for it.

I’m all for any kind of in-jail rehabilitation — any kinds of programs that will point them toward Christ or any kind of thing like that. I’m all for any schooling programs for inmates to learn a trade of some sort. That’s a win-win situation.

Giles : Narcanon is one program that offers age specific programs. Full Circle on Georgia Road does great work, Rock Bottom Recovery in Hayesville has done amazing things with Macon County’s inmates. I’d continue the Second Chance (Prime for Life) program but it’s only for people who’ve been in jail over 90 days — we need something from day 1. One thing I’ve started researching is drug court. Buncombe County has it and I’ve talked to friends over there and they seem to like it. With drug court they do different things like sentencing someone to rehab — you go to rehab or you go to jail. I know there would be challenges with it but it’s something we should look into.

Holland : Especially over the last few years we’ve seen our jail population increasing — that’s a direct result of the opioid epidemic that we’re seeing nationwide. We’re never going to arrest our way out of the opioid problem and we recognize that but we have a responsibility to keep our community safe.

So these individuals that are out trying to fulfill their addiction — many times they’re committing offenses — we have to hold them accountable. A lot of them are good people who have made bad decisions involving their addiction so they start reaching out

Bryan Carpenter (Unaffiliated)

Eric Giles (Democrat)

Age: 34 Hometown: Born in Georgia but raised in Macon County.

Education: Graduated Franklin High School; completed Basic Law Enforcement Training at Haywood Community College and earned an associate degree in criminal justice.

Professional experience: Road deputy with Graham County Sheriff’s Office for three years.

Political experience: He ran for sheriff in 2014.

Age: 42 Hometown: Franklin Education: Completed Basic Law Enforcement Training at Haywood Community College in 2010; received law enforcement certificates offered online through the N.C. Justice Academy.

Professional experience: Currently works for Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office; previously worked with Macon County Sheriff, Graham County Sheriff and Clay County Sheriff.

Political experience: First time running for office.

and wanting help. We started the Reality Check program taking inmates to the school system in their orange outfits and they explain to the students where their bad choices and addiction has gotten them.

We’ve seen our mental health system struggle. We started a program in jail called Prime for Life — it gives these inmates who’ve recognized they have a problem someone to talk to in the mental health system who understands what they’re going through.

Is sending inmate overflow to other counties a sustainable practice? Do we need to construct a new jail or work to decrease the number of people in jail?

Carpenter : If a person is sentenced to jail we can’t affect that so we must adapt to other areas. My opinion is it’s a good practice for a little while but when you have 10 inmates let’s say at roughly $30 a day for each inmate, that’s $300 a day and over a year’s time that’s over $100,000. It would be better to go ahead and expand the jail instead of sending taxpayers’ money out of the county.

Giles : We’ve got to do something with it.

I’m not really a big advocate of building bigger jails to put more people in jail but with the ones going to jail we don’t have enough room for them so we have to do something.

And this jail is outdated — even several years ago when I was there, there were places falling apart.

Holland : In a 75-bed facility, we average about 100 inmates a day and so we have to make sure that those inmates are being cared for in other counties. Macon County spends a lot of money in Cherokee, Clay, Jackson, Swain and here recently we even had to reach out to Charlotte-Mecklenburg to look at the possibility of housing our prisoners and having to transport those prisoners. Is our county looking at building a new jail — absolutely, I think that’s in the future, but I feel like we have to look at some other ways that we can reduce the number of people in our jail and save some money. One of the ways we’re looking at is the possibility of electronic monitoring and being able to select certain inmates on low-level charges to be on house arrest and electronic monitoring.

People in the Nantahala community feel like they aren’t getting adequate services from the sheriff’s office. How do you plan to address those concerns?

Carpenter : I feel like they do need adequate enforcement and need someone over there all the time. There’s two avenues — you can go ahead and request from the commissioners another position to place one over there or simply go ahead and place one over there.

It would cut response time in half, it would help the community over there.

I’ve talked to some people about

Macon County Superior Court recently saw guilty pleas and lengthy prison sentences of two drug trafficking defendants. In unrelated cases, Jason Warren Hill and Natasha Bates DeHart both plead guilty to trafficking in methamphetamine and related charges.

Officers conducted a warrantless probation search of hill’s residence on July 22, 2018, on Middle Drive in Franklin. As probation officers began their search they observed Hill walk around the side of his bed in his bedroom and grab a clear plastic baggie and

possibly doing a multi-county task force through the area because it’s not patrolled as much.

Giles : Of course I would love to have more deputies, but at this point I see no reason why we can’t have zones. It works in every county around us. I don’t see putting one officer over there and he’s just going to stay there forever — I think you rotate them out so they all get familiar with all the roads over there.

Giles : I’m a firm believer that we’re not above the law. I have to face my mistakes just like everybody else does — so

Holland : To be honest with you, I think there is a huge support system in our county. I don’t think there’s a large number of people who distrust us.

Based on what’s going on in the nation I understand red flags are up and people are concerned but that’s one of the things I’m most proud about in our agency. We’ve gone out of our way to be very transparent with the public and the media. When we have a situation where god forbid an officer is accused of serious wrongdoing we get other agencies involved to conduct an investigation and we play no role in the investigation.

What accomplishments are you most proud of from the last term or for challengers, what improvements would you make to the department and/or the jail?

Carpenter : One of the ways that will prevent the flow of drugs into this county will be to install a license plate reader on U.S 441 and into select patrol vehicles. They can be stationary or on the back of a car and can read 500 tags an hour so it gives officers feedback on the driver — whether their license is good, etc. — it can be helpful in so many traffic stops, amber alerts or missing people — and it would open up the doors for more drug stops. I’ve been researching it a lot. In Florida counties, it’s helped out a lot with missing people and drugs. I think it would pay for itself quickly.

Giles : I want to see more community policing. I want to be out in the community — I don’t plan to be at the office much. Everyone talks about how we’re short handed — why can’t I take a call and back up my officers? Another thing I plan to do a little different than other places around here is the hiring process. I want a hiring review board to review applications so everybody is treated equally.

Holland : I’m proud of the specialized training in our agency. We have certified instructors and now have a training coordinator to do in-house training, which saves us a lot of money. We were spending thousands in overtime to attend Southwestern Community College classes, which is a great school but it was costing a lot of money. About 40 hours a year of training is required for officers but we exceed those minimum standards. I’m also very proud that while many counties are now looking for ways to find school resource officer funding, we’ve pushed for that the entire time I’ve been sheriff and we have an officer at every school in the community including SCC and the early college.

Macon County Sheriff’s Office recently received a $65,000 grant for new camera technology — what’s your stance in body cams or dash cams for officers?

Carpenter : I have no problem being transparent by having video or body cams. I am pro body cams because it protects the public and the officer.

Giles : I prefer body cams — dash cams are really good for DUI cases or chases, but body cams are up close and personal. We had body cams in Clay County — you could take the cam off your shirt and hold it up and get everything. It’s right on your pocket and they were great.

Holland: Body cams are easier because of the cost, but we still haven’t made a decision on what to go with. In a meeting last week with the whole department, all of them want in car or body cam. They’re all supportive because there’s nothing to hide — it’s there to protect them and the citizens. But we have to have policies and protocols in place before we begin using them. And $65,000 may seem like a lot but it wouldn’t fund a camera for all my officers. Then we have to worry about having the footage backed up somewhere offsite for security purposes.

Joint opioid task force leads to 75 arrests in WNC A major law enforcement operation targeting drug trafficking in and around the Qualla Boundary has resulted in the arrest of more than 75 individuals on federal, state and tribal charges.

U.S. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke and Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, made the announcement last week in Asheville. Additionally, the monthslong operation yielded more than 248 pounds of illegal substances including heroin, methamphetamine, and hundreds of opioid pills with an estimated street value of $2 million. Officers also seized six illegally-possessed firearms. This operation is the latest conducted by the Interior Department’s task force, which Zinke formed in March 2018 to target the opioid crisis in Indian Country.

The undercover operation, led by the Department of Interior’s Opioid Reduction Task Force, in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Police Department and multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, began in March 2018 and aimed at disrupting and dismantling drug distribution networks operating in and around the Qualla Boundary.

“First and foremost, bravo zulu to the dozens of law enforcement professionals who are on the front lines and putting their own lives at risk to take these deadly drugs off the streets. President Trump and I could not be prouder of their work,” said Zinke. “It’s heartbreaking to see the scale of the problem, and rather than further stigmatizing victims, we are cracking down on the dealers who are selling out our children, selling out our communities, and selling out our nation. The Trump Administration is serious about ending the opioid crisis and that means both treatment of those suffering as well as eradicating the drugs from our communities. This week’s law enforcement action gets us closer to that goal.”

“I am extremely grateful to the Secretary of the Interior, the BIA and the multiple state and local agencies who helped make this operation a success," said EBCI Principal Chief Richard Sneed. "The arrest of these drug dealers is a critical step towards ensuring that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are able to provide the healthy environment our people deserve.”

In addition to the 75 arrests announced in connection with DOI’s Opioid Reduction Task Force operation, a concurrent two-year investigation spearheaded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Division of Drug Enforcement and the DEA led to the previous arrest of 57 additional individuals responsible for trafficking opiates and methamphetamine on the boundary, bringing the total number of those arrested as part of the Western District’s drug reduction initiative on the Cherokee Indian Reservation to 132.

Other partners involved in the operation include: the DEA; the EBCI Police Department; the Swain County Sheriff ’s Office; the Jackson County Sheriff ’s Office; the McDowell County Sheriff ’s Office; the Henderson County Sheriff ’s Office; the Rutherford County Sheriff ’s Office; Buncombe County Sheriff ’s Office; the Asheville Police Department; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; and the U.S. Marshals Service for their coordinated efforts throughout this investigation.

Smoky Mountain News

Many people in Macon County have expressed their distrust in law enforcement because of local and national events. How would you work to restore trust in the community and ensure the sheriff’s staff is held accountable?

Carpenter : Nobody is above the law. As far as restoring trust in the community, I’m a big believer in community policing — getting out there, interacting with the community, being involved. I would support doing community watch programs and sending officers to those meetings and getting feedback from the community.

would my officers. Reports are public records. We’re going to do our reporting constantly. I’m going to have an open door policy.

grams of methamphetamine was purchased.

Bates DeHart also pled guilty to methamphetamine possession with the intent to sell and deliver that substance.

Brooks imposed a total sentence of 78 months minimum (6.5 years) to 112 months maximum (9.3 years) and also imposed a fine of $50,000.

“The District Attorney’s Office places the highest priority on protecting our community from the plague and poison that is methamphetamine. I commend all the law enforcement professionals who worked on these cases with the Macon County Sheriff ’s Department and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Probation and Parole Division for a job well done,” said District Attorney Ashley Welch.

October 3-9, 2018

Holland : The Nantahala community is definitely a community that needs some services addressed. We’ve tried every way we can think of within our current sheriff ’s budget and it’s been a difficult task. There’s about 16,000 calls a year we have to respond to — about 200 are in Nantahala. We know if you live in Nantahala and it’s your call, it’s the most important call of the day and we recognize that. We’ve had a lot of meetings with the community this year and they recognize the way to get it done is to come before commissioners during the budget talks. I have a feeling next spring we’ll get a very diff outcome. The problem with zoning is we have 529 square miles to cover and we only have so many officers.

throw it into the top drawer of his dresser. The bag Hill was attempting to conceal as well as another bag found in close proximity contained a combined weight of over 36 grams of methamphetamine.

Hill also pled guilty to felony maintaining a dwelling for the keeping and selling of controlled substances as well as having attained habitual felon status.

Superior Court Judge Athena Brooks handed down a total sentence of 95 months minimum (7.9 years) to 135 months maximum (11.25 years) and also imposed a fine of $50,000.

Bates DeHart’s convictions came as the result of two undercover controlled purchases of methamphetamine one in December 2017 and another in January 2018. A combined weight of over 47

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Two sentenced for drug trafficking in Macon County

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Incumbent sheriff challenged in Swain

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR ncumbent Republican Curtis Cochran is running for a fourth term as Swain County sheriff. While he’s never had an easy race, he said, this election cycle has been particularly brutal with mudslinging coming from all directions.

With no prior law enforcement experience before being elected for the first time in 2006, he’s had to defend his qualifications every four years. Despite a number of controversies during his tenure — escaped inmates, an SBI investigation into jailers using excessive force, and Cochran suing the county over his salary — it hasn’t stopped him from being re-elected when faced with a number of opponents.

Cochran had to defend himself once again this spring when a Swain County resident challenged his eligibility for office.

Jerry Lowery filed a candidate challenge against the sheriff claiming he had been dishonorably discharged from the military, making him guilty of a felony crime and therefore ineligible to serve as sheriff and carry a gun. The local board of elections dismissed the challenge and the state board of elections dismissed it again after Lowery filed an appeal. Lowery had hoped the challenge would compel Cochran to release his military discharge record, but that didn’t happen — Cochran’s attorney argued he didn’t have an official DD-214 form from the military because he didn’t serve 90 days.

Rocky Sampson said his desire to be of service to others is what has led him to run for sheriff in Swain County. When he was 12, his father — an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians — organized a volunteer firefighter department in Cherokee, which sparked his interest in being a first responder. When he turned 18, he took EMT classes and became a member of the Cherokee Indian Rescue Squad.

“I’ve always been involved in helping people,” he said. “I was too young to go to Vietnam and too old when registration came back up so I guess I sort of felt left out and this is my way of being able to do something for others.”

Sampson has been critical of the current sheriff and is running on promises of operating the sheriff ’s office in a more fair and professional manner — including more standardized procedures and practices for jail operations and more accountability for deputies and detention officers.

Sampson has accused Cochran of trying to get him fired from the Bryson City Police Department once he announced he’d be running against the sitting sheriff. Cochran denies that he asked Police Chief Greg Jones to fire Sampson, but he did suspend a mutual aid agreement between the sheriff ’s office and the town because the department had 8 Sampson on staff.

Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

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Cochran claimed he was aware of inappropriate conduct during Sampson’s employment in Clay County, but Sampson produced a resignation letter showing he had resigned from Clay due to family health issues that required him to be closer to home in Bryson City. Chief Jones said he called about Cochran’s claims, but Clay County Sheriff Vic Davis said it wasn’t true and Sampson was a good officer.

Talk briefly about your past experience and why you are the most qualified candidate.

Sampson: I have 40 years of law enforcement experience. I started right out of high school in communications. Since that time I have been in patrol positions, I have worked in administration as supervisors and managers. I’ve also had a vast background in training and experience in other fields of law enforcement such as arson investigation, undercover narcotics investigations, death investigations, sex crime investigations and many more. I feel that with these qualifications, I’m vastly aware of what’s going on in our communities and able to work with our officers to help them enforce the law to the point they can make our community better.

Cochran: I came into this position 12 years ago without any prior law enforcement experience. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure and the good fortune of the people of Swain County having enough trust and confidence in me to elect me three terms. In that 12 years I’ve gained experience in all kinds of crimes — I’m talking about hands-on experience — not sitting in a classroom listening to someone else’s experience. I’ve gained a lot of experiences that qualify me for being sheriff.

If elected, what are your main goals and how do you plan to accomplish them?

Sampson: My goals are to provide a more professional and more functionable sheriff ’s department. I will do that in order to provide the citizens with the services they need and require to live a better life. I will first start with increasing the officers’ pay. I know it’s too far in the fiscal year to ask the county commissioners for pay raises but that’s something I can do in the future.

Until then I have talked to a couple of commissioners at this time about being able to reduce the sheriff ’s salary by $20,000 — I’ll use that money to provide a small pay raise to start with until we can get commissioners to re-budget their salaries. If I can get better pay, that’s more retention, better officers and they’ll like doing their jobs better.

I’ll also have policies and procedures to guide these officers and they will follow the policies and procedures and be held accountable. We will get back into the communities and be patrolling up and down community streets and you’ll be aware of who the officers are in your community.

Meet the candidates ROCKY SAMPSON (D)

CURTIS COCHRAN (R)

• Age: 59 • Hometown: Cherokee • Education: Graduated from Swain High School • Professional experience: Currently works for Bryson City Police Department (though he is on unpaid administrative leave until after the election as is required through a town of Bryson City policy).

• Political experience: Ran for sheriff in 2014 but didn’t make it past the primary election.

• Age: 66 • Hometown: Swain County • Education: Since being elected, Cochran has attended a sheriff leadership institute, is a member of the North Carolina Jail Administrators’ Association and has received certificates from North Carolina Justice Academy.

• Professional background: He worked for 22 years in underground construction building tunnels. In 1994, he went to work as the facilities manager for Swain County.

• Political background: Running for a fourth consecutive term as sheriff

Cochran: One goal is the retention of officers both as a deputy and detention officers.

The deputy pay is pretty much comparable with other counties for starting pay — our problem is after they reach step two of the (county) pay plan they’re kind of stuck unless they receive a promotion. The detention staff is terribly low paid — detention officers in Swain County start out at $25,000 a year and that’s ridiculously low for the job they do.

They put their lives on the line just like a deputy does. The difference being a deputy usually deals with people one-on-one — with three detention officers working a shift and 94 people in jail right now — you can figure the odds. We need to increase pay not only to train our people but to retain them — other counties are paying more and are recruiting our people all the time.

As the opioid epidemic rages on and more people are being arrested for drug-related crimes, law enforcement has said “we can’t arrest our way out of this problem” — what are some possible solutions to these problems and what’s the sheriff’s role in implementing changes?

Sampson: With the opioid crisis what it is today, the sheriff ’s department is going to have to be more versatile in working with other agencies to try to prevent the use of drugs. There are programs such as the Lazareth program for the collection of unwanted or unused drugs. Locally we have a community organization called Renew. In Cherokee we have Rez Hope. These organizations are trying to implement programs that would help people in need before they get into the judicial system. Should they end up in the judicial system, thus in my facilities as an inmate, there are programs we can run within the jail — AA or NA. Not only that, we can put them to work programs to teach them other skills and show them that they’re still part of our community. We can

get them out as trustees and work within the communities.

Cochran: It’s a national problem and we’re fighting it every day to take as many of these drugs off the streets as we can. Our deputies are always out looking for drugs — we have a lot of checkpoints in Swain County and we seize a lot of drugs through these checkpoints and in essence probably save a lot of lives in the process. We’ve always had a NA and most of the time an AA program at the detention center. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find people who want to come in and that are qualified to come in — a lot of people want to come into the jail but don’t meet our policy standards.

We’re researching a recovery program out of Franklin called the Recovery Church so we’ll probably have them come in.

Many people in Swain County have expressed their distrust in law enforcement because of local and national events. How would you work to restore trust in the community and ensure the sheriff’s staff is held accountable?

Sampson: What I intend to do is have a set of policies and procedures that are equal to the standards used in CALEA (The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), which is a national organization for accreditations making law enforcement unified across the nation. If I use these policies and procedures and my officers follow them correctly, then they’ll be more professional, they’ll understand what their job is supposed to be. We’ve invested a lot of money in our employees — we don’t want to lose them — we want to train them, keep them there and make them happy in doing their jobs and make the citizens aware of what they’re doing. The sheriff ’s department is there to help people — we’ll protect you but we’ll also serve you.

There are a lot of community programs these officers can get out and get involved in. They will become

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Smoky Mountain News

Do you think the current sheriff’s administration treats everyone equally and fairly?

Sampson: I’ve had many people come talk to me about how they’ve been mistreated — officers using excessive force and talking down to and belittling people. People say they’ve been over-charged, searched without probable cause. Of course I wasn’t there but I know there’s been a lot of searches and I can’t see that being needed — people being followed and surveilled. I’m going to review all these surveillances. Right now the sheriff ’s office doesn’t have any cameras so I want to work on that. Car cameras are great and they look straight ahead but body cams show more.

Cochran: We can’t always treat everyone the same, but we do treat people fairly. For example, if someone is exceeding the speed limit because they’re trying to get to the hospital during an emergency, we’re going to do all we can to ensure they get there safely. But if someone is speeding just because they want to, we have to enforce the law. The bottom line with car cameras or body cameras is we can’t afford them. The actual cameras are cheap but it’s maintaining the server to hold all the videos that’s expensive.

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October 3-9, 2018

What can be done improve jail operations?

Sampson: I would look at the overcrowded issues — we may have space not being utilized or we may need to look at expanding the jail in the future. Inmates say there are no programs available in the jail — I would allow religious services, outdoor recreation in the yard. I’d look at putting a second fence up to be a catch zone between the two fences to make more secure. They need to be able to go outside with the correct supervision. Fresh air is healthy and it would let them feel relaxed so when they come back inside they’re more ruly and compliant. With a little freedom comes more respect from them.

Cochran: We aren’t over capacity in the jail — we’re at 94 inmates right now. (The jail has 150 beds). When the jail was built, it was built to federal and state requirements with direct sunlight. People think the fenced-in area outside is a rec area but it’s not — it’s a requirement from the state for evacuation purposes. If I let people out to walk, there’s not enough staff to supervise that. I’m sure it would be beneficial if they could get outside, but if they go outside they’re going to walk and they can walk in the pods.

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part of the community. You’ll get to know them and trust them.

Cochran: We’ve always held our people accountable. We have charged, we have jailed deputies and detention staff because of their activity. We’ve taken them to court and they’ve been prosecuted. We hold ourselves accountable — we hold ourselves to a higher standard. We are no better than anybody on the street as far as the law is concerned.

Mistrust with law enforcement is highly blown out of proportion. I do blame the media for most of this — they seem to make a mountain out of a molehill a lot of times. I want the people of Swain County to know they can trust us but I want the criminals to know there is something to be fearful of — it’s not the law officer but it’s the law.

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Two Dems in high-profile superior court race

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER ou’ve probably seen the billboards by now, if not for months. Or, you’ve seen the candidates out campaigning in person — incumbent Superior Court Judge Brad Letts and well-known Waynesville attorney Mark Melrose.

Both are vying for an eight-year term as a superior court judge in what’s known as Judicial District 30B, which covers Haywood and Jackson County.

That seat has been held by Letts since 2011, but his involvement in shaping the future of the region goes back much further.

In 1995, Letts was one of the original five members on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council Gaming Enterprise.

The TCGE helped negotiate the initial contact with Harrah’s, which led to the casino opening in Cherokee in November 1997. Nearly untold benefit to enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has followed — and will follow — as a result.

Around that same time, EBCI Principal Chief Joyce Dugan brought the legal work of the tribe back in-house, and Letts not only became the tribe’s first attorney general, he also set up the tribe’s legal division, which today remains nearly identical to the way he envisioned it.

None of that would have been possible had Letts — a UNC Chapel Hill alum and Ole

Specialty courts have become more and more widespread of late — veterans courts, drug courts or teen courts, for example. Should we, and could we, see more of that here?

Brad Letts: I actually tried to start a veterans court two, maybe three years ago. We made some progress and tried to lay the foundation, but I was contacted by Judge Marion Warren, the director of AOC [the North

Carolina Administrative Office of Courts, a centralized budgeting and administrative service for the courts] and AOC would not approve a veterans court. I was told one of the policies Judge Warren wants is more uniformity in the North Carolina court system.

Now that’s specific to veterans court. I’m a huge supporter of mental health court, substance-abuse court, drug court. I do believe that those are better situated in the district court, not the superior court, because the district court judges are dealing more with children and families because they’re doing DSS cases, child custody cases. I’m also big fan of family court, but of course that’s also district court. While I do support those, I’m not sure that today that’s an opportunity or possibility in our district because of geography. If you look at your districts that have had success, they tend to be your smaller districts, which of course have a higher population.

Mark Melrose: I’m passionate about it and I’ve been speaking about the specialty courts since very near the beginning of this campaign. They’re changing lives, they’re saving lives, they’re creating second chances for people not only with drunk driving cases but also with veterans and also with adult drug problems. These specialty courts have been wildly successful, in my opinion, in Buncombe County. The reason is because there’s been leadership over there from the bench, both district court and superior court.

We need the same kind of leadership here.

The primary motivation I have for running is not just to do the job as a judge but to expand what can be done in the court. The reason we don’t have it is, it’s not been a priority. You have to have somebody in the role of judge, with the authority that it has, with the influence that it has, to lead the charge.

Right now there’s no charge at all. If my opponent is hopefully at some point going to start talking about this, it’s only because I’m running.

In January, a unique pretrial release pilot program will come to Haywood and Jackson counties, designed to decrease recidivism and drive down the costs associated with incarceration. How is this a step in the right direction – or is it?

Melrose: Pretrial release issues have been a problem for a long time. On the low end, you’ve got cash bonds being set for people that can’t even go to jail if they’re convicted.

So you have poor people serving pretrial confinement for offenses that if they had just gone in and pled guilty the next day, they’d be let out. That is just ridiculous. It cost taxpayers $75 or $80 a day to keep somebody in a local jail, and so you have these poor people who have to pay the bail cost, they have to pay the fine, they have to pay the court costs, so that now they’re in the hole all this money, and they can’t pay it and

Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

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Miss law school grad who studied abroad and probably could have settled anywhere he wanted — not felt the pull to return to Cherokee.

“At the time we really didn’t have that many folks that were enrolled members that were attorneys,” he said. “In fact, I think there was less than eight.”

Perhaps Letts’ greatest impact has been in bucking the generational dearth of opportunity available to tribal members of his generation.

“Not a lot of families had been to school, and maybe didn’t know that those opportunities were out there,” he said. “Also, just sort of the history of the tribe, and all tribes around the United States, there wasn’t a lot of economic opportunity for a lot of folks. Even if they got an education, they might not go back home, because they may not have a job that would be commensurate with their education, or their potential salary. So I decided to come back home, and that’s why.”

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be interested in doing a pilot project for pretrial release in our district and my response was absolutely yes. So I was sent as a representative of North Carolina with two other district court justices from down east to a southeastern summit on pretrial release in Lexington, Kentucky, in October of last year.

And what we’re finding from an evidencebased analysis is that folks that are held pretrial tend to face worse outcomes. They tend to have a higher rate of conviction. They tend to serve more active sentences than those that are released pretrial. Their active sentences tend to be twice as long, and there tends to be a higher rate of recidivism.

The benefit to our community is if we can identify those folks and do it in a thoughtful

S EE COURTS, PAGE 13

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then they violate the terms of their punishment. Cash bond for low-level nonviolent misdemeanors makes no sense.

On the high-end, there are people that are serious risks to the community. They’re dangerous. They’re predators. In that circumstance bond needs to be substantial to protect the public. With the higher bonds, magistrates who are supervised by the superior court judge need to be permitted to use their independent judgment. Judge Letts is the one who is and has been responsible for the situation we find ourselves in now. I’m glad to see he’s finally taking affirmative steps to address these problems, but these problems have persisted for years.

Letts: Again, Judge Marion Warner, who I know from new district court judges school back in 2000, contacted me about whether I’d

Mark Melrose Mark Melrose, 55, grew up coming to the area from his South Florida home each summer. He said he fell in love with kayaking, and attended Western Carolina University specifically “because it was the closest university to the Nantahala River.”

Accordingly, Melrose majored in parks and recreation management, and worked a variety of jobs including copier sales, debt collection and pizza delivery until deciding to go to law school at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Admitted to the bar in 1990, Melrose joined a practice in Sylva until hanging out his own shingle there in 1992. After a 14-year stint with another firm, he in 2005 made the move to Waynesville, where he practiced solo until joined by his son Adam.

“If you’re electing a judge, I think who that person is, what they’ve done with their life — I’ve been married 32 years, have four wonderful children, and have been an active member of the community and of my church and everything else — I think that’s important too, because of how you look at people,” said Melrose. “Judges aren’t robots. And if you look at people as human beings, imperfect human beings, I think how you view the world and how you view your place in the world makes a really big difference in how justice is served.”

October 3-9, 2018

Brad Letts Born in Colorado the son of schoolteachers, Brad Letts, 51, returned to his mother’s native Cherokee every summer until they all relocated there permanently when he was 10. A double major in philosophy and economics at UNC-Chapel Hill, Letts enjoyed his junior year abroad so much that after graduation, he returned to England before attending law school at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.

“I was sort of toying with doing something international, but being from Cherokee and having family and friends there, I just felt like the tribe could use someone that was an attorney,” said Letts of his return to Western North Carolina.

After a year of private practice in Sylva and two years with the district attorney’s office, he played an integral role in establishing Harrah’s partnership with the tribe, and then became its first attorney general while also setting up its current legal system. A Gov. Jim Hunt appointment in 2000 put Letts in a newly created district court judge seat; he ran unopposed in 2002 and 2006. In 2009, Letts was appointed by Gov. Bev Perdue to fill the seat of a retiring superior court judge in 2009, and ran unopposed for the eight-year term in 2010.

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“The primary motivation I have for running is not just to do the job as a judge but to expand what can be done in the court.”

— Mark Melrose

bond schedule. What we have, and you can pull it off our website, we have a chart and it sort of correlates. A Class A felony is the most serious, and Class I is the lowest, so Class I is maybe $2,000, Class G is $5,000, Class B1 is $50,000. Starting Jan. 1, that chart would go away. We would no longer be looking at a correlation between a money bond and a crime.

We’ll look instead using a flow chart, where you’ll ask questions. Is this an A-through-E serious felony? If yes, secured bond. If no, then you go over to ask other questions —

to services rather than just incarceration.

Incarceration is terribly expensive, and not generally effective for very low-level crimes.

It’s absolutely appropriate for violent crime, sexual offenses, repeat offenders. I’ve been practicing for 28 years and I can tell the difference between somebody charged with shoplifting and somebody charged with manslaughter. What we need to start doing is exercising some individualized judgment about what kind of pretrial release these people need.

As we speak, contemptuous hearings in Washington about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are taking place.

Independent of that outcome, how can a judge like you cultivate confidence and trust in the legal system?

Melrose: The politicization of the court system is just so disappointing. Lawyers like me who have dedicated their entire career to dancing the integrity of our justice system, to see it perverted by one side or the other is just disgusting. And so as I campaign, people ask me about politics all the time. What I’ve said in my campaign literature is, politics has to be kept outside the courthouse at all costs.

The politics of the judge, the politics of the litigants, the politics of the lawyers, the jurors, the district attorney — none of it should have any bearing on the outcome of the case. The only thing that should affect

the outcome of the case are the facts, the law and what the jury says. You look at my campaign literature, my campaign website, I don’t mention anything about my political affiliation. The only reason that both Judge Letts and I appear on the ballot with a “D” next to our names is because the legislature commanded that.

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way that is also mindful of public safety we can bend the cost curve that we’re seeing at the jails. I’m pleased to report to the community that we are leading a pilot project and it might be one of the very first in the United States that’s in a rural setting.

We’re just in the process of reworking the

was the offense committed while the defendant was on pretrial release? Was a weapon involved? And you work your way down through that. If there’s a yes, secured. If there’s a no, written promise to appear, unsecured.

What we’re really doing is changing the culture of how we look at establishing terms and conditions of pretrial release, which is going to be very novel and very new. We’re very excited about that, and I’m hoping it’s going to be successful, but time will tell.

Other counties, though, have entire pretrial services departments.

Letts: We used to, but all that funding got taken away when the recession hit. One of the things we’re looking at in this program is do we have the ability or do we have to need to have some type of pretrial release? Some jurisdictions have like a day reporting center, where you have to show up and you may get drug tested, or whatever. Others have electronic monitoring, which maybe feasible for some folks, it may not, because you have to purchase those monitors, and someone has to monitor the monitor. We just don’t have those funds, and the only way I can get those funds would be from either the Haywood or Jackson County commissioners.

Melrose: The people that are seeing the addiction problem and seeing the mental health problems, I’m sure that they would be supportive of identifying people that can get

“My career’s been in public service, and I’m proud of that. I’ve tried to prove integrity and professionalism through conduct and action.”

— Bradley Letts

Letts: What I was told when I was young, by my mother, was that if you could find a job that you found rewarding that was also working in service of others, that could be a rewarding career. My career’s been in public service, and I’m proud of that. I’ve tried to prove integrity and professionalism through conduct and action. I would say one way to have confidence in and evaluate someone is what they’ve done for their community and how they’ve conducted themselves.

October 3-9, 2018 Smoky Mountain News

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It’s a rematch for Deitz and Cody in Jackson commissioner race

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ackson County Commissioner Boyce Deitz took office in 2014 after wresting the seat from incumbent Doug Cody, but this time around Cody is looking to reverse that result in a repeat face-off to represent District 2.

Cody, a Republican, said that if elected he’d want to pay particular attention to economic development, encouraging business growth and expanding the necessary 21stcentury infrastructure that businesses will require if they are to locate in Jackson County. Cody said that the past four years have been “pretty boring from a moving forward standpoint,” while the Republican commission he served on from 2010 to 2014 got many things accomplished.

Deitz, a Democrat, said that getting a new animal shelter built would be a priority for his next term, as would improving facilities and security in the schools. Deitz also emphasizes environmental initiatives and cleaning up roadside litter, as he views the county’s natural resources as its main tool for economic development.

Deitz and Cody are contending to represent District 2 on the Board of Commissioners, an area that includes the more urban part of the county — the Dillsboro/Sylva North, Sylva South and Scotts Creek voting districts. Two other seats on the five-member board are up for election as well.

Commissioner Ron Mau is running against incumbent Democrat Brian McMahan for the chairman’s seat, and Gayle Woody is running against incumbent Republican Charles Elders to represent District 1. While candidates must reside in the district they are running to represent, all county voters can vote for all commission seats.

When the term starts in December, the winners will have a long list of issues and decisions to navigate over the next four years.

October 3-9, 2018

J

HOW SHOULD THE COUNTY’S Smoky Mountain News

HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES FUNCTIONS BE ORGANIZED?

The issue: Following the November 2016 elections, Republican commissioners became interested in combining the county’s health and social services departments. A public hearing Jan. 29 drew 11 speakers — all vehemently opposed — but commissioners voted 3-2 to proceed with consolidation. Once seated, members of the consolidated board made it clear they didn’t agree with the reorganization and in August voted to delay hiring a director of the consolidated department until after the November elections.

Commissioners responded by voting 3-2 to abolish the consolidation and instate them14 selves as the board overseeing the two

Meet the candidates

Doug Cody (R) Cody, 67, is a Jackson County native who has spent his career in the insurance field.

Cody graduated from Webster High School in 1969 and Western Carolina University in 1972, where he earned a bachelor’s of science. He is married with two daughters.

Having served on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners from 2010 to 2014, Cody is seeking his second term on the board. He currently sits on the Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees and the Jackson County Airport Board, and he has previously served on the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority board.

departments. They upheld this vote Oct. 1 following a public hearing in which 16 of the 19 speakers opposed the decision.

Deitz: Deitz has opposed consolidation since the beginning, saying the move made no logical sense — “I think it’s senile” were his exact words — and would serve only to inject confusion into a system that had by all accounts been working well. Deitz said that if given the chance he would vote to restore the departments to the way they were before the January vote.

“This was an excellent solution to a problem that we didn’t have,” he said. “It’s been something that the people have been against completely. We’ve been accused of this becoming political. It has become political because we have a commission now that’s really actively against the best interest of the citizens.”

Cody: While Cody said he would “be willing to take another look at it,” his impression is that opposition to consolidation is a political tool.

Boyce Deitz (D) Deitz, 69, is a Jackson County native who spent his career in public schools, working 23 years as a head football coach in Swain and Jackson counties. Deitz’s teams won the state championship five times, and one of his players while at Swain High School was Heath Shuler, who would go on to play for the NFL and win election to the U.S House of Representatives.

Deitz worked for Shuler six years handling constituent relations. Deitz is working a cattle farmer and is married with six grandchildren, three of whom he is raising.

Deitz is seeking his second term.

“It was to divert attention away from the fact that current commissioners, my opponent included, have accomplished very little in the four years they’ve been in office,” he said, adding that he didn’t think it was appropriate for the consolidated board to “rebel” by voting to delay hire of a director until after the elections.

DO YOU SEE THE CURRENT BUDGET AS FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE AND PROTECTIVE OF TAXPAYER MONEY? The issue: Along with multiple political shifts, the county has seen significant economic changes over the past decade. Most county revenue comes from property taxes, which are based on a property’s assessed value. Homes were assessed — and taxed — on height-of-the-housing-boom, pre-reces-

sion values until 2016, when the county was required to reassess property at the lower, post-recession values. As a result, taxes were raised to just above the revenue-neutral rate.

Over the past four years, the tax rate has increased 1.7 cents per $100 in value above the revenue-neutral rate of 2016 and a quarter-penny sales tax has been added to improve educational facilities.

Cody: Cody believes the current board has been too swift to increase taxes.

“I was looking at the budget just a little while ago, and we’re bringing in $10 million in revenue more than we’re spending,” Cody said. “Give the taxpayers a break. If we’re bringing in that much more money than we’re spending, why raise taxes?”

Jackson County’s fund balance — akin to a county’s saving account — currently holds about 44 percent of the funds needed to fuel the county’s budget for an entire year, roughly $30 million. The state requires a fund balance of 8 percent and county policy is to keep it at or above 25 percent.

“If you’re going to have that money sitting there, pay for something,” said Cody, pointing out that the county has various debts it could stand to stop paying interest on.

Deitz: Deitz sees himself as “the most conservative person that is on the board” and says that he’s the first to question the need for various appropriations. However, he defends all the tax increases of the last term, pointing out that the 1-cent increase this year was to keep schools safer in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shootings and that voters approved the sales tax increase. The increase in 2016, he said, was simply necessary.

“Before we came on they (previous commissioners) kept kicking the bucket down the road as everybody always says, and so all at once we were trying to provide the same amount of services with less money,” he said.

As of July, only four of the state’s 100 counties had lower property tax rates than Jackson, even with the rate hikes in recent years. Deitz said that while he expected to get “a lot of flack” over the increases, he’s received none at all.

“We’ve been real responsible with how we use county money,” he said.

HOW WOULD YOU HELP SPUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN JACKSON COUNTY? The issue: For a rural county with little buildable land and a high poverty rate, economic development is always an issue.

Attracting businesses — and cultivating the right mix of services, infrastructural amenities and economic opportunities to lure those businesses — is a constant goal for local government.

Deitz: In Deitz’s view, the best way to spur economic development is to have as good a school system as possible and protect the county’s natural resources. Economic growth grounded in an expanding collection of small businesses is the way of the future, he believes — not landing the elusive 500employee factory.

Each of North Carolina’s 100

F

WHAT SHOULD BE THE COUNTY’S ROLE IN ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS?

HOW SHOULD THE COUNTY NAVIGATE INCREASING EDUCATION FUNDING REQUESTS?

Smoky Mountain News

The issue: In North Carolina, the deal is that the state pays for school personnel and the county pays capital costs. However, counties have repeatedly found themselves asked to do more, with many hiring teachers to keep class sizes smaller and supplementing teacher salaries to better compete for employees. A 1-cent tax increase in Jackson County’s 2018-19 budget was enacted to increase security and mental health personnel in the schools following the February school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Deitz: Deitz acknowledges that unfunded mandates from the state put county government in a tight spot but said that funding education has always been a top priority for him. He’s especially passionate about ensuring that facilities are well-maintained and something staff and students can be proud of, citing accomplishments such as funding $9 million in deferred maintenance to school facilities and an artificial turf field at Smoky Mountain High School.

While the schools have their challenges, he said, he’s happy with the system Jackson has in place.

“I think we have a good school system,” he said. “I think our schools do well.”

Cody: When he was a county commissioner, Cody said, the board honored 100 percent of funding requests from the schools. However, seeing the most recent N.C. School Report Card results — the system ranked 75th out of 115 school districts in North Carolina, an improvement over 77 out of 115 last year — Cody said he’d like to see better results for the money. In the 201819 budget, 23 percent of funds went toward education.

“That’s a substantial amount of our budget right there, and I think it’s time that we get serious about seeing some results for the investment that we make in education,” he said.

October 3-9, 2018

The issue: When the economy crashed in 2008, Jackson Neighbors in Need formed to offer emergency assistance for those hit hardest, including overnight shelter in local motel rooms. Over the years, need has grown enough to outstrip the volunteer-run organization’s ability to keep up. The Southwestern Child Development Center is now running the shelter as a stopgap measure, but commissioners are debating a permanent solution — whether the county should open a dedicated shelter building, and if so who would fund and administrate it.

Cody: Cody said he’d first need to make sure that homelessness is a legitimate issue in Jackson County — if there is a problem, he said, he’s “kind of out of the loop on that.”

“If it’s a need for our citizens here, I’d say we need to proceed, look into it a little bit more detail,” he said. “If it’s something where people are going to be coming in here from other areas to take advantage of our being good neighbors, I’m not going to be for it.”

As to who should fund a homeless shelter should one be created, Cody said he’s not convinced the government should take the lead. If the county did help with funding, he’d want to look at nonprofit funding overall to see if other donations could be cut to accommodate increases in shelter funding.

“If there are needy people out there, I want them fed. I want them clothed. I want them to have a safe, warm place to sleep at night,” he said. “I think maybe creating another layer of government service is not

the best way to do that. I don’t know, but it’s something I would be willing to look at in depth.”

Deitz: Deitz agrees with Cody that it’s not ideal to have the government take over service to the homeless, saying that he’d like to see a private group or nonprofit take the lead, with Jackson County playing a supportive role.

However, he’s convinced that a homeless shelter is something the community needs.

“I think we have to work in good faith to help people that says they’re in need,” he said. “Every once in a while you have someone to take advantage of it. That’s their problem. That’s not ours.”

He’s aware that such an undertaking could prove expensive and would want the county to be as strategic as possible, working hard to look for grants. Commissioners have been consistently looking for a shelter location, he said, with an eye to move forward should a location be found.

“It’s not something we ignored,” he said.

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counties would like to land such an industry, but there’s only so many factories to go around, he said, and much of what large businesses require — flat, buildable land, easy airport access, fast highways nearby — Jackson County would be hard-pressed to deliver.

“There’s some things we can’t offer,” he said. “What we can offer is our environment and our water and our people.”

Cody: If Jackson County wants to grow, it has to plan to grow, Cody said.

“I know what it takes to attract businesses, and we don’t have what it takes,” he said.

“We don’t have infrastructure in place like water and sewer. We don’t have land set aside to do the things that we want to do to provide opportunities for our people, and all this stuff needs to be addressed.”

Cody wants to see the county partner with TWSA to extend water and sewer service to places where it needs to go if businesses are to move in. The county also needs to lose some of the red tape surrounding the location new cell towers, and it needs to work with Western Carolina University to fully take advantage of all that the school’s proximity has to offer. Cody would like to see the county partner with WCU to develop a business incubator on the Millennial Campus.

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Important voting deadlines approach

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT • STAFF WRITER

Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. Make sure you’re ready to vote by following the simple flowchart below.

Can I vote?

If you’re a U.S. citizen, a resident of the county for at least 30 days and 18 years old by Tuesday, Nov. 6, you can, provided that you are not on probation or parole for a felony conviction, in jail for a felony conviction, or registered in another county or state.

Can I vote early?

Yes. Early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 17 and ends Saturday, Nov. 3.

Early voting is usually available at your county elections board office, and sometimes at other sites in your county as well. Ask your county elections board office for a list of locations and times.

Am I registered?

Check to see if you’re already registered by visiting https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup. Here you can also find your polling place, your jurisdictions, and a sample ballot.

Do I need an ID to vote at the polls?

Resources

Short answer: No. Long answer: Yes, but only if you’re a new voter, and even then only if officials can’t verify the ID number you issued on your registration form, in which case you may be asked at the polls to produce that ID, or a bank statement, a cable, electric, phone, or water bill, a pay stub or a document from any government agency with your name and address on it. Long story short – you should probably bring an ID with you, just in case you need it.

When do I vote?

Polls across North Carolina will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 6. If you’re registered, enter your information into the form at https://vt.ncsbe.gov/ RegLkup to locate your polling place.

Can I vote absentee?

Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

NO

YES

How do I register?

In North Carolina, the deadline to register for the General Election is Friday, Nov. 3. Before close of business on that day, stop by your county board of elections office and fill out a voter registration form.

You should probably bring an ID with you, just in case you need it.

Or, download a voter registration form by visiting http://bit.ly/1PmgGwa. Fill it out completely, and mail it to your local county board of elections office, but don’t dally – applications not received by Oct. 12 will not be counted.

Jackson County Board of Elections • 401 Grindstaff Cove Rd # 249, Sylva, NC • 828.586.7538 or 828.586.4055 ext. 6035 • www.jacksonnc.org/ board-of-elections.html Macon County Board of Elections • 5 West Main Street, Franklin, NC 28734 • 828.349.2034 • www.maconnc.org/ board-of-elections.html Swain County Board of Elections • 1422 Hwy. 19 S., Bryson City, NC 28713 • 828.488.6177 • www.swaincountync.gov/ elections-general.html North Carolina State Board of Elections • www.ncsbe.gov

before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

Within a few days, you should then receive in the mail your balloting materials. Your materials can not be picked up in person.

Your completed ballot must be hand-delivered to the elections board office only by the voter or near relative by 5 p.m. on Tuesday Nov. 6, OR be postmarked on or before that date and received by the elections board by 5 p.m. on Friday Nov. 6 to be counted.

Overseas citizens and military personnel have more flexible deadlines; if this applies to you, learn more at www.ncsbe.gov.

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Yes – no reason or excuse is needed to vote by absentee ballot.

You (or a “near relative”) can request an absentee ballot from your county board of elections office by completing an application.

To complete the application, you’ll need an ID, the last four digits of your Social Security number, or a bank statement, a cable, electric, phone, or water bill, a pay stub, or a document from any government agency with your name and address on it.

Your application must be returned by email, fax, mail or in person

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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER ne of 43 spread across the state, North Carolina’s 30th Judicial District covers Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and is where many people have their first interaction with the court system.

District courts preside over civil, criminal and juvenile matters; juvenile cases can range from delinquency to abuse and criminal cases involve mostly misdemeanors. Civil cases can be heard by a jury, but some cases are always decided from the bench, like child custody matters.

It’s that sort of ground-level justice that comes from district court, which is why the person wearing the black robe is perhaps more pivotal than in some other courts. As with those other courts though, it’s not just about swinging a gavel; weighing in on administrative issues regarding the way courts are funded and run is an important part of the job as well.

Judge Kristina Earwood is seeking her third consecutive four-year term.

“Between domestic work, my work on the reservation and the eight years I’ve spent on

O

the bench, I’ve spent the last 15 years serving my community,” she said. “I don’t see it as an opportunity for power or a stepping stone to anything. All I ever wanted was to be a district court judge.”

A growing trend across the country has been the rise of specialty courts, for defendants who may be dealing with underlying issues relating to their status as veterans, or teens. If you support the idea, how do we get them here?

Earwood: I am very supportive of specialty courts. I desperately want a teen court. We have always been very supportive of family courts, drug courts — the bench as a whole, myself included. The problem is, the N.C. Administrative Office of Courts [a constitutionally-chartered entity that serves state courts as a centralized budgeting and administration service] has to approve it and they have to fund it. In Western North Carolina, we don’t have services in each and every county. It wouldn’t be fair to be born in Macon County and get to participate in that, but if you’re born in Robbinsville, you don’t get participate.

So we have been told repeatedly by AOC

Leo Phillips

that until we could make it happen every single county, that they will not fund it and they will not agree to it.

Phillips: I do support them. I think veterans court is an excellent opportunity to give the folks that have given so much to our country a second chance. We’re talking about misdemeanors, small amounts of possession, we’re not talking about trafficking cases or possession of the large amounts of controlled substances.

A new pretrial release pilot program under the stewardship of Superior Court Judge Brad Letts will soon begin in Haywood and Jackson counties, with the goal of reducing jail populations, recidivism and backlogged court

dockets. What else can be done?

Phillips: First of all, I don’t think the suggestions by Judge Letts go far enough. I don’t think there is a requirement for pretrial release — which is before any action is taken on the offense that one is charged with. The pretrial release requirement, which is what they do on the Boundary, is they require an assessment and require as terms of your suspended release prior to a hearing compliance with treatment recommendations.

Number two is with continuances. I just came from a long week in Cherokee County Superior Court. There were 400 margins, which means there were 400 separate

S EE DISTRICT, PAGE 18

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Smoky Mountain News

Leo Phillips Leo Phillips, 54, was born on Long Island and raised in Suffolk County, New York. After studying political science at Belmont Abbey College near Charlotte, Phillips graduated from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, practiced in Winston-Salem for a year, and then found his way to one of the state’s poorest communities — Robbinsville. He left for Franklin in 1994, and then for Murphy in 2013. Phillips recently stepped aside as the chairman of the Cherokee County Republican Party to focus on his run for judge.

“I’m running because I think there is more attention needed on children, more attention to orders that are appropriate,” he said. “But most important of all, to bring respect and dignity back to the court. I’m concerned with the way many times parties react inside the courtroom, and the appearance of the court not being as fair and unbiased as it should be.”

Kristina Earwood

October 3-9, 2018

Meet the candidates Kristina Earwood Kristina Earwood, 40, has for 15 years called Western North Carolina home, but that wasn’t the Victoria, Virginia, native’s first foray into the area. After graduating from Virginia Tech where she majored in English, Earwood met her future husband, Nathan, at Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach. His Fairview roots may have played a role in bringing them both to intern with the district attorney’s office here, and upon graduation in 2003, they returned permanently. She subsequently entered private practice and served a stint as a prosecutor on the Qualla Boundary until prevailing in a five-way primary and eventually defeating David Sutton to win her first term in 2010. Earwood ran unopposed in 2014.

“I believe that your community is only as strong as your public servants,” Earwood said. “Every day that I put that robe on, I strive to serve them and our community the best I can.”

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Two Republicans vie for district judge seat

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DISTRICT, CONTINUED FROM 17 charges and there might be subparts in the indictment that includes additional charges in that one margin. With a two-day session, it took half of the first day just to continue most of the cases. That’s the problem. When you look at that court file and see five, six, seven continuances, how is that justice?

How’s that speedy resolution, when you have a victim or even the defendant — because remember, the defendant’s life is on hold too, along with the victim, who wants justice, and the taxpayers, who want this moved along as quickly as possible.

Earwood: From the district court perspective, a lot of the people that I see that are in jail are there for child support. I think it’s about having some programs with people that come into the jails that are willing to [hire] people in jail, and to release them on work release and things like that. Judge Letts has done a lot of work on that. He’s bringing ideas from bigger cities and people that have done things differently. We certainly need to figure out a way to make sure that the community is safe if we release people, but also that they don’t just sit in jail indefinitely until we can handle the volume of cases.

— Kristina Earwood

know you have precious few beds, but we really need one.” If we don’t start fighting this problem on the juvenile level right now, we’ll be dealing with it for the next 35 years. We weren’t equipped to deal with heroin when it popped back up again. I mean, we didn’t even have substance abuse treatment for our kids five years ago up here. It was an unknown element.

Phillips: If there’s a substance abuse issue, they need to get the treatment that’s required. How else are we going to stop the spiral at this point? Jail does not work for many people. When you look at criminal records and see repetitively the same types of crime — simple possession of drugs, DWIs, felonies related to property crimes which many times go hand-in-hand with drug use, what we’ve been doing is not working. And it’s the same group of people.

That’s why you limit the continuances and make it a condition of pretrial release that they get an assessment and then make sure they stay in treatment. Now, the legislature might look at increasing the sentence so

there’s additional pressure on these individuals, but that’s the province of the legislature, not the bench.

It’s safe to say there’s a fair degree of outrage from nearly all quarters regarding the confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Regardless of that outcome, how does a judge at your level maintain and bolster the dignity and integrity of our nation’s court system?

Earwood: I think especially in small communities like the one we live in, what makes a very good district judge is being involved in your community, not just on the bench. Being out there coaching teams and

“I want to give the appearance to everyone that my court is a place where they can receive fair and equal justice under the law.”

— Leo Phillips

going to festivals and being seen at the Ingles is being part of your community. I think the fact that people see we are vested, that we care about it — that allows people, especially in Western North Carolina, to feel confident about the choice they make every time they go to the polls. I think it’s very important that the public has access to us, and feels confident that we are going to do the right thing, that we’re going to follow

the law, and we’re going to do it with integrity and treat people with compassion and kindness.

Phillips: I would handle everything in a manner that’s within the discretion of the law, following the law, not making the law, and uphold myself with dignity and respect on the bench, and off the bench.

Why should voters choose you over your opponent?

Phillips: I strive to be the person that is not part of the system. I want to give the appearance to everyone that my court is a place where they can receive fair and equal justice under the law. I have 30 years of experience, which is twice as much as my opponent has — that includes the time she was in private practice and her time on the bench. I worked with family services or DSS in Graham County for about eight years as their attorney. I’ve also worked on the other side as the parents’ attorney for over 20 years. I’ve seen some of the successes and failures with programs on the Qualla Boundary and also programs in state court. As I like to say to some people, I was around when the earth was cooling. I’ve spent over half of my life practicing law.

Earwood: I want to serve my community.

I want it to be a better place when I leave, and I think that my opponent’s experience has not been conducive to being a district court judge. I don’t believe that he has the qualifications or the temperament to be a district court judge. There’s a lot of support in our community for me right now including law enforcement, court personnel, court counselors, and I’m proud of that. I think it’s a reflection of the judge that I am.

October 3-9, 2018

Aside from specialty courts, how can you, as a district court judge, have an impact on the opioid crisis?

Earwood: We often have kids as young as 13 and 14 testing positive for heroin. The other night I stayed until six o’clock on a Friday, working with juvenile justice and DSS to try to get one of our juveniles into that new facility in Asheville. I stayed there with that kid, called the place myself, and said, “Hey, I

“I think especially in small communities like the one we live in, what makes a very good district judge is being involved in your community, not just on the bench.”

Smoky Mountain News

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Smoky Mountain News

There will be a “Pancakes and Politics�

Fundraiser for N.C. Rep. Mike Clampitt, (District 119) from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Jackson County Republican Party Headquarters located at 91 West Main Street in Sylva.

Everyone is invited. Menu choices include pancakes or a deluxe breakfast platter for a $5 or $10 donation. Children under 5 may eat free. The breakfast is organized by Smoky Mountain Republican Women, a chartered group of the North Carolina and National Federations of Republican Women; and cosponsored by the Jackson and Swain County Republican Parties.  For more information or to volunteer, call 828.371.8247.

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October 3-9, 2018

First Citizens Bank will sponsor a Community Shred Event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at its branch at 196 Walnut St., Waynesville.

In addition, deputies from the Haywood County Sheriff ’s Department will be present to help safely dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medications. The event will be held rain or shine.

A Shred-It mobile shredding truck will destroy unwanted sensitive materials free of charge for all area residents. Bank associates will be on hand to provide information about protecting personal information and offer free refreshments to customers.

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Second annual Walk for Hope in Sylva The Sylva Police Department's second annual Walk for Hope will be held at 10 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 6. Participants should meet at the fountain on Main Street in Sylva for a memory walk around downtown.

Breast Cancer Awareness items will be available for survivors (while supplies last). Call the Sylva Police Department at 828.586.2916 for more information. Participating Sylva merchants will be offering refreshments, door prizes and discounts as well. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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Am ount per Serving

Jonathan Valley Elementary School will host its Annual Fall Festival from 5 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 4, at the school, located at 410 Hall Drive, Waynesville.

The fall festival is the largest fundraising event with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting and supporting Jonathan Valley Elementary students and teachers. Activities include a silent auction, face painting, photo booth, games, inflatables and food.

The community is invited.

MyHaywoodRegional.com 19

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Health, social services changes upheld in Jackson Public comment overwhelmingly opposed to action

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER here was no discussion as the Jackson County Commissioners voted 3-2 Oct. 1 to uphold a vote they took in August to abolish the Consolidated Human Services Board and put themselves in its place.

But there was plenty of discussion in the public hearing held before the vote, which drew 19 speakers and lasted for 75 minutes, even though it was scheduled for the middle of the afternoon during the workweek.

The board originally voted to consolidate the county’s health and social services departments with a party-line vote in January, in which Republican Commissioners Ron Mau, Mickey Luker and Charles Elders voted in favor of consolidation and Democrats Chairman Brian McMahan and Commissioner Boyce Deitz were opposed. All 11 of the speakers at that public hearing were opposed as well.

When a consolidated board was seated this June, members had questions about the decision and many made it clear that they did not agree with consolidation. During their August meeting, members voted 10-1 to delay hiring a director for the consolidated department until after the November elections, with Luker the sole no vote. In a meeting the next week, Republican commissioners responded by voting to split the consolidated department back into separate health and social services departments and to dissolve the consolidated board, seating themselves as the board of health and board of social services.

Commissioners took that action without holding a public hearing, stating that the original hearing held in January should be enough to satisfy the public hearing requirement. However, they later decided to schedule a public hearing after the fact — Monday, Oct. 1 — with a vote to reaffirm their original decision afterward.

Of the 19 speakers Oct. 1, 15 opposed the action, with many speakers reading rapidly from prepared comments and still coming up against the three-minute time limit.

Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

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Dr. Cliff Faull (green shirt), a member of the former consolidated board, listens to public comment Oct. 1. Holly Kays photo Seven of the 16 consolidated board members were among them, with six of those seven against commissioners’ actions.

“My understanding of the purpose of a public hearing is to allow the public to express their thoughts on an upcoming vote of the county commissioners,” said Dr. Cliff Faull, a member of the former consolidated board. “I expect many times the county commissioners have already made up their minds and do not listen. However, this time the majority of the board has not only made up their minds but has already voted.”

Speakers accused commissioners of injecting politics into the departments tasked with serving the county’s most vulnerable residents and criticized them for electing to simply do away with a board that disagreed with them rather than trying to work out those differences.

“Normally if you have a partnership, which I thought this was supposed to be, you’re going to have some arguments and you’re going to have some disagreements and you’re going to have some give-and-take,” said Charles Wolfe, who had been vice chair of the consolidated board. “The reason you do that is to come up with the best decision possible.”

Wolfe said he’s glad his wife “didn’t dissolve me” the first time they had a disagreement in their 50 years of marriage.

Multiple speakers accused Luker of pur-

No more emissions testing in Haywood The Environmental Protection Agency recently approved a reduction in North Carolina counties required to perform yearly vehicle emissions tests.

Beginning on Dec. 1, 26 additional counties will no longer be required to conduct emissions tests, including Haywood County.

The approval was a result of the passage of Senate Bill 131 (Regulatory Reform Act of 2016-2017) by the General Assembly during the 2017 long session. Michael

suing the consolidation as part of a grudge against the health department, which he sued in 2015 when a permit application for his business was denied. Then a candidate for commissioner, Luker accused his opponent Mark Jones, a member of the Board of Health, of getting the permit denied for political reasons. Jones vehemently denied the accusation, saying that he’d have little ability to interfere in day-to-day business even if he wanted to. Luker ultimately dropped the suit.

“I think he brought an animus against the health department into this,” said former consolidated board member Kim Cowen.

Luker, meanwhile, has said consolidation is simply a common-sense measure to improve services, accountability and cost savings.

Other speakers argued that commissioners don’t have the professional expertise necessary to adequately guide the departments and expressed concern that having commissioners in charge would open the door to political manipulation in the future.

“Communicable diseases do not recognize political affiliation and can be spread quickly to everyone,” said Lorna Barnett, reading written comments from former Health Director Paula Green. “What will

Regan, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, has certified the Implementation Plan to the EPA making Dec. 1 the date the reduction becomes effective. Details of the plan can be found on the NCDEQ website.

Get trained in overdose reversal The North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, a statewide grassroots organization dedicated to implementing harm reduction interventions, public health strategies, drug policy transformation and justice reform, is partner-

happen if a health director is required by law to quarantine a relative of a commissioner?

What will happen if a restaurant owned by a commissioner is given a low grade by an inspector? Decisions about these health threats must not be political.”

While comments were overwhelmingly opposed to commissioners’ actions, four people spoke in support.

Former consolidated board member Debbie Stanley said that people opposed to consolidation had not been forthright about the potential savings of combining the departments and that her vote to delay hiring a director was made using incomplete information and under pressure.

“One would have thought we would have gone on with the business of the new board, but we were swamped with overweening verbosity from those who wanted a change in the political setup of the county commissioners,” she said. “They beat that poor horse almost to death — or maybe they were verbally beating me. I felt trapped, as if I didn’t need to be held captive here listening to such haranguing.”

Cashiers resident Ralph Slaughter, president of the Jackson County Republican Party, expressed his confidence in consolidation to do good things for Jackson County.

“I know if other counties can do this that the five commissioners we’ve got in Jackson County are well capable of being able to utilize the extra money that would go back to this county,” he said.

As comments concluded, Deitz thanked the former consolidated board members for their service and expressed his disagreement with his board’s decisions.

“I wish this had never come up,” he said.

“It’s kind of like a dog running the car, and he catches it and he doesn’t know what to do with it. This board has caught the car and we don’t know what to do with it. I for one am not qualified to either run or advise these two departments.”

Elders followed up by reaffirming his belief that consolidation was simply an attempt to streamline and improve services.

“My hope was that board would be made up of the same people that we had on the Department of Social Services and the Health Department,” he said. “But it’s got all blown away, and yes it’s got political and it shouldn’t have done. There should never have been politics brought into it.”

ing with the Haywood County Health & Human Services Agency to combat the public health crisis surrounding fatal drug overdoses in the county.

From noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, NCHRC staff will be at the Health and Human Services Agency, room 301, to conduct overdose recognition and opioid reversal training. This is a drop-in program. Participants will receive free naloxone, harm reduction resources and information on substance use services.

For more information, contact Jeremy Sharp, NCHRC Peer Support/Outreach Worker at Jsharp@nchrc.org or 706.482.8795 and Patrick Johnson, RN-C, MPA, HHSA Public Health Director 828.356.2292.

Lynn Duffy (second from right), the UNC System’s senior associate vice president for leadership and talent, speaks about WCU’s chancellor search at the Sept. 21 meeting. WCU photo

A

It is not clear what kinds of changes the Board of Governors wants to see in the chancellor search process, or why WCU is being asked to reboot its search given that the university had recommended not just one but three candidates fit for the job.

@SmokyMtnNews

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narrowed field of candidates for on-campus visits in mid-February.

The committee will then choose three finalists to submit to the WCU Board of Trustees at its March meeting. If approved, the list will go to Spellings, who will recommend one finalist to the UNC Board of Governors for final approval.

This is take two for the search committee, which originally formed in December 2017 following former Chancellor David O. Belcher’s announcement that he would go on medical leave due to an ongoing battle with cancer. Belcher passed away in June.

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October 3-9, 2018

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fter more than two months in limbo, the search for Western Carolina University’s next leader has re-launched with the goal of naming a new chancellor by the end of the academic year.

The 20-member search committee met Friday, Sept. 21, to approve a timeline for the rebooted search and to hear from University of North Carolina System President Margaret Spellings.

“I know that it has been a lengthy journey,” Spellings said via videoconference. “It’s been a time commitment. You all are showing your commitment to Western by agreeing to continue this journey together, and I am most grateful to you. Really, there’s nothing more important in governance and in management and executive leadership than getting the right people to do the job. If you get that right, you get lots of other things right.”

The search will draw on the candidate criteria established through a slew of public input forums held last year during the initial search and use the same process employed during that first go-around. The recruitment process will officially begin after the committee’s next meeting, slated for Oct. 22, with applications and nominations due in early January. The committee will conduct off-campus interviews in late January and early February and then invite a

System search process will not apply to chancellor searches currently underway at WCU or Elizabeth City State University.

“Whatever policy changes are approved would be for searches going forward. That’s the way we practice other policy changes. We would not want to disrupt the current search process,” said Lynn Duffy, UNC senior associate vice president for leadership and talent.

It is not clear what kinds of changes the Board of Governors wants to see in the chancellor search process, or why WCU is being asked to reboot its search given that the university had recommended not just one but three candidates fit for the job. When asked why the UNC System had WCU restart the application and interview process rather than considering one of the other two candidates after the initial pick withdrew, a UNC System spokesperson would say only that he could not “discuss confidential personnel matters regarding candidates.”

“We are not starting anew, but rather continuing with the search process. Ultimately, the three candidates our committee submitted previously either withdrew or were not selected by President Spellings to go forward,” said Pat Kaemmerling and Bryant Kinney, co-chairs of the search committee, in a joint statement. “Because our process is continuing, as opposed to this being a new search, we will be using not only the experience we gained, but we also will continue to use the input we already received from the university and local community forums and the leadership statement (or job description) that we have in place.”

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WCU resumes chancellor search

The committee met throughout the first half of 2018 and recommended three finalists for trustees’ approval in June. Spellings selected one of the three, asking the Board of Governors to approve the pick at its July meeting.

That’s where the plan broke down.

According to a July 13 story from the Carolina Journal, the board held a two-hour closed session meeting July 12 to discuss the nominee, with “raised voices” emanating from the room. Board members did not vote on the nominee, and the candidate ultimately withdrew from consideration.

Later reports revealed that board member Tom Fetzer had asked a private firm to check out the candidate’s résumé, emailing information about supposed discrepancies to board members July 11. The chancellor search process was supposed to be strictly confidential, with only board members knowing candidates’ names.

After the July meeting, Board President Harry Smith sent out a statement that the board would be completing an “expedited review of the chancellor search process in an effort to refine and improve it,” with that process expected to be complete in September. Changes to the search process would allow the system to “identify the most capable and talented candidates to lead our remarkable institutions,” he said.

However, Hurricane Florence caused the Board of Governors to cancel its September meeting, and WCU was instructed to resume its search under the process initially laid out in January. Upcoming changes to the UNC

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For more information, call 828.743.5191, email info@cashiersareachamber.com or visit www.CashiersAreaChamber.com.

Mountain Credit tourney raises $10,000

Jarrett House re-opens in Dillsboro The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce held a STIR Business After Hours event at the newly re-opened Jarrett House in Dillsboro. The chamber ambassador team also held a grand re-opening/ribbon cutting ceremony for the historic inn and restaurant built in 1884.

The historic inn and restaurant at The Jarrett House are available for booking — the dining room is open for breakfast from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m., lunch is from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and dinner is from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information, call the Jarrett House at 828.477.4948 or visit them online at www.jarretthouse.com.

Career Day at Franklin High Employers looking to build their future workforce are invited to reserve a booth at the inaugural Career Day Oct. 9 at Franklin High School.

Set up will be from 7:15 to 8:05 a.m. and students will be onsite from 8:15 to 11:30 a.m. in the high school gymnasium. Space is limited. Call 88.369.9534 or email erin.christman@nccommerce.com to reserve a space.

WCU to offer event planning workshop Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering an event planning workshop that focuses on planning, organizing and implementation from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, at WCU’s instructional site at Biltmore Park in Asheville.

This workshop will cover the most common types of events including celebratory, social and business strategy events and what is common or specific to the event planning process for these types of events.

In addition to Thompson, Bobby Hensley, WCU’s associate director of continuing education will also serve as an instructor for the workshop. This workshop can be also applied towards the Event

Planning Certificate. Registration fee is $119 or $640 for six Event Planning Certificate workshops.

For more information about this course or the Event Planning Certificate, visit pdp.wcu.edu or call 828.227.7397.

Accepting spirit award nominations The Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for the 2018 Spirit of Our Community Awards, including Citizen of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Businessperson of the Year, Educator of the Year, Arts & Culture Advocate of the Year, and the Evergreen Award.

Each year, the Chamber hosts these community awards to recognize well-deserving individuals who dedicate their lives and talents to positively influence the Cashiers Area communities.

All six award descriptions and past winners can be found on www.CashiersAreaChamber.com, where nominations also can be conveniently submitted prior to the nomination deadline on Wednesday, Oct. 17. Print nomination forms are available on the website or at the Chamber offices located at 202 U.S. 64 West in Cashiers. Award winners are selected by committee and announced at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting and Celebration to be held Thursday, Nov. 15 at The Orchard Restaurant and Events Barn. Tickets for the event will go on sale starting Oct. 25.

The 2018 Mountain Credit Union’s 6th Annual “Tee It Up For Diabetes” Golf Tournament recently raised $10,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Greater Western Carolinas Chapter.

Cam Dowdle was the Mortgage Loan Administrator for Mountain Credit Union and was the first to dream up the idea of the “Tee It Up For Diabetes” charity golf tournament. Leading up to the first tournament in 2013, he met Mark and Christine Strom who are volunteers with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This year, the Stroms agreed to match donations made in Cam’s memory, up to $1,000 combined.

For more information, visit www.mountaincu.org.

Employment assistance available at library NCWorks Career Center can assist you with writing a resume and applying for jobs from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

On the first Friday of each month Leslynn Jones, a career advisor from the Swain County NCWorks Career Center, will be at the library to assist job seekers with their job search efforts.

Assistance filling out job applications, creating professional resumes, and preparing for interviews will be provided.

Can’t make it to the Library on Friday? Stop by the Swain County NCWorks Career Center, located in the County Administration Building at 101 Mitchell Street.

For more information, call the Marianna Black Library at 828.488.3030 or visit www.fontanlaib.org.

HCC to offer digital marketing summit The Small Business Center at Haywood Community College will offer a free Social Media and Digital Marketing Summit for the Small Business Owner Wednesday, Oct. 30 and Thursday, Oct. 31. The series will be held on campus in library room 206.

“Maximizing Facebook for Small Business” will be held 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 30.

“Maximizing Instagram for Small Business” will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 30.

“Video Marketing for Small Business” will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 31. Small business owners will learn about the various video marketing platforms available and tools to incorporate video marketing into your marketing strategy.

Attendees should have an iPhone or Android phone to get the most value out of this seminar.

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• Cashiers Historical Society and McKee Properties will host the next Business After Hours event from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Zachary Tolbert Hours, 1940 Highway 107 South, Cashiers. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and beverage at the Dowden Pavilion, catered by the Orchard Restaurant. 828.743.5191 or info@cashiersareachamber.com.

• The Small Business Center at Haywood Community College will offer a free online webinar titled, “Starting Your Herbal Products Business,” from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9.

Patricia Kyritsi Howell is the speaker. Pre-registration is required. Visit sbc.haywood.edu or call 828.627.4512.

ALSO:

• The Small Business Center at Haywood Community College will offer a free seminar titled, “How to Find Your Customers,” from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23 in room 3021 at the HCC Regional High Technology Center. The speaker is Tonya Snider, owner of tenBiz. Visit sbc.haywood.edu or call 828.627.4512 to register.

• United Community Bank was recently named one of the Best Banks to Work For in 2018 by American Banker and Best Companies Group.

This recognition is based on employee satisfaction and celebrates the strong, positive culture found at United.

“Podcasting for Small Business” will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 31. In this workshop, you will learn best practices for choosing a topic and name; format of your podcast; studio and podcasting gear; and audio, graphics and hosting.

The Small Business Center will also host a “Social Media Strategies for the Creative Small Business” seminar from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 30, at the Haywood County Arts Council. This seminar is designed to help the small business owner put the pieces together.

Visit sbc.haywood.edu or call 828.627.4512 for additional information or to register.

WCU offers cultural diversity workshop Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering a workshop focusing on Building Cultural Competency and Diversity within Nonprofits from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 19 at WCU Biltmore Park in Asheville.

This workshop is being offered as a standalone training or can be taken as part of the Certified Nonprofit Professional Program. The registration fee for the workshop is $89 and the CNP course fee is $300.

For more information about this workshop or the CNP program, visit pdp.wcu.edu or contact Jill Thompson, WCU’s associate director of professional development at jcthompson@wcu.edu or 828.227.3070.

Opinion Is this the demeanor of a Supreme Court justice?

I Smoky Mountain News

did not go to college with Brett Kavanaugh, but I went to college at about the same time he did, and the portrait that has emerged of him over the past couple of weeks is one that I remember pretty clearly. There were plenty of beerloving, weightlifting, cocky, entitled, belligerent frat boys on lots of college campuses in the early 1980s.

You would find them preening at the local bars, singing too loudly, invading others’ space, splashing beer on people, daring anyone to complain about it. My friends and I, most of whom were also beer-loving and some of whom could be pretty obnoxious themselves if under the influence of 10 or 12 glasses of Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull, we really, really, REALLY hated those guys. You see, these guys were already all of those things before consuming their first beer. They just used beer like kerosene to inflame these qualities.

Of course, the Kavanaugh hearings were a spectacle, political theater that the Democrats played some part in staging.

But that has no bearing on whether Christine Blasey Ford’s claims that Kavanaugh assaulted her when they were both in high school are credible or fabricated. Predictably, Americans seem to be split along party lines — to the extent that Donald Trump has for now assumed control of the Republican party and made it in his own image. That is, the party that was once obsessed with the deficit and the sex lives of the Kennedys and Bill Clinton has, in the age of Trump, seemingly lost is appetite for these former obsessions.

It cannot be surprising that Trump’s core voters do not find Ford’s claims persuasive, though it is surprising that one of the rallying cries is that there was no corroborating evidence to “prove” Kavanaugh did what he is alleged to have done, since there has been quite a lot of corroborating evidence that Trump did at least some of the unsavory things he is accused of doing, including having sex with a porn star and then paying her hush money not to disclose it, not to mention the infamous tape in which he bragged about “pussy grabbing,” and none of this corroborating evidence has moved the

Tax collector is doing a good job To the Editor: Despite the best efforts of reporters, a newspaper article will not contain the entire story. This letter to the editor is in defense of the Haywood County Tax Office. I work there.

Morale: Contrary to what you may read, the morale in the office is high. The tax collection clerks agree with the policies of the office, which were established by Tax Collector Mike Matthews when he took office. These policies are to treat everyone who walks into the office or calls on the telephone with helpfulness, compassion and courtesy.

Interest: With the approval of either the tax collector or the deputy tax collector, the clerks did occasionally remove interest. This was done with the belief that the elected tax collector and deputy tax collector had the authority to make such decisions. We have no knowledge of missing codes. Only someone with an intimate knowledge of Keystone, the computer software used to collect and process tax payments, could go undetected in manipulating or removing codes from the

needle on their support of him.

The issue of evidence in the Kavanaugh case is more problematic. What is alleged to have happened was a long time ago, so it is not surprising that the details are fuzzy for people who may have been at the same party. I attended a lot of parties myself during my high school and college years. Some I remember only in fragments, some I am sure I do not remember at all. For the majority of people, nights like these remain vivid to us only if something extraordinary — or extraordinarily traumatic — happened, in which case the details will become forever etched in our consciousness … but not in the consciousColumnist ness of our friends who were there.

It is a nightmare scenario for both the accused and the accuser, as well as for a judicial system trying to get to the bottom of what happened. A false accusation could ruin the reputation of the accused for life, which is what Kavanaugh and his supporters are alleging is going on now.

On the other hand, if the accusation is true, justice is not delivered, and the accuser is not believed, not only does that double down on the trauma the victim experienced the first time — in effect, a second violation of her — it has a dreadful chilling effect on other victims coming forward with their stories, thus perpetuating what some have called the “rape culture.”

In these scenarios, women are deemed responsible for ruining the reputation of men either out of spite or an unwillingness to take responsibility for their own role in “provoking” or misleading the man, or by exaggerating what happened, or by trying to mitigate their shame in participating in a voluntary act by saying it was rape afterward.

Over the past few days, I have seen and heard a lot of high-

Chris Cox

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LETTERS Keystone record.

Training: Our training is three days of lectures and an exam in all aspects of property tax assessment and collection law. Again, education helps, but it does not prepare you for the multitude of unusual questions and situations you encounter daily. On-the-job training, what you learn from more experienced employees, is essential. Other collection clerks train us, and co-workers in other departments generously answer our questions. Referencing the Machinery Act, a 399-page book of law that governs property tax assessment and collection, happens often.

Performance: Mike’s record as tax collector speaks for itself. When he took office, he was given a property tax collection rate goal of 96.96 percent by the county manager and the commissioners. He has exceeded that goal every year with collection rates above 97 percent and surpassed all the collection rates of the previous administration. In addition, Mike has drastically reduced total outstanding delinquencies. Please judge the effectiveness of the tax collection office for yourself by speaking with Mike or requesting a more

ly agitated talk from some women on the right who are suddenly very worried about their sons, husbands, brothers, or other men in their lives being framed by this new wave of false accusers who have suddenly appeared on the scene. My goodness, if this can happen to a fine man like Brett Kavanaugh, then it can happen to ANYBODY! There are several problems with this point of view, including the sheer number of attacks by men that go unreported every year, as well as those that are. Violence against women is a very serious, deeply disturbing issue that must not be minimized by the propagation of this false narrative. This is not to say that false accusations never occur, but these must be weighed against accusations that are never reported and viewed within a cultural context. We are talking proportion here. Some studies have shown that one out of every five women has been sexually assaulted at some point in her life.

That is an astonishing and alarming number.

Then there is also the problem of witness credibility, which in these cases is often all we have to judge if there are no witnesses and no compelling physical evidence. I found Ford’s testimony to be credible.

Kavanaugh, on the other hand, was belligerent, theatrical, political (was a reference to the Clintons necessary?) and often on the verge of becoming unhinged altogether. Yes, I know he was under enormous pressure, but one would expect a nominee to the highest court in the land to comport himself in a more dignified manner. Moreover, I do not believe he was honest about his drinking (other than liking beer, and I mean REALLY liking it) or even the meaning of those absurd terms in his yearbook.

In short, I found him to be less credible than she was. If the FBI finds that he was, in fact, lying under oath, his name should be withdrawn immediately from consideration for the Supreme Court. And Lindsay Graham ought to look into moving back into the private sector.

(Chris Cox is a writer and teacher. jchriscox@live.com)

detailed copy of collection rates for tax years 2009 through 2018 from office personnel.

While results are important, Mike takes pride in the way his office works with taxpayers, giving them every opportunity to pay these tax bills in a manner consistent with the taxpayer’s circumstances. The election of a good man to the position of tax collector, a man who makes decisions based on respect for and fair treatment of taxpayers, is highly desired and makes the government responsive to the people.

Politics: Election years bring change in workplace dynamics. Understandably, people want their candidate to win, but some purposely use character assassination and actively work to prevent the incumbent’s efficiency in office. I have no desire to defend accusations and insinuations made in newspaper articles or to air behind the scenes, political intrigues in a public forum, but a good man is being maligned and his office is being hampered from doing its job effectively.

The tax collection office is operating to the best of our ability despite the partisan politics swirling around us.

Cindy Chaffy Maggie Valley

Big political money is root of evil To the Editor: About the political cartoon of September 12: Please don’t make horrible political divisions worse by repeating brain-bypassing, emotional-button-pushing, negative phrases, whether to describe Democrats, Republicans or independents.

Tell me one stand Sen. Elizabeth Warren has taken that makes her anything other than a caring, rational woman. Consumer Protection Agency? The American Association of Pediatrics just announced their own review of research and industry-funded/distorted “research” into plastics’ effects on children and babies’ health. They concluded that the FDA and private industry has suppressed independent science for decades. The result? Babies and children with cancer. We do need protection from big industries whose heads can rationalize a few babies’ deaths away so long as they keep raking in the cash.

Look at what Bernie Sanders actually stands for — and why so many independents as well as Democrats

I’ll vote for candidates who support education

the root of all our country’s evils.

Mary Jane Curry Haywood County

characterized it. While we are blessed with some very good teachers, they lack the system and support to ensure that all of our children have the education that they deserve. I believe Ms. Schandevel will work to reverse this condition. I am also convinced that she will fight for the health care needs of all North Carolinians and not simply for the privileged few. I will be voting for Rhonda Cole Schandevel.

U.S. Congressman Mark Meadows represents me in the U.S. Congress. Now that I live in North Carolina, I have had a chance to observe Rep. Meadows and here are my conclusions. Rep. Meadows really looks the part. He dresses, grooms, and speaks as if he belongs in Washington. The accolades stop there.

He is the leader of the Freedom Caucasus and no legislation, resolution, or action of any kind is allowed to the House Floor without the blessings of the Freedom Caucus. This group of representatives, which is a minority of the House’s representatives, holds the House hostage due to the influence of the Tea Party voter. This means nothing gets done. We are paying him and providing him a staff to ensure that the House remains stagnant. He is purposefully cutting off the voices of others. Our founding fathers believed that voices needed to be heard regardless of position.

Here is what I have seen on Phillip Price’s website, “Phillip Price will strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.”

Now that is a stance that I can get behind

Dawn Gilchrist

supported him, especially young adults. Although his and Joe Biden’s agemate, I would like to see younger candidates (I would include Warren because she isn’t so old) from both parties running for president and vice president in 2020, but with the same integrity and values and policies as Sanders and Biden: universal health care that stops America being the only country in the “advanced” world where you can go bankrupt from getting sick, even if you have insurance; protection from greedy corporations that kill us slowly with carcinogens in plastics, water and air; the same stringency for gun ownership as for driving a car or getting a fishing license. How radical is that?

Let’s all try thinking and acting like Sen. John McCain, who disagreed without namecalling, who found ways to meet people with opposing ideas halfway and find sane compromises. A hero who endured unimaginable torment and stayed captive two-plus more hellish years because he wouldn’t leave his fellow captives behind while going free as an admiral’s son. The Republican who co-sponsored the campaign finance reform, which was later overturned in the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision to the everlasting regret of anyone who values democracy. Sen. McCain was a man who understood that many of the greedy rich — not all the rich — are destroying our democracy and making a mockery of all we purport to stand for.

What appeals to young adults in the politicians whom your cartoon ridicules is their condemning big money donors in political campaigns, because they really are

W

Thoughts on our elected leaders To the Editor: We moved to Burnsville just over two years ago about two months before the 2016 election. When I registered to vote, I chose the unaffiliated classification. I did so as I was unfamiliar with the politics of my new home and did not wish to commit myself to any one party when I did not know how individual candidates from the two major parties chose to serve their communities.

I have now gone through one election and have two years to observe how my community is represented. I also receive communications from both parties due to my unaffiliated classification. This is what I have learned.

Rep. Michelle Presnell, R-Burnsville, does not shy away from language that divides us.

She tries to draw clear lines of “Us versus Them.” She also embraces misleading language to promote positions she favors. This is evidenced in the attempt to mask the effort to suppress voter registration and the more recent support of ambiguous and misleading wording of the proposed amendments to the state’s Constitution.

On the other hand, I have found that Rhonda Cole Schandevel talks about serving the people. She talks about preserving health care and restoring North Carolina’s educational system to the prestige that once

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Smoky Mountain News

wrote about the long-term detrimental effects on the quality of teaching (and teachers’ morale) as a result of the Republican legislature’s decision to cap teacher pay after 5 years in the classroom.

And although some Republicans have recently voted for increased education funding, these increases do not repair the damage of their previous cuts: one step forward, two steps back cannot be called progress. It is easy to twist numbers, and both parties do it, so I’m careful in my reading. I compare current budgets to past budgets, to inflation, and to public education monies spent in other states. And North Carolina still looks bad.

Those we elect must do better because the big picture is this: our society’s cultural and economic future will be decided by the generations that are being educated right now. So, I will give my vote to the party that has, over the years, most consistently supported public schools and its children at every level, not just here in Jackson County, but throughout North Carolina. I vote for Democrats.

(The Raleigh News and Observer does an excellent and balanced job on education.

I recommend their article on how Republicans have reshaped education: www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article200250829.html.)

October 3-9, 2018

here must go further than just local support. They must be willing to pressure our representatives in Raleigh to do the same as they, to pass legislation that will support all children across North Carolina by creating and committing to an environment that will attract and retain the best teachers, which will, in turn, have the effect of higher quality instruction for years to come. Otherwise, our public schools Guest Columnist will continue to struggle to fund necessary programs, to provide needed services, or even to hire enough teachers, the most pervasive and difficult issue currently facing administrators.

Five years ago, when we had a Republican governor, The Smoky Mountain News published a column that I wrote about the negative impact of Republican legislation on increased class size. Four years ago, with the same governor and legislators who gave up Medicaid coverage for thousands of poor children, I wrote about absenteeism in the classroom, which is deeply affected by lack of health care. And about six months ago, I

opinion

hen I vote, I take a broad perspective. I care about the present and its immediate requirements, but I also consider the long-range view, and by melding the two, I try to vote wisely and compassionately.

Though not a one-issue voter, I am a voter whose career-long focus has been on public education and poverty, undoubtedly ad nauseum to those who know me best.

However, even if I had not spent my adult years as a teacher, my awareness of sociological and economic research would still drive my attention to public schools because they are where the majority of the population receives its education and, therefore, the single largest factor within our influence in determining what the United States will look like in 10, 20, or 50 years.

That said, I give full credit to local elected officials. Jackson County’s commissioners have voted unanimously in support of education measures for many years. It is clear that, whether Democrat or Republican, the commissioners here want to provide all they reasonably can for the county’s public school system and the students it serves.

Unfortunately, most funding decisions come from the state, not the local level.

That is why the commissioners we elect

743 HAYWOOD RD • WEST ASHEVILLE

ISISASHEVILLE.COM 828.575.2737

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opinion

LETTERS, CONTINUED FROM 25

Shame on Raleigh for making teachers buy classroom supplies

BY LORI WRIGHT G UEST COLUMNIST o all of my fellow teachers and parents, I only have one question: how much more do we have to endure? School has started again, and with that comes a yearly tradition. Once again, teachers like me are being forced to beg for basic school supplies. Some supplies I will be able to get from generous friends and families, but what will I do for the supplies I can’t get through donations? The same thing public school teachers are forced to do every year — pay for these basic classroom supplies out of our own pockets.

Over the past decade, the politicians in Raleigh have slashed funding for classroom supplies in half when you adjust for inflation. At the same time, teachers are being told that many basic supplies such as cleaning wipes, tissues, and hand-sanitizers need to be listed as optional on the lists we give to parents each year. So if my students are going to learn in a clean environment, who provides these basic supplies? Teachers.

I went into teaching for two main reasons: First, I felt it was a calling in my life, and that I could be a positive influence in the lives of others. Second, I needed a way to support my four children. Throughout my career, I have had to purchase classroom materials for children other than my own. Today, with all of my children grown and gone, I find that I am called to supply even more.

While we used to be able to take advantage of an annual back-to-school sales tax holiday, the politicians decided to get rid of that too. By forcing us to buy more school supplies and pay higher sales taxes on those supplies, the politicians have increased the burden put on me — further showing how little they care about public education.

Something’s gotta give.

It seems as though education is only valued by educators and parents. Where would the politicians in Raleigh be if they had not gone through our educational system? Are they aware of the sacrifices their teachers made for them?

Do they have any idea how much time and money their teachers put into their futures? Either they have forgotten, or they simply don’t care — because now all they seem to care about is giving huge tax cuts to millionaires and big corporations. And now it turns out that they want to give even more tax cuts to the rich, in the form of a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November.

North Carolina’s economy is steadily recovering from the recession of 10 years ago, but public school funding is still as weak thanks to politicians who don’t seem to care about students and teachers. Our state is beginning to thrive once again, yet teacher pay and classroom funding is still well below where it should be. Unfortunately, the lawmakers in the General Assembly seem to want our public schools to remain in a permanent recession.

The lack of care and responsibility the politicians in Raleigh show towards education in our state is frustrating to say the least. As a parent myself, I know how defeating it feels to have to pay a monthly mortgage, car and insurance payments, and groceries while still having to worry about whether my child can have a successful year in public school. What are we paying all of these taxes towards if the government can’t provide basic school supplies? That’s a question that has been on my mind for years now, and it’s a question I intend to ask when I cast my vote in November.

Lori Wright is a teacher and parent in Haywood County Schools.

Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

T

26

and it is a stance that comes closest to my own personal values. Mr. Price also speaks of the importance of reaching across the aisle and working with others regardless of party affiliation. I will be voting for Phillip Price.

Finally, as a new voter in North Carolina observing our elected officials, I wish to say a word regarding Sen. Richard Burr. I have watched Sen. Burr in his role as co-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He appears to work well with his co-chair, Sen. Mark Warner, and seems to conduct himself with forthrightness and integrity. These are traits that I will support in any politician, even if there are policy differences between that person and myself.

Lee Sease Burnsville

Economic system is a potent mix To the Editor: We have seen, read, and heard a lot of fuss lately about the precipitous dangers of socialism undermining the American culture. We are rightfully leery of any extreme form of political governance, such as communism, fascism, or autocracies. But before we can the judge the influence of socialism on our society, we need to understand that there are many versions of socialism defined under the “socialism” umbrella.

On one end of the scale is totalitarian communism, a form of autocracy where self-serving political power is concentrated in small group of political leaders who manage the social and economic policies of a society with an iron hand. Stalinism is the foremost example this form of socialism.

On the other far end of the socialism spectrum is the social market economy. This is the socioeconomic model most associated with European economies, and certain aspects of this model are supported by members from all American political parties.

The social market economy combines a free market capitalist economic system alongside social policies that establish both fair competition within the market and a welfare state.

The social market economy was designed to be a third way between laissez-faire economic liberalism and socialist economics. It was inspired by the tradition of Christian ethics. The social market economy uses the organic means of comprehensive economic policy planning which can influence the economy, but specifically does not plan and guide production, the workforce or sales. Effectively combining monetary, credit, trade, tax, customs, investment and social policies as well as other measures, this type of economic policy creates an economy that

serves the welfare and needs of the entire population.

The social market approach rejects the far left socialist ideas of replacing private property and markets with social ownership and economic planning. The “social” element to the model instead refers to support for the provision of equal opportunity and protection of those unable to enter the free market labor force because of old age, disability, or unemployment. These are, in fact, some of the guiding principals that have shaped the modern social contract between the federal government and its constituents, the American people.

The influence of the social market approach is illustrated by these examples: the GI Bill implemented at the end of WWII, which subsidized the cost of higher education for soldiers returning from the war; the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the equal protection of the laws; Social Security, a retirement system funded by American citizens and managed by the federal government; federal regulations intended to limit the harmful pollution of our water and air by businesses, by local, state, and federal governments, and by individuals.

The notion that capital economies and social economies are mutually exclusive and competing in a zero sum game is simply not true. Our American economy has been shaped by principals derived from both capitalism and socialism, and we citizens are well served by the influences and judicious implementation of features from both systems. Fomenting fear and mistrust by spinning a view that these influences from either side are immoral or unethical only serves to further divide and alienate whole segments of our political culture.

John Barry Franklin

Voter fraud is indeed a real problem To the Editor: Can we talk about voter fraud? It’s real, folks. And it’s spreading throughout North Carolina.

I’m not referring to what the GOP calls voter fraud, legions of illegitimate voters rushing polling places to influence an election. The N.C. Board of Elections put the lie to that falsehood.

It found that of 4,769,640 votes cast in

2016, only 19 people were charged with voting illegally. That’s one illegal vote for every 250,000 cast. Honestly, does that sound like an efficient way to sway an election?

No, here’s what real voter fraud looks like: North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature’s effort to push through a “Voter ID” amendment this November.

Forcing people to produce picture IDs to solve a non-existent problem isn’t meant to protect our democracy.

It’s a cynical effort to prevent many eligible citizens who have difficulty acquiring state-approved ID — generally low-income and people of color who the GOP fears won’t vote as it prefers — from exercising their Constitutional right.

I hope you’ll reject the “Voter ID” amendment on Nov. 6 ... and all the unnecessary amendments the GOP has tagged onto our ballot. But if you decide to support this cynical political ploy, don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re protecting democracy.

Wittingly or otherwise, you’ll be doing your bit to undermine the very principles you claim to hold dear.

Stephen Advokat Asheville

Manafort worked against U.S. interests in Ukraine To the Editor: In October of 2005, I arrived in Ukraine as a Peace Corps (PC) volunteer. At that time, PC Ukraine was the largest PC program among served countries. Considering the size of the country and the geopolitical importance of the area, it was not difficult to understand why. I was there to teach English, as were most of my fellow volunteers. Around this same time, Paul Manafort began consulting for the proRussian political party which had lost control of the presidency the year prior.

Are you familiar with the Orange Revolution? Victor Yushchenko, a proWestern candidate, had dared to challenge the ruling pro-Russian party candidate Victor

tasteTHEmountains Taste the Mountains is an ever-evolving paid section of places to dine in Western North Carolina. If you would like to be included in the listing please contact our advertising department at 828.452.4251 BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Open Monday through Friday. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slow-simmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts.

Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily.

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

BOGART’S 303 S. Main St., Waynesville. 828.452.1313.

Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Carry out available. Located in downtown Waynesville, Bogart’s has been long-time noted for great steaks, soups, and salads. Casual family atmosphere in a rustic old-time setting with a menu noted for its practical value. Live Bluegrass/String Band music every Thursday. Walking distance of Waynesville’s unique shops and seasonal fes-

tival activities and within one mile of Waynesville Country Club.

BOOJUM BREWING COMPANY 50 N Main Street, Waynesville.

828.246.0350. Taproom Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday & Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Gem Bar Open Tuesday through Sunday 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Enjoy lunch, dinner or drinks at Boojum’s Downtown Waynesville restaurant & bar. Choose from 16 taps of our fresh, delicious & ever rotating Boojum Beer plus cider, wine & craft cocktails. The taproom features seasonal pub faire including tasty burgers, sandwiches, shareables and daily specials that pair perfectly with our beer. Cozy up inside or take in the mountain air on our back deck.”

BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Lunch daily 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner nightly at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Wine Down Wednesday’s: ½ off wine by the bottle. We specialize in handcut, all natural steaks from local farms, incredible burgers, and other classic american comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available.

CATALOOCHEE RANCH 119 Ranch Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1401. Breakfast seven days a week, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. – with eggs,

bacon, sausage, oatmeal, fresh fruit, sometimes French toast or pancakes, and always all-you-can-eat. Lunch menu every day from 12 noon to 2 p.m. includes homemade soup du jour and fresh-made salads. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night will feature an evening cookout on the terrace. On all other nights of the week, dinner is served family style and includes locally sourced vegetables, homemade breads, jellies, desserts, and a wide selection of wine and craft beer. The evening social hour starts at 6 p.m., dinner is served starting at 7 p.m., and cozy rooms and cabins are available if you love us so much that you want to stay for breakfast, too. Please call for reservations. And see our dinner menu online at www.cataloocheeranch.com/dining.

opinion

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

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

CHURCH STREET DEPOT 34 Church Street, downtown Waynesville.

828.246.6505. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Mouthwatering all beef burgers and dogs, hand-dipped, hand-spun real ice cream shakes and floats, fresh handcut fries. Locally sourced beef. Indoor and outdoor dining. facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot, twitter.com/ChurchStDepot.

October 3-9, 2018

Open Daily 7 a.m. to noon Closed Thursdays

Any day is a great day when it starts with Joey’s Pancakes!

4309 Soco Rd., Maggie Valley (828) 926-0212

WEDNESDAY 5-9 P.M.

THURSDAY 5-9 P.M.

SUNDAY 11 A.M-3 P.M.

Rib buffet, fried chicken, vegetables, and a twenty-three item salad bar!

Piano Man & Angie

Buffet Brunch

$11.95

Country Buffet

$11.95

featuring turkey and dressing

$12.95

at HART Theatre

Enjoy dining at Harmons’ Den Bistro, HART Theatre’s newest addition. Relax by candle light with gourmet cuisine, a selection of fine wines, spirits, and regional craft beers. On performance nights, relish in the fact that your theatre seats are merely steps away. Visit our website for information about events such as Saturday Night Karaoke with the cast and more.

Smoky Mountain News

Yanukovych. During the campaign, Yushchenko suffered from a mysterious case of dioxin poisoning. Although his health was greatly weakened and his face was pockmarked from the poisoning, he marched on with his campaign.

On election night, the pro-Russian candidate, Victor Yanukovych, was declared the winner; however, due to the actions of some brave individuals with knowledge of the vote tally, word quickly spread that the election results were fraudulent. It has been estimated that close to 1 million Ukrainians wearing orange (hence the “Orange Revolution”) took to the streets of the capital demanding that their votes be fairly counted. The government consented to new elections, and this time Yushchenko officially carried the vote.

Upon his arrival in Ukraine, Paul Manafort became the principle designer of the strategy of the pro-Russian party, sowing the seeds of discontent that would ensure Yushchenko be only a one-term president. Yanukovych, after having been rejected by the Ukrainian people just five years prior, would carry the vote.

Like any good political consultant, Paul Manafort did what he had to do. And like any good dictator, Victor Yanukovych did what he had to do: eliminating dissension in his government, restricting freedom of the press, and restricting the movements and activities of his political rivals including the imprisonment of his chief political opponent. Four years later, after Yanukovych backed out of a partnership with the European Union due to pressure from the Russian government, thousands of Ukrainians once again took to the streets.

But unlike the bloodless Orange Revolution, this time violence erupted as government forces fired upon unarmed protesters.

In the coming days, government resistance would collapse and Yanukovych would flee the country to Russia, where he supposedly resides to this day. Manafort would continue consulting for Yanukovych and his political party for some time after.

Paul Manafort worked against America’s interest in Ukraine, undermining foreign policy objectives of the Bush and Obama administrations and thwarting democratic progress, all while garnering millions of dollars. In August, a jury of his peers convicted him on eight counts of bank fraud and tax evasion.

It’s hard to blame President Trump for hiring Manafort as his campaign manager; after all, Manafort was good at what he did.

The puzzlement for me is why would President Trump defend a convicted felon, deemed guilty by a jury of his fellow Americans. It only furthers the impression that our president has no respect for the rule of law, whether judge or jury, or simply that he indeed has something to hide. Now that Manafort has struck a plea deal regarding the charges he faced in an upcoming second trial, a deal in which he pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy and has agreed to cooperate fully with special counsel Robert Mueller, we shall soon find out the truth.

Bill Covin Haywood County

Lunch Wednesday - Saturday 11 am - 2 pm Dinner Starting at 5:00 on Performance Nights* Brunch Sunday 11 am - 2 pm

828.926.0201 At the Maggie Valley Inn • 70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley

250 Pigeon St. in Waynesville In the Daniel & Belle Fangmeyer Theatre For Menu, Information and Reservations:

www.harmonsden.harttheatre.org *Reservations required for dinner. Visit harttheatre.org for HART Theatre’s performance calendar.

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tasteTHEmountains

Sunday: 12pm-6pm Tue-Thurs 3pm-8pm Fri-Sat: 12pm-9pm Monday: Closed

CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva.

828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine.

Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events.

Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com.

AT BEARWATERS BREWING

101 PARK ST. CANTON 828.492.1422

PIGEONRIVERGRILLE.COM

Retail Restaurant LIVE Music

Events begin at 7:15pm unless otherwise noted.

Dinner and Music reservations at 828-452-6000

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5

James Hammel guitar, vocals.

Jazz, Pop, Originals.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6

Joe Cruz piano, vocals. Beatles, Elton John, James Taylor + More.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11

Spanish Wine Pairing Dinner, $55 per person plus tax & gratuity, 7pm. Live piano music by Kevin Williams.

THE CLASSIC WINESELLER 20 Church Street, Waynesville.

828.452.6000. Underground retail wine and craft beer shop, restaurant, and intimate live music venue. Kitchen opens at 4 p.m.

Wednesday through Saturday serving freshly prepared small plates, tapas, charcuterie, desserts. Enjoy live music every Friday and Saturday night at 7pm. www.classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.

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

828.926.1820 Winter hours: Wednesday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet.

Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service.

DELLWOOD FARMHOUSE RESTAURANT 651 Dellwood Rd., Waynesville.

828.944.0010. Warm, inviting restaurant

serving delicious, freshly-made Southern comfort foods. Cozy atmosphere; spacious to accommodate large parties. Big Farmhouse Breakfast and other morning menu items served 8 a.m. to noon. Lunch/dinner menu offered 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Come see us.

You’ll be glad you did! Closed Wednesdays.

FERRARA PIZZA & PASTA 243 Paragon Parkway, Clyde.

828.476.5058. Open Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 12 to 8 p.m. Real New Yorkers. Real Italians. Real Pizza. A full service authentic Italian pizzeria and restaurant from New York to the Blue Ridge. Dine in, take out, and delivery. Check out our daily lunch specials plus customer appreciation nights on Monday and Tuesday 5 to 9 p.m. with large cheese pizzas for $9.95.

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

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

FIREFLY TAPS & GRILL 128 N. Main St., Waynesville 828.454.5400. Simple, delicious food. A must experience in WNC. Located in downtown Waynesville with an atmosphere that

will warm your heart and your belly! Local and regional beers on tap. Full bar, vegetarian options, kids menu, and more.

Reservations accepted. Daily specials. Live music every Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m.

Open Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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

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

Monday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St., Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving dinner 5 to 9 p.m.

Tuesday through Thursday. 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors.

Reservations accepted. www.frogsleappublichouse.com.

HARMON’S DEN BISTRO 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville 828.456.6322. Harmon’s Den is located in the Fangmeyer Theater at HART. Open 5:309 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday (Bistro closes at 7:30 p.m. on nights when there is

October 3-9, 2018

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12

“Papa Vay” Landers guitar, steel guitar, vocals. Country & Piedmont Blues.

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13

Joe Cruz piano, vocals. Beatles, Elton John, James Taylor + More.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18

Wine Pairing Dinner, $55 per person plus tax & gratuity, 7pm. Live piano music by Joe Cruz.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19

Dulci Ellenberger & Kevin Williams guitar, piano, vocals. Americana, Pop, Originals.

Smoky Mountain News

828-452-6000 • classicwineseller.com 20 Church Street, Waynesville, NC

828-456-1997 blueroostersoutherngrill.com Monday-Friday Open at 11am

Real Local Families, Real Local Farms, Real Local Food

WAYNESVILLE’S BEST BURGERS

We’ll e fee ed your sp pirit, too.

Evening E vening feasts feasts. Casual lunches and breakfa br eakfa asts. And A nd the mile high peaks of the Great mile-high Great Smokies all around you. Call (828)926-1401 for reservations.

And get a little taste of heaven, Catalooc chee style. style MON.-SAT. 11 A.M.-8 P.M.

34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 28

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde

twitter.com/ChurchStDepot

facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot

Catalo t oche ee Ranch 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC Catalooche eeRanch.com

Mon/Wed/Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Friday/Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Closed Tuesday

Sunday 12-9 p.m.

Sandwiches • Burgers • Wraps 32 Felmet Street (828) 246-0927

MAGGIE VALLEY RESTAURANT Daily Specials: Soups, Sandwiches & Southern Dishes

Featured Dishes: Fresh Fried Chicken, Rainbow Trout, Country Ham, Pork-chops & more

Breakfast : Omelets, Pancakes, Biscuits & Gravy!

New Hours: Thurs.-Mon. Open at 7 a.m.

Breakfast served all day!

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tasteTHEmountains a show in the Fangmeyer Theater) with Sunday brunch at 11 a.m. that includes breakfast and lunch items. Harmon’s Den offers a complete menu with cocktails, wine list, and area beers on tap. Enjoy casual dining with the guarantee of making it to the performance in time, then rub shoulders with the cast afterward with post-show food and beverage service. Reservations recommended. www.harmonsden.harttheatre.org J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817.

Open for dinner at 4:30 to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome.

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

JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel.

828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner.

The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era.

KANINI’S 1196 N. Main St., Waynesville.

828.452.5187. Lunch Monday-Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., eat in or carry out. Closed Sunday. A made-from-scratch kitchen using fresh ingredients and supporting the local food and local farm-to-table program. Offering a variety of meals to go from frozen meals to be stored and cooked later to “Dinners to Go” that are made fresh and ready to enjoyed that day. We also specialize in catering any event from from corporate lunches to weddings. Menus created to fit your special event. kaninis.com

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

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

Open seasonally for lunch and dinner. Fine

MAGGIE VALLEY RESTAURANT 2804 Soco Road, Maggie Valley.

828.926.0425. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Daily specials including soups, sandwiches and southern dishes along with featured dishes such as fresh fried chicken, rainbow trout, country ham, pork chops and more. Breakfast all day including omelets, pancakes, biscuits & gravy. facebook.com/carversmvr; instagram @carvers_mvr.

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

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

PIGEON RIVER GRILLE 101 Park St., Canton.

828.492.1422. Open Tuesday through Thursday 3 to 8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Southerninspired restaurant serving simply prepared, fresh food sourced from top purveyors.

Located riverside at Bearwaters Brewing, enjoy daily specials, sandwiches, wings, fish and chips, flatbreads, soups, salads, and more. Be sure to save room for a slice of the delicious house made cake. Relaxing inside/outside dining and spacious gathering areas for large groups.

RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 70 Soco Road, Maggie Valley 828.926.0201 Home of the Maggie Valley Pizzeria. We deliver after 4 p.m. daily to all of Maggie Valley, J-Creek area, and Lake Junaluska.

Monday through Wednesday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. country buffet and salad bar from 5 to 9 p.m. $11.95 with Steve Whiddon on piano.

Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 to 8 p.m. 11:30 to 3 p.m. family style, fried chicken, ham, fried fish, salad bar, along with all the fixings, $11.95.

Check out our events and menu at rendezvousmaggievalley.com SAGEBRUSH STEAKHOUSE 1941 Champion Drive, Canton 828.646.3750 895 Russ Ave., Waynesville 828.452.5822. Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11

a.m. to 11 p.m. Carry out available.

Sagebrush features hand carved steaks, chicken and award winning BBQ ribs. We have fresh salads, seasonal vegetables and scrumptious deserts. Extensive selection of local craft beers and a full bar. Catering special events is one of our specialties.

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

Open seven days a week. Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Family-owned for 30 years. Serving hand-tossed pizza made to order, pasta, subs, gourmet salads, calzones and seafood.

TAP ROOM BAR & GRILL 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville.

828.456.3551. Open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, the Tap Room Bar & Grill has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Full bar and wine cellar. www.thewaynesvilleinn.com.

TRAILHEAD CAFE & BAKERY 18 N Main Street, Waynesville.

828.452.3881 Open 7 days a week. You will find a delicious selection of pastries & donuts, breakfast & lunch along with a fresh coffee & barista selection. Happy Trails!

VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin.

828.369.9890. Established here in in 1998. Come to Franklin and enjoy our laid back place, a place you can sit back, relax and enjoy our 62” HDTV. Our Pizza dough, sauce, meatballs, and sausage are all made from scratch by Vito. The recipes have been in the family for 50 years (don’t ask for the recipes cuz’ you won’t get it!)

WAYNESVILLE PIZZA COMPANY 32 Felmet Street, Waynesville.

828.246.0927. Open Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 9 p.m.; closed Tuesdays. Opened in May 2016, The Waynesville Pizza Company has earned a reputation for having the best hand-tossed pizza in the area. Featuring a custom bar with more than 20 beers and a rustic, family friendly dining room. Menu includes salads, burgers, wraps, hot and cold sandwiches, gourmet pizza, homemade desserts, and a loaded salad bar. The Cuban sandwich is considered by most to be the best in town.

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Smoky Mountain News

Blue collar dreams Balsam Range wins big at IBMAs

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER itting on a bench in the lobby of the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium last Thursday evening, Marc Pruett waits quietly for the rest of his band, Balsam Range, to arrive for the International Bluegrass Music Association award show.

“Bluegrass is just a lifelong passion for me, it’s something I heard early in my life with Flatt & Scruggs,” the banjo legend said upon joining him on the bench. “It spoke to me in ways that have changed my life, and it has given my life a quality that few things have.”

Arguably one of the biggest, most popular acts in bluegrass over the last decade, Balsam Range has won seemingly every award at the IBMAs, the governing body of the genre.

In recent years, the Haywood County-based band has taken home “Album of the Year” (twice), “Song of the Year,” Vocal Group of the Year” (twice), “Male Vocalist of the Year” (Buddy Melton) and “Bass Player of the Year” (Tim Surrett), among other honors. And in 2014, the quintet received the industry’s highest honor — “Entertainer of the Year.”

Coming into 2018, Balsam Range found itself once again nominated, this time for four awards: “Entertainer of the Year,” “Vocal Group of the Year,” “Male Vocalist of the Year” and “Bass Player of the Year.” And for the last three years, the Jerry Douglas-led act The Earls of Leicester had taken home “Entertainer of the Year” (2015-2017).

“It’s just wonderful to still be able to work, to still be in the ring,” Pruett modestly said.

“But, the biggest award for me, is to get back out there on the stage with my buddies, pick some tunes again, and leave folks with a warm smile and some good music — that’s the only award I need.”

Lining up on the red carpet, the members of Balsam Range are just as in awe of the awards their nominated for as they are to be part of the annual celebration, their longtime heroes all around them — a feeling now reciprocated toward Balsam Range from younger, up-and-coming acts.

“These award shows never get old for us, especially,” Surrett said. “And we never expected to win a doggone thing when we started, so everything is just really surprising. When they call Balsam Range or my name, it’s shocking.”

“You work hard all year long and hope people recognize something you’re doing and like it, and to be here, and if you get picked to win it means a lot,” added Melton. “In general, there’s a lot of talented youth coming up. This tells you that the music is growing in many directions, and being embraced by many dif-

S

younger acts, ‘just be yourself, just go with what you’ve got, then you don’t have to depend on learning something else that somebody did’ — that has given us the variety of sounds we hear today in bluegrass.”

Right out of the gate of the nationally broadcasted show, Surrett won the first award of the evening, “Bass Player of the Year,” his second time receiving the honor. Not to be outdone, Melton then won “Male Vocalist of the Year,” also his second.

“Life, it sends you down paths you don’t see coming. It has a way of directing the way it wants to go — and here I am. I love every minute of it,” Melton said. “And I realize

for an old Virginia boy that loves this music,” Williams marveled in his induction speech.

“I’ve sung this music since I was a child and they called it ‘mountain music.’ Later on, it got another title, ‘hillbilly music.’ But, I’ve loved it then, and I love it yet — it has been a big part of my life.”

And as the tension in the room wore on leading up the announcement of “Entertainer of the Year,” the final award of the evening, Balsam Range took the stage and performed its latest single, “The Girl Who Invented the Wheel.” Just as the band got offstage, the envelope was ripped open, a raucous audience roaring in cheers and shouts when the new

ferent people — diversity is a big part of our community, and bluegrass is making great waves across our nation.”

Walking the floors of the auditorium (aka: Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts), a “who’s who” of the bluegrass world is within arm’s reach. To the left, Molly Tuttle, Jerry Douglas, Becky Buller and The Del McCoury Band. To the right, The Gibson Brothers, Sierra Hull, Hot Rize, Rhonda Vincent, and so on.

And, in recent years, the big story on most folks’ mind is the mere fact of how many barriers have been broken down by incredibly talented female acts in the IBMA nominations and award recipients.

“The fact that we have so many young females coming along making great music is really exciting to see,” said Hull, who went on to win “Mandolin Player of the Year” that evening, her third honor in-a-row (no female had won the award previously). “Most of the young women I’m seeing are really just trying to do what feels true and honest, and that’s what I try to look to. Rather than thinking so much about genre, thinking about the music itself — what music feels right to play and really feels like it’s coming from me as an individual.”

“Bluegrass is really opening up to everyone right now,” said Tuttle, who retained her title that night as “Guitar Player of the Year” (no Haywood County bluegrass act Balsam Range won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s biggest female had won the award previaward, ‘Entertainer of the Year,’ at the IBMA award show last Thursday in Raleigh. The band previously ously). “It’s always been a really received the honor in 2014. Photo courtesy of IBMA close-knit community, which is awesome, but I think there’s a movement to make it more welcoming to dif“Entertainer of the Year” was crowned — “And ferent types of music and everybody who the winner is…Balsam Range.”

“Life, it sends you down wants to play bluegrass.”

“Eleven years we’ve been together, and we paths you don’t see When asked about the symbolic importance are like family. This is the best group of guys, I of these rapidly rising female acts, Douglas and love playing music with them,” said Balsam coming. It has a way of McCoury — both pillars of the industry — were Range mandolinist Darren Nicholson upon wholeheartedly supportive of these long overreceiving the award. “This has been an incredidirecting the way it wants due shifts in the bluegrass world. ble ride, but they’re better people. They’ve to go — and here I am.”

“I think that means we’re moving ahead. been there when it hasn’t been great and And we’re evolving, we’re evolving naturally,” they’ve been there when it has been great — — Buddy Melton, Balsam Range Douglas said. “No one was forced to vote for and that’s what family does.”

Molly [Tuttle] or Becky [Buller] or Missy Immediately following the award show, the [Raines]. My category still, and it bothers me there’s more than one footprint on that path, auditorium emptied out into the streets of that there’s no woman nominated in the dobro and that belongs to my best friend, my wife, downtown Raleigh, many with honors in hand, category. It does bother me, because I know Carla. She was there the very first time I had ready to burn the midnight oil in celebration of really great women that play the dobro. Sooner the courage to sing in front of people in my col- their accomplishments. And standing by himor later it’s going to happen, but not soon lege days, and she’s been there ever since.” self near the front of the stage was Paul enough for me.”

Inducted into the IBMA Hall of Fame later Williams.

“That proves that the music is growing. It in the award show, Paul Williams, a bluegrass “This music always has been what it says — used to be it was mainly a ‘male music.’ But, legend known best for his work with the late lyric and notes,” he said. “And this music has that proves that a lot of the younger ladies like Jimmy Martin, was humbled by the honor, always been about life, in some form or fashthis style of music enough to learn to play it more so a life immersed in bluegrass. ion. And most people that listen to it can relate and sing it — you’ve got to have variety, and it’s “I never dreamed this would come to, but, to it. It may be something they’ve experienced great,” added McCoury. “And I always tell the from my heart, I appreciate it, quite an honor in their life — this music is about life.”

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

You who are on the road, must have a code that you can live by

The annual “Fall Festival” will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 6-7 at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown.

Gary Carden’s play, Birdell Friday, October 5th at 6:30 p.m.

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The comedy “Over the River and Through the I had to really think back Woods” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4-6, and question it. Had I ever 12-13 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 7 and 14 at the crossed that line into what could Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. be considered sexual assault during my interactions with the The Cut Cocktail Lounge (Sylva) will host a opposite sex? I mean, no, I “Rock the Vote” event with PMA (reggae/rock) haven’t ever. At least, I felt I had at 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. not in my immediate recall.

The “Libraries on Tap” brewery tour will But, I also was trying to continue at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, at Lazy truly dig deep into my memoHiker Brewing in downtown Franklin. ry, to think about perhaps a time where I had too much to There will be a DVD release party for acclaimed drink in college or whatever, writer Gary Carden’s play “Birdell” at 6:30 p.m. and disregarded the line Friday, Oct. 5, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. between right and wrong, a time either lost in a haze of You’re taught as a teenage boy that the booze or purposely suppressed to hold one’s only way “to get a girl” is to be confident. accountability at arm’s length.

But, under the curtain of cheap beer and Thankfully, there wasn’t anything in the liquor, that confidence can quickly mold walls of my mind that would raise a red flag. itself into aggressive behavior, where you find But, did I ever comment to a male peer yourself in this “all or nothing” scenario that about an attractive woman nearby at a bar you “must complete” the task at hand, or else or a party? Yes, I had, many-a-time. I would be marked by your cronies as someone who ask any male out there to cast the first stone if he hadn’t ever done the same, at least once “couldn’t seal the deal.” It’s something that has been at the foundation of our society for in his life. This is not to pass the blame, but decades — heck, centuries — in literature, to show just how prominent of mindset film, music, advertisement, and the vast, we’ve evolved (or always have retained even) haphazard landscape that is pop culture. into the digital age.

And I think of all those girls I knew back This isn’t “boys being boys,” more so a in middle/high school who were either taken societal culture that champions the alpha advantage of or rumored to be a “slut” or male type, one who will seize and conquer “easy.” They immediately became social pariwhat is “rightly his,” as disgusting as that ahs in the hallways even if they did nothing sounds. But, we as men are told early on to wrong. Some of those females, to this day, “eat or be eaten,” a sentiment that almost never really recovered from that ridicule and always would find its way into our thoughts judgment. The trajectory of their lives immewhen at a social gathering with other males also looking for a date, a girlfriend, or even a diately shifted, all while the male in every single one of these situations was never realrandom one night stand. “Don’t be a cowly so much affected, but saluted by his peers ard, go talk to her,” our peers would say, for the latest notch in his belt. harassing us to make the move.

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This must be the place

That same double standard reared its head in college and post-college, even to today and beyond. In college, it was all about who could drink the most and score the most. You found your spot in the hierarchy of collegiate and fraternal society by who could cause the most chaos with the bottle, but also hold enough composure to be suave and charismatic to not go to bed alone.

Following college graduation, I ended up in a ski town in the Rocky Mountains. If you’ve ever wandered through or visited a ski town, it’s pretty much like college for adults — the party never ends, this “Peter Pan” vibe, even if you’re middle-aged or older. My first day there, I remember someone talking about how some couple recently broke up and how “Well, here? You didn’t lose your girlfriend, you lost your turn,” which referred to the high numbers of males versus low numbers of females in the cold, snowy terrain.

And anytime a new, unknown woman would roll into the ski town, it was like blood in the water of a shark tank. Either you get to her before the night was over or she’d have a boyfriend by the following weekend, this sexual urgency that was completely flawed yet completely justified by those practicing it.

At 33, I’m well into adulthood these days.

And it never ceases to amaze me the conversations I find myself in nowadays, where a female friend would confide in me her dark past, not created by her own doing, but put onto her like some ball and chain she has to forever walk with. Truth-be-told, most women who are sexually assaulted never really mention it afterwards, not even to close friends or family, either out of personal fear, a misguided feeling of shame, or simply they don’t want to remember.

Now, I know I may seem like I’m all over the map. But, this issue, one currently permeating through our entire country and judicial system right now, is all one thing, you know? All of these ways and means by which teenage transgressions and real adult consequences are at the heart of the #MeToo movement. I’m not preaching to all y’all. I’m simply telling you what I’ve seen and experienced in the trenches of adolescence and adulthood. And it’s as bad as you would think — probably far worse.

So, what do we do about it? First off, be aware of situations around you where the scales are being tipped towards a bad outcome. This could be at a bar, brewery, party or social gathering. If you see something, say something. It’s that easy. Don’t be on the sidelines when those on the field are committing aggression towards the opposite sex.

And “teach your children well,” as the old Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song says. It’s true, it all starts at home. Be a positive influence to the young minds of tomorrow.

I don’t pretend to hold the answers to the hard questions facing our society at this crossroads. And I won’t give up on trying to make sense of it all, to find ways to heal the wounds of the past and also prevent future inflictions. But, regardless, I will continue to take the time and respect to listen to the victims, whether female or male, who are ready and willing to talk to someone, anyone.

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

WAYNESVILLEYOGACENTER.COM 274 S. MAIN ST. WAYNESVILLE

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Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

arts & entertainment

On the beat

WCU ‘Old-Time and Bluegrass’ series The 2018-19 season of the “First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass” series will get underway with a concert featuring traditional musicians Jake Blount & Tatiana Hargreaves Thursday, Oct. 4, at Western Carolina University.

Their 7 p.m. performance in the groundfloor auditorium of H.F. Robinson Administration Building will be followed by a jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate.

A fiddler, banjoist and singer from the Washington, D.C., area, Blount has studied with Grammywinning Carolina Chocolate Drops singer Rhiannon Giddens and uses his racial and ethnic heritage as a centering point for his approach to music and its history. He also has researched and performs the music of Cherokee fiddler Manco Sneed. A bluegrass and oldtime fiddler, Hargreaves released her first solo album, “Started Out to Ramble,” in 2009 and has toured with Gillian Welch and Bruce Molsky. Blount and Hargreaves have performed together many times and have released an album titled “Reparations.”

The concert is presented in conjunction with a new Smithsonian exhibit, “The Way We Worked,” which will be on display at WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center through Wednesday, Nov. 7. Blount and Hargreaves

will be introduced by Brett Riggs, WCU’s Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies, who will speak about work and work songs in Appalachia.

Sponsored by WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center, the First Thursday concerts and jam sessions will continue through next spring,

The Harris Brothers.

Harris Brothers to play Haywood Pathways benefit

Tatiana Hargreaves. with programs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. The next concert coming up Nov. 1 will feature folklorist Lee Knight and a focus on work songs.

The events are free and open to the public. Pickers and singers of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in the jam sessions, which also are open to those who just want to listen.

For more information, call the Mountain Heritage Center at 828.227.7129 or visit mhc.wcu.edu.

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There will be a benefit concert for the Haywood Pathways Center with The Harris Brothers on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

The barbecue dinner in the courtyard will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Cost is $8 for adults and $4 for children under age 5. The performance in the gymnasium will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Cost is $12 for adults and $8 for children under age 12.

The Harris Brothers have been playing professionally as a duo for more than twen-

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Their infinite live repertoire consists of any number of genres including traditional roots music, rock-n-roll, jazz, blues, Appalachian mountain music, to vintage country and bluegrass. A typical live show effortlessly shifts from original tunes to their own arrangements of songs from all sides of the Americana musical spectrum.

All proceeds go to the Haywood Pathways Center. 828.246.0332 or visit www.haywoodpathwayscenter.org.

Pickin’ on the Square The Pickin’ on the Square summer concert series will feature Blueridge (southern gospel) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Gazebo in downtown Franklin.

The concert series is free and open to the public. Bring your lawn chair. Food vendors will also be available. The final performance of the season will be Conrad Hefner w/Mike Holt & Donnie Clay (variety) on Oct. 13.

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On the beat

• Balsam Falls Brewing (Sylva) will host Scott Bianchi Oct. 12 and Jeff Ginn Oct. 26. All shows begin at 8 p.m. www.facebook.com/balsamfallsbrewing.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host an acoustic jam with Main St. NoTones from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 4 and 11. Free and open to the public. www.blueridgebeerhub.com.

• Boojum Brewing Company (Waynesville) will host a bluegrass open mic every Wednesday, an all-genres open mic every Thursday, In Flight Oct. 6 and The Get Right Band (rock/soul) Oct. 20. All shows are free and begin at 9 p.m. www.boojumbrewing.com.

ALSO:

• The Classic Wineseller (Waynesville) will host James Hammel (guitar/vocals) Oct. 5, Joe Cruz (piano/pop) Oct. 6 and 13. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m.

828.452.6000 or www.classicwineseller.com.

• Currahee Brewing (Franklin) will host Eli Moseley 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6. All shows are free. www.curraheebrew.com.

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Amy Mercier Oct. 5, Ed Kelley w/Steve Goldman & Melissa Oct. 6, The Remarks Band Oct. 12 and Caribbean Cowboys Oct. 13. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Harmon’s Den Bistro at HART (Waynesville) will host karaoke and an open mic at 8 p.m. on Saturdays. All are welcome. www.harttheatre.org.

A community jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, 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 Grampa’s Music in Bryson City.

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 — yearround. 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.

• Nantahala Brewing (Bryson City) will host Flatland Tourists Oct. 5, Tenth Mountain Division (Americana/bluegrass) Oct. 12 and Granny’s Mason Jar (Americana) Oct. 13. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.nantahalabrewing.com.

will include a performance by PMA (reggae/rock) at 7 p.m. www.innovationbrewing.com.

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and live music on Friday

• Isis Music Hall (West Asheville) will host A Different Thread 7 p.m. Oct. 3, Sarah Clanton & Heather Mae (Americana/pop) 7 p.m. Oct. 4, Kassa Overall & Young Bull (hiphop/jazz) 8:30 p.m. Oct. 4, Sam Baker (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m. Oct. 5, Dean Owens w/Wild Ponies (Americana/indie) 7 p.m. Oct. 6, Free Planet Radio (bluegrass/folk) 8:30 p.m. Oct. 6, Frank & Allie (Americana/world) 5:30 p.m. Oct. 7, Jesse Barry sings Carole King’s “Tapestry” 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7, Thomas Cassell Band (bluegrass) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 and Sarah McQuaid (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m. Oct. 10.

For more information about the performances and/or to purchase tickets, visit www.isisasheville.com.

• Innovation Station (Dillsboro) will have Shane Meade Oct. 12 and Eric Congdon Oct. 20. All events are free and begin at 7 p.m.

There will also an Oktoberfestival from 1 to 9 p.m. Oct. 13, which is a ticketed event that

• The Mountain Heritage Center (Western Carolina University) will host Jake Blount & Tatiana Hargreaves (Americana) 6 p.m. Oct. 4. Open jam to follow the performance. Free to attend.

www.smokymountainnews.com

• Pub 319 (Waynesville) will host an open mic night from 8 to 11 p.m. every Wednesday.

Free and open to the public. www.pub319socialhouse.com.

• Salty Dog’s (Maggie Valley) will have Karaoke with Jason Wyatt at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, Mile High (classic rock) 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, and a Trivia w/Kelsey Jo 8 p.m. Thursdays.

• Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro (Sylva) will host Shane Meade Oct. 5 and Breedlove Collective Oct. 6. Both shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. 828.586.1717 or www.soulinfusion.com.

• The Strand at 38 Main (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic” night from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. 828.283.0079 or www.38main.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host 28 Pages (rock) Oct. 5 and Harlem River Noise (r&b/rock) Oct. 12. All shows begin at 9:30 p.m.

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host karaoke every Thursday, Oktoberfest all day Oct 6, West King String Band Oct. 12 and Alex Culbreth Oct. 13. All shows begin at 9:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

828.456.4750.

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host Jay Drummonds & George Reeves Oct. 5 and George Reeves & David Watt Besley Oct. 11.

All shows start at 5:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.743.6000 or www.whitesidebrewing.com.

Smoky Mountain News

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night Oct. 3 and 10, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo Oct. 4 and 11, and Tina Collins Duo Oct. 6. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host an open mic night at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday, “Hike-toberfest” w/The Buchanan Boys (country/rock) 7 p.m. Oct. 6 and George Reeves w/David Watt Besley Oct. 12. All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• The Oconaluftee Visitor Center (Cherokee) will host a back porch old-time music jam from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 6. All are welcome to come play or simply sit and listen to sounds of Southern Appalachia.

evenings. 828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.

October 3-9, 2018

• The Cut Cocktail Lounge (Sylva) will host “Rock the Vote” with PMA (reggae/rock) 9 p.m. Oct. 5. 828.631.4795.

Bryson City community jam

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host an open mic night every Thursday. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

arts & entertainment

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” at its Calaboose location with Tom Edwards Oct. 4, Rachel Stewart Oct. 5, Tessia Oct. 6, Kato Estill Oct. 11, Scott Stambaugh Oct. 12 and Trailer Hippies Oct. 13. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

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October 3-9, 2018

arts & entertainment

On the street Don’t you dare miss the ‘Tartan Haunt’

decide whether to bring your children. The cost for an adult ticket is $5.

Cooler days and nights, swirling red and gold leaves, pumpkins, scarecrows, corn mazes are signs that autumn creeps near.

But, one spine-tingling fright you need as a wordless scream escapes your throat is the third annual “Tartan Haunt” from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at The Scottish Tartans Museum & Heritage Center in Franklin.

The theme this year is movie rippers and slashers with an appearance of a historical monster — Jack the Ripper. Other characters appearing are Michael Myers from Halloween, Jason Vorhees from Friday the 13th, and frights from Scream movies and television.

Plus more actors to see how cool you can be when a moan or a groan sound near you. What will it be? You will only know if you are brave enough to turn around and see. The “Tartan Haunt” is a fundraiser for Breacan Clann and is selfguided.

This scary fun will be offered one day only. It is sponsored by Breacan Clan, a living history group, Bringing It to Life!

Productions, and The Scottish Tartans Museum and Heritage Center, Inc. The haunt is rated PG-13. Parents, you

Cherokee Indian Fair The 106th annual Cherokee Indian Fair will run through Oct. 6 at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds.

The Indian Fair Parade kicks off the festivities on Tuesday. Like the typical county fair, Cherokee invites a top-of-the-line carnival to provide amusements all week for the young and old alike. From games to hightech rides, the carnival is always a welcome feature at the Fair. Community arts and crafts exhibits, Miss Cherokee contest.

Nationally known entertainers.

General admission is $10 per person at the gate, Tuesday through Friday. Children ages 6 and under will be admitted for free.

Admission on Saturday is $15. The headlining act that day will be The Legends of Country, which features Larry Stewart, the lead singer for Restless Heart, Tim Rushlow, the lead singer for Little Texas, and Jeff Cook the fiddle player and guitarist for Alabama.

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit www.visitcherokeenc.com.

ColorFest celebrates 10 years

ColorFest will be held on Oct. 6 in Dillsboro.

The 10th annual ColorFest will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, in downtown Dillsboro.

Come spend the day in a walk-about mountain town filled with color and history. It’s the perfect place to showcase authentic works of the hand, and the perfect place for you to enjoy a day of fun, food, live music, artisan demonstrations, entertainment and shopping.

Artisans will be displaying authentic Cherokee art, pottery, jewelry, photography, loom beading, handmade soaps, many kinds of needle work, Christmas ornaments, pine cone wreaths, candles, rustic furniture, chair caning, baskets and much more.

For more information, visit www.visitdillsboro.org.

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On the street

FACES

OF

HAYWOOD arts & entertainment

Can you escape the corn maze? family choose your perfect Jack O’ Lantern.

Prices vary by size.

All the kids will enjoy the Kiddie Corn Box, The 20-foot-long farm slide from the Hay Pyramid, and the 20-foot swing set, right on the river bank. The “Maze of the Dead,” “Zombie Pumpkin Patch” and “Haunted Hayride” will take place at 8 p.m.

Oct. 26-31.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/darnellfarmsnc.

828.456.3021 HaywoodChamber.com

Y O U R T I C K E T T O A G R E AT N I G H T

Smoky Mountain Arts Festival The Smoky Mountain Arts Festival will take place 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 5-14 on Fry Street at the Train Depot in Bryson City.

Browse artwork for sale by over 30 artists under the big tent at the train depot plaza.

Paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, artisan jewelry, pottery & gifts inspired by the Smokies. Vote for a people’s choice award.

Free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.greatsmokies.com.

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Smoky Mountain News

Folk School ‘Fall Festival’ The annual “Fall Festival” will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 6-7 at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown.

Visit over 240 fine craft exhibitors and watch more than 40 artisans demonstrate traditional and contemporary crafts. Fill your ears with bluegrass, gospel, folk, and Celtic music on both days. Tap your toes to clogging, Morris, and Garland dance performances throughout the weekend. www.folkschool.org.

October 3-9, 2018

The annual corn maze and pumpkin patch will return from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Oct. 31 at Darnell Farms in Bryson City.

Come to the farm for some old-fashioned fun. Walk through the corn maze ($8 admission) by answering difficult trivia questions at each numbered stop in order to avoid the winding turns and dead ends. Enjoy a hayride ($10 admission) and visit the huge six-acre pumpkin patch, where you and your

Chamber membership means Sunburst Trout Farms has ambassadors who truly want to see our business succeed and grow.

@HarrahsCherokee Visit ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000 to purchase tickets.

Show(s) subject to change or cancellation. Must be 21 years of age or older to enter casino floor and to gamble.

Know When To Stop Before You Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. An Enterprise of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. ©2018, Caesars License Company, LLC.

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arts & entertainment

On the street

Cashiers Leaf Festival The Leaf Festival will be held Oct. 5-7 on the Village Green in Cashiers.

Arts, crafts, food vendors, live music, and much more. Presented by the Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association.

Free admission. www.visitcashiersvalley.com.

Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express The Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express will depart at 4 p.m. Oct. 5 and 12, and noon and 4 p.m. Oct. 6-7 and 13-14 at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City.

On board the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, guests will hear a narration of Schulz’s “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” as the train travels to the Pumpkin Patch. Upon arrival, passengers will be greeted and have a photo opportunity with Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Snoopy.

Activities to enjoy at The Great Pumpkin Patch will include: campfire marshmallows, a coloring station, temporary tattoos, trick or treating, bouncy house, hayrides and live musical entertainment.

For tickets, visit www.gsmr.com or 800.872.4681.

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828 | 452 | 4251 36

There will also be a social hour at 6:30 p.m. in the Rotunda of the Old Courthouse, then the meeting at 7 p.m. in the Community Room, on the second floor of the Historic Old Jackson County Library.

• The annual “Fall Festival” will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at Jonathan Valley Elementary School in Waynesville. The fall festival is the largest fundraising event with all of the proceeds benefiting and supporting Jonathan Valley Elementary students and teachers. Activities include a silent auction, face painting, photo booth, games, inflatables and food. The community is invited to come celebrate and have fun for a good cause.

ALSO:

Presentation on the Battle of Perryville

• There will be “Scary Storytelling” at 8 p.m.

Oct. 5-6 and 12-13 at the train depot in downtown Bryson City. Hear some spooky tales about “Haints, Boogers & Witches of the Southern Highlands” around the fire pit in front of the Storytelling Center located at 22 Fry Street.

The next meeting of the Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, at the Jackson County Library in Sylva.

Speaker will be Jim Ogden, Ranger at Chickamauga National Military Park. He will be speaking on the Battle of Perryville, which took place in Kentucky.

There will be a meet and greet the speaker at 5 p.m. at Bogart’s Restaurant in Sylva.

• The Choir of Maggie Valley United Methodist will be hosting a “Cruise In” from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. This is a classic car event featuring the Northeast Georgia Mustang Club and the Sunset Cruisers.

There will be food trucks, ice cream, live music, and a silent auction. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. Proceeds are going toward sponsoring a choir retreat.

On the table

Ashley English.

Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host an array of wine tastings and small plates from Chef Stacy’s gourmet cuisine,

ALSO:

• A free wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Oct. 6 and 13 at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. www.papouswineshop.com or 828.631.3075.

• Free cooking demonstrations will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays at Country Traditions in Dillsboro. Watch the demonstrations, eat samples and taste house wines for $3 a glass. All recipes posted online. www.countrytraditionsnc.com.

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Smoky Mountain News

50 essential recipes. You will discover the versatility and flexibility of cooking from your larder with 100 more recipes for fresh takes on Southern favorites. English understands how food tells the story of culture and is a charming and engaging storyteller.

The evening’s supper will feature a made from scratch grits bar. Tickets for this event are $15 and can be purchased at www.folkmoot.org or by calling 828.452.2997. The ticket price includes a meal, featuring the author’s recipes along with storytelling and discussion.

Tickets sales and contributions support Folkmoot programs that sustain cultural arts for youth and families in Western North Carolina. Limited seating is available so advance purchase is advised. Parking is available in the back of the Folkmoot building for all special events.

Folkmoot’s year-round programming initiatives have been made possible by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and the Cherokee Preservation Foundation. Folkmoot is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating many cultures in one community.

The Folkmoot Friendship Center is located in the Historic Hazelwood School at 112 Virginia Avenue in Waynesville. Staff can be reached by phone at 828.452.2997 or by email at info@folkmoot.org.

Bosu’s tastings, small plates

• There will be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 6 and 13 at Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville. www.way nesvillewine.com or 828.452.0120.

October 3-9, 2018

The “Southern Storytellers Suppers” will feature Candler-based homesteading author Ashley English at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.

Folkmoot has teamed up with Blue Ridge Books, the Haywood County Library, and The Smoky Mountain News to present the “Southern Storytellers Suppers” series, four events featuring southern writers who share the cultures of Western North Carolina.

English is a homesteader, author and blogger who has crafted a “homespun” life with her husband and two sons near Candler in eastern Haywood County. English holds degrees in holistic nutrition and sociology.

“Making an attempt to craft a good life with my husband and young son in a small Western North Carolina mountain community,” English said.

She is the author of the Homemade Living book series which showcase a variety of topics related to small-scale homesteading, as well as A Year of Pies, Handmade Gatherings: Recipes and Crafts for Seasonal Celebrations; Potluck Parties, and Quench: Handcrafted Beverages to Satisfy Every Taste and Occasion and most recently, Southern from Scratch: Pantry Essentials and Down-Home Recipes.

This most recent book shows how to build a from-scratch Southern pantry with

The “Libraries on Tap” brewery tour will continue at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, at Lazy Hiker Brewing in downtown Franklin.

Meet at Lazy Hiker at 6 p.m. for a behind the scenes tour with brewer Graham Norris where you’ll learn a little of the science of brewing beer, a little of the economic benefits of having a brewery (or two) in the community, and a little about what it takes to become a brewer.

Stay and grab a bite at the Mad Batter food truck, a delicious pint of beer and/or a game of cornhole. “Libraries on Tap” is a brewing scavenger hunt is a three-county collaboration between Fontana Regional Library and breweries in Macon, Jackson and Swain counties. Collect stamps at events or by visiting partner breweries to win prizes.

For more information, call the library at 828.586.2016.

available at The Secret Wine Bar within the shop. Dog friendly patio and front garden open, weather permitting.

• Oct. 4/11: Five for $5 Wine Tasting from 5 to 9 p.m. Come taste five magnificent wines and dine on Chef Stacy’s gourmet cuisine.

• Oct. 5/12: Secret Wine Bar Night from 5 to 9 p.m.. Gourmet food, and a great wine & beer menu.

For more information, call 828.452.0120 or visit www.waynesvillewine.com.

arts & entertainment

Storyteller series welcomes renowned homesteader

‘Libraries on Tap’ tour gets Lazy

@SmokyMtnNews 37

Smoky Mountain News

October 3-9, 2018

arts & entertainment

On the wall

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WCU unveils new Cherokee sculpture T he Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ historical and cultural connections with the land now home to Western Carolina University were commemorated last month as representatives of the tribal and university communities gathered for the unveiling of a sculpture based on the Cherokee syllabary character “wi.”

The ceremony at the sculpture installation site in the courtyard adjacent to WCU’s Killian Building included remarks from Carol Burton, WCU acting provost, and Richard Sneed, principal chief of the Eastern Band. Brett Riggs, the university’s Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies, spoke about the history of the site, and the official unveiling was conducted by Todd Martin, a student in WCU’s fine arts program who created the sculpture in response to the university’s 201718 learning theme: “Cherokee: Community.

Culture. Connections.”

An opening prayer was given in the Cherokee language and in English by Tom Belt, coordinator of WCU’s program in Cherokee language. Burton began the remarks by reminding those attending that “the heritage and tradition of a proud people permeates the very ground on which our university is built.”

“It is essential that Western Carolina University explore and enhance our relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and continue to educate our students, faculty, staff and community about the Cherokee people and culture and the significance of this beautiful place we call home,” Burton said.

Todd Martin, a WCU fine arts student who produced the new ‘wi’ sculpture on campus, discusses that creation process with Richard Sneed, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The Cherokee syllabary character “wi” denotes a geographic location, and the installation site was once the center of a Cherokee village.

“Traditional histories mark this as the first Cherokee town in the Tuckaseigee River valley,” Riggs told the gathering.

Archaeological excavations have revealed “traces of that ancient town that are buried beneath our feet, so it’s still here,” he said.

“It’s still here. It hasn’t left. This spot — this ‘wi’ — remains very much part of the

Cherokee world.”

Sneed said the sculpture will stand in the courtyard for generations to come and serve as a reminder to those who pass by that “this land was Cherokee land first and will always be Cherokee land, but it is our honor to share this land with Western Carolina University so that education of future generations can take place.”

“For thousands of years, our people dwelled on these lands where this campus is today,” Sneed said. “And for many centuries

Have you visited WCU’s art exhibits?

Throughout the academic year, Western Carolina University in Cullowhee hosts an array of ongoing exhibits at the Fine Art Museum in the Bardo Arts Center and also the Mountain Heritage Center.

• The MHC will host the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit “The Way We Worked,” chronicling late 19thand early 20th-century jobs and labor and based on photographs from the National Archives. The exhibit will be on display through Nov. 7 in the MHC’s Hunter Library gallery.

It is free and open to the public. National Archives photographs depict many aspects of work, from the clothing worn, the locations and conditions, and workplace conflict.

The photos also document a workforce shaped by many factors — immigration and ethnicity, slavery and racial segregation, wage labor and technology, gender roles and class — as well as by the American ideals of freedom and equality.

Special tours with a curriculum-based program will be available for K-12 school groups planning to visit the exhibit. For more information, go to mhc.wcu.edu or call 828.227.7129.

• “Grids & Gradients: The Visual Systems of Vernon Pratt” will run through Nov. 9. Drawn primarily from the collection of the WCU Fine Art Museum, this exhibition

brings together a selection of recently-acquired paintings by Pratt, an artist who worked at the intersection of art and mathematics. Pratt took a systematic approach to his creative process, often exploring the rich array of possibilities within a given set of parameters. The paintings on view focus on two of Pratt’s characteristic elements — the grid and the gradient.

after European contact, there was a concerted effort to extinguish and even wipe out the memory of native nations across this country. I’m humbled and honored that Western Carolina University has seen fit over the last year, and in previous years, to take a completely different stand, and that is to enhance the relationship with the tribe, to enhance the recognition of Cherokee culture and tradition in these very lands where the campus is.”

Martin, the sculpture creator, is a native of Jackson County and the son of Lisa Bloom, a WCU faculty member who chaired the committee overseeing the “Cherokee” learning theme and who serves as the university’s Robinson Distinguished Professor of Educational Technologies. Martin, who is now completing his final semester in WCU’s fine arts program, said he approached the committee about a year ago to seek funding for an artwork based on the theme.

Martin obtained financial support for the project through several campus units, but he said the encouragement he received during the process of creating the sculpture also was extremely valuable — particularly the moral support from students and faculty in WCU’s Cherokee Studies Program and David Orr Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts.

“I think it’s extremely important to keep investing in these student projects. I think we should fill the entire campus with engagement and students’ works,” Martin said.

“When I leave Western, I get to say, ‘Look at what I’ve created.’ And all of you students get to say, ‘Look at what we created. Look at what’s possible.’ That comes from the community and the help that everyone provided, so I think everyone should congratulate themselves,” he said.

• “Glass Catalyst: Littleton’s Legacy in Contemporary Sculpture” will run through Dec. 7. Celebrating the efforts of the late Harvey Littleton, one of the greatest proponents of using glass as an expressive medium, the exhibition explores the work of contemporary artists concentrating in glass and how they are building off the foundations laid

by Littleton during the early years of the Studio Glass Movement. A key work in the exhibition is the recent acquisition to the museum’s Young women collection: a glass sculpture by deliver ice in 1918.

Harvey Littleton entitled National Archives, Records of “Terracotta Arc.” the War Department • The WCU Campus Theme, General and Special Staffs the “Defining America” exhibit photo brings together artists with different perspectives on the concept of “America” and asks visitors to reflect on the values, definitions, and assumptions attached to this concept. The exhibition will be on view through May 3.

Regular museum hours at the BAC are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursdays until 7 p.m. For information, call 828.227.ARTS or visit bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

On the wall

Work by Harvey Littleton, ‘Terracotta Arc,’ 1983, Barium/potash glass with multiple cased overlays of Kugler color.

New book on Littleton’s glass legacy efforts of Harvey Littleton, one of the greatest proponents of using glass as an expressive medium, the exhibition explores the work of contemporary artists concentrating in glass and how they are building off the foundations laid by Littleton during the early years of the Studio Glass Movement.

A key work in the exhibition will be a new acquisition to the Museum’s collection: a glass sculpture by Harvey Littleton entitled Terracotta Arc. Donated by the Littleton Family in honor of WCU Professor Emeritus Joan Falconer Byrd, this sculpture serves as a focal point in the exhibition and a reminder of how Littleton’s impact reverberates through the generations.

ArtQuest returns to Haywood

The “Art After Dark” season will continue from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, in downtown Waynesville.

Each first Friday of the month (MayDecember), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors.

Participants include Burr Studio, Cedar Hill Studios, Earthworks Gallery, Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts, The Jeweler’s Workbench, Moose Crossing Burl Wood Gallery, T. Pennington Art Gallery, Twigs and Leaves Gallery and The Village Framer.

It is free to attend Art After Dark. www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.

This October, local residents and visitors are invited to view work from Haywood County artists in the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts showroom in downtown Waynesville.

Participants work in diverse media, including clay, fiber, wood, jewelry, glass, mixed-media, sculpture, and two-dimensional applications. You can view the work of 12 local artists from Oct. 5-27, with the Art After Dark & Artist Reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 5 at Gallery & Gifts.

The ArtQuest Studio Tour is organized by a dedicated group of Haywood County artists and the fall tour runs from Oct. 2628. For additional information, visit www.haywoodarts.org or www.artquesthaywood.com.

• “Not Clark Kent: Other Superheroes & Sheroes” exhibit will run through Oct. 31 in the Intercultural Affairs Gallery on the University Center second floor at Western Carolina University. This exhibit challenges popular culture’s notions and expands the definition of who can be an American hero. It features male and female heroes of color and little known queer and differently able characters.

ALSO:

• A “Make Your Own Glass Pumpkin” class will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro. Cost is $40 to attend. To reserve your 45-minute time slot, call 828.631.0271.

There will be a plein air outing with acclaimed Haywood County painter Nick DePaolo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, at Panacea Coffee in Waynesville.

Those who register for the outing will meet at 10 a.m. Oct. 10 at Panacea Coffee House.

Artists who attend are responsible for their own transportation, bringing their own supplies, and the optional lunch at Panacea. All mediums are welcome.

Cost to attend is $20 for HCAC artist members, $25 for non-members. To register, call 828.452.0593. Payment is required to hold your spot. Make checks payable to Nick DePaolo. Credit cards not accepted for this class.

the facility and exhibits art in the GEP gallery. www.facebook.com/artinthemountains.

• Mad Batter Food & Film (Sylva) will host a free movie night at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For the full schedule of screenings, visit www.madbatterfoodandfilm.com.

• The Waynesville Fiber Friends will meet from 10 a.m. to noon on the second Saturday of the month at the Panacea Coffee House in Waynesville. All crafters and beginners interested in learning are invited. You can keep up with them through their Facebook group or by calling 828.276.6226 for more information.

• There will be a “Thursday Painters Open Studio” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at the Franklin Uptown Gallery. Bring a bag lunch, project and supplies. Free to the public. Membership not required. For information, call 828.349.4607.

• A “Beginner Step-By-Step” painting class will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursdays (Oct. 4 and 18) at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Cost is $25 with all supplies provided. RSVP by contacting Robin Arramae at 828.400.9560 or paintnitewaynesville@gmail.com.

• A “Youth Art Class” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon every Saturday at the Appalachian Art Farm on 22 Morris Street in Sylva. All ages welcome. $10 includes instruction, materials and snack. For more information, email appalachianartfarm@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.

• An exhibition for artisans Wanda DavisBrowne and Judy McManus will continue through Oct. 6 at Gallery 1 in Sylva. DavisBrowne’s photos are inspired by the diverse natural patterns and colors of nature, primarily flora. A glass artist, McManus was invited to join working artists at Jackson County’s Green Energy Park in Dillsboro in 2010. She also teaches classes and gives demonstrations at

• Free classes and open studio times are being offered at The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Join others at a painting open studio session from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursdays.

For information on days open, hours and additional art classes and workshops, contact the gallery on 30 East Main Street at 828.349.4607.

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Smoky Mountain News

Waynesville art walk, live music

• The “Autumn Leaves Craft Show” will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 11-12 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Macon County Fairgrounds in Franklin. Free admission, donations of a can of cat food also accepted. 828.349.4324.

Do you plein air paint?

October 3-9, 2018

The Western Carolina University Bardo Arts Center is pleased to announce a lecture and book signing on Saturday, Oct. 4, with WCU Faculty Emerita and scholar of the American Studio Glass Movement, Joan Falconer Byrd.

Her book and the associated lecture explores the life, work, and influence of Harvey Littleton. Byrd will be available to sign copies of her biography of Littleton, Harvey K. Littleton: A Life in Glass, after the talk. The lecture begins at 5 p.m. in Bardo Arts Center Room 223 followed by the book signing at 6 p.m.

This event is a featured program of the current WCU Fine Art Museum glass exhibition, Glass Catalyst: Littleton’s Legacy in Contemporary Sculpture. Celebrating the

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) is excited to announce that local artist Sheree Sorrells will be demonstrating her original technique of weaving fabric strips to make tiles to be used in the construction of a floor-cloth rug from 1 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 6, at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts in downtown Waynesville.

Sorrells is fascinated by color, and how it affects our sense of being. The interaction of colors steals her attention. Her art life has evolved from a weaver to a painter to collage.

Textile is her natural medium. Sorrells is enjoying the freedom of developing wall pieces and floor rugs that explore the many expansions and limitations of fabric.

As well, Mollie Harrington Weaver will be demonstrating her painting techniques from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at the HCAC Gallery & Gifts.

Weaver began school at age five and kept going until she finished medical school and

training to be a pediatrician. Painting has been a powerful awakening for her and she has found joy and peace at her easel. www.haywoodarts.org.

arts & entertainment

Floor-cloth rug, painting demonstrations

October 3-9, 2018

arts & entertainment

On the stage

New comedy at HART

A heartwarming comedy by Joe Dipietro, “Over the River and Through the Woods” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4-6, 12-13 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 7 and 14 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Nick is a single, Italian-American guy from New Jersey. His parents retired and moved to Florida. That doesn’t mean his family isn’t still in Jersey. In fact, he sees both sets of his grandparents every Sunday for dinner. This is routine until he has to tell them that he’s been offered a dream job in Seattle. When they find out, the results become a hilarious set of attempts to sabotage his attempts to leave.

The show ran off Broadway for two years, becoming a major hit.

HART’s production is being directed by Candice Dickinson. Dickinson was one of

the leads in “Chicago” and “The Producers.”

Since then, she has gotten her graduate degree in directing and moved back to help run the family business, Asheville’s Wicked Weed Brewery.

Her cast includes: Amanda Klinikowski as Caitlyn, Josiah McManus as Nick, Allison Stinson as Aida, Lyn Donley as Emma, David Spivey as Frank and Pasquale LaCorte as Nunzio.

There are special discount tickets for the Thursday, Oct. 11 performance. To make ticket reservations, call 828.456.6322 from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday or go online to www.harttheatre.org.

Harmons’ Den Bistro is also open for dinner before all evening performances and for Sunday Brunch beginning at 11 a.m. with reservations required.

Carden’s ‘Birdell’ gets DVD Release There will be a DVD release party for acclaimed writer Gary Carden’s play “Birdell” at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

David Joy, renowned author of The Line That Held Us, says of the play, “Gary Neil Carden has lived with an ear to the ground and this play is the voice that he heard. “Birdell” is a testament to the gone and the going away, a lonesome whippoorwill song remembered by those who were here, never heard by those who have come.”

For more information, call City Lights Bookstore at 828.586.9499.

HPAC kicks off ‘Live via Satellite’ series The Highlands Performing Arts Center’s “Live via Satellite” series begins the 2018-19 season with the MET Opera production of “Aida” by Verdi, which will take place at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6.

Soprano Anna Netrebko sings her first Met Aida, going toe-to-toe with mezzosoprano Anita Rachvelishvili as Amneris.

Tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko is Radamès, and Nicola Luisotti takes the podium for the Met’s monumental production. The Egyptians are at war with the Ethiopians.

Aida is an Ethiopian who has been captured and made slave to Amneris, the daughter of the King of Egypt. Aida is the daughter of

Amonasro, the King of Ethiopia. A love triangle and war ensue.

Tickets are available online at www.highlandspac.org, at the door or by calling 828.526.9047.

• There is free comedy improv class from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday at Moo Mountain Bakery in Maggie Valley. No experience necessary, just come to watch or join in the fun. Improv teacher Wayne Porter studied at Sak Comedy Lab in Orlando, Florida, and performed improvisation with several groups. Join Improv WNC on Facebook or just come on down to the bakery 2511 Soco Road.

ALSO:

Diane E. Sherrill, Attorney

Smoky Mountain News

IT’S OUR 17TH BIRTHDAY!

We are CELEBRATING with an OPEN HOUSE

Come out October 8th, 4-6pm

to our new location in Cullowhee near the old WCU entrance at 117 Monteith Gap Rd. Take a tour of our beautiful new medical clinic. You will be able to meet our staff and board members, enjoy hors d’oeuvres while hearing about the many things SMPCC does. We hope you’ll see how SMPCC makes a difference in the lives around WNC.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN PREGNANCY CARE CENTER, INC. 226 East Palmer St., Franklin 828-349-3200 P.O. Box 333, Cullowhee 828-293-3600 40

smpcc.org

Text only: 720-SMPCCNC

smpccpartners.com

Is a Will Enough?

FREE LUNCHEON SEMINAR

11:30 A.M.-1 P.M. October 24

Southwestern Community College

November 28 Best Western in Dillsboro Reservations Suggested

828.586.4051

nctrustlawyer.com

559 W. Main St. • Sylva

Books

Smoky Mountain News

41

Book examines change in rural Appalachia n the last 75 years, the landscape and the culture of the Appalachian South have undergone enormous change.

Take the town in which I live. Just 16 years ago, this town offered two large grocery stores, a K-Mart, and of course numerous other small, family-owned shops. That was the extent of choices for shoppers. The nearby motels wore that look of seedy disrepair found in so many such establishments built in the 1950s. The town boosted 10 SevenElevens, but had few Writer restaurants other than the usual fast food places. By their dress and accents, many of the people in the stores and on the streets were easily identifiable as natives, born and bred in these hills.

Today, the K-Mart is gone, having given way to a shopping area just north of town composed of the usual emporiums: Lowe’s, Walmart, Target, Starbucks, and a couple dozen other shops and establishments, nearly all of them franchises. The population has grown, and is now much more a mix of locals and newcomers, many of them from points north and east. Two new motels sit out by the expressway, large, well tended places that are, like the nearby stores, franchises. Other additions include two health clubs, wineries, Thai and Chinese restaurants, and an independent coffee shop that roasts and brews its own concoctions. The tattooed and pierced crowd abounds and is accepted.

In HomePlace: A Southern Town, A Country Legend, And The Last Days Of A Mountaintop Honky-Tonk (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018, 251 pages), writer John Lingan takes a long look at the town of Winchester, Virginia, once the cornerstone of America’s apple production, birthplace and home of famed country singer Patsy Cline,

Jeff Minick

I

and until recently, a city divided between an upper class of old wealth and a lower class composed of country folks and blacks.

In HomePlace, Lingan examines the ways in which the upper Shenandoah Valley, and

by extension, our Southern Mountains, have changed over the last seven or eight decades.

He details events from the town’s history, the changing race relations, the honors denied Patsy Cline during her short life because so many of her “betters” looked down on her music and way of living. He looks at the invasion of outsiders into Winchester and the sur-

Open call for art, literature review Calling all artists, writers, poets and local creatives: This is your chance to show off your craft. Submissions are now being accepted for the 2019 edition of Milestone, the biennial art and literature review published by Southwestern Community College.

Milestone is a publication that showcases the creative expressions of local writers and visual artists. The periodical is representative of the abundance of talent in the region and seeks to foster this creative potential by providing artists an opportunity to gain public awareness.

All residents of Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary, as well as SCC students and alumni, are eligible. Only unpublished work may be submitted. Prose should not exceed 2,000 words, and poems should be limited to two pages in length. Writers

rounding area, and how they have changed that city for better and for worse. He explains how corporations and businesses have both helped and exploited the natives who until World War II lived in close-knit communities centered on agriculture and industries relating to their forests and mineral deposits.

One example: Harry Byrd was a scion of the illustrious Byrd family of Virginia. In 1924, he “helped conceive the first Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.” By 1933, his orchards were producing apples from 150,000 trees. He became a millionaire several times over, a U.S. senator, an opponent of racial integration and the owner of a Winchester newspaper. In spite of his power and wealth, however, Lingan tells us “Byrd’s values, his way of life, his political will, and even his personal reputation were seemingly dead as dust by the time he retired.”

During his exploration of Winchester and the surrounding area, Lingan returns again and again to Jim McCoy, a local who wrote country music, owned a recording studio for such music, and operated the renowned Troubadour Lounge, “the only twang-and-sawdust roadhouse left in the Virginias.”

Jim McCoy was a man devoted to his neighbors and his community, to country music, and to his family.

Lingan uses McCoy and the Troubadour as a sort of measuring stick for change. To the end of his life, McCoy, who was the first to put Patsy Cline on the radio, kept to many of his old ways, playing and promoting the music he loved, growing a garden, and remaining true to the hills of home when he could have

may submit more than one work. All writing must be double-spaced and submitted in paper format or via email. Each page must be numbered, and the author’s name, address, telephone number and email address should be included on the last page of each submission.

Visual artists and photographers may submit only black and white copies of original artwork and also must include name, address, telephone number, email address, title of work and photo caption (if applicable) on the back of each submission. Artists and photographers also may submit more than one work.

First- and second-place cash prizes will be awarded in three categories: poetry, prose (short story or nonfiction works) and visual arts, including photography. In addition, one cash prize will be awarded for cover art.

Literary submissions must be postmarked by Dec. 3 and sent to SCC Milestone; Attn. Toni Knott; 447 College Drive; Sylva, NC 28779 or via email to milestone@southwesterncc.edu.

Submissions in visual art must be postmarked by the same date

become a celebrity in Nashville.

Though Winchester continues to celebrate an apple festival, most of the orchards around the city are gone now, changed to apartments or parking lots. The snobbery with which Winchester’s old moneyed families treated Patsy Cline — here I am less confident than Lingan about the severity of this class division — have given way to Patsy Cline commemorations. The changes cited by Lingan in Winchester, like those in Southwestern Virginia, Western North Carolina, or the hills of North Georgia, are real and ongoing. An old way of life, centered on family, land, and custom, has given way to our present age.

Near the end of HomePlace, Lingan writes: “Factories close or an industry dies, neighborhood businesses lose out to chains, and the people around them are left desperate and isolated. And so we convince ourselves they deserved it: they’re uneducated, or uncouth, or addicted to the wrong kind of drugs … Jim was a left-behind person … He showed me that left-behind people aren’t mere victims. They are trying to make a life in a world where the good old days are gone. What could be more purely American?”

HomePlace is a vivid reminder of what we abandon as we race headlong into the future.

Lingan has a heart for people like Patsy Cline, Jim McCoy, and even for Harry Byrd, while at the same time understanding how rapid change affected all of them and continues to work in our own lives.

HomePlace also reminds us that while we may now visit the Internet, send texts and photographs by phone, and select a movie from hundreds presented online, we should also honor the past. We can do so by remembering it, by keeping the good it once offered, its cuisine and music, its emphasis on hard work and independence, its celebration of the eccentric and the local.

Good read, this one.

(Jeff Minick is a writer and teacher. minick0301@gmail.com)

and sent to the same address, Attn. Bob Keeling, or via email to milestone@southwesterncc.edu For more information, contact Milestone Managing Editor Toni Knott at 828.339.4325.

Special storytime with Sally Hursey Sally Hursey will host a special guest storytime at 11 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 6, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Hursey will read Big Sid, a book about a big loveable dog who has to adjust to a new dog being brought into the home. Big Sid is based on Hursey’s own dog, Sidney Lanier, an American Staffordshire Terrier and Boxer mix.

To reserve copies of Big Sid, call City Lights Bookstore at 828.586.9499.

42

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

Poor acorn crop leads to increased bear encounters

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER nighttime breath of fresh air turned traumatic for 75-year-old Swannanoa resident Toni Rhegness when she spotted three bear cubs while walking her dog on leash in her front yard Sept. 18.

While Rhegness followed important bear safety rules at her own home — not leaving trash outside and keeping her dog leashed, for starters — her neighbor had left garbage cans outside for pickup the next morning, and the cubs were scavenging them for a meal. Seeing the cubs, the dog barked. Rhegness shouted to scare the bears off and picked up her dog to go inside.

But an adult female bear, which Rhegness hadn’t seen, was in the vicinity as well. The bear attacked Rhegness, biting and scratching her repeatedly. Rhegness wound up with serious but non-life-threatening injuries — she went to the hospital but was later released.

“A lot of people in the mountains have a high tolerance for bears living with them, and that’s fantastic. However, sometimes they’re too tolerant,” said Colleen Olfenbuttel, black bear and furbearer biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. “The bear’s getting into their garbage, the bear’s getting into their bird feeders. They don’t realize they’re putting human safety at risk and they’re putting bear safety at risk when they do that. That’s what we saw with this incident in Swannanoa.”

The neighbor knew bears sometimes got into the trash but still kept putting it out the night before pickup, Olfenbuttel said. That pattern resulted in Rhegness going to the hospital and the bear being euthanized.

A

UPTICK IN CONFLICT It’s never a good idea to leave trash outside if you live in bear country. But this year especially, it’s important for mountain residents to be bear-wise, Olfenbuttel said.

“What we’re seeing this year is the acorns are fair to poor, and especially poor in the upper elevations,” she said. “Where we are seeing that there is some acorn production is in the lower elevations, where you have your communities, your towns, where people are living.”

Every year, the Wildlife Commission does a survey of hard mast production — natural nuts like acorns, hickory and walnut, with acorns being the most abundant — and while Olfenbuttel is still in the process of compiling that data, initial results indicate that there’s less food for bears in the woods than in the average year. That makes them more likely to seek sustenance from human food.

The ringing phones back up those results.

From Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, the Wildlife Commission fielded 1,202 calls about bears, a 46 percent increase over the 825 calls received over the same period in 2017.

“Starting in about late August through now, we’re getting phone calls from the public who are doing the right thing,” she said.

“They’re being bear-wise. They’re securing their trash, they’re removing their bird feeders, but they’re calling us still wondering ‘Why are there bears in my backyard?’ And it’s because they have an oak tree that’s producing acorns.”

Bears are frequenting human communities more, and they’re also proving harder to scare away, Olfenbuttel said. When a bear is hungry, it will end up caring more about a potential food source than about whether there’s a

Be Bearwise The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has launched an education campaign aimed at teaching people the six rules they must live by to prevent bear conflicts. The rules are: ■ Never feed or approach bears.

■ Secure food, garbage and recycling.

■ Remove bird feeders when bears are active.

■ Never leave pet food outdoors.

■ Clean and store grills.

■ Alert neighbors to bear activity.

Learn more at www.bearwise.org.

person yelling at it from the porch.

The Swannanoa incident hasn’t been the only recent bear encounter to turn violent recently. On the evening of Aug. 16, a Biltmore Forest resident ended up shooting and killing a bear. The encounter, Olfenbuttel said, was the result of the bear’s interest in the man’s bird feeders.

“It escalated to a point that person felt like their safety was at risk and ended up shooting and killing the bear,” she said. “The overall neighborhood was very upset about that incident.”

State law allows people to shoot wildlife if the animal is in the act of damaging property or threatening human safety, and an investigation concluded the man was in compliance with the law. However, the Wildlife Commission is now working with the community to educate members through its Bearwise initiative, aimed at teaching people how to safely live in bear country.

An official report on mast survey results won’t be complete until the end of the month, so as of now it’s hard to say whether production has been a total failure or just less than desirable. Multiple factors drive acorn production — it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why any one year proves more or less productive than another.

One the whole, though, extremely wet

The decision to euthanize

years seem to result in lower production, Olfenbuttel said, and this year was definitely wet. Late freezes can also be problematic, especially at higher elevations where cold sticks around longer.

Then there’s the age of the oak tree. Trees have to be about 40 years old before they hit peak acorn production, and after age 80 or so production declines again. As a whole, Western North Carolina’s forests tend to be older, with more and more oak trees approaching and passing that 80-year mark and few young oaks replacing them.

“There’s real challenges to oak regeneration in the mountains, and we’ll see what happens but without doing more we’ll start to see a lot of oak trees start to age out, and they’re not being replaced with younger oak trees,” Olfenbuttel said. “We could start seeing more poor to fair mast years in the future if we don’t do more to encourage oak regeneration.”

At a recent meeting of bear managers from states across the Southern Appalachians, the biologists discussed bearrelated issues and in particular observations related to acorn production.

“My sense from last week’s meeting is overall everyone is poor to fair with acorns,” said Olfenbuttel. “White oak is poor, red oak is fair, depending on your elevation.”

BEAR MANAGEMENT IN THE SMOKIES Unlike the Wildlife Commission, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park does not do an official mast survey each year.

However, anecdotally things are looking better in the park than what Olfenbuttel’s seeing in North Carolina.

“Anecdotally we’re seeing a lot of hickory nuts, actually some walnuts,” said the park’s supervisory wildlife biologist Bill Stiver.

“Guys are telling me they’re seeing red oak acorns and spotty white oak acorns. I wouldn’t say it’s a bumper

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The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has gotten some blowback for its decision to euthanize a mother bear and relocate its trio of clubs after it attacked a Swannanoa woman, but a blog post from the agency walks readers through the reasoning that led to that decision.

“When bears behave defensively, they typically withdraw as soon as they view that the threat is gone,” the post reads. “However, the bear in this situation did not withdraw and continued to bite and scratch the victim, despite the victim responding appropriately prior to and during the incident. The bear’s behavior was not typical of what we normally see in bears.”

Bears are likely to repeat aggressive behaviors once they’ve learned them, and to teach those behaviors to cubs. Relocating the bear wasn’t possible, as several studies have documented how adult bears will make every effort to return to their original home range. Similarly, the post said, adult wild black bears don’t cope well with permanent captivity.

“It actually would have been very inhumane to have implemented this option. While this idea makes a lot of people feel better about the outcome, wild bears are stressed to the point that they have severe mental and physical issues in captivity,” the post said.

According to Wildlife Commission biologists, however, the cubs were old enough to live independently and should thrive in the “remote region” they were relocated to. Unlike adult bears, the post said, cubs won’t necessarily return to the site of capture.

The incident marked the second time in the past 10 years the Wildlife Commission has euthanized a bear.

Search underway for missing woman near Clingmans Dome National Park Service. Helicopters and multiple canine teams were deployed, as well as specialized search and rescue drones.

Verizon Wireless established a mobile cell booster, which is providing critical cell and data coverage to effectively manage and support the search effort in this remote location.

Susan Clements. The closed road has Donated photo been used as a landing zone for aircraft that are assisting in the search as weather permits.

“This is unforgiving terrain, and we are working long hours to find Ms. Clements,”

said Acting Chief Ranger Jared St. Clair. “We are extremely grateful for the rapid response by so many well-trained personnel and the generous support resources that our cooperators have dedicated to this search.”

Searchers have worked through rain, fog, wind and low temperatures in the 40s in this rugged region, which contains the highest point in the park and straddles two states and several counties.

Clements is a white female with light brown hair and blue eyes. She is 5 feet, 6 inches, weighs 125 pounds and was last seen wearing a green zip-up sweater, black workout pants over black leggings, a clear rain poncho and gray Nike running shoes with light green soles. Anyone who saw Clements on Tuesday afternoon or thereafter should contact the NPS Investigative Services Branch at 1.888.653.0009, online at www.nps.gov/isb under “submit a tip,” by email at nps_isb@nps.gov, Facebook message to InvestigativeServicesNPS or Twitter message to @SpecialAgentNPS .

October 5, 6, 11,* 12, 13 at 7:30 pm October 7, 14 at 2:00 pm

Hunt safe A one-day hunter safety course resulting in a certification that’s accepted in every North American state and province will be offered 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Bethel Grocery Hunt and Fish in Haywood County.

The course will cover a range of topics including firearm safety, hunter ethics, personal responsibility, hunting laws, first aid and survival, tree stand conservation and wildlife identification and management.

Free, with no age limit, though students must take and pass a written exam without assistance. No firearms or weapons permitted on premises.

Pre-registration required at www.ncwildlife.org.

Educating visitors about bear safety is a constant challenge for park staff, said Stiver. The Smokies is home to about 1,600 bears, and more than 11 million people visit annually.

“Let’s assume we were really, really good (at bear safety education) and we reached 90

Adults $24 Seniors $22 Students $11 *Special $16 tickets for all Adults on Thursday, October 11.

Special $8 Tickets for all Students on Thursdays & Sundays.

The Performing Arts Center at the Shelton House 250 Pigeon St. in Waynesville, NC

For More Information and Tickets:

828-456-6322 | www.harttheatre.org This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

dents. The numbers are up one year, down the next. In 2017 the park had the lowest number of incidents in the last 10 years at 231, but the previous year, 2016, there were 466 incidents — the highest in the period except for the 497 reported in 2011.

A variety of factors affect those statistics

October 3-9, 2018

A black bear wanders through the woods.

NCWRC/Melissa McGraw photo

Smoky Mountain News

crop of acorns, but anecdotally it doesn’t seem like it’s a failure.”

Stiver said he hasn’t seen anything out of the norm when it comes to reported bear encounters other than the normal seasonal cycling of things. Pretty much every year, bear conflicts begin in late May and peak in June, after which they drop off as berries ripen and bears have an easier time finding food. Conflicts then typically increase once more to a peak in early August, dropping off again in late August and early September as acorns and other nuts become available.

Like the Wildlife Commission, the park has had to euthanize one bear this year, related to a search for a missing ginseng poacher in early September. William Lee Hill, 30, was found dead Sept. 11 after a twoday search near Cades Cove. An aggressive bear was in the area and was found to have been feeding on Hill’s remains. While the bear’s aggressive behavior led park officials to euthanize it, Hill’s actual cause of death is unknown.

“You can’t say that was a bear attack. It’s too early into the investigation to say anything about that,” said Stiver. “Bears are omnivores and even though most of their diet is acorns, berries, nuts, things of that nature, they’re going to take advantage of any food source that’s out there.”

The National Park Service is investigating the incident, and an autopsy has been ordered. However, results could take months to come back, the park executive assistant Jamie Sanders said in an email.

outdoors

A full week after Ohio resident Mitzie Sue “Susan” Clements, 53, went missing in the Clingmans Dome area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, crews from a three-state area are still trying to find her.

Clements was last seen around 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 25, hiking with her daughter on the Forney Ridge Trail about a quartermile from Andrews Bald when the two separated. Park officials were alerted to her disappearance that same evening and began to search the immediate area with no success.

On Wednesday, they expanded the search area and called in additional personnel and continued on Thursday with about 40 trained members of the park’s Search and Rescue Team.

Thursday night, Clingmans Dome Road was closed. Over the weekend and through press time Tuesday about 125 trained searchers and logistical support personnel from more than 30 state and local agencies in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia participated in a search operation led by the

percent of that 11 million people,” said Stiver. “You would still have 1 million people that are doing something potentially wrong.

Of course, it doesn’t take 1 million people to create a human-bear conflict.”

Despite the steady increase in park visitation over the past decade, the park has not seen a steady increase in reported bear inci-

— the availability of natural food that year, park visitation and human behavior, for starters. Back in the late 1980s the park captured about twice as many bears as it’s done at any point in the past 10 years because it wasn’t very good at handling its trash at that time, Stiver said.

“Now we’re more proactive,” he said.

a website to take you to places where there are no websites.

Log on. Plan a getaway.

Let yourself unplug.

43

Adventure through photos

A telescope points toward an unobstructed view. NPS photo outdoors

Wildlife photographer Dr. Bruce Elliston will discuss adventures out West and camera technology during the next Sylva Photo Club meeting, 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Cullowhee United Methodist Church.

Elliston loves the North Carolina mountains but also spends many summers out west, especially Montana and Idaho, with fly fishing, river conservation and birding all coming together in his images — he has a particular focus on “birds in behavior.” Elliston is convinced that new, lighter cameras are a boon to those who like the rigors of wildlife photography and will show why.

Door prizes offered. Suggested Red-wing blackbird. Bruce Elliston photo donation is $5 for visitors, with the amount applied toward a $20 annual Photo Club membership. www.sylvaphotoclub.wordpress.com.

Explore the night skies A stargazing event at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at Purchase Knob in the Haywood County portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will offer exploration of the night sky.

The Astronomy Club of Asheville will have telescopes set up to take advantage of the 360-degree view. If skies are clear, visitors will see the Milky Way high overhead, as well as Saturn, Mars, the Andromeda Galaxy and many striking star clusters.

The event will begin with an indoor presentation, held rain or shine, to discuss what’s visible in October night skies. Afterward participants will head outside to stargaze from an elevation of 5,000 feet.

Free, with space limited. Register online at https://bit.ly/2N7sGDV or call 828.497.1946. Purchase Knob is located off of U.S. 276 near Maggie Valley.

October 3-9, 2018 Smoky Mountain News

Middle grade students in Jackson, Macon and Swain counties are invited to a family campout Friday, Oct. 5, at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute.

At Family Camp: The Night Sky, students will check in at noon, eat lunch and spend the afternoon going to classes such as radio astronomy and introduction to constellations. After dinner, there will be a sunset hike and night sky viewing. Students will stay at PARI bunkhouses, with one parent or guardian allowed to accompany their child. Checkout will be 12:30 p.m. the following day.

A collaboration with the Smoky Mountain STEM Collaborative and Southwestern Community College. Registration form available at goo.gl/forms/9vNPsVtDN0C56GWY2. Randi Neff, r_neff@southwesterncc.edu.

Camp like an old-timer Experience old-time camping with “Camping in the Old Style,” an event offered Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Cradle of Forestry in America.

The Acorn Patrol, a small group of classic campers, will be set up in a recreated campsite exuding the early 1900s. At this time, the Pisgah National Forest was in its infancy and city folk were just discovering the joys of

S

huckstack Ridge/Fontana Village: Offering two options on this. Shuckstack is the more difficult of the two hikes.

Date: October 10 Cost: $14 Departure Time: 7:30 AM Return Time: 5:30 PM Bring: Water, rain gear (just in case), snacks and lunch, walking sticks, comfortable hiking shoes, medication and info about your allergies (to be provided to the trip leader)

WAYNESVILLE

PARKS AND RECREATION

828.456.2030 44

Astronomy campout offered for students

or email tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov

550 VANCE STREET • WAYNESVILLE

outdoor recreation. Explore the gear of a bygone day and visit with campers who have expertise in various aspects of woodcraft, history and nature study. Learn about Great Smoky Mountains National Park forefather Horace Kephart’s low tech/high skill approach to outdoor recreation and the lessons it holds for modern campers.

The Cradle of Forestry is located along U.S. 276 in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard. 828.877.3130.

Wilderness camp to hold open house A new wilderness camp for boys will open in Glenville for summer 2019, and an open house is planned for 1 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 13.

Deerfoot Lodge, a Christian wilderness camp for boys, has operated for more than 80 years in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, and a second location will soon open in Jackson County. The open house will feature snacks, beverages and an opportunity to learn about the camp’s mission, meet with leadership and view the site work.

Nick Dotti, 828.435.2572 or www.deerfootblueridge.org. The lodge is located about 2 miles east of Lake Glenville in a valley that surrounds Trout Lake. From Blue Ridge Road, turn left onto Ravenwood Road and after 0.6 miles keep left at the fork.

A new boardwalk along the southern shore of Trout Lake is nearly complete. Donated photo

Run by glow-stick light

River access restored at Beechertown Road

Agriculture losses from Florence top $1 billion

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Smoky Mountain News

Initial estimates for crop damage and livestock losses in North Carolina due to Hurricane Florence are expected to top $1.1 billion, easily outstripping the $400 million seen after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. “We knew the losses would be significant because it was harvest time for so many of our major crops and the storm hit our top six agricultural counties especially hard,� said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “These early estimates show just what a devastating and staggering blow this hurricane leveled at our agriculture industry.�

Row crops were hit the hardest, with losses estimated at $986.6 million. Following are forestry, at $69.6 million, green industry at $30 million, vegetable and horticulture at $26.8 million, and livestock, poultry and aquaculture at $23.1 million.

Estimates are based on the percentage of crops still in the field in the 35 most highly impacted counties. Calculations also looked at a five-year average for crop production and the prices of commodities.

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October 3-9, 2018

Repairs have been completed to Beechertown Road and the Nantahala River access there in the Nantahala National Forest near Franklin.

Early summer storms created high flows in the river above the powerhouse, severely damaging the Beechertown Road and river access sites, making Duke Energy’s scheduled recreation flows impossible and unsafe.

Duke engineers and recreation designers worked with the U.S. Forest Service on repair designs, with Duke then hiring a contractor to do the work under Forest Service supervision.

Recreation flows are now restored, allowing the estimated 400 to 500 skilled paddlers who use the river each day to enjoy the area.

Beechertown Road is open only from State Road 1310 to the Slot Falls turnaround. Due to loss of much of the road shoulder there, no parking space is available. Paddlers are encouraged to park at the lower end and shuttle up.

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outdoors

A glow stick 5K to benefit Hazelwood Elementary School will be held at 6 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 26, at Waynesville Middle School.

With a dress code of “if it glows it goes,� creativity is encouraged, with runners welcome to bring their own accessories or use the two glow sticks that will be provided at the start of the race. While the race will kick off at 6 p.m., a fun run course for children 6 and younger will begin at 6:30 p.m. $25 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and younger. Register by 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, at bit.ly/HESglowrun or register at the school with a check.

CANTON • 1 Acaademy St. St • Canton Canton, NC 28716 • 828-648-1515 828 648 1515 WA AY YNESVILLE • 311 Walnut St. • Waynesville, NC 28786 • 828-456-6268 828 456 6268 Find us on Facebook. Feederally Insured by NCUA

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outdoors

Care for Cataloochee Help with historic preservation in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a service day in Cataloochee Valley in Haywood County, 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 29, with an opportunity for an afternoon adventure afterward.

The event is part of the Smokies Service Days series, with morning volunteer opportunities offered on Saturdays through Nov. 23, followed by an optional enrichment adventure in the afternoon. Another service day on the North Carolina side of the park will be picnic area and campground Volunteers help with historic building preservation. NPS photo cleanup at Deep Creek near Bryson City Oct. 27.

Park staff will provide tools and safety gear, with participants asked to wear closed-toed shoes and bring a lunch if planning to stay for the enrichment activity. Sign up with Logan Boldon at 865.436.1278 or logan_boldon@partner.nps.gov. Space limited in some cases.

Kayak donated to SCC

October 3-9, 2018

Phil and Connie Haire (left) present an Old Town brand kayak to Paul Wolf, director of SCC’s Outdoor Leadership program, and Brett Woods, director of the SCC Foundation. SCC photo

Phil and Connie Haire have donated a kayak to Southwestern Community College’s Outdoor Leadership Program.

The Heron 9 model is valued at $500 and will be used to train students through programs held at SCC’s Swain Center in Bryson City. Connie retired in 2011 as SCC’s vice president of the Macon campus and instructional development. Phil is a former state House representative.

{Celebrating the Southern Appalachians}

Featured guest artist, leading bonsai expert and instructor Bjorn Bjorholm, stands with a shishigashira maple. Arboretum photo

Bonsai coming to Asheville The Carolina Bonsai Expo will come to Asheville for the 23rd year running, Oct. 13-14 at the N.C. Arboretum.

Thousands are expected to attend this nationally known event, which features juried displays from 15 organizations around the southeast. In addition, the Asheville Chapter of Ikebana International will host a special ikebana exhibition throughout the weekend as well as an ikebana flower arranging demonstration Oct. 13. The event will also include various bonsai programs and demonstrations for the bonsai community and general public alike.

A full schedule is online at www.ncarboretum.org. Admission is free with standard $14 parking fee.

New signs tell Cowee story The ancient Cowee mound in Macon County, once home to a thriving Cherokee town, now has interpretive signs to pay homage to the place’s storied past thanks to three years of collaboration by the Nikwasi Initiative and its partners.

Nikwasi Initiative, Macon County, Town of Franklin and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians officials, as well as various community members, attended a ribbon-cutting event Sept. 22 to mark the occasion.

Learn more about the Nikwasi Initiative and Mainspring Conservation Trust’s role in creating it at www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/19685-joint-initiative-to-createnikwasi-cowee-corridor.

Smoky Mountain News

Bark in the park

Smoky Mountain Living celebrates the mountain region’s culture, music, art, and special places. We tell our stories for those who are lucky enough to live here and those who want to stay in touch with the place they love.

Subscribe or learn more at smliv.com MAGAZINE

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A festival celebrating all things doggy will return to Sylva 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7, at Mark Watson Park.

Bark in the Park will feature a low-cost microchip clinic — $20 per dog — agility demos, sheep herding with Candler resident Joe Parham and his talented border collie, fly disc dogs with owners Bob and Donna Bradley and demonstrations in scent work, gun dog maneuvers, K-9 work and the sport of treibball.

Other features will include costume and best trick contests, as well as a stuffed dog show for kids 6 and under.

Free, and sponsored by the Western Carolina Dog Fanciers.

Association and the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with the American Kennel Club Responsible Dog Ownership Day. Well-behaved, vaccinated dogs on static leashes welcome. www.wcdfa.org.

Agility demonstrations will be a feature of the afternoon. Donated photo

WNC Calendar COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • First Citizens Bank will sponsor a Community Shred Event from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, at 196 Walnut Street in Waynesville. Deputies from the Haywood County Sheriff’s Dept. will be present to help safely dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medications.

• The Sylva Police Department’s second-annual Walk For Hope is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Fountain on Main Street. Breast cancer awareness items available for survivors. 586.2916.

• Southwestern Community College is accepting submissions from artists, writers, poets and local creatives for its biennial art and literature review entitled “Milestone.” Open to all residents of Jackson, Macon, Swain Counties and the Qualla Boundary – as well as SCC students and alumni. Only unpublished work is eligible. Must be postmarked by Dec. 3 and sent to SCC Milestone; Attn. Toni Knott; 447 College Drive; Sylva, NC 28779, or milestone@southwesterncc.edu.

• The annual corn maze and pumpkin patch will return from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Oct. 31 at Darnell Farms in Bryson City. Come to the farm for some old-fashioned fun. All the kids will enjoy the Kiddie Corn Box, The 20foot-long farm slide from the Hay Pyramid, and the 20foot swing set, right on the river bank. The “Maze of the Dead,” “Zombie Pumpkin Patch” and “Haunted Hayride” will take place at 8 p.m. Oct. 26-31. www.facebook.com/darnellfarmsnc.

• The 2018 National Allison Family Reunion will be held Oct. 19-20 in Brevard. 770.231.9582, 205.602.3304 or dma12@bellsouth.net.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • The Cashiers Historical Society and McKee Properties will host a business showcase and networking reception from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Zachary Tolbert House in Cashiers. www.CashiersHistoricalSociety.org or www.McKeeProperties.com.

• Ben Bushyhead will present “Neighbors: Things I’ve Learned” at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 at the Swain County Regional Business Education and Training Center, 45 East Ridge Drive in Bryson City. www.swaingenealogy.com.

• A Budgeting 101 class for young adults is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, in the Program Room of the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. 524.3600.

• Registration is underway for Western Carolina University’s Digital Marketing and Public Relations Certificate program, which starts Oct. 5 at WCU Biltmore Park in Asheville. Six individual workshops ($119 each or $640 to attend all). Classes meet from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on six consecutive Fridays. Full schedule, info and register: pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• Registration is underway for the Inaugural Outdoor Economy Conference that’s coming to Western Carolina University on Oct. 5. Topics include product development, workforce development, marketing, financing and stewardship of natural resources. Early registration: $159. Outdoor.wcu.edu, 227.2587 or salido@wcu.edu.

• Haywood Community College’s Workforce Continuing Education Department is offering a wide variety of courses. For a complete listing: www.haywood.edu. Info: 627.4669 or rgmassie@haywood.edu.

• Haywood Community College will offer hunter safety courses from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 8-9 and Nov. 5-6 in Clyde. Preregistration required: www.ncwildlife.org.

• Haywood Community College’s Workforce Continuing Education Department will offer an introduction to

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

Homebuilding and Construction class from 5:30-9:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Oct. 8. $230. Info and registration: 564.5128 or hccindustrytraining@haywood.edu.

• The Haywood Community College Small Business Center will offer an online seminar entitled “Starting Your Herbal Products Business” from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9. Speaker is Patricia Kyritsi Howell, who has 25 years experience making and selling herb preparations. Preregistration required. Register or get info: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• A Raoul Wallenberg Program is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 10 in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room in Franklin. Wallenberg was a Swedish humanitarian who saved thousands of potential holocaust victims and others from extermination by the Nazis in Hungary.

• An all-day workshop organized by the Incremental Development Alliance, a nonprofit, will be offered on Oct. 11 at the US Cellular Center in downtown Waynesville. Cost: $200. The organization aims to teach wannabe developers of small-scale rentals how to plan, design, finance and manage projects. Presented by Jim Kumon. www.incrementaldevelopment.org.

• The Small Business Center at Haywood Community College will offer a seminar entitled “Building Small Business Culture” from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the College’s Regional High Technology Center in Waynesville. Register or get more info: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will be offering an event planning workshop that focuses on planning, organizing and implementation from 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, at WCU’s instructional site at Biltmore Park in Asheville. Registration is $119 or $640 for six event-planning certificate workshops.

Pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment will offer a workshop focusing on Building Cultural Competency and Diversity within Nonprofits from 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19 at WCU Biltmore Park in Asheville. Registration fee: $89.

CNP course fee: $300. Pdp.wcu.edu, jcthompson@wcu.edu or 227.3070.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation will hold its 10th annual Furry Friends Benefit Bash at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville. Tickets: $80 per person. Table sponsorships: $675. www.sargeanimals.org/event/10thffbb or 246.9050.

• The 2018-19 season of the “First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass” series will get underway with a concert featuring traditional musicians Jake Blount & Tatiana Hargreaves Thursday, Oct. 4, at Western Carolina University. Their 7 p.m. performance in the ground-floor auditorium of H.F. Robinson Administration Building will be followed by a jam session in which local musicians are invited to participate. 227.7129 or visit mhc.wcu.edu.

• The Choir of Maggie Valley United Methodist Church will host a Cruise In from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5.

Classic car event. Proceeds go toward a choir retreat.

• A fundraising barbecue dinner and concert benefitting Haywood Pathways Center, which aims to end area homelessness, is scheduled for 5-9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

Smoky Mountain News

Concert ($12 adults, $8 kids 12-under) features the Harris Brothers. Dinner is $8 for adults and $4 for kids under 5. www.haywoodpathwayscenter.org.

• In support of “Center for Domestic Peace in Jackson County,” the following restaurants will donate a percentage of sales on dates/times as listed: Sazon’s, 58:30 p.m. on Oct. 6; Innovation Brewing, 4-9 p.m. on Oct. 9; Mad Batter, 5-9 p.m. on Oct. 16; Soul Infusion, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Oct. 17; Dillsboro Chocolate, 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. on Oct. 19; South of Philly, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Oct. 23, Slab Town Pizza in Cashiers, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Oct. 26; Zaxby’s, 5-10 p.m. on Oct. 31.

• The Highlands Biological Foundation will host “Highlands on the Half Shell: Oyster Roast to Benefit the Highlands Biological Foundation” from 4 p.m. until dark on Sunday, Oct. 7, at the meadow behind Valentine House at 888 Horse Cove Road in Highlands. Tickets: $75 for members; $100 for nonmembers. www.highlandsbiological.org or 526.2221.

• Tickets are on sale now for the Literary Council of Buncombe County’s 11th annual Authors for Literacy Dinner & Silent Auction, which features a keynote from New York Times bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver on Nov. 29 at the Crowne Plaza Resort Expo Center in Asheville. $95 for general admission. Limited number of VIP passes available, including a meet-and-greet with the author. 254.3442, ext. 206 or www.litcouncil.com.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS • Volunteers are being sought for “Hands on Jackson” – a day of caring community effort scheduled for Nov. 1.

To register: https://tinyurl.com/y7ep36d7.

HEALTH MATTERS • The Haywood County Senior Resource Center holds a dementia caregivers support group from 4:30-6 p.m. on Tuesdays in Waynesville. 452.6761 or www.haywoodseniors.org.

• Macon County Public Health will have an influenza vaccination clinic from 2-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at Highlands Community Building, 869 N. 4th Street, in Highlands. Regular flu vaccine: $32; preservative-free flu vaccine: $35. High-does vaccine, available for ages 65-up: $60.

• National Alliance on Mental Illness will offer two 12week family-to-family courses for families/friends of individuals living with a serious mental illness starting Oct. 4 in Franklin and Oct. 10 in Cherokee. Registration required: 306.853.5028 (Cherokee) or 421.2972 (Franklin).

• The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention “Out of the Darkness Walk” is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7, at Carrier Park on Amboy Road in Asheville. 561.302.1119 or ootdwalk.nc.asheville@gmail.com.

• The North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition will conduct overdose recognition and opioid reversal training from noon-2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency, Room 301. Jsharp@nchrc.org , 706.482.8795 or 356.2292.

• An emotions essential oils class is being offered at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at Mad Batter Food & Film in beautiful downtown Sylva. Come learn how to use essential oils for balancing your emotions. Each participant gets to make one free rollerbottle blend to take home. RSVP to Wende Goode at 246.2256 or goodeoils@gmail.com. Space is limited.

• NC MedAssist will hold a Mobile Free Pharmacy Event from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, at the Macon County Community Facilities Building in Franklin. Open to low-income individuals and families needing health screenings, education and over-the-counter medica-

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Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings tions. Volunteer: www.medassist.org.

• The Haywood County Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Task Force will dedicate its Domestic Violence Month Awareness Exhibit at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, in the atrium of the Justice Center in Waynesville.

456.7898, reachofhaywood@att.net or on REACH of Haywood’s Facebook page.

• A workshop on “How to Prepare Healing Herbs For Your Health” will be presented by Michelle Sanderbeck, ND, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. Registration required: 356.2507 or kolesn@haywoodnc.net.

• Registration is underway for an eating disorder workshop with Linda Bacon, Ph.D. the workshop is scheduled for 12:30-5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25, at the Folk Art Center Auditorium in Asheville. Title is: “Nurturing Body Respect: The Facts, Fictions and Clinical Path” – an evidence based alternative to weight-focused care.

Advance tickets only; no on-site tickets. 298.7928. info@crcfored.com, . https://tinyurl.com/ya9qtvhh or 337.4685.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • The High Mountain Squares will host their Hospice Dance from 6:15-8:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building in Franklin.

Western-style square dancing, mainstream and levels.

787.2324, 706.746.5426, 332.0001 or www.highmountainsquares.com.

• ZUMBA! Class with Monica Green, are offered from 67 p.m. on Monday & Wednesday, at the Canton Armory. $5 per class. 648.2363 or parks@cantonnc.com.

•A community jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 4, 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 Grampa’s Music in Bryson City. 488.3030.

• There will be several ballroom and Latin dance classes offered on Sundays and Mondays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Classes for beginners, intermediate and all levels. $10 per class. For more information, click on www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Line Dance Lessons will be held on Tuesdays in Waynesville. Times are 7 to 8 p.m. every other Tuesday.

Cost is $10 per class and will feature modern/traditional line dancing. 734.0873 or kimcampbellross@gmail.com for more information.

SPIRITUAL • Patton United Methodist Church will have a revival from Sunday through Wednesday, Oct. 7-10, at 119 Patton Church Road in Franklin. Featuring evangelist Wes Craven. Service is at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday and 7 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday.

• Registration is underway for a Self-Directed Retreats that will be offered at Lake Junaluska in the coming

wnc calendar

months. Spend time walking the trails, meditating in gardens, in private devotions, journaling, reflecting and more. Lake Junaluska will also provide a booklet with optional agendas, resources and ideas for structuring your retreat. $97 per person, per night, including lodging in Lambuth Inn, breakfast and retreat booklet.

Other dates are available, pricing varies. Dates are Oct. 17-18, Oct. 29-Nov. 1 and Nov. 19-21. www.lakejunaluska.com/retreats.

• Registration is underway for Personal Spiritual Retreat that will be offered at Lake Junaluska Nov. 5-7.

Experienced spiritual directors and clergy guide you through a group centering session, evening prayer service and an individual spiritual direction session, while leaving you ample time for personal reflection and renewal. $297 for two nights lodging in Lambuth Inn, program and retreat booklet. www.lakejunaluska.com/retreats.

POLITICAL • The Swain County Republican Party will host a voter information booth from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 at the Riverfront Park beside the Swain County Administration Building in Bryson City.

• A “Pancakes and Politics” fundraiser for N.C. Rep. Mike Clampitt (District 119) is scheduled for 8-11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Jackson County Republican Party Headquarters at 91 West Main Street in Sylva.

Pancakes ($5) or deluxe breakfast platter ($10).

Children under 5 eat free. 371.8247.

• Down Home Haywood holds its monthly community meetings at 2:30 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month at Canton Presbyterian Church. Tackling issues like healthcare, wages, housing and more. chelsea@downhomenc.org.

October 3-9, 2018

AUTHORS AND BOOKS • The Western Carolina University Bardo Arts Center will host a lecture and book signing with WCU Faculty Emerita and scholar of the American Studio Glass Movement, Joan Falconer Byrd, at 5 p.m. on Oct. 4 in Cullowhee.

• There will be a DVD release party for acclaimed writer Gary Carden’s play Birdell at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. David Joy, renowned author of The Line That Held Us, says of the play, “Gary Neil Carden has lived with an ear to the ground and this play is the voice that he heard. Birdell is a testament to the gone and the going away, a lonesome whippoorwill song remembered by those who were here, never heard by those who have come."

586.9499.

Smoky Mountain News

• There will be “Scary Storytelling” at 8 p.m. Oct. 5-6 and 12-13 at the train depot in downtown Bryson City.

Hear some spooky tales about "Haints, Boogers & Witches of the Southern Highlands" around the fire pit in front of the Storytelling Center located at 22 Fry Street.

• Sally Hursey will host a special guest storytime at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Hursey will read Big Sid, a book about a big loveable dog who has to adjust to a new dog being brought into the home. Big Sid is based on Hursey’s own dog, Sidney Lanier, an American Staffordshire Terrier and Boxer mix. To reserve copies of Big Sid, please call City Lights Bookstore at 586.9499.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES

• Registration deadline is Oct. 5 for Makerspace Haywood, a STEM-focused event for grades third through 12th. Opportunity to make and play with robotics, circuitry, little bits, coding, programming, interactive art and audio recording. Event is from 6-8:30 p.m. on Oct. 19. Cost: $15 per participant. No onsite registration. Register: http://bit.ly/MakerspaceHaywood.

•A Lego club will meet at 4 p.m. every fourth Thursday of the month, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Library provides Legos and Duplos for ages 3 and up.

Free. 488.3030.

• The Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express will depart at 4 p.m. Oct. 5 and 12, and noon and 4 p.m. Oct. 6-7 and 13-14 at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. www.gsmr.com or 800.872.4681.

• Registration is underway for a Smart Start Basketball program that will be offered for five and six-year olds this fall. Deadline is 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9. Organizational meeting is at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 16. Info: 456.2030 or dhummell@waynesvillenc.gov. Register at the Waynesville Recreation Center.

• “Nature Nuts: Bats” will be offered for ages 4-7 from 9-11 a.m. on Oct. 8 and Oct. 29 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• “Eco Explorers: Hellbenders” will be offered for ages 8-13 on Oct. 8 and Oct. 29 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

ONGOING KIDS ACTIVITIES AND CLUBS • Crafternoons are at 2:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at Hudson Library in Highlands.

• Teen Coffeehouse is at 4:30 p.m. on the first, third,

KIDS FILMS • “Leave No Trace”, will be shown at 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

• “The Addams Family” (1991) is showing at 5 p.m. on Oct. 5 at The Strand On Main. See www.38main.com for tickets, $1 show.

• “Hotel Transylvania 3”, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 and 7 p.m. on Oct. 13 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

• “Hocus Pocus” (1993) is showing at 5 p.m. on Oct. 12 at The Strand On Main. See www.38main.com for tickets, $1 show.

• “Ant-Man and the Wasp”, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 and 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

A&E FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL ENTS • The Jonathan Valley Elementary School Annual Fall Festival is from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, in Waynesville. Silent auction, face painting, photo booth, games, inflatables and food. All proceeds benefit the school’s teachers and students.

• The annual “Fall Festival” will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 6-7 at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. Over 240 fine craft exhibitors and 40 artisans demonstrating traditional and contemporary crafts.

Music and dance performances. www.folkschool.org.

• The Smoky Mountain Arts Festival will take place 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 5-14 on Fry Street at the Train Depot in Bryson City. Browse artwork for sale by over 30 artists under the big tent at the train depot plaza.

Paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, artisan jewelry, pottery & gifts inspired by the Smokies. Vote for a people's choice award. Free and open to the public. www.greatsmokies.com.

• The Maggie Valley Annual Fall Arts and Crafts Show is scheduled for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Oct. 20-21 at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. Teresa@maggievalley.org, 926.1686 or www.maggievalley.org.

• The “Art After Dark” in downtown Waynesville is hosted on the first Friday of the month (MayDecember), Main Street transforms into an evening of art, music, finger foods, beverages and shopping as artisan studios and galleries keep their doors open later for local residents and visitors. www.waynesvillegalleryassociation.com.

FOOD & DRINK • Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host five for $5 Wine Tasting from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 4/11. Come taste five magnificent wines and dine on Chef Stacy's gourmet cuisine. 452.0120 or www.waynesvillewine.com.

• Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host Secret Wine Bar Night from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 5/12. Gourmet food, and a great wine & beer menu. 452.0120 or www.waynesvillewine.com.

• “Libraries on Tap” brewery tour makes a stop at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at Lazy Hiker Brewing Co. in Franklin. Behind the scenes tour with Graham Norris.

Collect stamps at events by visiting partner breweries to win prizes. Info: 586.2016.

ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • HART will present the comedy “Over the River and Through the Woods” starting Sept. 28 in Waynesville.

Performances are Oct. 4-7, Oct. 11-14. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Reservations: www.harttheatre.org or 456.6322.

• The Leaf Festival will be held Oct. 5-7 on the Village Green in Cashiers. Arts, crafts, food vendors, live music, and much more. Presented by the Greater Cashiers Area Merchants Association. Free admission. www.visitcashiersvalley.com.

• The First Thursday Old-Time and Bluegrass Series kicks off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, with a concert featuring traditional musicians Jake Blount and Tatiana Hargreaves in the ground-floor auditorium of Western Carolina University’s H.F. Robinson Administration Building in Cullowhee.

• The 10th annual ColorFest, Dillsboro’s Fine Arts & Crafts Fair, is scheduled for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Oct. 6 in Dillsboro. Featuring the work of more than 40 artisans. Info: 506.8331.

• The Highlands Performing Arts Center will present the MET Opera production of “Aida” by Verdi live via satellite on Oct. 6. Tickets: highlandspac.org, at the door or 526.9047.

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• Culture Club on the second Wednesday of the month, 1 to 2 p.m. for K-6 graders. Guest speakers, books, photos, crafts and food from different countries and cultures. Macon County Public Library. 524.3600.

• “Solo Star Wars”, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

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• Macon County 4-H Needlers club, a group of youth learning the art and expression of knitting and crochet crafts, meets on the second Tuesday of each month.

For information, call 349.2046.

• A Lego Club meet the second Wednesday of the month at 5 p.m. at Cashiers Community Library.

743.0215.

• The next Seniors and Law Enforcement Together class will be held from 2-3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, in the Waynesville Library’s downstairs auditorium. Public Information Officer Lindsay Regner will speak about the basics of starting a community watch, and Sergeant Heath Justice will offer tips and answer questions about observing and reporting suspicious activity.

Project Lifesaver and critical health emergencies will also be discussed. Reserve a seat: 356.2880.

Color Copying & Printing • Low Prices B&W Self-Serve Copiers, High Speed, Low Cost Digital Wide Format, Architectural / Engineering Complete Bindery • Mounting • Laminating • Coil Binds Reduce / Enlarge, Scanning Color or B&W • Print from e-files

and fourth Tuesday at Jackson County Public Library.

Spend time with other teens talking and sharing. 12 and up. 586.2016.

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• Tickets are on sale now for “Choir Music Weekend,” which is Oct. 19-21 at Lake Junaluska. Learn and perform eight anthems, attend workshops and celebrate autumn colors. 800.222.4930, communications@lakejunaluska.com or www.lakejunaluska.com/events/worship/choirmusic.

• The Haywood Community Band will present “A Musical Harvest” concert at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21, at the Maggie Valley Open Air Pavilion on Soco Road.

• Tickets are on sale now for “Follies,” which will be screened as part of the Bardo Arts Center’s Sunday Cinema Series at 3 p.m. on Oct. 21 in Cullowhee. $15 for adults; $10 for WCU faculty/staff and seniors and $5 for students. Arts.wcu.cinema or 828.227.ARTS.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • The Haywood County Public Library is offering online lifelong learning courses in over 30 subject areas, many of which offer continuing education units, through Universal Class. Free for library cardholders. www.haywoodlibrary.org or 452.5169.

• A “Beginner Step-By-Step” painting class will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursdays (Oct. 4 and 18) at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. Cost is $25 with all supplies provided. RSVP by contacting Robin Arramae at 400.9560 or paintnitewaynesville@gmail.com.

• A glass pumpkin class will be offered Oct. 6, Oct. 20 and Oct. 27 at the Green Energy Park in Dillsboro.

Time slots are available from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; each slot is approximately 45 minutes, and participants will make one pumpkin in that time. Ages 13-18 may participate with parent present. $40. Register: 631.0271 or www.jcgep.org.

• The Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table meets at 7 p.m. on Oct. 8 at the Jackson county Library’s Community Room in Sylva. Speaker is Jim Ogden, Ranger at Chickamauga National Military Park, speaking on the Battle of Perryville Kentucky.

Meet and greet with speaker at 5 p.m. at Bogart’s; Social hour at 6:30 p.m. in Old Courthouse Rotunda.

• The Autumn Leaves Craft Show is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 11-13, at the Macon County Fairgrounds in Franklin. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. Info: 349.4324 or 706.490.5144.

Attendees are asked to bring a can of cat food for the Catman2 Shelter.

• The High Country Quilt Guild will hold its 28th annual Quilt Show from Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 11-13, at First Baptist Church of Maggie Valley.

Hours are noon-4 p.m. on Thursday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Entry fee: $3.

Highcountryquilters.wordpress.com.

• Registration is underway for a retreat featuring artists Judith Kruger and Chris Liberti from Oct. 22-27 at Lake Logan Conference Center in Haywood County.

Kruger’s workshop is “Abstract Alchemy” while Liberti’s is “Strengthening the Foundation: Color, Value, Composition and Surface.” www.cullowheemountainarts.org or 342.7899.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center will have a yearlong exhibition on “Defining America” through May 3 in Cullowhee. Info: 227.ARTS or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• The Haywood County Arts Council will present the ARTQUEST Studio Tour from Oct. 5-27 at 86 N. Main Street in Waynesville. Featuring work from 12 Haywood County artists. Art After Dark and artist reception is from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 5. www.haywoodarts.org or www.ArtQuestHaywood.com.

• An exhibition for artisans Wanda Davis-Browne and Judy McManus will continue through Oct. 6 at Gallery 1 in Sylva. Davis-Browne’s photos are inspired by the diverse natural patterns and colors of nature, primarily flora. A glass artist, McManus was invited to join working artists at Jackson County’s Green Energy Park in Dillsboro in 2010. She also teaches classes and gives demonstrations at the facility and exhibits art in the GEP gallery. www.facebook.com/artinthemountains.

• Mollie Harrington Weaver will demonstrate her painting techniques from 1-4 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts at 86 N. Main St. in Waynesville. 452.0593, info@haywoodarts.org or HaywoodArts.org.

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• Local artist Jo Ridge Kelley will demonstrate her oil techniques from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Oct. 20 at the Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery & Gifts at 86 N. Main St. in Waynesville. 452.0593, info@haywoodarts.org or HaywoodArts.org.

• The “Not Clark Kent: Other Superheroes & Sheroes” exhibit will run through Oct. 31 in the Intercultural Affairs Gallery on the University Center second floor at Western Carolina University. This exhibit challenges popular culture's notions and expands the definition of who can be an American hero. It features male and female heroes of color and little known queer and differently able characters.

• Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center will host the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit “The Way We Worked,” chronicling late 19th and early 20th century jobs and labor and based on photographs from the National Archives.

The exhibit will be on display through Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the Mountain Heritage Center’s Hunter Library gallery. It is free and open to the public. In addition to the photos, the exhibit includes audio, allowing visitors to hear excerpts from interviews with workers who describe what it was like to be a glove maker in the 1890s, a packinghouse worker in the 1930s, or a coal miner in the early 20th century. A video showing a variety of workplaces and a selection of work songs completes the experience. Special tours with a cur-

Smoky Mountain News

• Registration is underway for “Carving a Wood Spirit,” a class offered through Dogwood Crafters from 1-5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 11-12, at the Dillsboro Masonic Lodge. Registration deadline is Oct. 4. Carve a unique creation from a pine knot or locust bark. $20. Register: 586.2248.

• The First Presbyterian Church of Waynesville will host craft fairs from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on consecutive Saturdays, Oct. 13 & 20. Profits support local missions of the church.

October 3-9, 2018

• Local artist Sheree Sorrells will demonstrate her original technique of weaving fabric strips to make tiles to be used in the construction of a floor-cloth rug from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Haywood County Arts Council Gallery & Gifts in Waynesville.

• The Fourth Annual Green Hill Cemetery Tour is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13 off Main Street in Waynesville. A living history tour featuring some of the cemetery’s most fascinating, influential and eccentric historic figures.

new

• Tickets are on sale for the Highlands Cashiers Players’ presentation of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” that will be presented on Thursdays through Sundays from Oct. 18-28 at the Highlands Performing Arts Center in Highlands. Evening shows are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinees are at 2:30 p.m. Tickets: Highlandscashiersplayers.org or 526.8084.

• The Jackson County Senior Center will host a Yard Sale and Craft Show from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Department on Aging Building at 100 County Services Park in Sylva. $10 per table or two for $15. 586.5494.

wnc calendar

• The Pickin’ on the Square summer concert series will feature Blueridge (southern gospel) at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Gazebo in downtown Franklin.

The concert series is free and open to the public.

Bring your lawn chair. Food vendors will also be available. www.townoffranklinnc.com.

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wnc calendar

riculum-based program will be available for K-12 school groups planning to visit the exhibit. mhc.wcu.edu or 227.7129.

• The newest exhibit in the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University, “Grids & Gradients: The Visual Systems of Vernon Pratt” will run through Nov. 9 at the Fine Art Museum Gallery C on campus in Cullowhee. bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at the Bardo Arts Center is pleased to announce the opening of its newest exhibition “Glass Catalyst: Littleton’s Legacy in Contemporary Sculpture,” which will run through Dec. 7. Littleton’s work and other glass artist will be on display. A key work in the exhibition will be a new acquisition to the Museum's collection: a glass sculpture by Harvey Littleton entitled “Terracotta Arc.” Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Thursdays until 7 p.m. 227.ARTS or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

FILM & SCREEN • “Mountains Piled Upon Mountains” – a presentation about William Bartram and scenes of the 18th century Little Tennessee Valley – will be offered by Brent Martin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3, in the Macon County Public Library Meeting room in Franklin.

Ncbartramtrail.org.

• “The Children Act” is showing at 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. on Oct. 6, 10 a.m. & 1 p.m. on Oct. 7, and 7 p.m. on Oct. 5-7 at The Strand On Main. See www.38main.com for tickets.

• “Halloween” (1978) is showing at 5 p.m. on Oct. 19 at The Strand On Main. See www.38main.com for tickets, $1 show.

October 3-9, 2018

• “Rocky Horror Picture Show” is showing at 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 26 & 27 at The Strand On Main. Interactive movie weekend, with throw bag with each ticket, a costume contest and RHPS themed drinks & snacks. See www.38main.com for tickets, $12.

• “Three Identical Strangers”, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

• “Eighth Grade”, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

• “Sorry to Bother You”, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free.

586.3555.

• “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 26-27 at Mad Batter Food & Film in Sylva. Free. 586.3555.

OUTDOORS

Smoky Mountain News

• Volunteers are being sought to help re-pot native azaleas from 9 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays through Thursdays at the Southern Highlands Reserve in Lake Toxaway. For info, and to schedule a shift: anorton@southernhighlandsreserve.org.

• The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Trout Unlimited Cataloochee Chapter are seeking volunteers to help stock the West Fork of the Pigeon River at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 5. Tucataloochee427@gmail.com.

• Blue Ridge Parkway rangers will lead an easy, 1.5mile round-trip hike at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, to Frying Pan Fire Tower. Meet at the dirt pullout at Milepost 409.6. Info: 298.5330, ext. 304.

• An “Introduction to Fly Fishing” course will be offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host a stargazing event at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5 in the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center on Purchase Knob in Haywood County. Reservations required: https://tinyurl.com/yafmb863.

50 • An overnight camp entitled “Family Camp: The Night

Sky” will be offered Friday, Oct. 5, at Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute near Rosman. For middle-grade students living in Jackson, Macon, Swain Counties or the Qualla Boundary. Info: r_neff@southwesterncc.edu. Register: https://goo.gl/forms/9vNPsVtDN0C56GWY2.

• Forest Festival Day and the 23rd annual John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet are scheduled for 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Cradle of Forestry in Pisgah National Forest. $10, $5 for ages 412 and Friends of the Cradle, America the Beautiful and Golden Age passholders. 877.3130.

• An “Intro to Hunting” course will be offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 6 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• A Historic Preservation & Campground Maintenance event is scheduled for Oct. 6 at Cataloochee.

Volunteers needed: 865.436.1278 or logan_boldon@partner.nps.gov.

• Western Carolina Dog Fanciers Association will host both a Canine Good Citizen test and a Canine Good Citizen Advanced test in conjunction with this year's Bark in the Park, to be held on Sunday, October 7 at Mark Watson Park in Sylva. Testing for CGC and CGCA runs from 9:30 a.m.-noon and costs $10 per dog/handler team. Preregister: ncdogwich@yahoo.com. Testing for AKC Trick Dog title begins at approximately 1:30 p.m. $10. Info: www.akc.org.

• A Hunter Education Course will be offered to all ages from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 9-10 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• Bethel Grocery Hunt and Fish will offer a one-day hunter safety course from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 13, in Bethel. Preregistration required: www.ncwildlife.org.

• The 23rd annual Carolina Bonsai Expo will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13-14, at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville. www.ncarboretum.org.

Wildlife” by Barbara McRae. Franklinbirdclub.com or 524.5234.

• The Franklin Bird Club will hold a bird walk at 8 a.m. on Oct. 17. Meet at Big Bear Shelter parking area.

Franklinbirdclub.com or 524.5234.

• A paddle tour of Lake Logan will be offered from 10 a.m.-noon or 1-3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 17, in Haywood County. $10 per person. Reserve a spot: Christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 476.4667.

• “On the Water: East Fork French Broad” will be offered to ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 17 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard.

Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• A Wildlife Photo Hunt Competition will be offered from 1-4 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• Registration is underway for “Nature at Night” – an easy-to-moderate hike scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 20, at Chimney Rock State Park. $23 adults; $8 for annual passholder; $13 youth (ages 5-15) and $6 per Rockin’ Discovery Passholder. Visit an area typically not open to the public. Advance registration required: chimneyrockpark.com.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take an easy, fourmile hike on Oct. 21 on the Coweta Lab Shope Creek loop trail. Info and reservations: 421.4178.

• An opportunity to fly in one off World War II’s most vital Aircraft, EAA’s B-17G “Aluminum Overcast,” will be offered from Nov. 2-4 at the Macon County Airport in Franklin. Flights from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $435 for EAA members; $475 for nonmembers. Ground tours available from 2-5 p.m. Cost: $10 for 8-under; $20 for all others except veterans and active military, which get ground tours for free. B17.org or 800.359.6217.

COMPETITIVE EDGE

• The Franklin Bird Club will hold a bird walk starting at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 10. Meet at Macon County Public Library parking area in Franklin. Franklinbirdclub.com or 524.5234.

• The series of cyclocross competitions will continue on Oct. 7 at the Oskar Blues REEB Ranch in Hendersonville. Races in multiple categories.

Registration: free for ages 10-15; $10 for women in the beginner’s category and $20 for all other categories.

Sign up: www.pre-reg.com.

• “On the Water: Little River” will be offered to ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 11 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• Registration is underway for the inaugural Hazelwood Elementary 5K run/walk, which is set for Oct. 26. $25 for adults; $10 for ages 12-under. Registration deadline is 3 p.m. on Oct. 22: bit.ly/HESglowrun or at the school.

• “Fishing the Dry Fly” will be offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 12 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• “Fly-Tying for the Beginner” will be offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-noon on Oct. 13 at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/yb28fpz8.

• Bird, insect and wildlife photography will be the topic of a presentation by Dr. Bruce Elliston from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Cullowhee United Methodist Church. Sylva Photo Club. $5 suggested donation for visitors. Sylvaphotoclub.wordpress.com or sylvaphotoclub@gmail.com.

• “Camping in the Old Style” will be offered on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Cradle of Forestry in America near Brevard. 877.3130.

• An Open House is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Deerfoot-Blue Ridge Camp Property in Glenville. A Christian wilderness camp for boys. Snacks and beverages provided. Info: 435.2572 or www.deerfootblueridge.org.

• Volunteers are being sought for work day on the Reasonover Creek Trail from 8:45 a.m.-1 p.m. on Oct. 13 in Henderson and Transylvania Counties. llbmwb@gmail.com.

• The Franklin Bird Club will meet at 7 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Topic is “The Greenway: History/Sections/Birds and Other

FARMERS MARKETS • “Locally Grown on the Green,” the Cashiers farm stand market for local growers, will be held from 3-6 p.m. every Wednesday at the Village Green Commons in Cashiers. info@villagegreencashiersnc.com or 743.3434.

• The Swain County Farmer’s Market is held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. every Friday through October on Island Street in downtown Bryson City. 488.3681 or chamber@greatsmokies.com.

• Jackson County Farmers Market runs from 9 to noon on Saturdays at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva.

• Waynesville Historic Farmers Market runs from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays 8 a.m. to noon at the HART Theater parking lot. waynesvillefarmersmarket.com • Franklin Farmers Tailgate Market runs from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays through the end of October, on East Palmer Street across from Drake Software. 349.2049 or www.facebook.com/franklinncfarmersmarket.

• The ‘Whee Farmers Market, Cullowhee runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays through the end of October, at the University Inn on 563 North Country Club Drive in Cullowhee. 476.0334 or www.facebook.com/CullowheeFarmersMarket.

• The Original Waynesville Tailgate Market runs from 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays through

the end of October at 171 Legion Drive in Waynesville.

456.1830 or vrogers12@att.net.

HIKING CLUBS • The Nantahala Hiking Club will offer a strenuous 10mile hike on Saturday, Oct. 6, to Cabin Flats in the Smoky Mountain National Park. Elevation change of 900 feet. Info and reservations: 456.8895.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take an easy, onemile hike with little elevation gain on Sunday, Oct. 7, around Blackrock Lake in Mountain City, Ga. Info and reservations: 369.6820.

• The Great Smoky Mountains Association will have a moderate, maximum five-mile walk at 8 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 8, at the Newfound Gap Rockefeller Memorial. Search for high-elevation bird species. dana@gsmassoc.org.

• Hugh and Sue Aukerman, members of the Great Smoky Mountain Association, will lead a maximum-sixmile, easy-to-moderate hike at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 8, along a portion of the Mingus Creek trail in Smokemont. dana@gsmassoc.org.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate, 3.5mile hike on Saturday, Oct. 13, to the summit of Chinquapin Mountain. Info and reservations: 524.5298.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club will take a moderate-tostrenuous, fast-paced, 7.8-mile hike with a 1,500-foot elevation change on Wednesday, Oct. 17, on Chunky Gal trail. Info and reservations: 772.263.3478.

OUTDOOR CLUBS • The Jackson County Poultry Club will hold its regular meeting on the third Thursday of each month at the Jackson County Cooperative Extension Office. The club is for adults and children and includes a monthly meeting with a program and a support network for those raising birds. For info, call 586.4009 or write heather_gordon@ncsu.edu.

• The North Carolina Catch program, a three-phase conservation education effort focusing on aquatic environments, will be offered through May 15. The program is offered by the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. Free for members; daily admission for nonmembers. 456.2030 or tpetrea@waynesvillenc.gov.

• An RV camping club, the Vagabonds, camps one weekend per month from April through November. All ages welcome. No dues or structured activities. For details, write lilnau@aol.com or call 369.6669.

• The Cataloochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited meets the second Tuesday of the month starting with a dinner at 6:30 p.m. at Rendezvous restaurant located on the corner of Jonathan Creek Road and Soco Road in Maggie Valley. 631.5543.

• The Cherokee Runners meets each month on the 1st and 15th of the month (if the first falls on Sunday, the group meets on the 2nd), at the Age Link Conference Room. Group runs are being held each Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. starting at the Flame. www.cherokeerunners.com.

• The Jackson-Swain Master Gardeners’ Association meets at 9:30 a.m. every second Wednesday at the Jackson Community Services Building on Scotts Creek Road in Sylva. Mike Glover at 736.2768 or lmgofish@gmail.com.

• Pigeon Valley Bassmasters Club will meet at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at J&S Cafeteria, Enka, Exit 44 off I-40. 712.2846.

• Macon County Horse Association meets at 7:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the Macon County Fairgrounds Alumni Building. Education program and business meeting. ddoster@fs.fed.us.

• The Macon County Beekeepers Association meets at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the extension office located on Thomas Heights Road next to Jim Brown Chrysler on Highlands Road.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

MarketPlace information: The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.

Rates:

■ Free — Lost or found pet ads.

■ $5 — Residential yard sale ads, ■ $5 — Non-business items that sell for less than $150.

■ $15 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2.

If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type.

■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad or colored background.

■ $50 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold.

■ $375 — Statewide classifieds run in 170 participating newspapers with 1.1+ million circulation. Up to 25 words.

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Classified Advertising: Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

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AUCTION ONLINE AUCTION Items from Kongsberg Automotive in Easley, SC: Machinery, Eqpmnt., Forklifts, Pattet Racking & More!

Online Bidding and Terms at: terryhowe.com SCFL#3471 SHERIFF’S AUCTION Of Woodlake CC Real Estate, Golf Course, Club House, Residential Lots & Lake Bed. Live on Moore County Courthouse Steps in Carthage, NC. Oct. 16th 10a.m. ironhorseauction.com NCAL#3936 800.997.2248 RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT Acreage, Commercial Acreage & Combined Lots from Statesville to Lexington, NC. Online auction w/ Live Bidding Center, Oct. 23 @ 2pm, ironhorseauction.com 800.997.2248 NCAL#3936

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Property is being offered in 8 tracts with approx. 1 mile of road frontage on Black Hollow Rd. Bid Your Price! Tract 1 being sold Absolute.

Auction held Oct. 26, 5pm at the Dublin Lions Club. For more info: woltz.com or call 800.551.3588.

Woltz & Ass. Inc. (VA#321) Real Estate Brokers & Auctioneers.

YOUR AUCTION AD COULD REACH 1.6 MILLION HOMES ACROSS NC! Your classified ad could be reaching over 1.6 Million Homes across North Carolina! Place your ad with The Smoky Mountain News on the NC Statewide Classified Ad Network- 118 NC newspapers for a low cost of $375 for 25-word ad to appear in each paper! Additional words are $10 each. The whole state at your fingertips! It's a smart advertising buy! For more information visit the N.C. Press at: ncpress.com

FURNITURE

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533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

FROG POND ESTATE SALES HELPING IN HARD TIMES DOWNSIZING ESTATE SALES CLEAN OUT SERVICE • COMPANY TRANSFER • DIVORCE • LOST LOVED ONE WE ARE KNOWN FOR HONESTY & INTEGRITY

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CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions.

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CARPENTRY Repairs, Renovations, Custom Trim Work. 35yrs Exp., Small Jobs Okay. Free Estimates. Call Mike 828.246.3034 ALL THINGS BASEMENTY! Basement Systems Inc. Call us for all of your basement needs!

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WNC MarketPlace

PAINTING

CARS -

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CARS 2013 SUBARU LEGACY 2.5i Premium Sedan. Like New. 20,350 Miles. Best Price Over/Under $14,999. Ph#:

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October 3-9, 2018

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EMPLOYMENT FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Compliance Officer - PT Information Specialist: Athletics . For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.com Human Resources Office Phone: 910.678.7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu Equal Opportunity Employer SAPA

Storage Sizes from 5’x5’ to 10’x20’

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1106 Soco Road (Hwy 19), Maggie Valley, NC 28751 Find Us One mile past State Rd. 276 and Hwy-19 MaggieValleySelfStorage.com on the right side, torry@torry1.com across from Frankie’s Torry Pinter, Sr. 828-734-6500 Italian Restaurant

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Financial Aid if qualified. Job placement assistance. Call Us at 866.724.5403 BALSAM MOUNTAIN PRESERVE, Sylva. Is Seeking: Wait Staff $10/Hr.+ Tips & Housekeepers $10/Hr. No Exp. Necessary, Training Provided. Flexible Hours.

16/20 Hours per Week. Please Collect an Application from the Main Gate: 81 Preserve Rd. Sylva or email: memberservices@ balsammountain.com FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: A/C, Heating & Refrigeration Technology Instructor. For detailed information and to apply, please visit our employment portal at: https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.com Human Resources Office Phone: 910.678.7342 Internet: http://www.faytechcc.edu An Equal Opportunity Employer

DEDICATED REGIONAL ROUTES Owner Operators, Drivers, Fleet Owners. Weekly Settlements. Minimum 12 months 48-53' tractor trailer experience. 800.832.7036 ext. 1626, cwsapps@ilgi.com. www.cwsdedicated.com CERTIFIED MEDICAL ASSISTANT For Physician Office Practice in Macon County. Full Time; 8:30-5, Mon.-Fri. 3-5yrs Experience Preferred. Excellent Corporate Benefits. Send Resume to: resumes@ioa.com

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PET SUPPLIES & SERVICES HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329 REBEL - AT FIRST HE WAS IN POOR CONDITION & IN NEED OF NOURISHMENT. NOW HE IS THRIVING, LOVES TO PLAY WITH OTHER DOGS IN OUR PLAY GROUPS, AND ENJOYING LIFE AGAIN. HE'S READY TO MOVE ON TO A FOREVER HOME. HE'S ABOUT TWO YEARS OLD AND CAN STILL EXPRESS HIS INNER PUPPY. BONUS! HIS ADOPTION FEE HAS BEEN SPONSORED!

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KNOX - A GORGEOUS LONG-HAIRED TABBY BOY, WHO MAY BE PART MAINE COON. HE'S VERY FRIENDLY, SWEET AND CALM, AND WELCOMES HUMAN ATTENTION. HE HAS A VERY FLUFFY COAT THAT REQUIRES REGULAR BRUSHING FOR HIS GOOD HEALTH AND COMFORT.

Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm 182 Richland Street, Waynesville

COMPLETE HOME INSPECTION SERVICES

Climate Control

Security: Management on site Interier & Exterior Cameras

ALEX SMITH GARDEN DESIGN Is seeking Full-Time Gardener/ Landscaper for Scaly Mountain, NC Location. Experience desirable, but not required. Must be a Team Player and have a Positive Attitude. Must be able to Work Outside in All Kinds of Weather and be able to Lift at least 40lbs. Competitive Pay & Benefits. Driver’s License and Clean Driving Record Desired. Please Call Mark Smolarsky 828.200.0407 or Email Kristen Landfield: Kristen@AlexSmith GardenDesign.com

EMPLOYMENT

828-476-8999

Moving or Buying?

Let Us Help You.

HAYWOOD HOME INSPECTIONS

828.734.3609 | haywoodhomeinsp@gmail.com

Mike Stamey

mstamey@beverly-hanks.com

828-508-9607

Steve Mauldin

828.734.4864

smauldin@beverly-hanks.com

74 N. Main St.,Waynesville 74 NORTH MAIN ST. • WAYNESVILLE, NC

www.beverly-hanks.com

52

828.452.5809

beverly-hanks.com

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

GOT LAND? Our Hunters will Pay Top $$$ To hunt your land. Call for a FREE info packet & Quote. 1.866.309.1507 www.BaseCampLeasing.com SAPA RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT Acreage, Commercial Acreage & Combined Lots from Statesville to Lexington, NC. Online auction w/ Live Bidding Center, Oct. 23 @ 2pm, ironhorseauction.com 800.997.2248 NCAL#3936

HOMES FOR SALE BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

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1.34 acres near JAARS in Wildwood Subdivision: 7304 Davis Road, Waxhaw, NC. Call: 704.207.6023 or 704.444.0155.

REALTOR, COMMERCIAL DIVISION

828-226-1078 Jay@4Smokys.com

Your Agent. Your Neighbor.

WAYNESVILLE OFFICE:

Great Smokys Realty

COMM. PROP. FOR RENT HIGHLY VISIBLE COMMERCIAL 440 Sq. Ft. Top Level Open Space with Bathroom and Easy Access on 1301 Asheville Rd. Waynesville. Monthly Rent $550, Heat Included. Electric Separate. Call 828.452.2235 for Appointment.

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE

147 WALNUT STREET • WAYNESVILLE

828.506.7137

aspivey@sunburstrealty.com

www.sunburstrealty.com/amy-spivey

KAREN HOLLINGSED BROKER ASSOCIATE

(828) 452-5809

KHOLLINGSED@BEVERLY-HANKS.COM

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday & Thursday 8:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.

50 Duckett Cove Road, Waynesville, NC 28786

Phone# 1.828.456.6776 TDD# 1.800.725.2962 Equal Housing Opportunity

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS We Are Offering 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting From $460.00 Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

OFFICE HOURS: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm 168E Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779

Phone# 1.828.586.3346 TDD# 1.800.735.2962 Equal Housing Opportunity

Jerry Lee Mountain Realty

828.452.5809

Lakeshore Realty

• Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

$641,00

4BD/5BA 4BD 4B BD/ D/5 /5B 5BA BA - 34 349 3494 494 94 Sq Ft 4BD 4B 4BD/4BA BD/ D/4 /4B 4BA BA on on Main Mai Ma ain in Level Lev Le eve vel el 2 Bonus Boonu nus us Rooms/1BA Roo Ro oooms ms/ s/1 /1B 1BA BA Lower Low owe wer er Level Lev eve vel ell Gorg rggeou eous F Fiirreeepppllac lace in Gr Gre rreea eat Roo oom Fiirreeepplac F lace & JJaac acuzz uzzzzi in M Maaste aster BD BD Exxcel xceell xc elle leent ent en Vac acat cati atio a ioon Re Rent Ren enta ntaal Dec De Deck eck ck w/Hot w/H w/ /Ho Hoot Tub Tuub Facing Fa Fac accing inng V Viiew ieews ws Innnco com come Coomp Complete mpl ple leete Privacy Pri Pr riv iva vac acy cy on on 8.62 8.62 Acr Acrreess

BrLLocally Bruce uoca ce Own M McG cGOpe oper vatetedeedrn rn occaally Ow Owned wne ned ed & Op Operated pera rat m c g overn o v err npp ropertymgt@gmail opp err ty t y m g tt@ @ g m a i l . coo m

828-452-1519 8282 1519

Vii s ual V al T Too urr at at s h a mrr o cck13 sha kk11 3 .cco com com MLS LS## 340062 400626

RE/MAX

EXECUTIVE

Ron Breese Broker/Owner 71 North Main Street Waynesville, NC 28786 Cell: 828.400.9029 ron@ronbreese.com

www.ronbreese.com Each office independently owned & operated.

find us at: facebook.com/smnews

Mountain Creek Realty

• Ron Rosendahl - ron@mountaincreekrealestate.com

Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com • Shirley Cole - shirleycole13@gmail.com Mountain Home Properties mountaindream.com • Cindy Dubose - cdubose@mountaindream.com

McGovern Real Estate & Property Management

• Bruce McGovern - shamrock13.com RE/MAX Executive - remax-waynesvillenc.com remax-maggievalleync.com • Holly Fletcher - hollyfletcher1975@gmail.com • The Real Team - TheRealTeamNC.com • Ron Breese - ronbreese.com • Landen Stevenson- Landen@landenstevenson.com • Dan Womack - womackdan@aol.com • Mary & Roger Hansen - mwhansen@charter.net • Judy Meyers - jameyers@charter.net • David Rogers - davidr@remax-waynesvillenc.com • Marsha Block- marshablockestates@gmail.com Rob Roland Realty - robrolandrealty.com

• Rob Roland - rroland33@gmail.com Rock Realty- rockrealtyonline.com Jeff Ferguson-jeff.rockrealty@gmail.com

smokymountainnews.com

NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS

• Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com Beverly Hanks & Associates- beverly-hanks.com • Ann Eavenson - anneavenson@beverly-hanks.com • George Escaravage - gescar@beverly-hanks.com • Billie Green - bgreen@beverly-hanks.com • Michelle McElroy- michellemcelroy@beverly-hanks.com • Marilynn Obrig - mobrig@beverly-hanks.com • Steve Mauldin - smauldin@beverly-hanks.com • Brian K. Noland - brianknoland.com • Anne Page - apage@beverly-hanks.com • Brooke Parrott - bparrott@beverly-hanks.com • Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com • Catherine Proben - cproben@beverly-hanks.com • Ellen Sither - ellensither@beverly-hanks.com • Mike Stamey - mikestamey@beverly-hanks.com • Karen Hollingsed- khollingsed@beverly-hanks.com • Steve Mauldin- smauldin@beverly-hanks.com • Jerry Powell - jpowell@beverly-hanks.com • Mike Stamey - mstamey@beverly-hanks.com ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com • Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com • Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com • Pam James - pjames@sunburstrealty.com Jerry Lee Hatley- jerryhatley@bellsouth.net Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com

74 N. Main St. Waynesville, NC

Offering 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $420.00 Section 8 Accepted - Rental Assistance When Available Handicapped Accessible Units When Available

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/Great Smokys Realty - www.4Smokys.com Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate- Heritage

October 3-9, 2018

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

36 S. Main St. Waynesville

SFR, ECO, GREEN

Conveniently located off 19/23

by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160.

Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.

CAVALIER ARMS APARTMENTS

828-564-1950 www.4smokys.com

Haywood Co. Real Estate Agents

WNC MarketPlace

LEASE TO OWN 1/2 Acre Lots with Mobile Homes & Empty 1/2 Acre + Lots!

Located Next to Cherokee Indian Reservation, 2.5 Miles from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.

For More Information Please Call 828.506.0578

Jay Spiro, JD

HOMES FOR SALE

The Smoky Mountain Retreat at Eagles Nest

• Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com • Sherell Johnson - sherellwj@aol.com

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com 53

WNC MarketPlace October 3-9, 2018 www.smokymountainnews.com 54

SUPER

CROSSWORD

CRADLE OF THE MIDEAST ACROSS 1 Seasoned seaman, slangily 8 Trees that yield a chocolate substitute 14 Entry 20 Muckety-muck 21 Spain and Portugal, collectively 22 Produce 23 Start of a riddle 25 There since birth 26 Zeta-theta link 27 Longtime name in gas 28 “-- Three Lives” (‘50s TV series) 30 Sri Lankan language 31 Light unit 33 Toothpaste-endorsing org.

34 Big and oafish 36 Riddle, part 2 42 Small Aussie parakeet 43 Variety 44 Small, for short 45 Ending for baron 46 Plum lookalikes 47 Diner cuppa 49 Warms up, as leftovers 53 Riddle, part 3 59 Fighter with Fidel 60 Neighbor of Egypt 61 Retina locale 62 Italian farewells 63 Baseballer Aparicio 65 Clark of “Hee Haw” 66 Original “Hee Haw” airer 67 A fire sign 70 Threaded fastener

71 73 74 76 77 83 84 85 87 90 91 92 93 100 101 102 103 104 106 108 111 113 117 118 119 120 121 122

Pop singer Goulding Gunky stuff Perm parlor Ph.D. hopeful’s test Riddle, part 4 Pedal for a floor loom Domain 11 hours before noon Lead-in to Magnon “I’m -- loss” Bikini part Acting unthinkingly, informally End of the riddle Cry to a good dog 18-wheeler “I -- Say No” (show tune) Cheese-topped chip Help to do wrong Jiggly treat Real heel Torino locale Riddle’s answer Stop, legally “Seinfeld” gal pal Via E! or FX Will concern Prison boss Harmful flies

DOWN 1 Boy of Mayberry 2 Place for hay 3 “A little dab’ll --” 4 “Shameless” airer, briefly 5 Aladdin’s monkey pal 6 City in southeast Wyoming 7 Big Apple opera house

8 9 10

U.S. prez, militarily “Peek- --, I see you!”

Kylo -- (Darth Vader’s grandson) 11 Tater Tots brand 12 Sch. locale with microscopes 13 In no danger 14 Foe of Spinks 15 NBA position 16 Rabbinical mysticism 17 Descendant of Esau 18 Bowling aims 19 Having only daughters 24 Skye of films 29 Bad boy in “The Omen” 31 Raced in a certain sled 32 Big IT company 33 Biblical boat 35 Eastern rice dish 36 Half a fl. oz.

37 Hilo dance 38 “Modern Family” actor 39 Sofa type 40 Writer Paton 41 Grades K-12 47 Karate relative 48 “Scram!”

49 Light units 50 Vegas-to-Denver dir.

51 Tic- -- -toe board 52 Peeved state 54 “-- Mutual Friend” 55 Football’s Tim 56 Ensnarl 57 Concert itinerary detail 58 Bone: Prefix 59 Musical score symbol 64 River buildup 66 Manage

67 68 69 72 73 74 75 78 79 80 81 82 86 87 88 89 91 92 94 95 96 97 98 99 105 106 107 108 109 110 112 114 115 116

Not on time Lioness in “Born Free” “How lovely!”

ENT part Hair stiffener Singer McLachlan Political columnist Peggy 1954-77 defense gp.

Sister of Tito Jackson Hard cheese Singer Corey Not fitting Labor Day, e.g.: Abbr.

Whodunit poison stuff Goes around One rejected Seek alms Cincinnati citizens, say Mexican bloom Certain reed player Ring of the iris Build-it-yourself auto Rights group, for short Actor Lyle or actress Nita Percolate Mrs. Jetson Idyllic garden Airport waiters?

Fit for the job Hair colorers Gobbled up Lad or lass Road hazard Belfry animal

ANSWERS ON PAGE 48

FINANCIAL BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company.

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Handmade in Haywood County. 1 for $20, 2 or More for $15 each.

828.593.8321

WANTED TO BUY FREON R12 WANTED: Certified Buyer Will Pay Ca$H For R12 Cylinders Or Cases Of Cans.

Call 312.291.9169 or email: www.refrigerantfinders.com

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 48 the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

SERVICES EARTHLINK High Speed Internet. As Low As $14.95/month (for the first 3 months.) Reliable High Speed Fiber Optic Technology. Stream Videos, Music and More! Call Earthlink Today 1.866.887.0237

YARD SALES BIG MOVING SALE THIS WEEKEND Sat. & Sun. 10a.m.-4p.m. Located Corner of Russ Ave & Mooney Cove.

Mens/Womens/Kids New & Used Clothes, Shoes, Kitchen, Garden & Much More! For more info call 828.316.7728 MULTI-FAMILY YARD SALE Saturday Oct. 6th, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

111 Westwood Circle, Hazlewood.

Antique Dishes, Jewelry, Computer Games, Tools and So Much More!

Come let one of our Old Treasures Become Your New Treasure!

YARD SALE Oct. 6th, 9a.m. -4p.m. 880 University Heights, Cullowhee. Estate of Golfer/Fisherman, Plenty of Tools & Household Items + Much More!

HAYWOOD CO. FAIRGROUNDS Lower Building, Partial Garage & Living Estate Sale Sat. Oct. 6th, 7a.m. - 1p.m.

Rain or Shine, there is Sure to be Something for Everyone!

Presented by Frog Pond Estate Sales & Downsizing

Oil Nut, that most curious fruit

F

BACK THEN also known as buffalo nut, elk nut and tallow nut.

In floodplains and upland woods, oil nut thrives in the mountains from southern Pennsylvania to Georgia and Alabama. It bears inconspicuous small greenish flowers from late April through May. The leaves are prominently veined, alternate, deciduous, and Columnist lance-shaped, often being long-pointed at their tips. When it’s not in fruit, I recognize the plant by the distinctive apple-green color of these leaves. It’s the only species of the genus Pyrularia found in the western hemisphere — the other three being natives of southeastern Asia.

In late summer and fall, oil nut displays a pear-shaped fruit that’s an eye-catcher. It contains a single round brownish nut about the size of a marble. The green exterior husk is mealy and oily, while the interior of the nut consists of meat about the color and consistency of that found inside an acorn.

The common names oil nut and tallow

nut suggest that the fruit might provide a substance that would burn. And this is supported by S.B. Buckley, a botanist who roamed the Blue Ridge during the nineteenth century, who wrote that the fruit is “so oily that it will burn like a candle if a wick be drawn through it.”

In John Lyon, Nurseryman and Plant Hunter, and His Journal, 1799-1814 (1963), botanical historians Joesph and Nesta Ewan

George Ellison

or Elizabeth and me, the fall season is one of the most invigorating times to get out in the woods and prowl around. Many of the most beautiful wildflowers found in the Blue Ridge, especially the lobelias and gentians, are then coming into their own. And most of the others are in their fruiting stages. The transition from flower to fruit (or seed) is both logical and enjoyable. The varied fruiting forms — which run the gamut from drupes, berries, and pomes to follicles, utricles, loments, and legumes to capsules, achenes, samaras, and nuts — are as attractive and intricate in their own way as any wildflower. And they are, after all, the grand finales of the germination-flowering-pollination cycle.

Some plants are more conspicuous in their flowering form while others stand out when they produce fruit. The latter would include doll’s-eyes, hearts-a-bustin’ or strawberry bush, virgin’s bower, sumac, carrion vine, pokeberry, sassafras, chinquapin, foxtail, wild oats, bittersweet, winterberry, American holly, mountain ash, ginseng, nightshade, wild yam and many others. A peculiar instance is oil nut (Pyrularia pubera), a fairly large shrub in the Sandalwood Family (Santalaceae).

During every fall season, I have several people contact me to ask, “What is the name of that plant with the curious little green fruits that resemble pears?” Answer: oil nut,

made some interesting observations about the botanical interest in oil nut during the nineteenth century: William Hamilton, for whom Muhlenberg named the oil-nut Hamiltonia oleifera, and B.S. Barton were interested in the product, and perhaps Lyon may have hoped to find a large

enough quantity to merchandise the nuts, which sometimes attain the size of a ‘musket ball.’

F.A. Michaux sought and found Pyrularia a short distance from West Liberty Town, near the plantation of Mr. Patrick Archibald in western Pennsylvania in July, 1802 . . . Michaux describes how his father (Andre Michaux) had discovered the shrub fifteen years previously in the mountains of South Carolina, but had been unsuccessful in growing it in cultivation.

In Cherokee Plants: Their Uses — A 400 Year History (1975), Paul B. Hamel and Mary C. Chiltoskey recorded that the early Cherokees called the plant “colic ball” in reference to the inner nut, which was chewed so as “to make vomit for colic.” They also prepared a salve from the fruit that was reputed to cure “old sores.”

Although oil nut quite obviously produces its own chlorophyll, it is partially parasitic, deriving water and minerals from the rootstock of several hosts in the plant communities where it grows, primarily various hardwood trees and shrubs. It has also been identified as a potential parasite on Fraser fir trees, when they are grown at lower elevations to be sold as Christmas trees.

(George Ellison is a naturalist and writer.

He can be reached at info@georgeellison.com.)

October 3-9, 2018 Smoky Mountain News 55

October 3-9, 2018 Smoky Mountain News

UPCOMING SHOWS:

NOVEMBER 8

NOVEMBER 16

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