Smoky Mountain News | October 23, 2019

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

October 23-29, 2019 Vol. 21 Iss. 21

Cherokee passes budget, won’t release document Page 17 Residents complain about commissioner’s absence Page 18

CONTENTS

STAFF

On the Cover: The number of homeless and transient people in Haywood County has increased in recent years, and many residents are placing the blame on Haywood Pathways Center for attracting these folks along with related crimes.

The Smoky Mountain News aims to distinguish fact from fiction in this latest article about homelessness. Frog Level Historic District of Waynesville. Photo by Cory Vaillancourt

News

CLASSIFIEDS: NEWS EDITOR: WRITING:

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).

Two launch write-in campaigns for Sylva board ........................................................4 No contested races in Bryson City ................................................................................5 Waynesville aldermen candidates step up ..................................................................8 Eight candidates run for Franklin board ....................................................................12 Cherokee passes budget, won’t release document ..............................................17 Jackson residents complain about Luker’s absence ..............................................18 Health News ......................................................................................................................21

ACCOUNTING & OFFICE MANAGER: DISTRIBUTION: CONTRIBUTING:

Opinion

WAYNESVILLE | 144 Montgomery, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585

Wide-ranging coverage, spirited opinions ................................................................22

CONTACT SYLVA | 629 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779 P: 828.631.4829 | F: 828.631.0789

A&E Beloved Missouri blues-rock act to play Water’n Hole ..........................................22

Outdoors Hemp testing begins in Asheville ................................................................................40

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SUBSCRIPTIONS

Back Then Kephart Prong Trail has a unique story ......................................................................54

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Two launch write-in campaigns for Sylva board

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ith early voting already underway and the Nov. 5 election just around the corner, two Sylva residents have declared their intention to run as write-in candidates for a seat on the town commission.

Because write-in candidates’ names do not appear on the actual ballot, it is rare for them to win election. But sometimes they do — in 2010, Alaskans elected write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski to represent them in the U.S. Senate, making Murkowski the first senator to win a write-in campaign since Sen. Strom Thurmond got South Carolina’s vote in 1954.

In a small, close-knit community like Sylva, where people tend to know each other and ballot counts are low, a write-in victory is certainly possible. Candidates needed fewer than 200 votes to win a seat in 2015, when David Nestler became the top vote-getter with 182 votes and Greg McPherson edged Charlie Schmidt by winning a coin toss after both men received 63 votes. Sylva currently has 1,521 registered voters, and if turnout is similar to the 17 percent recorded in 2015, fewer than 300 will cast a ballot.

Both write-ins said concerns about the N.C. 107 project contributed to their decision to run. Many community members have spoken out against the plans due to the large number of businesses expected to relocate as a result. But, according to N.C. Department of Transportation Division Engineer Brian Burch, halting the project now would require votes from the Southwestern Commission’s Transportation Advisory Commission and the N.C. Department of Transportation Board of Transportation. That would kill the project and remove its funding, meaning it would take at least 10 more years to address traffic issues on N.C. 107.

The two write-in candidates are throwing themselves into an already crowded field seeking one of three board seats. The ballot will list Danny Allen, Ben Guiney, Luther Jones, Carrie McBane, Greg McPherson and David Nestler as voters’ choices.

Commissioners elected in 2019 will serve through 2023.

What do you think of town leadership’s current direction?

Newman doesn’t have any deep criticism of the existing town leadership but believes that in all things there’s room for new ideas and different perspectives.

October 23-29, 2019

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Smoky Mountain News

CHARLIE BEAM Beam, 45, has dedicated his professional life to helping people in recovery from substance abuse. He is a harm reduction peer support specialist with the Western North Carolina AIDS Project, runs a ministry through Webster Baptist Church and is registered as a substance abuse counselor.

Originally from Columbus, Georgia, he has lived in Sylva for four years.

Reason to run: “I just fear this road construction is going to affect the businesses along East Main Street. I thought there would be more candidates in there coming out against it, but since there wasn’t I decided to jump in and see 4 what I could do.”

What are your ideas for increasing Sylva’s housing inventory?

The town must be open to any ideas for boosting the existing housing inventory, and incentives will likely play a key role. When offering incentives, said Newman, the town board must ensure developers have the best interests of Sylva at heart and are planning to charge rates affordable to existing residents.

Charlie Beam

Natalie Newman

Top three priorities: Preventing the current N.C. 107 plans from being carried out; opening up new treatment options for people with mental health and substance abuse issues; increasing the amount of low-income housing available.

sit down with the people of Sylva and see if there might be a better way to do it, he said.

“I think something better could be come up with than what they have now,” he said.

What do you think of town leadership’s current direction?

Overall, Beam is happy with the town’s current leadership, but he doesn’t believe the board has addressed the N.C. 107 issue adequately. The plans as presented should not

“I just fear this road construction is going to affect the businesses along East Main Street.”

— Charlie Beam

have been approved, he said, and commissioners should have worked harder to come up with other options.

“The leadership’s awesome just other than trying to approve this roadwork,” said Beam.

“I have nothing negative against Sylva at all. I love Sylva.”

What are your ideas for increasing Sylva’s housing inventory?

While he doesn’t have an answer to that yet, Beam has been actively looking at models being used in Asheville and Haywood County to see how other communities are handling the issue.

What is your position on the proposed N.C. 107 plans?

Beam opposes the plans as presented and would support either changing them drastically or scrapping them completely. The plan as presented will be detrimental to people who live in town and travel that road every day — whoever is designing the road should

What policies would you support to mitigate impacts from the N.C. 107 project?

While he doesn’t have an answer to that question at the moment, Beam believes that the town should be meeting with the business owners and others who will be directly affected by the outcome.

Do you foresee a property tax increase resulting from road project impacts?

Beam would oppose a property tax increase and believes the town can make up for roadrelated tax shortfalls in other ways. However, he does think that the road will have a longterm negative impact on Sylva’s tax rolls.

NATALIE NEWMAN At 27, Newman is the youngest person seeking a seat on the town board. She has lived in Western North Carolina since 2012 and purchased a home in Sylva in 2015.

Holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western Carolina University, she owns Regina Nicole Boutique + Beauty Bar and works full time as a leasing consultant at Mill House Properties. Newman hails from Roxboro but said her flag is firmly planted in Sylva.

Reason to run: “I definitely had some encouragement from local people that I talked to here. They said if you want to make a difference, run for town council. I didn’t want to miss that opportunity.”

Top three priorities: Change the current plan for N.C. 107; create a more collaborative relationship between the town board and the community it serves; better direct local resources to people who need them, whether that be small business owners, the elderly or the underprivileged.

What is your position on the proposed N.C. 107 plans?

Newman opposes the plans as presented and believes that they must be either amended to reduce impacts or scrapped completely.

If improvements did have to be delayed for a significant period of time, in the interim the road could be made safer through alternative options like adding traffic lights and decreasing the speed limit.

“I think we need to continue to push TWSA and the DOT to do what is right by the people of Sylva.”

— Natalie Newman

“I think that the current plans are going to cause more harm than good,” she said. “I really believe that our local economy is in a really good place right now, and it’s growing, and we’re seeing new businesses open. I think this project is really going to throw a wrench in that.”

What policies would you support to mitigate impacts from the N.C. 107 project?

Newman is not ready to give up on getting a better plan but sees a role for policies in softening the blow.

“I really don’t want to accept that there’s nothing to be done, but if all else fails I think there is a lot that can be done to help those businesses and those affected by the project,” she said. “I think we need to continue to push TWSA (Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority) and the DOT to do what is right by the people of Sylva, and I think we need to continue working with local resources that are there to help people.”

Do you foresee a property tax increase resulting from road project impacts?

Sylva can hold steady without a tax increase, Newman said, but some adjustments might be necessary to make that work.

She hopes that the road project, whatever version of it is actually implemented, would cause only a short term rather than a longterm negative impact to the town’s finances.

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Fire ban lifted in the Smokies After being banned since Sept. 26, backcountry campfires are once more allowed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as of Tuesday, Oct. 22.

Rains and cooler temperatures over the last couple of weeks have consistently lowered drought severity ratings and fire danger throughout the park, leading to this management decision.

However, much of the park is still within the moderate drought category, the lowest drought category used by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Visitors should take care to ensure that all fires remain within designated campfire rings and grills and to extinguish fires by mixing

water with embers in fire rings and grills.

Backpackers should be aware that drought conditions affect the availability of water at springs at backcountry campsites and shelters throughout the park. At some locations where there is a running spring, it can take more than five minutes to fill a quart-sized bottle.

Many of the springs in the higher elevations are running significantly slower than normal at this time and the following backcountry campsites are currently known to be without water: 5, 13, 16, 26, Russel Field Shelter and Mollies Ridge Shelter.

New drought maps are released every Thursday and available at droughtmonitor.unl.edu. The park’s backcountry office is available at 865.436.1297.

Taste of Local Ingles in Asheville

151 Smokey Park Hwy., Asheville Thursday, October 24 • 3-6 p.m.

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Asheville Pretzel • Carolina Bee (honey) City Bakery Breads Crooked Condiments (apple butter, mustard and more) Echoview Fiber Mill (dryer balls) • Firewalker Hot Sauce Hickory Nut Gap Meats, Meat Sticks and Sausage Lusty Monk Mustard Munki Foods (trail mixes and granolas) Smiling Hara Tempeh Sunshine Sammies Ice Cream Sandwiches Sunny Creek Sprouts • Vegetable Kingdom (soups) AND MORE!

Smoky Mountain News

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October 23-29, 2019

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR he mayor of Bryson City and two alderr men seats are up for election this year d but all three seats will be uncontested. n n Two-term Mayor Tom Sutton is running t unopposed for a third term; Alderman Heidi Ramsey-Woodard is seeking a second term and local attorney and accountant Chad Smith is seeking his first term unopposed.

That’s a change of pace from the last two municipal elections in the small town of d about 1,500 people. During the 2017 election, three challengers signed up to run against the two incumbents seeking another term. In 2015, four challengers ran against two incumbents for two open seats on the board and Sutton was challenged by Catherine Cuthberson. Most of the challengers have been younger business owners wanting to have better representation on the “aging” board.

“The interesting thing — and I hope this doesn’t offend someone — is how the board has gotten younger over my years in office.

When I was first elected at 53, I was almost the youngest on the board and now, if I’m reelected, I’ll be the oldest and I’m only 60,” said Mayor Tom Sutton. “The younger folks have really gotten active in local government. We’re very fortunate to have the young people in this town put their money where their mouth is.” y Indeed, the younger thriving downtown d business community wanted more say in the decisions being made for the town and they’ve seen some successes. Ben King, 30 year-old co-owner of Bryson City Outdoors, was elected to the board back in 2017, replacing incumbent Rick Bryson. In 2015, Ramsey-Woodard, who at the time worked g n

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No contested races in Bryson City

for the Swain County Chamber of Commerce, was able to unseat incumbent Kate Welch.

“We’re all getting along great,” Sutton said of the board. “We still have some controversies but it’s usually a bi-product of success like not enough parking. We have a lot of growth going on in town — a brand new hotel being built and new businesses.”

The bickering between the town and the local business community has calmed down over the last several years, which has allowed the board to focus on making steady progress on infrastructure issues, mainly water and sewer improvements to an antiquated system.

“We’ve done a lot of infrastructure work and we’ve still got a lot of infrastructure work to go,” Sutton said. “We’re working on plans for a new or improved wastewater treatment plant. An evaluation is being done to see what we’ll need.”

During Sutton’s last two terms, he’s worked with four town managers. Longtime manager Larry Callicutt announced his retirement in 2015 and was replaced by Josh Ward. Ward only stayed on a year before taking the town manager position in Highlands. Bryson City then hired Chad Simons, a Swain County native who had been working as the town clerk in Franklin.

However, Simons only stayed a year before he was hired as the town manager in Murphy.

Sutton and the board finally feel like they found a manager that was a good fit and would stick around a little longer when they hired Regina Mathis in early 2018. Before joining the town, Mathis, also a Swain County native, had been in public education for 30 years.

“It’s been a busy eight years and this is the fourth manager I’ve worked with. We got lucky though — hiring Regina Mathis is probably the story of the year for me. She’s been a great fit for town manager,” he said.

The town also just hired a new police chief to replace retiring Chief Greg Jones.

Charlie Robinson, who has been a lieutenant with the Swain County Sheriff ’s Department for 12 years, will take over the position sometime in November.

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Homeless in Haywood Facts, fantasies, half-truths and hogwash

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER hen she showed up at Haywood Pathways Center, the woman and her young daughter had been homeless for three years. After three months’ residence in the new women and children’s dorm, the pair recently became the first family to leave it for a home of their own.

“We got them into in-home counseling so they could work on their relationship, and continued mental health and addiction treatment,” said Mandy Haithcox, executive director of Pathways. “They got connected with a couple of different churches so they have some positive support networks that they didn’t have before, and we connected them with a voucher program that got them the ability to have a house.”

That’s what Pathways does — provides a temporary landing spot and addresses the physical, mental, spiritual, financial and bureaucratic obstacles preventing some people in our community from living productive, peaceful lives and remaining free from the vicious cycle of incarceration that costs taxpayers almost $80 per person, per night.

Much, though, has been said of late about what Pathways, Open Door Ministry and community organizations like them supposedly do. Or don’t do.

This being an election year (See WAYNESVILLE, page 8) a series of anecdotes, claims and queries have swirled about social media questioning the role of these organizations, and the effects they may have on the county as a whole.

Several claims in particular seem to be shouted the loudest — which doesn’t necessarily mean they’re true — so in an effort to enrich the discussion with facts, figures and faces, here’s a quick look at those claims, what might be behind them and what’s actually “fake news.”

Because Facebook seems to be driving the discussion, each of these claims is accompanied by a handy Facebook emoji, to make comprehension quick and easy.

October 23-29, 2019

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Smoky Mountain News

Lately it seems that there are more people in our community who appear homeless.

If Pathways was the full measure of homelessness and hunger in Haywood County — it’s not — this claim appears to be true. Still, Pathways does serve as a solid indicator of need in Haywood County.

According to stats provided by Pathways, in 2017 the nonprofit provided more than 7,000 person-nights of shelter. In 2018, that grew to more than 17,000 nights. At the time, there were 36 beds for men and 24 for women in two separate dorms.

Through September of 2019, Pathways had already surpassed 14,000 nights, without 6 data from the last three cold months of the

year when numbers tend to climb. Even at the current rate, Pathways will probably have provided around 10 percent more nights of shelter in 2019 than in 2018.

The addition of the new women and children’s dorm this past June, with a capacity of around 36, certainly adds to those numbers, but the fact that it’s not going unused and has already “graduated” at least one family to independent living means the need is there. A dedicated space for women and children is indeed a rare commodity in Western North Carolina, and is as much the result of poverty, drug addiction and mental illness as it is domestic violence.

“This year, we’ve gotten to a point where we were full in the beginning of October,” Haithcox said. “That didn’t happen last year until probably December. So it’s happening sooner.”

Mental health and drug issues are obviously to blame for much of the problem, but so is the county’s ongoing affordable housing crisis.

“We’ve had several folks who have lost housing and have nowhere to move to,” she said. “A handful of those folks are people who rented a place without a lease and then the landlord said, ‘You’ve got to go.’ There’s nowhere to go.”

Every person who appears homeless is somehow affiliated with Pathways.

It’s 8 p.m. in Canton and a person clearly suffering from mental issues is causing trouble? Pathways. Used syringes in a Soco Mountain scenic overlook parking lot?

Pathways. Saturday morning in Frog Level and someone gets stabbed? Pathways.

Homeless camp on Richland Creek?

Pathways. Pre-dawn breaking and entering at Central Elementary? Pathways. Right?

Wrong. Pathways isn’t just a temporary shelter, it’s a Christ-centered multi-week program. Residents can stay up to six or seven months if they follow the rules, help with chores and make active progress towards rectifying whatever situations left them with no better option than a homeless shelter.

The goal at Pathways isn’t getting people in — it’s getting them out.

The first requirement for admittance is an eight-panel drug and alcohol screen.

Although some exceptions are made for THC because it remains in the body longer, people who test positive for other drugs or who show up visibly intoxicated aren’t admitted. Nor are sex offenders.

Random drug testing continues throughout a resident’s time at Pathways, and violations hold consequences up to and including dismissal from the facility. Residents must also work toward acquiring jobs and pay a nominal fee for their stay.

But those malingerers people seem to complain about the most?

Not Pathways. Not even close. People

Complaints about vagrancy are nothing new in Waynesville. Cory Vaillancourt photo have been banned from the facility in the past for violating the rules, and previous reportage in The Smoky Mountain News — coupled with testimonies from law enforcement, social services and elected officials — indicate there is a population of people who are “service resistant,” for whatever reason.

They don’t want help, they don’t think they need help or they can’t stop using drugs long enough to get help.

“Our curfew is 5:30 p.m. every day, seven days a week, and the only reason you can be out after that is if you’re at work and we have your work schedule,” said Haithcox. “A lot of people really just think that we’re here for shelter and a meal and good luck to you for the rest of the day, but it’s really not that kind of shelter at all.”

There is, however, one significant deviation from the policy. It’s called cold grace, and it happens any time the temperature drops below 32 degrees.

“For cold grace, we don’t really do drug screens because it’s really just about not freezing to death,” Haitcox said. “As long as you aren’t a threat to yourself or to other people, you can come in.”

Cold grace stays are usually brief. Last year Pathways provided roughly 320 personnights of shelter for cold grace, compared to more than 17,000 nights in the stringent residency program.

Waynesville is listed on a website as a good place to be homeless.

Another persistent claim is that somewhere, out there, on the internet, is a website that specifically directs people of limited means to pick up and make their way to Waynesville.

While it’s nearly impossible to prove something does not exist — see “Bertrand Russell’s teapot” — no one has been able to find such a website or online article directing homeless people to Haywood County.

“Yeah, I’ve never seen it and I’ve spent a lot of time looking for it,” Haithcox said.

“Now, there are general shelter directories

where people copy and paste your info right from your web page, but I have never been able to find this website that says we’re the best place to be homeless.”

Research conducted by SMN says that there are no good places to be homeless, but with the internet as a guide, the “best” cities to be homeless in are those with a far more temperate climate than this mountainous region of Southern Appalachia, or larger cities with far more services than Haywood County can provide, like bigger shelters and public transportation.

Based on those two factors, websites consistently name Austin, Berkeley, Boston, Key West, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., as the finest environs for the nation’s more discerning members of the underclass.

Law enforcement agencies from other counties deliver the needy to the Open Door, or to Pathways, by the busload.

Yet another persistent rumor that by testimonial appears false and by logic appears improbable is that municipal governments or law enforcement agencies round people up, herd them into vans, and remove them from their jurisdictions just to be rid of them.

“I’ve heard the rumor,” Haithcox said.

“I’ve never seen it happen.”

Haithcox added that she’d never seen a van pull up to Pathways and drop off a group of people from inside or outside Haywood County, and that she’d never learned from a resident that they’d been dumped in Haywood County to fend for themselves, only to find Pathways.

The same rumor has been leveled at Frog Level — vans drop them off. Cops bring them from other counties. Just to be rid of them.

“I cannot speak to incidents of surrounding county law enforcement agencies ‘dropping off ’ individuals in Haywood County for the sole purpose of utilizing Pathways,” Sheriff Greg Christopher said. “I can tell you, however, this particu-

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The homeless and the hungry are drawn to Waynesville from outside the county because of the generous services provided by Pathways and

Following a stabbing incident in Frog Level on Oct. 18, Frog Level Brewing will host a public forum to talk about community issues including but not limited to homelessness and hunger. The event is free and open to the public. FLB owner Clark Williams said all Waynesville candidates said they’d attend. The forum will be moderated by SMN Staff Writer Cory Vaillancourt.

• Date: Tuesday, Oct. 29 • Time: 6:30 p.m.

• Location: Frog Level Brewing 56 Commerce Street, Waynesville that 90-day residency — a piece of mail, or documentation by a social service agency, or even an independent verification.

“We had somebody working at a fast food restaurant for six months living in their car, so they didn’t have any way to prove it,” said Haithcox. “We talked to their employer."

Cut and dry but not — Pathways data from 2018 shows that 78 percent of residents in the program were from Haywood County, not counting the cold grace program, which in addition to dropping drug screens in favor of saving lives also drops residency requirements.

Haithcox has a good reason for why that 78 percent will probably never be 100 percent.

“If somebody shows up and it’s someone who is cognitively impaired and it’s not going to be safe for them to be out on the street and they can’t take care of themselves and they’re not from here, it’s not the right thing to do to push them out,” she said. “Our goal then would be, stay here and let us figure out how to get you to where you need to be.”

In addition to the 78 percent of Haywood residents who stayed at Pathways in 2018, another 15 percent were from within the State of North Carolina, and 7 percent were from other states.

Of that 78 percent native population, 17 percent of it came from Canton, 14 percent came from Clyde, 6 percent came from Maggie Valley, 1 percent from Lake Junaluska, and the remainder — more than 60 percent — came from Waynesville.

Through Oct. 15 of this year, the percentage of Haywood residents had risen dramatically to 93 percent.

Smoky Mountain News

the Open Door.

This may be one of the most controversial claims made, but relevant data suggests it’s probably not true.

In addition to the chores and the curfew and the rules and the sobriety requirements at Pathways, there’s also a residency requirement.

“The mission of the Pathways Center is focused on serving those who live in Haywood County,” said Sheriff Christopher, who with a coalition of community organizations turned the disused prison into Pathways back in 2014. “My specific mission has been and continues to be helping those who come directly from the detention center to the Pathways Center and are in need of assistance and help, which will hopefully keep them from reoffending and being arrested again.”

Christopher’s anti-recidivism experiment has been successful. Before Pathways opened he told SMN that general recidivism in the detention center was above 80 percent. In 2016, those released from detention into Pathways reoffended at only half that rate.

To maintain Christopher’s local focus, Pathways has a policy that requires residency in Haywood County for at least 90 days prior to admission.

“It’s cut and dry except it’s not,” Haithcox said. “To the best of our ability, we try to make sure that people who are staying with us are from Haywood County in the sense that even if they weren’t born here, they have some sort of established presence here.”

That’s a complex proposition when dealing with a service population that by definition doesn’t really have a permanent address.

“First, what we’ll do is ask for an ID,” she said. “Most people have an ID of some sort.

We’ll look to see when it was issued, so even if it says Haywood County but was issued in September and this is October, then clearly you’ve not been here.”

Absent an ID, there are still ways in which potential Pathways residents can establish

Community forum

“We’ve tightened up our policy in a couple of different ways,” said Haithcox. “When we get referrals from hospitals and treatment centers, we make sure on the front end before they show up that we’ve spoken with the referring entity to find out if they are Haywood County residents or not.”

Above and beyond the 93 percent of Pathways residents who are from Haywood County, 5 percent were from within North Carolina and just 2 percent were from other states.

During that same time frame, Canton’s share of Pathways residents climbed from 17 to 22 percent. So did Clyde’s, from 14 to 16 percent. Maggie Valley dropped from 6 to 5 percent, and Waynesville declined to 57 percent.

Although the Open Door is a separate entity from Pathways, they see the same clientele and complement each other in a way that makes them nearly inseparable.

Anything that’s been said about Pathways has also been said about the Open Door, including that their reputations draw people from far and wide.

On the morning of Sunday, Oct. 20, just 24 hours after a domestic dispute between a Waynesville couple led to a Frog Level stabbing during one of Waynesville’s biggest festivals, SMN went to the Open Door and interviewed every single diner, asking one simple question — how long have you been in Haywood County?

Of the 21, 10 of them were born and bred Haywood County natives. Of the 11 who were not originally from here, the average length of their residency was 19.4 years.

They arrived in 1965, and in 1981. In 1992, and 1994. In 2000, and 2005 and 2006.

In 2017, and 2018, and 2019.

The 2017 gal just wandered here, but is from the region anyhow. The 2018 guy came here from Atlanta, because his sister brought him. The 2019 guy who’s been here four months came because he fell in love with one of the born and bred.

Another one of those born and bred, a mid-40ish white male we’ll call Stanley, has suffered from a mental disability all his life. He isn’t homeless, and said he’s getting enough therapy and medication, but his disability checks aren’t enough to make ends meet.

“I don’t have any money for food,” he replied when asked why he was in the Open Door that Sunday, enjoying a plate of green beans, rice and fried chicken donated by Kentucky’s finest Colonel.

Stanley had heard the rumors too, about the vans and the “outsiders” and the notion that the Open Door and Pathways — where he also regularly eats — were drawing people to the area. He told SMN they’re not true, and he also told SMN what would happen if either of them suddenly ceased to exist.

“I’d probably starve to death.”

October 23-29, 2019

My tax dollars are being used to draw the homeless and the hungry to Haywood County.

Right now, Pathways operates on a budget of d about $650,000 a year.

“It’s mostly staffing costs,” said Haithcox. “We y employ 20 people now — 13 are full time and seven g are part time.”

Last year and in preceding years the budget was on the order of about $400,000, but with the addition of the new women and chilr dren’s dorm, costs have increased in line with expanded capacity, so the budget remains relatively flat, pound for pound.

“Generally, churches are about 30 percent

of that, individuals are about 30 percent and businesses are about 10 to 20 percent,” Haithcox said of Pathways’ funding streams.

“The rest is grants and random.”

Historically, Pathways receives a $4,000 special appropriation from the Town of Waynesville, as do other area nonprofits in varying amounts. The contribution accounts for about two-thirds of 1 percent of Pathways’ annual budget and as such funds operations for exactly 2.25 days a year.

That $4,000 appropriation also represents .012 percent of the town’s $33 million budget for 2019.

To answer the question of how much of your taxes help support Pathways, if you live within Waynesville town limits and own a home assessed at the county’s median price of $139,700, you pay almost 7 cents a month.

If you live anywhere else in Haywood County, you pay even less than that — nothing.

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lar rumor has led me to have conversations with several nearby law enforcement agencies to make sure this does not happen.”

Not only will it not happen, but Christopher said he’s not aware of it ever happening.

“As to another rumor that has circulated for the last three years, there has not been an eyewitness I have found or spoken to who actually saw a Georgia State Prison bus dropping off someone at Pathways,” he said. “If that was to ever occur, I would immediately address the issue or contact the appropriate agency head within the jurisdiction to address the issue.”

Even the thought of shuffling troublemakers from city to city or county to county seems preposterous — akin to a reverse trade war, unbridled banishments would result in retaliation from other jurisdictions.

Buncombe County will see our six, and raise us 66. Swain sends Haywood three, Haywood sends Swain 13. The only person who benefits from all that is the gas station owner.

Some of the confusion may stem from busing — many local churches offer to pick t up and drop off worshippers, no matter their locale, and Pathways used to coordinate such pickups for its residents.

Those transport trips had nothing to do t with people who hadn’t already passed t Pathways’ screening process and adhered to its rigorous rulebook, but they ended about a year ago because logistical challenges warranted on-campus services. r People are drawn to d Pathways but aren’t immed diately accepted and end up hanging around waiting to get in, causing trouble. y During pleasant summer months, Pathways only runs at about 75 percent capacity because it’s neither unbearable nor deadly to sleep outside, as it can sometimes be in this, the highest county east of the Mississippi River.

During the winter, the occupancy rate rises above 90 percent. Pathways isn’t always full but when it is, it’s only full for a few days as people cycle in and cycle out. t “Even if we’re completely full, that only lasts d one or two nights. So they’re not waiting three months,” Haithcox said. “If someone’s already a resident of Haywood County and they’re waitd ing for shelter, they’re not waiting 90 days.”

Editor’s note: The first person who can provide irrefutable evidence of a website (not a shelter guide, not a random comment in a thread by some unidentified source, but an actual publication specifically naming Waynesville) directing homeless people to Haywood County or provide evidence of a Pathways convoy will see a $100 donation made in their name to the social service agency of their choice, by SMN. 7

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Waynesville aldermen candidates step up

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER ike much of the United States in 2015, the Town of Waynesville was still straining to stand up straight after the Great Recession of 2008 knocked it knobby-kneed; although Western North Carolina suffered less and recovered quicker, erasing a decade’s worth of economic growth comes with consequences — declining property values, a general economic malaise and few forward strides taken.

Under the watchful eyes of professorial longtime Mayor Gavin Brown and fellow veteran public servants Gary Caldwell and LeRoy Roberson, a new alderman, tech entrepreneur Jon Feichter, and a returning first-term alderman, Julia Boyd Freeman, stepped into the fold.

After losing a hard-fought battle to merge with Lake Junaluska and then firing a town manager in early 2016, some questioned the town’s pursuit of “progress with vision” — the very motto emblazoned on municipal branding.

It wouldn’t be long, though, until the Waynesville Board of Aldermen began addressing a series of issues that really needed some attention. All of them indicated that growth was just around the corner.

They clarified food truck regulations in response to a first-of-its kind situation, hired a new town manager with substantial development experience and added to the town’s park acreage.

They defended the Municipal Service District from potential defectors and defended Walnut Street from NCDOT plans to decimate the quaint quarter, underscoring the importance of the town’s ethos, and activism.

They fostered the appearance of a major grocery store to Russ Avenue and updated Sunday brunch alcohol ordinances at the request of local brewers and distillers.

They added a unique inclusive playground for children with special needs and made substantial progress on a long-term greenway project.

They amended zoning standards to permit much-needed multi-family housing off Plott Creek, and began a long-term comprehensive plan update.

This year alone, they’ve taken concrete steps to address blight in the vicinity of the Historic Haywood Hospital, which will soon become affordable housing for veterans and the elderly. They’ve also been instrumental in shepherding the infill development of an old grocery store near the town’s retail core into another multifamily housing endeavor.

Perhaps most importantly, they recently procured a zero interest long-term loan to pay for a new sewer plant that will shore up a 8 failing system that serves just 10,000 resi-

Smoky Mountain News

October 23-29, 2019

L

dents, but hundreds of thousands of tourists.

They did all of while raising property taxes from 43.82 cents per $100 of assessed value to 49.57 cents, but 4 cents of that was used to hire eight badly needed firefighters and the rest likely due to a disappointing property revaluation that saw property values remain flat.

Waynesville’s governing board is unique in that it doesn’t have staggered terms. Every four years, every member of the board, and the mayor, comes up for nonpartisan election. This year is that year.

Brown is running for re-election as mayor. Caldwell is challenging him, and will lose his alderman seat either way. Roberson, Feichter and Freeman are running for reelection, and are challenged by three others for a total of six aldermanic candidates.

Voters at the polls may choose up to four.

Lawyer Chuck Dickson has significant experience as a town attorney, is active in Haywood’s NAACP and also advocates for autistic children.

Joey Reece spent his career in various U.S. states as a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency official, and recently returned to his childhood home upon retirement.

Anthony Sutton is the vice chair of Waynesville’s Planning Board, and works as the director of information systems for Biltmore Farms.

Whatever the board ends up looking like, aldermen won’t be able to rest on the accomplishments of the past four years. The opioid crisis continues to loom, and with it comes increasing scrutiny of the area’s homeless population. Public safety is, consequently, more of an issue than it was four years ago, and the board will have to manage, fund and support a new police chief for the first time in more than 20 years.

Several landslides have occurred, putting lives and property at risk and exposing the town to massive cleanup costs. Three more NCDOT projects are also on the horizon, and if they’re anything like DOT’s proposal for Walnut Street, they’ll need to be monitored closely and opposed systematically, if necessary.

Either Brown or Caldwell will leave Waynesville government, taking with them decades of experience, and if Roberson loses as well, his institutional knowledge will be gone, too.

But if you like how things are going in Waynesville, or you don’t, you’ll rarely have more of a chance to affect how you’re governed — based on the results of the 2015 election, about a thousand votes should be good enough to get any one of those six candidates elected.

The Smoky Mountain News: The Town of Waynesville is in the enviable position of nurturing growth, as opposed to staving off

ers are looking here, and then going to look at Bryson City. I was shocked when I drove over there. I mean, literally not a cigarette butt on the ground, anywhere. All the buildings painted the same, coordinated flower boxes. You didn’t see a single homeless person. They’ve got the railroad, they’ve got the river, they’ve got the national park. I’ve moved so many times that every time we moved, we would go check out not only the town, because we had a variety of local towns we could live in, but also the city or suburbs. I’m afraid I’d turn around if I drove into West Waynesville.

LeRoy Roberson

Julia Freeman

Jon Feichter decline. What’s your philosophy on managing that growth?

Reece: We’re going to move forward, like it or not, but I’m really concerned that we have competition now. I really, really am. I’ve talked to Realtors here and they tell me buy-

Roberson: I grew up in Hazelwood when it was a town, and Hazelwood did not expand their tax base. They didn’t really grow, and what happened to Hazelwood? They had to merge with Waynesville. So I’m for growth, but I’m for controlled growth, not growth where you say, “OK, if you really want to grow, you’ve got to get rid of the zoning laws and let people build.” I disagree. I e think if you remove zoning laws and allow t growth unchecked, it’s like somebody hav- g ing cancer. Cancer is an unchecked growth. K You can have the same thing happen to a b town, so I think you have to be reasonable s about it. i Feichter: The issues of growth and change are core to the challenges that we face.

Growth is happening whether we like it or not. We cannot stop the growth that we’re experiencing. I think what we can do and certainly my primary focus is that we don’t lose sight of the things that make this such a special place — the sense of community and the personal connections that we all have with each other. I think that is critical, if we are going to retain the core of what Waynesville is.

F i a o s p b s t b p m h n a a C

Dickson: I think Waynesville has a good planning process they’re going through right now [with the comprehensive plan update]. I’m in favor of growth, but I’m in favor of growth in the right places, the places that benefit the community the most. S The smart growth principles that we go by s are good ones, to keep growth in the central v part of town. One of the ways that we ulti- i mately cut down on congestion is if people a can walk to places, grocery stores, recreation, businesses. I opposed [the Plott Creek R development] for several reasons. One is g that I didn’t think the location was the best. i It’s really at the edge of town. In terms of t furthering our community, it was a gated h community. Everyone there is going to drive o to wherever they’re going. In addition, part of smart growth is to maintain the vistas T and the bucolic, rural countryside. a a Sutton: As a community, you can’t have no h growth, because you will dry up and die. a You have no growth, then there are no b opportunities for your young people, for f your children, for your grandchildren to p stay in the area. But at the other end of the g spectrum, I’m not for unbridled growth. w I’m somewhere in the middle of smart p growth like the town of Waynesville. We n have perfect opportunities to put business- b

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Joey Reece

es and housing in places as infill where there’s already something there that has gone away. Upcoming will probably be the Kmart Plaza, when Kmart closes. That will be the perfect location to redevelop and put something in there because there’s already infrastructure.

SMN: Some of the residential growth we’ve seen is more of the “workforce housing” variety, but it’s not exactly “affordable housing.” How do we attract or provide more affordable housing?

Feichter: First of all, I completely support the drive to bring housing to this community and county. We need housing of all types, specifically affordable housing. I think that in some ways, the market is going to do what the market is going to do as it relates to housing in general. As it relates to affordable housing. I think that eventually, we’ll get to that as well, once the overall housing market becomes kind of saturated, but I don’t think we can afford to wait for that.

So, even though I completely support the initiatives to bring housing online, like what we found up there at Plott Creek, the reasons I could not support that were significantly influenced by the wishes of the residents in that community.

Dickson: It’s going to take a continued major effort on the part of the town and all sorts of other agencies. Mountain Projects is working on affordable housing. Habitat for Humanity does some affordable housing.

The town of Waynesville has a good policy as far as waiving the fees for someone who’s going to build affordable housing. I talked with Patsy Davis [executive director of Mountain Projects] and the Town of Waynesville has had in the past a representative on the Mountain Projects board. We don’t at this point in time. If elected, I would love to serve on the Mountain Projects board. The main thing we can do is to bring community groups together and help spearhead the effort or to keep it in the forefront.

Sutton: As a planning board member I worked on the Historic Haywood Hospital, changing the designation of the area. We’ve worked with Habitat for Humanity, getting 10 more homes built. It takes a whole community to get affordable housing. We do need lots of affordable housing, but it takes multiple agencies, not just the board of aldermen, to make that happen. The Waynesville Housing Authority is working for grants from the national level on down, and we need someone that can understand

and navigate that, to get the money to come into this area for affordable housing.

Freeman: This is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart because in working with victims of domestic violence who are trying to escape violent homes, we look every single day, multiple times a day, for affordable housing, and there’s nothing.

You’re dealing with property owners and how do we encourage private property owners to go for affordable housing, versus a workforce housing or the term has been floated around, “luxury housing?” As local officials in this county, we’ve got to step in and identify properties that can be revamped, such as the old hospital — things that can be adapted with incentives from the state of North Carolina and the federal government.

Reece: Look at the two things on the drawing board right now — that’s not affordable housing. Affordable for who? A thousand bucks, $1,500 bucks a month rent? Come on. The Plott Creek thing, it will support Harrah’s, it will support Western Carolina University or the hospital or maybe some things in Asheville, but it won’t support a damn soul here. People say, well, here’s how it works — people that are [in low-rent housing] move into [higher rent housing] and then that frees up [low-rent housing].

I’m not sure I buy that. To solve this problem, you’re going to have to have housing that’s affordable.

SMN: Homelessness has become a huge issue in the last two years alone, and we have some good services for the homeless and the hungry here, between Pathways and the Open Door, but do you think that we draw people here because of those services?

Feichter: I don’t know that I have a deep enough knowledge of the makeup of our homeless population to say that one way or the other. I can tell you that when we are briefed on this issue, that that’s what people tell us is that people are coming here from

S EE WAYNESVILLE, PAGE 10

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Roberson: The [BI-LO] development is just going to be wonderful, and you’re bringing in more people. I think Plott Creek is going to be excellent too, in spite of the conflict we had with it. And it took four tries to get the old hospital approved for affordable housing [tax credits]. We have the Waynesville Towers, that’s part of it too, but we need affordable housing and you’ve got to create an environment. Part of that is having the housing come in that isn’t necessarily affordable, but it’s cheaper than maybe somebody buying a house or trying to buy. It’s workforce housing. Now, if we can find more places like the old hospital that people can get the tax breaks and come in, that’s what we need to work towards. But we can also push some of these developers and say, “We need this.” Right now, expanding that tax base is very important. We’ve got to get the

growth here and show people that there is a market for them in Waynesville that they’ll say, “OK, I can make money here.”

Chuck Dickson

October 23-29, 2019

Freeman: Sustainable growth is the most important thing, but it needs to be moderate. We can’t go full steam ahead. Number one, we don’t have the resources, the infrastructure or the manpower to sustain fastpaced growth. And we would not want that because we really want to maintain our small town appeal and keep our, our small town heritage in place. But we also have to be mindful of the fact that we’ve got to support younger people in our community to make sure that they’ve got the jobs and the housing to keep them here in our community. Without growth, communities die, and we’ve seen that in some of the smaller areas across the Western part of North Carolina.

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WAYNESVILLE, CONTINUED FROM 9 outside the area. I don’t recall specifically who mentioned this in one of those briefings to the board, but as I understand it there are websites that mentioned Waynesville specifically as a destination for people who are homeless, because we have services that are dedicated to that.

October 23-29, 2019

Dickson: I don’t know. A lot of people say that. What is real is that there is a worry or fear, a concern in the community that somehow there are more people who are homeless or walking the streets or who have come here from other places. Is it the economy? Is it just that they’ve been here and now we’re seeing them more? Some of the areas that have concerns about folks like this, they’re genuine concerns. And I think the other thing people are seeing is more signs of opioid use. The only thing I could think that we could possibly do is have a summit or a meeting of all the stakeholders and all the folks involved, and to try to field some of these community concerns.

Sutton: I don’t think we are a Los Angeles, where people are traveling across country to live. It’s a tough place to live in the wintertime. The way that you handle homelessness is that first you put a roof over their heads, which is what Pathways is working on.

Second, you bring more jobs to the area so that these people can have a place to work.

Then you expand health care for and also mental health care. Then you’re providing childcare for those people that cannot afford childcare to go to work. So it’s multi-agency.

There’s not a single magic button that will solve this. We need to come together as a community and have some workshops on how we handle this.

Freeman: I see that there is a cause and effect, and I’m hearing from law enforcement officers and other people in the community that yes, people are drawn here because of the services. We are a very forgiving and loving and giving community, so

electric, and that’s not even based on climate change. That’s just being good stewards of the environment. We have clean water and we want to keep it that way.

when when someone finds a need, citizens in this community step up, and that’s what’s happened. The unfortunate side effect has been that there are people coming in from other areas. The first step is going to be to rally the community, people that are outraged with what’s going on in Frog Level. We need to engage them, to listen to their concerns, listen to their suggestions, The last thing I want as a current and former small business owner is to impact anyone’s business.

Reece: Absolutely. It’s kinda like the old Field of Dreams — If you build it, they will come. Look, these people are well-meaning.

Some of them are good friends. Pathways was intended for the transition for people from prison. It’s a great thing, but it’s morphed. You talk to the cops and there is nobody that they deal with, hardly, that’s from here. I think I can be critical and not feel bad about it. I’ve toured Pathways. I’ve sat in on a board meeting. I was invited to sit on the board. I’m not just criticizing without first trying to help and change things. What started out as a well-intentioned program has morphed into something that we have no control over. Now it’s way, way out of control.

Roberson: Somebody from Florida said, “Well, what we did in our town, we’d get a bus, we’d do the 20-mile cure — take them 20 miles away.” That’s not a solution. You’re just putting it on somebody else. It’s a multifaceted problem and it’s difficult for any town to deal with. In Los Angeles, with the amount of money in tax base they have, they can’t even begin to handle it. So they were drawn here maybe by Pathways to some degree, but don’t understand that Pathways tries to weed these people out. I don’t have an answer, but I know that it’s a problem that is not going to be solved overnight. It’ll take years to do it, but it’s got to involve the cooperation of the community. In the meantime, you’ve got to keep citizens feeling safe and secure, so you have to address it the best way you can.

SMN: More and more, activists are asking elected officials to look at every single issue through the lens of climate change. Do you think that climate change is real?

Dickson: Of course it’s real. I’m probably not a person that is going to look at everything through the lens of climate change. I’m certainly in favor of looking at all sorts of things in terms of renewable energy, in terms of energy-saving kinds of things, in terms of recycling. The town really needs to step that up. I think, though, climate change may be the biggest problem that we have in our nation and in the world. I do think we need to do everything we can do as far as the small town goes. We certainly have to look at costs. We probably can’t do everything right away, but we definitely need to do our part as far as changing the way we look at things.

Sutton: I believe climate change is real based on facts and based on 98 percent of scientists. It’s going to affect our flood plain.

It affects everyone’s insurance. If we don’t have a plan in place, it could be devastating.

It’s already going to be in the [comprehensive plan update], because the maps are based on the federal government, and even though the current administration doesn’t believe in climate change, the climate science is there and it’s already been put into the maps. I think that we could change some things to natural gas or hydrogen or

Freeman: I absolutely believe that climate change is real. We live and breathe on this earth so we’ve got to take care of it. I say it should be considered in every decision that we make, to look at the impact that it has on our community, on our citizens, on the creatures and the vegetation in our community.

We’ve got to be very thoughtful and be on the forefront to make sure that we make the least amount of impact that we can on our environment and ensure for the future of our kids, our grandchildren that this earth will be protected and taken care of.

Reece: Oh, climate change is real. No doubt.

How much of it is cyclical and how much of it is man made? I think it’s up for debate, but yeah, it’s happening. I mean, it’s warmer.

Look at the leaves, it’s mid-October and the leaves aren’t turning yet. I think climate change is something we might consider, but certainly it would not be a litmus test. I mean, we’ve got other litmus tests that are more important than that.

Roberson: It is very real. If anybody denies it, tell them to go down and buy a house on the coast and don’t insure it and you’ll be fine, because it’s not real. You look at the four — there may have been five now — four major slides the town has had, one of the landslides is going to be a quarter of a million dollar fix, or maybe more.

Developers went in, they put roads where there never should have been a road, and then houses where there never should’ve been houses. I think it’s going to be a new normal. We’re having hundred-year floods every five years now, or something like that.

So that’s what we’re dealing with.

Feichter: Yes, 100 percent. I fully understand that weather patterns are cyclical, but when you look at statistics that say 14 of the last 15 summers were the

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SMN: What kind of job do you think the Downtown Waynesville Association is doing right now in managing the Municipal Service District?

Sutton: I think that there could be improvement to that, and I also think it could be expanded. We have three downtown areas in the town of Waynesville. We have Main Street, we have Frog Level and we have Hazelwood. I think that can be revisited and improved with them.

Roberson: Look at the events that we have, the Church Street Art and Craft festival, the Apple Harvest Festival, these are successes.

The decorations that have gone on like this year, you have the cornstalks, it looks real neat I think. And I think overall it’s done a very good job. I think we’ve been fortunate to have good directors who really worked at it. When I first came back, downtown Waynesville was slowly dying off. I mean, it was the small stores, mom-and-pop stores were there, but there were more vacancies coming up. Before the Main Street program

Dickson: I have heard people talking about it in terms of wisely spending the money that they have. It is a self-governing organization.

The town contracts with DWA and if any other folks wanted to provide the same service, we would need to certainly consider that. I’m not saying we need to go with someone different because the DWA governs itself and is made up of all the merchants, but there does seem to be maybe some dissatisfaction on the part of some of the merchants. I think they’re doing a good job. I think they’ve been very successful. I think downtown Waynesville is doing very well.

You don’t seem to have the empty buildings that we had one point in time.

Sutton: That we have managed smart growth, that we’ve brought more jobs into the area, that we have more young people staying in the area, that everyone is doing better as a community, that Haywood Community College has built their health and human services building, that we have multiple nurses staying in the area and that healthcare’s improved.

SMN: As an incumbent running for re-election, what would you consider your biggest accomplishment, or the town’s greatest victory in the last four years?

Freeman: When we protect this community, we look at two different forces, law enforcement and fire. I’m very proud that in the previous four years, we were able to get law enforcement. They need new cars and things like that to do their jobs, but I think most recently in the last four is the addition of firemen within our fire department. It’s so important that we’ve got that protection within the community. Of course, the police department is our largest budget department with $9 million-plus dollars and the fire department is right up there in the top, too.

Dickson: What I’d like to be able to say is that we were able to repair our infrastructure, that the streets are in good shape, that we took care of the sewer plant, that we’ve worked on the sewer lines, and we’ve done all that without raising taxes. The other thing I would like to be able to tell you is that the town became more transparent, open and accountable to the citizens. I really would like to see the town televise the meetings. It doesn’t take much anymore to put them on Facebook, on the website, online, YouTube, whatever. I’d like to see the town

Roberson: For myself, I’m just a single vote and we’ve always done things as a board, but I do feel that one thing I’ve done, I’m on the French Broad Metropolitan Planning Organization, and I think I was instrumental in getting some of the funding or supporting the funding for that, because as with anything it’s the staff on the MPO and other members of the board — they see what is needed. I was able to get the South Main [NCDOT project] moved up maybe a couple of years, so I feel pretty good about that service on the board. For the town. I’ll go back to, as controversial as it was, I think Plott Creek (apartments) was a good thing for the town and for Hazelwood.

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SMN: Let’s say you get elected and four years from now, we’re sitting right here talking about your re-election campaign. What do you want to tell me is your greatest accomplishment from 2019 to 2022?

Reece: We made Waynesville safer. We did that by addressing the homeless issue. It’s not a simple plan, but the first half is to close the drawbridge. I was even reading on the news today that San Francisco has a program, where if they can find a homeless person that has family or relatives or friends somewhere that can take him, they buy him a bus ticket. We ought to start that in earnest. I would love to say that we had reduced crime right here and it was safe and that little old ladies weren’t telling me that they’re afraid to walk at night. If that’s done in three or four years, we may not be sitting here talking about my re-election.

Feichter: Obviously the parking lot in Hazelwood and what we’re doing in Frog Level, the affordable housing policy that we implemented that I think has had a hand in three major housing developments. I think if I had to pick one single thing it would be the local preference purchase policy. We received a report on the results of that and between fiscal year 201718, which is when we adopted that policy, to fiscal year 2018-19, and we had a 61 percent increase in the amount of local spending with local vendors, [an increase of ] $562,000, if I’m not mistaken. I read a study once that said when you spend a dollar at a local establishment, that dollar circulates around the county six to 15 times.

When you spend it at a national chain, that same dollar, 80 cents of it leaves the county immediately.

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Julia Boyd Freeman Alderman, Town of Waynesville

“Committed to community, dedicated to progress” I will continue to support viable and sustainable growth while preserving our small town heritage and building a stronger town.

I will continue to make decisions in the best interest of the town, its citizens and the environment.

I will continue to work at finding positive solutions to issues facing Waynesville while promoting the best long-term interest of the town and its taxpayers.

Smoky Mountain News

Reece: It depends on who you talk to. I’ve discussed this with business owners, they’ve all got an opinion and they’re all varied. I tell you what bothers me about this, we subscribe to Southern Living magazine, Our State, this and that and the other, and it pains me to pick up a new issue of one of these and they’re advertising mountain getaways or mountain towns and Waynesville’s not listed. And, I’ve heard about the amount of (DWA) funding that goes to salaries — almost all of it. If all of it goes into salaries, none is going to marketing, I don’t know that that’s an issue that the board of alderman can address, but my opinion is we ought to spend less money on salaries, more money on marketing.

Feichter: I think that DWA does a great job.

I’m on the DWA board of directors, and for a long time, maybe nine years, I was on the DWA executive board, so I saw that side of it. I saw how hard Buffy [Phillips, executive director] and her team worked. I’ve seen the downtown change over the years, and a significant part of that was the initial rebirth of the downtown. But downtown is not all of Waynesville. When this board was elected, we really made a conscious effort to devote some attention and resources to Hazelwood and Frog Level. I think that we are seeing the fruits of that now, and what strikes me is that it’s not flashy. It’s a parking lot. It’s really hard to call a parking lot handsome, but if you could call a parking lot handsome, that would be it. It proved a boon to downtown Hazelwood.

publish a list of public projects, a priority list of projects — what streets are going to be paved, what sidewalks are going to be built or repaired. The third thing I think would be nice would be a newsletter that could be maybe quarterly. It could even be paid for with ads.

October 23-29, 2019

Freeman: I think they’re doing a good job.

You see the impact and you see the amount of people, just look at this past Saturday at the amount of individuals that were here, tourists. It was a great day on Main Street and to see that, I think they’re doing a good job. I think the Chamber of Commerce, the TDA, everyone, they’re working together on how we can bring people in here, how can we accommodate this many people coming here for our special events and then looking towards a future of expansion and smart growth into second homes, first homes and even hotels and motels.

came in, we were at almost 25 percent of the buildings vacant.

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hottest on the record? Climate change has real effects for Waynesville. We see it with the storm water issue here. During some of these intense flash thunderstorms, our plant could receive 9 million gallons of runoff in a day’s time. Our plant has a capacity of 6 million gallons. We typically handle 4 million gallons. During those storm events, we’re handling more than twice what we handle on an average day and 30 percent more than what our plant has the capacity to handle.

Hazelwood is a perfect example. We just can’t move the runoff away fast enough and that’s going to cost us money, which is going to affect our budget in the coming years.

VOTE Nov. 5th

PAID FOR BY THE FRIENDS OF JULIA BOYD FREEMAN COMMITTEE

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Eight candidates run for Franklin board Drop-outs could make the ballot confusing for voters

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR oters will be faced with a long list of candidates when they go to vote in the Franklin Town Council election, but they should be aware that two candidates on the ballot have dropped out of the race last minute.

The six-member board has three seats up for grabs this November — incumbent Councilmembers Joe Collins and Brandon McMahan are running for another term while Councilmember Adam Kimsey is not seeking re-election. Challengers on the ballot for those three seats include Daniel Coates, Jack Horton, Mike Lewis, Peter Mosco, T.J. Wright and Kevin Klatt.

However, Klatt said he recently dropped out of the race for health reasons but it was too late to remove his name because the ballots were already printed. The Smoky Mountain News wasn’t able to reach Daniel Coates for comment, but according to the Macon County Board of Elections, Coates also called to drop out of the race. When the elections staff told him it was too late to remove his name from the ballot, Coates said he’d take the seat if he won — so technically he’s not withdrawn. If Klatt happens to win, he won’t claim the seat and the board would appoint someone to the post.

The Franklin Town Council also has a twoyear unexpired term to fill during the election. Councilmember Billy Mashburn won the seat in 2017 despite the fact that he died just days before Election Day. The town coun-

Smoky Mountain News

October 23-29, 2019

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cil chose to appoint Billy’s widow Dinah Mashburn to the post until the next election and now Dinah is running unopposed to keep the seat through 2021.

Franklin faces many of the same challenges as other small Western North Carolina towns. The local economy hinges on tourism and supporting small businesses. Franklin has a vibrant downtown but has some outlying areas in desperate need of revitalization.

Keeping up with aging infrastructure — streets, sidewalks, water and sewer — and planning for smart growth continues to be an ongoing priority for town officials and candidates in this election.

Until this spring, the town held the deed to the Nikwasi Mound, a sacred Cherokee site located along East Main Street in downtown Franklin. The town has been maintaining the site since 1947, but in a controversial decision, the town council voted unanimously to transfer the deed to a new nonprofit entity, Nikwasi Initiative. Mayor Bob Scott and a few other Macon County residents adamantly opposed giving over the deed, but after hearing hours of public feedback, the council felt it was the right thing to do to not only see the site further preserved and promoted but also to help heal old wounds with Cherokee people.

The new nonprofit looks at it as a joint ownership between the town, the county, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Mainspring Conservation Trust and the group has plans to redevelop the parcels surrounding the mound along the Little Tennessee River.

Franklin also has been hanging on to a 12.7-acre piece of property — known as the Whitmire property — since 2005 when the town purchased the tract for $1.5 million.

The plan was to construct a new town hall facility on the property but that never hap-

Meet the candidates MIKE LEWIS • Age: 49 • Hometown: Franklin • Education: Political science degree with a concentration in American government from Western Carolina University.

• Professional background: Currently a civilian employee with Macon County Sheriff’s Office; worked as a reporter for The Franklin Press for 12 years.

JACK HORTON • Age: 68 • Professional background: Now retired, pened and the town still hasn’t decided whether to develop it, lease it or sell it for private development. Everyone agrees it’s an asset but no one can agree on its best use moving forward.

The Smoky Mountain News reached out to all the candidates to ask them about their goals and the future of their town.

Why are you running for town council?

Lewis: “It’s not something I’ve entered into lightly. I’ve had several people reach out to me saying I should run and at this point in my life my kids are old enough and I feel like I can be a dad and also in public service. It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do, and I’m finally in a place in life that I can do it.”

Horton: “I’ve had a lot of experience in local government and several people have said they think I could be a big help in Franklin. It didn’t look like many people would run so I

Horton spent 36 years in local government and served as Macon County’s manager from 1985-1991 and from 2008-2013 and Haywood County’s manager in between.

PETER MOSCO • Age: 64 • Hometown: From Long Island, New York; has lived in Franklin full-time for 14 years.

• Experience: Served as a village trustee in Long Island and has experience running a small municipality with a budget larger than Franklin’s.

• Professional background: Previously a building contractor; currently a Realtor in Franklin and a luthier repairman on the side.

decided to give it a try and I’m glad to help if people want me in office.”

Mosco: “I’m running because I’m civic and community minded with experience as a local business owner and a civil servant. I’m semi-retired now and have the time to dedicate to the people of Franklin. My time is now — I’m well established in the community now and I think I’ve earned the trust and confidence of residents.”

What are the most pressing issues facing Franklin?

Lewis: “Everyone says infrastructure because it’s the lifeblood of the town. People talk about bringing in businesses and jobs through incentives, but towns are limited in what they can offer. But by having updated water, sewer, sidewalks and streets in place, we can continue to make Franklin an inviting place for businesses.

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Mike Lewis

Jack Horton and worked on it six months. Every step of the way we invited all the businesses it would impact to be involved and they didn’t. And then as soon as it was going to a vote a ton of businesses showed up to contest it. I was very shocked how the board quivered to the idea.

You cannot just have a few businesses dictate to you what the greater good is for the community.”

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How do you think the current board is doing with addressing those issues?

Peter Mosco Working in law enforcement for four years, I also understand the importance of making sure our emergency service workers have what they need to keep people safe and give people a better quality of life.”

Mosco: “I’m big on infrastructure — it’s the foundation of the community. How do you expect business and people to come without it? I want us to grow smart and take advantage of every opportunity. We focus on downtown, but there are other areas of town that we should be really looking at — we need some kind of control over helping to develop them, but it doesn’t seem the town is doing it.

The thing I want to propose if elected is the riverfront overlay district development. As a member of the town planning board, we started a riverfront overlay plan a year ago

Horton: “I think the board needs to be more open and listen to constituents and take their suggestions to heart. The town and county have worked together on several projects and I hope we can continue that.”

Mosco: “As far as the current board goes, I don’t want to be negative. From what I’ve seen there’s no doubt Franklin is moving forward. There’s been significant changes the town has taken on as a whole. We have two breweries and I feel that has helped with bringing in the younger generations. We should be catering to the money makers and the future generations running businesses in this town.”

Smoky Mountain News

Horton: “Infrastructure — and not just water and sewer — we really need to plan for the future so we have the infrastructure ready to meet the needs now and in the future. We can’t wait for the demand before we try to fix it. You don’t create jobs, you create an atmosphere so jobs can be created. I want Franklin to grow and develop but I also want us to maintain the character and atmosphere of the town.”

October 23-29, 2019

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Lewis: “I feel like the board has done a good job — I have nothing to criticize. Everyone realizes infrastructure is the most important function of government, and I think town employees are good stewards of the resources. We need to make sure we continue that and look ahead to tackle some things down the pike. For example, the town is in the process of expanding its water treatment plant and is preparing for more capacity.

There are some areas of town in need of revitalization and we’re waiting on a comprehensive study to be completed and hold some public hearings on that issue.”

What do you think of council’s decision to transfer the Nikwasi Mound deed to the nonprofit entity Nikwasi Initiative?

Lewis: “The issue has been settled. It’s time to move forward and see what opportunities lie

S EE FRANKLIN, PAGE 14

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FRANKLIN, CONTINUED FROM 13 ahead for the mound. That area around the Little Tennessee River is something locals and tourists can all enjoy. The pieces are there and I look forward to seeing what they come up with.”

Horton: “I wasn’t privy to all the discussions — all I know is what I see in the paper — but I see both perspectives and both sides have good points. I’d like to see some specific steps and actions the foundation is going to do to preserve and promote the historic nature of the mound. I think there’s an opportunity there but I’m not going to second guess a decision that was already made.

If I’m elected I’ll evaluate the situation as it moves along.”

Mosco: “I don’t think there was enough input on it. I think officials weren’t thinking it through. The mound will be preserved no matter who has charge of it, but it was a little too quick considering it is a crucial part of the river overlay district. I think it was too early to let something like that go. It remains to be seen what happens with it. Any efforts to redevelop the area is fine with me, but looking at it for the greater good, maybe it’s not the right time to do it.”

October 23-29, 2019

What should the town do with the Whitmire property?

Lewis: “I remember that purchase when I was still at The Press. Even then I thought it would be a fabulous opportunity for a public-private partnership but it never came to fruition.

Then the economic crisis hit and the economy was bad so that probably had something to do with the lack of progress on the property. I’m of the opinion we need to do something with it or sell it. Personally, I think it would be another piece of the puzzle for redevelopment. I hope we could find someone willing to put something there to benefit the entire town.”

Mosco: “I don’t have any thoughts on it right now. It’s something we should be using or let it be sold and redeveloped. We already own it and there’s so much we could do with it.”

What’s your vision for Franklin in 10 years?

Lewis: “In 10 years, I’d like to see a place where my daughter can come back here if she wants to and get a job and raise kids if she wants to. I think Franklin is already like that but at the same time there’s a lot of kids not coming back because there’s not a lot to come back to. People think we need more businesses but the town is limited in bringing people in. The best way to do that is to have the infrastructure that people need in place for when they do come. We’re so blessed with our culture, history and natural resources and we should take more advantage of that.”

Horton: “I love the small-town atmosphere.

When I was the county manager and someone would come up here from Florida, they’d say Franklin reminded them of The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberrry. It’s an ideal town. The town government’s job is to make sure we meet the needs currently and in the future so it can continue to be the kind of place everyone would like to live if they had the opportunity to do so.”

Mosco: “We have to be constantly improving on our infrastructure — job development, affordable housing, promoting small business and industry and of course practicing fiscal responsibility. I’d love to see downtown have affordable units for younger people — condos or co-op artist communities. We should be working with county government on community projects — I don’t see that. I would like to seek an economic development agency or think tank committee of the board or something.”

Editor’s note: T.J. Wright and Daniel Coates did not respond to an interview request by presstime. Kevin Klatt dropped out of the race.

Smoky Mountain News

Horton: “I haven’t seen what the town has done with the studies to see what the best use of the property would be. We need to determine if there’s a viable alternative and what it would take to make it a reality. We also need to get public input on it — lay out the facts and ask for input.”

JOE COLLINS • Age: 64 • Hometown: Macon County • Experience: Served on the town council from 1997-2003; served mayor for Franklin from 2003-2013; currently serving a term as councilmember • Professional background: Attorney BRANDON MCMAHAN • Age: 36 • Hometown: Franklin Why are you running?

Mashburn: “I was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the passing of my husband, Billy Mashburn. The current town council appointed me in January 2018 to fill his seat until the next election. I would like to continue to serve out the remaining two years of the term that Billy was elected to in November of 2017.”

McMahan: “I’m running for a second term, because I really feel like my time with the board over the last four years has been a very positive and productive time for our town.

I’ve learned a great deal, and I feel that I’ve been a part of some really great things, and I’d like to continue both furthering my experience, and trying to make Franklin a better place.”

Collins: “It’s been interesting,” he said about his last term as a councilmember. “I’m probably better suited as a council member than as a mayor at this juncture in my life. I feel like I add a dimension to the group with my 10 years experience as being mayor. I feel like I have institutional knowledge of how things should be done.”

What board accomplishments are you most proud of?

McMahan: “I’m really proud of the progress that has been made towards the town’s walk and bike plan. I’m proud of the support we’ve given to Franklin’s fire and police departments and I hope we can do more for them. As controversial as it was, I’m proud

• Experience: One term as councilmember • Professional background: Elementary school teacher in Macon County; former business owner DINAH MASHBURN • Age: 61 • Hometown: Macon County • Experience: Two years as a councilmember; and served on various community boards.

• Professional background: Retired in 2011 from the Macon County Clerk of Court as an Assistant Clerk of Court with 30 years of service.

to have been a part of Nikwasi being shared with the EBCI. I’m proud of the plans that are laid out for the changes that are forthcoming to Main Street. I’m proud of our free outdoor movie program. I’m proud of the massive event that was the solar eclipse celebration. There’s so much that I’m proud of, that it’s hard to pluck out individual things. After almost every meeting, I come home, excitedly talking to my wife about everything that we did. I feel like there’s at least one thing that I leave feeling proud about after every first Monday. This board has really done a lot to be proud of, in my opinion.”

Collins: “I’m not hanging my hat on anything in particular, but I think we’ve been good stewards. We’ve worked on the water situation — right now we have a plan to expand the Cartoogechaye Creek water supply but the most recent cost estimates greatly exceeded the original estimates. We have ample water for our needs currently and in the foreseeable future so we’ve got plenty of time. I think we might be better off having a plan B. The atmosphere is better between the county and the town lately than at times before and I know we’re working with the county on several projects.”

Mashburn: “There will always be infrastructure issues in our town and county as we experience growth. More specifically, water and sewer and a continued water supply for growth in our area present challenges to the town. Attracting industry and new business-

S EE FRANKLIN, PAGE 16

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he Waynesville Police Department was called to the area of The Open Door Ministry on Commerce Street around 11:31 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, in reference to a subject being stabbed.

At the time of the call the suspect had reportedly fled the area. Officers responded to the area at this time and located the suspect, Julie Guffey, who had made her way into the break room in Giles Chemical. When officers located Guffey she was armed with a machete and several other knives. Officers were able to disarm Guffey without incident and take her into custody.

While officers were detaining Guffey, other officers aided the victim, who was found sitting on the sidewalk. He was treated at the scene and transported to Mission Hospital. The victim remains there at this time.

Julie Guffey, a convicted felon, is a Waynesville resident and has had frequent encounters with law enforcement for many years. At the time of this incident Guffey had pending charges related to separate incidents that have occurred in Waynesville. Those charges include assault, obtaining property by false pretense and financial card theft. Upon canvassing the area, detectives were able to obtain video surveillance that captured this incident as it occurred.

Further charges are expected in this case.

This investigation is active and ongoing.

Gary Caldwell MAYOR

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Suspect arrested in Waynesville stabbing T

Library catalog down next week Smoky Mountain News

The Haywood County Public Library catalog will be down Oct. 28-29, resulting in some service disruptions.

The library’s online catalog will be down Monday, Oct. 28, and Tuesday, Oct. 29, for a software and systems upgrade, resulting in some service disruptions. Libraries will be open, but checkouts will be limited to five items and no other services will be available.

The library catalog will be unavailable for searches, holds will not be placed and books will not be renewed. No new cards will be issued and accounts will not be updated.

For more information, call 828.356.2500.

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FRANKLIN, CONTINUED FROM 14 es, capitalizing on our outdoor economy, affordable and available housing, the growing homelessness and substance use issues and ways to partner with other agencies to help combat some of these issues.

We will soon begin work on Phase II of the water treatment plant, and are moving forward with a capital improvement plan & financial analysis for our water and wastewater system. The town is always willing to work with the Economic Development Commission for any ways to attract new business development in our area. Also, the results of our Franklin Comprehensive Plan should be released in the next few months, and that will address issues that we need to place priority on in the very near future.

Some of the issues that I mentioned facing our area can’t be directly solved by the town, but we can certainly look for ways to partner for solutions in those areas.”

October 23-29, 2019

What do you think of council’s decision to transfer the Nikwasi Mound deed to the nonprofit entity Nikwasi Initiative?

Collins: “I’m excited about the opportunities that are there with this Nikwasi project. I’m not at all troubled by the legal change of ownership. I think it’s in better hands now than ever before and it opens up opportunities for development and revitalization of that area.

It’s greatly needed and I’m very happy so many folks showed interested in the effort.

I’m a first generation descendent — my mom was one of nine children raised on the reservation so that’s my second home — lot of connection there for me.”

McMahan: “I still think that we made the right decision in that situation, and I very much look forward to seeing the fruits of that partnership in the future. There were well-meaning and well-informed people on both sides of that issue, but there were also those that were willingly littering social media with incredible lies and bizarre accu-

Brandon McMahan

Joe Collins

Dinah Mashburn

sations. I’m sure that it will be a deciding factor for some voters on both sides of the argument. There were many people who were very much in favor of the Nikwasi initiative, just as there were those opposed to it. In the end though, no matter where people fall on either side of any issue, I just hope that voters will rely on real news outlets and facts, rather than on social media for their local political news.”

out most of the built in friction which was there through my term as mayor regarding this issue. Since there’s no reason the board can’t make a responsible decision on its future. I really don’t know what its best use would be and nobody in the private sector has made us an offer we couldn’t refuse but it doesn’t need to stay undeveloped forever. It could be an economic engine if in the right use.”

media, and vote for the folks that they think can do the most good for our town. I’m sure all of the candidates have the best interest of the town in mind, so I suppose you just want to decide based on each candidate’s specific plans for the future, and how they will approach difficult decisions.”

The town council still hasn’t made a decision on what to do with the Whitmire property — what’s going on with that project?

McMahan: “I honestly think Whitmire was back-burnered again, because it was an issue that we never got a real consensus on. There was never a solution presented that had everyone in enthusiastic agreement, and it’s such a big decision, that everyone wanted to be absolutely comfortable with a decision before it was made.”

Collins: We continue to have in our inventory.

It’s interesting age and elections have cleared

What should be the deciding factors in this election?

Collins: “You just want to know if their heart is right. Do they really want to look out for the town or are there agendas people have decided to run on. I generally look for those people in an election. Not those that come in with agendas or certain issues, but those who are willing to be public servants if elected to serve.”

McMahan: “That’s hard to say. We are all human, and like anyone else, we have many facets. I’d just recommend that people stay as informed as possible, follow local news

Smoky Mountain News

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Mashburn: “I will always strive to be conservative with the taxpayers money and be accessible to citizens that have questions or problems. During my current tenure on the town council I have tried to work with citizens and business owners that had concerns regarding certain issues. I have also tried to communi-S cate and reach out to the Macon County Board of Commissioners on issues that affect both the town and county. The biggest thing I would like to say is for everyone to exercisef their right to vote. I have seen in past municipal elections a very low voter turnout. Thed election dates are posted in the paper, andv there is ample opportunity to cast your vote.

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Tribe will not release document

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October 23-29, 2019

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Smoky Mountain News

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER fter a narrow vote and a delayed ratification, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has a new budget for the 2020 fiscal year.

Tribal Council approved the document during its Sept. 12 meeting with a weighted vote of 45-36, and 19 votes absent.

Voting in favor were Chairman Adam Wachacha, of Snowbird, Vice Chairman David Wolfe, of Yellowhill and Councilmembers Richard French and Perry Shell, of Big Cove; Boyd Owle, of Birdtown; and Bucky Brown, of Snowbird. Opposed were Councilmembers Tommye Saunooke and Lisa Taylor, of Painttown; Albert Rose, of Birdtown; and Bo Crowe, of Wolfetown.

Councilmembers Jeremy Wilson, of Wolfetown, and Tom Wahnetah, of Yellowhill, were absent for the vote.

Principal Chief Richard Sneed didn’t ratify the ordinance until Tuesday, Oct. 2, after the previous fiscal year ended Sept. 30. No continuing resolution was passed in the interim, so it is unclear what document was governing the tribe’s spending during the gap.

None of the representatives voting against the budget stated their reasons for doing so during the meeting. However, discussion earlier in the day had centered on public relations line items for Tribal Council, the principal chief and the vice chief. According to Secretary of Treasury Cory Blankenship, these funds are to be used for sponsorships, recognition of tribal members or others positively impacting the community, donations to help community members and community-focused

entities and emergency assistance to enrolled members.

During the meeting, Wachacha stated that public relations line items total roughly $250,000 for the principal chief, $200,000 for the vice chief and $60,000 for Tribal Council.

The same day, Crowe had presented an ordinance seeking to establish laws governing the use of these line items for the chief and vice chief, as well as for reporting and documenting the expenditures. Crowe explained he’d heard concern from community members about the perceived lack of accountability in how those funds are spent.

Vice Chief Alan “B” Ensley, meanwhile, said that the executive office has backup for each of the expendiRichard Sneed tures but doesn’t want them to be public, as many of them are related to medical emergencies experienced by members of the tribe that are private affairs and may be covered by HIPPA. “The communities, they’re not wanting to see the names,” Crowe replied. “They’d just like to see what it goes toward. It don’t even have to have a name on it. But I would like to see it broke down a little more.”

Tribal Council passed Crowe’s ordinance with Shell as the sole opposing vote but Sneed, who was not present due to a medical issue, vetoed the measure Oct. 2.

“Tribal Council has effectively overstepped their fiduciary responsibility by passing this legislation, which would in fact dictate day-to-day operations of the EBCI, a role of the executive offices,” Sneed wrote in his veto letter, read into the record during a special-called session of Tribal Council Oct. 4. “Furthermore, this legislation puts undue

others that are not tribal citizens. While the Eastern Band is happy to answer specific questions regarding the EBCI budget, the EBCI will not be providing the entire budget due to the fact it contains details that are not considered public information.”

In response, The Smoky Mountain News requested some specific figures, including the dollar amounts of the overall budget, the operating budget, capital funding and public relations line items for Council and executive offices. As of press time, no reply to the request had been received.

Sneed’s office did not release the budget document last year, either, but did send out a press release giving an overview of the document. The fiscal year 2019 budget totaled $564.3 million, with an operating budget of $179.4 million. The tribe’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

While Sneed’s interpretation of tribal law is that people who are not tribal members — including those representing media outlets — do not have the right to access public documents, the law does not specifically prevent the government from releasing such documents to non-enrolled people should it want to. Earlier this year, Sneed’s office indicated a willingness to release the budget document to SMN. “The budget has not been approved, and is therefore not a final document. It will go before Tribal Council the second week of September,” Sneed’s public relations officer Ashleigh Stephens wrote in an Aug. 16 email. “We will be happy to provide a copy of the budget after approval.”

news

Cherokee passes new budget

burden on the Office of the Principal Chief and community organizations applying for public relations funds by requiring receipts be submitted detailing the use of the funds.”

Sneed pointed out that the law would apply only to the executive offices, not to Tribal Council, with Wachacha replying that Tribal Council only gives matching funds rather than standalone grants and that expenditures must be voted on in open session.

“It’s like comparing apples to oranges when you say we’re not providing receipts,” said Wachacha.

While a majority of Tribal Council voted to override the veto, the body failed to garner the two-thirds vote necessary to do so.

Voting in favor of the override were Saunooke, Taylor, Rose, Crowe, Wachacha, Wolfe and Brown. Opposed were Wahnetah, Wilson, French and Shell. Owle was absent.

That came out to a weighted vote of 55-33; overriding the veto would have required a weighted vote of 59.

Sneed has touted the recently ratified budget as the most fiscally conservative in over a decade, based on 80 percent of casino projection. However, despite earlier assurances that the budget document would be provided once it had been voted on and ratified, Sneed’s office has declined to do so.

“Cherokee Code Chapter 132 outlines the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Public Records Act governing the release of information from the EBCI,” Sneed wrote in an emailed response to the document request.

“This chapter addresses the rights of tribal citizens but has no provisions for media or

JoelReeceforAlderman.com

Paid for by Committee to Elect Joel K. Reece

17

news

Commissioner’s absence prompts questions about residency, ability to hold office

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ommissioner Mickey Luker’s lack of attendance at county board meetings in recent months has spurred southern Jackson County residents to ask for Luker’s removal from office, with four people addressing commissioners during their Oct. 15 meeting with that request.

“Jackson County, North Carolina, elects commissioners countywide with one commissioner representing each district,” Ralph Slaughter, vice chairman of the Jackson County Republican Party, told commissioners during the public comment portion of the meeting. “I pay taxes in District Four Jackson County, and I do not have a commissioner to represent me. I feel this is taxes without representation.”

C

CONCERN FROM SOUTHERN JACKSON

Smoky Mountain News

October 23-29, 2019

Since December 2018, Luker has been absent from seven county meeting days, calling in to another nine meetings rather than attending in person. While some of these absences and call-ins happened earlier in the year, most occurred in the second half of the year. Of the 15 days since June 1 when commissioners have met, Luker has been present in person for only three, calling in via speakerphone for eight meeting days with absences at the remaining four.

Commissioners earn a base salary of $12,200 plus a $2,600 travel allotment and insurance benefits worth $13,100, but they also receive a stipend of $75 per day of meetings attended. Though the chairman receives a slightly higher salary, all commissioners are paid the same, regardless of how many hours they put in or their mode of presence at meetings — the $75 meeting fee applies regardless of whether attendance is in person or over the phone.

However, a lack of physical presence like Luker’s is unusual. Between the other four commissioners, there were a total of only two call-in attendances since December 2018, one apiece for Commissioners Boyce Deitz and Ron Mau. Deitz had four absences, the most of the four commissioners — these occurred earlier in the year when he was battling health issues, Deitz said in a phone interview.

Commissioner Ron Mau has been absent from only one meeting since December, and neither Commissioner Gayle Woody nor Chairman Brian McMahan has missed a single meeting.

In Jackson County, voters can cast a ballot for each of the five board seats, but candidates are restricted by place of residence. The board includes one member from each of four districts and a chairman, who can be from any district. Speakers during the public comment period were concerned that Luker’s 18 absence from county meetings would trans-

made throughout the agenda. However, during the meeting neither he nor any of the other commissioners offered any comments in response to the speakers’ concerns.

As with each of the body’s meetings, the last item on the agenda prior to closed session was a press conference, during which Cashiers Chronicle Editor Don Richeson asked Luker directly if he intended to resign.

His question was greeted with silence.

“Commissioner Luker, did you hear the question?” asked McMahan. When there was no response, McMahan repeated Luker’s name. Again, the line was silent.

“It seems we have lost him,” said McMahan.

Further attempts to reach Luker for comment via phone call, text and Facebook message were unsuccessful.

QUESTIONS ABOUT RESIDENCY

Mickey Luker late into a lack of understanding or concern for issues facing the southern end of the county, which he represents.

“It’s important for you folks not to be blindsided because of a lack of information about what’s going on in southern Jackson County,” said Glenville resident Teryle Beye.

“We know oftentimes perception is more important than reality, and there is certainly a strong perception in the southern end of the county that they’re not heard in this end of the county or certainly not proportionally heard.”

“The commissioner for south Jackson is a specialist in south Jackson,” added southern Jackson resident Phil Fowler. “Before that it was Mr. Jones who lived in the area, and you guys are busy and you’ve got the entire county, but it’s not quite the same as having your own special representative.”

All three speakers called on commissioners to remove Luker from his post so southern Jackson could have a representative who would actually fill the chair designated for that district. Sapphire resident Mark Letson, who the Jackson County Republican Party hopes to see replace Luker, echoed that point of view. According to state statute, it would fall to the Jackson Republicans to recommend a replacement for any vacancy in Luker’s seat.

“For the past few months, our district has been underrepresented,” said Letson. “We have had a limited voice in matters that are pertinent to our district and the remainder of the county. It is important to us to have a representative who is looking out for our schools, for our infrastructure, for our basic day-to-day concerns on our side of the county. We as citizens deserve to have a voice directing those discussions within this commission.”

Luker was not present for the meeting in which these concerns were aired but did attend via speakerphone, voting on motions

It is unknown why Luker has been largely absent from county affairs of late. In July, he told The Sylva Herald that the meetings he’d missed up to that point were due to an extended vacation. However, his absences have only accelerated in the months since.

The home at the address on Luker’s voter registration card has been on the market since May 21 and is currently under contract, according to an online listing. Despite the fact that Luker has voted in every even-numbered election year since 1992, his voter status is listed as inactive. Inactive voters can still cast a ballot — they will just be asked to update their information before doing so. According to Jackson County Elections Director Lisa Lovedahl, Luker’s status changed on Dec. 31, 2018, after a voter confirmation card mailed in September 2018 was returned undeliverable.

This, combined with his limited participating in county affairs, has led to speculation that he is not currently living in Jackson County.

Were that true, that would be grounds for removal. However, the legal definition of “residence” is a thorny one. According to state statute, a person’s residence is the place where “that person’s habitation is fixed, and to which, whenever that person is absent, that person has the intention of returning.”

“It’s not a simple formula, such as where you sleep or where you get your mail,” wrote Frayda Bluestein, David M. Lawrence Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government at UNC Chapel Hill, in a 2010 entry on the respected blog Coates’ Cannons. “It’s a little more fluid, boiling down to a few rules, simple to state but sometimes hard to apply.”

The rules are: everybody can have only one residence for voting purposes, that residence remains so until the person changes it to a new residence, and intent counts.

“Conduct is of greater evidential value than declarations,” reads the opinion in the 1972 case Hall v. Board of Elections.

“Declarations as to an intention to acquire a domicile are of slight weight when they are in conflict with the facts.”

REACTION FROM COMMISSIONERS While commissioners agree that Luker’s absence is a problem, none of the four said

they would support removing him by amotion or directly encouraging him to resign.

“His participation level is not at 100 percent, but he is participating,” said McMahan.

“I would encourage him to attempt to attend more meetings if possible. That would be what I would encourage him to do.”

“I don’t really think it’s my obligation to go ask him to resign, but the people he represents should ask or maybe even demand,” added Deitz. “I think they feel strongly about it, they ought to ask him to, but I would hope to think if any of us get to a point where we can’t represent the people of Jackson County in a proper way, that any of us would have taken the initiative ourselves to step back.”

Mau said that he would have to consult with the county attorney on the amotion question but believes it’s not his role to ask Luker to resign.

“That’s really a question for Mickey,” said Mau. “If he thinks he can do the job, that’s fine. If he doesn’t, then yeah, he would need to resign.”

Woody emphasized the fact that Luker was elected in a free, democratic election, and that undoing the results of that vote would be a serious matter. He hasn’t been shown to have violated the law, she said.

“If circumstances change to where there was an infraction of the law, that would definitely change my opinion on that,” she said.

“But it is a democracy, and I feel like if we took a step in that direction that would undermine — I might do something that offends people and they decide, ‘Well, let’s get rid of Gayle Woody,’ and that shouldn’t be the case.”

Deitz did comment that a closer look at Luker’s residency could be warranted, however.

“Maybe that’s something we need to look in about, where he’s living,” said Deitz. “I don’t know where he’s living. A couple other commissioners probably wouldn’t even know where I live but it’s pretty obvious he’s not real close or he’d be here.”

Commissioners were sympathetic to the frustration of southern Jackson residents but said that it’s not accurate to say that the area has no representation. Jackson County is full of out-of-the-way communities, from Pumpkintown to Woodfin to Soco, and while commissioners run based on district, they’re elected by the entire county, and they represent the entire county. Luker’s term expires in December 2020.

“I know they feel like they’re far and removed from the county, but there’s a lot of people could feel that way,” said Deitz. “I feel like we’re representing them well, even though he (Luker) is not there.”

“We pledged to represent all the citizens in Jackson County to the best of our ability, so I want to assure them (southern Jackson residents) that I take that very seriously, that oath of office, and that I consider Cashiers and Glenville and the southern end of the county in my decisions just as I do for Whittier and Qualla,” added Woody.

“I do feel in one sense they are being represented, but I also understand their concern that he’s not there and talking to people and listening to people, which is a big part of our responsibility.”

S

ince Nov. 16, early voting has been underway in North Carolina, so several days still remain for voters who wish to cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Days, locations and hours vary by county, and voters must vote in their county of registration. For more information, contact your local county board of election or the North Carolina State Board of Elections at www.ncsboe.gov.

news

Early voting ends Nov. 1

Haywood County Haywood County Senior Resource Center, 81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville www.haywoodcountync.gov/173/elections • • • • • • • • •

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 24, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 25, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 26, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 28, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 31, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 1, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Jackson County www.jacksonnc.org/board-of-elections/home Jackson County Board of Elections, 876 Skyland Dr., Sylva Wednesday, Oct. 23, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 24, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 25, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 26, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 28, 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 31, 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 1, 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Macon County www.maconnc.org/board-of-elections.html Highlands Civic Center, 600 N. 4th St., Highlands Macon County Community Building, 1288 Georgia Rd., Franklin Wednesday, Oct. 23, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 24, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 25, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 28, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 31, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 1, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Swain County www.swaincountync.gov/elections/elections-home.html Swain County Board of Elections, 1422 Hwy. 19 South, Bryson City • • • • • • • • •

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 24, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 25, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 26, 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 28, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 31, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 1, 88:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Smoky Mountain News

• • • • • • • •

October 23-29, 2019

• • • • • • • • •

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news

Is Your Business Facebook Account More Than You Can Manage?

Weekends October 25 - November 3 The Performing Arts Center on the Shelton Campus 250 Pigeon St. in Waynesville, NC

For More Information and Tickets:

828-456-6322 | www.harttheatre.org

Smoky Mountain News

October 23-29, 2019

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.

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MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR ADVISOR TO REVIEW & PLAN YOUR SPRING SCHEDULE

Ask How MSM Can Help!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

HCC-ADVISING@HAYWOOD.EDU HAYWOOD.EDU 828.565.4125

828.452.4251 jeff@mtnsouthmedia.com

Health

Smoky Mountain News

Get screened for breast cancer During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Jackson County Department of Public Health encourages all women to get a mammogram, if recommended.

While mammograms are covered by most health insurance programs at low or no-cost, the health department works to ensure that mammograms are available to all women, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

To qualify for the program, women must be 40 years or older, meet the financial guidelines, and be uninsured, underinsured, or have high insurance deductibles.

For more information about this program, call 828.587.8289.

Power of Pink raises $20K The Haywood Healthcare Foundation’s recent 13th Annual Power of Pink 5K raised more than $20,000 to help local men and women get access to mammograms and follow-up procedures.

Over 300 participants, including dogs, participated in the event despite the rain at the beginning of the race.

Congratulations to the winners of the 13th Annual Power of Pink: First Place Male, William Yates; First Place Female, Laura Rain Tree; Top Masters Male, Doug Hanson and Top Masters Female, Karen Matteson.

Art search for Analenisgi Cherokee Indian Hospital is issuing a call to artists for the new Analenisgi Inpatient Unit.

The mission is to create community pride and ownership using a variety of culturally significant, healing art mediums. Enrolled EBCI members will be given preference. Mediums can include but are not limited to paintings (oil, acrylic, pastels, watercolor) photography, fiber arts, metal, mixed media and sculpture.

Email legendweaverstudios@gmail.com for a formal application and information.

Event for Medicaid recipients With the ongoing transition of the Medicaid program, beneficiaries will need to pick a Medicaid Health Care Plan and open enrollment runs through Dec. 13.

For those interested in learning more about the four health plans available, stop by an informational meeting being held from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, at Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency, 157 Paragon Parkway in Clyde.

This event is free and will feature represen-

SCC Respiratory Therapy students practice their skills with a mannequin in the college’s simulation lab on the Jackson Campus. Pictured are Megan Dixon (from left) Taylor Day and Carissa Murphy, all from Bryson City.

SCC receives health sciences grant Thanks to a recent grant award of $70,000 from the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation, Southwestern Community College will soon purchase a new simulation mannequin to be used by the college’s Health Sciences programs.

The mannequin can be programmed to mimic many ailments and diseases. It is also designed to behave just as a human patient would under those circumstances. The mannequin is part of SCC’s goal to outfit its new $20 million Health Sciences Building, scheduled for completion in 2021.

“The Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation is pleased to support this initiative as it addresses two of our key focus areas for improving the health and wellbeing of our surrounding communities: education and access to healthcare,” said Robin Tindall, HCHF Executive Director.

To learn more about HCHF, visit www.highlandscashiershealthfoundation.org. tatives from all four available Health Care Plan providers. Flu shots will also be available for Medicaid recipients at this event.

For more information, call 828.452.6620.

Community meeting to address trauma Renew Bryson City will host a community meeting about understanding the impacts of trauma from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Presbyterian Church, 311 Everett St., Bryson City.

Learn how adverse childhood experiences impact their future and how to stop the cycle.

Speaker Becky Haas is a nationally known trauma trainer who will share how to create a healthy community. The film “Resilience” will be shown.

The event is free. Reserve your spot by Nov. 5 by calling 828.488.4455.

Renew Bryson City is a volunteer nonprofit agency committed to addressing the negative impact of drugs on the community.

New family doctors in Sylva Blue Ridge Health has added two new family physicians in Sylva — Dr. Brittany Hipkins and Dr. Kimberly Neiheisel began seeing patients at

the BRH-Jackson practice in early September.

Their work at the practice significantly expands access to care for patients of all ages.

Hipkins grew up in the northern Appalachian mountains of western Maryland.

She completed her medical degree at Duke University and moved to Asheville.

Neiheisel grew up in Georgia, north of Atlanta. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and also moved to Asheville, NC to complete her residency with MAHEC. Like all BRH practices, all insurances are accepted and those without insurance are charged on a sliding scale based on income and household size. No one is ever turned away for an inability to pay.

Those hoping to schedule an appointment are encouraged to call 828.477.4334 today. For more information, visit www.brchs.com.

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from Duke University in Durham. Most recently, Maxwell worked at Charles DePaolo Orthopaedics in Asheville.

Maloy completed a fellowship in orthopaedic surgery sports medicine at the Ochsner Sports Medicine Institute in Elmwood, Louisiana. He completed medical school at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and did his residency with the Indiana University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Western Carolina Orthopaedic Specialists also offer an orthopaedic walk in clinic for treatment of extremity injuries, broken bones, sprains, sports related injuries among other orthopaedic injuries. For more information, call 828.452.4131.

Harris welcomes new cardiologist

Harris Regional Hospital has hired Anne Fulbright, a certified physician assistant, to Harris Cardiology located on the second floor of Harris Regional Hospital, 68 Hospital Road in Sylva.

Fulbright received a Master of Medical Science, physician assistant studies, from Methodist University after obtaining a master’s degree from Duke University which focused on health policy and medicine.

Fulbright has practiced in both the inpatient and outpatient settings at cardiology practices and hospitals in Jackson, Tenn., and Chapel Hill and Durham, having most recently practiced in Asheville.

For more information, visit www.myharrisregional.com. Appointments may be made by calling 828.586.7654.

• Haywood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is hosting a Trick or Treating event for children starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, at 516 N. Wall Street, Waynesville. For more information or to donate candy, contact Megan Freeman at 828.458.9408.

• Asheville herbalist Heather Perry is returning to the Jackson County Public Library at 6 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 24, to talk about Elderberry Elixirs & Immune-Boosting Herbs. This class is free.

ALSO:

HRMC welcomes two new providers

• Learn about your Affordable Care Health Insurance Options and meet with a certified navigator to enroll between 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Waynesville Library. The deadline to sign up is Dec. 15.

Walk-ins welcome or make an appointment at 828.452.1447.

Haywood Regional Medical Center has hired Dr. Abby Maxwell and Dr. Charles Maloy to join Western Carolina Orthopaedic Specialists in Clyde.

Maxwell completed a fellowship in sports medicine at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital. She completed medical school at the New York Medical College after graduating

• Four Seasons will host a six-week support group for those who have lost loved ones to drug overdose this fall. Sessions will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays from Oct. 4 through Nov. 8 at Wells Event Center in Waynesville. Those interested should contact the group’s facilitator, Dan Yearick, at 828.692.6178.

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Opinion

Smoky Mountain News

Wide-ranging coverage, spirited opinions T

Gavin Brown is best bet for mayor To the Editor:’ I’m writing to acknowledge my support for the re-election of Gavin Brown as mayor of Waynesville. I have worked with Gavin for many years on various projects for the town. He is a passionate and dedicated leader for Waynesville. He grew up here, which gives him an historical knowledge of the town that benefits his perspective on future development. His insight into the community’s challenges and needs is honest and pragmatic. He listens to and accepts public input and is willing to voice his true opinion. His sincere affection for the community and his desire to continually improve Waynesville is evident to everyone.

Mark Clasby Waynesville

Ban assault-style weapons To the Editor:’ U.S. taxpayers buy rapid-fire weapons for qualified military personnel, which is a vital part of the “common defense” set forth by the Constitution. Yet some U.S. taxpayers obtain those military weapons and use them to kill their fellow Americans. Thus, all Americans are being denied equal protection under our laws.

Our military as well as homeland security

ach those who turn religion into a way to divide, to stir up hate. Graham can say all he wants about the LGBQT community and immigrants and Muslims while writing off Democrats as a party whose only vision is —according to what he told our reporter a couple weeks ago — “… to take your guns away from you and … to raise your taxes.” That’s his right as an American.

Journalistically, however, the decision to write about him was easy. My opinion about Graham aside, the conservative brand of Christianity which he professes to represent is a force in Editor this country. Of the Republicans who helped elect Donald Trump and still support him, white evangelicals are perhaps the largest bloc.

In 2016, 80 percent of this group supported the president. A recent poll posits that he still has the support of 76 percent of this group.

As the owner and editor of The Smoky Mountain News, I think it is vitally important that we cover the issues, personalities and problems confronting this region and this country, especially when they spring from a perspective that may be polar opposite of my own. I reserve the right to express my opinions on this page and in this space. That said, we work

Scott McLeod

hese days, too many Americans refuse to concede that a point-of-view other than their own has any validity. I’m afraid that the root of this problem is that too few are willing to put in the intellectual energy required to walk in someone else’s shoes. That requires reading, thinking, taking time for reflection, diving deep into issues rather than relying on Twitter and Facebook posts as the whole of one’s political philosophy.

Much easier to demonize those who think differently and move on.

Prior to our Franklin Graham cover story a couple of weeks ago, there was spirited talk at our weekly editorial meeting about how to handle this very controversial figure.

Some who read the story on our website and made comments suggested we should not give the guy any publicity.

They argue that Graham is a hypocrite and an unabashed Donald Trump supporter, that the message he delivers at his “Decision America” tour stops is — for the most part — onesided and overtly partisan. Some of his comments have been labeled bigoted, racist or worse.

Why would a legitimate media outlet that’s often tagged with the liberal label give him coverage?

Look, I’m one of those who agrees that Franklin Graham has indeed strayed from the righteous path blazed by his father. His Samaritan’s Purse organization does a world of good for a lot of needy people. Agreed. But I just can’t stom-

hard to make sure our news coverage appeals to a variety of readers. I don’t want a newspaper that is read by just the left or just the right, by just those considered progressive or just those considered conservative.

My gatherings with my brothers are interesting. I’m the youngest, and the next oldest — Steve — is an arch conservative. We argue politics for no good reason and could go at it for days, but we never get close to insulting each other. Never.

My oldest brother, Larry, is more conservative than me but nowhere near as partisan as Steve. Three Southern boys raised

by Southern parents in the same household, yet all over the place as far as politics go. Perhaps that upbringing plays a part in my insistence to be able to disagree with civility (plus the fact that they could both kick my ass when we were younger, so I wanted to talk and not fight).

There is an art to disagreeing. More often than not, yelling gets one red-faced and out of breath but it seldom leads to insight. A frank, level-headed discussion, however, often leads to great insight.

In the end, I guess the point of this piece is just to point out that we will always go the extra mile to be diverse and wide-ranging in our news coverage. We will keep opinions on the opinion page. And we will gladly give a voice to those we disagree with, and in fact look forward to doing so.

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

LETTERS must be rendered capable of providing for the “common defense” if we are to have equal protection. Congress must take steps to make this happen. Profit from sales of assault weapons must be sacrificed by the few in order to protect the masses.

Singer Donna Fargo put it like this in a great country song titled “Superman” — “Now, let’s go through this one more time.

You do your thing and I’ll do mine. But, honey baby, we got to draw the line if your hang-up starts messin’ with mine.”

The right to own an assault weapon is certainly messin’ with people’s “hang-up” about their desire to live safely in America.

Fund the military. Assure Second Amendment gun rights. Ban assault weapon sales and ownership for non-military personnel. Assure equal protection for all Americans!

Dave Waldrop Webster

Franklin Graham is too partisan To the Editor:’ The Rev. Franklin Graham (whose father, Billy Graham, my family and I saw in The Boston Gardens in the 1950s) repeatedly states his ministry is not political even though he continually praises President Donald Trump and condemns Democrats.

“The world is changing,” Rev. Graham said,

“culture is changing, attitudes toward things have changed, but God’s laws don’t change.”

How am I to believe that, Rev. Graham, when the son of the “nation’s pastor” (as your father was known) travels the country praising the most immoral, dishonest and incompetent president this country has ever known?

Asking foreign countries to discredit a political opponent illegally corrupts our elections, Rev. Graham. Conditioning our foreign policy with any foreign government on such political “favors” corrupts our national

integrity. Withholding military aid from Ukraine defending itself against Russian incursion aids and gives comfort to our enemies. That is treason.

At some point in time Republican Senators and the Republican Party are going to have to choose whether to defend the traitor in the White House or defend the rule of law. And so are you, Rev. Graham, and so are your disciples.

David L. Snell Franklin

Susanna Shetley

There is so much I want to see in this world and accomplish professionally, but it all starts with me. If I think 40 is old, it’s going to feel old. On the flipside, if I follow Zamperini’s lead where age is a non-issue, a world of possibilities opens up.

Key birthdays are a good time for selfreflection and asking one’s self hard questions. Overall, I’m happy with life. I’m proud of my two little boys and the young men they’re becoming. I’m in an amazing relationship that brings joy, adventure and laughter. I’m active and routinely run, bike, hike and swim. I love exploring this amazing world through travel. I enjoy working at The Smoky Mountain News with driven, creative people.

With that being said, I want to travel more, laugh more, explore more. I have huge lists of books I want to read, others I want to write, places to visit, foods to try, concerts to see. I have big professional goals

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Smoky Mountain News

such as publishing books and getting back into teaching or speaking. I realize I have a restless soul, which makes life in general feel insatiable, and that also affects my feelings toward this birthday.

I just spent a wonderful weekend in Nashville with my boyfriend discovering the city, riding bikes and seeing one of our favorite bands at the Ryman Auditorium, a place that was extraordinarily special to my parents during the 1960s. I posted my own pictures on Instagram with the notation #thisis40. It’s time to own it. If I can get out of my own way and embrace this new season of life, it’s going to be a fine age indeed.

I just know it.

(Susanna Shetley is a writer, editor and sales professional with The Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living, and Mountain South Media. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com)

October 23-29, 2019

I turn 40 years old this week.

The idea has not been settling well, and I’m not sure why. I’m an optimist on most matters, but this pivotal birthday has been bothering me. Perhaps it’s because I’m not quite where I want to be professionally or maybe it’s because ever since my mom passed away, mortality feels real and life seems fragile.

Whatever the reason, I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching.

Then recently, a friend of mine posted Instagram photos Columnist on her 40th birthday with the notation #thisis40. Scrolling through her pictures inspired me. If she could embrace this new age, why couldn’t I? One of my favorite books is Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.

It’s the powerful story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner and World War II airman who spent weeks surviving in the middle of the ocean on a life raft only to end up in brutal POW camps.

He finally returned home a broken man racked with alcoholism and PTSD. Years after the war ended, Zamperini attended a Billy Graham #thisis40 event. The experience inspired him to forgive his war tormentors and shift his perception on life. He also began to view age as an arbitrary number. He learned to skateboard at age 72. He was a lifelong avid runner and attended University of Southern California football games well into old age.

He died in 2014 at 97.

There’s no direct comparison to Zamperini and me, but he’s been on my mind this week, which offered some encouragement. It’s helpful to remember others who’ve transcended age in an effort to savor every second on this earth.

Also in my angst over turning 40, I researched famous people who didn’t achieve greatness until they were older. I learned that Ronald Regan, Martha Stewart, Sam Walton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford and others did not garner fame until later in life.

ART AFTER DARK

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Register at www.runsignup.com Contact Yolanda Saunooke at (828)-359-6784 with questions

23

tasteTHE mountains 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.

October 23-29, 2019

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 festival 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 hand-cut, 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.

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.

Real New Yorkers.

Real Italians. Real Pizza.

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

CALL FOR ALL YOUR CATERING NEEDS 828-507-6209

Join Us for Weekly

Serving all of WNC

PASTA NIGHT!

www.hitthepitbbq.com

Wednesdays 3-9 p.m.

Smoky Mountain News

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.

Award-winning BBQ, brisket, and ribs, all with sides made fresh daily.

Dine-In ~ Take Out ~ Delivery

172 Sylva Plaza | Sylva

WITH THIS COUPON

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.

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 restau-

The

Freestylers Saturday, Nov. 2 7pm 3 E JACKSON ST. • SYLVA, NC

www.CityLightsCafe.com

Daily Specials: Soups, Sandwiches & Southern Dishes

828-476-5058

All location hours: Mon-Sat 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Closed Sundays

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.

MAGGIE VALLEY RESTAURANT since 1952

243 Paragon Parkway | Clyde

828-492-0641

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.

Carver's

1295 incudes choice of salad, garlic rolls, choice of pasta and dessert.

$

10% OFF 24

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.

Simple, delicious food.

Craft Beer on Tap & Full Bar M-S: 11:30-9 Sun: 10-9 · Sun. Brunch: 10-2

USIC LIVE M

WITH

N DENTO BRYCEAT. 7-9 P.M. THIS S

828.454.5400 | 128 N. Main | Downtown Waynesville | FireflyTapsAndGrill.com

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

Breakfast : Omelets, Pancakes, Biscuits & Gravy!

Breakfast served all day!

OPEN DAILY 7 A.M. TO 8 P.M. SUNDAY 8 A.M. TO 8 P.M. CLOSED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY 2804 SOCO RD. • MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.0425 • Facebook.com/carversmvr Instagram- @carvers_mvr

tasteTHE mountains rant 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 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 HAZELWOOD FARMACY & SODA FOUNTAIN 429 Hazelwood Avenue, Waynesville.

828.246.6996. Open six days a week, closed Wednesday. 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Breakfast until noon, old-fashioned luncheonette and diner comfort food.

Historic full service soda fountain.

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

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 CLUB 1819 Country Club Dr., Maggie Valley.

828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine.

Open seasonally for lunch and dinner. Fine and casual fireside dining in welcoming atmosphere. Full bar. Reservations accepted.

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. Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies. Various desserts.

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,

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 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. Also serving excellent prime rib on Thursdays. Dine in or take out available.

Located across from the Fire Station.

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.

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.

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

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

MON.-SAT. 11AM–8PM

34 CHURCH ST. WAYNESVILLE 828.246.6505 twitter.com/ChurchStDepot

THANK YOU, HAYWOOD COUNTY,

FOR VOTING US

#1 BURGER! facebook.com/ChurchStreetDepot

828-246-6996 429 Hazelwood Avenue Waynesville Monday, Tuesday Wednesday Thursday, Friday Saturday Sunday Brunch

7:30am to 4pm Closed 7:30am to 4pm 8am to 4pm 9am to 3pm

AT BEARWATERS BREWING Tue-Thurs 12- 9 p.m • Fri-Sat: 12- 10 p.m.

Sunday: 12- 9 p.m. • Monday: Closed

101 PARK ST. CANTON 828.492.1422 PIGEONRIVERGRILLE.COM

Wine • Port • Champagne Cigars • Gifts

828-452-6000

20 Church Street Downtown Waynesville

Smoky Mountain News

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

MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main Street Downtown Sylva.

828.586.3555. Open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with Sunday Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Handtossed pizza, house-ground burgers, steak sandwiches & fresh salmon all from scratch.

Casual family friendly atmosphere. Craft beer and interesting wine. Free movies Thursday through Saturday. Visit madbatterfoodfilm.com for this week’s shows & events.

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.

October 23-29, 2019

JOEY’S PANCAKE HOUSE 4309 Soco Rd Maggie Valley.

828.926.0212. Open seven days a week! 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Joey’s is a family-friendly restaurant that has been serving breakfast to locals and visitors of Western North Carolina for decades. Featuring a large variety of tempting pancakes, golden waffles, country style cured ham and seasonal specials spiked with flavor, Joey’s is sure to please all appetites. Join us for what has become a tradition in these parts, breakfast at Joey’s.

kitchen using fresh ingredients. 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. kaninis.com

classicwineseller.com MONDAY - SATURDAY

10:00AM - 6:00PM

25

A&E

Smoky Mountain News

26

The Hooten Hallers. (photo: Dave Jackson)

“There’s not really a definitive style that we’re working within, and we’re totally fine with that. It’s more of a conveyance of emotion and feeling, and there’s something very appealing to us about the raw simplicity.”

— John Randall

MOUNTAIN OF PAIN Beloved Missouri blues-rock act to play Water’n Hole

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER utting through the onslaught of monotonous bar bands and diluted midnight hour showcases like a buzz saw gone haywire, The Hooten Hallers remain one of the most mesmerizing, innovative and raucous acts on the national scene these days.

Fronted by John Randall (guitar/lap steel), the group also features Kellie Everett (saxo-

C

phone) and Andy Rehm (drums). The Columbia, Missouri, trio are a well-traveled band of road warriors. They continually seek hard-earned truths and fleeting compassion on this never-ending barnstorming tour crisscrossing the country, one resembling some wild-n-out spider web to destinations known and unknown.

With Randall’s snarling junkyard dog vocal delivery, the tone is chaotic, a fast-paced blend of the Delta blues and Chicago jazz, all amid a thick thread of devil-may-care rock-n-roll and punk stylings.

This troupe of Midwestern folks are an unhinged band of pirates, rolling along the high seas of beer joints, back alley hole-in-the-wall

establishments and seemingly any place where there’s just enough space (or not) to set up shop and bulldoze over any and all within earshot.

The keen lyrical aptitude of the melodies shines a light on the seedier (often more realistic) side of humanity, the everyday struggles and hard-fought battles — whether in front of you or within you.

It’s about bringing those hurting and howling out of the shadows and back into a society where all are left to exist within their own devices of curiosity, artistic vision and simple madness of being a human being in dark times.

And though The Hooten Hallers have released a variety of studio albums, it’s the live show where the ensemble shakes the audience into a frenzy of human emotion and connectivity — this freewheelin’ vibration to finally feed into your deeply-held urges to dance with your heart on your sleeve and let it all hang loose.

SMN: In an uncertain era of the music industry, what is it that keeps you going and inspired to push ahead and overcome the tough financial and professional challenges of being a touring and ever-evolving act in the digital age?

JR: While it may be a tough business, we work for ourselves, and count ourselves lucky to be our own boss. Doing something that you love and you’re passionate about has its own value, finances notwithstanding.

Smoky Mountain News: How much has the original intent of the sound and purpose of the band changed or stayed the same since this musical journey began?

John Randall: Our sound has evolved dramatically, but our purpose and intention has remained consistent. However, as a band, we’re more conscious of arrangements now, whereas in the early days many of our songs had a lot of improvisation.

Making music that people connect with and providing a soundtrack for their day-today activities is well worth the hard work and the difficulties that we face as a touring band.

SMN: What is it about the blues and pure rock-n-roll music that speaks to you? Why those styles of music? And what separates those sounds from other genres and ways of creating and performing music?

JR: Collectively, we’re influenced by a widerange of music and when we bring all of that together, there are certainly elements of blues and rock-n-roll. But, there’s also punk, country, and jazz at times, as well.

We’re inspired by all types of traditional American music and seek to honor those who created it. There’s not really a definitive style that we’re working within, and we’re totally fine with that. It’s more of a conveyance of emotion and feeling, and there’s something very appealing to us about the raw simplicity.

Want to go?

Acclaimed blues/hard rock act The Hooten Hallers will perform at 9:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 25, at The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.

Admission is $5 at the door. www.thehootenhallers.com.

SMN: For you, personally, what does the live setting spark within you, and also within your band?

JR: We’re at our best when we connect with the audience. The best shows are ones when a cycle of energy is generated between the band and the audience and it continues to build throughout the show.

SMN: You’ve spent a large portion of your life creating and recording music, traveling the world, having all kinds of experiences, and meeting folks from all walks of life. What has that taught you about what it means to be a human being?

JR: We feel that people are essentially the same everywhere, though they have different and specific wants and needs. Nearly everyone wants to experience connection with other people and their environment, and music can easily build bridges. We’ve found that often those who have the least can be the most welcoming and hospitable.

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD

What came first: the anger or the words?

Acclaimed hard rock act The Hooten Hallers will perform at 9:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill in Waynesville.

I

NOW OPEN 10 AM-7 PM MONDAY-THURSDAY 10 AM- 10 PM FRIDAY-SATURDAY

WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT Entertainment Schedule Oct 25 | Cody & Jonlyn Siniard | 7-10 pm | OSEGA Gymnastics Chili Cook-off Oct 26 | Bluegrass Jam 6-9 pm | Fuego Food Truck Nov 1 | Julie’s Kickin’ Karaoke | 7-11 pm | Fuego Nov 2 | The Maggie Valley Band 7-10 pm | Appalachian Smoke Nov 8 | Stone Crazy Band 7-10 pm | Fuego Nov 9 | Shaun Abbott | 7-10 pm Appalachian Smoke

Rockhound Ridge Gem Mine Halloween Night through November 2 • 5-9 p.m.

FREE ADMISSION FREE RAFFLE MINI HAUNTED WALK NIGHT GEM MINING COSTUME CONTEST

BLACKLIGHT GEM MINING FRIDAY NIGHT 8-10 P.M. 8430 Hwy. 441 South • Sylva 828-631-9990 Between High Country Tire & Pumpkintown Rd.

Smoky Mountain News

n my 12 years as a professional journalist, I’ve seen The 28th Annual Leaf Lookers Gemboree will be and heard the good, the held from Oct. 25-27 at the Macon County bad, and the ugly of what it Community Building just south of Franklin on means to find balance and U.S. Highway 441. strength in this industry that is newspapers, magazines and The comedy classic “Arsenic and Old Lace” will media in our country and hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25-26, Nov. 1-2 around our world. and at 2 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 at the Haywood And within that decade or Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. more of newsroom experience, I’ve interviewed, The Western Carolina University Bardo Arts researched, reported and writCenter will present its annual Halloween ten about thousands of subscreening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at jects and topics, all through 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31. the Bush, Obama and Trump Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host Captain administrations — each Midnight Band (rock/soul) at 8 p.m. Saturday, White House as different as Oct. 26. the last.

Back in 2007-2008, when I I found myself covering local politics, got my first journalism gig, I found myself in planning and zoning meetings and educathe high desert prairie of Eastern Idaho and tion, all alongside an array of profile features Western Wyoming (Grand Teton on elderly Mormon farmers, extreme profesMountains). sional skiers, national park rangers and Relocating from the Canadian Border of Upstate New York, I was thrown headfirst into weather-beaten cattle ranchers.

In that position, I learned a lot about not the rural West — a barren and often-times harsh landscape — one inhabited by ranchers, only myself and my profession, but also — and most importantly — about how to lisMormons, billionaires and ski bums. ten, and listen respectfully to others. I To some, I was a fish out of water, this remember one interview in particular, a leg22-year-old New York kid, fresh out of college in Connecticut, now putting down roots endary filmmaker, who, in the midst of my in the Wild West. But, as per usual, I reveled questioning, turned to me and said, “Garret, the most important thing you’ll ever learn in in the idea of being thrown into a situation interviewing people is to let the pause where I knew nobody and had to prove between question and answer hover in the myself, where my word and my work meant moment and emotion of a properly cultivateverything.

BEER, WINE, COCKTAILS

October 23-29, 2019

HOT PICKS 1 2 3 4 5

FULL BAR SERVING arts & entertainment

This must be the place

ed response.”

He was right. Let the question sit there in the air a little bit. Let the subject immerse themselves in thought without interruption.

Let the response simmer, even within an awkward silence. Side note: all of this applies to conversation in general, regardless if you agree with the person you’re talking to or not, to which, “I may not agree with you, but I respect you as a human being.”

Everything I learned and experienced in that first year in Idaho (and on the job), I’ve truly and genuinely used in my daily life, whether for journalistic endeavors or simply wandering and wondering amid the grand scheme of things.

And in my seven or so years with The Smoky Mountain News, I’ve seen the change in how the four winds blow as to how media and news is viewed by the general public.

I’ve received hate mail (and continue to weekly). And I’ve gotten letters of thanks and gratitude (also, weekly). I see the comments on our social media accounts, for good or ill. I take it all in stride, and with a grain of salt.

But, all in all? I believe wholeheartedly that the average person (and the majority of society) is a good and just person. Most folks want to, and would, help each other in times of need, regardless of political or religious differences. Remember, we’re in this together, and for that, we must never lose sight of the power and beauty of a community rallying for a brighter tomorrow.

Thus, when our publication finds itself in the crosshairs of dark and disturbing rhetoric — especially through the channels of social media and unknown names hiding behind a profile and a keyboard — we take it seriously. Recent messages sent to The Smoky Mountain News have really put the point across that there needs to be a moment of clarity in these uncertain times.

Our newspaper consists of journalists, advertising sales folks, graphic designers and management of varying backgrounds — a unique and championed blend of ideologies, religions and political persuasions. We are proud of who we are, where we came from, and of where we’re going.

There have always been journalists and media outlets with differing political and religious backgrounds, ever since the printing press was invented centuries ago. But, the key is — and will always be — to leave your bias and personal feelings at the door of your research and reporting. And for all of us here at The Smoky Mountain News, we do so with the utmost respect and concern for our readers, subjects and topics.

So, for the 1,000th time, your local newspaper is not out to get you. We proudly live, work and thrive in your community. We are the first line of defense in terms of factual information and watchdog justice in your backyard.

The Smoky Mountain News is an independent, non-corporate news organization, one of authentic journalism presented by hardworking folks who are your friends and neighbors. We are not mainstream media, nor do we sit in rooms and discuss how best to destroy Main Street America. I digress.

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

27

arts & entertainment

On the beat

Big Brothers Big Sisters benefit concert

• Andrews Brewing Company (Andrews) will host the “Lounge Series” at its Calaboose location with A. Lee Edwards Oct. 24, Scott Streible Oct. 25, Granny’s Mason Jar 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26, George Ausman 4 p.m. Oct. 27, Wooleybooger Oct. 31, Moriah Domby Nov. 1, The Gnarly Fingers Nov. 2 and Wyatt & Blue 4 p.m. Nov. 3. All shows are free and begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.andrewsbrewing.com.

• Blue Ridge Beer Hub (Waynesville) will host an acoustic jam with Main St. NoTones from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 24 and Oct. 31. 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 and The Halloween Bash 8:30 p.m. Oct. 26. All shows begin at 9 p.m. unless otherwise noted. www.boojumbrewing.com.

ALSO:

October 23-29, 2019

The Darren Nicholson Band.

Acclaimed Americana/string act The Darren Nicholson Band will perform during a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Haywood County fundraiser at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at The Colonial Theater in Canton. Marc and Anita Pruett will open the show.

Mandolinist for Balsam Range, Darren Nicholson is a Grammy nominee and a recipient of numerous International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards, including “Entertainer of the Year” (2014, 2018), “Song of the Year” (2011), and “Album of the Year” (2006, 2017).

He has appeared countless times on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry, at the Ryman Auditorium, CMT, GAC and many of the world’s most famous venues and networks.

Dr. Marc Pruett, a founding member of Balsam Range, is a Grammy-winning banjo picker who has played on four albums with Ricky Skaggs including his first record in 1974 and the 1997 Grammy award winner

“Bluegrass Rules!”

He also led the Marc Pruett Band for 10 years. His music was used for over a dozen years in the highly acclaimed outdoor drama “Unto These Hills” in Cherokee. Dr. Pruett earned his honorary doctorate from Western Carolina University in 2010 for his contributions to bluegrass music.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of show. Tickets are available at The Colonial Theater, as well as Allstate Insurance and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Haywood County, both in Waynesville.

All proceeds will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Haywood County. Southern Porch and Pigeon River Grille in Canton will also offer a 10 percent discount for ticket holders on the day of the show.

Sponsors of the event include: The Smoky Mountain News, Southern Porch, Town of Canton, The Cruso Endowment, Roc-N-Soc and Pigeon River Grille.

Smoky Mountain News

@SmokyMtnNews

28

• Frog Level Brewing (Waynesville) will host Clark & Cole Oct. 25, Scoundrel’s Lounge Oct. 26, Joey Fortner 3 p.m. Oct. 27, In Flight Nov. 1 and Tim Nave 4 p.m. Nov. 3. All shows begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. www.froglevelbrewing.com.

• Innovation Brewing (Sylva) will have an Open Mic night Oct. 23 and 30, and a jazz night with the Kittle/Collings Duo Oct. 24 and 31. All events are free and begin at 8 p.m. www.innovation-brewing.com.

• Isis Music Hall (West Asheville) will host EG Vines & Natalie Royal (folk/soul) 7 p.m. Oct. 23, “Life from WVL Radio Theater: The Headless Hessian of Sleepy Hollow (and other American horror stories)” (storyteller) 8:30 p.m. Oct. 23, David Olney (Americana/folk) 7 p.m. Oct. 24, Adam Ezra Group (folk/rock) 9 p.m. Oct. 24, Jenner Fox & Greg Klyma (Americana/folk) 7 p.m. Oct. 25, The Tulsa Revue (alt-country/honky-tonk) 8:30 p.m. Oct. 25, Chatham Rabbits (Americana/old-time) 7 p.m. Oct. 26, Jonathan Wilson w/The Dead Tongues

(singer-songwriter) 8:30 p.m. Oct. 26, Reckless Saints w/Roy Schneider & Kim Mayfield (Americana) 7 p.m. Oct. 27, Griffin House (singer-songwriter) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27, Tuesday Bluegrass Sessions w/Kristy Cox 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 and Kelly Hunt w/Stas’ Heaney (singer-songwriter) 7 p.m. Oct. 30.

For more information or to purchase tickets, click on www.isisasheville.com.

• Lazy Hiker Brewing (Franklin) will host an open mic night at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday, Alex Culbreth Oct. 25 and Sol Rhythms Oct. 26. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click on www.lazyhikerbrewing.com.

• Legends Sports Grill (Maggie Valley) will host music semi-regularly on weekends.

828.926.9464 or www.facebook.com/legendssportsgrillmaggievalley.

• Mad Anthony’s Taproom & Restaurant (Waynesville) will host Donnie & The Dry Heavers 5:30 p.m. Oct. 29. All shows are free and open to the public. 828.246.9249.

• Mountain Layers Brewing (Bryson City) will host the “Stone Soup” open mic night every Tuesday, Shayler’s Kitchen Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, Frank & Allie Oct. 26 and Granny’s Mason Jar Nov. 2. All shows are free and begin at 7 p.m. www.mountainlayersbrewingcompany.com.

• Nantahala Brewing (Sylva) will host The Caribbean Cowboys (variety) Oct. 25 and Captain Midnight Band (rock/soul) Oct. 26.

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

• Rathskeller Coffee Haus & Pub (Franklin) will continue its Americana and songwriters showcase with Joe Cat Oct. 25 and Gary Carter Oct. 26. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Free and open to the public. www.rathskellerfranklin.com.

On the beat

A community jam will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, 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 welcome. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett of the Sawmill Creek Porch Band.

The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn old-time mountain songs. The music jams are offered to the public each first and third Thursday of the month — year-round.

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

828.488.3030.

arts & entertainment

Bryson City community jam

• 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.

• 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.

October 23-29, 2019

• Satulah Mountain Brewing (Highlands) will host “Hoppy Hour” and an open mic at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and live music on Friday evenings. 828.482.9794 or www.satulahmountainbrewing.com.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Cashiers) will host Bluegrass Thursdays w/Benny Queen at 6:30 p.m.

• The Ugly Dog Pub (Highlands) will host Bluegrass w/Nitrograss Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

ALSO:

• Whiteside Brewing (Cashiers) will host Surf Cavalier 5:30 p.m. Oct. 26 and Doug Ramsay Nov. 1 and 8. Shows are at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Free and open to the public. 828.743.6000 or www.whitesidebrewing.com.

Smoky Mountain News

• The Water’n Hole Bar & Grill (Waynesville) will host an “Open Mic Night” on Mondays, karaoke on Thursdays and semi-regular music on Fridays and Saturdays. The Hooten Haller (rock/blues) will perform at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 25 ($5 cover at the door). All events at 10 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 828.456.4750.

29

arts & entertainment

On the street Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express The Peanuts Pumpkin Patch Express will depart at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 25-27 and noon Oct. 26-27 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.

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

‘Keepers of the Fire’ gathering

October 23-29, 2019

The Native Heart Community Development Association & Murphy Aglow will celebrate Native American Heritage Month with the “Keepers of the Fire” gathering, which will be held Nov. 1-2 at the Wagon Master Ranch Resort at 359 Adventure Ranch Road in Murphy.

Parade of Nations will be at 6 p.m. Friday.

Attendees are encouraged to wear their tribal regalia. The film “Awakened” will be screened at 7 p.m.

The Saturday meeting will start at 9 a.m.

Topic will be the First Spiritual Awakening which happened in the Murphy area in mid-1896. Sites involved in this awakening will be visited if weather permits. At 2 p.m. Michael Thornton, author of Fire in the Carolinas, speaks on The Last Spiritual Awakening.

For more information, email nativeheartcda@gmail.com or call 828.458.0691.

Shelton House masquerade party

Leaf Lookers Gemboree The 28th Annual Leaf Lookers Gemboree will be held from Oct. 25-27 at the Macon County Community Building just south of Franklin on U.S. Highway 441.

The Gemboree will feature a wide variety of items including fine finished jewelry, rough and cut gems, lapidary equipment, minerals, fossils and collectibles. Dealers will also be available to custom make special pieces of jewelry.

Admission is $2 and those under 12 will be admitted free. The Gemboree will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, contact the Franklin Chamber of Commerce at 828.524.3161 or toll free at 800.336.7829.

The Shelton House.

The “Ghost & Growlers” masquerade party will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at The Shelton House in Waynesville.

The Shelton House will be turned into a haunted house for the event. There will be several activities including a seance, silent auction, cork pull and more. Costumes are optional.

Tickets are $50. All proceeds to benefit the preservation and restoration of The Shelton House. For more information, call 828.452.1551 or visit www.sheltonhouse.org.

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On the street

Southwestern Community College’s Advertising & Graphic Design students will open up their “Shocktoberfest” Halloween display and exhibit from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 31, in the Burrell Building at the Jackson Campus in Sylva.

Walk-through and trick-or-treating will be free. Activity and food booths will be available for a minimal expense.

For more information, visit www.southwesterncc.edu or call 828.339.4000.

Halloween party at Marianna Black Families are invited to put on their costumes and come to the Halloween Party at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Things off to a spooky start with Room on the Broom storytime, followed by stations of holiday themed games, crafts, and snacks.

Then, at 5 p.m. they will lower the lights, pass out the popcorn, and enjoy a family movie rated PG. Come for the crafts and games, the movie, or both.

Children that have participated in our October Reading Club are reminded to bring

• “Hometown Halloween” will take place from noon to 8 p.m. at Nantahala Brewing in Sylva. Trick or treating and family activities beginning at 5 p.m. Bring your own pumpkin for carving. Free to attend.

• There will be a “Halloween Trick or Treat” from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, at the Town Hall and participating homes in Webster.

• The “Halloween Trick or Treat” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in downtown Dillsboro.

• “Trick and Treat” will be held at 4 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 31, in downtown Bryson City.

Downtown streets are closed for trick or treaters in their costumes. 800.867.9246.

• “When Myth Becomes Reality” with Jeff Carpenter will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Carpenter, a field investigator for the BFRO (Bigfoot Field Investigators Organization) as he shares his knowledge and experience from his 15 years of research

into the Bigfoot (Sasquatch) legend. He is also a member of East Coast Expeditions and KBRO (Kentucky Bigfoot Research Organization). During this two-hour multimedia presentation, he will present witness reports, audio clips, video clips, footprint casts, and his own experiences. The presentation is free and open to all ages. Several door prizes will also be given.

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• “Travels and Tall Tales with Alan French” will present “The Viking Adventures of King Harald Harðraða & Villain Eiríkr Þorvaldsson” at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Free and open to the public.

ALSO:

• The CommUnity Square Dance will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct 26, at the old Webster School in Webster. Caller will teach and call all dances to live old-time music.

No partner or experience is necessary. For more information, email pammanottus@gmail.com.

• The “Horror Haunted House” will be held Oct. 25-26 and 31 at the Fines Creek Community Center. Presented by the Fines Creek Community Association and Mayhem Roller Derby. Entry is $5 per person. For more information, email fcncsmac@gmail.com.

All proceeds/donations go to FCCA to support community needs, scholarships and the MANNA Foodbank.

Smoky Mountain News

• “Treat Street” will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in downtown Sylva.

828.586.2719.

Mummies and Daddies will be invading the “Goblins In the Green” from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at The Village Green in Cashiers.

Dress in your favorite silly or scary costume and you could win a prize. Among the activities will be a costume contest at 7 p.m.

Prizes will be awarded to the best boy and girl costume as well as the best owner and pet coordinating costume. Music, dancing, games and some tricks and treats will add to the festivities.

“Goblins In the Green: is organized and presented by The Village Green, Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department and Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau. Many area merchants are supporting this event.

“Goblins In the Green” is a free, community wide event for residents and visitors to the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau.

For more information, visit www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

Once in a Life-time Opportunity

October 23-29, 2019

• The annual “Treats on the Street” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 on Main Street in Waynesville. Children’s activities and more. www.downtownwaynesville.com.

Goblins invade the Green

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arts & entertainment

Ready for SCC ‘Shocktoberfest’?

their book list to the Halloween Party to receive their special prize. Early sign-up, by calling the library, is strongly encouraged.

For more information, contact the Youth Services Department at the library at 828.488.3030.

31

arts & entertainment October 23-29, 2019 Smoky Mountain News

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W W W. b l u e r i d g e m o t o r c y c l i n g m a g a z i n e . c o m

On the table

FALL REBATE OFFER

arts & entertainment

Bryson City Wine Market PROMOTION OFFER: OCTOBER 1 - 31, 2019 When you buy a set of four select Yokohama tires, you'll be eligible to receive a Visa Prepaid Card to Visa Virtual Account (up to $80).

Optional Equipment lines are not eligible.

There will be a handful of events at the Bryson City Wine Market.

• Wine and cheese from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24. These constant companions go great together. Join the market for an evening of tasty fun as they pair up an array of delectable duos.

• Wine for the holiday table from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. Wines fit for a holiday feast. From turkey-worthy reds to crowd pleasing whites, discover the best wines to pair with your holiday meals.

• Cheers to bubbles from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21. From Champagne to Prosecco and Cremant to Cava. Raise a glass, as we explore the many styles and tastes of sparkling wine.

To RSVP, email bcwinemarket@gmail.com.

The Jackson County Public Library Recipe Swap is a quarterly event consisting of a recipe gathering, the making of a cookbook, and finally a potluck dinner using the recipes gathered.

If anyone has a recipe they would like to participate with, email the recipe to Danielle Duffy at dduffy@fontanalib.org, or bring your recipe to the reference desk on the second floor of the library in Sylva.

The deadline for the Fall Cookbook

Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host an array of wine tastings and small plates throughout the week.

• Mondays: Free tastings and discounts on select styles of wine that changes weekly.

• Thursdays: Five for $5 wine tasting, with small plates available for purchase from Chef Bryan’s gourmet cuisine in The Secret Wine Bar. • Wednesday-Saturday: The Secret Wine Bar will be open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Fridays: The Secret Wine Bar will be open for drinks and small plates from 5 to 9 p.m.

• Saturdays: Champagne cocktails from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Secret Wine Bar will be

open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will also be a free wine tasting from 1 to 5 p.m.

For more information and/or to RSVP for ticketed events, call 828.452.0120 or email info@waynesvillewine.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 at The Wine Bar & Cellar in Sylva. 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

Bosu’s tastings, small plates

recipe submission is Nov. 1. Once the library has all of the recipes, the fall version of the cookbook will be put together.

Each participant will receive a copy of the cookbook. At 6 p.m. Nov. 12, each participant will bring their dish and everyone will share food, fellowship, stories, and community.

For more information, call the library at 828.586.2016. This cookbook is cosponsored by the Friends of the Jackson County Public Library.

The Jackson County Public Library is a member of Fontana Regional Library (www.fontanalib.org).

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33

arts & entertainment

On the wall Call for artist submissions The Swain County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) has purchased three additional fish (trout) statues to be placed in various locations throughout downtown Bryson City.

One will be placed at the new Aquarium on Island Street and the locations for the other two are still to be determined. The TDA would love to involve the local community in this project and are asking that you: • Submit a design for painting a fish statue. Winning designs will be awarded $100 each.

• Submit a bid if you are a local painter who would like to paint one of the fish statues.

• Suggest locations in downtown Bryson City for the remaining two fish statues.

• Considering a sponsorship: businesses that are interested in sponsoring one of the statues and/or placing it on their property.

All submissions must be received by Friday, Oct. 25. The TDA Board will make

all final decisions about design, placement, and the painting of the new fish statues.

Send all submissions to Mary Anne Baker.

For more information, call 828.488.6858.

HCAC studio tour exhibition This October, Haywood County residents and visitors are invited to view work from Haywood County artists who operate studios in the county and have participated in past open studio tours.

Exhibitors work in diverse media, including clay, fiber, wood, jewelry, glass, mixed-media, sculpture, and two-dimensional applications. View the work of our local artists through Oct. 26 at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville.

The Haywood County Studio Tour is sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday.

HCAC is closed on Wednesday and Sunday. www.haywoodarts.org.

Smoky Mountain News

October 23-29, 2019

Booker exhibit at WCU The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center will present the exhibit, “Chakaia Booker: Auspicious Behavior,” which will be on display through Oct. 25.

Booker is an abstract sculptor who creates textured, layered works in both 3-D and 2-D media. Her work addresses AfricanAmerican identity, racial and economic inequality, and environmental concerns.

“Auspicious Behavior” is a traveling exhibition that was organized by the Ewing Gallery at the University of Tennessee and will feature 19 of Booker’s chine collé prints and four of her sculptures made from repurposed tires.

Booker has developed her own method to create her prints. Taking full advantage of the various tools and materials available in the print studio, Booker cuts into wood-

The immensely popular 15th annual WNC Pottery Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at 76 Railroad Avenue in Sylva.

Showcasing the work of more than 40 master potters from an array of states. A variety of clay art styles will be presented. The event is juried and the lineup of potters is second-tonone. The “WNC Clay Olympics” and lighting of the wood-fired kiln will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1.

The event has been named one of the “Top 20” events in the Southeast for November.

Admission is $5. For more information, visit www.wncpotteryfestival.com.

Creating Community Workshop blocks with drills, chisels and grinders, and paints on paper with gouache, watercolor and film ink to create an array of lively marks: some sharp and rough, others organic, swirling and energetic.

The WCU Fine Art Museum is always free and open to the public, with free parking on site, Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday until 7 p.m. arts.wcu.edu/exhibitions.

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The next Creating Community Workshop will be held at 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 26, in the Atrium of the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.

As the holidays approach, it’s not always easy to give the time we’d like to what or who is important in our lives.

Creating a small, personal altar can be a touchstone that reminds us to slow down, give attention to and stay connected.

Instructor Jennifer Ashlock lives and works in Jackson County. This community

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project is based on a similar workshop series she conducted as a thesis project for her MA. Participants will use simple craft supplies. No previous art experience is required and the project is accessible to all abilities and backgrounds. Materials are provided and participants are encouraged to bring personal items/photos to apply to their altar. The workshop is limited to 12 participants. To register, call the library at 828.586.2016.

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

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On the wall

ALSO:

• Master ceramicist Kathy Murphy will host the “Tiles & Murals” workshop as part of the Master Potters Series from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Cowee Pottery School in Franklin. www.coweepotteryschool.org.

• Jennifer Hawkins Hock’s exhibit “Artist Room Studies: 2D to 3D” is currently on display during the month of October at Macon County Public Library Living Room in Franklin. The exhibit features 21 of Hock’s 3dimensional miniature assemblages depicting painted or photographed rooms from

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center is pleased to present, “Resounding Change: Sonic Art and the Environment.” This exhibition will be on display through Dec. 6. It features soundbased artwork that encourages visitors to listen more closely to the natural world and to think about how sound is being used in a time of environmental crisis. To learn more, visit bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

• The Weekly Open Studio art classes will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville, Instructor will be Betina Morgan. Open to all artists, at any stage of development, and in the medium of your choice. Cost is $25 per class. There will also be a Youth Art Class from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. on Wednesdays. Cost is $15 per class. Contact Morgan at 828.550.6190 or email bmk.morgan@yahoo.com.

• The Museum of the Cherokee Indian’s exhibit, “People of the Clay: Contemporary Cherokee Potters,” features more than 60 potters from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Cherokee Nation, and more than one hundred works from 1900 to the present.

The exhibit will run through April.

• A “Beginner Step-By-Step” adult painting class will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. There is also a class at 6:30 p.m. on the last Wednesday of the month at Balsam Fall Brewing in Sylva. Cost is $25 with all supplies provided. For more information on paint dates and/or to RSVP, contact Robin Arramae at 828.400.9560 or wncpaintevents@gmail.com.

@SmokyMtnNews We’re Back in 2019! October 25-27

Gold, Silver, Gem Stones, Minerals & More Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. • Sunday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Smoky Mountain News

• Stonehouse Pottery (Waynesville) will be doing an Open Studio Tour and Sale the first Sunday of each month to help support local nonprofits. Each month highlights a different artist and that artists chooses his or her nonprofit. Stonehouse Pottery and the artist then give a portion of the proceeds as a donation to that nonprofit. For the month of November, artist David Stone has chosen Memory Care, Haywood Clinic, as his nonprofit. Stone has early onset Alzheimer’s and has shown significant improvement in his disease through the rehabilitation process of working in clay.

artists such as Henri Matisse, Edouard Vuillard, Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keeffe.

October 23-29, 2019

• Cherokee Indian Hospital is issuing a “Call to Artists” for the new Analenisgi Inpatient Unit. The mission is to create community pride and ownership using a variety of culturally significant, healing art mediums.

Enrolled EBCI members will be given preference. Mediums can include, but are not limited to, paintings (oil, acrylic, pastels, watercolor) photography, fiber arts, metal, mixed media and sculpture. Email legendweaverstudios@gmail.com if you want the formal “Call to Artists” application and information.

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The Western Carolina University Bardo Arts Center will present its annual Halloween screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31.

See this cult classic on the big screen in the Bardo Arts Center Performance Hall with a special WCU student shadow cast of lip-syncing performers.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is probably the oddest, most off-the-wall cult film ever made; a kinky rock’n’roll science fiction horror satire that is everybody’s favorite Halloween show.

A young couple stumbles into a castle inhabited by weirdos from the planet Transylvania including Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry) a transvestite Frankenstein in rhinestone heels. The onstage WCU student shadow cast mirrors the on-screen performance, lip-syncs with the songs, and gives

audience members actors to interact with, a much-desired part of any Rocky Horror experience.

Another feature of the evening is the Halloween Costume Contest. Come dressed in your best Halloween costume and have a chance to win a $25 Visa Gift Card and a Bardo Arts Center Swag Bag. Participants must arrive between 6 to 7:15 p.m. and have their picture taken at the “Costume Contest” station in the BAC lobby.

Five individuals will be selected from those pictures to go on stage at the end of the event for a final audience vote. The person that receives the most audience applause is the winner.

Find further information and tickets, visit arts.wcu.edu/rockyhorror. Traditional Rocky Horror goodie bags will be available to purchase before the show at the BAC concessions stand.

Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for WCU faculty/staff and seniors 65 and over, and $15 for the general public. Please note that all seating is general admission.

arts & entertainment

Screening of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’

ADMISSION: Adults, $2; Under 12 Free Robert C. Carpenter Community Building 1288 Georgia Rd. Franklin, NC

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There will be a handful of upcoming classes offered at the Waynesville Art School. • Kids’ Night Out (ages 6-12): From 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25. Choose your favorite from several exciting pumpkin projects. These fun and super-creative activities will benefit your child by developing, improving and reinforcing their fine motor skills as well as children’s critical thinking. Storytelling and hula-hooping will also be offered. The cost is $15 for one-hour or $25 for two hours. Registration is required. • Family Art Making Circle: from 11 a.m. to noon (ages 4-7) and 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. (ages 8-12) Saturday, Oct. 26. Let your imagination soar while making your own wearable pumpkin head and other pumpkin-based

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Waynesville Art School classes

projects. The skills acquired from these projects improve fine motor skills and help develop critical thinking. All materials are included. Registration is required. The cost is $12.50 per child and $5 per participating adult. • Sip & Paint/Painting Night: from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1. The school will proudly presents “A Lemon and A Pearâ€? by a Russian artists From St. Petersburg Marta Sarkisyanz.

Immerse yourself in a joyous creative experience of making your very own work of art.

Relax, enjoy yourself and sip as you paint.

They will provide detailed and easy to follow step-by-step instructions (so no prior experience is necessary). All materials are included.

BYOB (wine and beer only) and refreshments.

Registration is required. The cost is $30.

For more information and/or to register, visit www.waynesvillartschool.com or call 828.246.9869.

Trick or Treat Yourself!

October 23-29, 2019

The Galleries of A work by T. Pennington.

Haywood County, in partnership with the Haywood County Arts Council, present Art After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, in downtown Waynesville.

Downtown stays open late as galleries host demonstrating artists and musicians, while offering special exhibits and hors d’oeuvres. Musicians also line the streets to entertain guests as they stroll from store to store. • T. Pennington Gallery is unveiling its owner’s newest Christmas cards and puzzles, along with holding a drawing for a Christmas ornament of your choice. • Cedar Hill Studio welcomes back Donna • Over at The Jeweler’s Workbench, Raymond and her fascinating demo of alcomeet jewelry artist and metalsmith, Joannehol inks with jazz musician Michael John Davis Woods, as she demonstrates her craft. entertaining guests.

Enjoy live music by Chris Minick and Ed • Down the street, Twigs and Leaves Kelly along with complimentary wine.

Gallery is hosting clay artist Julie CalhounLook for the gallery flags at these particiRoepnack with piano music by Dianne Wolf. pating locations: Balsam Ridge Gallery, • Metzger’s Burl Wood Gallery will Cedar Hill Studio, Haywood County Arts unveil hand-carved Christmas trees and home decor with musical entertainment and Council, Metzger’s Burlwood Gallery, The Jeweler’s Workbench, TPennington Art yummy autumn treats.

Gallery and Twigs & Leaves Gallery. • Balsam Ridge Gallery artist and For more information, visit the Galleries owner Richard Baker is celebrating his of Haywood County and individual gallery retirement by offering 20 percent off all websites and social media pages. framed artwork.

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arts & entertainment

On the stage ‘The Sleepy Hollow Experience’ The popular stage production of “The Sleepy Hollow Experience” will be held starting at 7 p.m. Thursday to Sunday through Nov. 3 at Cherokee Adventure on Tsali Boulevard.

Nationally renowned theatre producer Brian Clowdus invades the “Unto These Hills” stage in an immersive theatrical nightmare that has taken the country by storm.

The production will turn the Cherokee Mountainside Theatre into an immersive 360-degree theatrical event, where at any moment the horseman might be right behind you. This production will have drama, Broadway-caliber production value and pay homage to the native culture of the land.

Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for children ages 12 and under. For more information, visit www.cherokeehistorical.org.

Tuscola salute to stage and screen

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HART presents ‘Arsenic & Old Lace’

• There is free comedy improv class from 7 to 9 p.m. every Thursday at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. 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 call 828.316.8761.

October 23-29, 2019

Tuscola High School’s premiere choral group, “Summit,” will perform “A Musical: A Salute to Music of the Stage and Screen” at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at the

Tuscola High School Auditorium in Waynesville.

This Broadway and movie revue will feature full choir numbers from “Something Rotten,” “A Chorus Line,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miserables,” “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Hairspray,” the recent smash hit “Hamilton,” and more.

Soloists and small ensembles will perform intermittently with music from “Waitress,” “Wicked,” “The Sound of Music,” and others.

“Summit” will carry on the tradition of a fall production of popular music, while maintaining the nearly 40-year tradition of a Country Western Show in the spring.

Tickets are now on sale. General admission is $10, and $5 for students. Tickets may be purchased from any “Summit” member or by calling Tuscola High School at 828.456.2408.

The comedy classic “Arsenic and Old Lace” will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2526, Nov. 1-2 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

The play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring was written in 1939. It has become best known through the subsequent film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra.

The play opened on Broadway on Jan. 10, 1941, and ran until June 17, 1944, having played 1,444 performances, ultimately making it one of the longest running plays in Broadway history.

The story involves two lovely maiden aunts who have a special receipe for spicing up a glass of sherry, an uncle who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, a nephew who

keeps finding dead bodies around the house, and a variety of colorful neighborhood characters to keep things complicated. This is a show that is suitable for the whole family.

HART’s productions is being directed by Wanda Taylor and will feature Shelia Sumpter, Jane Hallstrom, Stephen Gonya, Audrey Wells, Charlie Wilson, Jeff Streitfeld, Mark Lieberman, James Bice, Ryan Peterson, Ariel Killillay, Alan Chandler, Scott Shanken and Randy Robins.

Harmons’ Den Bistro at HART will be open for dining before all performances.

Reservations can be made for the show and the bistro by calling the HART Box Office Tuesday through Saturday 1 to 5 p.m. at 828.456.6322 or by visiting www.harttheatre.org.

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Books

Smoky Mountain News

39

Another casualty: A review of A Boy Who Mattered I From that point, Bennett spent the rest of his life obsessed with drugs. The consequences of that addiction became quickly

Jeff Minick

n January 2019, the National Institute on Drug Abuse issued an updated report on the use of opioids in the United States, including this observation:

In 2017, more than 47,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose, including prescription opioids, heroin, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. That same year, an estimated 1.7 million people in the United States suffered from Writer substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers, and 652,000 suffered from a heroin use disorder (not mutually exclusive).

Some of us have only secondhand knowledge of the damage done by these drugs, not just to those who use and abuse them, but also to the families and friends who share their agonies. We read the reports of drug dependency, or watch documentaries on television, and think, “There but for the grace of God go I.” We see the devastation, but we don’t really understand the mental and emotional cost of dealing with a relative or friend hooked on opioids or heroin.

Then there are those who in the thick of this battle, watching loved ones whose lives have gone off the rails, trying, often in vain, to help them on the road to recovery, desperate to find some remedy to allow those so addicted to conquer their dependency and find the path to a chemical-free life.

Retired police detective and writer Marshall Frank belongs to the latter group.

In A Boy Who Mattered: Examining the Roots of Drug Addiction (Frankly Speaking Enterprises, 2019, 229 pages), Frank tells the story of his first-born son, Bennett (19602019), who began using drugs before he became a teenager and remained an addict until his death. The product of a broken home — Frank’s wife, Betty Jo, left him without explanation when Bennett was still a baby — Bennett grew into adolescence with little influence from Frank, kept at a distance by Betty Jo. She openly smoked marijuana in her home and first offered it to her son at age 12

apparent. As a teenager, he several times ran away from home. As an adult, he found and lost many jobs. He was in and out of various treatment programs, but nothing worked.

Frank’s many efforts to help his son — encouraging him to enlist in the Army or to attend college, finding him places to live, including a home Frank paid for himself, giving him money or even food — also failed.

Bennett was a gifted man, highly intelligent, a musician who could play the piano by ear and a poet who left behind pages of verse, some of which Frank includes here. The excerpts from his journal, called here “the sufferer’s diary,” contain flashpoints of brilliance. In several chapters at the end of A Boy Who Mattered, Bennett’s children and several others write fondly of him, and forgive him for his addiction and his absence in their daily lives. His daughter’s words remind us that even those whom society condemns as weak and pitiable are also human beings: “Dad loved with his whole heart. He was kind and thoughtful. He was a writer, a poet, father, a son, a grandfather, and an old soul.”

In the second half of this book, Frank gives his readers a larger view of the horrendous damage done by drugs in the last 60 years and why so many are addicted. Here he tells us “the problem, mostly unidentified or unspo-

ken, begins in the home,” and that early neglect, abuse, glamorization of drugs and alcohol, broken homes, and socialization with peers are just some of the factors leading to addiction.

In addition to the strains and fractures suffered by families, Frank reveals part of the price our society pays for such widespread drug usage. Since 1960, for example, the population of the United States has increased by 82 percent, while the prison population has skyrocketed by 700 percent, with most of that increase in crime a direct result of the sale and use of drugs. Meanwhile, as Frank notes, some of our songwriters glorify drugs, gangs, and violence, thereby exacerbating the problem.

Near the end of A Boy Who Mattered, Frank writes, “I have long opined the lure to drugs and crime does not begin in schools and street corners, it begins at home. They begin by osmosis, as babies and tots watch and listen to big brothers and sisters, plus users in the adult world, as they go about daily life blathering these kids with lyrics and then using drugs openly as though it were an everyday part of American life.”

Bennett fell victim to this scenario: Hey Mommy, keep your men Your wine and bags of grass For I will always remember The days that I came last.

Bennett Frank’s life as recounted here reminds us that human beings from the earliest age need to feel wanted. Bennett’s mother failed to fulfill that need, Marshall Frank was kept away from his young son, and Bennett filled those places hollow of love — the dark holes of yearning — with drugs. Like alcohol, those drugs become first a temporary solace, then set up a permanent residence within his mind and soul.

Our government has fought and lost the “war on drugs.” One lesson implicit in A Boy Who Mattered is that our police, our judges, our prison wardens, our schools, our other government agencies, cannot win that war.

Only we can. By way of example, counsel, prevention, and care, we are the ones who can make the difference to those we love.

(Jeff Minick is a writer and teacher. minick0301@gmail.com)

• Monthly Poetry Reading at Panacea Coffeehouse in Waynesville. Last Saturdays every month at 2 p.m. Bring your poetry, essays and writings to share. Be sure to order drinks and snacks and tip the staff of Panacea. For more information, contact Morella Poe at poevampyre@gmail.com.

40

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

RIDING

THE WAVE Hemp testing begins in Asheville

Hemp and marijuana are physically identical but chemically different. USBSL photos

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER hough just barely off the ground, a new hemp testing service launched in Asheville is receiving a markedly positive response from Western North Carolina farmers.

“We’re definitely feeling pretty busy,” said Amanda Vickers, director of the U.S. Botanical Safety Laboratory. “Our phone has started ringing a lot more since we announced this testing, and a lot of people are really excited to be able to hand deliver their samples. It’s looking like this is really something that there is a demand for.”

The USBSL is a division of Bent Creek Institute, Inc., an independent nonprofit that operates in partnership with the N.C. Arboretum. It was established in 2012 in response to federal legislation requiring that botanical raw materials for dietary supplements be tested for purity and potency. Those requirements were difficult for small farms to meet, so the USBSL was created to help meet the demand.

“When it became apparent that industrial hemp was going to be legalized and that there was so much excitement around it, especially for small farmers looking for a good cash crop, the arboretum and Bent Creek were very enthusiastic about supporting that,” said Vickers.

Legal hemp comes from the same plant that produces illegal marijuana — they’re differentiated by the level of psychoactive THC

T

present in the individual cannabis specimen.

If it contains more than 0.3 percent THC, then it’s no longer legal hemp. It’s illegal marijuana, and it must be destroyed.

“What we are hoping to offer is data that the farmer can collect along the way so that when they see they’re approaching that hot point, they can go ahead and harvest, or in the future they might have other ways of controlling the cannabinoid production at that point,” said Vickers.

In addition to testing for THC, the USBSL tests for various other cannabinoids that don’t impact whether the crop is legal to sell but do impact its quality for medicinal uses.

The goal, said Vickers, is to help farmers hit the “sweet spot” where they maximize the crop’s commercial benefit without going over the legal THC limit.

The lab also provides microbiological testing, which can reveal contaminants like yeast, mold, E. coli and salmonella, as well as testing for pesticides and heavy metals.

Microbiological testing can be extremely important for farmers making a living in a place as consistently wet as the Smokies region.

Test your hemp The U.S. Biological Services Lab offers potency testing for hemp, which covers 10 different cannabinoids, for $75. Other hemp testing services include testing for microbiological, pesticide and heavy metal contamination.

The lab is located at 1463 Sand Hill Road, Room 305, in Candler, and samples can be mailed or hand delivered. For assistance, contact Rolando Boye at 828.333.5124.

It’s been a little over a year since the USBSL first set its sights on offering hemp testing. At first, it looked like a mobile lab would be the only way to go, since at the time hemp was not clearly legal in a federal level, depending instead on state exemptions to individual farmers. The lab wasn’t certain that it could handle those samples off farm property.

But in December, the 2018 Farm Bill came along, and hemp became federally legal. The lab started to refocus its plans on a stationary service. The USBSL acquired the necessary

The goal is to help farmers hit the “sweet spot” where they maximize the crop’s commercial benefit without going over the legal THC limit.”

— Amanda Vickers, U.S. Botanical Safety Laboratory

testing equipment through a loan and private donations, including money from the Dana Stonestreet Donor-Advised Fund of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina.

Matthew Robison, who holds a doctorate and is the USBSL’s director of research and development, led development of the testing methodology. Gas chromatography allows for differentiation of both acidic and neutral forms of cannabinoids. During development, the lab obtained hemp samples from the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River, which has been conducting hemp field trials for the past two years.

The USBSL held a grand opening for the hemp testing program on Friday, Oct. 4, and began receiving samples on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

So far, six samples have been dropped off with more than a dozen phone inquiries into the program, said Laboratory Director Rolando Boye.

“In general, the feedback I’m getting is that people like where we’re positioned as far as it being in the mountains of Western North Carolina, because the only labs that most people tend to send to are in the Research Triangle,” said Boye.

People also seem to appreciate being able to drop their samples off in person. While Boye has made it clear that farmers are more than welcome to simply mail their samples in, so far everybody has opted to hand deliver.

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law enforcement.”

The lab could also prove to be a solid resource for law enforcement agencies looking to better understand the science as they seek a commonsense way to enforce marijuana laws without infringing on the rights of people possessing and using legal hemp products.

It’s impossible to predict just how many hemp samples the lab — which already runs a brisk business processing samples of various other botanicals — may someday find itself handling. Boye is hearing from farmers that the lab in Raleigh is backed up due to a heavy load of samples, and the overflow could well find its way out to Asheville.

“Hopefully we can keep up,” said Boye.

“It sort of feels like the momentum is building toward that.”

However, Boye — and his colleagues at the USBSL — looks forward to seeing what the future holds.

“There’s a lot of energy behind it, a lot of excitement, a lot of new growth and new people in it,” said Boye. “We’re looking to ride the wave.”

Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. • Sunday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

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Gold, Silver, Gem Stones, Minerals & More

October 23-29, 2019

“I didn’t realize that would be such an important draw,” he said.

Right now, the lab is operating with a turnaround time of 12 business days, but the goal is to eventually offer more rapid testing.

“It’s new and we only have a few samples, so we want to give ourselves a little bit of space so we’re not overpromising and under delivering at first, but our goal is to get samples turned around within two to four days,” said Boye. “Once we get everything dialed in and we get a rhythm, that should be a pretty easy goal for us to reach.”

While farmers are the lab’s main focus, the experience and knowledge it brings to the botanical industry could benefit other groups as well. Law enforcement, for instance, has a keen interest in figuring out the quickest way to reliably tell hemp from marijuana.

“My understanding is that law enforcement is looking for something to be deployed in the field,” said Vickers. “That’s not exactly what our testing is, but we are planning to offer rapid turnaround, so it’s possible that we could contribute data to

ADMISSION: Adults, $2; Under 12 Free Research and Development Director Matt Robison tests samples for cannabinoids.

Robert C. Carpenter Community Building 1288 Georgia Rd. Franklin, NC

828.524.3161 • www.visitfranklinnc.com

41

Smoky Mountain News

October 23-29, 2019

outdoors

Cataloochee roadwork delayed

Help available for farmers facing flooding impacts

Assistance Program. Compensation is also available for losses due to planting prevented by weather disasters.

To learn more about any particular program, visit the local Farm Service Agency.

Farmers affected by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019 can apply for assistance through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Eligible farmers must have suffered losses of eligible crops as the result of hurricanes or floods in 2018 or 2019. Payments range from 75 to 95 percent, depending on the level of crop insurance or NAP coverage obtained.

Producers who did not insure their crops will receive 70 percent of the crop’s expected value, and those who purchased the highest level of coverage will receive 95 percent. All producers receiving payments will be required to purchase crop insurance or NAP at the 60 percent coverage level or higher for the next two consecutive crop years after the year for which payments are received.

Assistance is also available through the Milk Loss Program, On-Farm Storage Loss Program and Farm Service Agency Tree

Help for farmers affected by 2018 floods Farmers in Haywood, Buncombe, Henderson, Rutherford and Transylvania counties will be able to sign up for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Agricultural Disaster Program from Nov. 6 to Nov. 20.

The program will directly assist farmers who suffered losses due to rain and flooding between May 15 and Dec. 31, 2018. Farmers should go to their local Farm Service Agency office to file the necessary paperwork for FSA Form 578. Producers without that form on file can request a manual form at the FSA. According to Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, farmers should take action now to get their forms in order so that they meet the deadline to request assistance. www.ncagr.gov/agriculturaldisasterprogram.

Cullowhee Fire Department’s 43rd Annual

Eastern Style

Barbecue

The Lake Junaluska landscaping department finished third in a national gardening photography contest sponsored by the gardening supply company Kinsman Company.

The contest called for entries of the company’s Pamela Crawford planter, which has holes throughout the liner to allow for innovative landscaping. This was Lake Junaluska’s first year using the planters, with 19 displayed on campus. For its third-place finish, the department won a $100 Kinsman gift certificate.

Lake Junaluska received national recognition for this gardening photo. Melissa Tinsley photo

Eat the harvest A plant-based discussion and dinner will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, above Sassy Girls in Sylva.

Plants-for-Life will discuss Dr. Greger’s “Daily Dozen” from his book How Not to Die during this harvest-themed meeting. Participants are asked to bring a fall plant-based dish to share. Free, and open to all who want support on their journey into health.

Foothills Parkway bridge dedicated A bridge on the Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley, Tennessee, has been newly dedicated as Dean Stone Bridge, complete with a bronzed marker.

SATURDAY OCT. 26TH 3 to 8 p.m. $10/plate Cullowhee Valley School Cafeteria Dessert Donations Appreciated

42

Gardening shot a win for Lake J

Roadwork that would have caused a four-month closure of the main access road into the Cataloochee area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been postponed to balance statewide funds.

Cove Creek Road in Haywood County was to be closed for a road slide repair from Nov. 1 to Feb. 29, but that work has been delayed. Cataloochee will remain open and accessible throughout the fall and early winter aside from weather-related closures. Construction is expected to start in February with Completion before Memorial Day.

Neal Stone stands in front of the plaque honoring his father, Dean’s, contributions to the Foothills Parkway. NPS photo Stone, longtime editor for The Daily Times in Maryville, Tennessee, was a staunch supporter of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and served for

over 30 years as a board member and chairman of the Governor-appointed Tennessee Park Commission before passing away in 2016.

Authorized by Congress on Feb. 22, 1944, the Foothills Parkway is one of seven congressionally mandated parkways. The newest section, completed in 2018, includes a 1.65-mile section connected by nine bridges. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Congressman John Duncan introduced legislation to name the longest of these bridges after Dean Stone in honor of his dedication, advocacy and persistence in securing support for the completion of the Foothills Parkway.

The legislation was passed as part of the Dingell Act in 2019.

The Foothills Parkway now consists of two finished sections at either end of the 72-mile corridor. The western section extends 33 miles from Chilhowee to Wears Valley and the eastern section, completed in 1968, extends 6 miles from Cosby to Interstate 40.

Watch out for coyotes in the fall

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Fall is the time when young coyotes leave their parents’ territory to establish their own turf, meaning that coyote sightings typically peak in October and November.

Coyotes rarely attack humans but will prey on cats and small, unleashed dogs.

People should keep their pets inside, leashed or inside a dog-proof fence at all times. Other precautions include securing garbage in containers with tight-fitting lids and taking it out the morning of pickup; keeping birdseed off the ground; removing fallen fruit from trees; and feeding pets indoors or removing the food once animals finish eating.

During these wanderings, which can stretch upwards of 300 miles, coyotes keep track of each other through yipping, howling and barking. The howl’s tone can make it sound like coyotes are traveling as a large group rather than individually, and they can appear to be closer than they really are.

Coyote sightings are highest further east in the state, but in 2018 Buncombe County tied for eighth place out of 100 counties with 20 sightings.

Coyotes can be hunted year-round and trapped between Nov. 1 and the end of February.

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October 23-29, 2019

North Carolina and federal agriculture agencies will be better able to collaborate on land management following establishment of a new agreement.

The agreement involves the U.S. Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service — both under the U.S. Department of Agriculture — and North Carolina’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Forest Service and Wildlife Resources Commission.

“Shared Stewardship offers a great opportunity to coordinate and prioritize land management activities in tandem,” said USDA Under Secretary Jim Hubbard. “The USDA and its agencies have a long and strong history of collaboration with the State of North Carolina. This agreement will make that working relationship even stronger.”

The Shared Stewardship Agreement establishes a framework for federal and state agencies to collaborate better, focus on accomplishing mutual goals, further common interests, and effectively respond to the increasing ecological challenges and natural resource concerns in North Carolina. The agreement also outlines the importance of ensuring meaningful participation from state and local partners such as North Carolina’s State Parks, Natural Heritage Program, Department of Transportation, Conservation Districts, and non-governmental conservation organizations.

The agreement is online at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/nfsnc/sharedsteward ship.

Nutrition Facts outdoors

Federal, state agencies to collaborate on land management

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outdoors

Hike haunted In the last ranger-led hike of the season, Blue Ridge Parkway rangers will take participants on an easy-to-moderate, 2-mile roundtrip hike beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, from the Craven Gap parking area at milepost 377.4.

On this “haunted” forest hike, rangers will tell stories ranging from legends of nocturnal animals to fictional flower folklore. Bring water, good walking shoes and clothing for changeable weather. 828.298.5330, ext. 304.

Hike with the Benton MacKaye Trail Association A weekend full of hikes around the Robbinsville area will be offered Thursday, Oct. 31, through Sunday, Nov. 3, during the Benton MacKaye Trail Association Annual Meeting at Fontana Village Resort.

Hikes range from easy-to-moderate 3 and 4-milers to strenuous treks of 7 and 8 miles.

Destinations include Lookout Rock, Hangover and Yellow Creek Falls, among many others.

Reserve a spot by calling 828.498.2211. A full hiking schedule is available at www.bmta.org/pdfs/2019AnnualMeetingHikes.pdf.

Sasquatch expert to speak in Franklin Bigfoot expert Jeff Carpenter will deliver a talk titled “When Myth Becomes Reality” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

Carpenter, an Otto native, is a field investigator for the Bigfoot Field Investigators Organization and has spent 15 years researching the Bigfoot legend.

He is also a member of East Coast Expeditions and the Kentucky Bigfoot

C U LT U R E

ADVENTURE

FOOD+DRINK

October 23-29, 2019

MUSIC

Research Organization.

The two-hour multimedia presentation will include witness reports, audio clips, video clips, footprint casts and tales of his own experiences. Nearly 200 people attended when Carpenter delivered this presentation in May at the Jackson County Public Library, reported in a story available at www.smokymountainnews.com/archives/i tem/26987-believing-bigfoot-locals-logsasquatch-evidence-in-north-carolina-smountains.

Free, and open to all ages, with door prizes given.

Celebrate Halloween with the animals Howl-O-Ween will come to the WNC Nature Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, featuring games, spooky crafts, face painting, animal ambassadors, food vendors and costume contests.

Costume contests will be held at 12:30 and 4 p.m., with attendees of all ages encouraged to come dressed to win. Regular admission rates apply, with free entrance for Friends of the WNC Nature Center members. wildwnc.org/event/howl-o-ween.

Trick or treat the forest

Trick-or-treaters gather at the Highlands Biological Station. Donated photo

The annual Halloween Enchanted Forest will return to Highlands, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Highlands Biological Station Botanical Garden.

All are welcome to come celebrate Halloween the natural way and receive guided tours through the gardens that lead to trick-or-treating around the trails to meet some native animal characters.

Free, but weather dependent.

828.526.2623.

Fish for cash A two-person team fishing competition will offer a payout totaling $10,000 for top teams Saturday, Nov. 2, and Sunday, Nov. 3, in Cherokee.

The Rumble in the Rhododendron Fly Fishing Tournament will take place on catch-and-release waters at Raven Fork. An opening meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at River’s Edge Outfitter. $250 entry fee, with contest open to all ages. A Cherokee fishing permit is required to enter.

Joey Walraven, 828.497.9300 or joey@flyshopnc.com.

Smoky Mountain News

Wildlife students earn scholarship

MAGAZINE READ, SUBSCRIBE & LEARN MORE

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A family of attendees sports a trio of garden-themed costumes. Donated photo

@SmokyMtnNews

smliv.com

Haywood Community College fish and wildlife management technology students Parker Grandy and Andrew Jones have won the 2019 Dave Dudek Wildlife Award from the HCC Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society.

The award, which comes with a scholarship, is named for the chapter’s founding advisor, who is also a retired fish and wildlife instructor. It’s presented to two fish and wildlife students due to graduate the following spring and recognizes leadership, scholarship and dedication to the profession.

Grandy plans to pursue a bachelor’s and then a master’s Parker Grandy (center left) and Andrew Jones degree at the University of Georgia. Jones also plans to (center right) were presented the Dave Dudek Wildlife earn a bachelor’s degree in Award by fish and wildlife instructor Shannon Rabby (left) wildlife biology and a master’s and Dave Dudek (right). Samantha Nelson photo degree in marine biology.

Clean Water money to conserve WNC land

County.

The CWMTF also awarded $3 million in additional funds for the 2018 grant year in August, adding to the $20 million awarded in November 2018 using funds from license plate sales in the intervening time. Those monies included more than $1 million for projects in Haywood County.

• The Maggie Valley Sanitary District received $925,000 to acquire tracts at Campbell Lick, another piece of the larger conservation effort in the watershed. The money will protect about 471 acres of the 1,350 acres awaiting permanent protection.

SAVING LIVES AND PROMOTING THE HEALTH AND DIGNITY OF PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS HAYWOOD COUNTY SERVICES:

TO LEARN MORE: NC Harm Reduction Coalition: 828.476.1465 or 910.228.9322 or Haywood County Health & Human Services 828.452.6675

What Are Cannabinoids?

Cannabinoids are a group of closely related compunds that act on cannbinoid receptors in the body, unique to cannabis (or hemp). The body creates compounds called endocannabinoids, while hemp produces phytocannabinoids, notably cannabidiol.

Cannabinoids is traditionally used for pain, sleep, and fibermyalgia.

Alzheimer’s Migraines Asthma Breast Cancer

Diabetes Crohn’s Disease

Prostate Cancer Menstrual Cancer

CBD has traditionally been used for: Anxiety/Depression Seizures Pain/Fibromyalgia Nausea/Vomiting Sleep Tremors PTSD ADHD/ADD Autism

The Endocannabinoid System is perhaps the most important physiologic systerm involved in establishing and maintaining human health. Although the endocannabinoid system affects a wide variety of biological processes, experts believe that its overall function is to regulate homeostasis.

Smoky Mountain News

Naloxone Training/Distribution Post-Overdose Outreach Syringe Access Program Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)

• The Resource Institute was awarded $237,000 for a restoration project at Stingy Branch.

Over the last 20 years, the CWMTF has conserved more than 500,000 acres, protected more than 2,500 miles of streambank, and preserved 12 historic sites. The fund was established in 1996 to protect the state’s drinking water sources and today also works to conserve and protect the state’s natural resources, cultural resources and military installations. In 2020, the CWMTF will change its name to the N.C. Land and Water Fund.

October 23-29, 2019

HARM REDUCTION

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission wants to hear about hellbender sightings, part of agency biologists’ ongoing effort to learn more about where the giant salamanders live and how their populations are faring.

In North Carolina, the 16-inch aquatic salamanders are found only in fast-moving, clean mountain streams in the western region.

Once common, the Lori Williams/NCWRC photo creatures have disappeared throughout much of their habitat due to declining water quality and habitat degradation, and to a lesser degree due to persecution from anglers who mistakenly think that hellbenders hurt the trout population. While they may occasionally go after a trout on a line, hellbenders mainly eat crayfish and are not poisonous, venomous, toxic or harmful to humans.

Hellbenders are listed as a species of special concern in North Carolina, meaning that taking, possessing, transporting, selling or attempting to do any of the above to a hellbender is a Class I Misdemeanor punishable by a fine and up to 120 days in jail.

Report hellbender sightings to lori.williams@ncwildlife.org or call the Wildlife Interaction Helpline at 866.318.2401.

outdoors

The latest round of awards from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund totals $14.3 million, with nearly $3 million of that going to conservation projects in Western North Carolina.

• The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy landed $1.2 million toward its effort to secure property on Chestnut Mountain in Haywood County currently owned by Canton Motorsports, LLC, and located right off U.S. 19/23. The SAHC hopes to acquire the land and make it available for public recreation. It is currently exploring options with the Town of Canton and Haywood County to see if the land would make a good natural resource protective public park.

• The Maggie Valley Sanitary District received $1.19 million to conserve tracts of land along Johnson Branch in the Maggie Valley watershed. Depending on federal matching funds, the money could cover protection for the remainder of an entire 1,350-acre area that owners have agreed to sell for conservation as funding becomes available, part of a larger effort to conserve more than 2,000 acres in the Campbell Creek and Jonathan Creek watersheds. The Conservation Fund, which is a partner in the effort, celebrated the acquisition of 710 acres of that area in a Sept. 13 event.

• Mainspring Conservation Trust received $373,000 to conserve land along the Little Tennessee River in Macon

Help hellbenders

479 DELLWOOD RD. WAYNESVILLE 828.452.0911 | facebook.com/kimspharmacy

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WNC Calendar

Smoky Mountain News

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Haywood County Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault/Elder Abuse Prevention Task Force urges everyone to wear purple on Thursday, Oct. 24, to show support for healthy relationships and to stand against intimate partner violence. Purple ribbons available at the Within Reach resale store, 456 Hazelwood Ave. Info: 456.7898 or reachofhaywood@att.net • The Western Carolina University “Chancellor’s Welcome Tour” will make a stop at 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, at Boojum Brewing Co., at 50 N. Main St., in Waynesville. Event will introduce Kelli R. Brown, WCU’s new chief executive officer. Registration required one week prior to the event: 877.440.9990 or aehonbarger@wcu.edu. Info: go.wcu.edu/welcometour.

All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted.

• Registration is underway for Western Carolina University’s High Impact Leadership Certificate Program that will be offered from Oct. 28-Nov. 1 at WCU’s Biltmore Park Instructional Site in Asheville. Advance registration is $759 (through Oct. 1). After Oct. 1, rate increases to $849. Nonprofit rate is $649. Info and register: pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

• Registration is underway for “Your Small Business Taxes,” a program that will be offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 9-11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29. For info and to register: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• A hiring event will be held from 1-4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1, in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. More than 20 local employers hiring for customer service and retail positions. 246.9233 or 456.6061.

• Western Carolina University will hold an open house for prospective students and their families on Saturday, Nov. 2, in Cullowhee. Preregistration: openhouse.wcu.edu or 227.7317.

• The Native Heart Community Development Association & Murphy Aglow will celebrate Native American Heritage Month with the “Keepers of the Fire” gathering, which will be held Nov. 1-2 at the Wagon Master Ranch Resort at 359 Adventure Ranch Road in Murphy. Parade of Nations will be at 6 p.m. Friday. Attendees are encouraged to wear their tribal regalia. The film “Awakened” will be screened at 7 p.m. The Saturday meeting will start at 9 a.m. Topic will be the First Spiritual Awakening which happened in the Murphy area in mid1896. Sites involved in this awakening will be visited if weather permits. At 2 p.m. Michael Thornton, author of Fire in the Carolinas, speaks on The Last Spiritual Awakening. nativeheartcda@gmail.com or 458.0691.

• Registration is underway for a workshop focusing on “Building Cultural Competency and Diversity within Nonprofits” that will be offered through Western Carolina University’s Office of Professional Growth and Enrichment from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, at WCU Biltmore Park in Asheville. Can be taken as a standalone or as part of the Certified Nonprofit Professional Program. Registration: $89 for the workshop or $300 for the CNP course fee. pdp.wcu.edu, jcthompson@wcu.edu or 227.3070.

• Reservations are being accepted for a Thanksgiving meal at Lake Junaluska. Thanksgiving at Lake Junaluska is Nov. 27-29. Lakejunaluska.com/thanksgiving or 800.22.4930.

• Bingo Night is at 6 p.m. on the second Saturday at the Fines Creek Community Center. 25 cents per game.

Info: www.fb.me/finescreekorg or 593.7042.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health is seeking input from the community: http://health.jacksonnc.org/surveys. Info: 587.8288.

• Cat adoption hours are from noon-5 p.m. on Fridays and noon-4 p.m. on Saturdays at 453 Jones Cove Road in Clyde. Adoption fee: $10 for cats one-year and older.

Check out available cats at www.petharbor.com.

452.1329 or 550.3662.

BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Registration is underway for “Basics of Bookkeeping,” a program that will be offered by Haywood Community College’s Small Business Center from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, in the college’s Regional High Technology Center, Room 3021, in Waynesville. For info and to register: SBC.Haywood.edu or 627.4512.

• Southwestern Community College’s Small Business Center will offer a series of seminars for existing and aspiring business owners in October and November at the Jackson Campus in Sylva and the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. Registration required. Full listing, details and sign-ups: http://bit.ly/2ncPnyf.

• Registration is underway for a Six-Sigma Whitebelt Training, which will be offered from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, at WCU Biltmore Park in Asheville. Led

by Dr. Todd Creasy, professor in WCU’s College of Business. Learn how to apply the five-step methodology of Six Sigma in product, process or service industries.

Registration: $249 (by Oct. 1) or $279 (after Oct. 1).

Info and register: pdp.wcu.edu or 227.7397.

FUNDRAISERS AND BENEFITS • The Galleries of Haywood County along with other Main Street Merchants are sponsoring a food drive for Haywood Christian Ministry throughout October. The galleries and businesses will serve as drop-off points for canned and boxed goods. Look for “Drop Off Location” signs at participating businesses downtown.

• Dancin’ Tyme Parent Boosters will host a Fall Market to raise money for competition fees for dance students from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 31 Allen S., in Sylva, inside LifeWay Church.

Facebook.com/DancinTyme or DancinTymeStudio@gmail.com.

VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS • Vendors are wanted for the annual Fall Market being held Nov. 2, hosted by Dancin’ Tyme Performing Arts Studio in Sylva. This event is a fundraiser, 100% of the vendor fees goes toward students competition fees. https://forms.gle/7H7Qg6ngZ6QB3UVPA to register to be a vendor.

HEALTH MATTERS • A “Plants-for-Life” meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, above Sassy Girls shop, 280 Marsh Lily Rd., in Sylva. Theme is “Harvest Fest.” Discussion will be on Dr. Greger’s “Daily Dozen” from his book “How Not to Die.” Bring fall plant-based dish to share.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health is offering flu vaccines from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1-4:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, throughout October, at the Health Department. Prices range from $35-60, based on type of vaccine administered. Questions: 587.8201 or 586.8994.

• A presentation on Parkinson’s Disease will be offered at noon on Oct. 24 at the Waynesville Recreation Center.

Led by Vaya Health Geriatric and Adult Mental Health Specialty Team. 456.2030 or tplowman@waynesvillenc.gov.

• Asheville herbalist Heather Perry will present a seminar entitled “Elderberry Elixirs & Immune-Boosting Herbs” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, in the community room of the Jackson County Public Library. 586.2016.

• A “Preparation for Childbirth” class will be offered from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday through Oct. 24 at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Waynesville. Pre-registration required: MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses or 452.8440.

• The Jackson County Public Library’s Creating Community Workshop will be “Altar Your Space” with Jennifer Ashlock at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, in the library’s atrium in Sylva. Create a small, personal alter that can be a reminder to slow down, give attention and stay connected. 586.2016.

• A meditation and celebration service with a message on “A Brief Overview of All of Metaphysics” will be held starting at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27, at The Creative Thought Center, 449 Pigeon St., Suite D, in Waynesville. 456.9697, waynesvillectc@gmail.com.

• This fall, Four Seasons will host a six-week support group for those who have lost loved ones to drug overdose. Sessions will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. on Fridays through Nov. 8 in Waynesville. Facilitator is Dan Yearick, MS, LPC-S. Info and registration: 692.6178. www.fourseasonscfl.org.

• The WNC Ostomy Support Group will meet from 6-7 p.m. every second Monday at the Jackson County Center Cooperative Extension’s Meeting Room, 876 Skyland Dr., Suite 6, in Sylva. Group is for people living with a urostomy, ileostomy, colostomy or a continent diversion.

Facilitated by Certified Ostomy Nurses.

• A “Get Covered Haywood!” Affordable Care Act Event is set for 12:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. Learn about your insurance options and meet with a certified navigator to enroll. Appointments: 452.1447. Walk-ins also welcome.

• “Your Amazing Newborn” class will be offered from 79 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Waynesville. Focusing on abilities, behavior, appearance and reflexes of your new baby. Pre-registration required: MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses or 452.8440.

• “Breastfeeding A-Z” class will be offered from 7-9 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Waynesville. Focusing on techniques for proper latching and comfortable positions for a baby and mom to get started. Pre-registration required: MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses or 452.8440.

• Gentle Yoga for Cancer is offered from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Haywood Breast Center in Waynesville.

Info: MyHaywoodRegional.com/YogaforCancer or 452.8691.

• On the third weekend of each month, Maggie Valley Wellness Center hosts donation-based acupuncture appointments. $35-55. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• “Nourishing You” – an introductory “Yoga for Cancer” class, is offered from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Haywood Breast Center in Waynesville. Taught by Kim Mulholland, Mindful Yoga for Cancer Duke Integrative Medicine Trainer. Info: 452.8691 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/YogaforCancer.

• A Community Acupuncture Clinic is held on the third weekend of each month at 461 Moody Farm Road in Maggie Valley. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. Sliding scale cost is $35-$55.

Offered by Barbara Dennis, a Licensed Acupuncturist and Registered Nurse.

• Jackson County Department of Public Health is offering diabetes self-management education as well as medical nutrition therapy. Info: 587.8240 or http://health.jacksonnc.org/wic.

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 • The Haywood County Senior Resource Center holds a dementia caregivers support group from 4:30-6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday each month in Waynesville.

356.2800 or www.haywoodseniors.org.

• “Riding the Waves of Cancer” meets from 2:30-4 p.m. on Thursdays at the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center. Physician referral from an oncologist or cancer doctor is required: Myhaywoodregional.com/yogaforcancer. 452.8691.

• Codependents Anonymous (CoDA) meets at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Friendship House on Academy Street, behind and adjoining the First United Methodist Church of Waynesville. Group of persons desiring healthy and fulfilling relationships. 775.2782 or www.coda.org.

• The American Red Cross has an urgent need for blood donors due to an emergency shortage. To schedule an appointment or donate, use the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 800.RED.CROSS (800.733.2767).

• The Jackson County Senior Center will offer a Caregiver Education Class at 10 a.m. on the third Monday of every month in the Board Room of the Department of Aging in Sylva. 586.5494.

• The Haywood County Dementia Caregivers’ Support Group has change the location of its meetings. The group will meet at the Haywood Senior Resource Center (81 Elmwood Way, Waynesville). The meetings are scheduled from 4:30 PM until 6:00 PM on the fourth Tuesday. 926.0018.

• Community First Aid and CPR classes are offered from 6-10 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at Haywood Community College in Clyde. Info: 564.5133 or HCC-CPRraining@haywood.edu.

• A support group for persons with Multiple Sclerosis as well as family, friends and caregivers meets at 6:45 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month in the conference room of the Jackson county Public Library in Sylva.

293.2503.

• Nutrition counseling and diabetes education are offered through Macon County Public Health in Franklin.

349.2455.

• Western Carolina University’s student-run, Mountain Area Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic will be open from 6-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays of each month. 227.3527.

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) holds a support group for family, friends, and those dealing with mental illness on the 1st Thursday of each month in the 2nd floor classroom at Haywood Regional Medical Center at 6:30 p.m.

• HIV and syphilis testing will is offered during normal business hours at Jackson County Health Department.

• A support group for anyone with MS, family & friends meets monthly at 6:45 p.m. on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the conference room of Jackson Co. Library in Sylva. No Fee, sponsored by National MS Society. Local contact: Gordon Gaebel 828-293-2503.

• “Laughing Balsam Sangha,” a meeting for Mindfullness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, meets

• Book Club is held at 2 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800

• A “Walk With A Doc” program is scheduled for 10 a.m. each Saturday at the Lake Junaluska Kern Center or Canton Rec Park.

MyHaywoodRegional.com/WalkwithaDoc.

• The CommUnity Square Dance will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct 26, at the old Webster School in Webster. Caller will teach and call all dances to live old-time music. No partner or experience is necessary. pammanottus@gmail.com.

• A Hand & Foot card game is held at 1 p.m. on Thursdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families (ACA) meets at noon on Saturdays at the First United Methodist Church Outreach Center at 171 Main St. in Franklin. 407.758.6433 or adultchildren.org.

• Yoga Nidra, a six-week series of guided meditation for the deepest relaxation, is set for 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Saturdays, through Nov. 16, at Sylva Yoga studio in downtown Sylva. Cost: $15 per class. Register on Facebook or www.sylvayoga.com.

• The Haywood County Health & Human Services Public Health Services Division is offering a Night Clinic from 4-6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of every month in Waynesville. Services include family planning, immunizations, pregnancy testing, STD testing and treatment. Appointments: 452.6675.

• Rumba and line dance lessons will be offered this fall through the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department. Rumba classes are from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Line dancing is offered from 2-3 p.m. on Wednesdays. For more info and date ranges, call 356.7060 or 550.3170.

• Mah Jongg is played at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• Lake Junaluska is offering boat rentals on weekends through the end of October. Info and prices: 452.2881 or lakejunaluska.com/pool.

• A Parkinson’s Support Group is held at 2 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• The Jackson County Department of Public Health will offer a general clinic from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 587.8225.

• A Food Addicts Anonymous Twelve-Step fellowship group meets at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays at Grace Church in the Mountains in Waynesville. www.foodaddictsanonymous.org.

• Big Brother/Big Sister, a one-evening preparation class for children who are about to greet a new baby into their family, is offered for children ages 3-10 at Haywood Regional Medical Center. 452.8440 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses.

• Mothers Connection, an ongoing social gathering for mothers and their babies, meets from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Thursdays excluding holidays at Haywood Regional Medical Center. 452.8440 or MyHaywoodRegional.com/ParentClasses.

• Dogwood Insight Center presents health talks at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.

• Free childbirth and breastfeeding classes are available at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva. Classes are offered bimonthly on an ongoing basis. Register or get more info: 586.7907.

• Angel Medical Center’s diabetes support group meets at 4 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the AMC dining room. 369.4166.

• A free weekly grief support group is open to the public from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursdays at SECU Hospice House in Franklin. Hosted by Four Seasons Compassion for Life Bereavement Team. 692.6178 or mlee@fourseasonscfl.org.

• A free, weekly grief support group will meet from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursdays at the SECU Hospice House in Franklin. 692.6178 or mlee@fourseasonscfl.org.

• “ECA on the Move!” – a walking program organized

by Jackson County Extension and Community Association – meets from 9-10 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. It’s an effort to meet the American Heart Association’s recommendation of 10,000 steps per day. 586.4009.

RECREATION AND FITNESS • Sons of the American Legion will present a Turkey Shoot at 9 a.m. every Saturday from Oct. 12 through April at 171 Legion Dr. in Waynesville. $2 per round; refreshments provided. Weather permitting. 456.8691.

• A Taoist Tai Chi Class will be held from 9:30-11

SPIRITUAL • Registration is underway for an Interfaith Peace Conference that will be held Nov. 21-24 at Lake Junaluska. Theme is “The Arts of Peace” featuring an exploration of the arts of the Abrahamic faiths. Syrian violinist Mariela Shaker, Jonathan Homrighausen, Laurie Wohl and others will guide the conversations.

Lakejunaluska.com/peace or 800.222.4930.

POLITICAL • The Haywood County NAACP meets at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Harris Chapel AME Zion on 26 Prospect St. in Canton.

• Jackson County Planning Board: 6 p.m. second Thursday of the month. Heritage room at the Department of Aging, 100 County Services Park in Sylva. 631.2261.

• The Jackson County NAACP meets at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday each month at Liberty Baptist Church in Sylva.

• 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.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES • Senior Tennis Time is from 9 a.m.-noon every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Oct. 30 at the Donnie Pankiw Tennis Center at 128 W. Marshall Street in Waynesville. For ages 55-up; intermediate or higher skill level. $1 per person per day. 456.2030 or dhummel@waynesvillenc.gov.

• The Mexican Train Dominoes Group seeks new players to join games at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

• A Canasta card game is set for 1 p.m. on Mondays at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

KIDS & FAMILIES • A Kids’ Night Out for ages 6-12 will be offered from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, at Waynesville Art School, 303 N. Haywood St. in Waynesville. Pumpkin projects, storytelling, hula hooping and more. Cost: $15 for one hour or $25 for two. Registration required: 246.9869. or www.WaynesvilleArtSchool.com.

• Mother Goose On the Loose early childhood curriculum will be featured in a Reading Adventures Storytime program that’s offered at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Blends rhyming with movement, storytelling, simple songs, music and sensory play. 488.3030.

• A program on “Kids’ Primitive Outdoor Skills” will be offered to ages 10-15 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• Bat Week will be observed from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Cradle of Forestry in America, located along U.S. 276 in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard. Workshop for educators will focus on N.C. bat species, conservations issues and more from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Info and activity tables will help children and adults learn about local bats and ways to save them from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Preregistration required for the workshop: cradleprograms@cfaia.org. $6 for adults; $3 for ages 4-12.

• A Family Art Making Circle is set for 11 a.m.-noon (ages 4-7) and 12:30-1:30 p.m. (ages 8-12) on Oct. 26 at Waynesville Art School, 303 N. Haywood St. in Waynesville. Wearable pumpkin head and other pumpkin-based projects to improve fine motor skills and help develop critical thinking. Cost: $12 per child; $5 per participating adult. 246.9869. or www.WaynesvilleArtSchool.com.

KIDS FILMS • “The Addams Family”, will be shown through Oct. 24 at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza.

Visit www.fandango.com or www.smokymountaincinema.com for times, pricing & tickets. Info. on Facebook or 246.0588.

• “The Addams Family”, is showing at The Strand on Main through Oct. 27 in Waynesville. 38main.com.

• “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”, will be shown though Oct. 24 at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza. Visit www.fandango.com or www.smokymountaincinema.com for times, pricing & tickets.

• The Strand in Waynesville will be showing free spooky movies on Saturday mornings in October at 11 a.m. with Monsters vs Aliens, 38main.com.

• The 28th Annual Leaf Lookers Gemboree will be held from Oct. 25-27 at the Macon County Community Building just south of Franklin on U.S. Highway 441.

• NOCtoberfest - an afternoon of fall-themed activities and prizes on and off the water - will be offered from noon-5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Nantahala Outdoor Center near Bryson City. Great Pumpkin Pursuit, pumpkin decorating, costume contest, pumpkin patch photos and competitions and more. www.noc.com/events/noctoberfest.

• The Galleries of Haywood County, in partnership with the Haywood County Arts Council, present Art After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, in downtown Waynesville.

• The 15th annual WNC Pottery Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at 76 Railroad Avenue in Sylva. Showcasing the work of more than 40 master potters from an array of states.

A variety of clay art styles will be presented. The event is juried and the lineup of potters is second-to-none.

The “WNC Clay Olympics” and lighting of the woodfired kiln will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1.

Admission is $5. www.wncpotteryfestival.com.

HALLOWEEN • 8 Nights of Horror Haunted House is set for 5-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, through Oct. 26 and Thursday, Oct. 31, at the Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Rd. in Clyde. Cost $5.

Proceeds benefit the FCCA in supporting scholarships, community needs and the MANNA Food Bank.

593.7042.

• The “Ghost & Growlers” masquerade party will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at The Shelton House in Waynesville. The Shelton House will be turned into a haunted house for the event. There will be several activities including a seance, silent auction, cork pull and more. Costumes are optional. Tickets are $50. All proceeds to benefit the preservation and restoration of The Shelton House. 452.1551 or www.sheltonhouse.org.

• Mummies and Daddies will be invading the “Goblins In the Green” from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at The Village Green in Cashiers. Dress in your favorite silly or scary costume and you could win a prize.

Among the activities will be a costume contest at 7 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to the best boy and girl costume as well as the best owner and pet coordinating costume. Music, dancing, games and some tricks and treats will add to the festivities. www.villagegreencashiersnc.com.

• The WNC Nature Center will host its annual Howl-OWeen event from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, in Asheville. Costume contests, food vendors games, spooky crafts, face painting, educational moments and more. Regular admission rates apply; Friends members receive free admission.

Wildwnc.org/event/howl-o-ween or visit WNC Nature Center’s Facebook Page.

• A Halloween Carnival is set for 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Road in Clyde. Poor Man’s Supper is $8 per plate starting at 5 p.m. Games and bingo: $0.25 each. Proceeds benefit the FCCA in supporting scholarships, community needs and the MANNA Food Bank. 593.7042.

• The Highlands Biological Foundation will host its annual Halloween Enchanted Forest from 6-7:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the Highlands Nature Center, 930 Horse Cove Road in Highlands. 526.2623.

Smoky Mountain News

• A monthly grief processing support group will meet from 4-5:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the Homestead Hospice and Palliative Care in Clyde. 452.5039.

• Dance Tonight Haywood offers weekly evening classes Foxtrot or Tango (Mondays 6) and Carolina Shag (Mondays 7), Salsa (Tuesdays, Beginners 7 p.m. & Advance 8 to 10 p.m.), Swing (Wednesdays, Beginners 7 p.m. & Advance 8 p.m.) and Waltz (Thursdays, Beginners 7 p.m. & Advance 8 p.m.), Open Ballroom (Fridays, 7 p.m. & practice dance from 8 to 9:30 p.m.), and Argentine Tango Practica/Tea Dance (Sundays, 2 to 5 p.m) at 61 ½ Main Street in Canton.

For times, prices and to RSVP, call 316.1344.

• Pinochle game is played at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville. 356.2800.

SPECIAL EVENTS & FESTIVALS

October 23-29, 2019

• A support group meeting for those with Parkinsons Disease and their caregivers will be held at 2 p.m. on the last Wednesday of the month at the Haywood County Senior Resource Center in Waynesville.

356.2800.

• An hour yoga class is offered at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays at the Maggie Valley Wellness Center. $15 for a single class, or $55 for a package of four classes. 944.0288 or maggievalleywellness.com.

• Senior Sale Day is on the third Friday of every month at the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore. Patrons 60 and older get 20 percent off all purchases.

Proceeds benefit the Sylva Library.

A&E

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a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, at The Creative Thought Center, 449 Pigeon St., Suite D, in Waynesville. Sign up: 865.414.8509 or jannholtz@gmail.com.

will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays at 318 Skyland Drive in Sylva. Included are sitting and walking meditation, and Dharma discussion. Free admission. 335.8210, and “Like” them on Facebook.

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wnc calendar

• Families are invited to put on their costumes and come to the Halloween Party at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

Things off to a spooky start with Room on the Broom storytime, followed by stations of holiday themed games, crafts, and snacks. Then, at 5 p.m. they will lower the lights, pass out the popcorn, and enjoy a family movie rated PG. Come for the crafts and games, the movie, or both. Children that have participated in our October Reading Club are reminded to bring their book list to the Halloween Party to receive their special prize. Early sign-up, by calling the library, is strongly encouraged. 488.3030.

• Haywood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center will host a Trick or Treating event starting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31, at 516 N. Wall St. in Waynesville.

Info or to donate candy: 458.9408.

• Southwestern Community College’s Advertising & Graphic Design students will open up their “Shocktoberfest” Halloween display and exhibit from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in the Burrell Building at the Jackson Campus in Sylva.

Walk-through and trick-or-treating will be free.

Activity and food booths from a variety of SCC clubs will be available for a minimal expense.,” www.southwesterncc.edu or 339.4000.

• The annual “Treats on the Street” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 on Main Street in Waynesville.

Children’s activities and more. www.downtownwaynesville.com.

• “Hometown Halloween” will take place from noon to 8 p.m. at Nantahala Brewing in Sylva. Trick or treating and family activities beginning at 5 p.m. Bring your own pumpkin for carving. Free to attend.

• There will be a “Halloween Trick or Treat” from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, at the Town Hall and participating homes in Webster.

October 23-29, 2019

• “Treat Street” will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 31, in downtown Sylva. 828.586.2719.

• The “Halloween Trick or Treat” will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in downtown Dillsboro.

• “Trick and Treat” will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in downtown Bryson City. Downtown streets are closed for trick or treaters in their costumes.

800.867.9246.

FOOD & DRINK • A “Wine and Cheese Pairing” class will be offered from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, at Bryson City Wine Market, 1161 Main Street in Bryson City.

538.0420 or bcwinemarket@gmail.com.

• A Wine & Cheese Social will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, at The Creative Thought Center, 449 Pigeon St., Suite D, in Waynesville. 456.9697, waynesvillectc@gmail.com.

Smoky Mountain News

• The “Uncorked: Wine & Rail Pairing Experience” will

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be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 and Dec 31 at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Full service all-adult first-class car. Wine pairings with a meal and more. 800.872.4681 or www.gsmr.com.

• A “Wines for the Holiday Table” event will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Bryson City Wine Market, 1161 Main Street in Bryson City.

Discover the best wines to pair with your holiday meals. 538.0420.

• Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville is offering lunch on Saturdays, “Lunch with us” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring fresh seasonal menu with outdoor seating weather preminting. 452.0120 or www.waynesvillewine.com.

• Bryson City Wine Market offers flights from 4-7 p.m. on Fridays and from 2-5 p.m. on Saturdays. Flight of four wines for $5.

• Bosu’s Wine Shop in Waynesville will host five for $5 Wine Tasting from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Come taste five magnificent wines and dine on Chef Bryan’s gourmet cuisine. 452.0120 or www.waynesvillewine.com.

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• Cherokee Historical Association to presents The Sleepy Hollow Experience at Mountainside Theatre.

Fully immersive, 360 degree theatrical experience.

Show will be shown Thursday-Sundays through Nov. 3.

Tickets are $35/adult and $25/children 12 & under. www.visitcherokee.com.

• The Gem & Mineral Society of Franklin will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, at First Christian Church, 156 Belleview Park Rd., in Franklin. Speaker is Jennifer Love, Macon County Schools’ STEM Coordinator.

• The comedy classic “Arsenic and Old Lace” will be on stage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25-26, Nov. 1-2 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville. Harmons’ Den Bistro at HART will be open for dining before all performances.

Reservations can be made for the show and the bistro by calling the HART Box Office Tuesday through Saturday 1 to 5 p.m. at 456.6322 or online at www.harttheatre.org.

• Secret Wine Bar is hosted by Bosu’s in Waynesville on Fridays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Contact for more information and make reservations. 452.1020.

• The Cherokee Bonfire & Storytelling will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 25 at the Oconaluftee Islands Park in Cherokee. 800.438.1601 or www.visitcherokeenc.com.

• A free wine tasting will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Bosu Wine Shop in Waynesville. 452.0120 or www.waynesvillewine.com.

• The King Family of Bryson City will sing gospel music at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Ela Baptist Church in Bryson City.

Bosu’s will host a Cocktails & Lunch on Saturday’s.

Serving house-made champagne cocktails from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. www.waynesvillewine.com • A free wine tasting will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Saturdays at Papou’s Wine Shop in Sylva. www.papouswineshop.com or 631.3075.

• “Brown Bag at the Depot” – an opportunity to gather with neighbors – is at noon every Friday at Sylva’s newest park at the corner of Spring and Mill Street along Railroad Ave. For info, contact Paige Dowling at townmanager@townofsylva.org.

• Graceann’s Amazing Breakfast is 8-10 a.m. every Tuesday in the Sapphire Room at the Sapphire Valley Community Center. $8.50 for adults; $5 for children.

Includes coffee and orange juice. 743.7663.

• Free cooking demonstrations will be held from 5-7 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.

• A game day will occur from 2-9 p.m. every third Saturday of the month at Papou’s Wine Shop & Bar in Sylva. Bring dice, cards or board games.

586.6300.

• A wine tasting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

Free with dinner ($15 minimum). 452.6000.

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• The Strand on Main will host A. Lee Edwards at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 in downtown Wayesville. Tickets are $15. www.38main.com.

• The Primitive Quartet of Candler will be featured singers at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27, at Mount Zion Baptist Church of Dillsboro.

• Jeff Carpenter will present “When Myth Becomes Reality” at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Macon County Public Library’s Meeting Room in Franklin.

Carpenter is a field investigator for the Bigfoot Field Investigators Organizations. Two-hour multimedia presentation as he shares his knowledge and experience from 15 years of research into the Bigfoot legend. 524.3600.

• Tuscola High School’s premiere choral group, “Summit,” will perform “A Musical: A Salute to Music of the Stage and Screen” at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Tuscola High School Auditorium in Waynesville. $10 and $5 for students. Tickets may be purchased from any “Summit” member or by calling Tuscola High School at 456.2408.

• The Mark Trammel Quartet will sing at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, at Lovedale Baptist Church, 160 Lovedale Rd., in Sylva. 506.6587.

• Tickets are available now for a performance of “A Christmas Carol,” which will be on stage at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, in the University Center Theater at

Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Tickets: $5 for WCU students, $10 for non-WCU students and WCU faculty and staff and $15 for general admission.

Available at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 227.2479.

• Tickets are available now for Holidays at the University Center, which will be held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 4-5, in the University Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Tickets: $5 for WCU students, $10 for non-WCU students and WCU faculty and staff and $15 for general admission. Available at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 227.2479.

• Tickets are available now for a performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, which is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, in the University Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Tickets: $5 for WCU students, $10 for non-WCU students and WCU faculty and staff and $15 for general admission. Available at bardoartscenter.wcu.edu or 227.2479.

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS • “Travels and Tall Tales with Alan French” will present “The Viking Adventures of King Harald Harðraða & Villain Eiríkr Þorvaldsson” at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. Free and open to the public.

• A “Make Your Own Hammered Sterling Ring and Earrings” class will be offered from noon-2:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, at the Haywood County Arts Council Gallery and Gifts, 86 N. Main St. in Waynesville. Cost: $45 for HCAC members; $50 for nonmembers. 452.0593 or haywoodarts.org.

• Macon County Public Library will host a reading, viewing and discussion series called “Pushing the Limits” for adults at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, in Franklin. Library is at 149 Siler Farm Road. This month’s featured book is “Eagle Blue: A Team, a Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska”

by Michael D’Orso. 524.3600 or kmoe@fontanalib.org.

• A Llama Sing Discussion Group meets from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, at The Creative Thought Center, 449 Pigeon St., Suite D, in Waynesville.

456.9697, waynesvillectc@gmail.com.

• A Llama Sing Discussion Group meets from 9 a.m.noon on Saturday, Oct. 26, at The Creative Thought Center, 449 Pigeon St., Suite D, in Waynesville.

456.9697, waynesvillectc@gmail.com.

• The Fines Creek Flea Market is from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 25, at the Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Rd., in Clyde. Proceeds benefit the FCCA in supporting scholarships, community needs and the MANNA Food Bank. 593.7042.

• Waynesville Art School will present “A Lemon and a Pear” from 7-9 p.m. on Nov. 1 at Waynesville Art School, 303 N. Haywood St. in Waynesville. Featuring Russian Artist Marta Sarkisyanz from St. Petersburg at Waynesville Art School, 303 N. Haywood St. in

Puzzles can be found on page 53 These are only the answers.

Waynesville. Make your own work of art and sip as you paint. BYOB (wine and beer only). No experience necessary. Registration required: $30.

WaynesvilleArtSchool.com or 246.9869.

• Travel Painting Studies will be offered from 10 a.m.12:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 at the Haywood County Arts Council Gallery and Gifts, 86 N. Main St., in Waynesville. Cost: $35 for members; $40 for nonmembers. Sketching and painting techniques. All levels welcome. 452.0593.

ART SHOWINGS AND GALLERIES • Jennifer Hawkins Hock’s exhibit “Artist Room Studies: 2D to 3D” is currently on display during the month of October at Macon County Public Library Living Room in Franklin. The exhibit features 21 of Hock’s 3-dimensional miniature assemblages depicting painted or photographed rooms from artists such as Henri Matisse, Edouard Vuillard, Frida Kahlo, and Georgia O’Keeffe.

• The fiber art of Betty Cabe will be on display throughout the month of October at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

• This October, Haywood County residents and visitors are invited to view work from Haywood County artists who operate studios in the county and have participated in past open studio tours. You can view the work of local artists through Oct. 26 at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville. Saturday artist demonstration are scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 19 applique and quilting artist Denise Seay. Free and open to the public. www.haywoodarts.org.

• Applications are being accepted for artists who want their work included in monthly gallery exhibits or retail spaces through the Haywood County Arts Council. HaywoodArts.org or GalleryGifts@HaywoodArts.org.

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center is pleased to present, “Resounding Change: Sonic Art and the Environment.” This exhibition will be on display through Dec. 6.

FILM & SCREEN

• The Second Tuesday Movie Group meets at 2 p.m. in the Waynesville Library Auditorium. For info, including movie title: 452.5169.

Outdoors • Blue Ridge Parkway rangers will hold their final hike of the season at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 25. It’s a moderate, two-mile round trip hike through the

• “Casting for Beginners: Level I” will be offered to ages 12-up from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• “Backyard Birding by Ear: For Beginners” will be offered to ages 10-up from 9 a.m.-noon on Oct. 28 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

• The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Hatchery Supported Trout Waters is open from 7 a.m. until onehalf-hour after sunset until last day of February. Info: https://tinyurl.com/yae8ffqn.

• A cycling ride exploring the Fire Mountain Trail System in Cherokee will be offered at 6 p.m. every other Thursday. Participants will divide into a beginner group and a non-beginner group, with 60 to 90 minutes on the trail each time. Organized by the Nantahala Area Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, with an event page at www.facebook.com/NantahalaAreaSORBA/. nantahala.area.sorba@gmail.com.

• An easy cycling ride aiming to help people ease into a healthier lifestyle through cycling is offered in the Canton area, typically covering 8-10 miles. Road bikes are preferred, and helmets are required. Nobody will be left behind. A partnership of Bicycle Haywood N.C., the Blue Ridge Bike Club and MountainWise. For specific start times and locations: mttrantham@hotmail.com.

• Starting in June, a cycling ride will leave at 8 a.m. on Saturdays from South Macon Elementary School in Franklin. Routes vary with distances typically 15-25 miles. Road bikes only. A no drop ride. Organized by Smoky Mountain Bicycles, 369.2881 or info@smokymtnbikes.com. Check the “Macon County Cyclists” Facebook page for updates.

• A 25-mile cycling ride covering the back roads from Sylva to Balsam leaves at 6 p.m. Tuesdays from Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva. The route includes 1,600 feet of elevation gain. Organized by Motion Makers, 586.6925.

• An easy cycling ride aiming to help people ease into a healthier lifestyle through cycling is offered Thursday mornings in the Canton area, typically covering 8-10 miles. Road bikes are preferred and helmets are required. Nobody will be left behind. A partnership of Bicycle Haywood N.C., the Blue Ridge Bike Club and MountainWise. For specific start times and locations: mttrantham@hotmail.com.

• A beginner-friendly social cycling ride for women will begin at 6:15 p.m. on Mondays from the Bent Creek Ledford Parking Lot, covering 5-to-8 miles of mountain bike trails. Start back in the fall. Organized

By Motion Makers Bicycle Shop. 633.2227.

• The Nantahala Hiking Club holds a Saturday Work Hike on the fourth Saturday of each month. 369.1983.

• A Spay/Neuter Clinic is offered from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays at 182 Richland Street in Waynesville. As low as $10. 452.1329.

FARMERS MARKETS • The Swain County Farmer’s Market is held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. every Friday through October at the barn on Island Street in downtown Bryson City. 488.3848 or www.facebook.com/SwainCountyFarmersMarket.

• Jackson County Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays at Bridge Park in downtown Sylva. jacksoncountyfarmersmarket@gmail.com or www.jacksoncoutyfarmersmarket.org.

• The ‘Whee Farmers Market is held from 3-6 p.m. on Tuesdays through the end of October at the entrance to the village of Forest Hills off North Country Club Drive in Cullowhee. 476.0334 or www.thewheemarket.org.

• Haywood Historic Farmers Market is on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon at the HART Theater parking lot and Wednesdays from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the First Baptist Church overflow parking lot beside Exxon. waynesvillefarmersmarket.com or .

• Franklin Farmers Tailgate Market runs 8 a.m. to noon, on East Palmer Street across from Drake Software. 349.2049 or www.facebook.com/franklinncfarmersmarket.

• “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 on Frank Allen Rd. next to the Cashiers post office. info@villagegreencashiersnc.com or 743.3434.

FOR SALE

⦁ Sons of the American Legion in Waynesville will have a Turkey Shoot at 9 a.m. every Saturday on Legion Drive. ⦁ 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.

• A cycling ride leaves at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, with alternating starts at Smoky Mountain Bicycles and South Macon Elementary School in Franklin.

Routes vary. Road bikes only. A no drop ride.

Organized by Smoky Mountain Bicycles, 369.2881 or info@smokymtnbikes.com. Check the “Macon County Cyclists” Facebook page for updates.

• A no-drop relaxed cycling road ride will roll from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesdays through the end of October from Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva. Routes vary and are open to cyclists of all levels. Organized by Motion Makers, 586.6925.

• A group road cycling ride will leave at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays through the end of October from Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva to tackle a 40-mile “race” to the Balsam Post Office, climbing 1,600 feet of elevation gain. Organized by Motion Makers, 586.6925.

• A pair of ladies-only mountain bike rides will be offered at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays through Oct. 31 from

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Smoky Mountain News

• “Zombieland: Double Tap”, is showing through Oct. 24 at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville Plaza.

Visit www.fandango.com or www.smokymountaincinema for showtimes, pricing & tickets. Info. on Facebook or 246.0588.

• Two paddle tours of Lake Junaluska are being offered on Sunday, Oct. 27. First is from 1-2:30 p.m.; second is from 3-4:30 p.m. Boats, paddles and life jackets provided by the Waynesville Recreation Center or bring your own. Free for Haywood Waterways members; $5 donation for nonmembers. RSVP by Oct. 24: Christine.haywoodwaterways@gmail.com or 476.4667, ext. 11.

• A weekly nighttime mountain bike ride is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Mondays from the Ledford Branch Trailhead at Bent Creek in Asheville. Organized by Motion Makers Bicycles. 633.2227.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting volunteers to assist the Trails Forever trail crew for a rehabilitation project on the Rainbow Falls Trail from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. every Wednesday. Sign up or get more info: 497.1949, Adam_Monroe@nps.gov or https://friendsofthesmokies.org/trailsforever/volunteer.

October 23-29, 2019

• The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at Bardo Arts Center will present the exhibit, “Chakaia Booker: Auspicious Behavior,” which will be on display through Oct. 25. Booker is an abstract sculptor who creates textured, layered works in both 3-D and 2-D media. Free and open to the public. arts.wcu.edu/exhibitions.

• A program on “Women’s Intro to Fly Fishing” will be offered to ages 12-up from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 26 at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/y5o3owwp.

the Ledford Branch Trailhead at Bent Creek in Asheville. A beginner-friendly, recovery pace social ride will cover 5 to 8 miles, with all skill levels encouraged to attend. Simultaneously, a training ride for ladies who know how to handle a bike and want to increase their speed will cover 8 to 12 miles on Bent Creek’s more technical trails. Organized by Motion Makers Bicycle Shop. 633.2227.

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• A Fused Glass Christmas Ornament Class will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. from Nov. 4-9 at Gayle Haynie’s Studio, 247 Sunnyside Rd., in Waynesville.

Cost: $50. Three ornaments per person. No prior glass experience needed. 706.273.4629 or gayle@glassbygayle.com.

“haunted” forest. Includes legends of nocturnal animals and fictional flower folklore. Meet at Milepost 377.4, Craven Gap parking area. Bring water, good walking shoes and be prepared for changeable weather. 298.5330, ext. 304.

Brian K. Noland & Catherine Proben RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL PROFESSIONALS

74 N. Main Street, Waynesville bknoland@beverly-hanks.com • 828.734.5201 cproben@beverly-hanks.com • 828.734.9157

49

PRIME REAL ESTATE Advertise in The Smoky Mountain News

AUCTION

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.

■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.

AUCTION 533 ACRES- AUCTION Halifax, VA. Available in its entirety or in 10 tracts ranging from 8 – 123 acres. Opening bids as low as $735/Acre! Bid live or online. www.Motleys.com. SVN/Motleys.

877-MOTLEYS. NCL5914

LEGAL ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE 18E651 NORTH CAROLINA HAYWOOD COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF Michael Nelson Deceased

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS

Classified Advertising:

Having qualified as Administrator of the Estate of Michael Nelson deceased, late of Haywood County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the said Estate to present such claims to the undersigned on or before the 30th day of October, 2019, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment.

Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 classads@smokymountainnews.com

10’x10’

$

ONLY

65

PER MONTH

greatsmokiesstorage.com

This, the 2nd day of October, 2019.

Nicole Nelson c/o Brian Elston Law 95 Charlotte Street Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 575-9700

AUCTION 2 AUCTIONS, Commercial Building on 7.84+/-AC on HWY 52, Online w/Bid Center, 10/22 at 12pm, Remaining Inventory, Assets, Furniture & More, Online Only 10/22 at 3pm, Wadesboro, North Carolina, ironhorseauction.com 800.997.2248, NCAL 3936 GUN & COIN AUCTION Sat., 10a.m. 201 S. Central Ave. Locust, NC. Collections of Coins, Coin Sets, Silver & Paper. Collection 3500 1943 Steels, Approximately 100 Guns, Colt Python, SAA’s, Luger, Broomhandles, 13 Henry’s, Plus Many Unusual Items.

Website: classicauction.com 704.791.8825

PAINTING JAMISON CUSTOM PAINTING & PRESSURE WASHING Interior, exterior, all pressure washing needs and more.

Specializing in Removal of Carpenter Bees • New Product Guarantees Success - Save Your Home Before Its Too Late!

Cedar, Log Homes, Painted or Siding! Call or Text Now for a Free Estimate at

828.508.9727

WOOD REFINISHING LIFE-TIME WOOD REFINISHING Specialist & Painter For Hire!!

All Hardwoods, Antiques, Floors, Doors, Kitchens & More - Brought Back to Life. Pictures Available.

For More Info Call Diane at:

863.517.8390

Great Smokies

STORAGE Call 828.506.4112

10+/- ACRES Located on Hwy 601 in Monroe, NC. Online Only Begins Closing 11/07 at 2pm. Rolling Pastures, Outbuildings and Small Private Lake. ironhorseauction.com, NCAL#3936 800.997.2248

BUILDING MATERIALS Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction

HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

CALL EMPIRE TODAY To schedule a FREE in-home estimate on Carpeting & Flooring.

Call Today! 1.855.929.7756

FURNITURE

HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions.

Owner/Builder: Dave Donaldson.

Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316 ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING Forever! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off and 0% financing for those who qualify.

PLUS Senior & Military Discounts.

Call 1.888.927.8649 SAPA ENERGY SAVING NEW WINDOWS! Beautify your home! Save on monthly energy bills with NEW WINDOWS from 1800Remodel!

Up to 18 months no interest.

Restrictions apply. Call Now 1.877.287.8229 SAPA

BATHROOM RENOVATIONS. Easy, One Day Updates! We specialize in safe bathing. Grab bars, no slip flooring & seated showers. Call for a free in-home consultation: 877.661.6587 SAPA

HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.

CARS A-1 DONATE YOUR CAR For Breast Cancer! Help United Breast Foundation Education, Prevention, & Support Programs.

Fast Free Pickup - 24 Hr Response Tax Deduction 888.641.9690

FREE AUTO INSURANCE QUOTES. See how much you can save! High risk SR22 driver policies available!

Call 855.970.1224 SAPA

BUSINESS FOR SALE ESTABLISHED UNIQUE BUSINESS For Sale on East Main St., Sylva, N.C. Music Venue & Restaurant - Serious Inquiries Only - Email:

Sage_woman43@yahoo.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES AVON - EARN EXTRA $$.

Sell online or in person from home or work. Free website included.

No inventory required. For more info, Call: 844.613.2230 SAPA INVENTORS Free Info Packet! Have your product idea developed affordably by the Research & Development pros and presented to manufacturers.

Call 1.844.348.2206 for a Free Idea Starter Guide. Submit your idea for a free consultation.

EMPLOYMENT

BROWN TRUCKING Is looking for COMPANY DRIVERS and OWNER OPERATORS. Brown requires: CDL-A, 2 years of tractor trailer experience OTR or Regional in the last 3 years, good MVR and PSP. Apply at: driveforbrown.com.

Or Call Brandon at 919.291.7416.

OPERATION & SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE MANAGER (FT Haywood & Jackson Co) Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree in business, public administration or related field. Must have knowledge and experience in nonprofit operations, grant management and supervision. Night and weekend hours may be required.

Please complete an online job application by visiting: www.mountainprojects.org EOE/AA

THE CLASSY FLEA ANTIQUES, GOOD STUFF & COOL JUNK

Indoor Flea Market 40 Vendors Thursday- Saturday 9am - 5pm

828-421-7782 51 Union Otto Daycare Rd. Franklin, NC 2 miles south of Franklin

Climate Control

Storage 48 SECURITY CAMERAS AND MANAGEMENT ON SITE

Sizes from 5’x5’ to 10’x20’

Climate Controlled

1106 Soco Road (Hwy 19), Maggie Valley, NC 28751

Call:

828-476-8999

MaggieValleySelfStorage.com torry@torry1.com Torry Pinter, Sr. 828-734-6500

Find Us One mile past State Rd. 276 and Hwy-19 on the right side, across from Frankie’s Italian Restaurant

GOT CANDIDATES? Find your next hire in over 100 newspapers across the state for only $375. Call Wendi Ray, NC Press Services for info 919.516.8009 BOATBUILDING CAREERS Bayliss Boatworks is Hiring!

Carpenters, painters, welders, electricians and CNC operators and programmers. Full-time work and great benefits. Visit: www.baylissboatworks.com/about/careers

AIRLINES ARE HIRING Get FAA approved hands on Aviation training. Financial aid for qualified students - Career placement assistance. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance 866.441.6890

INSURANCE AGENT Become a Team Member!

Enthusiastic & Motivated Person with Exceptional Customer Service Skills Needed for Downtown Waynesville Agency.

Service Customers & Identify Insurance Needs, Market Products & Services and Develop Relationships. Competitive Pay, Commission for Licensed Individuals, Periodic & Annual Bonuses, Generous PTO & Benefits.

Outstanding Work Environment.

P&C & Life Licenses are a Plus.

Full or Part Time.

Email Resume & Cover Letter: OLGAGEORGI2@ALLSTATE.COM LAND SURVEYING POSITION Morehead City, NC - Crew Chief or S.I.T. Pay $15-$21 per hour depending upon experience.

Email: Chase Cullipher: chase@tcgpa.com or Call 252.773.0090

BUDDY LOVE A CHIHUAHUA/RAT TERRIER MIX BOY ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OLD, WEIGHING RIGHT AT 10 LBS. HE IS FRIENDLY AND SWEET TO EVERYONE, ONCE HE GETS TO KNOW YOU, AND WILL BE A GREAT BEST FRIEND TO HIS NEW PERSON.

Phyllis Robinson OWNER/BROKER

FARLEY AN ADORABLE GRAY TABBY BOY ABOUT FOUR MONTHS OLD. HE IS FRIENDLY, AFFECTIONATE, AND VERY PLAYFUL! HE IS ALWAYS READY WITH A PURR WHEN ANYONE IS UP FOR A SNUGGLE.

(828) 712-5578

lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

The Only Name in Junaluska Real Estate

smokymountainnews.com

AFFORDABLE NEW SIDING! Beautify your home! Save on monthly energy bills with beautiful New Siding from 1800Remodel!

Up to 18 months no interest.

Restrictions Apply 877.731.0014

GOT AN OLDER CAR, Van or SUV? Do the humane thing.

Donate it to the Humane Society.

Call 1.888.342.9355 SAPA

THE JACKSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES IS Recruiting for an Income Maintenance Caseworker in Family Medicaid. This position is responsible for intake, application processing and review functions in determining eligibility for Public Assistance Programs. Above average communication, computer and organizational skills are required. Work involves direct contact with the public. Applicants should have one year of Income Maintenance Casework experience. Applicants will also be considered who have an Associate’s Degree in human services, business or clerical related field, or graduation from high school and an equivalent combination of training and experience. The starting salary is $27,937.59 - $30,801.19, depending on education and experience. This position is Full-Time with Benefits, but it is Time-Limited through June 30, 2020. To apply, submit a NC state application form (PD-107) to the Jackson County Department of Social Services 15 Griffin Street Sylva, NC 28779 or the NCWorks Career Center by October 25, 2019.

EMPLOYMENT FTCC Fayetteville Technical Community College is now accepting applications for the following positions: Associate Degree Nursing Instructor Program Coordinator, Ford Maintenance & Light Repair Military/Veterans Services Specialist. 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 An Equal Opportunity Employer

October 23-29, 2019

ROOFING: REPLACE OR REPAIR. All types of materials available.

Flat roofs too. www.highlandroofingnc.com From the Crystal coast, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Triad, and the Triangle.

252.726.2600, 252.758.0076, 910.777.8988, 919.676.5969, 910.483.3530, and 704.332.0555.

Highland Residential Roofing.

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED!!!

Top Dollar Offer! Free Towing From Home, Office or Body Shop. All Makes/Models 2000-2016. Same Day Pick-Up Available! Call Now: 1.800.761.9396 SAPA

EMPLOYMENT

WNC MarketPlace

COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778.

CARS -

91 N. Lakeshore Dr. Lake Junaluska 828.456.4070

www.LakeshoreRealtyNC.com Conveniently located in the Bethea Welcome Center

51

WNC MarketPlace

I Am Proud of Our Mountains and Would Love to Show You Around!

Randall Rogers BROKER ASSOCIATE —————————————

Haywood Co. Real Estate Agents Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/Great Smokys Realty - www.4Smokys.com Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate- Heritage • Carolyn Lauter - carolyn@bhgheritage.com Beverly Hanks & Associates- beverly-hanks.com • Ann Eavenson - anneavenson@beverly-hanks.com • Billie Green - bgreen@beverly-hanks.com • Michelle McElroy- michellemcelroy@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 • Billy Case- billycase@beverly-hanks.com • Laura Thomas - lthomas@beverly-hanks.com • John Keith - jkeith@beverly-hanks.com

(828) 734-8862

RROGERS@BEVERLY-HANKS.COM

Brian Noland RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL PROFESSIONAL

bknoland@beverly-hanks.com

828.734.5201 74 North Main Street Waynesville, NC 28786

828.452.5809

• George Escaravage - george@IJBProperties.com ERA Sunburst Realty - sunburstrealty.com • Amy Spivey - amyspivey.com • Rick Border - sunburstrealty.com • Pam James - pjames@sunburstrealty.com • Marsha Block - marsha@weichertunlimited.com

October 23-29, 2019

Jerry Lee Mountain Realty Jerry Lee Hatley- jerryhatley@bellsouth.net Keller Williams Realty - kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • Scott Easler - seasler@kw.com • The Morris Team - www.themorristeamnc.com • Julie Lapkoff - julielapkoff@kw.com

Lakeshore Realty • Phyllis Robinson - lakeshore@lakejunaluska.com

Mountain Home Properties mountaindream.com • Cindy Dubose - cdubose@mountaindream.com

www.smokymountainnews.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 • Juli Rogers - julimeaserogers@gmail.com Rob Roland Realty - robrolandrealty.com

• Rob Roland - rroland33@gmail.com

The Smoky Mountain Retreat at Eagles Nest • Tom Johnson - tomsj7@gmail.com • Sherell Johnson - sherellwj@aol.com WNC Real Estate Store • Jeff Baldwin - jeff@WNCforMe.com

TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 52

828.452.4251 | ads@smokymountainnews.com

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 BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor, Locally Owned and Operated mcgovernpropertymgt@gmail.com McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.

HUGE VIEWS FOR SALE 32 Creek Front Acres, 5 Easy Minutes to WCU and Jackson Co. Recreation Center, Easy Access, Private Setting, Unrestricted, Private Estate, Mini-Farm or Development Property with Several Home Sites. $199K, Owner Financing Available with $15K Down. For More Info Call: 828.269.3050

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

Christie’s Ivester Jackson Blackstream

Mountain Dreams Realty- maggievalleyhomesales.com

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT

Laura Thomas BROKER ASSOCIATE —————————————

(828) 734-8478 lthomas@beverly-hanks.com

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18 This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised on equal opportunity basis.

REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT SAVE YOUR HOME! Are you behind paying your Mortgage? Denied a Loan Modification?

Is the bank threatening foreclosure? CALL Homeowner’s Relief Line now! Free Consultation 844.359.4330 SAPA THREE FARMS FOR SALE 215 (+/-) Acres-Patrick County, VA Farm, House, water, pasture -115 Acres is Timber 115 (+/-) AcresPatrick County, VA: 2 Old Houses, Timber, Water, Bottom Land 122 (+/-)Acres- Patrick County, VA: Private Location, 2 Old Houses, Bottom land, Timber- Excellent Hunting Call Bracky Rogers for information: 336.401.0264 THREATENING FORECLOSURE? Call Homeowner's Relief Line now!

Free Consultation 844.359.4330

HOMES FOR RENT RENT TO OWN Homes Available Now!! Why Rent When You Can Own! Bad Credit?

No Credit? No Problem! Call 844.275.0948. SAPA

COMM. PROP. FOR RENT 4,000 SQ. FEET OF FABULOUS Office/Studio/Church Space in 8 Seperate Rooms, Available for Rent (Take 1 Room or All 8).

Terms Negotiable. Close to I-40 & US Hwy74 in Clyde, NC. Call TJ 828.230.6501

STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently Located Off Hwy.19/23 by Thad Woods Auction Now Available for Lease: 10’x10’ Units for Only $65.00 Secure Your Lease Now Online at:

greatsmokiesstorage.com For More Information Call

828.506.4112

TWIN OAKS APARTMENTS 151 Black Hill Road Bryson City 28713.

Elderly Community (62 or Older)

Steve Mauldin

828.734.4864

smauldin@beverly-hanks.com

AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY! Energy Efficient, Affordable 1 Bed Room Apartments.

Starting at $445 - Rental Assistance Available Call Site for More Information

828.586.3346 Office Hours - Monday & Wednesday 8:00 - 5:00 74 N. Main St.,Waynesville

828.452.5809

beverly-hanks.com

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender

VACATION/ TRAVEL

FOR SALE ASSORTED ITEMS FOR SALE: Coleman Scooter 2000cc’s, Brand New Pressure Washer 3000PSI. Various Veloster Parts, New Weather Tech Floor Mats, Wind Deflectors New Floor Mats for 4-Door Wrangler and New Set of Floor Mats for Dodge Challenger. Call for Prices 828.371.7629

- WANTED TO BUY U.S./Foriegn Coins! Call Dan

828.421.1616 CASH FOR CARS! We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled – it doesn’t matter! Get free towing and same day cash!

NEWER MODELS too! Call 1.866.508.8362. SAPA

MEDICAL WELLNESS ADVOCATE mydoterra.com/blueridge wellness

BORING/CARPENTER BEE TRAPS No Chemicals, Poisons or Anything to Harm the Environment.

Handmade in Haywood County. 1 for $20, 2 or More for $15 each.

828.593.8321

STILL PAYING TOO MUCH For your MEDICATION? Save up to 90% on RX refill! Order today and receive free shipping on 1st order prescription required. Call 1.866.577.7573 SAPA

SCENTSY PRODUCTS Your Local Independent Consultant to Handle All Your Scentsy Wants & Needs.

Amanda P. Collier 828.246.8468 Amandacollier.scentsy.us apcollier1978@gmail.com Start Own Business for Only $99

SUDOKU

ATTENTION TIME SHARE OWNERS! Were you victim of dishonest sales tactics? Overpromised? Overpaid?

We’ll legally resolve your timeshare nightmare and stop the payments!

Call Timeshare Compliance, Free Consultation! 855.940.1773 NEED HELP WITH FAMILY LAW? Can't Afford a $5000 Retainer?

Low Cost Legal Services- Pay As You Go- As low as $750-$1500.

Get Legal Help Now! Call Us at 1.855.982.0484 Mon-Fri 7am to 4pm (PCT) SAPA

CHRISTIANS, HUNGRY TO KNOW More of God? His Plans for Your Life? There is More for You! Send for Gospel Books. FREE! PO Box 1894, Beaufort, SC 29901.

YARD SALES PORCH & LAWN SALE Oct. 25 & 25 8:00-4pm, Located 260 North Welch St., Waynesville.

Retired’s First-Time-Ever Sale.

Items from New York, Virginia & North Carolina. Exercise Bike, Drill, Sawhorse, Porch Railing, Household Items, Vintage Doll Supplies, Fabric, Quilting Books, Cutting Mats, Craft Supplies. Don’t Miss Out on Good Prices!

SUPER

CROSSWORD

WHAT DO THEY ALL HAVE? ACROSS 1 Designer 8 Put in cipher 14 Cocky walks 20 United, e.g.

21 In a Ziploc bag, e.g.

22 “The Gift of the Magi” writer 23 Zippers 25 Contacts, e.g.

26 Lotto variant 27 “... cup -- cone?”

28 -- kwon do (martial art) 29 “Taps” co-star Timothy 30 Data entry needs 35 Aftermaths 39 “Where are -- now?”

40 Hinge (on) 41 Aunt, in Argentina 42 Fill with joy 43 Lay -- thick 44 Fonda of film 45 Just know 46 Office cabinet items 49 Center of similes 50 Military chaplain 51 Cake level 52 Lamb bearer 53 Ireland’s -- Lingus 54 Last half of a typical golf course 59 Some aluminum recyclables 65 Hwy. number lead-in 66 Elbowed, say 67 A number of 68 Dictionary lookup facilitators 70 Affirm the truth of 71 Ammo for air rifles

72 73 74 77 78 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 94 98 99 100 101 105 106 110 111 112 113 114 115

Even one “Take --!” (“Congrats!”)

Big name in direct sales “I got it!”

Chrome, Firefox and Safari Shop Lackluster 1990s Israeli president Weizman Video’s counterpart Bardic tribute -- Field (Mr. Met’s home) Rhine feeder Enrollments Cafe crowd Like a constellation Siouan people Hirt and Gore Biblical son of Isaac Tug at Theme of this puzzle Colorful ring in the eye Well-drilling apparatus Pantheon members Corn seed Spend time in, as a hotel One tearing up the road

DOWN 1 Wine barrel 2 Tick off 3 Bard’s Ireland 4 “Battle Cry” actor Ray 5 Dead heat 6 Hoofing it 7 Replenishes the arsenal

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 24 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 43 44 45 47 48 50 52 53 54 55 56 57

of The “e” of i.e.

Born, in Brest Hiking flasks “Mrs.” with a famous cow Bo of “10” Masthead names, for short Like sugar, but not oil, in water 1982 Richard Pryor film -- -car (airport service) Not collated, e.g.

More stylish Pt. of OS or GPS Exhaust Doglike carnivore Symbol on a music score Pronounce Hammer-wielding god Slate cleaner Store event Ump relative Gridiron star Manning “My gal” of song Off-roading vehicle, briefly Brainstorm, in Brest Chattered Ludicrous comedies Inflammation of the ear Flax product Tick off Holiday lead-ins “Terrible” toddler time Except for Grayish hue Grand -- wine Mortal -- (video game

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 66 69 70 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 86 90 91 92 93 95 96 97 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108

series) Lumpy, as fabric Squarish, as a car Stretch (out) Mary of “Dodsworth” Gallery stuff Turner who led a revolt -- -mo replay Punishment-related Ball-shaped bloom Truncated wd.

Red as -Bow-wielding god Was certain One trying to pin a rival Cowboy singer Gene Arsenal array Pound the poet Clowns World lighter College URL ending Tear apart Ship’s call for help Active by day Singing King Chief Hun Cone, cube and sphere Arched body part Osprey claw Like a well-pitched inning How sashimi is eaten Sermon conclusion?

Pronounced Have -- in one’s bonnet Brezhnev’s fed.

Its cap. is Islamabad Lean- -- (hovels) 1998 Angelina Jolie biopic Certain NCO

ANSWERS ON PAGE 48

smokymountainnews.com

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!

LIFE-TIME WOOD REFINISHING Specialist & Painter For Hire!!

All Hardwoods, Antiques, Floors, Doors, Kitchens & More - Brought Back to Life. Pictures Available.

For More Info Call Diane at: 863.517.8390

October 23-29, 2019

HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price!

533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240

ACCURATE & CONVENIENT Preventive health screenings from LifeLine Screening. Understand your risk for heart disease, stroke, and more before symptoms.

Special: 5 vital screenings only $149! 855.634.8538 FINANCIAL BENEFITS For those facing serious illness.

You may qualify for a Living Benefit Loan today (up to 50 percent of your Life Insurance Policy Death Benefit.) Free Info.

CALL 1.855.402.5487 SAPA

SERVICES

WNC MarketPlace

OFFER: Book Your Flight Today on United, Delta, American, Air France, Air Canada. We have the best rates.

Call today to learn more 1.855.613.1407 Mon-Fri:10:00am to 7:00pm Sat & Sun: 11:30 am to 7:00 pm (all times Eastern) SAPA

WANTED TO BUY

53

Kephart Prong Trail has a unique story

I

guidebook accurately describes the KPT as “a riverine stroll.” Unless you’re disabled in some manner, it is quite doable. If for whatever reason you’re not up to the full 4-mile roundtrip, the first mile or so will provide plenty to see and think about.

Kephart Prong is a beautiful creek, not so expansive as Hazel or Deep creeks elsewhere in the park, Columnist but with a vivacity all its own as it plunges and tumbles over huge boulders and forms rivulets in the main and side channels.

Unlike most of the creeks in the park, there are numerous areas along its lower portions where the stream has at high-water levels formed bends and oxbows that become sloughs during normal stream flow.

There are numerous trees and shrubs of interest, including oil-nut, witch-hazel, strawberry-bush, three maple species (striped, red, and sugar), and three species of deciduous magnolia (cucumber, umbrella, and Fraser’s). A good-sized tulip tree can be located just to the right of the KPT a short distance from the trailhead.

But there are other sorts of non-native

plants that indicate human activity on a large scale. About a quarter mile above the trailhead, you’ll commence spotting large boxwoods and a stand of arborvitae. Company 441 of the Civilian Conservation Corps was stationed here from 1933 to 1942. An old pump, a low stone wall, a masonry “message board,” a hearth, pieces of pipe, and a 20foot-high chimney are just some of the material evidence left over from those long-ago days.

From the late 1930s into the early 1940s, 23 CCC camps were established in the park, which was officially founded in 1934. At the time of peak enrollment (1934-35), 4,350 men worked for the CCC out of military style camps. They were paid $30 a month, with $25 of that being sent home to their families.

“The CCC boys” were noted for their fine work, much of which is still in evidence today.

All in all, Company 441 (comprised of about 200 young men at any given time) improved 20 miles of primary and secondary roadways; constructed 65 miles of trails; 22 fish-raising ponds; a water system for Newfound Gap and parking areas for 600 cars; and planted 100,000 or so trees in the immediate area that had been denuded by logging activities.

At about half a mile above its trailhead, the KPT passes through a thicket of rosebay rhododendron and crosses a footbridge over Kephart Prong. Alongside the trail, several hundred yards up the slope from this bridge,

you’ll spot the remains of what was once an extensive fish hatchery (rainbow trout and smallmouth bass) established in 1936 by the federal Work Projects Administration (WPA).

A mile above the trailhead, you’ll cross another footbridge on your way to the KPT shelter. In places, the KPT traverses a railway bed constructed by the Champion Fiber Company in the early 1920s. At that time the area was alive with loggers, Shay locomotives, switchbacks, and steam-powered overhead skidders. Their prime objective was the extensive stands of red spruce in the upper reaches of the Oconaluftee watershed.

That logging company eventually clearcut over 2,000 acres of spruce in that immediate region.

As I noted, the KPT provides much food for thought, a “frisson” between the past and present states of a mountain watershed.

Much has taken place here — some of it very good, some of it dubious at best. But all of it is part and parcel — an “overlay” — of the ongoing history and legacy of this immediate region.

Sources for the above description are: Hiking Trails of the Great Smokies (1994); Daniel S. Pierce’s The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park (2000); and Michal Strutin’s History Hikes of the Smokies (2003).

George Ellison is a writer and naturalist who lives in Bryson City. info@georgeellison.com

October 23-29, 2019

like visiting those sites here in the Smokies region where there is what I think of as an “overlay.” That is, places where both natural and human history commingle. At such places, one encounters the confluence of all or several of the major strands in the region’s natural and cultural fabric: wild areas, plants, and animals; early Cherokee and pioneer settlement influences; and the impacts of the modern era, initiated here primarily with the coming of the railroad in the late 19th century. At such places the alert observer can experience what the French have defined as “frisson” — a moment of excitement and insight that arises when various forces coalesce.

One such place exists along the lower portions of the Kephart Prong Trail (KPT) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The trailhead is situated on the right side of the Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) about 7 miles above the Oconaluftee Visitors Center.

Kephart Prong is a small stream sonamed because it flows from its headwaters on Mt. Kephart into the Oconaluftee River near the trailhead. The KPT extends two miles from 2,750 feet to its junction at 3,600 feet with the Sweet Heifer and Grassy Branch trails, where the KPT shelter is situated. One

BACK THEN

George Ellison

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in an October 2004 edition of The Smoky Mountain News.

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Smoky Mountain News October 23-29, 2019